close on our right at 12h 40'. Proceeding along the high water-shed between the Wadys Musŭrr and elWerd, we had not far distant on the left, a village called Fûkîn, which at 1h 10' bore S. S. W. It was somewhere about this time, that we came in sight of a place with ruins on the brow of the high mountainridge towards the South, called Jedûr; which is doubtless the same as the Gedor of the mountains of Judah.1 This remained in sight for the whole day. Jeb'ah likewise on its conical hill in Wady Musŭrr, was continually before our eyes. At 1h 40' we came upon the ancient highway from Jerusalem to Askelon and Gaza, which comes down along or across Wady el-Werd from the plain of Rephaim or the tract further West. This road we should have taken from Jerusalem, had we not gone round by Beit Jâla. At the same point was a small ruin on the left called 'Adas.

Wishing to visit Beit 'Atâb, in the hope of being able to see much of the country from that lofty spot, we left the ancient road again after five minutes, and turning more to the right proceeded in that direction. As we advanced the hills became more covered and green with shrubs and bushes, chiefly the prickly oak mingled with arbutus. The country however was little cultivated, and most of the villages were deserted or in ruins. At five minutes past two, a small ruin, Hûbîn, was below us in a valley running to the left, bearing S. S. W. At the same time Beit 'Atâb bore N. 75° W. A ruined Khân was also visible at some distance upon the ancient road, bearing S. 65° W.

We reached Beit 'Atâb at ten minutes before 3 o'clock. It is situated on a high hill, and is seen from all parts of the country around; but although it over

1) Josh. xv. 58. 1 Chron. xii. 7. It is doubtful whether the nar

rative, 1 Chron. iv. 39, refers to the same place.

looks a great extent of the lower region towards the South and West, yet it does not afford so extensive a view of places, as we had hoped to find. The country is full of sites of ruins and villages, some inhabited and some deserted, at least for portions of the year. Beit 'Atâb has several high, square, tower-like houses of two stories; the rest are small and low; but all are of stone, solidly built. In the centre is a ruined tower or castle; but so dilapidated as to be nearly lost among the houses. The place contains perhaps one hundred and fifty men, or a population of six or seven hundred souls. It is the chief town of the district 'Arkûb, belonging to the province of Jerusalem; and is the residence of the Nâzir (warden) of the district, who was now one of the former Sheikhs of the house called el-Luhhâm. We found several of the chief men sitting on carpets under a fig-tree in the middle of the village, smoking and holding converse with each other. The Sheikh himself soon came, a good-looking man; coffee was served for us; and he tried to persuade us to remain all night, saying the people of the village where we expected to lodge were not to be trusted; his hospitality thus leading him even to defame his neighbours. But our time was too precious to stop thus early.

The prospect from Beit 'Atâb towards the S. E. and S. presented nothing new; towards the S. W. along the ridge between the Wadys Sumt and Sărâr, the place of Beit Nettîf was pointed out, where we were to stop for the night; and in the N. W. we could see the mouth of Wady es-Sărâr as it issued from the mountains and turned across the plain beyond. It was here a fine deep valley, with a ruin in it called 'Ain Shems, which we afterwards visited and identified with Beth-shemesh; while on the high northern hill was seen the site of Sur'ah, in which we could not

but recognise the ancient Zorah, the birth-place of Samson.1

We left Beit 'Atâb at 3 o'clock, notwithstanding the somewhat importunate invitations of the Sheikh; who even took hold of us in order to detain us. Descending in the direction of the Khân, we crossed two small Wadys running towards the Sărâr. In the first, lower down on the right, the guide spoke of a very large cavern with a fountain in it, capable of containing hundreds of people; it is called et-Tuweimeh. The second Wady is called er-Rûmâny; in it at 4 o'clock, we came to a village called 'Allâr es-Sifla (the lower), to distinguish it from another, 'Allâr el-Fôka (the upper), on higher ground a little further to the left. Here was a ruined church, large and solidly built, and apparently very ancient. A few rods on the left, higher up the valley, is a fine fountain, which waters a tract of gardens and fruit-trees along the bottom. Here were also many olive-trees; which indeed are very abundant throughout all this region.

Ascending the hill we came out again upon the ancient road at 44 o'clock, at the Khân already mentioned. It is a ruin; and around it are the ruins of a small village. We stopped here five minutes, and then descended for a time along a Wady, called Wady el-Khân, which runs into the Musŭrr. The ancient road, still called the Sultâna or royal road, apparently follows down this Wady to the Musŭrr, and there divides; one branch passing on direct towards Gaza, and another keeping along the Musŭrr and Sumt in

1) Judg. xiii. 2. First given to Judah, but afterwards assigned to Dan, Josh. xv. 33. xix. 41. See above, p. 337. Eusebius and Jerome place it at ten miles from Eleutheropolis towards Nicopolis; Onom. art. Saara.-The bearings of various places from Beit 'Atâb were: Ruined Khân S. 17° W.

Beit Nettif S. 60° W. 'Ain Shems N, 65° W. Sur'ah N. 56° W. Deir el-Hawa N. 30° W. Sunâsîn S. 13° E. Jedûr S. 11° E.

2) From the Khân, Beit 'Atab bore N. 17° E. 'Allar es-Sifa N. 30 E. 'Allår el-Fôka N. 50° E. Beit Nettif S. 85° W.

the direction of Askelon. This latter we afterwards followed for a time; and found wells upon it at intervals. We now turned more to the right, keeping upon the ridge between the Sumt and Surâr; and at 5 o'clock had an extensive view of both these vallies, spreading out into fine fertile plains full of fields of grain. The ridge now became higher towards the West; and we continued to ascend gradually, until at 5h 50' we reached the village of Beit Nettîf, situated upon its highest part.

Beit Nettîf, lying thus upon the high ridge between the two great Wadys, enjoys a wide view over the broad western plain and the Mediterranean beyond. A tract of lower hills, an hour or more in breadth, lies between it and the plain. On the North, the Sărâr was visible; on the South, the Sumt was full of fields of grain now ripening for the harvest; and beyond it and more towards the left extended for a great distance the lower region, which we had first seen from above the head of Wady Musurr. This may be called the hill-country, in distinction from the higher mountains on the East. It is the middle region between the mountains and the plain, stretching as we have seen far to the North and South, except where interrupted north of the mouth of Wady es-Surâr. This region is for the most part a beautiful open country, consisting of low hills usually rocky, separated by broad arable vallies mostly sown with grain, as are also many of the swelling hills. The whole tract is full of villages and deserted sites and ruins; and many olive-groves appear around the former. To this hillcountry belong also, strictly, both the ridge on which Beit Nettîf stands and that adjacent to Wady es-Sărâr on the North; although, as being higher and directly connected with the mountains further back, they appear like promontories, jutting out through the range of hills nearly or quite to the plain.

Indeed, in the tract through which we had descended to-day, between the two great Wadys, the usual steep descent of the mountain towards the West is interrupted; and we now found ourselves in the midst of the lower hill-country, without having made any long or steep descent, such as occurred to us in other parts of the mountains, both towards the North and South.

The climate in this region was more advanced than at Jerusalem; though less so than in the western plain. The grass was chiefly dried up; and the peasants were in the midst of their barley harvest. The wheat was still partially green, and would not be ripe for harvest until about two weeks later. We encamped on a level plat on the East of the village, near by the threshing-floors of barley.

The inhabitants of Beit Nettîf received us with kindness; several of the chief men came around us, and answered our inquiries with readiness and intelligence. We found the view from this high spot to embrace a larger number of villages and sites, than almost any other we visited. We took here quite a number of bearings, given in the note; the places being all pointed out and named by one of the chief men.1

In respect to several of the places thus pointed out, it is to be remarked, that Jennâbeh and Shuweikeh lie upon the hills on the south side of Wady es-Sumt; the latter about one hour distant from Beit Nettîf. Not far from Beit Ûla near the foot of the mountains, we were told also of a place called Nusîb, not here

1) Bearings from Beit Nettîf, beginning in the West and proceeding towards the left: Jennabeh S. 70° W. Derùsieh S. 62° W. Shuweikeh S. 48° W. Beit Fusl S. 15° W. Jurfa S. 5° E. Beit-Ula S 10° E. Khârâs S. 14° E. Jimrin S. 19° E. Ghurâbeh S. 31° E. Um er-Rûs S. 53° E. Jedûr S. 50° E. Jeb'ah S. 65° E.

Burj Keis E. Ahbek N. 70° E. Beit 'Atâb N. 60° E. Jeråsh N. 44° E. Deir el-Hawa N. 37° E. Um Eshteiyeh N. 35° E. Zânu'a N. 12° E. Sur'ah N. 4° W. 'Ain Shems N. 12° W. Neby Bulus N. 34° W. el-Kheishûm N. 44° W. Yarmûk N. 54° W. Tell Zakariya about N. 78° W.