Acts vii. 2; and the city of Nahor, Gen. xxiv. 10, to which the family of Abraham first emigrated from their original settlement at Ur of the Chaldees, situated near the margin of the river Tigris. Charran is thought to be recorded in Charræ, in the north-west of Mesopotamia. The northern district extended from Mount Mesha to the wall of Media southwards, including all the fertile tract between the two rivers. The southern district, which was called "the land of Shinar," or Babylon, Gen. x. 10; xi. 2; "the land of Nimrod," Mic. v. 6; and Babylonia by the Greek and Latin writers, reached from the wall of Media, or contracted the space between the two rivers about 300 miles, down to the Persian Gulf.

3. Aram, or Syria, westward of the Euphrates. This, in Scripture, was divided into Aram Zobah, which reached from the Euphrates to the north and east of Damascus, 1 Sam. xiv. 47; 2 Sam. viii. 3; and Aram of Damascus, which lay to the south and west of the former. These corresponded to the Upper Syria, north of Mount Libanus, including Cole Syria, or Hollow Syria, so called from its situation between the two great ridges of Libanus and Anti-Libanus; and Syria Palestina, which included the Holy Land, and that maritime border on its north-western side which the Greeks called Phenicia.

ARMENIA.-Armenia was a considerable country of Asia, having Colchis and Iberia on the north, Media on the east, Mesopotamia on the south, Pontus and Cappadocia on the west, and the Euphrates and Syria on the south-west. By travellers this country has been considered one of the most beautiful and fertile in the world. Its principal point of interest, however, to the Christian reader, is, that it was the country from whence all the families of the earth spread abroad. The world having been destroyed for its iniquities by a flood, the ark, in which Noah and his family were saved, rested on Mount Ararat, which people of different nations and religions concur in placing in N. lat. 39° 30', and E. long. 44° 30', in the vast chain between the southern extremities of the Black and Caspian Seas. The summit of this mountain is elevated 17,260 feet above the level of the sea, and is always covered with snow. It is a very grand object; the minor mountains, which seem to branch out from it, and decline away in the distance, being so utterly insignificant in comparison, that the sublime effect of its appearance is not at all impaired, or its proportions hidden by them. So great is the veneration of the Armenians for this mountain, that as soon as they can see it, which they can do at ten days' journey distance, they kiss the earth, and repeat certain prayers, making the sign of the cross. When Noah and his family quitted the ark, they descended into the plains that lay at the foot of the mountain. During the lives of Noah and his sons their families occupied Armenia, probably extending themselves into the adjacent pleasant countries, Assyria and Media. How far they did so in after days has been considered in the notice of the preceding Map.

MEDIA.-Media Proper was bounded by Armenia and Assyria Proper on the west; by Persia on the east; by the Caspian provinces on the north; and by Susiana on the south. It was an elevated and mountainous country, and, from its midland situation between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, derived its name, and formed a pass between the cultivated parts of Eastern and Western Asia. From this circumstance, and from the temperature, verdure, and fertility of its climate, Media was one of the most important and interesting regions of Asia. Into this country, in after ages, the ten tribes, who composed the kingdom of Israel, were transplanted by Tilgath-pilneser and Shalmanassar, in the Assyrian captivity. Compare 1 Chron. v. 26, and 2 Kings xvii. 6.

KINGDOM OF NIMROD.-Eastern authors say, that Nimrod was the first king in the world, and the first who wore a crown. His kingdom was the land of Shinar, Gen. x. 10; but there are no data to fix the limits of this land with precision. The principal towns of his kingdom were, 1. Babel, the original of that great city on the Euphrates, which, in after ages, became the capital of the Babylonian empire, Isa. xiii. 19-22; Dan. iv. 30. 2. Erech, which is generally believed to have been a city of Chaldea, which took for its present name Irak. 3. Calneh, which both ancient and modern, European and Oriental authorities, concur in fixing the site at what was the great city of Ctesiphon, upon the eastern banks of the Tigris. 4. Accad, which town is assigned by the most able geographers to be the Sittace of the Greeks, and the Akkerkoof of the present time; both of which names retain some elements of its ancient denomination. It is situated about nine miles west of the Tigris, at the place where that river makes its nearest approach to the Euphrates.

EDOM.-Edom, called Idumea by the Greeks and Romans, derived its name from Esau, who was also named Edom-a term denoting "red," or "red man," and which probably had reference to his personal appearance, as well as to the red pottage for which he sold his birthright, Gen. xxv. 30, and whose descendants peopled this region. It is now called Sherath, and extends from the south-east end of the Dead Sea towards the Elanitic Gulf, which was a branch of the Red Sea. Prior to this period it was inhabited by the Horim, or dwellers in caves, Deut. ii. 12, 22, who still continued in the north-eastern districts. Teman, a grandson of Esau, gave name to a part of the land, Gen. xxxvi. 11; Jer. xlix. 7, 20; Ezek. xxv. 13; Obad. 9. Eliphaz, the Temanite, dwelt here, Job ii. 11. The Edomites were in all ages hostile to the Hebrews, 1 Sam. xiv. 47; 2 Sam. viii. 14; Psa. lx. 8, 9; 1 Chron. xviii. 12, 13; 1 Kings xi. 15, 16; hence, by a figure of speech, the enemies of the true Israel of God are denominated Edomites. In general this people were under subjection, but in later ages we find them extending north-east as far as Hauran, and south as far as Dedan in Arabia, Jer. xlix. 8, 22; Isa. xxxiv. 6; lxiii. 1; Ezek. xxv. 13.

No. III.

ANCIENT EGYPT.

EGYPT is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean; on the east by the little river El Arish, (Rhinocolura,) on the borders of Palestine; and the Syrian, or Arabian Desert, which extends from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez, and from thence southwards, by the west coast of the Red Sea; and on the west by the Libyan Desert. From the earliest ages its boundary on the south has been fixed at the rapids or cataracts of Assouan, the ancient Syene, which are formed by a number of granite rocks, over which the great river rolls its foaming stream.

The country of Egypt attained an earlier and a higher degree of civilization than any other in the world. It was the seat of a royal government in the days of the patriarch Abraham, and it abounded at that time with provisions, while the neighbouring countries, and even the fertile regions of Palestine, were exposed to famine, Gen. xii. 10. The peculiar fruitfulness of the soil of Egypt arose from the fertilizing influences of the annual inundations of the Nile. To this we find a reference, Deut. xi. 10, where, comparing the Promised Land with Egypt, the Hebrew lawgiver says of the former, that it was watered by the rains of heaven; and intimates of the

latter, that it required manual labour, which refers to the process of irrigation. While Egypt, indeed, depends upon the annual overflow of the Nile for its fertility, the river is made available for the purpose of irrigation in the fullest extent only by means of numerous canals and trenches, which require to be cleaned out every year, and the dykes carefully repaired; this is the point of the comparison.

The various branches of the Nile have their rise in the high lands north of the equator; and, flowing through Abyssinia and other regions westward of it, meet in the country of Senaar. The united stream flows northwards through Nubia and Egypt, and, after a course of more than 1,800 miles from the farthest explored point of its principal branch, enters the Mediterranean by several mouths, which form the Delta of Egypt. In a distance of 1,350 nautical miles from the mouth of the Tacazze to the Delta, the Nile does not receive a single tributary stream, which Humboldt remarks is a solitary instance in the hydrographic history of the globe. The country of Egypt was divided into nomes, or provinces, to which we find a reference, Isa. xix. 2; on which passage an Egyptian father, Cyril, says, "A nome is a city with a circumjacent territory, and the places contained in it:" in other words, it was a province.

The principal cities of Egypt were,

1. No, No-Ammon, Diospolis, or Thebes. This was the most ancient capital and renowned city of Egypt; and it was most probably built by the first settlers, Misraim and his family; whence Egypt is generally styled, " The land of Misraim," in the original Scriptures, though usually rendered, "The land of Egypt." The origin of the city is certainly lost in the remote infancy of human settlements and institutions. The Egyptian name of the city was No, Ezek. xxx. 14; to which was added Amon, or Amoun, which, according to Herodotus, was a title of Jove among the Egyptians. This would suggest that the city denoted was the chief seat of the worship of Jupiter Ammon. And such was No; for the Septuagint renders Ezek. xxx. 15, by Diospolis, "the city of Jove," on account of its devotion to the worship of Jupiter. The Grecian name of the city was Thebes, which was probably derived from thebeh, "an ark," like Noah's, the memory of which would naturally be preserved by the first settlers after the deluge, in all parts of the earth. Bruce, indeed, observes, that "the figure of the temples in Thebes do not seem to be far removed from the idea given us of the ark." Some of the monuments for which this city was so celebrated still remain ; testifying at once to its ancient grandeur, and to the truth of the inspired volume which foretold its destruction. See Jer. xlvi.; Ezek. xxx. 14—16. 2. Zoan, or Tanis. Zoan is rendered by the Septuagint, Tanin, or Tanis, which was a city of Egypt, situated near the mouth of one of the branches of the Nile, thence called Etium Taniticum. It appears to have been one of the most ancient capitals of Egypt. The sacred historian tells us, indeed, that it was built only seven years after Hebron, the chief residence of Abraham and his family, Numb. xiii. 22; and that it was one of the royal cities we gather from the fact, that the ten plagues were inflicted "in the field of Zoan," Psa. lxxviii. 12. Even in the days of Isaiah it is mentioned as a seat of government, Isa. xix. 11. 3. On, or Heliopolis. This city was situated on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about five miles below the point of the Delta. It is mentioned in Scripture as early as in the days of Joseph, who married the daughter of the high priest of that city, Gen. xli. 50. The Hebrew name for this city was Bethshemesh, or "house of the sun," which, or " city of the sun," is the meaning of all the Scripture names given to the place, except that of Aven, or Bethaven, Ezek. xxx. 17; Hos. x. 5, which

means "vanity," or "house of vanity;" a name the Hebrews were accustomed to apply to noted places of idolatrous worship. The Greek name of the place was Heliopolis, by which name the Septuagint version renders the original. The city derived its name from the worship of the sun, to which a celebrated temple was here consecrated. It was a famous seat of Egyptian science and learning; and, according to Berosus, it was the city of Moses, which well accounts for his scriptural character, that he "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." The destruction of On was foretold by the prophets Jeremiah, (xliii. 13,) and Ezekiel, (xxx. 17,) which predictions were accomplished, probably by Nebuchadnezzar. Nothing but mounds of earth and a solitary obelisk now mark the spot on which this city stood. 4. Sin, or Pelusium. In Arabic the term signifies "mud," and was therefore the same as Pelusium, from pelos, mud. By the prophet Ezekiel, who predicted its overthrow, (xxx. 15,) it is called "the strength of Egypt;" and by Suidas, "the key of Egypt," or, its strong barrier on the side of Syria and Arabia. But notwithstanding its strength, according to the prediction of the prophet, it is laid prostrate. 5. Pibeseth, or Bubastis. By the Septuagint, Pibeseth is regarded as the famous city of Bubastis, on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile; whence this branch, which is the eastern, was indiscriminately called the Bubastic, or the Pelusiac. The city derived its name from a magnificent temple dedicated to the goddess Bubastis, which Herodotus identifies with Diana. The site now bears the name of Tel-bastah; but its ruins are somewhat more than half a mile west of the Tel, at Chobrah and Heryeh. Its destruction was foretold by the prophet Ezekiel, (xxx. 17.) 6. Noph, or Memphis. This was the renowned capital of Lower Egypt. According to Herodotus, it was founded by Menes, the first king of Egypt, who turned the channel of the river, and built the city in the ancient bed, where the strait between the Arabian and Libyan mountains is narrowest. At what time Memphis became the great metropolis of Egypt is not known; but, as the capital of Lower Egypt, and as the metropolis of the country, it would appear that Noph, or Memphis, was the great city of the Pharaohs, or kings, with which the Old Testament Hebrews were best acquainted, and to which there are the most frequent references in Scripture, from the time that good old Israel went down thither, to the days of the prophet Jeremiah. The wealth and the glory of Memphis are spoken of by most ancient writers, but concerning the details little is recorded; and it is so utterly waste, according to the prediction of the prophet, that the deficiency cannot be supplied from existing remains, as at Thebes. See Jer. xlvi. 19. 7. Syene was the most southern city of the Thebais, bordering on Nubia. By the prophet Ezekiel (xxix. 10; xxx. 6) the whole extent of Egypt, from north to south, is described; as, " from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia." Strictly speaking, the boundary is formed by the mighty terraces of that peculiar reddish granite, called syenite, which, shaped into peaks, stretch across the bed of the Nile, and from which the Egyptians obtained the stone so frequently employed by them in their obelisks and colossal statues.

In concluding this brief notice of Ancient Egypt, it may be observed, that, in Scripture, it is chiefly remarkable for its retention of the Israelites in bondage, and for the events connected with that act of state policy. See Gen. xxxix.-1.; Exod. i.-xiv. In the latter chapters the reader will learn that the Almighty brought them forth from the midst of Egypt, according to his promise, with a mighty hand, to inhabit that good land, which is described poetically in Scripture as "flowing with inilk and honey." The route they took from thence to Canaan may be traced in Map No. IV.

No. IV.

THE JOURNEYINGS OF THE ISRAELITES.

THE journeyings we shall briefly describe; they are replete with interest. This journey, indeed, which occupied the space of forty years, from their departure out of Egypt till their arrival in Canaan, is one of the most extraordinary recorded in history. Almost every stage of it is marked by a succession of miracles most signal and astonishing. Their first station was Rameses, a city supposed to have been situated in the eastern part of Egypt, called "the land of Goshen," and sometimes from hence "the land of Rameses,” Exod. xii. 37; Numb. xxxiii. 3. The position of this city has been fixed at about six or eight miles above the modern Cairo, a little to the south of the ancient Letopolis. From hence they came to Succoth, which signifies "tents," or "booths," and probably means no more than a spot where caravans are wont to encamp. On this route, at about twelve miles N.N.E. from the present Cairo, occurs a place which is very convenient for an encampment, and where the great pilgrim caravan from Cairo to Mecca awaits the arrival of the western pilgrims,previous to its final departure, and where it breaks up on its return. This is thought, with great probability, to be the Succoth of the text, Exod. xii. 37; Numb. xxxiii. 5. Their next station was Etham, which was "in the edge of the wilderness," Exod. xiii. 20; from whence they were commanded to turn, or remove, to "Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon," Exod. xiv. 2; which most probably was a pass or strip of land along the western shore of the gulf, between the mountains which skirt the sea and the sea itself. This the name would indicate; and the opinion is the more probable, because the flanks of the Hebrew host would have been exposed to the Egyptians whilst marching into the sea, which we find was actually the case, inasmuch as they were protected in that direction by the merciful intervention of a pillar of cloud.

After passing through this valley, the miraculous passage of the Red Sea took place, and the overthrow of the Egyptians therein, which gave rise to that beautiful ode, indited by Moses, and sang by Miriam and her attendants, Exod. xv. 1–21. When they had passed the waters they entered the wilderness of Shur, which applies to the western portion, and, in a large sense, to the whole of the desert between Palestine and Egypt, and therefore extending across the peninsula on the north. Here the denomination is applied so as to show that it extended into the peninsula, or at least some distance down on the eastern shore of the Red Sea. Their first station in the wilderness was Marah, where the miracle of rendering bitter water sweet occurred, Exod. xv. 23-25. The spot where this event took place is considered to be the well of Howara, near the barren bed of a winter torrent, called Wady Amarah, which is the same in sound and meaning as Marah. It occurs on the customary road along the coast from Suez to Sinai. Burckhardt observes of the water of this well, that there is no other absolutely bitter on the whole coast so far as Ras Mohammed, at the extremity of the peninsula. Their next station was Elim, "where were twelve wells of water and threescore and ten palm-trees," Exod. xv. 27. The site of Elim is fixed, by Niebuhr and Burckhardt, at Wady Gharendel, which lay south from Howara, and which is the largest of all torrent beds on the west side of the peninsula. The valley is full of date-trees, tamarisks, the gharkad, and acacias of different species. There is a copious spring with a small rivulet here, which renders the valley one of the principal stations on the route to Sinai. The