6,) was a city of the Philistines, situated 12 miles south of Joppa. It was called Jamnia by the Greeks and Romans and is now called Gebna or Yebna.

ZIKLAG. (Josh. xix. 5.) A city in the southern extremity of the territory of Judah, though allotted to Simeon. In the time of Saul it was in the hands of the Philistines, and Achish, their king, granted it to David as a temporary residence, when he was flying from the persecution of that wicked monarch. (1 Sam. xxvii. 6.) During the absence of David and the principal men on a campaign, the Amalekites burned the city, and made the women and children prisoners.

ACCнo, now Acca or Acre, (Judg. i. 31,) or Ptolemais, [so called after the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, into whose hands it fell about 100 years B. C.) was a sea-port town on the bay of Acre, over against Mt.' Carmel, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was in the territory assigned to the tribe of Asher, and one of the cities from which they were unable to expel the Canaanites; and it is even now considered the strongest place in Palestine. It is mentioned in Acts xxi. 7. Its population is from 10,000 to 15,000, chiefly Jews. The remains of this ancient city are very numerous. Buckingham, who visited it in 1816, found several fragments of buildings, that he had no doubt were constructed in the earliest ages, especially thresholds of doors and pillars for galleries or piazzas.

CESAREA. (Acts xxiii. 33.) A considerable town on the coast of the Mediterranean, between Joppa and Tyre, about 62 miles from Jerusalem. Anciently it was a small town, called Stratonice, or the Tower of Strato; it is sometimes called Cæsarea of Palestine, to distinguish it from Cæsarea Philippi, and is supposed by some to be the Hazor of the Old Testament, (Josh. xi. 1.) Herod the Great contributed chiefly to the magnificence of the city, by building some of the most splendid of its edifices, and constructing a fine harbor for it. He called it Cæsarea, in honor of the Emperor Cæsar Augustus. After the destruction of Jerusalem, when Judea became a Roman province, Cæsarea was the chief city of Palestine, (Acts xxvi. 27; xxv. 1, 13,) and was often visited by Paul, (Acts ix. 30; xviii. 22; xxi. 8,)

and it was here that he made his eloquent defence before Felix, Festus and Agrippa, (Acts ch. xxiii. xxv. and xxvi.,) and here he suffered two years' imprisonment. Philip the evangelist resided here, (Acts xxi. 8;) and Eusebius the historian was born here. Here Cornelius lived, (Acts x. 1;) here Agrippa was smitten of worms; and here Agabus foretold Paul's imprisonment.— (Acts xxi. 10, 11.) This is the Cæsarea mentioned also in Acts viii. 40; ix. 30; xii. 19; xxi. 8; xxiii. 23, 33; xxv. 4, 13. It is now wholly deserted and desolate; and its ruins have long been resorted to for building materials required at Accho. The present name of the place is Kaisaria.

GAZA. A city between Palestine and Egypt, and about two miles and a half from the Mediterranean Sea. It was anciently a city of the Philistines, but included in the tribe of Judah, which conquered it after the death of Joshua. (Jud. i. 18.) The Philistines retook it, and kept possession of it till the reign of David. Sampson carried the gates of it to the top of a high hill, on the road towards Hebron; afterwards he was imprisoned and died here. (Judges xvi.) During the reign of David, it was re-conquered by the Jews, and remained subject to them many years. During the wars of Alexander, it was laid waste; and a new town of the same name being laid out not far distant, it fell into decay, and became desolate, according to the prediction in Zeph. ii. 4. The old town is referred to in Acts viii. 26, as "Gaza which is desert."

ITUREA, a region in the north-east part of Palestine, thought to have derived its name from Jetur, a son of Ishmael. Hauran was one of its cities, whence the province was called Hauranitis by the ancients. Philip was its tetrarch in the days of Christ. — (Luke iii. 1.) The modern name is Houran.

JOPPA. A seaport of Palestine, of very ancient date, though possessing an inferior harbor. Its name is thought to have been derived from Japhet, son of Noah, who founded it. It is now nothing more than a ruinous village of fishermen, called by the natives Jaffa.

THE CITIES OF JUDEA.

JUDEA, or Jewry, is a name now applied to the whole of Canaan, but it was never so called till after the captivity. Sometimes the whole land of Canaan seems in the New Testament to have been called Judea, (Gal. i. 22;) but more properly it was divided into Galilee, Samaria and Judea. Judea, thus taken, contained the original portions of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and Simeon. It consisted of three parts- the plain country, on the west; the hill country, southward of Jerusalem; and the south, towards the borders of the land of Edom. (Matt. iii. 1; Acts ii. 9.)

ADULLAM. (Josh. xv. 35.) An ancient and celebrated city of Judah, 15 or 20 miles south-west of Jerusalem. The king of the place was slain by Joshua. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and probably on account of its strength, was called "the glory of Israel."— Mich. i. 15.) Near this city was a cave, where David secreted himself, when he fled from Achish. The cave, which is supposed to be the same, was visited by Mr. Whiting, an American Missionary, in 1835. He describes it as uneven, intricate, and very capacious; and says it is perfectly plain that 400 men might conceal themselves in the sides of the cave, as David's men did, and escape observation. (1 Sam. xxii. 1.)

ARIMATHEA. A city of Judea, generally considered to be the same with Ramla, a pleasant town between Jerusalem and Joppa. It is, however, more probably, the city of Ramah, in Mt. Ephraim, called Ramathaim, (1 Sam. i. 1, 19,) and by Josephus, Ramatha.- Matt. xxvii. 57.)

ABEL-BETH-MAACHAH. 2 Kings xv. 29,) a city in the northern district of the tribe of Naphtali, lying southeast of Cæsarea Philippi. To this place Sheba, the son of Bichri, fled and posted himself, when pursued by Joab, general of the army of David. The citizens, however, who feared a siege if they harbored him, cut off his head, at the suggestion of a woman, and threw it over the wall to Joab. (2 Sam. xx. 14-22.) The city was afterwards captured. (1 Kings xv. 20; 2 Kings xv. 29.) Perhaps the phrase, "mother in Israel," (2 Sam. xx.

19,) if it was designed to apply to the place at all, may denote its size and importance. In the days of Christ, it was called Abila.

ANATHOTH. (Josh. xxi. 18.) A city of the tribe of Benjamin, situated a few miles north of Jerusalem. It was the birth-place of Jeremiah, (Jer. i. 1,) and the subject of one of his prophecies, (Jer. xi. 19—22,) as well as of Isaiah's. (Isa. x. 30.) It is also an interesting place in connection with the Jewish history.—(2 Sam. xxiii. 27; 1 Kings ii. 26; Neh. vii. 27.)

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ABEL-MEHOLAH. A city west of Jordan, 10 miles south of Bethshan, in the tribe of Manasseh. Kings iv. 12.) It was the birth-place of Elisha. — (1 Kings xix. 16.) Near this city Gideon defeated the Midianites.

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ARCHI. (Josh. xvi. 2.) A town on the southern border of Ephraim, between Bethel and Beth-horon the nether. It is celebrated as the birth-place of Hushai, David's friend.

There were at least two
One was situated on the

ARGOB. (Deut. iii. 4.) A district of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, belonging to the half tribe of Manasseh. It lay east of Jordan, near the sea of Galilee, and contained 60 fortified cities. The governor of this place is supposed to be intended in 2 Kings xv. 25. BETHSAIDA. (Matt. xi. 21.) towns of this name in Judea. east bank of the Jordan, near where it falls into the sea of Tiberias. Near this village was the desert or wilderness of Bethsaida.— (Matt. xiv. 15—21; Luke ix. 10.) The other town was called Bethsaida of Galilee, and was situated on the west of Jordan, near the sea of Tiberias. This was the birth-place of Andrew, Peter and Philip. - (Mark xiv. 70; John i. 44.)

BETHANY. (Mark xi. 1.) A village on the south-east side of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. It was the residence of Lazarus and his sisters. – (John xi. 1.) Christ often resorted thither, especially during the last few days of his ministry; and it was the scene of some of the most interesting events of his life. — (Matt. xxi. 17; xxvi. 6; Mark xi. 11, 12; xiv. 3; John xi. 1 — 46; xii. 1—3.)

BETHPHAGE. (Matt. xxi. 1.) A small village on the

south-east of Mount Olivet, adjoining Bethany on the west, nearly two miles east of Jerusalem, belonging to the priests. Here our Savior obtained the ass for his lowly triumph.-(Comp. Luke xix. 28—40, with Matt. xxi. 1 — 11.)

BETHLEHEM. (Gen. xxxv. 19,) called also Bethlehem Ephratah, (Micah v. 2,) was so inconsiderable a place as to be omitted in the general lists of the cities of Judah.—(Josh. xv.; Neh. xi.) It was the birth-place of David, (Luke ii. 4, 11,) and was still more sacred and celebrated as the birth-place of the Redeemer.-(Matt. ii. 1; Luke ii. 4-6.) This city was about six miles south of Jerusalem. It is called Ephratah and Ephrath, and its inhabitants Ephrathites, from its founder.

BEEROTH. (Josh. ix. 17; 2 Sam. iv. 2, 3.) A city of Benjamin, situated at the foot of the hill on which Gibeon was built, a few miles north-east of Jerusalem.A place of the same name was also a station of the Israelites, (Deut. x. 6,) and is called Bene-jaakan. (Num. xxxiii. 31.)

BEZEK. (Judges i. 4.) A city in the tribe of Judah, where the Canaanites suffered a severe slaughter, and their king was taken prisoner. It was at Bezek that Saul mustered his army, before the attack on Jabesh-gilead. Ancient geographers speak of two towns by the name of Bezek, situated near each other, about 17 miles from Sichem, on the way to Beth-shan.

The CITIES OF REFUGE, (Deut. xix. 7, 9; Josh. xx. 2, 7, 8,) were six of the Levitical cities, divinely appointed by the Jewish law as asylums, to which those were commanded to flee, for safety and protection, who might unintentionally kill a fellow being.

DECAPOLIS, (Matt. iv. 25.) Usually described as a province or canton of Judea, within the half tribe of Manasseh, east of the Jordan; but probably the name is applied to ten detached cities of Persia, which might have been united in some alliance or confederacy, not extending to the residue of the district within which they were situated. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities.

ETAM. A city in Judah, built by Rehoboam, (1 Chron. iv. 32; 2 Chron. xi. 6,) and lying between Bethlehem