Reference: Palestine
American
Denotes, in the Old Testament, the country of the Philistines, which was that part of the land of promise extending along the Mediterranean Sea on the varying western border of Simeon, Judah, and Dan, Ex 15:14; Isa 14:29,31; Joe 3:4. Palestine, taken in later usage in a more general sense, signifies the whole country of Canaan, as well beyond as on this side of the Jordan; though frequently it is restricted to the country on this side that river; so that in later times the words Judea and Palestine were synonymous. We find also the name of Syria-Palestina given to the land of promise, and even sometimes this province is comprehended in Coele-Syria, or the Lower Syria. Herodotus is the most ancient writer known who speaks of Syria-Palestina. He places it between Phoenicia and Egypt. See CANAAN.
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Peoples have heard, they are troubled; Pain hath seized inhabitants of Philistia.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit is a flying saraph.
Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
And also, what are ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your 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 taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan; and they come in to the land of Canaan.
And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, 'To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
In that day hath Jehovah made with Abram a covenant, saying, 'To thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Phrat, with the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, read more. and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'
Jehovah, God of the heavens, who hath taken me from the house of my father, and from the land of my birth, and who hath spoken to me, and who hath sworn to me, saying, To thy seed I give this land, He doth send His messenger before thee, and thou hast taken a wife for my son from thence;
for I was really stolen from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they have put me in the pit.'
Peoples have heard, they are troubled; Pain hath seized inhabitants of Philistia.
And Moses taketh -- Aaron also -- these men, who were defined by name, and all the company they assembled on the first of the second month, and they declare their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names from a son of twenty years and upward, by their polls, read more. as Jehovah hath commanded Moses; and he numbereth them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the sons of Reuben, Israel's first-born -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Reuben, are six and forty thousand and five hundred. Of the sons of Simeon -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names, by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Simeon, are nine and fifty thousand and three hundred. Of the sons of Gad -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Gad, are five and forty thousand and six hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Judah -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Judah, are four and seventy thousand and six hundred. Of the sons of Issachar -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Issachar, are four and fifty thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Zebulun -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Zebulun, are seven and fifty thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Joseph -- of the sons of Ephraim -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Ephraim, are forty thousand and five hundred. Of the sons of Manasseh -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Manasseh, are two and thirty thousand and two hundred. Of the sons of Benjamin -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Benjamin, are five and thirty thousand and four hundred. Of the sons of Dan -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Dan, are two and sixty thousand and seven hundred. Of the sons of Asher -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Asher, are one and forty thousand and five hundred. Of the sons of Naphtali -- their births, by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host -- their numbered ones, for the tribe of Naphtali, are three and fifty thousand and four hundred. These are those numbered, whom Moses numbered -- Aaron also, and the princes of Israel, twelve men -- each for the house of his fathers, they have been. And they are, all those numbered of the sons of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out to the host in Israel, yea, all those numbered are six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty.
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, Command the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are coming in unto the land of Canaan -- this is the land which falleth to you by inheritance, the land of Canaan, by its borders -- read more. then hath the south quarter been to you from the wilderness of Zin, by the sides of Edom, yea, the south border hath been to you from the extremity of the Salt Sea, eastward; and the border hath turned round to you from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and hath passed on to Zin, and its outgoings have been from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and it hath gone out at Hazar-Addar, and hath passed on to Azmon; and the border hath turned round from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its outgoings have been at the sea. 'As to the west border, even the great sea hath been to you a border; this is to you the west border. 'And this is to you the north border: from the great sea ye mark out for yourselves mount Hor; from mount Hor ye mark out to go in to Hamath, and the outgoings of the border have been to Zedad; and the border hath gone out to Ziphron, and its outgoings have been at Hazar-Enan; this is to you the north border. 'And ye have marked out for yourselves for the border eastward, from Hazar-Enan to Shepham; and the border hath gone down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east of Ain, and the border hath gone down, and hath smitten against the shoulder of the sea of Chinnereth eastward; and the border hath gone down to the Jordan, and its outgoings have been at the Salt Sea; this is for you the land by its borders round about.'
And this land we have possessed, at that time; from Aroer, which is by the brook Arnon, and the half of mount Gilead, and its cities, I have given to the Reubenite, and to the Gadite; and the rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I have given to the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, to all that Bashan, called the land of Rephaim. read more. 'Jair son of Manasseh hath taken all the region of Argob, unto the border of Geshuri, and Maachathi, and calleth them by his own name, Bashan-Havoth-Jair, unto this day. And to Machir I have given Gilead. 'And to the Reubenite and to the Gadite I have given from Gilead even unto the brook Arnon, the middle of the valley and the border, even unto Jabbok the brook, the border of the sons of Ammon, and the plain, and the Jordan, and the border, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, the salt sea, under the springs of Pisgah, at the sun -rising. 'And I command you, at that time, saying, Jehovah your God hath given to you this land to possess it; armed ye pass over before your brethren the sons of Israel, all the sons of might. Only, your wives, and your infants, and your cattle -- I have known that ye have much cattle -- do dwell in your cities which I have given to you, till that Jehovah give rest to your brethren like yourselves, and they also have possessed the land which Jehovah your God is giving to them beyond the Jordan, then ye have turned back each to his possession, which I have given to you.
'For Jehovah thy God is bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain: a land of wheat, and barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey; read more. a land in which without scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;
and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, pass over, by fifties, before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken unto them; about forty thousand, armed ones of the host, passed over before Jehovah for battle, unto the plains of Jericho.
And an artificer is not found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, 'Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear;'
And Solomon hath been ruling over all the kingdoms, from the River to the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt: they are bringing nigh a present, and serving Solomon, all days of his life.
And the king of Asshur bringeth in from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and causeth them to dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel, and they possess Samaria, and dwell in its cities; and it cometh to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send among them the lions, and they are destroying among them. read more. And they speak to the king of Asshur, saying, 'The nations that thou hast removed, and dost place in the cities of Samaria, have not known the custom of the God of the land, and He sendeth among them the lions, and lo, they are destroying them, as they do not know the custom of the God of the land.' And the king of Asshur commandeth, saying, 'Cause to go thither one of the priests whom ye removed thence, and they go and dwell there, and he doth teach them the custom of the God of the land.' And one of the priests whom they removed from Samaria cometh in, and dwelleth in Beth-El, and he is teaching them how they do fear Jehovah, and they are making each nation its gods, and place them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made, each nation in their cities where they are dwelling.
And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah from the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that is in Judah; read more. who is among you of all His people? His God is with him, and he doth go up to Jerusalem, that is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, God of Israel -- He is God -- that is in Jerusalem. And every one who is left, of any of the places where he is a sojourner, assist him do the men of his place with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, along with a free-will offering for the house of God, that is in Jerusalem.'
Moab is my pot for washing, over Edom I cast my shoe, Shout, concerning me, O Philistia.
To the Overseer. -- By sons of Korah. A Psalm. Thou hast accepted, O Jehovah, Thy land, Thou hast turned to the captivity of Jacob.
I mention Rahab and Babel to those knowing Me, Lo, Philistia, and Tyre, with Cush! This one was born there.
Moab is a pot for my washing, Upon Edom I cast my shoe, Over Philistia I shout habitually.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit is a flying saraph.
Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
And the land of Judah hath been to Egypt for a cause of staggering, Every one who doth mention it, for himself feareth, Because of the counsel of Jehovah of Hosts, That He is counselling against it.
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this is Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations I have set her, And round about her are the lands.
They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim to Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.
And also, what are ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your head.
And Jehovah hath inherited Judah, His portion on the holy ground, And He hath fixed again on Jerusalem.
The Jews, therefore, said, 'Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?'
by faith he did sojourn in the land of the promise as a strange country, in tabernacles having dwelt with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise,
Fausets
Peleshet. Four times in KJV, found always in poetry (Ex 15:27; Isa 14:29,31; Joe 3:4); same as Philistia (Ps 60:8; 87:4; 83:7 "the Philistines".) The long strip of seacoast plain held by the Philistines. The Assyrian king Ivalush's inscription distinguishes "Palaztu on the western sea" from Tyre, Samaria, etc. (Rawlinson, Herodotus 1:467.) So in the Egyptian Karnak inscriptions Pulusata is deciphered. The Scriptures never use it as we do, of the whole Holy Land. (See CANAAN for the physical divisions, etc.) "The land of the Hebrew" Joseph calls it, because of Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's settlements at Mamre, Hebron, and Shechem (Ge 40:15). "the land of the Hittites" (Jos 1:4); so Chita or Cheta means the whole of lower and middle Syria in the Egyptian records of Rameses II. In his inscriptions, and those of Thothmes III, Tu-netz, "Holy Land," occurs, whether meaning "Phoenicia" or "Palestine". In Ho 9:3 "land of Jehovah," compare Le 25:23; Isa 62:4.
The holy land, Zec 2:12; 7:14, "land of desire"; Da 8:9. "the pleasant land"; Da 11:16,41, "the glorious (or goodly) land"; Eze 20:6,15, "a land that I had espied for them flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands." God's choice of it as peculiarly His own was its special glory (Ps 132:13; 48:2; Jer 3:19 margin "a good land, a land of brooks of water (wadies often now dry, but a few perennial), of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills (the deep blue pools, the sources of streams), a land of wheat, barley, vines, figtrees, pomegranates, oil olive, honey (dibs, the syrup prepared from the grape lees, a common food now) ... wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass" (De 8:7-9). "The land of the Amorite" (Am 2:10).
The land of Israel in the larger sense (1Sa 13:19); in the narrower sense of the northern kingdom it occurs 2Ch 30:25. After the return from Babylon "Judaea" was applied to the whole country S. and N., and E. beyond Jordan (Mt 19:1). "The land of promise" (Heb 11:9). "Judaea" in the Roman sense was part of the province "Syria," which comprised the seaboard from the bay of Issus to Egypt, and meant the country from Idumea on the S. to the territories of the free cities on the N. and W., Scythopolis, Sebaste, Joppa, Azotus, etc. The land E. of Jordan between it and the desert, except the territory of the free cities Poilu, Gadara, Philadelphia, was "Perea." From Dan (Banias) in the far N. to Beersheba on the S. is 139 English miles, two degrees or 120 geographical miles. The breadth at Gaza from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea is 48 geographical miles; at the Litany, from the coast to Jordan is 20 miles; the average is 34 geographical or 40 English miles. About the size of Wales. The length of country under dominion in Solomon's days was probably 170 miles, the breadth 90, the area 12,000 or 13,000 square miles.
The population, anciently from three to six millions, is now under one million. The Jordan valley with its deep depression separates it from the Moab and Gilead highlands. Lebanon, Antilebanon, and the Litany ravine at their feet form the northern bound. On the S. the dry desert of Paran and "the river of Egypt" bound it. On the western verge of Asia, and severed from the main body of Asia by the desert between Palestine and the regions of Mesopotamia and Arabia, it looks on the other side to the Mediterranean and western world, which it was destined by Providence so powerfully to affect; oriental and reflective, yet free from the stagnant and retrogressive tendencies of Asia, it bore the precious spiritual treasure of which it was the repository to the energetic and progressive W. It consists mainly of undulating highlands, bordered E. and W. by a broad belt of deep sunk lowland.
The three main features, plains, hills, and torrent beds, are specified (Nu 13:29; Jos 11:16; 12:8). Mount Carmel, rising to the height of above 1,700 ft., crosses the maritime plain half way up the coast with a long ridge from the central chain, and juts out into the Mediterranean as a bold headland. The plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon on its northern side, separating the Ephraim mountains from those of Galilee, and stretching across from the Mediterranean to the Jordan valley, was the great battlefield of Palestine. Galilee is the northern portion, Samaria the middle, Judaea the southern. The long purple wall of Gilead and Moab's hills on the eastern side is everywhere to be seen. The bright light and transparent air enable one from the top of Tabor, Gerizim or Bethel at once to see Moab on the E. and the Mediterranean on the W. On a line E. of the axis of the country and running N. and S. lie certain elevations: Hebron 3,029 ft. above the sea; Jerusalem, 2,610; Olivet, 2,724; Neby Samwil on the N., 2,650; Bethel, 2,400; Ebal and Gerizim, 2,700; Little Hermon and Tabor, N. of the Esdraelon plain, 1,900.
The watershed sends off the drainage of the country in streams running W. to the Mediterranean and E. to the Jordan, except at the Esdraelon plain and the far N. where the drainage is to the Litany. Had the Jews been military in character, they would easily have prevented their conquerors from advancing up the precipitous defiles from the E., the only entrances to the central highlands of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, from the Jordan valley; as Engedi (2Ch 20:1-2,16) and Adummim, the route between Jericho and Jerusalem by which Pompey advanced when he took the capital. The slope from the western valleys is more gradual, as the level of the plain is higher, and the distance up the hills longer, than from the eastern Jordan depression; still the passes would be formidable for any army with baggage to pass. From Jaffa up to Jerusalem there are two roads: the one to the right by Ramleh and the wady Aly; the other the historic one by Lydda and the Bethorons, or the wady Suleiman, and Gibeon.
By this Joshua drove the Canaanites to the plains; the Philistines went up to Michmash, and fled back past Ajalon. The rival empires, Egypt and Babylon-Assyria, could march against one another only along the maritime western plain of Palestine and the Lebanon plain leading toward and from the Euphrates. Thus Rameses II marched against the Chitti or Hittites in northern Syria, and Pharaoh Necho fought at Mefiddo in the Esdraelon plain, the battlefield of Palestine; they did not meddle with the central highlands, "The S. country" being near the desert, destitute of trees, and away from the mountain streams, is drier than the N., where springs abound. (See PHARAOH NECHO; MEGIDDO.) The region below Hebron between the hills and the desert is called the Negeb (the later Daroma) from its dryness. Hence Caleb's daughter, having her portion in it, begged from him springs, i.e. land having springs (Jg 1:15). The "upper and lower springs" spring from the hard formation in the N.W. corner of the Negeb (Jos 15:19); here too Nabal lived, so reluctant to give "his water" (1Sa 25:11).
The verdure and blaze of scarlet flowers which cover the highlands of Judah and Benjamin in spring, while streams pour down the ravines, give place to dreary barrenness in the summit. Rounded low hills, with coarse gray stone, clumps of oak bushes, and the remains of ancient terraces running round them, meet one on each side, or else the terraces are reconstructed and bear olives and figs, and vineyards are surrounded by rough walls with watchtowers. Large oak roots are all that attest the former existence of trees along the road between Bethlehem and Hebron. Corn or dourra fills many of the valleys, and the stalks left until the ensuing seedtime give a dry neglected look to the scene. More vegetation appears in the W. and N.W. The wady es Sumt is named from its acacias. Olives, terebinths, pines, and laurels here and ten miles to the N. at Kirjath Jearim ("city of forests") give a wooded aspect to the scenery.
The tract, nine miles wide and 35 long, between the center and the sudden descent to the Dead Sea, is desolate at all seasons, a series of hills without vegetation, water, and almost life, with no ruins save Masada a
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it is all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,
And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day;
for I was really stolen from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they have put me in the pit.'
And they come to Elim, and there are twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees; and they encamp there by the waters.
And the land is not sold -- to extinction, for the land is Mine, for sojourners and settlers are ye with Me;
Amalek is dwelling in the land of the south, and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite is dwelling in the hill country, and the Canaanite is dwelling by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.'
'For Jehovah thy God is bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain: a land of wheat, and barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey; read more. a land in which without scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;
From this wilderness and Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river Phrath, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great Sea -- the going in of the sun -- is your border.
And the sons of Israel encamp in Gilgal, and make the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho; and they eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow of the passover, unleavened things and roasted corn, in this self-same day;
And Joshua taketh all this land: the hill-country, and all the south, and all the land of Goshen, and the low country, and the plain, even the hill-country of Israel and its low lands,
in the hill-country, and in the low country, and in the plain, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south; the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
from Sihor which is on the front of Egypt, and unto the border of Ekron northward, to the Canaanite it is reckoned, five princes of the Philistines, the Gazathite, and the Ashdothite, the Eshkalonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite, also the Avim. From the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah, which is to the Sidonians, unto Aphek, unto the border of the Amorite; read more. and the land of the Giblite, and all Lebanon, at the sun-rising, from Baal-Gad under mount Hermon, unto the going in to Hamath: all the inhabitants of the hill-country, from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-Maim, all the Sidonians: I -- I dispossess them before the sons of Israel; only, cause it to fall to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
And she saith, 'Give to me a blessing; when the land of the south thou hast given me, then thou hast given to me springs of waters;' and he giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Ekron and its towns and its villages, from Ekron and westward, all that are by the side of Ashdod, and their villages. read more. Ashdod, its towns and its villages, Gaza, its towns and its villages, unto the brook of Egypt, and the great sea, and its border.
and gone down westward unto the border of Japhleti, unto the border of Beth-Horon the lower, and unto Gezer, and its outgoings have been at the sea.
And Manasseh hath in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, three counties.
And she saith to him, 'Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me -- then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, for they have chariots of iron. And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak. read more. And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day. And the house of Joseph go up -- even they -- to Beth-El, and Jehovah is with them; and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it is its name unto this day. And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land;
And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land; and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly dispossessed it. read more. And Ephraim hath not dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, in Gezer. Zebulun hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Kitron, and the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, and they become tributary. Asher hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Accho, and the inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob; and the Asherite dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land, for it hath not dispossessed them. Naphtali hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath have become tributary to them. And the Amorites press the sons of Dan to the mountain, for they have not suffered them to go down to the valley; and the Amorite is desirous to dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph is heavy, and they become tributary;
And an artificer is not found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, 'Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear;'
And David riseth and fleeth on that day from the face of Saul, and cometh in unto Achish king of Gath;
and I have taken my bread, and my water, and my flesh, which I slaughtered for my shearers, and have given it to men whom I have not known whence they are!'
And David riseth, and passeth over, he and six hundred men who are with him, unto Achish son of Maoch king of Gath;
And there hath been called there a man of worthlessness, and his name is Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and saith, 'We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel.'
(Pharaoh king of Egypt hath gone up and doth capture Gezer, and doth burn it with fire, and the Canaanite who is dwelling in the city he hath slain, and giveth it with presents to his daughter, wife of Solomon.)
and over the herds that are feeding in Sharon is Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds in the valleys is Shaphat son of Adlai;
And it cometh to pass after this, the sons of Moab have come in, and the sons of Ammon, and with them of the peoples, against Jehoshaphat to battle. And they come in and declare to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'Come against thee hath a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, and lo, they are in Hazezon-Tamar -- it is En-Gedi.'
To-morrow, go ye down against them, lo, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
And all the assembly of Judah rejoice, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the assembly, those coming in from Israel, and the sojourners, those coming in from the land of Israel, and those dwelling in Judah,
and I say to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened till the heat of the sun, and while they are standing by let them shut the doors, and fasten, and appoint guards of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each in his guard, and each over-against his house.'
My brethren have deceived as a brook, As a stream of brooks they pass away. That are black because of ice, By them doth snow hide itself. read more. By the time they are warm they have been cut off, By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their place.
From the end of the heavens is his going out, And his revolution is unto their ends, And nothing is hid from his heat.
When by day and by night Thy hand is heavy upon me, My moisture hath been changed Into the droughts of summer. Selah.
To the Overseer. -- By sons of Korah. 'For the Virgins.' -- A song. God is to us a refuge and strength, A help in adversities found most surely. Therefore we fear not in the changing of earth, And in the slipping of mountains Into the heart of the seas.
Beautiful for elevation, A joy of all the land, is Mount Zion, The sides of the north, the city of a great king.
Moab is my pot for washing, over Edom I cast my shoe, Shout, concerning me, O Philistia.
The mountains bear peace to the people, And the heights by righteousness.
There is a handful of corn in the earth, On the top of mountains, Shake like Lebanon doth its fruit, And they flourish out of the city as the herb of the earth.
And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
To the Overseer. -- 'On the Gittith By sons of Korah.' -- A Psalm. How beloved Thy tabernacles, Jehovah of Hosts!
I mention Rahab and Babel to those knowing Me, Lo, Philistia, and Tyre, with Cush! This one was born there.
This, the sea, great and broad of sides, There are moving things -- innumerable, Living creatures -- small with great. There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.
Those going down to the sea in ships, Doing business in many waters, They have seen the works of Jehovah, And His wonders in the deep. read more. And He saith, and appointeth a tempest, And it lifteth up its billows, They go up to the heavens, they go down to the depths, Their soul in evil is melted. They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up. And they cry to Jehovah in their adversity, And from their distresses He bringeth them out. He establisheth a whirlwind to a calm, And hushed are their billows. And they rejoice because they are quiet, And He leadeth them to the haven of their desire.
For Jehovah hath fixed on Zion, He hath desired it for a seat to Himself,
Who is giving snow like wool, Hoar-frost as ashes He scattereth. Casting forth His ice like morsels, Before His cold who doth stand? read more. He sendeth forth His word and melteth them, He causeth His wind to blow -- the waters flow.
And it hath come to pass, In the latter end of the days, Established is the mount of Jehovah's house, Above the top of the mounts, And it hath been lifted up above the heights, And flowed unto it have all the nations.
And a covering may be, For a shadow by day from drought, And for a refuge, and for a hiding place, From inundation and from rain!
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit is a flying saraph.
Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
And established in kindness is the throne, And one hath sat on it in truth, in the tent of David, Judging and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
As heat in a dry place, The noise of strangers Thou humblest, Heat with the shadow of a thick cloud, The singing of the terrible is humbled.
It is not said of thee any more, 'Forsaken!' And of thy land it is not said any more, 'Desolate,' For to thee is cried, 'My delight is in her,' And to thy land, 'Married,' For Jehovah hath delighted in thee, And thy land is married.
And I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father -- ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.
Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I turn back to the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And his dwelling places I pity, And the city hath been built on its heap, And the palace according to its ordinance remaineth.
'Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night;
In that day I did lift up My hand to them, To bring them forth from the land of Egypt, Unto a land that I spied out for them, Flowing with milk and honey, A beauty it is to all the lands,
And also, I, I have lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, Not to bring them in to the land that I had given, Flowing with milk and honey, A beauty it is to all the lands,
And thou, son of man, prophesy unto mountains of Israel, and thou hast said, O mountains of Israel, hear a word of Jehovah.
And from the one of them come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous land;
And he who is coming unto him doth according to his will, and there is none standing before him; and he standeth in the desirable land, and it is wholly in his hand.
and hath come into the desirable land, and many do stumble, and these escape from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon.
They do not abide in the land of Jehovah, And turned back hath Ephraim to Egypt, And in Asshur an unclean thing they eat.
And also, what are ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your head.
And I -- I have brought you up from the land of Egypt, And cause you to go in a wilderness forty years, To possess the land of the Amorite.
I have overturned among you, Like the overturn by God of Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye are as a brand delivered from a burning, And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.
And Jehovah hath inherited Judah, His portion on the holy ground, And He hath fixed again on Jerusalem.
And I toss them on all the nations, That they have not known, The land hath been desolate behind them, Of any passing by and turning back, And they set a desirable land for a desolation!
And saved hath Jehovah the tents of Judah first, So that become not great against Judah Doth the beauty of the house of David, And the beauty of the inhabitant of Jerusalem.
And ye have fled to the valley of My mountains, For join doth the valley of the mountains to Azal, And ye have fled as ye fled before the shaking, In the days of Uzziah king of Judah, And come in hath Jehovah my God, All holy ones are with Thee.
Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan,
'Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock. read more. 'And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'
And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these words, he removed from Galilee, and did come to the borders of Judea, beyond the Jordan,
and lo, the vail of the sanctuary was rent in two from top unto bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent,
by faith he did sojourn in the land of the promise as a strange country, in tabernacles having dwelt with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise,
Hastings
PALESTINE
1. Situation and name.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Peoples have heard, they are troubled; Pain hath seized inhabitants of Philistia.
And the princes say unto them, 'They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the company, as the princes spake to them.'
And Judah saith to Simeon his brother, 'Go up with me into my lot, and we fight against the Canaanite -- and I have gone, even I, with thee into thy lot;' and Simeon goeth with him. And Judah goeth up, and Jehovah giveth the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they smite them in Bezek -- ten thousand men; read more. and they find Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fight against him, and smite the Canaanite and the Perizzite. And Adoni-Bezek fleeth, and they pursue after him, and seize him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes, and Adoni-Bezek saith, 'Seventy kings -- their thumbs and their great toes cut off -- have been gathering under my table; as I have done so hath God repaid to me;' and they bring him in to Jerusalem, and he dieth there. And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire; and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the south, and the low country; and Judah goeth unto the Canaanite who is dwelling in Hebron (and the name of Hebron formerly is Kirjath-Arba), and they smite Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And he goeth thence unto the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir formerly is Kirjath-Sepher), and Caleb saith, 'He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher -- and hath captured it -- then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.' And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife. And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, 'What -- to thee?' And she saith to him, 'Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me -- then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs. And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, and they go and dwell with the people. And Judah goeth with Simeon his brother, and they smite the Canaanite inhabiting Zephath, and devote it; and one calleth the name of the city Hormah. And Judah captureth Gaza and its border, and Askelon and its border, and Ekron and its border; and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, for they have chariots of iron. And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak. And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day. And the house of Joseph go up -- even they -- to Beth-El, and Jehovah is with them; and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it is its name unto this day. And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land; and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly dispossessed it.
And all the sons of Israel go out, and the company is assembled as one man, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah, at Mizpeh.
And David saith unto Saul, 'A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come -- and the bear -- and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove,
and his men who are with him hath David brought up -- a man and his household -- and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.
and Saul hath a concubine, and her name is Rizpah daughter of Aiah, and Ish-Bosheth saith unto Abner, 'Wherefore hast thou gone in unto the concubine of my father?'
And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black -- thick clouds and wind -- and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,
And the king of Asshur bringeth in from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and causeth them to dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel, and they possess Samaria, and dwell in its cities; and it cometh to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send among them the lions, and they are destroying among them. read more. And they speak to the king of Asshur, saying, 'The nations that thou hast removed, and dost place in the cities of Samaria, have not known the custom of the God of the land, and He sendeth among them the lions, and lo, they are destroying them, as they do not know the custom of the God of the land.' And the king of Asshur commandeth, saying, 'Cause to go thither one of the priests whom ye removed thence, and they go and dwell there, and he doth teach them the custom of the God of the land.' And one of the priests whom they removed from Samaria cometh in, and dwelleth in Beth-El, and he is teaching them how they do fear Jehovah, and they are making each nation its gods, and place them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made, each nation in their cities where they are dwelling. And the men of Babylon have made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Cuth have made Nergal, and the men of Hamath have made Ashima, and the Avites have made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites are burning their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of Sepharvim. And they are fearing Jehovah, and make to themselves from their extremities priests of high places, and they are acting for them in the house of the high places. Jehovah they are fearing, and their gods they are serving, according to the custom of the nations whence they removed them. Unto this day they are doing according to the former customs -- they are not fearing Jehovah, and are not doing according to their statutes, and according to their ordinances, and according to the law, and according to the command, that Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob whose name He made Israel, and Jehovah maketh with them a covenant, and chargeth them, saying, 'Ye do 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 with a stretched-out arm, Him ye do fear, and to Him ye bow yourselves, and to Him ye do sacrifice; and the statutes, and the judgments, and the law, and the command, that He wrote for you, ye observe to do all the days, and ye do not fear other gods; and the covenant that I have made with you ye do not forget, and ye do not fear other gods; but Jehovah your God ye do fear, and He doth deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies;' and they have not hearkened, but according to their former custom they are doing, and these nations are fearing Jehovah, and their graven images they have served, both their sons and their sons' sons; as their fathers did, they are doing unto this day.
Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit is a flying saraph.
Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.
And ye sons of Zion, joy and rejoice, In Jehovah your God, For He hath given to you the Teacher for righteousness, And causeth to come down to you a shower, Sprinkling and gathered -- in the beginning.
And also, what are ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your head.
And he said also to the multitudes, 'When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;
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.