land uninhabitable. Hereupon God spake, and said: "I did not
promise their fathers to give a devastated land unto their see, but a
land full of all good things. I will lead them about in the
wilderness for forty years, and meanwhile the Canaanites will have
time to repair the damage they have done." [8] Moreover, the
many miracles preformed for the Israelites during the journey
through the wilderness had made their terror to fall upon the other
nations, and their hearts melted, and there remained no more spirit
in any man. They did not venture to attack the Israelites, and the
conquest of the land was all the easier. [9]

Nor does this exhaust the list of reasons for preferring the longer
route through the desert. Abraham had sworn a solemn oath to live
at peace with the Philistines during a certain period, and the end of
the term had not yet arrived. Besides, there was the fear that the
sight of the land of the Philistines would awaken sad recollections
in the Israelites, and drive them back into Egypt speedily, for once
upon a time it had been the scene of a bitter disappointment to
them. they had spent one hundred and eighty years in Egypt, in
peace and prosperity, not in the least molested by the people.
Suddenly Ganon came, a descendant of Joseph, of the tribe of
Ephraim, and he spake, "The Lord hat appeared unto me, and He
bade me lead you forth out of Egypt." The Ephraimites were the
only ones to heed his words. Proud of their royal lineage as direct
descendants of Joseph, and confident to their valor in war, for they
were great heroes, they left the land and betook themselves to
Palestine. [10] They Carried only weapons and gold and silver.
They had taken no provisions, because they expected to buy food
and drink on the way or capture them by force if the owners would
not part with them for money.