McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-08-14
MODERN sAMARIA.

~ MODBRN SAMARIA. 90 ~.
Hoss the F6,hcd Bibiscat CITY Looks at tn.
Present Day.
Jerusalem Letter to New Orleans Times Democrat
The modern village is very insignifi-
cant. Josephus says that II received
honor of Augustus. The city has been
sacked and plundered times without
number. Upon its extreme summit
Ahab had its famous ivory palace, and
this acropolis constituted the capitol of
the ten tribes until they were carried
captive into Assyria. The modern re-
mains, which are the finest have seen
in the holy land, outside of Jerusalem.
only date back nominally to the time of
Herod, of course, but it is doubtless
true that Herod employed much of the
material of former ages in creating his
splendid structures, in which event the
debris represents a pre-Herodian an
tiquity. Against the city for its idola-
try Micah and Hosea launched forth
the invectives of prophecy: II will
make Samaria as heap of the field,
and as paintings of vineyard; and l
the valley; and l will discover the
foundations thereof" "Samaria shall
become desolate, for she hath rebelled
against her God; they shall fall by the
sword; their infants shall be dashed to
pieces" etc. There have been numer-
GUS literal fuifillments of these predic-
tions. Looking down into the valley
as we rode around the hill we fire.
quently discovered broken columns
and building rubbish.
We rode completely around the hill,
a circuit of about two miles, tracing
the remains of Herod's magnificent col
onnade.
There were evidently four rows of
columns clear around the hill, support
ing porch above. The porch has van
ished, but a great many of the massive
columns are still standing. Other pill
lars are broken in two, lie PROSTATE, or
are utilized in the construction of stone
walls. We counted nearly 100, and
Mr.. Floyd says that the great majority
have either been destroyed by the ma
tives or carted away to Europe to oc-
cupy inches in museums. The level
place at the extreme top of the hill was
adorned by sixteen very large columns.
1t was doubtless in this general inclos-
ure that the temple of Baal stood,
which was utterly destroyed by Jehu,
after he had received the heads of
Ahab's seventy sons in baskets at the
gate of Jezreel, and mercilessly slaugh-
tered all the priests of Baal, as record
ed in the 10th chapter of the I'd Kings.
II Co hot scl
dwelt when the horses and chariot of
Naaman, the Damascene leper, halted
before the door of his humble home.
Now, as then, leprosy holds carnival in
Damascus, and is regarded as incura-
BILE as it was by the king of Israel when
he rent his clothes under the impress
sion that the audacious Naaman was a
tool of Benhadad's to pick quarrel
with him. Grasping, penurious Gehazi
was made to inherit the leprosy of the
Syrian captain, which ''should cleave
unto his seed forever" Perhaps some
IF the modern Nablous lepers are the
inheritors of this fearful legacy of Ge-
hazi. My impression is that it was
dreadfully stupid of Naaman to put
confidence in the word of a native like
Gehazi.
What terrible agony there must have
been in Samaria during that memora-
BILE siege of the indefatigable Benhadad.
After having travelled through the ORR
ent it does not seem at all incredible
to me that the people resorted to doves
dung for food, until it actually became
costly luxury QI Kings vi, 25.)
Not only did Elijah and Elisha work
wonders in Samaria, but even the
Apostles wrought miracles and preached
there. The revival which was started
by Philip, who far eclipsed the witch
cries exercised by Simon the Sorcerer.
induced the Apostles who had remained
behind in Jerusalem to reinforce him
by sending Peter and John thither.
Then was the Holy Ghost given, which
Simon sought to buy with money (the
first impulse of an oriental when he
thinks there is no chance of getting a
thing as free gift). We were shown
the ruins of an interesting cathedral,
known as the church of st. John, in
which, it is claimed, the beloved disci- |
pie met his death. These ruins are |
INTELLECTUALLY interesting.