Schwarz, Joseph. Das Heilige Land.

(ISRAEL, LAND OF)

J. Kaufmann

Frankfurt a/Main

1852

first german edition. Frontispiece portrait of the author, tinted illustrated plates of the Western Wall and Bethlehem (opp. p. 209), the Cave of Machpelah (opp. p. 240), folding panoramic view of Jerusalem and folding map of Palestine (at end). German text with extensive use of Hebrew.

German translation of Tevuath Ha’aretz (1845) prepared by the author’s nephew, Israel Schwarz. The book deals with the borders and division of the Holy Land (according to both biblical and rabbinic tradition), its topography, history, genealogy of inhabitants, botany, and climate. Schwarz is considered the first Jewish geographer of modern times. “[His] work is significant in that it became the basis and model for all subsequent Hebrew writing on Palestine exploration, taking Jewish sources into account.” Y. Ben-Arieh, The Rediscovery of the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century (1979) pp. 104-07.