I into d, is very uncommon, yet the same name Irbid is found also in a large village in the region east of the Jordan, where we know there was another Arbela.' The same Arbela of Galilee may not improbably have been the Beth-Arbel of the prophet Hosea.2-It is singular, that no mention of this fortress occurs during the time of the crusades. William of Tyre describes indeed a very similar fortified cavern, which was regarded as impregnable; but he places it expressly in the country beyond the Jordan, sixteen Italian miles from Tiberias.3 The plain upon which we now entered from Mejdel, is at first called Ard el-Mejdel, but further on takes the name of el-Ghuweir, "Little Ghôr;" which strictly perhaps includes the whole. It is unquestionably the Gennesareth of Josephus. Our attention and inquiries were now directed, I may say with the most absorbing and exciting interest, to a search after some trace of the long lost Capernaum, so celebrated in the New Testament, as our Lord's residence and the scene of several of his miracles; a city in that day "exalted unto heaven," but now thrust down so low that its very name and place are utterly forgotten. We had indeed begun our inquiries among the people of Nazareth, and pursued them systematically ever since; but as yet with no success. We now, however, were approaching the spot where the city must have stood; for 1) Euseb. et. Hieron. Onomast. art. Arbela: "Est usque hodie vicus Arbel trans Jordanem in finibus Pellae." There seems little ground to doubt, that this is the present Irbid (Burckhardt writes Erbad) the chief town of a district east of Um Keis, the ancient Gadara; Burckhardt's Travels, pp. 268, 269. See Second Append. XI. 3. p. 163.-There is no question but that d and I are kindred sounds; though the change from the former to the latter is more fre quent than the reverse; e. g. ; לוּשׁ and דִּוּשׁ ; רָעַל and רָעַד .Heb ; אָז and אָזַל .Chald אזל .Heb Greek and Lat. 'Odvoorvç Ulysses; 2) Hos. x. 14; where it is implied that Beth-Arbel was regarded as an impregnable fortress. 3) Will. Tyr. XXII. 15, 21. there was every reason to suppose, that it lay in or near the plain of Gennesareth; or at least must have been situated not very far beyond. We took a path along the inner side of the plain, at the foot of the western hills, in order to examine some ruins which were said to exist in that direction. Our course was about N. by W. At 9 o'clock we were opposite to Wady el-Hamâm, as it breaks down through between two lofty ledges of rock. In the Wady, we were told, below the castle, are the ruins of a village called Khurbet Wady el-Hamâm, with some patches of ground tilled by the peasants of Mejdel.' We soon struck an artificial water-course coming down from before us, in which was a considerable brook, irrigating this part of the plain. This we followed up, and found it scattering its rills and diffusing verdure in all directions. At 10h 10' we reached a large and beautiful fountain, rising immediately at the foot of the western line of hills. At first we had taken it for the source of the brook which we had followed up; but we now found, that the latter is brought from the stream of Wady er-Rubŭdîyeh further north; and is carried along the hill-side above this fountain, to water the more southern parts of the plain. The fountain bears the name of 'Ain el-Mudauwarah, "Round Fountain;" it interested us exceedingly; for we then held it, (though as I now think incorrectly,) to be the same which Josephus describes as watering and fertilizing the plain of Gennesareth, and which he says was called by the inhabitants Capharnaum.2 It is enclosed by a low circular wall of mason-work, forming a reservoir nearly a hundred feet in diameter; the water is perhaps two feet deep, beautifully limpid and sweet, bubbling up and flowing out rapidly in a 2) Joseph. B. J. III. 10. 8. 1) Comp. Burckhardt p. 331. large stream, to water the plain below. Numerous small fish were sporting in the basin; which is so thickly surrounded by trees and brushwood, that a stranger would be apt to pass by without noticing it.' The oleander (Difleh) was growing here in great abundance, now in full bloom; and Nubk-trees were also very frequent. The waters of this fountain irrigate the ground between it and the lake; but those from Wady er-Rŭbudîyeh, being higher up and still more copious, are carried over the more northern and southern portions of the plain. Admitting that this fountain was the Capharnaum of Josephus, there was every reason to suppose, that the city of Capernaum must have lain somewhere in the vicinity. The western hill above the fountain, as we could perceive here, and had also noticed from Hattîn, is strewed with large stones, having at a distance much the appearance of ruins. I ascended it therefore, excited with the eager hope of finding some trace of a former site, which then I should hardly have hesitated to consider as the remains of Capernaum. But my hope ended in disappointment; a few stones had indeed been thrown together; but there was nothing which could indicate, that any town or village had ever occupied the spot. The stones which cover the hill, are of the same dark colour and volcanic character, as those around Tiberias. From this point, looking up through Wady el-Hamâm, I could perceive the site of Irbid. After a stop of twenty minutes at 'Ain el-Mudau 1) Several travellers must have passed on this route between Hatlin and Safed; but I find the fountain certainly mentioned only by Pococke, who also held it to be the Capharnaum of Josephus; Descr. of the East II. p. 71. fol. Probably Fürer of Haimendorf means the same; p. 275. Nurnb. 1646. Quaresmius indeed speaks of a fountain Capharnaum; but he expressly describes it as under the Mount of Beatitudes so called, adjacent to the village of Hattin; II. p. 870. See above, p. 250. warah, we proceeded on the same course along the foot of the hills, and in ten minutes (at 10h 40′) reached the opening of Wady er-Rubŭdîyeh, coming down from the N. W. The hills are here low and gentle. The Wady brings down a very copious stream of pure water; which is scattered over the plain in all directions, by means of small canals and water-cours es. Here is a deserted mill, which might easily be repaired; and also the remains of two or three others. Upon a slight eminence on the north side, are the remains of a village called Abu Shûsheh; which we visited, in order to see if there was any thing, that could be referred to Capernaum. But here too are no traces of antiquity; no hewn stones nor any mason-work; nothing indeed but the remains of a few dwellings, built of rough volcanic stones; some of them still used as magazines by the Arabs of the plain. A Wely with a white dome marks the spot.1 From this point, as well as from the hill over the Round Fountain, there was a fine prospect of the beautiful plain as it lies along the sea. It is exceedingly fertile and well watered; the soil, on the southern part at least, is a rich black mould, which in the vicinity of Mejdel is almost a marsh. Its fertility indeed can hardly be exceeded; all kinds of grain and vegetables are produced in abundance, including rice in the moister parts; while the natural productions, as at Tiberias and Jericho, are those of a more southern latitude. Indeed, in beauty, fertility, and climate, the whole tract answers well enough to the glowing though exaggerated description of Josephus. Among other productions, he speaks here also of walnuttrees; but we did not note whether any now exist.2 1) From Abu Shûsheh, Mejdel bore S. 8° E. and Khân Minyeh N. 62° E. 2) According to Josephus this tract would be almost a paradise ; B. J. III. 10. 8. Excepting the portion around Mejdel, this plain is not tilled by the Fellâhs, but is given up entirely to the Arabs dwelling in tents, the Ghawârineh; who seem here and further north to be an intermediate race, between the Bedawîn of the mountains and deserts and the more southern Ghawârineh. A small tribe of them encamp in this quarter, called es-Semekîyeh; who keep a few buildings in repair in Abu Shûsheh, which they use as magazines. A Sheikh was riding about upon a fine horse, entirely naked except his loins; and two or three others were lazily opening a water-course, to carry the water to a dif ferent point in the plain. Thus far we had followed one of the roads from Tiberias to Safed; which hence proceeds up Wady erRubŭdîyeh. We now turned N. E. still along the foot of the hills, on a direct course to Khân Minyeh. Setting off at 11h 10' we passed, after a quarter of an hour, a limestone column lying alone in the plain, some twenty feet long, and at least two feet in diameter; we could discern no trace of any site or ruins in the vicinity. The northern part of the plain is less abundantly watered than the southern; in some parts the ground was dry and parched, and thorny shrubs were growing thickly. At 11 o'clock the dry bed of a Wady crossed our path, coming down from the western hills, and called Wady el-'Amûd; probably from the column we had passed. Higher up in the mountains, it was said to receive a tributary called Wady el-Leimôn; or not improbably the main Wady may there bear that name.' 1) Burckhardt, in passing along the shore, gives the name el-Leimôn to both the Wadys el-'Amûd and er-Rubŭdîyeh, regarding them as branches of one and the same. Jacotin's map has the latter as elLeimon, and the former as er-Rŭ budîyeh. We were aware of all this at the time, and made very minute inquiries of people on the spot; but obtained only the results given above in the text. Pococke still more incorrectly makes the brook el-Leimon pass down |