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the hot wind of the desert comes either from the south or east. It will easily be thought that the sun's rays are in June and July very intense, and that the face of nature must be much parched; so much so, that the streams which in winter rushed with the impetuosity of torrents, then dwindle into mere brooks, or become entirely dry; a circumstance that is beautifully alluded to in Job vi. 15-18. Thunder is exceedingly uncommon in summer,* and it seldom, if ever rains. But when it does rain it is commonly preceded by a whirlwind, with clouds of dust, and is, as Ezekiel' expresses it, "with a stormy whirlwind, and an overflowing shower, or great hail." Hence Dr. Russell confirms Scripture, when he says, that at Aleppo, the climate of which is similar to Judea, they have severe thunder showers about the beginning of July, O. S. The above remarks, however, about the intense heat, are chiefly applicable to the lower grounds, for even in the hottest months the inhabitants of Libanus and Antilibanus feel such cold at times during the night as to make furs a very necessary part of dress.

The last division of the Jewish year is n hum, or the heat, comprehending half Ab, all Elul, and half Tizri, or from the beginning of August till the end of September. During this period the air becomes still more heated, and the face of nature more withered; those places only being verdant which are near rivulets of water. This withered aspect is what the Psalmist alludes to in Ps. xxxii. 4, when he says that "his moisture is turned into the drought of summer." During this period the sky through the day is clear and cloudless after the dews are up; and hence the continued miracle of a pillar of cloud, in a cloudless sky, accompanying the Is

a Volney, Voy. tom. i. p. 321.

Joseph. War, iii. 7.

C

Chap. xiii. 11, 13.

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raelites for forty years, to their own comfort, and the amazement, no doubt, of the neighbouring nations. But in the night a plentiful dew descends, which either wets the earth like a shower, or appears as hoar frost, according to circumstances, and which, lying on the leaves of plants, serves to keep them alive in this season of heat; but no sooner does the sun appear, than they ascend as smoke from an oven, and become invisible. It was this difference of day and night to which Jacob alluded when he said to Laban, "In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night." To this also Jeremiah refers, ch. xxxvi. 30, where he says of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, that " his dead body should be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost." And to this Baruch alludes, ch. ii. 24, 25, when he complains that the above words of the prophet were fulfilled on the bodies of their kings and their fathers, which had been cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night. And it is to the sudden disappearance of the dew that God compares the goodness of Ephraim and Judah in Hosea vi. 4: "It was like the morning cloud, and the early dew which passed quickly away."-The heat of the day is so great at noon in summerb that delicate people, or persons of rank, frequently retire to rest. Niebuhr tells us, that in Arabia it is so hot in July and August, that, except in cases of necessity, nobody goes out from eleven in the morning till three in the afternoon; and that the Arabs seldom work during that time, but employ it in sleeping in apartments, into which the air is let from above. At such seasons a mist and dew coming after the heat is exceedingly refreshing, and as such is noticed in Ecclus. xliii. 22. Dr. Russell also informs us that they rise very

• Gen. xxxi. 40.

Ecclus. xliii. 3. 21.

early, dine soon, and repose like Eglona and Ishbosheth,b from one or two till four in the afternoon. If we suppose this to be the season to which the Psalmist alludes in Ps. iv. 4, rather than to the season of the night, by which it is usually explained, it will give his words more beauty and force: "Commune with your own heart on your bed, and be still:"-take advantage of the hours which the climate affords for serious meditation. The same idea seems to be contained in Ps. lxiii. 6, where their resting in the heat of the day, and their rest in the night, seem both alluded to: "I remember thee on my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." In September, Dr. Russell states, that scarcely a night passes at Aleppo without much lightning in the northwest quarter of the heavens, but unattended with thunder; and when it appears in the west or south-west, it is a sure sign of rain, either preceded or followed by thunder. This we may also expect in Judea before the equinox, as the atmosphere must then be charged with electricity.

We have, unfortunately, few meteorological observations, or prognostications as to the weather of Judea, from the paucity of ancient records, and the danger of present travelling; but the following hints should not be overlooked. A red sky in the evening betokened fair weather; and when the sky was red and lowering in the morning, they expected foul weather that day." When a cloud arose from the west or Mediterranean, they expected a shower; and when the south wind blew, they said, There will be heat. Such are the observations which we have been able to collect on the weather of Judea, and the difference of temperature at different

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seasons of the year; yet they are far from being generally applicable, since heat is regulated not merely by latitude, but by its proximity to, or remoteness from, the sea; by the nature of the soil, and the degree of elevation. Thus, the air is much colder in the mountainous parts than on the coast; and Shaphet, in Galilee, from its height of situation, is so fresh and cool, that the heats of summer are scarcely felt; while about Jericho, in the neighbourhood of Jordan, it is extremely troublesome and even fatal."

SECT. V.

Agriculture of Judea.

Time of ploughing; form of their plough; the ox goad; their manner of sowing; diseases of grain; blasting or blight; mildew; hoar frost; thunder showers; caterpillar; locusts; harvest in Judea. The barley harvest; wheat harvest; manner of reaping by pulling up; cutting with a sickle; harvest a season of joy; sheaves, but no shocks in Judea; threshing the grain by a staff; flail; feet of cattle; the drag; the wain with iron wheels or teeth: winnowing by the shovel and fan; threshing floors in airy situations; straw used as fodder; grain preserved in earthen jars, or heaps in the fields, or subterraneous repositories: these last sometimes sealed. Grinding corn by the hand-mill; the work of women, at day-break; corn ground in a mili wrought by asses.

We have no allusions in Scripture as to the connexion between astronomy and agriculture; but it is well known that the Greeks and Romans were guided in their agricultural operations by the rising and setting of certain stars; and it is not unlikely that the Jews were so likewise, although they are not particularly mentioned. Let us, then, before we collect and compare the modern practice in the East with that of Scripture, begin with the hints that Virgil has given us in his Georgics, and more especially that Hesiod has left in

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his excellent treatise entitled, Εργων και Ημερών, and of which the Georgics are an evident imitation. In Italy, Virgil directs his countrymen to give a light furrow to poor land at the rising of Arcturus, or about the middle of September, lest the scanty moisture should forsake the sandy soil if they ploughed it sooner." Between the time that the sun entered Libra, which was at the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, or the 22d of December, was the season for sowing barley, flax, and the poppy. When the dog-star had set, and Taurus had opened the year, they sowed beans, trefoil, and millet; and wheat and other strong bearded grain, when the Pleiades were set in the morning, and the Gnossian star of Ariadne's crown. Some, indeed, began before the setting of Maia, one of the Pleiades, but they were mocked with empty ears: and vetches, kidney-beans, and Egyptian lentils, were planted, when Boötes set." Besides which particular directions, he tells us in general, that the Pleiades, Hyades, and the bright star of Lycaon, in the Ursa Major, were well known to husbandmen and mariners; that the stars of Arcturus, the days of the kids, and the shining dragon, were also observed by the same classes of men; and that the rainy kids arising from the west were the cause of the storm of rain. Such are the hints that are given us by the Roman agriculturalist, who died 19 years before Christ. Let us next attend to the observations of Hesiod, who is thought to have been contemporary with Homer, and of course to have flourished 907 years before Christ; carrying us back to the times of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and Ahab king of Israel.

He advises the Greeks to begin the harvest at the

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