LIGHT AND TRUTH; COLLECTED FROM THE BIBLE AND ANCIENT ?AND MODERN HISTORY, CONTAINING THE UNIVERSAL HISTORY OF THE COLORED AND THE INDIAN RACE, FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY R. B. LEWIS, A COLORED MAN. Search this work with care and candor ; Every line and page you read Will brighten all the truths of Scripture, Proved by history — plain indeed. SECOND EDITION. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY MOSES M. TAYLOK, 1851. INTRODUCTION. We publish this volume of collections from sacred and profane history, with a determination that a correct knowledge of the Colored and Indian people, ancient and modern, may be extended freely, unbiassed by any prejudicial effects from descent or sta- tion. In this country, where the former are subjected to the deep- est degradation — where every variety of persecution is mea- sured out to this unfortunate race, it is highly expedient that " Light and Truth " should be promulgated, in order that oppres- sors shall not consider it an indispensable duty to trample upon the weak and defenceless. In a large portion of this country, men, women and children, belonging to this race, are held as ar- ticles of merchandize by the whites ; the iron heart of gain hath forgotten every sacred and social relation, while, at its expense, millions have perished on the cursed rack. The history of this class is well known in many states in this country. But in some countries a mighty contrast is visible ; colored men enjoy every inherent attainment, free from human interference. The Indians in this country are also an abused people. The lofty hills the verdant plains, and the beautiful vallies that the poor Indian, only three centuries since, could proudly call his own, are now possessed by a foreign people. Here and there we see a wanderer ; they have been driven from their homes to in- habit the wilderness west of the Rocky Mountains. In other countries this class are more happily situated. The author of this compilation has been some years in gath- ering this information. He is a descendant of the two races he so ably vindicates. His manuscripts have been inspected by sev- IV INTRODUCTION. eral learned gentlemen, who recommend them in the highest terms. Among his subscriptions, we find persons in every situa- tion in society. Quite a number of clergymen of the different denominations, lawyers, doctors, &c, &c, comprise a majority of the subscribers. We, the undersigned, in consideration of the valuable informa- tion contained in this work, and in behalf of the welfare of the Colored and Indian race, submit the same to a candid perusal. Thomas Dalto> t , Charles H.Roberts, ( r, ,,.,. r, -.. ^ T T ' > Publishing Committee. Ajvdress V. Lewis, James Scott, Boston, January 25, 1844. CONTENTS. Chapter I. — The History of Man. Primitive Man — The Land of Ethiopia, The fall of Man — His Location, The Sons of Adam, The Generation of Adam, The Sons of Noah, The Generations of Ham, The Generations of Japhet, The Blessings and Generations of Abraham, . The Two Nations of Isaac, The Generations of Esau — The Red People, The People of Ethiopia, The Descendants of Egypt, The Generations of Jacob, Chapter II. — Ancient Cities and Kingdoms Cities of Ethiopia, The Kingdom of Assyria, The Kingdom of Ethiopia, The Kingdom of Egypt, The Cities of Egypt, The Land of Canaan, The Towns and Cities of Jordan, The Cities of Judea, The Cities of Galilee, The Cities of Asia Minor, The Cities of Persia and Media, The Kingdom and Cities of Syria, Cities of Africa, VI CONTENTS. Cities of Arabia. The Cities of Edom, The Amalekites, The Cities of Moab, The Grecian Cities, The Roman Empire, The Kingdom of Macedonia, The Islands of the Mediterranean, African Islands, Chapter III. Antiquity of America, 107 110 111 112 114 115 117 119 122 124 Chapter IV. — Ancient Kings and Wars. Abraham the Prince, a Conqueror of Kings, . . 128 The Ethiopian Kings of Egypt, ... 129 The Character of Julius Cscsar, . . . 137 A Comparison of Csesar with Cato, . . . 138 The Character of Cato, . . . . .139 The Egyptians rise against Persia supported by the Athenians, 140 The Ancient Kings, ..... 142 Darius's Conquest of India, &c, . . . 152 Alexander, ...... 153 The Overthrow of the Persian Empire, . . 154 The History of Xerxes, . . . . .154 Arabian Kings, ..... 163 The Ethiopian Kings of Babylon and Assyria, . . 164 The Kings of Abyssinia, .... 169 The Kings of the Hebrews, .... 170 The Kings of Judah, .... 172 The Kings of Israel, ..... 177 The Governors of Judea, .... 180 The Kings of Syria, . ... 182 The Governors of Syria, . . . 185 The Kings of Rome, . . 185 The List of Judges and Term of Service, . 188 The Judges of Israel, .189 CONTENTS. VII Chapter V. — Colored Generals and Soldiers. Hanno, ...... . 193 Hamilcar, ..... 193 Imilcon, ...... . 194 Hannibal, ..... 194 Scipio Africanus, ..... . 195 Pompey, ..... 197 Cimon, ...... . 199 Belisarius, ..... 200 Col. Henry Diaz, ..... . 201 Colored Soldiers, .... 206 The last American War with Great Britain, . 207 Proclamation to the Free People of Color, 209 Chapter VI. — Destruction of Jerusalem. The Great City of Jerusalem, . 210 The Upper City, .... 211 The Lower City, ..... . 211 A Description of Solomon's Temple, 212 The Destruction of Jerusalem, . 217 Destruction of the Jews, 243 Chapter VII. — The Present State of Judah and Israel. The Hebrews or Israelites, the Jews, . . . 246 The Indian Tribes in America, . . . 249 The True Christians in this Land are Indians, . . 273 Chapter VIII. — The Arts and Sciences. Early Discoveries, Inventions, &c. . . . 280 Astronomy, ...... 287 Rhetoric, ....... 289 Architecture, ...... 289 The Lake of Moeris, . 298 Temples of Egypt, ..... 301 The Explanation of Five Grand Virtues, . . 302 VIII The Grecian Philosophers, The Roman Philosophers, 303 303 Chapter IX. Modern Eminent Colored Men, .... 304 Chapter X. — The Great Historical Ages. Ancient Historians, .... Ancient Poets, ..... A Short View of Augustine's City of God, Modern Historians, ..... Female Writers, ..... Burning of the Libraries, .... Chapter XL — The Ancient Arabians The Arabic Language, .... The Word Negro, ..... The Hair of Men's Heads, The Rock of Gibraltar, The Moorish Castle, .... Chapter XII. — History of the Prophets. History of the Prophets, ..... Shepherds of Antiquity, .... The Generation of Jesus Christ, .... The Birth of Jesus Christ, .... Chapter XIII. — Periods, &c. Periods, .....•• Chronological Table, from A. D. 826 to 1791, Chapter XIV. — St. Domingo or Hayti. Hayti, ....... Extracts from the Letter of the Abbe Gregoire, Colored Republics of Guiana, .... Scale of Complexion, ..... 309 311 315 326 330 334 337 339 343 343 343 347 360 362 367 369 370 385 396 398 400 LIGHT AND TRUTH. CHAPTER I. THE HISTORY OF MAN. PRIMITIVE MAN — THE LAND OF ETHIOPIA. The Creation took place 4004 years before the Christian era, according to the Jewish computation. In the sixth day of the creation, God created man, in his own image. " In the Image of God created He him; male and female created He them." — (Gen. i. 27 ) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." — (Gen. ii. 7.) [The scriptures evidently distinguish between the spirit and soul. — (1 Thess. v. 23: Heb. iv. 12.) The word which we call soul is used to denote mere animal life, the seat of sen- sations, appetites and passions. — (Gen. 1: 20.) Here the word translated life is the same with that which is elsewhere translated soul. Hence we have our bodies and animal life in common with brutes; but the spirit, which was created in the likeness or image of God, and which raises man above the brutes that perish, makes him a rational and accountable being.] — (Gen. i. 26, 27: ii. 7.) Adam, the first person, was created of the dust of the earth; and the Lord God formed the dust into an inani- mate figure, and made a man. Eve, the second person, was formed of a rib taken out of man's side, and called a woman. "And the Lord God took the man, and put 2 10 lig: 11.J.M i->' iJl him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it." — (Gen. ii. 15.) The location of this garden was east- ward from Canaan, and north from the river Gihon, the land of Ethiopia. — (Gen. ii. 13.) The soil of Eden was very rich, and blink; it produced the richest fruit and trees of all the earth. THE FALL OF MAN — HIS LOCATION. The transgression of Adam and Eve, commonly called the fall of man, took place, probably, soon after the cre- ation, and has been most awful in its consequences. For their transgression, Adam and his companion were driv- en out of the garden, to till the ground of Ethiopia, it needing cultivation in consequence of the curse. — (Gen. iii. 17.) Adam and his posterity settled on the river Gi- hon, that went out of the Garden of Eden, and compass- ed the whole land (or country) of Ethiopia; and they tilled the ground, from which Adam was taken. — (Gen. ii. 13: iii. 53.) The word .'1,1am is derived as follows: Adam, Adamah, Adami, Admah — which means earthy. The earth is a rich, dark substance, and from it our first parents were taken. Now if we admit that Dr Brown's and other Bi- ble Dictionaries are correct in their explanations of the meaning of terms, then the deduction must be that Ethi- opia (Gen. ii. 13,) was black, and the first people were Ethiopians, or blacks. THE SONS OF ADAM. Cain and Abel were the first offspring of Adam and Eve. Cain was a tiller of the ground; Abel a keeper of sheep. In process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought, of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord; and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. Hence arose, on the part of Cain, a disaffection towards his brother, which result- ed in the death of Abel, about thirty years after the ere- ■i-i ^i^'i-Uili' G? MAN. 11 ation. This was the first instance of death (temporal) in our world; and of death by the hands of a fellow man — a brother. Adam's third son, Seth, was born A. M. 130. The foundation of the first antediluvian empire was laid by the sons and sons' sons of Adam; and lasted the space of 1656 years. This was the empire of Ethiopia. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden, (now Per- sia.) "And Cain knew his wile; and she conceived, and bare Enoch; and he builded a city, and called it af- ter the name of his son, Enoch." — (Gen. iv. 16, 17 ) THE GENERATION OF ADAM. Adam was a man formed of the earth, reddish in col- or. — (Josephus; Genesis, ch. 1, 2, 4 and 5.) Adam begat Seth, and died at the age of 930 years. Seth begat Enos, and died at the ate of 912 years. Enos begat Cainan, and died at the age of 905 years. Cainan begat Mahalaleel, and died at the age of 910 years. Mahalaleel begat Jared, and died at the asre of 895 years. Jared begat Enoch, and died at the age of 962 years. Enoch begat Methuselah, and, at the age 365, " was not, for God took him." Methuselah begat Lamech, and died at the age of 969 years. Lamech begat Noah, and died at the age of 777 years. And Noah was 500 years old; and Noah begat Shem, Ham and Japhet. Lamech, the fifth in descent from Cainan, was the fa- ther of Jabal, who first lived in tents, and owned cattle — and of Jubal, " the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ " — and of Tnbalcain, " an instruc- tor of every artificer in brass and iron." Thus early did the necessities of man establish the right of proper- ty, and originate the mechanical arts; and the patriarchal government which existed in the antediluvian ages the knowledge and experience acquired in a life of many 12 LIGHT AND TRUTH. centuries — must have been favorable to a high degree of perfection in these arts, and the science of music. In the six hundredth year of Noah, and 2348 years before Ch»ist, "the flood of waters was upon the earth." The prediction of the deluge to Noah was of the nature of a warning to him, in order that he might prepare him- self against it. A knowledge of the deluge was com- municated to him 120 years before the event took place. It entirely covered the earth; and destroyed all the in- habitants, with the exception of the eight individuals who composed Noah's family, and a pair of each species of animals — all of whom were preserved in the ark. The ark was built in expectation of the flood; it was a struc- ture 480 feet or more in length, 81 in breath, and 41 in height. It was sufficiently capacious to answer the pur- pose for which it was designed; and was three stories high, containing many small compartments for the suita- ble accommodation of its intended occupants. At the appointed time, the family of Noah — and all kinds of beasts, birds and reptiles, by pairs — went into the ark. " And God blessed righteous Noah and his family; and the Lord shut him in, in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month." This period embraces 1656 years from* the creation.* Noah and his companions came out of the ark 2347 years before Christ, to till and replenish the earth. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. And Noah and his family soon journeyed from Mount Ararat eastward to Armenia; and the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, (Chaldea,) and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build a city, and a tower, * According to the time used in scripture, Noah and his companions con- tinued in the ark one year and ten days. 1 he ark floated on the waters 150 days, and then rested on one of the summits ol Mt. Ararat; but it was sev- eral months before the waters entirely subsided. THE HISTORY OF MAN. 13 whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there con- found their language, that they may not understand each other's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth. This important event, recorded in Gen. xi., occurred about 2160 years before Christ, and was the origin of the division of the human family into distinct nations. • THE SONS OF NOAH. The sons of Noah who went forth out of the ark, were Shem, Ham and Japhet — and of them was the whole earth peopled. To the descendants of Ham, I have generally given the name of Ethiopians — blacks with frizzled or curly hair. The descendants of Shem were denominated As- syrians and Syrians — blacks with long straight hair. Shem had five sons — Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Aram and Laud — who inhabited the land from the Euphrates to the Indian Ocean and Abyssinia. Elam left a posterity called Elarnites — the ancestors of the Persians. Ashur lived at the city of Nineveh, and named his sub- jects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, now called the Chaldeans. From Aram sprang the Aramites, whom the Greeks call Syrians. Laud founded the Ladites, who are now called the Ly- dians. Aram had four sons — Uz, UI, Gather and Mesa. Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus — between Pa- lestine and Celosyria. Ul founded Armenia; and from Gather sprang the Bactrians. 14 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Mesa was the progenitor of the Meaaneans, whose country is now called Chaax Spaani. Sala was the son of Arphaxad, and Heber was the son of Sala. From Heber the Jews received the name of Hebrews; he was among their progenitors, according to Josephus. Heber begat Jactan, and Phaleg, who was thus called, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations. Phaleg 's sons were Elmodad, Saleph, Aser- nioth, Jerah, Adorain, Aizel, Decla, Eba, Abimael, Sa- beus, Ophir, Euilat and Jobab. — These settled on the Cophen, an Indian river, and in a part of Asia near it. The son of Shem was Arphaxad. The son of Arphaxad was Salah. The son of Salah was Eber. The son of Eber was Peleg. The son of Peleg was Reu. The son of Reu was Serug. The son of Serug was Nahor. The son of Nahor was Terah. The son of Terah wasAbram, afterwards called Abra- ham. The sons of Abraham were Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael grew up, and married a wife, by birth an Egyptian, from whence his own mother herself was orig- inally derived. By this wife were born to Ishmael twelve sons — Nabaiath, Keder, Abdeel, Mabsam, Idumas, ?vlas- maos, Mason, Chodaa, Theman, Jetur, Naphesus and Kadmud. These inhabited all the country from the Eu- phrates to the Red Sea, and called it Nabatene. They are an Arabian nation, and name their tribes from these, both because of their own virtue, and because of the dignity of Abraham, their father. — (Josephus.) The sons of Abraham, by Kcturah, were Zimran, Jok- shan, Medam, Midian, Ishbak and Shua. The sons of Jokshan were Saba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim and Le- ummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah and Eldaah. All tlu-se were the offspring of Keturah, the Canaani'ish woman. — (Gen. xxv ) The 3'ins of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel or Jethro, Je- ush, Jaalam and Koiah. THE HISTORY OF MAN. 15 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Ga- tam, Kenaz, Timna and Amalek. The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah — the sons of Esau by the daughter of Ish- mael. — (Gen. xxxvi. Chron. i.) These were the generations of Shem, after their fam- ilies and tongues, in their countries and nation; they are called blacks by a Grecian historian — being a people with long, straight hair. • THE GENERATIONS OF HAM. The meaning or signification of the^ following words is found in Dr. Brown's Dictionary of the Bible: "Ethio- pia" — blackness; "Ethiopians" — black; "Cush" — Ethiopians — black; "Cushen," "Cushi," "Cuth," " Cuthah " — Ethiopia, blackness. That portion of the earth which was first peopled, af- ter Adam and Eve had left Paradise, was the land of Ethiopia, by the Ethiopians, on the river Gihon, that went out of the Garden of Eden, "which compasseth the whole land (or country) of Ethiopia," 4003 years before Christ.— (Gen. ii. 13.) The children of Ethio- pia were from Adam to Noah, through the lineage of Seth. — (Gen. v.) The generations of Ham, the son of Noah, an Ethio- pian, were Cush, Miriam, Phut and Canaan. — (Gen. x. 1: chap, i.; 2218 years before Christ.) They possess- ed the land from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains of Libanus, and all its seacoast, and as far as the ocean — holding it as their own. The Cushites were the descendants of Cush. Calrilet believes that a colony of Cushites settled in the north- ern part of Assyria, on the Araxes — the present Aras or Araxis — a river which rises near the Euphrates, and falls into the Caspian Sea. Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible renders Cush the province of Cuthah. Brown thinks that the Cuthahites, who emigrated into Samaria, were descendants of Cush. — (2 Kings xvii. 24.) Misraim (Mesraites T ) founded Egypt; the country was called Mestre, and the inhabitants Mestreans. Phut possessed himself of Lybia, and gave the name 16 LIGHT AND TRUTH. of Phutites to its inhabitants. In the country of the Moors, there is a river of this name. Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the land now called Judea ; and following the customs of the times, named it from himself, Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Habilah, Sabtah, Raa- mah, Sabtechah and Nimrod. — (Gen. x.) Sheba, or Seba. There were several of this name: — 1. The son of Cush, who gave his name to a country in Arabia. — (Gen. x. 7: Ps. Ixxii. 10.) 2. The grandson of Cush. — (Gen. x. 7.) 3. The son of Joktan. — (Gen. x. 29: Gen. xviii.) 4. The grandson of Abra- ham. — (Gen. xxv. 3.) All these seem to have taken up their residence in Arabia, or Abyssinia in Africa, and perhaps most of them in the south part of Arabia and Ethiopia, near the Red Sea. One or more of these Shebas gave name to the country whose queen came to visit Solomon, bringing him large presents of gold, spi- ces and precious stones. This is also the name of a fa- mous well, sometimes called Sheba, and sometimes Beer- sheba. — (Gen. xxvi. 33.) Havilah (Evilas,) was the father of the Evileans, who are called Getuti, and inhabited Arabia, near the Red Sea. Sabtah (Sabathes,) was the founder of the Sabathens, a nation now called by the Greeks, Astaborans, who set- tled in Arabia, near the Persian Gulf. The Sabactens, descendants of Sabtechah, (Sabactas,) settled likewise in Arabia, upon the borders of the Red Sea; and the Ragmeans, the descendants of Raaman, (Ragmus,) settled in Ethiopia. Nimrod, the son of Cush, an Ethiopian, was a mighty one upon the earth. He built Babel, Erech, and Accad Calneh, and founded the Babylonian Empire, building Babylon, his capital, in the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, also known as the Land of Nimrod. — (Gen. x.: Micah v. 6.) Raarnah had two sons; one of whom, Judasas, settled the Judadeans, a western nation of Ethiopians. The sons of Misraim, eight in number, possessed the country from Gaza to Egypt, which took its name from Philestim, one of them. A part of that country was call- ed Palestine by the Greeks. THE HISTORY OF MAX. 17 Misraim's sons were Ludiem, Enemim, Labim, Nedim, Pethrosim, Chesloim, Cophthorim and Philestim. In consequence of the devastations of the Ethiopic war, we are acquainted with the names only of these — if we ex- cept Philestim, previously mentioned, and Labim, who settled and gave his name to Lybia. The Canaanites, called by the Greeks Phoenicians and Ethiopians, were the descendants of Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, and grandson of Noah; and inhabited the land of Canaan — the country now called Judea. The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou corn- est from Gaza, unto Gagar; as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto La- sha. The sons of Canaan were Sidon, Heth, the Jebu- site, the Amorite, the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Ar- kite, the Sinite, the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Ha- mathite. — (Gen. x.) The Sidonians built Sidon in the province of Phoenicia. The children of Heth built the city of Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham was a mighty prince among them, and buried Sarah, his wife, in the field of the sons of Heth. — (Gen. xxiii.) Heshbon was a city of the Amorites. Hamath and Ashina, built by the Hamathites, border on Tyre and Sidon. Amathus settled in Amathine, which is even now call- ed Amathe by the inhabitants; although the Macedonians named it Ethiopia, from one of his posterity. Amathus is the name of a city on the island of Cyprus. Arudeus possessed the island of Libanus. The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, of the family of Ham; they inhabited the southern part of Canaan, and were the first of the nations. — (Numbers, xxiv. 20.) The Anakines were also the offspring of Ham, and were a powerful people; their cities were walled, and very great. The men of Cuth made (or built,) Nergal. — (2 Kings, xvii. 30.) Cushi came with tidings unto King David of the death of Absalom, his son from the army. — (2 Sam. xviii.) All the princes sent Jehudi, the son of Nathani- ah, the son of Shelamiah, the son of Cushi. — (Jer. xxxvi. J8 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 14.) Cushi, the son of Jedediah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah. — (Zcphaniah i. 1.) The tents of Cushen. — (Habakkuk iii. 7.) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathran, and from Citsh, and from Elain, and from Shinar (or Chaldea,) and from Ha- math, and from the islands of the sea. Then shall the Ethiopians, the despised, oppressed and outcast of Israel, be gathered together as one, from the four quarters of the earth, unto God. — (Is. xi. 11, 12.) These were the descendants of Ham, who wee de- nominated blacks by the Grecian historian. Their hair was frizzly or curly.— (Herodotus, Stc. &.c.) The Phoenicians — the Canaanites of sacred history — were among the most early civilized nations of the earth. We, the Christian and civilized people of the present day, are indebted to them for our knowledge of navigation. The fragments of Sanchoniatho are the most ancient monuments of writing, after the books of Moses. Greece was indebted to the Phoenicians and Egyptians for the first principles of civilization — the founders of that kingdom being the ancient Phoenicians. THE GENERATIONS OF JAPHET. Japhet had seven sons. Their settlements began at the mountains of Taurus and Amanus; they extended them in Asia as far as the river Tanais, and in Europe to Cadiz. Settling themselves upon the land which was previously unoccupied, they founded nations called by their own names; for Corner founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, (Gauls,) but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those, that from him, were called Ma- gogites — but by the Greeks, Scythians. Madai founded the Medeans, who are called Medes by the Greeks, and from Javari, Jouia. Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberas. THE HISTORY OF MAX. 19 Mosoch founded the Mosachem; now they are called Cappadocians. The three sons of Gomer were Aschanaz, Riphath, and Thrugramrna. Aschanaz founded the Aschanasians, who are now called, by the Greek? Rheginians. Rephath founded the Ripheans, now called Paphlago- nians. Thrugramrna founded the Thrugrammeans, who, as .the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians. The three sons of Javan were Elisa, Tharsus, and Ce- thimus. Elisa gave name to the Elisians, who were his sub- jects: they are now the yEolians. The Cilicians were anciently called Tharsians, from Tharsus; their metropolis also is Tarsus. Cethimus possessed the island of Cethima; it is now called Cyprus. These were the generations of Japhet, after their families and tongues, in their countries and nations; who were also denominated colored people by the Grecian historian. THE BLESSING AND GENERATIONS OF ABRAHAM. Nahor, iGen. xi. 23.) or Xaehor, (Josh, xxiv 2.) was the name of Abraham's grandfather, and also the name of one of Abraham's brothers, i^Gen. xi. 26.) who mar- ried Alilcah, the daughter of Haran, (Gen. xi. 19.) He lived at Haren, which is thence called the city of Nahor, (Gen. xxiv. 10.) Abram was the son of Terah; and Sarai, Abram's wife, his daughter-in-law. Abram was born in Chaldea, in the city of Ur, (Gen. xi. 31,) but forsook the place of his birth and connections, to settle in Canaan. And the Lord made a covenant with Abram, sa\ ing, Unto thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt un- to the great river Euphrates. And the Lord said unto him, I am the Lord, that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee tins land to inherit it. And Abram and family went down into Egypt, to sojourn 20 LIGHT AND TRUTH. during a greivous famine in Canaan; but returned and dwelt in the land of Canaan. Now Sarai, Abram's wife, was barren; and she gave her handmaid,'' an Egyptian or Ethiopian, named Hagar, to Abram to wife. And of Hagar, Ishmael was born to Abram, when he was eighty- six years old. — (Gen. xvi., xvii.) And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face before the Lord, and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham — for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establishriTy covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for-an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, As for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold, I. have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great na- tion. — (Gen. xvii. 20: xxv. 16.) Abraham's circumci- sion of every male child, at eight days old, was estab- lished as a token of the covenant between him and God. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ish- mael, his son, was thirteen years old, when he was cir- cumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the self same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son (Gen. xvii. 26.) And Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. (Gen. xxi. 21. And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, the son of Abraham: — Nebajoth, Kedar, and AbdeeJ;'and Mibsam, Misnona, and Dumah; Massa, Hadar, and Te- ™. ,.-- -- ■■» -w. 21 mah; and Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah — twelve prin- ces, towns and castles, according to their nations. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria. — (Gen. xxv.) Ishmael peopled Arabia, and a part of Asia. The Moors were his descendants. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai, thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name; and I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. — (Gen. xvii.) Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age; at the set time of which God had spoken unto him: and Abraham called his name Isaac; and circumcised him when he was eight day r s old, as God had commanded him: and Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerer; and the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of; sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and un- to thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy fath- er; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be bless- ed. — (Gen. xx, xxvi.) Isaac had now arrived at mature age, and Abraham called one of his servants, probably Eliezer, (Gen. xv. 2,) and made him swear that he would obtain a wife for Isaac; not among the Canaanites, (where they then dwelt, and who we're to be cut off, according to the re- vealed purpose of God,) but in Abraham's native coun- try, and from among his own kindred. This enterprise terminated successfully, and every desire of the patri- arch respecting Isaac's marriage was answered. Abraham removed his tent to Egypt; and having be- come very rich in servants, men and women, cattle; silver and gold, he returned from Egypt to Canaan. Lot, his nephew, had been with him, and shared his prosperity; ■* - LlCrllT A:^JL» Ili'Jin, and it happened that his servants fell into some strife with the servants of Abraham. As it was evident that their property was too great for them to dwell together, Abraham, though in everv respect entitled to deference, generously proposed to his nephew to avoid controversy by an amicable separation. He offered Lot his choice of the territory, on the right or left as it pleased him. A rare illustration of meekness and condescension. Lot chose to remove to the eastward, and occupy that part of the fertile plain of Jordan where Sodom and Gomorrah stood. After the death of Sarah, Abraham's wife, he took a second wife, named Keturah, a Canaanite woman. The nation of the Troglodytes were derived from Abraham by Keturah, by whom he had six sons, men of courage and possessed with sagacious minds — Zambran, Jazar, Madan, Madian, Josabak and Sous. The sons of Sous were Sabathan and Dadan. The sons of Dadan were Latusim, Assur and Luam. The sons of Madian were Ephas, Ophren, Anoch, Ebidas and Eldas. For all these sons and grandsons, Abraham contrived to settle them in colonies: and they took possession of Troglo- dytes, and the country of Arabia the Happy, as far as it reaches to the Red Sea. It is related of this Ophren, that he made war against Libya, and took it, and that his grandchildren, whjen they inhabited it, called it from his name, Africa; and, indeed, Alexander Polyhistor gives his attestation to what I here assert. He says: "Oleodemus, the prophet, who was also called Malchus, who wrote a history of the Jews in agreement with the history of Moses, their legislator, relates, that there were many sons born to Abraham by Keturah; nay, he names three of them — Apher, Surim and Japhran; that from Surim was the land of Assyria denominated; and that from the other two, Apher and Japhran, the coun- try of Africa took its name, because these men were auxiliary to Hercules, when he fought against Libya and Antaeus; and that Hercules married Aphra's daughter, and of her begat Diodorus; and that Sophanx was his son, from whom the people called Sophacians were thus denominated." Thus we find that Abraham was the fa- ther of many nations: Through Ishmael, he was the progenitor of the nations of Arabia; through the sons of Keturah, of the inhabitants of the Troglodytes or Af- rica; through Isaac, he possessed Canaan. And the whole testimony of history pro\ es these nations colored. THE TWO NATIONS OF ISAAC. Isaac, the son of Abraham, was forty years old, when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, Xahor's son, one of Abraham's brothers, (Gen. xi. 26, xxiv 47,) and the sister to Laban the Syrian, of Padanaram. The Syrians were blacks, with long, straight hair. — (Herodotus, Sec. Sec. Gen. xxv ) $ And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus.' And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bow- els. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold there were twins in her womb; and the firstborn was red all over, like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. — (Gen. xxv. 23, 24, 25.) His brother's name was Jacob, who was afterwards called Israel. [The first clothing worn by the ancients, were hairy garments. — " The Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them." — (Gen. iii. 21.) "And they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins," ram-skins and badger-skins, dyed red. — (Ex. xxv 5.) Ram-skins dy- ed red, were used in the construction of the tabernacle. Dr. Clarke has proved, from Homer, Pliny, and modern travellers, that there are rams whose natural color is red. From this fact, it may be deduced that Esau was red all over, like a hairy garment.] Esau became a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and was loved of Isaac. But he depsised his birthright, and sold it to Ja- cob for a mess of red pottage. — (Gen. xxv. 30.) Isaac, however, blessed Esau his son, and said unto him, Be- hold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword 24 LIGHT AND TRUTH. thou shalt live. — (Gen. xxvii. 39, 40.) A hunter or archer, (Gen. xxi. 20,) one who is skillful in the use of the bow and arrows, as Esau was. The weapons of war formerly used, were the sword, spear, bow and arrow, sling, javelin, &c. Esau, the Edomite or Indian, went into the field, or wilderness, with his bow and quiver, to hunt for venison; and he came in from his hunting, and brought wild meat unto Isaac, his father. — (Gen. xxvii.) THE GENERATIONS OF ESAU — THE RED PEOPLE Esau, who is Edom, which signifies red. The red people. — (Gen. xxv. 30; Josephus.) The wives of Esau were Judith, the daughter of Bee- ri the Hittite, and Bashemath, and Adah, the daughters of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Mahaleth, and Bashemath, Ishmael's daughters, Abraham's son, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau, Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; and Aholibamah bare Je- ush, and Jalaam, and Hora; these are the sons of Esau which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance which he had got in the land of Canaan, and went into the country from the face of his brother, Jacob; for their riches were more than that they might dwell together. Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Serr. — (Gen. xxxvi.) tam andT.° f EUpl \ aZ Were Teman > ° m *r, Z^phi, Ga- Sa^Am^S"' and Tlmna ' Sister ° f Lota »> bare to E- Jw^T' ReUCl Were Nahath ' Z -*h, Shammah, ^ The sonofZerah was Jebob, king of Edom.- (1 Chr. These were the descendants of Esau ♦>, <■ , Edomites, and were dukes of Edom' __Y! ather of the xxxvi. 15,) means only a chief, or leade e ' (Gen. the chiefs of tribes of Indians, in America ansvverin g to These are the sons of Mount Seir the Vr • 0rit e, who in- THE HISTORY OF MAN - . 25 habited the land: Lotan, and Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah who was king, and Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. The children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. The children of Shabal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Anam. Ajah and Anah were the sons of Zibeon. The children of Anah were Dishon, and Aholibamah, the wife of Esau. The children of Dishon were Hemdan, and Eshban, Ithran and Cheran. Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan were the children of Dishan. THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA. Were not the Ethiopians and Lubims a huge host, [or a great army,] with very many chariots and'horsemen? (2 Chron. xvi. 8.) Come up, ye horses, and rage ye chariots, and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and Lybians that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow. — (Jer. x!vi. 9.) Candace, queen of the Ethiopians of Sheba, came with a very great company to Jerusalem.— (2 Chron. ix. : Matt. xii. 42: Acts viii. 27.) Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia. — (2 Kings, xii. 9: Isa. xxxvii. 9.) Ahasuerus, the king, reigned even unto Ethiopia. — Esther i. 1.) Thus saith the Lord, the king of Assyria shall lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopian cap- tives, young and old, naked and barefoot. — (Isa. xx. 4.) [Even as they are led away at this day, naked and bare- foot, by Americans.] Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hand unto God. — (Psalm lxviii. 31.) Repentance and return of Israel unto God, our Savior, from beyond the river of Ethiopia. — (Zeph. iii. 9, 10. Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel, saith the Lord. — (Amos ix. 7.) 3 26 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Thus saith the Lord, the labor of Egypt and merchan- dize of Ethiopia. — (Isa. xlv. 14.) Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, with shields and helmets. Eze. xxxviii. 5.) Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength. — (Nah. iii. 9.) The land of Ethiopia. — (Gen. ii. 13.) The Ethiopians. — (2 Chron. ii. 16.) Zerah, the Ethiopian, with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots. — (2 Chr. xiv. 9.) Ethiopia — this man was born there. — (Ps. lxxxvii. 4.) Ethiopia — their expectation. — (Isa. xx. 5.) The river of Ethiopia. — (Isa. xviii. 1.) Ethiopia — for thee. — (Isa. xliii. 3.) The Ethiopian. — (Jer. xiii. '23.) Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian eunuch, who took up Jer- emiah the prophet, out of the pit or dungeon. — (Jer. xxxviii., xxxix.) The border of Ethiopia. — (Ezetf. xxix. 10.) Ethiopia, Libya and Lydia, and all the mingled peo- ple. — (Eze. xxx. 5.) Behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great au- thority. — (Acts viii. 27.) Herodotus, the great father of history, pronounces the Ethiopians the most majestic and beautiful of men. The Kenites, or Ethiopians, that came out of the city of Hemath, (1 Chron. ii. 55; Num. xxiv. 21,) were the descendants of Hobab, Raguel or Jethro, the priest of Midian, and the father of Heber the Kenite, and Zippo- rah the Ethiopian woman, Moses' wife. The children of the Kenites went up out of their city, with the children of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, and dwelt among the people. — (Kxodus ii. 18, 21; iii. 1, 4, 18; Num x 18, 21 ; xii. 1; Judges iv. 11.) THE DESCENDANTS OF EGYPT. Ishmael. (Gen. xvi, 11.) The son of Abraham, by Hagar. The wife of Ishmael was an Egyptian woman for his mother took him a wife out of the land of E^ypt' (Gen. xxi. 21.) The names of the sons of Ishmaelhave been heretofore given. THE HISTORY OF MAX. 27 Ishmaelites. (Gen. xxxvii. 25.) The descendants of Ishmael. Tne company of Ishmaelites to whom Joseph was sold are elsewhere called Midianites.— (Gen. xxxvii 28.) Probably they were Ishmaelites who dwelt in Vid- ian. It is evident, however, that the two names were sometimes applied to the same people, (Judges viii 22 24,) though we know the descendants of Midian were not Ishmaelites, [for Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah.J \ » J Hagar (Gen. xvi. 1.) An Egyptian woman, who Jived in the family of Abraham, as a servant or bond woman. Sarah being childless, she proposed to Abra- ham that he should receive Hagar as his wife; and the truitof this connection was Ishmael. Previous to his birth, his mother, being ill-treated by Sarah, fled from the house, and while in the wilderness, was informed by an angel what would be the character of her child and that his posterity would be innumerable. The birth of Ishmael was in A. M. 2094; and as Abraham supposed Jii.. j P r T lses ° f God res pecting his seed were to be fulfilled in Ishmael, he nurtured him with much care — (Gen. xvn. 18.) Agar or Hagar. This Agar is Mount Sinai, in Ara- bia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. — (Gal. iv 25 ) Hagareves, (Ps. lxxxiii. 6,) or Haga~rites, (1 Chron. v. 10, 20,) are the descendants of Hagar, and are of course the same with the Ishmaelites or Midianites Pharaoh was a king of Egypt, who gave his wife's sister in marriage to Hadad. His queen was Tahpenes, by whom he had Genubath. Hadad. (1 Kings, xi. 14.) A descendant of the royal family of Edom. When David conquered that country (2 Sam vi„ 14,) and cut off its male population, certain of the king s household escaped the general massacre, and fled, taking with them Hadad, then a little child After a time, they went into Egypt, and young Hadad was presented to the king, and probably his royal de- scent was made known. The king received him with great favor, and in process of time he married the queen's sister, and the families were afterwards on terms of the closest intimacy. After David's death, Hadad request- 28 LIGHT AND TRUTH. ed Pharaoh to let him return to Edom. And this he probably did, as we find him mentioned as Hadad the Edomite, and the adversary of Solomon. — (1 Kings, xi. 14— 22.) Alexandrians. A class of Jews, natives of Alexan- dria, a city of Egypt in Africa, and speaking that lan- guage. They were very numerous at Jerusalem. — (Acts ri. 9.) Bernice, (Acts xxv. 13, 23,) or Berenice, as the name is sometimes spelled, was the daughter of Agrippa, sur- named the Great, and sister to the younger Agrippa, king of the Jews. She was first betrothed to Mark, son of Alexander, governor of the Jews at Alexandria. She however married her own uncle, Herod, king of Chal- cis. After his death, she married Polemon, king of Pontus, but abandoned him, and, returning to Agrippa, her brother, lived with him in incest. They sat with pomp to hear Paul preach. (Acts xxv.) Joseph, (Gen. xxx. 24,) son of Jacob and Rachel, was born in Mesopotamia, A. M. 2256, and married the daughter of one of the priests or princes of Egypt, and had two children, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh. (Gen. xli. 51.) The first-born of Joseph. When he and his brother Ephraim were boys, and Ja- cob, their grandfather, was about to die, Joseph took them into the patriarch's presence, to receive his bless- ing. On this occasion, he adopted them into his own family, as his own children, and in a most significant and interesting manner, predicted the superiority of Ephraim over Manasseh, as it respected numbers, &c. (Gen xlviii. 5 — 20. Comp. Num. i. 32, 33 35- ii 18 20: Ps. lxxx. 2.) ' Ephraim. 1. A person. (Gen. xli. 52.) The second son of Joseph. Though younger than Manasseh, he was the object of peculiar favor; and the prediction of their grandfather Jacob was literally fulfilled (Conm Gen. xlviii. 8 — 20: Num. ii. 18, 21.) ' P ' Ephraim. 2. Tribe of — occupied one of the most eli- gible sections of the Land of Promise. The Mediterra- nean was on the west, and the river Jordan on the east a portion of Manasseh on the north, and parts of Dan and Benjamin on the south. The city of Shiloh was iilSTOKY OF MAN. 29 within the bounds of Ephraim; and after the revolt of the ten tribes, the capital of their kingdom was always within the bounds of Ephraim; and hence the whole kingdom is sometimes called Ephraim. — (Jer. xxxi. 9, 18/20.) Ephraim. 3. City of — (2 Sam. xiii. 23.) A consid- erable town, situated about eight miles north of Jerusa- lem, on the way to Jericho, and within the bounds of the tribe of Benjamin. It was to this place, that our Savior retired after the raising of Lazarus, (John xi. 54,) and it is not improbable the same place is intended in 2Chr. xiii. 19. Zephaxiah, (Jer. xxix. 25,) the son of Maasseiah, who is called the second priest, was put to death by Nebuchad- nezzar, at Riblah. — (2 Kings xxv. 18 — 21.) Samuel, an eminent prophet, born at Ramah, in the tribe of Ephraim, and from his birth dedicated by his mother to God's service. — (1 Sam. iii. 1.) Jarha married the daughter of Sheshan. [And She- shan had a secvant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jar- ha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his ser- vant to wife; and she bare him Attai. And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, and Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, and Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, and Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum, and Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.] — (1 Chron. ii. 35 — 41.) Solomon, the king, was building his own house thirteen years; and he finished all his house for Pharaoh's daugh- ter, whom he had taken to wife. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, went up and took the city of Gezer from the Ca- naanites, and gave it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. Ahimaaz was in Napthali; he took Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, to wife. The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath, the daughter of Solomon f to wife. — ( 1 Kings, chap. 4, 7, 9.) Tahpenes, the queen, was the wife of Pharaoh; and the sister of Tahpenes was the wife of Hadad, to whom she bare Genubath; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household, among the sons of Pharaoh. — ( 1 Kings xi. 14.) David — king of Israel — whose sister was Abigail, the wife of Jether the Ishmaelite; and she bare Amasa. (1 Chron. ii. 17 ) 30 LIGHT AND TRUTH. THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB. Jacob, the second son of Isaac, and founder of the Jewish nation, was born, A. M. '2167. Jacob's wives were Rachel and Leah, the daughters of Laban, (Gen. xxviii. 2,) the brother of Rebekah. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, unto his flock, and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not towards me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inherit- ance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted of him strangers? For he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. For all the riches that God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our chil- dren's; now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father, in the land of Canaan. The sons of Jacob were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ash- er and Joseph ; all these were the sons of Jacob, or Is- rael, that came with Jacob, their father, out of the land of Canaan into Egypt, except Joseph, who was already there. The Canaanites, were called by the Greeks, Phoenicians and Ethiopians! And the children of Israel increased abundantly, and waxed exceedingly mighty; they married the daughters of Egypt, Ethiopia, &-c. — (Genesis; Exodus, i. and xii.) The sons of Reuben and their families were Hanoch of whom cometh the Hanochiles ; Pallu, of whom com- eth the Palluites ; Ilesron, of whom cometh the Hesron- ites; Carrni, of whom cometh the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites, and the number of them was forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty souls — (Tien, xlvi.; Numbers xxvi ) Simeon, the second son of Jacob, was born in the year 2217. The sons of Simeon, by a Canaanitish or Ethio- THE HISTORY OF MAN. 31 pian woman, and their families, were Jemuel or Nemuel, of whom cometh the Nemuelites; Jemin, of whom com- eth the Jeminites; Jachin, of whom cometh the Jachin- ites; Ohad, or Zerah, of whom cometh the Zerhites; and Shaul, of whom cometh the Shaulites. These are the families of the Simeonites, and the number of them was twenty-two thousand and two hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. Num. xxvi.) Levi, (Gen. xxix. 34.) third son of Jacob and Leah. He was concerned in a bloody affair with the Shechem- ites, which occasioned the denunciatory and prophetic language of his father respecting him, (Gen. xlix. 5 — 7,) and which was fully verified in the history of his poster- ity. The opposition of his descendants to the idol-wor- ship, which was practised by the others, was the occasion of the mitigation of their curse. — (Ex. xxvi. 29.) His descendants are called Levites. The sons of Levi, by a Canaanitish woman, and their families, were Gershon, of whom cometh the Gershonites ; Kohath, of whom cometh the Kohathites; and Merari, of whom cometh the Merarites. The sons of Gershon, and their families, were Libni, of whom cometh the Libnites ; and Shimei, of whom cometh the Shimeites. The sons of Kohath, and their families, were Amram, [the father of Moses, Aaron and* Miriam,] of whom com- eth the Amramites ; Izchar, of whom cometh the Izchar- ites; Hebron, of whom cometh the Hebronites; and Uzziel, of whom cometh the Uzzielites. The sons of Mahari were Mahli, of whom cometh the Mahlites ; and Mushi, of whom cometh the Mushites. The sons of Judah, by the daughter of Shuah, a Ca- naanitish or Ethiopian woman, the grand-daughter of Abraham and Keturah, were Er, Onan and Shelah. Er, and Onan the husband of Tamar, and after their death, Shelah their brother, were promised by Judah to Tamar, his daughter in-law. Through Tamar's seed came the Messiah. [Gen. xxv 28; lChron. ii.2; 1749 yearsB. C] The sons of Judah by Tamar were Zerah, [the Ethio- pian,] of whom cometh the Zarhites ; and Pharez, his brother, of whom cometh the Pharezites. These were the families of Judah, and the number of them was 32 LIGHT AND TRUTH. seventy-six thousand five hundred souls. — (Gen. xxxviii; Num. xxvi. ; 1 Cliron. ii. ; 2 Chron. xiv. 9.) Issachar, (Gen. xxx. 18,) was the fifth son of Jacob and Leah. The prophetical description of him uttered by his father, (Gen. xlix. 14, 15,) was fulfilled in the fact that the posterity of Issachar were a laborious people, and addicted to rural employments; hardy and patient to bear the burdens both of labor and war. The sons of Issachar, and their families, were Tola, of whom com- eth the Tolaites; Pua, of whom cometh the Punites ; Jashub, of whom cometh the Jashubites; Shimron, of whom cometh the Shimronites. These were the families of Issachar, and the number of them was sixty-four thous- and three hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. ; Num. xxvi.) Zebulnn, or Zabulon, the sixth son of Jacob by Leah, born about A. M. 225G, from whom sprang one of the tribes of Israel. When this tribe came out of Egypt, their fighting men amounted to 57,400, commanded by Eliab, the son of Elon. They increased 3100 in the wilderness. They had their inheritance between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean, and enriched them- selves by fisheries, commerce, and the manufacture of glass. The sons of Zebulon, and their families, were Sered, of whom cometh the Sardites; Elon, of whom cometh the Elonites: Jahleel, of whom cometh the Jah- leelites. These were the families of Zcbulonites, and the whole number of them was sixty thousand five hun- dred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. 14.; Num. xxvi.) Benjamin, (Gen. xxxv. 18,) was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. His mother died immediately after his birth, which took place near Bethlehem, when the family were on their journey from Padan-aram to Ca- naan. With her dying breath, she called him Benoni, [the son of my sorrow,] but his father gave him the name of Benjamin, [the son of my light hand.) The sons of Benjamin, and their families, [1732 B. C.l were Pelah or Bela, of whom cometh the Belaites; Ashbelof whom cometh the Ashbelites; Becher, Gera, Ehi, llosh ; Ahi- ram, of whom cometh the Ahiramites; -Muppimor Shu- pham, of whom cometh the Shuphamites; Hm pirn or Hupham, of whom cometh the J luphamites. The sons of Bela, and their families, were Ard, of whom cometh THE HISTORY OF MAN. 33 the Ardites; and Naaman, of whom cometh the Naa- manites. These were the families of Benjamin, aid the number of them was forty-five thousand six hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. ; Numbers xxvi.) Dan, (Gen. xxx. 6,) was the fifth son of Jacob. The prediction uttered by Jacob, respecting Dan, (Gen xlix. 16, 17.) is variously interpreted. It is probable th.it the elevation of his tribe to an equal rank with the ot lers, notwithstanding he was born of a concubine, was fore- told in Gen. v. 16; and the residue of the predictioi may allude to the subtle and crafty disposition of his descend- ants. Indeed, we know that Samson, [who was among the most noted of them, J was remarkably success ul in stratagem, (Judg. xiv. 15,) and perhaps the same trait was characteristic of their tribe. — (Judg. xviii. 26, 27.) The son of Dan was Hushim or Shuham, of whom com- eth the Shuhamites. The mother of Hiram, an Ethiopi- an king of Tyre, was a daughter of Dan. — (Num. xxvi. 2 Chron. ii. 14.) Naphtali, (Gen. xxx. 8,) or Nephthalim, (Matt, iv 15,) was a son of Jacob, by Bilhah. The sons of Naphtali, and their families, were Jahzeel, of whom cometh the Jahzeelites; Guni, of whom cometh the Gunites; J zer, of whom cometh the Jezerites; Shillem, of whom com- eth the Shillemites ; Huram, or Hiram, was an Et! iopi- an king of Tyre, of the tribe of Naphtali. These .vere the families of Naphtali, and the number of hem was forty-five thousand four hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi.; Num. xxvi.; 1 Kings vii. 14.) Gad, (Gen. xxx. 9 — 11 ; Num. i. 25,) was the son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid. The sons of Gad, and their families, were Ziphion, or Zephon, of whom cometh the Zephonites ; Haggi,* of whom cometh the Haggites ; Shuni, of whom cometh the Shunites : Ez- bon, or Ozni, of whom cometh the Oznites ; 1' ri, of whom cometh the Erites; Arod, of whom cometh the Arodites; Arela, of whom cometh the Arelites. These were the families of Gad, and the number of them was forty thousand five hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. Num. xxvi.) Haggai, the prophet of God. — (Ezra v. 1.) 34 LIGHT AND TRUTH. The sons of Asher, and their families, were Jimnah, or Jimna, of whom comcth the Jimnaites; Ishuah or Je- sui, of whom cometh the Jesuites ; Beriah, of whom cometh the Beriites ; and Sarah, their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber, of whom cometh the Heberites; Malehiel, of whom cometh the Malchielites. These were the families of Asher, and the number of them was fifty- three thousand lour hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi.; Num. xx vi.) The sons of Joseph, and their families, [1745 years B. C ] by Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, Priest of On, an Egyptian [Ethiopian] woman. [Pharaoh, the king, called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and made him ruler over all the land of Egypt, and gave him to wife Asenath.] The sons of Joseph were Manasseh, of whom cometh the Manassehites ; Ephraim, of whom cometh the Ephraimites. The son of Manasseh, by an Egyptian woman, was Machir, of whom cometh the Ma- chirites. The son of Machir, by the daughter of an Egyptian, was Gilead, of whom cometh the Gileadites. The sons of Gilead were Jeezer, of whom cometh the Jeezerites ; Helek, of whom cometh the Helekites ; As- riel, of whom cometh the Asrielites; Shechem, of whom cometh the Shechemites ; Shemida, of whom cometh the Shemidaites ; Hepher, of whom cometh the Hepherites. The son of Hepher was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had no sons, but daughters, whose names were Mahlah, No- ah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. These were the fami- lies of Manasseh, [Egyptians or Ethiopians,] and the num- ber of them was fifty-two thousand seven hundred souls. (Gen. & Num.) According to the Book of Mormon, [written by Jo- seph Smith, Jr.] the people of Nephi, and the remnant of the house of Israel, were the descendants of Joseph and Ishmael. Thus we discover the account of Lehi, the prophet, to be of the genealogy of Joseph, a Caanan- ite, and Asenath, an Egyptian woman, [blacks]. The sons of Lehi, by Sariah, were four— Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi ; and they took the daughters of Ishmael for wives, [dark red people]. The sons of Ephraim, and their families, by an Egyp- tian woman, were Shuthelah, of whom cometh the Shu- HISTORY OF MAN. 35 thalites ; Becher of whom cometh the Bachrites ; Ta- han, of whom cometh the Tahanites. The son of Shu- thelah wasEran of whom cometh the Eranites ; the men of Ephraim and Mt. Ephraim ; Samuel the prophet was the son of Elkanah ; Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Eli, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. These were the families of Ephraim, of Egypt, and the number of them was thirty-two thousand five hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. ; Num. xxvi. ; 1 Sam. i.) The sons of Amram, and their families, by Jochebad, the daughter of Levi, his father's sister, a Canaanitish woman, borne to him in Egypt, were Aaron and Moses, and his daughter was Miriam, their sister. — (Ex. vi. 20.) The sons of Aaron, and their families, by Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, a Ca- naanitish woman, were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer and Ith- amar. The son of Eleazer, by one of the daughters of Putiel, was Phinehas. These were the families of Aa- ron, and the number of them was twenty-three thousand males. — (Ex. vi.; Num. iii, 26.) The sons of Moses, the man of God, and their fami- lies by Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel, Jethro or Ra- guel, an Ethiopian woman, were Gershom, and Eliezer, who was of the tribe of Levi. — ( 1 Chron. xxiii. ; Ex. iii. 18; Num. x. 29; xii. 9.) The sons of Gershom, whose wife was an Egyptian woman, were Shebuel, Libni, Shi- mei, Jeahath, Zimmah, Joah, Iddo,* Zerah and Jeaterai. Shebuel was the chief ruler of the treasure of the house of God, in Jerusalem. (1 Chron. vi. 23 — 25. ) The sons of Shimei, an Ethiopian, were Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah ; Jahath was the chief. (1 Chron. xxiii.) — And of the sons of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the chief. The sons of Rehabiah were Isshiah, Jeshaiah, Joram Zichri and Shelomith ; and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. — (1 Chron. xxvi.) These were the sons and grandsons of Moses, and Zipporah, an Ethi- opian woman. *lddo, the prophet of God, and Zecharinh his son, who prophesied' un- to the Jews that were ir. Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God o Israel. — (2 Chron. xii. 15; Ezra v. 1 ; Zechariah.) 36 LIGHT AND TRUTH. The sons of Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in-law, an Ethiopian, were Nahath, Zcrah, Shammah, Mizzah and Habab the Great, who was as eyes to Moses in the wilderness ; and he also had seven daughters. — (Ex. ii. 1G, 18 ; Num. x. 29 ; 1 Chron. i. 37.) The sons of Zerah, the son of Judah, were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcal, Dara and Zabdi. The son of Ethan was Azariah. — (Josh. vii. 1 ; Chron, ii. 6.) The sons of Heman the Great, were Bukkiah, Matha- nia, Uzziel, Sherbuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalli, Ramamti. Jeshbekashah, Mallathi, Hathir and Mahaziath. God gave unto Heman, the king's seer, fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under the hand of their father for singers in the house of the Lord, with harps, cornets, flutes, sack- buts, dulcimers, cymbals, psalteries, and all kinds of music. — (Dan. iii. ; 1 Chron. xxv.) The number of singers in the house of God, was two hundred and eighty- eight souls. — (1 Chron. xxv. 7.) The son of Zabdi was Carmi. The son of Carmi was Achan, of the tribe of Judah; he was stoned to death for concealing a part of the spoil taken at Jericho. — (Josh. vii. 5, 25.) Pethahiah, the son of Meshozabeel, of the children of Zerah, [the son of Judah,] was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people. — (Nehemiah xi. 23.) Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, (Josh. vii. 1,) of Zerah cometh the families of the Zarhites. — (Num. xxvi. 20.) The sons of Zerah, Jeuel, and their brethren were six hundred and ninety able men of Israel. — (I Chron. ix.) The sons of Phares, the twin brother of Zerah, the Ethiopian, were Hezron, or Esrom, and Humul, and among their descendants was Joseph, the husband of Marv, unto whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ the Lord.— (Matt. i. 2.) The sons of Hezron, or Esrom, were Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai.— (1 Chron. ii.; Mutt, i.) The son of Ram, or Aram, was Amminadab, or Aminabab. The son of Amminadab was Nahshan, or Naassan. The son of Nah- shan was Salmon. The son of Salmon was Boaz, by Racliab. Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab The men of Racliab. — (1 Chron. ii. 55; iv. 11 10. THE HISTORY OF MAN. 37 Matt. i. 5.) Hamath was built and inhabited by the Hamathites, Canaanites, Ethiopians, &c. — [Herodotus.] The son of Boaz was Obed, by Ruth, the Moabitish woman — the daughter of Pharaoh, a woman of the Mo- abites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites — a colored people. — (1 Kings, xi. 1; Matt. i. 5.) The son of Obed was Jesse, an Ephrathite. The son of Jesse was David, the king of nations, whose sister's name was Abigail, the descendant of Egypt by Ephraim, of the tribe of Joseph. — (Gen. xli. 46: xx; 1 Sam. xvii. 12; Matt, i.) Abigail, David's sister, married Jether the Ishmaelite, the descendant of Ishmael, an Egyptian. — (Gen. xxi. 25; 1 Chr. ii. 17.) The son of David, by Bath-shua, or Bath-sheba, the daughter of Ammiel, or Eliam, was Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Uriah the Hittite. — (2 Sam. xi. 3, 12, 24: 1 Chron. iii. 5.) The Hittites are Canaanites — Ethiopians. — [See Grecian historian.] Solomon, king of Israel. In his reign there were a great number of kings in Africa and Arabia. " Twelve kings reigned over the twelve^districts called Nomes, in Egypt. Solomon had seven hundred wives, princesses; daughters of the kings of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians or Sidonians, and Hittites — Ethi- opian women. "The queen of Ethiopia, or of the South, bare Solomon a son;" and his concubines were three hundred women, [nobility,] of the Ethiopians and Moors. The son of Solomon, the Hittite, was Raboam, by Naamah, an Ammonitish woman. King Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he gave as a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife, the city of Gezer. And Solomon was thirteen years in building his own 4 house for the daugh- ter of Pharaoh, his wife; and he finished it, and she came up out of the city of David, unto her house which Solomon had built for her, into Jerusalem, the upper city; a woman of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sodinians and Hittites — an Ethiopian woman. — (1 Kings iii. 1, 7; i. 8, 9; xvi. 24; xi; 2 Chron. xii. 13; Matt. i. 7; Herodotus, &.c.) 38 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Raboam, the son of Solomon, begat Abia, and Abia begat Asa, and Asa begat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Jorain begat Ozias, and Ozias begat Joa- tbim, and Joathirn begat Acliaz, and Achaz begat Eze- kias, and Ezekias begat Hezekiah, and Hezekiah begat Manasses, and Manasses begat Anion, and Anion begat Josias, and Josias begat Jechonias, and Jechonias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zorobabel, and Zorohabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor, and Azor begat Sadoc, and Sadoc begat Achim, and Achitn begat Eliud, and Eliud begat Elea- zer, and Eleazer begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ the Lord. The sons of* Joseph were James, Joses, Simon or Salome, and Judas. — (Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3; xv. 40. ) • These were the descendants of ancient Jacob or Is- rael, who was willing to give his daughters unto the sons of the Hivites and all the Ethiopian nations of the country, at their request, and to take unto themselves their daughters in exchange, providing every male of them would be circumcised, that they might become one people under the covenant of grace and works made by God unto Israel. — (Gen. xxxiv 21, 22.) The cities of Tyre and Sidon were founded by blacks, who were the same with the Canaanites, and spoke the Hebrew language. — (Matt. xv. 21—28.) [Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth alter us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and wo i-shipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to erst it' to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord ; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great ia HISTORY OF MAN. 39 thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.] Sarepta was a city of Sidon. [Thus saith the Lord, I tell you of a truth, Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.] — (Luke iv. 25, 26.) The Queen of the South, or Sheba, daughter of Jokshan, and grand-daughter of Abraham by Keturah, (Gen. xxv 2, 3; 1 Kings, x. 2; Chron. ix; Matt. xii. 42; Acts viii. 27;) came from Ethiopia — or, in the lan- guage of Scripture, from the uttermost parts of the earth — to Jerusalem, with a very gr^at company, to hear and see all the wisdom of Solomon. She desired to try him in allegories or parables, in which he had been instructed by Nathan.. The annals of Abyssinia say that she was a pagan w"nen she left Sheba or Azab, but being filled with admiration at the sight of Solomon's works, she became a proselyte to Judaism, while at Je- rusalem. She likewise bore Solomon a son, whom she called Menilek, and carried him with her in her return to Sheba. After the lapse of a few years, Menilek was sent back to Solomon, for education; nor did his father neglect his charge, but had him thoroughly instructed in the Jewish religion. Menilek was crowned king of Ethiopia, in the temple at Jerusalem. It is certain that circumcision, the observance of the seventh day, and a number of other Jewish rites, are practised by the Ethiopians to this very day; and it is indisputable that their kings are descended in a direct line from Solomon. It is probable that this powerful nation — the Ethiopians of Abyssinia — were .conquered by Shishak, about the time of the civil wars in Egypt. The celebrated Joash, the king of Israel, reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, of Beer-sheba, or Sheba, a city or country of the Sabeans. — (Gen. x. 7 ; 2 Chron. xxiv.) LIGHT AND TKUTH. CHAPTER II. AICIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. CITIES OF ETHIOPIA. Ethiopian is a name derived from the "Land ofEthi- opia,"' the first settled country before the flood. "The second river that went out of Eden, to water the garden, or earth, was Gihon; the same that encom- passes h the whole land, or country, of Ethiopia." — (Gen. ii. 13.) Here Adam and his posterity built their tents, and tilled the ground. — (Gen. iii. 23, 24.) The first city was Enoch, built before the flood, in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden — a country now called Arabia. Cain, the son of Adam, went out of Eden, and dwelt in the land of Nod. We suppose, ac- cording to an ancient custom, he married his sister; and she bare Enoch. And Cain built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. (Gen. iv. 16, 17.) We know there must have been more than Cain and his son Enoch in the land of Nod, to build a city, but who were they ? # # # # [Malcom's Bible Dictionary.] The first great city described in ancient and sacred history was built by the Cushites, or Ethiopians. They surrounded it with walls, which, according to Rollin were :;7 feet in thickness, 350 feet in height, and 480 furlongs in circumference. And even this stupendous work they shortly after eclipsed by another, of which -~ ..-.i, «..^vrxJOMS. 41 Diodorus says, "Never did any city come up to the greatness and magnificence of this." It is a fact well attested by history, that the Ethiopi- ans once bore sway, not only in all Africa, but over almost all Asia; and it is said that even two continents could not afford field enough for the expansion of their energies. " They found their way into Europe, and built a city on the western coast of Spain, called by them Iberian Ethiopia." "And," says a distinguished writer, " wher- ever they went, they were rewarded for their ivisdom." The Tower of Babel. — Nimrod, the son of Cush, an Ethiopian, attempted to build the Tower of Babel. — (Gen. x. 8-10; xi. 4-9.) One hundred and two years after the flood, in the land of Shinar — an extensive and fertile plain, lying between Mesopotamia on the west, and Persia on the east, and watered by the Euphrates — mankind being all of one language, one color, and one religion — they agreed to erect a tower of prodigious extent and height. Their design was not to secure themselves against a second deluge, or they would have built their tower on a high mountain; but to get them- selves a famous character, and to prevent their disper- sion by the erection of a monument which should be visible from a great distance. No quarries being found in that alluvial soil, they made bricks for stone, and used slime for mortar. Their haughty and rebellious attempt displeased the Lord; and after they had worked, it is said, twenty-two years, he confounded their lan- guage. This effectually stopped the building, procured it the name of Babel, or Confusion, and obliged some of the offspring of Noah to disperse themselves and replen- ish the world. The tower of Babel was in sight from the great city of Babylon. Nimrod was a hunter and 'monarch of vast ambition. When he rose to be kins of Babylon, he re-peopled Babel, which had been desolate since the confusion of tongues; but did not dare to attempt the finishing of the tower. The Scriptures inform us, he became "mighty upon earth;" but the extent of his conquests is not known. — [Malcom's Bible Dictionary.] The private houses, in most of the ancient cities, were simple in external appearance; but exhibited in 4 LIGHT AND TRUTH. the interior all the splendor and elegance of refined luxury The floors were of marble; alabaster and gild- ing were displayed on every side. In every great house there were several fountains, playing in magnificent basins. The smallest house had three pipes — one for the kitchen, another for the garden, and a third for washing. The same magnificence was displayed in the mosques, churches and coffee houses. The environs presented, at all seasons of the year, a pleasing verdure, and contained extensive series of gardens and villas. The Great and Splendid City of Babylon. — This eity was founded by Nimrod, about 2247 years B. C, in the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, and made the capital of his kingdom. It was probably an inconsiderable place, until it was enlarged and embellished by Semiramis; it then became the most magnificent city in the world, surpassing even Nineveh in glory. The circumference of both these cities was the same; but the walls which surrounded Babylon were twice as broad as the walls of Nineveh, and having 100 brass gates. The city of Bab- ylon stood on the river Euphrates, by which it was divided into two parts, eastern and western; and these were connected by a cedar bridge of wonderful construc- tion, uniting the two divisions. Quays of beautiful mar- ble adorned the banks of the river; and on one bank stood the magnificent Temple of Belus, and on the other the Queen's Palace. These two edifices were connected by a passage under the bed of the river. This city was at least 45 mites in circumference; and would of course include eight cities as large as London and its append- ages. It was laid out in 625 squares, formed by the intersection of 25 streets at right angles. The walls which were of brick, were 350 feet high, and 87 feet broad. A trench surrounded the city, the sides of which were lined with brick and water-proof cement. This city was famous for its hanging gardens con- structed by one of its kings, to please his queen.' She was a Persian, and was desirous of seeing meadows on mountains, as in her own country. She prevailed on him to raise artificial gardens, adorned with mead- ows and trees. For this purpose, vaulted arches were raised from the ground, one above another, to an almost a. years H. C In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated Euypt is Mizraim, which was the name of one of the sons of Ham, (Gen. x. <;,) the founder of the nation. It is sometimes called I lam, (Ps. lxxviii. ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 49 51; cv. 23, 27; cvi. 22,) and also Rahab. (Ps. Ixxxvii. 4; lxxxix. 10; Isa. li. 9.) The Arabs now call it Mizr. Misraim, the grandson of Ham, led colonies into Egypt, from Babylon, which lasted 1663 years. Menes, who was a descendant from Ham, united several independent principalities, which thenceforth became one monarchy under him. The States he united were Thebes, Thin, Memphis and Tanaris. Under his government, Egypt made rapid progress in civilization and the arts and sciences. The inhabitants of Lower Egypt were colonies from Syria and Arabia — men of various tribes — originally shepherds and fishermen — who were gradually consoli- dated into one nation. Egypt is bounded on the east by the Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez; on the south by Ethiopia; on the west by Lybia; and on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. (Ezek. xxix. 10; xxx. 6.) It anciently comprehended an incredible number of cities, and was remarkably pop- ulous. The Nile runs from south to north, through the whole country, about 200 leagues; and the country is enclosed by ridges of mountains on each side. The greatest breadth of Egypt is from Alexandria to Damietta — being about 50 leagues. Ancient Egypt may be divided into three principal parts: Upper Egypt, otherwise called Thebais, which was the most southern part; Middle Esypt, or Heptano- mis, so called from its seven names; and Lower Egypt, which included what the Greeks called Delta, and all the country as far as the Red Sea, and along the Mediterra- nean to Rhinocolura, or Mt. Casius. Strabo stated that, under Sesostris, all Egypt became one kingdom, and was divided into 36 governments, or Nomi: 10 in Thebais, 10 in Delta, and 16 in the intermediate country. The cities of Syene and Elephantina divided Egypt from Ethi- opia. The Egyptians extended their reputation by other means than conquest. Egypt loved peace, because it loved justice; and maintained soldiers only for its secu- rity. She became known by her sending colonies into all parts of the world, and with them laws and civiliza- 50 LIGHT AND TRUTH. tion. She triumphed by the wisdom of her councils, and the superiority of her knowledge; and this empire of the mind appeared more noble and glorious to them than that which is achieved by arms and conquest. But neverthe- less Egypt has given birth to illustrious conquerors. A portion of the Egyptians seem to have been the de- scendants of Abraham, by Hagar; and of Esau, by Bashemath, the daughter of Ishmael. THE CITIES OF EGYPT. Alexandria. A celebrated city in Lower Egypt, sit- uated between Lake Mareotis and the western branch of the Nile, near its mouth, 125 miles north-west of Grand Cairo. It was founded by Alexander the Great, from whom it had its name, B. C. 331. It vied almost in mag- nificence with the ancient cities of Egypt, and for a long time was the seat of learning and commerce. Among the monuments of its ancient grandeur are Pompey's Pil- lar, 75 feet high, two obelisks, and the Catacombs. In the height of its splendor it is said to have contained 600,000 inhabitants.— [Rollin.] Its commerce extended to every part of the then known world. The Ptolemies made it their royal residence; and each successive monarch labored to embellish it. When the Romans, at the death of Cleopatra, B. C. 26, annexed Egypt to their empire, they respected and pre- served the beauties of this city and it continued to flour- ish. In a ship belonging to Alexandria, Paul sailed for Rome, (Acts xxvii. 6.) Christianity was early planted in this place. Mark is said to have founded the church here, A. D. 60, and was here martyred, A. D. 68. Here Apollos was born, (Acts xviii. 24.) Numerous Jews resided here, engaged in trade and commerce, 50,000 of whom were murdered under the Emperor Nero. Clem- ens Alexandrinus, Origen, Athanasius, and other emi- nent ministers flourished here. Under the Saracens who conquered it A. D. 6 ■!<;, it soon began to decay. They stupidly burnt its famous library of 700,000 volumes. The famous version of the Old Testament, called the Sen- tuagint, was made here nearly 300 years B. C. It then ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 51 contained 4000 baths and 400 theatres. It is now dwin- dled to a village, with nothing remarkable but the ruins of its ancient grandeur. — [Malcom's Bible Dictionary.] Modern Alexandria is built of the ruins of the ancient city, and contains a population of 15,000. The city of Abydos, or the Buried City, was so called by the Arabs, from its being beneath the surface of the ground. The traveller enters it by an excavation made for the especial purpose, assisted by his guide, and de- scending, finds himself within the ruins of a large city, with broad streets, temples of worship, and dwellings ex- cavated in the solid rock. The extent of Abydos is sup- posed to be three or four miles; but it has never been thoroughly explored by travellers. The question has been started, whether this city was originally built above ground, and sunk by some great convulsion of nature, or built originally beneath the surface, as it appears at the present time. Mr. Buckingham thought it could hardly have been sunk, as the walls of the buildings retain their firmness and perpendicularity. He therefore thought that it was originally built where it now stands. Neither did he think it had been buried by a whirlwind from the desert, as some had supposed, because the soil which covered it was not of sand, but of clay. He thought it probable that it had been built as an appendage to the great Labyrinth, to assist in initiating the priests into the rites and mysteries of their calling, and furnishing them with the means of rehearsing, in an uninhabited city, the parts which they would be called upon to enact in public. The ancient cities of Bubastis [or city of Isis,] and Heliopolis [or city of Osiris, or the Sun,] where the mythological rites of the Egyptians were performed, were remarkable for being seats of religious ceremonies. The resemblance between the mythology of Egypt and that of India were very striking. The festivals were very similar — particularly the illuminations, for which Bubastis was celebrated. This city, in the magnificence of its illuminations, surpassed all the other Esvptian cit- ies. There was also an annual festival of lamps in Hin- dostan — when all classes sent forth on the Ganges their lamps of various kinds, according to their different sta- tions and means, which were carried down into the dis- 52 LIGHT AND TRUTH. tant ocean. When illuminated with many thousands of lamps, some of which were of the most costly kind, and variegated, the Ganges presented a most brilliant, pic- turesque and interesting spectacle. Grand Cairo. Cairo is the great metropolitan city of Egypt. It is situated about 120 miles from the sea, 20 miles south of the Delta, and three miles from the bank of the Nile. It is about ten miles in circumference, and compactly built, of an irregular form, having many sides, and streets, lanes and alleys running in every di- rection, and marvellously crooked. The population is variously estimated, but cannot be certainly determined, as a strong prejudice exists among the Mahometans, a- gainst numbering the people, originating in their gloomy doctrines of fatality. It probably contains, however, about 600,000 inhabitants; although some travellers es- timate its population at a million. The citadel is a large fort, situated on a high rock; admirably chosen for strength, and might have been considered impregnable before the discovery of gunpowder. In the citadel is the palace of Mehemet Ali, the present Pacha of Egypt, and his beautiful gardens and public squares. In the out- skirts of the city is the "Place of Ezebekeeah," a large open space, which is used as a promenade by the inhab- itants, where sometimes 10,000 of them are seen enjoy- ing themselves in various amusements. During the in- undation of the Nile, this Place of Ezabekeeah is over- flowed by means of a canal, the flood gates of which are opened; and on the following day the lake is covered with hundreds of highly ornamented boats and gondolas, which are filled with the citizens of Cairo, presenting a brilliant spectacle, enlivened with a variety of melodious music. Grand Cairo, which seems to have succeeded Mem- phis, was built on the other side of the river. The cas- tle of Cairo is one of the greatest curiosities in Egypt. It stands on a hill without the city, has a rock for its foundation, and is surrounded with walls of avast height and solidity. Vou go up to the castle by a way hewn out of the rock, and which is so easy of ascent that loaded horses and camels get up without difficulty. The Great- est rarity in this castle is Joseph's well, so called, either because the Egyptians are pleased with ascribing their most remarkable works to that great man, or because there is really such a tradition in the country. This is a proof, at least, that the work in question is very an- cient; and it is certainly worthy the magnificence of the most powerful kings of Egypt. This well has, as it were, two stories, cut out of the rock to a prodigious depth. One descends to the reservoir of water, between the two wells, by a stair-case seven or eight feet broad, consist- ing of 220 steps, and so contrived that the oxen employed to throw up the water go down with all imaginable ease, the descent being scarce perceptible. The well is sup- plied from a spring, which is almost the only one in the whole country. — [Rollin.] Nomes was the city of Sais, the residence of the cele- brated King Amasis. This city was ornamented with magnificent buildings, temples and monuments, by order of Amasis; but this sovereign was ambitious of erecting a monument of an unique character, far surpassing in grandeur of conception and execution anything which had yet been done. He therefore caused a Monolith of colossal size, a Temple carved out of a single block of stone, to be constructed and placed in the city. This Monolith was wrought at Sienna, at the celebrated quar- ries where the beautiful and compact Sienite granite was found, at the distance of several hundred miles above Canopus. This temple, formed from the solid rock, wa3 21 cubits in length, 14 in breadth, and 8 in height — and the Egyptian cubit was supposed to be about four Eng- lish feet. This enormous mass of stone was conveyed to the capital of Amasis by the waters of the Nile, and employed 2000 men for three years. Mr. Buckingham supposed that by mechanical powers it was first con- veyed to the edge of the river, and then placed on an enormous raft, and when the inundation, or annual tide of the Nile took place, it was floated a certain distance, until the river subsided, when the raft grounded, and re- mained immovable till the next inundation. Three years thus passed away before this wonderful Monolith was conveyed to the city of Sais. This was one of the most extraordinary among the antiquities of Egypt — and it must be evident that the Egyptians were possessed of 54 LIGHT AND TRUTH. great mechanical power, to be able to place such huge masses of stone in their proper positions, and to erect obelisks of stupendous size. It was related by Herodo- tus that one of the kings of Egypt, when his workmen were about erecting a huge obelisk, caused his son to be lashed to the top of it, and when the machinery was set in motion, he bade them at their peril be particular- ly careful that the monument was not injured, as the life of his son would in that case be endangered. Sais, like Canopus, is now in ruins; and the remarkable Monolith had been buried in the soil for ages, until it was disin- terred by some Europeans, and found to be perfect. The city of On, (Gen. xli. 45,) or Aven, (Ezek. xxx. 17,) is the same with Bethshemesh, or house of the sun, (Jer. xliii. 13,) and was called by the Greeks, Heliopolis, or city of the svn. These names are given to the place, because it was the principal seat of the Egyptian worship of the sun. It was one of the oldest cities in the world, and was situated in the land of Goshen, on the east of the Nile, about five miles above modern Cairo. Eighteen centuries ago, this city was in ruins, when visited by Strabo. Herodotus says the inhabitants were "the wisest of the Egyptians." The father-in-law of Joseph was high priest of On. This was the city of Moses, ac- cording to Berosus, and accounts for his being "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," (Acts vii. 22.) Heliopolis was the Greek translation of Bethshemesh, "the house or city of the sun," and is called (Jer. xliii. 13,) "Bethshemesh in the land of Egypt," to distinguish it from a place of the same name in Canaan. — (Josh. xix. 38.) According to Josephus, this city was given to the fam- ily of Jacob, when they first came to sojourn in E»ypt; and we know that it was a daughter of the priest of the temple situated here who was given in marriage to Jo- seph. Here also, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Onias, a Jew, obtained leavo to erect a temple similar to the one at Jerusalem, which was for a long time fre- quented by the Hellenist Jews. There is an apparent reference to it by several of the prophets. [See pas- sages above cited.] The ruins of this ancient city lie near the modern vil- u.1.1 \J±JU ms. 55 lage Materia, about six miles from Cairo, towards the north-east. Nothing now remains but immense dikes and mounds, full of pieces of marble, granite and pottery; some remnants of a sphynx, and an obelisk, still erect, of a single block of granite, 58 feet above ground, and covered with hieroglyphics. Pathros, a city or canton of Egypt. It is probably the Phaturis of Pliny It had its name from Pathrusim, the fifth son ofMizraim, who built or peopled it. — (Gen. x. 14; Isa. xi. 11. Comp. Jer. xliv 1, 15, and Ezek. xxix. 14, xxx, 14.) This is the Thebais of the Greeks, and Said of the Arabs, the same with Upper or Southern Egypt. Some of the Jews, had withdrawn to this region, and there given themselves up to idolatry; but Jeremiah forewarns them of the tremendous judgments which awaited them. Pitho.m and R.oieses were the two cities for the build- ing of which the Hebrews made brick. — (Ex. i. 11.) The situation of them is now unknown. Herodotus men- tions a city called Pathumos, situated on the canal made to join the Red Sea and the river Nile. Pithom, (Ex. i. 11,) was one of Pharaoh's treasure cities, public gran- aries, or places for the storage of grain. It is supposed, from its relative situation, to be the Patoumos of the Greeks; inasmuch as the facilities of access to it and transportation from it would lead to its selection for this purpose. Raamses or Rameses, (Gen. xlvii. 1 1 ; Ex. xii. 37; Num. xxxiii. 3,) was also one of Pharaoh's treasure cities or public granaries, probably fortified for the se- curity of the stores. Rosetta was located on the west bank of one of the branches of the Nile, near the Mediterranean, and was the city of Haroun el Raschid, a name celebrated in the Arabian Nights. Rosetta was a truly oriental city, the buildings being nearly all of Saracenic architecture, which differs from the light Gothic only in substituting minarets for towers, and in surrounding them with ma- jestic domes. It contained about 1^,000 inhabitants, principally Mahometans; and was picturesquely situated among groves of palm trees; and in approaching it, the minarets and towers presented a beautiful appearance, peering above the trees. 56 LIGHT A.\D TRUTH, Svene, (Ezek. xxix. 10,) was a very ancient city, on the southern frontier of Egypt, near the ruins of which is the modern city of Assooar or Aswan. The site of Syene shows some granite columns, and a confused mix- ture of monuments. "Here," says a celebrated mod- ern geographer, "the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies raised the temples and the palaces which are found hall buried under the drifting sand. Here are the quarries from which the obelisks and colossal statues of the Egyptian temples were dug. And on the polished surface of some of the native rocks are found hieroglyphic sculptured rep- resentations of Egyptian deities." Tahapaives, the same as Tehaphenes, was a large city in the north of Egypt, called by Herodotus the Pelusiac Daphne. — (Jer. ii. 16; Exek. xxx. 18.) Hither many Jews emigrated after the ruin of their country, and took Jeremiah with them. — (Jer. xliii. 7-9.) The city of the Crocodiles is much dilapidated — many of the stones and building materials having been taken away, to assist in constructing other cities. Canopus was situated on the western bank of the western branch of the seven-fold Nile. It extended along the bank for five or six miles, and was about the same extent in width, being of a semi-circular form. One of its greatest peculiarities was the magnificence of all its buildings, showing that, like Palmyra, it was in- habited only by persons of great wealth. This city de- rived its importance, not from trade, like Alexandria, but owed its prosperity to another and more potent cause — a cause which, if existing in this country at the pres- ent time, would raise up a magnificent city with even greater rapidity than was ever the case in former times. This charm, which attracted crowds of people from the east and from the west, the north and the south, consist- ed in its fountains, which possessed, or had the reputation of possessing, the remarkable property of restoring to elderly ladies all the health and beauty with which they had been blessed in the morning of life. They bathed themselves in the waters of'tlic fountains, and the pleas- ing transformation was supposed to take place. These wonderful baths drew vast numbers i o the city of Cano- pus, and these being almost entirely i or.sons of opulence Ll.NiU.UOMS. 57 would account for the absence of humbler dwellings, and for the gorgeous architecture, the beautiful sculpture, and the splendid palaces with which Canopus abounded. But when the delusion vanished, and the people no long- er believed in the virtues of the fountains, it is probable the desertion of the city was as sudden as its rise and prosperity had been rapid. This delusion, it has been humorously said by a distinguished traveller, was no greater than actually exists in the 19th century, in Eng- land and America. It is true, people do not believe in fountains of youth; but they believe that pills and lotions will produce an effect as marvellous as that ascribed to the baths of Canopus. Any one may be convinced of this fact by reading the newspaper advertisements of the day, from which it will appear that if people become sick it is their own fault; and if they die they have no one but themselves to blame. Damietta is situated on the eastern bank of a differ- ent branch of the Nile, and is remarkable for having been the city which was the residence of the Crusaders. The architecture of the buildings and the appearance and cus- toms of the inhabitants, approach nearer to those of the cities of Europe than any other eastern city. The in- habitants are cheerful, and possess a spark of vivacity uncommon with the Turks, and such as is seldom met with in other cities of the East. Its population is about 20,000. Goshe.v. 1. (Gen. xlv. 10.) A fertile section of pas- ture land in the north-eastern division ofEgypt, between the Red Sea and the River Nile, upon the southern bor- der of Canaan, allotted by Joseph to his father and his brethren, where they dwelt for upwards of two hundred years. It was, for grazing purposes, the best of the land. — (Gen. xlvii. 6, 11.) Mr. Smith, an American missionary, passed, with a caravan, through the northern district of ancient Goshen, in 1827; and he describes it as an immense sandy desert, drifted with sand banks; and presenting here and there, in small patches, a fevf shrubs of evergreen, like our whortleberry bushes, on which the Bedouins pasture their flocks. Rameses and Pithon are mentioned as cities of Goshen, and the sup- posed ruins of them are described by modern travellers. 5 58 LIGHT AND TRUTH. The Pacha of Egypt has lately established a colony of 500 Syrians in the ancient land of Goshen, for the pur- pose of cultivating the mulberry and rearing silk-worms. 2. (Josh. xv. 51.) A city in the territory of Judah, which gave the name of the land of Goshen to the coun- try around it. Heptanomis was so called from the seven Nomi or districts it contained — Lower Egypt, which included what the Greeks call Delta, and all the country as far as the Red Sea, and along the Mediterranean to Rhinocolura, or Mt. Casius. Hermopolis is in ruins, but its streets, squares, pal- aces, and some of its private dwellings remain; and while walking through its desolate streets, and standing be- neath the gorgeous temples, the traveller cannot but feel lost in admiration at their beauty and splendor. Heliopolis. At this city, in its palmy days, was a col- lege of great celebrity, where Greeks and Romans, and citizens of other places in Europe, used to resort to ac- quire knowledge. It was there that the doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, was taught, and which, by Pythagoras the Samian and other philos- ophers, was carried over into other countries. Those who entertained a belief in this doctrine supposed that there was a time when every soul was independent of a body; that when a body was afterwards created, a soul entered into it, and there continued till the natural term of its existence had expired; and if, during this state of probation, it conducted with rectitude and propriety, ful- filling all the duties prescribed by the moral law, the soul would afterwards pass into the body of a being of a higher grade than the one it had left, and at the close of every term of its existence, it would go on improving, if it continued to conduct in a blameless manner — at length getting advanced in the scale of improvement beyond hu- man perfection, it would constitute the essence of an an- gel, or some superior being, and still improving, would finally become incorporated with Deity itself. This was the system of rewards. The system of punishment was of a corresponding nature. If ;l person conducted ill, the soul, at his death, would enter into the body of an inferior human being, or perhaps an animal and if „,.~ ^ii< U i/05is, 59 his conduct had been exceedingly vicious and depraved, it would enter into the body of an animal of the most de- graded and detested class. Memphis. This city was built by Uchoreus, king of Egypt, on the west side of the Nile, and was the capital of Middle Egypt, or Heptanomis. It was 150 furlongs, or more than 7 leagues, in circumference, and stood at the point of the Delta, in that part where the Nile divides itself into several branches or streams. Southward from the city, the king raised a vast and high mole; on the right and left, he dug deep moats to receive the river. These were faced with stone, and raised, near the city, by a strong causeway — the whole designed to secure the city from the inundations of the Nile and the incursions of enemies. A city so advantageously situated, and so strongly fortified that it was almost the key of the Nile, and by this means commanded the whole country, soon became the usual residence of the Egyptian kings. Here were many stately temples, the god Apis, pyramids, &c. — (Rollin.) Noph, (Isa. xix. 13; Jer. ii. 16; Ezek. xxx. 13, 16,) was probably the ancient Memphis, in Middle Egypt, on the Nile, 15 miles south of old Cairo. It was the resi- dence of the earlier kings of Egypt, and is said to have been about 20 miles in circumference. »In the seventh century it fell into the hands of the Saracens; and the predicted judgments of God, on account of its idolatry and general corruption, gradually effaced every trace of its ancient magnificence. In the time of Strabo, there were many splendid remains, among which he describes a temple of Vulcan, of great magnificence; another of Venus; and a third of Osiris, where the Apis or sacred ox was worshipped. He also mentions a large circus; but he remarks, that many of the palaces were in ruins, and describes an immense colossus which lay prostrate in front of the city; and among a number of sphinxes, some were buried in sand up to the middle of the body, while of others only the heads were visible above the sand. Some monuments were to be seen 600 years after the time of Strabo's visit, when the Saracens had posses- sion of the country; but at present there is scarcely a vestige of its former grandeur to be found. This has led 60 _._ some to conjecture that its site was overflowed by the Nile; but it is much more probable that it has been cov- ered by the continual encroachment of the sands, which, we see, were advancing in the time of Strabo. And it cannot be doubted but that a large part of ancient Egypt has already been completely buried by the sands from the wilderness. No, (Jer. xlvi. 25; Ezek. xxx. 14,) is generally sup- posed to be the famous city of Thebes, in Upper Egypt, extending itself on both sides of the Nile. — (Nah. iii. 8.) The fact is so uncertain, however, that we should not feel justified in introducing an article upon Thebes. In- stead of No, in Jer. xlvi. 25, it should be rendered Jlm- mon of No, or the seat or dwelling of the god Amnion. It was probably applied to two or three places. A dis- tinction was sometimes made between the No spoken of in Nahum iii. 8 — '10, and the No mentioned by Jeremi- ah and Ezekiel. The destruction of the former [sup- posed to be Thebes,] is described in detail, as already past, while the doom of the other [which is supposed to have been in Lower Egypt,] is predicted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel as a future event. No, was the chief seat of the worship of Jupiter Ammon. Its ruins are the won- der and delight of all travellers. — (Jer. xlvi. 25.) The city of Thebes. The foundation of the kingdom of Thebes was laid by the celebrated Cadmus, a Phoe- nician or Ethiopian. The city of Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was one of the most splendid cities in the world, and was built by Busiris, king of Egypt, now called Said. Temples and palaces have been discovered, which are still almost entire, adorned with innumerable columns and statues. Travellers give us accounts of one palace in particular, whose remains seem to have existed sole- ly to eclipse the glory of the most magnificent edifices of ancient or modern times. Four walks, extending far- ther than the eye can see, and bounded on each side with sphinxes composed of materials as rare and extraordi- nary as their size is remarkable, serve for avenues to four porticoes, whose height is amazing to behold. Be- sides, those who describe this wonderful edifice had not time to explore it thoroughly, and suppose they saw no more than half its extent. A lull, which in appearance ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 61 stood in the middle of this stately palace, was supported by 120 pillars, each of which was six fathoms in circum- ference, and of proportionable height, intermixed with obelisks which so many ages have not been able to de- molish. Painting had displayed all her art and magnifi- cence in this edifice. The colors themselves, which soonest feel the injury of time, still remain amidst the ru- ins of this wonderful structure, and preserve their beauty and lustre. So happily could the Egyptians imprint a character of immortality on all their works. — [Lib. 17, p. 805.] Strabo, who was on the spot, describes a tem- ple he saw in Egypt very much resembling that of which we have been speaking. The ruins of Thebes, lie on both sides the Nile, for a space of nearly nine miles along the river, and reaching far inland. The modern names of Luxor, Carnac and Kourna are given only to parts of the same city, whose ancient circuit was 27 miles, the whole of which space is now full of fallen columns, colossal statues and obelisks. It is reported to have had an hundred gates, out of each of which it could send 20,000 soldiers and 200 chariots. The palace of Memnon, with its vast porticoes, colossal statues, and almost endless rows of columns, shows that the kings who once reigned here were very rich, and that the artists by whom the edifices were erected were able and intelligent men, although they were built so long ago that history can tell us very little about them. Thebais, derives its name from Thebes, which with its hundred palaces and hundred gates, might vie with the noblest cities of the world. It was celebrated by Homer, an Ethiopian, whose description is generally familiar. It acquired the surname of Hecatompylos, to distinguish it from the other Thebes, in Boeotia. It was equally large and populous, and according to history it could send out at once 200 chariots and 10,000 fighting men at each of its gates. The Greeks and Romans have celebrated its magnificence and grandeur, though they saw only its ru- ins, so august were its remains. — [Strabo and Rollin.] The Thebans, says Diodorus, considered themselves as the most ancient people of the East, and asserted that philosophy and astronomy originated with them. C'i LIGHT AND TRUTH. Thktiks, what a glory on tliy temples sate, When monarchs hardly less than gods were thine, Though imstery and darkness shroud thy late, The glimpse imagination gives us is divine. Through the long vista, as we gaze, half hid, Distinct though distant, graceful, though austere, Palace and pillar, fane and pyramid, In awful grandeur and repose appear. Nations, since born, have wept o'er thy decay; Science and Art have flourish'd and have died; And glory, like a dream, has pass'd away — Vet thine imperishable fame shall aye abide. The native spirit yet may wake and live, (freedom and Culture, what hast thou not done,) And Ethiopia kindle and revive. Like her own table when it felt the sun. The city of Sin, ) Ezek. xxx. 15, 16,) is the Pelusium of the Greeks, and is called the. strength of Egypt, be- cause of its position as a bulwark. The ruins of it are supposed to have been discovered by the French army in the invasion of Egypt under Bonaparte. Zoan, (Num. xiii. 22,) by the Greeks called Tanis, and by the Arabs, San, was one of the oldest cities of the world, founded only seven years later than Hebron, and situated on the Tanitic arm of the Nile. It was evi- dently the residence of a line of princes, (Isa. xix. 1 1 — 13; xxx. 4,) and probably the place where Moses wrought the Egyptian miracles. — (Ps. lxxviii. 12, 43.) Ezekiel prophesied against it, (Ezek. xxx. 14,) and its ruins are yet visible, and present numerous pillars and obelisks, as evidence of its former magnificence. The city of Zoar. Delta was the city of Tanis, the Zoar of the scriptures, alluded to by the Psalmist, situ- ated in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were held in bondage. The antiquities of this part of Egypt throw much light on scripture history. The labors of the Israelites, it is thought, were confined to the land of Goshen, and it is not probable they were employed in tlie construction of the pyramids, as some persons have supposed. In Zoar, which is no lon»er inhabited, may still be seen the remains of brick work, which, we are taught by Holy Writ, was the employment of the Israel- ites. The walls of this city were of immense size, being 80 feet in thickness at the base, perpendicular at the outside, but sloping internally, the top being 30 feet thick, and sufficiently extensive for three chariots to ride abreast. The interior portion of the walls was made of bricks without straw. Zoar is now desolate — and the waters of the Nile flow over a portion of this once popu- lous and renowned city. The River of Egypt, (Josh. xv. 47,) does not mean the Nile, but the Sihor, or the brook Bezor, which runs into the Mediterranean. That which is called, (Gen. xv. 18,) by way of pre-eminence, the River, (Gen. xli. 1; Ex. vii. 17,) and sometimes Sihor, (Isa. xxiii. 3,) or Shi- hor, (1 Chron. xiii. 5,) is the Nile, a remarkable river, which flows 1200 miles without meeting a tributary stream. Its overflowings inundate the adjoining country, (Amos viii. 8; ix, 5,) and give it its extraordinary fer- tility. Hence a failure of this periodical overflowing must occasion the utmost distress. — (Isa. xix. 5, 6.) The Egyptians were celebrated legislators and able politicians, magistrates born for government, men that have excelled in all arts and sciences, philosophers who carried their inquiries as far as was possible in those early ages, and who have left us such maxims of morali- ty as many Christians ought to blush at. From the history of Herodotus we learn that the an- cient Egyptians were black, and that their hair was friz- zly or curly. The inhabitants of ancient Colchis, since called Min- grelia, were originally Egyptians, and colonized that country when Sesostris, king of Egypt, extended his conquests in the north. They had, like the Egyptians, black skins and frizzly hair, and were the ancestors of the warlike Philistines. Samson's wife was the daughter of a Philistine. — (Judges xxiv.; Herodotus.) THE LAND OF CANAAN. Canaan was the Scripture name of what was called Palestine, or the Holy Land. This name was derived from Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, [literally black,'] whose posterity settled there, and remained for about 64 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 700 years. It is now called Judea, and its divisions, at different times, have been as follows: Ancient Canaanitish Division. Israclilish Div. Roman £Hv. Sidonians, Tribe of Asher, (in Lebanon.) ~) ,. , ( Wapthali. (Northwest of the lake >■ Upper Galilee. Unknown, 1 '.. „ ' , , \ ' ( ot tienesssret.) j Perizzites, Zebulon. (West of Genesaret.) ^ c ( Issaclinr. (Valley of Esdraelon, and S. Lower Galilee. Satne ' } Alt. Tabor.) *> ... .. I Half tribe of Manasseh. (Dor and ) Hivite3 ' } Cesarea.) C Samaria. Same, Ephraim. (Shechem & Samaria.) ) Jebusitcs, Benjamin. (Jericho & Jerusalem.) -\ Amorites, Hittites, Judah. (Hebron & Judea proper.) f J u( Jea »,.... .. (Simeon. (Southwest of Judah, Dan, C Philistines, J andJoppa.) ) Moabites, Reuben. (Gilead and Heshbon.) -\ Ammonites, Gilead, Ammonites. (Gilead.) v r"l *J ir- a f r»„ »,,„ $ Half tribe of Manasseh. (Golan ( Vjlleaa - Kingdom of Bashan,^ Bashan } * * ) The boundaries of Canaan, as generally laid down, are Lebanon on the north, Arabia on the east, Idumea on the south, and the sea on the west. At the time when Abraham came into the land of Ca- naan, there were already in existence numerous towns, which are mentioned in the book of Genesis; Sodom and Gomorrah, Zeboim, Admah, Bela, Hebron and Damas- cus. This last is truly venerable, as it is beyond doubt the oldest city in the world. The spies who were sent over Jordan brought back an account of well fortified cities. In the book of Joshua, we read of no less than 600 towns, of which the Israelites took possession. When the city of Ai was taken, its inhabitants, who were put to the sword, amounted to 12,000, (Josh. viii. 16, 25,) and we are told that Gibeon was a still greater city. — (Josh. x. 2.) Ashtaroth, (Josh, ix, 10,) called Astaroth, (Deut. i. 4,) and Ashteroth Karnaim, (Gen. xiv. 5,) was one of the chief cities of Bashan, and is supposed to be the same with the modern Mezaraib, on the route of the pilo-rims from Damascus to Mecca. * A section of Canaan, extending across from the Jordan to the Medi- terranean Sea, and northwardly to the territory of Benjamin and Dan (Josh. xv. 1— G3.) A.vuili.vr CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 65 Adad-rimmon*, a city in the valley of Jezreel, famous for a dreadful battle. — (2 Kings xxiii. 29; Zech. xii. 11.) It was afterward called Maximianopolis, in honor of the emperor Maximian. Axtipatris, a city of Canaan, situated in a pleasant valley, near the mountains, in the way from Jerusalem to Caesarea, about 17 miles distant from Joppa, and 42 from Jerusalem. — (Acts xxiii. 31.) It was formerly call- ed Capharsalama, (1 Mace. vii. 31,) but was of little note till enlarged and adorned by Herod, who named it after his father, Antipater. Ad.mah. (Deut. xxix. 23.) The most easterly of the five cities of the plain or vale of Siddim, which were miraculously destroyed by fire, because of their great wickedness. Some infer from Isa. xv. 9, the last clause of which is translated by the Septuagint, "and upon the remnant of Admah," that Admah was not entirely destroy- ed; but the more probable supposition is, that another city of the same name was afterwards built, near the site of the former. Arad. (Judg. i. 16.) A city in the southern border of Judea, whose king opposed the passage of the chil- dren of Israel, and even took some of them prisoners, for which they were accursed, and their city destroyed. Accho, a seaport of Canaan, belonging to the tribe of Asher, but not conquered by them, — (Judg. i. 31.) It first became an important city in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, who greatly enlarged and beautified the place, and from whom it was long called Ptolemais. It became famous during the crusades, and was then called St. Jean d'Acre. Ajalon. 1. (Josh. x. 12.) A village of Canaan, sit- uated in the tribe of Dan, between Jerusalem and Ekron. In the vicinity of Ajalon is the valley of the same name, memorable for the miracle of Joshua. 2. A city in the tribe of Asher, also called Aphik, (Judg. i. 31) situated in Lebanon, on the northern border of Canaan, where there is now a village called Aphka. It was here that Benhadad assembled the Syr- ians, (Josh. xii. 18; xiii. 4; xix. 30; 1 Kings xx. 26,) 37,000 of whom were destroyed by the falling of a wall. Beer-lahai-roi. (Gen. xvi. 14.) A place in the 66 LIGHT AND TRUTH. southern border of Canaan, near the desert of Shur, which received its name in consequence ot the appear- ance of an angel to Hagar, when she was in exile. 1 he name of the place signifies "the well of him that liveth and seeth me." Beer-sheba. (Gen. xxi. 31.) This was at first the name of a well, near which Abraham long resided, (Gen. xxi. 33,) and Isaac after him, (Gen. xxvi. 32, 33.) It afterwards became a town of considerable note. It was situated about 20 miles south of Hebron, at the southern extremity of the land of Canaan, as Dan was at the northern extremity. Hence the expression, (Judg. xx. 1,) "from Dan to Beer-sheba," denoted the whole length of the land, as also did the expression, "from Beer-sheba to Mt. Ephraim," (2 Chron. xix. 4,) repre- sent the whole length of the kingdom of Judah. The town was within the territory of Judah, and fell finally into Simeon's hands. — (Josh. xv. 28; xix. 2.) At Beer- sheba resided the sons of Samuel, (1 Sam. viii. 2,) and in later times the place was given to idolatry — (Amos v. 5; viii. 14.) Bethel, (Gen. xxviii. 19,) was the residence of one of the Canaanite kings; and the Ephraimites, to whom it was assigned in the division of the land, were unable to gain possession of it until they were aided by the treach- ery of one of the inhabitants. — Judg. i. 22 — 26.) The tabernacle was stationed a longtime in this place. This city was situated east of a line running from Shechem to Jerusalem, and at about an equal distance from each. When Jacob was journeying towards Mesopotamia to avoid the fury of his brother Esau, he lodged at a place near the city ofLuz, and was favored with a remarkable vision of the Almighty. For this cause, he named the place, and the adjoining city, Bethel, [house of God.] Bethshf.an, a city west of the Jordan, known in an- cient geography as Scythopolis, but now called Bysan, and containing only 70 or 80 houses. Bozrah was a city situated to the eastward ofBashan. Cana, of Galilee. (John ii. 1.) A small village about 15 miles north-west of Tiberias, and 6 miles north-east of Nazareth. Ciiorasin. (Matt. xi. 21.) A town on the shore of ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 67 the Sea of Tiberias, where Christ wrought miracles; but its precise location is not known. Damascus, once a most noble city, and one of the most ancient on the earth. — (Gen. xiv. 15.) It was about 50 miles in circumference, situated in a large plain, and is surrounded by several considerable villages. The plain is covered with gardens of chestnut, olive, and fig trees, apricots and vines. According to the best in- formation, Damascus contains about 150,000 souls, about 10,000 of whom are Christians. It is computed that 50,- 000 Mahometan pilgrims annually pass through this city, from the north, on their way to Mecca. Dor. (Judg. i. 27.) This is now a small town on the Mediterranean coast, about nine miles north of Cses area. Its present name is Tortura. It is close upon the beach, and contains about 500 inhabitants. It was formerly a royal city, or capital of a district of Canaan, (Josh. xii. 23,) and was assigned to the half tribe of Manasseh. Debir, or Kirjath-Sepher, (Judg. i. 11,) or Kirjath- Sannah, (Josh. xv. 49.) A stronghold of the sons of Anak, which was conquered by Joshua, (Josh. x. 38, 39,) and assigned to the tribe of Judah. It was after- wards recaptured by the Canaanites, and again subdued by the Israelites under Othniel. — (Josh. xv. 15 — 17.) It afterwards became a city of the Levites. — (Josh. xxi. 15.) There was another town of this name among the possessions of Gad, east of the Jordan, (Josh. xiii. 26,) and a third on the border of Judah and Benjamin. — (Comp. Josh. viii. 26, and xv. 7.) Emims. (Deut. ii. 10.) A numerous and warlike peo- ple of gigantic size, who dwelt on the eastern borders of Canaan, and who were supplanted by the Moabites. Gezer. (Josh. xvi. 3.) A town of Ephraim on the border of Benjamin, north-west of Jerusalem. It re- mained in the possession of the Canaanites, (Josh. x. 33; xvi. 10; Judg. i. 29,) till the king of Egypt subdued it, and gave it to his daughter, the wife of Solomon. Girgasite, (Gen. x. 16,) or Girgashites, (Gen. xv. 21.) A tribe of the Canaanites, who are supposed to have inhabited a section of the country east of the Sea of Galilee, from whom the name of the city of Gergesa was derived. 68 LIGHT AND TRUTH. The city of Gileab was situated on the river Jabok, in Canaan. — (Josh. xii. 2.) Hazor. (Josh. xi. 10.) A capital city of the Canaan- ites, where Jabin dwelt, and which was subdued and burnt by Joshua. — (Josh. xi. 1 — 13.) It was, how- ever, rebuilt and governed by a king of the same name, whose army was routed by Barak. — (Judg. iv. 2 — 16.) It was fortified by Solomon, (1 Kings ix. 15,) and in the general invasion of the country by Tiglath-Pileser, fell into his hands, (2 Kings xv 29,) and its inhabitants were carried into Assyria. The land of Havilah, (Gen. ii. 11,) where the sacred historian uses the name which afterwards applied to this land, and which was probably derived from Havilah, the son of Cush, (Gen. x. 7,) whose descendants peopled it. It is supposed to be the same with Colchis, between the Black Sea and the Caspian. Another country of this name lay between the Euphrates and Tigris, towards the Persian Gulf, where Chavelsei [or Chavilah,] of later times is found. One of these provinces may have been settled by Havilah, the descendant of Joktan. — (Gen. x. 29.) A third Havilah is supposed to be intended in Gen. Xxv. 18, though that passage may also describe the vast region last mentioned, between the Persian Gulf on the east, and Shur by the Red Sea on the west. The phrase "from Havilah unto Shur," in Gen. xxv. 18, and 1 Sam. xv. 7, and many other passages seems to be used to des- ignate the opposite extremes of Arabia; in which sense Havilah may be regarded as the eastern border of the country inhabited by the Ishmaelites and Amalekites. Hivites. (Gen. x. 17.) A horde of the Canaanites elsewhere called Avims. — (Deut. ii. 23.) They seem to have been settled in various parts of the land.' — (Gen. xxxiv 2; Josh. xi. 3, 19.) Horims. (Deut. ii. 1,22.) A general name for dwell- ers in caves; and perhaps the same with the Horites. Horites. (Gen. xiv 6.) An ancient and powerful people, who dwelt in Mt. Seir. — (Gen. xxxvi. 20 — 30.) Hadau-rimmov. (Zech. xii. 11.) From comparing this passage with 2 Chron. xxxv. 22 — 25, we infer that Hadadrimmon was a city or village in the valley of Me- giddo. ,_.,^ „.«« ;;i:s;y3MS, 69 Kishon. An ancient river, rising at the foot of Mt. Tabor. It is called "the waters of Megiddo," because Megiddo was built upon its margin. It is famous for the battle between Barak and Sisera, and for the destruction of Baal's prophets. — (1 Kings xviii. 40.) It is called "the river before Jokneam." — (Josh. xix. 11.) Jebos. (Judg. xix. 10.) The Jebusite is mentioned among the descendants of Canaan the son of Ham, (Gen. x. 16,) and there was a warlike race called Jebu- sites, inhabiting the mountainous country around Jeru- salem, and keeping possession of it, (Josh. xv. 63,) until it was wrested from them by David, and made the capi- tal of Judea. (1 Chron. xi. 4 — 8.) The Jebusites were probably permitted to remain on the ground after their conquest. (2 Sam. xxiv. 16, 24.) It is supposed they were dispossessed for a season by Joshua, (Josh. x. 23, 40; xii. 10,) and afterwards regained some districts, while the Israelites possessed others. — (Comp. Josh. xv. 63; 1 Sam. xvii. 54; 2 Sam. v. 6.) Kenites. (Gen. xv. 19.) One of the tribes or nations who had possession of Canaan in the time of Abraham. It appears that they were driven from Canaan; and are afterwards spoken of as dwelling in the highlands near the Ammonites and Moabites. — (Num. xxiv. 21, 22.) In the time of Saul, they were found dwelling among or near the Amalekites. Jethro, the father-in-law of Mo- ses, was of this nation. Kadmonites, a tribe of Canaanites east of Jordan, near Mt. Hermon. — (Gen. xv. 19.) Cadmus, the fa- mous inventor of the Greek Alphabet, is thought to have emigrated from this country. Lebanon, a famous range of mountains in the north of Canaan. At the top grew cedars, and at the base ex- cellent vines. There are two ridges; the eastern, call- ed by the Greeks, Anti-Libanus ; and the western, or Proper Libanus, which runs nearly parallel to the coast of the Great Sea. From hence, Solomon's workmen "brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house." — (1 Kings v 14 — 18.) Mines of iron and copper were worked here. — (Deut. viii. 9.) The highest summits, which are proba- bly about 12,000 feet above the level of the ocean, are 70 LIGHT AiNJU TKUitl. always covered with snow, from which descend in sum- mer, sweet and refreshing rivulets on every side. The principal range extends, somewhat in the form of a cres- cent, from Cilicia to Esdraelon, a distance of 50 leagues. A spur of this mountain next the Holy Land is called Hermon. Another spur to the eastward is Mt. Gilead, where Laban overtook Jacob. — (Gen. xxxi. 25.) Minni. (Jer. li. 27.) A province of Armenia, or, more probably, one of the several clans or tribes who were settled on Mt. Taurus, east and south of the Black Sea. The Ashkenites were another of these tribes. Makkedah. (Josh. x. 10.) One of the principal cit- ies of the Canaanites, which was allotted to Judah, and lay south-west of Jerusalem. /There was a remarkable cave here, in which five petty kings concealed them- selves, but were discovered by Joshua, and put to an ig- nominious death. Mizrephoth-biaim. (Josh. xi. 8.) A place near Si- don, and supposed to be the same with Sarepta. Perizzites, one of the devoted nations of Canaan. They were never fully extirpated. Solomon exacted trib- ute of them. — (2 Chron. viii. 7 ) So late as the days of Ezra we find them intermarried with the Jews. — (Ez. ix. 1.) Samaria. 1. (1 Kings xiii. 32.) The central prov- ince or section of the land of Canaan, having Galilee on the north and Judea on the south was called, in the time of Christ, Samaria. It included the possessions of Ephraim and Manasseh, and comprehends the modern districts of Areta and Nablouse; in the former of which are the sites of Caesarea and Carmel, and in the latter Shechem and the city of Samaria. 2. The city of Samaria, (1 Kings xvi. 24,) from which the above province had its name, was situated about 40 miles north of Jerusalem, and a short distance north-west of Nablouse, [Shechem.] It was founded by Omri, king of Israel, as the capital of Israel, or the ten tribes. (1 Kings xvi. 29; 2 Kings iii. 1.) The territory was pur- chased of Shemer, [hence Samaria,] and fortified. (2 Kings x. 2.) It withstood two unsuccessful sieves by Benhadad, king of Syria, and his powerful allies (1 Kings 20,) and was finally subdued by Shalmanezer in the reign of Hoshea, but not till after a siege of three years. — (2 Kings xvii. 1 — 6.) Previous to its fall, it was given up to every species of sensuality, oppression and idolatry. It recovered its prosperity, however, and reached the height of its glory tin the time of Herod the Great, who enlarged and adorned it. The ruins attest its former magnificence, though it is now but an insig- nificant village. A modern traveller says, " The situa- tion is extremely beautiful, and strong by nature — more so than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine large insulated hill, compassed all round by a broad deep valley; and when fortified, must have been, according to the ancient mode of fighting, almost impregnable." Ashima, the god of the Hamathites, who settled in Sa- maria. Shechem, (Gen. xxxiii. 18,) or Sychem, (Acts vii. 16,) or Sychar, (John iv. 5,) was one of the most an- cient cities of Canaan. Shalem. Jacob took his women and children, and flocks and herds, and came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, where he bought a par- cel of ground of the children of Hamor, for a hundred pieces of money, and erected there an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel, that is "God, the God of Israel." — (Gen. xxxiii.) But although Jacob seems to have intend- ed this as his place of permanent residence, yet events occurred which rendered it expedient for him to remove to another part of the country. — (Gen. xxxiv.) Jacob was greatly grieved at the cruel and treacherous conduct of his sons in the affair of Dinah, and foresaw that it would render him and his family odious to all the people in the neighborhood, so as to expose him to be slain with all his house. Salem, (Gen. xv. 18,) has been generally supposed to be the place which was afterwards called Jerusalem. (Comp. Ps. lxxvi. 2.) But some think that the place of which Melchizedec was king was the Shalem of Gen. xxxiii. 18, or the Salim of the New Testament, [see Sa- lim,] and that the Salem of the Psalmist is a contraction of Jerusalem. Salim, (John hi. 23,) or Shalem, (Gen. xxxiii. 18,) or Shalim, (1 Sam. ix. 4,) was south of Bethshean, and west 72 LIUHT AJN1J 1KU1H. of Enon. Some suppose it was the same with Sha- lem or Sychem, but that is not placed near Enon by any geographers. Probably Mdchizedec was king of one of these places, and not of Jerusalem, as some have main- tained. * Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar were five cities of the Canaanites. In the days of Abraham they had each a king. The Dead Sea now covers the site of these cities. — (Jude 7.) The Scripture account of the overthrow of these cities is corroborated by the ac- counts of Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, Solinus, &c, Sidon, a great commercial city, and the capital of the Phoenicians. It was built soon after the flood, by Sidon, the eldest son of Canaan. Tyre, 25 miles south of it, was built by a colony from this city. Both cities lay within the lot of Asher; but that tribe never expelled the people. Indeed, at one time the Sidonians overcame all Israel; and in the days of Ahaz they drove a great com- merce in exporting the Jews for slaves. — (Joel iii. 4.) The gospel was at the first proclaimed here, and flour- ishing churches continued for many ages. After being lost and won in the crusades, the Saracens finally made themselves masters of it, A. J). 1289. Some Christians are yet found here. It now contains 16,000 inhabitants, and is called Saide. Sarepta, (Luke iv. 26,) or Zarephath, (1 Kingsxvii. 9.) A Gentile town, lying on the shores of the Mediter- ranean, between Tyre and Sidon, and belonging to the latter. Its modern name is Zarpha, or Zarphant. Though there were many widows in Israel, distressed with the prevailing famine, Elijah was not sent to them, but to a Zidonian widow in Sarepta. Messrs. Fisk and King passed the place in the summer of 1823. Tadmor, a noble city in the north of Canaan. Its immediate vicinity was exceedingly fertile, though at a little distance all was a sandy desert. It was proiably built by Solomon, to facilitate his commerce wilh the East. It submitted to Rome, A. D. 130. About 150 years afterward, the Saracens took it. Here lived Lon- ginus. It is now famous, but only for its ruins. About 30 poor families constitute its population. The modern name of the town is Palmyra. n .,ut.M cults A.MJ K1MJDOMS. 73 Timn'.yth, (Gen. xxxviii. 12,) or Timnah, (2 Chron. xxviii. 18,) situated on the northern border of Judah, was one of the oldest towns of Canaan. In Samson's time it belonged to the Philistines, and he obtained his wife there. Zemarites, descendants of Canaan, by Zemar, his tenth son. — (Gen. x. 18.) Zoar. (Gen. xiv 2.) A small citv. originally called Bela, at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, whose kinir, with four others, rebelled against Chedorlaomer, and was conquered. It was afterwards threatened with the same destruction as Sodom, but spared at Lot's re- quest, who fled to it for safety from the storm of divine wrath. — (Gen. xix. 20, 22.)" THE TOWNS AND CITIES OF JORDAN. Abel-.meholah. (Judg. vii. 22; 1 Kings xix. 16.) A town in the plain of Jordan, about 10 miles south of Bethshean, and between that and Shechem — distin- guished as the birth-pLice of Elisha, and as the refuge of the Midianites, when pursued by Gideon. Bethabara. (John i. 28.) A town on the east bank of Jordan, where there was a ford across the river; whence the name, ["house of passage."] At this place John baptized; and here, too, it is supposed, the Israel- ites crossed the Jordan, under the conduct of Joshua. It lay about 30 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and is prob- ably the same with Beth-barah. — (Judg. vii. 24.) Exon. (John iii. 23. A town on the west side of Jor- dan, eight or ten miles south of Bethshean, abounding in water, and distinguished as a place where John bap- tized. Nimrim, a city east of Jordan. — (Isa. xv. 6.) It is thought to be the same which St. Jerome calls Nemra. The wilderness of Parax, (Gen. xxi. 21,) was situ- ated south of Jordan, and extended to the peninsula of Sinai, and from the Dead Sea to the desert of Egypt; so that, in its largest sense, it included the deserts of Kadesh and Zin. It was in this wilderness that Hagar dwelt with Ishmael, and to this place David retired, after the 6 74 LIGHT AND TRUTH. death of Samuel. — (1 Sam. xxv 1.) Nearly all the wanderings of the children of Israel were in the great and terrible wilderness of Paran. (Dent. i. 19. Comp. Num. x. 12. and xii. 16.) It is now a dreary expanse of calcareous soil, covered with black flints. Zaretan, (Josh, iii.- 16,) or Zartanah, (1 Kings iv. 12,) or Zarthan, (1 Kings vii. 46,) or Zereda, (1 Kings xi. 26,) or Zeredatha, (2 Chron. iv. 17,) or Zererath, (Judg. vii. 22, are all supposed to denote one and the same place, viz. a town on the west bank of Jordan, at the place where the Israelites crossed, when the waters were gathered into a heap on either side. It .was near Bethshean, and opposite to Succoth. Midian, (Ex. ii. 15,) or Madian. (Acts vii. 29.) A country lying around the eastern branch of the Red Sea, and supposed to have been settled by the posterity of Midian, fourth son of Abraham and Keturah. Midian was celebrated for its camels, (Judg. vii. 12,) and the de- scendants of Ephah, who were the posterity of Midian, were rich in camels and dromedaries.' — (Isa. lx. 6.) Hither Moses fled, and here he married Zipporah, an Ethiopian woman, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian. — (Ex. ii. 21; iii. 1; Num. xii. 1.) Jethro is also called Raguel, (Numb. x. 29,) and Reuel, (Ex. ii. 18,) and was probably known by either name. It is highly probable, too, that he was a descendant of Abra- ham, (Gen. xxv. 2,) but what was the nature of his of- fice as priest, [or prince, as some say it should be ren- dered,] we know not. — (Num. xii. 1.) It is supposed that another country called Midian was situated on the Dead Sea, in Arabia Petrea, adjoining Moab; but very learned geographers describe but one land of Midian, and this embraces both sides of the east- ern gulf of the Red Sea, extending southwardly near to Mt. Sinai. Perhaps they might have been distinguished as Northern and Southern Midian. There are three distinct countries mentioned in the Bible, it is believed, peopled by Cush, (Gen. x. 6 — 8,) the son of Ham, and father of \imrod; and one of them was probably the same with Midian. — (Comp Ex ii 16,21.) A.>v,lt,.\± lllltS A.M) KI.N'GDOJIS. 75 THE CITIES OF THE PHILISTINES, AND PALESTINE. The Philistines and the Caphtorim descended from Casluhim. the son of Mizraim, who peopled Egypt; and their country is perhaps called the isle or country of Caphtor — (Jer. xlvii. 4.) Their territory was allotted to the Hebrews; but they neglecting to take possession of it, the Philistines were made a severe and lasting scourge to them. — (Josh. xiii. 2, 3; xv. 45 — 47; Judg. iii. 1 — 3.) The country lying along the Mediterranean coast, between Joppa and Gaza, was inhabited by the Philistines, and was hence called Palestina; but in Ex. xv. 14, and in Isa. xiv 29 — 31, it seems to denote the whole of Judea, as the word Palestine does in its mod- ern acceptation. Ashdod, a fortified city of the Philistines, lying in the lot of Judah, and called by the Greeks, and known in the New Testament, by the name of Azitus. — (Acts viii. 40.) It was situated on the Mediterranean, between Askelon and Ekron, 15 or 20 miles north of Gaza. Here was the temple of Dagon, in which the Philistines placed the ark. The city was more than once captured. — (2 Chron. xxvi. 6; Isa. xx. 1.) Apheic. (1 Sam. iv. 1 — 11.) A city on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, east of Jerusalem, where the Is- raelites were defeated by the Philistines, and the ark taken from them. This place is supposed to be the same which is elsewhere called Aphekah. — (Josh. xv. 53.) Askelox. (2 Sam. i. 20.) One of the "fenced cities" of the Philistines. It was situated on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, 12 miles south of Gaza. It was a noble seaport, and was the birth-place of Herod the Great. After the death of Joshua, it fell into the hands of the tribe of Judah. — (Judg. i. 18.) At a short distance to the north is a small village called Scalona, evidently a corruption ofthe ancient name. Ekrox. (Josh, xv 45.) A city of the Philistines, ly- ing north west of Gath and north of Ashdod, assigned by Joshua originally to the tribe of Judah, (Judg. i. 18,) but afterwards said to belong to the tribe of Dan. — (Josh. xix. 43.) Neither tribe seems to have been in ac- tual possession of the place. — (Judg. i. 34, 35; 1 Sam. 76 LIGHT AND TRUTH. v. 10; vi. 17; 2 Kings i. 2; Jer. xxv. 20; Amos i. 8; Zeph. ii. 4; Zech. ix. 5, 7 ) Gaza. (Gen. x. 19.) A city, and one of the five prin- cipalities of the Philistines. It was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean, at the southern extremity of Ca- naan, within the tribe of Judah, (Judg. i. 18; 1 Sam. vi. 17,) and about GO miles south-west of Jerusalem. In the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz it recovered its indepen- dence, but was again subdued by HezeUiah. — (2 Kings xviii. 8.) It was afterwards subject to the Persians and Chaldeans, and was captured by Alexander the Great, about 300 B. C. In the time of Eusebius it was a flour- ishing city, but has been often reduced since that day, and now consists of three small villages, with from 3,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Messrs. King and Fisk, Amer- ican missionaries, spent a Sabbath there in 1823. They tell us that the city stands on an elevation; the houses are built of stone. The scenery around is beautiful. They found several Greeks there, and a Greek priest, who said the church there had been built twelve cen- turies. Gerar, (Gen. x. 18,) a capital city of the Philistines, was situated south-west of Gaza, between Kadesh and Shur. — (Gen. xx. 1.) It is remarkable that both Abra- ham and Isaac retired to this place during the prevalence of a famine, and were both guilty of deceiving Abime- lech, the king of the place, respecting their wives. — (Gen. xx. 1; xxvi. 1.) The Valley of Gerar, (Gen. xxvi. 17,) was the residence of Isaac, and probably in the vi- cinity of the city above described. Gath. (Josh. xi. 22.) An acient city in the territory of Dan, celebrated as the birth-place of Goliath. — (1 Sam. xvii. 4.) It was situated about 32 miles west from Jerusalem. In the days of David, it was in the posses- sion of the Philistines, and Achish was its king. (1 Sam. xxi. 10 — 15; xxvii. 1 — 7.) David afterwards captured it. — (2 Sam. xv. 18; 1 Chr. xviii. 1.) It was afterwards subject to frequent revolutions. — (1 Kings ii. 39; 2 Kings xii. 17; xiii. 25; 2 Chron. xi. 8; xxvi. 6.) The inhabitants of Gath are called Gittites, (Josh. xiii. 3,) and the place Gittah-hcpher. — (Josh. xix. 13.) Jabneel, (Josh. xv. 11,) or Jabnch, (2 Chron. xxvi. ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 77 6,) was a city of the Philistines, situated 12 miles south of Joppa. It was called Jamnia bv the Greeks and Ro- mans and is now called Gebna or Yebna. Zikiag. (Josh. xi\. 5.) A city in the southern ex- tremity of the territory of Judah, though allotted to Sim- eon. In the time of Saul it was in the hands of the Phil- istines, and Achish, their king, granted it to David as a temporary residence, when he was flying from the per- secution of that wicked monarch. — (1 Sam. xxvii. 6.) During the absence of David and the principal men on a campaign, the Amalekites burned the city, and made the women and children prisoners. Accho, now Acca or Acre, (Judg. i. 31,) or Ptole- mais, [so called after the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, into whose hands it fell about 100 years B. C.) was a sea-port town on the bay of Acre, over against Mt. Car- mel, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was in the ter- ritory assigned to the tribe of Asher, and one of the cit- ies from which they were unable to expel the Canaan- ites; and it is even now considered the strongest place in Palestine. It is mentioned in Acts x\i. 7 Its popu- lation is from 10,000 to 1-5,000, chiefly Jews. The re- mains of this ancient city are very numerous. Bucking- ham, who visited it in 1816, found several fragments of buildings, that he had no doubt were constructed in the earliest ages, especially thresholds of doors and pillars for galleries or piazzas. C.esarea. (Acts xxiii. 33.) A considerable town on the coast of the .Mediterranean, between Joppa and Tyre, about 62 miles from Jerusalem. Anciently it was a small town, called Stratonice, or the Tower of Strato; it is sometimes called Ca^sarea of Palestine, to distin- guish it from Caesarea Philippi, and is supposed by some to be the Hazor of the Old Testament, (Josh, xi. 1.) Herod the Great contributed chiefly to the mag- nificence of the city, by building some of the most splen- did of its edifices, and constructing a fine harbor for it. He called it Csesarea, in honor of the Emperor Caesar Augustus. After the destruction of Jerusalem, when Judea became a Roman province, Cresarea was the chief city of Palestine, (Acts xxvi. 27; xw. 1, 13,) and was often visited by Paul, (Acts ix. 30; xviii. 22; xxi. 8,) "78 LIGHT AND TRUTH. and it was here that he made his eloquent defence before Felix, Festus and Agrippa, (Acts ch. xxiii. xxv. and xx vi.,) and here he suffered two years' imprisonment. Philip the evangelist resided here, (Acts xxi. !j.) Jmuciio, (Num. xxii. 1,) one of the oldest cities in the Holy Land, was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about 20 miles from Jerusalem, and two from the river Jordan. This city, which was next in size to Jerusalem, w;.s be- sieged and subdued by the Israelites immediately aiter the passage of the Jordan. The siege was conducted under the divine direction; and, at a given signal, by the immediate interposition of miraculous power, the walls tell Hat to the earth, probably destroying many lives, and throwing the citizens into universal conster- nation The Israelites inarched directly to the hi ait of the city, and in obedience to the express command of God, they put to death every living creature, except Ra- hab and her family, and the two men sent as spi< s from the camp of Israel, (Josh ii. 1, 2.) whom she had con- cealed. The city itself was then set on tire; ever\ tiling in it, except the vessels of gold, silver, brass and iron, which were previously removed, was burnt to ashes, and the very site of it was cursed. — (Comp Josh, vi 26; 1 Kings xvi. 34.) Jabesh, (1 Sam. xi. 5,) or Jabesh-Gilead, (Judg. xxi. 8,) was situated at the foot of Mt. Gilead, within the territory of Manasseh Jokneham, (Josh. xii. 22,) was a city of Zebulon. — (Josh. xxi. 34.) It was situated south of Ptolemais, near the bay, and is called of Carmel, because it was at the foot of that mountain. Kabzeel, (Josh. xv. 21 ) or Jekabzeel, (Neh xi 25,) was a city in the northern section of the inheritance of Judah, just west of the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It was the birth-place of Benaiah — (2 Sam. xxiii. 20.) Kenath. (Num. xxxii. 42.) A city of Manasseh, east of Jordan, the supposed ruins of which are called Kahnat. It is situated on a brook of the same name, and there are indications of its having been once a splen- did city. Kirjath, (Josh, xviii 28,) called also Kirjath-jearim, Kirjath-baal, and Baalah. (Josh xv. 9, 60; 1 Chron. xiii. 6,) was on or near the boundary line between Judah and Benjamin, and is therefore mentioned in the above passages as a city of both tribes ; though in Judg. xviii. 12, and 2 Sam. vi. 2, it is called a city of Judah. This 86 LIGHT AND TRUTH. was the native place of Urijah the prophet, (Jer. xxvi. 20,) and it was here that the ark remained many years, (1 Sam. vii. 1, 2; 2 Sam. vi. 2,) after it had been re- stored by the Philistines. Lachish. (Josh. x. 3.) A city of Judah, lying south of Jerusalem, and towards the border of Simeon. It was one of the Canaanitish cities, which was subdued by Joshua, but it was afterwards rebuilt by Jeroboam, (2 Chron. \i. 9,) and sustained a severe and fruitless siege by the Assyrians. (2 Kings xviii. 17; xix. 8; 2 Chron. xxxii 9; Jer. xxxiv 7.) Lvdda. A large village or city, not far from Joppa, (Acts ix. 33,) eminent for its schools of learned Jews. It was burnt by Cestius, while its males were gone to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles — God, after the crucifixion, not taking the care of them at these times, as he had formerly done. It is now called Dios- polis. Libnah. (Josh. xxi. 13.) A city in the western part of Judah, (Josh, xv 42,) assigned to the priests, and a city-^of refuge. — (1 Chron. vi. 57 ) Its inhabitants re- volted from Joram, (2 Kings viii. 22,) and were defeated by the Assyrians. (2 Kings xix. 8 ) Another Libnah was situated near Mt. Sinai, (Num. xxxiii. 20,) and a third in the country of Asher, (Josh. xix. 26,) called there Shihor-Libnath. Mizpah, (1 Kings xv 22,) or Mizpeh, (Josh. xv. 38.) This name is given to several places, and implies a post of observation or a watch-tower. They seem to have been known as places of convocation on public occasions, re- ligious and civil. 1. (Josh, xv 38.) A city in the ter- ritory of Judah, north of Hebron, and nearly 20 miles south from Jerusalem. Some geographers place it in the tribe of Benjamin. — (Josh, xviii. 26.) Samuel dwelt at Mizpah, (1 Sam. vii. 5, 6,) and Saul was anointed king there, (1 Sam. x. 17 — 2 1;) and hither it is supposed the Jews often resorted for business and devotion. — (Judg. xx. 1; 1 Sam. vii. 5 — 7; x. 17.) It was fortified by Asa, with the stone and timber which Baasha had been using for the like purpose at Rama, (1 Kings xv 22,) and was the residence of Gcdaliah, the governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, after his subjection of the land. (Jer. xl. 6.) We find it rebuilt after the return from Babylon — (Xeh. iii. 19.) 2. (Gen. xxxi. 49.) A city in the ter- ritory of Gad, where Laban and Jacob entered into a covenant of friendship, and where Jephthah resided and mustered his army. — (Judg. xi. 11, 29 ) Mareshah. (Josh. xv. 44.) A town of Judah, fa- mous as the scene of the battle between Asa, king of Judah, and Zerah, king of Ethiopia, with his numerous armv. It was also the residence of the prophet Micah. — (Mic. i. 15.) Medeba. (Josh. xiii. 16.) A city in the eastern part of the territory of Reuben, which still retains nearly its ancient name, Madaba. The site of the old town shows the ruins of a temple, and the excavations of ponds and reservoirs. Nob, (1 Sam. xxii. 19,) was a city of the priests in the territory of Benjamin, and within sight of Jerusalem on the north. To this place David fled from the fury of Saul, and obtained from Abimelerh, the high priest, some of the shew-bread, to satisfy his hunger; and also Goliah's sword for his defence. For this act Saul ^used the city and all that was in it to be destroyed. Ophxi. (Josh, xviii. 24.) A city of Benjamin, latter- ly called Gophna, between Shechem and Jerusalem. It is mentioned by profane historians among the places through which Vespasian and Titus passed, in their march of conquest. Rama, (Matt. ii. 18,) or Ramah, (1 Sam. i. 19,) was a small town, situated on an eminence in the territory of Benjamin, (Josh, xviii. 25,) and about six miles north of Jerusalem, on the way to Bethel. The name Rama, or Ramoth, signifies an eminence, and hence is a constituent part of the names of several places, and is sometimes used generally for any high place. It was here that the Jews were assembled after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuzaradan, (Jer. xl. 1,) to take their departure from their beloved country, and to go as captives into a land of strangers, if not of tyrants. It was this place that Baasha, king of Israel, once possessed and fortified; but the king of Judah, by stratagem, wrested it from him. — (1 Kings xv. 17.) Near to Ramah, Rachel was buried; and she is represented by the prophet (Jer. xxxi. 15,) as 83 LIGHT AND TRUTH. weeping over the loss of her children, and refusing to be comforted because of their captivity This, though called Ramathaim-zophim, was also the place of Sam- uel's birth, residence, death and burial, and where he anointed Saul asking. — (1 Sam. i. 1 , I 9 ; ii. 1 1 ; vii. 17; viii. 4; xix. 18; x\v. 1,) Ramah, or Ramathaim, or Ra- mathaim-zophim, of the Old, is the Arimathea of the New Testament, where dwelt Joseph, in whose tomb the body of Christ was buried. — (John xix. 33.) There is now a village on the hill where was the site of Ramah, called Samuele by the Arabs. Jerusalem is easily seen from this height. There was another Rama in Naphtha- li. — (Josh. xix. 36.) Sibmah, (Isa. xvi. 8, 9,) or Shibmah, (Num. xxxii. 38.) A city of Reuben, near by Heshbon, celebrated for the luxuriant growth of the vine. — (Jer. xlviii. 32 ) It fell into the hands of the Moabites after the captivity of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, by Tiglath-pileser; and hence the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah weep for Moab, because the spoiler had broken the vines of Sibmah. Probably the expression in the passage from Jeremiah refers either to the universal reputation of the vines of Sibmah, or it is poetically used to denote the luxuriance of their growth. The "Sea of Jazer" was perhaps 15 or 20 miles from Sibmah. Shunem. (Josh. xix. 18.) A town in the territory of Issachar, and a little south of Nain. It is associated with several important incidents of Jewish history, (1 Sam xxviii. 4; 1 Kings i. 3; 2 Kings viii. 1 — 16,) and especially as the place where Elisha tarried on his jour- neys between Gilgal and Carmel, and where he per- formed a miracle under circumstances of unusual inter- est. — (2 Kings iv. 8 — 37.) The inhabitants were called Shunamites. Shiloh, (Josh, xviii. 1,) where Samuel began to prophesy, (1 Sam. iii. 2J,) and where Abijah lived, 1) Kings xiv. 2,) was a city of Ephraim between Lebanon and Bethel, 10 miles south of Shechem, and about 25 miles north of Jerusalem. Here Joshua fixed the tab- ernacle of God, and here it continued at least 310 years. Shiloh was one of the names of Jesus Christ the ore at Deliverer — he that frees from the law, sin and death. A^ullSrtT ClllliS ASD KINGDOMS. 89 — (Gen. xlix. 10.) It denotes the Redeemer, the author of our happiness, and our sole peace-maker with God. Tekoa, a city of Judah, 12 miles south-east of Jeru- salem. Around it was an extensive wilderness, or pas- ture land, and forest. Amos, the prophet, kept a herd here, before his call to the ministry. — (Amos i. 1.) Thebez. (Judg. ix. 50.) A city north-east of She- chem, within the territory of Ephraim, celebrated as the place where Abimelech was slain. Zorah, (Josh. xix. 41,) or Zoran. A city belonging originally to Judah, and afterwards to Dan, near the boundary line between them; the birth-place of Samson, (Judg. xiii. 2,) and probably fortified by Rehoboam. — (2 Chron. xi. 10.) It is called Zoreah, (Josh. xv. 33,) and its inhabitants are called Zorites, (1 Chron. ii. 54,) and Jorathites. — (1 Chr. iv. 2.) Zemaraim, a city of Benjamin, not far from Bethel, near which was fought a bloody battle in tire days of Jeroboam I. (Josh, xviii. 22.) The valley of Zephatha, (2 Chron. xiv. 9 — 13,) was in the south-western section of the territory of Judah, near Mareshah, and is memorable for the battle of the Jews with the Ethiopians. There was also a city of this name, [Zephath,] within the bounds of Simeon. — (Judg. i. 17.) Judea may be called a mountainous country. The principal mountains mentioned in scripture are Seir, Ho- reb, Sinai, Hor, Gilboa, Nebo, Tabor, Engedi, Leba- non, Ebal, Amalek, Gerizim, Gilead, Moriah, Paran, Gahash, Olivet, Pisgah, Hermon and Carmel. THE CITIES OF GALILEE. Galilee was the northern part of Canaan, compre- hending Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali and Asher. The upper part was called Galilee of the Gentiles, from its containing many Gentile inhabitants out of the neighbor- ing nations; as the Phoenicians, Syrians, &.c. — a mix- ture of colored population. Peter was detected by his speech, as" being a Galilean. — (Mark xiv. 70.) Our Savior and most of the disciples were educated here; 7 90 LIGHT AND TRUTH. and here were most of the miracles wrought. On this account, Jesus and his followers were often called Gah- leans. — (Luke xxiii. 6; Acts ii. 7.) Capernaum, a principal city of Galilee. It stood on the western shore of the Sea of Tiberias, in the border of Zebulon and Naphtali, not far from Bethsaida. It re- ceived its name from a clear fountain adjacent. Here Christ resided and taught, and here Matthew was called. It is now called Talhume. Nazareth. (Matt. xxi. 11.) A town in Galilee, with- in the territory of Zebulon, from 50 to 70 miles north oi Jerusalem, now known as Nassera or Naserah. It was noted for its wickedness. — (John i. 46.) It occupies an elevated site about midway between Mt. Tabor and Cana. Jesus spent much of his time here; and hence the title, Jesus of Nazareth. — (Mark xvi. 6; Luke xxiv. 19; Acts ii. 22.) A precipice of 50 feet, which lies about a mile from the village, is regarded as the place to which the people of the town carried Jesus, with the savage intention of casting him off. — (Luke iv. 29.) There is a Roman Catholic Church here, called the Church of the Annunciation. Nain. (Luke vii. 11.) A city of Galilee, south of Mt. Tabor, and but a little distance from Capernaum. It is now a Turkish village, inhabited by Jews, Moham- medans, and a few Christians. The place is distinguish- ed as the scene of one of Christ's most remarkable and affecting miracles. — (Luke vii. 11 — 15.) Naioth. (1 Sam. xix. 22.) A part of the town of Ramah, [or, as the word signifies, " the meadows of Ramah,"] where a school of the prophets was estab- lished. Tiberias, a city of Galilee, built by Agrippa, and so named in honor of the Emperor Tiberias. Heo-'esippus says it was the same as Cinnereth. In the time of the Jewish wars, this city, then the capital of Galilee, was bravely defended by Josephus the historian; but being taken bj Vespasian, it was almost demolished. It was, however, a place of considerable note for many a»es after. After the destruction of Jerusalem it flourished greatly, having 13 synagogues and a famous academy, over which a succession of Jewish doctors presided till ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 91 the fourth century. Here was held the last session of the Sanhedrim, and here the Talmud was collected. It is still a decent town, and around it are extensive ruins, indicative of its former extent and grandeur. 30 or 40 families of Greek Catholics reside here. The present name of this town is Tabaria. THE CITIES OF ASIA MINOR. The Asia of the Bible is a peninsula, on the western or south-western side of the continent of Asia, which stretches into the Mediterranean or Great Sea, extend- ing east as far as the Euphrates, west to the islands of the sea, north to what is now called the Black sea, and south to the Mediterranean Sea. It includes the prov- inces of Bithynia, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Pamphyliu, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Mysia, Troas, Lydia, Lysia, and Caria. Assyria. (2 Kings xv. 19.) A most powerful empire of Asia, the history of which, both in its glory and in its overthrow, is most significantly told by the prophet. — (Ezek. xxxi.) It was founded probably by Nimrod, 120 years after the deluge. Cuth, or Cutha, (2 Kings xvii. 24, 30,) was evident- ly, from the connection, a province of Assyria; and Cush is the marginal reading for Ethiopia in Gen. ii. 13, Hab. iii. 7, and elsewhere. Lydia. (Ezek. xxx. 5.) There was a celebrated kingdom of Asia Minor known by this name, of which Sardis was the capital. It is supposed to have been set- tled by the posterity of Lud, a son of Shem. It had Mysia on the north, Phrygia on the east, Caria on the south, and the /Egean Sea on the west. It was once un- der the dominion of Crcesus, the wealthiest monarch of his age. It was, in the time of the apostles, a province of the Roman empire. The Lydia of the above cited passage is supposed to refer to a place or a people in Africa. Bithynia. (Acts xvi. 7. A province of Asia Minor. It is bounded on the east by Paphlagonia, north by the Black Sea, and south by Phrygia and Galatia. It is di- 92 LIGHT AND TRUTH. rectly opposite to Constantinople. The gospel was in- troduced into this province at an early period. (Comp. Acts ii. 9, and 1 Peter i. 1.) There is a remarkable tes- timony in ecclesiastical history, to the purity and firm- ness of the Christians of Bithynia, at the close of the first and the beginning of the second century Cilicia. (Acts xxi. 39.) A province in the south- eastern district of Asia Minor, lying on the northern coast, at the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital city was Tarsus, the birth-place of Paul. The synagogue of "them of Cilicia" (Acts vi. !),) was a place of Jewish worship at Jerusalem, appro- priated to the use of Jews who might be at Jerusalem, from the province of Cilicia. A similar custom in mod- ern times is the fitting up of public houses to accommo- date strangers from particular States or countries. Paul, being of this province, was probably a member of this synagogue, and perhaps one of the defeated opposers and controvertists of Stephen. — (Comp. Acts vi. 10, and vii. 58.) Colosse. (Col. i. -2.) A city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, on the river Lycus, [now the Gorduk.] About a year after Paul's epistle was written to the church at this place, it was destroyed by an earthquake. The for- mer site of Colosse is now occupied by the castle and village of Chonos. Cafpat)ocia. A province in the north-eastern part of Asia Minor, peopled by the descendants of Togarmah, and once forming part of the kingdom of Lydia. It was famous for horses, mules and flocks; and traded in these with the Tyrians. — (Ezek. xxvii. 14.) According to Herodotus, it submitted to the Medes, and then to the Persians, parts of whose worship the inhabitants incor- porated with their own idolatry. It afterwards formed a part of the vast Roman empire. Christianity was intro- duced here in the days of the apostles, (Acts ii. 9,) and continues to this day. At the village of Dacora, in this province, was born Eunomius the Arian. Some of its early pastors were very distinguished for piety and learn- ing. Deiibe. (Arts xiv. <;.) A town of Lycaonia, east of Iconium, whither Paul and Barnabas fled when expelled ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 93 from Lystra, and where they preached the gospel with success. (Acts xiv. 20.) Derbe was the native place of Gaius. — (Acts xx. 4.) Ephesus. (Acts xix. 35.) A celebrated city of Asia Minor, said to have been built by Ephesus, an Amazon lady, as early as the days of David. It was situated on the river Cayster, near its mouth about 30 miles south of Smyrna, and was the ornament and metropolis of pro- consular Asia, and celebrated for a magnificent temple of Diana. This temple was 425 feet in length, 220 in breadth, and was supported by 100 columns, each 60 feet in height. The building of it occupied 200 years. When Paul came to the city, A. D. 54, he commenced preaching in the Jewish synagogue. The blessing of God attended his ministry Galatia. (Acts xvi. 6.) A province of Asia Minor, lying east of Phrygia, and called Galatia by the Gauls, who were the original settlers of it. Christianity was introduced into this province by the apostle Paul, who was there once with Silas and Timothy, (Acts xvi. 6,) about the year 53, and again four or five years after- wards, on his return from Corinth. — (Acts xviii. 23.) Hierapolis. A city near Colosse, early blessed with gospel light. — (Col. iv. 13.) It was destroyed by an earthquake in the time of the apostles. The ruins are still visible, and the place is called by the Turks, Pam- buk Kalasi. Iconium. (Acts xiii. 51.) A city of ancient Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, at the foot of Mt. Taurus, now called Conia, or Cogni, the capital of Caramania, and residence of a pacha. It contains at present about 15,000 inhabitants. It was visited by Paul and Barnabas, who preached the gospel there, and were so persecuted in consequence of it, as to be obliged To leave the place. — (Acts xiv. 1 — 6.) Iconium is mentioned by several ancient historians. Strabo says it was well built, and situated in the richest part of the province; a place of some consequence, and strongly fortified by walls four miles in extent. Multi- tudes were here converted to Christianity, A. D. 45 or 46. — (Acts xvi. 1 — 3.) The church thus planted may be traced through eight succeeding centuries. Lycaonia. (Acts xvi. 6 — 11.) A province of Asia 94 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Minor, which the apostle Paul twice visited. It was sep- arated from Phrygia, and created into a Roman province, by Augustus, and was bounded north by Galatia, east by Cappadocia, south by Cilicia, and west by Pisidia and Phrygia. Its chief towns were Iconium, Derbe and Lystra. It is now a part of Caramania, and subject to the Turks. The speech of this province, (Acts xiv. 11,) is supposed to have been either the old Assyrian lan- guage, or a corruption of the Greek. Miletus, or Miletum. A seaport of Caria, in Lesser Asia, and the capital of both Caria and Ionia. It stood about 36 miles south-west of Ephesus, and is said to have been built by Miletus, the son of the god Apollo, whose temple here was exceedingly magnificent. Here were four harbors, sufficient to hold all the Persian fleet. Here Thales and Anaximenes, the philosophers, and Timothe- us, the musician, were born. Mesech, (Ps. cxx. 5,) or Mesech, (Ezek. xxxii. 26.) A country in the north-eastern angle of Asia Minor, sup- posed to have been settled by the posterity of Mesech, the son of Japheth. They had considerable commerce with Tyre. — (Ezek. xxvii. 13.) Some suppose the Mus- covites were of this race. The terms Mesech and Ke- dar, in the above passage from Psalms, is supposed to denote northern and southern barbarians generally. Mysia. (Acts xvi. 7) A province of Asia Minor, and at this day a beautiful and fertile country- It has the sea of Propontis on the north, Lydia on the south, Bithynia on the east. In the northern section of Mysia was the province in which the ancient city of Troy was situated, and not far distant was the Troas mentioned by Paul. —(Acts xvi. 8; xx.6; 2 Cor. ii. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 13.) Philadelphia. (Rev. iii. 7 — 13.) A city of the prov- ince of Lydia, about 70 miles east of Smyrna. Its mod- ern name is Allah-shehr, or Alah-sher, [city of God.] It contains a population of about 15,000, one twelfth of whom are nominal Christians. This church was highly commended; more than any of the seven churches of Asia, and while her sister cities have fallen into decay, she still survives, with the remains of her Christian temples and worship. Her population is said to be the purest in Asia Minor. Even Gibbon says of her: ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 95 "Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Phil- adelphia is still erect — a column in a scene of ruins." Pisidia. (Acts xiii. 14.) A province of Asia Minor, north of Pamphylia. Antioch, though within the prov- ince of Phrygia, belonged to Pisidia, and was called Antioch in [or of] Pisidia, to distinguish it from An- tioch in Syria. Paul labored in the gospel, not only at Antioch, but throughout the province. — (Acts xiv Pontus. (1 Pet. i. 1.) The north-eastern province of Asia Minor, lying along the Black Sea, having Col- chis on the east, Cappadocia south, and Paphlagonia west. Many Jews resided here in the time of Christ, (Acts ii. 9,) and the gospel was early introduced, and en- tertained by many, whom Peter addresses in his first epistle. Aquila, Paul's companion, was of this province. — (Acts xviii. 2.) It became a province of Rome in the time of Pompey. Phrygia. (Acts ii. 10.) The largest province of Asia Minor, having Bithynia north, and Lysia south. Its chief towns were Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. Some of the inhabitants were at Jerusalem, and 'among the converts on the day of Pentecost. The province was more than once visited by the apostle Paul. Patara. (Acts xxi. 1.) A large, rich, seaport town of Lysia, lying over against Rhodes, at the mouth of the Xanthus, called, by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, Arsinoe, in honor of his queen. Here Paul took ship for Phoenicia, when going from Philippi to Jerusa- lem. Pergamos. The ancient metropolis of Mysia, and the residence of the Attalian kings. It stands on a rich and spacious plain, near the banks of the Caicus, and was famous for its extent and grandeur; for a temple to Esculapius; for a library of 200,000 volumes, which was removed to Egypt by Cleopatra; and for its being the birth place of the celebrated Galen. Parchment was invented here, and received its name from the place. Sardis. (Rev. i. 11.) A city of Ancient Lvdia, and the site of one of the seven churches of Asia. Its modern name is Sart, and it lies about 30 miles south-east of Thyatira. It is, however, but a miserable village, in- 96 LIGHT AND TRUTH. habited chiefly by shepherds, though it is one of the Stop- ping-places of the Persian caravans. The original city was plundered by Cyrus, and afterwards desolated by an earthquake, the ruins of it being still visible a little distance to the south of the present town. Tela sib. (Ezek. iii. 15.) A town on the river Che- bar, where Ezckiel and many of the Jewish exiles dwelt. Its site is supposed to be occupied by the modern Thel- abar. Troas. (Acts xvi. 8.) A maritime city of Mysia, on the Mediterranean, near the mouth of the Hellespont, four miles from the ancient Troy, and built chiefly with materials from its ruins. The celebrated siege and cap- ture of Troy occurred, according to Sir Isaac Newton, about 904 years B. C. or during the reign of Jehosaphat. Paul visited Troas repeatedly. — (Acts xx. 5 — 12; 2 Cor. ii. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 13.) THE CITIES OF PERSIA AND MEDIA. Persia. (Ezek. xxvii. 10.) An ancient kingdom of Asia, whose limits have varied considerably at different periods. The kingdom, as such, Was founded by Cyrus, its inhabitants having been anciently called Elamites, from their ancestor Elain, the son of Shem, and in later times Parthians. The thrones of Media and Persia were united under Cyrus, B. C. 536, (Comp. Dan. vi. 8, 12;) and indeed the whole country, from Egypt to the Ganges, became incorporated in what was called the Persian empire. The celebrated city of Persepolis. The following is a correct view of the celebrated ruins of Persepolis, the ancient capital of Persia, which, in the days of its prosperity, was one of the wealthiest and most ancient cities of the world. The magnificent pile of ruins, which remains after the lapse of so many ages, was the palace of Darius. This grand and stately structure was surrounded with a triple wall; the first wall was 16 cu- bits high, and adorned with many splendid buildings and lofty towers; the second wall was built in the same man- ner, but was as high again; the third was drawn like a ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 97 quadrant, four square, and 60 cubits high, built of the hardest marble, and so cemented as almost to defy the ravages of time. On the four sides were brazen gates, with curtains or palisades of the same metal, 120 cubits high, and 410 paces long, for the purpose of giving de- fence to the city, and striking beholders with terror. The walls were 600 paces from north to south, and 396 from east to west. The numerous columns, porticoes, stair-cases, images, &c. are exceedingly magnificent, even in their ruinous state; and induce the belief that the Persian empire in all its grandeur, could boast of nothing more glorious, nor have left anything to poster- ity more astonishing than the description and ruins of this once splendid city. The fine plain in which this city stood was in the eastern part of Persia; it was 20 leagues long and 6 broad, and within this compass there were more than 1000 villages, adorned with beautiful gardens. Alexander the Great, taking Persepolis by storm, put the unhappy inhabitants to the sword. He likewise burnt the other cities and villages of that plain. The de- stroying element rolled onward like an overwhelming and resistless deluge; and in a little time the dwelling place of thousands presented nothing but a heap of smok- ing ruins — one vast picture of desolation. It is sup- posed that Alexander took 120,000 talents from the city of Persepolis, and robbed the inhabitants of the plain of all their valuable property. The spoil was so great that it required nearly 6,000 camels and mules to carry it off. Shushan. (Neh. i. 1; Esth. i. 5.) An ancient ex- tensive, and magnificent city, [called by the Greeks, Susa, or the city of lilies,] situated on the river Ulai, [now Kerrah.] It was in the province of Elam, jn Per- sia, now known as Khusistan, and formerly as Susiana. Shushan was the capital. It is said to have been built by Memnon, before the Trojan war. It was the winter residence of the Persian kings from the time of Cyrus,, being sheltered by a high ridge of mountains from the north-east wind; but in the summer it was so intensely hot as to be scarcely habitable. Here Daniel had his vision of the ram and he-goat. — (Daniel viii.) 98 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Media. (Isa. xxi. 2.) This country which probably derives its name from Madai, (Gen. x. 2,) anciently oc- cupied what is now part of the kingdom of Persia, and was bounded north by the Caspian Sea and Armenia, south by Persia proper and west by Assyria. It was a fertile and well cultivated region, and was divided into greater and lesser Media. Ninus, king of Assyria, ad- ded this country to his kingdom, and retained it till the time of Sennacherib, when it revolted, and his son be- came king. B. C. 700. It fell into the hands of Cyrus the Great, about 556 B. C. who perfectly united Media and Persia, forming the Medo-Persian kingdom. Hence, by Esther and Daniel, the laws and chronicles of the Medes and Persians are always mentioned together. God employed the Medes to punish Babylon, and then sent them the cup of his wrath by Cyrus. — (Isa. xiii. 17, 18; xxi. 2, 3; Jer. xxv. 25.) Achmetha. (Ezra vi. 2.) The Ecbatana of ancient Media, and the place where the records of the kingdom were preserved. The place is occupied, as it is sup- posed, by the modern city of Hamadan, in Persia. It was surrounded by seven walls, and at one period was considered the strongest and most beautiful city of the east, except Nineveh and Babylon. Parthians, (Acts ii. 9,) or the inhabitants of Parthia, originally a province of Media, on its eastern side, situ- ated between the Persian Gulf and the Tigris. The Parthians seem to have resembled the Cossacks of our day, and were celebrated for their skill in archery, and especially for shooting as they fled, and were a part of the Scythian horde who so long disputed with Rome for the dominion of the east. Parthia was united to the Persian empire, A. D. 226. The Persian language was spoken there; and indeed in Scripture and other ancient writings, Persia and Parthia are often used as synony- mous. THE KINGDOM AND CITIES OF SYRIA. Syria was formerly a province of Cinaan. The in- habitants were Canaanites, called by the Greeks Phc?- ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 99 nicians and Ethiopians. It contained 100 flourishing cities, towns and villages, and 12,000,000 souls within the kingdom. Every where one might have seen culti- vated fields, frequented roads and crowded inhabitants. [Josephus and Strabb.]. Amorites. They occupied the portion of Syria which afterwards constituted the lots of Reuben, Gad, Manas- seh, Dan, Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. As they were the most powerful of the devoted tribes, all the Canaan- ites sometimes went under their name. Antioch. A city of this name was long the capital of Syria. It was situated on the banks of the Orontes, twelve miles from the Mediterranean, built by Seleucus Nicanor, B. C. 301. It was ranked the third city of the earth, being scarcely inferior to Alexandria. It was the royal residence of the kings of Syria. Luke and Theophilus were born in this place. Here Paul and Barnabas preached, and here the disciples of Christ were first called Christians. Chrysostom preached here in the fourth century with great success. This church was famous for many hundred years. In A. D. 538, sixty thousand of its inhabitants perished in an earth- quake. In 1188, it was demolished by the Saracens. In 182-2, a tremendous earthquake completely destroyed the remains of this once splendid city; and it is now lit- tle else than a heap of ruins. Its present name is An- takia. There were many other cities called Antioch; none of which are mentioned in Scripture, but that in Pisidia, which is now called Ak-sher, and sometimes Antiochio. — (Acts xiii. 14.) Aleppo, a city of Syria, stands on four hills, twenty- two leagues east of Scanderoon. This city is about three miles in circuit. Damascus. (Gen. xv. 2.) The capital of ancient Syria, for three centuries the residence of the Syrian kings, and the oldest city which now exists. Its modern name is El-shams. It is situated on the river Baradi, about two hundred miles south of Antioch, and a hun- dred and twenty north-east of Jerusalem. The country around it, within a circuit of'twenty or thirty miles, is well watered, and exceedingly fertile. The city itself is about two miles in length, and surrounded by a wall. 100 LIGHT AND TRUTH. The streets are narrow, but well paved; and it is said that one of them, which runs through the breadth of the city and suburbs, from two to three miles, is still called "straight."' — (Acts ix. 11.) The adjoining country is so beautiful in scenery, and so rich in soil, that the orientals regard it as a paradise on earth — such is its commanding situation. Gadara, the capital of Perica, in Ccelo-Syria, stood about four miles eastward of the Sea of Tiberias. Great numbers of swine were kept here, which was directly contrary to the Mosaic law. When Christ, in healing two possessed persons, suffered the devils to enter their herd of swine, and drown them, instead of being hum- bled by their punishment, they besought the Savior to leave their country. About forty years after, the city was burnt by the Romans. Helbox. (Ezek. xxvii. 18.) A Syrian city of great opulence and antiquity, celebrated for its wines; and probably the same with Aleppo, [or, as the Arabs say, Alep or Halab,] which is now one of the most flourish- ing cities of Turkey. Its buildings are of hewn stone, and its streets paved with the same. It was once deep- ly concerned in the India trade, and is still a place of commercial intercourse and manufacturing enterprise. Iturea. (Luke iii. 1.) A province of Syria, which derived its name from Jetur, a son of Ishmael, whose posterity inhabited it. It was south of Trachonitis, be- yond Jordan, and probably included Auranitis and Bata- nea. It was overrun by a party of the Israelites in the time of Jotham king of Judah, and a vast quantity of spoil taken. — (1 Chr. v. 19, 22.) It is now called Djedour. Mesopotamia, (Deut. xxiii. 4.) or Syria, between the two rivers, elsewhere called Padan-aram, or the plain of Syria, was the name of the country lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates. It was the first abode of men both before and after the flood, and was bounded north by Armenia, east by Assyria, south by Arabia, and west by Syria, cfnd embraced the modern El-jesira of Turkey. Some suppose that the wise men who visited the infant Jesus, were from this country. Here were the warden of Eden and the tower of Babel. It was the oiio-inal ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 101 residence of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all their chil- dren save Benjamin. (Gen. xi. 31.) It was astonishing- ly populous, containing, according to Ptolemy, seventy important cities. Christianity, in a mutilated form, still exists here. The region is still fertile, and is now called Diarbekir. Phcenice. (Acts xxvii. 12.) A winter harbor on the southern shore of Crete. Phoenicia. (Acts xxi. 2.) A province of Syria, and, in the largest extent of the term, embracing a strip of land adjoining the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, eighty miles long and twelve broad. Properly, however, it included only the territories of Tyre and Sidon. The Phoenicians were descendants of the Canaanites, and a Syro-phcenician was a Phoenician of Syria. Phoenicia was also subject to the Greek government in the time of our Savior, and hence Tyre and Sidon might be regarded as Greek cities. (Comp. Matt. xv. 22; Mark vii. 26.) The Jews regarded all the rest of the world as Greeks. Phoenicia is considered as the birth-place of commerce, if not ot letters. The soil is still fertile, producing a rich variety of grains and fruits; but all the enterprise and prosperity of the people is blasted by the despotism of the government. Carthage was established by a col- ony of Phoenicians; and Cadiz, in Spain, is also sup- posed to have been settled by the same people about one thousand years before Christ. It is thought the Phceni- nicians pushed their trade as far as Britain, and they probably had settlements on the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Sir Isaac Newton thinks that vast numbers of Edomites fled hither in the days of David, and carried their arts along with them. The chief city of this re- gion, and sometimes the region itself, is now called Tri- poli. Tob. (Judg. xi. 3, 5.) A district in the south-east of Syria, whither Jephthah fled, and whence he was called to lead the army of Israel. The great and splendid city of Syria — Palmyra. This city was situated about fifteen miles east from Damascus, and one hundred and twenty from Tarabolas or Tripoli. It was the metropolis of Palmyrene, a fer- tile province of Syria. Surrounded on all sides by 102 LIGHT AND TRUTH. frightful deserts, this province was noted for its large and splendid cities; its gardens, palaces, and numerous temples; and the accomplishment of its inhabitants This city was called Palmara by the Greeks, Palmyra b) the Romans; in Scriptures, Tadmor; and by Josephus Thadarnor. Of its origin little is known; but by somt learned historians, it is supposed to have been founded b) Solomon. It flourished for many years; and was unfor- tunately the cause of frequent and bloody conflicts be tween the Romans and Carthaginians. It was destroyec by Antiochus; and re-built and beautifully adorned bj Aurelian. When, however, that country became sub- ject to the Turks, that barbarous, ignorant and bigotet people shamefully laid it in ruins. The statements of va rious travellers describe these ruins as very interesting The principal, at present, are temples and porticos o Grecian architecture. These ruins cover several squart miles; and present a melancholy spectacle. The tera pie of the sun, or rather its ruins, which attracts par ticular notice, covers a square of 220 yards. It was high and massive, and adorned within and without witl pilasters, of which 124 are remaining. The Turks, bj beating down the cornices, have deprived the world o the most finished work of the kind. In this square ar( fifty-eight entire pillars, thirty-seven feet high, with cap itals of the finest carving. In the middle of this enclo sure, stood the Temple encompassed by another row o pillars fifty feet in height. It was one of the mostsplen did edifices in the world. To the north of the temple, is a stately obelisk fift} feet high, of wreathed work; the sculpture is considere< extremely fine. To the west of this is a spacious en trance to a noble piazza, which is a quarter of a mile ii length, and forty feet in breadth — formed by two rowi of marble pillars twenty-six feet high and nine in cir cumference. There were originally five hundred am sixty of these pillars: only one hundred and twenty-nin< are now standing. Seleucia. (Acts xiii. 4.) A city of Syria, on th< shores of the Mediterranean, west of Antioch and nea) the mouth of the Orontes. Zarephath, or Sarepta, where Elijah dwelt some time ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 103 with a widow, was a seaport of Phoenicia, midway be- tween Tyre and Sidon. (1 Kings xvii. 9, 10; Luke iv. 26.) About A. D. 400, it was still of some note. Its present name is Sarfend. The great commercial city of Tyrus or Tyre. It was situated at the entry of the sea, and founded by the celebrated Ethiopian wise men, who built a strong city, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as mire of the streets, (Zech. ix. 3,) with her kings and princes, merchants and captains, pilots and seamen, ships with fine linen broidered work from Egypt for their sails. — (Ez. xxvii.) This mighty city, which once had the entire control of the trade with India, and into whose lap the treasures of the world were poured, is about five miles distant from the other Tyre, and was the city which Alexander reached by means of a cause- way from the main land, and entirely consumed it, in ac- cordance with some of the most interesting prophecies, Zech. ix. 3, 4; Isa. xxiii. ; Ezek. xxvi., xxviii.;) and we are told by modern travellers that its desolation is com- plete. Tyre, which is now called Sur, is only inhabited by a few fishermen, who live in the ruins of its primi- tive state. The Colonies of Tyre. Carthage, a city in Africa, was one of the colonies of Tyre. It was founded by the Canaanites — Egyptians — blacks. [Herodotus.] Utica. This city was built by the Phoenicians in Af- rica, a colony from Tyre, about 15 miles from Carthage on the Mediterranean. — [Rollin.] CITIES OF AFRICA. Carthage. The foundation of this celebrated city is ascribed to Elissa, a Tyrian princess, better known as Dido; it may therefore be fixed at the year of the world 3158; when Joash was king of Judah; 98 years be- fore the building of Rome, and 846 years before Christ. The king of Tyre, father of the famous Jeze- bel, called in Scripture Ethbaal, was her great-grand- father. She married her near relation Acerbas, also called Sicharbas, or Sichaeus, an extremely rich prince; 104 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Pygmalion king of Tyre was her brother. Pygmalion put Sichaeus to death in order that he might have an op- portunity to seize his immense treasures; but Dido elu- ded her brother's cruel avarice, by secretly conveying away her deceased husband's possessions. With a large train of followers she left her country, and after wan- dering sometime, landed on the coast of the Mediterra- nean, in Africa; and located her settlement at the bot- tom of the gulf, on a peninsula, near the spot where Tunis now stands. Many of the neighboring people al- lured by the prospect of gain, repaired thither to sell to those- foreigners the necessaries of life; and soon be- came incorporated with them. The people thus gath- ered from different places soon grew very numerous. And the citizens of Utica, an African city about fifteen miles distant, considering them as their countrymen, as descended from the same common stock, advised them to build a city where they had settled. The other na- tives of the country, from their natural esteem and re- spect for strangers, likewise encouraged them to the same object. Thus all things conspiring with Dido's views, she built her city, which was appointed to pay an annual tribute to the Africans for the ground it stood upon, and called it Carthage — a name that in the Phoenician and Hebrew languages, [which have a great affinity,] signifies the "New City." It is said that in digging the foundation, a horse's head was found; which was thought to be a good omen, and a presage of the future warlike genius of that people. Carthage, had the same language, and national character as its parent state — Tyre. It became at length, particularly at the period of the Punic War, one of the most splendid cities in the world; and had under its dominion 300 cities bordering upon the Mediterranean. From the small beginning we have de- scribed, Carthage increased till her population number- ed 700,000; and the number of her temples and other public buildings was immense. Her dominion was not long confined to Africa. Her ambitious inhabitants ex- tended their conquests into Europe, by invadino- Sar- dinia, seizing a great part of Sicily, and subduing & almost all of Spain. Having sent powerful colonies every where, they enjoyed the empire of the seas for more ai^ibm uitiiss AND KINGDOMS. 105 than six hundred years; and formed a State which was able*to dispute pre-eminence with the greatest empire of the world, by their wealth, their commerce, their nu- merous armies, their formidable fleets, and above all by the courage and ability of their commanders; and she extended her commerce over every part of the known world. A colony of Phoenicians or Ethiopians, known in scripture as Canaanites, settled in Carthage. The Carthaginians settled in Spain and Portugal. The first inhabitants of Spain were the Celtae, a people of Gaul; after them the Phoenicians possessed themselves of the most southern parts of the country, and may well be sup- posed to have been the first civilizers of this kingdom, and the founders of the most ancient cities. After these, followed the Grecians; then the Carthaginians. Portugal was anciently called Lusitania, and inhab- ited by tribes of wandering people, till it became sub- ject to the Carthaginians and Phoenicians, who were dispossessed by the Romans 250 years before Christ. [Rollin.] The Carthaginians were masters of all the coast which lies on the Mediterranean, and all the country as far as the river Iberus. Their dominions, at the time when Hannibal the Great set out for Italy, all the coast of Africa from the Arse Phileanorum, by the great Syr- tis, to the pillars of Hercules was subject to the Cartha- ginians, who had maintained three great wars against the Romans. But the Romans finally prevailed by car- rying the war into Africa, and the last Punic war termi- nated with the overthrow of Carthage. [Nepos in vita Annibalis. Liv.] The celebrated Cyrene was a very powerful city, sit- uated on the Mediterranean, towards the greater Syr- tis, in Africa, and had been built by Battus, the Lace- demonian. [Rollin.] Cyrene. (Acts xi. 20.) A province and city of Li- bya., There was anciently a Phoenician colony called Cyrenaica, or "Libya about Cyrene." — (Acts ii. 10.) Cyrene. A country west of Egypt, and the birth- place of Callimachus the poet, Eratosthenes the histori- an, and Simon, who bore the Savior's cross. Many Jews from hence were at the Pentecost, and were converted 8 10G LIGHT AND TRUTH. under Peter's sermon. (Acts ii.) The region is now under the Turkish power, and has become almost a des- ert. It is now called Cairoan. Some of the Cyrenians were among the earliest Christians, (Acts xi. 20.) and one of them, it is supposed, was a preacher at Antioch. (Acts xiii. 1.) We find also, that among the most vio- lent opposers of Christianity, were the Cyrenians, who had a synagogue at Jerusalem, as had those of many other nations. It is said there were 480 synagogues in Jerusalem. Lybia, or Libya, (Acts ii. 10.) was anciently among the Greeks a general name for Africa, but properly it embraced only so much of Africa as lay west of Egypt, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. Profane geographers call it Libya Cyrenaica, because Cyrene was its capital. It was the country of the Lubims, (2 Chron. xii. 3,) or Lehabims of the Old Testament, from which it is supposed to have derived its name. The ancient city of Cyrene is now called Cyreune, Cairoan, or Cayran, and lies in the dominion of Tripoli. This district of the earth has lately occasioned much interest among Italian and French geographers. Great numbers of Jews resided here. (Matt, xxvii. 32.) Libya, a part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, famous for its armed chariots and horses. — (2 Chron. xvi. 8.) Ophir, the son of Joktan, gave name to a country in Africa, famous for gold, which was renowned even in the time of Job, (Job eh. xxii. 24; xxviii. 16,) and from the time of David to the time of Jchoshaphat, the He- brews traded with it, and Uzziab revived this trade when he made himself master of Elath, a noted port on the Red Sea. In Solomon's time, the Hebrew fleet took up three years in their voyage to Ophir, and brought home gold, apes, peacocks, spices, ivory, ebony, and almug- trees. — (1 Rings ix. 28; x. 11; xxii. 48; 2 Chr. ix. 10.) Tarshish, (Isa. xxiii. 1,) or Tharshish. (1 Kings x. 22.) It is, supposed that some place of this name exist- ed on the eastern coast of Africa, or among the southern ports of Asia, with which the ships of Hiram and Solo- mon traded in gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and pea- cocks. (2 Chron. ix. 21.) It is said that once in every aiujihhT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 107 three years these ships completed a voyage, and brought home their merchandise. Hence, it is inferred, the place "with which they traded must have been distant from Judea. The vessels given by Hiram to Solomon, and those built by Jehoshaphat, to go to Tarshish, were all launched at Eziongeber, at the northern extremity of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, now called the gulf of Ahaba. (2 Chron. xx. 36.) The name of Tarshish was from one of the sons of Javan. (Gen. x. 4.) Phut, (Gen. x. 6,) or Put, (Nah. iii. 9,) was the third son of Ham; and his descendants, sometimes called Libyans, are supposed to be the Mauritanians, or Moors of modern times. They served the Egyptians and Tyrians as soldiers. (Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezek. xxvii. 10; xxx. 5; xxxviii. 5.) Pul. A district in Africa, thought by Bochart to be an island in the Nile, not far from Syene. (Isa. lxvi. 19.) Seba. (Isa. xliii. 3.) A peninsular district of Afri- can Ethiopia, deriving its name from the eldest son of Cush, (Gen. x. 7.) who is supposed to have been the progenitor of the Ethiopians. It is called Seba by the Hebrews. CITIES OF ARABIA. Arabia, a large country of Asia, lying partly on the east, but chiefly southward of Canaan. Its greatest length from east to west is about 1620 miles; and its greatest breadth from north to south about 1350. It has the Indian Ocean on the south, the Red Sea and Isth- mus of Suez on the west, Canaan and Syria on the north- west and north, the mountains of Chaldea and the Per- sian Gulf on the east. It is ordinarily divided into three parts. Arabia Petr^a, or the rocky, on the north-west, and which is now called Hejiaz. This division contained the land of Cushan, Barnea, Paran, and Midian. The Edomites and the Amalekites also dwelt here, and a very powerful and independent tribe of Ishmaelites. It was a land of shepherds, and the scene of some of the 108 LIGHT AND TRUTH. most interesting events in the history of man. Horeb and Sinai were within its bounds. In the south-western part of it now stand the famed cities of Mecca and Me- dina, so much visited by Mahometan pilgrims. The peo- ple of this part are called "Men of the east." (Gen. xxv. 6; Judg. vi. 3.) Arabia Deserta, which lay eastward of Canaan, and comprehended the land of Uz, of Ammon, Moab, Midi- an, with the country of the Itureans, Hagarenes, &c. The inhabitants have in all ages dwelt in tents, and led a wandering life. It was an exceedingly fruitful land. They claim their descent from Shem. This was also the country of the Ishmaelites, and is now inhabited by the modern Bedouins. Arabia Felix, or the happy, on the south of the two former, between the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Scarce ly any part of Arabia is well watered, but Arabia Felix is the most so, and is famed for its opium, myrrh, and other drugs, as well as for fine spices and fruits. The Arabians are, in general, the descendants of Ish- mael. The descendants of Abraham by Keturah, as well as those of Lot and Esau, dwelt also in this land. Agar, or Hagar. (Gal. iv. 25.) The history or con- dition of Hagar is used allegorically in this passage to illustrate the nature of the dispensation from Mount Si- nai. Mount Sinai is called Agar by the Arabians. Dumah, a country somewhere near or in Arabia Pe- trsea, so called from a son of Ishmael. (Isa. xxi. 11. Dedan. (Jer. xxv. 23; xlix. 8; Ezek. xxv. 13.) A district of Arabia Petrsea, south of Idumea, or Edom, settled by the descendants of Dedan, son of Jokshan, son of Abraham and Keturah. (Gen. xxv. 3.) Ezion-geber, or Gaber. (Num. xxxiii. 35; 1 Kings ix. 26.) A city of Arabia, at the head of the eastern or Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, adjoining Elath. It was here that Solomon's vessels were built, which were in- tended to trade with Ophir and Tarshish. It derives its name [Ezion-Geber, or the back bone of a man,'] from a reef of rocks at the entrance of the harbor resembling that part of the human frame. ° Kedar. (Gen xxv. 13.) A son of Ishmael, whose descendants settled in the southern part of Arabia. ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 109 Probably Kedar's posterity were the most numerous and powerful of the family of Ishmael; whence the whole of that country is sometimes called Kedar, (Isa. xxi. 16, 17; lx. 7; Jer. xlix. 28;) and the Ishmaelites generally are called the men of Kedar. They dwelt ordinarily in tents, but sometimes in villages, and their glory and wealth chiefly consisted in flocks and herds. (Isa. xlii. 11; and xxi. 16, 17.) Nebaioth, (Isa. lx. 7,) or Nebajoth. (Gen. xxv. 13.) A son of Ishmael, whose descendants are supposed to have settled in Arabia, and to have been the Nabathe- ans of Greek and Roman history. They were probably rich in flocks and herds; whence the beautiful figure of the prophet above cited, respecting the gathering of the Gentile nations to the sceptre of the Messiah. Paran formed a part of Arabia Petrsea. (Deut. xxxiii. 2.) Raamah. (Ezek. xxvii. 22.) A country or district of Arabia, trading with Tyre in spices, stones and gold; and is supposed to have been settled by the descendants of Raamah, grandson of Ham. (Gen. x. 7 ) Sinai, the mountain in Arabia, on which Jehovah ap- peared to Moses, and gave the law The Hebrews came to this place in the third month of their pilgrimage. The law was given, it is thought, just fifty days after their exodus from Egypt; and hence the Pentecost was observed on the 50th day after the Passover. This mount stands in Arabia Petrsea, and is called by the Arabs, Jibbil Mousa, or the mountain of Moses, and sometimes El Tor, or the Mount. It has two summits, Horeb and Sinai; which last is much higher, and is called the Mount of God. The ascent is very steep, and is ef- fected by steps, which the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, caused to be cut in the rock. These are now so much worn and decayed, as to make the ascent tedious and difficult. At the top of Sinai, there is an uneven and rugged place, sufficient to hold 60 persons. Here stands a chapel, and near to it is a fountain of fresh water. Sheba, or Seba. There were several of this name. 1. The son of Cush, who gave the name to a country in Arabia. 2. The grandson of Cush. 3. ThesonofJok- 1 10 LIGHT AND TRUTH. tan. 4. The grandson of Abraham. All these seem to have taken up their residence in Arabia, and perhaps most of them in the south part of it. 5. The son of Bichri, a Jew who headed a revolt in the reign of David. 6. The name of a famous well, sometimes called Sheba, and sometimes Beer-sheba. (Gen. x., xxv., xxvi.) Sheba, (1 Kings x. 1.) or the Saba of profane history A province in the northern part of Arabia, between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It was probably settled by Sheba, a descendant of Cush, and the inhabitants are called Sabeans. (Job i. 15.) The queen of Sheba may well be supposed to have some traditional knowledge of true religion; and in the commercial intercourse of her country with that of the Hebrews, might have heard much of the wisdom and piety of Solomon, the wisest man, and one of the greatest kings that ever lived on the earth. To see and converse with him, she undertook a journey from what was then regarded as the utter- most parts of the earth. (Matt. xii. 42.) Of this jour- ney the present Ethiopians or Abyssines, who are Chris- tians of the Greek Church, have very ancient traditions. Among the princely presents she made to Solomon, were gold, ivory, and spices; and the Sabeans were cele- brated, on account of their important commerce in these very products, among the Greeks. (Ps. lxxii. 10, 15; Isa. lx. 6; Jer. vi. 20.) Sela, called by the Jews, Jokteel, is probably the place called Kerek in Burckhardt's travels. In Greek authors, it is called Petra, and was the celebrated capi- tal of Arabia Petrsea. (2 Kings xiv. 7.) Uz. (Lam. iv. 2t.) A district of Arabia, which was probably settled by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, a de- scendant of Shem, and distinguished as the dwelling- place of Job, whose estate was like that of a modern Bedouin sheikh. It was probably an extensive district, and perhaps subject to Idumea. THE CITIES OF EDOM. Esau, (Gen. xxv. 25,) or Edom. (Gen. xxxvi. 1.) Son of Isaac and Rebecca, and twin brother of Jacob. ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. Ill The most important events of his life are so intimately connected with the life of Jacob, that they Mill be con- sidered under that article. His family settled on mount Seir, east of Jordan, which was hence called Edom, and his descendants were the Edomites, one of the most powerful and formidable nations of that age. Edomites. Descendants of Edom. who was called Esau, because he was hairy, and his complexion red. He was born A. M. 2173, and sold his birthright for a mess of red pottage. Joktheel. (2 Kings xiv. 7 ) The name given by Amaziah to Selah, or the modern Petra. It was the cap- ital of Idumea, and one of the most magnificent of the ancient cities. It was situated near the base of mount Hor, about three day's journey from Jericho, and the same distance from mount Sinai; and must be regarded as the most singular spot in all Arabia, perhaps in the whole eastern world. The Red Sea is that arm of the Indian Ocean which runs along the southwest side of Arabia, and the east of Ethiopia and Egypt, to the length of 1200 miles, now called the Arabian Gulf. As the Edomites had long the property and use of it for their shipping, it came to be called the Sea of Edom, which the Greeks translated into the Red Sea — Edom signifying red. Hence, origi- nated the mistake, that its water, or its bottom, was red- dish. THE AMALEKITES. Amalek. (Gen. xxxvi. 16.) He was the son of Eli- phaz, and grandson of Esau. Some have supposed him to be the father of the Amalekites, but they are men- tioned as a powerful people, long before the birth of Amalek. (Gen. xiv. 7.) The Arabians have a tradi- tion that he was the son of Ham. Amalekites. (1 Sam. xv. 6.) A powerful people, dwelling between the Red and Dead Seas. This nation inhabited the southern part of Canaan, and is called (Num. xxiv. 20) the first of all the nations. About A. M. 2091, Chedorlaomer ravaged their country, at which 112 LIGHT AND TRUTH. time multitudes left it. It is thought by some, that these poured themselves on Egypt, and were the shepherds mentioned by Manetho. THE CITIES OF MOAB. Moab. 1. The son of Lot, was born about the same time as Isaac, in A. M. 2103. 2. The land called by his name, eastward of the Dead Sea, and about the river Arnon. The present name of this country is El- Rabba. Arnon. (Deut. ii. 24.) The principal river east of Jordan, and originally the boundary between the Moab- ites and the Ammonites; then between the Moabites and Amorites; and finally, between the Moabites and the tribe of Reuben. It is now called the Modjeb or Mujeb, and is about fifty miles long, emptying into the Dead Sea. The current in winter is full and rapid, but in summer the channel is nearly dry. Abel-shittim, a town beyond Jordan, in the plain of Moab. Here 24,000 Israelites were destroyed in one day for falling into the sins of Moab. (Numb, xxv.) It was probably the mourning for this event that gave the name of Abel to the spot. Beth-jeshimoth. (Josh. xiii. 20.) A city of the tribe of Reuben on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was formerly in possession of the Moabites, and after remaining in the tribe of Reuben until the Assyrian cap- tivity, it fell back into the hands of the Moabites. (Ezek. xxv. 9.) Dibon. (Josh. xiii. 17.) A city of Moab, a few miles north of the Arnon, now called Diban. It was built by the tribe of Gad, and hence called Dibongad. (Num. xxxiii. 45.) The same place is called Dimon. (Isa. xv. 9.) At a later day it returned again to Moab. (Isa. xv. 2.) In Neh. xi. 25, a Dibon in Judah is mentioned, which may be the same with Debir. (Josh. xiii. 26.) A place called Diban is mentioned by modern travellers as situated about three miles north of the Arnon or Madjeb. Horonaim, a city of Moab, perhaps the same as Beth- AjNClKiNT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 113 horon. It is thought to be the city which is called by Ptolemy, Avara, and by Josephus, Orona. Jahaz. (Num. xxi. 23.) A city on the northern fron- tier of the Moabites, in the vicinity of which, Moses de- feated the army of Sihon, on his refusal to permit him to pass through it peaceably. (Josh. xiii. 18.) It is called by Ptolemy, Ziza. Luhith, a city of Moab. (Isa. xv._5.) Its name in Josephus and Ptolemy, is Lyssa. Mizpeh. (1 Sam. xxii. 3.) A town of Moab, where David placed his father and mother during his reverses. Medeba, a city of Moab. (Numb. xxi. 30; Josh. xiii. 16.) It was destroyed about the days of Isaiah, and re- built some considerable time before the advent of our Lord. The plains of Moab, (Num. xxii. 1; xxxiii. 48 — 50,) were situated east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, on both sides of the Arnon. The country belonged principally to the Amorites, north of the Arnon, where the Israel- ites encamped before the passage of the Jordan. After- wards it fell to the lot of Reuben. The inhabitants were called Moabites, and the country derived its name from Moab. Nimrim. (Isa. xv. 6.) A stream in the north part of Moab, near the village of Beth-nimrah, (Num. xxxii. 36,) the ruins of which now bear the name of Nimrein. Kir, a city of Moab. Isa. xv. 1.) The bulwark or principal fortress of Moab, called Kirharesheth, (Isa. xvi. 7.) Kerek, or Karak, [the modern name of the same place,] is found south of the Dead Sea. Many of the ruins of the ancient fortress are discernible; and a traveller, who was there in 1822, tells us thatthe popu- lation consisted of four hundred Turks, and one hun- dred and fifty nominal Christians. Kirjathaim. (Josh. xiii. 19.) One of the oldest towns eastward of Jordan. It was once the possession of the Emims, and was then called Shaveh, or the plain of Kiriathaim, (Gen. xiv. 5,) and is afterwards spoken of as a city of Moab. (Jer. xlviii. 23.) There was a town of this name in Naphtali. (1 Chron. vi. 76.) 114 LIGHT AND TRUTH. THE GRECIAN' CITIES. Greece was first colonized by the Phoenicians and Egyptians — the descendants of the Ethiopians. It was during the lath dynasty of Egyptian kings, that the first colonization of Greece took place. The aborigines of Greece, denominated Pelasgi, He- antes, &c. were extremely barbarous. They wandered in woods, without law or government, having but little intercourse with each other. They clothed themselves with skins of beasts; retreated for shelter to rocks and caverns; and lived on acorns, wild fruits, raw flesh, and even devoured the enemies they slew in battle. [Rollin.] Argos. The arrival of Inachus in Greece from Phoe- nicia, is connected with the foundation of the kingdom of Argos. This event took place B. C. 1857. Money was first made of gold and silver at Argos, B. C. 891. Inachus is called the son of the Ocean, because he came to Greece by sea. By some he is said to have been' the last of the Titans, a Phoenician colony who gave the Greeks the first notions of religion and civili- zation, and introduced the worship of their own gods, Saturn, Jupiter, Ceres, &.c. &c. The Phoenicians, the Canaanites in scripture, were a commercial people in the days of Abraham. In the time of the Hebrew judges, they had begun to colonize. Their first settlements were Cyprus and Rhodes; thence they passed over and peopled Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain, and framed likewise establishments on the western coast of Africa. The city of Athens. (Acts xvii. 15.) The capital of Attica in Greece, situated on the Saronic Gulf, forty-six miles east of Corinth, three hundred south-west of Con- stantinople, and five miles from the coast. The foundation of Athens by Anthony, or Cecrops, Egyptians, who conducted thither a colony from the Nile, is dated B. C. 1556. This event had an important con- nection with the subsequent refinement and literary dis- tinction of Greece. Cecrops, after fixing down in Atti- ca, attempted to civilize the wild and barbarous natives of that region. Constructing twelve small villages, which were afterwards connected with Athens he ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 115 prevailed upon the wandering tribes to fix their resi- dences in them. He enacted laws, and introduced the deities and religious worship of the Egyptians. This was the first step towards that civilization which ren- dered Athens the most distinguished city on the earth. It was distinguished not only for political importance and military power, but for the eloquence, literature, and re- finement of its inhabitants. Paul visited it about A. D. 52, and found the people sunk in idolatry and idleness. He preached there, and took occasion to reprove their superstitions, for which he was summoned before the Areopagus. Thebes. The foundation of the kingdom of Thebes, was laid by the celebrated Cadmus, a Phoenician. The government was monarchical and more despotic than in any other of the Grecian States. The introduction of letters by Cadmus into Greece about B. C. 1519, was a circumstance which contributed most materially to the rapid advances which the Greeks made in knowledge and civilization. Corinth. One of the richest cities of Greece, and capital of Achaia. Its commodious haven, and advan- tageous location, gave it a vast commerce, and immense wealth. During a war with Rome, L. Mummius burnt it to the ground, A. M. 3827. It was afterwai-d re-built under the auspices of Julius Caesar. It fell into the hands of the Turks, under Mahomet II. Paul preached here. (Acts xviii.) It is now called Corinto. Byzantium, [now Constantinople.] built by a colony of Athenians, 658 B. C. THE ROxMAN EMPIRE. This empire was colonized by the Phoenicians and Egyptians. The foundation of Rome by Romulus, 752 years B. C, was connected with the rise and establish- ment of the most powerful empire that has ever existed. He was a wise, courageous and politic prince; and was but eighteen years old. The city was peopled by run- away slaves, and criminals; and at first had neither law, nor rulers, and but few women. 116 LIGHT AND TROTH. Romulus was the son of Rhea Silvia — a vestal, and was, together with his twin brother, preserved in his in- fancy, in a remarkable manner. Being, by the death of his brother, at the age of eighteen years, left sole com- mander of a band of robbers, he began the foundation of what has since been called, "The Eternal City." It took the name of its founder, and was built upon the Palatine Hill. The city was almost square and about a mile in circumference, containing 1000 houses, or more properly huts. Even the palace of Romulus was built of reeds and thatched with straw. Having become king, he introduced order and discipline, which gradual- ly improved under Numa [a Sabine,] and several suc- ceeding sovereigns. The circumstances in which this people were placed, naturally gave rise to continual ani- mosities, which were commonly settled by battles, in which they were generally victorious. Romulus di- vided the people into three tribes; and each tribe into ten companies of a hundred men each, headed by a cen- turion. He divided the land into three parts; one for the support of government; another for the maintenance of religion — and the third portion was divided among the citizens — two acres each. The Romans sent to Athens for Solon's laws, 454 B. C. The first library was erected at Rome, of books brought from Macedonia, 168 B. C. [Rollin.] Galatia, a province of Asia Minor,. About 175 B. C. it was reduced to a Roman province. The gospel was planted here by Paul, who wrote an epistle to these churches. (Actsxvi.) Dejotarus, for whom Cicero in- terceded, in an oration still extant, was king of this country. About A. D. 266, it was overrun by the Goths; and afterward became a province of Turkey. It is now called Natolia. Appii-forum, a place in the south-west of Italy, about fifty miles from Rome, where Paul was met by his Chris- tian friends. (Acts xxviii. 15.) It is now called Fossa Nuova. Puteoli, a city of Campania, in Italy; so called from its hot waters, or the multitude of its wells. Its ancient name was Delus Minor. It stood about eight miles from Naples, and was much frequented on account of its min- /ICiill \/11XCj^ All 1/ n.11^ \rU\Jiyit5 • 117 eral waters. From hence a considerable trade was car- ried on with Alexandria, in Egypt. Paul halted here seven days, as he went prisoner to Rome. (Acts xxviii. 13.) We find several of its bishops in the primitive councils of the Christian church. The present name of the place is Buzzoli. Syracuse, a famous city, called also Saragossa, on the south-east of Sicily, 22 miles in circumference. It was founded A. M. 3269, and was once the largest and richest city of the Greeks. Archimedes, with astonish- ing inventions, defended the place from the Romans; but it was taken, and he was slain, about 208 B. C. This city was taken from the Romans by the Saracens in 1090. Here Paul tarried three days, as he went prisoner to Rome. Christianity was early planted here, and still continues, at least in name. The city has whol- ly lost its ancient splendor. (Acts xxviii. 12.) THE KINGDOM OF MACEDONIA. The founding of Macedonia, by Caranus, we date 795 years B. C. Caranus was an Argive by birth, a descendant of Hercules, an African. He established the regal government, which in spite of the dangers that proved fatal to it in most of the Grecian States, subsist- ed in Macedonia 647 years. The reign of the warlike Philip, first brought Macedonia into notice. In the bat- tle at Cheronea, which was fought 338 years B. C, he subjected the other Grecian communities to his dominion. The partition of the Macedonian Empire into four great monarchies, took place about twelve years after the death of Philip's warlike son — Alexander the Great, who had conquered most of the world known to the an- cients — or 312 years B. C. Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus, four generals of Alexander — made this division among themselves. To Ptolemy were assigned Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, and Palestine; to Cassander, Macedonia and Greece; to Lysimachus, Bythinia and Thrace ; and to Seleucus the remaining territories in Syria as far the river Indus, which was called the kingdom of Syria. 1 18 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Amphipolis, a city of Macedonia. (Acts xvii. 1.) It is almost surrounded by the river Strymon, whence its name, which means "a city surrounded." It is now called Emboli. Apollonia. (Acts xvii. 1.) A city of Macedonia, situated at the head of the ./Egean Sea, on a promon- tory between Thessalonica and Philippi. Berea, (Acts xvii. 10,) now Veria. A city of Mace- donia, about twenty miles west of Thessalonica, near Mount Pindus. The Bereans were honorably distin- guished for their diligence in searching the Scriptures, under the preaching of Paul. For this and other causes, it was a place of much interest in the days of the Apos- tles. (Acts xvii. 10, 15, and xx. 4.) It now contains about 20,000 inhabitants, [chiefly Turks and Greeks,] and produces rice, fruit, and marble, and has manufac- tures of cotton. Nicopolis, (Tit. iii. 12,) the place where Paul deter- mined to winter, is now called Nicopi, or Nicopoli, a .town upon the river Nessus, [now Karasa,] which divi- ded Thrace from Macedonia. Another town of the same name was in Epirus, opposite Actium, to which some have thought the apostle refers in the above pas- sage. Philippi. (Acts xvi. 12.) A city of Macedonia, for- merly called Dathos; but being re-built and greatly magnified by Philip, father of Alexander the Great, it took from him the name Philippi. It is at the head of the ./Egean Sea, nine or ten miles north-west of Ne- apolis. It stood about 70 miles north-east of Thessa- lonica. It was rendered famous by the defeat of Brutus and Cassius in its neighborhood. Here Paul preached about A. D. 52. Its modern name is Diliba. It is a place of great celebrity in profane history, and is called the chief or first city of that part of Macedonia. Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia. It was an- ciently called Halis, and Thermae; but Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, called it Thessalonica, to com- memorate his victory over the Thessalians. About A. D 52, Paul, Silas and Timothy planted a church here. It was at this time a city of great commerce and wealth, and abounded with Jews. The Saracens took it about i ** um ux/u.ua. 119 A. D. 800; and after various other revolutions, it fell under the power of Turkey. It is at this time one of the chief ports of modern Greece, containing before the late revolution 60,000 inhabitants, of which 12,000 were Jews. Its present name is Saloniki. THE ISLANDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. Crete, (Acts xxvii. 7,) now called Candia, Kirid, or Kriti, is an island of the Mediterranean, one hundred and seventy miles long and fifty broad; population 250,000, about equal numbers of Greeks and Turks. Constantinople lies five or six hundred miles north-east of it, and Syria six or seven hundred miles east. It was formerly a rich and powerful kingdom, and is still re- markable for its delightful climate and fertile soil. Oil, corn, fruit trees, and vines are among its principal pro- ductions. The city of Candia, which is also the fort and capital of the island, lies on the northern coast. A Christian mission is already established there. Crete was settled, as it is generally supposed, by Philistines from Egypt, part of whom afterwards passed over to Palestine, and are called Caphtorim. Probably Paul visited this island after his imprison- ment at Rome, and established a Christian church there, which he left under the oversight of Titus. (Tit. i. 5.) The Cretans were once noted for vicious habits. This character was given them by many profane historians. Cyprus. (Acts iv. 86.) A large, fertile, and salu- brious island of the Mediterranean. It is of a triangu- lar form, two hundred miles long, and sixty in its great- est breadth. Population 120,000, of whom 40,000 are Greeks. Some suppose it to be the same with Chittim. The chief productions of Cyprus are, as formerly, wines, oil, honey and wool. It is a famous place in mythologi- cal history, and was distinguished for the licentiousness of its inhabitants. Barnabas was born, and, according to tradition, suffered martyrdom in Cyprus. Salamis, (Acts xiii. 5,) was the principal city and seaport of the island of Cyprus, and received the gos- pel from Paul and Barnabas, A. D. 44. The ruins of 120 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Salamis were visited in 1835 by two American mission- aries. Very little of the ancient town is standing; but on the outside of the city they found the remains of a building, two hundred feet in length, and six or eight high; also a stone church, and portions of an aqueduct, by which water was brought to the city from a distance of thirty miles.- Paphos. (Acts xiii. 6.) A celebrated maritime city, lying at the western extremity of the island of Cyprus, now called Baffa. It was the place where Barjesus, or Elymas the sorcerer, was struck with blindness; and where Sergius Paulus was converted to Christianity. In Paphos, and its vicinity, 25,000 Greeks were massacred in the late revolution; and it is said that, upon the whole island, not less than seventy-four villages, containing 18,000 Christians, were destroyed by the Turks. Sev- eral interesting incidents of apostolic history occurred on this island. Melita. (Acts xxviii. 1.) This island was settled by a Phoenician colony, about B. C. 1500. It was a place of refuge to the ancient Tyrians in their voyages to Carthage and Spain. Malta. An island twelve miles in breadth and twen- ty in length, lying between Sicily and Africa, about two hundred miles east of Tunis, and in that part of the Mediterranean, which, in the apostle's day, was often called Adria, including the Ionian and Sicilian seas, ac- cording to the testimony of Ptolemy and Strabo. Here Paul and his company were shipwrecked on the passage to Rome, and very kindly treated by the inhabitants, es- pecially by Publius the governor. Mitylene. (Acts xx. 14.) The capital of the an- cient island of Lesbos. The whole island is now under the Turkish power, and is called Mittilene, and the chief town is called Castra, near which the ruins of the an- cient city are discernible. The island lies on the west- ern coast of Asia Minor, nearly opposite Pergamos, and is about one hundred and seventy miles in circumfer- ence. The population is at present 25,000. The chief productions are wine and figs. Paul passed through this island on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem. It was a large and beautiful city, and was famous as the 121 birth-place of many wise and learned men, as Alcseus, the poet, Sappho, the poetess, Theophanes, the histori- an, Pittacus, the philosopher, and Diophanes, the orator. On the same island were born, Theophrastus, the sage, and Potamon, the rhetorician. It is now called Castro, and sometimes Metilin. (Acts xx. 14.) Patmos. (Rev. i. 9.) An island in the .^Egean Sea, now called Patimo or Patmosa, situated near the prom- ontory of Miletus, between Samos and Naxos, about twenty or twenty-five miles in circumference. It was used by the Romans as a place of exile for convicts, and is distinguished as the place to which John the Evange- list was banished by Domitian, A. D. 94. Its soil is very thin and sterile, lying on a rugged rock, probably of volcanic origin. About a mile back from the beach is a chapel, enclosing the cave which, it is said, John occupied when writing the book of Revelation during- his banishment. Rhodes. (Acts xxi. 1.) An island of the Mediterra- nean Sea, north-east of Crete, off the south-west point of Asia Minor, and ranked for dignity and size next to Cyprus and Lesbos, containing a city of the same name. It is forty miles long, and fifteen broatl, having a population of eighteen thousand, anciently celebra- ted for its schools, and for the flourishing state of the arts and sciences, as well as for a colossal statue one hundred and five feet in height, standing astride of the harbor's mouth, so that vessels could pass under it. It stood fifty-six years, and was then overthrown by an earthquake, and the brass of it loaded nine hundred camels, and weighed seven hundred and twenty thou- sand pounds. In the fifteenth century it was the resi- dence of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. At this island, Paul touched, on his way from Miletus to Jerusa- lem. It is supposed by some that the name Rhodes is derived from the multitude of roses produced on the island. The most ancient cities were Lindus, Camirus, and Jalysus. 9 122 AFRICAN ISLANDS. At the mouth of the Red Sea lies the island of Zocotra, belonging to the Arabs. It is a populous and plentiful country, and particularly noted for aloes. Madagascar is separated from the continent by a chan- nel, called the Channel of Mozambique. This island is 800 miles long, 1.50 broad, divided into 28 provinces, and watered by some considerable rivers. Its population ia estimated at 4,000,000, blacks. The Cape Verd islands, so called, are opposite to the most projecting part of Africa. There are ten principal ones, lying almost in a half circle. The Canary islands, are still further north, almost opposite to Morocco, but more southerly; famous for Canary wine. The ancients called them the Fortunate Isles. They are ten or twelve in number; the chief are Great Canary, Teneriffe, Gomera and Ferro. Teneriffe is much encumbered with mountains. The Peak is an ascent in the form of a sugar loaf, 15 miles in circumfer- ence, and 13,26.5 feet high. It is a volcano. The Madeiras are three islands, in about 28 degrees north latitude, 100 miles north of the Canaries. The largest, is 180 miles in circumference. The Madeiras are opposite to Morocco: very fruitful, the climate is fine, and there are few reptiles. These islands are famous for an exquisite wine of the same name. The Azores, or Western Isles, lie about midway between the two continents, in about 37 degrees north latitude, nine hundred miles from land. They were dis- covered by a ship that was driven in that direction by stress of weather. They are nine in number, fertile in corn, wine, and a variety of fruits. The climate is re- markably salubrious. It is said that no poisonous or noxious animal can live on the Azores. Otaheite. The Society Isles, are a cluster lying near the 16th degree south latitude, the principal of which is Otaheite. The vegetable productions of these islands are numerous and luxuriant. The inhabitants of Ota- heite alone are estimated at 201,000. The people ex- ceed the middle size of Europeans in stature. In their dispositions, they arc brave, open, and generous, without A.itltMT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. .123 either suspicion or treachery. Except a few traces of natural cunning, and some traces of dissimulation, equal- ly artless and inoffensive, they posess the most perfect simplicity of character. Otaheite alone, it is supposed, can send out 1720 war canoes, and 68,000 able men. The chief of each district superintends the equipping of the fleet in that district; but they must pass in review be- fore the king, so that he may know the state of the whole before they assemble to go on service. They are re- markable for their cleanliness; for both men, women and children constantly wash their whole bodies in running water, three times every day. Their language is soft and melodious and abounds with vowels. The inhabitants of Otaheite believe in one Supreme Deity, but at the same time acknowledge a variety of subordinate deities; they offer up their prayers without the use of idols, and believe the existence of the soul in a separate state, where there are two situations, of dif- ferent degrees of happiness. The inhabitants of all these islands are blacks, generally above the middle size, with fine open countenances and good shape. The climate is similar to that of the West Indies. Africa once contained several kingdoms and states, eminent for the liberal arts, for wealth and power, and the most extensive commerce. The kingdoms of Egypt and Ethiopia, in particular were much celebrated; and the rich and powerful state of Carthage, that once form- idable rival to Rome itself, extended her commerce to every part of the then known world. Greece, Europe and North and South America, were Settled by the Descendants of Egypt. We learn from the ancient history of Europe that the fir3t people known to have lived there were the Grecians, who occupied a small space of country on the Mediterranean. It is supposed to have been near 2500 years from the cre- ation of the world, and about 3396 years to this period, that Greece was first settled by a colony from Egypt, led out by the celebrated Anthony, or Cecrops Egyptians, who conducted thither an Egyptian colony from the Nile, 1556 years B. C. 124 LliiHl AI\V lii'Jin. CHAPTER III. ANTIQUITY OF AMERICA. America, was first settled by the Israelites — Indians who came out from Egypt. [The View ofthe Hebrews, by Ethan Smith.] America was discovered by Columbus in 1492, and was peopled by Colonies in A. D., 1620, from Europe. The first settlement in New England was made at Plymouth, in the midst of a fertile country. — The Egyptians were an Ethiopian people. [Herodotus.] The following authors are supposed to have referred to America in their writings: — M. de Chazelles, when he measured the great pyramid in Egypt, found that the four sides of it were turned [built] exactly to the four quarters of the world, Europe, Asia, Africa and America, above three thousand years ago. During so long a space of time, there has been no altera- tion in the poles of the earth or the meridians, to have turned the pyramid. The celebrated Theopompus, a learned historian and orator, flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, the Egyptian hero. In a book entitled " Thaumasia," a sort of dialogue is given between Midas the Phrygian, and Silenus. The book itself is lost, but Strabo refers to it, and iElianus has given us the substance of the dialogue which follows. After much conversation, Silenus said to Midas that Europe, Asia and Africa were but islands, sur- rounded on all sides by the sea; but that there was a con- tinent situated beyond these, which was of immense di- mensions, even without limits ; it was inhabited by men ANTIQUITY OF AMERICA. 125 and animals. The land was good, and there were mines of gold, silver, &c. ^Elianus referred to a country west of Europe and Africa. [^Elian variar. Historian, or ^Elian^s work, in English.] JElian or ^Elianus lived about A. D. 200—230. Hanno. an African, flourished when the Carthaginins were in their greatest prosperity, but the exact time is unknown. Some place his times 40 and others 140 years before the founding of Rome, which would be about 800 years before our era. [Encyclopaedia Perthensis.] He was an officer of great enterprise; having sailed around and explored the coast of Africa, he set out from the Pillars of Hercules, now called the straits of Gibraltar, and sailed westward thirty days. Hence it is inferred by many that he must have visited America, or some of its islands. He wrote a book, which he entitled Periplus, giving an account of his voyages, which was translated and published about 1533, in Greek. [The best account of Hanno and his voyages, with which we are acquainted, is to be found in Marianna's History of Spain.] Many, and not without tolerably good reasons, believe that an island or continent existed in the Atlantic Ocean about this period, but which disappeared afterwards. Diodorcs Siculus says that some " Phoenicians were cast upon a most fertile island opposite to Africa." Of this, he says, they kept the most studied secrecy, which was doubtless occasioned by their jealousy of the advantage the discovery might be to the neighboring nations, and which they wished to secure wholly to themselves. Diodo- rus Siculus lived about 100 years before Christ. Islands lying west of Europe and Africa are certainly mentioned by Homer and Horace. They were called Atlantides, and were supposed to be about 1000 furlongs from Africa. Plato, an Ethiopian and an eminentGreek historian. His account has more weight, perhaps, than any of the ancients. He lived about 400 years before the Christian era. A part of his account is as follows : "In those first times [time of its being first known] the Atlantic was a most broad island, and there were extant most powerful kings in it, who, with joint forces, appointed to occupy Asia and Euiope, and so a most grievous war was carried on, in which the Atheni- ans with the common^ consent of the Greeks, opposed 126 LIGHT AND TRUTH. themselves, and they became the conquerors. But that Atlantic island, by a flood and earthquake, was indeed suddenly destroyed, and so that warlike people were swal- lowed up." He adds, in another place, " An island in the mouth of the sea, in the passage to those straits, called the Pillars of Hercules, did exist ; and that island was greater and larger than Lybia and Asia; from which there was an easy passage over to other islands, and from those islands to that continent, which is situated out of that region." [America known to the Ancients, Vol. x. 8vo., Boston, 1773.] " Nkptune settled in this island, from whose son, Atlas, its name was derived, and divided it among his ten sons. To the youngest fell the extremity of the island, called Gadir, which, in the language of the country signifies fer- tile or abounding in sheep. The descendants of Neptune reigned here, from father to son, for a great number of generations in the order of primogeniture, during the space of 9,000 years. They also possessed several other islands; and, passing into Europe and Africa, subdued all Lybia as far as Egypt, and all Europe to Asia Minor. At length the island sunk under water ; and for a long time afterwards the sea thereabouts was full of rocks and shelves." [Encyclopaedia Perthensis, Art. Atlantis.] This account, although mixed with fable, cannot, we think, be entirely rejected ; and that the ancients had knowledge of countries westward of Europe, appears as plain and as well authenticated as any passage of history of that period. Aristotle, or the author of a book which is generally attributed to him, [De mirabil. auscultat. Opera, vol. i. Voltaire says of this book, " On en fesait honneur aux Carthacrinois, et on citait nn livre d'Aristote qu'il n'a pas compose." Essai sur les Moeurs et I'esprit des nations, chap. cxlv. p. 703, vol. iv. of his works. Edit. Paris, 1817, in 8 vo.J speaks of an island beyond the Straits of Gibral- tar ; but the passage savors something of hearsay, and is as follows: "Some say that, beyond the Pillars of Her- cules, the Carthaginians have found a very fertile island ; but without inhabitants, full of forests, navigable rivers and fruit in abundance. It is several day's voyage from the main land. Some Carthaginians, charmed by the fertility of the country, thought to marry and settle there ; but ANTIQUITY OF AMERICA. 127 some say that the government of Carthage forbid the set- tlement upon pain of death, from the fear that it would in- crease in power so as to deprive the mother country of her possessions there." If Aristotle had uttered this as a pre- diction, that such a thing would take place in regard to some future nation, no one, perhaps, would have called him a false prophet, for the American revolution would have been its fulfilment. This philosopher lived about 384 years B. C. Seneca lived about the commencement of the vulgar era. He wrote tragedies, and in one of them occurs this passage : — "Venient annis Saeeculia seris, quibus oceanus Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos Detegat orbes ; nee sit terris Ultima Thule. '* This is nearer prophecy, and may be rendered, in Eng- lish, thus : " The time will come when the ocean will loosen the chains of nature, and we shall behold a vast country. A new Typhis shall discover new worlds; Thule shall no longer be considered the last country of the known world." St. Gregory, who flourished in the 7th century, in an epistle to St. .Clement, an African bishop, said that, be- yond the ocean there was another world. * Medea. Act. 3— v. 375. 128 LIGHT AND TRUTH. CHAPTER IV. ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. ABRAHAM THE PRINCE, A CONQUEROR OF KINGS. In the days of Amraphet, of Shinar, or Chaldea; Ari- och king of Ellasar or Assyria; Chedorlaomer king of Elam or Persia; and Tidal king of Nations, made war with Bera, king of Sodom; and with Bimsha, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; and Shemeber king of Zeboim; and the king of Bela, or Zoar, in that country now called Africa, and Asia. All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim which is the Salt Sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer the king of Persia, and in the thirteenth year they re- belled; and in the fourteenth year, came Chedor- laomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashterothkarnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Seir unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned and came to Enmish- phat which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Ainorites that dwelt in Hazezon- tamar; and there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and. the'king of Zoar; and they joined bat- tle in the valley of Siddim, with Chedorlaomer the king of Persia, and with Tidal king of Nations, and Amraphet king of Chaldea, and Arioch king of Assyria. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there and they that remained fled to the mountain, and took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals and went their way; and they took Lot, Abraham's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods and ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 129 carried them away. And there came one that had es- caped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, the Amorite, [an Ethiopian] brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and these were confeder- ate with Abram. And when Abram heard that Lot was taken captive, he armed his trained servants who were in his own house, three hundred and eighteen men, and pur- sued them unto Dan. And he divided his men against them by night, he and his servants smote them and pur- sued them unto Habah, which is on the left hand of Da- mascus, and brought back all the goods again, also his brother Lot, his goods and women and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, [after his re- turn from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, J at the valley of Sheveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, the priest of the Most High God. brought forth bread and wine: and he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand to the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet; and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, let them take their portion. (Gen. xiv. xii. xxiv ; Heb vii.) THE ETHIOPIAN KINGS OF EGYPT. 1. Menes was the first king of Egypt. We have ac- counts of but one of his successors — Timans. during the first period, a space of more than two centuries. 2. Shishak was king of Ethiopia, and doubtless of Egypt. After his death 3. Zerah the son of Judah became king of Ethiopia, and made himself master of Egypt and Libya; and in- 130 LIGHT AND TRUTH. tending to add Judea to his dominions, made war upon Asa king of Judea. His army consisted of a million of men, and three hundred chariots of war. (2 Chr. xiv. 9.) 4 Sabachus, an Ethiopian, king of Ethiopia, being encouraged by an oracle, entered Egypt with a numer- ous army, and possessed himself of the country. He reigned with great clemency and justice. It is believed, that this Sabachus was the same with Solomon, whose aid was implored by Hosea king of Israel, against Sal- manaser king of Assyria. 5. Setlion reigned fourteen years. He is the same with Sabachus, or Savechus the son of Sabacan or Sual the Ethiopian who reigned so long over Egypt. 6. Tharaca, an Ethiopian, joined Sethon, with an Ethiopian army to relieve Jerusalem. After the death of Sethon, who had filled the Egyptian throne fourteen years, Tharaca ascended the throne and reigned eight yea p s over Egypt. 7. Sesach or Shishak was the king of Egypt to whom Jeroboam fled to avoid death at the hands of king Solo- mon. Jeroboam was entertained till the death of Solo- mon, when he returned to Judea and was made king of Israel. (2 Chr. xi. and xii.) This Sesach, in the fifth year of the reign of Reho- boam marched against Jerusalem, because the Jews had transgressed against the Lord. He came with twelve hundred chariots of war, and sixty thousand horse. He had brought numberless multitudes of people, who were all Libyans, Troglodytes, and Ethiopians. He seized upon all the strongest cities of Jud,ah, and advanced as far as Jerusalem. Then the king, and the princes of Israel, having humbled themselves and asked the pro- tection of the God of Israel; he told them, by his proph- et Snemaiah, that he would not, because they humbled themselves, destroy them all as they had deserved; but that they should be the servants of Sesach: in order that they might know the difference of his service, and the service of the kingdoms of the country. Sesach re- tired from Jerusalem, after having plundered the trea- sures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house; he carried off* every thing with him, and even also the 300 shields of gold which Solomon had made. [Rollin.l AINUlll^M Jil.NliS Art!) WARS. 131 The following are the kings of Egypt mentioned in scripture by the common appellation of Pharaoh: — 8. Psammetichus Pharaoh, king of Egypt, owed his preservation to the Ionians and Carians. He permitted them to settle in Egypt, whence all foreigners had hith- erto been excluded. By assigning them sufficient lands, and fixed revenues, he made them forget their native land; and by his order the Egyptian children were placed under their care to learn the Greek language. Psammetichus engaged in war against the king of As- syria, on account of the limits of the two empires. This war was of long continuance. Ever since Syria had been conquered by the Assyrians, Palestine, being the only country that separated the two kingdoms, was the sub- ject of continual discord; as afterwards between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae. They were eternally con- tending for it, and it was alternately won by the stronger. Psammetichus, seeing himself the peaceable possessor of all Egypt, and having, restored the ancient form of government, [this revolution happened about seven years after the captivity of Manasseh king of Judah,] thought it high time for him to look to his frontiers; and to secure them against the Assyrian, his neighbor, whose power increased daily. For this purpose he entered Palestine at the head of an army. Perhaps we are to refer to the beginning of this war, an incident related by Diodorus: That the Egyptians, provoked to see the Greeks posted on the right wing by the king himself in preference to them, quitted the ser- vice, they being upwards of two hundred thousand men, and retired into Ethiopia, where they met with an ad- vantageous settlement. Psammetichus died in the 24th year of the reign of Josiah king of Judah; and was succeeded by his son Nechao or Necho — in Scriptures frequently called Pha- raoh Necho. 9. Nechao or Pharaoh Necho reigned sixteen years king of Egypt, (2 Chron. xxxv. 20,) whose expeditions are oiten mentioned in profane history. The Babylonians and Medes having destroyed Nine- veh, and with it the empire of the Assyrians, did there- 132 LIGHT AND TRUTH. by become so formidable that they drew upon themselves the jealousy of all their neighbors. Nechao, alarmed al the danger, advanced to the Euphrates, at the head o] a powerful army, in order to check their progress. Jo- siah, king of Judah, so famous for his uncommon piety observing that he took his route through Judea, resolved tc oppose his passage. With this view, he raised all the forces of his kingdom, and posted himself in the valley of Megiddo, a city on this side of Jordan, belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, and called Magdolus by Hero- dotus. Nechao informed him by a herald, that his en- terprize was not designed against him; that he had othei enemies in view, and that he undertook this war, in the name of God, who was with him; that for this rea- son he advised Josiah not to concern himself with this war, for fear it should turn to his disadvantage. How> ever, Josiah was not moved by these reasons: h< was sensible that the bare march of so powerful ar army through Judea, would entirely ruin it. And be- sides, he feared that the victor, after the defeat o the Babylonians, would fall upon hirn, and dispossess him of part of his dominions. He therefore marched tc engage Nechao; and was not only overthrown by him but unfortunately received a wound, of which he diec at Jerusalem, whither he had ordered himself to be car- ried. Nechao, animated by this victory, continued his march and advanced towards the Euphrates. He defeated the Babylonians; took Carchemish, alarge city in that coun- try; and securing to himself the possession of it, by a strong garrison, returned to his own kingdom, after hav- ing been absent three months from it. Being informed in his march homeward, that Jehoahaz had caused himself to be proclaimed king at Jerusalem without first asking his consent, he commanded him tc meet him at Riblah in Syria. The unhappy prince had no sooner arrived there, but he was put in chains by Nechao's order, and sent prisoner to Egypt, where he died. From thence, pursuing his march, he came tc Jerusalem, where he gave the sceptre toEliakim [called by him Jehoiakim] another of Josiah's sons, in the room of his brother; and imposed an annual tribute on the 133 land, of an hundred talents of silver, and one talent of gold. This being done, he returned in triumph to Egypt. Herodotus, mentioning this king's expedition, and the victory gained by him at Magdolus, [as he calls it] says, that he afterwards took the city Cadytis, which he rep- resents as situated in the mountains of Palestine, and equal in extent to Sardis, the capital at that time not only of Lidya, but of all Asia Minor: this description can suit only Jerusalem, which was situated in the man- ner above described, and was then the only city in those parts that could be compared to Sardis. It appears be- sides from scripture, that Nechao, after his victory, won this capital of Judea; for he was there in person, when he gave the crown to Jehoiakim. 10. Psammis Pharaoh reigned over Egypt, and left his kingdom to his son Apries. He gave his daughter in macriage to Solomon, king of Israel; who received her in that part of Jerusalem, called the city of David, till he had built her a palace. 11. Apries, called Pharaoh-Hophra, succeeded his father Psammis, and reigned twenty-five years. During the first years of his reign, he was as happy as any of his predecessors. He carried his arms into Cy- prus; besieged the city of Sidon by sea and land; took it, and made himself master of all Phoenicia and Pales- tine. So rapid a success elated his heart to a prodigious degree, and, as Herodotus informs us, swelled him with so much pride and infatuation, that he boasted, it was not in the power of the gods themselves to dethrone him; so great was the idea he had formed to himself of the firm establishment of his own power. It was with a view to these arrogant conceits, that Ezekiel put the vain and .impious words following into his mouth: " My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself." 12. Amasis, after the death of his father Apries, be- came the possessor of Egypt in peace. Amasis Pha- raoh or Thmosis was according to Plato, a native of the city of Sais. He reigned 40 years; and expelling the shepherd kings, subjected Lower Egypt to his rule. He made an alliance with the Cyrenians, and married a wife among them. He is the only king of Egypt who con- quered the Island of Cyprus, and made it tributary 134 LIGHT AND TRUTH. Long after his reign, Joseph was brought as a slave into Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. 13. Rameses Miamun — according to Archbishop Ush- er, was the name of the kino; who is called Pharaoh in Scripture. He reigned over Egypt sixty-six years; and oppressed the Israelites most greviously They built for him treasure cities, to receive the abundant products of that fertile land. Rameses Miamun Pharaoh left two sons, Amenophis and Busiris. 14. Amenophis was the Pharaoh in whose reign the Israelites departed out of Egypt; and who was drowned in the Red Sea. Archbishop Usher says that Ameno- phis left two sons — one named Sesostris, and the other Armais. The Greeks called him Belus, and his two sonSiEgyptus, and Danaus. 15. Sesostris or Sesosthis Pharaoh was not only one of the most powerful kings of Egypt, but one of the greatest conquerors antiquity could boast of. 16. Pheron the son of Sesostris Pharaoh, succeeded his father in his kingdom, but not in his glory. He reigned fifty years king of Egypt. 17. Proteus was another king of Egypt. According to Herodotus, he must have immediately succeeded the first — since he lived at the time of the siege of Troy, which according to Usher was taken anno mundi 2820. 18. Rhampsinitus was another king of Egypt; and richer than any of his predecessors. He built a treasury. 19. Cheops brother to Cephrenus, reigned fifty years king of Egypt. 20. Cephrenus reigned after his brother fifty-six years. These two kings kept the temples shut during the whole time of their long reigns. They oppressed their subjects. 21. Mycerinus the son of Cheops, reigned but seven years. He opened the temples; restored the sacrifices; and did all in his power to comfort his subjects, and make them forget their past miseries. 22. Asychis, another Egyptian king, was a legislator. But he valued himself for having surpassed all his pred- ecessors in constructing a pyramid of brick more mag- nificent than any other. 23. Alexander reigned twelve years monarch of E