| Me'rom. (high place). The waters of Merom. A lake formed by the river Jordan, about ten miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It is a place, memorable in the history of the conquest of Palestine. Here, Joshua completely routed the confederacy of the northern chiefs under Jabin. Joshua 11:5; Jos 11:7. It is a remarkable fact that, though by common consent, "the waters of Merom" are identified with the lake thorough which the Jordan runs between Banias and the Sea of Galilee -- the Bahr el-Huleh of the modern Arabs. Yet, that identity cannot be proved by any ancient record. In form, the lake is not far from a triangle, the base being at the north and the apex at the south. It measures about three miles in each direction, and eleven feet deep. The water is clear and sweet; it is covered in parts by a broad-leaved plant, and abounds in water-fowl. (The northern part is a dense swamp of papyrus reeds, as large as the lake itself." Smith's Bible Dictionary or |