of these conjectures is, that all our information of Palmyra from heathen writers describes it as a city of mers-the factors of the Oriental trade-who sold to the Romans and others the merchandise of India and Arabia, were so enriched by the traffic that the place was proverbial for its luxury and wealth, and the expensive habits citizens. It was then to its trade that Palmyra owed that splendour of which its noble ruins still furnish most e evidence; and in our opinion, as already explained, it is only in the circumstances to which it thus owed its erous condition, in an age so much later than that of Solomon, that we can find a probable explanation of the ns which led to its original foundation by that monarch.

do not again read of Tadmor, in the Scriptures, nor is it likely that the Hebrews retained possession of it long after eath of Solomon. The internal divisions and weakness which ensued, the loss of external territory, and the rise e kingdom of Damascus, sufficiently account for this. John of Antioch, probably from some tradition now lost, it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. It doubtless fell under the power of that conqueror whether he destroyed not. The first notice which we have in profane antiquity is that which states that Palmyra attracted the notice arc Antony when in Syria. He promised himself rich spoil from it, but was disappointed, as the inhabitants ported their wealth beyond the Euphrates. In the time of Pliny, it was the intermediate emporium of the eastern , as we have mentioned, and in that character absorbed the wealth of the Romans and Parthians, who, however le to each other, agreed in coveting the luxuries of India, which then seem to have come exclusively by the way abia to the Palmyrenes, who dispersed them to the nations subject to the Romans on the one hand, and the Pars on the other. The friendship of Palmyra is said to have been courted by both the contending powers, whence fer that, protected by its deserts, it still maintained its independence: but it was united soon after to the Roman re as a free city. It was greatly favoured by the emperors; and under Adrian and the Antonines attained the it of its glory, from which it fatally fell when Zenobia, throwing off the connection with Rome, proclaimed herself ess of Palmyra and the East, and, after a brief interval of splendour, was taken captive, and her city desolated by lian. The latest fact concerning the town in Roman history is that the emperor Justinian, in the sixth cenfortified it, and placed a garrison in it, after it had been for some time deserted. To the blank in its history h follows, we are only able to supply one fact, which is, that it was one of the very first conquests of the Arabians ria, in the time of Abubekr; for we find its name as one of the four towns which Serjabil told the governor of a, that the Moslems had already taken (Ockley, p. 31). The next notice of it as an inhabited place is by the ish Jew, Benjamin of Tudela, who was there in the twelfth century. This notice is curious. "There is also mur seated in the midst of the desert, built also by commandment of Solomon, after the same manner of building greatness of the stones (as at Baalbec): and it is compassed with a wall, solitary, as I said, far removed from other ation, and some days' journey distant from Baghala (Baalbec). But in this city, Thadmur, there are four thouJews, valiant, and ready and prepared for the battle: who make war with the children of Edom, and with the ren of Garah, or the Arabians, commonly called, subject unto the kingdom of Noraldinus: and they help the borIshmaelites. Among them Isaac, surnamed Græcus, and Nathan, and Uziel have the pre-eminence." (Purchas,' ix. ch. v.) It is not clear whether he means to say that the 4000 Jews were the sole inhabitants of the town. nnection with this statement it is interesting to observe, that the existing inscriptions of Palmyra attest the preof Jews there in its most flourishing period; and that they, in common with the other inhabitants, shared in the ral trade, and were objects of public honours. One inscription intimates the erection of a statue to Julius Schalt, a Jew, for having, at his own expense, conducted a caravan to Palmyra. This was A.D. 258, not long before the of Zenobia, who, according to some accounts, was of the Jewish religion. Irby and Mangles also noticed a Heinscription on an architrave in the great colonnade, but give no copy of it, nor say what it expressed. The latest ical notice of Tadmor we can find is, that it was plundered in 1400 by the army of Timur Beg (Tamerlane), when 00 sheep were taken. At present and for a long time past the spot has had no other inhabitants than a clan of s, who claim the property of the district, and whose miserable hovels, established in the peristyle court of the temple, furnish the most striking possible contrast of meanness and magnificence.

g

ese Arabs, who make travellers pay heavily for permission to visit the place, are firmly of opinion that the present belong to the original city founded by Solomon; and, as is usual with them, their denominations of the more picuous remains are all founded on this very erroneous notion. The fact is, that all the ruins which now engage ttention of the spectator are in the style of architecture which the Greeks and Romans introduced into Asia; and the uniformity of style compared with the evidence offered by inscriptions, it is supposed that they were mostly ed during the three first centuries of the Christian era. If there be any thing now belonging to the Tadmor of non, it may perhaps be found in the ruins and rubbish of more ancient buildings which are observed in several and now form ridges of shapeless hillocks covered with soil and herbage, such as now alone mark the sites of the ancient cities in Mesopotamia and Babylonia.

there is no circumstance, beyond the site which they occupy, attaching a Scriptural interest to the present ruins lmyra, we shall not enter into any detailed description of them; but leave it to our cuts to convey that general ession which is alone in this case necessary.

e may add, however, that the site of Palmyra is not to be understood as quite open to the desert in every direction. he west and north-west there are hills, through which a narrow valley, about two miles in length, leads to the On each side of this valley occur what seem to have been the sepulchres of the ancient inhabitants. They are ed by square towers, and are found to contain mummies, resembling those of Egypt. Beyond this valley the city I bursts upon the view with wonderful effect. The thousands of Corinthian columns of white marble, erect and n, and covering an extent of about a mile and a half, offer an appearance which travellers compare to that of a t-a comparison suggested in a great degree by the general absence of the connecting walls which anciently ciated these pillars to the distinct piles of building to which they belonged, and the want of which often leaves the tator at a loss to arrange the columns in any order which might enable him to discover the original purpose of erection. The site on which the city stands is slightly elevated above the level of the surrounding desert, for a imference of about ten miles; which the Arabs believe to coincide with the extent of the ancient city, as they find ent remains wherever they dig within this space. There are indeed traces of an old wall, not more than three sin circumference; but this was probably built by Justinian, at a time when Palmyra had lost its ancient importance become a desolate place; and it was consequently desirable to contract its bounds, so as to include only the more able portion. A French traveller, whose views, as such, are good when not distorted by hostility to Divine h, well describes the general aspect which these ruins offer:-"In the space covered by these ruins we sometimes a palace, of which nothing remains but the court and walls; sometimes a temple whose peristyle is half thrown n; and now a portico, a gallery, or triumphal arch. Here stand groups of columns, whose symmetry is destroyed he fall of many of them; there, we see them ranged in rows of such length that, similar to rows of trees, they

deceive the sight and assume the appearance of continued walls. If from this striking scene we cast our eyes upon the ground, another, almost as varied, presents itself: on all sides we behold nothing but subverted shafts, some whole, others shattered to pieces, or dislocated in their joints: and on which side so ever we look, the earth is strewed with vast stones, half-buried; with broken entablatures, mutilated friezes, disfigured reliefs, effaced sculptures, violated tombs, and altars defiled by dust." (Volney's Travels through Syria,' ii. 237.)

It may be right to add, that the account which has been more recently given of these ruins, by Captains Irby and Mangles, is of a much less glowing tone than of other travellers, English and French. They speak indeed with admi ration of the general view, which exceeded anything they had ever seen. But they add, "Great, however, was our disappointment when, on a minute examination, we found that there was not a single column, pediment, architrave, portal, frieze, or any architectural remnant worthy of admiration." They inform us that none of the pillars exceed four feet in diameter, or forty feet in height; that the stone scarcely deserves the name of marble, though striking from its snowy whiteness; that no part of the ruins taken separately excite any interest, and are altogether much inferior to those of Baalbec; and that the plates in the magnificent work of Messrs. Wood and Dawkins do far more than justice to Palmyra. Perhaps this difference of estimate may arise from the fact that earlier travellers found more wonderful and finished works at Palmyra than their information had prepared them to expect; whereas, in the later instance, the finished representations in the plates of Wood's great work raised the expectations so highly, that their disappointment inclined the mind to rather a detractive estimate of the claims of this ruined city-" Tadmor in the wilderness."

6. "Baalath."-The ruins of Baalbec, which were mentioned incidentally in the preceding note, are situated in the great valley (anciently called Cole Syria) which separates the parallel ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and near one of the sources of the river Leontes, which proceeds southward and enters the Mediterranean near Tyre. Major Rennel fixes its position in N. lat. 34° 1' 30", and E. long. 36° 11'; distant 36 miles N.N.W. from Damascus, and nearly at the same distance from Tripoli and Beirout on the Mediterranean coast-the former to the north-west and the latter to the south-west. The traditions of the inhabitants of the country, whether Jews, Christians, or Mahommedans, affirm with confidence that this city was founded by Solomon; and, all things considered, there is more probability in this tradition than Wood, in his account of these ruins, seems disposed to allow. That Solomon's dominion did include this vale, there is every reason to suppose; and the distance northward does not form any objection, for Tadmor is more to the north, and twice as distant from Jerusalem. In the present text are named the cities of Tadmor in the wilderness, upper and lower Beth-horon, and Baalath; and the account then goes on to say, that Solomon built whatever he desired in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. This renders it likely that, being thus classed, one of the principal cities named in the text was in Lebanon; and this could only be Baalath, for Tadmor was in the wilderness, and the Beth-horons in the heart of Palestine: and if Baalath was in Lebanon, the analogy of name, concurring with the local tradition, would refer us to the present Baalbec as the only probable site. Further, the name Baalath means the city of Baal, or of the sun-for Baal was the sun; and it is agreed that Baalbec is the

city which was known to the ancients by the name of Heliopolis, the city of the sun-being merely a translation of the ancient native name of Baalath. The present name Baalbec has but a slight shade of different meaning, being the valley of Bual, or of the sun. Thus all these names seem to refer to the same place-Baalath being the ancient native name, Baalbec the slight modern variation, and Heliopolis the classical translation. Wood, who does not seem to have known that the name of a city called Baalath occurs in Scripture in the same verse with that of Lebanon, may stand excused for doubting the local traditions which associate the name of Baalbec with that of Solomon. These traditions are of no further consequence than as assisting to identify the site. We may or not believe the natives, when they state that it was founded by the great Hebrew king, as a pleasant retreat during the summer heats. The facts that most of the ancient and modern Oriental monarchs change their residence with the season, might seem to warrant this notion: and Wood observes, that "an eastern monarch could not enjoy his favourite pleasures in a more luxurious retirement than amidst the streams and shades of Baalbec." Benjamin of Tudela, whom we quoted in the preceding note, speaking of Baalbec, which he calls Baghal-Beik, observes that its ancient name was Baghala, by which he clearly means the Baalath of the present text, Baghala being merely a different pronunciation of the same Hebrew word y). He fully believes that it was built by Solomon; and reports as facts the local traditions on the subject. Baalbec is situated very pleasantly, at the foot of Anti-Lebanon, on the last rising ground where the mountain terminates in the plain. It is still the site of a small town, the habitations composing which adjoin to, or are dispersed among, the ruins-the whole being mostly enclosed within the same wall; which walls, says Wood, "like those of the other ancient cities of Asia, seem the confused patchwork of different ages." We suppose that Burckhardt has in view no other walls when he says, "The walls of the ancient city may still be traced, and include a larger space than the modern town ever occupied, even in its most flourishing state. Its circuit may be between three and four miles."

The ruins of Baalbec make a very different impression from those of Tadmor. The distant view of the latter, in its wide-spread desolation and dispersed grandeur, is far more impressive than that of Baalbec; but there are no single ruins at Palmyra so worthy of admiration as the ruined temples at Baalbec. Wood says, "When we compare the ruins of Baalbec with those of many ancient cities we have visited in Greece, Egypt, and other parts of Asia, we cannot help thinking them the remains of the boldest plan that appears to have been ever attempted in architecture." These remains consist of the grand temple of the sun, with its courts and most magnificent portico; another temple, near the former, but on lower ground, and which, although of smaller dimensions, is still very large, and in a less ruined condition; a third temple, being that most beautiful octagonal or circular temple which our cut represents. This cut supersedes the necessity of a description of this fine work of ancient art-which description indeed it is not our plan to give in detail, on any occasion, of ruins with which no Scriptural interest is immediately connected. This small temple is in the inhabited part of the town, and is or was used by the Christians as a church. Burckhardt, who did

not, like other travellers, approach the city from the usual Damascus road, mentions another temple in the plain, at half an hour's walk from the town, and which seems to have escaped the notice of Maundrell, Wood, Volney, and others. From his brief notice it seems to resemble the last mentioned, in being an octagonal building. But it is of an order resembling the Doric, and its eight columns are of very beautiful granite. With this exception, and that of a single isolated Doric column within the town, the remains at Baalbec are of the Corinthian order, like those of Tadmor; but in a style of architecture far more rich and grand. In the former note, we quoted Mangles' estimate of the height and diameter of the largest pillars at Tadmor; and it may be well to compare this with what he says of the columns of the grand colonnade forming the approach to the great temple at Baalbec. "The beauty and elegance of these pillars are surprising. Their diameter is seven feet; and we estimated their altitude at between fifty and sixty feet (68 feet) exclusive of the epistylium, which is twenty feet deep, and composed of immense blocks of stone, in two layers each of ten feet in depth. The whole of this is elaborately ornamented with rich carved work in various devices." All travellers meation with astonishment the enormous size of the stones employed, particularly those of the terrace or soubassement of the great temple. Having alluded to these in the note to 1 Kings v., we need not repeat our observations. The vast size of these blocks of stone, and the height at which some of them are found, has led the natives to entertain the opinion that Solomon obliged the demons to labour in his works; which indeed they say of other buildings attributed to him-as Tadmor and the Temple at Jerusalem. Near the city walls there is a quarry from which these immense stones appear to have been taken, and where some vast blocks still remain, prepared for use; while the stone for the more ornamental part of the buildings seems to have been derived from a quarry of coarse white marble at a greater distance. Volney says the buildings are constructed with "white granite;" but Burckhardt corrects him, by observing that the stone is "of the primitive calcareous kind, but harder than the stone of Tadmor."

We need not say that here, as at Tadmor, it would be idle to look for any buildings erected by Solomon. All the ruins are in the Græco-Roman style, and probably none are anterior to the Christian era. It is, however, not by any means improbable that the soubassements and foundation walls, which excite so much astonishment by the enormous size of the stones employed, may have been of much more ancient construction-even of the age of Solomon, who, as he procured "great stones" " from a distance for the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, was still more likely to employ "great stones" when the quarries were close at hand. (See the notes, 1 Kings v. 17; vii. 10.)

CHAPTER IX.

1 The queen of Sheba admireth the wisdom of Solomon. 13 Solomon's gold. 15 His targets. 17 The throne of ivory. 20 His vessels. 23 His presents. 25 His chariots and horse. 26 His tributes. 29 His reign and death.

AND 'when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

2 And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.

3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

4 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his 'cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.

5 And she said to the king, It was a true 'report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:

6 Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.

7 Happy are thy men, and happy are

1 Kings 10. 1, &c. Matth. 12. 42. Luke 11. 31.

these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.

8 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.

10 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and pre

cious stones.

11 And the king made of the algum trees 5 terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.

13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;

14 Beside that which chapmen and mer chants brought. And all the kings of Ara bia and 'governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

Or, butlers.
7 Or, captains.

15 And king Solomon made two hun Heb. word. 4 Or, sayings. 5 Or, stays. 6 Heb. highway,

dred targets of beaten gold: six hundred
shekels of beaten gold went to one target.
16 And three hundred shields made he of
beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold
went to one shield. And the king put them
in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

18 And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:

19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any king

dom.

8 Heb. hands.

21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, "ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.

24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

25 And Solomon "had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen ; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

26 And he reigned over all the kings 18from the "river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

27 And the king "made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.

16

28 And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

29 Now the rest of the "acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the 18book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of "Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in

his stead.

10 Or, there was no silver in them.
16 1 Kings 10. 28. Chap. 1. 16.

11 Or, elephants' teeth.
171 Kings 11. 41.

12 1 Kings 4. 26. 18 Heb, words.

13 Gen. 15. 18.

19 Chap. 12. 15.

There has been One of the princi

14 That is, Euphrates. 15 Heb. gave. Verse 1. "The queen of Sheba."-This princess is called "the queen of the south" in Luke xi. 31. much elaborate discussion, having for its object to determine from what country this queen came. pal alternatives makes this country to have been at the southern extremity of Arabia ; and the other asserts the claim of Ethiopia or Abyssinia.

With respect to the first alternative, which places Sheba in Arabia, it is unquestionable that one of the most celebrated nations of Arabia-Felix was known as the Sabæi, and their territory as Sabea. This territory was also celebrated in profane antiquity for its ample possession of such articles as the queen of Sheba brought to Solomon. The spices, the incense, the gold of Sabea-its abundance in every production which could make life happy, and the consequent luxury and redundant wealth of the inhabitants, procured for southernmost Arabia the surname of Felix, the Happy,and the glowing and exaggerated statements which Greek and Roman writers have transmitted in reference to it, clearly show that almost nothing was practically known of the country; and the Oriental produce of which the Sabai and other maritime Arabians were the carriers, being considered the actual produce of the country, rendered it a sort of El Dorado to the ancient imagination. At whatever conclusion we may arrive with reference to the present text, there cannot be the least doubt that this, the Arabian Sabea, is frequently to be understood by the Sheba or Seba of the Scriptures.

The other opinion, in favour of Abyssinia, although not taken up first by him, has found its most powerful advocacy in the statements and reasonings of Mr. Bruce. It has the (in such a matter) valuable sanction of Josephus, as Bruce 345

VOL. II.

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