to them; and the name of Beit Jibrin was again current in the centuries before the crusades.

This conclusion is strengthened, by the actual existence at the present day, of what appears to have been the original name of the village in question. From Um Lâkis, we saw and took the bearing of a deserted site called Tübŭkah or Tubakah, lying S. 10° E. in the country of Hasy, between Huj and Tell el-Hasy, about four hours or twelve Roman miles from Gaza, half way to Beit Jibrîn. (See page 388.) The position corresponds very exactly to that of the "vicus Tagabaeorum." This name too, on Greek lips, could hardly be expected to escape with less perversion; especially when monkish transcribers probably held it to be the same as Betogabra, and assimilated it to that form.

ZOAR. In the text I have brought forward the reasons which show conclusively, that the modern ez-Zuweirah has no relation to the ancient Zoar. The object of this note is, to present the testimonies on which those arguments rest, and to collect some further historical notices of the ancient Zoar.

Abulfeda repeatedly speaks of Zoghar (Zoar) as a place adjacent to the Dead Sea and Ghôr. Tab. Syr. ed. Köhler p. 8 bis, 9, 11, 148. Ibn el-Wardi ib. p. 178. Abulfeda also calls the Dead Sea itself "Lake of Zoghar;" ibid. p. 12, 148, 156. Edrisi, in the manuscript used by Jaubert, has Zo'ara; though the Latin version everywhere reads Zoghar; p. 338.

That Zoar lay near and in sight of Sodom, and also in or adjacent to the plain, so as to be exposed to the same destruction as the other cities, is apparent from Gen. xix. 19-21; where the angel exempts Zoar from overthrow at the entreaty of Lot.

That the ancient Zoar lay on the east side of the Dead Sea, appears from several considerations, which seem to be decisive. Lot ascended from it into the mountain, where his daughters bore each a son; and these became the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites; Gen. xix. 30, 37, 38. Now the Moabites and Ammonites both dwelt in the eastern mountains; and the purpose of the sacred writer, is here obviously to recount in what way these mountains became peopled, viz. by an event which took place on the spot. Further, Josephus in speaking of this city, calls it "Zoar of Arabia," μέxqi Zoάowr rīs 'Aqaßías, B. J. IV. 8. 4. But the Arabia of Josephus was on the East of the Dead Sea; and the

name is never applied to the mountains west of the sea, which belonged to Judea. Bell. Jud. IV. 8. 4.

To the same effect are various testimonies of Eusebius and Jerome, chiefly in the Onomasticon. Thus in the article Luith, they say this was a village situated between Areopolis and Zoar. But Areopolis was Ar of Moab, called also Rabbath Moab, and lay on the eastern mountains some hours north of Kerak; where its name and remains exist at the present day. See Reland Palaest. pp. 577, 957. Seetzen in Zach's Monatl. Corr. XVIII. p. 433. Burckhardt p. 377. Irby and Mangles p. 456, seq.-Again in the art. Nemrim, they speak of a village Benamerium (Beth Nimrin) as lying north of Zoar; and Nimrin, as we have seen, lay east of the Jordan overagainst Jericho. See Text above, p. 279.-Further, Phaenon is said by them to be situated between Petra and Zoar; art. Fenon, Divov.-Last of all, Jerome expressly affirms, that Zoar was in the borders of Moab: "Segor in finibus Moabitarum sita est, dividens ab iis terram Philistiim ;" Comm. in Esa. xv. 5. He is here speaking of Zoar as being the key (vectes, bars) of Moab towards the West.

In like manner, the crusaders in the expedition of king Baldwin I. to the country S. E. of the Dead Sea in A. D. 1100, after marching from Hebron and descending into the Ghôr, proceeded around the south end of the lake, (girato autem lacu a parte australi,) and came at length to the place called Segor, doubtless the Zoghar of Abulfeda. From this point they began to enter the eastern mountains. Fulcher Carn. 23. p. 405. Will. Tyr. X. 8.

All these circumstances seem to me decisive as to the position of Zoar on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, at the foot of the mountains near its southern end. Josephus and Eusebius indeed expressly describe the sea, the one as extending to Zoar, and the other as lying between Jericho and that place; Joseph. B. J. IV. 8.4. Onomast. art. Mare Salinarum. This would still be true in a general sense, supposing Zoar to have stood, as I have assumed in the text, in the mouth of Wady Kerak, where it issues upon the isthmus of the peninsula. This point is in fact the southern end of the broad part of the sea; the water which extends further south forming rather a bay; while the site in question is hardly more distant from the southern extremity even of this bay, than Jericho is from the north end of the sea. Further, this position of Zoar seems to me to be strongly implied in the notice of Eusebius above quoted, which places Luith between Areopolis and Zoar; for had Zoar lain further south, for instance at the mouth of Wady el-Ahsy, (the present Sâfieh,) it would have been far more VOL. II.

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natural to say, that Luith lay between Charac-Moab (Kerak) and Zoar. So too Jerome's account of Zoar as the vect against Palestine, points to the same conclusion; for Wady Kerak was (and is to the present day) the great road between southern Judea and the country of Moab.

The account given of the lower part of Wady Kerak by Irby and Mangles, is as follows: "All this tract might be, and probably has been irrigated; for it would be easy to dam up the brook and conduct it in almost every direction. The form of fids, and even the marks of furrows, are to be seen; and some ruins like those of cottages, or of a small hamlet. Lower down there is very clearly an ancient site; stones that have been used in building, though for the most part unhewn, are strewed over a great surface of uneven ground, and mixed both with bricks and pottery. This appearance continues without interruption, during the space of at least half a mile, quite down to the plain; so that it would seem to have been a place of considerable extent. We noticed one column, and we found a pretty specimen of antique variegated glass; it may possibly be the site of the ancient Zoar. Near these remains, the Wady opens from its glen into the plain to the northward by a nook, where there is a wall of rude brick, with an arched doorway." Travels p. 447, seq.

The preceding considerations seem to me sufficiently to bear out all the positions taken in the text relative to the ancient Zoar. A few other historical notices may properly find their place here.

The earliest name of Zoar was Bela, Gen. xiv. 2. In the Septuagint the name Zoar is written yo, Segor; Josephus gives it by Zoana, Zoara; while Eusebius and Jerome use both forms. After the destruction of the cities of the plain, Zoar continued to exist as a city of Moab; Deut. xxxiv. 3. Isa. xv. 5. Jer. xlviii. 34. It is never mentioned as belonging to Judea; except where Josephus speaks of it as having been wrested from the Arabians by Alexander Jannaeus, Antiq. XIV. 1. 4. Ptolemy also assigns it to Arabia Petraea; see Reland Palaest. p. 463. Eusebius and Jerome describe it in their day as having many inhabitants and a Roman garrison; Onomast. art. Bala. Stephen of Byzantium calls it a large village and a fortress; Reland Palaest. p. 1065. In the ecclesiastical Notitiae it is mentioned as the seat of a bishop in the Third Palestine, down to the centuries preceding the crusades; Reland p. 217, 223, 226; comp. p. 230. The crusaders appear to have found the name Segor (Zoghar) still extant; and describe the place as pleasantly situated with many palm-trees; Fulcher Carnot. 23. p. 405. Will. Tyr. X. 8. Hence they also call it

Villa Palmarum, and likewise Paumier or Palmer; Albert. Aq.VII. 41, 42. Jac. de Vitr. 53. p. 1076. Will. Tyr. XXII. 30. But, as in the case of Jericho and 'Ain Jidy, the palm-trees have here also disappeared; and although the name of Zoghar appears to have existed in Abulfeda's time, yet we have no further notices of the city itself.

NOTE XXXV. Pages 548, 549, 579.

TOMB OF AARON. The following account is given by Irby and Mangles of their ascent of Mount Hor in 1818, and of the Muhammedan Wely dedicated to Neby Hârûn on the summit. Travels p. 434, seq.

"We engaged an Arab shepherd as our guide, and leaving Abu Rashid with our servants and horses, where the steepness of the ascent commences, we began to mount the track, which is extremely steep and toilsome, and affords but an indifferent footing. In most parts the pilgrim must pick his way as he can, and frequently on his hands and knees. Where by nature it would have been impassable, there are flights of rude steps, or inclined planes, constructed of stones laid together; and here and there are niches to receive the footsteps cut in the live rock. The impressions of pilgrims' feet are scratched in the rock in many places; but without inscriptions. Much juniper grows on the mountain, almost to the very summit, and many flowering plants which we had not observed elsewhere; some of these are very beautiful; most of them are thorny. On the top there is an overhanging shelf in the rock, which forms a sort of cavern; here we found a skin of extremely bad water, suspended for drinking, and a pallet of straw, with the pitcher and other poor utensils of the Sheikh who resides here. He is a decrepit old man, who has lived here during the space of forty years, and occasionally endured the fatigue of descending and reascending the mountain.

"The tomb itself is enclosed in a small building, differing not at all in external form and appearance from those of Muhammedan saints, common throughout every province of Turkey. It has probably been rebuilt at no remote period; some small columns are bedded in the walls, and some fragments of granite, and slabs of white marble are lying about. The door is near the S. W. angle; within which a constructed tomb, with a pall thrown over it, presents itself immediately on entering; it is patched together out of fragments of stone and marble, that have made part of other fabrics. Upon one of these are several short lines in the Hebrew character, cut in a slovenly manner; we had them interpreted at

Acre, and they proved to be merely the names of a Jew and his family who had scratched this record. . There are rags and shreds of yarn with glass beads and paras, left as votive offerings by the Arabs.

"Not far from the N. W. angle is a passage, descending by steps to a vault or grotto beneath, for we were uncertain which to call it, being covered with so thick a coat of whitewash, that it is difficult to distinguish whether it is built or hollowed out. It appeared, in great part at least, a grotto; the roof is covered, but the whole is rude, ill-fashioned, and quite dark. The Sheikh, who was not informed that we were Christians, furnished us with a lamp of butter. Towards the further end of this dark vault lie the two corresponding leaves of an iron grating, which formerly prevented all nearer approach to the tomb of the prophet; they have, however, been thrown down, and we advanced so as to touch it; it was covered by a ragged pall. We were obliged to descend barefooted; and were not without some apprehension of treading on scorpions or other reptiles in such a place.

"The view from the summit of the edifice is extremely extensive in every direction; but the eye rests on few objects, which it can clearly distinguish and give a name to; though an excellent idea is obtained of the general face and features of the country. An artist who would study rock-scenery in all its wildest and most extravagant forms, and in colours which, to one who has not seen them, would scarcely appear to be in nature, would find himself rewarded, should he resort to Mount Hor for that sole purpose.

"We had employed just an hour in the ascent; and found that our return to the place where we had left our horses, occupied the same time."

Mr. Legh who accompanied Irby and Mangles, says: "Against the walls of the upper apartment were suspended beads, bits of cloth and leather, votive offerings left by the devotees; on one side, let into the wall, we were shown a dark-looking stone, that was reputed to possess considerable virtues in the cure of diseases, and to have formerly served as a seat to the prophet." According to Mr. Stephens, ostrich eggs have since been added to the other offerings here suspended; Incidents, etc. II. p. 95. Schubert found, near the top of the mountain, many fragments of pottery and bits of coloured glass; but the convent which he speaks of as having once stood here, seems to have no sufficient historical foundation; Reise II. p. 420, 421.

The irregular form of the summit of Mount Hor, has already