dreds of years after their first setting up, as Brochard and Breidenbach witness.

There are besides these the city of Cariathiarim, that is, the city of the woods; seated in the border of Juda, Benjamin, and Dan, wherein the ark of God remained twenty years in the house of Aminadab; till such time as David carried it thence to Jerusalem: of this place (as they say) was Zacharias the son of Barachias, or Jehoida, who was slain between the temple and the altar: also Urias, whom Joachim king of Jerusalem slaughtered, as we find in Jeremy. Many other places which they place in this tribe, rather as I take it upon presumption than warrant, I omit: as that of Caspin, taken with great slaughter by m Judas Maccabæus: and Lachis, whose king was slain by Joshua, in which also Amazias was slain; the same which Sennacherib took, Ezechias reigning in Juda.

Of other cities belonging to this tribe, see in Joshua xix. from the 41st verse, where also it is added, that the Danites' portion was too little for their number of families; and therefore that they invaded Leshem, and inhabited it: which city, after amplified by Philip the brother of Herod Antipas, was called Cæsarea Philippi, as before, and made the metropolis of Ituræa and Trachonitis; of which coasts this Philip was tetrarch: but of this city see more in Nephtalim. In this tribe there are no mountains of fame.

It hath two rivers or torrents: the northernmost riseth out of the mountains of Juda; and passing by Modin, falleth into the sea by Sachrona. n The other hath the name of Sorek, or Sored, whose banks are plentiful of vines, which have no seeds or stones; the wine they yield is red, of excellent colour, taste, and savour, &c. In this valley of Sorek, so called from the river, inhabited Delilah, whom Samson loved.

SECT. II.

The tribe of Simeon.

THE tribe of Simeon takes up the rest of the sea-coast of

1 Alias Cariath-baal and Baal, or Baalpharosim. 1 Sam. vii. 1. 2 Sam. vi. 2. 2 Chron. xxiv. 22. Matt. xxiii. 33. Jer. xxvi. 20.

m 2 Macc. xii. 13. Jos. xii. 11. 2 Kings xiv. 19.

n Hieron. in Isai. et Micheam 1. Broch. Breid. Judg. xvi. 4.

Canaan to the border of Egypt; who being the second son of Jacob by Leah, there were increased of that family, while they abode in Egypt, as they were numbered at mount Sinai, 59,300 able men; all which ending their lives in the deserts, there entered the land of promise of their issues 22,200 bearing arms, who were in part mixed with Juda, and in part severed, inhabiting a small territory on the seacoast, belonging to Edumaa; of which the first city adjoining to Dan was Ascalon.

The reguli, or petty kings thereof, were called Ascalonitæ ; of which P Volaterran out of Xanthus, in the history of the Lydians, reports, that Tantalus and Ascalus were the sons of Hymenæus: and that Ascalus being employed by Aciamus, king of the Lydians, with an army in Syria, falling in love with a young woman of that country, built this city, and called it after his own name: the same hath Nicolaus in his history, saith Volaterran.

Diodorus Siculus, in his third book, remembereth a lake near Ascalon, wherein there hath been a temple dedicated to Derceto the goddess of the Syrians, having the face of a woman and the body of a fish; who, as I have said before, in the story of Ninus, was the mother of Semiramis, feigned to be cast into this lake, and fed and relieved by doves. And therefore was the dove worshipped both in Babylonia and Syria, of which Tibullus the poet :

Alba Palestino sancta columba Syro.

The white dove is for holy held in Syria-Palestine.

It was one of the chiefest and strongest cities of the Philistines. It bred many learned men, (9 saith Volaterran,) as Antiochus, Sosus, Cygnus, Dorotheus the historian, and Artemidorus, who wrote the story of Bithynia.

In Ascalon, as some say, was that wicked Herod born, that, seeking after our Saviour, caused all the male children, of two years old and under, to be slain. In the Christian times it had a bishop, and after that, when it was by the

• And therefore no marvel that divers places named Jos. xv. in the large portion of Juda be reckoned in this tribe: see Jos. xix. 1, 9. where

thus much is expressly noted.

P Volat. Geog. 1. 11. fol. 244.
q Volat. ut supra.

Saladine defaced, Richard, king of England, while he made war in the Holy Land, gave it a new wall, and many buildings: Ejus muros cum Saladinus diruisset, Richardus Anglorum rex instauravit, saith Adrichomius.

r

In David's time it was one of the most renowned cities of the Philistines; for he nameth Gath and Ascalon only, when he lamenteth the death of Saul and Jonathan, not speaking of the other three; Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ascalon: it is now called Scalone. Gabinius restored it, as he did Azotus and Gaza.

Next to Ascalon stood Gaza, or Gazera, which the Hebrews call Hazza; the Syrians Azon, of Azonus, as they say, the son of Hercules. Other profane writers affirm that it was built by Jupiter. Pomponius Mela gives the building thereof to Cambyses the Persian, because belike he rebuilt it; and Gaza, in the Persian tongue, is as much to say as treasure. This Gaza was the first of the five satrapies of the Philistines, and the south bound of the land of Canaan towards Egypt. But this city was far more ancient than Cambyses, as it is proved by many scriptures. It was once taken by Caleb, but the strength of the Anakims put him from it. At such time as " Alexander Macedon invaded the empire of Persia, it received a garrison for Darius: in despite whereof, it was by the Macedonians, after a long siege, demolished; and was called Gaza of the Desert.

* Alexander Janneus, king of the Jews, surprised it, and slew 500 senators in the temple of Apollo, which fled thither for sanctuary; but this Gaza was not set up in the same place again, to wit, on the foundations which Alexander Macedon had overturned, but somewhat nearer the sea-side; though the other was but two miles off. It was a town of great account in the time of the Maccabees, and gave many wounds to the Jews, till it was forced by Simon: of which he made so great account, as he purposed to reside therein himself; and in his absence left John his son and

successor to be governor.
a goodly city, and known by the name of Gazara.

In y Brochard's time it was still

At the very outlet of the river of Bezor standeth Majoma, the port of Gaza; to which the privilege of a city was given by the great Constantine, and the place called Constance after the name of the emperor's son. 2 But Julian the apostate, soon after favouring the Gazeans, made it subject unto them, and commanded it to be called Gaza Maritima.

On the other side of a Besor standeth Anthedon, defaced by Alexander Janneus, restored by Herod, and called Agrippias, after the name of Agrippa, the favourite of Augustus.

Then Raphia, where Philopater overthrew the great Antiochus; and beyond it Rhinocura, whose torrent is known in the scriptures by the name of the torrent of Egypt, till the Septuagint converted it by Rinocura, to difference it, Isaiah xxvii. 12. giving the name of the city to the torrent that watereth it.

Pliny calls it Rhinocolura, and Josephus Rhinocorura.

d Epiphanius reports it as a tradition, that at this place the world was divided by lots between the three sons of Noah.

Within the land, and upon the river of Besor, they place Gerar; which the scripture placeth between Kadesh and Shur, Gen. xx. 1. That it was near to the wilderness of Beersheba, it appears, Gen. xxi. 31. and therefore no marvel that as elsewhere Beersheba, so sometimes Gerar, be made the south bound of Canaan. It was of old a distinct kingdom from the Philistine satrapies, the kings by one common name were called Abimelechs; St. Jerome saith, that afterwards it was called Regio salutaris; "the healthy county:" so that it was no marvel that Abraham and

66

y 1 Macc. i. 15. Broch. Itin. 7Hist. trip. 1. 6. c. 4. Niceph. 10. Hist. c. 4.

a

Joseph. 13. Ant. 19. 21.

b Joseph. 13. Ant. 19. 21. 24. &c. e Junius calls it Vallis Egypti,

the name of the stream seems to be Shichor. See in Asser, c. 7. sect. 3. §. 8. in the margin.

a Epiph. tom. 2. in refut. Manich. et in Ancorato. Gen. x. 19.

Isaac lived much in these parts. Of king Asa's conquest of the cities about Gerar, see 2 Chron. xiv. 14.

e

More within the land was Siceleg, or Tsiglak, which was burnt by the Amalekites, when David, in his flying from Saul to the Philistines, had left his carriages there; but David followed them over the river of Besor, and put them to the slaughter, and recovered the prey.

Next fDabir, sometime Cariath-Sepher, the city of letters, the university, as they say, or academy of old Palestine. In St. Jerome's time it seems it had the name of Daema; Joshua xv. 49. it is called Urbs Sannæ, from the name, as it seems, of some of the Anakims, as Hebron was called Urbs Arbahi. For even hence also were these giants expelled. It was taken chiefly by 8 Othoniel, encouraged by Caleb's promise of his daughter in marriage; but that Joshua and the host of Israel were at the surprise, it appears Joshua x. 39. This city, Josh. xxi. 15. is named among those which, out of Simeon and Juda, were given to the Levites. And hence it seems they attribute it to this tribe.

Besides these, there are many others in the tribe of Simeon, but of less fame; as Haijn, of which Joshua xix. 7. which also Joshua xxi. 16. is reckoned for one of the cities of the Levites, given out of the portion of Juda and Simeon, (for which Junius thinks Hasham is named, 1 Chron. vi. 59. though in the place of Joshua these two are distinguished,) also Tholad so named, 1 Chron. iv. 29. for which Josh. xix. 4. we have Eltholad. Chatzar-Susa, so named, Josh. xix. 5. for which Josh. xv. we have Chatzar-Gadda, both names agreeing in signification; for Gadda is Turma, and Susa, Equitatus.

In the same places of Joshua and of the Chronicles Chorma is named; which they think to be the same with that of which Numb. xiv. 45. to which the Amalekites and Canaanites pursued the Israelites. But that Chorma cannot be in Simeon, nor within the mountains of Edumaa.

e 1 Sam. xxx.

f Joseph. 10, 11, 12.

8 Josh. xi. 21.

h And also I Chron. iv. 32.