Eusebius and Jerome it is called the Aulon; and is described as stretching from Bâniâs and Lebanon to the desert of Pharan, and containing Tiberias and its lake, Scythopolis, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. At the present day all the southern portion of the great valley, lying beyond the cliffs on the south of the Dead Sea, is called by the Arabs Wady el-'Arabah; while the northern portion, extending to the lake of Tiberias, bears the name of el-Ghôr. Above the Jisr-Benât Ya'kôb, the broad valley with its lake takes the name of the lake and plain elHûleh. The present 'Arabah is described as a desert in a former volume; the plain of the Hûleh, with its lavish fertility, I afterwards visited with Mr Thomson.2 The Ghôr proper is divided into two parts by the protrusion into it of Kurn Surtabeh. The southern portion I had formerly traversed in its lower parts, and viewed it from the heights above 'Ain Dûk; and now I had again looked down upon it from Daumeh and Mejdel. My companion meantime had passed through its whole length. It is shut in on the west by a lofty wall of precipitous mountains; through which the lateral valleys break down in deep chasms. It is in itself a desert; except where large springs bursting forth at the foot of the mountains give fertility to the adjacent tracts. Such are the fountains at Jericho and Dûk, at 'Aujeh and Fusâil, on the west; and in the Wadys Hesbân and esh-Sha'ib (Nimrin) on the east of the Jordan. The appearance of the Jordan and its border of trees in this part, has been already noted.3 North of Kurn Sŭrtabeh the character of the Ghôr is entirely changed; and the general sterility of the southern portion is succeeded by an abundance of water and luxuriant fertility. First is the Kurâwa, described as extremely rich and productive; upon which issues the broad and meadow-like Wady Fâri'a with its beautiful stream. Between this and Wady Mâlih the western hills jut down and contract the valley; but further north it again spreads out into the broad and fertile plain or plateaus, which we had several times traversed during the last two days. This whole tract north of Kurn Sŭrtabeh we saw from the eastern mountains, stretching quite to the lake of Tiberias; much of it apparently cultivated and yielding rich crops; and the whole enlivened by the very many windings of the Jordan, as it meanders from side to side through the broad valley. The appearance of the river here, as seen from the See the Greek Lexicons, e. g. Passow, Pape, Liddell and Scott, etc. 1 Gr. Avλúv, Onomast. art. Aulon. Jerome affirms that Aulon is not a Greek, but a Hebrew word. In this he is wrong; for the Hebrew contains no such word or form; while the Greek avλáv signifies any deep tract (or valley) between mountains. 4 See Vol. II. p. 183 sq. [ii. 594 sq.] See also below, under May 26th. See above, pp. 293, 294. heights, is quite different in this respect from its lower portion. The wall of mountains on the west has also disappeared; and the valleys descend to the Ghôr, not as deep and wild chasms, but as fertile plains or openings. In the region of Beisân the Ghôr stands in connection with the great plain of Esdraelon, by means of the broad valley of Jezreel. In this part there may be reckoned three different levels or plateaus, as belonging to the Ghôr, viz. first, the low valley of the Jordan proper; then, the broad luxuriant plain extending from the preceding to the slope which ascends to Beisân; and lastly, the plain back of Beisân, which is the opening of the valley of Jezreel, and which also extends south in front of the western mountains for several miles. The Ghôr is here not less fruitful than the plain of Esdraelon; and has a much more abundant supply of water. But it lies some five or six hundred feet lower, and has a hotter climate; so that its harvests are earlier. Wheat also, we were told, would not grow well in it without irrigation; which is not required in the plain of Esdraelon, nor even on the high terrace around Pella. The fertile portions of the Ghôr are tilled, as we have seen, by the people of the villages situated in the higher districts on each side. The rest of the land is given up to the various tribes of Bedawîn Arabs dwelling in tents. The Sheikhs of these Arabs are usually hired to take travellers across the Jordan; but each tribe have their own limits, beyond which they ordinarily dare not venture. By taking Sheikhs from Tûbâs as our guides, we traversed the Ghôr and completed our excursion without seeing a single Bedawy. As we returned, there were a few tents at Sheikh Daud, near the ford; but we saw none of the people. This broad valley, the Ghôr, Josephus sometimes speaks of as the Great Plain; and describes it as extending from the lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea. The same appellation, however, is more frequently given by him and others to the plain of Esdraelon. ' Méya Пedíov, Jos. Antt. 12. 8. 5; espec. B. J. 4. 8. 2, 3. Eusebius also calls it πεδιάς μεγάλη επίμηκος, Onom. art. Aulon. See Reland Palæst. p. 360 sq. SECTION VIII. FROM BEISAN TO HAS BEIYA. REFRESHED and strengthened by the rest and quiet of a Sabbath spent in the midst of Scriptural scenes not ordinarily visited, we prepared to set off early, and press on rapidly to Hasbeiya. Monday, May 17th. We rode this morning first to the Tell of Beisân, half a mile distant from the village, due north; and there completed our observations and took the bearings recorded above. Leaving the Tell at 6.45, we turned our course towards the place called Beit Ilfa, at the foot of the mountains of Gilboa, N. 76° W. After ten minutes there were foundations on our right. As we advanced, we became entangled among many water-courses. If yesterday the region had seemed to us well watered, how much more now? We crossed not less than fifteen or twenty fine brooks, running north to the Jâlûd; all coming apparently from an extensive marsh on the southwest of Beisân; the border of which seemed to be close at hand, though hidden by the clumps of bushes. We now wished to obtain a guide, and tried some reapers on our right; but no one would go. At 7.30 we crossed the last and largest of the streams; the ancient bridge being now not far distant on the right. At 7.50 there was a low Tell by our path; this we ascended, losing ten minutes. Soon afterwards we crossed a small rivulet coming from a fountain on the left, near the foot of the mountains, and flowing to the Jâlûd. At 8.30 we reached the site of Beit Ilfa, at the very foot of the mountains, on a gentle slope running out in front of a small ravine. The mountains of Gilboa, instead of running down from Zer'in to the Ghôr in a straight line, and then forming an angle with the Ghôr, here sweep round in an arc of a circle; so that Beisân, although seeming, as seen from farther west, to occupy the middle of the plain of Jezreel, is in fact much nearer (indeed quite near) to the northern hills. It is just at this point, where the sweep of the mountains begins, that Beit Ilfa is situated. We first came upon two sarcophagi, hewn and sculptured on the outside, standing alone in the fields quite near the foot of the steep ascent. Just around and below them there are very few remains or marks of any place; but further down, below the present road, there is a considerable tract strewn with roughly squared stones, broken but not hewn, and none of them larger than a foot and a half in length. This is absolutely all.' On a small plateau of the steep mountain side, some two hundred feet directly above the sarcophagi, are the remains of a village called Judeideh. Just west of these in the ravine is a small fountain, called 'Ain Judeideh; but there was now no water in the ravine below. We did not ascend to these remains. From Beit Ilfa the village of Kûmieh on the north side of the valley bears N. 24° W.-We had supposed, that a road led from this place across the mountains direct to Jenîn; but it needed only a glance at the rocky and precipitous acclivity before us, to show that no great travelled road ever passed that way. Ilfa was first visited by E. G. Schultz, in 1847.3 Beit Schultz held Beit Ilfa to be the Bethulia (more properly Betylua) of the apocryphal book of Judith; and in this he has been followed by Ritter and others. But the alleged resemblance of the name seems hardly admissible; while all the topographical considerations are against the identity. 5 All that we know of Betylua is from the book of Judith; a book now very generally regarded as not historical, but rather as a Jewish romance; in which both the events and the topographical notices present insuperable difficulties. One place named in it is Dothan, the situation of which is now known; and as this is mentioned in connection with Betylua, it is important for 2 Yet Liebetrut appears to have ascended by this path to Jilbôn, half an hour beyond the highest point towards Jenîn, and half an hour east of Fükû'a; Reise I. p. 253 sq. Zeitschr. d. morgenl. Ges. III. pp. 48, 49. Ritter Erdk. XV. p. 423 sq. From Jenîn Schultz crossed the mountain, and descending on the eastern side, south of Mujedda', followed the base of the mountains to Beit Ilfa; and afterwards recrossed them by way of 'Arŭbbôneh and VOL. III.-29 Deir Ghŭzâl. Between these two routes, there would seem to be no feasible road. Ritter 1. c. Gross in Zeitschr. d. morg. Ges. 1. c. pp. 58, 59. The name is strictly Beit Пfa; and is so written with Arabic letters by Schultz himself. Between this and the Greek Beruλova, it is hard to make out much similarity. But Schultz writes the name with Roman letters several times Beitilua; and thus creates a resemblance. This is wholly unwarranted; and belongs to the licenses in which Schultz was too apt to indulge. De Wette Einl. ins A. T. §§ 307, 308. Winer Realw. art. Judith. determining the position of the latter. It is quite evident, that Betylua is described as lying south of the plain of Esdraelon not far from Dothan; as commanding one of the passes from that plain into the hill country; and as itself situated on a mountain, with a fountain or fountains at the foot. All these circumstances forbid us to seek for it at Beit Ilfa. We had intended to strike from this point northwards, and cross the hills somewhat east of Kumieh, leaving that village on our left. But the part of the plain which we should thus traverse, was now full of the black tents of three encampments of the Arabs Sukr. Among them our baggage might, or might not, have been safe; and we therefore chose rather to take the road for Kumieh, which carried us further west and beyond all the Arabs. Leaving Beit Ilfa at 8.40, we came in fifteen minutes to a fork in the road. Here Mr Van de Velde parted from us; he going to Zer'in, and we to Kumieh. Soon afterwards we crossed a mill stream, coming down on the north side of Tell Sheikh Hasan, near the mountains, from a place with mills, called er-Rahhânîyeh, further west. It runs to the Jâlûd. Passing on through the plain or broad valley, and leaving a low Tell on our right, we came at 9.35 to the Jalud, which here flows in the northern part of the plain. The channel was in this part deep and narrow, with a muddy bottom full of flags and reeds; not differing in appearance from the canals drawn from it to water the valley. We got our riding horses over with some difficulty ; and then called to a reaper near by, to point out the best spot for the loaded mules. After several attempts to cross, we had to unload them; and the baggage was carried over on the backs of the muleteers. All got safely through at last; except that the donkey stuck fast, and had to be dragged out by force, to the great amusement of us all. We were thus detained half an hour. 3 The average breadth of the valley we estimated to be about two or two and a half miles. It is very fertile; and is mostly 1 Judith 4, 6. 7, 3. 18. * In Judith 4, 6 we read: Beruλova Kal Βετομεσθαίμ, ἡ ἐστιν ἀπέναντι Εσδρηλὼν κατὰ πρόσωπον τοῦ πεδίου πλησίον Δωθαΐμ. In v. 7 these two places are spoken of as commanding the passes into Judea, ràs ἀναβάσεις τῆς ὀρεινῆς. But when it is said that the pass was "strait for two men at most," this belongs to the romance. In c. 6, 11. 12, the servants of Holofernes bring Achior "out of the plain into the hill country," to the fountains under Betylua, which itself is on the summit of a mountain.-In c. 7, 1-3, Holofernes wishes to besiege Betylua, in order to seize upon the passes to the hill country (àvaßáσeis Tŷs ὀρεινῆς); he encamps in the valley near Betylua, at the fountain; and his host is spread out in breadth unto Dothan and as far as to Belthem, and in length from Betylua to Kyamon, which is overagainst Esdraelon. Schultz assumes Kvauár to be the present Kûmieh; which is doubtful. See Sept. ed. Tischendorf, Lips. 1850. ' Bearings at the ford of the Jalûd: Tell es-Sheikh Hasan 175°. Zerin 157°. Kûmieh 353°. |