WATER, No one can read far in the sacred Scriptures without being reminded of the vast im portance of water to the Hebrews in Palestine, and indeed in every country to which their history introduces us ; and more particularly' in the deserts in which they wandered on leaving Egypt, as well as those into which they before or afterwards sent their flocks for pasture. A subject of such import ance necessarily, therefore, claims considerable attention in a I3iblical Cyclopredia. The natural waters have already been disposed of in the articles PALESTINE and RIVER ; and in CISTERN and JERUSALEM notice has been taken of some artificial collections. It now remains to complete the sub ject, under the present head, by the addition of such details as may not have been comprehended under the articles referred to.
It has been shown that the absence of small rivers, through the want of rain in summer, renders the people of the settled country, as well as of the deserts, entirely dependent upon the water derived from wells, and that preserved in cisterns and reservoirs, during the summer and autumn ; and gives an importance unknown in our humid climate to the limited supply thus secured.
With respect to reservoirs, the articles to which reference has been made will supply all the infor mation necessary, except that we may avail our selves of this opportunity of noticing the so-called Pools of Solomon, near Bethlehern, which being supplied from fountains furnish some characteristics which distinguish them from cisterns, and deserve attention as ancient works of probably Hebrew art. The tradition which ascribes them to Solomon seems to be founded on the passage in which the writer of Ecclesiastes (usually supposed to be Solo mon) speaks of his undertakings : I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted in them trees of all kinds of fruits ; I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees' (Eccles. ii. 5, 6). To these allusion is also sup posed to be made in Canticles (iv. 12) : A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.' In short we have here a small secluded valley, obviously the site of an ancient garden, with reservoirs of water supplied by a 'shut up' fountain. Hence the valley itself goes among
old travellers by the name of Hortus Conclusus. It is also conceived to be the spot mentioned by Josephus, who says : There was, about fifty fur longs from Jerusalem, a certain place called Etham, very pleasant in fine gardens, and abounding in rivulets of water, whither Solomon was wont to go forth in the morning, sitting on high in his chariot ' (Andy,. viii. 7). Maundrell (p. S6) thinks that the pools were very probably made by Solomon ; but for the gardens,' he says, one may safely affirm that if Solomon made them in the rocky ground which is now assigned for them, he demonstrated greater power and wealth in finishing his design than he did wisdom in choosing the place for it.' But Hasselquist (p. 145), a better judge, says : ' The place will well admit that Solomon might have formed a garden here, though it is not by nature an agreeable situation, being in a bottom ; but perhaps this great prince might choose to im prove nature by art, as inany other potentates have done.' The fact is, that a valley kept always ver dant by the singular abundance of water, afforded peculiar advantages in this country for a pleasure. ground. Mariti remarks (Voyage, ii. 388) : Na ture has still preserved its original fertility to the valley of Hortue Coneheszes. Although but little cultivated, the soil still produces a tolerable quan tity of cotton and various kinds of grain. There are also seen fine plantations of fruit-trees, affording the most juicy fruits of the country. Various flowers and many fmgrant plants grow there na turally at all seasons, among which are thyme, rosemary, marjorum, sage, absinthium, persil, rue, ranunculuses, and anemones.' De Breves ( Voyage, p. 'So) long bore similar testimony, though he was there in the very unfavourable month of July ; he describes the valley as 'always green,' and, besides the plants just named, cultivated by nature's own kindly hand, he adds oranges, citrons, and pome granates to the fruits which grow there. Zuallart (Vayase, iv. 3) says that several species of rare plants were found in the valley, and seems to in sinuate the probability that they had been propa gated from exotic plants which Solomon introduced into his gardens.