THE CITIES OF JUDEA.
Judea, or Jewry, is a name now applied to the whole of Canaan, but it was never so called till after the captivity Sometimes the whole land of Canaan seems in the New Testament to have been called Judea, (Gal. i. 22;) but more properly it was divided into Galilee, Samaria and Judea. Judea, thus taken, contained the original portions of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and Simeon. It consisted of three parts—the plain country, on the west; the hill country, southward of Jerusalem; and the south, towards the borders of the land of Edom. (Matt. iii. 1; Acts ii. 9.)
Adullam. (Josh. xv. 33.) An ancient and celebrated city of Judah, 15 or 20 miles south-west of Jerusalem. The king of the place was slain by Joshua. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and probably on account of its strength, was called "the glory of Israel."—Mich. i. 15.) Near this city was a cave, where David secreted himself, when he fled from Achish. The cave, which is supposed to be the same, was visited by Mr Whiting, an American Missionary, in 1885. He describes it as uneven, intricate, and very capacious; and says it is perfectly plain that 400 men might conceal themselves in the sides of the cave, as David's men did, and escape observation.—(1 Sam. xxii. 1.)
Arimathea. A city of Judea, generally considered to be the same with Ramla, a pleasant town between Jerusalem and Joppa. It is, however, more probably, the city of Ramah, in Mt. Ephraim, called Ramathaim, (1 Sam. i. 1, 19,) and by Josephus, Ramatha.—Matt. xxvii. 57.)
Abel-beth-maachah. 2 Kings xv. 29,) a city in the northern district of the tribe of Naphtali, lying south-east of Cæsarea Philippi. To this place Sheba, the son of Bichri, fled and posted himself, when pursued by Joab, general of the army of David. The citizens, however, who feared a siege if they harbored him, cut off his head, at the suggestion of a woman, and threw it over the wall to Joab. (2 Sam. xx. 14 — 22.) The city was afterwards captured. (1 Kings xv 20; 2 Kings xv 29.) Perhaps the phrase, "mother in Israel," (2 Sam. xx.
