correct; and we have also the testimony of Eusebius and Origen that a village called Gergesa once existed on the borders of the lake. Perhaps the discrepancy may be explained by supposing that Gergesa was under the jurisdiction of Gadara. There do not appear to be any rock-hewn tombs near Khersa; but the demoniacs may possibly have lived in one of those tombs built above ground which have been noticed under the head of Tell-Hûm, a form of tomb much more common in Galilee than has been supposed. I have entered into this question rather fully, as travellers have alternately asserted and denied the existence of a suitable locality on the eastern shore; and even such a carefully compiled work as the Dictionary of the Bible has made the extraordinary blunder of placing the scene of the miracle at Gadara, now Um Keis (p. 460), a place from which the swine would have had a hard gallop of two hours before reaching the lake."—(Recovery of Jerusalem.)

Just beyond Magdala (left) will be seen the Wady Hamâm (Valley of the Pigeons), descending from Khân Lubîyeh and the Horns of Hattîn (p. 290), and a little further on the ruins of Kul'at Ibn Ma'ân, and the oncestrongly fortified caverns of Arbela, where robbers who were the terror of the country found a retreat, but were dispossessed by Herod the Great, who caused them to be attacked by lowering cages filled with soldiers; found to be the only way to reach them.

The ruins of Irbid, or Arbela, the Beth-Arbel of Scripture, are on the north of the plateau of Hattîn. The origin of the name is supposed to be House of Ambush, and it would seem that from a very early date it was famous as a stronghold. "Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman spoiled Beth-Arbel in the day of battle" (Hosea x. 14).

The level tract beyond Magdala is the Land of Gennesaret (Matt. xiv. 34), now called El Ghuweir, or "the Little Ghôr." The meaning of the name is supposed to have been either Valley of the Flowers or Gardens of the Prince. It is about three miles long, and its greatest breadth is one mile. The soil of the whole tract is extremely fertile, and although the greater part is over-run with rank weeds, the cultivated parts supply the markets of Damascus and Beyrout with the best melons and cucumbers grown in Palestine. There are thickets of nubk, agnus cactus, and oleander, growing in such profusion as to make an exploration impossible. It will be remembered that Josephus has a most glowing description of the Land of Gennesaret, and as the passage occurs so often in the controversy which has been going on for the past few years as to the identity of the site of Capernaum, it will be well to quote it here :—

"One may call this place the 'ambition of nature,' when it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one another, to agree together. It is a happy contention of the seasons, as if every one of them had a claim in this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruits beyond men's expectations, but preserves them also a great while. It supplies men with the principal fruits-with grapes and figs continually during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole year; for besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain. The people of the country call it Capharnaum."-(Josephus III., ch. x. 8.)

All this region is sacred with associations connected with the ministry of our Lord; and it will be well, perhaps, to quote some of the principal Scripture passages relating to a place so memorable.

Biblical Allusions and Events.-The Sea of Galilee is called in the Old Testament "the Sea of Chinnereth" (Numb. xxxiv. 11; Deut. iii. 17), and the “Sea of Cinneroth" (Josh. xii. 3), from a town which stood somewhere on its margin named Chinnereth (Josh. xix. 35). In the New Testament it is called the "Sea of Tiberias" (John vi. 1), from the town of that name; and the “Lake of Gennesareth" (Luke v. 1), from the beautiful plain of Gennesaret. (The modern name is Bahr Tuberîyeh.)

In this region, round about the shores of this sea, our Lord spent the principal part of His public life. Nine cities then stood upon its shores, of which the chief were Capernaum, Chorazin, Tiberias, Magdala, and the two Bethsaidas. To tell of all the mighty works performed here would be to transcribe a very considerable part of the four gospels. To quote from the mass of writings on this subject would be bewildering. Every inch, too, is controversial ground, and therefore it will be better merely to give the traveller an epitome of the scenes which make hill and valley, and shore and sea so intensely sacred.

Cast out from Nazareth, Capernaum (p. 308) became henceforth the "home" of Jesus. It was "his own city"; "leaving Nazareth He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea-coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. iv. 13-16). Here He called Peter, James, and John, the three most intimate disciples, the "inner circle," of his chosen band. "And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word

of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets" (Luke v. 1). Then He entered into Simon's ship, and taught the people on the shore, and after that He performed the miracle of the draught of fishes, which so astonishing Peter, James, and John, the Master said to them, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to shore, they forsook all, and followed Him."

From a ship on the waters of this lake, he delivered that marvellous discourse on the kingdom of heaven. Jesus "went out of His house (His own house') and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered unto Him, so that he went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore (Matt. xiii. 1, 2), and heard those wonderful parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, the grain of mustard seed, the leaven, and the net cast into the

sea.

Here when "there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with waves He rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm" (Matt. viii. 24-27). At Gergasa (p. 299) there "met Him two possessed with devils coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way." But He cast out the devils, causing them to enter into a herd of swine, which "ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters" (Matt. viii. 28-34). Near here He fed the five thousand (p. 290), and afterwards seeing His disciples toiling in rowing on the lake, for the wind was contrary, "Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea (Matt. xiv. 25). When the collectors of tribute came to Him at Capernaum, our Lord, in the exhibition of His perfect and complete humanity, linked Himself with His

disciples in one of His most touching utterances. Having elicited from Peter that the tribute should be taken from strangers, and that the children should go free, he added, “Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money that take, and give unto them for me and thee" (Matt. xvii. 27). Here He "performed many mighty works" and "spake many things," and here was the scene of those touching incidents which occurred soon after His resurrection. One early morning, in the grey dawn of the morning, the disciples who were in their boat, after having toiled all the night and caught nothing, saw a dim figure standing "on the shore "-probably the beach of the plain of Gennesaret. A voice, strangely familiar, yet unrealized, came to them, Children, have ye any meat?" And when they replied "No," and the first miracle on their entry to the discipleship was repeated, then "that disciple whom Jesus loved," first with the quick instinct of love, said, "It is the Lord;" while Peter, first with the impetuosity of a love of service, cast himself into the sea, and swam to Him. And there on the shore, where the mysterious fire of coals burned, and the farewell meal was spread, the Lord bade them dine. And there the disciple who, three times warned, had thrice denied his Lord, by threefold confession was restored and reinstated in the apostolic office (John xxi.)

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These are but scanty specimens. Other events will be referred to under their proper heads, but the hints suggested in the preceding passages will give the traveller a clue to many a sacred thought and feeling.

"This is a hallowed lake in the glorious Land of Promise, and Divine performance-the peaceful scene of the opening career of the Redeemer, the cradle of His teaching, the