ria: he was drawn in by Achas, king of Judæa, against Pekah, and Rezin the last of the Adades. For Achas, being wasted by Pekah of Israel and by Rezin of Damascus, did a third time borrow the church riches, and therewith engaged the Assyrian who first suppressed the monarchy of Syria and Damascus, and then of Israel; and this inviting of the great Assyrian was the utter ruin of both states, of Israel and of Judæa. Pekah reigned twenty years.

Then Hoshea, or Osea, who slew Pekah, became the vassal of Salmanassar; but hoping to shake off the Assyrian yoke, he sought aid from So, or Sua, or Sebicus, king of Egypt; which being known to the Assyrian, he cast him into prison, besieged Samaria, and mastered it; carried the ten idolatrous tribes into Nineveh in Assyria, and into Rages in Media, and into other eastern regions, and there dispersed them; and replanted Samaria with divers nations, and chiefly with the Cuthæ, (inhabiting about Cutha, a river in Persia, or rather in "Arabia Deserta,) and with the people Catanei bounding upon Syria, and with those of Sepharvajim; (a people of Sephar in Mesopotamia upon Euphrates, of whose conquest Sennacherib vaunteth;) also with those of Ava, which were of the ancient Avins, who inhabited the land of the Philistines in Abraham's time, dwelling near untó Gaza, whom the Caphtorims rooted out; and at this time they were of Arabia the Desert, called Havæi, willing to return to their ancient seats. To these he added those of Chamath, or Ituræa, the ancient enemies of the Israelites, and sometime the vassals of the Adads of Damascus, which so often afflicted them. And thus did this Assyrian advise himself better than the Romans did; for after Titus and Vespasian had wasted the cities of Judæa and Jerusalem, they carried the people away captive; but left no others in their places, but a very few simple labourers, besides their own thin garrisons, which soon decayed: and thereby they gave that dangerous entrance to the Arabians and Saracens, who never could be driven thence again to this day.

Ptol. 1. 5. Isa. xxxvii.

And this transmigration, plantation, and displantation, happened in the year of the world 3292, the 6th year of Ezekiah, king of Judah; and the 9th of Hosea the last king of Israel.

A catalogue of the kings of the ten tribes.

Of the memorable places of Dan, Simeon, Judah, Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh.

SECT. I.

Of Dan, whereof Joppe, Gath, Accaron, Azotus, and other

towns.

Now following the coast of the Mediterranean sea, that portion of land assigned to the tribe of Dan joineth to Ephraim, whereof I spake last; of which family there were numbered at mount Sinai 62,700 fighting men, all which leaving their bodies with the rest in the deserts, there entered the Holy Land of their sons 66,400 bearing arms. The first famous city in this tribe on the sea-coast was Joppe, or Japho, as in Joshua xix. 46. one of the most ancient of the world, and the most famous of others on that coast, because it was the port of Jerusalem. From hence Jonas embarked himself, when he fled from the service of God towards Thar

sis in Cilicia. In the time of the Maccabees this city received many changes: and while Judas Maccabæus governed the Jews, the Syrians that were garrisoned in Joppe, having their fleet in the port, invited 200 principal citizens aboard them, and cast them all into the sea; which Judas revenged by firing their fleet, and putting the companies which sought to escape to the sword.

It was twice taken by the Romans, and by Cestius the lieutenant utterly burnt and ruined. But in the year of Christ 1250, Lodowick the French king gave it new walls and towers it is now the Turk's, and called Jaffa. There are certain rocks in that port, whereunto it is reported that Andromeda was fastened with chains, and from thence delivered from the sea-monster by Perseus. This fable (for so I take it) is confirmed by y Josephus, Solinus, and Pliny. Marcus Scaurus, during his office of ædileship, shewed the bones of this monster to the people of Rome. St. Jerome upon Jonas speaks of it indifferently.

The next unto Joppe was Jamnia, where Judas Maccabæus burnt the rest of the Syrian fleet; the fire and flame whereof was seen at Jerusalem, 240 furlongs off. It had sometime a bishop's seat, saith a Will. of Tyre; but there is no sign of it at this time that such a place there

was.

After Jamnia is the city of Geth, or Gath, sometime Anthedon, saith Volaterran. And so Montanus, fol. 244. seems to understand it. For he sets it next to Egypt, of all the Philistine cities, and in the place of Anthedon. But Volaterran gives neither reason nor authority for his opinion; for Ptolomy sets Anthedon far to the south of Joppe; and Geth was the first and not the last (beginning from the north) of all the great cities of the Philistines; and about sixteen miles from Joppe, where St. Jerome in his time found a great village of the same name. It was sometime the habitation and seminary of the "Anakims; strong and

x 2 Macc. ii. 12.

y Lib. 3. 1. 15. de Bell. Jud. Solin. c. 47. Plin. l. 5. c. 9.

72 Macc. xii.

a De Bell. sacr.

b Hieron. in Michæam.

RALEGH, HIST. WORLD. VOL. II.

X

giant-like men, whom Joshua could not expel, nor the Danites after him; nor any of the Israelites, till David's time; who slew Goliath, as his captains did divers others, not much inferior in strength and stature unto Goliath.

Roboam the son of Solomon rebuilt Geth; Ozias the son of Amazia destroyed it again. It was also laid waste by Azael king of Syria. Fulke, the fourth king of Jerusalem, built a castle in the same place out of the old ruins. Whether this Geth was the same that Will. of Tyre in the holy war calls Ibijlin, I much doubt; the error growing by taking Geth for Anthedon.

Not far from Geth, or Gath, standeth Bethsemes, or the house of the Sun. In the fields adjoining to this city (as is thought) was the ark of God brought by a yoke of two kine, turned loose by the d Philistines; and the Bethsemites presuming to look therein, there were slain of the elders seventy, and of the people 50,000, by the ordinance of God. After which slaughter, and the great lamentation of the people, it was called the great Abel, saith St. Jerome. Benedictus Theologus finds three other cities of this name; one in f Nephtalim, another in Juda, and another in Issachar ; Jerome finds a fifth in Benjamin.

e

Keeping the sea-coast, the strong city of Accaron offereth itself, sometime one of the five satrapies or governments of the Philistines. St. Jerome makes it the same with Cæsarea Palæstinæ. Pliny confounds it with Apollonia: it was one of those that defended itself against the Danites and Judeans. It worshipped Beelzebub the god of hornets or flies. To which idol it was that 8 Ahaziah king of Israel sent to inquire of his health: whose messengers Elijah meeting by the way, caused them to return with a sorrowful

* Lib. 21. c. 18.

d' 1 Sam. vi. 8.

Or rather not the city itself, but the great stone in the field, upon which stone the Philistines set the ark; the change being easy from Eben, or Aben, which signifieth a stone, to Abel, which signifieth

mourning.

f See in Naph. c. 7. sect. 4. §. 6.

82 Kings i. It was besieged by Psammetichus the father of Pharaoh Neco for twenty-nine years together; whence Jer. xxv. 20. speaks of the residue of Ashdod, to wit, the greatest part having perished in this siege.

answer to their master. This city is remembered in many places of scripture.

Christianus Schrot placeth Azotus next to Geth, and then Accaron, or Ekron. This Azotus, or Asdod, was also an habitation of the Anakims, whom Joshua failed to destroy, though he once possessed their city. Herein stood a sumptuous temple, dedicated to the hidol Dagon: the same idol which fell twice to the ground of itself, after the ark of God was by the Philistines carried into their temple; and in the second fall it was utterly broken and defaced. Near it was that famous Judas Maccabæus slain by Bacchides and Alcimus, the lieutenants of Demetrius. Afterwards it was taken by Jonathan: and the rest of the citizens being put to the sword, all that fled into the temple of Dagon were, with their idol, therein consumed with fire; near which also he overthrew Apollonius.

Gabinius the Roman rebuilt it. It had a bishop's seat while Christianity flourished in those parts. But in St. Jerome's time it was yet a fair village. And this was the last of the sea-towns within the tribe of Dan.

The cities which are within the land eastward from Azotus, and beyond the fountain of Ethiopia, wherein Philip the apostle baptized the eunuch, are Tsorah, or Sarara, and Esthaol, and between them Castra Danis near Hebron: though this place, where Samson was born, may seem by the words, Judg. xviii. 12. to be in the tribe of Judah, as the other also were bordering towns between Dan and Juda.

After these, within the bounds of Juda, but belonging to the Danites, they find Gedor; or, as it is 1 Macc. xv. Cedron, which Cendebæus, the lieutenant of Antiochus, fortified against the Jews, and near which himself was by the k Maccabees overthrown.

Then Modin, the native city of the Maccabees; and wherein they were buried, on whose sepulchre the seven marble pillars, which were erected of that height as they served for a mark to the seamen, remained many hun

1 Sam. v. 4.

1 Macc. ix. x. Jos. xix. 41. Judg.

xiii. 25. &c. xviii. 2.

k 1 Macc. xv. 16.