OF THE

HOLY LAND;

ITS

GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, AND DESTINY.

DESIGNED TO ELUCIDATE THE IMAGERY OF SCRIPTURE, AND
DEMONSTRATE THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY.

BY J. T. BANNISTER,

(Author of "Chart of the Holy Land," "Incidents of Jewish History," &c. &c.)

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

BY THE REV. W. MARSH, D.D.

VICAR OF ST. MARY'S, LEAMINGTON,

"Immensos Orientis thesauros, amplissimumque Scientiae campum, cursumque ad laudem

1844.

PREFACE.

It is an encouraging feature in the aspect of the present times, that a greater degree of attention is being given to the Sacred Writings than at any former period. Notwithstanding the bold aggressive movements of Infidelity on the one hand, and of semi-Popery on the other, there never was a time when the Holy Scriptures were more widely diffused, more extensively read, or more attentively studied. Sabbath schools, Bible classes, and other auxiliary means, have elevated the public taste, and created a craving for mental aliment of a higher order. The youth of the present day, not satisfied by a superficial acquaintance with the text of Scripture, evince a commendable solicitude to excavate more deeply the mines of Inspired Truth, and to traverse with a critical and observant eye the vast fields of Biblical research. Hence the increased demand for works which treat of Sacred Geography and History, and whose tendency is, to elucidate the sense and display the beauties of the Sacred Text. To meet this demand, many works of unquestioned excellence have

been issued from the press. The voluminous and elaborate works of Bochart, Wells, Michaelis, Calmet, and Hartwell Horne; the "Jewish Antiquities" of Ikeneus, Reland, and others; the "Observations" of Harmer, the "Oriental Customs" of Burder, and the admirable "Illustrations" of Paxton, have contributed in no small degree to enrich the archives of Sacred literature, and have acquired a high and merited celebrity.

These works, however, are, for the most part, too voluminous and costly to render them generally accessible. Few, comparatively, have either leisure or inclination to travel over so wide a field, or to wade through the mass of learned lumber beneath which the treasures of knowledge sometimes lie concealed. In the judgment of many, a book was still wanted, a compact and moderate-priced volume, which should contain in a smaller compass, a condensed and systematic view of those subjects most essential to the elucidation of the Sacred Writings, and which might spare the labour of referring to a multitude of works, containing much extraneous and recondite matter, in search of some clear account of the places and events so frequently referred to in the Bible, or of the physical and moral phenomena which form the basis of the sublime imagery with which its pages are adorned. This desideratum the compiler of the present volume has endeavoured to supply. It has been his aim to accumulate and compress into a single volume the cream of many larger ones; to educe from the writings of ancient and modern authors a succinct yet comprehensive epitome of the Geography, History,