Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ

by David Francis Bacon

“Banias is situated at the foot of the Heish, in the plain, which in the immediate vicinity of Banias is not called Ard Houle, but Ard Banias. It contains about one hundred and fifty houses, inhabited mostly by Turks: there are also Greeks, Druses, and Enzairie. It belongs to Hasbeya, whose Emir nominates the Sheikh. On the north-east side of the village, is the source of the river of Banias, which empties itself into the Jordan at the distance of an hour and a half, in the plain below. Over the source is a perpendicular rock, in which several niches have been cut to receive statues. The largest niche is above a spacious cavern, under which the river rises. This niche is six feet broad and as much in depth, and has a smaller niche in the bottom of it. Immediately above it, in the perpendicular face of the rock, is another niche, adorned with pilasters, supporting a shell ornament.

“Round the source of the river are a number of hewn stones. The stream flows on the north side of the village, where is a well built bridge, and some remains of the ancient town, the principal part of which seems, however, to have been on the opposite side of the river, where the ruins extend for a quarter of an hour from the bridge. No walls remain, but great quantities of stones and architectural fragments are scattered about.

“I went to see the ruins of the ancient city of Bostra, of which the people spoke much. Bostra must not be confounded with Boszra, in the Haouran; both places are mentioned in the Books of Moses. The way to the ruins lies for an hour and a half in the road by which I came from Rasheyat-el-Fukhar, it then ascends for three quarters of an hour a steep mountain to the right, on the top of which is the city; it is divided into two parts, the largest being upon the very summit, the smaller at ten minutes walk lower down, and resembling a suburb to the upper part. Traces are still visible of a paved way that had connected the two divisions. There is scarcely any thing in the ruins worth notice; they consist of the foundations of private habitations, built of moderate sized square stones. The lower city is about twelve minutes walk in circumference; a part of the four walls of one building only remains entire; in the midst of the ruins was a well, at this time dried up. The circuit of the upper city may be about twenty minutes; in it are the remains of several buildings. In the highest part is a heap of wrought stones, of larger dimensions than the rest, which seem to indicate that some public building had once stood on the spot. There are several columns of one foot, and of one foot and a half in diameter. In two different places, a short column was standing in the centre of a round paved area of about ten feet in diameter. There is likewise a deep well, walled in, but now dry.

“The country around these ruins is very capable of cultivation. Near the lower city are groups of olive trees.

“I descended the mountain in the direction towards the source of the Jordan, and passed, at the foot of it, the miserable village of Kerwaya. Behind the mountain of Bostra is another, still higher, called Djebel Meroura Djoubba.” [Burckhardt’s Syria, pp. 37–42.]

From Conder’s Modern Traveler I also draw a sketch of other travelers’ observations on the place and the surrounding country.

“Burckhardt, in coming from Damascus, pursued the more direct route taken by the caravans, which crosses the Jordan at Jacob’s Bridge. Captains Irby and Mangles left this road at Khan Sasa, and passed to the westward for Panias, thus striking between the road to Acre, and that by Raschia and Hasbeya. The first part of the road from Sasa, led through a fine plain, watered by a pretty, winding rivulet, with numerous tributary streams, and many old ruined mills. It then ascended over a very rugged and rocky soil, quite destitute of vegetation, having in some places traces of an ancient paved way, ‘probably the Roman road from Damascus to Caesarea Philippi.’ The higher part of Djebel Sheikh was seen on the right. The road became less stony, and the shrubs increased in number, size and beauty, as they descended into a rich little plain, at the immediate foot of the mountain. ‘From this plain,’ continues captain M., ‘we ascended, and, after passing a very small village, saw on our left, close to us, a very picturesque lake, apparently perfectly circular, of little more than a mile in circumference, surrounded on all sides by sloping hills, richly wooded. On quitting Phiala, at but a short distance from it, we crossed a stream which discharges into the larger one which we first saw: the latter we followed for a considerable distance; and then, mounting a hill to the south-west, had in view the great Saracenic castle, near Panias, the town of that name, and the plain of the Jordan, as far as the Lake Houle, with the mountains on the other side of the plain, forming altogether a fine coup d’œil. As we descended towards Panias, we found the country extremely beautiful. Great quantities of wild flowers, and a variety of shrubs, just budding, together with the richness of the verdure, grass, corn and beans, showed us, all at once, the beauties of spring, (February 24,) and conducted us into a climate quite different from Damascus. In the evening we entered Panias, crossing a causeway constructed over the rivulet, which flows from the foot of Djebel Sheikh. The river here rushes over great rocks in a very picturesque manner, its banks being covered with shrubs and the ruins of ancient walls.’

“Panias, afterwards called Caesarea Philippi, has resumed its ancient name. The present town of Banias is small. Seetzen describes it as a little hamlet of about twenty miserable huts, inhabited by Mahomedans. The ‘Castle of Banias’ is situated on the summit of a lofty mountain: it was built, Seetzen says, without giving his authority, in the time of the caliphs.” [Modern Traveler Vol. I. pp. 353–6.]

The distance, in time, from Mount Tabor to Caesarea Philippi, may be conceived from the account given by Ebn Haukal, an Arabian geographer and traveler of the tenth century. He says “from Tibertheh (Tiberias, which is near Tabor) to Sur, (Tyre,) is one day’s journey; and from that to Banias, (Paneas,) is two day’s easy journey.” [Sir W. Ouseley’s translation of Ebn Haukal’s Geography, pp. 48, 49.]

This was an occasion on which Christ did not choose to display his glories to the eyes of the ignorant and impertinent mobs that usually thronged his path, drawn together as they were, by idle curiosity, by selfish wishes for relief from various diseases, or by the determination to profit by the mischief, which almost always results from such a promiscuous assemblage. It may be fairly considered a moral impossibility, for such disorderly and spontaneous assemblies to meet, without more evils resulting, than can possibly be counterbalanced by the good done to the assembly as a whole, whatever it may be to individuals. So, at least, Jesus Christ seems always to have thought, for he never encouraged such gatherings, and took every desirable opportunity of getting rid of them, without injury to themselves, or of withdrawing himself quietly from them, as the easiest way of dispersing them; knowing how utterly hopeless must be the attempt to do any great good among such a set of idlers, compared with what he might do by private and special intercourse with individuals. It is worthy of note, that Matthew and all whose calls are described, were about their business. Thus, on an occasion already mentioned, when Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee, with the simple object of doing most good, he did not seek among the multitude that was following him, for the devoted laborers whom he might call to the great work of drawing in men to the knowledge of the truth as revealed in him. No: he turned from all the zealous loungers who had left their business, if they had any, to drag about after the wonderful man who had attracted general attention by his great and good deeds. He dispatched them as fast as possible with a few words of instruction and exhortation; for though he did not seek these undesirable occasions, yet he would have been as much wanting in benevolence as in wisdom, if, when all the evils of such a throng had occurred by the meeting, he had not hastened to offer the speediest antidote to the mischief, and the best compensation for the loss of time to the company, by giving them such words of counsel, reproof, correction or encouragement, as, even when cast like bread upon the waters, or seed by the way side, might yet perchance, or by grace, “be found after many days,” returning to the hands of the giver, in gratitude, by springing up and bearing some fruit to the praise and glory of God. Having thus sent off the throng, he addressed himself to the honest men whom he had found quietly following their daily employments, and immediately performed with them there, and, as is evident, mainly for their benefit, a most remarkable miracle; and when they had been thus impressed with his power and wisdom, summoned them to his aid in converting the world; sagely and truly judging, that those who had been faithful in few things, would be the best rulers over many things,——that they who had steadily and faithfully worked at their proper business, had the best talent and disposition for laboring in a cause which needed so much patient industry and steady application in its devotees. These were the men whom he hoped to make by his instructions, the successful founders of the Christian faith; and these were the very men whom, out of thousands who longed for the honors of his notice, he now chose as the objects of his special instruction and commission, and called them apart to view the display of the most wonderful mystery of his life.