lso dropped,
Yea, the clouds dropped water
The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord,
Even yonder Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

"In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied,
And the travelers walked through byways.
The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased,
Until that I Deborah arose,
That I arose a mother in Israel.

{55}{56}

[Illustration]
RIVER KISHON AND MOUNT CARMEL
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.

Esdraelon is usually regarded as one plain under one name from sea
to Jordan. In reality, however, it is not one but several plains,
more or less divided by the remains of ridges, which once upon a
time sustained across it the continuity of "the backbone of
Palestine." Thus, nine miles from the sea, near Tell el Kasis, the
traditional site of the slaughter of the priests of Baal, a
promontory of the Galilean hills shoots south to within a hundred
yards of Carmel, leaving only that space for the Kishon to break
through. Eight or nine miles farther east, at Lejjun, probably the
ancient Megiddo, low ridges run out from both north and south, as
if they had once met, and again leave Kishon but a narrow pass. And
once more, between Jezreel and a spot west of Shunem, about
twenty-four miles from the coast, there is a sudden fall of level
eastwards, which visibly separates Esdraelon proper from the
narrower valley sloping towards Jordan and is perhaps evidence of a
former connection between Gilboa and Moreh.
[End illustration]

{57}

They chose new gods;
Then was war in the gates:
Was there a shield or spear seen
Among forty thousand in Israel?
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
That offered themselves willingly among the people:
Bless ye the Lord.

"Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses,
Ye that sit on rich carpets,
And ye that walk by the way.
Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water,
There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord,
Even the righteous acts of his rule in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

"Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, sing a song:
Arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
Then came down a remnant of the nobles and the people;
The Lord came down for me against the mighty.
Out of Ephraim