furnished enough, beside, for watering the gardens. Joseph. de Bello, lib. v. cap. 26, vide map of Jerusalem.

Isaiah viii. 6, insinuates, that its waters flowed gently and without noise: "forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly," &c.

St. John speaks of the pool of Siloam. Our Saviour sent the man that was born blind to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. John ix. 7.

SIMEON.

SIMEON, (lat. 31o. 30.-long. 34o. 40′,) son of Jacob and Leah; born A. M. 2247, A. D. 1757. (Gen. xxix. 33.) He was brother to Dinah by the same mother: and when Shechem son of Hamor had defiled Dinah, Simeon and Levi revenged the affront; they assaulted Shechem, killed all the men they found, and brought away their sister. (Gen. xxxiv. 25; A.м. 2265, ante A. D. 1739.) It is thought Simeon was one who showed the most inhumanity to his brother Joseph; and advised his brothers to kill him. (Gen. xxxvii. 20.) This conjecture is founded on Joseph's keeping him prisoner in Egypt (Gen. xlii. 24) and treating him with more rigour than the rest of his brethren. Jacob on his death-bed showed his indignation against Simeon and Levi. "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Gen. xlix. 5-7.

In effect, the tribes of Simeon and Levi were scattered and dispersed in Israel: Levi had no compact, lot, or portion, and Simeon received for his portion only a district dismembered from the tribe of Juda (Josh. xix.) with some other lands they overran in the mountains of Seir, and the desert of Gedor. (1 Chron. iv. 24. 39, 42.) The Targum of Jerusalem and the Rabbins, followed by some ancient fathers, believe, that a great part of the scribes and men learned in the law, were of this tribe; and as these were dispersed through Israel, we see herein the accomplishment of Jacob's prophecy.

The testament of the twelve patriarchs intimates that Simeon died at the age of one hundred and twenty years; that he was a man of an implacable and severe temper.

The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Exod. vi. 15.) Their descendants amounted to 59,300 men, at the Exodus, (Numb. i. 22,) but only 22,200 entered the Land of Promise, the rest dying in the desert, because of their murmurings and impiety. (Numb. xxvi. 14.) The portion of Simeon was west and south of that of Judah.

SIN, WILDERNESS of, (lat. 29°. 10'.-long. 33°. 10'.) a part of the great desert which occupies nearly the whole country between the two branches of the Red Sea, implying more particularly that portion which lies between the western branch and Mount Sinai. In Exod. xvi. 1, it is said to be between Elim and Sinai; and is probably that at present called El Seyḥ.—See Journeyings of the Israelites.

SINAI, or SINA, (lat. 28°. 35'.-long. 33o. 52',) a famous mountain of Arabia Petræa, on which God gave the law to Moses. (Exod. xix. 1; xxiv. 16; xxxi. 18; xxxiv. Levit. xxv. 1; xxvi. 46.) It stands in a kind of peninsula, formed by the two arms of the Red Sea: one extending north, called the gulf of Kolsum; the other extending east, called the gulf of Elan. (See the Plate, Travels of Israel in the Wilderness.) The Arabs give Mount Sinai the name of Tor, i. e. the mountain, by way of excellence; or Gibel Mousa, the Mountain of Moses: it is 260 miles from Cairo, which is a journey of ten days. The wilderness of Sinai, where the Israelites continued encamped almost a whole year, and where Moses erected the tabernacle of the covenant, is considerably elevated above the rest of the country; the way to it is very craggy, the greater part absolute rock; then one comes to a large space of ground, or a plain surrounded on all sides by rocks and eminences, whose length is nearly twelve miles.-Coppin's Voyage to Egypt, c. 10. See Plates, Views, Map, &c. of Sinai.

Toward the extremity of this plain, on the north, two high mountains appear, the highest is called Sinai, the other Horeb. They are of very steep ascent, and do not stand on much ground, in comparison to their extraordinary height. Sinai is at least one-third part higher than the other, and its ascent more upright and difficult. The top of the mountain terminates in an uneven and rugged space, which might contain about sixty persons. On this eminence is built a little chapel called St. Catherine's, where it is thought the body of this saint rested for 360 years; until it was removed into a church at the foot of the mountain. Near

this chapel issues a fountain of very good fresh water; it is looked on as miraculous, it not being conceivable how water can flow from so high and so barren a mountain.

Mount Horeb stands west of Sinai; so that at sun-rising the shadow of Sinai covers Horeb. Besides the little fountain at the top of Sinai, there is another at the foot of Horeb, which supplies the monastery of Saint Catherine. Five or six paces from thence they show a stone, in height four or five feet; in breadth about three this, they say, is that from which Moses caused the water to gush out; its colour is a spotted grey, and it is, as it were, set in a kind of earth, where no other rock appears. This stone has twelve holes or channels, about a foot wide, whence they say the water issued.

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The Arabians reckon, among the sons of Israel, one called Tor, or Tour, who gave name to Mount Sinai, which they call TourSinai. They also gave the name of Tour to a small town or village, west of the mountain, on the shore of the Red Sea. Mahomet begins the chapter in his Alcoran, called the fig, by this oath "I swear by the fig, by the olive, by Mount Sinai, and by the sure and faithful city." The fig stands for a mountain of Palestine called Torlina, the mountain of the fig: the olive stands for the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem: Mount Sinai is known: the faithful city is Mecca. Sinai is in great veneration among the Mussulmen, because of the law which God gave on this mountain.-D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 501.

Below this mountain is a monastery of Greek monks, who had heretofore only a tower built near the burning bush of Moses: but, finding themselves exposed to the insults of the Arabs, who devoured all their provisions, even to the consecrated bread of the eucharist, they petitioned the emperor Justinian to build them a strong monastery, to secure them from these depredations; the emperor complied: but it is said, he put the architect to death, for pitching on this place for the monastery; which he did because of its nearness to the burning bush, and for the conveniency of the water. It is called the monastery of

St. Catherine.

SODOM, the capital city of Pentapolis; for some time the dwelling-place of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. (Gen. xiii. 12, 13.) The crimes of this city were so enormous, that God destroyed it by fire from heaven, with three neighbouring cities,

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Gomorrah, Zeboim, and Admah; which were as wicked as itself. (Gen. xix. A. M. 2107, ante, a. D. 1897.) The plain wherein they stood, was before pleasant and fruitful, like an earthly paradise. It was first burned, and was afterwards overflowed by the waters of the Jordan, which formed the present Dead Sea, or lake of Sodom. It is believed Sodom was one of the southern cities that were destroyed; because it was near Zoar, which was beyond the southern point of the Dead Sea.

It is doubted whether it stood within the space of land now possessed by this sea, or only upon its border. The prophets mention the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or allude to it, and insinuate, that these places shall be desert and dried up, and uninhabited; (Jer. xlix. 18; 1. 38; that they shall be covered with briars and brambles, a land of salt and sulphur, where can be neither planting nor sowing. (Deut. xxix. 22; Wisd. ii. 9; Amos iv. 11.) Throughout Scripture the ruin of Sodom and Gomorrah is represented as one of the most signal effects of God's anger. Josephus says, (de Bello, lib. v. cap. 5,) that around the lake of Sodom, and the cities destroyed by fire from heaven, the land is all burnt up, and the dismal effects of this terrible burning are still visible, as are the remains of those unfortunate cities. The fruits which grow there have a fair outward appearance, and seem good to the sight; but are full of ashes, and when opened, fly away in dust.

It should seem, then, that in Josephus' time, the ruins of these five cities were still in being. Strabo, (Geograp. lib. xv.) also speaks of the ruins of Sodom, which were sixty furlongs in compass, and were to be seen on the shore of the Dead Sea. The Notitia makes express mention of Sodom as an episcopal city. Severus, a bishop of Sodom, is found among the bishops of Arabia, who had subscribed to the first council of Nice. M. Reland cannot persuade himself that Sodom was ever rebuilt; he believes the word Sodom, among the subscriptions to the council of Nice, must be a fault of the copies; but we cannot be of his opinion. The record is very circumstantial, it puts the episcopal city of Sodom between Thamar and Engeddi. Stephens the geographer in Εγγάδα et in Σόδομα, puts Engeddi near Sodom. So that we see no cause for doubting whether, subsequently Sodom was rebuilt, either in its former place, or near it: but though it appears to us very probable that it was not co

vered by the waters of the Dead Sea, and that it stood on the shore of this sea, yet we would not strenuously oppose the contrary opinion.

[Having elsewhere supposed that this country was overwhelmed by an earthquake, and volcanic fire, we shall produce testimonies from Arab writers in confirmation of that opinion.

Ibn Haukal says, "The land of the tribe of Lot is called Aredz al Monklonbah, (the land turned upside down.) Neither corn, nor herbage, nor cattle, are found here; the ground is black; and stones are seen scattered about, which one would imagine to be the stones showered down on that wicked race."

The Koran says, (chapter of Hejr,) "Wherefore a terrible storm from heaven assailed them at sunrise, and we turned the city upside down, and rained on them stones of clay hardened in the fire"-lava, and other volcanic matters.

The following is Volney's description of the present state of this district. Travels, vol. i. p. 303.

"The south of Syria, that is, the hollow through which the Jordan flows, is a country of volcanos: the bituminous and sulphureous sources of the lake Asphaltites, the lava, the pumice stones thrown upon its banks, and the hot baths of Tabaria, demonstrate that this valley has been the seat of a subterraneous fire, which is not yet extinguished. Clouds of smoke are often observed to issue from the lake, and new crevices to be found upon its banks. If conjectures in such case were not too liable to error, we might suspect that the whole valley has been formed only by a violent sinking of a country which formerly poured the Jordan into the Mediterranean. It appears certain, at least, that the catastrophe of five cities destroyed by fire, must have been occasioned by the irruption of a volcano then burning. Strabo expressly says, that the tradition of the inhabitants of the country (that is of the Jews themselves) was, that formerly the valley of the lake was peopled by thirteen flourishing cities, and that they were swallowed up by a volcano.' This account seems to be confirmed by the quantities of ruins still found by travellers on the western border. These eruptions have ceased long since; but earthquakes, which usually succeed them, still continue to be felt at intervals in this country. The coast in general is subject to them, and history gives us many examples of earthquakes which have changed the face of Antioch, Laodicea, Tripoli, Berytus, Tyre, Sidon, &c. In our time, in the