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sat smoking with us at the well. They make no secret of their mode of life, but seemed rather vain of it. Had but a few of their friends upon the hills descended to their aid, they would have stripped us of every thing we had, even of our clothes. Their chief advanced to kiss the hand of the captain of our guard, expressing his reverence for Djezzar Pacha, and making him as much compliment and ceremony as if they had been his slaves. This officer told us, that their servile behaviour when their force is inferior, is as much their characteristic, as their ferocity when in power. We bargained with this chief to accompany us to Bethoor, in order to recover our camels and baggage; to which, after a short parley, he consented; and, having dismissed his attendants, accompanied us from the well, riding in the van of our cavalcade, armed with a long lance, such as the Cossacks of Tartary always carry ou horseback. In this manner we reached Bethoor late in the evening. Concerning this place, not a syllable of information occurs, either in the accounts given by travellers who have visited the Holy Land, or of authors who have written for its illustration. This is the more remarkable, as it occurs in the high way from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Yet such was the situa

tion of BEOLPON mentioned by Josephus, and written also ΒΑΙΘΩΡΩΝ. lience it really seems as if the accident which had compelled our visit to a place we should otherwise have disregarded, has also enabled us to ascertain the disputed situation of Bethoron, written Bethchoron by Reland :† for, after the most diligent examination of the authorities urged in fixing the position of this place, they all seem to bear directly toward Bethoor, and particularly the relative position of places with which Bethorou is named by ancient writers. St. Jerom, speaking of Rama and Bethoron, says that these, (which, it is to be observed, he seems to associate, as if they were not remote from each other,) together with other noble cities built by Solomon, are now only known by poor villages, preserving in their names a memorial of what they once were. This at least may be inferred from his words. And Rama, as it will

*The distance of Bethoor from Jerusalem also agrees with the account given by Josephus of Bethoron, as it is stated by Reland. "Quanto intervallo Babupů abfuerit Hierosolymis colligitur ex lib. 2. de Bell. cap. 2. ubi supellex Caesaris dicitur illic esse direpta, si conferas cum. lib. 20. Antiquit. 4. ubi dem narratur et id factum esse legitur centesimo ab urbe Hierosolymitana stadio xarà rηv dnpoolav óðov in via publica." Palest. Illust. tom. II. p. 634.

† Beland. Palæst. Illust tom. II. p. 633.

Rama et Bethoron et reliquae urbes nobile a Salomone constructae parvi viculi demonstrantur." Hieron. in Commentario ad Sophoniam, tap. 1.

afterward appear, was a village in the time of St. Jerom: indeed, notwithstanding the alteratious made there by the Moslems, it is little better at the present moment. Bethoron, like Amphipolis of Macedonia, was two fold; that is to say, there was a city superior and inferior. It stood upon the confines of Ephraim and Benjamin; which exactly answers to the situation of Bethoor. Eusebius mentions two villages of this name,* twelve miles distant from Ælia (Jerusalem); one called, from its situation, Bethoron superior, the other Bethoron inferior. Frequent notice of them occurs in the Apocryphal writings. Also in the Old Testament it is recorded, that a woman of the tribe of Ephraim, by name Sherah, built Beth-horon the nether and the upper. Beth-horon of the Old Testament stood on a hill, which the Canaanites, flying from Gibeon, ascended.§ "The Lord chased them along the way that goes up to Beth-horon." But from Bethhoron to Azekah the way lay down the hill, on another side:[] "In the going down of Beth-horon, the Lord cast down great stones upon them, unto Azekah."** But the most remarkable evidence respecting its situation is afforded by Josephus, in several passages following his account of the destruction of & Joppa (Jaffa) by the Romans; where he mentions the march of Cestius by the way of Lydda, and Bethoron, to Jerusalem :tt and Lydda is known to have stood near the spot where Rama now stands. Also in the description given of the situation of the Roman army, in the defiles and crags about Bethoron.§§ From these, and many other testimonies that might be adduced, it does seem evident that the modern village of Bethoor was the Bethoron superior of the ancients.

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The scene which ensued upon our arrival at Bethoor, was highly interesting. We found the Arabs in great mber, squabbling, and seizing every thing they could lay their hands upon. We were not allowed even to pitch our tent, until the result of a general council among them had taken place. Presently the Sheik of Bethoor made his appearance, and a

Eusebius in Onomast. Reland, ubi supra.

'Ev Bartupov (1 Macc. vii. 39.) Thy Baitwowy (1 Macc. ix. 50.) 'Ava βασις Βαιθωρων (1 Macc. iii. 16.) Ἐν καταβάσι Βαιθωρὼν ἕως τα πεδία. (Ibid.)

1 Chron. vii. 24.

Josh. x. 10.

See Dr. Wells's Hist. Geog. vol. I. p. 295. Oxf. 1801

**Josh. x. 11.

tt Joseph. de Bell. lib. ii. c. 23.

Colon. 1691.

11 Reland. Pal. Illust, tom. II. p. 959. Utr. 1714

Joseph. de Bell. c. 24. Colon. 1691.

conversation began between him and the Arab who had undertaken to escort us through bis territory. Then they all formed a circle, seated upon the ground, in the open air; the Sheik being in the centre, with an iron mace or sceptre in his hand, about three feet in length, with a sphere at the upper extremity, so longitudinally grooved as to exhibit edges on every side. This regal badge, evidently a weapon of offence, thus borne as a symbol of power in time of peace, only proves, that among the wildest Arabs, as among the most enlightened nations, the ensigns of dignity have been originally instruments of terror. The consultation lasted for some time: during this we observed our Arab as a very principal speaker, addressing the conclave with great warmth, and apparently remonstrating against propositions that were made. When it ended, we found that if we had better understood what was going on, we should have been more interested in the result of their debate than we imagined; for the discussion tended to nothing less than a determination, whether or not we should be considered as prisoners of war. As soon as they all rose, the Sheik came toward us, and told us, that we might pass the night where we then were; that we were indebted for our liberty to the presence of the Arab we had brought with us, and to the recommendation of the Pacha of Acre; that the countenance of the governor of Jeru salem availed nothing in our favour; that in the morning he should mount upwards of one thousand Arabs against the Pacha of Gaza; but that he would send a party to escort us as far as Rama. It may well be imagined, that, after this intelligence of our situation, we passed the night in considerable uneasiness. We had the tent pitched, but called into it all those upon whom we could rely, and stationed others round it ; keeping guard until day light appeared, when we recommenced our journey. The Arabs appointed to guaranty our safety, took their station, as the young chief had done on the preceding evening, in the front of our party, bearing their long lances upright. In this manner they preceded us until we arrived within sight of Rama, when, suddenly filing to the right and left, without bidding us farewell, they galloped off as fast as their horses could carry them. Rama is about thirty miles from Jerusalem, Quaresmius.*

according to

Phocas makes the distance greater. The last

"Via à Rama usque ad Jerusalem est triginta circiter milliarium." Elucid. T.S. tom. II. p. 12.

† ̓Απὸ τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως Ιερεσαλήμ ὡσεὶ μίλια 5', ἐστὶν ἡ ̓Αρμαθὲμ πόλις, ἐντ Σάμεὴλ ὁ μέγας ἐκείνος προφήτης γεγέννηται. καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνον ὡσεὶ μεθ ̓ ἑτέρων μιλίων ἑπτὰ

eight or ten miles of our journey was over a more pleasing tract of country; but all the rest afforded the most fatiguing and difficult route* we had any where encountered, since we landed at Acre. The town is situated in the middle of an extensive and fertile plain, which is part of the great field of Sharon, if we may bestow a name upon any particular region which was applied to more than one district of the Holy Land. It makes a considerable figure at a distance; but we found nothing within the place except traces of devastation and death. It exhibited one scene of ruin. Houses fallen or deserted, appeared on every side; and instead of inhabitauts we beheld only the skeletons or putrifying carcases of horses and camels. These were lying in all the streets, and even in the courts and chambers of the buildings belonging to the place. A plague, or rather murrain, during the preceding year, had committed such ravages, that not only men, women, and children, but cattle of all kinds, and every thing that had life, became its victims. Few of the inhabitants of Europe can have been aware of the state of suffering to which all the coast of Palæstine and Syria was exposed. It followed, and in part accompanied, the dreadful ravages caused by the march of the French army from the accounts we received, it seemed as if the exterminating hand of Providence was exercised in sweeping from the earth every trace of animal existence. "In Ramat was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and

ἢ καὶ πλεῖον διάστημα, ἐστὶν ἡ Ἐμμαὺς πόλις μεγάλη, κοιλάδος μέσον κείμενη, ἐν ὑπερανεστηκότι ρακίῳ, ὅτως ὡσεὶ μίλια͵ εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρα ή το Ραμπλέα χώρα ὑψήπλωται καὶ ναὸς πάμμεγας ἐν ταύτῃ ὁρᾶται τὸ ἁγία μεγαλομάρτυρος Γεωργία. A sancta civitate Hierusalem. ad sex milliaria, Armathem urbe conspicitur, in qua Samuel, magnus ille propheta, ortum habuit. Inde post alia septem et amplius milliaria, Emmaus, urbs magna, in media valle supereminenti dorso jacet Sic ad passuum fere viginti millia, Ramplene (haec est Kamola, sic leg. Reland.) regio effunditur: et templum ingens in eadem sancti magni martyris Georgii visitur. Phocae. Descript. Loc. Sanct. apud Leon. Allat. Eupp. Colon. 1653

*It seems never to have been of herwise. There is not even a trace of any ancient paved way, so common even in the remotest provinces of the Roman empire. Excepta planitie Rama," says Quaresmius (Elue. T. S. tom. II. p. 12.) quae pulchra est. spaliosa et fecunda, octo vel decem milliarium, tota residua difficilis satis, et fere semper per montes et colles." Yet it appears to be recorded, (1 Kings, v. 9.) that the stones and timber for building Solomon's Temple were brought upon rafts, by sea. to the port of Jaffa, and thence carried by land to Jerusalem. See also Quaresm. Eluc. TS. tom. II. p. 5. Antv. 1639.

† Eusebius and Jerom affirm, that all the maritime district from Joppa to Caesarea was called Saron; and also, that the country between Mount Thabor and the Lake of Tiberias had the same name, Vide. Hieronym. de Loc. Hebraic. Litt. S. See also Doubdan. Voy. de la T. S. p. 510. Paris, 1657.

This prophecy of Jeremiah (xxxi. 15.) applied by Saint Matthew (ii. 17.) to the murder of the innocents by Herod, is uot believed to refer to the place now mentioned, but to another Rama, noticed by Eusebius. Meminit Eusebius Rame περὶ τεν Βηθλεεμ de qua dictum sit, (Matth. 2. 18. Jerem 31. 11.) VOX IN RAMA AUDITA EST. Sed quum vicum aut urbem eam non appellet, nec aliquid addat," &c. (Rel. Palaest. tom. II. p. 36 Utrecht, 1714.) Rama was a name common to many places in the Holy

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great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

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The history of Rama is more interesting than the neglect shown to it by travellers would induce us to believe. origin has been ascribed to the Moslems, under Soliman, son of Abdolmelic, who built the town with materials furnished by the ruins of Lydda,† distant three miles from Rama, That this, however, is not true, may be proved by reference to the writings of St. Jerom: he speaks of its vicinity to Lydda, and calls it Arimathea,‡ from an opinion very prevalent, that it was the native place of Joseph, who buried our Saviour. The testimony of St. Jerom, given anterior to the Mahometan conquest of the country, is sufficient to prove that the city existed before the Moslems invaded Palæstine. Indeed they are, of all mankind, the least likely to found a city; although the commercial advantages of situation have sometimes augmented places where they reside. It is possible that Rama, from a small village, became a large town under their dominjon; and of this opinion is Quaresmius. There seems very little reason to doubt but that this Rama was the village mentioned with Bethoron, by St. Jerom, in the passage already twice referred to, as the only remains of the two cities so named, which were built by Solomon.tt Reland considered Bernard the Monk as

**

Land; and the learned reader is requested to determine, whether the modern village of Betboor and the modern Rama do not appear to be the places mentioned in the following passage cited in a former note from St. Jerom: "Rama et Bethoron et reliquae urbes nobiles a Salomone constructae parvi viculi demonstrantur." Rama was a village in the time of Jerom; and the situation of Bethoor is distinctly marked in the Apocry pha, with reference to the plain of Rama: Eν καταβάσι Βαιθωρων ἕως τὸ πεδίο. (1 Maccab. iii. 16. 24.)

Urbem hanc idem non antiquam, sed conditam esse scribit (Abulfeda, in geogra phia sua manuscripta) ab Solimanno filio Abdolmelic, vastata urhe Lydda, et aquae ductu, cisterna, aliisque rebus ornatam," &c. (Rel. Pal. Illast. tom. 11. p. 959, Utr. 1714.) Hanc civitatein aedificaverunt Arabes prope Lyddam, quum peregrini primo iverunt ad partes illas post tempora Mahumeti." Sanutus in Secret. Fidel. Crucis, pag. 152.

Otherwise named Diospolis. It was also called St. George. (See the Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela.) Pliny mentions it among the ten Toparchies of Judaea. (Vid. lib. y Hist Nat. c. 14. tom. I. p. 262. L. Bat. 1635.) It was famous for a church dedicated to St. George, said by Boniface (lib. ii, de Perenni Cultu Terr. Sanct.) to have been built by an English king. There was also a monastery of that name in Rama.

"Haud procul ab ea (Lydda) Arimathiam viculum Joseph qui Dominum sepelivit." Hieronymus in Epitaphio Paulæ.

See also Adrichomius, Theat. T. S. p. 29. Colon. 1628.
Elucidat. Terr. Sanct. tom. II. p. 8. Antv. 1639.

**See former notes of this chapter.

Its most ordinary appellations have been Rama, Ramola, and Ramula; although Adrichomius, who believed it to have been Arimathea, mentions the various modifications of Ramatha, Ramathæ, Ramathaim, and Arimatha, or Arimathia, afterward, says he, called Rama, and Ramula Vid. Adrichom. Theat. Terr. Sabet, p. 29. Colon. 1628.

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