The People of Palestine

Part travelogue, part ethnography, this volume recounts the experiences of the author in Palestine under Turkish rule. Grant lived in the village of Ramallah for several years, directed the excavations at Beth Shemesh, and taught in Baghdad. His knowledge of ancient Near Eastern history, the Bible, and archaeology all intersect with his firsthand experiences of Palestinian villagers. He provides vivid descriptions of the landscape, village life, buildings and tools, and social customs. Enhancing his presentation are over forty photographic plates. The go-between, or wasit, is a familiar figure in business matters. A merchant from Nazareth explained to me the popularity of this intermediary thus: ＂＂If there are two men, each wanting something of the other and neither wishing to express his whole mind before the other has done so, they can avoid the difficulty by employing a third person to whom each [unburdens himself] freely, and this third person, possessing the secrets of both, knows how to approach either one with the business of the other.＂＂ (Job 9:33; Galatians 3:19; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) --from Chapter 6

Elihu Grant (1873-1942) was Professor of Biblical Literature at Haverford College (Haverford, Pennsylvania). He directed the archaeological excavations of Beth Shemesh during the seasons of 1928-33, and he co-authored the reports with G. Ernest Wright. In 1935 he was President of the Society of Biblical Literature; and in 1937-38 he was Annual Professor at the Baghdad School of the American Schools of Oriental Research.