allusion contained in the expression 'living water;' the history of the well, and the customs thereby illustrated; the worship upon Mount Gerizim; all these occur within the space of twenty verses; and if to these be added, what has already been referred to in the remainder of the chapter, we shall perhaps consider it as a field, which, in the words of Him who contemplated its ultimate produce, we may lift up our eyes, and look upon, for it is white already to harvest.'"*

ANTIPATRIS. This city lay in a pleasant valley, near the mountains, in the way from Jerusalem to Cesarea; and about eighteen miles from Joppa, forty-two from Jerusalem, and twenty-six from Cesarea. Its original name was Capharsalma ; but on being rebuilt by Herod the Great, it was by him called Antipatris, in honour of his father Antipater. Here Paul and his guard halted

on their way to Cæsar. (Acts xxiii. 31.)

Here we conclude our present lecture, reserving the description of the remaining provinces for a future opportunity.

* Travels, vol. iv. pp. 277-280.

LECTURE XV.

CANAAN.

ITS DIVISION.

IN THE TIME OF OUR LORD-CONTInued.

IN our last lecture we described the Divisions of Canaan that were made during the reigns of Solomon and Rehoboam, and part of that which existed at the appearing of our Lord. This last we stated was into the provinces of Galilee, Samaria, Judea, Perea, and Idumea. The first two of these provinces we have considered-we proceed to the consideration of the remaining three.

It

Thirdly. JUDEA. This province, which was the most distinguished of the whole, comprehended the territories originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, and part of the tribe of Dan. was nearly co-extensive with the ancient kingdom of Judah. Its capital city was Jerusalem. Of the other places of note in it, the following are the principal.

ARIMATHEA. This was a small town celebrated in the New Testament as the residence of Joseph, who begged the body of Jesus of Pilate. (Matt. xxvii. 57.) It was situated about thirty-six miles from Jerusalem. Its present name is Rama, or Ramla. It is said to be

distinguished by its charming situation, and well known. as the residence of a Christian community. The convent had indeed been plundered five years before it was visited by Chateaubriand, and it was not without the most urgent solicitation that the friars were permitted to repair their building; as if it were a maxim among the Turks, who by their domination continue to afflict and disgrace the finest parts of Palestine, that the progress of ruin and decay should never be arrested. Volney tells us, that when he was at Ramla, a commander resided there in a serai, the walls and floor of which were on the point of tumbling down. He asked one of the inferior officers why his master did not at least pay some attention to his own apartment. The reply was, "if another shall obtain his place next year, who will repay the expense?"

;

The adjacent country is planted with lofty olives the greatest part of which are as large as the walnut trees of France, though they are daily perishing through age, and the ravages of contending factions.—Amid these plantations, are seen, at every step, dry wells, cisterns fallen in, and immense vaulted reservoirs, which prove that, in ancient times, this town must have been upwards of four miles in circumference. At present, it does not contain more than a hundred miserable families. The houses are only so many huts, sometimes detached, and sometimes ranged in the form of cells round a court, enclosed by a mud wall. In winter, the inhabitants and their cattle may be said to live together; the part of the building allotted to themselves being raised only two feet above that in which they lodge their beasts. The peasants are by this means kept warm without burning wood,-a species of economy indispensable in a country absolutely destitute of fuel. As to the fire necessary for culinary purposes, they make it, as was the practice in the days of the prophet Ezekiel, of dung kneaded into cakes, which they dry in

the sun, exposing them to its rays on the walls of their huts.*

The only remarkable antiquity at Ramla is the mina ret of a decayed mosque, which, by an Arabic inscription, appears to have been built by the Sultan of Egypt.

AZOTUS, or ASHDOD- celebrated for a temple of Dagon, a god of the Philistines, and as the place where Philip the evangelist was found after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. It lay on the coast of the Mediterranean, about thirty miles north of Gaza, thirteen or fourteen south of Ekron, and thirty-four west of Jerusalem. It was either retained or retaken by the Philistines; as it was one of their principal cities. It had been the scene and the object of many sanguinary conflicts. Uzziah broke down its walls, and built some adjacent forts to command it. (2 Chron. xxvi. 6.) Tartan, the Assyrian general, took it by force, and put a strong garrison into it, who held out twenty-nine years against the siege of Psammiticus, king of Egypt. (Isa. xx. 1.) Nebuchadnezzar's troops took it, and terribly ravaged it; Alexander's did the same. Jonathan, the Jewish Maccabee, burnt it and the temple of Dagon to ashes; but it was rebuilt.-A Christian church existed here, probably till the ravages of the Saracens.

BETHANY. This place is peculiarly sacred as the scene of some of the most endearing and pathetic and sublime passages of our Lord's life and ministry. Being the residence of Martha and her sister and Lazarus, he often resorted hither for fellowship with that pious and interesting family. Here Mary anointed his feet with very costly ointment, and wiped them with her hair. Here he restored Lazarus to life after he had lain in the grave four days. And hence, in the pre

* Chat. Itin. tom. i. p. 380. Volney's Travels, vol. ii. p. 335.

sence of his disciples, and attended by a celestial convoy, he ascended up to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God.-It was situated on the retired and shady side of Mount Olivet, fifteen furlongs eastward of Jerusalem, on the way to Jericho. At present, it is a miserable little village, consisting of a cluster of mud hovels. The cultivation around it is much neglected; though it is a pleasant romantic spot, abounding in trees and long grass.

BETHLEHEM. This was a small city or town about six miles south-west of Jerusalem. It existed as early as the time of Boaz; for he was of that city. The original name of it was Ephrath, or Ephratah. (Gen. xxxv. 19.) In the New Testament, (Matt. ii. 1, 5,) it is called Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it from another place of the same name, situated in Lower Galilee, and mentioned in Josh. xix. 15. It is sometimes called "the city of David,” (Luke ii. 4,) because that monarch was born and educated in it.

This city was inconsiderable in itself; but it became exceedingly illustrious as the birth-place of our blessed Lord. From this circumstance, all travellers, of every nation and creed, and whatever may be their impressions with regard to the gospel, make the usual journey to it from Jerusalem. It is represented as being pleasantly situated on the brow of an eminence, in a very fertile soil, which only wants cultivation to render it what its name imports-" a house of bread." Between the clefts of the rock, when the soil is cultivated, vines, figs, and olives, appear to grow in great luxuriance. In the time of Volney, it contained about six hundred men, capable of bearing arms, about one hundred of whom were Latin Christians. Mr. Buckingham affirms it to be equal in extent to Nazareth, and to contain from one thousand to fifteen hundred inhabitants, who are principally Christians.

Bethlehem has generally shared the vicissitudes that