attered this dirge over his afflicted mother country. This account of the origin of the poem finds corroboration in its contents and tenor. Josephus also (Antiq. x. 5, 1) ascribes the work to Jeremiah, and with him agree not only the Talmud and Jerome, but, what is of more importance, the thoughts, style, and phraseology.

The Lamentations have peculiarities of form which merit notice, the rather because they tend to show that it is possible for an artificial exterior to be connected with the most natural and touching thoughts. The first, second, fourth, and fifth poems have each twenty-two verses; the third consists of three times twenty-two. This number was determined by the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet; for all these poems,

except the last, are alphabetical, that is, each verse in turn begins with a letter of the alphabet, A, B, C, &c. The third poem, or chapter, is still more artificial, consisting of twentytwo triplets, each of the three lines of which begins with the letters taken in order (comp. Ps. cxix.).

JERICHO (H. meaning, probably, vapour), a royal city of Canaan, the most distinguished of thirty royal cities, having a king of its own (Josh. xii. 9), afterwards a town of Benjamin; lying seventeen miles north east of Jerusalem, five from the northern extremity of the Dead Sea, and about the same distance west of the Jordan, nearly opposite the part where the Israelites passed that river on their entrance into Palestine, so that Jericho was the first town which

they had to subdue. As the valley of the Jordan in general, so the vicinity of Jericho was denominated a plain, the plain of the valley of Jericho' (Deut. xxxiv. 3. Josh. iv. 13; v. 10). The valley of the Jordan, which is a long deep ravine, lies near Jericho, from five to six hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean. The rays of the sun, here detained and augmented in power by reflection, make these plains sultry, and therefore both insalubrious and very productive. Hence, while the district is distinguished for luxuriance of vegetation and material beauty, its inhabitants are a weak and sickly race. This vapour-bosom abounded in palms, whence it was called the city of palm trees' (Deut. xxxiv. 3. Judg. iii. 13), and was famous for gardens of balm. Enriched by its natural

products, it rose at an early period to distinction and independence (Joshua xii. 9), the former of which it enjoyed in the days of the Redeemer. Of the latter it was deprived by Joshua, who by special aid reduced it shortly after he had set his foot on the soil of Palestine (vi.). That hero having destroyed the place, its reconstruction was forbidden under a penalty (Joshua vi. 26), which Hiel, in the days of Ahab, incurred (1 Kings xvi. 34; comp. 2 Sam. x. 5). From the last passage but one it seems likely that Jericho, after the division of the kingdom, belonged to Israel, whether originally or by conquest does not appear. With this fact it is in accordance that Elisha, a prophet of Israel, had here many disciples, sons of the prophets (2 Kings ii. 4,

seq.). Under Ahaz, however, it belonged to Judah (2 Chron. xxviii. 15). Being near the borders, it probably changed masters more than once. After the exile, Jericho took part in rebuilding Jerusalem (Neh. iii. 2). In the time of the Maccabees it was furnished with fortifications, which Herod enlarged, at the same time adorning the place with palaces, in one of which he ended his days. As Jews in their journeys from Galilee to Judea sought to avoid Samaria, that lay between them, they commonly proceeded to Jerusalem through Jericho, as did Jesus (Matt. xx. 29. Mark x. 46. Luke xix. 1). Jericho, destroyed by the Romans, rose from its ruins, and in later times became a bishop's see. It was a city in the time of the crusades.

The road from Jericho by Bethany to Jerusalem, lies over unfruitful sands and high, wild, precipitous, and naked rocks. As it was an uninhabited wilderness (Josh. xvi. 1), the gorges and clefts of the rocks harboured robbers in all periods. Hence the name, Adummim, 'the red or bloody way' (Josh. xv. 7). The scene for the parable of the Good Samaritan was well chosen (Luke x. 30). The wilderness of the Temptation (Quarantania, or forty-day wilderness) formed a part of the wilderness of Jericho (Matt. iv. 1).

'The water of Jericho' mentioned in Josh. xvi. 1, is a plentiful brook, which near the place flows from the mountains and issues in the river. Its supplies were of old distributed by canals over the low lands, which were hence made so fertile.

The plain of Jericho' is very extensive, and was renowned not only for its palms, its balsam and olive trees, but also its roses and bees.

Jericho has undergone the fate of all the once flourishing cities of Palestine-it has fallen, and almost disappeared. A miserable hamlet named Ericha, or Riha, with an insignificant fortification, in which is kept a small body of soldiers for the protection of pilgrims to the Jordan, is all that is found in the wide open plain, of which that part only shows signs of former fertility which is naturally watered by the afore-mentioned brook. The wild mountains which stretch between it and Jerusalem are occupied by Arab freebooters, who lose no opportunity of plundering travellers, so that a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho is now perhaps even more perilous than it was in the times of the Saviour.

About half-way between Jerusalem and Jericho, the traveller finds a fountain and a khan, or inn. It is close to the road, at a point where the valley expands. Here is a stone basin for watering animals, and it seems to be customary for travellers to halt for refreshment and repose. The khan is built of rough stones, and has a ruinous appearance. This must always have been a noted

stand on the route between the two cities. A place in the vicinity is pointed out, in a small grassy nook or valley, called the field of blood, as the scene of the robbery of the good Samaritan. No part of the world could be better adapted to the perpetration of robberies than the region bordering on this road, which is still accounted the most dangerous part of Palestine; and in the opinion of Olin, the old khan may occupy the site of the inn, or be the inn itself, referred to in the parable.

Of the nature of the country some idea may be formed from these words:- We entered on a region far more rugged and mountainous. The verdure gradually decreased, till at length not a shrub or blade of grass was visible. Still there was less of bare rock than before, nor was it of so dark a hue. The surface of the stone was more loose and shelv. ing, and in many places reduced to debris. The road runs along the edge of steep precipices and yawning gulfs, and in a few places is overhung with the crags of the mountain. The aspect of the whole region is peculiarly savage and dreary, vying in these respects, though not in overpowering grandeur, with the wilds of Sinai. The mountains seem to have been loosened from their foundations, and rent to pieces, by some terrible convalsion, and then left to be scathed by the burning rays of the sun, which scorches this naked land with consuming heat.'

How accurately the Scripture speaks of the traveller going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, may be gathered from Olin's words, as follows (ii. 199):- Soon after passing the ruined aqueduct, we commenced descending rapidly towards the plain, which cannot be less than 1500 or 2000 feet below the summits of the mountain. It seemed to me the most fatiguing part of the journey. I had suffered much from the motion of my horse in clambering up and down the rugged steeps, which had formed by far the largest part of our way from Jerusalem, unable to relieve myself, as at other times, by an occasional walk; and now every step of the jaded animal, as he dropped his feet deliberately and heavily from rock to rock, jerking and jolting my lame back, inflicted absolute torture. Fatigue and the violence of the heat had occasioned a good deal of irritation and fever, and it was with some difficulty that I maintained my position in the saddle for the last half hour previous to reaching the foot of the mountain.'

A wholesale robbery, comprising thirteen camels loaded with the provisions and baggage of the governor, &c., besides several others, was committed on the caravan in company of which Olin (ii. 204) went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. A number,' we quote his words, of the pilgrims, in their zeal to make the most of the festival, came out from Jerusalem yesterday, and, of course,

before the military escort. They were in sufficient numbers, when together, to ensure safety; but a man who had incautiously wandered a short distance from the company last evening, fell in with some Bedouins, who stripped him of all his clothes, and, perhaps because they did not find much money or other valuables upon his person, beat him unmercifully. How striking an illustration of the story of the good Samaritan and of the unchangeableness of Oriental manners! A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. To-day an Italian, whose tall stature and ostentatious devotion made him very conspicuous during the ceremonies of the holy week in Jerusalem, together with his wife, were attacked by robbers as they were on their way here, stripped quite naked, and plundered of every thing they had.'

'At night, the aspect' (says Warburton, when in the plain of Jericho) of my bivouac was very picturesque. The watch fire blazing among the dark green shrubs, gleamed now upon the water, now upon the gay caparisons of the horses that remained standing and saddled all night. The Arabs slept around my tent, wrapped in their striped bernouses; nightingales were thrilling the dark groves with their song; and from the top of the tower of an old castle where a Turkish garrison was quartered, came sounds of music and laughter, as the ladies of the Aga's harem were enjoying the moonshine and the cool air of night. About three in the morning I roused my sleeping people, who sprung to their feet with alacrity. In a few minutes a little fire was made with dried leaves and twigs, ignited by tinder and a pistol-flash; then the coffee steamed and bubbled, and this, with a roll of bread, constituted our morning's repast. I passed through some glades and groves of great beauty on my way to the adjoining mountains, but could detect no traces where Jericho once stood, with her temples, palaces, and theatres. A curious mound and a large tank-like excavation were the only disturbance of Nature's order of things that I observed. At the approach of morning the stir of life, that seemed, like leaven, to ferment the surface of the world around, was very striking; first the partridge's call joined chorus with the nightingale, and soon after, their dusky forms were seen darting through the bushes, and then bird after bird joined the chorus; the lizards began to glance upon the rocks, the insects on the ground and in the air; the jerboa, a pretty little animal between a rat and a rabbit in appearance and habits, was peeping from its burrow, fish glancing in the stream, hares bounding over the dewy grass, and, as more light came, the airy form of the gazelle could be seen on

almost every neighbouring hill. Then came sunrise, first flushing the light clouds above, then flushing over the Arabian mountains, and pouring down into the rich valley of the Jordan; the Dead Sea itself seemed to come to life under the blessed spell, and shone like molten gold among its purple hills. I lingered upon that mountain's brow, and thought I had not seen so cheerful or attractive a scene in Palestine. That luxuriant valley was beautiful as one great pleasure-ground. Its brooks and groves of aromatic shrubs, intermingled with sloping gardens and verdant valleys; the city of Palms might still be hidden under the forest whence the old castle just shows its battlements; the plains of Gilgal might still be full of prosperous people, with cottages concealed under that abundant shade; and the Dead Sea itself shines and sparkles as if its waters rolled in pure and refreshing waves o'er coral rocks and amber beds' alone. The road from hence to Jerusalem is drear and barren, and nothing but Bethany occurred to divert my thoughts from the sternly beautiful Dead Sea' (ii. 172).

The most beautiful feature of the plain of Jericho is an extensive grove-it would more properly be called forest-that borders upon the western side of the modern village, and stretches northward to the distance of two miles or more. On the banks of the

with fruit trees.

Seen, however, at some distance, the whole region has the aspect of an unbroken forest, most extensive and luxuriant. This verdant and beautiful tract, so grateful to the eye accustomed for a long time only to waste, arid deserts and bare mountains, is indebted for its luxuriance to the moisture, diffused by means of the brook and the aqueduct, from the fountain of Elisha.

JEROBOAM (H. increasing the people; A. M. 4585, A. C. 963, V. 975-954), the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite, the founder and first king of the separate kingdom of Israel, made himself eminent in public works in which he was employed by Solomon. The distinction which the young man here gained failed to satisfy him, when, a short time afterwards, he was designated by Ahijab, the prophet of Shiloh, as the future king of ten of the tribes of Israel. This destination excited the jealous enmity of Solomon, and he tried to take away the life of Jeroboam, who sought refuge with Shishak in Egypt (comp.1 Kings xi.17). On the ascension of Rehoboam, the reforming party, placing Jeroboam at their head, solicited at the hands of the new monarch an alleviation of their national burdens. Their prayer being refused with harsh and threatening words, discontent broke out into rebellion, and God's will in punishing Solomon's idolatry (1 Kings xi. 33) was accomplished in the establishment of an independent kingdom, with Jeroboam at its head, which comprised ten tribes, with part of that of Benjamin, leaving to the old Davidical dynasty only one entire tribe, namely, Judah. The sundering thus effected, Jeroboam took every means to make perpetual. In particular, he saw how needful for his own purposes it was to destroy the national unity, which, though set on a firm footing only in the reign of David, the observances of the Hebrew religion tended strongly to confirm. With this view he undertook the encouragement of idolatry, and, influenced probably by what he had seen in Egypt, he set up at Dan and Bethel, the extremities of his kingdom, the worship of Apis, towards which the Israelites had of old shown a propensity (Exod. xxxii.), and by the attractions of which he may have hoped to seduce the Judahites from their allegiance. In order to enhance the splendour of the new ritual, in which he prudently retained much of the Hebrew ceremonies, and with a view to throw a veil over the dishonour to which he was reduced, of placing insignificant and unworthy persons in the sacerdotal office, the king himself took part in the impious worship, which united the adoration of calves with the service of Jehovah. This daring apostacy called forth from Judah a prophet. The king was burning incense at the idolatrous altar in Bethel, when a terrible voice was heard denouncing ruin to the altar and

those who served at it. This was an evil omen. Jeroboam, alarmed, bade his servants seize the man of God, and stretched out his own hand for the purpose. In a moment, the hand was dried up. It was restored to its functions only at the intercession of the prophet. The warning was in vain. Jeroboam, too enamoured of regal power to listen to the voice of God, went on in his wickedness, undeterred by domestic bereavement and prophetic denunciations, till his name became a proverb, and his sins had reached their height; when, having reigned two-andtwenty years, in which he had been in constant enmity with Rehoboam and his son, Abijam, from whom he suffered a disastrous defeat, he died of a sudden and painful illness. Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead (1 Kings xi. 26, seq. 2 Chron. xiii. 3, seq.).

The history of this monarch throws light on the fact that the promises of God are conditional on the use made by men of the opportunities put into their hands. The placing of him at the head of a kingdom was designed not only to punish Solomon for idolatry, but to promote the worship of the God of Abraham and Moses. Had the end been answered, Jeroboam would have been successful and happy. He disobeyed, and thereby forfeited his privileges and destroyed his peace.

The character of Jeroboam may be regarded as the type of the statesman who, with the aid of some cleverness and great opportunities, tries to the utmost what can be effected by policy; but, neglecting principle and disregarding duty, barely succeeds in his selfish objects, and loses in the attempt all that dignifies humanity, makes life desirable, and is well-pleasing in the sight of God.

JERUSALEM (a name made up, probably, of a Greek word, hieros, 'sacred,' and salem, Hebrew for 'peace,' or 'safety,' Hierosolyma, denoting the sacred asylum or stronghold, and bearing with the Arabs the appellation of el-Kuds, the holy, or Beit elMukaddis, the sanctuary), the celebrated capital of Palestine, lies in the province of the same name, lat. 31 deg. 46 min. 43 sec. N., and long. 35 deg. 13 min. E. from Greenwich, on a tongue-shaped table-land stretching north and south, belonging to the western ridge of the Palestinian hills, and formed and defined by the valley of Jehoshaphat on the east, and that of Hinnom on the west. On the southern part of the sort of promontory enclosed by these two valleys, stands the holy city, being 2500 feet above the level of the sea. On its northern and north-eastern side, there spreads out a broad open plain as far as the Wady Beit Hanina. The southern part, on which the city stands, has four separate Mounts-Zion, Acra, or Akra, Bezetha, and Moriah, with Ophel, a continuation of Moriah. Of these there go together, Acra