Patriarchal PalestineSayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
History
Patriarchal Palestine
Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
Jews -- History -- To 953 B.C.; Palestine -- History
"The town 'Hidden'--such is the meaning of its name Gebal--what is its
condition? Its goddess [we will speak of] at another time. Hast thou not
visited it? Be good enough to look out for Beyrout, Sidon, and Sarepta.
Where are the fords of the land of Nazana? The country of Authu (Usu),
what is its condition? They are situated above another city in the sea,
Tyre the port is its name. Drinking-water is brought to it in boats. It
is richer in fishes than in sand. I will tell thee of something else. It
is dangerous to enter Zair'aun. Thou wilt say it is burning with a very
painful sting (?). Come, Mohar. Go forward on the way to the land of
Pa-'Aina. Where is the road to Achshaph (Ekdippa)? Towards which town?
Pray look at the mountain of User. How is its crest? Where is the
mountain of Sakama (Shechem)? Who can surmount it? Mohar, whither must
you take a journey to the land of Hazor? How is its ford? Show me how
one goes to Hamath, Dagara, [and] Dagar-el, to the place where all
Mohars meet? Be good enough to spy out its road; cast a look on Yâ....
When one goes to the land of Adamim, to what is one opposite? Do not
draw back, but instruct us. Guide us, that we may know, O leader!
"I will name to thee other cities besides these. Hast thou not gone to
the land of Takhis, to Kafir-Marona, Tamnah, Kadesh, Dapul, Azai,
Harnammata, and hast thou not seen Kirjath-Anab, near Beth-Sopher? and
dost thou not know Adullam [and] Zidiputa? Or dost thou not know any
better the name of Khalza in the land of Aupa, [like] a bull upon its
frontiers? Here is the place where all the mighty warriors are seen. Be
good enough to look and see the chapel of the land of Qina, and tell me
about Rehob. Describe Beth-sha-el (Beth-el) along with Tarqa-el. The
ford of the land of Jordan, how is it crossed? Teach me to know the
passage that leads to the land of Megiddo, which lies in front of it.
Verily thou art a Mohar, well skilled in the work of the strong hand.
Pray, is there found a Mohar like thee, to place at the head of the
army, or a _seigneur_ who can beat thee in shooting?
"Beware of the gorge of the precipice, 2000 cubits deep, which is full
of rocks and boulders. Thou turnest back in a zigzag, thou bearest thy
bow, thou takest the iron in thy left hand. Thou lettest the old men
see, if their eyes are good, how, worn out with fatigue, thou supportest
thyself with thy hand. _Ebed gamal Mohar n'amu_ ('A camel's slave is the
Mohar! they say'); so they say, and thou gainest a name among the Mohars
and the knights of the land of Egypt. Thy name becomes like that of
Qazairnai, the lord of Asel, when the lions found him in the thicket, in
the defile which is rendered dangerous by the Shasu who lie in ambush
among the trees. They measured four cubits from the nose to the heel,
they had a grim look, without softness; they cared not for caresses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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