PART II. Zebulun. A Scripture difficulty. Kurn, in the vicinity of Zîb. The plain between this and the hills of Galilee formed a valuable part of Asher's “lot,” and might have been called a valley. These remarks about boundaries may suffice once for all. It is now absolutely impossible to draw lines around the separate lots with any degree of certainty. Their general positions with relation to each other, however, can be ascertained with sufficient exactness for all important purposes in the study of Biblical geography. I have one more inquiry before you drop the subject. The sea-board from Acre to Sidon belonged to Asher, and the lot of Zebulun extended eastward toward Tabor. Now, how do you reconcile this with the prophecy of Jacob in Genesis xlix. 13: "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall · be for a haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Zidon?" There is, in fact, an apparent contradiction here between prophecy and history which I have not seen explained, or even noticed by ordinary commentators. That the territory of Zebulun did not reach to the city of Sidon is certain. Perhaps the following considerations may reconcile the prophecy of the dying patriarch with the subsequent history and home of Zebulun: In the time of Jacob, and at the distance of Egypt, Zidon was the representative of all Phoenicia. She was, in fact, the mother of that people, and was so spoken of by Homer several hundred years after the death of Jacob. Homer does not speak of Achzib, or Acre, or Dor, but only of Zidon, when he has occasion to mention this country. But Phoenicia, or Sidonia if you please, extended south of Acre, and Zebulun bordered on the sea for a considerable distance along that part of the coast; Jacob, therefore, spoke according to the received geography of his time, but with prophetic brevity mentioned only the parent city. When, however, Joshua, several hundred years later, came to divide the country between the tribes, it became necessary to specify the subordinate places, and no doubt some of the cities south of Sidon had by that time risen to importance, and might well give name to the coast in their vicinity; at all events, Joshua was obliged to mention them in defining the limits of the tribes. Hence, though Zebulun touched the sea far south of the city of Sidon, yet "his haven of ships" was actually a part of the general coast of Sidonia wher Jacob gave forth his prophecy. Nor is it at all improbable that the territory of Sidon did originally extend southward to where Zebulun had his border at the sea, thus meeting the very letter of the promise. OUR friends accompany us to Khaifa and Carmel this morning, and we may anticipate a pleasant ride round the head of this bay. What dark and sluggish stream is this we are approaching? It is the Nahr Naaman-the Belus, which Pliny says has its origin in a River lake called Cendevia. He speaks of its insalubrity, and no doubt the fevers Belus. which afflict Acre have their origin in the marshes of this stream. It rises below Shefa 'Amr in large fountains, now called Kurdany, which drive a number of mills. This Kurdany is doubtless Pliny's Cendevia. It is, in fact, a large marsh, called a lake by the same sort of courtesy that dignifies this brook with the name of river. The evil qualities of the water, and also its dark colour, are derived from the marshes at the head of it. I came near being swamped in its fathomless depths of mire. The lake is made, like that of Hums on the Orontes, by a strong and ancient.dam across the lower end of the marshes. The whole area may be three miles in circuit, and the river at the mills is quite as large as here at the sea. The entire length is not more than six miles. It is pleasant to be able to confirm the statement of Pliny about this lake, for its existence has been denied by modern travellers. Pliny repeats the story about the discovery of glass by sailors cooking their dinner on the sand at the mouth of this river. What have you to say to that? When descending from Yerka to Acre several years ago, I noticed that the Discover. rock for many miles had a vitreous appearance, as if it had actually been of glass. smelted in some grand furnace of nature, and needed only to be melted over again and refined to make it genuine glass. The idea occurred to me at the time, that the disintegration of this vitreous rock might have furnished the glassy particles in the bed of the Belus and other brooks which fall into the sea along this part of the coast, and which first led to the discovery of glass; or, if these sailors supported their sauce-pans on pieces of rock placed round the fire, they might have melted so as to give the first hint which led to the discovery. The story may therefore have some foundation in fact. PART II. Bay of Acre. Robbers. Shipwrecks. Their cause. This sandy beach, so smooth and solid, is one of the finest places in the world for a gallop, and there is always something exhilarating in a ride round the head of this bay. The city behind; Carmel, with its holy traditions, in front; the long reach of perfectly level shore, with men and animals diminishing in the distance either way down to the size of kittens; the broad bay opening out upon the boundless sea, with its boats and ships; these sandy downs, with feathery reeds running far inland, the chosen retreat of wild boars and wild Arabs,-all combine to excite the mind and enliven the spirits. Then there is just enough of insecurity to keep the imagination in full play. The Arab robber lurks like a wolf among these sand-heaps, and often springs out suddenly upon the solitary traveller, robs him in a trice, and then plunges again into the wilderness of sand-hills and reedy downs, where pursuit is fruitless. Our friends are careful not to allow us to straggle about or lag behind 1; and yet it seems absurd to fear a surprise here-Khaifa before, Acre in the rear, and travellers in sight on both sides. Robberies, however, do often occur, just where we now are. Strange country! and it has always been so. There are a hundred allusions to just such things in the history, the Psalms, and the prophets of Israel. A whole class of imagery is based upon them. Thus, in Psalm x. 8-10: "He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones." And a thousand rascals, the living originals of this picture, are this day crouching and lying in wait all over the country to catch poor helpless travellers. You observe that all these people we meet or pass are armed; nor would they venture to go from Acre to Khaifa without their musket, although the cannon of the castles seem to command every foot of the way. Strange, most strange land! but it tallies wonderfully with its ancient story. I see many wrecks of ships along this shore, and here are two not yet buried beneath the sand. They have been cast away by this last storm. To what do you attribute the insecurity of this anchorage? I have heard captains complain that there is something-either harsh seaweed or sharp rocks-which corrodes the cables. Others say that the bottom is not good and the anchor drags. My own opinion is, that the real cause of so many disasters is found in the nature of the shore and of the interior. The high ridge of Carmel runs far down south-east, and between it and the mountains of Galilee on the north there is a narrow opening into the great plain of Esdraelon. Owing to this physical formation, the west sea wind is drawn inward with tremendous violence, and any accident happening to a ship's cable or anchor, she must inevitably come right on shore. There is no possibility of working out to sea. And although the headland from Carmel juts far into the bay to the north-west, yet the direction of the low flats of the Kishon along the base of the mountain draws the gales round this point into XXII the bay, and they sweep down past the town of Khaifa toward the south-east CHAPTER with awful violence. The roadstead is wholly insecure in a gale from the west, and still more so during one from any intervening point between that and the north. You need not wonder, therefore, at the wrecks strewn along the shore, nor at the vast extent of these sandy downs, which stretch inland farther than we can see. 1 carcass. Here we have a confirmation of that proverb of our Lord, "Wheresoever Eagles and the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Are those huge birds eagles? Not all. Those smaller ones, of a dull white and yellow colour, are a species of vulture; they are a more gross and a much tamer bird. The eagles, you observe, have all retired to the tops of those sand-heaps, while the vultures only hop a little way up the beach as we approach. I did not know there were so many eagles in all this country. They must have gathered together from a great distance. And what "carcase" is this that has assembled such a congregation on the sea-beach? 1 Matt. xxiv. 28, PART II. Baldness of the eagle. Allusion Nothing but an immense turtle which the storm threw out on the shore You observe that his old back is covered with large and very strong barnacles, of a species which I find only on these turtles. Do you notice that these eagles have no feathers on the head and upper part of the neck? This reminds me of the advice of Micah to the houses of Achzîb back yonder on this very shore: "Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate In Micah. children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle." 1 They are a hideous-looking The Khaifa. bird. But here we are at the Mukutta, as that "ancient river," the Kishon, is now called. It is somewhat curious that both Kishon and Kutta are mentioned by Joshua as cities in this neighbourhood; the one is the ancient Hebrew, and the other the modern Arabic name of the river. You would scarcely suppose, from the depth of the current, that one may pass along the beach three months hence and find no river at all; and yet so my experience proves. The first time I came this way I crossed the Kishon in a boat, and swam the horses; the next time there was no river, not even a rill to be found. This is explained by referring back to the inward winds I have spoken of. These ever drive the waves, loaded with sand, up against the mouth of the river, and, as soon as the dry season reduces its volume, the waves overcome it, and a large sandbank dams up the stream; the river then spreads out into a large marsh, and slowly percolates through the sand, and thus finds its way to the sea. It is strong enough now, however, and if we watch not our opportunity and choose our path wisely, following the sand-bank at its mouth, we shall fare badly between it and the waves, which come rolling in to swell its dimensions. Safely over, let me call your attention to this singular delta, with its apex at the junction of the river with the sea, and its base resting against the foot of Carmel. It is planted with picturesque and solemn palm-trees, the finest grove of the kind in Syria. Khaifa has much improved since my first visit twenty-three years ago; and, as the steamers between Beirût and Jaffa touch here, it must increase up to a certain point; but the natural advantages with reference to the interior are not great, and it will never become a large city, unless a railroad from the east should terminate at it; then, indeed, it would speedily expand into a vast emporium. This may be the Sycamenon mentioned by Greek and Roman geographers, though the distance from that place to Acre, according to the Itineraries, was at least twice as great as from Acre to Khaifa. We have no occasion to stop here, for there are no antiquities about it except rock tombs, and our object is to visit the convent on the mountain. It will take us forty of Carmel. minutes to climb it; but the view, widening as you ascend, and ever changing, will richly repay any amount of toil; and at the convent we shall rest and refresh ourselves at the refectory of these Carmelite monks. The establishment is, indeed, quite as much a hotel as a house of prayer. Convent 1 Micah i. 16 |