town in the tribe of Judah, where Jonathan Maccabæus was killed. 1 Macca. xiii, 23. Lat. 32, 10. BASHAN, or BATANEA, one of the most fertile cantons of Canaan, which was bounded on the west by the river Jordan, on the east by the mountains of Gilead, on the south by the brook Jabbok, and on the north by the land of Geshur. The whole kingdom took its name from the hill of Bashan, which is situated in the middle of it, and has since been called Batanea. It had no less than sixty walled towns, besides villages. It afforded an excellent breed of cattle, and stately oaks, and was in short, a plentiful and populous country, given to the half tribe of Manasseh. Og, king of the Amorites, possessed the kingdom of Bashan, when Moses conquered it. The Rephaim dwelt in Bashan. Sanson. BASIOTHIÁ, or BIZJOTHJAH, a city of Canaan, in the tribe of Judah. (Josh. xv, 21.) The Septuagint, instead of this name, read, "their towns and their farms." BATANEA. See Bashan. BATHZAKHANAS, a place situated in the neighbor. hood of Bethsura, celebrated for the battle, fought between Antiochus Eupator, and Judas Maccabæus. (1 Macca. vi, 32, 33.) Epiphanius says, that the prophet Habbakuk was born in this vicinity. BEALOTH, a city in the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv, 24. Lat. 31, 8. BEER, which signifies a well, is also the name of a city, four leagues from Jerusalem, in the way to Shechem. (Jud. ix, 21.) Mr. Maundrel tells us that Beer is pleasantly situated upon an easy declivity facing the south, that near the foot of the hill is a fountain of excellent water, and that above it are the remains of a church erected by the empress Helena. BEER-ELIM, the well of the princes, (Isa. xv, 8) is thought to be the same with that mentioned in the book of Numb.xxi, 18, under the same name. Here the howling of the distressed Moabites was heard, when they were invaded by the Assyrians. Numb. xxi, 18; Isa. xv, 8. BEER LAHAI-ROI, a well situated between Kadesh and Bered, thus denominated by Hagar. BEEROTH, a city belonging to the Gibeonites, which was yielded afterwards to the. tribe of Benjamin. (Josh. ix, 17; 2 Sam. iv, 2.) Eusebius' places it seven miles from Jerusalem, in the way to Nicopolis. Maundrel says, that it enjoys a pleasant situation, on the side of a hill declining to the south. At the foot of the hill is a fountain of excellent water. At the upper part of the town is an old church, built by the empress Helena. Lat. 31, 51. BEEROTH,the twenty-eighth station, whence the children of Israel, marched to Mosera, (Deut. x, 6) and which Eusebius places, at the distance of ten miles from the city Petra. This place in Numb. xxxiii, 31, 32, is called Bene-Jaakan, instead of Beeroth-bene-Jaakan. It lies a little north from Ezion-geber. BEERSHEBA, the well of an oath, or the well of seven, so called, because that Abraham made here an alliance with Abimelech, king of Gerar, and gave him seven ewe lambs, as a pledge of that covenant, to which they had sworn. built here, called by pagani writers Berzimma, or Bersabe. The place was well fortified, when governed by Christian princes, and as a frontier town it was considered a place of importance. When the Romans held this country, Beersheba was a garrison. BEKAA, a valley of Syria, anciently called Coelo Syria which separates the chain of mountains, denominated AntiLibanus, from the Libanus of the Druses, or Maronites, a most fruitful district of all Syria. But the reverberation. of the sun's rays, between the mountains, renders the heat intense. The north winds, however, cool the atmsophere and the country is not unhealthy. Before the earthquake of 1759 this whole region was covered with farms and villages, but that calamity, and the subsequent wars of the Turks, have produced a general desolation. In this vale is situated the famous Balbec. BENE-BERAK, a town of Canaan in the tribe of Dan. Joshua xix, 45. Beersheba was at first given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, and afterwards a cession of it, was made to Simeon. Josh. xv, 28, and xix, 2. It was twenty miles from Hebron, towards the south, and 42 from Jerusalem. The limits of the holy land, are often expressed, .From Dan even unto Beersheba; 2 Sam, xvii, 11, &c. The two places were 156, or 160 Roman miles apart. Dan was the northern, and Beersheba the southern extremity of the land. In process of time, a considerable town was the Jordan east, and the tribe BENE-JAAKAN, a station of the Israelites in the desert,between Moseroth and Hor-hagidgad. Numb.xxxiii,42. Lat.30. BENJAMIN, this tribe lay to the north of Judah, and south from Ephraim; it had of Dan interposed between Benjamin and the sea. Jacob had said, "Benjamin shall raven as a wolf," and wolves the men of this tribe were. They at different times, displayed the rude ferocity of their courage, till they were finally almost annihilated as a people. Bold in their wickedness, they patronized the lewd wretches of Gibeon, which drew on them the just vengeance of all the other tribes. Yet such was the fury of their courage, that twice with only 25,000 men they defeated 360,000 of the other tribes, and slew 40,000. In a third battle they were defeated, and their whole tribe, excepting 600 men, destroyed. These fled to the rock Rimmon. When the other tribes had time for cool reflection, they were grieved for the almost entire extirpation of their brother Benjamin. Accordingly they procured young women from Ja. bez Gilead, and from Shiloh, to be wives for the 600 surviving Benjamites, (Judges xx, and xxi.) It was not perhaps much more than half a century after this, that Ehud arose and delivered the country from the Moabites. Saul and Ishbosheth, the first kings of Israel, were of this tribe, so were Modecai and Esther. But the greatest honor of this tribe was Saul of Tarsus, afterwards Paul the apostle. When this tribe came from Egypt they had 35,400 men, able to bear arnis; in the wilderness they amounted to 45,600; when David numbered them, a little before his death, they were about 60,000. In this tribe was the temple, and the city of Jerusalem. When the other ten tribes revolted with Jeroboam, Benjamin faithfully adhered to Judah and the house of David, and shared in the blessings of their religious privileges. Under Jehōsophat the militia of Benjamin 380,000. After the captivity vast numbers of them returned to Jerusalem. were BEON, Numb. xxxii, 3; otherwise Bean, 1 Maccab. v, 4; a city beyond Jordan, which Eusebius says belonged to the tribe of Reuben. BERA, See BEER. BEREA, a city of Macedonia, where St. Paul preached the gospel with great success, Acts xvii, 10, 13. Lat. 40, 45. BERED, a city of Palestine, not far from Gaza. The well, where Hagar rested herself, flying from her mistress, was in this region. BERITH, or BARATRES, a city of Phoenicia on the Meditterranean, between Biblos and Sidon, fifty miles north from Sidon. It is doubted whether this place is mentioned in scripture, but there are several cities of this name in Palestine. BEROTH, a city of Syria conquered by David, 2 Sam. viii, 8; perhaps it was Berytus in Phoenicia. BEROTHAH, or BEROTH, a city mentioned in Ezekiel, xlvii, 16; thought to be the same with Beroth of Syria. BERSABA, a town in Galilee between upper and lower Galilee. BESETHA, a mountain in Jerusalem, north from the temple. BESIRA, or the well of Sirah, two miles and a half from Hebron. BESOR, a brook, 1 Sam. xxx, 9, which falls into the Mediterranean, between Gaza and Rhinocorura. This is the brook of the wilderness, mentioned Amos vi, 14, which many have taken for the brook or river of Egypt, which is spoken of in several places of scripture, as Josh. xv, 4, 47, &c. and which Calmet thinks is no other than the Nile, or its most eastern branch. Dr. Shaw represents this as a small stream, not deserving the name of a river. Here 200 of David's men remained, overcome with fatigue, while the other 400 pursued those Amalekites, who had burned Ziklag. It is thought that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized in this brook, Acts viii, 26-39. I think Sanson correct in saying this seems to be sometimes, called the torrent, or river of Egypt. Lat. 31,10. BETAH, or TIBHATH, a city of Syria, taken by David from Hadadezer, 2 Sam. viii, 8, and thought to be the same with Beten, which Josh. xix, 25, sets down as belonging to the tribe of Asher. BETHABARA, a place beyond Jordan, where John the Baptist baptized, John i, 28. Bethabara, which in the Hebrew, signifies the house of passage, is thought to be the place, where the Israelites passed the river Jordan, under Joshua; and it is believed, that there was the common ford of this river. It is also supposed by some, that this is the very spot where John stood when he baptized the Lord Jesus Christ. In the time of Eusebius many were zealous to be baptized at this place, and resorted here for the purpose. But some writers suppose it was the place where Jacob crossed the Jordan, a little south from the sea of Tiberias. Lightfoot says much to prove, it lay north-east from that sea. BETHANATH, a city of the tribe of Naphtali, Josh. xix, 38. BETHANIM, a village four miles from Hebron, and two miles from the oak or pine, where Abraham entertained the angels. BETHANY, a considerable place, situated at the foot of the mount of Olives, or on the mount, about fifteen furlongs eastward of Jerusalem. Here it was, that Martha and Mary lived, with their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, John ix, 18; and it was here, that Mary poured the perfume, on our Savior's head. Bethany is but a very small village. One of our modern travellers acquaints us, that near the entrance of the place, there is an old ruin, called the castle of Lazarus, supposed to have been the mansion-house, where he, and his sisters, lived. At the bottom of a descent, not far from the castle, you see his sepulchre, which the Turks hold in great veneration, and use it for an oratory, or place of prayer. Here going down by 25 steps, you come at first, into a small square room, and thence creep into another, that is less, about a yard and half deep, in which the body is said to have been laid. About a bow-shot thence, you pass by the place, which they say was Mary Magdalene's house, and thence descending a steep hill, you come to the fountain of the apostles, which is so called, because, according to tradition, these holy persons were wont to refresh here, between Jerusalem and Jericho, as very probably they might, because the fountain is close to the road side, and is very inviting to the thirsty traveller. This village was famous for its figs. From Jerusalem JESUS CHRIST having led his disciples to mount Olivet, as far as to Bethany, here he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and while he blessed them, they beheld; he was separated from them, taken up, and carried into heaven, a cloud receiving him out of their sight. The spot now shown for the place of our Lord's ascension is at the top of mount Olivet, where anciently was a large church, built in honor of that glorious triumph. An octagonal cupola, eight yards in diameter, is now standing; as they say, over the very spot where were the last footsteps of the divine Savior in this world. BETH-ARABAH, a city belonging to the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv, 6, and afterwards given to that of Benjamin. Josh, xviii, 22. |