A Pisgah-sight of Palestine and the confines thereof with the history of the Old and New Testament acted thereon / by Thomas Fuller ...

CHAP. VII. Objections, against Zebulun, answered.

Philol.

YOu, very confidently, make Iordan continue his un••ixit stream, clean through the Galilean-sea (a course somewhat ir∣regular in nature) without alleadging any authority for the proof of so improbable a passage.

Aleth.

Excellent Authors avouch the same.a 1.1 Tacitus, amongst others, tells us of this River, Unum, atque alterum lacum integer perfluit, tertio ••etinetur; One, and another lake (viz. the waters of Merom, and Galilean-sea) it runneth through entire, but is stopped in the third; namely, in Asphaltite-lake, or Dead-sea. More full is the testimony of Philostorgius, and deserveth our serious perusall thereof. Who speaking of this River, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Which (saith he) passeth through the lake of Tiberias, cutting it in the middle, and flowing clean through it in its own proper channell. Which cutting of the lake, implies the entire continuance of Iordans water; otherwise, that knife doth not cut the loaf, but is cut by the loaf, which is broken in the dividing thereof.

Philol.

I wonder you pass over Shimron-Meron in such silence, which appears a place of great note, yea, a Royall City in the days of Ioshua, as the Coronet thereupon doth inform us.

Aleth.

I confess it signed with a Coronet, and with something more, a flag of uncertainty, having nothing sure of the location thereof, the chiefest cause that I willingly declined the mention of it. However, we will scrue our selves into as much certainty of this place, as may be extracted out of Scripture: and observe, the four first wreaths of my scrue are un∣doubtedly, the fifth and last more then probably true, as followeth.

• 1 Shimron-Meron was one of theb 1.2 Royall Cities, whose King Ioshua destroyed.
• 2 The same City is elsewhere called plainlyc 1.3 Shimron, without any addition.
• 3 It lay on the northern part of the land, because the King thereof associated in the northern, and secondd 1.4 combination of the Canaanites against Ioshua.
• 4 A City named Shimron, was alloted to the Tribe ofe 1.5 Zebulun.
• 5 Most probably this is the same Shimron, whose King was destroy∣ed by Ioshua.

This is all, which my best industry could collect out of Scripture, or good Authors, concerning the situation of this place.

Philol.

What mean you by that third smooty circle, which (as the Meteor Halo about the Sun) surroundeth the Levites City of Iockneam?

Aleth.

It signifieth nothing, being a meer aberration of the Graver, which (now but obscure) will in process of Printing, wholly disap∣pear. And I could hartily wish, no other faults in our Maps, would be of longer continuance.

Philol.

You make the Galilean-sea all along the east boundary of this Tribe. Whereas I am altogether of the minde of Masius, that no part of Zebulun touched on that sea; with him principally grounding my opinion on the Scriptures silence, which mentioneth not any contermi∣nating of this Tribe thereupon. Which might soon have been spoken, yea surely would not have been omitted, had Zebulun been so situated.

Aleth.

That Zebulun bordered on this sea, may cleerly be demonstra∣ted; first from Iacobs prophecy, that he should dwell 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉f 1.6 At the haven of the Seas. Seas in the plurall, pointing at his position betwixt the Mediterranean, and Galilean seas, the west and east bounds of his possessi∣on. Now lest any should seek to wave these words by an Enallage in Number (a figure, we confess, frequent in Hebrew) Zebuluns bounding on the Galilean-sea, is unfallibly collected out of theg 1.7 Gospell, where Christ is said to dwell in Capernaum which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Z••bulun, and Naphtali.

Philol.

Christ his feeding of five thousand, with five loaves, and two fishes, is misplaced in your Map, as which ought to be set on the east side of the Sea of Galilce.

Aleth.

Learned men are much perplexed about the position of this miracle. A miracle, so remarkable in it self, that of all the passages be∣twixt Christs conception, and the introduction to his passion, this onely, and the descent of the Dove at his baptisme are recorded in all four Evangelists. Yet some difficulty appears in the particular place thereof.h 1.8 Luke term∣eth it the desert of Beth••aida; but Saint Iohni 1.9 who wrote the last, (there∣fore supplying the omissions, and explaining the doubts in other Go∣spells) assigneth the particular place to be near Tiberias, both being Cities on the west side of the sea, so that north of Tiberias, betwixt it* 1.10 and Beth∣saida, (in a desert named from the latter, because leading to it) this mi∣racle is properly placed.

Philol.

But immediately at the ending thereof, the Disciples are said to sail 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,k 1.11 unto the other side unto Bethsaida, or as Saint Iohn says, towardsl 1.12 Capernaum (both these being Cities not far asunder.) Wherefore, if they crossed over the Sea to go to Bethsaida, they were not already on the same side thereof when the miracle was wrought, and by consequence were then on the other [the eastern] side of the Sea.

Aleth.

By 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, is meant the opposite shoar, on the same side of the Sea, but so that it was over a reach, or bay which they crossed therein, sailing (not athwart the breadth of the Sea from west to east, but) almost foreright

the length of the lake, from a place near Tiberias to the land ofm 1.13 Gennesa∣ret, on the north end of the lake, betwixt Bethsaida and Capernium. Thus, such who on the Severn Sea sail from Bristoll to Barstable, may be said in some sense to cross the water, as well as those that saile from Barstable to Cardif••e. And thus, in placing this miracle we have not onely followed the judgment ofn 1.14 worthy Calvin, but also the eyes ofo 1.15 Biddulph a modern traveller, who beheld the place.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Hist. lib. 5. pag. 618.
• b 1.2

  Josh. 12. 20.
• c 1.3

  Josh. 11. 1.
• d 1.4

  See book. 1. cap. 8. §. 3.
• e 1.5

  Josh. 19. 15.
• f 1.6

  Gen 49. 13.
• g 1.7

  Mat. 4. 13.
• h 1.8

  L••k. 9. 10.
• i 1.9

  John 6. 23.
• * 1.10

  The Reader is intreated with his eye to ••emove the p••∣cture of the peoples feeding, a little north of Tiberia••.
• k 1.11

  M•• k. 6. 46.
• l 1.12

  Joh. 6. 17.
• m 1.13

  Mat. 14. 34.
• n 1.14

  In his Har∣mony on the Text.
• o 1.15

  See our Zebu∣lun § 26.