Wilson, Charles W. [Editor]; Fenn, Harry [Ill.]: Picturesque Palestine: Sinai and Egypt ; in 2 volumes (Band 1) (New York, 1881)

468

PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
BA'ALBEK.

The most ancient allusion to Ba'albek is
in the prophecy of Amos i. 5 (787 B.C.):
" I will cut off the inhabitant from the plain
of Aven (Bikath Aven) ; " the Hebrew word
Bika is the same with the Arabic Buka'a.
Aven is given in the Septuagint as On,
the domestic name of the Egyptian Helio-
polis. The allusion is clearly to the Buka'a
of Ba'albek, and the Eden mentioned in
the same verse is supposed to be the
Paradisus of Ptolemy, about forty miles
north of Ba'albek. It has been a favourite
view that Ba'albek is the Baalath of 1 Kings
ix. 17, 18: "Solomon built Gezer, and
Beth-horon the nether (see page 193), and
Baalath, and Tadmor (see page 439) in the
wilderness." Josephus, however, places it
near to Gezer, which would indicate that it

THE SIX COLUMNS OF THE GREAT TEMPLE, BA'ALBEK.
The winter winds of centuries have almost destroyed the carving on the north side of the capitals ; but the south side of the capitals and of the

entablature, shown above, are in a good state of preservation.