clear from the following passages amongst many: Gen. xli. 48, xlvii. 20, 24; Lev. xix. 9, 19; Numb. xvi. 14, xx. 17; Ruth ii. 2, 3 &c. ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 11, and 1 Chron. xi. 13 (in both "ground"); Job xxiv. 6; Jerem. xxvi. 18; Micah iii. 12; Prov. xxiv. 30. A further example of this use of the word is seen in Gen. xxxiii. 19, xxxiv. 5, 7, 28, xxxvii. 7-15, where it is employed to designate the piece of cultivated land lying "before the city" of Shechem, the acquisition of which marked the transition of Jacob from the Bedouin shepherd into the agricultural settler (Chap. V. p. 236). And it is thus used in 2 Kings, viii. 3, 5 ("land"), for the property of the Shunamite, which it is evident from iv. 18, was farm-land. The expression in, or, "the field, or fields, of Moab," is used in Gen. xxxvi. 35, and 1 Chron. i, 46; Numb xxi. 20; Ruth i. 1, 2, 6, 22, ii. 6, iv. 3; 1 Chron. viii. 8; probably for the pasture and corn-fields on the uplands east of the Jordan, as distinguished from Araboth, "the plains of Moab," or deserts, meaning the dry sunken region in the valley of the river (Chap. VII., p. 298). See also "Country of the Amalekites," Gen. xiv. 7. "Country of Edom," Gen. xxxii. 3, "field of Edom," Judges v. 4. "Country of the Philistines," 1 Sam. xxvii. 5, 7, 11. (The use of the word "Country of the inheritance of Israel," Judges xx. 6. If the above explanation of the word be the correct one, the "vale of Siddim," (opp) Gen. xiv. 3, 8, is the valley of the cultivated fields' in the oasis of the five cities. (Gesenius, however, suggests a different meaning; Thesaurus, p. 1321.) The LXX render it ʼn pápays ἡ ἁλυκή. Aquila, ἡ κοιλὰς τῶν περιπεδίνων. Theod. and Symm., τῶν ἄλσων. Jerome, Vallis Silvestris. In Ruth iv. 3, the word occurs twice, each time differently rendered. "Naomi that is come out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was," &c. By the LXX Sadeh is oftenest rendered ¿ypós; but also redíov and yî, as well as γεώργιον, δρυμός, χόρτος, κτῆμα, &c. [all] § 16. SH'DEMOTH, IT, 'fields' from DT, to enclose. "The fields of Gomorrah," Deut. xxxii. 32: of Kidron, 2 Kings, xxiii. 4; Jer. xxxi. 40; of Heshbon, Isai. xvi. 8; see also Hab. iii. 17. From the mention 1 Here the LXX have àρxovтas 'Aμaλhк, having apparently read " "princes," for "field." of the vine and olives in the first and two last of these passages, Shedemoth would seem to be used for highly cultivated ground. LXX, τὰ πεδία, and literally σαδημωθ. § 17. ABEL,, a meadow:' from ", 'to be wet, like moist grass:' hence applied to places deriving their names from adjacent trees or water. 1. Abel, or Abel-maim (i.e., the meadow of waters,') called also Abel-bethmaachah; 2 Sam. xx. 14; 2 Chron. xvi. 4: 2 Sam. xx. 15; 1 Kings xv. 20; 2 Kings xv. 29. 2. Abel-meholah, (i.e., 'the meadow of the dance,') Judg. vii. 22; 1 Kings iv. 12; xix. 16. 3. "The plain of vineyards," (Abel-ceramim,) Judg. xi. 33. 4. Abel ha-Shittim, (i.e., 'the meadow of the acacias,') Numb. xxxiii. 49. None of these sites have been precisely identified, but they must have all more or less been under the circumstances involved in the derivation. Thus Abel-maim must have been in the marshy valley of the Lake of Merom (see Chap. XI. p. 390): Abel-meholah must have been close to the Jordan, being named with Zartan, or Zererath (1 Kings vii. 46); and Bethshean; and Abel-shittim is distinctly stated to have been "by Jordan," while its name shows it to have been under the shade of acacia groves (shittim). Abel-mizraim, according to the explanation in the text (Gen. 1. 11,) has its name from mourning'-the mourning of the Egyptians over the burial of Joseph. "The great [stone of ] Abel" (it will be perceived that "stone of” is supplied by the translators) in 1 Sam. vi. 18, appears by comparison with verse 15, and with the Targum, and the LXX, ènì Toû λítov тoû μeyáλov, to be a corruption for Eben, a stone (compare vii. 12; Eben-ezer, i.e., 'stone of help.') For Abil or Abila, the capital of Abilene, see Chap. XII., p. 414. § 18. [all] The word translated in Gen. xli. 2, 18, "meadow," is ACHU,, a word of Egyptian derivation (see Gesenius, p. 67, s. voce). In the LXX it is literally rendered Tax, Aqu. and Symm. Aos. It is only met with once again, in Job viii. 11', where the LXX has it BobTopov, Auth. Vers. " 'flag." Philo in his version of Gen. xli. has παρὰ τὰς ὀχθάς. § 19. MAAREH,, an open field,' from, to be bare: occurs only in Judg. xx. 33, the "meadows of Gibeah" (Geba). The word has, how The use of this word and of that for "rush" (3, papyrus nilotica; compare Exod. ii. 3, &c.) in this passage of Job, is one of several proofs that the author of that book was acquainted with Egypt, ever, been considered by some interpreters as p, the cave of G.;' by others, as wo, 'from the west of G.' And so the LXX Alex. and δυσμῶν τῆς γαβαα. As a proper name, it is found in Maarath, a town of Judah; Josh. XV. 59. § 20. CHELKAH, ?, a 'plot of ground;' strictly, a smooth piece (comp. Gen. xxvii. 16, "smooth"): from p, to be smooth. It is used with Sadeh, (§ 15) in The word is frequently used in the poetical books, as is also the kindred Chelek, mostly rendered "portion," LXX, μepís. As a proper name, Chelkah is found in Chelkath hat-tzurim, 2 Sam. ii. 16. "The mount Chalak," (margin, "the smooth mountain,") occurs Josh. xi. 17; xii. 7. § 21. NAPHATH, a word used only in connexion with Dor, the ancient Phoenician city on the maritime plain south of Carmel. (See Chap. VI., p. 260.) It is translated by Symmachus Tapaλía Aúp, 'the seacoast of Dor'-a signification which seems more correct than Gesenius' explanation of it (Thesaurus, p. 866) as 'promontory' or 'high tract,' since Dor (the modern Tantura) is distinctly apart from Carmel and the hilly country on its southern flanks. The word only occurs three times: in In Joshua xvii. 11,-with a different pointing, n, the word is 1 There is here a slight inconsistency in the Auth. Version. "The Philistines were gathered together in a troop, where was a piece (chelkah) of ground (sadeh) full of lentiles . but he stood in the midst of the ground (chelkah) and defended it." 2 All plainly mere corruptions of a literal rendering of the original. applied to the whole district of the plains at the foot of Carmel, both on its north and south sides-" the inhabitants of En-Dor1 and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns-three countries," or, more strictly, 'the triple district' (as Decapolis). From this, Naphath would appear to be a local word applied to the plains at the foot of Carmel, much as Ciccar (§ 12) and Geliloth (§ 13) were to the Jordan valley; and possibly Cinneroth to the district on the shores of the sea of Galilee (see p. 373). § 22. CHEBEL, ạ, land measured out, or allotted, by a rope, a tract or 'district.' The district of Argob in Bashan, is uniformly distinguished probably from its rocky girdle, by the use of this word, rendered in the A. V. "region" and "country." See Deut. iii. 4, 13, 14, and 1 Kings iv. 13. Chebel is used in a general topographical sense in Josh. xvii. 5, 14; xix. 9, (in all rendered "portion"); and Josh. xix. 29; Zeph. ii. 5, 6, 7, (all "coast"). The LXX seem to have rendered it indifferently περίχωρα, ἡ περίχωρος, and, retaining its original meaning, σχοίνισμα. Symm. Tepiueтpov. Jerome: regio; funiculus. II. MOUNTAINS AND RISING GROUND. § 23. HAR,, and HOR, or in (compare the Greek opos and the Slavonie gora), a 'mountain,' as distinguished from Gibeah, a low mountain or hill. Har is employed both for single mountains-as Sinai, Gerizim, Zion, or Olivet-and for ranges, as Lebanon. It is also applied to a mountainous country or district, as in Josh. xi. 16, where "the mountain of Israel" is the highland of Palestine, as opposed to the "valley and the plain:" and in Josh. xi. 21, xx. 7, where "the mountains of Judah" (incorrectly rendered plural) is the same as "the hill country" (7) in xxi. 11. Similarly, Mount Ephraim, (Har Ephraim) is the mountainous district occupied by that tribe, which is evident from the fact that the Mount Gaash (Josh. xxiv. 30), Mount Zemaraim (2 Chron. xiii. 4), the hill of Phinehas (Josh. xxiv. 33), and the towns of Shechem, Shamir (Judges x. 1), Timnath-Serach (Josh. xix. 50), besides other cities, (2 Chron. xv. 8), were all situated upon it. By comparison with the parallel list of the cities of Manasseh in Judges i. 27, it would appear that the "En" in En-Dor in the above passage is probably interpolated. The LXX in Josh. xvii. 11, have Toùs κατοικοῦντας Δάρ. 2 Thus "The Peak," originally the name of the highest mountain of Derbyshire, is now applied to the whole district.. Compare also," the mountain of the Amorites," which apparently is the elevated country east of the Dead Sea and Jordan (Deut. i. 7, 19, 20) -and "Mount Naphtali," (Josh. xx. 7). The name of Mount Hor (, i. e. the mountain кar' ¿ox) is borne (1) by that close to Petra, on which Aaron died (LXX, îp Tò doos); and (2) by a member of the Lebanon range, named in Num. xxxiv. 7, 8, as one of the marks of the northern boundary of Palestine, (LXX, Tò ŏpos тd ŏpos, Vulg. ad montem altissimum), which is explained in the Talmud (Gittin viii.) to be the mountain Amana, Cant. iv. 8. (See Fuerst's Hand W. Buch, p. 336.) The various mountains or districts to which the word Har is applied in the Old Testament are as follows: Abarim; Amana (Cant. iv. 8); Ararat; Baalah; Baal-Hermon (Judg. iii. 3; compare Josh. xiii. 5); Bethel; Bether (Cant. ii. 17); Carmel ; Ebal; Emek (Josh. xiii. 19, in the Auth. Vers. translated "the mount of the valley" after the Vulgate monte convallis; but probably Emek1 (valley) was its name; LXX év T ŏpeɩ 'Eváê2, Zunz, auf dem Thalberg); Ephron; (Josh. xv. 9); Gaash; Gerizim; Gilboa; Gilead; Halak (the smooth mountain, Josh. xi. 17); Heres (Judg. i. 35); Hermon; Hor (2) ; Horeb; Jearim (Josh. xv. 10); Olivet, or of Olives (Zech. xiv. 4; in 2 Sam. xv. 30, the expression is, David went up "by the ascent (maaleh) of the Olives,'" not "of Mount Olivet "); Mizar3 (Ps. xlii. 6); Moriah; Nebo; Paran (Deut. xxxiii. 2); Perazim (Isai. xxviii. 21); Samaria (1 Kings xvi. 24, "the hill Samaria," accurately the mountain Shomeron'); Seir; Sephar ( Gen. x. 30); Sinai; Sion, Sirion, or Shenir (all names for Hermon, Deut. iii. 9; iv. 48); Shapher ( Numb. xxxiii. 23); Tabor; Zalmon (Judg. ix. 48); Zemaraim (2 Chron. xiii. 4); Zion. There are also, the mountain of the Amorites; of the Amalekites (Judg. xii. 15); of Ephraim; of Esau; of Israel; of Judah; of Naphtali; and of Bashan (Ps. lxviii. 15). Har is rendered in the English version by "mountain," " mount," and "hill;" in the LXX, with a few exceptions, opos and opewý. Mention has been made of the frequent occurrence throughout the Scriptures of personification of the great features of the country. The following are, it is believed, all the words used with this object in relation to mountains or hills: (a) HEAD, N, Rosh, Gen. viii. 5; Exod. xix. 20; Deut. xxxiv. 1; 1 Kings 1 Compare the same collocation in the name of the well-known mountain Langdale Pikes, in Cumberland. Compare the same reading by the LXX in Jer. xlvii. 5; xlix. 4. See § 1. 3 The use of the word Har shows that the Prayer-Book version "the little hill of Hermon" is erroneous: Mizar is 'small,' perhaps by comparison with the main Peak of Hermon, though a large mountain in itself. |