HERODOTUS-CANAANITES. 239 tesselated pavements and other remains of ancient habitations appear in many places along the shore. I find it difficult to realize that we are passing over, and so quietly too, a region whose eventful story runs back to the earliest records of our race. Is there any reason to doubt that it was originally settled by the immediate descendants of Canaan? Herodotus opens his celebrated history with this singular sentence: "The more learned of the Persians assert the Phoenicians to have been the original exciters of contention. This nation migrated from the borders of the Red Sea to the place of their present settlement, and soon distinguished themselves by their long and enterprising voyages," etc., etc. This assertion of the historian rests on no proof that I know of, and is not countenanced by the account of this matter found in the 10th chapter of Genesis. It is possible, however, that the grandson of Noah went first to the Red Sea, and afterward came to this coast, and thus both records be true, but it is extremely improbable. Those who adopt the story of Herodotus generally attach little importance, I suppose, to the statement of Moses; with us, however, it is decisive. This is a very wide subject, rather dry, too, for discussion on horseback, but it is eminently Biblical—stands connected with almost every page of the sacred records, and we must study it carefully if we would make ourselves masters of Bible history and geography; and, since there is nothing of special importance to claim attention in this neighborhood, we may while away the time and the road with a lesson in man's most ancient history. Josephus, without hesitation or qualification, asserts that Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, settled this country, and gave it his own name; and entering into details, he mentions the different sons of Canaan, and where they dwelt. Thus, Sidonius built Sidon, Amatheus founded Amath or Hamath, Arudus had the island Aradus, and Arucus built Arca. Of the remaining sons he is not so particular, but Moses, from whom he derived his information, mentions them repeatedly-Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amo rite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Sinite, and the Zemarite; and adds that the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest unto Gerar unto Gaza, as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. The general boundaries of their country can not be questioned, nor can we doubt that they were the first settlers after the Deluge, without disregarding the sacred record. The history of these various families differs widely. Those who settled in Palestine multiplied rapidly, and soon became wealthy, powerful, and extremely corrupt. They were the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites-seven greater and mightier nations than the Hebrews. Their cities were great, and fenced up to heaven. A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak ?3 These were all destroyed or expelled from Canaan, and their land given to the Hebrews. The Sidonians, Arkites, Arvadites, Zimrites, Sinites, and Hamathites, whose territories lay north, and without the narrower limits of the promised land, long continued to flourish, and were often in alliance with the kings of Judah and Israel. 4 The exact locale of the Canaanitish tribes that were destroyed can not, in all cases, be determined. The Hittites, we know, from the history of the patriarchs, lived in the neighborhood of Hebron. The Jebusites possessed Jerusalem until the time of David;5 and in Numbers xiii. 29, we read that the Amorites dwelt in the mountains not only of Palestine proper, but of Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan, while those who were called Canaanites, by way of eminence, occupied the sea-board and the regions near the Jordan. These Canaanites were probably a mixture of different tribes, who took the name of their common ancestor. The Amorites, we may suppose, became the most numerous, powerful, and corrupt of all the race, for they are frequently 1 Gen. x. 19. 2 Deut. vii. 1, 2. 3 Deut. ix. 2. AMORITES -AMALEKITES. 241 made to represent the whole. Thus, in Genesis xv. 16, it is said, The iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full; and so in 1 Kings xxi. 26 they have the same bad eminence assigned them. Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon of Heshbon, were Amorites. They were the ruling tribe in the southwest of Judea, as we learn from Judges i. 34-36. The Amalekites dwelt in the land of the south. There is some uncertainty about the origin of this people, although they figure long and largely in Hebrew history. It is evident that if a tribe of Amalekites is mentioned in Genesis xiv. 7, they could not have been descended from the grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob. In Genesis xxxvi. 12, Moses tells us that Amalek was the son of Eliphaz by a concubine, and Josephus adds that a part of Idumea was called Amalekitis, from the descendants of this grandson of Edom. The "country of the Amalekites" which Chedorlaomer smote in the days of Abraham, I therefore take to be the district that was really inhabited by Amalek when Moses wrote, but those who dwelt there when Chedorlaomer ravaged that country were of some other race. Moses, in that passage, speaks of the country, not of the people. The Amalekites spread over the whole southern desert, and even into Palestine proper. They were a fierce, warlike race, and manifested the most inveterate hostility to the Jews throughout all their history, and for their ferocity and cruelty they were utterly excluded from mercy. While of Edom in general it is said, Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother.1 of Amalek, the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. This terrible sentence was again repeated to Saul: Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have.3 And Saul, in executing the command, says to the Kenites (ver. 6), Go, depart; get you down from the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. Thus the land of this latter people was also forfeited to Israel, according to the promise in Genesis xv. 19, though they always 1 Deut. xxiii. 7. VOL. I.-L 2 Ex. xvii. 14. 31 Sam. xv. 3. |