the fir could wave its arms, and the softer air, in which the olive unfolded its blossom. day, nor the moon by night. The sun smote not by the branches. The dew lay thick in Hermon. There Iwas balm in Gilead. The lign-aloe drooped from the river bank. Kedron and Jordan poured forth their streams. The rain also filled the pools. Lakes glis The pastures were tened in the landscape, and cooled the drought. Beautiful for situation was Mount Zion. The cattle browsed on a thousand hills. The excellency of Carmel and the glory of Lebanon set their pinnacles against the deep azure of Canaan's sky. The year was crowned with goodness. The Lord God cared for that land, and his eye was always upon it. At the stated period fell the early and latter rain. clothed with flocks. The ploughman overtook the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him that sowed the seed. The barns were filled with plenty, and the press burst out with new wine. The little hills rejoiced on every side. Precious fruits were brought forth by the sun, and precious things were put forth by the moon. The earliest pass, the valley of Achor, was a door of hope. The vineyards distilled the pure blood of the grape. The fountain of Jacob was upon a land of corn and wine. The inhabitants were filled with the finest of the wheat. It flowed with milk and honey. heavens dropped fatness. It was surrounded with munitions of rock. The deep couching beneath spread its sure defence. The land might be called Beulah. The distant glimpse of its prospect refreshed the dying eye of Moses; and of all thine earthly territory this is emphatically thy land, O Immanuel."* Its In describing Canaan, we shall exhibit it under the following divisions:-Its Position and Extent,—its *Sermons, by R. W. Hamilton, Leeds. Physiology, its Conquest,-its Division,-its Polity, -its Language and Literature, and its Prospects, or Destiny. ITS POSITION AND EXTENT. Canaan lies between the degrees of thirty-one and thirty-four of north latitude. By the Abrahamic covenant, (recorded Gen. xv. 18,) the original grant of this country was from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates. By Divine teaching, previously to the Israelites taking possession of it, Moses thus minutely defines and describes its limits: (Num. xxxiv. 2—12,) "When ye come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan, with the coasts thereof) your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin, along by the coast of Edom," or Idumæa. This was its general description. The boundary itself is next traced, " And your south border shall be the utmost coast of the Salt Sea, eastward;" or, as explained by Joshua's description afterwards (Jos. xv. 2—4) "the south border of the tribe of Judah began from the bay of the Salt Sea, that looketh southward;" or by combining both, from the south-east corner of the Salt Sea, or Asphaltic Lake. “From thence, your border shall turn southward to the ascent of Akrabbim," or the mountains of Accaba, (signifying "ascent," in the Arabic,) which run towards the head of the Elanitic, or eastern gulf of the Red Sea; passing, we may presume, through the sea-ports of Eloth and Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea, which belonged to Solomon, (1 Kings ix. 26,) though they are not noticed in this place. "Thence it shall pass on to (the wilderness of) Zin," or the east side of Mount Hor, including that whole mountainous region within the boundary; "and the going forth thereof shall be to Kadesh-barnea, southwards; and it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon. And the border shall fetch a compass," or form an angle, "from Azmon," or turn westwards, towards the river of Egypt, or Pelusiac branch of the Nile ; "and its outgoings shall be at the sea," the Mediterranean. "And for the western border, ye shall have the great sea for a border. This shall be your west border.” The great sea is the Mediterranean, as contrasted with the smaller seas or lakes, the Red Sea, the Salt Sea, and the Sea of Tiberias, or Galilee. "And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea ye shall point out Hor ha hor,” (not Mount Hor, as rendered in our English Bible, confounding it with that on the southern border, but,)" the mountain of the mountain," or Mount Lebanon, which formed the northern frontier of Palestine, dividing it from Syria; consisting of two great parallel ranges, called Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and running eastward from the neighbourhood of Sidon to that of Damascus. "From Hor ha hor, ye shall point your border to the entrance of Hamath," which Joshua, speaking of the yet unconquered land, describes, “All Lebanon, towards the sun-rising, from (the valley of) Baal-gad, under Mount Hermon, unto the entrance of Hamath,” Jos. xiii. 5. This proves that Hor ha hor corresponded to all Lebanon, including Mount Hermon. From Hamath, it shall go on to Zedad, and from thence to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar Enan," (near Damascus, Ezek. xlviii. 1.) "This shall be your north border." 66 "And ye shall point out your east border, from Hazar-enan, to Shepham, and the coast shall go down to Riblah, on the east side of Ain" (the fountain, or springs of the river Jordan) "and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the (east) side of the Sea of Chinnereth. And the border shall go down to Jordan, on the east side, and the goings out of it shall be at the Salt Sea." There it met the southern border, at the south-east corner of that sea, or the Asphaltic Lake. This country then was bounded, on the west, by the Mediterranean, usually called in Scripture the Great Sea; on the east, by Arabia; on the south, by the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, the desert of Zin, or Beersheba, the southern shore of the Dead Sea, and the river Arnon; and, on the north, by the chain of mountains termed Libanus. Of the extent of Palestine, statements widely dif fering from each other have been made; their disagreement, however, is mainly attributable to the fact of the persons who have made them having formed their estimate of the country, as it existed under different princes, when it did really differ in extent. 66 Confiding in the greater accuracy of Spanheim, Reland, and Lowman," says Dr. Russell, "we are inclined to compute the Hebrew territory at about fifteen millions of square acres; assuming, with these writers, that the true boundaries of the Promised Land were, Mount Libanus on the north, the wilderness of Arabia on the south, and the Syrian desert on the east. On the west, some of the tribes extended their possessions to the very waters of the Great Sea, though, on other parts, they found their boundary restricted by the lands of the Philistines, whose rich domains comprehended the low lands and strong cities which stretched along the shore. It has been calculated by Spanheim, that the remotest points of the Holy Land, as possessed by king David, were situated at the distance of three degrees of latitude, and as many degrees of longitude, including in all about twenty-six thousand square miles. "If this computation be correct, there was, in the possession of the Hebrew chiefs, land sufficient to allow to every Israelite capable of bearing arms a lot of about twenty acres; reserving for public uses, as also for the cities of the Levites, about one-tenth of the whole. It is probable, however, that if we make a suitable allowance for lakes, mountains, and unproductive tracts of ground, the portion to every householder would not be so large as the estimate now stated. But within the limits of one-half of this quantity of land, there were ample means for plenty and frugal enjoyment. The Roman people under Romulus, and long after, could afford only two acres to every legionary soldier; and, in the most flourishing days of the Commonwealth, the allowance did not exceed four. Hence the quatuor jugera, or four acres, is an expression which proverbially indicated plebeian affluence and contentment, a full remuneration for the toils of war, and a sufficient inducement to take up arms in defence of the Republic."* "The extraordinary fertility of the country," says Milman, "must be taken into the account. No part was waste; very little was occupied by unprofitable wood; the more fertile hills were cultivated in artificial terraces, others were hung with orchards of fruit-trees; the more rocky and barren districts were covered with vineyards. Even in the present day, the wars and misgovernment of ages have not exhausted the natural richness of the soil. 'Galilee,' says Malte Brun, 'would be a paradise were it inhabited by an industrious people, under an enlightened government. land could be less dependent on foreign importation; it bore within itself every thing that could be necessary for the subsistence and comfort of a simple agricultural people.'" + ITS PHYSIOLOGY. No In the physiology of Canaan we include-its Mountains, its Valleys-its Lakes,-its Rivers,-its Atmosphere, its Seasons,-its Fertility, and its Produc*Palestine, pp. 49-51. History of the Jews, vol. i. p. 177. |