OLpEN—On the Geography of Ros Ailithir. 225 
named Aruch terms petroleum, the use of which was forbidden to the 
Jews on the Sabbath because of its evil odour.” 
He gives also the following from the Talmud, which shows how 
familiar an article of commerce it was:—‘‘ A certain seller of petro- 
leum was in the barn of Rabbi Jona. A fire broke out in the barn. 
The seller of petroleum wished to go and put it out, but he would not 
allow him” (lest he should break the Sabbath). In this connexion 
may be mentioned the strange story in 2 Maccabees, chap. 1., of the 
Jewish priests concealing the sacred fire in a dry well before the 
Babylonish Captivity, and their grandsons, on the return of the Jews, 
haying found it. It would appear from verse 36" that this was petro- 
leum. Plutarch says Alexander the Great saw with much surprise 
the petroleum ‘‘ welling out from the rocks,” when in the East. 
But not to digress too far, it is singular to find the eternal fires of 
the Caspian known in Ross Carbery in a.p. 991. 
Passing on to No. xxxu., we have— 
Cessair on the shore of the sea of Hig, 
Germain west from it with pure heights ; 
From Germain west to the sea, 
Sidon with its neighbour towns. 
I had much difficulty in identifying several places in the geo- 
graphy, but more in this case than in any other; and I do not offer the 
solution which I propose with entire confidence. On referring to the 
Peutinger map of the district, Sidon appears due west of Casarea Phi- 
lippi, its true position being north-west. Thus it was probable that 
Cessdair was this Ceesarea ; but then what is the Sea of Eig, and what 
Germain? There is great confusion as to the geography of this part 
of Palestine in maps which assume to represent its ancient condition ; 
but on referring to Josephus I found that he gives an account of the 
rebuilding of Paneas by Philip, Tetrarch of Iturea, who named it 
Ceesarea from his imperial patron, and Philippi from himself. Jose- 
phus repeatedly states that it was near the springs of Jordon,” and he 
sometimes calls the place merely Pégé (ayyat), the springs. Now, 
according to the Rabbins, there were seven seas in Palestine, one of 
which was the sea of Apaméa, the position of which was not generally 
agreed on, but many were of opinion that it was the lake or sea of 
Paneas, at the springs of Jordan: the word being written Pameas by 
oD YD) Naphtheus, id est, vendens naphtham aut petroleum. Quidam 
vap0omwAns erat in granario R. Jone; ortum est incendium in granario. Abiens 
itaque naphthzus seu vap0ordéAns voluit extinguere illud sed non permisit ei ne se 
violaret Sabbathum, Schab. cap. 16. 
16 mpoonyopevoay Sé bu wep Thy Neewidy TovTo NepOa o diepunveverar Kalapio- 
Mos’ KaAetTat dé mapa Tots moAAots Nep@aer, ii. Maccabees, 1. 36. In Vulgate 
Nephthar, Nephi. 
1 rapa Tas iopddvov mnyas’ Kadeirat To Wdvioy 6 témos. De Bell. lib. i. cap. 21, 
sec. 3. idummos mpds Tais “lopddvov mnyais ev mavéadi, méAw KTiCer Komaperay. 
Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 2, sec. 1. Also xv. 10. 3, and iii. 10. 7. 
