- Jerusalem:
- Jerusalem, the ancient capital of Judea, is situated in long. 35 degrees 20 minutes e, lat. 31 degrees 47 minutes 47 seconds n; and, according to the best authorities, 136 miles sw of Damascus, 34 miles s of Shechem or Nablous, 45 miles e of Jaffa, 27 miles n of Hebron, and about 20 miles w of Jericho. The city of Jerusalem was built on hills, and encompassed with mountains ("As the mountainsª [are] round aboutª Jerusalem,ª so the LORDª [is] round aboutª his peopleª from henceforth¹¹ even for² ever.ª¹" {Psa 125:2}), in a stony and barren soil, and was about sixteen furlongs in length, say Strabo. The ancient city of Jebus, taken by David from the Jebusites, was not large, and stood on a mountain south of that on which the temple was erected. Here David built a new city, called the city of David, wherein was the royal palace. Between these two mountains lay the valley of Millo, filled up by David and Solomon; and after the reign of Manasseh, another city is mentioned, called the second. The Maccabees considerably enlarged Jerusalem on the north, enclosing a third hill; and Josephus mentions a fourth hill, called Bezetha, which Agrippa joined to the former. This new city lay north of the temple, along the brook Kidron. See note on "These¹ chiefª fathersª of the Levitesª [were] chiefª throughout their generations;ª these¹ dweltª° at Jerusalem.ª" {1Ch 9:34}.
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