2. The Shephelah.

The passage in Joshua divides the whole region into four parts: the Negeb (q-v.), the Shephelah, the hill country, and the desert (see PALESTINE). According to the original text of Josh. xv., the Shephelah had three groups of cities, according to the extended text, four groups, and a distinction is made between towns (protected by a wall), forty-four in number, and villages. The first group (Josh. xv. 33-36) includes fifteen, towns, of which the following are known: Eshtaol, identified by Guérin with Ashu'a on the basis of its earlier name Ashtu'al; Zorah, possibly the Zarha of the Amarna Tablets; Zanoah, the modern Zanu'a; Adullam, identified by Clermont-Ganneau with Khirbat 'Id al-Miya; Socoh is Shuwaika, on the south bank of the Wadi al-Sant. The second group, of sixteen towns, is located to the west and southwest of the first, toward Gaza (verses 37-41). Mizpeh is placed at the foot of the hills near the Wadi al-Sant, westward from Shuwaika. Lachish is identified with Tell el-Hesy, recently excavated, mentioned in the Amarna Tablets as an important Canaanitic center, and appearing in the Assyrian records and in the Books of Kings. Eglon is the modern Ajlan, and Lahmas or Lahmam is the modern Lahm. The third group (verses 42-44) of nine (Septuagint, ten) cities includes Libnah (known to Eusebius as Lobna in the neighborhood of Eleutheropolis); Keilah, located by the Onomasticon seven Roman miles east of Eleutheropolis on the Wadi al-Sur (but this is in the highland, not in the Shephelah); Achzib, placed by the same authority near Eleutheropolis and possibly the modern Ain el-Kazba; and Maresha, located two Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, possibly at Merash. On the fourth group, including Ekron, Ashdod, and Gaza, see PHILISTINES.

3. The Hill Country.

The towns of the hill country of Judah are in the Hebrew text (verses 48-80) divided into five groups, to which the Septuagint adds a sixth. The first group of eleven cities lay south from Hebron, south-east of Jibrin. Shamir is placed by Guérin at Somara southwest of Hebron. The Onomasticon locates Jattir twenty Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, the modern Attir; Socoh is Shuwaika north of Attir; Debir (Kirjath-sannah or Kirjath-sepher) was a royal Canaanitie city of some importance, possibly the modern al-Dahariya; Anab is the present Anab, about three miles southwest of Debir; Eshtemoah may be al-Samua east of Shuwaika; Anim is put by the Onomasticon nine Roman miles south of Hebron. The second group of nine cities lay north of the first group and includes Hebron (verses 52-54). Arab appears in the Septuagint as Airem, but its location is doubtful; Dumah is represented by the modern al-Doma north of al-Dahariya, and is placed by Eusebius and Jerome seventeen Roman miles from Eleutheropolis; Beth-tappuah is the elevated village Taffuh, six miles west of Hebron in a wine-growing country. It was in early times a fortress and was fortified in the Maccabean war (I Macc. ix. 50). The Onomasticon makes it a boundary city between Palestine and Egypt.

4. Hebron.

Hebron was regarded as of considerable antiquity, built seven years earlier than Zoan (Tanis) in Egypt (Num. xiii. 22), and with this corresponds the notable part Hebron takes in the narratives concerning the patriarchs. It appears as a city of the Anakites, who were of the race of the giants (Num. xiii. 33), and its old name was Kirjath-arba, "fourfold city," explained in Jewish legend as the place of settlement of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam or Caleb. P in several passages locates the Hittites there. The Idumean inhabitants of the time of Josephus said that the city was older than Memphis in Egypt. The

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concurrence of tradition makes it possible that Hebron was the oldest of the southern cities of Judah. Its situation in a defensible location and in a comparatively fruitful region makes the tradition of its age still more probable, and to this is added that its site was on the principal roads which traverse the region, making it a center of commerce also. Hommel would connect the name Hebron with the Habiri of the Amarna Tablets (q.v.) as originally Habiran, i.e., town of the Habiri. According to Josh. x. 36 it was conquered by Joshua when at the head of all the people after the campaign against the five kings, but Judges i. 10 ascribes its conquest to the tribe of Judah alone. It was the home of the Calebites, and the narrative in Josh. xv. 13-19 attributes to Joshua the gift of the region to them. The later history of Hebron is little known. It became the home of David and his company, where he was sought by the Judahites, and was his capital until the capture of Jerusalem, after which it lost its importance. The rebellion of Absalom began there, Rehoboam fortified it, in the time of the exile the Edomites reduced it and held possession of it till Judas Maccabeus took it in 164 B.C. The priest code made it one of the cities of refuge and the Chronicler regards it as Jewish at the time of Zerubbabel. The place on the site now identified as that of Hebron is called al-Halil or Halil al-Rahman, "Friend of the Merciful," in memory of Abraham, whose tomb is still pointed out in the neighborhood. According to Gen. xxiii. 9 sqq., the tomb was in a cave in Machpelah "before Mamre," and Mamre is identified with Hebron in Gen. xxiii. 19; consequently the cave was to the east of the city. But this does not correspond with the present situation, since the greater part of the city is to the east of the tomb. But there are clear evidences that a hill to the west of the present city was in early times thickly populated, and that would correspond with the old Mamre. The tomb is said to have received the bodies of Sarah; Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Leah and Jacob. Josephus speaks of a monument of the Abrahamic family in Hebron, of marble and beautifully worked, while the tomb was hewn out of the rock--a description which agrees well with the Genesis account of the cave. The Pilgrim of Bordeaux (c. 333 A.D.) mentions a monument there, Antoninus Martyr (570 A.D.) notes a basilica with a court in the middle, which in the seventh century passed into the possession of the Mohammedans, the haram of the present city, the lower walls of which are old and built of large stones. The entrance is on the east, and between the inner and outer walls are two octagonal chapels in which stand the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah. The mosque itself measures some ninety feet by sixty-eight, and is divided into three aisles with nine vaults, the middle one containing the monument of Isaac and Rebecca. The cave in which were the graves of the patriarchs is asserted to be under the mosque, and it is regarded as double in form and has two entrances. The northern part of the haram area contains a number of modern grave monuments, and one of them contains the cenotaph of Jacob and Leah. What is called the tomb of Joseph is in an addition built against the encircling wall at some time later than the crusades. The description of the interior is gathered from the observations of notables to whom the privilege of entrance has in recent years been granted through the special favor of the sultan, since admission to "unbelievers" is refused by the fanatical Moslems of Hebron. This favor was granted to the Prince of Wales (1862), the Marquis of Bute (1866), the Crown Prince of Prussia (1869), and Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales (1882). The report based on examination next preceding that of these later observations was made by monks of the Latin Church in 1119 A.D., and stated that there were chambers under the mosque. The oldest part of the entire structure is the splendid encircling wall, and De Vogüe remarks upon the resemblance of the stones which compose it to those of the south wall of the haram in Jerusalem, rightly attributed to Herod the Great; the Pilgrim of Bordeaux knew such a wall, though Josephus says nothing about it. Some of the capitals of the columns have a Byzantine character and the inclusion of old parts in what is evidently more modern agrees with the statement of Samuel bar Simson (c. 1210 A.D.) to the effect that the sanctuary at Hebron was built 600 years before his time. The present Hebron, divided into seven quarters, has a population of some 19,000, of whom 1,500 are Jews having three synagogues, and the rest Moslems who display a specially fanatical spirit against all foreigners. The immediate region is fruitful, and some industries and considerable commerce are conducted there.

5. Mamre.

In connection with the Mamre of Abraham are mentioned oaks or terebinths where the patriarch built an altar (Gen. xiii. 18); if Mamre is a location opposite the tombs of the patriarchs (Gen. xxiii. 19, xxxv. 27), there is a connection with a holy place. Gen. xiv. 13 speaks of Mamre as a man, an Amorite and brother of Eshcol and Aner. Eshcol is mentioned as a place (Num. xiii. 23 and elsewhere), possibly the modern Iskahal six miles northwest of Hebron. This representation in Gen. xiv. is now regarded as that of a later and special source, and is taken as less reliable than those which make these names apply to places and not individuals, especially as Aner is identified with the hill Na'ir in West Hebron and Mamre with Nimm in the northern part of the city. Yet it must be said that these identifications are uncertain and do not fit the data of the Old Testament. The Septuagint of Gen. xiii. 18 uses the singular in speaking of the oak, and this agrees with Josephus, Ant. I., x. 4, though the latter suggests the weaving of a myth about the place, and in Josephus, War, IV., ix. 7, mention is made of a large terebinth as old as the world situated six stadia from Hebron. Echoes of this sacred tree with its sanctuary come from the times of Hadrian and of Constantine; possibly the tree was destroyed under the latter emperor, as Jerome says that it was in existence while he was still a youth. A place which corresponds well is mentioned in itineraries, and this agrees with the present Ramat al-Halil ("Ramah of Abraham") two miles north of Hebron east of the road to Jerusalem, where ruins suggest

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an old sanctuary. Farther to the east are the remains of a large church, possibly those of the basilica built by Constantine. Traces of recollection of the tree in this locality were found as late as 1856. Since the thirteenth century there have been traces of a tradition of an Abraham's oak to the south, on a site possessed by the Russians. The differences in the traditions and locations assigned may be due to the fact that a grove or groves existed in the earlier times, which dwindled to a single tree perhaps as early as the time of the Septuagint.

6. Other Cities of Josh. xv.

The third group of cities of the hill country includes ten cities (Septuagint, nine), located east of the second and north of the first group. Maon, the modern Ma'in, appears as the home of the Calebite Nabal (I Sam. xxv. 2), and on the site are remains of walls, caves, and cisterns. The "wilderness of Maon" (I Sam. xxiii. 24) was probably the region to the southeast. Carmel, a possession of Nabal, is the modern al-Karmal, about seven miles south of Hebron. Ziph (I Chron. ii. 42; I Sam. xxiii. 19) corresponds with the present Tell Zif southeast of Hebron, while Josh. xv. 24 refers to another place in the Negeb. Juttah (Josh. xxi. 16) retains its name and lies south of Hebron, a large village whose inhabitants possess great herds of sheep. Jezreel is treated in a special article. Of the Gibea of this region no traces remain, though the Onomasticon names it. The fourth group (Josh. xv. 58-59) includes six cities situated north of Hebron. Halhul retains its old name, an important village five and a half miles distant from Hebron. Beth-zur is regarded (I Chron. ii. 45) as Calebite, and in Neh. iii. 16 as a double district. It was an important fortress in the Maccabean wars, lying a little west of the road to Jerusalem, near a good spring where ruins attest the situation. Gedor, the modern Jedur, north of Beth-zur, is mentioned in I Chron. xii. 7 and after the exile was inhabited by Calebites. Beth-anoth (probably meaning "sanctuary of the goddess Anath") is possibly the modern Bat Ainun, southeast of Halhul, where ruins still exist. The other places are unidentified. The fifth group is known only through the text of the Septuagint, and includes eleven places of which eight can be placed. Tekoa appears in Amos i. 1; II Sam. xiv. 2 sqq., xxiii. 26, and was often mentioned in the regal and post-exilic periods. The present Tekua, nearly ten miles south of Jerusalem, contains ruins of a Christian church and cisterns and tombs. Ephrathah is in the Greek text equated with Bethlehem (cf. Gen. xxxv. 19), though there is doubt whether Ephrathah was not the name of a district. Peor, in the neighborhood of Bethlehem, corresponds with the present Faghur. Etam appears in I Chron. iv. 3 and II Chron. xi. 6, and corresponds with the modern 'Ain Atan. Kulon may be the present Kaluniyeh, northwest of Jerusalem, on the road to Jaffa. Sores may be the present Saris, west of Jerusalem, south of the same road. Karem is possibly 'Ain Karim, four and a half miles west of Jerusalem. Bether is regarded as the true name for the Gibeon of Neh. vii. 25, the modern Bittir, six miles southwest of Jerusalem. The sixth group (Josh. xv. 60) includes only two cities, Kirjath-baal (Kirjath-jearim) and Rabbah, clearly west of Jerusalem. The name of the first varies in diferent passages. It was one of the cities of the Gibeonites, the ark remained there a long time, it was the home of the prophet Uriah, and after the exile was reckoned among the possessions of the Jewish community. While its direction from various places is in different passages given with apparent exactness upon the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, and according to the Onomasticon some nine or ten Roman miles from Jerusalem along the old road to Diospolis (Lydda), the exact location is still disputed. The last portion of the Judaic territory (Josh. xv. 61-62) takes in "the wilderness," i.e., the eastern slope of the hills toward the Dead Sea. The Hebrew text mentions six cities, the Septuagint seven with very different names. Two of these are identified. The City of Salt lay probably in the Valley of Salt (II Sam. viii. 13), therefore to the south corresponding to Tell al-Milh, about fifteen miles east of Beersheba. En-gedi lay on the Dead Sea (Ezek. xlvii. 10), and, according to the Onomasticon, was a large village. The name corresponds with that of the present Ain Jidi on a terrace above the sea, near which are the remains of an old wall. It is identified with Hazazon-tamar in II Chron. xx. 2, and was one of the places of refuge of David (I Sam. xxiv. 1).

7. Places Named in Later Records.

This list of places belonging to Judah includes ninety-four "cities," apart from those in the Negeb, but can not be supposed to be exhaustive. Thus the Adoraim of II Chron. xi. 9 does not appear, though it receives frequent mention in the later records. It is the modern Dura, about six miles southwest of Hebron. Another is the Cozeba of I Chron. iv. 22. Later in the history other cities appear, like the Herodia of Herod the Great, sixty stadia south of Jerusalem, with its splendid buildings and its Herodium or tower. Immediately above the coast of the Dead sea and not quite ten miles south of En-gedi was the fortress Masada, of great importance in Herodian times and in the first century, the site of which is placed at al-Sabba, the ruins of which indicate partly Herodian origins and partly Roman. The northern part of the wilderness of Judea was from the fourth till the seventh century inhabited by thousands of recluses and monks, but to-day has only the single monastery of Mar Saba (founded by Sabas c. 478 A.D.), where are some fifty Greek monks. The. names of fifty or sixty establishments for recluses or ascetics have been preserved which were located between the Dead Sea and the watershed to the west. On the west slope of the hill country the city of Eleutheropolis, very often mentioned in the Onomasticon, becomes known under its earlier name of Bethgubrin, known still as Bet-Jibrin. This city became somewhat celebrated under Christian rule, and the names of many of its bishops are on record. Its position was at the crossing of several roads between Gaza and Jerusalem, west of Hebron, near the ancient Marasha. After the Arabian conquest it lost its significance, though it is mentioned several times afterward.

2. The Territory of Benjamin:
1. General Description: Jericho.

The part of Judea which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin is described in Josh. xviii. 11 sqq. Its southern boundary coincided with the northern boundary of Judah from the Jordan in the east to Kirjath-jearim in the west, its western boundary ran from Kirjath-jearim to Beth-horon, its northern boundary from Beth-horon to the Jordan by Bethel and Jericho, while the Jordan limited it on the east, thus including a territory not quite twelve miles by thirty-one. The region about Jericho was very fruitful, the eastern slope unproductive, the upland poor in water and infertile except the strip between Bethel and Beth-horon. From the west and the north the country is not easily reached, and naturally its population was regarded as warlike and inclined to brigandage (Gen. xlix. 27). The account in Josh. xviii. employs earlier sources, but, when considered historically, raises many difficulties, especially in connection with political relations. The boundary between the two kingdoms fluctuated with the fortunes of the kingdoms themselves; probably the picture in Joshua registers the conditions after the time when the northern kingdom fell. Jerusalem seems to have been connected with the territory of Benjamin, not that of Judah. The cities as described in the Joshua passage fall into two groups, one to the east of twelve cities (verses 21-24) and one to the west of fourteen (verses 25-28). The chief city of the first group is Jericho, called also in some passages "the city of palm-trees" (Deut. xxxiv. 3). The book of Joshua tells of the miraculous capture of the city and of its complete destruction by Joshua, as well as of his imprecation upon the man that should rebuild it. This last item does not agree with statements in Judges iii. 13; II Sam. x. 5; but I Kings xvi. 34 tells of its rebuilding and the realization of the curse by Hiel. A company of prophets made it their home in the time of Elijah and Elisha. It was inhabited after the return (Neh. iii. 2), Bacchides fortified it against Jonathan (I Macc. ix. 50), and in a fortress near by Simon the Maccabee was treacherously murdered. Herod secured possession of the city and beautified it, placing there one of his palaces, though his buildings seem to have been south of the ancient city site. In the time of Josephus the region was a very garden for fertility, watered as it was by the streams of the wady which debouched upon its plain. It was Herod's city at which Jesus rested on his last journey to Jerusalem (Matt. xx. 29), and the Onomasticon implies that it was destroyed at the fall of Jerusalem. A new city arose near by, where Justinian built a church, and this was destoyed either by the Persians or the Arabs. The Crusaders erected a city which soon fell into disrepair. In recent times a new era has come to it. The Jordan valley from the Sea of Tiberias to the Dead Sea belongs to the sultan personally, and one of his representatives resides at Jericho. The Russians have a church and a hospice there.

2. The First Group of Benjamite Cities.

A second city in this group was Beth-hoglah, on the boundary line, three Roman miles from Jericho and two from the Jordan, according to the Onomasticon. Betharaba lay on the plain of the Jordan, but its site is not recovered. Zemaraim is probably to be sought on the highland south of Bethel (II Chron. xiii. 4). Bethel is the well-known Betin, and the outlook corresponds entirely with the requirements of Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 3-10, xxviii. 18, 22, though the city of the name was necessarily apart from the sanctuary situated there from which the city took its name. It appears as on the boundary between Joseph and Judah, and near it was the oak of weeping by the grave of Deborah (Gen. xxxv. 8). This may have been one of the oldest Yahweh sanctuaries in the highland, and it was selected by Jeroboam as one of the two great sacred places of his realm. There or near by a company of the prophets had its settlement (II Kings ii. 3 sqq.), and the priests sent by the Assyrians to teach the people religion dwelt there (II Kings xvii. 24 sqq.); Josiah destroyed the sanctuary (II Kings xxiii. 15), and Bacchides fortified the place in the Maccabean wars. North of it is a singular group of stones which is recognized by some scholars as a cromlech (Hebr. Gilgal). Avvim is sometimes identified with Ai, but without certainty. Para is identified with Fara, a little over nine miles west of Jericho in Wadi Fara. Ophra, probably the same as the place mentioned I Sam. xiii. 17, the Ephron of II Chron. xiii. 19, and the Ephraim of II Sam. xiii. 23, is mentioned in John xi. 54 and Josephus, War, IV., ix. 9. Geba is the Gibeah of I Sam. xiii. 16, the present Jeba, to be distinguished from the Gibeath of Josh. xviii. 28.

3. The Second Group.

The second group of Benjamite cities includes, according to the Hebrew, fourteen places, accord ing to the Septuagint, thirteen (not all the same as the Hebrew). Gibeon comes very often into notice in the history of the people. It formed one of a league of cities at the time of the conquest, and its inhabitants are called Hivites (Josh. ix. 7). It had a notable sanctuary (I Kings iii. 4 sqq.), became one of the priestly cities, and by indications from the Onomasticon is placed at al-Jib about five and a half miles north of Jerusalem, occupying the northern peak of a twin hill. Ramah lay north of Jerusalem and Gibeath, on the road that leads northward, a border town between Israel and Judah in the time of Ass. The tomb of Rachel seems to have been in the vicinity (Jer. xxxi. 15). The Onomasticon places it six Roman miles north of Jerusalem, opposite Bethel, the modern al-Ram, the site of old ruins. Beeroth ("wells") was one of the places which joined in the league with Gibeon (Josh. ix. 17), but was evacuated before the Benjamites (II Sam. iv. 3). The Onomasticon locates it seven Roman miles from Jerusalem on the road to Nicopolis which leads from Jerusalem by Gibeon and Beth-horon to the western plain. This suits better than the location of al-Bira, eleven Roman miles north of Jerusalem near Bethel. Mizpeh was fortified by Asa against the northern kingdom, and was the residence of Gedaliah after 586 B.C. (I Kings xv. 22; II Kings xxv. 23). It is frequently mentioned in both the earlier and the later annals of the people, and lay on the road from Jerusalem to

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Shechem, and, according to the Onomasticon, near Kirjath-jearim. Robinson places it at the lofty Nabi Samwil, two miles south of Gibeon, where is a village and a mosque said to contain the tomb of Samuel. In Byzantine times this was the site assigned to Rama or Ramathaim, and the Crusaders built here a church of St. Samuel, changed into a mosque by the Mohammedans. Chephirah is the modern Kafira, north of Kirjath-jearim. Mozah is placed by the Talmud at the modern Kaloniye, near which is a Bet Mizza, which, however, does not fit the situation. Zelah is given (II Sam. xxi. 14) as the place of Saul's burial, but is unidentified. The Gibeath of Josh. xviii. 28 is not to be confused with the Geba of verse 24, but is to be placed near Ramah (ut sup.). The Kirjath of Josh. xviii. 28 is probably shortened from Kirjathjearim.

4. Other Places of Note.

This list does not include all the cities which belonged to Benjamin. In the plain of the Jordan lay the sanctuary of Gilgal, often mentioned in both early and late annals. The Hebrew generally uses the article with the word, hence it is not a proper name, but signifies merely a "circle" (of stones). It was a locus of significant historical events at the conquest (Josh. iv.-v.), and, according to the Onomasticon, lay two Roman miles from Jericho, between it and the Jordan. The name lingers in the vicinity as Jaljul or Jiljuliye. Dok (Docus), a fortress of Maccabean times (I Mac. xvi. 15) seems to be Ain Duk at the northeast foot of Jebel Karantal, preserved also in the accounts of the early Christian monasteries and as a Templar's fortress. I Sam. xiii-xiv. brings into prominence a Michmash which reappears in post-exilic times (Ezra ii. 27; I Macc. ix. 73); the name is preserved in the present Mahmas. North of this is the modern Makrun, which recalls the Migron of Isa. x. 28. Near the large village of Der Diwan is the site of Ai (Josh. vii.-viii.), which reappears in history as Aiath or Ai (Isa. x. 28; Ezra ii. 28); the exact location is disputed. Northeast of Der Diwan is a rocky height called Rammon, which recalls the old Rimmon (Judges xx. 45). South of Jeba (ut sup.) is a village, Hizma, the name of which reminds of Azmaveth (Ezra ii. 24; Neh. xii. 29, cf. vii. 28, Beth-azmaveth). Anata, an hour northeast of Jerusalem, suggests Anathoth (Jer. i. 1). Other place-names are Laishah (Isa. x. 30), Almon (Josh. xxi. 18), and Bahurim (II Sam. xvi. 5). Two places on the Mount of Olives are often mentioned in the history of Jesus. Bethany was two and a half miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho, on the eastern slope of the mountain, the modern al-Azariya ("Place of Lazarus"), where the grave of Lazarus and the house of Martha and Mary are still shown. Not far from Bethany lay Bethphage (Matt. xxi. 1), the site of which was shown in the time of the Crusades between Bethany and the summit of the mountain. To the west or northwest must have lain Emmaus, the scene of the events told in Luke xxiv. 13 sqq., which the textus receptus places sixty furlongs from Jerusalem but Codex Sinaiticus 160 furlongs. Josephus (War, VII., vi. 6) mentions a place of the name thirty furlongs from the city, while the Crusaders in 1099 knew of a Castle of Emmaus which is identified with the modern al-Kubaba, about sixty-three furlongs from Jerusalem. Hitzig and Sepp located Emmaus at Kaluniyeh, called in the Talmud Mosa, thirty-four furlongs from the capital. Somewhere within the territory of Benjamin should be placed the grave of Rachel. Gen. xxxv. 16, 21 reports that Rachel died between Bethel and the tower of Eder (Jerusalem) on the road to Bethel, north of Jerusalem, with which agrees Jer. xxxi. 15. On the other hand, Gen. xxxv. 19, xlviii. 7 connect the grave with Ephrath or Bethlehem, where the tomb is still shown. But Schick has shown that the Mohammedan sanctuary Kubbat Abd al-Aziz, northwest of Jersualem, is also called Kubbat Rahil and corresponds better with the earlier data.