i'^r^^^WJ^^'sSS^" ^^^' i wsmm'm^s^m^ Shelf.. ^ PRINCETON, N. J "^^ Division *— -i- Section Number f.. WESTMINSTER BIBLE DICTIONARY. THE WESTMINSTER BIBLE DICTIONARY. PREPARED FOR THE BOARD BY THE Rev. THOMAS J. SHEPHERD, D.D. PHILADELPHIA : PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 1334 Chestnut Street. Copyright, 1880, by THE TRUSTEES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. Westcott a Thomson, Stereotypera and MUctrotypers, Philada. INTRODUCTION. The quickening of Bible study on the part of our Sabbath-school teachers and scholars at the present time, in connection with the re- markable additions recently made to our knowledge on topics related to Scripture interpretation, affords abundant reason for the issue of the Westminster Bible Dictionary. It will meet an existing call for a compact dictionary abreast of the times. The work was entrusted by the Board of Publication to the Rev. Thomas J. Shepherd, D. D., who has devoted to it much study and patient as well as skillful labor. Free use has been made by Dr. Shepherd of all accessible authorities, and especially of Dr. William Smith's invaluable, though not perfect, Dictionary of the Bible, as well as of the Bible. Dictionary prepared by the Rev. W. M. En- gles, D. D., and previously published by the Board. The thanks of the author and of the publishers are also given to Professor Isaac H. Hall, by whom the sheets of the Dictionary were read, and who, from his stores of Oriental, linguistic and archaeological infor- mation, has rendered the work an important service. Numerous engravings illustrating the articles are distributed through the volume, and valuable maps are given at its close. In the preparation of this Dictionary the leading aims have been — 1. To make a Bible Dictionary, including only words in our Au- 5 INTRODUCTION. tliorized Version of the Scriptures needing explanation. A few- proper names, such as " Dead Sea " and " Esdraelon," not occurring in our English Bible, are given because of their common use and to assist reference to their scriptural designations. Occasionally, also, a word, such as "Games," has been admitted because of frequent allu- sions made thereto in the Bible. 2. To indicate the precise sense in which each word treated is used in the Scriptures. The root-ideas of the Hebrew and Greek originals, and the English equivalents of these ideas, are carefully stated. 3. To embody the results of such recent explorations in Bible lands, and of such study of the historic monuments of Egypt, As- syria, Babylonia and Persia, as have thrown light upon the text of Scripture. 4. To treat with entire freedom, and such fullness as the size of the volume permitted, the words underlying the faith and order of the Christian Church, as "Baptism," "Bishop," "Elder," "Elec- tion," " Predestination " and the like. 5. And, in all, to j)ut the largest amount of information into the smallest space possible. J. W. D. THE WESTMINSTER Bible Dictionary. A'a-ron [sign ificatiou uncertain, prob- ably enlightened^, eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, both of the tribe of Levi, and elder brother of Moses. He was born B. c. 1574, according to the chronol- ogy of Uslier, three years before Moses (Ex. 7:7), and probably one year before Pharaoh's decree of death to the sons of the enslaved Hebrews. His name occurs first (Ex. 4 : 14) when the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses in Horeb because of his reluctance to carry God's message to the king of Egypt. The Lord said, " Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy broth- er ? I know that he can speak well. And also he cometh forth to meet thee. . . . He shall be thy spokesman unto tlie people ; he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God." Aa- ron was then on his way, under a divine call (Ex. 4 : 27), to invite the return of Moses to Egypt. After a separation of forty years, and when Aaron was eighty- three years of age, they met in Horeb, and together returned to fulfill their commis- sion to their brethren of the house of Is- rael and to Pharaoh. From the first communication by Moses to Aaron of the honorable but perilous work to which God had called them, he stood unflinchingly by his brother. He introduced Mo.ses to the elders of Israel, rehearsed to them the divine message, and then went with him into the presence of the proud king of Egypt. All through the interview with Pharaoh, Aaron stood at his great brother's side, sustaining him and acting as his spokesman. In the Sinai wilderness, when the Israelites were met and attacked by the Amalekites, we find Aaron and Hur with Moses on the hill from which he viewed the battle, uphold- ing liis weary hands, and thus securing suc- cess in the conflict (Ex. 17 : 8-13). When Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the law from God, Aaron and his sons, Nadalj and Abihu, with seventy elders of Israel, were permitted, as a special token of the divine favor, to accompany him a part of the way, and to behold the symbol of God's presence ( Ex. 24 : 9, 10). It was during his absence that Moses received directions for the organization of the ecclesiastical estab- lishment, according to which Aaron was to be constituted high priest, and his sons and their descendants priests (Ex. 28). W^hile Moses was absent in the mount, Aaron and Hur were entrusted with the direction and control of the Israelites. In the interval the people became impatient, and required Aaron to make them gods to go before them. Partly through timidity, partly from an imperfect conviction of the sin he was committing, he complied with their 7 8 AARON. wicked suggestions, and constructed a gold- en calf, in imitation of the Egyptian system of idolatry, by whicli he affixed an indelible stain on his own character anrl provoked tlie displeasure of the Almighty, lie attempt- ed in vain to excuse his conduct by transfer- ring the guilt of it to those whose clamors had induced it. As a leader of the people he should have indignantly rejected the proposal (Ex. 32). Having, however, repented of this sin, he was received into favor, and was conse- crated with imposing ceremonials the high priest of the people (Lev. 8), and the of- fice was' voiifined to his family. Two of his sons,, Nadab and Abihu, shortly after their consecration, probably under the in- fluence of strong drink, were guilty of ir- reverence in their ministrations, and were destroyed by fire from the Lord (Lev. 10). Aaron, though deeply wounded, accepted the chastisement without a nmrmur. When Miriam, through jealousy of Moses' wife, revolted against liis author- ity, Aaron gave her his countenance (Num. 12). Miriam was stricken with leprosy. Aaron promptly confessed his fault, and was not similarly punished ; but, as he had thus questioned the authority of Moses, his own authority in after years was re- sisted by a conspiracy headed by Korah, Dathan and Abiram, who maintained that he was not entitled to any exclusive priest- ly rights. A fearful judgment from God arrested this conspiracy and miserably de- stroyed its chief actors. A rebellious spirit, however, had taken possession of the peo- ple, and now broke forth. The anger of the Lord was kindled, and a grievous plague destroyed upward of fourteen thou- sand of them, and was only stayed by Aa- ron's official intercession (Num. 16). This event afforded a striking attestation of Aaron's authority. That he and his family might be recognized by the people as un- doubtedly invested with this priestly pre- rogative, the princes of the different tribes were required to bring to Moses each a rod inscribed with his name, Aaron's name being placed on the rod of Levi. These rods were deposited, by divine command, in the tabernacle. On the following day it was found that while the rods of the other tribes remained unchanged, that of Aaron had budded, blossomed and brought forth almonds. This rod was preserved as a memorial, and for a long series of years no instance of invasion of the priest's of- fice was known (Num. 17). At the waters of Meribah, Aaron was implicated with Moses in tlie distrust of God there evinced, and for this they were forbidden to enter into the promised land (Num. 20 : 8-13). Not many months af- ter this the hosts of Israel came to Mount Hor, and Aaron, accompanied by Moses and by his son Eleazar, was directed to as- cend to the top of the mountain, in view of the people. Having been divested of his priestly robes, which were transferred to Eleazar, he there expired, Ijeing one hundred and twenty-three yeai-s old. He was buried on the mountain (Num. 20 : 22-29; 33 : 38, 39), and the Israelites mourned for him thirty days. Mount Hor is a rocky peak in the mountains of Edom, and is still known as " Movmt Aaron." TJie Arabs sliow what they claim to be the tomb of Aaron on its sum- mit, and manifest great reverence for his memory. In Deut. 10 : 6, Aaron is said to have died at Mosera (plural, Moseroth, Num. 33 : 30), which appears to have been the name of a station near Mount Hor. Aaron married Elisheba, sister of Naa- shon, a prince of the house of Judah. He liad four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Itliamar (Ex. 6 : 23), of wliom the first two died before him. The high priesthood passed to the descendants of the other two. Aaron was a man of true godliness. The weak side of his character was a readiness to be unduly influenced by others. Whilst AARONITES— ABDON. 9 with Moses he Wiis brave, steadfast, unflinch- ing, but away from him he was apt to fall in with suggestions that he should have re- sisted. This is noticeable in the affairs of the golden calf and Miriam's revolt. Yet is he to be honored for his long and noble devotion to his work as a leader, for his willingness to stand second to his younger brother, for his submission to the rebukes of the Lord, and for the unhesitating faith with which he obeyed the commands of the God of Israel. He was eminently honored in receiving the high-priestly office, which typified the nobler priesthood of the Christ to come. See Moses, Priest, Hor. A'a-ron-ites, descendants of Aaron, and therefore priests. Jehoiada led 3700 Aaronites in arms to the support of David at Hebron (1 Chron. 12 : 27); later, Zadok was their chief (1 Chron. 27 : 17). Ab, the Hebrew word ior father, which enters into the composition of many prop- er names, as Absalom, Abner, Abigail, A'oi- jah, Moab, etc. Ab, the name given after the Babylo- nian captivity to one of the Jewish months, being the fifth of the saci-ed and the elev- enth of the civil year reckoning. It cor- responded with parts of July and August, and consisted of thirty days. See Month. A-bad^don [destruction or the des- troyer'] is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Apollyon, the title given in Rev. 9 : 11 to the angel of the bottomless pit or abyss. In the Old Testament the term Abaddon is applied to destruction (Job 31 : 12), and to the place of destruction (Job 26 : 6; Prov. 15 : II). Apollyon in Eev. 9:11 may be either the idea of destruc- tion personified or a personal destroyer, Satan, the angel of the bottomless pit. Ab^a-iia [in the margin Amana, still preserved in Arabic and Greek, meaning fait hf id, probably as continually flowing], a river of Damascus, Syria, mentioned in 2 Kings 5 : 12. Naaman, spurning the direction of Elisha to wasli in Jordan for the cure of his leprosy, indignantly asks, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivei-s of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ?" Its modern name is Barada. It rises in the mountains west of Damas- cus, some twenty-three miles from the city. After flowing through the plain and the city of Damascus, and carrying in its flow an extraordinary fertility and beauty, it loses itself in a marshy lake on the east. (See engraving on p. 11.) Ab^a-rira {j)a!i!^a(je'^ over fords], a range of highlands on the east of the Jordan, in Moab, lacing Jericho and forming at that part the eastern wall of the Jordan valley. The range presents many distinct masses and elevations, commanding exten- sive and exquisite views of the country west of the river. From one of the high- est of these, called Mount Nebo, Moses surveyed the Promised Land. From the manner in which the names Abarim, Ne- bo and Pisgah are associated in Deut. 32 : 49 and 34 : 1, it has been inferred that Abarim is the general name for tlie mountain-chain, Pisgah the specific name of a ridge, and Nebo the topmost peak of Pisgah. See Nebo and Pisgah. Ab^ba l^father], from the Hebrew M'ord Ab, of which it is the Aramaic form, oc- curs in Mark 14 : 36; Eom. 8 : 15; Gal. 4 : 6, where it is translated /a^/ter. It was used as a term of endearment by children in speaking to their father, like our "papa," and expresses trustful love. It is a title given to priests of Oriental churches ; and the old English title of abbot, the head or father of a religious community, is derived from it, as is also pope (papa). When believers receive the Spirit of adoption, they are justified in ad- dressing God as Abba, Father (Gal. 4:6). Ab'don \_HervUe], the name of a judge and of a city. 1. The tenth judge of Israel, who seems to have enjoyed a peaceful government of 10 ABEDNEGO— ABEL-MIZRAIM. eiglit years. He had forty sons and thirty nephews wlio rode on young asses, an evi- dence of the influence of his family ( Judg. 12 : 13-15). The name was a common one, as four otlier pei"sons bearing it are men- tioned (1 Chron. 8 : 23, 30; 9 : 36; 2 Chron. 34 : 20). 2. A city of the tribe of Asher, given to the Levites (Josh. 21 : 30). A-bed'ne-gO [servant of Nego or Nebu'\, the Chaklean name given to Aza- riah, one of the three captive princes who were companions, of Daniel at the court of Babylon (Dan. 1:7). He, with Shad- rach and Meshach, was cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up in the "^lain of Dura, and was miraculously delivered (Dan. 3). A'bel, Hebrew, Hebel [breath, vapor, transitorine^l, the second son of Adam and I\e, born after their fall into sin and their expulsion from Eden. His story is told in Gen. 4. Abel, altliough inherit- ing the corrupt nature of his parents, was eminent for piety. Our Lord (Matt. 23 : 35) distinguishes him as the " righte'^rs Abel." He was the first of the human family who endured the pains of death, the first martyr who sealed his testimony to the gospel with his blood. In obedi- ence to God's command, he offered in sac- rifice the firstlings of his flock, whilst his elder brother, Cain, refused to do so, and in the spirit of presumption and pride brought a bloodless oflering of "fruit of the ground." By some visible sign — such, most likely, as the sending of fire from heaven to consume the victim — God at- tested the acceptance of Abel's offering and the rejection of Cain's. This so en- raged Cain that he " rose up against Abel his brother and slew liim " (Gen. 4 : 8). In Heb. 11:4 the superior excellence, and the consequent acceptance, of Abel's offering are referred to liis " faith." Hence we infer tliat God had revealed with more or less clearness the grand doctrine of redemption, and had required bloody sacrifices as the significant types of the one great sacrifice. This revelation Abel received ; this requirement Abel met. Cain, however, rejected both, and was himself rejected. A'bel signifies a meadow or grassy plain, and, with distinguishing additions, is asso- ciated with several towns in Pale.stine. A'bel-Beth-Ma'a-chah [Abel of the house oj Maachah'\, a city in the north of Palestine, within the limits of the tribe of Naphtali, in the neighborhood of Dan. From its importance it is designated (2 Sam. 20 : 19) " a mother in Israel ;" that is, a metropolis. It was also called Abel- Maim, or " Abel on the waters." (Com- pare 2 Sam. 20 : 14, 15 and 2 Chron. 16 : 4.) It was besieged by Joab on account of its sheltering Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, who had rebelled against King David, but was saved from over- throw by the compliance of its inhabit- ants with the suggestion of a wise woman that the head of Sheba should be struck oflT and cast over the wall (2 Sam. 20 : 14- 22). It was afterward taken by Benha- dad (1 Kings 15 : 20), and two hundred years after by Tiglath-pileser, who car- ried its inhabitants into captivity (2 Kings 15:29). A^bel-Ce-ra^mim [ plain of the vine- yurJi']. It is referred to, by a translation of its name, in Judg. 11 : 33. It was a village of the Ammonites, east of Jordan. A^bel-Me-ho'lah [plain of the dance'], in the north part of the Jordan valley, west of Jordan and ten miles south of Bethshean (1 Kings 4 : 12). It was the birthplace or residence of Elisha (1 Kings 19 : 16). The Midianites fled thither to reach the river when defeated by Gideon (Judg. 7 : 22). A'bel-Miz'ra-im [the mourning of the Egyptians], the name given to the threshing-floor of Atad, because there 12 ABEL-SHITTIM— ABIB. Joseph and the funeral procession that accompanied him from Kgypt " mourned with a great and very sore himentation" over the patriarch Jacob (Gen. 50: 11). Its position has been a question in dis- pute. We should look for it in the neighborhood of Hebron, where was the cave of Machpelah. A'bel-Shit'tim [meadow of the aca- cias], a town in tlie plains of Moab, on tlie ea.st of Jordan, between which and Beth- Jesimoth the Israelites made tlieir last encampments before the passage of Jor- dan (Num. 33 : 49). It is often called Shittim, as in Num. 25 : 1. From this place Joshua sent out spies to visit Jeri- cho (Josh. 2:1). Here too the Israel- ites were seduced by the daughters of Moab into the obscene idolatries of Baal- peor, and were punished therefor by a {tlague (Num. 25 : 1-9). A'bi, shortened form of Abijah, the mother of King Hezekiah. (Compare 2 Kings 18 : 2 with 2 Chron. 29 : 1.) A-bi'a, the Greek form of the Hebrew Abijuh (Matt. 1:7). In Luke 1 : 5, Za- charias the priest, and father of John the Baptist, is spoken of as pertaining to the "course of Abia." The j^ricsts were di- vided into twenty-four courses or classes, each in its turn to be engaged in the pub- lic ministrations (1 Chron. 24). The course of Abia or Abijah was the eighth in order. A-bi'ah, a less correct English form of Abijah. It occurs four times in the Old Testament, notably as the name of the second son of tlie prophet Samuel, by whom he was appointed a judge over Is- rael, in connection with his brother Joel. Their administration, however, was so glaringly corrupt that the people became disgusted, and demantled a king (1 Sam. 8 : 2-5). A-bi'a-thar [father of abundance, or liberal^, the son of Ahimelech, high priest of Israel, and fourtli in descent from Eli in the line of Ithamar. When his father, who was high priest, was slain by the command of Saul for his supposed friend- ship for David (1 Sam. 22), Abiathar es- caped the massacre to whicii his family wfus doomed, and taking with him the ephod, a priestly garment, he repaired to David at the cave of Adullam. He be- came the priest of David's party, and in- quired of the Lord for him in times of doubt and danger (1 Sam. 23 : 9 ; 30 : 7), adiicring to him in all his trials. On David's accession to the throne he seems to have recognized both Abiathar and Zadok as liigh priests (1 Kings 4:4). At the abdication of David in favor of Solo- mon, Abiathar wrongly favored the succes- sion of Adonijah to the throne. For this, Solomon, on his accession, displaced him, and recognized Zadok as having exclusive possession of the office (1 Kings 2 : 26, 27). The deposition of Abiathar was in strict fulfilment of the doom pronounced by the Lord against the house of Eli, he being the last of the priests in that line (1 Sam. 2 : 30-36). In Mark 2 : 26 there is a reference to David's eating the shew-bread in the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and in 1 Sam. 21 : 1-6 this is said to have occurred when Ahimelech was high priest. Abiathar was probably as- sociated in service with his fatlicr at that time, and, afterward becoming liigh priest was spoken of as high priest in connection with that event — i. e. " in the days of Abi- athar, afterward high priest." In 2 Sam. 8: 17; 1 Chron. 18: 16; 24: 3, 6, 31, Ahimelech or Ahimelech is spoken of as the son of Abiathar, or as high priest in the days of David. The two names seem to liave been transposed by a copyist. The Syriac and Arabic versions have "Abiathar the son of Ahimelech" in these jilaces (Kitto). See Zadok. A^bib [heads or ears of r/rain, green ears], one of the Hebrew months (Ex. ABIDE— ABIJAH. 13 13 : 4), afterward called Nisan (Neh. 2 : 1). As the month of newly-ripe grain, it indicates the season of spring, and is sup- posed to correspond with part of March and part of April. Because on its fifteenth day the Israelites made their exodus from Egypt, it was associated with the passover, and was reckoned the first month in the sacred year reckoning. Abide, an old English word having the sense of aivail (Acts 20 : 23), and passing by easy transition to the sense of bear, endure (Num. 31 : 23; Joel 2 : 11). Ab'i-el [my father is God], the father of Kish, and grandfather of Saul the first king of the Israelites (1 Sam. 9:1). An- other of the same name was one of the thirty of the most distinguished men of David's army (1 Chron. 11 : 32). A-bi-e'zer [my father is help, or help- ful], a native of Anathoth, one of David's thirty chief warriors (2 Sam. 23 : 27 ; 1 Chron. 11:28; 27:12). The military exploits of a family of the same name, d ^" ;ended from Manasseh ( Josli. 17 : 2), and to which Gideon belonged ( Judg. 6 : 11), are referred to in Judg. 8:2. Ab'i-gail [my father is joy, joyous], the name of two women. 1. David's sister, the wife of Jether or Ithra, an Islmiaelite, and the mother of Amasa (1 Chron. 2 : 17). 2. The wife of Nabal, a wealthy man with large possessions in Carmel of Judah, about ten miles south of Hebron. The dispositions of the two were in striking contrast. Nabal was churlish and selfish, while his wife was not only distinguished for her personal beauty, but for her discretion and kind- ness. When David was fleeing from the fury of Saul he came with his followers to the mountainous country where Nabal's flocks were fed, and his presence was the means of their protection. On represent- ing this to Nabal, and asking for some re- turn of kindness, he was treated with rude- ness and insult. This so exasperated David that he would have visited Nabal with sig- nal vengeance had not Abigail disarmed him by kindness and delicate liberality. David was so pleased with her beauty and discretion that he married her after the death of Nabal (1 Sam. 25). See Nabal. A-bi-ha'll [my father is might, mighty'], the second wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah. She is called the daughter of Eliab, David's elder brother ; but as Da- vid began to reign more than eighty years before her marriage, and was thirty years old when he became king, we are no doubt to understand the expression as meaning that she was a descendant of Eliab, the term " daughter " often having this general sense (2 Chron. 11 : 18). Several other persons bear the same name, as (1) Abihail, father of Zuriel, the father of the Levitical families of Merari (Num. 3 : 35) ; (2) the wife of Abishur (1 Chron. 2 : 29); (3) Abihail, one of the heads of ftimilies of the tribe of Gad (1 Chron. 5 : 14); and (4) Abihail, the father of Queen Esther and uncle of Mordecai (Esth. 2 : 15). A-bi'hu [my father is He — i. e. God, meaning Komhiper of God], the second of the sons of Aaron, who, with his three broth- ers, was consecrated to the priesthood (Ex. 28 : 1). The priests were required, in burning the daily incense, to use the per- petual fire which was kept burning on the great brazen altar. Nadab and Abihu used common, or, as it is called in Scripture, strange fire, and for this irreverence were destroyed by fire from heaven (Lev. 10 : 1-11). The prohibition of wine and strong drink to priests whose turn it should be to enter the tabernacle, which follows the narration of this judgment on Nadab and Abihu, leads to the belief that intoxica- tion was the cause of their sin and punish- ment. Both died childless (Num. 3: 4). A-bi'jah [my father is Jah — /'. e. wor- shiper of Jehovah], a common Hebrew name, the same as Abia and Abiah (which see). 14 ABILEXE— ABINADAB. 1. The son of Rehoboam and grandson of Solomon, second king of the separate kingdom of Judah. He began to reign B. c. 958, and reigned three years. On taking the tlirone he made an earnest at- tempt to bring back the ten tribes to their allegiance. Although he defeated the army of Israel led by Jeroboam, he failed to unite the ten tribes with Judah (2 Chron. 13). His speech to the army of Jeroboam shows that he recognized Jehovah as the sove- reign God, but his life was not that of a child of God. "He walked in all the sins of his father, and was not perfect with the Lord" (1 Kings 15 : 3). In Kings he is called Abijam, perhaps because deemed unworthy of the title of a worshiper of Jehovah. 2. A little son of Jeroboam, the story of whose death is touchingly told in 1 Kings 14. 3. The daughter of Zediariah, mother of King Hezekiah and wife of Ahaz (2 Chron. 29 : 1), called Abi (2 Kings 18:2). A-bi-le'ne, a tract of country the ex- tent of which is not precisely known, but it is thought to have embraced the eastern declivities of Anti-Libanus and the fertile valleys at its base. In Luke 3 : 1, Lysa- nias is referred to as the tetrarch of Abi- lene, and Pococke mentions an inscription among the ruins of Abila (now Suk Warly Barada), the chief city of the province, containing the words " Lysanias Tetrarch." A-bim'e-lech [my father is king'],i\\e common title of the kings of Philistia, as Pharaoh was that of the kings of Egypt. 1. The first one of the name mentioned in Scripture was Abimelech, king of Ge- rar, who was contemporary with Abram. In Gen. 20 is a narrative connected with Abram's visit to Gerar. Abimelech, sup- posing Sarai to be the sister, and not the wife, of Abram, had her brought into his harem, an act of violence quite in accord- ance with Oriental ideas. In obedience to a divine warning, Abimelech restored Sa- rai to her husband. 2. At a subsequent period Isaac was driven by stress of famine to visit the same place, which was then governed by another king of the same name, and, following his fa- ther's evil example, he was guilty of a similar deception in regard to his wife Rebekah (Gen. 26). 3. A son of Gideon, one of the judges of Israel. Gideon had seventy sons, among whom Abimelech was the most enterpris- ing and unprincipled. Having insinuated himself into the favor of the Shechemites, he slew all his brothers except Jotham, the youngest, who escaped. After this barba- rous massacre he Avas made king. Retrib- utive justice awaited him. Many of his subjects revolted, and while he was at- tempting to reduce Thebez, which was en- gaged in the revolt, a woman threw down from the tower a piece of millstone, which fractured his skull. Finding himself mor- tally wounded, he commanded his armor- bearer to thrust him through the body, lest it should be said that he fell by a woman's hand (Judg. 9 : 54). For a war- rior to be slain by a woman was regarded as a terribly ignominious death. Vainly, however, did Abimelech attempt to escape this disgrace, for the fact of his death by the hand of a woman was long after a.sso- ciated with his memory (2 Sam. 11 : 21). A-bin'a-dab [iny father is noble — noble], the name of several men. 1. The Levite of Kirjath-jearim in whose house the ark was deposited after the Philistines had restored it to the Israelites. There it remained eighty years, until removed by David (1 Sam. 7 : 1 ; 2 Sam. 6 : 3, 4 ; 1 Chron. 13:7). 2. One of Saul's sons, who was slain with him at the battle of Gilboa (1 Sam. 31 : 2). 3. The second of the eight sons of Jes- se, the father of David (1 Sam. 16 : 8; 17 : 13). ABIRAM— ABOMINABLE. 15 4. The father of one of the twelve offi- cers appointed by Solomon to provide for the royal household (1 Kings 4 : 11). A-bi'ram [my father is exalted']. 1. A chief of the tribe of Reuben, and one of the conspirators against Moses in the wilderness, for which crime he, with Korah and Dathan, was engulfed by the opening earth (Num. 16 : l-o3). 2. The eldest son of Hiel the Bethelite, who died prematurely in fulfillment of the curse pronounced against the man who should rebuild Jericho (Josh. 6 : 26 and 1 Kings 16 : 34). Ab^i-shag [meaning doubtful, per- haps given to ei'ror'], a fair young woman of Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, se- lected to cherish David in his declining age (1 Kings 1 : 3). After the death of David, Adonijah, as a step to the throne, engaged in an intrigue to marry Abishag, and thereupon was put to death by Sol- omon (1 Kings 2 : 17-25). Ab'i-shai [my father is a gifl — gifted], a nephew of David, through his sister Ze- ruiah, who zealously devoted himself to the interests of his uncle. He was David's companion in the daring exploit of pass- ing through the sleeping guards to where Saul slept (1 Sam. 26 : 5-9). When Shim- ei reviled David, Abishai turned to slay the foul-mouthed assailant of his king (2 Sam. 16 : 9). In suppressing the rebel- lion of Absalom he commanded one of the three divisions of David's army (2 Sam. 18 : 2). When David's life was en- dangered by the giant Ishbi-benob, Abi- shai interposed for his succor and killed the giant (2 Sam. 21 : 16, 17). He was distinguished as having slain three hun- dred men (1 Chron. 11 : 20). The victory over Edom in the Valley of Salt is ascribed to him (1 Chron. 18:12); and he probably was the one who gained the battle, al- though in 2 Sam. 8:13 the achieve- ment is ascribed to David as commander- in-chief. He was a valiant man, chival- rous and impetuous, and intensely attached to David, who valued him more as a dar- ing warrior than as a wise counsellor. His history is closely associated with that of his more politic brother, Joab. Ab^ner [my father is light — that is, en- lightener], the son of Ner and uncle of Saul, of whose armies he was the chief leader (1 Sam. 14 : 50; 17 : 55; 20 : 25; 26 : 5). Although it was known that Da- vid had been divinely designated as the successor of Saul, at that monarch's death Abner, presuming on the great influence he had acquired with the people, pro- claimed Ishbosheth, Saul's feeble son (2 Sam. 2 : 8), and upheld his government until it suited his schemes to abandon him. The tribe of Judah adhered to David, who appointed Joab his chief captain. The two armies, led by Joab and Abner, engaged in battle, which re- sulted in the defeat of the latter. In his flight Abner was pursued by Asahel, Joab's brother. Notwithstanding the warning of Abner, Asahel came so near that Abner, by a back thrust of his spear, pierced him through the body (2 Sam. 2 : 23). On a subsequent occasion Ishbo- sheth enraged Abner by rebuking him for marrying Rizpah, Saul's concubine, and the treacherous captain immediately made overtures to David to deliver up to him the kingdom. While engaged in settling the preliminaries, Joab availed himself of a secret opportunity of killing Abner in revenge for his brother Asahel's death, and at the same time to remove a rival. David lamented the death of Ab- ner and paid him high funeral honors (2 Sam. 3 : 38). Abner left one son, Jaasiel (1 Chron. 27 : 21), who was made chief of the tribe of Benjamin by Solomon. A-bom'i-na-ble, A-bom-i-na^- tion. These terms are applied in the Scriptures to objects awakening disgust or abhorrence, to impurity, falsehood, fraud, 16 ABRAHA^r. pride, but especially to idols and idolatry. See Idolatry. In Gen 43 : 32 it is said that it is an abomination to the Egyptians to eat bread witli the Plebrcw's. The Egyptians were ceremonially defiled by eating with for- eigners, and so with the Hebrews. This feeling was intensified as to the Hebrews by the fact that they offered in sacrifice the cow and ate its flesh, whilst to the Egyp- tians it was a sacred animal and an object of worship (Ex. 8 : 2G). In Gen. 46 : 34, it is said that " every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyp- tians." This seems to have reference to nomads or wandering shepherds, such as are the Bedouin of to-day, and to have been due to an early invasion and oppres- sion of the Egyptians by their nomadic neighbors on the north-ea.st, and to the ir- ritations of local depredations at a later day. This feeling still exists between the Egyptians and the Bedouin. The Abomination of Desolation, or " the abomination that maketh desolate," spoken of in Dan. 9 : 27 ; 11:31; and J 2 : 11, refers to the idolatrous symbols which the desolating conqueror of Jerusalem would set up in the holy place. These prophecies were fulfilled, first, in the pol- lution of the temple by Antiochus Epiph- anes, who dedicated it to Jupiter, 170 B. c. ; and secondly, as foretold by Christ in Matt. 24 : 15: "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place," in the advance of the Roman ar- mies upon Jerusalem and their planting in the temple their military standards. These standards were crowned with im- ages, were paid idolatrous homage by the Romans and were regarded as idols by the Jews. Such was the abomination of the Jews for these standards that the Roman soldiers quartered in Jerusalem did not bring them into the city, even Pilate con- ceding this point to its people. History tells us that the Christians in Jerusalem, admonished by their Master's words (Matt. 24 : 16), found opi>ortunity to leave Jeru- salem on the approach of \'espasian, before the siege had been begun by Titus, and to take refuge in Pella. Titus surrounded the city with a wall in three days, when escape would have been impossible. A'bra-ham [father of a muUilude], originally called Abram [high father], the son of Terah and a descendant of Shem in the ninth generation. He was the brother of Nahor and Haran. The latter died young, leaving a son, Lot, to the care of his uncle. Haran also left two daughters, of whom one, Iscah, called also Sarai, became the wife of Abraham. He was born in "Ur of the Chaldees" about B. c. 1996 (Gen. 11 : 27, 28). Obe- dient to a divine call, he left the place of his nativity, and abode in Haran or Char- ran (Acts 7 : 4) until the death of his fa- ther. After this event, when seventy-five years old* in company with his wife Sarai (afterward Sarah) and his ne[)hew Lot, he journeyed to the land of Canaan, then thinly populated by the Canaanites, and there lived a pastoral life, dwelling in tents and feeding his flocks where the pastures proved inviting. On his arrival at Sichem the Lord ap- peared to him and renewed his promise that he would make of him a great nation and secure Canaan as a heritage for his posterity. The promise of God not only respected his temporal greatness, but, inas- much as it declared that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed, it in- cluded the spiritual blessings which should enrich the world on the coming of the Mes- siah, who was to descend from him (Gen. 12 : 2, 3). A famine driving Abraham into Egypt, then the granary of the world, he was guilty of deceit in relation to his wife. Fear lest the beauty of Sarai might prompt the Egyptians to kill him induced him to call her his sister, and led to her ABRAHAM. 17 being taken to the harem of the king (Gen. 12 : 10-20). Pharaoh, however, who had been deceived by him, instead of punish- ing him, loaded him with favors and sent him away. Having acquired considerable wealth (Gen. 13 : 2), he left Egypt with Lot, and returned to Canaan. The extent of their flocks was the occasion of a differ- ence which induced them amicably to se]}- arate, the choice being nobly conceded by Abraham to his nephew, who chose the well-watered plain in which Sodom was situated. Shortly after this the Lord cheered Abraham by a repetition of his promise that he should possess Canaan with a numerous posterity (Gen. 13 : 14- 17). He then repaired to Mamre, near Hebron. The country in which Lot dwelt was at this time tributary to Chedorlao- mer, king of Elam, east of the Euphrates. This king invaded the land on its refusing to pay him the customary tribute ; Lot, with his household and flocks, was, with others, seized and carried into captivity. Abraham, hearing of his disaster, armed his servants to the number of three hun- dred and eighteen, and, pursuing the cap- tors, overtook them near the springs of the Jordan, defeated them, liberated Lot and recovered his property. Reaching Salem on his return, he was met by its king and priest, Melchizedek, to whom he presented a tenth of the spoils. By strict right, ac- cording to war-usages, all that had been recovered belonged to Abraham. Tliis was recognized by the king of Sodom, but Abraham, with characteristic dignity and generosity, positively refused to re- ceive any compensation. Abraham was at this time cliildless, and the promise was again renewed tliat lie should have a posterity which, after be- ing in bondage four liundred years, should inherit the land. Sarai proposed that he should take Hagar as a second wife, and by her he had Ishmael. Thii'teen years 2 after, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, he had a remarkable vision, in which God assured him that the heir of the prom- ise was not yet born, and that Sarai should bear him a son. At this time his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, and his wife's from Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17). Circumcision was also appointed as the seal of the covenant between God and him, and the male members of his family received the seal. A few months after this, three persons, in appearance travellers, ap- proached the tent of Abraham as he sat at its door in the heat of the day. As the language used on the occasion plainly shows, one was the Lord, or, as may be in- ferred, the Son of God, with two attend- ant angels, who communicated to Abra- ham the intention of the Lord to destroy the cities of the plain. Abraham wa-s permitted to intercede for the doomed cities, and if tliere had been ten righteous persons found in them his intercession would have availed for their safety. As it was. Lot and his daughters were the only persons saved from the cities of the plain. Abraham then went to Gerar, where he was guilty of a duplicity similar to that practiced by him in Egypt (Gen. 20). See Abimelech. About the year b. c. 1897, Isaac, the child of promise, was born. This greatly altered the situation of Ishmael in his fa- ther's house, and resulted in the exile of liimself and his mother Hagar. When Isaac was about twenty years old the Lord was pleased to subject the faith of Abraham to a very sore trial. He was commanded to go to the mountainous coun- try of Moriah, and there to offer up his son, the child of promise, as a sacrifice. Being assured that the commandment, mysterious as it was, came from the Lord, he instant- ly prepared to obey it, believing that "God was able to raise him up even from the dead" (Heb. 11 : 17-19). The Lord in- 18 ABSALOM. terposed after Isaac had been bound and laid upon the altar, and a ram was pro- vided for the sacrifice (Gen. 22). Eight years after this Sarah died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven, at or near Hebron (Gen. 23 : 1, 2). This led Abraham to take steps to secure a place for burial. He purchased the cave of Machpelah as a family-sepulchre, the only possession he ever had in the land of prom- ise (Gen. 23). The next care of the patri- arch was to obtain a suitable wife for his son Isaac. This was done by the embassy of Eliezer, who was instructed to go to Abraham's kindred in Ilaran (Gen. 24), whence in due time he returned with Kebekah, the daughter of Kalior's son Bethuel. Abraham afterward married Keturah, and had several children, to whom he gave portions, but Isaac was constituted his heir and the head of his house. At the age of one hundred and seventy-five the patriarch died, and was buried by Isaac and Islimael in the same tomb with Sarah at Hebron (Gen. 25 : 8-10). A Mohammedan mosque now covers the spot. Abraham's name is honored tiie world over. Besides the Israelites, the Edom- ites, Midianites and Lshmaelites of ancient time looked up to him as their progenitor. He was honored with the title of " Friend of God " (.James 2 : 23), and by that title he is still known and revered by the Moiiam- medans of every land. All Christians are accounted as his spiritual seed and are heirs with him of the promise. As a man he was the type of devotion, faith, courtesy and magnanimity, but he is more eminent for having been called of God to be the head of the visible Church, to con- serve the woi-ship of the true God, to be the progenitor of Christ and the fatlier of the faithful in all lands and ages. Inter- esting as is the study of his life for the light it throws upon the patriarchal times, far more important is it for its illastrations of the divine plans and government. Abraham's Bos'om. Our Lonl, in speaking of tiie condition of Lazarus after death, represents it ;ls that of one "carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom" ( Luke IG : 22). He thus conveys to the mind of j a Jew the very definite idea of a state cha- i racterized by equal happiness and honor, I the highest joys of paradise. His al- lusion is to that Eastern mode of re- clining at table by which the one who sat next to the m:istcr of the feast was neces- sarily brought almost into his bosom, and I was coasequently regarded an occupying the place of highest distinction. Ab'sa-lom I father of peace, or peace- full, called also Abishalom [my father is peacel, (1 Kings 15 : 2, 10), son of David by Maachah, daughter of Tal- mai, king of Geshur (2 Sam. 3 : 3). He was distinguished by his beauty, in- herited from both his father and mother, and also by vanity, ambition and a reck- lessness that stopped at no crime in tlie pursuit of his aims. His personal for- tunes were determined and darkened by the fact that he was the son of one of David's numerous wives. Polygamy is a sin against the family as well as against God. David's polygamy cursed his home and himself. Rival in- terests sprang up in the circle tliat God meant for a unit. David's eldest son, Amnon, who dishonored his half-sister Tamar, and was in consequence murdered by her full brother Absalom (2 Sam. 13 : 29), was the son of Ahinoam. His sec- ond son, by Abigail, disappeared from his- tory and probably died young. Absalom, the third son, owned a third mother, Maa- cliah, daughter of a Syrian prince, "the king of Geshur." Doubtless David sought by this alliance greater security, changing his troublesome neighbors in the rocky Lejiih, on his north-eastern border, from foes to kinsmen. But discord entered ABSALOM. 19 David's household. Amnon might well aspire to the throne by virtue of prior- ity in birth, whilst Absalom, son of a king and with a king's daughter for his motlier, would despise the son of the humble Jezreelitess, wedded by David whilst yet but a private person. But it was yet another son of another mother who was chosen by God to succeed his father on the throne. Here entered dis- cord, jealousy, enmity, to sow the seeds of strife and assassination. Absalom did not inherit • from his mother his peerless beauty alone. From her, no doubt, he caught the traits of the Syrian of the Lejah. Reckless, cunning, ambitious, passionate, he reflected the characteristics of the heathenism which David brought into his harem. If the mother determines the formative yeai-s of the boy where the family is a unit, much more will she have this power where each mother is the head of her own inner cir- cle, and where the father to that circle is but a fraction of a father. When with his father, Absalom was the spoiled boy of beauty — the petted, the fondled, the indulged, but not the disciplined son. Thus he grew to manhood, with the ele- ments of evil stored away in his soul, and ready in a moment to combine and to burst into fearful violence. A spark at length dropped on the mag- azine. Hitherto, Absalom had been the brilliant, handsome, fascinating prince. The cruel wrong done his sister Tamar by his elder brother Amnon was the spark. But the explosion did not im- mediately follow. With true Oriental power of repression, for two long years he locked his purpose of revenge within his own breast. Month after month the avenger's anger kept hot, whilst outward- ly all was calm. At length his opportu- nity came. Amnon ceased to be on his guard, and the knives of his brother's re- tainers were in his heart (2 Sam. 13 : 1-29). Absalom's flight to his Syrian grand- father's fastness secured his life, but did not mend his morals. Three years at a heathen court, with nothing good to do, might spoil a better man than Absalom. He returned to Jerusalem, to wait yet tAvo years for permission to enter his father's presence, and to brood over his exclusion. At length, by a contrivance of Joab, he was admitted again to the presence of the king (2 Sam. 14). But no sooner was he received at court than he began to plot for the usurpation of liis father's throne. Pillar of Absalom. When the plot was sufficiently matured he repaired to Hebron and caused him- self to be proclaimed king. Ahithophel, a man of great political sagacity, became his counselor, and advised a prompt move- ment against David before he could make proper preparations for defence. Had this counsel been followed, humanly speaking, his success would have been certain. David, however, had prayed that the counsel of Ahithophel might be defeated, and through Hushai, the secret friend of David, Absalom was prevailed on to delay, by which he lost the oppor- 20 ABSTINENCE— ACCHO. tunity of completing his revolution (2 Sam. 17). David retired to the east of the Jordan, and made his stand at Mahanaim, near the ford of the torrent Jabbok. At the end of three months Absalom moved upon his father's army, and an engage- ment took place in the wood of Ephraim, which resulted in the defeat of the rebel- lions son. A company of David's men came upon him riding on his mule. He turned aside to escape, but his head was caught and jammed between the branches of a great terebinth tree — Josephus says, entangled by his flowing hair — so that he was held fast, while the mule passed from under him and left him hanging " between heaven and earth." This situation was speedily reported to Joab, who seized tliree javelins, and, coming to the place, thrust them into the swaying body, and was soon followed by his armor-bearers, who gave the finishing-strokes. Joab with the trumpet gave tlie signal for a halt, and withdrew the army. The rebellion ceased in the death of the rebel, and no more blood was to be shed. The body of Absalom was thrown into a pit and stones were cast upon it (2 Sam. 18). The name of Absalom is execrated alike by Jew, Mohammedan and Chris- tian. Having no male children, he had erected in the King's Dale, near Jerusa- lem, a column to perpetuate his memory. A monument called " Absalom's Pillar" is shown in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is unquestionably a structure of much more modern date than tlie times of Absalom, but m;iy stand on the site of the original monument. Every Jew who passes casts a stone at it in abhorrence of the memory of the unnatural prince. Ab'stinence [not. eatimj'\, a general term to express the refraining from some- tliing to which we are inclined or in which we find pleasure. It occurs but once in the New Testament (Acts 27 : 21 ), where it has the sense of refraining from food. The verb abstain, from a different (ireek root, is not infrequently met with, and is a-ssociated with injunctions to re- frain from numerous forms of evil (Acts 15 : 20; 1 Thess. 4 : 3; 1 Pet. 2 : 11). Ac'cad [fortre-fs], one of the cities built by Nimrod in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10 : 10). About five miles from Bagdad, in the midst of a marsh west of the Tigris, there is a gigantic pile of ruins which some suppose to be the site of an- cient Accad. Another and perhaps a more probable conjecture locates the city above Babylon, near Sepharvaim. Before Bab- ylon emerged from obscurity Accad was prominent. About b. c. 1800, Saigon I. re- built it, made it his capital and the seat of a famous library of Accadian literature. The city of Accad was tlie capital of a dis- trict of the same name, and city and dis- trict Avere thus denominated from their or- iginal inhabitants, the Accadai or " High- landers." These Accadai were Hamites, who in the earliest times possessed them- selves of a portion of Shinar, who orig- inated the Tigro-Euphratean arts and sciences, who develojied a remarkable agglutinative language and an equally remarkable system of writing, and who made their land the country of classical cuneiform literature, from which, subse- quently, all the great Assyrian works were copied. Ac'cho [hot sand], tlie modern Acca or Acre. In the partition of the Holy Land this place was assigned to tlie tril)e of Asiier, but the original inhabitants were not dis- possessed ( Judg. 1:31). It is situated about thirty miles south of Tyre, on the north-western point of a commodious bay called the Bay of Acre, the soutliern point of which is formed by Mount (jarmel. Its western shore is washed by the Mediterra- nean. Before the Christian era it fell into the hands of one of the Ptolemies of Egypt, ACCURSED— ACHISH. 21 probablj' Soter, who enlarged and beautified it, and from him it received the name of Ptolemais. Under this name it is referred to (Acts 21 : 7) as a place in which the gos- pel had met with some success. During the Crusades it was known as Aeon, and the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, having taken possession of it, gave it the name of St. Jean d'Acre. Modern travelers have discovered many striking remains of this ancient city, but these are rapidly disap- pearing, being used as materials for other structures. It is a place susceptible of strong defence, and in its eventful history, even down to very late times, it has fre- quently been besieged. At present it con- tains about eight thousand inhabitants, but its internal does not correspond with its im- posing external appearance. Its trade is now much reduced and the bazaai-s are deserted. The whole place has a desolate appearance. Ac-cur'sed [cherem in Hebrew, and anathema in Greek] is a term signifying primarily a devotion of persons or things to Jehovah, to be his entirely. Persons thus devoted were to die (Lev. 27 : 29; 1 Sam. 14 : 24, 44) ; cattle and other prop- erty were to be given to tlie service of tlie Lord in the tabernacle or by the priest- hood (Lev. 27 : 28; Num. 18 : 14). The law in respect to idolatrous cities is stated in Deut. 13 : 12-17. Of an accursed city and of an accursed man, Jericho and Achan are examples respectively. Jer- icho was accursed, devoted to destruction (Josh. 6 : 17) ; Achan, having violated the anathema (Josh. 7 : 11), was punished with death (Josh. 7 : 15-25). It has also a more general sense, as in Rom. 9 : 3 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 3; 16: 22; Gal. 1 : 9. Subsequently the same term was used to signify excommunication, the casting of a Jew out of the synagogue. See Anath- ema. A-ceLda-ma [_field of bloo(l'\, the field near Jerusalem purchased with the money which Judas received for betraying Our Lord, and so called from his violent death therein (Matt. 27 : 3-8; Acts 1 : 18, 19). It was well known as the Potter's Field, and was thenceforward used as a bul-ial- place for strangers. The traditional site of Aceldama is on the northern declivity of the steep cliff on the south of the valley of Hinnom. A-chai'a, a province of ancient Greece, of which Corinth was the capital. Under the Romans, Greece was divided into the two provinces of Macedonia and Acliaia, the former embracing Macedonia proper, with lUyricum, Epirus and Thessaly, and the latter all that lay south of that. The New Testament references to it (such as Acts 18 : 12; 19 : 21 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 10) are made with a view to this division. A'chan [troublerl, an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, who when Jericho and all that it contained were devoted to destruc- tion, contrary to the express prohibition of God and under the impulse of covet- ousness, secreted in his tent some valu- able articles from the spoils, presuming that he could escape detection. The an- ger of the Lord was revealed against the community of which he was a member, and they were defeated before Ai. A search was then instituted for the ofTend- er, and, being discovered, he and his fam- ily were devoted to destruction in the valley of Achor, so called from the trouble which Achan had occasioned (Josh. 7). A'char, the same as Achan (1 Chron. 2: 7). Ach'bor [probably field-monse'], the father of Baal-hanan, one of the kings of Edom (Gen. 36 : 38). Another of the same name is referred to in 2 Kings 22 : 12, who is also called Abdon (2 Chron. 34 : 20). A'chish [perhaps angry], the name of two kings. 1. A Philistine king of Gath, to whom 22 ACHMETHA— ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. David twice applied for protection when fleeing from Saul. On the Cnvi occasion, thinking his life to be in danger, I^avid unjustifiably feigned madness (1 Sam. 21:10-13). On his returning again to Oath, David asked for a residence, and Ziklag was given to him by the Philis- tine king (1 Sam. 27). Achish expressed great confidence in David, and would have promoted him to a command in his army in the campaign whidi ended in the death of Saul, had he not l)een de- terred by the jealousy of the lords of the Philistines (1 Sam. 29). 2. Another king of Gatli at a later day, bearing the same name or title, to whom two servants of Shimei fled (1 Kings 2 : 39). Ach'me-tha, tlie Ecbatana of clas- sical writers and the capital of the Medes ( Ezra 6:2). It was a city of great strength and of considerable architectural beauty. Its ancient site is now occupied by the mod- ern Harnadan, Persia. Anchor [trouble], the name of a valley near Jericho, given because of the trouble occasioned to the Israelites by the sin of Achan, who was stoned to death and bur- ied there (Josh. 7 : 24-26). See Aciian. It is supposed to be identical with the Wddy Keif, running from the spring of that name, and south of Eriha (Jericho), past Jiljulieh (Gilgal) into the .lordan. Ach'sah [anklet], the daughter of Caleb, whom he promised in marriage to the leader who should attack Kirjath- sepher, or Debir, in the southern part of Judah, and take it from the Philistines. His nephew, Othniel, took the place and won Achsah as his wife (Josh. 15: 16, 17). Whilst being conducted to her new home she asked and received from her father the gift of the " upper and nether springs," which no doubt added much to the value of her dower ( Judg. 1 : 15). Ach'shaph [fascination], a city with- in the territory of Asher, originally the seat of a Canaanite king (Josh. 11 :1; 12 : 20). Ach'zib [JaUeliood], the name of two places mentioned in Scripture. 1. A town in the plain of Judah (Josh, lo : 44). At the Assyrian inva-sion it proved faithless to the national cause, and Micah the prophet Uiunts it by a play on its name : " The houses of Aclizib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel" (Mic. 1 : 14). 2. A maritime town assigned to the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19 : 29), but from which the Canaanites were not expelled (Judg. 1 : 31). It lay on the Mediterra- nean coast some ten miles north of Accho or Acre. An insignificant village called Zib now occupies its ancient site. A'' ere, the rendering in our Author- ized Version of a Hebrew word wliich has the indefinite sense of a measure of ground (Isa. 5 : 10), but of which the precise ex- tent is not known. The Hebrew word literally means "a yoke," and indicates most likely as much land as a yoke of oxen will plough in a day (1 Sam. 14 : 14). Acts of the Apostles, the fifth and last of tlie liistorical books of the New Testament. An almost univereal consent and the very strongest internal evidence ascribe the autiioi-ship to Luke, the writer of the Gospel which bears his name. In Col. 4 : 14, Luke is designated " the beloved physician." He was a man of education, and his style is regarded by critics as purer than that of the other evangelists. A companion of Paul in some of his missionary excursions, he was an eye-witness of many of the events he records. The book narrates the labors of the early preachers of the gospel, more especially those of Peter and Paul, and the wonderful extension of Christianity throughout the numerous countries then subject to the Roman power. It was written in the Greek language, about A. d. 63, and most likely at Rome. Designed to supply by select and suitable instances ADAH— ADAM. 23 an illustration of the divine power of that religion which Jesus died to estab- lish, it everywhere represents the risen and enthroned Christ as the supreme Sovereign and Saviour of men. Christ appoints that twelfth witness who takes the place of the fallen apostle (ch. 1 : 24). Christ, liaving received "the promise of the Father," sends down tlie Holy Spirit (ch. 2 : 33). Christ turns the people from their iniquities and adds them to the membership of his Church (chs. 2 : 47 ; 3 : 26). Christ works miracles from time to time by the hands of the apostles (chs. 3:6; 5 : 12) ; receives into glory the spirit of the martyred Stephen (ch. 7 : 59) ; instructs Philip to go and meet the Ethiopian (ch. 8 : 26) ; arrests Saul in his career of persecution and makes him a chosen vessel to the Gentiles (ch. 9 : 15) ; sends Peter to open the door of faith to the Gentiles (ch. 10 : 45) ; and through all the marvellous history con- tinually appears, presiding over the af- fairs of his Church, directing his ser- vants in their course, protecting them from the hands of their enemies, and in the midst of much tliat was adverse giv- ing effect to their ministrations and caus- ing the truth of the gospel to grow and bear fruit. Hence, in the Acts we have not merely a narrative of facts which fall out at the beginning of the Christian Church, but we have, first of all and in all, the ever-present, controlling, adminis- trative agency of the Lord Jesus Christ himself shedding forth the powers of his risen life and giving shape and form to his spiritual and everlasting kingdom. A'dah. lornament'}, one of the wives of Lamech (Gen. 4:19); also one of the wives of Esau (Gen. 36 : 2). Ad^am [jjian, cognate with Edom, redj, the progenitor of the human fam- ily. His body was formed of the dust of the earth and animated by the breath of God. His history is given with great simplicity in the first four chapters of Genesis. God having, by the word of his power, called into exist- ence the inanimate elements, then the vegetable creation, then beings possessed of mere animal life, at last produced man, made in the divine image, endowed with a rational and immortal soul and invested with dominion over tlie inferior works of creation. The maturity of Iiis powers was not attained by gradual pi'ogress. He came at once from the hand of his Creator, perfect in form and pure and sin- less in nature. A beautiful garden provided with every object to charm the senses was the resi- dence of the first man. The beasts of the field were subject to him, and were named by him. To complete his happi- ness, Eve was formed as pure and inno- cent as himself, and became his com- panion. It pleased God to subject this first pair to a test of obedience simple and easy in itself. They were forbidden to eat of the fruit of one particular tree in the garden called the " tree of the knowledge of good and evil," whilst the fullest liberty to par- take of all the rest was given to them. Although they were created sinless, they were nevertheless capable of sin- ning ; and Satan, the great spirit of evil, who had Mien from his own high state, taking advantage of this peculiarity, by the most artful devices induced Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, and she, in her turn, became the successful tempter of Adam. Thus they violated the covenant whicli they had made with God, accord- ing to the terms of which their obedience would have secured to them the uninter- rupted enjoyment of life, happiness and the communion of their Maker, whilst disobedience subjected them to the loss of the divine image, the depravation of their holy nature, the interruption of their happiness and the loss of natural and 24 ADAM— ADDER. spiritual life. Sad was the change! (Tod no longer talked witli them a.s a friend, but in his anger drove them from the garden under a heavy curse. The curse was distinctly pronounced on Adam and Eve, and the general tenor of it, by whicii its effects are transmitted to their latest posterity, clearly demonstrates that Adam stood in the relation of a rep- resentative of the iiuman race, and that they were so identified with him in his representative cliaracter as to be liable to all the disastrous consequences of his first sin. We "sinned in him, and fell with him in his first trangression." Thus was sin introduced into the world, the taint of wiiich attaches to every human being, wliiie the earth groans under unnumbered woes. The gloomy scene was ciieered by the first promise of Messiah, who as "tlie seed of the woman" should "bruise tlie serpent's head," and thus repair the ruins of the fall. The history of Adam's subsequent life is not noted with much particularity. He lived long to suffer and repent. He be- came a sorrowful spectator of the murder- ed body of his second-born son ; saw his first-born driven out as a wanderer; be- held the corruption of his numerous and increasing posterity ; felt conscious that he was the guilty author of all ; and when nine hundred and thirty years old yielded his life to the touch of death (Gen. 5 : 5). Ad'am, a city mentioned in Josh. 3 : 16 as beside Zaretan, beyond which the overflow of the Jordan extended when it was crossed by the Israelites. As Zaretan was near Bethshean (1 Kings 4:12), Adam must have been far up the Jordan and on Iiigh ground on its west side. Ad'a-mah [t/round], a fortified city of Naphtali (Josh. 19 : 30). Ad'a-mant. The Hebrew word thus rendered in Ezeit. 3 : 9 and Zech 7 : 12, is in Jer. 17 : 1 rendered "diamond," and represents some stone of excessive hard- ness. .\s tiie Hebrews were unacquainted apparently with tiie true diamond, it is probable that the word rendered "ada- mant" designates emery, a variety of co- rundum, a mineral inferior only to the diamond in hardness. A'dar \_iiplendid], thesi.xth month of the civil and tiie twelftii of the sacred year — reckoning among the Jews, corresponding with part of our February and March (Estii. 3:7). The name was introduced after tiie Captivity (Ezra. 6 : 15). A'dar [splendor, or wide extent^, a place mentioned in Josh. 15 : 3 as marking the border of Judah. It seems to be the same as Hazar-addar (Num. 34 : 4). Ad'der, a general name for several spe- cies of venomous serpents belonging to the viper family. In our English version of tiie Old Testament it is the rendering of Iloriud Cerastes. four difTerent Hebrew words, each indica- ting some specific diflference. The first of these words occurs only in Ps. 140 : 3, and expresses the action of a serpent lurking in ambush and coiling himself to strike. The second of these words, twice rendered adder (Ps. 58 : 4; 91 : 13), but elsewhere asp, is from a root meaning to th-ust out ; in allusion, it is said, to the animal's cus- tom of thrusting out its fangs. It is de- scribed by the Psalmist (Ps. 58 : 4, 5) as deaf, and lience as indifTerent to the voice of the charmer ; from which we infer that the art of charming serpents by music was ADJUKE— ADONIZEDEK. 25 practiced in David's time. See Ser- pent. The third of these words, once rendered adder (Pro v. 23 : 32) and four times cockatrice (Isa. 11 : 8; 14 : 29; 59 : 5; Jer. 8 : 17), is derived from a root meaning to hiss. The fourth of these words, used but once (Gen. 49 : 17), wliere it is rendered adder, comes from a root which means to puvclure or wound, and is commonly supposed to be tlie Coluber Ce- rastes, or horned viper of Linnfeus, a small and very poisonous snake. Ad-jure^, a form of urgent appeal in which one is required to speak or act as if under the solemnity of an oath (Josh. 6 : 26 ; Matt. 26 : 63 ; Mark 5:7; Acts 19 : 13). Ad.''mall [^earth], one of the five cities in the vale of Siddim which had a king of its own (Gen. 10 : 19). It was des- troyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (Deut. 29 . 23). Ad-mi-ra^tion, a word which when our Authorized Version was made had the simple sense of wonder, and did not carry witii it that notion of approval which our modern usage does. In Rev. 17 : 6, "won- dered with great admiration" is equivalent to " wondered greatly." A-do'ni-Be'zek \_lhe lord of Bezekl, a petty tyrant living not far from Jerusa- lem at the time of the entrance of the Is- raelites into Canaan. In his conquests of neighboring chiefs he had mutilated sev- enty of them by cutting off tlieir thumbs and great toes, thus disqualifying them for future warfare. He was the first of the Ca- naanltish kings conquered by the Israelites after the death of Joshua, and, as a right- eous retribution, he was dealt with in the same manner as he had treated others. He acknowledged the justice of his pun- ishment, and afterward died a captive in Jerusalem (Judg. 1 : 5-7). Ad-o-nl'jah \_my Lord is Jehovah], the fourth son of David by Haggith, and born at Hebron (2 Sam. 3 : 4). After the death of his brothers, Amnon, Chileab and Ab- salom, Adonijah was by birth heir to the throne, but his claims had been previously set aside in favor of Solomon. He gathered around him a number of influential men, including Joab and Abiathar, and caused himself to be proclaimed king. David, who was then near the close of life, awa- kened to the danger of the movement by Bathsheba, counteracted it by proclaiming Solomon as his successor and at once in- vesting him with the regal dignity. This prompt and timely measure dispirited the followers of Adonijah, who immediately forsook him. He himself fled, and laid hold of the horns of the altar as a place of safety. He was pardoned by Solomon, with the reservation that his future course should be loyal ; otherwise he should die. Subsequently he desired Abishag, the young virgin concubine of his father David, to be given to him as his wife; and Solomon, perceiving that his design was thus to strengthen his pretensions to the throne, ordered him to be put to death (1 Kings 1 and 2). Ad-o-ni'ram [lord of exaltation'], the receiver-general of taxes under David and Solomon (1 Kings 4 : 6; 2 Sam. 20 : 24), called also Adoram and Hadoram. When Rehoboam succeeded Solomon on the throne, his refusal to lighten the burdens of the people led to the revolt of ten tribes and the murder of the obnoxious collector of taxes (1 Kings 12 : 18; 2 Chron. 10 : 18). Ad-O'ni-ze'dek [lord of righteous- ness'], the Canaanitish king of Jerusalem when Palestine was invaded by the Is- raelites, and the first who seriously at- tempted to arrest their progress. Secur- ing the alliance of the other four Amor- itish kings, he first made a descent on the Gibeonites to punish them for entering into a treaty with Joshua. When he heard of it, Joshua made a forced march from Gilgal, and coming unexpectedly on the 26 ADOPTION— ADRIEL. Amorites defeated tliem. During the pur- suit Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still, that the day might be pro- longed and the defeat be more signal. The liostile kings were caj)tured in a cave in wliich they had concealed them- selves, and after the Hebrew chiefs had placed their feet on their necks, in token of triunij)h, according to the custom of the times, they were hanged and their bodies buried in the cave (Josh. 10 : 1-27). A-dop'tion, the act by which a stran- ger is received into a family as a child, with a title to all the privileges of sonship. Adoption was and still is common among the Shemitic races. It was more rare among the Hebrews, because the Mosaic code of laws provided for the descent of property wliere there were not sons to in- herit it. Yet it was not a strange practice to them. In the time of Christ and the apostles the practice of adoption by the Greeks and Romans rendered it a thing familiarly understood. Hence the use of it in the New Testament as an illustration of God's dealings with his people. In its spiritual application it denotes the filial relation between God and the believer, by which the latter is received into the number, and has a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God. It is a dignity to which believei-s are predes- tinated, not for any fcjreseen loveliness or excellency in themselves, but of the good pleasure of God (Eph. 1 : 5). It is by the Holy Spirit that tiie believer is en- abled to jiscertain and appreciate tlie re- lation (Rom. 8 : 15, 16; Gal. 4 : 6). As adopted children, believers become joint heirs with Clirist, God's only-begotten Son (Rom. 8 : 17). They are enabled as little children to rest in their almighty Father; to approach his mercy-seat with confidence ; to regard all the sorrows that he may send or permit as fatherly chas- tisements; and to look forward with as- surance to the glorious inheritance laid up for them in heaven. A-do'rani. See Adonikam. Ad-ram 'me-lech [rjlory of llie king; or, rather, in tiie liglit of recent discover- ies, Adar is Iciiic), Adar being an Assyrian deity]. 1. The name of an idol woi-shiijcd by the inhabitants of Sepharvaini, who were transported from Assyria to Samaria. To it children were offered as burnt sacrifices. It is noticed in 2 Kings 17 : 31 in connec- tion with Anammelech \_Anu is kiiKj"], an- other Assyrian deity. It is supposed to represent the male j)ower of the sun, as Anammelech is supposed to represent the female power. 2. One of the sons and murderers of Sennacherib, a king of Assyria (2 Kings 19 : 37 ; Isa. 37 : 38). Ad-ra-ra3rt'ti-uin, a city of Asia Minor, on the coast of Mysia, facing the island of Lesbos and at the foot of Mount Ida. To it belonged the siiip in wiiich Paul embarked when on his way to Italy as a prisoner (Acts 27 : 2). Its modern name is Adramyt, and it is still a place of some commerce, but its general appear- ance is poor. Ad'ria. Luke, in his account of Paul's journey to Italy, says (Acts 27 : 27), "As we were driven up and down in Adria," a name then applied to all that part of the Mediterranean which lies between Crete and .Sicily. The term "Adriatic" now designates only the gulf which lies between Italy on the one side and the coast of Dalmatia on the othen The wider extension of the ancient term removes the objection that Melita, or Malta, wliere Paul was wrecked, is not within the limits of the present Adriatic Gulf; for Avhilst it lies beyond the f;»///, it is within tiie limits of the Adriatic Sea. Ad'ri-el [flock of God], a son of Bar- zillai, to wliom Saul gave in marriage his daughter Merab, who had been promised ADULLAM. 27 to David (1 Sam. xviii. 19). He had five sons, who were given up to the Gibe- onites, according to the principle of blood revenge, on account of the cruelties exer- cised toward that people by Saul. In 2 Sam. 21 : 8 these five sons are said to be the sons of Michal, whom "she brought up for Adriel." The word properly means " bare," or " wliich Michal bare to Adriel." Some reconcile the difli- culty by supposing that the name of Michal was substituted for that of Merab by a mistake of the copyist ; and others, that Michal, having no children, adopted those of Merab, her sister, and was hence regarded as their mother. A-duriam [justice of the people^, the name of a city and of a cave. 1. The city was in the territory of Judah, be- tween the highlands and the sea. It had been one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh, lb: 35). It was fortified by Reho- boam (2 Chron. 11 : 7), and is styled the "glory of Israel" (Mic. 1 : 15). From its place in the list of the cities which Reho- boam fortified, it appears to have been not very far from the Philistine city of Gath. Lieutenant Conder, of the English Survey Expedi- tion, places its site on a high rounded hill, almost isolated by valleys and cov- ered with ruins, a natural fortress in near vicinity to two ancient wells. 2. The Cave of Adullam, from the circumstance that David with four hun- dred followers took refuge in it (1 Sam. 22 : 1, 2), and from the persuasion that no cave in the vicinity of the city was sufficiently large to accommodate such a body of men, has from very early times been located in the mountainous wilder- ness in the east of Judah, toward the Dead Sea. Here numerous caves are The Cave of Adullam. found, one of wliich, about six miles south-east of Bethlehem, in the side of a deep ravine, is the traditional Cave of Adullam. It is an immense natural cavern, the mouth of which can be ap- proached only on foot along the side of the cliff. It has large chambers and 28 ADULTERY— AGATE. many winding passages, and is admirably adapted not only to slielter, but also to hide, a much greater liost tlian that of David. Lieutenant Conder states tiiat the sides of tiie valley which anciently led to the city of AduUam are lined with rows of caves, some of them quite large, and argues that if tlie city of Adullam were near Gath, David upon hastily leaving Galh (1 Sam. 21 : 12-15) would naturally seek the nearest and most accessible ref- uge. It is said, too, that if David occupied a cave in the vicinity of the city of Adul- lam, he was in position to cover the line of Philistine advance on the cornfields of Keilah, and in case of necessity to re- treat to the thickets of Kareth, three miles away. But the probabilities are still in favor of the traditional site south- east of Betlilehem. A-dul'te-ry, unfoitlifulness to the marriage covenant on the* part of the husband or the wife. A crime of special enormity, it was punished by the law of Moses with death (Lev. 20 : 10). In Matt. 5 : 31, 32 it is represented by our Lord as the true and justifiable ground of divorce. From its sense of unfaitlifulness to cove- nant it is frequently employed in Scripture as the symbol of idolatry and apostasy from the worsliip of the true God ( Jer. 3 : 8, 9 ; Ezek. 23:37). "An adulterous genera- tion" (Matt. 12 : 39) means a faithless and impious one, untrue to its God. A-durn'mim [the red or bloody place], a hill or ascending ground between Jerusa- lem and Jericho, mentioned in Josh. 15 : 7 and 18 : 17. It is described as a difficult and narrow pass much infested by robbers, and was probably the place referred to by our Lord in the parable of the man who in his journey from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves (Luke 10 : 30). It is supposed to have been on the south face of the gorge of the Wddif Kelt. Ad'ver-sa-ry, an opposer, an enemy (1 Kings n : 14; Matt. 5 : 25). It is ap- plied to Satan, the great adversary or en- emy of man (1 Pet. 5:8). Ad'vo-cate, one who pleads the cause of another. Christ is the exalted and successful Advocate of believers (1 Jolm 2:1; Heb. 7 : 25). j^'non [itpriiiffs, fountains]. See Exox. Af-fin'i-ty, relationship by marriage, as distinguished from consanguinity or blood-relationship (1 Kings 3 : 1 ; 2 Chron. 18 : 1). Thus, a woman is aunt to a man by consanguinity when she is the sister of his father, or she may become his aunt by affinity by being the sister of his wife's father. The Levitical law which specifies the relations witliin whicii marriage may be contracted is recorded in Lev. 18 : 6-17. Ag'a-bus [perhaps beloved], a prophet of the early Churcli who predictetl the great famine which should prevail througli the then known world (Acts 11 : 2S). He af- terward predicted Paul's suflerings by the hands of the Jews (Acts 21 : 10, 11). A''gag [jlaming], the name of two kings of the Amalekites, and probably a titular name peculiar to their kings (Num. 24 : 7). When Saul defeated the Amalekites he spared Agag, tlieir king, contrary to the express injunction of the Lord's j)rophet. Samuel, when lie heard this, repaired to Saul, and after rebuking him for his dis- obedience, hewed Agag in pieces as a just reward for his crimes, saying, " As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women" (1 Sam. 15 : 33). Haman is called the Agagite in Esth. 3 : 1, 10 ; 8 : 3, 5, and is held by tiie .Jews to have been a descendant of the king whom Samuel slew, and to have had a hereditary hatred of tlie Jewish people. Ag'ate, an ornamental stone worn in the breastplate of the high priest (Ex. 28 : 19), and held in high esteem for its beauty (Isa. 54 : 12; Ezek. 27 : 16). It is the rei)resentative of two Hebrew words, the one meaning shining, the other spark- AGE— AHAB. 29 ling. The stone now known by this name is a semi-pellucid, uncrystallized species of quartz, found in parallel or concentric layers of various colors and presenting many different tints in the same speci- men. The finest agates were brought from India, but equally beautiful specimens ai-e met with in Europe and America. Age, Old. The attainment of old age is in Scripture promised and represented as a blessing (Gen. 15 : 15). Wisdom and understanding are supposed to be the ac- companiments of it (1 Kings 12 : 6, 8). Cruelty to the aged is distinguished for its peculiar enormity (2 Chron. 36 : 17), Most of the Eastern nations paid a pro- found respect to the aged. In the social and political system of the Jews the aged occupied a prominent place. In private life they were looked up to as the deposi- tiiries of knowledge (Job 15 : 10) , in their presence the young were ordered to rise up (Lev. 19 : 32) ; their opinion was given first (Job 32 : 4) ; their gray hairs, especially when associated with piety, were to be ac- counted " a crown of glory " (Prov. 16 : 31). In public affairs they were the rep- resentatives of the people in all matters of difficulty and deliberation. The old men, or elders, thus became a class, the title being used in an official sense wlien, as was at length the case, it had ceased to convey the notion of age. Ag^o-ny [contest'], a word borrowed from the Grecian games, and metaphor- ically applied to a severe struggle or con- flict with pain and suffering. In Luke 22 ; 44 it is used to describe the fearful and mysterious struggle which, in the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord passed through. In this agony the suffermg of soul so wrought upon the body that " his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." A-grrip'pa. The name of two mem- bers of the Herodian family mentioned in the New Testament. 1. The grandson of Herod the Great, whose name he bore as a surname, and under the emperor Caligula the king of all Palestine. To conciliate the Jews he slew with the sword the apostle James and shut up in prison the apostle Peter (Acts 12 : 2, 4). His fate was a fearful one. On a certain public occasion, when giving audience to the people of Tyre and Sidon, he made an address to them, which they applauded by impiously saying it was "the voice of a god, and not of a man." Uplifted with pride, " he gave not God the glory, and was eaten of worms" (Acts 12 : 210-23). 2. The son and successor of the fore- going. He also bore the surname of Her- od, but ruled a much smaller realm than his father. It was before him that Paul was brought (Acts 25 . 13, 26). He was the last of his family, surviving the de- struction of Jerusalem and dying at the age of nearly seventy years. A'gur ^gathered], the son of Jakeh, an unknown Israelite sage, the author of the sayings contained in Prov. 30. A-hab^ [fathet-^s brother], the name of two men. 1. The son of Omri, and the seventh king of the separate kingdom of Israel. He ascended the throne b. c. 919, and reigned twenty-two years. He was a weak man, and, surrendering himself to the guidance of Jezebel, his resolute, un- scrupulous and depraved wife, he sank to an appalling depth of wickedness ( 1 Kings 16 : 30). Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Tyre, and success- fully used her influence over Ahab for the establishment in Israel of the impure and demoralizing worship of Baal. In obedience to her wishes, Ahab erected in Samaria a temple in honor of Baal, and consecrated to Astarte, the Phoenician Ve- nus, the symbols or image used in her worship. With a fixed determination to extirpate the true religion, Jezebel 30 AHASUERUS. hunted down and put to death God's prophets and utterly suppressed all pub- lic worsliip of Jehovah. In tiiis emer- gency God raised uj) the prophet Elijah, who boldly reproved the wicked king and stood forth to vindicate the claims of the true God. His triumph over the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18: 21-40) was a remarkable attestation of his prophetical mission and of his supe- riority to the idolatrous ministers. It wrought, however, no change in Ahab, and so e.xasperated Jezebel that Elijah was compelled to flee for his life. One of Ahab's leading tastes was that for splendid architecture, which lie indulged in several cities of the kingdom, but chiefly in the beautiful city of Jezreel (now Zerin), where he built a palace and laid out a park. Desiring to add to his pleasure-grounds the vineyard of his neighbor Naboth, he proposed to buy it or give land in exchange for it ; and, when Naboth refused his proposals, he secured against him a false accusation of blasphemy, and caused him and his sons to be stoned to death (1 Kings 21 : 13; 2 Kings 9 : 26). For this atrocious crime, the crowning act of a long course of wick- edness, the judgments of God, involving the entire extirpation of his house, were pro- nounced upon him by Elijah, and were literally and terribly fulfilled (1 Kings 21 : 17-24 ; 2 Kings 9 : 3o ; 10 : 11). 2. A lying prophet, who, with Zede- kiah, a man of like character, deceived the captive Israelites at Babylon by false promises. Because of this wickedness he and his confederate were denounced by the prophet Jeremiah, who predicted their vio- lent death by Nebuchadnezzar, the king. The literal fulfillment of Jeremiah's pre- diction originated a common form of mal- ediction, "The Lord make thee like Zed- ekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire !" (Jer. 29 : 21, 22). A-has-u-e'ru8, the Hebrew form of Xerxes, and the name or title of one Me- dian and two Persian kings mentioned in the Old Testament. The orthograj)liy of the name Xerxes has recently been ascer- tained from the cuneiform inscriptions of Persepolis, where it is written Khxliydrska or Ksharsd, meaning " eye of the realm " or " ruling eye." 1. The first Ahasuerus, mentioned in Dan. 9 : 1 as the father of Darias the Mede, is usually regarded as the Astyages of profane history. He is regarded by others, however, as Cyaxares, the father of Astyages. 2. The second Ahasuerus, mentioned in Ezra 4 : 6, is believed to be C'amljyses, the son and immediate successor of Cyrus, B. c. 529. He was a man of furious tem- y^er, and is not to be mistaken, as is some- times done, for the third Ahasuerus. 3. Tiie third Ahasuerus, introduced to us in the book of Esther, is identified with Xerxes, the Persian king who invaded Greece. He reigned with great ])omp and magnificence. In tlie third year of his reign he made a sumptuous ban- quet for his nobility, and prolonged tlie feast for one hundred and eighty days. Merry with wine on one occasion, he or- dered liis queen, Vasliti, to appear be- fore his guests for the public display of her marvellous beauty. On her re- fusal he inmiediately and indignantly divorced her. In the seventh year of his reign he married Esther, a Jewess, know- ing not her parentage. In the twelfth year of his reign he acceded to the re- quest of his minister Haman, who had received some slights from Mordccai the Jew, that on an appointed day the Jews in all parts of the empire should be mixs- sacred. The wicked plot was defeated through the agency of Esther, Mordccai's niece. By righteous retribution, Haman met a more ignominious doom than that he had designed for Mordecai, while AHAVA— AHAZIAH. 31 Mordecai was promoted to the highest honors. A-ha'va [probably water], the river on the banks of which Ezra collected the second expedition that returned with him from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 8 ; 21). Its position is not easily identified. The latest researches are in favor of its being the Euphrates itself at the point where stands the modern Hit, due east of Da- mascus. A^haz Ipossessnr'], the eleventh king of Judah, the son and successor of Jotham. In 2 Kings 16 : 2 he is said to have as- cended the throne at the age of twenty years, a mistake of the copyist for twenty- five years, and to have reigned sixteen years. He surpassed all his predecessors in wickedness. He w.is impious in his total di,«regard of God and the institu- tions of religion ; he was sacrilegious in stripping the temple of all its valuable utensils and ornaments and mutilating its furniture; he was idolatrous in prin- ciple and practice, scandalous in life, su- perstitious in spirit, and infamous in every respect. He made molten images for Baal ; he sacrificed his children to Moloch in the valley of Hinnom ; he closed the temple against any who sought to worship there; in every city of Judah he erected high places, and in every corner of Jerusa- lem he reared idol altars. His punishment quickly followed. The kings of Syria and Israel, on the east and north of his king- dom, formed a league against him ; the Edomites attacked him from the south, and the Philistines from the west; on every side the difficulties of his position were multiplying and the dangers to his life and crown steadily thickening. In his dilemma he applied for help to Tig- lath-pileser, king of Assyria, whose in- tervention, although it freed him from attack by the Syrians and Israelites, yet availed him little. At length, worn down by anxieties and excesses, he died at an early age, and because of his impiety was not honored with a burial in the sepul- chres of the kings (2 Kings 16; 2 Chron. 28; Isa. 7). A-ha-zl'ah {Jehovah sustains'], the name of two Jewish kings. 1. The eighth king of the separate kingdom of Israel, the son and successor of Ahab, whose wickedness he emulated (1 Kings 22:40). He reigned but two years. His vassals, the Moabites, revolt- ed against him and refused to pay trib- ute ; but before he could take measures to coerce them he received a serious bod- .ily injury by a fall through a lattice in his palace at Samaria. In health he had wor- shiped the gods of his mother Jezebel, and now he sent messengers to inquire of the oracle of Baalzebub, in the Philis- tine city of Ekron, whether he should re- cover. On the way the messengers met Elijah, who sent them back to tell the king he should certainly die. Exaspe- rated at this, he despatched several com- panies of men to arrest the prophet, who, after destroying by fire from heaven two companies of fifty men each, went to him at the Lord's bidding and announced the certainty of his speedy death (2 Kings 1 : 1-17). 2. The fifth king of Judah, son of Je- horam and Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, and therefore nephew of the preceding Ahaziah. He is called Azariah (2 Chron. 22 : 6) and Jehoahaz (2 Chron. 21 : 17). He reigned but one year, and, altogether controlled by the wicked counsels of his idolatrous mother, he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 8 : 24-29). He joined his uncle, Jehoram of Israel, in an expedition against Hazael, king of Damascene Syria, and afterward paid him a visit while he lay wounded in his summer palace of Jezreel. Jehu hav- ing meanwhile been proclaimed king of Israel, Jehoram and Ahaziah went against him in battle. Jehoram was killed, and 32 AHIAH— AHIMELECH. Ahaziah, mortally wounded, had only strength to reach Megiddo, where he died (2 Kings 9 : 27). A-hi'ah, a form of Aiiijah (1 Sam. 14:3; 1 Kings 4:3; 1 Chron. 8:7). See A111.TAII. A-hi'jah [my brother it Jehovah'], the name of several men, of whom two only need special mention. 1. A son of Ahitub, and high priest in the reign of Saul (1 Sam. 14 : 3). He was probably the same as Ahiinelech the son of Ahitub, who was high priest at Nob in the same reign (1 Sam. 21 : 1), and was slain by Haul for assisting David (1 Sam. 22 : 11-19). 2. A prophet of Shiloh (1 Kings 14 : 2), called the Shilonite (1 Kings 11 : 29), in the days of Solomon and Jeroboam. Of his prophecies two are extant ; the one in 1 Kings 11 : 29-39, addressed to Jeroboam, announcing the rending of the ten tribes from Solomon in punish- ment of his idolatries and the transfer of the kingdom to Jeroboam, b. c. 973 ; the other in 1 Kings 14 : 5-16, addressed to Jeroboam's wife, announcing the destruc- tion of Jeroboam's house and foretelling the captivity of Israel " beyond the river Euphrates," b. c. 952. A-hi'kam [my brother arose], one of the five distinguished persons sent by King Josiah to consult Huldah the prophetess concerning the book of the law found in the temple (2 Kings 22 : 12-14) ; after- ward protected the propliet Jeremiah from the persecuting fury of King Jehoiakim (Jer. 26 : 24). A-him'a-az [my brother is anger], son and successor of Zadok, the joint high priest in David's time and sole high priest in that of Solomon. During the re- volt of Absalom, who took possession of Jerusalem when David fled from it, the two high priests, Zadok and Abiathar, re- maining in the city with the ark, posted their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan outside the walls, to be in readiness to bear off to David any important information respect- ing Absalom's movements and designs which they might receive. When Hush- ai, David's friend, had defeated that crafty counsel of Ahithophel which, if Absalom had followed it, would in all human prob- ability liave proved fatal to David, he communicated the fact to the higli priests, and they in turn committed it to their sons with directions to carry the news to David. Absalom, being informed of the flight of the messengers, caused them to be pursued ; but, by the aid of a certain woman wiio ingeniously concealed them, they escaped (2 Sam. 15 : 24-37; 17 : 15-21 ). Ahimaaz was remarkably swift of foot. On the defeat and death of Absalom, Joab sent him with the tidings to David (2 Sam. 18 : 19-29). A-hi'man [my brother is a gift], one of the three giants of the race of Anak who dwelt at Hebron when the Hebrew spies explored Canaan (Num. 13 : 22). A-him'e-lech [my brother is king], the name of two men. 1. The .son of Ahitub (1 Sam. 22 : 12), and high priest at Nob in the days of Saul. When David was fleeing from Saul, he came to Nob, and, representing himself as on an expedition for the king, he obtaineil from Ahimelech the sword of Goliatli and a portion of the tabernacle shew-bread. Doeg the Edomite maliciously reported this to Saul, who sent for Ahimelech and the other priests then at Nob, and, not- withstanding their declaration that they were not aware of the position in which David stood to the king, he cruelly or- dered them to be slain, to the number of eiglity-five. Abiathar was the only one who escaped (1 Sam. 22 : 20). See Abi- athar. 2. A Hittite, one of David's companions whilst he was persecuted by Saul (1 Sam. 26 : 6). AHINADAB— AIJALON. 33 A-hin^a-dab [??iy brother is noble], one of the twelve officers appointed by Solomon to raise supplies for the royal household (1 Kings 4 : 14). A.-hin^O-ain [?«?/ brother is pleasant- ness, pleasant], the name of two women. 1. The daughter of Ahimaaz and wife of King Saul (1 Sam. 14 : 50). 2. A woman of Jezreel, the wife of Da- vid and mother of Amnon. When the Amalekites plundered Ziklag she was taken captive, but was recovered by Da- vid (1 Sam. 30 : 5, 18). A-hi'o [brotherly'], one of the sons of Abinadab, who with his brother Uz- zah drove the new cart on wliich the ark was placed when David attempted to re- move it from their house to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:3). A-hi'ra [my brother is evil], chief of the tribe of Naphtali when the Israelites left Egypt (Num. 1 : 15). A-hi'shar [my brother siiu/s], an of- ficer set over the household of Solomon (1 Kings 4:6), a station of high honor and power. A-hith'o-phel [my brother is folly], an eminent counsellor, distinguished for his political sagacity and wisdom (2 Sam. 16 : 23). Although he was the confi- dential adviser of David, he suffered him- self to be involved in the revolt of Absa- lom. When David heard that Ahithophel had joined the conspiracy, he prayed the Lord to turn his counsel into foolishness (2 Sam. 15 : 31), in allusion probably to the signification of his name. This pray- er was remarkably answered; for, when Ahithophel judiciously advised an im- mediate prosecution of the war before Da- vid could collect his forces, Hushai, the secret friend of David, advised and ob- tained delay. When Ahitliophel saw that Hushai's advice had prevailed, he de- spaired of success and, returning to his home at Giloh, hung himself (2 Sam. 17 : 1-23). A-hi^tub [my brother is goodness], the name of two priests. 1. The son of Phinehas and grandson of Eli the high priest (1 Sam. 14:3). His father Phinehas being slain when the ark of God was taken by the Philis- tines, he may have succeeded Eli in his office, but this fact is not mentioned. 2. Tlie father of Zadok the high priest (1 Chron. 6 :8; 2 Sam. 8 : 17). A-ho'lah [in her my tent^, and A-hoF- i-bah [tent of loftiness], two fictitious or symbolical names under which Ezekiel represented Samaria and Judah (Ezek. 23 : 4). A-ho'li-ab [father'' s tent] a man of the tribe of Dan and a skillful weaver and embroiderer, to whom, with Bezaleel, Moses entrusted the construction of the tabernacle (Ex. 35 : 34). A-huz'zath \_possession], a friend of Abimelech, the king of Gerar, who accom- panied him on his visit to Isaac for the purpose of forming an alliance (Gen. 26 : 26). A'i [_ruins],a, royal city of the Canaanites, lying east of Bethel. Its name is variously written in Scripture. In the times of Abra- ham, who built near it an altar (Gen. 12 : 8), it was called Hai. In the times of Joshua, who utterly destroyed it, it was called Ai (Josh. 8 : 28). In the times of Isaiah, when a new town occupied its site, it was called Ainth (Isa. 10 : 28). In the times of Nehemiah it was called yl(;a (Neh. 11 : 31). The chief historical events which Scripture associates with it are the repulse before it of a part of Joshua's army be- cause of Achan's sin, the ambuscade by which Joshua surprised and stormed it, and the utter extermination of its inhab- itants (Josh. 7 and 8). It is located be- tween the modern villages of Dcir Diwdn and MUkhmus, where are the remains of a large ancient town. Ai'ja-lon or Aj'a-lon [place of ga- zelles], a town originally allotted to the tribe 34 AIN— ALEXANDRIA. of Dan (Josh. 19 : 42), but held in posses- sion by the Amorites ( Judg. 1 : 35). Being on the frontier of the two kingdoms, Jiidah and Iisrael, it is sometimes spoken of as in Ephraim antl sometimes as in Judah and Benjamin. Its name is most familiar to us from its mention in the celebrated speech of Joshua during his pursuit of the Ca- naanites (Josh. 10: 12). It is represented by the modern Ydlo, south of Beth-Horon, now Beit- Ur. A'in or A'en [an ei/f], a city of the tribe of Judah, and afterward of that of Simeon (Josh. 15 : 32; 1 Chron. 4 : 32). The word in Hebrew is used to denote a spring or fountain, the eye of the landscape, and is found combined with names of places, usually rendered En in English, as En- Gedi, fountain of kids ; En- Gaiinim, foun- tain of the gardens; En-IIaddah, swift fountain. Air, the atmosphere surrounding the earth (1 Thess. 4:17). "Speaking into the air," a.s in 1 Cor. 14 : 9, is a pro- verbial expression, denoting to speak in vain ; as we say, " throwing his words to the winds." " Beating the air," as in 1 Cor. 9 : 26, denotes an abortive effort, in allusion to an ineffectual blow in a pugi- listic combat. " The powers of the air," in Eph. 2 : 2 is an expression probably allusive to a common opinion of the Jews that tlie air or atmosphere wius filled with evil spirits. Ak-rab'bim [Hcorpions'], one of the points designating the southern frontier- line of the Promised Land (Josh. 15 : 3). It was an ascent or chain of hills, prob- ably infested with scorpions, according to the signification of its name. Al'a-bas-ter. In Matt. 26 : 7 ; Mark 14 : 3; Luke 7 : 37 we have an account of a woman who came to the house of Simon, where Jesus was dining, and who, in token of her profound regard, poured upon his head from an alabaster vase a most costly and precious ointment of spikenard. In Mark 14 : 3 it is said she broke the alabaster box, by which we are evidently to understand that slie broke the seal, wliich had never before been disturb- ed, and by which the perfume was pre- served from evaporation. The alabaster which was manufactured in ancient times into pots for holding perfumes, and which was so called from Alabastron, the town in Egypt where the manufacture was first begun, is supposed to liave been a harder and more compact stone than that beau- tiful species of gypsum of the same name which is now so well known as the mate- rial of ornamental vases. From the ap- plication of this substance to tliis partic- ular use, eventually all kinds of pots and vases used to hold perfume, altliough made of gold, ivory or other substances, were called alabaster vases. AFa-raoth [virrjim'], a supposed mu- sical term of unknown signification. It is used in 1 Chron. 15 : 20 and in the title to Ps. 46, where it is thought to be a di- rection to the choristers to sing in the fe- male voice, i. e. our Uebk or soprano. Al-ex-an'der. The name of several persons in tlie New Testament. 1. The son of Simon the Cyrenian (Mark" 15 : 21). 2. A distinguished Jeiv, a member of the council before which Peter and John were interrogated for healing the lame man (Acts 4 : 6). 3. A Jew of Ephesus who tw)k a prom- inent part in the controversy between Paul and the populace of the city, and attempted without success to quell the tumult (Acts 19 : 33). 4. A professed convert to Christianity, who for apostasy was "delivered unto Satan," that is, excommunicated by Paul (1 Tim. 1:19, 20). This last was prob- ably the same with " Alexander tlie cop- persmith,"' mentioned 2 Tim. 4 : 14. Al-ex-an'dri-a, mentioned Acts 18 : 24; 27 : 6. A celebrated city in Lower ALEXANDEIANS— ALLIANCES. 35 Egypt, occupying a strip of land from the Mediterranean on the north to Lake Ma- reotis on the soutli. It was founded by Alexander the Great, b. c. 332. It was a place of great commercial enterprise and wealth, and abounded in magnificent buildings. According to Pliny tlie histo- rian, its circuit was fifteen miles. After the death of Alexander, who was buried there, it became the regal city of Egypt, and under the Ptolemies, a Greek dy- nasty, its splendor rose to the highest point. Its population was six hundred thousand, half of wliich was composed of slaves. Among other things it was celebrated for its library of seven hun- dred thousand volumes, which, guarded for centuries with great care, was at length destroyed by the torch of war. At an early age Christianity was intro- duced into Alexandria. Apollos, the elo- quent convert, was a native of the city, and two-fifths of the population were Jews. Its history from the first has been eventful, and, for centuries, disastrous. Its commer- cial importance passed away; its popula- tion deserted it ; its edifices fell into ruin or were used to build up younger cities. In the year 640 it was yet a great city, for when Amru captured it he wrote to tlie Moslem caliph Omar, " I have taken the great city of the West, which contains four thousand palaces, four thousand baths, four hundred theatres, twelve thousand shops and forty thousand tributary Jews." But even this measure of greatness was soon lost. In more recent times Alexandria has again revived and become an important centre of commerce. In 1870 its popula- tion was estimated at 238,888, composed of Arabs, Turks, Copts, French, Italians and othei-s. Al-ex-an^dri-ans, Jews from Alex- andria (Acts 6 : 9). AFgum, a transposed form of the He- brew terra Almug (which see). AFle-gO-ry, a figure of speech re- sembling the parable, and much used by all Oriental peoples. It is a personifica- tion either of irrational and inanimate ob- jects or of moral qualities, and an illus- tration and enforcement of truth by their conduct or by a supposed conversation be- tween them. The word occurs but once in the Scriptures (Gal. 4 : 24) and there the passage should be rendered " which things are allegorized." Paul refers to certain events in the history of Israel and Ish- mael which he uses to foreshadow import- ant gospel truths, and which, therefore, he allegorizes. He does not mean to say that the historic facts he cites are them- selves an allegory. Al-le-lu'ia [praise ye the Lord], a Grecised form (Rev. 19 : 1, 3, 4, 6) of the Hebrew Hallelujah (which see). Al-li^ances. In our Authorized Version this word, as expressive of the social and political relations which the ancient people of God were or were not permitted to form with strangers, ap- pears but once in its verbal root " allied " (Neh. 13 : 4), but the thought which it embodies is found not infrequently. In respect to social or family alliances the Mosaic Law was explicit. The covenant people of Jehovah could enter into no marriage covenant with the daughters of a strange god, for this was to poison their life at the fountain-head. Such alliances were expressly forbidden in the Law (Deut. 7:3), and in actual life were stern- ly denounced as violations of the funda- mental principles of the covenant (Ezra 9 : 2; 10 : 2, 3; Neh. 13 : 23-25; Mai. 2 : 11, 12). It was allowable, however, for He- brews to marry wives from other nations, on condition that the person so wedded renounced the gods and corrupt manners of their country and embraced in tiieir stead the faith and worship of Israel. Of this several examples are recorded, as in the cases of Zipporah, Eahab and Ruth. In respect to ■political or national alii- 36 ALLON— ALMOND. ances, the legislation of Moses laid down nothing very explicit except as regards the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Witli them the Israelites were enjoined to make no league, public or pri- vate, but to carry into effect the decree of God, wliich doomed them, because of their enormous sins, to an utter destruction (Deut. 7:2; Judg. 2 : 2). What was said respecting the surrounding nations bore upon the religion and manners preva- lent among them, rather than upon the peo- ple tliemselves. Israel was not to copy their idolatrous and sinful practices, but might cultivate with them peaceful and friendly relations. Accordingly, wlien Is- rael became an established commonwealth formal alliances were entered into with several of the neighboring states. Solo- mon concluded two important treaties ex- clusively for commercial purposes : the first with Iliram, king of Tyre, originally witli the view of obtaining materials and workmen for the erection of the temple, and afterward for the supply of shipbuild- ers and sailors (1 Kings 5 : 2-12; 9 : 27) ; the second with a Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by which he secured a monopoly of the trade in horses and other products of that country (1 Kings 10 : 28, 29). After the division of the kingdom the alliances were of an offensive and defensive nature. When war broke out between Amaziah and Jer- oboam II., a coalition was formed lietween Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekali on the one side, and Ahaz and Tiglath-pilescr, king of Assyria, on the other (2 Kings 16 : 5-9). An opening for the advances of Assyria was thus made ; and tlie king- doms of Israel and Judah, as they were successively attacked, sought the alliance of the Egyptians, wlio were strongly inter- ested in maintaining the independence of the Jews as a barrier against the encroach- ments of the Assyrian power (2 Kings 17 • 4; 19: 9, 36; Isa. 30 : 2). The formation of an alliance was at- tended with various religious rites. A vic- tim was slain and divided into two parts, between which the contracting parties pa.ssed (Gen. 15 : 10; Jer. 3-4 : 18-20). Generally speaking, the oath alone is men- tionetl in tlie contracting of alliances either between individuals (Gen. 26 : 28; 31 : 53; 1 Sam. 20 : 17 ; 2 Kings 11 : 4) or nations (Josh. 9 : 15). The event was celebrated by a feast (Ex. 24 : 11 ; 2 Sam. 3 : 12, 20). Salt, the symbol of fidelity, was used, and occasionally a memorial pillar or a heap of stones was set up (Gen. 31 : 52). The fidelity of the Jews to their engagements was conspicuous at all periods of their his- tory (Josh. 9 : 18), and any breach of cov- enant was visited with very severe punish- ment (2 Sam. 21 : 1 ; Ezek. 17 : 16). Al'lon [oaA-]. Large trees were com- paratively rare in the plains of Palestine, were naturally designated as landmarks, and were favorite places for residence and sepulture. The spot where Kebekali's nurse was buried is called Allon-Bachuth, the "oak of weeping" (Gen. 35 : 8). Al'mon-Dib-la-tha'im [covering of the ttvo fi(j-cakes], one of the encampments of the Israelites on their way from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab (Num. 33 : 46). .\lmon(l. Al'mond, a well-known nut, the ker- nel of which is esculent and nutritious. ALMS— ALTAK. 37 In Palestine it is still cultivated and of excellent quality. The tree on which it grows resembles the peach tree in leaves and blossoms, and is remarkable for the rapidity with which it matures its fruit. As it has its Hebrew name from a verb signifying " to watch, to make haste," it is strikingly alluded to in Jer. 1 : 11, 12 as a symbol of the vigilance with which the Lord watches over his word to fulfill it, or of the haste with which he executes his judgments. Alms [alms-deeds], (Matt. 6:2; Acts 9 : 36), showings of kindness or pity to the needy, gifts or deeds of charity. The duty of almsgiving is much insisted on in Scripture (Deut. 15 : 11 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-3), and the deed of almsgiving is approvingly associated with acceptable prayer (Acts 10 : 2). The provisions of the Jewish law for the relief of the poor were singularly judi- cious and kind (Lev. 25:35-43; Deut. 15:7-11). Al'mug (or AVgum) Trees, the former occurring in 1 Kings 10 : 11, 12, the latter in 2 Chron. 2 : 8; 9 :'lO, 11. Tlie two words are evidently identical, and indi- cate trees which furnished a rare and costly wood in great demand for fine work. The wood probably was the red sandal-wood of India and Ceylon. It is very heavy, hard, fine-grained and of a beautiful garnet col- or, and used in the ornamental work of the temple and for musical instruments. AFoes, or Lign-Al'oes, an East Indian tree, the flower and wood of which yielded an exquisite and expensive per- fume (Num. 24 : 6 ; Ps. 45 : 8 ; Prov. 7 : 17 ; Song 4 : 14). Its wood was also used for fine cabinet and ornamental work. An- other species of aloes, the juice of which when boiled produces the resin which is largely used in medicine, is supposed to be referred to in John 19 : 39, where it is mentioned in connection with the process of embalming. It is doubtful, however, whether the Scriptures refer to more than one kind of aloes, the fragrant lign-aloes of the East. Al'pha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. Our Lord says of himself in expression of his eterni- ty of being, " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last" (Rev. 1 : 8, 11 ; 21 : 6 ; 22 : 13). The like form of expression to denote the eternity of God is found in Isa. 41 : 4. Al-phe''us, the name of two men in the New Testament. 1. The father of the apostle James the Less (Matt. 10 : 3; Acts 1 : 13), and the husband of that Mary who, with the mother of Jesus and others, was standing by the cross during the crucifixion (John 19 : 25). Alphens is the Greek, and Cleophas or Clo- pas the Hebrew or Syriac, name of the same person. 2. The fixther of the evangelist Levi or Matthew (Mark 2 : 14). AFtar. This word is derived from the Latin (dlux, high, lofty, and is used to desig- nate a raised or elevated structure on which offerings of any kind were made to God. The first altar of which we have any ac- count is that built by Noah when he left the ark (Gen. 8 : 20). At first the altar was either a heap of stones or a mound of earth, and in construction and form was quite rude. If made of stone, it was to be of unhewn stone ; upon it no iron tools were to be employed and no figures or images were to be sculptured (Ex. 20 : 25; Deut. 27 : 5, 6; Josh. 8 : 31). Moses was directed to make two altars — the one the altar of burnt-ofTering (Ex. 27 : 1-8 ; 38 : 1-7), the other the altar of incense (Ex. 30: 1-10; 37 : 25-28). 1. The altar of burnt-offering. This was ordinarily simply called the altar, but sometimes "the brazen altar" (Ex. 38: 30). It differed in construction at differ- ent times. In the tabernacle it was com- paratively small and portable. In shape it was square, five cubits in length, the same 38 ALTAR. in breadtli, and three cubits high. It wa-s made of planks of sliittiin or acacia wood overlaitl with brass. Tlie interior was hol- low. At the four corners were four projec- tions called horns, made like the altai; itself Altar of Burnt-oU'eiing. of acacia wood overlaid with brass. They probably projected upward, and to tliem the victim was bound when about to be sacrificed (Ps. 118 : 27). Seized by one in peril of iiis life, they also furnished an asylum which was generally, but not al- ways, respected (1 Kings 2 : 28-31). On the occasion of the consecration of the priests {Ex. 29 : 12) and the offering of the sin-offering (Lev. 4:7) part of the blood of the victim Avas applied to these horns by the priest's finger, and the rest was poured at the bottom of the altar. Round the altar, midway between tlie top and tlie bottom, ran a projecting ledge ("compass" in our Authorized Version, Ex. 27 : 5), on which, perhaps, the priests stood when they officiated. To the outer edge of this again a grating or network of brass was afllixed, and reached to the bottom of the altar, which thus present- ed the appeai'ance of being larger below than above. At the four corners of the network were four brazen rings, into which were inserted the staves by which the altar was carried. These staves were of tUe same material as the altar itself. As the priests were forbidden to ascend the altar by steps (Ex. 20 : 26), it has been conjectured that a slope of earth led gradually up to the ledge from which they officiated. The place of the altar was at "the door of the taber- nacle of the congregation" (Ex. 40 : 29). In Solomon's temple the altar was consid- erably larger in its dimensions. Like the former, it was square, but the length and breadth were now twenty cubits and the height ten (2 Chron. 4:1). It differed, too, in the material of which it was made, being entirely of brass (1 Kings 8 : 04; 2 Chron. 7:7). It had no grating, and in- stead of a single gradual slope, the ascent to it was probably made by three succes- sive platforms, to each of which steps led. Upon it, twice each day, sacrifices were offered, and were burned with fire mirac- ulously kindled at the first, and guarded from generation to generation with the most assiduous care (Lev. 6:12, 13; 9: 24). ■ 2. The altar of incense, called also the golden altar (Ex. 39 : 3-5) to distinguish it from the brazen altar of burnt-offering, was in the tabernacle, made of acacia wood over- laid with pure gold. In shape it was square, being a cubit in length and breadth and two cubits in height (Ex. 30 : 2). Like Altar of Incense. the altar of burnt-offering, it had horns at the foiu' corners, which were of one piece AL-TASCHITH— AMAZIAH. 39 with the rest of the altar. Its appear- ance may be ilhistrated by the annexed figure. This altar stood in the Holy Place, " be- fore the vail that is by the ark of the tes- timony" (Ex. 30 : 6; 40 : 5). In Solo- mon's temple the altar was similar, but was made of cedar overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6 : 18, 22 ; 7 : 48 ; 1 Chron. 28 : 1 8). Upon this altar every morning and every even- ing, in connection with the daily sacrifice, incense was burnt, and the service was de- nominated "a perpetual incense before the Lord" (Ex. 30 : 8). Upon it neither burnt-offering nor meat-offering nor drink- offering was at any time allowed (Ex. 30 : 9), nor was it ever stained with blood ex- cept once a year, when the priest made atonement (Lev. 16 : 18, 19). Al-Tasch'ith, found in the introduc- tory verse to Psalms 57, 58, 59, 75. It lit- erally means " destroy not," and is probably the beginning of some song or psalm to the tune of which those psalms were to be chanted. Am'a-lek, a son of Eliphaz and grand- son of Esau (Gen. 3G : 16). He was not the father of the Amalekites, who are mentioned as a powerful people long before the birth of Amalek (Gen. 14 : 7). Am'alek-ites, a powerful nomadic people occupying the peninsula of Sinai and the wilderness between Southern Pal- estine and Egypt, and called in Num. 24 : 20 "the first of the nations." They be- longed, not unlikely, to a branch of the great Hamitic family. They came into conflict with the Israelites at Rephidim soon after the exodus from Egypt, were signally defeated, and, for their guilt in opposing tiie progress of God's people, be- came the objects of terrible denunciations and judgments (Ex. 17 : 8-14; Deut. 25 : 17-19). They were defeated by Gideon (Judg. 7: 12), by Saul (1 Sam. 15), and by David (1 Sam. 30), and at last, in fulfill- ment of the word of the Lord, their name was blotted from the earth (1 Sam. 30 : 17 and 1 Chron. 4 : 43). Am'a-na, the marginal reading in 2 Kings 5 : 12 of the stream near Damascus called in the text Abana. It is used in Song 4 : 8 to designate a mountain, the re- sort of wild beasts. Mount Amana, appar- ently, was the southern part or summit of Anti-Libanus, and w.as so called, perhaps, from containing tiie sources of the river Amana or Abana. See Abana. Am-a-ri'ah [Jehovah hath said — i. e. promised], the name of several distinct but undistinguished persons mentioned in Scripture ( 1 Ciiron. 6:7; 23 : 19 ; 2 Chron. 19 : 11 ; Ezra 7:3; 10 : 42; Neh. 10 : 3 ; .Zeph. 1:1). Am'a-sa [burden'], the name of two men. 1. A nephew of King David and the leader of Absalom's army in the rebel- lion (2 vSam. 17 : 25). He was defeated by Joal), but because of his valor and near re- lationship to King David Avas not only par- doned, but alsojDromoted above Joab, who subsequently and most treacherously slew him (2 Sam. 20 : 4-10). 2. A chief of Ephraim, who with others vehemently and successfully resisted the re- tention as prisoners of the persons whom Pekah, king of Israel, had taken captive in a successful campaign against Ahaz, king of Judah (2 Chron. 28 : 12). Am-a'sa-i [burdensome], the name of several men, but especially of the leader of a considerable company from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who came to Da- vid at Ziklag, when he was fleeing from Saul, and offered him their services (1 Chron. 12 : 16-18). Am-a-zi^ah [Jehovah has strength- ened], the name of two men. 1. The son and successor of Joash, and eighth king of Judah. He ascend- ed the throne at the age of twenty-five, about B. c. 837, and reigned twenty- nine years (2 Kings 14 : 1-20). The 40 AMBASSADOR— AMEN. first part of his reign promised well, but the promise was soon darkened by insincerity of soul. The record re- specting him is, " He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart" (2 Cliron. 25 : 2). Resolving to subdue the Edomites, who several years before his accession had re- volted from the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 8 : 20), and presuming that his own army of three hundred thousand men would not be sufficient, he hired one hundred thou- sand men from the king of Israel, to whom he paid one hundred thousand talents of silver. Before he set out upon the expe- dition he was bidden by a prophet of tlie Lord to dismiss his hired soldiers, upon pain, if he did not, of falling before his enemies. After some hesitation he sent the Israelites home, and was rewarded by a signal victory over the Edomites, slay- ing ten thousand, taking ten thousand prisoners, and capturing Petra the capital. Elated by his success and alienated in heart fi'om Jehovah, he took tlie idols which his vanquished enemy liad wor- shiped and made them liis gods. The anger of the Lord was kindled against him, and he was given over to follow his own devices. He sought an occasion of war with the king of Israel, but, defeated and made a prisoner, he was compelled to submit to the plundering of the temple and the spoiling of Jerusalem. After this disgraceful defeat he lived fifteen years, despised by his subjects and de- rided by his neighbors. At length he was murdered by conspirators at Lacliisli, whither he had fled for safety (2 Chron. 25 : 27). 2. The priest of the golden calves at Bethel, who complained to Jeroboam II., king of Israel, of the prophecies of evil which Amos was uttering, and who, by the prophet, was tlireatened with degra- dation and death (Amos 7 : 10-17). Am-bas'sa-dor, a person sent to a foreign court as the representative of his king (2 Chron. 32 : 31). In the Old Tes- tament the word is of frequent occurrence, and in the New Testament (2 C!or 5 : 20) it is applied to the apostles in the sense that tliey were sent forth by divine au- thority and furnished with divine creden- tials to proclaim the terms of pardon and peace to the rebellious and condemned subjects of God's government in this world. Paul when a prisoner in Rome styles himself " an ambassador in bonds " (Eph. 6 : 20), with the intimation tliat the outrage done to him is an outrage done to his divine Sovereign. Am'ber, in ordinary acceptation a beautiful fossil resin, susceptible of a fine polish and presenting several coloi-s, the most common being yellow and orange. It is found in lumps near the shores of the Baltic Sea. Tlie word occui"s in three pas- sages (Ezek. 1 : 4, 27; 8 : 2), where the reference is thought by some to be not to the resin, but to a very brilliant metal composed of silver and gold, and much prized by the ancients ; but the prophet speaks only of amber color, which resem- bles tliat of fire. Am'bush, or Ambushment (Josh. 8 : 2 ; 2 Cliron. 13 : 13), a military manajuvre by wliich a hostile party is exposed to cap- ture or destruction by coming unawares upon their hidden and waiting foes. Josliua arranged such an amljTisli in the vicinity of Ai, and by it signally defeat- ed the inhabitants of that city (Josh. 8). A'men [true, faiihfnl]. This word, wlien occurring at the close of a sentence, singly or doubly, is an affirmative response denoting assent or entire acquiescence. Af- ter a creed it means " So it is ;" after a prayer "So let it be" (Dent. 27 : 15; 1 Kings 1 : 3G; Jer. 11 : 5; Ps. 41 : 13). It is some- times translated verily, and by our Lord is frequently used at the beginning of a sentence to introduce some emphatic and important truth. Its repetition, " Verily, AMEKCE— AMON. 41 verily, I say unto you," is intended to strengthen the assertion. Among the early Christians ail the worshipers said Amen at the close of the prayer or of the giving of thanks (1 Cor. 14 : 16). As our Lord is " the foithful and true Witness," Amen is one of his titles (Rev. 3 : 14). A-merce', to punish by a fine (Deut. 22 : 19). Am'e-thyst, the name of a beautiful stone of a purple or violet color, greatly esteemed by the ancients for rings and cameos, and believed by them to possess the power of dispelling drunkenness. It was the ninth stone in the high priest's breastplate (Ex. 28 : 19), and the twelfth in the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21. 20). Am ''mi [my people] and Ru-ha'mah lhavi7if/ obtained merry'], figurative names bestowed by Jehovah on the people of Is- rael to indicate his mercy toward tJiem in their restoration (Hos. 2:1). Am-miin'a-dab [my people is noble], the father of Nahshon, wlio was the prince of the tribe of Judah at the Exodus (Num. 1:7; 2:3). He was the fourth generation after Judah, and one of our Lord's ances- tors (Matt. 1:4). In Solomon's Song (6 : 12) the chariots of Ammivadib (the last syllable different- ly spelled) are mentioned as proverbial for their swiftness. The person referred to was probably a celebrated cliarioteer. Am'rQon [o/ the people'], Am'mon- ites, Children of Ammon, a peo- ple descended from Ben-Ammi, the son whom Lot's younger daughter bore to him after the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19 : 38). Although they dispossessed the Rephaim or giants, called Zamzummim (Deut. 2 : 20), of the territory lying east of the Jordan between the rivers Jabbok and Arnon and stretching indefinitely into the desert of Arabia, yet through most of their, history they were not so much residents on the soil as wanderers and fierce marauders (1 Sam. 11 : 1-3). They were gross idolaters (Judg. 10 : 6). Their chief idol was Moloch, the same with Baal and Milcom. They were al- ways hostile to the Israelites, were fre- quently denounced by the prophets, and were finally swept away in the flood of God's judgments (Jer. 49 : 1, 2; Ezek. 25 : 3-7 ; Amos 1 : 13-15). Am^non [faithful] the eldest son of David, by Ahinoam of Jezreel (1 Chron. 3:1), born at Hebron (2 Sam. 3 : 2). He is only known for his violation of his half sister Tamar, and for his assassination there- for by her full brother Absalom (2 Sam. 13 : 1-29). See Absalom. A^mon, the name of a divinity and of a king. 1. An Egyptian and Libyan god, the Zeus and Jupiter of the classical writers. The name occurs in that of No-amon (Nah. 3 : 8), in our Authorized Version 42 AMORITE— AMPHIPOLIS. "populous No." The ancient Egyptian name is Amen. He was the chief god of the Theban triad, and was worshiped as Amen-Ra, or " Amen the Sun." 2. A king of Judah, son and successor of Manasseh. lie reigned two years, from B. c. G4'2 to G40. He devoted himself Wiiolly to the service of false gods, and was assassinated in a court conspiracy. He was avenged by the people, who put the regicides to death and raised to the throne his son Josiah, then eight years old (2 Kings 21 : 18-2G; 2 Chron. 33 : 20-20). To liis reign is to be referred the terrible picture which the propliet Zeplia- niali gives of the moral and religious state of Jerusalem. Am^or-ite [mountaineer], the Am'- or-ites, one of the chief nations who possessed the land of Canaan before its conquest by the Israelites. In the gene- alogical table of Gen. 10 "the Arnorite" is mentioned as the fourth son of Canaan. Dwellers on the highlands of the country, they are contrasted with the Canaanites or dwellers on the lowlands. In the early times they occupied tlie barren heights immediately west of the Dead Sea (Gen. 14 : 7). From this point they stretched west to Hebron, where iVbram met with them (Gen. 14 : 13). Thence they seem to have extended eastward, crossing the valley of the Jordan and dispossessing the Moabites of the rich pasture-lands south of the Jabbok. Hero we find them at the date of the Israelitish invasion of the country. Sihon, their king, refused the request of the Israelites to pass through the country to the fords of the Jordan, and, aided by other kings, mustered an immense host to dispute tlie passage. The Amorites were signally defeated, and their territory was apportioned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad (Dent. 4 : 46- 49; Josh. 12 : 1-6 ; Judg. 11 : 19-22). Af- ter the conquest of Canaan the Scriptures are silent respecting the Amorites, with the exception of an occasional mention of their name among the early inhabit- ants of the country. A'mos [6K)(/t'«-6ca?Y)-], one of the twelve minor pro2)hcts, a contemporary of Isaiah and Ilosea. He was a native of Tekoa, about six miles south of Bethlehem, in- habited chiefly by sheplierds, to which class he belonged. He was called by God's Spirit to be a prophet, although not trained in any of the regular prophetic schools (Amos 1:1; 7:1 4, 15). He traveled from Judah into the northern kingdom of Israel, and there for a short time exercised his ministry. He was driven from Bethel upon false represen- tations made to King Jeroboam II. by the idolatrous priest Amaziah (Amos 7 : 10, 11). The time and manner of hLs death are uncertain. His prophecy be- gins with awful denunciation of the na- tions surrounding Israel, and passes to a terrific sketch of Israels own punishment. Thence lie rises to a loftier, more evangel- ical strain, and anticipates tlie time when tJie hope of Messiah's kingdom shall be ful- filled, and wlien the cliosen people sliall be forgiven and established in the enjoy- ment of God's blessings. HLs style is viv- id, combining great splendor of imagery with powerful invective and appeal. A'moz [■'