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PART II. from Bostra; (for which is corruptly read in Jerom's version Osdra ;) whereby may be understood either Bostra, a city of Arabia, mentioned by Ptolemy and others, or else Ashtaroth-Carnaim. For whereas, Josh. xxi. 27. mention is made of Beesh-terah, as a Levitical city in Bashan, instead thereof, 1 Chron. vi. 71. Ashtaroth is mentioned. And the words, setting aside B, are written both much alike in the Hebrew; and Beesh-terah may be easily moulded by the Greeks into Bestra or Bostra.

24.

ference be

tween Ar

gob, and Bashan,

Og being totally defeated, we read, Deut. iii. 4. that Of the dif- the Israelites took all his cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. It is controverted among writers, whether Argob and Bashan were equivalent terms, or and Gilead. quite distinct, or whether the former denoted only some part of the country denoted by the latter. Now this matter may, I think, be cleared from ver. 13, 14, 15. for here Moses saith, I gave unto the half tribe of Manasseh all the region of Argob, with all Bashan.-Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argol,-and I gave Gilead unto Machir. Here in ver. 13. the region of Argob seems plainly to be spoken of as a part of Bashan; and ver. 14, 15. the region of Argob is said to be given unto Jair, and Gilead unto Machir; so that these two together seem to have made up the country, or at least the kingdom of Bashan. As to the particular situation of these two tracts, viz. Argob and Gilead, it is evident enough, that Gilead properly so called was the tract, wherein lies the mount or hills of Gilead; and consequently, that the remaining tract of the kingdom of Og was that called the region of Argob, which therefore lay to the north of the other.

25.

The king of Moab being terrified at the great success Of Pethor, the Israelites had against the two kings of the Amorites,

the city of Balaam.

Sihon and Og, he sends for a famous diviner of those times, called Balaam, who lived at Pethor, which lay in Aram, as we read Deut. xxiii. 7. whereby is to be understood, that part of Aram which was more peculiarly styled Aram-naharaim, or Mesopotamia, as we are expressly told, Deut. xxiii. 4. Balaam being met by Balak the king of

Moab at the utmost coast of his kingdom, is brought to CHAP. III. the king to Kirjath-huzoth; then on the morrow to the high places of Baal, (Num. xxii. 39, 41.) then into the field of Zophim, then to the top of Peor, Num. xxiii. 14, 28. Of these places, Kirjath-huzoth and the field of Zophim being only mentioned here, nothing more can be said of them, than that they lay in the country of Moab, in that part of it which lay next to the tribe of Reuben. As for the high places of Baal, it is in Hebrew Bamoth-baal; and therefore probably the hills that lay near Bamoth before mentioned, ch. ii. §. 12.

26.

Of Peor,

and Baal

As for Peor, it is thought to be a part of the mountains Abarim. Upon this mount there seems to have stood the temple of an idol, called thence Peor or Baal- Peor. Peor. By partaking of the sacrifices offered to this idol, and worshipping it, the Israelites greatly provoked God, whilst they lay encamped at Shittim, Num. xxv. 1-5.

Of the Mi

In ver. 17, 18. of this chapter, we find God command- 27. ing the Israelites to vex the Midianites, and smite them. dianites. Now these Midianites, as has been observed, Part I. of this Geography of the Old Testament, ch. xi. were descendants of Midian, one of the sons of Abraham by Keturah; and who together with his other brethren were sent away from Isaac, during the life of Abraham, eastward unto the east country, namely, into the parts of Arabia lying to the east of Canaan, east of that part of Canaan where Abraham then sojourned, which was the most southern part adjoining to Beersheba. Accordingly, in process of time, we find the Midianites settled next to the Moabites, namely, to the east or south-east of them. And we find some colonies of them settled elsewhere, near to the Red sea, and mount Sinai or Horeb, in the times of Moses; who fled out of Egypt into this land of Midian, Exod. ii. 15. and married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, or Reuel, the priest or prince of Midian, a city and country thus lying near the Red sea. A branch of these Midianites near the Red sea were the Kenites; some of which turned proselytes, and dwelt with the Israelites in

PART II. the land of Canaan: of which race was undoubtedly Heber the Kenite, the husband of Jael, who slew Sisera. The rest continued mingled with the Amalekites, till the time of Saul. But the Midianites here mentioned in Num. xxv. were those adjoining to the Moabites, and who opposed the Israelites after the death of Barak, as we read in the book of Judges. And so much for the geographical part of the history of Moses.

CHAP. IV.

Of the Conquest of the Land of Canaan, under the conduct of Joshua.

MOSES being dead, by the commandment of God Jo

1.

shua succeeds him, as leader in chief of the Israelites; and The Israelites decamp prepares to pass over the river Jordan. Hereupon he re- from Shitmoved from Shittim (where the Israelites had encamped tim, and pitch near for some time) on the morrow after the two spies returned, Jordan. that he had sent from thence to Jericho, and came to Jordan, Josh. iii. 1. And after three days stay there, proper directions being given, the Israelites passed over Jordan right against Jericho, on dry ground; the waters which came down from above, i. e. from the upper part of the stream, standing and rising up upon an heap very far, i. e. for a long way together, namely, as far as from the city Adam (or Adom, which is only here mentioned, and said to be) beside Zaretan.

2.

This latter place is mentioned twice more in Scripture, viz. 1 Kings iv. 12. and vii. 46. from which two places it Of Zaretan. appears, that it lay not far from Succoth, (of which we have spoken in the first Part,) and Bethshean, (of which we shall speak hereafter,) and so not far from the southern part of the sea of Galilee.

3.

The Israelites having crossed Jordan, and the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord being come out of Gilgal. of the channel of the river, the waters thereof returned unto their place. The place where they encamped was called Gilgal, because here circumcision was renewed. For all the people that came out of Egypt were circumcised; but all the people, that were born in the wilderness by the way, as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. Wherefore upon this renewing of circumcision, the Lord said unto Joshua: This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt (i. e, uncircumcision)

VOL. I.

PART II. from off you: wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (i. e. rolling) unto this day. Josh. v. 2-9. Here it was that Joshua pitched the twelve stones, which were taken up out of Jordan, by one man of every tribe. And here the people abode, till they were whole again, after their having been circumcised; and here they celebrated the Passover: lastly, here the people ate of the old corn of the land, on the morrow after the Passover; and here on the morrow after that the manna ceased. It has been already observed, that it is expressly said, Josh. iii. 16. that the Israelites passed over Jordan right against Jericho; and it is expressly said, Josh. iv. 19. that they encamped in Gilgal in the east border of Jericho. Whence it is plain, that Gilgal must be situated between Jordan and Jericho. And since Josephus tells us, that Jericho was sixty furlongs distant from Jordan, and that the camp of Gilgal was fifty furlongs distant from the same river; hence it follows, that Gilgal was ten furlongs from Jericho eastward; that is, according to the common computation of eight furlongs to one mile, a mile and a quarter. But it is observed by some learned men, that five of the furlongs used by Josephus do make up an Italian mile; and so the distance between Gilgal and Jericho will be just two miles. And this exactly agrees with what St. Jerom saith, when he tells us, that the place was shewn in his days at two miles distance from Jericho, and was had in very great veneration by the inhabitants of that country.

4.

The Israelites being recovered of the sore made by cirOf Jericho. cumcision, and fit for action, the first city that was taken by them was Jericho, which lay nearest to them. It was delivered into their hands after a miraculous manner, the wall falling down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man strait before him; and they took the city. I have spoken of this city already in the first Part of my Geography of the New Testament, chap. vi. §. 14. To what is there said I shall only add from Eusebius, that the city built by Hiel the Bethelite, and which was honoured

Antiq. b. v. c. 1. And the War of the Jews, b. v. c. 4.

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