Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and AdventureConder, C. R. (Claude Reignier)
History
Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and Adventure
Conder, C. R. (Claude Reignier)
Palestine -- Description and travel
It seems to me very doubtful how far we can rely on the identity of the
site with that of Timnath Heres. It is certain that this is the place
called Timnatha by Jerome, a town of importance, capital of a district
in the hills, and on the road from Lydda to Jerusalem, the position of
which is fixed by references to surrounding towns. But the Jewish
tradition, and also that of the modern Samaritans, points to Kefr Hâris
as the burial-place of Joshua, as already noticed in Chapter II. It is
remarkable, however, that a village called Kefr Ishw’a, or “Joshua’s
hamlet,” exists in the immediate neighbourhood of the ruin of Tibneh.
With regard to Antipatris, we have fortunately far greater certainty;
but the place is of less interest, being mentioned in the Bible only as
the limit of St. Paul’s night journey from Jerusalem (Acts xxiii. 31).
It was well known in the fourth century, but its site was lost to the
Crusaders, who identified it at Arsûf, the ancient Apollonia, where also
the more ignorant supposed Ashdod to have stood. It is only within the
last twenty years that attention has been directed to the true site.
Josephus describes Antipatris as a city in the plain, close to the
hills, in a position well watered, with a river encompassing the city,
and with groves of trees. Now, as there is but one river in the plain of
Sharon, anywhere, near the required part, and as there is on that river
but one important ancient site, surrounded by water and near the hills,
we can have little doubt as to the locality of the town, first
apparently identified by the late Consul Finn, in 1850; but, in addition
to this, we have, in the old itineraries, various measurements to
surrounding places which, though not quite exact, still serve to
indicate the same site. They are as follows:
R.M. R.M.
Antipatris to Galgula (_Kalkilia_) 6, measures 6½
Antipatris to Lydda 10, “ 11½
Antipatris to Betthar (_Tireh_) 10, “ 9¼
Antipatris to Cæsarea 28, “ 30½
These measurements on the Survey bring us to the Râs el ’Ain, a large
mound covered with ruins, from the sides of which, on the north and
west, the River ’Aujah (the Biblical Mejarkon, or “yellow water”) gushes
forth, a full-sized stream.
A confusion has arisen between Antipatris and a town called Caphar Saba,
in consequence of the loose description, given by Josephus, of a ditch
dug by Alexander Balas, “from Cabarzaba, now called Antipatris,” to
Joppa (Ant. xiii. 15, 1); but the same author afterwards explains that
Caphar Saba was a district name, applied to the plain near Antipatris
(Ant. xvi. 5, 2).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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