Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and Adventure

by C. R. Conder

The identification thus proposed for the Rock Etam is, I believe, quite a new one; and it cannot, I think, fail to be considered satisfactory, if we consider the modern name, the position, and the existence of this remarkable chasm. Ramath Lehi, where the Philistines assembled when searching for Samson (Judg. xv. 9, 10), is naturally to be sought in the vicinity of Zoreah—Samson’s home, and of the Rock Etam where he took refuge.

A little way north-west of Zoreah, seven miles from Beit ’Atâb, is a low hill, on the slope of which are springs called ’Ayûn Abu Mehârib, or the “fountains of the place of battles.” Close by is a little Moslem chapel, dedicated to Sheikh Nedhîr, or “the Nazarite chief;” and, higher up, a ruin with the extraordinary title Ism Allah—“the name of God.” The Nazarite chief is probably Samson, whose memory is so well preserved in this small district, and the place is perhaps connected with a tradition of one of his exploits. The Ism Allah is possibly a corruption of Esm’a Allah—“God heard”—in which case the incident intended might be the battle of Ramath Lehi. Finally, we were informed by a native of the place that the springs were sometimes called ’Ayûn Kâra, in which name we should recognise easily the En Hak-Kore, or “fountain of the crier.” (Judg. xv. 19.)

To say that this spot certainly represents Ramath Lehi—“the hill of the jaw-bone”—would be too bold. It seems, however, clear that a tradition, of one of Samson’s exploits lingers here; the position is appropriate for the scene of the slaughter with the jaw-bone, and we have not succeeded in finding any other likely site.

Next in interest to the scenery of Samson’s life comes the site of Bether, the scene of the final overthrow of the Jewish power in Palestine by the Romans.

Bar Choseba, the Jewish leader, possibly took his name from the town Choseba, which is perhaps the modern Kueizîba. Claiming to be the long-expected King-Messiah, he assumed the title Bar Cocheba—“Son of the Star”—and it is remarkable that near Kueizîba, not far south-east of Bether, is the sacred tomb of Abu Nujeim, which in the vulgar dialect means “Son of the Star.” His last retreat was Bether, a strong fortress, near Jerusalem, and forty Jewish miles from the sea. For three years and a half the fanatical party here held out, and are said to have been finally betrayed by a Samaritan.

Dion Cassius relates that 580,000 Jews were massacred when the fortress fell. Rabbi Akiba, the friend and banner-bearer of Bar Choseba, was flayed alive, repeating with his last breath the noble words of the Shema, or morning prayer of the Temple: “Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Deut. vi. 4.) The valley below Bether is said, in the Talmud, to have run blood to the sea, and the Romans lost a great number of troops in the siege. The power of the Jews was broken for ever by a destruction which must have decimated the nation, and the seat of the Sanhedrim was withdrawn finally to Galilee, having been situated at Jamnia up to this date since the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.

The only site which seems really suited for the important fortress of Bether is the village Bittîr, on the south side of the valley of the same name, thirty-five English miles from the sea, and about five from Jerusalem. On every side, except the south, it is surrounded by deep and rugged gorges, and it is supplied with fresh water from a spring above the village. On the north the position would have been impregnable, as steep cliffs rise from the bottom of the ravine, upon which the houses are perched. The name exactly represents the Hebrew, and the distances agree with those noticed by Eusebius and in the Talmud. Nor must the curious title be forgotten, which is applied to a shapeless mass of ruin on the hill, immediately west of Bittîr, for the name, Khŭrbet el Yehûd—“ruin of the Jews”—may be well thought to hand down traditionally, among the natives of the neighbourhood, the memory of the great catastrophe of Bether.

The lofty but narrow ridge of the watershed which runs out south from Bittîr is the scene of another great tragedy in Jewish history. It is a bare and rocky hill, the summit of which, 3260 feet above the sea, is called Râs Sherifeh, and it extends to a lower saddle, upon which stand the ruins of Beit Skâria, the ancient Beth Zachariah. The ridge commands a fine view both east and west, being the very backbone of Judea. On the one side are the bare white hills round Bethlehem, and the fantastic peaks of the Judean Desert, with the great wall of the Moab mountains far beyond; on the other, the long spurs of the ’Arkûb, resembling waves, with gleams of white chalk, like the surf, on their sides.

From a military point of view, the position is a fine one. The great western road from the plain ran beneath the hill-top, gradually ascending, and was joined by a second main Roman highway from the south-west; while the Hebron road was also commanded on the other side. The very steep slopes on the east, and the precipices and deep valleys on the west, rendered the position impregnable on its flanks, and in rear the retreat to Jerusalem was easy, while abundant water was obtainable from neighbouring springs.

Such was the position in which Judas Maccabeus, with true military instinct, awaited the attack of Antiochus, emerging from the difficult defiles between Bethzur and Beth Zacharias, into the more open ground near the so-called Solomon’s Pools. The Jews were apparently not expert horsemen at this period of their history, any more than at the present day; and the superiority of the Greeks in cavalry and elephants must have been almost neutralised by the character of the ground. Few scenes have been more vividly described in history than the impetuous advance of the Greek army, the shining of their brazen helmets, and the ponderous wooden towers upon their elephants, the devotion of Eleazar, and the timely retreat of Judas.