CHAP. was fold for eighty fhekels of filver, which is computed by III. fome to be about ten pounds fterling: but however, the city was then miraculoufly delivered according to the prediction of the prophet Elisha. It was afterwards taken by Salmanaffar King of Affyria, after a fiege of three years. This prince took away the Ifraelites or ten tribes captive, and inftead of them fent a new colony of diverfe nations, who patched up a religion out of the Jewish religion and their own heathenifh and fuperftitious rites. In the time of the Maccabees, this city was taken by one of the Maccabean family, and wholly ruined. Herod the Great, being pleased with the fituation of it, again rebuilt it in a more stately manner than before, beautifying it with fine marble pillars, and other carved ftones, which are in great abundance found amongst the rubbish. He inclosed it alfo with a ftrong wall, and beautified it with a temple; and, in honour of Auguftus Cæfar, he named it Sebafte, the Greek word Sebaftos being ufed in that language to answer to the Latin Auguftus. Herod Agrippa obtained this city of the Roman Emperor Caligula, and fiding with the Romans against the Jews under Vefpafian, they then avoided the public calamity of that country. But afterwards, taking other measures, they were, together with the reft of the Jews, extirpated out of Paleftine by the Emperor Adrian, and the city has fince gone to decay. It is conjectured by Brochard, who traced the ruins of it, to have been bigger than Jerufalem. John the Baptift is faid to be buried here. It was in the time of the Christian Emperors an archbishop's fee; but now there are only a few cottages, and convents inhabited by Greek monks.

15.

Of the brook
Cherith.

The following part of the first Book of Kings (viz. from chap. xvi. ver. 28. to chap. xxii. ver. 40.) is taken up with the history of Ahab, son of Omri, and King of Israel, intermingled with the history of the famous prophet Elijah. And the first place that occurs here, and has not yet been fpoken of, is the brook Cherith, which is faid, chap. xvii. ver. 3. to be before Jordan. From which nothing elfe can be well inferred, but that this brook ran into Jordan. Whether it lay on the eaft or weft fide of Jordan is not agreed

on.

on. Eufebius, or at least Jerom, places it beyond Jordan, and CHA P. so on the east fide of it: but others generally agree in placing it rather on the weft of Jordan; because it is faid ver. 3. by God to Elijah: Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyfelf by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. Where the expreffion, turn thee eastward, feems to imply, that Elijah was on the weft fide of Jordan: for had he been on the east fide, then to have gone to a river that ran on that fide into Jordan, would have been to have turned westward. The particular fituation of this brook is affigned by Adrichomius in the confines of Ephraim and Benjamin.

As for Zarephath (chap. xvii. ver. 9.) which belonged to Zidon, it is in the New Teftament (Luke iv. 26.) called Sarepta; and under that name I have spoken of it in Part I. chap. iv. sect. 6. of my Geography of the New Testament. And in like manner, mount Carmel, the river Kishon, and all the other places mentioned in the remaining part of this firft Book of Kings, have been before spoken of in my Geography of the Old Teftament.

16.

Of Zare.

phath.

I.

Moab rebels against If

rael.

2.

The Moab

ites are fub

dued; the

march of

the Ifiael its, and the

place of battie.

Cf Baalihalitha.

CHA P. IV.

Places mentioned in the fecond Book of Kings, and not fpoken of

TH

before.

HE fecond Book of Kings begins with giving us an account, how Moab, that was before tributary to the King of Ifrael, rebelled against Ifrael; i. e. caft off their subjection to the King of Ifrael, after the death of Ahab; and how Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, fent to enquire of Baal-zebub, the God of Ekron, concerning his recovery from the disease he then lay under; and what was thereupon done by the prophet Elijah, of whofe being taken up into heaven we have an account, chap. ii. The places mentioned in both. thefe two first chapters have been all spoken of before.

From chap. ii. to chap. xiii. we have the hiftory of Elifhah the prophet, from the death of Elijah, whom he fuccecded, to his own death, intermixed with the hiftory of the Kings of Judah and Ifrael. In chap. iii. we are informed, how Jehoram (another fon of Ahab, that fucceeded his brother Ahaziah, for want of iffue of his own), being joined by Jehoshaphat King of Judah, went against Moab in order to reduce it to fubjection again. And ver. 8, 9. we are particularly informed, that they went the way through the wilderness of Edom, and fetched a compafs of feven days journey. Whereby is denoted, that they went not the most direct or nearest way to invade Moab, which lay over Jordan, and through the tribe of Reuben, or fouth part of the country beyond Jordan; but fetched a compass through the wilderness of Edom, which probably lay on the fouth-west of the Salt Sca, and so invaded Moab on those parts which were most diftant from Ifrael, and on which confequently they least expected to be invaded upon.

In chap. iv. ver. 42. we read of a man that came from Baalfhalisha, and brought Elifha twenty loaves of barley,

where

IV.

wherewith he fed an hundred men, so that they left thereof. CHA P. This place is in the Septuagint verfion written Bætharifa, which, Eufebius and Jerom tell us, was a town in the borders. of Diofpolis, about fifteen miles diftant from it to the north, in the country of Thamna, whence it appears to have been fituated in mount Ephraim. And this defcription agrees well enough with what we read of the land of Shalifha, 1 Sam. ix. 4. wherein this Baalfhalifha probably was fituated. For the land of Shalifha probably lay in Ephraim: though Jerom will have Shalifha to be the fame with Zoar, otherwife called Belah, whither Lot fled; and hence fome have fancied that Baalfhalifha fhould rather be read Belafhalifha, as a name compounded of Bela and Shalisha. The Chaldee Paraphrast and Arabick Interpreter render it the fouth country, which favours the latter opinion, rather than the former; inasmuch as Zoar lay indeed to the fouth of Gilgal, where Elisha then was, whereas Ephraim lay to the north and north-west.

In chap. viii. ver. 20, 21. we read, that in the days of Joram, fon of Jehoshaphat, Edem revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a King over themselves. Whereupon Joram went over to Zair, and fmote the Edomites. From the circumstances of the story, this Zair appears to be near or in the land of Edom. It seems by fome interpreters to be taken for the fame as Seir, whereby the land of Edom is frequently denoted in Scripture; but it is differently written in the Hebrew tongue, and by the feventy Interpreters it is rendered Sior.

In the following verfe of the fame chapter, we read, that then Libnah revolted at the fame time. This is conjectured by fome to be a different place from the Libnah, lying in the tribe of Judah, and often mentioned in the facred Hiftory; and they will have it to be a city of Edom. But it feems moft probable, that it was no other than the city of Judah, and which was one of the cities in that tribe affigned to the fons of Aaron; and that by the revolting thereof is to be understood, the inhabitants refusing to admit the idolatrous worship he would have fet up there, as well as in other places of his kingdom; and that, therefore, upon his death, or fome fhort time after, they opened their gates again. And this feems to be con

Of Zair.

5.

Of Libnah.

IV.

CHA P. firmed, not only by its being expressly faid, 2 Chron. xxi. 10. The fame time alfo did Libnah revolt from under his hand; becaufe he had forfaken the Lord God of his fathers: but also by its being said, both 2 Kings viii. 22. and 2 Chron. xxi. 10. only that Libnah revolted, without adding thereto what is juft before said of Edom, that it continued to revolt unto this day. The omiffion of which expreffion feems to imply, that Libnah had ceased so to revolt before the time the facred Penman wrote.

6.

Of Gur,

In chap. ix. ver. 27. we read, that Jehu being anointed and Ibleam. King of Ifrael by the appointment of God, and having flain Joram, the fon of Ahab, he followed after Ahaziah, the King of Judah, that aided Joram; and that Jehu's men flew him at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. Now Gur is no where else mentioned in Scripture; but Ibleam, by which it is faid to be, is mentioned in two other places; viz. Jofh. xvii. 11. and Judg. i. 27. In the former place we read, that Manaffeh had in Ifachar and Asher, Bethfhean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, &c. Where, by the expreffion, in Ifachar and Afher, is probably meant in the confines of those two tribes; where also Magiddo is faid to be fituated in the fame text. Some understand Gur (or, as it is in the vulgar Latin, Gaver) to be the name of an ascent or hill by Ibleam; and the feventy Interpreters render the Hebrew text thus: In the going up to Gai, which is Ibleam; whereby they plainly understood Gai, or Gur, to be only another name for Ibleam.

7.

Of Selah, or

In chap. xii. ver. 20. we read, that the fervants of Joafh Jekthecl. King of Judah made a confpiracy, and flew him in Bethmillo, or the houfe of Millo, which goes down to Silla; of which we have spoken in the * description of the city of Jerufalem. In chap. xiv. ver. 7. we are informed, that Amaziah, the fon of Joath, flew of Edom in the valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel, unto this day. Of the valley of Salt I have before fpoken. The word Selah does in the Hebrew tongue fignify a rock, and fo exactly answers to the Greek word Petra; and therefore it is not with

*Page 26, chap. ii. fect. 10, 11. of this volume.

out