



Produced by David Garcia, Julia Neufeld and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net







See the transcriber's note at the end of the book.


       *       *       *       *       *

BY PROF. CHARLES FOSTER KENT

  THE SHORTER BIBLE--THE NEW TESTAMENT.

  THE SHORTER BIBLE--THE OLD TESTAMENT.

  THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS
  AND JESUS.

  BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY.

  THE ORIGIN AND PERMANENT VALUE
  OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

  HISTORY OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE.
  From the Settlement in Canaan to the Fall
  of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. 2 vols.

  HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. The
  Babylonian, Persian and Greek Periods.

  THE HISTORICAL BIBLE. With Maps.
  6 vols.

  STUDENT'S OLD TESTAMENT. Logically
  and Chronologically Arranged and Translated.
  With Maps. 6 vols.

  THE MESSAGES OF ISRAEL'S LAW-GIVERS.

  THE MESSAGES OF THE EARLIER
  PROPHETS.

  THE MESSAGES OF THE LATER PROPHETS.

  CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

[Illustration: Modern Palestine, With Ancient Towns and Highways]




  BIBLICAL
  GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

  BY

  CHARLES FOSTER KENT, PH.D.
  WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY

  NEW YORK
  CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
  1926
  COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY
  CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

  Printed in the United States of America

  Published April, 1911




PREFACE


Geography has within the past few years won a new place among the
sciences. It is no longer regarded as simply a description of the
earth's surface, but as the foundation of all historical study. Only
in the light of their physical setting can the great characters,
movements, and events of human history be rightly understood and
appreciated. Moreover, geography is now defined as a description not
only of the earth and of its influence upon man's development, but
also of the solar, atmospheric, and geological forces which throughout
millions of years have given the earth its present form. Hence, in its
deeper meaning, geography is a description of the divine character and
purpose expressing itself through natural forces, in the physical
contour of the earth, in the animate world, and, above all, in the
life and activities of man. Biblical geography, therefore, is the
first and in many ways the most important chapter in that divine
revelation which was perfected through the Hebrew race and recorded in
the Bible. Thus interpreted it has a profound religious meaning, for
through the plains and mountains, the rivers and seas, the climate and
flora of the biblical world the Almighty spoke to men as plainly and
unmistakably as he did through the voices of his inspired seers and
sages.

No other commentary upon the literature of the Bible is so practical
and luminous as biblical geography. Throughout their long history the
Hebrews were keenly attentive to the voice of the Eternal speaking to
them through nature. Their writings abound in references and figures
taken from the picturesque scenes and peculiar life of Palestine. The
grim encircling desert, the strange water-courses, losing themselves
at times in their rocky beds, fertile Carmel and snow-clad Hermon, the
resounding sea and the storm-lashed waters of Galilee are but a few of
the many physical characteristics of Palestine that have left their
indelible marks upon the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. The same is
true of Israel's unique faith and institutions. Biblical geography,
therefore, is not a study by itself, but the natural introduction to
all other biblical studies.

In his _Historical Geography of the Holy Land_ and in the two volumes
on _Jerusalem_, Principal George Adam Smith, of Aberdeen, has given a
brilliant and luminous sketch of the geographical divisions and cities
of Palestine, tracing their history from the earliest times to the
present. Every writer on Palestine owes him a great debt. The keenness
and accuracy of his observations, are confirmed at every point by the
traveller. At the present time, the need of a more compact manual, to
present first the physical geography of the biblical lands and then to
trace in broad outlines the history of Israel and of early
Christianity in close conjunction with their geographical background,
has long been recognized. In the present work unimportant details have
been omitted that the vital facts may stand out clearly and in their
true significance. The aim has been to furnish the information that
every Bible teacher should possess in order to do the most effective
work, and the geographical data with which every student of the Bible
should be familiar, in order intelligently to interpret and fully
appreciate the ancient Scriptures.

This volume embodies the results of many delightful months spent in
the lands of the eastern Mediterranean, and especially in Palestine,
during the years 1892 and 1910. Owing to improved conditions in the
Turkish Empire it is now possible, with the proper camp equipment, to
travel safely through the remotest places east of the Jordan and to
visit Petra, that most fascinating of Eastern cities. By securing his
equipment at Beirut the traveller may cross northern Galilee and then,
with comfort, go southward in the early spring through ancient Bashan,
Gilead, Moab, and Edom. Thence, with great economy of time and effort,
he may return through central Palestine, making frequent detours to
points of interest. In this way he will find the quaint, fascinating
old Palestine that has escaped the invasions of the railroads and
western tourists, and he will bear away exact and vivid impressions of
the land as it really was and still is.

The difficulties and expense of Palestine travel, however, render such
a journey impossible for the majority of Bible students. Fortunately,
the marvellous development of that most valuable aid to modern
education, the stereoscope and the stereograph, make it possible for
every one at a comparatively small expense to visit Palestine and to
gain under expert guidance in many ways a clearer and more exact
knowledge of the background of biblical history and literature than he
would through months of travel. Through the courtesy of my publishers
and the co-operation of the well-known firm of Underwood & Underwood,
of New York and London, I have been able to realize an ideal that I
have long cherished, and to place at the disposal of the readers of
this volume one hundred and forty stereographs (or, if preferred for
class and lecture use, stereopticon slides) that illustrate the most
important events of biblical geography and history. They have been
selected from over five hundred views taken especially for this
purpose, and enable the student to gain, as he alone can through the
stereoscope, the distinct state of consciousness of being in scores of
historic places rarely visited even by the most venturesome
travellers. Numbers referring to these stereographs (or stereopticon
slides) have been inserted in the body of the text. In Appendix II the
titles corresponding to each number are given.

The large debt that I owe to the valiant army of pioneers and
explorers who have penetrated every part of the biblical world and
given us the results of their observations and study is suggested by
the selected bibliography in Appendix I. I am under especial
obligations to the officers of the Palestine Exploration Fund, who
kindly placed their library and maps in London at my service and have
also permitted me to use in reduced form their Photo-Relief Map of
Palestine.

                                                              C. F. K.

  YALE UNIVERSITY,
    _January, 1911_.




CONTENTS


  PART I--PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

                                                                    PAGE

  I. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BIBLICAL
  WORLD                                                                3

  Extent of the Biblical World.--Conditions Favorable to Early
  Civilizations.--Egypt's Climate and Resources.--Its Isolation and
  Limitations.--Conditions in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.--Forces
  Developing Its Civilization.--Civilization of Arabia