Buried Cities and Bible Countries

by George St. Clair

Quite apart from the facilities of a ford, there was a good reason why the Israelites should cross the Jordan where they did. The hill country of Western Palestine is much broken by gorges, which serve not only as torrent beds after the rains, but as passes to the central plateau. The principal pass is by that great gorge, the continuation of the Wady Kelt, which runs to the north of Jericho and up to Ai and Bethel. Joshua intends to ascend by this pass. But there is an obstacle in the way. Just at the foot of the hills—where the springs issue forth and make a beautiful oasis—is the city of Jericho, “walled up to heaven.” This is the key to the pass, and it would be bad generalship to rush past the place and leave it in the rear. So Jericho, “the city of palm trees,” was besieged and taken.

Modern Jericho is not a city of palm trees, but a very poor village, of mud huts and black tents, standing amid low vineyards. For the convenience of travellers, indeed, an excellent hotel has lately been opened—the “Jordan Hotel”—but the proprietor has been disappointed in his neighbours; the peasantry will not do a good day’s work for good wages, he cannot even get fruit and garden stuff from them, and every requisite has to be brought down from Jerusalem.

The site of Jericho has shifted considerably since Scripture times, for the Bible city was near the Sultan’s Spring—Elisha’s Fountain—at the foot of the pass, the only natural position, whereas the present village is at a distance from the spring. Some Russian excavations in the neighbourhood have brought to light shafts, columns, and lintels, lamps, jars, rings, and weapons, some indication of former splendour.

The next city in the way of the invaders was Ai. We learn from the narrative that Ai had Bethel on the west of it, and a plain in the front or on the east, while there was a valley on the north side, and low ground on the west between Ai and Bethel. With these particulars it should be possible to identify the site. Sir Charles Wilson examined the district in 1865, and confirmed the opinion of Rev. Canon Williams that there is only one spot which answers to the description. “The description applies in a very complete manner” (says Conder) “to the neighbourhood of the modern village of Deir Diwan, and there are here remains of a large ancient town, bearing the name Haiyan, which approaches closely to Aina, the form under which Ai appears in the writings of Josephus. Rock-cut tombs and ancient cisterns, with three great reservoirs cut in the hard limestone, are sufficient to show this to have been a position of importance. To the west is an open valley called ‘Valley of the City,’ which, gradually curving round eastward, runs close to the old road from Jericho by which Joshua’s army would probably advance. To the north of the site there is also a great valley, and the plain or plateau on which the modern village stands, close to the old site, expands from a narrow and rugged pass leading up towards Bethel, which is 2 miles distant on the watershed.”

Ascending from Jericho the path at one point enters upon the plain in front of Ai, so that no army on its way to Bethel could afford to leave Ai behind. Joshua took the city by stratagem, and we can see every step of the proceeding. Marching troops up the northern valley, he placed an ambush in the depression west of the city. The main body of his troops attacked in front and presently feigned a retreat, drawing the men of Ai after them till the city was empty. Then, at a given signal from Joshua—who had posted himself on the hills to the north and could be seen by both sections of his army—the ambush rose up and fired the city, the men retreating turned back to fight, and the men of Ai, caught “between two fires,” became utterly demoralised.

Bethel itself is now called Beitin. The site is known but with the exception of a church of crusading date, and a tower, there are no ruins of any importance. On a hill to the east is a stone circle, consisting of large and small boulders.

After the victory at Ai a rapid march was made to Shechem, where, upon the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, the tribes assembled to hear the reading of the Law and to pronounce their “amens” after the blessings and the curses. It has been questioned whether they could hear one another at the distance apart of these two mountain tops; but they would hardly be on the mountain summits, for there is a natural recess in the hills, with natural benches in the limestone rock, an amphitheatre which might seem to have been formed for the purpose. Modern travellers have stood in the midst of that valley and heard their companions on either side reading the Law, and they assure us that those who were reading could hear one another’s voices with sufficient distinctness to take up the verse, each where the other left off.

Shechem is now called Nablous—a corruption of the Roman Neapolis, by which name it was rebaptized—and is a considerable city. The Samaritans, now reduced in numbers to about one hundred and sixty individuals, all told, live in this city, and none are found elsewhere. In their synagogue they preserve several old copies of the Pentateuch, and one of them, which is kept in a silver case and jealously guarded, they declare to have been written by Abishua, the great-grandson of Aaron. On a stone built into a tower near the synagogue is an inscription—the oldest known in the Samaritan character—which it was formerly impossible to read, because the inscription is upside down in its place, and the investigator had to dangle on a rope and hold his head downwards. But here we see the advantage of photography: the picture was obtained in the camera, and the inscription when turned right way up was seen to be the Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments.

After the solemn ceremony of reading the Law at Shechem the Israelites under Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. But by this time the news of their victories had spread, the neighbouring cities became alarmed, and all the kings throughout an extensive district gathered together to fight against them. Meantime the wily Gibeonites, wearing “old shoes and clouted,” and pretending to be ambassadors from a far country, came to Joshua and succeeded in making a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive. After three days the deception was found out; but it was held that the covenant must be kept, and when the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—“the five kings of the Amorites”—went and encamped against Gibeon, Joshua went up from Gilgal all the night to raise the siege. He came upon them suddenly, and a terrible battle took place, which deserves to rank among the decisive battles of the world. The conflict raged before Gibeon, and the defeated kings were pursued, with continued slaughter, to higher ground (the ascent of Beth-horon) and then to lower ground (the going down of Beth-horon), as they vainly sought to escape down the Valley of Aijalon into the Plain of Philistia. According to the poetical book of Jasher,[17] quoted by the historian, “the sun stood still upon Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Aijalon,” and lengthened out the day until Joshua had defeated his foes utterly. The five kings were found hidden in a cave at Makkedah, and were imprisoned there till the pursuit was over and Joshua had leisure to decide their fate.

Makkedah has been identified by Colonel Sir C. Warren as being El Mughar—“the cave”—a little south-west of Ekron. Conder tells us that this is a remarkable place, and one of the most conspicuous sites in the plain. A promontory of brown sandy rock juts out southwards, and at the end is the village climbing up the hill-side. The huts are of mud, and stand in many cases in front of caves; and from these caves the modern name is derived. It is worthy of notice, he says, that this is the only village in the Philistine plain at which he found such caves.