VI. presume to identify the coffins of their Patriarchs CHAP. and Prophets'. When it is once understood what the real monuments are, to which those traditions allude; the veneration always paid by that people to a place of sepulture; their rigorous adherence, in burial, to the cœmeteries of their ancestors; the care with which memorials are transmitted to their posterity; and other circumstances connected with their customs and history, which cannot here be enumerated; it is not merely probable but it amounts almost to certainty, that the sepulchres they revere were originally the tombs of the persons to whom they are now ascribed. In the time of Alexander the Great, Sichem was considered as the capital of Samaria. Its inhabitants were called Samaritans, not merely as people of Samaria, but as a sect at variance (3) Gerrans, translator of the Hebrew Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin, published in 1783, makes use of an allusion to the Prophet Daniel's coffin, as a proof of the spurious nature of the Work. (See Dissert. p. 10, prefixed to the volume.) There is every reason to believe that Benjamin's Itinerary is a mere compilation; but the objection thus urged does not impeach its veracity. The tradition alluded to was probably borrowed from former writers. (4) Josephus, Antiq. lib. xi. c. 8. CHAP. with the other Jews1. They consisted principally of deserters from Judæa; and they have continued to maintain their peculiar tenets to the present day. Sichem, according to Procopius, was much favoured much favoured by the Emperor Justinian, who restored the sanctuaries, and added largely to the other public edifices of the city. The principal object of veneration, among Jacob's the present inhabitants, is Jacob's Well, over which a church was formerly erected'. Well. This is situate at a small distance from the town". (1) Josephus says of them, that they boasted of their Jewish origin whenever the Jews were in prosperity, but disowned any connection with them when in adversity. Vid. Antiq. lib. xi. c. 8. (2) The antient medals of the city bear the name of Flavia Neapolis. Spanheim (De Præst. et Us. Numism. p. 769. Amst. 1761), notices a medal of the Emperor TITUS, in Seguin's Collection, with this inscription, ΦΛΑΟΥΙΝΕΑΠΟΛΙΣΑΜΑΡΕΙΑΙ. Vaillant mentions colonial coins of Philip the Elder, on which appeared Mount Gerizim, with a temple on its summit. For an account of this temple, named, by Antiochus, the Temple of Jupiter, see Josephus, Antiq. lib. xi. c. 8. lib. xii. c. 7. (3) See Reland. Palæst. Illust. lib. iii. p. 1008. tom. II. Utrecht, 1714. Procopius, lib. v. De Edificiis Justiniani, cap. 7. (4) Attributed, as usual, to the Empress HELENA. (See Maundrell's Journey, p. 62.) Arculfe, as preserved in Adamnanus, gives a plan of it, which proves its form to have been that of a Greek cross: (lib. ii. de Loc. Sanct.) This is also in Reland's Work, (p. 1008. tom. II. Palæst. Illust. Utrecht, 1714.) It was mentioned by St. JEROM in the fourth century. ANTONINUS the Martyr saw it in the sixth; ARculfe, In the seventh; WILLIBALD, in the eighth ; and PHOCAS, in the twelfth. (5) "About one third of an hour from Naplosa, we came to 'JACOB'S WELL.'" Journey from Alep. to Jerus. p. 62. Oxf. 1721. in the road to Jerusalem; and has been visited CHAP. VI. (6) John, c. iv. (7) Vid. Antiq. lib. xi. c. 4, 7, 8. lib. xii. c. 3, 7. &c. VI. CHAP. through the territory of Samaria; his approach to the metropolis of that country; its name; his arrival at the Amorite field which terminates the narrow valley of Sichem'; the antient custom of halting at a well; the female employment of drawing water; the Disciples sent into the city for food, by which its situation out of the town is so obviously implied; the question of the woman referring to existing prejudices which separated the Jews from the Samaritans; the depth of the well; the Oriental allusion contained in the expression "living water;" the history of the well, and the customs thereby illustrated; the worship upon Mount Gerizim; all these occur within the space of twenty verses; and if to these be added, what has already been referred to in the remainder of the same chapter, we shall perhaps consider it as a field, which, in the words of HIM who contemplated its ultimate produce3, "WE MAY LIFT UP OUR EYES, AND LOOK UPON, FOR IT IS WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST." 2 (1) "At this well, the narrow valley of Sychem ends; opening (2) See p. 185, Note 1; and p. 186; of this volume. CHAP. VII. THE HOLY LAND-NAPOLOSE TO JERUSALEM. Journey to Jerusalem-Singular Cultivation of Judæa-Jacob's Field-Bethel-Beer-Prospect of the Holy City-Formalities of a Public Entry-Reception by the Inhabitants-Gate of Damascus-Identity of "the Holy Places"Visit to the Governor-Convent of St. Salvador-Appearance of the Monks-Dormitory for Travellers-Pilgrim's Chamber-Convent Stores-Library-Exactions of the TurksManufactures of Jerusalem-Mecca FruitFetid Limestone-Water of the Dead SeaVisit to "the Holy Places"--Sepulchre of the Messiah-Its Identity disputed-Its present |