E´bal and Ger´izim, two mountains of Samaria, forming the opposite sides of the valley which contained the ancient town of Shechem, the present Nabulus. From this connection it is best to notice them together. The valley which these mountains enclose is about 200 or 300 paces wide, by above 3 miles in length; and Mount Ebal rises on the right hand and Gerizim on the left hand of the valley (which extends west-north-west) as a person approaches Shechem from Jerusalem. It was on Mount Ebal that God commanded to be reared up an altar, and a pillar inscribed with the law; and the tribes were to be assembled, half on Ebal and half on Gerizim, to hear the fearful maledictions pronounced by the Levites upon all who should violate the obligations of the sacred code, and the blessings promised to those who should observe them. The tribes which responded with simultaneous 'Amens' to the curses were to be stationed on Mount Ebal, and those who answered to the blessings, on Mount Gerizim. This grand ceremony—perhaps the most grand in the history of nations—could not have found a more fitting scene; and it was duly performed by Joshua as soon as he gained possession of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 27; ). Dr. Robinson (Bib. Researches, iii. 96) says—'Mounts Gerizim and Ebal rise in steep, rocky precipices, immediately from the valley on each side, apparently some 800 feet in height. The sides of both these mountains as here seen (i.e.from Nabulus) were, to our eyes, equally naked and sterile, although some travelers have chosen to describe Gerizim as fertile, and confine the sterility to Ebal. The only exception in favor of the former, as far as we could perceive, is a small ravine coming down opposite to the west end of the town, which indeed is full of fountains and trees; in other respects both mountains, as here seen, are desolate, except that a few olive-trees are scattered upon them. The side of the northern mountain, Ebal, along the foot, is full of ancient excavated sepulchres. The southern mountain is now called by the inhabitants Jebel-et-Tur, though the name Gerizim is known, at least, to the Samaritans. The modern appellation of Ebal we did not learn.'
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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