But, however severe the cold weather sometimes is in these countries, there are intervals even in the depth of winter when the sun shines and there is no wind, and when it is perfectly warm-sometimes almost hot-in the open air. At such seasons the poorer classes in the East enjoy the conversation of their friends, sauntering about in the air, and sitting under the walls of their dwellings; while the houses of the more opulent inhabitants, having porches or gateways, with benches on each side, the master of the family receives visitors there, and despatches his business-few persons (not even the nearest relations) having further admission except on extraordinary occasions. These circumstances materially illustrate a difficult passage. in the prophet Ezekiel (xxxiii. 30.)-Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people are still talking concerning thee, by the WALLS AND IN THE DOORS of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. It appears from Ezek. xxxiii. 21. that these things were transacted in the tenth month, corresponding with the close of our December or the commencement of January. The poorer people therefore sat under their walls for the benefit of the sun, while those in better circumstances sat in their porchways or gateways, to enjoy its genial rays.2 It appears therefore that one part of the winter is, by the inhabitants of the East, distinguished from the rest by the severity of the cold, which may be denominated the depth of their winter. קור 3. The COLD SEASON or Winter Solstice, by the rabbins termed (KOR), comprises the latter half of Shebeth, the whole of Adar, and the former half of Nisan, from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. At the commencement of this season, the weather is cold, but it gradually becomes warm and even hot, particularly in the plain of Jericho. Thunder, lightning, and hail, are frequent. Vegetable nature now revives; the almond tree blossoms, and the gardens assume a delightful appearance. Barley is ripe at Jericho, though but little wheat is in the ear. The latter rains sometimes begin to fall in the end of this season. (KETSIR), in 4. The HARVEST, by the rabbins denominated cludes the latter half of Nisan, the whole of Jyar (or Zif,) and the former half of Sivan, that is, from the beginning of April to the beginning of June. In the first fortnight of this season, the latter rains are frequent, but cease towards the end of April, when the sky is generally fair and serene. In the plain of Jericho the heat of the sun is excessive, though in other parts of Palestine the weather is most delightful; and on the sea-coast the heat is tempered by morning and evening breezes from the sea. As the harvest depends on the duration of the rainy season, the early or autumnal 1 In our authorised version, the preposition is rendered against thee, which is erroneous, as the context shows that the Jews were talking of or concerning the prophet, and so it is properly rendered in Psal. lxxxvii. 3. Glorious things are spoken or thee, O city of God. 2 Harmer's Observations, vol. i. pp. 50—53. rains, and the latter or spring rains, are absolutely necessary to the support of vegetation, and were consequently objects greatly desired by the Israelites and Jews. These rains, however, were always chilly (Ezra x. 9. and Sol. Song ii. 11.), and often preceded by whirlwinds (2 Kings iii. 16, 17.) that raised such quantities of sand as to darken the sky, or, in the words of the sacred historian, to make the heavens black with clouds and wind. (1 Kings xviii. 45.) In Egypt the barley harvest precedes the summer. This may explain Jer. viii. 20. where the harvest is put first in the description.-The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.2 The rains descend in Palestine with great violence; and as whole villages in the East are constructed only with palm-branches, mud, and tiles baked in the sun, (perhaps corresponding to and explanatory of the untempered mortar noticed in Ezek. xiii. 11.) these rains not unfrequently dissolve the cement, such as it is, and the houses fall to the ground. To these effects our Lord probably alludes in Matt. vii. 25-27. Very small clouds are likewise the forerunners of violent storms and hurricanes in the east as well as in the west they rise like a man's hand (1 Kings xviii. 44.) until the whole sky becomes black with rain, which descends in torrents, that rush down the steep hills, and sweep every thing before them.3 In our Lord's time, this phenomenon seems to have become a certain prognostic of wet weather. He said to the people, When ye see THE cloud (THN Nepsλ) rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; AND SO IT IS. (Luke xii. 54.) 5. The SUMMER, by the Rabbins termed (KYITS), comprehends the latter half of Sivan, the whole of Thammuz, and the former half of Ab, that is, from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. The heat of the weather increases, and the nights are so warm that the inhabitants sleep on their house tops in the open air. 6. The HOT SEASON, by the Rabbins called (CHUM), or the great heat, includes the latter half of Ab, the whole of Elul, and the former half of Tisri, that is, from the beginning of August to the beginning of October. During the chief part of this season the heat is intense, though less so at Jerusalem than in the plain of Jericho there is no cold, not even in the night, so that travellers 1 The following are a few among the many allusions in the Scripture to the importance of the early and latter rains, and the earnestness with which they were desired. Deut. xi. 14. Job xxix. 23. Prov. xvi. 15. Jer. iii. 3. v. 24. Hos. vi. 3. Joel ii. 23. Zech. x. 1. 2 Jewett's Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, &c. p. 144. London, 1822. 8vo. 3 A similar phenomenon is noticed by Homer (Iliad, lib. iv. 275–278.), and also takes place in Abyssinia. Mr. Bruce, speaking of the phenomena attending the inundation of the Nile, says :-Every morning, "about nine, a small cloud, not above four feet broad, appears in the east, whirling violently round, as if upon an axis; but, arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds having attained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elisha foretelling rain on Mount Carmel." Travels, vol. v. p. 336 8vo. 4 The article here, is unquestionably demonstrative. See Bp. Middleton's Doc. trine of the Greek Article, p. 327. pass whole nights in the open air without inconvenience. Lebanon is for the most part free from snow, except in the caverns and defiles where the sun cannot penetrate. During the hot season, it is not uncommon in the East Indies for persons to die suddenly, in consequence of the extreme heat of the solar rays (whence the necessity of being carried in a palanquin). This is now commonly termed a coup-de-soleil, or stroke of the sun. The son of the woman of Shunem appears to have died in consequence of a coup-de-soleil (2 Kings iv. 19, 20.);1 and to this fatal effect of the solar heat the psalmist alludes, as he also does to some deadly influence of the lunar rays (Psal. cxxi. 2.), though it is difficult to say in what that influence consists.2 From the time of harvest, that is, from the middle of April to the middle of September, it neither rains nor thunders. (Prov. xxvi. 1. 1 Sam. xii. 17.) During the latter part of April, or about the middle of the harvest, the morning cloud is seen early in the morning, which disappears as the sun ascends above the horizon. (Hos. vi. 4. xiii. 3.) These light fleecy clouds are without water (vɛpeλaι avudpoi); and to them the apostle Jude (verse 12.) compares the false teachers, who even then began to contaminate the church of Christ. In Deut. xxxii. 2. the doctrine of Jehovah is compared to the rain, and clouds are the instruments by which rain is distilled upon the earth. In arid or parched countries, the very appearance of a cloud is delightful, because it is a token of refreshing showers; but when sudden winds arise, and disperse these clouds, the hope of the husbandman and shepherd is cut off. The false teachers alluded to, are represented as clouds; they have the form and office of teachers of righteousness, and from such appearances pure doctrine may naturally be expected. But these are clouds without water; they distil no refreshing showers, because they contain none; and they are carried about by their passions, as those light and fleecy clouds in question are carried by the winds.3 From the Jewish month Sivan, through the entire months of Tammuz, Ab, and the former part of Elul, corresponding with our months of May, June, July, and August, not a single cloud is to be seen; but during the night, the earth is moistened by a copious 1 Egmont and Heyman (who travelled in Palestine in the beginning of the eighteenth century,) found the air about Jericho extremely hot, and say that it destroyed several persons the year before they were there. The army of king Baldwin IV. suffered considerably from this circumstance near Tiberias. The heat at the time was so unusually great, that as many died by that as by the sword. After the battle, in their return to their former encampment, a certain ecclesiastic, of some distinction in the church and in the army, not being able to bear the vehemence of the heat, was carried in a litter, but expired under Mount Tabor.Harmer's Observations, vol. i. p. 4. 2 The Psalmist's words are-The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night from which last words it is manifest that the lunar rays did produce some bad effects. Perhaps the following fact may serve to elucidate this passage:In Bengal the moon-beams have a pernicious influence. Meat hung up, if exposed to moonlight, will not take the salt, but taints and spoils speedily: whereas the same kind of meat, if kept from the moonlight, will take salt, and keep good for some time. Extract of a letter from India, in the Christian Observer for 1808, vol. viii. p. 754. 3 Dr. A. Clarke, on Jude 12. dew, which in the sacred volume is frequently made a symbol of the divine goodness. (Compare Gen. xxvii. 28. and xlix. 25. where the blessing from above is equivalent with dew, Deut. xxxii. 2. xxxiii. 13. Job xxix. 19. Mic. v. 7.) In Arabia Petræa the dews are so heavy, as to wet to the skin those who are exposed to them: but as soon as the sun arises, and the atmosphere becomes a little warmed, the mists are quickly dispersed, and the abundant moisture, which the dews had communicated to the sands, is entirely evaporated. What a forcible description is this of the transiently good impressions, felt by many, to which the prophet Hosea alludes! (vi. 4.) Other references to the refreshing nature of the dews of Palestine, occur in Psal. cxxxiii. 3. and Hos. xiv. 5.1 These dews fall, as in other countries, very fast as well as very suddenly, upon every blade of grass and every spot of earth: whence an active and expeditious soldiery is in 2 Sam. xvii. 12. by a beautiful figure, compared to dew. But, however copious the dews are, they nourish only the more robust or hardy plants; and as the season of heat advances, the grass withers, the flowers fade, every green herb is dried up by the roots and dies, unless watered by the rivulets or by the labour of man.2 To this appearance of the fields, during an eastern summer, the royal psalmist alludes. (Psal. xxxii. 4.) If, at this season, a single spark falls upon the grass, a conflagration immediately ensues, especially if there should be any briars or thorns, low shrubs, or woods contiguous. (Psal. lxxxiii. 14. Isa. ix. 18. x. 17, 18. Jer. xxi. 14. Compare also Exod. xxii. 6. and Joel i. 19, 20.) The face of the country becomes entirely changed; the fields, so lately clothed with the richest verdure and adorned with the loveliest flowers, are converted into a brown and arid wilderness; the fountains and rivulets are dried up; and the soil becomes so hard as to exhibit large fissures or clefts. These effects are accelerated if the east wind blow for a few days; which being usually dry and producing a blight, becomes fatal to the corn and vines (Job xv. 2. Gen. xli. 6. 23. Ezek. xvii. 10. xix. 12. Hos. xiii. 15. Jonah iv. 8. Psal. ciii. 15, 16.); and is particularly dangerous to navigators in the Mediterranean Sea. This is alluded to in Psal. xlviii. 7., and Ezek. xxvii. 26. The people of the East generally term every wind an east wind, that blows between the east and north and the east and south. The Euroclydon, which caused the wreck of the vessel in which Paul was sailing to Rome, was one of these tempestuous 1 Shaw's Travels, vol. ii. p. 325. The very heavy dews which fall in the Holy Land, are noticed by almost every one who has travelled in that country. We shall adduce the testimonies of two of the most eminent. Maundrell, travelling near Mount Hermon, in the year 1697, says:-"We were instructed by experience, what the Psalmist means by the dew of Hermon (Psal. cxxxiii. 3.), our tents being as wet with it, as if it had rained all night." (Travels from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 77.) Dr. E. D. Clarke when on his journey from Aboukir to Rosetta, in 1801, -We had a tent allotted to us for the night; it was double lined; yet so copious are the dews of Egypt" (the climate of which country is similar to that of the Holy Land), "after sunset, that the water ran copiously down the tent-pole.” (Travels, vol. iii. p. 365. 8vo.) says - 2 Harmer's Observations, vol. i. P. 6. east winds, aveμos Tupovixos, that drove every thing before it. (Acts xxvii. 14.) Such winds are common in the Mediterranean to this day, where they are called Levanters, the term Levant meaning that country which lies at the eastern extremity of that sea.1 III. In consequence of the paucity of showers in the East, water is an article of great importance to the inhabitants. Hence, in Lot's estimation, it was a principal recommendation of the plain of Jordan that it was well watered every where; (Gen. xiii. 10.) and the same advantage continued in later ages to be enjoyed by the Israelites, whose country was intersected by numerous brooks and streams; whence it is not more emphatically than beautifully described as a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of vallies and hills. And the same preference is given to this day by the Eelauts (a Tartar tribe occupying a district in the northern part of the Persian empire,) who carry their flocks to the highest parts of the mountains, where the blessings of pasturage and of good water are to be found in abundance. The knowledge of this circumstance will perhaps impart new force to the promises made to the Gentiles by the evangelical prophet. Their pastures shall be in all high places, they shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the sun or heat smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. (Isa. xlix. 9-11.2) See also Rev. vii. 16, 17. Although rivers are frequently mentioned in the sacred writings, yet, strictly speaking, the only river in the Holy Land is the Jordan, which is sometimes designated in the Scripture as the river without any addition; as also is the Nile (Gen. xli. 1. Exod. i. 22. ii. 5. iv. 9. vii. 18. and viii. 3. 9. 11.), and, occasionally, the Euphrates (as in Jer. ii. 18.); in those cases, the tenor of the discourse must determine which is the river actually intended by the sacred writers. The name of river is also given to inconsiderable streams and rivulets, as to the Kishon (Judges iv. 7. and v. 21.) and the Arnon. (Deut. iii. 16.3) The principal river which waters Palestine is the JORDAN or Yar Dan, i, e. the river of Dan, so called because it takes its rise in the vicinity of the little city of Dan. Its true source is in the lake Phiala near Cæsarea Philippi, at the foot of Antilibanus, whence it passes under ground, and, emerging to the light from a cave in the vicinity of Paneas, it flows due south through the centre of the country, intersecting the lake Merom and the sea or lake of Galilee, and (it is said) without mingling with its waters; and it loses itself in the lake Asphaltites or the Dead Sea, into which it rolls a considerable volume of deep water, with such rapidity as to prevent a strong, active, and expert swimmer from swimming across it. The course of the Jordan is about one hundred miles; its breadth and 1 Shaw's Travels in Barbary, &c. vol. ii. pp. 127-133. Morier's Second Journey through Persia, p. 121. 3 In a few instances, the sea is called a river, as in Hab. iii. 8. where the Red Sea is intended. |