Jezreel is now called Zerin, and the site of Ahab’s palace is now a village, surrounded by heaps of rubbish. The position of Zerin is remarkable. On the south the ground slopes gently upwards towards the site, and on the west also the place is accessible. But on the north the ground is extremely rugged and falls rapidly, and on the east occurs a saddle separating the high point on which the town stands from the Gilboa chain, the road ascending from the valley and the neighbourhood of ’Ain Jalud. The top of the hill is 284 feet above this spring, which is visible beneath. Thus the site is naturally strong, except on the south-west. It is conspicuous from the plain, and it commands a view down the valley to Beisan and the trans-Jordanic ranges. Major Conder, climbing up to the village, was struck by the absence of any traces of antiquity. But the houses stand on a mound of rubbish, and in this a great number of ruined cisterns exist. Ahab from his palace in Jezreel looked down upon Naboth’s vineyard. There seem to be no vineyards in the neighbourhood now; but on the east and south-east there are rock-cut wine-presses on the rugged hills, where no doubt the “portion of the field of Naboth” and his vineyard are to be placed. The commanding position of the place would also enable Joram’s watchmen, looking down the Valley of Jezreel, to observe the two horsemen sent forward by Jehu coming up from Bethshan--the dust raised, the gleam of their armour--and Jehu himself following and “driving furiously.” It was by “the fountain which is in Jezreel” that Saul had pitched before the fatal battle of Gilboa. Here at Jezreel, with Mount Carmel in the distance, we are reminded that the sacrifice which Elijah offered did not take place on the point of Mount Carmel nearest the sea, as commonly imagined, but much nearer to Jezreel, on a part of the range where our explorers discovered a perennial spring, that would supply the prophet with water when the rest of the country was dry. Stationed at this spot, he might see the palace of Jezebel in the city of Jezreel. From this position he sent his servant a few minutes’ distance, to the highest point of the range, where he could overlook the sea and perceive the little cloud rising. Then said Elijah, “Get thee down, Ahab, there is a sound of abundance of rain”--get thee down Ahab, or the river of Kishon will sweep thee away! Elijah himself, amidst the rushing storm, ran before the chariot of the monarch, down the slope, and as far as the entrance of Jezreel. And soon thereafter, fearing Jezebel’s threats, he journeyed swiftly by the north and south road, nor stopped till he got to Beersheba. This is the extremity of Judah, and here he leaves his servant behind him and plunges into the wilderness, for he is going to “Horeb, the Mount of God,” to seek a revelation.