[40] Jesus is frequently mentioned in the Koran as a prophet, though His divinity is denied and the Christian Trinity is misunderstood by Mohammed as consisting of the Father, Son and Virgin Mary. Characteristic passages are: “O Mary! Verily God announces to thee the Word from Him: his name shall be Messiah Jesus the Son of Mary, illustrious in this world and in the next, and one of those who have near access to God. And He will teach him the Book, and the Wisdom, and the Law, and the Evangel, and he shall be an apostle to the Children of Israel” (Sura 3:40, 43). But—“It beseemeth not God to beget a son” (Sura 19:36). “God shall say, O Jesus, Son of Mary, hast thou said unto mankind, Take me and my mother as two gods, besides God?” (Sura 5:116). “Jesus is no more than a servant whom We favored” (Sura 43:59). [41] The _Koran_, sura 47:4, 9, 13, 37. [42] I Kings 9:18. [43] Joshua 9:1. [44] Psalm 80:10. [45] Jeremiah 22:7. [46] Song of Songs 5:15. [47] Ezekiel 17:23. [48] Isaiah 2:13. [49] Ezekiel 31:3f. [50] Psalm 29:5. [51] Zechariah 11:2f. [52] East of the Jordan, between Jabbok and Arnon rivers. [53] Joshua 11:17, 12:7, 13:5. [54] Varius Avitus Bassanius, who took the name Heliogabalus upon his appointment as high priest of the sun-god, was born at Homs, A. D. 204, usurped the imperial throne at the death of his cousin Caracalla in 218 and, after a brief reign marked chiefly by its infamous debaucheries, was murdered by the Prætorians in 222. [55] Edw. Robinson, _Biblical Researches in Palestine_, III. 517. [56] Literally, “the stone of the pregnant woman.” Bearing in mind the meaning of the popular name, the reader will easily understand just how and why I have modified the frank, Oriental form of the story which follows. [57] Many eminent scholars, however, follow Edward Robinson (_Biblical Researches_, III. 568) in identifying the “Entering In of Hamath” (Judges 3:3, I Kings 8:65, etc.), not with the northern end of the Bikaʿ, but with the east-and-west valley between the Lebanon and Nusairiyeh ranges, through which we have just come. While I incline more and more toward the view given in the text above, the question must be decided by one’s feeling as to which would be the more striking and appropriate landmark, rather than by any direct evidence. The territory included would be practically the same in either case. [58] Heliogabalus. See foot-note, page 191. [59] Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus. INDEX Roman numerals refer to chapters, Arabic to pages Abana River, 67-71, 88f, 106 Abila, 69 Abilene, Tetrarchy of, 69 Ain el-Beida, 130 Ain Fijeh, 70 Ain el-Wuʿul, 130 Aleih stories, 61f Aleppo, Province of, 8 Anti-Lebanon, 7, 63, 67-71, 178, 204 Aurelian, 135-137, 205 _Assassins_, the, 10 Awaj River, 89n Baalbek, XIII Climate, 188 Great stones, 198-200 History, 189-191 Ruins, 192-197 Situation, 184f Baal-gad (Baalbek), 189 Barada, see _Abana_