DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0276
246
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
and olive-groves and orchards, above which the mosques and minarets and white house-tops
of Nablus appear, rather more than half a mile distant.
We pass the spring of Defneh (Daphne) and then the new barracks, to build which
many of the stones of the ruins around Jacob's Well were carried away. A distant view
of this long white building is shown in the illustration on page 237. Here the valley
seems to widen again, for the steep slope of Gerizim is broken by a deep wady which
forms a vast natural amphitheatre. Immediately opposite there is a corresponding ravine
reaching almost to the summit of Ebal. It has been conjectured by several writers that it
was here that Joshua, after having taken possession of the Promised Land, assembled the
tribes of Israel, and having erected an altar on Mount Ebal and offered sacrifices thereon, he
read the blessings and the curses, and all that is written in the book of the law, before all
the congregation of Israel. It would be difficult to find a more appropriate spot for the
celebration of the solemn ceremonies described in Deut. xxvii. and Joshua viii. 30—35. We
may imagine the Ark of the Covenant placed in the centre of the valley where the four ways
meet, guarded by the priests, " the sons of Levi." And all the tribes of Israel, their elders,
officers, and judges, on this side and that side of the ark, half of them ranged on the slopes
of the picturesque reft of Gerizim responding joyously to the promised blessings, the
other half standing on the rock ledges and mounds of the grand gorge of Ebal re-echoing
the threatened curses, while loud " Amens," uttered simultaneously by the whole congrega- ,
tion at regular intervals, resounded from hill to hill.
But the scene changes. The Ark of the Covenant is lost and the children of Israel
are scattered. Instead of the ark, we see in the middle of the valley a few Bedouin tents
and laden camels, and groups of Arab labourers at work in fields and orchards ; instead of
the tribes of Israel, we see little detachments of Turkish soldiers hurrying towards the new
barracks at the entrance to the gorge of Gerizim, the lower part of which is well cultivated
and planted with trees, for, unlike the opposite wady of Ebal, it is well provided with
water. Here in an enclosed garden is the little Moslem shrine already referred to, called
Jamia el 'Amud, the Mosque of the Pillar, where forty Jewish prophets are said to be
buried. Black goats, seemingly innumerable, are leisurely climbing up the gorge of Ebal,
steadily following their leader and browsing on the scanty and prickly pasture that springs
up among the rocks and stones. It is only at this point, however, that there is any marked
difference with regard to fertility between the " Mountain of Blessing" and the " Mountain of
Cursing." Many experiments have been made here to ascertain at what distance the human
voice can be heard singly and in chorus ; the results have often created surprise. Peasants,
and especially shepherds and goatherds, often call to each other from hill to hill, and even
contrive to carry on a conversation where favourable positions have been discovered.
We hasten onwards, with Gerizim on our left and Ebal a little farther off on our right,
but they are gradually approaching each other. We cross and recross winding streams
and artificial water-courses in gardens and cultivated fields, then pass through picturesque
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.
and olive-groves and orchards, above which the mosques and minarets and white house-tops
of Nablus appear, rather more than half a mile distant.
We pass the spring of Defneh (Daphne) and then the new barracks, to build which
many of the stones of the ruins around Jacob's Well were carried away. A distant view
of this long white building is shown in the illustration on page 237. Here the valley
seems to widen again, for the steep slope of Gerizim is broken by a deep wady which
forms a vast natural amphitheatre. Immediately opposite there is a corresponding ravine
reaching almost to the summit of Ebal. It has been conjectured by several writers that it
was here that Joshua, after having taken possession of the Promised Land, assembled the
tribes of Israel, and having erected an altar on Mount Ebal and offered sacrifices thereon, he
read the blessings and the curses, and all that is written in the book of the law, before all
the congregation of Israel. It would be difficult to find a more appropriate spot for the
celebration of the solemn ceremonies described in Deut. xxvii. and Joshua viii. 30—35. We
may imagine the Ark of the Covenant placed in the centre of the valley where the four ways
meet, guarded by the priests, " the sons of Levi." And all the tribes of Israel, their elders,
officers, and judges, on this side and that side of the ark, half of them ranged on the slopes
of the picturesque reft of Gerizim responding joyously to the promised blessings, the
other half standing on the rock ledges and mounds of the grand gorge of Ebal re-echoing
the threatened curses, while loud " Amens," uttered simultaneously by the whole congrega- ,
tion at regular intervals, resounded from hill to hill.
But the scene changes. The Ark of the Covenant is lost and the children of Israel
are scattered. Instead of the ark, we see in the middle of the valley a few Bedouin tents
and laden camels, and groups of Arab labourers at work in fields and orchards ; instead of
the tribes of Israel, we see little detachments of Turkish soldiers hurrying towards the new
barracks at the entrance to the gorge of Gerizim, the lower part of which is well cultivated
and planted with trees, for, unlike the opposite wady of Ebal, it is well provided with
water. Here in an enclosed garden is the little Moslem shrine already referred to, called
Jamia el 'Amud, the Mosque of the Pillar, where forty Jewish prophets are said to be
buried. Black goats, seemingly innumerable, are leisurely climbing up the gorge of Ebal,
steadily following their leader and browsing on the scanty and prickly pasture that springs
up among the rocks and stones. It is only at this point, however, that there is any marked
difference with regard to fertility between the " Mountain of Blessing" and the " Mountain of
Cursing." Many experiments have been made here to ascertain at what distance the human
voice can be heard singly and in chorus ; the results have often created surprise. Peasants,
and especially shepherds and goatherds, often call to each other from hill to hill, and even
contrive to carry on a conversation where favourable positions have been discovered.
We hasten onwards, with Gerizim on our left and Ebal a little farther off on our right,
but they are gradually approaching each other. We cross and recross winding streams
and artificial water-courses in gardens and cultivated fields, then pass through picturesque