BY PROF. CHARLES FOSTER KENT
THE SHORTER BIBLE—THE NEW TESTAMENT.
THE SHORTER BIBLE—THE OLD TESTAMENT.
THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETSAND JESUS.
BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY.
THE ORIGIN AND PERMANENT VALUEOF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
HISTORY OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE.From the Settlement in Canaan to the Fallof Jerusalem in 586 B.C. 2 vols.
HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. TheBabylonian, Persian and Greek Periods.
THE HISTORICAL BIBLE. With Maps.6 vols.
STUDENT'S OLD TESTAMENT. Logicallyand Chronologically Arranged and Translated.With Maps. 6 vols.
THE MESSAGES OF ISRAEL'S LAW-GIVERS.
THE MESSAGES OF THE EARLIERPROPHETS.
THE MESSAGES OF THE LATER PROPHETS.
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
BIBLICAL
GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
BY
CHARLES FOSTER KENT, Ph.D.
WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1926
Copyright, 1911, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Printed in the United States of America
Published April, 1911
PREFACE
Geography has within the past few years won a new placeamong the sciences. It is no longer regarded as simply a descriptionof the earth's surface, but as the foundation of all historicalstudy. Only in the light of their physical setting can thegreat characters, movements, and events of human history berightly understood and appreciated. Moreover, geography isnow defined as a description not only of the earth and of its influenceupon man's development, but also of the solar, atmospheric,and geological forces which throughout millions of yearshave given the earth its present form. Hence, in its deepermeaning, geography is a description of the divine characterand purpose expressing itself through natural forces, in thephysical contour of the earth, in the animate world, and, aboveall, in the life and activities of man. Biblical geography, therefore,is the first and in many ways the most important chapterin that divine revelation which was perfected through the Hebrewrace and recorded in the Bible. Thus interpreted it hasa profound religious meaning, for through the plains and mountains,the rivers and seas, the climate and flora of the biblicalworld the Almighty spoke to men as plainly and unmistakablyas he did through the voices of his inspired seers and sages.
No other commentary upon the literature of the Bible is sopractical and luminous as biblical geography. Throughouttheir long history the Hebrews were keenly attentive to the voiceof the Eternal speaking to them through nature. Their writingsabound in references and figures taken from the picturesque[vi]scenes and peculiar life of Palestine. The grim encircling