The Maccabaean

This is the first of a series of articles on "Jerusalem, Ancient and Modern," based on the experiences and first-hand observations of the author. Dr. Benjamin L. Gordon needs no introduction to our readers. His articles on the Jewish Colonies of Palestine have been read and appreciated by all of them. In the present series the writer takes us through the city toward which the heart of the Jewish people has been turning through all the ages.

"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Zion" (Psa. 48:3).

"One that has not seen Jerusalem in its days of splendor has never seen a beautiful Metropolis." (Suk. 51) "Ten Kabin (a measure in Talmudic days) of beauty descended to the world, nine were taken by Jerusalem, and one was left to the entire universe." (Ked. 49).

Of all the grace and charm that surrounded ancient Jerusalem as testified by Biblical and Rabbinic writings, only such as could not be destroyed by vandalism was left as an inheritance to the modern city, such as the beautiful and lofty situation, the statey mountains around it, the picturesque valleys that separate Jerusalem from these mountains, and the balmy atmosphere. Very little is left of the Jerusalem of antiquity to indicate the skill, dexterity and thrift of the ancient Judeans. It is through sheer chance that modern Jerusalem still retains its historic name, for King Adrian in his hatred for the Judeans was jealous of its Hebrew name and was anxious that the city be known bv the Roman name Aelia Capitalina.

Nothing more impressively indicates the complete destruction of ancient Jerusalem than the impossibility of identifying with exactness the locations of its former sites. Fire, sword, plunder and time have removed all the landmarks of great historic deeds. The modern city stands on the ruins of the old Judean capital like a weath-

er beaten tombstone on the grave of a departed hero. The rubbish collected through centuries of devastation and destruction has been heaped up to a height of sixty feet covering all landmarks and removing all traces that would lead to the identification of ancient sites, streets or structures. Modern Jerusalem, therefore, dates from the days of the crusaders and is built on a huge heap of ruins. Thus the prophecy of Jeremiah (30:18) that "The City shall be builded upon her own heap" has long been fulfilled.

Modern Excavations.

Thanks to the untiring researches of the forty years by archaeologists such as M. Clement Gauneau, Sir Charles Warren, Sir Charles Wilson, Captain Conder, and particularly the excavations in Jerusalem accomplished by the Palestine Exploration Fund of England, we are enabled to recover a few old sites and we are in a position to obtain some idea of the ancient topography of the city on more accurate data than those furnished us by the records of early pilgrims. We are at last beginning to read Biblical accounts by light of modern established facts rather than by exploded and obscure traditions, or misleading appellations derived from records of irresponsible theologians who came to conclusions as to the authenticity of historic sites by intuition rather than through scientific excavations. Few sites in modern Jerusalem have, therefore, an authentic historic value