Earthquake (Hastings' Dictionary)

Palestine has from time imme- morial been a country subject to earthquakes, and it is '.Iierefore not surprising that several references to these phenomena should be found in Holy Writ. Nor is it improbable that during prehistoric times, especially during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, it was even more liable to seismic shocks than in the former period, when we con-iiider that the regions beyond the Jordan witnessed volcanic eruptions on a vast scale from craters and foci which are now altogether dormant. The references in this article will be restricted to the region of Pal. and the adjoining territories of Syria, Asia Minor, and Arabia Petra^a, and the subject will be treated under the foil, heads : — 1. Historical. 2. Prophetic. 3. Earthquakes of the Christian Era. 4. Origin of Earthquake Phenomena. 6. Literature. 1. Historical. — (a) Earthquake at Mount Sinai on the giving of the Law : ' the whole mount quaked greatly' (Ex 19'). (6) Earthquake accompanied by fissures and sinking of the ground, by which Korah and his companions were destroyed (Nu 16" ; also Jos. Ant. IV. iii. 3). (c) Earthquake in the days of Saul (1 S 14"). {d ) Elijah, fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, finds a refuge on the solitary heights of Horeb (Mount Sinai) in Arabia Petrjea (1 K 19"). Assuming Jebel Musa to be actually the mount in question, tradition has handed down to us the name of the cave from which the prophet witnessed tlie etiects of the earthquake. At about 200 feet below the summit of this mountain there lies in a recess a circular pool surrounded by rocks of granite and porphyry penetrated at one spot by a cave, prob- ably of artificial origin, kno^vn amonn:st the Arabs and the monks of St. Catherine as ' Elijah's cave.' The position and surroundings fit in so well with the narrative that it would be useless to call in question the truth of this identification.t The solitude of the place would have alJbrded the prophet protection ; the cave, shelter ; and the pool, water to quench his thirst. (e) Earthquake in the reign of Uzziah. This earthquake must have been one of extraordinary severity, as it is twice referred to, Am 1' and Zeo 14° ; and from the latter passage we may infer that it caused a precipitate flight of the inhabitants of JeruB., and may have been accompanied by tissur- ing of the earth at the Mount of Olives. The exact date cannot be determined, as Uzziah's reign was long, extending from c. B.C. 790-740. (/) B.C. 31, Sept. 2. In the reign of Herod an earthquake occurred in Judsea, 'such as had not happened at any other time,' destructive to men and animals (Jos. Ant. XV. v. 2). (g) Earthquake at the Crucifixion. In this case the earthquake described in Mt 27" was one of the miraculous manifestations of divine power which accompanied the death of our Lord on the cross, and was followed by rending of the rocks and of the veil of the temple, and opening of the tombs, A.D. 29. (h) Earthquake at Philippi. This has often been considered a miraculous manifestation of divine power, called forth for the release from prison of St. Paul and Silas, a.d. 51. In Keith Johnston's Phyrical Atlas, u also lo Prestwlch's Mcu) aj Active and Extinct Volcanoes {Geology, vol. 1.), the region of Pal. and Syria ts shown as one greatly subject to earthquake shocks. t The only other rival Is that of SerbfU : bat the claims of i Musft to be Uoreb far outweigh those of Serb&l. Bee Stanley, Sinai and PaL, ad. 1860, p. 49 ; Picturesque Pal., p. 118. 2. Prophetic. — Earthquakes being amongst the most terrible and impressive of natural phe- nomena, are made use of in the Bible for prophetic imagery connected with future calamitous events j thus — (a) she (Ariel or Mount Zion) shall be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake' (Is 29», RV). (b) 'And there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places' (Mt 24'). (c.) 'And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake' (Rev 6'2). (d) 'And he (the angel) taketh the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth ; and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake' (Rev 8°). (e) ' And there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons' (Rev II")- (/) 'And there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth' (Rev 16"). 3. Earthquakes of the Christian Era.— Out of the large number of recorded earthquakes, of greater or less intensity, from which Pal. and the neighbouring countries have sutiered, only a few of special importance can be noticed here. (1) A.D. 494. Syria and Asia Minor ; the cities of lAodicea, Hierapolis, Tripolis, and Agathicum were overthrown (ifar. Comes, p. 46, quot. by Mallet). (2) A.D. 661. Felt over Pal., Arabia, and Syria (Theophanes, p. 192). (3) A.D. 658. Month of June ; very destructive in PaL and Syria (Theoph. p. 282). (4) A. D. 746. Jerua. and surrounding regions suffered greatly (Theoph. p. 363). (5) a.D. 755. A severe shock of earthquake occurred at Jerus., whereby the Haram es-Sherif (' Mosque of Omar ') was much injured (Besant and Palmer, Hist. Jerusalem, ed. 1888, p. 97). (6) A.D. 859. Earthquaice throughout Syria ; in Antloch 1500 houses were thrown down (AbulfaraJ, p. 166, quot. by Mallet). (7) a.D. 1036. Earthquake by which Jerus. was much Injured (Cedrenus, p. 737). (8) A.D. 1170. Succession of earthquakes passed through Pal., which, by their violence and frequency, filled all men's hearts with fear ; hundreds perished in the ruins of their houses ; grief and consternation spread around {Hist. Jerusalem, p. 352). (9) A.D. 1202 (or 1204). An earthquake shook Pal. from end to end ; Damascus, Tyre, and NablOs were reduced to heaps of ruins ; the walls of Acre and Tripoli fell : Jerus. alone seemed spared, and there Christian and Mohammedan met together to thank God for their safety {Hist. Jerusalem, p. 492; Abulfeda, Ann. iv. p. 211). (10) A.D. 1402. Coast of Syria affected ; sea retired and then Invaded the land ; several towns ruined (Muratori, t. xviii. p. 974). (11) A.D. 1759. An earthquake protracted through a period of three months, m which Acco, Saphat, Baalbek, Damascus, Sidon, etc., were severely injured (Fo/caTw^, Past and Present, p. 219). (12) A.D. 1822. On Aug. 13 an earthquake occurred at Aleppo, lasting only ten or twelve seconds, by which this town, together with several others in Syria, were converted into a heap of ruins, and 20,000 human beings were destroyed (Chefiney, Survey of the Euphrates and Tigris). (IS) A.D. 1837, 1st Jan. Great earthquake in Pal. by which the town of Safed was destroyed, with many of the Inhabitants (Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 531 X 4. Origin of Earthquake Phenomena.— From the observations made by Hopkins, Lyell, and others regarding the cause and nature of earthquakes, it seems clearly established that they have their origin in some sudden impact of gas, steam, or molten matter, impelled by gas or steam under high pressure, beneath the solid crust. The eti'ect of such impact is to originate a wave of translation througii the crust, travelling outwards from a focus, and causing a movement of the surface to greater or less distances. These waves of translation can in some cases be represented on a map by cnrved lines ; each line representing approximately an equal degree of seismal intensity. 'That there is an intimate connexion between earthquake shocks and volcanic action is proved by the fact that eruptions from volcanic cratere are generally preceded by earthquake shocks, and these latter are more frequent in those regions where volcanoes, either active or extinct, abound. At the same time, the most destructive earth- quakes are not necessarily in the neighbourhood of volcanoes, many of the most disastrous having occurred in places far removed from centres of eruption ; as, for example, those of Lisbon in 1755, and of Charleston in K. America in 18S6. Such cases as these have given rise to the view that active volcanoes act as safety-valves for the escape of the elastic gases and vapour underlying the cmst.* Lrr»KiTn««.— Hopkins, • Theory of Earthquakes,' In Rep. Brit. Auoc 1847, p. S3 : Mallet, EarOiquaie Catalogs, ibid. 18S8 ; Lyell, Principle oj Geolotjy, voL li.; Prestwich, Geology, vol. I. cb. 13, with map of earthquake areas ; Judd, Voteanoe4, ed. 1888, p. MS; Uull, Volcanoet, Pcut and Pretenl, Contemp. Science 8er. p. 417 (1882) : for the earthquakes referred to m Bible, Plumptre, BMicai Studia. 136 ; Andrews, Life o/ Our Lord, 661, 676 ; Scbdrer, HJP, L L 403, 426 ; Puscj- on Am 4". E. Hull.