Judah, Mountains of

Judah, Mountains Of.

This is appropriately the name of a range of hills to the south and west of Jerusalem, styled in Lu 1:39,65, the "hill country of Judaea" (ἡ ὀρεινὴ τῆς Ι᾿ουδαίας). The hills are low and conical, uniform in shape even to weariness; the vegetation, save in early spring, is dry and parched, the valleys are broad and featureless. Everywhere at the present day are signs that the land of corn, and wine, and oil has become desolate. The fenced cities and villages surmount the hills, but they are in ruins; the terraces where once were vineyards and cornfields can be traced along the mountain sides, but they are neglected; wells and pools of water are to be found in every valley, but there is none to drink of them. SEE JUDAH, TRIBE OF.