3. =The Conquest of Northern Palestine.= (Josh. 11.) This region was also occupied by a number of independent chiefs, of whom the most powerful was Jabin, the king of Hazor, a t.i.tle which afterward reappears in the history. (Judges 4, 2.) They ruled over small tribes of various races, from Mount Hermon to Mount Carmel, especially on the Plain of Esdraelon. The king of Hazor called together the a.s.sociated tribes, and their camp was pitched near Lake Merom. Joshua made one of his characteristic swift marches, up the Jordan Valley, attacked them suddenly, and utterly defeated and scattered them. He burned the many war chariots, and so cut the sinews of their horses as to make them useless; since these animals were never used by the Israelites. After the battle he marched through the northern regions, capturing the cities and slaying their rulers, a number of whom are mentioned in the catalogue of Josh. 12:9-24. This campaign closed the active operations, so that "the land rested from war" (Josh. 11:23); but for many years the strife was feebly continued, and it was not entirely finished until the reign of David.
III. SUPPLEMENTARY CONQUESTS.
Although the struggle of the conquest was over, yet in most of the land the task of expulsion or destruction was yet to be accomplished, and in many places was never entirely wrought. The entire section of the maritime plain remained in the hands of the Philistines; in almost every tribe were fortresses, which long resisted the Israelites, and formed centres of rebellion, and sometimes of oppression. And many of the cities taken by Joshua were soon reoccupied by their original inhabitants, and once more fortified. The book of the Judges relates briefly three campaigns after the conquest.
1. =The Campaign of the Judaites and Simeonites.= (Judges 1:1-8.) This was undertaken against Adoni-bezek, the king of Bezek, a place in or near the tribe of Judah, not positively identified. Adoni-bezek was a petty chieftain, who had cruelly mutilated no less than 70 local chiefs whom he had taken in battle. He was surprised by the allied forces of Judah and Simeon, and ten thousand of his warriors were slain. He was taken prisoner, and treated as he had treated other captive kings; his thumbs and great toes being cut off, thus making him helpless. After this, the allied tribes marched down upon the maritime plain, and took the Philistine cities of Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. But their conquests were not permanent; they withdrew to the mountains, and the Philistines were soon in possession of their cities, which long stood as a menace to Israel. Another campaign was directed against the cities of the Negeb, or South Country, and resulted in the destruction of Zephath and Hormah, both south of Hebron.
2. =The Campaign of Caleb and Othniel.= Caleb was the oldest man in Israel, having accompanied Joshua and the other spies, thirty-eight years before the entrance of Israel into the Promised Land. (Num.
13-14.) For his faithfulness when so many were overcome with terror, he received a promise of inheritance in the land. At least 45 years afterward, Hebron, in the south of Judah, was allotted to him. It had been taken by Joshua (Josh. 10:36, 37), but afterward reoccupied by the Anakim (see page 38), and the Amorites, its original possessors. Caleb led an army against it, once more won the city, and made it his own. He promised his daughter, Achsah, to the warrior who should take Debir, or Kirjath-sepher, south of Hebron, which had also been reoccupied by the enemy. His younger brother (perhaps nephew) Othniel, won the city and his bride. (Josh. 14:1-15; 15:13-19; Judges 1:10-15.) This campaign was probably about the same time with the one narrated above, and may have been in connection with it.
3. =The Danite Campaign.= (Judges 18.) The tribe of Dan found themselves unable to overcome their Philistine neighbors, and were straitened for room in their narrow possessions. They sent out a body of men to search for a new home. These spies traversed the country as far to the north as Laish, or Leshem, a Phoenician city, near one of the sources of the Jordan. The Danite spies returned to their people at Zorah and Eshtaol, and made their report. A part of the tribe agreed to migrate to this northern region. Their first encampment on the journey, near Kirjath-jearim, in Judah, long bore the name of "the camp of Dan." At a village in Mount Ephraim they plundered Micah of his idols and carried away their priest, who was a degenerate grandson of Moses the prophet.
At Laish they fell suddenly upon the defenseless Phoenicians, destroyed their city, and built in its place one which they called Dan. It was the northern landmark of the land, as Beersheba was its southern, giving rise to the term "from Dan to Beersheba." Dan remained an idol sanctuary, and a place of corrupting influence during all the after history of Israel.
Upon the map are noted: 1. The six campaigns of the conquest, three on each side of the Jordan. The precise route of travel cannot be identified, but the general direction is shown by a red line. The "supplementary conquests" are not indicated, in order to avoid confusion, but can be easily traced. 2. The important battle-fields are indicated by flags. These were at (1) Jahaz, (2) Edrei, (3) the land of Midian, (4) Jericho, (5) Ai, (6) Beth-horon, (7) Hazor. Besides these were many cities captured by Joshua during his campaign in Southern Canaan. 3. The royal cities captured by Moses and Joshua are each indicated on the map by a crown. These were, on the east of Jordan: Heshbon, the capital of Sihon"s kingdom, and Ashtaroth, the capital of Og"s kingdom; and on the west of Jordan, 31 cities, whose kings were taken and slain by Joshua. (Josh. 12:9-24.) The places identified are the only ones marked upon the map. 4. The four cities of the Hivite league, which alone made a treaty with Israel, are shown by clasped hands, the token of peace. 5. At the close of the conquest a large part of the country was left in the possession of the native races. This region is indicated by the yellow color. 6. Many towns remained in the hands of the Canaanite and Philistine races. Some were taken by Israel, but afterward reoccupied by their original inhabitants; others held out against the Israelites, and were a constant source of danger, both by their opposition, and still more by their friendship. The ceasing of the war before the native races were either utterly exterminated or driven away, was a mistaken mercy, which cost Israel centuries of strife, the infection from their idolatry, and the corrupt influence of their morals. The sparing of the Canaanites imperiled and well nigh thwarted the destiny of Israel as the depositary of religious truth for all the world.
OUTLINE FOR REVIEW.
I. _Conquest of Eastern Palestine._ 1. Gilead. (Amorites, Sihon, Jahaz.) 2. Bashan. (Amorites, Og, Edrei; n.o.bah, Kenath.) 3. Midian. (Phinehas.)
II. _Conquest of Western Palestine._ 1. Central. (Gilgal, Jericho, Ai, Shechem, Gibeon.) 2. Southern. (Beth-horon, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, Debir.) 3. Northern. (Hazor.)
III. _Supplementary Conquests._ 1. Judah and Simeon. (Adoni-bezek, Bezek; Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron; Zephath, Hormah.) 2. Caleb and Othniel.
(Hebron, Debir.) 3. Dan. (Laish.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION.]
PALESTINE AMONG THE TWELVE TRIBES.
THE division of the land among the Twelve Tribes took place in three stages. 1. After the conquest of Eastern Palestine, during the lifetime of Moses, the two tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Mana.s.seh received their portion, on condition that their warriors should aid their kinsmen in the war for the rest of the land. (Num. 32.) 2.
After the campaigns in Western Palestine (see last map and explanations), the two leading tribes of Judah and Ephraim and the remaining half of Mana.s.seh received their inheritance, and took possession of it, as far as conquered: Judah in the south, Ephraim a small but choice portion in the centre, and Mana.s.seh immediately north of it. (Josh. 15-17.) 3. The remaining seven tribes delayed long in obtaining their portions in the land, but at last, after a rebuke from the aged Joshua for their slowness, made the division by lot, and entered upon their inheritance. (Josh. 18, 19.) The cities of refuge, and those for the priests and Levites, were last of all appointed, late in the life of Joshua, and then "the land had rest from war," and Israel entered upon its history in its own land.
It is not easy to fix the tribal boundary lines, since some tribes possessed cities within the domain of other tribes, and the boundaries, if not entirely indeterminate, varied greatly in different ages.
Geographers are agreed upon the general position, but not upon the precise boundary lines. We follow the map of Dr. James Strong, in McClintock and Strong"s Cyclopedia.
[Ill.u.s.tration: VIEW IN THE EASTERN TABLE-LAND--BASHAN.]
I. =The Tribe of Reuben= (Num. 32:1-38; Josh. 13:15-23) had the river Arnon for its southern border, this river separating it from Moab. It was bounded on the east by the Syrian desert, and on the west by the Dead Sea and the lower end of the Jordan. Its northern line began at Beth-jeshimoth, and extended northeasterly to near Rabbath Ammon. Its territory consisted of a low region by the sea and the river, a precipitous mountain range, and a rolling plateau eastward, well adapted for pasture. Among its prominent localities were: Heshbon, the capital of the Amorite king, Sihon; Dibon, where recently the Moabite stone was discovered; Mount Nebo, where Moses died; Bezer, a city of refuge; Aroer, Ataroth, Medeba, Kiriathaim, and Kedemoth.
II. =The Tribe of Gad= (Num. 32:34-36; Josh. 13:24-28) was located north of Reuben. Its boundary on the west was the river Jordan, from the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) almost to its mouth. Its eastern border was the desert, from Rabbath Ammon to Mahanaim, from which point its line ran northwest to the Sea of Chinnereth. Like the land of Reuben, its territory embraced portions of the Jordan Valley; the eastern mountains, divided by the torrent Jabbok; and the table-land, a rich and well-watered district. The part in the Jordan Valley was, however, never possessed by the Israelites, but remained in the hands of the native Canaanites. In the valley, its cities were Beth-nimrah and Succoth. Among the mountains the places were: Jazer, near the border of Reuben; Ramoth-gilead, a famous fortress, often the scene of war; Penuel, the place of Jacob"s wrestling with the angel (Gen. 32:24-32); Jabesh-gilead, whose warriors rescued the bodies of Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam. 31:11-13); Mahanaim, a place of refuge both for the son of Saul, and afterward for David (2 Sam. 2:8; 2 Sam. 17:24); and Gadara, a foreign city, on the northern frontier.
+-----------------------------------------------------------++---------------------------------------------------------+Mana.s.seh, (East) 2,590 Sq. M.(_Partly Desert_)+---------------------------------------------------------+Judah, 1,400 Sq. M.(_Exclusive of Philistia andDesert by Dead Sea_)+-------------------------------+Gad,1,300 Sq. Miles.+----------------------------+Simeon, 1,000 Sq. M.(_Partly Desert_)+--------------------+Mana.s.seh, (West)800 Sq. M.+-----------------+Naphtali,800 Sq. M.+-----------------+Reuben,700 Sq. M.+--------------+Ephraim,600 Sq. M.COMPARATIVE SIZE+------------+Dan,500 Sq. M.OF+----------+Issachar,400 Sq. M. TERRITORY OF THE TRIBES.+------+Zebulon,300 Sq. M.+---+Asher,300 Sq. M.+---+Benjamin,300 Sq. M.+---++-----------------------------------------------------------+
III. =The Half Tribe of Mana.s.seh, East= (Num. 32:39-42; Josh. 13:29-31), occupied the northern portion of Eastern Palestine, generally known in the Old Testament as Bashan, larger than the portion a.s.signed to any one tribe. It extended from Mahanaim northward to Mount Hermon, and from the river Jordan and its two northern lakes eastward to the desert. Though some of this land is a desert, yet most of it is fertile, and even now it is called "the granary of Palestine." It consists of undulating plains between two ma.s.ses of mountains; the one on the east, now known as _el Ledja_, and the other on the side of the Jordan Valley. On its western hills were Aphek, and Golan, a city of refuge; near its centre were Ashtaroth, the former capital of Og, who reigned over Bashan before the conquest, and Edrei. Kenath, taken by n.o.bah, was at the foot of _el Ledja_, east of the line of the map. Its people never conquered the Geshurites on the east, and were separated from their brethren by the Canaanites in the Jordan Valley (see map on page 50), so that they were not closely identified with the history of Israel, and were the first to be carried away captive. (2 Kings 10:32, 33.)
IV. =The Tribe of Simeon= (Josh. 19:1-9) received a portion of the land previously given to Judah. Its location was on the extreme south, and its boundaries were indeterminate, being indicated only by the list of eighteen towns belonging to it. It was the strip of grazing land between the mountains and the desert of the wandering, where Abraham and Isaac spent most of their lives. Its most important place was the historic Beersheba; but it included also Gerar, on the Philistine border; Arad, whose king twice resisted the Israelites" progress during the wandering; Hormah, in the South Country; and Ziklag, at one time the home of David.
Nothing is known of this tribe"s history. From its frontier position it probably lost its individuality, a part of its people becoming merged with the wandering races of the desert, and a part with its more powerful neighbor, Judah. Most of its cities were held by the Philistines until the reign of David.
V. =The Tribe of Judah= (Josh. 15:1-63) occupied the most valuable portion of the land, and for three centuries was the rival of Ephraim in the leadership of the nation. Its boundary line on the north is described with great minuteness, but was changed after the building of the Temple to include a part of the city of Jerusalem. It ran from the northern end of the Dead Sea, south of Jerusalem, in a direction generally east, though with many turnings, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. The region embraced five sections. 1. The Philistine plain, by the sea, never conquered. 2. The Shefelah, or low hills, a boundary disputed with the Philistines. 3. The "hill country," the home of the tribe. 4. The Negeb, or South Country, extending from Hebron southward. 5. The wild, uninhabitable Jeshimon, called in later history "the wilderness of Judaea," on the western sh.o.r.e of the Dead Sea.
Omitting the Philistine cities by the Mediterranean, its most important cities were: Hebron, the inheritance of Caleb; Debir, the conquest of Othniel; Bethlehem, the birthplace of David, and, in after ages, of his greater Son; Maon, Carmel; En-gedi, a haunt of David during his exile; Lachish and Libnah, on the Shefelah; and Kirjath-jearim, at one time the abode of the ark.
VI. =The Tribe of Benjamin= (Josh. 18:11-28) was located between Judah and Ephraim, having the Jordan on the east, and Dan on the west. It was a small country, 25 miles long by 12 wide, yet rich in natural advantages; and many events of Bible history took place within its borders. It included 26 cities, of which the most important were: Gilgal, the military capital during the conquest; Jericho, the first town taken on the west of the Jordan; Jerusalem, long held by the Jebusites, but from the time of David the capital of the country; Bethel, connected with many events; Ramah, the home of Samuel; Gibeah, the residence of King Saul; Michmash, Gibeon and Mizpeh, the places of famous battles. No portion of the land contains more of Jewish history than Benjamin, the smallest of all the tribes of Israel.
[Ill.u.s.tration: COMPARATIVE POPULATION OF THE TWELVE TRIBES AT THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN.]
Judah, 306,000.
Dan, 257,600.
Issachar, 257,200.
Zebulon, 242,000.
Asher, 213,600.
Mana.s.seh, 210,800.
Benjamin, 182,400.
Naphtali, 181,600.
Reuben, 174,920.
Gad, 162,000.
Ephraim, 130,000.
Simeon, 88,800.
Levi, 46,000.
VII. =The Tribe of Dan= (Josh. 19:40-48; Judges 18) was situated between Benjamin and the sea, and, though apparently large, was in reality very small, since nearly all its territory was held by the original inhabitants, the Canaanites. Its southernmost town was Timnath, a small village not on the map, but two miles west of Beth-shemesh; its northern limit was a brook just north of Joppa. The original inhabitants proved too strong for the Danites, who were compelled to maintain a sort of fortified camp in and between the villages of Zorah and Eshtaol, called "the camp of Dan." (Judges 13:25.) A part of the tribe migrated northward, as related in the interesting account in Judges 17, 18; and, by a surprise, seized the Phoenician village of Laish, or Leshem, in the far north of Palestine, changed its name to Dan, and made it a new rallying centre for the tribe. This place, with Beersheba on the south, was named, in the expression "from Dan to Beersheba," as one of the limits of the land. It remained for centuries the place of an idolatrous worship, perpetuated under all the changes of government, down to the final captivity of the land.
VIII. =The Tribe of Ephraim= (Josh. 16) was located on the north of Benjamin and Dan, and extended from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, in the centre of the country. But inasmuch as the Canaanites were able to resist the power of the Ephraimites on both sides of the mountain, toward the river Jordan and toward the sea, the haughty tribe deemed its possession too small for its needs, and asked a larger s.p.a.ce of Joshua.
They were answered in a half-jesting, half-rebuking manner by the leader, and urged to drive out the enemy and make for themselves more room, a counsel which they followed only in part. (Josh. 17:14-18; Judges 1:22-26.) The princ.i.p.al places in "Mount Ephraim" (as the district of this tribe was generally called) were: Shechem, between the twin mountains of Ebal and Gerizim; Shiloh, the place of the ark, and the religious centre of the land; Beth-horon, the field where the decisive victory of the conquest was won; Timnath, the burial place of Joshua; and Samaria, built during the kingdom as the capital of the Ten Tribes.
IX. =The Half Tribe of Mana.s.seh, West= (Josh. 17), was located north of Ephraim, and extended from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. Its boundary followed the northern slope of Mount Carmel, except by the sea, where the mountain was given to Asher. The lowlands on the Jordan, the Plain of Esdraelon, and the Mediterranean, were held by the Canaanites, in the cities of Dor, Megiddo, Taanach and Beth-shean, a chain of fortresses which gave control of the larger portion of the province, so that the Mana.s.sites were restricted to the mountains, where they occupied Geba, Dothan and Jarmuth.
X. =The Tribe of Issachar= (Josh. 19:17-23) was allotted the Plain of Esdraelon (which it was never able to possess), and the mountains of Tabor and Little Hermon ("Hill of Moreh"), extending to the Jordan south of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). Both the plain and the Jordan Valley were held by the Canaanites, but the tribe occupied the mountains. Its cities were En-gannim, Shunem, Haphraim, Daberath, and Beth-shemesh. The towns of Cana, Nain and Nazareth, in New Testament history, were located in this tribe.
XI. =The Tribe of Asher= (Josh. 19:24-31) lay along the sea-coast, and extended from Mount Carmel to Zidon. Nearly all its cities were controlled by the Canaanites and Phoenicians, and the people soon entered into friendly relations with them, and lost their power. A part of the tribe, however, occupied the mountain range, and retained their relationship with the rest of the Israelites.
XII. =The Tribe of Zebulon= (Josh. 19:10-16) occupied a triangle between Mount Carmel, the Sea of Chinnereth (afterward the Sea of Galilee), and the village of Aijalon; having as its base the mountain border north of the Plain of Esdraelon, and its western line the mountain chain following the Mediterranean. As this belonged to the mountain region, it was controlled mainly by the Israelites, though the Canaanites held two towns, Kitron and Nahalol. (Judges 1:30.) Its princ.i.p.al places were: Gath-hepher, the home of the prophet Jonah; Bethlehem (to be distinguished from the town of the same name in Judah); and, in later times, most of the cities of Galilee visited by our Lord.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PALESTINE AMONG THE TRIBES.]
XIII. =The Tribe of Naphtali= (Josh. 19:32-39) was the farthest to the north in all Israel. It occupied a section running north and south, between the Jordan and the Sea of Chinnereth on one side, and the Phoenician border on the other. Its central city was Kedesh, a city of refuge. Other towns were Hazor, Abel-beth-maachah, Beth-rehob (the extreme point visited by the spies, Num. 13:21) and Beth-shemesh. Dan (see on Tribe of Dan) was also in the limits of this tribe.
XIV. =The Tribe of Levi= was the priestly caste, and received no separate province in the land, but was allotted certain cities throughout the tribes. These cities were given up to the Levites, either wholly or in part; though it is evident that they were not the only places occupied by the priests, and that others besides the Levites dwelt in them. These "Levitical cities" were divided into two cla.s.ses: those for the priests proper, or descendants of Aaron, thirteen in number, and all in the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin (a remarkable arrangement, since the altar and the Tabernacle were in the tribe of Ephraim); and those for the Levites, or subordinate priests, thirty-five in number, divided among the other tribes. Thus there were in all forty-eight Levitical cities. These were so arranged that in each tribe four cities were a.s.signed to the priests, except in Judah (which had more), and Simeon and Naphtali, the frontier tribes, which had less.
As far as they have been identified and located, they are indicated upon the map: the priests" cities by the _tiara_, or head-dress, worn by the priests; the Levites" cities by a _trumpet_, as they formed the choral bands in the worship of the Temple. Six of these cities were a.s.signed as "cities of refuge" for the innocent man-slayer. (Josh. 20.) Three cities were chosen on each side of the Jordan; in the south, the centre and the north of the land. These were: Bezer, in Reuben; Ramoth-gilead, in Gad; Golan, in Mana.s.seh, East; Hebron, in Judah; Shechem, in Ephraim; and Kedesh, in Naphtali. Each of these is indicated on the map by a tower.
OUTLINE FOR TEACHING AND REVIEW.