03. Historical Geography

Historical Geography

Names Palestine has, in different ages, been known by various names—

1. In Scripture it is called, by way of pre-eminence, The Land;[1] every region being pre-eminently the land or country of its inhabitants. It is also called, distinctively, The Land of the successive proprietors or occupants of the whole country, or of particular parts of it—as, 1. The Land of Canaan; from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, and grandson of Noah, among whose eleven sons the country was divided, after the Confusion at Babel (Gen 10:6; Gen 10:15)—2. The Land of Israel; from the Israelites, the posterity of Israel (Jacob), who drove out the Canaanites, and settled therein—3. The Land of Judah; a name which was at first restricted to the domains of the tribe of Judah; but was afterwards applied to the separate kingdom formed by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Psa 76:1); and at last, under the form of Judea, to the whole country.

[1] Often translated “The Earth,” in English versions.

2. The name the Lord’s (or Jehovah’s) Land, or the Land of God, occurs frequently in the Old Testament, and bears a peculiar force when understood with reference to the fact that, under the Hebrew constitution, God Himself was the king of the land, and the sovereign proprietor of the soil (Lev 25:23). The name Holy Land, does not seem to have been employed by the Jews until after the Captivity (Zec 2:12). They used it with reference to the fact, that the land was chosen by God to be the inheritance of His people, and the seat of His worship. Christians, among whom also the name is in common use, have, at the same time, regard to its being the scene of the acts and sufferings of Christ and His Apostles. The Land of Promise (Heb 11:9), is a name given with reference to the promise which God made to Abraham, that He would bestow this land on his children.

3. Palestine may now, from general use, be regarded as the proper geographical name of the country. It is derived from the Philistines; who obtained possession of a very important part of the land, and appear to have given their name to the whole of it in the time of Moses (Exo 15:14).

Divisions

1. The divisions of Palestine were different in different ages—In the time of the Patriarchs, the country was divided among the tribes or nations descended from the sons of Canaan. The precise locality of each nation is not, in every case, distinctly known; but the map exhibits the most probable arrangement. Here it is sufficient to mention that the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, lived on the east of the Jordan (Gen 15:18-21); and that, on the west of that river, or in Palestine Proper, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites, abode in the hill country of the south (afterwards belonging to Judah); the Canaanites—properly so called—in the middle, across the country, from the sea-coast to the river Jordan; the Girgashites, along the eastern border of the lake of Gennesareth; and the Hivites in the north, among the southern branches of the Lebanon mountains. The southern part of the coast was occupied by the Philistines, and the northern part by the Phoenicians.

2. In the time of Moses, when the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan, the distribution of the nations on the west of the Jordan had undergone very little change; but, on the east of that river, we find the three principal territories to have been Bashan, in the north—that is to say, east and north-east of the lake Gennesareth; Gilead, in the middle; and, in the south, on the east of the Dead Sea, the Land of Moab, so called from one of the sons of Lot, who settled there. There are traces of the name of Gilead in the time of Jacob.

3. After the Conquest, the land was distributed by lot among the tribes. The particulars of this distribution will be best seen by reference to the map. Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, and Daniel occupied the south; Ephraim, half of Manasseh, and Issachar, the middle; and Zebulon, Naphtali, and Asher, the north. Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh, were settled beyond Jordan, in Bashan and Gilead. This distribution was in no way affected by the division of the country into two kingdoms, which took place after the death of Solomon. The boundary line between them was the northern limit of the tribe of Benjamin.

4. After the Captivity, we hear very little of the territories of the tribes, for ten of them never returned to occupy their ancient domains.

5. In the time of Christ, the country on the west of the Jordan was divided into the provinces of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Galilee is a name which occurs repeatedly in the book of Joshua (Jos 21:32); and very often in the later history. It was applied to that part of Palestine north of the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel. This province was divided into Lower or Southern, and Upper or Northern Galilee. The latter section was also denominated Galilee of the Gentiles (Mat 4:15). Samaria occupied nearly the middle of Palestine; but, although it extended across the country, it did not come down to the sea-shore. Judea as a province, corresponded to the northern and western parts of the ancient kingdom of that name; but the south-eastern portion formed the territory of Idumea. On the other side of the Jordan the divisions were, at this time, more numerous and less distinct. The whole country, generally, was called Perea, and was divided into eight districts or cantons, namely—1. Perea, in the more limited sense, which was the southernmost canton, extending from the river Arnon to the river Jabbok—2. Gilead, north of the Jabbok, and highly populous—3. Decapolis, or the district of ten cities, which were Scythopolis or Bethshan (on the west side of the Jordan), Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia (formerly Rabbath), Dium, CanathaCanatha, Gerasa, Raphana, and, perhaps, Damascus but there is not much certainty with regard to the ten cities from which the region had its name—4. Gaulonitis, extending to the north-east of the Upper Jordan and of the lake Gennesareth—5. Bataniea, the ancient Bashan, but less extensive, east of the lake Gennesareth—6. Auranitis, also called Ituraea and known to this day by the old name of Hauran (Eze 47:16-18), to the north of Batanea and the east of Gaulonitis—7. Trachonitis, extending to the north of Gaulonitis, and east from Paneas (Caesarea Philippi) and the sources of the Jordan, where it was separated from Galilee (Luk 3:1)—8. Abilene, in the extreme north, among the mountains of Anti-Libanus, between Baalbec and Damascus.

Bordering Nations The bordering nations mentioned in Scripture, are the Philistines, Phoenicians, Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, Edomites, and Amalekites.

1. The Philistines, although they were settled in Palestine in the time of the Patriarchs, were not Canaanites, but strangers, who had probably migrated, or had been expelled, from Egypt. They drove out the Avites, a Canaanitish tribe, and established themselves in their room, in the small strip of territory on the south-west coast, from a point below Joppa to Gaza. Here they maintained themselves for many generations, and, at times, made their power felt in the interior and in the south, long after the land of Canaan had been conquered by the Israelites. Their chief towns, each the seat of a distinct state or republic, were Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, Askelon, and Gaza.

Gaza

2. The Phoenicians although Canaanites by origin, were not among the doomed nations whom the Israelites were ordered to expel. In fact, their presence was rather useful than otherwise to the Hebrew nation; and very friendly relations subsisted between them, which were much to the temporal advantage of both nations, The Phoenicians needed the products of the soil, which the Israelites raised in abundance; and the Israelites wanted the various commodities which the traffic of the Phoenicians afforded, and for which they were glad to exchange their corn, wine, and oil. This intercourse was chiefly with the southern states of Tyre and Sidon, the more northern states being little noticed in the history of the Jews. As a nation, the Phoenicians occupied the northern portion of that extended plain along the coast, the southern portion of which was in the bands of the Philistines.

3. Moab and Ammon were the descendants of the two sons of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. They established themselves in the country to the east of the river Jordon, in territories from which they expelled the aboriginal inhabitants, the gigantic races of the Emim and Zamzummim. The Moabites had their territory to the east of the Dead Sea and the lower Jordan; and the Ammonites lived to the northeast of Moab. The chief town of the Moabites was Ar, or Rabbath-Ammon, or Areopolis, as it was afterwards called. situated upon the south bank of the Arnon, some ruins of which may still be traced.

4. The Midianites were descended from Midian, the fourth son of Abraham, by his second wife, Keturah (Gen 25:1-2). Their territory lay to the east and south-east of that of the Moabites. They seem to have been a more pastoral and less settled people than the Moabites, in alliance with whom we usually find them acting. By the time that history introduces us to them, they appear to have become wholly idolatrous (Num 22:2-7; Numbers 31) Another tribe of Midianites was established about the head of the eastern arm (Elanitic Gulf) of the Red Sea ; among whom Moses found refuge when he fled from Egypt. They appear to have been a branch of the same stock, although it has been thought that the name of Cushites, which is sometimes given to them (Num 12:1; Hab 3:7), indicated a descent from Midian, the son of Cush. This, however, might be ascribed to their occupation of a territory usually considered as belonging to Cush or Ethiopia; and it is an argument in favor of their descent from Abraham, that these Midianites still retained, in the time of Moses, the knowledge of the true God, which the world in general had lost. These distant Midianites had little connection with the Jewish history after the time of Moses.

Interior of a Tomb

5. The Edomites were descended from Edom, or Esau, the son of Isaac and brother of Jacob. They were settled in the mountains of Seir, which extend along the eastern side of the great valley of Arabah, between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic Gulf. In a valley among these mountains, the remains of Petra, the chief city of Edom, have only lately been discovered, and have been viewed with much wonder on account of the beautiful tombs and other monuments hewn in the surrounding cliffs. While the land was comparatively depopulated, during the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Edomites established themselves in the south-eastern parts of Judea, whence, as already mentioned, that quarter came to be called Idumea, or the country of the Idumeans or Edomites.

Ravine in Idumea

6. The Amalekites were descended from Amalek, the son of Ham and grandson of Noah. They were the most bitter enemies of the Israelites, by whom they were eventually exterminated. We find them first in the fertile valleys near the foot of Mount Sinai (Exo 17:8-16); and afterwards on the southern borders of Palestine. They seem to have been a pastoral people; and in that quarter there is a much larger extent of fine pasture grounds than was, until lately, supposed.

All these nations have long been extinct; some before, and others very soon after the final dispersion of the Jews.