Page 164 - Bible History

IV. JOSUE, THE COMMANDER OF THE ISRAELITES
1. THE LAND OF CHANAAN AND ITS PEOPLE
Chanaan, the land of promise, was bounded on the west by Phoenicia and the Mediterranean Sea; on the south, by the Brook of Egypt, the south end of the Dead Sea and the Arnon River. Arabia was on its ,eastern boundary, and to the north were the Lebanon Mountains and Phoenicia.
It was almost the center of the ancient world and was in the temperate zone. The Bible describes it as "a goo land of brooks and of waters and of foun­ tains, in the plains of which and the hills, deep rivers break out-a land of wheat and barley and vineyards, wherein fruit trees and pomegranates and olive yards grow-a land of oil and honey.''
From north to south, it was about one hundred and fty miles long. Its width from east to west was .about eig y miles-forty miles on each side of the Jordan River. Altogether, it was about as large as the state of Maryland.
The land east of the Jordan is a great plateau two thousand feet above sea level. Three rivers, the Ar- non, the Jaboc, and the Yarmuk, run at right angles to the Jordan and divide the country into three sec­ tions. The northern section, between the Yarmuk and the Lebanon Mountains, is a great plain, about fty miles long and twenty miles wide. In the middle sec­ tion there are forest-clad hills rich in pasturage. The southern section is bleak, with very little vegetation.
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Ph i l ch act of Chanaaa
:
plai