History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich
were the two hills by the side of Shechem, Gerizim, "the mountain of the blessing" (2,650 feet), and Ebal, "the mountain of the curse" (2,700 feet); Bethel, in the east (2,400 feet); Mizpeh, some hours' journey from the subsequent capital; Mount Zion (2,610 feet); and the Mount of Olives (2,700 feet). This peculiar and greatly varied configuration of the land had its effect not only upon the productions of the soil, but also upon the character of the people. From north to south, Palestine is divided into three belts. The broad mountainous tract occupies the centre; the low land (shefelah) extends from the west to the sea, and the meadows (kikkar, araboth) from the east to the Jordan. In the lowland the climate is mild; in the mountains, it is severe during the rainy season, but temperate in the summer. In the district of the Jordan the heat continues during the greater part of the year.
With the exception of the Jordan, the land has no rivers which retain their waters throughout the year; but even this river, owing to its precipitous course, is not navigable. The Jordan rises from three sources in the slopes of Hermon. At first it runs sluggishly, and before entering the Lake of Merom it divides into small streams. On emerging from the lake, its waters are united in a narrow basalt bed, and flow into the Lake of Galilee. On issuing thence, the Jordan widens, rushes over rocks, and, after forming many rapids in its swift course, empties itself and disappears in the Dead Sea. During spring-time, when the melting snow of Hermon swells the waters, this river fertilises the adjoining low-lying plains, especially those on its eastern bank.
The other streams, including the Jarmuk and Jabbok, become dry in the hot summer season. Such winter streams (nechalim), nevertheless, enhance the productiveness of the district through which they flow, and the cultivated lands are situated on the banks of these intermittent streams. The fertility of the soil is also favoured by the small springs which flow down the hills without being collected into rivulets. The districts devoid of springs are supplied with drinking-water by the rain, which is gathered in cisterns excavated in the rocks.
The greater portion of Palestine is blessed with an abundant yield of produce. This is due to the nature of the soil, and to the copious drainage from the highlands of Lebanon, Hermon (Anti-Lebanon), with their spurs, as well as to the rain which falls twice a year. The land flowed "with milk and honey," and has retained this characteristic even to the present day, wherever the industry of man is active. It is decidedly a beautiful land "of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of the oil-olive, and of honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not want anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass."7 The plains are especially fruitful, and yield to the laborious cultivator two crops a year. But also the land lying to the north of the plain of Jezreel is by no means sterile. In olden times it had such an abundance of olive trees as to give rise to the saying that the husbandman "dips his foot in oil."
The central district to the south of the great plain, which belonged to Ephraim and Manasseh, rewarded its toilers with rich harvests. On all sides springs gush forth from the rocky fissures; and as their waters gather together, they attain sufficient force to drive the mills, besides supplying the soil with ample moisture. The land of the sons of Joseph was blessed,
"With the fruit of the heavens above,
And of the deep that coucheth beneath;
And with precious fruit brought forth by the sun,
And with the precious things put forth by the moon."8
The hill-sides were adorned with blooming gardens, and with vineyards exuberantly laden with grapes. The mountains, overshadowed by forests of terebinths, oaks and yew trees, favoured the fertility of the valleys.
In favourable situations the palm-tree produced a superabundance of sweet fruit, the juicy contents of which sometimes even trickled to the ground. There was less fruitfulness in the southern tracts, owing to the numerous chalk hills and the small number of valleys. But even here good pastures were found for the herds. Below Hebron the extreme south, with its barren rocks and strips of sand, presents a dreary aspect. The burning wind, in its passage over the desert, dries the atmosphere, and impoverishes the soil. This district was therefore rightly termed Negeb, "the arid land." A few oases, which are found here and there, owed their verdure to the presence of water, which counteracted the effect of the scorching heat. In such humid places the vegetation became exceedingly luxuriant under the care of diligent cultivators. To the idler this land yielded no produce.
The climate was made salubrious by the sea breezes and the free currents of mountain air, the inhabitants being, therefore, of a sturdy frame. Here were no miasmatic swamps to poison the atmosphere. Diseases and the ravages of plagues are to this day of rare occurrence, and only caused by infections imported from elsewhere. Compared with the vast dominions of the ancient world, Palestine is extremely small. From some lofty central points one can, at the same time, survey the eastern and the western frontiers, the waves of the Mediterranean and the surface of the Dead Sea, together with the Jordan, and the opposite mountains of Gilead. A view from Mount Hermon is still more commanding, and presents beautiful and extremely diversified landscapes. Throughout the greater part of the year the air is so exceedingly pure and transparent as to afford a delusive conception of the distance between the eye and the surrounding scenery. Even remote objects appear to be placed within close proximity.
Sensitive hearts and reflecting minds may well be said to perceive "the finger of God" in this region, where "Tabor and Hermon praise His name." Lofty peaks and undulating crests of mountains are seen in alternation with verdant plains, and their images are reflected upon the glittering surface of many waters. These towering heights, far from overburdening and depressing the mind, draw it away from the din of the noisy world, and call forth cheering and elevating emotions.
If the beholder be endowed with the slightest spark of poetic sentiment, it is brought into life and action by the attractive sight of this panorama. From the varied charms of scenic beauty the most gifted men of this land drew their inspiration for their pensive poetry. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans had a conception of this species of poesy, which has its root in a deep consciousness of the greatness of the Creator. Nations of a later epoch became adepts in this poetry only by being the disciples of Israel. Whilst the eye surveyed, from a prominent standpoint, the objects encircled by an extensive horizon, the soul was impressed with the sublime idea of infinitude—an idea which, without such aid, could only be indirectly and artificially conveyed to the intellectual faculties. Single-hearted and single-minded men, in the midst of such surroundings, became imbued with a perception of the grandeur and infinity of the Godhead, whose guiding power the people of Israel acknowledged in the early stages of their history. They recognised the existence of the same power in the ceaseless agitation of the apparently boundless ocean; in the periodical return and withdrawal of fertilising showers; in the dew which descended from the heights into the valleys; in the daily wonders of nature hidden from human sight where the horizon is narrow, but inviting admiration and devotion where the range of view is wide and open.
"He that formeth the mountains and createth the winds,
He who turneth the morning into darkness,
Who treadeth upon the high places of the earth,
The Lord, the God of hosts is his name."9
At a later period the religious conviction gained ground that God's omnipotence is equally manifested in ordaining the events of history as in regulating the succession of physical phenomena; that the same God who ordained the unchanging laws of nature, reveals himself in the rise and fall of nations. This conviction is a specific product of the Israelitish mind. Historical vicissitudes and natural surroundings conspired to sharpen its faculties for everything extraordinary and marvellous within the sphere of existing things.
The land of Gilead had the same characteristics that appertained to the region on the other side of the Jordan. This district, originally owned by