The Rand-McNally Bible Atlas Part 6

3. South of the Canaanites, on the maritime plain, were the =Philistines=. "Emigrants" is the meaning of the word, supporting the view that they came from Caphtor, or Crete, which is but little more than a surmise. They were related to the Egyptians, and hence were of Hamitic stock. They came to the land before the time of Abraham, drove out and subdued the earlier Avim (Deut. 2:23), or Avites, and had frequent dealings with Abraham and Isaac. In the patriarchal age their princ.i.p.al cities were Gaza and Gerar; but before the conquest they had moved northward, and were a powerful confederacy of five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath and Ekron. (Josh. 13:3.) Their territory, if taken at all during the campaigns of Joshua, was soon reconquered, and the Philistines were the most dangerous enemies of Israel during all the period of the Judges. In David's time they were subjected; but not until the Maccabean age were they fully conquered, and their land made a part of Israel.

4. We turn now to the tribes of the mountain region, beginning, as before, at the north. As these northern regions are not alluded to in patriarchal history, and only very briefly named in the annals of the conquest, it is not easy to determine which of the tribes occupied them.

But, from allusions in Josh. 1:4 and 11:3, and from frequent mention on the monuments of Egypt, we incline to the opinion that the =Hitt.i.tes= were the possessors of this country. They have left their name in Hattin, the Caphar Hittai of the Talmud, near the Sea of Galilee.

Another branch, more frequently mentioned, were in the south, at and around Hebron (Gen. 23), perhaps extending as far south as Beersheba.

(Gen. 27:46.) With these people the relations of the patriarchs were ever peaceful, and of them Abraham purchased his family sepulchre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HEBRON.]

5. The position of the =Girgas.h.i.+tes= is uncertain, from the infrequent mention of them. But the slight indications point to the region west of the Sea of Galilee, where we locate them conjecturally. They may have been absorbed by the surrounding tribes.

6. South of Mount Carmel, and extending to what was afterward the border of Benjamin, we find the =Hivites=, having Shechem as their princ.i.p.al city in the time of Jacob. (Gen. 34:2.) Afterward, they occupied several towns immediately north of Jerusalem, four of which formed the "Gibeonite league," and made a treaty of peace with Joshua. (Josh.

9:3-15.) They were a quiet people, averse to war, and submitting readily to foreign domination.

7. The =Perizzites=, "villagers" are always named in connection with the Canaanites. From the allusions in Gen. 34:30, Josh. 17:15, and other places, we locate them between the Hivites and the western Canaanites, in the northern portion of the Shefelah, or foot-hills, where villages would more readily cl.u.s.ter than among the mountains. They remained in the land as late as the time of the restoration from Babylonian captivity. (Ezra 9:1.)

8. The =Jebusites= lived in the mountains around their city Jebus, afterward Jerusalem. They were of Canaanitish origin, a small but warlike tribe. Their king was slain by Joshua; but the city, though burned by the Israelites (Judges 1:8), was still held by its own people, and remained in their possession, a foreign fortress in the midst of the land, until finally taken by David, and made his capital. (2 Sam. 5.) South of the Jebusites were the southern branch of the Hitt.i.tes, already referred to.

9. One more nation of the Canaanite stock remains, perhaps the most powerful of all, the =Amorites=, or "mountaineers." They occupied, originally, the wilderness between Hebron and the Dead Sea, having Hazezon-tamar (afterward En-gedi) as their capital; were smitten by Chedorlaomer, but aided Abraham in his pursuit and battle. (Gen. 14.) Afterward they pushed northward, crossed the Jordan, and possessed all the eastern table-land north of the Dead Sea, dispossessing the Ammonites of its southern portion, and the Rephaim of its northern. This great country was the "land of the Amorites" at the time of the conquest, ruled by two kings, Sihon and Og.

It is probable, that, during the patriarchal era, while Abraham and his family lived as wanderers in their Land of Promise, the lands east of the Jordan were occupied by their primeval inhabitants, the Rephaim in the north, the Zuzim between the Jabbok and the Arnon, and the Emim in the south.

III. THE NATIONS AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST.

What changes may have taken place among the tribes of Western Palestine during the four centuries while the Israelites were in Egypt, is not known; but, as the land became more thickly settled, the strifes of the Canaanite tribes and their roving traits would result in many alterations of boundary lines. But east of the Jordan the changes may be more distinctly marked.

1. The =Amorites=, already named, probably conquered the eastern table-land, north of the Jabbok, during the period of the sojourn (_i. e._, the stay of the Israelites in Egypt), and dispossessed its early inhabitants. Many of these, however, remained among the conquerors, and one of this race, Og, the King of Bashan, ruled over the northern Amorites when the Israelites entered the land, and was slain by them.

2. Two new tribes, closely related, made their appearance during this epoch, the =Moabites= and =Ammonites=. They were descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and their origin is related in Gen. 19. They arose during the period of the sojourn, and conquered the primitive Emim and Zuzim (Deut. 2:19-23), probably as far north as the Jabbok. But the Amorites on the north wrested their conquests from them and drove them back south of the Arnon, which was thenceforward their northern boundary. The Moabites were the settled portion of the tribe, dwelling in cities; while the Ammonites were the predatory, wandering element, living mostly in the east, and without permanent dwelling places. During the period of the Judges they were among the oppressors of Israel (Judges 3 and 10), were defeated by Saul, (1 Sam. 11), and conquered by David. (2 Sam. 8:2.)

IV. THE SURROUNDING NATIONS.

The princ.i.p.al nations bordering upon the land of Canaan before the conquest were the following:

1. On the north were the =Hivites=, "that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath." (Judges 3:3.) This is supposed to have been the original home of the race, from which they journeyed to their seat in Central Palestine. Still further north were the =Arkites=, the =Sinites=, the =Arvadites= and the =Hamathites=.

2. On the northeast lay the desert, and on the southeast roamed the =Ammonites=, already mentioned.

3. On the south were several tribes, not all of which can be located with certainty. In the west, south of the Philistine country, were the =Amalekites=, a people of unknown origin and predatory habits. South of Judah were the =Kenites=; and southeast of the Dead Sea, were, in early times, the Horim (already mentioned), succeeded during the time of the sojourn by the =Edomites=, a race descended from Esau, who will be described hereafter. (See explanations to map on page 44.)

With regard to these early inhabitants of Palestine, the following facts may be noteworthy: 1. In respect to =race=, most of them belonged to the Hamitic stock; though the origin of the six earliest peoples remains unknown, and the two latest, the Moabites and Ammonites, were Semites, and closely related to Israel. 2. As to =language=, they probably spoke the Hebrew tongue, or one closely allied to it. In Isa. 19:18, the Hebrew is evidently "the language of Canaan," _i. e._, of the Canaanites. Whether this language was the one originally spoken by Abraham's ancestors or not, we have no means of knowing; but it is possible that it was gained, during the period of the journeyings, from the Canaanites. 3. In =government=, each village or tribe had its own ruler, who was called a "_king_"; but his authority was limited by the "_elders_," a body having influence partly from birth, and partly by force of character of its members. 4. Their =religion= was widely different from that of the Hebrews, who, from the age of Abraham, wors.h.i.+ped one invisible, self-existent, spiritual G.o.d. The Canaanites deified nature under various forms, especially as Baal, the giver of life, and Ashtoreth (Greek, Astarte), the corresponding female divinity.

Their rites of wors.h.i.+p were abominable, cruel and licentious. They sacrificed not only captured enemies, but their own children, to their idols, and performed acts of the grossest wickedness at their idolatrous service. 5. Their =history= is unwritten, save in its tragical close, the conquest of their land by the Israelites under Joshua, and the annihilation of many of their races. Still, many lived as a separate people through all Jewish history; and some of the best scholars are of opinion that the native population of Palestine at the present time mainly belongs to this old Canaanite stock.

OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.

I. _Earliest Inhabitants._ Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, Horim, Avim, Anakim.

II. _Tribes of the Patriarchal Era._ 1. Maritime Plain: Zidonians, Canaanites, Philistines. 2. Mountain Region: Hitt.i.tes (north), Girgas.h.i.+tes, Hivites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Hitt.i.tes (south), Amorites.

3. Jordan Valley: Canaanites. 4. Eastern Table-Land: Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim.

III. _Nations at the Time of the Conquest._ East of Jordan: Amorites, Moabites, Ammonites.

IV. _Surrounding Nations._ 1. North: Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Hamathites. 2. Southeast: Ammonites. 3. South: Amalekites, Kenites, Edomites.

LANDS OF THE SOJOURN AND WANDERING.

THE LAND OF EGYPT.

I. =Names.= The present name, "Egypt," was given by the Greeks, and was never used by the inhabitants in ancient times. On the monuments it is generally called KEM. In the Old Testament the most frequent name is "Mizraim," in plural form. The poetical books of the Bible contain the name "Rahab," "the proud, or insolent," and "Land of Ham."

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.]

II. =Boundaries and Dimensions.= On the north, Egypt is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea; on the east, by Palestine, the Arabian Desert, and the Red Sea; on the south, by Nubia; and on the west, by the great African Desert. Its limits have been the same in nearly all ages. In a geographical sense, it embraces 115,000 square miles; but of this more than nine-tenths consists of uninhabitable deserts. The true Egypt, the home of its people, is simply the Valley of the Nile and the s.p.a.ce between its mouths, an area of 9,600 square miles, a little larger than the State of New Hamps.h.i.+re. Deducting from this the area covered by the Nile and its branches, the land of Egypt which may be occupied or cultivated includes about 5,600 square miles, or less than the united area of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

III. =Divisions.= There have always been two Egypts, Northern and Southern. Northern or Lower Egypt comprises the Delta of the Nile, triangular in shape, a plain between the eastern or Pelusiac branch of the Nile and its western or Canopic branch. This is a vast garden, with soil the richest in the Old World, and the grain field of the Roman empire. Southeast of the Pelusiac branch lay the Land of Goshen (now _Esh Shurkiyeh_), the home of the Israelites during the Sojourn.

Southern or Upper Egypt is a narrow valley, winding with the course of the Nile, varying in width from two to ten miles; a strip of fertile soil between two barren hills, beyond which the desert lies on either side. The two sections were always regarded as separate, and each was represented in the double crown worn by the kings. There was another division, made in very early times, into _nomes_, or provinces, each having its own ruler, and its own object of wors.h.i.+p. Of these nomes there were from 36 to 50 at different times.

IV. =The Nile.= This has been in every age the most important feature in the topography of the country, and the cause of its surpa.s.sing fertility. Its sources, long unknown, are in the great lakes of Central Africa, whence it flows in a northerly direction. The main stream, called the White Nile, receives in Nubia its princ.i.p.al tributary, the Blue Nile, which rises in Abyssinia. During the last 1,500 miles of its course it is not increased by any other stream, and flows through a torrid desert. Yet, as it enters the Mediterranean, its current is still that of a mighty river. Its mouths are at present three in number, though formerly seven; and, from their resemblance on the map to the Greek letter [Greek: D], that portion of Egypt is called the Delta. Its annual overflow begins, in Lower Egypt, about the 25th of June, attains its height in three months, and remains stationary twelve days, at a height of about 36 feet above its ordinary level at Thebes, 25 feet at Cairo, and 4 feet at its mouth. This overflow is due to the rains in Central Africa, and as it brings down new soil, keeps the land always fertile. But for the Nile, Egypt would only be a part of the Great Desert.

V. =The People of Egypt= were of the Hamitic stock, a race of high capacity, forming the earliest civilization known in history. They were religious, but wors.h.i.+ping animals, and even the lowest forms of life; contemplative and studious, attaining to considerable knowledge, though on narrow lines of research; patriotic, but not fond of war, and therefore rarely conquerors of other nations. Their language was "agglutinative monosyllabic," with mingled Nigritic and Semitic characteristics. Their government was most thoroughly organized, and took cognizance of even the minute matters of life. Their art was ma.s.sive and sombre, imposing from its vastness, but not varied, and therefore giving but little play to genius. The Egyptians were slender of frame, but strong. Their faces were oval and olive-colored; their hair long, crisp and jet-black. They are supposed to be represented at the present time by the Copts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AREA OF EGYPT.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT UNDER RAMESES II.]

VI. =The History of Egypt= begins at a time undated, but long after the flood. It is divided into three periods, those of the Old, Middle, and New Empires. The Old Empire was founded by Menes, and had its capital at Memphis. During the fourth dynasty of this period the Pyramids were built. The Middle Empire arose at Thebes, and lasted until 1570 B.C. The Twelfth dynasty was most powerful during this epoch, conquering Ethiopia and Arabia. About 2000 B.C. the land was conquered by foreign princes, who ruled 400 years, and were known as the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings.

The New Empire arose in 1570 B.C., after the expulsion of the Hyksos, and lasted for a thousand years. Its greatest monarch was Rameses II., who has been supposed to be the "Pharaoh of the Oppression" (not of the Exodus), and ruled as far east as Chaldea and a.s.syria. The above dates are all uncertain. Concerning the chronology, see page 13. The land was conquered by the Persians, B.C. 527, and annexed to the Persian empire.

VII. The princ.i.p.al =Places= were, in Lower Egypt, Memphis, the ancient capital; Heliopolis, called in the Bible On, near the eastern branch of the Delta; Rameses, in the Land of Goshen; Pelusium, at the eastern mouth of the Nile; and Alexandria, in later history the metropolis of Egypt, near the Canopic mouth of the Nile. In Upper Egypt, Thebes was the most important place, and long the capital.

OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.

1. _Names._ Egypt, Kem, Mizraim, Rahab, Land of Ham.

2. _Boundaries and Dimensions._ North (Mediterranean Sea); East (Palestine, Arabia, Red Sea); South (Nubia); West (African Desert).

Area, 115,000 square miles. Inhabitable, 9,600 square miles. Land, 5,600 square miles.

3. _Divisions._ Lower (Delta); Upper (Valley).

4. _Nile._ White Nile, Blue Nile; Sources; Delta; Overflow.

5. _People._ Hamitic Origin; Civilization; Language; Art; Physical Traits.