re ftcca ex e< cc «. .. . 5 • <.C ac (CCC c. S I Ct.. ^C< ( C CCcc , , C c oc oc.cC cc re: < Ct ^ < ( cc CC-- c <£C cc J x^ (L: ■ ( C c c < <: ( <« cc s ' :■.«:•. c , a: C ct CC c c ^sar: vcsc c o , iciec c < .' tdCC rccc c ^ 5/ r^c cssTiiC ' :' m^^_ :''^^«^§s§5^'^''^f*'^'^^ In :r^*^c' r^^'^^ ' ■' ■ :. AAA' > ■ > P'^'^'^^H? - >^ ^r ^P^S^^^,^'?r\f?^ii^';^^^^^b '^^^"r' ;S.^a^^^^^^^k1,a.^^^^-^ .:^^^^AA;,,/y^^^,-N.-.^. A^^^S? 02^^'/*«rr^ S^^^fiA^ftr^ iArTAj«jTTinFl&TA7V|^ '^\1\\1>7^ J? 'i»eens), and a promise was given to Abraham that Sarah should have a son and be the mother of nations and kings. It seemed so entirely out of the course of nature that they should become pa- rents at their advanced age that Abra- ham, filled with reverence and joyful gratitude, fell upon his face '' and said in his heart. Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" Nevertheless, against hope he believed in hope ; and being not weak in faith, he staggered not at the promise of God, but was fully jjersuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform ; and his faith was imputed to him for righteousness. Rom. 4 : 18-22. ; Abraham, finding that the blessings of the covenant were to be bestowed on his future offspring, immediately thought of Ishmael, in whom he had probably be- fore supposed the promises were to be fulfilled, and he uttered the solemn and affecting prayer, " 0 that Ishmael might live before thee !" God heard him, and almost while he was yet speaking an- swered him by making known to him his great purposes respecting Ishmael. Gen. 17:20 and 25:16. As soon as the vision had closed, Abraham hastened to obey the divine command, and with Ishmael, his son, and all the men of his house, was cir- cumcised in the self-same day. He was 18 not long without another divine commu- nication. As he sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day three men approached him. He received them with all the courtesy and hospitality customary in the East, and after they had refreshed themselves they inquired of him respecting Sarah and repeated the promise respecting the birth of her son. It was on this occasion, or in connec- tion with these circumstances, that a divine testimony was given to the pa- triarchal character of Abraham. Gen. 18 : 19. It was because of his faithful- ness that he was favored with a revela- tion of God's purposes respecting the devoted cities of the plain, and with an opportunity to plead for them ; and it was for Abraham's sake, and probably in answer to his prayers, that Lot and his family were rescued from the sudden destruction which came upon Sodom. After this, Abraham removed to Ge- rar, perhaps because the Amorites, with whom he was in alliance, had been driven from Hebron by the Hittites. Here he made a second attempt to have Sarah taken for his sister. See Abim- ELECH. Here, also, the prediction was fulfilled respecting the birth of a son. Sarah had a son, whom he called Isaac, and who was duly circumcised on the eighth day. AVhen Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a feast. Ishmael, being then a lad of thirteen years, mocked Isaac, quite possibly without malicious intent. This roused the jealousy of Sarah, who urged Abraham to drive out Hagar and her son. Abraham, although unwilling to do this injustice, at last obej'ed at the command of God. Thus it came to pass that the prophecy of the wild life Ish- mael was to lead was realized. Gen. 21 : 10-13. Abraham so obviously enjoyed the favor and blessing of God in all that he did that Abimelech, the king, proposed to make with him a covenant of perpet- ual friendship ; and a matter of wrong about a well, of which Abimelech's ser- vants had violently deprived Abraham, was thus happily adjusted. This trans- action was at a place which was there- after called Beer-sheba {the well of the oath, or the well of swearing). Gen. 21 : 23-31. ABS ABS The events of many years are now passed over in silence, but the scene next related shows how worthy Abra- ham was to be called the father of the faithful. He was commanded to take his son, his only son, Isaac, then a young man, and to offer him up for a burnt-offering upon a distant mountain. Without an inquiry or murmuring word, and with a prompt submission, Abra- ham obeyed the couiuiand. A journey of three days was accom2)lished. Every preparation for the offering was made, and the knife was uplifted to slay his son. when his purpose was arrested by a voice from Hea- ven requiring him to spare the lad. A ram was pro- vided in the neigh- boring thicket, which he took and offered up ; and, after having been favored with spe- cial tokens of the divine approba- tion, he returned with his son to Beer-sheba. This grand trial and proof of the patri- arch's faith took place upon Mount Moriah (or, as others suppose, on Mount Gerizim). In commemoration of it he gave to the place the name Je- hovah-jireh {the Lord will provide), intimating a general truth respecting the divine faithfulness and care, and in prophetical allusion to the great sacri- lice which was to be offered for the sins of mankind. Gen. 22 : 14. At the age of one hundred and twen- ty-seven years Sarah died, and Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron at Hebron, for a family burial-place, and there buried his wife. Gen. 23:19, 20, Isaac had now arrived at mature age, and Abraham called one of his servants, probably Eliezer, Gen. 15 : 2, and made him promise to obtain a wife for Isaac, not among the Canaanites, but in Abra- ham's native country and from among his own kindred. This enterprise ter- minated successfully, and every desire of the patriarch respecting Isaac's mar- riage was answered. Gen. 24. Abraham married a second time and had several sons, but he made Isaac his sole heir, having in his lifetime distrib- uted gifts among the other children, who were now dispersed. He died in jicace at the age of one hundred and seventy- five years, and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael inthe same sepulchre with Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah. Gen. 25: 8. It is now in the possession of the Moham- Abrahani's Oak, near Hebron. Gen. 13 medans, and jealously guarded by them as a most sacred spot beneath the great mosque of Hebron. See Machpelah. On Abraham's Oak, see Hebron. Abraham's Bosom. See Bosom. AB'SAIiOM {father of peace) was the third son of David by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. 2 Sam. 3 : 3. He was remarkable for his beauty, and for his hair, which is said to have weighed 200 shekels when cut off every year. But if the royal shekel equal the sacred shekel, this would make 6 pounds, which is incredible. The dif- ficulty is not removed by reducing the value of the shekel one-half or one-third. 19 ABS ABS The simplest explanation is that by the error of a copyist the 200 was written for 20, the difference between the figures being very slight in Hebrew notation. Absalom's fair sister, called Tamar, having been violated by Amnon, his half-brother, he meditated revenge, since he was her natural avenger ; and after brooding over the outrage for two years, he at last took Amnon's life at a feast to which he had invited him, and then at once fled to Talmai, his mater- nal grandfather, at Geshur, where he stayed three years. Joab, in order to secure Absalom's return and restoration to his father's favor, employed a woman of Tekoa to appear before David and feign a case similar to the situation of Absalom, and having obtained his decision, to apply the principle to the real case. After a favorable decision was obtained in the feigned case, the woman began to plead for Absalom's return. The king sus- pected Joab's concern in the plot, and the woman confessed that it was wholly planned hj him. David, however, di- rected Joab to go to Geshur and bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, but would not receive him into favor nor admit him to his presence, nor did he see his face for two years more. Wearied with his banishment, Absa- lom often attempted to obtain an inter- view with Joab, but for spme cause Joab was not disposed to go to him. To compel him to come, Absalom resorted to a singular expedient : he directed his servants to set fire to Joab's fields. Joab immediatelj^ came to Absalom, was persuaded to plead with the king in his behalf, succeeded in his effort, and Ab- salom was received into full favor. Absalom then showed the object of his ambition was to obtain his father's throne. He was jealous of the favor his father gave to Solomon, Bath-sheba's son, for, since he was the oldest living son of David, he was by birth the right- ful heir to the kingdom. To this end he lived in great pomp, procured char- iots and horsemen and other appendages of royalty, and stood in the public places courting the favor of the people by the meanest arts, persuading them that their rights were not regarded by the govern- ment, and that it would be for their in- terest to elevate him to power, that equal 20 justice might be administered to all. By these and other means Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. In pursuing his traitorous design, and with a pretended regard to filial duty, he asked his father's permission to go to Hebron and pay a vow which he said he had made. The unsuspicious king consented, and Absalom immediately sent men throughout Israel, who were, at a given signal, to proclaim him king in Hebron. He also took two hundred men with him from Jerusalem, though they did not know his plan, and then sent for Ahithophel, who was David's counsellor, that he might have his ad- vice and assistance. Absalom's party increased rapidly, and intelligence of the conspiracy was communicated to the king, and so alarmed him that he fled from the city. At length David persuaded Hushai to go to Absalom, who had now come back to Jerusalem with his party, and become his servant, and when opportunity oc- curred to give such counsel as should defeat Ahithophel's plans and bring confusion and discomfiture upon Absa- lom. By a train of providential inter- positions Absalom's ruin was hastened. Before David's men went out to battle with the revolted party, he gave them special charge respecting Absalom, and commanded them to deal gently with him for his father's sake. The two par- ties met in the wood of Ephraim, and the battle was bloody. Absalom rode upon a mule, and in passing under the thick boughs of an oak he was caught by his head in the fork or angle of two branches, and the mule passed onward, leaving him suspended in the air. Joab, one of David's chief captains, being in- formed of it, took three darts and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak ; and they took his body and cast it into a pit in the wood, and cov- ered it with stones. ABSALOM'S PLACE, orPIL- LAR, Avas in the '' king's dale," or val- ley of the Kedron. 2 Sam. 18 : 18. " The Tomb of Absalom," now stand- ing east of Jerusalem, at the foot of Mount Olivet, is supposed by the Jews to be the one erected by Absalom dur- ing his lifetime, and is pelted by them with stones, as they pass by, in ACC ACH execration of his treason ; but the monu- ment betrays Grajco-Latin architecture Absalom's Tomb. (Fro7n original Photographs. Bonfils.) (especially the Ionic columns), and is not mentioned before A. i). 333. AC'CAD (fortress), one of the four cities in the kingdom of Nimrod. Gen. 10:10. It was in the land of Shinar, and George Smith locates it at AyudI, on the Euphrates, north of Babylon. Rawlinson places it at Aker-Kuf, 10 miles west by north of Bagdad. Others had regarded it as identical with Ctesi- 2)ho)i. AC'CARON, the same as Ekron. ACC HO {heated sand), a seaport- town of Phoenicia, about 8 miles north of Mount Carmel, given to Asher. Jud. 1: 31. In New Testament times it was called Ptolemais. Acts 21 : 7. It now has about 6000 inhabitants, and is call- ed Acre (Arabic, Akkn). ACEL'DAMA (Jield of blood), the "potter's field'' purchased with the money given to Judas for betraying Christ. Matt. 27 : 7 ; Acts 1 : 18, 19. Tradition locates it on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near the pool Siloam, and now Hahk ed Dnmm. ACHA'IA (trouble), a Roman prov- ince in the New Testament times nearly co-extensive with the modern kingdom of Greece. Paul visited the churches in that region. Acts 18 : 12, 27 ; 19 : 21 ; Rom. 15 : 26 ; 16 : 5 ; 2 Cor. 1:1; 9:2; 11 : 10 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 7, 8. For its towns see Corinth, Cenchrea. ACHA'ICUS (belonging to Achaia), a Christian mentioned in 1 Cor. 16: 17. A'CHAN, OR A'CHAR (trouhler), son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, whose concealment of a part of the spoils of Jericho in violation of the di- vine command. Josh. 6 : 18, brought de- feat upon his countrymen at Ai. Josh. 7:18; 1 Chr. 2:7. He was providen- tially convicted, and with his family was stoned to death, and his property, to- gether with their remains, was burnt. The valley in which this event occurred was called after him. See Achor. A'CHAZ, Matt. 1 : 9, the Greek form of Ahaz. ACH'BOR (mouse). 1. The father of Baal-hanan, king of the Edomites. Gen. 36 : 38, 39 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 49. 2. An officer of Josiah, 2 Kgs. 22 : 12,14; Jer. 26:22; 36:12; called Ab- don in 2 Chr. 34:20. A^CHIM (Hebrew form is Jachin, a contraction of Jehoiachin, the Lord will establish), an ancestor of Christ. Matt. 1 : 14. A'CHISH (serpent-charmer ?), a king of Gath, called Abimelech in the title of Ps. 34, to whom David fled twice. The first time, being in danger, he feigned madness, whereupon he was dismissed. 1 Sam. 21 : 10. The sec- ond time Achish received him cordial- ly because of his supposed hostility to Saul, gave him Ziklag, and took him on his campaign against Saul, but finally dismissed him, with commendations of his fidelity, because of the mistrust of his princes. 1 Sam. 27, 29. The Achish to whom Shimei went seeking for his servants may have been this same king, but much more prob- ably his grandson, since David's first flight took place fifty years before. 1 Kgs. 2:39. 40. ACH'METHA, a city of Media. Ezr. 6 : 2. See Ecbatana. ANCHOR (trouble), a valley near Jericho where Achan was stoned. Josh. 7 : 24. Probably the Wady Kelt. 21 ACH ADA ACH'SA (anklet), daughter of Ca- leb, the son of Hezron. 1 Chr. 2:49. ACH'SAH {anklet), the daughter of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, married to Othniel, her cousin or uncle (who took Kirjath-sepher or Debir), in accordance with Caleb's promise to give her hand to whomsoever should first smite the city. Achsah after her marriage obtained the upper and lower springs, with the fields in which they were, in addition to her dowry. Josh. 15 : 15-19 ; Jud. 1 : 11-15. See Othniel. ACH'SHAPH (enchantment), a city of Canaan, Josh. 11 : 1 ,• 12 : 20, allotted to Asher. Josh. 19: 25. Some have located it at Khaifa, near Mount Carmel : Rob- inson at El-Kesaf, above the sources of the Jordan; the Palestine Fund " Me- moirs " give Kesaf, as Khurhet-Iksaf, and accept Robinson's suggestion. ACH'ZIB (fahe). 1. A town of Asher, Josh. 19 : 29, now ez-Zib, 20 miles north of Acre, on the Mediterra- nean. 2. A city of Judah, Josh. 15 : 44 ; Mic. 1 : 14 ; perhaps identical with Chezib. Gen. 38 : 5. Conder locates it at the modern Ain Kezbeh. ACRAB'BIM. Josh. 15:3, mar- gin. See Maaleh-acrabbim. ACTS OF THE APOS'TLES, the fifth book in the New Testament. It is supposed to have been compiled by Luke the evangelist in Rome, during Paul's imprisonment or shoi'tly after, a.d. 63, and may be regarded as a continua- tion of his Gospel. It contains the history of the Christian Church from Jerusalem to Rome, or the establishment of Chris- tianity among the Jews by Peter, and among the Gentiles by Paul. It begins with the ascension of Christ and the out- pouring of the Holy Spirit, and concludes with the first imprisonment of Paul in Rome, 61 to 63. It is the first history of the Christian Church, and contains the only trustworthy account of the mis- sionary labors of the apostles. The book of Acts has been subjected to very rigid and critical examination in connection with the apostolic Epistles, and the genuineness of both is proved by coincidences so minute and yet so undesigned, so obvious and yet so re- mote, that no unprejudiced mind can entertain a doubt of their truthful- ness. 22 The period of time embraced in this history is about thirty-three years, and includes the reigns of the Roman em- perors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. See the Missionary Map at the close of the volume. AD'ADAH (boundary, ox festival), a town in the south of Judah, Josh. 15 : 22 ; probably either the modern el-Folca or Adaduh. A'DAH (ornament). 1. One of the two wives of Lamech in the line of Cain. Gen. 4:19. 2. One of Esau's wives, a Hittitess, daughter of Elon, Gen. 36 : 2, 4, etc. : called Bashemath in Gen. 26 : 34. ADAI'AH (whom Jehovah adorns). 1. The maternal grandfather of King Josiah. 2 Kgs. 22 : 1. 2. A Levite. 1 Chr. 6 : 41. 3. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:21. 4. A priest. 1 Chr. 9:12. 5. A descendant of Bani who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 29. 6. Another descendant guilty of the same oifence. Ezr. 10 : 39. 7. A man of Judah. Neh. 11 : 5. 8. An ancestor of Maaseiah, a cap- tain who supported Jehoiada. 2 Chr. 23 : 1. ADALI'A (strong of heart ?), a son of Haman. Esth. 9 : 8. AD'AM (red ear'h), a city in the Jordan valley near Zaretan. Josh. 3 : 16. It has been located at ed-Dami- eh, but Drake suggests Khurbet-el- Ham- rath, or " the red ruin," 1 mile south of Tell Sarem. ADAM (red, or earth-horn). The word is used in the Bible in two senses : 1. Man generically, including woman (in the English Version translated man). Gen. 1 : 26, 27 ; 5:1; 6:1; Job 20 : 29: 21:33; Ps. 68:18; 76:10. 2. Man historically, or, as a proper name, Adam individually, the first man, who was at the same time the represent- ative man. Gen. 2:7; 3:8. Adam was not born, but created ; not in feeble, helpless infancy, but in the maturity of his physical and intellectual nature ; not a sinful, diseased, dying creature, but pure and free from sin, yet liable to temptation and in need of trial in order to be confirmed in his innocence. He was the crown of creation, made on the sixth day, after the vegetable and ani- mal world. Adam was the root of hu- ADA ADA manity, and all that affected him aflfect- ed his posterity. His sin tainted their blood and poisoned their nature ; while the Saviour promised to him was the Saviour of all who came after him. His mortality in consequence of sin has re- mained as a permanent fact in man ; his immortality in consequence of faith upon the promised Saviour will be shared in by all of like belief. In him God put humanity to the test. If Adam had kept his first estate, the world would never have been darkened by sin and guilt. Adam was also the beginning of a new order of beings. He was of the earth, earthy — the earth is called ada- mah in Hebrew in Gen. 2 : 7 — dust from dust, as to his physical organization, but into him God had breathed a living soul ; he was an immortal spirit, made in the very " image and likeness of God." This is the noblest conception of man. The ''image of God" means man's per- sonality, his rational, moral, and im- mortal nature, which is destined for the glory and communion of God and for everlasting felicity. It also includes dominion over the creatures. God created Eve to be a help meet for Adam. He dreamt of woman, and awaked to find her at his side. . The pair lived together in happiness and innocence, the keepers of a garden which yielded abundantly of fruit and flowers for their nourishment and pleas- ure. The fruit of one tree only, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was forbidden to them. But the pro- hibition piqued their desire. Eve lis- tened to the specious arguments of Satan, who had come to her under the form of a serpent ; " she took of the fruit there- of, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Gen. 3:6; comp. 2 Cor. 11 : 3 ; 1 Tim. 2 : 14 ; John 8 : 44. In this simple language does the Bible describe the most momentous event in history previous to the birth of Christ. For then happened the Fall ; sin was let loose to ravage the world ; a blight had fallen upon the race. The first proof of sin was shame. The wretched folly of all attempts to cover sin is symbolized by the fig-leaf aprons of our first parents : they were no cov- erings at all. The second proof of sin was their fear before God. They stood condemned, and owned his dreadful sentence just. They were banished from Paradise. The ground was cursed for their sake. In the hardship of toil and labor, in the care and suffering of childbirth and parentage, they began to feel at once the woes their transgression involved. All the burdens of life, the heavy cross, sickness, disaster, trouble, death, come from the action of that fa- tal day. They are the dread remind- ers of our fallen state. Our first pa- rents involved all their posterity in that ruin they first experienced. But in the narrative of the Fall there stands also the promise of a deliverer, the woman's seed (the son of Mary), who should crush the serpent's head — that is, destroy the power of sin and Satan. Gen. 3 : 15. This promise, which is called the " first gospel," was fulfilled in the Crucifixion. Christ is the second Adam, as Paul shows in Rom. 5 : 12 fif. and 1 Cor. 15 : 45. He undid the work of the first. He abolished the power of sin and death for believers, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Tim. 1 : 10. The redemption by Christ is the glorious solution of the fall of Adam. Christ has given us much more than we lost by Adam. Paradise regained is better than Paradise lost, and can never be lost again. God in his infinite wisdom and mercy overruled the fall of man for the revelation of his redeeming love, which in turn calls out the deepest grat- itude and bliss of the redeemed. " In Christ the tribe of Adam boast More blessings tdan their father lost." AD'AMAH (earth), a fortified city of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 36 ; probably Ddmieh, west of the Sea of Galilee. AD'AMANT. Eze. 3 : 9. This word means the %inconquerable, and de- notes some very hard stone. The same substance in Jer. 17 : 1 is called dln- niond, which it cannot be, for the He- brew name there used is never men- tioned with precious stones. Probably it was the mineral emery, one of the hardest of rocks. AD'AMI (earth, or huniati), a place on the border of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 33 ; probably the modern Khurhct Admah. A'DAR (heif/ht), a town on the southern boundary of Judah, Josh. 23 ADA ADM 15 : 3, and the same as Hazar-addar, Num. 34:4; possibly the modern Ain el-Kadeirat. A'DAR. See Month. AD'ASA, OR HAD'ASHAH, a town in Judah, Josh. 15 : 37, near Beth- horon ; now 'Adaseh. AD''BEEIj {miracle of God), a son of Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 1 3 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 29. AD'DAN {8to),i/). Ezr.' 2 : 59 ; called also Addon. Neh. 7 : 61. Its site is unknown. AD'DAR (ehief), a son of Bela, 1 Chr. 8:3; called Ard in Num. 26 : 40. AD'DER. The word translated thus in various passages of the Bible does not always mean what the English word denotes. 1. In Gen. 49 : 17 it in- dicates a venomous serpent (jierhaps the cerastes, or horned snake) which lurks in the path. The usual habit of the ceras- Horned Cerastes. (Pi'om specimen in British Museum.) tes is "to coil itself on the sand, where it basks in the impress of a camel's foot- mark, and thence suddenly to dart out on any passing animal. So great is the terror which its sight inspires in horses, that I have known mine, when I was rid- ing in the Sahara, to suddenly start and rear, trembling and perspiring in every limb, and no persuasions would in- duce him to proceed. I was quite un- able to account for his terror until I noticed a cerastes coiled up in a depres- sion two or three paces in front, with its basilisk eyes steadily fixed on us, and no doubt preparing for a spring as the horse passed." — Tristram. 2. In Ps. 58 : 4 and 91 : 13 the Egyp- tian cobra is probably meant, for it is found in southern Palestine, dwells in holes, is used by snake-charmers, and is very dangerous. This is the animal 24 seen on Egyptian monuments, symbol- izing immortality, and always connected with the winged globe. In the former passage above, there is reference to the fact that there are serpents of some kinds or particular individuals which will not yield to the charmer. Though capable of hearing, they iP<7/ not hear, and are properly termed " deaf." See Asp. 3. Still other kinds of serpents are referred to under this name in Ps. 140 : 3 ; Prov. 23 : 32 — species of viper, it is thought. AD'DI {ornament), one of the pro- genitors of Christ. Luke 3 : 28. A'DER {Jiock), a Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:15. AD'IDA, a fortified town overlook- ing the low country of Judah and near Jerusalem, noticed in 1 Mace. 12 : 38, and used by Vespasian in his siege of Jerusalem ; probably the same as Hadid. Ezr. 2 : 33. Conder lo- cates it at the modern Haditheh. A'DIEL {ornament of God). 1. A Simeonite. 1 Chr. 4 : 36. 2. A priest. 1 Chr. 9 : 12. 3. The ancestor of David's treasurer, Azmaveth. 1 Chr. 27 : 25. A'DIN {delicate), one whose descendants returned with Zerub- babel. Ezr. 2:15; 8:6; Neh. 7 : 20; 10:16. AD'INA {slender), a Reuben- ite, one of David's warriors. 1 Chr. 11 : 42. AD'INO THE EZNITE. 2 Sam. 23 : 8. See Jashobeam. ADITHA'IM {double booty), Ato\vn of Judah, Josh. 15 : 36 ; afterward called Hadid, which see. ADJURE'. 1. To bind under a curse. Josh. 6 : 26. 2. Solemnly to require a declaration of the truth at the peril of God's dis- pleasure. Matt. 26 : 63. Such is the in- terpretation of the language of the high priest, "I adjure thee," etc., or, *' I put thee to thy oath," addressed to our Sa- viour when he declined to answer the false accusations of his persecutors. Compare 1 Sam. 14: 24 and 1 Kgs. 22 : 16 with Josh. 6:26. AD'LiAI {Justice of Jehovah), the father of one of David's chief herdsmen. 1 Chr. 27:29. AD'MAH {earth, or fortress), one of ADM ADO the five cities in the vale of Siddim taken by Ohedorlaomer, Gen. 10 : 19 ; 14 : 2. and destroyed with Sodom. Deut. 29 : 23 ; Hos. 11 : 8; now cd JJdinieh. AD'MATHA {earthy ?), one of the seven Persian princes. Esth. 1 : 14. AD'NA [pleasure). 1. One who married a foreign woman, Ezr. 10 : 30. 2. A prieL^t. Neh. 12: 15. AD'NAH (pleasure). 1. A Manassite captain of Saul who followed David. 1 Chr. 12 : 20. 2. A captain of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chr. 17 :U. ADON I-BE'ZEK. Jud. 1 : 5. Lord or king of Bezek, a city of the Canaanites. See Bezek. His name was a title, not a proper name. He fled from the armies of Judah, but was caught and his thumbs and great toes cut off, so that he could neither fight nor flee. He was then carried to Jeru- salem, where he died. He seems to have regarded the maiming he suffered as a just requital of his own cruelty, he having mutilated seventy kings or chief- tains in the same inhuman manner. ADONI'JAH {»,y Lord is Jehovah). 1. David's fourth son. 2 Sam. 3 : 4. He was born at Hebron, and after the death of his brothers, Amnon, Chileab, and Ab- salom, he made pretensions to the throne of his father, because he was then the oldest living son of David. He prepared himself with horses and chariots and other marks of royalty, and took counsel with Joab and Abiathar how he could best accomplish his purpose. Bath- sheba, Solomon's mother, fearing that her son's title to the throne might be dis- turbed, immediately informed the king of Adonijah's revolt; and Nathan the prophet having confirmed the statement of the matter, David gave Bath-sheba the strongest assurances that her son should reign after him ; and he caused Solomon to be anointed and proclaimed king amid general rejoicings. 1 Kgs. 1 : 39. Adonijah was just ending a feast when he heard the noise of the shouting, and Jonathan came in and told him all that had taken place. His guests fled pre- cipitately, and Adonijah himself ran and caught hold of the horns of the altar, which from long-existent custom was regarded as a place of safety. But Solomon sent for him, and pardoned him on condition that he showed himself " a worthy man." 1 Kgs. 1 : 52. This was an act of rare clemency. After David's death, Adonijah per- suaded Bath-sheba to ask Solomon, her son, who was now on the throne, to give him Abishag for his wife. This request was, according to Oriental court-eti- quette, equivalent to a fresh attempt on the throne. So Solomon caused him to be put to death by the hand of Benaiah. 1 Kgs. 2:25. 2. A Levite in Jehoshaphat's time. 2 Chr. 17 : 8. 3. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10:16. ADON'IKAM (lord of the enemij), one whose descendants came back with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2: 13; 8 : 13; Neh. 7:18. ADONI'RAM. See Adoram. ADON'I-ZE'DEK (lord of jus- tice), the Amorite king of Jerusalem at the time the country was entered by the Israelites. Josh. 10: 1. The name was probably the oflicial title of the Jebusite kings of Jerusalem. Hearing of Josh- ua's victories over Ai and Jericho, and finding that the inhabitants of Gibeon, one of the most important cities of the kingdom, had made a league with him, he called four other kings of the Am- monites to his aid and laid siege to Gibeon, with a view to destroy it as a punishment for their conduct. But Joshua came to the assistance of the Gibeonites ; hailstones fell upon the armies of the five kings, and after a hard battle they were overthrown. See Joshua. Adoni-zedek, with his allies, fled to a cave at Makkedah, in which they were soon discovered and brought before Joshua, who caused them to be slain and hanged on separate trees until even- ing, and then their bodies were taken down and cast into the cave in which they had concealed themselves. Josh. 10:27. ADOP'TION is an act by which a stranger is received into a man's family as his own child, and becomes entitled to the peculiar privileges of that con- nection as fully and completely as a child by birth. So Moses was adojited by Pharaoh's daughter, Ex. 2: 10, and Esther by her cousin Mordecai. Esth. 2:7. In the figurative use of the term by 25 ADO ADU the sacred writers it indicates that in- timate relation of the believer to God which follows regeneration and conver- sion from sin to holiness, when we are received into the family of God and are made, by grace, his children or sons, and heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Gal. 4 : 4, 5 ; Rom. 8 : 14-17. ADORA'IM {doable mound), a city of Judah fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11 : 9 ; supposed to be the modern Dura, about 6 miles west of Hebron. ADO'RAM, contr. from ADON- I'RAM {lord of height). J. An officer of the customs under David. 2 Sam. 20 : 24. 2. An officer of Rehoboam's treasury (perhaps the son of the former), who was stoned to death by the people of Israel who followed Jeroboam. 1 Kgs. 12 : 18. Some suppose him to have been the same with Adoniram, 1 Kgs. 5 : 14, who was over the customs in Solomon's reign, and that the people were so indignant at the oppression they had suffered through his agency that they took this method of revenge. ADORA'TION. The word means to 2i>'(fiJ ^'^j ^iid is properly applied to the worship of God. Among the Hebrews adoration by outward act was variously performed. We gather from different Scripture passages that it consisted in putting off the shoes, bowing the knee or the head, or in slowly prostrating the body by first falling on the knees and then bending the body until the head touched the ground. But these forms of adora- tion were not limited to the worship of Jehovah. The Eastern mode of saluta- tion is very obsequious, and so between an inferior and a superior the same cer- emonies would be performed, and also between equals. Similar was their con- duct in the worship of idols '.vhen seek- ing the good-will of one whom they had offended. Kissing the hand of an idol was a common mode of adoration. These acts were often repeated more than once. In the New Testament we read that our Lord was treated with these outward signs of respect and rev- erence. So, too, in the case of Peter, to whom Cornelius prostrated himself. See AVoRSHip. ADRAM^MELECH {Icing of/ire). 1. An idol-god of Sepharvaim, sup- posed to represent the sun, while an- other idol, called Anammelech, repre- 26 sented the moon. 2 Kgs. 17 : 31. Sac- rifices of living children were made to these idols, as to Moloch. Adrammelech. {Fron Nimrud. After Layard.) 2. A son of Sennacherib, king of As- syria. Isa. 37 : 38. He and his brother, Sharezer, killed their father while he was in the act of idolatry. Their mo- tive for this parricidal deed is not known. They both fled to Armenia, and Esar-haddon succeeded to the crown. ADRAMYT^TIUM, named from Adramys, bi'other of Croesus, a seaport- town of Mysia, Acts 27 : 2-5, on a bay of the ^gean Sea north of Smyrna. It is now a poor village known as Advamyti. A'DRIA. Acts 27: 27. The northern part of the Ionian Sea between Greece, Italy, and Sicilv. A'DRIEL.' See Merab. ADUIj'IjAM {justice of the jjeojile, or hidiug- or resting-place), a cave not far from Bethlehem in which David hid. I Sara. 22 : 1 ; 2 Sam. 23 : 13 ; 1 Chron. II : 15. Tradition has located it in Wady Khureitun, east of Bethlehem. The cave is said to be well fitted for a robbers' hold, being dry and airy and full of intricate passages. The greatest length of this cave is 550 feet. Lieut. Conder, however, places the cave of Adullam in the valley of Elah, not far from the city of Adullam, about 13 miles west from Bethlehem. Near it are numerous caverns, each as large as an ordinary cottage, which would give room for David and his band. He ADU AGA states that the great caverns at Beit Jih- rin, which some have regarded as the cave of AduUam, are damp, cold, and full of bats and creeping things, and carefully avoided by the cave-dwelling peasants, while the smaller caves north and west of Adullam are almost constant- ly in use, and are from their position strong and defensible. A row of these caves has been found north and west of the city of Adullam capable of holding 200 to 300 men. M. Ganneau lirst sug- gested this location in 1872, from the resemblance of the modern name Aid el- Ma, and it seems to answer the require- ments of the Scripture narrative. ADUL'LAM, a royal city of the Canaanites allotted to Judah, Gen. 38 : 1 ; Josh, 12 : 15 ; 15 : 35 ; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11 : 7 j repeopled by the Jews after the Captivity, Neh. 11 : 30. See also Mic. 1 : 15. Ganneau and Conder locate it in Wady es-Sutit, about 2J miles south of Socoh or Sho- coh, where they found heaps of stones and ruined walls, called Aid el-Ma. ADUL'TERY, the crime forbid- den in the seventh commandment. Ac- cording to Jewish law, it is the unlawful intercourse of a man, whether married or not, with a married or betrothed woman not his wife. The crime was punished in patriarchal times, if Tamar's be a specimen case, by burning. Gen. 38 : 24, or at least capitally. Under the Mosaic law in the case of the free woman both offenders were stoned. But a bondwoman thus guilty was to be scourged, and the man must make a trespass-offering. Lev. 19 : 20, 22. The so- called " water of jealousy," by which the guilt of the accused woman was proven or refuted, was simply some " holy water," or that from the laver which stood near the altar in an earthen vessel, into which dust from the floor of the tabernacle was sprinkled. This mixture was given to the woman, who was solemnly charged by the priest with an oath of cursing. If she was guilty, then by divine inter- position— for it contained nothing in- jurious— this test proved her guilt. If innocent no effect was produced. The accuser in these cases was the hus- band. Num. 5 : 11-31. There is no case of the use of this test in Scripture. Adultery is the only ground of divorce recognized by our Lord. Matt. 5 : 32. Adultery is used in the Bible in a spiritual sense to denote the unfaithful- ness and apostasy of the Jews, because the union between God and his people was set forth as a marriage. In the N. T. " an adulterous generation " means a faithless and God-denying people. ADUM'MIM {red ones), an ascent or steep pass. Josh. 15 : 7, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, upon the south side of the Wady Kelt, '' over against Geliloth " or Gilgal. Josh. 18 : 17. Our Lord probably refers to this dangerous pass. Luke 10 : 30-36; now Talat ed Dunnn. AD^VOCATE, OR PAR'A- CLETE. 1 John 2 : 1. One who pleads another's cause, a counsellor, an intercessor. It is the term used by Christ to describe the oflice of the Holy Spirit, John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7, but translated in A. V. " Comforter." It is also applied to Christ as our intercessor. 1 John 2:1. The forensic office of advocate was unknown among the Jews before their subjection to the Romans; then they were obliged to conduct their trials before the Roman magistrates after the Roman manner. Their ignor- ance of their conquerors' law compelled them to employ udvocaten or lawyers speaking Greek and Latin. Such an advocate was Tertullus, whom the Jews hired to accuse Paul before Felix. Acts 24:1. See Trial. ^'NEAS, OR ENE'AS, the para- lytic at Lydda healed by Peter. Acts 9 : 33, 34. iE'NON. See Enon. AFFIN'ITY. 1 Kgs. 3 : 1. Re- lation by marriage, in contradistinction from consanguinity, which is relation by birth. The degrees of affinity which should prevent marriage under the Mo- saic law may be found in Lev. 18 : 6-17. See Marriage. AG'ABUS (possibly locust), a prophet who foretold in Antioch while Paul and Barnabas were there, A. i). 43. Acts 11: 28. A famine took place the following year. It was probably limit- ed to Judaea, where it was severe. The poor Jews were relieved by Helena, the queen of Adiabene, who bought corn for them out of Alexandria. Aid was sent to the Christians in Jerusalem from Antioch. Acts 11 : 29. Many years after, 27 AGA AGR Agabus met Paul at Cesarea, and warned him of the suflferings he would endure if he went to Jerusalem. Acts 21 : 10. A'GAG (flame) was probably the title of the Amalekite kings, like Pha- raoh of the Egyptian rulers. Two kings of this name are mentioned in Scripture. 1. In Num. 24 : 7, the way in which this Agag is referred to indicates that he was very jjowerful, above all other kings known to Balaam. 2. An Agag who was captured by Saul, but was spared, contrary to the express prohibition of Jehovah. He was after- ward brought to Samuel, who hewed him in pieces. This act was not only the execution of the divine order, but it would seem an act of retributive jus- tice as well, since Agag is charged with infamous cruelty. 1 Sam. 15: 8, 33, A'GAGITE. Haman is called an Agagite, perhaps because of his ancestry. Esth. 3:1. A'GAR. See Hagar. • AG'ATE. Ex. 39 : 12. A precious stone, variegated chalcedony, translu- cent or opaque. It is often banded in delicate parallel lines, waving or zigzag in their course, and of white, tendon-like, wax-like, pale and dark brown, black or sometimes bluish colors. It is sometimes clouded, and at other times presents a group of figures dis- posed with so much regularity as to seem like a work of art, showing trees, plants, rivers, clouds, buildings, and human beings. The name is supposed by some to be derived from the river Achates, in Sicily, Avhere the stone was fox'merly found in great abundance. The agate of Isa. 54:12 and Eze. 27 : 16 (a different Hebrew word) was doubt- less the riibi/. The agate was the second stone in the third row of the high priest's breastplate. Ex. 28 : 19. AG'EE (fugitive), the father of one of David's might.y men. 2 Sam. 23 : 11. AG'RICULTURE. In its special sense, and as here employed, the term denotes the cultivation of grain and other field crops. In a broader mean- ing, the threefold business of many ag- riculturists includes, besides such culti- vation, the keeping of flocks and herds, and horticulture. History. — To dress and keep the gar- den of Eden was-the happy employment given to man at his creation. After 28 the Fall, Adam was driven forth to till the ground as the first farmer. This was also the employment of Cain, but Abel was a keeper of sheep. After the Flood, " Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard." The patriarchs and their descendants, till their settle- ment in Palestine, gave little attention to agriculture. Joseph's words compre- hensively describe their occupation : "The men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle." With the pos- session of the cultivated lands of the Ca- naanites, the Hebrews adopted a more strictly agricultural life, and, in general, the methods of farming of those whom they conquered. Pastoral employments were, however, never wholly abandoned. The tribes east of the Jordan were possessed of " a very great multitude of cattle," and in Judaea and all the more hilly districts shepherds always abounded. Soil. — Palestine is divided agricultu- rally, and as to all its physical condi- tions, into four districts : 1. The mari- time plains, including the rich coast- lands of Gaza, Sharon, etc., with a mild and equable climate, under which even the orange and banana flourish. 2. The valley of the Jordan, reaching from the waters of Merom to the southern end of the Dead Sea, having a tropical tem- perature. 3. The hill-country between these divisions eastward of Carmel, bi- sected by the rich plain of Jezreel, and bosoming many fertile vales, such as those of Nazareth, Shechem, Samaria, Hebron, but often rising, especially southward, into bleak moors and high- lands, where snow sometimes falls in winter. 4. Perasa, the rolling and often mountainous plateau east of the Jordan valley, not very different in climate from the last division, but in soil more fertile. In this last region Dr. Merrill reports the tillable area of the Hauran (ancient Bashan) to be 150 by 40 miles in extent, and one vast natural wheat-field. Here he has "seen a peasant plough a furrow as straight as a line, one and even two miles long." In Argob and Trachonitis he saw one of the largest lava-beds in the world, covering 400 or 500 square miles, and the source of inexhaustible fertilit}^ Of Palestine west of the Jordan, which is less in extent than the State of Ver- mont, Captain Warren says: "The soil AGR AGR is so rich, the climate so varied, that within ordinary limits it may be said that the more people it contained the more it may. Its productiveness will increase in proportion to the labor be- stowed on the soil, until a population of fifteen millions may be accommodated there." By others we are told that the very sand of the shore is fertile if wa- tered. The soil of Palestine is enriched by the disintegration of the rocks, which are commonly limestone, often quite chalky. Seanons. — Of these there are practi- cally but two — the rainy and the dry — nearly divided from each other by the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. The showers begin to fall in November, at the latest, and the rains of the winter months, except it be February, are heavy. These are "the former rain" of Scripture, which rarely fails, while "the latter rain" of March and early April is more uncertain ; and as the filling of the ears of grain depends upon it, this " latter rain " is eagerly expected. Job 29 : 23 ; Zech. 10 : 1. Storms in Palestine are ordinarily brought by the west or south-west wind. l»Kgs. 18 : 44; Luke 12: 54. Without question, this country was in Bible times better supplied with forests and orchards than now, and its climate was more humid and equable. The hills were generally terraced and pro- vided with reservoirs, as abundant ruins testify, and the sudden torrents, which now wash away what little soil they find, were, by these means and others, dispersed and absorbed by the ground. Many of the most rugged districts were covered with vineyards and olive-or- chards, so that Deut. 8 : 7-9 is but a lit- eral description of what the land once was, and, in particular localities, still remains. Unlimited extortion, in ad- dition to heavy taxes upon every crop and every tree, even to the oak upon the hills, the unrestrained pillage of the har- vests by Bedouins, with other causes, are fast abandoning this fertile land to de- nudation, drought, and the desert. Calendar of Labor. — There have been few changes in the art or instruments of agriculture in Western Asia since ancient times. The present tense may therefore ordinarily be used for the past. Plough- ing and sowing grain begin with the rainy season, and, as the ground does not freeze, continue, when the weather permits, till March. Then are sown the podded and garden plants, the melons, and all the crops which demand a warm- er soil. Barley-harvest quickly follows the cessation of the latter rain, and then wheat-harvest. The remaining crojis having one after another been brought to perfection and gathered, the droughts of summer now end most agricultural operations till the ingathering of the fig, the olive, and the grape in August and Se])tember. Occasionally, during the busy season, the husbandman tents upon the land he cultivates. Ordinarily, his home is in some village or walled town, perhaps miles away from his farm. In the early morning he walks or rides to his labor, the patient ass or the camel bearing his light ploughs and other im- plements. Thus in the parable the " sower went forth to sow." So varied is the character of the soil and climate within short ranges as often greatly to prolong the season of planting and har- vesting. Grain frequently requires re- planting or replacing with other crops. Where there are permanent streams or opportunities for irrigation, sowing fol- lows harvest, crop succeeds crop through the entire year, and the promises of Lev. 26 : 5 and Am. 9 : 13 are verified. Crops. — In this fertile soil, with an almost unparalleled variety of climate and exposure, between such points as Jericho, Hermon, and Gaza, there is op- portunity for the cultivation of nearly all plants either of the torrid or tempe- rate zones ; and we find in the Bible, for such a book, a very extended botanic list. The variety of cultivated species was, however, much less than now. Wheat, barley, millet, and spelt (not rye) were the only cereals. Beans and lentiles vpere staples, while flax, cucum- bers, fitches, cummin, and the onion fam- ily were often extensively cultivated. Jewish writers mention peas, lettuce, endives, and melons as ancient garden- plants. Fruit- and nut-bearing trees were cultivated for the most part within enclosures. Methods and Instrnments. — As popu- lation increased, irrigation, by conduct- ing water to the crops from brooks and reservoirs, became more common. The painful Egyptian labor of raising a sup- 29 AGE AGE ply from a lower level was rarely neces- sary. Such passages as Jer. 9 : 22 show that the use of dung as manure was not uncommon. In Jer. 4:3; Hos. 10 : 12 there is reference to the practice of leav- ing the land fallow for a time. The former passage, with many others, re- minds us of the great variety and abun- dance of thorny plants in Palestine, said to be one mark of a fertile soil. Rota- tion of crops seems to have been prac- tised to some extent. The instruments of agriculture are particularly described under their re- spective titles. Oriental ploughing does not turn a sod, but merely scratches the earth to the depth of three or four inches at most, which is all the primitive and light plough and the small cattle of the East can do. Often — always in the case of new ground — a second ploughing crosswise was practised; and this is re- ferred to by the word " break " in Isa. 28 : 24. Steep hill-sides were prepared for planting with the mattock or hoe, an iron-pointed instrument of wood resem- bling in shape the modern "pick." Isa. 7:25. Good farmers ploughed before the rains, that the moisture might be more abundantly absorbed. The seed, being scattered broadcast upon the soil, was ordinarily ploughed in, as is still the custom. Light harrowing, often with thorn-bushes, completed the process. In wet ground the seed was trampled in by cattle. Isa. 32 : 20. After its plant- ing there was commonly little further labor bestowed upon the crop till it was ready for the harvest. Weeds were re- moved by hand when it was safe to do so. Matt. 13 : 28, 29. Irrigation was sometimes necessary. As the ingather- ing drew near, the fields must be pro- tected by the watchman in his lodge from the wild boar and other beasts, and from human marauders. The newly- scattered seed and the ripening crop also required to be defended against great flocks of birds. Matt. 13 : 4. Grain when ripe was, in more ancient times, plucked up by the roots. Later, it was reaped by a sickle resembling our own, either the ears alone being cut off or the whole stalk. The sheaves were never made into shocks ; but this word in Scripture use denotes merely a loose An Egyptian Tlireshin heap of them. Laborers, animals, or carts bore the harvest to the threshing- floor, where, as elsewhere described, the grain was separated from the ears and winnowed. More delicate seeds were beaten out with a stick. Isa. 28 : 27. Peculiarities. — Agriculture was recog- 30 -Floor. {Fiovi Eieh7n.) nized and regulated by the Mosaic law as the chief national occupation. Inalien- able ownership — under God — of the soil was a fundamental provision, and rent- ing the ground till the year of jubilee was alone possible. " The land shall not be sold for ever : for the land is mine ; for AGR AHA ye are strangers and sojourners with me." Lev. 25 : 8-10, 23-35. The en- couragement such a provision gave to agricultural improvements cannot be exaggerated. That the land must rest one year in seven was another remarkable and most beneficent requirement. Lev. 25 : 1-7. The Jews were forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds. Dcut. 22 : U. For example, wheat and lentiles must not be mixed, nor areas of them meet. The rabbis describe with minuteness how to vary the position of crops, yet avoid ac- tual contact between them, and prescribe at least three furrows' margin between such divers kinds. The yoking together of an ox and ass was prohibited, but is common enough among the present in- habitants. Horses were never used for farm- work. Vineyards are enclosed in walls, and gardens are usually protected in the same way, or by banks of mud taken from ditches. Otherwise, in agricultu- ral districts the absence of all fences or enclosures is, and always was, in striking contrast to our own practice. A brook or a cliff may serve as a boundary, but ordinarily large stones almost covered by the soil are the landmarks. Deut. 19 : 14. Exceedingly beautiful to the eye are the vast fertile areas of Pales- tine, checkered only by cultivation. As cattle find pasture through most of the year, there are no proper barns to be seen. Grass is cut in watered places with a sickle for " soiling," and stock is fed with this or with grain when the fields are dried up. More commonly, during periods of scarcity, the flocks and herds are driven to other feeding- grounds. Booths are sometimes pro- vided for inclement weather, and at night cattle are driven into caves or folds. The permission to pluck and eat a neighbor's grapes or grain, but not to put the former in a vessel nor use a sickle on the latter, is not to be forgot- ten. Deut. 23 : 24, 25. There was also merciful provision that the poor might glean in the vineyard and harvest-field, and that something should be left for them. Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; Deut. 24: 19. Altogether, the agricultural laws of the Pentateuch have been unapproached in their wisdom and beneficence by any similar legislation on record. See (tAr- DKN, Mowing, Plough, Seasons, Thresh, ViNKS. etc. AGRIP'PA. See Herod (3, 4). A'CwllR. {/ wise me)i), a sage mentioned in Prov. 30:1. Nothing is known of him. The rabbins identified him, but groundlessly, with Solomon. A'lIAB ( father's brother). 1 . Sev- enth king of" Israel, u. c. 919-896. 1 Kgs. 16 : 29. Son and successor of Omri. He reigned twenty-two years. His capital was Samaria. He married Jeze- bel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre, who had been priest of Astarte, but had seized the throne of his brother. Being a weak man, he was ruled by his am- bitious and daring wife. Idolatry was set up in Israel. Ahab built a temple to Baal in Samaria, and Jezebel main- tained at her own cost 400 prophets of Astarte. These were allowed to be- come the relentless persecutors of the servants of Jehovah, so that true relig- ion was almost extinct. In punishment God sent three years of drought. Eli- jah had prophesied this event, and at its termination appeared before the king, challenged the false prophets to a trial of power, demonstrated their feebleness, ami caused them to be slain. Ahab was deeply impressed, and might have yield- ed, were it not for Jezebel, who threat- ened the life of Elijah, and by her en- ergy prevented a reaction in favor of Jehovah. See Elijah. Ahab had a taste for splendid architecture : this he showed by building an ivory palace and several cities. But it was on the city of Jezreel he seems to have spent the most attention. The desire to beautify it led to the af- fair of Naboth's vineyard. This he coveted, that he might add it to his pleasure-grounds in Jezreel. But Na- both refused to part with the land for money or in exchange, for he was for- bidden by the Levitical law. Lev. 25 : 23. Ahab took the refusal to heart. But the scheming Jezebel secured Na- both's murder under orders marked with Ahab's seal. And thus the land- passed into his hands. See Naboth. The Lord by Elijah denounced Ahab and Jezebel, and foretold the extinction of their house. But Ahab's remorse and repentance secured the postponement of the sentence. 1 Kgs. 21. 31 AHA AHA Ahab fought three wars or campaigns with Ben-hadad II.. king of Syria, in the first two of which, only a year apart, both defensive, he was victorious. The second victory put Ben-hadad into his hands, and he was able to exact very favorable terms of peace — viz. that all the Israelitish cities lost should be restored, and in Damascus Jewish of- ficials should be permanently settled in their own houses, in order that they might look after the interests of Ahab and his subjects. This is what is meant by making " streets " in Damascus. 1 Kgs. 20 : 34. For letting Ben-hadad go he was strikingly rebuked by a prophet, and the failure of his hopes prophesied. It was indeed foolish, since no pledge had been given by Ben-hadad ; and ungrateful, because God, who had given the victory, was not consulted. For the next three years the kingdom had peace. But then Ahab in conjunc- tion with Jehoshaphat, kingof Judah,his son-in-law, fought Ben-hadad the third time, in order to recover Kamoth-gilead, which Ahab claimed belonged to him. Lying prophets encouraged him in his enterprise, but at Jehoshaphat's request Micaiah, the prophet of Jehovah, was called, who foretold his death. Ahab in anger imprisoned Micaiah, but still was so impressed that he took the pre- caution to disguise himself; but a cer- tain man drew a bow at a venture and smote him, so that at eventide he died. His body was carried to Samaria ; the dogs licked up his blood as a servant washed it from the chariot. Thus the prophecy of Elijah was partially fulfilled, but more exactly in the case of his son. Ahab left three children by Jezebel, all of whom died violent deaths ; also, by other wives, seventy sons, who were slain by Jehu. 2. Ahab, a false prophet, who de- ceived the captive Israelites in Bab- ylon, and was burnt by Nebuchad- nezzar, B. c. 594. Jer. 29:22. AHAR'AH (after the brother), the third son of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:1. AHAR'HEL {behind the breast- work), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:8. AHAS'AI (probably a contraction of Ahaziah, lohom Jehovah hoUh), a priest, Neh. 11:13; called Jahzerah in 1 Chr. 9:12. 32 AHAS'BAI (/ toill confide in Je- hovah), the father of one of David's warriors. 2 Sam. 23 : 34. AHASHVE ROSH. Ezr. 4 : 6, margin ; Hebrew form of Ahasuerus. AHASUE'RUS (probably lion- kiiuj), the Hebrew form of Xerxes, the name, or perhaps only the title, of one Median and two Persian kings men- tioned in the Old Testament. 1. The father of Darius the Median, and the same with Astyages. Dan. 9 : 1. 2. Supposed to be the son and succes- sor of Cj'rus, probably Cambyses, who reigned seven years and five months from B. c. 529. Ezr. 4 : 6. 3. The husband of Esther, undoubted- ly the Xerxes of profane history. Esth. 1:1. The story of his acts of caprice and cruelty recorded in the book of Es- ther agrees exactly with what we other- wise know of his character, for once he* scourged the sea and beheaded the engi- neers because a storm carried away their bridge, and was guilty of many other crimes. In the third year of his reign he called a council of his nobles, very likely for the purpose of arranging the invasion of Greece. The meeting lasted six months, and was followed by a munif- icent feast, on the seventh day of which he commanded his queen, Vashti, to show herself unto his drunken nobles. This she properly refused to do, where- upon he deposed her. Four years after, he married Esther. The interval is ac- counted for by supposing the war with Greece intervened. See Esther. AHA'VA (water), a place or river where Ezra collected the returning ex- iles and proclaimed a fast. Ezr. 8: 15, 21, 31. Rawlinson suggests that Aha- va was identical with Ava and Ivah, the modern Hit, on the Euphrates, east of Damascus. A'HAZ (possessor). 1. Eleventh king of Judah, son of Jotham, whom he suc- ceeded. 2 Kgs. 16:2: 2 Chr. 28:1. He reigned sixteen years, b. c. 742-726. He was a gross idolater, and even sacrificed his children to the gods. He remodelled the temple to fit it for idolatrous rites. He kept chariot-horses dedicated to the sun. This course brought upon him and his kingdom severe judgments. God made them to flee before their ene- mies. Their allies often proved un- AHA Attt faithful, and involved them in great dis- tress. Early in his reign, ])robably the sec- ond year, Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, who, just at the close of Jotham's reign, had cunfeder- ated for the destruction of Judah, in- vaded the kingdom with a powerful army and laid siege to Jerusalem. Isaiah foretold their overthrow and inspired the king. Isa. 7. But the allies, though defeated at Jerusalem, captured Elath, wasted Judah, and car- ried 200,000 into captivity ; the proph- et Oded caused these to be restored. Ahaz in his extremity made a league with Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, who freed him from his enemies, but at the cost of the Judaic kingdom, which became tributary, and Ahaz sent him all the treasures of the temple and his palace, and appeared before him in Damascus as a vassal. Neglecting the warnings of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, he ran to even greater excesses in idol- atry, and indeed so lowered himself in the popular esteem that when he died he was refused a burial with his royal ancestors. 2 Chr. 28 : 27. His only permanent service to his people was the introduction of the sun-dial, which was probably connected with the Assyrian astrology and necromancy. 2. A son of Micah, the grandson of Jonathan. 1 Chr. 8 : 35, 36 ; 9 : 42. AHAZI'AH {who7)i Jehovah s^is- tains). 1. The son and successor of Ahab, and eighth king of Israel, b. c. 896-895. 1 Kgs. 22:40. He was an idolater, and for this reason, when he attempted to unite with Jehoshaphat in the gold-trade with Ophir, God caused the ships to be broken in port at Ezion-geber, not allowing this union between his friends and foes. See Je- hoshaphat. Under him Moab rebelled. A fall through a lattice, probably from the window of his chamber in his pal- ace in Samaria, occasioned his death. Characteristically, he sent to inquire at Ekron of Baal-zebub whether his injury would be fatal. Elijah met the messen- gers and told them that he would die. The king sent to take Elijah, and thus two companies of soldiers were destroy- ed. But with the third, Elijah went and told the king in person of his speedy death. 2 Kgs. 1. 3 2. Called also Azariah, 2 Chr. 22:6, and Jehoahaz, 2 Olir. 21 : 17, was a son of Jehoram and Athaliali, and fifth king of Judah, and at the ago of twenty-two succeeded his fiitlu-r as king of Judah. 2 Kgs. 8 : 25. lie continued the idol- atry of the house of Ahab, and was governed by the advice of his infamous mother. His reign lasted only one year, b. c. 884. He allied himself with his uncle, Jehoram, king of Israel, and attacked Hazael, king of Syria, who de- feated them at Ramoth-gilead. Je- horam was severely wounded and car- ried to his palace in Jezreel. There Ahaziah visited him. Israel meanwhile rebelled under Jehu. The two kings went out to meet him, and Jehu killed Jehoram. Ahaziah fled, and was pur- sued to the pass of Gur, where he was mortally wounded, but escaped, and died at Megiddo. In this way the slightly differing accounts, 2 Kgs. 9 : 27 and 2 Chr. 22 : 9, can be reconciled. AH'BAN {brother of the wise), a de- scendant of Judah. 1 "Chr. 2 : 29. A'HER {after, followiny), a Benja- mite. 1 Chr. 7 : 12. A'HI {brother). 1. A Gadite. 1 Chr. 5:15. 2. An Asherite. 1 Chr. 7 : 34. AHI'AH {friend of Jehovah). 1. Supposed by some to be the same with Ahimelech, 1 Sam. 21 : 1, was the son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priest's office. 1 Sam. 14 : 3, 18. See Ahim- elech and Ahitcjb. 2. The son of Shisha, one of Solomon's scribes or secretaries. 1 Kgs. 4 : 3. 3. A descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:7. AHI'AM {father's brother), one of David's warriors. 2 Sam. 23 : 33 ; 1 Chr. 11 : 35. AHI'AN {brotherly), a son of Shemi- dah. 1 Chr. 7:19. AHIE'ZER {brother of help). 1. A prince of Dan. Num. 1:12; 2:25; 7:66; 10:25. 2. A Benjamite chief who joined Da- vid. 1 Chr. 12 : 3. AHI'HUD {brother, i. e. friend, of Judah, i. e. renown), the prince of the tribe of Asher. Num. 34:27. AHI'HUD (different name in He- brew from the above, brother of union), a descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:7. AHI'JAH {brother, i.e. friend, ofJe- 33 AHI AHI horah). 1. A prominent prophet, called the Shilonite from his place of residence, who foretold to Jeroboam the disruption of the kins^dora and the assignment of the ten tribes to him. 1 Kgs. 11 : 29-39. The prophecy is referred to 1 Kgs. 12 : 1.') ; 2 Chr. 10 : 1 5. To the wife of Jero- boam the same prophet subsequently announced not only the fate of the sick child, but that of the nation. 1 Kgs. 14:1-18. A part of this latter proph- ecy Baasha realized. 1 Kgs. 15 : 29. He left annals of Solomon's reign. 2 Chr. 9 : 29. 2. The father of Baasha, the king. 1 Kgs. 15 : 27, 33 ; 21 : 22 ; 2 Kgs. 9^: 9. 3. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2:25. 4. One of David's " valiant men." 1 Chr. 11: 36. 5. The Levite"over the treasui-es of the house of God and . . . the dedicated things." 1 Chr. 26 : 20. 6. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10 : 2fi. AHI'KAM {brother of the enemy), a son of Shaphan, and the father of Gedaliah, was an oflBcerat the court of Josiah and Jehoiakim, and one of those whom Josiah sent to Huldah the proph- etess to inquire of her concerning the book of the law which had been found in the temple. 2 Kgs. 22 : 12. He after- ward protected the prophet Jeremiah. Jer. 26 : 24. See Jeremiah. AHI'LUD {brother of one born, sc. before him), the father of Jehoshaphat, the official recorder of the reigns of David and Solomon. 2 Sam. 8 : 1 6 ; 20 : 24; 1 Kgs. 4:3; 1 Chr. 18:15. The father likewise, in all probability, of Baana, one of Solomon's twelve com- missariat officers. 1 Kgs. 4 : 12. AHIM'AAZ {brother of wrath). 1. The father of Saul's wife Ahinoam. 1 Sam. 14 : 50. 2. Son and successor of Zadok the priest. During the revolt of Absalom, Za- dok and Abiathar, the high priests, stay- ed in Jerusalem with Hushai, David's friend ; while Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, stationed them- selves at En-rogel, a short distance from the city, and the plot was that all that Hushai should hear respecting Absa- lom's plans he should communicate to Zadok and Abiathar, and they to their 34 sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan, by whom the intelligence should be communicated to David. 2 Sam. 15 : 30. As soon as Absalom had rejected the counsel of Ahithophel, and adopted that of Hushai, Zadok and Abiathar were promptly in- foiined of it, and directed their sons to go with all possible haste to David and tell him to cross Jordan at once. A woman bore the message. Seeing her speak to the men, and noticing that they ran off with haste, a lad informed Absalom of the suspicious event, and accordingly he ordered a pursuit. When they came to Bahurim, they concealed themselves in a well. The woman of the house covered the mouth of the well with a blanket, on which she spread corn to dry ; and when Absalom's messengers came up in the pursuit, and inquired where they were, she told them that the young men had passed on. Thus they escaped, and while their pursuers returned to Jerusalem they hastened to David with their message. 2 Sam. 17:15-22. At his own urgent request, Ahimaaz was employed to carry the intelligence of Absalom's death to David, his father. He outran Cushi, who had been previ- ously despatched on the same errand. Before he had delivered his message, however, Cushi came up, and made known the sad event. 2 Sam. 18 : 19-33. See David. 3. A son-in-law of Solomon, and one of his commissariat officers. 1 Kgs. 4 15. AHI'MAN {brother of a f/ift). 1 One of three Hebronitic Anakim, Num 13 : 22, defeated and killed by Caleb with the help of Judah. Josh. 15:14; Jud. 1:10. 2. A Levite porter. 1 Chr. 9 : 17. AHIM'ELECH {brother or friend of the kinrj). 1. The son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priesthood at Nob. 1 Sam 21 : 1. He gave David some of the shew-bread and the sword of Goliath when he fled from Saul. For this offence he and all the priests at Nob were slain at the instigation of Doeg the Edomite. 1 Sam. 22 : 11. See Abiathar. 2. A Hittite who was one of David's friends during his flight from Saul. 1 Sam. 26:6. AHI'MOTH {brother of death), a AHT AHU Kohathite, 1 Chr. 6 : 25 ; called in v. 35, Ma.hath. AHIN'ADAB {brother of the noble, i. e. noble brother), one of Solomon's commissariat olticors. 1 Kgs. 4 : 14. See Abiathak. AHIN'OAM {brother of j^leasnut- nens, \. e. plettsoiit). 1. Tlie daughter of Ahimaaz, and the wife of Saul. 1 Sam. 14:50. 2. A woman of Jezreel, and one of David's wives. 1 Sam. 25 : 43. She was taken captive by the Amalekites in the siege of Ziklag, and afterward rescued from captivity by David. 1 Sam. 30 : 5, 18. She 'lived with him while he was king of Judah in Hebron, and was the mother of Amnon, his eld- est son. 2 Sam. 2:2; 3:2; 1 Chr. 3:1. AHI'O {brotherl,/). 1. A son of Abinadab, who, with his brother Uz- zah, was intrusted by David with the transportation of the ark from Kii-jath- jearim to Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 6:3; 1 Chr. 13 : 7. See Uzzah. 2. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8 : 14. 3. Another Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:31; 9:37. AHI'RA {brother of evil), the prince of the tribe of Naphtali. Num. 1:15; 2:29; 7 : 78, 83 ; 10 : 27. AHI'RAM {brother of the high), a son of Benjamin, Num. 26 : 38 ; called Ehi in Gen. 46 : 21, and was possibly the same as Aher. 1 Chr. 7:12. His descendants were called Ahiramites. Num. 26:38. AHIS'AMACH {brother of sup- port), a Danite, the father of Aholiab, one of the architects of the tabernacle. Ex. 31: (5; 35:34; 38:23. AHISH'AHAR {brother of the damn), a great-grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 7: 10. AHI'SHAR {brother of the singer), the controller of Solomon's household. 1 Kgs. 4 : 6. AHITH'OPHEL {brother of fool- ishness), a native of Giloh, and the familiar friend, companion, and coun- sellor of David. Ps. 55 : 12-14; 2 Sam. 16 : 12 ; 1 Chr. 27 : 33. He was the grandfather of Bath-sheba. Cf. 2 Sam. 11 : 3 with 23 : 34. His wisdom seemed superhuman. 2 Sam. 16 : 23. Absalom persuaded him to join in the conspiracy against his father, David ; but the cun- ning measures which Ahithophel pro- posed for the accomplishment of Absa- lom's ambitious ])lans were all defeated by the counsel of llushai. Ahithophel, seeing that the probable issue would be the utter ruin of Absalom and his cause, which would almost necessarily involve his own destruction, returned at once to (riloh and hanged himself. 2 Sam. 17 : 23. AHI'TITB (brother of goodness). 1. The son of Phinehas, and grandson of Eli. 1 Sam. 14 : 3. Some suppose that he succeeded Eli in the priesthood. See Ahimklech. 2. The son of Amariah, and the father of Zadok. 1 Chr. 6 : 8. AH'LiAB (fitness, fertility), a town in Asher held by the Canaanites, Jud. 1:31; probably the place known later as Gnsh Hidab or Chaleb, and which Robinson locates at el-Jish, ne.ar Safed, north-west of the Sea of Galilee. AH'IiAI {would God .'), daughter of Sheshan ; married to his slave Jarha ; an- cestress of one of David's mighty men. 1 Chr. 2:31, 34, 35; 11:41. AHO'AH (friendship) of Jehovah?), a grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:4. AHO'HITE, "from Ahoah, a pa- tronymic of some of David's warriors. AHO^LAH {her tent), AND AHOL'IBAH {my tabernacle in her), the names of imaginary harlots; symbolically used for Judah and Sa- maria. Eze. 23 : 4, 5, 36, 44. AHO'LIAB {tent of his father), son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who, with Bezaleel, was divinely ap- pointed to construct the tabernacle and its furniture. Ex. 35 : 34. AHO LIB 'AMAH {tent of the height). 1. A wife of Esau, and daugh- ter of Anah, Gen. 36 : 2, etc. She was the same with Judith, daughter of Beeri. 26 : 34. Judith was perhaps her original name. 2. The name appears in the genea- logical list, Gen. 36 : 41 ; 1 Chr. 1:52, but it is the name of a district, and not of a person. AHU'MAI {brother of water, i. e. pusillanimons), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4 : 2. AHU'ZAM {their possession), the son of Ashur. 1 Chr. 4:6. AHUZ'ZATH {possession), a par- ticular friend of Abimelech, king of Gerar, who attended him when he met 36 AI ALA Isaac, and made a treaty with him at Beer-sheba. Gen. 26 : 26. A'l {heap of ruins). 1. A city of the Canaanites, Gen. 13 : 3 ; taken by Joshua, Josh. 7 : 2-5 ; 8 : 1-29 ; also called Aiath, Isa. 10 : 28, and Aija. Neh. 11 : 31. Abraham pitched his tent between Ilai and Bethel. Gen. 12 : 8. The two cities were so far apart that Joshua could place an ambush west of Ai unseen by the men of Bethel, while he was in the valley north of Ai. The city of Ai was east of Bethel, and about 9 miles north of Jerusalem. It is named 38 times in the Bible. It is now Haiyan. 2. A city of the Ammonites not far from Heshbon. Jer. 49 : 3. AI'AH [hawk). 1. The father of Rizpah, Saul's concubine. 2 Sam. 3 : 7; 21:8,10,11. 2. The son of Zibeon, 1 Chr. 1 : 40 ; called Ajah in Gen. 36 :24. AI'ATH. Isa. 10 : 28. Feminine form of Ai, and probably the same as Ai. AI'JA. Neh. 11 : 31. See Ai. AIJ'ALON. See AjaloxX. AIJ'ELETH SHA'HAR {hind of the dawn). These words occur in the title to Ps. 22, and probably "indicate, not the subject-matter of the poem, but rather a time for the guidance of the precentor." "There was some poem or lyrical composition extant which bore the name of Aijeleth Shahar — similar names have frequently been given to poems in the East — and according to the well-known measure of that the chief musician was to sing or chant the psalm." — AvRE : Treasury of Bible JCnoicledge. A'lN (eye, spring). 1. A place, or probably a fountain, and one of the landmarks on the eastern boundary of Canaan. Num. 34:11. It is now known as Ain el-Azy, a remarkable spring, one of the sources of the Orontes, and about 10 miles west of Riblah. 2. A city of southern Palestine, first given to Judah, Josh. 15 : 32, afterward assigned to Simeon, Josh. 19 : 7, and then to the Levites, Josh. 21:lfi; 1 Chr. 4 : 32. The same place as Ashan, 1 Chr. 6 : 59, and possibly as En-rimmon. Neh. 11 : 29. A' J AH. See Aiah. AJ'ALON (place of gazeUen). 1. A Levitical city of Dan, Josh. 19 : 42 ; given 36 to the Kohathites, Josh. 21 : 24; held by the Amorites, Jud. 1 : 35 ; noticed in the wars with the Philistines, 1 Sam. 14: 31; 2 Chr. 28:18; fortified by Reho- boam, 2 Chr. 11 : 10 ; then in the terri- tory of Benjamin, as the Danites had extended their territory farther north. See Jud. 18 : 1. Being on the border of the two kingdoms, it is sometimes men tioned as in Ephraim, 1 Chr. 6 : **)(). 69. and sometimes as in Judah and Benja- min. 2 Chr. 11 : 10 ; 28 : 18. Its modern name is Yalo, a small village about 14 miles west of Jerusalem, and north of the Jaffa road. 2. A valley, Josh. 10 : 12, near the above city, now called Merj Ihn Omeir, which is broad and very beautiful. There Joshua fought a great battle. See Gibeon. 3. A town in Zebulun. possibly named after Elon the judge, who was buried there. Jud. 12 : 12. Its site may be the modern Jalnn. A'KAN {sharp-sighted f), a descend- ant of Esau, Gen. 36 : 27 ; called Jakan in 1 Chr. 1 : 42. AK'KUB {insidious). 1. A descend- ant of David. 1 Chr. 3 : 24. 2. One of the porters at the east gate of the temple. 1 Chr. 9 : 17: Ezr. 2 : 42; Neh. 7:45; 11:19; 12:25. 3. One of the Nethinim whose fam- ily returned with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2 : 45. 4. A Levite who assisted Ezra in explaining the law. Neh. 8 : 7. AKRAB'BIM {scorpions), a range of hills on the southern boundary of Judah, Num. 34 : 4 ; Josh. 15 : 3, and on the border of the territory of the Amor- ites. Jud. 1:36. The "ascent of" and the "going up to" Akrabbim is the famous "Scorpion Pass," where the route from Petra to Hebron passes out of the Ghnr, or Wady, el-Fikreh. At the upper end of this winding valley, 10 miles from Maderah, is a wild ascent now called Nahh Kareb, which is regard- ed as the ancient Akrabbim or " Scorpion Pass." Scorpions still abound in the region. It was also called Maaleh- acrabbim. Josh. 15 : 3. AI/AB ASTER. Matt. 26 : 7. A white mineral, easily carved and sus- ceptible of a fine polish. It was of two distinct kinds. One was a pure variety of gypsum or sulphate of lime, the rock i which is often ground into plaster of ALA ALE Paris ; the other kind was carbon- ate of lime, a mineral of the same chemical composition as most of the marbles. It was hij^hly valued for its translucency and for its variety of red- dish or grayish streaiiings. The name "alabaster" is from Aldhastrou, in Egypt, where this material was found, and where vessels were manufactured from it for holding perfumes. Vases of the same mineral for containing ointments or cosmetics were found at Nineveh by Mr. Layard. The well- known sculptured slabs from that city are of alabaster of the gypsum kind. The druggists in Egypt at the present place in Asher. Josh. 19 : 26. The name seems to be preserved in the Wady Mtlik, which joins the Kishon not far from the sea and near Mt. Carmel. ALE'METH [covcnng), a Benjam- ite. 1 Chr. 8 : .'JG ; 9 : 42. AL'EMETH, and AL'LE- METH, the same as Alameth {cover- iiKj), a Levitical city of Benjamin, 1 Chr. 6 : 60 ; called also Almon, Josh. 21 : 18 ; probably the modern Almit, 4 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and about 1 mile north-east of Anata, the ancient Anathoth. ALEXAN'DER {man-defender). 1. The son of Simon the Cyrenian. Mark 15: 21. 2. A distinguished Jew who, with others, took part against Peter and John. Acts 4: 6. 3. A Jew of Ephesus who took a conspicuous part in the contro- versy between Paul and the popu- lace of that city, and attempted, without success, to quell the com- motion. Acts 19 : 33. 4. A coppersmith and apostate from Christianity, whom Paul mentions in terms of severe re- proach. 1 Tim. 1 : 19, 20 and 2 Tim. 4 : 14. ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the famous king of Macedonia and conqueror, died B.C. 323. He brought Europe and Asia into contact, made the Greek Alabaster Vases. {From the British Museum.) the ruling language of civiliza- The inscription on the centre vessel denotes the quantity it holds, tion, and thuS UUCOnscioUSly pre- day use vessels of this substance for the purpose of keeping medicines and per- fumes. Theocritus, an ancient profane historian, speaks of gilded alabasters of Syrian ointment. The phrase " she brake the box," used Mark 14 : 3, is sup])Osed to mean that she broke the slender neck of the sealed bottle or pitcher. Thus the offering was very ca^U.y ^^^ appropriate. Box was for- m<(r1y used in a more general sense than now. The word is said to come from the tvood of the same name, and at first was used for any vessel formed from that material. AL'AMETH {covering), another form of Alemeth, which see. 1 Chr. 7:8. ALAM'MELECH {Umfa oak), a pared the way for the spiritual conquest of the gospel. He is not mentioned by name in the canonical books, but in the Apocrypha, 1 Mace. 1 : 1-9 j 6 : 2, and Head of Alexander the Great. {On a coin of Lysimachus, king of Thrace.) is meant in the prophecies of Daniel, where he is represented first as the belly of brass in Nebuchadnezzar's 37 ALE ALE dream of the colossal statue, 2 : 39, and then in the vision of Daniel, under the figures of a leopard with four wings, and a one-horned he-goat, to indicate his great strength and the swiftness of his conquests, 7:6; 8 : 5-7 ; 11 : 3, 4. He succeeded his father, Philip, b. c. 336, conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, destroyed the Persian empire and sub- stituted the Grecian, but died at the age of 32, from the effects of intemperance, in Babylon, and was buried in Alexan- dria, which he had founded, B. c, 332. His conquests were divided among his four generals. Josephus relates that after the siege of Tyre he visited Jeru- salem ; and being shown the prophecy of Daniel concerning himself, he grant- ed the Jews everywhere the most im- portant privileges. But the heathen historians ignore this event. ALEXAN'DRIA,the Grecian cap- ital of Egypt, founded by and named after Alexander the Great, b. c. 332. Sitaatioti. — It was a noted seaport of Lower Egypt, and was situated on a low, narrow tract of land which divides Lake Mareotis from the Mediterranean, and near the western mouth of the Nile, about 120 miles from the present city of Cairo. History. — Soon after its foundation by Alexander it became the capital of the Ptolemies and the Grecian kings reign- ing in Egypt, and one of the most pop- ulous and prosperous cities of the East. Its harbor could accommodate vast na- vies, fitting it to become the commercial metropolis of the entire Eastern world. In front of the city, on the island of Pharos, stood a famous light-house, named after the island and noted as one of the Seven AVonders of the world. Alexandria numbered, in the days of its ancient prosperity, 600,000 inhabit- ants (half of them slaves), and ranked next to Athens in literature. It had the greatest library of ancient times, which contained upward of 700,000 rolls or volumes. The portion in the museum, consisting of 400,000 volumes, was burnt in B. c. 47. The additional or " new library " in the Serapeum, after- ward increased to about 500,000 vol- umes, including the original 300,000 volumes, was destroyed by the fanatical vandalism of the Saracens in a. d. 640. At Alexandria the 0. T. was translated 38 into the Greek by seventy learned Jews (hence called the " Septuagint), in the third century before the Christian era. The Alexandrian Greek dialect, known as Hellenistic Greek, was the language used by the early Christian fathers, and is still the study of the biblical scholar in the pages of the N. T. Alexandria was the birthplace of Apollos, Acts 18 : 24, and in the apostle Paul's time, it carried on an extensive commerce with the coun- tries on the Mediterranean. Acts 6:9; 27 : 6 ; 28 : 11. The city was the home of Philo, who there blended the Mosaic religion with the philosophy of Plato. Mark founded there a Christian church, which in later years became a patri- archal see, outranking Jerusalem and Antioch, being itself afterward out- ranked by Constantinople and Rome. In its catechetical school — the theological seminary of those days — Clement and Origen taught the Christian religion, in opposition to the false philosophy of the Gnostic sects. In Alexandria originated the Arian heresy denying that Jesus Christ was divine, and there Athanasius, the " father of orthodoxy," firmly opposed the false and defended the true doctrine of the deity of our Lord. From A. D. 300 to 600* the city was second only to Rome in size and importance, and was the chief seat of Christian theology. It was conquered by the Saracens under Caliph Omar about A. D. 640, when it began to decline. The rising importance of Constanti- nople, and the discovery of an ocean passage to India by way of Cape Good Hope, contributed to its further ruin, until it was reduced from a prosperous city of half a million to a poor village of only 5000 to 6000 inhabitants. The plan of Alexandria on the next page is taken from Fairbairn's Impeyial Dic- tionary of the Bible. Preaent Condition. — It is now an im- portant city of 200,000 inhabitants (in- cluding 50,000 Franks), and is connected with Cairo by a railway, and also with Suez, on the Red Sea. The city has a new artificial harbor with a breakwater two miles long. Among the ancient monuments to be seen are the Cata- combs, the Column of Diocletian, 94 feet high and named *' Pompey's Pil- lar " — not from the famous Pompey, but from a Roman prefect who erected the ALE ALL column in honor of the emperor Diocle- tian— and one of the two obelisks or ''Needles of Cleopatra," which, however, belong to the time of the Pharaohs and were brought from Heliopolis. One was transferred to London in 1878, and now adorns the embankment of the Thames : the other is to be removed to the city of New York (1880). ALEXANDRIANS. Acts 6 : 9. Jews from Alexandria at Jerusalem, where they had a synagogue by them- selves, or perhaps the Libertines and Cyrenians worshipped with them. AL'GUM. See Almug. ALI'AH (ivicl-cditoifi). See Alvah. ALI'AN {tall). 1 Chr. 1 : 40. See Alvan. A'LIEN. See Stranger. AL'LEGORY. Gal. 4:24. A fig- ure of speech, nearly resembling the parable or fable, common in the Scrip- tures and among all Oriental nations. It properly means a figurative speech which, under the literal sense of the words, conveys a deeper spiritual mean- ing. But the literal or historic sense is not necessarily denied. Paul gives two examples of allegorical interpreta- tion— the rock in the wilderness of which the Israelites did drink, and which spiritually or mystically means Christ, 1 Cor. 10 : 4 ; and the story of Hagar and Sarah. Gal. 4 : 24, 25. In v. 25 the best critical authorities leave out "Agar," and thus rid the verse of much of its dif- ficulty, for it is not asserted that Agar is. but that Sinai is, a mountain in Ara- bia. See Parable. ALLELII'IA, Rev.l9 : 1,0R HAL- LELU'JAH, a Hebrew word signify- ing Praific ye the Lord. It was a com- mon exclamation of joy and praise in the Jewish worshi]i, and begins and con- cludes several of the Psalms, as 106, 111, 112, 113, 117, and 135. The Psalms 113 to 118 constituted, according to Jewish enumeration, the Ilallel, which was sung on the first of the month and at the Feasts of Dedication, Tabernacles, Weeks, and of the Passover. ALLI'ANCE. The Jews were in intention a peculiar people, designed to live apart from all other nations. But they frustrated this design, and leagued themselves in off'ensive and defensive treaties with the surrounding govern- ments. We know so little of the details 39 ALL ALM of these affairs that we cannot always be sure just when they took phice. But it is noticeable that the decay of the Jewish state in purity is synchronous with a desire to receive outside help. They left God for man. Before the state arose, alliances were indeed formed by the patriarchs, Gen. 21 : 27-32; 26 : 28, 29 ; 31 : 44-54, but the}' were of very lim- ited extent. When the Israelites invad- ed Palestine they were forbidden to ally themselves with the inhabitants, but the Gibeonites fraudulently made a treaty with them, to which Israel abode faith- ful. Josh. 9. David and Solomon made an alliance with Tyre, 2 Sam. 5 : 11; 1 Kgs. 5 : 1-12, but it was for pacific ends. When, however, the disruption took place, both Judah and Israel look- ed to neighboring states for assistance in their " intestine internecine wars." By means of these foreigners idolatry was introduced, the national purity eventually destroyed, and the anger of God thus excited. Alliances were made by an oath be- tween the parties, who in solemn fashion passed between the parts of an equally- divided victim. Gen. 15:10; Jer. 34: 18-20. A feast followed. Gen. 26 : 30 : 2 Sam. 3 : 20. Salt, symbol of fidelity to this day in the East, was used ; hence the phrase "covenant of salt." Num. 18 : 19 ; 2 Chr. 13 : 5. Once made, these alliances must not be broken. Josh. 9 : 18 ; the punishment for so doing was severe. 2 Sam. 21 : 1 ; Eze. 17 : 16. AL'LON {an oak), a place on the boundary of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 33 ; probably should be rendered the "oak- forest." See Zaanannim. AL'LON (ou oak), the son of Je- daiah. 1 Chr. 4:37. AL'LON-BACH'UTH (oak of iveepiiif/), an oak tree near Bethel, under which Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried. Gen. 35 : 8. ALMO'DAD (immeasurable), the Joktanite. Gen. 10 : 26; 1 Chr. 1: 20. AL'MOX. Josh. 21 : 18. See Ale- METH. Ali'MOND (Amygdalus communis), a tree resembling the peach in size, leaf, flower, and fruit. The fruit is green, almost pulpless, and shrivels off in Sep- tember, leaving the nuts, for which the tree is chiefly valued, and which the sons of Jacob carried down to the governor 40 of Egypt, a country where almonds seem to have been rare. Gen. 43: 11. "Hazel," in Gen. 30 : 37, probably' denotes this tree. The bowls of the sacred candle- stick were made like unto almonds, Ex. 25:33, by which name of "almonds" English workmen to this day call the pieces of glass used to ornament branch- candlesticks. Aaron's rod that budded yielded this fruit. Num. 17 : 8. In January, before flowers appear on other trees, they adorn the naked twigs of the almond. Hence the allusion of the poet: " The hope, in dreams of a happier hour. That alights on Misery's brow, Springs out of the silvery almond-flower. That blooms on a leafless bough." The Hebrew name for this tree, doubt- less suggested by its early blooming, means hasten, which explains Jer. 1:11, 12 : " The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou ? And I said, I see a rod of an almond [hasteii] tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen : for I will hasten my word to perform it." The allusion in Eccl. 12 : 5 is by some thought to refer to the beautiful resem- blance of the almond ti'ee when in blos- som to a hoary head. But as these Almond. {From Wm. Smith.) flowers, though white in contrast with peach-bloom, are still pinkish, the opin- ion now prevails that " as the almond ushers in the spring, so do the signs re- ferred to in the context indicate the hastening of old age and death." ALM ALT AL'MON-DIB'LATHA^IM (hidhuj of the two Ji(/-c((k('>i), one of the halting-places of the Israelites near the river Arnon ; probably the same as Beth-diblathaim. Num. 33 : 46, 47 ; Jer. 48 : 22. ALMS, ALMS DEEDS. The word is not found in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, but is frequent in the New Testament. The duty was. however, enjoined very strict- ly upon the Jews, who by law were re- quired always to leave gleanings in the fields that the poor might be fed. Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; 23 : 22 : Deut. 15 : 11 ; 24 : 19; 26:2-13; Ruth 2 : 2. Every third year the tithe of the produce of the farmers was to be shared with the Levite, the fatherless, the stranger, and the widow. Deut. 14 : 28. Alms-giving is a subject of praise in the Old Testa- ment; e.g. Job 31:17; Ps. 41:1 and 112 : 9. In the temple there was one box for the reception of alms to be dedicated to the education of the poor children of good family. Alms-giving was a part of Pharisaic practice. Our Lord did not rebuke them for it, but for their self- satisfaction in the performance. Matt. 6:2. In Acts 10 : 31 ; Rom. 15 : 25-27 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-4 the Christian mode of re- lieving the wants of others is set forth. AL'MUG TREES, 1 Kgs. 10:11, AL'GUM TREES, 2Chr. 2:8; 9: 10, 11. Two forms of the same word. A precious wood used for musical in- struments or cabinet-work. Being or- dered by Solomon, it was brought from Ophir to Tyre, and thence with cedar of Lebanon to Jerusalem. As to what almug-wood was there are many theo- ries, but some of the best authorities believe it to have been the red sandal- wood of India. AL'OES. Ps. 45 : 8 ; Song Sol. 4 : 14. We may infer that aloes was some fragrant and costly wood or gum entire- ly different from the medicine which we know by that name. It is believed to have been brought from India, and was used in embalming the dead. John 19 : 39. Lign-aloes — that is, wood-aloes, Num. 24 : 6 — is a translation of the same He- brew word, but probably means a differ- ent plant. Balaam appears to refer to a well-known tree whose qualities might illustrate the condition of the Israelites — possibly, to some kind of odoriferous cedar. Aloes (Aquilaria agallocha. After Dr. Blrdwood.) A'LOTH, a district in charge of Baanah, one of Solomon's officers ; per- haps it should be Bealoth. 1 Kgs. 4 : 16; possibly, Alia, near Malia. AL'PHA. See A and 0. ALPHE'US {exchamie ?). 1. The father of the apostle James the Less, Matt. 10 : 3, and husband or father of Mary. John 19 : 25. Others make him the uncle of Jesus by identifying him with Cleophas and calling his wife a sister of the mother of Jesus ; but it is more likely that " the sister of the mother of Jesus," mentioned John 19 : 25, was Salome, the mother of John, who was at the cross, according to the synoptical Gospels. Matt. 27 : 36 ; Mark'l5 : 40. 2. The father of Levi or Matthew. Mark 2:14. AL'TAR. Gen. 8:20. A structure appropriated exclusively to the offering of sacrifices, under the Jewish law. See Sacrifices. Though sacrifices were offered before the Flood, the word altar does not occur until the time of Noah's departure from the ark. Altars were of various forms, and at first rude in their construction, being nothing more, probably, than a square heap of stones or mound of earth. The altar on which Jacob made an of- fering at Bethel was the single stone which had served him for a pillow dur- ing the night. Gen. 28 : 18. Primarily for sacrifice, they seem at times to have been built for a witness merely, to mark the spot of God's appearance or other 41 ALT ALT memorable event. Gen. 12 : 7 ; Ex. 17 : 15, 16; Josh. 22:10-29. The altar which Moses was commanded to build, Ex. 20 : 24, was to be made of earth. If made of stone, it was expressly re- quired to be rough, the use of a tool being regarded as polluting, Ex. 20 : 25, but this refers only to the body of the altar and that part on which the victim was laid, as is evident from the directions given for making a casing of shittim-wood and overlaying it with brass for the altar of burnt-oflfering. It was also to be without steps. Ex. 20 : 26. See also Deut. 27 : 2-6 and Josh. 8 : 31. The law of Moses forbade the erection of altars except in the tabernacle ; yet even pious Israelites disobeyed the letter of this law, for Gideon, Samuel, David, and Solomon are mentioned as setting up altars. The , temple altar was an asylum ; e. g. 1 Kgs. 1 : 50. Altars were used in idol-worship ; and because they were often erected on high places they acquired the name of "high places." The structures are different, as well as the apparent ornaments and uses. On representations of them are projections upward at each corner, which represent the true figure of the horns. Ex. 27 : 2 ; 1 Kgs. 2:28; Rev. 9:13. They were probably used to confine the victim. Ps. 118:27. The altars required in the Jewish worship were : 1. "The altar of burnt -offering," or the " brazen altar," in the taber- nacle in the wilderness. This altar stood directly in front of the principal entrance. It was made of shittim-wood (acacia), seven feet and six inches square, and four feet and six inches high. It was hollow and overlaid with plates of brass. The horns — of which there was one on each corner — were of wood, and overlaid in the same way. A grate or net-work of brass was also attached to it, either to hold the fire or to support a hearth of earth. The fur- niture of the altar was all of brass, and consisted of, 1. a shovel to remove the ashes from the altar ; 2. a 2)an to re- ceive them ; 3. basins for receiving the blood of the victims and removing it; 4. hooks for turning the sacrifice ; 5. fire-pans, or perhaps censers, for carry- ing coals from the fire or for burning 42 incense. At each corner was a brass ring, and there were also two staves or rods ovei'laid with brass, which passed through these rings, and served for car- Altar of Bunit-Offeiiiig in the Tabernacle. rying the altar from place to place. The altar is described in Ex. 27. The '' compass " referred to, v. 5, was a ledge running all around the altar about mid- way from the ground — affording a con- venient place for the priest to stand while offering sacrifice — supported bj' a brass net-like grating. The fire used on this altar was kindled miraculously and was perpetually maintained. It was also a place of constant sacrifice. In the first temple, which in its gen- eral plan was constructed after the pat- tern of the tabernacle in the wilderness, the altar of burnt-offering stood in the same relative position as in the taber- nacle. It was much larger, however, being thirty feet square and fifteen feet high, its particular plan being appoint- Altar of Buint-Offei'iiit; in the Templo. {From Surenhusius's Mishna.) ed expressly by divine authority. It was made entirely of bronze plates, which covered a structure of earth or stone. 2 Chr. 4:1. In the second tem- ple it occupied the same position, though it was still larger and more beautiful than in the first. An inclined plane led in each case up to the altar, since express command forbade the Jews using steps. Ex. 20 : 26. 2. The " altar of incense," or the "golden altar," stood within the holy ALT AMA place and near to the inmost veil. Ex. 30 : 1-6. It- was made of the same wood with the brazen altar, and was eighteen inches square and three feet high. The top, as well as the sides and horns, was overlaid with pure gold, and it was finished around the upper surface Altar of Incense. with a crown or border of gold. Just beloTY this border four golden rings were attached to each side of the altar, one near each corner. The staves or rods for bearing the altar passed through these rings, and were made of the same wood with the altar itself, and richly overlaid with the same precious metal. Upon this altar incense was burned every morning and every evening (see Incexse), so that it was literally per- petual. Ex. 30:8. The "altar of in- cense " in Solomon's temple was made of cedar overlaid with gold. Neither burnt-sacrifice, nor meat-offering, nor drink-off'ering, was permitted upon this altar, nor was it ever stained with blood, except once annually, when the priest made atonement. Lev. 16: 18, 19. ALTAR TO THE [AN] UN- KNOWN GOD, referred to by Paul. Acts 17 : 23. There were in Athens several altars with this inscription, which were erected during a plague, the Athenians believing they had unconsciously offend- ed some divinity, but not knowing whom. AL-TAS'CHITH {destroy not). These words are in the titles to Ps. 57, 58, 59 and 75, and are probably "the beginning of some song or poem to the tune of which those psalms were to be chanted." A'LiUSH (a crowd of men, or p^ace of wild beasts), an encampment of the Israelites on their way to Sinai, and the last before Rephidim. Num. 33 : 13, 14. See Rki'Hidim. AL'VAH (wickedness), a chief of Edom. Gen. 36 : 40. Called Aliah in IChr. 1:51. AL'VAN (tall), a descendant of Sier the Horite. Gen. 36 : 23. Called Alian in 1 Chr. 1:40. A'MAD {people of duration), a town ofAsher. Josh. 19 : 26. Robinson sug- gested that it might be located at Shefi Amar, on a ridge of Haifa. Drake pro- poses to identify it with el-Amud. A'MAL {labor), an Asherite. 1 Chr. 7:35. AM'ALEK (diceller in a valley), the son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau, chieftain or "duke" of Edom. Gen. 36 : 16. The Amalekites were not named from him, for they existed long before. Gen. 14 : 7. Arabian tradition makes him the son of Ham. AM'ALEKITES. 1 Sam. 15 : 6. A powerful people of uncertain origin, first mentioned in connection with the invasion of Chedorlaomer. Gen. 14 : 7. They are called. Num. 24: 20, the first of all the nations. They were signally defeated in a contest with the children of Israel at Rephidim, and for oppos- ing the progress of Israel they became objects of God's judgments. They were afterward defeated and repulsed by Gid- eon, Jud. 7 : 22, and by Saul, 1 Sam. 15, and by David, 1 Sam. 30, till at last the word of the Lord Avas fulfilled to the very letter, and their name was blotted from the earth. 1 Sam. 30 : 17 and 1 Chr. 4 : 43. AMALEKITES, COUNTRY OF THE, a region lying between Canaan and Egypt, chiefly south of the mountains of Judah, and from Mount Sinai eastward to Mount Seir and the Salt Sea. Gen. 14 : 7 ; Ex. 17 : 8 : Num. 13 : 29 ; 14 : 25. For the physical fea- tures and character of the region see Sinai. AM ALEKITES, MOUNT OF THE. Jud. 12:15. A mountain or hilly district in Ephraim, probably so named from an early settlement of the Amalekites or a later invasion by them. A'MAM {gathering-place), a city in the south of Judah. Josh. 15 : 26. Wilton and others would join this word 43 AMA AMA 2. A range, with Hazor in the preceding verse, and read " Hazor-Aman," but ancient au- thorities do not support this view. Its precise location is unknown. AM'ANA, OR AMA'NA {peren- nial). 1. Margin, same as Abana. 2 Kgs. 5 : 12. See Abana. ridge or peak of the Lebanon in which the river Amana or Abana has its source. Song. Sol. 4:8. AMARI'AH {mid, i. e. jjrumixed). 1. Son of Meraioth, a descendant of Aaron in the line of Eleazar, and father of Ahitub, whose son, Zadok, was made high priest, bringing back the of- fice to his family. 1 Chr. 6 : 7, 52. 2. A high priest later on. 1 Chr. 6:11. 3. A Kohathite Levite. 1 Chr. 23 : 19 ; 24 : 23. 4. The head of one of the twenty-four courses of priests. 2 Chr. 31 : 15 ; Neh. 10:3. 5. One in Ezra's time. Ezr. 10 : 42. 6. An ancestor of Zephaniah the prophet. Zeph. 1 : 1. 7. One of the family of Perez. Neh. 11:4. AM'ASA {a burden). 1. A son of Jether (or Ithra) and Abigail, and nephew of David. He joined in Ab- salom's rebellion, and was appointed his commander-in-chief. 2 Sam. 17 : 25. Being defeated by Joab, and Absalom being killed, he submitted to David, and was made captain of the host in room of Joab, his cousin, whose part in the death of Absalom and general lack of respect brought him into disfavor. When Sheba revolted David sent Amasa to assemble the people within three days, but his tardiness, owing, perhaps, to his unpopularity, obliged David to despatch his household troops under Abishai in pursuit of the rebel. Joab joined his brother, and meeting Amasa on the latter's return, under pretence of saluting him killed him and put him- self again in supreme command. 2 Sam. 20 : 10. See Joab. 2. A prince of Ephraim, son of Had- lai, in the reign of Ahaz. 2 Chr. 28 : 12. AMAS'AI {htn-densome). 1. A Le- vite, one of the sons of Elkanah. 1 Chr. 6:25. 2. The chief of a party that came to David at Ziklag. 1 Chr. 12 : 18. 3. One of the priests who blew the trumpets before the ark. 1 Chr. 15 : 24. 44 4. A Kohathite in the reign of Heze- kiah. 2 Chr. 29:12. AIHASH'AI {burdensome), a priest of the time of Nehemiah, Neh. 11 : 13. Some suppose him to be the same as Maasiai. 1 Chr. 9 : 12. AMASI'AH {ivhom Jehovah bears), the son of Zichri, captain of 200,000 men under Jehoshaphat. 2 Chr. 17 : 16. A M A Z 1 ' A H ( whom Jehovah strengthens). 1. The eighth king of Ju- dah, the son and successor of Joash, commenced his reign in his twenty-fifth year, and reigned twenty-nine years, B. c. 839-809. 2 Kgs. 14 : 1-20. He served the Lord, but not perfectly. He first slew his father's murderers, but not their children, thus observing the Mosaic law. 2 Chr. 25 : 4. At the commencement of his reign, he showed an outward regard to the law of the Lord, but by power and ambition he fell into a snare, and was destroyed by violence. Amaziah re- solved to make war upon the Edomites, who had revolted from the kingdom of Judah several years before. 2 Kgs. 8 : 20. He raised an army of 300,000 men from among his own subjects, and hired 100,000 men of Israel, for whose services he paid 100,000 talents of sil- ver— the first example in Jewish his- tory of a mercenary army. Before he commenced the expedition, however, he was directed by divine authority to dismiss his hired soldiers, or if he did not he should certainly fall before his enemies. After some hesitation he sent them home. Amaziah met the Edomites in a place called the Valley of Salt, and gained a signal victory over them, slaying 10,000 and taking 10,000 prisoners. Elated by his suc- cess, and forgetful of God who had given him the victory, he set up the idols of his vanquished enemy as his own gods. The anger of the Almighty was kindled against him, and in a mes- sage God exposed and rebuked his sin. 2 Chr. 25:15. The king was already hardened enough to question the au- thority of God's messenger, and even to threaten him with death. Thus given up to follow his own devices, he sought occasion of war with Jehoash, king of Israel. The answer of the king to the challenge was given in the form of a fable expressive of the AMB AMI utmost contempt, and contained at tha same time a severe rebuke to the king of Judah for his pride and vain- glory. Undeterred, ho met the army of Israel at Beth-shemesh, in Judaja, but his army was completely routed, and he was taken prisoner, Jehoash then proceeded to break down a sec- tion of the city wall six hundred feet in length, and marched through the breach, plundered the temple of its gold and silver vessels, seized the king's treasures, and taking such host- ages as he pleased returned in triumph to Samaria. 2 Kgs. 14. About fifteen years after this disgraceful defeat, Ama- ziah fled from Jerusalem to Lachish to escape a conspiracy ; but he was fol- lowed to the place to which he fled and put to death, and Tiis body taken back to Jerusalem and buried with his fathers. His name is omitted in the genealogy of Christ. 2. A Simeonite. 1 Chr. 4 : 34. 3. A Levite. 1 Chr. 6 : 45. 4. A priest of the golden calf at Beth- el who complained against the prophet Amos to Jeroboam, king of Israel, and tried to eff'ect his banishment. Amos 7 : 10-17. See Amos. AMBAS'SADOR, a person of the highest rank, ap])ointed to represent his government in the transaction of busi- ness with a foreign power. The earliest mention in the Bible is in the case of the Edomites, Num. 20 : 14, to whom Moses sent " messengers," also in the case of Moab, the Amorites, the Gibeonites, and other tribes. See Num. 21 : 21 ; Josh. 9:4; Jud. 11:17-19. In the days of the kingdoms they are more frequently mentioned. An injury upon them was an insult to their king. 2 Sam. 10 : 5. Their mission was often pacific or con- gratulatory, as in the latter incident. Paul calls gospel-preachers the ambas- sadors of Christ. 2 Cor. 5 : 20. AM'BASSAGE. Luke 14:. 32. A public message. The term may include the messenger or ambassador as well as his message. AM'BER. Eze. 1:4, 27; 8:2 (bet- ter electrum, or bright gold gum). Fos- sil gum, a beautiful bituminous sub- stance, susceptible of a fine polish, varying in color, but chiefly yellow and orange. It is mined in Prussia, and also washed ashore by the waves of the Baltic Sea. The word here used prob- ably denotes elcctnun, a metal coni])osed of gold and silver and held in high es- timation among the ancients. In the passages cited the allusion is simply to the color of amber, and docs not neces- sarily imj)ly that it is indestructible by fire. AMEN' (literally, true, Jirm ; iiu'' aphorically, faithful), used to denote assent or entire acquiescence, impress- ing the staraj) of absolute tiiithfulness upon the statement. Deut. 27 : la. It was used as the solemn atfirmative re- sponse to an oath. The word was often repeated. It is a matter of tradition that in the temple the ''Amen" was not uttered by the people, but that in- stead, at the conclusion of the priest's prayers, they responded, " Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever." Of this a trace is supposed to remain in the concluding sentence of the Lord's Prayer. Comp. Rom. 11 : 36. But in the synagogue and private houses it was customary for the people or members of the family who were present to say " Amen " to the prayers which were off'ered by the min- ister or master of the house, and the custom remained in the early Christian Church. Matt. 6 : 13 ; 1 Cor. 14 : 16. Doxologies and private prayers were appropriately closed with " Amen." It is sometimes translated verili/, and was frequently used by our Saviour when he was about to utter some distinct, im- portant, and solemn truth. Its repeti- tion, " Verily, verily, I say unto you " (in John) strengthens the assertion. The promises of God are amen, be- cause they are made sure and certain in Christ. 2 Cor. 1 : 20. Amen is one of the titles of our blessed Saviour, Rev. 3 : 14, as he is the faithful and true witness. AM'ETHYST. Ex. 39: 12; Rev. 21 : 20. A precious stone consisting of crystallized quartz, of a purple or blu- ish-violet color. Oriental amethyst, a variety of sapphire, is probably included under this latter name. A'MI {a builder), one who returned with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2 : 57. He is termed Amon in Neh. 7 : 59. AMIN'AUAB FOR AMMIN'A- DAB. Matt. 1:4; Luke 3 : 3;i. AMIT'TAI (true), the father of Jo- nah. 2 Kgs. 14:26; Jon. 1:1. 45 AMM AMM AM'MAH {head, or water/all), a hill in front of Giah, near Gibeon, to which Joab pursued Abner. 2 Sam. 2 : 24. See also Metheg-ammaii. AM'MI, explained in the margin correctly, " mv people." Hos. 2:1. AHI'MIEL {people of God). 1. The spy from Dan. Num. 13 : 12. 2. The father of Machir, of Lo-debar. 2 Sam. 9 : 4, 5 ; 17 : 27. 3. The father of Bath-sheba, 1 Chr. 3 : 5; called Eliam in 2 Sam. 11 : 3. 4. The sixth son of Obed-edom, and a temple-porter. 1 Chr. 26 : 5. AMMI'HUD {people ofJudah). 1. An ancestor of Joshua through Elish- ama, the chief of Ephraim in the Wan- dering. Num. 1:10; 2:18; 7 : 48, 53 ; 10 : 22 ; 1 Chr. 7 : 26. 2. A Simeonite. Num. 34:20. 3. A Naphtalite. Num. 34 : 28. 4. Father of Talmai, king of Geshur. 2 Sam. 13 : 37. 5. A descendant of Pharez, son of Ju- dah. 1 Chr. 9 : 4. AMMIN'ADAB {one of tie people of the prince). 1. The son of Ram or Aram, who was the great-grandson of Judah, and father of Elisheba, the wife of Aaron. He was in the line of Christ's ancestors. Ex. 6 : 23 ; Num. 1:7; 2 : 3: 7:12,17; 10 : 14; Ruth 4 : 19, 20 ; 1 Chr. 2:10. 2. A Kohathite, and chief of the 112 sons of Uzziel. 1 Chr. 15 : 10-12. 3. Put for Izhar, probably by copyist's error, in 1 Chr. 6 : 22. AMMISHAD'DAI {one of the peo- ple of the AlinifjJtti/), the father of Ahi- ezer, prince of Dan. Num. 1:12; 2 : 25: 7:66, 71: 10:25. AMMIZ'ABAD {j)eople of the direr, \. e. Jehorah ), an officer in Da- vid's army. 1 Chr. 27 : 6. AM'MON, AND AMMONITES, LAND OF, etc., a mountainous coun- try on the east side of the Salt Sea, reaching from the river Arnon to the Jabbok. Num. 21 : 24 ; Deut. 2:19, 20. It lay to the north of the land of Moab ; and "the land," "borders," or "cities" of the children of Amnion are noticed over 15 times in Old Testament history, and frequently with Moab. The precise extent of their country cannot be deter- mined, as they appear to have led a wan- dering, predatory life similar to that of the wild Arab tribes now in that region. 46 Gilead was the best portion of their land. Among the cities held by them, sometimes, apparently, in common with Moab, were Heshbon, Rabbah, and Min- nith. The land which the king of Am- mon claimed in the time of the Judges, Jud. 11: 13, once belonged to a "king of Moab." Num. 21:26. AMMONITES, on CHIL- DREN OF AM'MON, Gen. 19 : 38, were the descendants of Ben-ammi, a son of Lot. He was born in the neigh- borhood of Zoar, but his posterity spread northwardly and occupied the mountain- regions of Gilead, between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok. Originally their possessions were bounded north bj' the river Jabbok, west by Jordan, south by Arnon, and stretched eastwardly into Arabia. The Amorites, under Sihon, their king, expelled them from the rich- est part of their possessions, which lay between the two rivers ; but Moses re- covered it from the Amorites and di- vided it between Reuben and Gad. The western boundary of the Ammon- ites then became a branch of the river Jabbok (on which their capital city, Rabbah or Rabbath-Ammon, stood), and the mountains of Gilead bounded them on the east, while the main stream of the Jabbok continued to be their northern boundary, and the land of Moab the southern. This last is in- tended by the kingdom of Ammon as used in the sacred history. The children of Ammon were gross idolaters. .Jud. 10: 6. Their chief idol was Molech, the same with Milcom, and their history is full of the judgments which their sins brought upon them, though they were spared, by God's ex- press command, Avhen Israel passed by them from Egypt, because Lot was their progenitor. Deut. 2:19; 2 Chr. 20 : 10. Three hundred years afterward the king of the Ammonites made war upon the Israelites, under the pretence that they had taken their land, Jud. 11 : 13, and after a severe battle the Ammonites were routed with great slaughter. In the beginning of Saul's reign, 1 Sam. 11 : 1, the Ammonites, under Nahash, their king, attacked Jabesh-gilead, but proposed to spare the inhabitants pro- vided they would all consent to lose the right eye. During the time allowed for their answer they collected a sufficient AMM AMO force to meet the Ammonites, and so completely routed them that two of them were not left together. Fifty or sixty years after this one of the kings of the Ammonites died, and David, who seems to have been under some obliga- tion to him, sent a message of condo- lence to his son and successor. This friendly act was not received kindly, and the messengers of David were grossly abused and insulted. See ILv- NFX. Expecting that David would at- tempt to revenge the insult, they ob- tained large supplies of men from the Syrians ; and when David heard of their preparation for war, he sent Joab, with a chosen troop from the army of Israel, to meet them. The result was fatal to the Ammonites. They and their allies were subdued, and fled. Rabbah, their capital, and all the rest of their cities were afterward destroyed by the Israelites, the king's crown was taken from his head and put on David's head, and the people were reduced to a state of abject servitude. 2 Sam. 12:26-31. In this condition they remained till the reign of Jehoshaphat, when they united with the Moabites and others and made war upon Judah, and were miraculous- ly cut off. 2 Chr. 20. Jotham fought and prevailed against them, and made them tributary for several years. Many Jews sought refuge among them in the time of the Captivity, but they do not seem to have decreased their hostile feel- ing. The most dreadful judgments were threatened against them and their chief city because they seized and occupied a part of the territory of Israel, Jer. 49 : 1-6, and again because they insolently triumphed over the Israelites in the days of their captivity, Eze. 25 : 2-7, 10 ; and every threat was executed to the very uttermost in due time, as profane his- tory abundantly attests. " During the time of the Maccabees various battles were fought between the Ammonites and the Jews ; and during the changes that ensued, first under the Grecian, then under the Roman supremacy, the Am- monites lost their independent posi- tion, and gradually became amalgama- ted with the general Arab population." They were a cruel, remorseless, nomadic people. To their god Molech they offered human sacrifices. See Molech. Where their capital once stood is now the vil- lage of Amman, 20 miles south-east of the modern town of cn-Sa/t. AM'MOIV-NO. See No. AIVl'NON [faithfnl). 1. The eldest son of David, who was guilty of vio- lating the chastity of his half-sister, Tamar. 2 Sam. 13 ; 1 Chr. 3 : 1. See Absalom. 2. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:20. A'MOK {dcej^), a priest who re- turned with Zerubbabel. Neh. 12 : 7, 20. A'MON, OR A'MEN {the hidden), an Egyptian god, one of the eight of the first order, and the chief of the Theban triad. Nah. 3 : 8, margin. He is repre- Amon. {After Wilkinson.) sented as a man clad in a linen tunic, gathered about the waist by a belt. In one hand he holds the symbol of life, in the other the staff" of authority, and on his head is a cap with two high ])lumes. A'MOIV {builder). 1. Governor of Samaria under Ahab. 1 Kgs. 22:26; 2 Chr. 18:25. 2. The fourteenth king of Judah, son and successor of Manasseh. IIo was 47 AMO AMR twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 2 Kgs. 21:19. Zepha- niah gives a vivid picture of the degra- dation of the kingdom under this wicked king. He was murdered hy his servants and succeeded by his son Josiah. AM'ORITE {moHUtahieer), LAND OF THE. The mountainous districts between the Jordan and the Mediter- ranean were the portion of the Amorites before Canaan came into the possession of the Israelites : the land of the Ca- naanites being the low plain-country. The Amorites also extended their terri- tory, so that it at one time reached to the foot of Hermon and embraced all Gilead and Bashan. Deut. 4 : 47-49 ; 3:8, 10. For the physical features of this land see Canaan, Bashan, and Gilead. AMORITES, correctly EM'OR- ITES (mountaiueers), a Syrian tribe descended from Canaan, and among the most formidable of the tribes with whom the Israelites contended. Gen. 10 : 16. They were of gigantic stature and great courage. Am. 2 : 9. They first inhabited the hill-country south of Jerusalem, the barren and rocky land in which David took refuge ,• but from there they went into better posses- sions, and at the time of the Conquest they inhabited one of the most fertile districts of the country, being bounded on three sides by the rivers Arnon, Jab- bok, and Jordan. See Ammonites. The Israelites asked permission of their king to travel through their territory, prom- ising to injure nothing, not even to draw water from their wells ; but it was refused. The Amorites collected and at- tempted to oppose their progress, but were defeated, and their territory taken and divided between the tribes of Reu- ben and Gad. Josh. 13 : 15, 21, 24, 27. Nothing more is heard of them in the Bible, except occasionally as moving in small bands. A'MOS {burden), one of the lesser prophets, herdsman of Tekoa, a small town in the tribe of Judah, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. Am. 1 : 1. He lived in the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, and of Jeroboam II., king of Israel, about eight hundred years be- fore Christ. He was a contemporary of Hosea. While employed as a herds- man he was divinely appointed to 48 prophesy against Israel. This kingdom then was in its heyday of prosperity, but by reason of its idolatry rife with the seeds of ruin. It was Amos's duty to speak plain words upon the evils of the state. Being driven from Bethel upon the false representation made to the king by the idolatrous ])riest Ama- ziah. Am. 7:10-17, he returned to 'i'e- koa. The time and manner of his death are uncertain. Amos, Prophecy of, is the thirtieth in the order of the books of the Old Testa- ment, and is full of interest and instruc- tion. It may be considered as a sort of continuation of Joel's. It is a uuit. It begins with the declaration of God's judgments against Israel's neighbors. But in this storm of fury Judah does not escape while Israel stands the brunt of it. 1-2 : 6. The sins of Israel are rebuked. 2 : 6-6: 14. The rebukes are followed by a series of symbols, which are interpreted. 7 : 1-9 : 7. But the book closes with the promise of good. The " tabernacle of David " is to be re- stored. Thus the beauty and perpetuity of the Christian Church are foretold. It has been remarked as a peculiar fea- ture of this prophecy that it abounds with illustrations drawn from husband- ry and the scenes of rustic life ; it cer- tainly contains some of the most per- fect specimens of sublime thought and beautiful expression that are to be found in any language. A'MOZ {ntrong), the father of Isaiah. 2 Kgs. 19 : 2 ; Isa. 1:1. Jewish tradi- tion makes him the brother of Amaziah, king of .Tudah. AMPHIP^OLIS {nround the cif>/), a chief city of the southern portion of Macedonia under the Romans. The river Strymon flowed on both sides of the city, hence its name. It was 33 miles south-west of Philippi, and 3 miles from the sea. Paul and Silas passed through it. Acts 17 : 1. Nen- Khorio, or A^ewfomn, a village of about 100 houses, now occupies a portion of the site of Amphipolis. AM'PLIAS, a Christian at Rome whom Paul salutes. Rom. 16 : 8. AM'RAM {red?), a descendant of Seir. 1 Chr. 1 : 41. AM'RAM {jyeople of the exalted). 1. A Levite, father of Moses. Ex. 6: 18-20. AMR ANA 2. One who married a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 34. AM'RAPHEL. Gen. 14:1. The Hamite king of Sliinar, or Baby- lonia, who confederated with other kings and made war on Sodom and the other cities of the plain, plunder- ing them and making prisoners of their inhabitants. Among the cap- tives was Lot, Abraham's nephew. Gen. 14:9-16. See Lot. AM'ULET. The superstitious cha- racter of the Oriental nations has in all periods led them to fear the attacks of imaginary foes, and so, in order to pro- tect themselves, they wear charms of one sort and another. These amulets are indirectly and directly referred to in the Bible ; e. g. when in the form of Egyptian Amulets. (In the British Muaeum.) 1. CJold. 2. Ring with tlie word " health " inserted. 3. Scarabjeus. 4. Cornelian serpent's head. 5. Porce- lain eyes. 6. Gold pendant, inlaid. ear-rings. Gen. 35:4; Jud. 8:24; Hos. 2:13. But more commonly they were worn suspended from a necklace as a gem with an inscription or figure of a god upon it. Charms consisted likewise of words written upon papy- rus or parchment rolled uj) tightly 4 and sewed in linen ; perhaps these are meant by the " tablets " of Isa. 3 : 20. Phylacteries, some suppose, de- rived their sanction from the danger of idolatrous j)ractices to which this custom gave rise. AM'ZI {stromj). 1. A Levite. 1 Chr. 6 : 4(). 2. A priest. Neh. 11 : 12. A'NAB {place of (jrnpes), a place or town of the Anakim, Josh. 11: 21 ; 15: 50 ; now Anab, 10 miles south-south-west of Hebron, though Lieutenant Conder places it much farther west. A'NAH (aiiswen'iig), the father of Aholibamah, one of Esau's wives. Gen. 36 : 2, 14, 24. The discovery of some icarm springs (although in the A. V. the word is translated mules) is attributed to him. ANAHA'RATH {gorge, or ;)rt8s), a city of Issachar, Josh. 19 : 19, probably in the northern part of that territory. Meskarah, and also en-Naurah, just east of Little Hermon, have been suggested as the site of Anaharath. ANAI'AH {whom Jehovah answers). 1. A priest. Neh. 8: 4. 2. One of the "heads" of the peo- ple who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10 : 22. AN'AKIM (Anak, sing., neck- chain ; Anakim, plur., fong-necked per- sons), a race of giants, the descend- ants of Arba, who gave the name of Kirjath-arba, city of Arba, to the city which the Jews called Hebron. The name Anak belongs to the race, not to an individual. The race was divided into three tribes, called in common the Anakim, and remarkable for their fierceness and stature. In the time of the Conquest they occupied the territory between Hebron and Jeru- salem. Josh. 11 : 21, 22. Their gigan- tic size had terrified the spies Moses sent out. Num. 13:28, but they were defeated by the Israelites, who entered into their possessions, Hebron becom- ing the portion of Caleb. Josh. 14 : 15. See (iiANTS. ANAM'MELECH. See Adram- MELF.CH. A'NAN" (a cloud), one who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10 : 26. ANA'NI {whom Jehovah covers), a descondiint of David. 1 Chr. 3:24. ANANI'AII {whom Jehovah covers), 49 ANA AND an ancestor of one who helped to build the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 23. ANANI'AH {whom Jehovah covers), one of the towns in which the Benja- mites dwelt after the Captivity. Neh. 11 : 32. The modern village Beit Ha- niiia, about 3 miles north of Jerusalem, corresponds well in name and situation to this ancient town. AN ANI'AS (the Greek form of Han- aniah, whom. Jehovah has graciously given). 1. One of the professed con- verts to the Christian faith under the preaching of the apostles. Acts 5 : 1- 10. When the disciples had thrown their property into a common stock, Ananias sold his estate and brought a part of the purchase-money, pre- tending it was the whole proceeds of the sale. Being charged by Peter with his sin, he fell down dead upon the spot. His wife Sapphira, who was privy to the fraud of her husband, but ignorant of his dreadful end, being asked for how much their estate had been sold, confirmed the falsehood which Ananias had told, and instant- ly met the same doom. 2. A primitive devout disciple who lived at Damascus, and was commis- sioned to visit Paul soon after his con- version and restore him to sight. Acts 9:10-18; 23:12-16. Tradition makes him subsequently the bishop of Damas- cus, and a martyr. 3. The son of Nebedaeus, appointed high priest by Herod, king of Chalcis, A. D. -48. Acts 23 : 2. In A. d. 62 he was sent to Rome to answer a charge of oppression preferred against him by the Samaritans. He was, how- ever, acquitted, returned, and resumed his office. Paul was tried before him, A. D. 55. He was likewise one of the apostle's accusers before Felix and be- fore Festus. Acts 24 : 1 ; 25 : 2. See Paul. He was shortly after deposed, but retained much power until at the breaking out of the Jewish war, when the Sicarii set fire to his house and compelled him to flee, but followed and killed him, a. d. 67 (Josephus, Jewish Wars, ii. 17, 9). A'NATH {answer), father of Sham- gar, one of the Judges. Jud. 3:31:5: 6. ANATH'EMA {set apart, devoted). In its usual acceptation it means the de- voting of an animal, person, or place to 50 destruction. Lev. 27 : 28 ; Josh. 6 : 17-21. Paul uses it in the sense " cut off", ac- cursed." Rom. 9:3; Gal. 1 : 8, 9. Hence in ecclesiastic language it means " ex- communicated, cut ofi" from the church." Anathema Maranatha is a Syriac exclamation signifying. Let him be ac- cursed, The Lord is at hand, a reminder that at the coming of the Lord rewards and punishments would be meted out. 1 Cor. 16 : 22. AN'ATHOTH {ansioers). 1. A son of Becher the Benjamite. 1 Chr. 7:8. 2. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10: 19. AN'ATHOTH {answers, or echoes), a Levitical city in Benjamin, Josh. 21: 18 ; 1 Chr. 6 : 60 ; the birthplace of Jer- emiah, Jer. 1:1; 11:21, 23; 32:7-9,- on the route of the Assyrians, Isa. 10 : 30 ; some of its people returned with Zerubbabel, Ezr. 2 : 23 ; Neh. 7 : 27 ; now a village of about 20 houses, 4 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and called Aiia- tn. Tradition incorrectly locates Ana- thoth at Kuriet-el-Enab, near Abu Gush, and between Ramleh and Jerusalem. ANCH'OR. Acts 27 : 29. The an- chor was formerly cast from the stern of the ship. In the passage cited refer- ence may be had to an anchor with four flukes or arms, such as are sometimes used by boats in shallow water; or it may mean four distinct separate anchors. The above represents a common anchor with two flukes or arms. There is a strong shank c, at one end of which are two arms b b, terminating in flukes a a. At the other end of the shank is the stock d, supplied with a ring to which a cable can be attached. The stock is de- signed to give such a direction to the falling anchor that one of the flukes shall enter itself firmly at the bottom. See Ship. AN'DREW {manly), one of the twelve apostles, John 1 : 40, the son of AND ANG Jonas and brother of Simon Peter, was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, by trade a fisherman, and originally a disciple of John the Baptist, whom he left to follow our Saviour. When he had found the Messiah, he forthwith sought his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus, and soon after they both attached themselves to the little band of his dis- ciples and followed him till the close of his ministry. The events with which Andrew was particularly connected are recorded in Matt. 4: 18-20 ; Mark 13 : 3 j and John 1 : 35-40 ; 6 : 3-13 ; 12 : 22. Tradition says he preached the gospel in Scythia, Greece, and Asia Minor, and was crucified on a cross of a peculiar shape (hence St. Andrew's cross) in Achaia. ANDRONI'CUS {victorious man), a Roman Christian whom Paul salutes in Rom. 16 : 7. A''NEM {two fonntmns), a Levitical city of Issachar, 1 Chr. 6 : 73 ; probably the same as En-gannim of Josh. 19 : 21 ; 21 : 29. It has been identified with the modern Jenin, on the border of the plain of Jezreel. See En-Gannim (2). A'NJER {hoy), one of the three Amor- ite chiefs who joined Abraham in the pursuit of the four invading kings. Gen. 14:13. A'NER {hoy), a Levitical city in Manasseh, west of the Jordan, 1 Chr. 6 : 70 : supposed by some to be the same as Taanach, Jud. 1 : 27, and Tanach. Josh. 21:25. AN'GEL. Gen. 24 : 7. This word, both in the Greek and Hebrew lan- guages, signifies a vicsseuger, and in this sense is often applied to men. 2 Sam. 2:5: Luke 7 : 24 and 9 : 52. When the term is used, as it generally is, to ilcsignate spiritual beings, it denotes the oflSce they sustain as the agents by whom God makes known his will and executes his government. Our knowledge of such beings is de- rived wholly from revelation, and that rather incidentally. We know, from their residence and employment, that they must possess knowledge and purity far bej^ond our present conceptions, and the titles applied to them denote the exalted place they hold among created intelligences. Christ did not come to the rescue of angels, but of men. Comp. Heb. 2 : 16. The angels are rep- resented as ministering spirits sent forth to do service to the heirs of sal- vation. Heb. 1:14. They appear at every important stage in the history of revelation, especially at the birth of Christ, Luke 2:9-13, in his agony in Gethsemane, Luke 22 ; 43, at his resur- rection. Matt. 28 : 2 ,• Mark 16 : 5 ; Luke 24 : 4, and at the final judgment. Matt. 13 : 41. Of their appearance and employment we may form some idea from the follow- ing passages — viz. Gen. 16 : 7-11. Com- pare Gen. 18 : 2 5 19 : 1 with Ileb. 13 : 2 ; Jud. 13 : G ; Eze. 10 ; Dan. 3 : 28 and 6 : 22 ; Matt. 4:11; 18 : 10 and 28 : 2-7 ; Luke 1 : 19 ; 16 : 22 and 22 : 43 ; Acts 6 : 15 ; 12 : 7 : Heb. 1 : 14 ; 2 :16 ; 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 10:1, 2, 6. Of their number some idea may be inferred from 1 Kgs. 22 : 19 ; Ps. 68 : 17 ; Dan. 7:10; Matt. 26 : 53 ; Luke 2 : 9-14; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 12:22. Of their strength we may judge from Ps. 103 : 20 : 2 Pet. 2:11; Rev. 5:2; 18:21; 19:17. And we learn their inconceivable activity from Jud. 13 : 20 ; Isa. 6 : 2-6 ; Matt. 13 : 49 ; 26 : 53 ; Acts 27 : 23 ; Rev. 8:13. There is also an order of evil spirits ministering to the will of the prince of darkness, and both active and pow- erful in their opposition to God. Matt. 25 : 41. It would seem the proper inference from Matt. 18:10 that every believer had a guardian angel. The same idea is suggested in other passages, as Ps. 91 : 11, 12 ; Luke 15 : 10 ; Acts 12 : 15. They are the companions of the saved. Heb. 12 : 22, 23 ; Rev. 5:11,12. They are to sustain an important office in the future and final administration of God's government on earth. Matt. 13 : 39 ; 25 : 31-33 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 16. But they are not proper objects of adoration. Col. 2 : 18 ; Rev. 19 : 10. Angel of his Presence, Isa. 63 : 9, by some is supposed to denote the high- est angel in heaven, as Gabriel, who stands "in the presence of God," Luke 1:19; but others believe it refers to the incarnate Word. Angel of the Lorp, Gen. 16 : 7, is considered, by some, one of the com- mon titles of Christ in the Old Testa- ment. Ex. 23 : 20. Compare Acts 7 : 30-32 and 37, 38. 61 ANG ANK Angel of the Church. Rev. 2 : 1. The only true interpretation of this phrase is the one which makes the an- gels the rulers and teachers of the con- gregation, so called because they were the ambassadors of God to the churches, and on them devolved the pastoral care and government. Angel op Light. See Devil. AN'GER, a strong emotion, which is sinful or otherwise according to its object and motive. When ascribed to holy beings it is used figuratively to denote high displeasure at sin. In this sense good men may be angry and sin not, Eph. 4 : 26 ; Neh. 5:6; cf. 2 Pet. 2 : 7, 8 ; and even God is said to be " angry xoith the wicked every day." Ps. 7:11. Unjustified anger is reck- oned among chief sins, and as such is severely rebuked. Eph. 4:31; Col. 3 : 8, and numerous passages in Proverbs. A'NIAItt (sii/hiiiff of the people), a Manassite. 1 Chr. 7 : 19. A'NIM {fountainn), a town in the mountains of Judah. Josh. 15 : 50. Khirbet el-Jif has been suggested as the site of Anim, but it is more proba- bly at the modern village of el-Ghuwein, about 10 miles south-west of Hebron. AN'IMAL. The Hebrews distin- guished between clean and unclean animals, allowing the use of some in sacrifice for food, and forbidding it in the case of others. For the list see Lev. 11. AN'ISE. Matt. 23:23. Properly dill {Anethum graveolens), an annual herb bearing small aromatic seeds used in medicine and cookery. Ancient writers mention it as cultivated in Egypt; it grows in the Greek islands, and occurs at the present day in Pales- tine, both in gardens and wild, or at least uncultivated in fields. — Tristram. Another plant {Pimpinella auisuin) of the same family has been considered, with less probability, to be the anise of the Bible. The tithe of this herb was scrupu- lously paid by the Pharisees. A Jewish writer says that the seed, the leaves, and the stem of dill are subject to tithes. See Mint. ANK'LET. Though this word does not occur in the A. V., anklets are re- ferred to in Isa. 3:16, 18, 20. They were worn upon each leg and were as 62 ft w ft>^-- Anise. (After Tristram.) common as bracelets upon the arms, and were made of much the same raa- Aiiklets. 1, 2, 3, 4. Egyptian Anklets. 5. Modern worn by dancins-ijirls. 6. 7. Assyrian, of iron and Ijronze. {From Nuievfh. Now in British Museum.) ANN ANO terials. The musical tinkling and jing- ling which they made as the wearers walked were no doubt the reasons for their use. The ornamental step-chains worn by females, according to Gesenius, caused the short and mincing walk al- luded to by the prophet in verse 16. Lane speaks of these ornaments as now worn in the East. AN''NA {(/race), a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. Luke 2 : 30. Her husband hav- ing died after she had been married seven years, she devoted herself to the Lord, and was very constant in her at- tendance on the services of the temple. She did not, however, live in the temple itself. At eighty-four jears of age she listened to the prophetic blessing which Simeon uttered when he held the infant Redeemer in his arms, and joined in it with great fervor. AN'NAS, the son of Seth, and a high priest of the Jews. He was ap- pointed by Quirinus, governor of Syria, A. D. 7, and was removed by Valerius Gratius, procurator of Judasa, A. D. 23. The office was originally held for life, but in Judaea's degenerate and depend- ent position it was one of the spoils of office, to be given to the ruler's favorite, and to be taken away upon the loss of favor. After his deposition Annas con- tinued to hold the title; and although Caiaphas, his son-in-law, was the actual high priest, he was the ruling power. This explains the reference in Luke 3 : 2. This power he retained for nearly fifty years, having had five sons in suc- cession in the high priest's office. Our Lord was brought first before Annas on the night of his seizure. John 18 : 13- 24. The guilt of Christ's crucifixion rests most upon Annas, since Pilate tried to shield him, and Caiaphas was but his tool. Annas is mentioned as the president of the Sanhedrin, before whom Peter and John were brought. Acts 4 : 6. ANOINTS Gen. 31:13. The first biblical instance is in the passage cited, and it signifies in that connec- tion the pouring of oil upon the stone which Jacob had set up for a pillar. Gen. 28:18. The anointing of persons, places, and things with oil or ointment of a particular composition was a mode of consecration prescribed by divine authority, and extensively i)ractised among the Hebrews. Ex. 28 : 41. The ingredients of the ointment, embra- cing the most exquisite perfumes and balsams, are minutely given, Ex. 30 : 23-33, and the common use of it was expressly forbidden. Ex. 30:33. It was customary at festivals, and on other great and joyful occasions, to anoint the head with fragrant oils ; hence it became a sign of joy or happiness; the omission of anointing was therefore a sign of grief. For instances see Ruth 3 : 3 ; 2 Sam. 14 : 2 ; Ps. 23 : 5 ; 92 : 10; Eccl. 9:8; Matt. 6 : 17. Proph- ets, 1 Kgs. 19:16; 1 Chr. 16:22, priests, and kings were solemnly anoint- ed, and thus set apart to their respect- ive offices. Of the anointing of the lat- ter we have frequent accounts. 2 Sam. 19 : 10 ; 1 Kgs. 1 : 39 ; 19 : 15, 16. The perfumed oil or ointment was usually poured upon the head of the person. It was sometimes done privately by a proph- et, 1 Sam. 10 : 1 ; 16 : 1-13 ; 1 Kgs. 19 : 16 ; 2 Kgs. 9 : 1-6, and was a symbolical intimation that the person so anointed would at some future day ascend the throne. After the monarchy Avas es- tablished the anointing was done by the priest, 1 Kgs. 1 : 39, probably in some public place, 1 Kgs. 1 : 32-34, and, at least on one occasion, in the temple, surrounded by the royal guards. 2 Kgs. 11: 12, 13. David was anointed three times — privately by Samuel be- fore Saul's death, to give him a claim to the throne, 1 Sam. 16: 1-13 ; again publicly as king over Judah in He- bron, 2 Sam. 2:4; and finally, over the whole nation. 2 Sam. 5:3. In re- gard to the priest's anointing, at first it was part of the induction into office of any priest, Ex. 40 : 15 ; Num. 3 : 3, but afterward it was a rite practised only in the case of the high priest. Lev. 8:12; Ps. 133:2. It was common to anoint the person, or some part of it, as the head, feet, hair, etc., for the sake of health or cleanliness, or as a token of respect, and also in connection with religious observances. Mark 6:13; Luke 7 : 46 ; John 12 : 3. When practised to show respect, the most expensive ma- terials were used, and the ceremony was performed in such a manner as 63 ANT ANT to denote the most humble and sub- missive reverence. The anointing of the sick with oil was also common. The healing properties of oil are well known ; and though the cures wrought by the disciples of our Lord were obviously miraculous, they still employed the ordinary means of cure. Mark 6 : 13. The apostolic di- rection, Jas. 5 : 14, respecting the anoint- ing of the sick shows us that, together with prayer, the appropriate means of healing should be employed in depend- ence upon or in the name of the Lord. The ceremony was not in its nature ob- ligatory, and surely no suflBcient warrant for the rite of "extreme unction." The bodies of the dead were often wrapped in spices and ointments to preserve them from corruption. Mark 14 : 8 ; 16 : 1, and Luke 23 : 56. The terms " anoint," " anointed," and " anointing " are employed also sjiirit- ually to illustrate the sanctifying influ- ences of divine grace upon the soul. 2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20,27. To anoint the eyes with eye-salve, Rev. 3 : 18, is a figurative expression for the gift of spiritual illumination. The Anointed, or Messiah, who is constituted our High Priest and Interces- sor, was anointed with the Holy Ghost, of which anointing that of the priests under the Jewish dispensation is sup- posed to be typical. Ps. 45 : 7 ; Isa. 61 : 1 ; Dan. 9 : 24 ; Luke 4 : 18, 21 ; Acts 4:27 and 10:38. See Messiah. ANT. Prov. 6 : 6 and 30 : 25. A small insect remarkable for industry, econ- omy, and architectural skill. These creatures are called by an inspii-ed Writer " exceeding wise," Prov. 30 : 24, and Cicero was so filled with wonder at their wisdom that he declared they must have mind, reason, and memory. The ants were described by the an- cients " as ascending the stalks of ce- reals and gnawing off" the grains, while others below detached the seed from the chaff" and carried it home ,• as gnawing off" the radicle to prevent germination, and spreading their stores in the sun to dry after wet weather." The pro- verb ''As provident as an ant" was no less common among the people of the Mediterranean shores than "As busy as a bee" is with us. Hesiod spoke of the time — 64 " When the provident one [the ant] harvests the grain." Naturalists and commentators for a long time have been accustomed to deny the truth of such ideas. It is, however, now acknowledged that in such warm cli- mates as Palestine these insects are dor- mant but a short time during the cooler season, and that they do store up large quantities of grain and seed, and dry them after rain. The writer has often seen in Judaja a quart or two of chaff and seeds upon ant-hills. This the ants were bringing out to dry in the morn- ing, and carrying into their nests as it grew damp toward night. J. T. Moggridge, F. L. S., advances proof to confirm the ancient view, in the case of two species common around the Mediterranean. He has discovered the granaries, sometimes excavated in solid rock, in which the seeds are stored. He has seen the ants in the act of collecting seeds, and traced seeds to the granaries ; he has seen them bring out the grains to dry after a rain, and nibble off" the rad- icle from those which were germinating, and feed on the seed so collected. Fi'om these granaries Mr.M. collected the seeds of fifty-four species of plants. In one instance the masses of seeds of clover and other small plants taken from a sin- gle nest weighed, by careful estimate, over a pound. That the amount of grain gathered by ants was not un- worthy of notice appears from the fact that the Mishna, or traditionary law of the Jews, adjudicates upon the own- ership of such stores when found by the people. Of the 104 species of European ants, only two are known to store seeds. But these two, called " harvesting-ants," are abundant in the Levant ,• hence the fa- miliarity of the ancients with them. The prudence of this insect, as well as its industry, may therefore properly in- struct us. That the ant is in every re- spect '' exceeding wise" is evident from its history and habits, which have been investigated by modern naturalists. Their habitations are constructed with regular stories, sometimes to the num- ber of thirty or forty, and have large chambers, numerous vaulted ceilings covered with a single roof, long galler- ies and corridors, with pillars or columns of very perfect proportions. ANT ANT The materials of their buildings, such as earth, leaves, and the fragments of wood, are tempered with rain, and then dried in the sun. ]'y this process the fabric becomes so firm and compact that a piece may be broken out without any injury to tlie surrounding parts; aiid it is so nearly impervious that the longest and most violent rains never penetrate more than a quarter of an inch. They are well sheltered in their cham- bers, the largest of which is placed nearly in the centre of the building. It is much higher than the rest, and all the galleries terminate in it. In this apartment they spend the night and the cold months, during which they are torpid, or nearly so, and require not the food which they lay up. To illustrate their industry and im- mense labor, it is said that their edifices are more than five hundred times the height of the builders, and that if the same proportion were preserved between human dwellings and those who build them, our houses would be four or five times higher than the pyramids of Egypt, the largest of which is four hun- dred and eighty feet in height, and re- quires a base of seven hundred feet square to support it. The largest of one species of ant (the South American) does not stand more than a quarter of an inch high, while their nests or houses are from twelve to twenty feet high, and large enough to hold a dozen men. AN'TICHRIST. This word oc- curs only in the Epistles of John. Ety- mologically, it may mean either one who is opposed to Christ or one who sets himself up in the place of Christ. Comp. "anti-pope," "rival-king." A compar- ison of the four passages in which the word is found, 1 John 2 : 18, 22 ; 4:3: 2 John 7, shows that John meant to designate various persons holding heret- ical opinions in regard to the incarnation of Christ. " Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God : and this is that spirit of antichrist." 1 John 4 : 3. He directs his warnings against this spirit as an existent evil : " Even now are there many antichrists," 1 John 2:18; " Even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4 : 3. We know that in John's day there were in the Church false teachers who denied the union of the divine and human in Christ and resolved the history of Christ into a mere phantom or myth. Such were Cerinthus and the early Gnostics (who have their followers in the modern assailants of the gospel history). But this use of the word by the apos- tle does not exhaust its meaning. It can be also apjjlied to all enemies of Christ, and to all those doctrines and in- fluences which tend to set up against the simplicity of gosp,el truth the traditions or speculations of men, thus weakening or destroying the force of the former. We should not confound the antichrist of John's Epistles with the beasts from the abyss, or the antagonistic world- powers described in Daniel and in Rev- elation. More nearly related to anti- christ, and yet distinct, is "the man of sin." 2 Thess. 2 : 3. AN'TIOCH (from Antiochus), the name of two cities in New Testament times. 1. Antioch in Syria, founded by Se- leucus Nicator, about 300 b. c, and enlarged and newly walled by Anti- ochus Epiphanes. Coin of Antiochus Epiphanes. Situation. — This city was about 300 miles north of Jerusalem, on the left bank of the river Orontes, 16^ miles from the Mediterranean, in a deep pass between the Lebanon and the Taurus ranges of mountains. It was sometimes called "the gate of the East," being on the highway from the countries on the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia and Arabia. Biblical Histnrrj. — Kext to Jeru- salem, no city is of greater interest or importance in apostolic history than Antioch in Syria. At this place the disciples were first called Christians, Acts 11 : 2G ; it was an important cen- tre for the spread of the gospel, Acts 13: from it Paul started on his mis- sionary journeys, Acts 15 : 36 : 18 : 23 ; important principles of Christian faith and practice were raised and settled 00 ANT ANT through the church at Antioch, Acts 14 : 26, 27 ; 15 : 2-30 ; Gal. 2 : 11-14. It was made a "free" city by Pom- pey, was beautified by the emperors with aqueducts, baths, and public buildings: and in Paul's time it ranked third in population, wealth. and commercial activity among the cities of the Roman empire. Chris- tianity gained such strength there, that in the time of Chrysostom, who was born at Antioch, one-half of the 200, nOO inhabitants of the city were Christians. Antioch in Syria. (After Cassas. From Lewin's "Life of St. FauL") Present Condition. — Antioch has been besieged and plundered 15 times, and 7 times destroyed by earthquakes, yet the remains of its ancient walls as- tonish the traveller. They were 50 feet high and 15 feet thick. The old town, which was 5 miles long, is now represented by a mean, shrunk- en-looking place of about 6000 popu- lation, called Antakieh. An earth- quake in 1872 overthrew nearly one- half of the houses ; since then almost a new town has sprung up, and near by is a silk-factor.y, and on the river water-wheels for irrigating the gar- dens. Through the Lake of Antioch flows the Nahr el-Aswad, or " black brook," the Melanes of classic history, which empties into the Orontes 3 or 4 miles above Antioch. Though the modern city is on a beautiful and exceedingly fertile plain between the mountains, and watered by the Oron- tes, the interior of the town appears 56 to consist " of dreary heaps of ruins, and unsightly, patched, and dilapida- ted houses, interspersed with rubbish and garbage." (See Baedeker's Pales- tine and Syria, p. 578.) 2. Antioch in or near Pisidia was also founded or rebuilt by Seleucus Nicator. It was situated on a ridge — Strabo calls it a " height " — near the foot of the mountain-range, and by the northern shore of Lake Ej/erdir. Paul preached there, Acts 13 : 14 ; 14 : 21, and was persecuted by the people, 2 Tim. 3:11. It was formerly erro- neously located at Ak-shcr, but has lately been identified with Yalnbatch, directly east of Ephesus and north- west of ancient Tarsus. Ruins of walls, theatres, and churches still ex- ist there. AN'TIPAS (prob. contr. Antipa- ter, for, or like, the father), a martyr of the church in Pergamos. Rev, 2 : 13. Tradition makes him its bishop. ANT APO ANTIP'ATRIS {for his father), a city built by Herod the Great in honor of his father, Antijiater. It was on the road from Jerusalem to Cacsarea, Acts 23: ill, about 2(5 miles south-east of the latter and 10 miles north-east of Joppa, according to ancient authority. Some have located it at Kefr Salxt, on the plain, 40 miles north-west of Jerusalem ; Wilson and Conder place it at Kala'at lias el 'Ain, ruins between Lydda and Cajsarea, 30 miles south-east of the latter and 11 miles north-east of Joppa. The old Roman road from Jerusalem runs to this place, and thence to Csesarea. " One of the finest springs in the country is near." It did not seem probable to Wilson and Conder that any large town like Antipatris had been at Kefr Saba. ANTO'iVIA, a castle or fortress built by Herod, north-west of the tem- ple in Jerusalem, and named by him after his friend Antony. It may be the " castle " referred to in Acts 21 : 34. ANTOTHI'JAH {answers of Je- hovah), a Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8 : 24. AN'TOTHITE, THE, a native of Anathoth. 1 Chr. 11 : 28 ; 12 : 3. A'NUB {confederate), a descend- ant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:8. APEL'LES, greeted and com- mended by Paul. Rom. 16 : 10. Tra- dition makes him afterward bishop of Smvrna or Ileraclea. APES. 1 Kgs. 10:22. Probably a generic term for a variety of animals of the monkey -tribe. The rude re- semblance of these creatures to the human race, both in figure and physi- cal capacity, is well known. Apes are not natives of Palestine or adjacent regions, but were among the articles of merchandise imported from Ophir in Solomon's ships. The ape was an object of worship among the Egyptians, and is still such in many parts of India. We have an account of a temple in India, dedi- cated to the worship of the ape, sup- ported by seven hundred columns not inferior to those of the Roman Pan- theon. An ape's tooth was found by the Portuguese when they pillaged the island of Ceylon many years since, and so desirous were they to redeem it as an object of devout worship that the kings of the country offered near- ly seventy-five thousand dollars for it. A P H A R ' S A T II C II I T E S , APHAirSITES, APHAR'SA- CIIITES, colonists from Assyria to Samaria. Ezra, 4: 9 ; 5 : 0 ; 6:6. A'PHEK {strength), the name of several towns. 1. A royal city of the Canaanites whose king was slain by Joshua. Josh. 12 : 18. It was near Hebron, and probably the same as Aphekah. Josh. 15 : 53. 2. A city of Asher, Josh. 19 : 30, in the north of Palestine, near Sidon, Josh. 13 : 4 ; supposed to be the same as Aphik, Jud. 1 : 31, and the classical Aphaca, noted in later history for its temple of Venus ; now Afkn, near Lebanon. 3. A place where the Philistines en- camped before the ark was taken, 1 Sam. 4:1; north-west of Jerusalem and near Shocho, now Belled el-Foka. 4. A place near Jezreel, in Issachar, where the Philistines were, before de- feating Saul, 1 Sam. 29 : 1, and cannot be identified with No. 3, as some have suggested. 5. A walled city in the plains of Syria, on the road to Damascus. 1 Kgs. 20 : 26, 30 : 2 Kgs. 13 : 17. It was about 6 miles east of the Sea of Galilee; now called F!k. APHE'KAH {strong place), fem- inine form of Aphek. Josh. 15 : 53. See Aphek (1). APHI'AH {refreshed), one of Saul's progenitors. 1 Sam. 9 : 1. A'PHIK. Jud. 1:31. See Aphek (2). APH'RAH {fawn, or dust), a place in the low-country of Judah. Mic. 1: 10. It has been identified by some with Ophrah, but there is evidence that it was west or south-west of, and not far from, Jerusalem. APH'SES {the dispersion), the head of the eighteenth of the twenty-four courses of priests. 1 Chr. 24:15. APOCALYPSE, the Greek word for revelation, used of the Revelation of John. See Revrlatio.v. APOCRYPHA {hidden), the name ap])lied most commonly to the uneanonical books that have been added to the Old Testament. 1. Old TestamentApocrypha. — They are 57 APO APO fourteen in number. I. 1 Esdras : II. 2 Esdras; III. Tobit; IV. Judith; V. The rest of the chapters of the book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee ; VI. The Wisdom of Solomon ; VII. Ecclesiasticus, or the "Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach; VIII. Baruch; IX. The Song of the Three Holy Children; X. The History of Susanna; XI. The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon; XII. The Prayer of Manasses, King of Judah; XIII. 1 Maccabees; XIV. 2 Maccabees. They do not exist in He- brew, but were written in Greek, mostly in Alexandria. Though often quoted by the fathers, they were not esteemed as highly as the Scriptures. They are of great value as conveying historical information and containing many in- structive sayings and examples. They fill up the gap between the Old and jS^ew Testaments. But they are without di- vine authority, and cannot be used in support of any doctrine or practice. They are found in the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and all Roman Catholic Bibles, since all but the two books of Esdras and the Prayer of Manasses were pro- nounced by the Council of Trent a part of the canonical Scriptures. They were likewise printed in Protestant Bibles and by the British and Foreign Bible Society until 1826, when, after a long controversy, it resolved to omit them from all future editions. The American Bible Society followed its example. 2. New Testament Apocrypha. — These are various spurious gospels, histories, biographies, and epistles. They are never printed in Bibles. They are immensely inferior to the genuine books. Many of them are pious frauds, perpetrated with the design of enhancing the glory of Christ and his apostles, but by their nonsensical stories they not only ut- terly fail of their object, but rather bring their heroes into contempt. They confirm, however, the canonical Gosjjels, as counterfeits presuppose the genuine coins. See Canon. APOLLO'NIA {helonriing to Apollo), the name of several places in Europe and Asia, of which Apollonia in Illyria was the most celebrated. But the Apollonia through which Paul passed, Acts 17 : 1, was a city of Mace- donia, about 36 miles east of Thessa- 68 lonica, and 30 miles south-west of Amphipolis. Lewin locates it at the modern Polina. APOL'LOS {helomjimi to Apollo), born at Alexandria, in Egj'pt, of Jew- ish parents, and described as an elo- quent man and mighty in the Scrip- tures. Acts 18 : 24. As one of John's disciples he had been instructed in the elements of the Christian faith, but coming to Ephesus, a. d. 54, during the temporar}' absence of Paul, was more fully taught the doctrines of the gospel by Aquila and Priscilla, who had them- selves been favored with the company and instruction of Paul at Corinth and on a voyage from that city to Ephesus. He afterward preached with abundant success in Achaia and at Corinth. Paul had already been instrumental in estab- lishing a church there, to the care of which Apollos succeeded. 1 Cor. 3 : 6. The members of it were divided into parties, some being particularly partial to Paul, others to Apollos, and others still to Cephas or Peter. The rebuke of the apostle, 1 Cor. 1 : 12, is directed against these partialities, in all which the power and grace of God seemed to be overlooked or disregarded. When Paul wrote his Epistle it is likely Apollos was either with him or near him, probably at Ephesus, A. n. 57. From 1 Cor. 16 : 12 we learn that in consequence of these dissensions Apol- los absolutely declined to go to Corinth. It has been remarked as an exemplary trait of character of these two eminent apostles that the contentions of their respective friends and admirers had no effect on their love and respect for each other. They both refrained from visit- ing the church while it was distracted with such prejudices and partialities, though a worldly ambition might have selected it as the field and the season of self-aggrandizement. Apollos is last mentioned Tit. 3:13, and verj' aff'eetion- ately. He was probably a more brilliant man than Paul. Some scholars consider him to have been the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But this is a mere conjecture; no exact jiroof can be given. APOL'LYON. See Abaddon. APOS'TLE {one sent forth). 1. This term was given originally to the twelve chief disciples of our Lord. APO APP Matt. 10 : 2. Their names were Simox Peteh, Andrew, James, and John (sons of Zebedee) ; Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, and Lebheus, who is also called Judas or Jude (sons of Alpheus); Simon the Canaantean (or Zealot) and Judas Isoariot. Christ's charge to them is recorded in Matt. 10 : 5-42. All the known circumstances of their history will be found under their respective names. Speaking generally, the apostles were of the lower, but not the lowest, class of the people. They were all laymen. Their learning was rather of life than of books, and yet it is probable they possessed the rudiments of an educa- tion. Religious perceptions and piety they doubtless possessed. Yet they needed much instruction and a miracu- lous endowment before they were able to do the work of the gospel. The Acts of the Apostles tells us of their first in- dejjendent labors. Paul was called as an apostle, 7 years after the resurrec- tion of Christ, on the way to Damascus. He was not of the Twelve, but was of equal authority. Gal. 1 : 1, 12, 16,- 2 : 9.. The ofiice and commission of apostles "were remarkable in the following par- ticulars: (1.) They were all required to have been eye- and ear-witnesses of what they testified, especially of the resurrec- tion of Christ. John 15 : 27 ; Acts 1 : 21, 22 and 22 : 14, 15 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 1 and 16 : 8; 1 John 1 : 3. (2.) They were all called or chosen by our Saviour himself. Luke 6 : 13 ; Gal. 1 : 1. Even Matthias is not an exception to this remark, as the determination of the lot was of God. Acts 1 : 24-26. (3.) They were inspired. John 16 : 13. (4.) They had the power of miracles. Mark 16 : 20 : Acts 2 : 43 ; Heb. 2:4; Rom. 15 : 18, 19 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 12. The word "apostle" is also used in a wider sense of Christian heralds of the gospel. 2 Cor. 8 : 23 ; Phil. 2 : 25. (A. V. in both cases translates "messenger.") 2. The term apostle is also applied to our Saviour, Heb. 3 : 1, and with singu- lar propriety, as in the character of Messiah he is emphatically the Sent of God. APOTH'ECARY. See Perfume. AP'PAIM (the noHtrih), a descend- ant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2 : 30. 31. APPAR'EL. See Clothes. APPEAL'. The right of appeal was acknowledged in the Jewish law. Deut 17 : 8, 9. For matters of contro- versy might be referred for final adjudi- cation to " the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days," in the place chosen of God. But this is not, properly speaking, such an appeal as our law recognizes. Yet we find traces of the principle in the days of the Judges, Jud. 4 : 5, and of the kings. 2 Sam. 15:3. Jehoshaphat es- tablished a permanent court before which all cases might come. 2 Chr. 19 : 8. This court was re-established by Ezra. Ezr. 7 : 25. The Sanhedrin in later times was the court of final appeal. By the Roman law every accused citi- zen had a right to carry his cause be- fore the emperor at Rome, by appeal from the judgment of the magistrate. Acts 25 : 1 1 . AP'PHIA, a Christian woman ad- dressed by Paul in Phile. 2. From the connection in which she stands, preced- ing a masculine name and linked so closely to Philemon, it has been reason- ably conjectured that she was Philemon's wife. AP'PII FO'RUM {market-place of Ajjphis), a place on the famous Ap- pian Way, 43 miles south-east of Rome, where the disciples met Paul. Acts 28 : 15. It was at the end of a canal, and hence filled with taverns and boatmen. Its ruins are still seen near Trepoiiti. APPLES, APPLE - TREE (Hebrew, breatliincj forth). Song Sol. 2:3-5; 7:8; 8:5; Joel 1 : 12. Spoken of in the Scriptures as excellent "among the trees of the wood," of pleasant shadow, with sweet, beautiful, and fra- grant fruit. The Hebrew word, by its meaning, is thought to emphasize the latter property. The apple proper is rare in Syria, and its fruit is inferior. Writers have urged the citron, orange, quince, and apricot as the trees meant. The fruit of the latter two alone is s])e- cially aromatic, and of these the quince is not sweet in taste. The apricot is everywhere abundant in the Holy Land, and of it Tristram says: "Many times have we jiitched our tents in its shade and spread our carpets secure from the rays of the sun." "There can scarcely be a more deli- ciously-perfumed fruit than the apricot; and what fruit can better fit the epithet 59 AQU AEA of Solomon, 'apples of gold in pictures of silver,' than this golden fruit as its branches bend under the weight in their setting of bright, yet pale, foliage?" The expression of Solomon just referred to, Prov. 25 : 11, is also supposed to compare /V»/V i)i silver baskets, or salvers curiouily wrought like basket-work, and perhaps representing aniuials or land- scapes, to seasonable advice wisely and courteously administered. Apple of the Eye (Hebrew, little man, or pupil of the eye). Prov. 7:2; Zech. 2 : 8. Apple here represents an entirely different word from the word of the preceding topic, meaning the front and most sensitive part of the organ of vision. The same figure is used, Deut. 32 : 10 and Ps, 17 : 8, to denote the most complete protection and security. And in Lam. 2 : IS the phrase '' apple of thine eye " is figuratively used for tears. AQ'UILA. Acts 18 : 2. A Jew born at Pontus, in Asia Minor. Being driven from Rome by a decree of the government requiring all Jews to leave that city, he and his wife, Priscilla, came to Corinth, and were dwelling there at the time of Paul's first visit to that city. Acts 18 : 1. They were of like occupation (tent-makers), and Paul was received and hospitably entertained at Aquila's house ; and they also accom- panied him from Corinth to Ephesus. On some occasion they rendered Paul very important service, and a very warm friendship existed between them. Rom. 16:3-5. See Apollos. AR, AND AR OF MO'AB. Num. 21 : 28. The chief city of Moab, on the east of the Salt Sea; called also Aroer, Deut. 2 : 36 ; sometimes used for the whole land of Moab, Deut. 2:29; burn- ed by Sihon. Num. 21:26-30. It has been placed at Rabbah or Rabbath, but good authorities regard it as a different city, and fix Ar on the Arnon, 10 or 12 miles north of Rabbah, at the Wady Lejum. See Rabbah. A'RA {lion), head of a branch of the house of Asher. 1 Chr. 7 : 38. A'RAB (ambush), a town in the mountains of Judah, Josh. 15 : 52 ; per- haps the home of the Arbite. 2 Sam. 23 : 35. East of Hebron, at er-Iiabiyeh, is an ancient site marked by walls, cis- terns, and ruins, which Conder regards as the Arab of biblical history. 60 AR'ABAH (burnt up), a word of frequent use in the Hebrew, though found only once in the English, version. Josh. 18 : 18. It is the name applied to the deep sunken valley which extends from Mount Hermon to the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea. This remarkable depression is about 250 miles long, and includes the Sea of Galilee and the Salt, or Dead, Sea, In some passages in Deuteronomy, the plain or "the Arabah" refers to the southern portion of the valley, between the Salt Sea and the Red Sea, Deut. 1:1; 2:8; in other passages the word doubtless refers to the northern portion of that valley along the Jordan, which the Arabs now call el-Ghor. See Jordan. Arabah is now applied only to that portion of the val- ley which stretches from the chalk-cliffs below the Dead Sea southward to the Gulf of Akabah— Elanitic Gulf. It is about 100 miles long and from 4 to 16 miles wide. The limestone walls on the west of the valley are from 1500 to 1800 feet in height ; the mountain-wall on the east side of the valley rises from 2000 to 2300 in height, and in Mount Hor to 5000 feet, and is chiefly composed of granitic and basaltic rock. The sur- face of the valley is covered with loose gravel, blocks of porphyry, and is fur- rowed with torrents, with scarcely a trace of vegetation. It is oppressively hot, is swept with burning winds, the Sirocco blowing at some seasons without intermission, a region dreary and deso- late. The theorj' that the Jordan once ran through this valley into the Red Sea is now held to be untenable. Ara- bah in Josh. 18 : 18 has also been mis- taken for the name of a city, and con- founded with Beth-arabah of Josh. 15 : 61; 18:22; but in v. 18 the word has the article before it in the Hebrew, and hence refers to the plain, as elsewhere. See also Zin, Wilderness of, and Salt Sea. ARA'BIA (arid, sterile), a largo peninsula in the south-western part of Asia, between the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf. Its ex- treme length from north to south is about 1300 miles, its greatest breadth about 1500 miles, though from the north- ern point of the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf is only about 900 miles. It has the sea on all sides except the north. Its ARA ARA area is estimated at 1,030,000 square miles; and of the three ancient divis- ions of the country, that known as Ara- bia Felix was by far the largest and most important, though it is less frequently mentioned by the sacred writers than either of the smaller and northern divis- ions. Sketch-Map of Arabia. Physical Features — Its main features are a coast-range of low mountains or table-land, seldom rising over 2000 feet, broken on the eastern coast by sandy plains: this plateau is backed up by a second loftier range of mountains in the east and south. The mountains are generally barren on their sea side ; their outlines are rugged and precipitous ; behind the mountains encircling the sea-coast lies a ring of sterile desert, broadest in the east and south, where it is a waste of burning sand, narrower in the west and north, where it is rocky. Within this belt of desert rise table- lands broken by fertile valleys. This central plateau includes about one-third of the Arabian peninsula, the desert an- other third, and the coast-ranges the re- maining portion. The Sinaitic penin- sula is a small triangular region in the north-western part, or corner, of Arabia. See Sinai. Divisions of Arahi(t. — The ancients divided it into Petroea, Deserta, and Felix ; or the Stony, the Desert, and the Happy or Fertile. Modern geographers divide Arabia into a number of large districts, the chief of these being Yemen, which is the most fertile, and Hadra maut in the south, Oman in the east, Shomer and Sinai, or Negcb, in the north, Iledjaz, containing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, in the west, andNej'd in the central district. These districts are subdivided into upward of 35 smaller provinces. Some arc thickly peopled with an agricultural jjopuhition or those living in villages, while others are held by tribes of wandering Bed- ouins, each governed by the sheik. Prodnctions. — The principal animals are the horse, famed for its form, beauty, and endurance, camels, sheep, asses, dogs, the gazelle, tiger, lynx, and monkey, quails, peacocks, parrots, os- triches, vipers, scorpions, and locusts. Of fruits and grains, dates, wheat, millet, rice, beans, and pulse are common. It is also rich in minerals, especially in lead. Biblical History. — Arabia in early Israelitish history meant a small tract of country south and east of Palestine, probably the same as that called Kednn, or " the east." Gen. 10 : 30 ; 26 : 6 ; 29 : 1. Arabia in New Testament times ap- pears to have been scarcely more exten- sive. Gal. 1:17; 4 : 25. The chief in- habitants were known as Ishmaelites, Arabians, Idumeans, Horites, and Edomites. The allusions in the Scrip- ture to the country and its people are very numerous. Job is supposed to have dwelt in Arabia. The forty years of wandering by the Israelites under Moses was in this land. See Sinai. Solomon received gold from it, 1 Kgs. 10 : 15; 2 Chr. 9 : U; Jehoshaphat, flocks, 2 Chr. 17 : 11 ; some of its people were at Jerusalem at the Pentecost, Acts 2 : 11 ; Paul visited it. Gal. 1:17; the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah frequently refer to it. Isa. 21:11-13; 42 : 11 : 60 : 7 ; Jer. 25 : 24 ; 49 : 28, 29. See Kedar. Secular History. — Arabia in earliest history was divided into several king- doms, of which Yemen was the chief. In the fifth century the northern Arabs overran Yemen ; later, in A. D. 529, came the great Abyssinian invasion ; then the era of Mohammed, ()22-632, followed by the conquests of his followers, who swept over Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and the whole of Western Asia, Northern Africa, and into Europe. In the next century their power in Arabia was broken and 61 AEA ABA lost by dissensions, Arabia was disor- ganized, but rearranged in 929; fur- nished rulers for Egypt until 1171, in the time of Saladin ; in 1517 the Turkish sultan, Selim I., was invested with the Mohammedan caliphate, and Arabia be- ciuue subject to, and has since continued under, the Ottoman rule. A'RAD {wild ass), a Benjamite. I Chr. 8:15. A'RAD. Jud. 1 : 16. A city in the southern border of Judfea, whose king opposed the passage of the children of Israel, and even took some of them prisoners, for which the inhabitants were accursed and their city destroyed. A'RAD [jylace of fu(f)tives), a Ca- naanitish city. Josh. 12 : 14, on a small hill now called Tell Arad, about 20 miles south of Hebron. In Num. 21 : 1 ; 33 : 40 the translation should be " the Canaanite king of Arad." A'RAH {loundering). 1. A chief of Asher. 1 Chr. 7 : 39. 2. The man whose descendants re- turned from Babylon, and whose grand- daughter married Tobiah the Ammon- ite. Ezr. 2:5; Neh. 6:18; 7:10. A'RAM {hirjh region). 1. A son of Shem. Uen. 10 : 22, 2.3 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 17. 2. A descendant of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Gen. 22:21. 3. An Asherite. 1 Chr. 7 : 34. 4. The son of Esrom, elsewhere called Earn. Matt. 1 : 3, 4 ; Luke 3 : 33. A'RAM (highlands), the elevated region north-east of Palestine, toward the Euphrates river. Num. 23 : 7 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 17 ; 2 : 23. It was nearly identical with Syria. Aram-nahara- im of Gen. 24:10 is translated Meso- potamia in the English version, and re- fers to the region between the Euphra- tes and Tigris rivers. There were prob- ably several petty kingdoms included under Aram, as Aram-zobah, Aram Beth-rehob, Aram Damascus, Padan- aram ; all these were gradually ab- sorbed by that of Damascus, which be- came the capital of all "Aram," or Syria. See Syria, Mesopotamia, and Damas- cus. A'Yi\.m'^XYi.XRA.'\m [highlands of the two rivers). Ps. 60, title. See Aram, A'RAM-ZO'BAH. Ps. 60, title. See Aram. A'RAN (ivild goat), a descendant of 62 Seir the Horite. Gen. 36 : 28 ; 1 Chr. 1:42. AR'ARAT (holij land, or high land), a mountainous region of Asia which bor- ders on the plain of the Araxes, and is mentioned (1) as the resting-place of Noah's ark, Gen. 8 : 4 ; (2) as the ref- uge of the sons of Sennacherib, 2 Kgs. 19 : 37, margin; Isa. 37 : 38, margin; (3) as a kingdom near to Minni and Ashchenaz, Jer. 61 : 27. Ararat was a name unknown to Greek and Roman geographers, as it is now to the Armenian, but it was known to others in b. c. 1750 as the ancient name for a portion of Armenia. In Scripture it refers to the lofty plateau or moun- tain-highlands which overlook the plain of the Araxes. Various views have prevailed as to the Ararat on which the ark rested. Tradition identifies it with the mountain known as Ararat to Eu- ropeans, called " Steep Mountain " by the Turks, and Kuh-i-Nuh, or " Noah's Mountain," by the Persians. It has two peaks, about 7 miles apart; the highest is 17,750 feet, the other about 4000 feet lower. The highest peak is covered with perpetual snow, and is a volcano, having had at least two violent eruptions within a century. The vil- lage of Argnri, built on its slopes, is said to be on the spot where tradition claims that Noah planted his vineyard. The mountains of Ararat, Gen. 8 : 4, more properly refer to the entire range of ele- vated table-land in that portion of Ar- menia, and upon some lower part of this range, rather than upon the high peaks before mentioned, the ark more probably rested. For (1) this plateau or range is about 6000 to 7000 feet high ; (2) it is about equally distant from the Eux- ine and the Caspian Seas, and between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, and hence a central point for the dis- persion of the race ; (3) the region is volcanic in its origin ; it does not rise into sharp crests, but has broad plains separated by subordinate ranges of mountains ; (4) the climate is temper- ate, grass and grain are abundant, the harvests quick to mature. All these facts illustrate the biblical narrative. Geoi-ge Smith, however, places Ararat in the southern part of the mountains east of Assyria {Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 289). AEA ABC View of Ararat. (^After ARAU'NAH {nrh ; a Inrrfe ash or pine), OR OR'NAiV, was a Jebusite who lived at Jerusalem and owned a thresh- ing-place or floor, where the temple was afterward built. 2 Sam. 24 : 1 6. Da- vid bought it of him because the destroy- ing angel sent to desolate the nation, in consequence of David's sin of number- ing the people, stayed his hand at the command of God just as he had reached the floor. Araunah refused at first to receive anything for it, but ofi'ered it to him. together with oxen for sacrifices, and the timber of the threshing-instru- ments for fuel. David refused to receive them as a gift, as he would not offer to the Lord that which had cost him nothing. He therefore bought the oxen for fifty shekels of silver, 2 Sam. 24 : 24, and the whole place for six hundred shekels of gold, 1 Chr. 21 : 25, and ofi'ered his sacrifices, which were accepted and the plague stayed. 2 Sam. 24 : 23 may be better translated : "The whole, 0 king, does Araunah give unto the King." But taking the Authorized Version transla- tion as it stands, it favors the view of some that the expression " Araunah the king " implies that he was one of the kings of the Jebusites. AR'BA. See Hkbrox. AR'BAH. Gen. 35 : 27. See Kir- JATH-ARBAH and Hkp.rov. AR'BATHITE, THE, i. e. na Parrot. From I'iehm.) tive of the Arabah Chr. 11 : 32. AR'BEL. Hos. 10:14 2 Sam. 23:31; 1 See Beth- ARBEL. AR'BITE, THE, t. e. native of Arab. Paarai was so called. 2 Sam. 23 ■ 35. ARCHAN'GEL, the prince or chief of angels. The word only occurs twice in the Bible, 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 9, and it is generally believed that a created, though highly-exalted, being is denoted bv the term. ARCHEJLA'US (prince of the peojile), a son of Herod the Great by a Samaritan woman. He with his brother, Antipas, was brought up in Rome. On the decease of his father, B. c. 4, the same year that Christ was born, he succeeded to the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judaea, with the title of ethnarch. His character was cruel and revengeful. Joseph and Mary on their return from Egypt nat- urally, therefore, feared to live under his government. Matt. 2 : 22. In the tenth year of his reign he was deposed by the emperor for cruelty, on charges preferred against him by his brothers and subjects, and banished to Yienne, in Gaul, where he died. AR'CHI. Josh. 16 : 2. A place near Bethel, ])erhaps settled by a colony from Babylon, and named after Erech 63 ARC ARC in Babylonia. Conder identifies it with the village of 'Ain 'Arek, which is in the required position. ARCHIP'PUS (master of the horse), a Christian teacher addressed by Paul, Phile. 2. Some think he was Philemon's son. AR'CHITE, THE, the designa- tion always coupled, in the Bible, with the name of Hushai, David's faithful friend, 2 Sam. 15 : 32 ; 16 : 16 ; 17 : 5-14; 1 Chr. 27 : 33. It is not certain to what it refers—perhaps to " the districts of Erech which lay on the frontier of Ephraim, but this is mere conjecture." AR'CHITECTURE arises out of the necessities of human life, and before it becomes an art it administers to the primary demands of civilization. Cain built a small city, Gen. 4 : 17, and after the Flood other cities were built. Gen. 10 : 10-12 ; 11 : 1-9. Damascus and He- bron existed in the days of Abraham. Remains of Arch of Bridge between Zion and Moriah, and near the Jews' Wailing-phice. (From Photograph.) The patriarchs, being nomads, lived in tents. During their sojourn in Egypt the Hebrews became acquainted with architecture as an art, and they were compelled by force to take part in the construction of huge monuments. Ex. 1:11. Hence it was natural that their imagination should be deeply impressed by Egyptian architecture, and that they acquired some knowledge of the science on which it was based. But during their wanderings in the wilderness they had no opportunity to display it, except in the construction of the tabernacle ; 64 I and at the conquest of Canaan they I found forts and cities prepared by other j hands. Jud. 1:16-26. j It was not till the reigns of David i and Solomon that Hebrew architecture I suddenly started into existence. The j influence from Egypt at once made it- I self felt. David enlarged Jerusalem, \ improved its fortifications, and built a i palace on Mount Zion, perhaps also the ; original walls of the great mosque at 1 Hebron. Solomon built another palace, " the house of the forest of Lebanon," a palace for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, gigantic water-works south of Bethlehem, still known under the name i of "Solomon's Pools," and finally the I greatest, and we may say the only great, 1 monument of Hebrew architecture, the temple. These buildings were, to a large extent, erected by Phoenician workmen, 2 Sam. 5:6-11, and we may easily believe that Phoenician taste has made itself felt in many details. But so far as it is possible to reconstruct the temple after the descriptions given of it in the Bible, it must as a whole have reminded the spectator of Egyptian architecture. The remains of an arch of the bridge between Zion and Moriah, and the remnants of the old wall, called the " Wailing-place of the Jews," show the massiveness of the old Hebrew struc- tures ; and from the descriptions it is apparent that everywhere in these build- ings, the temple as well as the palaces, the straight line and the right angle were predominant. But massiveness of construction and straightness of form are two of the most prominent features of Egyptian architecture. The successors of David and Solomon continued to build, and several kings of both Israel and Judah are mentioned as having encouraged architecture. Nor did the nation as a whole forget the art. After the return from Babylon the Jews were able to fortify Jerusalem and re- build their temple themselves. Ezr. 3: 8-10: 6:14; Neh. 3 ; 6:15. Herod the Great was a great builder, and in- troduced the Greek and Roman styles of architecture. The temple recon- structed by him before and during the life of our Lord was totally destroyed in A. n. 70. For further details see Tem- ple ; for details concerning the Jewish architecture, see Dwelling. ARC AEG ARCTU'RUS, Job 38 : 32 ; a star in the con- stellation Bootes, but in Job it refers to the Ursa Major or Great Bear. ARD {fugitive f). 1. A Benjamite; called in Gen. 46 : 21 son, and in Num. 26 : 40 grandson, of Benjamin; name written Addar in 1 Chr. 8 : 3. His descendants are the Ardites. AR'DON (fugitive), a son of Caleb, the son of Hezron, by his wife Azubah. 1 Chr. 2 : 18. ARE'LI (heroic), a son of Gad ; founder of the Arelites. Gen. 46 : 16 ; Num. 26 : 17. AREOP'AGITE,a member of the council of the Areopagus. Acts 17 : 34. AREOP'AGUS {hill of Mars), a rocky hill near the centre of the ancient city of Ath- ens, and west of the Acropolis, from which it is divided by a valley. It had its name from the tra- dition that Mars (Ares), the god of war, was tried here by the other gods on the charge of murder. It was celebrated as the place where the great court of justice, the most ancient and venerable of the Athenian courts, was held, and where Paul made his address to the Athenians. Acts 17:19-34. Near by were the temple of Mars, the Parthe- non, the colossal statue of Minerva, and beneath the hill were the caves of the Furies. There are 16 stone steps now to be seen, cut into the rock and leading to its summit, and above the steps there is a bench of stones excavated in the rock, forming three sides of a quadrangle and facing the south. Here the Areopagites sat as judges, in the open air, and from here Paul made known to the Athenians the " unknown God " and converted one of the judges, Dionysius, who is said to have been the first bishop of Athens and the writer of books on mystical Platonic theology and philosophy. AR'ETAS. 2 Cor. 11 : 32. The king of Arabia Petraia at the time 5 View of "Mars' Hill," or Aivopamis. {From Lewin's "Life of St, Faui.") the governor of Damascus attempted to apprehend Paul. Acts 9 : 24, 25. His daughter married Herod Antipas, but was afterward divorced to make room for Herodias. In consequence of this insult, Aretas made war upon Antipas and routed him. The emperor Tiberius then despatched the governor of Syria to the assistance of Antipas, with orders to bring the Arabian to Rome alive, or if dead to send his head. While on the march against him Vi- tellius learned that Tiberius was dead, A. D. 37. He then dismissed his troops. Antipas was soon after banished and his- kingdom given to Agrippa. It is likely that Aretas was restored to the good graces of the Romans, and that Caligula granted him Damascus, which had already formed part of his pred- ecessor's kingdom. In this way we can account for the fact in Paul's life stated above. AR'GOB (stony), a small dis- trict of Bashan, east of the Jordan ; named only four times in the Bible. It is about 30 miles long by 20 miles wide, chiefly a field of basalt (black 65 ARI ARK rock), elevated about 30 feet above the surrounding plain, and border- ed by a rocky rampart of broken cliffs. It once contained 60 strong and fortified cities, the ruins of many of them being still to be seen. It is now called the Lejah. Histori/. — Jair took 60 of its cities. Deut. 3 : 4, 5, 14. Absalom fled thither. 2 Sam. 13 : 38. Solomon ])laced an of- ficer over its 60 great cities with bra- zen walls. 1 Kgs. 4 : 13. Porter de- scribes this region as " literally crowded with towns and large villages ; and though a vast majority of them are deserted, they are not ruined. I have more than once entered a deserted city in the evening, taken possession of a comfortable house, and spent the night in peace. Many of the houses in the ancient cities of Bashan are pei'fect as if only finished yesterday. The walls are sound, the roofs unbro- ken, and even the window-shutters in their places. These ancient cities of Bashan probably contain the very old- est specimens of domestic architec- ture in the world." (See Giant Cities of Bashan.) But these ruins are now ascertained to belong to the Roman pe- riod, and after the Christian era. The American Palestine Exploration Society has explored that East Jordan region, and taken photographs of ruins of the- atres, palaces, and temples. ARID'AI {the stroll ff), the ninth son of Haman. Esth. 9:9. ARID'ATHA (see above), the sixth son of Haman. Esth. 9 : 8. ARI'EH {lion), a friend of Peka- hiah : killed with him by Pekah. 2 Kgs. 15 : 2o. A'RIEL {lion of God), one of Ezra's chief men who directed the caravan which Ezra led from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezr. 8 : 16. Jerusalem being the chief city of Judah, whose emblem was a lion, Gen. 49 : 9, the word Ariel is applied to that city. Isa. 29:1. ARIMATHE'A {heights), a town in Judaea, and the home of Joseph, who begged the body of Jesus. Matt. 27 : 57 ; Mark 15 : 43 ; Luke 23 : 51 ; John 19 : 38. An old tradition places it at the modern Ramleh, but this is generally discredited. Some identify it with Ramah ; others, with less probability, 66 with Renthieh, 10 miles east of Joppa. See Ramah. A'RIOCH {lion-like). 1. The king of Ellasar, confederate with Chedor- laomer. Gen. 14 : 1-9. 2. The captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard. Dan. 2 : 14, 15, 24, 25. ARIS'AI {Uon-Ul-e), the eighth son of Haman. Esth. 9 : 9. ARISTAR'CHUS {best mler), a Macedonian of Thessalonica whc accompanied Paul upon his third mis- sionary journey. Acts 20:4; 27:2. He was nearly killed in the tumult which Demetrius excited in Ephesus, Acts 19 : 29, and it is said that he was finally be- headed in Rome. Paul alludes to him both as his fellow-laborer and fellow- prisoner. Col. 4:10; Phile. 24. ARK. The word indicates three structures. 1. Noah's ark, the vessel constructed at God's command for the preservation of himself and family and a stock of the various animals, etc., during the Flood. Gen. 6 : 14. 2. Moses' ark of bulrushes. Ex. 2 : 3. 3. And usually, the ark of the covenant. 1, Noah's Ark. — It was four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet in breadth, and forty-five in height, and was designed, not to sail, but only to float when borne up by the waters. It had lower, second, and third stories, besides what in common vessels is call- ed the hold. A door was placed in the side, and on the roof a series of win- dows or a window-course in which some translucent substance may have been used. The ark was constructed of gopher- wood, and covered with bitumen or pitch to exclude water. It is doubtful where the ark was built and as to how long time it took. The weight of opinion is that it was from one hundred to one hundred and twenty years. Compare Gen. 5 : 32 and 7:6; Gen. 6 : 3 with 1 Pet. 3 : 20. The ark is supposed to have been a long, square-cornered boat with a flat bottom and a sloping roof; and the con- struction of it has been the subject of much curious, not to say useless, specu- lation. The propoi'tions of the ark, as those recommended by the experience of centuries of ship-building, are of themselves a proof of Noah's inspira- tion. In regard to the capacity c£ the ARK ARK ark, it was large enough to accommodate the eight persons of Noah's family, and all the animals to be saved in it. Some scholars confine the number of animals to the species living in tlie parts of the world then inhabited by men, excepting, of course, such as live in the water or lie dormant. Traditions of the ark and of the Deluge are found among most ancient nations. See Flood. 2. Moses's Ark was made of the bul- rush or papyrus, which grows in marshy places in Egypt. It was daubed with slime, which was probably the mud of which their bricks were made, and with pitch or bitumen. Ex. 2 : 3. 3. Ark op the Covexant, Ex. 25 : 10, a chest constructed by the express command of Jehovah, three feet nine inches in length, and two feet three inches in width and height, made of shittim-wood and covered with plates of gold within and without. A border or crown of gold encircled it near the top, and it was surmounted by the Supposed form of Ark of the Covenant. mercy-seat, which was of solid gold, and answered the purpose of a cover or lid to the ark. On each end of the mercy-seat was placed a golden image representing a cherub facing inward and bending down over the ark. Two rings of gold were attached to the body of the ark on each side, through which passed the staves or poles, made of the same wood and overlaid with gold, that were used in carrying it from place to place, and these were never taken out. This ark contained originally and in design, 1. A golden pot in which the three quarts of manna were preserved. Ex. 16 : 33. 2. Aaron's rod, which at different places miraculously budded and blossomed and yielded fruit all at once, Num. 17:8; and, 3. The tables of the testimony, or the tables of the ten commandments, written with the finger of God and constituting the tes- timony or evidence of the covenant be- tween God and the people. Deut. 31 : 26 ; Heb. 9 : 3, 4. Hence it is sometimes call- ed the ear, par Assyrian Archers behind a large Shield. Nineveh Marbles.) (From excellence, was a long wooden staff with a stout metal point at one end. The Greek spears were sometimes twenty-five feet long, and the Arabs now use them fifteen feet long. They were required to be long enough to reach beyond the front ARM ARM rank when used by those who were in the second rank. Goliath's spear was said to have a staff " like a weaver's beam." 1 Sam. 17 : 7. This largest sort of spear was used by Saul habitually. It must have had a metallic point at its butt end, because it was stuck into the ground, 1 Sam. 26 : 1, and Asahel was killed " with the hinder end " of Abner's spear. 2 Sam. 2 : 23. It was this kind of spear, and not a "javelin," which Saul threw at David and Jonathan. 1 Sam. 18:11; 20:33. There was a somewhat lighter spear, which was carried on the back when not in use. 1 Sam. 17:6. (Authorized Version translates target.) (2.) Th.Q javelin was a short spear, cast, as is supposed, with the hand. Num. 25:7. (3.) The dart was still smaller than the javelin, and used in like man- ner. 2Chron. 32:5. 3. The arrow was a slender missile shot from a bow, as in modern days. 1 Sam. 20 : 36. It was used in hunting. Gen. 27 : 3, as well as in combat. Gen. 48 : 22. Those who used the bow were called "archers." Gen. 21 : 20. Arrows were originally made of reeds, and after- ward of any light wood. The bows were made of flexible wood or steel, Ps. 18 : 34, and the bowstring of leather, horse- hair, or the tendons of animals. Bows were the chief dependence in both an attack and a defence. The point of the arrow was barbed like a fish-hook. Ps. Egyptian Archer. (Eosellini.) 38 : 2. Job refers to the use of poisoned arrows. Job 6 : 4, and fire was often con- veyed by the use of juniper-wood, which kindled upon the combustible baggage or armament of the enemy. Ps. 91 : 5 ; 120 : 4. It is said that the coals of the Assyrian and Egyptian Quivers and Bows. juniper-wood retain their heat for a long time. The Phoenicians and, in later times, the Spaniards have used arrows for the like purpose. Arrows were used in divination. Eze. 21 : 21. Arrows were kept in a case or box called a quiver, which was slung over the shoulder in such a position that the soldier could draw out the arrows when wanted. The position of the quiver and bow is seen in a preceding cut. The drawing of the bow was a test of strength, and is still so among the Arabians. Hence the allusion in Ps. 18 : 34. 4. The s/iHiy, 1 Sam. 17 : 40, was an early weapon of war, by which stones were thrown with great force and sur- prising accuracy of aim. This skill was shown in a remarkable degree by the Benjamites, who could employ the left hand in its use with great adroitness. Jud. 20:16. The slingers 71 AKM AEO ranked next to the archers in efficiency, and formed a regular arm of the service. Assyrian Slinger. 5. The hattle-oxe, Jer. 51 : 20, was ob- viously a powerful weapon of war, but of its ancient form and manner of use we have now no knowledge. The term *' armor," and the various offensive and defensive articles com- prised in it, are frequently used fig- uratively in the Bible, in Eph. 6 : 11-17, where the graces of the Christian cha- racter are represented as the armor of God, in which he clothes the believer, and by which he is enabled to fight the good fight of faith with a victorious arm. AR'MY* The armies of the Israel- ites embraced the whole male population of the country of twenty years and over, Num. 1 : 2, 3 : 26 : 2, and when occasion required, the entire body was readily mustered. Jud. 20 : 1-11 ; 1 Sam. 11 : 7, 8. This accounts for the prodigious numbers which were often assembled. 2 Chron. 13:3: 14:9. See AVar. The system was minute. Each tribe consti- tuted a division with a separate banner and separate ])osition on the march to the Holy Land, and as near as possible in battle. The army gathered from the tribes was divided into thousands and hundreds under their respective cap- tains. Num. 31 : 14. The kings had body-guards. 1 Sam. 13 : 2 ; 25 : 13. In later times a standing army was maintained, and in war troops were sometimes hired. 2 Chr. 25 : 6. But 72 ordinarily the soldiers received no wages, but were armed and supported. 1 Kgs. 4 : 27: 10 : 26. Hence their campaigns were short, and generally terminated by a single battle. Horses were not used, it is supposed, until Solomon's time. The manner of de- claring war, and the character and occupation of exempts, are minutely stated. Dent. 20 : 1-14 ; 24 : 5. AR'NON {noisy), a stream running into the Dead Sea from the east, and which divided Moab from the Ambrites. Num. 21 : 13 ; Jud. 11 : 18. The Arnon is about 50 miles long ; 90 feet wide, and from 4 to 10 feet deep at its mouth ; full in winter, but nearly dry in summer; had several fords, Isa. 16 : 2, and " high places," Num. 21 : 28 ; Isa. 15 : 2 ; is re- ferred to 24 times in the Bible. Its modern name is el-Mofib. It runs through a deep ravine with precipitous limestone cliffs on either side, in some places over 2000 feet high. Ruins of forts, bridges, and buildings abound on its banks, and fish in its waters ; ole- anders and almond trees bloom in its valley, and grifi"ons and buzzards may be seen hovering over its cliff's. A'ROD (a xcild ass), a son of Gad, founder of the Arodites. Num. 26 : 17. He is called Arodi in Gen. 46: 16. AR'OER {ruins), the name of sev- eral places. 1. A city on the north side of the river Arnon, given to Reuben. Josh. 13:9, 16. It belonged to Sihon of the Amorites, Deut. 2:36; 3:12; 4:48; Josh. 12 : 2 ; Jud. 11 : 26 ; taken by Syria, 2 Kgs. 10 : 33 ; possessed by JVioab, Jer. 48 : 19. It is identified with ruins on the edge of a steep cliflf, 13 miles west of the Dead Sea, and called Ara'ir. 2. A city before Kabbah, built by Gad, Num. 32 : 34; Josh. 13 : 25 ; it was probably not far west of the mod- ern town of Amman. 3. Aroer, in Isa. 17 : 2, if a proper name, must refer to a region near Damascus. 4. A town in the south of Judah, 1 Sam. 30 : 28 ; now Ar'arah, on the road from Gaza to Petra, and 11 miles south-west of Beer-sheba. Four wells are found there. AR'OERITE, THE. Hothan, the father of two of David's " mighty ARP ASA men/' was a native of Aroer, but it is uncertain of which one. 1 Chr. 11 : 44. AR'PAD, OR AR'PHAD {strong city), a town or region in S3'ria. near Hamath, 2 Kgs. 18 : 34 ,• Isa. 10 : 9 ; dependent on Damascus. Jer. 49 : 23. See Arvad. ARPHAX'AD (stromjhold of the Chaldees), a son of Shem, ancestor of Eber, and also, according to Josephus, of the Chaldseans. Gen. 10 : 22, 24 ; 11 : 10-18 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 17, 18, 24. ARTAXERX'ES {the great war- rior), the name of two kings of Persia mentioned in the Bible. 1. Ezr. 4 : 7-24, the king who stopped the rebuilding of the temple because he listened to the malicious i-eport of the enemies of the Jews. He is supposed to have been Smerdis the Magian, the pretended brother of Cambyses, who seized the throne b. c. 522, and was murdered af- ter, 8 months. 2*. Ezr. 7 : 7 and Neh. 2 : 1 both speak of a second Artaxerxes, who is generally regarded as the same with Ai'taxerxes Longimanus {i.e. the Long-handed), son of Xerxes, who reigned b. c. 464—425. In the seventh year of his reign he per- mitted Ezra to return into Juda5a, with such of his countrymen as chose to fol- low him ; and fourteen years afterward he allowed Nehemiah to return and build up Jerusalem. AR'TEMAS (contraction of Arte- madorus, the gift of Artemis, i. e. Diana), a companion of Paul. Tit. 3 : 12. ARTIL'LERY. 1 Sam. 20 : 40. Any missile weapons, as arrows, lances, etc. See Arms. ARTS, Acts 19 : 19. Pretended skill in the practice of magic, astrology, etc. See Astrology. AR'IJBOTH {wivdnws, or court), a district including Sochoh. 1 Kgs. 4 : 10. See SocHOH. ARU'MAH {height), a place near Shechem, where Abimelech lived. Jud. 9 : 41 . Perhaps el-Armah, 5 miles south- east of NnhJous. AR'VAD [tcandering), a small island 2 or 3 miles off the coast of Phoenicia, related closely to Tyre. Eze. 27 : 8, 11. See also Gen. 10 : 18 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 16. Ruins of a huge wall are still found, and Greek inscriptions graven on black basaltic columns. The stones are so immense as to puzzle the best engineers how to move them. The place is now called liuud, and has about 3000 popu- lation. It appears to have been a city since the time of Arvad, son of Canaan, and is probably the same as Arpad and Arphad. AR'ZA, the steward of King Elah's house. 1 Kgs. 16 : 9. A'SA ( phi/Hic{a)i) was son and succes- sor of A bij am on the throne of Judah, b. c. 955-914. 1 Kgs. 15 : 8. He reigned for- ty-one years. Though educated in the principles of a false religion, he showed from the first his decided opposition to idolatry, and even deposed his grand- mother, Maachah, because she had made an idol in a grove. The first part of his reign was peaceful, and he improved the opportunity to purify his kingdom from idolatry and to build and fortify sev- eral cities ; and when Zerah, an Ethi- opian king, invaded his territories with an army of a million of men and three hundred chariots, Asa met him at Mareshah with 580,000 men, and de- feated him. This battle was one of the most important in Jewish history. 2 Chr. 14. At the suggestion of the prophet Azariah, Asa set about the reformation of every abuse in his kingdom, and appointed a solemn festival of thanks- giving to God, at which all the peo- ple were assembled, and entered into a formal covenant with God. Baasha, king of Israel, finding his subjects too much disposed to go into Judah and dwell there, commenced fortifying Ra- mah, a place near the frontiers of both kingdoms, with a view to cut off the passage of emigrants to Jerusalem and other parts of Judah, Asa, though he had so long enjoyed the favor and protection of God, was now tempted to forsake him. Instead of trusting him for deliverance, as he had done in years past, he sent to Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, and pre- vailed on him, even in violation of a treaty which existed between Ben-ha- dad and Baasha, to come to the help of Judah against Israel. The Syrian king, won by the presents which Asa had sent him, immediately attacked and destroyed several important cities of Israel. Baasha, finding his king- dom thus invaded, abandoned the for- tification of Ramah that he might 73 ASA ASH protect the provinces of the interior from desolation. Asa seized the op- portunity to demolish Ramah and take away the stone and timber which were collected there and use them in the building of his own cities. In the mean time, Hanani the prophet was sent to rebuke him for forsaking Je- hovah, and to announce his punish- ment. But Asa was enraged by the faithful message, and caused the bearer of it to be imprisoned. 2 Chr. 16:10. In the latter part of his life Asa had a disease of the feet, perhaps the gout, but '' he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians." AVe may, how- ever, accejit his sufferings as an ex- tenuating circumstance for his occa- sional acts of tyranny. He died b. c. 914, in the forty-first year of his reign, and was buried with great pomp. 2 Chr. 16 : 14. 2. A Levite who dwelt in one of the villages of the Netophathites after the Captivity. 1 Chr. 9:16. AS'AHEL {whom God made). 1. David's nephew, Joab's brother, noted for swiftness of foot ; one of David's thirty heroes ; killed by Abner at the battle of Gideon. 2 Sam. 2 : 18ff. ; 1 Chr. 11 : 26 ; 27 : 7. 2. A Levite. 2 Chr. 17 : 8. 3. Another Levite. 2 Chr. 31 : 13. 4. The father of one in Ezra's em- ploy. Ezr. 10:15. ASAHI'AH {lohom Jehovah made), a servant of King Josiah. 2 Kgs. 22: 12, 14. Called Asaiah, the same name, in 2 Chr. 34:20. ASAI'AH {whom Jehovah made). 1. A Simeonite chief in Hezekiah's time. 1 Chr. 4:36, 41. 2. A Levite of David's time, chief of the Merari, who assisted in bringing up the ark to Jerusalem. 1 Chr. 6 : 30, 31 ; 15:6,11. 3. According to 1 Chr. 9 : 5, the first- born of the Shilonite; called, in Neh. 11 : 5, Maaseiah. 4. 2 Chr. 34:20. See Asahiah. A'SAPH {collector). 1. A Levite who was a chief leader of the tem- ple choir and a poet. 1 Chr. 6 : 39. Twelve of the Psalms are attributed to him — namely, Ps. 60 and from Ps. 73 to 83. He is also spoken of as a *'seer" in connection with David. 2 Chr. 29 : 30 ; Neh. 12 : 46. " The sons 74 of Asaph " were probably a school of musicians. 2. The father of Joah, recorder to Hezekiah. 2 Kgs. 18 : 18, 37 ; Isa. 36 : 3,22. 3. The keeper of the king's forest to Artaxerxes. Neh. 2 : 8. 4. A Levite, an ancestor of Mattaniah. Neh. 11 : 17. Perhaps the same as 1. ASAR'EEL {lohom God has bound; i.e. by an oath), a descendant of Ju- dah. 1 Chr. 4:16. ASARE'LAH {tqyright toward God), a musician, 1 Chr. 25 : 2 ; called Jesharelah in v. 14. ASCEN'SION. See Christ. AS'ENATH {favorite of Neith or Isis-Neith) (Neith is the Minerva of Egypt), Joseph's wife, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On or Heliopolis, the religious and literary capital of an- cient Egypt, a few miles north of Cairo. Gen. 41:45; 46:20. A'SER. Luke 2 : 36 ; Rev. 7 : 6. Greek form of Asher. A S H. Isa. 44 : 14. Mentioned only once. The true ash is not a native of Palestine. This tree, the wood of which was wrought into the images of idolatry, is believed to be a pine. A'SHAN {smoke), a city in the plain of Judah. Josh. 15 : 42 j 1 Chr. 6 : 59. The Ashan assigned to Simeon may be another place. Josh. 19:7; 1 Chr. 4 : 32. Conder proposes to place one at 'Aseileh, near en-Rimmon, the other at Hesheth. ASH''BEA (/ adjure), a name in the genealogical list in 1 Chr. 4 : 21. Prob- ably the name of a person ; but if a place, it should be Beth-ashbea. ASH'BEL {rejiroof of God), a son of Beniamin, ancestor of the Ashbelites. Gen. 46 : 21 : Num. 26 : 38 : 1 Chr. 8 : 1. ASH'CHENAZ. 1 Chr. 1:6: Jer. 51:27. See AsHKENAZ. ASH'DOD {stroiKjhold, castle), one of the five confederate cities of the Phil- istines, allotted to Judah, Josh. 15 : 46, 47 ; the chief seat of Dagon-worship. 1 Sam. 5. It was 3 miles from the Medi- terranean, and midway between Gaza and Joppa. The place is called Azotus in the New Testament. Acts 8 ; 40. It is now a mean village called Esdud ; near it are extensive ruins. History. — Built by the Anakim ; not ASH ASH taken by Joshua, Josh. 11 : 22 ; allotted to Judah, 15 : 47 ; taken by Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26 : 6 ; by Tartan or Sargon, Isa. 20 : 1 ; besieged by Psammetichus and destroyed by the Maccabees ; given to Salome after Herod's death ; Philip preached there, Acts 8 : 40 ; bishops of Azotus or Ashdod are noticed in later history ; the city is now occupied by Mohammedans. ASH'DOTH-PIS'GAH {springs of Pisijah), a valley or place near Mount Pisgah. Deut. 3: 17; 4:49; Josh. 12: 3. See Pisgah, Springs of. ASH'ER {hcqipy). 1. The eighth son of Jacob. 2. One of the twelve tribes (see Tribes). 3. A territory extending from Carmel to Lebanon, about 60 miles long and 10 to 12 wide, having 22 cities with their villages. The Phoenicians held the plain by the sea, and Asher the moun- tains. Josh. 19 : 24-31 ; Jud. 1 : 31, 32. 4. A place on the boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. Josh. 17 : 7. Some locate it at Yasir, 12 miles north- east of Shechem. Drake suggests Asi- reh as the more probable location. ASH'ERAH {straight). See AsH- TAROTH. ASH^ES. Gen. 18 : 27. To cover the head with ashes, or to sit in ashes, betokens self-abhorrence, humiliation, extreme grief, or penitence. 2 Sam, 13 : 19; Esth.4:3; Job 2 : 8 ; Jer. 6 : 26 ; Lam. 3 : 16 ; Jon. 3:6; Matt. 11 : 21. The ashes of the altar of burnt-offering on the days of the great festivals were suf- fered to accumulate, and then taken away the next day by a priest chosen by lot to this work. There was a sort of lye made of the ashes of the heifer sacrificed on the great day of expiation, which was used for ceremonial jjurification. Num. 19:17,18. See Heifer. ASH^MA. 2Kgs. 17:30. The name of the god the Hamatliite colonists introduced into Samaria; identified with the Pan of the Greeks. ASH'KELON, AND AS'KELON {migration), one of the five cities of the Philistines; a seaport-town 10 miles north of Gaza ; taken by Judah, Jud. 1 : 18 ; visited by Samson, Jud. 14 : 19 ; and its destruction predicted in Jer. 47 : 6, 7 ; J^m. 1:8; Zech. 9:5; Zeph. 2 : 7. History. — Ashkelon was the seat of worship of the Philistine goddess As- tarte, whose temple was plundered by the Scythians, b. c. 625 ; was the birth- place of Herod the Great; was taken by the Franks, A. i). 1099; partially de- stroyed by the Moslems ; rebuilt by Richard Cceur de Lion ; destroyed again in A. D. 1270. lluins of walls, columns, marble pillars, and inscriptions on stone abound there now, though many of the good building-stones have been dug up and used in Jafia and Gaza. Sycamores, vines, olives, and fruit trees are found there, and also 37 wells of sweet water. Near the ruins of the old city is Jiirah, a village of about 300 population. ASH'KENAZ {strong, fortified), a district pi-obably in Armenia, the home of a tribe of the same name. In 1 Chr. 1:6; Jer. 51 : 27 it is called Ashchenaz. See Armenia. ASH'KENAZ. Gen. 10 : 3. Son of Gomer, of the family of Japhet, and the probable ancestor of those who in- habited the country of the same name, Jer. 51 : 27, lying along the eastern and south-eastern shore of the Black Sea. The precise district is unknown. See Minni. ASH''NAH, the name of two cities of Judah. 1. One about 16 miles north- west of Jerusalem, Josh. 15 : 33 ; 2, the other 16 miles south-west of it. Josh. 15 : 43. Conder locates it at Idhnah, but Ganneau places it nt Asalim, near Sara. ASH'PENAZ {horse-nose ?), the master of Nebuchadnezzar's eunuchs, who showed much kindness and for- bearance toward Daniel and his three companions, though at considerable per- sonal risk. Dan. 1 : 3. ASH'RIEL {voio of God). See As- RIEL. ASH TAUOTH, AS'TA- ROTH. 1. A city of Bashan, east of the Jordan, Deut. 1:4; Josh, 9 : 10 ; 13 : 31 ; the same as Beesh-terah, Josh, 21 : 27; probably Tell-Ashterah, in Jaulan, 2. {Ashtoreth, sing,; Ashtaroth, plur. and more usual.) An idol, represented in the subjoined cut, .Jud. 2 : 13 ; called the goddess of the Sidoni^ns. It was much worshipped in Syria and Phoeni- cia. Solomon introduced the worship of it. 1 Kgs. 11:33. The Greeks and Romans called it Astarte. The four hundred priests of .Jezebel, mentioned 1 Kgs, 18: 19, are supposed to have been employed in the service of this idol; and we are told that under this name 75 ASH ASP Figui'e of Astaite. (Rawlinson's "Herodotus.") three hundred priests were constantly em2:)loyed in its service at Hierapolis, in Syria, many centuries after Jezebel's time. - The worship of Ashtoreth was suppressed by Josiah. It was simply licentiousness under the guise of relig- ion. The goddess was called the "queen of heaven," and the worship was said to be paid to the ''host of heaven." It is usually mentioned in connection with Baal. Baal and Ash- toreth are taken by many scholars as standing for the sun and the moon re- spectively ; by others as representing the male and female powers of repro- duction. Asherah, which is translated in the Authorized Version " grove," was an idol-symbol of the goddess, probably a wooden pillar. ASH'TERATHITE, an inhabit- ant of Ashtaroth beyond Jordan. 1 Chr. 11 : 44. ASH TEROTH KAR'NAIM {Ashteroth of the two hornn), a city of the giant Rephaim in Bashan, Gen. 14 : 5 ; perhaps modern Sanaiiiein, 30 miles south of Damascus, though Porter thinks it possibly identical with Kenath and modern Knnaicat. Others with greater probability, suggest TeJl-Aeh- tdrd, 20 miles east of the Sea of Garlilee. ASH'TORETH, See Ashtaroth. 76 ASH'TJR {hlack), the father of Tekoa ; i. e. the founder of the place. 1 Chr. 2 : 24 ; 4 : 5. ASH^VATH {meaning uncertain), an Asherite. 1 Chr. 7 : 33. A'' SI A, used only in the New Testa- ment. It refers, not to the continent of Asia, nor to "Asia Minor" entire, but to a small Roman province on the coast, in the west of Asia Minor, and included the lesser provinces of Mysia, Lydia, and Caria ; its capital was Ephesus. Acts 6 : 9 ; 19 : 10 : 27 : 2 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 19 ; 1 Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1 : 4. All the " seven churches" were in Asia. See Map. A'SIEL {created of God), a Simeon- ite. 1 Chr. 4 : 35. AS'KELON. Jud.l:18. SeeAsH- KELON. AS'NAH {thorn-hush), one whose descendants returned with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2 : 50. ASNAP'PER {swift?), one men- tioned in Ezr. 4:10 as "great and noble." Who he was is unknown. It is perhaps best to regard him as the of- ficial employed by Esar-haddon to settle the Cuthseans in Samaria. ASP. Deut. 32:33; Rom. 3:13. A small but very poisonous serpent, Egyptian Cobra. (Naja huge. Ajter Houghton.) probably the Egyptian cobra, which dwells in holes. The venom of this reptile is cruel, because it is so subtle and deadly, and requires an immediate excision of the wounded part. For an infant child to play up. ir» the hole of ASP ASS such a venomous reptile would seem to be most presumptuous, and hence the force of the figure used by the prophet, Isa. 11 : 8, to represent the security and peace of the Messiah's reign. See Adder (2). AS'PATHA {meaniiKj tmcertaln), the third son of Haman. Esth. 9 : 7. AS'RIEL {vow of God), the son of Gilead, founder of the Asrielites. Num. 26 : 31 ; Josh. 17 : 2 ; 1 Chr. 7 : 14. ASS. Gen. 22:3. This animal is among the most common mentioned in Scripture, and constituted a consider- able part of the wealth of ancient times. Gen. 12 : 16 and 30 : 43 ; Job 1:3; 42 : 12. Asses were sometimes so numerous as to require a special keeper. Gen. 36 : 24; 1 Chr. 27 : 30. The ass and the ox were the principal ani- mals of burden and draught. Ex. 23 : 12. The domestic ass is indeed a most serviceable animal, and in some respects preferable to the horse. He subsists on very coarse food and submits to the meanest drudgery. His skin is remark- ably thick, and is used at this day for parchment, drum- heads, memoran- dum-books, etc. The usual color of The ass was used in agricultural labor, especially in earing (ploughing) the ground and treading it to prepare it for the seed. Isa. 30:24 and 32:20. The prohibition, Deut. 22:10, might have been founded in part on the in- equality of strength between the ox and the ass, and the cruelty of putting upon them the same burden, but was intended chiefly to mark the separation of the Jews from surrounding nations, among whom such a union of ditl'erent beasts was not uncommon. So service- able, and indeed essential, to man was this animal in ancient times that to drive away the ass of the fatherless is reckoned among the most atrocious acts The Eastern Ass asses is red or dark brown, but some- times they are of a silver white, and these last were usually appropriated to persons of dignity. Jud. 5 : 10. So in Gen. 49 : 11 the allusion to the ass and the vine imports dignity and fruitful- ness, and the continuance and increase of both in the tribe of Judah, There was a breed of asses far superior to those that were used in labor, and which are supposed to be referred to in most of the passages above cited. The female, or she-ass, was particu- larly valuable for the saddle and for her milk, which was extensively used for food and for medicinal purposes. {After Wood. " Annual Kingdom.") of oppression and cruelty. Job 24 : 3, as depriving an orphan family of their only cow would be regarded at the present day. The attachment of this animal to its owner is among its remarkable cha- racteristics. In this respect it closely resembles the dog. Hence the severity of the prophet's rebuke. Isa. 1 : 3. The fact stated in 2 Kgs. 6 : 25 shows that such was the extremity of the fam- ine that the people were willing to give an exorbitant price for the head of an " unclean " animal. The ass, when dead, was thrown into an open field, and that part of his flesh which was not consumed by beasts and 77 ASS ASS birds was suffered to putrefy and decay. Nothing could be more disgraceful than to expose a human body in the like Banner. Jer. 22 : 19 ; 36 : 30. Our Saviour's entrance into Jerusalem riding upon an ass's colt fulfilled the prophecy in Zech. 9:9. It is not con- sidered in the East less honorable to ride this animal than a horse. But the latter is chiefly used for warlike pur- poses, as the ass is not. This peaceful animal was approjiriated to the Prince of peace, who came not as other con- querors. The Arabian ass has a light, quick step. In Persia, Syria, and Egypt ladles are accustomed to ride on asses, and they are particularly valuable in mountainous countries, being more sure- footed than horses. Their ordinary gait is four miles an hour. The ass in its wild or natural state is a beautiful animal. It is often alluded to in the sacred writings. Job 11 : 12 ; 24 : 5 and 39 : 5-8. Asses usually roam- ed in herds through barren and desolate districts. Isa. 32 : 14 ; IIos. 8 : 9. One was recently taken in a pitfall in Astra- chan, and added to the Surrey zoologi- cal collection in England. It is de- scribed as having a deer-like appear- ance, standing high on the legs, very active, of a silvery color, with a dark- brown streak along the back. AS'SHUR. Gen. 10: 22. The sec- ond son of Shem. See Assyria. AS'SHUR, a Hebrew form for As- syria, and in the prophecies and his- torical books refers to that empire. See Assyria. ASSHU'RIM (sfejys), descendants of Dedan, the grandson of Abraham. Gen. 25 : 3. AS 'SIR [cajithe). 1: A Levite, the son of Korah. Ex. 6 : 24; 1 Chr. 6 : 22. 2. A descendant of Korah, and an- cestor of Samuel. 1 Chr. 6 : 23, 37. 3. A descendant of David. 1 Chr. 3 :17. AS'SOS, a Greek city of Mysia in "Asia," 19 miles south-east of Troas, and on the Mediterranean Sea. Ex- tensive ruins of buildings, citadel, tombs, and a gateway still exist there. Paul visited it. Acts 20 : 13. AS'SUR. Ezr. 4*: 2; Ps. 83:8. See Assyria. 78 ASSUR'ANCE. 1. Of the Un- derstanding, Col. 2 : 2, is a full know- ledge of divine things founded on the declaration of the Sci-iptures. 2. An Assurance op Faith, Heb. 10: 22, is a firm belief in Christ, as God has revealed him to us in the Scriptures, and an exclusive dependence on him for salvation. 3. Assurance op Hope, Heb. 6 : 11, is a firm expectation that God will grant us the complete enjoyment of what he has promised. ASSYR'IA, a great empire of West- ern Asia, founded by Asshur, Gen. 10 : 10, 11, who built Nineveh, Rehoboth (?), Calah, and Resen. Assyria proper ap- pears to have included about the same territory as modern Kurdistan. The empire covered at times a far larger extent of territory, and in its prosper- ity nearly all of western Asia and por- tions of Africa were subject to its jjower. Physical Features. — The chief rivers of Assyria were the Euphrates and Tigris. The country was well watered. On the east and north were ranges of mountains, the highest covered with snow. The central portions were along the fertile valleys of the two great rivers. There are immense level tracts of the country, now almost a wilderness, which bear marks of having been cultivated and thickly populated in early times. Among its products, besides the com- mon cereals, were dates, olives, cotton, mulberries, gum - arable, madder, and castor-oil. Of animals, the bear, deer, wolf, lynx, hyena, antelope, lion, tiger, beaver, and camel were common. The fei'tility of the country is frequently noted hj ancient writers. Biblical History. — Assyria is among the earliest countries mentioned in the Bible, Gen. 2 : 14, and is referred to about one hundred and twenty times in the Old Testament, though only four or five of its kings are noticed by name. Scripture, tradition, and the monuments of the country unite in testifying that Assyria was peopled from Babylon. Gen. 10 : 10, 11. From the time of Nimrod until two centuries after the division of the Israelitish kingdom the Scriptures make no mention of Assyria. During the rule of Menahem, Pul, the king of Assyria, invaded Israel and levied a heavy tribute upon it, 2 Kgs. ASS ASS 15 : 19 ; a few years later, when Pekah was king of Israel, and Aha/, kinji^ of Judah, Tiglath-pileser, another king of Assyria, aided Judah in a war against Israel and Syria. 2 Kgs. 16 : 7-9 ; 15 : 29 ; 2 Chr. 28 : 16. In the reign of Hoshea the Assyrians under Shahnaneser again invaded Israel, and after besieg- ing its capital, Samaria, for three years, captured it, destroyed the kingdom, and carried the peoj)le into captivity, B.C. 721, and repeopled the land by colonies from Babylon, Cuthah, and Ilamath. 2 Kgs. 17 : 1-6, 24i Sargon, a usurper and great warrior, succeeded Shahnaneser as king of Assyria, and perhaps com- pleted the conquest of Samaria and of Israel undertaken by his predecessor. Sargon deposed Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon, made an expedition against Egypt, when he captured Ashdod, Isa. 20 : 1-1, conquered Syria, and subdued a large portion of western Asia. Un- der Sargon, Nineveh, the capital of the empire, was repaired and adorned with a royal palace and many magnificent buildings. See illustration on p. 80. He was succeeded by his son, Sennacherib, about B. c. 704, who became the most celebrated of all the Assyrian kings. During his reign of 22 years he crushed the revolt of Berodach Baladan, and drove him from the country ; car- ried his conquests into Egypt, Phi- listia, Armenia, Media, and Edom. He invaded the kingdom of Judah in the reign of Hezekiah, and his army was miraculously destroyed, and he returned home in shame, and was slain by his two sons. 2 Chr. 32 : 1-21 ; 2 Kgs. 19 : 35-37. He was succeeded by Esarhad- don, who reigned 13 years, and was suc- ceeded by Assur-banipal (Sardanapa- lus), a noted warrior and builder, who extended the limits of the empire and erected a grand palace at Konyunjik. After his reign the empire began gradu- ally to decline, until in B. c. 625 (some say 606) it was subdued by the Medes and Babylonians, and the latter became the dominant power during the great Captivity. 2 Kgs. 24 : 1 ; 25 : 1-8 ; Dan. 1:1; 3:1; 5:1; Eze. 29 : 18. See Nineveh and Babylon. Art, Lanffitar/e, and ReUffion. — The artistic skill, genius, and magnificence displayed by the Assyrians in archi- tecture and in the arts, as shown bv the exhumed remains of their great cities, are the admiration of scholars. The massive walls and towers which surrounded their towns ; the vastness and beauty of their ruined j)alaces at Khorsnhad and Koni/aujik ; the elab- orate finish and adornments of their temples and other edifices at Niniroud and Kileh Shenjhnt ; the sculi)tures in marble, stone, bronze, and clay ; the remarkable specimens of transparent glass vases ; the tables, chairs, and ar- ticles of luxury for the home ; their chariots and implements of war, — are the wonder of explorers of our day. Canon Rawlinson declares the much- lauded Egyptians to be very decidedly the inferiors of the Assyrians, except- ing in the one point of the grandeur and durability of their architecture. The language of Assyria was Semitic, and in style derived, according to Raw- linson, from the Chaldaean, but of a less archaic type. It was written without pictorial representations of objects, and in the arrow-headed or wedge-shaped characters, of which over 300 different signs or characters are now known to have been used in the Assyrian alpha- bet. " Their language and alphabet are confessedly in advance of the Egyp- tian."— Rawlinson's Five Ancient Mon- archies, 1870, i. p. 247. Of their religion the same author says it is " more earn- est and less degrading than that of Egypt. Idols and idol-worship pre- vailed. Of eleven chief gods and an equal number of goddesses, the greatest was Asshur, one of whose symbols was a winged sphere with the figure of a man armed with a bow issuing from the centre. Among the other gods were Bel, Sin the moon-god, Shamas the sun-god, Ishtar, and Nebo. Their idols were of stone and clay, and were wor- shipped with sacrifices, libations, and offerings, and by fastings of man and beast. The tablets testify to the atten- tion given to religion by the learned, and the records and sculptures indicate the general si)irit of worship prevailing among the people, while it also shows their gross idolatry." Modern Discoveries and General His- tory.— Concerning the history of the Assyrian kingdom and empire, compar- atively little was known previous to recent discoveries. The researches of ASS ASS Botta, 1842-1850; Layard, 1851-1853; Sir H, Rawlinson, 1850-1867: Oppert, 1857-1870 ; Lenormant, 1868-1873 ; George Smith, 1872-1877 ; and those of Rassam, 1878, — have rescued the an- nals of that counti-y from obscurity, and furnished the materials for a trust- worthy history. These records, to- gether with the vast buildings, monu- ments, and grand palaces, were buried many feet beneath mounds of earth, and their existence for hundreds of years was wholly unknown to the world. By patient excavation the monuments. temples, palaces, and other evidences of Assyrian greatness have been brought to light within the past forty years ; even large portions of the vast libraries of her kings have been discovered, the unknown characters in which they were written have been deciphered, and the inscriptions and records translated into modern languages, not only giving a history of the exploits of this remark- able nation, but also throwing much light on its customs, religious life, and language, and upon the many Scripture references to Assyria. A vast mass of documents has been 6 dug up from the mounds, written in cuneiform or wedge-shaped characters and in the Assyrian tongue. The in- scriptions were upon slabs of stone, which formed the panels of the palace- walls, on obelisks of stone, on clay tab- lets, and on cylinders or hexagonal prisms of terra cotta two or three feet long. These tablets and cylinders were undoubtedly a part of the royal library in the days of Tiglath-pileser and of other noted kings. " The Assyrian power was a single monarchy from the beginning, and gradually grew by conquering the smaller states around it ; and there is conse- quently a uni- formity in its records and tra- ditions which makes them easier to follow than those of the sister kingdom." — George Smith, Assyi'ian Discov- eries, 1875, p. 447. A list of 50 As- syrian kings who reigned from B. c. 1850 to B. c. 607 has been com- piled from the royal tablets by George Smith. Of these kings, twenty -eight reigned previous to Tiglath-pileser L, B. c. 1120; fif- teen reigned from Tiglath-pileser I. to Tiglath-pileser II., B. c. 745 ; and after his time reigned the following seven, four of whom are certainly men- tioned in Scripture history : Shalman- eser IV., Sargon, Sennacherib, Esar- haddon, Assur-banipal, Bel-zakir-iskun, and Assur-ebil-ili. The first capital of Assyria was Asshur, on the Tigris, about 60 miles south of Nineveh ; its second capital, founded or more prob- ably rebuilt and enlarged by Shalman- eser I., was Calah or Halah. As Assyr- ian conquests extended north and east, the capital was removed to Nineveh, 81 AST ATH which became a vast city, and accord- ing to Layard covered the present site of Kouyunjik, Nimrud, Khoraabad, and Karamles. This space would correspond to the measurements of the city given by Diodorus. — Layard : Nineveh, 1849, vol. ii. pp. 243-247. In his view, Nim- rud was the original site of Nineveh, whose founder built a new city at Kileh SJieryhat. In later periods palaces were built at Kliorsahad, Karamles, and the largest of all these structures at Kou- yunjik. About 630 B. c. the Medes from the north and the Susianians from the south invaded Assyria; after a brief contest they conquered it, and the empire was divided between the conquerors. The kingdom of Assyria extended over a period of 1200 years, though the em- pire can only at the utmost be consid- ered to have lasted six and a half cen- turies, and its ascendency in western Asia not more than 500 years, b. c. 1125- 625. Of the importance of the recent discoveries it is said, " Every spadeful of earth which was removed from those vast remains tended to confirm the truth of prophecy and to illustrate Scripture. But who could have be- lieved that records themselves should have been found which, as to their mi- nuteness of details and the wonderful accuracy of their statements, should confirm, almost word for word, the very text of Scripture ? And remember that these were no fabrications of a later date, on monuments centuries after the deeds which they professed to relate had taken place, but records engraved by those who had actually taken part in the events." — Layard : Address in Lon- don on being presented the freedom of the city, 1854. See Nineveh and Babylon. AS'TAROTH. See Ashtaroth. ASTROL OGERS. Dan. 2 : 27. A class of men who pretended to foretell future events by observing the motions of the heavenly bodies, which, until a comparatively late period, were sup- posed actually to influence human life. Star-worship prevailed among Eastern nations, and its priests were astrologers, ASTRON'OMY {the laics or science of the stars). The Bilile gives evidence that its writers were students of the starry heavens, but the Hebrew religion sternly forbids their worship. Some of the constellations are mentioned — 82 e. g. the Pleiades, Orion, the " Great Bear"(Arcturus). Job 9 : 9 ; 38:31. The Jews do not seem to have divided the stars into planets, fixed stars, and com- ets. During the Babylonish captivity they encountered the astronomy as well as the astrology of the far-famed Chal- daaans. Indeed, in Chaldaja was the birthjjlace of the science. In the case of the magi, Matt. 2, God used their as- ti'ology as a means of grace to lead them to Christ. See Star of Bethlehem. ASUP^PIM, HOUSE OF {house of gatherings). 1 Chr. 26 : 15, 17. It refers either to the chambers of the temple, perhaps where the elders sat, or to some one of the aj^artments of the temple where the stores were kept. The word is rendered " thresholds " in Neh. 12 : 25. ASYN'CRITUS [incomimrable), a Christian in Kome whom Paul saluted. Rom. 16 : 14. A'TAD, THRESHING - FLOOR OF. Gen. 50:10, 11. Its name was changed to Abel-mizraim, which see. AT^ARAH (a crown), one of the wives of Jerahmeel. 1 Chr. 2 : 26. AT'AROTH (croions). 1. A town of Gad, east of the Jordan, Num. 32: 3, 34, about 7 miles north-west of Dibon ; now the ruin Attarus. 2. A town of Ephraim, Josh. 16:2; perhaps the same as Ataroth-adar and Ataroth-addar. Josh. 18 : 13. It may be the modern Atdra,% miles north-west of Bethel, though Conder suggests that it is identical with ruins discovered at ed-Ddrieh. 3. In 1 Chr. 2 : 54, Ataroth, the house of Joab, if a place, may refer to one in Judah, which Schwartz would identify with Latrum, between Jaffa and Jeru- s i\\ G m AT'AROTH-AD'DAR {crowns of fame). See Ataroth, 2. A'TER {shut up). 1. One whose children kept the temple-gate. Ezr. 2 : 42 ; Neh. 7 : 45. 2. The ancestor of some who came back with Zerubbabel, and who signed the covenant. Ezr. 2:16; Neh. 7 : 21 ; 10:17. A'THACH {lodging-place), a town in the south of Judah ; perhaps the same as Ether. Josh. 19 : 7 ; 1 Sam. 30 : 30. ATHAI'AH (probably same as ATH ATH Asaiah, u-liom Jehovah, made), a de- scendant of Jiidah. Neh. 11 : 4. ATHALI'AH (ajflirtcd h>/Jehovnh), granddauc^hter of Omri, dauj^hter of Ahab and Jezebel, wife of Jehoram, king of Jiidah, and mother of Aha- ziah. 2 Kg8. 11 : 1 flF. She introduced Baal-worship into Jiidah. Her charac- ter was extremely bad. She advised her own son in his wickedness, and after Jehu had slain him (see Aha- ziah) she resolved to destroy the chil- dren of her husband by his former wives, and then take the throne of Judah, But Jehosheba, a half-sister of Ahaziah, secured Joash, one of the children and heii*, and secreted him and his nurse for six years. In the seventh year, everything being pre- pared for the purpose, Joash, the young prince, was brought out and placed on the throne. Attracted by the crowd of people who had assem- bled to witness the ceremony, and un- suspicious of the cause, Athaliah has- tened to the temple. When the pop- ulace had assembled, and when she saw the young king on the throne, and heard the shouts of the people, and found that all her ambitious de- signs were likely to be defeated, she rent her clothes and cried out, " Trea- son ! Treason !" ho})ing probably to rally a party in favor of her interests. But she was too late. The priest com- manded her to be removed from the temple, and she was taken without the walls of the city and put to death. 2 Kgs. 11 : IG. See Jehoiada and Joash. 2. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8 : 2(). 3. One whose son, Jcshaiah, returned with Ezra in the second caravan from Babylon. Ezr. 8 : 7. ATH'ENS, the name of several places, but chiefly of the capital of Greece, the metropolis of ancient phi- losophy and art; named from the god- dess Minerva or Athene. For sketch- map see Corinth. Situation. — It was situated about 5 Erechtheum. Parthenon. Turkish Tower. Modern City. Temple of Theseus. South-wesieru ijuit of Modern City. Athens. (After a sketch.) miles north-east of the Saronic Gulf, in the ])lain of Attica, the south-east- ern portion of the Grecian peninsula, between the little rivers Cephissus and Ilissus. The port, Piraeus, is five miles off, and now connected with the city by a railroad. About the plain, on the north- west, the north-east, the south-east, and south-west, were four noted mounts. Within the city were four more noted hills — the Acropolis, Areopagus or Mars' Hill, the Pnyx, and the Museum. The Acropolis is about 150 feet high, with a flat top about 1100 feet long by 83 ATH ATO 450 feet wide, having a steep ascent on all sides. West of the Acropolis is Mars' Hill, of irregular form, and on which public assemblies and the chief courts were held. Upon this hill Paul preached. Acts 17 : 19, 22. Beneath it are the Caves of the Furies. History. — Athens was first settled by some chieftain, perhaps Cecrops, b. c. 1556, who is said to have been succeeded by sixteen legendary kings and twelve archons. Draco made laws for it, b. c. 624. Solon, its noted '' lawgiver," founded a democracy, b. c. 594. The city was taken by Xerxes, b. c. 480 ; but soon after his defeat it reached its highest prosperity, with a population of from 120,000 to 180,000. Under the brilliant rule of Pericles, b. c. 444 to 429, some of the greatest masters in philos- ophy, poetry, and oratory flourished, and noted buildings and temples, as that of Zeus, the Odeum, the Parthe- non, the Propylaja, were projected or completed. His rule was followed by the Spartan, the Theban, and the Macedonian supremacy, the age of Demosthenes, Philip, and Alexander the Great. In b. c. 140, Athens with Achaia became a Roman province, and so con- tinued through apostolic times. Since then it has been subject to the Byzan- tines, Franks, Venetians, and Turks, as well as at times independent. Under the misrule of the Turks it sunk down to a miserable village, and in 1832 there was scarcely a house standing. But it arose with the new kingdom of Greece, and is now again a beautiful capital, adorned by new streets and buildings, prominent among which are the royal palace, the Greek cathedral, the Rus- sian chapel, the University, the Library, and the Museum. At the time of Paul's visit Athens was a " free city," under the Roman rule. It was given to idolatry, having 30,000 idols. Petronius said, " It was easier to find a god in Athens than to find a man." Paul calls them "very religious," Acts 17 : 22, not "too superstitious," as our version inaccurately reads. But Athens never took a jirominent place in church history. ATH'LiAI {whom Jehovah afflicts), one who had married a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 28. ATONE'MENT. Literally, a<-one- 84 ment, or reconciliation ; theologically, the satisfaction or propitiation brought about by the death of Christ as the ground of the accord or reconciliation between God and man. The word occurs often in the Old Testament, but onh^ once in the New (Rom. 5 : 11, where the Greek means " reconciliation," which is the result of the atoning death of Christ). The sub- ject itself is presented in every variety of form both in the Gospels and in the Epistles. Rom. 3-8 and Heb. 7-10, in- clusive. The great atonement made for sin by the sacrifice of Christ constitutes the grand substantial foundation of the Christian faith. The efliicacy of it is such that the sinner, though by nature the child of wrath, by faith in Christ is brought into favor with God, is deliv- ered from condemnation, and made an heir of eternal life and glory. The He- brew word rendered " atonement" signi- fies " covering," Ps. 32 : 1, and the Greek version of this Hebrew word is trans- lated "propitiation" in our Bible, and may denote either that our offences are covered or that we are protected from the curse, Christ being made a curse for us. Gal. 3 : 13. Generally, wher- ever the term occurs, a state of contro- versy or estrangement is implied ; and in relation to the party offended, it im- ports something done to propitiate. Gen. 32 : 20 ; Eze. 16 : 63. The idea of making an atonement is expressed by a word which signifies " to make pro- pitiation ;" and the apostles, in referring to the death of Christ, use those very terms which in the Sejituagint version of the Old Testament are applied to legal sacrifices and their effect, thus rep- resenting the death of Christ not only as a real and proper sacrifice, but as the truth and substance of all the Levitical types and shadows — the true, efficacious, and only atonement for sin, 1 John 2 : 2 and 4 : 10 ; showing that Christ is not only the agent by whom the propitia- tion is made, but was himself the pro- pitiatory sacrifice. ATONE MENT, DAY OF. Lev. 16 ; 23 : 27-32. The only Jewish fast- day ; the annual day of humiliation. It was kept five days before the Feast of Tabernacles, or on the tenth day of Tisri; i. €. in the early part of October. The fast lasted fi-om sunset to sunset. It ATR AUG was kept as a solemn Sabbath. Once a year upon this day did the high priest alone enter the holy of holies. This was the preparation. It was ordained that he should bathe himself, and then dress in holy white linen. He was then to bring forward his sacrifices, which must be his purchases — a young bul- lock for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering. These he offered for himself and family. Besides these, he brought forward two goats for a sin-of- fering and a ram for a burnt-offering. These, being for the benefit of the peo- ple, were paid for out of the public treasury. The two goats were then led up to the entrance of the tabernacle and lots cast upon them, one lot marked ^'For Jehovah." the other marked '■'ForAzazel" The latter is a phrase of unusual difficulty. But the best modern scholars agree that it does not designate the goat, but the personal being to whom the goat was sent. See Goat, Scape. The high priest offered the bullock, carried live coals in a censer from the altar, with a handful of incense, into the holy of holies. There he sprinkled the blood with his finger upon the mercy-seat, eastward, and before it seven times. He then killed the goat " for Jehovah " and sprinkled its blood in the same manner. Over the goat *'for Azazel " the sins of the people were confessed by the high priest, and then it was sent away by " the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." The ceremony was now over. Accordingly, the high priest again bathed, put on his usual garments, and offered the two rams. AT'ROTH {crowns), or ''Atroth- Shophan," as it should probably be read without the comma, "Shophan" being added to distinguish it from the "Ata- roth " or "Atroth " in the former verse. It was a city of Gad, near Dibon. Num. 32 : 35. AT'TAI {opportune). 1. A descend- ant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2 : 35, 36. 2. A Gadite chief. 1 Chr. 12 : 11. 3. A son of Rehoboam. 2 Chr. 11 : 20. ATTALI'A, a seaport-town of Pamphylia, Acts 14 : 25, named from its founder, Attalus ; later it was called Satalin, and now Adalia. AIJGVS'TUS {venerable), Caius Ju- lius Caesar Octavianus, b. c. 62-a. d. 14. The grand-nephew of Julius Caesar, and first emperor of Home. It was he who gave the order for the enrolment which was the human occasion of the Bethle- hemic birth of Christ. Luke 2 : 1. He was one of the second so- called trium- virate, with Mark Antony and Lepidus. After the re- moval of the latter he fought a bat- tle with Antony at Actium, b. c. 31, defeating him. The senate saluted him as emperor, and in b. c. 27 conferred on him the title of '* Augustus." He comes into the New Testament in connection i with Herod, whom he had reinstated in I his kingdom and greatly honored, al- j though Herod had espoused the cause of Antony. At Herod's death Augus- tus divided his kinordom in accordance Coin of Augustus, iu Berlin. Marble Statue of Augustus, found in 1863 at Prima Porta, near Kome. with his will, and even educated two of his sons, since their relations had been very intimate. He reigned for- ty-one years, and was succeeded by 85 AVA AZA Tiberius Caesar. Luke 3 : 1. See C^- SAR. A'VA (ruin). Rawlinson would iden- tify it with Hit, on the Euphrates ; probably it is the same as Ahava and Ivah. 2 Kgs. 17 : 24. A'VEN {nothi)igiies8). 1. A plain, probably of Lebanon. Am. 1 : 6. 2. Same as Beth-aven. Hos. 10 : 5, 8. See Baalbec. 3. The city of On or Heliopolis, in Egypt. Eze. 30 : 17. AVENGE', AVEN'GER. Luke 18 : 8 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 6. Vengeance is an act of justice; revenge is an act of pas- sion. Hence injuries are revenged, crimes are avenged. God is avenged of his enemies when he vindicates his own law and government and character and punishes their transgressions. An avenger is the agent or instrument by whom the avengement is visited on the offending party. Avenger of Blood was a title given to one who pursued a murderer or man- slayer, by virtue of the ancient Jewish law, to avenge the blood of one who had been slain. He must be a near relative of the murdered man. Deut. 19 : 6. A'VIM (ruim), a city of Benjamin, Josh. 18 : 2H ; probably near Bethel. A'VITH iniius), "a city of Edom, Gen. 36 : 35 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 46 ; probably in the north-eastern part of Mount Seir. A'ZAL. Zech. 14: 5. As the pas- sage reads in the margin, Azal is not a proper name ; but if a place at all, it was on or near Mount Olivet. AZALI'AH {whom Jehovah re- served), the father of Shaphan the scribe. 2 Kgs. 22 : 3 ; 2 Chr. 34 : 8. AZANI'AH [whom Jehovah hears), the father of Jeshua the Levite, Neh. 10:9. AZAR'AEL {whom God helps), a Levite musician. Neh. 12 : 36. AZAR'EEL {whom God helps). 1. A Korhite who " came to David to Zik- lag." 1 Chr. 12 : 6. 2. A Levite musician of David's time, 1 Chr. 25 : 18 ; called Uzziel in v. 4. 3. A prince of Dan. 1 Chr. 27 : 22. 4. One who had married a foreign wife. Ezr. 10:41. 5. A priest who lived in Jerusalem aftei' the Return. Neh. 11 : 13. AZARI'AH {ivhom Jehovah helps). 1. The grandson of Zadok, and the high 86 priest during the reign of Solomon. 1 Kgs. 4 : 2 ; 1 Chr. 6 : 9. 2. A chief officer under Solomon. 1 Kgs. 4 : 5. 3. A king of Judah, 2 Kgs. 14 : 21 ; more generally called Uzziah, which see. 4. A son of Ethan. 1 Chr. 2 : 8. 5. The son of Jehu, son of Obed. 1 Chr. 2 : 38, 39. 6. The son of Johanan, and high priest under Abijah and Asa. 1 Chr. 6:10, 11. 7. In 1 Chr. 6 : 13 the name is prob- ably wrongly inserted. 8. A Kohathite, and ancestor of Sam- uel. 1 Chr. 6 : 36. 9. A prophet who stirred up Asa to abolish idolatry. 2 Chr. 15 : 1. 10. 11. Sons of Jehoshaphat the king. 2 Chr. 21 : 2. 12. In 2 Chr. 22 : 6 by copyist's error for Ahaziah. 13. A captain of Judah who helped Jehoiada. 2 Chr. 23 : 1. 14. The high priest in the reign of Uzziah who resisted with eighty priests the king's attempt to perform priestly functions. 2 Kgs. 14 : 21; 2 Chr. 26 : 17-20. 15. An Ephraimite chief in the reign of Ahaz. 2 Chr. 28 : 12. 16. 17. Two Levites in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chr. 29 : 12. 18. The high priest in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chr. 31 : 10, 13. 19. One who helped to repair the wall of Jerusalem. Neh. 3 : 23, 24. 20. A leader in the company of Ze- rubbabel. Neh. 7 : 7. 21. A Levite who helped Ezra in the reading of the Law. Neh. 8 : 7. 22. A priest who sealed the covenant, Neh. 10 : 2, and "probably the same with the Azariah who assisted in the dedication of the city wall." Neh. 12 : 33. 23. In Jer. 43 : 2 instead of Jezaniah. 24. The Hebrew original name of Abed-nego. Dan. 1 : 6, etc. A'Z AZ {strong), a Reubenite. 1 Chr. 5:8. AZAZI'AH {whom Jehovah strength- ens). 1. A Levite musician in the reign of David. 1 Chr. 15 : 21. 2. An Ephraimite chief. 1 Chr. 27 : 20. 3. A Levite who had the oversight over the tithes and offerings in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chr. 31 : 13. AZB AZZ AZ'BTJK (stroufj devastation), father of Neheiniah (not the governor). Neh. 3 : 16. AZE'KAH. Josh. 10 : 10, 11 ; 15 : 35. A city of Judah near Shocoh. Schwarz proposed Tell Zak(in\i/a, in the valley of Elah ; Conder suggested Dcir- el-Soshek, 8 miles north of Shoeoh, also in the valley of Elah, as the site of Aze- kah. A'ZEL (noble), a descendant of Saul. 1 Chr. 8 : 37, 38 ; 9 : 43, 44. A'ZEM {bone), a city in the south of Judah, Josh. 16 : 29 ; afterward allotted to Simeon, 19 : 3 ; the same as Ezem in 1 Chr. 4:29. AZ'GAD (strong in fortune). 1. One whose descendants returned with Zerub- babel. Ezr. 2:12; 8 : 12 ; Neh. 7 : 17. 2. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10:15. A'ZIEIi (whom God consoles), a Le- vite porter; shortened form of Jaaziel. 1 Chr. 15 : 20. AZI'ZA (strong), one who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 27. AZ'MAVETH, probably a place in Benjamin, Ezr. 2 : 24 ; Neh. 12 : 29; called also Beth-azmaveth, Neh. 7 : 28 ; probably modern Hizmeh, north of Ana- thoth. AZ'MAVETH (strong nnto death). 1. One of David's warriors, 2 Sam. 23 : 31 ; 1 Chr. 11 : 33. 2. A descendant of Mephibosheth. 1 Chr. 8 : 36 ; 9 : 42. 3. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 12 : 3. 4. David's treasurer. 1 Chr. 27 : 25. AZ'MON (strong), a place in the south-western part of Palestine. Josh. 15 : 4; Robinson and Trumbull describe " Kasaimeh " or ^' Qasaymeh," which is probably the site of Azmon. A7/'NOTll-TA'BOK (ear, or sum. m its, of Tabor), ii place in Naphtali ; probably the eastern slope of Mount Tabor. Josh. 19 : 34. A'ZOR (a helper), one of our Lord's ancestors. Matt. 1 : 13, 14. AZO'TUS. Acts 8 : 40. Greek form of Ashdod. See AsnnoD. AZ'RIEL (whom God helps). 1. A man of renown, head of a house of Manasseh beyond Jordan. 1 Chr. 5 : 24. 2. The father of a chief of Naphtali. 1 Chr. 27:19. 3. The father of Seraiah. Jer. 36 : 26. AZ'RIKAM (help against the enemy). 1. One of David's posterity. 1 Chr. 3 : 23. 2. One of Saul's posterity. 1 Chr. 8 : 38 ; 9 : 44. 3. A Levite. 1 Chr. 9 : 14; Neh. 11 : 15. 4. The prefect of the palace to King Ahaz, who was killed by Zichri. 2 Chr. 28 ■ 7. AZU'BAH (forsahen). 1. The mother of Jehoshaphat. 1 Kgs. 22 : 42 ; 2 Chr. 20 : 31. 2. A wife of Caleb, son of Hezron. 1 Chr. 2: 18, 19. A^ZUR (helper). 1. The father of Hananiah, the false prophet of Gibeon. Jer. 28:1. 2. The father of one of the princes against whom Ezekiel prophesied. Eze. 11 : 1. AZ'ZAH (the stronq), same as Ga::' .. Deut. 2 : 23 ; 1 Kgs. 4 : 24 ; Jer. 25 : 20. See Gaza. AZ''ZAN' (very strong), a chief of Issachar. Num. 34 : 26. AZ'ZUR (helper), one who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10:17. 87 BAA BAA B. BA'AL, OR BEL, or BE'LUS (lord, or master), different forms of the name of the supreme male divinity of the Phcenicians and Canaanites,as Ashtoreth was that of their supreme/e//K'otect his life !), the name given to the prophet Daniel at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. 1 : 7. See Dan- iel. BEN {son), a porter, a Levite, in David's time. 1 Chr. 15: 18. BENA'IAH {whom Jehovah hath built up). 1. Son of Jehoiada, the chief priest, and distinguished for his enter- prise and bravery on several occasions. 2 Sam. 23 : 20-23. He was an adherent of Solomon against the pretensions of Adonijah, 1 Kgs. 1 : 36, and after put- ting Joab to death succeeded to the com- mand of the army. 1 Kgs. 2 : 29-35. 110 2. One of David's warriors. 2 Sam. 23 : 30 ; 1 Chr. 11 : 31 ; 27 : 14. 3. A Simeonite chief. 1 Chr. 4 : 36. 4. A musical Levite in David's day. 1 Chr. 15 : 18, 20 ,: 16 : 5. 5. A priest in David's reign. 1 Chr. 15:24; 16:6. 6. A Levite. 2 Chr. 20 : 14. 7. A Levite in Hezekiah's day. 2 Chr. 31:13. 8. 9, 10, 11. Four persons who had foreign wives. Ezr. 10 : 25, 30, 35, 43. 12. The father of Pelatiah. Eze. 11 : 1, 13. BEN-AM'MI {son of my people), the son of Lot by his youngest daughter, and the progenitor of the Ammonites. Gen. 19 : 38. BEN'E-BE'RAK {son of light- ning), a city of Dan, Josh. 19 : 45, prob- ably Ibn Ibrak, near el- Yehudizeh. BENEFACTORS was a title given to several rulers, particularly to two of the Egyptian Ptolemies, who are called accordingly in the Greek form Euergetes. Hence our Lord's remark, Luke 22 : 25. It is analogous to our title " Excellency." BEN'E-JA^AKAN {children of Jaakan), a tribe probably descended from a grandson of Seir the Horite, and which gave a name to wells where Is- rael encamped. Num. 33 : 31, 32 ; same as Beeroth, and as the wells at el- Mayin, 60 miles west of Mount Hor. BEN-HA'DAD {son, i. e. worship- per, of Hadad). 1. King of Damas- cus in the time of Asa, king of Judah, with whom he formed an alliance against Baasha, king of Israel. 1 Kgs. 15 : 18. See Asa, Baasha. 2. King of Damascus, and a son of the preceding. 1 Kgs. 20 : 1. He was engaged in numerous wars with Israel, and once was taken prisoner. 1 Kgs. 20. See Ahab. Afterward he declared war against Jehorara, king of Israel, but the prophet Elisha disclosed his plans so accurately that Jehoram was able to defeat them. 2 Kgs. 6 : 8-33. It was Ben-hadad who sent Naaman to Elisha. 2 Kgs. 5. See Elisha. In the siege of Samaria, which sub- sequently took place, that city was reduced to the greatest extremity. The Syrian army, under Ben-hadad, was lying around the walls, when in the course of the night they were led to BEN BEE conceive that they heard the noise of an immense army in motion. Supposing that the city had been succored by supplies of men and provisions from abroad, and terrified with the fancied tumult of their apj)roach, the Syrians just at daybreak tied for their lives, leaving their camp, with all their horses, asses, provisions, utensils, etc., just as they were, and their garments and ves- sels scattered all along the road by which they had fled. The citizens of Samaria were thus unexpectedly relieved and supplied with an abundance of food. The next year, Ben-hadad, being sick, sent Hazael to inquire of the prophet Elisha whether he would recover ; and he received for answer that the king might certainly recover, and yet would surely die. Hazael also was informed by the prophet that he would be ele- vated to the throne of Syria, and would be guilty of enormous wickedness. The very next day Ben-hadad was murdered, and Hazael became king of Syria. 2 Kgs. 8:15. See Hazael. Various successful campaigns against Ben-hadad II. are mentioned upon the tablets of the Assyrian king, Shalma- neser II., b. c. 858-823. Ben-hadad, who is called Ben-hadar, was in league with Ahab when the first campaign took place, as the Bible says. 1 Kgs. 20: 34. 3. Another person of the same name, and son of Hazael. 2 Kgs. 13:3, He suffered several defeats from the hand of Jehoash, king of Israel, and was compelled to relinquish all the land of Israel which his father, Hazael, had obtained in conquest. 2 Kgs. 13 : 25. BEN'-HA'IL {son of the host, i. e. i-arrior), one of the *' princes" whom Jehoshaphat sent to teach the people the law. 2 Chr. 17 : 7. BEN'-HA'NAN (son of one gra- cious), a Judite. 1 Chr. 4:20. BEN'INU {our son), a Levite who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10 : 13. BEN'- JAMIN {son of the right hand, i. e, of fortune). 1. The youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. His mother died im- mediately after his birth, which took place near Bethlehem when the family were on their journey from Padan-aram to Canaan, With her dying breath she called him Ben-oni {the son of my sor- row), but his father gave him the name he bore. Gen, 35 : 16-18. The relation between him and Jacob was ever most tender, ])articularly after Joseph's sup- posed death. We know, however, noth- ing about him personally. The tribe formed from his descendants exhibited the traits of courage, cunning, and am- bition foretold by the dying Jacob. Gen. 49 : 27. It had its portion of the Promised Land adjoining Judah ; and when ten of the tribes revolted, Benja- min continued steadfast in its attach- ment to Judah, and formed a part of that kingdom. 1 Kgs. 12 : 17, 23. Saul, the first king, and Paul were descendants of this tribe. 1 Sam. 10 : 21 ; Phil. 3 : 5. 2. A Benjamite chief. 1 Chr, 7:10. 3, One who had a foreign wife. Ezr. 10:32. BEN'JAMIN {son of the right hand), LAND OF, the portion of Canaan between Ephraim, the Jordan, Judah, and Dan, containing 26 cities, including Jerusalem and the famous passes of Michmash and Beth-horon. See Josh. 18 : 11-28. It was about 25 miles long by 12 wide. Physical Features. — This territory was a hilly country, its general level be- ing about 2000 feet above the Mediter- ranean and 3000 feet above the Jordan valley. It includes mountains broken by deep ravines. For productions, etc., see Canaan, Palestine, and Judah. Some of the most important events in Scripture history took place in this territory, which will be noticed under the kings of Judah. BE'NO {his son), a Levite. 1 Chr. 24 : 26 27. BEN-b'NI. See Benjamin. BEN-ZO'HETH {son of Zoheth), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:20. BE'ON. Num. 32:3. See Baal- Meon. BE'OR {torch). 1. The father of Bela, king of Edom. Gen. 36 : 32 j 1 Chr. 1:43. 2. The father of Balaam, Num. 22 : 5, etc. : called Bosor in 2 Pet. 2:15. BE'RA {son of evil ), king of Sodom. Gen. 14:2. BER'ACHAH {blessing), a Ben- iamite leader who joined David. 1 Chr. 12 : 3. BER'ACHAH, {blessing), VAL- LEY OF, where Jehoshaphat cele- brated the victory over the Moabites, 111 BER BES 2 Chr. 20 : 26 ; now Wady Breikdt, west of Tekua (Tekoa), and about 8 miles south-west of Bethlehem. BERACHI'AH {whom Jehovah hath blessed), the father of Asaph. 1 Chr. 6:39. BERAl'AH {whom Jehovah cre- ated), a Benjamite chief. 1 Chr. 8 : 21. B£RE'A, a city of Macedonia, Acts 17 : 10-13, on the eastern side of the Olympian Mountains ; now Verriu, with a population of about 6000, though some incorrectly give 20,000. BERECHI'AH {whom Jehovah hath blessed). 1. One of David's pos- terity. 1 Chr. 3 : 20. 2. A Levite. 1 Chr. 9 : 16. 3. The father of Asaph, also called Berachiah. 1 Chr. 15 : 17. 4. A doorkeeper for the ark. 1 Chr. 15 : 23. 5. An Ephraimite in the days of Ahaz. 2 Chr. 28 : 12. 6. The father of a builder of the wall. Neh. 3 : 4, 30 ; 6 : 18. 7. The father of Zechariah. Zech. 1 : 1, 7. BE'RED {hail), a place in southern Palestine, near the well Lahai-roi. Gen. 16 : 14. Grove suggests El-Khulasah, 12 miles south of Beer-sheba; Conder proposes Dereid. BERENI'CE. See Bernice. BE''RI {well), an Asherite chieftain. 1 Chr. 7 : 36. BERI'AH {in evil, or a gift). 1. A son of Asher. Gen. 46 : 17 ; Num. 26 : 44, 45 ; 1 Chr. 7 : 30, 31. 2. A son of Ephraim. 1 Chr. 7 : 23. 3. A Benjamite chief. 1 Chr. 8 : 13, 16. 4. A Levite. 1 Chr. 23 : 10, 11. BERI'ITES, the descendants of Beriah, 1. Num. 26 : 44. BE'RITES, THE {the people of the wells), a family mentioned in 2 Sam. 20 : 14, but it is not known who they were. BE'RITH (rt covenant). Jud. 9 : 46. See Baal-berith. BERNICE, OR BERENICE {victorious), was the eldest daughter of Agrippa, surnamed the Great, and sister to the younger Agrippa, kings of the Jews. Acts 25 : 13, 23 ; 26 : 30. Her first husband was her uncle Her- od, the king of Chalcis. She appears in the Acts in connection with her brother, Agrippa II., with whom she 112 lived in incestuous intercourse after Herod's death, a. d. 48. To put an end to the scandal she married Po- lemo, king of Cilicia, whom she per- suaded to be circumcised. The bond was soon dis- solved, and she returned to her broth- k°V^ /WHi L A. o/quently, so remarkable were her pow- ers of attrac- Bernice. (On a Com of Po- x- „ „„ j „^ lemoll.) ■' tion, and so Beruice married Polemo II., king Well pre- of a part of Cilicia. The coin was g g r y e d her struck in 52 a.d., about the time i . + v. * when Paul was at Corinth with oeauty, tUat Aquila and Priscilla. ghe became mistress to both Vespasian and his son Titus. BERO'DACH-BAL'ADAN. 2 Kgs. 20 : 12. See Merodach-bala- DAN. BERO'THAH, and BER'O- THAI {my wells), one in the north of Palestine, Eze. 47 : 16, the other in the same region, 2 Sam. 8 : 8. The two may be the same, and possibly modern Beirut, but more probably farther east, at Brithen or Bretdn, about 6 miles south-west of Baalbec. BER'YL. Ex. 28 : 20. By the Hebrew word " tarshish " modern yel- low topaz is supposed to be meant. This designation seems to indicate the place from which it was brought. Beryl, in the N. T., Rev. 21 : 20, is probably a different stone, and very like- ly the mineral now so called, which is found in Palestine, but was less abun- dant and more precious in ancient times than in modern. It is usually of a light-green color and considerably opaque. BE'SAI (sioord, or conqueror), an ancestor to some of the Nethinim. Ezr. 2:49: Neh. 7:52. BESODE'IAH {in the secret of Jehovah), the father of a repairer of the wall. Neh. 3 : 6. BE'SOM. Isa. 14:23. A broom made of twigs. BE'SOR. 1 Sam. 30 : 9-21. A tor- rent-bed in the south of Judah ; proba- bly Wady Sheriah, south of Gaza. BET BET BE'TAH {confidence). 2 Sam. 8 : 8. Called Tibliath, 1 Chr. 18 : 8; possi- bly Tibhath, between Aleppo and Eu- phrates. BEATEN. Josh. 19 : 25. A town of Asher, east of Ptolemais ,• now el Baneh. BETH'-AB'ARA {house of the ford), a place beyond Jordan. John 1 : 28. Some of the best manuscripts read Bethany same as Beth-abara ; possi- bly at Beth-nimrah, or Nimrin ; or, as Conder thinks, at 'Abarnh : a leading ford of the Jordan on the road to Gil- ead. BETH'-A'NATH {house of an- swer), a place in Naphtali, Josh. 19:38; Jud. 1 : 83 ; possibly at Hanin, near Diblathaini ; or at 'Ainatha. BETH -A' NO Til {house of echo), a city of Judah, Josh. 16:59; perhaps Beit 'Aintin, 3 miles north- east of Hebron. BETH'ANY {house of dates, or of misery). 1. A village on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet, about \h to 2 miles ("15 furlongs") east of Jerusa- lem, John 11:18, toward Jericho: the home of Mary and Martha, whither Jesus often went. Matt. 21:17; Mark 11 : 11, 12. It was the home of Simon, Mark 14 : 3 ; the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead, John 11 : 18- Bethaiiy. {After Photographs.) 44 ; and near it Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke 24 : 50 ; named only in the Gospels, and there eleven times. Present Ajix>earance. — Three paths lead from Jerusalem to Bethany — the first over Olivet, north of its summit ; the third branches from the first, below Gethsemane, over the southern slope of Olivet ; the second lies between these two. " The name, which signifies ' house of poverty,' was probably suggested by its solitary and remote situation, bor- dering on the desert, or by the fact that lepers, who are popularly called the 'poor,' once sought an asylum here." Mark 14 : 3. — Baedeker's Hand hook. The town is now a poor mountain- hamlet of about 20 rude stone houses inhabited by Moslems. The water is good, and olive, fig, almond, and carob trees abound. The reputed sites of Simon's house and that of Mary, also ''the tower" and the tomb of Laz- arus, are still pointed out. A church stands over the tomb. Bethany is now called el-Aziriyp.h, "place of Lazarus." See Schaif 's liihh Lands, p. 27fi. 2. Some manuscripts read Bethany for Bethabara in John 1 : 28. See Beth- abara. BETH- ARAB AH {house of the plain), a city of .Tudah in the wil- derness. Josh. 15 : 6, 61 ; counted as a city of Benjamin, Josh. 18:22; called 113 BET BET Arabah in Josh, 18 : 18, in the valley of the Jordan near the Dead Sea. BETH-A'RAM {house of height), a town of Gad in the valley, Josh. 13 : 27 ; perhaps same as Beth-haran. Num. 32 : 36 ; Merrill locates it at er- Jiama, on the Shittim plain. BETH-AR'BEL {house of God's court, or ftmbush), probably Arbela or Irbid, between Tiberias and Sepphoris. Hos. 10 :U. BETH-A'VEN {house of naught, or idols), east of Bethel, Josh. 7:2; 18 : 12 ; 1 Sam. 13 : 5 ,• 14 : 23 ; used as a name for Bethel, " house of God ;" changed to Beth-aven, '' house of idols." Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5. BETH- AZ MAVETH, a town in Benjamin : called Azmaveth, Neh. 7 : 28; 12 : 29; Ezr. 2 : 24; perhaps Hiz- meh, south-east of Jeba. BETH-BA'AL-ME'ON. Josh. 13 : 17. See Baal-meo\. BETH - BA'RAH. Jud. 7 : 24. See Beth-abara. BETH'-BIR'EI {house of my cre- ation), a town of Simeon, 1 Chr. 4:31; probably same as Beth-lebaoth and Le- baoth. Josh. 19 : 6 ; 15 : 32, in the south of Palestine; probably Btreh. BETH'- CAR {house of lambs), a place west of Mizpeh. 1 Sam. 7 : 1. Con- der locates it at 'Ain Kdrim. BETH-DA'GON(AoMse o/Z)a^o»). 1. A town in Judah, near Philistia. Josh. 15 : 41. Perhaps at Beit Dejan. 2. A place in Asher. Josh. 19 : 27. Ganneau locates it at Deljun, south- west of Ekron ; Conder, at Tell D'a^k. BETH-DIB'LATHA'IIW {house of fig-cakes), a town of Moab ; same as Almon-diblathaim. Jer. 48 : 22 ; Num. 33:46. BETH'EL {house of God). 1. A town about 12 miles north of Jerusalem. Histori/. — Visited by Abraham, Gen. 12 : 8 ; 13 : 3 ; marked by Jacob after his vision of the ladder. Gen. 28 : 11-19; 31 : 13 ; dwelling-place of Jacob, Gen. 35 : 1-8 ; name applied to Luz, Jud. 1 : 22, 23 ; before this the city and the altar- site appear to have had different names, see Josh. 16 : 2 ; Jud. 1 : 22, 23 ; Gen. 28 19 ; Samuel judged there, 1 Sam. 7 : 16 a place of calf-worship, 1 Kgs. 12 : 29 2 Kgs. 10 : 29 ; called Beth-aven — )'. e. "house of idols," Hos. 10 : 5, 8 ; taken by Judah, 2 Chr. 13 : 19 ; home of 114 prophets, 2 Kgs. 2 : 2, 3 ; of priests, 2 Kgs. 17:28; 23:15-17; was desolate. Am. 3 : 14; 5 : 5, 6 ; settled by Benja- mites after the Captivity, Neh. 11 : 31 ; named about seventy times in the 0. T. ; not noticed in the N. T. ; now called Beitin (9 miles south of Shiloh), a vil- lage of about 25 Moslem hovels, stand- ing amid ruins which cover about 4 acres. Among the ruins is a Greek church, which appears to have been built out of the ruins of an older, and probably a Jewish, edifice. There are also the remains of a tower and a very large cistern. From the top of this ruined tower the Mount of Olives is distinctly visible, and Jewish tradition asserts, no doubt truthfully, that from the rival temple of Jeroboam idol- priests could look down upon the tem- ple of Solomon at Jerusalem. The spot is hallowed by Jacob's dream of a lad- der which reached from earth to hea- ven, and caused him to exclaim, " How dreadful is this place ! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Gen. 28: 17. 2. A town in the south of Judah ; same as Chesil, Bethul, and Bethuel. Josh. 12:16; 16 : 30 ; 19: 4; 1 Chr. 4 : BO. Either Beit Aula, or El-Khidasah, 3. Mount Bethel, Josh. 16 : 1 ; 1 Sam. 13 : 2, a hilly district near Bethel. BETH-E'MEK {house of the val- ley), a town of Asher, Josh. 19 : 27 ; pos- sibly Amkah. 8 miles north-east of Akka. BE'THER, THE MOUN- TAINS OF. Song Sol. 2 : 17. Prob- ably near the Lebanon range. BETHES'DA {house of mercy, or flowing water), a pool in Jerusalem near the sheep-gate or market, John 5 : 2-9 ; tradition identifies it with the modern pool Birket-Tsrail, 360 feet long, 120 feet wide, and 80 feet deep, half filled with rubbish. Capt. Warren found an aqueduct leading from it, probably into the Kedron. Robinson, with more prob- ability, regards Bethesda as identical with the intermittent Pool of the Vir- gin, outside of the city, above the Pool of Siloam. BETH-E'ZEL {house of firm root). Mic. 1:11. Speaker's Commentary iden- tifies it with Azal, near Jerusalem. BETH-GA'DER {house of the ivall), possibly a place in Judah. 1 Chr. 11 : 51 ; now Jedur. See Geder. BET BET Traditional Pool of Bethesda. {Birket-Isruil. After a Photograph by Bonfils.) m^ BETH-GA'MUL (house of camel), a town of Moab, Jer. 48 : 23 ; perhaps Um-el-Jemal, near Bozrah, an unwalled town, having some of the most remark- able ruins in that country, houses, streets, walls, and gates deserted, but in perfect preservation. See Jer. 48 : 21-25. Grove, however, thinks Jemal too far north-east to be Gamul. BETH-GIL'GAL. Neh. 12 : 29. Same as Gilgal, near Bethel. BETH-HAC'CEREM [house of the vine), a place near Tekoa, Jer. 6:1; Neh. 3:14; probably the Frank Moun- tain, 4 miles south-east of Bethlehem. BETH-HA'RAN. See Beth- ARAM. BETH-HOG'LA, or HOG'- LAH [partridge-house), a town of Ben- jamin, Josh. 15 : 6; 18 : 19, 21 ; now 'A in Hajla, between Jericho and the Jordan. BETH-HO'RON [house of the cave), the name of two places, the " Up- fer" and "Nether" Beth-horon, Josh. 6 : 3, 5, about 3 miles apart, on the opposite sides of a ravine or steep pass — the Thermopylae of Palestine — on the road from Jerusalem to the seacoast. The " Nether " or lower town was the most important ; now Beit Ur et- Tahtn. The Upper Beth-horon is now Beit Ur el- F oka. BETH-JES'IMOTH, and JESH'IMOTH [house of wastes), a town of Moab. Num. 33 : 49 ; Josh. 12 : 3 ; 13 : 20 ; Eze. 25 : 9. Schwarz places it at Beth-Jisimuth, north-east of the Dead Sea ; Merrill, at Ain Suweimeh ; Tris- tram, at er-Rama, 5 miles north-east from the mouth of the Jordan. BETH-LEB'AOTH [house of lionesses). See Beth-birei. BETH'LEHEM [house of bread). 1. A town in the ^' hill-country," about 6 miles south of Jerusalem, situated on a narrow ridge running eastward, which breaks down in abrupt terraced slopes to the deep valleys below. The town is 2527 feet above the sea. It is one of the oldest in Palestine. History. — It was Rachel's burial-place (still marked by a white mosque near the town), and called Ephrath, Gen. 35 : 19; the home of Naomi, Boaz, and Ruth, Ruth 1:19; birthplace of David, 1 Sam. 17 : 12 ; burial-place of Joab's family, 2 Sam. 2:32; taken by the Philistines, and had a noted well, 2 Sam. 23 : 14, 15; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11 : 6; foretold as the birthplace of Christ, Mic. 5:2; the birthplace of Jesus, Matt. 2:1; was visited by the shepherds, Luke 2 : 15-17, and by the magi, Matt. 2. It is noticed over 40 times in the Bible. It has existed as a town for over 4000 years. It was a small place until after the time of Christ ; was improved and 116 BET BET its walls rebuilt by Justinian : had a famous church in a. d. 6U0 ; was de- stroyed by the Arabs, rebuilt by the Pranks, again twice destroyed, A. D. 12-1:4 and in 1489 ; rebuilt within the last two centuries; now has about 5000 inhabitants, nearly all nominally Chris- tians, mostly of the Greek Church. The women of Bethlehem, as also those of Nazareth (the two homes of Christ), are exceptionally beautiful, and demon- strate the superiority of Christian women over Moslem women. It is now called Beit-Lahm; is surrounded by nicely- kept terraces covered with vine, olive, and fig trees. The church of the Na- tivity, the oldest in Christendom, built in A. D. 330 by the empress Helena, stands over the grotto reputed to be the ])lace of our Lord's birth, and is the joint property of the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who have separate con- vents adjoining it. The "plain of the Shepherds" is about a mile from the town. The so-called David's well is pointed out nea r the city. A massive col- Bethlehem, {trom Original Photograph by Bonfils.) umn stands upon the reputed spot where monkish legends say 20,000 martyred innocents were buried. The claim of these places as the true localities where the biblical events occurred rests wholly upon traditions covered with the accu- mulated rubbish of superstition, which render the identifications of small value. The chapel beneath the church, how- ever, was the study of St. Jerome, where he spent thirty years on his great work, the Latin version of the Bible, called the Vulgate, and which is still the stand- ard version in the Roman Church. The "holy crypt," the reputed birthplace of our Lord, is a cave in the solid rock, twenty feet beneath the great choir of the church. At the entrance of a long winding passage cut out of the lime- stone rock is an irregular-shaped chap- 116 el, containing two small recesses. In the northernmost of these is a marble slab, on which a silver star marks the supposed spot of the Nativity. Hepworth Dixon ( The Hohj Land, 1865, ch. xiv.) not only accepts this cave as the birthplace of Jesus, but also tries to prove that it be- longed to Boaz and was the home of David. The tradition that Jesus was born in this cave is very old, and is first mentioned by Justin Martyr (about A. r». 140), who was a native of Palestine. The precise place of our Saviour's birth, as that of his crucifixion, has been left in obscur- ity by a wise Providence. The greet- ing of Boaz to the reapers may still be heard in the fields of Bethlehem. The farmer now salutes his laborers with " The Lord be with you !" and BET BET they reply, as in the days of Ruth, " The Lord bless thee !" Ruth 2 : 4. 2. A town in Zebulon, Josh. 19 : 15 ; now a poor village, Beit-Lahm, 6 miles west of Nazareth. BETH-MA ACHAH. 2 Sam. 20 : 14, 15. Same as Abel-beth-maa- chah, Abel-maim, and Abel ; now Abel el-Kamh, a village north-west of Lake Merom. Grove supposes Maachah was a petty Syrian kingdom north of Palestine. BETH-MAR'CABOTH {house of chariots), a town in the south of judah. Josh. 19 : 5; 1 Chr. 4 : 13. Rowland identifies it with el-Murtabeh, 10 miles south-west of Beer-sheba. BETH-ME'ON. See Baal- MEON. BETH-NIM'RAH {house of leop- ards), a fenced city east of the Jor- dan, Josh. 13 : 27 ; Num. 32 : 3, 36 ; same as Nimrah, and the modern Nimrin, on the Jordan, above Jericho. Some would identify it also with Beth-abara. BETH-PA'LET {house of flight), a town in the south of Judah; same as Beth-phelet, Josh. 15 : 27 ; Neh. 11 : 26 ; either modern el-Kuseifeh, near Mola- dah, or el-Horn. BETH-PAZ'ZEZ {house of dis- persion), in Issachar, Josh. 19: 21, west of the Sea of Galilee ; possibly, but not probablv. modern Beit-Jcnu. BETH-PE'OR {temple of Peor), a place on Pisgah. Deut. 3:29; 4:46; 34 : 6 ; Josh. 13 : 20. See Pisgah. BETH'PHAGE (house of green figs), a place near Bethany, Matt. 21 : i ; Mark 11 : 1 ; Luke 19 : 29, and possi- bly west of that place. BETH-PHE'LET. See Beth- PALET. BETH-RE'HOB {house of Re- hoh), called Rehob, Num. 13 : 21 ; 2 Sam. 10 : 6, 8 ; was near Laish, Jud. 18 : 28; possibly Hunin, on the mountain west of the plain of Dan, and about 1000 feet above it. BETHSA'IDA {house of fishing), a city of Galilee, near Capernaum. John 12 : 21; Matt. 11 : 21. Many re- cent writers urge that there were two Bethsaidas, since the desert-place where the 5000 were fed belonged to '' the city called Bethsaida," Luke 9:10, while after the miracle the disciples were to go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, Mark 6 : 45, which it is said could not refer to the same town. 1. If there were two towns of this name, the first one, in Galilee, was on the west side of the lake. Robin- son, Grove, Porter, and others place it at Ain et-Tahighah, north of Khan Minyeh, others at Khan Mini/ eh. 2. Bethsaida Julias, in Gaulanitis, on the eastern bank of the Jordan, near its entrance into the lake. But it seems quite unlikely that two cities in such close neighborhood should have borne the same name. Hence Dr. W. M. Thomson supposes that there was but one Bethsaida, which was built on both sides of the Jordan, and places the site at Abu-Zani/, where the Jordan emp- ties into the Lake of Galilee. The Sinaitic manuscript omits *' belonging to a city called Bethsaida" in Luke 9 : 10; hence, Wilson also holds that there is no necessity for two Bethsaidas ; and this seems the more probable view. The eastern part was beautified by Philip the tetrarch, and called Beth- saida Julias (in honor of a daughter of the emperor Augustus), to distin- guish it from the western Bethsaida, in Galilee. — Sciiafp : Through Bible Lands, p. 353. See Capernaum. BETH-SHE'AN {house of quiet), BETH'SAN, OR BETH'SHAN, a city 5 miles west of the Jordan, first in Issachar, but later in Manasseh. Josh. 17 : 11 ; 1 Chr. 7 : 29. Saul's body was fastened to its walls, 1 Sam. 31 : 10, 12; after the Captivity it was call- ed Scythopolis, and was a chief city of Decapolis ; now Beisan, having ruins of temples, colonnades, hippo- drome, theatre, and city walls. BETH-SHE'MESH {house of the sun). 1. A city on the north of Judah belonging to the priests. Josh. 15:10: 21:16; same as Ir-shemesh and Mount Heres, Josh. 19:41; Jud. 1 : 35 ; noted as the place to which the ark was returned, 1 Sam. 6 : 9-20 ; now a heap of ruins near 'Ain Shenis, about 14 miles west of Jerusalem. 2. A fenced city of Naphtali. Josh. 19 : 38. Conder proposes 'Ain csh Shem- styeh. 3. A city on the border of Issachar, Josh. 19 : 22 : perhaps the same as No. 2. 117 BET BIB 4. A place in Egypt, Jer. 43 : 13 ; same as Heliopolis, or On, See On. BETH- SHIT TAH {house of acacia), now perhaps the village of Shattah, east of Jezi'eel. Jud. 7 : 22. BETH-TAP'PUAH (house of apples), a town of Judah near Hebron, Josh. 15:53; now Tuffuh, 5 miles west of Hebron, and noted for olive-groves and vineyards. Traces of the ancient terraces still remain. BETHU'EL (man of God), the son of Nahor, nephew of Abraham, and father of Laban and Rebekah. Gen. 22 : 22, 23 ; 24:15,24,47; 28:2. His son Laban plays the prominent part in the narrative. BE'THUEL, AND BE'THUL. See Chesil and Bethel. BETH'ZUR {house of rock), in the mountains of Judah ; built by Re- hoboam ; its ruler helped to repair Jeru- salem, 2 Chr. 11 : 7; Neh. 3 : 16; now Beit Siir, 4 miles north of Hebron. BET'ONIM, a town in Gad. Josh. 13 : 2(5. BETROTH'. Deut. 28 : 30. A man and woman were betrothed or es- poused each to the other when they were engaged to be married. It is giv- ing one's troth — i. e. faith or promise — to marry at a future time. Among the Jews this relation was usually determined by the parents or brothers, without consulting the par- ties until they came to be betrothed. The engagement took place very early, though it was not consummated by ac- tual marriage until the spouse was at least twelve years of age. The betrothing was performed a twelvemonth or more before the mar- riage, either in writing or by a piece of silver given to the espoused before witnesses. During the interval, how- ever, from the time of espousals to the marriage, the woman was considered as the lawful wife of the man to whom she was betrothed ; nor could the engage- ment be ended by the man without a bill of divorce ; nor could she be un- faithful without being considered an adulteress. See Marriage. BEU'LiAH (married), a word used by Isaiah, Isa. 62 : 4, to set forth the intimate relation of the Jewish Church to God. BE'ZAI (conqueror), father of some 118 who returned. Ezr. 2 : 17 ; Neh. 7 : 23: 10:18. BEZAL'EEL (in the shadow of God). A famous artificer who received wisdom and instruction directly from God to qualify him for the work of building the tabernacle and preparing its various furniture. Ex. 31 : 2. 2. One who had married a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 30. BE'ZEK (lightning). 1. In the mountains of Judah, Jud. 1 : 3-5; prob- ably Bezek, near Jerusalem. 2. Possibly a district. 1 Sam. 11 : 8, 9. Schwartz places it at Bezik or Ah- sik ; Conder at Ibzik, north of Tir- zah. B E ' Z E R (ore), an Asherite. 1 Chr. 7 : 37. BE'ZER IN THE WILDER- NESS, a city of refuge east of the Jordan, Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20 : 8 ; 21: 36; 1 Chr. 6:78; possibly Burazin, 12 miles north-east of Heshbon. BE'ZETHA, AxND BE'ZETH, a hill in Jerusalem north of Acra and Mo- riah. See Jerusalem. BI'BLE. " The Holy Bible" is the name given to the collection of books which contains the revelation of God in the creation, redemption, and sanctifica- tion of the world ; a history of the past dealing of God with his people; a proph- ecy of coming events till the final con- summation : and a living exhibition of saving truth in doctrine, precept, and example for all men and all time. The name is from the Greek (ra. ^l^Ala, " the books"), and means the Book of books, the best of all books (so used since the fifth century in distinction from heret- ical and all uninspired writings). The collection is likewise spoken of as the " Scriptures," " the word of God." The Bible embraces the work of about forty authors from all classes of society, from the shepherd to the king, living during an interval of sixteen hundred years, but all of the Hebrew extraction, with the single exception of Luke, whose Gospel, however, came from Jewish sources, and whose fame from his as- sociation with Paul. All forms of literary composition unite to give the Bible its unique interest, aside from its ■ religious importance. These books, though differing in age, contents, and style, represent one and the same sys- BIB BIB tem of truth as revealed by God in its various aspects and adaptations to the existing wants and progressive un- derstanding of his people. The Bible is not a book simply; it is an insti- tution. It never grows old ; it renews its youth with every ago of humanity, and increases in interest and importance as history advances. It is to the Chris- tian the only infallible source and rule of his faith and conduct; it is his daily bread of life, his faithful guide in holy living and dying, his best friend and companion — far more precious than all other books combined. It is now more extensively studied than ever, and its readers will continue to multiply from day to day to all parts of the earth and to the end of time. Let us add some testimonies to its importance. The eloquent F. W. Robertson says : "This collection of books has been to the world what no other book has ever been to a nation. States have been founded on its principles ; kings rule by a compact based on it ; men hold it in their hands when they give solemn evi- dence affecting death or property ; the sick man is almost afraid to die unless the Book be within reach of his hands ; the battle-ship goes into action with one on board whose oflBce is to expound it; its prayers, its psalms, are the language we use when we speak to God ; eighteen centuries have found no holier, no di- viner language. The very translation of it has fixed language and settled the idioms of speech. It has made the most illiterate peasant more familiar with the history, customs, and geography of an- cient Palestine than with the localities of his own country. . . . The orator holds a thousand men for half an hour breathless, a thousand men as one listen- ing to his single word. But this word of God has held a thousand nations for thrice a thousand years spell-bound — held them by an abiding power, even the universality of its truth ; and we feel it to be no more a collection of books, but the Book." The translators of the A. v., in their Address unto the Reader (reprinted in the Cambridge Paragraph Bible), say of the Bible: "And what marvel ? — the original thereof being from heaven, not from earth ; the author be- ing God, not man : the inditer, the Holy Spirit, not the wit of the apostles or prophets ; the penmen, such as were sanctified from the womb and endued with a principal portion of God's Spirit; the matter, verity, piety, purity, upright- ness ; the form, God's word, God's tes- timony, God's oracles, the word of truth, the word of salvation, etc. ; the effects, light of understanding, stableness of persuasion, repentance from dead works, newness of life, holiness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost; lastly, the end and reward of the study thereof, fellowship with the saints, participation of the heavenly na- ture, fruition of an inheritance immortal, undefiled, and that shall never fadeaway. Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture, and thrice happy that medi- tateth jn it day and night !" The Bible is ordinarily divided into two parts, called the Old and New Testa- ments. But it would be more accurate to say *' the Old and New Covenants," in- asmuch as '' testament" implies the idea of a will and the death of the testator. In the present article the general ques- tions in regard to the Bible will be dis- cussed. The matters relating to the formation of the collection will be found under Canon, and the particulars of the different books under their re- spective names. I. The Original Languages of the Bible. 1. The 0. T. is written in Hebrew, a Shemitic tongue, differing in most re- spects very widely from the Japhetic or Aryan languages, to which family ours belongs. The difference is not simply in vocabulary, but in grammatical struc- ture, and also in the manner of writing, which is from right to left, giving rise to the common saying that Hebrew books begin at the last page. It is triliteral — i. e. its words are built up according to certain rules from roots formed of three consonants. The verb has only two tenses, the perfect and the imperfect. There is no proper declension of nouns, and only two genders, masculine and feminine. There are three numbers, singular, dual, and plural. There are no compounds, in our sense of the term; the article, conjunction, and preposition, expressed each by a single consonant, are attached directly to the word. Pronouns undergo a similar treatment, *' whether they are the sub- 119 BIB BIB ject or object of verbs or dependent upon other forms of speech. Thus the Hebrew * and from his land ' is written as one word, though it embraces a con- junction, preposition, noun, and pro- noun ; but this is a mere aggregate, in which each element retains its separate force unchanged, not a compound, in which the several constituents combine in the expression of one idea." — Prof. W. H. Green. Hebrew is highly figurative — pre-eminently fitted for devotion, but by lack of precision singularly unfitted for philosophy. It was therefore just the requisite medium for an introduc- tory revelation. The 0. T. does not argue against or analyze or defend any religion in set phrase, but it fills the mind with the knowledge of the true God and inspires the heart in his ser- vice. 2. The N. T. was written in Greek, which had, since the Macedonian con- quest of Alexander the Great, supplanted Hebrew in common use among the Jews who dwelt in the Roman provinces, and was the medium of communication be- tween all parts of the civilized world. The ancient Greek literature is a peren- nial source of inspiration and know- ledge. The language is at once vigorous and flexible, profound and clear, remark- ably well suited to express every variety of thought. It is equally adapted to the concise, the critical, and the common- place. In short, every order of mind can use it appropriately. It was in that day a better channel than the Hebrew for a divine revelation, and that of the highest kind. Hebrew no longer met the wants of culture. By nature it was hampered. It was the language of mon- otheism, but not of developed trinita- rianism. The N. T. Greek is the Macedonian, and more particularly the Hellenis- tic, dialect, more or less mixed with Hebraisms, arising from the fact that the writers were Jews. In some books this tinge is very strong, especially in Matthew, Mark, and Revelation. On the contrary, the Greek of James and Luke, particularly in the preface of Luke's Gospel and in the latter part of the Acts, is good and forcible. Paul has a style of his own; broken and involved, interminable at times, as his sentences are, they are bold, pregnant, and lively. 120 But whether with classical finish or unadorned simplicity, in this language the apostles addressed their own coun- trymen and the Gentiles upon the mo- mentous truths and facts of the ever- lasting gospel. II. The Text of the Bible. The Bible, like the Saviour whom it presents, is divine-human in its cha- racter. The written word became flesh, as well as the personal Word. The eter- nal truth of God passed through the men- tal faculties of the prophets and apostles, and uttered itself in human speech. Its contents were first in the mind, and then written out, either directly by the in- spired man or at his dictation. The autographs have perished. We possess at best but copies of other copies. These, although made with reverent care, are not free from the imperfections of hu- man writings. Errors would be per- petuated and new ones constantly made. This was pre-eminently the case with the N. T. The number of textual vari- ations in the Greek N. T. or " different readings," as they are called, amounts to 150,000. And yet we may claim that a special Providence has watched over the purity and integrity of the text of Holy Scripture, since only about 400 of these are of any consequence, the rest being trifles of spelling, etc., r.nd none of these 400 affect a doctrine or precept. 1. The Hebrew Bible of to-day is a reprint of the so-called Masoretic text — /. e. the text punctuated and vocalized by a body of Jewish scholars who lived at Tiberias, and at Sora in the Euphrates valley, from the sixth to the twelfth century, and who committed to writing the mass of traditional notes of all kinds called the Masora — i. e. tradi- tion. Up to the beginning of that period the Hebrew text was written without "points," as the vowel-points are called. These were added, and thus the pronunciation was fixed. By means of other marks punctuation and the tone-syllables were indicated. The sep- aration of the text into verses by means of two dots arranged like a colon and the assortment of the books in a fixed order had been previously effected. It is stated that after the Masoretes had finished their labors all the manuscripts which had not this text were con- BIB BIB demned as " profane and illegitimate," which caused most of these rejected copies to perish. Thus the facts that there are very few old Hebrew manu- scripts— the oldest dating from the tenth century — and that the same text is found in each, are accounted for. But happily for the scholars of Hebrew, the Masoretes marked their corrections upon the margin instead of inserting them in the text, and therefore they are at liberty to reject or use them. The Hebrew character has changed from an irregular to a square form. The Rabbins, however, in their books em- ployed still another form, which is more cramped. The manuscripts whose use is obligatory in the synagogues to-day are written without punctuation-marks upon rolls, and are very carefully writ- ten and preserved. The whole Hebrew Bible was first printed in 1488 ; a second edition ap- peared in 1494. This was the one used by Luther. All subsequent Hebrew Bibles have been little more than re- productions of these two editions. 2. The Greek New Testament. — It is quite in keeping with the character of Christianity, which is free, active, bold, and progressive, that the little book upon which it rests for its initial his- tory, its theology, and, to a certain ex- tent, for its polity, should exhibit such diverse elements at work upon it, and likewise that the book itself should ex- ist in so many more or less variant texts. Superstition, which secured the Jew a verbatim copy, as far as possible, of his sacred Scriptures, did not oper- ate to anything like the same extent in the case of the Christians. They es- teemed it a great privilege to have the Gospels and Epistles, but as copies multiply in the Church we find the thoughts of the inspired writer are better preserved than his exact words. At all events, the "various readings" increased, A very fruitful source of variation was the habit of writing at dictation, for a word incorrectly heard would be of course incorrectly written. Then, too, the use of " ligatures," or combinations of letters, to save time, the arbitrary signs employed, and the inarks of correction or doubt gradually worked into the text from the margin, ^ach and all contributed to destroy the correctness of the copy. Superfluous words, filling out one sentence by piec- ing to it a part of another (e. g. Rom. 8 : 1 compared with 8 : 4 shows conclu- sively that the latter clause of ver. 1 is repeated by inadvertence from ver. 4), marginal glosses which at last crept into the text, — these are some of the unintentional faults of all copies. But these variations evince the lively inter- est which all classes took in the book, and therefore are an indirect proof of its divinity. They multiply the means for ascertaining the original reading and supersede the necessity of conjec- ture, to which we must often resort in the case of the ancient classics. So far from being alarmed at this state of things, we see in it the hand of God, who does not want his Church to be bound to the letter, but to be free in the Spirit, and to exercise all its powers of research upon his holy word. In the case of the N. T. the number of manuscripts is very large, consider- ing the labor and expense of transcrib- ing. They are divided into two classes : The uncials, which are written through- out in capitals, and with no division of words or of sentences, and with very few and simple marks of punctuation. The writing is in columns of uniform width, from one to four on a page, the letters filling out the page irrespective of the completion of a word. The material was parchment in book-form. The uncials go down to the tenth century. The most important uncial manuscripts are the Sinaitic of the fourth cen- tury (discovered by Prof. Tischendorf in the convent of St. Catherine, on Mount Sinai, 1859, and published in fac-simile, 1862), the Vatican of the same age (in the Vatican Library at Rome), and the somewhat later Alex- andrian (in the British Museum, Lon- don). The second kind of manuscripts, the cursives, are so called because written in running-hand. The uncial form was, however, retained for some time after this in church copies. From about the eleventh century paper made from cot- ton or linen superseded parchment. The style of penmanship and other peculiarities in writing enable " diplo- matists," as such experts are called, to tell the century to which any given man- uscript belongs. The later manuscripts J21 BIB BIB are of little or no critical account since the discovery of the older or uncial man- uscripts. The N. T. in Greek was first printed as part of the Complutensian Polyglot, which Cardinal Ximenes patronized, at Alcala, the modern name for the Spanish townComplutum, in 1514, but the Poly- glot was not published till 1622. The editors, probably in their ignorance, pre- tended to have relied for the text upon very ancient manuscripts received from Rome; but as a matter of fact, the manuscripts were comparatively recent and very inaccurate. The first Greek Testament />H6^;'sAerf was that of Eras- mus, which appeared in 1516. The so- called " Textus Receptus," or received text, is derived from the second edition of Elzevir, published at Leyden, 1633. It is in the main a copy of Beza's (1565- 1589). The typographical beauty of the Elzevir edition and its handy shape, and not its critical merit, determined its acceptance. In England the text of Stephens (1550), which is substan- tially the same with the text of Elzevir, has often been reprinted and taken as the basis of critical editions from Mills down to Tregelles, although Bentley suggested a new basis from the oldest sources. The text of the N. T. has been brought into its present satisfac- tory condition after long-continued and patient study, and every Bible student should thank God for the scholars he has raised up to do this work. All honor to the immortal names of Gries- bach (1754-1812), Lachmann (1793- 1851), Tischendorf (1815-1874), Tre- gelles (1813-1875), Westcott, and Hort, for to them are we indebted for the oldest and purest text of the Greek Testament which can be attained at the present day, and which makes a revision of our English version at once desirable and safe. III. The Order op the Books and the Names of their Divisions. 1. The Old Testament. — The Jew- ish arrangement diff'ers widely from ours. The N. T. recognizes a division of the 0. into " the Law and the Prophets," Matt. 11:13; 22:40; Acts 13 : 15, etc., which phrase was doubtless a popular way of speaking of the whole book. AVe also find a longer phrase, 122 "the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms," Luke 24 : 44. The Jews divided their sacred Scriptures into (a) the Law — i. e. the five books of Moses, commonly known as the Pen- tateuch, the five-fold book; (6) the Prophets, divided into the earlier, in- cluding Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, and later, which are subdivided into the greater — Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Eze- kiel — and the twelve so-called minor prophets; (c) The Holy Writings, or Hagiographa, as they are usually denom- inated, comprising the Psalms, Prov- erbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, First and Second Chronicles. In this probably chronological order the books are arranged in the Hebrew Bibles. The Christian division into historical, poetical, and prophetical books is topi- cal and more apj^ropriate. It is not necessary to enumerate the books, as a full list is appended to almost every copy of the Bible. 2. The New Testament is divided into the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, both Pauline and Catholic (the latter — those of James, Peter, John, and Jude — so called because not addressed to particular churches or individuals, but of universal import), and the Reve- lation ; or more briefly into the histori- cal, the doctrinal, and the prophetical books. The oldest manuscripts vary in their arrangement. Many put the Catholic Epistles immediately after the Acts, while the Sinaitic puts the Pauline Epistles before the Acts. IV. The Division of the Text into Chapters and Verses. The ancient mode of writing was con- tinuous; no stops of any kind were made, nor were words separated. See article Book. As soon as any break is made we get the germs of a system of division, for these breaks will indicate punctuation, and thus serve the second- ary purpose of facilitating reference and remembrance. We find that the division of the sacred text into sections was early made as a matter of neces- sity, but that chapters and verses were of much later origin. 1. The Old Testament. — The Rabbinic Specimens of existing MSS. of the Scriptures. M ycTH f / o Kj:oce 4th Cent. Codux Siiiaiticus. — 1 Tiiu iii. IG. TO T1J? euaejSeta? | /avo-TTjpioc [Oe late corr.] os e. N O PC M H C ^^^PfT 4th Cent. Codex Sinaiticus. — John i. 18. roYevTjs 0[eo]s [o oiv corr.J eis tov. T -A.eNGinoN6r'UAieCHhio\oroc • 5th Cent. Codex Alexandrinus. — John i. 1. El* o-PXt ^^ ** A.070? Kttt 0 A070S >)»' I Trpos to;' 0[eo]v xai 0[eo] s rjv o Aoyos^ ^t4 ■ y*aty» nu'^vt'ircpg '^tp