BASHAN (ba shan), 11 th. Wit light soil, soft earth, fruitful'.
(1) Meaning. The ‘vorol probably denote, the peculiar fertility of the soil ; in the ancient versions. instead of using it as a proper TIMM% a word meaning fruitful or fat is adopted Thus .n Ps. xxii:12 for Bastian, we find in Septuagint pre'-oh-nes (fag).
(2) Territory. •I'he sacred writers include in Basilan that part of the country eastward of the Jordan which was given to half the tribe of Nlanasceli, situated to the north of Gilead Ito chart incorrectly places it lit tween the rivers Jabbok and Armin; and sptaks of it as the allot ment of the tribes of Reuben and Gad (Num xxxii :33).
(3) History. The first notice of this country is in Gen. xiv :5. Cherdorlaoiner and his con federates 'smote the Rephaims in Ashtaroth Kar natm. Now Og, king of Basilan, dwelt in Ash taroth, and 'was of the remnant of the Rephaiin' ('giants,' Auth. \'ers.), Joshua xii :4 When the Israelites invaded the Promised Land, Argob. a province of Basilan, contained 'sixty fenced cities. with walls and gates and bars, besides un•alred towns a great many' (Dent. in :4. 5; i Kings iv:13). These were all taken by the Israelites, and Og and his people utterly de stroyed. Golan. one of the cities of refuge. was situated in this country (Dem. iv :43; Josh. xx :8; xxi ; Joseph. Antiq. iv:7, sec. 4)• appointed twelve officers to furnish the monthly supplies for the royal household, and allotted the region of Argob to the son of Geber (t Kings iv:13). Towards the close of Jehn's reign, Hazael invaded the land of Israel. and smote the whole eastern territory, 'even Gilead and Basilan' (2 Kings x :33 ; Joseph. . /wig. ix :8, sec. t); but after his death the cities he had taken were recovered by Jehoash (Joash) (2 Kings xiii:25), who defeated the Syrians m three battles, as Elisha had predicted (2 Kings xiii:to; Joseph. Antiq. ix:8, sec. 7). After the captivity the name liatan:ea was applied to only a part of the ancient Bastian; the rest being called Trachonitis. Auranitis, and Gaulanitis (see Lightfoot's Chorographica/ Notes upon the places mentioned in St. Luke: Works, vol. x, p.
282). All these provinces were granted by Au gustus to Herod the Great, and on his death Hatanzea formed a part of Philip's tetrarchy (Jo seph. De Bell /ad. ii :6, sec. 3; Antiq; xviii:4. six. 6). At his decease. A. D. 34. it was at: flexed. by Tiberius. to the province of Syria; but in A. 1). 37 it was given by Caligula to Herod Agrippa. the son of Aristobulus, with the title of king (Acts xii:t ; Joseph. /intl./.
sec. to). From the time of Agrippa's death, in \• D. 44. to D. 53. the government again reverted to the Romans, but it was then restored by Claudius to Agrippa 11 (Acts xxv:13).
(4) Scripture Allusions. The richness of the pasture land of Basilan. and the consequent su pt rio,ritv of its breed of cattle, are frequently allnoltd to in the Scriptures. We read in Dent. xxxii :14. of 'rains of the brted (Itch. sons) of liashan.' I •zek. xxxix :t8) 'Rains, lambs, bulls. goals, all of them fatlings of Basilan.' The oaks of Bastian are in connection with the cedars of Lebanon I I s. ii :13 Zech. xi :21. Eitkiers description of the wealth and magnifi cence of Tyre it is caul. 'Of have they made their oars' ( xxvii :6) The dult commentators on Antos it :t. 'the hint' of Basilan: .1. rune. Theodor. t, and Cyril, speak in the strongest terms of the exuberant rtilitv of fiochatt. Illerozmion. pars i, col 3oo and modern tr.t.elers corn horate tin it ass, Mom. I see Finreklardt's orreh cn Spit I gold. pp all 2R‘t: 1104.1.10e11110' / t ilVel.5 fin MileSline. T7101101 The (. air /I WS of M511,111 ono (;Ilead. II. pp IL: 117 J. E. R.
(5) Tablet Allusions. the ei rI \ tablets the land of Basilan is called Ziri-Basani, The field of Basilan.' and the some 111111C is Totyndh an Egyptian text discovered at \livdos, which tells us that the prune minister of the first year of Meneptah's reign was a native of 'Zar Basana.'" (Sayre, lligher Crit and Mon p. 251).