Palestine or the Holy Land

Palestine or the Holy Land
(From the Earliest Period to the
Present Time) [with accents]

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Title: Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the
Present Time
Author: Michael Russell
Release Date: September, 2005 [EBook #8860] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on August 15,

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[Illustration: Map of Palestine]
PALESTINE OR THE HOLY LAND.
From the Earliest Period to the Present Time.
BY THE REV. MICHAEL RUSSELL, LL.D.

PREFACE.
In giving an account of the Holy Land, an author, upon examining his
materials, finds himself presented with the choice either of simple
history on the one hand, or of mere local description on the other; and
the character of his book is of course determined by, the selection
which he makes of the first or the second of these departments. The
volumes on Palestine hitherto laid before the public will accordingly be
found to contain either a bare abridgment of the annals of the Jewish
people, or a topographical delineation of the country, the cities, and the
towns which they inhabited, from the date of the conquest under Joshua,
down to the period of their dispersion by Titus and Adrian. Several able
works have recently appeared on each of these subjects, and have been,
almost without exception, rewarded with the popularity which is
seldom refused to learning, and eloquence. But it occurred to the writer
of the following pages, that the expectations of the general reader
would be more fully answered were the two plans to be united, and the
constitution, the antiquities, the religion, the literature, and even the
statistics of, the Hebrews combined with the narrative of their rise and

fall in the sacred land bestowed upon their fathers.
In following out this scheme, he has made it his study to leave no
source of information unexplored which might supply the means of
illustrating the political condition of the Twelve Tribes immediately
after they settled on the banks of the Jordan. The principles which
entered into the constitution of their commonwealth are extremely
interesting, both as they afford a fine example of the progress of society
in one of its earliest stages, when the migratory shepherd gradually
assumes the habits of the agriculturalist; and also as they confirm the
results of experience, in other cases, in regard to the change which
usually follows in the form of civil government, and in the
concentration of power in the hands of an individual.
The chapter on the Literature and Religion of the Ancient Hebrews
cannot boast of a great variety of materials, because what of the subject
is not known to the youngest reader of the Bible must be sought for, in
the writings of Rabbinical authors, who have unfortunately directed the
largest share of their attention to the minutest parts of their Law, and
expended the labour of elucidation on those points which are least
interesting to the rest of the world. It is to be deeply regretted, that so
little is known respecting the Schools of the Prophets--those seminaries
which sent forth, not only the ordinary ministers of the Temple and the
Synagogue, but also that more distinguished order of men who were
employed as instruments for revealing the future intentions of
Providence. But the Author hesitates not to say, that he has availed
himself of all the materials which the research of modern times has
brought to light, while he has carefully rejected all such speculations or
conjectures as might gratify the curiosity of learning without tending to
edify the youthful mind. The account which is given of the Feasts and
Fasts of the Jews, both before and after the Babylonian Captivity,