1. The " Grove."
2. The grove at Etnub, found by Seetzen.
3. The clump near Ehden, found by Tristram, and probably that referred to by Lithgow in 1614.
4. Between El Hadith and Kunat, found both by Seetzen and Tristram, and probably that referred
to by Eugene Roger in 1636.
5. At Ed Dunniyeh, south of Akkar, found by Seetzen.
6. The forests on the road between Bsherreh and Bshinnate, found by Ehrenberg.
7. In the Dunzier gorge.
8. Duma.
9. East of Ain Zahalteh (very large).
10. Two small groves above El Medenk, on the eastern slope, overlooking the Bukaa, long.
35°45' E„ and lat. 350 47' N.
11. Above El Baruk.
12. Above Maasir.
13. Between Sakhlehe and Der El Khamer, discovered by M. Bove.
It is not difficult to understand how these localities have remained unknown until now, while the
principal grove has been so celebrated. It alone lies adjacent to any of the great roads which lead across
Lebanon; and there was nothing to tempt, but much to deter, travellers from diverging from the route,
and wandering without an object into the unknown and more inaccessible parts of the mountain.
The " Grove" lies in the Kedisha valley, at an elevation of 6000 feet above the sea (which, it will be
remembered, is the same elevation as that of the range of the Cedar on the southern slope of Mount
Taurus). The valley extends 2 or 3 miles in length, and as much in breadth. As described by Sir Joseph
Hooker, it terminates in open broad shallow flat-floored basins, with shelving sides, which rise from 2000
to 4000 feet above their bases, resembling the corries of our Highland mountains. The floor of that in
which the Cedars grow presents almost a dead level to the eye, crossed abruptly and transversely by a
confused range of antient moraines, which have been deposited by glaciers that, under different conditions
of climate, once filled the basin above them, and communicated with the perpetual snow with which the
whole summit of Lebanon must at that time have been deeply covered. The moraines are perhaps 80 to
100 feet high ; their boundaries are perfectly defined, and they divide the floor of the basin into an upper
and lower flat area. The rills from the surrounding heights collect on the upper flat, and form one stream,
which winds amongst the moraines on its way to the lower flat, whence it is precipitated into the gorge of
the Kedisha. The Cedars grow on that portion of the moraine which immediately borders this stream,
and nowhere else; they form one group about 400 yards in diameter, with an outstanding tree or two not
far from the rest, and appear as a black speck in the great area of the corry and its moraines, which contain
no other arboreous vegetation, nor any shrubs, but a few small barberry and rose bushes that form no
feature in the landscape.
History.—The earliest notices which we have of the Cedar are in the Bible, and the first genuine
allusion to it occurs in the reign of David, it being almost certain that one or two previous notices of a
tree bearing that name do not apply to it. We shall, however, quote the principal.
The oldest book in the Bible is said to be Job; and if Hebraists are right, it was written before the
Israelites occupied the whole of Palestine, or probably knew about Lebanon; consequently the presumption
is against any allusion to the real Cedar occurring in that book ; and, unless it should be indisputably
appropriate, we must refer any supposed allusion to the Cedar in it to some other tree. There is one
verse in which the Cedar is spoken of, but the allusion is singularly inappropriate, and therefore most
probably
probably does not apply to it. It is in the description of the Behemoth (chap. xl. 17), " He moveth his
tail like a Cedar." This obviously is meant to convey the idea of a strong, supple, and clastic whip-like
tree, such as the Poplar or the Cypress. It has no point of resemblance with the Cedar, and seems to
suit the Cypress better than any other tree of the East.
The next places where the word occurs are in Leviticus (xiv. verses 4, 6, 49, 51, and 52), in relation to
the cleansing of lepers, and it seems pretty clear that neither can they really apply to the Cedar of
Lebanon.
The same objections equally apply to the next notice of the Cedar. It occurs in Numbers (xix. 6).
Neither is the next notice, which is a poetical allusion in Balaam's prophecy of the blessing of Israel,
wholly free from doubt. It is in Numbers (xxiv. 6).
There may be no reason to dispute that the allusion to the Cedar in Judges (ix. 15), in the speech
of Jotham on the election of Abimclech as king, really relates to the Cedars of Lebanon. " And the
bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your taist in my
shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the Cedars of Lebanon."
It is not, however, until David was seated on the throne of Israel that the haze of antiquity begins to
clear off, and we come to real practical commerce in the Cedar as a branch of trade. The Jews had by
that time firmly established themselves over the whole of their kingdom, and their territories adjoined
those of the kings of Tyre and Sidon.
In 2 Samuel v. 11, we read, " And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and Cedar trees,
and carpenters and masons; and they built David an house."
It was natural for so devout a mind as David's, after he had found and appreciated the excellencies
of Cedar timber in his own house, to wish to extend the use of it to the Lord's house; and the next
mention of it in the Bible is an intention or proposition to that effect by David (2 Samuel vii. 2, and in
nearly the same words in 1 Chron. xvii. 1). The idea was, however, abandoned by David, and he contents
himself with making preparation for the execution of it by Solomon when he should succeed him
(1 Chron. xxii. 4).
After the death of David, and when Solomon was seated on his throne, frequent mention of the
Cedar occurs. The first notice is in 1 Kings (iv. 33). Immediately after we have the account of the
resumption of David's dropped scheme for building a magnificent house or temple to the Lord; and as
the excellence of the Cedar of Lebanon was the first thing which suggested to David the idea of building
a temple to the Lord, so we find the same idea, of its special fitness for the purpose, also taken up by
Solomon. Although, afterwards, as the temple rises, and his means increase, his ideas become more
magnificent, and gold, silver, and precious stones are lavished in its decoration, the Cedar of Lebanon was,
at the outset, the chief element of grandeur contemplated by Solomon. The first thing he does is to send
to Hiram, who possessed the desired material, telling his project, and asking his help (2 Chron. ii. 3 and 8,
and 1 Kings v. 6).
To Solomon's application Hiram replied (1 Kings v. 8 and 10), saying, " I have considered the things
which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of Cedar, and concerning timber
of Fir" [clearly Pinus Halcpcnsis, which grows plentifully along the base of Lebanon]. " So Hiram gave
Solomon Cedar trees, and Fir trees, according to all his desire." And that it was no trifling amount that
was taken out of the forests may be gathered from what follows; indeed it seems almost certain that the
devastation of the forests was greatly accelerated by the enormous demands made upon them by Solomon
(1 Kings vii. 2, et seq.)
The next passages in which mention is made of the Cedar give a glimpse of the extent of the uses to
which it was put (1 Kings vi. 9, et seq.): " So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house
with beams and boards of Cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house five cubits high ; and
they rested on the house with timber of Cedar And he built the walls of the house within with
boards