118 HORMUZD RASSAM, ESQ., 
Within six miles of Wairan Shahir, and 80 miles to the 
northwest of Orfa, there is a reputed shrine of “ the prophet 
of God, Job,” which is held with great sanctity by the 
natives of that district, especially the Mohammedans, who 
allege that the remains of that man of God are interred 
there. It has a “Takia,” consisting of a few Mohammedan 
Darweeshes, who are supported by endowments and voluntary 
religious contributions. The “'Takia” isa kind of monastery, 
where there is generally a shrine of a prophet or a saint, and 
though the Moslems have no monks, or any order sworn to 
celibacy, yet those who are appointed to guard places of 
sanctity lead the life of a recluse. 
We are told in the Book of Job that bands of both Chal- 
deans and Sabeans had plundered his camels and cattle; it 
is not unreasonable, therefore, to suppose that both those 
nationalities inhabited then that district or the country 
around, especially as we know that Haran was at one time a 
Sabean settlement, and the Chaldeans occupied part of 
Cappadocia. The majority of the inhabitants of that district 
consist of two powerful Moslem tribes, called “ Millee ” and 
“Kara Gaitchee,” whose men are fine-looking and of noble 
mien. They all live in tents, and lead a semi-nomad life. 
On seeing them I could not help fancying that Job and his 
friends had occupied the same country in days gone by. 
There has also been an endless controversy regarding 
Balaam, his country, his divination, and the meaning of his 
name and that of his father. Maiy of the arguments ad- 
duced seem to me unwarranted by the plam narrative 
represented to us in the Book of Numbers. One opinion is 
that Balaam was a Midianite (see Smith’s Dictionary of the 
Bible), because “he was mentioned in conjunction with the 
five kings of Midian;” but the writer, it appears, has quite 
overlooked the fact of the mention made in the Book of 
Numbers (xxii, 5) that Balaam was sent for “ to Pethor which 
is bu the river of the land of his people,” and that Pethor was 
in Aram-Nahraim (Mesopotamia), Deut. xxi, 4. 
The Midianites alluded to were occupiers of the country 
bordering the promised land and neighbouring the Moabites ; 
but according to the testimony of Balaam (Numb. xxiii, 7), 
of Ptolemy. In the subdivision of Cappadocia into ten provinces by 
Strabo, Lavinianesina is noticed as one, and further on he mentions a 
profecture of Cappadocia by the name of Lavinianesina, both of which 
refer to the same district.” (Ainsworth’s 7ravels in Asia Minor, vol. i, 
page 259.) 
