Palestine

In its present state, is a part of Asiatic Turkey situated between 31° 30’ and 33° 20’ north latitude, and between 34° 50’ and 37° 15’ east longitude. It is bounded by Mount Libanus, which divides it from Syria, on the north; by Mount Hermon, which separates it from Arabia Desert a, on the east; by the mountains of Seir and the deserts of Arabia Petrzea, on the south; and by the Mediterranean sea on the west. This once fertile and happy spot was first called the land of Canaan, or Chanaan, from Noah’s grandson. In Scripture, however, it is frequently distinguished by other names; such as the Land of Promise, the Land of God, the Land of Israel, . It received the name of Palestine from the Pales tines, or Philistines, who po e ed a great part of it; and it had the name of Judza, or Judza Palest in a, from Judah, the most considerable of the twelve sons of Jacob. ‘The Christians have denominated it the Holy Land; partly on account of the many singular ble ings it received from the Divine Providence, and partly on account of its metropolis being made the centre of God’s worship and his peculiar habitation; but much more for its being the place of our Saviour’s birth, the scene of his preaching and manifold miracles; especially the place in which he accomplished the great work of our redemption, As to the name of Judza; it did not begin to receive that till after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, though it had been style@&*long before the Kingdom of Judah, in epposition to that of Israel, which revolted from it-under Jeroboam, in the reign of Rehoboam the son of Soiomon. But after the return, the tribe of Judah, the only one: that. made any figure, settling at Jerusalem, and in the countries adjacent, quickly gave lis name to the whole territory. By profane authors it was called by many different names; such as Syria, Palest in a Syria, Coelesyria, Iduma, Idumea, and Pheenicia or Phoenice; but these are supposed only to have been given out of contempt to the Jewish nation, whom they looked upon as unworthy of any other name than what distinguished the most obscure parts of the neigbouring provinces. That part of the country which was properly called the Land of Promise, was inclosed on the west by the Mediterranean; on the east by the lake Asphaltites, the Jordan, and the sea of Tiberias or of Galilee, and the Samachonite lake; to the north it had the mountains of Libanus, or rather of Anti lib an us, or the province of Phcenicia; and to the south, that of Edom or Idumza, from which it was likewise parted by another ridge of high mountains. The boundaries of the other part, which belonged to the two tribes and an half beyond * the river Jordan, are not so easily defined, as well as those of the conquests made by the more prosperous kings of the Jews. All that can be said with any probability is, that the river Arnon was the first northern boundary on that side; and with respect to those on this side the Jordan, there is a considerable disagreement between the Hebrew and Samaritan versions of the Pent a teuch, The extent of this country is likewise variously settled by geographers;. some giving it no more than 170 or 180 miles from north to south, and 140 in breadth where broadest, though not-much above half that breadth — where narrowest. But from the latest and most accurate maps, it appears to extend near 200 miles in length, and about 80 in breadth about the middle, and about 10 or 15, more or le , where it widens or shrinks. For a minute account of Palestine we cannot do better than refer to Wells’s Scripture Geography, 42