into the mountain, where his daughters bare each a son; and these became the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who both dwelt in the Eastern Mountains; and the Crusaders, in A. D. 1100, after marching from Hebron and descending into the Ghôr, proceeded around the south end of the lake, and from Zoar began to enter the Eastern Mountains. All these circumstances seem to be decisive as to the position of Zoar on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, at the foot of the mountains near its southern end.

"In the time of Jerome, Zoar had a Roman garrison, and many inhabitants, and the Crusaders describe the place as pleasantly situated, with many palm-trees.

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Irby and Mangles found the traces of an extensive ancient site in the mouth of the valley Kerak, east of the Dead Sea, which, with good reason, they took for the remains of ancient Zoar. Speaking of the lower part of the valley, they write as follows: "All this tract might be, and probably has been irrigated, for it would be easy to dam up the brook, (Dara,) and conduct it in almost every direction. The form of fields, and even the marks of furrows are to be seen; and some ruins, like those of cottages, or of a small hamlet. Lower down, there is, very clearly, an ancient site; stones, that have been used in building,. are strewed over a great surface of uneven ground, and mixed both with bricks and pottery. This appearance continues, without interruption, during the space of at least half a mile, quite down to the plain, so that it would seem to have been a space of considerable extent. We noticed one column, and we found a pretty specimen of antique, variegated glass; it may possibly be the site of the ancient Zoar. Near these remains the Dara opens from its glen into the plain to the northward, by a nook, where there is a wall of rude brick, with an arched doorway."-See ROBINSON'S Researches, vol. ii. pp. 203-248, 480-483, 648-650; IRBY and MANGLES, pp. 447, 448.

SHILOH-LEBONAH-SHECHEM-MOUNTS EBAL AND GERIZIMJACOB'S WELL-SAMARIA-ANTIPATRIS-PLAIN OF SHARON

JOPPA-CESAREA-DOR-MOUNT CARMEL.

SHILOH. (SEILÛN).

SCRIPTURE NOTICES.

"AND the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them."-Joshua xviii. 1, &c.

"These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the

fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country."—Joshua xix. 51. (xxi. 2, xxii. 9, 12.)

"And (Elkanah) went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. So Hannah rose up, after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk: (now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the Temple of the Lord :) and she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of Hosts, if thou wilt . . . give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. . . . And when (Hannah) had weaned (Samuel) she took him up with her. . . and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh ; and the child was young . . . And he worshipped the Lord there."-1 Samuel i. 3, 9, &c.

"And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh; for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh, by the word of the Lord."-1 Samuel iii. 21.

"And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines. . . . And . . . the elders of Israel said. . . Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. . . And the Philistines fought; and Israel was smitten and the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the way-side, watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he

out.

said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily and told Eli . . . Israel is fled before the Philistines ... and thy two sons ... are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And . . . when he made mention of the ark of God... (Eli) fell from off the seat backward . . . and he died And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife . . . said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.". 1 Samuel iv. 2, &c. (See whole chapter.)

"So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfil the word of the Lord which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh."-1 Kings ii. 27.

"At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee... and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah, the prophet. he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.”—1 Kings xiv. 1—3.

"When God heard this (the idolatry of the Israelites) he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand."Psalm lxxviii. 59-61.

". . . Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.”Jeremiah vii. 12.

". . . Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law . . Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."-Jeremiah xxvi. 4, 6.

[See also Judges xviii. 31, xxi. 12, 19, 21; 1 Sam. ii. 14, xiv. 3; Jer. xli. 5.]

"June 14th.-A prominent object of our inquiries in this region (Dr. Robinson was travelling from Jerusalem to Sichem, and was now about half way between

P

Bethel and the latter place) was the ancient Shiloh, celebrated in the history of the Israelites, as the place where the ark remained from the time of Joshua to Samuel. Our guide ... yesterday spoke of a ruin ... called Seilûn; of which there was a saying among the people, that, were the Franks1 to visit it, they would deem it of such importance, that they would not go away in less than a day On inquiring further. . . we found that the place in question lay not very far from the road, and might be visited by a small circuit. As the position seemed to answer well to that of Shiloh, we determined to go thither . . . The ruins of Seilûn (are) surrounded by hills, but looking out through (a) small valley towards (a beautiful) plain. Hardly five minutes before reaching the proper site, is an ancient ruin, a tower, or perhaps a small chapel, about twentyeight feet square inside, with walls four feet thick. Within are three prostrate columns, with Corinthian capitals, lying separate. The stone which forms the upper part of the door-way is ornamented on the outside with sculptured work. The Arabs call this ruin the Mosque of Seilûn. As we came up, three startled owls flew off in dismay. The main site consists of the ruins of a comparatively modern village, covering a small hill, which is separated from the higher mountain on the north by a deep narrow valley, coming from the east, and running down towards the Khân El-Lubban.2 On the east and west of the hill are two small, though wider valleys, running down north into the former . . . The position is in itself a fine one for strength, if it were ever fortified, though it is commanded by the neighbouring hills. Among the ruins of modern houses are many large stones, and some fragments of columns, showing the place to have been an ancient site. At the southern part of the hill is a small ruined mosque, standing partly beneath a noble oak-tree. Our guide told us of a fountain up through 1 Europeans.

2 See Lebonah.