THE SIGNIFICANCE OP THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE. 173 



slopes down to the west in swelling hills, terminating in the 

 rolling plains of Esclraelon, Sharon and Philistia, bordering on 

 the Mediterranean. 



To the east are the purple walls of Moab. The effect 

 of this valley, so far below the level of the ocean, is to 

 cause a tropical climate and a semi-tropical vegetation within 

 the lower portion of the depression, giving to eastern Palestine 

 fruits and vegetables of a more southern clime. 



In winter-time the heat of the valley is tempered by the cold 

 winds from the Lebanon, and Hermon to north ; but as the snow 

 melts on the mountains, the heat in the valley rises and becomes 

 excessive, registering over 110 degrees F. at sunrise in the 

 summer, and rendering life about the Dead Sea insupportable to 

 Europeans. To what extent this abnormal climate may affect 

 the residents of Palestine we have no means of judging, as the 

 Bedouin ascend the slopes of the hills as the summer advances, 

 and the few fellahin living at Jericho do not appear to go down 

 to the Dead Sea. 



We have no certainty of any large cities existing about the 

 Dead Sea after the destruction of the Cities of the Plain, but there 

 were large cities at Jericho and other sites below the level of the 

 ocean, and magnificent gardens and highly cultivated lands ; and 

 it is to be noted that all the great cities of the ISTew Testament 

 about the Sea of Galilee were about 600 feet below the level of 

 the ocean. It may, therefore, be concluded that the only part 

 of the valley that was avoided was the vicinity of the Dead Sea. 



There is no evidence to show what effect this abnormal 

 climate had upon the character of the people, but the physical 

 features no doubt had an effect on the minds and thought of the 

 people, reflected in the imagery of the Psalms. 



Much has been written on this subject, but when a Chosen 

 People are under the shadow of the Most High it seems to me 

 impossible to conjecture the effect of scenery upon their minds. 



Physical Features and Industry. 



At the time of the Exodus the Promised Land was termed a 

 land flowing with milk and honey, and this is usually accepted 

 as meaning a land of herds and flocks ; but it was also " a land 

 of brooks of water, of fountains, of wheat and barley and vines 

 and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of oil-olive and honey.'' 



i^ow we find two conditions of the land at present. Where 

 the hill-country has been neglected, the mountain sides have 

 been washed quite bare of all soil, which is heaped up in the 



