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

CHAP. 2. The different names and bounds of Judea.

§ 1. THis Country which we now come to describe,* 1.1 was successive∣ly called by severall names.

• 1 The Land* 1.2 of Canaan, from the sons of Canaan that first posses∣sed it.
• 2 The Land of Promise, which name after four hundred and odde years honourably ended, and was swallowed up in performance.
• 3 The Land of Iudah and Israel, consisting of these two Kingdomes.
• 4 Iudea, so called of Iudah the most puissant Tribe of the twelve.
• 5 Palestine (from the Philistines.)l 1.3 Herodotus being the first Author, which I find so tearming it, and all Greeks and Latins after him.
• 6 The Holy Land, because our Saviours Passion was acted thereon. But fear makes me refrain from using this word, lest whilest I call the Land holy, this Age count me superstitious.

§ 2. In bounding this Land,* 1.4 a necessary distinction must be premised, the neglecting (or at least not observing) whereof hath engaged many in inextricable difficulties.

Cannan was twofold,

• 1. The Larger.
• 2. The Lesser.

The Larger is described Deut. 11. 24. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread, shall be yours: from the wildernesse, and Lebanon, from the m 1.5 river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea, shall your coast be. This Land in full latitude was never peaceably possessed by the Iews as pro∣per owners thereof any considerable time. Say not, God fell short of his promise. Oh no: the Iews fell short of his precepts, who being narrow hearted in piety, and straitned in their own bowels, contracted their soil by their sinnes; and obstructed the bounty of God intended unto them, by their ingratitude. For the Promise ran onely conditionally, If ye shall hearken diligently to myn 1.6 Commandements. And had not Gods mer∣cy to them been more then their obedience to him, their country had been narrowed to nothing, and shrunk to an indivisible punctum: or at the best and biggest had been but a prison, fit for the punishment of so rebellious a people.

§ 3. And yet in somemanner in a qualifyed sense,* 1.7 we may observe the Iews did stretch their dominion to the bounds aforesaid in a double con∣sideration.

• 1 By victorious Salleys and Incursions. Thus the Children of Reuben havingo 1.8 conquered the Hagarites, inhabited east-ward unto the entring in of the wildernesse, from the riverp 1.9 Euphrates.
• 2 Per Gentes in amicitiam receptas. By the nations which by amicable compliance (though having absolute command in themselves)

• accepted of the Jewish King to be honourary feodaries unto him. Thus whereq 1.10 David took some Kings by conquest, as his Vassals, more took him by composition as their Protectour. And it is plainly said ofr 1.11 Solomon that he had Dominion over all the region on this side the river from Tip••sa•• even to Azzah, over all the Kings on this side the river: and ••e had peace 〈◊〉〈◊〉 all sides round about.

See we here an Essay of Gods goodnesse made to the Israelites. That froward people worshipped him by fits and girds, starting aside like a broken bow: and therefore God to admonish them of the unconstancy of their service, vouchsafed onely to the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 a cursory and unsetled Tent••dwelling to Euphrates. Whereas, had that people solidly and serious∣ly set themselves constantly to serve God; no doubt, their Incursions had been turned into fixed Habitations, and the whole Nation (not one∣ly by the Synecdoche of this one tribe) had pea••••ably possessed the large limits allotted unto them. And whereas now onely David and Solomon (whom I may more fitly style Emperours then Kings of this larger Canaan) rather commanded then possessed to Eupbrates, God, no doubt, had ex∣tended their full Dominions to the same dimensions.

§ 4. But the lesser Canaan was contented with na••rower bounds,* 1.12 con∣taining onely those Nations which God had designed for utter destru∣ction, and is described, Gen. 10. 19. 〈…〉〈…〉, and Admah, and Zebojim, even unto 〈◊〉〈◊〉. And whereas in the lar∣ger Canaan, when the Israelites besieged any City, Gods 1.13 commanded them to pro••fer peace, before they proclaimed war against it, in this lesser Cana∣an, they were finally to roott 1.14 them out. And where God commands men to destroy people, (but first let us be sure that God commands us to destroy them) the foulest quarter is too fair for them, and those have not lesse pity, but more piety, which 〈◊〉〈◊〉 their ••tter destruction: as the Iews were to serve the Inhabita••••s of this lesser Cana••n, with∣out any ceremony of peace once tendred unto them.

§ 5. This lesser Canaan extended from the wildernesse in the South to mount Lebanon in the North,* 1.15 and from Iordan on the East, to the Mid∣land Sea on the West. The length thereof sixteen hundred furlongs (so far the bloud ran out of the wine-presse, Revel. 14. 20.) which, allowing ten furlongs to the mile, according to the Eastern account, (whereof largely hereafter) amounts to an hundred and threescore miles. The breadth thereof generally fifty; to which if the kingdome of Sihon and Og be added on the other side Iordan (parcels of Canaan the larger, and possessed by Re••ben, Gad and half Manasses) it will make up the breadth to eighty miles.

§ 6. Having thus a••••igned the small bounds of Canaan,* 1.16 some perchance will place their scorn, where they ought to plant their wonder; and will beginne to contemn, what they should justly admire: because

all Canaan seems but oneu 1.17 Zoar; Is it not a little one? Yea, some proud Geographer will scarce stoop to take up so small a Ragge of land into his consideration. But let such know, that extracted Spirits, and Elix∣ars are small in bulk in comparison of great and grosse bodies; and the land may passe for the quintessence of fruitfulnesse it self. So that what it lacked in length and breadth, it had in depth, as if nature had heaped one acre upon another in the matchlesse* 1.18 fertility thereof. Our age barren in beliefe, affords not faith so easily to the story, as this land afforded food to* 1.19 thirteen hundred thousand men, besides women, children, impotent persons, and all the* 1.20 Levites and Benjamites left un∣numbred. In generall, it is charactered to be a countrey flowing with milk and honey, that is, having plenty of all things both for necessity and delight.

§ 7. More particularly it is described byy 1.21 Moses,* 1.22 A good land, a land of brookes of water, of fountaines and depths that spring out of vallies and hills, a land of wheat and barly, and vines and figtrees, and pomegranates: a land of oile-olive and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eate bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lacke any thing in it: a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou maist digge brasse. For the further clearing of which description, we will ex∣actly observe the severall commodities of Canaan, which nature boun∣tifully bestowed upon it. Onely the land seems unhappy herein, that the fruitfulnesse thereof must come under our barren style to describe it. And yet on second thoughts I perceive, lean pens are fittest to describe fat Count••••es. The soile of the county of Armagh in Ireland is so rank of it selfe, that if any compost or artificiall improvement be added un∣to it, it turns barren out of sullennesse, andz 1.23 indignation, that men should suspect the native fruitfulnesse thereof: and Fat upon Fat is false Heraldry in husbandry. Lest in like manner we should offend this Country of Cannan with additionall ornaments of Rhetorique, and lest all ••lourishes of Eloquence be misinterpreted distrusts of the reall worth of this Country, a plain style and simple relation best becomes our pre∣sent subject.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Six generall names of Iudea.
• * 1.2

  Gen. 12. 5.
• l 1.3

  In Clio. cap. 105. & in Tha∣lia cap. 5. & 91. & Polymnia cap. 8.
• * 1.4

  The bounds of the larger Canaan.
• m 1.5

  Exod. 23. 31.
• n 1.6

  Deut. 11. 13. & 22.
• * 1.7

  In what sense the Jews pos∣sessed it.
• o 1.8

  1 Chro. 5. 22.
• p 1.9

  1 Chron. 5. 9.
• q 1.10

  2 Sam. 8. 3, &c.
• r 1.11

  2 Kin. 4. 24. 2 Chron. 9. 26.
• * 1.12

  The limits of the lesser Ca∣naan.
• s 1.13

  Deut. 20. 10.
• t 1.14

  Deut▪ 7. 24.
• * 1.15

  The length th••reof 1600. furlongs.
• * 1.16

  The matchlesse fertility of the land.
• u 1.17

  Gen. 19. 20.
• * 1.18

  Ezek. 20. 6.
• * 1.19

  2 Sam. 24. 9.
• * 1.20

  1 Chron. 2••. 5, 6. See also 2 Chron. 13. 3.
• y 1.21

  Deut. 8. 7, 8, 9.
• * 1.22

  Moses his ca∣racter thereof.
• z 1.23

  Camb. Brit. in comitat Armach.