oppressed. The fastnesses of this rugged mountain are so difficult of access, that the prophet Amos classes them with the deeps of hell, the height of heaven and the bottom of the sea: "Though they dig into hell (or the dark and silent chambers of the grave), thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down; and though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them."a The church, in her most afflicted state, is compared to a fugitive lurking in the deep recesses of this mountain : "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage which dwell solitarily in the wood in the midst of Carmel." Lebanon raises to heaven a summit of naked and barren. rocks, covered for the greater part of the year with snow; but the top of Carmel, how naked and sterile soever its present condition, seems to have been clothed with verdure in the days of Amos, which seldom was known to fade: "And he said, the Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the habitation of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither." These are the excellencies answering to the "glory of Lebanon," for which this mountain was so greatly renowned. Even the lofty genius of Isaiah, stimulated and guided by the Spirit of inspiration, could not find a more appropriate figure to express the flourishing state of the Redeemer's kingdom, than " the excellency of Carmel and Sharon."d

Tabor is a lofty mountain of a conical form, which rises in the plain of Esdraelon, at two hours distance eastward from Nazareth. After a very laborious ascent of near an hour, Maundrell reached the highest part of the mountain; which has a plain area at the top, fertile and pleasant, of an oval figure, extended about one furlong in breadth, and two in length. This area is enclosed with trees on all sides, except towards the south. It was anciently surrounded with walls, and trenches, and other fortifications, many remains of which are still to be seen. From the top of Tabor, the traveller enjoys an extensive and beautiful prospect, that fully compensates him for the labour of climbing the steep ascent. In Maundrell's opinion, " it is impossible for the eyes of man to behold an higher gratification of this nature." To the south, he discovered a series of valleys and mountains which extends as far as Jerusalem; while to the east, the valley of Jordan and the lake of Tiberias, appeared to expand under his feet; beyond this, the eye loses itself towards the plains of the Hauran, and then turning to the north by the mountains of Hasbeya, reposes on the fertile plains of Galilee, without being able to reach the sea. On the lofty summit of this beautiful mountain, by the constant and universal suffirage of antiquity, our Saviour was transfigured before his disciples: when the fashion of his countenance was altered, his face shone like the sun, and his raiment became white and glistering.f

Among the pastoral districts of Canaan, the kingdom of Bashan holds a distinguished place; it is a rough

• Maundrell's Journey, p. 112, 113. Volney's Trav. vol. ii, p. 143. f Luke ix, 29.

g

mountainous tract, lying between the hills of Gilead and the river Jordan. On account of the rugged nature of the surface, it was called by the Greeks, Trachonitis, or the rough mountainous country. It furnishes the sacred writers with many beautiful allusions and apt illustrations. The holy Psalmist celebrates in the songs of Zion, with his inimitable energy, the elevation of its hills and mountains, and the strength and beauty of its oaks: "The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan, an high hill as the hill of Bashan."h Thus, the inspired bard reckoned it the highest praise he could give to the mount, where he spread the tabernacle for the ark of Jehovah, that it resembled the hills of that country. In one particular, the hill of Zion far excelled them, clothed as they were with verdant pastures, and covered with flocks and herds; it was the hill of God, of which he had said, " this is my rest, here will I dwell, for I have desired it." So beautiful and stately were the oaks of Bashan, that the prophet Isaiah classes them with the cedars of Lebanon, to express by a striking metaphor, the great, the mighty, and the noble, who, by their pride and arrogance, had incurred the righteous displeasure of the Most High. To form a just idea of the force and delicacy of the picture, it is necessary to quote the passage. "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be & Wells' Hist. Geog. vol., p. 298, 301, 302. h Psal. lxviii, 15.

brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan."i "These verses," as Dr. Lowth justly observes, "afford us a striking example of that peculiar way of writing, which makes a principal characteristic of the parabolical or poetical style of the Hebrews, and in which their prophets deal so largely; namely, their manner of exhibiting things divine, spiritual, moral, and political, by a set of images taken from things natural, artificial, religious, historical, in the way of metaphor or allegory. Of these, nature furnishes much the largest and the most pleasant share; and all poetry has chiefly recourse to natural images, as the richest and most powerful source of illustration. But it may be observed of the Hebrew poetry in particular, that in the use of such images, and in the application of them in the way of illustration and ornament, it is more regular and constant, than any other poetry whatever; that it has for the most part, a set appropriated in a manner to the ex ́plication of certain subjects. Thus, you will find in many other places besides this before us, that the cedars of Lebanon, and the oaks of Bashan, are used in the way of metaphor and allegory, for kings, princes, potentates of the highest rank; high mountains and lofty hills for kingdoms, republics, states, cities; towers and fortresses for defenders and protectors, whether by counsel or by strength, in peace or war; ships of Tarshish, and works of art, and inventions employed in adorning them, for merchants, men enriched by commerce, and abounding in all the luxuries and elegancies of life."

This rule, which the inspired writers universally fol

Lowth's Isaiah, vol. ii, p. 33, 34.

low in the use of their metaphors, accounts for the animated address of the prophet: "Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down." The power of the nations whom Jehovah dispossessed, to plant his chosen people in their stead, is most beautifully illustrated by the same figures ; "Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yea, I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath."1 We may judge of the high estimation, in which the oaks of these mountains were held, from a clause in the prophecies of Ezekiel, where, in describing the power and wealth of ancient Tyre, he says; "Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine

oars."m

Bashan, for the extent and luxuriance of its pastures, and for the superior breed of its flocks and herds, was the boast of shepherds and the pride of Jordan: therefore, continues the prophet, "A voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled; a voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan is spoiled." So renowned were the pastures of this country, that, when the prophet Micah foretels the restoration of his people, and their rapid prosperity under the fostering care of Jehovah, he cries out, "Let them feed in Bashan and in Gilead, as in days of old." The prophet Jeremiah, in his description of the same scene, adopts the figure of Micah, with little variation; a strong additional proof of the great estimation in which

VOL. I.

* Zech. xi, 2.
1 Am. ii, 9.

m Ezek. xxvii, 6.
Mic. vii, 14.

0