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the palm-trees and the twelve wells of water in Elim-So Moses brought Israel from the Redsea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah; for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.Here the Lord shewed to Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters, and they were made sweet.- -And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees: and they encamped there by the waters. Exod. xv. 22, 23, 27. This encampment was towards the lower part of the bay; and after the Israelies had been journeying from their place of passage several days. For they were three days without water, and upon the fourth they came to Marah, and sometime afterward arrived at Elim. Diodorus Siculus gives an account of this palm grove, as it was described by Ariston, who was sent by Ptolemy to descry the coast of Arabia upon the Red-sea. He calls it the Phoenicon, and that it lay upon the western side of the desert, at some distance from an island denominated Phocarum

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I Exodus xv. 27.

2 Diodorus 1. 3. p. 175.

Insula, the same which is now called Tiran ; consequently the grove Phonicon must have been towards that part of the bay. The place was held in great reverence on account of these palms, which grew there in great numbers; and a man and a woman were constituted as a 1 priest and priestess to preside there. All the country around is exposed to violent heats, and is destitute of good water. But in this spots ολίγαι πηγαι και λιβαδες εκπιπτουσιν εν αυτῷ, ψυχροτητι χιονος εδεν λειπομενοιthere are a number of springs, and scantlings of water, which fall as cool to the taste as snow'. Just above this part of the desert he places the 3 Maranai. These were the ancient inhabi

1 Diodurus above. See also Agatharchides Geog. Græci Min. v. 1. p. 57.

* Diodorus Sic. 1. 3. P. 175.

3 In these names, I think, we may see traces of the ancient Marah, as well as of the Gerandæni, in Corondel; which probably was denominated from the latter people. The engravings upon the rocks seem still to remain, as such were seen by Mons. Monconys just in this part of the desert, as he was returning from Mount Sinai. A la fin du valon il y a quantité de grosses roches; sur lesquelles il y a des characteres gravés, et des lignes entieres d'écriture: et à plusieurs des grandes il y a des huit, ou dix lignes: a mon avis ces lettres ont eté faites avec des eaux fortes; et non pas avec le ciseau ; tant à cause de la diverse couleur, qu'elles

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tants, but were slain by the Garandæi, who by an act of great treachery got possession of the palm-grove and fountains. Here likewise is the desert of Faran, the Pharan of Ptolemy; which in its situation agrees precisely with the Pàran of the scriptures. Diodorus further speaks of some rocks or pillars here, engraven with unknown characteristics. The same history of this Phoenicon, or palm-grove, and the fountains, is given by Strabo, who places it rather low upon the coast, and says, that the next object towards the bottom was the Insula Phocarum. These must have been the fountains mentioned by Moses, and a continuation of the same palms, unless we suppose the nature of the country to have been altered. For we do not read that there was any other part of the region which had either

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ont, etant extrêmement jaunes, qu' à cause du peu de profondeur, que l'œil ne sçauroit reconnoître : et pour en être certain, il fallut qui j'y employasse le doigts. Neanmoins ces lettres ne sont point gâtées, et paroissent fort nettes. v 1. p. 449, 450. Pocock. p. 148.

'La vallee de Girondel, de meme que celle de Faran. Niebuhr, Arabie, p. 346, 347.

Waad Pharan in the way to Tor. Pocock. p. 141. See also p. 157.The promontory below, called now Ras Mohammed, is the Angaτngiov Dagar of Ptolemy.

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such a grove of trees or such waters. Thus it was in the time of the Israelites, and so it was found to be in the time of Strabo and Diodorus; and thus we find it at this day. Strabo gives a reason why this little district was so much honoured and frequented. Δια το πασαν την

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κυκλῳ καυματηξαν τε, και ανυδρον ανυδρον και ασκιον iTagXew.-Because all the country about was parched up with heat, being without water, and without a tree, that could afford shade.

Monconys, in his return through the desert from Mount Sinai, took a lower way to the south towards a place called now Tor, where seems to be the district described by Strabo and Diodorus, near Paran. He mentions a valley which he passed through, and in this valley towards the end he saw the rocks with ancient inscriptions; and at last came to a place, which he seems very justly to suppose the Elim of the scriptures-situé au fonds de céte plaine on bord de la mer et ou sont les douze fontaines. He adds ces eaux vont arrosant une quantite de beaux palmiers, fermés de murailles; et qui sont bien augmentés en nombre au dela des septante, que Moyse y trouva. He tells us however,

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. L. 16. P. 1122.

* P. 450, 451.

that the waters are at this day by no means of a good taste.---' C'est en ce lieu, ou Moyse trouva les douze fontaines, et les (septante) palmiers. On y voit encore les douze fontaines, ou sources, qui sortent du pié de la montagne. Elles on un assez mauvais goût.

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-aussi y a-t-il la un petit bain chaud, qu'on nomme de Moyse. Strabo intimates, that the waters were in the time of Artemidorus very good; and from the Israelites encamping near them we may infer the same of them then. But this is not an article of much consequence. For all that we are told by Moses is, that at the place where they arrived they found twelve wells and seventy palm-trees. The fountains remain precisely the same in number, and the palm-trees are not extinct; on the contrary, they are multiplied. Notwithstanding what Monconys says, travellers take notice of fountains of good water, though mixed with others of an inferior quality, as we learn from Dr Pocock. He visited this district, and says, that in going southward towards Tor, and about a league

'P. 450. They are called Hammam Mousa. Shaw, p. 350.

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Φησι δε ενδοτερω κεισθαι τέτο (το Ποσείδιον) του Ελαμίτε μυχου. συνεχη δε τον Ποσείδιας φοινίκωνα είναι συνδρον. 1. 16. p. 1122.

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