scriptive of no part of agriculture as practised by us, and, therefore, with a knowledge only of our own usages, we are at a loss to comprehend it. A reference to the travels of Dr. Shaw, however, renders it perfectly intelligible to us. In Egypt, he informs us, when the melons, sugar canes, and other vegetables, that are commonly disposed in rills, required to be refreshed, they struck out the plugs which are fixed in the bottom of the cisterns, and then the water gushing out, is conducted from one rill to another by the husbandman, who is always ready, as occasion requires, to stop and divert the torrent, by turning the earth against it with his foot, opening at the same time with his mattock, a new trench to receive it.*

Balaam, predicting the happiness of Israel, says, "His seed shall be in many waters ;" and Solomon, in his directions for well-doing, commands us to "cast our bread upon the waters.” These phrases also describe processes in agriculture with which we are altogether unacquainted, and which we cannot comprehend without a reference to the countries in which the persons resided who first employed them; such a reference, however, will make them intelligible. After describing the manner in which the lands are watered in Egypt, Dr. Clarke says, "The land thus watered, produces three crops in each year; the first of clover, the second of corn, and the third of rice. The rice grounds are in

undated from the time of sowing nearly to harvest. The seed is commonly cast upon the water, a practice twice alluded to in the sacred Scriptures. Balaam prophesied of Israel, (Num. xxiv. 7,) that 'his seed should be upon many waters.' In the direction given for charity by the son of David, it is written, 'Cast thy bread upon the waters.' When the rice plants are about two feet high they are transplanted."+

* Shaw's Travels, vol. ii. p. 267. † Clarke's Travels, vol. v. p. 48.

Thus it appears that some knowledge of the places of Scripture, is essential to our rightly understanding much of the language of Scripture. The best mode of obtaining this knowledge then becomes a question of some importance.

A knowledge of the places of Scripture includes a knowledge of their position, and a knowledge of their character.

A knowledge of the position of places may be obtained from maps. When, therefore, we are studying the Scriptures, it is important to have at hand the most correct maps we can procure of the places to which they refer, and, on coming to any place in our reading, to refer immediately to the map for that place. Should we be unable to find the place itself, we may find some other place which cannot be far from it; and thus we may ascertain the situation in which it ought to be found. This practice, if perseveringly pursued, will give us great familiarity with the situation of places of Scripture.

But while maps are a very valuable, they are not an unerring, guide. We may avail ourselves of their assistance, but we must not repose implicit reliance on them. It is as important that we compare the delineations of a map with the sacred record, and endeavour to ascertain how far they are correct, as it is that we should make ourselves familiar with them. Hence, in addition to consulting maps, the practice of forming maps for our own use, commends itself to us. And this latter practice possesses this superior advantage over the former,-that while it secures equal familiarity with places, it insures a greater degree of

correctness.

The practice of fixing the position of places without the use of maps, and thus constructing maps for ourselves, will be found to be far less difficult, than, at first, it appears to be the descriptions of the positions

of places found in the Scriptures being frequently so particular, and those descriptions, too, being frequently so amply confirmed or illustrated by ancient profane authors. As an example, we will take Gilgal, the place of the first encampment of the Israelites after they had crossed the Jordan. "It is expressly said, Josh. iii. 16, that the Israelites passed over Jordan right against Jericho; also, Josh. iv. 19, that they encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. Whence, it is evident, that Gilgal must be situated between Jordan and Jericho. And since Josephus tells us that Jericho was sixty furlongs distant from Jordan, and that the camp of Gilgal was fifty furlongs distant from the same river; hence it follows, that Gilgal was ten furlongs distant from Jericho eastward; that is, according to the common computation of eight furlongs to one mile, a mile and a quarter. But it is observed by some learned men, that five of the furlongs used by Josephus make up an Italian mile; and so the distance between Gilgal and Jericho will be just two miles; which agrees exactly with the account of St. Jerome, who informs us, that the place was shown in his days at two miles distance from Jericho, and was held in very great veneration by the inhabitants of that country."*

Here, by the testimony of Scripture, confirmed by that of two other ancient and independent writers, we have the position of Gilgal fixed. The position of Gilgal being thus ascertained, the positions of other places may be ascertained from it. Let us take, for example, the valley of Achor. Jericho having been taken and destroyed, Joshua sent a force to Ai, which, contrary to his expectation, was routed, and put to flight. On ascertaining that the discomfiture was owing to the sin of an individual in the camp, he took

* Wells' Hist. Geography, vol. i. p. 291.

the sinner and his family to the valley of Achor, and there slew him; whence it is evident that this valley was not far from Jericho. In this manner we might ascertain the positions of most of the other places of Scripture.

We may learn much of the character of the places of Scripture from the Scriptures themselves, in the incidental and implied descriptions which they give of them, or the references which they make to them. Thus we learn that Lebanon was clothed with cedars, that the region about Hermon was watered with dew, that the top of Salmon was crowned with snow, that the kingdom of Bashan possessed much rich pastureland and supported a fine breed of oxen, that the neighbourhood of Sharon was famous for the growth of flowers, and that Palestine in general was a fertile tract of country. We learn that mountains were round about Jerusalem, that the city was defended with towers and bulwarks, and adorned with palaces, and that the country lying between it and the city of Jericho was desolate and infested with robbers. We learn that the desert which skirted Canaan was barren and inhospitable, and haunted with numerous tribes of marauding freebooters; that Edom was a mountainous tract, inhabited by a warlike people, under the dominion of several independent kings; that Egypt was a fruitful country, from the abundance of her produce was a sort of corn-mart to the surrounding nations, abounded with horses, and was, moreover, distinguished by a knowledge of the arts and sciences. We also learn that Tyre was a famous trading port, that Tarshish was distinguished from all other places by her skill in navigation, and that Nineveh and Babylon, for the extent of surface which they covered, the number of their population, the strength of their fortifications, and the splendour and magnificence of their works, were the most celebrated cities of antiquity.

We may learn much more of the character of these places from the ancient geographers and historians, they having written principally with a view of describing the character and manners of them. And, to secure accuracy of description, some of them even travelled over all the places of which they were about to write. This was the case of Strabo, who travelled over great part of the world in quest of information, and to examine, with the most critical inquiry, not only the situation of the places, but also the manners of the inhabitants, whose history he meant to write. It is pleasing to observe, that while these writers enter more fully into biblical topography than it is consistent with their object for the Scriptures themselves to do, they fully confirm the incidental descriptions of places to be found in the sacred writings; and also fully justify the views of places which some of the authors of these writings, or their principal characters, evidently take. We will illustrate these statements by examples. The Scriptures frequently set forth the land of Canaan as

a land flowing with milk and honey ;" and Hecatæus, Strabo, and Tacitus, represent it as a country- of extraordinary fertility. In the book of Jonah, Nineveh is stated to have been three days' journey in circumference; and, according to Diodorus Siculus, its circuit was four hundred and eighty stadia, or sixty miles. From the apostles making it the central point of their missionary operations to the heathen, it would appear that Antioch, the capital of Syria, was a place in which a greater degree of religious liberty was enjoyed, than in many other places; and Pliny * describes this place "Antiochia libera," Antioch the free city-a description which is confirmed and illustrated even by the coins which were struck in it.†

as

To the Scriptures themselves, and the writings of

*Plin. lib. v. cap. 21. + Cellarii Notitia, lib. iii. cap. 12.