brated in the history of the patriarchs as the place of their encampments and of their family sepulchre. It is broad and winding, extends for several miles, and is bounded on all sides, and apparently shut in, by stony mountains. The soil is good; much of it is cultivated with the olive and vine, while that part of it which is not cultivated furnishes rich pasture. It contains a terebinth-tree, which is held in high honour by all the inhabitants of Hebron, especially by the Jews, from a belief that the tent of Abraham was shaded by its boughs.* Commencing about five miles west of Jerusalem, and stretching about four miles in a direction south by west, and then running away westward to the coast, is the VALLEY OF SOREK, so celebrated for its clusters of grapes, and its wine. The term is indeed confined by some to that part of it ending where it begins to turn westward. In its more limited sense, this valley is rather deep, and broad. The mountains which enclose it on the west present only the appearance of scarped rocks. Those on the opposite side are lower, but covered with verdure. The vines of this valley are still the finest, and the wine made from them the best, in the Holy Land.† * Elliot, ii. 499; Stephens, ii. 140 Lindsay, ii. 50. LECTURE X. CANAAN. 66 ITS PHYSIOLOGY.-LAKES AND RIVERS. AT the same time that Moses described the Land of Promise as 66 a land of hills and valleys "—the feature we considered in our last lecture, he also described it as a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of the valleys and hills;" which, to a pastoral and agricultural people, such as were the Israelites, constituted it emphatically 66 a good land." But Canaan was a land of lakes, as well as of brooks and rivers; and it possessed two very considerable lakes, that of Gennesaret, and that of Asphaltites,— which were commonly called, as their magnitude entitled them to be called, inland seas. These added considerable picturesque beauty to the country; but they did more-they afforded real benefit. Canaan was situated near the tropics, and hence possessed a sultry climate; how refreshing and salubrious would be the breezes coming from off these waters! The lake of Gennesaret furnished abundance of fish for food, while that of Asphaltites would supply the country with that essential of life-salt. In the present lec ture, we purpose describing the rivers and lakes of Canaan-we shall commence with ITS LAKES. Our attention will be directed first to THE LAKE OF GENNESARET. "This beautiful expanse of water is also known as the Sea of Gennesaret, of Chinnereth or Cinnereth, and of Tiberias; names taken from adjacent districts or towns. "Viewed from the neighbouring mountains, this little lake, which is between fifteen and eighteen miles long, and six or eight wide, resembles a crystal reservoir. It is the enlargement of the venerable Jordan, whose current is said to pass through it without mingling with its waters. Its clear depths are replenished by a great number of little streams, which flow into it from the neighbouring highlands. At the middle and southern parts, the water is very deep, a circumstance in some degree owing to a chain of rocks, which crosses the stream and produces the effect of a dam. Indeed, the lake is encircled by irregular hills, of which, in various places, the spurs, or tapering extremities, reach into the very water. Upon the breaking up of winter in the mountains, the narrow valleys, or ravines, become channels of contribution, and the basin is then completely filled. 66 On every side, the prospects are enchanting. Looking southward, where the Jordan pursues its way to the Asphaltic lake, and makes a wide opening between the mountain ranges, the sight is lost among distant plains. To the north-east, appear the snowy crests of Mount Hermon. The country around is much broken, and the black summits are volcanic in their appearance, so that some have supposed this lake to be a crater, once discharging flame and lava, but now containing a sheet of water, pure and placid as Loch-Lomond, or Windermere, or Seneca Lake. "There is no part of Palestine which, in richness and beauty, can compare with the environs of Gennesaret. In ancient times, its natural advantages were enhanced by assiduous cultivation. Hence, one of its names, Gennasar, is supposed to mean 'the garden of princes.' Josephus describes this region as an Eden, blessed with a delicious temperature, and producing the fruits of every climate under heaven, not at stated periods merely, but in endless succession throughout the year. One can scarcely peruse his account of the fruits, without being reminded of the garden of Alcinous, as described by Homer : There grew luxuriant many a lofty tree, The boughs soon tempt the gatherer as before." "* Leaving this author for a moment, we quote from a poem recently published† a passage most beautifully exhibiting the quality which Josephus ascribes to the vicinity of this delightful lake : "Gennesar's banks Where all the seasons met and strove to reign; * Odys. book vi. The Incarnate One, p. 74. R Where Nature from her gardens, east, west, south, Apulian olives, with the sultry palm, The golden-fruited citron's odorous shade, "Modern writers describe the lake and its environs as still abounding in loveliness. The traveller, after crossing a yellow, rocky plain, catches the azure reflection of the little sea, belted by lofty mountains of black or greyish hue. From its northern extremity, the Jordan rushes, with a sinuous course, to the plain of Esdraelon, in a blue stream, about a hundred feet wide. When moved by the wind, the waves of the lake dash with a gentle ripple on the beach, skirting the waters with foam, and leaving a profuse tribute of shells and pebbles. "On the western side, the rocky shore is adorned with clumps of rose-laurel, and lilac. Along the whole coast, 'On this side the broad lake Gennesaret,' stretches a chain of pointed eminences, black, abrupt, torn into clefts, barren, and of basaltic structure. At the southern extremity, the lake measures about three miles, and widens until it reaches a sharp promontory, which hides the city of Tiberias from one who journeys northward. To this point the mountains wall in the lake very closely; here they diverge and spread on both sides into recesses, forming a basin some forty miles in circuit. At every view, the scene is picturesque. On the east, an undulating chain of hills |