FROM •£'£THLEH'EM !FG -JAFFA. 
afterward appear, was a village in the time of St.Jeroto .“ in¬ 
deed, notwithstanding the alterations made there by the 
Moslems, it is little better at the present moment. Betho¬ 
ron, like Amphipolis of Macedonia, was two fold ; that is to 
say, there was a. city superior nnd inferior. It stood upon 
the confines of Ephraim and Benjamin; which exactly an¬ 
swers to the situation of Bethoor. Eusebius mentions two 
villages of this name,* twelve miles distant from ^Slia (Jerusa¬ 
lem); one called, from its situation, Bethoron superior , the 
other Bethoron inferior . Frequent notice of them occurs in 
the Apocryphal writings.! Also in the Old Testament it is 
recorded.| that a woman of the tribe * of Ephraim, by name 
Sherah, built Beth-horon the nether and the upper . Beth-horon 
of the Old Testament stood on a hill, which the Cauaanites 9 
flying from Gibeoo, ascended. § M The Lord chased them 
along the way that goes up to Beth-horon.” But from Beth* 
boron to Azekah the way lay down the hill, on another side :|J 
In the going down of Beth-horon, the Lord cast down great 
stones upon them, unto Azekah.”** But the most remarkable 
evidence respecting its situation is afforded by Josephus, m 
several passages following his account of the destruction of 
Joppa (Jaffa) by the Homans; where he mentions the march 
of Cestiusby the w^ay of Lydda, and Bethoron, to Jerusalem :ff 
and Lydda is known to have stood near the spot where Hama 
now stands.^! Also in the description given of the situation 
of the Homan army, in the defiles and crags about Bet boron. §§ 
From these, and many other testimonies that might be addu¬ 
ced, it does seem evident that the modern village of Bethoor 
w r as the Bethoron superior of the ancients. 
The scene which ensued upon our arrival at Bethoor, was 
highly interesting. We found the Arabs in great number, 
squabbling, and seizing every thing they could lay their hands 
upon. We were not allowed even to pitch our tent, until the 
result of a general council among them had taken place. 
Presently the Sheik of Bethoor made his appearance, and -a 
f Eusebius in Onomast. Reland, ubi supra. 
| ’Ev BaiOospwv (8 Macc. vii 39.) Tf,v BaiOwpwv (1 Mace. ix. 50,) Avd 
■gacm BaiQcopwv (1 Mace. iiL 16.) ’Ev xara&icn Raiflcopwv i'ws ra (Ibid-,) 
1 1 Chron. vii. 24. 
6 Josh. x. 10. 
|1 See Dr. Wells’s Hist Geog. vol. I. p. 295. Oxf. 1901, 
** Josh. x. 11. 
ft Joseph, de Bell. lib. ii. c, 23. Colon. 1691. 
'%% Reland. Pal. Illust. tom. II. p. 959. Utr . 1714 
Joseph. deBell. c. 24. Colon. 1691. 
