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Soap manufacture.
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Wady Mar.
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Neby Danyāl.
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Gaza — Ethiopian eunuch.
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Belt Ur (Beth-horon).
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The sirocco.
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Biblical sites.
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Yebna — Threshing
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Kuryet el 'Ainub.
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Usdûd — Ashdod.
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Modin-Latron.
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Fog — “cloudy dew.”
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April 14th.
A ramble through the streets this morning has not increased my respect for Ramleh. I got bewildered among narrow crooked lanes which lead nowhere in particular; and with dogs, hairless and scabby, had a regular battle, until a one-eyed man kindly drove them away, and guided me out of the perplexing labyrinth.
Soap Manufactories
Are these large mounds of gray rubbish the ashes of soap factories?
They are, and they speak of an extensive business continued through many centuries. You will see similar heaps at Gaza, Jerusalem, and many other places, but by far the largest are at Edlip; and there, too, are the most extensive olive orchards in the country.
Soap
I cannot account for these immense hills of ashes, except on the supposition that the kitty (alkali) used in the manufacture of soap has been very impure, leaving a large residuum to be cast out upon these heaps.
From whence is this kŭly, and by what process is it manufactured. In Syria it is obtained mostly from the Arabs of the frontier deserts, where it is made by burning the glasswort and other saliferous plants that grow on those arid plains. The kŭly resembles in appearance cakes of coarse salt, and it is generally adulterated with sand, earth, and ashes, which make the residuum very large, and from it these vast tells of rubbish gradually accumulate around the places where soap is manufactured. The growth of these mounds, however, is so slow, that it must have taken hundreds, if not thousands of years for those at Edlip to reach their present enormous size. The mineral alkali called natron, found in Egypt, and employed from remotest antiquity for various purposes besides making soap, as we learn from Herodotus and other old authors, is not used in this country.
Scriptural Allusions
Both kinds of alkali are mentioned, I suppose, in the Bible Jeremiah says of the degenerate Jews of his day, “Though thou wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God” (Jer. 2:2222For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God. (Jeremiah 2:22)). This borith, here translated soap, was doubtless some cleansing preparation of vegetable alkali, and the niter was the mineral natron of Egypt. Malachi also speaks of “fullers' soap” (Mal. 3:22But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: (Malachi 3:2)), where the same word borith is used. Solomon was acquainted with the natron of Egypt, and also with the fact that it effervesced violently when brought into contact with vinegar; and he says that this is like singing songs to a heavy heart (Prov. 25:2020As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart. (Proverbs 25:20)); — that is, it throws the heavy heart into a sour, angry fermentation, as when natron is cast into a pot of vinegar.
Soap Ashes
In one respect, at least, these ashes are very mischievous. They not only add to the heat of summer, which renders Ramleh almost uninhabitable, but on the occurrence of the slightest wind the air is filled with a fine pungent dust, which is very injurious to the eyes. I once walked the streets counting all that were either blind or had defective eyes, and they amounted to about one-half of the male population. The women I could not count, for they are more rigidly veiled in Ramleh than in any other town in the country. I never saw the faces of those in whose house I resided for a month. Whenever I had occasion to go out or come in, a servant, or one of the sons, always preceded me, calling out, “Et tariûk! et tarîûk! — the way! the way!” when the women fled and concealed themselves, in their own apartments. But we must leave Ramleh, and I fear we shall encounter a sirocco today, for there are premonitory puffs of hot air which rarely deceive.
Road to Ashdod
The muleteers will go directly to Ashdod, while we make a detour, to gain a better knowledge of the plain, and also to visit Jamnia, which lies to the west of the regular road from Ramleh. We will ride through these olive orchards to an elevated point in the ridge, which commands a prospect of great rural beauty and rich historic interest. On the east you can trace the road from Lydd to Jerusalem, far up the mountain toward Beth-horon; and to the southeast the path that goes by Emmaus quite to Latron, at the entrance into Wady 'Aly. As we do not take either of these roads to the Holy City, this is the spot from which to point out to you what there is to be seen along them. I have been over them so often that every salient rock and stunted bush is perfectly familiar to me.
Jimzû
From Lydd the path leads down into a wady, which it partly follows for three miles, to a place called Jimzû — no doubt the Gimzo reconquered by the Philistines, with other cities in the low country, in the days of Ahaz (2 Chron. 28:1818The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. (2 Chronicles 28:18)).
Neby DanyāL
Neby Danyāl — Prophet Daniel — is some two miles in this direction; and on the north of Jima is a large tell covered with rubbish, and now named Daheriyeh or Duheîry. The road keeps up a valley north of Jimzû, which I heard called Wady Zicherîyeh — Zechariah; and in it are some remarkable caverns and old foundations, marking an ancient site, which also bears the name of this prophet. The extensive quarries along this wady were probably made by the builders of Lydd and Ramleh. Bufilîya lies over the ridge to the south, in a wady called Suleiman, along which there is a road leading to Jib. Above Zicherîyeh is Shilta, a ruin on the left; and east of it another called Kŭrakûr. Half an hour further is an extensive site called Keferrût — possibly the Chephirah of the Gibeonites who deceived Joshua (2 Joshua 9:1717And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. (Joshua 9:17)). There is a willy there called Khŭrîyeh.
Beit Ur (Bethhoron)
Sŭffah is a village one mile southeast of Keferrût, and in about an hour more Beit Ur et Tahta, a site manifestly ancient, and admitted on all hands to be the lower Beth-boron, so often mentioned in the Bible. I have always found the Moslems there particularly austere and uncivil. It is just an hour from this to the upper Beit Ur — heavy climbing over an extremely rough road. This place we shall visit from Jerusalem, and may now return by a track leading southwest into a broad wady called Merj Ibn Omeir, on the south side of which is situated Yalo, the modern representative of that Ajalon over which Joshua commanded the moon to stand still on that memorable day when his victorious army pursued the routed host of the five kings. They evidently fled from Gibeon down by the upper Beth-boron to the lower, and then southward into this Merj Ibn Omeir. All these places are still found, and in exact agreement with the account of that great victory recorded in the 10th chapter of Joshua. The water from this Merj, when it flows at all, runs down a narrow channel, passes off to the northwest along Wady Atallah, east of Lydd, and thence across the great plain to the 'Aujeh. Wady 'Aly bends round Latron, and then northward below Kebab to the same valley east of Lydd, and not southwest toward Ekron, as in most maps of this region, in which, also, Amwas is placed south of Latron, whereas its true position is north.
Biblical Site. Amwas-Emmaus
What a nest of Biblical sites are in view! but that which interests me most is Amwas. Do you suppose it is the site of the Emmaus toward which the two disciples were pursuing their sad walk when the risen Savior joined them, and in which he was made known to them by the breaking of bread?
So thought Eusebius and Jerome, but there are almost insurmountable objections against it. Luke says it was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem (Luke 24:1313And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. (Luke 24:13)), and this site is twice that distance as the crow flies. Besides, if we were at liberty to correct the text, as has been suggested, and make it read one hundred and sixty furlongs instead of sixty, that might bring you to Amwas; but how were the disciples to get back to Jerusalem that same night, before the people had retired to sleep, as we are told expressly that they did (Luke 24:3333And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, (Luke 24:33)). “The day was far spent” when the three reached Emmaus. They had their meal to get ready, and it was certainly evening when they sat down to meat. They could not, therefore, have started back before dark, and it is six hours' hard walking over rough mountains from this Emmaus to Jerusalem. If this had been the place, they could not have reached home until after midnight. This is certainly possible, but not probable, and therefore I cannot believe that we have before us the scene of that interesting conversation and miracle recorded in the 24th chapter of Luke. This is yet to be found somewhere much nearer the Holy City; and Josephus states (Wars, 7, 6, 6) that Caesar, after the destruction of Jerusalem, gave Emmaus, a village sixty furlongs from the city, to eight hundred of his soldiers, whom he had dismissed from his army. This I believe to be identical with the Emmaus of Luke.
Kuryet El’ainud
I regard with respect the tradition that the Emmaus of Luke is Kuryet el 'Ainub, which Dr. Robinson identifies with Kirjath-jearim. It is the right distance from Jerusalem, and it would be a very appropriate situation to plant a colony of disbanded troops, for they would command the road from the seaboard to Jerusalem. The two things do not clash, for Kuryet el 'Ainub may be both Kirjath-jearim and Emmaus; and it renders the place more interesting to find it not only the resting-place of the ark, but, long after, of Him who was infinitely greater than the ark.
Nicopolis
But, though this is not the Emmaus of Luke, it early became celebrated, and there are still the remains of a church there, and other indications of antiquity. It was called Nicopolis by Julius Africanus, who caused it to be rebuilt early in the third century; and under this name it is often mentioned by Eusebius, Jerome, and other early writers. It also figures largely in the Crusades, as does also Beit Nuba, that village a short distance north of it, which marks the end of Richard the Lion-hearted's wild career in this country. He loitered weeks there, and then returned crest-fallen to Ramleh. There are fine fountains below Emmaus, which Pliny mentions (Book 6, 14); and good water in this neighborhood is most acceptable even in spring, as the pilgrims have abundant reason to remember, for the road is lined with boys and girls with jars of it, which they sell at exorbitant prices.
Modin
Where is Modin, so celebrated in the Maccabees and in Josephus?
Latron
The site has not yet been discovered, but I suspect that it is identical with Latron, seated about two miles south of Am was, upon a high hill directly in front of the entrance into Wady 'Aly. This site seems best to agree with all the notices of Modin which we have; and the pyramids, built there by the Maccabean family, could well be seen from the sea, as they are said to have been; and the large ruins now covering the hill at Latron require something of the kind to account for them. It was a strong castle, and an important station during the Crusades, for which its position is admirably adapted, for it completely commands the entrance into Wady 'Aly, up which is the ordinary road to Jerusalem. The monks say that this Latron was the city of the penitent thief, whom they call Disma, and who, according to their legends, used to rob pilgrims and travelers in Wady 'Aly. Hence the name of the place, Latron or Ladrone — robber.
Wady ‘Aly
Wady 'Aly is the easiest route to Jerusalem, but there is neither water nor any monument of antiquity in it except the tomb of the Imam 'Aly, below Saris, from which the valley takes its name. After gaining the top of the mountain — three good hours from Latron — you descend to Kuryet el 'Ainub, which, for the last half century, has had a bad notoriety as the seat of the mountain robber Abu Gush.
Yebna
We shall visit that neighborhood from the Holy City, and now let us turn westward to Yebna. This little village to the south, with its pretty gardens, is 'Akir, no doubt the modern heir of the celebrated Ekron.
Ekron
Josephus says the god of Ekron was a fly, and I certainly found plenty of them there when I visited it two years ago.
Wady SûRar
From this place the ark of God was sent back, and the unbroken and unguided kine took the direct road across the plain to Beth-shemesh; which city was near the mouth of Wady Sûrar, behind that long rocky spur which strikes down from the mountains south of Latron (1 Sam. 6:10-1210And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. (1 Samuel 6:10‑12)). There is 'Ain es Shems at the present day, and somewhere near it was the city to which came the cart with its mysterious burden. We can now easily understand how the lords of the Philistines could follow until they saw it taken possession of by the Bethshemites, and then return the same day to Ekron. It might be said by those ignorant of the country, that, the whole distance being a level plain, there was no great miracle needed to secure the safe transmission of the ark over this comparatively short distance; but let them make a similar experiment, and stake their skepticism upon its success, if they have the courage to do so, or let them even try to reach 'Ain es Shems themselves without a guide, and see how they will succeed.
Ethiopian Eunuch
My thoughts have often followed Philip and the eunuch in their ride across this plain, and I have wished to know what sort of country they passed through.
If the eunuch came down Wady 'Aly from Jerusalem, he would follow nearly the same track from Latron that I once took, and this is now regarded as the easiest and safest route; if he came by Wady Sûrar, entering the plain near Beth-shemesh, he would cross it further south; and if he descended by Eleutheropolis, his route would be still nearer the southern desert. Then another question is, whether Philip set out from Samaria or from Jerusalem; most probably from Samaria, as I think, for he appears to have been in that city when he received the command to go (Acts 8:5,25-275Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. (Acts 8:5)
25And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 26And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, (Acts 8:25‑27)).
Ethiopian Eunuch’s Road
He would then have met the chariot somewhere southwest of Latron. There is a fine stream of water, called Murŭbbah, deep enough even in June to satisfy the utmost wishes of our Baptist friends. This Murŭbbah is merely a local name for the great Wady Sûrar, given to it on account of copious fountains which supply it with water during summer. Above them the wady was entirely dry in the month of April, at which time the transaction took place, I suppose. I know of no brook on the route from Beth-shemesh to Gaza, but there may be one. Dr. Robinson found water in the wady below Tell el Hâsy, which is midway between Beit Jibrîn and Gaza, and on the direct line between them. This route would lead them near, if not quite into the desert. The same, however, might have been true of either of the routes, out in the center of the plain, as it is at this day.
Gaza
Some, perhaps most people, suppose that it was Gaza which was desert, and not the country through which the road passed; and the Greek is as indefinite as the English; but Philip did not go to the city, neither was it desert or deserted at the time when the angel commanded him to take this excursion; nor do I believe it has ever been an eremos — desert — since the earliest days of history. It has often been sacked, plundered, and sometimes burned, and it suffered one of these reverses about thirty years after the journey of Philip; but these Oriental cities spring up from their ashes, like the phoenix, with wonderful rapidity; and I cannot suppose that Gaza itself could, with any propriety, be called desert either then or at any other time from that day to this.
That Philip was found at Azotus, which is Ashdod, after the baptism of the eunuch, seems to imply that it took place not far from that city, which is rather against the idea that they followed the road from Beit Jibrin to Gaza, since that would carry them many miles south of Ashdod.
These filmy apologies for clouds which lounge about the sky seem to act rather as condensers to concentrate the heat than as a cooling shadow. There is something extremely oppressive in this air.
Sirocco
We have two kinds of sirocco, one accompanied with vehement wind, which fills the air with dust and fine sand. I have often seen the whole heavens veiled in gloom with this sort of sand-cloud, through which the sun, shorn of his beams, looked like a globe of dull smoldering fire. It may have been this phenomenon which suggested that strong prophetic figure of Joel, quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:30-3130And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:30‑31)): “Wonders in the heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood” (Acts 2:19, 2019And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: (Acts 2:19‑20)). The pillars of smoke are probably those columns of sand and dust raised high in the air by local whirlwinds, which often accompany the sirocco. On the great desert of the Hauran I have seen a score of them marching with great rapidity over the plain, and they closely resembled “pillars of smoke.”
The sirocco today is of the quiet kind, and they are often more overpowering than the others. I encountered one a year ago on my way from Lydd to Jerusalem. Just such clouds covered the sky, collecting, as these are doing, into darker groups about the tops of the mountains, and a stranger to the country would have expected rain. Pale lightnings played through the air like forked tongues of burnished steel, but there was no thunder and no wind.
Heat With Shadow of a Cloud
The heat, however, became intolerable, and I escaped from the burning highway into a dark vaulted room at the lower Beth-horon. I then fully understood what Isaiah meant when he said, “Thou shalt bring down the noise of the strangers as the heat in a dry place, as the heat with the shadow of a cloud” (Isa. 25:55Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. (Isaiah 25:5)); that is, as such heat brings down the noise and makes the earth quiet — a figure used by Job when he says, “Thy garments are warm when he quieteth the earth by the south wind” (Job 37:1717How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind? (Job 37:17)). We can testify that the garments are not only warm, but hot. This sensation of dry hot clothes is only experienced during the siroccos; and on such a day, too, one understands the other effects mentioned by the prophet — bringing down the noise, and quieting the earth. There is no living thing abroad to make a noise. The birds hide in thickest shades; the fowls pant under the walls with open mouth and drooping wings; the flocks and herds take shelter in caves and under great rocks; the laborers retire from the fields, and close the windows and doors of their houses; and travelers hasten, as I did, to take shelter in the first cool place they can find. No one has energy enough to make a noise, and the very air is too weak and languid to stir the pendent leaves even of the tall poplars. Such a south wind with the heat of a cloud does indeed bring down the noise and quiet the earth.
Yebna-Jamnia
Here we are at Yebna, as the Jamnia of the classic geographers is now pronounced. Yebna, however, was the ancient Hebrew name, as appears from 2 Chronicles 26:66And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. (2 Chronicles 26:6), and the Arabs have restored it to its proper place. It has always been a flourishing town, and is so still. There are traces of old buildings about it, but no remains of any remarkable edifice; yet the ancient inhabitants must have had temples and idols in abundance, for when Judas Maccabeus had overthrown Gorgias here at Jamnia, he “found under the coats of every one that was slain things consecrated to the idols of the Jamnites. Then every man saw that this was the cause for which they were slain” (2 Macc. 12:40).
Strabo says that Jamnia and its vicinity were so densely inhabited that it sent forth forty thousand armed men. Pliny mentions two Jamnias — this before us, and another on the seaboard. This last is mentioned in 2 Maccabees 12:9; and there Judas is said to have “set fire to the haven and the navy, so that the light of the fire was seen at Jerusalem!” The sea is behind these sandy downs, about three miles distant, but the harbor has entirely disappeared.
Jaffa to Yebna
From Yebna to Jaffa is three hours and a half. Coming this way, the road leads through gardens for more than half an hour, and then keeps along the border of these downs of white sand for nearly two hours to Wady Haneîn, in which are traces of ancient buildings at different places. The remains of old Sarafend are up this wady to the northeast, and the wady runs down to the sea on the north side of a remarkable tell called Rubin, where is also a willy of the same name. A considerable ridge extends back eastward, and spreads out in different directions, on the southern slope of which is Kebab, and El Mughar twenty minutes east of it. Between these and Yebna is a deep valley, through the center of which descends the brook of Wady Sûrar, which turns round to the northwest, and then unites with Wady Haneîn near the tell Rubin. The ancient harbor of Yebna was at the mouth of this wady.
Yebna is pleasantly situated on this hill, which declines westward toward the sea; and there may be three thousand inhabitants, all Moslems, and all given to agriculture. Their territory is large and of surpassing fertility. Our steam plows would work wonders in the plain of Philistia, and the time must come when they, or something better, will take the place of these ridiculous Arab machines. And yet, with even this imperfect mode of cultivation, the harvests of Yebna are very abundant.
Rich Harvest
When I passed this way two years ago there were hundreds of men, women, and children reaping, gleaning, and carrying away the grain to their great threshing-floors. Long lines of camels, bearing on their backs burdens many times larger than themselves, were slowly converging to a point here at Yebna from every part of the plain, and the grain lay in heaps almost mountain-high.
Threshing Floors
The threshing-floors were arranged all round the town, and the scene was picturesque and novel even to me. The most common mode of threshing is with the ordinary slab, called mowrej, which is drawn over the floor by a horse or yoke of oxen, until not only the grain is shelled out, but the straw itself is ground into chaff. To facilitate this operation, bits of rough lava are fastened into the bottom of the mowrej, and the driver sits or stands upon it. It is rare sport for the children to sit on these slabs, and even our own delight to get out to the baidar, as the floor is called, and ride round on the mowrej.
The Mowrej
The Egyptian mowrej is a little different from this, having rollers which revolve on the grain; and the driver has a seat upon it — which is certainly more comfortable. In the plains of Hamath I saw this machine improved by having circular saws attached to these rollers.
ILLUSTRATION
It is to this instrument, I suppose, that Isaiah refers in the 41St chapter of his prophecies:
Threshing Instrument Having Teeth
“Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth. Thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them” (Isa. 41:15-1615Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:15‑16)).
This passage has several allusions which we can readily understand and explain in this country. The intention of the farmer is to beat and grind down his hills of grain to chaff, and much of it is reduced to fine dust, which the wind carries away. Very little use is now made of the fan, but I have seen it employed to purge the floor of the refuse dust, which the owner throws away as useless.
ILLUSTRATION
The references to the wind which drives off the chaff are numerous in the Bible, and very forcible. The grain, as it is threshed, is heaped up in the center of the “floor,” until it frequently becomes a little mound much higher than the workmen. This is particularly the case when there is no wind for several days; for the only way adopted to separate the chaff from the wheat is to toss it up into the air, when the grain falls in one place, and the chaff is carried on to another. Isaiah here speaks of the whirlwinds, and it is a curious fact that whirling currents are extremely common on the plains. They start up as if by magic or spirit influence, and rush furiously onward, swooping dust and chaff up to the clouds in their wild career.
Treading Out Corn
The sacred writers speak of treading out the corn. Is this mode still practiced by these farmers of Philistia?
On some floors here at Yebna there was no machine of any kind, and boys rode and drove horses round on the grain, somewhat as we did in our barns when I was a boy. It was this, in part, which made the scene so peculiar. Some ran round from left to right, and others the reverse, and no one continued long in the same direction, but changed every few minutes, to keep the animals from getting dizzy.
Muzzling the Ox
The command of Moses not to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn is literally obeyed to this day by most farmers, and you often see the oxen that draw the mowrej eating from the floor as they revolve. There are niggardly peasants, however, who do muzzle the ox — enough to show the need of the commend; and Paul intimates that there were just such in the Church in his day: “Doth God take care for oxen? or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written; that he that plougheth shall plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope” (1 Cor. 9:9-109For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 10Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:9‑10)).
The Peutingerian Tables make the distance between Yebna and Ashdod to be ten miles, and we shall find it two hours and a half fair riding over the level plain. The only village that divides with Yebna the produce of this region is El Hamamy, just visible to the east of us. Here is a deep channel coming down toward the sea, with a bridge over it for which I have no name but that of Usdûd.
UsdûD
In the plain above, it has various branches, one of which passes down by a ruin called Mukhazin, and another comes from Mesmia, two hours east of Usdûd. I hope our tent will be under the shady trees near the large ruined khan of Usdûd, on the west of the village, for there alone we shall find refuge from this persecuting wind.
There seem to be extensive orchards and large groves of sycamore about it, but the sand from the shore comes quite up to the town.
Sand
Yes; and at no distant day it will entirely overwhelm it, and Ashdod will; then be nothing but a heap of barren moving sand. The site, however, is protected by these groves, which break the course of the wind, and is further sheltered by this artificial tell, on the eastern side of which most of the houses are built. The tell was most likely the acropolis of the old city.
Hot as it is, I must take a stroll round this ancient capital of the Philistines.
As you like; but I have seen enough of it on former occasions to dispense with a further survey in such air as this.
Remains of Ashdod
Well, you are soon satisfied. Did you find the marble columns of the temple of Dagon, or the grassy hill of Volney You may as well stop. I saw nothing ancient, and think there is nothing to be seen except a few old stone buildings stowed away among the wretched mud hovels, so as not to be easily examined. The people, too, are so rude, that I was glad to escape from their impertinent curiosity. The village is buried beneath forests of cactus, and overshadowed by sycamores, which impart a singular aspect to the place. I saw camels drawing up water from deep wells with the Persian water-wheel. The plain eastward seems boundless, very fertile, and well cultivated. This is the extent of my discoveries; and there is more evidence of antiquity at this old khan and mazar than anywhere else about Ashdod.
You have enumerated nearly everything that is to be seen, and we cannot do better just now than discuss our dinner, which has been waiting this last half hour. And yet I would not imply that Ashdod, even in ruins, is destitute of interest.
Acropolis
This high and ample mound, I suspect, constituted that impregnable acropolis which it took Psammetichus of Egypt twenty-lane years to subdue. Herodotus says this was the longest siege that any' city ever sustained Ashdod, like Jamnia, had a port, which, like that, also, has entirely disappeared. The sea is some two miles distant, and the intervening space is a desert of moving sand, which has reached the outskirts of the town. If you are anxious to see what vicissitudes this city of Dagon has passed through, and on what occasions it has played a part in the great drama of history, you can consult Joshua, and First Samuel, and Second Chronicles, and Nehemiah, and the Maccabees, and Josephus, and Luke, who calls it Azotus in the eighth chapter of Acts (Josh. 15:46-4746From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages: 47Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof: (Joshua 15:46‑47); 1 Sam. 5:66But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. (1 Samuel 5:6); Acts 8:4040But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:40); Neh. 13:23-2423In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: 24And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. (Nehemiah 13:23‑24)).
Bible References to Ashdod
The Greek and Roman historians and geographers often speak of it, as also Eusebius, Jerome, and other Christian fathers, under the same name. It figures likewise largely in the Crusades, and, indeed, in nearly all other wars that have ever desolated the country of the Philistines. This long and eventful story proclaims its inherent importance and the tenacity of its life; but it has finally fallen under the heavy “burden” of prophecy, and sunk to the miserable village from which you have just escaped.
The Philistine Plain
You are quite correct about the eastern plain, for it is exceedingly fertile, and crowded with flourishing villages, more so than any part of Philistia. I once came from Latron diagonally across the country to this place in a little more than six hours. The whole distance must be about twenty-five miles, for I rode fast. For the first hour and a half the country was diversified by alternate fat valleys and low rocky spurs from the mountains west of 'Ain es Shems. Leaving Khŭlda on a high hill a little to the right, I crossed the brook Murŭbbah — a name for this part of Wady Sûrar — and, after following down its reedy bank for a mile, I left it where it inclines to the northwest, and, riding nearly two hours further, through an ocean of ripe wheat, came to Mesmia just as the sun set. There I pitched for the night. It is a large agricultural village, mud hovels packed together like stacks in a barnyard, and nearly concealed by vast mounds of manure on all sides of it.
Fog
During the night a dense fog settled down flat upon the face of the plain, through which you could not see ten steps, and the scene in the morning was extraordinary and highly exciting. Before it was light the village was all a bus like a beehive. Forth issued party after party, driving camels, horses, mules, donkeys, cows, sheep, goats, and even poultry before them. To every body and thing there was a separate call, and the roar and uproar were prodigious. The parties separated in all directions out into the plain, shouting for the same reason that steamers whistle, blow horns, and ring bells in foggy weather. Ere long all were lost in the dense mist, and by degrees the thousand-tongued hubbub died away in the distance. Taking a guide from Mesmia, we also set out for this Usdûd, directing our course a little north of west. It was a strange ride, for, during the gray and foggy dawn, we saw camels in the air, and “men as trees walking,” and often heard all sorts of noises about us without seeing anything. At length, a sea breeze coming to the assistance of the sun, the fog began to rise and wheel about, now hither, now thither, in fantastic evolutions, until, at the end of an hour, we came out into the clear light of day near Yazûr. This village is seated at the south end of a high ridge, is better built, and has more trees about it than Mesmia, but is not so populous. Turning somewhat to the south of west, we came in half an hour to Bûtany es Sharkîyeh, and thence to Bûtany el Gharbîyeh, and from this last to Usdûd — two hours and a half in all from Mesmia, through as fertile a country as the sun ever shone upon.
Isaiah’s “Cloud of Dew”
Isaiah makes the Lord say, “I will take my rest, I will consider in my dwelling like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest” (Isa. 18:44For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. (Isaiah 18:4)). This latter comparison, I have no doubt, was suggested by some such cloud as this which I have described. In the morning it absolutely reposed upon the vast harvest-field of Philistia, lying on the corn serene and quiet as infancy asleep. I have never seen such a cloud in this country except “in the heat of harvest.” To what natural phenomenon exactly the poetic prophet refers in the preceding clause is doubtful; “like a clear heat upon herbs” is scarcely intelligible in this connection. I at least have noticed nothing of this kind which could suggest the thought of repose and meditation. Nor does it improve the matter to read, “like a clear heat after rain,” as it is in the margin. The Hebrew itself is obscure, but in the Arabic it is “like the shining light of noonday.” This is very suggestive of retirement to some cool, quiet place of rest, and there are many references to it in other passages of the Bible. I have often been struck with the quietude of sultry noon. Neither man, nor beast, nor bird is astir. The flocks gather under shady trees, or behind walls and great rocks, and drowsily ruminate; the feeble breeze slumbers among the tree-tops, and the very shadows appear stationary and dreamy. If the allusion is to these phenomena, it is very expressive indeed.
Harvest Parties
It is during such rides that one sees life as it is in Philistia. When the fog dispersed the whole plain appeared to be dotted over with harvesting-parties, men reaping, women and children gleaning and gathering the grain into bundles, or taking care of the flocks which followed closely upon the footsteps of the gleaners. All seemed to be in good humor, enjoying the cool air of the morning. There was singing alone and in chorus, incessant talking, come-made jokes, and laughing long and loud.
Grain Gathered Into Bundles
The grain is not bound in sheaves as in America, but gathered into large bundles. Two of these, secured in a large net-work of rope, are placed a few feet apart. The camel is made to kneel down between them, the large bundles are fastened to his pack-saddle, and, at a signal from the driver, up rises the peaceful beast and marches off toward the threshing-floor near the village. Arrived there, the patient beast kneels down again, and is relieved of his awkward load only to repeat the same operation all day long, and for many weeks together, for the Syrian harvest extends through several months. On the plain of Philistia it commences in April and ends in June; and this not only gives ample time, but it has this great advantage, that the villagers from the mountains can assist the farmers on the plain, since their own crops are not yet ripe. I was struck with this fact when at Mesmia. Several Christians from Bethlehem, who had thus come to reap, spent the evening at my tent, and one of them explained to me the advantages derived from thus laboring on the plain. He not only received wages for his own and his wife's labor, but his children were permitted to follow after them and glean on their own account, as Boaz allowed Ruth to do in their native village.
Unburnt Brick
In that ride through Philistia I saw many villages built entirely of unburned brick, made by tramping up the soil into thick mud mixed with tan from the threshing-floor. It was this kind of brick which the Israelites were required to make in Egypt, and the manufacture of them is certainly the most dirty and slavish work in which the peasant engages.
Digging Through Houses
It would be easy to dig through houses built of these soft bricks, as did Ezekiel when enacting the signs of captivity before the people (Ezek. 12:55Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. (Ezekiel 12:5)). Or as robbers and other bad men, bent on evil errands, did in Job's day (Job 24:1616In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. (Job 24:16)). The fact is that these mud houses and mud villages are ephemeral, insecure, and every way uncomfortable; low, filthy, and earthy, without light or ventilation, all packed together; no privacy of any kind possible; no relief from incessant noise from man, and beast, and creeping things; no shelter from a burning sun; no escape from clouds of dust; in a word, they are dens of wretchedness and endless discomfort.
Public Wells
The natives, however, seem insensible to these annoyances, and are measurably happy. They have also some wise and good institutions among them. One is the public wells, where the water is raised by wheel and bucket-work, called sâkîeh, at the common cost and for common use. The one near my tent at Mesmia had four stout mules allotted to it, and was kept in motion night and day. The well was one hundred and twenty feet deep, and the water was cool, sweet, and inexhaustible.