EBAL (* ; Sept. Paa(3ax). In the midst of the mountains of Samaria lies the beautiful upland plain of Mukhna. The ridge which shuts it in on the west is steep and rocky, and towards its north ern end is cleft asunder at right angles to its course by the picturesque vale of Shechem. On each side of the opening of the vale the ridge rises several hundred feet, thus forming two distinct peaks, overtopping all the neighbouring summits. That on the south is Gerizim, and that on the north Ebal. They are not isolated mountains, but culminating points of a chain. Their declivi ties facing the vale bear a singular resemblance to each other. They are equally rugged and bare ; the limestone strata here and there project, form ing bold bluffs and precipices ; but the greater portion of the slopes, though steep, are formed into terraces, partly natural and partly artificial. For this reason both mountains appear more bar ren fr6m below than they are in reality, the rude and naked supporting walls of the terraces being then alone visible. The soil, though scanty, is rich, and, to a large extent, is still cultivated. In the bottom of the vale are olive groves ; and a few straggling trees extend some distance up the sides. The broad summits and upper slopes have no trees, yet they are not entirely bare. The steeper banks are here and there scantily clothed with dwarf shrubbery ; while in spring and early summer rank grass, brambles, and thistles, inter mixed with myriads of bright wild flowers—ane mones, convolvolns, tulips, and poppies—spring up among the rocks and stones. The summits of both Ebal and Gerizim are distinctly marked ; their sides towards the vale and the plain of Mukhna are steep and often precipitous ; but the western slopes are very gradual, leaving sec tions of high table-land, which, though stony, is cultivated. The elevation of the sister peaks is about equal. To the writer, Gerizim seemed to be a little higher than Ebal ; others, however, have thought differently. The height of Ebal has never been measured ; that of Gerizim, ac cording to barometrical measurement, is 270o feet, and about goo feet above the vale of Shechem (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 178).
Ebal has not been so often ascended nor so fully explored as Gerizim. It does not possess so much of interest for the traveller or the antiquary. Bartlett went up it from Nabulus, and passed the small rely, or tomb, of Sitty Salamiyeh, from which the mountain takes one of its modern names, Yebel Salamtyeh. He says, ` I reached the summit, and ranged for more than a mile over its rugged surface without encountering a living soul, or even a solitary flock. There were traces of old habitations, but I could discover nothing which afforded any sort of evidence that Ebal, like Gerizim, had been a site of importance. The prospect was very fine—the hills of Gilead beyond Jordan, Gerizim with its ruins, the vale of Nabulus melting into the plains of the sea-coast ; and the dim blue Mediterranean stretching lazily away, till lost in a distant cloud' (Walks about 7erusalem, p. 251). The writer of this article ascended Gerizim twice, and spent many hours on its summit. He directed special attention to the appearance of Ebal, and examined its sides and summit minutely by the aid of a telescope. It presented nothing worthy of special note. Some have imagined that because the curses were pro nounced upon Ebal, that mountain should bear some marks of them in its greater barrenness ; and some travellers have even thought that they could perceive the barrenness of Ebal as com pared with Gerizim (Benjamin of Tudela, and Maundrell, in Early Travels in Palestine, pp. Sz, 433 ; Wilson, Lands of the Bible, ii. 71) ; but there is no ground for any such expectation ; and assuredly the closest scrutiny has failed to detect any difference in the quality of the soil or general physical aspect of the two mountains. In the cliffs along the base of Eaal are a number of ancient rock tombs. This was, doubtless, the necropolis of Shechem (Robinson, iii. 131 ; Van de Velde, ii. 29o).