Bi ote 
306 On the Sabbatic River. 
. 
The translator of Josephus says that this famous river is now 
extinct: and in this opinion the learned Reland in his Palestina 
Illustrata concurs. And Galatinus rather sarcastically argues 
against the T'almudists, that—“ If this river while it existed was 
a sign that the sabbath ought to be observed, now since it never 
appears, the sabbath should no longer be kept.” Niebuhr, the 
celebrated Danish traveler, having discovered an independent 
tribe of Jews residing in Arabia, says—‘‘ The circumstances of 
this settlement have perhaps given rise to the fable of the Sabbat- 
ical River.’ What the “ circumstances” were which could have 
given rise to such a fable, he does not mention; nor is it easy to 
discover, or even imagine. I believe however that the long lost 
river is at length found; and if this can be established, we shall 
not only demolish the odd argument of Galatinus against the per- 
petuity of the sabbath; but rescue the Jewish historian from a 
imputation of gravely réavartlinig idle fables. 
To return to the quotation from Josephus. . Titus it appears — 
made rather a protracted stay at Beirit. He then traveled north 
to Zeugma on the Euphrates, dragging after him crowds of Si- 
on’s most miserable captives, whom Josephus says he everywhere 
exhibited as public instances of the destruction of this nation. 
Now it was in this march northward from Beirit, that he saw the _ 
Sabbatie River. It ran between Arca and Rphanes, in the king- 
dom of Agrippa. ‘The latter part of this sentence I apprehend 
has extinguished the river, or at least started all travelers ona 
fruitless search for it. They have endeavored to find it some- 
where in, or near to the kingdom of Agrippa; and as there is an 
Arcea and a Raphanea between Palestine and Egypt, they natu- 
rally have sought for the river there. But it is plain that we can- 
not hope to find it in that direction, and for two good reasons. 
First, because there is no such river there ; although I'read many 
years ago the journal of a traveler dirotiph the destit from Egypt 
to Jerusalem, who suggested that a wide channel or wady which 
exhibited signs of having, at times, a great volume of water— 
| perfectly dry when he reesed it—might possibly be the 
lost Sabbatical River. 'To any one however who has either resi- 
ded or traveled in Syria, there is nothing remarkable in the dry 
‘channel of a wide stream. santa are common in all parts: of eur” 
Se ge el 
