Palestine Exploration Fund

“ The more indeed we study the results of the recent scientific exploration of Palestine the more we become convinced that the Sacred Writings have an unassailable basis of truth in their agreement in so many particulars with the most remarkable discoveries in Oriental archæology, ethnology, and geography.
If the Biblical record be as unhistorical as we are told it is, even by scholars of our own universities, it is the most wonderful of all literary productions. ”

“ Readers of the Statement, however, will be glad to know that a beginning has been made, and that the long-talked-of excavations at Jerusalem have even thus early yielded some interesting results. An ancient tower of large, drafted masonry has been unearthed, the counter-scarp of a ditch has been followed for a long distance, and a pretty Mosaic pavement, with a curious rock-hewn path attached, has been discovered. Many other shafts have been sunk with valuable results, as the rock has been reached in every case. ”

“ Now, although proof is altogether wanting to identify the sarcophagus in question with that of Alexander the Great, we can hardly doubt that its history had some relation to its supposed occupant. Let us examine two pieces of sculpture in high relief on the sarcophagus—those on its two parallel sides. You may remark, on the left hand edge of the carved slab that confronts you as you pass up the room, the head of a Greek horseman wearing a cap of lion's skin—the skin of a lion's head. As Alexander the Great is so represented on his coins, this has been recognised as his portrait. ”

“ I long to know what is hidden below the ground at Jerusalem, and I hope that I may meet you all when some of these important discoveries have been made. There is one to whom I am very much indebted, and that is Sir Charles Wilson. He knows so much about Jerusalem, and has kindly undertaken to aid Mr. Bliss with his valuable advice and direction. I am sure that a Society surrounded by such earnest men cannot fail to do credit to itself, and to do good to the would at large. ”

“ The subject of this lecture is the Holy Land. No words could better convey the estimation in which that spot of earth is held by all of us who profess the Christian faith. It is the Holy Land, and anything that can disclose to us its true history, anything that can assist us to dwell more humbly and more piously upon the mysteries—the great mysteries—that surround us, must be welcome to us. ”

“ We see men fighting here with men; there with lions, enemies of all men. On the two separate sides we mark the beginning and the end; on the one the first steps taken in the long desired enterprise of the West; on the other, the realisation of the schemes inherited by Alexander from his father, Philip of Macedon, who dreamed of the supremacy of the West over the East, of the propagation of Hellenism, of the civilisation of Asiatics by the spread of Greek influence, of the bettering of conquered peoples, the progress of the subjugated. ”

“ An army of 50,000 men was sent against him by the Sultan. Large as was this army, it is doubtful whether it would have overcome the Emir's forces could he have had the loyal following of the other Sheikhs. But the Sultan relied upon the jealousies of the chieftains and not in vain, for the Shehaabs, a rival family, joined the Sultan and cut to pieces the Emir's forces near the Jordan. This spirit of local faction has always been characteristic of the Lebanon and has been successfully calculated upon by all who have had to rule over this people. ”

“ These results of exploration and archæological research, which throw great light on the path of every reader of ancient history, are especially interesting and valuable to the earnest student of Holy Scripture, whose faith is strengthened and whose intelligence is brightened by the study of sacred history and prophecy in the clear light of contemporary evidence.
The outcome of recent Biblical study, as set forth in the works of the great scholars of Germany and England, has been to a large extent an opinion that the historical books of the Old Testament are in great part untrustworthy. ”

“ From all these figures and many more, one sees clearly, that in Christian times, when the Cross had become the symbol of man's Redemption and Christendom in general, there was an endeavour to add ornaments to the plain cross. Artists used it for their purposes, potentates and rulers adopted it for their arms, standards, and seals, and much more so the Church; and thus we have a long and almost endless series of variously shaped crosses, from among which the following may be mentioned:
This is called a Greek Cross, all arms being of equal length. ”

“ Major Conder, who met with a most cordial reception, said that the interest felt in Jerusalem, as the centre of the Hebrew Kingdom, made it naturally the first site to which explorers turned with increasing interest; and he believed that excavations there might still bring much to light, and that they were still possible, though there were many difficulties in the way. It was an inhabited city, and it contained one of the most sacred places of the Moslems. The southern hills outside the city walls were allowed by all to have been included in the ancient city before the Captivity. ”

“ These difficulties will only arouse enthusiastic vigour in the explorers if they feel that their work is being appreciated by the public. Money is required and we hope that a fair proportion of the amount needed will come from Jewish pockets. It is true that much of the work proposed in Jerusalem will interest Christians rather than Jews. But Jews have too deep an interest in the Holy Land as a whole not to feel concerned in all which relates to its hills, its streams, and its valleys. The love of Zion has been the one note of idealism in many a sordid ghetto. ”

“ I have handled a good many Oriental seals and cylinders, and have never seen a clearer case of identity as regards both the form and the weathering of the letters. The only difference between the inscriptions is that one of them has been worn more than the other, probably owing to the weight having been usually laid on the side on which it occurs. And as Professor Robertson Smith himself acknowledged, unless my reading is adopted the inscription makes no sense. But ancient writers were not in the habit of engraving nonsense, whether on weights or on anything else. ”

“ However, on one occasion Sheikh Hamdan, an unmarried man, in one of his frantic runs, seems to have given a rendezvous to the fair daughter of Ethman, and in course of a few months the sheikh disappeared—called to Egypt by the Badawy. He has never again been seen at Urtâs, and the daughter was delivered in secret by a Bethlehem midwife. Sheikh Hamdan lost respect and holiness, and became a camel driver many years afterwards in his own village. As a rule, the Derwishes are married men—at least, marriage has nothing to do with being a Derwish. ”

“ All the daughters of Jerusalem walked and danced in the vineyards. And what said they? Look, O young men, and see whom you choose; look not for beauty but for family. 'Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but she who fears the Lord she shall be praised' ”

“ Marseilles is a great city of traffickers on the sea-coast, and from there men proceed in ships to the city of Genoa, which is situate on the coast, being four days' journey by sea.... Genoa is surrounded by walls, and no king governs it, but it is ruled by judges whom the people set over themselves, according to their choice. Each house has its tower, and in times of dissension the people fight with each other from the tops of these towers. ”

“ I am sure we have all listened with great interest to the statement which has been made by our esteemed Assistant Secretary, recording the valuable labours of the Executive Committee, to whom the members of the Society owe a deep debt of gratitude. I am sure we all join in the congratulations of our Chairman that the Firman has at length been granted, by which the labours of the Society can be turned more especially in the direction of excavation about the city of Jerusalem—the centre around which the chief interest of the Society lies. ”

“ A Derwish of the Erfa'i Order used to come to my house at Jaffa with snakes, the most showy of them being Zamenis carbonarius, the shiny black serpent known as the حنيش‎ by the natives, and greatly feared in some districts. It is one of the longest serpents, and on account of its powers of raising itself dreadful stories are told about it, as lying in the ways and making them impassable, cutting a man in two by twisting itself round his body. It does not live long in captivity. It refuses food, and in the bags of the serpent-charmer dies very soon. ”

“ It is strange to find Professor Robertson Smith remarking that "the point of the spindle would naturally be less worn than the middle," for the most worn of all the letters, except the disputed shin, is the raish at the extreme end of the spindle.
The interest attaching to this weight with its inscription is so great that I feel it ought not to remain in the keeping of a private person, and I have, therefore, presented it to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, where doubtless it may be seen by those desiring to study it. ”

“ His Excellency the American Ambassador, in seconding the vote of thanks, said: Your Royal Highness, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, it is at all times, as you may suppose, a matter of the greatest satisfaction and pride to me to speak for my countrymen, and to-day, upon this most interesting occasion, I wish you to feel the emphasis of my representative voice for the many millions of Christian people who join with you in their interest in such a subject as that of which we have heard through Major Conder's lecture. ”

“ This nineteenth century, now near its close, has been remarkable for extraordinary activity in two widely different but immensely important lines of research. While, on the one hand, scientists have explored the arcana of nature with glorious success, so on the other hand, there has not been wanting a band of earnest and diligent inquirers, who, uniting profound scholarship with untiring enthusiasm, have achieved splendid results in the attempt to solve the problems and to illumine the mysterious darkness of the past. ”

“ A thousand years before David, a thousand years before the siege of Troy, a city stood upon the bluff overhanging the stream which is now called Tell el Hesy. The site formed a natural fortress. The first city was built by the Amorites. This city was taken, sacked, and destroyed, in one of the countless tribal wars. But the site was too important for the place to be left long deserted; another town was raised upon the ruins. Note that they did not clear away the rubbish when they re-built: they raised the new town upon the débris of the old. ”

“ It is a magnificient addition to the many works which this Society has given to the world. It illustrates the practical usefulness of the Society, while it adds one more to its achievements in the cause of illustration and explanation of the Bible Lands.
The map should be in every public library, and every public school, and every Sunday School. Its price is necessarily high, because the work is most costly to produce. ”

“ This village is growing every year.
The Russians succeeded in buying a piece of this ground, and made there at first a garden or bayárah, and more recently built a nice church, which forms a landmark for the neighbourhood, as it stands on high ground, and can be seen from a great distance. The rock-cut tomb, which is now considered to have been Tabitha's tomb, is like the others, and, if not the real one, this must have been very near, and so the ground there is, with good reason, called Tabitha. But the exact sites of the larger St. Peter's Church and Tabitha's house seem to be now lost. ”

“ The new schemes for colonising Palestine, of which the last few years have seen the vigorous birth, the flourishing colonies already dotted here and there in various parts of the land, testify to the persistence in our days of the old enthusiasm. ”

“ At sunset a dozen of their people are usually hanging about the works.
Our workmen, at present, number only 15, but they are most competent and energetic. Two of them worked with Sir Charles Warren, as boys, here and at the Jericho Tells. Our carpenter, who makes the mining frames, also worked for him. The ever-faithful Yusif presides over the labourers with his usual efficiency. Our tents are pitched within a few yards of the work. This certainly has its advantages, but it is like living in one's office—one never gets away from the work. ”

“ In the autumn the land is so bare that the bees eat their own honey. The honey is prized by the Arabs, who catch a bee, gum a tiny fragment of feather to his abdomen, let him go, and follow him to his hidden hive. Not far away is the Frank Mountain, where a castle was built by Herod as a last impregnable refuge in case he was driven from his kingdom. He may lie buried there in a tomb at the bottom of a pond.
On arriving at Jericho we found that a magic town had sprung up in the night: a huge circle was formed by about forty white tents, with great dining tents in the middle ”