LASEA (Aacrata ; Aacrcrata ; A, 'AXcta-ca ; B, Aacrea ; Thalassa). When the Apostle Paul, on his eventful voyage to Rome, 'was passing under Crete, over against Salmone,' the hiStorian tells us that, hardly passing it (the vessel) came into a place which is called the Fair Havens, nigh where unto was the city Lasea' (Acts xxvii. 8). The Peutinger Table marks a town called Lisia in Crete, and Pliny (iv. 12) mentions Lasos (or ,4los, as it is in some copies) as one of the cities of that island. These may probably be identical with Lasea (Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii., p. 33o, ist ed.) Until very recently the site of this town was altogether unknown. It was discovered in 1856, and tbe site carefully examined by the Rev. G. Brown. It lies about the middle of the southern coast of Crete, some five miles east of Fair Havens, and close to Cape Leonda. Mr. Brown describes the ruins as follows :—` Inside the cape, to the eastward, the beach is lined with masses of masonry. These were formed of small stones cemented together with mortar so firmly that even where the sea had undermined them huge fragments lay on the sand. This sea-wall extended a quarter of a mile along the beach from one rocky face to another, and was evidently in tended for the defence of the city. Above we found the ruins of two temples. The steps which led up to the one remain, though in a shattered state. Many shafts, and a few capitals of Grecian pillars, all of marble, lie scattered about, and a gully worn by a torrent lays bare the substructions down to the rock. To the cast a conical rocky hill is girdled by a wall ; and on a platform be tween this hill and the sea, the pillars of another edifice lie level with the ground. Some peasants came down to see us from the hills above, and I asked them the name of the place. They said at once Lasea" (Smith's Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul, app. iv., p. 262, 2d ed.) This interest ing and important discovery throws much light on this part of the apostle's voyage, and affords addi tional proof of the minute accuracy of Luke's topographical notices (see Alford, Greek Test., Prolegomena to Acts, Excursus I., 3d ed.)— J. L. P.
LASHA (3.7eh ; Aao-d.; Lesa, and Lasa), a place mentioned in Gen. x. 19 as marking the utmost border of the ancient Canaanites. Their border was from Sidon unto Gaza ; towards (rInC) Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, unto Lasha.' Lasha thus appears to have been situated east, or north-east, of the cities of the Plain, and consequently beyond the Dead Sea. The name is only casually mentioned in the Onamasticon of Eusebius ; but upon the passage in Genesis, Jerome says, 'hoc tantum annotandum videtur, quod Lise (sic) ipsa sit, gum nunc Callirhoe dicitur, ubi aqum prorumpentes in mare Mortuum defluunt ' (Quast. in Gen. Opp., iii. 321 ; ed. Migne). This conjecture is highly probable. The position of Callirboe agrees in all respects with the Mosaic narrative ; and the name would seem to favour the view. Ve'b appears to be equivalent to the Arabic 5 t a fissure," perhaps used of chasms in the earth, and fountains ' (Gesenius, Thes., s. v.) Cal lirhoe is situated in a narrow wild ravine which falls into the Dead Sea, near its north-eastern angle. The scenery is very romantic. The cliffs
rise up in jagged frownim, masses, variously colouted—red, grey, and black—while the whole bottom of the ravine is densely filled with foliage. Canes, aspens, tamarisks, and palms are intermixed with the bright and beautiful oleander. A copious stream of hot water, fed by numerous hot springs, dashes along a rocky torrent-bed, throwing up clouds of white steam, and tinging every stone and cliff-side in its track with the bright yellow of the sulphur with which it is largely impregnated. Around the springs, which are about three miles from the lake, are some ruins, strewn all over with broken pottery. Here stood the baths once so famous for their medicinal properties, where Herod the Great went, by the advice of his physicians, during his last illness (Joseph. Antiq. xvii. 6. 5 ; c£ Pliny, v. 16). The water at the fountain has a temperature of about 96° Fahr. ; the stream is about twelve feet wide and one foot dcep, with a very rapid current ; and the chasm is not more than thirty yards across (Irby and Mangles, p. 467, 1st ed.; Lynch, Official Report, May 4; Handbk., pp. 201, 3oo ; Reland, Pal, 302; Ritter, Pal. urai Syr., ii. 572). A short distance south of this ravine (which is now called Vvady Zurka Main) are other warm springs, and beside them a ruined town called Sara (Ritter, /. c.; Seetzen, Reise, 336). Dean Stanley suggests that Callirrhoe may be identical with the En-eg/aim of Ezek. xlvii. to (S. and P., p. 289). This, however, is mere con jecture. We have no data by which to fix the site of En-eglaim.—J. L. P.
LASHARON (1.1-1fh ; wanting in the Sept. ; Salon). This obscure name has given rise to considerable discussion among critics. It is only found in Josh. xii. 18, where, in the list of the old Canaanitish kings conquered by the Israelites, we read, The king of Lasharon one.' Verses 18-22 are wanting in the Vatican Codex of the Septua gint ; and this name, with a few others, is also left out in the Alexandrine. They are now found in all Hebrew MSS. Jerome renders the clause, R.ex Saron from which it appears that he considered the 9 to be a preposition prefixed (with the art. 71, represented by the dagesh in V) to the proper name jr1V ; and in this view he is followed by a number of scholars, as Clericus, Michaelis, etc. (Critici Sacri, ad loc.) In the same manner it is said .-1* means king of Israel.' This, however, is contrary to the usage of the text, where every other town is connected with king,' in the ordinary construct state, with out any such prefix. We conclude, therefore, that Lasharon is the real name. The Targum reads rint:,91 Nnn, and the Arabic version also c:).1,.',1 (see Keil, Comment. on yinhua ; Rosenmiiller, ad loc.) The highest authorities are in favour of the ordinary reading, notwithstanding the argument of Gesenius (see, however, Thesaurus, p. 642 ; and compare Bochart, Opp. ii. 3o7). The site of Lasharon is unknown. Masius supposes it to be the place mentioned in Acts ix. 35, where the reading of some MSS. is Acroniparva, instead of lcipwpa ; but there is no evidence to support such a view.—J. L. P.