YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

fPWflwIp

A

SMALLER DICTIONARY

BIBLE.

FOE THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND YOUNG PERSONS.

By WILLIAM SMITH, LL.1X,
CLASSICAL EXAMINER IN THE UNIVERSITY 01'' LONDON.

Table of abew Bread from the Arch of Tilus

BOSTON:
LITTLE, BBOWN, AND COMPANY.
I860.

(. m )

PREFACE.

The ' Larger Dictionary of the Bible ' is mainly intended for
Divines and Scholars, and the ' Concise Dictionary ' for Families
and Students ; but a smaller and more elementarj- work is needed
for the use of Schools, Sunday School Teachers, and Young
Persons in general. I have accordingly drawn up from the
fprmer works this ' Smaller Dictionary ' myself, and have spared
no pains to adapt it to the wants of the persons for whom it
is intended. It contains such an account of Biblical anti
quities, biography, geography, and natural history as a young
person is likely to require in the study of the Bible. Judgment
is needed in knowing what subjects ought to be omitted as well
as inserted in such a work as the present ; but it is confidently
believed that those for whom the book is chiefly designed will
not turn in vain for the information of which they are in quest.
It contains every name in the Bible and Apocrypha respecting
which anything can be said ; it gives an account of each of the
books of the Bible ; it explains the civil and religious institu
tions, the manners and customs of the Jews, as well as of the
various nations mentioned or alluded to in Scripture; in fine,
it seeks to render the same service to the study of the Bible as
the Smaller Classical Dictionaries have done for the study of the
Greek and Eoman Classics in schools.
In addition to the woodcuts inserted in the text, thirty-one
separate views are given of some of the most important places
mentioned in the Bible; and several maps are added to illustrate
the articles relating to geography and history. WM. SMITH.
London, May nth, 1866.

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. THE DEAD SEA 

Frontispiece.

2. ANTIOCH . . . .

To face page 33

3. ASSOS 

„ 51

4. ATHENS RESTORED . .

. . . „ 53

5. BETHANY . . . . ...

„ 71

6. BETHLEHEM

73

7. BOZRAH . . ,

. . . „ 79

S^CAESAREA . . ' . .

. . . „ 81

9. COLOSSAE . . ....

103

105

11. DAMASCUS ... ...

¦ ¦ „ 115

12. WILDERNESS OF ENGEDI .

159

15. SEA OF GENXESARET OR, GALILEE.
„ 189
16. HEBRON ...
„ 207
17. JERUSALEM AND MOUNT OF OLIVES ....
251
19. LAODICEA 
. . . „ 293
20. CHAIN OF LEBANON ...
. . . „ 297
22. NAZARETH 
. . . „ 371
425
24. ROME RESTORED . . /
„ 477
. . „ 487
26. SARDIS AND MOUNT TMOLUS . .
495
» 513
28. THE TABERNACLE RESTORED .
547
29. MOUNT TABOR . . . ,
„ 551
30. TARSUS ...
„ 555
31. THYATIRA . .
» 567
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

SEPARATE MAPS.
32. THE HOLY LAND, TO ILLUSTRATE THE NEW TESTA
MENT 
33. THE HOLY LAND DIVIDED AMONG THE TEN TRIBES
34. ST. PAUL'S FIRST AND SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNIES .
35. ST. PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY
36. SOLOMON'S DOMINIONS, THE KINGDOMS OF JUDAH AND
ISRAEL, AND THE LANDS OF THE CAPTIVITIES .
37. WANDERINGS OF THE ISRAELITES

Face

pagt

257401415
416

MAPS INSERTED IX THE TEXT.
38. PLAN OF JERUSALEM .... . On paije 249
39. MAP OF PALESTINE, TO ILLUSTRATE THE PHYSICAL
FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY 399

A SMALLER
DICTIONARY OE THE BIBLE.

AARON

AARON

A'ARON, the son of Amram and Jochebed,
and the elder brother of Moses and
Miriam {Num. xxvi. 59, xxxiii. 39). He was
a Levite, and is firs't mentioned in Ex. iv. 14,
as one who could " speak well." He was
appointed by Jehovah to be the Interpreter
and "Mouth" (Ex. iv. 16) of his brother
Moses, who was "slow of speech;" and
accordingly he was not only the organ of
communication with the Israelites and with
Pharaoh (Ex.iv. 30, vii. 2), but also the actual
instrument of working- most of the miracles
of the Exodus. {See Ex. vii. 19, &c.) Thus
on the way to Mount Sinai, during- the battle
with Amaiek, Aaron is mentioned with Hur,
as staying up the weary hands of Moses,
•when they were lifted up for the victory of
Israel {not in prayer, as is sometimes ex
plained, but) to bear the rod of God (see Ex.
xvii. 9). Through all this period he is men
tioned as dependent upon his brother, and
deriving all his authority from him. The
contrast between them is even more strongly
marked on the arrival at Sinai. Moses at
once acts as the mediator (Gal. iii. 19) for
the people, to come near to God for them,
and to speak His words to them. Aaron only
approaches with Nadab, and Abihu, and the
seventy elders of Israel, by special command,
near enough to see God's glory, but not so as
to enter His immediate presence. Left then,
on Moses' departure, to guide the people,
Aaron is tried for a moment on his own re
sponsibility, and he fails from a weak in
ability to withstand the demand of the people
for- visible "gods to go before them." Pos
sibly it seemed to him prudent to make an
image of Jehovah, in thefcwell-known form of
Egyptian idolatry (Apis or Mnevis), rather
than to risk the total alienation of the people
to false gods ; and his weakness was rewarded
by seeing a " feast to the Lord " (Ex. xxxii. 5)
¦degraded to the lowest form of heathenish
tan. H. U.

sensuality, and knowing, from Moses' words
and deeds, that the covenant with the Lord
was utterly broken. He repented of his
sin, and Moses gained forgiveness for him
(Deut. ix. 20.). — Aaron was now conse
crated by Moses to the new office of the
high-priesthood. The order of God for the
consecration is found in Ex. xxix., and the
record of its execution in Lev. viii. The
solemnity of the office, and its entire depend
ence for sanctity on the ordinance of God,
were vindicated by the death of his sons,
Nadab and Abihu, for "offering strange fire "
on the altar (Lev. x. 1, 2). From this time
the history of Aaron is almost entirely that
of the priesthood, and its chief feature is the
great rebellion of Korah and the Levites
against his sacerdotal dignity, united with
that of Dathan and Abiram and the Reuben-
ites against the temporal authority of Moses
[Korah]. — The only occasion on which his in
dividual character is seen is one of presumption.
The murmuring of Aaron and Miriam against
Moses clearly proceeded from their trust, the
one in his priesthood, the other in her pro
phetic inspiration, as equal commissions from
God (Num. xii. 2). On all other occasions
he is spoken of as acting with Moses in the
guidance of the people. Leaning as he seems
to have done wholly on him, it is not strange
that he should have, shared his sin at Meri-
bah, and its punishment [Moses] (Num. xx.
10-12). Aaron's death seems to have followed
very speedily. It took place on Mount Hor,
after the transference of his robes and office
to Eleazar (Num. xx. 28). This mount is
still called the "Mountain of Aaron." [Hor.1
¦ — The wife of Aaron was Elisheba (Ex. vi.
23) ; and the two sons who survived him,
Eleazar and Ithamar. The high-priesthood
descended to the former, and to his descend
ants until the time of Eli, who, although of
the house of Ithamar, received the high-
r.

AB

ABIATHAR

priesthood, and transmitted it to his children ;
with them it continued till the accession of
Solomon, ' who took it from Abiathar, and
restored it to Zadok (of the house of Eleazar)
[Abiathar]. AB (father), an element in the composi
tion of many proper names, of which Abba is
a Chaldaic form, the syllable affixed giving
the emphatic force of the definite article.
Applied to God by Jesus Christ (Mark xiv.
36), and by St. Paul (Rom. viii. la ; Gal.
iv. 6).
AB. [Months.]
ABAD'DON. [Apoi-lton.]
AB'ANA, one of the " rivers of Damascus"
(2 K. v. 12). The Barada and the Awaj are
now the chief streams of Damascus the
former representing the Abana and the latter
the Pharpar of the text. The Barada rises
in the Antilibanus, at about 23 miles from
the city, after flowing through which it runs
across the plain, till it loses itself in the lake
or marsh Bahrct el-Ki-bltyeh.
AB'ARIM, a mountain or range of high
lands on the east of the Jordan, in the land
of Moab, facing Jericho, and forming the
eastern wall of the Jordan valley at that part.
Its most elevated spot was " the Mount Nebo,
'head' of 'the' Pisgah," from which Moses
viewed the Promised Land before his death.
These mountains are mentioned in Num.
xxvii. 12, xxxiii. 47, 48, and Deut. xxxii.
49. AB'BA [Ab].
AB'DON. l. A judge of Israel (Judg. xii.
13, 15), perhaps the same person as Bedan in
1 Sam. xii. 11. — 2. Son of Mieuh, a contem
porary of Josiah (2 Chr. xxxiv. 20), called
Achbor in 2 K. xxii. 12.— 3. A city in the
tribe of Asher, given to the Gershonites (Josh.
xxi. 30; 1 Chr. vi. 74).
ABED'NEGO (i. e. servant of Xego, per
haps the same as Nebo), the Chaldaean name
given to Azariah, one of the three friends of
Daniel, miraculously saved from the fiery
furnace (Dan. iii.).
A'BEL, the name of several places in
Palestine, probably signifies a meadow. 1.
A'bel-betii-jia'achah, a town of some im
portance (2 Sam. xx. 19), in the extreme N.
of Palestine, which fell an early prey to the
invading kings of Syria (1 K. xv. 20) and
Assyria {2 K. xv. 29). In the parallel pass
age, 2 Chr. xvi. 4, the name is changed to
Abel-maim, " Abel on the waters." It is also
called simply Abel (2 Sam. xx. 14, 18).
— 2. A'bel-mizra'im, i. e. the mourning of
Egypt, the name given by the Canaanites to
the floor of Atad, at which Joseph, his bro
thers and the Egyptians made their mourn
ing for Jacob (Gen. 1. 11). It was beyond

(on the east of) Jordan. [Atad.]— 3. A bkl-
shit'tim, " the meadow of the acacias," ia
the "plains" of Moab; on the low level
of the Jordan valley. Here— their la^t rest-
ing-place before crossing the Jordan— Israel
"pitched from Bethjesimoth unto A. Shittim"
(Num. xxxiii. 49). The place is most fre.
quently mentioned by its shorter name of
Shittim. [Shit-im.] — 4. A'bel-me'hola'i
(" meadow of the dance "), in the N. part of
the Jordan valley (1 K. iv. 12), to which the
routed Bedouin host fled from Gideon (JudjjJ
vii. 22). Here Elisha was found at his plough!
by Elijah returning up the valley from Horeb
(1 K. xix. 16-19). _
A'BEL (i. e. breath, vapour, tranritorinetQ
probably so called from the shortness of bis
life), the second son of Adam, murdered by
his brother Cam (Gen. iv. 1-16). Jehovah
showed respect for Abel's offering, but not
for that of Cain, because, according to the
Epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 4), Abel "by
faith offered a more excellent sacrifice than]
Cain." The expression " sin," i. e. sin-,
offering " lieth at the door" (Gen. iv. 7),j
seems to imply that the need of sacrifices of
blood to obtain forgiveness was already re-
vealed. Our Lord spoke of Abel as the fira
martyr (Matt, xxiii. 35) ; so did the earl]
church subsequently. The traditional site ol
his murder and his grave are pointed 'out
near Damascus.
A'BI, mother of king Hezekiah (2 K.
xviii. 2), written Abijah in 2 Chr. xxix. 1.
ABI'AH, second son of Samuel, whom to-
gether with his eldest son Joel he made
judge in Beersheba (1 Sam. viii. 2 ; 1 Chr.
vi. 28).
ABI-AL'BON. [Abiel.]
ABI'ATHAR, high-priest and fourth ii
descent from Eli, who was of the line o
Ithamar,' the younger son of Aaron. Abia'
thar was the only one of all the sons ol
Ahimelech the high-priest who escaped the:
slaughter inflicted upon his father's house by
Saul, in revenge for his having inquired of
the-feard for David, and given him the shew-
bread to eat (1 Sam. xxii.). Abiatbar having
become high-priest fled to David, and wwi|
thus enabled to inquire of the Lord for him
(1 Sam. xxiii. 9, xxx. 7 ; 2 Sam. ii. 1, v. 19,
&c). He adhered to David in his wander
ings while pursued by Saul ; he was with
him while he reigned in Hebron (2 Sam. ii.
1-3), the city of the house of Aaron (Josh.
xxi. 10-13); he carried the ark before nii|
when David brought it up to Jerusalem
(1 Chr. xv. 11 ; 1 K. ii, 26) ; he continue!
faithful to him in Absalom's rebellion (2 Son*
xv. 24, 29, 35, 36, xvii. i5_17, xix. 11)',
and " was afflicted in all wherein David was

ABIB

ABIMELECH

¦afflicted." When, however, Adouijah set
himself up for David's successor on the
throne, in opposition to Solomon, Abiathar
sided with him, while Zadok was on Solo
mon's side. For this Abiathar was deprived
of the high-priesthood, and we are told that
"Zadok the priest did the king put in the
room of Abiathar" (1 K. ii. 27, 35), thus
fulfilling the prophecy of lSam.ii. 30'.— Zadok
was descended from Eleazar, the elder son of
Aaron. He is first mentioned in 1 Chr. xii.
28, and is said to have joined David while
he reigned in Hebron. From this time we
read, both in the books of Samuel and Chro
nicles, of V Zadok and Abiathar the priests."
There were, henceforth, two high-priests in
the reign of David, and till the deposition of
Abiathar by Solomon, when Zadok became
the sole high-priest. In Mark ii. 26, we find
Abiathar spoken of as the high-priest in
whose time David ate the shew-bread : this
may perhaps be accounted for, if Abiathar
was the person who persuaded his father to
,allow David to have the bread, and if the
loaves were given by him with bis own hand
¦to David.
- A'BIB. [Months.]
A'BIEL. 1. Father of Kish, and conse
quently grandfather of Saul (1 Sam. ix. 1),
as well as of Abner, Saul's commander-in-
jchief (1 Sam. xiv. 51). This is seen by the
following table : — AlilEL I I

KUsh I

Ner I
Abner.

— 2. One of David's mighty men (1 Chr. xi.
32). In 2 Sam, xxiii. 31 he is called Abi-al-
:bon. .
i ABI-E'ZER, eldest son of Gilead, and de
scendant of Manasseh (Josh. xvii. 2 ; I Chr.
vii. 18; Num. xxvi. 30, where the name is
pgiven in the contracted form Jeezkr). He
1.WU8 the ancestor of tlie great judge Gideon.
'([Gideox.] The name also occurs in Judg.
:„vi. 34, viii. 2 ; and in an adjectival form
'{"the Abiezrite") in Judg. vi. 11, 24, viii.
• Z2.
, ABIGAIL. 1. The beautiful wife of Nabal,
^i wealthy owner of goats and sheep in Carmel.
.,When David's messengers were slighted by
^Nabal, Abigail supplied David and his fol
lowers with provisions, and succeeded in
^appeasing his anger. Ten days after this
,'Nabal died, and David sent for Abigail and
Jmade her his wife (1 Sam. xxv. 14, &c).
TjByher he had a son, called Chileab in 2 Sam.
'Hi. 3 ; but Daniel in 1 Chr. iii. 1. — 2. A
.sister of David, married to Jether the Ish-

maelite, and mother, by him, of Ama?a (1
Chr. ii. 17). The statement in 2 Sam. xvii.
25 that the mother of Amasa was an Israelite
is doubtless a» transcriber's error.
ABI'HU, the second son {Num. iii. 2) of
Aaron by Elisheba (Ex. vi. 23). , Being, to
gether with his elder brother Nadab. guilty
of offering strange fire to the Lord, he was
consumed by fire from heaven (Lev. x. 1, 2).
ABI'JAH or ABI'JAM. 1. Son and suc
cessor of Rehoboam on the throne of Judah
(1 K. xiv. 31 ; 2 Chr. xii. 16). He is called
Abijah in Chronicles, Abijam in Kings. He
began to reign b.c. 959, and reigned three
years. He endeavoured to recover the king
dom of the Ten Tribes, and made war on
Jeroboam. He was successful in battle, and
took several of the cities of Israel. We are
told that he walked in all the sins of Reho
boam (idolatry and its attendant immorali
ties, 1 K. xiv. 23, 24), and that his heart
" was not perfect before God, as the heart ot"
David his father." He was1 succeeded by
Asa. — 2. Son of Jeroboam I. king of Israel,
died in his childhood, just after Jeroboara'b
wife had been sent in disguise to seek help
for him, in his sickness, from the prophet
Abijah (1 K. xiv.) — 3. A descendant of
Eleazar, who gave his name to the eighth
of the twenty-four courses into which the
priests were divided by David (1 Chr. xxiv.
10; 2 Chr. viii. 14; Neh. xii. 4, 17). To
the course of Abijah or Abia belonged
Zacharias the father of John the Baptist
(Lukei. 5).
ABI'JAM. [Abijah, No. 1.]
AB'ILA. [Abilene.]
ABILE'NE (Luke iii. 1), a tetrarehy of
which the capital was Abila, a city situated
on the eastern slope of Antilibanus, in a dis
trict fertilised by the river Barada. Its name
probably arose from the green luxuriance of
its situation, "Abel" perhaps denoting "a
grassy meadow." [See p. 2.] The name,
thus derived, is quite sufficient to account
for the traditions of the death of Abel, which
are associated with the spot, and which are
localised by the tomb called Nebi Habil, on a
height above the ruins of the city. The
city was 18 miles from Damascus, and stood
in a remarkable gorge called Silk Wady
Barada, where the river breaks down through
the mountain towards the plain of Damascus.
ABIM'ELECH (father of the king), the
name of several Philistine kings, was pro
bably a common title of these kings, like that
of Pharaoh among the Egyptians, and that of
Caeaar and Augustus among the Romans.
Hence in the title of Ps. xxxiv. the name of
Abimelech is given to the king, who is called
Achish in 1 Sam. xxi. 11.— 1. A Philistine,
B 2

ABIRAM

ABNER

king of Gerar (Gen. xx., xxi.), who, exercis
ing the right claimed by Eastern princes, of
collecting all the beautiful women of their
dominions into their harem (Gen. xii. 15 ;•
Esth. ii. 3), sent for and took Sarah. A
similar account is given of Abraham's con-
duet on this occasion, to that of his behaviour
towards Pharaoh [Abraham]. — 2. Another
king of Gerar in the time of Isaac, of whom
a similar narrative is recorded in relation to
Rebekab. (Gen. xxvi. 1, &c). — 3. Son of the
judge Gideon by his Shechemite concubine
(Judg. viii. 31). After his father's death he
murdered all his brethren, 70 in number,
with the exception of Jotham the youngest,
who concealed himself; and he then per
suaded the Shechemites to elect him king.
Shechem now became an independent state,
and threw off the yoke of the conquering
Israelites. When Jotham heard that Abime-
lech was made king, he addressed to the
Shechemites his fable of the trees choosing a
king (Judg. ix. 1). After Abimelech had
reigned three years, the citizens of Shechem
lebelled. He was absent at the time, but
he returned and quelled the insurrection.
Shortly after he stormed and took Tlwbez,
but was struck on the head by a woman with
the fragment of a mill-stone (comp. 2 Sam.
xi. 21) ; and lest he should be said to have
died by a woman, he bade his armour-bearer
slay him. Thus God avenged the murder of his
brethren, and fulfilled the curse of Jotham.
ABI'RAM. 1. A Reubenite, son of Eliab,
who with Dathan and On, men of the same
tribe, and Korah a Levite, organised a con
spiracy against Moses and Aaron (Num. xvi.).
[For details, see Korah.] — 2. Eldest son of
Hicl, the Bethelite, who died when his father
laid the foundations of Jericho (I K. xvi. 34),
and thus accomplished the first part of the
curse of Joshua (Josh. vi. 26).
AB'ISHAG, a beautiful Shunammite, taken
into David's harem to eomfoi't him in his ex
treme old age (1 K. i. 1-4). After David's
death Adonijah induced Bathsheba, the
queen-mother, to ask Solomon to give him
Abishag in marriage ; but this imprudent
petition cost Adonijah his life (1 K. ii. 13,
&C-). [Adonijah,]
ABISHA'I, the eldest of the three sons of
Zeruiah, David's sister, and brother to Joab
and Asahel (1 Chr. ii. 16). Like his two
brothers he was the devoted follower of
David. He was his companion in the
desperate night expedition to the camp of
Saul {1 Sam. xxvi. 6-9). On the outbreak of
Absalom's rebellion he remained true to the
king, and commanded a third part of the army
in the decisive battle against Absalom. He
xc*cued David from the hands of a gigantic

Philistine, Ishbi-benob (2 Sam. xxi. 17). Hu
personal prowess on this, as on another occa-
sion, when he fought single-handed against
three hundred, won for him a place as captain
of the second three of David's mighty met
(2 Sam. xxiii. 18 ; 1 Chr. xi. 20).
ABISHU'A, son of Phinehas, the son oj
Eleazar, and father of Bukki, in the genealbg
of the high-priests (1 Chr. vi. 4, 5, 50, 51
Ezr. vii. 4, 5).
ABLUTION. [Purification.]
AB'NER, son of Ner, who was the brother
of Kish (1 Chr. ix. 36), the father of Saul
Abner, therefore, was Saul's first cousin [m
Table, p. 3], and was made by* him com-
mander-in-chief of his army (1 Sam. xiv. 51,
xvii. 57, xxvi. 3-14). After the death of
Saul David was proclaimed king of Judahin
Hebron ; and some time subsequently Abner
proclaimed Ishbosheth, Saul's son, as king ol
Israel, at Mahanaim beyond Jordan. "War
soon broke out between the two rival kings,
and " a very sore battle " was fonght al
Gibeon between the men of Israel under
Abner, and the men of Judah under Joab,
son of Zeruiah, David's sister (1 Chr. ii. 16).
When the army of Ishbosheth was defeated
Joab's youngest brother Asahel pursue
Abner, and in spite of warning refused f
leave him, so that Abner in self-defence wu
forced to kill him. After this the war con
tinued, success inclining more and more t
the side of David, till at last the impruden
of Ishbosheth deprived him of the counse
and generalship of the hero who was in trutj
the only support of his tottering throne
Abner had married Rizpah, Saul's eoncubntf
and this, according to the views of Orient
courts, might be so interpreted as to imply;
design upon the throne. Rightly or wronglj
Ishbosheth so understood it, and he eve
ventured to reproach Abner with it. Abna
incensed at his ingratitude, opened negotif
tions with David, by whom he was md
favourably received at Hebron. He the)
undertook to procure his recognition throng
out Israel ; but after leaving his presence for
the purpose was enticed back by Joab, aid
treacherously murdered by him and his brli-j
ther Abishai, at the gate of the city, parity
no doubt from fear lest so distinguished*
convert to their cause should gain too highj
place in David's favour, but ostensibly in re
taliation for the death of Asahel. This mur
der caused the greatest sorrow and indigna
tion to David ; but as the assassins were M
powerful to be punished, he contented hii
self with showing every public token fl
respect to Abner's memory, by following tin
bier and pouring forth a simple dirge ov^
the slain (2 Sam. iii. 33, 34).

ABOMINATION

ABRAHAM

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, men
tioned by our Saviour as a sign of the ap
proaching destruction of J erusalem , with
reference to Dan. ix. 27, xi. 31, xii. 11.
The Jews considered the prophecy of Daniel
as fulfilled in the profanation of the Temple
under Antiochus Epiphanes, when the Israel
ites themselves erected an idolatrous altar
upon the sacred altar, and offered sacrifice
thereon : this altar is described as " an abo
mination of desolation" (1 Mace. i. 54, vi. 7).
The prophecy however referred ultimately to
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans,
-and consequently the "abomination" must
'describe some occurrence connected with that
?event. It appears most probable that the
^¦profanities of the Zealots constituted the
^abomination, which was the sign of impend-
jing ruin. The introduction of the Roman
GBtandards into the Temple, regarded by many
: as the " desolation," took place after the de-
. struction of the city.
. A'BRAHAM or A'BRAM, as his name
appears in the earlier portion of the history,
>was the son of Terah, and founder of the
great Hebrew nation. His family, a branch
Df the descendants of Shem, was settled in
Ur of the Chaldees, beyond the Euphrates.
Terah had two other sons, Nahor and Haran.
Haran died before his father in Ur of the
Chaldees, leaving a son Lot ; and Terah,
taking with him Abram, with Sarai his wife,
and bis grandson Lot, emigrated to Haran in
Mesopotamia, where he died. On the death
of his father, Abram, then in the 75th year
of his age, with Sarai and Lot, pursued his
course to the land of Canaan, whither he was
directed by divine" command (Gen. xii, 5),
when he received the general promise that he
should become the founder of a great nation,
and that all the families of the earth should
be blessed in him. He passed through the
.heart of the country by the great highway to
Shechem, and pitched his tent beneath the
terebinth of Moreh (Gen. xii. 6). Here he
received in vision from Jehovah the further
revelation that this was the land which his
descendants should inherit (xii. 7 ) . The
next halting-place of the wanderer was on a
mountain between Bethel and Ai (Gen. xii. 8 ) .
But the country was suffering from famine,
and Abram, finding neither pasture for his
Rattle nor food for his household, journeyed
still southwards to the rich corn-lands of
Egypt. There, fearing that the great beauty
*>f Sarai might tempt the powerful monarch
)f Egypt and expose his own life to peril, he
irraiiged that Sarai should represent herself
as his sister, which her actual relationship
,:o him, as probably the daughter of his bro
ther Haran, allowed her to do with some

semblance of truth. But her beauty was
reported to the king, and she was taken
into the royal harem. The deception was
discovered, and Pharaoh with some indigna
tion dismissed him from the country (xii.
10-20). Abram left Egypt with great pos
sessions, and, accompanied by Lot, returned
by the south of Palestine to his former en
campment between Bethel and Ai. The in
creased wealth of the two kinsmen was the
ultimate cause of their separation. The soil
was not fertile enough to support them boih ;
their herdsmen quarrelled ; and, to avoid
dissensions in a country where they were
surrounded by enemies, Abram proposed that
each should follow his own fortune. Lot
chose the fertile plain of the Jordan, rich
and well-watered as the garden of Jehovah ;
while Abram quitted the hill-fastness between
Bethel and Ai, and pitched his tent among the
oak-groves of Mainre, close to Hebron (Gen.
xiii.). The chiefs of the tribes who peopled
the plain of the Jordan had been subdued in
a previous irruption of northern warriors,
and for twelve years had been the tributaries
of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. Their re
bellion brought down upon Palestine and the
neighbouring countries a fresh flood of in
vaders from the north-east, who joined battle
with the revolted chieftains in the vale of
Siddim. The king of Sodom and his con
federates were defeated, their cities plun
dered, and a host of captives accompanied
the victorious army of Chedorlaomer. Among
them weie Lot and his family. Abram, then
confederate with Mamre the Amorite and his
brethren, heard the tidings from a fugitive,
and hastily arming his trusty slaves, started
in pursuit. He followed the track of the
conquerors along the Jordan valley, came up
with them by Dan, and in a night-attack
completely routed their host, and checked for
a time the stream of northern immigration.
The captives and plunder were all recovered,
and Abram was greeted on his return by the
king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek king of
Salem, priest of the Most High God, who
mysteriously appears upon the scene to bless
the patriarch, and receive from him a tenth
of the spoil (Gen. xiv.) . After this, the
thrice-repeated promise that his descendants
should become a mighty nation and possess
tho land in which he was a stranger, was
confirmed with all the solemnity of a religious
ceremony (Gen. xv.). Ten years had passed
since, in obedience to the divine command,
he had left his father's house, and the fulfil
ment of the promise was apparently more
distant than at first. At the suggestion of
Sai'ai, who despaired of having children of
her own, he took aa his concubine Hagar,

ABRAHAM

ABSALOM

her Egyptian maid, who bare him Ishmael in
the 86th year of his age (Gen. xvi.). [Hagab ;
Ishmael.] But this was not the accomplish
ment of the promise. Thirteen years elapsed,
during which Abram still dwelt in Hebron,
when the last step in the revelation was
made, that the son of Sarai, and not Ishmael,
should inherit both the temporal and spiritual
blessings. The covenant was renewed, and
the rite of circumcision established as its
sign. This most important crisis in Abram's
life is marked by the significant change of
his name to Abraham, " father of a multi
tude ; " while his wife's from Sarai became
Sarah. In his 99th year Abraham was cir
cumcised, in accordance with the divine com
mand, together with Ishmael and all the
males of his household, as well the slaves
born in his house as those purchased from
the foreigner (Gen. xvii.). The promise that
Sarah should have a son was repeated in the
remarkable scene desircbed in ch . x viii.
Three men stood before Abraham as he sat in
his tent door in the heat of the day. The
patriarch, with true Eastern hospitality, wel
comed the strangers, and bade them rest and
refresh themselves. The meal ended, they
foretold the birth of Isaac and went on their
way to Sodom. Abraham accompanied them,
and is represented as an interlocutor in a
dialogue with Jehovah, in which he pleaded
in vain to avert the vengeance threatened to
the devoted cities of the plain {xviii. 17-33).
— In remarkable contrast with Abraham's
firm faith with regard to the magnificent
fortunes of his posterity stands the incident
which occurred during his temporary resi
dence among the Philistines in Gerar, whither
he had, for some cause, removed after the
destruction of Sodom. Sarah's beauty won
the admiration of Abimelech, the king of the
country ; the temporizing policy of Abraham
produced the same results as before; and the
narrative of ch. xx. is nearly a repetition of
that in ch. xii. 11-20. Abimelech's dignified
rebuke taught him that he was not alone in
recognising a God of justice. — At length
Isaac, the long-looked for child, was born.
His birth was welcomed by all the rejoicings
which could greet the advent of one whose
future was of such rich promise. Sarah's
jealousy, aroused by the mockery of Ishmael
at the " great banquet " which Abraham
made to celebrate the weaning of her son
(Gen. xxi. 9), demanded that, with his
mother Hagar, he should be driven out (Gen.
xxi. 10). The patriarch reluctantly con
sented, consoled by the fresh promise that
Ishmael too should become a great nation.
But the severest trial of his faith was yet to
come. For a long period the history is al

most silent. At length be receives the strange
command to take Isaac, his only son, and
offer him for a burnt-offering at an appointed
place. Such a bidding, in direct opposition!
to the promptings of nature and the divine*
mandate against the shedding of human blooty
Abraham hesitated not to obey. His faith,
hitherto unshaken, supported him in this
final trial, " accounting that God was able to
raise up his son, even from the dead, from
whence also he received him in a figure"
(Heb. xi. 19). The sacrifice was stayed by
the angel of Jehovah, the piomise of spiritual
blessing for the first time repeated, and
Abraham with his son returned to Beersheoa,
and for a time dwelt there (Gen. xxii.). Bnti
we find him after a few years in his original!
residence at Hebron, for there Sarah diel
(Gen. xxiii. 2), and was buried in the cave of
Machpelah, which Abraham purchased '<&¥>
Ephron the Hittite, for the exorbitant price
of 400 shekels of silver. The mosque at
Hebron is believed to stand upon the site o;
the sepulchral cave. — The remaining years oj
Abraham's life are marked by but few incij
dents. In his advanced age he commissionej
the faithful steward of his house to seek I
wife for Isaac from the family of his brother
Nahor, binding him by the most solemn oath
not to contract an alliance with the daughter!
of the degraded Canaanites among whom he
dwelt (Gen, xxiv.). After Isaac's marriagj
with Rebecca, and his removal to Lahai-rojfl
Abraham took to wife Keturah, by whom he
had six children, Zimran, Jokshan, Medanj
Midian, Ishbok, and Shuah, who became the
ancestors of nomadic tribes inhabiting the
countries south and south-east of Palestine.
Keturah occupied a position inferior to that
of a legitimate wife. Her children, like
Ishmael, were dismissed with presents, and
settled in the East country during Abraham^
lifetime, and Isaac was left sole heir of his
father's wealth. — Abraham lived to see the
gradual accomplishment of the promise it
the birth of his grandchildren Jacob and
Esau, and witnessed their growth to man
hood (Gen. xxv. 26). At the goodly age i
175 he was ''gathered to his people," ail
laid beside Sarah in the tomb of MachpelaS
by his sons Isaac and Ishmael (Gen. xxf!
7-10). — From the intimate communion wbicH|
Abraham held with the Almighty, he is di?
tinguished by the high title of " the ' friend^
of God" (2 Chr. xx. 7 ; Is. xii. S; Jam,
23); and JEI-Khalil, "the friend," is tfl
appellation by which he is familiarly knw
in the traditions of the Arabs, who hd
given the same name to Hebron, the place;
his residence.
AB'SALOM {father of peace), third son

ABSALOM

7

ACELDAMA

David by Maachah, daughter of Talmai king
of Geshur, a Syrian district adjoining the
N.E. frontier of the Holy Land. Absalom
had a sister, Tamar, who was violated by her
half-brother Amnon, David's eldest son by
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess. The natural
avenger of such an outrage would be Tamar's
full brother Absalom. He brooded over the
wrong for two years, and then invited all the
princes to a sheep-shearing feast at his estate
in Baal-hazor, on the borders of Ephraim and
Benjamin. Here he ordered his servants to
murder Amnon, and then fled for safety to
his grandfather's court at Geshur, where he
i'emained for three years. At the end of that
time he was- brought back by an artifice of
Joab, who sent a woman of Tekoah to entreat
the king's interference in an imaginary case
similar to Absalom's. David, however,
would not see Absalom for two more years ;
but at length Joab brought about a recon
ciliation. Absalom now began at once to
prepare for rebellion, urged to it partly by
his own restless wickedness, partly perhaps
by the fear lest Bathsheba's child should sup
plant him in the succession, to which he
would feel himself entitled as being now
David's eldest surviving son. Absalom tried
to supplant his father by courting popularity,
i standing in the gate, conversing with every
i suitor, and lamenting the difficulty which he
i would find in getting a hearing. He also
i maintained a splendid retinue (2 Sam. xv, 1),
i and was admired for his personal beauty and
[ the luxuriant growth of his hair, on grounds
f similar to those which had made Saul accept-
, able (1 Sam. x. 23). It is probable too that
i the great tribe of Judah had taken some
offence at David's government, perhaps from
finding themselves completely merged in one
united Israel. But whatever the causes may
have been, Absalom raised the standard of
revolt at Hebron, the old capital of Judah,
now supplanted by Jerusalem. The revolt
was at first completely successful; David fled
from his capital over the Jordan to Mahanaim
in Gilead. Absalom occupied Jerusalem, and
by the advice of Ahithophel took possession
of David's harem, in which he had left ten
concubines. This was considered to imply a
formal assumption of all his father's royal
rights {comp. the conduct of Adonijah, 1 K.
ii. 13 ff.), and was also a fulfilment of
Nathan's prophecy (2 Sam. xii. 11.) But
David had left friends who watched over his
interests. The vigorous counsels of Ahi
thophel were afterwards rejected through the
crafty advice of Hushai, who insinuated him
self into Absalom's confidence to work his
ruin, and Ahithophel himself, seeing his
, ambitious hopes frustrated, ,went home to

Giloh, and committed suicide. At last, after
being solemnly anointed king at Jerusalem
(xix. 10), Absalom crossed the Jordan to
attack his father, who by this time had rallied
round him a considerable force, whereas had
Ahithophel's advice been followed, he would
probably have been crushed at once. A
decisive battle was fought in Gilead, in the
wood of Ephraim. Here Absalom's forces
were totally defeated, and as he himself was
escaping, his long hair was entangled in the
branches of a terebinth, where he was left
hanging while the mule on which he was
riding ran away from under him. He was
despatched by Joab in spite of the prohibition
of David, who, loving him to the last, had
desired that his life might be spared. He
was buried in a great pit in the forest, and
the conquerors threw stones over his grave,
an old proof of bitter hostility (Josh. vii.
26). AC'CAD, one of the cities in the land of
Shinar (Gen. x, 10). Its position is quite
uncertain. AC'CHO (the Ptolemais of the Maccabees
and N. T.), now called Acca, or more usually
by Europeans,, St, Jean d'Acre, the most im
portant sea-port town on the Syrian coast,
about 30 miles S. of Tyre. It was situated
on a slightly projecting headland, at the
northern extremity of that spacious bay,
which is formed by the bold promontory of
Carmel on the opposite side. In the division
of Canaan among the tribes, Accho fell to the
lot of Asher, but was never wrested from its
original inhabitants (Judg. i. 31) ; and hence
it is reckoned by the classical writers among
the cities of Phoenicia. No further mention
is made of it in the O. T. history, but it rose
to importance after the dismemberment of
the Macedonian empire. Along with the
rest of Phoenicia it fell to the lot of Egypt,
and was named Ptolemais, after one of the
Ptolemies, probably Soter. It was afterwards
taken by Antiochus the Great, and attached to
his kingdom. The only notice of it in the
N. T. is in connexion with St. Paul's passage
from Tyre to Caesarea (Acts xxi. 7).
ACEL'DAMA, " the field of blood ; " the
name given by the Jews of Jerusalem to
a field near Jerusalem purchased by Judas
with the mon^y which he received for the
betrayal of Christ, and so called from his
violent death therein (Acts i. 19). This is
apparently at variance with the account of
St. Matthew {xxvii. 8), according to which
the "field of blood" was purchased by the
priests with the 30 pieces of silver, after they
had been cast down by Judas, as a burial-
place for strangers, the locality being well
known at the time as " the field of the Potter."

ACHAIA

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

And accordingly ecclesiastical tradition ap
pears, from the eai'liest times, to have pointed
out two distinct spots as referred to in the
two accounts. The "field of blood" is now
shown on the steep southern face of the
valley or ravine of Hinnom. It was believed
in tho middle ages that the soil of this place
had the power of very rapidly consuming
bodies buried in it, and in consequence either
of this, or of the sanctity of the spot, great
quantities of the earth were taken away ;
amongst others by the Pisan Crusaders in
1218 for their Campo Santo at Pisa, and by
the Empress Helena for that at Rome.
ACHA'IA signifies, in the N. T., a Roman
province, which included the whole of the
Peloponnesus and the greater part of Hellas
proper with the adjacent islands. This pro
vince, with that of Macedonia, comprehended
the ' whole of Greece : hence Achaia and
Macedonia are frequently mentioned together
in the N. T. to indicate all Greece (Acts
xviii. 12, xix. 21 ; Rom. xv. 26, >vi. 5 ;
1 Cor. xvi. 15; 2 Cor. ii. 1, ix. 2, xi. 10 ;
1 Thess. i. 7, 8). In the time of the em
peror Claudius, it was governed by a Pro
consul, translated in the A. V. "deputy" of
Achaia (Acts xviii. 12).
A'CHAN [troitbler] an Israelite of the tribe
of Judah, who, when Jericho and all that it
contained were accursed and devoted to de
struction, secreted a portion of the spoil in
his tent. For this sin Jehovah punished
Israel by their defeat in the attack upon
Ai. When Achan confessed his guilt, and
the booty was discovered, he was stoned to
death with his whole family by the people in
a valley situated between Ai and Jericho, and
their remains, together with his property,
were burnt (Josh. vii. 16-22 j. From this
event the valley received the name of Achor
(i.e. trouble). [Achor].
A'CHISH, a Philistine king of Gath, who
in the title .to the 34th Psalm is called Abi-
melech. David twice found a refuge with
him when he fled from Saul. On the first
occasion, being recognised by the servants of
Achish as one celebrated for his victories over
the Philistines, he was alarmed for his safety,
and feigned madness (1 Sam. xxi. 10-13).
[David.] From Achish he fled to the cave
of Adullam. On a second occasion David
fled to Achish with 600 men (1 Sam. xxvii.
2), and remained at Gath a year and four
months. ACH'METHA. [Ecbatana.]
A'CHOR, VALLEY OF, or "valley of
trouble," the spot at which Achan, the
" trouble r of Israel," was stoned (Josh. vii.
24, 26). On the N. boundary of Judah {xv.
7 ; also Is. lxv. 10 ; Hos. ii. 15).

ACH'SAH, daughter of Caleb. Her father
promised her in marriage to whoever should
take Debir. Othniel, her father's younger
brother, took that city, and accordingly re
ceived the hand of Achsah as his reward,
Caleb, at his daughter's request, added to
her dowry the upper and lower springs,
which she had pleaded for as peculiarly suit-
able to her inheritance in a south country.
(Josh. xv. 15-19; Judg. i. 11-15).
ACH'SHAPH, a city within the territory
of Asher, named between Beten and Alamme-
lech (Josh*, xix. 25) ; originally the seat of a
Canaanite king (xi. 1, xii. 20).
ACH'ZIB. 1. A city in the lowlands of
Judah, named with Keilah and Mareshahj
(Josh. xv. 44 ; Mic. i. 14). It is probably
the same with Chezib and Chozeba, which
see. — 3. A town belonging to Asher (JoshiM
xix. 29), from which the Canaanites were not i
expelled (Judg. i. 31) ; afterwards Ecdipptyj
It is now es-Zib, on the sea-shore, 2 h. 20 m.
N. of Acre.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, a second !
treatise by the author of the third Gospel^
traditionally known as Luke. The identity
of the writer of both books is strongly shown j
by their great similarity in style and idiom,
and the usage of particular words and com- ;
pound forms. It is, at first sight, somewhat]
surprising that notices of the author are
wanting, generally, in the Epistles of St.
Paul, whom he must have accompanied for
some years on his travels. But no Epistles
were, strictly speaking, written by St. Paul j
while our writer was in his company, before
his Roman imprisonment ; for he does not,j
seem to have joined him at Corinth (Acts
xviii.), where the two Epistles to the Thessa-
lonians were written, nor to have been with
him at Ephesus (ch. xix.), whence, perhaps,
the Epistle to the Galatians was written;^
nor again to have wintered with him at
Corinth (ch- xx. 3) at the time of his writing
the Epistle to the Romans, and, perhaps^
that to the Galatians. — The book commences
with an inscription to one Theophilus, who
was probably a man of birth, and station.
But its design must not be supposed to be
limited to the edification of Theophilus, whose*,
name is prefixed only, as was customary then
as now, by way of dedication. The readers
were evidently intended to be the members
of the Christian Church, whether Jews or
Gentiles ; for its contents are such as are of
the utmost consequence to the whole Church.
They are The fulfilment of the promise of tH
Father by the descent of the Holy Spirit, and
the results of that outpouring, by the disper
sion of the Gospel among Jews and Gentilesi
Under these leading heads all the persona]

ADAH

ADAM

and subordinate details may be ranged. Im
mediately after the Ascension, St. Peter, the
first of the Twelve, designated by our Lord
'as the Rock on whom the Church was to be
built, the holder of the keys of the kingdom,
becomes the prime actor under God in the
founding of the Church. He is the centre of
the first great group of sayings and doings.
The opening of the door to Jews (ch. ii.) and
Gentiles (ch. x.) is his office, and by him, in
good time, is accomplished. But none of
the existing twelve Apostles were, humanly
speaking, fitted to preach the Gospel to the
cultivated Gentile world. To be by divine
grace the spiritual conqueror of Asia and
Europe, God raised up another instrument,
from among the highly-educated and zealous
Pharisees. The preparation of Saul of Tarsus
for the work to be done, the progress, in his
hand, of that woi'k, his journeyings, preach
ings, and perils, his stripes and imprison
ments, his testifying in Jerusalem and being
brought to testify in Rome,— these are the
¦subjects of the latter half of the book, of
which the great central figure is the Apostle
Paul. It seems most probable that the place
of writing was Rome, and the time about two
years from the date of St. Paul's arrival
there, as related in ch. xxviii. 30. This
would give us for the publication the year
63 a.d., according to the most probable
assignment of the date of the arrival of St.
Paul at Rome.
, A'DAH (ornament, beauty). 1. The first
of the two wives of Lamrch, by whom were
born to him Jabal and Jubal (Gen. iv. 19).
—3. A Hittitess, one of the three wives of
Esau, mother of Eliphaz (Gen. xxxvi. 2, 10,
12, 16). In Gen. xxvi. 34 she is called
Bashemath. AD'AM, the name given in Scripture to the
first man. It apparently has reference to the
ground from which he was formed, which is
called in Hebrew Adamah. The idea of red
ness of colour seems to be inherent in either
word. The creation of man was the work
of the sixth day. His formation was the
ultimate object of the Creator. It was with
reference to him that all things were de
signed. He was to be the " roof and crown "
Of the whole fabric of the world. In the first
nine chapters of Genesis there appear to be
three distinct histories relating more or less
to the life of Adam. The first extends from
Gen. i. 1 to ii. 3, the second from ii. 4 to iv.
26, the third from v. 1 to the end of ix. The
word at the commencement of the two latter
narratives, which is rendered there and else
where generations, may also he rendered
history. The object of the first of these
narratives is to record the creation j that of

the second to give an account of paradise, the
original sin of man, and the immediate pos
terity of Adam ; the third contains mainly
the history of Noah, referring, it would seem,
to Adam and his descendants principally in
relation to that patriarch. The name Adam
was not confined to the father of the human
race, but like homo was applicable to woman
as well as man, so that we find it said in
Gen. v. 2, "male and female created He
them, and called their name Adam in the day
when they were created." The man Adam
was placed in a garden which the Lord God
had planted "eastward in Eden," for the
purpose of dressing it and keeping it. [Eden.]
Adam was permitted to eat of the fruit of
every tree in the garden but one, which was
called the "tree of the knowledge of good
and evil." The prohibition to taste the fruit
of this tree was enforced by the menace of
death. There was also another tree which
was called " the tres of life." Some suppose
it to have acted as a kind of medicine, and
that by the continual use of it our first
parents, not created immortal, were pre
served from death. While Adam was in the
garden of Eden, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the air were brought to him to
be named, and whatsoever he called every
living creature that was the name thereof.
Thus the power of fitly designating objects of
sense was possessed by the first man, a faculty
which is generally considered as indicating
mature and extensive intellectual resources.
Upon the failure of a companion suitable for
Adam among the creatures thus brought to
him to be named, the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon him, and took one of his
ribs from him, which He fashioned into a
woman and brought her to the man. At this
time they are both described as being naked
without tlie consciousness of shame. Such is
the Scripture account of Adam prior to the
Fall. The first man is a true man, with the
powers of a man and the innocence of a child.
He is moreover spoken of by St. Paul as being
"the figure of Him that was to come," the
second Adam, Christ Jesus (Rom. v. 14). By
the subtlety of the serpent, the woman who
was given to be with Adam, was beguiled
into a violation of the one command which
had been imposed upon them. She took of
the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to
her husband. The propriety of its name was
immediately shown in the results which fol
lowed : self-consciousness was the first-fruits
of sin ; their eyes were opened and they knew
that they were naked. Though the curse of
Adam's rebellion of necessity fell upon him,
yet the very prohibition to eat of the tree of
life after his transgression was probably a

ADAM

10

ADONIJAH

where it is used to characterise the tribe o|
Dan : " Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
an adder in tl-e path, that biteth the horse's

heels, so that his rider shall fall backward^

manifestation of Divine mercy, because the
greatest malediction of all would have been
to have the gift of indestructible life super
added to a state of wretchedness and sin. —
Adam is stated to have lived 930 years.
His sons mentioned in Scripture are
Cain, Abel, and Seth : it is implied
however that he had others.
AD 'AM, a city on the Jordan " be
side Zaretan," in the time of Joshua
(Josh. iii. 16).
AD'AMAH, one of the " fenced cities "
of Naphtali, named between Chinnereth
and ha-Ramah (Josh. xix. 36).
ADAMANT, the translation of the
Hebrew word Shamir in Ez. iii. 9 and
Zech. vii. 12. In Jer. xvji. 1 itis trans
lated " diamond." In these three pas
sages the word is the representative of Homed Cerastes.
some stone of excessive hardness, and
is used metaphorically. Since the Hebrews ' The habit of lurking in the sand and biting
appear to have been unacquainted with the at the horse's heels, here alluded to, suits the
true diamond, it is very probable, from the character of a well-known species of veno-
expression in Ez. iii. 9, of "adamant harder \ mous snake, and helps to identify it with the

than flint," that by Shamir is intended Emery,
a variety of Corundum, a mineral inferior only
to .the diamond in hardness. Emery is exten
sively used for polishing and cutting gems
and other hard substances.
AD'AMI, a place on the border of Naphtali
(Josh. xix. 33).
A'DAR, a place on the south boundary of
Judah (Josh. xv. 3).
A'DAR. [Months.]
AD'ASA, a place in Judaea, about 4 miles
from Bethhoron (1 Mace. vii. 40, 45).
ADDEB,. This word is used for any
poisonous snake, and is applied in this
general sense by the translators of the A. V.
They use in a similar way the synonymous
term asp. The word adder occurs five times
in the text of the A. V. (see below), and three
times in the margin as synonymous with
cockatrice, viz. Is. xi. 8, xiv. 29, lix. 5. It
represents four Hebrew words : — 1. 'Acsftub
is found only in Ps. cxl. 3, " They have
sharpened their tongues like a serpent,
adders' poison is under their lips." The
latter half of this verse is quoted by St. Paul

celebrated horned viper, the asp of Cleopatra|
(Cerastes), which is found abundantly in the
dry sandy deserts of Egypt, Syria, and
Arabia. The Cerastes is extremely veno
mous; Bruce compelled a specimen to scratch^
eighteen pigeons upon the thigh as quickly!
as possible, and they all died in nearly the j
same interval of time.
AD'MAH, one of the " cities of the plain,'? |
always coupled with Zeboim (Gen. x. 19, j
xiv. 2, 8 ; Deut. xxix. 23 ; Hos. xi. 8).
ADO'NI-BE'ZEK {lord of Bezek), king of
Bezek, a city of the Canaanites. [BEZEK.]a
This chieftain Svas vanquished by the tribe of
Judah (Judg. i. 3-7), who cut off his thumbs
and great toes, and brought him prisoner to
Jerusalem, where he died. He confessed that^
he had inflicted the same cruelty- upon 70
petty kings whom he had conquered.
ADONI'JAH (my Lord is Jehovah), the
fourth son of David by Haggith, born at
Hebron, while his father was king of Judah
(2 Sam. iii. 4). After the death of his three
brothers, Amnon, Chileab, and Absalom, he
became eldest son ; and when his father's

from the LXX in Rom. iii. 13. 'Acshilb may ! strength was visibly declining, put forward
be represented by the Toxieoa of Egypt and j his pretensions to the crown. David promised
North Africa. — 3. Pethen. [Asp.] — 3. Tsepha, j Bathshcba that her son Solomon should in-
or Tsiphoni, occurs five times in the He- ; herit the succession (1 Iv. i. 30), for there1

brew Bible. In Prov. xxiii. 32 it is trans
lated adder, and in Is. xi. 8, xiv. 29, lix. 5,
Jer. viii. 17, it is rendered cockatrice. From

was no absolute claim of primogeniture iii
these Eastern monarchies. Adonijah's cause
was espoused by Abiathar and Joab, the

Jeremiah we learn that it was. of a hostile , famous commander of David's army. [Joab.]
nature, and from the parallelism of Is. xi. 8 His name and influence secured a large
it appears that the Tsiphoni was considered number of followers among the captains of
even more dreadful than the Pethen. — 4. the royal army belonging to the tribe of
Shephtphon occurs only in Gen. xlix. 17, Judah (comp. 1 K. i. 9, 25) ; and these, to-

ADONIRAM

11

ADORATION

gether with all the princes, except Solomon,
were entertained by Adonij ah at a great
sacrificial feast held "by the stone Zoheleth,
which is by En-rogel." [Enrogel.] Nathan
and Bathsheba, now thoroughly alarmed,
apprised David of these proceedings, who
immediately gave orders that Solomon should
be conducted on the royal mule in solemn
procession to Gihon, a spring on the W. of
Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxxii. 30). [Gihon.]
Here he was anointed and proclaimed king
by Zadok, and joyfully recognised by the
people. This decisive measure struck terror
into the opposite party, and Adonijah fled to
sanctuary, but was pardoned by Solomon on
condition that he should " show himself a
worthy man," with the threat that " if
wickedness were found in him he should die "
(i. 52). The death of David quickly fol
lowed on these events ; and Adonijah begged
Bathsheba, who as "king's mother" would
now have special dignity and influence [Asa],
to procure Solomon's consent to his marriage
with Abishag, who had been the wife of
David in his old age (1 K. i. 3). This was
regarded as equivalent to a fresh attempt
on the throne [Absalom ; Abner] ; and
therefore Solomon ordered him to be put to
death by Benaiah, in accordance with the
terms of his previous pardon.
ADONI'RAM (1 K. iv. 6 ; by an unusual
contraction Adoram, 2 Sam. xx. 24, and
1 K. xii. 18 ; also Hadoham, 2 Chr. x. 18),
chief receiver of the tribute during the reigns
of David (2 Sam. xx. 24), Solomon {1 K.
iv. 6)", and Rehoboam {1 K. xii. 18). This
last monarch sent him to collect the tribute
from the rebellious Israelites, by whom he
was stoned to death.
ADO'NI-ZE'DEK (lord of justice), the i
Amorite king of Jerusalem who organised a ,
league with four other Amorite princes against
Joshua. The confederate kings having laid
siege to Gibeon, Joshua marched to the relief
of his new allies and put the besiegers to
flight. The five kings took refuge in a cave
at Makkedah, whence they were taken and
slain, their bodies bung on trees, and then
buried in the place of their concealment
(Josh. x. 1-27).
ADOPTION, an expression metaphorically
used by St. Paul in reference to the present
and prospective privileges of Christians
(Rom. viii. 15, 23 ; Gal. iv. 5 ; Eph. i. 5).
He probably alludes to the Roman custom of
adoption, by which a person, not having
children of his own, might adopt as his son
one barn of other parents. The effect of it
was that the adopted child was entitled to
the name and sacra privata of his new father,
and ranked as his heir-at-law i while the

father on his part was entitled to the pro
perty of the son, and exercised towards him
all the rights and privileges of a father. In
short the relationship was to all intents and
purposes the same as existed between a
natural father and son. The selection of a
person to be adopted implied a decided pre
ference and love on the part of the adopter :
and St. Paul aptly transfers the well-known
feelings and customs connected with the act
to illustrate the position of the Christianised
Jew or Gentile. Tho Jews themselves were
unacquainted with the process of adoption :
indeed it would have been inconsistent with
the regulations of the Mosaic law affecting
the inheritance of property : the instances
occasionally adduced as referring to the cus
tom (Gen. xv. 3, xvi. 2, xxx. 5-9) are evi
dently not cases of adoption proper.
ADORA'IM, a fortified city built by Reho
boam (2 Chr. xi. 9), in Judah. Adorahn is
probably the same place with Adora (1 Mace.
xiii. 20), unless that be Dor, on the sea-
coast below Carmel. Robinson identifies it
with Dura, a "large village" on a rising
ground west of Hebron.
ADORATION. The acts and postures by
which the Hebrews expressed adoration bear
a great similarity to those still in use among
Oriental nations. To rise up and suddenly
prostrate the body was the most simple

Adoration. Modern Egyptian. (Lane.)
method ; but, generally speaking, the pros
tration was conducted in a more formal
manner, the person falling upon the knee
and then gradually inclining the body until
the forehead touched the ground. Such
prostration was usual in the worship of Je
hovah (Gen. xvii. 3 ; Ps. xcv. 6). But it
was by no means exclusively used for that
purpose ; it was the formal mode of receiving
visitors (Gen. xviii. 2), of doing obeisanoe to
one of superior station (2 Sam. xiv. 4), and
of showing respect to equals (1 K. ii. 19).

ADRAMMELECH

12

ADULTERY

Occasionally it was repeated three times ( 1
Sam. xx. 41), and even seven times (Gen.
xxxiii. 3). It was accompanied by such acts
as a kiss (Ex. xviii. 7), laying hold of the
knees or feet of the person to whom the
adoration was paid (Matt, xxviii. 9), and
kissing the ground on which he stood (Ps.
lxxii. 9 ; Mic. vii. 17 ). Similar adoration
was paid to idols (1 K. xix. 18) : sometimes
however prostration was omitted, and the
act consisted simply in kissing the hand to
the object of reverence (Job xxxi. 27), and
in kissing the statue itself (Hos. xiii. 2).
ADRAM'MELECH. 1. The name of an
idol introduced into Samaria by the colonists
from Sepharvaim (2 K. xvii. 31). He was
worshipped with rites resembling those of
Molech, children being burnt in his honour.
The first part of the word probably means
tire. Adrammelech was probably the male
power of the sun, and Anammelech, who is
mentioned with Adrammelech as a com
panion-god, the female power of the sun. —
2. Son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib,
who, together with his brother Sharezer,
murdered their father in the temple of Nis-
roch at Nineveh, after the failure of the As
syrian attack on Jerusalem. The parricides
escaped into Armenia (2 K. xix. 37 ; 2 Chr.
xxxii. 21 ; Is. xxxvii. 38). The date of this
event was b.c. 680.
ADRAMYT'TIUM, a seaport in the pro
vince of Asia [Asia.], situated in the district
anciently called Aeolis, and also Mysia (see
Acts xvi. 7). Adramyttium gave, and still
gives, its name to a deep gulf on this coast,
opposite to the opening of which is the island
of Lesbos. [Mitylene.] It has no Biblical
interest, except as illustrating St. Paul's
voyage from Caesarea in a ship belonging to
this place (Acts xxvii. 2). Ships of Adra
myttium must have been frequent on this
coast, for it was a place of considerable
traffic. The modern Adramyti is a poor
village, but it is still a place of some trade
and shipbuilding.
A'DRIA, more properly A'DRIAS. It is
important to fix the meaning of this word as
used in Acts xxvii. 27. The word seems to
have been derived from the town of Adria,
near the Po ; and at first it denoted the part
of the Gulf of Venice which is in that neigh
bourhood. Afterwards the signification of
the name was extended, -so as to embrace the
whole of that gulf. Subsequently it obtained
a much wider extension, and in the apostolic
age denoted that natural division of the
Mediterranean which had the coasts of Sicily,
Italy, Greece, and Africa for its boundaries.
This definition is explicitly given by almost
a contemporary of St. Paul, the geographer

Ptolemy, who also says that Crete is bounded.;
on the west by Adrias. Later writers state
that Malta divides the Adriatic sea from the
Tyrrhenian sea, and the isthmus of Corinth
the Aegean from the Adriatic. It is through;
ignorance of these facts, or through the want
of attending to them, that writers have drawn
an argument from this geographical term in
favour of the false view which places the
apostle's shipwreck in the Gulf of Venice.
[Melita-1 i
A'DRIEL, son of Barzillai, to whom Saul
gave his daughter Merab, although he had
previously "promised her to David (1 Ram.
xviii. 19). His five sons were amongst the
seven descendants of Saul whom David sur
rendered to the Gibeonites in satisfaction for
the endeavours of Saul to extirpate them
{2 Sam. xxi. 8).
ADUL'LAM, Apocr. Odollam, a city of
Judah in the lowland or Shefelah (Josh.
xv. 35} ; the seat of a Canaanite king (Josh.
xii. 15), and evidently a place of great anti
quity (Gen. xxxviii. 1, 12, 20). Fortified by
Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 7), it was one of the
towns reocenpied by the Jews after their re
turn from Babylon (Neh. xi. 30), and still a
city in the times of the Maccabees (2 Mace. xii.
38). — Adullam was probably near Heir Bub-
bdn, 5 or 6 miles N. of Eleutheropolis. The
limestone cliffs of the whole of that locality
are pierced with extensive excavations, some
one of which is doubtless the "cave of Adul
lam," the refuge of David (1 Sam. xxii. 1;
2 Sam. xxiii. 13 ; 1 Chr. xi. 15).
ADULTERY. The parties to this ¦crime
were a married woman and a man who was
not her husband. The toleration of poly
gamy, indeed, renders it nearly impossible to
make criminal a similar offence committed*
by a married man with a woman not his
wife. The Mosaic penalty was that both the
guilty parties should be stoned, and it applied
as well to the betrothed as to the married?
woman, provided she were free (Deut. xxii.
22-24). A bondwoman so offending was to
be scourged, and the man was to make a
trespass offering (Lev. xix. 20-22). At a
later time, and when, owing to Gentile
example, the marriage tie became a looser
bond of union, public feeling in regard to
adultery changed, and' the penalty of deathi
was seldom or never inflicted. Thus, in the'
case of the woman brought under our Lord's
notice (John viii.), it is likelv that no one
then thought of stoning her in fact, though:
there remained the written law ready for the
purpose of the caviller. It is likely also that
a divorce, in which the adulteress lost her
dower and rights of maintenance, &c, was
the usual remedy, suggested by a wish to

ADUMMIM

13

AGE

avoid scandal and the excitement of com
miseration for crime. The expression in St.
Matthew (i. 19) "to make her a public
example," probably means to bring the case
before the local Sanhedrim, which was the
usual course, but which Joseph did not pro
pose to take, preferring repudiation, because
that could be managed privately. The
famous trial by the waters of jealousy (Num.
v. 11-29), was probably an ancient custom,
which Moses found deeply seated, and which
is said to be paralleled by a form of ordeal
called the " red water " in Western Africa.
The forms of Hebrew justice all tended to
limit the application of this test. When
adultery ceased to be capital, as no doubt it
did, and divorce became a matter of mere
convenience, it would he absurd to suppose
that this trial was continued. And when
adultery became common, it would have been
impious to expect the miracle which it sup-

ADUM'MIM, " the going up to " or "of,"
one of the landmarks of the boundary of
Benjamin, a rising ground or pass " over
against Gilgal," and " on the south side of
the ' torrent ' " (Josh. xv. 7 , xviii. 17), which
is the position still occupied by the road
leading up from Jericho and the Jordan
valley to Jerusalem, on the south face of the
gorge of the Wady Kelt. The pass is still
infested by robbers, as it was in the days of
our Lord, of whose " parable of the Good
Samaritan this is the scene.
AE'GYPT. [Egypt.]
AE'NON, a place "near to Salim," at
which John baptized (John iii. 23). It was
evidently west of the Jordan (comp. iii. 22,
with 2G, and with i. 28), and abounded in
water. This is indicated by the name, which
is merely a Greek version of a Chaldee word,
signifying " springs." Aenon is given in the
Onomasticun as 8 miles south of Scythopolis
" near Salem and the Jordan."
AERA. [Chronology.]
AETHIO'PIA. [Ethiopia.]
AFFINITY. [Marriage.]
AG'ABUS, a Christian prophet in the
apostolic age, mentioned in Acts xi. 28 and
xxi. 10. He predicted (Acts xi. 28) that a
famine would take place in the reign of
Claudius "throughout all the world." As
Greek and Roman writers used " the world "
of the Greek and the Roman world, so a
Jewish writer would use it naturally of the
Jewish world or Palestine. Josephus men
tions a famine which prevailed in Judaea in
the reign of Claudius, and swept away many
of the inhabitants. This, in all probability,
is the famine to which Agabus refers.
A'GAG, possibly the title of the kings of

Amalek, like Pharaoh of Egypt. One king
of this name is mentioned in Num. xxiv. 7,
and another in 1 Sam. xv. 8, 9, 20, 32. The
latter was the king of the Amalekites, whom
Saul spared, together with the best of the
spoil, although it was the well-known will of
Jehovah that the Amalekites should be
extirpated (Ex. xvii. 14; Deut. xxv. 17).
For this act of disobedience Samuel was com
missioned to declare to Saul his rejection,
and he himself sent for Agag and cut him in
pieces. [Samuel.] — Haman is called the
Agagite in Esth. iii. 1, 10, viii. 3, 5. The
Jews consider him a descendant of Agag the
Amalekite, and hence account for the hatred
with which he pursued their race.
A'GAGITE. [Agag.]
AGATE is mentioned four times in the
text of the A. V. ; viz. in Ex. xxviii. 19,
xxxix. 12; Is. liv. 12; Ez. xxvii. 16. In
the two former passages, where it is re
presented by the Hebrew word shebo, it is
spoken of as forming the second stone in the
third row of the high priest's breastplate ; in
each of the two latter places the original
word is cadced, by which, no doubt, is in
tended a different stone. [Ruby.] — Our
English agate derives its name from the
Achates, on the banks of which, according to
Thcophrastus and Pliny, it was first found ;
but as agates are met with in almost every
country, this stone was doubtless from the
earliest times known to the Orientals. It is
a silicious stone of the quartz family.
AGE, OLD. In early stages of civiliza
tion, when experience is the only source of
practical knowledge, old age has its special
value, and consequently its special honours.'
A further motive was superadded in the case
of the Jew, who was taught to consider old
age as a reward for piety, and a signal token
of God's favour. For these reasons the aged
occupied a prominent place in the social and
political system of the Jews. In private life
they were looked up to as the depositaries of
knowledge (Job xv. 10) : the young were
ordered to rise up in their presence (Lev.
xix. 32) : they allowed them to give their
Opinion first (Job xxxii. 4) : they were
taught to regard grey hairs as a "crown of
glory" and as the "beauty of old men"
(Prov. xvi. 31, xx. 29). The attainment of
old age was regarded as a special blessing
(Job v. 26), not only on account of the pro
longed enjoyment of life to the individual,
but also because it indicated peaceful and
prosperous times (Zech. viii. 4 ; 1 Mace. xiv.
9 ; Is. lxv. 20). In public affairs age carried
weight with it, especially in the infancy of
the state : it formed under Moses the main
qualification of those who acted as the re-

AGRICULTURE

14

AGRICULTURE

presentatives of the' people in all matters of
difficulty and deliberation. The old men or
Elders thus became a class, and the title
gradually ceased to convey the notion of age,
and was used in an official sense, like Patres,
Senatores, and other similar terms. [Elders.]
Still it would be but natural that such an
ofiice was generally held by men of advanced
age (1 K. xii. 8).
AGRICULTURE. This, though promi
nent in the Scriptural narrative concerning
Adam, Cain, and Noah, was little eared for
by the patriarchs. The pastoral life was the
means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet
a family, distinct from mixture and locally
unattached, especially whilst in Egypt.
When, grown into a nation, they conquered
their future seats, agriculture supplied a
similar check on the foreign intercourse and
speedy demoralisation, especially as regards
idolatry, which commerce would have caused.
Thus agriculture became the basis of the
Mosaic commonwealth. Taken in connexion
with the inalienable character of inheritances,
it gave each man and each family a stake in
the soil, and nurtured a hardy patriotism.
"The land is Mine" (Lev. xxv. 23) was a
dictum which made agriculture likewise the
basis of the theocratic relation. Thus every
family felt its own life with intense keenness,
and had its divine tenure which it was to
guard from alienation. The prohibition of
culture in the sabbatical year formed, under
this aspect, a kind of rent reserved by the
Divine Owner. Landmarks were deemed
sacred (Deut. xix. 14), and the inalienability
of the heritage was ensured by its reversion
'to the owner in the year of jubilee ; so that
only so many years of occupancy could be
sold (Lev. xxv. 8-16, 23-35). The prophet
Isaiah (v. 8) denounces the contempt of such
restrictions by wealthy grandees, who sought
to " add field to field," erasing families and
depopulating districts.
Rain. — The abundance of water in Pales
tine, from natural sources, made it a
contrast to rainless Egypt (Deut. viii. 7, xi.
8-12). Rain was commonly expected soon
after the autumnal equinox. The common
scriptural expressions of the " early " and
the " latter rain " (Deut. xi. 14 ; Jer. v, 24 -r
Hos. vi. 3; Zech. x. 1; Jam. v. 7) are
scarcely confirmed by modern experience,
the season of rains being unbroken, though
perhaps the fall is more strongly marked at
the beginning and the end of it.
Crops. — The cereal crops of constant men
tion are wheat and barley, and more rarely
rye and millet (?). Of the two former, to
gether with the vine, olive, and fig, the use
of irrigation, the plough and the harrow,

mention is made in the book of Job (xxxi. 40; ,
xv. 33; xxiv. 6; xxix. 19; sxxix. 10).
Two kinds of cummin (the black variety
called "fitches," Is. xxviii. 27), and such
podded plants as beans and lentiles, may be
named among the staple produce. H
Ploughing and Sounng.—The plough was
probably very light, one yoke of oxen usually
sufficing to draw it. Mountains and steep
places were hoed (Is. vii. 25). New ground j
and fallows, the use of which latter was '
familiar to the Jews (Jer. iv. 3 ; Hos. x. 12),
were cleared of stones and of thorns (Is. v.
2) early in the year, sowing or gathering
from "among thorns " being a proverb for
slovenly husbandry (Job v. 5 ; Prov. xxiv. ;
30, 31). Sowing also took place without pre-
vious ploughing, the seed, as in the parable ¦
of the' sower, being scattered broadcast, andj
ploughed in afterwards. The soil was then!]
brushed over with a light harrow, often of!
thorn bushes. In highly irrigated spots the
seed was trampled in by cattle (Is. xxxii. 20),
as in Egypt by goats. The more formal rou
tine of heavy western soils must not be made)
the standard of such a naturally fine tilth as
that of Palestine generally. During the raine|
if not too heavy, or between their two periods,!
would be the best time for these operations |f
thus 70 days before the passover was the time
prescribed for sowing for the " wave-sheaf,'!
and probably, therefore, for that of barley
generally. The oxen were urged on by a
goad like a spear (Judg. iii. 31). The
custom of watehing ripening crops and
threshing floors against theft, or damage,-
is probably ancient. Thus Boaz slept on
the floor (Ruth iii. 4, 7). Barley ripened a
week or two before wheat, and as fine harvest
weather was certain (Prov. xxvi. 1 ; 1 Sam.
xii. 17 ; Am. iv. 7), the crop chiefly varied
with the quantity of timely rain. The pro
portion of harvest gathered to seed sown was
often vast, a hundredfold is mentioned, but
in such a way as to signify that it was a
limit rarely attained (Gen. xxvi. 12; Matt
xiii. 8). Sowing a field with divers seeds
was forbidden (Deut. xxii. 9).
Reaping and tkreshin g.-yThe wheat, &c,
were reaped by the sickle, or pulled up by the
roots. They were bound in sheaves — a pro
cess prominent in Scripture. The sheaves or
heaps were carted (Am. ii. 13) to the floor —
a circular spot of hard ground, probably, as
now, from 50 to 80 or 100 feet in diameter.*
Such floors were probably permanent, and
became well known spots (Gen. 1. 10, 11]
2 Sam. xxiv. 16, 18). On these the oxen,
&c, forbidden to be muzzled (Deut. xxv. 4),
trampled out the grain, as we find represented
on the Egyptian monuments. At a later time

AGRICULTURE

15

AHAB

the Jews used a threshing sledge called morag
(Is. xii. 15 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 22 ; 1 Chr.xxi. 23),
probably resembling the ndreg, still employed
in Egypt — a stage with three rollers ridged
with iron, which, aided by the driver's weight,
crushed out, often injuring, the grain, as well
as cut or tore the straw, which thus became
fit for fodder. Lighter grains were beaten
out with a stick (Is. xxviii. 27). The use
of animal manure is proved frequent by
such recurring expressions as "dung oh the
face of the earth, field," &c. (Ps. lxxxiii. 10 ;
2 K. ix. 37 ; Jer. viii. 2, &c).

] lirrthing-ftoor. Thi- own driven round thp heap : con-
trtiry to' the usual custom, (Wilkinson, Thebes.)
Winnowing.— The "shovel" and "fan"
(Is. xxx. 24), the precise difference of which
is doubtful, indicate the process of winnow
ing—a conspicuous part of ancient husbandry

VTinnouinp with wooden shovels. (Wilkinson, Thebes.)

(Ps. xxxv. 5 ; Job xxi. 18; Is. xvii. 13),
and important, owing to the slovenly thresh
ing. Evening was the favourite time (Ruth
iii. 2) when there was mostly a breeze. The
"fan" (Matt. iii. 12) was perhaps a broad
shovel which threw the grain up against
the wind. The last process was the shaking

in a sieve to separate dirt and refuse (Am.
ix. 9).
Fields and floors were not commonly en
closed ; vineyards mostly were, with a tower
and other buildings (Num. xxii. 24 ; Ps.
lxxx. 13 ; Is. v. 5 ; Matt. xxi. 33 ; comp.
Judg. vi. 11). Banks of mud from ditches
were also used. — With regard to occupancy,
a tenant might pay a fixed money rent (Cant.
viii. 11), or a stipulated share of the fruits
(2 Sam. ix. 10 ; Matt. xxi. 34), often a half
or a third ; but local custom was the only
rule. A passer-by might eat any quantity of
corn or grapes, but not reap or carry off fruit
(Deut. xxiii. 24, 25 ; Matt. xii. 1). — The
rights of the corner to. be left, and of glean
ing [Corner ; Gleaning], formed the poor
man's claim on the soil for support. For his
benefit, too, a sheaf forgotten in carrying to
the floor was to be left ; so also with regard
to the vineyard and the olive-grove (Lev.
xix. 9, 10; Deut. xxiv. 19). Besides there
seems a probability that every third year a
second tithe, besides the priests', was paid
for the poor (Deut. xiv. 28, xxvi. 12; Am.
iv. 4; Tob. i. 7).
AGRIP'PA. [Herod.]
A'GUR, the son of Jakeh, an unknown
Hebrew sage, who uttered or collected the
sayings of wisdom recorded in Prov. xxx.
A'HAB. 1. Son of Omri, seventh king of
Israel, reigned B.C. 919-896. He married
Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre ;
and in obedience to her wishes, caused a
temple to be built to Baal in Samaria itself,
and an oracular grove to be consecrated to
Astarte. (See 1 K. xviii. 19.) How the
worship of God was restored, and the idola
trous priests slain, in consequence of " a sore
famine in Samaria," is related under Elijah.
One of Ahab's chief tastes was for splendid
architecture, which he showed by building
an ivory house and several cities. Desiring
to add to his pleasure-grounds at Jezreel the
vineyard of his neighbour Naboth, he pro
posed to buy it or give land in exchange for
it ; and when this was refused by Naboth, a
false accusation of blasphemy was brought
against him, and not only was he himself
stoned to death, but his sons also, as we learn
from 2 K. ix. 26. Thereupon Elijah declared
that the entire extirpation of Ahab's house
was the penalty appointed for his long course
of wickedness, now crowned by this atrocious
crime. The execution, however, of the sen
tence was delayed in consequence of Ahab's
deep repentance (1 K. xxi.). — Ahab under
took three campaigns against Benhadad II.
king of Damascus, two defensive and one
offensive. In the' first, Benhadad laid siege
to Samaria, but was repulsed with great loss

AHASUERUS

16

AHAVA

(1 K. xx. 1-21). Next year Benhadad again
invaded Israel by way of Aphek, on the E. of
Jordan. Yet Ahab's victory was so complete
that Benhadad himself fell into his hands ;
but was released (contrary to the will of God
as announced by a prophet) on condition of
restoring all the cities of Israel which he held,
and making "streets " for Ahab in Damascus ;
that is, admitting into his capital permanent
Hebrew commissioners, in an independent
position, with special dwellings for themselves
and their retinues, to watch over the com
mercial and political interests of Ahab and his
subjects (1 K. xx. 22-34). After this great
success Ahab enjoyed peace for three years,
when he attacked Ramoth in Gilead on the
east of Jordan, in conjunction with Jehosba-
phat king of Judah, which town he claimed
as belonging to Israel. But God's blessing
' did not rest on the expedition, and Ahab was
told by the prophet Micaiah that it would fail.
Ahab took the precaution of disguising him
self, so as not to offer a conspicuous mark to
the archers of Benhadad ; but he was slain by
a "certain man who drew a bow at a ven
ture." When he was brought to be buried
in Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood as a
servant was washing his chariot ; a partial
fulfilment of Elijah's prediction (1 K. xxi.
19), which was more literally accomplished
in the case of his son (2 K. ix. 26). 2. A
lying prophet, who deceived the captive
Israelites in Babylon, and was burnt to death
by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. xxix. 21).
AHASCE'PlUS, the name of one Median
and two Persian kings mentioned in the O. T.
The following is a list of the Medo-Persian
kings from Cyaxares to Artaxerxes Longi-
manus, according to their ordinary classical
names. The Scriptural names conjectured to
correspond to them are added in italics. — 1.
Cyaxares, king of Media, son of Phraortes,
grandson of Deioces and conqueror of Nine
veh, began to reign B.C. 634 : Ahasuerus.
2. Astyages his son, last king of Media, e.c.
594 : Darius the Mede. 3. Cyrus, son of his
daughter Mandane and Cambyses, a Persian
noble, first king of Persia, 559 : Cyrus. 4.
Cambyses his son, 529 : Ahasuerus. 5. A
Magian usurper, who personated Smerdis, the
younger son of Cyrus, 521 : Artaxerxes. 6.
Darius Hystaspis, raised to the throne on the
overthrow of the Magi, 521 : Darius. 7.
Xerxes his son, 485 : Ahasuerus. 8. Arta
xerxes Longimanus (Macrocheir), his son,
4G5-495 : Artaxerxes.-^-!. In Dan. ix. 1,
Ahasuerus is said to be the father of Darius
tlie Mede. Now it is almost certain that Cy
axares is a form of Ahasuerus, grecised into
Axares with the prefix Cy or Kai. The son
of this Cyaxares was Astyages, and i' is no

improbable conjecture that Darius the Mede
was Astyages, set over Babylon as viceroy by
his grandson Cyrus, and allowed to live there-.
in royal state. [Darius.] This first Ahasd*.
erus, then, is Cyaxares, the conqueror of
Nineveh. And, in accordance with this view,.
we read in Tobit xiv. 15 that Nineveh was
taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus, i. e.
Cyaxares. — 2. In Ezr. iv. 6 the enemies of
the Jews, after the death of Cyrus, desirona-
to frustrate the building of Jerusalem, send
accusations against them to Ahasuerus king
of Persia. This must be Cambyses. He was
plainly called after bis grandfather, who was
not of royal race, and therefore it is very
likely that he also assumed the kingly name
or title of Cyaxares, which had been borne by
his most illustrious ancestor. — 3. The third ii^
the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. Hav.
ing divorced his queen Vashti for refusing to
appear in public at a banquet, he married,
four years afterwards, the Jewess Esther-,;
cousin and ward of Mordecai. Five years
after this, Haman, one of his counsellors,
having been slighted by Mordecai, prevaileffl
upon the king to order the destruction of all
the Jews in the empire. But before the day
appointed for the massacre, Esther and Mor
decai overthrew the influence which Haman
had exercised, and so completely changed his
feelings in the matter, that they induced him
to put Haman to death, and to give the Jews
the right of self-defence. This they used so
vigorously, that they killed several thousands
of their opponents. This Ahasuerus is pro
bably Xerxes (the names being identical):
and this conclusion is fortified by the resem
blance of character, and by certain chrono
logical indications. As Xerxes scourged the
sea, and put to death the engineers of his
bridge because their work was injured by e
storm, so Ahasuerus repudiated his queen
Vashti because she would not violate the de
corum of her sex, and ordered the massacre
of the whole Jewish people to gratify the
malice of Haman. In the third year of the
reign of Xerxes was held an assembly to ar
range the Grecian war. In the third year of
Ahasuerus was held a great feast and as
sembly in Shushan the palace (Esth. i. S)*,
In the seventh year of his reign Xerxes re
turned defeated from Greece, and console^
himself by the pleasures of the haram. In
the seventh year of his reign "fair young
virgins were sought" for Ahasuerus, and he
replaced Vashti by marrying Esther. The
tribute he " laid upon the land and upon the
isles of the sea" (Esth. x. 1) may well "have
been the result of the expenditure and ruin
of the Grecian expedition.
AlI'AVA, a place (Ezr. viii. 15), or a river

AHAZ

17

AHIMAAZ

(viii. 21), on the banks of which Ezra col
lected the second expedition which returned
with him from Babylon to Jerusalem. Per
haps it is the modern Sit, on the Euphrates,
due east of Damascus.
A'HAZ, eleventh king of Judah, son of Jo
tham, reigned 741-726. At the time of his
accession, Rezin king of Damascus and Pekah
king of Israel had recently formed a league
against Judah, and they proceeded to lay siege
to Jerusalem. Upon this Isaiah hastened to
give advice and encouragement to Ahaz, and
it was probably owing to the spirit of energy
and religious devotion which he poured into
his counsels, that the allies failed in theii
attack on Jerusalem (Is. vii. viii. ix.). But
the allies inflicted a most severe injury on
Judah by the capture of Elath, a flourishing
port on the Red. Sea ; while the Philistines
invaded the W. and S. (2 K. xvi. ; 2 Chr.
xxviii.). The weakminded and helpless Ahaz
sought deliverance from these numerous
troubles by appealing to Tiglath-pileser, king
of Assyria, who freed him from his most
formidable enemies by invading Syria, taking
Damascus, killing Rezin, and depriving Israel
of its Northern and trans-Jordanic districts.
But Ahaz had to purchase this help at a costly
price ; he became tributary to Tiglath-pileser,
sent him all the treasures of the Temple and
his own palace, and even appeared before him
in Damascus as a vassal. He also ventured
to seek for safety in heathen ceremonies ;
making his son pass through the fire to Mo-
lech, consulting wizards and necromancers
(Is. viii. 19), sacrificing to the Syrian gods.,
introducing a foreign altar from Damascus,
and probably the worship of the heavenly
bodies from Assyria and Babylon ; and " The
altars on the top (or roof) of the upper cham
ber of Ahaz " (2 K. xxiii. 12) were connected
with the adoration of the stars.
AHAZl'AH. 1. Son of Ahab and Jezebel,
eighth king of Israel, reigned b.c. 896-895.
After the battle of Ramoth in Gilead, in
which Ahab perished [Ahab], the vassal king
of Moab refused his yearly tribute of 100,000
lambs and 100,000 rams with their wool
(comp. Is. xvi. 1). Before Ahaziah could
take measures for enforcing his claim, he was
seriously injured by a fall through a lattice
in his palace at Samaria. In his health he
had worshipped his mo'ther's gods, and now
he sent to inquire of the oracle of Baalzebub
in the Philistine city of Ekron whether he
should recover his health. But Elijah, who
now for the last time exercised the prophetic
office, rebuked him for this impiety, and an
nounced to him his approaching death. The
only other recorded transaction of his reign,
bis endeavour to join the ki g of Judah in
Sm. D. B.

trading to Ophir, is related under JsnosnA-
phat (1 K. xxii. 49-53 ; 2 K. i. ; 2 Chr. xx.
35-37).— 2. Fifth king of Judah, son of Je
horam and Athaiiah (daughter of Ahab), and
therefore nephew of the preceding Ahaziah,
reigned one year, b.c. 884. He is called
Azariah, 2 Chr. xxii. 6. probably by a copy
ist's error, and Jehoahaz, 2 Chr. xxi. 17.
He was 22 years old at his accession (2 K.
viii. 26 ; his age, 42 in 2 Chr. xxii. 2, is also
a copyist's error). Ahaziah was an idolater,
and he allied himself with his uncle Jehoram
king of Israel, brother and successor of the
preceding Ahaziah, against Hazael, the new
king of Syria. The two kings were, however,
defeated at Ramoth, where Jehoram was
severely wounded. The revolution carried
out in Israel by Jehu under the guidance of
Elisha broke out while Ahaziah was visiting
his uncle at Jezreel. As Jehu approached
the town, Jehoram and Ahaziah went out to
meet him ; the former was shot through the
heart by Jehu, and Ahaziah was pursued and
mortally wounded. He died when he reached
Megiddo. AHI'AH or AHI'JAH. 1. Son of Ahitub,
grandson of Phinehas, and great-grandson of
Eli, succeeded his father as high-priest in the
reign of Saul (1 Sam. xiv. 3, 18). Ahiah is
probably the same person as Ahimelech the
son of Ahitub ; though he m;\y have been his
brother. 2. A prophet of Shiloh (1 K. xiv.
2), hence called the Shilonite (xi. 29), in the
days of Solomon and of Jeroboam king of
Israel, of whom we have two remarkable
prophecies extant : the one in 1 K. xi. 31-39,
addressed to Jeroboam, announcing the rend
ing of the ten tribes from Solomon ; the
other in 1 K. xiv, 6-16, delivered in the
prophet's extreme old age to Jeroboam's wife,
in which he foretold the death of Abijah, tho
king's son, who was sick, and the destruction
of Jeroboam's house on account of the images
which he had set up. Jeroboam's speech
concerning Ahijah (1 K. xiv. 2, 3) shows the
estimation in which he held his truth and
prophetic powers (comp. 2 Chr. ix. 29).
AHI'JAH. [Ahiah.]
AHl'KAM, son of Shaphan the scribe, an
influential officer at the court of Josiah,
was one of the delegates sent by Hilkiah
to consult Iluldah (2 K. xxii. 12-14). In
the reign of Jehoiakim he successfully used
his influence to protect the prophet Jeremiah
(Jer. xxvi. 24). He was the father of Geda-
liah. [Gedaliah.]
AHIM'AAZ, son of Zadok, the high-priest
in David's reign, and celebrated for his swift
ness of foot. During Absalom's rebellion he
carried to David the important intelligence
that Ahithophel had counselled an immediate C

AHIMAN

18

AIN

attack upon Davj^l and his followers, and that,
consequently, the king must cross the Jordan
without the least delay (2 Sam. xv. 24-37,
xvii. 15-22). Shortly afterwards he was the
first to bring to the king the good news of
Absalom's defeat, suppressing his knowledge
of the death of his son, which was announced
soon afterwards by another (2 Sam. xviii.
19-33). AHI'MAN, one of the three giant Anakim
who inhabited Mount Hebron (Num. xiii.
22, 33), seen by Caleb and the spies. The
whole race were cut off by Joshua (Josh. xi.
21), and the three brothers were slain by the
tribe of Judah (Judg. i. 10).
AHIM'ELECH, son of Ahitub (1 Sam.
xxii. 11, 12), and high-priest at Nob in the
days of Saul. He gave David the shew-
bread to eat, and the sword of Goliath ; and
for so doing was, upon the accusation of
Doeg the Edomite, put to death with his
whole house by Saul's order. Abiathar alone
escaped. [Abiathar.]
AHIN'OAM. 1. The daughter of Ahimaaz
and wife of Saul (1 Sam. xiv. 50). — 2. A
native of Jezreel who was married to David
during his wandering life (1 Sam. xxv. 43).
She lived with him and his other wife Abi
gail at the court of Achish (xxvii. 3), was
taken prisoner with her by the Amalekites
when they plundered Ziklag (xxx. 5), but
was rescued by David (IS). She is again
mentioned as living with him when he was
king of Judah in Hebron {2 Sain. ii. 2), and
was the mother of his eldest son Amnon
(iii. 2).
AHITH'OPHEL (brother of foolishness), a
native of Gilob, was a privy councillor of
David, whose wisdom was highly esteemed,
though his name had an exactly opposite
signification (2 Sam. xvi. 23). He was the
grandfather of Bathsheba (comp. 2 Sam. xi.
3 with xxiii. 34). When Ahithophel joined
the conspiracy of Absalom, David prayed
Jehovah to turn his counsel to foolishness
(xv. 31), alluding possibly to the significa
tion of his name. David's grief at the trea
chery of his confidential friend found ex
pression in the Messianic prophecies (Ps, xii.
9, lv. 12-11). — In order to show to the
people that the breach between Absalom and
his father was irreparable, Ahithophel per
suaded him to take possession of the royal
harem (2 S;un. xvi. 21), David, to counter
act his counsel, sent Hushai to Absalom.
Ahithophel had recommended an immediate
pursuit of David ; but Hushai advised delay,
his object being to send intelligence to David,
and to give him time to collect his forces for
a decisive engagement. When Ahithophel saw
that Hushai's advice prevailed, he despaired

of success, and returning to his own home
" put his household in order and hanged him
self" (xvii. 1-23).
AHI'TUB. 1. Father of Ahimelech, or
Ahijah, the son of Phinchas, and grandson of
Eli, and therefore of the family of Ithamar
(1 Sam. xiv. 3, xxii. 9, 11). — 2. Son of
Amariah, and father of Zadok the high-priejst,
(1 Chr. vi. 7, 8 ; 2 Sam. viii. 17), of the
house of Eleazar.
AH'OLAH, and AHO'LIBAH, two sym-:
bolical names, are described as harlots, the
former representing Samaria, and the latter
Judah (Ez. xxiii.).
AHOLIBA'MAH, one (probably the second)
of the three wives of Esau. She was the
daughter of Anah, a descendant of Seir the
Horite (Gen. xxxvi. 2, 25j. In the earlier
narrative (Gen. xxvi. 34 j Aholibamah is
called Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite.^
It appears that her proper personal name was
Judith, and that Aholibamah was the name!
which she received as the wife of Esau and
foundress of three tribes of his descendants. 1-
A'l (heap of ruins), a city lying ' east of
Bethel and " beside Bethaven " (Josh. vii. 2,
viii. 9). It was the second city taken by]
Israel after the passage of the Jordan, and]
was "utterly destroyed" (Josh. vii. 3-5, viii./
Lx. 3, x. 1, 2, xii. 9).
Al'JALON, " a place of deer or gazelles.!*
1. A city of the Kohathites (Josh. xxi. 24;
1 Chr. vi. 69), originally allotted to the tribe
of Dan (Josh. xix. 42*; A. V. "Ajalon"),
which tribe, however, was unable to dis
possess the Amorites of the place (Judg. i.
35). Aijalon was one of the towns fortified,
by Rehoboam (2 Chr. xi. 10), and the last
we hear of it is as being in the hands of the
Philistines (2 Chr. xxviii. IS ; A. V. "Aja
lon"). Being on the very frontier of the
two kingdoms we can understand how
Aijalon should be spoken of sometimes (1 Cht|
vi. 69, comp. with 66) as in Ephraim, and]
sometimes (2 Chr. xi. 10 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 31) as
in Judah and Benjamin. It is represented by
the modern Ydio, a little to the N. of the
Jaffa road, about 14 miles out of Jerusalcri]
— 1. A place in Zcbulun, mentioned as the
burial-place of Elon, one of the Judges (Judg.
xii. 12).
AI'JELETH SHA'HAR 'i. e. the hind of tht
morning dawn), found once only in the Bible,
in the title of Ps. xxii. It probably describes
to the musician the melody to which the psalm
was to be played, — " a Psalm of David, ad
dressed to the muMc-na^tcr who presides
over the band called the Morning Hind."
AI.W l. One of the landmarks on the
eastern boundary of Palestine (Num. xxxiv.
11). II is probably 'Ain el-Azy, the main

AJALON

19

.ALEXANDER III.

source of the Orontes. — 2. One of the south
ernmost cities of Judah (Josh. xv. 32), after
wards allotted to Simeon (Josh. xix. 7 ; 1 Chr.
iv. 32) and given to the priests (Josh. xxi. 16).
i A'JALON. [Aijalon.]
i AKRAB'BIM, "the ascent of," and "the
going up to ; " also " Maaleh-acrabbim "
-( = "the scorpion-pass"). A pass between
the south end of the Dead Sea and Zin,
forming one of the landmarks on the south
boundary at once of Judah (Josh. xv. 3) and
.of the Holy Land (Num. xxxiv. 4). Also
pie boundary of the Ainorites (Judg. i. 36).
As to the name, scorpions abound in the whole
^if this district. ¦
- ALABASTER occurs in the N. T. only in
the notice of the alabaster-box of ointment
which a woman brought to our Lord when
lie sat at meat in the house of Simon the
leper at Bethany, the contents of which she
poured on the head of the Saviour (Matt.
xxvi. 7 ; Mark xiv. 3 ; Luke vii. 37). The
indents considered alabaster to be the best
jiaterial in which to preserve their oint
ments. In Maik xiv. 3, the woman who

succeeded his father b.c 336. Two years
afterwards he crossed the Hellespont (b.c.
334) to carry out the plans of his father, and
execute the mission of Greece to the civilised
world. The battle of the Granicus was fol
lowed by the subjugation of western Asia ;
and in the following year the fate of the East
was decided at Issus (b.c. 333). Tyre and
Gaza were the only cities in western Syria
which offered Alexander any resistance, and
these were reduced and treated with unusual
severity (b.c 332). Egypt next submitted
to him; and in b.c. 331 he founded Alex
andria, which remains to the present day
the most characteristic monument of his life
and work. In the same year he finally de
feated Darius at Gaugamela ; and in b.c. 330
his unhappy rival was murdered by Bessus,
satrap of Bactria. The next two years were
occupied by Alexander in the consolidation
of his Persian conquests and the reduction of
Bactria. In b.c 327 he crossed the Indus,
penetrated to the Hydaspes, and was there
forced by the discontent of his army to turn
westward. He reached Susa, b.c. 325, and

n-ought " the alabaster-box of ointment of j proceeded to Babylon, b.c 324, which he
.spikenard " is said to break the box before | chose as the capital of his empire. In the
jouring out the ointment, which probably I next year (b.c. 323) he died there in the
jnly means breaking the seal which kept the . midst of his gigantic plans; and those who
isscnce of the perfume from evaporating. I inherited has conquests left his designs un
achieved and unattempted (cf. Dan. vii.
6, viii. 5, xi. 3). — The famous tradition
of the visit of Alexander to Jerusalem
during his Phoenician campaign, which
is related by Josephus, has been a fruit
ful source of controversy. The Jews,
it is said, had provoked his anger by
refusing to transfer their allegiance to
him when summoned to do so during
the siege of Tyre, and after the reduction
of Tyre and Gaza he turned towards
Jerusalem. Jaddua (Jaddus) the high-
priest (Neh. xii. 11, 22) went out to
meet him, clad in his robes of hyacinth
and gold, and accompanied by a train
of priests and citizens arrayed in white.
Alexander was so moved by the solemn
spectacle that he did reverence to the
holy name inscribed upon the tiara of
the high-priest ; and when Parmenio
expressed surprise, he replied that " he
had seen the god whom Jaddua repre
sented in a dream at Dium, encou
raging him to cross over into Asia,
AL'AMOTH (Ps. xlvi. title ; 1 Chr. xv. and promising him success." After this it
10), a word of exceedingly doubtful meaning, , is said that he visited Jerusalem, offered

Alabaster Vessels.— From the British Muwum. The inscription
ou tho centre vessel denotes tlie quantity it holds.

ome interpreting it to mean a musical in-
itrument, and others a melody.
ALEXAN'DER III., king of Macedon, sur-
lamed the great, the son of Philip and
Dlympias, was born at Pella, b.c 356, and

sacrifice there, heard tlie prophecies of Da
niel which foretold his victory, and con
ferred important privileges upon the Jews. —
In the prophetic visions of Daniel the em
blem by which Alexander is typified (a he
C 2

ALEXANDER BALAS

20

ALGUM TREES

goat) suggests the notions of strength and raised by Demetrius the ^ersmith (Aete
speed ; and the universal extent (Dan. viii. 5, xix. S3), to plead their cause with > ttamob,
from the wast on the face of the whole —4. An Ephesian Chustian, reproDatea By
e^hfZ ma^ellol rapkty of his con- ] St. Paul in 1 Tim. i. ™'™^^
oueste (Dan I c he touched not the ground) I with one Hymenaeus, put from him laitn and
tl Sough"™ as the characterises of ; a good conscience and^so mad, , shipwr^
his power which was directed by the strongest | concerning the faith. This may be the same
p rsTa inpetuoslty (Dan. viii. 6, ft. the fury \ with_5. A""™" *» «W L™ > -»
U ,r«-). feruled with gre^t dominion ; ^^^^^ ^SiT "' "' "|
^re^Zria °couutl£r '}'. . out ALEXANDRIA (. Mace. iii. 1 ;
*«• ^ " (* "• ' 24' VL r^oftgyTwas S££?
Alexander the Great, i*.c 332, who,
himself traced the ground-plan of the,
city. The work thus begun was coP
tinued after the death of Alexander]™
the Ptolemies. Under the despotism)
the later Ptolemies the trade of Alex-
andria declined, but its population and
wealth were enormous. Its import
ance as one of the chief corn-portMj
Rome secured for it the general favour
of the first emperors. Its populate
was mixed from the first. According tt
Josephus, Alexander himself assigned
to the Jews a place in his new citj.
ALEXANDER BA'LAS was, according to Their numbers and importance were rapii
some, a natural son of Antiochus IV. Epi- increased under the Ptolemies by fresh
phanes, but he was more generally regarded grations and untiring industry. The Sepi

Coin of Lysimachus, King of Thrace, representing head ol
Alexander the Great aa a young Jupiter Ammon.

as an impostor who falsely assumed the con
nexion. He claimed the throne of Syria, in
152 b.c, in opposition to Demetrius Soter,
and gained the warm support of Jonathan, the
leader of the Jews (1 Mace. ix. 73). In 150
b.c he completely routed the forces of Deme
trius, who himself fell in the retreat (1 Mace.
x. 48-50). After this Alexander married
Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy VI. Philo-
metor. But his triumph was of short dura
tion. After obtaining power he gave himself
up to a life of indulgence ; and when Deme
trius Nicator, the son of Demetrius Soter,
landed in Syria, in 147 b.c, the new pre
tender found, powerful support (I Macs. x.
67 ff.). In the following year Ptolemy de
serted Alexander, who was defeated (1 Mace.
xi. 15), and fled to Abae in Arabia, where he
was murdered, b.c 146 (1 Mace. xi. 17).
The narrative in 1 Mace shows clearly the
partiality which the Jews entertained for
Alexander ; and the same feeling was ex
hibited afterwards in the zeal with which
they supported his son Antiochus. [Antio
chus VI.]
ALEXANDER. 1. Son of Simon the
Cyrenian, who was compelled to bear the
cross for our Lord (Mark xv. 21). — 2. One of

gint vranslation was made for their beneM
under the first or second Ptolemy. Philo esti
mates the number of the Alexandrine Jews ii
his time at little less than 1,000,000 ; andadl
that two of the five districts of Alexandria wp
called " Jewish districts," and that many J^j
lived scattered in the remaining three. Jul
Caesar and Augustus confirmed to them f_
privileges which they had enjoyed before, and|
they retained them, with various interrup
tions, during the tumults and persecution^
later reigns. According to the common
legend, St. Mark first " preached the Gospl
in Egypt, and founded the first Church^
Alexandria." At the beginning of the 2nd
century the number of Christians at Alei*
andria must have been very large, and the
great leaders of Gnosticism who arose therft
(Basilides, Valentinus) exhibit an exaggew
tion of the tendency of the Church.
ALGUM or ALMUG TREES ; the forma
occurring in 2 Chr. ii. 8, ix. 10, 11, the latte
in 1 K". x. 11, 12. There can be no question
that these words are identical. From 1 K.
x. 11, 12, 2 Chr. ix_ 10, 11, we learn till
the almug was brought in great plenty from
Ophir for Solomon's Temple and house, and
for the construction of musical instrumenH

the kindred of Annas the high-priest (Acts ] It is probable that this tree is the rai
iv. 6). — 3. A Jew at Ephesus, whom his sandal-wood, which is a native of India and
eountrymen put forward during the tumult Ceylon. The wood is very heavy, hard,

ALLEGORT

21

ALLON

ind fine grained, and of a beautiful garnet
solour. ALLEGORY, a figure of speech, which has
aeen defined by Bishop Marsh, in accordance
with its etymology, as " a representation of
me thing which is intended to excite the re
presentation of another thing ; " the first re
presentation being consistent with itself, but
requiring, or capable of admitting, a moral
3r spiritual interpretation over and above its
literal sense. In every allegory there is a
twofold sense ; the immediate or historic,
Which is understood from the words, and the
iltimate, which is concerned with the things
signified by the words. The allegorical in
terpretation is not of the words, but of the
things signified by them ; and not only may,
mt actually does, coexist with the literal in
terpretation in every allegory, whether the
narrative in which it is conveyed be of things
'possible or real. An illustration of this may
ie seen in Gal. iv. 24, where the apostle gives
'in allegorical interpretation to the historical
Narrative of Hagar and Sarah ; not treating
;hat narrative as an allegory in itself, as our
A. V. would lead us to suppose, but drawing
'rom it a deeper sense than is conveyed by
^he immediate representation.
" ALLELU'IA, so written in Rev. xix. 7,
oil., or more properly Hallelu-tah, "praise
ye Jehovah," as it is found in the margin of
"*s. civ. 35, cv. 45, cvi., cxi. 1, cxii. 1,
ssiii. 1 (comp. Ps, cxiii. 9, ex v. 18, cxvi. 19,
hxviL 2). The literal meaning of "Halle
lujah " sufficiently indicates the character of
she Psalms in which it occurs, as hymns of
•iraise and thanksgiving. They are all found
n the last book of the collection, and bear
%arks of being intended for use in the temple-
service ; the words " praise ye Jehovah "
-ieing taken up by the full chorus of Levites.
"n the great hymn of triumph in heaven over
*he destruction of Babylon, the apostle in
-usion heard the multitude in chorus like the
Voice of mighty thunderings burst forth,
:' Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent
,i>eigneth," responding to the voice which
ttame out of the throne saying " Praise our
>Jod, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him,
ioth small and great" (Rev. xix. 1-6). In
'his, as in the offering of incense (Rev. viii.),
inhere is evident allusion to the service of the
pemple, as the apostle had often witnessed it
3Q its fading grandeur.
i ALLIANCES. On the first establishment
?f the Hebrews in Palestine no connexions
frere formed between them and the surround
ing nations. But. with the extension of their
yower under the kings, they were brought
^aore into contact with foreigners, and alli-
i.nces became essential to the security of their

commerce. Solomon concluded two important
treaties exclusively for commercial purposes ;
the first with Hiram, king of Tyre, originally
with the view of obtaining materials and
workmen for the erection of the Temple, and
afterwards for the supply of ship-builders and
sailors (1 K. v. 2-12, ix. 27) : the second
with a Pharaoh, king of Egypt ; by this he
secured a monopoly of the trade in horses
and other products of that country (1 K. x.
28, 29). After the division of the kingdom
the alliances were of an offensive and defen
sive nature. When war broke out between
Amaziah and Jeroboam II. a coalition was
formed between Rezin, king of Syria, and
Pekah on the one side, and Ahaz and Tiglath-
pileser, king of Assyria, on the other (2 K.
xvi. 5-9). By this means an opening was
afforded to the advances of the Assyrian
power ; and the kingdoms of Israel and
Judah, as they were successively attacked,
sought the alliance of the Egyptians, who
were strongly interested in maintaining the
independence of the Jews as a barrier against
the encroachments of the Assyrian power
(2 K. xvii. 4, xix, 9, 36 ; Is. xxx. 2). On
the restoration of independence Judas Mac
cabeus sought an alliance with the Romans
as a counterpoise to the neighbouring state
of Syria (1 Mace. viii.). Treaties of a
friendly nature were at the same period con
cluded with the Lacedaemonians (1 Mace.
xii. 2, xiv. 20).' — The formation of an alli
ance was attended with various religious
rites : a victim was slain and divided into
two parts, between which the contracting
parties passed (Gen. xv. 10). That this
custom was maintained to a late period
appears from Jer. xxxiv. 18-20. Generally
speaking the oath alone is mentioned in the
contracting of alliances, either between na
tions (Josh. ix. 15) or individuals (Gen.
xxvi. 28, xxxi. 53 ; 1 Sam. xx. 17 ; 2 K.
xi. 4). The event was celebrated by a feasi
(Gen. I. c. ; Ex. xxiv. 11 ; 2 Sam. iii. 12,
20). Salt, as symbolical of fidelity, was used
on these occasions. Occasionally a pillar or
a heap of stones was set up as a memorial of
the alliance (Gen. xxxi. 52). Presents were
also sent by the party soliciting the alliance *
(1 K. xv. 18 ; Is. xxx. 6 ; 1 Mace. xv. 18).
The fidelity of the Jews to their engagements
was conspicuous at all periods of their history
(Josh. ix. 18), and any breach of covenant
was visited with very severe punishment
(2 Sam. xxi. 1 ; Ez. xvii. 16).
AL'LON, a large strong tree of some de
scription, probably an oak. The word is
found in two names in the topography of
Palestine. — 1. Allon, more accurately Elon,
a place named among; the cities of Naphtali

ALMON-DIBLATHAIM

ALPHAEUS

(Josh. xix. 33). Probably the more correct
construction is to take it with the following
word, i.e. "the oak by Zaanannim," or
" the oak of the loading of tents," as if de
riving its name from some nomad tribe fre
quenting the spot. [Elon.] — 2. Ai/lon-
ba'chuth ("oak of weeping"), the tree
under which Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, was
buried (Gen. xxxv. 8).
AL'MON-DIBLATHA'IM, one of the latest
Stations of the Israelites, between Dibon-gad
and the mountains of Abarim (Num. xxxiii.
46, 47). It is probable that Almon-dibla-
thaira is identical with Beth-diblathaim.
ALMOND-TREE; ALMOND. This word
is found in Gen. xliii. 11 ; Ex. xxv. 33, 34,
xxxvii. 19, 20 ; Num. xvii. 8 ; Eccles. xii. 5 ;
Jer. i. 11, in the text of the A. V. It is inva
riably represented by the same Hebrew word
(shdked), which sometimes stands for the
whole tree, sometimes for the fruit or nut.
The almond-tree, whose scientific name is
Amygdalns communis, is a native of Asia and
North Africa, but it is cultivated in the
milder parts of Europe. The height of the
tree is about 12 or 14 feet ; the flowers are
pink, and arranged for the most part in pairs ;
the leaves are long, ovate, with a serrated
margin, and an acute point. The covering
of the fruit is downy and succulent, enclosing
the hard shell which contains the kernel.
-It is curious to observe, in connexion with
the almond-bowls of the golden candlestick,
that, in the language of lapidaries, Almonds
are pieces of rock-crystal, even now used in
adorning branch -candlesticks.

Almond-tree nnd blossom.

ALMS. The duty of alms-giving, especi
ally in kind, consisting chiefly in portions to
be left designedly from produce of the field,

the vineyard, and the oliveyard (Lev. xix
9, 10, xxiii. 22; Deut. xv. 11, xxiv. 19,
xxvi. 2-13 ; Ruth ii. 2), is strictly enjoined
by the Law. Every third year also (Dent
xiv. 28) each proprietor was directed to
share the tithe of his produce with "the
Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the
widow." The theological estimate of alna.
giving among the Jews is indicated in the
following passages: — Job xxxi. 17; Pror,
x. 2, xi. 4 ; Esth. ix. 22 ; Ps. cxii. 9 ; Actti
ix. 36, the case of Dorcas ; x. 2, of Cornelius;
to which may be added, Tob. iv. 10, 11, sir.
10, 11 ; and Ecclus. iii. 30, xl. 24. Andtta
Talmudists went so far as to interpret rigkfo
ousness by almsgiving in such passages a
Gen. xviii. 19; Is. liv. 14; Ps. xvii. 15.-,
The Pharisees were zealous in almsgiving
but too ostentatious in their mode of per-
formance, for which our Lord finds fault
with them (Matt. vi. 2).— The duty of re.
lieving the poor was not neglected by tbi
Christians (Matt. vi. 1-4 ; Luke xiv. 1];
Acts xx. 35 ; Gal. ii. 10). Every Chrifltiu
was exhorted to lay by on the first dayd
each week some portion of his profits, to k
applied to the wants of the needy (Acts a
30; Rom. xv. 25-27; 1 Cor. xvi. 1-4). I;
was also considered a duty specially incunv
bent on widows to devote themselves to suet
ministrations (1 Tim. v. 10).
ALMUG-TREES. [Ai.gum-Trtxs.]
ALOES, LIGN ALOES (in Heb. Ahdtisy
Ahdloth), the name of a costly and sweet
smelling wood which is mentioned in Nna
xxiv. 6, Ps. xiv. 8, Prov. vii. 17, Cantii
14, John xix. 39. It is usually idcntifei
with the Aquilaria Agallochum, a tree whkk
supplies the agallochum, or aloes-wood^
commerce, much valued in India on aceom
of its aromatic qualities for purposes of 1011*
gation and for incense. This tree grows^
the height of 1 20 feet, being 1 2 feet in piriS
It is, however, uncertain whether the Ahfifa
or Ahdloth is in reality the aloes-woodi
commerce ; it is quite possible that soM
kind of odoriferous cedar may be the tret
denoted by these terms.
AL'PIIA, the first letter of the Greet
alphabet, as Omega is the last. Its signi
ficance is plainly indicated in the contrtl,
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginnings^
the end, the first and the la*t " (Rev. xs&
13, i. 8, 11, xxi. 6), which mav be compani
with Is. xii. 4. Both Greeks 'and Hebrew
employed the letters of the alphabet a
numerals. ALPHABET. [Whittng.]
ALPHAE'US, the father of the Apostll
James the Less (Matt. x. 3; Mark iii. »
Luke vi. 15; Acts i. 13), and husbandt

ALTAR

23

ALTAR

(called also simply the Altar), and thr other
the Altar of Incense.— I. The Altar of Burnt-
offering. It differed in construction at differ
ent times. (1.) In the Tabernacle (Ex. xxvii.
1 ff. xxxviii. L ff.) it was comparatively small
and portable. In shape it was square. It was
five cubits in length, the same in breadth,
and three cubits high. It was made of planks
of shittim (or acacia) wood overlaid with
brass. The interior was hollow (Ex. xxvii.
8). At the four corners were four projec
tions called horns, made, like the altar itself,
of shittim-wood overlaid with brass (Ex.
xxvii. 2). They probably projected upwards ;
and to them the victim was bound when
about to be sacrificed (Ps. cxviii. 27). On
the occasion of the consecration of the priests
(Ex. xxix. 12) and the offering of the sin-
offering (Lev. iv. 7 ff.) the blood of the vic
tim was sprinkled on the horns of the altar.
Round the altar, midway between the top
and bottom, ran a projecting ledge (A. V.
'compass"), on which perhaps the priests
stood when they officiated. To the outer
edge of this, again, a grating or net-work of
brass was affixed, and reached to the bottom
of the altar, which thus presented the ap
pearance of being larger below than above.
At the four corners of the net-work were
four brasen rings, into which were inserted
the staves by which the altar was carried.
These staves were of the same materials as
the altar itself. As the priests were for
bidden to ascend the altar by steps (Ex. xx.
26), it has been conjectured that a slope of
that Mary who, with the mother of Jesus and I earth led gradually up to the ledge from
others, was standing by the cross during the I which they officiated. The place of the altar
crucifixion (John xix. 25). [Maky.] In was at "the door of the tabernacle of the
this latter place he is called Clopas (not, as congregation" (Ex. xl. 29). — (2.) In Solo-
in the A. V., Cleophas). \ rnon's Temple the altar was considerably
ALTAR. (A.) The first altar of which larger in its dimensions. Like the former it
we have any account is that built by
Noah when he left the ark (Gen. viii.
20). In the early times altars were
usually built in certain spots hallowed
by religious associations, e. g. where
God appeared (Gen. xii. 7, xiii. 18,
xxvi. 25, xxxv. 1). Generally of
course they were erected for the offer
ing of sacrifice ; but in some instances
tbey appear to have been only memo
rials. Altars were most probably ori
ginally made of earth. The Law of
Moses allowed them to be made either
of earth or unhewn stones (Ex. xx.
24, 25). In later times they were
frequently built on high places, espe
cially in idolatrous worship (Deut,
xii. 2).— (B.) The Law of Moses di
rected that two altars should be made,
the one the Altar of Buint-offering Altar of Burnt Offering. From SurenhusiuB' Mithna.

Aquilaria Agallochum. See art. ' Aloes.'

ALTAR

24

AMALEKITES

was square ; but the length and breadth
were now twenty cubits, and the height ten
(2 Chr. iv. 1). It differed, too, in the
material of which it was made, being entirely
of brass (1 K. viii. 64; 2 Chr. vii. 7). It
had no grating : and instead of a single
gradual slope, the ascent to it was probably
made by three successive platforms, to each
of which it has been supposed that steps led,
as in the figure annexed. — (3.) The altar of
burnt-offering in the second (ZerubbabePs)
temple. Of this no description is given in
the Bible. We are only told (Ezr. iii. 2}
that it was built before the foundations of
the Temple were laid. According to Josephus
it was placed on the same spot on which that
of Solomon had originally stood. — (4.) The
altar erected by Herod, which is thus de
scribed by Josephus : — " In front of the
Temple stood the altar, 15 cubits in height,
and in breadth and length of equal dimen
sions, viz. 50 cubits ; it was built foursquare,
with horn-like corners projecting from it ;
and on the south side a gentle acclivity led
up to it. Moreover it was made without any
iron tool, neither did iron ever touch it at
any time." According to Lev. vi. 12, 13, a
perpetual fire was to be kept burning on the
altar. This was the symbol and token of
the perpetual worship of Jehovah. — II. The
Altar of Incense, called also the golden altar
to distinguish it from the Altar of Burnt-
offering, which was called the bi'asen aTtar
(Ex. xxxviii. 30).— (a.) That in the Taber
nacle was made of acacia-wood, overlaid with
pure gold. In shape it was square, being a
cubit in length and breadth, and 2 cubits in

Supposed form of tlie Altur of Incense.

height. Like the Altar of Burnt-offering it
had horns at the four corners, which were of
one piece with the rest of the altar. Its ap
pearance may be illustrated by the preceding
figure. This altar stood in the Holy Place,
"before the vail that is by the ark of the testi
mony " (Ex. xxx. 6, xl. 5)— (6.) The Alt-w
in Solomon's Temple was similar (1 K. vii.
48; 1 Chr. xxviii. 18), but was made of
cedar overlaid with gold. — (c.) The Altar of
Incense is mentioned as having been removed '¦
from the Temple of Zerubbabel by Antiochus
Epiphanes (1 Mace. i. 21). Judas Macca-
baeus restored it, together with the holy
vessels, &c. (1 Mace. iv. 49). — C. Other
altars. (1.) Altars of brick. There seems
to be an allusion to such in Is. lxv. 3. (2.)
An Altar to an Unknown God. What altar
this was has been the subject of much discus
sion. St. Paul merely mentions in his speech
on the Areopagus that he had himself seen
such an altar in Athens. As to the origin of
these altar?, we are told by Diogenes Laertius
that in the time of a plague, wheD the
Athenians knew not what god £o propitiate
in order to avert it, Epimenides caused black
and white sheep to be let loose from the
Areopagus, and wherever they lay down, to
be offered to the respective divinities. It
was probably on this or similar occasions that
altars were dedicated to an Unknown God,
since they knew not what god was offended
and required to be propitiated.
AL-TAS'CHITH, found in the introductory
verse to the four following Psalms, lvii.,^
lviii., lix., lxxv. Literally rendered, the
import of the words is " destroy not," pro
bably the beginning of some song or poem to
the tune of which those psalms were to be
chanted. AMAL'EKITES, a nomadic tribe, which
occupied the peninsula of Sinai and the wil
derness intervening between the southern ,
hill-ranges of Palestine and the border of
Egypt (Num. xiii. 29 ; 1 Sam. xv. 7, xxvii. i
8). Arabian historians represent them as'
originally dwelling on the shores of the
Persian Gulf, whence they were pressed west
wards by the growth of the Assyrian empire,
and spread over a portion of Arabia at a
period antecedent to its occupation by tbe
descendants of Joktan. The physical cha
racter of the district which the Amalekites
occupied necessitated a nomadic life, which
they adopted to its fullest extent, taking their
families with them even on their militaryf
expeditions (Judg. vi. 5). Their wealth con
sisted in flocks and herds. Mention is made
of a " town " (1 Sam. xv. 5), but their towns
could have been little more than stations, or
nomadic enclosures. The kings or chieftains

AMANA

AMM1NADAB

were perhaps distinguished by the hereditary
title Agag (Num. xxiv. 7; 1 Sam. xv. 8).
The Amalekites first came in contact with
the Israelites at Rephidim, but were signally
defeated (Ex. xvii.). In union with the
Canaanites they again attacked the Israelites
on the borders of Palestine, and defeated them
near Hormah (Num. xiv. 45). Saul under
took an expedition against them, overrunning
their whole district from Havilah to Shur,
and inflicting an immense loss upon them
(1 Sam. xv.). Their power was thenceforth
broken, and. they degenerated into a horde of
banditti. Their destruction was completed
by David (1 Sam. xxvii., xxx.).
AM'ANA, apparently a mountain in or
near Lebanon (Cant. iv. 8). It is commonly
assumed that this is the mountain in which
the river Abana (2 K. v. 12) has its source,
but in the absence of further research in the
Lebanon this is mere assumption.
AM'ASA. Son of Ithra or Jether, by
Abigail, David's sister (2 Sam. xvii. 25).
He joined Absalom in his rebellion, and was
;by him appointed commander-in-chief in the
iplace of Joab, by whom he" was totally de
feated in the forest of Ephraim (2 Sam. xviii.
6). When Joab incurred the displeasure of
David for killing Absalom, David forgave
;the treason of Amasa, recognized him as his
iiiephew, and appointed him Joab's successor
.(xix. 13). Joab afterwards, when they were
both in pursuit of the rebel Sheba, pretending
:to salute Amasa, stabbed him with his sword
;(xx. 10), which he held concealed in his left
:hand.
. AMAZI'AH, son of Joash, and eighth king
,of Judah, reigned b.c. 837-809. He suc
ceeded to the throne at the age of 25, on the
murder of his father, and punished the mur
derers. In order to restore his kingdom to
,the greatness of Jehoshaphat's days, he made
jWar on the Edomites, defeated them in the
.valley of Salt, south of the Dead Sea, and
-took their capital, Selah or Petra. Flushed
, with this success be had the foolish arrogance
¦to challenge Joash, king of Israel, to battle.
-But Judah was completely defeated. Ama-
sziah himself was taken prisoner, and con-
jveyed by Joash to Jerusalem, which opened
its gates to the conqueror. Amaziah lived
,15 years after the death of Joash; and in
,the 29th year of his reign was murdered
by conspirators at Lachish, whither he had
.retired for safety from Jemaalem (2 Chr.
Jxxv. 27).
\ AMBASSADOR. The earliest examples of
ambassadors employed occur in the cases of
jEdom, Moab, and the Amorites (Num. xx.
14, xxi. 21 ; Judg. xi. 17-19), afterwards in
that of the fraudulent Gibeonites (Josh. ix. 4,

&c), and in the instances of civil strife
mentioned Judg. xi. 12, and xx. 12. They
are alluded to more frequently during and
after the contact of the great adjacent mon
archies of Syria, Babylon, &c, with those of
Judah and Israel, as in the invasion of Sen
nacherib. They were usually men of high
rank. In the case quoted the chief captain,
the chief cup-bearer, and chief of the eunuchs,
were met by delegates of similar dignity from
Hezekiah (2 K. xviii. 17, 18 ; see also Is.
xxx. 4). Ambassadors are found to have
been employed, not only on occasions of
hostile challenge or insolent menace (2 K.
xiv. 8 ; 1 K. xx. 2, 6), but of friendly com
pliment, of request for alliance or other aid,
of submissive deprecation, and of curious
inquiry (2 K. xiv. 8, xvi. 7, xviii. 14 ;
2 Chr. xxxii. 31).
AMBER (Heb. chashmal) occurs only in
Ez. i. 4, 27, viii. 2. It is usually supposed
that the Hebrew word chashmal denotes a
metal, and not the fossil resin called amber.
A'MEN, literally, " true ; " and, used as a
substantive, "that which is true," "truth"
(Is. lxv. 16) ; a word used in strong asse
verations, fixing as it were the stamp of truth
upon the assertion which it accompanied,
and making it binding as an oath (comp.
Num. v. 22). According to the Rabbins,
" Amen " involved the ideas of swearing, ac
ceptance, and truthfulness. In the synagogues
and private houses it was customary for the
people or members of the family who were
present to say " Amen " to the prayers which
were offered by the minister or the master of
the house, and the custom remained in the
early Christian Church (Matt. vi. 13 ; 1 Cor.
xiv. 16). And not only public prayers, but
those offered in private, and doxologies were
appropriately concluded with " Amen "
(Rom. ix. 5, xi. 36, xv. 33, xvi. 27 ; 2 Cor.
xiii. 13, &c).
AMETHYST (Heb. achldmdh). Mention
is made of this precious stone, which formed
the third in the third row of the high-priest's
breastplate, in Ex. xxviii. 19, xxix. 12,
" And the third row a ligure, an agate, and
an amethyst." It occurs also in the N. T.
(Rev. xxi. 20) as the 12th stone which
garnished the foundations of the wall of the
heavenly Jerusalem. Commentators gener
ally are agreed that the amethyst is the stone
indicated by the Hebrew word, an opinion
which is abundantly supported by the ancient
versions. AMMIN'ADAB. Son of Ram or Aram,
and father of Nahshon, or Naasson (as it is
written, Matt. i. 4 ; Luke iii. 32), who was
the pi'iHce of the tribe of Judah, at the first
numbering of Israel in the second year of

AMMINADIB

UG

AMON

the Exodus (Num. i. 7, ii. 3 ; Ruth iv. 19,
20 ; 1 Chr. i. 10]. He was the fourth
generation after Judah, the patriarch of his
tiibe, and one of the ancestors of Jksus
Christ. AMMIN'ADIB. In Cant. vi. 12, it is un
certain whether we ought to read, Am-
minadib, with the A. V., or my willing people,
as in the margin.
AM'MON, AM'MONITES, CHILDREN
OF AMMON, a people descended from Ben-
Ammi, the son of Lot by his j'ounger daughter
(Gen. xix. 38 ; comp. Ps. lxxxiii. 7, 8), as
Moab was by the elder ; and dating from die
destruction of Sodom. The near relation
between the two peoples indicated in the
story of their origin continued throughout
their existence (comp. Judg. x. 6 ; 2 Chr.
xx. 1 ; Zeph. ii. 8, &c). Indeed, sa close
was their union, and so near their identity,
that each would appear to be occasionally
spoken of under the name of the other. Un
like Moab, the precise position of the terri
tory or' the Ammonites is not ascertainable.
In the earliest mention of them (Deut. ii. 20)
they are said to have destroyed the Rephaim,
whom they called the Zamzummim, and to
have dwelt in their place, Jabbok being their
border (Num. xxi. 24 ; Deut. ii. 37, iii. 16).
" Land " or " country " is, however, but
rarely ascribed to them, nor is there any
reference to those habits and circumstances
of civilisation, which so constantly recur in
the allusions to Moab (Is. xv., xvi. ; Jer.
xlviii.). On the contrary, we find every
where trace- of the fierce habits of marauders
in their incursions (1 Sam. xi. 2 ; Am. i. 13),
and a very high degree of crafty cruelty to
their foes (Jer. xii. 6, 1 ; Jud. vii. 11, 12).
It appears that Moab was the settled and
civilised half of the nation of Lot, and that
Amnion formed its predatory and Bedouin
section. On the west of Jordan they never
obtained x footing. The hatred in which the
Ammonites were held by Israel is stated to
have arisen partly from their opposition, or,
rather, their denial of assistance (Deut. xxiii.
4), to the Israelites on their approach to
Canaan. But whatever its origin the ani
mosity continued in force to the latest date.
The last appearances of the Ammonites in the
biblical narrative are in the books of Judith
(v. vi. vii.) and of the Maccabees (I Mace.
v. 6. 30-431, and it has been already re
marked that their chief characteristics — close
alliance with Moab, hatred of Israel, and
cunning cruelty — are maintained to the end.
The tribe was governed by a king (Judg.
xi. 12, &c. ; 1 Sam. xii. 12; 2 Sam. x. 1;
Jer. xl. 14) and by "princes" (2 Sain. x. 3;
1 Chr. xix. 3). It has been conjectured that

Nahash (1 Sam. xi. 1 5 2 Sam x. 2) was the
official title of the king as Pharaoh was of
the Eo-vptian monarchs ; but this is without
any sure foundation.— The divinity of the
tribe was Molech, generally named m the
O. T. under the altered form of Milcora-
" the abomination of the children of Amnion;"
and occasionally as Malcham. In more than
one passage under the word rendered "their
king " in the A. V. an allusion is intended to1!
this idol. [Molkch.]
AM'NON. Eldest son of David by Ahinoainj
the Jczreelitess, born in Hebron while hUj
father's royalty was only acknowledged in
Judah. He dishonoured his half-sister
Tamar, and was in consequence murdered by
her brother (2 Sara. xiii. 1-29.)
A'MON, an Egyptian divinity, whose name;
occurs in that of No Amon (Nah. iii. 8), in
A. V. "populous No," or Thebes, also called '
No. [No.] The Greeks called this divinity
Ammon. The ancient Egyptian name is I
Amen. Amen was one of the eight gods of!
the first order, and chief of t^:e triad of:
Thebes. He was worshipped at that city aj
Amen-Ra, or " Amen the sun."

The god Amon {.Wilkinson).
A'MON. King of Judah, son and successor
of Manasseh, reigned two years from b.c
642 to 640. Following his father's example,
Amon devoted himself wholly to the service
of false gods, but was killed in a conspiracy.
The people avenged him by putting all the
conspirators to death, and secured the suc
cession to his son Josiah. To Anion's reign
we must refer the terrible picture which the

AMORITE

27

AMULETS

prophet Zephaniah gives of the moral and
religious state of Jerusalem.
AM'ORITE, THE AM'ORITES, i. e. the
dwellers on the summits — mountaineers —
one of the chief nations who possessed the
land of Canaan before its conquest by the
Israelites. In the genealogical table of Gen.
x. "the Amorite " is given as the fourth son
of Canaan, with " Zidon, Heth [Hittite], the
Jebusite," &c. As dwelling on the elevated
portions of the country, they are contrasted
with the Canaanites, who were the dwellers
in the lowlands ; and the two thus formed
the main broad divisions of the Holy Land
(Num. xiii. 29 ; and see Josh. v. 1, x. 6,
xi. 3 ; Deut. i. 7, 20, " mountain of the A. ;"
44). In the very earliest times (Gen. xiv. 7)
they are occupying the barren heights west
of the Dead Sea, at the place which afterwards
bore the name of Engedi. From this point
they stretched west to Hebron, where Abram
was then dwelling under the "oak-grove"
of the three brothers, Aner, Kshcol, and
Mamre (Gen. xiv. 13; comp. xiii. 18). At
the date of the invasion of the country, Sihon,
their then king, had taken the rich pasture-
land south of the Jabbok, and had driven the
Moabites, its former possessors, across the
wide chasm of the Arnon (Num. xxi. 13, 26),
which thenceforward formed the boundary
between the two hostile peoples (Num. xxi.
13). This rich tract, bounded by the Jabbok
on the north, the Arnon on the south, Jordan
on the west, and "the wilderness" on the
east (Judg. xi. 21, 22), was, perhaps, in the
most special sense the " land of the Amorites"
(Num. xxi. 31 ; Josh. xii. 2, 3, xiii. 9 ;
Judg. xi. 21, 22) ; but their possessions are
distinctly stated to have extended to the very
foot of Hermon (Deut. iii. 8, iv. 48), em
bracing "all Gilead and all Bashan" (iii. 10),
with the Jordan valley on the east of the
river (iv. 49). After the conquest of Canaan
nothing is heard in the Bible of the Amorites,
except the occasional mention of their name
among the early inhabitants of the country.
A'MOS. A native of Tekoa in Judah, about
six miles S. of Bethlehem, originally a shep
herd and dresser of sycom ore- trees, who was
called by God's Spirit to be a prophet, although
not trained in any of the regular prophetic
schools (i. J, vii. 14, 15). He travelled from
Judah into the northern kingdom of Israel
or Ephraim, and there exercised his ministry,
apparently not for any long time. His date
cannot be later than the 1 5th year of Uzziah's
reign (b.c. 808) ; for he tells us that he pro
phesied "in the reigns of Uzziah king of
Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Joash king
of Israel, two years before the earthquake."
But his ministry probably took place at an

earlier period, perhaps about the middle of
Jert/'oam's reign. The book of the prophe
cies o* \mos seems divided into four prin
cipal pe ' Mons closely conncctrd together.
(1) From „ 1 to ii. 3 he denounces the sins
of the nations bordering on Israel and Judah,
as a preparation for (2), in which, from ii. 4
to vi. 14, he describes the state of those two
kingdoms, especially the former. This is
followed hy (3) vii. l.-ix, 10, in which, after
reflecting on the previous prophecy, he re
lates his visit to Bethel, and sketches the im
pending punishment of Israel which he pre
dicted to Amaziah. After this in (4) he rises
to a loftier and more evangelical strain, look
ing forward to the time when the hope of
the Messiah's kingdom will be fulfilled, and
His people forgiven and established in the
enjoyment of God's blessings to all eternity.
The chief peculiarity of the style consists in
the number of allusions to natural objects
and agricultural occupations, as might be ex
pected from the early life of the author. See
i. 3, ii. 13, iii. 4, 5, iv. 2, 7, 9, v. 8, 19, vi.
12, vii. 1, ix. 3, 9, 13, 14. The references
to it in the N. T. are two : v. 25, 26, 27 is
quoted by St. Stephen in Acts vii. 42, 43,
and ix. 11 by St. James in Acts xv. 16.
A'MOZ, father of the prophet Isaiah, and,
according to Rabbinical tradition, brother of
Amaziah king of Judah (2 K. xix. 2, 20, xx.
1 ; 2 Chr. xxvi. 22, xxxii. 20, 32; Is. i. 1,
ii. 1, xiii. 1, xx. 2, xxxvii. 2, 21, xxxviii. 1).
AMPHIP'OLIS, a city of Macedonia,
through which Paul and Silas passed on their
way from Philippi to Thessalonica (Acts
xvii. 1). It was distant 33 Roman miles
from Philippi. It stood upon an eminence
on the left or eastern bank of the river Stvy-
mon, just below its egress from the lake Cer-
cinitis, and at the distance of about three
miles from the sea. Its site is now occupied
by a village called Neokhorio, in Turkish
Jeni-Keni, or "New Town."
AM'RAM. A Levite of *he family of the
Kohathites, and father of Mu-es, Aaron, and
Miriam (Ex. vi. 18, 20 ; Num. Iii. 19 ; 1 Chr.
vi. 2, 3, 18). He is called the "son" of
Kohnth, but it is evident that in the gene
alogy several generations must have been
omitted ; for from Joseph to Joshua ten ge
nerations are recorded, while from Levi to
Moses there are but three.
AM'RAPIIKL, perhaps a Hamite king of
Shinar or Babylonia, who joined the victo
rious incursion of the Elamite Chedorlaomer
against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah
and the cities of the plain (Gen. xiv.).
AMULETS were ornaments, gems, scrolls,
&c, worn as preservatives against the power
of enchantments, and generally inscribed

ANAH

28

ANDREW

with mystic forms or characters. The word
does not occur in the A. V,, but the " ear
rings" in Gen. xxxv. 4 were obviously con
nected with idolatrous worship, and were
probably amulets taken from the bodies of the
slain Shechemites. They are subsequently
mentioned among the spoils of Midian (Judg.
viii. 24). Again, in H03. ii. 13, "decking
Aerself with earrings " is mentioned as one
of the signs of the " days of Baalim." The
" earrings " in ls. iii. 20 were also amulets.
A'NAH, the son of Zibeon, the son of Seir
the Horite (Gen. xxxvi. 20, 24), a "duke"
or prince of his tribe, and father of Aholi
bamah, one of the wives of Esau (Gen. xxxvi.
2, 14, 25). There is no i-eason to suppose
that he is other than the same Anah who
found the "hot springs" (not "mules," as
in the A. V.) in the desert as he fed the asses
of Zibeon his father, though Bunsen considers
him a distinct personage, the son of Seir and
brother of Zibeon.
AN'AKIM, a race of giants, descendants
of Arba (Josh. xv. 13, xxi. 11), dwelling in
the southern part of Canaan, and particularly
at Hebron, which from their progenitor re
ceived the name of " city of Arba." Besides
the general designation Anakim, they are va
riously called sons of Anak (Num. xiii. 33),
descendants of Anak (Num. xiii. 22), and
sons of Anakim (Deut. i. 28). These desig
nations serve to show that we must regard
Anak as the name of the race rather than
that of an individual, and this is confirmed
by what is said of Arba, their progenitor,
that he " was a great man among the An
akim" (Josh. xiv. 15). The race appears to
have been divided into three tribes or fami
lies, bearing the names Sheshai, Ahiman,
and Talmai. Though the warlike appearance
of the Anakim had struck the Israelites with
terror in the time of Moses (Num. xiii. 28 ;
Deut. ix. 2), they were nevertheless dispos
sessed by Joshua, and utterly driven from
the land, except a small remnant that found
refuge in the Philistine cities, Gaza, Gath,
and Ashdod (Josh. xi. 21, 22). Their chief
city Hebron became the possession of Caleb,
who is said to have driven out from it the
three sons of Anak mentioned above, that is
the three families or tribes of the Anakim
(Josh. xv. 14 ; Judg. i. 20). After this time
they vanish from history.
ANAM'MELECH, one of the idols wor
shipped by the colonists introduced into Sa
maria from Sepharvaim (2 K. xvii. 31). He
was worshipped with rites resembling those of
Molech, children being burnt in his honour,
and is the companion-god to Adrammklecu.
As Adrammelech is the male power of the sun,
so Anamineleeh is the female power of the sun.

ANANI'AS. 1. A high-priest in Acts xxiii.
2-5, xxiv. 1. He was the son of Nebedaeus,
succeeded Joseph son of Camydus, and pre
ceded Ismael son of Phabi. He was nomi
nated to the office by Herod king of Chalcty
in aj>. 48 ; was deposed shortly before Felix
left the province, and assassinated by" the
sicarii at the beginning of the last Jewish
war. — 2. A disciple at Jerusalem, husband
of Sapphira (Acts v. 1-11). Having sold his
goods for the benefit of the church, he kept
back a part of the price, bringing to the
apostles the remainder, as if it were the
whole, his wife also being privy to the scheme.
St. Peter denounced the fraud, and Ananias
fell down and expired. — 3. A Jewish disciple '
at Damascus (Acts ix. 10-17), of high repute
(Acts xxii. 12), who sought out Saul during
the period of blindness and dejection which
followed his conversion, and announced to
him his future commission as a preacher of
the Gospel. Tradition makes him to have
been afterwards bishop of Damascus, and to
have died by martyrdom.
ANATH'EMA, which literally means a
thing suspended, is the equivalent of the
Hebrew word signifying a thing or person e
devoted. Any object so devoted to Jehovah '
was irredeemable : if an inanimate object, it
was to be given to the priests (Num. xviii. .
14) ; if a living creature or even a man, it
was to be slain (Lev. xxvii. 28, 29). The
word anathema frequently occurs in St. Paul's
writings, and is generally translated accursed.
Many expositors have regarded his use of it
as a technical term for judicial excommuni
cation. That the word was so used in the
early Church there can be no doubt, but an
examination of the passages in which it oc
curs shows that it had acquired a more
general sense as expressive either of strong
feeling (Rom. ix. 3) or of dislike and con
demnation (1 Cor. xii. 3, xvi. 22 ; Gal. i. 9).
AN'ATHOTH, a priests' city, belonging to
the tribe of Benjamin, with " suburbs " (Josbj
xxi. 18 ; 1 Chr. vi. 60). Anathoth lay on or'
near the great road from the north to Jeru
salem (Is. x. 30), and is placed by Eusebius .
and Jerome at 3 miles from the city. Its
position has been discovered by Robinson at
Andta, on a broad ridge 14; hour N.N.E.
from Jerusalem. The cultivation of the
priests survives in tilled fields of grain, with
figs and olives. There are the remains of
walls and strong foundations, and the quar
ries still supply Jerusalem with building
stones. AN'DREW, one among the first called of
the Apostles of our Lord (John i. 40 ; Matt
iv. 18) ; brother (whether elder or younger
is uncertain) of Simon Peter (ibid.). He was'

ANDRONICUS

29

ANGELS

of Bethsaida, and had been a disciple of John
the Baptist. On hearing Jesus a second time
designated by him as the Lamb of God, he
left his former master, and, in company with
another of John's disciples, attached himself
to our Lord. By his means his brother Simon
was brought to Jesus (John i. 41). The ap
parent discrepancy in Matt. iv. 18 ff., Mark
i. 16 ff., where the two appear to have been
called together, is no real one ; St. John
relating the first introduction of the brothers
to Jesus, the other Evangelists their formal
call to follow Him in his ministry. In the
catalogue of the Apostles, Andrew appears,
in Matt, x, 2, Luke vi. 14, second, next after
his brother Peter ; but in Mark iii. 16, Acts
i. 13, fourth, next after the three, Peter,
James, and John, and in company with
PhiUp. And this appears to have been his
real place of dignity among the Apostles.
The traditions about him are various. Eu-
sebius makes him preach in Scythia; Jerome
and Theodoret in Achaia (Greece) ; Nice-
phorus in Asia Minor and Thrace. He is
said to have been crucified at Patrae in Achaia.
Some aneient writers speak of an apocryphal
Acts of Andrew.
ANDRONI'CUS. 1. An officer left as vice
roy (2 Mace. iv. 31) in Antioch by Antiochus
Epiphanes during his absence (b.c. 171). At
the instigation of Menelaus, Andronicus put
to death the high-priest Onias. This murder
excited general indignation ; and on the re
turn of Antiochus, Andronicus was publicly
degraded and executed (2 Mace. iv. 31-38). —
2. Another officer of Antiochus Epiphanes
who was left by him on Garizim (2 Mace. v.
23), probably in occupation of the temple
there. — 3. A Christian at Rome, saluted by
St. Paul (Rom. xvi. 7) together with Junias.
ANGELS. By the word "angels" (i. e.
"messengers" of God) we ordinarily under
stand a race of spiritual beings, of a nature
exalted far above that of man, although in
finitely removed from that of God, whose
office is " to do Him service in heaven, and
by His appointment to succour and defend
men on earth." I. Scriptural use of the
word. — There are many passages in which
the expression the "angel of God," "the
angel of Jehovah," is certainly used for a
manifestation of God himself. This is espe
cially the case in the earlier books of the Old
Testament, and may be seen at once by a
comparison of Gen. xxii. 11 with 12, and of
Ex. iii. 2 with 6 and 14 ; where He, who is
called the "angel of Jehovah" in one verse,
is called " God," and even " Jehovah " in
those which follow, and accepts the worship
due to God alone. It is to be observed also,
¦hat, side by side with these expressions, we

read of God's being manifested in the form of
man ; as to Abraham at Mamre (Gen. xviii.
2, 22, comp. xix, 1), to Jacob at Penuel
(Gen, xxxii. 24, 30), to Joshua at Gilgal
(Josh. v. 13, 15), &c. It is hardly to be
doubted that both sets of passages refer to
the same kind of manifestation of the Divine
Presence. The inevitable inference is that
by the " Angel of the Lord" in such passages
is meant He, who is from the beginning the
" Word," i. e. the Manifester or Revealer of
God. Besides this, which is the highest ap
plication of the word "angel," we find the
phrase used of any messengers of God, such
as the prophets (Is. xiii. 19; Hag. i. 13;
Mal. iii. 1), the priests (Mal. ii. 7), and the
rulers of the Christian churches (Rev. i.
20) — II. Nature of angels. — Little is said of
their nature as distinct from their office.
They are termed "spirits" (as in Heb. i.
14) ; but it is not asserted that the angelic
nature is incorporeal. The contrary seems
expressly implied by the words in which our
Lord declares, that, after the Resurrection,
men shall be "like the angels" (Luke xx.
36); because (Phil. iii. 21) their bodies, as
well as their spirits, shall have been made
entirely like His. The angels are revealed
to us as beings, such as man might be and
will be when the power of sin and death is
removed, partaking in their measure of the
attributes of God, Truth, Purity, and Love,
because always beholding His face (Matt.
xviii. 10), and therefore being "made like
Him" (1 John iii. 2). This, of course, im
plies finiteness, and therefore (in the strict
sense) " imperfection " of nature, and con
stant progress, both moral and intellectual,
through all eternity. Such imperfection, con
trasted with the infinity of God, is expressly
ascribed to them in Job iv. 18 ; Matt. xxiv.
36 ; 1 Pet. i. 12. The finiteness of nature
implies capacity of temptation ; and accord
ingly we hear of " fallen angels." Of the
nature of their temptation and the circum
stances of their fall, we know absolutely
nothing. All that is certain is, that they
" left their first estate," and that they are
now " angels of the devil" (Matt. xxv.
41 ; Rev. xii. 7, 9), partaking therefore of
the falsehood, uncleanness, and hatred, which
are his peculiar characteristics (John viii. 44).
On the other hand, the title especially as-
signed to the angels of God, that of the * ' holy
ones" (see Dan. iv. 13, 23, viii. 13; Matt. xxv.
31), is precisely the one which is given to
those men who are renewed in Christ's image,
but which belongs to them in actuality and
in perfection only hereafter. (Comp. Heb. ii.
10, v. 9, xii. 23.)— III. Office of the angels.
— Of their office in heaven, we have, of

ANISE

ANNAS

course, only vague prophetic glimpses
(as in 1 K.xxii. 19 ; Is. vi. 1-3 ; Dan.
vii. 9, 10 ; Rev. vi. 11, &c), which
show us nothing but a never-ceasing
adoration. Their office towards man
is far more fully described to us.
They are represented as being, in the
widest sense, agents of God's Provi
dence, natural and supernatural, to
the body and to the soul. More par
ticularly, however, angels are spoken
Of as ministers of what is called
supernatural Providence of God; as
agents in the great scheme of the
spiritual redemption and sanctifica-
tion of man, of which the Bible is the
record. During the prophetic and -
kingly period, angels are spoken of
only as ministers of God in the ope- •
rations of nature. But in the cap
tivity angels are revealed in a fresh
light, as watching, not only over
Jerusalem, but also over heathen
kingdoms, under the Providence, and
to work out the designs, of the Lord.
(See Zech. passim, and Dan. iv. 13,
23, x. 10, 13, 20, 21, &c.) The In
carnation marks a new epoch of an
gelic ministration. " Tlie Angel of
Jehovah," the Lord of all created
angels, having now descended from heaven I against each other, was no doubt one of the
to earth, it was natural that His servants I reasons why they were admired ("the bravery
should continue to do Him service there. | of their tinkling ornaments"). They are
The New Testament is the history of the still worn in the East.

Common Dill. (Antthum gnitcoleus.') Sec art. * Anise.

Church of Christ, every member of which is
united to Him. Accordingly, the angels are
revealed now, as "ministering spirits" to
each individual member of Christ for His
spiritual guidance and aid (Heb. i. 14). In
one word they are Christ's ministers of grace
now, as they shall be of judgment hereafter
(Matt. xiii. 39, 41, 49, xvi. 27, xxiv. 31, &c).
That there are degrees of the angelic nature,
fallen and unfallen, and special titles and

AN 'N'A. A "prophetess" in Jerusalem at
the time of our Lord's presentation in the
Temple (Luke ii. 3G). She was of the tribe;?
of Asher.
AN'NAS, the son of one Seth, was ap
pointed high-priest in the year a.d. 7, by
Quirinus, the imperial governor of Syria;
but was obliged by Valerius Gratus, procu
rator of Judaea, to give way to Ismael, son
of Phabi, at the beginning of the reign of

agencies belonging to each, is clearly de- I Tiberius, a.d. 14. Ismael was succeeded by

clared by St. Paul (Eph. i. 21 ; Rom. viii. 38):
but what their general nature is, it is useless
to speculate.
ANISE. This word occurs only in Matt.

Eleazar, son of Annas ; then followed, after
one year, Simon, son of Camithus, and then,
after another year (about a.d. 25), Joseph
Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas (John xviii.

xxiii. 23. It is by no means a matter of j 13). But in Luke iii. 2, Annas and Caiaphasi
certainty whether the anise {Pimpinella ani- \ are both called high-priests, Annas being
sum, Lin.) or the dill (Anethum graccolcn-k) \ mentioned first. Our Lord's first hearing
is here intended, though the probability is , (John xviii. 13) was before Annas, who then
more in favour of the latter plant. j sent him bound to Caiaphas. In Acts iv. 6,
ANKLET. This word dues not occur in J Annas is plainly called the high-priest, and
the A. V., but anklets arc referred to in Is. | Caiauhas merely named with others of his
iii. IG, 18, 20. They were fastened to the , family. Some maintain that the two, Annas
ankle-band of each leg, were as common as , and Caiaphas, wtrc together at the head of
bracelets and armlets, and made of much the ] the Jewish people,^ Caiaphas as actual high-
same materials; the pleasant jingling and \ priest, Annas as president of the Sanhedrim.
tinkling which they made as they knocked , Others again suppose that Aunas held the

ANOINTING

31

ANTICHRIST

affice of mgan, or substitute of the high-
priebt. He lived to old age, having had five
sons high-priests.
ANOINTING in Holy Scripture is either
I. Material, with oil, or II. Spiritual, with
the Holy Ghost. — I. Matkrial. — 1. Ordi
nary. Anointing the body or head with oil
was a common practice with the Jews, as
with other Oriental nations (Deut. xxviii.
40; Ruth iii. 3; Mic. vi. 15). Abstinence
from it was a sign of mourning (2 Sam. xiv.
2 ; Dan. x. 3 ; Matt. vi. 17). Anointing the
head with oil or ointment seems also to have
been a mark of respect sometimes paid by a
host to his guests (Luke vii. 46 and Ps.
xxiii. 5). — 2. Official. It was a rite of inau
guration into each of the three typical offices
of the Jewish commonwealth, (a) Prophets
were occasionally anointed to their office
(1 K. xix. 16), and are called messiahs, or
anointed (1 Chr. xvi. 22; Ps. cv. 15). (b)
Priests, at the first institution of the Lc-
vitical priesthood, were all anointed to their
offices, the sons of Aaron as well as Aaron
himself (Ex. xl. 15 ; Num. iii. 3) ; but after
wards, anointing seems not to have been re
peated at the consecration of ordinary priests,
but to have been especially reserved for the
high-priest (Ex. xxix. 29 ; Lev. xvi. 32) ; so
that " the priest that is anointed " (Lev. iv.
3) is generally thought to mean the high-
priest, (c) Kings. Anointing was the prin
cipal and divinely-appointed ceremony in the
inauguration of the Jewish kings (1 Sam. ix.
16, x. 1 ; 1 K. i. 34, 39). The rite was some
times performed more than once. David was
thrice anointed to be king. After the sepa
ration into two kingdoms, the kings both of
Judah and of Israel seem still to have been
anointed (2 K. ix. 3, xi. 12). (d) Inani
mate objects also were anointed with oil in
token of their being set apart for religious
service. Thus Jacob anointed a pillar at
Bethel (Gen. xxxi. 13) ; and at the introduc
tion of the Mosaic economy, the tabernacle
and all its furniture were consecrated by
anointing (Ex. xxx. 26-28). — 3. Ecclesi
astical. Anointing with oil in the name of
the Lord is prescribed by St. James to be
used together with prayer, by the elders of
the church, for the recovery of the sick
(James v. 14). Analogous to this is the
anointing witli oil practised by the twelve
(Mark vi. 13).— II. Spiritual.— 1. In the
O. T. a Deliverer is promised under the title
of Messiah, or Anointed (Ps. ii. 2 ; Dan. ix.
25, 26) ; and the nature of his anointing is
described to be spiritual, with the Holy
Gho.it (Is. lxi. 1 ; see Luke iv. 18). In the
N. T. Jesus of Nazareth is shown to be the
Messiah, or Christ, or Anointed of the Old

Testament (John i. 41 ; Acts ix. 22, xvii. 2,
3, xviii. 4, 28) ; and the historical fact of his
being anointed with the Holy Ghost is as
serted and recorded (John i. 32, 33 ; Acts iv.
27, x. 38). 2. Spiritual anointing with the
Holy Ghost is conferred also upon Christians
by God (2 Cor. i. 21), and they are described
as having an unction from the Holy One, by
which they know all things (1 John ii.
20, 27).
ANT (Heb. nemdldh). This insect is men
tioned twice in the O. T. : in Prov. vi. 6,
xxx. 25. In the former of these passages
the diligence of this insect is instanced by the
wise man as an example worthy of imitation ;
in the second passage the ant's wisdom
is especially alluded to, for these insects,
" though they be little on the earth, are ex
ceeding wise." It is well known that the
ancient Greeks and Romans believed that
the ant stored up food, which it collected in
the summer, ready for the winter's consump
tion ; but this is an error. The European
species of ants are all dormant in the winter,
and consequently require no food ; and the
observations of modern naturalists seem
almost conclusive that no ants lay up for
future consumption.
ANTICHRIST. This term is employed by
the Apostle John alone, and is defined by
him in a manner which leaves no doubt as to
its intrinsic meaning. With regard to its
application there is less certainty. In the
first passage (1 John ii. 18) in which it occurs
the apostle makes direct reference to the
false Christs, whose coming, it had been fore
told, should mark the last days. "Little
children, it is the last time : and as ye have
heard that the Antichrist cometh, even now
have there been many Antichrists ; whereby
we know that it is the last time." The allu
sion to Matt. xxiv. 24 was clearly in the
mind of the Syriac translator, who rendered
Antichrist by "the false Christ." In ver.
22 we find, " he is the Antichrist that denieth
the Father and the Son ;" and still more po
sitively, " every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" is of
Antichrist (comp. 2 John 7). From these
emphatic and repeated definitions it has been
supposed that the object of the apostle in his
first epistle was to combat the errors of Ce-
rinthus, the Docetae, and the Gnostics on the
subject of the Incarnation. The Antichrists,
against which he warned the churches of
Asia Minor as being already in the world,
had been of their own number ; " they went
out from us, but they were not of us "(1 John
ii, 19) ; and the manner in which they are
referred to implies that the name was already
! familiar to those to whom the epistle was

ANTIOCH

32

ANTIOCH

addressed, through the apostles' oral teach
ing (2 Thess. ii. 5). The coming of Anti
christ was believed to be foretold in the
"vile person" of Daniel's prophecy (xi. 21),
which received its first accomplishment in
Antiochus Epiphanes, but of which the com
plete fulfilment was reserved for the last
times. He is identified with " the man of
sin, the son of perdition" (2 Thess. ii. 3),
who should be revealed when he "who
now letteth " was removed ; that is, accord
ing to the belief of the primitive church,
when the Roman order of things
ceased to be. This interpretation
brings Antichrist into close connexion
with the gigantic power of evil, sym
bolised by the "beast" (Rev. xiii.),
who received his power from the
dragon (i. e. the devil, the serpent of
Genesis), continued for forty and two
months, and was invested with the
kingdom of the ten kings who de
stroyed the harlot Babylon (Rev. xvii.
12, 17), the city of seven hills. The
destruction of Babylon is to be fol
lowed by the rule of Antichrist for a
short period (Rev. xvii. 10), to be in
his turn overthrown in " the battle of
that great day of God Almighty"
(Rev. xvi. 14) with the false prophet
and all his followers (Rev. xix.). The
personality of Antichrist is to be in
ferred as well from the personality of
his historical precursor, as from that
of Him to whom he stands opposed.
Such an interpretation is to be pre
ferred to that which regards Anti
christ as the embodiment and per
sonification of all powers and agencies
inimical to Christ, or of the Antichristian
might of the world. But the language of the
apostles is intentionally obscure, and this ob
scurity has been rather deepened than re
moved by the conflicting' interpretations of
expositors. All that the dark hints of the
apostles teach us is, that they regarded Anti
christ as a power whose influence was be
ginning to be felt even in their time, but
whose full development was reserved till the
passing away of the principle which hindered
it, and the destruction of the power sym
bolised by the mystical Babylon.
AN'TIOCH. 1. In Syria. The capital of
the Greek kings of Syria, and afterwards the
residence of the Roman governors of the pro
vince which bore the same name. This metro
polis was situated where the chain of Lebanon,
running northwards, and the chain of Taurus,
running eastwards, are brought to an abrupt.
meeting. Here the Orontes breaks through
the mountains ; and Antioch was placed at a

bend of the river, partly on an island, partly
on the level which forms the left bank, and
partly on the steep and craggy ascent of
Mount Silpius, which rose abruptly on the
south. In the immediate neighbourhood was
Daphne, the celebrated sanctuary of Apollo
(2 Mace. iv. 33) ; whence the city was some
times called Aniiocu by Daphne, to distin
guish it from other cities of the same name.—
No city, after Jerusalem, is so intimately]
connected with the history of the apostolic
church. — The chief interest of Antioch, luw.

Gate of St. Paul, Antioch.
ever, is connected with the progress of Chris- 1
tianity among the heathen. Here the first
Gentile church was founded (Acts xi. 20,
21) ; here the disciples of Jesus Christ were
first called Christians (xi. 26). It was from
Antioch that St. Paul started on his thiee
missionary journeys. The city was founded
in the year 300 b.c, by Seleucus Nicator.
Jews were settled there from the first in
large numbers, were governed by then' own
cthnarch, and allowed to have the same poli
tical privileges with the Greeks. Antioch
grew under the successive Seleucid kings,
till it became a city of great extent and of
remarkable beauty. Some of the most mag
nificent buildings were on the island. Ont
feature, which seems to have been charac
teristic of the great Syrian cities, — a vast
street with colonnades, intersecting the whole
from end to end — was added by Antiochus
Epiphanes. By Pompey it was made a free
:ity, and such it continued till the time of

ANTIOCHUS

33

ANTIOCHUS

Antoninus Pius. The early Emperors raised
there some large and important structures,
such as aqueducts, amphitheatres, and baths.
Herod the Great contributed a road and a
colonnade.' — 2. Ix Pisiiua (Acts xiii. 14, xiv.
19, 21; 2 Tim. iii. 11), on the borders of
Phrygia, corresponds to Yalobatcht which is
'distant from Ak-sher six hours over the
mountains. This city, like the Syrian An
tioch, was founded by Seleucus Nicator.
Under the Romans it became a colonia, and
was also called Caesarea.
ANTI'OCHUS II., king of Syria, surnamed
the God, succeeded his father Antiochus Soter
in b.c. 261. During the earlier part of his
reign he was engaged in a fierce war with
Ptolemy Phihulelphus, king of Egypt, in the
course of which Parthia and Bactria revolted
and became independent kingdoms. At length
(b.c. 250) peace was made, and the two mon-
archs "joined themselves together" (Dan.
xi. 6), and rtolemy ("king of the south")
gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to
Antiochus ("the king of the north"), who
set aside his former wife, Laodice, to receive
her. After some time, on the death of Pto
lemy (b.c. 247), Antiochus recalled Laodice
and her children Seleucus and Antiochus to
court. Thus Berenice was "not able to re
tain her power ;" and Laodice, in jealous fear
lest she might a second time lose her as
cendancy, poisoned Antiochus (him " that
strengthened her," i. e. Berenice), and caused
Berenice and her infant son to be put to
death, b.c. 246 (Dan. xi. 6).
ANTI'OCHUS III., surnamed the Great,
grandson of the preceding, succeeded his
brother Seleucus Keraunos, who was assassi
nated after a short reign in b.c 223. He
prosecuted the war against Ptolemy Philo-
pator with vigour, and at first with success.
In b.c 218 he drove the Egyptian forces to
Sidon, conquered Samaria and Gilead, and
wintered at Ptolcmais, but was defeated next
year at Raphia, near Gaza (b.c. 217), with im
mense loss, and in consequence made a peace
with Ptolemy, in which he ceded to him the
disputed provinces of Coele-Syria, Phoenicia
and Palestine (Dan. xi. 11, 12). During
the next thirteen years Antiochus was en
gaged in strengthening his position in Atia
Minor, and on the frontiers of Parthia, and
by his successes gained his surname of the
Great. At the end of this time, b.c. 205,
Ptolemy Philopator died, and left his king
dom to his son Ptol. Epiphanes, who was
only five years old. Antiochus availed him
self of the opportunity which was offered by
the weakness of a minority and the unpopu
larity of the regent, to unite with Philip III.
of Macedon for the purpose of conquering
S.m. 11. B.

and dividing the Egyptian dominions. lie
succeeded in occupying the three disputed
provinces, but was recalled to Asia by a war
which broke out with Attalus, king of Per-
gamus ; and his ally Philip was himself em
broiled with the Romans. In consequence
of this diversion, Ptolemy, by the aid of
Scopas, again made himself master of Jeru
salem, and recovered the territory which he
had lost. In b.c 198 Antiochus reappeared
in the field and gained a decisive victory
near the sources of the Jordan ; and after
wards captured Scopas and the remnant of
his forces who had taken refuge in Sidon.
His further designs against Egypt were frus
trated by the intervention of the Romans.
From Egypt Antiochus turned again to Asia
Minor, and after various successes in the
Aegaean crossed over to Greece, and by the
advice of Hannibal entered on a war with
Rome. His victorious course was checked at
Thermopylae (b.c 191), and after subsequent
reverses he was finally defeated at Magnesia
in Lydia, b.c 190. In b.c. 187 he attacked
a rich temple of Belus in Elymais, and was
slain by the people who rose in its defence.

Heed of Antiochus III. (.From a coin.)
ANTI'OCHUS IV., EPIPII'ANES (the IL
lustrious), was the youngest son of Antiochus
the Great. He was given as a hostage to the
Romans (b.c. 18S) after his father's defeat at
Magnesia. In b.c. 175 he was released by
the intervention of his brother Seleucus, who
substituted his own son Demetrius in his
place. Antiochus was at Athens when Se
leucus was assassinated by Hcliotlorus. He
took advantage of his position, and, by the
assistance of Eumcnes and Attalus, easily ex
pelled Heliodorus who had usurped tho crown,
and himself " obtained the kingdom by flat
teries" (Dan. xi. 21) to the exclusion of his
nephew Demetrius (Dan. viii. 7). The acces
sion of Antiochus was immediately followed
by desperate efforts of the Hellcni/.ing party
at Jerusalem to assort their supremacy. Jason,
the brother of Onias III-, the high-priest,
persuaded th* king to transfer the high-
D

ANTIOCHUS

34

ANTIOCHUS

priesthood to him, and at the same time
bought permission (2 Mace. iv. 9) to carry
nut his design of habituating the Jews to
Greek customs (2 Mace. iv. 7, 20). Three
years afterwards, Menelaus, of the tribe of
Benjamin, supplanted Jason by offering the
king a larger bribe, and was himself ap
pointed high-priest (2 Mace. iv. 23-26). An
tiochus undertook four campaigns against
Egypt, b.c. 171, 170, 169, 168, with greater
success than had attended his predecessor,
and the complete conquest of the country was
prevented only by the interference of the
Romans (Dan. xi. 24; 1 Mace. i. 16 ff. ;
2 Mace. v. 11 ff.). On his return from hi=
second Egyptian campaign (b.c 170) heat-
tacked Jerusalem. The Temple was plun
dered, a terrible massacre took place, and a
Phrygian governor was left with Menelaus
in charge of the city (2 Maec. v. 1-22 ; I
Mace. i. 20-28). Two years afterwards, at
the close of the fourth expedition, Antiochus
detached a force under Apollonius to occupy
Jerusalem and fortify it (1 Mace. iv. 61, v.
3 ff. ; Dan. xi. 41). The decrees then fol
lowed which have rendered his name in
famous. The Temple was desecrated, and
the observance of the law was forbidden
(1 Maec. i. 54). Ten days afterwards au
offering was made upon the altar to Jupiter
Olympius. At Jerusalem all opposition ap
pears to have ceased ; but Mattathias and his
sons organised a resistance, which preserved
inviolate the name and faith of Israel. Mean
while Antiochus turned his arms to the East,
towards Parthia and Armenia (Dan. xi. 40j.
Hearing not long afterwards of the riches of
:l temple of Nanaea in Elymais, hung with the
gifts of Alexander, he resolved to plunder it.
The attempt was defeated ; and though he
did not fall like his father in the act of sacri
lege, the event hastened his death." He re
tired to Babylon, and thence to Tabae in
Persia, where he died b.c. 164, having first
heard of the successes of the Maccabees in
restoring the Teinple-worship at Jerusalem
(1 Mace. vi. 1-16 ; comp. 2 Mace. i. 7-17 ?).

/•J-y-iry-SV

Scad of Antiuchus IV. Eplphonoa. ( From a

ANTI'OCHUS V., EU'PATOR {of nohk
descent), succeeded his father Antiochus IV,
b.c 164, while still a child, under the guar
dianship of Lysias (1 Mace. iii. 32, vi. 17),
though Antiochus had on his death-bed as
signed this office to Philip his own foster-
brother (1 Mace. vi. 14, 15, 55 ; 2 Maec. ix,
29). Shortly after his accession he marched
against Jerusalem with a large army to re
lieve the Syrian garrison, which was hard
pressed by Judas Maccabaeus (1 Maec. tl
19 ff.). He repulsed Judas at Bethzacharia,
and took Bethsura (Bethzur) after a vigorom
resistance (1 Mace. vi. 31-50). But when
the Jewish force in the Temple was on the
point of yielding, Lysias persuaded the king
to conclude a hasty peace that he might ad
vance to meet Philip, who had returned fromjj
Persia and made himself master of Antioch;
(1 Mace. vi. 51 ff.). Philip was speedil^
overpowered ; but in the'next year (b.c 162)
Antiochus and Lysias fell into the hands ol
Demetrius Soter, the son of Seleucus Philo-
pator, who caused them to be put to death
(1 Mace. vii. 2-4 ; 2 Maec. xiv. 1, 2).

Head of Antiochus VI. (From a aoin.)
ANTI'OCHUS VI. was the son of Alex
ander Balas and Cleopatra. After his fathe^
death (146 b.c) he remained in Arabia; but
though still a child (1 Mace. xi. 54j, he was
soon afterwards brought forward (c. Hi
b.c.) as a claimant to the throne of Syrii
against Demetrius Nicator by Tryphon&pr
Diodotus (1 Mace. xi. 39), who had beenfan
officer of his father. Tryphon succeeded!"!
gaining Antioch (1 Mace. xi. 56) ; and afte>
wards the greater part of Syria submitted to
the young Antiochus. He afterwards defeated
the troops of Demetrius at Hazor (1 Mace.
xi. 67) near Cadesh (ver. 73) : and repulsed
a second attempt which he made to regain
Palestine (1 Mace. xii. 24 ff.). Tryphon
having now, with the assistance of Jonathan
the high-priest, gained the supreme power in
the name of Antiochus, no longer concealed

ANTIOCHUS

35

APOLLOS

his design of usurping the crown. As a first
step he took Jonathan by treachery and put
him to death, b.c 14S (1 Mace. xii. 40) ; and
afterwards murdered the young king, and
ascended the throne (1 Mace. xiii. 31).
ANTI'OCHUS VII., SIDE'TES (of Side,
in Pamphylia), king of Syria, was the second
son of Demetrius I. When his brother, De
metrius Nicator, was taken prisoner (c. 141
B.c.) by Mithridates I. (Arsaces VI., 1 Mace.
xiv. 1) king of Parthia, he married his wife
Cleopatra and obtained possession of the
throne (137 b.c), having expelled the usurper
Tryphon (1 Mace. xv. 1 ff.). At first be
made a very advantageous treaty with Simon,
high-priest of the Jews, but when he grew
independent of his help, he withdrew the
concessions which he had made, and demanded
the surrender of the fortresses which the
Jews held, or an equivalent in money (1 Mace.
xv. 26 ff.). As Simon was unwilling to yield
to his demands, he sent a force under Cende-
haeus against him, who occupied a fortified
position at Cedron (1 1 Mace. xv. 41), near
Azotus, and harassed the surrounding country.
After the defeat of Cendebaeus by the sons of
Simon and the destruction of his works
(1 Mace. xvi. 1-10), Antiochus laid siege to
Jerusalem, but granted honourable terms to
John Hyrcanus (b.c 133), who had made a
rigorous resistance. In a campaign against
the Parthians he was entirely defeated by
Phraortes II. (Arsaces VII.), and fell in the
battle c. b.c. 127-6.
AN'TIPAS. [Hkrod.]
ANTIPA'TRIS, a town to which the sol
diers conveyed St. Paul by night on their
march (Acts xxiii. 31). Its ancient name
was Capharsaba ; and Herod, wrhen he rebuilt
the city, changed it to Antipatris, in honour of
his father Antipater. The village Eefr-Saba
still retains the ancient name of Antipatris.
APES (Heb. kophini) are mentioned in 1 K.
x. 22, and 2 Chr. ix. 21. There can be little
doubt but that the apes were brought from the
same country which supplied ivory and pea
cocks, both of which are common in Ceylon ;
and Sir E. Tennent has drawn attention to
the fact that the Tamil names for apes, ivory,
and peacocks, are identical with the Hebrew.
APIIARSATH'CHITES, APHAR'SITES,
APHAR'SACITES, the names of certain
tribes, colonies from which had been planted
in Samaria by the Assyrian leader Asnapper
(Ezr. iv. 9, v. 6). The first and last are re
garded as the same. "Whence these tribes
came is entirely a matter of conjecture.
A'PHEK, the name of several places in
Palestine. — 1. A royal city of the Canaanites,
the king of which was killed by Joshua (Josh.
xii. 18), probably the same as Aphekah in

Josh. xv. 53.-2. A city, apparently in the
extreme north of Asher (Josh. xix. 30), from
which the Canaanites were not ejected (Judg.
i. 31 ; though here it is Aphik). This is pro
bably the same place as Aphek (Josh. xiii. 4),
on the extreme north "border of the Amo
rites," identified with the Aphaca of classical
times, the modern Afka. — 3. A place at
which the Philistines encamped while the
Israelites pitched in Eben-ezer, before the
fatal battle in which the sons of Eli were
killed and the ark taken (1 Sam. iv. 1). This
would be somewhere to the N.W. of, and at
no great distance from Jerusalem.— 4. The
scene of another encampment of the Philis
tines, before an encounter not less disastrous
than that just named, — the defeat and death
of Saul (1 Sam. xxix. 1). It is possible that
it may be the same place as the preceding. —
5. A city on the military road from Syria to
Israel (1 K, xx. 26). It is now found in
Elk, at the head of the Wady Fik, 6 miles
east of the Sea of Galilee.
APOCALYPSE. [Rkvklaiion.]
APOCRYPHA. The collection of Books
to which this term is popularly applied in
cludes the following (the order given is that
in which they stand in the English version) :
—I. 1 Esdras; II. 2 Esdras ; III. Tobit ;
IV. Judith ; V. The rest of the chapters of
the Book of Esther, which are found neither
in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee ; VI. The
Wisdom of Solomon ; VII. The Wisdom of
Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclcsiasticus ;
VIII. Baruch ; IX. The Song of the Three
Holy Children ; X. The History of Susanna ;
XI. The History of the destruction of Bel and
the Dragon ; XII. The Prayer of Manasscs,
king of Judah ; XIII. 1 Maccabees ; XIV.
2 Maccabees. The primary meaning of Apo
crypha, " hidden, secret," seems, towards
the close of the 2nd century, to have been
associated with the signification " spurious,"
and ultimately to have settled down into tlie
latter. The separate books of this collection
are treated of in distinct Articles. Their re
lation to the canonical books of the Old Tes
tament is discussed under Canon.
APOLLO'NIA, a city of Macedonia, through
which Paul and Silas passed in their way
from Philippi and Amphipolis to Thessalonica
(Acts xvii. 1). According to the Autonine
Itinerary, it was distant 30 Roman miles
from Amphipolis, and 37 Roman miles from
Thessalonica. APOL'LOS, a Jew from Alexandria, elo
quent (which may also mean learned) and
mighty in the Scriptures : one instructed in
the way of the Lord, according to the im
perfect view of the disciples of John the
Baptist (Acts xviii. 25), but on his coming
D 2

APOLLYON

36

APOSTLE

to Ephesus during a temporary absence of
St. Paul, a.p. 54, more perfectly taught by
Aquila and Priscilla. After this he became
a preacher of the Gospel, first in Achaia and
then in Corinth (Acts xviii. 27, xix. 1),
where he watered that which Paul had
planted <1 Cor. iii. 6). When the apostle
wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians,
Apollos was with or near him (1 Cor. xvi.
12), probably at Ephesus in a.d. 57 : we
hear of him then that he was unwilling at
that time to journey to Corinth, but would
do so when he should have convenient time.
He is mentioned but once more in the N. T., in
Tit. iii. 13. After this nothing is knownofhim.
Tradition makes him bishop of Caesarea. It
has been supposed by some that Apollos was
the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
APOL'LYON, or, as it is literally in the
margin of the A. V. of Rev. ix. 11, "a de
stroyer," is the rendering of the Hebrew word
Abaddon, " the angel of the bottomless pit."
The angel Apollyon is further described as
the king of the locusts which rose from the
smoke of the bottomless pit at the sounding
of the fifth trumpet. From the occurrence
of the word in Ps. lxxxviii. 11, the Rabbins
have made Abaddon the nethermost of the
two regions into which they divide the lower
world. But that in Rev. ix. 11, Abaddon is
the angel and net the abyss, is perfectly
evident in the Greek. There is no authority
for connecting it with "the destroyer"
alluded to in 1 Cor. x. 10.
APOSTLE (one sent forth), in the N. T.,
originally the official name of those Twelve
of the disciples whom Jesus chose to send
forth first to preach the Gospel, and to be
with Him during the course of his ministry
on earth. The word also appears to have
been used in a non-official sense to designate
a much wider circle of Christian messengers
and teachers (see 2 Cor. viii. 23 ; Phil. ii.
25). It is only of those who were officially
designated Apostles that we treat in this
article. The original qualification of an
Apostle, as stated by St. Peter, ou the occasion
of electing a successor to the traitor Judas,
was, that he should have been personally
acquainted with the whole ministerial course
of our Lord, from his baptism by John till
the day when he was taken up into Heaven.
The Apostles were from the lower ranks of
life, simple and uneducated ; some of them
were related to Jesus according to the flesh ;
some bad previously been disciples of John
the Baptist. Our Lord chose them early in
his public career, though it is uncertain
precisely at what time. Some of them had
certainly partly attached themselves to Him
before ; but after their call as Apostles they

appear to have been continuously with Him,
or in his service. They seem to have been
all on an equality, both during and after tbe
ministry of Christ on earth. Early in oui
Lord's ministry, He sent them out two and
two to preach repentance, and perform
miracles in his name (Matt. x. ; Luke ix.),
This their mission was of the nature of a
solemn call to the children of Israel, to whom
it was confined (Matt. x. 5, 6). The Apostle!
were early warned by their Master of the
solemn nature and the danger of their calling
(Matt. x. 17). They accompanied Him in
his journeys of teaching and to the Jewish
feasts, saw his wonderful works, heard his
discourses addressed to the people, and made
inquiries of Him on religions matters. Thej
recognised Him as the Christ of God (Matt.
xvi. 16 ; Luke ix. 20), and ascribed to Him
supernatural power (Luke ix. 54) ; but in
the recognition of the spiritual teaching and
mission of Christ, they made very slow pro
gress, held back as they were by weakness
of apprehension and by national prejudid^
Even at the removal of our Lord from the
earth they were yet weak in their know
ledge (Luke xxiv. 21 ; John xvi. 12), though
be had for so long been carefully preparing
and instructing them. And when that hap
pened of which He had so often forewarn^
them — his apprehension by the chief priest*
and Pharisees — they all forsook Him and fled
(Matt. xxvi. 56). They left his burial to
one who was not of their number and to
the women, and were only convinced of his
resurrection on the very plainest proofs fur
nished by himself. On the Feast of Pente
cost, ten days after our Lord's ascension, the
Holy Spirit came down on the assemble^
church (Acts ii.) ; and from that time the
Apostles became altogether different men, giT-
ing witness with power of the life and death
and resurrection of Jesus as He had declare^
they should (Luke xxiv. 48; Acts i. 8, 22,
ii. 32, iii. 15, v. 32, xiii. 31). First of all the
mother-church at Jerusalem grew up under
their hands (Acts iii.-vii.), and their superior,
dignity and power were universally acknow»
ledged by the rulers and the people (Acta
v. 12 ff.). Even the persecution which arose
about Stephen, and put the first check on the
spread of the Gospel in Judaea, does not
seem to have brought peril to the Apostles
(Acts viii. 1). Their first mission out of
Jerusalem was to Samaria (Acts viii. 5-25),
where the Lord himself had, during his
ministry, sown the seed of the Gospel. Here
ends, properly speaking (or rather perhaps
with the general visitation hinted at in Acts
ix. 31), the first period of the Apostles'
agency, during which its centre is Jerusalem

APPEAL

37

ARABAH

and the prominent figure is that of St. Peter.
— The centre of the second period of the
apostolic ageney is Antioch, where a church
soon was built up, consisting of Jews and
Gentiles ; and the central figure of this and
of the subsequent period is St. Paul. The
third apostolic period is marked by the almost
entire disappearance of the Twelve from the
sacred narrative, and the exclusive agency
of St. Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles.
Of the missionary work of the rest of the
Twelve, we know absolutely nothing from the
sacred narrative. — As regards the apostolic
office, it seems to have been pre-eminently
that of founding the churches, and upholding
them by supernatural power specially bestowed
for that purpose. It ceased, as a matter of
course, with its first holders : all continua
tion of it, from the very conditions of its ex
istence (cf. 1 Cor. ix. 1), being impossible.
APPEAL. The principle of appeal was
recognized by the Mosaic law in the esta
blishment of a central court under the pre
sidency of the judge or ruler for the time
being, before which all cases too difficult for
the local courts were to be tried (Deut. xvii.
8-9). According to the above regulation,
the appeal lay in the time of the Judges to
the judge (Judg. iv. 5), and under the mon
archy to the king, who appears to have
deputed certain persons to inquire into the
facts of the case, and record his decision
thereon (2 Sam. xv. 3). Jehoshaphat dele
gated his judicial authority to a court per
manently established for the purpose (2 Chr.
xix. 8). These courts were re-established
by Ezra (Ezr. vii. 25). After the institution
of the Sanhedrim the final appeal lay to them.
St. Paul, as a Roman citizen, exercised a
right of appeal from the jurisdiction of the
local court at Jerusalem to the emperor
(Acts xxv. 11). Since the procedure in the
Jewish courts at that period was of a mixed
and undefined character, he availed himself
of his undoubted privilege to be tried by the
pure Roman law.
AP'PII FOR'UM, a well-known station on
the Appian Way, the great road which led
from Rome to the neighbourhood of the Bay
of Naples (Acts xxviii. 13). There is no
difficulty in identifying the site with some
ruins near Treponti. [Three Taverns.]
APPLE-TREE, APPLE (Heb. tappuach).
Mention of the apple-tree occurs in the A. V.
in Cant. ii. 3, viii. 5, and Joel i. 12. The
fruit of this tree is alluded to in Prov. xxv.
11, and Cant. ii. 5, vii. 8. It is a difficult
matter to say what is the specific tree denoted
by the Hebrew word tapp&ach. Most modern
writers maintain that it is either the quince
or the citron. The quince has some plausible
arguments in its favour. Its fragrance was

held in high esteem by the ancients. The
quince was sacred to Venus. On the other
hand, Dr. Royle says, " The rich colour,
fragrant odour, and handsome appearance of
the citron, whether in flower or in fruit, are
particularly suited to the passages of Scrip
ture mentioned above." But neither the
quince nor the citron nor the apple appears
fully to answer to all the Scriptural allu
sions. The orange would answer all the de
mands of the Scriptural passages, and orange-
trees are found in Palestine ; hut there does
not appear sufficient evidence that this tree
was known in the earlier times to the in
habitants of Palestine. The question of identi
fication, therefore, must still be left an open
one. AQ'UILA, a Jew whom St. Paul found at
Corinth on his arrival from Athens (Acts
xviii. 2). He was a native of Pontus, but
had fled, with his wife Priscilla, from Rome,
in consequence of an order of Claudius com
manding all Jews to leave the city. He be
came acquainted with St. Paul, and they
abode together, and wrought at their com
mon trade of making the Cilician tent or hair
cloth. On the departure of the Apostle from
Corinth, a year and six months after, Priscilla
and Aquila accompanied him to J^phesus.
There they remained, and there they taugLt
Apollos. At what time they became Chris
tians is uncertain-
AR, or AR OF MOAB, one of the chief
places of Moab (Is. xv. 1 ; Num. xxi. 28).
In later times the place was known as Areo-
polis and Rabbath-Moab. The site is still
called Rabba; it lies about half-way between
Kerak and the Wady Mojeb, 10 or 11 miles
from each, the Roman road passing through it.
AR'ABAH. Although this word appears
in the A. V. in its original shape only in
Josh, xviii. 18, yet in the Hebrew text it is
of frequent occurrence. It indicates more
particularly the deep-sunken valley or trench
which forms the most striking among the
many striking natural featuies of Palestine,
and which extends with great uniformity of
formation from the slopes of Hermon to the
Elanitic Gulf (Gulf of Akabah) of the Red
Sea ; the most remarkable depression known
to exist on the surface of the globe. Through
the northern portion of this extraordinary
fissure the Jordan rushes through the lakes
of Huleh and Gennesareth down its tortuous
course to the deep chasm of the Dead Sea.
This portion, about 150 miles in length, is
known amongst the Arabs by the name of el-
Ghor. The southern boundary of the Ghor
is the wall of cliffs which crosses the valley
about 10 miles south of the Dead Sea. From
their summits, southward to the Gulf oi
Akabah, the valley changes its name, or, it

ARABIA

38

ARABIA

would be more accurate to say, retains its
old name of Wady el-Arabah.
ARA'BIA, a country known in the O. T.
pnder two designations : — 1. The East
Country (Gen. xxv. 6) ; or perhaps the East
(Gen. x. 30 ; Num. xxiii. 7 ; Is. ii. 6) ; and
Land of the sons of the East (Gen. xxix. 1) ;
Gentile name, Sons of the East (Judg. vi. 3,
vii. 12; 1 K. iv. 30 ; Job i. 3 ; Is. xi. 14 ;
Jer. xlix. 28 ; Ez. xxv. 4). From these pas
sages it appears that the Land of the East
and Sons of the East indicate, primarily, the
country east of Palestine, and the tribes de
scended from Ishmael and from Keturah ;
and that this original signification may have
become gradually extended to Arabia and its
inhabitants generally, though witnout any
strict limitation. 2. 'Arab and 'Arab, whence
Arabia (2 Chr. ix. 14; Is. xxi. 13; Jer.
xxv. 24; Ez. xxvii. 21). This name seems
to have the same geographical reference as
the former name to the country and tribes
east of the Jordan, and chiefly north of the
Arabian peninsula, — Arabia may be divided
into Arabia Proper, containing the whole
peninsula as far as the limits of the northern
deserts ; Northern Arabia, constituting the'
great desert of Arabia ; and Western Arabia,
the desert of Petra and the peninsula of Sinai,
or the country that has been called Arabia
Petraea. I. Arabia Prope?; or the Arabian
peninsula, consists of high table-land, declin
ing towards the north; its most elevated oor-
tions being the chain of mountains running
nearly parallel to the Red Sea, and the terri
tory east of the southern part of this chain.
So far as the interior has been explored, it
consists of mountainous and desert tracts,
relieved by large districts under cultivation,
well peopled, watered by wells and streams,
and enjoying periodical rains. The most
fertile tracts are those on the south-west and
south. — II. Northcrii Arabia, or the Arabian
Desert, is a high, undulating, parched plain,
of which the Euphrates forms the natural
boundary from the Persian Gulf to the
frontier of Syria, whence it is bounded by
the latter country and the desert of Petra on
the north-west and west, the peninsula of
Arabia forming its southern limit. It has
few oases, the water of the wells is generally
either brackish or unpotable, and it is visited
by the sand-wind called Samoom. The in
habitants were known to the ancients as
"dwellers in tents" (comp. Is. xiii. 20;
Jer. xlix. 31 ; Ezck. xxxviii. 11) ; and they
extended from Babylonia on the east (comp.
Num. xxiii. 7 ; 2 Chr. xxi. 16; Is. ii. 6,
xiii. 20), to the borders of Egypt on the
west. These tribes, principally descended
from Ishmael and from Keturah, have always
led a wandering and pastoral life. They

conducted a considerable trade of merchant
dise of Arabia and India from the shores of
the Persian Gulf (Ez. xxvii. 20-24), whenw
a chain of oases still forms caravan-stationjl
and they likewise traded from the western"
portions of the peninsula. The latter traffic
appears to be frequently mentioned in con
nexion with Ishmaelites, Keturahites, and
other Arabian peoples (Gen. xxx vii. 25, 28;
1 K. x. 15, 25; 2 Chr. ix. 14, 24; Is.lx.6;
-Ter. vi. 20) : it seems, however, to have
been chiefly in the hands of the inhabitant
of Idumaea. — III. Western Arabia included
the peninsula of Sinai [Sinai], and the desert
of Petra, corresponding generally with the
limits of Arabia Petraea. The latter name is
probably derived from that of its chief city ;
not from its stony character. It was in the
earliest times inhabited by a people whose
genealogy is not mentioned in the Bible, the
Horites or Horim (Gen. xiv. 6, xxxvi. 20,
21, 22, 29, 30 ; Deut. ii. 12. 22). [Hokites.]
But it was mostly peopled by descendants of
Esau, and was generally known as the land
of Edom, or Idumaea [Edom] ; as well as by
its older appellation, the desert of Seir, or
Mount Seir [Seir]. The common origin of
the Iduniaeans from Esau and Ishmael jii
found in the marriage of the former with a
daughter of the latter (Gen. xxviii. 9, xxxvi.
3). The Nabathaeans succeeded to the Idu-
maeans. — Inhabitants. — 1. The descendants
of Ooktan occupied the principal portions of :
the south and south-west of the peninsnla,
with colonies in the interior. In Genesis]
(x. 30) it is said, "and their dwelling vas
from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a
mount of the East (Kedem).,> The principal
Joktanite kingdom, and the chief state of
ancient Arabia, was that of the Yemen,
founded (according to the Arabs) by Yaaruh,
the son (or descendant) of Kahtan (Joktan),
This was the Biblical kingdom of Shcba. Its
rulers, and most of its people, were descend
ants of Seba (=Sheba), whence the classical \
Sabaei. The dominant family was apparently
that of Himyer, son (or descendant) of Sebi
A member of this family founded the more
modern kingdom of the Himyerites. Native
tradition seems to prove that the latter ap
pellation represented the former only shortly
before the Christian era. The rule of
the Himyerites (whence the Uomeritae of
classical authors) probably extended over
the modern Yemen, Sadramdwt, and Mahreft. ;
Their kingdom lasted until a.d. 525, whenit
fell before an Abys>inian invasion. The other
chief Joktanite kingdom was that of the
Hijiiz, founded by Jurhum, the brother ^
Yaarub, who left the Yemen and settled/p
the neighbourhood of Mekkeh. This king
dom, situate in a less fertile district than the

ARABIA

39

ARAM

Yemen, and engaged in conflict with abori
ginal tribes, never attained the importance
of that of the south. — 2. The Ishmaelites
appear to have entered the peninsula from
the north-west. That they have spread over
the whole of it (with the exception of one or
two districts on the south coast), and that
the modern nation is predominantly Ish-
maelite, is asserted by the Arabs. They ex
tended northwards from the Hijiiz into the
Arabian desert, where they mixed with
Keturahites and other Abrahamic peoples :
and westwards to Idumaea, where they
mixed with Edomites, &c. The tribes sprung
from Ishmael have always been governed by
petty chiefs or heads of families (sheykhs
and emeers) : they have generally followed
a patriarchal life, and have not originated
kingdoms, though they have in some instances
succeeded to those of the Joktanites, the
principal one of these being that of El-
Heereh. With reference to the Ishmaelites
generally, there is doubt as to the wide
extension given to them by Arab tradition.
— 3. Of the descendants of Keturah the
Arabs say little. They appear to have settled
chiefly north of the peninsula in Desert
Arabia, from Palestine to the Persian Gulf. —
4. In Northern and Western Arabia are other
peoples which, from their geographical posi
tion and mode of life, are sometimes classed
with the Arabs. Of these are Amalek, the
descendants of Esau, &c. — Religion. The
most ancient idolatry of the Arabs we must
conclude to have been fetishism, of which
there are striking proofs in the sacred trees
and stones of historical times, and in the
worship of the heavenly bodies, or Sabaeism.
Magianism, an importation from Chaldaea
and Persia, must be reckoned among the
religions of the Pagan Arabs ; but it never
had very numerous followers. Christianity
was introduced into Southern Arabia towards
the close of the 2nd century, and about a
century later it had made great progress. It
flourished chiefly in the Yemen, where many
churches were built. Judaism was propa
gated in Arabia, principally by Karaites, at
the captivity, but it was introduced before
that time : it became very prevalent in the
Yemen, and in the Hijlz, especially at Khey-
bar and El-Medeeneh, where there are said
to be still tribes of Jewish extraction. —
Language. Arabic, the language of Arabia,
is the most developed and the richest of the
Shemitic languages, and the only one of
which we have an extensive literature : it is.
therefore, of great importance to the study of
Hebrew. Of its early phases we know no
thing ; while we have archaic monuments
of the Himyeritic (the ancient language of
fouthern Arabia), though we cannot fix their

precise ages. It is probable that in the 14th
or 13th cent, b.c, the Shemitic languages
differed much less than in after times. But
it appears from 2 K. xviii. 2G, that in the
8th cent, b.c only the educated classes among
the Jews understood Aramaic. With these
evidences before us, we think that the Him
yeritic is to be regarded as. a sister of the
Hebrew, and the Arabic (commonly so called) as
a sister of the Hebrew and Aramaic, or, in its
classical phasis, as a descendant of a sister of
these two, but that the Himyeritic is mixed
with an African language, and that the other
dialects of Arabia are in like manner, though
in a much less degree, mixed with an African
language. — The manners and customs of the
Arabs are of great value in illustrating the
Bible. No one can mix with this people
without being constantly and forcibly re
minded either of the early patriarchs or of
the settled Israelites. We may instance their
pastoral life, their hospitality, their universal
respect for age (comp. Lev. xix. 32), their
familiar deference (comp. 2 K. v. 13), their
superstitious regard, for the beard. — Refer
ences in the Bible to the Arabs themselves
are still more clearly illustrated by the man
ners of the modern people, in their predatory
expeditions, their mode of warfare, their
caravan journeys, &c. — Commerce. Direct
mention of the commerce of the south does
not appear to be made in the Bible, but it
seems to have passed to Palestine principally
through the northern tribes. The Joktanite
people of southern Arabia have always been,
in contradistinction to the Ishmaelite tribes,
addicted to a seafaring life. The latter were
caravan-merchants ; the former, the chief
traders of the Red Sea, carrying their com
merce to the shores of India, as well as to
the nearer coasts of Africa.
ARA'BIANS, the nomadic tribes inhabit
ing the country to the east and south of
Palestine, who in the early times of Hebrew
history were known as Ishmaelites and de
scendants of Keturah.
A'RAD, a royal city of the Canaanites,
named with Hormah and Libnah (Josh. xii.
14). The wilderness of Judah was to "the
south of Arad" (Judg. i. 16). It may be
identified with a hill, Tel 'Ardd, an hour
and a half N.E. by E. from Milh (Moladah),
and 8 hours from Hebron.
A'RAM, the name by which the Hebrews
designated, generally, the country lying to
the north-east of Palestine; the great mass
of that high table-land which, rising with
sudden abruptness from the Jordan and the
very margin of the lake of Gennesareth,
stretches, at an elevation of no less than 2000
feet above the level of the sea, to the banks
of the Euphrates itself, contrasting strongly

ARARAT

40

ARARAT

with the low land bordering on the Medi
terranean, the "land of Canaan," or the low
country (Gen. xxxi. 18, xxxiii. 18, &c).
Throughout the A. V. the word is, with only
a very few exceptions, rendered, as in the
Vulgate and LXX.,— Syria. In the later
history we meet with a number of small
nations or kingdoms forming parts of the
general land of Aram : — 1. Aram-Zobah, or
simply Zobah (1 Sam. xiv. 47 ; 2 Sam. viii. 3 ;
1 Chr. xviii. xix.). [Zobah.] 2. Aram
beth-rehob (2 Sam. x. 6), or Rehob (x. 8).
[Rehob.] 3. Aram-maachah (1 Chr. xix. 6),
or Maacbah only (2 Sam. x. 6). [Maachah.]
4. Geshur, "in Aram" (2 Sam. xv. 8), usu
ally named in connexion with Maachah
(Deut. iii. 14; Josh. xiii. 11, 13, &c).
[Geshur.] 5. Aram-Dammesek (Damascus)
(2 Sam. viii. 5, 6 ; 1 Chr. xviii. 5, 6). The
whole of these petty states are spoken of
collectively under the name of "Aram"
fii Sam. x. 13), but as Damascus increased
in importance it gradually absorbed the
smaller powers (1 K. xx. 1), and the name
of Aram was at last applied to it alone (Is.
vii. 8 ; also 1 K. xi. 24, 25, xv. 18, &c).
In three passages Aram would seem to denote
Assyria (2 K. xviii. 26; Is. xxxvi. 11 ; Jer.
xxxv. 11). — 2. Another Aram is named in
Gen. xxii. 21, as a son of Kemuel, and de
scendant of Nahor.
AR'ARAT, a mountainous district of Asia
mentioned in the Bible in connexion with the
following events : — (1.) As the resting-place
of the Ark after the Deluge (Gen. viii. 4) :
(2.) as the asylum of the sons of Sennacherib
(2 K. xix. 37 ; Is. xxxvii. 38 ; A. V. bas
"the land of Armenia") : (3.) as the ally,
and probably the neighbour, of Minni and
Ashchenaz (Jer. Ii. 27). [Armenia.] The
name Ararat was unknown to the geographers
of Greece and Rome, as it still is to the
Armenians of the present day : but that it
was an indigenous and an ancient name for
a portion of Armenia, appears from the state
ment of Moses of Chorene, who gives Araratia
ai the designation of the central province.
In its Biblical sense it is descriptive generally
of the Armenian highlands — the lofty plateau
which overlooks the plain of the Araxes on
the N., and of Mesopotamia on the S. Vari
ous opinions have been put forth as to the
spot where the Ark rested, as described in
Gen. viii. 4 ; but Berosus the Chaldaean,
contemporary with Alexander the Great,
fixes the spot on the mountains of Kur
distan. Tradition still points to the Jebel
,Judi as the scene of the event. Europeans
have given the name Ararat exclusively to
the mountain which is called Massis by the
Armenians, Agri-Dagh, i. e. Steep Mountain,
by the Turks, and Kuh-i-Nnh, i. e. Noah's

Mountain, by the Persians. It rises im.
mediately out of the plain of the Araxes, and
terminates in two conical peaks, named the,,
Great and Less Ararat, about seven miles ;
distant from each other ; the former of which
attains an elevation of 17,260 feet above the
level of the sea and about 14,000 above the
plain of the Araxes, while the latter is lower
by 4000 feet. The summit of the higher is
covered with eternal snow for about 3000
feet. It is of volcanic origin. The summit^
of Ararat was long deemed inaccessible. It
was first ascended in 1829 by Parrot, who 1
approached it from the N.W. Arguri, the
only village known to have been built on its
slopes, was the spot where, according to
tradition, Noah planted his vineyard. Lowerjj
down, in the plain of Araxes, is Nachdjevanjj&
where the patriarch is reputed to have been
buried. Returning to the broader signifieaf|
tion we have assigned to the term, "the]
mountains of Ararat," as co-extensive with !
the Arcnenian plateau from the base of Ararat^
in the N. to the range of Kurdistan in the
S., we notice the following characteristics of
that region as illu strating the Bible narrative : •
— (1.) Its elevation. It rises to a height of ?
from 6000 to 7000 feet above the level of the
sea. (2.) Its geographical position. The ;
Armenian plateau stands equidistant from '
the Euxine and the Caspian seas on the N.,
and between the Persian Gulf and the Medi* ;
terranean on the S. Viewed with reference!
to the dispersion of the nations, Armenia is ,
the true centre of the world : and at the
present day Ararat is the great boundary-
stone between the empires of Russia, Turkey,|
and Persia. (3.) Its physical character. The
plains as well as the mountains supply evi
dence of volcanic agency. Armenia, how
ever, differs materially from other regions of
similar geological formation, inasmuch as it
does not rise to a sharp well-defined central \
crest, but expands into plains or steppes, ;
separated by a graduated series of subordinate
ranges. (4.) The climate. Winter lasts
from October to May, and is succeeded by a
brief spring and summer of intense heat. In
April the Armenian plains are still coveredj
with snow ; and in the early part of Sep
tember it freezes keenly at night. (5.) The
vegetation. Grass grows luxuriantly on the
plateau, and furnishes abundant pasture
during the summer months to the flocks of
the nomad Kurds. Wheat, barley, and vines
ripen at far higher altitudes than on the
Alps and the Pyrenees ; and the harvest is
brought to maturity with wonderful speed.
ARAU'NAH, a Jebusite who sold his
threshing-floor on Mount Moriah to David as
a site for an altar to Jehovah, together with
his oxen (2 Sam. xxiv. 1 8-24 ; I Chr. xxi. 25).

ARBA

41

ARGOB

AR'BA, the progenitor of the Anakim, or
ms of Anak, from whom their chief city
[ebrox received its name of Kirjath-Arba,
Josh. xiv. 15, xv. 13, xxi. 1*1).
AR'BAH. Hebron, or Kirjath-Arba, as
; the city of Arbah " is always rendered else
where (Gen. xxxv. 27).
ARBE'LA, mentioned in the Bible only in
Mace. ix. 2. It is identified with the
fiodem Irbid, a site with a few ruins, west
tMejdel, on the south-east side of the Wady
lamdm, in a small plain at the foot of the
lill of Kurun Hattin.
ARCHELA'US, son of Herod the Great, by
i Samaritan woman, Malthake, and, with his
irother Antipas, brought up at Rome. At
he death of Herod (b.c 4) his kingdom was
uvided between his three sons, Herod Anti-
)as, Archelaus, and Philip. Archelaus never
Properly bore the title of king (Matt. ii. 22),
lut only that of ethnarch. In the tenth year
'f his reign, or the ninth, according to Dion
lassius, i. e. a.d. 6, a complaint was preferred
'.gainst him by his brothers and his subjects
»n the ground of his tyranny, in consequence
if which he was banished to Vienne in Gaul,
?here he is generally said to have died.
i ARCHERY. [Akms.]
ARCHIP'PUS, a Christian teacher in
)lossae (Col. iv. 17), called by St. Paul his
fellow-soldier," (Philem. 2). He was pro-
Lbly a member of Philemon's family.
ARCHITECTURE. The hook of Genesis
v. 17, 20, 22) appears to divide mankind
ito great characteristic sections, viz., the
dwellers in tents " and the " dwellers in
ties." To the race of Shem is attributed
3en. x. 11, 12, 22, xi. 2-9) the foundation
'those cities in the plain of Shinar, Babylon,
ineveh, and others ; of one of which, Resen,
ie epithet "great" sufficiently marks its
aportance in the time of the writer. It is
i connexion with Egypt that the Israelites
mear first as builders of cities, compelled to
bour at the buildings of the Egyptian mon-
rchs. Pithom and Raamses are said to have
sen built by them (Ex. i. 11). They were
y occupation shepherds, and by habit dwel-
ts in tents (Gen. xlvii. 3). They had
lerefore originally, speaking properly, no
rehitecture. From the time of the occupa-
on of Canaan they became dwellers in towns
\d in houses of stone (Lev. xiv. 34, 45 ;
,K, vii. 10) ; but these were not in all, nor
.deed in most cases, built by themselves
)eut. vi. 10 ; Num. xiii. 19). The peaceful
-igu and vast wealth of Solomon gave great
^lpulse to architecture ; for besides the
miple and his other great works, he built
jtresses and cities in various places, among
,aich Baalath aad Tadmor are in all proba

bility represented by Baalbec and Palmyra
(1 K. ix, 15, 24). Among the succeeding
kings of Israel and of Judah, more than one
is recorded as a builder : Asa (1 K. xv. 23),
Baasha (xv. 17), Omri (xvi, 24), Ahab (xvi.
32, xxii. 39), Hezekiah (2 K. xx. 20 ; 2 Chr.
xxxii. 27-30), Jehoash, and Josiah (2 K. xii.
11, 12, xxii. 6) ; and, lastly, Jehoiakim,
whose winter palace is mentioned (Jer. xxii.
14, xxxvi. 22; see also Am. iii. 15). On
the return from captivity the chief care of
the rulers was to rebuild the Temple and the
walls of Jerusalem in a substantial manner,
with stone, and with timber from Lebanon
(Ezr. iii. 8, v. 8 ; Neh. ii. 8, iii.). But the
reigns of Herod and his successors were espe
cially remarkable for their great architectural
works. Not only was the Temple restored
but the fortifications and other public build
ings of Jerusalem were enlarged and embel
lished (Luke xxi. 5). The town of Caesarea
was built on the site of Strata's Tower ;
Samaria was enlarged, and received the name
of Sebaste. Of the original splendour of
these great works no doubt can be enter
tained ; but of their style and appearance
we can only conjecture that they were formed
on Greek and Roman models. The enormous
stones employed in the Assyrian, Persepolitan,
and Egyptian buildings, find a parallel in
the substructions of Baalbec and in the huge
blocks which still remain at Jerusalem, relics
of the buildings either of Solomon or of Herod.
But few monuments are known to exist in
Palestine by which we can form an accurate
idea of its buildings, and even of those which
do remain no trustworthy examination has
yet been made. It is probable, however, that
the reservoirs known under the names of the
Pools of Solomon and Hezekiah contain some
portions at least of the original fabrics.
ARCTU'RUS. The Hebrew words 'Ash
and 'Aish, rendered " Arcturus " in the
A. V. of Job ix. 9, xxxviii. 32, in conformity
with the Vulg. of the former passage, are
now generally believed to be identical, and
to represent the constellation Ursa Major,
known commonly as the Great Bear, or
Charles's Wain.
AREOP'AGUS. [Mars' Hill.]
AR'ETAS. 1. A contemporary of Antiochus
Epiphanes (b.c. 170) and Jason (2 Mace. v. 8).
— 2. The Aretas alluded to by St. Paul (2 Cor.
xi. 32) was father-in-law of Herod Antipas.
AR'GOB, a tract of country on the east of
the Jordan, in Bashan, the kingdom of Og, con
taining 60 great and fortified cities. In later
times it was called Trachonitis, and it is now
apparently identified with the Lejah, a very
remarkable district south of Damascus, and
east of the Sea of Galilee (Deut. iii. 4, 13, 14}.

ARGOB

42

ARK

AR'GOB, perhaps a GUeadite officer, who
was governor of Argob. He was either an
accomplice of Pekah in the murder of Peka-
hiah, or was slain by Pckah (2 K. xv. 25).
ARIARA'THES, properly Mithridates IV.,
Philopator, king of Cappadocia b.c 168-130,
mentioned 1 Mace. xv. 22. He fell in b.c 130,.
in the war of the Romans against Aristonicus.
AR'IEH. Either one of the accomplices
of Pekah in his conspiracy against Pekabiah,
or one of the princes of Pekaliiah, who was
put to death with him (2 K. xv. 25).
A'RIEL. A designation given by Isaiah
to the city of Jerusalem (Is. xxix. 1, 2, 7).
Its meaning is obscure. We must under
stand by it either " Lion of God," or " Hearth
of God." The latter meaning is suggested
by the use of the word in Ez. xliii. 15, 16,
as a synonym for the altar of burnt offering.
On the whole it seems most probable that, as
a name given to Jerusalem, Ariel means
" Lion of God," whilst the word used by
Ezekiel means " Hearth of God."
ARIMATHAE'A (Matt, xxvii. 57 ; Luke
xxiii. 51 : John xix. 38). St. Luke calls it
" a city of Judaea." It is identified by many
with the modern Ramlah.
ARIOCH. 1. The king of Ellasar, one of
the allies of Chedorlaomer in his expedition
against his rebellious tributaries (Gen. xiv.
1). — 2. The captain of Nebuchadnezzar's
body-guard (Dan. ii. 14, &c). — 3. Pi-operly
Eirioch, or Erioch, mentioned in Jud. i. 6 as
king of the Elymaeans.
ARISTAR'CHUS, a Thessalonian (Acts
xx. 4, xxvii. 2), who accompanied St. Paul
on his third missionary journey (Acts xix.
29). He was with the apostle on his return
to Asia (Acts xx. 4) ; and again (xxvii. 2) on
his voyage to Rome. We trace him after
wards as St. Paul's fellow-prisoner in Col.
iv. 10, and Philem. 24. Tradition makes
him bishop of Apamea.
ARISTOBU'LUS. 1. A Jewish priest
(2 Mace. i. 10), who resided in Egypt in
the reign of Ptolemaeus VI. Philometor.
There can be little doubt that he is
identical with the peripatetic philo
sopher of that name, who dedicated to
Ptol. Philometor his allegoric exposi
tion of the Pentateuch. — S. A resident
at Rome, some of whose household are
greeted in Rom. xvi. 10. Tradition
makes him one of the 70 disciples, and GT,
reports that he preached the Gospel in
Britain. ARK, NOAH'S. [N.iui.j
ARK OF THE COVENANT. The
first piece of the tabernacle's furniture,
for which precise directions were deli
vered (Ex. xxv.). — I. It appears to have

been an oblong chest of shittim (acacia) wood,
2£ cubits long, by U broad and deep. Within
and without gold w'as overlaid on the wood,
and on the upper side or lid, which was edga
round about with gold, the mercy seat wai
placed. The ark was fitted with rings, one at
each of the four corners, and through these
were passed staves of the same wood similarly
overlaid, by which it was carried by the
Kohathites (Num. vii. 9, x. 21). The ends
of the staves were visible without the veil in
the holy place of the temple of Solomon (1 K,
viii. 8). The ark, when transported, was
enveloped in the "veil" of the dismantle!
tabernacle, in the curtain of badgers' skins,
and in a blue cloth over all, and was there
fore not seen (Num. iv. 5, 20). — II. Its pur.
pose or object was to contain inviolate the
Divine autograph of the two tables, that
"covenant" from which it derived its tide,
It was also probably a reliquary for the i»|
of manna and the rod of Aaron. Occupying!
the most holy spot of the sanctuary, it tended!
to exclude any idol from the centre of won]
ship. It was also the support of the merey]
seat, materially symbolising, perhaps, the
"covenant" as that on which "mercy1'
rested. — III. The chief facts in the earlier:
history of the ark (see Josh. iii. and ri.)
need not be recited. Before David's time its
abode was frequently sbifted. It sojourned
among several, probably Levitical, families
(1 Sam. vii. 1 ; 2 Sam*, vi. 3, 11 ; 1 Chr.
xiii. 13, xv. 24, 25) in the border villagesd
Eastern Judah, and did not take its place ia
the tabernacle, but .dwelt in curtains, i.e. in
a separate tent pitched for it in Jerusalem br
David. Its bringing up by David thither
was a national festival. Subsequently the
Temple, when completed, received, in the
installation of the ark in its shrine, the signal
of its inauguration by the effulgence^pf
Divine glory instantly manifested. When
idolatry became more shameless in the king-r
dom of Judah, Manasseh placed a "carved

Egyptian Ark. ("Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt.)

ARKITE, THE

43

ARMS, ARMOUR

image " in the " house of God," and pro
bably removed the ark to make way for it.
This may account for the subsequent state
ment that it was reinstated by Josiah (2 Chr.
xxxiii. 7, xxxv. 3). It was probably taken
captive or destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar
(2 Esdr. x- 22). Prideaux's argument that
there must have been an ark in the second
temple is of no weight against express testi
mony, such as that of Josephus.
ARK'ITE, THE, one of the families of the
Canaanites (Gen. x. 17 ; 1 Chr. i. 15), and
from the context evidently located in the
north of Phoenicia. The site which now
bears the name of 'Arka lies on the coast, 2
to 2\ hours from the shore, about 12 miles
north of Tripoli, and 5 south of the Nahr
el-Kebir. ARMAGED'DON, "the hill, or city of
Megiddo" (Rev. xvi. 16). The scene of the
struggle of good and evil is suggested by that
battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon, which
was famous for two great victories, of Barak
over the Canaanites, and of Gideon over the
Midianites ; and for two great disasters, the
deaths of Saul and of Josiah.
ARME'NIA is nowhere mentioned under
that name in the original Hebrew, though it
occurs in the English version (2 K. xix. 37)
for Ararat. Armenia is that lofty plateau
whence the rivers Euphrates, Tigris, Araxes,
and Acanipsis, pour down their waters in
different directions ; the two first to the
Persian Gulf, the last two respectively to the
Caspian and Euxine seas. It may be termed
the nucleus of the mountain system of western
Asia : from the centre of the
plateau rise two lofty chains of
mountains, which run from E.
to W., converging towards the
Caspian sea, but parallel to each
other towards the W. The slight
acquaintance which the Hebrews
had with this country was pro
bably derived from the Phoeni
cians. There are signs of their
knowledge having been progres
sive. Isaiah, in his prophecies
regarding Babylon, speaks of
the hosts as coming from the
"mountains" (xiii. 4), while
Jeremiah employs the specific
names Ararat and Minni (li. 27 ) .
Ezekiel, apparently better ac
quainted with the country, uses
a name which was familiar to
its own inhabitants, Togarmah.
(1.) Ararat is mentioned as the
place whither the sons of Sen
nacherib fled (Is. xxxvii. 38).
It was the central district sur

rounding the mountain of that name. (2.)
Minni only occurs in Jer. li. 27. It is pro
bably identical with the district Minyas, in the
upper valley of the Murad-su branch of the
Euphrates. (3.) Togarmah is noticed in two
passages of Ezekiel (xxvii. 14, xxxviii. 6),
both of which are in favour of its identity
with Armenia.
ARMLET, an ornament universal in the
East, especially among women ; used by
princes as one of the insignia of royalty, and
by distinguished persons in general. The
word is not used in the A. V., as even in
2 Sam. i. 10 they render it by "the bracelet
on his arm." Sometimes only one was worn,
on the right arm (Ecclus. xxi. 21). From
Cant. viii. 6, it appears that the signet some
times consisted of a jewel on the armlet.

Assyrian Armlet. tFrom Nineveh Murblcs, British
Museum.)

These ornaments were used by most ancient
princes. They are frequent on the sculptures
of Persepolis and Nineveh, and were worn
by the kings of Persia.
ARMS, ARMOUR. The subject naturally
divides itself into — I. Offensive weapons :

Egyptian sword.

ARMS, ARMOUR

44

ARMS, ARMOUR

Arms. II. Defensive weapons : Armour. —
I. Offensive weapons. — 1. Apparently the ear
liest known and most widely used was the
Chereb, or " Sword." Very little can be
gathered as to its shape, size, material, or
mode of use. Perhaps if anything is to be
inferred it is that the Chereb was both a
lighter and a shorter weapon than the modern
sword. It was carried in a sheath (1 Siim.

Persian sword, or

xvii. 51; 2 Sam. xx. 8 ; 1 Chr. xxi. 27),
slung by a girdle (1 Sam. xxv. 13) and rest
ing upon the thigh (Ps. xiv. 3 ; Judg. iii.
16), or upon the hips l2 Sam. xx. 8). Doubt
less it was of metal, from the allusion to its
brightness and " glittering ;" but from Josh.
v. 2, 3, we may perhaps infer that in early
times the material was flint. — 2. Next to the

sword was the Spear ; and of this weapon we
meet with at least three distinct kinds, a,
The Chariith, a " Spear," and that of the
largest kind. It was the weapon of Goliath
(1 Sam. xvii. 7, 45 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 19 ; 1 Chr,
xx. 5), and also of other giants (2 Sam.
xxiii. 21 ; 1 Chr. xi. 23) and mighty warriofl
(2 Sam. ii. 23, xxiii. 18 ; 1 Chr. xi. 11, 20)1
b. Apparently lighter than the preceding was
the Ciddn, or "Jave
lin." When not in ac
tion the Cidon'wsLS car
ried on the back of the
warrior (1 Sam. xvii,
6, A. V. "target").
c. Another kind of
spear was the R6mach,;\
In the historical books
it occurs in Num. xxv.
7, and 1 K. xviii. 28,
and frequently in the
later books, as in 1 Chr.
xii. 8 ("buckler"), 2
Chr. xi. 12. d. The
Shelach was probably '
a lighter missile or
"dart." See 2 Chr.
xxiii. 10, xxxii. 5
(" darts ") ; Neh. iv.
17, 23 (see margin);
Job xxxiii. 18, xxxvi
12; Joel ii. 8. e. She-
bet, a rod or staff, is
used once only to de
note a weapon (2 Sam.
xviii. 14).— 3. Of mis
sile weapons of offenoej
j the chief was undoubtedly the Bow, KeshetJn
It is met with in the earliest stages of the bug
tory, in use both for the chace (Gen. xxi. 20,

Egyptian bows.

ARMS, ARMOUR

45

ARMY

xxvii. 3) and war (xlviii. 22). The Arrows
were carried in a quiver (Gen. xxvii. 3 ; Is.
xxii. 6, xlix. 2; Ps. cxxvii. 5). From an
allusion in J'ob vi. 4, they would seem to have
been sometimes poisoned ; and Ps. cxx. 4 may
point to a practice of using arrows with some
burning material attached to them. 4. The
Sling is first mentioned in Judg. xx. 16. This
simple weapon with which David killed the
giant Philistine was the natural attendant of
a shepherd. Later in the monarchy, slingers
formed part of the regular army (2 K. iii. 25).
II. Armour. — 1. The Breastplate, enume
rated in the description of the arms of Go
liath, a " coat of mail," literally a "breast
plate of scales" (1 Sam. xvii. 5). This word
has furnished one of the names of Mount
Hermon (see Deut. iii. 9). — 2. The haber
geon is mentioned but twice — in reference to
the gown of the high-priest (Ex, xxviii. 32,
xxxix. 23). It was probably a quilted shirt
or doublet. — 3. The Helmet is referred to in

Assyrian helmets.
1 Sam. xvii. 5 ; 2 Chr. xxvi. 14 ; Ezek. xxvii.
10. — 4. Greaves, or defences for the feet
made of brass, are named in 1 Sam. xvii. 6,
only. — 5. Two kinds of SniELn are distin-

Egyptian shield.

guishable. a. The large shield, encompassing
(Ps. v. 12) the whole person. When not in
actual conflict, it was carried before the
warrior (1 Sam. xvii. 7, 41). b. Of smaller
dimensions was the buckler or target, pro
bably for use in hand-to-hand fight (1 K. x.
16, 47 ; 2 Chr. ix. 15, 16).— 6. What kind
of arm was the Shelet it is impossible to de
termine. By some translators it is rendered
a "quiver," by some "weapons" generally,
by others a " shield." It denoted certain
weapons of gold taken by David from Ha-
dadezer king of Zobah (2 Sam. viii. 7 ; 1 Chr.
xviii. 7), and dedicated in the Temple (2 K.
xi. 10 ; 2 Chr. xxiii. 9 ; Cant. iv. 4). In
Jer. li. 11 ; Ezek. xxvii. 11, the word has the
force of a foreign arm.
ARMT. I. Jewish Army. — The military
organisation of the Jews commenced with
their departure from the land of Egypt, and
was adapted to the nature of the expedition
on which they then entered. Every man
above 20 years of age was a soldier (Num. i.
3) : each tribe formed a regiment with its
own banner and its own leader (Num. ii. 2,
x. 14) : their positions in the camp or on the
march were accurately fixed (Num. ii.) : the
whole army started and stopped at a given
signal (Num. x. 5, 6) : thus they came up
out of Egypt ready for the fight (Ex. xiii.
18). On the approach of an enemy, a con
scription was made from the general body
under the direction of a muster-master (Deut.
xx. 5 ; 2 K. xxv. 19), by whom also the
officers were appointed (Deut. xx. 9). The
army was then divided into thousands and
hundreds under their respective captains
(Num. xxxi. 14), and still further into fami
lies (Num. ii. 34 ; 2 Chr. xxv. 5, xxvi. 12),
the family being regarded as the unit in the
Jewish polity. With the kings' arose the
custom of maintaining a body-guard, which
formed the nucleus of a standing army. Thus
Saul hadaband of 3000 select warriors (1 Sam.
xiii. 2, xiv. 52, xxiv. 2), and David, before his
accession to the throne, 600 (1 Sam. xxiii.
13, xxv. 13). This band he retained after he
became king, and added the Cherethites and
Pelethites (2 Sam. xv. 18, xx. 7), together
with another class, Shalishim, officers of high
rank, the chief of whom (2 K. vii. 2 ; 1 Chr.
xii. 18) was immediately about the king's
person. David further organized a national
militia, divided into twelve regiments under
their respective officers, each of which was
called out for one month in the year (1 Chr.
xxvii. 1) ; at the head of the army when in
active service he appointed a commander-in-
chief (1 Sam. xiv. 50). Hitherto the army
had consisted entirely of infantry (1 Sam. iv.
10, xv. 4), the use of horses having been

ARXON

46

restrained by divine command (Deut. xvii.
16) ; but we find that as the foreign relations
of the kingdom extended, much importance
was attached to them. David had reserved
a hundred chariots from the spoils of the
Syrians (2 Sam. viii. 4): these probably
served as the foundation of the force which
Solomon afterwards enlarged through his
alliance with Egypt (1 K. x. 26, 28, 29). It
does not appear that the system established
by David was maintained by the kings of
Judah ; but in Israel the proximity of the
hostile kingdom of Syria necessitated the
maintenance of a standing army. The militia
was occasionally called out in time of peace
(2 Chr. xiv. 8, xxv. 5, xxvi. 11) ; but such
cases were -exceptional. On the other hand
the body-guard appears to have been regu
larly kept up (1 K. xiv. 28 ; 2 K. xi. 4, 11).
Occasional reference is made to war-chariots
(2 K. viii. 21) ; but in Hezekiah's reign no
force of the kind could be maintained, and
the Jews were obliged to seek the aid of
Egypt for horses and chariots (2 K. xviii. 23,
24; Is. xxxi. 1). The maintenance and
equipment of the soldiers at the public ex
pense dates fx*om the establishment of a
standing army. It is doubtful whether the
soldier ever received pay even under the
kings. The numerical strength of the Jewish
army cannot be ascertained with any degree
of accuracy : the numbers, as given in the
text, are manifestly incorrect, and the dis
crepancies in the various statements irrecon-
cileable. II. Roman Army. — The Roman army was
divided into legions, the number of which
varied considerably, each under six tribuni
("chief captains," Acts xxi. 31), who com
manded by turns. The legion was subdivided
into ten cohorts ("band," Acts x. 1), the
cohort into three maniples, and the maniple
into two centuries, containing originally 100
men, as the name implies, but subsequently
from 50 to 100 men, according to the strength
of the legion. There were thus 60 centuries
in a legion, each under the command of a
centurion (Acts x. 1, 22 ; Matt. viii. 5, xxvii.
54). In addition to the legionary cohorts,
independent cohorts of volunteers served
under the Roman standards. One of these
cohorts was named the Italian (Acts x. 11,
as consisting of volunteers from Italy. The
cohort named "Augustus" (Acts xxvii. 1)
may have consisted of the volunteers from
Sebaste. Others, however, think that it was
a cohors Augusta, similar to the legio Augusta.
The head-quarters of the Roman forces in
Judaea were at Caesarea.
AR'NOX, the river or torrent which formed
the boundary between Moab and the Amorites,

en the north of Moab (Num. xxi. 13, 14, 24,
26 ; Judg. xi. 22), and afterwards between
Moab and Israel (Reuben) (Deut. ii. 24, 36,
iii. 8, 12, 16, iv. 48 ; Josh. xii. 1, 2, xiii. 9,
16 ; Judg. xi. 13, 26). There can be no
doubt that the Wady el-Mojeb of the present
day is the Arnon. Its principal source is
near Katrane, on the Haj route.
AR'OER. 1. A city on the torrent Arnon,
the southern point of the territory of Sihon,
king of the Amorites, and afterwards of the
tribe of Reuben (Deut. ii. 36, iii. 12, iv. 48;
Josh. xii. 2, xiii. 9, 16 ; Judg. xi. 26 ; 2 K.
x. 33 ; 1 Chr. v. 8), but later again in pos
session of Moab (Jer. xlviii. 19). It is the
modern Ard'ir, upon the very edge of the
precipitous north bank of the Wady Mojeb. 
3. Aroer "that is 'facing* Rabbah" (Rabbah
of Ammon), a town built by and belonging to
Gad (Num. xxxii. 34 ; Josh. xiii. 25 ; 2 Sam.
xxiv. 5). This is probably the place men
tioned in Judg. xi. 33, which was shown in
Jerome's time. — 3. Aroer, in Is. xvii. 2, if a
place at all, must be still further north than
either of the two already named. — 4. A town
in Judah, named only in 1 Sam. xxx. 28,
perhaps Wady Ar'drah, on the road from
Petra to Gaza.
AR'PAD or AR'PHAD (Is. xxxvi. 19,
xxxvii. 13), a city or district in Syria, appa
rently dependent on Damascus (Jer. xlix. 23).
No trace of its existence has yet been dis
covered (2 K. xviii. 34, xix. 13 ; Is. x. 9).
ARPHAX'AD, the son of Shem and an
cestor of Eber (Gen. x. 22, 24, xi. 10).—
3. Arphaxad, a king " who reigned over the
Medes in Ecbatana" (Jud. i. 1-4) : perhaps
the same as Phraortes, who fell in a battle
with the Assyrians, 633 b.c.
ARSA'CES VI., a king of Parthia, who
assumed the royal title of Arsaces in addition
to his proper name, Mithridates I. (1 Mace.
xiv. 1-3).
ARTAXER'XES. 1. The first Artaxerxes
is mentioned in Ezr. iv. 7, and appears
identical with Smerdis, the Magian impostor,
and pretended brother of Cambyses, who
usurped the throne b.c. 522, and reigned
eight months. 2. In Nek. ii. 1 we have
another Artaxerxes. We may safely identify
him with Artaxerxes Macrocheir or Longi-
manus, the son of Xerxes, who reigned b.c
464-425. A'RUMAH, a place apparently in the
neighbourhood of Shechem, at which Abim-
elech resided (Judg. ix. 41).
AR'VAD (Ez. xxvii. 8, 11). The island of
Ruad, which lies off Tortosa (Partus), 2 or 3
miles from the Phoenician coast.
AR'ZA, prefect of the palace at Tirzah to
Elah king of Israel, who was assassinated '

ASA

47

ASHES

at a banquet in his house by Zimri (1 K.
xvi. 9).
A'SA, son of Abijah, and third king of
Judah (b.c 956-916). In his zeal against
heathenism he did not spare his grandmother
Maachah, who occupied the special dignity of
" King's Mother," to which great importance
was attached in the Jewish court. Asa burnt
the symbol of her religion (1 K. xv. 13), and
threw its ashes into the brook Kidron, and
then deposed Maachah from her dignity. He
also placed in the temple certain gifts which
his father had dedicated, and renewed the
great altar which the idolatrous priests appa
rently had desecrated (2 Chi. xv. 8). Besides
this, he fortified cities on his frontiers, and
raised an army, amounting, according to
2 Chr. xiv. 8, to 580, Q00 men, a number
probably exaggerated by an error of the
copyist. During Asa's reign, Zerah, at the
head of an enormous host (2 Chr. xiv. 9),
attacked Mareshah. There he was utterly
defeated, and driven back with immense loss
to Gerar. The peace which followed this
victory was broken by the attempt of Baasha
of Israel to fortify Ramah. To stop this
Asa purchased the help of Benhadad I. king
of Damascus, by a large payment of treasure,
forced Baasha to abandon his purpose, and
destroyed the works which he had begun at
Ramah. In his old age Asa suffered from
the gout. He died greatly loved and honoured
in the 41st year of his reign.
A'SAHEL, nephew of David, being the
youngest son of his sister Zeruiah. He was
celebrated for his swiftness of foot. When
fighting under the command of his brother
Joab against Ishbosheth's army at Gibeon, he
pursued Abner, who was obliged to kill him
in self-defence (2 Sam. ii. 18 ff.)
A'SAPH. 1. A Levite, son of Berechiah,
one of the leaders of David's choir (1 Chr. vi.
39). Psalms 1. and lxxiii.-lxxxiii. are attri
buted to him ; and he was in after times
celebrated as a seer as well as a musical com
poser (2 Chr. xxix. 30 ; Neh. xii. 46).- 2. The
father or ancestor of Joah, the recorder or
chronicler to the kingdom of Judah in the
reign of Hezekiah (2 K. xviii. 18, 37 ;. Is.
xxxvi. 3, 22). It is not improbable that this
Asaph is the same as the preceding.
AS'ENATH, daughter of Potipherah, priest,
or possibly prince, of Oii*[Potiphkiiah], wife
of Joseph (Gen. xii. 45), and mother of Ma
nasseh and Ephraim (xii. 50, xlvi. 20).
ASH (Heb. dren) occurs only in Is. xliv.
H. It is impossible to determine what is the
tree denoted, by the Hebrew word ; the LXX.
and the Vulg. understand some species of
pine-tree. Perhaps the larch (Laryx Euro-
paea) may be intended.

A'SHAN, a city in the low country of Judah
(Josh. xv. 42). In Josh. xix. 7, and 1 Chr.
iv. 32, it is mentioned again as belonging to
Simeon. It has not yet been identified, unless
it be the same as Ain (comp. Josh. xxi. 16
with 1 Chr. vi. 59) ; in which case Robinson
found it at El Ghuwein.
ASHBE'A, a proper name, but whether of
a person or place is uncertain (1 Chr. iv. 2-1). -
ASH'DOD, or AZO'TUS (Acts viii. 40), one
of the five confederate cities of the Philistines,
situated about 30 miles from the southern
frontier of Palestine, 3 from the Mediterra
nean Sea, and nearly midway between Gaza
and Joppa. It was assigned to the tribe of
Judah (Josh. xv. 47), but was never subdued
by the Israelites. Its chief importance arose
from its position on the high road from
Palestine to Egypt. It is now an insig
nificant village, with no memorials of its
ancient importance, but is still called Esdud.
ASH'DOTH-PIS'GAH, a curious and pro
bably a very ancient term of doubtful mean
ing, found only in Deut. iii. 17 ; Josh. xii. 3,
xiii. 20 ; and in Deut. iv. 49, A. V, " springs
of Pisgah."
A'SHER, Apocr. and N. T. A'SER, the 8th
son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid
(Gen. xxx. 13). The general position of his
tribe was on the soa-shore from Carmel
northwards, with Manasseh on the south,
Zebulun and Issachar on the south-east, and
Naphtali on the north-east. The boundaries
and towns are given in Josh. xix. 24-31,
xvii. 10, 11 ; and Judg. i. 31, 32. They pos
sessed the maritime portion of the rich plain
of Esdraelon, probably for a distance rf 8 or
1 0 miles from the shore. This territory con
tained some of the richest soil in all Palestine ;
and to this fact, as well as to their proximity
to the Phoenicians, the degeneracy of the
tribe maybe attributed (Judg. i. 31, v. 17).
A'SHER, a place which formed one bound
ary of the tribe of Manasseh on the south
(Josh. xvii. 7). Mr. Porter suggests that
Teydsir may be the Asher of Manasseh
(BZandb. p. 348).
ASH'ERAH, the name of a Phoenician
goddess, or rather of the idol itself (A. V.
" grove ") . Asherah is closely connected with
Ashtoreth and her worship (Judg. iii. 7,
comp. ii. 3; Judg. vi. 25 ; IK. xviii. 19) ;
Ashtoreth being, perhaps, the proper name
of the goddess, whilst Asherah is the name
of her image or symbol, which was of wood
(see Judg. vi. 25-30 ; 2 K. xxiii. 14).
ASHES. The ashes on the altar of burnt-
offering were gathered into a cavity in its
surface. On the days of the three solemn
festivals the ashes were not removed, but the
accumulation was taken away afterwards in

ASHIMA

48

ASP

the morning, the priests casting lots for the
office. The ashes of a red heifer burnt entire,
according to regulations prescribed in Num.
xix. had the ceremonial efficacy of purifying
the unclean (Heb. ix. 13), but of polluting
the clean. [Sacrifice.] Ashes about the
person, especially on the head, were used as
a sign of sorrow. [Mourning.]
ASH'IMA, a god of the Hamathite colonists
in Samaria (2 K. xvii. 30). It has been re
garded as identical with the Mendesian god
of the Egyptians, the Pan of the Greeks, and
has also been identified with the Phoenician
god Esmun.
ASH'KELON, AS'KELON, Apocr. AS'CA-
LON, one of the five cities of the lords of the
Philistines (Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. 17), but
less often mentioned and apparently less
known to the Jews than the other four.
Samson went down from Timnath to Ash-
kelon (Judg. xiv. 19), as if to a remote place'
whence his exploit was not likely to be heard
of. In the post-biblical times Ashkelon rose
to considerable importance. Near the town
were the temple and sacred lake of Derceto,
the Syrian Venus. The soil around was re
markable for its fertility. Ascalon played a
memorable part in the struggles of the Cru-

ASH'KENAZ, one of the three sons of
Gomer, son of Japhet (Gen. x. 3). We may
probably recognize the tribe of Ashkenaz on
the northern shore of Asia Minor, in the
name of Lake Ascanius, and in Europe in
the name Scand-ia., Scand-inzvia.. Knobel
considers that Ashkenaz is to be identified
with the German race.
ASH'NAH, the name of two cities, both in
the Lowlands of Judah : (1) named between
Zoreah and Zanoah, and therefore probably
N.W. of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 33) ; and (2)
between Jiphtah and Nezib, and therefore to
the S.W. of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 43). Each,
according to Robinson's Map (1857), would
be about 16 miles from Jerusalem.
ASH'TAROTH, and once AS'TAROTH, a
city on the E. of Jordan, in Bashan, in the
kingdom of Og, doubtless so called from being
a seat of the worship of the goddess of the
same name. It is generally mentioned as a
description or definition of Og (Deut. i. 4 ;
Josh. ix. 10, xii. 4, xiii. 12). The only
trace of the name yet recovered in these in
teresting districts is Tell-Ashterah, or Ashe
rah, and of this nothing more than the name
is known. ASH'TEROTH KARNA'IM = "Ashtaroth
of the two horns or peaks," a place of very
great antiquity, the abode of the Rephaim
(Gen. xiv. 5). The name reappears but once,
as Carnaim, or Camion (1 Maec. v. 26, 43,

44 ; 2 Mace. xii. 21, 26), in " the land of
Galaad." It is probably the modern Eg.
Sanamein, on the Haj route, about 25 miles
S. of Damascus.
ASHTO'RETH, the principal female divin.
ity of the Phoenicians, called Ishtar by the
Assyrians, and Astarte by the Greeks and
Romans. She was by some ancient writers'^
identified with the moon. But on the other
hand the Assyrian Ishtar was not the moon-
goddess, but the planet Venus ; and Astarte
was by many identified with the goddess
Venus (or Aphrodite) as well as with the
planet of that name. It is certain that the
worship of Astarte became identified with that
of Venus, and that this worship was conneetffl
with the most impure rites is apparent from
the close connexion of this goddess wiffl
Asherah (1 K. xi. 5, 33; 2 K. xxiii. 13). •'
ASH'URITES, THE. This name occurs
only in 2 Sam. ii. 9. By some of the old
interpreters the name is taken as meaning
the Geshurites, but if we follow the Targum ;
of Jonathan, which has Beth-Asher, "the
house of Asher," " the Asherites " wfll denote
the inhabitants of the whole of the country
W. of the Jordan above Jezreel.
ASIA. The passages in the N.T., where
this word occurs, are the following : Acts ii,
9, vi. 9, xvi. 6, xix. 10, 22, 26, 27, xx. 4, 16,
18, xxi. 27, xx^. 2; Rom. xvi. 5; 1 Cor.
xvi. 19 ; 2 Cor. i. 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 15 ; 1 Pet. i. 1;
Rev. i. 4, 11. In all these it maybe con
fidently stated that the- word is used for a
Roman province which embraced the western
part of the peninsula of Asia Minor, and of
which Ephesus was the capital.
ASIAR'CHAE (chief of Asia, A. V. ; Acts
xix. 31), officers chosen annually by the
cities of that part of the province of Asia, of
which Ephesus was, under Roman govern-
ment, the metropolis. They had charge of
the public games and religious theatrical.
spectacles, the expenses of which they bore. ¦
ASMODE'US (Tob. iii. 8, 17), the same as
Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev. ix. 11 ; comp.
Wisd. xviii. 25). From the fact that the
Talmud calls him "king of the demons,"
some assume him to be identical with Beel
zebub, and others with Azrael. In the book
of Tobit this evil spirit is represented as lov
ing Sara, the daughter of Raguel, and caus
ing the death of her seven husbands.
ASNAP'PER, mentioned in Ezr. iv. 10 as
the person who settled the Cnthaeans in the
cities of Samaria. He was probably a general
of Esarhaddon.
ASP (jiethen). The Hebrew word occurs
in the six following passages : — Deut. xxxii.
83; Job xx. 14, 16; Ps. lviii. 5, xci. 13.'
Is. xi. 8. It is expressed in the passages

ASPALATHUS

49

ASSIDEANS

from the Psalms by adder in the text of the
A. V., and by asp in the margin : elsewhere
the text of the A. V. has asp as the repre-

on asses : and in this manner our Lord him
self made his triumphant entry into Jeru
salem (Matt. xxi. 2). — 2. Athdn, the common
domestic she-ass. Balaam rode on a she-
ass. The asses of Kish which Saul sought
were she-asses. The Shunammite (2 K. iv.
22, 24) rode on one when she went to seek
Elisha, They were she-asses which formed
I the special care of one of David's officers
I (1 Chr. xxvii. 30).— 3. 'Air, the name of a
wild ass, which occurs Gen. xxxii. 16, xlix.
: 11 ; Judg. x. 4, xii. 14 ; Job xi. 12 ; Is. xxx.
6, 24 ; Zech. ix. 9. — 4. Pere, a species of wild
ass mentioned Gen. xvi. 12 ; Ps. civ. 11 ; Job
vi. 5, xi. 12, xxiv. 5, xxxix. 5 ; Hos. viii. 9 ;
Jer. ii. 24, xiv. 6 ; Is. xxxii. 14. — 5. Ardd
occurs only in Job xxxix. 5 ; but in what re
spect it differs from the Pere is uncertain,- —
The species known to the ancient Jews are
Asinus hemippus, which inhabits the deserts of
Syria, Mesopotamia, and the northern parts of
Arabia ; the Asinus vulgaris of the N.E. of
Africa, the true onager or aboriginal wild
Egyptian cobra. {Naia h«je.) ass, whence the domesticated breed has
sprung ; and probably the Ashms onager, the
sentative of the original word pethen. That ' Koulan or Ghorkhur, which is found in
some kind of poisonous serpent is denoted by Western Asia from 48° N. latitude southward
the Hebrew word is clear from the passages | to Persia, Beluchistan, and Western India.
quoted above. We further learn from Ps. j Mr. Layard remarks that in fleetness the
lviii. 5, that the pethen was a snake upon I wild ass (Asinus hemippus) equals the gazelle,
which the serpent-charmers practised their [ and to overtake them isa feat which only one
art. From Is. xi. 8, it would appear that ! or two of the most celebrated mares have
the petlien was a dweller in holes of walls, &c. [ been known to accomplish.
As the Egyptian cobra is more' fre
quently than any other species the
subject upon which the serpent-
charmers of the Bible lands practise
their art, and as it is fond of con
cealing itself in walls and in holes
(Is. xi. 8), it appears to have the
best claim to represent the pethen.
ASPAL'ATHUS, the name of some
sweet perfume mentioned in Ecclus.
xxiv. 15. The Lignum Rlwdianum
is by some supposed to be the sub
stance indicated by the aspalathus ;
the plant which yields it is the Con
volvulus scoparius of Linnaeus.
AS'PHAR, the pool in the "wilder
ness of Thecoe" (1 Macc.ix. 33). Is
it possible that the name is a cor
ruption of lacus Asphaltites 1
ASS. Five Hebrew names of the
genus Asinus occur in the 0. T. 1. Chamdr
denotes the male domestic ass, though the
word was no doubt used in a general sense
to express any ass whether male or female.
The ass in eastern countries is a very dif-
} ferent animal from what he is in western
Europe. The most noble and honourable
amongst the Jews were wont to be mounted
fin. D. B.

Syrian Wild Aas. (Asinus Hemippus.)
Specimen in Zoological Gardens
ASSH'URIM, a tribe descended from De-
dan, the grandson of Abraham (Gen. xxv. 3).
Like the other descendants of Keturah, they
have not been identified with any degree of
certainty. Knobel considers them the same
with the Asshur of Ez. xxvii. 2-3, and con
nected with southern Arabia.
ASSIDE'ANS, i. e. the pious, " puritans,"

ASSOS

50

ASSYRIA

the name assumed by a section of the orthodox
Jews (1 Maec. ii. 42, vii. 13 ; 2 Mace. xiv.
6) as distinguished from the Hellenizing
faction. They appear to have existed as a
party before the Maccabaean rising, and were
probably bound by some peculiar vow to the
external observance of the Law.
AS'SOS or AS'SUS, a seaport of the Ro
man province of Asia, in the district
anciently called Mysia. It was situated on
the northern shore of the gulf of Adramvt-
tium, and was only about seven miles from
the opposite coast of Lesbos, near Methymna
(Ac's xx. 13, 14).
ASSYR'IA, ASSH'UR, was a great and
powerful country lying on the Tigris (Gen.
ii. 14), the capital of which was Nineveh
(Gen. x. II, &c). It derived its name ap
parently from Asshur, the son of Shem (Gen.
x. 22), who in later times was worshipped
by the Assyrians as their chief god. The
boundaries of Assyria differed greatly at
different periods. Probably in the earliest
times it was confined to a small tract of low
country, lying chiefly on the left bank of the
Tigris. Gradually its limits were extended,
until it came to be regarded as comprising
the whole region between the Armenian
mountains (lat. 37° 30') upon the north, and
upon the south the country about Baghdad
(lat. 33° 30'). Eastward its boundary was
the high range of Zagros, or mountains of
Kurdistan; westward, it was, according to
the views of some, bounded by the Mesopo-
tamian desert, while, according to others, it
reached the Euphrates. — 1. General cha
racter of the country. On the N. and E. the
high mountain-chains of Armenia and Kur
distan are succeeded by low ranges of lime
stone-hills of a somewhat arid aspect. To
these ridges there succeeds at first an un
dulating zone of country, well watered and
fairly productive, which extends in length
for 250 miles, and is interrupted only by a
single limestone-range. Above and below
this barrier is an immense level tract, now
for the most part a wilderness, which bears
marks of having been in early times well
cultivated and thickly peopled throughout.
— 2. Provinces of Assyria. — The classical
geographers divided Assyria into a number
of regions, which appear to be chiefly named
from cities, as Arbelitis from Arbela ; Cala-
cene (or Calachine) from Calah or Halah
(Gen. x. 11; 2 K. xvii. 6); Apolloniatis
from Apollonia ; Sittacene from Sittace, &c.
Adiabene, however, the richest region of all,
derived its appellation from the Zab (Diab)
river on which it lay. — 3. Chief cities. — The
chief cities of Assyria in the time of its great
ness appear to have been the following : —

Nineveh, which is marked by the mounds
opposite Mosul (Nehi-Yunus and Kouyunjik) ;
Calah or Halah, now Nimrud ; Asshur, now
Kileh Sherghat; Sargina, or Dur-Sargina,
now Khorsabad ; Arbela, still Arbil ; Opis at
the junction of the Diyaleh with the Tigris;
and Sittace, a little further down the latter
river, if this place should not rather be
reckoned to Babylonia.— 4. History of As-'
syria — original peopling. — Scripture informs
us that Assyria was peopled from Babylon
(Gen. x. 11), and both classical tradition and
the monuments of the country agree in this
representation. — 5. Date of the foundation
of the kingdom.- — As a country, Assyria was
evidently known to Moses (Gen. ii. 14, xxv.
18; Num. xxiv. 22, 24); but it does not
appear in Jewish history as a kingdom till
the reign of Menahem (about b.c 770).
Herodotus relates that the Assyrians were
" lords of Asia " for 520 years, till the Median
kingdom was formed, b.c. 708. He would
thus, it appears, have assigned to the foun
dation of the Assyrian empire a date not
very greatly anterior to b.c 1228. This is,
perhaps, the utmost that can be determined
with any approach to certainty.- — 6. Early
kings from the foundation of the kingdom to
Pul. — The Mesopotamian researches have
rendered it apparent that the original seat of
government was not at Nineveh, but at Kileh-
Sherghat, on the right bank of the Tigris.
The kings proved to have reigned there are
fourteen in number, divisible into three
groups ; and their reigns are thought to
have covered a space of nearly 350 years,
from b.c. 1273 to b.c 930. The most re
markable monarch of the series was called
Tiglath-pileser. He appears to have been
king towards the close of the twelfth centur),
and thus to have been contemporary with
Samuel. The later kings of the series are
only known to us as the ancestors of two
great monarchs ; Sardanapalus the first, and
his son, Shalmaneser or Shalmanubar, a still
greater conqueror. His son and grandson
followed in his steps, but scarcely equalleil
his glory. The latter is thought to be
identical with the Biblical Pul, Phul, or
Phaloch [Pul]. — 7. The kings from Pul to
Esarhaddon. — In the 2nd book of Kings we
find the names of Pul, Tiglath-pileser, Shal
maneser, Sennachejib, and Esarhaddon (2 K.
xv. 19, 29, xvii. 3, xviii. 13, xix. 37) ; and
in Isaiah we have the name of " Sargon,
king of Assyria " (xx. 1). The inscriptions,
by showing us that Sargon was the father of
Sennacherib, fix his place in the list, and
give us for the monarchs of the last half of
the 8th and the first half of the 7th century
b.c the (probably) complete list of Tiglath-

ASSYRIA

51

ATAD

pileser II., Shalmaneser II., Sargon, Senna
cherib, and Esarhaddon. — 8. Lower Dynasty.
It seems to be certain that at, or near, the
accession of Pul, about b.c. 7-70, a great
3hange of some kind or other occurred in
Assyria. Probably the Pul or Phaloch of
Scripture was really the last king of the old
monarchy, and Tiglath-pileser II., his suc-
jessor, was the founder of what has been
called the "Lower Empire." — 9. Supposed
loss of the empire at this period. — Many
writers of repute have been inclined to accept
the statement of Herodotus with respect to
the breaking up of the whole empire at this
period. It is evident, however, both from
Scripture and from the monuments, that the
shoek sustained through the domestic revolu
tion has been greatly exaggerated. It is
plain, from Scripture, that in the reigns of
Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sargon, Sen
nacherib, and Esarhaddon, Assyria was as
great as at any former era. On every ground
it seems necessary to conclude that the
second Assyrian kingdom was really greater
and more glorious than the first ; that under
it the limits of the empire reached their ful
lest extent, and the internal prosperity was
at the highest.- — 10. Successors of Esarhad
don. — By the end of the reign of Esarhaddon
the triumph of the arms of Assyria had been
so complete that scarcely an enemy was left
who could cause her serious anxiety. In
iScripture it is remarkable that we hear no
thing of Assyria after the reign of Esar-
Jbaddon, and profane history is equally silent
until the attacks begin which brought about
tier downfall. — 11. Fall of Assyria.- — The
Fall of Assyria, long previously prophesied
by Isaiah (x. 5-19), was effected by the
growing strength and boldness of the
Medes. If we may trust Herodotus, the
first Median attack on Nineveh took plaee
about the year b.c. 633. For some time
their efforts were unsuccessful ; but after
a while, having won over the Babylonians
to their side, they became superior to the
Assyrians in the field, and about b.c 625,
sr a little earlier, laid final siege to the
capital. — 12. Fulfilment of prophecy. — The
prophecies of Nahum and Zephaniah (ii.
13-15) against Assyria were probably de
livered shortly before the catastrophe. In
accordance with Nahum's announcement
(iii. 19) we find that Assyria never succeeded
in mamtaining a distinct nationality. — 13.
General character of the empire. — The As
syrian monarchs bore sway over a number of
petty kings through the entire extent of their
dominions. These native princes were feu
datories of the Great Monarch, of whom they
held their crown by the double tenure of

homage and tribute. It is not quite certain
how far Assyria required a religious con
formity from the subject people. Her religion
was a gross and complex polytheism, com
prising the worship of thirteen principal and
numerous minor divinities, at the head of all
of whom stood the chief god, Asshur, who
seems to be the deified patriarch of the nation
(Gen. x, 22). The inscriptions appear to
state that in all countries over which the
Assyrians established their supremacy, they
set up "the laws of Asshur," and " altars to
the Great Gods."— 14. Its extent. — On the
west, the Mediterranean and the river Halys
appear to have been the boundaries ; on the
north, a fluctuating line, never reaching the
Euxine nor extending beyond the northern
frontier of Armenia ; on the east, the Caspian
Sea and the Great Salt Desert ; on the south,
the Persian Gulf and the Desert of Arabia.
The countries included within these limits
are the following : — Susiana, Chaldaea, Baby
lonia, Media, Matiene, Armenia, Assyria
Proper, Mesopotamia, parts of Cappadocia
and Cilicia, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, and
Idumaea. Cyprus was also for a while a
dependency of the Assyrian kings, and they
may perhaps have held at one time certain
portions of Lower Egypt. — 15. Civilisation
of the Assyria?is. — The civilisation of the
Assyrians was derived originally from the
Babylonians. They were a Shemitic race,
originally resident in Babylonia (which at
that time was Cushite), and thus acquainted
with the Babylonian inventions and dis
coveries, who ascended the valley of the
Tigris and established in the tract imme
diately below the Armenian mountains a
separate and distinct nationality. Still, as
their civilisation developed, it became in
many respects peculiar. Their art is of home
growth. But they were still in the most im
portant points barbarians. Their government
was rude and inartificial ; their religion coarse
and sensual ; and their conduct of war cruel.
ASTY'AGES, the last king of the Medes,
b.c 595-560, or b.c 592-558, who was con
quered by Cyrus (Bel and Dragon, 1). The
name is identified by Rawlinson and Niebuhr
with Deioces = Ashdah£k, the emblem of the
Median power.
ASUP'PIM, and HOUSE OF, 1 Chr. xxvi.
15, 17, literally "house of the gatherings."
Some understand it as a proper name of
chambers on the south of the Temple ; others
of certain store-rooms, or of the council-
chambers in the outer court of the Temple in
which the elders held their deliberations.
A'TAD, THE THRESHING-FLOOR OF,
called also Ahel-Mizraim (Gen. 1. 10, 11).
According to Jerome it was in his day called
E 2

ATARGATIS

52

ATHENS

Bethgla or Bethacla (Beth-Kogla). Beth-
Hogla is known to have lain between the
Jordan and Jericho, therefore on the west
side of Jordan.
ATAR'GATIS, or Derceto, a Syrian god
dess, represented generally with the body of
a woman and the tail of a fish (comp. Da-
gon). Her most famous temples were at
Hierapolis (Mabug) and Asealon. There
was a temple of Atargatis (2 Mace. xii. 26)
at Karnion, which was destroyed by Judas
Maccabaeus (1 Maec. v. 44).
AT'AROTH. 1. One of the towns in the
"land of Jazer and land of Gilead" (Num.
xxxii. 3), taken and built by the tribe of Gad
(xxxii. 34). From its mention with places
which have been identified on the N.E. of the
Dead Sea near the mountain of the Jebel
Attarus, a connexion has been assumed be
tween Ataroth and that mountain. But
some other identification is necessary. — 2. A
place on the (south?) boundary of Ephraim
and Manasseh (Josh. xvi. 2, 7). It is im
possible to say whether Ataroth is or is not
the same place, as, 3. Ataroth-adar, or
-addar on the west border of Benjamin,
"near the 'mountain' that is on the south
side of the nether Beth-horon" (Josh. xvi. 5,
xviii. 13). In the Onomasticon mention is
made of an Atharoth in Ephraim, in the
mountains, 4 miles N. of Sebaste ; as well as
two places of the name not far from Jeru
salem. — 4. " Ataroth, the house of Joab,"
a place (?) occurring in the list of the descen
dants of Judah (1 Chr. ii. 54).
A'THACII (1 Sam. xxx. 30). As the name
does not occur elsewhere, it has been sug
gested that it is an error of the transcriber
for Ether, a town in the }ow country of Judah
(Josh. xv. 42).
ATHALI'AH, daughter of Ahab and Jeze
bel, married Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat
king of Judah, and introduced into the S.
kingdom the worship of Baal. After the
great revolution, by which Jehu seated him
self on the throne of Samaria, she killed all
the members of the royal family of Judah
who had escaped his sword (2 K. xi. I),
availing herself probably of her position as
King's Mother [Asa], to perpetrate the crime.
From the slaughter of the royal house, one
infant named Joash, the youngest son of
Ahaziah, was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba,
wife of Jehoiada (2 Chr. xxiii. 11) the high-
priest (2 Chr. xxiv. 6). The child was
brought up under Jehoiada's care, and con
cealed in the Temple for six years, during
which period Athaliah reigned over Judah.
At length Jehoiada thought it timu to pro
duce the lawful king to the people, trusting
to their zeal for the worship of God, and

loyalty to the house of David, which hai
been so strenuously called out by Asa ant
Jehoshaphat. His plan was successful, anc
Athaliah was put to death.
ATH'ENS, the capital of Attica, and tlu
chief seat of Grecian learning and civilisati'M
during the golden period of the historyJl
Greece. St. Paul visited it in his joumj
from Macedonia, and appears to have re.
mained there some time (Acts xvii. 14-31:
comp. 1 Thess. iii. 1). In order to underv
stand the localities mentioned in the nar-
rative it is necessary to give a brief account
of the topography of the city. Athens J
situated about three miles from the sea-coad
in the central plain of Attica. In this plain;
rise several eminences. Of these the most
prominent is a lofty insulated mountain, witi;
a conical peaked summit, now called the HiG
of St. George, and which bore in ancient
times the name of Lycabettus. This moun
tain, which was not included within the
ancient walls,lies to the north-east of Athens,
and forms the most striking feature in the
environs of the city. It is to Athens whit
Vesuvius is to Naples, or Arthur's Seat to
Edinburgh. South-west of Lycabettus there
are four hills of moderate height, all of whieh
formed part of the city. Of these the nearest
to Lycabettus, and at the distance of a
from the latter, was the Acropolis, or citadel
of Athens, a square craggy rock riflnj
abruptly about 150 feet, with a flat summit
of about 1000 feet long from east to west,bj
500 feet broad from north to south. InuM<
diately west of the Acropolis is a second bi
of irregular form, the Areopagus (Mad
Hill). To the south-west there rises a
hill, the Pnyx, on which the assemblies*!
the citizens were held ; and to the southof tt
latter is a fourth hill, known as the Mvsevt.
On the easU-rn and western sides of the city
there run two small streams, which an
nearly exhausted before they reach the seii
by the heats of summer and by the channeb
for artificial irrigation. That on the east
is the Uissus, which flowed through the j
southern quarter of the city : that on the j
west is the Cephissus. South of the eitywssj
seen the Saronic gulf, with the harbours ta
Athens.— -Athens is said to have derivedifa
name from the prominence given to the
worship of the goddess Athena (Minerva)^
its king Ereehtheus. The inhabitants were
previously called Cecropidae, from Cecrops,
who, according to tradition, was the oft
ginal founder of the city. This at fiw
occupied only the hill or rock which after
wards became the Acropolis ; but gradually
the buildings spread over the ground jfl
the southern foot of this hill. It was not

mWS§l Imp*

ATHENS

53

till the time of Pisistratus and his sons
(b.c 560-514) that the city began to as
sume any degree of splendour. The most
remarkable building of these de^pots.was the
gigantic temple of the Olympian Zeus or
Jupiter. Xerxes reduced the ancient city
almost to a heap of ashes. After the de
parture of the Persians, its reconstruction on
a much larger scale was commenced under
the superintendence of Themistocles, whose
first care was to provide for its safety by the
erection of walls. The Acropolis now formed
the centre of the city, round which the new
walls described an irregular circle of about

60 stadia or 7|- miles in circumference. But
the views of Themistocles were not confined
to the mere defence of Athens : he contem
plated making, her a great naval power, and
for this purpose adequate docks and arsenals
were required. Previously the Athenians
had used as their only harbour the open
roadstead of Phalerum on the eastern side
of the Phalcric bay, where the seashore is
nearest to Athens. But Themistocles trans
ferred the naval station of the Athenians to
the peninsula of Piraeus, which is distant
about 4§ miles from Athens, and contains
three natural harbours. It was not till the

Pj.an of Athens.
1. Pnyx Ecclesia. 2. Tliysfam. 3. Theatre of Dionysu.
5. Temple of the Olympian Jupiter.

4. OdSum of Tcricles.

administration of Pericles that the walls were
built which connected Athens with her ports.
Under the administration of Pericles, Athens
was adorned with numerous public buildings,
Which existed in all their glory when St. Paul
visited the city, and of which some idea may
be formed from the accompanying restora-
j tion. The Acropolis was the chief centre
of the architectural splendour of Athens.
After the Persian wars the hill had ceased to
be inhabited, and was appropriated to the
worship of Athena and to the other guardian
deities of the city. It was covered with the
temples of gods and heroes; and thus its
platform presented not only a sanctuary, but

a museum, containing the finest productions
of the architect and the sculptor, in which
the whiteness of the marble was relieved by
brilliant colours, and rendered still more
dazzling by the transparent clearness of the
Athenian atmosphere. The only approach to
it was from tho Agora on its western side.
At the top of a magnificent flight of marble
steps, 70 feet broad, stood the Propylaea,
constructed under the auspices of Pericles,
and which served as a suitable entrance to
the exquisite works within. The Propylaea
were themselves one of the masterpieces of
Athenian art. They were entirely of Pen-
tclic marble, and covered the whole of the

ATHENS

54

ATHENS

western end of the Acropolis, having a
breadth of 168 feet. On passing through
the Propylaea all the glories of the Acropolis
became visible. The chief building was the
Parfhhion (-£. v. House of the Virgin), the
most perfect production of Grecian archi
tecture. It derived its name from its being
the temple of Athena Parthcnos, or Athena
the Virgin, the invincible goddess of war.
It stood on the highest part of the Acropolis,
near its centre. It was entirely of Pentelic
marble, on a rustic basement of ordinary
limestone, and its architecture, which was of
the Doric order, was of the purest kind. It
was adorned with the most exquisite sculp
tures, executed by various artists under the
direction of Phidias. A large number of these
sculptures were brought to England by Lord
Elgin, of whom they were purchased by the
nation and deposited in the British Museum.
But the chief wonder of the Parthenon was
the colossal statue of the Virgin Goddess
executed by Phidias himself. The Acropolis
was adorned with another colossal figure of
Athena, in bronze, also the work of Phidias.
It stood in the open air, nearly opposite the
Propylaea. With its pedestal it must have
been about 70 feet high, and consequently
towered above the roof of the Parthenon,
so that the point of its spear and the crest
of its helmet were visible off the promon
tory of Sunium to ships approaching Athens,
Another magnificent building on the Acropolis
was the Erechtheum, or temple of Erechtheus.
It was one of the finest models of the Ionic
order, as the Parthenon was of the Doric.
It stood to the north of the latter building,
and close to the northern wall of the Acro
polis. Among the remarkable places in other
parts of the city we may mention, first, the
Dionysiac theatre, which occupied the slope
at the south-eastern extremity of the Acro
polis. The middle of it was excavated out of
the rock, and the rows of seats ascended in
curves one above another, the diameter in
creasing with the height. It was no doubt
sufficiently large to accommodate the whole
body of Athenian citizens, as well as the
strangers who flocked to Athens during the
Dionysiac festival, but its dimensions cannot
now be accurately ascertained. It had no
roof, but the spectators were probably pro
tected from the sun by an awning, and from
their elevated seats they had a distinct view
of the sea, and of the peaked hills of Salamis
in the horizon. Above them rose the Par
thenon and the other buildings of the Acro
polis, so that they sat under the shadow of
the ancestral gods of the country. The Are
opagus, or Hill of Ares (Mars) is described
elsewhere. [Mars' Hill.] The Pnyx, or

place for holding the public assemblies of
the Athenians, stood on the side of a lov
rocky hill, at the distance of about a quarter
of a' mile from the Areopagus. Projecting
from the hill, and hewn out of it, still stands
a solid rectangular block, called the Bemaor
pulpit, from whence the orators addressed
the multitude in the area before them. Tht
position of the Bema commanded aviewoi
the Propylaea and the other magnificent edi
fices of the Acropolis, while beneath it was
the city itself studded with monuments ol
Athenian glory. The Athenian orators fre
quently roused the national feelings of their
audience by pointing to the Propylaea and
to the other splendid, buildings before them.
Between the Pnyx on the west, the Areopagus
on the north, and the Acropolis on the east,
and closely adjoining the base of these hills,
stood the Agora or " Market," where St. Paul
disputed daily. In a direction from north-
west to south-east a street called the Ceramicos
ran diagonally through the Agora, entering
it through the valley between the Pnyx and
the Areopagus. The street was named after
a district of the city, which was divided into
two parts, the Inner and Outer Ceramlcus.
The former lay within the city walls, and
included the Agora. The Outer Ceramlcns^
which formed a handsome suburb on the'
north-west of the city, was the burial-plate
of all persons honoured with a public funeral.
Through it ran the road to the gymnasium,]
and gardens of the Academy, which were"
situated about a mile from the walls. The
Academy was the place where Plato and his
disciples taught. On each side of this road
were monuments to illustrious Athenians,;
especially those who had fallen in battlft
East of the city, and outside the walls, was
the Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to Apollo
Lyceus, and celebrated as the place in which
Aristotle taught. — The remark of the sacred
historian respecting the inquisitive character
of the Athenians (Acts xvii. 21) is attested
by the unanimous voice of antiquity. Demo
sthenes rebukes his countrymen for their
love of constantly going about in the market,
and asking one another What news ? Their
natural liveliness was partly owing to tfie
purity and clearness of the atmosphere of
Attica, which also allowed them to pass much
of their time in the open air. The trans
parent clearness of the atmosphere is noticed
by Euripides (Medea, 829), who describes
the Athenians as " delicately marching
through most pellucid air." Modern tra
vellers have not failed to notice the same
peculiarity. Thus Dean Stanley speaks "of
the transparent clearness, the brilliant colour
ing of an Athenian sky ; of the flood of fire,

ATHENS

55

ATONEMENT, THE DAY OF

with which the marble columns, the moun
tains, and the sea are all bathed" and pene
trated by an illumination of an Athenian
Bunset." — St. Paul began his address at
Athens by speaking of their " carefulness
in religion," which is translated in the
A. V. " too superstitious," an unfoitunate
mistranslation, as Conybcare and H ow son
remark, " because it entirely destroys the
graceful courtesy of St. Paul's opening ad
dress, and represents him as beginning his
speech by offending his audience." The
Athenian carefulness in religion is con
firmed by the ancient writers. Thus Pausa-
nias says that the Athenians surpassed all
other states in the attention which they
paid to the worship of the gods ; and hence
the city was crowded in every direction
with temples, altars, and other sacred build
ings. The altar "to the Unknown God,"
which St. Paul mentions, has been spoken
of elsewhere. [Altar, p. 24, b.] Of the
Christian church, founded by St. Paul at
Athens, according to ecclesiastical tradition,
Dionysius the Areopagite was the first bishop.
[DlOXYSIL'S.] ATONEMENT, THE DAY OF, the great
day of national humiliation, and the only
one commanded in the Mosaic law. , [Fasts.]
The mode of its observance is described in
Lev. xvi., and the conduct of the people is
emphatically enjoined in Lev. xxiii. 26-32.
—II. It was kept on the tenth day of Tisri,
that is, from the evening of the ninth to the
evening of the tenth of that mouth, five days
before the Feast of Tabernacles. [Festivals.]
¦—III. The observances of the day, as de
scribed in the law, were as follow. It was
kept by the people as a high solemn sabbath.
On this occasion only the high priest was
permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies.
Having bathed his person and dressed him-
Belf entirely in the holy white linen gar
ments, he brought forward a young bullock
for a Bin-offering, purchased at his own cost,
on account of himself and his family, and
two young goats for a sin-offering with a
ram for a burnt-offering, which were paid
for out of the public treasury, on account of
the people. He then presented the two goats
before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
and cast lots upon them. On one lot " for
1 Jehovah" was inscribed, and on the other
" for Azazel." He next sacrificed the young
bullock as a sin-offering for himself and his
family. Taking with him some of the blood
of the bullock, he filled a censer with burn
ing coals from the brazen altar, took a hand
ful of incense, and entered into the most holy
place. He then threw the incense upon the
coals and enveloped the mercy-seat in a cloud

of smoke. Then, dipping his finger into the
blood, he sprinkled it seven times before the
mercy-seat eastward. The goat upon which
the lot "for Jehovah" had fallen was then
slain and the high priest sprinkled its blood
before the mercy-seat in the same manner as
he had done that of the bullock. Going out
from the Holy of Holies he purified the holy
place, sprinkling some of the blood of both
the victims on the altar of incense. At this
time no one besides the high priest was suf
fered to be present in the holy place. The
purification of the Holy of Holies, and of the
holy place, being thus completed, the high
priest laid his hands upon the head of the
goat on which the lot "for Azazel" had
fallen, and confessed over it all the sins of
the people. The goat was then led, by a
man chosen for the purpose, into the wilder
ness, into " a land not inhabited," and was
there let loose, The high priest after this
returned into the holy place, bathed himself
again, put on his usual garments of office,
and offered the two rams as burnt-offerings,
one for himself and one for the people. He
also burnt upon the altar the fat of the two
sin-offerings, while their flesh was carried
away and burned outside the camp. They
who took away the flesh and the man who
had led away the goat had to bathe their
persons and wash their clothes as soon as
their service was performed. The accessory
burnt- offerings mentioned Num. xxix. 7-11,
were a young bullock, a lam, seven lambs,
and a young goat.- — IV. There has been
much discussion regarding the meaning of
the word Azazel. The opinions which seem
most worthy of notice are the following : —
1. It has been regarded as a designation of
the goat itself. This view has been most
favoured by the old interpreters, who in
general supposed it to mean the goat sent away,
or let loose. But in this case it does not
seem possible to make sense out of Lev. xvi.
10 and 26. 2. Some have taken Azazel for
the name of the place to which the goat was
sent. 3.«) Gesenius supposes it to be some
false deity who was to be appeased by such a
sacrifice as that of the goat, b) But others
have regarded him as an evil spirit, or the
devil himself. 4. An explanation of the
word which seems less objectionable, if it
is not wholly satisfactory, would render the
designation of the lot " for complete sending
away." — V. In considering the meaning of
the particular rites of the day, three points
appear to be of a very distinctive character.
1. The white garments of the high priest.
2. His entrance into the Holy of Holies.
3. The scapegoat. The writer of the Epistle
to the Hebrews (ix. 7-25) teaches us to apply

ATEOTH

56

AXE

tho first two particulars. The high priest
himself, with hi3 person cleansed and dressed
in white garments, was the best outward
type which a living man could present in his
own person of that pure and holy One who
was to purify His people and to cleanse them
from their sins. But i-especting the meaning
of the scapegoat, we have no such light to
guide us, and the subject is one of great
doubt and difficulty. It has been generally
considered that it was dismissed to signify
the carrying away of the sins of the people,
as it were, out of the sight of Jehovah. If
we keep in view that the two goats are
spoken of as parts of one and the same sin-
offering, we shall not have much difficulty in
seeing that they form together but one sym
bolical expression : the slain goat setting
forth the act of sacrifice, in giving up its own
life for others " to Jehovah ;" and the goat
which carried off its load of sin " foi- com
plete removal," as signifying the cleansing
influence of faith in that sacrifice.
AT'ROTH, a city of Gad (Num. xxxii.
3j»). ATTALI'A, a coast-town of Pamphylia,
mentioned Acts xiv. 25. It was built by
Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamus, and
named after the monarch. All its remains
are characteristic of the date of its founda
tion. Leake fixes Attalia at Adalia, on the
S. coast of Asia Minor, N. of the Duden Sit
the ancient Catarrhactes.
AT'TALUS, the name of three kings of
Pergamus who reigned respectively b.c. 241-
197, 159-138 (Philadelphus), 138-133 (Philo
metor). It is uncertain whether the letters
sent from Rome in favour of the Jews (1 Mace.
xv. 22) were addressed to Attalus II. or At
talus III., as their date falls in b.c. 13D-S,
about the time when the latter succeeded his
uncle. AUGUS'TUS CAES'AR, the first Roman
emperor. He was born a.u.c 691, b.c. 63.
His father was Caius Octavius ; his mother
Atia, daughter of Julia the sister of C. Julius
Caesar. He was principally educated by his
great-uncle Julius Caesar, and was made his
heir. After his murder, the young Octavius,
then Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was
taken into the Triumvirate with Antony and
Lepidus, and, after the removal of the latter,
divided the empire with Antony. The
struggle for the supreme power was ter
minated in favour of Octavianus by the battle
of Actium, b.c. 31. On this victory, he was
saluted Imperator by the senate, who con
ferred on him the title Augustus (b.c. 27).
The first link binding him to N.T. history is
his treatment of Herod after the battle of
Actium. That prince, who had espoused

Antony's side, found himself pardoned, taken
into favour and confirmed, nay even increased
in his power. After Herod's death in a.d. 4,
Augustus divided his dominions almost
exactly according to his dying directions,
among his sons. Augustus died at Nola in
Campania, Aug. 19, a.u.c. 767, a.d. 14, in
his 76th year ; but long before his death he
had associated Tiberius with him in the
empire. AUGUSTUS' BAND (Acts xxvii. 1),
[Army.] A'VA, a place in the empire of Assyria,
apparently the same as Ivah (2 K. xvii. 24).
AV'A KAN, the surname of Eleazar, brother
of Judas Maccabeus (1 Maec. ii. 5).
A'VEN. 1. The "plain of Aven" i3 men
tioned by Amos (i. 5) in hjs denunciation of
Syria and the country to the N. of Palestine.
It bas not been identified with certainty. — 2.
In Hos. x. 8 the word is clearly an abbre
viation of Bethaven, that is Bethel (comp.
iv. 15, &c). — 3. The sacred city of Heliopolis
or On, in Egypt (Ez. xxx. 17).
A'VIM, A'VIMS, or A'VITES. 1. A
people among the early inhabitants of Pales
tine, whom we meet with in the S.W. corner
of the sea-coast, whither they may have
made their way northwards from the Desert.
The only notice of them which has come
down to us is contained in a remarkable -
fragment of primeval history preserved in
Deut. ii. 23. It is a curious fact that both
the LXX. and Jerome identified the Avvim
with the Hivites. — 2. The people of Avva,
among the colonists who were bent by the
king of Assyria to re-inhabit the depopulated
cities of Israel (2 K. xvii. 31).
AWL, a tool of which we do not know the
ancient form. The only notice of it is in
connexion with the custom of boring the ear
of the slave (Ex. xxi. 6 ; Deut. xv. 17).
AXE. Seven Hebrew words are rendered
"ax " in the A. V. : the one of most com
mon occurrence being Garzen, from a root
signifj'ing " to cut or sever," as " hatchet,"
from "hack," corresponds to the Lat. sccuris.
It consisted of a head of iron (cf. Is. x. 34),
fastened, with thongs or otherwise, upon *
handle of wood, and so liable to slip off
(Deut. rix. 5 ; 2 K. vi. 5). It was used for
felling trees (Deut. xx. 19), and also for

Ejo-piLia Axe. (British Museum.)

AZARIAII

56 a

BAAL

shaping the wood when felled, perhaps like
the modern adze (1 K. vi. 7). — The "battle-
ax" (moppets, Jer. li. 20) was probably, as
its root indicates, a heavy mace or maul, like
that which gave his surname to Charles
Martel. AZARI'AH, a common name in Hebrew
and ¦ especially in the families of the priests
of the line of Eleazar, whose name has
precisely the same meaning as Azariah. It
is nearly identical, and is often confounded
with Ezra as well as with Zerahiah and
Seraiah. The principal persons who bore
this name were : — 1. Son of Ahimaaz (1 Chr.
vi. 9). He appears from 1 K. iv. 2, to have
succeeded Zadok, his grandfather, in the
high priesthood, in the reign of Solomon,
Ahimaaz having died before Zadok. [Ahi
maaz.] To him, it can scarcely he doubted,
instead of to his grandson, Azariah the son
of Johanan, belongs the notice in 1 Chr. vi.
10. Josephus merely mentions Azarias as
the son and successor of Ahimaaz. — 2.
Azariah, the son of Oded (2 Chr. xv. 1),
called simply Oded in ver. 8, was a remark
able prophet in the days of king Asa, and a
contempoiary of Azariah the son of Johanan
the high priest, and of Hanani the seer. — 3.
The high priest in the reign of Uzziah, king
of Judah, whose name, perhaps from this cir
cumstance, is often corrupted into Azariah
(2 K. xiv. 21, xv. 1, 6, 7, 8, &c). The
most memorable event of his life is that
which is recorded in 2 Chr. xxvi. l?-20.
When king Uzziah, elated by his great pros
perity and power, " transgressed against the
Lord his God, and went into the Temple of
the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of
incense," Azariah the priest, accompanied by
eighty of his brethren, went in boldly after
him, and withstood him. He was contem
porary with Isaiah the prophet, and with
Amos and Joel, and doubtless witnessed the
great earthquake in Uzziah's reign (Am. i. 1 ;
Zech. xiv. 5).
AZ'EKAH, a town of Judah, with depend
ent villages, lying in the Shefelah or rich
agricultural plain. It is most clearly defined
as being near Shochoh (1 Sam. xvii. 1) ; but
its position has not yet been recognized.
AZMA'VETH, a place to all appearance in
Benjatnin, being named with Anathoth, Kir-
jath-Jearim and other towns belonging to that
tribe (Ezr. ii. 24). The narne elsewhere
occurs as Beth-Azmaveth.
. . , AZ'MON, a place named as being on the S.
boundary of the Holy Land, apparently near
the torrent of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) (Num.
xxxiv. 4, 5 ; Josh. xv. 4). It has not yet
been identified.
AZ'NOTH-TA'BOR, the ears (*'. K. possibly

the summits) of Tabor, one of the landmarks
of the boundary of Naphtali (Josh. xix. 34 >.
The town, if town it be, has hitherto escaped
recognition. AZ'ZAH. The more accurate Tendering of
the name of the well-known Philistine city,
Gaza (Deut. ii. 23 ; IK. iv. 24 ; Jer. xxv.
20).

BA'AL, the supreme male divinity of the
Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as
Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity.
Both names have the peculiarity of being
used in the plural, and it seems certain that
these plurals designate not statues of the
divinities, but different modifications of the
divinities themselves. The word Baal is in
Hebrew a common noun of frequent occur
rence, having the meaning Lord, not so
much, however, in the sense of Ruler as of
Master, Owner, Possessor. There can be no
doubt of the very high antiquity of the wor
ship of Baal. "We find it established amongst
the Moabites and their allies the Midianites
in the time of Moses (Num. xxii. 41), and
through these nations the Israelites were
seduced to the worship of this god under the
particular form of Baal-Peor (Num. xxv.
3-18 ; Deut. iv. 3). In the times of the
kings the worship of Baal spread greatly, and
together with that of Asherah became the
religion of the court and people of the ten
tribes (1 K. xvi. 31-33, xviii. 19, 22). An
though this idolatry was occasionally pu
down (2 K. iii. 2, x. 28) it appears never to
have been permanently abolished among them
(2 K. xvii. 16). In the kingdom of Judah
also Baal-worship extensively prevailed. The
worship of Baal amongst the Jews seems to
have been appointed with much pomp and
ceremonial. Temples were erected to him
(1 K. xvi. 32 ; 2 K. xi. 18) ; his images were
set up (2 K. x. 26) ; his altars were very
numerous (Jer. xi. 13), were erected particu
larly on lofty eminences (1 K. xviii. 20), and
on the roofs of houses (Jer. xxxii. 29) ; there
were priests in great numbers (1 K. xviii.
19), and of various classes (2 K. x. 19) ; the
worshippers appear to have been arrayed in
appropriate robes (2 K. x. 22) ; the worship
was performed by burning incense (Jer. vii.
9) and offering burnt-sacrifices, which occa
sionally consisted of human victims (Jer. xix.
5 ) . The officiating priests danced with frantio
shouts around the altar, and cut themselves
with knives to excite the attention and com
passion of the god (1 K. xviii. 26-28).
Throughout all the Phoenician colonies we
continually find traces of the worship of this
god ; nor need we hesitate to regard the

BAAL

5t>&

BABEL, BABYLON

Babylonian Bel (Is. xlvi. 1) or Belus, as
essentially identical with Baal, though per
haps under some modified form. Among the
compounds of Baal which appear in the O. T.
are: — 1. Ba'al-be'rith (Judg. viii. 33, ix.
4). The name signifies the Covenant-Baal,
the god who comes into covenant with the
worshippers. — 2. Ba'al-ze'bub, worshipped
at Ekron (2 K. i. 2, 3, 16). The meaning of
the name is Baal or Lord of the fly. The
name occurs in the N. T. in the well-known
form Beelzebub. — 3. Ba'al-fe'or. "We have
already referred to the worship of this god.
The narrative (Num. xxv.) seems clearly to
show that this form of Baal-worship was
connected with licentious rites. Baal-Peor
was identified by the Rabbins and early
fathers with Priapus.
BA'AL, geographical. This word occurs
as the prefix or suffix to the names of several
places in Palestine. It never seems to have
become a naturalized Hebrew word ; and
such places called by this name or its com
pounds as can be identified, were either near
Phoenicia, or in proximity to some other
acknowledged seat of heathen worship. Some
of the places in the names of which Baal
forms a part are as follows : — 1. Ba'al, a
town of Simeon, named only in 1 Chr. iv. 33,
which from the parallel list in Josh. xix.
seems to have been identical with Baalath-
Beer. — 2. Ba'alah. (a.) Another name for
Kirjath-Jearim, or Kirjath-Baal, the well-
known town, now Kuriet el Enab. It is
mentioned in Josh. xv. 9, 10 ; 1 Chr. xiii. 6.
In Josh. xv. 11, it is called Mount Baalah,
and in xv. 60, and xviii. 14, Kirjath-Baal.
It would seem as if Baalah were the earlier
or Canaanite appellation of the place. In
2 Sam. vi. 2, the name occurs slightly altered
as " Baale of Judah." (b.) A town in the
south of Judah (Josh. xv. 29), which in xix.
3 is called Balah, and in the parallel list (1
Chr. iv. 29) Bilhah. — 3. Ba'al-gad, used to
denote the most northern (Josh. xi. 17, xii.
7), or perhaps north-western (xiii. 5), point
to which Joshua's victories extended. It
was in all probability a Phoenician or Ca
naanite sanctuary of Baal under the aspect
of Gad, or Fortune. — 4. Ba'al-ha'mon, a
place at which Solomon had a vineyard,
evidently of great extent (Cant. viii. 11). —
6. Ba'al-ha'zor, a place " by Ephraim,"
where Absalom appears to have had a sheep-
farm, and where Amnon was murdered (2
Sam. xiii. 23J. — 6. Mount Ba'al-her'sion
(Judg. iii. 3), and simply Baal-hermon (1
Chr. v. 23). This is usually considered as a
distinct place from Mount Hermon ; but we
know that this mountain had at least three
names (Deut. iii. 9), and Baal-hermon may

have been a fourth in use among the Phoe
nician worshippers of Baal.— 7. Ba'al-me'ok, -\
one of the towns which were built by the
Reubenites (Num. xxxii. 38), and to which
they " gave other names." It also occurs in
1 Chr. v. 8, and on each occasion with Nebo.
In the time of Ezekiel it was Moabite, one ol
the cities which were the " glory of the
country" (Ez. xxv. 9). — 8. Ba'al-per'azih, >,?
the scene of a victory of David over the
Philistines, and of a great destruction of
their images (2 Sam. v. 20 ; 1 Chr. xiv. 11).
The place and the circumstance appear to be
again alluded to in Is', xxviii. 21, where it is
called Mount P.— 9. Ba'al-shal'isha, a place
named only in 2 K. iv. 42 ; apparently not
far from Gilgal (comp. ver. 38). — 10. Ba'al-
ta'mar, a place named only in Judg. xx. 33,
as near Gibeah of Benjamin. The palm-tree
(tdmdr) of Deborah (iv. 5) was situated some
where in the locality, and is possibly alluded
to. — 11. Ba'al-ze'phon, a place in Egypt
near where the Israelites crossed the Red
Sea (Ex. xiv. 2, 9 ; Num. xxxiii. 7). From
the position of Goshen and the indications
afforded by the narrative of the route of the
Israelites, we place Baal-zephon on the
western shore of the Gulf of Suez, a little
below its head, which at that time was about
30 or 40 miles northward of the present .
head. BA'ALIS, king of the Ammonites at the
time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Ne
buchadnezzar (Jer. xl. 14).
BA'ANAH. Son of Rimmon, a Benjamite
who with his brother Rechab murdered Ish
bosheth. For this they were killed by David,
and their mutilated bodies hung np over the
pool at Hebron (2 Sam. iv. 2, 5, 6, 9).
BA'ASHA, b.c. 953-931, third sovereign
of the separate kingdom of Israel, and the
founder of its second dynasty. He was son
of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar, and con
spired against King Nadab, son of Jeroboam,
when he was besieging the Philistine town
of Gibbethon (1 K. xv. 27), and killed him
with his whole family. He appears to have
been of humble origin (1 K. xvi. 2). It was
probably in the 13th year of his reign that
he made war on Asa, and began to fortify
Ramah. He was defeated by the unexpected
alliance of Asa with Benhadad I. of Damas
cus. Baasha died in the 24th year of his
reign, and was honourably buried in the
beautiful city of Tirzah (Cant. vi. 4), which he
had made his capital (1 K. xvi. 6 ; 2 Chr.
xvi. 1-6).
BA'BEL, BAB'YLON, is properly the ca
pital city of the country, which is called in
Genesis Shinar, and in the biter books
Clialdaea, or the land of the Chaldaeans. The

BABEL, BABYLON

57

BABEL, BABYLON

architectural remains discovered in southern
Babylonia, taken in conjunction with the
monumental records, seem to indicate that it
was not at first the capital, nor, indeed, a
town of very great importance. The first
rise of the Chaldaean power was in the region
close upon the Fersian Gulf; thence the
nation spread northwards up the course of
the rivers, and the seat of government moved
in the same direction, being finally fixed at
Babylon, perhaps not earlier than b.c 1700.
— I. Topography of Babylon — Ancient de-

conveniently commence from the outer circuit
of the town. All the ancient writers appear
to agree in the fact of a district of vast
size, more or less inhabited, having been
enclosed within lofty walls, and included
under the name of Babylon. With respect
to the exact extent of the circuit they differ.
The estimate of Herodotus and of Pliny is
480 stades, of Strabo 385, of Q. Curtius 368,
of Clitarchus 365, and of Ctesias 360 stades.
It is evident that here we have merely the
moderate variations to be expected in inde-

EMPLG OP BELUB

scriptions of the city. — The descriptions of pendent measurements, except in the first
Babylon which have come down to us in of the numbers. Perhaps the true explan-
classical writers are derived chiefly from two ation is that Herodotus spoke of the outer
sources, the works of Herodotus
and of Ctesias. According to
the former, the city, which was
built on both sides of the Eu
phrates, formed a vast square,
enclosed within a double line of
high walls, the' extent of the
outer circuit being 480 stades,
or about 56 miles. The entire
area included would thus have
been about 200 square miles.
The houses, which were fre
quently three or four stories
high were laid out in straight
streets crossing each other at
right angles. In each division
of the town there was a fortress
or stronghold, consisting in the
one case of the royal palace, in
the other of the great temple
of Belus. The two portions of
the city were united by a bridge,
composed of a series of stone
piers with moveable platforms
of wood stretching from one
pier to another. According to
Ctesias the circuit of the city
was not 480 but 360 stades—
^hich is a little under 42 miles.
It lay, he says, on both sides of
the Euphrates, and the two parts
.were connected together by a
f stone bridge five stades (above
1000 yards) long, and 30 feet
broad, of the kind described by
Herodotus. At either extremity
I of the bridge was a royal palace,
| that in the eastern city being
the more magnificent of the
two, The two palaces were
joined, not only by the bridge,
but by a tunnel under the river !
Ctesias' account of the temple
of Belus has not come down to
JLJ «Fjining the truth of of AncJ(!llt ^^ ^^^ te ,Xe
. ineae descriptions, we shall most prtwant uuu».

BABEL, BABYLON

58

BABEL, BABYLON

wall, which could be traced in his time.
Taking the lowest estimate of the extent of
the circuit, we shall have for the space
within the rampart an area of above 100
square miles ; nearly five times the size of
London! It is evident that this vast space
cannot have been entirely covered with houses.
With regard to the height and breadth of the
walls there is nearly as much difference of
statement as with regard to their extent.
The gates and walls are alike mentioned in
Scripture ; the height of the one and the
breadth of the other being specially noticed
(Jer. li. 58 ; comp. 1. 15, and li. 53). — II.
Present State of the Ruins. — About five miles
above Hilah, on the opposite or left bank of
the Euphrates, occurs a series of artificial
mounds of enormous size. They consist chiefly
of three great masses of building— the high
pile of unbaked brickwork called by Rich
' Mujellibe,' but which is known to the
Arabs as ' Babil ;' the building denominated
the ' Kasr' or palace; and a lofty mound,
upon which stands the modern tomb of
Amrdm-ibn-'Alb. On the west, or right
bank, the remains are very slight and scanty.
Scattered over the ccuntry on both sides of
the Euphrates, are a number of remarkable
mounds, usually standing single, which are
plainly of the same date with the great mass
of ruins upon the river bank. Of these, by
far the most striking is the vast ruin called
the Birs-Nimrud, which many regard as the
tower of Babel, situated about six miles to
the S.W. of Hillah. [Babel, tower of.] —
III. Identification of sites. — The great mound
of Babil is probably the ancient temple of
Belus. The mound of the Kasr marks the
site of the great Palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
The mound of Amram is thought by M.
Oppert to represent the " hanging gardens"
of Nebuchadnezzar ; but most probably it
represents the ancient palace, coeval with
Babylon itself, of which Nebuchadnezzar
speaks in his inscriptions as adjoining his
own more magnificent residence. The most
remarkable fact connected with the mag
nificence of Babylon, is the poorness of the
material with which such wonderful results
were produced. With bricks made from the
soil of the country, in many parts an ex
cellent clay, and at first only "slime for
mortar" (Gen. xi. 3), were constructed edi
fices of so vast a size that they still remain
among the most enormous ruins in the world.
—IV. History of Babylon. - Scripture repre
sents the " beginning of the kingdom " as
belonging to the time of Nimrod, the grand
son of Ham (Gen. x. 6-10). The most ancient
inscriptions appear to show that the pri
mitive inhabitants of the country were really

Cushite, i. e. identical in race with the early
inhabitants of Southern Arabia and of Ethi
opia. The early annals of Babylon are filled
by Berosus, the native historian, with three
dynasties ; one of 49 Chaldaean kings, who
reigned 458 years ; another of 9 Arab
kings, who reigned 245 years; and a third
of 49 Assyrian monarchs, who held dominion
for 520 years. The line of Babylonian kings
becomes exactly known to us from the year
b.c. 747. The "Canon of Ptolemy" gives
us the succession of Babylonian monarchs,
with the exact length of the reign of each,
from the year b.c. 747, when Nabonassar
mounted the throne, to b.c. 331, when the
last Persian king was dethroned by Alex-
ander. Of the earlier kings of the Canon,
the only one worthy of notice is Mardocem*
palUS (B.C. 721), the MF.RODACH-BALABAIf of
Scripture, but it is not till we come to Nabo-
polassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, that
a new era in the history of Babylon com
mences. On the fall of Nineveh (b.c 625)
Babylon became not only an independent
kingdom, but an empire. The city was taken
by a surprise (b.c. 539), as Jeremiah had
prophesied (li. 31), by an army of Medes
and Persians under Cyrus, as intimated 170
years earlier by Isaiah (xxi. 1-9), and, as
Jeremiah had also foreshown (li. 39), during
a festival. According to the book of Daniel,
it would seem as if Babylon was taken, not
by Cyrus, king of Persia, but by a Median
king, named Darius (v. 31). There is, how
ever, sufficient indication that " Darius the
Mede " was not the real conqueror, but a
monarch with a certain delegated authority
(see Dan. v. 31, and ix. 1). With the con
quest by Cyrus commenced the decay and
ruin of Babylon, though it continued a royal
residence through the entire period of the
Persian empire. The defences and public
buildings suffered grievously from neglect
during the long period of peace which fol
lowed the reign of Xerxes. After the death
of Alexander the Gi'eat, the removal of the
seat of empire to Antioch under the Seleu*
cidae gave the finishing blow to the pros
perity of the place. Since then Babylon has
been a quarry from which all the tribes in
the vicinity have derived the bricks with
which they have built their cities. The
"great city," "the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency," has thus emphatically "become
heaps" (Jer. li. 37).
BA'BEL, TOWER OF. The "tower or
Babel " is only mentioned once in Scripture
(Gen. xi. 4-5), and then as incomplete. It
was built of bricks, and the " slime " used
for mortar was probably bitumen. Such au
thorities as we possess, represent the build-

BABEL, TOWER OF

59

BADGER-SKINS

ng as destroyed soon after its erection.
When the Jews, however, were carried cap-
live into Babylonia, they were struck with
the vast magnitude and peculiar character of
sertain of the Babylonian temples, in one or
other of which they thought to recognise the
very tower itself. The predominant opinion
was in favour of the great temple of Nebo at
Borsippa, the modern Birs-Nimrud. But the
Birs-Nimrud, though it cannot be the tower
of Babel itself, may well be taken to show
the probable shape and character of the edi
fice. This building appears to have been a
sort of oblique pyramid built in seven reced
ing stages. " Upon a platform of crude brick,
raised a few feet above the level of the allu
vial plain, was built of burnt brick the first
or basement stage — an exa,et square, 272 feet
each way, and 26 feet in perpendicular height.
Upon this stage was erected a second, 230
feet each way, and likewise 26 feet high ;
which, however, was not placed exactly in
the middle of the first, but considerably
nearer to the south western end, which con
stituted the back of the building. The other
stages were arranged similarly ; the third
being 188 feet, and again 26 feet high ; the
fourth 146 feet square, and 15 feet high ; the
fifth 104 feet square, and the same height as
the fourth ; the sixth 62 feet square, and
again the same height ; and the seventh 20
feet square and once more the same height.
On the seventh stage there was probably
placed the ark or tabernacle, which seems to
have been again 1 5 feet high, and must have
nearly, if not entirely, covered the top of the
seventh story. The entire original height,
allowing three feet for the platform, would
thus have been 156 feet, or, without the
platform, 153 feet. The whole formed a sort
of oblique pyramid, the gentler slope facing
the N.E., and the steeper inclining to the
S.W. On the N.E. side was the grand en
trance, and here stood the vestibule, a sepa
rate building, the debris from which having
joined those from the temple itself, fill up
the intermediate space, and very remarkably
prolong the mound in this direction " (Raw-
linson's Herodotus, vol. ii. pp. 582-3).
BAB'YLON. The occurrence of this name
in 1 Pet. v. 13 has given rise to a variety of
conjectures, which may be briefly enume
rated.— 1. That Babylon tropically denotes
Rome.— 2. Some take Babylon, with as little
reason, to mean Jerusalem. — 3. Bar-Hebraeus
understands by it the house in Jerusalem
where the Apostles were assembled on the Day
of Pentecost. — 4. Others place it on the Tigris,
and identify it with Seleucia or Ctesiphon,
but for this there is no evidence. The two
theories which remain are worthy of more

consideration. — 5. That by Babylon is in
tended the small fort of that name which
formed the boundary between Upper and
Lower Egypt, the modern Baboul. — 6. The
most natural supposition of all is that by Ba
bylon is intended the old Babylon of Assyria,
which was largely inhabited by Jews at the
time in question,
BAB'YLON, in the Apocalypse, is the
symbolical name by which Rome is denoted
(Rev. xiv. 8, xvii., xviii.). The power of
Rome was regarded by the later Jews as that
of Babylon by their forefathers (comp. Jer.
li. 7 with Rev. xiv. 8), and hence, whatever
the people of Israel be understood to sym
bolize, Babylon represents the antagonistic
principle.' BABYLO'NISH GARMENT, literally ' robe
of Shinar* (Josh. vii. 21). An ample robe,
probably made of the skin or fur of an animal
(comp. Gen. xxv. 25), and ornamented with
embroidery, or perhaps a variegated garment
with figures inwoven in the fashion for which
the Babylonians were celebrated.
BA'CA, THE VALLEY OF, a valley in
Palestine, through which the exiled Psalmist
sees in vision the pilgrims passing in their
march towards the sanctuary of Jehovah at
Zion (Ps. Ixxxiv. 6). That it was a real loca
lity is most probable, from the use of the
definite article before the name. The ren
dering of the Targum is Gehenna, i. e. the
Ge-Hinnom or ravine below Mount Zion.
This locality agrees well with the mention of
Becaim (A. V. "mulberry") trees in 2 Sam.
v. 23.
BAC'CHIDES, a friend of Antiochus
Epiphanes and governor of Mesopotamia
(1 Mace. vii. 8), who was commissioned by
Demetrius Soter to investigate the charges
which Alcimus preferred against Judas
Maccabaeus. BADGER-SKINS. There is much obscurity
as to the meaning of the word tachash, ren
dered "badger" in our A. V. (Ex. xxv. 5,
xxxv. 7, &c.) ; the ancient versions seem
nearly all agreed that it denotes not an
animal, but a colour, efthcr black or sky-
blue. The badger is not found in the Bible
lands. The Arabic duchash or tuchash denotes
a dolphin, but in all probability is not re
stricted in its application, but may refer to
either a seal or a cetacean. The skin of
the Halicorc from its hardness would be well
suited for making soles for shoes (Ez. xvi. 10),
and it is worthy of remark that the Arabs
near Cape Mussendum employ the skins of
these animals for a similar purpose. The
Halicore Tabernaculi is found in the Red Sea,
and on the coral banks of the Abyssinian coast.
Perhaps, however, tachash may denote a seal,

00

BAMAII

the skin of which animal would suit all the
demands of the Scriptural allusions.

Halicure TiihernncuU, with enlarged drawing of the head.

BAHU'RIM, a village, the slight notices re
maining of which connect it almost exclusively
with the flight of David (2 Sara. xvi. 5). It was
apparently on, or close to the road leading up
from the Jordan valley to Jerusalem, and must
have been very near the south boundary of
Benjamin. Dr. Barclay conjectures that it lay
where some ruins still exist close to aWady
Ruwaby, which runs in a straight course for
3 miles from Olivet directly towards Jordan.
BA'LAAM, the sonofBeor, a man endowed
with the gift of prophecy (Num. xxii. 5).
He belonged to the Midianites, and perhaps
as the prophet of his people possessed the
same authority that Moses did among the
Israelites. At any rate he is mentioned in
conjunction with the five kings of Midian,
apparently as a person of the same rank
(Num. xxxi. 8 ; cf. xxxi. 16). He seems to
have lived at Pethor, which is said at Deut.
xxiii. 4 to have been a city of Mesopotamia.
He himself speaks of being " brought from
Aram out of the mountains of the East"
(Num. xxiii. 7). Balaam is one of those
instances which meet us in Scripture of per
sons dwelling among heathens but possessing
a certain knowledge of the one true God,
When the Israelites were encamped in the
plains of Moab, Balak, the king of Moab,
sent for Balaam to curse them. Balaam was
prohibited by God from going. The king of

Moab, however, sent again to him. The
prophet again refused, but was at length
allowed to go. Balaam therefore proceeded
on his journey with the messengers of Balak.
But God's anger was kindled at this mani
festation of determined self-will, and the
angel of the Lord stood in the way for an
adversary against him. " The dumb ass,
speaking with man's voice, forbad the mad
ness of the prophet" (2 Pet. ii. 16). Balaam
predicted a magnificent career for the people
whom he was called to curse, but he never
theless suggested to the Moabites the expe
dient of seducing them to commit fornication.
The effect of this is recorded in ch. xxv.
A battle was afterwards fought against
the Midianites, in which Balaam sided
with them and was slain by the sword
of the people whom he had endeavoured
to curse (Num. xxxi. 8).
BA'LAK, son of Zippor, king of the
Moabites, at the time when the children
of Israel were bringing their journey-
ings in the wilderness to a close. Balak
entered into a league with Midian and
hired Balaam to curse the Israelites',
but his designs were frustrated in the
manner recorded in Num. xxii.-xxiv.
BALDNESS. There are two kinds
of baldness, viz. artificial and natural.
The latter seems to ha^ e been uncommon, since ;
it exposed people to public derision, and is
perpetually alluded to as a mark of squalor
and misery (2 K. ii. 23 ; Is. iii. 24, xv. 2;
Jer. xlvii. 5 ; Ez. vii. 18, &c.) In Lev. xiii.
29 &c, very careful directions are given to
distinguish "the plague upon the head and
heard," from mere natural baldness which is
pronounced to be clean, ver. 40. Artificial
baldness marked the conclusion of a Nazarite's
vow (Acts xviii. 18 ; Num. vi. 9), and was
a sign of mourning.
BALM (Heb. tznri, tzvn) occurs in Gen.
xxxvii. 25, xliii. 11 ; Jer.'viii. 22, xlvi. 11,
li. 8 ; and Ez. xxvii. 17. It is impossible
to identify it with any certainty. It may
represent the gum of the Pistacia lentiscus,
or that of the Balsamodendron opobalsamwth
[Spicks ; Mastick.] Hasselquist has given
a description of the true balsam-tree of Mecca.
He says that the exudation from the plant
"is of a yellow colour, and pellucid. It has
a most fragrant smell, which is resinous,
balsamick, and very agreeable. It is very
tenacious or glutinous, sticking to the fingers,
and may be drawn into long threads."
BA'MAH (lit. "high-place.") This word
appears in its Hebrew form only in one pas
sage (Ez. xx. 29), very obscure, and full of
the play upon words so dear to the Hebrew
poets, so difficult for us to appreciate :

BAMOTH-BAAL

61

BAPTISM

" What is the Ai'/Zi-place whereunto ye Me 1
and the name of it is called Bamah unto this
day." BA'MOTH-BA'AL, a sanctuary of Baal in
the country of Moab (Josh. xiii. 17-), which
is probably mentioned in Num. xxi. 19, under
the shorter form of Bamoth, or Bamoth-in-
the-ravine (20), and again in Is. xv. 2.
BANQUETS, among the Hebrews, were not
only a means of social enjoyment, but were a
part of the observance of religious festivity.
At the three solemn festivals the family also
had its domestic feast (Deut. xvi. 11). Pro
bably both males and females went up (1 Sam.
i. 9) together, to hold the festival. Sacrifices,
both ordinary and extraordinary (Ex. xxxiv.
15 ; Judg. xvi. 23), included a banquet, and
Eli's sons made this latter the prominent
part. Birthday-banquets are only mentioned
in the cases of Pharaoh and Herod (Gen. xl.
20; Matt. xiv. 6). The usual time of the
banquet was the evening, and to begin early
was a mark of excess (Is. v. 11 ; Eccl. x. 16).
The most essential materials of the banquet-
ing-room, next to the viands and wine, which
last was often drugged with spices (Prov. ix.
2; Cant. viii. 2), were perfumed unguents,
garlands or loose flowers, white or brilliant
robes ; after these, exhibitions of music,
singers, and dancers, riddles, jesting and
merriment (Is. xxviii. 1 ; Wisd. ii. 7 ; 2 Sam.
xix. 35 ; Is. xxv. 6, v. 12 ; Judg. xiv. 12 ;
Neh. viii. 10 ; Eccl. x. 19 ; Matt. xxii. 11 ;
Am. vi. 5, 6 ; Luke xv. 25). The posture at
table in early times was sitting (1 Sam. xvi.
11, xx. 5, 18), and the guests were ranged
in order of dignity (Gen. xliii. 33 ; 1 Sam.
ix. 22) : the words which imply the recum
bent posture belong to the N. T. The sepa
ration of the women's banquet was not a
Jewish custom (Esth. i. 9).
BAPTISM. I. It is well known that ablu
tion or bathing was common in most ancient
nations * as a preparation for prayers and
sacrifice or as expiatory of sin. There is a
natural connexion in the mind between the
thought of physical and that of spiritual pol
lution. In warm countries this connexion is
probably even closer than in colder climates ;
and hence the frequency of ablution in the
religious rites throughout the east. — IL The
history of Israel and the Law of Moses
abound with such lustrations (Gen. xxxv.
2 ; Ex. xix. 10 ; Lev. xv. xvii. 15, xxii. 4,
6, xvi. 26, 28 ; Num. xix. 10). It was
natural, that of all people, the priests most
especially should be required to purify them
selves in this manner. The consecration of
the high-priest deserves especial notice. It
was first by baptism, then by unction, and
lastly by sacrifice (Ex. xxix. 4, xl. 12 ; Lev.

viii.). From the Gospel history we learn
that at that time ceremonial washings had
been greatly multiplied by traditions of the
doctors and elders (see Mark vii. 3, 4). The
most important and probably one of the
earliest of these traditional customs was the
baptizing of proselytes. — III. The baptism of
John. — These usages of the Jews will account
for the readiness with which all men flocked
to the baptism of John the Baptist. There
has been some uncertainty a3 to the nature
of John's baptism and its spiritual signi
ficance. It appears to have been a kind of
transition from the Jewish baptism to the
Christian. The distinction between John's
baptism and Christian baptism appears in the
case of Apollos (Acts xviii. 26, 27), and of
the disciples at Ephesus, mentioned Acts xix.
1-6, We cannot but draw from this history
the inference that in Christian baptism there
was a deeper spiritual significance. — IV. The
baptism of Jesus. — Plainly the most im*-
portant action of John as a baptist was his
baptism of Jesus, which was His formal set
ting apart for His ministry, and was a most
important portion of His consecration to be
the High Priest of God. He was just enter
ing on the age of thirty (Luke iii. 23), the
age at which the Levites began their ministry
and the rabbis their teaching. It has already
been mentioned that the consecration of
Aaron to the high -priesthood was by baptism,
unction, and sacrifice (see Lev. viii.). All
these were undergone by Jesus. Baptism
was the beginning of consecration ; unction
was the immediate consequent upon the
baptism : and sacrifice was the completion of
the initiation, so that He was thenceforth per
fected, or fully consecrated as a Priest for
evermore (Heb. vii. 28). — V. Baptism of the
Disciples of Christ. — Whether our Lord ever
baptized has been doubted. The only pas
sage which may distinctly bear on the, ques
tion is John iv. 1, 2, where it is said "that
Jesus made and baptized more disciples than
John, though Jesus Himself baptized not,
but His disciples." We necessarily infer
from it, that, as soon as our Lord began His
ministry, and gathered to Him a company
of disciples, He, like John the Baptist, ad
mitted into that company by the administra
tion of baptism. After the resurrectiun,
baptism became the initiatory rite of the
Christian Church, as circumcision was the
initiatory rite of Judaism. — VI. The Types of
Baptism. — Baptism is compared to the Flood
by which Noah was saved (1 Pet. iii. 21) ;
to the passage of the Red Sea and the shadow
ing of the miraculous cloud (1 Cor. x. 1, 2) ;
to circumcision (Col. ii. 11) ; and to death
(Matt. xx. 22 ; Mark x. 39; Luke xii. 50).

BAPTISM

II-

BAPTISM

— VII. Names of Baptism. — 1. "Baptism"
properly and literally means immersion.— 2.
" The Water " is a name of baptism which
occurs in Acts x. 47. — 3. " Washing of
Water " (lit. " the bath of the water "), is
another Scriptural term, by which baptism
is .signified (Eph. v. 26). There appears
clearly in these words a reference to the
bridal bath ; but the allusion to baptism is
clearer still.— 4. " The washing of regenera
tion " (lit. " the bath of regeneration ") is a
phrase naturally connected with the fore
going. It occurs Tit. iii. 5. All ancient and
most, modern commentators have interpreted
it of baptism. — 5. "Illumination" (Heb. vi.
4) . — VIII. Recipients of Baptism. — The
command to baptize was co-extensive with
the command to preach the Gospel. All na
tions were to be evangelized ; and they were
to be made disciples, admitted into the fel
lowship of Christ's religion, by baptism
(Matt, xxviii, 19). The great question has
been, whether the invitation extended, not
to adults only, but to infants also. The uni
versality of the invitation, Christ's declara
tion-concerning the blessedness of infants
and their fitness for his kingdom (Mar. x. 14),
the admission of infants to circumcision and
to the baptism of Jewish proselytes, the men
tion of whole households, and the subsequent
practice of the Church, have been principally
relied on by the advocates of infant baptism.
The silence of the New Testament concern
ing the baptism of infants, the constant men
tion of faith as a pre-requisite or condition of
baptism, the great spiritual blessings which
seem attached to a right reception of it, and
the responsibility entailed on those who have
taken its obligations on themselves, seem the
chief objections urged against paedo-baptism.
But here we must leave ground which has
been so extensively occupied by controver
sialists. — IX. The mode of Baptism. — The
language of the New Testament and of the
primitive fathers sufficiently points to im
mersion as the common mode of baptism.
But in the case of the family of the jailor at
Philippi (Acts xvi. 33), and of the three
thousand converted at Pentecost (Acts ii.), it
seems hardly likely that immersion should
have been possible. Moreover the ancient
Church, which mostly adopted immersion,
¦n as satisfied with effusion in case of clinical
baptism — the baptism of the sick and dying.
— Questions and answers, — In the earliest
times of the Christian Church we find the
catechumens required to renounce the Devil
and to profess their faith in the Holy Trinity
and in the principal articles of the Creed.
It is generally supposed that St. Peter (1 Pet.
in. 21) refers to a custom of this kind as

existing from the first.— X. The formula of
Baptism. — It should seem from our Lord's
own direction (Matt, xxviii. 19) that the
words made use of in the administration of
baptism should be those which the Church
bas generally retained. —XI. Baptism for the
Head. — 1 Cor. xv. 27. "Else what shall
they do who are baptized for the dead, if the
dead rise not at all? -Why are they then
baptized for the dead?" 1. Tertullian tells
us of a custom of vicarious baptism as exist
ing among the Marcionites ; and St. Chry-
sostom relates of the same heretics, that,
when one of their catechumens died without
baptism, they used to put a living person
under the dead man's bed, and asked whether
he desired to be baptized ; the living man
answering that he did, they then baptized
him in place of the departed (Chrys. Horn.
xl. on 1 Cor. xv.). 2. Chrysostom believes
the Apostle to refer to the profession of faith
in baptism, part of which was " I believe in
the resurrection of the dead." The former
of the two interpretations above mentioned
commends itself to us by its simplicity ; the
latter by its antiquity. Many other explana
tions have been given.
BARAB'BAS, a robber (John xviii. 40),
who had committed murder in an insurrec
tion (Mark xv. 7 ; Luke xxiii. 19) m Jeru
salem, and was lying in prison at the time of
the trial of Jesus before Pilate.
BA'RAK, son of Abinoam of Kedesb, a
refuge-city in Mount Naphtali, was incited
by Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, to
deliver Israel from the yoke of Jabin (Judg.
iv.). He utterly routed the Canaanites in the
plain of Jezreel (Esdraelon).
BARBARIAN. " Every one not a Greek
*<; a barbarian " is the common Greek defini
tion, and in this strict sense the word is used
in Rom. i. 14, "I am debtor both to Greeks and
barbarians." It often retains this primitive
meaning, as in 1 Cor. xiv. 11 (of one using an
unknown tongue), and Acts xxviii. 2, 4 (of
the Maltese, who spoke a Punic dialect).
BARLEY was grown by the Hebrews (Lev.
xxvii. 16; Deut. viii. 8; Ruth ii. 17, &c),
who used it for baking into bread, chiefly
amongst the poor (Judg. vii. 13 ; 2 K. iv. 42 ;
John vi. 9, 13 ) ; for making into bread by
mixing it with wheat, beans, lentiles, millet,
&c. (Ez. iv. 9) ; and as fodder for horses (1 K.
iv. 28). The barley harvest (Ruth i. 22, ii.
23 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 9, 10) takes place in Pales
tine in March and April, and in the hilly
districts as late as May ; but the period of
course varies according to the localities where
the corn grows. It always precedes the
wheat harvest, in some places by a week, in
others by fully three weeks. In Egypt the

BARNABAS

03

BARUCH, THE BOOK OF

barley is about a month earlier than the
wheat ; whenGe its total destruction by the
hail-3torm (Ex. ix. 31). Barley was sown
at any time between November and March,
according to the season. Barley bread is
even to this day little esteemed in Palestine.
This fact is important, as serving to elucidate
some passages in Scripture.
BAR'NABAS, a name signifying " son of
prophecy," or " exhortation " (or, but not so
probably, "consolation," as A. V.), given by
the Apostles (Acts iv. 36) to Joseph (or
Joses), a Levite of the island of Cyprus, who
was early a disciple of Christ. In Acts ix.
27, we find him introducing the newly-con
verted Saul to the Apostles at Jerusalem, in
a way which seems to imply previous ac
quaintance between the two. On tidings
coming to the church at Jerusalem that men
of Cyprus and Cyrene had been preaching to
Gentiles at Antioch, Barnabas was sent
thither (Acts xi. 19-26), and went to Tarsus
to seek Saul, as one specially raised up
to preach to the Gentiles (Acts xxvi. 17).
Having brought him to Antioch, he was
sent with him to Jerusalem with relief for
the brethren in Judaea (Acts xi. 30). On
their return, they (Acts xiii. 2) were or
dained by the church for the missionary
work, and sent forth (a.d. 45). From this
time Barnabas and Paul enjoy the title and
dignity of Apostles. Their first missionary
journey is related in Acts xiii. xiv. ; it was
confined to Cyprus and Asia Minor. Some
time after their return to Antioch (a.d. 47
or 48), they were sent (a.d. 50), with some
others, to Jerusalem, to determine with the
Apostles and Elders the difficult question
respecting the necessity of circumcision for
the Gentile converts (Acts xv. 1 ff.). On
that occasion Paul and Barnabas were re
cognized as the Apostles of uncircumcision.
After another stay in Antioch on their re
turn, a variance took place between Barnabas
and Paul on the question of taking with
them, on a second missionary journey, John
Mark, sister's son to Barnabas (Acts xv. 36
ff.). They parted, and Barnabas took Mark,
and sailed to Cyprus, his native island. Here
the Scripture notices of him cease. The Epistle
attributed to Barnabas is believed to have been
written early in the second century.
BARTHOL'OMEW, one of the Twelve
Apostles of Christ (Matt. x. 3 ; Mark iii. 18 ;
Lukevi. 14; Acts i. 13). It has been not
improbably conjectured that he is identical
with Nathanael (John i. 45 ff.). He is said
to have preached the Gospel in India, that is,
probably, Arabia Felix, and according to some
in Armenia.
BARTIMAE'US, a blind beggar of Jericho

who (Mark x. 46 ff.) sat by the wayside beg
ging as our Lord passed out of Jericho on
His last journey to Jerusalem.
BA'RUCH. Son of Neriah, the friend
(Jer. xxxii. 12), amanuensis (Jer. xxxvi.
4-32), and faithful attendant of Jeremiah
(Jer. xxxvi. 10 ff. ; b.c 603), in the dis
charge of his prophetic office. He was of a
noble family (comp. Jer. li. 59; Bar. i. 1),
and of distinguished acquirements; and his
brother Seraiah held an honourable office in
the court of Zedekiah (Jer. li. 59). His
enemies accused him of influencing Jeremiah
in favour of the Chaldaeans (Jer. xliii. 3 ;
cf. xxx vii. 13) ; and he was thrown into
prison with that prophet, where he remained
till the capture of Jerusalem, b.c 586. By
the permission of Nebuchadnezzar he re
mained with Jeremiah at Mizpeh (Jos. Ant.
x. 9, §1) ; but was afterwards forced to go
down to Egypt (Jer. xliii. 6). Nothing ia
known certainly of the close of his life.
BARUCH, THE BOOK OF, may be di
vided into two main parts, i-iii. 8, and iii.
9- end. — 1. It exists at present in Greek, and
in several translations which were made from
the Greek. Of the two Old Latin versions
which remain, that which is incorporated in
the Vulgate is generally literal ; the other is
more free. The vulgar Syriac and Arabic
follow the Greek text closely. — 2. The as
sumed author is undoubtedly the companion
of Jeremiah, but the details of the book are
inconsistent with the assumption. — 3. The
book was held in little esteem among the
Jews. From the time of Irenaeus it was
frequently quoted both in the East and in
the West, and generally as the work of
Jeremiah. At the Council of Trent Baruch
was admitted into the Romish Canon. — 4.
The two divisions of the book are dis
tinguished by marked peculiarities of style
and language. The Hebraic character of the
first part is such as to mark it as a transla
tion and not as the work of a Hebraizing
Greek. The second part, on the other h'and,
closely approaches the Alexandrine type. —
5. The most probable explanation of this
contrast is gained by supposing that some
one thoroughly conversant with the Alex
andrine translation of Jeremiah found the
Hebrew fragment which forms the basis of
the book already attached to the writings of
that prophet, and wrought it up into its
present form.— 6. The present book must be
placed probably about the time of the war of
liberation (b.c 160), or somewhat earlier. —
7. The Epistle of Jeremiah, which, according
to the authority of some Greek MSS., stands
in the English version as the 6th chapter of
Baruch, is the work of a later period. It

BARZILLAI

04

BAT

may be assigned with probability to the first
century b.c
BARZIL'LAI. A wealthy Gileadite who
showed hospitality to David when he fled from
Absalom (2 Sam. xvii. 27). He declined the
king's offer of ending his days at court
(2 Sam. xix. 32-39).
BA'SHAN, a district on the cast of Jordan.
It is sometimes spoken of as the " land of
Bashan " ( 1 Chr. v. 1 1 ; and comp. Num. xxi.
33, xxxii. 33), and sometimes as " all Ba
shan" (Deut. iii. 10, 13 ; Josh. xii. 5, xiii.
12, 30), but most commonly without any
addition. It was taken by the children of
Israel after their conquest of the land of
Gihon from Arnon to Jabbok. The limits
of Bashan are very strictly defined. It ex- '
tended from the " border of Gilead" on
the south to Mount Hermon on the north
(Deut. iii. 3, 10, 14 ; Josh. xii. 5 ; 1 Chr. v.
23)9 and from the Arabah or Jordan valley
on the west to Salchah (Sulkhad) and the
border of the Geshurites and the Maacha-
thites on the east (Josh. xii. 3-5 ; Deut. iii.
10). This important district was bestowed
on the half tribe of Manasseh (Josh. xiii. 29-
31), together with " half Gilead."
BA'SHAN-HA'VOTH-JA'IR, a name given
to Argob after its conquest by Jair (Deut.
iii. 14).
BASH'EMATH, daughter of Ishmael, the
last married of the three wives of Esau (Gen.
xxxvi. 3, 4, 13). In Gen. xxviii. 9 she is
called Mahalath ; whilst the name Bashemath
is in Gen. xxvi. 34 given to another of Esau's
wives, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
This is probably due to a transcriber's error.
BASIN. Among the smaller vessels for
the Tabernacle or Temple service, many must
have been required to receive from the sacri
ficial victims the blood to be sprinkled for
purification. The form and material of these
vessels can only be conjectured from the
analogy of ancient Assyrian and
Egyptian specimens of works of the
same kind. The " basin " from
which our Lord washed the dis
ciples' feet was probably deeper
and larger than the hand-basin for
sprinkling. BASKET. The Hebrew terms
used in the description of this article
are as follows: (1) Sal, so called
from the twigs of which it was ori
ginally made, specially used for
holding bread (Gen. xl. 16 ff. ; Ex. xxix. 3
23; Lev. viii. 2, 26, 31; Num. vi. 15, 17^
19). (2) Salsilldth, a word of kindred ori
gin, applied to the basket used in gathering
grapes (Jer. vi. 9). (3) Tene, in which the
first-fruits of the harvest were presented

(Deut. xxvi. 2, 4). We may infer that it
was used for household purposes, perhaps to
bring the corn to the mill. (4) Celub, »
called from its similarity to a birdcage' or
trap, probably in regard to its having a lid:
it was used for carrying fruit (Am. viii. 1,
2). (5) Dud, used for earring fruit (Jer.
xxiv. 1, 2), as well as on a larger scale for
carrying clay to the brickyard (Ps. lxxxi. 6;
pots, A. V.), or for holding bulky articles
(2 K. x. 7). In the N. T. baskets are de
scribed under three different terms.

Egyptian Basket. tFrom WiJkineoa.)
BASTARD. Among those who were ex
cluded from entering the congregation, eren
to the tenth generation, was the mamser
(A. V. bastard), who was classed in this
respect with the Ammonite and Moabite
(Deut. xxiii. 2). The term is not, however^
applied to any illegitimate offspring, bora
out of wedlock, but is restricted by the Rab
bins to the issue of any connexion within the
degrees prohibited by the Law.
BAT ('utalleph). There is no doubtwhat.
ever that the A. V. is correct in its rendering

Bat. ( Taphnemu perforatum.)
of this word (Lev. xi. 19; Deut. xiv. 18).
Many travellers have noticed the immense^
numbers of bats that are found in caverns in
the East, and Mr. Layard says that on the
occasion of a visit to a cavern these noisome1'
beasts compelled him to retreat.

BATH

65

BEARD

BATH, BATHING. This was a prescribed
part of the Jewish ritual of purification in
cases of accident, leprous, or ordinary un-
cleanness (Lev. xv., xvi. 28, xxii. 6 ; Num.
xix. 7, 19 ; 2 Sam. xi. 2, 4 ; 2 K. v. 10) ;
as also after mourning-, which always implied
defilement (Kuth iii. 3; 2 Sam. xii. 20).
With bathing, anointing was customarily
joined ; the climate making both these
essential alike to health and pleasure, to
which luxury added, the use of perfumes
(Susan. 17 ; Jud. x. 3 ; Esth. ii. 12). The
" pools," such as that of Siloam and Hezekiah
(Neh. iii. 15, 16 ; 2 K. xx. 20 ; Is. xxii. 11 ;
John ix. 7), often sheltered by porticoes
(John v. 2), are the first indications we
have of public bathing accommodation.
BATH, [Measures.]
BATH-RAB'BIM, THE GATE OF, one
of the gates of the ancient city of Heshbon
(Cant. vii. 4 [5]).
BATHSHE'BA (2 Sam. xi. 3, &c. ; also
.called Bathshua in 1 Chr. iii. 5), the daughter
,of Eliam (2 Sam. xi. 3), or Ammiel (1 Chr.
iii. 5), the son of Ahithophel (2 Sam. xxiii.
|34), and wife of Uriah the Hittite. The
.child which was the fruit of her adulterous
-intercourse with David died ; but after mar-
,riage she became the mother of four sons,
cSolomon (Matt. i. 6), Shimea, Shobab, and
Nathan. When Adonijah attempted to set
-aside in his own favour the succession pro-
.mised to Solomon, Bathsheba was employed
by Nathan to inform the king of the con-
;spiracy (1 K. i. II, 15, 23). After the ac
cession of Solomon, she, as queen-mother,
; requested permission of her son for Adonijah
' to take in marriage Abishag the Shunamite
'¦'1 K. ii. 21-25).
BATH-ZACHARI'AS, a place, named only
. Mace. vi. 32, 33. It is the modern Beit
hkarieh, nine miles north of Beit sir.
Bethztjr.] BAT-TBEE (ezr&cli). Most of the Jewish
loctors understand by the term ezrdch "a
rce which grows in its own soil " — one that
las never been transplanted ; which is the
nterpretation given in the margin of the
I.T. (Ps. xxxvii. 35).
BDEL'LIUM (bedolach), Gen. ii. 12 ; Num.
a. 7. It is quite impossible to say whether
'edolach denotes a mineral, or an animal
induction, or a vegetable exudation. Bdel-
ium is an odoriferous exudation from a tree
rtuch is perhaps the Borassus flabelliformis,
jn., of Arabia Felix.
h BEANS (2 Sam. xvii. 28 ; Ez. iv. 9).
leans are cultivated in Palestine, which pro
duces many of the leguminous order of plants,
uch as lentils, kidney-beans, vetches, &c.
leans are in blossom in January ; they have
Sm. D. B.

been noticed in flower at Lydda on the 23td,
and at Sidon and Acre even earlier ; they
continue in flower till March.
^__«B**srfll|llilllll^!^

>§p§piip§£^&

Syrian Bear. ( Utsub Syriacus.)
BEAR (1 Sam. xvii. 34 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 8).
The Syrian bear (Ursus Syriacus), which is
without doubt the animal mentioned in the
Bible, is still found on the higher mountains
of Palestine. During the summer months
these bears keep to the snowy parts of Le
banon, but descend in winter to the villages
and gardens ; it is probable also that at this
period in former days they extended their
visits to other parts of Palestine.
BEARD. Western Asiatics have always
cherished the beard as the badge of the

Bearda. Egyptian, from Wilkinson (top row). Of other
nations, from Rosellini and Layard.

dignity of manhood, and attached to it the
importance of a feature. The Egyptians on
the contrary, for the most part, shaved the
hair of the face and head, though we find
some instances to the contrary. It is im
possible to decide with certainty the meaning
of the precept (Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 51 regard-
F

BECHER

ee

BEE

ing the " corners of the beard." Probably
the Jews retained the hair on the sides of the
face between the ear and the eye, which the
Arabs and others shaved away. The beard
is the object of an oath, and that on which
blessings or shame are spoken of as rest
ing. The custom was and is to shave or
pluck it and the hair out in mourning (Is.
1. 6, xv. 2 ; Jer. xii. h, xlviii. 37 ; Ezr. ix.
3 ; Bar. vi. 31) ; to neglect it in seasons of
permanent affliction (2 Sam. xix. 24), and
to regard any insult to it as the last out
rage which enmity can inflict (2 Sam. x. 4).
The beard was the object of salutation (2 Sam.
xx. 9). The dressing, trimming, anointing,
&c. of the beard, was performed with much
ceremony by persons of Wealth and rank
(Ps. cxxxiii. 2). The removal of the beard
was a part of the ceremonial treatment proper
to a leper (Lev. xiv. 9).
BE'CHER, the second son of Benjamin,
according to the list both in Gen xlvi. 21,
and 1 Chr. vii. 6 ; but omitted in 1 Chr.
viii. 1. It is highly probable that Becher, or
his heir and head of his house, married an
Ephraimitish heiress, a daughter of Shuthelah
(1 Chr. vii. 20, 21), and so that his house
was reckoned in the tribe of Ephraim, just as
.lair, the son of Segub, was reckoned in the
tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr. ii. 22 ; Num.
xxxii. 40, 41),
BED and BED-CHAMBER. We may dis
tinguish in the Jewish bed five principal
parts. — 1. The mattress, which was limited
to a mere mat, or one or mere quilts. — 2.
The covering, a quilt finer than those used
in 1. In summer a thin blanket or the outer
garment worn by day (1 Sam. xix. 13) suf
ficed. Hence the law provided that it should
, not be kept in pledge after sunset, that the
poor man might not lack his needful covering
(Deut. xxiv. 13). — 3. The only material
mentioned for this is that which occurs
1 Sam. xix. 13, and the word used is of
doubtful meaning, but seems to signify some
fabric woven or plaited of goat's-hair. It is
clear, however, that it was something hastily
adopted to serve as* a pillow, and is not de
cisive of the ordinary use. Such pillows are
common to this day in the East, formed of
sheep's fleece or goat's-skin, with a stuffing
of cotton, &c. — 4. The bedstead was not
always necessary, the divan, or platform
along the side or end of an Oriental room,
sufficing as a support for the bedding. Yet
.some slight and portable frame seems im
plied among the senses of the word, which is
used for a " bier " (2 Sam. iii. 31), and for
the ordinary bed (2 K. iv. 10), for the litter
on which a sick person might be carried
(1 Sam. xix. 15), for Jacob's bed of sickness

(Gen. xlvii. 31), and for the couch on which
guests reclined at a banquet (Esth. i. 6).-a
5. The ornamental portions were pillars and
a canopy (Jud. xiii. 9), ivory carvings, gold

Bed and Head-rest (Wilkinson, Antnent Egyptian.)" ,
and silver, and probably mosaic work, purple
and fine linen (Esth. i. 6 ; Cant. iii. 9, 10).
The ordinary furniture of a bed-chaml^
in private life is given in 2 K. iv. 10. The
" bed-chamber " in the Temple where Joash
was hidden, was, probably, a store-chamlffl
for keeping beds (2 K. xi. 2 ; 2 Chr. xxui
11). The position of the bed-chamber^
the most remote and secret parts of the
palace seems marked in the passages, Ex.
viii. 3, 2 K. vi. 12.
BE'DAN. 1. Mentioned 1 Sam. xii.. IL
as a Judge of Israel between Jerubtap
(Gideon) and Jephthah. The Chaldee Pars-
phrast reads Samson for Bedan ; the LXX.,
Syr., and Arab, all have Barak. Ewalf
suggests that it may be a false reading
for Abdon.— 2. The son of Gilead (1 Chr.
vii. 17). ¦
BEE (debdrdh), Deut. i. 44; Judg. xiv. 8;
Ps. cxviii. 12; Is. vii. 18. That Palest^
abounded in bees is evident from the descrip^
tion of that land by Moses, for it was a land
" flowing with milk and honey ;" nor is tbei^
any reason for supposing that this expression
is to be understood otherwise than in to
literal sense. English naturalists know littte
of the species of bees that are found in Pa
lestine. Mr. F. Smith, our best authority^
the Hymenoptera, is inclined to believe f"
the honey-bee of Palestine is distinct frj
the honey-bee {A. mcllifica) of this countf
There can be no doubt that the attacksj
bees in Eastern countries are more to 1
dreaded than they are in more temperate
climates. Swarms in the East are farlar$g|
than they are with us, and, on account of the
heat of the climate, onetcan readily imaging
that their stings must give rise to very dan*]
gerous symptoms. The passage in Is. ^

BEELZEBUL

67

BEHEMOTH

8, " the Lord shall hiss for the bee that is
a the land of Assyria," has been understood
iy some to refer to the practice of "calling
ut the bees from their hives by a hissing or
rhistling sound to their labour in the fields,
nd summoning them again to return " in
he evening. In all probability, however,
he expression in Isaiah has reference, as
Ir. Denham says, " to the custom of the
ifiople in the East of calling the attention
if any one by a significant hiss or rather
liat."a.BEEL'ZEBUL, the title of a heathen deity,
o whom the Jews ascribed the sovereignty of
he evil spirits (Matt. x. 25, xii. 24 ; Mark
ii. 22 ; Luke xi. 15 ff.). The correct read-
ag is without doubt Beelzebul, and not Beel-
ebub as given in the Syriac, the Vulg., and
ome other versions. Some connect the term
vita zcbtll, habitation, thus making Beelzebul
Matt. x. 25), the lord of the dwelling, whe-
iher as the " prince of the power of the air "
Eph. ii. 2), or as the prince of the lower
/orld, or as inhabiting human bodies, or as
ccupying a mansion in the seventh heaven,
:.ke Saturn in Oriental mythology. Others
-erive it from zebel, dung, thus making Beel-
ebul, literally, the lord of dung, or the dung-
j.11 ; and in a secondary sense, as zebel was
sed by the Talmudical writers as — idol or
$olatry, the lord of idols, prince of false
bds. "We have lastly to notice the inge-
:ious conjecture of Hug that the fly, under
/hich Baalzebub was represented, was the
\carabaeus pillularius or dunghill beetle, in
/hich case Baalzebub and Beelzebul might
te used indifferently. ¦
^BEER-E'LIM, a spot named in Is. xv. 8
s' on the " border of Moab," apparently the
auth, Eglaim being at the north end of the
'ead Sea. The name points to the well dug
7 the chiefs of Israel on their approach to
ie promised land, close by the " border of
loab" (Num. xxi. 16 ; comp'. 13).
BEER-LAHA'I-ROI, a well, or rather a
ving spring (A. V. fountain, comp. Jer. vi.
) between Kadesh and Bered, in the wilder-
ess, " in the way to Shur," and therefore in
ie "south country" (Gen. xxiv. 62). Mr.
owland announces the discovery of the well
abairoi at Moyle or Moilahi, a station on
ie road to B*>ersheba, 10 hours south of
iUAeiieft; near which is a hole or cavern
taring the name of Beit Hagar (Ritter,
««¦, 1086, 7) ; but this requires confir
mation. BE'EROTH, one of the four cities of the
ivites who deluded Joshua into a treaty of
>aee with them (Josh. ix. 17). It was
lotted to Benjamin (xviii. 25), and is iden-
aea with the modern el-Bireh, which stands

at about 1 0 miles north of Jerusalem by the
great road to Ndblus.
BEER-SHE'BA, the name of one of the
old places in Palestine, which formed the
southern limit of the country. There are
two accounts of the origin of the name. —
I. According to the first, the well was dug
by Abraham, and the name given, because
there he and Abimelech the king of the Phi
listines "sware" both of them (Gen. xxi. 31).
2. The other narrative ascribes the origin of
the name to an occurrence almost precisely
similar, in which both Abimelech the king of
the Philistines, and Phichol, his chief cap
tain, are again concerned, with the difference
that the person on the Hebrew side of the
transaction is Isaac instead of Abraham (Gen.
xxvi. 31-33). There are at present on the
spot two principal wells, and five smaller
ones. The two principal wells are on or
close to the northern bank of the Wady es-
Seba'. They lie just a hundred yards apart,
and are so placed as to be visible from a con
siderable distance. The larger of the two,
which lies to the east, is, according to the
careful measurements of Dr. Robinson, 12k
feet diam., and at the time of his visit (Apr".
12) was 44^ feet to the surface of the water :
the masonry which encloses the well reaches
downwards for 28£ feet. The other well is
5 feet diam., and was 42 feet to the water.
The curb-stones round the mouth of both
wells are worn into deep grooves by the
action of the ropes of so many centuries, and
" look as if frilled or fluted all round." The
five lesser wells are in a group in the bed of
the wady. On some low hills north of the
large wells are scattered the foundations and
ruins of a town of moderate size. There are
no trees or shrubs near the spot. Bcersheba
was given to the tribe of Simeon (xix. 2 ;
1 Chr. iv. 28). In the time of Jerome it
was still a considerable place ; and later it is
mentioned as an episcopal city under the
Bishop of Jerusalem. It only remains to
notice that it retains its ancient name as
nearly similar in sound as an Arabic signifi
cation will permit — Bir es-Sebd- — the "well
of the lion," or "of seven."
BE'HEMOTH. There can be little or
no doubt, that by this word (Job xl. 15-24)
the hippopotamus is intended, since all the
details descriptive of the behemoth accord
entirely with the ascertained habits of that
animal. Since in the first part of Jehovah's
discourse (Job xxxviii., xxxix.) land animals
and birds are mentioned, it suits the general
purpose of that discourse better to suppose
that aquatic or amphibious creatures are
spoken of in the last half of it ; and since the
leviathan, by almost universal consent, de-
f a

BELA

68

BELSHAZZAR

notes the crocodile, the behemoth seems
clearly to point to the hippopotamus, his
associate in the Nile. The description of
the animal's lying under " the shady trees,"
amongst the " reeds " and willows, is pecu
liarly appropriate.

Hippopotamus amphibius
BE'LA. 1. One of the five cities of the
plain which was spared at the intercession of
Lot, and received the name of Zoar (Gen.
xiv. 2, xix. 22). It lay on the southern ex
tremity of the Dead Sea, on the frontier of
Moab and Palestine (Jerome on Is. xv.), and
on the route to Egypt ; the connexion in
which it is found, Is. xv. 5 ; Jer. xlviii.
34 ; Gen. xiii. 10. "We first read of Bela in
Gen. xiv. 2, 8. — 2. Son of Beor, who reigned
over Edom in the city of Dinhabah, eight
generations before Saul, king of Israel, or
about the time of the Exodus. He is sup
posed by some to be the same as Balaam.
It is not improbable that he was a Chal
dean by birth, and reigned in Edom by con
quest. He may have been contemporary
with Moses (Gen. xxxvi. 31-33 ; 1 Chr. i.
43, 44).
BE'LIAL. The translators of our A. V.,
following the Vulgate, have frequently treated
this word as a proper name, and given it in
the form Belial, in accordance with 2 Cor.
vi, 15. There can be no question, however,
that the word is not to be regarded as a pro
per name in the O. T. ; its meaning is worth-
lessness, and hence recklessness, lawlessness.
The expression son or man of Belial must be
understood as meaning simply a worthless,
lawless fellow. The term as used in 2 Cor.
vi. 15 is generally understood as an appel
lative of Satan, as the personification of all
that was bad.
BELLOWS. The word occurs only in Jer.
vi. 29, "The bellows are burned;" where
their use is to heat a smelting furnace. A
picture of two different kinds of bellows, both

of highly ingenious construction, may be found
in Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt, iii. 338. "The;
consisted," he says, "of a leather, secured
and fitted into a frame, from which a long
pipe extended for carrying the wind to the
fire. They were worked by the feet, the
operator standing upon them, with oneiuu
each foot, and pressing them alternately *
he pulled up each exhausted skin with"?
string he held in his hand. In one instance
we observe from the painting, that when the
man left the bellows, they were raised as, if
inflated with air ; and this would imply^
knowledge of the valve. The pipes even ia
the time of Thothmes II., [supposed to be]
the contemporary of Moses, appear to ban
been simply of reed, tipped with a meta
point to resist the action of the fire."

tvm.31,i are f»j
teir pl*j
en. T»

Egyptian beHow3. (F. Cafflierd, SeeTierchesswleiit
d« Anciens Egyptiens.)
BELLS. In Ex. xxviii. 33 the bells alluiHJ
to were the golden ones, according to flej
Rabbis 7 2 in number, round the hem of tfei
high-priest's ephod. The object of them*™
" that his sound might be heard »wheE be
went in unto the holy place, and when: he
came out, that he die not " (Ex. xxviii 34;
Ecclus. xiv. 9). To this day bells :
quently attached, for the sake of their ]
sant sound, to the anklets of women.
little girls of Cairo wear strings of flu*
round their feet. In Zech. xiv. 20 "beMS
the horses " is probably a wrong rendering
It is more probable that they are not beHs
but concave or tint pieces of brass, wtidi
were sometimes attached to horses for the
sake of ornament. '
BELSHAZ'ZAR, the last king of BabyloBJ
According to the well-known narrative ffl
Dan. v., he was slain during a splendid few
in his palace. Similarly Xenophon tells du
that Babylon was taken by Cyrus in *
night, while the inhabitants were engaged in
feasting and revelry, and that the king'^
killed. On the other hand the narrati™

BENAIAH

69

BENJAMIN

Berosus in Josephus and of Herodotus differ
;rom the above account in some important par-
iculars. Berosus calls the last king of Babylon
Nabonnedus or Nabonadius, and says that in
;he 17th year of his reign Cyrus took Baby-
.on, the king having retired to the neigh
bouring city of Borsippus or Borsippa. Ac-
jording to Herodotus the last king was called
Labynetus. These discrepancies have lately
been cleared up by the discoveries of Sir
Henry Rawlinson. From the inscriptions it
appears that the eldest son of Nabonnedus
was called Bel-shar-ezar, contracted into
Belshazzar, and admitted by his father to a
share in the government. So that Belshaz
zar, as joint king with his father, may have
been governor of Babylon, when the city was
attacked by the combined forces of the Medes
and Persians, and may have perished in the
assault which followed; while Nabonnedus
leading a force to the relief of the place was
iefeated, and obliged to take refuge in Bor
sippa. In Dan. v. 2, Nebuchadnezzar is
jailed the father of Belshazzar. This, of
:ourse, need only mean grandfather or an
cestor. Rawlinson connects Belshazzar with
Nebuchadnezzar through his mother ; but
Marcus Niebuhr considers Belshazzar to be
^mother name for Evil-merodach, the son of
febuchadnezzar. On Rawlinson's view,
ielahazzar died b.c 538 ; on Niebuhr's,
.c. 559.
BENA'IAH. 1, The son of Jehoiada the
hief priest (1 Chr. xxvii. 5), and therefore
f the tribe of Levi, though a native of Kab-
eel (2 Sam. xxiii. 20 ; 1 Chr. xi. 22), in the
cuth of Judah ; set by David (1 Chr. xi. 25)
ver bis bodyguard of Cherethites and Pele-
hites (2 Sam. viii. 18 ; 1 K. i. 38 ; 1 Chr.
:viii. 17 ; 2 Sam. xx. 23) and occupying a
ruddle rank between the first three of the
'mighty men," and the thirty " valiant men
if the armies " (2 Sam. xxiii. 22, 23 ; 1 Chr.
x 25, xxvii. 6). The exploits which gave
iim .this .rank are narrated in 2 Sam. xxiii.
!0, 21 ; 1 Chr. xi. 22. He was captain of
he host for the third month (1 Chr. xxvii.
'*). ^ Benaiah remained faithful to Solomon
luring Adonijah's attempt on the crown
1 K. i. 8, 10, 32, 38, 44) ; and was raised
nto the place of Joab as commander-in-chief
if the whole army (ii. 35, iv. 4). — 2. Ben-
iun the Pirathonite ; an Ephraimite, one
>f David's thirty mighty men (2 Sam.
:xiii. 30; 1 Chr. xi. 31), and the captain
ff the eleventh monthly course (1 Chr.
:xvii. 14).
BEN-AM'MI, the son of the younger
laughter of Lot, and progenitor of the Am-
nonites (Gen. xix, 38).
BENHA'DAD, the name of three kings of

Damascus. — Bexhadad I. was either son or
grandson of Rezon, and in his time Da
mascus was supreme in Syria. He made an
alliance with Asa, and conquered a great part
of the N. of Israel. From 1 K. xx. 34, it
would appear that he continued to make war
upon Israel in Omri's time, and forced him
to make " streets " in Samaria for Syrian re
sidents. This date is b.c. 950. — Benhadad
IL, son of the preceding, and also king of
Damascus. Long wars with Israel charac
terised his reign. Some time after the death
of Ahab, Benhadad renewed the war with
Israel, attacked Samaria a second time, and
pressed the siege so closely that there was a
terrible famine in the city. But the Syrians
broke up in the night in consequence of a
sudden panic. Soon after Benhadad fell
sick, and sent Hazael to consult Elisha as to
the issue of his malady. On the day after
Hazael's return Benhadad was murdered,
probably by some of his own servants (2 K.
viii. 7-15). Benhadad's death was about
b.c. 890, and he must have reigned some 30
years. — Benhadad III., son of Hazael, and
his successor on the throne of Syria. When
he succeeded to the throne, Jekoash recovered
the cities which Jehoahaz had lost to ithe Sy
rians, and beat him in Aphek (2 K. xiii. 17,
25). Jehoash gained two more -victories, but
did not restore the dominion of Israel on the
E. of Jordan. The date of Benhadad III. is
B.C. 840.
BEN'JAMIN, the youngest of the chil
dren of Jacob, and the only one of the thirteen
who was born in Palestine. His birth took
place on the road between Bethel and Beth
lehem, a short distance from the latter, and
his mother Rachel died in the act of giving
him birth, naming him with her last breath
Ben-oni, " son of my sorrow." This was by
Jacob changed into Benjamin (Gen. xxxv.
16-18). Until the journeys of Jacob's sona
and of Jacob himself into Egypt we hear no
thing of Benjamin. Henceforward the his
tory of Benjamin is the history of the tribe.
And up to the time of the entrance on the
Promised Land that history is as meagre as
it is afterwards full and interesting. The
proximity of Benjamin to Ephraim during
the march to the Promised Land was main
tained in the territories allotted to each.
Benjamin lay immediately to the south of
Ephraim and between him and Judah. It
formed almost a parallelogram, of about 26
miles in length by 12 in breadth. Its eastern
boundary was the Jordan, and from thence
it extended to the wooded district of Kirjath-
jearim, a point about eight miles west of
Jerusalem, while in the other direction it
stretched from the valley of Hinnom, uuder

BEN-OXI

70

BERYL

the " Shoulder of the Jebusite " on the south,
to Bethel on the north. On the south the
territory ended abruptly with the steep slopes
of the hill of Jerusalem, — on the north it
melted imperceptibly into the possessions of
friendly Ephraim.— (1.) The general level of
this part of Palestine is very high, not less
than 2000 feet above the maritime plain of
the Mediterranean on the one side, or than
3000 feet above the deep valley of the Jordan
on the other, besides which this general level
or plateau is surmounted, in the district now
under consideration, by a large number of
eminences, almost every one of which has
borne some part in the history of the tribe. —
(2.) No less important than these eminences
are the torrent-beds and ravines by which
the upper country breaks down into the deep
tracts on each side of it. The passes on the
eastern side are of a much more difficult and
intricate character than those of the western.
The contrast between the warlike character
of the tribe and the peaceful image of its
progenitor comes out in many scattered no
tices. Benjamin was the only tribe which
seems to have pursued archery to any pur
pose, and their skill in the bow (1 Sam. xx.
20, 36 ; 2 Sam. i. 22 ; 1 Chr. viii. 40, xii. 2 ;
2 Chr. xvii. 17) and the sling (Judg. xx. 16)
is celebrated. The dreadful deed recorded
in Judg. xix., though repelled by the whole
country, was unhesitatingly adopted and de
fended by Benjamin with an obstinacy and
spirit truly extraordinary. That frightful
transaction was indeed a crisis in the history
of the tribe : the six hundred who took refuge
in the cliff Rimmon were the only survivors.
A long interval must have elapsed between
so abject a condition and the culminating point
at which we next meet with the tribe. Se
veral circumstances may have conduced to its
restoration to that place which it was now to
assume. Ramah (1 Sam. ix. 12, &c), Mizpeh
(I Sam. vii. 5), Bethel, and Gibeon (1 K. iii.
4) were all in the land of Benjamin. The
people who resorted to these sanctuaries must
gradually have been accustomed to associate
the tribe with power and sanctity. The strug
gles and contests which followed the death
of Saul arose from the natural unwillingness
of the tribe to relinquish its position at the
head of the nation, especially in favour of
Judah, and we do not hear of any cordial co
operation or firm union between the two tribes
until the disruption of the kingdoms. Hence
forward the history of Benjamin becomes
merged in that of the southern kingdom.
BEN-O'NI, the name which the dying
Rachel gave to her newly-born son, but
which by his father was changed into Ben
jamin (Gen. xxxv. 18).

BER'ACHAH, VALLEY OF; a valley in
which Jehoshaphat and his people assembled
to "bless" Jehovah after the overthrow of
the hosts of Moabites, Ammonites, and Me-
hunim, who had come against them, and
which from that fact acquired its name of
"the valley of blessing" (2 Chr. xx. 2G).
The name of Bereikut still survives, attached
to ruins in a valley of the same name lying
between Tekua and the main road from Beth-
lehem to Hebron.
BERE'A. 1. A city of Macedonia, men-
tioned in Acts xvii. 10, 15. It is now
called Tnrria or Kara-Yerria, and is situ
ated on the eastern slope of the Olympian
mountain-range, commanding an extenfiiml
view of the plain of the Axius and Haliacmon,
and has now 15,000 or 20,000 inhabitant^
2, The modern Aleppo, mentioned in 2 Mace.
xiii. 4. — 3. A place in Judea, apparently not
very far from Jerusalem (1 Mace. ix. 4).
BERENI'CE. [Berxice.]
BERI'AH. A son of Ephraim, so named I
On account of the state of his father's house j
when he was born (1 Chr. vii. 20-23). This ;
short notice is of no slight historical import
ance ; especially as it refers to a period of
Hebrew history respecting which the Bible
affords us no other like information. The
event must be assigned to the time between
Jacob's death and the beginning of the op
pression. BE'RITH.

li

THE GOD, Judg.
[Baal-berith.] BERNI'CE and BERENI'CE, the elded
daughter of Herod Agrippa I. (Acts iii.
1, &c). She was first married to her uncle
Herod, king of Chalcis, and after bis death]
(a.d. 48) she lived under circumstances of
great suspicion with her own brother Agrippi j
II., in connexion with whom she is men
tioned Acts xxv. 13, 23, xxvi. 30, as having j
visited Festus on his appointment as Procn- ;
rator of Judaea.
BER'ODACH-BAL'ADAN. 2 K. xx. 13. :
[Merodach-Baeadan.] BE'ROTHAH, BE'ROTHAL The first o!
these two names is given by Ezekiel fxlvii.
16) in connexion with Hamath and Damascus j
as forming part of the northern boundary of I
the Promised Land. The second is mentioned ,
(2 Sam. viii. 8) also in connexion with]
Hamath and Damascus. The well-known i
city BeirUt (Berytus) naturally suggests it
self as identical with one at least of the
names ; but in each instance the circumstance^
of the case seem to require a position further'
east. BERYL (tarshish), occurs in Ex. xxviii
20, xxxix. 13 ; Cant. v. 14 ; Ez. i. 16, x. 9,
xxviii. 13 ; Dan. x. 6. It is generally sup-

BETH

BETHEL

posed that the tarsMsh derives its name from
the place so called. The ancient chrysolite
or the modern yellow topaz appears to have a
better claim than any other gem to represent
the tarslush of the Hebrew Bible, certainly a
better claim than the beryl of the A. V., a
rendering which appears to be unsupported
by any kind of evidence.
BETH, the most general word for a house
or habitation. Like Aedes in Latin and Do?n
in German, it has the special meaning of a
temple or house of worship. — Beth is more
frequently employed in compound names of
places than any other word. Beth-eked,
the "shearing house" (2 K. x. 12), lay be
tween Jezreel and Samaria, according to
Jerome 15 miles from the town of Legio, and
in the plain of Esdraelon. Beth-haggan,
"the garden-house" (2 K. ix. 27), is doubt
less the same place as Engannin, " spring of
gardens," the modern Jenin.
BETH-AB'ARA, a place beyond Jordan, in
which, according to the Received Text of the
N. T., John was baptizing (John i. 28). If
this reading be correct, Bethabara may be
identical with Beth-barah, the ancient ford
of Jordan, or, which seems more likely, with
Beth-nhnrah, on the east of the river, nearly
opposite Jericho.
BETH'ANT, a village which, scanty as
are the notices of it contained in Scripture,
is more intimately associated in our minds
than perhaps any other place with the most
familiar acts and scenes of the last days of
the life of Christ. It was situated " at " the
Mount of Olives (Mark xi. 1 ; Luke xix. 29),
about fifteen stadia from Jerusalem (John xi.
18), on or near the usual road from Jericho
to the city (Luke xix. 29, comp. 1 ; Mark
xi. 1, comp. x. 46), and close by the west (?)
of another village called Bethpha&f, the two
being several times mentioned together.
Bethany is now known by a name derived
from Lazarus — el-Azariyeh or Lazarieh. It
lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of
Olives, fully a mile beyond the summit, and
not very far from the point at which the road
to Jericho begins its more sudden descent
towards the Jordan valley. El-'Azariyeh is a
ruinous and wretched village, a wild mountain
hamlet of some twenty families. Beth-any has
been commonly explained " House of Dates,"
but it more probably signifies " House of
Misery" (H.Dixon, Holy Land, ii. 214, foil.).
BETH-A'VEN, a place on the mountains of
Benjamin, east of Bethel (Josh. vii. 2, xviii.
12), and lying between that place and Mich-
mash (1 Sam. xiii. 5, xiv. 23). In Hos. iv. 15,
v. 8, x. 5, the name is transferred to the neigh
bouring Bethel — once the "house of God,"
but then the house of idols, of " naught."

BETH-BAAL-ME'ON, a place in the pos
sessions of Reuben, on the downs (A. V.
"plain") east of Jordan (Josh. xiii. 17). At
the Israelites' first approach its name was
Baal-meon (Num. xxxii. 38, or in its con
tracted form, Beon, xxxii. 3), to which the
Beth was possibly a Hebrew addition. Later
it would seem to have come into possession
of Moab, and to be known either as Beth-
meon (Jer. xlviii. 23) or Baal-meon (Ez.
xxv. 9). The name is still attached to a
ruined place of considerable size, a short
distance to the S.W. of Hesbdn, and bearing
the name of " the fortress of MVun," or
Maein, which appears to give its appellation
to the Ufridy Zerka Maein.
BETH^BA'RAH, named only in Judg.
vii. 24, as a point apparently south of the
scene of Gideon's victory. Beth-barah de
rives its chief interest from the possibility
that its more modern representative may
have been Beth-abara where John bap
tized. It was probably the chief ford of
the district.
BETH-DIBLATHArIM, a town of Moab
(Jer. xlviii. 22), apparently the place else
where called Almon-Diblathaim.
BETH'EL. A well-known city and holy
place of central Palestine. Of the origin of
the name of Bethel there are two accounts
extant. 1. It was bestowed on the spot by
Jacob under the awe inspired by the noc
turnal vision of God, when on his journey
from his father's house at Beersheba to seek
his wife in Haran (Gen. xxviii. 19). — 2. But
according to the other account, Bethel re
ceived its name on the occasion of a blessing
bestowed by God upon Jacob after his return
from Padan-aram ; at which time also (ac
cording to this narrative) the name of Israel
was given him (Gen. xxxv. 14, 15). — Early
as is the date involved in these narratives,
yet, if we are to accept the precise defi
nition of Gen. xii. 8, the name of Bethel
would appear to have existed at this spot
even before the arrival of Abram in Canaan
(Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 3, 4). In one thing, how
ever, the above narratives all agree, — in
omitting any mention of town or buildings
at Bethel at that early period, and in draw
ing a marked distinction between the " city "
of Luz and the consecrated " place " in its
neighbourhood (comp. Gen. xxxv. 7). The
appropriation of the name of Bethel to the
city appears not to have been made till still
later, when it was taken by the tribe of
Ephraim ; after which the name of Luz occurs
no more (Judg. i. 22-26). — After the con
quest Bethel is frequently heard of. In the
troubled times when thero was no king in
Israel, it was to Bethel that the people went

BETHER, THE MOUNTAINS OF 72

BETHLEHEM

up in their distress to ask counsel of God
(Judg. xx. 18, 26, 31 ; xxi. 2 : A. V. "house
of God ") . Here was the ark of the covenant
under the charge of Phinehas the grandson
of Aaron (xx. 26-28, xxi. 4). Later we find
it named as one of the holy cities to which
Samuel went in circuit (1 Sam. vii. 16).
Here Jeroboam placed one of the two calves
of gold. Towards the end of Jeroboam's life
Bethel fell into the hands of Judah (2 Chr.
xiii. 19). Elijah visited Bethel, and we hear
of "sons of the prophets" as resident there
(2 K. ii. 2, 3), two facts apparently incom
patible with the active existence of the calf-
worship. But, after the destruction of the
Baal worship by Jehu, Bethel comes once
more into view (2 K. x. 29). After the de
solation of the northern kingdom by the king
of Assyria, Bethel still remained an abode of
priests (2 K. xvii. 28, 27). In the account
of Josiah's iconoclasm we catch one more
glimpse of the altar of Jeroboam, with its
last loathsome fire of "dead men's bones"
burning upon it. In later times Bethel is
named only once ; its ruins still lie on the
right hand side of the road from Jerusalem
to Nablous under the scarcely altered name
of Beitln.
BETH'ER, THE MOUNTAINS OF (Cant.
ii. 17). There is no clue to guide us to what
mountains are intended here.
BETHES'DA, the Hebrew name of a re
servoir or tank, with five " porches," close
upon the sheep-gate or "market" in Jeru
salem (John v. 2). The porches — i. e. clois
ters or colonnades —were extensive enough
to accommodate a large number of sick and
infirm people, whose custom it was to wait
there for the " troubling of the water." The
large reservoir Birket Israil, within the walls
of the city, close by the St. Stephen's Gate,
and under the north-east wall of the Haram
area, is generally considered to be the modern
representative of Bethesda,
BETH-HACCE'REM (Neb. iii. 14). From
Jer. vi. 1, we find that it was used as a
beacon-station, and that it was near Tekoa.
In the time of Nehemiah (hi. 14) it had a
ruler or prince. By Jerome a village named
Bethacharma is said to have been on a moun
tain between Tekoa and Jerusalem, a position
in which the eminence known as the Frank
mountain (Herodium) stands conspicuous ;
and this has accordingly been suggested as
Beth-haccerem. BETH-HOG'LA, and HOG'LAH, a place
on the border of Judah (Josh. xv. 6) and of
Benjamin (xviii. 19), to which latter tribe it
was reckoned to belong (xviii. 21). A mag
nificent spring and a ruin between Jericho
and the Jordan still bear the names of Ain-

hajla and Kiisr Hajla, and are doubtless on or
near the old site.
BETH-HO'RON, the name of two towns
or villages, an "upper" and a. "nuther,"
(Josh. xvi. 3, 5 ; 1 Chr. vii. 24), on the road
from Gibeon to Azekah (Josh. x. 10, 11), and
the Philistine plain (1 Mace. iii. 24). Beth-
boron lay on the boundary-line between Ben
jamin and Ephraim (Josh. xvi. 3, 5), and
(xviii. 13, 14), was counted to Ephraim (Josh.'
xxi. 22 ; 1 Chr. vii. 24), and given to the
Kohathites (Josh. xxi. 22 ; 1 Chr. vi. 68 [53]),
There is no room for doubt that the two
Bethhorons still survive in the modern vil
lages of Beit-'ilr, et-tahta and el-foka.
BETH-JESH'IMOTH, or JES'IMOTH, a
town or place east of Jordan, on the lower
level at the south end of the Jordan valley
(Num. xxxiii. 49) ; and named with Ashdod-
pisgab. and Beth-peor. It was one of the
limits of the encampment of Israel before'
crossing the Jordan. Later it was allotted
to Reuben (Josh. xii. 3, xiii. 20), but came
at last into the hands of Moab, and formed
one of the cities which were " the glory of
the country" (Ez. xxv. 9).
BETH'LEHEM. One of the oldest towns
in Palestine, already in existence at the time
of Jacob's return to the country. Its earliest
name was Ephrath or Ephkatah (see Gen.
xxxv. 16, 19, xlviii. 7), and it is not till.
long after the occupation of the country by
the Israelites that we meet with it under its
new name of Bethlehem. After the conquest
Bethlehem appears under its own name Beth-
lehem-judah (Judg. xvii. 7 ; 1 Sam. xvii. 12;
Ruth i. 1, 2). The-Book of Ruth is a page
from the domestic history of Bethlehem : the
names, almost the very persons, of the Beth-
lehemites are there brought before us ; we are
allowed to assist at their most peculiar cus
toms, and to witness the very springs of those-
events which have conferred immortality on
the name of the place. The elevation of
David to the kingdom does not appear to
have affected the fortunes of his native town.
— The few remaining casual notices of Beth
lehem in the Old Testament may be quickly
enumerated. It was fortified by Rehoboam
(2 Chr. xi. 6). By the time of the captivity,
the Inn of Chimham by Bethlehem appears
to have become the recognised point of de
parture for travellers to Egypt (Jer. xU.
17). — In the New Testament Bethlehem re
tains its distinctive title of Bethlehem-judah
(Matt. ii. 1, 5), and once, in the announce
ment of the Angels, the "city of David"
(Luke ii. 4 ; comp. John vii. 42). The pas
sages just quoted, and the few which follow,
exhaust the references to it in the N. T.
(Matt. ii. 6, 8, 16; Luke ii. 15). The mo-

BETH-MEON

BETHULIA

dern town of Beit-lahm lies to the E. of the
main road from Jerusalem to Hebron, 6 miles
from the former. It covers the E. and N.E.
parts of the ridge of a long grey hill of Jura
limestone, which stands nearly due E. and
W., and is about a mile in length. The bill
has a deep valley on the N. and another on
the S. On the top lies the village in a kind
of irregular triangle. The population is about
3000 souls, entirely Christians.
BETH-ME'ON, Jer. xlviii. 23. A con
tracted form of the name elsewhere given as
Beth-baal-steon. BETH-NIM'RAH, one of the fenced cities
On the east of Jordan taken and built by the
tribe of Gad (Num. xxxii. 36) and described
as lying in the valley beside Beth-haran
(Josh. xiii. 27). In Num. xxxii. 3 it is
called simply Nimrah. The name still sur
vives in the Nahr Nimrim, the Arab appel
lation of the lower end of the Wady Shoaib,
where the waters of that valley discharge
themselves into the Jordan close to one
of the regular fords a few miles above
Jericho. BETH'-PEOR, a place, no doubt dedicated
to the god Baal-peor, on the east of Jordan,
opposite Jericho, and six miles above Libias
or Beth-haran. It was in the possession of
the tribe of Reuben (Josh. xiii. 20). One of
the last halting-places of the children of Israel
is designated — "the ravine over against Beth-
peor" (Deut. iii. 29, iv. 46).
BETH'-PHAGE, the name of a place on
the mount of Olives, on the road between
Jericho and Jerusalem. It was apparently
close to Bethany (Matt. xxi. 1 ; Mark xi. 1 ;
Luke xix. 29), and to the eastward of it. No
remains however which could answer to this
position have been found, and the traditional
site is above Bethany, halfway between that
village and the top of the mount.
BETH'-REHOB, a place mentioned as
having near it the valley in which lay the
town of Laish or Dan (Judg. xviii. 28). It
was one of the little kingdoms of Aram or
Syria (2 Sam. x. 6). Robinson conjectures
that this ancient place is represented by the
modern Hiinin.
BETH-SA'IDA. 1. " Bethsaida of Galilee "
(John xii. 21), a city which was the native
place of Andrew, Peter, and Philip (John i.
44, xii. 21) in the land of Gennesareth (Mark
vi. 45 ; comp. 53), and therefore on the west
side of the lake. Dr. Robinson places Beth
saida at 'Ainet-Tabigah, a short distance
north of Khan Minyeh, which he identifies
with Capernaum. — 2. By comparing the nar
ratives in Mark vi. 31-53, and Luke ix. 10-
U.it appears certain that the Bethsaida at
which the 5000 were fed must have been a

second place of the same name on the east of
the lake. Such a place there was at the
north-eastern extremity, formerly a village,
but rebuilt and adorned by Philip the Te-
trarch, and raised to the dignity of a town
under the name of Julias, after the daughter
of the emperor. Here in a magnificent tomb
Philip was buried. Of this Bethsaida we have
certainly one and probably two mentions in
the Gospels : — 1. That named above, of the
feeding of the 5000 (Luke ix. 10).— 2. The
other, most probably, in Mark viii. 22.
BETH'-SHEAN, or in Samuel, Bethshan,
a city, which, with its "daughter" towns,
belonged to Manasseh (1 Chr. vii. 29), though
within the limits of Issachar (Josh. xvii. 11),
and therefore on the west of Jordan (comp.
1 Mace. v. 52) — but not mentioned in the
lists of the latter tribe. The Canaanites were
not driven out from the town (Judg. i. 27).
In later times it was called Scythopolis
(2 Mace. xii. 29), but this name has not sur
vived to the present day ; and the place is
still known as Beisdm It lies in the Ghor
or Jordan valley, about twelve miles south of
the sea of Galilee, and four miles west of the
Jordan. BETH-SHEM'ESH. 1. One of the towns
which marked the north boundary of Judah
(Josh. xv. 10), but not named in the lists of
the cities of that tribe. It is now 'Ahi-Shems,
about two miles from the great Philistine
plain, and seven from Ekron. — 2. A city on
the border of Issachar (Josh. xix. 22). —
3. One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali
(Josh. xix. 38; Judg. i. 33).— 4. An idol
atrous temple or place in Egypt (Jer. xliii.
13). In the middle ages Heliopolis was still
called by the Arabs Ain Shems.
BETH-TAPPU'AH, one of the towns of
Judah, in the mountainous district, and near
Hebron (Josh. xv. 53; comp. 1 Chr. ii. 43).
Here it has actually been discovered by Ro
binson under the modern name of Teffuh,
5 miles W. of Hebron, on a ridge of high
table-land. BETH'UEL, the son of Nahor by Milcah ;
nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah
(Gen- xxii. 22, 23, xxiv. 15, 24, 47, xxviii.
2). In xxv. 20, and xxviii. 5, he is called
"Bethuel the Syrian." Though often re
ferred to as above in the narrative, Bethuel
only appears in person once (xxiv. 50). Upon
this an ingenious conj ecture is raised by
Prof. Blunt that he was the subject of some
imbecility or other incapacity.
BETH'UL, a town of Simeon in the south,
named with El-tolad and Hormah (Josh, xix*
4), called also Chesil and Bethuel (Josh. xv.
30 ; 1 Chr. iv. 29).
BETHU'LIA, the city which was the scene

BETH-ZACHARIAS

74

BIBLE

of the chief events of the Book of Judith, in
which book only the name occurs. Its posi
tion is there described with very minute
detail. Notwithstanding this detail, how
ever, the identification of the site of Bethulia
has hitherto defied all attempts, and is one
of the greatest puzzles of sacred geograpby.
Von Raumer suggests Sanilr, which is per
haps the nearest to probability. It is about
three miles from Dothan, and some six or
, seven from Jenin (Engannim), which stand
on the very edge of the great plain of Es-
draelon. BETH-ZACHARI'AS. [Bath-Zacharias.]
BETH'-ZUR, a town in the mountains of
Judah, named between Halhul and Gedor
(Josh. xv. 58). The recovery of the site of
Bethzur, under the almost identical name of
Beit-sur, explains its impregnability, and also
the reason for the choice of its position, since
it commands the road from Beersheba and
Hebron, which has always been the main
approach to Jerusalem from the south.
BEU'LAH, "married," the name which
the land of Israel is to bear, when "the land
shall be married" (Is. lxii. 4).
BEZ'ALEEL. The son of Uri, the son of
Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and one of the
architects of the tabernacle (Ex. xxxi. 1-6).
His charge was chiefly in all works of metal,
wood, and stone.
BE'ZEK. 1. The residence of Adoni-bezek,
i. e. the " lord of Bezek " (Judg. i. 5) ; in the
lot of Judah (verse 3), and inhabited by Ca
naanites and Perizzites (verse 4). This must
have been a distinct place from — 2. Where
Saul numbered the forces of Israel and Judah
before going to the relief of Jabesh-Gilead
(1 Sara. xi. 8). This was doubtless some
where in the centre of the country, near the
Jordan valley. No identification of either
place has been made in modern times.
BE'ZER IN THE WILDERNESS, a city
of the Reubenites, with suburbs, set apart by
Moses as one of the three cities of refuge in
the downs on the east of the Jordan, and
allotted to the Merarites (Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh.
xx. 8, xxi. 36 ; 1 Chr. vi. 78).
BIBLE.— I. When the Books of the Old
Testament were formed into a Canon [Caxon]
it was natural to give a general name to the
collection. The earliest instance of such a
title occurs in Daniel, who refers to " the
books " (Dan. ix. 2) in a manner which seems
to mark the prophetic writings as already
collected into one whole. The same word
was applied by the Jews in Alexandria to
the collected books of the Old Testament —
at pCfikoi, more frequently ra fiifiKla — whence
the word Bible, or The Book, has been given
to the collected books of the Old and New

Testaments. The writers of the New Testa
ment call the books of the Old Testament
either Tlie Scripture (v ypa0»J, Acts viii. 32;
Gal. iii. 22 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16), or The Scriptures
(ot ypax\>a.i, Matt. xxi. 42 ; Luke xxiv. 27),
or The Holy Scriptures (to. Upa ypap.fio.Ta,
2 Tim. iii. 15). The use of the phrase'
7} TraAma SiafliJ/of in 2 Cor. iii. 14, for the law
as read in the synagogues, led gradually to
the extension of the word to include the
other books of the Jewish Scriptures. Of the
Latin equivalents, which were adopted by
different writers (Instrument um, Testament
turn), the latter met with the most general
acceptance, and perpetuated itself in the lan
guages of modern Europe, whence the terms
Old Testament and New Testament, though
the Greek word properly signifies " Cove
nant" rather than "Testament." But the
application of the word Bible to the collected
books of the Old and New Testaments is not
to be traced further back than the 5th cen
tury of our era. — II. The existence of a col
lection of sacred books recognised as autho
ritative, leads naturally to a more or less
systematic arrangement. The Prologue to
Ecclesiasticus mentions " the law and the
prophets and the other Books." In the N. T.
there is the same kind of recognition. " The
Law and the Trophets " is the shorter (Matt,
xi. 13, xxii. 40 ; Acts xiii. 15, &c.) ; "the
Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (Luke
xxiv. 44), the fuller statement of the division
popularly recognised. The arrangement of
the books of the Hebrew text under these
three heads, requires however a further notice
— 1. The Law, containing Genesis, Exodus,, vl
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, natu
rally continued to occupy the position which
it must have held from the first as the most
ancient and authoritative portion. In the
Hebrew classification the titles were taken -
from the initial words, or prominent words
in the initial verse ; in that of the LXX.
they were intended to be significant of the
subject of each book. — 2. The next groap
presents a more singular combination. The
arrangement stands as follows : — r Josiiua.
rider J Judges.
±iWer  i 1 & 2 Samuel
W£ Sitings,,
( Greater . . . . \ Jeremiah.
Later  j t ( Ezekiel.
| f The twelve
[ Lesser. ...,.< minor
V I Prophets.
— the Hebrew titles of these books correspond
ing to those of the English bibles.— 3. Last
in order came the group known to the Jews
as Cethubim, including the remaining books

BIBLE

75

BIRTH-DAYS

of the Hebrew Canon, arranged in tbe follow
ing order, and with subordinate divisions :
(a) Psalms, Proverbs, Job. (b) The Song of
Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes,
Esther— the five rolls, (c) Daniel, Ezra,
Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles. — The history
of the arrangement of the Books of the New
Testament presents some variations, not with
out interest, as indicating differences of feel
ing or modes of thought. The four Gospels
and the Acts of the Apostles uniformly stand
first. They are so far to the New what the
Pentateuch was to the Old Testament. The
position of the Acts as an intermediate book,
the sequel to the Gospels, the prelude to the
Epistles, was obviously a natural one. After
this we meet with some striking differences.
The order in the Alexandrian, Vatican and
Ephraem MSS. (ABC) gives precedence to
the Catholic Epistles, and this would appear
to have been characteristic of the Eastern
Churches. The Western Church on the other
hand, as represented by Jerome, Augustine,
and their successors, gave priority of position
to the Pauline Epistles. The Apocalypse, as
might be expected from the peculiar cha
racter of its contents, occupied a position by
itself. — III. Division into Chapters and
Verses. — The Hebrew of the Old Testament.
It is hardly possible to conceive of the litur
gical use of the books of the Old Testament,
without some kind of recognised division.
The references however in Mark xii. 26 and
Luke xx. 37, Rom. xi. 2 and Acts viii. 32,
indicate a division which had become familiar,
and show that some at least of the sections
were known popularly by the titles taken
from their subjects. In like manner the ex
istence of a cycle of lessons is indicated by
Luke iv. 17 ; Acts xiii. 15, xv. 21 ; 2 Cor.
iii. 14. The Talmudic division is on the
•following plan. The Law was in the first
instance divided into fifty-four Parshioth,
or sections, so as to provide a lesson for each
Sabbath in the Jewish intercalary year.
Co-existing with this there was a subdivi
sion into lesser Parshioth. A different ter
minology was employed for the Elder and
Later Prophets, and the division was less
uniform. The name of the sections in this
case was Haphtaroth. Of the traditional di
visions of the Hebrew Bible, however, that
which has exercised most influence in the
received arrangement of the text, was the
subdivision of the larger sections into verses
(Pemkim). These do not appear to have
been used till the post-Talmudic recension of
the text by the Masoretes of the 9th century.
The chief facts that remain to be stated as
to the verse division of the Old Testament
are, that it was adopted by Stephens in his

edition of the Vulgate, 1555, and by Frellon
in that of 1556 ; that it appeared for the first
time in an English translation, in the Geneva
Bible of 1560, and was thence transferred to
the Bishops' Bible of 1568, and the Authorised
Version of 161 1. With the New Testament,
the division into chapters adopted by Hugh
de St. Cher superseded those that had been
in use previously, appeared in the early edi
tions of the Vulgate, was transferred to the
English Bible by Coverdale, and so became
universal. As to the division into verses,
the absence of an authoritative standard left
more scope to the individual discretion of
editors or printers, and the activity of the two
Stephenses caused that which they adopted
in their numerous editions of the Greek Tes
tament and Vulgate to be generally received.
In the Preface to the Concordance, published
by Henry Stephens, 1594, he gives an account
of the origin of this division. The whole work
was accomplished "inter equitandum" on
his journey from Paris to Lyons. While it
was in progress men doubted of its success.
No sooner was it known than it met with
universal acceptance. The edition in which
this division was first adopted was published
in 1 5 5 1 . It was used for tbe English version
published in Geneva in 1560, and from that
time, with slight variations in detail, has
been universally recognised.
BID'KAR, Jehu's " captain," originally
his fellow-officer (2 K. ix. 25) ; who com
pleted the sentence on Jehoram sou of Ahab.
BIG'THAN and BIG'THANA, an eunuch
(chamberlain, A. V.) in the court of Aha
suerus, one of those " who kept the door "
and conspired with Teresh against the king's
life (Esth. ii, 21). The conspiracy was de
tected by Mordecai.
BIK'ATH-AVEN, Amos i. 5 marg. [Aven 1 .]
BIL'DAD, the second of Job's three friends.
He is called "the Shuhite," which implies
both his family and nation (Job ii. 11).
BIL'HAH, handmaid of Rachel (Gen. xxix.
29), and concubine of Jacob, to whom she
bore Dan and Naphtali (Gen. xxx. 3-8, xxxv.
25, xlvi. 25 ; 1 Chr. vii. 13). [Reuben.]
BIRDS. [Sparrow.]
BIR'SHA, king of Gomorrha at the time of
the invasion of Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv. 2).
BIRTH-DAYS. The custom of observing
birthdays is very ancient (Gen. xl. 20 ; Jer.
xx. 15) ; and in Job i. 4, &c, we read that
Job's sons " feasted every one his day." In
Persia they were celebrated with peculiar
honours and banquets, and in Egypt the
king's birthdays were kept with great pomp.
It is very probable that in Matt. xiv. 6, the
feast to commemorate Herod's accession is in
tended, for we know that such feasts were

BIRTHRIGHT

76

BITHYNIA

common, and were called " the day of the
king" (Hos. vii. 5).
BIRTHRIGHT. The advantages accruing
to the eldest son were not definitely fixed in
patriarchal times. Great respect was paid to
him in the household, and, as the family
widened into a tribe, this grew into a sus
tained authority, undefined save by custom,
in all matters of common interest. Thus the
" princes " of the congregation had probably
rights of primogeniture (Num. vii. 2, xxi.
18, xxv. 14). A "double portion" of the
paternal property was allotted by the Mosaic
law (Deut. xxi. 15-17). The first-born of the
king was his successor by law (2 Chr. xxi. 3} ;
David, however, by divine appointment, ex
cluded Adonijah in favour of Solomon.
BISHOP. This word, applied in the N. T.
to the officers of the Church who were charged
with certain functions of superintendencej
had been in use before as a title of office.
When the organisation of the Christian
churches in Gentile cities involved the as
signment of the work of pastoral superin
tendence to a distinct order, the title bishop
(e7rio-KOjros) presented itself as at once conve
nient and familiar, and was therefore adopted
as readily as the word elder (npeo-^vrepo^) had
been in the mother church of Jerusalem.
That the two titles were originally equivalent
is clear from the following facts. — 1. Bishops
and elders are nowhere named together as
being orders distinct from each other. — 2.
Bishops and deacons are named as apparently
an exhaustive division of the officers of the
church addressed by St. Paul as an apostle
(Phil. i. 1 ; 1 Tim. i. 1, 8).— 3. The same
persons are described by both names (Acts
xx. 17, 18; Tit. i. 5, 8).— 4. Elders dis
charge functions which are essentially epis
copal, i. e. involving pastoral superintendence
(1 Tim. v. 17 ; 1 Pet. v. I, 2).— Assuming as
proved the identity of the bishops and elders
of the N. T. we have to inquire into — 1. The
relation which existed between the two titles.
2. The functions and mode of appointment of
the men to whom both titles were applied.
3. Their relations to the general government
and discipline of the Church.— I. There can
be no doubt that elders had the priority in
order of time. The order itself is recognised
in Acts xi. 30, and in Acts xv. 2. The ear
liest use of " bishops," on the other hand, is
in the address of St. Paul to the elders of
Miletus (Acts xx. 28), and there it is lather
descriptive of functions than given as a
title. — II. Of the order in which the first
elders were appointed, as of the occasion
which led to the institution of the office, we
have no record. Arguing from the analogy
of the Seven in Acts vi. 5, 6, it would seem

probable that they were chosen by the mem
bers of the Church collectively, and then set
apart to their office by the laying on of the
apostles' hands. In the case of Timothy;
(1 Tim. iv. 14; 2 Tim. i. 6) the "pres
byters," probably the body of the elders at
Lystra, had taken part with the apostle in
this act of ordination. The conditions which
were to be observed in choosing these officers,
as stated in the pastoral epistles, are, blame
less life and reputation among those "that
are without " as well as within the Church,
fitness for the work of teaching, the wide
kindliness or temper which shows itself in
hospitality, the being " the husband of one
wife " (i. e. according to the most probable
interpretation, not divorced and then married
to another), showing powers of government
in his own household as well as in self-control,
not being a recent and, therefore, an untried
convert. When appointed, the duties of the
bishop-elders appear to have been as follows :
— 1. General superintendence over the spi
ritual well-being of the flock (1 Pet. v. 2).
2. The work of teaching, both publicly and
privately (1 Thess. v. 12 ; Tit. i. 9 ; 1 Tim.
v. 17). 3. The work of visiting the sick ap
pears in Jam. v. 14, as assigned to the elders
of the Church. 4. Among other acts of cha
rity that of receiving strangers occupied a
conspicuous place (1 Tim. iii. 2 ; Tit. i. 8).
The mode in which these officers of the
Church were supported or remunerated varied
probably in different cities. Collectively at
Jerusalem, and probably in other churches,
the body of bishop-elders took part in deli
berations (Acts xv. 6-22, xxi. 18), addressed
other churches (ibid. xv. 23), were joined
with the apostles in the work of ordaining
by the laying on of hands (2 Tim. i. 6). —
III. It is clear from what has been said that
episcopal functions in the modern sense of
the words, as implying a special superin
tendence over the ministers of the Church,
belonged only to the apostles and those whom
they invested with their authority.
BITHI'AH, daughter of a Pharaoh, and wife
of Mered, a descendant of Judah (1 Chr. iv. 18),
BITHR'ON (more accurately " the Bith-
ron"), a place, doubtless a district in the
Jordan valley, on the east side of the river
(2 Sam. ii. 29).
BITHVN'IA. This province of Asia Minor
is mentioned only in Acts xvi. 7, and in
1 Pet. i. 1. Bithynia, considered as a Roman
province, was on the west contiguous to Asia.
On the east its limits underwent great modi
fications. The province was originally inhe
rited by the Roman republic (b.c 74) as a
legacy from Nicomedes III. The chief town
of Bithynia was Nicaea, celebrated for the

BITTER HERBS

77

BLOOD, REVENGER OF

general Council of the Church held there in
a.d. 325 against the Arian heresy.
BITTER HERBS. The Israelites were com
manded to eat the Paschal lamb " with un-
leavenedbrcadand with bitter herbs" (Ex. xii.
8) . These may well be understood to denote
various sorts of bitter plants, such particularly
as belong to the crueiferae, as some of the bitter
cresses, or to the chicory group of the compo-
sitae, the hawkweeds, and sow-thistles, and
wild lettuces which grow abundantly in the
Peninsula of Sinai, in Palestine, and in
Egypt. BITTERN. The Hebrew word has been
the subject of various interpretations. Phi
lological arguments appear to be rather in
favour of the "hedgehog" or "porcupine,"
for the Hebrew word kippod appears to be
identical with kunfud, the Arabic word for
the hedgehog ; but zoologically, the hedgehog
or porcupine is quite out of the question.
The word occurs in Is. xiv. 23, xxxiv. 11 ;
Zeph. ii. 14, and we are inclined to believe
that the A. V. is correct. The bittern (Bo-
taurus stellaris) belongs to the Ardeidae, the
heron family of birds.

Bittern (JSotaurus ttellarts).
BLAINS, violent ulcerous inflammations,
the sixth plague of Egypt (Ex. ix. 9, 10),
and hence called in Deut. xxviii. 27, 35,
"the botch of Egypt." It Beems to have
been the black leprosy, a fearful kind of
elephantiasis.

BLASPHEMY, in its technical English
sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, and
in this sense it is found Ps. lxxiv. 18 ; Is.
Hi. 5 ; Rom. ii. 24, &c. But according to its
derivation it may mean any species of ca
lumny and abuse : see 1 K. xxi. 10 ; Acts
xviii. 6 ; Jude 9, &c. Blasphemy was pu
nished with stoning,, which was inflicted on
the son of Shelomith (Lev. xxiv. 11). On
this charge both our Lord and St. Stephen
were condemned to death by the Jews. It
only remains to speak of " the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost," which has been so
fruitful a theme for speculation and contro
versy (Matt. xii. 32 ; Mark iii. 28). It con
sisted in attributing to the power of Satan
those unquestionable miracles, which Jesus
performed by "the finger of God," and the
power of the Holy Spirit.
BLAS'TUS, the chamberlain of Herod
Agrippa I. (Acts xii. 20).
BLINDNESS is extremely common in the
East from many causes. Blind beggars figure
repeatedly in the N. T. (Matt. xii. 22), and
"opening the eyes of the blind" is men
tioned in prophecy as a peculiar attribute of
the Messiah (Is. xxix. 18, &c). The Jews
were specially charged to treat the blind
with compassion and care (Lev. xix. 14 ;
Deut. xxvii. 18). Blindness wilfully inflicted
for political or other purposes is alluded to
in Scripture (1 Sam. xi. 2 ; Jer. xxxix. 7).
BLOOD, ISSUE OF. The menstruous dis
charge, or the fiuxus uteri (Lev. xv. 19-30;
Matt. ix. 20 ; Mark v. 25, and Luke viii. 43).
The latter caused a permanent legal unclean-
ness, the former a temporary one, mostly for
seven days ; after which the woman was to
be purified by the customary offering.
BLOOD, REVENGER OF. It was, and
even still is, a common practice among
nations of patriarchal habits, that the nearest
of kin should, as a matter of duty, avenge
the death of a murdered relative. Compen
sation for murder is allowed by the Koran.
Among the Bedouins, and other Arab tribes,
should the offer of blood-money be refused,
the ' Thar,' or law of blood, comes into
operation, and any person within the fifth
degree of blood from the homicide may be
legally killed by any one within the same
degree of consanguinity to the victim. The
right to blood-revenge is never lost, except
as annulled by compensation : it descends to
the latest generation. The law of Moses
was very precise in its directions on the
subject of Retaliation. — 1. The wilful mur
derer was to be put to death without per
mission of compensation. The nearest re
lative of the deceased became the authorised
avenger of blood (Num. xxxv- 19). 2. The

BOANERGES

78

BRASS

law of retaliation was not to extend beyond
the immediate offender (Deut. xxiv. 16 ;
2 K. xiv. 6 ; 2 Chr. xxv. 4 ; Jer. xxxi. 29,
30 ; Ezek. xviii. 20). — 3. The involuntary
shedder of blood was permitted to take flight
to one of six Levitical cities, specially ap
pointed as cities of refuge (Num. xxxv.
22, 23; Deut. xix. 4-6).
BOANER'GES, a name signifying " sons
of thunder," given by our Lord to the two
6ons of Zebedee, James and John (Mark iii.
17). See Luke ix. 54 ; Mark ix. 38 ; comp.
Matt. xx. 20, &c.
BOAR. [Swine.]
BO'AZ. 1. A wealthy Bethlehemite, kins
man to Elimelech, the husband of Naomi.
He married Ruth, and redeemed the estates
of her deceased husband Mahlon (iv. 1 ff.).
Boaz is mentioned in the genealogy of Christ
(Matt. i. 5), but there is great difficulty in
assigning his date.— 2. Boaz, the name of
one of Solomon's brazen pillars erected in the
temple porch. [Jachin.] It stood on the
left, and was 18 cubits high (1 K. vii. 15,
21 ; 2 Chr. iii. 15 ; Jer. Iii. 21).
BO'HAN, a Reubenite, after whom a stone
was named. Its position was on the border
of the territories of Benjamin and Judah
(Josh. xv. 6, xviii. 17).
BOOTY consisted of captives of both sexes,
cattle, and whatever a captured city might
contain, especially metallic treasures. Within
the limits of Canaan no captives were to be
made (Deut. xx. 14 and 16); beyond these
limits, in case of waiiike resistance, all the
women and children were to be made cap
tives, and the men put to death. The law
of booty is given in Num. xxxi. 26-47. As
regarded the army David added a regulation
that the baggage guard should share equally
with the troops engaged (1 Sam. xxx. 24,
25). BOTTLE. 1. The skin bottle; 2. The
bottle of earthen or glass- ware, both of them
capable of being closed from the air. — 1. The
Arabs keep their water, milk, and other
liquors, in leathern bottles. These are made
of goatskins. When the animal is killed they
cut off its feet and its head, and they draw it
in this manner out of the skin, without opening
its belly. The great leathern bottles are
made of the skin of a hc-goat, and the small
ones, that serve instead of a bottle of water
on the road, are made of a kid's skin. The
effect of external heat upon a skin-bottle is
indicated in Ps. cxix. 83, "a bottle in the
smoke," and of expansion produced by fer
mentation in Matt. ix. 17, " new wine in old
bottles." — 2. Vessels of metal, earthen, or
glass ware for liquids were in u?e among the
Greeks, Egyptians, Etruscans, and Assyrians,

and also no doubt among the Jews, especially
in later times. Thus Jer. xix. 1, " a potter's
earthen bottle." The Jews probably bor
rowed their manufactures in this particular
from Egypt.

Skin Bottles. (From the Museo Borbonico.)
BOX-TREE. The Heb. teasshur occurs in
Is. xii. 19, lx. 13. The Talmudical and
Jewish writers generally are of opinion that
the box-tree is intended. Box-wood writing
tablets are alluded to in 2 Esdr. xiv. 24.
BO'Z EZ, one of the two sharp rocks be
tween the passages by which Jonathan entered
the Philistine garrison. It seems to have
been that on the north (1 Sam. xiv. 4, 5).
BOZ'RAH. 1. In Edom — the city of Jobab
the son of Zerah, one of the early kings of
that nation (Gen. xxxvi. 33 ; 1 Chr. i. 44).
This is doubtless the place mentioned in later
times by Isaiah (xxxiv. 6, lxiii. 1) in con
nexion with Edom, and by Jeremiah (xlix.
13, 22), Amos (i. 12), and Micah (ii. 12).
There is no reason to doubt that its modern
representative is el-Busaireh, which lies on
the mountain district to the S. E. of the Dead
Sea. — 2. In his catalogue of the cities of the
land of Moab, Jeremiah (xlviii. 24) mentions
a Bozrah as in " the plain country" (ver.
21, i. e. the high level downs on the east of
the Dead Sea).
BRACELET. [See Armlet.] Bracelets of
fine twisted Venetian gold are still common
in Egypt. In Gen. xxxviii. 18, 25, the word
rendered "bracelet" means probably "a
string by which a seal-ring was suspended."
Men as well as women wore bracelets, as we
see from Cant. v. 14. Layard says of the
Assyrian kings : " The arms were encircled
by armlets, and the wrists by bracelets."

Assyrian Bracelet Clasp. (Xineveh Marbles.)
BRAMBLE. [Thorns.]
BRASS. The word nechdshetk is impro
perly translated by " brass." In most places

>[¦¦¦ 6

BRAZEN-SERPENT

79

BRIDGE

of the 0. T. the correct translation would be
copper, although it may sometimes possibly
mean bronze, a compound of copper and tin.
Indeed a simple metal was obviously intended,
as we see from Deut. viii. 9, xxxii. 25, and
Job xxviii. 2. Copper was known at a very
early period (Gen. iv. 22). The word x<iA-
koai'jWoc in Rev. i. 15, ii. 18 (A. V. "fine
brass "), has excited much difference of opi
nion. Some suppose it to have been orichal-
cum, which was so rare as to be more valuable
than gold.
BRAZEN-SERPENT. [Serpent.]
BREAD. The preparation of bread as an
article of food dates from a very early period :
the earliest undoubted instance of its use is
found in Gen. xviii. 6. The corn or grain
employed was of various sorts : the best bread
was made of wheat, which after being ground
produced the "flour" or "meal" (Judg. vi.
19 ; 1 Sam. i. 24 ; 1 K. iv. 22, xvii. 12, 14),
and when sifted the " fine flour " (Ex. xxix.
2 ; Gen. xviii. 6) usually employed in the
sacred offerings (Ex. xxix. 40 ; Lev. ii. 1 ;
Ez. xlvi. 14), and in the meals of the wealthy
(1 K. iv. 22 ; 2 K. vii. 1 ; Ez. xvi. 13, 19 ;
Rev. xviii. 13). "Barley" was used only
by the very poor (John vi. 9, 13), or in times
of scarcity (Ruth iii. 15, compared with i. 1 ;
2 K. iv. 38, 42 ; Rev. vi. 6). " Spelt" was
also used both in Egypt (Ex. ix. 32) and
Palestine (Is. xxviii. 25 ; Ez. iv. 9 ; 1 K.
xix. 6). The bread taken by persons on a
journey (Gen. xiv. 23, Josh. ix. 12) was
probably a kind of biscuit. The process of
making bread was as follows : — the flour was

Egyptians kneading dough with tlieir hands.
(Wilkinson, from a painting in the Tomb of liamcses IIL
at Thebes.)
first mixed with water, or perhaps milk ; it
was then kneaded with the hands (in Egypt
with the feet also) in a small wooden bowl
or " kneading-trough " until it became dough
(Ex. xii. 34, 39 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 3 ; Jer. vii. 18 ;
Hos. vii. 4). When the kneading was com

pleted, leaven was generally added [Leaven] :
but when the time for preparation was short,
it was omitted, and unleavened cakes, hastily
baked, were eaten, as is still the prevalent
custom among tho Bedouins (Gen. xviii. 6,
xix. 3 ; Ex. xii. S9 ; Judg. vi. 19 ; 1 Sam.
xxviii. 24). The leavened mass was allowed
to stand for some time (Matt. xiii. 33 ; Luke
xiii. 21). The dough was then divided into
round cakes (Ex. xxix. 23 ; Judg. vii. 13,
viii. 5 ; 1 Sam. x. 3 ; Prov. vi. 26), not un
like flat stones in shape and appearance
(Matt. vii. 9 ; comp. iv. 3), about a span in
diameter and a finger's breadth in thickness.
In the towns where professional bakers re
sided, there were no doubt fixed ovens, in
shape and size resembling those in use among
ourselves : but more usually each household
possessed a portable oven, consisting of a
stone or metal jar about three feet high,
which was heated inwardly with wood (1 K.
xvii. 12 ; Is. xliv. 15 ; Jer. vii. 18) or dried
grass and flower-stalks (Matt. vi. 30).
BRICK. Herodotus (i. 179), describing
the mode of building the walls of Babylon,
says that the clay dug out of the ditch was
made into bricks as soon as it was carried up,
and burnt in kilns. The bricks were ce
mented with hot bitumen, and at every thir
tieth row crates of reeds were stuffed in
(comp. Gen. xi. 3). The Babylonian bricks
were more commonly burnt in kilns than
those used at Nineveh, which are chiefly sun-
dried like the Egyptian. They are usually
from 12 to 13 in. square, and 3^ in. thick.
They thus possess more of the character of
tiles (Ez. iv. 1). The Israelites, in common
with other captives, were employed by the
Egyptian monarchs in making bricks and in
building (Ex. i. 14, v. 7). Egyptian bricks
were not generally dried in kilns, but in the
sun. When made of the Nile mud, they re
quired straw to prevent cracking ; and crude
brick walls had frequently the additional se
curity of a layer of reeds and sticks, placed
at intervals to act as binders. A brick pyra
mid is mentioned by Herodotus (ii. 136) as
the work of King Asychis. The Jews learned
the art of brick-making in Egypt, and we
find the use of the brick-kiln in David's time
(2 Sam. xii. 31), and a complaint made by
Isaiah that the people built altars of brick
instead of unhewn stone as the law directed
(Is. lxv. 3 ; Ex. xx. 25).
BRIDGE. The only mention of a bridge
in the Canonical Scriptures is indirectly in
the proper name Geshur, a district in Bashan,
N.E. of the sea of Galilee. At this place a
bridge still exists, called the bridge of the
sons of Jacob. Judas Maccabaeus is said to
have intended to make a bridge in order to

BRIGANDINE

HO

BURNT-OFFERING

besiege the town of Casphor or Caspis, situate
near a lake (2 Mace. xii. 13). The Romans
were the first constructors of arched bridges.
The bridge connecting the Temple with the
upper city, of which Josephus speaks, seems
to have been an arched viaduct.
BRIGANDINE, Jer. xlvi. 4 ; elsewhere
" habergeon," or " coat of mail."
BRIMSTONE- The Hebrew word is con
nected with gopher, "gopher-wood," A. V.
Gen. vi. 14, and probably signified in the
first instance the gum or resin that exuded
from that tree ; hence it was transferred to all
inflammable substances, and especially to
sulphur, which is found in considerable quan
tities on the shores of the Dead Sea (Gen.
xix, 24).
BROTHER. The Hebrew word is used in
various senses in the O. T. as 1. Any kins
man, and not a mere brother ; e. g. nephew
(Gen. xiv. 16, xiii. 8), husband (Cant. iv. 9).
2. One of the same tribe (2 Sam. xix. 13).
3. Of the same people (Ex. ii. 14), or even of
a cognate people (Num. xx. 14). 4. An ally
(Am. i. 9). 5. Any friend (Job v. 15). 6.
One of the same office (1 K. ix. 13). 7. A
fellow man (Lev. xix. 17). 8. Metaphoric
ally of any similarity, as in Job xxx. 19.
The word aSektyos has a similar range of
meanings in the N. T.
BUL. [Months.]
BULL, BULLOCK, terms used synonym
ously with ox, oxen, in the A. V. as the
representatives of several Hebrew words.
Bdkar, the most common, is properly a ge
neric name for horned cattle when of full
age and fit for the plough. Accordingly it
is variously rendered bullock (Is. lxv. 25),
cow (Ez. iv. 15), oxen (Gen. xii. 16). In Is.
li. 20, the " wild bull " (" wild ox " in Deut.
xiv. 5) was possibly one of the larger species
of antelope, and took its name from its swift
ness. Dr. Robinson mentions large herds of
black and almost hairless buffaloes as still
existing in Palestine, and these may be the
animal indicated.
BURIAL, SEPULCHRES, TOMBS. On
this subject we have to notice : 1. the place
of burial, its site and shape ; 2. the mode of
burial ; 3. the prevalent notions regarding
this duty. — 1. A natural cave enlai-ged and
adapted by excavation, or an artificial imita
tion of one, was the standard type of sepulchre.
This was what the structure of the Jewish
soil supplied or suggested. Sepulchres, when
the owner's means permitted it, were com
monly prepared beforehand, and stood often
in gardens, by roadsides, or even adjoining
houses. Kings and prophets alone were pro
bably buried within towns (1 K. ii. 10, xvi.
6, 28; 2 K. x. 35, xiii. 9 ; 2 Chr. xvi. 14,

xxviii. 27 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3). Sarah's
tomb and Rachel's seem to have been chosen
merely from the accident of the place of
death ; but the successive interments at the
former (Gen. xlix. 31) are a chronicle of the
strong family feeling among the Jews. Cities
soon became populous and demanded ceme
teries (Ez. xxxix. 15), which were placed
without the walls. Sepulchres were marked
sometimes by pillars, as that of Rachel, or
by pyramids as those of the Asmoneans at
Modin. Such as were not otherwise notice-
able were scrupulously " whited " (Matt.
xxiii. 27) once a year, after tbe rains before
the passover, to warn passers by of defile
ment. — 2. "The manner of the Jews" in
cluded the use of spices, where they conld
command the means. Thus Asa lay in a
" bed of spices " (2 Chr. xvi. 11). A portion
of these were burnt in honour of the deceased,
and to this use was probably destined part of
the 100 pounds weight of " myrrh and aloes"
in our Lord's case. In no instance, save
that of Saul and his sons, were the bodies
burned ; and even then the bones were in
terred, and re-exhumed for solemn entomb
ment. It was the office of the next of kin to
perform and preside over the whole funereal
office ; but a company of public buriers, ori
ginating in an exceptional necessity (Ez. \
xxxix. 12-14), had become, it seems, cus
tomary in the times of the N. T. (Acts v.
6, 10). The bier, the word for which in the
O. T. is the same as that rendered "bed."
was borne by the nearest relatives. The
grave-clothes were probably of the fashion
worn in life, but swathed and fastened with
bandages, and the head covered separately. — j
3. The precedent of Jacob's and Joseph's re- V|
mains being returned to the land of Canaan *
was followed, in wish at least, by every pions '•
Jew. Following a similar notion, some ol
the Rabbins taught that only in that? land
could those who were buried obtain a share
in the resurrection which was to usher in
Messiah's reign on earth. Tombs were, in
popular belief, led by the same teaching,
invested with traditions.
BURNT-OFFERING. The word is applied
to the offering, which was wholly consumed
by fire on the altar, and the whole of which,
except the refuse ashes, "ascended" in the
smoke to God. The bumt-offering is first
named in Gen. viii. 20, as offered after the
Flood. Throughout the whole of the Book
of Genesis (see xv. 9, 17, xxii. 2, 7, 8, 13)
it appears to be the only sacrifice referred to ;
afterwards it became distinguished as one of
the regular classes of sacrifice under the
Mosaic law. The meaning of the whole
burnt- offering was that which is the original

0A13SARF.A.

BUSH

81

CAIN

idea of all sacrifice, the offering by the sacri-
ficer of himself, soul and body, to God, the
submission of his will to the Will of the
Lord. The ceremonies of the burnt-offering
are given in detail in the Book of Leviticus.
There were, as public burnt-offerings —
1st. Tlie daily burnt-offering (Ex. xxix. 38-
42 ; Num. xviii. 3-8). 2ndly. Tlie Sabbath
burnt-offering (Num. xxviii. 9, 10). 3rdly.
The offering at the new moon, at the three
great festivals, the great Day of Atonement,
and feast of trumpets. (See Num. xxviii. 11-
xxix. 39). Private burnt-offerings were ap
pointed at the consecration of priests (Ex.
xxxix. 15 ; Lev. viii. 18, ix. 12), at the puri
fication of women (Lev. xii. 6, 8), at the
cleansing of the lepers (Lev. xiv. 19), and
removal of other ceremonial uncleanness (xv.
15, 30), on any accidental breach of the Na-
zaritic vow, or at its conclusion (Num. vi. ;
comp. Acts xxi. 26), &c. But freewill burnt-
offerings were offered and accepted by God
on any solemn occasions (Num. vii. ; 1 K.
viii. 64).
BUSH. The Hebrew word shieh occurs
only in those passages which refer to Jeho
vah's appearance to Moses " in the flame of
fire in the bush" (Ex. iii. 2, 3, 4 ; Deut.
xxxiii. 16). Celsius has argued in favour of
the Rubus vulgaris, i. e. R. fruticoms, the
bramble or blackberry bush. Sprengel iden
tifies the slneh with what he terms the
Rubits sanctus, and says it grows abundantly
near Sinai. It is quite impossible to say
what kind of thorn bush is intended.
BUTTER, curdled milk (Gen. xviii. 8 ;
Deut. xxxii. 14 ; Judg. v. 25 ; Job xx. 17),
Milk is generally offered to travellers in Pa
lestine in a curdled or sour state, lllebben,"
thick, almost like butter. Hasselquist de
scribes the method of making butter employed
by the Arab women : " they made butter in a
leather bag, hung on three poles erected for
the purpose, in the form of a cone, and drawn
to and fro by two women."
BUZ, the second son of Milcah and Nahor
(Gen. xxii. 21). Elihu "the Buzite " was
probably a descendant of Buz.

pAB. [Measures.]
CA BUL, a place named as one of the land
marks on the boundary of Asher (Josh. xix.
27).^ It may fairly be considered as still exist
ing in the modern Kabul, 8 or 9 miles east of
Ahka, and about the same distance from Jefat.
CAE'SAR, always in the N. T. the Roman
emperor, the sovereign of Judaea fJohn xix.
12, 15; Acts xvii. 7).
Sm. D. B.

CAESARE'A (Acts viii. 40, ix. 30, x. 1,
24, xi. 11, xii. 19, xviii. 22, xxi. 8, 16,
xxiii. 23, 33, xxv. 1, 4, 6,' 13), was situated
on the coast of Palestine, on the line of the
great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about
half way between Joppa and Dora. The
distance from Jerusalem was about 70 miles ;
Josephus states it in round numbers as 600
stadia. In Strabo's time there was on this
point of the coast merely a town called
" Strato's tower " with a landing-place, where
as, in the time of Tacitus, Caesarea is spoken
of as being the head of Judaea. It was in
this interval that the city was built by Herod
the Great. It was the official residence of
the Herodian kings, and of Festus, Felix,
and the other Roman procurators of Judaea.
Caesarea continued to be a city of some im
portance even in the time of the Crusades,
and the name still lingers on the site (Kaisa-
riyeh) .
CAESARE'A PHILIP'PI is mentioned
only in the two first Gospels (Matt. xvi. 13 ;
Mark viii. 27) and in accounts of the same
transactions. It was at the easternmost and
most important of the two recognised sources
of the Jordan, the other being at Tel-el-Kadi.
The spring rises, and the city was built, on a
limestone terrace in a valley at the base of
Mount Hermon. Caesarea Philippi has no
O. T. history, though it has been not unrea
sonably identified with Baal-Gad. There is
no difficulty in identifying it with the Pa-
?i turn of Josephus. Panium became part of
the territory of Philip, tetrarch of Tracho-
nitis, who enlarged and embellished the town,
and called it Caesarea Philippi, partly after his
own name, and partly after that of the em
peror. It is still called Banias.
CAGE. The term so rendered in Jer. v.
27, is more properly a trap, in which de
coy birds were placed (comp. Ecclus. xi. 30).
In Rev. xviii. 2, the Greek term means a
prison. CAI'APHAS, in full Joseph Caiaphas,
high-priest of the Jews under Tiberius (Matt.
xxvi. 3, 57 ; John xi. 49, xviii. 13, 14, 24,
28; Acts iv. 6). The Procurator Valerius
Gratus appointed him to the dignity. He
was son-in-law of Annas. [Annas.]
CAIN. The historical facts in the life of
Cain, as recorded in Gen. iv. are briefly
these : — He was the eldest son of Adam and
Eve ; he followed the business of agriculture ;
in a fit of jealousy, roused by the rejection of
his own sacrifice and the acceptance of AbelV,
he committed the crime of murder, for which
he was expelled from Eden, and led the life
of an exile ; he settled in the land of Nod,
and built a city which he named after his son
Enoch ; his descendants are enumerated, to-
G

CAINAN

SLJ

CALF

gethcr with the inventions for which they
were remarkable.
CAI'NAN. 1. Son of Enos, aged 70 years
when he begat Mahalaleel his son. He lived
840 years afterwards, and died aged 910
(Gen. v. 9-14). — 3. Son of Arphaxad, and
father of Sala, according to Luke iii. 35, 36,
and usually called the second Cainan. He is
also found in the present copies of the LXX.,
but is nowhere named in the Hebrew MSS.
It seems certain that his name was intro
duced into the genealogies of the Greek O. T.
in order to bring them into harmony with
the genealogy of Christ in St. Luke's Gospel.
CA'LAH, one of the most ancient cities of
Assyria (Gen. x. 11). The site of Calah is
probably marked by the Nimrud ruins. If
this be regarded as ascertained, Calah must
be considered to have been at one time (about
B.c. 930-720} the capital of the empire.
CALAMUS. [Reed.]
CALDRON, a vessel for boiling flesh,
either for ceremonial or domestic use (2 Chr.
xxxv. 13; I Sam. ii. 14; Mic. iii. 3; Job
xii. 20).

Bronze caldron from Egyptian Thebes. (Brit. Mus.)
CA'LEB. 1. According to 1 Chr. ii. 9,
18, 19, 42, 50, the son of Hezron, the son of
Pharez, the son of Judah, and the father of
Hur by Ephrath or Ephratah, and conse
quently grandfather of Caleb the spy. — 2. Son
of Jephunneh, by which patronymic the illus
trious spy is usually designated (Num. xiii.
6, and ten other places), with the addition of
that of *' the Kenezite," or " son of Kenaz,"
in Num. xxxii. 12 ; Josh. xiv. 6, 14. Caleb
is first mentioned in the list of the rulers or
princes who were sent to search the land of
Canaan in the second year of the Exodus.
He and Oshea or Joshua the son of Nun
were the only two of the whole number who
encouraged the people to enter in boldly to the
land, and take possession of it. Forty-five
years afterwards, Caleb came to Joshua and
claimed possession of the land of the Anakims,
Kirjath-Arba, or Hebron, and the neighbour
ing hill country (Josh. xiv.). This was im

mediately granted to him, and the following;
chapter relates how he took possession!, of
Hebron, driving out tbe three sons of Anak;
and how he offered Achsah his daughter in
marriage to whoever would take Kirjath-
Sepher, i. e. Debir ; and how when OthnieL
his younger brother, had performed the feat,
he not only gave him his daughter to wife,,
but with her the upper and nether springs of
water which she asked for. It is probable
that Caleb was a foreigner by birth ; a pro
selyte, incorporated into the tribe of Judah,, a
CALF. In Ex. xxxii. 4, we are told that
Aaron, constrained by the people in the ab
sence of Moses, made a molten calf of the
golden earrings of the people, to represent
the Elohim which brought Israel out of Egypt
Probably it was a wooden figure laminated
with gold, a process which is known to have
existed in Egypt. " A gilded ox covered
with a pail " was an emblem of Osiris (Wilk
inson, iv. 335). To punish the apostasy Moses
burnt the calf, and then grinding it to powder
scattered it over the water, which he made ;
the people drink. The process which he used
is difficult of explanation. Bochart and So-
senmuller think that he merely cut, groundj
and filed the gold to powder. It has always
been a great dispute respecting this calf and
those of Jeroboam, whether, I. the Jews in
tended them for some Egyptian god, or II.

Bronze Figure of Apis. (Wilkinson.,,
for a mere cherubic symbol of Jehovah. Of
the various sacred cows of Eeypt, those of,
Isis, of Athor, and of the three kinds oH
sacred bulls, Apis, Basis, and Mnevis, Sir G.
Wilkinson fixes on the latter as the prototype
of the golden calf. It seems to us more likely
that in this calf-worship the Jews merely
** Likened their Maker to the graved ox,"
or in other words, adopted a well-understood
cherubic emblem. The calf at Dan-TU

CALNEH

83

CAMPHIRE

carried away by Tiglath-Pileser, and that of
Bethel ten years after by his son Shalmaneser.
¦ :GAL'NEH, or CAL'NO, appears in Genesis
(x. 10) among the cities of Nimrod. Probably
the site is the modern Niffer. In the 8th
century b.c Calneh was taken by one of the
Assyrian kings, and never recovered its pros
perity (Is. x. 9 ; Am. vi. 2).
' CAL'VARY, a word occurring in the A. V.
only in Luke xxiii. 33, and there arising from
the translators having literally adopted the
word cafoaria, i.e. a bare scull, the Vulgate
tendering of Kpaviov, which again is nothing
but the Greek for Golgotha. The popular
expression " Mount Calvary " is not war
ranted by any stateoient in the accounts of
tbe place of our Lord's crucifixion.
CAMEL. It is clear from Gen. xii. 16 that
camels were early known to the Egyptians,
though no representation of this animal has
yet been discovered in the paintings or hiero
glyphics. The Ethiopians had " camels in
abundance" (2 Chr. xiv. 15) ; the queen of
| Sheba came to Jerusalem "with camels that
bare epices and gold and precious stones "
(1 K. x. 2) ; the men of Kedar and of Hazor
possessed camels (Jer. xlix. 29, 32) ; David
took away the camels from the Geshurites and
tbe Amalekites (1 Sam. xxvii. 2, xxx. 17) ;
forty camels' burden of good things were sent
to Elisha by lenhadad king of Syria from

wards (xiii. 12). The camel was used for
riding (Gen. xxiv. 64 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 17) ; aa
a beast of burden generally (Gen. xxxvii. 25 ;
2 K. viii. 9 ; 1 K. x. 2, &c.) ; and for draught
purposes (Is. xxi. 7). From 1 Sam. xxx. 17
we learn that camels were used iii war. John
the Baptist wore a garment made of camel's
hair (Matt. iii. 4 ; Mark i. 6), and some have
supposed that Elijah " was clad in a dress of
the same stuff." Dr. Kitto says " the Arabs
adorn the necks of their camels with a band
of cloth or leather, upon which are strung
small shells called cowries in the form of
half-moons," this very aptly illustrates Judg.
viii, 21, 26. a The species of camel which
was in common use amongst the Jews and
the heathen nations of Palestine was the Ara
bian or one-humped camel (Camelus Ara-
bicus). The dromedary is a swifter animal
than the baggage-camel, and is used chiefly
for riding purposes ; it is merely a finer breed
than the other : the Arabs call it the Heirie.
The speed of the dromedary has been greatly
exaggerated, the Arabs asserting that it is
swifter than the horse ; eight or nine miles
an hour is the utmost it is able to perform ;
this pace, however, it is able to keep up for
hours together.
CA'MON, the p,.ace in which Jair the Judge
was buried (Judg. x. 5).
CAMP. [Encampments.]
CAMPHIRE (Heb. cdpher). There can be

Damascus (2 K. viii. 9) ; the Ishmaelites
trafficked with Egypt in the precious gums
of Gilead, carried on the backs of camels
(Gen. xxxvii. 25) ; the Midianites and the
Amalekites possessed camels "as the sand by
the sea-side for multitude" (Judg. vii. 12) ;
Job -had three thousand camels before his
affliction (Job i. 3), and six thousand after-

inics'iimr alba.

i Trie word erroneously translated '
ii. 10 probably signifies '" mules " of

1 camels " in I
a fine breed.
G 2

CANA

84

CANDLESTICK

no doubt that " camphire " is an incorrect
rendering of the Hebrew term, which occurs
in the sense of some aromatic substance only
in Cant. i. 14, iv. 13. The margin in both
passages has " cypress." The substance really
denoted by cdpher is the Lawsonia alba of
botanists, the henna of Arabian naturalists.
The inhabitants of Nubia call the henna-plant
Khofreh. The henna-plant grows in Egypt,
Syria, Arabia, and N. India. The flowers
are white and grow in clusters and are very
fragrant. The whole shrub is from four to
six feet high. The Lawsonia alba, the only
known species, belongs to the natural order
Luthraceae. CA'NA OF GALILEE, once CANA IN
GALILEE, a village or town not far from
Capernaum, memorable as the scene of Christ's
first miracle (John ii. 1, 11, iv. 46) as well
as of a subsequent one (iv. 46, 54), and also
as the native place of the Apostle Nathanael
(xxi. 2). The traditional site is at Kefr
Kenna, a small village about 4£ miles north
west of Nazareth. The rival site is a village
situated further north, about 5 miles north
of Seffurieh (Sepphoris) and 9 of Nazareth,
near the present Jefat, the Jotapata of the
Jewish wars. This village still bears the
name of Kana-el-jelil. The Gospel history
will not be affected whichever site may be
discovered to be the real one.
CA'NAAN. 1. The fourth son of Ham
(Gen. x. 6 ; 1 Chr. i. 8) ; the progenitor of
the Phoenicians ("Zidon"), and of the va
rious nations who before the Israelite conquest
peopled the sea-coast of Faiestine, and ge
nerally the whole of the country westward of
the Jordan (Gen. x. 13) ; 1 Chr. i. 13). — 2.
The name " Canaan" is sometimes employed
for the country itself. In several passages
the word is concealed in the A, V. by being
translated. These are : Is. xxiii. 8, " traf
fickers," and xxiii. 11, "the merchant city;"
Hos., xii. 7, "He is a merchant;" Zeph. i.
11, "merchant-people."
CA'XAAN, THE LAND OF, lit. " Low
land," a name denoting the country west of
the Jordan and Dead Sea, and between those
waters and the Mediterranean ; specially op
posed to the " land of Gilead," that is the
high table-land on the east of the Jordan. It
is only in later notices, such as Zeph. ii. 5,
and Matt. xv. 22, that we find it applied to
the low maritime plains of Philistia and Phoe
nicia (comp. Mark vii. 26).
CA'NAANITE, THE, the designation of
the Apostle Simon, otherwise known as " Si
mon Zelotcs." It occurs in Matt. x. 4 ; Mark
iii. 18, and is derived from a Chaldee or
Synac word, by which the Jewish sect or
faction of " the Zealots " was designated.

The Greek equivalent is Zelotes (Luke vi. 15;
Actsi. 13).
CA'NAANITES, THE, a word used m two
senses : — 1. a tribe which inhabited a parti-
culai locality of the land west of the Jordan'
before the conquest ; and 2. the people who
inhabited generally the whole of that country.
— 1. For the tribe of "the Canaanites"
only — the dwellers in the lowland. The
whole of the country west of Jordan was a
" lowland " as compared with the loftier and
more extended tracts on the east : but there
was a part of this western country which was
still more emphatically a " lowland." "The
Canaanite dwells by the sea, and by the side
of Jordan" (Num. xiii. 29). In Gen. x. 18-
20 the seats of the Canaanite tribe are given
as on the sea-shore and in the Jordan Valley
(comp. Josh. xi. 3). — 2. Applied as a general
name to the non-Israelite inhabitants of the
land, as we have already seen was the case
with " Canaan." Instances of this are, Gen.
xii. 6 ; Num. xxi. 3 ; Judg. i. 10 ; and Gen.
xiii. 12. See also Gen. xxiv. 3, 37, comp.
xxviii. 2, 6 ; Ex. xiii. 11, comp. 5. Like the
Phoenicians, the Canaanites were probably
given to commerce ; and thus the name be
came probably in later times an occasional
synonym for a merchant (Job xii. 6; Prov.
xxxi. 24; comp. Is. xxiii. 8, 11; Hos. xii.
7; Zeph. i. 11). „
CANDA'CE, a queen of Ethiopia (Meroe),
mentioned Acts viii. 27. The name was not
a proper name of an individual, but that of a
dynasty of Ethiopian queens.
CANDLESTICK, which Moses was com
manded to make for the tabernacle, is de;
scribed Ex. xxv. 31-37 ; xxxvii. 17-24. It
is called in Lev. xxiv. 4, " the pure," and in
Ecclus. xxvi. 17, "the holy candlestick."
AVith its various appurtenances it required »
talent of " pure gold," and it was not moiddeSt
but " of beaten work." Josephus, however,
says that it was of cast gold, and hollow..
The candlestick was placed on the south
side of the first apartment of the tabernacle,
opposite the table of shew-bread (Ex. xxv.
37), and was lighted every evening and
dressed every morning 'Ex. xxvii. 20, 21,
xxx. 8 ; comp. 1 Sam. iii. 21. Each lamp
was supplied with cotton, and half a log of
the purest olive-oil (about two wine-glasses),
which was sufficient to keep them burning
during a long night. When carried about,
the candlestick was covered with a cloth or
blue, and put with its appendages in badger-
skin bags, which were supported on a bar
(Num. iv. 9). In Solomon's Temple, instead1,
of this candlestick, there were ten golden
candlesticks similarly embossed, five on the
right, and five on the left (1 K. vii. 43;',,

85

CANTICLES

2 Chr. iv. 7). They were taken to Babylon
(Jer. Iii. 19). In the Temple of Zerubbabel
there was again a single candlestick (1 Mace.
i, 23, iv. 49).

Candlestick. (From Arch of Titus )
CANE. [Reed.]
pANKERWORM. [Locust.]
CAN'NEH (Ez. xxvii. 23), probably a
contraction of Calneh, which is the reading
of one MS.
CANOPY .(Jud. x. 21, xiii. 9, xvi. 19).
The canopy of Holofernes is the only one
mentioned. It probably retained the mos
quito nets or curtains in which the name
originated, although its description (Jud. x.
-21) betrays luxury and display rather than
such simple usefulness.
Y CANON OF SCRIPTURE, THE, may be
generally described as "the collection of
books which form the original and authorita
tive written rule of the faith and practice of
the Christian Church. The word Canon, in
classical Greek, is properly a straight rod, as
the rod of a shield, or that used inweaving,
or a carpenter's rule. In patristic writings
the word is commonly used both as " a rule "
in the widest sense, and especially in the
,phrases " the rule of the Church," " the rule
of faith," "the rule of truth." As applied
to, Scripture the derivatives of Canon were
| used long before the simple word. The
title "Canonical" was first given to writings
m the Bense of " admitted by the rule," and
not as "forming part o/and giving the rule."
I The fr'st direct application of the term Canon
to the Scriptures seems to be in the verses of

Amphilochius (c. 380 a.d.), where the word
indicates the rule by which the contents of
the Bible must be determined, and thus
secondarily an index of the constituent books.
Among Latin writers it is commonly found
from the time of Jerome and Augustine, and
their usage of the word, which is wider than
that of Greek writers, is the source of its
modern acceptation. The uncanonical books
were described simply as " those without,"
or " those uncanonized." The Apocryphal
books which were supposed to occupy an in
termediate position, were called " books
read," or " ecclesiastical," though the latter
title was also applied to the canonical Scrip
tures. The canonical books were also called
" books of the Testament," and Jerome
styled the whole collection by the striking
name of "the holy library," which happily
expresses the unity and variety of the Bible.
Popular belief assigned to Ezra and " the
great synagogue " the task of collecting and
promulgating the Scriptures as part cf their
work in organizing the Jewish Church.
Doubts have been thrown upon this belief,
but it is in every way consistent with the his
tory of Judaism and with the internal evi
dence of the books themselves. After the
Maccabaean persecution the history of the
formation of the Canon is merged in the his
tory of its contents. The Old Testament
appears from that time as a whole. The
complete Canon of the New Testament, as
commonly received at present, was ratified
at the third Council of Cahthage (a.d. 397 ),
and from that time was accepted throughout
the Latin Church. Respecting the books of
which the Canon is composed, see the article
Bible. CANTICLES, Song of So?igs, i. e. the most
beautiful of songs, entitled in the A. V. The
Song op Solomon. — I. Author and date. — By
the Hebrew title it is ascribed to Solomon ; and
so in all the versions, and by the majority of
Jewish and Christian writers, ancient and
modern. A few of the Talmudical writers as
signed it to the age of Hezekiah. More recent
criticism, however, has called in question this
deep-rooted, and well accredited tradition,
but on the whole it seems unnecessary to
depart from the plain meaning of the Hebrew
title. Supposing the date fixed to the reign
of Solomon, there is great difficulty in deter
mining at what period of that monarch's life
the poem was written.— II. Form.-r— It may
be called a drama, as it contains the dramatic
evolution of a simple love-story. — III. Mean
ing. — The schools of interpretation may be
divided into three ; — the mystical, or typical ;
the allegorical ; and the literal. — 1. The mys
tical interpretation is properly an offshoot

CAPERNAUM

si;

CAPTAIN

of tho allegorical, and probably owes its
origin to the necessity which was felt of sup
plying a literal basis for the speculation of
the allegorists. This basis is either the mar
riage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter,
or his marriage with an Israelitish woman,
the Shulamite. The mystical interpretation
makes its first appearance in Origen, who
wrote a voluminous commentary upon the
Canticles. — 2. Allegorical. — Notwithstanding
the attempts which have been made to dis
cover the principle of interpretation in the
LXX. (Cant. iv. 8), Jesus son of Sirach
(xlvii. 14-17 ; Wisd. viii. 2), and Josephus
(c. Apion. i. $ 8), it is impossible to trace
it with any certainty farther back than
the Talmud. According to the Talmud the
beloved is taken to be God, the loved one, or
bride, is the congregation of Israel. In the
Christian Church, the Talmudical interpreta
tion, imported by Origen, was all but uni
versally received. — 3. The Literal interpre
tation. — According to the most generally
received' interpretation of the modern liter-
alists, the Song is intended to display the
victory of humble and constant love over the
temptations of wealth and royalty. — IV. Ca
nonicity^ — The book has been rejected from
the Canon by some critics ; but in no case
has its rejection been defended on external
grounds. It is found in the LXX., and
in the translations of Aquila, Symmachus,
and Theodotion. It is contained in the cata
logue given in the Talmud, and in the catalogue
of Melito ; and in short we have the 6ame
evidence for its canonicity as that which is
commonly adduced for the canonicity of any
book of the O. T.
CAPER'NAUM was on the western shore
of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. iv. 13; comp.
John vi. 24), and, if recent discoveries are to
be trusted, was of sufficient importance to
give to that Sea, in whole or in part, the
name of the "lake of Capernaum." It was
iu the " land of Gennesaret " (Matt. xiv. 34,
comp. John vi. 17, 21, 24). It was of suffi
cient size to be always called a " city " (Matt.
ix. I ; Mark i. 33) ; had its own synagogue,
in which our Lord frequently taught (John
vi. 59; Mark i. 21; Luke iv. 33, 38) — a
synagogue built by the centurion of the de
tachment of Roman soldiers which appears to
have been quartered in the place (Luke vii.
1, comp. 8 ; Matt. viii. 8). But besides the
garrison there was also a customs' station,
where the dues were gathered both by sta
tionary (Matt. ix. 9; Mark ii. 14; Luke v.
27) and by itinerant (Matt. xvii. 24) officers.
The only interest attaching to Capernaum is
as the residence of our Lord and his Apostles,
the scene of so many miracles and " gracious

words." At Nazareth He was " brought
up," but Capernaum was emphatically Hib
" own city ;" it was when He returned thither
that He is said to have been "at home"
(Mark ii. 1). The spots which lay claim/to
its site are 1 . Klian Minyeh, a mound of ruins,
which takes its name from an old khan hard
by. This mound is situated close upon the
sea-shore at the north-western extremity of
the plain (now El Ghuweir). 2. Three miles
north of Khan Minyeh is the other claimant,
Tell Hum, — ruins of walls and foundation!
covering a space of "half a mile long by a
quarter wide," on a point of the shore pro
jecting into the lake and backed by a very
gently rising ground. Khan Minyeh Et-Ta-
bigkah, and Tell Hum, are all, without
doubt, ancient sites, but it is impossible to
say which of them represents Capernaum,
which Chorazin, or which Bethsaida.
CAPH'TOR, CAPH'TORIM, thrice men
tioned as the primitive seat of the Philistines
(Deut. ii. 23 ; Jer. xlvii. 4 ; Am. ix. 7), who
are once called CAPHTOR1MS (Deut. ii. 23),
as of the same race as the Mizraite people of
that name (Gen. x. 14; " Caphthorim,"
I Chr. i. 12). The position of the country,
since it was peopled by Mizraites, must be
supposed to be in Egypt or near to it in
Africa, for the idea of the south-west of Pa
lestine is excluded by the migration of the
Philistines. Mr. R. S. Poole has proposedto :
recognise Caphtor in the ancient Egyptian ,
name of Coptos, or the Coptite nome. It is
probable that the Philistines left Caphtor not
long after the first arrival of the Mizraite
tribes, while they had not yet attained that
attachment to the soil that afterwards^
eminently characterized the descendants* of
those which formed the Egyptian nation.
CAPPADO'CIA, CAFPADO'CIANS (Acts
ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 1). The range of Mount
Taurus and the upper course of the Eu
phrates may safely be mentioned, in general ;j
terms, as natural boundaries of Cappadocia
on the south and east. Its geographical
limits on the west and north were variable.
In early times the name reached as far north
wards as the Euxine Sea. Cappadocia is
an elevated table-land intersected by moun
tain-chains. It seems always to have been
deficient in wood ; but it was a good grain
country, and particularly famous for grazing.
Its Roman metropolis was Caesarea. The
native Cappadocians seem originally to ha?e
belonged to the Syrian stock.
CAPTAIN. (1.) As a purely military title
Captain answers to sar in the Hebrew army,
and "tribune" in the Roman. The "cap
tain of the guard" in Acts xxviii. 16 was pro
bably the praefectus praetorio. (2.) Kdtsfn, :

CAPTIVITIES

U

CARMEL

occasionally rendered captain, applies some
times to a military (Josh. x. 24 ; Judg. xi.
6, U ; Is. xxii. 3 ; Dan. xi. 18), sometimes
to a civil command (e.g. Is. i. 10, iii. 6).
(3.) The " captain of the temple " mentioned
by St. Luke (xxii. 4 ; Acts iv. 1, v. 24) su
perintended the guard of priests and Levites,
who kept watch by night in the Temple.
CAPTIVITIES OF THE JEWS. The
present article is confined to the forcible de
portation of the Jews from their native land,
and their forcible detention, under the Assy
rian or Babylonian kings. The kingdom of
Israel was invaded by three or four successive
kings of Assyria. Pul or Sardanapalus, ac
cording to Rawlinson, imposed a tribute
(b.c. 771 or 762 Rawl.) upon Menahem (1
Chr. v. 26, and 2 K. xv. 19). Tiglath-Pileser
carried away (b.c. 740) the trans-Jordanic
tribes (1 Chr. v. 26) and the inhabitants of
Galilee (2 K. xv. 29, comp. Is. ix. 1) to As
syria. Shalmaneser twice invaded (2 K. xvii.
3, 5) the kingdom which remained to Hoshea,
took Samaria (b.c 721) after a siege of three
years, and carried Israel away into Assyria.
Sennacherib (b.c. 713) is stated to have
carried into Assyria 200,000 captives from
the Jewish cities which he took (2 K. xviii.
13). Nebuchadnezzar, in the first half of
bja reign (b.c. 606-562), repeatedly invaded
Judaea, besieged Jerusalem, carried away the
inhabitants to Babylon, and destroyed the
Temple. Two distinct deportations are men
tioned in 2 K. xxiv. 14 (including 10,000
jperflons) and xxv. 11. One in 2 Chr. xxxvi.
20.,' Three in Jer. Hi. 28-30, including 4600
persons, and one in Dan. i. 3. The two
principal deportations were, (1) that which
took place b.c. 598, when Jehoiachin with all
the nobles, soldiers, and artificers was carried
away ; and (2) that which followed the de
struction of the Temple and the capture of
Zedckiah b.c. 588. The 70 years of captivity
predicted by Jeremiah (xxv. 12) are dated
j>y Pvideaux from b.c. 606. The captivity of
Ezekiel dates from b.c. 598, when that pro
phet, like Mordecai the uncle of Esther (Esth.
ii. 6), accompanied Jehoiachin. The captives
were treated not as slaves but as colonists.
The Babylonian captivity was brought to a
close by the decree (Ezr. i. 2) of Cyrus (b.c.
536), and the return of a portion of the
nation under Sheshbazzar or Zerubbabel (b.c.
535), Ezra (b.c 458), and Nehemiah (b.c.
445), The number who returned upon the
decree of b.c 536 was 42,360, besides serv
ants. Those who were left in Assyria (Esth.
viii. 9, 11), and kept up their national dis
tinctions, were known as The Dispersion
(John vii. 35 ; 1 Pet. i. 1 ; James i. 1). Many
attempts have been made to discover the ten

tribes existing as a distinct community. But
though history bears no witness of their
present distinct existence, it enables us to
track the footsteps of the departing race in
four directions after the time of the Captivity.
(1.) Some returned and mixed with the Jews
(Luke ii. 36 ; Phil. iii. 5, &c). (2.) Some
were left in Samaria, mingled with the Sa
maritans (Ezr. vi. 21 ; John iv. 12), and be
came bitter enemies of the Jews. (3.), Many
remained in Assyria, and were recognised
as an integral part of the Dispersion (see
Acts ii. 9, xxvi. 7). (4.) Most, probably,
apostatized in Assyria, adopted the usages
and idolatry of the nations among whom they
were planted, and became wholly swallowed
up in them.
CARBUNCLE. The representative in the
A. V. of the Hebrew words 'ekddch and bdr-
kath or bdreketh. — 1. 'Ekddch (Is. liv. 12)
may be a general term to denote any bright
sparkling gem, but it is impossible to deter
mine its real meaning. — 2. Bdrekath, bdre-
keth (Ex. xxviii. 17, xxxix. 10; Ez. xxviii. 13),
is supposed to be the smaragdus or emerald.
CAR'CHEMISH occupied nearly the site
of the later Mabug, or Hierapolis. It seems
to have commanded the ordinary passage of
the Euphrates at Bir, or Bireh-jik. Carche-
mish appears to have been taken by Pharaoh-
Necho shortly after the battle of Megiddo
(c. B.q. 608), and retaken by Nebuchadnezzar
after a battle three years later, b.c. 605 (Jer.
xlvi. 2).
CA'RIA, the southern part of the region
which in the N. T. is called Asia, and the
south-western part of the peninsula of Asia
Minor. At an earlier period, we find it men
tioned as a separate district (1 Mace. xv. 23).
A little later it was incorporated in the pro
vince of Asia.
CAR'MEL. 1. A mountain which forms
one of the most striking and characteristic
features of the country of Palestine. As if
to accentuate more distinctly the bay which
forms the one indentation in the coast, thia
noble ridge, the only headland of lower and
central Palestine, forms its southern bound
ary, running out with a bold bluff promon
tory all but into the very waves of the Medi
terranean. From this point it stretches in a
nearly straight line, bearing about S.S.E., for
a little more than twelve miles, when it ter
minates suddenly in a bluff somewhat corre
sponding to its western end, breaking down
abruptly into the hills of Jenln and Samaria,
which form at that part the central mass of
the country. Carmel thus stands as a wall
between the maritime plain of Sharon on the
south, and the more inland expanse of Es-
draelon on the north. Its structure is in the

CARNAIM

88

CATS

main the Jura formation (upper oolite), which
is prevalent in the centre of Western Pales
tine — a soft white limestone, with nodules
and veins of flint. In form Carmel is a
tolerably continuous ridge, at the YV. end
about 600, and E. about 1600 feet above the
sea. There seem to be grounds for believing
that from very early times it was considered
as a sacred spot. In later times we know
that its reputation was not confined to Pales
tine. But that which has made the name of
Carmel most familiar to the modern world is
its intimate oonnexion with the history of the
two great prophets of Israel — Elijah and
Elisha. It is now commonly called Mar
Elyas ; Kurmel being occasionally, but only
seldom, heard. — 3. A town in the mountain
ous country of Judah (Josh. xv. 55), familiar
to us as the residence of Nabal (1 Sam. xxv.
2, 5, 7, 40).
CARNA'IM, a large and fortified city in " the
land of Galaad." It was besieged and taken
by Judas Maccabaeus (I Mace. v. 26,43, 44).
A comparison with 2 Mace. xii. 21,26, enables
us to identify it with Ashterotu-Kaenaim.
CARPENTER. [Handicraft.]
CAR'PUS, a Christian at Troas (2 Tim. iv.
13). According to Hippolytus, Carpus was
bishop of Berytus in Thrace.
CARRIAGE. This word occurs only six
times in the text of the A. V., and signifies
what we now call " baggage." In the margin
of 1 Sam. xvii. 20, and xxvi. 5-7 — and there
only — "carriage" is employed in the sense
of a wagon or cart.
CART, Gen. xiv. 19, 27 ; Num. vii. 3, 7,
S, a vehicle drawn by cattle (2 Sam. vi. 6),
to be distinguished from the chariot drawn

has two wheels of solid woodv But in the
monuments of ancient Egypt representations
are found of carts with two wheels, having
four or six spokes, used for carrying produce,
and of one used for religious purposes having
four wheels with eight spokes.
CAS'LUHIM, a Mizraite people or tribe
(Gen. x. 14; 1 Chr. i. 12). The only clue
we have as yet to the position of the Cas-
luhim is their place in the list of the sons of
Mizraim between the Pathrusim and the
Caphtorim, whence it is probable that they
were seated in Upper Egypt.
CASSIA. The representative in the A. Y.
of the Hebrew words kidddh and ketzidth.—
1. Kidddh occurs in Ex. xxx. 24, and in Ez,
xxvii. 19. The accounts of cassia as given by
ancient authors are confused; and the inves-
ligation of the subject is a difficult one. It
is clear that the Latin writers by the term1
casia understood both the Oriental product'
now under consideration, as well as some low
sweet herbaceous plant ; but the Greek word
is limited to the Eastern product. The cassia-
bark of commerce is yielded by various kinds
of Cinnamomum, which grow in different
parts of India. — 2. Ketzidth, only in Ps.
xiv. 8. This word is generally supposed to.
be another term for cassia : the old versions^
as well as the etymology of the Hebrew word,
are in favour of this interpretation.
CASTLE. [Fortifications.]
CAS'TOR AND POLLUX (Acts xxviii. 11).
The twin sons of Jupiter and Leda, were
regarded as the tutelary divinities of sailors:*
They appeared in heaven as the constellation
Gem mi. In art they were sometimes repre
sented simply as stars hovering over a ship,
but more frequently as young men on horse
back, with conical caps and stars above them.'
Such figures were probably painted or sculp
tured at the bow of the ship.

Egyptian cart with two wheels. (Wilkinson.)
by horses. Carts and wagons were either
open or covered (Num. vii. 3), and were used
for conveyance of persons (Gen. xiv. 19),
burdens (1 Sam. vi. 7, 8), or produce (Am.
ii. 13). The only cart used in Western Asia

Silver coin of .brutiii. Obv, : Hctids of Castor juid Pollux
to right. Rev. : Castor and Pollux mounted, advancing?
to right. Iu the exergue BPETTIQN.
CATS occur only in Baruch vi. 22. The
Greek word, as used by Aristotle, has more
particular reference to the wild cat. Hero-;|
dotus (ii. 66) applies it to denote the domestic '
animal. The context of the passage in Baruch

'ML

CATERPILLAR

89

CENSER

appears to point to the domesticated animal.
Perhaps the people of Babylon originally pro
cured the cat from Egypt. The domestic cat
of the ancient Egyptians is supposed by some
to be identical with the Felis maiiiculata.

CATERPILLAR. The representative in
the A.V. of the Hebrew words chdsil and
yelek.— l. Chdsil occurs in I Iv. viii. 37 ;
2 Chr. vi. 28 ; Ps. lxxviii. 46 ; Is. xxxiii.
4; Joel i. 4 ; and seems to be applied to a
locust, perhaps in its larva state. — 2. Yelek.
[Locust.] CAVE. The chalky limestone of which the
rocks of Syria and Palestine chiefly consist
presents, as is the case in all limestone for
mations, avast number of caverns and natural
fissures, many of which have also been artifi
cially enlarged and adapted to various pur
poses both of shelter and defence. The most
remarkable caves noticed in Scripture are :—
1. That in which Lot dwelt after the destruc
tion of Sodom (Gen. xix. 30). 2. The cave
of Machpelah (xxiii. 17). 3. Cave of Mak-
kedah (Josh. x. 10). 4. Cave of Adullam
(1 Sam. xxii. 1). 5. Cave of Engedi (xxiv.
3). 6. Obadiah's cave (1 K. xviii. 4). 7. Eli
jah's cave in Horeb (xix. 9). 8, 9. The rock
sepulchres of Lazarus, and of our Lord (John
xi. 38; Matt, xxvii. 60).
('CEDAR. The Heb. word erez, invariably
rendered " cedar " by the A. V., stands for
that tree in most of the passages where the
word occurs. The erez, or " firmly rooted
and strong tree," from an Arabic root which
has this signification, is particularly the name
of the cedar of Lebanon \Cedrus libani) ; but
that the word is used in a wider sense to de
note other trees of the Coniferae is clear from
sonte Scriptural passages where it occurs.
For instance, the " cedar wood " mentioned
in Lev. xiv. 6 can hardly be the wood of the
Lebanon cedars, seeing that the Cedrus Li
tem could never have grown in the peninsula

of Sinai. There is another passage (Ez.
xxvii. 5), in which perhaps erez denotes some
fir ; in all probability the Pinus Halepensis,
which grows in Lebanon, and is better fitted
for furnishing ship-masts than the wood of
the Cedrus Libani. The Cedrus Libani, Pinus
Halepens-is, and Junipents exceha, were pro
bably all included under the term erez ;
though there can be no, doubt that by this
name is more especially denoted the cedar of
Lebanon, as being the firmest and grandest
of the conifers. As far as is at present
known, the cedar of Lebanon is confined in
Syria to one valley of the Lebanon range,
viz., that of the "Kedisha river, which flows
from near the highest point of the range
westward to the Mediterranean, and enters
the sea at the port of Tripoli. The grove is
at the very upper part of the valley, about 15
miles from the sea, 6500 feet above that level,
and its position is moreover above that of all
other arboreous vegetation.
CE'DRON. In this form is given in the
N. T. the name of the brook Kidron in the
ravine below the eastern wall of Jerusalem
(John xviii. 1, only). Beyond it was the
garden of Gethsemane. [Kiduon.]
CEILING. The descriptions of Scripture
(1 K. vi. 9, 15, vii. 3 ; 2 Chr. iii. 5, 9 ; Jer.
xxii. 14 ; Hag. i. 4), and of Josephus, show
that the ceilings of the Temple and the palaces
of the Jewish kings were formed of cedar
planks applied to the beams or joints crossing
from wall to wall, probably with sunk panels,
edged and ornamented with gold, and carved
with incised or other patterns, sometimes
painted (Jer. xxii. 14).
CELOSYRIA. [Coelesyeia.]
CEN'CHREA (accurately CENCHREAE),
the eastern harbour of Corinth (i. e. its harbour
on the Saronic Gulf) and the emporium of its
trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediter
ranean, as Lechaeum on the Corinthian Gulf
connected it with Italy and the west. St. Paul
sailed from Cenchreae (Acts xviii. 18) on his
return to Syria from his second missionary
journey ; and when he wrote his epistle to
the Romans in the course of the third journey,
an organised church seems to have been
formed here (Rom. xvi. 1).
CENSER. A small portable vessel of metal
fitted to receive burning coals from the altar,
and on which the incense for burning was
sprinkled (2 Chr. xxvi. 18 ; Luke i. 9). The
only distinct precepts regarding the use of the
censer are found in Num. iv. 14, and in Lev.
xvi. 12. Solomon prepared "censers of pure
gold" as part of the same furniture (1 K. vii.
50; 2 Chr. iv. 22). Possibly their general
use may have been to take up coals from the
brazen altar, and convey the incense while

CENSUS

90

CHALDEA

burning to the " golden altar," or " altar of
incense," on which it was to be offered morn
ing and evening (Ex. xxx. 7, 8). So Uzziah,
when he was intending "to burn incense
upon the altar of incense," took a censer in
his hand" (2 Chr. xxvi. 16, 19). The word
rendered "censer" in Hebr. ix. 4 probably
means the " altar of incense."
CENSUS. [Taxing.]
CENTURION. [Army.]
CEPHAS. [Peter.]
CHAFF. The Heb. words rendered chaff
in A. V. do not seem to have precisely the
same meaning: chdshash = dry grass, hay;
and occurs twice only in 0. T., viz., Is. v.
24, xxxiii. 11. Mots is chaff separated by
winnowing from the grain— the husk of the
wheat. The carrying away of chaff by the
wind is an ordinary Scriptural image of the de
struction of the wicked, and of their power-
lessness to resist God's judgments (Ps. i. 4 ;
Is. xviii. 13 ; Hos. xiii. 3 ; Zeph. ii. 2).
CHAIN. Chains were used, 1. as badges
of office ; 2. for ornament ; 3. for confining
prisoners. 1. The gold chain placed about
Joseph's neck (Gen. xii. 42), and that pro
mised to Daniel (Dan. v. 7), are instances of
the first use. In Ez. xvi. 11, the chain is
mentioned as the symbol of sovereignty.
2. Chains for ornamental purposes were worn
by men as well as women in many countries
both of Europe and Asia, and probably this
was the case among the Hebrews (Prov. i. 9).
The necklace consisted of pearls, corals, &c,
threaded on a string. Besides the necklace,
other chains were worn (Jud. x. 4) hanging
down as far as the waist, or even lower.
Some were adorned with pieces of metal,
shaped in the form of the moon (" round
tires like the moon," A. V. ; Is. iii. 18).
The Midianites adorned the necks of their
camels with it (Judg. viii. 21, 26). To other
chains were suspended various trinkets — as
scent-bottles (Is. iii. 20) and mirrors (Is. iii.
23). Step-chains were attached to the ankle-
rings, which shortened the step and produced
a mincing gait (Is. iii. 16, 18). 3. The
means adopted for confining prisoners among
the Jews were fetters similar to our handcuffs
(Judg. xvi. 21 ; 2 Sam. iii. 34 ; 2 K. xxv. 7 ;
Jer. xxxix. 7). Among the Romans, the
prisoner was handcuffed to one, and occa
sionally to two guards (Acts xii. 6, 7, xxi. 33).
CHALCEDONY, only in Rev. xxi. 19.
The name is applied in modern mineralogy to
one of the varieties of agate. There can,
however, be little doubt that the stone to
which Thcophrastus refers, as being found in
the island opposite Chalcedon and used as a
solder, must have been the green transparent
carbonate of copper, or our copper emerald.

CHALDE'A, more correctly CHALDAE'A,
properly only the most southern portion of
Babylonia', is ueed in Scripture to signify
that vast alluvial plain which has been formed
by the deposits of the Euphrates and the
Tigris — at least so far as it lies to the west of
the latter stream. This extraordinary flat,
unbroken except by the works of man, ex
tends a distance of 400 miles along the course
of the rivers, and is on an average about
100 miles in width. The general aspect of
the country is thus described by a modern
traveller, who well contrasts its condition
now with the appearance which it must have
presented in ancient times. " In former days,"
he says, "the vast plains of Babylon were
nourished by a complicated system of canals
a"d watercourses, which spread over the sur
face of the country like a network. The wants
of a teeming population were supplied by a
rich soil, not less bountiful than that on the
banks of the Egyptian Nile. Like islands
rising from a golden sea of waving com,
stood frequent groves of palm-trees and plea
sant gardens, affording to the idler or tra
veller their grateful and highly-valued shade.
Crowds of passengers hurried along tbe dusty
roads to and from the busy city. The land
was rich in corn and wine. How changed^
the aspect of that region at the present day!
Long lines of mounds, it is true, mark the
courses of those main arteries which formerly
diffused life and vegetation along their banks,
but their channels are now bereft of moisture
and choked with drifted sand ; the smaller
offshoots are wholly effaced. ' A drought jis^
upon her waters,' says the prophet, 'and
they shall be dried up ! ' All that remains of
that ancient civilisation — that ' glory .of
kingdoms,' — ' the praise of the whole earth,'—
is recognisable in the numerous mouldering
heaps of brick and rubbish which overspread
the surface of the plain. Instead of the
luxurious fields, the groves and gardens,
nothing now meets the eye but an arid
waste — the dense population of former times
is vanished, and no man dwells there."
(Loftus's Chaldaea, pp. 14-15). The true
Chaldaea is always in the geographers a dis
tinct region, being the most southern portioa
of Babylonia, lying chiefly (if not solely) on
the right bank of the Euphrates. Babylonia
above this is separated into two districts,
called respectively Amordacia and AuranUk.
The former is the name of the central ter
ritory round Babylon itself; the latter is ap-'
plied to the regions towards the north, where
Babylonia borders on Assyria. Cities.—
Babylonia was celebrated at all times for the
number and antiquity of its cities. The roost
important of those which have been identified

CHALDEANS

91

CHAMELEON

areBorsippa (Birs-Nimrud), Sippara or Se
pharvaim (Mosaib), Cutha (Ibrahim), Calneh
(Mffer), Erech (Warka), Ur (Mugheir), Chil-
mad (Kalwadha), Larancha (Senkereh), Is
{Sit), Duraba (Alckerkuf) ; but besides these
there were a multitude of others, the sites of
which have not been determined. The ex
traordinary fertility of the Chaldaean soil has
been noticed by various writers. It is said to
be the only country in the world where wheat
grows wild. Herodotus declared (i. 193)
that grain commonly returned 200-fold to the
sower, and occasionally 300-fold. The palm
was undoubtedly one of the principal objects
of cultivation. The soil is rich, but there is
now little cultivation, the inhabitants subsist
ing chiefly upon dates. More than half the
country is left dry and waste from the want
of a proper system of irrigation ; while the
remaining half is to a great extent covered
with marshes owing to the same neglect.
CHALDE'ANS, or CHAL'DEES, appear in
Scripture, until the time of the Captivity, as
the people of the country which has Babylon
for its capital, and which is itself termed
Shinar ; but in the Book of Daniel, while this
meaning is still found (v. 30, and ix. I), a
new sense shows itself. The Chaldeans are
classed with the magicians and astronomers ;
and 'evidently form a sort of priest class, who
have a peculiar "tongue" and "learning"
(i. 4), and are consulted by the king on re
ligious subjects. The same variety appears
in profane writers. r It appears that the
Chaldeans (Kaldai or Kaldi) were in the
earliest times merely one out of the many
Cushite tribes inhabiting the great alluvial
plain known afterwards as Chaldaea or Baby
lonia. Their special seat was probably that
"southern portion of the country which is
found to have so late retained the name of
Chaldaea. Here was Ur " of the Chaldees,"
the modern Mugheir, which lies south of the
Euphrates, near its junction with the Shat-
el-Eie. In process of time, as the Kaldi
grew in power, their name gradually pre
vailed over those of the other tribes inhabit
ing the country ; and by the era of the Jewish
captivity it had begun to be used generally
for all the inhabitants of Babylonia. It had
eome by this time to have two senses, both
ethnic : in the one it was the special appel
lative of a particular race to whom it bad be
longed from the remotest times, in the other
it designated the nation at large in which
this race was predominant. It has been ob
served above that the Kaldi proper were a
Cushite race. This is proved by the remains
of their language, which closely resembles the
Gcdla or ancient language of Ethiopia. Now
it appears by the inscriptions that while, both

in Assyria and in later Babylonia, the Shemitic
type of speech prevailed for civil purposes,
the ancient Cushite dialect was retained, as a
learned language for scientific and religious
literature. This is no doubt the " learning "
and the "tongue" to which reference is
made in the Book of Daniel (i. 4). The
Chaldeans were really the learned class ;
they were priests, magicians, or astronomers,
and in the last of the three capacities they
probably effected discoveries of great import
ance. In later times they seem to have de
generated into mere fortune-tellers.

Costumes of the Chaldeans. (Ilawliuson. From
Ancient Monuments.)
CHALDEES. [Chaldeans.]
CHAMBERLAIN. Erastus, "the cham
berlain " of the city of Corinth, was one of
those whose salutations to the Roman Chris
tians are given at the end of the Ep. ad
dressed to them (Rom. xvi. 23). The office
which he held was apparently that of public
treasurer, or arcarius, as. the Vulgate renders
his title. These arcarii were inferior ma
gistrates, who had the charge of the public
chest (area publico), and were under the
authority of the senate. They kept the ac
counts of the public revenues. The office
held by Blastus, "the king's chamberlain,"
was entirely different from this (Acts xii. 20).
It was a post of honour which involved great
intimacy and influence with the king. The
margin of our version gives " that was over
the king's bedchamber." For Chamberlain
as used in the O. T., see Ecnuch.
CHAMELEON, the translation of the
Hebrew coach, which occurs in the sense of
some kind of unclean animal in Lev. xi. 30.
Others suppose it to be the lizard, known by
the name of the "Monitor of the Nile"
(Monitor Niloticus, Grey), a large strong

CHAMOIS

92

CHEBAR

reptile common in Egypt and other parts of
Africa. CHAMOIS, the translation of the Hebrew
zemer in Deut. xiv. g. But the translation is
incorrect; for tlieie is no evidence that the
chamois has ever been seen in Palestine or
the Lebanon. It is probable that some moun
tain sheep is intended.
CHA'NAAN, the manner in which the
word Canaan is spelt in the A. V. of the
Apocrypha and N. T. (Jud. ?. 3, 9, 10 ; Bar.
iii. 22 ; Sus. 56; 1 Mace. ix. 37; Acts vii. 11,
xiii. 19).
CHAPITER, the capital of a pillar ; also
possibly a roll moulding at the top of a
building or work of art, as in the case (1) of
the pillars of the Tabernacle and Temple, and
of the two pillars called especially Jachin and
Boaz; and (2) of the lavers belonging to
the Temple (Ex. xxxviii. 17 ; IK. vii. 27,
31, 38).
CHARGER, a shallow vessel for re
ceiving water or blood, also for presenting
offerings of fine flour with oil (Num. vii. 79).
The daughter of Herodias brought the head
of St. John the Baptist in a charger (Matt.
xiv. 8) : probably a trencher or platter.
[Basin.] CHARIOT, a vehicle used either for war
like or peaceful purposes, but most commonly
the former. Of the latter use the following
only are probable instances as regards xhe
Jews, I K. xviii. 44, and as reg.irds other
nations, Gen. xii. 43, xlvi. 29 ; 2 K. v. 9 ;
Acts viii. 28. Theearliest mention of chariots
in Scripture is in Egypt, where Joseph, as a
mark of distinction, was placed in Pharaoh's
second chariot (Gen. xii. 43) and later when
he went in his own chariot to meet his father
on his entrance into Egypt from Canaan
(xlvi. 29). In the funeral procession of
Jacob chariots also formed a part, possibly
by way of escort or as a guard of honour
(1. 9). The next mention of Egyptian chariots
is for a warlike purpose (Ex. xiv. 7). In
this point of view chariots among some
nations of antiquity, as elephants among
others, may be regarded -as filling the place
of heavy artillery in modern times, so that
the military power of a nation might be esti
mated by the number of its chariots. Thus
Pharaoh in pursuing Israel took with him
COO chariots. The Canaanites of the valleys
of Palestine were enabled to resist the
Israelites successfully in consequence of tho
number of their chariots of iron, ;'. e. perhaps
armed with iron scythes (Josh. xvii. 18 ;
Judg. i. 19). Jabin, king of Canaan, had
900 chariots (Judg. iv. 3). The Philistines
in Saul's time had 30,000 (1 Sam. xiii. 5).
David took from Hudadezer, king of Zobah,

1000 chariots (2 Sam. viii. 4), and from the
Syrians a little later 700 (x. 18), who, in order
to recover their ground, collected 32,000
chariots (1 Chr. xix. 7). Up to this time the
Israelites possessed few or no chariots, partly
no doubt in consequence of the theocratic pro
hibition against multiplying horses, for fear of
intercourse with Egypt, and the regal despot-
ism implied in the possession of them (Deut.
xvii. 16; 1 Sam. viii. 11, 12). But to some
extent David (2 Sam. viii. 4), and in a much
greater degree Solomon, broke through the
prohibition. He raised, therefore, and main;
tained a force of 1400 chariots (1 K. x. 25) by
taxation on certain cities agreeably to Eastern
custom in such matters (1 K. ix. 19, x. 25).
From this time chariots were regarded as
among the most important arms of war,
though the supplies of them and of horses
appear to have been mainly drawn from
Egypt (1 K. xxii. 34 ; 2 K. ix. 16, 21, xiii.
7, 14, xviii. 24, xxiii. 30 ; Is. xxxi. 1.).!
Most commonly two persons, and sometimes
three, rode in the chariot, of whom the third
was employed to carry the state umbrella,
(2 K. ix. 20, 24 ; IK. xxii. 34 ; Acts viii. 38),
A second chariot usually accompanied the
king to battle to be used in case of necessity.
(2 Chr. xxv. 34). The prophets allude fre- j
quently to chariots as typical of power (Ps.,
xx. 7, civ. 3; Jer. li. 21 ; Zech. vi. 1). In <
the N. T., the only mention made of a chariotlf
except in Rev. ix. 9, is in the case of the
Ethiopian or Abyssinian eunuch of Queen
Candace (Acts viii. 28, 29, 38). Jewish
chariots were no doubt imitated from Egyp-t
tian models, if not actually imported from '
Egypt.

» Assyrian chariot.
CHE'BAR, a river in the "land of the.;
Chaldaeans " (Ez. i. 3), on the banks of which ;
some of the Jews were located at the time of,
the captivity, and where Ezekiel saw his
earlier visions (Ez. i. 1, iii. 15, 23, &c). It
is commonly regarded as identical with the

CHEDORLAOMER

93

CHERUB

Habor, or river of Gozan, to which some por
tion of the Israelites were removed by the
Assyrians (2 K. xvii. 6). But this is a mere
conjecture. Perhaps the Chebar of Ezekiel
is the Nahr Malcha or Royal Canal of Nebu-
onadnezzar — the greatest of all the cuttings
in Mesopotamia.
CHEDORLAO'MER, a king of Elam, in
the time of Abraham, who with three other
chiefs made war upon the kings of Sodom,
^omorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar, and
reduced them to servitude (Gen. xiv. 17).
The name of a king is found upon the bricks
recently discovered in Chaldaea, which is
read Kudar-mapula. This man has been sup
posed to be identical with Chedorlaomer, and
the opinion is confirmed by the fact that
he is further distinguished by a title which
may be translated " Ravager of the west."
CHEESE is mentioned only three times in
the Bible, and on each occasion under a dif
ferent name in the Hebrew (Job x. 10 ; 1 Sam.
xvii. 18 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 29). It is difficult to
decide how far these terms correspond with
our notion of cheese ; for they simply express
various degrees of coagulation. It may be
observed that cheese is not at the present
day common among the Bedouin Arabs,
butter being decidedly preferred ; but there
is a substance, closely corresponding to those
mentioned in 1 Sam. xvii. ; 2 Sam. xvii., con
sisting of coagulated buttermilk, which is dried
until it becomes quite hard, and is then
ground : the Arabs eat it mixed with butter.
CHEM'ARIMS, THE. This word only
occurs in the text of the A. V. in Zeph. i. 4.
In 2 K. xxiii. 5 it is rendered " idolatrous
priests," and in Hos. x. 5 " priests," and in
both cases " chemarim " is given in the
margin. So far as regards the Hebrew usage
of the word it is exclusively applied to the
priests of the false worship, and was in all
.probability, a term of foreign origin.
r CHE'MOSII, the national deity of the
Moabites (Num. xxi. 29; Jer. xlviii. 7, 13,
_46). In Judg. xi. 24, he also appears as the
god of the Ammonites. Solomon introduced,
and Josiah abolished, the worship of Chemosh
at Jerusalem (1 K. xi. 7 ; 2 K. xxiii. 13).
Jerome identifies him with Baal-Peor ; others
.with Baal-Zebub, on etymological grounds ;
/others with Mars, and others with Saturn.
CHER'ETHITES and PEL'ETHITES, the
life-guards of King David (2 Sam. viii. 18,
xv. 18, xx. 7, 23; 1 K. i. 38, 44; 1 Chr.
xviii. 17). These titles are commonly said
to signify " executioners and couriers." It
WB plain that these royal guards were em
ployed as executioners (2 K. xi. 4), and as
'couriers (1 K. xiv. 27). But it has been con
jectured that they may have been foreign

mez-cenaries. They are connected with the
Gittites, a foreign tribe (2 Sam. xv. 21) ; and
the Cherethites are mentioned as a nation
(1 Sam. xxx. 14), dwelling apparently on the
coast, and therefore probably Philistines, of
which name Pelethites may be only another
form. CHE'RITH, THE BROOK, the torrent-bed
or wady in which Elijah hid himself during
the early part of the three years' drought
(1 K. xvii. 3, 5). The position of the
Cherith has been much disputed. The argu
ment from probability is in favour of the
Cherith being on the east of Jordan, and the
name may possibly be discovered there.
CHER'UB, CHERfUBIM. The symbolical
figure so called was a composite creature-
form, which finds a parallel in the religious
insignia of Assyria, Egypt, and Persia, e. g. the
sphinx, the winged bulls and lions of Nineveh,
&c. The Hebrew idea seems to limit the

The winged female Wnhinx. (.Wilkinson.)

number of the cherubim. A pair (Ex. xxv.
18, &c.) were placed on the mercy-seat of the
ark : a pair of colossal size overshadowed it
in Solomon's Temple with the canopy of their
contiguously extended wings. Ezekiel, i.
4-14, speaks of four, and similarly the apo
calyptic "beasts" (Rev. iv. 6) are four. So
at the front or east of Eden were posted "the
cherubim," as though the whole of some re
cognised number. The cherubim are placed
beneath the actual presence of Jehovah, whose
moving throne they appear to draw (Gen. iii.
24 ; Ez. i. 5, 25, 26, x. I, 2, 6, 7 ; Is. vi.
2, 3, 6). The glory symbolising that pre
sence which eye cannot see rests or rides
on them, or one of them, thence dismounts
to the temple threshold, and then departs
and mounts again (Ez. x. 4, 18 ; comp.
ix. 3; Ps. xviii. 10). There is in them
an entire absence of human sympathy, and
even on the mercy-seat they probably ap
peared not merely as admiring and wonder
ing (1 Pet. i. 12), but as guardians of the
covenant and avengers of its breach. Those

CHESALON

94

CHILDREN

on the ark were to be placed with wings
stretched forth, one at each end of the mercy-
seat, and to be made " of the mercy-seat."
They are called the cherubim of glory (Heb.
ix. 5), as on them the glory, when visible,
rested. They were anointed with the holy
oil, like tbe ark itself, and the other sacred
furniture. Their wings were to be stretched

Assyrian Gryphon. (Layard, ii. 459.)
upwards, and their faces " towards each other
and towards the mercy-seat." It is remark
able that with such precise directions as to
their position, attitude, and material, nothing,
save that they were winged, is said concern
ing their shape. On the whole it seems
likely that the word "cherub" meant not
only the composite creature-form, of which
the man, lion, ox, and eagle were the ele
ments, but, further, some peculiar and mystical
form, which Ezekiel, being a priest, would
know and recognise as " the face of a cherub "
(Ez. x. 14) ; but which was kept secret from
all others ; and such probably were those
on the ark, though those on the hangings
and panels might be of the popular device.
"What this peculiar cherubic form was is per
haps an impenetrable mystery. It might
well be the symbol of Him whom none could
behold and live. For as symbols of Divine
attributes, e. g. omnipotence and omniscience,
not as representations of actual beings, the
cherubim should be regarded.
CHE'KALON, a place named as one of the
landmarks on the west part of the north
boundary of Judah (Josh. xv. 10), probably
Kesla, about six miles to the N.E. of Ain-
S'ketiis, on the western mountains of Judah.
CHE'SIL, a town in the extreme south of
Palestine, named with Hormah and Ziklag
(Josh. xv. 30). In Josh. xix. 4 tbe name
Bethiit, occurs in place of it, whence we may
conclude that Chesil was an early variation of
Bethul. CHESTNUT-TREE (Heb. 'armon: Gen.
xxx. 37 ; Ezek. xxxi. 8) : it is spoken of as
one of the glories of Assyria, for which the

"plane-tree" ought probably to have been
substituted. The context of the passages
where the word occurs indicates some tree
which thrives best in low and rather moist
situations, whereas the chestnut-tree is a^
tree which prefers dry and hilly ground. '
CHESUL'LOTH (lit. "the loins"), one of
the towns of Issachar, deriving its name,
perhaps, from its situation on the slope of
some mountain (Josh. xix. 18). From its.
position in the lists it appears to be between?
Jezreel and Skunera (Saltan). . *
CHET'TIIM, 1 Mace. i. 1. [Chittm.]-*?*
CHE'ZIB, a name which occurs but once
(Gen. xxxviii. 5), probably the same as.
Achzib. CHI'DON, the name which in 1 Chr.
xiii. 9 is given to the threshing-floor at
which the accident to the ark took plaee. In
the parallel account in 2 Sam. vi. the name
is given as Nachox.
CHILDREN. The blessing of offspring,
but especially of the male sex, is highly
valued among all Eastern nations, while the
absence is regarded as one of the severest
punishments (Gen. xvi. 2; Deut. vii. 14;
1 Sam. i. 6 ; 2 Sam. vi. 23 ; 2 K. iv. 14; Is.
xlvii. 9 ; Jer. xx. 15 ; Ps. exxvii. 3, 5). As
soon as the child was born, it was washed in
a bath, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in
swaddling clothes. Arab mothers sometimes
rub their children with earth or sand {Ex.
xvi. 4 ; Job xxxviii. 9 ; Luke ii. 7). On the
8th day the rite of circumcision, in the case
of a boy, was performed, and a name given,;
sometimes, but not usually, the same as that
of the father, and generally conveying some '
special meaning. At the end of a certaht
time the mother was to make an offering of
purification of a lamb as a burnt-offering,
and a pigeon or turtle-clove'as a sin-offering <
or in case of poverty, two doves or pigeons,
one as a burnt-offering, the other as a sill-
offering (Lev. xii. 1-8 ; Luke ii. 22). The
period of nursing appears to have been some*
times prolonged to three years (Is. xlix. 15 ;
2 Mace. vii. 27). Nurses were employed^
cases of necessity (Ex. ii. 9 ; Gen. xxiv. 59,
xxxv. S ; 2 Sam", iv. 4 ; 2 K. xi. 2 ; 2 Clm
xxii. 11). The time of weaning was an oc
casion of rejoicing (Gen. xxi. 8). Arab
children wear little or no clothing for four or
five years : the young of both sexes are
usually carried by the mothers on the hip or
the shoulder, a custom to which allusion, is
made by Isaiah (Is. xlix. 22, Ixvi. 12).
Both boys and girls in their early years "were
under the care of the women (Prov. xxxi.l)-
Afterwards the boys were taken by the father
; under his charge. Those in wealthy families
had tutors or governors, who were sometime

CH1LEAB

95

CHRISTIAN

eunuchs (Num. xi. 12; 2 K. x. I. 5 ; Is.
xlix. 23; Gal. iii. 24'; Esth. ii. 7). Daughters
usually remained in the women's apartments
till marriage, or, among the poorer classes,
were employed in household work (Lev. xxi.
9 ; Num. xii. 14 ; 1 Sam. ix. 1 1 ; Prov. xxxi.
19, 23 ; Ecclus. vii. 25, xiii. 9 ; 2 Mace.
iii. 19). The firstborn male children were
regarded as devoted to God, and were to be
redeemed by an offering (Ex. xiii. 13 ; Num.
xviii. 15; Luke ii. 22). The authority of
parents, especially of the father, over children
was very great, as was also the reverence
enjoined by the law to be paid to parents.
The disobedient child, the striker or re viler
of a parent, was liable to capital punishment,
though not at the independent will of the
parent. The inheritance was divided equally
between all the sons except the eldest, who
received a double portion (Deut. xxi. 17 ;
Gen. xxv. 31, xlix. 3 ; 1 Chr. v. I, 2 ; Judg.
xi. 2, 7). Daughters had by right no portion
in the inheritance ; but if a man had no son,
his inheritance passed to his daughters, who
were forbidden to marry out of their father's
tribe (Num. xxvii. 1, 8, xxxvi. 2, 8).
I CRTL'EAB. [Abigail.]
£ CHIM'HAM, a follower, and probably a
son of Barzillai the Gileadite, who returned
from beyond Jordan with David (2 Sam. xix.
37, 38, 40). David appears to have be
stowed on him a possession at Bethlehem, on
which, in later times, an inn or Khan was
standing (Jer. xii. 17).
CHIN'NERETH, SEA OF (Num. xxxiv.
11; Josh. xiii. 27), the inland sea, which is
most familiarly known to us as the " lake of
Gennesareth." It seems likely that Chinne-
reth was an ancient Canaanite name existing
long prior to the Israelite conquest.
CHI'OS. The position of this island in re
ference to the neighbouring islands and
coasts could hardly be better described than
in the detailed account of St. Paul's return
voyage from Troas to Caesarea (Acts xx.
xxi.). Having come from Assos to Mitylene
in Lesbos (xx. 14), he arrived the next day
over against Chios (v. 15), the next day at
Samos and tarried at Trogyllium (ib.) : and
the following day at Miletus (ib.) : f.'ience he
went by Cos and Rhodes to Patara (xxi. 1).
Chios is separated from the mainland by a
strait of only 5 miles. Its length is about 32
miles, and in breadth it varies from 8 to 18.
CHIS'LEU. [Months.]
CHIT'TIM, KITTIM, a family or race de
scended from Javan (Gen. x. 4 ; 1 Chr. i. 7 ;
¦A. V. Kittim), closely related to the Dodanim,
and remotely to the other descendants of
Javan. Chittim is frequently noticed in Scrip-
tore: Balaam predicts that a fleet should

thence proceed for the destruction of Assyria
(Num. xxiv. 24) : in Is. xxiii. 1, 12, it appears
as the resort of the fleets of Tyre : in Jer.
ii. 10, the "isles of Chittim" are to the far
west, as Kedar to the east of Palestine : the
Tynans procured thence the cedar or box
wood, which they inlaid with ivory for the
decks of their vessels (Ez. xxvii. 6) : in Dan.
xi. 30, " ships of Chittim " advance to the
south to meet the king of the north. At a
later period we find Alexander the Great de
scribed as coming from the land of Chettiih
(1 Mace. i. 1), and Perseus as king of the
Citims (1 Mace. viii. 5). Josephus considered
Cyprus as the original seat of the Chittim,
adducing as evidence the name of its prin
cipal town, Citium. Citium was without
doubt a Phoenician town. From the town
the name extended to the whole island of
Cyprus, which was occupied by Phoenician
colonies. The name Chittim, which in the
first instance had applied to Phoenicians only,
passed over to the islands which they had
occupied, and thence to the people who suc
ceeded the Phoenicians in the occupation of
them. Thus in Mace, Chittim evidently =
Macedonia. CHI'UN. [Remfhan.]
CHLO'E, a woman mentioned in 1 Cor.
i. 11. CHORA'ZIN, one of the cities in which
our Lord's mighty works were done, but
named only in His denunciation (Matt. xi.
21 ; Luke x. 13). St. Jerome describes it as
on the shore of the lake, two miles from
Capernaum, but its modern site is uncertain.
CHRIST. [Jksus.]
CHRISTIAN. The disciples, we are told
(Acts xi. 26), were first called Christians at
Antioch on the Orontes, somewhere about
a.v. 43. The name, and the place where it
was conferred, are both significant. It is
clear that the appellation "Christian" was
one which could not have been assumed by
the Christians themselves. They were known
to each other as brethren of one family, as
disciples of the same Master, as believers in
the same faith, and as distinguished by the
same endeavours after holiness and consecra
tion of life ; and so were called brethren
(Acts xv. 1, 23 ; 1 Cor. vii. 12), disciples
(Acts ix. 26, xi. 29), believers (Acts v. 14),
saints (Rom. viii. 27, xv. 25). But the outer
world could know nothing of the true force
and significance of these terms. To the con
temptuous Jew they were Nazarenes and
Galilaeans, names which carried with them
the infamy and turbulence of the places
whence they sprung, and from whence no
thing good and no prophet might come. The
Jews could add "nothing to the scorn which

CHRONICLES

96

CHRONICLES

these names expressed, and had they endea
voured to do so they would not have defiled
the glory of their Messiah by applying his
title to those whom they could not but regard
as the followers of a pretender. The name
" Christian," then, which, in the only other
cases where it appears in the N. T. (Acts
xxvi. 28; 1 Pet. iv. 16), is used con
temptuously, could not have been applied by
the early disciples to themselves, nor could it
have come to them from their own nation the
Jews ; it must, therefore, have been imposed
upon them by the Gentile world, and no place
could have so appropriately given rise to it
as Antioch, where the first Church was planted
among the heathen. Its inhabitants were
celebrated for their wit and a propensity for
conferring nicknames. The Emperor Julian
himself was not secure from their jests.
Apollonius of Tyana was driven from the city
by the insults of the inhabitants. Their wit,
however, was often harmless enough; and
there is no reason to suppose that the name
" Christian " of itself was intended as a term
of scurrility or abuse, though it would natu
rally be used with contempt. Suidas says the
name was given in the reign of Claudius,
when Peter appointed Evodius bishop of
Antioch, and they who were formerly called
Nazarenes and Galilaeans had their name
changed to Christians.
CHRONICLES, FIRST AND SECOND
BOOKS OF, the name originally given to the
record made by the appointed historiographers
in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In the
LXX. these books are called Paralipomena
(i. e. things omitted), which is understood as
meaning that they are supplementary to the
books of Kings. The Vulgate retains both
the Hebrew and Greek name in Latin cha
racters, Dibre ja m m hi, or hajamim , and
Paralipomenon. The constant tradition of
the Jews is that these books were for the
most part compiled by Ezra. In fact, the
internal evidence as to the time when the
book of Chronicles was compiled, seems to
tally remarkably with the tradition concern
ing its authorship. As regards the plan of
the book, of which the book of Ezra is a con
tinuation, forming one work, it becomes ap
parent immediately we consider it as the
compilation of Ezra or some one nearly con
temporary with him. One of the greatest
difficulties connected with the captivity and
the return must have been the maintenance
of that genealogical distribution of the lands
which yet was a vital point of the Jewish
economy. Another difficulty intimately con
nected with the former was the maintenance
of the temple services at Jerusalem. This
could only be effected by the residence of the

priests and Levites in Jerusalem in the order
of their courses : and this residence was only
practicable in case of the payment of the ap*
pointed tithes, first-fruits, and other offerings,
But then again the registers of the Levitical
genealogies were necessary, in order that it
might be known who were entitled to such
and such allowances, as porters, as singers,
as priests, and so on ; because all these offices
went by families; and again the payment of
the tithes, first-fruits, &c, was dependent
upon the different families of Israel being:
established each in his inheritance. Obviously
therefore one of the most pressing wants of
the Jewish community after their return from
Babylon would be trusty genealogical records.
But further, not only had Zerubbabel, and
after him Ezra and Nehemiah, laboured most
earnestly to restore the temple and the public
worship of God there to the condition it had
been in under the kings of Judah ; but it ap
pears clearly from their policy, and from the
language of the contemporary prophets,'.
Haggai and Zechariah, that they had it much
at heart to re-infuse something of national
life and spirit into the heart of the people,
and to make them feel that they were still the
inheritors of God's covenanted mercies, and
that the captivity had only temporarily inter
rupted, not dried up, the stream of God's
favour to their nation. Now nothing could
more effectually aid these pious and patriotic
designs than setting before the people a com
pendious history of the kingdom of David,
which should embrace a full account of it'
prosperity, should trace tbe sins which led
to its overthrow, should carry the thread
through the period of the captivity, and con
tinue it as it were unbroken on the other
side : and those passages in their former his
tory would be especially important which
exhibited their greatest and best kings as
engaged in building or restoring the temple,
in reforming all corruptions in religion, and
zealously regulating the services of the house
of God. As regards the kingdom of Israel or
Samaria, seeing it had utterly and hopelessly*
passed away, and that the existing inhabitants
were among tbe bitterest " adversaries oL
Judah and Benjamin," it would naturally ei0
gage very little of the compiler's attention.
These considerations explain exactly the plan
and scope of that historical work which con
sists of the two books of Chronicles and the
book of Ezra. For after having in the first
eight chapters given the genealogical divisions
and settlements of the various tribes, theJ
compiler marks distinctly his own age and
his own purpose, by informing us in ch. is. 1
of the disturbance of those settlements by
the Babylonish captivity, and, in the follow-

CHRYSOLITE

97

CHURCH

ing verses, of the partial restoration of them
at the return from Babylon (2-24) ; and that
this list refers to the families who had re
turned from Babylon is clear, not only from
the context, but from its reinsertion, Neh. xi.
3-22, with additional matter evidently ex
tracted from the public archives, and relating
to times subsequent to the return from
Babylon, extending to Neh. xii. 27, where
Nehemiah's narrative is again resumed in
continuance with Neh. xi. 2. Having thus
Bhown the re-establishment of the returned
families, each in their own inheritance ac
cording to the houses of their fathers, the
compiler proceeds to the other part of his
plan, which is to give a continuous history of
the kingdom of Judah from David to his own
times, introduced by the closing scene of
Saul's life (ch. x.), which introduction is itself
prefaced by a genealogy of the house of Saul
(ix. 35-44). As regards the materials used
by Ezra, they are not difficult to discover.
The genealogies are obviously transcribed
from some register, in which were preserved
the, genealogies of the tribes and families
drawn up at different times ; while the history
is mainly drawn from the same documents as
those used in the Books of Kings. [Kings,
Books of.]
CHRYSOLITE, one of the precious stones
in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem
(Rev. xxi. 20). It has been already stated
[Beryl] that the chrysolite of the ancients is
identical with the modern Oriental topaz,
the tarshish of the Hebrew Bible.
CHRYSOPRASE occurs only in Rev. xxi.
20. The true chrysoprase is sometimes
found in antique Egyptian jewellery set alter
nately with bits of lapis-lazuli ; it is not im
probable therefore that this is the stone
;tvhich was the tenth in the walls of the
'heavenly Jerusalem.
]¦ ^HUBj the name of a people in alliance
with Egypt in the time of Nebuchadnezzar
'(Ez. xxx. 5), and probably of northern Africa,
or of the lands near Egypt to the South.
CHUN, a city of Hadadezer (1 Chr. xviii.
'8), called Berothai in 2 Sam. viii. 8.
* CHURCH. I. The derivation of the word
^church is uncertain. It is generally said to be
¦^derived from the Greek kuriaikon (Kvpto.Kov),
" belonging to the Lord." But the derivation

'has hi

teen too hastily assumed. It is probably
connected with kirk, the Latin circus, circu-
clm, the Greek kuklos (kvkKos).— II. Ecclesia
H«KATj(rta), the Greek word for Church,
^originally meant an assembly called out by
ie- ma8iatrate. or by legitimate authority.
This is the ordinary classical sense of the
-wovd. But it throws no light on the nature
W the institution so designated in the New
8m. D. b.

Testament. For to the writers of the N.T.
the word had now lost its primary significa
tion, and was either used generally for any
meeting (Acts xix. 32), or more particularly,
it denoted (1) the religious assemblies of the
Jews (Deut. iv. 10, xviii. 16) ; (2) the whole
assembly or congregation of the Israelitish
people (Acts vii. 38 ; Heb. ii. 12 ; Ps. xxii.
22; Deut. xxxi. 30). It was in this last
sense that the word was adopted and applied
by the writers of the N. T. to the Christian
congregation. The chief difference between
the words " ecclesia " and " church," would
probably consist in this, that " ecclesia "
primarily signified the Christian body, and
secondarily the place of assembly, while the
first signification of " church " was the place
of assembly, which imparted its name to the
body of worshippers. — III. The Church as
described in the Gospels. — The word occurs
only twice. Each time in St. Matthew (Matt.
xvi. 18, " On this rock will I build my
Church;" xviii. 17, "Tell it unto the
Church "). In every other case it is spoken
of as "the kingdom of heaven" by St.
Matthew, and as " the kingdom of God " by
St. Mark and St. Luke. St. Mark, St. Luke",
and St. John, never use the expression
" kingdom of heaven." St. John once uses
the phrase "kingdom of God" (iii. 3). St.
Matthew occasionally speaks of "the king
dom of God" (vi. 33, xxi. 31, 43), and
sometimes simply of " the kingdom " (iv. 23,
xiii. 19, xxiv. 14). In xiii. 41 and xvi. 28,
it is " the Son of Man's kingdom." In xx.
21, "thy kingdom," i.e. Christ's. In the
one Gospel of St. Matthew the Church is
spoken of no less than thirty-six times as
"the kingdom." Other descriptions or titles
are hardly found in the Evangelists. It is
Christ's household (Matt. x. 25), the salt and
light of the world (v. 13, 15), Christ's flock
(Matt. xxvi. 31 ; John x. 1), its members
are the branches growing on Christ tbe Vine
(John xv.) ; but the general description of
it, not metaphorically but directly, is, that it
is a kingdom (Matt. xvi. 19). From the
Gospel then, we learn that Christ was about
to establish His heavenly kingdom, on eai'th,
which was to be the substitute for the Jewish
Church and kingdom, now doomed to destruc
tion (Matt. xxi. 43).— IV. The Church as
described in the Acts and in the Epistles — its
Origin, Nature, and Constitution. — From the
Gospels we learn little in the way of detail as
to the kingdom which was to be established.
It was in the great forty days which inter
vened between the Resurrection and the
Ascension that our Lord explained specifically
to His Apostles " the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God" (Acts i. 3), that is, his
H

CHURCH

98

CHURCH

future Church. — Its Origin. — The removal of
Christ from the earth had left his followers a
shattered company with no bond of external
or internal cohesion, except the memory of
the Master whom they had lost, and the
recollection of his injunctions to unity and
love. They continued together, meeting for
prayer and supplication, and waiting fox-
Christ's promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost.
They numbered in all some 140 persons,
namely, the eleven, the faithful women,
the Lord's mother, his brethren, and 120
disciples. They had faith to believe that
there was a work before them which they
were about to be called to perform ; and that
they might be ready to do it, they filled up
the number of the Twelve by tbe appointment
of Matthias " to be a true witness " with the
eleven " of the Resurrection." The Day of
Pentecost is the birth-day of the Christian
Church. The Spirit, who was then sent by
the Son from the Father, and rested on each
of the Disciples, combined them once more
into a whole — combined them as they never
had before been combined, by an internal
and spiritual bond of cohesion. Before they
had been individual followers of Jesus, now
they became his mystical body, animated by
His Spirit. — Its Nature'. — "Then they that
gladly received his word were baptized ....
and they continued stedfastly in the Apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread and in prayers" (Acts ii. 41). Here
we have indirectly exhibited the essential
conditions of Church Communion. They are
(1) Baptism, Baptism implying on the part of
the recipient repentance and faith ; (2)
Apostolic Doctrine ; (3) Fellowship with the
Apostles ; (4) the Lord's Supper ; (5) Public
Worship. Every requisite for church-mem
bership is here enumerated not only for the
Apostolic days, but for future ages. St.
Luke's treatise being historical, not dogma
tical, he does not directly enter further into
the essential nature of the Church. The
community of goods, which he describes as
being universal amongst the members of the
infant society (ii. 44, iv. 32), is specially
declared to be a voluntary practice (v. 4),
not a necessary duty of Christians as such
(comp. Acts ix. 36, 39, xi. 29). From the
illustrations adopted by St. Paul in his
Epistles, we have additional light thrown
upon the nature of the Church. The
passage which is most illustrative of our sub
ject in the Epistles is Eph. iv. 3, 6. Here
we see what it is that constitutes the unity of
the Church in the mind of the Apostle : (1)
unity of Headship, "one Lord;" (2) unity
of belief, "one faith;" (3) unity of Sacra
ments, " one baptism : " (4) unity of hope

of eternal life, "one hope of your calling;"
(5) unity of love, " unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace ; " (6) unity of organisation,
" one body." The Church, then, at this
period was a body of baptized men and
women who believed in Jesus as the Christ,
and in the revelation made by Him, who
were united by having the same faith, hope,
and animating Spirit of love, the same Sacra-
ments, and the same spiritual invisible Head.
— What was the Constitution of this body?—
On the evening of the Day of Pentecost, the
3140 members of which it consisted were (1)
Apostles, (2) previous Disciples, (3) converts.
At this time the Church was not only morally
but actually one congregation. Soon, how
ever, its numbers grew so considerably that
it was a physical impossibility that all its
members should come together in one spot.
It became, therefore, an aggregate of con
gregations, though without losing its essential
unity. The Apostles, who had been closest
to the Lord Jesus in his life on earth would
doubtless have formed tbe centres of the
several congregations. Thus the Church
continued for apparently some seven years,
but at the end of that time " the number of
disciples was" so greatly "multiplied" (Acts
vi. 1) that the twelve Apostles found them
selves to be too few to carry out these works
unaided. They thereupon for the first time
exercised the powers of mission intrusted^to
them (John xx. 21), and by laying their
hands on the Seven who were recommended
to them by the general body of Christians,
they appointed them to fulfil the secular task
of distributing the common stock. It is a
question which cannot be certainly answered
whether the office of these Seven is to be
identified with that of the deacons elsewhere
found. We incline to the bypothfih
which makes the Seven the originals of^
Deacons. From this time therefore, or fijgj
about this time, there existed in the ChurcT
— (1) the Apostles; (2) the Deacons and
Evangelists; (3) the multitude of the faithful.
We hear of no other Church-officer till the
year 44, seven years after the appoinunentof
the deacons. We find that there were then
in the Church of Jerusalem officers named
Presbyters (xi. 30) who were the assistantsof
James, the chief administrator of that Church
(xii. 17). The circumstances of their first
appointment are not recounted. No doubt
they were similar to those under which the
Deacons were appointed. The name of
Presbyter or Elder implies that the men
selected were of mature age. By the year
44, therefore, there were in the Church of
Jerusalem — ( 1 ) the Apostles holding , the
government of the whole body in their own

CHURCH

09

CINNEROTH

hands : (2) Presbyters invested by the
Apostles with authority for conducting public
worship in each congregation ; (3) Deacons
or Evangelists similarly invested with the
lesser power of preaching and of baptizing
unbelievers, and of distributing the common
goods among the brethren. The same order
was established in the Gentile Churches
founded by St. Paul, tbe only difference
being that those who were called Presbyters
in Jerusalem bore indifferently the name of
Bishops (Phil. i. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 1, 2; Tit. i.
7) or of Presbyters (1 Tim. v. 17 ; Tit. i. 5)
elsewhere. It was in the Church of Jerusa
lem that another order of the ministry found
its exempler. James the brother of the
Lord remained unmolested during the perse
cution of Herod Agrippa in the year 44, and
from this time he is the acknowledged head
of the Church of Jerusalem. A consideration
of Acts xii. 17, xv. 13, 19 ; Gal. ii. 2, 9, 12 ;
Acts xxi. 18, will remove all doubt on this
point. Whatever his pre-eminence was, he
appears to have borne no special title indi
cating it. The example of the Mother
Church of Jerusalem was again followed by
the Pauline Churches. Timothy and Titus
had probably no distinctive title, but it is
impossible to read the Epistles addressed to
.them without seeing that they had an
authority superior to that of the ordinary
-bishops or priests (1 Tim. iii., v. 17, 19 ;
Tit. i. 5). Thus, then, we see that where the
Apostles were themselves able to superintend
the Churches that they bad founded, the
,<3hurch-officers consisted of — (1) Apostles;
(2) Bishops or Priests; (3) Deacons and
Evangelists. When the Apostles were
..unable to give personal superintendence,
they delegated that power which they had in
common to one of themselves, as in Jerusa-
. lem, or to one in whom they had confidence,
'aa at Ephesus and in Crete. As the Apostles
( died off, these Apostolic Delegates necessarily
multiplied. By the end of the first century,
¦when St, John was the only Apostle that
.now survived, they would have been esta
blished in every country, as Crete, and in
" every large town where there were several
bishops or priests, such as the seven towns of
'Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
- These superintendents appear to be addressed
by St. John under the name of Angels.
With St. John's death the Apostolic College
^.extinguished, and the Apostolic Delegates
or. Angels were left to fill their places in the
\ government of the Church, not with the full
-.unrestricted power of the Apostles, but with
authority only to be exercised in limited dis
tricts. In the next century we find that
These officers bore the name of Bishops, while

those who in the first century were called
indifferently Presbyters or Bishops had now
only the title of Presbyters. We conclude,
therefore, that the title bishop was gradually
dropped by the second order of the ministry,
and applied specifically to those who repre
sented what James, Timothy, and Titus had
been in the Apostolic age.
CHUSH'AN-RISHATHA'IM, the king of
Mesopotamia who oppressed Israel during
eight years in the generation immediately
following Joshua (Judg. iii. 8). The seat of
his dominion was probably the region between
the Euphrates and the Khabour. Chushan-
ltishathaim's yoke was broken from the neck
of the people of Israel at the end of eight
years by Othniel, Caleb's nephew (Judg. iii.
10), and nothing more is heard of Mesopo
tamia as an aggressive power. The rise of
the Assyrian empire, about b.c. 1270, would
naturally reduce the bordering nations to
insignificance. CHU'ZA (properly CHUZAS), the house-
steward of Herod Antipas (Luke viii. 3).
CILIC'IA, a maritime province in the S.E.
of Asia Minor, bordering on Pamphylia in
the W., Lycaonia and Cappadocia in the N.,
and Syria in the E. The connexion between
the Jews and Cilicia dates from the time
when it became part of the Syrian kingdom.
In the Apostolic age they were still there in
considerable numbers (Acts vi. 9). Cilicia
was from its geographical position the high
road between Syria and the West, it was
also the native country of St. Paul ; hence it
was visited by him, firstly, soon after his
conversion (Gal. i. 21 ; Acts ix. 30) ; and
again in his second apostolical journey, when
he entered it on the side of Syria, and crossed
Antitaurus by the Pylae Ciliciae into Lycaonia
(Acts xv. 41).
CINNAMON, a well-known aromatic sub
stance, the rind of the Laurus cinnamomum,
called Korunda-gauhah in Ceylon. It is
mentioned in Ex. xxx. 23 as one of the com
ponent parts of the holy anointing oil, which
Moses was commanded to prepare — in Prov.
vii. 17 as a perfume for the bed— and in
Cant. iv. 14 as one of the plants of the
garden which is the image of the spouse. In
Rev. xviii. 13 it is enumerated among the
merchandise of the great Babylon. It was
imported into Judaea by the Phoenicians or
by the Arabians, and is now found in Suma
tra, Borneo, China, &c, but chiefly, and of
the best quality, in the S.W. part of Ceylon.
CIN'NEROTH, ALL, a district named
with the "land of Naphtali" and other
northern places as having been laid waste by
Benhadad (I K. xv. 20). It was possibly
the small enclosed district north of Tiberias,
H 2

CIRCUMCISION

100

CITIES OF REFUGE

and by the side of the lake, afterwards known
as " the plain of Gennesareth."
CIRCUMCISION was peculiarly, though
not exclusively, a Jewish rite. It was
enjoined upon Abraham, the father of the
nation, by God, at the institution, and as the
token, of the Covenant, which assured to him
and his descendants the promise of the
Messiah (Gen. xvii.). It was thus made a
necessary condition of Jewish nationality.
Every male child was to be circumcised when
eight days old (Lev. xii. 3) on pain of death.
If the eighth day were a Sabbath the rite was
not postponed (John vii. 22, 23). Slaves,
whether homeborn or purchased, were cir
cumcised (Gen. xvii. 12, 13) ; and foreigners
must have their males circumcised before
they could be allowed to partake of the
passover (Ex. xii. 48), or become Jewish
citizens. It seems to have been customary
to name a child when it was circumcised
(Luke i. 59). The use of circumcision by
other nations besides the Jews is to be
gathered almost entirely from sources ex
traneous to the Bible. The rite has been
found to prevail extensively both in ancient
and modern times. The biblical notice of
the rite describes it as distinctively Jewish ;
so that in the N. T. " the circumcision " and
"the un circumcision " are frequently used
as synonyms for the Jews and the Gentiles.
Circumcision certainly belonged to the Jews
as it did to no other people, by virtue of its
divine institution, of the religious privileges
which were attached to it, and of the strict
regulations which enforced its observance.
Moreover, the O.T. history incidently discloses
the fact that many, if not all, of the nations
with whom they came in contact were uncir-
cumcised. The origin of the custom amongst
one large section of those Gentiles who follow
it, is to be found in the biblical record of the
circumcision of Ishmael (Gen. xvii. 25).
Though Mohammed did not enjoin circum
cision in the Koran, he was circumcised him
self, according to the custom of his country ;
and circumcision is now as common amongst
the Mohammedans as amongst the Jews. The
process of restoring a circumcised person to
his natural condition by a surgical operation
was sometimes undergone. Some of the
Jews in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes,
wishing to assimilate themselves to the
heathen around them, " made themselves
uncircumcised " (1 Mace. i. 15). Against
having recourse to this practice, from an
excessive anti-Judaistic tendency, St. Paul
cautions the Corinthians (1 Cor. vii. 18).
The attitude which Christianity, at its intro
duction, assumed towards circumcision was
one of absolute hostility, so far as the

necessity of the riie to salvation, or its
possession of any religious or moral worth
were concerned (Acts xv. ; Gal. v. 2). The
Abyssinian Christians still practise circum.
cision as a national custom.
CIS, the father of Saul (Acts xiii. 21).
usually called Kish.
CISTERN, a receptacle for water, either
conducted from an external spring, or pro
ceeding from rainfall. The dryness of the
summer months between May and September,
in Syria, and the scarcity of springs in many
parts of the country, make it necessary to
collect in reservoirs and cisterns the rain
water, of which abundance falls in the inter
mediate period. The larger sort of public
tanks or reservoirs are usually called in A. V.
" pool," while for the smaller and more
private it is convenient to reserve the name
cistern. Both pools and cisterns are frequent
throughout the whole of Syria and Palestine.
On the long forgotten way from Jericho to
Bethel, " broken cisterns " of high antiquity.
are found at regular intervals. Jerusalem
depends mainly for water upon its cisterns,
of which almost every private house possesses
one or more, excavated in the rock on which
the city is built. The cisterns have usually
a round opening at the top, sometimes built
up with stonework above and furnished with
a curb and a wheel for the bucket (Eccl. xii.
6), so that they have externally much the
appearance of an ordinary well. The water
is conducted into them from the roofs of the
houses during the rainy season, and with
care remains sweet during the whole summer
and autumn. In this manner most of the
larger bouses and public buildings are
supplied. Empty cisterns were sometimes
used as prisons and places of confinement
Joseph was cast into a " pit " (Gen. xxxvii.
22), and his " dungeon " in Egypt is called
by the same name (xii. 14). Jeremiah was
thrown into a miry though empty cisterfljj
whose depth is indicated by the cords used to
let him down (Jer. xxxviii. 6).
CITHERN (1 Mace. iv. 54), a musical
instrument, resembling a guitar, most pro
bably of Greek origin, employed by the
Chaldeans, and introduced by the Hebrew
into Palestine on their return thither after
the Babylonian captivity.
CITIES OF REFUGE. Six Levitical cities
specially chosen for refuge to the involuntary
homicide until released from banishment by
the death of the high-priest (Num. xxxv. 6,
13, 15; Josh. xx. 2, 7, 9). There were
three on each side of Jordan. 1. Kedesh, in
Naphtali (1 Chr. vi. 76). 2. Shechem, in
Mounc Ephraim (Josh. xxi. 21 ; 1 Chr. vi.
67 ; 2 Chr. x. 1). 3. Hebkon, in Judah

CITIMS

101

CLOUD

(Josh. xxi. 13 ; 2 Sam. v. 5 ; 1 Chr. vi. 55,
xxix. 27 ; 2 Chr. xi. 10). 4. On the E.
side of Jordan — Bezer, in the tribe of
Iteuben, in the plains of Moab (Deut. iv. 43 ;
Josh. xx. 8, xxi. 36 ; 1 Mace. v. 26). 5.
Ramoth -Gi leap, in the tribe of Gad (Deut.
iv. 43 ; Josh. xxi. 38 ; IK. xxii. 3). 6.
Golan, in Bashan, in .the half-tribe of
Manasseh (Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xxi. 27 ; 1
Chr. vi. 71).
CIT'IMS, 1 Mace. viii. 5. [Chittim.]
CITIZENSHIP. The use of this term in
Scripture has exclusive reference to the
usages of the Roman empire. The privilege
of Koman citizenship was originally acquired
in various ways, as by purchase (Acts xxii.
28), by military services, by favour, or by
manumission. The right once obtained de
scended to a man's children (Acts xxii. 28).
Among the privileges attached to citizenship,
we may note that a man could not be bound
or imprisoned without a formal trial (Acts
xxii. 29), still less be scourged (Acts xvi.
37 ; Cic. in Terr. v. 63, 66). Another
privilege attaching to citizenship was the
appeal from a provincial tribunal to tbe
emperor at Rome (Acts xxv. 11).
CITRON. [Apple Tree.]
CLAIIDA (Acts xxvii, 16), a small island
nearly due W. of Cape Matala on the S. coast
of Crete, and nearly due S. of PnOENiCE, now
Gozzo.
i CLAU'DIA, a Christian woman mentioned
in 2 Tim. iv. 21, as saluting Timotheus.
There is reason for supposing that this
Claudia was a British maiden, daughter of
king Cogidubnus, an ally of Rome, who took
the name of his imperial patron, Tiberius
Claudius. She appears to have become the
wife of Pudens, who is mentioned in the
same verse.
, CLAU'DIUS, fourth Roman emperor,
reigned from 41 to 54 a.d. He was the son
of Nero Drusus, was born in Lyons Aug. 1,
b.c. 9 or 10, and lived private and unknown
till the day of his being called to the throne,
January 24, a.d. 41. He was nominated to
the supreme power mainly through the
influence of Herod Agrippa the First. In
the reign of Claudius there were several
amines, arising from unfavourable harvests,
and one such occurred in Palestine and Syria
(Acts xi. 28-30) under the procurators
.Cuspins Fadus and Tiberius Alexander, which
perhaps lasted some years. Claudius was
Induced by a tumult of the Jews in Rome, to
expel them from the city (cf. Acts xviii. 2).
The date of this event is uncertain. After a
weak and foolish reign he was poisoned by
his fourth wife Agrippina, the mother of
Nero, Oct. 13, a.d. 54.

CLAU'DIUS LYS'IAS. [Lvsias.]
CLAY. As the sediment of water remain
ing in pits or in streets, the word is used
frequently in O. T. (Is. lvii. 20; Jer. xxxviii.
6 ; Ps. xviii. 42), and in N. T. (John ix. 6),
a mixture of sand or dust with spittle. It is
also found in the sense of potter's clay (Is.
xli. 25). The great seat of the pottery of
the present day in Palestine is Gaza, where
are made the vessels in dark blue clay so
frequently met with. Another use of clay
was for sealing (Job xxxviii. 14). Wine
jars in E-gypt were sometimes sealed with
clay ; mummy pits were sealed with the
same substance, and remains of clay are still
found adhering to the stone door-jambs.
Our Lord's tomb may have been thus sealed
(Matt, xxvii. 66), as also the earthen vessel
containing the evidences of Jeremiah's pur
chase (Jer. xxxii. 14). The seal used for
public documents was rolled on the moist
clay, and the tablet was then placed in the
fire and baked. The practice of sealing doors
with clay to facilitate detection in case of
malpractice is still common in the East.
CLEM'ENT (Phil. iv. 3), a fellow-labourer
of St. Paul, when he was at Philippi. It was
generally believed in the ancient church, that
this Clement was identical with the Bishop
of Rome, who afterwards became so cele
brated. CLE'OPAS, one of the two disciples who
were going to Emmaus on the day of the re
surrection (Luhe xxiv. 18). It is a question
whether this Cleopas is to be considered as
identical with Cleoph^s (accur. Clopas) or
Alphaeus in John xix. 25. On the whole, it
seems safer to doubt their identity.
CLEOPAT'RA. 1. The "wife of Ptolemy"
(Esth. xi. 1) was probably the granddaughter
of Antiochus, and wife of Ptol. VI. Philo
metor. — 3. A daughter of Ptol. VI. Philometor
and Cleopatra (1), who was married first to
Alexander Balas b.c 150 (1 Mace. x. 58),
and afterwards given by her father to Deme
trius Nieatorwhen he invaded Syria (1 Mace.
xi. 12). During the captivity of Demetrius
in Parthia, Cleopatra married his brother
Antiochus VII. Sidetes. She afterwards mur
dered Seleucus, her eldest son by Demetrius ;
and at length was herself poisoned b.c 120
by a draught which she had prepared for her
second son Antiochus VIII.
CLE'OPHAS. [Cleopas ; Alphaeus.]
CLOTHING. [Dress.]
CLOUD. The shelter given, and refresh
ment of rain promised, by clouds, give them
their peculiar prominence in Oriental imagery,
and the individual cloud in an ordinary cloud
less region becomes well defined and is dwelt
upon like the individual tree in the bare

CLOUD, PILLAR OF

102

COLOSSE

landscape. When a cloud appears, rain is
ordinarily apprehended, and thus the "cloud
without rain " becomes a proverb for the man
of promise without performance (Prov. xvi.
15; Is. xviii. 4, xxv. 5; Jude 12; comp.
Prov. xxv. 14). The cloud is a figure of
transitoriness (Job xxx. 15 ; Hos. vi. 4), and
of whatever intercepts divine favour or hum an
supplication (Lam. ii. 1, iii, 44). Being the
least substantial of visible forms, it is the one
amongst material things which suggests most
easily spiritual being. Hence it is the recog
nised machinery by which supernatural ap
pearances are introduced (Is. xix. 1 ; Ez. i. 4 ;
Rev. i. 7). A bright cloud, at any rate at
times, visited and rested on the Mercy Seat
(Ex. xxix. 42, 43 ; 1 K. viii. 10, 11 ; 2 Chr.
v. 14 ; Ez. xliii. 4) and was by later writers
named Shechinah.
CLOUD, PILLAR OF. This was the active
form of the symbolical glory-cloud, betoken
ing God's presence to lead His chosen host,
or to inquire and visit offences, as the
luminous cloud of the sanctuary exhibited
the same under an aspect of repose. The
cloud, which became a pillar when the host
moved, seems to have rested at other times
on the tabernacle, whence God is said to have
" come down in the pillar " (Num. xii. 5 ; so
Ex. xxxiii. 9, 10). It preceded the host,
apparently resting on the ark which led the
way (Ex. xiii. 21, xl. 36, &c. ; Num. ix.
15-23, x. 34).
CNI'DUS is mentioned in 1 Mace. xv. 23,
as one of the Greek cities which contained
Jewish residents in the 2nd century b.c, and
in Acts xxvii. 7, as a harbour which was
passed by St. Paul after leaving Myra, and
before running under the lee of Crete. It
was a city of great consequence, situated at
the extreme S.W. of the peninsula of Asia
Minor, on a promontory now called Cape
Crio, which projects between the islands of
Cos and Rhodes (see Acts xxi. 1).
COAT. [Dress.]
COCK. In the N. T. the " cock" is men
tioned in reference to St. Peter's denial of
our Lord, and indirectly in the word " cock-
crowing" (Matt. xxvi. 34; Mark xiv. 30,
xiii. 35, &c). We know that the domestic
cock and hen were early known to the ancient
Greeks and Romans, and as no mention is
made in the O. T. of these birds, and no
figures of tbem occur on the Egyptian monu
ments, they probably came into Judaea with
the Romans, who, as is well known, prized
these birds both as articles of food and for
cock-fighting. COCKATRICE. [Adder.]
COCKLE (Heb. boshdh) occurs only in Job
xxxi. 40. We are inclined to believe that the

boshdh denotes any bad weeds or fruit, and
may in Job signify bad or smutted barley.
COELE-SYR'IA, "the hollow Syria," was
(strictly speaking) the name given by the
Greeks, after the time of Alexander, to the
remarkable valley or hollow which intervenes
between Libanus and Anti-Libanus, stretch
ing a distance of. nearly a hundred miles.
But the term was also used in a much wider
sense. In the firsfplace it was extended so
as to include the inhabited tract to the east
of the Anti-Libanus range, between it and
the desert, in which stood the great city of
Damascus ; and then it was further earned
on upon that side of Jordan, through Tra-
chonitis and Peraea, to Idumaea and the
borders of Egypt. The only distinct refer
ence to the region, as a separate tract of
country, which the Jewish Scriptures con
tain, is probably that in Amos (i. 5), where
"the inhabitants of the plain of Aven" are
threatened in conjunction with those of
Damascus. In the Apocryphal Books there
is frequent mention of Coele-Syria in a some-
what vague sense, nearly as an equivalent
for Syria (1 Esd. ii. 17, 24, 27, iv. 48, vi. 29,
vii. 1, viii. 67 ; 1 Mace. x. 69 ; 2 Mace. iii.
5, S, iv. 4, viii. 8, x. 11). In all these cases
the word is given in A. V. as Cclosteia.
COFFIN. [Bi-rial.]
COLLEGE, THE. In 2 K. xxii. 14 it is
said in the A. V. that Huldah the prophetess
"dwelt in Jerusalem in the college" (Heh2
mishneh), or, as the margin has it, "in the
second part." The same part of the city is
undoubtedly alluded to in Zeph. i. 10 (A. V.
"the second"). It is probable that the
mishneh was the " lower city," built on the
hill Akra.
COLONY, a designation of Philippi, in
Acts xvi. 12. After the battle of Actium,
Augustus assigned to his veterans those parts
of Italy which had espoused the cause of
Antony, and transported many of the ex
pelled inhabitants to Philippi, DyiTachium,1
and other cities. In this way Philippi was
made a Roman colony with the " Jus lta-
licuni." COLOS'SE (more properly COLOS'SAE),a
city in the upper part of the basin of tbe
Maeandcr, on one of its affluents named the
Lye ns. Hierapolis and Laodicaea were in
its immediate neighbourhood (Col. fi. 'ljfr
13, 15, 16 ; see Rev. i. 11, iii. 14). Colossae
fell, as these other two cities rose in import
ance. It was situated close to the greatroad
which led from Ephesus to the Euphrates.
Hence our impulse would be to conclude that
St. Paul passed this way, and founded or
confirmed tho Colossian Church on his third
missionary journey 'Acts xviii. 23, sis. !)¦

COLOSSIANS, EPISTLE TO THE 103

CONEY

The most competent commentators, however,
agree in thinking that Col. ii. 1, proves that
St. Paul had never been there, when the
Epistle was written. That the Apostle hoped
to visit the place on being delivered from
his Roman imprisonment is clear from Phi
lemon 22 (compare Phil. ii. 24).
COLOSSIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE,
was written by the Apostle St. Paul during
his first captivity at Rome (Acts xxviii. 16),
and apparently in that portion of it (Col. iv.
3, 4) when the Apostle's imprisonment had
not assumed the more severe character which
seems to be reflected in the Epistle to the
Philippians (ch. i. 20, 21, 30, ii. 27), and
which not improbably succeeded the death
of Burrus in a.d. 62, and the decline of the
influence of Seneca. This epistle was ad
dressed to the Christians of the city of Colos-
sae, and was delivered to them by Tychieus,
whom the Apostle had sent both to them
(eh. iv. 7, 8) and to the church of Ephesus
(ch. vi. 21), to inquire into their state and
to administer exhortation and comfort. The
epistle seems to have been called forth by
the information St. Paul had received from
Epaphras (ch. iv. 12 ; Philem. 23) and
from Onesimus, both of whom appear to have
been natives of Colo3sae. The main object
of the epistle is to warn the Colossians against
a spirit of semi-Judaistic and semi-Oriental
philosophy which was corrupting the simpli
city of their belief, and was noticeably tend-
. ing to obscure the eternal glory and dignity
of Christ. The striking similarity between
, many portions of this epistle and of that of
the Ephesians may be accounted for, (1) by
the proximity in time at which the two epis
tles were written ; (2) by the high probabi
lity that in two cities of Asia within a mo
derate distance from one another, there would
be many doctrinal prejudices, and many social
relations, that would call forth and need pre
cisely the same language of warning and ex
hortation. The shorter and perhaps more
vividly expressed Epistle to the Colossians
seems to have been first written, and to have
suggested the more comprehensive, more
systematic, but less individualizing, epistle
to the church of Ephesus.
CONCUBINE. The difference between
wife and concubine was less marked among
the Hebrews than among us, owing to the
absence of moral stigma. The concubine's
condition was a definite one, and quite inde-
peodent of the fact of there being another
woman having the rights of wife towards
the same man. The difference probably lay
in the absence of the right of the bill of di
vorce, without which the wife could not be
repudiated. With regard to the children of

wife and concubine, there was no such differ
ence as our illegitimacy implies; the latter
were a supplementary family to the former,
their names occur in the patriarchal gene
alogies (Gen. xxii. 24; 1 Chr. i. 32), and
their position and provision would depend
on the father's will (Gen. xxv. 6). The
state of concubinage is assumed and provided
for by the law of Moses. A concubine would
generally be either (1) a Hebrew girl bought
of her father ; (2), a gentile captive taken in
war; (3), a foreign slave bought, or (4),* a
Canaanitish woman, bond or free. The rights
of (1) and (2) were protected by law (Ex.
xxi. 7; Deut. xxi. 10-14), but (3) was un
recognised, and (4) prohibited. Free Hebrew
women also might become concubines. So
Gideon's concubine seems to have been of a
family of rank and influence in Shechem, and
such was probably the state of the Levite's
concubine (Judg. xx.). The ravages of war
among the male sex, or the impoverishment
of families might often induce this condition.
The case (1) was not a hard lot (Ex. xxi.).
The provisions relating to (2) are merciful
and considerate to a rare degree. In the
books of Samuel and Kings the concubines
mentioned belong to the king, and their con
dition and number cease to be a guide to the
general practice. A new king stepped into
the lights of his predecessor, and by Solo
mon's time the custom had approximated to
that of a Persian harem (2 Sam. xii. 8, xvi.
21 ; 1 K. ii. 22). To seize on royal concu
bines for his use was thus an usurper's first
act. Such was probably the intent of Ab-
ner's act (2 Sam. iii. 7), and similarly the
request on behalf of Adonijah was construed
(J K. ii. 21-24).
CONEY, (Shdphdn), a gregarious animal of
the class Pachydermata, which is found in
Palestine, living in the caves and clefts of
the rocks, and has been erroneously identi
fied with the Rabbit or Coney. Its scientific
name is Hyrax Syriaeus". In Lev. xi. 5 and
in Deut. xiv. 7 it is declared to be unclean,
because it chews the cud, but does not divide
the hoof. In Ps. civ. 18 we are told "the

Hyrax Syriacus. (l-'rom a specimen in the British
Museum, )

CONGREGATION

104

CORBAN

rocks are a refuge for the coneys," and in
Prov. xxx. 26 that "the coneys are but a
feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the
rocks." The Hyrax satisfies exactly the ex
pressions in the two last passages. Its colour
is grey or brown on the back, white on the
belly ; it is like the alpine marmot, scarcely
of the size of the domestic cat, having long
hair, a very short tail, and round ears. It
is found on the Lebanon and in the Jordan
and Dead Sea valleys.
CONGREGATION. This describes the He
brew people in its collective capacity under
its peculiar aspect as a holy community, held
together by religious rather than political
bonds. Sometimes it is used in abroad sense
as inclusive of foreign settlers (Ex. xii. 19) ;
but more properly, as exclusively appro
priate to the Hebrew element of the popu
lation (Num. xv. 15). Every circumcised
Hebrew was a member of the congregation.
and took part in its proceedings, probably
from the time that he bore arms. The con
gregation occupied an important position
under the Theocracy, as the comitia or na
tional parliament, invested with legislative
and judicial powers; each house, family, and
tribe being represented by its head or father.
The number of these representatives being
inconveniently large for ordinary business,
a further selection was made by Moses of 70,
who formed a species of standing committee
(Num. xi. 16). Occasionally indeed the
whole body of the people was assembled at
the door of the tabernacle, hence usually
called the tabernacle of the congregation
(Num. x. 3). The people were strictly bound
by the acts of their representatives, even in
cases where they disapproved of them (Josh.
ix. 18). After the occupation of the land of
Canaan, the congregation was assembled
only on matters of the highest importance.
In the later periods of Jewish history the
congregation was represented by the San
hedrim. CONI'AH. [Jecontah.]
CONSECRATION. [Priest.]
CONVOCATION. This term is applied in
variably to meetings of a religious character,
in contradistinction to congregation. With
one exception (Is. i. 13), the word is peculiar
to the Pentateuch.
CO'OS, Acts xxi. 1. [Cos.]
COPPER, Heb. Nc-chosheth, in the A.V.
always rendered "brass," except in Ezr.
viii. 27, and Jer. xv. 12. This metal is
usually found as pyrites (sulphnret of copper
andiron), malachite (carb. of copper), or in
the state of oxide, and occasionally in a native
state, principally in the New World. It was
almost exclusively used by the ancients for

common purposes; for which its ela-tie and
ductile nature rendered it practically avail
able. Wc read in the Bible of copper, pos
sessed in countless abundance (2 Chr. iv. 18),
and used for every kind of instrument; as
chains (Judg. xvi. 21), pillars (1 K. vii. 15.
21), 1 avers, the great one being called "the
copper sea" (2 K. xxv. 13 ; 1 Chr. xviii. 8),
and the other temple vessels. These were
made in the foundry, with the assistance of
Hiram, a Phoenician (1 K. vii. 13), although
the Jews were not ignorant of metallurgy
(Ez. xxii. 18 ; Deut. iv. 20, A-c), and appear
to have worked their own mines (Deut. viii.
9 ; Is. li. 1). We read also of copper mirrors
(Ex. xxxviii. 8; Job xxxvii. 18), and even
of copper arms, as helmets, spears, &c. (1
Sam. xvii. 5, 6, 38 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 16). The
expression "bow of steel," in Job xx. 24;
Ps. xviii. 34, should he rendered "bow of
copper." They could hardly have applied
copper to these purposes without possessing
some judicious system of alloys, or perhaps
some forgotten secret for rendering tbe metal
harder and more elastic than we can make
it. The only place in the A. V. where
"copper" is mentioned is Ezr. viii, 27 (cf.
1 Esd. viii. 57). These vessels may have
been of orichalcum, like the Persian or Indian
vases found among the treasures of Darius.
In Ez. xxvii. 13 the importation of copper
vcs^eN to the markets of Tyre by merchants
of Javan, Tubal, and Meshcch is alluded to.
Probably these were the Moschi, &c, who
worked the copper-mines in the neighbour
hood of Mount Cauc.i-us. In 2 Tim. iv, 14
XoAkcvs is rendered " coppersmith," but the
term is perfectly general.
CORAL occurs only, as the somewhat
doubtful rendering of the Hebrew ramoth,
in Job xxviii. 18, and in Ez. xxvii. 1C. But
" coral " hah decidedly the best claim of any
other substances to represent ramoth. With
regard to the estimation in which coral was
held by the Jews and other Orientals, it
must be remembered that coral varies in
price with us. Pliny says that the Indiana
valued coral as the Romans valued pearls,
CORBAN, an offering to God of any sort,
bloody or bloodless, but particularly in fulfil
ment of a vow. The law laid down rules for
vows, 1. affirmative ; 2. negative (Lev.
xxvii.; Num. xxx.). Upon these rules the
traditionists enlarged, and laid down that a
man might interdict himself by vow, not only
from using for himself, but from giving to
another, or receiving from him some parti
cular object whether of food or any other
kind whatsoever. The thing thus interdicted
was considered as Corban. A person might
thus exempt hirruself from any inconvenient

-

To face p. 105.

CORE

105 CORINTHIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO

obligation under plea of corban . It was prae^
tices of this sort that our Lord reprehended
(Matt. xv. 5 ; Mark vii. 11), as annulling the
spirit of the law.
COR'E, Jude 11. [Koeah, 1.]
CORIANDER. The plant called Corian-
drum sativum is found in Egypt, Persia, and
India, and has a round tall stalk ; it bears
umbelliferous white or reddish flowers, from
which arise globular, greyish, spicy seed-
corns, marked with fine striae. It is mentioned
twice in the Bible (Ex. xvi. 31 ; Num. xi. 7).
CORINTH. This city is alike remarkable
for its distinctive geographical position, its
eminence in Greek and Roman history, and
its close connexion with the early spread of
Christianity. Geographically its situation
was so marked, that the name of its Isthmus
has been given to every narrow neck of land
between two seas. But, besides this, the site
of Corinth is distinguished by another con
spicuous physical feature — viz. the Acroco-
rinthus, a vast citadel of rock, which rises
abruptly to the height of 2000 feet above the
level of the sea, and the summit of which is
so extensive that it once contained a whole
town. The situation of Corinth, and the
possession of its eastern and western har
bours (Cenchreae and Lechaeum), are the
secrets of its history. In the latest pas
sages of Greek history Corinth held a con
spicuous place. It is not the true Greek
; Corinth with which we have to do in the life
of St. Paul, but the Corinth which was re-
¦ built and established as a Roman colony.
: The distinction between the two must be care
fully remembered. The new city was hardly
less distinguished than the old, and it ac
quired a fresh importance as the metropolis
of the Roman province of Achaia. Corinth
was a place of great mental activity, as well
as of commercial and manufacturing enter
prise. Its wealth was so celebrated as to be
proverbial; so were the vice and profligacy
of its inhabitants. The worship of Venus
here was attended with shameful licentious
ness. All these points are indirectly illus
trated by passages in the two epistles to the
..Corinthians. Corinth is still an episcopal see.
, The city has now shrunk to a wretched village,
on the old site, and bearing the old name,
Which, however, is corrupted into Gortho.
The Posidonium, or sanctuary of Neptune,
the scene of the Isthmian games, from which
St. Paul borrows some of his most striking
.imagery in 1 Cor. and other epistles, was a
short distance to the N.E. of Corinth, at the
narrowest part of the Isthmus, near the har-
fhour of Schoenus (now Kalamdki) on the Sa-
;Waie gulf. The exact site of the temple is
doubtful ; but to the south are the remains

of the stadium, where the foot-races were
run (I Cor. ix. 24) ; to the east are those of
the theatre, which was probably the scene of
the pugilistic contests (ib. 26) : and abundant
on the shore are the small green pine-trees
which gave the fading wreath (ib. 25) to the
victors in the games.
CORINTHIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO
THE, was written by the Apostle St. Paul
toward the close of his nearly three-years' stay
at Ephesus (Acts xix. 10, xx. 31), which we
learn from 1 Cor. xvi. 8, probably termi
nated with the Pentecost of a.d. 57 or 58.
The bearers were probably (according to the
common subscription) Stephanus, Fortunatus,
and Achaicus, who had been recently sent to
the Apostle, and who, in the conclusion of
this epistle (ch. xvi. 17), are especially com
mended to the honourable regard of the
church of Corinth. This varied and highly
characteristic letter was addressed not to any
party, but to the whole body of the large
(Acts xviii. 8, 10) Judaeo-Gentile (Acts xviii.
4) church of Corinth, and appears to have
been called forth, 1st, by the information the
Apostle had received from members of the
household of Chloe (ch. i. 11), of the divi
sions that were existing among them, which
were of so grave a nature as to have already
induced the Apostle to desire Timothy to
visit Corinth (ch. iv. 17) after his journey
to Macedonia (Acts xix. 22) ; 2ndly, by the
information he had received of a grievous
case of incest (ch. v. 1), and of the defective
state of the Corinthian converts, not only in
regard of general habits (ch. vi. 1, sq.) and
church discipline (ch. xi. 20 sq.), but, as it
would also seem, of doctrine (ch. xv.) ; 3rdly,
by the inquiries that had been specially ad
dressed to St. Paul by the church of Corinth
du several matters relating to Christian prac
tice. Two special points deserve separate
consideration :— 1. The state of parties at Co
rinth at the time of the Apostle's writing.
The few facts supplied to us by the Acts of
the Apostles, and the notices in the epistle,
appear to be as follows : — The Corinthian
church was planted by the Apostle himself
(1 Cor. iii. 6), in his second missionary
journey (Acts xviii. 1, sq.). He abode in the
city a year and a half (ch. xviii. 11). A short
time after the Apostle had left the city the
eloquent Jew of Alexandria, Apollos, went to
Corinth (Acts xix. 1). This circumstance of
the visit of Apollos, appears to have formed
the commencement of a gradual division into
two parties, the followers of St. Paul, and
the followers of Apollos (comp. ch. iv. 6).
These divisions, however, were to be multi
plied ; for, as it would seem, shortly after
the departure of Apollos, Judaizing teachers,

CORINTHIANS, SECOND EPISTLE TO 106

CORN

supplied probably with letters of commenda
tion (2 Cor. iii. 1) from the church of Je
rusalem, appear to have come to Corinth and
to have preached the Gospel in a spirit of
direct antagonism to St. Paul pcrsmially. To
this third party we may perhaps add a fourth
that, under the name of " the followers of
Christ" (ch. i. 12), sought at first to separate
themselves from the factious adherence to
particular teachers, but eventually were driven
by antagonism into positions equally secta
rian and inimical to the unity of the church.
At this momentous period, before parties had
become consolidated, and had distinctly with
drawn from communion with one another,
the Apostle writes ; and in the outset of the
epistle (ch. i.-iv. 21) we have his noble and
impassioned protest against this fourfold
rending of the robe of Christ. — 2. The num
ber of epistles written by St. Paul to the Co
rinthian church will probably remain a
subject of controversy to the end of time. The
well-known words (ch. v. 9) do certainly
seem to point to some former epistolary com
munication to the church of Corinth. The
whole context seems in favour of this view,
though the Greek commentators are of the
contrary opinion, and no notice has been
taken of the lost epistle by any writers of
antiquity. CORINTHI VNS, SECOND EPISTLE TO
THE, was written a few months subsequently
to the first, in the same year, — and thus,
if the dates assigned to the former epistle
be correct, about the autumn of a.d. 57 or
58, a short time previous to the Apostle's
three months' stay in Achaia (Acts xx. 3).
The place whence it was written was clearly
not Ephesus (see ch. i. 8), but Macedonia
(ch. vii. 5, viii. 1, ix. 2), whither the Apostle
went by way of Troas (ch. ii. 12), after
waiting a short time in the latter place for
the return of Titus (ch. ii. 13). The Vatican
MS., the bulk of later MSS., and the old Syr.
version, assign Philippi as the exact place
whence it was written ; but for this assertion
we have no certain grounds to rely on : that
the bearers, however, were Titus and his as
sociates (Luke?) is apparently substantiated
by ch. viii. 23, ix. 3, 5. The epistle was
occasioned by the information which the
Apostle had received from Titus, and also, as
it would certainly 6eem probable, from Ti
mothy, of the reception of the first epistle.
Tbis information, as it would seem from our
present epistle, was mainly favourable ; the
better part of the church were returning back
to their spiritual allegiance to their founder
(eh. i. 13, 14, vii. 9, 15, 16), but there was
still a faction, possibly of the Judaizing mem
bers (comp. ch. xi. 22), that were sharpened

into even a more keen animosity against the
Apostle personally (ch. x. I, 10), and more
strenuously denied his claim to Apostlcsbip.'
The contents of this epistle arc thus very va
ried, but maybe divided intor/ore parts: — 1st,
the Apostle's account of the character of his
spiritual labours, accompanied with notices of
his affectionate feelings towards his converts
ch. i.— vii.) ; 2ndly, directions about the col
lections (ch. viii., ix.) ; 3rdly, defence of his
own Apostolical character (ch. x.-xiii. 10),
The principal historical difficulty connected
with the epistle relates to the number of visits
made by the Apostle to the church of Corinth.
The words of this epistle (ch. xii. 14, xiii,
1, 2) seem distinctly to imply that St. Paul
had visited Corinth twice before tbe time nt
which he now writes. St. Luke, however,
only mentions one visit prior to that time
(Acts xviii. 1, sq.) ; for the visit recorded in
Act-, xx. 2, 3, is confessedly subsequent
We must assume that the Apostle made a
visit to Corinth which St. Luke did not record,
probably during the period of his three years'
residence at Ephesus.
CORMORANT. The representative in the
A. V. of the Hebrew words kdath and shdlh,
As to the former, see Pelican. Shdidc occurs
only as the name of an unclean bird in Lev,
xi. 17; Deut. xiv. 17. The word has been
variously rendered. The etymology points
to some plunging bird : the common cormorant
(I'hnlaerocorax carbo), which some writers
have identified with the Shdidc, is unknown
in the eastern Mediterranean ; another species
is found S. of the Red Sea, but none on the
W. coast of Palestine.
CORN. The most common kinds were
wheat, barley, spelt (A. V., Ex. ix. 32, and
Is. xxviii. 25, "rie;" Ez. iv. 9, "fitches"),
and millet ; oats are mentioned only by rab
binical writers. Corn-crops are still reckoned';
at twenty fold what was sown, and were an-1
bien fly much more. " Seven ears on on?
stalk" (Gen. xli. 22) is no unusual pheno
menon in Egypt at this day. The many-
eared stalk is also common in the wheat of
Palestine, and it is of course of the bearded
kind. Wheat (see 2 Sam. iv. 6) was stored
in the house for domestic purposes. It is at
present often kept in a dry well, and perhaps
the "ground corn" of 2 Sam. xvii. 19 was
meant to imply that the well was so used.
From Solomon's time (2 Chr. ii. 10, 15), aa
agriculture became developed under a settled
government, Palestine was a corn-exporting
country, and her grain was largely taken by
her commercial neighbour Tyre (Ez. xxvii.
17 ; comp. Am. viii. 5). " Plenty of corn"
was part of Jacob's blessing (Gen. xxviii. 28;
comp. Ps, lxv. 13).

CORNELIUS

107

COUNCIL

CORNE'LIUS, a Roman centurion of the
Italian cohort stationed in Caesarea (Acts x.
1, &c), a man full of good works and alms-
deeds. With his household he was baptised
by St. Peter, and thus Cornelius became the
first-fruits of, the Gentile world to Christ.
CORNER. The " corner " of the field was
not allowed (Lev. xix. 9) to be wholly reaped.
It formed a right of the poor to carry off
what was so left, and this was a part of the
maintenance from the soil to which that class
were entitled. On the principles of the Mo
saic polity every Hebrew family had a hold
on a certain fixed estate, and could by no
ordinary and casual calamity be wholly beg
gared. Hence its indigent members had the
claims of kindred on the "corners," &c, of
the field which their landed brethren reaped.
In the later period of the prophets their con
stant complaints concerning the defrauding
the poor (Is. x. 2 ; Am. v. 11, viii. 6) seem
to show that such laws had lost their prac
tical force. Still later, under the Scribes,
niinute legislation fixed one-sixtieth as the
portion of a field which was to be left for
the legal " corner." The proportion being
thus fixed, all the grain might be reaped,
and enough to satisfy the regulation subse
quently separated from the whole crop. This
"corner" was, like the gleaning, tithe-free.
CORNER-STONE, a quoin or corner-stone,
of great importance in binding together the
sides of a building. Some of the corner-stones
in tbe ancient work of the Temple founda
tions are 17 or 19 feet long, and 7 J feet thick.
At Nineveh the corners are sometimes formed
of one angular stone. The phrase " corner
stone" is sometimes used to denote any prin
cipal person, as the princes of Egypt (Is. xix.
13), and is thus applied to our Lord (Is.
xxviii. 16 ; Matt. xxi. 42 ; 1 Pet. ii. 6, 7).
CORNET (Heb. Shdphdr), a loud-sounding
instrument, made of the born of a ram or of
a chamois (sometimes of an ox), and used by
the ancient Hebrews for signals, for an
nouncing the "Jubile" (Lev. xxv. 9), for
proclaiming the new year, for the purposes
of war (Jer. iv. 5, 19 ; comp. Job xxxix. 25),
as well as for the sentinels placed at the
watch-towers to give notice of the approach
of an enemy (Ez. xxxiii. 4, 5). Shdphdr
is generally rendered in the A. V. "trum
pet," but "cornet" (the more correct trans
lation) is used in 2 Chr. xv. 14 ; Ps. xcviii.
fijHos. v. 8; and 1 Chr. xv. 28. "Cornet"
is also employed in Dan. iii. 5, 7, 10, 15, for
the Chaldee Keren (literally a horn). The
silver trumpets which Moses was charged to
.furnish for the Israelites, were to be used for
the following purposes : for the calling toge
ther of the assembly, for the journeying of

camps, for sounding the alarm of war, and
for celebrating the sacrifices on festivals
and new moons (Num. x. 1-10). In the age
of Solomon the " silver trumpets " were in
creased in number to 120 (2 Chr. v. 12) ;
and, independently of the objects for which
they had been first introduced, they were
now employed in the orchestra of the Temple
as an accompaniment to songs of thanks
giving and praise. The sounding of the
cornet was the distinguishing ritual feature
of the festival appointed by Moses to be held
on the first day of the seventh month under
the denomination of " a day of blowing trum
pets" (Num. xxix. 1), or "memorial of
blowing of trumpets" (Lev. xxiii. 24).
[Trumpets, Feast of.]
COS or CO'OS (now Stanchio or Stanko).
This small island of the Grecian Archipelago
has several interesting points of connexion
with the Jews. It is specified as one of the
places which contained Jewish residents (1
Mace. xv. 23). Julius Caesar issued an edict
in favour of the Jews of Cos. Herod the
Great conferred many favours on the island.
St. Paul, on the return from his third mis
sionary journey, passed the night here, after
sailing from Miletus. The chief town (of
the same name) was on the N.E. near a pro
montory called Scandarium : and perhaps it
is to the town that reference is made in the
Acts (xxi. 1).
COTTON, Heb. carpas (comp. Lat. car-
basus) Esth. i. 6, where the Vulg. has carba-
sini coloris, as if a colour, not a material (so
in A. V. "green") were intended. There is
a doubt whether under Shesh, in the earlier,
and Buts, in the later books of the 0. T.,
rendered in the A. V. by " white linen," " fine
linen," &c, cotton may have been included as
well. The dress of the Egyptian priests, at
any rate in their ministrations, was without
doubt of linen (Herod, ii. 37). Cotton is now
both grown and manufactured in various
parts of Syria and Palestine ; but there is no
proof that, till they came in contact with
Persia, the Hebrews generally knew of it as
a distinct fabric from linen. [Limen.]
COUCH. [Bed.]
COUNCIL. 1. The great council of the
Sanhedrim, which sat at Jerusalem. [San
hedrim.] 2. The lesser courts (Matt. x. 17 ;
Mark xiii. 9), of which there were two at
Jerusalem, and one in each town of Palestine.
The constitution of these courts is a doubtful
point. The existence of local courts, how
ever constituted, is clearly implied in the
passages quoted from the N. T. ; and perhaps
the "judgment" (Matt. v. 21) applies to
them. 3. A kind of jury or privy council
(Acts xxv. 12), consisting of a certain num.-

COURT

108

CRETE

ber of assessors, who assisted Roman go
vernors in the administration of justice and
other public matters.
COURT (Heb. chdtser), an open enclosure,
applied in the A. V. most commonly to the
enclosures of the Tabernacle and the Temple
(Ex. xxvii. 9, xl. 33 ; Lev. vi. IG ; IK. vi.
36, vii. 8 ; 2 K. xxiii. 12; 2 Chr. xxxiii.
5, &c.)
COVENANT. The Heb. b&rith means pri
marily " a cutting," with reference to the
custom of cutting or dividing animals in two,
and passing between the parts in ratifying a
covenant (Gen. xv. ; Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19).
In the N. T. the corresponding word is dia-
thvee (StaO^KT}), which is frequently, though
by no means uniformly, translated testament
in the Authorised Version. In its Biblical
meaning of a compact or agreement between
two parties, the word is used — 1. Improperly,
of a covenant between God and man. Man not
being in any way in the position of an inde
pendent covenanting part)-, the phrase is
evidently used by way of accommodation.
Strictly speaking, such a covenant is quite
unconditional, and amounts to a promise
(Gal. iii. 15 ff.) or act of mere favour (Ps.
lxxxix. 28). Thus the assurance given by
God after the Flood, that a like judgment
should not be repeated, and that the recur
rence of the seasons, and of day and night,
should not cease, is called a covenant (Gen.
ix. ; Jer. xxxiii. 20). Consistently with this
representation of God's dealings with man
under the form of a covenant, such covenant
is said to be confirmed, in conformity to
human custom, by an oath (Deut. iv. 31 ;
Ps. lxxxix. 3), to be sanctioned by curses to
fall upon the unfaithful (Deut. xxix. 21), and
to be accompanied by a sign, such as the
rainbow (Gen. ix.), circumcision (Gen. xvii.),
or the Sabbath (Ex. xxxi. 16, 17).— 2. Pio-
perly, of a covenant between man and man,
i. e. a solemn compact or agreement, either
between tribes or nations (1 Sam. xi. 1 ;
Josh. ix. 6, 15), or between individuals (Gen.
xxxi. 44), by which each party bound him
self to fulfil certain conditions, and was as
sured of receiving certain advantages. In
making such a covenant God was solemnly
invoked as witness (Gen. xxxi. 50), and an
oath was sworn (Gen. xxi. 31). A sign or
witness of the covenant was sometimes framed,
such as a gift' (Gen. xxi. 30), or a pillar, or
heap of stones erected (Gen. xxxi. 52). The
marriage compact is called " the covenant of
God" (Prov. ii. 17 ; see Mal. ii. 14). The
word covenant came to be applied to a sure
ordinance such as that of the shew-bread
(Lev. xxiv. 8); and is used figuratively in
such expressions as a covenant with death

(Is. xxviii. 18), or with the wild beuBte (Hos.
ii. 18).
COW. [Bull.]
CRANE. There can be little doubt that
the A. V. is incorrect in rendering sih by
"crane," which bird is probably intended by
the Hebrew word 'dgiir, translated " swal
low," by the A. V. [Swallow.] Mention is
made of the sits in Hczekiah's prayer (Is,
xxxviii. 14), " Like a sils or an 'agar so did
1 twitter " ; and again in Jer. viii. 7 these two
words occur in the same order, from which
passage we learn that both birds were mi
gratory. According to tbe testimony of
most of the ancient versions, sils denotes a
" swallow." CRES'CENS (2 Tim. iv. 10), an assistant
of St. Paul, said to have been one of tho
seventy disciples. According to early tradi
tion, he preached the Gospel in Galatia.
Later tradition 'makes him preach in Gaul,
and found the Church at Vienne.
CRETE, the modern Candia. This large
island, which closes in the Greek Archipelago
on the S., extends through a distance of 140
miles between its extreme points of Cape
Salmone (Acts xxvii. 7) on the E. and Cape
Criumetopon beyond Phoenicb or Phoenix
(ib. 12) on the W. Though extremely bold
and mountainous, this island has very fruit
ful valleys, and in early times it was cele
brated for its hundred cities. It seems likely
that a very early acquaintance existed be
tween the Cretans and the Jews. There is
no doubt that Jews were settled in the island
in considerable numbers during the period
between the death of Alexander the Great
and the final destruction of Jerusalem. Gor-
tyna seems to have been their chief residence
(1 Mace. xv. 23). Thus the special mention
of Cretans (Acts ii. 11) among those who
were at Jerusalem at the great Pentecost is
just what we should expect. No notice is
given in the Acts of any more direct evan
gelisation of Crete ; and no absolute proof
can be adduced that St. Paul was ever there
before his voyage from Caesarea to Puteoli.
The circumstances of St. Paul's recorded visit
were briefly as follows : — The wind being con
trary when he was offCxiDus (Acts xxvii. 7),
the ship was forced to run down to Cape
Salmone, and thence under the lee of Crete
to Fair Havens, which was near a city called'
Lasaea (v. 8). Thence, after some delay, ad
attempt was made, on the wind becominf
favourable, to reach Phoenice for the purpose
of wintering there (v. 12). The next point
of connexion between St. Paul and this island
is found in the epistle to Titus. It is evident
from Tit. i. 5, that the Apostle himself was
here at no long interval of time before he

CRETES

1C9

CROWN

wrote the letter. In the course of the letter
(Tit. i. 12) St. Paul adduces from Epimenides,
a Cretan sage and poet, a quotation in which
the vices of his countrymen are described in
dark colours. The truth of their statement
is abundantly confirmed by other ancient
writers. CRETES (Acts ii. 11). Cretans, inhabit
ants of Crete.
CRIS'PUS, ruler of the Jewish synagogue
at Corinth (Acts xviii. 8) ; baptized with his
family by St. Paul (1 Cor. i. 14). According
to tradition, he became afterwards Bishop of
Aegina. CROSS. As the emblem of a slave's death
and a murderer's punishment, the cross was
naturally looked upon with the profoundest
horror. But after the celebrated vision of
Constantine, he ordered his friends to make
a cross of gold and gems, such as he had
seen, and " the towering eagles resigned the
flags unto the cross," and " the tree of curs
ing and shame " " sat upon the sceptres and
was engraved and signed on the foreheads of
kings " (Jer. Taylor, Life of Christ, iii. xv.
1). The new standards were called by the
name Labarum, and may be seen on the

The Labarum. (From a coin in the Biitish Museum.)
coins of Constantine the Great and his nearer
successors. The Latin cross, on which our
Lord suffered, was in the form of the letter
T, and had an upright above the crossbar, on
which the " title " was placed. There was a
projection from the central stem, on which

the body of the sufferer rested. This was to
prevent the weight of the body from tearing
away the hands. Whether there was also a
support to the feet (as we see in pictures),
is doubtful. An inscription was generally
placed above the criminal's head, briefly ex
pressing his guilt, and generally was carried
before him. It was covered with white gyp
sum, and the letters were black. It is a
question whether tying or binding to the
cross was the more common method. That
our Lord was nailed, according to prophecy,
is certain (John xx. 25, 27, &c. ; Zeeh. xii.
10 ; Ps. xxii. 16). It is, however, extremely
probable that both methods were used at
once. The cross on which our Saviour suf
fered is said to have been discovered in a.d.
326, and to this day the supposed title, or
rather fragments of it, are shown to the
people once a year in the church of Sta. Croee
in Gerusalemme at Rome. It was not till
the 6th century that the emblem of the cross
became the image of the crucifix. As a symbol
the use of it was frequent in the early Church.
It was not till the 2nd century that any par
ticular efficacy was attached to it. [Cruci
fixion.] - CROWN. This ornament, which is both
ancient and universal, probably originated
from the fillets used to prevent the hair from
being dishevelled by the wind. Such fillets
are still common, and they may be seen on
the sculptures of Persepolis, Nineveh, and
Egypt ; they gradually developed into tur
bans, which by the addition of ornamental or
precious materials assumed the dignity of
mitres or crowns. Both the ordinary priests
and the high-priest wore them. The common
"bonnet" (Ex. xxviii. 37, xxix. 6, &e).,
formed a sort of linen fillet or crown. Tlie
mitre of the high-priest (used also of a regal
crown, Ez. xxi. 26) was much more splendid
(Ex. xxviii. 36 ; Lev. viii. 9). It had a
second fillet of blue lace, and over it a golden
diadem (Ex. xxix. 6). The gold band was
tied behind with blue lace (embroidered with
flowers), and being two fingers broad, bore
the inscription " Holiness to the Lord "
(comp. Rev. xvii. 5). There are many words
in Scripture denoting a crown besides those
mentioned : the head-dress of bridegrooms
(Is. lxi. 10; Bar. v. 2; Ez. xxiv. 17), and
of women (Is. iii. 20) ; a head-dress of great
splendour (Is. xxviii. 5) ; a wreath of flowers
(Prov. i. 9, iv. 9) ; and a common tiara or
turban (Job xxix. 14; Is. iii. 23). The
general word is 'atdrdh, and we must attach
to it the notion of a costly turoan irradiated
with pearls and gems of priceless value,
which often form aigrettes for feathers, as in
the crowns of modern Asiatic sovereigns.

CROWN OF THORNS

110

CRUCIFIXION

Such was probably the crown, which with its
precious stones weighed (or rather " was
worth ") a talent, taken by David from the
king of Ammon at Rabbah, and used as the
state crown of Judah (2 Sam. xii. 30). In
Rev. xii. 3, xix. 12, allusion is made to
" many crowns " worn in token of extended
dominion. The laurel, pine, or parsley crowns
given to victors in the great games of Greece
are finely alluded to by St. Paul (1 Cor. ix.
2i> ; 2 Tim. ii. 5, &c).

fiowns worn by Assyrian kinps. (From Nimroud
mid Kouyunjik).
CROWN OF THORNS, Matt, xxvii. 29.
Our Lord was crowned with thorns in mock
ery by the Roman soldiers. The object seems
to have been insult, and not the infliction of
pain as has generally been supposed. The
Rhamnus or Spina Christi, although abundant
in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, cannot be
the plant intended, because its thorns are so
strong and large that it could not have been
woven into a wreath. Had the acacia been
intended, as some suppose, the phrase would
have been different. Obviously some small
flexile thorny shrub is meant ; perhaps Cap-
paris spinosa.
CRUCIFIXION was in use among the
Egyptians (Gen. xl. 19), the Carthaginians,
the Persians (Esth. vii. 10), the Assyrians,
Scythians, Indians, Germans, and from the
earliest times among the Greeks and Romans,
Whether this mode of execution was known
to the ancient Jews is a matter of dispute.
Probably the Jews borrowed it from the
Romans. It was unanimously considered the
most horrible form of death. Among the
Romans also the degradation was a part of
the infliction, and the punishment if applied
to freemen was only used in the case of the
vilest criminals. Our Lord was condemned
to it by the popular cry of the Jews (Matt.
xxvii. 23) on the charge of sedition against
Caesar (Luke xxiii. 2), although the San
hedrim had previously condemned him on
the totally distinct charge of blasphemy. The

scarlet robe, crown of thorns, and other in
sults to which our Lord was subjected were
illegal, and arose from the spontaneous petu
lance of the brutal soldiery. But the punish
ment properly commenced with scourging,
after the criminal had been stripped. It was
inflicted not with the comparatively mild
rods, but the more terrible scourge (2 Cor.
xi. 24, 25), which was not used by the Jews
(Deut. xxv. 3). Into these scourges the sol
diers often stuck nails, pieces of bone, &c, to
heighten the pain, which was often so intense
that the sufferer died under it. In our Lord's
case, however, this infliction seems neither to
have been the legal scourging after sentence,
nor yet the examination by torture (Actsx\ii.
24), but rather a scourging before the sen
tence, to excite pity and procure immunity
from further punishment (Luke xxiii. 22;
John xix. 1). The criminal carried his own
cross, or at any rate a part of it. The place
of execution was outside the city (1 K. xxi.
13; Acts vii. 58; Heb. xiii. 12), often in
some public road or other conspicuous place.
Arrived at the place of execution, the sufferer
was stripped naked, the dress being the per
quisite of the soldiers (Matt, xxvii. 35). The
cross was then driven into the ground, so
that the feet of the condemned were a foot or
two above the earth, and he was lifted upon
it, or else stretched upon it on the ground,
and then lifted with it. Before the nailing
or binding took place, a medicated cup was
given out of kindness to confuse the senses
and deaden the pangs of the sufferer (Prov.
xxxi. G), usually "of wine mingled with
myrrh," because myrrh was soporific. Our
Lord refused it that his senses might be clear
(Matt, xxvii. 34; Mark xv. 23). He was
crucified between two " thieves " or " male
factors," according to prophecy (Is. liii. 12);
and was watched according to custom by a
party of four soldiers (John xix. 23) with
their centurion (Matt, xxvii. 66), whose ex
press office was to prevent tbe stealing of the
body. This was necessary from the lingering
character of the death, which sometimes did
not supervene even for three days, and wag
at last the result of gradual benumbing and
starvation. But for this guard, the persons
might have been taken down and recovered,
as wa? actually done in the case of a friend
of Josephus. Fracture of the legs was espe
cially adopted by the Jews to hasten death
(John xix. 31). But the unusual rapidity of
our Lord's death was due to the depth of Bis
previous agonies, or may be sufficiently>ac-
counted for simply from peculiarities of con
stitution. Pilate expressly satisfied himscH
of the actual death by questioning the cen
turion (Mark xv. 44). In most cases the

CRUSE

111

CUPBEARER

body was suffered to rot on the cross by the
action of sun and rain, or to be devoured by
birds and beasts. Sepulture was generally
therefore forbidden; but in consequence of
Deut. xxi. 22, 23, an express national excep
tion was made in favour of the Jews (Matt.
xxvii. 58). This accursed and awful mode
of punishment was happily abolished by Con
stantine. CRUSE, a vessel for holding water, such
as was carried by Saul when on his night
expedition after David (1 Sam. xxvi. 11, 12,
16), and by Elijah (1 K. xix. 6). In a simi
lar case in the present day this would be a
globular vessel of blue porous clay about
9 inches diameter, with a neck of about
3 inches long, a small handle below the neck,
and opposite the handle a straight spout, with
an orifice about the size of a straw, through
which the water is drunk or sucked.
CRYSTAL, the representative in the A. V.
of two Hebrew words. — 1. Zecudth occurs
only in Job xxviii. 17, where "glass" pro
bably is intended. — 2 . Kerach occurs in nu
merous passages in the O. T. to denote " ice,"
"frost," &c. ; but once only (Ez. i. 22), as
isgenerally understood, to signify " crystal."
The ancients supposed rock-crystal to be merely
icecongealedbyintensecold. The similarity of
appearance between ice and crystal caused no
doubt the identity of the terms to express
these substances. The Greek word occurs
in Rev. iv. 6, xxii. 1. It may mean either
"ice" or "crystal."
> CUBIT. [Measures.]
CUCKOO (Heb. shachaph). There does
not appear to be any authority for this trans
lation of the A. V. ; the Heb. word occurs
'twice only (Lev. xi. 16 ; Deut. xiv. 15), as
the name of some unclean bird, and may pro
bably indicate some of the larger petrels,
which abound in the east of the Mediter-
,jranean.I CUCUMBERS (Heb. kishshuim) . This word
occurs, in Num. xi. 5, as one of the good
things of Egypt for which the Israelites
longed. There is no doubt as to tbe meaning
of the Hebrew. Egypt produces excellent
encumbers, melons, &c, the Cucumis chate
being the best of its tribe yet known. This
plant grows in the fertile earth around Cairo
after the inundation of the Nile, and not
elsewhere in Egypt. The . C. chate is a va-
'riety only of the common melon (C. meio) ;
it was once cultivated in England and called
i ['the round-leaved Egyptian melon ;" but it
is rather an insipid sort. Besides the Cucu-
mischate, the common cucumber (C. sativus),
of which the Arabs distinguish a number of
varieties, is common in Egypt. " Both Cu-
'wmis chate and C. sativus," says Mr. Tris

tram, " are now grown in great quantities in
Palestine : on visiting the Arab school in
Jerusalem (1858) I observed that the dinner
which the children brought with them to
school consisted, without exception, of a piece
of barley-cake and a raw cucumber, which
they eat rind and all." The "lodge in a
garden of cucumbers" (Is. i. 8) is a rude
temporary shelter, erected in the open grounds
where vines, cucumbers, gourds, &c, are
grown, in which some lonely man or boy is
set to watch, either to guard the plants from
robbers, or to scare away the foxes and
jackals from the vines.
CUMMIN, one of the cultivated plants of
Palestine (Is. xxviii. 25, 27 ; Matt, xxiii. 23).
It is an umbelliferous plant something like
fennel. The seeds have a bitterish warm
taste with an aromatic flavour. The Maltese
are said to grow it at the present day, and to
thresh it in the manner described by Isaiah.
CUP. The cups of the Jews, whether of
m etal or earthenware, were possibly bor
rowed, in point of shape and design, from
Egypt and from the Phoenicians, who were
celebrated in that branch of workmanship.
Egyptian cups were of various shapes, either
with handles or without them. In Solomon's
time all his drinking-vessels were of gold,
none of silver (1 K. x. 21). Babylon is com
pared to a golden cup (Jer. li. 7). The great
laver, or " sea," was made with a rim like
the rim of a cup (Cos), "with flowers of
lilies" (1 K. vii. 26), a form which the Per-
sepolitan cups resemble. The common form
of modern Oriental cups is represented in
the accompanying drawing. The cups of the
N. T. were often no doubt formed on Greek
and Roman models. They were sometimes
of gold (Rev. xvii. 4).

Modern Egyptian drinking cup, one-fifth of the real
size. (l.ane.)
CUPBEARER. An officer of high rami
with Egyptian, Persian, Assyrian, as well as
Jewish monarchs (1 K. x. 5). The chief cup
bearer, or butler, to the king of Egypt was
the means of raising Joseph to his high po
sition (Gen. xl. 1, 21, xli. 9). Itabshakoh
appears from his name to have filled a like
office in the Assyrian court (2 K. xviii. 17).

CUSII

112

CYPRUS

Nehemiah was cupbearer to Artaxerxes
Longimanus king of Persia (Neh. i. 11, ii. 1).
CUSH, the name of a son of Ilmi, appar
ently the eldest, and of a territory or terri
tories occupied by his descendants. — 1. In
the genealogy of Noah's children Cush seems
to be an individual, for it is said " Cush begat
Nimrod" (Gen. x. 8 ; 1 Chr. i. 10). — 2. Cush
as a country appears to be African in all pas
sages except Gen. ii. 13. We may thus dis
tinguish a primeval and a post-diluvian Cush.
The former was encompassed by Gihon, the
second river of Paradise : it would seem
therefore to have been somewhere to the
northward of Assyria. It is possible that
the African Cush was named from this elder
country. In the ancient Egyptian inscrip
tions Ethiopia above Egypt is termed Keesh
or Kesh, and this territory probably perfectly
corresponds to the African Cush of the Bible.
The Cushites however had clearly a wider
extension, like the Ethiopians of the Greeks,
but apparently with a more definite ethnic
relation. The Cushites appear to have spread
along tracts extending from the higher Nile
to the Euphrates and Tigris. History affords
many traces of this relation of Babylonia,
Arabia, and Ethiopia. Zerah the Cushite
(A. V. "Ethiopian") who was defeated by
Asa, was most probably a king of Egypt, cer
tainly the leader of an Egyptian army.
CU'SHAN (Hab. iii. 7), possibly the same
as Cusban-rishathaim (A. V. Chushan-) king
of Mesopotamia (Judg. iii. 8, 10).
CU'SHT. Properly "the Cushite," "the
Ethiopian," a man apparently attached to
Joab's person (2 Sam. xviii. 21, 22, 23, 31,
32). CUTH or CU'THAH, one of the countries
whence Shalmaneser introduced colonists into
Samaria (2 K. xvii. 24, 30). Its position is
undecided ; but it may perhaps be identified
with the Cossaei, a warlike tribe, who occu
pied the mountain ranges dividing Persia and
Media. CUTTING OFF FROM THE PEOPLE.
[Excommunication.] CUTTINGS [IN THE FLESH], The pro
hibition (Lev. xix. 28) against marks or
cuttings in the flesh for the dead must be
taken in connexion with the parallel passages
(Lev. xxi. 5 ; Deut. xiv. 1), in which shaving
the head with the same view is equally for
bidden. The ground of the prohibition will
be found in the superstitious or inhuman
practices prevailing among heathen nations.
The priests of Baal cut themselves with knives
to propitiate the god " after their manner "
(1 K. xviii. 28). Lucian, speaking of the
Syrian priestly attendants of this mock deity,
s.iys, that using violent gestures they cut

their arms and tongues with swords. Tin-
prohibition, therefore, is directed against
practices prevailing not among the Egyptians
whom the Israelites were leaving, but mining
the Syrians, to whom they were about to be.
come neighbours. But there is another usnpe
contemplated more remotely by the prohibi
tion, viz., that of printing marks, tattooing,
to indicate allegiance to a deity, in tbe same
manner as soldiers and slaves bore tattooed
marks to indicate allegiance or adscription*'
This is evidently alluded to in the Revelation.*
of St. John (xiii. 16, xvii. 5, xix. 20), and,
though in a contrary direction, by Ezekiel
(ix. 4), by St. Paul (Gal. vi. 17), in theKcve-
lation (vii. 3), and perhaps by Isaiah (xliv,
5) and Zechariah (xiii. 6).
CYMBAL, CYMBALS, a percussive mn-.
sical instrument. Two kinds of cymbals are
mentioned in Ps. cl. 5, "loud cymbals" or
castagneitcs, and "high-sounding cymbalB."
The former consisted of four small plates of
brass or of some other hard metal; two
plates were attached to each hand of the per
former, and were struck together to produce
a great noise. The latter consisted of two
larger plates, one held in each hand, and
struck together as an accompaniment to other
instruments. The use of cymbals was not
necessarily restricted to the worship of the
Temple or to sacred occasions : they wero
employed for military purposes, and also bj
Hebrew women as a musical accompaniment
to their national dances. Both kinds of cym*'
bals are still common in the East in military-.
music, and Niebuhr often refers to them in
his travels. The "bells" of Zech. xiv. 20,
were probably concave pieces or plates of
brass which the people of Palestine and Syria-;
attached to horses by way of ornament.
CYPRESS (Heb. tirzdh). The Heb. word,
is found only in Is. xliv. 14. We are quite
unable to assign any definite rendering to it.
The true cypress is a native of the Taurus.
The Hebrew word points to some tree with a
hard grain, and this is all that can be posi
tively said of it.
CY'PRUS. This island was in early
times in close commercial connexion with*
Phoenicia ; and there is little doubt that it
is referred to in such passages of the 0. T. w
Ez. xxvii. 6. [Cuittim.] Possibly Jews may
have settled in Cyprus before the time of
Alexander. Soon after his time they were
numerous in the island, as is distinctly im
plied in 1 Mace. xv. 23. The first notice of
it in the N. T. is in Acts iv. 36, where it ii
mentioned as the native place of Barnabas.*
In Acts xi. 19, 20, it appears prominently
in connexion with the earliest spreading^
Christianity, and is again mentioned in con-

CYRENIUS

113

DABAREH

nexionwith the missionary journeys of St.
Paul (Acts xiii. 4-13, xv. 39, xxi. 3), and
with his voyage to Rome (xxvii. 4). The
island became a Roman province (b.c. 58)
under circumstances discreditable to Rome.
' At first its administration was joined with
that of Cilicia, but after the battle of Actium
it was separately governed. In the first di
vision it was made an imperial province ; but
the emperor afterwards gave it up to the
Senate. The proconsul appears to have re
sided at Paphos on the west of the island.
CYRE'NE, the principal city of that part
of northern Africa, which was anciently called
Cyrenaica, and also (from its five chief cities)
Pentapolitana. This district was that wide
projecting portion of the coast (correspond
ing to the modern Tripoli), which was sepa
rated from the territory of Carthage on the
one hand, and that of Egypt on the other.
The points to be noticed in reference to Cy-
rene as connected with the N. T. are these, —
that, though on the African coast, it was a
Greek city ; that the Jews were settled there
in large numbers, and that under the Romans
it was politically connected with Crete. The
Greek colonisation of this part of Africa under
Battus began as early as b.c 631. After the
death of Alexander the Great, it became a
dependency of Egypt. It is in this period
that we find the Jews established there with
great privileges, having been introduced by
Ptolemy the son of Lagus. Soon after the
Jewish war they rose against the Roman
power. In the year b.c 75 the territory of
Cyrene was reduced to the form of a pro
vince. On the conquest of Crete (b.c 67)
the two were united in one province, and
together frequently called Creta-Cyrene. The
Slumbers and position of the Jews in Cyrene
prepare us for the frequent mention of the
.place in the N. T. in connexion with Chris-
;tianity. Simon, who bore our Saviour's cross
(Matt, xxvii. 32 ; Mark xv. 21 ; Luke xxiii.
26) was a native of Cyrene. Jewish dwellers
in Cyrenaica were in Jerusalem at Pentecost
(Acts ii. 10). They even gave their name to
, one of the synagogues in Jerusalem (ib. vi.
9), Christian converts from Cyrene were
among those who contributed actively to the
formation of the first Gentile church at An
tioch (si. 20). Lucius of Cyrene (xiii. 1 )
is traditionally said to have been the first
bishop of his native district.
j CYRE'NIUS, the literal English rendering
in the A. V. of- the Greek name, which is
itself the Greek form of the Roman name
XQuimhus. The full name is Publius Sul-
incms Quirinus. He was consul b.c 12, and
made governor of Syria after the banishment
pAwhelaus in a.d. 6. He was sent to make
' Sm. D. B,

an enrolment of property in Syria, and made
accordingly, both there and in Judaea, a
census or aTroypat^. But this census seems
in Luke (ii. 2) to be identified with one
which took place at the time of the birth
of Christ. Hence has arisen a considerable
difficulty, but there is good reason for be
lieving that Quirinus was twice governor of
Syria, and that his first governorship ex
tended from b.c 4 (the year of Christ's
birth) to b.c 1, when he was succeeded by
M. Lollius.
CY'RUS, the founder of the Persian empire
(see Dan. vi. 28, x. 1, 13 ; 2 Chr. xxxvi. 22,
23), was, according to the common legend,
the son of Mandane, the daughter of Astyages
the last king of Media, and Cambyses a Per
sian of the royal family of the Achaemenidae.
In consequence of a dream, Astyages, it is
said, designed the death of his infant grand
son, but the child was spared by those whom
he charged with the commission of the crime,
and was reared in obscurity under the name
of Agradates. When he grew up to manhood
his courage and genius placed him at the head
of the Persians. The tyranny of Astyages
had at that time alienated a large faction of
the Medes, and Cyrus headed a revolt which
ended in the defeat and capture of the Median
king b.c 559, near Pasargadae. After con
solidating the empire which he thus gained,
Cyrus entered on that career of conquest
which has made him the hero of the east.
In b.c 546 (?) he defeated Croesus, and the
kingdom of Lydia was tbe prize of his suc
cess. Babylon fell before his army, and the
ancient dominions of Assyria were added to
his empire (b.c 538). Afterwards he at
tacked the Massagetae, and according to He
rodotus fell in a battle against them b.c. 529.
His^omb is still shown at Pasargadae, the
scene of his first decisive victory. Hitherto
the great kings, with whom the Jews had
been brought into contact, had been open
oppressors or seductive allies ; but Cyrus was
a generous liberator and a just guardian of
their rights. An inspired prophet (Is. xliv.
28) recognised in him "a shepherd" of the
Lord, an "anointed" king (Is. xiv. 1). The
edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of th';
Temple (2 Cbr. xxxvi. 22, 23; Ezr. i. 1-4,
iii. 7, iv. 3, v. 13, 17, vi. 3) was in fact the
beginning of Judaism ; and the great changes
by which the nation was transformed into .i
church are clearly marked

DAB'AREH (Josh. xxi. 28), or Daberath,
a town on the boundary of Zebulun
(Josh. xix. 12) named as next to Chisloth-
Tabor. But in 1 Chr. vi. 72, and in Josh,
I

114:

DAMASCUS

xxi. 28, it is said to belong to Issachar.
Under the name of Debaneh it still lies at
the western foot of Tabor.
DA'GON, apparently the masculine (1 Sam.
v. 3, 4) correlative of Atargatis, was the na
tional god of the Philistines. The most fa
mous temples of Dagon were at Gaza (Judg.
xvi. 21-30) and Ashdod (1 Sam. v. 5, 6 ;
1 Chr. x. 10). The latter temple was de
stroyed by Jonathan in the Maccabaean wars
(I Mace. x. 83, 84, xi. 4). Traces of the
worship of Dagon likewise appear in the
names Caphar-Dagon (near Jamnia), and
Beth-Dagon in Judah (Josh. xv. 41) and
Asher (Josh. xix. 27). Dagon was repre
sented with the face and hands of a man and
the tail of a fish (1 Sam. v. 5). The fish-like
form was a natural emblem of fruitfulness,
and as such was likely to be adopted by sea
faring tribes in the representation of their
gods.

Visit-god From XLmxoud. (Layard),

DAI'SAN, 1 Esd. v. 31 = Rezin (Ezr. ii-,
48), by the commonly repeated change ol
R to D".
DALAI 'AH. The sixth son of Elioenai, a
descendant of the royal family of Judah (1
Chr. iii. 24).
DALMANU'TIIA, a town on the west side
of the Sea of Galilee near Magdala (Matt,
xv. 39 and Mark viii. 10). [Magdala.]
Dalmanutha probably stood at the place called
,Ain-el-Burideh, " the cold Fountain."
DALMA'TIA, a mountainous district on the
eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, extending
from the river Naro in the S. totheSavusinthe
N. St. Paul sent Titus there (2 Tim, iv. 10),
and he himself had preached the Gospel in its
immediate neighbourhood (Rom. xv. 19).
DAM'ARIS, an Athenian woman converted' .
to Christianity by St. Paul's preaching (Acta
xvii. 34). Chrysostom and others held her
to have been the wife of Dionysius the Areo-
pagite. DAMASCUS, one of the most ancient and
most important of the cities of Syria. It is
situated in a plain of vast size and of extreme
fertility, which lies east of the great chain
of Anti-Libanus, on the edge of the desert.
This fertile plain, which is nearly circular,
and about 30 miles in diameter, ia due to tho
river Barada, which is probably the "Abana''
of Scripture. Two other streams, the JFfltfp
Helbon upon tbe north, and the Awaj upon
the south, which flows direct from Hermon,
increase the fertility of the Damascene plain,
and contend for the honour of representing
the " Pharpar " of Scripture. According to
Josephus, Damascus was founded by Uz, the
son of Aram, and grandson of Shem. It is
first mentioncdin Scripture in connexion with
Abraham (Gen. xiv. 15), whose steward wait
a native of the place (xv. 2). Nothing more
is known of Damascus until the time of David,
when "the Syrians of Damascus came to suc
cour Hadadezer, king of Zobah," with whom ;
David was at war (2 Sam. viii. 5; 1 Chr,
xviii. 5). On this occasion David "slew of
the Syrians 22,000 men ; " and in consequence
of this victory became completely master of
the whole territory, which he garrisoned with
Israelites (2 Sam. viii. 6). It appears that
in the reign of Solomon, a certain Rezon,
who had been a subject of Hadadezer, kingof
Zobah, and had escaped when David conquered
Zobah, made himself master of Damascus,
and established his own rule there (1 K. xi.
23-55). Afterwards the family of Hadad
appears to have recovered the throne, and fl
Benhadad, grandson of the antagonist of Da
vid, is found in league with Baasha, kingof,;
Israel, against Asa (l K. xv. 19 ; 2Chr.XTL|
3), and afterwards in league with Asa agahwt

6«SSw

DAMASCUS

115

Baasha (1 K. xv. 20). He was succeeded by
his son, Hadad IV. (the Benhadad II. of Scrip
ture), who was defeated by Ahab (l K. xx.).
Three years afterwards war broke out afresh,
through the claim of Ahab to the city of Ra-
moth-Gilead (1 K. xxii. 1-4). The defeat
and death of Ahab at that place (ib. 15-37)
seem to have enabled the Syrians of Damas
cus to resume the offensive. Their bands
ravaged the lands of Israel during the reign
of Jehoram ; and they even undertook at this
time a second siege of Samaria, which was
frustrated miraculously (2 K. vi. 24, vii. 6, 7).
After this, we do not hear of any more at
tempts against the Israelite capital. The
cuneiform inscriptions show that towards the
close of his reign Benhadad was exposed to
the assaults of a great conqueror, who was
hent on extending the dominipn of Assyria
over Syria and Palestine. It may have been
these circumstances which encouraged Ha zael,
the servant of Benhadad, to murder him, and
seize the throne, which Elisha had declared
would certainly one day he his (2 K. viii. 15).
Shortly after the accession of Hazael (about
B.C. 884) he was in his turn attacked by the
Assyrians who defeated him with great loss
amid the fastnesses of Anti-Libanus. How
ever, in his wars with Israel and Judah he
was more fortunate, and his son Benhadad
followed up his successes. At last a deliverer
appeared (verse 5), and Joash, the son of
Jehoahaz, "beat Hazael thrice, and recovered
the cities of Israel" (verse 25). In the next
reign still further advantages were gained by
the Israelites. Jeroboam II. (ab. b.c 836)
is said ro have recovered Damascus (2 K.
xiv. 28), and though this may not mean that
he captured the city, it at least implies that
he obtained a certain influence over it. A
: century later (ab. b.c 742) the Syrians ap
pear as allies of Israel against Judah (2 K.
xv. 3i). It seems to have been during a
pause in the struggle against Assyria that
Rezin king of Damascus, and Pekah king of
Israel, resolved conjointly to attack Jerusalem,
intending to depose Ahaz and set up as king
a creature of their own (Is. vii. 1-6 ; 2 K.
xvi. 5). Jerusalem successfully maintained
itself against the combined attack. Ahaz was
induced to throw himself into the arms of
Tiglath-Pileser, to ask aid from him, and to
accept voluntarily the position of an Assyrian
feudatory (ib. xvi. 7, 8). The aid sought
was given, with the important result, that
fozin was slain, the kingdom of Damascus
^brought to an end, and the city itself de
stroyed, the inhabitants being carried captive
fjnto Assyria (2 K. xvi. 9 ; comp. Is. vii. 8
P<Um. i. 5). It was long before Damascus
«covered from this serious blow. We do

not know at what time Damascus was rebuilt ;
but Strabo says that it was the most famous
place in Syria during the Persian period. At
the time of the Gospel history, and of the
apostle Paul, it formed a part of the kingdom
of Aretas (2 Cor. xi. 32), an Arabian prince,
who held his kingdom under the Romans.
Damascus has always been a great centre for
trade. It would appear from Ez. xxvii. that
Damascus took manufactured goods from the
Phoenicians, and supplied them in exchange
with wool and wine. But the passage trade
of Damascus has probably been at all times
more important than its direct commerce. —
Certain localities in Damascus are shown as
the site of those Scriptural events which es
pecially interest us in its history. A " long
wide thoroughfare," leading direct from one
of the gates to the Castle or palace of the
Pasha, is " called by the guides ' Straight ' "
(Actsix. 11) ; but the natives know it among
themselves as " the Street of Bazaars." The
house of Judas is shown, but it is not in the
street " Straight." That of Ananias is also
pointed out. The scene of the conversion is
confidently said to be an open green spot,
surrounded by trees, and used as the Christian
burial-ground; but four distinct spots have
been pointed out at different times, so that
little confidence can be placed in any of them.
The point of the walls at which St. Paul was
let down by a basket (Acts ix. 25 ; 2 Cor. xi.
33) is also shown.
DAN. 1. The fifth son of Jacob, and the
first of Bilhah, Rachel's maid (Gen. xxx. 6).
The origin of the name is given in the excla
mation of Rachel — " God hath judged me
(ddnanni) . . . and given me a son, there
fore she called bis name Dan," %. e. "judge."
In the blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 16) this
play on the name is repeated — "Dan shall
judge (i/ddin) his people." The records of
Dan are unusually meagre. Only one son is
attributed to him (Gen, xlvi. 23) ; but when
the people were numbered in the wilderness
of Sinai, his tribe was, with the exception of
Judah, the most numerous of all, containing
62,700 men able to serve. The position of
Dan during the march through the desert
was on the north side of the tabernacle
(Num. ii. 25), the hindmost of the long pro
cession (ii. 31, x. 25). It arrived at the
threshold of the Promised Land, and passed
the ordeal of the rites of Baal-peor (Num.
xxv.) with an increase of 1700 on the earlier
census. In the division of the Promised Land
Dan was the last of the tribes to receive his
portioji, and that portion, according to the
record of Joshua, strange as it appears in tbe
face of the numbers just quoted, was the
smallest of the twelve (Josh. xix. 48). But
1 2

DAN

116

DANCE

notwithstanding its smallness it had eminent
natural advantages. On the north and east
it was completely embraced by its two brother-
tribes Ephraim and Benjamin, while on the
south-east and south it joined Judah, and was
thus surrounded by the three most powerful
states of the whole confederacy. Fron. Japho
— afterwards Joppa, and now Ydfa — on the
north, to Ekron and Gathrimmon on the south,
a length of at least 14 miles, that noble tract,
one of the most fertile in the whole of Pales
tine, was allotted to this tribe. But this rich
district, the corn-field and the garden of the
whole fajuth of Palestine, was too valuable to
be given up without a struggle by its original
possessors. The Amorites accordingly " forced
the children of Dan into the mountain, for they
would not suffer them to come down into the
valley" (Judg. L 34). With the help of
Ephraim, Dan prevailed against the Amorites
for a time, but in a few years the Philistines
took the place of the Amorites and with the
same result. These considerations enable us
to understand how it happened that long after
the partition of the land all the inheritance
of the Danites had not fallen to them among
the tribes of Israel (Judg, xviii. 1). They also
explain the warlike and independent charac
ter of the tribe betokened in the name of their
head-quarters Mahaneh-Dan, "the camp, or
host of Dan," in the fact specially insisted on
and reiterated (xviii. 11, 16, 17) of the com
plete equipment of their 600 warriors " ap
pointed with weapons of war," — and the law
less freebooting style of their behaviour to
Micah. In the " security " and " quiet "
(Judg. xviii. 7, 10) of their rich northern
possession the Danites enjoyed the leisure and
repose which had been denied them in their
original seat. But of the fate of the city to
which they gave " the name of their father "
(Josh. xix. 47) we know -scarcely anything.
In the time of David Dan still kept its place
among the tribes (1 Chr. xii. 35). Asher is
omitted, but the " prince of the tribe of Dan "
K mentioned in the list of 1 Chr. xxvii. 22.
But from this time forward the name as ap
plied to the tribe vanishes ; it is kept alive
only by the northern city. In the genealogies
of 1 Chr. ii.-xii. Dan is omitted entirely.
Lastly, Dan is omitted from the list of those
who were sealed by the Angel in the vision
of St. John (Rev. vii. 5-7).— 2. The well-
known city, so familiar as the most northern
landmark of Palestine, in the common ex
pression " from Dan even to Beersheba." The
name of the place was originally Laish or
Leshkm (Josh.xix. 47). Its inhabitants lived
" after the manner of the Zidonians, i. e.
engaged in commerce, and without defence.
Living thus " quiet and secure," they fell an

easy prey to the active and practised free
booters of the Danites. They conferred upon
their new acquisition the name of their own
tribe, " after the name of their father who
was born unto Israel " (Judg. xviii. 29 ; Josh,
xix. 47), and Laish became Dan. After tho
establishment of the Danites at Dan it became
the acknowledged extremity of the country.
Dan was, with other northern cities, laid waste
by Benhadad (1 K. xv. 20; 2 Chr. xvi, 4),
and this is the last mention of the plaoe,
With regard to the mention of Dan in Gen.
xiv. 14 it is probable that the passage origin
ally contained an older name, as Laish ; and
that when that was superseded by Dan, the
we^t name was inserted in the MSS. The
Tell el- Kadi, a mound from the foot of which
gushes out one of the largest fountains in the
world, the main source of the Jordan, is very
probably the site of the town and citadel of
Dan. The spring is called elLcdddn, possibly
a corruption of Dan, and the stream from the
spring Nahr ed Dhan, while the name, Tell
el Kadi, " the Judge's mound," agrees in
signification with the ancient name. — 3. Ap
parently the name of a city, associated with
Javan, as one of the places in Southern Arabia
from which the Phoenicians obtained wrought
iron, cassia, and calamus (Ez. xxvii. 19).
DANCE. The dance is spoken of in Holy
Scripture universally as symbolical of some
rejoicing, and is often coupled for the sake of
contrast with mourning, as in Eccl. iii. 4
(comp. Ps. xxx. 11 ; Matt. xi. 17). In the
earlier period it is found combined with some
song or refrain (Ex. xv. 20, xxxii. 18, 19;
1 Sam. xxi. 11) ; and with the tambourine
(A.V. "timbrel"), more especially in those
impulsive outbursts of popular feeling which
cannot find sufficient vent in voice or in
gesture singly. Dancing formed a part of
the religious ceremonies of the- Egyptians,
and was also common in private entertain
ments. The " feast unto the Lord," which
Moses proposed to Pharaoh to hold, was
really a dance. Women, however, among
the Hebrews made the dance their especial
means of expressing their feelings ; and so
welcomed their husbands or friends on their
return from battle. The " eating and drink
ing and dancing" of the Amalekites ie
recorded, as is the people's "rising up to
play," with a tacit censure. The Hebrews,
however, save in such moments of tempta
tion, seem to have *eft dancing to the women.
But more especially, on such occasions of
triumph, any woman whose nearness of kin
to the champion of the moment gave her a
public character among her own sex, seems
to have felt that it was ber part to lead such
a demonstration of triumph, or of welcome

DANCE

117

DANIEL, THE BOOK OF

(Ex. xv. 20; Judg. xi. 34). This marks the
peculiarity of David's conduct, when, on the
return of the Ark of God from its long
sojourn among strangers and borderers, he
(2 Sam. vi. 5-22) was himself the leader of
the dance ; and here too the women, with
their timbrels (see especially vv. 5, 19, 20,
22), took an important share. This fact
brings out more markedly the feelings of
Saul's daughter Michal, keeping aloof from
the occasion, and " looking through a win
dow " at the scene. She should, in accord
ance with the examples of Miriam, &c, have
herself led the female choir, and so come out
to meet the Ark and her lord. She stays
with the "household" (ver. 20), and "comes
out to meet " him with reproaches, perhaps
feeling that his zeal was a rebuke to her
apathy. From the mention of "damsels,"
"timbrels," and "dances" (Ps. lxviii. 25,
cxlix. 3, cl. 4), as elements of religious wor
ship, it may perhaps be inferred that David's
feeling led him to incorporate in its rites that
popular mode of festive celebration. In the
earlier period of the Judges the dances of the
virgins in Shiloh (Judg. xxi. 19-23) were
certainly part of a religious festivity. Danc
ing also had its place among merely festive
amusements apart from any religious cha
racter (Jer. xxxi. 4, 13 ; Lam. v. 15 ; Mark
vi. 22 ; Luke xv. 25).
DANCE. By this word is rendered in the
A. V. the Hebrew term, mdchol, a musieal
instrument of percussion, supposed to have
been used by the Hebrews at an early period
of their history. In the grand Hallelujah
Psalm (cl.) which closes that magnificent
collection, the sacred poet exhorts mankind
to praise Jehovah in His sanctuary with all
kinds of music ; and amongst the instruments
mentioned at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th verses is
found mdchol. It is generally believed to
have been made of metal, open like a ring :

Musical Instruments. Dance. (Mendelssohn).
it had many small bells attached to its border,
and was played at weddings and merry
making by women, who accompanied it with
the voice.
I DAN'IEL.— 1. The second son of David by

Abigail the Carmelitess (1 Chr. iii. l). In 2
Sam. iii. 3, he is called Chileab. — 3. The
fourth of " the greater prophets." Nothing
is known of his parentage or family. He
appears, however, to have been of royal or
noble descent (Dan. i. 3), and to have
possessed considerable personal endowments
(Dan. i. 4). He was taken to Babylon in
"the third year of Jehoiakim" (b.c 604),
and trained for the king's service with his
three companions. Like Joseph in earlier
times, he gained the favour of his guardian,
and was divinely supported in his resolve to
abstain from the "king's meat" for fear of
defilement (Dan. i. 8-16). At the close of his
three years* discipline (Dan. i. 5, 18), Daniel
had an opportunity of exercising his peculiar
gift (Dan. i. 17) of interpreting dreams, on
the occasion of Nebuchadnezzar's decree
against the Magi (Dan. ii. 14 ff.). In con
sequence of his success he was made "ruler
of the whole province of Babylon," and
" chief of the governors over all the wise
men of Babylon" (ii. 48). He afterwards
interpreted the second dream of Nebuchad
nezzar (iv. 8-27), and the handwriting on
the wall which disturbed the feast of Bel
shazzar (v. 10-28) though he no longer held
his official position among the magi (Dan. < .
7, 8, 12), and probably lived at Susa (Dan.
viii. 2). At the accession of Darius he was
made first of the " three presidents " of the
empire (Dan. vi. 2), and was delivered from
the lions' den, into which he had been cast
for his faithfulness to the rites of his faith
(vi. 10-23 ; cf. Bel and Dr. 29-42). At the
accession of Cyrus he still retained his pro
sperity (vi. 28 ; cf. i. 21 ; Bel and Dr. 2);
though he does not appear to have remained
at Babylon (cf. Dan. i. 21), and in "the
third year of Cyrus" (b.c 531) he saw his
last recorded vision on the banks of the
Tigris (x. 1,4). In the prophecies of Ezekiel
mention is made of Daniel as a pattern of
righteousness (xiv. 14, 20 ) and wisdom
(xxviii. 3) ; and since Daniel was still young
at that time (circ. b.c 588-584), some have
thought that another prophet of the name
must have lived at some earlier time, perhaps
during the captivity of Nineveh, whose fame
was transferred to his later namesake. On
the other hand the narrative in Dan. i. 11,
implies that Daniel was conspicuously distin
guished for purity and knowledge at a very
early age (cf. Hist. Sus, 45), and he may
have been nearly forty years old at the time
of Ezekiel's prophecy.
DAN'IEL, THE BOOK OF, is the earliest
example of apocalyptic literature, and in a
great degree the model according to which
all later apocatypses were constructed. In

DANIEL, THE BOOK Of

118

DARIC

this aspect it stands at the head of a series of
writings in which the deepest thoughts of the
Jewish people found expression after the close
of the prophetic era. The language of the
book, no less than its general form, belongs
to an era of transition. Like the book of
Ezra, Daniel is composed partly in the ver
nacular Aramaic (Chaldee), and partly in the
sacred Hebrew. The introduction (i.-ii. 4
a) is written in Hebrew. On the occasion
of the "Syriac" (i.e. Aramaic) answer of
the Chaldaeans, the language changes to
Aramaic, and this is retained till the close
of the seventh chapter (ii. 4 b — vii.). The
personal introduction of Daniel as the writer
of the text (viii. 1) is marked by the resump
tion of the Hebrew, which continues to the
close of the book (viii. — xii.). The use of
Greek technical terms marks a period when
commerce had already united Persia and
Greece. — The book may be divided into three
parts. The first chapter forms an introduc
tion. The next six chapters (ii.-vii.) give
a general view of the progressive history of
the powers of the world, and of the principles
of the divine government as seen in events of
the life of Daniel. The remainder of the
book (viii.-xii.) traces in minuter detail the
fortunes of the people of God, as typical of
the fortunes of the Church in all ages. — The
unity of the book in its present form, not
withstanding the difference of language, is
generally acknowledged. Still there is a
remarkable difference in its internal cha
racter. In the first seven chapters Daniel is
spoken of historicallg (i. 6-21, ii. 14-49, iv.
8-27, v. 13 29. vi. 2-28, vii. 1, 2) : in the
last five he appears personally as the writer
(vii. U-28, viii. 1-ix. 22, x. 1-9, xii. 5).
The cause of the difference of person is
commonly supposed to lie in the nature of the
case. It is, however, more probable that the
peculiarity arose from the manner in which
the book assumed its final shape. The book
exercised a great influence upon the Christian
Church. Apart from tbe general type of
Apocalyptic composition which the Apostolic
writers derived from Daniel (2 Thess. ii. ;
Rev. passim: cf. Matt. xxvi. 64, xxi. 44?),
the New Testament incidentally acknowledges
each of the characteristic elements of the
book, its miracles (Hebr. xi. 33, 34), its pre
dictions (Matt. xxiv. 15), and its doctrine of
angels (Luke i. 19, 26). At a still earlier
time the same influence may be traced in the
Apocrypha. — The authenticity of the book
has been attacked in modern times, and its
composition ascribed to the times of the
Maccabees : but in doctrine the book is closely
connected with the writings of the Exile,
and forms a last step in the development

of the ideas of Messiah (vii. 13, &c), of
the resurrection (xii. 2, 3), of the ministry
of angels (viii. 16, xii. 1, &c), of personal
devotion (vi. 10, 11, i. 8), which formed tbe
basis of later speculations, but received no
essential addition in the interval before the
coming of our Lord. Generally it may be
said that while the book presents in many
rc-pects a startling and exceptional character
yet it is far more difficult to explain its com
position in the Maccahaean period than to
connect the peculiarities which it exhibits
with the exigencies of the Return.
DANIEL, APOCRYPHAL ADDITIONS
TO. The Greek translations of Daniel, like
that of Esther, contain several pieces which
are not found in the original text. The most
important of these additions are contained in
the Apocrypha of the English Bible under the
titles of The song of the three Holy Children,
Hie History of Susannah, and The History of
. . . Bel and the Dragon. The first of these
pieces is incorporated into the narrative of
Daniel. After the three confessors were
thrown into the furnace (Dan. iii. 23),
Azarias is represented praying to God for
deliverance (Song of Three Children, 3-22);
and in answer the angel of the Lord shields
them from the fire which consumes their
enemies (23-27), whereupon "the three, as
out of one mouth," raise a triumphant song
(29-68), of which a chief part (35-66) has
been used as a hymn in the Christian Church
since the 4th century. The two other pieces
appear more distinctly as appendices, and
offer no semblance of forming part of the
original text. The History of Susannah (or
The judgment of Daniel) is generally found
at the beginning of the book, though it also
occurs after the 12th chapter. The History
of Bel and the Dragon is placed at the end of
the book. The character of these additions ,
indicates the hand of an Alexandrine writer;
and it is not unlikely that the translator of
Daniel wrought up traditions which were
already current, >and appended them to his
work. DARIC (A. V. " dram ; " Ezr. ii. 69 ; viii.
27 ; Neh. vii. 70, 71, 72; 1 Chr. xxix. 7), a
gold coin current in Palestine in the period
after the return from Babylon. At these
times there was no large issue of gold money
except by the Persian kings. The Paries

DARIUS

119

DAVID

which have been discovered are thick pieces
of pure gold, of archaic style, bearing on the
obverse the figure of a king with bow and
javelin, or bow and dagger, and on the
reverse an irregular incuse square.
DAM' US, tbe name of several kings of
Media and Persia. Three kings bearing this
name are mentioned in the 0. T. — 1. Darius
the Mede (Dan. xi. 1, vi. 1), "the son of
Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes" (ix. 1),
who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on
the death of Belshazzar, being then sixty-two
years old (Dan. v. 31 ; ix. 1). Only one
year of his reign is mentioned (Dan. ix. 1,
xi. 1) ; but that was of great importance for
the Jews. Daniel was advanced by the king
to the highest dignity (Dan. vi. 1 ff.),
probably in consequence of his former services
(cf. Dan. v. 17) ; and after his miraculous
deliverance, Darius issued a decree enjoining
throughout his dominions "reverence for the
God of Daniel" (Dan. vi. 25 ff.). The
extreme obscurity of the Babylonian annals
has given occasion to different hypotheses as
to the name under which Darius the Mede is
known in history ; but he is probably the
same as " Astyages," the last king of the
Medes.— 2. Darius the son of Hvstaspes the
founder of the Perso-Arian dynasty. Upon
the usurpation of the Magian Smerdis, he
conspired with six other Persian chiefs to
overthrow the impostor, and on the success
of the plot was placed upon the throne, b.c.
521. His designs of foreign conquest were
interrupted by a revolt of the Babylonians.
After the subjugation of Babylon Darius
turned his arms against Scythia, Libya, and
India. The defeat of Marathon (b.c 490)
only roused him to prepare vigorously for
that decisive struggle with the West which
was now inevitable. His plans were again
thwarted by rebellion. With regard to the
Jews, Darius Hystaspes pursued the same
policy as Cyrus, and restored to them the
privileges which they had lost (Ezr. v. 1,
fcc. ; vi. 1, &e.).— 3. Darius the Persian
(Neh. xii. 22), may be identified with Da
rius II. Nothus (Ochus), king of Persia b.c
,424-3—405-4, if the whole passage in ques
tion was written by Nehemiah. If, however,
the register was continued to a later time,
as Ib not improbable, the occurrence of the
name Jaddua (vv. 11, 22), points to Darius
III. Codomannus, the antagonist of Alex-
I ander, and last king of Persia b.c 336-330
(l,Mace. i. 1).
.©ARKNESS is spoken of as encompassing
the actual presence of God, as that out of
which He speaks, the envelope, as it were,
ofDivine glory (Ex. xx. 21 ; IK. viii. 12).
The plague of Darkness in Egypt has been

ascribed by various commentators to non-
miraculous agency, but no sufficient account
of its intense degree, long duration, and
limited area, as proceeding from any physical
cause, has been given. The darkness "over
all the land " (Matt, xxvii. 45) attending the
crucifixion has been similarly attributed to
an eclipse. Phlegon of Tralles indeed men
tions an eclipse of intense darkness, which
began at noon, and was combined, he says,
in Bithynia, with an earthquake, which in
the uncertain state of our chronology more or
less nearly synchronises with the event.
Darkness is also, as in the expression "land
of darkness," used for the state of the dead
(Job x. 21, 22) ; and frequently figuratively,
for ignorance and unbelief, as the privation of
spiritual light (John i. 5, iii. 19).
DATES, 2 Chr. xxxi. 5 marg. [Palm
Tb.ee.] DA'THAN, a Reubenite chieftain, son of
Eliab, who joined the conspiracy of Korah
the Levite (Num. xvi. 1, xxvi. 9 ; Deut. xi.
6 ; Ps. cvi. 17).
DAUGHTER. 1. The word is used in
Scripture not only for daughter, but for
granddaughter or other female descendant,
much in the same way and like extent with
"son" (Gen. xxiv. 48, xxxi. 43). — 2. The
female inhabitants of a place, a country, or
the females of a particular race are called
daughters (Gen. vi. 2, xxvii. 46, xxviii. 6,
xxxvi. 2 ; Num. xxv. 1 ; Deut. xxiii. 17 ;
Is. iii. 16 ; Jer. xlvi. 11, xlix. 2, 3, 4 ; Luke
xxiii. 28). — 3. The same notion uf descent
explains the phrase " daughters of music,"
i. e. singing birds (Eccl. xii. 4), and the use
of the word for branches of a tree (Gen. xlix.
22), the pupil of the eye (Lam. ii. 18 ; Ps.
xvii. 8), and the expression " daughter of 90
years," to denote the age of Sarah (Gen. xvii.
17.— 4. It is also used of cities in general,
Is. x. 32, xxiii. 12 ; Jer. vi. 2, 26 ; Zech.
ix. 9). — 5. But more specifically of dependent
towns or hamlets, while to the principal city
the correlative "mother" is applied (Num.
xxi. 25 ; Josh. xvii. 11, 16 ; Judg. i. 27 ; 1
Chr. vii. 28 ; 2 Sam. xx. 19).
DAVID, the son of Jesse. His life may be
divided into three portions : — I. His youth
before his introduction to the court of Saul.
II. His relations with Saul. III. His reign.
— I. The early life of David contains in many
important respects the antecedents of his
future career. 1. His family may best he
seen in the form of a genealogy. It thus
appears that David was the youngest son,
probably the youngest child, of a family of
ten. His mother's name is unknown. His
father, Jesse, was of a great age when David
was still young (1 Sam, xvii. 12). His

DAVID

V20

DAVID

parents both lived till after his final rupture
with Saul (1 Sam. xxii. 3). Through them
David inherited several points which he
never lost, (a) His connexion with Moab
through his great-grandmother Ruth. This
he kept up when he escaped to Moab and
entrusted his aged parents to the care of the
king (I Sam. xxii. 3). (b) His birthplace,
Bethlehkm. His recollection of the well of
Bethlehem is one of the most touching
incidents of his later life (1 Chr. xi. 17), and
it is his connexion with it that brought the
place again in after times into universal
fame (Luke ii. 4). (c) His general connexion
with the tribe of Judah. (d) His relations
to Zeruiah and Abigail. Though called in
1 Chr. ii. 16, sisters of David, they are not
expressly called the daughters of Jesse ; and
Abigail, in 2 Sam. xvii. 25, is called the
daughter of Nahash. Is it too much to
suppose that David's mother had been the
wife or concubine of Nahash, and then
married by Jesse 1 2. As the youngest of the
family he may possibly have received from
his parents the name, which first appears in
him, of David the beloved, the darling.
Perhaps for this same reason he was never
intimate with his brethren. The familiarity
which he lost with his brothers he gained
with his nephews. The three sons of his
sister Zeruiah, and the one son of his sister
Abigail, were probably of the same age as
David himself, and they accordingly were to
him throughout life in the relation usually
occupied by brothers and cousins. The two
sons of his brothei Shimeah are both con
nected with his after history. One was
Jonadab, the friend and adviser of his eldest
son Amnon (2 Sam. xiii. 3). The other was
Jonathan (2 Sam. xxi. 21), who afterwards
became the counsellor of David himself (1
Chr. xxvii. 32). The first time that David

appears in history at once admits us to the
whole family circle. There was a practice
once a year at Bethlehem, probably at tho first
new moon of the year, of holding a sacrificial
feast, at which Jesse, as the chief proprietor
of the place, would preside (1 Sam. xx. 6),
with the elders of the town. At this or such
like feast (xvi. 1) suddenly appeared the
great prophet Samuel, driving a heifer before
him, and having in his hand a horn of tho
consecrated oil of the Tabernacle. The
heifer was killed. The party were waiting
to begin the feast. Samuel stood with his
horn to pour forth the oil, as if for an invi
tation to begin (Comp. ix. 22). He was
restrained by divine intimation as son after
son passed by. Eliab, tbe eldest, by " his
height " and " his countenance," seemed the
natural counterpart of Saul, whose rival,
unknown to them, the prophet came to select,
But the day was gone when kings were
chosen because they were head and shoulders
taller than the rest. " Samuel said unto
Jesse, Are these all thy children ? And he
said, There reraaineth yet the youngest, and
behold he keepeth the sheep." ThiB is our
first and most characteristic introduction to
the future king. The boy was brought in.
We are enabled to fix his appearance at once
in our minds. He was of short stature, with
red or auburn hair, such as is not- un-
frequently seen in his countrymen of the
East at the present day. In later life he
wore a beard. His bright eyes are especially!'-
mentioned (xvi. 12), and generally he wajg,,
remarkable lor the grace of his figure and
countenance (" fair of eyes," " comely,"
" goodly," xvi. 12, 18, xvii. 42), well made,
and of immense strength and agility, His
swiftness and activity made him (like bis
nephew Asahel) like a wild gazelle, his feet
like hart's feet, and his arms strong enough,

Salmon or Salmali
(Ruth iv. 21, 1 Chr. ii. U).
Boaz =

Elimelech = Naomi (Ruth i, 1),

.1

. 25) Nabash=unknovm=Jetise. I 

= Uuth = M anion.
(Ruth iv. 10).
Obeu
(Rulh iv. 17).
J  I

Chilion = Orpnn.

Jonathan (1 Chr. xxvii. 32).

! I
Zoru'ah Abigail:
( I Chr.
n. 16).

Abin-

Joab. Asahel.

(1 (. or. xxi

Jethcr = Ira? ? Eliab,
(1 Chr. [Jih'ome, Elihu
ii.I7). Qu. Heb. (1 Chr,
on I I lir. xxvii,
xt. 40). 18).
  I
I |
Arnnsa Abihai]=Rehoboam Jonathan
(.'2 Chr. xi 1 ). (2&wn. xxi. 21

Sliammah, Nethan- Radiiai Ozem
Shimmah, eel. (Kuel, (As;im,
Shimeah Jos, Ant Joh. Am.
(2 Sam. vi. 8. 1. \i. 8, 1),
xxi. 21). Rd, Ewald.)

I. I 1
Jonadab Joel ?
(S Sam. (Jeiome,
i Chr. xxvii, 32). xiii. a). Qu Heb
(Niuhan* ? on 1 Chr,
Jer. Qu. Heb. Xi. 38).
ou l Sum xvi. 12)

(one DAVID.
is nut
given,U'lleMJ Ehhu,
r. and Aratv
Chr. ii. IS).

DAVID

121

DAVID

to break a bow of steel (Ps. xviii. 33, 34).
He was pursuing the occupation allotted in
Eastern countries usually to the slaves, the
females, or the despised of the family. He
usually carried a switch or wand in his hand
(1 Sam. xvii. 40), such as would be used for
his dogs (xvii. 43), and a scrip or wallet
round his neck, to carry anything that was
needed for his shepherd's life (xvii. 43). 3.
But there was another preparation still more
needed for his office, which is his next intro
duction to the history. When the body
guard of Saul were discussing with their
master where the best minstrel could be
found to chase away his madness by music,
one of the young men in the guard suggested
David. Saul, with the absolute control
inherent in the idea of an Oriental king,
instantly sent for him, and in the successful
effort of David's harp we have the first
glimpse into that genius for music and
poetry which was afterwards consecrated in
the Psalms. 4. One incident alone of his
solitary shepherd life has come down to us —
his conflict with the lion and the bear in
defence of his father's flocks (1 Sam. xvii.
34, 35). But it did not stand alone. He
was already known to Saul's guards for his
martial exploits, probably against the Philis
tines (xvi. 18), and, when he suddenly
appeared in the camp, his elder brother
immediately guessed that he had left the
sheep in his ardour to see the battle (xvii.
28). The scene of the battle is at Ephes-
dammim, hi the frontier-hills of Judah, called
probably from this or similar encounters
"the bound of blood." Saul's arcny is
encamped on one side of the ravine, the
Philistines on the other, the watercourse of
Elah or "the Terebinth" runs between
them. A Philistine of gigantic stature, and
clothed in complete armour, insults the com
paratively defenceless Israelites, amongst
whom the king alone appears to be well
armed (xvii. 38 ; comp. xiii. 20). No one
can be found to take up the challenge. At
this juncture David appears in the camp.
Just as he comes to the circle of waggons
which formed, as in Arab settlements, a rude
fortification round the Israelite camp (xvii.
20), he bears the well-known shout of the
Israelite war-cry (comp. Num. xxiii. 21).
The martial spirit of the boy is stirred at the
sound; he leaves his provisions with the
haggage-master, and darts to join his
brothers, like one of the royal messengers,
|mto the midst of the lines. Then he hears
the challenge, now made for the fortieth
time— sees the dismay of his countrymen —
hears the reward proposed by the king — goes
with the impetuosity of youth from soldier to

soldier talking of the event, in spite of his
brother's rebuke — is introduced to Saul —
undertakes the combat. His victory over
the gigantic Philistine is rendered more con
spicuous by his own diminutive stature, and
by the simple weapons with which it was
accomplished— not tbe armour of Saul, which
he naturally found too large, but the shep
herd's sling, which he always carried with
him, and the five polished pebbles which he
picked up as he went from the watercourse
of the valley, and put in his shepherd's
wallet. Two trophies long remained of the
battle — one, the huge sword of the Philistine,
which was hung up behind the ephod in the
Tabernacle at Nob (1 Sam. xxi. 9) ; the
other, the head, which he bore away himself,
and which was either laid up at Nob, or
subsequently at Jerusalem. — IJ. Relations
with Saul. — "We now enter on a new aspect
of David's life. The victory over Goliath
had been a turning point of his career.
Saul inquired his parentage, and took him
finally to his court- Jonathan was inspired
by the romantic friendship which bound the
two youths together to the end of their lives.
The triumphant songs of the Israelitish
women announced that they felt that in him
Israel had now found a deliverer mightier
even than Saul. And in those songs, and in
the fame which David thus acquired, was laid
the foundation of that unhappy jealousy of
Saul towards him which, mingling with the
king's constitutional malady, poisoned his
whole future relations to David. Three new
qualities now began to develop themselves in
David's character. The first was his prudence.
Secondly, we now see his magnanimous for
bearance called forth, in the first instance,
towards Saul, but displaying itself (with a
few painful exceptions) in tbe rest of his life.
Thirdly, his hairbreadth escapes, continued
through so many years, impressed upon him
a sense of dependence on the Divine help,
clearly derived from this epoch. This course
of life subdivides itself into four portions : —
1. His life at the court of Saul till his final
escape (1 Sam. xviii. 2-xix. 18). His office
is not exactly defined. But it would seem
that, having been first armour-bearer (xvi, 21,
xviii. 2), then made captain over a thou
sand — the subdivision of a tribe — (xviii. 13),
he finally, on his marriage with Michal, the
king's second daughter, was raised to the
high office of captain of the king's body
guard, second only, if not equal, to Abner,
the captain of the host, and Jonathan, the
heir apparent. These three formed the usual
companions of the king at his meals (xx. 25).
David was now chiefly known for his suc
cessful exploits against the Philistines, by

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one of which he won his wife, and drove back
the Philistine power with a blow from which
it only rallied at the disastrous close of Saul's
reign. He also still performed from time to
time the office of minstrel. But the sue.
cessive snares laid by Saul to entrap him,
and the open violence into which the king's
madness twice broke out, at last convinced
him that his life was no longer safe. He had
two faithful allies, however, in the court —
the son of Saul, his friend Jonathan — the
daughter of Saul, his wife Michal. Warned
by the one, and assisted by the other, he
escaped by night, and was from thenceforward
a fugitive. Jonathan he never saw again
except by stealth. Michal was given in mar
riage to another (Phaltiel), and he saw her no
more till long after her father's death. 2. His
escape (1 Sam. xix. 18-xxi. 15). He first
fled to Naioth (or the pastures) of Ramah, to
Samuel. This is the first recorded occasion
of his meeting with Samuel since the original
interview during his boyhood at Bethlehem.
Up to this time both the king and himself
had thought that a reunion was possible
(see xx. 5, 26). But the madness of Saul
now became more settled and ferocious in
character, and David's danger proportionally
greater. The secret interview with Jonathan
confirmed the alarm already excited by Saul's
endeavour to seize him at Ramah, and he
now determined to leave his country, and
take refuge, like Coriolanus, or Themistocles
in like circumstances, in the court of his
enemy. Before this last resolve, he visited
Nob, the seat of the tabernacle, partly to
obtain a final interview with the high-priest
(1 Sam. xxii. 9,' 15), partly to obtain food
and weapons. On the pretext of a secret
mission from Saul, he gained an answer from
the oracle, some of the consecrated loaves,
and the consecrated sword of Goliath. His
stay at the court of Achish was short. Dis
covered possibly by " the sword of Goliath,"
his presence revived the national enmity of
the Philistines against their former con
queror, and he only escaped by feigning mad
ness (1 Sam. xxi. 13). 3. His life as an in
dependent outlaw (xxii. 1-xxvi. 25). (a) His
first retreat was the cave of Adullam, pro
bably the large cavern, not far from Bethle
hem now called Khureitun. From its vicinity
to Bethlehem, he was joined there by his
whole family, now feeling themselves insecure
from Saul's fury (xxii. 1). This was pro
bably the foundation of his intimate connexion
with his nephews, the sons of Zeruiah. (b) His
next move was to a stronghold, either the
mountain, afterwards called Herodium, close
to Adullam, or the fastness called by Josephus
Masada, the Grecised form of the Hebrew

word Matzcd (1 Sam. xxii. 4, 5 ; 1 Chr.
xii. 16), in the neighbourhood of En-gedi.
Whilst there he had deposited his aged
parents, for the sake of greater security, be-
yond the Jordan, with their ancestral kinsman
of Moab (ib. 3). The neighbouring king,
Nahash of Amnion, also treated him kindly
(2 Sam. x. 2). Here occurred the chivalrous
exploit of the three heroes just mentioned to
procure water from the well of Bethlehem,
and David's chivalrous answer, like that of
Alexander in the desert of Gedrosia (1 Chr.
xi. 16-19; 2 Sam. xxiii. 14-17). He was
joined here by two separate bands. One a
little body of eleven fierce Gadife moun
taineers, who swam the Jordan in flood-timo
to reach him (1 Chr. xii. 8). Another was
a detachment of men from Judah and Ben
jamin under his nephew Amasai, who hence
forth attached himself to David's fortunes
(1 Chr. xii. 16-18). (c) At the warning of
Gad, he fled to the forest of Hareth, and
then again fell in with the Philistines, and
again, apparently advised by Gad (xxiii. 4),
made a descent on their foraging parties, and
relieved Keilah, in which he took up his
abode. Whilst there, now for the first time
in a fortified town of his own (xxiii. 7), be was
joined by a new and most important ally—
Abiathar, the last survivor of the house of
Ithamar. By this time the 400 who had
joined him at Adullam (xxii. 2) had swelled
to GOO (xxiii. 13). (d) The situation of
David was now changed by the appearance
of Saul himself on the scene. Apparently
the danger was too great for the little army
to keep together. They escaped from Keilah,
and dispersed, " whithersoever they could
go," among the fastnesses of Judah. Hence
forth it becomes difficult to follow his move
ments with exactness. But thus much we
discern. He is in the wilderness of Ziph.
Once (or twice) the Ziphites betray his move
ments to Saul. From thence Saul literally
hunts him like a partridge, the treacheroM
Ziphites beating the bushes before him, and
3000 men, stationed to catch even the print
of his footsteps on the hills (1 Sam. xxiii.
14, 22, xxiv. 11, xxvi. 2, 20). David finds
himself driven to the extreme south of Judan,
in the wilderness of Maon. On two, if not
three occasions, the pursuer and pursued
catch sight of each other (1 Sam. xxiii. 25-29,
xxiv. 1-22, xxvi.). Whilst he was in the
wilderness of Maon occurred David's ad
venture with Nabal, instructive as Bhowing
his mode of carrying on the freebooter's lifet
and his marriage with Abigail. His marriage
with Ahinoam from Jezreel, also in the same
neighbourhood (Josh. xv. 56), seems to have
taken place a short time before (1 Sam. ssv.

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DAVID

43, xxvii. 3 ; 2 Sam. iii. 2). 4. His service
under Achish (1 Sam. xxvii. 1 ; 2 Sam. i. 27).
Wearied with his wandering life he at last
crosses the Philistine frontier, not, as before,
in the capacity of a fugitive, but the chief of
a powerful band — his 600 men now grown
into an organised force, with their wives and
families around them (xxvii. 3, 4). After
the manner of Eastern potentates, Achish
gave him, for his support, a city — Ziklag on
the frontier of Philistia (xxvii. 6). There
we meet with the first note of time in David's
life. He was settled there for a year and
four months (xxvii. 7), and a body of Ben-
jamite archers and slingers, twenty-two of
whom are specially named, joined him from
the very tribe of his rival (1 Chr. xii. 1-7).
He deceived Achish into confidence by attack
ing the old Nomadic inhabitants of the desert
frontier, and representing the plunder to be
of portions of the southern tribes or the
Nomadic allied tribes of Israel. But this
confidence was not shared by the Philistine
nobles, and accordingly David was sent back
by Achish from the last victorious campaign
against Saul. During his absence the Be
douin Amalekites, whom he had plundered
during tbe previous year, had made a descent
upon Ziklag, burnt it to the ground, and
carried off the wives and children of the new
settlement. A wild scene of frantic grief and
recrimination ensued between David and his
followers. It was calmed by an oracle of
assurance from Abiathar. Assisted by the
Manassites who had joined him on the march
to Gilboa (1 Chr. xii. 19-21), he overtook the
invaders in the desert, and recovered the
spoil (1 Sam. xxx.). Two days after this
¦Victory a Bedouin arrived from the north
¦with the fatal news of the death at Gilboa.
The reception of the tidings of the death of
his rival and of his friend, the solemn mourn
ing, the vent of his indignation against the
hearer of the message, the pathetic lamenta
tion that followed, will close the second period
of Bavid'slife (2 Sam. i. 1-27).— III. David's
reign.— (I.) As king of Judah at Hebron,
-7| years (2 Sam. ii. 1-v. 5). Hebron was
'Selected, doubtless, as tbe ancient sacred city
of the tribe of Judah, the burial-place of the
patriarchs and the inheritance of Caleb. Here
pavid was first formally anointed king (2 Sam.
ii. 4). To Judah his dominion was nominally
^confined. Gradually his power increased,
-and during the two years which followed the
elevation of Ishbosheth a series of skirmishes
took place between the two kingdoms. Then
rapidly followed, though without David's con
sent, the successive murders of Abner and of
IIbhbosheth (2 Sam. iii. 30, iv. 5). The
tihrone, so long waiting for him, was now

vacant, and the united voice of the whole
people at once called him to occupy it. A
solemn league was made between him and
his people (2 Sam. v. 3). For the third time
David was anointed king, and a festival of
three days celebrated the joyful event (1 Chr.
xii. 39). His little band had now swelled
into "a great host, like the host of God"
(1 Chr, xii. 22). The command of it, which
had formerly rested on David alone, he now
devolved on his nephew Joab (2 Sam. ii. 28).
(II.) Reign over all Israel, 33 years (2 Sam.
v. 5 to 1 K. ii. 11). (1) The foundation of
Jerusalem. One fastness alone in the centre
of the land had hitherto defied the arms of
Israel. On this, with a singular prescience,
David fixed as his future capital. By one
sudden assault Jebus was taken. The reward
bestowed on the successful scaler of the pre
cipice was the highest place in the army.
Joab henceforward became captain of the
host (1 Chr. xi. 6). The royal residence was
instantly fixed there — fortifications were
added by the king and by Joab — and it was
known by the special name of the " city of
David" (1 Chr. xi. 7 ; 2 Sam. v. 9). The
Philistines made two ineffectual attacks on
the new king (2 Sam. v. 17-20), and a retri
bution on their former victories took place
by the capture and conflagration of their own
idols (1 Chr. xiv. 12). Tyre, now for the
first time appearing in the sacred history,
allied herself with Israel ; and Hiram sent
cedarwoodfor the buildings of the new capital
(2 Sam. v, 11), especially for the palace of
David himself (2 Sam. vii. 2). Unhallowed
and profane as the city had been before, it
was at once elevated to a sanctity which it has
never lost, above any of the ancient sanc
tuaries of the land. The ark was now re
moved from its obscurity at Kirjath-jearim
with marked solemnity. A temporary halt
(owing to the death of TJzza) detained it at
Obed-edom's house, after which it again
moved forward with great state to Jerusalem.
It was the greatest day of David's life. One
incident only tarnished its splendour — the
reproach of Michal, his wife, as he was finally
entering his own palace, to carry to his own
household the benediction which he had
already pronounced on his people. His act
of severity towards her was an additional
mark of the stress which he himself laid on
the solemnity (2 Sam. vi. 20-23 ; 1 Chr. xv.
29). (2) Foundation of the Court and Empire
of Israel, 2 Sam. viii. to xii. The erection of
the new capital at Jerusalem introduces us to
a new era in David's life and in the history
of the monarchy. He became a king on the
scale of the great Oriental sovereigns of Egypt
and Persia, with a regular administration and

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DAVID

organization of court and camp ; and he also
founded an imperial dominion which for the
first time realised the prophetic description of
the bounds of the chosen people (Gen. xv.
18-21). The internal organization now esta
blished lasted till the final overthrow of the
monarchy. The empire was of much shorter
duration, continuing only through the reigns
of David and his successor Solomon. But,
for the period of its existence, it lent a
peculiar character to the sacred history.
(a) In the internal organization of the king
dom the first new element that has to be con
sidered is the royal family, the dynasty, of
which David was the founder, a position
which entitled him to the name of " Patri
arch " (Acts ii. 29), and (ultimately) of the an
cestor of the Messiah. Of these, Absalom and
Adonijah both inherited their father's beauty
(2 Sam. xiv. 25; 1 K. i. 6); but Solomon
alone possessed any of his higher qualities.
It was from a union of the children of
Solomon and Absalom that the royal line was
carried on (1 K. xv. 2). David's strong
parental affection for all of them is very re
markable (2 Sam. xiii. 31, 33, 36, xiv. 33,
xviii. 5, 33, xix. 4 ; 1 K. i. 6). (b) The
military organization, which was in fact in
herited from Saul, but greatly developed by
David, was as follows: (1) "The Host,"
i. e. the whole available military force of
Israel, consisting of all males capable of bear
ing arms, and summoned only for war. There
were 12 divisions of 24,000 each, who were
held to be in duty month by month ; and
over each of them presided an officer, selected
for this purpose from the other military
bodies formed by David (1 Chr. xxvii. 1-15).
The army was still distinguished from those
of surrounding nations by its primitive as
pect of a force of infantry without cavalry.
The only innovations as yet allowed were
the introduction of a very limited number of
chariots (2 Sam. viii. 4) and of mules for the
princes and officers instead of the asses (2 Sam,
xiii. 29, xviii. 9). (2) The Body-guard.
This also had existed in the court of Saul, and
David himself had probably been its com
manding officer (1 Sam. xxii. 14). But it
now assumed a peculiar organization. They
were at least in name foreigners, as having
been drawn from the Philistines, probably
during David's residence at the court of Gath.
They are usually called from this circum
stance " Cherethites and Pelethites." The
captain of the force was, however, not only
not a foreigner, but an Israelite of the highest
distinction and purest descent, who first ap
pears in this capacity, but who outlived
David, and became the chief support of the
throne of his son, namely BeDaiah, son of the

chief-priest Jehoiada, representative of the
eldest branch of Aaron's house (2 Sam. viii.
18, xv. 18, xx. 23 ; 1 K. i. 38, 44). (3) The
most peculiar military institution in David'B
army was that which arose out of the peculiar
circumstances of his early life. The nuoleua
of what afterwards became the only standing
army in David's forces was the band of 600
men who had gathered round him in bis
wanderings. The number of 600 was still
preserved. It became yet further subdivided
into three large bands of 200 each, and small
bands of 20 each. The small bands were
commanded by 30 officers, one for each band,
who together formed " the thirty," and the
3 large bands by 3 officers, who together
formed " the three," and the whole by one
chief, " the captain of the mighty men"
(2 Sam. xxiii. 8-39 ; 1 Chr. xi. 9-47). The
commander of the whole force was * Abishaij
David's nephew (1 Chr. xi. 20; and connv
2 Sam. xvi. 9). (c) Side by side with this
military organization were established social-
and moral institutions. Some were entirely
for pastoral, agricultural, and financial pur
poses (1 Chr. xxvii. 25-31), others for judicial
(1 Chr. xxvi. 29-32). Some few are named
as constituting what would now be called the
court, or council of the king ; the councillors,
Ahithophel of Gilo, and Jonathan, the king's
nephew (1 Chr. xxvii. 32, 33); tho com
panion or " friend," Hushai (1 Chr. xxvii.
33; 2 Sam. xv. 37, xvi. 19); the scribe,
Sheva, or Seraiah, and at one time Jonathan..
(2 Sam. xx. 25 ; 1 Chr. xxvii. 32) ; Jehosha
phat, the recorder or historian (2 Sam. xx.
24), and Adoram the tax-collector, both of
whom survived him (2 Sam. xx, 24 ; IK,
xii. 18, iv. 3, 6). But the more peculiar of
David's institutions were those directly bear
ing on religion. Two prophets appear aa the
king's constant advisers. Of these, Gad, who
seems to have been the elder, had been David's
companion in exile ; and, from his being
called " the seer," belongs probably to the
earliest form of the prophetic schools. Nathan,
who appears for the first time after the esta
blishment of the kingdom of Jerusalem (2 Sam.
vii. 2), is distinguished both by his title of
"prophet," and by the nature of the pro
phecies which he utters (2 Sam. vii. 5-17)
xii. 1-14), as of the purest type of prophetic
dispensation, and as the hope of the new
generation, which he supports in the person
of Solomon (1 K. i.). Two high-priests also
appear —representatives of the two rival
houses of Aaron (1 Chr. xxiv. 3) ; here again,
as in the case of the two prophets, one, Abia
thar, who attended him at Jerusalem, com
panion of his exile, and connected with the
old time of the judges (1 Chr. xxvii, 31),

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DAVID

joining him after the death of Saul, and be
coming afterwards the support of his son ;
the other Zadoc, who ministered at Gibeon
(1 Ghr. xvi. 39), and who was made the head
of the Aaronic family (xxvii. 17). Besides
these four great religious functionaries there
were two classes of subordinates — prophets,
specially instructed in singing and music,
under Asaph, Heinan the grandson of Samuel,
and Jeduthun (1 Chr. xxv. 1-31) — Levites, or
attendants on the sanctuary, who again were
subdivided into the guardians of the gates and
guardians of the treasures (1 Chr. xxvi. 1-2S)
which had been accumulated, since the re-
establishment of the nation, by Samuel, Saul,
Abner, Joab, and David himself (1 Chr. xxvi.
26-28). (d) From the internal state of
David's kingdom we pass to its external re
lations. These will be found at length under
the various countries to which they relate.
It will be here only necessary to briefly indi
cate the enlargement of his dominions. Within
ten years from the capture of Jerusalem, he
had reduced to a state of permanent sub
jection the Philistines on the west (2 Sam.
viii. 1); the Moabites on the east (2 Sam.
viii. 2), by the exploits of Benaiah (2 Sam. xxiii.
20) ; the Symans on the north-east as far as
the Euphrates (2 Sam. viii. 3) ; the Edomites
(2 Sam. viii. 14), on the south ; and finally
the Ammonites, who had broken their ancient
alliance, and made one grand resistance to
the advance of his empire (2 Sam. x. 1-19,
xii. 26-31). These three last wars were en
tangled with each other. The last and erown-
ingpoint was the siege of Rabbah. (3) Three
great calamities may be selected as marking
the beginning, middie, and close of David's
otherwise prosperous reign; which appears to
be intimated in the question of Gad (2 Sam.
xxiv. 13), "a three years' famine, a three
months' flight, or a three days' pestilence."
(a) Of these, the first (the three years' famine)
introduces us to the last notices of David's
relations with the house of Saul. There has
often arisen a painful suspicion in later times,
as there seems to have been at the time
(xvi. 7), that the oracle, which gave as the
cause of the famine Saul's massacre of the
'Giheonites, may have been connected with
the desire to extinguish the last remains of
' *he fallen dynasty. But such an explanation
ps not needed. The massacre was probably
the most recent national crime that had left
any deep impression ; and the whole tenour of
David's conduct towards Saul's family is of
^opposite kind. (6) The second group of
incidents contains the tragedy of David's
•lift, which grew in all its parts out of the
polygamy, with its evil consequences, into
i-Waich he had plunged on becoming king.

Underneath the splendour of his last glorious
campaign against the Ammonites, was a dark
story, known probably at that time only to a
very few ; the double crime of adultery with
Bathsheba, and of the virtual murder of
Uriah. The crimes are undoubtedly those of
a common Oriental despot. But the rebuke
of Nathan ; the sudden revival of the king's
conscience ; his grief for the sickness of the
child ; the gathering of his uncles and elder
brothers around him ; his return of hope and
peace ; are characteristic of David, and of
David only. But the clouds from this time
gathered over David's fortunes, and hencefor
ward "the sword never departed from his
house" (2 Sam. xii. 10). The outrage on
his daughter Tamar ; the murder of his eldest
son Amnon ; and then the revolt of his best-
beloved Absalom, brought on the crisis which
once more sent him forth a wanderer, as in
the days when he fled from Saul ; and this,
the heaviest trial of his life, was aggravated
by the impetuosity of Joab, now perhaps,
from his complicity in David's crime, more
unmanageable than ever. The rebellion was
fostered apparently by the growing jealousy
of the tribe of Judah at seeing their king ab
sorbed into the whole nation ; and if, as ap
pears from 2 Sam. xi. 3, xxiii. 34, Ahitho
phel was the grandfather of Bathsheba, its
main supporter was one whom David had
provoked by his own crimes. For its general
course the reader is referred to the names
just mentioned. Mahanaim was the capital
of David's exile, as it had been of the exiled
house of Saul (2 Sam. xvii. 24; comp. ii. 8,
12). His forces were arranged under the three
great military officers who remained faithful
to his fortunes — Joab, captain of the host ;
Abishai, captain of " the mighty men ;" and
Ittai, who seems to have taken the place of
Benaiah as captain of the guard (2 Sam.
xviii. 2). On Absalom's side was David's
nephew Amasa (ib. xvii. 25). The final
battle was fought in the " forest of Ephraim,"
which terminated in the accident leading to
the death of Absalom. At this point the
narrative resumes its minute detail. The
return was marked at every stage by re
joicing and amnesty (2 Sam. xix. 16-40;
IK. ii. 7). Judah was first reconciled. The
embers of the insurrection, still smouldering
(2 Sam. xix. 41-43) in David's hereditary
enemies of the tribe of Benjamin, were
trampled out by the mixture of boldness and
sagacity in Joab, now, after the murder of
Amasa, once more in his old position. And
David again reigned in undisturbed peace at
Jerusalem (2 Sam. xx. 1-22). (c) The
closing period of David's life, with the ex
ception of one great calamity, may be con-

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126

DAY

sidered as a gradual preparation for tho reign
of his successor. This calamity was the three
days' pestilence which visited Jerusalem at
the warning of the prophet Gad. The occa
sion which led to this warning was the census
of tbe people taken by Joab at the king's
orders (2 Sam. xxiv. 1-9 ; 1 Chr. xxi. 1-7,
xxvii. 23, 24). Joab's repugnance to the
measure was such that he refused altogether
to number Levi and Benjamin (1 Chr. xxi. 6).
The plague and its cessation were commemo
rated down to the latest times of the Jewish
nation. Outside the walls of Jerusalem,
Araunah or Oman, a wealthy Jebusite — per
haps even the ancient king of Jebus (2 Sam.
xxiv. 23)— possessed a threshing-floor ; there
he and his sons were engaged in threshing
the corn gathered in from the harvest (1 Chr.
xxi. 20). At this spot an awful vision ap
peared, such as is described in the later days
of Jerusalem, of the Angel of the Lord
stretching out a drawn sword between earth
and sky over the devoted city. The scene of
such an apparition at such a moment was at
once marked out for a sanctuary. David de
manded, and Araunah willingly granted, the
site; the altar was erected on the rock of
the threshing-floor ; the place was called by
the name of " Muriah " (2 Chr. iii. 1) ; and
for the first time a holy place, sanctified by a
vision of the Divine presence, was recognised
in Jerusalem. It was this spot which after
wards became the altar of the Temple, and
therefore the centre of the national worship,
with but slight interruption, for more than
1000 years, and it is even contended that the
name spot is tbe rock, still regarded with
almost idolatrous veneration, in the centre of
the Mussulman " Dome of the Rock." A for
midable conspiracy to interrupt the succession
broke out in the last days of David's reign,
which detached from bis person two of his
court, who from personal offence or adherence
to the ancient family had been alienated from
him — Joab and Abiathar. But Zadok, Nathan,
Benaiah, Shimei, and Rei remaining firm, the
plot was stifled, and Solomon's inauguration
took place under his father's auspices (1 K. i.
1-53). By this time David's infirmities had
grown upon him. The warmth of his ex
hausted frame was attempted to be restored
by the introduction of a young Shunammite,
of the name of Abishag, mentioned appar
ently for the sake of an incident which grew
up in connexion with her out of the later
events (2 K. i. 1, ii. 17). His last song is
preserved— a striking union of the ideal of a
just ruler which he had placed before him,
and of the difficulties which he bad felt in
realising it (2 Sam. xxiii. 1-7). His last
words, as recorded, to his successor, are

general exhortations to his duty, combined
with warnings against Joab and Shimei, and
charges to remember the children of Barzillni
(1 K. ii. 1-9). He died, according to Jose-
phus, at the age of 70, and " was buried in
the city of David." After the return from
the captivity, "the sepulchres of David"
were still pointed out " between Siloah and
the house of the mighty men," or "the
guardhouse " (Neh. iii. 16). His tomb, which
became the general sepulchre of the kings of
Judah, was pointed out in the latest times of
the Jewish people. The edifice shown ai
such from the Crusades to the present day it
on the southern hill of modern Jerusalem,
commonly called Mount Zion, under the so-
called " Coenaculum ;" but it cannot be
identified with the tomb of David, which was
emphatically within the walls.
DAVID, CITY OF. [Jerusalem.]
DAY. The variable length of the natural
day at different seasons led in the very ear
liest times to th& adoption of the civil day (or
one revolution of the sun) as a standard of
time. The commencement of the civil day
varies in different nations : the Babyloniaflj
reckoned it from sunrise to sunrise ; the
Umbrians from noon to noon : tbe Uomani
from midnight to midnight ; the Athenians
and others from sunset to sunset. The
Hebrews naturally adopted the latter reckon
ing (Lev. xxiii. 32, " from even to even shall
ye celebrate your sabbath ") from Gen. i. 5,
" the evening and the morning were the first •
day." The Jews are supposed, like the
modern Arabs, to have adopted from an early
period minute specifications of the parte of
the natural day. Roughly indeed they were
content to divide it into " morning, evening,
and noonday" (Ps. Iv. 17) ; but when they
wished for greater accuracy they pointed' to
six unequal parts, each of which was again
subdivided. These are held to have been;—
1. " The dawn." 2. "Sunrise." 3. "Hcatof
the day," about 9 o'clock; 4. "The two noons"
(Gen. xliii. 16 ; Deut. xxviii. 29) ; 5. "The
cool (lit. wind) of the day," before sunset (Gen,
iii. 8); so called by the Persians to this day;
6. "Evening." The phrase " between the
two evenings" (Ex. xvi. 12, xxx. 8), being
the time marked for slaying the paschal lamb
and offering the evening sacrifice (Ex. xii, 6,
xxix. 39), led to a dispute between the
Karaites and Samaritans on the one h«nd,
and the Pharisees on the othir. The former
took it to mean between sunset and full
darkness (Deut. xvi. 6); the RabbinisW
explained it as the time between the begin
ning and end of sunset. — Before the captivity
the Jews divided the night into three watches
(Ps. lxiii. 6, xc. 4), viz. the first watch, last-

DAYSMAN

.127

DEBIR

ing till midnight (Lam. ii. 19, A. V. " the
beginning of the watches ") ; the " Middle
watch," lasting till cockcrow (Judg. vii. 19) ;
and* the morning watch, lasting till sunrise
(Ex. xiv. 24). These divisions were probably
connected with the Levitical duties in the
Temple service. The Jews, however, say
(in spite of their own definition, " a watch is
the third part of the night ") that they always
had four night-watches (comp. Neh. ix. 3),
but that the fourth was counted as a part of
[he morning. In the N. T. we have allusions
to four watches, a division borrowed from the
Greeks and Romans. These were, 1. from
twilight till 9 o'clock (Mark xi. 1 1 ; John xx.
19); 2. midnight, from 9 till 12 o'clock
(Mark xiii. 35) ; 3. till 3 in the morning
(Mark xiii. 35 ; 3 Mace. v. 23) ; 4. till day
break (John xviii. 28). The word held to
mean " hour " is first found in Dan. iii. 6, 15,
v. 5. Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks,
learnt from the Babylonians the division of
the day into 12 parts. In our Lord's time
the division was common (John xi. 9).
^.'DAYSMAN, an old English term, meaning
wnpwe or arbitrator (Job ix. 33). It is derived
from day, in the specific sense of a day fixed
for a trial.
. DEACON. The office described by this
title appears in the N. T. as the correlative of
Bishop. [Bishop.] The two are mentioned
together in Phil. i. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 2, 8. Like
most words of similar import, it appears to
have been first used in its generic sense, im
plying subordinate activity (1 Cor. iii. 5 ; 2
Cor. vi. 4), and afterwards to have gained a
more defined connotation, as applied to a
distinct body of men in the Christian society.
The narrative of Acts vi. is commonly referred
to as giving an account of the institution of
this office. The Apostles, in order to meet
the complaints of the Hellenistic Jews, that
their widows were neglected in the daily
ininistration, call on the body of believers to
ehoose seven men " full of the Holy Ghost
and of wisdom," whom they " may appoint
over this business." It may be questioned,
however, whether the seven were not ap
pointed to higher functions than those of the
deacons of the K. T. There are indications,
however, of the existence of another body in
the Church of Jerusalem whom we may com
pare with the deacons of Phil. i. 1, and 1
Tim. iii. 8. As the " elders " of Acts xiv. 23,
xv. 6 ; 1 Pet. v. 1, were not merely men
advanced in years, so the "young men" of
Acts v. 6, 10, were probably not merely
young men, but persons occupying a distinct
position and exercising distinct functions.
Assuming the identity of the two names we
have to ask— (1) To what previous organisa

tion, if any, the order is traceable 1 (2) What
were the qualifications and functions of the
men so designated ? I. As the constitution
of the Jewish synagogue had its elders or
pastors, so also it had its subordinate officers
(Luke iv. 20), whose work it was to give
the reader the rolls containing the lessons
for the day, to clean the synagogue, to open
and close it at the right times. II. The
moral qualifications described in 1 Tim. iii.,
as necessary for the office of a deacon, are
substantially the same as those of the bishop.
The deacons, however, were not required to
be " given to hospitality," nor to be "apt to
teach." It was enough for tbem to "hold
the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
They were not to gain their living by disreput
able occupations. On offering themselves for
their work they were to be subject to a strict
scrutiny (1 Tim. iii. 10), and if this ended
satisfactorily were to enter on it. From the
analogy of the synagogue, and from the scanty
notices of the N. T., we may think of the
deacons or "young men" in the Church of
Jerusalem as preparing the rooms in which
the disciples met, taking part in the distribu
tion of alms out of the common fund, at first
with no direct supervision, then under that of
the Seven, and afterwards under the elders,
maintaining order at the daily meetings of the
disciples to break bread, baptising new con
verts, distributing the bread and the wine of
the Lord's Supper, which the Apostle or his
representative had blessed. It does not
appear to have belonged to the office of a
deacon to teach publicly in the Church.
DEACONESS. The word Shxkovos is found
in Rom. xvi. 1 (A. V. " servant"), associated
with a female name, and this has led to the
conclusion that there existed in the Apostolic
age, as there undoubtedly did a little later, an
order of women bearing that title, and ex
ercising in relation to their own sex functions
which were analogous to those of the deacons.
On this hypothesis it has been inferred that
the women mentioned in Rom, xvi. 6, 12,
belonged to such an order. The rules given
as to the conduct of womenin 1 Tim. iii.
11, Tit. ii. 3, have in like manner been
referred to them, and they have been iden
tified even with the "widows" of 1 Tim. v.
3-10. DEAD SEA. This name nowhere occurs
in the Bible, and appears not to have existed
until the 2nd century after Christ. In the
O. T. the lake is called " the Salt Sea," and
" the Sea of the Plain," and under the
former of these names it is described.
DEARTH. [Famine.]
DE'BIR, the name of three places of Pales
tine. 1. A town in the mountains of Judah

DEBORAH

128 DEDICATION, FEAST OF THIS

(Josh. xv. 49), one of a group of eleven cities
to the west of Hebron. The earlier name of
Debir was Kirjathsepher, " city of book "
(Josh. xv. 15; Judg. i. 11), and Kirjath-
sannah, " city of palm" (Josh. xv. 49). It
was one of the cities given with their " sub
urbs " to the priests (Josh. xxi. 15 ; 1 Chr.
vi. 58). Debir has not been discovered
with certainty in modern times ; but about
three miles to the west of Hebron is a deep
and secluded valley called the Wady Nunkur,
enclosed on the north by hills, of which one
bears a name certainly suggestive of Debir —
Dewtr-ban. — 2. A place on the north boundary
of Judah, near the " Valley of Achor " (Josh.
xv. 7), and therefore somewhere in the com
plications of hill and ravine behind Jericho.
A Wady Dabor is marked in Van de Velde's
m?p as close to the S. of Neby Musa, at the
N. W. corner of the Dead Sea.— 3. The
" border of Debir " is named as forming part
of the boundary of Gad (Josh. xiii. 26), and
a,-, apparently not far from Mahanaim.
DEB'ORAH. 1. The nurse of Rebekah
(Gen. xxxv. 1). Deborah accompanied Re
bekah from the house of Bethuel (Gen. xxiv.
59), and is only mentioned by name on the
occasion of her burial, under the oak-tree of
Bethel, which was called in her honour Allon-
Bachuth. — 2. A prophetess who judged Israel
(Judg. iv., v.). She lived under the palm-
tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel
in Mount Ephraim (Judg. iv, 5), which, as
palm-trees were rare in Palestine, " is men
tioned as a well-known and solitary landmark,
and was probably the same spot as that called
(Judg. xx. 33) Baal-Tamar, or the sanctuary
of the palm " (Stanley, S. and P. 146). She
was probably a woman of Ephraim, although,
from the expression in Judg. v. 13, some sup
pose her to have belonged to Issachar. Lapi-
doth was probably her husband and not Barak,
as some say. She was not so much a judge as
one gifted with prophetic command (Judg.
iv. 6, 14, v. 7), and by virtue of her inspira
tion " a mother in Israel." Jabin's tyranny
was peculiarly felt in the northern tribes,
who were near his capital and under her
jurisdiction, viz. Zebulon, Naphtali, and
Issachar : hence, when she summoned Barak
to the deliverance, it was on them that the
brunt of the battle fell. Under her direction
Barak encamped on the broad summit of
Tabor. Deborah's prophecy was fulfilled
(Judg. iv. 9), and the enemy's general
perished among the "oaks of the wanderers
(Zaanaim)," in the tent of the Bedouin
Kenitc's wife (Judg. iv. 21) in the northern
mountains. Deborah's title of " prophetess "
includes the notion of inspired poetry, as in
Ex. xv. 20; and in this sense the glorious

triumphal ode (Judg. v.) well vindicates her
claim to the office.
DEBTOR. [Loan.]
DECAP'OLIS. This name occurs only
three times in the Scriptures, Matt. iv. 25,
Mark v. 20, and vii. 31. Immediately nfter
the conquest of Syria by the Romans (b.c,
65) ten cities appear to have been rebuilt,
partially colonised, and endowed with peculiar
privileges ; the country around them was
hence called Decapolis. Pliny enumerates
them as follows: Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara,
Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha,
Damascus, and Raphana. All the cities of
Decapolis, with the single exception of Scytho
polis, lay on the east of the Jordan. It
would appear, however, from Matt. iv. 25,
and Mark vii. 31, that Decapolis was o
general appellation for a large district ex
tending along both sides of the Jordan,
Pliny says it reached from Damascus on the
north to Philadelphia on the south, and from
Scythopolis on the west to Canatba on the
east. This region, once so populous and
prosperous, from which multitudes flocked to
hear the Saviour and through which multi
tudes followed His footsteps, is now almost
without an inhabitant.
DE'DAN. 1. The name of a son of Raamahy
son of Cush (Gen. x. 7 ; 1 Chr. i. 9).— 2. A
son of Jokshan, son of Keturah (Gen. xxv. 3 ;
1 Chr, i. 32). — The passages in the Bible in
which Dedan is mentioned (besides the genea
logies above referred to) are contained in the
prophecies of Isaiah (xxi. 13), Jeremiah (xxv;
23, xlix. 8), and Ezekiel (xxv. 13, xxvii, 15,
20, xxxviii. 13), and hre in every case oh-"
scure. The probable inferences from these
mentions of Dedan are— 1. That Dedan, son
of llaamah, settled on the shores of the Per
sian Gulf, and his descendants became caravan-
merchants between that coast and Palestine.
2. That Jokshan, or a son of Jokshan, by in
termarriage with the Cushite Dedan formed
a tribe of the same name, which appears to
have had its chief settlement in the borders
of Idumaea, and perhaps to have led a pas
toral life.
DE'DAXIM. Is. xxi. 13. [Dedan.]
DEDICATION, FEAST OF THE, the fes
tival instituted to commemorate the purging1
of the Temple and the rebuilding of the altar
after Judas Maccabaeus had driven out the
Syrians, b.c. 164. It is named only once in
the Canonical Scriptures, John x. 22. It*
institution is recorded 1 Mace. iv. 52-59. It
commenced on the 25th of Chisleu, the anni
versary of the pollution of the Temple byJp
Antiochus Epiphanes, b.c. 167. Like the
great Mosaic feasts, it lasted eight days, but
it did not require attendance at Jerusalem**

DEER

129

DEMETRIUS

It was an occasion of much festivity. The
writer of 2 Mace, tells us that it was cele
brated in nearly the same manner as the
Feast of Tabernacles, with the carrying of
branches of trees, and with much singing
(x. 6, 7). Josephus states that the festival
was called "Lights." In the Temple at
Jerusalem the "Hallel" was sung every day
of the feast.
DEER. [Fallow-Deer.]
DEGREES, SONGS OF, a title given to
fifteen Psalms, from cxx. to exxxiv. inclusive.
Four of them are attributed to David, one is
ascribed to the pen of Solomon, and the other
ten give no indication of their author. With
respect to the term rendered in the A. V.
"degrees," a great diversity of opinion pre
vails, but the most probable opinion is that
they were pilgrim songs, sung by the people
as they went up to Jerusalem.
¦ , DE'HAVITES mentioned only once in
Scripture (Ezr. iv. 9) among the colonists
planted in Samaria after the completion of the
Captivity of Israel. They are probably the
TMorDabi, mentioned by Herodotus (i. 125)
among the nomadic tribes of Persia.
DEL'ILAH, a woman who dwelt in the
valley of Sorek, beloved by Samson (Judg.
xvi. 4-18). There seems to be little doubt
that she was a Philistine courtesan. [Samsox.]
DELUGE. [Noah.]
DE'LUS, mentioned in 1 Mace. xv. 23, is
the smallest of the islands called Cyelades in
the Aegaean Sea. It was one of the chief
seats of the worship of Apollo, and was cele
brated as the birthplace of this god and of
his sister Artemis (Diana).
I DE'MAS, most probably a contraction from
Demetrius, or perhaps from Demarchus, a
companion of St. Paul (Philem. 24 ; Col. iv.
14) during his first imprisonment at Rome.
At a later period (2 Tim. iv. 10) we find him
mentioned as having deserted the apostle
through love of this present world, and gone
to. Thessalonica.
i DEME'TKIUS, a maker of silver shrines of
Artemis at Ephesus (Acts xix. 24). These were
small models of the great temple of the
Ephesian Artemis, with her statue, which it
was customary to carry on journeys, and
place on houses, as charms.
. DEME'TRIUS I., surnamed Soter, "The
Saviour," king of Syria, was the son of
Seleucus Philopator, and grandson of Antio
chus the Great. While still a boy he was
sent by his father as a hostage to Rome (b.c.
175) in exchange for his uncle Antiochus
Epiphanes. From his position he was unable
to offer any opposition to the usurpation of the
8yrian throne by Antiochus IV. ; but on the
tenth of that monarch (b.c 164) he claimed
Sm. D. B.

his liberty and the recognition of his claim
by the Roman senate in preference to that of
his cousin Antiochus V. His petition was re
fused, he left Italy secretly, and landed with
a small force at Tripolis in Phoenicia (2 Mace.
xiv. 1 ; 1 Mace. vii. 1). The Syrians soon
declared in his favour (b.c. 162), and An
tiochus and his protector Lysias were put
to death (1 Mace. vii. 2, 3 ; 2 Mace. xiv. 2).
His campaigns against the Jews were unsuc
cessful. In b.c. 152, Alexander Balas was
bi'ought forward, with the consent of the
Roman senate, as a claimant to the throne.
The rivals met in a decisive engagement (b.c.
150), and Demetrius, after displaying the
greatest personal bravery, was defeated and
slain (1 Mace. x. 48-50).

Tetradvachm (Attic talent) of Demetrius I.
DEME'TRIUS II., "The Victorious" (Ni-
cator), was the elder son of Demetrius Soter.
He was sent by his father, together with his
brother Antiochus, with a large treasure, to
Cnidus, when Alexander Balas laid claim to
the throne of Syria. When he was grown
up he made a descent on Syria (b.c 148),
and was received with general favour (1
Mace. x. 67 ff.) . His campaigns against
Jonathan and the Jews are described in 1
Mace, x., xi. In b.c 138, Demetrius was
taken prisoner by Arsaces VI. (Mithridates),
whose dominions he had invaded (I Mace.
xiv. 1-3) . Mithridates treated his captive
honourably, and gave him his daughter in
marriage. When Antiochus Sidetes, who had
gained possession of the Syrian throne invaded
Parthia, Phraates employed Demetrius to
effect a diversion. In this Demetrius suc-

Tctibilrat-hni , Attic talent) of Demetrius II.
K

DEMON

130

DENARIUS

ceeded, and when Antiochus fell in battle, he
again took possession of the Syrian crown
(b.c 128). Not long afterwards a pretender,
supported by Ptol. Physcon, appeared in the
field against him, and after suffering a defeat
he was assassinated, according to some by his
wife, while attempting to escape by sea.
DEMON. Its usage in classical Greek is
various. In Homer, where the gods are but
supernatural men, it is used interchangeably
with " god ;" afterwards in Hesiod, when the
idea of the gods had become more exalted
and less familiar, the "demons" are spoken
of as intermediate beings, the messengers of
the gods to men. In the Gospels generally,
in James ii. 19, and in Rev. xvi. 14, the
demons are spoken of as spiritual beings, at
enmity with God, and having power to afflict
man, not only with disease, but, as is marked
by the frequent epithet "unclean," with
spiritual pollution also. They "believe"
the power of God " and tremble " (James ii.
19) ; they recognise the Lord as the Son of
God (Matt. viii. 29 ; Luke iv. 41), and
acknowledge the power of His name, used in
exorcism, in the place of the name of Jehovah,
by His appointed messengers (Acts xix. 15) ;
and look forward in terror to the judgment
to come (Matt. viii. 29). The description is
precisely that of a nature akin to the angelic
in knowledge and power?, but with the em
phatic addition of the idea of positive and
ictive wickedness.
DEMONIACS. This word, is frequently
used in the X. T., and applied to persons
suffering under the possession of a demon or
L-vil spirit, such possession generally showing
itself visibly in bodily disease or mental
derangement. It has been maintained by
many persons that our Lord and the Evan
gelists, in referring to demoniacal possession,
spoke only in accommodation to the general
belief of the Jews, without any asseition as
to its truth or its falsity. It is concluded
that, since the symptoms of the affliction
were frequently those of bodily disease (as
dumbness, Matt. ix. 32 ; blindness, Matt.
xii. 22 ; epilepsy, Mark ix. 17-27), or those
seen in cases of ordinary insanity (as in Matt.
viii. 28 ; Mark v. 1-5), and since also the
phrase " to have a devil " is constantly used
in connexion with, and as apparently equiva
lent to, " to be mad" (see John vii. 20, viii.
48, a. 20, and perhaps Matt. xi. 18 ; Luke vii.
33), the demoniacs were merely persons
suffering under unusual diseases of body and
mind. But demoniacs are frequently distin
guished from those afflicted with bodily sick
ness (see Mark i. 32, xvi. 17, 18; Luke vi.
17, 18), even, it would seem, from the epilep
tic (Matt. iv. 24) ; the same outward signs are

sometimes referred to possession, sometimcB
merely to disease (comp. Matt. iv. 24, with
xvii. 15 ; Matt. xii. 22, with Mark vii, 32,
&c) ; the demons are represented as speak-
ing in their own persons with superhuman
knowledge, and acknowledging our Lord to
be, not as the Jews generally called him, son
of David, but Son of God (Matt. viii. 29;
Mark i. 24, v. 7 ; Luke iv. 41, &c). All
these things speak of a personal power of evil.
Nor does our Lord speak of demons as per
sonal spirits of evil to the multitude nlone,
but in His secret conversations with His
disciples, declaring the means and conditions
by which power over them could be exercised
(Matt. xvii. 21). Twice also He distinctly con
nects demoniacal possession with the power
of the evil one ; once in Luke x. 18, to the
seventy disciples, where He speaks of his
power and theirs over demoniacs as a " Ml
of Satan," and again in Matt. xii. 25-30,
when He was accused of casting out demons
through Beelzebub, and, instead of giving
any hint that the possessed were not really
under any direct and personal power of evil,
He uses an argument, as to the division of
Satan against himself, which, if possession
be unreal, becomes inconclusive and almost
insincere. Lastly, the single fact recorded of
the entrance of the demons at Gadara (Mark
v. 10-14) into the herd of swine, and 'the
effect which that entrance caused, is suffi
cient to overthrow the notion that our Lord
and the Evangelists do not assert or imply
any objective reality of possession. We are
led, therefore, to the ordinary and literal
interpretation of these passages, that there
are evil spirits, subjects of the Evil One, who,
in the days of the Lord Himself and His
Apostles especially, were permitted by God to
exercise a direct influence over the souls and
bodies of certain men. This influence in
clearly distinguished from the ordinary power
of corruption and temptation wielded by Satan
through the permission of God. The dis
tinguishing feature of possession is the com
plete or incomplete loss of the sufferer1!
reason or power of will ; his actions, his
words, and almost his thoughts are mastered
by the evil spirit (Mark i. 24, v. 7 ; Act*
xix. 15), till his personality seems to be
destroyed, or, if not destroyed, so overborne
as to produce the consciousness of a twofold
will within him, like that sometimes felt in
a dream. DENA'RIUS, A. V. "penny " (Matt, xviii.
28, xx. 2, 9, 13, xxii. 19 ; Mark vi. 37, xii.
15, xiv. 5; Luke vii. 41, x. 35, xx. U\
John vi. 7, xii. 5 ; Rev. vi. 6), a Roman
silver coin, in the time of Our Saviour and
the Apostles. It took its name from iw

DEPUTY

131

DEUTERONOMY

being first equal to ten " asses," a number
afterwards increased to sixteen. It was the
principal silver coin of the Roman common
wealth. From tbe parable of the labourers
in the vineyard it would seem that a denarius
was then tbe ordinary pay for a day's labour
(Matt. xx. 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13).

Denarius of Tiberius.

DEPUTY. The uniform rendering in the
A. V. of the Greek word which signifies
"proconsul" (Acts xiii. 7, 8, 12, xix. 38).
The English word is curious in itself, and to
a certain extent appropriate, having been
applied formerly to the Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. DER'BE (Acts xiv. 20, 21, xvi. 1, xx. 4).
The exact position of this town has not yet
been ascertained, but its general situation is
undoubted. It was in the eastern part of
the great upland plain of Lycaonia, which
Bttetches from Iconium eastwards along the
north side of the chain cf Taurus. It must
have been somewhere near the place where
the pass called the Cilician Gates opened a
w.ay from the low plain of Cilicia to the
table-land of the interior ; and probably it
was a stage upon the great road which passed
this way.
DESERT, a word which is sparingly em
ployed in the A. V. to translate four Hebrew
terms, of which three are essentially different
in signification. A "desert," in the sense
which is ordinarily attached to the word, is
a vast, burning, sandy plain, alike destitute
of trees and of water. Here, it is simply
necessary to show that the words rendered
in the A. V. by " desert," when used in the
historical books, denoted definite localities ;
and that those localities do not answer to the
common conception of a " desert." — 1. Ani-
bah. Thia word means that very depressed
and enclosed region — the deepest and the
hottest chasm in the world — the sunken
valley north and south of the Dead Sea, but
more particularly the former. [Arabah.]
Arabah in the sense o the Jordan Valley is
translated by the word " desert " only in Ez.
xlvii, 8. In a more general sense of waste,
deserted country — a meaning easily suggested
hy the idea of excessive heat contained in the
root-" Desert," as the rendering of Arabah,
oecurs in the prophets and uoetical hooks ;

as Is. xxxv. 1, 6, xl. 3, xli. 19, li. 3 ; Jer.
ii. 6, v. 6, xvii. 6, 1. 12 ; but this general
sense is never found in the historical books.
— 2. Midbar. This word, which our transla
tors have most frequently rendered by
"desert," is accurately the "pasture ground."
It is most frequently used for those tracts of
waste land which lie beyond the cultivated
ground in the immediate neighbourhood of
the towns and villages of Palestine, and
which are a very familiar feature to the
traveller in that country. In the poetical
books "desert" is found as the translation
of Midbar in Deut. xxxii. 10 ; Job xxiv. 5 ;
Is. xxi. 1 ; Jer. xxv. 24. — 3. Charbah,
appears to have the force of dryness, and
thence of desolation. It does not occur in
any historical passages. It is rendered
" desert " in Ps. cii. 6 ; Is. xlviii. 21 ; Ezek.
xiii. 4. The term commonly employed for it
in the A. V. is " waste places " or " desola
tion." — 4. JkshImon with the definite article,
apparently denotes the waste tracts on both
sides of the Dead Sea. In all these cases it
is treated as a proper name in the A. V.
"Without the article it occurs in a few pas
sages of poetry ; in the following of which
it is rendered "desert." Ps. lxxxviii. 40 ;
cvi. 14 ; Is. xliii. 19, 20.
DEUTERONOMY, which means "the re
petition of the law," consists chiefly of three
discourses delivered by Moses shortly before
his death. Subjoined to these discourses are
the Song of Moses, the Blessing of Moses, and
the story of his death. — I. The first dis
course (i. 1 — iv. 40). After a brief historical
introduction, the speaker recapitulates the
chief events of the last 40 years in the
wilderness, and especially those events which
had the most immediate bearing on the entry
of the people into the promised land. To
this discourse is appended a brief notice of
the severing of the three cities of refuge on
the east side of the Jordan (iv. 41-43). — II.
The second discourse is introduced like the
first by an* explanation of the circumstances
under which it was delivered (iv. 44-49).
It extends from chap, v, 1 — xxvi. 19, and
contains a recapitulation, with some modifi
cations and additions, of the Law already
given on Mount Sinai. — III. In the third
discourse (xxvii. 1 — xxx. 20), the Elders of
Israel are associated with Moses. The
people are commanded to set up stones upon
Mount Ebal, and on them to write " all the
words of this law." Then follow the several
curses to be pronounced by the Levites on
Ebal ^xxvii. 14-26), and the blessings on
Gerizim (xxviii. 1-14). — IV. The delivery
of the Law as written by Moses (for its still
further preservation) to the custody of the
K 2

DEVIL

132

DIAMOND

Levites, and a charge to the people to hear it
read once every seven years (xxxi.) : the
Song of Moses spoken in the ears of the
people (xxxi. 30-xxxii. 44) : and the bless
ing of the twelve tribes (xxxiii.). — V. The
Book closes (xxxiv.) with an account of the
death of Moses, which is first announced to
him in xxxii. 48-52. — It has been maintained
by many modern critics that Deuteronomy
is of later origin than the other four books of
the Pentateuch ; but the book bears witness
to its own authorship (xxxi. 19), and is
expressly cited in the N. T. as the work of
Moses (Matt. xix. 7,8 ; Mark x. 3 ; Acts
iii. 22, vii. 37). The last chapter, contain
ing an account of the death of Moses, was
of course added by a later hand, and perhaps
formed originally the beginning of the book
Of Joshua. [PENTATfrUCn.]
DEVIL. The name describes Satan as
slandering God to man, and man to God.
The former work is, of course, a part of his
great work of temptation to evil ; and is not
only exemplified but illustrated as to its
general nature and tendency by the narrative
of Gen. iii. The effect is to stir up the
spirit of freedom in man to seek a fancied in
dependence ; and it is but a slight step
further to impute falsehood or cruelty to
God. The other work, the slandering or
accusing man before God is, as it must
necessarily be, unintelligible to us. The
essence of this accusation is the imputation
of selfish motives (Job i. 9, 10), and its refu
tation is placed in the self-sacrifice of those
" who loved not their own lives unto death."
[Satan ; Dkmon.]
DEW. This in the summer is so copious
in Palestine that it supplies to some extent
the absence of rain (Ecclus. xviii. 16, xliii.
22), and becomes important to the agricul
turist. As a proof of this copiousness the
well-known sign of Gideon (Judg. vi. 37, 39,
40) may be adduced. Thus it is coupled in
the divine blessing with rain, or mentioned
as a prime source of fertility (Gen. xxvii.
28 ; Deut. xxxiii. 13 ; Zech. viii. 12), and
its withdrawal is attributed to a curse (2
Sam. i. 21 ; 1 K. xvii. 1 ; Hag. i. 10). It
becomes a leading object in prophetic ima
gery by reason of its penetrating moisture
without the apparent effort of rain (Deut.
xxxii. 2 ; Job xxix. 19 ; Ps. cxxxiii. 3 ;
Prov. xix. 12 ; Is. xxvi. 19 ; Hos. xiv. 5 ;
Mic. v. 7) ; while its speedy evanescence
typifies the transient goodness of the hypo
crite (Hos. vi. 4, xiii. 3).
DIADEM. "What the "diadem" of the
Jews was we know not. That of other na
tions of antiquity was a fillet of silk, two
inches broad, bound round the head and tied

behind, the invention of which is attributed
to Liber. Its colour was generally white;
sometimes, however, it was of blue, like that
of Darius ; and it was sown with pearls 6r
other gems (Zech. ix. 16), and enriched
with gold (Rev. ix. 7). It was peculiar"!?
the mark of Oriental sovereigns (1 Maec.
xiii. 32). A crown was used by the kings
of Israel, even in battle (2 Sam. i. 10) ; but
in all probability this was not the state
crown (2 Sam. xii. 30), although used in the
coronation of Joash (2 K. xi. 12). 10 EsBh.
i. 11, ii. 17, we have cether for the turhaft
worn by the Persian king, queen, or other
eminent persons to whom it was conceded as
a special favour (viii. 15). The diadem of
the king differed from that of others in hat-
ing an erect triangular peak. The words In
Ez. xxiii. 15 mean long and flowing turbans
of gorgeous colours.

Obverse of Tetradrachm of Tigianes, king of Syria.
DIAL. The word ma'Moth is the same u
that rendered " steps" in A. V. (Ex. xx. 26;
1 K. x. 19), and "degrees" in A. V. (2 K.
xx. 9, 10, 11 ; Is. xxxviii. 8), where, to
give a consistent rendering, we should read
with the margin the " degrees " rather than
the " dial " of Ahaz. In the absence of any
materials for determining the shape '^*nd
structure of the solar instrument, which
certainly appears, intended, the best course is
to follow the most strictly natural meaning
of the words, and to consider that the
ma'dldth were really stairs, and that tne ¦
shadow (perhaps of some column or obcliM
on the top) fell on a greater or smaller nunilpK
of them according as the sun was lowjf ;
high. The terrace of a palace might eaffluy
be thus ornamented.
DIAMOND (Heb. yahaldm), a pTecioto
stone, the third in the second row on the
breastplate of the High-priest (Ex. xxviii.
18, xxxix. 11), and mentioned by Ezeldtl
(xxviii. 13) among tbe precious stones of
the king of Tyre. Some suppose yaka^A^
be the " emerald." Respecting shfim,
which is translated " diamond " in Jer. x™.
1, see under Adamant.

DIANA

133

DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE

DIAN'A. This Latin word, properly de
noting a Roman divinity, is the representative
of the Greek Artemis, the tutelary goddess of
theEphesians, who plays so important a part
in, the narrative of Acts xix. The- Ephesian
Diana, was, however, regarded as invested
with very different attributes, and is rather
to be identified with Astarte and other female
divinities of the East. The coin below will
yi,ve some notion of the image of the true
Ephesian Diana, which was grotesque and
archaic in character. The head wore a
rnuval crown, each hand held a bar of metal,
and the lower part ended in a rude block
covered with figures of animals and mystic
inscriptions. This idol was regarded as an
object of peculiar sanctity, and was believed
to have fallen down from heaven (Acts xix.
35). The cry of the mob (Acts xix. 28),
" Great is Diana of the Ephesians !" and the
strong expression in ver. 27, "whom all
Asia and the world worshippeth," may be
abundantly illustrated from a variety of
sources. The term " great " was evidently
a title of honour recognised as belonging to
the Ephesian goddess. We find it in in
scriptions.

Greek imperial copper coin of Ephesus and Smyrna.
, DIB'LATH (accurately Diblah), a place
named only in Ez. vi. 14, as if situated at
pne of the extremities of the land of Israel,
isj)crhaps only another form of Riblah.
¦ PI'BON. 1. Atownonthe east side of Jor
dan, in the rich pastoral country, which was
.taken possession of and rebuilt by the children
ofajjjjd (Num. xxxii. 3, 34). From this cir
cumstance it possibly received the name of
Pibos-Gad (Numb, xxxiii. 45, 46). Its
first mention is in Num. xxi. 30, and from
this it appears to have belonged originally
!tq,the Moabites. We find Dibon counted to
Reuben in the lists of Joshua (xiii. 9, 17).
Jn Jhe time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, however.
Rfc was again in possession of Moab (Is. xv!
2; Jer. xlviii. 18, 22, comp. 24). In the
same denunciations of Isaiah it appears,
probably, under tbe name of Dimon. In
njodern times the name Dhiban has been dis-
J^ered as attached to extensive ruins on
the Roman road, about three miles north of

the Arnon (Wady Modjeb). — 2. One of the
towns which were re-inhabited by the men of
Judah after the return from captivity (Neh.
xi. 25), identical with Dimonah.
DI'BON-GAD. [Dibon.]
DIDRACHMON. [Money; Shekel.]
DID'YMUS, that is, the Twin, a surname
of the Apostle Thomas (John xi. 16, xx. 24,
xxi. 2). [Thomas.]
DIIC'LAH (Gen. x. 27 ; 1 Chr. i. 21)', a
son of Joktan, whose settlements, in common
with those of the other sons of Joktan, must
be looked for in Arabia. The name in
Hebrew signifies "o palm-tree," hence it is
thought that Diklah is a part of Arabia con
taining many palm-trees.
DI'MONAH1, a city in the south of Judah
(Josh. xv. 22), perhaps the same as Dibon
in Neh. xi, 25.
DI'NAH, the daughter of Jacob by Leah
(Gen. xxx. 21). She accompanied her father
from Mesopotamia to Canaan, and, having
ventured among the inhabitants, was violated
by Shechem the son of Hanior, the chieftain
of the territory in which her father had
settled (Gen. xxxiv.). Shechem proposed
to make the usual reparation by paying a
sum to the father and marrying her (Gen.
xxxiv. 12). Eut in this case the suitor was
an alien, and the crown of the offence con
sisted in its having been committed by an
alien against the favoured people of God ; he
had "wrought folly in Israel" (xxxiv. 7).
The proposals of Hanior, who acted as his
deputy, were framed on the recognition of
the hitherto complete separation of the two
peoples ; he proposed the fusion of the two by
the establishment of the rights of inter
marriage and commerce. The sons of Jacob,
bent upon revenge, availed themselves of the
eagerness, which Shechem showed, to effect
their purpose ; they demanded, as a condi
tion of the proposed union, the circumcision
of the Shechemites. They therefore assented ;
and on the third day, when the pain and
fever resulting from the operation were at
the highest, Simeon and Levi, own brothers
to Dinah, attacked them unexpectedly, slew
all the males and plundered their city.
DI'NAITES (Ezr. iv. 9), the name of some
of the Cu*,haean colonists who were placed
in the cities of Samaria after the captivity of
the ten tribes.
DIN'HABAH (Gen. xxxvi. 32 ; 1 Cbr. i.
43), the capital city, and probably the birth
place, of Bela, son of Beor, king of Edom.
DIONYS'IUS THE AREOPAGITE (Acts
xvii. 34), an eminent Athenian, converted to
Christianity by the preaching of St. Paul.
He is said to have been first bishop of Athens.
The writings which were once attributed to

DIONYSUS

131

DIVINATION

him are now confessed to be the production
of some neo-Platonists of the Gth century.
DIONY'SUS (2 Mace. xiv. 33 ; 3 Mace. ii.
29), also called Bacchus, the god of wine.
His worship was greatly modified by the
incorporation of Eastern elements, and
assumed the twofold form of wild orgies and
mystic rites. To the Jew, Dionysus would
necessarily appear as the embodiment of
paganism in its most material shape, sanc
tioning the most tumultuous passions and
the worst excesses.
DIOSCORIN'THIUS. [Months.]
DIOT'REPIIES, a Christian mentioned in
3 John 9, but of whom nothing is known.
DISCIPLE. [Schools.]
DISPERSION, THE JEWS' OF THE, or
simply The Dispersion, was the general
title applied to those Jews who remained
settled in foreign countries after the return
from the Babylonian exile, and during the
period of the second Temple. The Disper
sion, as a distinct element influencing the
entire character of tbe Jews, dates from the
Babylonian exile. Outwardly and inwardly,
by its effects both on the Gentiles and on the
people of Israel, the Dispersion appears to
have been the clearest providential prepara
tion for the spread of Christianity. At the
beginning of the Christian era the Dispersion
was divided into thr^e great sections, the
Babylonian, the Syrian, the Egyptian. Pre
cedence was yielded to the first. From
Babylon the Jews spread throughout Persia,
Media, and Parthia, The Greek conquests
in Asia extended the limits of the Dispersion.
Seleucus Nicator transplanted large bodies
of Jewish colonists from Babylonia to the
capitals of his western provinces. His policy
was followed by his successor Antiochus the
Great ; and the persecutions of Antiochus
Epiphanes only served to push forward the
Jewish emigration to the remoter districts of
his empire. Large settlements of Jews were
established in Cyprus, in the islands of the
Aegaean, and on the western coast of Asia
Minor. The Jews of the Syrian provinces
gradually formed a closer connexion with
their new homes, and together with the
Greek language adopted in many respects
Greek ideas. This Hellenizing tendency,
however, found its most free development at
Alexandria. The Jewish settlements esta
blished there by Alexander and Ptolemy I.
became the source of the African dispersion,
which spread over the north coast of Africa,
and perhaps inland to Abyssinia. At Cyrene
and Berenice (Tripoli) the Jewish inhabitants
formed a considerable portion of the popula
tion. The Jewish settlements in Rome were
consequent upon the occupation of Jerusalem

by Pompey, b.c. 63. The captives and
emigrants whom he brought with him were
located in the trans-Tibcrine quarter. In
the reign of Claudius the Jews became
objects of suspicion from their immense
numbers ; and the internal disputes led to
their banishment from the city (Acts xviii,
2). This expulsion, if general, can only
have been temporary, for in a few years tlie
Jews at, Rome were numerous (Acts xxviii.
17 ff.). The influence of the Dispersion/.pn
the rapid promulgation of Christianity cjui
scarcely be overrated. The course of the
apostolic preaching followed in a regular
progress the line of Jewish settlements,
The mixed assembly from which the flrsl
converts were gathered on the clay of Pente
cost represented each division of the Disper
sion (Acts ii. 9-11; (1) Parthians
Mesopotamia; (2) Judaea (i.e. Syria). , ,' .
Pamphylia ; (3) Egypt . . . Greece; (4)
Romans . . ), and these converts naturally
prepared the way for the apostles in the
interval which preceded the beginning of the
separate apostolic missions. St. JameB and
St. Peter wrote to the Jews of the Dispersion
(Jam. i. 1 ; 1 Pet. i. 1).
DIVINATION has been universal in nil
ages, and all nations alike civilized and
savage. Numerous forms of divination are
mentioned, such as divination by rods (Hob,
iv. 12) ; divination by cups (Gen. xliv. 5);
consultation of Teraphim (Zech. x. 2 ; Ez,
xxi. 21; 1 Sam. xv. 23) [Trbaphim];
divination by the liver (Ez. xxi. 21); divi
nation by dreams (Deut. xiii. 2, 3 ; Judg.
vii. 13; Jer. xxiii. 32), &c. Moses forbade
every species of divination because a prying
into the future clouds the mind with super
stition, and because it would have been an
incentive to idolatry : indeed the frequent
denunciations of the sin in the prophets tend
to prove that these forbidden arts presented
peculiar temptations to apostate Israel. But
God supplied his people with substitutes for
divination, which would have rendered it
superfluous, and left them in no doubt as to
his will in circumstances of danger, had
they continued faithful. It was only when
they were unfaithful that the revelation was
withdrawn (1 Sam. xxviii. 6 ; 2 Sam, ii. Il
v. 23, &c). Superstition not unfrequentlj
goes hand in hand with scepticism, and
hence, amid the general infidelity prevalent
through the Roman empire at our Lord's
coming, imposture was rampant ; as a glance
at the pages of Tacitus will suffice to prove.
Hence the lucrative trades of such men as
Simon Magus (Acts viii. 9), Bar-jesns (Acts
viii. 6, 8), the slave with the spirit of Python
(Acts xvi. 16), the vagabond Jews, exorcist*

DIVORCE

135

DOTHAN

(Luke xi. 19 ; Acts xix. 13), and others (2
Tim. iii. 13; Rev. xix. 20, &c), as well as
the notorious dealers in magical books at
Ephesus (Acts xix. 19).
' DIVORCE. The law regulating this sub
ject is found Deut. xxiv, 1-4, and the cases
in which tbe right of a husband to divorce
his wife was lost, are stated ib. xxii. 19, 29.
The ground of divorce is a point on which
the Jewish doctors of the period of the N. T.
widely differed ; the school of Shammai
seeming to limit it to a moral delinquency in
the woman, whilst that of Hillel extended it
to trifling causes, e. g., if the wife burnt the
food she was cooking for her husband. The
Pharisees wished perhaps to embroil our
Saviour with these rival schools by their
question (Matt. xix. 3) ; by His answer to
which, as well as by His previous maxim (v.
31), he declares that but for their hardened
state of heart, such questions would have no
place. Yet from the distinction made, " but
I say unto you," v. 31, 32, it seems to
follow, that he regarded all the lesser causes
than "fornication " as standing on too weak
ground, and declined the question of how to
interpret the words of Moses.
DI'ZAHAB, a place in'the Arabian Desert,
mentioned Deut. i. 1, is identified with
Dahab, a cape on the W. shore of the Gulf
of Akabah.
DOD'AI, an Ahohite who commanded the
course of the 2nd month (1 Chr. xxvii. 4).
It is probable that he is the same as Dodo, 2.
= : TJO'DANIM, Gen. x. 4 ; 1 Chr. i. 7 (in
some copies and in marg. of A. V. 1 Chr. i.
7, Rodanim), a family or race descended
from Javan, the son of Japhet (Gen. x. 4 ; 1
Chr. i. 7). The weight of authority is in
favour of the former name. Dodanim is
regarded as identical with the Dardani, who
were found in historical- times in Illyricum
and Troy.
DO'DO. 1. A man of Bethlehem, father
of Elhanan, who was one of David's thirty
captains (2 Sam. xxiii. 24 ; I Chr. xi. 26).
He is a different person from — 2. Dodo the
AhohIte, father of Eleazar, the 2nd of the
three mighty men who were over the thirty
(2 Sam. xxiii. 9; 1 Chr. xi. 12). He, or
his son — in which case we must suppose the
words "Eleazar son of" to have escaped
from the text — probably had the command
of the second monthly course (1 Chr. xxvii.
*)¦ In tbe latter passage the name is
Domi. DO'EG, an Idumaean, chief of Saul's berd-
nien. He was at Nob when Ahimelech gave
David the sword of Goliath, and not only
Rave information to Saul, but when others
declined the office, himself executed the

king's order to destroy the priests of Nob,
with their families, to the number of 85
persons, together with all their property (1
Sam. xxi. 7, xxii. 9, 18, 22 ; Ps. Hi.).
DOG, an animal frequently mentioned in
Scripture. It was used by the Hebi-ews as a
watch for their houses (Is. Ivi. 10), and for
guarding their flocks (Job xxx. 1). Then
also as now, troops of hungry and semi-wild
dogs used to wander about tbe fields and
streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies
and other offal (1 K. xiv. 11, xvi. 4, xxi. 19,
23, xxii. 38, 2 K. ix. 10, 36 ; Jer. xv. 3,
Ps. lix. 6, 14), and thus became such objects
of dislike that fierce and cruel enemies are
poetically styled dogs in Ps. xxii. 16, 20.
Moreover the dog being an unclean animal
(Is. lxvi. 3), the terms, dog, dead dog, dog's
head were used as terms of reproach, or of
humility in speaking of one's self (1 Sam.
xxiv. 14 ; 2 Sam. iii. 8, ix. 8, xvi. 9 ; 2 K.
viii. 13). Stanley mentions that he saw on
the very site of Jezreel the descendants of
the dogs that devoured Jezebel, prowling on
the mounds without the walls for offal and
carrion thrown out to them to consume,
DOORS. [Gates.]
DOPH'KAH, a place mentioned Num.
xxxiii. 12, as a station in the Desert where
the Israelites encamped ; see Wilderness.
DOR (Josh. xvii. 11 ; IK. iv. 11 ; 1
Mace. xv. 11), an ancient royal city of the
Canaanites (Josh. .xii. 23), whose ruler was
an ally of Jabin king of Hazor against Joshua
(Josh. xi. 1, 2). It was probably the most
southern settlement of the Phoenicians on
the coast of Syria. It appears to have been
within the territory of the tribe of Asher,
though allotted to Manasseh (Josh. xvii. 1 1 ;
Judg. i. 27). The original inhabitants were
never expelled ; but during the prosperous
reigns of David and Solomon they were made
tributary (Judg. i. 27, 28), and the latter
monarch stationed at Dor one of his twelve
purveyors (1 K. iv. 11). Jerome places it on
the coast, "in the ninth mile from Caesarea,
on the way to Ptolemais." Just at the point
indicated is the small village of Tantura,
probably an Arab corruption of Dora, con
sisting of about thirty houses, wholly con
structed of ancient materials.
DO'RA. 1 Mace. xv. 11, 13, 25. [Doit.j
DOR'CAS. [TabIt >a.]
DO'THAIM. [Dothan.]
DO'THAN, a place first mentioned (Gen.
xxxvii. 1 7 ) in connexion with the history of
Joseph, and apparently as in tbe neighbour
hood of Shechem. It next appears as the
residence of Elisha (2 K. vi. 13). Later
still we encounter it under the name of
Dothaim, as a landmark in the account of

DOVE

136

DRESS

Holofernes's campaign against Bethulia (Jud.
iv. 6, vii. 3, 18, viii. 3). It was known to
Eusebius, who places it 12 miles to the N. of
Sebaste (Samaria) ; and here it has been dis
covered in our own times, still bearing its
ancient name unimpaired.
DOVE (Heb. Yondh). The first mention
of this bird occurs in Gen. viii. The dove's
rapidity of flight is alluded to in Ps. Iv. 6 ;
the beauty of itsplumage in Ps. lxviii. 13 ;
its'dwelling in the rocks and valleys in Jer.
xlviii. 28, and Ez. vii. 16; its mournful
voice in Is. xxxviii. 14, lix. 11 ; Nab. ii. 7 ;
its harmlessness in Matt x. 16 ; its sim
plicity in Hos. vii. 11, and its amativeness
in Cant. i. 15, ii. 14. Doves are kept in a
domesticated state in many parts of the East.
In Persia pigeon-houses are erected at a
distance from the dwellings, for the purpose
of collecting the dung as manure. There is
probablv an allusion to such a custom in
Is. Ix. 8.
DOVE'S DUNG. Various explanations
have been given of the passage in 2 K. vi.
25, which describes the famine of Samaria to
have been so excessive, that " an ass's head
was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and
the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for
five pieces of silver." Bochart has laboured
to show that it denotes a species of cicer,
" chick-pea," which he says the Arabs call
usndn, and sometimes improperly " dove's or
sparrow's dung." It can scarcely be believed
that even in the worst horrors of a siege a
substance so vile as is implied by the literal
rendering should have been used for food.
DOWRY. [Marriage.]
DRACHM (2 Mace. iv. 19, A. 20, xii. 43 ;
Luke xv. 8, 9), a Greek silver coin, varying
in weight on account of the use of different
talents. In Luke (A. V. "piece of silver ")
denarii seem to be intended. [Monev ;
Silver, pifxk of.]
DRAGON'. The translators of the A. V.,
apparently following the Vulgate, have ren
dered by the same word "dragon" the two
Hebrew words Tan and Tannin, which
appear to be quite distinct in meaning. — I.
The former is used, always in the plural, in
Job xxx. 29 ; Is. xxxiv. 13, xliii. 20 ; in
Is. xiii. 22 ; in Jer. x. 22, xlix. 33 ; in Ps.
xliv. 19; and in Jer. ix. 11, xiv. G, li. 37 ;
Mic. i. 8. It is always applied to some
creatures inhabiting the desert, and we
should conclude from this that it refers
rather to some wild beast than to a serpent.
The Syriac renders it by a word which,
according to Pococke, means a " jackal." —
II. The word tannin seems to refer to any
great monster, whetW of the land or the
sea, being indeed more usually applied to

some kind of serpent or reptile, but not ex.
clusively restricted to that sense. When we
examine special passages we find tbe word
used in Gen. i. 21, of the great sea- monsters,
the representatives of the inhabitants of tho
deep. On the other hand, in Ex. vii. 9, 10,
12, Deut. xxxii. 33, Ps. xci, 13, it refers to
land-serpents of a powerful and deadly kind.
In the N. T. it is only found in the Apoca-
lypse (Rev. xii. 3, 4,*7, 9, 16, 17, &c), as
applied metaphorically to " the old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan," the description,.
of the " dragon " being dictated by the sym
bolical meaning of the image rather than by
any reference to any actually existing crea
ture. The reason of this scriptural symbol,,,
is to be sought not only in the union of!;
gigantic power with craft and malignity, of'*
which the serpent is the natural emblem,
but in the record of the serpent's agency in
the temptation (Gen. iii.).
DRAM. [Daric]
DREAMS. The Scripture declares, that
the influence of the Spirit of God upon the
soul extends to its sleeping as well as its
waking thoughts. But, in accordance with
the principle enunciated by St. Paul in 1 Cor.
xiv. 15, dreams, in which the understanding,
is asleep, are placed below the visions of;
prophecy, in which the understanding plays
its part. It is true that the book of Job,
standing as it does on the basis of " natura
religion," dwells on dreams and "visions in ,
deep sleep " as the chosen method of God's >
revelation of Himself to man (see Job iv. 18,
vii. 14, xxxiii. 15). But in Num. xii. 0;
Deut. xiii. 1, 3. 5 ; Jer. xxvii. 9 ; Joel ii. 28,
&c, dreamers of dreams, whether true or
false, are placed below " prophets," and even
below " diviners ;" and similarly in the
climax of 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, we read that
" Jehovah answered Saul not, neither by
dreams, nor by Urim [by symbol], nor by
prophets." Under the Christian dispensa
tion, while we read frequently of trances and
visions, dreams are never referred to as
vehicles of divine revelation. In exact ac-,
cordance with this principle are the actual .
records of the dreams sent by God. The
greater number of such dreams were granted,
for prediction or for warning, to those who
were aliens to the Jewish covenant. And,
where dreams are recorded as means of God's
revelation to bis chosen servants, they are
almost always referred to the periods of ,
their earliest and most imperfect knowledge
of Him. ,i
DRESS. This subject includes the follow^
ing particulars:— 1. Materials. 2. Colour
and decoration. 3. Name, form, and mode-
of wearing the various articles. 4. Special

DRESS

137

DRESS

usages relating thereto.— 1. The earliest and
eiitiplest robe was made out of the leaves of
a tree, portions of which were sewn together,
so as to form an apron (Gen. iii. 7). After
the fall, the skins of animals supplied a more
durable material (Gen. iii. 21), which was
adapted to a rude state of society, and is
stated to have been used by various ancient
nations. Skins were not wholly disused at
later periods : the "mantle " worn by Elijah
appears to have been the skin of a sheep or
sonie other animal with the wool left on. It
wascharacteristic of a prophet's office from
its mean appearance (Zech. xiii. 4 ; cf. Matt.
vii, 15). Pelisses of sheepskin still form an
ordinary article of dress in the East. The
art of weaving hair was known to the
Hebrews at an early period (Ex. xxvi. 7,
xxxv. 6} ; the sackcloth used by mourners
was of this material. John the Baptist's
robe was of camel's hair (Matt. iii. 4).
Wool, we may presume, was introduced at a
very early period, the flocks of the pastoral
families being kept partly for their wool
(Gen. xxxviii. 12) : it was at all times
largely employed, particularly for the outer
garments (Lev. xiii. 47 ; Deut. xxii. 11 ;
&c). It is probable that tbe acquaintance of
the Hebrews with linen, and perhaps cotton,
dates from the period of the captivity in
Egypt, when they were instructed in the
manufacture (1 Chr. iv. 21). After their
return to Palestine we have frequent notices
of linen. Silk was not introduced until a
very late period (Rev. xv^ii. 12). The use
pof mixed material, such as wool and flax,
was forbidden (Lev. xix. 19 ; Deut. xxii.
11). — 2. Colour and decoration. The pre
vailing colour of the Hebrew dress was the
natural white of the materials employed,
which might be brought to a high state of
brilliancy by the art of the fuller (Mark ix.
3). If is uncertain when the art of dyeing
became known to the Hebrews ; the dress
worn by Joseph (Gen. xxxvii. 3, 23) is
variously taken to be either a " coat of divers
colours," or a tunic furnished with sleeves
and reaching down to the ankles. Tbe latter
is probably the correct sense. The notice of
scarlet thread (Gen. xxxviii. 28) implies
some acquaintance with dyeing. The Egyp-
tians^had carried the art of weaving and
embroidery to a high state of perfection, and
from them the Hebrews learned various
methods of producing decorated stuffs. The
elements of ornamentation were — (1) weav
ing with threads previously dyed (Ex. xxxv.
2s) ; (2) tbe introduction of gold thread or
Jwe (Ex. xxvii. 6 ff.) ; (3) the addition of
figures. These devices may have been either
woven into the stuff, or cut out of other stuff

and afterwards attached by needlework : in
the former case the pattern would appear
only on one side, in the latter the pattern
might be varied. Robes decorated with gold
(Ps. xiv. 13), and at a later period with
silver thread (cf. Acts xii. 21), were worn
by royal personages ; other kinds of em
broidered robes were worn by the wealthy
both of Tyre (Ez. xvi. 13) and Palestine
(Judg. v. 30; Ps. xiv. 14). The art does
not appear to have been maintained among
the Hebrews : the Babylonians and other
eastern nations (Josh. vii. 21 ; Ez. xxvii.
24), as well as the Egyptians (Ez. xxvii. 7),
excelled in it. Nor does the art of dyeing
appear to have been followed up in Pales
tine : dyed robes were imported from foreign
countries (Zeph. i. 8), particularly from
Phoenicia, and were not much used on
account of their expensiveness : purple
(Prov. xxxi. 22 ; Luke xvi. 19) and scarlet
(2 Sam. i. 24) were occasionally worn by the
wealthy. The surrounding nations were
more lavish in their use of them : the
wealthy Tynans (Ez. xxvii. 7), the Midian-
itish kings (Judg. viii. 26), the Assyrian
nobles (Ez. xxiii. 6), and Persian officers
(Esth. viii. 15), are all represented in purple.
— 3. The names, forms, and mode of wearing
the robes. It is difficult to give a satisfactory
account of the various articles of dress men
tioned in the Bible. The general character
istics of Oriental dress have indeed preserved
a remarkable uniformity in all ages : the
modern Arab dresses much as the ancient
Hebrew did ; there are the same flowing
robes, the same distinction between the outer
and inner garments, the former heavy and
warm, the latter light, adapted to the rapid
and excessive changes of temperature in
those countries ; and there is the same dis
tinction between the costume of the rich and
the poor, consisting in the multiplicatipn of
robes of a finer texture and more ample di
mensions. Hence the numerous illustrations
of ancient costume, which may be drawn
from the usages of modern Orientals, supply
ing in great measure the want of contempo
raneous representations. The costume of
the men and women was very similar ; there
was sufficient difference, however, to mark
the sex, and it was strictly forbidden to a
woman to wear the appendages such as the
staff, signet-ring, and other ornaments, or
according to Josephus, the weapons of a
man ; as well as to a man to wear the outer
robe of a woman (Deut. xxii. 5). We shall
first describe the robes which were common
to the two sexes, and then those which were
peculiar to women. (1.) The cUhoneth was
the most essential article of dress. It was

DRESS

138

DRES S

a closely-fitting garment, resembling in
form and use our shirt, though unfortunately
translated coat in the A. V. The material
of which it was made was either wool, cotton,
or linen. The primitive cSthoneth was with
out sleeves and reached only to the knee.
Another kind reached to the wrists and
ankles. It wa.s in either case kept close to
the body by a girdle, and the fold formed by
the overlapping of the robe served as an
inner pocket. A person wearing the cetho
neth alone was described as naked, A. V.
The annexed woodcut (fig. 1) represents tlie

Fig. 1. — An Egyptian. (Lanc'a Modern Eyyptians.)
simplest style of Oriental dress, a long loose
shirt* or cethoneth without a girdle, reaching
nearly to the ankle. (2.) The sddin appears
to have been a wrapper of fine linen, which
might be used in various ways, but especially
as a night-shirt (Mark xiv. 51). (3.) The
m'etl was an upper or second tunic, the dif
ference being that it was longer than the
first. As an article of ordinary dress it was
worn by kings (1 Sam. xxiv. 4), prophets (1
Sam. xxviii. 14), nobles (Job i. 20), and
youths (1 Sam. ii. 19). It may, however, be
doubted whether the terra is used in its
specific sense in these passages, and not
rather for any robe that chanced to be worn
over the cWidneth. Where two tunics are
mentioned (Luke iii. 11) as being worn at
the same time, the second would be a me.il ;
travellers generally wore two, but the prac
tice was forbidden to the disciples (Matt. x.

10; Luke ix. 3). The dress o< the middle
and upper classes in modern Egypt (flg. 2)

Fig. 2.— An Egyptian of the upper clnneoa. (Lane)
illustrates the customs of the Hebrews. (4.)
The ordinary outer garment consisted of a
quadrangular piece of woollen cloth, probably
resembling in shape a Scotch plaid. The size
and texture would vary with the means of
the wearer. The Hebrew terms referring to
it are — simlah, sometimes put for clothe?;
generally (Gen. xxxv. 2, xxxvii. 34 ; Ex. iii.
22, xxii. 9 ; Deut. x. 18 ; Ls. iii. 7, iv. 1);
beged, which is more usual in speaking of
robes of a handsome and substantial cha
racter (Gen. xxvii. 15, xli. 42 ; Ex. xxviii.
2; IK. xxii. 10 ; 2 Chr. xviii. 9 ; Is. Ixiii.
1) ; c^silth, appropriate to passages where
covering or protection is the prominent idea
(Ex. xxii. 26 ; Job xxvi. 6, xxxi. 19) ; and
lastly Ubush, usual in poetry, but specially
applied to a warrior's cloak (2 Sam. xx. 8),
priests' vestments (2 K. x. 22), and royfll
apparel (Esth. vi. 11, viii. 15). Another
term, mad, is specifically applied to a long
cloak (Judg. ii. 16 ; 2 Sam. xx. 8), and to
the priest's coat (Lev. vi. 10). The begei
might be worn in various ways, either
wrapped round the body, or worn over the
shoulders, like a shawl, with the ends or
"skirts" hanging down in front; or it
might be thrown over the head, so as to con
ceal the face (2 Sam. xv. 30 ; Esth. vi. 12).
The ends were skirted with a fringe and
bound with a dark purple riband (Num. *T» i

DRESS

139

38) : it was confined at the waist by a girdle,
and the fold, formed by the overlapping of
therobe, served as a pocket. — The dress of
the women differed from that of the men in
regard to the outer garment, the cethoneth
being worn equally by both sexes (Cant. v.
3). The names of their distinctive robes
were as follow : — (1) mitpachath (veil,
vtimple, A. V.), a kind of shawl (Ruth iii.
Id; Is. iii. 22) ; (2) ma'atdphdh (mantle,
A. V.), another kind of shawl (Is. iii. 22) ;
(3) tsaiph (veil, A. V.), probably a lit;ht
summer dress of handsome appearance and
of ample dimensions ; (4) rddid (veil, A. V.),
a similar robe (Is. iii. 23 ; Cant. v. 7);
(5) petlngi (stomacher, A. V.), a term of
doubtful origin, but probably significant of a
gay holiday dress (Is. iii. 24) ; (6) gilyonim
(Is. iii. 23), also a doubtful word, probably
means, as in the A. V., glasses. The gar
ments of females were terminated by an
ample border of fringe [skirts, A. V.), which
concealed the feet (ls. xlvii. 2 ; Jer. xiii.
22). Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate some of the
peculiarities of female dress ; the former is
an Egyptian woman in her walking dress :
the latter represents a dress, probably of
great antiquity, still worn by the peasants in
the south of Egypt. The references to Greek
or Roman dress are few : the x^*/^ (2
Mace. xii. 35 ; Matt, xxvii. 28) was either
the pahtdamentum, the military scarf of the
Roman soldiery, or the Greek chlamys itself,
which was introduced under the Emperors :

smmMmsr^-

Fig. 4.— A Woman of the southern p
Egypt. (Lane.;

of Upper

Kg. 3.— An Egyptian Woman. (Lane.)

it was especially worn by officers. The
travelling cloak referred to by St. Paul (2
Tim. iv. 13) is generally identified with
the Roman paenula, of which it may be a
corruption. It is, however, otherwise ex
plained as a travelling-case for carrying
clothes or books.— 4. Special usages relating
to dress. The length of the dress rendered
it inconvenient for active exercise ; hence
the outer garments were either left in the
house by a person working close by (Matt.
xxiv. 18) or were thrown off when the occa
sion arose (Mark x. 50 ; John xiii. 4 ; Acts
vii. 58), or, if this was not possible, as in the
case of a person travelling, they were girded
up (1 K. xviii. 46 ; 2 K. iv. 29, ix. 1 ; 1
Pet. i. 13) ; on entering a house the upper
garment was probably laid aside and re
sumed on going out (Acts xii. 8). In a
sitting posture, the garments concealed the
feet : this was held to be an act of rever
ence (Is. vi. 2). The number of suits
possessed by the Hebrews was considerable :
a single suit consisted of an under and upper
garment. The presentation of a robe in
many instances amounted to installation or
investiture (Gen. xli. 42 ; Esth. viii. 15 ; Is.
xxii. 21) ; on the other hand, taking it
away amounted to dismissal from office (2
Mace. iv. 38). The production of the bes*
robe was a mark of special honour in a

DRINK

140

DURA

household (Luke xv. 22). The number of
robes thus received or kept in store for
presents was very large, and formed one of
the main elements of wealth in the East (Job
xxii. 16 ; Matt. vi. 19 ; James v. 2), so that
to hare clothing = to be wealthy and power
ful (Is. iii. 6, 7). On grand occasions the
entertainer offered becoming robes to his
guests. The business of making clothes
devolved upon women m a family (Prov.
xxxi. 22; Acts ix. 39) ; little art was re
quired in what we may term the tailoring
department ; the garments came forth for
the most part ready made from the loom, so
that the weaver supplanted the tailor.
DRINK, STRONG. The Hebrew term
shfcar, in its etymological sense, applies to
any beverage that had intoxicating qualities.
We may infer from Cant, viii. 2 that the
Hebrews were in the habit of expressing the
juice of other fruits besides the grape for the
purpose of making wine ; the pomegranate,
which is there noticed, was probably one out
of many fruits so used. With regard to the
application of the term in later times we
have the explicit statement of Jerome, as well
as other sources of information, from which
we may state that the following beverages
were known to the Jews : — 1. Beer, which
was largely consumed in Egypt under the
name of zythus, and was thence introduced
into Palestine. It was made of barley ; cer
tain herbs, such as lupin and skirrett, were
used as substitutes for hops. 2. Cider, which
is noticed in tho Mishna as apple-wine. 3.
Honey-wine, of wtich there were two sorts,
one, consisting of a mixture of wine, honey,
and pepper : the other a decoction of the
juice of the grape, termed dSbash (honey) by
the Hebrews, and dibs by the modern Syrians.
4. Date-wine, which was also manufactured
in Egypt. It was made by mashing the fruit
in water in certain proportions. 5. Various
other fruits and vegetables are enumerated by
Pliny as supplying materials for factitious or
home-made wine, such as figs, millet, the ca-
rob fruit, &c. It is not improbable that the
Hebrews applied raisins to this purpose in
the simple manner followed by the Arabians,
viz., by putting them in jars of water and
burying them in the ground until fermenta
tion takes place.
DROMEDARY. [Camel.]
DRUSIL'LA, daughter of Herod Agrippal.
(Acts xii. 1,19 ff.) and Cypros. She was at first
betrothed to Antiochus Epiphanes, prince of
Commagene, but was married to Azizus, king
of Emesa. Soon after, Felix, procurator of
Judaea, brought about her seduction by means
of the Cyprian sorcerer Simon, and took her
as his wife. In Acts xxiv. 24, we find her

in company with Felix at Caesarea. Felix
had by Drusilla a son named Agrippa, who,
together with his mother, perished in the
eruption of Vesuvius under Titus.
DULCIMER (Heb. Sumphoniah), a rim-
sical instrument, mentioned in Dan. iii. 5, 1$,
probably the bagpipe. The same instrument
is still in use amongst peasants in the N.w.
of Asia and in Southern Europe, where it ie
known by the similar name Sampogna or
Zampogna. DU'MAII. 1. A son of Ishmael, most
probably the founder of the Ishmaelitc tribe
of Arabia, and thence the name of the prin
cipal place, or district, inhabited by that
tribe (Gen. xxv. 14 ; 1 Chr. i. 30 ; Is. xxi.
11). — 2. A city in the mountainous district
of Judah, near Hebron (Josh. xv. 52) repre
sented by the ruins of a village called ed-
Daameh, 6 miles south-west of Hebron.
DUNG. The uses of dung were twofold,
as manure, and as fuel. The manure con
sisted either of straw steeped in liquid ma
nure (Is, xxv. 10), or the sweepings (Is. v,
25) of the streets and roads, which were care
fully removed from about the houses and col
lected in heaps outside the walls of the towns
at fixed spots (hence the dung-gate at Jeru
salem, Neh. ii. 13), and thence removed in
due course to the fields. The mode of ap
plying manure to trees was by digging holes
about their roots and inserting it (Luke xiii.
8), as still practised in Southern Italy. In
the case of sacrifices the dung was burnt out
side the camp (Ex. xxix. 14 ; Lev. iv.Jl,
viii. 17 ; Num. xix. 5) ; hence the extreme'
opprobrium of the threat in Mal. ii. 3. Par-$'
ticular directions were laid down in the law
to enforce cleanliness with regard to hiimflffl
ordure (Deut. xxiii. 12 ff.) : it was the gross- |
est insult to turn a man's house into a recep
tacle for it (2 K. x. 27 ; Ezr. vi. 11 ; Dnnijii,
5, iii. 29, "dunghill" A. V.) ; public^flta-
blishments of that nature are still found74n -'
the large towns of the East. — The difficulty
of procuring fuel in Syria, Arabia, and Egypt,
has made dung in all ages valuable as a sub
stitute : it was probably used for heating
ovens and for baking cakes (Ez. iv. 12,15),
tbe equable heat, which it produced, adapt
ing it peculiarly for the latter operation,^.
Cow's and camel's dung is still used for a •_
similar purpose by the Bedouins.
DUNGEON. [Prison.]
DU'RA, the plain where Nebuchadnezzar
set up the golden image (Dan. iii. 1) has been
sometimes identified with a tract a little be
low Tehrit, on the left bank of the Tigris,
where the name Dur is still found. M. Op-
pert places the plain (or, as he calls it, the
" valley ") of Dura to the south-east of Baby

DUST

141

EARTH

Ion- in tbe vicinity of the mound of Dowair
<bxJ)(mr. ( DUST. [Mourning.]

IjlAGLE (Heb. nesher). The Hebrew word,
'j which occurs frequently in the O. T.
may denote a particular species of the Fal-
conidae, as in Lev. xi. 13; Deut. xiv. 12,
where the nesher is distinguished from the
ossifrage, osprey, and other raptatorial birds ;
hut the term is used also to express the
griffon vulture (Vultur fulvus) in two or
three passages. At least four distinct kinas
of ^eagles have been observed in Palestine,
viz. the golden eagle (Aquila CJirysaetos), the
spotted eagle (A. naevia), the commonest
species in the rocky districts, the imperial
eagle, (Aquila Heliaca), and the very common
Gircaitos gallicus, which preys on the nu
merous reptilia of Palestine. The Heb. nesher
may stand for any of these different species,
though perhaps more particular reference to
the golden and imperial eagles and the griffon
vulture may be intended. The passage in
Mic. i. 16, "Enlarge thy baldness as the
eagle," may refer to the griffon vulture
(Vultur fulvus), in which case the simile is
peculiarly appropriate, for the whole head
and neck of this bird are destitute of true
feathers. The "eagles" of Matt. xxiv. 28,
Luke xvii. 37, may include the Vultur fulvus
and Neophron per cnopterus ; though, as eagles
frequently prey upon dead bodies, there is no

necessity to restrict the Greek word to the
Yulturidae. The figure of an eagle is now
and has been long a favourite military ensign.
The Persians so employed it ; a fact which
illustrates the passage in Is. xlvi. 11. The
same bird was similarly employed by the As
syrians and the Romans.
EARNEST (2 Cor. i. 22, v. 5 ; Eph. i. 14).
The equivalent in the original is arrhabon
(appajSwy), a Graecised form of the Pleb. 'e?'d-
bon, which was introduced by the Phoenicians
into Greece, and also into Italy, where it re
appears under the forms of arrhabo and
arrha. The Hebrew word was used gene
rally for pledge (Gen. xxxviii. 17), and in its
cognate forms for stirety (Prov. xvii. 18) and
hostage (2 K. xiv. 14). The Greek derivative,
however, acquired a more technical sense as
signifying the deposit paid by the purchaser
on entering into an agreement for the pur
chase of anything.
EARRINGS. The material of which ear
rings were made was generally gold (Ex. xxxii.
2 ) , and their form circular. They were worn by
women and by youth of both sexes (Ex. I. c).

Egyptian Earrings. From Wilkinson.
It has been inferred from the passage quoted,
and from Judg. viii. 24, that they were not
worn by men : these passages are, however, by
no means conclusive. The earring appears to
have been regarded with superstitious reve
rence as an amulet. On this account they
were surrendered along with the idols by
Jacob's household (Gen. xxxv. 4). Chardin
describes earrings, with talismanic figures
and characters on them, as still existing in
the East. Jewels were sometimes attached
to the rings. The size of the earrings still
worn in eastern countries far exceeds what
is usual among ourselves ; hence they formed
a handsome present (Job xiii. 11), or offering
to the service of God (Num. xxxi. 50).
EARTH, The term is used in two widely
different senses: (1) for the material ol
which the earth's surface is composed ; (2)
as the name of the ,planet on which man

EARTHENWARE

142

EBAL

dwells. The Hebrew language discriminates
between these two by the use of separate
terms, Adamah for the former, Erets for the
latter. — I. Adamah is the earth in the sense
of soil or ground, particularly as being sus
ceptible of cultivation. The earth supplied
the elementary substance of which man's body
was formed, and the terms adam and adamah
are brought into juxtaposition, implying an
etymological connexion (Gen. ii. 7). — II.
Erets is applied in a more or less extended
sense : — 1. to the whole world (Gen. i. 1) ;
2. to land as opposed to sea (Gen. i. 10) ; 3.
to a country (Gen. xxi. 32) ; 4. to a plot of
ground (Gen. xxiii. 1 5) ; and 5. to the ground
on which a man stands (Gen. xxxiii. 3).
EARTHENWARE. [Pottery.]
EARTHQUAKE. Earthquakes, more or
less violent, are of frequent occurrence in
Palestine, as might be expected from the
numerous traces of volcanic agency visible in
the features of that country. The recorded
instances, however, are but few ; the most
remarkable occurred in the reign of Uzziah
(Am. i. 1 ; Zech. xiv. 5), which Josephus
connected with the sacrilege and consequent
punishment of that monarch (2 Chr. xxvi.
16 ff.). From Zech. xiv. 4 we are led to
infer that * great convulsion took place at
this time in the Mount of Olives, the moun
tain being split so as to leave a valley be
tween its summits. Josephus records some
thing of the sort, but his account is by no
means clear. We cannot but think that the
two accounts have the same foundation, and
that the Mount of Olives was really affected
by the earthquake. An earthquake occurred
at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion (Matt.
xxvii. 51-54), which may be deemed mira
culous rather from the conjunction of cir
cumstances than from the nature of the
phenomenon itself. Earthquakes are not
unfrequently accompanied by fissures of
the earth's surface ; instances of this are
recorded in connexion with the destruction
of Korah and his company (Num. xvi. 32),
and at the time of our Lord's death (Matt.
xxxvii. 51); the former maybe paralleled
by a similar occurrence at Oppido in Calabria
a.d. 1783, where the earth opened to the ex
tent of 500, and a depth of more than 200
feet. EAST. The Hebrew terras, descriptive of
the east, differ in idea, and, to a certain ex
tent, in application ; (1) kedem properly
means that which is before or in front of a
person, and was applied to the east from the
custom of turning in that direction when de
scribing the points of the compass, before,
behind, the right and the left, representing
respectively E., W., S., and N. (Job xxiii.

8, 9); (2) mizrach means the place of the
sun's rising. Bearing in mind this etymo
logical distinction, it is natural that kedem
should be used when the four quarters of the
world are described (as in Gen. xiii. 14,
xxviii. 14 ; Job xxiii. 8, 9 ; Ez. xlvii. 18 ff.),
and mizrach when the east is only distin
guished from the west (Josh. xi. 3; Ps. 1. 1,
ciii. 12, cxiii. 3 ; Zech. viii. 7), or from some
other one quarter (Dan. viii. 9, xi. 44 ; Am.
viii. 12); exceptions to this usage occur in
Ps. cvii. 3, and Is. xliii. 5 ; each, howoveiy'
admitting of explanation. Again, kedem is
used in a strictly geographical sense to de
scribe a spot or country immediately before
another in an easterly direction ; hence it
occurs in such passages as Gen. ii. 8, iii. 24,
xi. 2, xiii. 11, xxv. 6 ; and hence the sub
sequent application of the term, as a proper
name (Gen. xxv. G, eastward, unto tlie land
of Kedem), to the lands lying immediately
eastward of Palestine, viz. Arabia, Mesopo
tamia and Babylonia ; on the other hand
mizrach is used of the far east with a less
definite signification (Is. xli. 2, 25, xliii. 5,
xlvi. 11).
EASTER. The occurrence of this word in
the A. V. of Acts xii. 4, is chiefly noticeable
as an example of the want of consistency in
the translators. In the earlier English ver
sions Easter had been frequently used as the
translation of pascha (7rao-xa). At the last
revision Passover was substituted in all pas->
sages but this. [Passovfr.] <J
E'BAL. 1. One of the sons of Shobal the
son of Seir (Gen. xxxvi. 23 ; 1 Chr. i. 4t)).—
2. Obal the son of Joktan (1 Chr. i. 22 ; ,
comp. Gen. x. 28).
E'BAL, MOUNT, a mount in the promised
land, on which, according to the command.
of Moses, the Israelites were, after their en
trance on the promised land, to "put" the
curse which should fall upon them if they
disobeyed the commandments of Jehovah,
The blessing consequent on obedience was
to be similarly localised on Mount Gerizim
(Deut. xi. 26-29). Ebal and Gerizim are the
mounts which form the sides of the fertile
valley in which lies Nabliis, the ancient Sbe-
chem— Ebal on the north and Gerizim on
the south. One of the most serious varia
tions between the Hebrew text of the Penta
teuch and the Samaritan text, is in reference
to Ebal and Gerizim. In Deut. xxvii, 4,
the Samaritan has Gerizim, while the Hebrew
(as in A. V.) bas Ebal, as the mount on whictf'
the altar to Jehovah, and the inscription of
the law were to be erected. Upon this basis\
they ground the sanctity of Gerizim and the
authenticity of the temple and holy place,
which did exist and still exist there. The

EBED

143

ECCLESIASTES

modern name of Ebal is Sltti Salamiyah, from
a Kohammedan female saint, whose tomb is
standing on the eastern part of the ridge, a
little before the highest point is reached.
E'BED (many MSS. have Eber), father of
GAAi,.who with his brethren assisted the men
of Shechem in their revolt against Abimelech
(Judg. ix. 26, 28, 30, 31, 35).
-EfBED-MEL'ECH, an Aethiopian eunuch
in the service of king Zedekiah, through
whose interference Jeremiah was released
from prison (Jer. xxxviii. 7 ff., xxxix. 15 ff.).
His name seems to be an official title=Ki?ig7s
slave, i. e. minister.
EB'EN-E'ZER ("the stone of help"), a
stone set up by Samuel after a signal defeat
of the Philistines, as a memorial of the " hebp"
received on the occasion from Jehovah (1
Sam. vii. 12). Its position is carefully de
fined as between Mizp-eh and Shen.
E'BER, son of Salah, and great-grandson of
Shem(Gen. x. 24; 1 Chr. i. 19). For con
fusion between Eber and Heber see Heber.
EBI'ASAPH, a Kohathite Levite of the
family of Korah, one of the forefathers of the
prophet Samuel and of Heman the singer
(1 Chr. vi. 23, 37). The same man is pro
bably intended in ix. 19. The name appears
also to be identical with Abiasafii, and in
one passage (1 Chr. xxvi. 1) to be abbrevi
ated to Asaph.

JJiospym d en 1 1 m.
EBONY (Heb. hobmin) occurs only in Ez.
«vii. 15, as one of the valuable commodities
imported into Tyre by the men of Dedan.
The best kind of ebony is yielded by the
tyspyros ebenum, a tree which grows in
Ceylon and Southern India. There is every
reason for believing that the ebony afforded

by the Diospyros ebenum was imported from
India or Ceylon by Phoenician traders.
ECBAT'ANA (Heb. AchmMhd). It is
doubtful whether the name of this place is
really contained in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Many of the best commentators understand
the expression, in Ezr.vi. 2, differently, and
translate it " in a coffer." In the apocryphal
books Ecbatana is frequently mentioned (Tob.
iii. 7, xiv. 12, 14; Jud. i. 1, 2 ; 2 Mace. ix.
3, &c). Two cities of the name of Ecbatana
seem to have existed in ancient times, one
the capital of Northern Media, the Media
Atropatene* of Strabo ; the other the metro
polis of the larger and more important pro
vince known as Media Magna. The site of
the former appears to be marked by the very
curious ruins at Takht-i-Sulc'iman (lat. 36°
28', long. 47° 9') ; while that of the latter is
occupied by Hamadan, which is one of the
most important cities of modern Persia. There
is generally some difficulty in determining,
when Ecbatana is mentioned, whether the
northern or the southern metropolis is in
tended. Few writers are aware of the exist
ence of the two cities, and they lie sufficiently
near to one another for geographical notices
in most cases to suit either site. The north
ern city was the "seven-walled town" de
scribed by Herodotus, and declared by him
to have been the capital of Cyrus (Herod, i.
98, 99, 153) ; and it was thus most probably
there that the loll was found which proved
to Darius that Cyrus had really made a decree
allowing the Jews to rebuild their temple.
The peculiar feature of the site of Takht-i-
Sule'iman is a conical hill rising to the height
of about 1 50 feet above the plain, and covered
both on its top and sides with massive ruins
of the most antique and primitive character.
In the 2nd book of Maccabees (ix. 3, &c.) the
Ecbatana mentioned is undoubtedly the south
ern city, now represented both in name and
site by Hamadan. This place, situated on the
northern flank of the great mountain called
formerly Orontes, and now EJ ie end, was per--
haps as ancient as the other, and is far better
known in history. If not the Median capital
of Cyrus, it was at any rate regarded from the
time of Darius Hystaspis as the chief city of
the Persian satrapy of Media, and as such it
became the summer residence of the Persian
kings from Darius downwards. The Ecbatana
of the book of Tobit -is thnusrht by Sir H,
Rawlinson to be the northern city.
ECCLESIAS'TES. The title of this book
is in Hebrew Koheleth, a feminine noun, sig
nifying one who speaks publicly in an assembly,
and hence rendered in the Septuagint by Eccle-
siastes, which is adopted in the English ver
sion . Koheleth is the name by which Solon: on

ECCLESIASTIC!.! S

144

EDOM

speaks of himself throughout the book. " The
words of the preacher (Heb. Koheleth') the
son of David, king of Jerusalem " (i. 1). The
apparent anomaly of the feminine termination
indicates that the abstract noun has been
transferred from the office to the person hold
ing it. The Book is that which it professes
to be — the confession of a man of wide expe
rience looking back upon his past life and
looking out upon the disorders and calami
ties which surround him. The writer is a
man who has sinned in giving way to selfish
ness and sensuality, who has paid the penalty
of that sin in satiety and weariness of life,
but who has through all this been under the
discipline of a divine education, and has learnt
from it the lesson which God meant to teach
him. It is tolerably clear that the recurring
burden of " Vanity of vanities " and tlie
teaching which recommends a life of calm
enjoyment, mark, whenever they occur, a
kind of halting-place in the succession of
thoughts. ECCLESIAS'TICUS, one of the books of
the Apocrypha, is the title given in the Latin
Version to the book which is called in the
Septuagint Tur Wisdom of Ji.sus the Son of
Sirach:. The word designates the character
of the writing, as publicly used in the ser
vices of the Church. The writer describes
himself as Jesus (/. e. Joshua) the. son of
Sirach, of Jerusalem (i. 27), but we know
nothing of the author. The language in
which the book was originally composed was
Hebrew, i. e. perhaps the Aramean dialect ;
and the Greek translation incorporated in the
LXX. was made by the grandson of the
author in Egypt " in the reign of Euergetes,"
perhaps Ptolemy VII. Physcon, who also
bore the surname of Euergetes (n.c. 170-
117). ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. No historical
notice of an eclipse occurs in the Bible, but
there are passages in the prophets which
contain manifest allusion to this phenomenon
(Am. viii. 9 ; Mic. iii. 6 ; Zech. xiv. 6 ; Joel
ii. 10, 31, iii. 15). Some of these notices
probably refer to eclipses that occurred about
the time of the respective compositions : thus
the date of Amos coincides with a total
eclipse, which occurred Feb. 9, b.c 784, and
was visible at Jerusalem shortly after noon ;
that of Micah with the eclipse of June 5,
b.c. 716. A passing notice in Jer. xv. 9 coin
cides in date with the eclipse of Sept. 30,
b.c. 610, so well known from Herodotus's ac
count (i. 74, 103). The darkness that over
spread the world at the crucifixion cannot
with reason be attributed to an eclipse, as
the moon was at the full at the time of the
Passover.

E'DAR, TOWER OF (occur. Edkr), a place
named onlyin Gen. xxxv. 21. Accordingto
Jerome it was 1000 paces from Bethlehem.
E'DEN. 1. The first residence of man,
called in the Septuagint Paradise. The latter
is a word of Persian origin, and describes an
extensive tract of pleasure land, somewhat
like an English park ; and the use of it sug
gests a wider view of man's first abode than
a garden. The description of Eden is as
follows: — "And the Lord God planted a
garden in Eden eastwai"d  And a river
goeth forth from Eden to watei the garden ;
and from thence it is divided and becomes
four heads (or arms). The name of the firnt
is Pison : that is it which compasseth the
whole land of Havilah, where is the gold.
And the gold of that land is good: there is
the bdellium and the onyx stone. And the
name of the second river is Gihon ; that is it
which compasseth the whole land of Cush.
And the name of the third river is Iliddekel;
that is it which floweth before Assyria. And
the fourth river, that is Euphrates" (Gen.ii.
8-14). In the eastern portion then of the
region of Eden was the garden planted. The
Hiddekel is the Tigris ; but with regard to
the Pison and Gihon, a great variety of
opinion exists. Many ancient writers, as
Josephus, identified the Pison with the
Ganges, and the Gihon with the Nile. Others,
guided by the position of the two known
rivers, identify the two unknown ones with
the Phasis and Araxes, which also have their
sources in the highlands of Armenia. Others,
again, have transferred the site to the sources
of the Oxus and Jaxartes, and place it in
Bactria ; others, again, in the valley of Cash
mere. Such speculations may be multiplied
ad infinitum, and have sometimes assumed
the wildest character. — 2. One of the mails
which supplied the luxury of Tyre with richly
embroidered stuffs. It is associated with
Haran, Sheba, and Asshur. In 2 K, xix. 12,
and Is. xxxvii. 12, " the sons of Eden" are
mentioned with Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph,
as victims of the Assyrian gi'eed of conquest
In the absence of positive evidence, pro
bability seems to point to the N.W. of Meso
potamia as the locality of Eden. — 3. Beth-
Eden, " house of pleasure ;" probably the
name of a country residence of the kings of
Damascus (Am. i. 5).
E'DOM, IDUME'A, or IDUMAE'A. The
name Edom was given to Esau, the first-born
son of Isaac, and twin brother of Jacob, when
he sold his birthright to the latter for a meal
of lentil pottage. The peculiar colour of the
pottage gave rise to the name Edom, which
signifies "red" (Gen. xxv. 29-34). The
country which the Lord subsequently gave

EDOM

145

EDREI

to Esau was hence called the " field of Edom "
(Gen. xxxii. 3), or "land of Edom" (Gen.
xxxvi. 16; Num. xxxiii. 37), and his de
scendants were called the Edomites. Probably
its physical aspect may have had something
to do with this. Edom was previously called
Mount Seir (Gen. xxxii. 3, xxxvi. 8), from
Seir the progenitor of the Horites (Gen. xiv. 6,
xxxvi. 20-22). The name Seir was perhaps
adopted ou account of its being descriptive of
the "rugged" character of the territory.
The original inhabitants of the country were
Called Horites, from Hori, the grandson of
Seir (Gen. xxxvi. 20, 22), because that name
was descriptive of their habits as " Troglo
dytes," or " dwellers in caves." Edom was
wholly a mountainous country. It embraced
the narrow mountainous tract (about 100
miles long by 20 broad) extending along the
eastern side of the Arabah from the northern
end of the gulf of Elath to near the southern
end of the Dead Sea. It was separated from
Moab on the N. by the " brook Zered" (Deut.
ii. 13, 14, 18), probably the modern Wady-
ei-Ahsy. The ancient capital of Edom was
Bozrah (Buseireh) near the northern border
(Gen. xxxvi. 33; Is. xxxiv. 6, lxiii. I ; Jer.
xlix. 13, 22). But Sela (Petra) appears to
have been the principal stronghold in the
days of Amaziah (b.c 833; 2 K. xiv. 7) :
Elath and Eziongeber were the sea ports
(2Sam. viii. 14 ; 1 K. ix. 26).— Esau's bitter
hatred to his brother Jacob for fraudulently
obtaining his blessing appears to have been
inherited by his latest posterity. The Edomites
peremptorily refused to permit the Israelites
to pass through their land (Num. xx. 18-21).
For a period of 400 years we hear no more of
the Edomites. They were then attacked and
defeated by Saul (I Sam. xiv. 47). Some
tpxty years later David overthrew their army
in the "Valley of Salt," and his general,
Joab, following up the victory, destroyed
nearly the whole male population (1 K. xi.
15) 16), and placed Jewish garrisons in all
thestrongholds of Edom (2 Sam. viii. 13,14).
In the reign of Jehoshaphat (b.c 914) the
Edomites attempted to invade Israel in con-
1 junction with Ammon and Moab, but were
miraculously destroyed in the valley of Bera-
ehah (2 Chr. xx. 22). A few years later they
revolted against Jehoram, elected a king, and
for half a century retained their independence
(2 Chr. xxi. 8). They were then attacked
hy, Amaziah, and Sela their great stronghold
ffa*. captured (2 K. xiv. 7 ; 2 Chr. xxv.
*V12). Yet the Israelites were never able
again .completely to subdue them (2 Chr.
Uviii, 17). When Nebuchadnezzar besieged
Jerusalem the Edomites joined him, and took
an active part in the plunder of the city and
*». I). li.

slaughter of the Jews. Their cruelty at that
time seems to be specially referred to in the
137th Psalm. It was on account of these acts
of cruelty committed upon the Jews in the
day of their calamity that the Edomites were
so fearfully denounced by the later prophets
(Is. xxxiv. 5-8, lxiii. 1-4; Jer. xlix. 17;
Lam. iv. 21 ; Ez. xxv. 13, 14 ; Am. i. 11, 12 ;
Obad. 10 sq.). On the conquest of Judah,
the Edomites, probably in reward for their
services during the war, were permitted to
settle in southern Palestine, and the whole
plateau between it and Egypt, which now
usually bore the Greek name of Idumaea ;
but they were about the same time driven
out of Edom Proper by the Nabatheans. For
more than four centuries they continued to
prosper. But during the warlike rule of the
Maccabees they were again completely sub
dued, and even forced to conform to Jewish
laws and rites, and submit to the government
of Jewish prefects. The Edomites were now
incorporated with the Jewish nation, and the
whole province was often termed by Greek
and Roman writers Idumaea. Immediately
before the siege of Jerusalem by 1 itus, 20,000
Idumaeans were admitted to the Holy City,
which they filled with robbery and bloodshed.
From this time the Edomites, as a separate
people, disappear from the page of history.
— Little is known of their religion ; but
that little shows them to have been ido
laters (2 Chr. xxv. 14, 15, 20). Their
habits were singular . The Horites, their
predecessors in Mount Seir, were, as their
name implies, troglodytes, or dwellers in
caves; and the Edomites seem to have adopted
their dwellings as well as their country.
Everywhere we meet with caves and grottoes
hewn in the soft sandstone strata. Those ot
Petra are well known. The nature of the
climate, the dryness of the soil, and their
great size, render them healthy, pleasant, and
commodious habitations, while their security
made them specially suitable to a country
exposed in every age to incessant attacks of
robbers. ED'REI. 1. One of the two capital cities
of Bashan (Num. xxi. 33 ; Deut. i. 4, iii. 10 ;
Josh. xii. 4). In Scripture it is only men
tioned in connexion with the victory gained
by the Israelites over the Amorites under Og
their king, and the territory thus acquired.
The ruins of this ancient city, still bearing
the name Edr'a, stand on a rocky promontory
which projects from the S.W. corner of the
Lejah. The ruins are nearly three miles in
circumference, and have a strange wild look,
rising up in black shattered masses from the
midst of a wilderness of black rocks. — 2. A
town of northern Palestine, allotted to the tribe
I.

EGLAH

14(3

EGYPT

of Naphtali, and situated near Kedesh (Josh.
xix. 37). About two miles south of Kedesh
is a conical rocky hill called Tell Khuraibeh,
the "Tell of the ruin," which may be the
site of Edrei.
EG'LAH, one of David's wives during his
reign in Hebron, and the mother of his son
Ithream (2 Sam. iii. 5; 1 Chr. iii. 3). Ac
cording to the ancient Hebrew tradition, she
was Michal.
EGLA'IM, a place named only in Is. xv. 8,
probably the same as Ex-i:<ilaim.
KG'LON. 1. A king of the Moabites (Judg.
iii. 12 ff.), who, aided by the Ammonites and
the Amalekites, crossed the Jordan and took
" the oity of palm-trees." Here, according
to Josephus, he built himself a palace, and
continued for eighteen years to oppress the
children of Israel, who paid him tribute. He
was slain by Ehud. [Ehud.] — 2. A town of
Judah in the low country (Josh. xv. 39).
During the struggles of the conquest, Eglon
was one of a confederacy of five towns,
which under Jerusalem attempted resistance,
by attacking Gibeon after the -treaty of tbe
latter with Israel (Josh. x.). The name sur
vives in the modern Ajlan, a shapeless mass
of ruins, about 10 miles from Eleutheropolis
and 14 from Gaza, on the S. of the great
maritime plain.
EGYPT, a country occupying the north
eastern angle of Africa. Its limits appear
always to have been very nearly the same.
In Ezekiel (xxix. 10, xxx. 6) the whole
country is spoken of as extending from
Migdol to Syene, which indicates the same
limits to the east and the south as at pre
sent. — Names. The common name of Egypt
in the Bible is "Mizraim," or more fully
" the land of Mizraim." In form Mizraim is
a dual, and accordingly it is generally joined
with a plural verb. When, therefore, in
Gen. x. 6, Mizraim is mentioned as a son of
Ham, we must not conclude that anything
more is meant than that Egypt was colonized
by descendants of Ham. The dual number
doubtless indicates the natural division of the
country into an upper and a lower region.
The singular Mazor also occurs, and some
suppose that it indicates Lower Egypt, but
there is no sure ground for this assertion.
The Arabic name of Egypt, Mizr, signifies
"red mud." Egypt is also called in the
Bible "the land of Ham" (Ps. cv. 23, 27 ;
comp. lxxviii. 51), a name most probably
referring to Ham the son of Noah ; and
" Rahab," the proud or insolent : both these
appear to be poetical appellations. The
common ancient Egyptian name of the country
is written in hieroglyphics KEM, which was
perhaps pronounced Chem. This name sig

nifies, alike in the ancient language and in
Coptic, "black," and may be supposed to
have been given to the land on account of tho
blackness of its alluvial soil. "We muy reason
ably conjecture that Kcin is the Egyptian
equivalent of Ham, and also of Mazor, these
two words being similar or even the sarae in
sense. Under the Pharaohs Egypt was divided
into Upper and Lower, " the two regions."
In subsequent times this double division ob
tained. In the time of the Greeks and Romam
Upper Egypt was divided into the Hepta-
nomis and the Thebais, making altogether
three provinces, but the division of the whole
country into two was even then the most
usual. — General appearance, Climate, $c.
The general appearance of the country cannot
have greatly changed since the days of Mosea.
The Delta was always a vast level plain, al
though of old more perfectly watered than
now by the branches of the Nile and numerous
canals, while the narrow valley of Upper
Egypt must have suffered still less alteration.
Anciently, however, tbe rushes must have
been abundant ; whereas now they have almost
disappeared, except in the lakes. The whole
country is remarkable for its extreme fer
tility, which especially strikes the beholder
when the rich green of the fields is contrasted
with the utterly hare yellow mountains or the
sand-strewn rocky desert orfeither side. Tho
climate is equable and healthy. Rain is not
very unfrequent on the northern coast, but
inland very rare. Cultivation nowhere de
pends upon it. This absence of rain is men
tioned in Deut. (xi. 10, 11) as rendering
artificial irrigation necessary, unlike the case
of Palestine, and in Zech. (xiv. 18) as peculiar
to the country. Egypt has been visited in all
ages by severe pestilences. Famines are fre
quent, and one in the middle ages, in the
time of the FStimee Khaleefeh El-Mustansir-
billah, seems to have been even more severe
than that of Joseph. The inundation of the
Nile fertilises and sustains the country, and
makes the river its chief blessing. The Nile i
was on this account anciently worshipped.
The rise begins in Egypt about the summer
solstice, and the inundation commences about
two months later. The greatest height is i
attained about or somewhat after the au
tumnal equinox. The inundation lasts about
three months.— Cultivation, Agriculture, fa.
The ancient prosperity of Egypt is attested
by the Bible as well as by the numerous
monuments of the country. As early as the
age of the Great Pyramid it must have been
densely populated. The contrast of the pre
sent state of Egypt to its former prosperity is
more to he ascribed to political than to
physical causes. Egypt is naturally an agri-

EGYPT

147

EGYPT

cultural country. As far back as the days of
Abraham, we find that when the produce
failed in Palestine, Egypt was the natural re
source. In the time of Joseph it was evi
dently the granary, at least during famines,
of the nations around. The inundation, as
taking the place of rain, has always rendered
the system of agriculture peculiar ; and the
artificial irrigation during the time of low
Nile 16 necessarily on the same principle.
Vines were extensively cultivated. Of other
fruit-trees, the date-palm was the most com
mon and valuable. The gardens resembled
the fields, being watered in the same manner
by irrigation. On the tenure of land much
light is thrown by the history of Joseph.
Before the famine each city and large village
had its field (Gen. xli. 48) ; but Joseph gained
for Pharaoh all the land, except that of the
priests, in exchange for food, and required for
the right thus obtained a fifth of the produce,
which became a law (xlvii. 20-26). — Reli
gion. The basis of the religion was Nigritian
fetishism, the lowest kind of nature-worship,
differing in different parts of the country, and
hence obviously indigenous. Upon this were
engrafted, first, cosmic worship, mixed up
with traces of primeval revelation, as in
Babylonia ; and then, a system of personifica
tions of moral and intellectual abstractions.
There were three orders of gods — the eight
great gods, the twelve lesser, and the Osirian
group. There was no prominent hero-wor
ship, although deceased kings and other in
dividuals often received divine honours. The
great doctrines of the immortality of the soul,
man's responsibility, and future rewards and
punishments, were taught. Among the rites,
circumcision is the most remarkable : it is as
old as the time of the ivth dynasty. The
Israelites in Egypt appear during the op
pression, for the most part, to have adopted
the Egyptian religion (Josh. xxiv. 14 ; Ez.
xx. 7,8). The golden calf, or rather steer,
was probably taken from the bull Apis, cer
tainly from one of the sacred bulls. Rem-
phan and Cbiun were foreign divinities
adopted into the Egyptian Pantheon. Ash
toreth was worshipped at Memphis. Doubt
less this worship was introduced by tbe
Phoenician Shepherds. — Army. There are
some notices of the Egyptian army in the 0. T.
They show, like the monuments, that its most
important branch was the chariot-force. The
Pharaoh of the Exodus led 600 chosen chariots
besides his whole chariot-force in pursuit of
thee Israelites. The warriors fighting in
chariots are probably the " horsemen " men
tioned in the relation of this event and else
where, for in Egyptian they are called the
'horso" or "cavalry." We have no subse

quent indication in the Bible of the constitu
tion of an Egyptian army until the time of
the xxiind dynasty, when we find that Shi-
shak's invading force was partly composed of
foreigners ; whether mercenaries or allies,
cannot as yet be positively determined, al
though the monuments make it most probable
that they were of the former character. The
army of Necho, defeated at Carchemish, seems
to have been similarly composed, although it
probably contained Greek mercenaries, who
soon afterwards became the most important
foreign element in the Egyptian forces. —
Domestic Life. The sculptures and paintings
of the tombs give us a very full insight into the
domestic life of the ancient Egyptians. What
most strikes us in their manners is the high
position occupied by women, and the entire
absence of the harem system of seclusion.
Marriage appears to have been universal, at
least with the richer class; and if polygamy
were tolerated it was rarely practised. There
were no castes, although great classes were very
distinct. The occupations of the higher class
were the superintendence of their fields and
gardens ; their diversions, the pursuit of game
in the deserts, or on the river, and fishing.
The tending of cattle was left to the most
despised of the lower class. The Egyptian
feasts, and the dances, music, and feats which
accompanied them, for the diversion of the
guests, as well as the common games, were
probably introduced among the Hebrews in
the most luxurious days of the kingdoms of
Israel and Judah. The account of the noon
tide dinner of Joseph (Gen. xliii. 16, 31-34)
agrees with the representations of the monu
ments. The funeral ceremonies were far
more important than any events of the Egyp
tian life as the tomb was regarded as the only
true home. — Magicians. We find frequent
reference in the Bible to the magicians of
Egypt (Gen. xli. 8; Ex. vii. 11, &c). The
monuments do not recognise any such art,
and we must conclude that magic was secretly
practised, not because it was thought to be
unlawful, but in order to give it importance. —
Industrial Arts. The industrial arts held an
important place in the occupations of the
Egyptians. The workers in fine flax and the
weavers of white linen are mentioned in a
manner that shows they were among the
chief contributors to the riches of the country
(Is. xix. 9). The fine linen of Egypt found
its wayto Palestine (Prov. vii. 16). Pottery
was a great branch of the native manufac
tures, and appears to have furnished employ
ment to the Hebrews during the bondage
(Ps. lxxxi. 6, lxviii. 13 ; comp. Ex. i. 14). —
Festivals. The religious festivals were nume
rous, and some of them were, in the davs of
L 2

EGYPT

US

EGYPT

Herodotus, kept with great merrymaking and
license. The feast which the Israelites cele
brated when Aaron had made the golden calf
seems to have been very much of the same
character. — History. The ancient history of
Egypt may be divided into three portions : —
the old monarchy, extending from the foun
dation of the kingdom to the invasion of the
Hyksos ; the middle, from the entrance to
the expulsion of the Hyksos ; and the new,
from the re-establishment of the native mo-
.narchy by Amosis to the Persian conquest.' —
(1.) Tlie Old Monarchy. Memphis was the
most ancient capital, the foundation of which
is ascribed to Menes, the first mortal king of
Egypt. The names of the kings, divided into
thirty dynasties, are handed down in the
lists of Mane tho,* and are also known from
the works which, they executed. The most
memorable epoch in the history of the Old
Monarchy is that of the Pyramid kings, placed
in Manetho's fourth dynasty. Their names
are found upon these monuments : tbe builder
of the great pyramid is called Suphis by
Manetho, Cheops by Herodotus, and Kliufu
or Shufu, in an inscription upon the pyramid.
The erection of the second pyramid is attri
buted by Herodotus and Diodorus to Cheph-
ren ; and upon the neighbouring tombs has
been read the name of Khafra, or Shafre.
The builder of the third pyramid is named
Mycerinus by Herodotus and Diodorus ; and
in this very pyramid a coffin has been found
bearing the name Menkura. The most power
ful kings of the Old Monarchy were those of
Manetho's twelfth dynasty : to this period are
assigned the construction of the Lake of Moeris
and the Labyrinth.— (2.) The Middle Mo
narchy. Of this period we only know that a
nomadic horde called Hyksos f for several
centuries occupied and made Egypt tributary ;
that their capital was Memphis ; that in the
Sethroite nonie they constructed an immense
earth-camp, which they called Abaris ; that
at a certain period of their occupation two in
dependent kingdoms were formed in Egj'pt,
one in the Thebaid, whicb held intimate re
lations with Ethiopia ; another at Xois, among
the marshes of the Nile ; and that, finally,
the Egyptians regained their independence,
and expelled the Hyksos, who thereupon re
tired into Palestine. The Hyksos form the
fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth dynasties.
Manetho says they were Arabs, but he calls
the six kings of the fifteenth dynasty Phoe-
* Manetho was an Egyptian priest who lived -under
the Piolemies in tlie 3rd century B.C. and wrote in
lireek a hision of K^ypt, in which he divided the kings
into thirty dynasties The work itself is lost, but the
lists of dynasties have been preserved by the Christian
writers. ¦f This their Egyptian name, is derived by Manetho
from Ik/L. a king, and Sos. a shepherd.

nicians. — (3.) The Netv Monarchy extends
from the commencement of the eighteenth to
the end of the thirtieth dynasty. The kingdom
was consolidated by Amosis, who succeeded
in expelling the Hyksos, and thus prepared
the way for the foreign expeditions which bit
successors carried on in Asia and Africa, ex
tending from Mesopotamia in the former to
Ethiopia in the latter continent. The gloriouE
era of Egyptian history was under the winp-
teenth dynasty, when Sethi I., B.C. 1322, and
his grandson, Rameses the Great, b.c. 1311,
both of whom represent the Sesostris of tho
Greek historians, carried their arms over the
whole of Western Asia and southwards into
Soudan, and amassed vast treasures, which
were expended on public works. Under the
later kings of the nineteenth dynasty the
power of Egypt faded : the twentieth and
twenty-first dynasties achieved nothing worthy
of record ; but with the twenty-second we
enter upon a period that is interesting from
its associations with Biblical history, the first
of this dynasty, Sheshonk I. (Seconchis) b.c
990, being the Shishak who invaded Judaea
in Kehoboam's reign and pillaged the Temple
(1 Kings xiv. 25). Probably his successor,
Oso'rkon I., is the Zerah of Scripture, de
feated by Asa. Egypt makes no figure in
Asiatic history during the xxiiird and xxivtb
dynasties : under the xxvth it regained, in
part at least, its ancient importance. This
was an Ethiopian line, the warlike sovereigns
of which strove to the utmost to repel tbe
onward stride of Assyria. So, whom wc are
disposed to identify with Shehek II. or Se-
bichus, the secend Ethiopian, made an alliance
with Hosheathe last king of Israel. Tebrak
or Tirhakah, the third of this house, advanced
against Sennacherib in support of Hezekiah.
After this, a native dynasty again occupied
the throne, the xxvith, of Sa'i'te kings. Psam-
etek I. or Psammetichus I. (b.c 664), who
may be regarded as the head of this dynasty,
warred in Palestine, and took Ashdod, Azotus,
after a siege of twenty-nine years. Ncku or
Necho, the son of Psammetichus, continued
the war in the East, and marched along tbe
coast of Palestine to attack the king of As
syria. At Megiddo Josiah encountered him
(b.c. 608-7), notwithstanding the remon
strance of the Egyptian king, which is very
illustrative of the policy of the Pharaohs in
the east (2 Chr. xxxv. 21), no less than iB
his lenient conduct after the defeat and death
of the king of Judah. The army of Nccbo
was after a short space routed at Carchemish
by Nebuchadnezzar, b.c. 605-4 (Jer. xlvi. 2).
The second successor of Xccho, Apries, or Pha-
raoh-Hophra, sent his army into Palestine to
the aid of Zedekiah (Jer. "xxxvii. 5, 7, ll)t

EHUD

149

ELAM

so that the siege of Jerusalem was raised for
a time, and kindly received the fugitives from
the captured city. He seems to have been
afterwards attacked by Nebuchadnezzar in
his own country. There is, however, no cer
tain account of a complete subjugation of
Egypt by the king of Babylon. Amasis, the
successor of Apries, had a long and pros
perous reign, and somewhat restored the
weight of Egypt in the East. But the new
power of Persia was to prove even more ter
rible to his house than Babylon had been to
the bouse of Psammetichus, and the son of
Amasis had reigned but six months when
Cambyses reduced the country to the con
dition of a province of his empire b.c. 525.
— With respect to the difficult question of the
period of the sojourn of the Israelites in
Egypt, the following remarks may suffice.
The chronology of Egypt is now so far settled
that the accession of the eighteenth dynasty
may be regarded as fixed to within a few
years of b.c. 1525. The era of the Exodus,
in the system of Ussher, is b.c. 1491. The
ohvious. conclusion agrees with the statement
of Manetho, that Moses left Egypt under
Amosis, the first king of the eighteenth dynasty.
The game king, as we have already seen, ex
pelled the Shepherd Kings ; and there is, in
feet, no doubt that the great power of the
eighteenth dynasty was connected with this
expulsion. In this change of dynasty many
writers see a natural explanation of the "new
king who knew not Joseph." If this view is
correct, Joseph would have come into Egypt
under one of the later kings of the Shepherd
dynasty. But, plausible as this theory is, the
uncertainty in which Scriptural chronology
is involved prevents us from coming to any
definite conclusion. Lepsius and other emi
nent Egyptologers place the arrival of the
Israelites under the eighteenth dynasty, and
the Exodus under the nineteenth, in the year
1314 b.c He identifies the chief oppressor,
from whom Moses fled, with the great king
of the nineteenth dynasty, Rameses II. , and
the Pharaoh of the Exodus with his son and
successor Menptah, or Phthahmen. Mr.
Poole, however, takes an entirely opposite
view, and places not only the arrival of the
Israelites in Egypt, but also the Exodus,
within the dynasties of the Shepherd kings.
It Beems impossible to come to any defi
nite conclusion upon the subject. The diffi
culty of a solution is still further increased
by the uncertainty as to the length of the
sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, whether
it was 215 years, according to the Sep
tuagint, or 430 years according to the
Hebrew.
' '¦E'HUD, son of Gera of the tribe of Ben

jamin (Judg. iii. 15), the second Judge of
the Israelites. In the Bible he is not called
a Judge but a deliverer (I. c.) : so Othniel
(Judg. iii. 9) and all the Judges (Neh. ix.
27). As a Benjamite he was specially chosen
to destroy Eglon, who had established him
self in Jericho, which was included in the
boundaries of that tribe. He was very strong,
and left-handed. [Eglon.]
EK'RON, one of the five towns belonging
to the lords of the Philistines, and the mo t
northerly of the five (Josh. xiii. 3). Like
the other Philistine cities its situation was
in the lowlands. It fell to the lot of Judah
,(Josh. xv. 45, 46 ; Judg. i. 18), and indeed
formed one of the landmarks on his north
border. "We afterwards, however, find it
mentioned among the cities of Dan (Josh.
xix. 43). But it mattered little to which
tribe it nominally belonged, for before the
monarchy it was again in full possession of
the Philistines (1 Sam. v. 10). 'Akir, the
modern representative of Ekron, lies at about
5 miles S.W. of Ramleh. In the Apocrypha
it appears as Accaron (1 Mace. x. 89, only).
E'LAH. 1. The son and successor of
Baasha, king of Israel (IK. xvi. 8-10) ; his
reign lasted for little more than a year (comp.
ver. 8 with 10). He was killed, while drunk,
by Zimri, in the house of his steward Arza,
who was probably a confederate in the plot.
— 2. Father of Hoshea, the last king of
Israel (2 K.xv. 30, xvii. 1).
ELAH, THE VALLEY OF (= Valley of
the Terebinth), a valley in (not " by," as
the A. V. has it) which the Israelites were
encamped against the Philistines when David
killed Goliath (1 Sam. xvii. 2, 19). It is
once more mentioned in the same connexion
(xxi. 9). It lay somewhere near Socoh of
Judah and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron
than any other Philistine town. So much
may be gathered from the narrative of
1 Sam. xvii.
E'LAM seems to have been originally the
name of a man, the son of Shem (Gen. x. 22 ;
1 Chr. i. 17). Commonly, however, it is
used as the appellation of a country (Gen.
xiv. 1, 9 ; Is. xi. 11 ; xxi. 2 ; Jer. xxv. 25 ;
xlix. 34-39 ; Ez. xxxii. 24 ; Dan. viii. 2).
The Elam of Scripture appears to be the pro
vince lying south of Assyria and east of
Persia Proper, to which Herodotus gives the
name of Cissia (iii. 91, v. 49, &c), and
which is termed Susis or Susiana by the geo
graphers. It appears from Gen. x. 22, that
this country was originally peopled by de
scendants of Shem, closely allied to the Ara
maeans (Syrians) and the Assyrians ; and
from Gen. xiv. 1-12, it is evident that by the
time of Abraham a very important power had

ELATH

150

ELEAZAR

been built up in the same region. It is
plain that at this early time the predominant
power in Lower Mesopotamia was Elam,
which for a while held the place possessed
earlier by Babylon (Gen. x. 10), and later
by either Babylon or Assyria.
E'LATH, E'LOTH, the name of a town of
the land of Edom, commonly mentioned to
gether with Ezion-geber, and situate at the
head of the Arabian Gulf, which was thence
called the Elanitic Gulf. It first occurs in
the account of the wanderings (Deut. ii. 8),
and in later times must have come under the
rule of David in his conquest of the land of
Edom (2 Sam. viii. 14). AVe find the place
named again in connexion with Solomon's
navy (1 K. ix. 26; comp. 2 Chr. viii. 17).
It was apparently included in the revolt of
Edom against Jorum recorded in 2 K. viii.
20 ; but it was taken by Azariah (xiv. 22).
After this, however, " Rezin king of Syria
recovered Elath, and drave out the Jews
from Elath, and the Syrians came to Elath
and dwelt there to this day " (xvi. 6). From
this time the place is not mentioned until
the Roman period, during which it became a
frontier-town of the south, and the residence of
a Christian bishop. The Arabic name is Eyhh .
EL-BETH'£L, the name whioh Jacob is
said to have bestowed on the place at which
God appeared to him when he was flying
from Esau (Gen. xxv. 7).
EL'DAD and ME 'DAD, two of the 70
elders to whom was communicated the pro
phetic power of Moses (Num. xi. 16, 26).
Although their names were upon the list
which Moses had drawn up (xi. 26), they
did not repair with the rest of their brethren
to the tabernacle, but continued to prophesy
in the camp. Moses being requested by
Joshua to forbid this, refused to do so, and
expressed a wish that the gift of prophecy
might be diffused throughout the people.
ELDER. The term elder or old man, as
the Hebrew literally imports, was one of ex
tensive use, as an official title, among the
Hebrews and the surrounding nations. It
had reference to various offices (Gen. xxiv.
2, 1. 7 ; 2 Sam. xii. 17; Ez. xxvii. 9). As
betokening a political office, it applied not
only to the Hebrews, but also to the Egyp
tians (Gen. 1. 7), the Moabites and Midianites
(Num. xxii. 7). Wherever a patriarchal sys
tem is in force, the office of the elder will be
found, as the keystone of the social and poli
tical fabric ; it is so at the present day among
the Arabs, where the Sheikh (= the old man)
is the highest authority in the tribe. The
earliest notice of the elders acting in concert
as a political body is at the time of the Exo
dus. They were the representatives of the

people, so much so that ciders and people are
occasionally used as equivalent terms (comp.
Josh, xxiv" 1 with 2, 19, 21 ; 1 Sam. viii. 4
with 7, 10, 19). Their authority was unde
fined, and extended to all matters concerning
the public weal. When the tribes became
settled the elders were distinguished by dif
ferent titles according as they were acting as
national representatives, as district governors
over the several tribes (Deut. xxxi. 28 ; 2
Sam. xix. 11), or as local magistrates in the
provincial towns, whose duty it was to sit in
the gate and administer justice (Deut. xix.
12; Ruth iv. 9,11; 1 K. xxi. 8). Their
number and influence may be inferred.from
1 Sam. xxx. 26 ff. They retained their posi
tion under all the political changes which
the Jews underwent : under the Judges (Judg.
ii. 7 ; 1 Sam, iv. 3) ; under the kings (2 Sam,
xvii. 4) ; during the captivity (Jer. xxix,
1 ; Ez. vhi. 1) ; subsequently to the return
(Ezr. v. 5, vi. 7, 14, x. 8, 14) ; under the
Maccabees, when they were described some
times as the senate (1 Mace. xii. 6 ; 2 Maec.
i. 10, iv. 44, xi. 27), sometimes by their or
dinary title (1 Mace. vii. 33, xi. 23, xii. 35) ;
and, lastly, at the commencement of the
Christian era, when they are noticed as a
distinct body from the Sanhedrim. St. Luke
describes the whole order by the collective
term irpeo-fivrripiov (Luke xxii. 66 ; Acts xxii.
5). With respect to the elders in the Chris
tian Church, see Bishop.
ELE'ALEH, a place on the east of Jordan,
taken possession of and rebuilt by the tribe
of Reuben (Num. xxxii. 3, 37). By Isaiah
and Jeremiah it is mentioned as a Moabite
town (Is. xv. 4, xvi. 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 34),
ELEA'ZAR, 1. Third son of Aaron, by
Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab. After
the death of Nadab and Abihu without chil
dren (Lev. x. 1 ; Num. iii. 4), Eleazar was
appointed chief over the principal Levites
(Num. iii. 32). With his brother Ithamar
he ministered as a priest during their father's
lifetime, and immediately before his death was
invested on Mount Hor with the sacred gar
ments, as the successor of Aaron in the office
of High-priest (Num. xx. 28). One of his
first duties was in conjunction with Moses to
superintend the census of the people (Num.
xxvi. 3). After the conquest of Canaan by
Joshua he took part in the distribution of the
land (Josh. xiv. 1). The time of his death is
not mentioned in Scripture. — 2. The son of
Abinadab, of the hill of Kirjath-jearim (1 Sam.
vii. l). — 3. The son of Dodo the Ahohite,.
i. e. possibly a descendant of Ahoah of the
tribe of Benjamin (1 Chr. viii. 4) ; one of
the three principal mighty men of David's
army (2 Sam. xxiii. 9; 1 Chr. xi. 12). — 4.

EL-ELOHE-ISRAEL

151

ELIJAH

Surnamed Avaean (1 Mace. ii. 5), the fourth
aon of Mattathias, who fell by a noble act of
self-devotion in an engagement with Antio
chus Eupator, b.c. 164 (1 Mace. vi. 43 ff.).
In a former battle with Nicanor, Eleazar
was appointed by Judas to read " the holy
book " before the attack, and the watchword
in the fight— "The help of God" — was his
own name (2 Mace. viii. 23).
EL-EL'OHE-IS'RAEL, the name bestowed
by Jacob on the altar which he erected facing
the city of Shechem (Gen. xxxiii. 19, 20).
ELEPHANT. The word does not occur in
the text of the canonical Scriptures of the
A, V., but is found as the marginal reading to
Behemoth, in Job xl. 15. " Elephants' teeth "
is the marginal reading for " ivory " in 1 K.
x, 22 ; 2 Chr. ix. 41. Elephants however
are repeatedly mentioned in the 1st and 2nd
books of Maccabees, as being used in warfare
(1 Maec. vi,).
ELETJ'THERUS, a river of Syria men
tioned in I Mace. xi. 7 ; xii. 30. It sepa
rated Syria from Phoenicia, and formed the
northern limit of Coele-syria. It is the mo
dern Nahr-el-Kebir, " Great River."
£'LI was descended from Aaron through
Ithamar, the youngest of his two surviving
sons (Lev. x. 1, 2, 12 ; comp. 1 K. ii. 27
with 2 Sam. viii. 17 ; 1 Chr. xxiv. 3). As
the history makes no mention of any high-
priest of the line of Ithamar before Eli, he is
generally supposed to have been the first of
that line who held the office. From him, his
sons having died before him, it appears to
have passed to his grandson, Ahitub (1 Sam.
xiv. 3), and it certainly remained in his
family till Abiathar, the grandson of Ahitub,
was "thrust out from being priest unto the
Lord " by Solomon for his share in Adonijah's
rebellion (I K. ii. 26, 27 ; i. 7), and the high-
priesthood passed hack again to the family of
Eleazar in the person of Zadok (I K. ii. 35).
Its return to the elder branch was one part
of the punishment which had been denounced
against Eli during his lifetime, for his cul
pable negligence (1 Sam. ii. 22-25) when his
sons by their rapacity and licentiousness pro
faned the priesthood, and brought the rites
of religion into abhorrence among the people
[\ Sam. ii. 27-36, with 1 K. ii. 27). Not
withstanding this one great blemish, the cha
racter of Eli is marked by eminent piety, as
Bhown by his meek submission to the divine
judgment (1 Sam. iii. 18), and his supreme re
gard for the ark of God (i v. 18). In addition to
the office of high-priest he held that of judge,
wing the immediate predecessor of his pupil
Samuel (1 Sam. vii. 6, 15-17), the last of the
judges. He died at the advanced age of 98
J^rs (1 Sam. iv. 15), overcome by the dis

astrous intelligence that the ark of God had
been taken in battle by the Philistines, who
had also slain his sons Hophni and Phinehas.
ELI'AKIM. 1. Son of Hilkiah ; master of
Hezekiah's household (" over the house," as
Is. xxxvi. 3), 2 K. xviii. 18, 26, 37. He
succeeded Shebna in this office, after he had
been ejected from it as a punishment for his
pride (Is. xxii. 15-20). Eliakim was a good
man, as appears by the title emphatically
applied to him by God, "my servant Elia
kim" (Is. xxii. 20), and as was evinced by iris
conduct on the occasion of Sennacherib's in
vasion (2 K. xviii. 37, xix. 1-5), and also in
the discharge of the duties of his high station,
in which he acted as a "father to the inha
bitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of
Judah " (Is. xxii. 21). — 2. The original name
of Jehoiakim king of Judah (2 K. xxiii. 34 ;
2 Chr. xxxvi. 4).
ELI' AS, the form in which the name of
Elijah is given in the A. V. of the Apocrypha
and N. Test.
ELIE'ZER. 1. Abraham's chief servant,
called by him "Eliezer of Damascus " (Gen.
xv. 2). There is an apparent contradic
tion in the A. V., for it does not appear
how, if he was " of Damascus," he could
be "born in Abraham's house" (ver. 3).
But the phrase " son of my house," only im
ports that he was one of Abraham's house
hold, not that he was horn in his house. It
was, most likely, this same Eliezer who is de
scribed in Gen. xxiv. 2. — 2. Second son of
Moses and Zipporah, to whom his father gave
this name, "because, said he, the God of my
father was my help, that delivered me from
the sword of Pharaoh " (Ex. xviii. 4 ; 1 Chr.
xxiii. 15, 17). He remained with his mother
and brother Gershom, in the care of Jethro
his grandfather, when Moses returned to
Egypt (Ex.iv. 18) she having been sent back
to her father by Moses (Ex. xviii. 2), though
she set off to accompany him, and went part
of the way with him.
EH'HTJ, one of the interlocutors in the
book of Job. [Job.] He is described as the
" son of Barachel the Buzite," and thus ap
parently referred to the family of Buz, the
son of Nahor, and nephew of Abraham (Gen.
xxii. 21).
ELl'JAH has been well entitled "the
grandest and the most romantic character that
Israel ever produced." Certainly there is no
personage in the O. T. whose career is more
vividly portrayed, or who exercises on us a
more remarkable fascination. "Elijah the
Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead," is lite
rally all that is given us to know of his pa
rentage and locality. To an Israelite of the
tribes west of Jordan the title "Gileadite"

152

ELIJAH

must have conveyed a similar impression,
though in a far stronger degree, to that which
the title " Celt " does to us. "What the High
lands were a century ago to the towns in the
Lowlands of Scotland, that, and more than
that, must Gilead have been to Samaria or
Jerusalem. It is impossible rightly to esti
mate his character without recollecting this
fact. It is seen at every turn. Of his ap
pearance as he " stood before " Ahab, with
the suddenness of motion to this clay cha
racteristic of the Bedouins from his native
hills, we can perhaps realise something from
the touches, few, but strong, of the narra
tive. His chief characteristic was his hair,
long and thick, and hanging down his back ;
which, if not betokening the immense strengLh
of Samson, yet accompanied powers of endur
ance no less remarkable. His ordinary cloth
ing consisted of a girdle of skin round his
loins, which he tightened when about to
move quickly (l Iv. xviii. 46). But in
addition to this he occasionally wore the
"mantle," or cape, of sheepskin, which has
supplied us with one of our most familiar
figures of speech. In this mantle, in mo
ments of emotion, he would hide his face
(1 K. xix. 13), or when excited would roll
it up as into a kind of staff. The solitary life
in which these external peculiarities had been
assumed had also nurtured that fierceness of
zeal and that directness of address which so
distinguished him. It was in the wild lone
liness of the hills and ravines of Gilead that
the knowledge of Jehovah, the living God of
Israel, had been impressed on his mind, which
was to form the subject of his mission to the
idolatrous court and country of Israel. The
northern kingdom had at this time forsaken
almost entirely the faith in Jehovah. The
worship of the calves had been a departure
from Him ; but still it would appear that even
in the presence of the calves Jehovah was
acknowledged, and they were at any rate a
national institution, not one imported from
the idolatries of any of the surrounding
countries. But the case was quite different
when Ahab introduced the foreign religion
of his wife's family, the worship of the Phoe
nician Baal. It is as a witness against these
two evils that Elijah conies forward. — 1.
What we may call the first Act in his life
embraces between three and four years —
three years and six months for the duration
of the drought, according to the statements
of the New Testament (Luke iv. 25 ; James
v. 17), and three or four months more for
the journey to Horeb, and tbe return to
Gilead (1 K. xvii. 1 — xix. 21). His intro
duction is of the most startling description :
he suddenly appears before Ahab, as with the

unrestrained freedom of eastern manners he
would have no difficulty in doing, and pro
claims the vengeance of Jehovah for tbe
apostasy of the king. "What immediate action
followed on this we are not told ; but it is
plain that Elijah hud to fly before some threat
ened vengeance either of the king, or more
probably of the queen (comp. xix. 2). Perhaps
it was at this juncture that Jezebel " cut off
the prophets of Jehovah" (1 K. xviii. 4). He
m as directed to the brook Cherith. There in
Hie hollow of the torrent-bed he remained,
supported in the miraculous manner with
which we are all familiar, till the failing of
the brook obliged him to forsake it. His
next refuge was at Zarephath, a Phoenician
town lying between Tj re and Sidon, certainly
the last place at which the enemy of Baal
would be looked for. The widow woman in
whose house he lived seems, however, to
have been an Israelite, and no Baal-wor
shipper, if we may take her adjuration by
" Jehovah thy God " as an indication. Here
Elijah perfuruicd the miracles of prolonging
the oil and the meal ; and restored the ton of
the widow to life after his apparent death.
In this, or some other retreat, an interval
of more than two years must have elapsed.
The drought continued, and at last the full
horrors of famine, caused by the failure of
the crops, descended on Samaria. The king
and his chief domestic officer divided between
them the mournful duty of ascertaining thut
neither round the springs, which are so fre
quent a feature of central Palestine, nor in
the nooks and crannies of the most shaded
torrent-beds, was there any of the herbage
left, which in those countries is so certain an
indication of the presence of moisture. It is
the moment for the reappearance of the pro
phet. He shows himself first to the minister.
There, suddenly planted in his path, ia tbe
man whom he and his master have been
seeking for more than three years. Before
the sudden apparition of that wild figure,
and that stern, unbroken countenance, Oba-
diah could not but fall on his face. Elijah,
however, soon calms bis agitation — " As Je
hovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,
I will surely show myself to Ahab ;" and thus
relieved of his fear that, as on a former occa
sion, Elijah would disappear before he could
return with the king, Obadiah departs to in
form Ahab that the man they seek is there.
Ahab arrived, Elijah makes his charge —
" Thou hast forsaken Jehovah and followed
the Baals." He then commands that all Is
rael be collected to Mount Carmel with the
four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and
the four hundred of Asherah (Ashtaroth), the
latter being under the especial protection o(

ELIJAH

153

ELIJAH

the queen. There are few more sublime
stories in history than this. On the one
hand the solitary servant of Jehovah, accom
panied by his one attendant ; with his wild
shaggy hair, his scanty garb and sheepskin
cloak, but with calm dignity of demeanour
and the minutest regularity of procedure, re
pairing the ruined altar of Jehovah with
twelve stones — on the other hand the 850
.prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth, doubtless in
all the splendour of their vestments (2 K.
x. 22), with the wild din of their vain repe
titions and the maddened fury of their dis
appointed hopes, and the silent people sur
rounding all. The conclusion of the long day
need only be glanced at. The fire of Jehovah
consuming both sacrifice and altar — the pro
phets of Baal killed, it would seem by Eli
jah's own hand (xviii. 40) — the king, with an
apathy almost unintelligible, eating and
drinking in the very midst of the carnage of
his own adherents— the rising storm — the
ride across the plain to Jezreel, a distance
of at least 1 6 miles ; the prophet, with true
Arab endurance, running before the chariot,
but also with true Arab instinct stopping
short of the city, and going no further than
the " entrance of Jezreel." So far the
triumph had been complete ; but the spirit
of Jezebel was not to be so easily overcome,
and her first act is a vow of vengeance
against the author of this destruction. Elijah
takes refuge in flight. The danger was great,
and the refuge must be distant. The first
stage on tbe journey was Beersheba. Here
Elijah halted. His servant he left in the
town ; while he himself set out alone into
the wilderness. His spirit is quite broken,
and he wanders forth over the dreary sweeps
of those rocky hills wishing for death. But
God, who had brought His servant into this
.difficulty, provided him with the means of
escaping from it. The prophet was wakened
from his dream of despondency beneath the
solitary bush of the wilderness, was fed with
the bread and the water which to this day are
all a Bedouin's requirements, and went for
ward, in the strength of that food, a journey
of forty days to the mount of God, even to
Horeb. Here, in the cave, one of the nume
rous caverns in those awful mountains, he
remained for certainly one night. In the
morning came the " word of Jehovah " — the
question, "What doest thou here, Elijah? "
In answer to this invitation the Prophet
opens his griefs. The reply comes in that
ambiguous and indirect form in which it
fieeuiB necessary that the deepest communica
tions with the human mind should he couched,
to he effectual. He is directed to leave the
cavern and stand on the mountain in the

open air, face to face with Jehovah. Then,
as before with Moses (Ex. xxxiv. 6), "The
Lord passed by," passed in all the terror of
His most appalling manifestations ; and pene
trating the dead silence which followed these,
came the mysterious symbol — the " still
small voice," and still as it was it spoke in
louder accents to the wounded heart of Elijah
than the roar and blaze which had preceded
it. To him no less unmistakably than to
Moses, centuries before, it was proclaimed
that Jehovah was " merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and
truth." Elijah knew the call, and at once
stepping forward and hiding his face in his
mantle, stood waiting for the Divine com
munication. Three commands were laid on
him — three changes were to be made. Of
these three commands the two first were re
served for Elisha to accomplish, the, last only
was executed by Elijah himself. His first
search was for Elisha. Apparently he soon
found him ; we must conclude at his native
place, Abel-meholah. Elisha was ploughing
at the time, and Elijah " passed over to him "
— possibly crossed tbe river — and cast his
mantle, the well-known sheepskin cloak,
upon him, as if, by that familiar action,
claiming him for his son. A moment of
hesitation, and then commenced that long
period of service and intercourse which con
tinued till Elijah's removal, and which after
that time procured for Elisha one of the best
titles to esteem and reverence — " Elisha the
son of Shaphat, who poured water on the
hands of Elijah." — 2. Ahab and Jezebel now
probably believed that their threats had been
effectual, and that they had seen the last of
their tormentor. After the murder of Naboth,
Ahab loses no time in entering on his new
acquisition. But his triumph was a short
one. Elijah had received an intimation from
Jehovah of what was taking place, and
rapidly as the accusation and death of Naboth
had been hurried over, he was there to meet
his ancient enemy on the very scene of his
crime. And then follows the curse, in terms
fearful to any Oriental — peculiarly terrible
to a Jew> — and most of all significant to a suc
cessor of tbe apostate princes of the northern
kingdom. The whole of Elijah's denuncia
tion may possibly be recovered by putting
together the words recalled by Jehu, 2 K. ix.
26, 36, 37, and those given in 1 K. xxi. 19-
25. — 3. A space of three or four years now
elapses (comp. 1 K. xxii. 1, 51 ; 2 K. i. 17)
before we again catch a glimpse of Elijah.
Ahaziah has met with a fatal accident, and
is on his death-bed (2 K. i. 1, 2 ; IK. xxii.
51j. In his extremity he sends to an oracle
or shrine of Baal at the Philistine town of

ELIJAH

154

ELIPIIAZ

Ekron, to ascertain the issue of his illness.
But the oracle is nearer at hand than the
distant Ekron. An intimation is conveyed
to the prophet, probably at that time inhabit
ing one of the recesses of Carmel, and, as on
the former occasions, he suddenly appears on
the path of the messengers, without preface
or inquiry utters his message of death, and
as rapidly disappears. But this check only
roused the wrath of Ahaziah. A captain
was despatched, with a party of fifty, to take
Elijah prisoner. " And there came clown five
from heaven and consumed him and his fifty."
A second party was sent, only to meet the
Bame fate. The altered tone of the leader of
a third party brought Elijah down. But the
king gained nothing. The message was de
livered to his face in the same words as it
had been to the messengers, and Elijah was
allowed ,to go harmless. — 4. It must have
been shortly after the death of Ahaziah that
Elijah made a communication with the
southern kingdom. When Jehoram the son
of Jehoshaphat began " to walk in the ways
of the kings of Israel," Elijah sent him a
letter denouncing his evil doings, and pre
dicting his death (2 Chr. xxi. 12-15). In its
contents the letter bears a strong resemblance
to the speeches of Elijah, while in the details
of style it is very peculiar, and quite differ
ent from the narrative in which it is em
bedded. — 5. The closing transaction of Eli
jah's life introduces us to a locality hereto
fore unconnected with him. It was at Gil-
gat. — probably on the western edge of the
hills of Ephraim — that the prophet received
the divine intimation that his departure was
at hand. Ho was at the time with Eliaha,
who seems now to have become his constant
companion, and whom he endeavours to per
suade to remain behind while he goes on an
errand of Jehovah. But Elisha will not so
easily give up his master. They went to
gether to Bethel. Again Elijah attempts to
escape to Jericho, and again Elisha pi*otests
that he will not be separated from him. At
Jericho he makes a final effort to avoid what
they both so much dread. But Elisha is not
to be conquered, and the two set off across
the undulating plain of burning sand, to the
distant river — Elijah in his mantle or cape
of sheepskin, Elisha in ordinary clothes.
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets ascend
tlie abrupt heights behind the town to watch
what happens in the distance. Talking as
they go, the two reach the river, and stand
on the shelving bank beside its swift brown
current. But they are not to stop even here.
It is as if the aged Gileadite cannot rest till
he again set3 foot on his own side of the
river. He rolls up his mantle as into a staff,

and with his old energy strikes the waters as
Moses bad done before him, — strikes them as
if they were an enemy ; and they are divided
hither and thither, and they two go over on
dry ground. " And it came to pass as they
still went on and talked, that, behold, a
chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted
them both asunder, and Elijah went up by
the whirlwind into the skies." — And here
ends all tbe direct information which is
vouchsafed to us of the life and work of this
great Prophet. How deep was the impression
which he made on the mind of the nation
may be judged of from the fixed belief
which many centuries after prevailed that
Elijah would again appear for the relief and
restoration of his country. But on tbe other
hand, the deep impression which Elijah had
thus made on his nation only renders moro
remarkable the departure which the image
conveyed by the later references to him
evinces, from that so sharply presented in
the records of his actual life. With the ex
ception of the eulogiums contained in the
catalogues of worthies in the book of Jesus
the son of Sirach (xlviii.) and 1 Mace, ii, 58,
and the passing allusion in Luke ix. 54, none
of these later references allude to his works
of destruction or of portent. They all set
forth a very different side of his character to
that brought out in the historical narrative.
They speak of his being a man of like pas
sions with ourselves (James v. 17); of hia
kindness to the widow of Sarepta (Luke iv.
25); of his "restoring all things " (Matt.
xvii. 11); " turning the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the Just " (Mal. iv. 5, 6 ; Luke
i. 17). E'LIM (Ex. xv. 27 ; Num. xxxiii. 9), the
second station where the Israelites encamped
after crossing the Red Sea. It is distin
guished as having had " twelve wells (rather
' fountains ') of water, and threescore and
ten palm-trees."
ELIM'ELECH, a man of the tribe of Judah,
and of the family of the Hezronites, who
dwelt in Bethlehem -Eph ratah in the days of
the Judges. In consequence of a great
dearth in the land he went with his wife
Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and
Chilion, to dwell in Moab, where he and
his sons died without posterity (Ruth i. 2,
3, &c).
EL'IPHAZ. 1. The son of Esau and Adah,
and father of Teman (Gen. xxxvi. 4 ; 1 Chr.
i. 35, 36).— 2. The chief of the "three
friends " of Job. He is called " the Teman-
ite ; " hence it is naturally inferred that he
was a descendant of Teman. On him falls
the main burden of the argument, that God's

ELISABETH

155

ELISHA

retribution in this world is perfect and cer
tain, and that consequently suffering must be
aproof of previous sin (Job iv., v., xv., xxii.).
The great truth brought out by him is the
unapproachable majesty and purity of God
(iv. 12-21, xv. 12-16). [Job.]
ELIS'ABETH, the wife of Zacharias and
mother of John the Baptist. She was herself
of the priestly family, and a relation (Luke i.
36) of the mother of our Lord.
ELISE'US, the form in which the name
Elisha appears in the A. V. of the Apocry
pha and the N. T. (Ecclus. xlviii. 12 ; Luke
iv, 27).
ELI'SHA, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah.
The attendant and disciple of Elijah, and
subsequently his successor as prophet of the
kingdom of Israel. The earliest mention of
his name is in the command to Elijah in the
eaveatHoreb (1 K. xix. 16, 17). But our
first introduction to the future prophet is in
the fields of his native place. Abel-meholah
was probably in the valley of the Jordan.
Elijah, on his way from Sinai to Damascus by
the Jordan, valley, lights on his successor en
gaged in the labours of the field. To cross
to him, to throw over his shoulders the
rough mantle — a token at once of investiture
with tbe prophet's office, and of adoption as
a son — was to Elijah but the work of an
instant, and the prophet strode on as if what
he had dune were nothing — " Go back again,
for what have I done unto thee 1" Elisha was
not a man who, having put his hand to the
plough, was likely to look back ; he delayed
merely to give the farewell kiss to his father
and mother, and preside at a parting feast
with his people, and then followed the great
prophet on his northward road. Seven or
eight years must have passed between the
call of Elisha and the removal of his master,
and during the whole of that time we hear
nothing of him. But when that period had
elapsed he reappears, to become the most
prominent figure in the history of his country
during the rest of his long life. In almost
every respect ^Elisha presents the most com
plete contrast to Elijah. The copious col
lection of his sayings and doings which are
preserved from the 3rd to the 9th chapter of
the 2nd book of Kings, is full of testimonies
to this contrast. Elijah was a true Bedouin
child of the desert. If he enters a city
it is only to deliver his message of fire and be
gone. Elisha, on the other hand, is a civi
lised man, an inhabitant of cities. And as
with his manners so with his appearance.
The touches of the narrative are very slight ;
out we can gather that his dress was the
ordinary garment of an Israelite, the beged,
probably similar in form to the long abbeyeh

of the modern Syrians (2 K. ii. 12), that his
hair was worn trimmed behind, in contrast
to the disordered locks of Elijah (ii. 23, as
explained below), and that he used a walking-
staff (iv. 29) of the kind ordinarily carried by
grave or aged citizens (Zech. viii. 4). The
call of Elisha seems to have taken place about
four years before the death of Ahab. He died
in the reign of Joash, the grandson of Jehu.
This embraces a period of not less than 65
years, for certainly 55 of which he held the
office of " prophet in Israel " (2 K. v. 8).—
After the departure of his master, Elisha
returned to dwell at Jericho (2 K. ii. 18).
The town had been lately rebuilt (1 K. xvi.
34), and was the residence of a body of the
" sons of the prophets " (2 K. ii. 5, 15). One
of the springs of Jericho was noxious at the
time of Elisha's visit. At the request of the
men of Jericho he remedied this evil. He
took salt in a new vessel, and cast it into the
water at its source in the name of Jehovah.
— 2. We next meet with Elisha at Bethel, in
the heart of the country, on his way from
Jericho to Mount Carmel (2 K. ii. 23). His
last visit had been made in company with
Elijah on their road down to the Jordan (ii.
2). Here the boys of the town were clus
tered, waiting, as they still wait at the
entrance of the villages of Palestine, for the
chance passer-by. In the short-trimmed Jocks
of Elisha, how were they to recognise the
successor of the prophet, with whose shaggy
hair streaming over his shoulders they were
all familiar 1 So with the license of the
Eastern children they scoff at the new comer
as he walks by — " Go up, roundhead ! go up,
roundhead ! " For once Elisha assumed the
sternness of his master. He turned upon
them and cursed them in the name of Jehovah,
and we all know the catastrophe which fol
lowed. — 3. Elisha extricates Jehoram king
of Israel, and the kings of Judah and Edom,
from their difficulty in the campaign against
Moab, arising from want of water (iii. 4-27).
This incident probably took place at the S.E.
end of the Dead Sea. — 4. The widow of one
of the sons of the prophets is in debt, and
her two sons are about to be taken from her
and sold as slaves. She has no property but
a pot of oil. This Elisha causes (in his
absence, iv. 5) to multiply, until the widow
has filled with it all the vessels which she
could borrow. — 5. The next occurrence is at
Shunem and Mount Carmel (iv. 8-37). The
6tory divides itself into two parts, separated
from each other by several years, (a.) Elisha,
probably on his way between Carmel and the
Jordan valley, calls accidentally at Shunem.
Here he is hospitably entertained by a woman
of substance, apparently at that time ignorant

ELISHA

156

ELISHA

of the character of her guest. There is no
occasion here to quote the details of this
charming narrative, (b.) An interval has
elapsed of several years. The boy is now
old enough to accompany his father to the
corn-field, where the harvest is proceeding.
The fierce rays of the morning sun are too
powerful for him, and he is carried home to
his mother only to die at noon. She says
nothing of their loss to her husband, but
depositing her child on the bed of the man of
God, at once starts in quest of him to Mount
Carmel. No explanation is needed to tell
Elisha the exact state of the case. The heat
of the season will allow of no delay in taking
the necessary steps, and Gehazi is at once
despatched to run back to Shunem with the
utmost speed. lie takes the prophet's
walking-staff in his hand, which he is to lay
on the face of the child. The mother and
Elisha follow in haste. Before they reach
the village the sun of that long, anxious,
summer afternoon must have set. Gehazi
meets them on the road, but he has no reassur
ing report to give, the placing of the staff on
the face of the dead boy had called forth no
sign of life. Then Elisha enters the house,
goes up to his own chamber, " and he shut the
door on them twain and prayed unto Jehovah."
The child is restored to life. — 6. The scene
now changes to Gilgal, apparently at a time
when Elisha was residing there (iv. 38—41).
The sons of the prophets are sitting round
him. It is a time of famine. The food of
the party must consist of any herbs that can
be found. The great caldron is put on at the
command of Elisha, and one of the company
brings his blanket full of such wild vegetables
as he has collected, and empties it into the
pottage. But no sooner have they begun
their meal than the taste betrays the presence
of some noxious herb, and they cry out,
" There is death in the pot, O man of God ! "
In this case the cure was effected by meal
which Elisha cast into the stew in the
caldron. — 7. (iv. 42-44). This in all proba
bility belongs to the same time, and also to
the same place as the preceding. A man
from Baal-shalisha brings the man of God a
present of the first-fruits, which under the
law (Num. xviii. 8, 12; Deut. xviii. 3, 4)
were the perquisite of the ministers of the
sanctuary. — 8. The simple records of these
domestic incidents amongst the sons of the
prophets are now interrupted by an occurrence
of a more important character ' (v. 1-27).
The chief captain of the army of Syria, to
whom his country was indebted for some
signal success, was afflicted with leprosy (v.
27). One of the members of his establish
ment is an Israelite girl, kidnapped by the

marauders of Syria in one of their forays
over the border, and she brings into that
Syrian household the fume of the name and
skill of hlisha. The news is communicated
by Naaman himself to the king. Benhadad
had yet to learn the position and character of
Elisha. He writes to the king of Israel a
letter very characteristic of a military prince.
With this letter, and with a present, and a
full retinue of attendants (13, 15, 23),
Naaman proceeds to Samaria, to the house of
Elisha. Elisha still keeps in the background,
and while Naaman stands at the doorway, con
tents himself with sending out a messenger
with the simple direction to bathe seven times
in the Jordan. The independent behaviour of
the prophet, and the simplicity of the pre
scription, all combined to enrage Nauman.
His slaves, however, knew how to deal with
the quick but not ungenerous temper of their
master, and the result is that he goes down
to the Jordan and dips himself seven times,
" and his flesh came again like the flesh of a
little child, and he was clean." His first
business after his cure is to thank his bene
factor. He returns with his whole following,
and this time he will not be denied the
presence of Elisha; but making his way in,
and standing before him, he gratefully
acknowledges the power of the God of Israel,
and entreats him to accept the present which
he has brought from Damascus. Elisha is
firm, and refuses the offer, though repeated
with the strongest adjuration. But Gehazi
cannot allow such treasures thus to escape
him. So he frames a story by which the
generous Naaman is made to send back with
him to Elisha's house a considerable present
in money and clothes. He then went in and
stood before his master as if nothing had
happened. But the prophet was not to be so
deceived. His heart had gone after his ser
vant through the whole transaction, even to
its minutest details, and he visits Gehazi
with the tremendous punishment of the
leprosy, from which he has just relieved
Naaman. — 9. (vi. 1-7 ). We now return to the
sons of the prophets ; but this time the scene
appears to be changed, and is probably at
Jericho, and during the residence of Elisha
there. As one of them was cutting at a tree
overhanging the stream, the iron of his axe
flew off and sank into the water. His cry
soon brought the man of God to his aid. The
stream of the Jordan is deep up to the very
bank, especially when the water is so low as
to leave the wood dry, and is moreover so
turbid that search would he useless. But
the place at which the lost axe entered the
water is shown to Elisha ; he breaks off a
stick and casts it into the stream, and the

ELISHA

157

ELISHAH

iron appears on the surface, and is recovered
by its possessor. — 10. (vi. 8-23). Elisha is
now residing at Dothan, halfway on the
road between Samaria and Jezreel. The
incursions of the Syrian marauding bands
(comp. v. 2) still continue. Their manoeu
vres are not hid from the man of God, and by
his warnings he saves the king " not once
nor twice." A strong party with chariots is
despatched to effect the capture of Elisha.
They march by night, and before morning
take up their station round the base of the
eminence on which the ruins of Dothan still
stand. Elisha's servant is the first to dis
cover the danger. But Elisha remains un
moved by his fears. He prays to Jehovah,
and the whole of the Syrian warriors are
struck blind. Then descending, he offers to
lead them to the person and the place which
they seek. He conducts them to Samaria.
There, at the prayer of the prophet, their
sight is restored, and they find themselves
not in a retired country village, but in the
midst of the capital of Israel, and in the pre
sence of the king and his troops. After such
a repulse it is not surprising that the
marauding forays of the Syrian troops ceased.
—11. (vi. 24— vii. 2). But the king of Syria
could not rset under such dishonour. He
abandons his marauding system, and gathers
a regular army, with which he lays siege to
Samaria. The awful extremities to which
the inhabitants of the place were driven need
not here be recalled. — 12. (viii. 1-6). We now
go back several years to an incident con
nected with the lady of Shunem, at a period
antecedent to the cure of Naaman and the
transfer of his leprosy to Gehazi (v. 1, 27).
Elisha had been made aware of a famine
which Jehovah was about to bring upon the
land for seven years ; and he had warned
Ms friend the Shunammite thereof that she
might provide for her safety. At the end
of the seven years she returned to her native
place, to find that during her absence her
house with the field-land attached to it had
been appropriated by some other person.
To the king therefore the Shunammite had
recourse. And now occurred one of those
rare coincidences which it is impossible not
to ascribe to something more than mere
chance. At tbe very moment of the en
trance of the woman and her son the king
was listening to a recital by Gehazi of " all
the great things which Elisha had done."
The woman was instantly recognised by
Gehazi. From her own mouth the king
hears the repetition of the wonderful tale,
aH whether from regard to Elisha, or
Wruck by the extraordinary coincidence,
°™rs her land to be restored with the

value of all its produce during her absence.
— 13. (viii. 7-15). Hitherto we have met
with the prophet only in his own country.
We now find him at Damascus. He is there
to carry out the command given to Elijah
on Horeb to anoint Hazael to be king over
Syria. At the time of his arrival Benhadad
was prostrate with his last illness. The
king's first desire is naturally to ascertain
his own fate ; and Hazael is commissioned
to be the bearer of a present to the prophet,
and to ask the question on the part of his
master, " Shall I recover of this disease ? "
The reply, probably originally ambiguous,
is doubly uncertain in the present doubtful
state of the Hebrew text ; hut the general
conclusion was unmistakable :¦ — "Jehovah
hath showed me that he shall surely die."
But this was not all that had been revealed
to the prophet. If Benhadad died, who
would be king in his stead but the man
who now stood before him 1 The prospect
was one which drew forth the tears of the
man of God. At Kazael's request Elisha
confesses the reason of his tears. But the
prospect is one which has no sorrow for
Hazael. His only doubt is the possibility
of such good fortune for one so mean.
"But what is thy slave, dog that he is,
that he should do this great thing ? " To
which Elisha replies, "Jehovah hath showed
me that thou wilt be king over Syria."
Returning to the king, Hazael tells him only
half the dark saying of the man of God —
" He told me that thou shouldest surely
recover." But that was the last day of Bcn-
hadad's life.— 14. (ix. 1-10). Two of the
injunctions laid on Elijah had now been
carried out ; the third still remained. The
time was come for the fulfilment of the curse
upon Ahab by anointing Jehu king over
Israel. Elisha's personal share in the trans
action was confined to giving directions to one
of the sons of the prophets. [Jehu.] — 15.
Beyond this we have no record of Elisha's
having taken any part in the revolution of
Jehu, or the events which followed it. He
does not again appear till we find him on his
deathbed in his own house (xiii. 14-19). — 16.
(xiii. 20-22). The power of the prophet,
however, does not terminate with his death.
Even in the tomb he restores the dead to
life. ELI'SHAH, the eldest son of Javan (Gen.
x. 4). The residence of his descendants is
described in Ez. xxvii. 7, as the "isles of
Elishah," whence the Phoenicians obtained
their purple and blue dyes. Some connect
the race of Elishah with the Aeolians, others
with Elis, and in a more extended sense
Peloponnesus, or even Hellas. It appears

ELISHAMA

15S

EMBALMING

correct to treat it as the designation of a
race rather than of a locality.
ELlSH'AMA,sonof Ammihud, the "prince"
or " captain " of the tribe of Ephraim in
the Wilderness of Sinai (Num. i. 10, ii. 18,
vii. 48, x. 22). From 1 Chr. vii. 26 we
find that he was grandfather to the great
Joshua. ELISHE'BA, the wife of Aaron (Ex. vi.
23). She was the daughter of Amminadab,
and sister of Naashon the captain of the
host of Judah (Num. ii. 3).
ELISHU'A, one of David's sons, born
after his settlement in Jerusalem (2 Sam.
v. 15 ; 1 Chr. xiv. 5).
EL'KAXAII. 1. Son, or rather grandson
(see 1 Chr. vi. 22, 23 [7, 8]) of Korah,
according to Ex. vi. 24. — 2. Another Ko-
hathite Levite, was son of Jeroham, and
father of Samuel the illustrious Judge and
Prophet (1 Chr. vi. 27, 34). All that is
known of him is contained in the above
notices and in 1 Sam. i. 1, 4, 8, 19, 21,
23, andii. 2, 20.
EL'KOSH, the birthplace of the prophet
Nahum, hence called "the Elkoshite," Nah.
i. 1. Two widely differing Jewish traditions
assign as widely different localities to this
place. In the time of Jorome it was be
lieved to exist in a small village of Galilee.
Others assign it to Alkush, a village on the
east bank of the Tigris, about two miles
north of Mosul. The former is more in
accordance with the internal evidence afforded
by the prophecy, which gives no sign of
having been written in Assyria.
EL'LASAR, the city of Arioch (Gen. xiv.
1), seems to be the Hebrew representative of
the old Chaldaean town called in the native
dialect Larsa or Larancha. Larsa was a
town of Lower Babylonia or Chaldaea,
situated nearly halfway between Ur (Mug
heir) and Erech ( Warka), on the left
bank of the Euphrates. It is now Senkereh.
ELM, Hos. iv. 13. See Oak.
EL'NATHAN, the maternal grandfather
of Jehoiachin (2 K. xxiv. 8), is doubtless
the same man with Elnathan the son of
Achbor (Jer. xxvi. 22, xxxvi. 12, 25).
E'LON. 1. A Hittite, whose daughter
was one of Esau's wives (Gen. xxvi. 34,
xxxvi. 2). — 2. The second of the three sons
attributed to Zebulun (Gen. xlvi. 14 ; Num.
xxvi. 26) ; and the founder of tbe family
of the Eloxites. — 3. Elon the Zebulonite,
who judged Israel for ten years, and was
buried in Aijalon in Zebulun (Judg. xii. 11,
12). — 4. One of the towns in the border
of the tribe of Dan (Josh. xix. 43).
ELOTH. [Elath.]
EL'TOLAD, one of the cities in the south

of Judah (Josh. xv. 30) allotted to Simeon
(Josh. xix. 4) ; and in possession of that
tribe until the time of David (1 Chr. iv.
29). ELU'L, Neh. vi. 15; 1 Maec. xiv. 27.
[MoNTns.] EL'YMAS, the Arabic name of the Jew
ish magus or sorcerer Barjesus (Acts xiii.
6 ff.).EMBALMING, the process by which dead
bodies are preserved from putrefaction and
decay. It was most general among the
Egyptians, and it is in connexion with this
people that the two instances which we
meet with in the 0. T. are mentioned (Gen.
1. 2, 26). Of the Egyptian method of em
balming there remain two minute accounts,
which have a general kind of agreement,
though they differ in details. Herodotus
(ii. 86-89) describes three modes, varying
in completeness and expense, and practised
by persons regularly trained to the profession
who were initiated into the mysteries of
the art by their ancestors. The embalmers
first removed part of the brain through the
nostrils, by means of a crooked iron, and
destroyed the rest by injecting caustic drugs',
An incision was then made along the flank
with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and the whole
of the intestines removed. The cavity Mas
rinsed out with palm-wine, and afterwards
scoured with pounded perfumes. It was
then filled with pure myrrh pounded, cassia,
and other aromatics, except frankincense.
This done, the body was sewn up and
steeped in natron for seventy days. When
the seventy days were accomplished, the
embalmers washed the corpse and swathed
it in bandages of linen, cut in strips and
smeared with gum. They then gave it up to
the relatives of the deceased, who provided

^

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111 fill IHilJII I II II I 111 II 1 1 II II llll I 1 1 NN

LZ

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The mummy's Lead, seen a t an open panel ot the eoffli
(Wilkinson.)

EMERALD

159

ENGEDI

for it a wooden case, made in the shape of a
man, in which the dead was placed, and
deposited in an erect position against the wall
of the sepulchral chamber. The second mode
of embalming cost about 20 rainae. In this
case no incision was made in the body, nor
were the intestines removed, but cedar-oil
was injected into the stomach by the rectum.
The oil was prevented from escaping, and
the body was then steeped in natron for
the appointed number of days. On the last
day the oil was withdrawn, and carried off
with it the stomach and intestines in a state
of splution, while the flesh was consumed
by the natron, and nothing was left but the
skin and bones. The body in this state was
returned to the relatives of the deceased.
The third mode, which was adopted by the
poorer classes, and cost but little, consisted
in rinsing out the intestines with syrmaea,
an infusion of senna and cassia, and steeping
the body for the usual number of days in
natrum. It does not appear that embalm
ing, properly so called, was practised by the
Hebrews. EMERALD, a precious stone, first in the
second row on the breastplate of the high-
priest (Ex. xxviii. 18, xxxix. 11), imported
to Tyre from Syria (Ez. xxvii. 16), used as a
seal or signet (Ecclus. xxxii. 6), as an orna
ment of clothing and bedding (Ez. xxviii.
13 ; Jud. x. 21), and spoken of as one of
the foundations of Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 19;
Tob. xiii. 16). The rainbow round the
throne is compared to Emerald in Rev.
iv. 3.
EMERODS (Dent, xxviii. 27 ; 1 Sam. v.
6, 9, 12, vi. 4, 5, 11), probably hemorrhoidal
tumours, or bleeding piles, are intended.
These are very common in Syria at present,
oriental habits of want of exercise and im
proper food, producing derangement of the
liver, constipation, &c, being such as to
cause them.
E'MIMS, a tribe or family of gigantic
stature which originally inhabited tbe region
along the Eastern side of the Dead Sea.
They were related to the Anakim, and were
generally called by the same name ; but their
conquerors the Moabites termed them Emim
— that is "terrible men" (Deut. ii. 11)—
most probably on account of their fierce
aspect. EMMAN'UEL, Matt. i. 23. [Emmanuel.]
EMMA'US, the village to which the two
disciples were going when our Lord appeared
to them on the way, on the day of His resur
rection (Luke xxiv. 13). Luke makes its
distance from Jerusalem sixty stadia (A. V.
"threescore furlongs "), or about 7 g miles;
and Josephus mentions " a village called

Emmaus " at the same distance. The site of
Emmaus remains yet to be identified.
EMMA'US, or NICOP'OLIS ( 1 Mace. iii.
40), a town in the plain of Philistia, at the
foot of the mountains of Judah, 22 Roman
miles from Jerusalem, and 10 from Lydda.
It was fortified by Bacchides, the general of
Antiochus Epiphanes, when he was engaged
in the war with Jonathan Maccabaeus (1
Mace. ix. 50). It was in the plain beside
tbis city that Judas Maccabaeus so signally
defeated the Syrians with a mere handful of
men, as related in I Mace. iii. 57, iv. 3, &c.
A small miserable village called 'Amwds still
occupies the site of the ancient city.
EM'MOR, the father of Sychem (Acts vii.
16). [Hamor.]
EN, at the beginning of many Hebrew
words, signifies a spring or fountain.
EN'-DOR, a place in the territory of
Issachar, and yet possessed by Manasseh
(Josh. xvii. 11). Endor was long held in
memory by the Jewish people as connected
with the great victory over Sisera and Jabin.
It was here that the witch dwelt whom Saul
consulted (1 Sam. xxviii. 7). It was known
to Eusebius, who describes it as a large
village 4 miles S. of Tabor. Here to the N.
of Jebel Duhy the name still lingers. The
distance from the slopes of Gilboa to Endor
is 7 or 8 miles, over difficult gi-ound.
EN-EGLA'IM, a place named only by Eze
kiel (xlvii. 10), apparently as on the Dead
Sea ; but whether near to or far from
Engedi, on the west or east side of the Sea,
it is impo&sible to ascertain.
EN-GAN'NIM. 1. A city in the low
country of Judah, named between Zanoah
and Tappuah (Josh. xv. 34).— 2. A city on
the border of Issachar (Josh. xix. 21),
allotted with its "suburbs" to the Ger-
shonite Levites (xxi. 29), probably Jenin,
the first village encountered on the ascent
from the great plain of Esdraelon into the
hills of the central country.
ENGED'I, a town in the wilderness of
Judah (Josh. xv. 62), on the western shore
of the Dead Sea (Ez. xlvii. 10). Its original
name was Hazazon-Tamar, on account of the
palm-groves which surrounded it (2 Chr. xx.
2 ; Ecclus. xxiv. 14.) Its site is about the
middle of the western shore of the lake, at
the fountain of Ain Jidy, from which the
place gets its name. It was immediately
after an assault upon the " Amorites, that
dwelt in Hazazon-Tamar," that the five
Mesopotamian kings were attacked by the
rulers of the plain of Sodom (Gen. xiv. 7 ;
comp. 2 Chr. xx. 2). Saul was told that
David was in the "wilderness of Engedi;"
and he took " 3000 men, and went to seek

EN-MISHPAT

160

EPHAH

David and his men upon the rocks of the
wild goats" (1 Sam. xxiv. 1-4). The vine
yards of Engedi were celebrated by Solomon
(Cant.i. 14).
EN-MISH'PAT, Gen. xiv. 7. [Kadesh.]
E'NOCH. 1. The eldest son of Cain (Gen.
iv. 17), who called the city which he built
after his name (18).— 2. The son of Jared
and father of Methuselah (Gen. v. 21 ff. ;
Luke iii. 28). In the Epistle of Jude (v. 24)
he is described as "the seventh from Adam ;"
and the number is probably noticed as con
veying the idea of divine completion and
rest, while Enoch was himself a type of per
fected humanity. After the birth of Methu
selah it is said (Gen. v. 22-4) that Enoch
"walked with God 300 years. . .and he
was not ; for God took him." The phrase
" walked with God " is elsewhere only used
of Noah (Gen. vi. 9 ; cf. Gen. xvii. 1, &c),
and is to be explained of a prophetic life
spent in immediate converse with the spiri
tual world. In the epistle to the Hebrews
the spring and issue of Enoch's life are
clearly marked. — Both the Latin and Greek
fathers commonly coupled Enoch and Elijah
as historic witnesses of the possibility of a
resurrection of the body and of a true human
existence in glory; and the voice of early
ecclesiastical tradition is almost unanimous
in regarding them as "the two witnesses"
(Rev. xi. 3 ff.) who should fall before " the
beast." ENOCH, THE BOOK OF. The first trace
of its existence is generally found in the
Epistle of St. Jude (14, 15), but the words of
the Apostle leave it uncertain whether he
derived his quotation from tradition or from
writing, though the wide spread of the book
in the second century seems almost decisive
in favour of the latter supposition. Consider
able fragments are preserved in the Chrono-
graphia of Georgius Syncellus (about 792
a.d.), and these, with the scanty notices of
earlier writers, constituted the sole remains
of the book known in Europe till the close of
the last century. Meanwhile, however, a
report was current that the entire book was
preserved in Abyssinia ; and at length, in
1773, Bruce brought with him on his return
from Egypt three MSS. containing the com
plete Ethiopic translation. The Ethiopic
translation was made from the Greek, and
probably towards the middle or close of the
fourth century. But it is uncertain whether
the Greek text was the original, or itself a
translation from the Hebrew. In its present
shape the book consists of a series of revela
tions supposed to have been given to Enoch
and Noah, which extend to the most varied
aspects of nature and life, and are designed

to offer a comprehensive vindication of the
action of Providence. Notwithstanding the
quotation in St. Jude, and the wide circula
tion of tbe book itself, the apocalypse of
Enoch was uniformly and distinctly separated
from the canonical scriptures.
E'NON, a place "near to Salim," at which
John baptized (John iii. 23). It was evi
dently west of the Jordan (comp. iii. 22, with
26, and with i. 28), and abounded in water.
This is indicated by the name, which is merely
a Greek version of a Chaldee word, signifying
"springs." Aenon is given in tho Onomas*
ticon as 8 miles south of Scythopolis " near
Salem and tho Jordan."
E'NOS. The son of Seth ; properly called
Enosh, as in 1 Chr. i. 1 (Gen. iv. 26, v. 6, 7,
9, 10, 11; Luke iii, 38).
EN-RO'GEL, a spring which formed one
of the landmarks on the boundary-line
between Judah (Josh. xv. 7) and Benjamin
(xviii. 16). Here, Jonathan and Ahimaaz
remained, after the flight of David, awaiting
intelligence from within the walls (2 Sam.
xvii. 17) ; and here, by the stone Zoheleth,
which is close to En-rogel, Adonijah held the
feast, which was the first and last act of his
attempt on the crown (I K. i. 9). It may
be identified with the present " Fountain of
the Virgin," 'Ain Umm ed-Daraj — the pe
rennial source from which the Tool of Siloam
is supplied.EN-SHEM'ESH, a spring which formed
one of the landmarks on the north boundary
of Judah (Josh. xv. 7) and the south boundary
of Benjamin (xviii. 17), perhaps Ain-Haud
or Ain-Chdt — the " Well of the Apostles:" —
about a mile below Bethany.
EPAE'NETUS, a Christian at Rome,
greeted by St. Paul in Rom. xvi. 5, and
designated as his beloved, and the first fruit
of Asia unto Christ.
EP'APHRAS, a fellow-labourer with the
Apostle Paul, mentioned Col. i. 7, as having
taught the Colossian church the grace of God
in truth, and designated a faithful minister
of Christ on their behalf. He was at that
time with St. Paul at Rome (Col. iv. 12), and
seems by the expression there used to have
been a Colossian by birth. We find him
again mentioned in the Epistle to Philemon
(ver. 23), which was sent at the same time
as that to the Colossians. Epaphras may be
the same as Epaphroditus, but the notices in
the N. T. do not enable us to speak with any
confidence. EPAPHRODI'TUS (Phil. ii. 25, iv. 18).
See above under EpApniiAs.
E'PHAH, the first, in order, of the sons of
Midian (Gen. xxv. 4 ; 1 Chr. i. 33), after
wards mentioned by Isaiah (lx. 6, 7).

EPHAH

161

EPHESUS

EPHAH. [Measures.]
E'PHER, the second, in order, of the sons
ifMidian (Gen. xxv. 4 ; 1 Chr. i. 33).
E'PHES-DAM'MIM, a place between Socoh
ind Azekah, at which the Philistines were
mcamped before the affray in which Goliath
ft-as killed (1 Sam. xvii. l). Under the
shorter form of Pas-dammim it occurs once
again in a similar connexion (1 Chr. xi. 13).
EPHESIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE,
was written by the Apostle St. Paul during
his first captivity at Rome (Acts xxviii. 16),
apparently immediately after he had written
the Epistle to the Colossians [Colossians, ep.
to], and during that period (perhaps the
early part of a.d. 62) when his imprisonment
had not assumed the severer character which
seems to have marked its close. This epistle
was addressed to the Christian church at
Ephesus. [Ephesus.] Its contents may be
divided into two portions, the first mainly
doctrinal (ch. i. — iii.), the second hortatory
sai practical. The Apostle reminds his con
verts that they had been redeemed from sin
by grace, and not by works, and he exhorts
them, to walk worthy of this calling, and to
keep the unity of the Spirit.
EPH'ESUS, the capital of the Roman pro
vince of Asia, and an illustrious city in the
district of Ionia, nearly opposite the island of
Samos. St. Paul's life furnishes illustrations
of the mercantile relations of Ephesus with
Achaia on the W,, Macedonia on the N., and
Syria on the E. As to the relations of Ephesus
to the inland regions of the continent, these
also are prominently brought before us in the
Apostle's travels. The " upper coasts " (Acts
six. 1) through which he passed, when about
to take up his residence in the city, were the
Phrygian table-lands of the interior. Two
great roads at least, in the Roman times, led
eastward from Ephesus ; one through the
pusses of Tmolus to Sardis (Rev. iii. 1) and
thence to Galatia and the N.E., the other round
the extremity of Pactyas to Magnesia, aiid so
up the valley of the Maeander to Iconium,
whence the communication was direct to the
Euphrates and to the Syrian Antioch. There
seem to have been Sardian and Magnesian
gates on the 1-;. side of Ephesus correspond
ing to these roads respectively. There were
alflo coast-roads leading northwards to Smyrna
and southwards to Miletus. By the latter of
these it is probable that the Ephesian elders
travelled when summoned to meet Paul at
the latter city (Acts xx. 17, 18). Conspicuous
at the head of the harbour of Ephesus was
jte great temple of Diana or Artemis, the
tutelary divinity of the city. This building
ffa8 raised on immense substructions, in con
sequence of the swampy nature of the ground.
8a. D. B.

The earlier temple, which had been begun
before the Persian war, was burnt down in
the night when Alexander the Great was
born ; and another structure, raised by the
enthusiastic co-operation of all the inhabi
tants of "Asia" had taken its place. The
magnificence of this sanctuary -was a proverb
throughout the civilised world. In conse
quence of this devotion the city of Ephesus
was called rew«6pos (Acts xix. 35) or "war
den " of Diana. Another consequence of the
celebrity of Diana's worship at Ephesus was,
that a large manufactory grew up there of
portable shrines, which strangers purchased,
and devotees carried with them on journeys
or set up in their houses. Of the manufac
turers engaged in this business, perhaps
Alexander the " coppersmith " (2 Tim. iv.
14) was one. The case of Demetrius the
" silversmith " is explicit. The city was
celebrated for its magical arts. In illustra
tion of the magical books which were publicly
burnt (ver. 19) under the influence of St.
Paul's preaching, it is enough here to refer
to the Ephesian Writings (mentioned by
Plutarch and others), which were regarded
as a charm when pronounced, and when
written down were carried about as amulets.
Asia was a proconsular province ; and in
harmony with this fact we find proconsuls
(A. "V. " deputies ") specially mentioned (ver.
38). Again we learn from Pliny (v. 31) that
Ephesus was an assize-town ; and in the
sacred narrative (ver. 38) we find the court-
days alluded to as actually being held (A. V.
" the law i» open ") during the uproar.
Ephesus itself was a " free city," and had its
own assemblies and its own magistrates.
The senate is mentioned by Josephus ; and
St. Luke, in the narrative before us, speaks
of " the people " and of its customary assem
blies (ver. 39, A. V. "a lawful assembly").
We even find conspicuous mention made of
one of the most important municipal officers
of Ephesus, the " Town-Clerk " or keeper of
the records, whom we know from other
sources to have been a person of great in
fluence and responsibility. It is remarkable
how all these political and religious cha
racteristics of Ephesus, which appear in the
sacred narrative, are illustrated by inscrip
tions and coins. The coins of Ephesus are
full oi allusions to the worship of Diana in
various aspects. The Jews were established
there in considerable numbers (Acts ii. 9, vi.
9). It is here, and here only, that we find
disciples of John the Baptist explicitly men
tioned after the ascension of Christ (Acts
xviii. 25, xix. 3). The case of Apollos
(xviii. 24) is an exemplification further of
the intercourse between this place and Alex-
M

EPHOD

102

EPHRAIM

andria. The first seeds of Christian truth
were possibly sown at Ephesus immediately
after the Great Pentecost (Acts ii,). In St.
Paul's stay of more than two years (xix. 8,
10, xx. 31), which formed the most important
passage of his third circuit, and during
which he laboured, first in the synagogue
(xix. 8), and then in the school of Tyrannus
(ver. 9), and also in private houses (xx. 20),
and during which he wrote the First Epistle
to the Corinthians, we have the period of the
chief evangelization of this sdiore of the
Aegean. The address at Miletus shows that
the church at Ephesus was thoroughly orga
nised under its presbyters. At a later period
Timothy was set over them, as we learn
from the two epistles addressed to him.
Among St. Paul's other companions, two,
Trophimus and Tychicus, were natives of
Asia (xx. 4), and the latter probably (2 Tim.
iv. 12), the former certainly (Acts xxi. 29),
natives of Ephesus. In the same connexion
we ought to mention Onc^iphorus (2 Tim. i.
16-18) and his household (iv. 19). On the
other hand must be noticed certain specified
Ephesian antagonists of the Apostle, the sons
of Sceva and his party (Acts xix. 14), Ily-
menacus and Alexander (1 Tim. i. 20 ; 2
Tim. iv. 14), and Phygellus and Hermogenes
(2 Tim. i. 15). The whole place is now
utterly desolate, with the exception of the
small Turkish village at Ayasaluk. The
ruins are of vast extent.
EPHOD, a sacred vestment originally ap
propriate to the high-priest (Ex. xxviii. 4),
but afterwards worn by ordinary priests (1
Sam. xxii. 18), and deemed characteristic of
the office (I Sam. ii. 28, xiv. 3 ; Hos. iii. 4).
For a description of the robe itself see Higii-
Priest. The importance of the Ephod as the
receptacle of the breastplate led to its adop
tion in the idolatrous forms of worship insti
tuted in the time of the Judges (Judg. viii.
27, xvii. 5, xviii. 14 ff.):
E'PHRAIM, the second son of Joseph by
his wife Asenath. The first indication we
have of that ascendancy over bis elder brother
Manasseh, which at a later period the tribe
of Ephraim so unmistakably possessed, is in
the blessing of the children by Jacob, Gen.
xlviii. Ephraim would appear at that time
to have been about 21 years old. He was
born before the beginning of the seven years
of famine, towards the latter part of which
Jacob had come to Egypt, 1 7 years before his
death (Gen. xlvii. 28). Before Joseph's
death Ephraim's family had reached the
third generation (Gen. 1. 23), and it must
have been about this time that the affray
mentioned in 1 Chr. vii. 21 occurred. To
this early period too must probably be re

ferred the circumstance alluded to in Ps.
Ixxviii. 9. It is at the time of the sending
of the spies to the Promised Land that we
are first introduced to the great hero to whom
the tribe owed much of its subsequent great
ness. Under Joshua the tribe must have
taken a high position in the nation, to judge
from the tone which the Ephrahnites assumed
on occasions shortly subsequent to the con
quest. The boundaries of the portion of
Ephraim are given in Josh. xvi. 1-10. The
south boundary was coincident for part of its
length with the north boundary of Benjamin,
It extended from the Jordan on the E., nt
the reach opposite Jericho, to the Moditerra-
nean on the W., probably about Joppa. On
the N. of Ephraim and Manasseh were the
tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Issachar. The
territory thus allotted to tbe " house of
Joseph" may be roughly estimated at A5
miles from E. to W. by 70 from N. to S., a
portion about equal in extent to the counties
of Norfolk and Suffolk combined. But
though similar in size, nothing can be more
different in its nature from those level
counties than this broken and hilly tract.
Central Palestine consists of an elevated dis
trict which vises from the flat ranges of the
wilderness on the south of Judah, and termi
nates on the north with the slopes which de
scend into the great plain of Esdraelon. On
the west a flat strip separates it from the sea,
and on the east another flat strip forms tbe
valley of the Jordan. Of this district the
northern half was occupied by the great tribe
we are now considering. This was the Har-
Ephraim, the " Mount Ephraim," a district
which seems to extend as far south as Ramah
and Bethel (1 Sam. i. 1, vii. 17 ; 2 Chr. xiii.
4, 19, compared with xv. 8), places but a
few miles north of Jerusalem, and within the
limits of Benjamin. After the revolt- of
Jeroboam, the history of Ephraim is the
history of the kingdom of Israel, since not
only did the tribe become a kingdom, but the
kingdom embraced little besides the tribe.
This is not surprising, and quite susceptible
of explanation. North of Ephraim the
country appears never to have been really
taken possession of by the Israelites. And
in addition to this original defect there is
much in the physical formation and circum
stances of the upper portion of Palestine to
explain why those tribes never took any
active part in the kingdom. But on the
other hand the position of Ephraim was alto
gether different. It was one at once of great
richness and great security. Her fertile
plains and well watered valleys could only be
reached by a laborious ascent through steep
and narrow ravines, all but impassable for

163

EPISTLE

m army. There is no record of any attack
in the central kingdom, either from the
Jordan valley or the maritime plain. On
the north side, from the plain of Esdraelon,
it was more accessible, and it was from this
side that the final invasion appears to have
been made.
• E'PHRAIM. In " Baal-hazor which is by
Ephraim " was Absalom's sheep-farm, at
wiuch took place the murder of Amnon, one
of tbe earliest precursors of the great revolt
(2 Sam. xiii. 23). There is no clue to its
situation. E'PHRAIM, a city " in the district near
the wilderness" to which our Lord retired
ivith his disciples when threatened with
violence by the priests (John xi. 54). Per
haps Opbrah and Ephraim are identical, and
their modern representative is et-Taiyibeh.
h is situated 4 or 5 miles east of Bethel, and
16 from Jerusalem.
'E'PHRAIM, GATE OF, one of the gates of
the city of Jerusalem (2 K. xiv. 13 ; 2 Chr.
xxv. 23 ; Neh. viii. 16, xii. 39), probably at
or near the position of the present ' ' Damascus
gate." '
E'PHRAIM, THE WOOD OF, a wood, or
rather a forest on the E. of Jordan, in which
the fatal battle was fought between the armies
of David and of Absalom (2 Sam. xviii. 6).
The name is probably derived from the
slaughter of Ephraim at the fords of Jordan
by the Gileadites under Jephthah (Judg. xii.
1, 4, 5).
¦ EPHRA'IN, a city of Israel, which with its
dependent hamlets Abijah and the army of
Judah captured from Jeroboam (2 Chr. xiii.
19). It has been conjectured that this Eph-
rain or Ephvon is identical with the Ephraim
by which Absalom's sheep-farm of Baal-hazor
was situated ; with the city called Ephraim
near the wilderness in which our Lord lived
for some time ; and with Ophrah, a city of
^Benjamin, apparently not far from Bethel.
But nothing more than conjecture can be
arrived at on these points.
" EPH'RATAH, or EPH'RATH. 1. Second
¦wife of Caleb the son of Hezron, mother of
Hur, and grandmother of Caleb the spy, ac-
ftording to 1 Chr. ii. 19, 50, and probably 24,
and iv. 4.-2. The ancient name of Bethle-
hem-Judah, as is manifest from Gen. xxxv.
16, 19, xlviii. 7.
- BPH'llON. 1. The son of Zochar, a
pittite, from whom Abraham bought the field
'and cave of Machpelah (Gen. xxiii. 8-17;
x*v. 9, xiis. 29, 39, 1. 13).— 2. A very
strong City on the east of Jordan between
Carnaim (Ashteroth-Karnaim) and Beth-
shean, attacked and demolished by Judas Mac-
cuhaeus (1 Mace. v. 46-52 • 2 Mace. xii. 27).

EPH'RON, MOUNT. The " cities of
Mount Ephron" formed one of the land
marks on the northern boundary of the tribe
of Judah (Josh. xv. 9).
EPICURE'ANS, THE, derived their name
from Epicurus (342-271 b.c), a philosopher
of Attic descent, whose " Garden" at Athens
rivalled in popularity the "Porch" and the
" Academy." The doctrines of Epicurus
found wide acceptance in Asia Minor and
Alexandria, and they gained a brilliant advo
cate at Rome in Lucretius (95-50 b.c). The
object of Epicurus was to find in philosophy
a practical guide to happiness. True plea
sure and not absolute truth was the end at
which he aimed ; experience and not reason
the test on which he relied. It is obvious
that a system thus framed would degenerate
by a natural descent into mere materialism ;
and in this form Epicnreism was the popular
philosophy at the beginning of the Christian
era. When St. Paul addressed "Epicureans
and Stoics" (Acts xvii. 18) at Athens, the
philosophy of life was practically reduced to
the teaching of those two antagonistic
schools. EPIPH'ANES (1 Mace. i. 10, A. 1). [A*.
tiochus Epiphanes.]
EP'IPHI (3 Mace. vi. 38), name of the
eleventh month of the Egyptian Vague year,
and the Alexandrian or Egyptian Julian
year. EPISTLE. The Epistles of the N. T. in
their outward form are such as might be ex
pected from men who were brought into con
tact with Greek and Roman customs, them
selves belonging to a different race, and so
reproducing the imported style with only
partial accuracy. They begin (the Epistle to
the Hebrews and 1 John excepted) with the
names of the writer, and of those to whom
the Epistle is addressed- Then follows the
formula of salutation. Then the letter itself
commences, in the first person, the singular
and plural being used indiscriminately. When
the substance of the letter has been com
pleted, come the individual messages. The
conclusion in this case was probably modified
by the fact that the letters were dictated to
an amanuensis. When he had done his work,
the Apostle took up the pen or reed, and
added, in his own large characters (Gal. vi. 1 1 )
the authenticating autograph. In one in
stance, Rom. xvi. 22, the amanuensis in his
own name adds his salutation. An allusion
in 2 Cor. iii. 1 brings before us another class
of letters which must have been in frequent
use in the early ages of the Christian Church,
by which travellers or teachers were com
mended by one church to the good offices of
others. M 2

ER

164

ESAU

EP, first-born of Judah. Er "was wicked
in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord slew
him." It does not appear what the nature
of his sin was ; but, from his Canaanitish
birth on the mother's side, it was probably
connected with the abominable idolatries of
Canaan (Gen. xxxviii. 3-7 ; Num. xxvi. 19).
ER'ECH, one of the cities of Nimrod's
kingdom in the land of Shinar (Gen. x. 10),
doubtless the same as Orchoe, 8 2 miles S.
and 43 E. of Babylon, the modern designa
tions of the site, Warka, Irka, and Irak,
' hearing a considerable affinity to the original
name. ERAST'US, one of the attendants or dea
cons of st. Paul at Ephesus, who with Timothy
was sent forward into Macedonia while the
Apostle himself remained in Asia (Acts xix.
2 2). He is probably the same with Erastus
who is again mentioned in the salutations to
Timothy (2 Tim. iii. 20), though not the
same with Erastus the chamberlain, or rather
the public treasurer, of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23).
ESA'IAS, the form of the name of the
prophet Isaiah in the N. T. [Isaiah.]
E'SAR-HA'DDON, one of the greatest of
the kings of Assyria, was the son of Senna
cherib (2 K. xix. 37) and the grandson of
Sargon who succeeded Shalmaneser. Nothing
is really known of Esar-haddon until his ac
cession (ab. d.c 680 ; 2 K. xix. 37 ; Is.
xxxvii, 38). He appears by his monuments
to have been one of the most powerful — if not
the most powerful — of all the Assyrian mo
narchs. He carried his arms over all Asia
between the Persian Gulf, the Armenian
mountains, and the Mediterranean. In con
sequence of the disaffection of Babylon, and
its frequent revolts from former Assyrian
kings, Esar-haddon, having subdued the sons
of Merodach-Baladan who headed the national
party, introduced the new policy of substi
tuting for the former government by viceroys,
a direct dependence upon the Assyrian crown.
He is the only Assyrian monarch whom we
find to have actually reigned at Babylon,
where he built himself a palace, bricks from
which have been recently recovered bearing
his name. His Babylonian reign lasted thirteen
years, from b.c. 680 to b.c 667 ; and it was
doubtless within this space of time that
Manasseh, king of Judah, having been seized
by his captains at Jerusalem on a charge of
rebellion, was brought before him at Baby/on
(2 Chr. xxxiii. 11) and detained for a time as
prisoner there. As a builder of great works
Esar-haddon is particularly distinguished.
Besides his palace at Babylon, he built at
least three others in different parts of his
dominions, either for himself or his son.
The south-west palace at Nimrud is the best |

preserved of his constructions. It is con
jectured that Esar-haddon died about n.c.
G60. E'SAU, the eldest son of Isaac, and twin-
brother of Jacob. The singular appearance
of the child at his birth originated the name
(Esau means hairy, Gen. xxv. 25). This was
not the only remarkable circumstance con
nected with the birtb of the infant. Even in
the womb the twin-brothers struggled to
gether (xxv. 22). Esau's robust frame and
" rough" aspect were the types of a wild and
daring nature. The peculiarities of his cha
racter 60on began to devclope thenuelves.
He was, in fact, a thorough Bedouin, a "son
of the desert," who delighted to roam free as
the wind of heaven, and who was impatient
of the restraints of civilized or settled life.
His old father, by a caprice of affection not
uncommon, loved his wilful, vagrant boy ;
and his keen relish for savoury food being
gratified by Esau's venison, he liked him all
the better for his skill in hunting (xxv. 28),
An event occurred which exhibited the reck
less character of Esau on the one hand, and
the selfish, grasping nature of his brother on
the other. Jacob takes advantage of his
brother's distress to rob him of that which
was dear as life itself to an Eastern patriarch,
Esau married at the age of 40, and contrary
to the wish of his parents. His wives were
both Canaanites; and they "were bitterness
of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah " (Gen.
xxvi. 34, 35). The next episode in the his-
tory of Esau and Jacob is still more painful
than the former. Jacob, through the craft
of his mother, is again successful, and secures
irrevocably the covenant blessing. Esau vows
vengeance. But he knew not a mother's
watchful care. By a characteristic piece of
domestic policy Rebekah succeeded both in
exciting Isaac's anger against Esau, and ob
taining his consent to Jacob's departure.
When Esau heard that his father had com
manded Jacob to take a wife of the daughters
of his kinsman Laban, he also resolved to try
whether by a new alliance he could propitiate
his parents. He accordingly married his
cousin Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael
(xxviii. 8, 9). This marriage appears to havt
brought him into connexion with the Ish-
maeiitish tribes beyond the valley of Arabah.
He soon afterwards established himself in
Mount Seir ; still retaining, however, some
interest in his father's property in Southern
Palestine. He was residing in Mount Seir
when Jacob returned from Padan-aram, and
had then become so rich and powerful that the
impressions of his brother's early offences
seem to have been almost completely effaced.
It does not appear that the brothers again

PLAIN OF ESDRABLON.

To face p. 165.

165

ESHCOL

met until the death of their father about
20 years afterwards. They united in laying
Isaac's body in the cave of Machpelah. Of
Esau's subsequent history nothing is known ;
for that of his descendants see Edom.
E'SAY, the form of the name of Isaiah in
Ecclus. xlviii. 20, 22 ; 2 Esd. ii. 18. [Isaiah.]
ESDllAE'LON. This name is merely the
Greek form of the Hebrew word Jezreel. It
occurs ^in this exact shape only twice in the
A. V. (Jud. iii. 9, iv. 6). In Jud. iii. 3 it is
Esdeaelom, and in i. 8 Esdrelom, with the
addition of " the great plain." In the O. T.
the plain is called the Valley of Jezreel;
by Josephus " the great plain." The name
is derived from the old royal city of Jezrerl,
which occupied a commanding site, near the
eastern extremity of the plain, on a spur of
Mount Gilboa. " The Great plain of Esdrae-
lon,! extends across Central Palestine from
the Mediterranean to the Jordan, separating
the mountain ranges of Carmel and Samaria
from those of Galilee. The western section
of it is properly the plain of Accho, or 'Akka.
The main body of the plain is a triangle. Its
base on the east extends from Jenin (the
ancient Engannim) to the foot of the hills
below Nazareth, and is about 15 miles long :
the north side, formed by the hills of Galilee,
is about 12 miles long; and the south side,
formed by the Samaria range, is about 18
( miles. The apex on the west is a narrow
Dass opening into the plain of 'Akka. From
the base of this triangular plain three branches
stretch out eastward, like fingers from a
hand, divided by two bleak, grey ridges — one
heaving the familiar name of Mount Gilboa;
the other called by Franks Little Hermon,
bat by natives Jebel ed-Duhy. The central
branch is the richest as well as the most
celebrated. This is the "Valley of Jezreel"
proper— the battle-field on which Gideon
U'iumphed, and Saul and Jonathan were over
thrown (Judg. vii. 1, sq. ; 1 Sam. xxix. and
Xxxi.). Two things are worthy of special
notice in the plain of Esdraelon. 1. its
wonderful richness. 2. its desolation. If
we except the eastern branches, there is not
a single inhabited village on its whole sur
face, and not more than one-sixth of its soil
is cultivated. It is the home of the wild
Wandering Bedouin.
ES'DKAS. The form of the name of Ezra
the scribe in 1 and 2 Esdras.
ES'DRAS, FIRST BOOK OF, the first in
order of the Apociyphal books in the English
l"ble. It was never known to exist in
Hebrew and formed no part of the Hebrew
Canon. As regards the contents or" the book,
and the author or authors of it— the fh^t
Chapter is a transcript of the two last chapters

of 2 Chr. for the most part verbatim, and only
in one or two parts slightly abridged and
paraphrased. Chapters iii., iv., and v., to
the end of v. 6, are the original portions of
the book, and the rest is a transcript more or
less exact of the book of Ezra, with the
chapters transposed and quite otherwise ar
ranged, and a portion of Nehemiah. Hence
a twofold design in the compiler is discernible.
One to introduce and give Scriptural sanction
to the legend about Zerubbabel ; the other to
explain the great obscurities of the book of
Ezra, in which however he has signally failed.
As regards the time and place when the com
pilation was made, the original portion is
that which alone affords much clue. This
seems to indicate that the writer was tho
roughly conversant with Hebrew, even if he
did not write the book in that language. He
was well acquainted too with the books of
Esther and Daniel (1 Esdr. iii. 1, 2 sqq.), and
other books of Scripture (ib. 20, 21, 39, 41,
&c, and 45 compared with Ps. cxxxvii. 7).
But that he did not live under the Persian
kings, appears by the undiscriminating way
in which he uses promiscuously the phrase
Medes and Persians, or, Persians and Medes,
according as he happened to be imitating the
language of Daniel or of the book of Esther.
ES'DRAS, THE SECOND BOOK OF, in
the English Version of the Apocrypha, and so
called by the author (2 E^dr. i. 1). The
original title, " the Apocalypse of Ezra," is
far more appropriate. Chapters iii. -xiv. con
sist of a series of angelic revelations and
visions in which Ezra is instructed in some
of the great mysteries of the moral world, and
assured of the final triumph of the righteous.
The date of the book is uncertain, but there
can be no doubt that it is a genuine product
of Jewish thought. The Apocalypse was pro
bably written in Egypt ; the opening and
closing chapters certainly were. Though this
book is included among those which are
"read for examples of life" by the English
Church, no use of it is there made in public
worship. E'SEK, =¦- we'll, which the herdsmen of
Isaac dug in the valley of Gerar (Gen.
xxvi. 20).
ESH-BA'AL, the fourth son of Saul, ac
cording to the genealogies of 1 Chr. viii. 3
and ix. 39, is doubtless the same person as
Isii-bosketh. ESH'BAN, a Horite ; one of the four sons
of Dishan (Gen. xxxvi. 26 ; 1 Chr. i. 41).
ESH'COL, brother of Mamre the Amorite,
and of Aner ; and one of Abraham's com
panions in his pursuit of the four kings who
had carried off Lot (Gen. xiv. 13, 24).
ESH'COL, THE VALLEY, OR THE

ESHEAN

1G6

ESTHER, BOOK OF

BROOK OF, a wady in the neighbourhood of
Hebron, explored by the spies who were sent
by Moses from Kadesh-barnea (Num. xxxiii.
9; Deut. i. 24). The name is still attached
to a spring of fine water called 'Ain-Eshhati,
in a valley about two miles north of Hebron.
ESH'EAN, one of the cities of Judah (Josh.
xv. 52).
E'SIIEK, a Benjamite, one of the late de
scendants of Saul (1 Chr. viii. 39).
ESH'KALONITES, THE, Josh. xiii. 3.
[ASHKELON.] ESH'TAOL, a town in the low country —
the Shefelah— of Judah, afterwards allotted to
Dan (Josh. xv. 33, xix. 41). Here Samson
spent his boyhood, and hither after his last
exploit his body was brought (Judg. xiii. 25,
xvi. 31, xviii. 2, 8, 11, 12).
ESHTEMO'A, and in shorter form ESHTE-
MOIl', a town of Judah, in the mountains
(Josh. xv. 50), allotted to the priests (xxi.
14 ; 1 Chr. vi. 57). It was one of the places
frequented by David and his followers during
the long period of their wanderings (1 Sam.
xxx. 28, comp. 31). Its site is at Semu'a, a
village seven miles south of Hebron. Eshte-
moa appears to have been founded by the
descendants of the Egyptian wife of a certain
Mered (1 Chr. iv. 17).
ESSE'NES, a Jewish sect, who, according
to the description of Josephus, combined the
ascetic virtues of the Pythagoreans and Stoics
with a spiritual knowledge of the Divine
Law. It seems probable that the name sig
nifies " seer," or " the silent, the mysterious."
As a sect the Essenes were distinguished by
an aspiration after ideal purity rather than
by any special code of doctrines. From the
Maccabacan age there was a continuous effort
among the stricter Jews to attain an absolute
standard of holiness. Each class of devotees
was looked upon as practically impure by
their successors, who carried the laws of
purity still further ; and the Essenes stand at
the extreme limit of the mystic asceticism
which was thus gradually reduced to shape.
To the Pharisees they stood nearly in the same
relation as that in which the Pharisees them
selves stood with regard to the mass of the
people. There were isolated communities
of Essenes, which were regulated by strict
rules, analogous to those of the monastic in
stitutions of a later date. All things were
held in common, without distinction of pro
perty; and special provision was made for the
relief of the poor. Self-denial, temperance,
and labour — especially agriculture — were the
marks of the outward life of the Essenes ;
purity and divine communion the objects of
their aspiration. Slavery, war, and com
merce were alike forbidden. Their best-

known settlements were on the N.W. shore
of the Dead Sea.
ES'THER, tbe Persian name of Habassah,
daughter of Abihail the son of Shimei, tbe son
of Kish, a Benjamite. Esther was a beautiful
Jewish maiden, whose ancestor Kish had
been among the captives led away from Jeru
salem by Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiachin
was taken captive. She was an orphan with
out father or mother, and had been brought
up by her cousin Mordecai, who had an office
in the household of Ahasuerus king of Persia,
and dwelt at " Shushan the palace." When
Vashti was dismissed from being queen, and
all the fairest virgins of the kingdom had
been collected at Shushan for the king to
make choice of a successor to her from among
them, the choice fell upon Esther. The king
was not aware, however, of her race and
parentage ; and so, on the representation of
Haman the Agagite that the Jews scattered
through his empire were a pernicious race, he
gave him full power and authority to kill
them all, young and old, women and children,
and take possession of their property. The
means taken by Esther to avert this great
calamity from her people and her kindred are
fully related in the book of Esther. History
is wholly silent both about Vashti and Esther.
Herodotus mentions only one of Xerxes'
wives ; Scripture mentions two only, if in
deed either of them were wives at all. It
seems natural to conclude that Esther, a cap
tive, and one of the harem, was not of the
highest rank of wives, but that a special
honour, with the name of queen, may
have been given to her, as to Vashti before
her, as the favourite concubine or inferior
wife, whose offspring, however, if she had
any, would not have succeeded to the Persian
throne. ES'THER, BOOK OF, one of the latest of
the canonical books of Scripture, having been
written late in the reign of Xerxes, or early
in that of his son Aitaxerxes Longimanus.
The author is not known, but may very pro
bably have been Mordecai himself. Those
who ascribe it to Ezra, or the men of the
Great Synagogue, may have merely meant
that Ezra edited and added it to the canon of
Scripture, which he probably did. The book
of Esther is placed among the hagioprapha
by the Jews, and in that first portion of them
which they call " the five rolls." It is some
times emphatically called Megillah (" roll"),
without other dislinction, and is read through
by the Jews in their synagogues at the feast
of Purim. It has often been remarked as a
peculiarity of this book that the name of God
does not once occur in it. The style of
writing is remarkably chaste and simple. It

ETAM

167

EUNUCH

does not in the least savour of romance. The
Hebrew is very like that of Ezra and parts of
[he Chronicles ; generally pure, but mixed
with some words of Persian origin, and some
of Caaklaic affinity. In short it is just what
one would expect to find in a work of the age
to which the book of Esther professes to belong.
As regards the Septuagint version of the
book, it consists of the canonical Esther with
various interpolations prefixed, interspersed,
and added at the close. Though, however,
the, interpolations of the Greek copy are thus
manifest, they make a consistent and in
telligible story. But the Apocryphal addi
tions as they are inserted in some editions of
the Latin Vulgate, and in the English Bible,
arcincomprehensible. E'fAM. 1. A village of the tribe of
Simeon, specified only in the list in I Chr.
iv, 32 (comp. Josh. xix. 7). — 2. A place in
Judah, fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam
(2 Chr. xi. 6). Here, according to the state
ments of Josephus and the Talmudists, were
the sources of the water from which Solomon's
gardens and pleasure-grounds were fed, and
Bethlehem and the Temple supplied.
E'TAM, THE ROCK, a cliff or lofty rock,
into a cleft or chasm of which Samson retired
after his slaughter of the Philistines (Judg.
xv. 8, 11). This natural stronghold was in
the tribe of Judah ; and near it, probably at
its foot, was Lehi or Ramath-lehi, and En-
hakkore (xv. 9, 14, 17, 19). The name
Etam was held by a city in the neighbourhood
of Bethlehem (2 Chr. xi. 6), which is known
to have been situated in the extremely uneven
and broken country round the modern Urtas.
Here is a fitting scene for the adventure of

E'THAM, one of the early resting-places of
the Israelites when they quitted Egypt, the
position of which may be very nearly fixed
in consequence of its being described as "in
the edge of the wilderness" (Ex. xiii. 20 ;
Num. xxxiii, 6, 7). Etham may be placed
where the cultivable land ceases, near the Seba
Biarov Seven Wells, about three miles from the
western side of the ancient head of the gulf.
ETHAN. 1. Ethan the Ezrahite, one
of the four sons of Mahol, whose wisdom was
excelled by Solomon (1 K. iv. 31 ; 1 Chr.
ii- 6,). His name is in the title of Ps. lxxxix. —
2. Son of Kishi or Kushaiah ; a Merarite
Invite, head of that family in the time of
king David (1 Chr. vi. 44), and spoken of as
a "singer." With Heman and Asaph, the
heads of the other two families of Levites,
Ethan was appointed to sound with cymbals
(xv. 17, 19).
ETH'ANIM. [Months.]
ETHBA'AL, king of Sidon and father of

Jezebel (1 Iv. xvi. 31). Josephus represents
him as king of the Tyrians as well as the
Sidonians. We may thus identify him with
Eithobalus, who, after having assassinated
Pbeles, usurped the throne of Tyre for 32
years. The date of Ethbaal's reign may be
given as about b.c. 940-908.
E'THER, one of the cities of Judah in the
low country, the Shefelali (Josh. xv. 42),
allotted to Simeon (xix. 7).
ETHIO'PIA. The country which the
Greeks and Romans described as " Aethiopia"
and the Hebrews as " Cush " lay to the S. of
Egypt, and embraced, in its most extended
sense, the modern Nubia, Sennaar, Kordofan,
and northern Abyssinia, and in its more
definite sense the kingdom of Meroe. Syene
marked the division between Ethiopia and
Egypt (Ez. xxix. 10). The Hebrews do not
appear to have had much practical acquaint
ance with Ethiopia itself, though tbe Ethio
pians were well known to them through their
intercourse with Egypt. The inhabitants of
Ethiopia were a Hainitic race (Gen. x; 6).
They were divided into various tribes, of
which the Sabaeans were the most powerful.
The history of Ethiopia is closely interwoven
with that of Egypt. The two countries were
not unfrequently united under the rule of the
same sovereign. Shortly before our Saviour's
birth a native dynasty of females, holding the
official title of Candace (Plin. vi. 35), held
sway in Ethiopia, and even resisted the
advance of the Roman arms. One of these is
the queen noticed in Acts viii. 27.
ETHIO'PIAN WOMAN. The wife of Moses
:s so described in Num. xii. 1. She is else
where said to have been the daughter of a
Midianite, and in consequence of this some
have supposed that the allusion is to another
wife whom Moses married after the death of
Zipporah .
ETHIOPIANS. Properly " Cush " or
"Ethiopia" in two passages (Is. xx. 4 ; Jer.
xlvi. 9). Elsewhere "Cushites," or inhabi
tants of Ethiopia (2 Chr. xii. 3, xiv. 12 [11],
13 [12], xvi. 8, xxi.. 16 ; Dan. xi. 43 ; Am.
ix. 7 ; Zeph. ii. 12).
EUBU'LUS, a Christian at Rome men
tioned by St. Paul (2 Tim. iv. 21).
EUER'GETES. [Ptolemy.]
EUNI'CE, mother of Timotheus (2 Tim. i.
5). EUNUCH. The law (Deut- xxiii. 1 ;
comp. Lev. xxii. 24) is repugnant to thus
treating any Israelite. The ¦ origination of
the practice is ascribed to Semiramis, and is
no doubt as early, or nearly so, as Eastern
despotism itself. The complete assimilation
of the kingdom of Israel, and latterly of Judah
to the neighbouring models of despotism, is

EUODIAS

163

EVANGELIST

traceable in the rank and prominence of
eunuchs [2 K. viii. 6, ix. 32, xxiii. 11, xxv.
19; Is. lvi. 3, 4; Jer. xxix. 2, xxxiv. 19,
xxxviii. 7, xli. 16, Hi. 25). They mostly ap
pear in one of two relations, either military
as " set over the men of war," greater
trustworthiness possibly counterbalancing
inferior courage and military vigour, or asso
ciated, as we mostly recognise them, with
women and children. Wc find the Assyrian
Rab-Saris, or chief eunuch (2 K. xviii. 17),
employed together with other high officials as
ambassador. It is probable that Daniel and
his companions were thus treated, in fulfil
ment of 2 K. xx. 17, 18; Is, xxxix. 7;
comp. Dan. i. 3, 7. The court of Herod of
course had its eunuchs, as had also that of
Queen Candoce (Acts viii. 2 7.)
EUO'DIAS, a Christian woman at Philippi
(Phil. iv. 2). The name is correctly Eu-
ODIA. EUPHRATES is probably a word of Aryan
origin, signifying " the good and abounding
river." It is most frequently denoted in
the Bible by the term "the river." The
Euphrates is the largest, the longest, and by
far the most important of the rivers of
Western Asia. It rises from two chief sources
in the Armenian mountains, and flows into
the Persian Gulf. The entire course is 1780
miles, and of this distance more than two-
thirds (1200 miles) is navigable for boats.
The width of the river is greatest at the
distance of 700 or 800 miles from its mouth
— that is to sny, from its junction with the
Kliabour to the village of Werai. It there
averages 400 yards. The annual inundation
of the Euphrates is caused by the melting of
the snows in the Armenian highlands. It
occurs in the month of May. The great
hydraulic works ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar
had for their chief object to control the inun
dation. The Euphrates is first mentioned in
Scripture as one of the four rivers of Eden
(Gen. ii. 14). Its celebrity is there suffi
ciently indicated by the absence of any ex
planatory, phrase, such as accompanies the
names of the other streams. We next hear
of it in the covenant made with Abraham
(Gen. xv. 18), where the whole country from
"the great river, the river Euphrates" to
the river of Egypt is promised to the chosen
race. During the reigns of David and Solo-
. mon the dominion of Israel actually attained
to the full extent both ways of the original
piomise, the Euphrates forming the boundary
of their empire to the N.E., and the river of
Egyptto the S.W. This wide-spread territory
was lost upon the disruption of the empire
under Rehoboam ; and no more is heard in
Scripture of the Euphrates until the expedition

of Necho against the Babylonians in the reign
of Josiah. The river still brings down as
much water as of old, but the precious ele
ment is wasted by the neglect of man ; the
various watercourses along which it was in
former times conveyed are dry : the main
channel has shrunk ; and the watc stagnates
in unwholesome marshes.
r-UPOL'EMUS, the " son of John, the boh
of Accos," one of the envoys sent to Kome
by Judas Maccabaeus, cir. u.c. 161 (1 Mace.
viii. 17; 2 Mace. iv. 11). He has been
identified with the historian of the same
name, but it is by no means clear that the
historian was of Jewish descent.
EUROC'LYDON, the name given (Acts
xxvii. 14) to the gale of wind which off the
south coast of Crete seized the ship in which
St. Paul was ultimately wrecked on the corsI
of Malta. It came down from the island, and
therefore must have blown, more or less,
from the northward.
EU'TYCHUS, a youth at Troas (Acts xx.
9), who sitting in a window, and having
fallen asleep while St. Paul was discoursing
far into the night, fell from the third story,
and being taken up dead, was miraculously
restored to life by the Apostle.
EVANGELIST, means *¦ the publisher
of glad tidings," and therefore seems com
mon to the work of the Christian ministry
generally ; yet in Eph. iv. 11, the "evange
lists " appear on the one hand after the
"apostles" and "prophets:" on the other
before the " pastors " and " teachers." ThiB
passage accordingly would lead us to think of
them as standing between the two other
groups — sent forth as missionary preacherfl
of the Gospel by the first, and as such pre
paring the way for the labours of the second.
The same inference would seem to follow the
occurrence of tbe word as applied to Philip
in Acts xxi. 8. It follows from what has
been said that the calling of the Evangelist is
the proclamation of the glad tidings to those
who have not known them, rather than the
instruction and pastoral care of those who
have believed and been baptised. It follows
also that the name denotes a work rather
than an order. The Evangelist might or
might not be a Bishop-Elder or a deacon.
The Apostles, so far as they evangelized (Acts
viii. 25, xiv. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 17), might cliiim
the title, though there were many Evange
lists who were not Apostles. If the Gospel
was a written book, and the office of the
Evangelists was to read or distribute it, then
the writers of such books were preeminently
the Evangelists. In later liturgical language
the word was applied to the reader of the
Gospel for the day.

EVE

169

EXCOMMUNICATION

EVE, the name given in Scripture to the
first woman. The account of Eve's creation
is found at Gen. ii. 21, 22.- Perhaps that
which we are chiefly intended to learn from
the narrative is the foundation upon which
the union between man and wife is built, viz.,
identity of nature and oneness of origin.
Through the subtilty of the serpent, Eve was
beguiled into a violation of the one command
ment which had been imposed upon her and
Adam. The Scripture account of Eve closes
with tbe birth of Seth.
E'VI, one of the five kings or princes of
Midian, slain by the Israelites (Num. xxxi.
8; Josh. xiii. 21).
E'VIL-MER'ODACH (2 K. xxv. 27), the
sqn and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. He
feigned but a short time, having ascended the
throne on the death of Nebuchadnezzar in
B.c. 561, and being himself succeeded by
Neriglissar in b.c 559. He was murdered
by Neriglissar.
, EXCOMMUNICATION. I. Jewish Excom
munication. — The Jewish system of excom
munication was threefold. For a first offence
a delinquent was subjected to the penalty of
Niddui. The twenty-four offences for which
it was inflicted are various, and range in
heinousness from the offence of keeping a
fierce dog to that of taking God's name in
vain. , The offender was first cited to appear
in court; and if he refused to appear or to
make amends, his sentence was pronounced.
The term of this punishment was thirty days ;
and it was extended to a second and to a
third thirty days when necessary. If at the
end of that time the offender was still
contumacious, he was subjected to the second
excommunication termed Cherem, a word
meaning something devoted to God (Lev.
xxvii. 21, 28 ; Ex. xxii. 20 [19] ; Num.
xviii. H). Severer penalties were now
attached. The sentence was delivered by a
court of ten, and was accompanied by a
solemn malediction. Lastly followed Sham
mdthd, which was an entire cutting off from
thecongrcgation. .The punishment of excom
munication is not appointed by the Law of
Moses. It is founded on the natural right of
self-protection which all societies enjoy. The
case of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num.
xvi.), the curse denounced on Meroz (Judg.
v; 23), the commission and proclamation of
Ezra (vii. 26, x. 8), and the reformation of
Neheniiah (xiii. 25), are appealed to by the
Girondists as precedents by which their pro
ceedings are regulated. In the New Testa
ment, Jewish excommunication is brought
prominently before us in the case of the man
that was born blind (John ix.). The ex
pressions here used refer, no doubt,, to the

first form of excommunication, or Niddui.
In Luke vi. 22, it has been thought that our
Lord referred specifically to the three forms
of Jewish excommunication : " Blessed are ye
when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and, shall
reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,
for the Son of Man's sake." The three words
very accurately express the simple separation,
the additional malediction, and the final ex
clusion of niddui, cherem, and shammdthd. —
II. Cliristian Excommunication. — Excom
munication, as exercised by the Christian
Church, is not merely founded on the natural
right possessed by all societies, nor merely on
the example of the Jewish Church and nation.
It was instituted by our Lord (Matt, xviii.
15, 18), and it was practised and commanded
by St. Paul (1 Tim. i. 20 ; 1 Cor. v. 11 ; Tit.
iii. 10). In the Epistles we find St. Paul
frequently claiming the right to exercise
discipline over his converts (comp. 2 Cor.
i. 23, xiii. 10). In two cases we find him
exercising this authority to the extent of
cutting off offenders from the Church.
What is the full meaning of the expres
sion, " deliver unto Satan," is doubtful.
All agree that excommunication is con
tained in it, but whether it implies any further
punishment, inflicted by the extraordinary
powers committed specially to the Apostles,
has been questioned. Introduction into the
Church is, in St. Paul's mind, a translation
from the kingdom and pow er of Satan to the
kingdom and government of Christ. This
being so, he could hardly more naturally de
scribe the effect of excluding a man from
the Church than by the words, " deliver him
unto Satan." In addition to the claim to ex
ercise discipline, and its actual exercise in
the form of excommunication, by the Apostles,
we find Apostolic precepts directing that dis
cipline should be exercised by the rulers of
tlie Church, and that in some cases excom
munication should be resorted to (2 Thess.
iii. 14; Rom. xvi. 17; Gal. v. 12; 1
Tim. vi. 3 ; Tit. iii. 10 ; 2 John 10 ; 3 John
10 ; Rev. ii. 20). There are two passages
still more important to our subject (Gal. i. 8,
9 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 22). It has been supposed
that these two expressions, "let him he
Anathema," " let him be Anathema Maran-
atha," refer respectively to the two later
stages of Jewish excommunication — the che
rem and the shammdthd. The Nature of
Excommunication is made more evident by
the acts of St. Paul than by any investigation
of Jewish practice or of the etymology of
words. We thus find, (1) that it is a
spiritual penalty, involving no temporal pun
ishment, except accidentally ; (2) that it con-

EXILE

170

EZEKIEL

sists in separation from the communion of
the Church ; (3) that its object is the good of
the sufferer (1 Cor. v. 5), and the protection
of the sound members of the Church (2 Tim.
iii. 17); (4) that its subjects are those who
are guilty of heresy (1 Tim. i. 20), or gross
immorality (1 Cor. v. 1) ; (5) that it is in
flicted by the authority of the Church at
large (Matt, xviii. 18), wielded by the high
est ecclesiastical officer (1 Cor. v. 3 ; Tit. iii.
10) ; (6) that this officer's sentence is pro
mulgated by the congregation to which the
offender belongs (1 Cor. v. 4), in deference
to his superior judgment and command (2
Cor. ii. 9), and in spite of any opposition on
the part of a minority (7/;. 6) ; (7) that the
exclusion may be of indefinite duration, or for
a period; (8) that its duration may be
abridged at the discretion and by the in
dulgence of the person who has imposed the
penalty (lb. 8) ; (9) that penitence is the
condition on which restoration to commun
ion is granted (Ib. 7) ; (10) that the sentence
is to be publicly reversed as it was publicly
promulgated (Lb. 10).
EXILE. [Captivity.]
EX'ODUS (that is, going out [of Egypt]),
the second book of the Law or Pentateuch,
It may be divided into two principal parts :
I. Historical, i. 1-xviii. 27 ; and II. Legis
lative, xix. 1-xl. 38. The former of these
maybe subdivided into (1.) the preparation
for the deliverance of Israel from their bond
age in Egypt ; (2.) the accomplishment of
that deliverance. I. (1.) The first section
(i. 1-xii. 36) contains an account of the
following particulars : — The great increase
of Jacob's posteiity in the land of Egypt, and
their oppression under a new dynasty, which
occupied the throne after the death of Joseph
(ch. i.) ; the birth, education, and flight of
Moses (ii.) ; his solemn call to be the de
liverer of his people (iii. 1-iv. 17), and his
return to Egypt in consequence (iv. 18-31) ;
his first ineffectual attempt to prevail upon
Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, which only
resulted in an increase of their burdens (v.
1-21) ; a further preparation of Moses and
Aaron for their office, together with the ac
count of their genealogies (v. 22-vii. 7) ;
the successive signs and wonders, by means
of which the deliverance of Israel from the
land of bondage is at length accomplished,
and the institution of the Passover (vii. 8-xii.
36). (2.) A narrative of events from the
departure out of Egypt to the arrival of the
Israelites at Mount Sinai. II. The solemn
establishment of the Theocracy on Mount
Sinai. This book in short gives a sketch of
the early history of Israel as a nation : and
the history has three clearly marked stages.

First we see a nation enslaved ; next n
nation redeemed ; lastly a nation set apart,
and through the blending of its religious and
political life consecrated to the serVice of God.
EX'ODUS, THE, of the Israelites from
Egypt. On the date of this event, see Egypt,
p. 149. The history of the Exodus itself
commences with the close of that of the Ten
Plagues. [Puguesop Egypt.] In the night
in which, at midnight, tho firstborn were
slain (Ex. xii. 29), Pharaoh urged the de
parture of the Israelites (ver. 31, 32). They
at once set forth from Kameses (ver. 37,39),
apparently during the night (ver. 42), but
towards morning, on the 15th day of the first
month (Num. xxxiii. 3). They made three
journeys and encamped by the Red Sea. Hero
Pharaoh overtook them, and the great miracle
occurred by which they were saved, while tho
pursuer and his army were destroyed. [Ren
Sea, Passage of.]
EXORCIST. The use of the term exor
cists in Acts xix. 13 confirms what we know
from other sources as to the common practice
of exorcism amongst the Jews. That some,
at least, of thein not only pretended to, but
possessed, the power of exorcising, appears
by our Lord's admission when he asks the
Pharisees, " If I by Beelzebub cast out devils,
by whom do your disciples cast them out I"
(Matt. xii. 27). What means were employed
by real exorcists we are not informed..
David, by playing skilfully on a harp, pro
cured the temporary departure of the evil
spirit which troubled Saul (1 Sam. xvi. 23).
It was the profane use of the name of Jesus
as a mere charm or spell which led to the
disastrous issue recorded in the ActB of the
Apostles (xix. 13-16). The power of casting
out devils was bestowed by Christ while on
earth upon the Apostles (Matt. x. 8) and the
seventy disciples (Luke x. 17-19), and was,
according to His promise (Mark xvi. 17),
exercised by believers after" His Ascension
(Acts xvi. 18) ; but to the' Christian miracle,
whether as performed by our Lord himself or
by His followers, the N. T. writers never
apply the terms " exorcise " or " exorcist." j
EXPIATION. [Sacrifice]
EZE'KIEL, one of the four greater pro
phets, was the son of a priest named Buzi, and
was taken captive in the captivity of Jehoia
chin, eleven years before the destruction of
Jerusalem. He was a member of a commu
nity of Jewish exiles who settled on the
banks of the Chebar, a '.' river " or stream ol
Babylonia. It was by this river " in the
land of the Chaldaeans " that God's message
first reached him (i. 3). His call took place
" in the fifth year of king Jchoiachin's cap
tivity," b.c. 595 (i. 2), " in the thirtieth

EZION-GABER

171

EZRA

year in the fourth month." The latter ex
pression is uncertain. It now seems gene
rally agreed that it was the 30th year from
the new era of Nabopolassar, father of Nebu
chadnezzar, who began to .reign b.c. 625.
The use of this Chaldee epoch is the more
appropriate as the prophet wrote in Babylo
nia, and he gives a Jewish chronology in
ver. 2, The decision of the question is the
less important because in all other places
Ezekiel dates from the year of Jehoiachin's
captivity (xxix. 17, xxx. 20, et passim).
We learn from an incidental allusion (xxiv.
lft)— the only reference which be makes to
his' personal history— that he was married,
and had a house (viii. 1) in his place of exile,
and lost his wife by a sudden and unforeseen
stroke. He lived in the highest considera
tion among his companions hi exile, and
their elders consulted him on all occasions
(viii. 1, xi. 25, xiv. 1, xx. 1, &c). The last
date he mentions is the 27 th year of the
cSptivity (xxix. 17), so that his mission ex
tended over twenty-two years, during part of
which period Daniel was probably living, and
already famous (Ez. xiv. 14, xxviii. 3). He
is said to have been murdered in Babylon by
some Jewish prince whom he had convicted
ofibMatry, and to have been buried in the
tomb of Shem and Arphaxad, on the banks of
the Euphrates. The tomb, said to have been
built by Jehoiachin, was shown a few days'
journey from Bagdad. Ezekiel was distin
guished by his stern and inflexible energy of
will and character ; and we also observe a
devoted adherence to the rites and ceremonies
of his national religion. The depth of his
matter, and the marvellous nature of his
visions, make him occasionally obscure. The
book is divided into two great parts — of
which the destruction of Jerusalem is the
turning-point; chapters i.- xxiv. contain pre
dictions delivered before that event, and
xxv.-xlviii. after it, as we see from xxvi. 2.
Again, chapters i.-xxxii. are mainly occupied
with correction, denunciation, and reproof,
while'the remainder deal chiefly in consola
tion and promise. A parenthetical section in
the middle of the book (xxv.-xxxii.) contains
a-group- of prophecies against seven foreign
nations, the septenary arrangement bping
apparently intentional. There are no direct
quotations from Ezekiel in the New Testa
ment, but in the Apocalypse there are many
parallels and obvious allusions to the later
chnpters (xl.-xlviii.).
K'ZION - GA'BER, or E'ZION - GE'BER
(Num. xxxiii. 35 ; Deut. ii. 8 ; 1 K. ix. 26,
xxii. 48; 2 Chr. viii. 17), the last station
named for the encampment of the Israelites
before they came to the wilderness of Zin.

It probably stood at Ain el-Ghudydn, about
ten miles up what is now the dry bed of the
Arabah, but which was probably then the
northern end of the gulf.
EZ'RA, called Esdras in the Apocrypha,
the famous Scribe and Priest, descended from
Hilkiah the high-priest in Josiah's reign, from
whose younger son Azariah sprung Seraiah,
Ezra's father, quite a different person from
Seraiah the high-priest (Ezr. vii. 1). All
that is really known of Ezra is contained in
the four last chapters of the book of Ezra
and in Neh. viii. and xii. 26. From these
passages we learn that he was a learned an
pious priest residing at Babylon in the time
of Artaxerxes Longimanus. The origin of
his influence with the king does not appear,
but in the seventh year of his reign, in spite
of the unfavourable report which had been
sent by Rehum and Shimshai, he obtained
leave to go to Jerusalem, and to take with
him a company of Israelites, together with
priests, Levites, singers, porters, and Nethi-
nim. The journey of Ezra and his com
panions from Babylon to Jerusalem took just
four months ; and they brought up with them
a large free-will offering of gold and silver,
and silver vessels. It appears that his great
design was to effect a religious reformation
among the .Palestine Jews, and to bring them
back to the observation of the Law of Moses,
from which they had grievously declined.
His first step, accordingly, was to enforce a
separation from their wives upon all who
had made heathen marriages, in which num
ber were many priests and Levites, as well as
other Israelites. This was effected in little
more than six months after his arrival at
Jerusalem. With the detailed account of this
important transaction Ezra's autobiography
ends abruptly, and we hear nothing more of
him till, 13 years afterwards, in the 20th of
Artaxerxes, we find him again at Jerusalem
with Nehemiah " the Tirshatha." It seems
probable that after he had effected the above-
named reformation, and had appointed com
petent judges and magistrates, with authority
to maintain it, he himself returned to the
king of Persia. The functions he executed
under Nehemiah's government were purely
of a priestly and ecclesiastical character. But
in such he filled the first place. As Ezra is
not mentioned after Nehemiah's departure
for Babylon in the 32nd Artaxerxes, and as
everything fell into confusion during Nehe
miah's absence (Neh. xiii.), it is not unlikely
that Ezra may have died or returned to
Babylon before that year. There was a Jew
ish tradition that he was buried in Persia.
The principal works ascribed to him by the
Jews are : — 1. The institution of the Great

EZRA, BOOK OF

FALLOW-DEER

Synagogue. 2. The settling the canon of
Scripture, and restoring, correcting, and
editing the whole sacred volume. 3. The
introduction of the Ohaldce character instead
of the old Hebiew or Samaritan. 4. The au
thorship of the books of Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, and, some add, Esther ; and, nnmy
of the Jews say, also of the books of Ezekiel,
Daniel, and the twelve prophets. 5. The
establishment of synagogues.
EZ'RA, BOOK OF, is a continuation of the
books of Chronicles. Like these books, it
consists of the contemporary historical jour
nals kept from thi.c to time, which were after
wards strung together, and either abridged
or added to, as the case required, by a later
hand. That later hand, in the book of Ezra,
was doubtless Ezra's own, as appears by the
four last chapters, as \\ ell as by other matter
inserted in the previous chapters. The chief
portion of the last chapter of 2 Chr. and Ezr.
i. was probably written by Daniel. As re
gards Ezr. ii., and as far as iii. 1, it is found
(with the exception of clerical errors) in the
7th ch. of Neheniiah, where it belongs beyond
a shadow of doubt. T^e next portion ex
tends from iii. 2 to the end of ch. vi. With
the exception of one laige explanatory addi
tion by Ezra, extending from iv. 6 to 23,
this portion is the work of a writer contem
porary with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and an
eye-witness of the rebuilding of the Temple
in the beginning of the reign of Darius Hy-
staspis. That it was the prophet Haggai be
comes tolerably sure when we observe further
the remarkable coincidences in style. Ezr.
iv. 6-23 is a parenthetic addition by a much
later hand, and, as the passage most clearly
shows, made in the reign of Artaxerxes
Longimanus. The compiler who inserted ch.
ii., a document drawn up in the reign of
Artaxerxes to illustrate the return of the
captives under Zerubbabel, here inserts a
notice of two historical facts — of which one
occurred in the reign of Xerxes, and the
other in the reign of Artaxerxes — to illustrate
the opposition offered by the heathen to the
rebuilding of the Temple in the reign of
Cyrus and Cambyses. The last four chapters,
beginning with ch. vii., are Ezra's own, and
continue the history after a gap of fifty-
eight years — from the sixth of Darius to the
seventh of Artaxerxes. It is written partly in
Hebrew, and partly in Chaldee. The Chaldee
begins at iv. 8, and continues to the end of
vi. 18. The letter or decree of Artaxerxes,
vii. 12-26, is also given in the original Chal
dee. The period covered by the book is
eighty years, from the first of Cyrus, n.c.
536, to the beginning of the eighth of Ar
taxerxes b.c. 456.

F

ABLE. Of the fable, as distinguished
from the Parable [Parable], we have
but two examples in the Bible, (1.) that of
the trees choosing their king, addressed by
Jotham to the men of Shechem (Judg. i\.
8-15) ; (2.) that of the cedar of Lebanon and
the thistle, as the answer of Jehoash to the
challenge of Amaziah (2 K. xiv. 9). The
fables of false teachers claiming to belong to
the Christian church, alluded to by writers
of the N. T. (1 Tim. i. 4, iv. 7 ; 'Jit. i, 14 ;
2 Pet. i. 16), do not appear to have had the
character of fables, properly so called.
FAIR HAVENS, a harbour in tlie island
of Cheth (Acts xxvii. 8), though not men
tioned in any other ancient writing, is still
known by its own Greek name, and appears
to have been the harbour of Lasaea. These
places are situated four or five miles to the
E. of Cape Matalu, which is the most con
spicuous headland on the S. coast of Crete,
and immediately to the W. of which the coast
trends suddenly to the N.
FAIRS, a word which occurs only in Ez.
xxvii. and there no less than seven times
(ver. 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 27, 33) : in the last
of these verses it is rendered "wares," and
this we believe to be the true meaning of the
word throughout.
FALLOW-DEER (Heb. yachmur). The
Heb. word, which is mentioned only in Deut.
xiv. 5 nnd in 1 K. iv. 23, is probably the
Alcelaphus bv.baiis of Barbary and N. Africa.
It is about the size of a stag and lives in herds.

£ltlup/itis buLoiu.

FAMINE

173

FASTS

FAMINE. In the whole of Syria and
Arabia, the fruits of the earth must ever be
dependent on rain; the watersheds having
few large springs, and the small rivers not
being sufficient for the irrigation of even the
level lands. If therefore the heavy rains of
November and December fail, the sustenance
of the people is cut off in the parching drought
0f harvest-tune, when the country is almost
devoid of moisture. Egypt, again, owes all
its fertility to its mighty river, whose annual
rise inundates nearly the whole land. The
causes of dearth and famine in Egypt are
occasioned by defective inundation, preceded
and jaccompanied and followed by prevalent
easterly and southerly winds. The first fa
mine recorded in the Bible is that of Abraham
after he had pitched his tent on the east of
Bethel (Gen. xii. 10). We may conclude that
this famine was extensive, although this is
not quite proved by the fact of Abraham's
going to Egypt ; for on the occasion of the
second famine, in the days of Isaac, this pa
triarch found refuge with Abimelech king of
the Philistines in Gerar (Gen. xxvi. 1 sq.).
We hear no more of times of scarcity until
the great famine of Egypt which " was over
all the face of the earth." We have men
tioned the chief causes of famines in Egypt :
this instance differs in the providential re
currence of seven years of plenty, whereby
Joseph was enabled to provide against the
coming dearth, and to supply not only the
population of Egypt with corn, but those of
the surrounding countries (Gen. xli. 53-57).
The modern history of Egypt throws some
curious light on these ancient records of fa
mines; and instances of their recurrence
may be cited to assist us in understanding
their course and extent. The most remark
able famine was that of the reign of the
Ffitimee Khaleefeh, El-Mustansir billah,
Ttfuch is the only instance on record of one
tven years' duration in Egypt since the
of Joseph (a.h. 457-464, a.d. 1064-
)#Vehement drought and pestilence con-
ida for seven consecutive years, so that
|the^eople ate corpses, and animals that died
laelves. - The famine of Samaria re
eled it in many particulars ; and that
prjvbriefly recorded in 2 K. viii. 1, 2, affords
Wither instance of one of seven years. In
tabia, famines are of frequent occurrence.
VAUTHING. Two names of coins in the
p.'T.,are rendered in the A. V. bythis word.
-1. Koipavrris, quadrans (Matt. v. 26 ; Mark
^Mi. 42), a coin current in Palestine in the
. ™e of Our Lord. It was equivalent to two
jlepta(A.V. "mites"). The name quadrans
?as originally given to the quarter of the
«wnan as, or piece of three unciae, therefore

also called teruncius. — 2. aao-dptov (Matt. x.
29 ; Luke xii. 6), properly a small as, assa-
rium, but in the time of Our Lord used as
the Gr. equivalent of the Lat. as. The ren
dering of the Vulg. in Luke xii. 6 makes it
probable that a single coin is intended by-
two assaria.
FASTS. — I. One fast only was appointed
by the law, that on the day of Atonement.
There is no mention of any other periodical
fast in the O. T., except in Zech. vii. 1-7,
viii. 19. From these passages it appears that
the Jews, during their captivity, observed
four annual fasts, in the fourth, fifth, seventh,
and tenth months. Zechariah simply dis
tinguishes the fasts by the months in which
they were observed ; but the Mishna and
St. Jerome give statements of certain his
torical events which they were intended to
commemorate. The number of annual fasts
in the present Jewish Calendar has been
multiplied to twenty-eight. — II. Public fasts
were occasionally proclaimed to express na
tional humiliation, and to supplicate divine
favour. In the case of public danger, the
proclamation appears to have been accom
panied with the blowing of trumpets (Joel ii.
1-15). The following instances are recorded
of strictly national fasts : — Samuel gathered
" all Israel " to Mizpeh and proclaimed a
fast (1 Sam. vii. 6) ; Jehoshaphat appointed
one "throughout all Judah" when he was
preparing for war against Moab and Ammon
(2 Chr. xx. 3) ; in the reign of Jehoiakim,
one was proclaimed for " all the people in
Jerusalem and all who came thither out of
the cities of Judah," when the prophecy of
Jeremiah was publicly read by Baruch (Jer.
xxxvi. 6-10; cf. Baruch i. 5); three days
after the feast of Tabernacles, when the
second temple was completed, "the children
of Israel assembled with fasting and with
sackclotbes and earth upon them " to hear
the law read, and to confess their sins (Neh.
ix. 1). There are references to general fasts
in the Prophets (Joel i. 14, ii. 15 ; Is. lviii.),
and two are noticed in the books of the Mac
cabees (1 Mace. iii. 46-47; 2 Mace. xiii. 10-
12). — III. Private occasional fasts are re
cognised in one passage of the law (Num.
xxx. 13). The instances given of individuals
fasting under the influence of grief, vexation.
or anxiety, are numerous. — IV. In the N. T.
the only references to the Jewish fasts are
the mention of "the Fast," in Acts xxvii. 9
(generally understood to denote the Day of
Atonement), and the allusions to the weekly
fasts (Matt. ix. 14 ; Mark ii. 18 ; Luke v. 33,
xviii. 12 ; Acts x. 30). These fasts origin
ated some time after the captivity. They
were observed on the second and fifth days of

FAT

174

FESTIVALS

the week, which being appointed as the days
for public fasts, seem to have been selected
for these private voluntary fists. — V. The
Jewish fascs were observed with various de
grees of strictness. Sometimes there was en
tire abstinence from food (Esth. iv. 16, &e.).
On other occasions, there appears to have
been only a restriction to a very plain diet
(Dan. x. 3). Those who fasted frequently
dressed in sackcloth or rent their clothes, put
ashes on their head and went barefoot (1 K.
xxi. 27 ; Neh. ix. 1 ; Ps. xxxv. 13).— VI.
The sacrifice of the personal will, which gives
to fasting all its value, is expressed in the
old term used in the law, afflicting the soul.
FAT. The Hebrews distinguished between
the suet or pure fat of an animal, and the fat
which was intermixed with the lean (Neh.
viii. 10). Certain restrictions were imposed
upon them in reference to the former : some
parts of the suet, viz., about the stomach,
the entrails, the kidneys, and the tail of a
sheep, which grows to an excessive size in
many eastern countries, and produces a large
quantity of rich fat, were forbidden to be eaten
in the case of animals offered to Jehovah in
sacrifice (Lev. iii. 3, 9, 17, vii. 3, 23). The
ground of the prohibition was that the fat
was the richest part of the animal, and there
fore belonged to Him (iii. 16). The pre
sentation of the fat as the richest part of the
animal was agreeable to the dictates of natural
feeling, and was the ordinary practice even of
heathen nations. The burning of the fat of
sacrifices was particularly specified in each
kind of offering.
FAT, i. e. Vat. The word employed in the
A. V. to translate the Hebrew term yckeb, in
Joel ii. 24, iii. 13. The word commonly
used for yekeb is " winepress " or " winefat,"
and once "pressfat" (Hag. ii. 16). The
*' vats " appear to have been excavated out
of the native rock of the hills on which the
vineyards lay.
FATHER. The position and authority of
the father as the head of the family is ex
pressly assumed and sanctioned in Scripture,
as a likeness of that of the Almighty over His
creatures. It lies of course at the root of
that so-called patriarchal government (Gen.
iii. 16 ; 1 Cor. xi. 3), which was introductory
to the more definite systems which followed,
and which in part, but not wholly, super
seded it. The father's blessing was regarded
as conferring special benefit, but his male
diction special injury, on those on whom it
fell (Gen. ix. 25, 27, xxvii. 27-40, xlviii.
15, 20, xlix.) ; and so also the sin of a parent
was held to affect, in certain cases, the wel
fare of his descendants (2 K. v. 27). The
command to honour parents is noticed by

St. Paul as the only one of the Decalogue
which bore a distinct promise (lix. xx. 12;
Eph. vi. 2), and disrespect towards them was
condemned by the Law as one of the worst
of crimes (Ex. xxi. 15, 17 ; lTim.i.9). It is
to this well recognised theory of parental au
thority and supremacy that the very various
uses of the term " father " in Scripture arc
due. " Fathers " is used in the sense of
seniors (Acts vii. 2, xxii. 1), and of parents
in general, or ancestors (Dan. v, 2; Jer.
xxvii. 7 ; Matt, xxiii. 30, 32),
FATHOM. [Measures.]
FEASTS. [Festivals.]
FE'LIX, a Roman procurator of Judaea,
appointed by the Emperor Claudius, whose
freedman he was, on the banishment of Yen-
tidius Cumanus in a.d. 53. Tacitus states
that Felix and Cumanus were joint procur
ators ; Cumanus having Galilee, and Felix
Samaria. Felix was the brother of Claudius's
powerful freedman Pallas. He ruled the
province in a mean, cruel, and profligate
manner. His period of office was full of
troubles and seditions. St. Paul was brought
before Felix in Caesarea. He was remanded
to prison and kept there two years, in hopes
of extorting money from him (Acts xxiv. 26,
27). At the end of that time Porcius Fcstus
[Festcs] was appointed to supersede Felix,
who, on his return to Rome, was accused by
the Jews in Caesarea, and would have suffered
the penalty due to his atrocities, had not his
brother Pallas prevailed with the Emperor
Nero to spare him. This was probably in
the year 60 a.d. The wife of Felix was
Drusilla, daughter of Herod Agrippa I., tbe
former wife of Azizus King of Emesa,
FERRET, one of the unclean creeping
things mentioned in Lev. xi. 30. The animal
referred to was probably u. reptile of the
lizard tribe. The Rabbinical writers seem
to have identified this animal with the
hedgehog. FESTIVALS. —I. The religious times or
dained in the Law fall under three heads:—
(1.) Those formally connected with the insti
tution of the Sabbath ; (2.) The historical or
great festivals ; (3.) The Day of Atonement,
— (1.) Immediately connected with the in
stitution of the Sabbath are— (a) The weekly
Sabbath itself, (b) The seventh new moon
or Feast of Trumpets, (c) The Sabbatical
Year, (d) The Year of Jubilee.— (2.) The
great feasts are : — (a) The Passover, (a)
The Feast of Pentecost, of Weeks, of Wheat-
harvest, or, of the First-fruits, (c) The
Feast of Tabernacles, or of Ingathering. Oil
each of these occasions every male Israelite
was commanded " to appear before the Lord,"
that is, to attend in the court of the taber-

FESTUS, PORCIUS

17;:

FIRMAMENT

nacle or the temple, and to make his offering
with a joyful heart (Deut. xxvii. 7 ; Neh.
viii. 9-12). The attendance of women was
voluntary, but the zealous often went up to
the Passover. On all the days of Holy Con
vocation there was to be an entire suspension
of ordinary labour of all kinds (Ex. xii. 16 ;
Lev. xvi. 29, xxiii. 21, 24, 25, 35). But on
the intervening days of the longer festivals
work might be carried on. Besides their re
ligious purpose, the great festivals must have
had an important bearing on the maintenance
of a feeling of national unity. The frequent
recurrence of the sabbatical number in the
organization of these festivals is too remark
able to be passed over, and seems when viewed
in connexion with the sabbatical sacred times,
to furnish a strong proof that the whole sys
tem of the festivals of the Jewish law was
the product of one mind. The agricultural
significance of the three great festivals is
'clearly set forth in the account of the Jewish
'sacred year contained in Lev. xxiii. The
times of the festivals were evidently ordained
in wisdom, so as to interfere as little as pos
sible with the industry of the people. — (3.)
For the Day of Atonement see that article. —
II. After the captivity, the Feast of Purim
(Esth. ix. 20 sq.) and that of the Dedication
(1 Mace. iv. 56) were instituted.
i'FES'TUS, POR'CITJS, successor of Felix as
procurator of Judaea (Acts xxiv. 27), sent by
, Nero probably in the autumn of the year
CO a.d. A few weeks after Festus reached
his province he heard the cause of St. Paul,
who had been left a prisoner by Felix, in the
presence of Herod Agrippa II. and Bernice
his sister (Acts xxv. 11, 12). Judaea was in
the same disturbed state during the procu-
ratoi-ship of Festus, which had prevailed
through that of his predecessor. He died
probably in the summei of 62 a.d., having
ruled the province less than two years.
FIG, FIG-TREE (Heb. teendh), a word of
frequent occurrence in the 0. -T., where it
signifies the tree Ficus Carica of Linnaeus,
and also its fruit. The fig-tree is very com
mon in Palestine (Deut. viii. 8). Mount
Olivet was famous for its fig-trees in ancient
times, and they are still found there. "To
Bit under one's own vine and one's own fig-
tree " became a proverbial expression among
¦ the Jews to denote peace and prosperity ( 1
K. iv. 25 ; Mic. iv. 4 ; Zech. iii. 10).
FIR (Heb. Urosh, Urdth Is. xiv. 8 ; Ez.
xxvii. 5; &c). As the term " cedar" is in
all probability applicable to more than one
tree, so also *¦ fir " in the A. V. represents
, probably one or other of the following trees :
— 1. Pinus sylvestris, or Scotch fir ; 2. larch;
3. Cupressus sempervirens, or cypress, all

which arc at this day found in the Le
banon. FIRE is represented as the symbol of
Jehovah's presence, and the instrument of
his power, in the way cither of approval or
of destruction (Ex. iii. 2, xiv. 19, &c).
Parallel with this application of fire and with
its symbolical meaning is to be noted the
similar use for sacrificial purposes, and the
respect paid to it, or to the heavenly bodies
as symbols of deity, which prevailed among
so many nations of antiquity, and of which
tbe traces are not even now extinct : c. g.
the Sabaean and Magiau systems of worship,
and their alleged connexion with Abraham ;
the occasional relapse of the Jews themselves
into sun-, or its corrupted form of fire-wor
ship (Is. xxvii. 9 ; Deut. xvii. 3, &c), the
worship or deification of heavenly bodies or
of fire, prevailing to some extent, as among
the Persians, so also even in Egypt. Fire
for sacred purposes obtained elsewhere than
from the altar was called " strange fire," and
for the use of such Nadab and Abihu were
punished with death by fire from God (Lev.
x. 1, 2 ; Num. iii. 4, xxvi. 61).
FIREPAN, one of the vessels of the
Temple service (Ex. xxvii. 3, xxxviii. 3 ; 2
K. xxv. 15 ; Jer. Iii. 19). The same word is
elsewhere rendered "snuff-dish" (Ex. xxv.
38, xxxvii. 23 ; Num. iv. 2) and "censer"
(Lev. x. 1, xvi. 12 ; Num. xvi. 6 ff.). There
appear, therefore, to have been two articles
so called : one, like a chafing-dish, to carry
live coals for the purpose of burning incense ;
another, like a snuffer-dish, to be used in
trimming the lamps, in order to carry the
snuffers and convey away the pnuff.
FIRKIN. [Weights and Mkasures,]
FIRMAMENT. The Hebrew term rdkia,
so translated, is generally regai'ded as ex
pressive of simple expansion, and is so ren
dered in the margin of the A. V. (Gen. i. 6).
The root mearjs to expand by beating,
whether by the hand, the foot, or any instru
ment. It is especially used of beating out
metals into thin plates (Ex. xxxix. 3 ; Num.
xvi. 39). The sense of solidity, therefore, is
combined with the ideas of expansion and
tenuity in the term. The same idea of
solidity runs through all the references to the
rdkia. In Ex. xxiv. 10, it is represented as
a solid floor. So again, in Ez. i. 22-26, the
*' firmament " is the floor ou which the
throne of the Most High is placed. Further,
the office of the rdkia in the economy of the
world demanded strength and substance. It
was to serve as a division between the waters
above and the waters below (Gen. i. 7). In
keeping with this view the rdkia was pro
vided with " windows " (Gen. vii. 11 ; Is.

FIRST-BORN

176

FITCHES

xxiv. 18 ; Mal. iii. 10) and "doors" (Ps.
lxxviii. 23), through which the rain and the
snow might descend. A secondary purpose
which the rdkia served was to support the
heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars (Gen.
i. 14), in which they were fixed as nails, and
from which, consequently, they might be said
to drop off ils. xiv. 12, xxxiv. 4 ; Matt.
xxiv. 29).
FIRST-BORN. Under the Law, in memory
of the Exodus, the eldest son was regarded
as devoted to God, and was in every case to
be redeemed by an offering not exceeding 5
shekels, within one month from birth. If
he died before the expiration of 30 days, the
Jewish doctors held the father excused, but
liable to the payment if he outlived that time
(Ex. xiii. 12-15, xxii. 29; Num. viii. 17,
xviii. 15,16; Lev. xxvii. 6). The eldest son
received a double portion of the father's in
heritance (Deut. xxi. 17), but not of the
mother's. Under the monarchy, the eldest
son usually, but not always, as appears in the
case of Solomon, succeeded his father in the
kingdom (1 K. i. 30, ii. 22). The male first
born of animals was also devoted to God (Ex.
xiii. 2, 12, 13, xxii. 29, xxxiv. 19, 20).
Unclean animals were to be redeemed with
the addition of one-fifth of the value, or else
put to death ; or, if not redeemed, to be sold,
and the price given to the priests (Lev.
xxvii. 13, 27, 28).
FIRST-FRUITS. 1. the Law ordered in
general, that the first of all ripe fruits and of
liquors, or, as it is twice expressed, the first
of first-fruits, should be offered in God's
house (Ex. xxii. 29, xxiii. 19, xxxiv. 26).
2. On the morrow after the Passover sabbath,
*'. e. on the 16th of Nisan, a sheaf of new corn
was to be brought to the priest, and waved
before the altar, in acknowledgment of the
gift of fruitfulness (Lev. xxiii. 5, 6, 10, 12,
ii. 12). 3. At the expiration of 7 weeks
from this time, *'. e. at the Feast of Pentecost,
an oblation was to be made of 2 loaves of
leavened bread made from the new flour,
which were to be waved in like manner with
the Passover sheaf ( Ex. xxxiv. 22 ; Lev.
xxiii. 15, 17 ; Num. xxviii. 26). 4. The
feast of ingathering, i. e. the Feast of Taber
nacles in the 7th month, was itself an ac
knowledgment of the fruits of the harvest
(Ex. xxiii. 16, xxxiv. 22 ; Lev. xxiii. 39).
These four sorts of offerings were national.
Besides them, the two following were of an
individual kind. 5. A cake of the first
dough that was baked, was to be offered as a
heave-offering (Num. xv. 19, 21). 6. The
first-fruits of the land were to be brought in
a basket to the holy place of God's choice,
and there presented to the priest, who was

to set the basket down before the altar (Deut.
xxvi. 2-11). — The offerings were the per
quisite of the priests (Num. xviii. 11 ; Deut.
xviii. 4). Nehemiah, at the Return from
Captivity, took pains to reorganize the offer
ings of first-fruits of both kinds, and to ap
point places to receive them (Noh. x. 35, 37,
xii. 44). An offering of first-fruits is men
tioned as an acceptable one to the prophet
Elisha (2 K. iv. 42).
FISH. The Hebrews recognised flsb as
one of the great divisions of the animal
kingdom, and, as such, give them a place in
the account of the creation (Gen. i. 21, 28),
as well as in other passages where au ex
haustive description of living creatures is in
tended (Gen. ix. 2 ; Ex. xx. 4; Deut. iv.
18; IK. iv. 33). The Mosaic law (Lev.
xi. 9, 10) pronounced unclean such fish as
were devoid of fins and scales : these were
and are regarded as unwholesome in Egypt.
Among the Philistines, Dagon was repre
sented by a figure, half man and half fish (1
Sam. v. 4). On this account the worship of
fish is expressly prohibited (Deut. iv. 18).
In Palestine, the Sea of Galilee was and still
is remarkably well stored with fish. Jeru
salem derived its supply chiefly from the
Mediterranean (comp. Ez. xlvii. 10). The
existence of a regular fish-market is implied
in the notice of the fish-gate, which was
probably contiguous to it (2 Chr. xxxiii. 14;
Neh. iii. 3, xii. 39'; Zeph. i. 10).
FITCHES (i. e. Vetches), the representa
tive in the A. V. of the two Heb. words
enssemeth and ketsach. As to the former sec
Rye. Ketsach denotes without doubt the
Nigella sativa, an herbaceous annual plant
belonging to the natural order Ranuneulaceae

*?,y^8

FLAG

177

FOOD

and sub-order Helleboreae, which grows in
the S. of Europe and in the N. of Africa.
FLAG, the representative in the A. V.
of the two Heb. words dchii and silph.
1. Acid, a word, according to Jerome, of
Egyptian origin, and denoting " any green
and coarse herbage, such as rushes and reeds,
which grows in marshy places." It seems
probable that some specific plant is denoted
in Job viii. 11. The word occurs once again
in Gen. lxi. 2, 18, where it is said that the
seven well-favoured kine came up out of the
river and fed in an dchii. It is perhaps the
Oyperus esculentus. 2. Suph (Ex. ii. 3, 5 ;
Is. xix. 6) appears to be used in a very wide
sense to denote " weeds of any kind."
FLAGON, a word employed in the A. V.
to render two distinct Hebrew terms : 1 .
4shisliah (2 Sam. vi. 19; 1 Chr. xvi. 3;
Cant. ii. 5; Hos. iii. 1). It really means a
cake of pressed raisins. 2. Nebel (Is. xxii.
24), is commonly used for a bottle or vessel,
originally probably a skin, but in later times
apiece of pottery (Is. xxx. 14).
FLAX. Two words are used for this plant
in the 0. T., or rather the same word slightly
modified. Eliminating all the places where
the words are used for the article manufac
tured in the tlvread, the piece, or the made
up garment, we reduce them to two (Ex. ix.
31 ; Josh. ii. 6). It seems probable that
the cultivation of flax for the purpose of the
manufacture of linen was by no means con
fined to Egypt ; but that originating in India
it spread over Asia at a very early period of
antiquity. That it was grown in Palestine
even before the conquest of that country by
the Israelites appears from Josh. ii. 6. The
various processes employed in preparing the
flax for manufacture into cloth are indicated :
—1. The drying process. 2. The peeling
of the stalks, and separation of the fibres.
3. The hackling (Is. xix. 9). That flax was
one of the most important crops in Palestine
appears from Hos. ii. 5, 9.
FLEA, ah insect twice only mentioned in
Scripture, viz., in I Sam. xxiv. 14, xxvi. 20.
Fleas are abundant in the East, and afford
the subject of many proverbial expressions.
FLESH. [Food.]
FLINT. The Heb. challdmish is rendered
flint in Deut. viii. 15, xxxii. 13 ; Ps. cxiv.
8; and Is. 1, 7. In Job xxviii. 9 the same
word is rendered rock in the text, and flint
in the margin. In Ez. iii. 9 the English
word "flint" occurs in the same sense, but
there it represents the Heb. Tzor.
FLOOD. [Noah.]
FLOUR. [Bread.]
FLUTE (1 K. i. 4, marg. [Pipe]), a musical
instrument mentioned amongst others (Dan.
Sm. D. B.

iii. 5, 7, 10, 15) as used at the worship of
the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had
set up.
FLUX, BLOODY (Acts xxviii. 8), the
same as our dysentery, which in the East is,
though sometimes sporadic, generally epi
demic and infectious, and then assumes its
worst form.
FLY, FLIES. 1. Zebub occurs only in
Eccl. x. 1 and in Is. vii. 18, and is probably
a generic name for any insect. The zZ'biib
from the rivers of Egypt has been identified
with the zimb of which Bruce gives a descrip
tion, and which is evidently some species of
Tabanus. 2. 'Arob (" swarms of flies,"
"divers sorts of flies," A. V.), the name of
the insect, or insects, which God sent to
punish Pharaoh; see Ex. viii. 21-31; Ps.
lxxviii. 45, cv. 31. As the 'arob are said to
have filled the houses of the Egyptians, it
seems not improbable that common flies
(Muscidae) are more especially intended.
The identification of the 'arob with the cock
roach is purely gratuitous.
FOOD. The diet of Eastern nations has
been in all ages light and simple. As com
pared with our own habits, the chief points
of contrast are the small amount of animal
food consumed, tho variety of articles used
as accompaniments to bread, the substitution
of milk in various forms for our liquors, and
the combination of what we should deem
heterogeneous elements in the same dish, or
the same meal. The chief point of agree
ment is the large consumption of bread, the
importance of which in the eyes of the
Hebrew is testified by the use of the term
lechcm (originally food of any kind) specifi
cally for bread, as well as by the expression
"staff of bread" (Lev. xxvi. 26; Ps. cv.
16 ; Ez. iv. 16, xiv. 13). Simpler prepara
tions of corn were, however, common ; some
times the fresh green ears were eaten in a
natural state, the husks being rubbed off by
the band (Lev. xxiii. 14 ; Deut. xxiii. 25 ;
2 K. iv. 42 ; Matt. xii. 1 ; Luke vi. 1) ;
more frequently, however, the grains, after
being carefully picked, were roasted in a pan
over a fire (Lev. ii. 14), and eaten as
"parched corn," in which form they were un
ordinary article of diet, particularly among
labourers, or others who had not the means
of dressing food (Lev. xxiii. 14 ; Ruth ii. 14 ;
1 Sam. xvii. 17, xxv. 18 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 28) :
this practice is still very usual in the East.
Sometimes the grain was bruised (A. V.
"beaten," Lev. ii. 14, 16), and then dried in
the sun ; it was eaten either mixed with oil
(Lcy. ii. 15), or made into a soft cake (A. V.
"dough;" Num. xv. 20; Neh. x. 37 ; Ez.
xliv. 30). The Hebrews used a great variety
N

FOOD

ITS

FOREST

of articles (John xxi. 5) to give a relish to
bread. Sometimes salt was so used (Job vi.
6), as we learn from the passage just quoted ;
sometimes the bread was dipped into the sour
wine (A. Y. " vinegar ") which the labourers
drank (Ruth ii. 14) ; or, where meat was
eaten, into the gravy, which was either
served up separately for the purpose, as by
Gideon {Judg. vi. 19), or placed in the
middle of the meat-dish, as done by the
Arabs. Milk and its preparations hold a
conspicuous place in Eastern diet, as afford
ing substantial nourishment ; sometimes it
was produced in a fresh state (Gen. xviii. 8),
but more generally in the form of the modern
leban, i. e. sour milk (A. V. " butter ;" Gen.
xviii. 8 ; Judg. v. 25 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 29).
Fruit was another source of subsistence : figs
stand first in point of importance ; they were
generally dried and pressed into cakes.
Grapes were generally eaten in a dried state
as raisins. Fruit-cake forms a part of the
daily food of the Arabians. Of vegetables
we have most frequent notice of lentils (Gen.
xxv. 34 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 28, xxiii. 11 ; Ez. iv.
0), which are still largely used by the Be
douins in travelling ; beans (2 Ram. xvii. 28 ;
Ez. iv. 9), leeks, onions, and garlick, which
were and still arc of a superior quality in
Egypt (Num. xi. 5). The modern Arabians
consume but few vegetables : radishes and
leeks are most in use, and are eaten raw with
bread. In addition to these classes we have
to notice some other important articles of
food : m the first place, honey, whether the
natural product of the bee (1 Sam. xiv. 25 ;
Matt. iii. 4), which abounds in most parts of
Arabia, or of the other natural and artificial
productions included under that head, espe
cially the dibs of the Syrians and Arabians,
i. e. grape-juice boiled down, which is still
extensively used in the East ; the latter is
supposed to be referred to in Gen. xliii. 11,
and Ez. xxvii. 17. With regard to oil, it
does not appear to have been used to the ex
tent we might have anticipated. Eggs are not
often noticed, bat were evidently known as
articles of food (Is. x. 14, lix. 5 ; Luke xi.
12). The Orientals have been at all times
sparing in the use of animal food : not only
does the excessive heat of the climate render
it both unwholesome to eat much meat, and
expensive from the necessity of immediately
consuming a whole animal, but beyond this
the ritual regulations of the Mosaic law in
ancient, as of the Koran in modern times,
have tended to the same result. The prohi
bition expressed against consuming the blood
of any animal (Gen. ix. 4) was more fully
developed in the Levitical law, and enforced
by the penalty of death (Lev. iii. 17, vii. 26

xix. 2G ; ileut. xii. 16 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 32 ff , ;
Ez. xliv. 7, 15). Certain portions of the fat
of sacrifices were also forbidden (Lev. iii. 9
10), as being set apart for the altar (Lev. iii.
1C, vii. 25 ; cf. 1 Sam. ii. 10 ff. ; 2 Chr. vii]
7). In addition to the above, Christians
were forbidden to eat the flesh of animalB
portions of which had been offered to idols.
AU beasts and birds classed as unclean (Lev.
xi. 1 ff. ; Deut. xiv. 4 ff.) were also pro
hibited. Under these restrictions the Hebrews
were permitted the free use of animal food :
generally speaking they only availed them
selves of it in the exercise of hospitality (Gen.
xviii. 7), or at festivals of a religious (Kx.
xii. 8), public (1 K. i. 9 ; 1 Chr. xii. 40), or
private character (Gen. xxvii. 4 ; Luke xv.
23) : it was only in royal households that
there was a daily consumption of meat (1 K.
iv. 23 ; Neh. v. 18). The animals killed for
meat were — calves (Gen. xviii. 7 ; 1 Sam.
xxviii. 24 ; Am. vi. 4) ; lambs (2 Sam. xii.
4 ; Am. vi. 4) ; oxen, not above three years
of age (1 K. i. 9 ; Frov. xv. 17 ; Is. xxii.
13 ; Matt. xxii. 4) ; kids (Gen. xxvii. 9 ;
Judg. vi. 19 ; 1 Sam. xvi. 20) ; harts, roe
bucks, and fallow-deer (1 K. iv. 23); birds
of various kinds ; fish, with the exception of
such as were without scales and fins (Lev.
xi. 9 ; Deut. xiv. 9). Locusts, of which
certain species only were esteemed clean
(Lev. xi. 22), were occasionally eaten (Matt.
iii. 4), but considered as poor fare.
FOOTMAN, a word employed in the Autb.
Version in two senses. 1 . Generally, to dis
tinguish those of the people or of the fighting-
men who went on foot from those who were
on horseback or in chariots. But, 2. The
word occurs in a more special sense (in 1
Sam. xxii. 17 only), and as the translation
of a different term Irom the above. This
passage affords the first mention of the
existence of a body of swift runners in at
tendance on the king, though such a thing
had been foretold by Samuel (1 Sam. viii.
11). This body appears to have been after
wards kept up, and to have been distinct
from the body-guard —the six hundred and
the thirty — who were originated by David.
See 1 K. xiv. 27, 28 ; 2 Chr. xii. 10, 11;
2 K. xi. 4, 6, 11, 13, 19. In each of these
cases the word is the same as the above, and
is rendered " guard ;" but the translators
were evidently aware of its signification) for
they have put the word " runners " in the
margin in two instances (1 K. xiv. 27 ; 2 K.
xi. 13).
FOREST. Although Palestine has never
been in historical times a woodland country,
yet there can be no doubt that there wa»
much more wood formerly than there is at

FORTUNATUS

179

FOX

present. (1.) The wood of Ephraim clothed
tbe slopes of the hills that bordered the plain
of Jezreel, and the plain itself in the neigh
bourhood of Bethshan (Josh. xvii. 15 ff.).
(2.) The wood of Bethel (2. K. ii. 23, 24)
was situated in the ravine which descends to
the plain of Jericho. (3.) The forest of
Hareth (1 Sam. xxii. 5) was somewhere on
the border of the Philistine plain, in the
southern part of Judah. (4.) The wood
through which the Israelites passed in their
pursuit of the Philistines (1 Sam. xiv. 25)
was probably near Aijalon (comp. v. 31).
(5.) the "wood" (Ps. cxxxii. 6) implied in
the name of Kirjath-jearim (1 Sam. vii. 2)
must have been similarly situated, as also
(6.) were the "forests" in which Jotham
placed his forts (2 Chr. xxvii. 4). (7.) The
plain of Sharon was partly covered with wood
(Is. lxv. 10). (8.) The wood in the wilder
ness of Ziph, in which David concealed him
self (1 Sara, xxiii. 15 ff.), lay S.E. of Hebron.
The house of the forest of Lebanon (1 K. vii.
2, x. 17, 21 ; 2 Chr. ix. 16, 20) was so called
probably from being fitted up with cedar.
FORTTJNA'TUS (I Cor. xvi. 17), one of
three Corinthians, the others being Stephanas
and Achai'cus, who were at Ephesus when St.
Paul wrote his first Epistle. There is a
Fortunatus mentioned at the end of Clement's
first Epistle to the Corinthians, who was
possibly the same person.
FOUNTAIN. Among the attractive fea
tures presented by the Land of Promise to
the nation migrating from Egypt by way of
the desert, none would be more striking than
the natural gush of waters from the ground.

Fountain at Xnzurelh. (Roljerts.

The springs of Palestine, though short-lived,
are remarkable for their abundance and
beauty, especially those which fall into the
Jordan and its lakes throughout its whole
course. The spring or fountain of living
water, the "eye" of the landscape, is dis
tinguished in all Oriental languages from the
artificially sunk and enclosed well. Jerusa
lem appears to have possessed either more
than one perennial spring, or one issuing by
more than one outlet. In Oriental cities
generally public fountains are frequent.
Traces of such fountains at Jerusalem, may
perhaps be found in the names En-Rogel (2
Sam. xvii. 17), the " Dragon- well " or foun
tain, and the "gate of the fountain" (Neh.
ii. 13, 14).
FOWL. Several distinct Hebrew and
Greek words are thus rendered in the A. V.
of the Bible. Of these the most common is
'dph, which is usually a collective term for
all kinds of birds. In 1 K. iv. 23, among
the daily provisions for • Solomon's table,
"fatted fowl" are included. In the N. T.
the word translated " fowls " is most fre
quently that which comprehends all kinds of
birds (including ravens, Luke xii. 24).
[Sparrow.] FOX (Heb. slnVdl). Probably the "jackal"
is the animal signified in almost all the
passages in the O. T. where the Hebrew term
occurs. The shu'dlim of Judg. xv. 4 are
evidently "jackals," and not "foxes," for
the former animal is gregarious, whereas the
latter is solitary in its habits. With respect
to the jackals and foxes of Palestine, there is
no doubt that the common jackal of the
country is the Canis aureus, which may be
heard every night in the villages. A vulpine

FRANKINCENSE

180

FULLER

animal, under the name of Canis Syriacus,
occurs in Lebanon. The Egyptian Yulpes
Niloticus, and doubtless the common fox of
our own country, are Palestine species.
FRANKINCENSE, a vegetable resin, brit
tle, glittering, and of a bitter taste, used for
the purpose of sacrificial fumigation (Ex.
xxx. 34-36). It is obtained by successive
incisions in the bark of a tree called tbe
arbor thuris, the first of which yields the
purest and whitest kind; while the produce
of the after incisions is spotted with yellow,
and as it becomes old loses its whiteness
altogether. The Hebrews imported their
frankincense from Arabia (Is. Ix. 6 ; Jer. vi.
20), and more particularly from Saba; but
it is remarkable that at present the Arabian
Libanum, or Olibanum, is of a very inferior
kind, and that the finest frankincense im
ported into Turkey comes through Arabia
from the islands of the Indian Archipelago.
There can be little doubt that the tree which
produces the Indian frankincense is the Bos-
wellia scrrata of Roxburgh, or Boswcllia
thurifera of Colebrooke. It is still extremely
uncertain what tree produces the Arabian
Olibanum. FROG. The mention of this reptile in the
O. T. is confined to the passage in Ex. viii.
2-7, &c, in which the plague of frogs is de
scribed, and to Ps. lxxviii. 45, cv. 30. In
the N. T. the word occurs once only in Rev.
xvi. 13. There is no question as to the ani
mal meant. The only known species of frog
which occurs at present in Egypt is the Rana
esculenta, the edible frog of the continent.
FRONTLETS, or PHYLACTERIES (Ex.
xiii. 16 ; Deut. vi. 8,xi. 18 ; Matt, xxiii. 5).
These " frontlets " or " phylacteries " were
strips of parchment, on which were written
four passages of Scripture (Ex. xiii. 2-10,
11-17 ; Deut. vi. 4-9, 13-23) in an ink pre
pared for the purpose. They were then
rolled up in a case of black calfskin, which
was attached to a stiffer piece of leather,
having a thong one finger broad, and one and
a half cubits long. They were placed at the
bend of the left arm. Those worn on the
forehead were written on four strips of parch
ment, and put into four little cells within a
square case, on which the letter & was
written. The square had two thongs, on
which Hebrew letters were inscribed. That
phylacteries were used as amulets is certain,
and was very natural. The expression "they
make broad their phylacteries" (Matt, xxiii.
5) refers not so much to the phylactery itself,
which seems to have been of a prescribed
breadth, as to the case in which the parch
ment was kept, which the Pharisees, among
their other pretentious customs (Mark vii.

3, 4 ; Luke v. 33, &c), made as conspicuous
as they could. It is said that the Pharisees
wore them always, whereas the common
people only used them at prayers. The
modern Jews only wear them at morning
prayers, and sometimes at noon. In our
Lord's time they were worn by all Jews, ex
cept the Karaites, women, and slaves. Boys,
at the age of thirteen years and a day, were
bound to wear them. The Karaites explained
Deut. vi. 8, Ex. xiii. 9, &c., as a figurative
command to remember the law, as is certainly
the case in similar passages (Prov. iii. 3, vi,
21, vii. 3; Cant. viii. 6, &c). It seems
clear to us that the scope of these injunctions
favours the Karaite interpretation.

Frontlets or Phylacteries.
FULLER. The trade of the fullers, so far
as it is mentioned in Scripture, appears to
have consisted chiefly in cleansing garments
and whitening them. The process of fulling
or cleansing cloth consisted in treading or
stamping on the garments with the feet or
with bats in tubs of water, in which some
alkaline substance answering the purpose of
soap had been dissolved. The substances
used for this purpose which are mentioned in
Scripture are natrum (Prov. xxv. 20 ; Jer,
ii. 22) and soap (Mal. iii. 2). Other sub
stances also are mentioned as being employed
in cleansing, which, together with alkali,
seem to identify the Jewish with the Roman
process, as urine and chalk. The process of
whitening garments was performed by rob
bing into them chalk or earth of some kind.
Creta Cimolia (Cimolite) was probably the
earth most frequently used. The trade of
the fullers, as causing offensive smells, and
also as requiring space for drying clothes,

FULLER'S FIELD, THE

181

GAD

appears to have been carried on at Jerusalem
outside the city.
FULLER'S FIELD, THE, a spot near
Jerusalem (2 K. xviii. 17 ; Is. vii. 3, xxxvi.
2) so close to the walls that a person speaking
from there could be heard on them (2 K. j
xviii. 17, 26). One resort of the fullers of
Jerusalem would seem to have been below
the city on the south-east side. But Rab-
shakeh and bis "great host" must have
come from the north ; and the Fuller's Field
was therefore, to judge from this circum
stance, on the table-land on the northern
side of the city.
FUNERALS. [Burial.]
FURLONG. [Measures.]
FURNACE. Various kinds of furnaces are
noticed in the Bible, such as a smelting or
calcining furnace (Gen. xix. 28 ; Ex. ix. 8,
10, xix. 18), especially a lime-kiln (Is. xxxiii.
12; Am. ii. 1); a refining furnace (Prov.
xvii. 3, xxvii. 21 ; Ez. xxii. 18 ff.) ; a large
furnace built like a brick-kiln (Dan. iii. 22,
23). The Persians were in the habit of using
the furnace as a means of inflicting capital
punishment (Dan. I. c. ; Jer. xxix. 22 ; 2 Mace.
vii. 5 ; Hos. vii. 7).

AA'AL, son of Ebed, aided the Sheche-
\T mites in their rebellion against Abi
melech (Judg. ix.).
GA'ASH. On the north side of " the hill
of Gaash " was the city which was given to
Joshua (Josh. xxiv. 30 ; Judg. ii. 9 ; comp.
Josh. xix. 49, 50). It does not appear to
have been recognized.
GA'BA. The same name as Geba. It is
found in the A. V. in Josh, xviii. 2i ; Ezr. ii.
20; Neh. vii. 30.
GAB'BATEA, the Hebrew or Chaldee ap
pellation of a place, also called " Pavement,"
where the judgment-seat or bema was planted,
from his place on which Pilate delivered our
Lord to death (John xix. 13). The place was
outside the praetorium, for Pilate brought
Jesus forth from thence to it. It is sug
gested that Gabbatha is a mere translation of
"pavement." It is more probably from an
ancient root signifying height or roundness.
In this case Gabbatha designated the ele
vated Bema; and the "pavement" was pos-
I sibly some mosaic or tesselated work, either
forming the bema itself, or the flooring of the
court immediately round it.
;.GA'BRIEL. The word, which is not in
itself distinctive, but merely a description of
the angelic office, is used as a proper name or
litle in Dan. viii. 16, ix. 21, and in Luke i.
19> 26. In the ordinary traditions, Jewish
and Christian, Gabriel is spoken of as one of

the archangels. In Scripture be is set forth
only as the representative of the angelic
nature in its ministration of comfort and
sympathy to man.
GAD, Jacob's seventh son, the first-born of
Zilpab, Leah's maid, and whole-brother to
Asher (Gen. xxx. 11-13, xlvi. 16, 18). The
word means either "fortune" or "troop;"
hence Leah said at his birth — " a troop (of
children) cometh " (Gen. xxx. ii. ; comp.
xlix. 19). Of the childhood and life of the
patriarch Gad nothing is preserved. At the
time of the descent into Egypt seven sons are
ascribed to him. The alliance between the
tribes of Reuben and Gad was doubtless .in
duced by the similarity of their pursuits. Of
all the sons of Jacob these two tribes alone
returned to the land which their forefathers
had left five hundred years before, with their
occupations unchanged. At the halt on the
east of Jordan we find them coming forward
to Moses with the representation that they
" have cattle " — " a great multitude of cattle,"
and the laud where they now are is a " place
for cattle." They did not, however, attempt
to evade taking their proper share of the
difficulties of subduing the land of Canaan,
and after that task had been effected they
were dismissed by Joshua " to their tents,"
to their " wives, their little ones, and their
cattle," which they had left behind them in
Gilead. The country allotted to Gad appears,
speaking roughly, to have lain chiefly abuut
the centre of the land east of Jordan. The
south of that district — from the Arnon
( Wady Mojeb), about halfway down the
Dead Sea, to Heshbon, nearly due east of
Jerusalem — was occupied by Reuben, and at
or about Heshbon the possessions of Gad com
menced. They embraced half Gilead, as the
oldest record specially states (Deut. iii. 12),
or half the land of the children of Ammon
(Josh. xiii. 25), probably the mountainous
district which is intersected by the torrent
Jabbok, including, as its most northern town,
the ancient sanctuary of Mahanaim. On the
east the furthest landmark given is " Aroer,
that faces Rabbah," the prpsent Amman (Josh.
xiii. 25). West was the Jordan (27). Such
was the territory allotted to the Gadites, but
there is no doubt that they soon extended
themselves beyond these limits. The official
records of the reign of Jotham of Judah
(1 Chr. v. 11, 16) show them to have been
at that time established over the whole of
Gilead, and in possession of Bashan as far as
Salcah, and very far both to the north and
the east of the border given them originally,
while the Manassites were pushed still further
northwards to Mount Hermon (1 Chr. v. 23).
The character of the tribe is throughout

GAD

1S2 GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE

strongly marked — fierce and warlike — "strong
men of might, men of war for the battle, that
could handle shield and buckler, their faces
the faces of lions, and like roes upon the
mountains for swiftness." Gad was carried
ir.lo captivity by Tiglath-Pileser (1 Chr. v. 20),
and in the time of Jeremiah the cities of the
tribe seem to have been inhabited by the
Ammonites.. GAD, "the seer," or "the king's seer,"
i. c. David's (1 Chr. xxix. 29 ; 2 Chr. xxix.
25 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 11 ; 1 Chr. xxi. 9), was a
" prophet" who appears to have joined David
when in the hold (1 Sam. xxii. 5). He re
appears in connexion with the punishment
inflicted for the numbering of the people
(2 sam. xxiv. 11-19 ; 1 Chr. xxi. 9-19). He
wrote a book of the Acts of David (1 Chr.
xxix. 29), and also assisted in the arrange
ments for the musical service of the " house
of Clod" (2 Chr. xxix. 25).
GAD. Properly " the Gad," with the
article. In the A. V. of Is. lxv. 11 the clause
" that prepare a table for that troop " has in
the margin instead of the last word the proper
name " Gad," which evidently denotes some
idol worshipped by the Jews in Babylon,
though it is impossible positively to iden
tify it.
GAD'ARA, a strong city situated near the
rrer Hieromax, ea-t of the Sea of Galilee,
over against Scythopolis and Tiberias, and
sixteen Roman miles distant from each of
those places. Josephus calls it the capital of
Peraea. A large district was attached to it.
Garlara itself is not mentioned in the Bible,
but it is evidently identical with the "country
of the Gadarencs," or Gergesenes (Matt. viii.
28 ; Mark v. 1 ; Luke viii. 26, 37). The
ruins of this city, now called Um Keis, are
about two miles in circumference. Gadara
derives its greatest interest from having been
the scene of our Lord's miracle in healing the
demoniacs (Matt. viii. 28-34 ; Mark v. 1-21 ;
Luke viii. 26-40). The whole circumstances
of the narrative are strikingly illustrated by
the features of the country. Another thing
is worthy of notice. The most interesting
remains of Gadara are its tombs, which dot
the cliffs for a considerable distance round the
city. Gadara was captured by Vespasian on
the first outbreak of tbe war with the Jews;
all its inhabitants massacred ; and the town
itself, with the surrounding villages, reduced
to ashes.
GAI'US. [John, Skcond and Third
Epistles of.]
GAL'AAD, the Greek form of the word
Gii.kad. GALA'TIA, is literally the " Gallia" of the
East. The Galatians were in their origin a

stream of that great Keltic torrent which
poured into Greece in the third century before
the Christian era. Some of these invader--
moved on into Thrace, and appeared on the
shores of the Hellespont and Bosporus, when
Nicomedes I., king of Bithynia, being then
engaged in a civil war, invited them across to
help him. At the end of the Republic,
Galatia appears as a dependent kingdom ; nt
the beginning of the Empire as a province
(a.d. 26). The Roman province of Gnlntin
may be roughly described as the central region
of the peninsula of Asia Minor, with the pro
vinces of Asia on the west, Cappadocia on
the east, Pamphylia and Cilicia on the
south, and Bithynia and Poxtus on the
north. These Eastern Gauls preserved much
of their ancient character, and something of
their ancient language. The prevailing
speech, however, of the district was Greek.
The inscriptions found at Ancyra are Greek,
and St. Paul wrote his Epistle in Greek. It
is difficult at first sight to determine in what
sense the word Galatia is used by the writers
of the N. T., or whether always in the same
sense. In the Acts of the Apostles the
journeys of St. Paul through the district are
mentioned in very general terms. On all ac
counts it seems most probable that Galatia is
used by St. Luke as an ethnographical term,
and not for the Roman province of that
name. GALATIANS, THE EPISTLE TO THE,
was written by the Apostle St. Paul not long
after his journey through Galatia and Phry<ria
(Acts xviii. 23), and probably in the early
portion of his two years' and a half stay at
Ephesus, which terminated with the Pente
cost of a.d. 57 or 58. The Epistle appears
to have been called forth by the machinations
of Judaizing teachers, who, shortly before the
date of its composition, had endeavoured to
seduce the churches of this province into a
recognition of circumcision (v. 2, 11, 12,
vi. 12, sq.), and had openly sought to de
preciate the apostolic claims of St. Paul
(comp. i. 1, 11). The scope and contents of
the Epistle are thus — (1) apologetic (i., ii.)
and polemical (iii. iv.) ; and (2) hortatory
and practical (v., vi.) : the positions and de
monstrations of the former portion being used
with great power and persuasiveness in the
exhortations of the latter. Two historical
questions require a brief notice :— 1. The
number of visits made by St. Paul to the
churches of Galatia previous to hi6 writing
the Epistle. These seem certainly to have
been two. The Apostle founded the churches
of Galatia in the visit recorded Acts xvi. 6,
during his second missionary journey, about
a.d. 51, and revisited them at the period and

To J 'ace p. 183.

GALBANUM

183

GALL

on the occasion mentioned Acts xviii. 23,
when he went through the country of Galatia
and Phrygia. On this occasion it would seem
probable that he found the leaven of Judaism
beginning to work in the churches of Galatia.
2. Closely allied with the preceding question
is that of the date, and the place from which
the Epistle was written. It was pi-obably
written about the same time as the Epistle to
the Romans at Coiinth, during the three
months that the Apostle stayed there (Acts
xx. 2, 3), apparently the winter of a.d. 57
or 58.
GALBANUM, one of the perfumes em
ployed in the preparation of the sacred incense
(Ex. xxx. 34). The galbanum of commerce
is brought chiefly from India and tho Levant.
It is a resinous gum of a brownish yellow
colour, and strong, disagreeable smell, usually
met with in masses, but sometimes found
in yellowish tear-like drops. But, though
galbanum itself is well known, the plant
which yields it has not been exactly deter
mined. GAL'EED, the name given by Jacob to the
heap which he and Laban made on Mount
Gilead in witness of the covenant then entered
into between them (Gen. xxxi. 47, 48 ; comp.
23, 25).
GAL'ILEE. This name, which in the
Roman age was applied to a large province,
seems to have been originally confined to a
little "circuit" of country round Kedesh-
Naphtali, in which were situated the twenty-
towns given by Solomon to Hiram, king of
Tyre, as payment for' his work in conveying
timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem (Josh.
xx. 7; 1 K. ix. 11). They were then, or
subsequently, occupied by strangers, and for
this reason Isaiah gives to the district the
name "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Is. ix. 1).
It is probable that the strangers increased in
number, and became during the captivity the
great body of the inhabitants; extending
themselves also over the surrounding country,
they gave to their new territories the old
name, until at length Galilee became one of
the largest provinces of Palestine. In the
time of our Lord all Palestine was divided
into three provinces, Judaea, Samaria, and
Galilee (Acts ix. 31 ; Luke xvii. 11 ; Joseph.
-B. J. iii, 3). Tbe latter included the whole
northern section of the country, including
the ancient territories of Issachar, Zebulun,
Asher, and Naphtali. On the west it was
bounded by the territory of Ptolemais, which
probably included the whole plain of Akka to
the foot of Carmel. The southern border ran
along the base of Carmel and of the hills of
Samaria to Mount Gilboa, and then descended
the valley of Jezreel by Scythopolis to the

Jordan. The river Jordan, the Sea of
Galilee, and the upper Jordan to the fountain
at Dan, formed the eastern border ; and the
northern ran from Dan westward across the
mountain ridge till it touched the territory
of the Phoenicians. Galilee was divided into
two sections, "Lower "and "Upper." Lower
Galilee included the great plain of Esdraelon
with its offshoots, which run down to the
Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias ; and the
whole of the hill-country adjoining it on the
north to the foot of the mountain-range. It
was thus one of the richest and most beautiful
sections of Palestine. The chief towns of
Lower Galilee were Tiberias, Tarichaea, at
the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, and
Sepphoris. The towns most celebrated in
N. T. history are Nazareth, Cana, and Tiberias
(Luke i. 26; John ii. 1, vi. 1). Upper Galilee
embraced the whole mountain-range lying
between the upper Jordan and Phoenicia.
To this region the name "Galilee of the
Gentiles" is given in the O. and N. T. (Is.
ix. 1 ; Matt. iv. 15). The town of Caper
naum, on the north shore of the lake, was in
upper Galilee. Galilee was the scene of the
greater part of our Lord's private life and
public acts. His early years were spent at
Nazareth ; and when He entered on His great
work He made Capernaum His home (Matt.
iv. 13. ix. 1). It is a remarkable fact that
the first three Gospels are chiefly taken up
with our Lord's ministrations in this pro
vince, while the Gospel of John dwells more
upon those in Judaea. The nature of our
Lord's parables and illustrations was greatly
influenced by the peculiar features and pro
ducts of the country. The Apostles were all
either Galileans by birth or residence (Acts i.
11). After the destruction of Jerusalem,
Galilee became tbe chief seat of Jewish
schools of learning, and the residence of their
most celebrated Rabbins.
GALILEE, SEA OF. [Gennesaretk.]
GALL, the representative in the A. V. of
the Hebrew words mSrcrdh, or mSrordh, and
rdsh. 1. Mererdh or mi&rordh denotes ety-
mologieally " that which is bitter ;" see Job
xiii. 26, " thou writest bitter things against
me." Hence the term is applied to the
"bile" or "gall" from its intense bitterness
(Job xvi. 13, xx. 25) ; it is also used of the
"poison" of serpents (Job xx. 14), which
the ancients erroneously believed was their
gall. 2. Rdsh, generally translated "gall"
by the A. V. is in Hos. x. 4 rendered " hem
lock :" in Deut. xxxii. 33, and Job xx. 16,
rash denotes the "poison" or "venom" of
serpents. From Deut. xxix. 18, and Lam.
iii. 19, compared with Hos. x. 4, it is evident
that the Heb. term denotes some bitter, and

GALLEY

184

GAMES

perhaps poisonous plant. Other writers have
supposed, and with some reason (from Deut.
xxxii. 32), that some berry-bearing plant
must be intended. Gesenius understands
"poppies." The capsules of the Papaceraceae
may well give the name of rdsh ("head")
to the plant in question, just as we speak of
poppy heads. The various species of this
family spring up quickly in corn-fields, and
the juice is extremely bitter. A steeped solu
tion of poppy heads may be " the water of
gall" of Jer. viii. 14. The passages in the
Gospels which relate the circumstance of the
Roman soldiers offering our Lord, just before'
his crucifixion, "Yinc-gar mingled with gall,"
according to St. Matthew (xxvii. 34), and
"wine mingled with myrrh," according to
St. Mark's account (xv. 23), require some
consideration. " Matthew, in his usual
way," as Hengstenberg remarks, " desig
nates the drink theologically : always keeping
his eye on the prophecies of the O. T., he
speaks of gall and vinegar for the purpose of
rendering the fulfilment of the Psalms more
manifest. Mark again (xv. 23), according to
his way, looks rather at the outward quality
of the drink." "Gall" is not to be under
stood in any other sense than as expressing
the bitter nature of the draught. Notwith
standing the almost concurrent opinion of
ancient and modern commentators that the
" wine mingled with myrrh " was offered to
our Lord as an anodyne, we cannot readily
come to the same conclusion. Had the sol
diers intended a mitigation of suffering, they
would doubtless have offered a draught
drugged with some substance having narcotic
properties. The drink in question was pro
bably a mere ordinary beverage of the
Romans. GALLEY. [Ship.]
GAL'LIO. Junius Annaeus Gallio, the
Roman pro-consul of Achaia when St. Paul
was at Corinth, a.d. 53, under the Emperor
Claudius (Acts xviii. 12). He was brother
to Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the philosopher.
Jerome in the Chronicle of Eusebius says
that he committed suicide in the year 65
A.D. GAMA'LIEL. 1. Sonof Pedahzur ; prince
or captain of the tribe of Manasseh at the
census at Sinai fNum. i. 10, ii. 20, vii. 54,
59j, and at starting on the march through
the wilderness (x. 2S). — 2. A Pharisee and
celebrated doctor of the law, who gave
prudent worldly advice in the Sanhedrim re
specting the treatment of the followers of
Jesus of Nazaieth (Acts v. 34 ff.). AVe learn
from Acts xxii. 3 that he was the preceptor
of St. Paul. He is generally identified with the
very celebrated Jewish doctor Gamaliel. This

Gamaliel was son of Rabbi Simeon, and grnnd.
son of the celebrated Hillel ; he wus president
of the Sanhedrim under Tiberius, Caligula,
and Claudius, and is reported to have died
eighteen years before the destruction of Jeru
salem. GAMES. Among the Greeks the rage for
theatrical exhibitions was such that every
city of any size possessed its theatre and
stadium. At Ephesus an annual contest was
held in honour of Diana. It is probable that
St. Paul was pi-esent when these games were
proceeding. A direct reference to the ex
hibitions that took place on such occasions is
made in I Cor. xv. 32. St. Paul's Epistles
abound with allusions to the Greek contests,
borrowed probably from the Isthmian games,
at which he may well have been present
during his first visit to Corinth. These con
tents (2 Tim. iv. 7 ; 1 Tim. vi. 12) were
divided into two classes, the pancratium, con
sisting of boxing and wrestling, and the
pentathlon, consisting of leaping, running,
quoiting, hurling the spear, and wrestling.
The competitors (1 Cor. ix. 25 ; 2 Tim. ii. 5)
required a long and severe course of previous
training (1 Tim. iv. 8), during which a par
ticular diet was enforced (1 Cor. ix. 25, 27).
In the Olympic contests these preparatory e:»-
ercises extended over a period of ten months,
during the last of which they were conducted
under the supervision of appointed officers.
The contests took place in the presence of a
vast multitude of spectators (Heb. xii. 1), the
competitors being the spectacle (1 Cor. iv. 9 ;
Heb. x. 33). The games were opened by the
proclamation of a herald (1 Cor. ix. 27),
whose office it was to give out the name and
country of each candidate, and especially to
announce the name of the victor before the
assembled multitude. The judge was selected
for his spotless integrity (2 Tim. iv. 8) : his
office was to decide any disputes (Col iii. 15)
and to give the prize (1 Cor. ix. 24; Phil.
hi. 14), consisting of a crown (2 Tim. ii. o,
iv. 8) of leaves of wild olive at the Olympic
games, and of pine, or at one period, ivy, at
the Isthmian games. St. Paul alludes to two
only out of the five contests, boxing and
running, most frequently to the latter. In
boxing (cf. 1 Cor. ix. 26) the hands and arms
were hound with the cestus, a band of leather
studded with nails. The foot-race (2 Tim. t
iv. 7) was run in the stadium (1 Cor. ix. 24),
an oblong area, open at one end and rounded
in a semicircular form at the other, along the
sides of which were the raised tiers of seats
on which the spectators sat. The judge was
stationed by the goal (Phil. iii. 14), which
was clearly visible from one end of the sta
dium to the other.

GARDEN

185

GATE

GARDEN. Gardens in the East, as the
Hebrew word indicates, are inolosures, on
the outskirts of towns, planted with various
trees and shrubs. From the allusions in the
Bible we learn that they were surrounded by
hedges of thorn (Is. v. 5), or walls of stone
(Prov. xxiv. 31). For further protection
lodges (Is. i. 8 ; Lam. ii. 6) or watchtowers
'Mark xii. 1) were built in them, in which
sat the keeper (Job xxvii. 18) to drive away
the wild beasts and robbers, as is the case
to this day. The gardens of the Hebrews
were planted with flowers and aromatic
shrubs (Cant. vi. 2, iv. 16), besides olives,
fig-trees, nuts, or walnuts (Cant. vi. 11),
pomegranates, and others for domestic use
(Ex. xxiii. 11 ; Jer. xxix. 5; Am. ix. 14).
Gardens of herbs, or kitchen-gardens, are
mentioned in Deut. xi. 10, and 1 K. xxi. 2.
Cucumbers were grown in them (Is. i. 8 ;
Bar. vi. 70), and probably also melons, leeks,
Dnions, and garlick, which are spoken of (Num.
si. 5) as the productions of a neighbouring
country. The rose-garden in Jerusalem, said
to have been situated westward of the temple
mount, is remarkable as having been one of
the few gardens which, from the time of the
prophets, existed within the city walls. But
of all the gardens of Palestine none is pos
sessed of associations more sacred and im
perishable than the garden of Gethsemane,
beside the oil-presses on the slopes of Olivet,
In a climate hke that of Palestine the neigh
bourhood of water was an important consi
deration in selecting the site of a garden. To
the old Hebrew poets " a well-watered gar
den," or "a tree planted by the waters,"
was an emblem of luxuriant fertility and ma
terial prosperity (Is. lviii. 11; Jer. xvii. 8,
xxxi. 12). From a neighbouring stream or
cistern were supplied the channels or con
duits, by which the gardens were intersected,
and the water was thus convej'ed to all parts
(Ps. i. 3 ; Eccl. ii. 6 ; Ecclus. xxiv. 30). It
is matter of doubt what is the exact meaning
of the expression "to water with the foot"
in Deut. xi. 10. — The Hebrews made use of
gardens as places of burial (John xix. 41).
Manasseh and his son Amon were buried in
the garden of their palace, the garden of
Uzza (2 K. xxi. 18, 26).— The retirement of
gardens rendered them favourite places for
devotion (Matt. xxvi. 36 ; John xviii. 1 ; cf.
Gen. xxiv. 63). In the degenerate times of
the monarchy they were selected as the scenes
of idolatrous worship (Is. i. 29, lxv. 3, lxvi.
17) and images of the idols were probably
erected in them. — The traditional gardens
and pools of Solomon, supposed to be alluded
to in Eccl. ii. 5, 6, are shown in the Wady
Urtiis (i. e. Hortus), about an hour and

a quarter to the south of Bethlehem. The
" king's garden," mentioned in 2 K. xxv.
4; Neh. iii. 15; Jer. xxxix. 4, Iii. 7, was
near the pool of Siloam, at the mouth of the
Tyropoeon, north of Bir Eyub, and was formed
by the meeting of the valleys of Jehoshaphat
and Ben Hinnom.
GARLICK (Num. xi. 5), is the Allium Sa
tivum of Linnaeus, which abounds in Egypt.
GARMENT. [Dress.]
GATE. The gates and gateways of eastern
cities anciently held, and still hold, an im
portant part, not only in the defence but in
the public economy of the place. They are
thus sometimes taken as representing the city
itself (Gen. xxii. 17, xxiv. 60; Deut. xii.
12 ; Judg. v. 8 ; Ruth iv. 10 ; Ps. lxxxvii.
2, exxii. 2). Among the special purposes for
which they were used may be mentioned —
1. As places of public resort (Gen. xix. 1,
xxiii. 10, xxxiv. 20, 24; 1 Sam. iv. 18, &c.).
2. Places for public deliberation, adminis
tration of justice, or of audience for kings
and rulers, or ambassadors (Deut. xvi. 18,
xxi. 19, xxv. 7 ; Josh. xx. 4 ; Judg. ix. 35,
&c). 3. Public markets (2 K. vii. 1). In
heathen towns the open spaces near the gates
appear to have been sometimes used as places
for sacrifice (Acts xiv. 13; comp. 2 K. xxiii,
8). Regarded therefore as positions of great
importance the gates of cities were carefully
guarded and closed at nightfall (Deut. iii. 5 ;
Josh, ii. 5, 7 ; Judg. ix. 40, 44). They con
tained chambers over the gateway (2 Sam.
xviii. 24). The doors themselves of the larger
gates mentioned in Scripture were two-leaved,
plated with metal, closed with locks and fast
ened with metal bars (Deut. iii. 5 ; Ps. cvii.
16; Is. xiv. 1, 2). Gates not defended by
iron were of course liable to be set on fire
by an enemy (Judg. ix. 52). The gateways
of royal palaces and even of private houses
were often richly ornamented. Sentences
from the Law were inscribed on and above the
gates (Deut. vi. 9 ; Is. liv. 12 ; Rev. xxi. 21).
The gates of Solomon's Temple were very mas
sive and costly, being overlaid with gold and
carvings (1 K. vi. 34, 35; 2 K. xviii. 16).
Those of the Holy Place were of olive-wood,
two-leaved, and overlaid with gold ; those of
the temple of fir (1 K. vi. 31, 32, 34; Ez.
xli. 23, 24). The figurative gates of pearl
and precious stones (Is. liv. 12 ; Rev. xxi.
21) may be regarded as having their types
in the massive stone doors which are found
in some of the ancient houses in Syria. These
are of single slabs several inches thick,
sometimes 10 feet high, and turn on stone
pivots above. The parts of the doorway were
the threshold (Judg. xix. 27) ; the side-posts,
the lintel (Ex. xii. 7). In the Temple, Le-

GATH

GEBA

vites, and in houses of the wealthier classes,
and in palaces, persons were especially ap
pointed to keep the door (Jer. xxxv. 4 ; 2 K.
xii. 9. xxv. 18, &c).
GATH, one of the five royal cities of the
Philistines (Josh, xiii, 3 ; 1 Sam. vi. 17) ; and
the native place of the giant Goliath (1 Sam.
xvii. 4, 23). It probably stood upon the con
spicuous hill now called Tell-es-Sdfieh, upon
the side of the plain of Philistia, at tho foot
of the mountains of Judah; 10 miles E. of
Ashdod. and about the same distance S. by
E. of Ekron. It is irregular in form, and
about 200 ft. high. Gath occupied a strong
position (2 Chr. xi. 8) on the border of Judah
and Philistia (1 Sam. xxi. 10; 1 Chr. xviii.
1) ; and from its strength and resources
forming the key of both countries, it was the
scene of frequent struggles, and was often
captured and recaptured (2 Chr. xi. 8, xxvi.
6 ; 2 Iv. xii. 17 ; Am. vi. 2). The ravages
of war to which Gath was exposed appear to
have destroyed it at a comparatively early
period, as it is not mentioned among the
other royal cities by the later prophets (Zeph.
ii. 4 ; Zech. ix. 5, 6). It is familiar to the
Bible student as the scene of one of the most
romantic incidents in the life of king David
(1 Sam. xxi. 10-15).
GATH-HE'PHER, or GIT'TAH-HE'PHER,
a town on the border of the territory of Zebu
lun, not far from Japhia, now Ydfa (Josh.
xix. 12, 13), celebrated as the native place of
the prophet Jonah (2 K. xiv. 25). El-Mesh-
had, a village 2 miles E. of Sefurich, is the
ancient Gath-hepher.
GATH-RIM'MON. 1. A city given out of
the tribe of Dan to the Levites (Josh. xxi.
24 ; 1 Chr. vi. 69), situated on the plain of
Philistia, apparently not far from Joppa
(Josh. xix. 45). — 2. A town of the half tribe
of Manasseh west of the Jordan, assigned to
the Levites (Josh. xxi. 25). The reading
Gath-rimmon is probably an error of the
transcribers. GA'ZA (properly Azzah), one of the five
chief cities of the Philistines. It is remark
able for its continuous existence and import
ance from the very earliest times. The
secret of this unbroken history is to be found
in the situation of Gaza. It is the last town
in the S.W. of Palestine, on the frontier to
wards Egypt. The same peculiarity of situ
ation has made Gaza important in a military
sense. Its name means "the strong;" and
this was well elucidated in its siege by Alex
ander the Great, which lasted five months.
In Gen. x. 19 it appears, even before the call
of Abraham, as a " border " city of the Ca
naanites. In the conquest of Joshua the
territory of Gaza is mentioned as one which

lie was not able to subdue (Ju*.h. x. 41, xi.
22, xiii. 3). It was assigned to the tribe of
. Judah (Josh. xv. 47), and that tribe did ob-
I tain possession of it (Judg. i. 18) ; but they
did not hold it long ; for soon afterwards we
find it in the hands of the Philistines (Judg,
iii. 3, xiii. 1, xvi. 1, 21); indeed it seems to
have been their capital ; and apparently con
tinued through the times of Samuel, Saul, and
David to be a Philistine city (1 Sam. vi. 17,
xiv. 52, xxxi. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 15). Solomon
became master of "Azzah" (1 K. iv. 24).
But in after times the same trouble with the
Philistines recurred (2 Chr. xxi. 16, xxvi. 6,
xxviii. 18). The passage where Gaza is
mentioned in the N. T. (Acts viii. 26) is full
of interest. It is the account of the baptism
of the Ethiopian eunuch on his return from
Jerusalem to Egypt. The words " which in
desert " have given rise to much discussion.
The probability is, that they refer to the road,
and are used by the angel to inform Piiiur,
who was then in Samaria, on what route he
would find the eunuch. Besides the ordinary
road from Jerusalem by Ramleh to Gaza, there
was another, more favourable for carriages
(Acts viii. 28), further to the south through
Hebron, and thence through a district com
paratively without towns and much exposed
to the incursions of people from the desert.
The modern Ghuzzeh is situated partly on an
oblong hill of moderate height, and partly on
the lower ground. The climate of the place
is almost tropical, but it has deep wells of
excellent water. There are a few palm-trees
in the town, and its fruit-orchards are very
productive. But the chief feature of the
neighbourhood is the wide-spread olive-grove
to the N. and N.E.
GAZ'ARA, a place frequently mentioned
in the wars of the Maccabees, and of great
importance in the operations of both parties
(1 Mace. ix. 52, xiii. 53, xiv. 7, 33, 34, 36,
xv. 28, xvi. 1 ; 2 Mace. x. 32-36). There is
every reason to believe that Gazara was the
same place as the more ancient Gezee or
GAZEn. GA'ZER, 2 Sam. v. 25 ; 1 Chr. xiv. 16.
[Gezf.r.] GE'BA, a city of Benjamin, with "sub
urbs," allotted to the priests (Josh. xxi. 17;
1 Chr. vi. 60). It is named amongst the first
group of the Benjamite towns ; apparently
those lying near to and along tbe north
boundary (Josh, xviii. 24). Here the name
is given as Gaba. During the wars of the
earlier part of the reign of Saul, Geba was
held as a garrison by the Philistines (1 Sam.
xiii. 3), but they were ejected by Jonathan.
Later in the same campaign we find it re*
ferred to to define the position of the two

GEBAL

]>

GENEALOGY

rocks which stood in the ravine below the
garrison of Michmash, in terms which fix
Geba on the south and Michmash on the
north of the ravine (1 Sam. xiv. 5 ; the A. V.
has here Gibeah). Exactly in accordance
with this is the position of the modern village
of Jeba, which stands picturesquely on the
top of its steep terraced hill, on the very edge
of the great Wady Suweinit, looking north
wards to the opposite village, which also re
tains its old name of Miikhmas.
GE'BAL, a proper name, occurring in Ps.
lxxxiii. 7, in connexion with Edom and
Moab, Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines
and the inhabitants of Tyre. The contexts
both of the psalm and of the historical records
will justify our assuming the Gebal of the
Psalms to be one and the same city with the
Gebal of Ezekiel (xxvii. 9), a maritime town
of Phoenicia. From the fact that its inhabit
ants are written " Giblians " in the Vulg., and
" Biblians" in the LXX., we may infer their
identity with the Giblites, spoken of in con
nexion with Lebanon by Joshua (xiii. 5), and
that of their city with the " Biblus " (or
Byblus) of profane literature. It is called
Jebail by the Arabs, thus reviving the old
Biblical name.
GEDALI'AH, son of Ahikam (Jeremiah's
protector, Jer. xxvi. 24), and grandson of
Shaphan the secretary of king Josiah. After
the destruction of the Temple, b.c. 588, Ne
buchadnezzar departed from Judaea, leaving
Gednliah with a Chaldean guard (Jer. xl. 5)
at Mizpah, to govern the vine-dressers and
huBbandmen (Jer. Iii. 16) who were exempted
from captivity. Jeremiah joined Gedaliah ;
and Mizpah became the resort of Jews from
various quarters (Jer. xl. 6, 11). He was
murdered by Ishmael two months after his
appointment. GE'DER. The king of Geder was one of
the 31 kings who were overcome by Joshua
on the west of the Jordan (Josh. xii. 13). It
is possible that it may be the same place as
the Geder named in 1 Chr. iv. 39.
GED'EROTH, a town in the low country
of Judah (Josh. xv. 41 ; 2 Chr. xxviii. 18).
GEDO'R, a town in the mountainous part
of Judah (Josh. xv. 58), a few miles north
of Hebron. Robinson discovered a Jedur
halfway between Bethlehem and Hebron,
about two miles west of the road.
GEHA'ZI, the servant or boy of Elisha.
He was sent as the prophet's messenger
en two occasions to the good Shunammite
(2 K. iv.) ; obtained fraudulently money and
garments from Naaman, was miraculously
smitten with incurable leprosy, and was dis
missed from the prophet's service (2 K. v.).
hater in the history he is mentioned as

being engaged in relating to King Joram
all the great things which Elisha had done
(2 K. viii.).
GEHEN'NA. [Hinnom.]
GEMARI'AH. 1. Son of Shaphan the
scribe, and father of Michaiah. He was one
of the nobles of Judah, and had a chamber in
the house of the Lord, from which Baruch
read Jeremiah's alarming prophecy in the
ears of all the people, b.c 606 (Jer. xxxvi.).
— 2. Son of Hilkiah, was made the beai'er of
Jeremiah's letter to the captive Jews (Jer.
xxix.). GEMS. [Stokes, Precious.]
GENEALOGY. In Hebrew the term for
genealogy or pedigree is " the book of the
generations ;" and because the oldest his
tories were usually drawn up on a genea
logical basis, the expression often extended
to the whole history, as is the case with the
Gospel of St. Matthew, where "the book of
tbe generation of Jesus Christ " includes the
whole history contained in that Gospel. The
promise of the land of Canaan to the seed
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob successively,
and the separation of the Israelites from the
Gentile world ; the expectation of Messiah
as to spring from the tribe of Judah ; the ex
clusively hereditary priesthood of Aaron with
its dignity and emoluments ; the long suc
cession of kings in the line of David ; and the
whole division and occupation of the land
upon genealogical principles by the tribes,
families, and houses of fathers, gave a deeper
importance to the science of genealogy among
the Jews than perhaps any other nation,
With Jacob, the founder of the nation, the
system of reckoning by genealogies was much
further developed. In Gen. xxxv. 22-26, we
have a formal account of the sons of Jacob,
the patriarchs of the nation, repeated in Ex.
i. 1-5. In Gen. xlvi. we have an exact gene
alogical census of the house of Israel at the
time of Jacob's going down to Egypt. When
the Israelites were in the wilderness of Sinai,
their number was taken by Divine command
" after their families, by the house of their
fathers." According to these genealogical di
visions they pitched their tents, and marched,
and offered their gifts and offerings, chose
spies, and the whole land of Canaan was par
celled out amongst them. When David esta
blished the temple services on the footing
which continued till the time of Christ, he
divided the priests and Levites into courses
and companies, each under the family chief.
When Hezekiah reopened the temple, and
restored the temple services which had fallen
into disuse, he reckoned the whole nation by
genealogies. When Zerubbabel brought back
the captivity from Bab, Ion, one of his first

GENEALOGY

188

GENESIS

cares seems to have been to take a census of
those that returned, and to settle them ac
cording to their genealogies. Passing on to
the time of the birth of Christ, we have a
striking incidental proof of the continuance
of the Jewish genealogical economy in the
fact that when Augustus ordered the census
of the empire to be taken, the Jews in the
province of Syria immediately went each one
to his own city. Another proof is the exist
ence of our Lord's genealogy in two forms as
given by St. Matthew and St. Luke. The
mention of Zachanas, as "of the course of
Abia," of Elizabeth, as " of the daughters of
Aaron," and of Anna the daughter of Pha-
nuel, as "of the tribe of Aser," are further
indications of the same thing. From all this
it is abundantly manifest that the Jewish
genealogical records continued to be kept till
near the destruction of Jerusalem. But there
can be little doubt that the registers of the
Jewish tribes and families perished at the
destruction of Jerusalem, and not before. It
remains to be said that just notions of the
nature of the Jewish genealogical records are
of great importance with a view to the right
interpretation of Scripture. Let it only be
remembered that these records have respect
to political and territorial divisions, as much
as to strictly genealogical descent, and it will
at once be seen how erroneous a conclusion
it may be, that all who are called " sons "
of such or such a patriarch, or chief father,
must necessarily be his very children. If any
one family or house became extinct, some
other would succeed to its place, called after
its own chief father. Hence of course a
census of any tribe drawn up at a later pe
riod, would exhibit different divisions from
one drawn up at an earlier. The same prin
ciple must be borne in mind in interpreting
any particular genealogy. Again, when a
pedigree was abbreviated, it would naturally
specify such generations as would indicate
from what chief houses tbe person descended.
But then as regards the chronological use of
the Scripture genealogies, it follows from the
above view that great caution is necessary in
using them as measures of time, though they
are invaluable for this purpose whenever we
can be sure that they are complete. The
Jewish genealogies have two forms, one giv
ing the generations in a descending, the other
in an ascending scale. Examples of the de
scending form may be seen in Ruth iv. 18-22,
or 1 Chr. iii. Of the ascending 1 Chr. vi.
33-43 (A. V.) ; Ezr. vii. 1-5. Females are
named in genealogies when there is anything
remarkable about them, or when any right
or property is transmitted through them.
See Gen. xi. 29, xxii. 2-'l, xxv. 1-4, xxxv.

22-26; Ex. vi. 23; Num. xxvi. 33; 1 Chr.
ii. 4, 19, 50, 35, Arc.
GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST. The
New Testament gives us the genealogy of but
one person, that of our Saviour. The follow
ing propositions will explain the true con
struction of these genealogies : — 1. They nre
both the genealogies of Joseph i. e. of Jesus
Christ, as the reputed and legal son of Jo
seph and Mary. 2. The genealogy of St.
Matthew is Joseph's genealogy as legal suc
cessor to the throne of David. St. Luke's is
Joseph's private genealogy, exhibiting his real
birth, as David's son, and thus showing why
he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple
principle that one evangelist exhibits that
genealogy "which contained the successive heirs
to David's and Solomon's throne, while the
other exhibits the paternal stem of him who
was the heir, explains all the anomalies of
the two pedigrees, their agreements as well
as their discrepancies, and the circumstance
of there being two at all. 3. Mary, the
mother of Jesus, was in all probability the
daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph
her husband.
GENERATION. In the long-lived Patri
archal age a generation seems to have been
computed at 100 years (Gen. xv, 16 ; comp.
13, and Ex. xii. 40) ; but subsequently the
reckoning was the same which has been
adopted by other civilised nations, viz., from
thirty to forty years (Job xiii. 16). For
generation in the sense of a definite period of
time, see Gen. xv. 16 ; Deut. xxiii. 3, 4, 8,
&c. As an indefinite period of time :— for
time past, see Deut. xxxii. 7 ; Is. lviii. 12;
for time future, see Ps. xiv. 17, lxxii. 5, &c.
Generation is also used tp signify the men of
an age, or time, as contemporaries (Gen. vi.
9 ; Is. liii. 8) ; posterity, especially in legal
formulae (Lev. iii. 17, &c.) ; fathers, or an-
cestors (Ps. xlix. 19).
GENES'ARETH. [Gennesaret.]
GEN'ESIS, the first book of the Law or
Pentateuch, so called from its title in the Sep
tuagint, that is, Creation. Respecting its inte
grity and author, see Pentateuch. The book
of Genesis (with the first chapters of Exodus)
describes the steps which led to the establish
ment of the Theocracy. It is a part of the
writer's plan to tell us what the Divine pre
paration of the world was, in order to show,
first, the significance of the call of Abraham,
and next, the true nature of the Jewish theo
cracy. He begins with the creation of the
world, because the God who created the
world and the God who revealed Himself to
the fathers is the same God. The book of
Genesis has thus a character at once special
and universal. It embraces the world ; it

&£B&i5i

SEA OF GENNESABET OR GALILEE.

To face p. 1S9

GENESIS

189

GENTILES

speaks of God as the God of the whole human
race. But as the introduction to Jewish his
tory, it makes the universal interest subor
dinate to the national. Five principal persons
are the pillars, so to speak, on which the
whole superstructure rests : Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. — I. Adam. The
creation of the world, and the earliest history
of mankind (ch. i.-iii.). As yet no divergence
of the different families of man.— II. Noah.
The history of Adam's descendants to the
death of Noah (iv.-ix.). Here we have (1)
the line of Cain branching off while the his
tory follows the fortunes of Seth, whose de
scendants are (2) traced in genealogical suc
cession, and in an unbroken line as far as
Noah, and (3) the history of Noah himself
(vi,-ix.), continued to his death. — III. Abra
ham. Noah's posterity till the death of Abra
ham (x.-xxv. 18). Here we have (I) the
peopling of the whole earth by the descend
ants of Noah's three sons (xi. 1-9). The his
tory of two of these is then dropped, and (2)
the line of Shem only pursued (xi. 10-32) as
far as Terah and Abraham, where the genea
logical table breaks off. (3) Abraham is now
the prominent figure (xii. -xxv. 18). But as
Terah had two other sons, Nahor and Haran
(xi. 27), some notices respecting their families
are added. Lot's migration with Abraham
into the land of Canaan is mentioned, as well
as the fact that he was the father of Moab
and Ammon (xix. 37, 38), nations whose later
history was intimately connected with that
of the posterity of Abraham. Nahor remained
in Mesopotamia, but his family is briefly enu
merated (xxii. 20-24), chiefly no doubt for
Rebekah's sake, who was afterwards the wife
of Isaac. Of Abraham's own children, there
branches off first the line by Ishmael (xxi.
9, &c), and next the children by Keturah ;
and the genealogical notices of these two
branches of his posterity are apparently
brought together (xxv. 1-6, and xxv. 12-18),
in order that, being here severally dismissed
at the end of Abraham's life, the main stream
of the narrative may flow in the channel of
Isaac's fortunes. — IV. Isaac. Isaac's life
(xxv. 19-xxxv. 29), a life in itself retiring
and uneventful. But in his sons the final
separation takes place, leaving the field clear
for the great story of the chosen seed. Even
when Nahor's family comes on the scene, as
it does in ch. xxix., we hear only so much of
it as is necessary to throw light on Jacob's
history. — V. Jacob. The history of Jacob
and Joseph (xxxvi. 1). Here, after Isaac's
death, we have (1) the genealogy of Esau
(xxxvi.), who then drops out of the narrative,
in order that (2) tbehistory of the Patriarchs
may be carried on without intermission to

the death of Joseph (xxxvii. -1.).— It will be
seen that a specific plan is preserved through
out. The main purpose is never forgotten.
God's relation to Israel holds the first place
in the writer's mind. It is this which it is
his object to convey. The history of that
chosen seed, who were the heirs of the pro
mise and the guardians of the Divine oracles,
is the only history which interprets man's
relation to God. By its light all others shine,
and may be read when the time shall come.
Meanwhile, as the different families drop off
here and there from the principal stock, their
course is briefly indicated. Beyond all doubt,
then, we may trace in the book of Genesis a
systematic plan.
GENNES'ARET, SEA OF, called in the
O.T. "the Sea of Chinnereth," or " Cin-
neroth" (Num. xxxiv. 11; Josh. xii. 3),
from a town of that name which stood on or
near its shore (Josh. xix. 35). At its north
western angle was a beautiful and fertile
plain called " Gennesaret " (Matt. xiv. 34 ;
Mark vi. 53), from which the name of the
lake was taken. The lake is also called in
the N.T. " the sea of Galilee," from the pro
vince of Galilee which bordered on its western
side (Matt. iv. 18 ; Mark vii. 31 ; John vi.
1) ; and "tbe sea of Tiberias," from the
celebrated city (John vi. 1). Its modern
name is Bahr Tubariyeh. Most of our Lord's
public life was spent in the environs of the
Sea of Gennesaret. This region was then
the most densely peopled in all Palestine.
No less than nine cities stood on the very
shores of the lake. The sea of Gennesaret is
of an oval shape, about thirteen geographical
miles long, and six broad. The river Jordan
enters it at its northern end, and passes out
at its southern end. In fact the bed of the
lake is just a lower section of the great
Jordan valley. Its most remarkable feature
is its deep depression, being no less than 700
feet below the level of the ocean. The
scenery is bleak and monotonous. The great
depression makes the climate of the shores
almost tropical. This is very sensibly felt by
the traveller in going down from the plains
of Galilee. In summer the heat is intense,
and even in early spring the air has some
thing of an Egyptian balminess. The water
of the lake is sweet, cool, and transparent;
and as the beach is everywhere pebbly it has
a beautiful sparkling look. It abounds in
fish now as in ancient times.
GENTILES. In the O. T. the Heb. gdyim
signified the nations, the surrounding nations,
foreigners as opposed to Israel (Neh. v. 8),
and was used with an invidious meaning. In
the N. T. it is used as equivalent to Greek.
But the A. V. is not consistent in its transla-

GERA

190

GERSIION

tion of the word Hellen, sometimes rendering
it by '' Greek" (Acts xiv. 1, xvii. 4 ; Rom.
i. 16, x. 12), sometimes by " Gentile" (Rom.
ii. 9, 10, iii. 9 ; 1 Cor. x. 32). The latter
use of the word seems to have arisen from
the almost universal adoption of the Greek
language. GE'RA, one of the "sons," ;'. e. descend
ants, of Benjamin, enumerated in Gen. xlvi.
21, as already living at the time of Jacob's
migration into Egypt. He was son of Bela
(1 Chr. viii. 3). The text of this last passage
is very corrupt ; and the different Geras there
named seem to reduce themselves into one —
the same as the son of Bela. Gera, who is
named (Judg. iii. 15) as the ancestor of
Ehud, and in 2 Sam. xvi. 5, as the ancestor of
Shimei who cursed David, is probably also
the same person.
GERAH. [Weights and Measures.]
GE'RAR, a very ancient city south of Gaza.
It occurs chiefly in Genesis (x. 19, xx. 1,
xxvi. 16) ; also incidentally in 2 Chr. xiv.
13, 14. It must have trenched on the
" south " or " south country" of later
Palestine. From a comparison of xxi. 32
with xxvi. 23, 26, Beersheba would seem to
be just on the verge of this territory, and
perhaps to be its limit towards the N.E.
GER'GESENES. [Gadara.]
GER'IZIM. On the position of Mount
Gerizim, see Ebal. It is an important
question whether Gerizim was the mountain
on which Abraham was directed to offer his
son Isaac (Gen. xxii. 2, and sq.). First, then,
let it be observed that it is not the mountain,
but the district which is there called Moriah,
and that antecedently to the occurrence which
took place "upon one of the mountains " in
its vicinity — a consideration which of itself
would naturally point to the locality, already
known to Abraham, as the plain or plains of
Moreh, "the land of vision," "the high land ;"
and therefore consistently " the land of adora
tion," or "religious worship," as it is vari
ously explained. That all these interpreta
tions are incomparably more applicable to the
natural features of Gerizim and its neigh
bourhood, than to the hillock (in comparison)
upon which Solomon built his temple, none
can for a moment doubt who have seen
both. [Moriah.] The Samaritans, therefore,
through whom the tradition of tbe true site
of Gerizim has been preserved, are probably
not wrong when they point out still — as they
have done from time immemorial — Gerizim
as tbe hill upon which Abraham's "faith was
made perfect." Another tradition of the
Samaritans is far less trustworthy: viz., that
Mount Gerizim was the spot where Melchise-
dech met Abraham — though there certainly

was a Salem or Shalem in that neighbourhood
(Gen. xxxiii. 18). Lastly, the altar which
Jacob built was not on Geriziin, as the
Samaritans contend, though probably nbout
its base, at the bead of the plain between it
and Ebal, "in the parcel of a field " which
that patriarch purchased from the children of
Humor, and where he spread his tent (Gen.
xxxiii. 18-20). Here was likewise his well
(John iv. 6), and the tomb of his son Joseph
(Josh. xxiv. 32), both of which are still
shown. — We now enter upon the second
phase in the history of Gerizim. According
to Josephus, a marriage contracted between
Manasseh, brother of Jaddus, the then high-
priest, and the daughter of Sanballut the
Cuthaean (comp. 2 K. xvii. 24), . having
created a great stir amongst the Jews, who
had been strictly forbidden to contract alien
marriages (Ezr. ix. 2 ; Neh. xiii. 23),
Sanballat, in order to reconcile his son-in-law
to this unpopular affinity, obtained leave
from Alexander the Great to build a temple
upon Mount Gerizim, and to inaugurate a
rival priesthood and altar there to those of
Jerusalem. " Samaria thenceforth," says
Prideaux, " became the common refuge and
asylum of the refractory Jews." Gerizim is
likewise still to the Samaritans what Jerusalem
is to the Jews, and Mecca to the Mahometans.
GER'SHOM. 1. The firstborn son of
Moses and Zipporah (Ex. ii. 22, xviii. 3).
The name is explained in these passages as =
" a stranger there," in allusion to Moses1
being a foreigner in Midian — "For he said,
I have been a stranger (Gcr) in a foreign
land." Its true meaning, taking it as a
Hebrew word, is "expulsion." The circum
cision of Gershom is probably related in Ex.
iv. 25. — 2. The form under which the name
Gershon — the eldest son of Levi — is given
in several passages of Chronicles, viz., 1 Chr.
vi. 16, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71, xv. 7.
GERSHON, the eldest of the three sons of
Levi, born before the descent of Jacob's family
into Egypt (Gen. xlvi. 11 ; Ex. vi. 16). But,
though the eldest born, the families of Gershon
were outstripped in fame by their youngei
brethren of Kohath, from whom sprang Moses
and the priestly line of Aaron. At the census
in the wilderness of Sinai the whole number
of the males of the sons of Gershon was 7500
(Num. iii. 22), midway between the Kohatbites
and the Merarites. The sons of Gershon (the
Gershonites) had charge of the fabrics of the
Tabernacle — the coverings,curtains, hangings,
and cords (Num. iii. 25, 26, iv. 25, 26) ; for
the transport of these they had two covered
wagons and four oxen (vii. 3, 7). Iu the
encampment their station was behind the
Tabernacle, on the west side (Num. iii- 231.

GESHUR

191

GIBEAH

In the apportionment of the Levitical cities
thirteen fell to the lot of the Gershonites.
These were in the northern tribes — two in
Manasseh beyond Jordan, four in Issachar,
four in Asher, and three in Naphtali.
GE'SHUR, a little principality in the
north-eastern corner of Bashan, adjoining the
province of Argob (Deut. iii. 14), and the
kingdom of Aram (Syria in the A. V. ; 2 Sam.
xv. 8; comp. 1 Chr. i. 23). It is highly
probable that Geshur was a section of the
wild and rugged region now called el-Lejah.
[Argob.] GESH'URI and GESH'URITES. 1. The
inhabitants of Geshur (Deut. iii. 14; Josh.
xii. 5, xiii. 11). — 2. An ancient tribe which
dwelt in the desert between Arabia and
Philistia (Josh. xiii. 2 ; 1 Sam. xxvii. 8).
GETHSEM'ANE, a small "farm" (A. V.
"place;" Matt. xxvi. 36; Mark xiv. 32),
situated across the brook Kedron (John xviii.
1), probably at the foot of Mount Olivet
(Luke xxii. 39), to the N.W., and about \ or
| of a mile English from the walls of Jerusa
lem. There was a " garden," or rather
orchard, attached to it, to which the olive,
fig, and pomegranate doubtless invited resort
by their hospitable shade. And we know
from the Evangelists Luke (xxii. 39) and
John (xviii. 2) that our Lord ofttimes resorted
thither with his disciples. But Gethsemane
has not come down to us as a scene of mirth ;
its inexhaustible associations are the offspring
of a single event — the Agony of the Son of
God on the evening preceding His Passion.
A modern garden, in which are eight vener
able olive-trees, and a grotto to the north,
detached from it, and in closer connexion with
the Church of the Sepulchre of the Virgin.
Against the contemporary antiquity of the
olive-trees, it has been urged that Titus cut
down all the trees round about Jerusalem.
The probability would seem to be that they
were planted by Christian hands to mark the
spot: unless, like the sacred olive of the
Acropolis, they may have reproduced them
selves. GEZ'ER, an ancient city of Canaan, whose
ting, Horam, or Elam, coming to the assist
ance of Lachish, was killed with all his
people by Joshua (Josh. x. 33, xii. 12). It
formed one of the landmarks on the south
boundary of Ephraim, between the lower
Beth-horon and the Mediterranean (xvi. 3),
the western limit of the tribe (1 Chr. vii. 28).
It was allotted with its suburbs to the
Kohathite Levites (Josh. xxi. 21 ; 1 Chr. vi.
W)i but the original inhabitants were not
dispossessed (Judg. i. 29) ; and even down to
w reign of Solomon the Canaanites were still
dwelling there, and paying tribute to Israel

(1 K. ix. 16). Ewald takes Gezer and
Geshur to be the same. In one place Gob is
given as identical with Gezer (1 Chr. xx. 4 ;
comp. 2 Sam. xxi. 18.)
GIANTS. 1. They are first spoken of in
Gen. vi. 4, under the name Nephilim. We arc-
told in Gen. vi. 1 -4 that " there ivere Nephilim
in the earth," and that afterwards the " sons
of God " mingling with the beautiful " daugh
ters of men " produced a race of violent and
insolent Gibborim (A. V. "mighty men").
But who were the parents of these giants?
who are "the sons of God"? They were
most probably the pious Sethites, though the
prevalent opinion both in the Jewish and early
Christian Church is that they wrere angels. It
was probably this ancient view -which gave
rise to the spurious Book of Enoch, and the
notion quoted from it by St. Jude (6), and
alluded to by St. Peter (2 Pet. ii. 4). 2. The
Rephaim, a name which frequently occurs.
The earliest mention of them is the record of
their defeat by Chedorlaomer and some allied
kings at Ashteroth Karnaim (Gen. xiv. 5).
Extirpated, however, from the east of Pales
tine, they long found a home in the west (2
Sam. xxi. 18, sq. ; 1 Chr. xx. 4). It is pro
bable that they had possessed districts west of
the Jordan in early times, since the "Valley
of Rephaim" (2 Sam. v. 18 ; I Chr. xi. 15 ;
Is. xvii. 5), a rich valley S.W. of Jerusalem,
derived its name from them. They were
probably an aboriginal people of which the
Emim, Anakim, and Zuzni were branches.
GIB'BETHGN, a town allotted to the tribe
of Dan (Josh. xix. 44), and afterwards given
with its " suburbs" to the Kohathite Levites
(xxi. 23).
GIB'EAH, a word employed in the Bible
to denote a " hill." Like most words of this
kind it gave its name to several towns and
places in Palestine, which would doubtless be
generally on or near a hill. They are — 1.
Gibeaii, a city in the mountain-district of
Judah, named with Maon and the southern
Carmel (Josh. xv. 57 ; and comp. 1 Chr. ii.
49, &c). — 2. Gibeath, is enumerated among
the last group of the towns of Benjamin,
next to Jerusalem (Josh, xviii. 28). It is
generally taken to be the place which after
wards became so notorious as "Gibeab-of-
Benjamin" or " of-Saul." But this was five
or six mil s north of Jerusalem. The name
being in the " construct state " — Gibeath and
not Gibeah— may it not belong to the follow
ing name Kirjath, and denote the hill ad
joining that town 1 — 3. The place in which
the Ark remained from the time of its return
by the Philistines till its removal by David (2
Sam. vi. 3, 4 ; comp. 1 Sam. vii. 1, 2).' — 4.
Gibeaii-of-Benjamin, first appears in the

GIBEON

GIER-EAGLE

tragical story of the Levite and his concubine
(Judg. xix., xx.). It was then a "city,"
with the usual open street or square (Judg.
xix. 15, 17, 20), and containing 700 "chosen
men" (xx. 15), probably the same whose
skill as slingers is preserved in the next verse.
In many particulars Gibeah agrees very
closely with Tuleil-el-Fiil, a conspicuous
eminence just four miles north of Jerusalem,
to the right of the road. We next meet with
Gibeah-of-Benjamin during the Philistine
wars of Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam. xiii., xiv.).
It now bears its full' title. As " Gibeah-of-
Benjamin " this place is referred to in 2 Sam.
xxiii. 29 (comp. 1 Chr, xi. 31), and as
" Gibeah " it is mentioned by Hosea (v. 8,
ix. 9, x. 9), but it does not again appear in
the history. It is, however, almost without
doubt identical with — 5. Gibeah-of-Saui,.
This i3 not mentioned as Saul's city till after
his anointing (1 Sam. x. 2G), when he is said
to have gone " home " to Gibeah. In the
subsequent narrative the town bears its full
name (xi. 4 ) . — 6. Gibeah-in-the-Field,
named only in Judg. xx. 31, as tbe place to
which one of the " highways " led from
Gibeah-of-Benjamin. It is probably the
same as Geba. The "meadows of Gaba "
(A. V. Gibeah; Judg. xx. 33) have no con
nexion with the " field," the Hebrew words
being entirely different.
GIB'EON, one of the four cities of the
Hivites, the inhabitants of which made a
league with Joshua (ix. 3-15), and thus
escaped the fate of Jericho and Ai (comp. xi.
19). Gibeon lay within the territory of
Benjamin (xviii. 25), and with its " suburbs"
was allotted to the priests (xxi. 17), of whom
it became afterwards a principal station. It
retains its ancient name almost intact, El-Jib.
Its distance from Jerusalem by the main road
is as nearly as possible 6£ miles ; but there is
a more direct road reducing it to 5 miles.
GIB'EONITES, THE, the people of Gibeon
and perhaps also of the three cities associated
with Gibeon (Josh. ix. 17) — Hivites ; and who
on the discovery of the stratagem by which
they had obtained the protection of the Israel
ites, were condemned to be perpetual bondmen,
hewers of wood and drawers of water for the
congregation, and for the house of God and al
tar of Jehovah (Josh. ix. 23, 27). Saul ap
pears to have broken this covenant, and in a fit
of enthusiasm or patriotism to have killed some
and devised a general massacre of the rest (2
Sam. xxi. 1, 2, 5). This was expiated many
years after by giving up seven men of Saul's
descendants to the Gibeonites, who hung
them or crucified them " before Jehovah " —
as a kind of sacrifice—in Gibeah, Saul's own
town (4, 6, 9).

GIB'LITES, THE. [Gebal.]
GID'KON, a Manassite, youngest son of
Joash of the Abiezrites, an undistinguished
family who lived at Ophrah, a town probably
on the west of Jordan (Judg. vi. 15). Ho was
the fifth recorded Judge of Israel, and for
many reasons the greatest of them all. When
we first hear of him he was grown up and
had sons (Judg. vi. 11, viii. 20), and from
the apostrophe of the angel (vi. 12) we may
conclude that he had already distinguished
himself in war against the roving bands of
nomadio robbers who had oppressed Israel
for seven years, and whose countless multi
tudes (compared to locusts from their terrible
devastations, vi. 5) annually destroyed all the
produce of Canaan, except such as could be
concealed in mountain-fastnesses (vi. 2). It
was probably during this disastrous period
that the emigration of Elimelech took place
(Ruth i. 1, 2). When the angel appeared,
Gideon was threshing wheat with a flail in
the winepress, to conceal it from the preda
tory tyrants. His call to be a deliverer, and
his destruction of Baal's altar, are related in
Judg. vi. After this begins the second act of
Gideon's life. Clothed by the Spirit of God
(Judg. vi. 34 ; comp. 1 Chr. xii. 18; Luke
xxiv. 49), he blew a trumpet, and was joined
by Zebulun, Naphtali, and even the reluctant
Asher. Strengthened by a double sign from
God, he reduced his army of 32,000 by the
usual proclamation (Deut. xx. 8 ; comp. 1
Mace. iii. 56). By a second test at "the
spring of trembling " he again reduced tho
number of his followers to 300 (Judg. vii. 5,
sq.). The midnight attack upon the Midian
ites, their panic, and the rout and slaughter
that followed, are told in Judg. vii. The
memory of this splendid deliverance took deep
root in the-national traditions (1 Sam. xii.
11 ; Ps. lxxxiii. 11 ; Is. ix. 4, x. 26 ; Heb.
xi. 32). After this there was a peace of 40
years, and we see Gideon in peaceful posses
sion of his well-earned honours, and surround
ed by the dignity of a numerous household
(viii. 29-31). It is not improbable that, like
Saul, he had owed a part of his popularity to
his princely appearance (Judg. viii. 18). In
this third stage of his life occur alike his
most noble and his most questionable acts,
viz., the refusal of the monarchy on theocra
tic grounds, and the irregular consecration of a
jewelled ephod formed out of the rich spoils of
Midian which proved to the Israelites a temp
tation to idolatry, although it was doubtless
intended for use in the worship of Jehovah.
GIER-EAGLE, an unclean bird mentioned
in Lev. xi. 18 and Deut. xiv. 17. There is
no reason to doubt that the rdchdm of the
Heb. Scriptures is identical in reality as in

193

GILGAL

name with the raekam of the Arabs, viz., the
Egyptian vulture.

Egyptian Vulture.
GI'IION. 1, The second river of Paradise
(Gen. ii. 13). [Eden]. — 2. A place near
Jerusalem, memorable as the scene of the
anointing and proclamation of Solomon as
king (1 K. i. 33,38, 45).
GILALAI', one of the priests' sons at the
consecration of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh.
xii. 36).
GILBOA, a mountain range on the eastern
side of the plain of Esdraelon, rising over the
city of Jezreel (comp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 4 with
xxii. 1). It is only mentioned in Scripture
in connexion with one event in Israelitiah
history, the defeat and death of Saul and
Jonathan by the Philistines (1 Sam. xxxi. 1 ;
2 Sam. i. 6, xxi. 12; 1 Chr. x. 1, 8). Of
the identity of Gilboa with the ridge which
stretches eastward, from the ruins of Jezreel,
no doubt can be entertained. The village is
now called Jelbou.
GIL'EAD. l. A mountainous region
hounded on the west by the Jordan, on the
north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian
plateau, and on tbe south by Moab and Am
mon (Gen. xxxi. 21; Deut. iii. 12-17). It
isBometimes called "Mount Gilead " (Gen.
xxxi. 25), sometimes "the land of Gilead"
(Num. xxxii. 1) ; and sometimes simply
"Gilead" (Ps. Ix. 7 ; Gen. xxxvii. 25) ; but
a comparison of the several passages sho ws
that they all mean the same thing. The
name Gilead, as is usual in Palestine, describes
the physical aspect of the country. It signi
fies "a hard rocky region." The statements
"i Gen. xxxi. 48, are not opposed to this
etymology, The old name of the district
Sh. I). B.

was Gilead, but by a slight change in the
pronunciation, the radical letters being re
tained, the meaning was made beautifully
applicable to the " heap of stones " Jacob and
Laban had built up—" tbe heap of witness."
Those acquainted with the modern Arabs and
their literature will see how intensely such a
play upon the word would be appreciated by
them. The mountains of Gilead have a real
elevation of from two to three thousand feet ;
but their apparent elevation on the western
side is much greater, owing to the depression
of the Jordan valley, which averages about
1000 feet. Their outline is singularly uni
form, resembling a massive wall running
along the horizon. The name Galaad occurs
several times in the history of the Maccabees
(1 Mace. v. 9, sq.). — 3. Possibly the name of
a mountain west of the Jordan, near Jezreel
(Judg. vii. 3). We are inclined, however, to
think that the true reading in this place
should be Gilboa. — 3. Son of Machir, grand
son of Manasseh (Num. xxvi. 29, 30). — 4.
The father of Jephthah (Judg. xi. 1, 2).
GIL'EADITES, THE (Judg. xii. 4, 5;
Num. xxvi. 29 ; Judg. x. 3), a branch of the
tribe of Manasseh, descended from Gilead.
There appears to have been an old standing
feud between them and the Ephraimites, who
taunted them with being deserters.
GIL'GAL. 1. The site of the first camp
of the Israelites on the west of the Jordan>
the place at which they passed the first night
after crossing the river, and where the twelve
stones were set up which had been taken
from the bed of the stream (Josh. iv. 19, 20,
comp. 3) ; where also they kept their first
passover in the land of Canaan (v. 10). It
was in the " end of the east of Jericho "
(A.V. " in the east border of Jericho ") ap
parently on a hillock or rising ground (v. 3,
comp. 9) in the Arboth-Jericho (A. V. " the
plains "), that is, the hot depressed district
of the Ghor which lay between the town and
the Jordan (v. 10). We again encounter
Gilgal in the time of Saul, when it seems to
have exchanged its military associations for
those of sanctity. We again have a glimpse
of it, some sixty years later, in the history
of David's return to Jerusalem (2 Sam; xix.).
Its site is uncertain. — But, 3. it was certainly
a distinct place from the Gilgal which is con
nected with the last scene in the life of Elijah,
and with one of Elisha's miracles (2 Ii. ii.).
The mention of Baal-shalisba (iv. 42) gives
a clue to its situation, when taken with the
notice of Eusebius, that that place was fifteen
miles from Diospolis (Lydda) towards the
north. In that very position stand now the
ruins bearing the name of Jiljilieh, i. e. Gil
gal. — 3, The "king of the nations or
0

GILOH

194.

GOAT

Gilgal," or rather perhaps the " king of
Goim-at-Gilgal," is mentioned in the cata
logue of the chiefs overthrown by Joshua (Josh.
xii. 23). — 4=. A Gilgal is spoken of in Josh. xv.
7, in describing the north border of Judah.
GI'LOH, a town in the mountainous part
of Judah, named in the first group, with
Debir and Eshtemoh (Josh. xv. 51) ; it was
the native place of the famous Ahithophel
(2 Sam. xv. 12).
GIRDLE, an essential article of dress in
the East, and worn both by men and women.
The common girdle was made of leather (2
Iv. i. 8 ; Matt. iii. 4), like that worn by the
Bedouins of the present day. A finer girdle
was made of linen (Jer. xiii. 1 ; Ex. xvi. 10),
embroidered with silk, and sometimes with
gold and silver thread (Dan. x. 5 ; Rev. i.
13, xv. 6), and frequently studded with gold
and precious stones or pearls. The manu
facture of these girdles formed part of the
employment of women (Prov. xxxi. 24).
The girdle was fastened by a clasp of gold or
silver, or tied in a knot so that the ends hung
down in front, as in the figures on the ruins
of Persepolis. It was worn by men about
the loins (Is. v. 27, xi. 5). The girdle of
women was generally looser than that of the
men, and was worn about the hips, except
when they were actively engaged (Prov.
xxxi. 17). The military girdle was worn
about the waist ; the sword or dagger was
suspended from it (Judg. iii. 16 ; 2 Sam. xx.
8 ; Ps. xiv. 3). Hence girding up the loins
denotes preparation for battle or for active
exertion. In times of mourning, girdles of
sackcloth were worn as marks of humiliation
and sorrow (Is. iii. 24, xxii. 12). In conse
quence of the costly materials of which
girdles were made, they were frequently
given as presents (1 Sam. xviii. 4. ; 2 Sam.
xviii. 11). They were used as pockets, as
among the Arabs still, and as purses, one end
of the girdle being folded back for the purpose
(Matt. x. 9 ; Mark vi. 8). The girdle worn
by the priests about the close-fitting tunic
(Ex. xxviii. 39, xxxix. 29), is described by
Josephus as made of linen so tine of texture
as to look like the slough of a snake, and
embroidered with flowers of scarlet, purple,
blue, and fine linen. It was about four
fingers broad, and was wrapped several times
round the priest's body, the ends hanging
down to the feet. The " curious girdle "
(Ex. xxviii. 8) was made of the same mate
rials and colours as the ephod, that is of
" gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen." Josephus describes it as sewn
to the breastplate. After passing once round
it was tied in front upon the seam, the ends
hanging down.

GIR'GASHITES, THE, one of the nations
who were in possession of Canaan before the
entrance thither of the children of Israel
(Gen. x. 16, xv. 21; Deut. vii. I ; Josh. iii.
10, xxiv. II ; 1 Chr. i. 14 ; Neh. ix. 8).
GITTA'IM. [Gittites.]
GIT'TITES, the 600 men who followed
David from Gath, under Ittai the Gittite (2
Sam. xv. IS, 19), and who probably acted as
a kind of body-guard. Obed-edom "the
Gittite " may have been so named from the
town of Gittaim in Benjamin (2 Sam. iv. 3;
Neh. xi. 33), or from Gath-rimmon.
GIT'TITH, a musical instrument, by some
supposed to have been used by the people of
Gath ; and by others to have been employed
at the festivities of the vintage (Ps. viii.,
lxxxi., lxxxiv.).
GLASS. The Heb. word occurs only in
Job xxviii. 17, where in A. V., it is rendered
" crystal." In spite of the absence of specific
allusion to glass iu the sacred writings, the
Hebrews must have been aware of the inven
tion. From paintings representing the pro
cess of glass-blowing which have been dis
covered at Beni-Hassan, and in tombs at
other places, we know that the invention is
at least as remote as the age of Osirtasen the
first (perhaps a contemporary of Joseph),
3500 years ago. Fragments too of wine-
vases as old as the Exodus have been dis-
covered in Egypt. The art was also known
to tbe ancient Assyrians. In the N. T. glass
is alluded to as an emblem of brightness
(Rev. iv. 6, xv. 2, xxi. 18).
GLEANING. The gleaning of fruit trees,
as well as of cornfields, was reserved for the
poor. [Corner..]
GLEDE, the old name for the common kite
(milvus ater) occurs only in Deut. xiv. 13
among the unclean birds of prey.
GNAT, mentioned only in the proverbial
expression used by our Saviour in Matt.
xxiii. 24.
GOAD (Judg. iii. 31 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 21).
But the Hebrew word in the latter passage
probably means the point of the plouglisltare,
The former word does probably refer to the
goad, the long handle of which might be used
as a formidable weapon. The instrument,
as still used in the countries of southern
Europe and western Asia, consists of a rod
about eight feet long, brought to a sharp point
and sometimes cased with iron at the head.
GOAT. There appear to be two or three
varieties of the common goat (Hircus aega-
grus) at present bred in Palestine and Syria,
but whether they are identical with those
which were reared by the ancient Hebrews
it is not possible to Bay. The most marked
varieties are the Syrian goat (Capra Mam*

GOAT, SCAPE

195

GOD

brica, Linn.), and the Angora goat (Capra
Angorensis, Linn.), with fine long hair. As
to the "wild goats" (1 Sam. xxiv. 2; Job
xxxix. 1, and Ps. civ. 18) it is not at all im
probable that some species of ibex is denoted.

Long-eared Syrian poat.

GOAT, SCAPE. [Atonement, Day of.]
GOB, a place mentioned only in 2 Sam.
xxi. 18, 19, as the scene of two encounters
between David's warriors and the Philistines.
In the parallel account in 1 Chr. xx. 4, the
name is given as Gezer.
GOD. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures
two chief names are used for the one true
divine Being — Elohim, commonly translated
God in our Version, and Jehovah, translated
Lord. Elohim is the plural of Eloah (in
Arabic Allah), a form which occurs only in
poetiy and a few passages of later Hebrew
(Neh. ix. 17 ; 2 Chr. xxxii. 15). It is also
formed with tbe pronominal suffixes, as Eloi,
my God, with the dependent genitive, and
with an epithet, in which case it is often used
in the short form, El (a word signifying
strength), as in El-Seaddai, God Almighty,
the name by which God was specially known
to the patriarchs (Gen. xvii. 1, xxviii. 3 ;
^x. vi. 3). The etymology is uncertain,
but it is generally agreed that the primary
idea is that of strength, power to effect ; and
that it properly describes God in that cha
racter in which He is exhibited to all men in
Rw works, as the creator, sustainer, and su

preme governor of the world. Hence it ia
used to denote any being believed in and
worshipped as God ; but in the sense of a
heathen deity, or a divine being spoken ol
indefinitely, the singular is most often used,
and the plural is employed, with the strict
idea of number, for the collective objects of
polytheistic worship, the gods, the gods of the
heathen. It is also used for any being that
strikes an observer as god-like (Sam. xxviii.
13), and for kings, judges, and others en
dowed with authority from God (Psalm lxxxii.
1, 6, viii. 6, xcvii. 7, &o. ; Ex. xxi. 6. xxii.
7, 8). The short form El is used for a hero,
or mighty man, as Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek.
xxxi. II), a sense derived at once from the
meaning of strength. The plural form of
Elohim has given rise to much discussion.
The fanciful idea, that it referred to the
Trinity of Persoyis in the Godhead, hardly
finds now a supporter among scholars. It is
either what grammarians call the plural cf
7>iajesty, or it denotes the fulness of divine
strength, the sum of the powers displayed by
God. Jehovah denotes specifically the one
true God, whose people the Jews were, and
who made them the guardians of His truth.
The name is never applied to a false god,
nor to any other being, except One, the
Angel-Jfhovaii, who is thereby marked as
one with God, and who appears again in
the New Covenant as " God manifested in the
flesh." Thus much is clear ; but all else is
beset with difficulties. At a time too early
to be traced, the Jews abstained from pro
nouncing the name, for fear of its irreverent
use. The custom is said to have been founded
on a strained interpretation of Lev. xxiv. 16 ;
and the phrase there used, "The Name"
(Shema), is substituted by the Rabbis for the
unutterable word. They also call it " the
name of four letters" (ilirV), "the great
and terrible name," " the peculiar name,"
" the separate name." In reading the Scrip
tures, they substituted for it the word Adonai
(Lord), from the translation of which by
KiipLos in the LXX., followed by the Vulgate,
which uses Dominus, we have got the Lord
of our Version. Our translators have, how
ever, used Jehovah in four passages (Ex.
vi. 3 ; Psalm lxxxiii. 18 ; Is. xii. 2, xxvi. 4),
and in the compounds, Jehovah-Jireh, Jeho-
vah-Nissi, and Jehovah-Shalom (Jehovah shall
sec, Jehovah is my Banner, Jehovah is Peace,
Gen. xxii. 14 ; Ex. xvii. 15 ; Judges vi. 24) ;
while the similar phrases Jehovah-lsidkenu
and Jehovah- Shammah are translated, " the
Lord our righteousness," and " the Lord is
there" (Jer. xxiii. 6, xxxiii. 16; Ezek.
xlviii. 35). In one passage the abbreviated
form J ah is retained (Psalm lxviii. 4). The
O 2

GOG

196

GOLIATH

substitution of the word Lord is most un
happy ; for, while it in no way represents
the meaning of the sacred name, the mind
has constantly to guard against a confusion
with its lower uses, and, above all, the direct
personal bearing of the name on the reve
lation of God through the whole course
of Jewish history is kept injuriously out of
sight. The key to the meaning of the name
is unquestionably given in God's revelation
of Himself to Closes by the phrase "I am
that I am," in connexion with the state
ment, that He was now first revealed by
his name Jehovah (Ex. iii. 14, vi. 3).
Without entering here upon questions of
Hebrew philology, we must be content to
take as established the etymological con
nexion of the name Jehovah with the He
brew substantive verb, with the inference
that it expresses the essential, eternal, un
changeable Being of Jehovah. But more, it
is not the expression only, or chiefly, of an
absolute truth : it is a practical recelation of
God, in His essential, unchangeable relation
to His chosen people, the basis of His Cove
nant. This is both implied in the occasion
on which it is revealed to Moses, and in the
fifteenth verse of Ex. iii. And here we find
the solution of a difficulty raised by Ex.
vi. 3, as if it meant that the name Jehovah
had not been known to the patriarchs.
There is abundant evidence to the contrary.
As early as the time of Seth, "men began to
call on the name of Jehovah" (Gen. iv. 25).
The name is used by the patriarchs them
selves (Gen. xviii. 14 ; xxiv. 40 ; xxvi. 28 ;
xxviii. 21). It is the basis of titles, like
Jehovah-Jireh, and of proper names, like
Moriah and Jochebed. Indeed, the same
reasoning would prove that the patriarchs
did not know God as Elohim, but exclu
sively as El-Shaddai. But, in fact, the word
name is used here, as elsewhere, for the
attributes of God. He was about, for the
first time, fully to reveal that aspect of His
character which the name implied.
GOG. [Magog.]
GO'LAN, a city of Bashan (Deut. iv. 43)
allotted out of the half tribe of Manasseh
to the Levites (Josh. xxi. 27), and one of
the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan
(xx. 8). Its very site is now unknown. It
grve its name to the province of Gaulanitis,
which is frequently mentioned by Josephus.
It lay east of Galilee, and north of Gadaritis
[Gadara]. The Jordan from the Sea of
Galilee to its fountains at Dan and Caesarea-
Philippi, formed its western boundary. It
corresponds to the modern province ofJauldn
(which is the Arabic form of the Hebrew
Golan). The greater part of Gaulanitis is a

flat and fertile table-land, well watered, and
clothed with luxuriant grass.
GOLD, the most valuable of metals, from
its colour, lustre, weight, ductility, and other
useful properties. Hence it is used as an
emblem of purity (Job xxiii. 10) and no
bility (Lam. iv. 1). Gold was known from
the very earliest times (Gen. ii. 11). It was
at first chiefly used for ornaments, &c. (Gen.
xxiv. 22). Coined money was not known to
the ancients till a comparatively late period ;
and on the Egyptian tombs gold is repre
sented as being weighed in rings for com
mercial purposes. (Comp. Gen, .xliii, 21.)
Gold was extremely abundant in ancient
times (1 Chr. xxii. 14 ; 2 Chr. i. 15, ix. 9;
Nah. ii. 9 ; Dan. iii. 1) ; but this did not
depreciate its value, because of the enormous
quantities consumed by the wealthy in fur
niture, &c. (1 K. vi. 22, x. passim; Cant.
iii. 9, 10 ; Esth. i. 6 ; Jer. x. 9). The chief
countries mentioned as producing gold are
Arabia, Sheba, and Ophir (1 K. ix. 28, x. 1;
Job xxviii. 16). Other gold-bearing coun
tries were Uphaz (Jer. x. 9 ; Dan. x. 5) and
Parvaim (2 Chr. iii. 6). Metallurgic pro
cesses are mentioned in Ps. lxvi. 10 ; Prov.
xvii. 3, xxvii. 21 ; and in Is. xlvi. 6, the
trade of goldsmith (cf. Judg. xvii. 4) is
alluded to in connexion with the overlaying
of idols with gold-leaf.
GOL'GOTHA, the Hebrew name of the
spot at which our Lord was crucified (Matt.
xxvii. 33 ; Mark xv. 22 ; John xix. 17).
By these three Evangelists it is interpreted
to mean the " place of a skuU." St. Luke's
words are really as follows — "the place
which is called (a skull'" — not, as in the
other Gospels, " of a skull," thus employing
the Greek term exactly as they do the
Hebrew one. Two explanations of the name
are given : (1) that it was a spot where ex
ecutions ordinarily took place, and therefore
abounded in skulls. Or (2) it may come
from the look or form of the spot itself, bald,
round, and skull-like, and therefore a mound
or hillock, in accordance with the common
phrase — for which there is no direct autho
rity — "Mount Calvary." Whichever of these
is the correct explanation, Golgotha seems
to have been a known spot.
GOLI'ATH, a famous giant of Gath, who
"morning and evening for forty days" de
fied the armies of Israel (1 Sam. xvii.). He
was possibly descended from the old Rephaim
[Giants], of whom a scattered remnant took
refuge with the Philistines after their dis
persion by the Ammonites (Deut. ii. 20, 21 ;
2 Sam. xxi. 22). His height was "six
cubits and a span," which, taking the cubit
at 21 inches, would make him 10* feet high.

GOMER

197

GOSPELS

But the LXX. and Josephus read "four
cubits and a span." The scene of his combat
with David was the Valley of the Terebinth,
between Shochoh and Azekah, probably
among the western passes of Benjamin, al
though a confused modern tradition has
given the name of Ain Jahlood (spring of
Goliath) to the spi'ing of Harod (Judg. vii. 1).
In 2 Sam. xxi. 19, we find that another
Goliath of Gath was slain by Elhanan, also a
Bethlehem ite.
GO'MER, the eldest son of Japheth, and
the father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and To-
garmah (Gen. x. 2, 3). His name is sub
sequently noticed but once (Ez. xxxviii. 6)
as an ally or subject of the Scythian king
Gog. He is generally recognised as the pro
genitor of the early Cimmerians, of the latter
Cimbri and the other branches of the Celtic
family, and of the modern Gael and Cymry,
the latter preserving, with very slight devi
ation, the original name.
GOMOR'RAH, in the N. T. written GO-
MOR'RHA, one of the five "cities of the
plain," or " vale of Siddim," that under
their respective kings joined battle there with
Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv. 2-8) and his allies,
by whom they were discomfited till Abraham
came to the rescue. Four out of the five
were afterwards destroyed by the Lord with
fire from heaven (Gen. xix. 23-29). One of
them only, Zoar or Bela, which was its ori
ginal name, was spared at the request of
Lot, in order that he might take refuge
there. Of these Gomorrah seems to have
been only second to Sodom in importance,
as well as in the wickedness that led to
their overthrow. What that atrocity was
may be gathered from Gen. xix. 4-8. Their
geographical position is discussed under
Sodoh. GOPHER WOOD, only once in Gen. vi. 14.
Two principal conjectures have been pro
posed : — 1. That the "trees of Gopher" are
any trees of the resinous kind, such as pine,
fir, &c. 2. That Gopher is cypress.
GO'SHEN, the name of a part of Egypt
where the Israelites dwelt for the whole
period of their sojourn in that country. It
is usually called the "land of Goshen," but
also Goshen simply. It appears to have
borne another name, "the land of Rameses"
(Gen. xlvii. 11), unless this be the name of a
district of Goshen. It was between Joseph's
residence at the time and the frontier of
Palestine, and apparently the extreme pro
vince towards that frontier (Gen. xlvi. 29).
The results of an examination of Biblical
evidence are that the land of Goshen lay
between the eastern part of the ancient Delta
ftnd the western border of Palestine, that it

was scarcely a part of Egypt Proper, was
inhabited by other foreigners besides tbe
Israelites ; that it was a pasture-land, espe
cially suited to a shepherd-people, and suffi
cient for the Israelites, who there prospered,
and were separate from tbe main body of
the Egyptians. These indications seem to
indicate the Wadi-t-Tumeyldt, the valley
along which anciently flowed the canal of
the Red Sea.
GOSPELS. The name Gospel (from god
and spell, Angl. Sax. good message or news,
which is a translation of the Greek zvnyyikiov)
is applied to the four inspired histories of
the life and teaching of Christ contained in
the New Testament, of which separate ac
counts are given in their place. They were
all composed during the latter half of the
first century : those of St. Matthew and St.
Mark some years before the destruction of
Jerusalem ; that of St. Luke probably about
a.d. 64 ; and that of St. John towards the
close of the century. Before the end of
the second century, there is abundant evi
dence that the four Gospels, as one collection,
were generally used and accepted. As a
matter of literary history, nothing can be
better established than the genuineness of
the Gospels. On comparing these four books
one with another, a peculiar difficulty claims
attention, which has had much to do with
the controversy as to their genuineness. In
the fourth Gospel the narrative coincides
with that of the other three in a few pas
sages only. Putting aside the account of the
Passion, there are only three facts which
John relates in common with the other Evan
gelists. Two of these are, the feeding of the
five thousand, and the storm on the Sea of
Galilee (ch. vi.). The third is the anointing
of His feet by Mary. Whilst the others pre
sent the life of Jesus in Galilee, John follows
him into Judaea ; nor should we know, but
for him, that our Lord had journeyed to
Jerusalem at the prescribed feasts. The re
ceived explanation is the only satisfactory
one, namely, that John, writing last, at the
close of the first century, had seen the other
Gospels, and purposely abstained from writing
anew what they had sufficiently recorded. — In
the other three Gospels there is a great
amount of agreement. If we suppose the
history that they contain to be divided into
sections, in 42 of these all the three narra
tives coincide, 12 more are given by Matthew
and Mark only, 5 by Mark and Luke only,
and 14 by Matthew and Luke. To these
must be added 5 peculiar to Matthew, 2 to
Mark, and 9 to Luke ; and the enumeration
is complete. But this applies only to general
coincidence as to the facts narrated : the

GOSPELS

198

GOZAN

amount of verbal coincidence, that is, the
passages either verbally the same, or coin
ciding in the use of many of the same words,
is much smaller. Various theories have been
proposed to account for this phenomenon.
(1). The first and most obvious suggestion
would be, that the narrators made use of
each other's work. Accordingly many have
endeavoured to ascertain which Gospel is to
be regarded as the first ; which is copied
from the first ; and which is the last, and
copied from the other two. But the theory
in its crude form is in itself most improb
able ; and the wonder is that so much time
and learning have been devoted to it. It
assumes that an Evangelist has taken up the
work of his predecessor, and, without sub
stantial alteration, has made a few changes
in form, a few additions and retrenchments,
and has then allowed the whole to go forth
under his name. (2). The supposition of a
common original from which the three Gos
pels were drawn, each with more or less
modification, would naturally occur to those
who rejected the notion that the Evangelists
had copied from each other. But if all the
Evangelists had agreed to draw from a
common original, it must have been widely
if not universally accepted in the Church;
and yet there is no record of its existence.
If the work was of high authority, it would
have been preserved, or at least mentioned ;
if of lower authority, it could not have be
come the basis of three canonical Gospels.
(3). There is another supposition to account
for these facts. It is probable that none of
the Gospels was written until many years
after the day of Pentecost on which the Holy
Spirit descended on the assembled disciples.
From that day commenced at Jerusalem the
work of preaching the Gospel and converting
the world. Now their preaching must have
been, from the nature of the case, in great
part historical ; it must have been based
upon an account of the life and acts of Jesus
of Nazareth. Nor is there anything unna
tural in the supposition that the Apostles
intentionally uttered their witness in the
same order, and even, for the most part, in
the same form of words. It is supposed,
then, that the portions of the three Gospels
which harmonise most exactly owe their
agreement to the fact that the apostolic
preaching had already clothed itself in a set
tled or usual form of words, to which the
writers inclined to conform without feeling
bound to do so ; and the differences which
occur, often in the closest proximity to the
harmonies, arise from the feeling of indepen
dence with which each wrote what he had
seen and heard, or, in the case of Mark

and Luke, what apostolic witnesses had told
him. GOURD. 1. Kikaydn only in Jon. iv. 0-10.
The plant, which is intended by this word
and which afforded shade to the prophet
Jonah before Nineveh, is the Ricinus com
munis, or castor-oil plant, which, formerly a
native of Asia, is now naturalised in America,
Africa, and the south of Europe. Thia plant
varies considerably in size, being in India a
tree, but in England seldom attaining a
greater height than three or four feet. The
leaves are large and palmate, with serrated
lobes, and would form an excellent shelter for
the sun-stricken prophet. The seeds contain
the oil so well known under the name of
" castor-oil," which has for ages been in high

Caslor-oil plant.
repute as a medicine. 2. With regard to the
" wild gourds " (pakku'dth) of 2 K. iv. 39,
which one of "the sons of the prophets"
gathered ignorantly, supposing them to be
good for food, there can be no doubt that it
is a species of the gourd tribe ( Cucurbitaceae],
which contains some plants of a very bitter
and dangerous character. As several kinds
of Cucurbitaceae, such as melons, pumpkins,
&c, are favourite articles of refreshing food
amongst the Orientals, we can easily under
stand the cause of the mistake.
GO'ZAN seems in the A. V, of I Chr. v. 26.

GRAPE

199

GROVE

to be the name of a river ; but in Kings
(2 K. xvii. 6, and xviii. 11) it is evidently
applied not to a river but a country. Gozan
was the tract to which the Israelites were
carried away captive by Pul, Tiglath-Pileser,
and Shalmaneser, or possibly Sargon. It is
probably identical with the Gauzanitis of
Ptolemy, and may be regarded as represented
by the Mygdonia of other writers. It was
the tract watered by the Habor, the modern
Kliabour, the great Mesopotamian affluent of
the Euphrates.
GRAPE. [Vine.]
GRASS. This is the ordinary rendering of
the Hebrew word chdtsir (1 K. xviii. 5 ; Job
xl. 5, Ps. civ. 14 ; Is. xv. 6). As the herbage
rapidly fades under the parching beat of the
sun of Palestine, it has afforded to the sacred
writers an image of the fleeting nature of
human fortunes (Job viii. 12 ; Ps. xxxvii. 2),
and also of tbe brevity of human life (Is. xl.
6, 7; Ps. xc. 5).
GRASSHOPPER. [Locust.]
GRAVE. ] Burial.]
GREECE, GREEKS, GRECIANS. The
histories of Greece and Palestine are little
connected with each other. In Gen. x. 2-5
Moses mentions the descendants of Javan as
peopling the isles of the Gentiles ; and when
the Hebrews came into contact with the
Ionians of Asia Minor, and recognized them
as the long-lost islanders of the western
migration, it was natural that they should
mark the similarity of sound between Javan
and Iones. Accordingly the O. T. word which
is Grecia, in A. V. Greece, Greeks, &c, is in
Hebrew Javan (Joel iii. 6 ; Dan. viii. 21) :
the Hebrew, however, is sometimes retained
(Is. lxvi. 19; Ez. xxvii. 13). The Greeks
and Hebrews met for the first time in the
slave-market. The medium of communica
tion seems to have been the Tyrian slave-
merchants. About b.c. 800 Joel speaks of
the Tyrians as selling the children of Judah
to the Grecians (Joel iii. 6) ; and in Ez.
xxvii. 13 the Greeks are mentioned as barter
ing their brazen vessels for slaves. Pro
phetical notice of Greece occurs in Dan. viii.
21, &c, where the history of Alexander and
his successors is rapidly sketched. Zechariah
(is. 13) foretells the triumphs of the Mac
cabees against the Graeco-Syrian empire,
while Isaiah looks forward to the conversion
of the Greeks, amongst other Gentiles, through
the instrumentality of Jewish missionaries
(lxvi. 19). in 1 Mace. xii. 5-23 we have an
account of an embassy and letter sent by the
Lacedaemonians to the Jews. The most re
markable feature in the transaction is the
claim which the Lacedaemonians prefer to
kindred with the Jews, and which Areus pro

fesses to establish by reference to a book.
The name of the country, Greece, occurs once
in N. T. (Acts xx. 2), as opposed to Mace
donia. [ Gentiles. ]
GREYHOUND. The translation in the
text of the A. V. (Prov. xxx. 31) of the
Hebrew words zarzir mothnayin, i. e. " one
girt about the loins." Various are the
opinions as to what animal "comely in going"
is here intended. Some think " a leopard,"
others "an eagle," or "a man girt with
armour," or " a zebra," or " a war-horse girt
with trappings." But perhaps the word
means " a wrestler," when girt about the
loins for a contest.
GRINDING. [Miu,.]
GROVE. A word used in the A. V., with
two exceptions, to translate the mysterious
Hebrew term Asherah, which is not a grove,
but probably an idol or image of some kind.
[Asherah.] It is also probable that there
was a connexion between this symbol or
image, whatever it was, and the sacred sym
bolic tree, the representation of which occurs
so frequently on Assyrian sculptures, and is
figured below. — 2. The two exceptions noticed

£ acred Symbolic Tree of tlie Assyrians.
above are Gen. xxi. 33, and 1 Sara. xxii. 6
(margin). In the religions of the ancient
heathen world groves play a prominent part.
In the old times altars only were erected to
the gods. It was thought wrong to shut up
the gods within walls, and hence trees were
the first temples ; and from tbe earliest times
groves are mentioned in connexion with re
ligious worship (Gen. xii. 6, 7, xiii. 18 ;
Deut. xi. 30; A. V. "plain"). The groves
were generally found connected with temples,
and often had the right of affording an
asylum. Some have supposed that even the
Jewish Temple had an enclosure planted with
palm and cedar (Ps. xcii. 12, 13) and olive

HABAKKUK

200

HAGAR

(Ps. Iii. 8), as the mosque which stands on its
site now has. This is more than doubtful ;
but we know that a celebrated oak stood by
the sanctuary at Shechem (Josh. xxiv. 26 ;
Judg. ix. 6). There are in Scripture many
memorable trees : e. g. Allon-bachuth (Gen.
xxxv. 8), the tamarisk in Gibeah (1 Sam.
xxii. 6), the terebinth in Shechem (Jos. xxiv.
26) under which the law was set up, the
palm-tree of Deborah (Judg. iv. 5), the tere
binth of enchantments (Judg. ix. 37), the
terebinth of wanderers (Judg. iv. 11), and
others (1 Sam. xiv. 2, x. 3, sometimes
" plain" in A. V.). This observation of par
ticular trees was among the heathen extended
to a regular worship of them.

HAB'AKKUKr the eighth in order of the
minor prophets. Of tbe facts of the
prophet's lifo we have no certain information.
He probably delivered his prophecy about the
12th or 13th year of Josiah (b.c. 630 or 629).
The prophet commences by announcing his
office and important mission (i. 1). He be
wails the corruption and social disorganiza
tion by which he is surrounded, and cries
to Jehovah for help (i. 2-4). Next follows
the reply of the Deity, threatening swift ven
geance (i. 5-11). The prophet, transferring
himself to the near future foreshadowed in
the divine threatenings, sees the rapacity and
boastful impiety of the Chaldean hosts, but,
confident that God has only employed them
as the instruments of correction, assumes
(ii. 1) an attitude of hopeful expectancy, and
waits to see the issue. He receives the divine
command to write in an enduring form the
vision of God's retributive justice, as revealed
to his prophetic eye (ii. 2, 3). The doom of
the Chaldeans is first foretold in general
terms (ii. 4-6), and the announcement is fol
lowed by a series of denunciations pronounced
upon them by the nations who had suffered
from their oppression (ii. 6-20). The stro-
phical arrangement of these "woes" is a
remarkable feature of the prophecy. The
whole concludes with the magnificent Psalm
in chap, iii., a composition unrivalled for
boldness of conception, sublimity of thought,
and majesty of diction.
HABERGEON, a coat of mail covering the
neck and breast. [Arms, p. 45.]
HA'BOR, the "river of Gozan " (2 K.
xvii. 6, and xviii. 11), is identified beyond all
reasonable doubt with the famous affluent of
the Euphrates, Aborrhas and Chaboras by
ancient writers, and now Kluibour.
HA'DAD, originally the indigenous appella
tion of the Sun among the Syrians, and thence
transferred to the king, as the highest of

earthly authorities. The title appears to
have been an official one, like Pharaoh. It
is found occasionally in the altered form
Hadar (Gen. xxv. 15, xxxvi. 39, compared
with 1 Chr. i. 30, 50).— 1. Son of Ishmael
(Gen. xxv. 15 ; 1 Chr. i. 30).— 9. A king of
Edom who gained an important victory over
the Midianites on the field of Moab (Gen.
xxxvi. 35 ; 1 Chr. i. 46).— 3. Also a king of
Edom, with Pau for his capital (1 Cbr. i. 50).
— 4. A member of the royal house of Edom
(1 K. xi. 14 ff,). In his childhood he escaped
the massacre under Joab, in which his father
appears to have perished, and fled with a
band of followers into Egypt. Pharaoh, the
predecessor of Solomon's father-in-law, treated
him kindly, and gave him his sister-in-law in
marriage. After David's death Hadad re
solved to attempt the recovery of his do
minion : Pharaoh in vain discouraged him,
and upon this he left Egypt and returned to
his own country.
HADADE'ZER (2 Sam. viii. 3-12; I K.
xi. 23). [Hadarezer.]
HA'DAR. [Hadad.]
HADARE'ZER, son of Rehob (2 Sam. viii.
3), the king of the Aramite state of Zobah,
who was defeated by David, and defeated
with great loss both of chariots, horses, and
men (1 Chr. xviii. 3, 4). After the first re
pulse of the Ammonites and their Syrian
allies by Joab, Hadarezer sent his army to
the assistance of his kindred the people of
Maachah, Rehob, and Ishtob (1 Chr. xix. 16;
2 Sam. x. 15, comp. 8). Under the command
of Shophacb, or Shobach, the captain of the
host, they crossed the Euphrates, joined the
other Syrians, and encamped at a place called
Helam. David himself came from Jerusalem
to take tbe command of the Israelite army.
As on the former occasion, the rout was
complete. HAD'ASHAH, one of the towns of Judah,
in the maritime low country (Josh. xv. 37
only), probably the Adasa of the Maccabaean
history. HADAS'SAH, probably the earlier name
of Esther (Esth. ii. 7).
HAD'ORAM, the form assumed in Chro
nicles by the name of the intendant of taxes
under David, Solomon, and Rehoboam (2
Chr. x. 18). In Kings the name is given in
the longer form of Adoxiram, but in Samuel
(2 Sam. xx. 24) as Adoram.
HA'GAR, an Egyptian woman, the hand
maid, or slave, of Sarah (Gen. xvi. 1), whom
the latter gave as a concubine to Abraham,
after he had dwelt ten years in the land of
Canaan and had no children by Sarah (xvi.
2 and 3). That she was a bondwoman is
stated both in the O. T. and in the N. T., in

HAGAR2NES

201

the latter as part of her typical character.
It is recorded that "when she saw that she
had conceived, her mistress was despised in
her eyes" (4), and Sarah, with the anger, we
may suppose, of a free woman, rather than
of a wife, reproached Abraham for the results
of her own act. Hagar fled, turning her
steps towards her native land through the
great wilderness traversed by tbe Egyptian
road. By the fountain in the way to Shur,
the angel of the Lord found her, charged her
to return and submit herself under the hands
of her mistress, and delivered the remarkable
prophecy respecting her unborn child, re
corded in ver. 10-12. On her return, she
gave birth to Ishmael, and Abraham was
then eighty-six years old. Mention is not
again made of Hagar in the history of Abra
ham until the feast at the weaning of Isaac,
when "Sarah saw the son of Hagar the
Egyptian, which she had born unto Abra
ham, mocking ;" and in exact sequence with
the first flight of Hagar, we now read of her
expulsion. The verisimilitude, oriental exact
ness, and simple beauty of this story are in
ternal evidences attesting its truth, apart
from all other evidence. The name of Hagar
occurs elsewhere only when she takes a wife
to Ishmael (xxi. 21) ; and in the genealogy
(xxv. 12). St. Paul refers to her as the type
of the old covenant, likening her to Mount
Sinai, the Mount of the Law (Gal. iv. 22
8000..).
.. - HA'GARENES, HA'GARITES, a people
dwelling to the east of Palestine, with whom
the tribe of Reuben made war in the time of
Saul (IChr.v. 10, 18-20). The same people,
as confederate against Israel, are mentioned
in Ps. lxxxiii. 6. It is generally believed that
they were named after Hagar, and that the
important town and district of Hejer, on the
borders of the Persian Gulf, represents them.
HAG'GAI, the tenth in order of the Minor
Prophets, and first of those who prophesied
after the Captivity. With regard to his tribe
and parentage both history and tradition are
alike silent; but it is more than probable
that he was one of the exiles who returned
with Zerubbabel and Joshua. The rebuilding
of the temple, which was commenced in the
reign of Cyrus (b.c. 535), was suspended
during the reigns of his successors, Cambyses
and Pseudo-Smerdis, in consequence of the
determined hostility of the Samaritans. On
the accession of Darius Hystaspis (b.c 521),
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah urged
the renewal of the undertaking, and obtained
the permission and assistance of the king
(Ezr. v. 1, vi. 14). According to tradition,
Haggai was born in Babylon, was a young
•man when he came to Jerusalem, and was

buried with honour near the sepulchres of
the priests. The names of Haggai and Zecha
riah are associated in the LXX. in the titles
of Ps. 137, 145-148: in the Vulgate in those
of Ps. Ill, 145 ; and in the Peshito Syriac in
those of Ps. 125, 126, 145, 146, 147, 148.
It may be that tradition assigned to these
prophets the arrangement of the above-men
tioned psalms for use in the temple service.
The style of Haggai is generally tame and
prosaic, though at times it rises to the dignity
of severe invective, when the prophet rebukes
his countrymen for their selfish indolence and
neglect of God's bouse. But the brevity of
the prophecies is so great, and the poverty of
expression which characterises them so strik
ing, as to give rise to a conjecture, not with
out reason, that in their present form they
are but the outline or summary of the ori
ginal discourses. They were delivered in the
second year of Darius Hystaspis (b.c. 520),
at intervals from the 1st day of the 6th
month to the 24th day of the 9th month in
the same year.
HAG'GITH, one of David's wives, the
mother of Adonijah (2 Sam. iii. 4 ; 1 K. i. 5,
11, ii. 13 ; 1 Chr. iii. 2).
HAIR. The Hebrews were fully alive to
the importance of the hair as an element of
personal beauty, whether as seen in the
"curled locks, black as a raven," of youth
(Cant. v. 11), or in the "crown of glory"
that encircled the head of old age (Prov. xvi.
31). Long hair was admired in the case of
young men ; it is especially noticed in the
description of Absalom's person (2 Sam. xiv.
26). The care requisite to keep the hair in
order in such cases must have been very
great, and hence the practice of wearing
long hair was unusual, and only resorted to
as an act of religious observance. In times
of affliction the hair was altogether cut off
(Is. iii. 17, 24, xv. 2 ; Jer. vii. 29). Tearing
the hair (Ezr. ix. 3) and letting it go dis
hevelled, were similar tokens of grief. The
usual and favourite colour of the hair was
black (Cant. v. 11), as is indicated in the
eomparisons to a "flock of goats" and the
"tents of Kedar" (Cant. iv. 1, i. 5) : a
similar hue is probably intended by the
purple of Cant. vii. 5. The approach of age
was marked by a sprinkling (Hos. vii. 9) of
gray hairs, which soon overspread the whole
head (Gen. xiii. 38, xliv. 29; 1 K. ii. 6, 9;
Prov. xvi. 31, xx. 29). Pure white hair was
deemed characteristic of the Divine Majesty
(Dan. vii. 9; Rev. i. 14). The chief beauty
of the hair consisted in curls, whether of a
natural or artificial character. With regard
to the mode of dressing the hair, we have no
very precise information ; the terms used are

HALAH

202

HAMMATII

of a general character, as of Jezebel (2 K. ix.
30), of Judith (x. 3). The terms used in the
N. T. (1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3) are also of
a general character. The arrangement of
Samson's hair into seven locks, or more pro
perly braids (Judg. xvi. 13, 19) involves the
practice of plaiting, which was also familiar
to the, Egyptians and Greeks. The locks
were probably kept in their place by a fillet
as in Egypt. The Hebrews, like other na
tions of antiquity, anointed the hair profusely
with ointments, ^vhich were generally com
pounded of various aromatic ingredients
(Ruth iii. 3 ; 2 Sam. xiv. 2 ; Ps. xxiii. 5,
xiv. 7, xcii. 10; Eccl. ix. 8; Is. iii. 24) ;
more especially on occasion of festivities or
hospitality (Matt. vi. 17, xxvi. 7; Luke vii.
46). It appears to have been the custom of
tbe Jews in our Saviour's time to swear by
the hair (Matt. v. 36), much as the Egyptian
women still snrar by the side-lock, and the
men by their beards.
IIA'LAH is probably a different place from
the Calah of Gen. x. 11. It may be identi
fied with the Chalcitis of Ptolemy.
HALL, used of the court of the high-
priest's house (Luke xxii. 55). In Matt.
xxvii. 27, and Mark xv. 16, "hall" is syno
nymous with " praetorium," which in John
xviii. 28 is in A. V. "judgment-hall."
HALLELUJAH. [Alleluia. J
HAM. 1. The name of one of the three
sons of Noah, apparently the second in age.
It probably signifies "warm" or "hot."
This meaning is confirmed by that of the
Egyptian word Kem (.Egypt), the Egyptian
equivalent of Ham, which signifies " black,"
probably implying warmth as well as black
ness. Of the history of Ham nothing is re
lated except hi3 irreverence to his father,
and the curse which that patriarch pro
nounced. The sons of Ham are stated to
have been " Cush and Mizraim and Phut
and Canaan" (Gen. x. 6; comp. 1 Chr. i. 8).
The name of Ham alone, of the three sons of
Noah, is known to have been given to a
country. Egypt is recognized as the "land
of Ham" in the Bible (Ps. lxxviii. 51, cv. 23-,
cvi. 22). The other settlements of the sons
of Ham are discussed under their respective
names. An inquiry into the history of the
Hamite nations presents considerable diffi
culties, since it cannot be determined in the
eases of the most important of those com
monly held to be Hamite that they were
purely of that stock. It is certain that the
three most illustrious Hamite nations — the
Cushites, the Phoenicians, and the Egyptians
—were greatly mixed with foreign peoples.
There are some common characteristics,
however, which appear to connect the dif

ferent branches of the Hamite family, and
to distinguish them from tho children of
Japheth and Shem. Their architecture has
a solid grandeur that we look for in vain
elsewhere. — 2. According to the present text
(Gen. xiv. 5), Chedorlaomer and his allies
smote the Zuzim in a place called Ham. If,
as seems likely, the Zuzim be the same as
the Zamzummim, Ham must be placed in
what was afterwards the Ammonite territory.
Hence it has been conjectured, that Ham is
but another form of the name of the chief
stronghold of the children of Ammow, Rab
bah, now yi»;-nian.
HA'MAN, the chief minister or vizier of
king Ahasuerus (Esth. iii. 1). After tho
failure of his uttcmpt to cut off all the Jews
in the Persian empire, he was hanged on the
gallows which he had erected for Mordecni.
Tho Tar gum and Josephus interpret the de
scription of him — the Agagite — as signifying
that he was of Amalokitish descent.
HA'MATII, the principal city of Upper
Syria, was situated in the valley of the
Orontes, which it commanded from tho low
screen of hills which forms the watershed
between the Orontes and the LUiiwi — the
" entrance of Hamath," as it is called in <
Scripture (Num. xxxiv. 8 ; Josh. xiii. 5, &c.)
— to the defile of Daphne below Antioch.
The namathites were a Hamitic race, and
arc included among the descendants of Ca
naan (Gen. x. 18). We must regard them
as closely akin to the Hittites on whom they
bordered, and with whom they were generally
in alliance. Nothing appears of the power
of Hamath, until the time of David (2 Sam.
viii. 10). Hamath seems clearly to have
been included in the dominions of Solomon
(1 K. iv. 21-4). The "store-cities," which
Solomon "built in Hamath" (2 Chr. viii. 4),
were perhaps staples for trade. In the As
syrian inscriptions of tbe time of Ahab (b.c.
900} Hamath appears as a separate power,
in alliance with the Syrians of Damascus, the
Hittites, and the Phoenicians. About three-
quarters of a century later Jeroboam the
second "recovered Hamath" (2 K. xiv. 28).
Soon afterwards the Assyrians took it (2 K.
xviii. 34, xix. 13, &c), and from this time
it ceased to be a place of much importance.
Antiochus Epiphanes changed its name to
Epiphaneia. The natives, however, called it
Hamath, even in St. Jorome's time, and its
present name, Hamah, is but slightly altered
from the ancient form.
HAM'MATH, one of the fortified cities in
the territory allotted to Naphtali (Josh, xix.
35). It was near Tiberias, one mile distant,
and had its name, Chammath, "lot baths,"
because it contained those of Tiberias, In

HAMMEDATHA

203

HANDICRAFT

the list of Levitical cities given out of Naph
tali (Josh. xxi. 32) the name of this place
seems to be given as Hammoth-Dor.
HAMMEDA'THA, father of the infamous
Haman (Esth. iii. 1, 10, viii. 5, ix. 24).
HAM'MOTH-DOR. [Hawmath.]
HAM'ONAH, the name of a city men
tioned in Ezekiel (xxxix. 16).
HA'MOR, a Hivite, who at the time of the
entrance of Jacob on Palestine was prince of
the land and city of Shechem (Gen. xxxiii.
19, xxxiv. 2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 18, 20, 24, 26).
[Dinah.] IIAN'AMEEL, son of Shallum, and cousin
of Jeremiah (Jer. xxxii. 7, 8, 9, 12; and
comp. 44).
HAN'ANEEL, THE TOWER OF, a tower
which formed part of the wall of Jerusalem
(Neh. iii. 1, xii. 39). From these two pas
sages, particularly from the former, it might
almost be inferred that Hananeel was but
another name for the Tower of Meali : at
any rate they were close together, and stood
between the sheep-gate and the fish-gate.
This tower is further mentioned in Jer. xxxi.
38. The remaining passage in which it is
named (Zech. xiv. 10) also connects this
tower with the "corner-gate," which lay on
the other side of the sheep-gate.
HANAN'l'AH. 1. Son of Azur, a Benja
mite of Gibeon and a false prophet in the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. In the 4th
year of his reign, b.c 595, Hananiah with
stood Jeremiah the prophet, and publicly
prophesied in the temple that within two
years Jeconiah and all his fellow-captives,
with the vessels of the Lord's house which
Nebuchadnezzar had taken away to Babylon,
should be brought back to Jerusalem (Jer.
xxviii.) : an indication that treacherous ne
gotiations were already secretly opened with
Pharaoh -Hophra. Hananiah corroborated
his prophecy by taking from off the neck of
Jeremiah the yoke which he wore by Divine
command (Jer. xxvii.) in token of the sub
jection of Judaea and the neighbouring coun
tries to the Babylonian empire, and breaking
it. But Jeremiah was bid to go and tell
Hananiah that for the wooden yokes which
he had broken he should make yokes of iron,
bo firm was the dominion of Babylon destined
to be for seventy years. The prophet Jere
miah added this rebuke and prediction of
Hananiah's death, the fulfilment of which
closes the history of this false prophet. — 2.
The Hebrew name of Shadrach. He was of
the house of David, according to Jewish tra
dition (Dan. i. 3, 6, 7, 11, 19; ii. 17).— 3.
Son of Zerubbabel (1 Chr. iii. 19), from whom
Christ derived his descent. He is the same
person who is by St. Luke called Joanna.

The identity of the two names Hananiah and
Joanna is apparent immediately we compare
them in Hebrew.
HANDICRAFT. (Acts xviii. 3, xix. 25;
Rev. xviii. 22). In tbe present article brief
notices only can be given of such handicraft
trades as are mentioned in Scripture. 1.
The preparation of iron for use either in war,
in agriculture, or for domestic purposes, was
doubtless one of the earliest applications of
labour ; and, together with iron, working in
brass, or rather copper alloyed with tin,
bronze, is mentioned in the same passage as
practised in antediluvian times (Gen. iv. 22).
In the construction of the Tabernacle, copper,
but no iron, appears to have been used,
though the use of iron was at the same period
well known to the Jews, both from their own
use of it and from their Egyptian education,
whilst the Canaanite inhabitants of Palestine
and Syria were in full possession of its use
both for warlike and domestic purposes (Ex.
xx. 26, xxv. 3, xxvii. 19; Num. xxxv. 16;
Deut. iii. 11, iv. 20, viii. 9; Josh. viii. 31,
xvii. 16, 18). After the establishment of the
Jews in Canaan, the occupation of a smith
became recognised as a distinct employment
(1 Sam. xiii. 19). The smith's work and its
results are often mentioned in Scripture
(2 Sam. xii. 31; 1 K. vi. 7; 2 Chr. xxvi.
14 ; Is. xliv. 12, liv. 16). The worker in
gold and silver must have found employment
both among the Hebrews and the neighbour
ing nations in very early times, as appears
from the ornaments sent by Abraham to Re
bekah (Gen. xxiv. 22, 53, xxxv. 4, xxxviii.
18; Deut. vii. 25). 2. The work of the
carpenter is often mentioned in Scripture
(Gen. vi. 14; Ex. xxxvii.; Is. xliv. 13).
In the palace built by David for himself the
workmen employed were chiefly Phoenicians
sent by Hiram (2 Sam. v. 11 ; 1 Chr. xiv. 1),
as most probably were those, or at least the
principal of those who were employed by
Solomon in his works (1 K. v. 6). But in
the repairs of the Temple, executed under
Joash king of Judah, and also in the re
building under Zerubbabel, no mention is
made of foreign workmen, though in the
latter case the timber is expressly said to
have been brought by sea to Joppa by Zido-
nians (2 K. xii. 11 ; 2 Chr. xxiv. 12 ; Ezra
iii. 7). That the Jewish carpenters must
have been able to carve with some skill is
evident from Is. xli. 7, xliv. 13. In N. T.
the occupation of a carpenter is mentioned
in connexion with Joseph the husband of the
Virgin Mary, and ascribed to our Lord him
self by way of reproach (Mark vi. 3 ; Matt.
xiii. 55). 3. The masons employed by David
and Solomon, at least the chief of them, were

HANDICRAFT

201

HARE

Phoenicians (1 K. v. 18 ; Ez. xxvii. 9). The
large stones used in Solomon's Temple are
said by Josephus to have been fitted together
exactly without either mortar or cramps, but
the foundation stones to have been fastened
with lead. For ordinary building, mortar
was used ; sometimes, perhaps, bitumen, as
was the case at Babylon (Gen. xi. 3). The
lime, clay, and straw of which mortar is
generally composed in the East, require to
be very carefully mixed and united so as to
resist wet. The wall "daubed with untem-
pered mortar" of Ezekiel (xiii. 10) was per
haps a sort of cob-wall of mud or clay with
out lime, which would give way under heavy
rain. The use of whitewash on tombs is
remarked by our Lord (Matt, xxiii. 27).
Houses infected with leprosy were required
by tbe Law to be re-plastered (Lev. xiv. 40-
45). 4. Akin to the craft of the carpenter is
that of ship and boat-building, which must
have been exercised to some extent for the
fishing-vessels on the lake of Gennesaret
(Matt. viii. 23, ix. 1 ; John xxi. 3, 8). So
lomon built, at Ezion-Geber, ships for his
foreign trade, which were manned by Phoeni
cian crews, an experiment which Jehoshaphat
endeavoured in vain to renew (1 K. ix. 26,
27, xxii. 48; 2 Chr. xx. 36, 37). 5. The
perfumes used in the religious services, and
in later times in the funeral rites of monai'chs,
imply knowledge and practice in the art of
the " apothecaries," who appear to have
formed a guild or association (Ex. xxx. 25,
35 ; Neh. iii. 8 ; 2 Chr. xvi. 14 ; Eccl. vii. 1,
x. 1; Ecclus. xxxviii. 8). 6. The arts of
spinning and weaving both wool and linen
were carried on in early times, as they are
still usually among the Bedouins, by women.
One of the excellences attributed to the good
house-wife is her skill and industry in these
arts (Ex. xxxv. 25, 26 ; Lev. xix. 19 ; Deut.
xxii. 11 ; 2 K. xxiii. 7 ; Ez. xvi. 16 ; Prov.
xxxi. 13, 24). The loom, with its beam
(1 Sam. xvii. 7), pin (Judg. xvi. 14), and
shuttle (Job vii. 6), was, perhaps, introduced
later, but as early as David's time (1 Sam.
xvii. 7). Together with weaving we read
also of embroidery, in which gold and silver
threads were interwoven with the body of
the stuff, sometimes in figure patterns, or
with precious stones set in the needle-work
(Ex. xxvi. 1, xxviii. 4, xxxix. 6-13). 7.
Besides these arts, those of dyeing and of
dressing cloth were practised in Palestine,
and those also of tanning and dressing leather
(Josh. ii. 15-18; 2 K. i. 8; Matt. iii. 4;
Acts ix. 43). Shoemakers, barbers, and
tailors are mentioned in the Mishna (Pesach.
iv. 6) ; the barber, or his occupation, by
Ezekiel (v. 1 ; Lev. xiv. 8 ; Num. vi. 5),

and the tailor, plasterers, glaziers, and glas*
vessels, painters, and goldworkers are men
tioned in the Mishna (Chel. viii. 9, xxix. 3,
4, xxx. 1). Tent-makers are noticed in the
Acts (xviii. 3), and frequent allusion is made
to the trade of the potters. 8. Bakers are
noticed in Scripture (Jer. xxxvii. 21; Hos.
vii. 4) ; and the well-known valley Tyro-
poeon probably derived its name from the
occupation of the cheese-makers, its inhabi
tants. Butchers, not Jewish, are spoken of
1 Cor. x. 25.
HAN'NAII, one of the wives of Elknnah,
and mother of Samuel (1 Sam. i. ii.). A
hymn of thanksgiving for the birth of her
son is in the highest order of prophetic
poetry ; its resemblance to" that of the Virgin
Mary (comp. 1 Sam. ii. 1-10 with Luke i.
46-55 ; see also Ps. cxiii.) has been noticed
by the commentators. More recent critics
have, however, assigned its authorship to
David. HA'NOCH. 1. The third in order of the
children of Midian (Gen. xxv. 4).— 2. Eldest
son of Reuben (Gen. xlvi. 9; Ex. vi. 14;
Num. xxvi. 5 ; 1 Chr. v. 3), and founder of
the family of the Hanociiites (Num. xxvi.
5). HA'NUN, son of Nahash (2 Sam. x. 1, 2 ;
1 Chr. xix. 1, 2), king of Ammon, who dis
honoured the ambassadors of David (2 Sam.
x. 4), and involved the Ammonites in a dis
astrous war (2 Sam. xii. 31 ; 1 Chr. xix. 6).
HA'RAN. 1. The third son of Terah, and
therefore youngest brother of Abram (Gen.
xi. 26). Three children are ascribed to him
—Lot (27, 31), and two daughters, viz., Mil-
cah, who married her uncle Nahor (29), and
Iscah (29). Haran was born in Ur of the
Chaldees, and he died there while his father
was still living (28). — 2. Haran or Charraj*
(Acts vii. 2, 4), name of the place whither
Abraham migrated with his family from Ur
of the Chaldees, and where the descendants
of his brother Nahor established themselves
(comp. Gen. xxiv. 10, with xxvii. 43). It
is said to be in Mesopotamia (Gen. xxiv. 10),
or more definitely, in Padan-Aram (xxv. 20),
the cultivated district at the foot of the hills,
a name well applying to the beautiful stretch
of country which lies below Mount Masiua
between the Khabour ana the Euphrates.
Here, about midway in this district, is a
small village still called Harran. It was
celebrated among the Romans under tbe
name of Charrae, as the scene of the defeat
of Crassus.
HARE (Heb. arncbeth) occurs only in Lev.
xi. 6 and Deut. xiv. 7, amongst the animals
disallowed as food by the Mosaic law. The
hare is at this day called arneb by the Arabs

HARETH, THE FOREST OF

205

HAZAEL

in Palestine and Syria. It was erroneously
thought by the ancient Jews to have chewed
the cud. They were no doubt misled, as in
the case of the shaphan (Hyrax) by the habit
these animals have of moving the jaw about.
HA'RETH, THE FOREST OF, in which
David took refuge, after, at the instigation
of tbe prophet Gad, he had quitted the
" hold " or fastness of the cave of Adullam
(1 Sam. xxii. 5).
HA'ROD, THE WELL OF, a spring by
which Gideon and his great army encamped
on the morning of the day which ended in
the rout of the Midianites (Judg. vii. 1), and
where the trial of the people by their mode
of drinking apparently took place. The Ain
Jalud is very suitable to the circumstances,
as being at present the largest spring in the
- neighbourhood. HARO'SHETH "OF THE GENTILES,"
bo called from the mixed races that inhabited
it, a city in tbe north of the land of Canaan,
supposed to have stood on the west coast of
the lake Merom, from which the Jordan is
sues forth in one unbroken stream. It was
the residence of Sisera, captain of Jabin,
king of Canaan (Judg. iv. 2), and it was the
,point to which the victorious Israelites under
Barak pursued the discomfited host and cha
riots of the second potentate of that name
(Judg. iv. 16).
HARP (Heb. kinndr). The kinndr was
the national instrument of the Hebrews, and
was well known throughout Asia. Moses as
signs its invention to the antediluvian period
(Gen. iv. 21). Josephus records that the
Utmor had ten strings, and that it was
played on with the plectrum ; but this is in
contradiction to what is set forth in the 1st
hook of Samuel (xvi. 23, xviii. 10), that
David played on the kinndr with his hand.
Probably there was a smaller and a larger
Mnnor, and these may have been played in
different ways (1 Sam. x. 5).
HARROW. The word so rendered 2 Sam.
xii. 31, 1 Chr. xx. 3, is probably a threshing-
machine. The verb rendered "to barrow"
(Is. xxviii. 24; Job xxxix. 10 ; Hos. x. 11),
expresses apparently the breaking of the
clods, and is so far analogous to our harrow
ing, but whether done by any such machine
as we call " a harrow," is very doubtful.
HART. The hart is reckoned among the
clean animals (Deut. xii. 15, xiv. 5, xv. 22),
and seems, from the passages quoted, as well
as from 1 K. iv. 23, to have been commonly
tilled for food. The Heb. masc. noun ayydl
lienotes, there can be no doubt, some species
of ¦Cervidae (deer tribe), either the Dama
vulgaris, fallow-deer, or the Cervus Bar-
harm, the Barbary deer.

HARVEST. [Agriculture.]
HAU'RAN, a province of Palestine twice
mentioned by Ezekiel (xlvii. 16, 18). There
can be little doubt that it is identical with
the well-known Greek province of Auranitis,
and the modern Haurdn.
HAV'ILAH. 1. A son of Cush (Gen. x.
7) ; and 2. a son of Joktan (x. 29). Various
theories have been advanced respecting these
obscure peoples. It appears to be most
probable that both stocks settled in the same
country, and there intermarried ; thus re
ceiving one name, and forming one race,
with a common descent. The Cushite people
of this name formed the westernmost colony
of Cush along the south of Arabia.
HAV'ILAH (Gen. ii. 11). [Eden.]
HA'VOTH-JA'IR, certain villages on the
east of Jordan, in Gilead or Bashan, which
were taken by Jair the son of Manasseh, and
called after his name (Num. xxxii. 41 ; Deut.
iii. 14). In the records of Manasseh in Josh.
xiii. 30, and 1 Chr. ii. 23, the Havoth-jair
are reckoned with other districts as making
up sixty " cities " (comp. 1 K. iv. 13).
There is apparently some confusion in these
different statements as to what the sixty
cities really consisted of. No less doubtful is
the number of the Havoth-jair. In 1 Chr.
ii. 22 they are specified as twenty-thi-ee, but
in Judg. x. 4, as thirty'.
HAWK, the translation of the Hebrew
nets (Lev. xi. 16 ; Deut. xiv. 15 ; Job xxxix.
26). The word is doubtless generic, as ap
pears from the expression in Deut. and Lev.
" after his kind," and includes various
species of the Ealconidae. With respect to
the passage in Job (1. c.), which appears to
allude to the migratory habits of hawks, it is
curious to observe that of the ten or twelve
lesser raptors of Palestine, nearly all are
summer migrants. The kestrel remains all
the year, but the others are all migrants from
the south.
HA'ZAEL, a king of Damascus, who
reigned from about b.c. 886 to b.c. 840.
He appears to have been previously a person
in a high position at the court of Benhadad,
and was sent by his master to Elisha, to in
quire if he would recover from the malady
under which he was suffering. Elisha's
answer led to the murder of Benhadad by
his ambitious servant, who forthwith mounted
the throne (2 K. viii. 7-15). He was soon
engaged in hostilities with Ahaziah king of
Judah, and Jehoram king of Israel, for the
possession of the city of Ramoth-Gilead (ibid.
viii. 28). Towards the close of the reign of
Jehu, Hazael led the Syrians against the
Israelites (about b.c. 860), whom he " smote
in all their coasts" (2 K. x. 32), thus accom-

HAZAR-ADDAR

20C

HEBREW

plishing the prophecy of Elisha (ibid, viii,
12). At the close of his life, having taken
Gath (ibid. xii. 17 ; comp. Am. vi. 2), he pro
ceeded to attack Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxiv. 24),
and was about to assault the city, when Joash
bribed him to retire (2 K. xii. IS). Hazael
appears to have died about the year b.c 840
(ibid. xiii. 24), having reigned 46 years.
HA'ZAR-AD'DAR, etc. [Hazer.]
HAZARMA'VhTH, the third, in order, of
the sons of Joktan (Gen. x, 26). The name
is preserved in the Arabic Hadramawt and
Hadrumawt, the appellation of a province
and an ancient people of Southern Arabia,
Its capital is Sat ham, a very ancient city,
and its chief ports are Mirbfit, Zafari, and
Kisheem, from whence a great trade was
carried on, in ancient times, with India and
Africa. HAZEL. The Hebrew term luz occurs
only in Gen. xxx. 37. Authorities are di
vided between the hazel and the almond tree,
as representing the luz. The latter is most
probably correct.
HA'ZER, topographically, seems generally
employed for the "villages" of people in a
roving and unsettled life, the semi-permanent
collections of dwellings which are described
by travellers among the modern Arabs to
consi-t of rough stone walls covered with the
tent-cloths. As a proper name it appears in
the A. V. : — 1. In the plural, Hazerim, and
Hazerotu, for which see below. 2. In the
slightly different form of Hazor. 3. In
composition with other words. — 1. Haz^r-
addar, a place named as one of the land
marks on the southern boundary of the land
promised to Israel (Num. xxxiv. 4 ; Adar,
Josh. xv. 3). — 2. Hazar-enan, the place at
which the northern boundary of the land
promised to the children of Israel was to
terminate (Num. xxxiv. 9, 10 ; comp. Ez.
xlvii. 17, xlviii. 1). — 3. Hazar-gaddaii, one
of the towns in the southern district of Judah
(Josh. xv. 27), named between Moladah and
Heshmon. — 4. Hazar-siiual, a town in the
southern district of Judah, lying between
Hazar-gaddah and Beersheba (Josh. xv. 28,
xix. 3; 1 Cbr. iv. 28). — 5. Hazar-susaii,
one of the " cities " allotted to Simeon in the
extreme south of the territory of Judah
(Josh. xix. 5).
HA'ZERIM. The Avims, or more accu
rately the Avvim, are said to have lived "in
the villages (A.V. "Hazerim") as far as
Gaza" (Deut. ii. 23) before their expulsion
by tbe Caphtorim.
HA'ZEROTH (Num. xi. 35, xii. 16, xxxiii.
17 ; Deut. i. 1), a station of the Israelites in
the desert, and perhaps recognizable in the
Arabic Hudhera.

HA'ZEZON-TA'MAR, and nA'ZAZON-
TA'MAR, the ancient name of Engedi (Gen.
xiv. 7). The name occurs in the records of
the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chr. xx. 2).
HA'ZOR. 1. A fortified city, which on
the occupation of the country was allotted to
Naphtali (Josh, xix, 36). Its position was
apparently between llamah and Kedesh (ibid.
xii. 19), on the high ground overlooking the
Lake of Merom. There is no reason for
supposing it a different place from that of
which Jabin was king (Josh. xi. 1 ; Judg.
iv. 2, 17 ; 1 Sam. xii. 9). It was tho prin
cipal city of the whole of North Palestine
(Josh. xi. 10). It was fortified by Solomon
(1 K. iv. 15), and its inhabitants were car
ried captive by Tiglath-Pileser (2 K. xv.
29). The most probable site of Hazor is
Tell Khuraibeh. — 2. One of the "cities "of
Judah in the extreme south, named next in
order to Kedesh (Josh. xv. 23).— 3. Hazor-
Hadattah, = " new Hazor," another of the
southern towns of Judah (Josh. xv. 25).
HEATHEN. [Gentiles.]
HEAVEN. There are four Hebrew words
thus rendered in the 0. T., which we
may briefly notice. 1. Rdki'a (A. V. firma
ment). [Firmament.] — 2. Shdmayim. Tins
is the word used in the expression " the
heaven and the earth," or "the upper and
lower regions" (Gen. i. 1).— 3. Mdrdm, used
for heaven in Ps. xviii. 16; Jer. xxv. 30;
Is. xxiv. 18. Properly speaking it means a
mountain, as in Ps. cii. 19 ; Ez. xvii. 23. —
4. Shechdkim, "expanses," with reference to
the extent of heaven (Deut. xxxiii. 26; Job
xxxv. 5). St. Paul's expression " third
heaven" (2 Cor. xii. 2) has led to much con
jecture. Grotius said that the Jews divided
the heaven into three parts, viz., 1. the air or
atmosphere, where clouds gather ; 2. the fir
mament, in which the sun, moon, and stars
are fixed ; 3. the upper heaven, the abode of
God and his angels.
HE'BER. 1. Grandson of the patriarch
Asher (Gon. xlvi. 17 ; 1 Chr. vii. 31 ; Num.
xxvi. 45), from whom came the Heberites
(Num. xxvi. 45). — 2. The patriarch Eber
(Luke iii. 35). [Eber.]
HE'BREW. This word first occurs as
given to Abram by the Canaanites (Gen. xiv.
13) because he had crossed the Euphrates.
The name is also derived from }e*ber, " be
yond, on the other side," but this is essen
tially the same with the preceding explana
tion, since both imply that Abraham and his
posterity were called Hebrews in order to
express a distinction between the races E.
and W. of the Euphrates. It would therefore
appear that Hebrew was a cis-Euphratian
word applied to trans-Euphratian immigrants.

0 
I , ill I
mi

^mmB

HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

207

HEBRON

The term Israelite was used by the Jews of
themselves among themselves, the term He
brew was the name by which they were
known to foreigners. The latter was ac
cepted by tbe Jews in their external rela
tions ; and after the general substitution of
the word Jew, it still found a place in that
marked and special feature of national con
tradistinction, the language. AU the Books
of the Old Testament are written in the He
brew language, with the exception of the
following passages — Dan. ii. 4-vii. ; Ez. iv.
8-vi. 18, and vii. 12-26 ; Jer. x. 11 — which
are in Chaldee. Both Hebrew and Chaldee
are sister dialects of a great family of lan
guages, to which the name of Semitic is
usually given, from the real or supposed de
scent of the people speaking them from the
patriarch Shem. The dialects of this Semitic
family may be divided into three main
branches: — 1. The Northern or Aramaean,
to which the Chaldee and Syriac belong. 2.
The Southern, of which the Arabic is the most
important, and which also includes the Ethi
opic. 8. The Central, which comprises the
Hebrew and the dialects spoken by the other
inhabitants of Palestine, such as the Canaan
ites and Phoenicians.
HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE. There
has been a wide difference of opinion respect
ing tbe authorship of this Epistle. The super
scription, the ordinary source of information,
is wanting ; but there is no reason to doubt
that at first, everywhere, except in North
Africa, St. Paul was regarded as the author.
Clement of Alexandria ascribed to St. Luke
the translation of the Epistle into Greek
from a Hebrew original of St. Paul. Origen
believed that the thoughts were St. Paul's,
the language and composition St. Luke's or
Clement's of Rome. Tertullian names Bar
nabas as the reputed author according to the
North African tradition. Luther's conjecture
that Apollos was the author has been adopted
bymany, — The Epistle was probably addressed
to the Jews in Jerusalem and Palestine. The
argument of the Epistle is such as could be
used with most effect to a church consisting
exclusively of Jews by birth, personally fami
liar with and attached to tbe Temple-service.
It was evidently written before the destruc
tion of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, The whole
argument, and specially the passages viii. 4
and sq,, ix. 6 and sq., and xiii. 10 and sq.,
imply that the Temple was standing, and
that its usual course of Divine service was
carried on without interruption. The date
which best agrees with the traditionary ac
count of the authorship and destination of
the Epistle is a.d. 63, about the end of St.
Paul's imprisonment at Rome, or a year after

Albinus succeeded Festus as Procurator. — We
have already seen that Clement of Alexandria
stated that the Epistle was written by St.
Paul in Hebrew, and translated by St. Luke
into Greek. But nothing is said to lead us
to regard it as a tradition, rather than a
conjecture suggested by the style of the
Epistle. In favour of a Greek original we
may observe (1.) the purity and easy flow
of the Greek; (2.) the use of Greek words
which could not be adequately expressed in
Hebrew without long periphrase ; (3.) the
use of paronomasia ; and (4.) the use of the
Septuagint in quotations and references. —
With respect to the scope of the Epistle, it
should be recollected that, while the nume
rous Christian churches scattered throughout
Judaea (Acts ix. 31 ; Gal. i. 22) were con
tinually exposed to persecution from the Jews
(1 Thess. ii. 14), there was in Jerusalem one
additional weapon in the hands of the pre
dominant oppressors of the Christians. The
magnificent national Temple might be shut
against the Hebrew Christian ; and even if
this affliction were not often laid upon him,
yet there was a secret burden which he bore
within him, tbe knowledge that the end of
all the beauty and awfulness of Zion was
rapidly approaching. What could take the
place of the Temple, and that which was
behind the veil, and the Levitical sacrifices,
and the Holy City, when they should cease
to exist 1 What compensation could Chris
tianity offer him for the loss which was
pressing the Hebrew Christian more and
more 1 The writer of this Epistle meets the
Hebrew Christians on their own ground. His
answer is — "Your new faith gives you Christ,
and, in Christ, all you seek, all your fathers
sought. In Christ the son of God you have
an all-sufficient Mediator, nearer than angels
to the Father, eminent above Moses as a
benefactor, more sympathising and more pre
vailing than the High-priest as an intercessor :
His sabbath awaits you in heaven ; to His
covenant the old was intended to be subser
vient ; His atonement is the eternal reality
of which sacrifices are but the passing shadow ;
His city heavenly, not made with hands.
Having Him, believe in Him with all your
heart, with a faith in the unseen future,
strong as that of the saints of old, patient
under present, and prepared for coming woe,
full of energy, and hope, and holiness, and
love." Such was the teaching of the Epistle
to the Hebrews.
HE'BRON. 1. The third son of Kohath,
who was the second son of Levi ; the younger
brother of Amram, father of Moses and Aaron
(Ex. vi. 18 ; Num. iii. 19 ; 1 Chr. vi. 2, 18,
xxiii. 12). The immediate children of'Hebron

HEIFER

208

HELL

are not mentioned by name (comp. Ex. vi.
21, 22), but he was the founder of a family
of Hebronites (Num. iii. 27, xxvi. 58 ; 1 Chr.
xxvi. 23, 30, 31) or Bene-Hebron (1 Chr. xv.
9, xxiii. 19). — 2. A city of Judah (Josh. xv.
54) ; situated among the mountains (Josh.
xx. 7), 20 Roman miles south of Jerusalem,
and the same distance north of Bcersheba.
Hebron is one of the most ancient cities in
the world still existing ; and in this respect
it is the rival of Damascus. It was built,
says a sacred writer, " seven years before
Zoan in Egypt" (Num. xiii. 22) ; and was a
well-known town when Abraham entered
Canaan 3780 years ago (Gen. xiii. 18). Its
original name was Kirjath-Arba (Judg. i. 10),
"the city of Arba;" so called from Arba,
the father of Anak, and progenitor of the
giant Anakim (Josh. xxi. 11, xv. 13, 14).
The chief interest of this city arises from its
having been the scene of some of the most
striking events in the lives of the patriarchs.
Sarah died at Hebron ; and Abraham then
bought from Ephron the Hittite the field and
cave of Machpelah, to serve as a family
tomb (Gen. xxiii. 2-20). The cave is still
there ; and the massive walls of the Haram
or mosque, within which it lies, form the
most remai-kable object in the whole city.
Abraham is called by Mahommedans el-Khultl,
" the Friend," i. e. of God, and this is the
modern name of Hebron. Hebron now con
tains about 5000 inhabitants, of whom some
50 families are Jews. It is picturesquely
situated in a narrow valley, surrounded by
rocky hills. The valley runs from north to
south ; and the main quarter of the town,
surmounted by the lofty walls of the venerable
Haram, lies partly on the eastern slope (Gen.
xxxvii. 14 ; comp. xxiii. 19). About a mile
from the town, up the valley, is one of the
largest oak-trees in Palestine. This, say
some, is the very tree beneath which Abra
ham pitched his tent, and it still bears the
name of the patriarch.
HEIFER. The Hebrew language has no
expression that exactly corresponds to our
heifer ; for both eglah and parah are applied
to cows that have calved (1 Sam. vi. 7-12 ;
Job xxi. 10; Is. vii. 21). The heifer or
young cow was not commonly used for
ploughing, but only for treading out the
corn (Hos. A. 11 ; but see Judg. xiv. 18),
when it ran about without any headstall
(Deut. xxv. 4) ; hence the expression an
" unbroken heifer" (Hos. iv. 16; A.V. "back
sliding"), to which Israel is compared.
HEL'BON, a place mentioned only in Eze
kiel xxvii. Geographers have hitherto re
presented Helbon as identical with the city
of Aleppo, called Haleb by the Arabs ; but

there are strong reasons against this, and
the ancient city must be identified with a
village within a few miles of Damascus, still
bearing the ancient name Helbon, and still
celebrated as producing the finest grapes in
the country.
HE'LI, the father of Joseph, the husband
of the Virgin Mary (Luke iii. 23) ; main
tained by Lord A. Hervey, the latest investi
gator of the genealogy of Christ, to have
been the real brother of Jacob the father of
the Virgin herself.
HELL. This is the word generally and
unfortunately used by our translators to
render the Hebrew Sheol. It would perhaps
have been better to retain the Hebrew word
Sheol, or else render it always by " the
grave" or "the pit." It is deep (Job xi. 81
and dark (Job xi. 21, 22), in the centre of
the earth (Num. xvi. 30 ; Deut. xxxii. 22),
having within it depths on depths (Prov. ix.
18), and fastened with gates (Is. xxxviii. 10)
and bars (Job xvii. 16). In this cavernous
realm are the souls of dead men, the Rephaim
and ill-spirits (Ps. lxxxvi. 13, lxxxix. 48;
Prov. xxiii. 14; Ez. xxxi. 17, xxxii. 21).
It is clear that in many passages of the O. T.
Sheol can only mean " the grave," and is so
rendered in the A. V. (see, for example, Gen.
xxxvii. 35, xiii. 38 ; 1 Sam. ii. 6; Job xiv.
13). In other passages, however, it seems
to involve a notion of punishment, and is
therefore rendered in the A. V. by the word
" Hell." But in many cases this translation
misleads the reader. It is obvious, for in
stance, that Job xi. 8 ; Ps. exxxix. 8 ; Am.
ix. 2 (where " hell" is used as the antithesis
of "heaven"), merely illustrate the Jewish
notions of the locality of Sheol in the bowels
of the earth. In the N. T. the word Hades,
like Sheol, sometimes means merely " the
grave" (Rev. xx. 13; Acts ii. 31; 1 Cor,
xv. 55), or in general "the unseen world."
It is in this sense that the creeds say of our
Lord " He went down into hell," meaning
the state of the dead in general, without any
restriction of happiness or misery, a doctrine
certainly, though only -virtually, expressed
in Scripture (Eph. iv. 9 ; Acts ii. 25-31).
Elsewhere in the N. T. Hades is used of a
place of torment (Luke xvi. 23 ; 2 Pet. ii. 4;
Matt. xi. 23, &c). Consequently it has been
the prevalent, almost the universal, notion
that Hades is an intermediate state between
death and resurrection, divided into two
parts, one the abode of the blessed and the
other of the lost. In holding this view, main
reliance is placed on the parable of Dives
and Lazarus ; but it is impossible to ground
the proof of an important theological doctrine
on a passage which confessedly abounds in

HELLENIST

209

HEROD

Jewish metaphors. The word most frequently
used in the N. T. for the place of future
punishment is Gehenna or Gehenna of fire.
[Grhenna and Hinnom.]
HEL'LENIST. In one of the earliest no
tices of the first Christian Church at Jeru
salem (Acts vi. 1), two distinct parties are
recognised among its members, "Hebrews"
and "Hellenists" (Grecians), who appear to
stand towards one another in some degree
in a relation of jealous rivalry (comp. Acts
ix. 29). The name, according to its deriva
tion, marks a class distinguished by peculiar
habits, and not by descent. Thus the Hel
lenists as a body included not only the prose
lytes of Greek (or foreign) parentage, but
also those Jews who, by settling in foreign
countries, had adopted the prevalent form of
the current Greek civilisation, and with it
the use of the common Greek dialect.
HELMET. [Arms.]
HEM OF GARMENT. The importance
which the later Jews, especially the Pharisees
(Matt, xxiii. 5), attached to the hem or fringe
of their garments was founded upon the re
gulation in Num. xv. 38, 39, which gave a
symbolical meaning to it.
HE'MAN, son of Joel, and grandson of
Samuel the prophet, a Kohathite. He is
called " the singer," rather, the musician
(1 Chr. vi. 33), and was the first of the three
Levites to whom was committed the vocal and
instrumental music of the temple -service in
the reign of David (1 Chr. xv. 16-22), Asaph
and Ethan, or rather, according to xxv. 1, 3,
Jeduthan, being his colleagues. A further
account of Heman is given 1 Chr. xxv., where
he is called (ver. 5) "the king's seer in the
matters of God." Whether or no this Heman
is the person to whom the 88th Psalm is
ascribed is doubtful. He is there called " the
Ezrahite;" and the 89 th Psalm is ascribed
to " Ethan the Ezrahite."
HEMLOCK. The Hebrew rdsh is rendered
"hemlock" in two passages (Hos. x. 4 ; Am.
vi. 12), but elsewhere "gall." [Gall.]
HEN. The hen is nowhere noticed in the
Bible except in Matt, xxiii. 37; Luke xiii.
34, That a bird so common in Palestine
should receive such slight notice, is certainly
singular. HE'NA seems to have been one of the chief
cities of a monarchical state which the Assy
rian kings had reduced shortly before the
time of Sennacherib (2 K. xix. 13 ; Is. xxxvii.
13). At no great distance from Sippara (now
Mosaib), is an ancient town called Ana or
Anak, which may be the same as Hena.
HER'MAS, the name of a Christian resi
dent at Rome to whom St. Paul sends greeting
in his Epistle to the Romans (xvi. 14). Ire-
Sh. D. B.

naeus, Tertullian, and Origen agree in attri
buting to him the work called the Shepherd :
which is supposed to have been written in
the pontificate of Clement I. ; while others
affirm it to have been the work of a namesake
in the following age. It existed for a long
time only in a Latin version, but the first
part in Greek is to be found at the end of the
Codex Sinaiticus. It was never received into
the canon ; but yet was generally cited with
respect only second to that which was paid
to the authoritative books of the N. T.
HER'MES, a Christian mentioned in Rom.
xvi. 14. According to tradition he was one of
the Seventy disciples, and afterwards Bishop
of Dalmatia.
HERMOG'ENES, a person mentioned by
St. Paul in the latest of all his Epistles
(2 Tim. i. 15) when all in Asia bad turned
away from him, and among their number
" Phygellus and Hermogenes."
HER'MON, a mountain on the north
eastern border of Palestine (Deut. iii. 8 ;
Josh. xii. 1), over against Lebanon (Josh. xi.
17), adjoining the plateau of Bashan (1 Chr.
v. 23). It stands at the southern end, and
is the culminating point of the anti-Libanus
range ; it towers high above the ancient
border-city of Dan and the fountains of the
Jordan, and is the most conspicuous and
beautiful mountain in Palestine or Syria.
The name Hermon was doubtless suggested
by its appearance — " a lofty prominent peak,"
visible from afar. The Sidonians called it
Sirion, and the Amorites Shenir. It was
also named Sion, "the elevated" (Deut. iv.
48). So now, at the present day, it is called
Jebel esh-Sheikh, " the chief-mountain ; " and
Jebel eth-Tlielj, " snowy mountain." When
the whole country is parched with the summer
sun, white lines of snow streak the head of
Hermon. This mountain was the great land
mark of the Israelites. It was associated
with their northern border almost as inti
mately as the sea was with the western.
Hermon has three summits, situated like the
angles of a triangle, and about a quarter of a
mile from each other. This may account for
the expression in Ps. xiii. 7 (6), "I will re
member thee from the land of the Jordan and
the Hermons." In two passages of Scripture
this mountain is called Baal-hermon (Judg.
iii. 3 ; 1 Chr. v. 23), possibly because Baal
was there worshipped. The height of Hermon
has never been measured, though it has often
been estimated. It may safely be reckoned
at 10,000 feet.
HER'OD. This family, though of Idumaean
origin, and thus aliens by race, were Jews
in faith. — I. Herod the Great was the
second son of Antipater, an Idumaean, who

HEROD

210

HEROD

was appointed Procurator of Judaea by Julius
Caesar, b.c. 47, and Cypros, an Arabian of
noble descent. At the time of his father's
elevation, though only fifteen years old, he
received the government of Galilee, and
shortly afterwards that of Coele-Syria. When
Antony came to Syria, b.c. 41, he appointed
Herod and his elder brother Phasael tetrarchs
of Judaea. Herod was forced to- abandon
Tudaea next year by an invasion of the Par-
thians, who supported the claims of Antigonus,
the representative of the Asmon.iean dynasty,
and fled to Rome (b.c. 40). At Rome he was
well received by Antony and Octavian, and
was appointed by the senate king of Judaea
to the exclusion of the Hasmonaean linf . In
the course of a few years, by the help of the
Romans, he took Jerusalem (b.c. 37), and
completely established his authority through-
ut his dominions. After the battle of Actium
e visited Octavian at Rhodes, and his noble
bearing won for him the favour of the con
queror, who confirmed him in the possession
of the kingdom, b.c. 31, and in the next year
increased it by the addition of several im
portant cities, and afterwards gave him the
province of Trachonitis and the district of
Paneas. The remainder of the reign of Herod
was undisturbed by external troubles, but his
domestic life was embittered by an almost
uninterrupted series of injuries and cruel acts
of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshed
which Herod perpetrated in his own family
were accompanied by others among his sub
jects equally terrible, from the number who
fell victims to them. According to the well-
known story, ho ordered the nobles whom he
had called to him in his last moments to be
executed immediately after his decease, that
so at least his death might be attended by
universal mourning. It was at the time of
his fatal illness that he must have caused
the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem
(Matt. ii. 16-18), and from the comparative
insignificance of ihe murder of a few young
children in an unimportant village when con
trasted with the deeds which he carried out
or designed, it is not surprising that Josephus
bas passed it over in silence. In dealing
with the religious feelings or prejudices of
the Jews, Herod showed as great contempt
for public opinion as in the execution of his
personal vengeance. But while he alienated
in this manner the affections of the Jews by
his cruelty and disregard for the Law, he
adorned Jerusalem with many splendid mo
numents of his taste and magnificence. The
Temple, which he rebuilt with scrupulous
care, was the greatest of these works. The
restoration was begun b.c 20, and the Temple
itself was completed in a year and a half.

But fresh additions were constantly made in
succeeding years, so that it was said that tbe
Temple was "built in forty and six years"
(John ii. 20), a phrase which expresses the
whole period from the commencement of
Herod's work to the completion of the latest
addition then made. — II. Herod Antipas
was the son of llerod the Great by Malthace,
a Samaritan. His father had originally des
tined him as his successor in the kingdom,
but by the last change of his will appointed
him "tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea" (Matt.
xiv. 1 ; Luke iii. 19, ix. 7 ; Acts xiii. 1.
Cf. Luke iii. 1). He first married a daughter
of Aretas, " king of Arabia Petraea," but
after some time he made overtures of mar
riage to Herodias, the wife of his half-brother
Herod-Philip, which she received favourably.
Aretas," indignant at the insult offered to his
daughter, found a pretext for invading the
territory of Herod, and defeated him with
great loss. This defeat, according to the
famous passage in Josephus, was attributed
by many to the murder of John the Baptist,
which had been committed by Antipas shortly
before, under the influence of Herodias (Matt.
xiv. 4 ff . ; Mark vi. 17 ff . ; Luke iii. J9).
At a later time the ambition of Herodias
proved the cause of her husband's ruin. She
urged him to go to Rome to gain the title of
king (cf. Mark vi. 14) ; but he was opposed
at the court of Caligula by the emissaries of
Agrippa, and condemned to perpetual banish
ment at Lugdunum, a.d. C9. Herodias
voluntarily shared his punishment, and he
died in exile. Pilate took occasion from our
Lord's residence m Galilee to send Him for
examination (Luke xxiii. 6 ff.) to Herod
Antipas, who came up to Jerusalem to cele
brate tbe Passover. The city of Tiberias,
which Antipas founded and named in honour
of the emperor, was the most conspicuous
monument of his long reign. — HI. Herod
Fhilip I. (Philip, Mark vi. 17) was the son
of Herod the Great, and Mariamne, and must
be carefully distinguished from the tetrarch
Philip. He married Herodias, the sister of
Agrippa I., by whom he had a daughter
Salome. Herodias, however, left him, and
made an infamous marriage with his half-
brother Herod Antipas (Matt. xiv. 3 ; Mark
vi. 17 ; Luke iii. 19). He was excluded
from all share in his father's possessions in
consequence of his mother's treachery, and
lived afterwards in a private station. — IV.
Herod Philip II. was the son of Herod the
Great and Cleopatra. Like his half-brothers
Antipas and Archelaus, he was brought up
at home. He received as his own govern
ment Batanea, Trachonitis, Auranitis (Gaul-
onitis), and some parts about Jamnia with

HEROD

211

HERON

the title of tetrarch (Luke iii. 1). He built
a new city on the site of Paneas, near the
sources of the Jordan, which he called
Caesarea (Matt. xvi. 13; Mark viii. 27),
and raised Bethsaida to the rank of a city
under the title of Julias, and died there
a.d. 34. He married Salome, the daughter
of Herod Philip I. and Herodias. — V. Herod
Agrippa I. was the son of Aristobulus and
Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great.
He was brought up at Rome with Claudius
and Drusus, and after a life of various vicis
situdes, was thrown into prison by Tiberius,
where he remained till the accession of Caius
(Caligula) a.d. 37. The new emperor gave
him the governments formerly held by the
tetrarchs Philip and Lysanias, and bestowed
on him the ensigns of royalty and other
marks of favour (Acts xii. 1). On the
banishment of Antipas, his dominions were
added to those already held by Agrippa.
Afterwards Agrippa rendered important
services to Claudius, and received from him
in return (a.d. 41) the government of Judaea
and Samaria. Unlike his predecessors,
Agrippa was a strict observer of tbe Law,
and he sought with success the favour of the
Jews. It is probable that it was with this
view he put to death James the son of
Zebedee, and further imprisoned Peter (Acts
xii. 1 ff.}. But his sudden death interrupted
his ambitious projects. In the fourth year
of his reign over the whole of Judaea (a.d.
44) Agrippa attended some games at Caesarea,
held in honour of the Emperor. When he
appeared in the theatre (Acts xii. 21) his
flatterers saluted him as a god ; and sud
denly he was seized with terrible pains, and
being carried from the theatre to the palace
died after five days' agony. — VI. Heroe
Aosippa II. was the son of Herod Agrippa I.
and Cypros, a grand-niece of Herod the
Great. At the time of the death of his father
a.d. 44 he was at Rome. Not long after
wards, however, the Emperor gave him
(about a.d. 50) the kingdom of Chalcis, which
had belonged to his uncle ; and then trans
ferred him (a.d. 52) to the tetrarchies
formerly held by Philip and Lysanias with
the title of king (Acts xxv. 13). The rela
tion in which he stood to his sister Berenice
(Acts xxv. 13) was the cause of grave sus
picion. In the last Roman war Agrippa
took part with the Romans, and after the
fall of Jerusalem retired with Berenice to
Koine, where he died in the third year of
Trajan (a.d. 100). The appearance of St.
Paul before Agrippa (a.d. 60) offers several
characteristic traits. The "pomp" with
which the king came into the audience
chamber (Acts xxv. 23) was accordant with

his general bearing ; and the cold irony with
which he met the impassioned words of the
Apostle (Acts xxvi. 27, 28) suits the temper
of one who was contented to take part in the
destruction of his nation.
HERO'DIANS. In the account which is
given by St. Matthew (xxii. 15 ff.) and St.
Mark (xii. 13 ff.) of the last efforts made by
different sections of the Jews to obtain from
our Lord Himself the materials for His ac
cusation, a party under the name of Hero-
dians is represented as acting in concert
with the Pharisees (Matt. xxii. 16; Mark
xii. 13; comp. also iii. 6, viii. 15). There
were probably many who saw in the power
of the Herodian family the pledge of the
preservation of their national existence in
the face of Roman ambition. Two distinct
classes might thus unite in supporting what
was a domestic tyranny as contrasted with
absolute dependence on Rome : those who
saw in the Herods a protection against direct
heathen rule, and those who were inclined to
look with satisfaction upon such a compro
mise between the ancient faith and heathen
civilisation, as Herod the Great and his suc
cessors had endeavoured to realise, as the true
and highest consummation of Jewish hopes.
HERO'DIAS, daughter of Aristobulus, one
of the sons of Mariamne and Herod the
Great, and consequently sister of Agrippa I.
She first married Herod Philip I. ; then she
eloped from him to marry Herod Antipas,
her step-uncle, who had been long married
to, and was still living with, the daughter of
Aeneas or Aretas, king of Arabia. The con
sequences both of the crime, and of the re
proof which it incurred, are well known.
Aretas made war upon Herod for the injury
done to his daughter, and routed him with
the loss of his whole army. The head of
John the Baptist was granted to the request
of Herodias (Matt. xiv. 8-11 ; Mark vi. 24-
28). According to Josephus the execution
took place in a fortress called Machaerus,
looking down upon the Dead Sea from the
south. She accompanied Antipas into exile
to Lugdunum.
HERO'DION, a relative of St. Paul, to
whom he sends his salutation amongst the
Christians of the Roman Church (Rom. xvi.
n). HERON. The Hebrew anaphah appears
as the name of an unclean bird in Lev. xi.
19, Deut. xiv. 18. It was probably a generic
name for a well-known class of birds. The
only point on which any two commentators
seem to agree is that it is not the heron. On
etymological grounds, Gesenius considers the
name applicable to some irritable bird, per
haps the goose, P %

HESHBON

212

HEZEKIAH

HESH'BON, the capital city of Sihon king
of the Amorites (Num. xxi. 26). It stood
on the western border of the high plain
(Mishor, Josh., xiii. 17), and on the boundary-
line between the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
The ruins of Hesbdn, 20 miles east of the
Jordan, on the parallel of the northern end
of the Dead Sea, mark the site, as they bear
the name, of the ancient Heshbon. There
are many cisterns among the ruins (comp.
Cant. vii. 4).
HESH'MON, a place named, with others,
as lying in the extreme south of Judah (Josh.
xv. 27).
HETH, the forefather of the nation of the
Hittites. In the genealogical tables of Gen.
x. and 1 Chr. i., Heth is a son of Canaan.
The Hittites wore therefore a Hamite race,
neither of the "country" nor the "kin
dred" of Abiaham and Isaac (Gen. xxiv. 3,
4, xxviii. 1, 2).
IIEZEKI'AH, twelfth king of Judah, son
of the apostate Ahaz and Abi (or Abijah),
ascended the throne at the age of 25, b.c
726. Hezekiah was one of the three nio-^t per
fect kings of Judah (2 K. xviii. 5; Ecclus. xlix.
4). His first act was to purge, and repair,
and reopen with splendid sacrifices and perfect
ceremonial, the Temple which had been de
spoiled and neglected during the careless and
idolatrous reign of his father. This conse
cration was accompanied by a revival of the
theocratic spirit, so strict as not even to
spare " the high places," which, although
tolerated by many well-intentioned kings,
had naturally been profaned by the worship
of images and Asherahs (2 K. xviii. 4). A
still more decisive act was the destruction of
a brazen serpent, said to have been the one
used by Moses in the miraculous hearing of
the Israelites (Num. xxi. 9), which had
become an object of adoration. When the
kingdom of Israel had fallen, Hezekiah ex
tended his pious endeavours to Ephraim and
Manasseh ; and by inviting the scattered in
habitants to a peculiar Passover, kindled
their indignation also against the idolatrous
practices which still continued among them.
This Passover was, from the necessities of
the case, celebrated at an unusual, though
not illegal (Num. ix. 10, II) time; and by
an excess of Levitical zeal it was continued
for the unprecedented period of fourteen
days (2 Chr. xxix., xxx., xxxi.). At the
head of a repentant and united people,
Hezekiah ventured to assume the aggres
sive against the Philistines ; and in a series
of victories not only rewon the cities which
his father had lost (2 Chr. xxviii. 18), but
even dispossessed them of their own cities,
except Gaza (2 K. xviii. 8) and Gath. It

was perhaps to the purposes of this war that
he applied the money which would otherwise
have been used to pay the tribute exacted by
Shalmaneser, according to the ngreement of
Ahaz with his predecessor, Tiglath-Pileser.
When, after the capture of Samaria, the king
of Assyria applied for this impost, Hezekiah
refused it, and in open rebellion omitted to
send even the usual presents (2 K. xviii. 7).
Instant war was averted by tbe heroic and
long-continued resistance of the Tyrians
under their king Eluloeus. This must have
been a critical and intensely anxious period
for Jerusalem ; and Hezekiah used every
available means to strengthen his position,
and render his capital impregnable (2 K. xx.
20; 2 Chr. xxxii. 3-5, 30; Is. xxii. 8-11,
xxxiii. 18). According to a scheme of chro
nology proposed by Dr. Hincks, Hezekiah's
dangerous illness (2 K. xx. ; Is. xxxviii. ;
2 Chr. xxxii. 24) nearly synchronised with
Sitrgon's futile invasion, in the fourteenth
ycur of Hezekiah's reign, eleven years before
Sennacherib's invasion. That it must have
preceded the attack of Sennacherib is nearly
obvious from the promise in 2 K. xx. 6, as
well as from modern discoveries. Hezekiah,
whose kingdom was in a dangerous crisis,
and who had at that time no heir (for
Manasseh was not born till long afterwards,
2 K. xxi. 1), "turned his face to the wall
and wept sore" at the threatened approach
of dissolution. God had compassion on his
anguish, and heard his prayer. Isaiah had
hardly left the palace when he was ordered
to promise the king immediate recovery, and
a fresh lease of life, ratifying the promise by
a sign, and curing the boil by a plaster of
figs. Various ambassadors came with letters
and gifts to congratulate Hezekiah on his
recovery (2 Chr. xxxii. 23), and among
them an embassy from Merodach-Baladan
(or Berodach, 2 K. xx. 12), the viceroy of
Babylon. The ostensible object of this mis
sion was to compliment Hezekiah on his
convalescence (2 K. xx. 12 ; Is. xxxix. 1) ;
but its real purpose was to discover how far
an alliance between the two powers was pos
sible or desirable, for Merodach-Baladan, no
less than Hezekiah, was in apprehension of
the Assyrians. Community of interest made
Hezekiah receive the overtures of Babylon
with unconcealed gratification ; and, per
haps, to enhance the opinion of his own
importance as an ally, he displayed to the
messengers the princely treasures which he
and his predecessors had accumulated. If
ostentation were his motive it received a
terrible rebuke, and he was informed by
Isaiah that from the then tottering and
subordinate province of Babylon, and not

HEZEKIAH

213

HIGH PLACES

from the mighty Assyria, would come the
ruin and captivity of Judah (Is. xxxix. 5).
Sargon was succeeded (b.c 702) by his son
Sennacherib, whose two invasions occupy the
greater part of the Scripture records con
cerning the reign of Hezekiah. The first of
these took place in the third year of Senna
cherib (b.c 702), and occupies only three
verses (2 K. xviii. 13-16), though the route
of the advancing Assyrians may be traced in
, Is. x. 5, xi. The main hope of the political
faction was the alliance with Egypt, and
they seem to have sought it by presents and
private entreaties (Is. xxx. 6). The account
given of this first invasion in the Annals of
Sennacherib is that he attacked Hezekiah
because the Ekronites had sent their king
Padiya (or " Haddiya ") as a prisoner to
Jerusalem (cf. 2 K. xviii. 8) ; that he took
forty-six cities (" all the fenced cities " in
2 K. xviii. 13 is apparently a general ex
pression, cf. xix. 8) and 200,000 prisoners ;
that he besieged Jerusalem with mounds (cf.
2 K. xix. 32) ; and although Hezekiah pro
mised to pay 800 talents of silver (of which
perhaps 300 only were ever paid) and 30 of
gold (2 K. xviii. 14), yet not content with
this he mulcted him of a part of his domi
nions, and gave them to the kings of Ekron,
Ashdod, and Gaza. In almost every par
ticular this account agrees with the notice in
Scripture. Hezekiah's bribe (or fine) brought
atemporary release, for the Assyrians marched
into Egypt, where, if Herodotus and Josephus
are to be trusted, they advanced without
resistance to Pelusium. In spite of this
advantage, Sennacherib was forced to raise
the siege of Pelusium by tbe advance of
Tirhakah or Tarakos. Returning from his
futile expedition, Sennacherib " dealt trea
cherously" with Hezekiah (Is. xxxiii. 1) by
attacking the stronghold of Lachish. This
was the commencement of that second inva
sion 'respecting which we have such full
details in 2 K. xviii. 17 sq. ; 2 Chr. xxxii.
9 sq. ; Is. xxxvi. From Lachish Sennache
rib sent against Jerusalem an army under
two officers and his cupbearer the orator
Rahshakeh, with a blasphemous and insult
ing summons to surrender. Hezekiah's
ministers were thrown into anguish and
dismay, but the undaunted Isaiah hurled
back threatening for threatening with un
rivalled eloquence and force. Meanwhile
Sennacherib, having taken Lachish, was
besieging Libnah, when, alarmed by a
" rumour " of Tirhakah's advance, he was
forced to relinquish once more his imme
diate designs, and content himself with a
defiant letter to Hezekiah. The next event
of the campaign, about which we are in

formed, is that the Jewish king with simple
piety prayed to God with Sennacherib's letter
outspread before him, and received a prophecy
of immediate deliverance. Accordingly " that
night the Angel of the Lord went out and
smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000
men." There is no doubt that some secon
dary cause was employed in the accomplish
ment of this event. We are certainly "not
to suppose," as Dr. Johnson observed, " that
the angel went about with a sword in his
hand stabbing them one by one, but that
some powerful natural agent was employed."
Josephus, followed by an immense majority
of ancient and modern commentators, attri
butes it to the Pestilence. Hezekiah only
lived to enjoy for about one year more his
well-earned peace and glory. He slept with
his fathers after a reign of twenty-nine years,
in the 56th year of his age (b.c. 697).
HEZ'ION, a king of Aram (Syria), father
of Tabrimon, and grandfather of Benhadad I.
He and his father are mentioned only in 1 K.
xv. 18. He is probably identical with Rezon,
the contemporary of Solomon, in 1 K. xi. 23 ;
the two names being very similar in Hebrew,
and still more so in the versions.
HIDDEK'EL, one of the rivers of Eden,
the river which "goeth eastward to Assyria"
(Gen. ii. 14), and which Daniel calls "the
Great river" (Dan. x. 4), seems to have been
rightly identified by the LXX. with the Ti
gris. Dekel is clearly an equivalent of Digla
or Diglath, a name borne by the Tigris in all
ages. The name now in use among the in
habitants of Mesopotamia is Dijleh.
HI'EL, a native of Bethel, who rebuilt
Jericho in the reign of Ahab (1 K. xvi. 34) ;
and in whom was fulfilled the curse pro
nounced by Joshua (Josh. v. i. 26).
HIERAP'OLIS. This place is mentioned
only once in Scripture (Col. iv. 13), with
Colossae and Laodicea. Such association
is just what we should expect ; for the three
towns were all in the basin of the Maeander,
and within a few miles of one another.
HIGGAl'ON, a word which occurs three
times in the book of Psalms (ix. 17, xix. 15,
xcii. 4). The word has two meanings, one
of a general character implying thought, re
flection, and another in Ps. ix. 17, and Ps.
xcii. 4, of a technical nature, the precise
meaning of which cannot at this distance of
time be determined.
HIGH PLACES. From the earliest times
it was the custom among all nations to erect
altars and places of worship on lofty and
conspicuous spots. To this general custom
we find constant allusion in the Bible (Is.
Ixv. 7 ; Jer. iii. 6 ; Ez. vi. 13, xviii. 6 ; Hos.
iv. 13), and it is especially attributed to the

HIGH PLACES

214

HIGH-PIllEST

Moabites (Is. xv. 2, xvi. 12 ; Jer. xlviii.
35). Even Abraham built an alt;ir to tbe
Lord on a mountain near Bethel (xii. 7, 8 ;
cf. xxii. 2-4, xxxi. 54), which shows that
the practice was then as innocent as it was
natural ; and although it afterwards became
mingled with idolatrous observances (Num.
xxiii. 3), it was in itself far less likely to be
abused tban the consecration of groves (Hos.
iv. 13). It is, however, quite obvious that if
every grove and eminence had been suffered
to become a place for legitimate worship,
especially in a country where they had al
ready been defiled with the sins of poly
theism, the utmost danger would have re
sulted to the pure worship of the one true
God. It was therefore implicitly forbidden
by the law of Moses (Deut. xii. 11-14),
which also gave the strictest injunction to
destroy these monuments of Canaanitish
idolatry (Lev. xxvi. 30 ; Num. xxxiii. 52 ;
Deut xxxiii. 29). The command was a
prospective one, and was not to come into
force until such time as the tribes were
settled in the promised land. Thus we find
that both Gideon and Manoah built altars
on high places by Divine command (Judg. vi.
25, 26, xiii. 16-23), and it is quite clear
from the tone of the book of Judges that
the law on the subject was either totally for
gotten or practically obsolete. It is more
surprising to find this law absolutely ignored
at a much later period, when there was no
intelligible reason for its violation — as by
Samuel at Mizpeh (I Sam. vii. 10) and at
Bethlehem (xvi. 5) ; by Saul at Gilgal
(xiii. 9) and at Ajalon (? xiv. 35) ; by David
(1 Chr. xxi. 26) ; by Elijah on Mount Carmel
(1 K. xviii. 30); and by other prophets
(1 Sam. x. 5). The explanations which are
given are sufficiently unsatisfactory ; but it
is at any rate certain that the worship in
high places was organised and all but uni
versal throughout Judaea, not only during
(1 K. iii. 2-4), but even after the time of
Solomon. The convenience of them was
obvious, because, as local centres of religious
worship, they obviated the unpleasant and
dangerous necessity of visiting Jerusalem for
the celebration of the yearly feasts (2 K.
xxiii. 9). aiany of the pious kings of Judah
were either too weak or too ill-informed to
repress the worship of Jehovah at these local
sanctuaries, while they of course endeavoured
to prevent it from being contaminated with
polytheism. At last Hezekiah set himself in
good earnest to the suppression of this pre
valent corruption (2 K. xviii. 4, 22), both in
Judah and Israel (2 Chr. xxxi. 1), although,
so rapid was the growth of the evil, that
even his sweeping reformation required to

be finally consummated by Josiah (2 K.
xxiii.), and that too in Jerusalem and its
immediate neighbourhood (2 Chr. xxiv. 3).
After the time of Josiah we find no further
mention of these Jehovistic high places.
HIGH-PRIEST. I. Legally.— The first
distinct separation of Annul to the office of
the priesthood, which previously belonged to
the first-born, was that recoulcd Ex. xxviii.
We find from the very first the following
characteristic attributes of Aaron and the
high-priests bis successors, as distinguished
from the other priests: — (1.) Aaron alone
was anointed (Lev. viii. 12), whence one of
the distinctive epithets of the high-priest was
"the anointed priest" (Lev. iv. 3, 5, 16,
xxi. 10 ; see Num. xxxv. 25). This appears
also from Ex. xxix. 29, 30. The anointing
of the sons of Aaron, i. e. the common
priests, seems to have been confined to
sprinkling their garments with the anointing
oil (Ex. xxix. 21, xxviii. 41, &c). The
anointing of the high-prici-t is alluded to in
Ps. exxxiii. 2. — (2.) The high-priest had a
peculiar dress, which passed to his successor
at his death. This dress consisted of eight
parts, as the Rabbins constantly note, the
breastplate, the ephod with its curious girdle,
the robe of the ephod, the mitre, the broidered
coat or diaper tunic, and the girdle, the
materials being gold, blue, red; crimson, and
fine (white) linen (Ex. xxviii.). To the
above are added, in ver. 42, the breeches or
drawers (Lev. xvi, 4) of linen ; and to make
up the number 8, some reckon the high-
priest's mitre, or the plate separately from
the bonnet ; while others reckon the curious
girdle of the ephod separately from the
ephod. Of these 8 articles of attire, 4 — viz.
the coat or tunic, the girdle, the breeches,
and the bonnet or turban (migbd'dh) instead
of the mitre (mitsnepheth) — belonged to the
common priests. Taking the articles of the
high-priest's dress in the order in which they
are enumerated above, we have (a.) tbe
breastplate, or, as it is further named (vers.
15, 29, 30), the breastplate of judgment.
The breastplate was originally 2 spans long,
and 1 span broad, but when doubled it was
square, the shape in which it was worn.
On it were the 12 precious stones, set in 4
rows, 3 in a row, thus corresponding to the
12 tribes, and divided in the same manner
as their camps were ; each stone having the
name of one of the children of Israel en
graved upon it. According to the LXX. and
Josephus, and in accordance with the lan
guage of Scripture, it was these stones which
constituted the Urim and Thummim. [Urim
and Thummim.]— (6.) The ephod. This
consisted of two parts, of which one covered

HIGH-PRIEST

215

HIGH-PRIEST

the back, and the other the front, i. e. the
breast and upper part of the body. These
were clasped together on the shoulder with
two large onyx stones, each having engraved
on it 6 of the names of the tribes of Israel.
It was further united by a "curious girdle "
of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined
linen round the waist [Ephod; Girdle].—
ic.) The robe of the ephod. This was of
inferior material to the ephod itself, being all
of blue (ver. 31), which, implied its being
only of "woven work" (xxxix. 22). It
was worn immediately under the ephod, and
was longer than it. The blue robe had no
sleeves, but only slits in the sides for the
arms to come through. It had a hole for
the head to pass through, with a border
round it of woven work, to prevent its being
rent. The skirt of this robe had a remark
able trimming of pomegranates in blue, red,
and crimson, with a bell of gold between
each pomegranate alternately. The bells
were to give a sound when the high-priest
went in and came out of the Holy Place. —
(d.) The mitre or upper turban, with its
gold plate, engraved with Holiness to the
I.ord, fastened to it by a ribbon of blue, (e.)
The broidered coat was a tunic or long skirt of
linen with a tessellated or diaper pattern, like
the setting of a stone. The girdle, also of linen,
was wound round the body several times from
thebreastdownwards, and the ends hungdown
totheankles. The breeches or drawers, of linen,
covered the loins and thighs ; and the bonnet
was a turban of linen, partially covering the
head,but not in the form of a cone like that of
the high-priest when the mitre was added to it.
These four last were common to all priests.
— (3.) Aaron had peculiar functions. To
him alone it appertained, and he alone was
permitted, to enter the Holy of Holies, which
he did once a year, on the great day of atone
ment, when he sprinkled the blood of the
sin-offering on the mercy-seat, and burnt
incense within the veil (Lev. xvi.). — (4.)
The high-priest had a peculiar place in the
law of tbe manslayer, and his taking sanc
tuary in the cities of refuge. The manslayer
might not leave the city of refuge during the
lifetime of the existing high-priest who was
anointed with the holy oil (Num. xxxv. 25,
28). It was also forbidden to the high-
priest to follow a funeral, or rend his clothes
for the dead, according to the precedent in
Lev. x. 6. The Rabbins speak very fre
quently of one second in dignity to the high-
priest, whom they call the Sagan, and who
often acted in the high-priest's room. He
is the same who in the O. T. is called " the
second priest" (2 K. xxiii. 4, xxv. 18).
Thus too it is explained of Annas and

Caiaphas (Luke iii. 2), that Annas was Sagan.
Ananias is also thought by some to have been
Sagan, acting for the high-priest (Acts xxiii. 2) .
— It does not appear by whose authority 'the
high-priests were appointed to their office be
fore there were kings of Israel. But as we find
it invariably done by the civil power in later
times, it is probable that, in the times preceding
the monarchy, it was by the elders, or Sanhe
drim. It should be added, that the usual age for
entering upon the functions of the priesthood,
according to 2 Chr. xxxi. 17, is considered
to have been 20 years, though a priest or
high-priest was not actually incapacitated if
he had attained to puberty. Again, accord
ing to Lev. xxi., no one that bad a blemish
could officiate at the altar. — II. Theologi
cally. The theological view of the high-
priesthood does not fall within the scope of
this work. It must suffice therefore to
indicate that such a view would embrace the
consideration of the office, dress, functions,
and ministrations of the high-priest, con
sidered as typical of the priesthood of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and as setting forth under
shadows the truths which are openly taught
under the Gospel. This has been done to a
great extent in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
It would also embrace all the moral and
spiritual teaching supposed to be intended by
such symbols. — III. Historically, The
history of the high-pi'iests embraces a period
of about 1370 years, and a succession of
about 80 high-priests, beginning with Aaron,
and ending with Pbannias. They naturally
arrange themselves into three groups — (a.)
those before David ; (b.) those from David
to the captivity ; (c.) those from the return
of the Babylonish captivity till the cessation
of the office at the destruction of Jerusalem.
(a.) The high-priests of the first group who
are distinctly made known to us as such are
— 1. Aaron; 2. Eleazar; 3. Phinehas ; 4.
Eli; 5. Ahitub (1 Chr. ix. 11 ; Neh. xi; 11 ;
1 Sam. xiv. 3); 6. Ahiah ; 7. Abimelech.
Phinehas the son of Eli, and father of Ahitub,
died before his father, and so was not high-
priest. Of the above, the three first suc
ceeded in regular order, Nadab and Abihu,
Aaron's eldest sons, having died in the
wilderness (Lev. x.). But Eli, the 4ih, was
of the line of Ithamar. What was the exact
interval between the death of Phinehas and
the accession of Eli, what led to the trans
ference of the chief ]jriesthood from the line
of Eleazar to that of Ithamar, we have no
means of determining from Scripture.- Jose
phus asserts that the father of Bukki — whom
he calls Joseph, and Abiezer, i. e. Abishua —
was the last high-priest of Fhinehas's line,
before Zadok. If Abishua died, leaving a

HIGH-PRIEST

21fi

HILKIAH

son or grandson under age, Eli, as head of
the line of Ithamar, might have become high-
priest as a matter of course, or he might
have been appointed by the elders. If Ahiah
and Ahimelech are not variations of the
name of the same person, they must have
been brothers, since both were sons of Ahitub.
The high-priests then before David's reign
may be set down as eight in number, of whom
seven are said in Scripture to have been high-
priests, and one by Josephus alone.— (ft.)
Passing to the second group, we begin with
the unexplained circumstance of there being
two priests in the reitrn of David, apparently
of nearly equal authority, viz. Zadok and
Abiathar (1 Chr. xv. 11; 2 Sum. vii. 17).
It is not unlikely that after the death of
Ahimelech and the secession of Abiathar to
David, Saul may have made Zadok priest,
and that David may have avoided the diffi
culty of deciding between the claims of his
faithful friend Abiathar and his new and
important ally Zadok by appointing them to
a joint priesthood : the first place, with the
Ephod and Urim and Thummim, remaining
with Abiathar, who was in actual possession
of them. The first considerable difficulty
that meets us in the historical survey of the
high-priests of the second group is to ascer
tain who was high-priest at the dedication
of Solomon's Temple. Josephus says that
Zadok was, and the Seder 01am makes him
the high-priest in the reign of Solomon ;
but 1 K. iv. 2 distinctly asserts that Azariah
the son of Zadok was priest under Solomon,
and 1 Chr. vi. 10 tells us of Azariah, "he
it is that executed the priest's office in the
temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem,"
obviously meaning at its first completion.
We can hardly therefore be wrong in saying
that Azariah the son of Ahimaaz was the
first high-priest of Solomon's Temple. The
priests of this series ended with Seraiah,
who was taken prisoner by Nebuzar-adan,
and slain at Riblah by Nebuchadnezzar,
together with Zephaniah the second priest
or Sagan, after the burning of the Temple
and the plunder of all the sacred vessels
(2 K. xx. 18). His son Jehozadak or Jo-
sedech was at the same time carried away
captive (1 Chr. vi. 15). The time occupied
by these high-priests was about 454 years,
which gives an average of something more
than twenty-five years to each high-priest.
It is remarkable that not a single instance ia
recorded after the time of David of an in
quiry by Urim and Thummim. The ministry
of the prophets seems to have superseded
that of the high-priests (see e. g. 2 Chr. xv.,
xviii., xx. 14, 15 ; 2 K. xix. 1, 2, xxii. 12-
14; Jer. xxi. 1, 2). — (c.) An interval of

about fifty-two years elapsed between the
high-priests of the second and third group,
during which there was neither Temple, nor
| altar, nor ark, nor priest. Jehozadak, or
| Josedech, as ii is written in II;ii™:ii (i. 1,
j 14, tSrc), who should have succeeded Soraiah,
lived and died a captive at Babylon. The
pontifical office revived in his son Jeshua, of
whom such frequent mention is made in Ezra
and Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah, 1 Esdr.
and Ecclus. ; and he therefore stands at the
head of this third and last series, honour
ably distinguished for his zealous co-operation
with Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple,
and restoring the dilapidated commonwealth
of Israel. Under the Syrian domination the
high-priesthood was brought to the lowest
degradation by the apostasy and crimes of
the last Onias or Menelaus, the son of Eleazar,
and after a vacancy of seven years by the
brief pontificate of Alcimus, his no less in
famous successor. A new and glorious suc
cession of high-priests aro^c in tho Asmonean
family, who united the dignity of civil rulers,
and for a time of independent sovereigns, to
that of the high-priesthood. The Asmoncan
family were priests of the course of Joiarib,
the first of the twenty-four courses (1 Chr.
xxiv. 7), whose return from captivity is re
corded 1 Chr. ix. 10; Neh. xi. 10. They
were probably of the house of Elenzur, though
this cannot be affirmed with certainty. This
Asmonean dynasty lasted from b.c. 153, till
the family was damaged by intestine divisions,
and then destroyed by Herod the Great.
Aristobulus, the last high-priest of his line,
brother of Mariamne, was murdered by order
of Herod, his brother-in-law, b.c. 35. There
were no fewer than twenty-eight high-priests
from the reign of Herod to the destruction oi
the Temple by Titus, a period of 107 years.
The N. T. introduces us to some of these
later, and oft-changing high-priests, viz.
Annas, Caiaphas, and Ananias. Theophilus,
the son of Ananus, was the high-priest from
whom Saul received letters to the synagogue
at Damascus (Acts ix. 1, 14). Phannias,
the last high-priest, was appointed by lot by
the Zealots from the course of priests called
by Josephus Eniachim (probably a corrupt
reading for Jachim).
HILKI'AH. l. Father of Eliakim (2 K.
xviii. 37, Is. xxii. 20, xxxvi. 22). [Eli
akim.] — 2. High-priest in the reign of Josiah
(2 K. xxii. 4 sqq. ; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 9 sqq. ;
I Esdr. i. 8). According to the genealogy in
1 Chr. vi. 13 he was son of Shallum, and
from Ezr. vii. 1, apparently the ancestor of
Ezra the scribe. His high-priesthood was
rendered particularly illustrious by the great
reformation effected under it by king Josiah,

HIN

217

HOBAB

by tbe solemn Passover kept at Jerusalem in
the 18th year of that king's reign, and above
all by the discovery which he made of the
book of the law of Moses in the temple.
HIN. [Measures.]
HIND, the female of the common stag or
cervus elaphus. It is frequently noticed in
the poetical parts of Scripture as emblematic
of activity (Gen, xlix. 21 ; 2 Sam. xxii. 34 ;
Ps. xviii. 33 ; Hab. iii. 19), gentleness (Prov.
%¦. 19), feminine modesty (Cant. ii. 7, iii. 5),
earnest longing (Ps. xiii. 1), and maternal
affection (Jer. xiv. 5) . Its shyness and
remoteness from the haunts of men are also
alluded to (Job xxxix. 1), and its timidity,
causing it to cast its young at the sound of
thunder (Ps. xxix. 9).
HIN'NOM, VALLEY OF, otherwise called
"the valley of the son", or "children of
Hinnom," a deep and narrow ravine, with
steep, rocky sides to the S. and W. of Je
rusalem, separating Mount Zion to the N.
from the " Hill of Evil Counsel," and the
sloping rocky plateau of the " plain of Re
phaim" to the S. The earliest mention of
the Valley of Hinnom is in Josh. xv. 8, xviii.
16, where the boundary-line between the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin is described,
as passing along the bed of the ravine. On
the southern brow, overlooking the valley at
its eastern extremity, Solomon erected high
places for Molech (1 K. xi. 7), whose horrid
rites were revived from time to time in the
same vicinity by the later idolatrous kings.
Ahaz and Manasseh made their children
"pass through the fire" in this valley (2 K.
xvi. 3 ; 2 Chr. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6), and the
fiendish custom of infant sacrifice to the fire-
gods seems to have been kept up in Tophet,
at its S.E. extremity for a considerable
period (Jer. vii. 31 ; 2 K. xxx. 10). To
put an end to these abominations the place
was polluted by Josiah, who rendered it
ceremonially unclean by spreading over it
human bones, and other corruptions (2 K.
xxiii. 10, 13, 14; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 4, 5), from
which time it appears to have become the
cqmmon cesspool of the city, into which its
sewage was conducted, to be carried off by
the waters of the Kidron, as well as a lay
stall, where all its solid filth was collected.
From its ceremonial defilement, and from the
detested and abominable fire of Molech, if not
from the supposed everburning funeral piles,
the later Jews applied the name of this valley
Ge Hinnom, Gehenna, to denote the place of
eternal torment. In this sense the word is
used by our Lord (Matt. v. 29, .%.. 28, xxiii.
15 ; Mark ix. 43 ; Luke xii. 5).
HIPPOPOTAMUS. [Behemoth.]
HI'RAM, or HU'RAM. 1. The king of

Tyre who sent workmen and materials to
Jerusalem, first (2 Sam. v. 11, 1 Chr. xiv. 1)
to build a palace for David whom he ever
loved (1 K. v. 1), and again (1 K. \. 10, vii.
13, 2 Chr. 14, 16) to build the Temple for
Solomon, with whom he had a treaty of peace
and commerce (1 K. v. 11, 12). The con
tempt with which he received Solomon's
present of Cabul (1 K. ix. 12) does not appear
to have caused any breach between the two
kings. He admitted Solomon's ships, issuing
from Joppa, to a share in the profitable trade
of the Mediterranean (1 K. x. 22) ; and
Jewish sailors, under the guidance of Tyrians,
were taught to bring the gold of India (1 K.
ix. 26) to Solomon's two harbours on the
Red Sea. — 2. Hiram was the name of a man
of mixed race (1 K. vii. 13, 40), the principal
architect and engineer sent by king Hiram
to Solomon.
HIT'TITES, THE, the nation descended
from Cheth (A. V. "Heth"), the second
son of Canaan. Abraham bought from the
"Children of Heth," the field and the cave
of Machpelah, belonging to Ephron the
Hittite. They were then settled at the town
which was afterwards, under its new name
of Hebron, to become one of the most famous
cities of Palestine, then bearing the name of
Kirjath-arba (Gen. xxiii. 19, xxv. 9). When
the Israelites entered the Promised Land, we
find the Hittites taking their part against
the invader, in equal alliance with the other
Canaanite tribes (Josh. ix. 1, xi. 3, &c).
Henceforward the notices of the Hittites are
very few and faint. We meet with two
individuals, both attached to the person of
David. (1.) " Ahimelech the Hittite "
(1 Sam. xxvi. 6). (2.) " Uriah the Hittite,"
one of "the thn ty " of David's body-guard
(2 Sam. xxiii. 39 ;' 1 Chr. xi. 41).
Hl'VITES, THE. In the genealogical
tables of Genesis, "the Hivite " is named as
one of the descendants — the sixth in order —
of Canaan, the son of Ham (Gen. x. 17 ;
1 Chr. i. 15). We first encounter the actual
people of the Hivites at the time of Jacob's
return to Canaan. Shechem was then in
their possession, Hamor the Hivite being the
"prince of the land" (Gen. xxxiv. 2). We
next meet with the Hivites during the con
quest of Canaan (Josh. ix. 7, xi. 19). The
main body of the Hivites were at this time
living on the northern confines of western
Palestine — "under Hermon, in the land of
Mizpeh " (Josh. xi. 3) — " in Mount Lebanon,
from Mount Baal-Hermon to the entering in
of Hamath" (Judg. iii. 3, comp. 2 Sam.
xxiv. 7).
HO 'BAB. This name is found in two
places only (Num. x. 29 ; Judg. iv. 11), and

HO BAH

2 IS

HORITES

it seems doubtful whether it denotes the
father-in-law or brother-in-law of Moses.
(1.) In favour of the latter is the express
statement that Hobab was " the son of
Raguel" (Num. x. 29); Raguel or Ruel —
the Hebrew word in both cases is the same
— being identified with Jethro, not only in
Ex. ii. 18 (comp. iii. 1, &c), but also by
Josephus. (2.) In favour of Ilobnb's identity
with Jethro are the words of Judg. iv. 11,
and the Mahometan traditions. But whether
Hobab was the father-in-law of Moses or not,
the notice of him in Num. x. 29-32, though
brief, is full of point and interest. While
Jethro is preserved to us as the wise and
practised administrator, Hobab appear* as
the experienced Bedouin sheikh, to whom
Moses looked for the material safety of his
cumbrous caravan in the new and difficult
ground before them,
HO'BAH, the place to which Abraham
pursued the kings who had pillaged Sodom
(Gen. xiv. 15). It was situated "to the
north of Damascus."
IIO'HAM, king of Hebron at the time of
the conquest of Canaan (Jo-^h. x. 3).
HOLOFKU'NKS, or, more correctly, Olo-
fernes, was, according to the book of Judith,
a general of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the
Assyrians (Jud. ii. 4), who was slain by the
Jewish heroine Judith during the siege of
Bethulia. HOMER. [Measures.]
HONEY. The Hebrew dttbash, in the first
place, applies to the product of the bee, to
which we exclusively give the name of honey.
All travellers agree in describing Palestine
as a land "flowing with milk and honey"
(Ex, iii. 8) ; bees being abundant even in
the remote parts of the wilderness, where
they deposit their honey in the crevices of
the rocks or in hollow trees. In some parts
of northern Arabia the hills are so well
stocked with bees, that no sooner are hives
placed than they are occupied. In the second
place the term d&bash applies to a decoction
of the juice of the grape, which is still called
dibs, and which forms an article of commerce
in the East ; it was this, and not ordinary
bee-honey, which Jacob sent to Joseph (Gen.
xliii. U), and which the Tyrians purchased
from Palestine (Ez. xxvii. 17). A third kind
has been described by some writers as
" vegetable" honey, by which is meant the
exudations of certain trees and shrubs, such
as the Tamarix mannifera, found in the
peninsula of Sinai, or the stunted oaks of
Luristan and Mesopotamia. The honey,
which Jonathan ate in the wood (1 Sam.
xiv. 25), and the "wild honey," which sup.

ported St. John (Matt. iii. 4), have been

referred to this species. But it was probably
the honey of the wild bees.
HOPH'NI and Piiineas, tne two sons of
Eli, who fulfilled their hereditary sacerdotal
duties at Shiloh. Their brutal rapacity and
lust, which seemed to acquire fresh violence
with their father's increasing years (1 Sam.
ii. 22, 12-17), filled the people with disgust
and indignation, and provoked the curse
which was denounced against their father's
house first by an unknown prophet (27-36),
and then by Samuel (1 Sam. iii. 11-14).
They were' both cut off in one day in the
flower of their age, and tlie ark which they
had accompanied to battle against the Philis
tines was lost on the same occasion (1 Sam.
iv. 10, 11).
HOR, MOUNT. 1. The mountain on
which ;Aaron died (Num. xx. 25, 27). The
word Hor is probably an archaic form of
Hit/; the usual Hebrew term for "moun
tain." It was " on the boundary line"
(Num. xx. 23) or "at the edge" (xxxiii. 37)
of the land of Edom. It was the halting-
place of the people next after Kadesh (xx.
22, xxxiii. 37), and they quitted it for Zal-
monah (xxxiii. 41) in the road to the Red
Sea (xxi. 4). It was during the encamp
ment at Kadesh that Aaron was gathered to
his fathers. It is situated on the eastern
side of the great valley, of the Arabah, the
highest and most conspicuous of the whole
range of the sandstone mountains of Edom,
having close beneath it on its eastern side
the mysterious city of Petra. The tradition
has existed from the earliest date. It is
now the Jebel Ncbi-Harun, "the mountain
of the Prophet Aaron." Its height is 4800
feet above the Mediterranean, that is to say
about 1700 feet above the town of Petra,
4000 above the level of tbe Arabah, and
more than 6000 above the Dead Sea. The
mountain is marked far and near by its
double top, which rises like a huge castellated
building from a lower base, and is surmounted
by a circular dome of the tomb of Aaron, a
distinct white spot on the dark red surface
of the mountain. The chief interest pf
Mount Hor consists in the prospect from its
summit — the last view of Aaron— that view
which was to him what Pisgah was to his
brother — 2. A mountain, entirely distinct
from the preceding, named in Num. x\xiv,
7, 8, only, as one of the marks of the
northern boundary of the land which the
children of Israel were about to conquer.
This "Mount Hor" is the great chain of
Lebanon itself.
HO'REB. [Sinai.]
HO'RITES and HO'RIMS, the aboriginal
inhabitants of Mount Seir (Gen. xiv. 6), and

HORMAH

219

HOSEA

probably allied to the Emims and Rephaims.
The name Horite appears to have been
derived from their habits as " cave-dwellers."
Their excavated dwellings are still found in
hundreds in the sandstone cliffs and moun
tains of Edom, and especially in Petra.
HOR'MAH, or Zephath (Judg. i. 17), was
the chief town of a king of a Canaanitish
tribe on the south of Palestine, which was
reduced by Joshua, and became a city of the
territory of Judah (xv. 30 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 30),
but apparently belonged to Simeon (1 Chr.
iv. SO).
HORN. The word " horn " is often used
metaphorically to signify strength and honour.
Of strength the horn of the unicorn was the
most frequent representative (Deut. xxxiii.
17, &c), but not always ; comp. 1 K. xxii.
1 1 , where probably horns of iron, worn
defiantly and symbolically on the head, are
intended. Among the Druses upon Mount
Lebanon the married women wear silver
horns on their heads. In the sense of
honour, the word horn stands for the abstract
(my horn, Job xvi. 15 ; all the horns of
Isi-ael, Lam. ii. 3), and so for the supreme
authority. It also stands for the concrete,
whence it comes to mean king, kingdom
(Dan. viii. 2, &c. ; Zech. i. 18). Out of
either or both of these two last metaphors
sprang the idea of representing gods with
horns.

Heads of modern Asiatics ornamented with ho ns.
HORNET. In Scripture the hornet is
referred to only as the means which Jehovah
employed for the extirpation of the Canaan
ites (Ex. xxiii. 28; Deut. vii. 20; Josh.
xxiv. 12 ; Wisd. xii. 8). Some commentators
regard the word as used in its literal sense,
but it more probably expresses under a vivid

image the consternation with which Jehovah
would inspire the enemies of the Israelites,
as declared in Deut. ii. 25, Josh. ii. II.
HORONA'IM, a town of Moab, possibly a
sanctuary, named with Zoar and Luhith (Is.
xv. 5 ; Jer. xlviii. 3, 5, 34).
HORSE. The most striking feature in
the Biblical notices of the horse is the ex
clusive application of it to warlike opera
tions ; in no instance is that useful animal
employed for the purposes of ordinary loco
motion or agriculture, if we except Is.
xxviii. 28, where we learn that horses
(A. V. " horsemen ") were employed in
threshing, not, however, in that case put in
the gears, but simply driven about wildly
over the strewed grain. The animated
description of the horse in Job xxxix. 19-25
applies solely to the war-horse. The Hebrews
in the patriarchal age, as a pastoral race, did
not stand in need of the services of the horse,
and for a long period after their settlement
in Canaan they dispensed with it, partly in
consequence of the hilly nature of the country,
which only admitted of the use of chariots in
certain localities (Judg. i. 19), and partly in
consequence of the prohibition in Deut. xvii.
16, which would be held to apply at all
periods. David first established a force of
cavalry and chariots after tbe defeat of
Hadadezer (2 Sam. viii. 4). But the great
supply of horses was subsequently effected by
Solomon through his connexion with Egypt
(1 K. iv. 26). The horses were not shod,
and therefore hoofs as hard "as flint" (Is.
v. 28) were regarded as a great merit.
HORSELEACH (Heb. 'dlukdh) occurs once
only, viz. Prov. xxx. 15. There is little
doubt that 'dlukdh denotes some species of
leech, or rather is the generic term for any
bloodsucking annelid.
HOSAN'NA (" Save, we pray"), the cry
of the multitudes as they thronged in our
Lord's triumphal procession into Jerusalem
(Matt. xxi. 9, 15; Mar. xi. 9, 10; John
xii. 13). The Psalm from which it was
taken, the 118th, was one with which they
were familiar from being accustomed to
recite the 25th and 26th verses at the Feast
of Tabernacles. On that occasion the Hallel,
consisting of Psalms cxiii.-exviii., was
chanted by one of the priests, and at certain
intervals the multitudes joined in the re
sponses, waving their branches of willow
and palm, and shouting as they waved them,
Hallelujah, or. Hosanna, or " O Lord, I
beseech thee, send now prosperity " (Ps.
cxviii. 25).
HOSE'A, son of Beeri, and first of the
Minor Prophets. The title of the bock gives
for the beginning of Hosea's ministry the

HOSHEA

220

HOSPITALITY

reign of 'Uzziah, king of Judah, but limits
this vague definition by reference to Jero
boam II., king of Israel ; it therefore yields
a date not later than b.c. 783. Tbe pictures
of social and political life which Hosea draws
so forcibly are rather applicable to the inter
regnum which followed the death of Jero
boam (712-772), and to the reign of the
succeeding kings. It seems almost certain
that very few of his prophecies were written
until after the death of Jeroboam (783), and
probably the life, or rather the prophetic
career of Hosea, extended from 7S4 to 725,
a period of fifty-nine years. The prophecies
of Hosea were delivered in the kingdom of
Israel. It is easy to recognise two great
divisions in the book : — (1.) chap. i. to iii. ;
(2.) iv. to end. The subdivision of these
several parts is a work of greater difficulty.
(1.) The first division should probably be
subdivided into three separate poems, each
originating in a distinct aim, and each after
its own fashion attempting to express the
idolatry of Tsrael by imagery borrowed from
the matrimonial relation. The first, and
therefore the least elaborate of these, is con
tained in chap, iii., the second in i. 2-11, the
third in i. 2-9, and ii. 1-23. These three
are progressively elaborate developments of
the same reiterated idea. Chap. i. 2-9 is
common to the second and third poems, but
not repeated with each severally. (2.) At
tempts have been made to subdivide the
second part of the book. These divisions are
made either according to reigns of contem
porary kings, or according to the subject-
matter of the poem. The prophecies were
probably collected by Hosea himself towards
the end of his career. Hosea is referred to
in the following passages of the N. T. : —
Matt. ix. 13, xii. 7, Hos. vi. 6 ; Luke xxiii,
30, Rev. vi. 16, Hos. x. 8 ; Matt. ii. 15,
Hos. xi. 1 ; Rom. ix. 25, 26, 1 Pet. ii. 10,
Hos. i. 10, ii. 23 ; 1 Cor. xv. 4, Hos. vi. 2 ;
Heb. xiii. 15, Hos. xiv. 2.
HOSHE'A, the nineteenth, last, and best
king of Israel. He succeeded Pekah, whom
he slew in a successful conspiracy, thereby
fulfilling a prophecy of Isaiah (Is. vii. 16).
It took place b.c. 737, in the 20th year of
Jotham (2 K. xv. 30), i. c. " in the 20th year
after Jotham became sole king," for he only
reigned 16 years (2 K. xv. 33). But there
must have been an interregnum of at least
eight years before Hoshea came to the throne,
which was not till b.c 729, in the 12th year
of Ahaz (2 K. xvii. l). It is expressly
6tated (2 K. xvii. 2) that Hoshea was not so
sinful as his predecessors. In the third year
of his reign (b.c. 726) Shalmaneser cruelly
stormed the strong caves of Beth-arbel (Hos.

8. 14), and made Israel tributary (2 K.
xvii. 3) for three years. At the end of this
period, encouraged perhaps by the revolt of
Hezekiah, Hoshea entered into a secret
alliance with So, king of Egypt, to throw off
the Assyrian yoke. The alliance did him no
good ; it was revealed to the court of Nineveh
by the Assyrian party in Ephraim, and
Hoshea was immediately seized as a rebel
lious vassal, shut up in prison, and apparently
treated with the utmost indignity (Mic. v. 1).
Of the subsequent fortunes of Hoshea we
know nothing.
HOSHEA, the son of Nun, ie., Joshua
(Deut. xxxii. 44 ; and also in Num. xiii. 8,
though there the A. V. has Osiiea).
HOSPITALITY. Hospitality was regarded
by most nations of the ancient world as one
of the chief virtues. Among the Arabs we
find the best illustrations of* the old Bible
narratives, and among them see traits that
might beseem their ancestor Abraham. The
laws respecting strangers (Lev. xix. 33, 34)
and the poor (Lev. xxv. 14 seq. ; Deut. xv.
7), and concerning redemption (Lev. xxv. 23
seqq.), &c, are framed in accordance with the
spirit of hospitality; and the strength of
the national feeling regarding it is shown
in the incidental mentions of its practice. In
the Law, compassion to strangers is con
stantly enforced by the words, " for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt " (Lev. xix.
34). And before the Law, Abraham's enter
tainment of the angels (Gen. xviii. 1 seqq:),
and Lot's (xix. 1), are in exnet agreement
with its precepts, and with modern usage
(comp. Ex. ii. 20 ; Judg. xiii. 15, xix. 17,
20, 21). In the N. T. hospitality is yet
more markedly enjoined; and in the more
civilised state of society which then pre
vailed, its exercise became more a social
virtue than a necessity of patriarchal life.
The good Samaritan stands for all ages as an
example of Christian hospitality, embodying
the command to love one's neighbour as him
self. The neglect of Christ is symbolised by
inhospitality to our neighbours (Matt, xxv,
43). The Apostles urged the church to
" follow after hospitality " (Rom. xii. 13 ; cf.
1 Tim. v. 10) ; to remember Abraham's
example (Heb. xiii. 2) ; to " use hospitality
one to another without grudging" (1 Pet.
iv. 9) ; while a bishop must be a " lover of
hospitality" (Tit. i. 8, cf. 1 Tim. iii. 2).
The practice of the early Christians was in
accord with these precepts. They had all
things in common, and their hospitality
was a characteristic of their belief. Such
having been the usage of Biblical times,- it
is in the next place important to remark
how hospitality was shown. In the patri-

HOUR

221

HOUSE

archal ages we may take Abraham's example
as the most fitting, as we have of it the fullest
account. " The account," says Mr. Lane,
"of Abraham's entertaining the three angels',
related in the Bible, presents a perfect picture
of the manner in which a modern Bedawee
sheykh receives travellers arriving at his
encampment. He immediately orders his
wife or women to make bread, slaughters a
sheep or some other animal, and dresses it in
haste, and bringing milk and any other pro
visions that he may have ready at hand,
with the bread and the meat which he has
dressed, sets them before his guests. If
these be persons of high rank, he stands by
them while they eat, as Abraham did in the
case above alluded to. Most Bedawees will
suffer almost any injury to themselves or
their families rather than allow their guests
to be ill-treated while under their protec
tion." The Oriental respect for the covenant
of bread and salt, or salt alone, certainly
sprang from the high regard in which hospi
tality was held.
HOUR. The ancient Hebrews were pro
bably unacquainted with the division of the
natural day into 24 parts ; but they afterwards
parcelled out the period between sunrise and
sunset into a series of divisions distinguished
by the sun's course. The early Jews appear
to have divided the day into four parts (Neh.
ix. 3), and the night into three watches
(Judg. vii. 19), and even in the N. T. we
find a trace of this division in Matt. xx. 1-5.
The Greeks adopted the division of the day
into 12 hours from the Babylonians. At
what period the Jews became first acquainted
with this way of reckoning time is unknown,
but it is generally supposed that they too
learnt it from tbe Babylonians during the
captivity. In whatever way originated, it
was known to the Egyptians at a very early
period. They had 12 hours of the day and
of the night. There are two kinds of hours,
viz. fl.) the astronomical or equinoctial hour,
t. e., the 24th part of a civil day, and (2.) the
natural hour, i. c, the 12th part of the natural
day, or of the time between sunrise and sun
set. These are the hours meant in the N. T.
(John xi. 9, &c), and it must be remem
bered that they perpetually vary in length,
so as to be very different at different times
of the year. For the purposes of prayer the
old division of the day into 4 portions was
continued in the Temple Service, as we see
from Acts ii. 15, iii. 1, x. 9.
HOUSE. The houses of the rural poor in
Egypt, as well as in most parts of Syria,
Arabia, and Persia, are for the most part
mere huts of mud, or sunburnt bricks. In
some parts of Palestine and Arabia stone is

used, and in certain districts caves in -the
rock are used as dwellings (Amos v. 11).
The houses are usually of one story only,
viz., the ground floor, and often contain only
one apartment. Sometimes a small court for
the cattle is attached ; and in some cases the
cattle are housed in the same building, or
the people live on a raised platform, and the
cattle round them on the ground (1 Sam.
xxviii. 24). The windows are small aper
tures high up in tbe walls, sometimes grated
with wood. The roofs are commonly hut not
always flat, and are usually formed of a
plaster of mud and straw laid upon boughs
or rafters ; and upon the flat roofs, tents, or
"booths" of boughs or rushes are often
raised to be used as sleeping-places in
summer. The difference between the poorest

A Ncstorian House, with stages upon the roof for
sleeping. (Layard, Nineveh, i. 177.)
houses and those of the class next above
them is greater than between these and the
houses of the first rank. The prevailing
plan of Eastern houses of this class presents,
as was the case in ancient Egypt, a front of
wall, whose blank and mean appearance^ is
usually relieved only by the door and a few
latticed and proj ecting windows. Within
this is a court or courts with apartments
opening into them. Over the door is a pro
jecting window with a lattice more or less
elaborately wrought, which, except in times
of public celebrations, is usually closed (2 K,
ix. 30). An awning is sometimes drawn
over the court, and the floor strewed with
carpets on festive occasions. The stairs to

HOUSE

the upper apartments are in Syria usually in
a corner of the court. Around part, if not
the whole, of the court is a verandah, often
nine or ten feet deep, over which, when
tuere is more than one floor, runs a second
gallery of like depth with a balustrade.

Inner Court of House in Cairo.
(Lane, Atudern Egyptian*.)
Bearing in mind that the reception room is
r.iised above the level of the court, we may,
in explaining the circumstances of the miracle
of the paralytic (Mark ii. 3; Luke v. 18),
suppose, 1. either that our Lord was stand
ing under the verandah, and the people in
front in the court. The bearers of the sick
man ascended the stairs to the roof of the
house, and taking off a portion of the boarded
covering of the verandah, or removing the
awning, in the former case let down the
bed through the verandah roof, or in the
latter, down bg way of the roof, and depo
sited it before the Saviour. 2. Another ex
planation presents itself in considering the
room where the company were assembled as
the " upper room," and the roof opened for
the bed to be the true roof of the house.
3. And one still more simple is found in
regarding the house as one of the rude dwell
ings now to be seen near the Sea of Galilee,
a mere room 10 or 12 feet high and as many
or more square, with no opening except the
door. Tbe roof, used as a sleeping-place, is
reached by a ladder from the outside, and
the bearers of the paralytic, unable to ap

proach the door, would thus have ascended
the roof, and having uncovered it, let him
down into the room where our Lord was.
When there is no second floor, but more
than one court, the women's apartments,
hareem, harem, or haram, are usually in the
second court ; otherwise they form a separate
building within tbe general enclosure, or are
above on the first floor. When there is an
upper story, the Ka'ah forms the most im
portant apartment, and thus probably answers
to the " upper room," which was often tbe
"guest-chamber" (Luke xxii. 12; Acts i.
13, ix. 37, xx. 8). The windows of tbe
upper rooms often project one or two feet,
and form a kiosk or latticed chamber. Such
may have been " the chamber in the wall "
(2 *K. iv. 10, 11). The "lattice" through
which Ahaziah fell, perhaps belonged to an
upper chamber of this kind (2 K. i. 2), as
also the "third loft," from which Eutychus
fell (Acts xx. 9 ; comp. Jer. xxii. 13).
There are usually no special bedrooms in
Eastern houses. The outer doors are closed
with a wooden lock, but in some ca'-cs the
apartments are divided from each other by
| curtains only. There are no chimneys, but
fire is made when required with charcoal in
a chafing-dish ; or a fire of wood might be
kindled in the open court of the house (Luke
xxii. 55). Some houses in Cairo have an
apartment, open in front to the court, with
two or more arches, and a railing ; and a
pillar to support the wall above. It was in a
chamber of this kind, probably one of the
largest size to be found in a palace, that our
Lord was being arraigned before the Iligh-
pricst, at the time when the denial of Him
by St. Peter took place. He " turned and
looked " on Peter as he stood by the fire in
the court (Luke xxii. 56, 61 ; John xviii.
24), whilst He himself was in the " hall of
Judgment." In no point do Oriental do
mestic habits differ more from European
than in the use of the roof. Its flat surface
is made useful for various household pur
poses, as drying corn, hanging up linen, and
preparing figs and raisins. The roofs are
used as places of recreation in the evening,
and often as sleeping-places at night (2 Sam.
xi. 2, xvi. 22 ; Dan. iv. 29 ; 1 Sam. ix. 25,
26; Job xxvii, 18; Prov. xxi. 9). They
were also used as places for devotion, and
even idolatrous worship (Jer. xxxii. 29, xix.
13 ; 2 K. xxiii. 12 ; Zeph. i. 5 ; Acts x. 9;.
At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles booths
were erected by the Jews on the tops of their
houses. Protection of the roof by parapets
was enjoined by the law (Deut. xxii. 8).
Special apartments were devoted in larger
houses to winter and summer uses (Jer.

223

HYSSOP

xxxvi. 22; Am. iii. 15). The ivory house
of Ahab was probably a palace largely orna
mented with inlaid ivory. The circumstance
of Samson's pulling down the house by means
of the pillars, may he explained by the fact
of the company being assembled on tiers of
balconies above each other, supported by
central pillars on tbe basement ; when these
were pulled down the whole of the upper
floors would fall also (Judg. xvi. 26).
HUL'DAH, a prophetess, whose husband
Shallum was keeper of the wardrobe in the
time of king Josiah. It was to her that
Josiah had recourse when Hilkiah found a
book of the law, to procure an authoritative
opinion on it (2K. xxii. 14 ; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 22).
HUR. 1. A man who is mentioned with
Moses and Aaron on the occasion of the
battle with Amalek at Rephidim (Ex. xvii.
10), when with Aaron he stayed up the
hands of Moses (12). He is mentioned
again in xxiv. 14, as being, with Aaron,
left in charge of the people by Moses during
his ascent of Sinai. The Jewish tradition is
that he was the husband of Miriam, and that
he was identical with — 2. The grandfather
of Bezaleel, the chief artificer of the taber
nacle — " son of Huri, son of Hur — of the
tribe of Judah" (Ex. xxxi. 2, xxxv. 30,
xxxviii. 22). In the lists of the descendants
of Judah in 1 Chr. the pedigree is more fully
preserved. Hur there appears as one of the
great family of Pharez. He was the son of
Caleb ben-Hezron, by a second wife, Ephrath
(ii. 19, 20; comp. 5, also iv. 1), the first
fruit of the marriage (ii. 50, iv. 4), and the
father, besides Uri (ver. 20), of three sons,
who founded the towns of Kirjath-jearim,
Bethlehem, and Beth-gader (51).— 3. The
fourth of the five kings of Midian, who were
slain with Balaam after the "matter of
Peor" (Num. xxxi, 8). In a later mention
of them (Josh. xiii. 21) they are called
princes of Midian and dukes.
HU'RAM. [Hiram.]
HUSBAND. [Marriage.]
HUSHA'I, an Archite, i.e., possibly an in
habitant of a place called Erec (2 Sam. xv.
32 ff., xvi. 16 ff.). He is called the " friend "
of David (2 Sam. xv. 37 ; comp. 1 Chr.
xxvii. 33.) To him David confided the deli
cate and dangerous part of a pretended ad
herence to the cause of Absalom. He was
probabiy the father of Baana (1 K. iv. 16).
HU'SHAM, one of the early kings of Edom
(Gen. xxxvi. 34, 35 ; 1 Chr. i. 45, 46).
HU'SHIM. In Gen. xlvi. 23, " the chil
dren of Dan " are said to have been Hushim.
The name is plural, as if of a tribe rather
than an individual. In Num. xxvi. the
name is changed to Shu am.

HUSKS. The word rendered in the A.V.
"husks" (Luke xv. 16), describes really the
fruit of a particular kind of tree, viz. : the
carob or Ceratonia siliqua of botanists. This
tree is very commonly met with in Syria and
Egypt ; it produces pods, shaped like a horn,
varying. in length from 6 to 10 inches, and
about a finger's breadth, or rather more.
HYMENAE'US, the name of a person
occurring twice in the correspondence be
tween St. Paul and Timothy ; the first time
classed with Alexander (1 Tim. i. 20) ; and the
second time classed with Philetus (2 Tim. ii.
17, 18). In the error with which he was
charged he stands as one of the earliest of
the Gnostics. As regards the sentence passed
upon him — it has been asserted by some
writers of eminence, that the " delivering to
Satan " is a mere synonym for ecclesiastical
excommunication. Such can hardly be the
case. As the Apostles healed all manner of
bodily infirmities, so they seem to have
possessed and exercised the same power in
inflicting them— a power far too perilous
to be continued when the manifold exigen
cies of the Apostolical age had passed away
(Acts v. 5, 10, ix. 17, 40, xiii. 11). Even
apart from actual intervention by the Apos
tles, bodily visitations are spoken of in the
case of those who approached the Lord's
Supper unworthily (1 Cor. xi. 30).
HYMN. Among the later Jews the word
hymn was more or less vague in its appli
cation, and capable of being used as occasion
should arise. To Christians the Hymn has
always been something different from the
Psalm ; a different conception in thought, a
different type in composition. There is some
dispute about the hymn sung by our Lord
and his Apostles on the occasion of the Last
Supper ; but even supposing it to have been
the Hallel, or Paschal Hymn, consisting of
Pss. ex iii. -ex viii., it is obvious that the word
hymn is in this case applied not to an indi
vidual psalm, but to a number of psalms
chanted successively, and altogether forming
a kind of devotional exercise which is not
unaptly called a hymn. In the jail at Phi
lippi, Paul and Silas "sang hymns" (A. V.
" praises ") unto God, and so loud was their
song that their fellow-prisoners heard them.
This must have been what we mean by sing
ing, and not merely recitation. It was in
fact a veritable singing of hymns. And it is
remarkable that the noun hymn is only used
in reference to the services of the Greeks,
and in the same passages is clearly distin
guished from the psalm (Eph. v. 19, Col.
iii. 16), "psalms, and hymns, and spiritual
songs." HYSSOP. (Heb. ezdb.) The ezdb was

IBHAR

IDOLATRY

used to sprinkle the doorposts of the Israel
ites in Egypt with the blood of the pascbal
lamb (Ex. xii. 22) ; it was employed in the
purification of lepers and leprous houses
(Lev. xiv. 4, 51), and in the sacrifice of the
red heifer (Num. xix. 6;. In consequence
of its detergent qualities, or from i$s being
associated with the purificatory services, the
Psalmist makes use of the expression, " purge
,me with ezdb " (Ps. li. 7). It is described in
1 K. iv. 33 as growing on or near walls.
Bochart decides in favour of marjoram, or
some plant like it, and to this conclusion, it
must be admitted, all ancient tradition points.
But Dr. Royle, after a careful investigation
of the subject, arrives at the conclusion that
the hyssop is no other than the caper-plant,
or capparis spinosa of Linnaeus. The Arabic
name of this plant, asuf, by which it is
sometimes, though not commonly, described,
bears considerable resemblance to the Hebrew.

1'BHAR, one of the sons of David (2 Sam.
v. 15; 1 Chr. iii. 6, xiv. 5) born in
Jerusalem. IB'LEAM, a city of Manasseh, with vil
lages or towns dependent on it (Judg. i. 27).
It appears to have been situated in the terri
tory of either Issachar or Asher (Josh. xvii.
11). The ascent of Gur was "at Ibleam "
(2 K. ix. 27), somewhere near the present
Jenin, probably to the north of it.
IB'Z \N, a native of Bethlehem of Zebulon,
who judged Israel for seven years after
Jephthah (Judg. xii. 8, 10).
ICH'ABOD, the son of Phinehas, and
grandson of Eli (I Sam. iv. 21).
ICO'NIUM, the modern Konieh, was the
capital of Lycaonia. It was on the great
line of communication between Ephesus and
the western coast of the peninsula on one
side, and Tarsus, Antioch, and the Euphrates
on the other. Iconium was a well chosen
place for missionary operations (Acts xiv. 1,
3, 21, 22, xvi. 1, 2, xviii. 23). The Apos
tle's first visit was on his first circuit, in
company with Barnabas ; and on this occa
sion he approached it from Antioch in Pisidia,
which lay to the west.
ID'DO. 1. A seer whose " visions " against
Jeroboam incidentally contained some of tbe
acts of Solomon (2 Chr. ix. 29). 'He appears
to have written a chronicle or story relating
to the life and reign of Abijah (2 Chr. xiii.
22), and also a book "concerning genealo
gies " in which the acts of Rehoboam were
recorded (xii. 15). These books are lost,
but they may have formed part of the foun
dation of the existing books of Chronicles. —
3. The grandfather of the prophet Zechariah

(Zech. i. 1, 7),. although in other places
Zechariah is called " the son of Iddo "
(Ezr. v. 1 ; vi. 14). Iddo returned from
Babylon with Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Neh.
xii. 4). — 3. The chief of those who assem
bled at Casiphia, at the time of the second
caravan from Babylon. He was one of the
Ncthinim (Ezr. viii. 17 ; comp. 20).
IDOLATRY, strictly speaking, denotes the
worship of deity in a visible form, whether
the images to which homage is paid are
symbolical representations of the true God,
or of the false divinities which have been
made the objects of worship in His stead. —
I. History of Idtdatry among the Jews. —
The first undoubted allusion to idolatry or
idolatrous customs in the Bible is in the
account of Rachel's stealing her father's
teraphim (Gen. xxxi. 19), a relic of the
worship of other gods, whom the ancestors
of the Israelites served " on the other side of
the river, in old time " (Josh. xxiv. 2).
These he consulted as oracles (Gen. xxx. 27,
A. V. " learned by experience ") though
without entirely losing sight of the God of
Abraham and the God of Nahor, to whom
he appealed when occasion offered (Gen.
xxxi. 53), while he was ready, in tbe pre
sence of Jacob, to acknowledge the benefits
conferred upon him by Jehovah (Gen. xxx.
27). Such, indeed, was the character of
most of the idolatrous worship of the Israel
ites. Like the Cuthean colonists in Samaria,
who " feared Jehovah and served their own
gods" (2 K. xvii. 33), they blended in a
strange manner a theoretical belief in the
true God with the external reverence which
they were led to pay to the idols of the
nations by whom they were surrounded.
During their long residence in Egypt, the
country of symbolism, they defiled them
selves with the idols of the land, and it was
long before the taint was removed (Josh.
xxiv. 14 ; Ez. xx. 7). To these gods Moses,
as the herald of Jehovah, flung down the
gauntlet of defiance, and the plagues of Egypt
smote their symbols (Num. xxxiii. 4). Yet,
with the memory of their deliverance fresh
in their minds, their leader absent, the
Israelites clamoured for some visible shape
in which they might worship the God who
had brought them out of Egypt (Ex. xxxii.).
Aaron lent himself to tbe popular cry, and
chose as the symbol of deity one with which
they had long been familiar — the calf — em
bodiment of Apis, and emblem of the pro
ductive power of nature. For a while the
erection of the tabernacle, and the establish
ment of the worship which accompanied it,
satisfied that craving for an outward sign
which the Israelites constantly exhibited ;

IDOLATRY"

225

IDOLATRY

and for the remainder of their march through
the desert, with tbe dwelling-place of Jehovah
in their midst, they did not again degenerate
into open apostasy. But it was only so long
as their contact with the nations was of a
hostile character that this seeming orthodoxy
was maintained. During the lives of Joshua
and the elders who outlived him, they kept
true to their allegiance ; but the generation
following, who knew not Jehovah, nor the
works he had done for Israel, swerved from
the plain path of their fathers, and were
caught in the toils of the foreigner (Judg.
ii.) . From this time forth their history
becomes little more than a chronicle of the
inevitable sequence of offence and punish
ment (Judg. ii. 12, 14). By turns each
conquering nation strove to establish the
worship of its national god. Thus far
idolatry is a national sin. The episode of
Micah, in Judg. xvii. xviii. sheds a lurid
light on the secret practices of individuals,
who without formally renouncing Jehovah,
though ceasing to recognise Him as the theo
cratic King (xvii. 6), linked with His wor
ship the symbols of ancient idolatry. In
later times the practice of secret idolatry
was carried to greater lengths. Images
were set up on the corn-floors, in the wine-
vats, and behind the doors of private houses
(Is. Ivii. 8 ; Hos. ix. 1, 2) ; and to check
this tendency the statute in Deut. xxvii. 15
was originally promulgated. Under Samuel's
administration a fast was held, and purifi
catory rites performed, to mark the public
renunciation of idolatry (1 Sam. vii. 3-6).
But in the reign of Solomon all this was
forgotten. Each of his many foreign wives
brought with her the gods of her own nation ;
and the gods of Ammon, Moab, and Zidon,
were openly worshipped. Rehoboam, tbe
son of an Ammonite mother, perpetuated
the worst features of Solomon's idolatry (1
K. xiv. 22-24) ; and in his reign was made
the great schism in the national religion :
when Jeroboam, fresh from his recollec
tions of the Apis worship of Egypt, erected
golden calves at Bethel and at Dan, and by
this crafty state-policy severed for ever the
kingdoms of Judah and Israel (1 K. xii.
26-33). The successors of Jeroboam followed
in his steps, till Ahab, who married a Zidonian
princess, at her instigation (1 K. xxi. 25)
built a temple and altar to Baal, and revived
all the abominations of the Amorites (1 K.
xxi. 26). Compared with the worship of
Baal, the worship of the calves was a venial
offence, probably because it was morally less
detestable and also less anti-national (1 K.
xii. 28; 2 K. x. 28-31). Henceforth Baal-
worship became so completely identified with
Bm. D. B.

the northern kingdom that it is described an
walking in the way or statutes of the kings
of Israel (2 K. xvi. 3, xvii. 8), as dis
tinguished from the sin of Jeroboam. The
conquest of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser
was for them the last scene of the drama, of
abominations which had been enacted un
interruptedly for upwards of 250 years. The
first act of Hezekiah on ascending the throne
was the restoration and purification of the
temple which had been dismantled and closed
during the latter part of his father's life
(2 Chr. xxviii. 24, xxix. 3). The icono
clastic spirit was not confined to Judah and
Benjamin, but spread throughout Ephraim
and Manasseh (2 Chr. xxxi. 1), and to all
external appearance idolatry was extirpated.
But the reform extended little below the
surface (Is. xxix. 13). With the death of
Josiah ended the last effort to revive among
the people a purer ritual, if not a purer faith.
The lamp of David, which had long shed but
a struggling ray, flickered for a while and
then went out in the darkness of Babylonian
captivity. But foreign exile was powerless
to eradicate the deep inbred tendency to
idolatry. One of the first difficulties with
which Ezra had to contend was the haste
with which his countrymen took them foreign
wives of the people of the land, and followed
them in all their abominations (Ezr. ix.).
The conquests of Alexander in Asia caused
Greek influence to be extensively felt, and
Greek idolatry to he first tolerated, and then
practised, by the Jews (1 Mace. i. 43-50, 54).
The attempt of Antiochus to establish this
form of worship was vigorously resisted by
Mattathias (1 Mace. ii. 23-26). The erection
of synagogues has been assigned as a reason
for the comparative purity of the Jewish
worship after the captivity, while another
cause has been discovered in the hatred for
images acquired by the Jews in their inter
course with the Persians. — II. Objects of
Idolatry.— In the old religion of the Semitic
races the deity, following human analogy,
was conceived of as male and female :
the one representing the active, the other the
passive principle of nature ; the former the
source of spiritual, the latter of physical life.
The sun and moon were early selected as
outward symbols of this all-pervading power,
and the worship of the heavenly bodies was
not only the most ancient but the most pre
valent system of idolatry. Taking its rise in
the plains of Chaldea, it spread through
Egypt, Greece, Scythia, and even Mexico
and Ceylon (Comp. Deut. iv. 19, xvii. 3 ;
Job xxxi. 26-28). It is probable that the
Israelites learnt their first lessons in sun-
worship from the Egyptians, in whose re-
Q

IDOLATRY

22t»

INCENSE

ligious system that luminary, as Osiris, held
a prominent place. The Phoenicians wor
shipped him under the title of " Lord of
heaven." As Molech or Mileom, the sun
was worshipped by the Ammonites, and as
Chemosh by the Moabites. The Hadad of
the Syrians is the same deity. The Assyrian
Bel or Belus, is another form of Baal. By
the later kings of Judah, sacred horses and
chariots were dedicated to the sun-god, as by
the Persians (2 K. xxiii. 11). The moon,
worshipped by the Phoenicians under the
name of Astarte or Baaltis, the passive power
of nature, as Baal was the active, and known
to the Hebrews as Ashtaroth or Ashtoreth,
the tutelary goddess of the Zidonians, appears
early among the objects of Israelitish idolatry.
In the later times of the monarchy, the planets,
or the zodiacal signs, received, next to the
sun and moon, their share of popular adora
tion (2 K. xxiii. 5). Be;tst-worship, as
exemplified in tho calves of Jeroboam, has
already been alluded to. There is no actual
proof that the Israelites ever joined in the
service of Dagon, the fish-god of the Philis
tines, though Ahaziah sent stealthily to Baal
zebub, the fly-god of Ekron (2 K. i.), and in
later times the brazen serpent became the
object of idolatrous homage (2 K. xviii. 4),
Of pure hero-worship among the Semitic
races we find no trace. The singular rever
ence with which trees have been honoured is
not without example in the history of the
Hebrews. The terebinth at Mamre, beneath
which Abraham built an altar (Gen. xii. 7,
xiii. 18), and the memorial grove planted by
him at Beersheba (Gen. x\i. 33), were in
timately connected with patriarchal worship.
Mountains and high places were chosen spots
for offering sacrifice and incense to idols
(1 K. xi. 7, xiv. 23); and the retirement of
gardens and the thick shade of woods offered
great attractions to their worshippers (2 K.
xvi. 4 ; Is. i. 29 ; Hos. iv. 13). The host of
heaven was worshipped on the house-top
(2 K. xxiii. 12; Jer. xix. 3, xxxii. 29;
Zeph. i. 5). — III. Punishment of Idolatry. —
If ODe main object of the Hebrew polity was
to teach the unity of God, the extermination
of idolatry was but a subordinate end. Je
hovah, the God of the Israelites, was tbe
civil head of the State. He was the theo
cratic king of the people, who had delivered
them from bondage, and to whom they had
taken a willing oath of allegiance. Idolatry,
therefore, to an Israelite was a state offence
(1 Sam. xv. 23), a political crime of the
gravest character, high treason against the
majesty of his king. But it was much more
than all this. While the idolatry of foreign
nations is stigmatised merely as an abomina

tion in the sight of God, which called for his
vengeance, the sin of the Isi aelites is regarded
as of more glaring enormity and greater
moral guilt. In tho figurative ianguago of
the prophets, the relation between Jehovah
and his people is represented as a marriage
bond (Is. liv. 5 ; Jer. iii. 141, and the wor
ship of false gods with all its accompaniments
(Lev. xx. 56) becomes then the greatest of
social wrongs (Hos. ii. ; Jer. iii., A-c.). Tbe
first and second commandments are directed
against idolatry of every form. Individuals
and communities were equally amenable to
the rigorous code. The individual offender
was devoted to destruction (Ex. xxii. 20) ;
his nearest relatives were not only bound to
denounce him and deliver him up to punish
ment (Deut. xiii. 2-10), hut their hands were
to strike the first blow when, on the evidence
of two witnesses at least, he was stoned
(Deut. xvii. 2-5). To attempt to seduce
others to false worship was a crime of equal
enormity (Deut. xiii. 6-10).
IDUME'A. [EnoM.]
I'JE-AB'ARIM, one of the later halting
places of the children of Israel (Num. xxi, 11,
xxxiii. 44). It was on the boundary — the
S.E. boundary— of the territory of Moab ; in
the waste uncultivated "wilderness" on its
skirts (xxi. 11).
I'JON, a town in the north of Palestine,
belonging to the tribe of Naphtali. It was
taken and plundered by the captains of Ben
hadad (1 K. xv. 20 ; 2 Chr. xvi, 4), and a
second time by Tiglath-pileser (2 K. xv. 29).
It was situated a few miles N.W. of the site
of Dan, in a fertile and beautiful little plain
called Merj 'Ayi'ai.
ILLYR'ICUM, an extensive district lying
along the eastern coast of the Adriatic from
the boundary of Italy on the north to Epirus
on the south, and contiguous to Moesia and
Macedonia on the east (Rom. xv. 19).
IMMAN'UEL, that is, God with us, the
symbolical name given by the prophet Isaiah
to the child who was announced to Ahaz and
the people of Judah, as the sign which God
would give of their deliverance from their
enemies (Is. vii. 14). It is applied by the
Apostle Matthew to the Messiah, born of the
Virgin (Matt. i. 23). It would therefore
appear that the immediate reference of tbe
prophet was to some contemporary occur
rence, but that his words received their true
and full accomplishment in the birth of the
Messiah. INCENSE. The incense employed in the
service of the tabernacle was compounded of
the perfumes stacte, onycha, galbanum, and
pure frankincense. All incense which was
not made of these ingredients was forbidden

INDIA

22

to be offered (Ex. xxx. 9). Aaron, as high-
priest, was originally appointed to offer
incense, hut in the daily service of the second
temple the office devolved upon the inferior
priests, from among whom one was chosen
by lot (Luke i. 9), each morning and even
ing. The times of offering incense were
specified in the instructions first given to
Moses (Ex. xxx. 7, 8). The morning in
cense was offered when the lamps were
trimmed in the Holy place, and before the
sacrifice, when the watchman set for the
purpose announced the break of day. When
the lamps were lighted " between the even
ings," after the evening sacrifice and before
the drink-offerings were offered, incense was
again burnt on the golden altar, which
f belonged to the oracle " (1 K. vi. 22), and
stood before the veil which separated the Holy
place from the Holy of Holies, the throne of
God (Rev. viii. 4). When the priest entered
the Holy place with the incense, all the
people were removed from the temple, and
from between the porch and the altar (cf.
Luke i. 10). Profound silence was observed
among the congregation who were praying
without (cf. Rev. viii. 1), and at a signal from
the prefect the priest cast the incense on the
fire, and bowing reverently towards the Holy
of Holies retired slowly backwards, not pro
longing his prayer that he might not alarm
the congregation, or cause them to fear that
he had been struck dead for offering un
worthily (Lev. xvi. 13; Luke i. 21). On
the day of atonement the service was dif
ferent. The offering of incense has formed
a part of the religious ceremonies of most
ancient nations. It was an element in the
idolatrous worship of the Israelites (Jer. xi.
12, 17, xlviii 35; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 25). Look
ing upon incense in connexion with the other
ceremonial observances of the Mosaic ritual,
it would rather seem to be symbolical, not of
prayer itself, but of that which makes prayer
acceptable, the intercession of Christ. In
Rev. viii. 3, 4, the incense is spoken of as
something distinct from, though offered with,
the prayers of all the saints (cf. Luke i. 10) ;
and in Rev. v. 8 it is the golden vials, and not
the odours or incense which are said to be
the prayers of saints.
INDIA. The name of India does not occur
in the Bible before the book of Esther, where
it is noticed as the limit of the territories of
Ahasuerus in the east, as Ethiopia was in
the west (i. 1 ; viii. 9). The India of the
book of Esther is not the peninsula of
Hindostan, but the country surrounding the
Indus, the Punjab and perhaps Sclnde. In
1 Mace. viii. 8, India is reckoned among the
countries which Eumenes, king of Pergamus,

received out of the former possessions of
Antiochus the Great. A more authentic
notice of the country occurs in 1 Maec. xi.
37. But though the name of India occurs
so seldom, the people and productions of that
country must have been tolerably well known
to the Jews. There is undoubted evidence
that an active trade was carried on between
India and Western Asia. The trade opened
by Solomon with Ophir through the Red Sea
consisted chiefly of Indian articles. The
connexion thus established with India led to
the opinion that the Indians were included
under the ethnological title of Cush (Gen.
x. 6).
INK, INKHORN. [Writing.]
INN. The Hebrew woid (mdldn) thus
rendered literallysignifi.es "a lodging-place
for the night." Inns, in our sense of the
term, were, as they still are, unknown in
the East, where hospitality is religiously
practised. The khans, or caravanserais, are
the representatives of European inns, and
these were established hut gradually. It is
doubtful whether there is any allusion to
them in the Old Testament. The halting-
place of a caravan was selected originally on
account of its proximity to water or pasture,
by which the travellers pitched their tents
and passed the night. Such was undoubtedly
the " inn" at which occurred the incident in
the life of Moses, narrated in Ex. iv. 24
(Comp. Gen. xiii. 27). On the more fre
quented routes, remote from towns (Jer.
ix. 2), caravanserais were in course of time
erected, often at the expense of the wealthy.
The following description of one of those on
the road from Bagdad to Babylon will suffice
for all : — " It is a large and substantial
square building, in the distance resembling
a fortress, being surrounded with a lofty
wall, and flanked by round towers to defend
the inmates in case of attack. Passing
through a strong gateway, the guest enters
a large court, the sides of which are divided
into numerous arched compartments, open in
front, for the accommodation of separate
parties and for the reception of goods. In
the centre is a spacious raised platform, used
for sleeping upon at night, or for the devo
tions of the faithful during the day. Between
the outer wall and the compartments are
wide vaulted arcades, extending round the
entire building, where the beasts of burden
are placed. Upon the roof of the arcades is
an excellent terrace, and over the gateway
an elevated tower containing two rooms —
one of which is open at the sides, permitting
the occupants to enjoy every breath of air
that passes across the heated plain. The
terrace is tolerably clean ; but the court and
Q 2

INSTANT

228

ISAAC

stabling below are ankle-deep in chopped
straw and filth." (Loftus, Chaldca, p. 13.)
INSTANT, INSTANTLY, in the A. V.,
means urgent, ^urgently, or fervently, as will
be seen from the following passages (Luke
vii. 4, xxiii. 23 ; Acts xxvi. 7 ; Rom. xii. 12).
In 2 Tim. iv. 2 we find " be instant in season
and out of season." The literal sense is
" stand ready " — " be alert " for whatever
may happen.
IRON is mentioned with brass as the
earliest of known metals (Gen. iv. 22). As it
is rarely found in its native state, but gener
ally in combination with oxygen, the know
ledge of the art of forging iron, which is
attributed to Tubal Cain, argues an acquaint
ance with the difficulties which attend the
smelting of this metal. The natural wealth
of the soil of Canaan is indicated by describ
ing it as " a land whose atones are iron"
(Deut. viii. 9). The book of Job contains
passages which indicate that iron was a
metal well known. Of the manner of pro
curing it, we learn that " iron is taken from
dust" (xxviii. 2). The "furnace of iron"
(Deut. iv. 28; 1 K. viii. 51) is a figure
which vividly expresses hard bondage, as
represented by the severe labour which at
tended the operation of smelting. Sheet-
iron was used for cooking utensils (Ez. iv.
3 ; cf. Lev. vii. 9). That it was plentiful in
the time of David appears from 1 Chr. xxii,
3. The market of Tyre was supplied with
bright or polished iron by the merchants of
Dan and Javan (Hz. xxvii. 19). The Chalybes
of the Pontus were celebrated as workers in
iron in very ancient times. The produce of
their labour is supposed to be alluded to in
Jer. xv. 12, as being of superior quality.
IR'-SHEM'ESU, a city of the Danites
(Josh. xix. 41), probably identical with
Beth-shemesh, and if not identical, at least
connected with Moi-nt Heres (Judg. i. 35).
ISAAC, the son whom Sarah, in accordance
with the Divine promise, bore to Abraham in
the hundredth year of his age, at Gerar. In
his infancy he became the object of Ishmael's
jealousy ; and in his youth the victim, in
intention, of Abraham's great sacrificial act
of faith. When forty years old he married
Rebekah his cousin, by whom, when he was
sixty, he had two sons, Esau and Jacob. In
his seventy-fifth year he and his brother
Ishmael buried their father Abraham in the
cave of Machpelah. From this abode by the
well Lahai-roi, in the South Country, Isaac
was driven by a famine to Gerar. Here
Jehovah appeared to him and bade him dwell
there and not go over into Egypt, and re
newed to him the promises made to Abraham.
Here he subjected himself, like Abraham in

the same place and under like circumstances
(Gen. xx. .2), to a rebuke from Abimelech the
Philistine king for an equivocation. Here he
acquired great wealth by his flocks ; but was
repeatedly dispossessed by the Philistines of
the wells which he sank at convenient stations.
At Beersheba Jehovah appeared to him by night
and blessed him, and he built an altar there :
there, too, like Abraham, he received a visit
from the Philistine king Abimelech, with
whom he made a covenant of peace. After
the deceit by which Jacob acquired his
father's blessing, Isa.ic sent hi- son to seek
a wife in Padan-arum ; and all that we
know of him during the last forty-three
yeais of his life is that he saw that son,
with a large and prosperous family, return
to him at Hebron (xxxv. 27) bUure he died
there at the age of 180 years. He was
buried by his two sons in the cave of Mach
pelah. In the N. T. reference is, made to
the offering of Nuuc (Heb. xi. 17 ; and James
ii. 21) and to his blessing lus sons (Heb. xi,
20). As the child of the promise, and as
the progenitor of the children of the promise,
he is contrasted with I;>hmucl (Rom. ix. 7,
10; Gal. iv. 28; Heb. xi. 18). In our '
Lord's remarkable argument with the Sad-
dutees, his his-tory is carried beyond the
point at which it is left in the O. T., and
beyond the grave. Isaac, of whom it was
said (Cen. xxxv. 29) that he was gathered
to his people, is represented as still living to
God (Luke xx. 38, Ac.) ; and by the same
Divine authority he is proclaimed as an
neknow lodged heir of future glory (Matt.
viii. 11, A-c). It has been asked what are
the persecutions sustained by Isaac from
Ishmael to which St. Paul refers (Gal. iv.
29) ? Rashi relates a Jewish tradition of
Isaac suffering personal violence from
Ishmael, a tradition which some think was
adopted by St. Paul. In reference to the
offering up of Isaac by Abraham, the primary
doctrines taught are those of sacrifice and
substitution, as the means appointed by God
for taking away sin ; and, as co-ordinate
with these, the need of the obedience of
faith, on the part of man, to receive the
benefit (Heb. xi. 17). A confusion is often
made between Isaac and the victim actually
offered. Isaac himself is generally viewed
as a type of the Son of God, offered for the
sins of men ; but Isaac, himself one of the
sinful race for whom atonement was to be
made, — Isaac, who did not actually suffer
death, — was no fit type of Him who " was
slain, the just for the unjust." But the
animal, not of the human race, which God
provided and Abraham offered, was, in the
whole history of sacrifice, the recognised

ISAIAH

229

ISAIAH

type of "the Lamb of God, that taketh away
the sins of the world." Isaac is the type of
humanity itself, devoted to death for sin,
and submitting to the sentence.
ISAl'AH, the prophet, son of Amoz. The
Hebrew name, our shortened form of which
occurs with other persons [see J i sataii,
Jbshaiah], signifies Salvation of Jahu (a
shortened form of Jehovah). He prophesied
concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah (Is. i. 1). Isaiah must have
been an old man at the close of Hezekiah's
reign. The ordinary chronology gives 758
B.c, for the date of Jotham's accession, and
698 for that of Hezekiah's death. This gives
us a period of sixty years. And since his
ministry commenced before Uzziah's death
(how long we know not), supposing him to
have been no more than twenty years old
when he began to prophesy, he would have
been eighty or ninety at Manasseh's acces
sion. Rabbinical tradition says that Isaiah
was sawn asunder in a trunk of a tree by
order of Manasseh, to which it is supposed
that reference is made in Hebrews xi. 37. —
I. Chs. i.-v. contain Isaiah's prophecies in
the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham.— Ch. i. is
very general in its contents.' — Chs. ii.-iv.
are one prophesying, — the leading thought
of whieh is that the present prosperity of
Judah should be destroyed for her sins, to
make room for the real glory of piety and
virtue ; while ch. v. forms a distinct dis
course, whose main purport is that Israel,
God's vineyard, shall be brought to desola
tion. — Ch. vi. describes an ecstatic vision
that fell upon the prophet in the year of
Uzziah's death. — Ch. vi., vii., delivered in
the reign of Ahaz, when he was threatened
by the forces of Pekah, king of Israel, and
Rezin, king of Syria. As a sign that Judah
was not yet to perish, he announces the birth
of the child Immanuel, who should "know
to refuse the evil and choose the good,''
before the land of the two hostile kings
should be left desolate. — Ch. viii.-ix. 7. As
the Assyrian empire began more and more to
threaten the Hebrew commonwealth with
utter overthrow, the prediction of the
Messiah, the Restorer of Israel, becomes
more positive and clear. The king was bent
upon an alliance with Assyria. This Isaiah
stedfastly opposes. — Ch. ix. 8-x. 4, is a pro
phecy delivered at this time against the
kingdom of Israel (ix. 8-x. 4).— Ch. x.
5-xii. 6, is one of the most highly wrought
passages in the whole book, and was pro
bably one single prophecy. It stands wholly
disconnected with the preceding in the cir
cumstances which it presupposes ; and to

what period to assign it, is not easy to de
termine.— Ch. xiii. -xxiii., contain chiefly a
collection of utterances, each of which is
styled a "burden." (a.) The first (xiii. 1-
xiv. 2 7) is against Babylon. The ode of
triumph (xiv. 3-23), in this burden is among
the most poetical passages in all literature.
(b.) The short and pregnant "burden "
against Philistia (xiv. 29-32), in the year
that Ahaz died, was occasioned by the revolt
of the Philistines from Judah, and their
successful inroad recorded in 2 Chr. xxviii.
18. (c.) The "burden of Moab " (xv. xvi.)
is remarkable for the elegiac strain in which
the prophet bewails tbe disasters of Moab,
and for the dramatic character of xvi. 1-6.
(d.) Ch. xvii. xviii. This prophecy is headed
" the burden of Damascus;" and yet after
ver. 3 the attention is withdrawn from
Damascus and turned to Israel, and then to
Ethiopia, (e.) In the "burden of Egypt"
(xix.) the prophet prophesies the utter help
lessness of Egypt under God's judgments,
probably to counteract the tendency which
led both Judah and Israel to look towards
Egypt for succour against Assyria. (/.) In
the midst of these " burdens " stands a
passage which presents Isaiah in a new
r.spect, an aspect in which he appears in
this instance only. The more emphatically
to enforce the warning already conveyed in
the " burden of Egypt," Isaiah was com
manded to appear in the streets and temple
of Jerusalem stripped of his sackcloth mantle,
and wearing his vest only, with his feet also
bare, (g.) In "the burden of the desert of
the sea," a poetical designation of Babylonia
(xxi. 1-10), the images in which the fall of
Babylon is indicated are sketched with
Aeschylean grandeur, (k,) " The burden of
Dumah," and " of Arabia " (xxi. 11-17),
relate apparently to some Assyrian inva
sion, (i.) In " the burden of the valley
of vision" (xxii. 1-14) it is doubtless Jeru
salem that is thus designated. The scene
presented is that of Jerusalem during an
invasion, (k.) The passage in xxii. 15-25
is singular in Isaiah as a prophesying against
an individual. Shebna was one of the king's
highest functionaries, and seems to have
been leader of a party opposed to Jehovah
(ver. 25). (/.) The last "burden" is
against Tyre (xxiii.). Her utter destruction
is not predicted by Isaiah as it afterwards
was by Ezekie'. — Ch. xxiv.-xxvii., form one
prophecy, essentially connected with the
preceding ten " burdens" (xiii. -xxiii.), of
which it is in effect a general summary. In
xxv., after commemorating the destruction
of all oppressors, the prophet gives us in
vers. 6-9 a most glowing description of

ISAIAH

230

ISH-BOSHETH

Messianic blessings. In xxvi., vers. 12-18
describe the new, happy state of God's people
as God's work wholly. In xxvii. l, "Levia
than the fleeing serpent, and Leviathan the
twisting serpent, and the dragon in the sea,"
are perhaps Nineveh and Babylon — two
phases of the same Asshur — and Egypt
(comp. ver. 13); all, however, symbolizing
adverse powers of evil, — Ch. xxiii. -xxxv.
predicts the Assyrian invasion. The prophet
protests against the policy of courting the
help of Egypt against Assyria (xxx. 1-17,
xxxi. 1-3). — Ch. xxxvii. -xxxix. At length
the season so often, though no doubt ob
scurely foretold, arrived. The A Syrian was
near, with forces apparently irresistible. In
the universal consternation which ensued,
all the hope of the state centered upon Isaiah ;
the highest functionaries of the state — Shebna
too — wait upon him in the name of their
sovereign. The short answer which Jehovah
gave through him was, that the Assyrian
king should hear intelligence which should
send him back to his own land, there to
perish. How the deliverance was to be
effected, Isaiah was not commissioned to tell ;
but the veiy next night (2 K. xix. 35)
brought the appalling fulfilment. — II. The
last 27 chapters form a separate prophecy,
and are supposed by many critics to have
been written in the time of the Babylonian
captivity, and arc therefore ascribed to a
"later Isaiah." It is evident that the point
of time and situation from which the prophet
here speaks is that of the captivity in Babylon
(comp. e.g., lxiv. 10, 11) ; but this may be
adopted on a principle which appears to
characterise "vision," viz., that the prophet
sees the future as if present. This second
part falls into three sections, each, as it
happens, consisting of nine chapters ; the
two first end with the refrain, " There is no
peace, saith Jehovah (or "my God"), to the
wicked ; " and the third with the same
thought amplified. (1.) The first section (xl.-
xlviii.) has for its main topic the comfort
ing assurance of the deliverance from Babj'-
lon by Koresh (Cyrus) who is even named
twice (xli. 2, 3, 25, xliv. 28, xiv. 1-4, 13,
xlvi. 11, xlviii. 14, 15). It is characteristic
of sacred prophecy in general that the
"vision" of a great deliverance leads the
seer to glance at the great deliverance to
come through Jesus Christ. This principle
of association prevails in the second part
taken as a whole ; but in the first section,
taken apart, it appears as yet imperfectly.
(2.) The second section (xlix.-lvii.) is dis
tinguished from the first by several features.
The person of Cyrus as well as his name, and
the specification of Babylon, disappear alto

gether. Return from exile is indeed spoken
of repeatedly and at length (xlix. 9-26, li. 9-
lii. 12, lv. 12, 13, lvii. 14); but in such
general terms as admit of being applied to
the spiritual and Messianic, as well as to the
literal restoration. (3.) In the third section
(lviii.-lxvi.), as Cyrus nowhere appears, so
neither does " Jehovah's servant " occur so
frequently to view as in the second. The
only delineation of tho latter is in lxi. 1-3
and in lxiii. 1-6, 9. He no longer appears
as suffering, but only as saving and avenging
Zion. The section is mainly occupied with
various practical exhortations founded upon
the views of the future already set forth — In
favour of the authenticity of the last 27
chapters the following reasons may be ad
vanced, (a.) The unanimous testimony of
Jewish and Christian tradition (comp. Ecclus.
xlviii. 24); and the evidence of the N. T.
quotations (Matt. iii. 3 ; Luke iv. 17 ; Acts
viii. 28 ; Rom. x. 16, 20). (b.) The unity of
design which connects these last 27 chapters
with the preceding. The oneness of diction
which pervades the whole book. The pecu
liar elevation and grandeur of style, which
characterize the second part as well as the
first. The absence of any other name than
Isaiah's claiming the authorship. Lastly,
the Messianic predictions which mark its
inspiration, and remove the chief ground of
objection against its having been written by
Isaiah. In point of style we can find no
difficulty in recognising in tbe second part
the presence of the same plastic genius as we
discover in the first.
IS'CAH, daughter of Haran the brother of
Abram, and sister of Milcah and of Lot
(Gen. xi. 29). In the Jewish traditions she
is identified with Sarai.
ISOAR'IOT. [Judas Iscariot.]
ISH'BAK, a son of Abraham and Keturah
(Gen. xxv. 2; 1 Chr. i. 32), and the pro
genitor of a tribe of northern Arabia.
ISH'BI-BENO'B, son of Kapha, one of the
race of Philistine giants, who attacked David
in battle, but was slain by Abishai (2 Sam.
xxi. 16, 17).
ISII-BO'SIIETH, the youngest of Saul's
four sons, and his legitimate successor. His
name appears (I Chr. viii. 33, ix. 39) to
have been originally Esh-bnal, "the man of
Baal." He was 35 years of age at the time
of the battle of Gilboa, but for five years
Abner was engaged in restoring the domi
nion of the house of Saul over all Israel.
Ishbosheth was then " 40 years old when he
began to reign over Israel, and reigned two
years" (2 Sam. iii. 10). During these two
years he reigned at Mahanaim, though only
in name. The wars and negotiations with

ISHMAEL

231

ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF

David were entirely carried on by Abner
(2 Sam. ii. 12, iii. 6, 12). The death of
Abner deprived the house of Saul of their
last remaining support. When Ishbosheth
heard of it, " his hands were feeble, and all
the Israelites were troubled" (2 Sam. iv. 1).
In this extremity of weakness he fell a
victim,' probably, to revenge for a crime of
his father. Two Beerothites, Baana and
Rechab, in remembrance, it has been con
jectured, of Saul's slaughter of their kins
men the Gibeonites, determined to take
advantage of the helplessness of the royal
house to destroy the only representative that
was left, excepting the child Mephibosheth
(2 Sam. iv. 4). After assassinating Ish
bosheth, they took his head to David as a
welcome present. They met with a stern
reception. David rebuked them for the cold
blooded murder of an innocent man, and
ordered them to be executed. The bead of
Ishbosheth was carefully buried in the sepul
chre of his great kinsman Abner, at the same
place (2 Sam. iv. 9-12).
ISH'MAEL, the son of Abraham by Hagar
the Egyptian, his concubine ; born when
Abraham was fourscore and six years old
(Gen. xvi. 15, 16). Ishmael was the first
born of his father. He was born in Abra
ham's house, when he dwelt in the plain
of Mamre ; and on the institution of the
covenant of circumcision, was circumcised,
he being then thirteen years old (xvii. 25).
With the institution of the covenant, God
renewed his promise respecting Ishmael. He
does not again appear in the narrative until
the weaning of Isaac. The latter was born
when Abraham was a hundred years old
(xxi. 5), and as the weaning, according to
Eastern usage, probably took place when the
child was between two and three years old,
Ishmael himself must have been then between
fifteen and sixteen years of age. At the great
feast made in celebration of the weaning,
" Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian,
which she had born unto Abraham, mock
ing," and urged Abraham to cast out him
and his mother. Tbe patriarch, comforted
by God's renewed promise that of Ishmael
He would make a nation, sent them both
away, and they departed and wandered in
the wilderness of Beersheba. It is doubtful
whether the wanderers halted by the well, or
at once continued their way to the "wilder
ness of Paran," where, we are told in the
next verse to that just quoted, he dwelt, and
where " his mother took him a wife out of
the land of Egypt" (Gen. xxi. 9-21). This
wife of Ishmael was the mother of his twelve
sons, and daughter. Of the later life of
Ishmael we know little. He was present

with Isaac at the burial of Abraham. He
died at the age of 137 years (xxv. 17, 18).
The sons of Ishmael peopled the north and
west of the Arabian peninsula, and eventually
formed the chief element of the Arab nation.
Their language, which is generally acknow- ,
ledged to have been the Arabic commonly so
called, has been adopted with insignificant
exceptions throughout Arabia. The term
Ishmaelite occurs on three occasions, Gen.
xxxvii. 25, 27, 28, xxxix. 1 ; Judg. viii.
24; Ps. lxxxiii. 6.— S. The son of Netha-
niah ; a perfect marvel of- craft and villany,
whose treachery forms one of the chief epi
sodes of the history of the period immediately
succeeding the first fall of Jerusalem. His
exploits are related in Jer. xl. 7-xli. 15,
with a short summary in 2 K. xxv. 23-25.
His full description is "Ishmael, the son of
Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed
royal" of Judah (Jer. xli. 1 ; 2 K. xxv. 25).
During the siege of the city he had, like
many others of his countrymen (Jer. xl. 11),
fled across the Jordan, where he found a
refuge at the court of Baalis, the then king
of the Bene-Ammon. After the departure of
the Chaldeans, Ishmael murdered Gedaliah
and all his attendants, and succeeded in
escaping to the Ammonites.
ISH'TOB, apparently one of the small
kingdoms or states which formed part of the
general country of Aram, named with Zobah,
Rehob, and Maacah (2 Sam. x. 6, 8). It is
probable that the real signification is " tho
men of Ton."
IS'RAEL. 1. The name given (Gen. xxxii.
28) to Jacob after his wrestling with the
Angel (Hos. xii. 4) at Peniel. Gesenius
interprets Israel "soldier of God."— S. It
became the national name of the twelve tribes
collectively. They are so called in Ex. iii.
16 and afterwards.— 3. It is used in a nar
rower sense, excluding Judah, in I Sam. xi.
8; 2 Sam. xx. 1 ; 1 K. xii. 16. Thence
forth it was assumed and accepted as the
name of the Northern Kingdom. — 4. After
the Babylonian captivity, the returned exiles
resumed the name Israel as the designation
of their nation. The name Israel is also
used to denote laymen, as distinguished from
Priests, Levites, and other ministers (Ezr.
vi: 16, ix. 1, x. 25 ; Neh. xi. 3, &c).
ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF. 1. The pro
phet Ahijah of Shiloh, who was commissioned
in the latter days of Solomon to announce
tbe division of the kingdom, left one tribe
(Judah) to the house of David, and assigned
ten to Jeroboam (1 K. xi. 35, 31). These
were probably Joseph (= Ephraim and Ma
nasseh;, Issachar, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali,
Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, Gad, and Reuben ;

ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF

232

ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF

Levi being intentionally omitted. Eventually
the greater part of Benjamin, and probably
the whole of Simeon and Dan, were included
as if by common consent in the kingdom of
Judah. With respect to the conquests of
David, Moab appears to have been attached
to the kingdom of Israel (2 K. iii. 4) ; so much
of Syria as remained subject to Solomon (see
1 K. xi. 24) would probably be claimed by his
successor in tbe northern kingdom ; and
Ammon, though connected with Rehoboam as
his mother's native land (2 Chr. xii. 13), and
though afterwards tributary to Judah (2 Chr.
xxvii. 5), was at one time allied (2 Chr. xx.
1), we know not how closely or how early,
with Moab. The sea-coast between Accho
and Japho remained in the possession of
Israel. — 2. The population of the kingdom
is not expressly stated ; and in drawing
any inference from the numbers of fight
ing men, we must bear in mind that the
numbers in the Hebrew text are strongly
suspected to have been subjected to exten
sive, perhaps systematic, corruption. Jero
boam brought into the field an army of
800,000 men (2 Chr. xiii. 3). If in b.c.
957 there were actually under arms 800,000
men of that age in Israel, the whole popu
lation may perhaps have amounted to at least
three millions and a half.— 3. Sin culm was
the first capital of the new kingdom (1 K.
xii. 25), venerable for its traditions, and
beautiful in its situation. Subsequently
Tirzah became the royal residence, if not
the capital, of Jeroboam (I K. xiv. 17) and
of his successors (xv. 33, xvi. 8, 17, 23).
Samaria, uniting in itself the qualities of
beauty and fertility, and a commanding posi
tion, was chosen by Omri (1 K. xvi. 24),
and remained the capital of the kingdom
until it had given the last proof of its
strength by sustaining for three years the
onset of tho hosts of Assyria. Jezreel was
probably only a royal residence of some of
the Israelitish kings. — i. The kingdom of
Israel lasted 254 years, from b.c. 975 to b.c.
7 21, about two-thirds of the duration of its
more ccRupact neighbour Judah. The de
tailed history of the kingdom will be found
under the names of its nineteen kings. A
summary view may be taken in four periods :
— (a.) b.c 975-929. Jeroboam had not suffi
cient force of charactei in himself to make a
lasting impression on his people. A king,
but not a founder of a dynasty, he aimed at
nothing beyond securing his present eleva
tion. The army soon learned its power to
dictate to the isolated monarch and disunited
people, Baasha, in the mid^t of the army at
Gibbethon, slew the son and successor of
Jeroboam ; Zimri, a captain of chariots, slew

the son and successor of Baasha; Omri, the
captain of the host, was chosen to punish
Zimri ; and after a civil war of four years he
prevailed over Tibni, the choice of half the
people.— (b.) b.c. 929-884. For forty-five
years Israel was governed by the house of
Omri. That sagacious king pitched on the
strong hill of Samaria as the site of his
capital. The princes of his house cultivated
an alliance with the kings of Judah, which
was cemented by the marriage of Jehoram
and Athaliah. The adoption of Baal-worship *
led to a reaction in the nation, to the moral
triumph of the prophets in the person of
Elijah, and to the extinction of the house of
Ahab in obedience to the bidding of Elisha. —
(c.) b.c. 884-772. Unparalleled triumphs,
but deeper humiliation, awaited the kingdom
of Israel under the dynasty of Jehu. Hazael,
the ablest king of Damascus, reduced Jeho-
ahaz to the condition of a vassal, and tri
umphed for a time over both the disunited
Hebrew kingdoms. Almost the first sign of
the restoration of their strength was a war
between them ; and Jehoash, the grandson
of Jehu, entered Jerusalem as the conqueror
of Amaziah. Jehoash also turned the tide of
war against the Syrians ; and Jeroboam II. ,
the most powerful of all the kings of Israel,
captured Damascus, and recovered the whole
ancient frontier from Hamath to the Dead
Sea. This short - lived greatness expired
with the last king of Jehu's line. — (d.) b.c.
772-721. Military violence, it would seem,
broke off the hereditary succession after the
obscure and probably convulsed reign of
Zaehariab. An unsuccessful usurper, Shal-
lum, is followed by the cruel Menahem, who,
being unable to make head against the first
attack of Assyria under Pul, became the
agent of that monarch for the oppressive
taxation of his subjects. Yet his power at
home was sufficient to insure for his son and
successor Pekahiah a ten years' reign, cut
short by a bold usurper, Pekah. Abandon
ing the northern and transjordanic regions
to the encroaching power of Assyria under
Tiglath-Pilcser, he was very near subjugat
ing Judah, with the help of Damascus, now
the coequal ally of Israel. But Assyria in
terposing summarily put an end to the inde
pendence of Damascus, and perhaps was the
indii ect cause of the assassination of the
baffled Pekah. The irresolute Hoshea, the
next and last usurper, became tributary to
his invader, Shalmanerier, betrayed the Assy
rian to the rival monarchy of Egypt, and
was punished by the loss of his liberty, and
by the capture, after a three years' siege, of
his strong capital, Samaria. Some gleanings
of the ten tribes yet remained in the land

ISSACHAR

233

IVORY

after so many years of religious decline,
moral debasement, national degradation,
anarchy, bloodshed, and deportation. Even
these were gathered up by the conqueror and
carried to Assyria, never again, as a dis
tinct people, to occupy their portion of that
goodly and pleasant land which their fore
fathers won under Joshua from the heathen.
IS'SACHAR, the ninth son of Jacob and
the fifth of Leah ; the first born to Leah, after
the interval which occurred in the births of
her children (Gen. xxx. 17 ; comp. xxix.
35). At the descent into Egypt four sons
are ascribed to him, who founded the four
chief families of the tribe (Gen. xlvi. 13;
Num. xxvi. 23, 25 ; 1 Chr. vii. 1). The
number of the fighting men of Issachar,
when taken in the census at Sinai, was
54,4-00. During the journey they seem to
have steadily increased. The allotment of
Issachar lay above that of Manasseh (Josh.
xix. 17-23). In the words of Josephus, "it
extended in length from Carmel to the Jor
dan, in breadth to Mount Tabor." This
territory was, as it still is, among the richest
land in Palestine. Westward was the famous
plain which derived its name from its fer
tility. On the north is Tabor, which even
under the burning sun of that climate is said
to retain the glades and dells of an English
wood. On tbe east, behind Jezreel, is the
opening which conducts to the plain of the
Jordan — to that Beth-shean which was pro
verbially among the Rabbis the gate of Para
dise for its fruitfulness. It is this aspect of
the territory of Issachar which appears to be
alluded to in the Blessing of Jacob.
ISSUE, RUNNING. (Lev. xv. 2, 3, xxii.
4 ; Num. v. 2 ; and Sam. iii. 29.) In Lev.
xv. 3 a distinction is introduced, which
merely means that the cessation of the
actual flux does not constitute ceremonial
cleanness, but that the patient must bide the
legal time, seven days (ver. 13), and perform
the prescribed purifications and sacrifice
(ver. 14).
IT'ALY. This word is used in the N.T.
(Acts xviii. 2, xxvii. 1 ; Heb. xiii. 24) in
the usual sense of the period, i. e. in its true
geographical sense, as denoting the whole
natural peninsula between the Alps and the
Straits of Messina.
ITALIAN BAND. [Army.]
ITH'AMAR, the youngest son of Aaron
(Ex. vi. 23). After the deaths of Nadab and
Abihu (Lev. x. 1), Eleazar and Ithamar were
appointed to succeed to their places in the
priestly office (Ex. xxviii. 1, 40, 43 ; Num.
iii. 3, 4 ; 1 Chr. xxiv. 2). In the distri
bution of services belonging to the Taber
nacle, and its transport on the march of the

Israelites, the Gershonites and the Mcrarites
were placed under the superintendence of
Ithamar (Ex. xxxviii. 21 ; Num. iv. 21-33).
The high-priesthood passed into the family
of Ithamar in the person of Eli, but for
what reason we are not informed.
ITTAI. 1. " Ittai the Gittite," i. e. the
native of Gath, a Philistine in the army of
king David. He appears only during the
revolution of Absalom. We first discern
him on the morning of David's flight. Last
in the procession came the 600 heroes who
had formed David's band during his wander
ings in Judah, and had been with him at
Gath (2 Sam. xv. 18 ; comp. I Sam. xxiii.
13, xxvii. 2, xxx. 9, 10). Amongst these,
apparently commanding them, was Ittai the
Gittite (ver. 19). He caught the eye of the
king, who at once addressed him and be
sought him not to attach himself to a doubt
ful cause, but to return " with his brethren "
and abide with the king (19, 20), But Ittai
is firm ; he is the king's slave, and wherever
his master goes he will go. Accordingly he
is allowed by David to proceed. When the
army was numbered and organised by David
at Mahanaim, Ittai again appears, now in
command of a third part of the force (2 Sam.
xviii. 2, 5, 12).— 3. Son of Ribai, from
Gibeah 'of Benjamin ; one of the thirty
heroes of David's guard (2 Sam. xxiii. 29).
ITURAE'A, a small province on the north
western border of Palestine, lying along the
base of Mount Hermon, only mentioned in
Luke iii. 1. Jetur the son of Ishmael gave
his name, like the rest of his brethren, to the
little province he colonised (Gen. xxv. 15,
16). Ituraea, with the adjoining provinces,
fell into the hands of a chief called Zeno-
dorus ; but about b.c 20, they were taken
from him by the Roman emperor, and given
to Herod the Great, who bequeathed them to
his son Philip (Luke iii. 1). It adjoined
Trachonitis, and lay along the base of Li-
banus between Tiberias and Damascus. At
the place indicated is situated the modern
province of Jedur, which is just the Arabic
form of the Hebrew Jetur.
I'VAH, or AVA, which is mentioned in
Scripture twice (2 K. xviii. 34, xix. 13;
comp. Is. xxxvii. 13) in connexion with
Hena and Sepharvaim, and once (2 K. xvii.
24) in connexion with Babylon, and Cuthah,
must he sought in Babylonia, and is probably
identical with the modern Hit, on the Eu
phrates. IVORY (Heb. shen in all passages, except
1 K. x. 22, and 2 Chr. ix. 21, where shen-
habbim is so rendered). The word shen
literally signifies the " tooth " of any animal,
and hence more especially denotes the sub-

IZHAR

234

JACINTH

stance of the projecting tusks of elephants.
It is remarkable that no word in Biblical
Hebrew denotes an elephant, unless the
latter portion of the compound shenhabbim
be supposed to have this meaning. Gesenius
derives it from the Sanscrit ibhas, " an ele
phant." The skilled workmen of Hiram,
king of Tyre, fashioned the great ivory
throne of >ulomon, and overlaid it with pure
gold (1 K. x. 18 ; 2 Chr. ix. 17). The ivory
thus employed was supplied by the caravans
of Dedan (Is. xxi. 13; Ez. xxvii. 15), or
was brought with apes and peacocks by the
navy of Tharshish (1 K. x. 22). The "ivory
house " of Ahab (1 K. xxii. 39) was probably
«. palace, the walls of which were panelled
with ivory, like the palace of Menelaus
described by Homer (Odys. iv. 73). Beds
inlaid or veneered with ivory were in use
among the Hebrews (Am. vi. 4).
IZ'IIAR, son of Kohath, grandson of Levi,
uncle of Aaron and Moses, and father of
Korah (Ex. vi. 18, 21 ; Num. iii. 19, xvi. 1 ;
1 Chr. vi. 2, 18). Izhar was the head of
the family of the Izharites or Izeharites
(Num. iii. 27 ; 1 Chr. xxvi. 23, 29).

J.VAZER, or JA'ZER, a town on the ea^t
of Jordan, in or near to Gilead (Num.
xxxii. 1, 3; 1 Chr. xxvi, 31). We first
hear of it in possession of the Amorites, and
as taken by Israel after Heshbon, and on
their way from thence to Bashan (Num. xxi.
32). It seems to have given its name to a
district of dependent or "daughter" towns
(Num. xxi. 32, A. V. "villages;" 1 Mace.
v. 8), the "land of Jazer" (Num. xxxii. 1).
JA'P.AL, the son of Lamech and Adah
(Gen. iv. 20) and brother of Jubal. He is
described as the father of such as dwell in
tents and have cattle.
JAB'BOK, a stream which intersects the
mountain-range of Gilead (comp. Josh. xii.
2, and 5), and falls into the Jordan about
midway between the sea of Galilee and the
Dead Sea. It was anciently the border of
the children of Ammon (Num. xxi. 24 ;
Deut. ii. 37, iii. 16). It was on the south
bank of the Jabbok the interview took place
between Jacob and Esau (Gen. xxxii. 22);
and this river afterwards became, towards
its western part, the boundary between the
kingdoms of Sihon and Og (Josh. xii. 2, 5).
Its modern name is Wady Zurka.
JA'BESH. 1. Father of Shai.tatm, the
15th king of Israel (2 K. xv. 10, 13, 14). —
2. Jabesh, or Jabesh Gilead, or Jabesh in
the territory of Gilead. In its widest sense
Gilead included the half tribe of Manasseh
(1 Chr. xxvii. 21) as well as the tribes of

Gad and Reuben (Num. xxxii. 1-42) east of
the Jordan — and of the cities of Gilead,
Jabesh was the chief. It is first mentioned
in Judg. xxi. 8-14. Being attacked subse
quently by Nahash tlie Ammonite, it gave
Saul an opportunity of displaying his prowess
in its defence (1 Sam. xi. 1-15). Eusebius
places it beyond the Jordan, 6 miles from
Pella on the mountain - road to Gerasn ;
where its name is probably preserved in the
Wadg Yabvs.
JA'UIN. 1. King of Hazor, who orga
nised a confederacy of the northern princes
against the Israelites (Josh. xi. 1-3). Joshua
surprised the allied forces by the waters of
Merom (ver. 7) and utterly routed them.
During the ensuing wars, Joshua again
attacked Jabin, and burnt his city (xi. 1-14),
— 2. A king of Hazor, whose general Siscra
was defeated by Barak (Judg. iv. 3, Li).
JAB'NEEL. 1. One of the points on the
northern boundary of Judah, not quite at
the sea, though near it (Josh. xv. 11).
There is no sign, however, of its ever having
been occupied by Judah. Josephus attributes
it to the Dani*,es. Theic was a constant
struggle going on between that tribe and
the Philistines for the possession of all the
places in the lowland plains, and it is not
surprising that the next time we meet with
Jabneel it should be in the hands of the latter
(2 Chr. xxvi. 6). Uzziah dispossessed them
of it, and demolished its fortifications. Here
it is in the shorter form of Jabnefi. In its
Greek garb, Iajinia, it is frequently men
tioned in the Maccabees (I Mace. iv. 15, v.
58, x. 69, xv. 40 ; 2 Maec. xii. 9). At the
time of the fall of Jerusalem, Jabneh was
one of the most populous places of Judaea.
The modern village of Yebna, more accu
rately Ibna, stands about two miles from
the sea on a slight eminence just south of
the Nahr Rubin. — 2. One of the landmarks
on the boundary of Naphtali (Josh, xix. 33)
in Upper Galilee.
JA'CIIIN, one of the two pillars which
were set up "in the porch" (1 K. vii. 21)
or before the temple (2 Chr. iii. 17) of
Solomon. [Boaz.]
JACINTH, a precious stone, forming one
of the foundations of the walls of the new
Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 20). It seems to be
identical with the Hebrew leshem (A. V.
"figure," Ex. xxviii. 19). The jacinth or
hyacinth is a red variety of zircon, which is
found in square prisms, of a white, grey, red,
reddish-brown, yellow, or pale-green colour.
The expression in Rev. ix. 17, " of jacinth,"
applied to the breast-plate, is descriptive
simply of a hyacinthinc, i. e., dark-purple
colour.

JACOB

235

JAHAZ

JA'COB, the second son of Isaac and
Rebekah. He was born with Esau, when
Isaac was 59 and Abraham 159 years old,
probably at the well Lahai-roi. His history
is related in the latter half of the book of
Genesis. He bought the birthright from
his brother Esau ; and afterwards, at his
mother's instigation, acquired the blessing
intended for Esau, by practising a well-
known deceit on Isaac. Hitherto the two
sons shared the wanderings of Isaac in the
South Country; but now Jacob, in his 78th
year, was sent from the family home, to
avoid his brother, and to seek a wife among
his kindred in Padan-aram. As he passed
through Bethel, God appeared to him. After
the lapse of 21 years he returned from Padan-
aram with two wives, two concubines, eleven
sons, and a daughter, and large property.
He escaped from the angry pursuit of Laban,
from a meeting with Esau, and from the ven
geance of the Canaanites provoked by the
murder of Shechem ; and in each of those
three emergencies he was aided and strength
ened by the interposition of God, and in sign
of the grace won by a night of wrestling
with God his name was changed at Jabbok
into Israel. Deborah and Rachel died before
he reached Hebron ; and it was at Hebron,
in the 122nd year of bis age, that he and
Esau buried their father Isaac. Joseph, the
favourite son of Jacob, was sold into Egypt
eleven years before the death of Isaac ; and
Jacob had probably exceeded bis 130th year
when he went thither, being encouraged in a
divine vision as he passed for the last time
through Beersheba. He was presented to
Pharaoh, and dwelt for seventeen years in
Rameses and Goshen. After giving his
solemn blessing to Ephraim and Manasseh,
and his own sons one by one, and charging
the ten to complete their reconciliation with
Joseph, he died in his 147th year. His
body was embalmed, carried with great care
and pomp into the' land of Canaan, and depo
sited with his fathers, and his wife Leah, in
the cave of Maehpelah. — The example of
Jacob is quoted by the first and the last of
the minor prophets. Hosea, in the latter
days of the kingdom, seeks (xii. 3, 4, 12) to
convert the descendants of Jacob from their
state of alienation from God, by recalling to
their memory the repeated acts of God's
favour shown to their ancestor. And Ma-
lachi (i. 2) strengthens the desponding hearts
of the returned exiles by assuring them that
the love which God bestowed upon Jacob was
not withheld from them. Besides the fre
quent mention of his name in conjunction
with those of the other two Patriarchs, there
are distinct references to events in the life of

Jacob in four books of the N. T. In Rom.
ix. 11-13, St. Paul adduces the history of
Jacob's birth to prove that the favour of God
is independent of the order of natural de
scent. In Heb. xii. 16, and xi. 21, the
transfer of the birthright and Jacob's dying
benediction are referred to. His vision at
Bethel, and his possession of land at Shechem
are cited in St. John i. 51, and iv. 5, 12.
And St. Stephen, in his speech (Acts vii. 12,
16), mentions the famine which was the
means of restoring Jacob to his lost son in
Egypt, and the burial of the patriarch in
Shechem. JADDU'A, son, and successor in the high-
priesthood of Jonathan or Johanan. He is
the last of the high-priests mentioned in the
0. T-, and probably altogether the latest
name in the canon (Neh. xii. 11, 22).
JA'EL, the wife of Heber the Kenite. In
the headlong rout which followed the defeat
of the Canaanites by Barak, Sisera, abandon
ing his chariot the more easily to avoid
notice, fled unattended, and in an opposite
direction from that taken by his army, to the
tent of the Kenite chieftainess. He accepted
Jael's invitation to enter, and she flung a
mantle over him as he lay wearily on the
floor. When thirst prevented sleep, and he
asked for water, she brought him buttermilk
in her choicest vessel, thus ratifying with
the semblance of officious zeal the sacred
bond of Eastern hospitality. At last, with a
feeling of perfect security, the weary general
resigned himself to the deep sleep of misery
and fatigue. Then it was that Jael took in
her left hand one of the great wooden pins
which fastened down the cords of the tent,
and in her right hand the mallet used to
drive it into the ground, and with one ter
rible blow dashed it through Sisera's temples
deep into the earth (Judg. v. 27). She then
waited to meet the pursuing Barak, and led
him into her tent that she might in his pre
sence claim the glory of the deed ! Many
have supposed that by this act she fulfilled
the saying of Deborah, that God would sell
Sisera into the hand of a woman (Judg. iv.
9) ; and hence they have supposed that Jaei.
was actuated by some divine and hidden in
fluence. Bat the Bible gives no hint of such
an inspiration.
JAHAZ, also JAHA'ZA, JAHA'ZAH, and
JAH'ZAH. Under these four forms are
given in the A. V. the name of a place
which in the Hebrew appears as Yahats and
Yahtsah. At Jahaz the decisive battle was
fought between the children of Israel and
Sihon king of the Amorites (Num. xxi. 23 ;
Deut. ii. 32 ; Judg. xi. 20). It was in the
allotment of Reuben (Josh. xiii. 18). Like

JAIR

23(1

JAMES

many others relating to the places East of
the Dead Sea, the question of its site must
await further research.
JA'IR. 1. A man who on his father's
side was descended from Judah, and on his
mother's, from .Manasseh. During the con
quest he took the whole of the tract of
Argob (Deut. iii. 14), and in addition pos
sessed himself of some nomad villages in
Gilead, which he called after his own name
Havvotu-Jair (Num. xxxii. 41; 1 Chr. ii.
23). — 2. " Jaiu the Gii.eadite," who judged
Israel for two-and-twenty years (Judg. x.
3-5). He had thirty sons who rode thirty
asses, and possessed thirty cities in the land
of Gilead, which, like those of their name
sake, were called Havvoth-Jair.
JAI'RUS, a ruler vi a synagogue, probably
in some town near the western shore of the
sea of Galilee (Matt. ix. 18; Mark v. 22;
Luke viii. 41).
JA'KEII. [Proverbs.]
JAM'BllES. [Jannes and Jambrks.]
JAMES. 1. James the Son op Zeredee,
one of the Twelve Apostles. We first hear
of him in a.d. 27, when Zebcdee, a fisher
man (Mark i. 2D), was out on the Sea of
Galilee with his two sons, James and John,
and some boatmen. He was engaged in his
customary occupation of fishing, and near
him was another boat belonging to Simon
and Andrew, with whom he and his sons
were in partnership. Finding themselves
unsuccessful, the occupants of both boats
came ashore, and began to wash their nets.
At this time the new Teacher appeared upon
the beach. At His call they left all, and
became, once and for ever, His disciples,
hereafter to catch men. For a full year we
lose sight of St. James. He is then, in the
spring of 28, called to the apostleship with
his eleven brethren (Matt. x. 2 ; Mark iii.
14 ; Luke vi. 13 ; Acts i. 13). In the list of
the Apostles given us by St. Mark, and in
the book of Acts, his name occurs next to
that of Simon Peter : in the Gospels of St.
Matthew and St. Luke it comes third. It is
worthy of notice that with one exception
(Luke ix, 28), the name of James is put
before that of John, and that John is twice
described as " the brother of James " (Mark
v. ¦'¦7 ; Matt. xvii. 1). This would appear to
imply that at this time James, either from
age or character, took a higher position than
his brother. It would seem to have been at
the time of the appointment of the twelve
Apostles that the name of Boanerges was
given to the sons of Zebedec. The " Sons of
Thunder " had a burning and impetuous
spiiit, which twice exhibits itself in its
unchastened form (Luke ix. 54 ; Mark x.

37). The first occasion on which this
natural character manifests itself in St.
James and his brother is at the commence
ment of our Lord's last journey to Jerusalem
in the year 30. He was passing through
Samaria, and " sent messengers before his
face " into u certain village, "to make ready
for him" (Luke ix. 52), i.e. in all proba
bility to announce him us the Messiah. The
Samaritans, with their old jealousy strong
upon them, refused to receive him ; and in
their exasperation James and John entreated
their Master to follow the example of Elijah,
and call down fire to consume them. At the
end of the same journey a similar spiiit
appears again (Mark x. 35). On the night
before the Crucifixion he was present at the
Agony in the Garden. On the day of the
Ascension he is mentioned as persevering
with the rest of the Apostles and disciples
in prayer (Acts i. 13). Shortly before the
day of the Passover, in the year 44, he was
put to death by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts xii.
1, 2). — 2. Jamks the Son of Alpha bus, one
of the Twelve Apostles. Matt. x. 3 ; Mark
iii. 18 ; Luke vi. 15 ; Acts i. 13. — 3. James
the Brother of the Lord. Matt. xiii. 55;
Mark vi. 3 ; Gal. i. 19. — 4. Jamis the Son
of Mary. Matt, xxvii. 56 ; Luke xxiv. 10.
Also called the Less. Mark xv. 40. — 5.
James the Brother of Jude. Jude 1. — 6.
James the Brother (?) of Jude. Luke vi.
16 ; Acts i. 13.— 7. James, Acts xii. 17, xv.
13, xxi. IS; 1 Cor. xv. 7 ; Gal. ii. 9, 12.—
8. James, the Servant of God and of o. r
Loud Jesus Christ (James i. 1). St. Paul
identifies for us Nos. 3. and 7. (see Gal. ii.
9 and 12 compared with i. 19). If we may
translate 'IouSas 'laiciofiov, Judas the brother,
rather than the son of James, we may con
clude that 5. and 6. are identical. We may
identify 5. and 6. with 3., because we know
that James the Lord's brother had a brother
named Jude. We may identify 4. with 3.,
because we know James the son of Mary had
a brother named Joses, and so also had James
the Lord's brother. Thus there remain two
only, James the son of Alphaeus (2), and
James, the brother of the Lord (3). Can
we, or can we not, identify them 1 This is
one of the most difficult questions in the
Gospel history. By comparing Matt, xxvii.
56 and Mark xv. 40, with John xix. 25, we
find that the Virgin Mary had a sister named
like herself, Mary, who was the wife of Clo-
pas or Alphaeus (varieties of the same name),
and who had two sons, James the Less and
Joses. By referring to Matt, xiii, 55 and
Mark vi. 3, we find that a James and a
Joses, with two other brethren called Jude
and Simon, and at least three sisters, were

JAMES THE LESS

237

living with the Virgin Mary at Nazareth.
By referring to Luke vi. 16 and Acts i. 13,
we find that there were two brethren named
James and Jude among the Apostles. It
would certainly be natural to think that we
had here but one family of four brothers and
three or more sisters, the children of Clopas
and Mary, nephews and nieces of the Virgin
Mary. There are difficulties, however, in
the way of this conclusion into which we
cannot here enter ; but in reply to the objec
tion that tbe four brethren in Matt. xiii. 55
are described as the brothers of Jesus, not as
His cousins, it must be recollected that aSeA^ot
which is here translated "brethren," may
also signify cousins.
JAMES THE LESS, son of Alphaeus or
Clopas, and brother of our Lord (see above),
was called to the Apostolate, together with his
younger brother Jude, in the spring of the
year 28. It is not likely (though far from
impossible) that James and Jude took part
with their brothers and sisters, and the Virgin
Mary, in trying " to lay hold on " Jesus in the
autumn of the same year (Mark iii. 21) ; and
it is likely, though not certain, that it is of
the other brothers and sisters, without these
two, that St. John says, "Neither did His
brethren believe on Him" (John vii. 5), in
the autumn of a.d. 29. We hear no more
of James till after the Crucifixion and the
Resurrection. At some time in the forty
days that intervened between the Resurrec
tion and the Ascension the Lord appeared to
him. This is not related by the Evangelists,
but it is mentioned by St. Paul (1 Cor. xv.
7). Again we lose sight of James for ten
years, and when he appears once more it is
in a far higher position than any that he
has yet held. In the year 37 occurred the
conversion of Saul. Three years after his
conversion he paid his first visit to Jeru
salem, but the Christians recollected what
they had suffered at his hands, and feared to
have anything to do with him. Barnabas,
at this time of far higher reputation than
himself, took him by the hand, and intro
duced him to Peter and James (Acts ix. 27 ;
Gal. i. 18, 19), and by their authority he
was admitted into the society of the Chris
tians, and allowed to associate fieely with
them during the fifteen days of his stay.
Here we find James on a level with Peter,
and with him deciding on the admis
sion of St. Paul" into fellowship with the
Church at Jerusalem ; and from henceforth
we always find him equal, or in his own
department superior, to the very chiefest
Apostles, Peter, John, and Paul. For by
tnis ilme he had been appointed to preside
over the inlant Church in its most important

centre, in a position equivalent to that of
Bishop. This pre - eminence is evident
throughout the after history of the Apostles,
whether we read it in the Acts, in the Epis
tles, or in Ecclesiastical writers (Acts xii.
17, xv. 13, 19, xxi. 18; Gal. ii. 9). Ac
cording to tradition, James was thrown down
from the Temple by the Scribes and Phari
sees ; he was then stoned and his brains
dashed out by a fuller's club.
JAMES, THE GENERAL EPISTLE OP.
The author of this Epistle was in all proba
bility James, the son of Alphaeus, and our
Lord's brother. It was written from Jeru
salem, which St. James does not seem to
have ever left. Its main object is not to teach
doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James
is the moral teacher of the N. T. He wrote
for the Jewish Christians whether in Jeru
salem or abroad, to warn them against the sins
to which as Jews they were most liable ; and
to console and exhort them under the suffer
ings to which as Christians they were most ex
posed. It has been maintained that the passage
ii. 14-26 is a formal opposition to St. Paul's
doctrine of Justification by Faith ; but if we
consider the meaning of the two Apostles,
we see at once that there is no contradiction
either intended or possible. St. Paul was
opposing the Judaizing party, which claimed
to earn acceptance by good works, whether
the works of the Mosaic law, or works of
piety done by themselves. In opposition to
these, St. Paul lays down the great truth
that acceptance cannot be earned by man at
all, but is the free gift of Gon to the Christian
man, for the sake of the merits of Jesus
Christ, appropriated by each individual, and
made his own by the instrumentality of
faith. St. James, on the other hand, was
opposing the old Jewish tenet that to be a
child of Abraham was all in all ; that god
liness was not necessary, so that the belief
was correct.
JA'MIN, second son of Simeon (Gen. xlvi.
10; Ex. vi. 15 ; 1 Chr. iv. 24), founder of
the family of the Jaminites (Num. xxvi. 12).
JAM'NIA. [Jabneel.]
JAN'NES and JAM'BRES, the names of
two Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses.
St. Paul alone of the sacred writers mentions
them by name, and says no more than that
they " withstood Moses," and that their folly
in doing so became manifest (2 Tim. iii. 8, 9).
It appears from the Jewish commentators
that these names were held to be those of the
magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron,
spoken of in Exodus. Whether Jannes and
Jambres were mentioned in some long-lost
book relating to the early history of the
' Israelites, or whether there were a veritable

JAPHETH

238

JASPER

oral tradition respecting them, cannot now
be determined.
JA'PHETH, one of the three sons of Noah.
From the order in which their names in
variably occur (Gen. v. 32, vi. 10) we should
naturally infer that Japheth was the youngest,
but we learn from ix. 24 that Ham held that
position. It has been generally supposed
from x. 21 that Japheth was the eldest; but
the word "elder" in that passage is better
connected with "brother." We infer there
fore that Japheth was the second son of Noah.
The descendants of Japheth occupied the
" isles of the Gentiles " (Gen. x. 5), i. e. the
coast-lands of the Mediterranean Sea in
Europe and Asia Minor, whence they spread
northwards over the whole continent of
Europe and a considerable portion of Asia.
JA'REB is either to be explained as the
proper name of a country or person, as a
noun in apposition, or as a verb from a root,
rub, "to contend, plead." All these senses
are represented in the A. V. and the marginal
readings (Hos. v. 13, x. 6), and the least
preferable has been inserted in the te\ t.
Jareb is most probably the name of some
city of Assyria, or as another name of the
country itself.
JA'RED, one of the antediluvian patriarchs,
the fifth from Adam ; son of Mahalaleel, and
father of Enoch (Gen. v. 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 ;
Luke iii. 37). In the lists of Chronicles the
name is given in the A. V. Jered.
JA'RIB. 1. Named in the list of 1 Chr.
iv. 24 only, as a son of Simeon. Perhaps
the same as Jachin (Gen. xlvi., Ex. vi., and
Num. xxvi.). — 2. One of the "chief men"
who accompanied Ezra on his journey from
Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezr. viii. 16). — 3. A
priest of the house of Jeshua the son of
Jozadak, who had married a foreign wife,
and was compelled by Ezra to put her away
(Ezr. x. 18).— 4. (I Mace. xiv. 29). A
contraction or corruption of the name Joarib
(ii. 1).
JAR'IMOTH, 1 Esd. ix. 28. [Jeremoth.]
JAR'MUTH. 1. A town in the low country
of Judah (Josh. xv. 35). Its king, Piram,
was one of the five who conspired to punish
Gibeon for having made alliance with Israel
(Josh. .v. 3, 5), and who were routed at
Bethhoron and put to death by Joshua at
Makkedah (23). Its site is probably the
modern Yarmuk. — 2. A city of Issachar,
allotted with its suburbs to the Gershonite
Levites (Josh. xxi. 29).
JA'SHER, BOOK OF, or, as the margin of
the A. V. gives it, " the book of the upright,"
a record alluded to in two passages only of
the 0. T. (Josh. x. 13, and 2 Sam. i. 18),
and consequently the subject of much dis

pute. That it was written in verse may
reasonably be inferred from the only speci
mens extant, which exhibit unmistakeable
signs of metrical rhythm. Gesenius con
jectured that it was an anthology of ancient
songs, which acquired its name, " the book
of the just or upright," from being written
in praise of upright men.
JASIIO'BEAM. Possibly one and the
same follower of David, bearing this name,
is described as a Hachmonite (1 Chr. xi. 11),
a Korhite (1 Chr. xii. 6), and son of Zabdiel
(1 Chr. xxvii. 2). He came to David at
Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was that
he slew 300 (or 800, 2 Sam. xxiii. 8) men
at one time. He is named first among the
chief of the mighty men of David (1 Chr.
xi. II).
JA'SON, a Greek form of the name Jesus
or Joshua. — 1. Jason tiii: High-Priest, the
second son of Simon II. , and brother of
Onias III., who succeeded in obtaining the
high-priesthood from Antiochus Epiphanes
(circa 175 b.c. )to the exclusion of his elder
brother (2 Mace. iv. 7-26). He laboured in
every way to introduce Greek customs among
the people, and that with great success
(2 Mace. iv.). After three years (cir. b.c.
172) he was in turn supplanted in the king's
favour by his own emissary Menelaus, and
was forced to take refuge among the Am
monites (2 Mace. iv. 26). On a report of
the death of Antiochus (c. 170 b.c) he made
a violent attempt to recover his power
(2 Mace. v. 5-7), but was repulsed, and again
fled to the Ammonites. Afterwards he was
compelled to retire to Egypt, and thence to
Sparta (2 Mace. v. 9), and there "perished
in a strange land" (2 Mace. I. c. ; cf. Dan.
xii. 30 ff. ; 1 Mace. i. 12 ff.).— 2. Jason the
Thessalonian, who entertained Paul and
Silas, and was in consequence attacked by
the Jewish mob (Acts xvii. 5, 6, 7, 9). He
is probably the same as the Jason mentioned
in Rom. xvi. 21, as a companion of the
apostle, and one of his kinsmen or fellow-
tribesmen. It is conjectured that Jason and
Secundus (Acts xx. 4) were the same.
JASPER, a precious stone frequently
noticed in Scripture. It was the last of the
twelve inserted in the high-priest's breast
plate (Ex. xxviii. 20, xxxix. 13), and the
first of the twelve used iD the foundations of
the new Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 19). The
characteristics of the stone, as far as they
are specified in Scripture (Rev. xxi. 11), are
that it was "most precious," and "like
crystal : " we may also infer from Rev. iv. 3,
tbat it was a stone of brilliant and trans
parent light. The stone which we name
"jasper" does not accord with this descrip-

JAVAN

239

JEHOAHAZ

tion. There can be no doubt that the
diamond would more adequately answer to
the description in the book of Revelation.
JA'VAN. 1. A son of Japheth, and the
father of Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and
Dodanim (Gen. x. 2, 4). The name appears
in Is. lxvi. 19, where it is coupled with
Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, and more partic
ularly with Tubal and the "isles afar off,"
as representatives of the Gentile world :
again in Ez. xxvii. 13, where it is coupled
with Tubal and Meshech, as carrying on
considerable commerce with the Tyrians,
who imported from these countries slaves
and brazen vessels : in Dan. viii. 21, x. 20,
xi. 2, in reference to the Macedonian empire ;
and lastly in Zech. ix. 13, in reference to
the Graeco-Syrian empire. From a com
parison of these various passages there can
be no doubt that Javan was regarded as the
representative of the Greek race. The name
was probably introduced into Asia by the
Phoenicians, to whom the lonians were
naturally better known than any other of
the Hellenic races, on account of their com
mercial activity and the high prosperity of
their towns on the western coast of Asia
Minor. — 2. A town in the southern part of
Arabia (Yemen), whither the Phoenicians
traded (Ez. xxvii. 19).
JAVELIN. [Arms.]
JA'ZER. [Jaazer.]
JE'ARIM, MOUNT, a place named in
specifying the northern boundary of Judah
(Josh. xv. 10). The boundary ran from
Mount Seir to "the shoulder of Mount
Jearim, which is Cesalon'' — that is, Cesalon
was the landmark on the mountain. Kes/a
stands, 7 miles due west of Jerusalem, on a
high point on the north slope of a lofty ridge,
which is probably Mount Jearim.
JEATERA'I, a Gershonite Levite, son of
Zerah (1 Chr. vi. 21).
JEBERECHI'AH, father of a certain
Zechariah, in the reign of Ahaz, mentioned
Is. viii. 2. As this form occurs nowhere
else, and both the LXX. and Vulgate have
Berechiah, it is probably only an accidental
corruption. JE'BUS, one of the names of Jerusalem,
the city of the Jebusites, also called Jebusi.
(Josh. xv. 8, xviii. 16, 28 ; Judg. xix. 10, 11 ;
1 Chr. xi. 4, 5). [Jerusalem.]
JEB'USITES, THE, were descended from
the third son of Canaan (Gen. a. 16 ; 1 Chr.
i. 14). The actual people first appear in
the invaluable report of the spies (Num. xiii.
29). When Jabin organised his rising against
Joshua he sent amongst others " to the
Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzitc, and the
Jebusite in the mountain " (Josh. xi. 3). A

mountain-tribe they were, and a mountain-
tribe they remained. " Jebus, which, is
Jerusalem," lost its king in the slaughter of
Bethhoron (Josh. x. 1, 5, 26 ; comp. xii. 10)
— was sacked and burned by the men of
Judah (Judg. i. 21), and its citadel finally
scaled and occupied by David (2 Sam. v. 6).
After this they emerge from the darkness.
hut once, in the person of Araunah the
Jebusite, " Araunah the king," who appears
before us in true kingly dignity in his well-
known transaction with David (2 Sam. xxiv,
23 ; 1 Chr. xix. 23).
JECHONI'AS, the Greek form of the name
of king Jechoniah, an altered form of Je
hoiachin. [Jehoiachin.]
JEDIDl'AH, Jedid-Jah, "darling of Je
hovah," the name bestowed, through Nathan
the prophet, on David's son Solomon (2 Sam,
xii. 25).
JED'UTHUN, a Levite, of the family of
Merari, is probably the same as Ethan (comp.
1 Chr. xv. 17, 19, with 1 Chr. xvi. 41, 42,
xxv. 1, 3, 6; 2 Chr. xxxv. 15). His office
was generally to preside over the music of
the temple service. Jeduthun's name stands
at the head of the 39th, 62nd, and 77th
Psalms, indicating probably that they were
to he sung by his choir.
JEGA'R SAHADU'THA ("heap of testi
mony"), the Aramaean name given by Laban
the Syrian to the heap of stones which he
erected as a memorial of the compact between
Jacob and himself, while Jacob comme
morated the same by setting up a pillar (Gen.
xxxi. 47), as was his custom on several other
occasions. Galeed, a "witness heap," which
is given as the Hebrew equivalent, does not
exactly represent Jegar-sahadutha.
JEHOAD'DAN, queen to king Joash, and
mother of Amaziah of Judah (2 K. xiv. 2 ;
2 Chr. xxv. 1).
JEHO'AHAZ. 1. The son and successor
of Jehu, reigned 17 years b.c. 856-840 over
Israel in Samaria. His inglorious history is
given in 2 K. xiii. 1-9. Throughout his
reign (ver. 22) he was kept in subjection by
Hazael king of Damascus. Jehoahaz main
tained the idolatry of Jeroboam ; but in the
extremity of his humiliation he besought
Jehovah ; and Jehovah gave Israel a de
liverer — probably either Jehoash (vv. 23 and
25), or Jeroboam II. (2 K. xiv. 24, 25).— 2.
Jehoahaz, otherwise called Siiallum, the
fourth (ace. to 1 Chr. iii. 15), or third, if
Zedekiah's age be correctly stated (2 Chr.
xxxvi. 11), son of Josiah, w horn he succeeded
as king of Judah. He was chosen by the
people in preference to his elder (comp. 2 K.
xxiii. 31 and 36) brother, b.c 610, and he
reigned three months in Jerusalem, rharaoh-

¦TEHOASH

LMO

JEHOIAKIM

Neeho on his return from Carchemish, per
haps resenting the election of Jehoahaz, sent
to Jerusalem to depose him, and to fetch him
to Riblah. There he was cast into chains,
and from thence he was taken into Egypt,
where he died.— 3. The name given (2 Chr.
xxi. 17) to Ahaziah, the youngest son of
Jehoram king of Judah.
JEHO'ASH, the uncontracted form of Joash.
[Joash. j
JEHOI'ACHIN, son of Jehoiakim and Ne-
liushtu, and for three months and ten days
king of Judah, b.c. 597. Jehoiachin came to
the throne when Egypt was still prostiate in
consequence of the victory at Carchemish.
Jerusalem was quite defenceless, and unable
to offer any resistance to the regular army
which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it
(2 K. xxiv. 10, 11). In a very short time
Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion ; and
he, and the queen-mother, and all his ser
vants, captains, and officers, came out and
gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who
carried them, with the harem and the
eunuchs, to Babylon (Jer. xxix. 2 ; Ezek.
xvii. 12, xix. 9). There he remained a
prisoner, actually in prison, and wearing
prison garments, for thirty-six years, viz.
till the death of Nebuchadnezzar, when Evil-
Merodach, succeeding to tbe throne of Baby
lon, brought him out of prison, and made
him sit at his own table. Whether Jehoi
achin outlived the two years of Evil-Mero-
dach's reign or not does not appear, nor
have we any particulars of his life at Baby
lon. It does not appear certainly from
Scripture, whether Jehoiachin was married
or had any children. That Zedeldab, who
in 1 Chr. hi. IS is called " his son," is the
same as Zedekiah his uncle (called "his
brother," 2 Chr. xxxvi. 10), who was his
successor on the throne, seems certain.
JEHOI'ADA. 1. Father of Benaiah,
David's well-known warrior (2 Sam. viii. 18,
1 K. i. and ii. passim, 1 Chr. X7iii. 17, &c,).
— 2. High-priest at the time of Athaliah's
usurpation of the throne of Judah (b.c. 884-
878), and during the greater portion of the
40 years' reign of Joash. He probably suc
ceeded Amariah. He married Jehosheba,
or Jehoshabeath, daughter of king Jehoram,
and sister of king Ahaziah (2 Chr. xxii. 11) ;
and when Athaliah slew all the seed royal of
Judah after Ahaziah had been put to death
by Jehu, he and his wife stole Joash from
among the king's sons, and hid him for six
years in the Temple, and eventually replaced
him on the throne of his ancestors. Having
divided the priests and Levites into three !
bands, which were posted at the principal I
entrances, he produced the young kmg be

fore the whole assembly, and ci owned and
anointed him. Athaliah was put to death.
[Atiiai.iaii.] The destruction of Baal wor
ship and the restoration of the Temple were
among the great works effected by Jehoiada.
He died b.c. 834. — 3. Second priest, or sagan,
to Seraiah tho high-priest (Jer. xxix. 25-29 ;
2 K. xxv. 18).
JEHOI'AKIM, called Ei.iakim, son of
Josiah and Zebudah, and king of Judah.
After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh Neeho set
Eliakim, his elder brother, upon the throne,
and changed his name to Jehoiakim, B.C. 608-
597. Egypt played no part in Jewish politics
during the seven or eight years of Jehoiakim's
reign. After the battle of Carchemish Nebu
chadnezzar came into Palestine as one of the
Egyptian tributary kingdoms, the capture of
w hicli was the natural fruit of his victory
over Neeho. He found Jehoiakim quite de
fenceless. After a short siege he entered
Jerusalem, took the king prisoner, bound
him in fetters to carry him to Babylon, and
took also some of the precious vessels of the
Temple and carried them to the land of
Shinar. But he seems to have changed his
purpose as regarded Jehoiakim, and to have
accepted bis submission, and reinstated him
on the throne, perhaps in remembrance of
the fidelity of his father Josiah. What is
certain is, that Jehoiakim became tributary
to Nebuchadnezzar after his invasion of
Judah, and continued so for three years, but
at the end of that time broke his oath of
allegiance and rebelled against him (2 K.
xxiv. 1). Though Nebuchadnezzar was not
able at that time to eome in person to
chastise his rebellious vassal he sent against
him numerous bands of Chaldeans, with
Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, who were
all now subject to Babylon (2 K. xxiv. 7),
and who cruelly harassed the whole country.
Either in an engagement with some of these
forces, or else by the hand of his own op
pressed subjects, who thought to conciliate
the Babylonians by the murder of their king,
Jehoiakim came to a violent end in tlie 11th
year of his reign. His body was cast out
ignominiously on the ground ; and then,
after being left exposed for some time, was
dragged away and buried " with the burial
of an ass," without pomp or lamentation,
" beyond the gates of Jerusalem" (Jer. xxii.
18, 19, xxxvi. 30). All the accounts we
have of Jehoiakim concur in ascribing to
him a vicious and irreligious character. The
writer of 2 K. xxiii. 37, tells us that "he
did that which was evil in tho sight of Je
hovah," a statement which is repeatid xxiv.
9, and 2 Chr. xxxvi. .5. But it is in the
writings of Jeremiah that we have the iullest

JEHOIARIB

241

JEHORAM

portraiture of him. The reign of Jehoiakim
extends from b.c 609 to b.c 598, or as some
reckon 599.
JEHOI'ARIB, head of the first of the 24
courses of priests, according to the arrange
ment of king David (1 Chr. xxiv. 7). Some
of his descendants returned from the Baby
lonish captivity, as we learn from I Chr. ix.
10, Neh. xi. 10. Their 'chief in the days of
Joiakim the son of Jesbua was Mattenai
(Neh. xii. 6, 19). They were probably of
the house of Eleazar.' To the course of
Jehoiarib belonged the Asmonean family
(1 JIacc. ii. 1), and Josephus, as he informs
us. JEHO'NADAB, and JO'NADAB, the son
of Rechab, founder of the Rechabites. It
appears from 1 Chr. ii. 55, that his father or
ancestor Rechab belonged to a branch of the
Kenites ; the Arabian tribe which entered
Palestine with the Israelites. One settle
ment of them was established, under a four
fold division at or near the town of Jabez in
Judah (1 Chr. ii. 55). To these last belonged
Rechab and his son Jehonadab. The Bedouin
habits, which were kept up by the other
branches of the Kenite tribe, were inculcated
by Jehonadab with the utmost minuteness on
his descendants (Jer. xxxv. 6). Bearing in
mind this general character of Jehonadab as
an Arab chief, and the founder of a half-
religious sect, we are the better able to
understand the single occasion on which he
appears before us in the historical narrative
Jehu was advancing, after the slaughter of
Betheked, on the city of Samaria, when he
suddenly met the austere Bedouin coming
towards him (2 K. x. 15). The king was in
his chariot ; the Arab was on foot. No
doubt he acted in concert with Jehu through
out ; the only occasion on which he is ex
pressly mentioned is when he went with
Jehu through the temple of Baal to turn out
any that there might happen to be in the
mass of Pagan worshippers (2 K. x. 23).
JEHO'RAM. 1. Son of Ahab king of
Israel, who succeeded his brother Ahaziah,
B.C. 896, and died b.c 884. The alliance
between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah,
commenced by his father and Jehoshaphat,
was very close throughout his reign. We
first find, him associated with Jehoshaphat
and the king of Edom, at that time a tribu
tary of the kingdom of Judah, in a war
against the Moabites. The three armies
were in the utmost danger of perishing for
want of water. The piety of Jehoshaphat
suggested an inquiry of some prophet of
Jehovah, and Elisha, at that time and since
the latter part of Ahab's reign Elijah's at
tendant (2 K. iii. 11 ; 1 K. xix. 19-21), was
Sm. D. B.

found with the host. From him Jehoram
received a severe rebuke, and was bid tc
inquire of the prophets of his father and
mother, the prophets of Baal. Nevertheless
for Jehoshapbat's sake Elisha' inquired of
Jehovah, and received the promise of an
abundant supply of water, and of a great
victory over the Moabites : a promise which
was immediately fulfilled. The Moabites
were put to the rout. The allies pursued
them with great slaughter into their own
land, which they utterly ravaged and de
stroyed with all its cities. Kirharaseth alone
remained, and there the king of Moab made
his last stand. An attempt to break through
the besieging army having failed, he resorted
to the desperate expedient of offering up his
eldest son, the heir to his throne, as a burnt-
offering, upon the wall of the city, in the
sight of the enemy. Upon this the Israelites
retired and returned to their own land (2 K.
iii.). A little later, when war broke out
between Syria , and Israel, we find Elisha
befriending Jehoram. "What happened after
this to change the relations between the king
and the prophet we can only conjecture.
But it seems probable that when the Syrian
inroads ceased, and he felt less dependent
upon the aid of the prophet, he relapsed into
idolatry, and was rebuked by Elisha, and
threatened with a return of the calamities
from which he had escaped. Refusing to
repent, a fresh invasion by the Syrians, and
a close siege of Samaria, actually came to
pass, according probably to the word of the
prophet. Hence, when the terrible incident
arose, in consequence of the famine, of a
woman boiling and eating her own child,
the king immediately attributed the evil to
Elisha, and determined to take away his life.
The providential interposition by which both
Elisha's life was saved and the city delivered,
is narrated 2 K. vii., and Jehoram appear?
to have returned to friendly feeling towards
Elisha (2 K. viii. 4). It was very soon after
the above events that Elisha went to Da
mascus, and predicted the revolt of Hazael,
and his accession to the throne of Syria in
the room of Ben-hadad. Jehoram seems to
have thought the revolution in Syria, which
immediately followed Elisha's prediction, a
good opportunity to pursue his father's
favourite project of recovering Ramoth-
Gilead from the Syrians. He accordingly
made an alliance with his nephew Ahaziah,
who had just succeeded Joram on the throne
of Judah, and the two kings proceeded to
occupy Ramoth-Gilead by force. The expedi
tion was an unfortunate one. Jehoram was
wounded in battle, and obliged to return to
Jezreel to be healed of his wounds (2 K
R

JEHOSHAPHAT

242

JEHOSHAPHAT, VALLEY OF

viii. 29, ix. 14, 15), leaving his army under
Jehu 1.o hold Ramotb-Gilead against Hazael.
Jehu, however, and the army under his com
mand, revolted from their allegiance to
Jehoram (2 K. ix.), and, hastily marching to
Jezreel, surprised Jehoram, wounded and
defenceless as he was. Jehoram, going out
to meet him, fell pieroed by an arrow from
Jehu's bow on the very plot of ground which
Ahab had wrested from Naboth the Jezreel-
ite ; thus fulfilling to the letter the prophecy
of Elijah (1 K. xxi. 21-29). With the life
of Jehoram ended the dynasty of Omri. — 2.
Eldest son of Jehoshaphat, succeeded his
father on the throne of Judah at the age of
32, and reigned eight years, from n.c. 893-2
to 885-4. Jehosheba his daughter was wife
to the high-priest Jehoiada. As soon as he
was fixed on the throne, he put his six
brothers to death, with many of the chief
nobles of the land. He then probably at the
instance of his wife Athaliah the daughter of
Ahab, proceeded to e-tablish the worship of
Baal. A prophetic writing from the aged
prophet Elijah (2 Chr. xxi. 12), failed to
produce any good effect upon him. This
was in the first or second year of his reign.
The remainder of it was a series of calamities.
First the Edomites, who had been tributary
to Jehoshaphat, revolted from his dominion,
and established their permanent independ
ence. Next Libnah, one of the strongest
fortified cities in Judah (2 K. xix. 8), rebelled
against him. Then followed invasions of
armed bands of Philistines and of Arabians,
who stormed the king's palace, put his wives
and all his children, except his youngest son
Ahaziah, to death (2 Chr. xxii. 1), or carried
them into captivity, and plundered all his
treasures. He died of a tcnible disease
(2 Chr. xxi. 19, 20) early in the twelfth year
of his brother-in-law Jehoram's reign over
Israel. JEHOSH'APIIAT, king of Judah, son of
Asa, succeeded to the throne b.c 914, when
he was 35 years old, and reigned 2J years.
His history ia to be found among the events
recorded in 1 K. xv. 21 ; 2 K. viii. 16, or in
a continuous narrative in 2 Chr. xvii. 1-
xxi. 3. He was contemporary with Ahab,
Ahaziah, and Jehoram. At first he strength
ened himself against Israel by fortifying and
garrisoning the cities of Judah and the
Ephraimite conquests of Asia. But soon
afterwards the two Hebrew kings, perhaps
appreciating their common danger from
Damascus and the tribes on their eastern
frontier, formed an alliance. Jehoshaphat's
eldest sou Jehoram married Athaliah, the
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. In his own
kingdom Jehoshaphat ever showed himself a

zealous follower of the commandments of
God : he tried, it would seem not quite suc
cessfully, to put down the high places and
groves in which the people of Judah burnt
incense. Riches and honours increased
around him. He received tribute from the
Philistines and Arabians ; and kept up a
large standing army in Jerusalem. It was
probably about the 16th year of his reign
(b.c. 898) when he went to Samaria to visit
Ahab and to become his ally in the great
battle of Ramoth-Gilead. From thence Je
hoshaphat returned to Jerusalem in peace ;
and went himself through the people " from
Beeivsheba to Mount Ephraim," reclaiming
them to the law of God. Turning his atten
tion to foreign commerce, he built at Ezion-
geber, with the help of Ahaziah, a navy
designed to go to Tarshish ; but it was
wrecked at Ezion-geber. Before the close of
his reign he was engaged in two additional
wars. He was miraculously delivered from
a threatened attack of the people of Ammon,
Moab, and Seir. After this, perhaps, must
be dated tbe war which Jehoshaphat, in con
junction with Jehoram king of Israel and
the king of Edom, carried on against the
rebellious king of Mnab (2 K. iii.). In his
declining years the administration of affairs
wa3 placed (probably b c 891) in the hands
of his son Jehoram.
JEHOSH'APIIAT, VALLEY OF, a valley
mentioned by Joel only, as the spot in which,
after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from
captivity, Jehovah would gather all the
heathen (Joel iii. 2), and would there sit to
judge them for their misdeeds to Israel (iii.
1 2). The prophet seems to have glanced back
to that tiiumphant day when king Jehosha
phat, the greatest king the nation had seen
since Solomon, led out his people to a valley
in the wilderness of Tekoah, and was there
blessed with such a victory over the hordes
of his enemies as was without a parallel in
the national records (2 Chr. xx.). The
scene of "Jehovah's judgment" has been
localised, and the name has come down to us
attached to that deep ravine which separates
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, through
which at one time the Kedron forced its
stream. At what period the name was first
applied to this spot is not known. There is
no trace of it in the Bible or in Josephus.
In both the only name used for this gorge is
Kidro,v (N. T. Cedron). We first encounter
its new title in the middle of the 4th century
in the Onomasticon of Eusebius and Jerome,
and in the Commentary of the latter Father
on Joel. Since that time the name has been
recognised and adopted by travellers of all
ages and all faiths. Both Moslems and Jews

JEHOSHEBA

243

JEHU

believe that the last judgment is to take
place there. The steep sides of the ravine,
wherever a level strip affords the oppor
tunity, are crowded — in places almost paved
—by the sepulchres of the Moslems, or the
simpler slabs of the Jewish tombs, alike
awaiting the assembly of the last Judgment.
The name would seem to be generally con
fined by travellers to the upper part of the
glen, from about the " Tomb of the Virgin "
to the south-east corner of the wall of Jeru
salem. JEHOSHE'BA, daughter of Joram king of
Israel, and wife of Jehoiada the high-priest
(2 K. xi. 2). Her name in the Chronicles is
given Jeuoshabeath. As she is called, 2 K.
xi. 2, "the daughter of Joram, sister of
Ahaziah," it has been conjectured that she
was the daughter, not of Athaliah, but of
Joram by another wife. She is the only re
corded instance of the marriage of a princess
of the royal house with a high-priest.
JEHOSH'TJA, that is, "help of Jehovah"
or "Saviour." In this form is given the
name of Joshua in Num. xiii. 16, on the
occasion of its bestowal by Moses.
JEHO'VAH. [God.1
JEHO'VAH-JI'REH, i.e. "Jehovah will
see," or "provide," the name given by
Abraham to the place on which he had been
commanded to offer Isaac, to commemorate
the interposition of the angel of Jehovah,
who appeared to prevent the sacrifice (Gen.
xxii. 14) and provided another victim.
JEHO'VAH-NIS'SI, i. e. "Jehovah my
banner," the name given by Moses to the
altar which he built in commemoration of
the discomfiture of the Amalekites by Joshua
and his chosen warriors at Rephidim (Ex.
xvii. 15). The significance of the name is
probably contained in the allusion to the
staff which Moses held in his hand as a
banner during the engagement.
JEHO'VAH-SHA'LOM, i. e. "Jehovah (is)
peace," or, with an ellipsis, " Jehovah, the
God of peace," the altar erected by Gideon
in Ophrah was so called in memory of the
salutation addressed to him by the angel of
Jehovah, " Peace be unto thee " (Judg. vi.
24). JEHO'ZADAK, son of the high-priest
Seraiah (1 Chr. vi. 14, 15) in the reign of
Zedekiah. When his father was slain at
Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar, in the
11th of Zedekiah (2 K. xxv. 18, 21), Je-
hozadak was led away captive to Babylon
(1 Chr. vi. 15), where he doubtless spent the
remainder of his days. He himself never
attained the high-priesthood, but be was the
father of Jeshua the high-priest — who with
Zerubbabel headed the Return from Captivity

— and of all his successors till the pontificate
of Alcimus (Ezr. iii. 2; Neh. xii. 26, &c).
JE'HU. 1. The founder of the fifth
dynasty of the kingdom of Israel, son of
Jehoshaphat (2 K. ix. 2). In his youth he
had been one of the guards of Ahab. His
first appearance in history is when, with a
comrade in arms, Bidkar, he rode behind
Ahab on the fatal journey from Samaria to
Jezreel, and heard the warning of Elijah
against the murderer of Naboth (2 K. ix. 25).
But he had already, as it would seem, been
known to Elijah as a youth of promise, and,
accordingly, in the vision at Horeb he is
mentioned as the future king of Israel, whom
Elijah is to anoint as the minister of ven
geance on Israel (1 K. xix. 16, 17). This
injunction, for reasons unknown to us, Elijah
never fulfilled. It was reserved long after
wards for his successor Elisha. Jehu mean
time, in the reigns of Ahaziah and Jehoram,
had risen to importance. He was, under
the last-named king, captain of the host in
the siege of Ramoth-Gilead. Whilst in the
midst of the officers of the besieging army a
youth suddenly entered, of wild appearance
(2 K. ix. 11), and insisted on a private in
terview with Jehu . They retired into a
secret chamber. The youth uncovered a
vial of the sacred oil which he had brought
with him, poured it over Jehu's head, and
after announcing to him the message from
Elisha, that he was appointed to be king of
Israel and destroyer of the house of Ahab,
rushed out of the house and disappeared.
Jehu's countenance, as he re-entered the
assembly of officers, showed that some
strange tidings had reached him. He tried
at first to evade their questions, but then
revealed the situation in which he found
himself placed by the prophetic call. In a
moment the enthusiasm of the army took
fire. They threw their garments under his
feet, so as to form a rough carpet of state
placed him on the top of the stairs, as on an
extempore throne, blew the royal salute on
their trumpets, and thus ordained him king.
He then cut off all communication between
Ramoth-Gilead and Jezreel, and set off, full
speed, with his ancient comrade, Bidaar,
whom he had made captain of the host in
his place, and a band of horsemen. From
the tower of Jezreel a watchman saw the
cloud of dust (A. V. " company ") and an
nounced his coming (2 K. ix. 17). It was
not till he had almost reached the city, and
was identified by the watchman, that alarm
was taken. But it was not till, in answer
to Jehoram's question, "Is it peace, Jehu?"
that Jehu's fierce denunciation of Jezebel at
once revealed the danger. Jehu seized his
B, %

JEHU

244

JEPHUNNEH

opportunity, and shot him through the heartr
(ix. 24). The body was thrown out on the
fatal field, and whilst his soldiers pursued
and killed the king of Judah at Beth-gan
(A. V. " the garden-house "), probably En-
gannim, Jehu himself advanced to tbe gates
of Jezreel and fulfilled the divine warning on
Jezebel as already on Jehoram. He then
entered on a work of extermination hitherto
unparalleled in the history of the Jewish
monarchy. All rae descendants of Ahab that
remained in Jezreel, together with the officers
of the court, and hierarchy of Astarte, were
swept away. His next step was to secure
Samaria. As he drove on he encountered a
strange figure, such as might have reminded
him of the great Elijah. It was Jehonadab,
the austere Arabian sectary, the son of
Rechab. In him his keen eye discovered a
ready ally. He took him into his chariot,
and they concocted their schemes as tbey
entered Samaria (x . 15, 16). Up to this
moment there was nothing which showed
anything bej'ond a determination to exter
minate in all its branches the personal ad
herents of Ahab. There was to be a new
inauguration of the worship of Baal. A
solemn assembly, sacred vestments, innumer
able victims, were ready. The vast temple
at Samaria raised by Ahab (1 K. xvi. 32)
was crowded from end to end. The chief
sacrifice was offered, as if in the excess of
his zeal, by Jehu himself. Jehonadab joined
in the deception. There was some appre
hension lest worshippers of Jehovah might
be found in the temple ; such, it seems, had
been the intermixture of the two religions.
As soon, however, as it was ascertained that
all, and none but, the idolaters were there,
the signal was given to eighty trusted guards,
and a sweeping massacre removed at one
blow the whole heathen population of the
kingdom of Israel. This is the last public
act recorded of Jehu. The remaining twenty-
seven years of his long reign are passed over
in a few words, in which two points only are
material : — He did not destroy the calf-
worship of Jeroboam : — The trans-jordanic
tribes suffered much from the ravages of
Hazael (2 K. x. 29-33). He was buried in
state in Samaria, and was succeeded by his
son Jehoahaz (2 K. x. 35). His name is
the first of the Israelite kings which appears
in the Assyrian monuments. — 3. Jehu, son
of Hanani ; a prophet of Judah, but whose
ministrations were chiefly directed to Israel.
His father was probably the seer who at
tacked Asa (2 Chr. xvi. 7). He must have
begun his career as a prophet when very
young. He first denounced Baasha (1 K.
xvi. 1, 7), and then, after an interval of

thirty years, reappears to denounce Jehosha
phat for his alliance with Ahab (2 Chr. xix.
2, 3). He survived Jehoshaphat and wrote
his life (xx. 34).
JEPH'THAH, a judge, about b.c 1143-
1137. His history is contained in Judg. xi.
1-xii. 7. He was a Gileadite, the son of
Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the
legitimate sons from his father's inheritance,
he went to Tob, and became the head of a
company of freebooters in a debateable land
probably belonging to Ammon (2 Sam. a. 6).
His fame as a bold and successful captain
was carried back to his native Gilead ; and
when the time was ripe for throwing off the
yoke of Ammon, Jephthah consented to be
come their captain, on the condition
(solemnly ratified before the Lord in Mizpeh)
that in the event of his success against
Ammon he should still remain as their ac
knowledged head. He collected warriors
throughout Gilead and Manasseh, the pro
vinces which acknowledged his authority ;
and then he vowed his vow unto the Lord.
The Ammonites were routed with great
slaughter. But as the conqueror returned
to Mizpeh there came out to meet him a
procession of damsels with dances and tim
brels, and among them — the first person
from his own house — his daughter and only
child. " Alas I my daughter, thou hast
brought me very low," was the greeting of
the heart-stricken father. But the high-
minded maiden is ready for any personal
suffering in the hour of her father's triumph.
Only she asks for a respite of two months to
withdraw to her native mountains, and in
their recesses to weep with her virgin-friends
over the early disappointment of her life.
When that time was ended she returned to
her father, and " he did unto her his vow."
But Jephthah had not long leisure, even if
he were disposed, for the indulgence of
domestic grief. The proud tribe of Ephraim
challenged his right to go to war, as he had
done without their concurrence, against
Ammon. He first defeated them, then in
tercepted the fugitives at tbe fords of Jordan,
and there put forty-two thousand men to
the sword. He judged Israel six years and
died. It is generally conjectured that bis
jurisdiction was limited to the trans-Jordanic
region. That the daughter of Jephthah was
really offered up to God in sacrifice, ia a
conclusion which it seems impossible to
avoid. JEPHUN'NEH, father of Caleb the spy,
appears to have belonged to an Edomitish
tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their
founder. (See Num. xiii. 6, &c, xxxii. 12,
&c; Josh. xiv. 14, &c. ; 1 Chr. iv. 15.)

JERAH

245

JEREMIAH

JE'RAH, the fourth in order of the sons
of Joktan (Gen. x. 26 ; 1 Chr. i. 20), and
the progenitor of a tribe of southern Arabia.
JEREMI'AH was "the son of Hilkiah
of the priests that were in Anathoth "
(Jer. i. 1), and was a child in the reign of
Josiah, b c 638-608 (i. 6). In his youth he
was called to the prophetic office, but we
have hardly any mention of him during the
eighteen years between his call and Josiah's
death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz.
Under Jehoiakim, b.c. 607-597, he opposed
the Egyptian party, then dominant in Jeru
salem, and maintained that the only way of
safety lay in accepting the supremacy of the
Chaldeans. He was accordingly accused of
treachery, and men claiming to be prophets
had their " word of Jehovah " to set against
his (xiv. 13, xxiii. 7). In the fourth year
of Jehoiakim the battle of Carchemish over
threw the hopes of the Egyptian party (xlvi.
2), and the armies of Nebuchadnezzar drove
those who had no defenced cities to take
refuge in Jerusalem (xxxv. 11). As the
danger from the Chaldeans became more
threatening, the persecution against Jere
miah grew hotter (xviii.) The people sought
his life ; his voice rose up in the prayer that
God would deliver and avenge him. That
thought he soon reproduced in act as well as
word. Standing in the valley of Ben-Hin-
nom, he broke the earthern vessel be carried
in his hands, and prophesied to the people
that the whole city should be defiled with
the dead, as that valley had been, within
their memory, by Josiah (xix. 10-13). The
boldness of the speech and act drew upon
him immediate punishment. The years that
followed brought no change for the better.
Famine and drought were added to the
miseries of the people (xiv. 1), but false
prophets still deceived them with assurances
of plenty ; and Jeremiah was looked on with
dislike, as "a prophet of evil," and "every
one cursed" him (xv. 10). He was set,
however, " as a fenced brazen wall " (xv. 20),
and went on with his work, reproving king
and nobles and people. The danger which
Jeremiah had so long foretold at last came
near. Fir^t Jehoiakim, and afterwards his
successor Jehoiachin, were carried into exile
(2 K. xxiv.) ; but Zedekiah (b.c. 597-586),
who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, does
not exhibit the same obstinate resistance to
the prophet's counsels as Jehoiakim. He
respects him, fears him, seeks his counsel ;
but he is a mere shadow of a king, powerless
even against his own counsellors, and in his
feign, accordingly, tbe sufferings of Jeremiah
were sharper than they had been before.
The approach of an Egyptian army, and the

consequent departure of the Chaldeans, made
the position of Jeremiah full of danger ; and
he sought to effect his escape from the city,
and to take refuge in his own town of Ana
thoth or its neighbourhood (xxxvii. 12).
The discovery of this plan led to the charge
of desertion : it was thought that he too was
" falling away to the Chaldeans," as others
were doing (xxxviii. 19); and, in spite of
bis denial, he was thrown into a dungeon
(xxxvii. 16). The interposition of the king,
who still respected and consulted him, led to
some mitigation of the rigour of his confine
ment (xxxvii. 21); but, as this did not
hinder him from speaking to the people, the
princes of Judah, bent on an alliance with
Egypt, and calculating on the king's being
unable to resist them (xxviii. 5), threw him
into the prison-pit, to die there. From this
horrible fate he was again delivered by the
friendship of the Ethiopian eunuch, Ebed-
Melech, and the king's regard for him ;
and was restored to the milder custody
in which he had been kept previously, where
we find (xxxii. 16) he had the companionship
of Baruch. The return of the Chaldean
army filled both king and people with dismay
(xxxii. 1) ; and the risk now was that they
would pass from their pi'esumptuous con
fidence to the opposite extreme and sink
down in despair, with no faith in God and
no hope for the future. The prophet was
taught how to meet that danger also. In
his prison, while the Chaldeans were ra
vaging the country, he bought, with all
requisite formalities, the field at Anathoth
which his kinsman Hanameel wished to get
rid of (xxxii. 6-9). His faith in the pro
mises of God did not fail him. At last the
blow came. The city was taken, the Temple
burnt. The king and his princes shared the
fate of Jehoiachin. The prophet gave utter
ance to his sorrow in the Lamentations.
After the capture of Jerusalem, b c 586, the
Chaldean party in Judah had now the pros
pect of better things. AVe find a special
charge given to Nebuzaradan (xxxix. 11) to
protect the person of Jeremiah ; and, after
being carried as far as Ramah with the
crowd of captives (xl. 1), he was set free,
and Gedaliah made governor over the cities
of Judah. The feeling of the Chaldeans
towards him was shown yet more strongly
in the offer made him by Nebuzaradan (xl.
4, 5). For a short time there was an in
terval of peace (xl. 9-12), soon broken, how
ever, by the murder of Gedaliah by Ishmael
and his associates. The prophet escaped
from the massacre ; and the people, under
Johanan, who had taken the command on
the death of Gedaliah, turned to him for

JEREMIAH

246

JERICHO

counsel. His warnings and assurances were
m vain, and did but draw on him and
Baruch the old charge of treachery (xliii.
3 J. The people followed their own counsel,
and in order to escape the vengeance of
Nebuchadnezzar for the murder of Gedaliah,
they determined to take refuge in Egypt.
They carried with them Jeremiah and his
faithful friend and amanuensis Baruch.
[Baruch.] In Egypt, in the city of Tah-
panhes, we have the last clear glimpses of
the Prophet's life. His words are sharper
and stronger than ever. He does not shrink,
even there, from speaking of the Chaldean
king once more as " the servant of Jehovah "
(xliii. 10). After this all is uncertain. If
we could assume that Iii. 31 was written by
Jeremiah himself, it would show that he
reached an extreme old age, but this is so
doubtful that we are left to other sources.
On the one hand there is the Christian tra
dition, resting doubtless on some earlier
belief, that the Jews at Tahpanhes, irritated
by his rebukes, at last stoned him to death.
On the other side there is the Jewish state
ment that on the conquest of Egypt by Nebu
chadnezzar, he, with Baruch, made his escape
to Babylon or Judaea, and died in peace.
— The absence of any chronological order in
the present structure of the collection of
Jeremiah's prophecies is obvious at the first
glance. In the present order we have two
great divisions : — I. Ch. i.-xlv. Prophecies
delivered at various times, directed mainly
to Judah, or connected with Jeremiah's per
sonal history. II. Ch. xlvi.-li. Prophecies
connected with other nations. Ch. Iii., taken
largely, though not entirely, from 2 K. xxv.,
may be taken either as a supplement to the
piophecy, or as an introduction to the La
mentations. Looking more closely into each
of these divisions we have the following sec
tions : — 1. Ch. i.-xxi. Containing probably
the substance of the book of xxxvi. 32, and
including prophecies from the thirteenth year
of Josiah to the fourth of Jehoiakim : i. 3,
however, indicates a later revision, and the
whole of ch. i. may possibly have been added
on the prophet's retrospect of his whole work
from this its first beginning. Ch. xxi. be
longs to a later period, but has probably
found its place here as connected, by the
recurrence of the name Pashur, with ch. xx.
2. Ch. xxii. xxv. Shorter prophecies, de
livered at different times, against the kings
of Judah and the false prophets, xxv. 13,
14, evidently marks the conclusion of a
series of prophecies ; and that which follows,
xxv. 15-38, the germ of the fuller predic
tions in xlvi.-xlix., has been placed here as a
kind of completion to the prophecy of the

Seventy Years and the subsequent fall of
Babylon. — 3. Ch. xxvi. -xxviii. The two
great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem,
and the history connected with them. Ch.
xxvi. belongs to the earlier, ch. xxvii. and
xxviii. to the later period of the prophet's
work. Jehoiakim, in xxvii. 1, is evidently
(comp. ver. 3) a mistake for Zedekiah. — 4.
Ch. xxix. -xxxi. The message of comfort for
the exiles in Babylon. — 5. Ch. xxxii.-xliv.
The history of the last two years before the
capture of Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah'e
work in them and in the period that fol
lowed. The position of ch. xiv., uncon
nected with anything before or after it, may
be accounted for on the hypothesis that
Baruch desired to place on record so me
morable a passage in his own life, and in
serted it where the direct narrative of his
master's life ended. The same explanation
applies in part to ch. xxxvi. — 6. Ch. xlvi.-
li. The prophecies against foreign nations,
ending with the great prediction against
Babylon. — 7. The supplementary narrative
of ch. Hi.
JER'ICHO, a city of high antiquity, situ
ated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, and
exactly over against where that river was
crossed by the Israelites under Joshua (Josh.
iii. 16). It had a king. Its walls were so
considerable that houses were built upon
them (ii. 15), and its gates were shut, as
throughout the East still, "when it was
dark" (v. 5). The spoil that was found in
it betokened its affluence. Jericho is first
mentioned as the city to which the two spies
were sent by Joshua from Shittim : they
were lodged in the house of Rahab the
harlot upon the wall, and departed, having
first promised to pave her and all that were
found in her house from destruction (ii.
1-21). As it had been left by Joshua it was
bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin
(Josh, xviii. 21), and from this time a long
interval elapses before Jericho appears again
upon the scene. The solemn manner in
which its second foundation under Hiel the
Bethelite is recorded (1 K. xvi. 34) implies
that up to that time its site had been unin
habited. Once rebuilt, Jericho rose a<*ain
slowly into consequence. In its immediate
vicinity the sons of the prophets sought re
tirement from the world : Elisha " healed
the spring of the waters ; " and over
against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah " went up
by a whirlwind into heaven " (2 K. ii. 1-22).
In its plains Zedekiah fell into the hands of
the Chaldeans (2 K. xxv. 5 ; Jer. xxxix. 5).
In the return under Zerubbabel the " chil
dren of Jericho," 345 in number, are com
prised (Ez. iii. 34 ; Neh. vii. 36). Under

JEROBOAM

247

JEROBOAM

Herod the Great it again became an impor
tant place. He built a fort there, which he
called " Cyprus " in honour of his mother ;
a tower which he called in honour of his
brother Phasaelis ; and a number of new
palaces, which he named after his friends.
He even founded a new town, higher up tbe
plain, which he called, like the tower, Pha
saelis. If lie did not make Jericho his
habitual residence, be at least retired thither
to die, and it was in the amphitheatre of
Jericho that the news of his deith was an
nounced to the assembled soldiers and people
by Salome. Soon afterwards the palace
was burnt, and the town plundered by one
Simon, slave to Herod ; but Archelaus re
built the former sumptuously, and founded a
new town on the plain, that bore his own
name ; and, most important of all, diverted
water from a village called Neaera, to irrigate
the plain which he had planted with palms.
Thus Jericho was once more " a city of
palms " when our Lord visited it. Here He
restored sight to the blind (Matt. xx. 30 ; Mark
x.46 ; Luke xviii. 35). Here the descendant
of Rahab did not disdain the hospitality of
Zacchaeus the publican. Finally, between
Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the scene of
His story of the good Samaritan. The city
was destroyed by Vespasian. The site of
ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr.
Robinson in the immediate neighbourhood
of the fountain of Elisha ; and that of the
second (the city of the N.T. and of Josephus)
at the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith),
half an hour from the fountain.
JEROBO'AM. 1. The first king of the
divided kingdom of Israel (b.c. 975-954), was
the son of an Ephraimite of the name of Nebat.
He was employed by Solomon in the fortifica
tions of Millo underneath the citadel of
Zion, and was raised to the rank of super
intendent over the taxes and labours exacted
from the tribe of Ephraim (1 K. xi. 28).
He made the most of his position, and at last
was perceived by Solomon to be aiming at
the monarchy. These ambitious designs
were probably fostered by the sight of the
growing disaffection of tbe great tribe over
whieh he presided, as well as by the aliena
tion of the Prophetic order from the house
of Solomon. He was leaving Jerusalem, and
he encountered on one of the black-paved
roads whieh ran out of the city, Abijah,
"the prophet" of the ancient sanctuary of
Shiloh. Ahijah, who was dressed in a new
outer garment, stripped it off, and tore it
into 12 shreds; 10 of which he gave to
Jeroboam, with the assurance that on con
dition of his obedience to His laws, God
would establish for him a kingdom and

djmasty equal to that of David (1 K. xi.
29-40). The attempts of Solomon to cut
short Jeroboam's designs occasioned his flight
into Egypt. There he remained during the
rest of Solomon's reign. On Solomon's
death, he demanded Shishak's permission
to return. The Egyptian king seems, in
his reluctance, to have offered any gift which
Jeroboam chose, as a reason for his remain
ing, and the consequence was the marriage
with Ano, the elder sister of the Egyptian
queen, Tahpenes, and of another princess
who had married the Edomite chief, Hadad.
A year elapsed, and a son, Abijah (or Abijam),
was born. Then Jeroboam again requested
permission to depart, which was granted;
and on his return to Shechem took place
the conference with Rehoboam, and the final
revolt [Rkhoboam] ; which ended in tbe ele
vation of Jeroboam to the throne of the north
ern kingdom. From this moment one fatal
error crept, not unnaturally, into his policy,
which undermined his dynasty and tarnished
his name as the first king of Israel. The
political disruption of the kingdom was com
plete ; but its religious unity was as yet
unimpaired. He feared that the yearly pil
grimages to Jerusalem would undo all the
work whieh he effected, and he took the
bold step of rending.it asunder. Two sanc
tuaries of venerable antiquity existed already,
one at the southern, the other at the north
ern extremity of his dominions. These he
elevated into seats of the national worship,
which should rival the newly established
Temple at Jerusalem. But he was not satis
fied without another deviation from the Mo
saic idea of the national unity. His long
stay in Egypt had familiarised him with the
outward forms under which the Divinity was
there represented. A golden figure of Mnevis,
the sacred calf of Heliopolis, was set up at
each sanctuary, with the address, "Behold
thy God which brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt." The sanctuary at Dan, as
the most remote from Jerusalem, was esta
blished first (1 K. xii. 30). The more im
portant one, as nearer the capital and in the
heart of the kingdom, was Bethkl. The
worship and the sanctuary continued till the
end of the northern kingdom. It was while
dedicating the altar at Bethel that a prophet
from Judah suddenly appeared, who de
nounced the altar, and foretold its desecra
tion by Josiah, and violent overthrow. The
king stretching out his hand to arrest the
prophet, felt it withered and paralyzed, and
only at the prophet's prayer saw it restored,
and acknowledged his divine mission. Jero
boam was at constant war with the house of
Judah, but the only act distinctly recorded is

JERUBBAAL

IMS

JERUSALEM

a battle with Abijah, son of Rehoboam, in
which he was defeated. The calamity was
severely felt ; he never recovered the blow,
and soon after died, in the 22nd year of his
reign (2 Ch'r. xiii. 20), and was' buried in
his ancestral sepulchre (1 K. xiv. 20).— 2.
Jeroboam IL, the son of Joash, the 4th of
the dynasty of Jehu (b.c. 825-784). The most
prosperous of the kings of Israel. He re
pelled the Syrian invaders, took their capital
city Damascus (2 K. xiv. 28 ; Am. i. 3-5), and
recovered the whole of the ancient dominion
from Hamath to the Dead Sea (xiv. 25 ; Am.
vi. 14). Ammon and Moab were recon
quered (Am. i." 13, ii. 1-3); the Transjor-
danic tribes were restored to their territory
(2 K. xiii. 5 ; 1 Chr. v. 17-22). But it was
merely an outward restoration. Amos was
charged by Amaziah with prophesying the
destruction of Jeroboam and his house by
the sword (Am. vii. 9, 17).
JERUBBA'AL, the surname of Gideon
which he acquired in consequence of de
stroying the altar of Baal, when his father
defended him from the vengeance of the Abi-
ezrites (Judg. vi. 32).
JERUSALEM. I. The Place Itself.—
The arguments for and against tho identity
of the " Salem " of Melehizedek (Gen. xiv.
18) with Jerusalem — the "Salem" of a late
Psalmist (Ps. lxxvi. 2)— are discussed under
Salem. The earliest notice of the city is
in Josh. xv. 8 and xviii. 16, 28, describing
the landmarks of the boundaries of Judah
and Benjamin. Here it is styled Ha-Jebnsi,
i. c. " the Jebusite " (A. V. Jebusi), after the
name of its occupiers. Next, we And the
form Jebus (Judg. xix. 10, 11)— "Jebus,
whieh is Jerusalem .... the city of the
Jebusites ; " and lastly, we have Jerusalem
(Josh. x. I, &c, xii. 10; Judg. i. 7, &c).
—Jerusalem stands in latitude 31° 46',
35" North, and longitude 35° 18' 30" East
of Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from
the sea, and 18 from the Jordan i 20 from
Hebron, and 36 from Samaria. " In several
respects," says Dean Stanley, " its situation
is singular among the cities of Palestine.
Its elevation is remarkable ; occasioned not
from its being on the summit of one of the
numerous hills of Judaea, like most of the
towns and villages, but because it is on the
edge of one of the highest table-lands of the
country. Hebron indeed is higher still by
some hundred feet, and from the south, ac
cordingly (even from Bethlehem), the ap
proach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent.
But from any other side the ascent is per
petual ; and to the traveller approaching the
city from the E. or W. it must always have
presented the appearance beyond any other

capital of the then known world— we may
say beyond any important city that has over
existed on the earth— of a mountain city ;
breathing, as compared with the sultry
plains of Jordan, a mountain air ; en
throned, as compared with Jericho or Da
mascus, Gaza or Tyre, on a mountain fast
ness " (S. ^ P. 170, 1). The elevation of
Jerusalem is a subject of constant reference
and exultation by the Jewish writers. Their
fervid poetry abounds with allusions to its
height, to the ascent thither of the tribes
from all parts of the country. It was tho
habitation of Jehovah, from which " He
looked upon all the inhabitants of the
world" (Ps. xxxiii. 14): its kings were
" higher than the kings of the earth " (Ps.
lxxxix. 27). Jerusalem, if not actually in
the centre of Palestine, was yet virtually so.
" It was on the ridge, the broadest and most
strongly marked ridge of the back-bone of
the complicated hills which extend through
the whole country from the Plain of Esdrae-
lon to the Desert. Every wanderer, every
conqueror, every traveller who has trod the
central route of Palestine from N. to S. must
have passed through the table-land of Jeru
salem. It was the watershed between the
streams, or rather the torrent beds, which
find their way eastward to the Jordan, and
those which pass westward to the Mediter
ranean " (Stanley, S. $ P. 176). This cen
tral position, as expressed in the words of
Ezekiel (v.#5), " I have set Jerusalem in the
midst of the nations and countries round
about her," led in later ages to a definite
belief that the city was actually in the centre
of the earth— in tho words of Jerome, "um
bilicus terrae," the central boss or navel of
the world.— Roads. There appear to have
been but two main approaches to the city.
1. From the Jordan valley by Jericho and
the Mount of Olives. This was the route
commonly taken from the north and east of
the country— as from Galilee by our Lord
(Luke xvii. 11, xviii. 35, xix. 1, 29 45
&c), from Damascus by Pompey, to Maha-
naim by David (2 Sam. xv. xvi.). It was
also the route from places in the central dis
tricts of the country, as Samaria (2 Chr
xxviii. 15). The latter part of the approach,'
over the Mount of Olives, as generally foil
lowed at the present day, is identical with
what it was, at least in one memorable
instance, in the time of Christ. 2 From
the -great maritime plain of Philistia and
Sharon. This road led by the two Beth-
horons up to the high ground at Gibeon
whence it turned south, and came to Jeru
salem by Ramah and Gibeah, and over the
ridge north of the citv._ToPoop.APnv. To

JERUSALEM

249

JERUSALEM

convey an idea of the position of Jerusalem, ' which is cut off from the country round it on
we may say roughly, and with reference to its west, south, and east sides, by ravines
the accompanying Plan, that the city occu- I more than usually deep and precipitous.
pies the southern termination of a table-land, I These ravines leave the level of the table-

; L:l:

Scopus

\;:*/;'V'
*J|,J.r»:

/"'"

i-'tau of Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM

250

JERUSALEM

land, the one on tbe west and the other on
the north-east of the city, and fall rapidly
until they form a junction below its south
east corner. The eastern one — the valley of
the Kedron, commonly called the Valley of
Jehoshaphat, runs nearly straight from north
to south. But the western one— the valley
of Hinnom — runs south for a time and then
takes a sudden hnnd to the east until it meets
the Valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the
two rush off as one to the Dead Sea. How
sudden is their descent may be gathered
from the fact, that the level at the point of
junction — ahout a mile and a quarter from
the starting-point of each — is more than 600
feet below that of. the upper plateau from
which they commenced their descent. Thus,
while on the north there is no material dif
ference between the general level of the
country outside tbe walls, and that of the
highest parts of the city ; on the other three
sides so steep is the fall of the ravines, so
trench-like their character, and so close do
they keep to the promontory, at whose feet
they run, as to leave on the beholder almost
the impression of the ditch at the foot of a
fortress, rather than of valleys formed by
nature. The promontory thus encircled is
itself divided by a longitudinal ravine run
ning up it from south to north, called the
valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually
from the south like the external ones, till
at last it arrives at the level of the upper
plateau, and dividing the central mass into
two unequal portions. Of these two, that on
the west is the higher and more massive on
which the city of Jerusalem now stands, and
in fact always stood. The hill on the east is
considerably lower and smaller, so that, to a
spectator from the south, the city appears to
slope sharply towards the east. Here was
the Temple, and here stands now the great
Mohammedan sanctuary with its mosques and
domes. — The name of Mount Zion has been
applied to the western hill from the time of
Constantine to the present day ; but not
withstanding it seems certain that up to the
time of the destruction of the city by Titus,
the name was applied exclusively to the
eastern hill, or that on which the Temple
stood. From the passages in 2 Sam. v. 7,
and 1 Chr. xi. 5-8, it is quite clear that Zion
and the city of David were identical, for it is
there said, " David took the castle of Zion,
which is the city of David." " And David
dwelt in the castle, therefore they called it
the city of David. And he built the city I
round about, even from Millo round about,
and Joab repaired the rest of the city."
There are numberless passages in which
Zion is spoken of as a Holy place in such

terms as are never applied to Jerusalem and
which can only be understood as applied to
the Holy Temple Mount (Ps. ii. 0, lxxxvii.
2, &e.). When from the Old Testament we
turn to the Books of the Maccabees, we come
to some passages written by persons who cer
tainly were acquainted with the localities,
which seem to fix the site of Zion with a
considerable amount of certainty (1 Mace.
iv. 37 and 60, vii. 33). — The eastern hill,
called Mount Mohiah in 2 Chron. iii. 1,
was, as already remarked, the site of the
Temple. It was situated in the south-west
angle of the area, now known as the Haram
area, and was, as we lcarr from Josephus,
an exact square of a stadium, or 600 Greek
feet, on each side. Attached to the north
west angle of the Temple was the Antonia, a
town or fortress. North of the side of the
Temple is the building now known to Chris
tians as tho Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems
called the Dome of the llock. This building
is, according to Mr. Fergusson's theory, the
identical church which Constantine erected
over the rock containing the tomb of Christ.
According to this view the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, which stands on the western
hill, has no right to its name. The southern
continuation of the eastern hill was named
Or-HEL, which gradually came to a point at
the junction of the valleys Tyropoeon and
Jehoshaphat ; and the northern Bezetiia,
"the New City," first noticed by Josephus,
which was separated from Moriah by an
artificial ditch, and overlooked the valley of
Kedron on the E. ; this hill was enclosed
within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly,
Acra lay westward of Moriah and northward
of Zion, and formed tbe " Lower City " in
the time of Josephus. — Gates. — The follow
ing is a complete list of those which are
named in the Bible and Josephus, with the
references to their occurrences ;— 1. Gate of
Ephraim. 2 Chr. xxv. 23 ; Neh. viii. 16,
xii. 39. This is probably the same as the
— 2. Gate of Benjamin. Jer. xx. 2, xxxvii.
13; Zech. xiv. 10. If so, it was 400 cubits
distant from the — 3. Corner gate. 2 Chr.
xxv. 23, xxvi. 9 ; Jer. xxxi. 38 ; Zech. xiv.
10. 4. Gate of Joshua, governor of the
city. 2 K. xxiii. 8. 5. Gate between the
two walls. 2 K. xxv. 4 ; Jer. xxxix. 4.
6. Horse gate. Neh. iii. 38 ; 2 Chr. xxiii.
15; Jer. xxxi. 40. 7. Ravine gate (i.e.
opening on ravine of Hinnom). 2 Chr.
xxvi. 9 ; Neh. ii. 13, 15, iii. 13. 8. Fisb
gate. 1 Chr. xxxiii. 14 ; Neh. iii. 1 ; Zeph.
i. 16. 9. Dung gate. Neh. ii. 13, iii. 13.
10. Sheep gate. Neh. iii. 1, 32, xii. 39.
11. East gate. Neh. iii. 29. 12. Miphkad.
Neh. iii. 31. 13. Fountain gate (Siloam?)

=^5!55fer*^*«ta-

JERUSALEM AND MOUNT OF OLIVES.

To face p. 251.

JERUSALEM

251

JERUSALEM

Neh. xii. 37. 14. Water gate. Neh. xii.
37. 15. Old gate. Neh. xii. 39. 16.
Prison gate. Neh. xii. 39. 17. Gate
Harsith (perhaps the Sun; A. V. East gate).
Jer. xix. 2. 18. First gate. Zech. xiv. 10.
19. Gate Gennath (gardens). Joseph. B. J.
v. 4, §4. 20. Essenes' gate. Jos. B. J. 4,
§ 2. — To these should he added the following
gates of the Temple : — Gate Sur. 2 K. xi.
6. Called also Gate of foundation. 2 Chr.
xxiii. 5. Gate of the guard, or behind the
guard. 2 K. xi. 6, 19. Called the High
gate. 2 Chr. xxiii. 20, xxvii. 3 ; 2 K. xv.
35. Gate Shallecheth. 1 Chr. xxvi. 16. —
Walls. — These are described by Josephus.
The first or old wall began on the north at
the tower called Hippicus, the ruins now
.called Kasr Jalud at the N.W. angle of the
present city, and, extending to the Xystus,
joined the council house, and ended at the
west cloister of the Temple. Its southern
direction is described as passing the gate of
the Essenes (probably the modern Jaffa gate),
and, bending above the fountain of Siloam,
it reached Ophel, and was joined to the
eastern cloistei of the Temple. The second
wall began at the gate Gennath, in the old
wall, probably near the Hippicus, and passed
round the northern quarter of the city, en
closing the great valley of the Tyropoeon,
which leads up to the Damascus gate ; and
then, proceeding southward, joined the for
tress Antonia. The direction of this second
wall was identical with that of the modern
wall ; and some part at least of the northern
portion of the western part of the Haram
area is probably built on its site. The third
wall was built by King Herod Agrippa ; and
was intended to enclose the suburbs which
had grown out on the northern sides of the
city, which before this had been left exposed.
It began at tbe Hippicus, and reached as far
as the tower Psephinus, till it came opposite
the monument of Queen Helena of Adiabene ;
it then passed by the sepulchral monuments
of the kings — a well-known locality — and
turning south at the monument of the
Fuller, joined the old wall at the valley
called the valley of Kedron. After describ
ing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole
circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or
nearly four English miles, which is as near
as may be the extent indicated by the locali
ties. He then adds that the number of
towers in the old wall was 60, the middle
wall 40, and the new wall 99. — Pools and
Fountains. — Among the objects of interest
about Jerusalem the pools hold a conspicuous
place. Outside the walls on the W. side were
the Upper and Lower Pools of Gihon, the
latter olose under Zion, the former more to

the N.W. on the Jaffa road. At the junction
of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat
was Enrogel, the Well of Job, in the midst
of the king's gardens. Within the walls,
immediately N. of Zion, was the "Pool of
Hezekiah." A large pool existing beneath
the Temple (referred to iri Ecclus. 1. 3), was
probably supplied by some subterranean
aqueduct. The "King's Pool" was pro
bably identical with the Foxuitain of the
Yirgin, at the southern angle of Moriah.
It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and
falls at irregular periods ; it is supposed to
be fed from the cistern below the Temple.
From this a subterranean channel cut through
the solid rock leads the water to the pool of
Siloah or Siloam, which has also acquired
the character of being an intermittent foun
tain. The pool to which tradition has as
signed the name of Bethesda is situated on
the N. side of Moriah : it is now named
Birkct Israil. — Burial-grounds. — The main
cemetery of the city seems from an early
date to have been where it is still — on the
steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron.
The tombs of the kings were in the city of
David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal
sepulchres were probably chambers contain
ing separate recesses for the successive kings.
Other spots also were used for burial. —
Gardens. — The king's gardens of David
and Solomon seem to have been in the
bottom formed by the confluence of the
Kedron and Hinnom (Neh. iii. 15j. The
Mount of Olives, as its name and those of
various places upon it seem to imply, was a
fruitful spot. At its foot was situated the
Garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the
final siege the space north of the wall of
Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves,
and plantations of fruit-trees, inclosed by
hedges and walls ; and to level these was
one of Titus's first operations. We know
that the gate Gennath (i.e. " of gardens ")
opened on this side of the city.— Streets,
Houses, <£c— Of the nature of these in the
ancient city we have only the most scattered
notices. The "East street" (2 Chr. xxix.
4) ; the "street of the city" — i.e. the city
of David (xxxii. 6) ; the " street facing the
water gate" (Neh. viii. 1, 3)— or, according
to the parallel account in 1 Esdr. ix. 38,
the "broad place of the Temple towards the
East ; " the "street of the house of God" (Ezr.
x. 9) ; the " street cf the gate of Ephraim"
(Neb. viii. 16) ; and the " open place of the
first gate towards the East " must have been
not "streets" in our sense of the word, so
much as the open spaces found in eastern
towns round the inside of the gates. Streets,
properly so caUed, there were (Jer. v. 1, xi.

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JERUSALEM

13, &c.) ; but the name of only one "the
bakers' street" (Jer. xxxvii. 21), is pre
served to us. To the houses we have even
less clue ; but there is no reason to suppose
that in either houses or streets the ancient
Jerusalem differed very materially from the
modern. No doubt the ancient city did not
exhibit that air of mouldering dilapidation
which is now so prominent there. The
whole of the slopes south of the Haram
area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern
Zion, and the west side of the valley of
Jehoshaphat, present the appearance of gi
gantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at
least the ancient city stood in favourable
contrast with the modern, but in many
others the resemblance must have been
strong. —Population. — Taking the area of
the city enclosed by the two old walls at
750,000 yards, and that enclosed by the
wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000, we have
2,250,000 yards for the whole. Taking the
population of the old city at the probable
number of one person to 50 yards we have
15,000, and at the extreme limit of 30 yards
we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the
old city. And at 100 yards to each indi
vidual in the new city about 15,000 more ;
so that the population of Jerusalem, in its
days of greatest prosperity, may have
amounted to from 30,000 to 45,000 souls,
but could hardly ever have reached 50,000 ;
and assuming that in times of festival one-
half were added to this amount, which is an
extreme estimate, there may have been
60,000 or 70,000 in the city when Titus
came up against it. — Environs of the City.—
The various spots in the neighbourhood of
the city are described under their own
names, and to them the reader is accord
ingly referred. — II. Thk Annals of the
City. — In considering the annals of the
city of Jerusalem, nothing strikes one so
forcibly as the number and severity of the
sieges which it underwent. We catch our
earliest glimpse of it in the brief notice of
the 1st chapter of Judges, which describes
how the " children of Judah smote it with
the edge of the sword, and set the city on
fire ; " and almost the latest mention of it
in the New Testament is contained in the
solemn warnings in which Christ foretold
how Jerusalem should be " compassed with
armies" (Luke xxi. 20), and the "abomina
tion of desolation " be seen standing in the
Holy Place (Matt. xxiv. 15). In the fifteen
centuries which elapsed between those two
points the city was besieged no fewer than
seventeen times ; twice it was razed to the
ground ; and on two other occasions its
walls were levelled. In this respect it stands

without a parallel in any city ancient or
modern. The first siege appears to have
taken place almost immediately after the
death of Joshua (cir. 1400 b.c). Judah and
Simeon " fought against it and took it, and
smote it with the edge of the sword, and set
the city on fire " (Judg. i. 8). To this brief
notice Josephus makes a material addition.
He tells us that the part which was taken at
last, and in which the slaughter was made,
was the lower city ; but that the upper city
was so strong, that they relinquished the
attempt and moved off to Hebron. As long
as the upper city remained in the hands of
the Jebusites they practically had possession
of the whole, and a Jebusite city in fact it
remained for a long period after this. Tho
Benjamites followed the men of Judah to
Jerusalem, but with no better result (Judg.
i. 21). And this lasted during the whole
period of the Judges, the reign of Saul, and
the reign of David at Hebron. David ad
vanced against the place at the head of a
formidable army. No doubt he approached
the city from the south. As before, tho lower
city was immediately taken — and as before,
the citadel held out. The undaunted Jebu
sites, believing in the impregnability of their
fortress, manned the battlements "with lame
and blind." But they little understood the
temper of the king or of those he commanded.
David's anger was thoroughly roused by the
insult, and he at once proclaimed to his host
that the first man who would scale the rocky
side of the fortress and kill a Jebusite should
be made chief captain of the host. A crowd
of warriors rushed forward to the attempt,
but Joab's superior agility gained him the
day, and the citadel, the fastness of Ziun,
was taken (1046 b.c). It is the first time
that that memorable name appears in his
tory. The fortress, which now became the
capital of the kingdom, received the name of
" the city of David ; " and David fortified its
whole circuit round about from Millo, while
Joab repaired the rest of the city. (2 Sam.
v. 6-9; 1 Chr. xi. 4-8.) Until the time of
Solomon we hear of no additions to the city.
His three great works were the Temple, with
its east wall and cloister, his own Palace, and
the Wall of Jerusalem. One of the first acts
of the new king was to make the walls larger.
But on the completion of the Temple he again
turned his attention to the walls, and both
increased their height and constructed very
large towers along them. Another work of
his in Jerusalem was the repair or fortifica
tion of Millo (1 K. ix. 15, 24). The city
was taken by the Philistines and Arabians in
the reign of Jehoram (b.c. 886), and by the
Israelites in the reign of Amaziah (b.c. 826).

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JESSE

It was thrice taken by Nebuchadnezzar, in
the years b.c 607, 597, and 586, in the last
of which it was utterly destroyed. Its resto
ration commenced under Cyrus (n.c. 538),
and was completed under Artaxerxes I., who
issued commissions for this purpose to Ezra
(b.c 457) and Nehemiah (b c. 445). In b.c
332 it was captured by Alexander the Great.
Under the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae the
town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epi
phanes sacked it (b.c 170). In consequence
of his tyranny, the Jews rose under the Mac
cabees, and Jerusalem became again indepen
dent, and retained its position until its capture
by the Romans under Pompey(B.c. 63). Tbe
Temple was subsequently plundered by Cras-
sus (b.c 54), and the city by the Parthians
(b.c 40). Herod took up his residence there
as soon as he was appointed sovereign, and
restored the Temple with great magnificence.
On the death of Herod it became the resi
dence of the Roman procurators, who occu
pied the fortress of Antonia. The greatest
siege that it sustained, however, was at the
hands of the Romans under Titus, when it
held out nearly five months, and, when the
town was completely destroyed (a.d. 70).
Hadrian restored it as a Roman colony (a.d.
135), and among other buildings erected a
temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on tbe site of
the Temple. He gave to it the name of
Aelia Capitolina, thus combining his own
family name with that of the Capitoline
Jupiter. The emperor Constantine estab
lished the Christian character by the erec
tion of a church on the supposed site of the
holy sepulchre (a.d. 336), and Justinian
added several churches and hospitals (about
a.d. 532). It was taken by the Persians
under Chosroes II. in a.d. 614. After a
struggle of fourteen years the imperial arms
were again victorious, and in 628 Heraclius
entered Jerusalem on foot. The dominion
of the Christians in the Holy City was now
rapidly drawing to a close. In a.d. 637 the
patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the
Khalif Omar in person. With the fall of
the Abassides the Holy City passed into the
hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom
the sufferings of the Christians in Jerusalem
reached their height. About the year 1084
it was bestowed upon Ortok, chief of a Turk
man horde under his command. From this
time till 1091 Ortok was emir of the city,
and on his death it was held as a kind of fief
by his sons Ilghazy and Sukman, whose se
verity to the Christians became the proxi
mate cause of the Crusades. It was taken
by the Crusaders in 1099, and for eighty-
eight years Jerusalem remained in the hands
of the Christians. In 1187 it was retaken

by Saladin after a siege of several weeks.
In 1277 Jerusalem was nominally annexed
to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1517 it passed
under the sway of the Ottoman Sultan Selim
I., whose successor Suliman built the present
walls of the city in 1542. Mohammed Aly,
the Pasha of Egypt, took possession of it in
1832 ; and in 1840, after the bombardment
of Acre, it was again restored to the Sultan.
JESH'IMON, "the waste," a name which
occurs in Num. xxi. 20 and xxiii. 28, in
designating the position of Pisgah and Peor :
both described as " facing the Jeshimon."
Perhaps the dreary, barren waste of hills
lying immediately on the west of the Dead
Sea. JESH'UA (another form of the name
Joshua or Jesus), son of Jehozadak, first
high-priest of the third series, viz., of those
after the Babylonish captivity, and ancestor
of the fourteen high-priests lys successors
down to Joshua or Jason, and Onias or
Menelaus, inclusive. [High-priest.] Jeshua,
like his contemporary Zerubbabel, was pro
bably born in Babylon, whither his father
Jehozadak had been taken captive while
young (1 Chr. vi. 15, A. V.). He came up
from Babylon in the first year of Cyrus with
Zerubbabel, and took a leading part with
him in the rebuilding of the Temple, and
the restoration of the Jewish commonwealth.
The two prophecies concerning him in Zech.
iii. and vi. 9-15, point him out as an eminent
type of Christ.
JESH'URUN, and once by mistake in A. V.
JES'URUN (Is. xliv. 2), a symbolical name
for Israel in Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26;
Is. xliv. 2. It is most probably derived
from a root signifying " to be blessed."
With the intensive termination Jeshurun
would then denote Israel as supremely happy
or prosperous, and to this signification the
context in Deut. xxxii. 15 points.
JESSE, the father of David, was the son
of Oued, who again was the fruit of the
union of Boaz and the Moabitess Ruth. Nor
was Ruth's the only foreign blood that ran
in his veins ; for his great-grandmother was
no less a person than Rahab the Canaanite,
of Jericho (Matt. i. 5). Jesse's genealogy is
twice given in full in the O. T., viz. Ruth
iv. 18-22, and 1 Chr. ii. 5-12. He is com
monly designated as " Jesse the Bethlebe-
mite " (1 Sam. xvi. 1, 18). So he is called
by his son David, then fresh from home
(xvii. 5S) ; but his full title is " tbe Ephra-
thite of Bethlehem Judah" (xvii. 12). He,
is an " old man " when we first meet with
him (1 Sam. xvii. 12), with eight sons (xvi.
10, xvii. 12), residing at Bethlehem (xvi.
4, 5). Jesse's wealth seems to have con-

JESUS

254

JESUS CHRIST

sisted of a flock of sheep and goats, which
were under the care of David (xvi. 11, xvii.
34, 35). When David's rupture with Saul
had finally driven him from the court, and
he was in the cave of Adullam, " his brethren
and all his father's house" joined him
(xxii. I). Anxious for their safety, he took
his father and his mother into the country of
Moab, and deposited them with the king,
and there they disappear from our view in
the records of Scripture. Who the wife of
Jesse was we are not told. His eight sons
will be found displayed under David.
JE'SUS, the Greek form of the name
Joshua or Jeshua, a contraction of Jehoshua,
that is, "help of Jehovah" or "Saviour,"
(Num. xiii. 16). [Jehoshva.]
JESUS THE SON OF SIRACH is de
scribed in the text of Ecclesiasticus (1. 27) as
the author of that book, which in tbe LXX.,
and generally, except in the Western Church,
is called by his name the Wisdom of Jestis
the Son of Sirach, or simply the Wisdom of
Sirach. [Ecclesiasticus.]
JE'SUS, called JUSTUS, a Christian who
was with St. Paul at Rome (Col. iv. 11).
JE'SUS CHRIST.— I. Name.— The name
Jesus signifies Saviour. The name of Christ
signifies Anointed. Priests were anointed
among the Jews, as their inauguration to
their office (1 Chr. xvi. 22 ; Ps. cv. 15), and
kings also (2 Mace. i. 24 ; Ecclus. xlvi. 19).
In the New Testament the name Christ is
used as equivalent to Messiah (John i. 41),
the name given to the long-promised Prophet
and King whom the Jews had been taught
by their prophets to expect (Acts xix. 4 ;
Matt. xi. 3). The use of this name, as
applied to the Lord, has always a reference
to the promises of the Prophets. The name
of Jesus is the proper name of our Lord, and
that of Christ is added to identify Him with the
promised Messiah. — II. Birth and Earlv
Life. — According to the received chronology,
which is in fact that of Dionysius Exiguus in
the 6th century, the Birth of Christ occurred
in the year of Rome 754 (a.d. 1) ; but from
other considerations it is probable that the
Nativity took place some time before the
month of April 7 50 (a.d. 4), and if it happened
only a few months before Herod's death,
then its date would be four years earlier than
the Dionysian reckoning. The salutation
addressed by the Angel to Mary His mother,
"Hail ! Thou that art highly favoured," was
the prelude to a new act of divine creation.
Mary received the announcement of a miracle,
the full import of which she could not have
understood, with the submission of one who
knew that the message came from God ; and
the Angel departed from her. The prophet

Micah had foretold (v. 2) that tho future
king should be born in Bethlehem of Judaea,
the place where the house of David had its
origin ; but Mary dwelt in Nazareth. Au
gustus, however, had ordered a general
census of the Roman empire. From the
well-known passage of St. Luke (ii, 2) it
appears that tbe taxing was not completed
till the time of Quirinus (Cyrcnius), some
years later1; and how far it was carried now,
cannot be determined : all that we learn ia
that it brought Joseph, who was of the house
of David, from his home to Bethlehem, where
the Lord was born. As there was no room
in the inn, a manger was the cradle in which
Christ the Lord was laid. But signs were
not wanting of the greatness of the event
that seemed so unimportant. Lowly shep
herds were the witnesses of the wonder that
accompanied the lowly Saviour's birth ; an
angel proclaimed to them " good tidings of
great joy ;" and then the exceeding joy that
was in heaven amongst the angels about this
mystery of love broke through the silence of
night with the words, " Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will to
wards men " (Luke ii. 8-20). The child
Jesus is circumcised in due time, is brought
to the Temple, and the mother makes the
offering for her purification. Simeon and
Anna, taught from God that the object of
their earnest longings was before them, pro
phesied of His divine work : the one re
joicing that his eyes had seen the salvation
of God, and the other speaking of Him " to
all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem"
(Luke ii. 28-38). Thus recognised amongst
His own people, the Saviour was not without
witness amongst the heathen. " Wise men
from the East" — that is, Persian magi of the
Zend religion, in which the idea of a Zoziosh
or Redeemer was clearly known — guided
miraculously by a star or meteor created for
the purpose, came and sought out the
Saviour to pay him homage. A little child
made the great Herod quake upon his throne.
When he knew that the magi were come to
hail their king and Lord, and did not stop at
his palace, but passed on to a humbler roof,
and when he found that they would not
return to betray this child to him, he put to
death all the children in Bethlehem that were
under two years old. Joseph, warned by a
dream, flees to Egypt with the young child,
beyond the reach of Herod's arm. After the
death of Herod, in less than a year, Jesus
returned with his parents to their own land,
and went to Nazareth, where they abode.
Except as to one event, the Evangelists are
silent upon the succeeding years of our
Lord's life down to the commencement of

JESUS CHRIST

255

JESUS CHRIST

His ministry. When He was twelve years
old He was found in the Temple, bearing the
doctors and asking them questions (Luke ii.
40-52). We are shown this one fact that we
may know that at the time when the Jews
considered childhood to be passing into
youth, Jesus was already aware of His
mission, and consciously preparing for it,
although years passed before its actual
commencement. Thirty years had elapsed
from the birth of our Lord to the opening of
His ministry. In that time great changes
had come over the chosen people. Herod
the Great had united under him almost all
the original kingdom of David ; after the
death of that prince it was dismembered for
ever. It was in the fifteenth year of Tiberius
the Emperor, reckoning from his joint rule
with Augustus (Jan. u.c. 765, a.d. 12), and
not from his sole rule (Aug. u.c. 767, a.d. 14),
that John the Baptist began to teach. He
was the last representative of the prophets of
the old covenant ; and his work was twofold
— to enforce repentance and the terrors of the
old law, and to revive the almost forgotten
expectation of the Messiah (Matt. iii. 1-10 ;
Mark i. 1-8 ; Luke iii. 1-18). The career of
John seems to have been very short. Jesus
came to Jordan with the rest to receive
baptism at John's hands : first, in order
that the sacrament by which all were here
after to be admitted into His kingdom might
not want His example to justify its use
(Matt. iii. 15) ; next, that John might have
an assurance that his course as the herald of
Christ was now completed by his appearance
(John i. 33) ; and last, that some public
token might be given that He was indeed the
Anointed of God (Heb. v. 5). Immediately
after this inauguration of His ministry Jesus
was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil (Matt. iv. 1-1 1 ;
Marki. 12, 13; Luke i v. 1-13). The three
temptations are addressed to the three forms
in which the disease of sin makes its appear
ance on the soul — to the solace of sense, and
the love of praise, and the desire of gain
(I John ii. 16).— III. The Lord's Ministry.
—Before entering upon tbe history of our
Lord's ministry, there are two points that
demand a few remarks: — (i.) the scene of
the ministry ; (ii.) its duration, (i.) The
scene of the ministry. — As to the scene of the
ministry of Christ, no less than as to its dura
tion, the three Evangelists seem at first sight
to be at variance with the fourth. Matthew,
Mark, and Luke record only our Lord's do
ings in Galilee ; if we put aside a few days
before the Passion, we find that they never
mention His visiting Jerusalem. John, on
the other hand, whilst he records some acts

in Galilee, devotes the chief part of his
Gospel to the transactions in Judaea. But
when the supplemental character of John's
Gospel is borne in mind there is little diffi
culty in explaining this. The three Evan
gelists do not profess to give a chronology of
the ministry, but rather a picture of it :
notes of time are not frequent in their nar
rative. And as they chiefly confined them
selves to Galilee, where the Redeemer's chief
acts were done, they might naturally omit
to mention the feasts, which being passed by
our Lord at Jerusalem, added nothing to the
materials for His Galilean ministry. — (ii.)
Duration of the ministry. — It is impossible
to determine exactly from the Gospels the
number of years during which the Redeemer
exercised His ministry before tbe Passion :
but the doubt lies between two and three.
The data are to be drawn from St. John.
This Evangelist mentions six feasts, at five
of which Jesus was present ; the Passover
that followed His baptism (ii. 13) ; "a feast
of the Jews" (v. 1); a Passover during
which Jesus remained in Galilee (vi. 4) ;
the feast of Tabernacles to which the Lord
went up privately (vii. 2) ; the feast of
Dedication (x. 22) ; and lastly the feast of
Passover, at which he suffered (xii. xiii.).
There are certainly three Passovers, and it is
possible that "a feast" (v. 1) may be a
fourth. Upon this possibility the question
turns. But if this feast is not a Passover,
then no Passover is mentioned by John be
tween the first (ii. 13), and that which is
spoken of in the sixth chapter ; and the
time between those two must be assumed to
be a single year only. Now, although the
record of John of this period contains but
few facts, yet when all the Evangelists are
compared, the amount of labour compressed
into this single year would be too much for
its compass. It is, to say the least, easier to
suppose that the " feast " (John v. 1) was a
Passover, dividing the time into two, and
throwing two of these circuits into the second
year of the ministry. Upon the whole,
though there is nothing that amounts to
proof, it is probable that there were four
Passovers, and consequently that our Lord's
•ministry lasted somewhat more than three
years, the "beginning of miracles" (Johnii.)
having been wrought before the first pass-
over. — 1. First year of the ministry. — The
year of the first of these Passovers was u.c.
780 (a.d. 27), and the Baptism of our Lord
took place either in the beginning of that year
or the end of the year preceding. Our Lord
has now passed through the ordeal of tempta
tion, and His ministry is begun. At Betha-
bara, to which He returns, disciples begin, to

JESUS CHRIST

257

JESUS CHRIST

north-east side of the Temple, Jesus saw
many infirm persons waiting their turn for
the healing virtues of the water (John v.
1-18). Among them was a man who had an
infirmity thirty-eight years : Jesus made him
whole by a word, bidding him take up his
bed and walk. The miracle was done on the
Sabbath ; and the Jews, who acted against
Jesus, rebuked the man for carrying his bed.
It was a labour, and as such forbidden (Jer.
xvii. 21). In our Lord's justification of
Himself, "My Father worketh hitherto, and
I work" (John v. 17), there is an une
quivocal claim to the divine nature. An
other discussion about the Sabbath arose
from the disciples plucking the ears of corn
as they went through the fields (Matt. xii.
1-8). The time of this is somewhat un
certain *, some would place it a year later,
just after the third Passover : but its place
is much more probably here. Our Lord
quotes cases where the law is superseded or
set aside, because He is One who has power
to do the same. And the rise of a new law
is implied in those words which St. Mark
alone has recorded : " The Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for tbe Sabbath."
The law upon the Sabbath was made in love
to men, to preserve for them a due measure
of rest, to keep room for the worship of God.
The Son of Man has power to re-adjust this
law, if its work is done, or if men are fit to
receive a higher. This may have taken
place on the way to Jerusalem after the
Passover. On another Sabbath, probably at
Capernaum, to which Jesus had returned,
the Pharisees gave a far more striking proof
of the way in which their hard and narrow
and unloving interpretation would turn the
beneficence of the Law into a blighting op
pression. Our Lord entered into the syna
gogue, and found there a man with a withered
hand — some poor artisan perhaps whose
handiwork was his means of life. Jesus was
about to heal him — which would give baek
life to the sufferer — whieh would give joy to
every beholder, who had one touch of pity
in his heart. The Pharisees interfere : " Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day?"
Their doctors would have allowed them to
pull a sheep out of a pit ; but they will not
have a man rescued from the depth of misery.
Rarely is that loving Teacher wroth, but
here His anger, mixed with grief, showed
itself : He looked round about upon them
" with anger, being grieved at the hardness
of their hearts," and answered their cavils
by healing the man (Matt. xii. 9-14; Mark
iii. 1-6; Luke vi. 6-11).— In placing the
ordination or calling of the Twelve Apostles
just before the Sermon on the Mount, we are
Sm. D. B.

under the guidance of St. Luke (vi. 13, 17)*
But this more solemn separation for their
work by no means marks the time of their
first approach to' Jesus. That which takes
place here is the appointment of twelve
disciples to be a distinct body, under the
name of Apostles. They are not sent forth
to preach until later in the same year. The
number twelve must have reference to the
number of the Jewish tribes : it is a number
selected on account of its symbolical mean
ing, for the work confided to them might
have been wrought by more or fewer. In
the four lists of the names of the Apostles
preserved to us (Matt, x., Mark iii., Luke
vi., Acts i.), there is a certain order pre
served, amidst variations. The two pairs of
brothers, Simon and Andrew, and the sons
of Zebedee, are always named the first ; and
of these Simon Peter ever holds the first
place. Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas
and Matthew, are always in the next rank ;
and of them Philip is always the first. In
the third rank James the son of Alpheus is
the first, as Judas Iscariot is always the last,
with Simon the Zealot and Thaddaeus be
tween. Some of the Apostles were certainly
poor and unlearned men ; it is probable that
the rest were of the same kind. Four of
them were fishermen, not indeed the poorest
of their class ; and a fifth was a " publican,"
one of the tax-gatherers, who collected the
taxes farmed by Romans of higher rank.
From henceforth the education of the twelve
Apostles will be one of the principal features
of the Lord's ministry. First He instructs
them ; then He takes them with Him as
companions of His wayfaring ; then He
sends them forth to teach and heal for Him.
The Sermon on the Mount, although it is
meant for all the disciples, seems to have a
special reference to the chosen Twelve (Matt.
v. 11). — About this time it was that John
the Baptist, long a prisoner with little hope
of release, sent his disciples to Jesus with
the question, " Art thou He that should
come, or do we look for another 1 " In all
the Gospels there is no more touching inci
dent. The great privilege of John's life was
that he was appointed to recognize and bear
witness to the Messiah (John i. 31). After
languishing a year in a dungeon, after learn
ing that even yet Jesus had made no steps
towards the establishment of His kingdom of
the Jews, and that his following consisted of
only twelve poor Galileans, doubts began to
cloud over his spirit. Was the kingdom of
Messiah as near as he had thought ? Was
Jesus not the Messiah, but some forerunner
of that Deliverer, as he himself had been 1
There is no unbelief; he does not suppose

JESUS CHRIST

JESUS CHRIST

that Jesus has deceived ; when the doubts
arise, it is to Jesus that he submits them.
But it was not without great depression and
perplexity that he put the question, " Art
thou He that should come ? " The scope of
the answer given lies in its recalling John to
the grounds of his former confidence. — Now
commences the second circuit of Galilee
(Luke viii. 1-3), to which belong the parables
in Matt. xiii. ; the visit of our Lord's mother
and brethren (Luke viii. 19-21), and the
account of His reception at Nazareth (Mark
vi. 1-6). During this time the twelve have
journeyed with Him. But now a third circuit
in Galilee is recorded, which probably oc
curred during the last three months of this
year (Matt. ix. 35-38) ; and during this
circuit, after reminding them how great is
the harvest and how pressing the need of
labourers, He carries the training of the dis
ciples one step further by sending them forth
by them.-olvcs to teach (Matt. x. xi.). They
went forth two and two ; and our Lord con
tinued His own circuit (Matt, xi.' 1), with
what companions does not appear. After a
journey of perhaps two months' duration the
twelve return to Jesus, and gave an account
of their ministry. The third Passover was
now drawing near ;' but the Lord did not go
up to it. He wished to commune with His
Apostles privately upon their work, and, we
may suppose, to add to the instruction they
had already received from Him (Mark vi.
30, 31). He therefore went with them from
the neighbourhood of Capernaum to a moun
tain on the eastern shore of the Sea of
Tiberias, near Bethsaida Julias, not far from
the head of the sea. Great multitudes pur
sued them ; and here the Lord, moved to
compassion by the hunger and weariness of
the people, wrought for them one of His
most remarkable miracles. Out of five barley
loaves and two small fishes, He produced
food for five thousand men besides women
and children. After the miracle the disciples
crossed the sea, and Jesus retired alone to a
mountain to commune with the Father.
They were toiling at the oar, for the wind
was contrary, when, as the night drew to
wards morning, they saw Jesus walking to
them on the sea, having passed the whole
night on the mountain. They were amazed
and terrified. He came into the ship and
the wind ceased. When they reached the
shore of Gennesaret the whole people showed
their faith in Him as a Healer of disease
(Mark vi. 53-56) ; and He performed very
many miracles on them. Yet on the next day
the great discourse just alluded to was uttered,
and " from that time many of His disciples
went back and walked no more with Him "

(John vi. 66).— 3. TJiircl year of the Ministry.
— Hearing perhaps that Jomis was not coining
to the feast, Scribes and Pharisees from Jeru
salem went down to ^cc Hun at Capernaum
(Matt. xv. 1). Leaving the neighbourhood
of Capernaum our Lord now travels to the
north-west" of Galilee, to the region of Tyre
and Sidon. The time is not strictly deter
mined, but it was probably the early summer
of this year. It does not appear that He
retired into this heathen country for the pur
pose of ministering ; more probably it was a
retreat from the machinations of tlie Jews
(Matt. xv. 21-28; Mark vii. 24-30). Re
turning thence lie passed round by the north
of the sea of Galilee to the region of Deca
polis on its eastern side (Mark vii. 31-37).
In this district He performed many miracles,
and especially the restoration of a deaf man
who had an impediment in his speech, re
markable for the seeming effort with which
He wrought it. To these succeeded the feed
ing of the four thousand with the seven
loaves (.Matt. xv. 32). He now crossed the
Lake of Magdala, where the Pharisees and
Sadducees asked and were refused a " sign."
After they had departed Jesus crossed the
lake with his disciples. At Bethsaida Julias,
He restored sight to a blind man ; and here,
as in a former case, the form and preparation
which He adopted are to be remarked (Mark
viii. 22-26). The ministry in Galilee is now
drawing to its close. Through the length
and breadth of that country Jesus has pro
claimed the kingdom of Christ, and has
shown by mighty works that He is the Christ
that was to come. Many thousands had
actually been benefited by the miracles ; and
yet of all these there were only twelve that
really clave to Him, and one of them was
Judas the traitor. With this rejection an
epoch of the history is connected. He begins
to unfold now the doctrine of His passion
more fully. The doctrine of a suffering
Messiah, so plainly exhibited in the prophets,
had receded from sight in the current religion
of that time. The announcement of it to the
disciples was at once new and shocking.
Turning now to the whole body of those who
followed Him, He published the Christian
doctrine of self-denial. The Apostles had
just shown that they took the natural view
of suffering, that it was an evil to be
shunned. They shrank from conflict, and
pain, and death, as it is natural men
should. But Jesus teaches that, in com
parison with the higher life, the life of the
soul, the life of the body is valueless (Matt.
xvi. 21-28 ; Mark viii. 31-38 ; Luke ix. 22-
27). The Transfiguration, which took place
just a week after this conversation, is to be

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251)

JESUS CHRIST

understood in connexion with it. The minds
of the twelve were greatly disturbed at what
they had heard. Now, if ever, they needed
support for their perplexed spirits, and this
their loving Master failed not to give them.
He takes with Him three chosen disciples,
Peter, John, and James, who formed as it
were a smaller circle nearer to Jesus than
the rest, into a high mountain apart by them
selves. There are no means of determining
the position of the mountain. The three
disciples were taken up with Him, who should
afterwards be the three witnesses of His
agony in the garden of Gethsemane : those
who saw His glory in the holy mount would
be sustained by the remembrance of it when
they beheld His lowest humiliation. Mean
time amongst the multitude below a scene
was taking place which formed the strongest
contrast to the glory and the peace which
they had witnessed, and which seemed to
justify Peter's remark, " It is good for us to
be here." A poor youth, lunatic and pos
sessed by a devil, was brought to the disciples
who were not with Jesus, to be cured. They
could not prevail ; and when Jesus appeared
amongst them the agonized and disappointed
father appealed to Him, with a kind of com
plaint of the impotence of the disciples.
What the disciples had failed to do, Jesus
did at a word. He then explained to them
that their want of faith in their own power
to heal, and in His promises to bestow the
power upon them, was the cause of their in
ability (Matt. xvii. 14-21 ; Mark ix. 14-29 ;
Luke ix. 37-43). Once more did Jesus
foretell His sufferings on their way back
to Capernaum (Mark ix. 30-32). — Tliird
year, from the Feast of Tabernacles. — The
Feast of Tabernacles was now approaching.
His brethren set out for the feast without
Him, and He abode in Galilee for a few days
longer (John vii. 2-10). Afterwards He set
out, taking the more direct but less fre
quented route by Samaria. St. Luke alone
records, in connexion with this journey, the
sending forth of the seventy disciples. This
event is to be regarded in a different light
from that of the twelve. The seventy had
received no special education from our Lord,
and their commission was of a temporary
kind. The number has reference to the
Gentiles, as twelve had to the Jews ; and
the scene of the work, Samaria, reminds us
that this is a movement directed towards the
stranger. After healing the ten lepers in
Samaria, He came about tbe midst of the
feast to Jerusalem. The Pharisees and rulers
sought to take Him ; some of the people,
however, believed in Him, but concealed
their opinion for fear of the rulers. To this

division of opinion we may attribute the
failure of the repeated attempts on the part
of the Sanhedrim to take One who was openly
teaching in the Temple (John vii. 11-53 :
see esp. ver. 30, 32, 44, 45, 46). The officers
were partly afraid to seize in the presence of
the people the favourite Teacher ; and partly
were themselves awed and attracted by Him.
The history of the woman taken in adultery
belongs to this time. To this place belongs
the account, given by John alone, of the heal
ing of one who was born blind, and the con
sequences of it (John ix. 1-41, x. 1-21).
The well-known parable of the good shep
herd is an answer to the calumny of the
Pharisees, that He was an impostor and
breaker of the law, " This man is not of God,
because he kecpeth not the Sabbath-day "
(ix. 16). — We now approach a difficult por
tion of the sacred history. The note of time
given us by John immediately afterwards is
the Feast of the Dedication, which was cele
brated on the 25th of Kisleu, answering
nearly to December. According to this
Evangelist our Lord does not appear to have
returned to Galilee between the Feast of
Tabernacles and that of the Dedication, but to
have passed the time in and near Jerusalem.
Matthew and Mark do not allude to the Feast
of Tabernacles. Luke appears to do so in
ix. 51 : but the words there used would
imply that this was the last journey to Jeru
salem. Now in St. Luke's Gospel a large
section, from ix. 51 to xviii. 14, seems to
belong to the time preceding the departure
from Galilee ; and the question is how is this
to be arranged, so that it shall harmonize
with the narrative of St. John ? In most
Harmonies a return of our Lord to Galilee
has been assumed, in order to find a place
for this part of Luke's Gospel. Perhaps this
great division of Luke (x. 17 -xviii. 14)
should be inserted entire between John x. 21
and 22. Some of the most striking para
bles, preserved only by Luke, belong to this
period. The parabres of the good Samaritan,
the prodigal son, tbe unjust steward, the
rich man and Lazarus, and the Pharisee and
publican, all peculiar to this Gospel, belong
to the present section. The instructive ac
count of Mary and Martha and the miracle
of the ten lepers belong to this portion of
the narrative. Besides these, scattered say
ings that occur in St. Matthew are here re
peated in a new connexion. The account of
the bringing of young children to Jesus unites
again the three Evangelists (Matt. xix. 13-
15 ; Mark a. 13-16 ; Luke xviii. 15-17).
On the way to Jerusalem through Peraea,
to the Feast of Dedication, Jesus again puts
before the minds of the twelve what they are
S 2

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200

JESUS CHRIST

never now to forget, the sufferings that await
Him. They " understood none of these
things," for they could not reconcile this
foreboding of suffering with the signs and
announcements of the coming of His king
dom (Matt. xx. 17-19; Mark x. 32-34;
Luke xviii. 31-34). In consequence of this
new, though dark, intimation of the coming
of the kingdom, Salome, with her two sons,
James and John, came to bespeak the two
places of highest honour in the kingdom,
Jesus tells them that they know not what
they ask; that the places of honour in the
kingdom shall be bestowed, not by Jesus in
answer to a chance request, but upon those
for whom they are prepared by the Father.
As sin ever provokes sin, the ambition of
the ten was now aroused, and they began
to be much displeased with James and
John. Jesus once more recalls the prin
ciple that the childlike disposition is that
which He approves (Matt. xx. 20-28 ; Mark
.v. 35-45). The healing of the two blind
men at Jericho is chiefly remarkable among
the miracles from the difficulty which has
arisen in harmonizing the accounts. Mat
thew speaks of two blind men, and of the
occasion as the departure from Jericho ; Mark
of owe, whom he names, and of their arrival
at Jericho ; and Luke agrees with him. This
point has received much discussion ; but the
view of Lightfoot finds favour with many
eminent expositors, that there were two
blind men, and both were healed under
similar circumstances, except that Barti-
maeus was on one side of the city, and was
healed by Jesus as He entered, and the other
was healed on the other side as they departed
(Matt. xx. 29-34; Mark x. 46-52; Luke
xviii. 35-43). The calling of Zacchaeus has
more than a mere personal interest. He was
a publican, one of a class hated and despised
by the Jews. But he was one who sought to
serve God. From such did Jesus wish to
call His disciples, whether they were pub
licans or not (Luke xix. 1-10). We have
reached now the Feast of Dedication ; hut,
as has been said, the exact place of the
events in St. Luke about this part of the
ministry has not been conclusively deter
mined. After being present at the feast,
Jesus returned to Bethabara beyond Jordan,
where John had formerly baptised, and abode
there. How long He remained here does not
appear. It was probably for some weeks.
The soie need of a family in Bethany, who
were what men call the intimate friends of
our Lord, called Him thence. Lazarus was
sick, and bis sisters sent word of it to Jesus,
whose power they well knew. It was not
till Lazarus had been four days in the grave

that the Saviour appeared on the scene. But
with the power of God he breaks the fetters
of brass in which Lazarus was held by death,
and at His word the man on whom corrup
tion had already begun to do its work, came
forth, alive and whole (John xi. 1-45). A
miracle so public, for Bethany was close to
Jerusalem, and the family of Lazarus well
known to many people in the mother-city,
could not escape the notice of the Sanhedrim.
A meeting of this Council was called without
loss of time, and the matter discussed. We
now approach the final stage of the history,
and every word and act tend towards the
great act of suffering. Each day is marked
by its own events or instructions. Our Lord
entered into Bethany on Friday the 8th of
Nisan, the eve of the Sabbath, and remained
over the Sabbath.— Saturday, the 0th of Nisan
(April lstj. — As he was at supper in the
house of one Simon, surnamed "the leper,"
a relation of Lazarus, who was at table with
Him, Mary, full of gratitude for the wonder
ful raising of her brother from the dead, took
a vessel containing a quantity of pure oint
ment of spikenard, and anointed the feet of
Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair, and
anointed His head likewise. — Passion Week.
Sunday the \0th day of Nisan (April 2nd).
— When He arrives at the Mount of Olives
He commands two of His disciples to go into
the village near at hand, where they would
find an ass, and a colt tied with her. With
these beasts, impressed as for the service of a
king, He was to enter into Jerusalem. The
disciples spread upon the ass their ragged
cloaks for Him to sit on. And the multi
tudes cried aloud before Him, in the words
of the 118th Psalm, " Hosanna, Save now!
blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord." All the city was moved. Blind and
lame came to the Temple when He arrived
there and were healed. After working mi
racles in the Temple He returned to Bethany.
The 10th of Nisan was the day for the sepa
ration of the paschal lamb (Ex. xii. 3).
Jesus, the Lamb of God, entered Jerusalem
and the Temple on this day, and although
none but He knew that He was the Paschal
Lamb, the coincidence is not undesigned
(Matt. xxi. 1-11, 14-17; Mark xi. 1-11;
Luke xix. 29-44 ; John xii. 12-19).— Mon
day the 11th of Nisan (April Zrd).— The
next day Jesus returned to Jerusalem, again
to take advantage of the mood of the people
to instruct them. On the way He approached
one of the many fig-trees which grew in that
quarter, and found that it was full of foliage,
but without fruit. He said, "No man eat
fruit of thee hereafter for ever!" and tho
fig-tree withered away (Matt. xxi. 18, 19;

JESUS CHRIST

261.

JESUS CHRIST

Mark xi. 12-14). Proceeding now to the
Temple, He cleared its court of the crowd of
traders that gathered there (Matt. xxi. 12,
13 ; Mark xi. 15-19 ; Luke xix. 45-48)-. In
the evening he returned again to Bethany. —
Tuesday the 12th of Nisan (April 4.th). — On
this the third day of Passion week Jesus went
into Jerusalem as before, and visited the
Temple. The Sanhedrim came to Him to
call Him to account for the clearing of the
Temple. "By what authority doest thou
these things 1 " The Lord answered this
question by another. They refused to answer,
and Jesus refused in like manner to answer
them. To this time belong the parables of
the two sons (Matt. xxi. 23-32 ; Mark xi.
27-33 ; Luke xx. 1-8), of the wicked hus
bandman, and of the wedding garment (Matt.
xxi. 33-46, xxii. 1-14 ; Mark xii. 1-12 ;
Luke xx. 9-19). Another great discourse
belongs to this day, which, more than any
other, presents Jesus as the great Prophet of
His people. On leaving the Temple His dis
ciples drew attention to the beauty of its
structure, its " goodly stones and gifts,"
their remarks probably arising from the
threats of destruction which had so lately
been uttered by Jesus. Their Master an
swered that not one stone of the noble pile
should be left upon another. When they
reached the Mount of Olives the disciples, or
rather the first four (Mark), speaking for the
rest, asked him when this destruction should
be accomplished. To understand the answer
it must be borne in mind that Jesus warned
them that He was not giving them an histo
rical account such as would enable them to
anticipate the events. " Of that day and
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only." Exact data
of time are to be purposely withheld from
them. Accordingly two events, analogous
in character "but widely sundered by time,
are so treated in the prophecy that it is
almost impossible to disentangle them. The
destruction of Jerusalem and the day of judg
ment- the national and tbe universal days
of account — are spoken of together or alter
nately without hint of the great interval of
time that separates them. The conclusion
which Jesus drew from his own awful warn
ing was, that they were not to attempt to
fix the date of his return. The lesson of the
parable of the Ten "Virgins is the same (Matt.
xxiv. 44, xxv. 13). And the parable of the
Talents, here repeated in a modified form,
teaches how precious to souls are the uses of
time (xxv. 14-30). In concluding this mo
mentous discourse, our Lord puts aside the
destruction of Jerusalem, and displays to our
eyes the picture of the final judgment (Matt.

xxv. 31-46). With these weighty words ends
the third day. — Wednesday the IZth of Nisan
(April 5th). — This day was passed in retire
ment with the Apostles. Satan had put it
into the mind of one of them to betray Him ;
and Judas Iscariot made a covenant to betray
Him to the chief priests for thirty pieces of
silver (Matt. xxvi. 14-16 ; Mark xiv. 10,
11 ; Luke xxii. 1-6). — Thursday the 14th of
Nisan (April Gth). — On "tbe first day of
unleavened bread," the disciples asked their
Master where they were to eat the Passover.
He directed Peter and John to go into Jeru
salem, and to follow a man whom they should
see bearing a pitcher of water, and to demand
of him, in their Master's name, the use of
the guestchamber in his house for this pur
pose. All happened as Jesus had told them,
and in the evening they assembled to cele
brate, for the last time, the paschal meal.
The sequence of the events is not quite clear
from a comparison of the Evangelists. The
order seems to be as follows. When they
had taken their places at table and the supper
had begun, Jesus gave them the first cup to
divide amongst themselves (Luke). It was
customary to drink at the paschal supper
four cups of wine mixed with water ; and
tbis answered to the first of them. There
now arose a contention among the disciples
which of them should be the greatest ; per
haps in connexion with the places which
they had taken at this feast (Luke). After a
'solemn warning against pride and ambition
Jesus performed an act whieh, as one of the
last of His life, must ever have been remem
bered by the witnesses as a great lesson of
humility. He rose from the table, poured
water into a basin, girded himself with a
towel, and proceeded to wash the disciples'
feet (John). After all had been washed, the
Saviour explained to them the meaning of
what He had done. " If I, your Lord and
Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought
to wash one another's feet. For I have
given you an example, that ye should do as
I have done to you" (Matt. xxvi. 17-20 ;
Mark xiv. 12-17; Luke xxii. 7-30; John
xiii. 1-20). From tbis act of love it does
not seem that even the traitor Judas was
excluded. But his treason was thoroughly
known ; and now Jesus denounces it. One
of them should betray Him. The traitor
having gone straight to his wicked object,
the end of the Saviour's ministry seemed
already at hand. He gave them the new
commandment, to love one another, as though
it were a last bequest to them (Matt. xxvi.
21-25 ; Mark xiv. 18-21 ; Luke xxii. 21-23 ;
John xiii. 21-35). Towards the close of the
meal Jesus instituted the 6acrament of the

JESUS CHRIST

26

JESUS CHRIST

Lord's Supper (Matt. xxvi. 26-29 ; Mark
xiv. 22-25 ; Luke xxii. 19, 20 ; I Cor. xi.
23-25). The denial of Peter is now foretold,
and to no one would such au announcement
be more incrediole than to Peter himself
(Matt. Nxvf. 31-35 ; Mark xiv. 27-31 ; Luke
xxii. 31-38 ; John xiii. 36-38). That great
final discourse, whieh John alone has re
corded, is now delivered. Although in the
middle of it there is a mention of departure
(John xiv. 31), this perhaps only implies
that they prepared to go ; and then the
whole discouise was delivered in the house
before they proceeded to Gethscmane (John
xiv.-xvii.). — Friday the loth of Nisaji (April
7th), including part r.f the ere of it. — " When
they had sung a hymn," which perhaps
means, when they had sung the second part
of the Hallel, or song of praise, which con
sisted of Psalms cxv.-cxviii., the former part
(Psalms cxiii -cxiv.) having been sung at an
earlier part of the supper, they went out
into the Mount of Olives. Jesus takes only
his three proved companions, Peter, James,
and John, and passes with them farther into
the gaiden, leaving the rest seated, probably
near the entrance. No pen can attempt to
describe what passed that night in that se
cluded spot. He tells them "my soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death : tarry
ye here and watch with me," and then leav
ing even the three He goes further, and in
solitude wrestles with an inconceivable trial.
The words of -Mark are still more expressive
— " He began to be sore amazed, and to be
very heavy" (xiv. 33). The former word
means that he was struck with a great dread ;
not from the fear of physical suffering, how
ever excruciating, we may well believe, but
from the contact with the sins of the world,
of which, in some inconceivable way, He felt
the bitterness and the weight. He did not
merely contemplate them, but bear and feel
them. It is impossible to explain this scene
in Gethsemane in any other way. The dis
ciples have sunk to sleep. It was in search
of consolation that He came back to them.
The disciple who had been so ready to ask
"Why cannot I follow thee now?" must
hear another question, that rebukes his for
mer confidence — " Couldest not thou watch
one hour ? " A second time He departs and
wrestles in prayer with the Father. A second
time He returns and finds them sleeping.
The same scene is repeated yet a third time ;
and then all is concluded. Henceforth they
may sleep and take their rest ; never more
shall they be asked to watch one hour with
Jesus, for His ministry in the flesh is at an
end. This scene is in complete contrast to
the Transfiguration (Matt. xxvi. 36-46 ;

Mark xiv. 32-42 ; Luke xxii. 39-46 ; John
xviii. 1). Judas now appeared to complete
his work. In the doubtful light of torches,
a kiss from him was the sign to the officers
whom they should take. Peter, whose name
is first ^iven in John's Gospel, drew a sword
and smote a servant of the high-priest and
cut off his ear ; but his Lord refused such
succour, and healed the wounded man. All
the disciples forsook Him and fled (Matt.
xxvi. 47-56; Mark xiv. 43-5 2; Luke xxii.
47-53; John xviii. 2-12;. There is some
, difficulty in arranging the events that imme-
| diately follow, so as to embrace all the four
accounts. On the capture of Jesus He was
first taken to the house of Annas, the father-
in-law of Caiaphas the high-priest. It might
appear from the course of John's narrative
that the examination of our Lord, and the
first denial of Peti'r, took place in the house
of Annas (John xviii. 13, 14). But the 24th
verse is retrospective ; and probably all that
occurred after verse 14 took place not at tho
house of Annas, but at that of Caiaphas. The
house of the high-priest consisted probably,
like other Eastern houses, of an open central
court with chambers round it. Into this
court a gate admitted them, at which a
woman stood to open. As Peter passed in,
the portress took note of him ; and after
wards, at the fire which had been lighted,
asked him, " Art not thou also one of this
man's disciples?" (John). All the zeal and
boldness of Peter seems to have deserted him.
He had come as in secret ; he is determined
so to remain, and he denies his Master!
Feeling now the danger of his situation, he
went out into the porch, and there some one,
or, looking at all the accounts, probably se
veral persons, asked him the question a
second time, and he denied more strongly.
About an hour after, when he had returned
into the court, the same question was put to
him a third time, with the same result. Then
the cock crew; and Jesus, who was within
sight, probably in some open room communi
cating with the court, " turned and looked
upon Peter. And Peter remembered the
word of tbe Lord, how He had said unto
Him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny
Me thrice. And Peter went out and wept
bitterly" (Matt. xxvi. 57, 58, 69-75; Mark
xiv. 53, 54, 66-72 ; Luke xxii. 54-62 ; John
xviii. 13-18, 24-27). The first interrogatory
to which our Lord was subject (John xviii.
19-24) was addressed to Him by Caiaphas,
probably before the Sanhedrim had time to
assemble. It was the questioning of an in
quisitive person who had an important cri
minal in his presence, rather than a formal
examination. The Lord's refusal to answer

JESUS CHRIST

263

JESUS CHRIST

is thus explained and justified. When the
more regular proceedings begin He is ready
to answer. A servant of the high-priest,
knowing that he should thereby please his
master, smote the cheek of the Son of God
with the palm of his hand. But this was
only the beginning of horrors. At the dawn
of day the Sanhedrim, summoned by the high-
priest in the course of the night, assembled,
and brought their band of false witnesses,
whom they must have had ready before.
These gave their testimony, but even before
this unjust tribunal it could not stand ; it
was so full of contradictions. At last two
false witnesses came, and their testimony was
very like the truth. Even these two fell
into contradictions. The high-priest now
with a solemn adjuration asks Him whether
He is the Christ the Son of God. He answers
that He is, and foretells His return in glory
and power at the last day. This is enough
for their purpose. They pronounce Him
guilty of a crime for which death should be
the punishment (John xviii. 19-24 ; Luke
xxii. 63-71 ; Matt. xxvi. 59-68 ; Mark xiv.
55-65). Although they had pronounced
Jesus to be guilty of death, the Sanhedrim
possessed no power to carry out such a sen
tence. As soon as it was day they took Him
to Pilate, the Roman procurator. The hall
of judgment, or praetorium, was probably a
part of the tower of Antonia near the Tem
ple, where the Roman garrison was. Pilate
hearing that Jesus was an offender under
their law, was about to give them leave to
treat him accordingly ; and this would have
made it quite safe to execute him. From
the first Jesus found favour in the eyes of
Pilate, and He pronounced that he found no
fault in Him. Not so easily were the Jews
to be cheated of their priey. They heaped
up accusations against Him as a disturber of
the public peace (Luke xxiii. 5). Pilate was
no match for their vehemence. Finding that
Jesus was a Galilean, he sent Him to Herod
to be dealt with ; but Herod, after cruel
mockery and persecution, sent Him back to
Pilate. Now commenced the fearful struggle
between the Roman procurator, a weak as
well as cruel man, and the Jews. The well-
known incidents of the second interview are
soon recalled. After the examination by
Herod, and the return of Jesus, Pilate pro
posed to release Him, as it was usual on the
feast-day to release a prisoner to the Jews
out of grace. Pilate knew well that the
piiests and rulers would object to this ; but
it was a covert appeal to the people. The
multitude, persuaded by the priests, preferred
another prisoner, called Barabbas. Now came
the scourging, and the blows and insults of

the soldiers, who, uttering truth when they
were only reviling, crowned Him and ad
dressed Him as King of the Jews. Accord
ing to John, Pilate now made one more
effort for His release. He still sought to
release Jesus : but the last argument, which
had been in the minds of both sides all along,
was now openly applied to him : " If thou
let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend."
This decided the question. He delivered Jesus
to be crucified (Matt, xxvii. 15-30 ; Mark xv.
6-19; Luke xxiii. 17-25; John xviii. 39,
40, xix. 1-16). John mentions that this oc
curred about the sixth hour, reckoning pro
bably from midnight. In Mark the Jewish
reckoning from six in the morning is fol
lowed. One Person alone has been calm
amidst the exciLements of that night of hor
rors. On Him is now laid the weight of His
cross, or at least of the transverse beam of
it ; and, with this pressing Him down, they
proceed out of the city to Golgotha or Cal
vary, a place the site of which is now uncer
tain. As He began to droop, His persecu
tors, unwilling to defile themselves with the
accursed burthen, lay hold of Simon of Cyrene
and compel him to carry the cross after Jesus.
After offering Him wine and myrrh, they
crucified Him between two thieves. Nothing
was wanting to His humiliation ; a thief had
been preferred before Him, and two thieves
share His punishment. Pilate sot over Him
in three languages the inscription, " Jesus,
the King of the Jews." The chief-priests
took exception to this that it did not de
nounce Him as falsely calling Himself by
that name, but Pilate refused to alter it.
One of the two thieves underwent a change
of heart even on the cross : he reviled at
first (Matt.) ; ar.d then, at the sight of the
constancy of Jesus, repented (Luke) (Matt.
xxvii.; Mark xv. ; Luke xxiii. ; John xix.).
In the depths of His bodily suffering, Jesus
calmly commended to John (?), who stood
near, the care of Mary his mother. " Be
hold thy son ! behold thy mother." From
the sixth hour to the ninth there was dark
ness over the whole land. At the ninth hour
(3 p.m.) Jesus uttered with a loud voice the
opening words of the 22nd Psalm, all the
inspired words of which referred to the suf
fering Messiah. One of those present dipped
a sponge in the common sour wine of the
soldiers and put it on a reed to moisten the
sufferer's lips. Again He cried with a loud
voice, " It is finished " (John), " Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke);
and gave up the ghost (Matt, xxvii. 31-56 ;
Mark xv. 20-41 ; Luke xxiii. 33-49 ; John
xix. 17-30). On the death of Jesus the veil
which covered the most Holy Place of the

JESUS CHRIST

264

JETHRO

Temple, the place of the more especial pre
sence of Jehovah, was rent in twain. There
was a great earthquake. Many who were
dead rose from their graves, although they
returned to the dust again after this great
token of Christ's quickening power had been
given to many (Matt.). The Jews, very zea
lous for the Sabbath in the midst of their
murderous work, begged Pilate that He
would put an end to the punishment by
breaking the legs of the criminals that they
might be taken down and buried before the
Sabbath, for which they were preparing
(Deut. xxi. 23 ; Joseph, 'b. J. iv. 5, § 2).
Those who were to execute this duty found
that Jesus was dead and the thieves btill
living. The death of the Lord before the
others was, no doubt, partly the consequence
of the previous mental suffering which He
had undergone, and partly because His will
to die lessened the natural resistance of the
frame to dissolution. Joseph of Ariinathea,
a member of the Council but a secret disciple
of Jesus, came to Pilate to beg the body of
Jesus, that he might bury it. Nicodemus
assisted in this work of love, and they
anointed the body and laid it in Joseph's
new tomb (Matt, xxvii. 50-61; Mark xv.
37-47; Luke xxiii. 46-56; John xix. 30-
42). — Saturday the 16th of Xisan (April
Hth).— The chief priests and Pharisees, with
Pilate's permission, set a watch over the
tomb, " lest His disciples come by night and
steal Him away, and say unto the people He
is risen from the dead." (Matt, xxvii. 62-
66). — Sunday the 17th of Nisan (April 9th).
— The Sabbath ended at six on the evening
of Nisan 16th. Early the next morning the
resurrection of Jesus took place. The exact
hour of the resurrection is not mentioned by
any of the Evangelists. Of the great mystery
itself, the resumption of life by Him who was
truly dead, we see but little. The women,
who had stood by the cross of Jesus, had pre
pared spices on the evening before, perhaps
to complete the embalming of our Lord's
body, already performed in haste by Joseph
and Nicodemus. They came very early on
the first day of the week to the Sepulchre.
When they arrive they find the stone rolled
away, and Jesus no longer in the Sepulchre.
He had risen from the dead. Mary Mag
dalene at this point goes back in haste ; and
at once, believing that the body has been
removed by men, tells Peter and John that
the Lord has been taken away. The other
women, however, go into the Sepulchre, and
they see an angel (Matt. Mark). The two
angels, mentioned by St. Luke, are probably
two separate appearances to different mem
bers of the group ; for he alone mentions an

indefinite number of women. They now
leave the Sepulchre, and go in haste to make
known the news to the Apostles. As they
were going, " Jesus met them, saying, All
hail." The eleven do not believe the account
when they receive it. In the mean time
Peter and John came to the Sepulchre. They
ran, in their' eagerness, and John arrived
first and looked in ; Peter afterwards came
up, and it is characteristic that the awe
which had prevented tbe other disciple from
going in appears to haveT?een unfelt by Peter,
who entered at once, and found the grave-
clothes lying, but not Him who had worn
them. This fact must have suggested that
the removal was not the work of human
hands. They then returned, wondering at
what they had seen. Mary Magdalene, how
ever, remained weeping at the tomb, and she
too saw the two angels in the tomb, though
Peter and John did not. They address her,
and she answers, still, however, without any
suspicion that the Lord is risen. As she
turns away she sees Jesus, but in the tumult
of her feelings does not even recognise Him
at His first address. But He calls her by
name, and then she joyfully recognises her
Master. The third appearance of our Lord
was to Peter (Luke, Paul) ; the fourth to the
two disciples going to Emmaus in the evening
(Mark, Luke) ; the fifth in the same evening
to the eleven as they sat at meat (Mark,
Luke, John). AU of these occurred on the
first day of the week, the very day of the
Resurrection. Exactly a week after, He ap
peared to the Apostles, and gave Thomas a
convincing proof of His resurrection (John) ;
this was the sixth appearance. The seventh
was in Galilee, where seven of the Apostles
were assembled, some of them probably about
to return to their old trade of fishing (John).
The eighth was to the eleven (Matt.), and
probably to five hundred brethren assembled
with them (Paul) on a mountain in Galilee.
The ninth was to James (Paul) ; and the last
to the Apostles at Jerusalem just before the
Ascension (Acts).
JETIl'RO was priest or prince of Midian,
both offices probably being combined in one
person. Moses spent the forty years of his
exile from Egypt with him, and married his
daughter Zipporah. By the advice of Jethro,
Moses appointed deputies to judge the con
gregation and share the burden of govern
ment with himself (Ex. xviii.). On account
of his local knowledge he was entreated to
remain with the Israelites throughout their
journey to Canaan (Num. x. 31, 33). It is
said in Ex. ii. 18 that the priest of, Midian
whose daughter Moses married was Reuel ;
afterwards at ch. iii. 1, he is called Jethro,

JEW

26.-)

JEZREEL

as also in ch. xviii. : but in Num. x. 29
" Hobab the son of Raguel tbe Midianite "
is apparently called Moses' father-in-law
(eomp. Judg. iv. 11). Some commentators
take Jethro and Reuel to be identical, and
call Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses.
JEW. This name was properly applied to
a member of the kingdom of Judah after the
separation of the ten tribes. The term first
makes its appearance just before the captivity
of the ten tribes (2 K. xvi. 6). After the
Return the word received a larger applica
tion. Partly from the predominance of the
members of the old kingdom of Judah among
those who returned to Palestine, partly from
the identification of Judah with the religious
ideas and hopes of tbe people, all the mem
bers of the new state were called Jews
(Judaeans), and the name was extended to
the remnants of the race scattered through
out the nations (Dan. iii. 8, 12 ; Ezr. iv. 12,
23, &e. ; Neh. i. 2, ii. 16, v. 1, &c. ; Esth.
iii. 4 ff., &c). Under the name of " Judae
ans," the people of Israel were known to
classical writers (Tac. H. v. 2, &c). The
force of the title " Jew " is seen particularly
in the Gospel of St. John, who very rarely
uses any other term to describe the opponents
of our Lord. The name, indeed, appeared at
the close of the apostle's life to be the true
antithesis to Christianity, as describing the
Limited and definite form of a national re
ligion; but at an earlier stage of the progress
of the faith, it was contrasted with Greek as
implying an outward covenant with God
(Rom. i. 16, ii. 9, 10; Col. iii. 11, &c),
which was the correlative of Hellenist [Hel-
lkxist], and marked a division of language
subsisting within the entire body, and at the
same time less expressive than Israelite,
which brought out with especial clearness
the privileges and hopes of the children of
Jacob (2 Cor. xi. 22 ; John i. 47 ; 1 Mace. i.
43, 53, and often).
JEWEL. [Precious Stoxes.]
JEW'RY, the same word elsewhere ren
dered Judah and Judaea. It occurs several
times in the Apoc. and N. T., but once only
in the O. T. (Dan. v. 13). Jewry comes to
us through the Norman-French, and is of
frequent occurrence in Old English.
JEZ'EBEL, wife of Ahab, king of Israel,
and mother of Athaliah, queen of Judah, and
Ahaziah and Joram, kings of Israel. She
was a Phoenician princess, daughter of
" Ethbaal king of the Zidonians." In her
hands her ¦ hushand became a mere puppet
(1 K. xxi. 25). The first effect of her in
fluence was the immediate establishment of
the Phoenician worship on a grand scale in
the court of Ahab. At her table were sup

ported no less than 450 prophets of Baal,
and 400 of Astarte (1 K. xvi. 31, 32, xviii.
19). The prophets of Jehovah, who up to
this time had found their chief refuge in the
northern kingdom, were attacked by her
orders and put to the sword (1 K. xviii. 13 ;
2 K. ix. 7). When at last the people, at the
instigation of Elijah, rose against her min
isters, and slaughtered them at the foot of
Carmel, and when Ahab was terrified into
submission, she alone retained her presence
of mind. The next instance of her power is
still more characteristic and complete. When
she found her husband cast down by his dis
appointment at being thwarted by Naboth,
she took the matter into her own hands,
with a spirit which reminds us of Clytem-
nestra or Lady Macbeth (1 K. xxi. 7). She
wrote a warrant in Ahab's name, and sealed
it with his seal. To her, and not to Ahab,
was sent the announcement that the royal
wishes were accomplished (1 K. xxi. 14),
and she bade her husband go and take the
vacant property ; and on her accordingly fell
the prophet's curse, as well as on her hus
band (1 K. xxi. 23). "We hear no more of
her for a long period. But she survived
Ahab for 14 years, and still, as queen-mother
(after the Oriental custom), was a great per
sonage in the court of her sons, and, as such,
became the special mark for the vengeance
of Jehu. She was looking out from the
window of tbe palace, which stood by the
gate of the city, as Jehu approached. The
new king looked up from his chariot. Two
or three eunuchs of the royal harem showed
their faces at the windows, and at his com
mand dashed the ancient princess down from
the chamber. She fell immediately in front
of the conqueror's chariot. The merciless
destroyer passed on ; and the last remains of
life were trampled out by the horses' hoofs.
The body was left in that open space called
in modern Eastern language "the mounds,"
where offal is thrown from the city-walls.
The dogs of Eastern cities, which prowl
around these localities, and which the pre
sent writer met on this very spot by the
modern village which occupies the site of
Jezreel, pounced upon this unexpected prey.
JEZ'REEL. 1. A city situated in the
plain of the same name between Gilboa and
Little Hermon, now generally called Es-
draelon. [Esdraei.on.] It appears in Josh.
xix. 18, but its historical importance dates
from the reign of Ahab, who chose it for hia
chief residence. The situation of the modern
village of Zerin still remains to show the
'fitness of his choice. In the neighbourhood,
or within the town probably, was a temple
and grove of Astarte, with an establishment

2oe

JOANNA

of 400 priests supported by Jezebel (1 K.
xvi. 33 ; 2 K. x. 11). The* palace of Ahab
(1 K. xxi. 1, xviii. 46), probably contain
ing his "ivory house " (1 K. xxii. 39), was
on the eastern side of the city, forming part
of the city wall (comp. 1 K. xxi. 1 ; 2 K. ix.
25, 30, 3*3). The seraglio, in which Jezebel
lived, was on the city wall, and had a high
window facing eastward \2 K. ix. 30). Close
by, if not forming part of this seraglio, was
a watch-tower, on which a sentinel stood, to
give notice of arrivals from the disturbed
district beyond the Jordan (2 K. ix. 17).
An ancient square tower which stands among
the hovels of tlie modern village may be its
representative. The gateway of the city on
the east was also the gateway of the palace
(2 K. ix. 34). Whether the vineyard of
Naboth was here or at Samaria is a doubtful
question. Still in the same eastern direction
are two springs, one 12 minutes from the
town, the other 20 minutes. ^1'lie latter pro
bably both from its size and situation, was
known as "the Sfrinu of Jezreel " (mis
translated A. V. " a fountain," 1 Sam. xxix.
1). With the fall of the house of Ahab the
glory of Jezreel departed. — 2. A town in
Judah, in the neighbourhood of the southern
Carmel (Josh. xv. 56). Here David in his
wanderings took Ahinoam the Israelitess for
his first wife (1 Sam. xxvii. 3, xxx. 5).
JO'AB, the most remarkable of the three
nephews of David, the children of Zeruiah,
David's sister. Their father is unknown,
but seems to have resided at Bethlehem, and
to have died before his sons, as we find men-
tion'of his sepulchre at that place (2 Sam. ii.
32). Joab first appears after David's ac
cession to the throne at Hebron. Abner
slew in battle Asahel, the younger brother of
Joab ; and when David afterwards received
Abner into favour, Joab treacherously mur
dered him. [Abneh.] There was now no
rival left in the way of Joab's advancement,
and at the siege of Jebus he was appointed
for his prowess commander-in-chief — " cap
tain of the host " — the same office that Abner
had held under Saul, the highest in the state
after the king (1 Chr. xi. 6 ; 2 Sam. viii. 16).
In this post he was content, and served the
king with undeviating fidelity. In the wide
range of wars whieh David undertook, Joab
was the acting general. He was called by
the almost regal title of "Lord" (2 Sam.
xi. 11), " the prince of the king's army"
(1 Chr. xxvii. 34). — 1. His great war was
against the Ammonites which he conducted
in person. It was divided into three cam
paigns. At the siege of Rabbah, in the last
campaign, the ark was sent with hiin, and
the whole army was encamped in booths or

huts round the beleaguered city {2 Sam. xi.
1, 11). Joab took the lower city on the
river, and then sent to urge David to come
and take the citadel (2 Sam. xii. 26-28). — 2.
The services of Joab to the king were not
confined to these military achievements. In
the entangled relations which grew up in
David's domestic life, he bore an important
part, (a) The first occasion was the un
happy correspondence which passed between
him and the king during the Ammonite war
respecting Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. xi. 1-
25). (b) The next occasion on which it was
displayed was in his successful endeavour to
reinstate Absalom in David's favour, after
the murder of Amnon (2 Sam. xiv. 1-20).
[c) The same keen sense of his master's
interests ruled the conduct of Joab no less,
when the relations of the father and son
were reversed by the successful revolt of
Absalom. His former intimacy with the
prince did not impair his fidelity to the king.
He followed fcim beyond the Jordan, and in
the final battle of Ephraim assumed the
responsibility of taking the rebel prince's
dangerous life in spite of David's injunction
to spare him, and when no one else had
courage to act so decisive a part (2 Sam.
xviii. 2, 11-15). The king transferred the
command to Amasa. (d) Nothing brings out
more strongly the good and bad qualities of
Joab than his conduct in this trying crisis of
his history. With his own guard and the
mighty men under Abishai he went out in
pursuit of the remnants of the rebellion. In
the heat of pursuit, he encountered his rival
Amasa, more leisurely engaged in tbe same
quest. At "the great stone" in Gibeon, the
cousins met. Joab's sword was attached to
his girdle ; by design or accident it protruded
from the sheath ; Amasa rushed into the
treacherous embrace, to which Joab invited
him, holding fast his beard by his own right
hand, whilst the unsheathed sword in his
left hand plunged inti Amasa's stomach ; a
single blow from that practised arm, as in
the case of Abner, sufficed to do its work. —
3. There is something mournful in the end
of Joab. At the close of his long life, his
loyalty, so long unshaken, at la--t wavered.
" Though he had not turned after Absalom
j he turned after Adonijah" (1 K. ii. 28).
I This probably filled up the measure of the
I king's long cherished resentment. The re-
[ vival of the pretensions of Adonijah after
I David's death was sufficient to awaken the
j suspicions of Solomon. Joab fled to the
l shelter of the altar at Gibeon, and was there
! slain by Benaiah.
JOAN'NA, the name of a woman, occur
ring twice in Luke (viii. 3, xxiv. 10), but

JOASH

267

JOB

evidently denoting the same person. In the
first passage she is expressly stated to have
been " wife of Chuza, steward of Herod,"
that is, Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee.
TO'ASH, contr. from Jehoash. 1. Son of
Ahaziah, king of Judah, and the only one
of his children who escaped the murderous
hand of Athaliah. After his father's sister
Jehoshabeath, the wife of Jehoiada tbe high-
priest, had stolen him from among the king's
sons, he was hid for six years in the cham
bers of the Temple. In the 7th year of his
age and of his concealment, a successful re
volution, conducted by Jehoiada, placed him
on the throne of his ancestors, and freed the
country from the tyranny and idolatries of
Athaliah. For at least 23 years, while Je
hoiada lived, this reign was very prosperous.
But, after the death of Jehoiada, Joash fell
into the hands of bad advisers, at whose sug
gestion he revived the worship of Baal and
Ashtaroth. When he was rebuked for this
by Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, Joash
caused him to be stoned to death in the very
court of the Lord's house (Matt, xxiii. 35).
The vengeance imprecated by the murdered
high-priest was not long delayed. That very
year, Hazael king of Syria came up against
Jerusalem, and carried off a vast booty as
the price of his departure. Joash had
scarcely escaped this danger, when he fell
into another and fatal one. Two of his
servants, taking advantage of his severe ill
ness, some think of a wound received in
battle, conspired against him, and slew him
in his bed in the fortress of Millo. Joash's
reign lasted 40 years, from 878 to 838 b.c.
— 2. Son and successor of Jehoahaz on the
throne of Israel from b.c 840 to 825, and
for two full years a contemporary sovereign
with the preceding (2 K. xiv. 1 ; comp. with
xii. 1, xiii. 10). When he succeeded to the
crown, the kingdom was in a deplorable state
from the devastations of Hazael and Ben
hadad, kings of Syiia. On occasion of a
friendly visit paid by Joash to Elisha on his
deathbed, the prophet promised him deliver
ance from the Syrian yoke in Aphek (1 K.
xx. 26-30). He then bid him smite upon
the ground, and the king smote thrice and
then stayed. The prophet rebuked him for
staying, and limited to three his victories
over Syria. Accordingly Joash did beat
Benhadad three times on the field of battle,
and recovered from bim the cities which
Hazael had taken from Jehoahaz. The other
great military event of Joash's reign was his
successful war with Amaziah king of Judah.
The grounds of this war are given fully in
2 Chr. xxv. The two armies met at Beth-
shemesh, that of Joash was victorious, put

the army of Amaziah to the rout, took him
prisoner, brought him to Jerusalem, broke
down the wall of Jerusalem, and plundered
the city. He died in the 15th year of Ama
ziah king of Judah, and was succeeded by
his son Jeroboam II.— 3. The father of
Gideon, and a wealthy man among the Abiez-
ritcs (Judg. vi. 11, 29, 30, 31, vii. 14, viii.
13, 29, 32).
JOB, the patriarch, the name of one of the
books of the O. T. His residence in the
land of Uz, which took its name from a son
of Aram (Gen. x. 23), or Nahor (Gen. xxii.
21), marks him as belonging to a branch of
the Aramaean race, which had settled in
the lower part of Mesopotamia (probably
to the south or south-east of Palestine, in
Idumaean Arabia), adjacent to the Sabaeans
and Chaldaeans. The opinions of Job and
his friends are thus peculiarly interesting as
exhibiting an aspect of the patriarchal re
ligion outside of the family of Abraham,
and as yet uninfluenced by the legislation of
Moses. The form of worship belongs essen-
tially to the early patriarchal type ; with
little of ceremonial ritual, without a separate
priesthood, it is thoroughly domestic in form
and spirit. Job is represented as a chieftain
of immense wealth and high rank, blameless
in all the relations of life. One question
could be raised by envy ; may not the good
ness which secures such direct and tangible
rewards be a refined form of selfishness ?
Satan, the accusing angel, suggests the doubt,
" doth Job fear God for nought?" and asserts
boldly that if those external blessings were
withdrawn Job would cast off his allegiance
— " he will curse thee to thy face." The
problem is thus distinctly propounded which
this book is intended to discuss and solve.
Can goodness exist irrespective of reward ?
The accuser receives permission to make the
trial. He destroys Job's property, then his
children ; and afterwards, to leave no possible
opening for a cavil, is allowed to inflict upon
him the most terrible disease known in the
East. Job's wife breaks down entirely under
the trial. Job remains steadfast. He repels
his wife's suggestion with the simple words,
"What! shall we receive good at the hand
of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil ?"
" In all this Job did not sin with his lips."
The question raised by Satan was thus an
swered. — 2. Still it is clear that many points
of deep interest would have been left in
obscurity. Entire as was the submission of
Job, he must have been inwardly perplexed
by events to which he had no clue. An
opportunity for the discussion of the provi
dential government of the world is afforded
by the introduction of three men, represent-

JOBAB

26H

JOHN THE APOSTLE

ing the wisdom and experience of the age,
who came to condole with Job on hearing of
his misfortunes. After a long discussion
between Job and his three friends, Elihu, a
young man, who had listened in indignant
silence to the arguments of his elders (xxxii.
7), now addresses himself to both parties in
the discussion, and specially to Job. He
shows that they had accused Job upon false
or insufficient grounds, and failed to convict
him or to vindicate God's justice. Job again
had assumed his entire innocence, and had
arraigned that justice (xxxiii. 9, 11). Je
hovah at length appears in the midst of a
storm, and in language of incomparable
grandeur He reproves and silences the mur
murs of Job. He rebukes the opponents of
Job, and vindicates the integrity of the
patriarch. The restoration of Job's external
prosperity, which is the result of God's per
sonal manifestation, symbolizes the ultimate
compensation of the righteous for all suffer
ings undergone upon earth. — The date of the
book is doubtful, and there have been many
theories upon the subject. The language
approaches far more nearly to the Arabic
than any other Hebrew production. On the
other hand, there are undoubtedly many
Aramaic words, and grammatical forms,
which some critics have regarded as a strong
proof that the writer must have lived dur
ing, or even after the captivity. This
hypothesis is now universally given up as un
tenable ; and it has been proved that these
Aramaisms are such as characterise the
antique and highly poetic style. It may be
regarded as a settled point that the book was
written long be lore the exile ; while there is
absolutely nothing to prove a later date than
the Pentateuch. This impression is borne
out by tbe style. The total absence of any
allusion, not only to the Mosaic Law, but to
the events of the Exodus, the fame of which
must have reached the country of Job, on
any hypothesis respecting its locality, is a
strong argument for the early age both of
the patriarch and of the book.
JO'BAB. 1. The last in order of the sons
of Joktan (Gen. a. 29; 1 Chr. i. 23).— 2.
One of the " kings " of Edom (Gen. xxxvi.
33, 34 ; 1 Chr. i. 44, 45).
JOCHEB'ED, the wife and at the same
time the aunt of Amram, and the mother of
Moses and Aaron (Ex. ii. 1, vi. 20 ; Num.
xxvi. 59).
JO'EL. 1. Eldest son of Samuel the pro
phet (1 Sam. viii. 2 ; 1 Chr. vi. 33, xv. 17),
and father of Heman the singer. — 2. The
second of the twelve minor prophets, the son
of Pethuel, probably prophesied in Judah in
the reign of Uzziah. We find, what we

should expect on the supposition of Joel
being the first prophet to Judah, only a
grand outline of the whole terrible scene,
which was to be depicted more and more in
detail by subsequent prophets. The proxi
mate event to which the prophecy related
was a public calamity, then impending on
Judah, of a twofold character : want of
water, and a plague of locusts, continuing
for several years. The prophet exhorts the
people to turn to God with penitence, fasting,
and prayer ; and then (he says) the plague
shall cease, and the rain descend in its sea
son, and the land yield her accustomed fruit.
Nay, the time will be a most joyful one; for
God, by the outpouring of His Spiiit, will
extend the blessings of true religion to
heathen lands. The prophecy is referred to
in Acts ii.
JOHN, the same name as Johanan, a con
traction of Jehohanan, " Jehovah's gift."
1. Tbe father of Mattathias, and grandfather
of the Maccabacan family (1 Mace. ii. 1.).
— 2. The eldest son of Mattathias surnamed
Caddis, who was slain by " the children
of Jambri" (1 Mace. ii. 2, ix. 36-38). —
3. The father of Eupolemus, one of the envoj'S
whom Judas Maccabaeus sent to Rome (1 Mace.
viii. 17; 2 Mace. iv. 11). — 4. Tbe son of Simon,
the brother of Judas Maccabaeus (1 Mace.
xiii. 53, svi. 1).— 5. One of the high-priest's
family, who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat
in judgment upon the Apostles Peter and
John (Acts iv. 6). — 6. The Hebrew name of
the Evangelist Mark (Acts xii. 12, 25, xiii.
5, 13, xv. 37).
JOHN THE APOSTLE was the son of
Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee,
and of Salome, and brother of James, also an
apostle. He was probably younger than his
brother, whose name commonly precedes his
(Matt. iv. 21, x. 3, xvii. 1, &c.), younger
than his friend Peter, possibly also than bis
Master. His call, and that of his brother, to
be first disciples and then apostles of our
Lord, are related under James. Peter and
James and John come within the innermost
circle of their Lord's friends. Peter is
throughout the leader of that band ; to John
belongs the yet more memorable distinction
of being the disciple whom Jesus loved. He
hardly sustains the popular notion, fostered
by the received types of Christian art, of a
nature gentle, yielding, feminine. The name
Boanerges (Mark iii. 17) implies a vehemence,
zeal, intensity, which gave to those who had
it the might of Sons of Thunder. [James.]
The three are with him when none else are,
in the chamber of death (Mark v. 37), in the
glory of the transfiguration (Matt. xvii. 1),
when he forewarns them of the destruction

JOHN THE APOSTLE

269

JOHN THE BAPTIST

of tbe Holy City (Mark xiii. 3, Andrew, in
this instance with them), in the agony of
Gethsemane. When the betrayal is accom
plished, Peter and John, after the first mo
ment of confusion, follow afar off, while the
others simply seek safety in a hasty flight
(John xviii. 15). The personal acquaintance
which existed between John and Caiaphas
enabled him to gain access both for himself
and Peter, but the latter remains in the porch,
with the officers and servants, while John
himself apparently is admitted to the council-
chamber, and follows Jesus thence, even to
the praetorium of the Roman Procurator
(John xviii. 16, 19, 28). Thence he followed,
accompanied probably by his own mother,
Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magda
lene, to the place of crucifixion. The teacher
who had been to him as a brother leaves to
him a brother's duty. He is to be as a son
to the mother who is left desolate (John xix.
26-27). The Sabbath that followed was spent,
it would appear, in the same company. He
receives Peter, in spite of his denial, on the
old terms of friendship. It is to them that
Mary Magdalene first runs with the tidings
of the emptied sepulchre (John xx. 2) ; they
are the first to go together to see what the
strange words meant. Not without some
bearing on their respective characters is the
fact that John is the more impetuous, running
on most eagerly to the rock-tomb ; Peter, the
least restrained by awe, the first to enter in
and look (John xx. 4-6). For at least eight
days they continued in Jerusalem (John xx.
26). Then, in the interval between the re
surrection and the ascension, we find them
still together on the sea of Galilee (John xxi.
1). Here too there is a characteristic differ
ence. John is the first to recognise in the
dim form seen in the morning twilight the
presence of his risen Lord ; Peter the first to
plunge into the water and swim towards the
shore where He stood calling to them (John
xxi. 7). The last words of the Gospel reveal
to us the deep affection which united the two
friends. It is not enough for Peter to know
his own futur?. That at once suggests the
question, "And what shall this man do?"
(John xxi. 21). Tbe history of the Acts
shows the same union. They are of course
together at the ascension and on the day of
Pentecost. Together they enter the Temple
as worshippers (Acts iii. 1) and protest
against the threats of the Sanhedrim (iv. 13).
The persecution which was pushed on by
Saul of Tarsus did not drive him or any
of the apostles from their post (viii. 1). The
sharper though shorter persecution which
followed under Herod Agrippa brought a
great sorrow to him in the martyrdom of his

brother (Acts xii. 2). His friend was driven
to seek safety in flight. Fifteen years after
St. Paul's first visit he was still at Jerusalem
and helped to take part in the settlement of
the great controversy between the Jewish
and the Gentile Christians (Acts xv. 6). His
subsequent history we know only by tradi
tion. There can be no doubt that he removed
from Jerusalem and settled at Ephesus, though
at what time is uncertain. Tradition goes
on to relate that in the persecution under
Domitian he is taken to Rome, and there, by
his boldness, though not by death, gains the
crown of martyrdom. The boiling oil into
which he is thrown has no power to hurt
him. He is then sent to labour in the mines,
and Fatmos is the place of his exile. The
accession of Nerva frees him from danger,
and he returns to Ephesus. Heresies continue
to show themselves, but be meets them with
the strongest possible protest. The very
time of his death lies within the region of
conjecture rather than of history, and the
dates that have been assigned for it range
from a.d. 89 to a.d. 120.
JOHN THE BAPTIST was of the priestly
race by both parents, for his father Zacharias
was himself a priest of the course of Abia,
or Abijah (1 Chr. xxiv. 10), offering incense
at the very time when a son was promised to
him ; and Elizabeth was of the daughters of
Aaron (Luke i. 5). His birth — a birth not
according to the ordinary laws of nature,
but through the miraculous interposition of
almighty power — was foretold by an angel
sent from God, and is related at length in
the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke.
The birth of John preceded by six months
that of our Lord. John was ordained to be
a Nazarite from his birth (Luke i. 15).
Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly
peopled region westward of the Dead Sea, he
prepared himself for the wonderful office to
which he had been divinely called. The very
appearance of the holy Baptist was of itself
a lesson to his countrymen ; his dress was
that of the old prophets — a garment woven
of camel's hair (2 K. i. 8), attached to the
body by a leathern girdle. His food was
such as the desert afforded — locusts (Lev.
xi. 22) and wild honey (Ps. lxxxi. 16). And
now the long secluded hermit came forth to
the discharge of his office. His supernatural
birth — his hard ascetic life — his reputation
for extraordinary sanctity — and the generally
prevailing expectation that some great one
was about to appear — these causes, without
the aid of miraculous power, for " John did
no miracle" (John x. 41), were sufficient to
attract to him a great multitude from "every
quarter" (Matt. iii. 5). Brief and startling

JOHN, GOSPEL OF

J70

JOHN, EPISTLES OF

was his first exhortation to them, " Repent ye
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Many
of every class pressed forward to confess their
sins and to be baptised. The preparatory
baptism of John was a visible sign to the
people, and a distinct acknowledgment by
them, that a hearty renunciation of sin and
a real amendment of life were necessary for
admission into the kingdom of heaven, which
the Baptist proclaimed to be at hand. But
the fundamental distinction between John's
baptism unto repentance, and that baptism
accompanied with the gift of the Holy Spirit
which our Lord afterwards ordained, is
clearly marked by John himself (Matt. iii.
11, 12). Jesus Himself came from Galilee to
Jordan to be baptised of John. [Jesus.]
From incidental notices we learn that John
and his disciples continued to baptise some
time after our Lord entered upon his ministry
(see John iii. 2;!, iv. 1 ; Acts xix. 3). We
gather also that John instructed his disciples
in certain moral and religious duties, as fast
ing (Matt. ix. 14 ; Luke v. 33) and prayer
(Luke xi. 1). But shortly after he had given
his testimony to the Messiah, John's public
ministry was brought to a close. In daring
disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas
had taken to himself the wife of his brother
Philip ; and when John reproved him for
this, as well as for other sins (Luke iii. 19),
Herod cast him into prison. The place of
his confinement was the castle of Maehaerus
— a fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead
Sea. It was here that reports reached him
of the miracles which our Lord was working
in Judaea. Respecting the message which
John sent to our Saviour, see Jrsvs, p. 257.
Nothing but the death of the Baptist would
satisfy the resentment of Herodias. A court
festival was kept at Machaerus in honour of
the king's birthday. After supper, the
daughter of Herodias came in and danced
before the company, and so charmed was the
king by her grace that he promised with an
oath to give her whatsoever she should ask.
Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother,
demanded the head of John the Baptist.
Herod gave instructions to an officer of bis
guard, who went and executed John in the
prison, and his head was brought to feast the
eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had de
nounced. His death is supposed to have
occurred just before the third passover, in the
course of the Lord's ministry.
JOHN, GOSPEL OF. No doubt bas been
entertained at any time in the Church, either
of the canonical authority of this Gospel, or
of its being written by St. John. Ephesus
and Patmos are the two places mentioned by
early writers as the place where this Gospel

was written ; and the weight of evidence
seems to preponderate in favour of Ephesus.
The Apostle's sojourn at Ephesus probably
began after St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians
was written, i. c. after a.d. 62. Eusebius
specifies the fourteenth year of Domitian,
/. e. a.d. 95, as the year of his banishment
to Patmos. Probably the date of the Gospel
may lie about midway between these two,
about a.d. 7 8. After the destruction of
Jerusalem a.d. 69, Ephesus probably became
the centre of the active life of Eastern
Christendom. It contained a large church
of faithful Christians, a multitude of zealous
Jews, an indigenous population devoted to
the worship of a strange idol whose image
was borrowed from the East, its name from the
West. The Gospel was obviously addressed
primarily to Christians, not to heathens. There
can be little doubt that the main object of
St. John, who wrote after the other Evan
gelists, is to supplement their narratives,
which were almost confined to our Lord's
life in Galilee. [See further, Gospel.]— The
following is an abridgment of its contents : —
A. Tlie Prologue i. 1-18. — B. Tlie History,
i. 19-xx. 29. a. Various events relating, to
our Lord's ministry, narrated in connexion
with seven journeys, i. 19-xii. 50 : — 1. First
journey, into Judaea and beginning of His
ministry, i. 19-ii. 12. 2. Second journey, at
the Passover in the first year of His ministry,
ii. 13-iv. 3. Third journey, in the second
year of His ministry, about the Passover, v.
4. Fourth journey, about the Passover, in the
third year of His ministry, beyond Jordan,
vi. 5. Fifth journey, six months before His
death, begun at the Feast of Tabernacles, vii.-
x. 21. 6. Sixth journey, about the Feast of
Dedication, x. 22-42. 7. Seventh journey in
Judaea towards Bethany, xi. 1-54. 8. Eighth
journey, before His lasf. Passover, xi. 55-xii.
b. History of the death of Christ, xiii.-xx. 29.
1. Preparation for His Passion, xiii. -xvii.
2. The circumstances of His Passion and
Death, xviii. xix. 3. His Resurrection, and
the proofs of it, xx. 1-29.- C. Tlie Conclusion,
xx. 30-xxi. : — 1. Scope of the foregoing his
tory, xx. 30, 31. 2. Confirmation of the
authority of the Evangelist by additional
historical facts, and by the testimony of the
elders of the Church, xxi. 1-24. 3. Reason
of the termination of the history, xxi. 25.
JOHN, THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL
OF. There can be no doubt that the Apostle
John was the author of this Epistle. Like
the Gospel it was probably written from
Ephesus, and most likely at the close of
the first century. It was primarily meant
for the churches of Asia under St. John's in
spection, to whom he had already orally

JOHN, EPISTLES OF

271

JONAH

delivered his doctrine (i. 3, ii. 7). In the
introduction (i. 1-4) the Apostle states the
purpose of his Epistle. It is to declare the
Word of life to those whom he is addressing,
in order that he and they might be united in
true communion with each other, and with
God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.
The first part of the Epistle may be con
sidered to end at ii. 28. The Apostle begins
afresh with the doctrine of sonship or com
munion at ii. 29, and returns to the same
theme at iv. 7. His lesson throughout is,
that the means of union with God are, on the
part of Christ, His atoning blood (i. 7, ii. 2,
iii. 5, iv. 10, 14, v. 6) and advocacy (ii. 1) —
on the part of man, holiness (i. 6), obedience
(ii. 3), purity (iii. 3), faith (iii. 23, iv. 3, v.,
5), and above all love (ii. 7, iii. 14, iv. 7, v.
1). There are two doubtful passages in this
Epistle, ii. 23, " but he that acknowledged
the Son hath the Father also," and v. 7,
" For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Ghost, and these three are one." It would
appear without doubt that they are not
genuine. JOHN, THE SECOND AND THIRD
EPISTLES OF. These two Epistles are
placed by Eusebius in the class of " disputed "
books, and he appears himself to be doubtful
whether they were written by the Evange
list, or by some other John. The evidence
of antiquity in their favour is not very strong,
but yet is considerable. In the 5th century
they were almost universally received. The
title and contents of the Epistles are strong
arguments against a fabricator, whereas they
would account for their non-universal re
ception in early times. The Second Epistle
is addressed etche/trr} KvpCa. An individual
woman who had children, and a sister and
nieces, is clearly indicated. Whether her
name is given, and if so, what it is, has been
doubted. According to one interpretation she
is "the Lady Electa," to another, " the elect
Kyria," to a third, "the elect Lady." The
English version is probably right, though here
too we should have expected the article. The
Third Epistle is addressed to Gaius or Caius.
We have no reason for identifying him with
Caius of Macedonia (Acts xix. 29), or with
Caius of Derbe (Acts xx. 4), or with Caius of
Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23 ; 1 Cor. i. 14), or
with Caius Bishop of Ephesus, or with Caius
Bishop of Thessalonica, or with Caius Bishop
of Pergamos. He was probably a convert of
St. John (Ep, iii. 4), and a layman of wealth
and distinction (Ep. iii. 5) in some city near
Ephesus. The object of St. John in writing
the Second Epistle was to warn the lady to
whom he wrote against abetting the teaching

known as that of Basilides and his followers,
by perhaps an undue kindness displayed by
her towards the preachers of the false doc
trine. The Third Epistle was written for
the purpose of commending to the kindness
and hospitality of Caius some Christians who
were strangers in the place where he lived.
It is probable that these Christians carried
this letter with them to Caius as their in
troduction. JOK'MEAM, a city of Ephraim, given
with its suburbs to the Kohathite Levites (1
Chr. vi. 68). The situation of Jokmeam is
to a certain extent indicated in 1 K. iv. 12,
where it is named with places whieh we
know to have been in the Jordan valley at
the extreme east boundary of the tribe.
JOK'NEAM, a city of the tribe of Zebulun,
allotted with its suburbs to the Merarite Le
vites (Josh. xxi. 34). Its modern site is
Tell Kaimon, an eminence which stands just
below the eastern termination of Carmel.
JOK'SHAN, a son of Abraham and Ke
turah (Gen. xxv. 2, 3 ; I Chr. i. 32), whose
sons were Sheba and Dedan.
JOK'TAN, son of Eber (Gen. x. 25 ; 1 Chr.
i. 19), and the father of the Joktanite Arabs.
Scholars are agreed in placing the settlements
of Joktan in the south of the peninsula. The
original limits are stated in the Bible, "their
dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest
unto Sephar, a mount of the East " (Gen. x.
30). The ancestor of the great southern
peoples was called Kahtan, who, say the
Arabs, was the same as Joktan.
JOK'THEEL. 1. A city in the low coun
try of Judah (Josh. xv. 38), named next to
Lachish. — 2. "God-subdued," the title given
by Amaziah to the cliff (A.V. Selah) — the
stronghold of the Edomites— after he had
captured it from them (2 K. xiv. 7). The
parallel narrative of 2 Chr. xxv. 11-13 sup
plies fuller details.
JO'NA, the father of the Apostle Peter
(John i. 42), who is hence addressed as Simon
Barjona (i.e. son of Jona) in Matt. xvi. 17.
JON'ADAB, son of Shimeah and nephew of
David. He is described as "very subtil"
(2 Sam. xiii. 3). His age naturally made
him the friend of bis cousin Amnon, heir to
the throne (2 Sam. xiii. 3). He gave him
the fatal advice for ensnaring his sister
Tamar (5, 6). Again, when, in a later stage
of the same tragedy, Amnon was murdered
by Absalom, and the exaggerated report
reached David that all the princes were
slaughtered, Jonadab was already aware of the
real state of the ease (2 Sam. xiii. 32, 33).
JO'NAH, the fifth of the Minor Prophets,
according to the order of our Bible, was
the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-

JONAS

JONATHAN

hepher, a town of Lower Galilee in Zebulun
(2 K. xiv. 25). He lived after the reign of
Jehu, when the losses of Israel (2 K. x. 32)
began ; and probably not till the latter part
of the reign of Jeroboam II. The general
opinion is that Jonah was the first of the
prophets. The king of Nineveh at this time
is supposed to have been Pul, who is placed
B.C. 750. Our English Bible gives b.c. 862.
Having already, as it seems, prophesied to
Israel, he was sent to Nineveh. The time
was one of political revival in Israel ; but
ere long the Assyrians were to be employed
by God as a scourge upon them. The prophet
shrank from a commission which he felt sure
would result (iv. 2) m the sparing of a hostile
city. He attempted therefore to escape to
Tarshish. The Providence of God, however,
watched over him, first in a storm, and then
in his being swallowed by a large fish for
the space of three days and three nights.
[On this subject see art. Whale.] After hi*
deliverance, Jonah executed his commission ;
and the king, " believing him to be a minister
from the supreme deity of the nation," and
having heard of his miraculous deliverance,
ordered a general fast, and averted the threat
ened judgment. But the prophet, not from
personal, but national feelings, grudged the
mercy shown to a heathen nation. He was
therefore taught, by the significant lesson
of tbe "gourd," whose growth and decay
brought the truth at once home to him, that
he was sent to testify by deed, as other pro
phets would afterwards testify by word, the
capacity of Gentiles for salvation, and the
design of God to make them partakers of it.
This was " the sign of the prophet Jonas "
(Luke xi. 29, 30). But the resurrection of
Christ itself was also shadowed forth in the
history of the prophet (Matt. xii. 39, 41,
xvi. 4). Tbe mission of Jonah was highly
symbolical. The facts contained a concealed
prophecy. The old tradition made the burial-
place of Jonah to be Gathhepher : the modern
tradition places it at Nebi-Yunus, opposite
Mosul. JO'NAS. 1. The prophet Jonah (Matt.
xii. 39, 40, 41, xvi. 4). 2. Father of Peter
(John xxi. 15-17). [Jona.]
JON'ATHAN, that is, " the gift of Jeho
vah," the eldest son of king Saul. He was
regarded in his father's lifetime as heir to
the throne. Like Saul, he was a man of
great strength and activity (2 Sam. i. 23).
He was also famous for the peculiar martial
exercises in which his tribe excelled — archery
and slinging (1 Chr. xii. 2). His bow was
to him what the spear was to his father :
*' tbe bow of Jonathan turned not back "
(2 Sam. i. 22). It was always about him

(1 Sam. xviii. 4, xx. 35). His life may be
divided into two main parts. — 1. The war
with the Philistines, commonly called, from
its locality, " the war of Michmash " (I Sam.
xiii. 21). The Philistines were still in the
general command of the country ; an officer
was stationed at Geba, either the same as
Jonathan'3 position or close to it. In a sud
den act of youthful daring Jonathan slew
this officer, and thus gave the signal for a
general revolt. But it was a premature
attempt. The Philistines poured in from
the plain, and the tyranny became more
deeply rooted than ever. From this oppres
sion, as Jonathan by his former act had been
the first to provoke it, so now he was the
Jirst to deliver his people. Without commu
nicating his project to any one, except the
young man, whom, like all the chiefs of that
age, he retained as his armour-bearer, he
sallied forth from Gibeah to attack the gar
rison of the Philistines stationed on the other
side of the steep defile of Michmash (xiv. 1).
A panic seized the garrison, thence spread to
the camp, and thence to the surrounding
hordes of marauders ; an earthquake com
bined with the terror of the moment. Saul
and his little band had watched in astonish
ment the wild retreat from the heights of
Gibeah : he now joined in the pursuit.
Jonathan had not heard of the rash curse
(xiv. 24) which Saul invoked on any one who
ate before the evening, and he tasted the
honey which lay on the ground as they passed
through the forest. Jephtbab's dreadful sac
rifice would have been repeated ; but the
people interposed in behalf of the hero of
that great day; and Jonathan was saved
(xiv. 24-46).— 2. But the chief interest of
his career is derived from the friendship with
David, which began on the day of David's
return from the victory over the champion of
Gath, and continued till his death. Their
last meeting was in the forest of Ziph, during
Saul's pursuit of David (1 Sam. xxiii. 16-18).
From this time forth we hear no more till
the battle of Gilboa. In that battle he fell,
with his two brothers and his father, and
his corpse shared their fate (1 Sam. xxxi. 2,
8). His ashes were buried first at Jabcsh-
Gilead (ib. 13), but afterwards removed with
those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin
(2 Sam. xxi. 12). The news of his death oc
casioned tbe celebrated elegy of David. He
left a son, Mephibosheth. [MEPHiBosnETH.]
— 2. Son of Shimeah, brother of Jonadab,
and nephew of David (2 Sam. xxi. 21 ; 1
Chr. xx. 7). Like David, he engaged in a
single combat, and slew a gigantic Philis
tine of Gath (2 Sam. xxi. 21).— 3. The son of
Abiathar, the high-priest, is the last descend-

JOPPA

273

JOSEPH

ant of Eli, of whom we hear anything. He
appears on the day of David's flight from
Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 36, xvii. 15-21), and on
the day of Solomon's inauguration (1 K. i.
42, 43). — 4. The son, or descendant, of Ger-
shom the son of Moses (Judg. xviii. 30).
[Micah.] — 5. Son of Joiada, and his successor
in the high-priesthood (Neh. xii. 11, 22, 23).
JOP1PA, or Japho, now Jaffa, a town on
the S.W. coast of Palestine, in the portion of
Dan (Josh. xix. 46). Having a harbour
attached to it — though always, as still, a
dangerous one — it became the port of Jerusa
lem in the days of Solomon, and has been
ever since. Here Jonah "took ship to flee
from the presence of his Maker." Here, on
the house-top of Simon the tanner, " by the
seaside," St. Peter had his vision of tolerance
(Acts xi. 5). The existing town contains
about 4000 inhabitants.
JO'RAM. [Jehoram.]
JOR'DAN, the one river of Palestine, has
a course of little more than 200 miles, from
the roots of Ant\-Lebanon to the head of the
Dead Sea. It is the river of the "great
plain" of Palestine — the "Descender" — if
not "the river of God" in the book of
Psalms, at least that of His chosen people
throughout their history. There were fords
over against Jericho, to which point the men
of Jericho^ pursued the spies (Josh. ii. 7 ;
comp. Judg. iii. 28). Higher up, perhaps
over against Succoth, some way above where
the little river Jabbok (Zerka) enters the
Jordan, were the fords or passages of Beth-
barah (probably the Bethabara of the Gospel),
where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites
(Judg. vii. 24), and where the men of Gilead
slew the Ephraimites (xii. 6). These fords
undoubtedly witnessed the first recorded
passage of the Jordan in the O. T. (Gen.
xxxii. 10). Jordan was next crossed, over
against Jericho, by Joshua the son of Nun
(Josh. iv. 12, 13). From their vicinity to
Jerusalem the lower fords were much used ;
David, it is probable, passed over them in
one instance to fight the Syrians (2 Sam. x.
17) ; and subsequently when a fugitive him
self, in his way to Mahanaim (xvii. 22) on
the east bank. Thus there were two cus
tomary places, at which the Jordan was ford-
able ; and it must have been at one of these,
if not at both, that baptism was afterwards
administered by St. John, and by the dis
ciples of our Lord. Where our Lord was
baptised is not stated expressly; but it was
probably at the upper ford. These fords
were rendered so much the more precious in
those days from two circumstances. First,
it does not appear that there were then any
bridges thrown over, or boats regularly esta-
Sai. D. B.

blished on, the Jordan. And secondly, be
cause " Jordan overflowed all his banks all
the time of harvest" (Josh. iii. 15), The
channel or bed of the river became brimful,
so that the level of the water and of the
banks was then the same. The last feature
which remains to be noticed in the Scriptural
account of the Jordan is its frequent mention
as a boundary : " over Jordan," " this," and
" the other side," or "beyond Jordan," were
expressions as familiar to the Israelites as
" across the water," " this," and " the other
side of the Channel," are to English ears.
In one sense indeed, that is, in so far as it was
the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan,
it was the eastern boundary of the promised
land (Num. xxxiv. 12). The Jordan rises
from several sources near Panium (Bdnids),
and passes through the lakes of Merom
(Huleh) and Gennesaret. The two principal
features in its course are its descent and its
windings. From its fountain-heads to the
Dead Sea, it rushes down one continuous
inclined plane, only broken by a series of
rapids or precipitous falls. Between the
lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea there
are 27 rapids ; the depression of the lake of
Gennesaret below the level of the Mediter
ranean is 653 feet ; and that of the Dead
Sea 1316 feet. Its sinuosity is not so re
markable in the upper part of its course.
The only tributaries to the Jordan below
Gennesaret are the Yarmuk (Hieromax) and
tbe Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever
crowned the banks of the Jordan. Still
Bethshan and Jericho to the W., Gerasa,
Pella, and Gadara to the E. of it, were im
portant cities, and caused a good deal of
traffic between the two opposite banks. The
physical features of the Ghor, through which
the Jordan flows, are treated of under Pales
tine. JO'SEPH. 1. The elder of the two sons
of Jacob by Rachel, is first mentioned when
a ^youth, seventeen years "old. Jacob seems
then to have stayed at Hebron with the aged
Isaac, while his sons kept his flocks. Joseph,
we read, brought the evil report of his
brethren to his father, and they bated him
because his father loved him more than
them, as the "son of his old age," and had
shown his preference by making him a dress,
which appears to have been a long tunic
with sleeves, worn by youths and maidens
of the richer class (Gen. xxxvii. 2). The
hatred of Joseph's brethren was increased by
bis telling of a dream foreshowing that they
would bow' down to him, which was followed
by another of the same import. They had
gone to Shechem to feed the flock ; and
Joseph was sent thither fiom the vale of
T

JOSEPH

274

Hebron by his father to bring him word of
their welfare and that of the flock. They
were not at Shechem, but were gone to
Dothan, which appears to have been not far
distant, pasturing their flock like the Arabs
of the present day, wherever the wild country
was unowned. On Joseph's approach, his
brethren, except Reuben, resolved to kill
him ; but Reuben saved him, persuading
them to ea^t him into a dry pit, to the intent
that he might restore hiin to his father.
Accordingly, when Joseph was come, they
stripped him of his tunic and cast him into
the pit, " and they sat down to cat bread :
and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and,
behold, a company of Ishmeelitcs came from
Gilead with their camels." Judah suggested
to his brethren to sell Joseph to the Ishmecl-
ites, and accordingly they took him out of
the pit and sold him " for twenty [shekels]
of silver" (ver, 28). His brethren pretended
to Jacob that Joseph had been killed by some
wild beast, taking to him the tunic stained
with a kid's blood. The Midianites sold
Joseph in Egypt to .Potiphar, " an officer of
Pharaoh, captain of the executioners, an
Egyptian" (xxxix. 1; comp. xxxvii. 36).
Joseph prospered in the house of the
Egyptian, who, seeing that God blessed him,
and pleased with his good service, "set him
over his house, and all [that] he had he gave
into his hand" (xxxix. 4, comp. 5). His
master's wife, with the well-known profligacy
of the Egyptian women, tempted him, and
faibng, charged him with the crime she
would have made him commit. Potiphar,
incensed against Joseph, cast him into prison,
where he remained for at least two years,
and perhaps longer. In the prison, as in
Potiphar's house, Joseph was found worthy
of complete trust, and the keeper of the
prison placed everything under his control.
After a while, Pharaoh was incensed against
two of his officers, " the chief of the cup
bearers " and the ^' chief of the bakers," and
ca?t them into the prison where Joseph was.
Each dreamel a prophetic dream, which
Joseph interpreted. " After two years,"
Joseph's deliverance came. Pharaoh dreamed
two prophetic dreams. "He stood by the
river [the Nile]. And, behold, coming up
out of the river seven kine [or ' heifers '],
beautiful in appearance and fat-fleshed ; and
they fed in the marsh-grass. And, behold,
seven other kine coming up after them out
of the river, evil in appearance, and lean-
fleshed" (xli. 1-3). These, afterwards de
scribed still more strongly, ate up the first
seven, and yet, as is said in the second ac
count, when they had eaten them remained
as lean as before Jxli. 1-4, 17-21). Then

Pharaoh had a second dream, — " Behold,
seven cars of corn coming *np on one stalk,
fat [or * full,' ver. 22] and good. And, be
hold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the
east wind, sprouting forth after them" (ver.
5, 6). These, also described more strongly
in the second account, devoured the first
seven ears (ver. 5-7, 22-24). In the morn
ing Pharaoh sent for the " scribes " and the
" wise men," and they were unable to give
him an interpretation. Then the chief of
the cupbearers remembered Joseph, and told
Pharaoh how a young Hebrew, " servant to
the captain of the executioners," had inter
preted his and his fellow-prisoner's dreams.
" Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and
they made him hasten out of the prison :
and he shaved [himself], and changed his
raiment, and came unto Pharaoh" (ver. 14).
The king then related his dreams, and Joseph,
when he had disclaimed human wisdom, de
clared to him that they were sent of God to
forewarn Pharaoh. There was essentially
but one dream. Both kine and ears sym
bolized years. There were to be seven years
of great plenty in Egypt, and after them
seven years of consuming and "very heavy
famine." On the interpretation it may be
remarked, that the kine represented the
animal products, and the cars of corn the
vegetable products, the most important object
in each class representing the whole class.
Having interpreted the dream, Joseph coun
selled Pharaoh to choose a wise man and set
him over the country, in order that he should
take the fifth part of the produce of the seven
yeais of plenty against the years of famine.
To this high post the king appointed Joseph,
made him not only governor of Egypt, but
second only to the sovereign. He also
" gave him to wife Asenath daughter of Poti-
pherah, priest [or ' prince '] of On." Joseph's
first act was to go throughout all the land of
Egypt. During the seven plenteous years
bhere was a very abundant produce, and he
gathered the fifth part, as he had advised
Pharaoh, and laid it up. Before the year of
famine Asenath hare Joseph two sons. When
the seven good years had passed, the famine
began (Gen. xli. 54-57). Famines are not
very unfrequent in the history of Egypt.
[Famine.] After the famine had lasted for
a time, apparently two years, Joseph gathered
up all the money that was found in the land
of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the
corn which they bought: and Joseph brought
the money into Pharaoh's house (xlvii. 13,
14). When all the money of Egypt and
Canaan was exhausted, barter became neces
sary. Joseph then obtained all the cattle of
Egypt, and in the next year, all the land,

JOSEPH

JOSEPH

except that of the priests, and apparently, as
a consequence, the Egyptians themselves.
He demanded, however, only a flfth part of
the produce as Pharaoh's right. Early in
the time of famine, which prevailed equally
in Canaan and Egypt, Jacob reproved his
helpless sons and sent them to Egypt, where
he knew there was corn to he bought. Ben
jamin alone he kept with him. Joseph was
now governor, an Egyptian in habits and
speech. His brethren did not know him,
grown from the boy they had sold into a
man. Joseph remembered his dreams, and
behaved to them as a stranger, using, as we
afterwards learn, an interpreter, and spoke
hard words to them, and accused them of
being spies. In defending themselves they
spoke of their household. The whole story
of Joseph's treatment of his brethren is so
graphically told in Gen. xlii.-xlv., and is so
familiar that it is unnecessary here to repeat
it. After the removal of his family into
Egypt, Jacob and his house abode in the
land of Goshen, Joseph still ruling the
country. Here Jacob, when near his end,
gave Joseph a portion above his brethren,
doubtless including the "parcel of ground"
at Shechem, his future burying-place (comp.
Johniv. 5). Then he blessed his sons, Joseph
most earnestly of all, and died in Egypt.
"And Joseph fell upon his face, and wept
upon him, and kissed him" (1. 1). When
he had caused him to be embalmed by " his
servants the physicians " he carried him to
Canaan, and laid him in the cave of Mach-
pelah, the burying-place of his fathers. Then
it was that his brethren feared that, their
father being dead, Joseph would punish
them, and that he strove to remove their
fears. We know no more of Joseph than
that he lived "a hundred and ten years,"
having been more than ninety in Egypt ;
that he " saw Ephraim's children of the
third" [generation], and that "the children
also of Machir the son of Manasseh were
borne upon Joseph's knees ; " and that dying
he took an oath of his brethren that they
should carry up his bones to the land of pro
mise : thus showing in his latest action the
faith (Heb. xi. 22) which had guided his
whole life. Like his father he was em
balmed, " and he was put in a coffin in
Egypt" (1. 26). His trust Moses kept, and
laid the bones of Joseph in his inheritance in
Shechem, in tbe territory of Ephraim his
offspring. As to the dynasty which ruled in
Egypt during Joseph's residence, see Egypt.
—2. Son of Hell, and reputed father of
Jesus Christ. All that is told us of Joseph
in the N. T. may be summed up in a few
words. He was a just man, and of the house

and lineage of David. The public registers
also contained his name under the reckoning
of the house of David (John i. 45 ; Luke
iii. 23 ; Matt. i. 20 ; Luke ii. 4). He lived
at Nazareth in Galilee, and it is probable
that his family had been settled there for
at least two preceding generations, possibly
from the time of Matthat, the common grand
father of Joseph and Mary, since Mary lived
there too (Luke i. 26, 27). He espoused
Mary, the daughter and heir of his uncle
Jacob, and before he took her home as his
wife received the angelic communication re
corded in Matt. i. 20. When Jesus was 12
years old Joseph and Mary took him with
them to keep the Passover at Jerusalem, and
when they returned to Nazareth he continued
to act as a father to the child Jesus, and was
reputed to be so indeed. But here our know
ledge of Joseph ends. That he died before
our Lord's crucifixion, is indeed tolerably
certain, by what is related, John xix. 27,
and perhaps Mark vi. 3 may imply that he
was then dead. But where, when, or how
he died, we know not. — 3. Joseph op Ari-
mathaea, a rich and pious Israelite, is de
nominated by Mark (xv. 43), an honourable
counsellor, by which we are probably to
understand that he was a member of the
Great Council, or Sanhedrim. He is further
characterised as "a good man and a just"
(Luke xxiii. 50), one of those who, bearing
in their hearts the words of their old pro
phets, were waiting for the kingdom of God
(Mark xv. 43; Luke ii. 25, 33, xxiii. 51).
We are expressly told that he did not " con
sent to the counsel and deed" of his col
leagues in conspiring to bring about the death
of Jesus ; but he seems to have lacked the
courage to protest against their judgment.'
At all events we know that he shrank,
through fear of his countrymen, from pro
fessing himself openly a disciple of our Lord.
The crucifixion seems to have wrought in
him the same clear conviction that it wrought
in the Centurion who stood by the cross ; for
on the very evening of that dreadful day,
when the triumph of the chief priests and
rulers seemed complete, Joseph "went in
boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of
Jesus." Pilate consented. Joseph and
Nicodemus then having enfolded the sacred
body in the linen shroud which Joseph had
bought, consigned it to a tomb hewn in a
rock, a tomb where no human corpse had
ever yet been laid. The tomb was in <t
garden belonging to Joseph, and close to the
place of crucifixion. There is a tradition
that he was one of the seventy disciples. —
4. Joseph, called Barsabas, and surnamed
Justus ; one of the two persons chosen by
T 2

JOSHUA

27(3

JOSHUA, BOOK OF

the assembled church (Acts i. 23) as worthy
to fiU the place in the Apostolic company
from which Judas had fallen.
JOSH'UA, whose name appears in the
various forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Jehoshua,
Jeshua, and Jf.sus, was the son of Nun, of
the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chr. vii. 27), and
was nearly forty years old when he shared in
the hurried triumph of the Exodus. He is
mentioned first in connexion with the fight
against Amalek at Rephidim, when he was
chosen by Moses to lead the Israelites (Ex.
xvii. 9). When Moses ascended Mount
Sinai to receive for the first time the two
Tables, Joshua, who is called his minister or
servant, accompanied him part of the way,
and was the first to accost him in his descent
(Ex. xxxii. 17). Soon afterwards he was
one of tho twelve chiefs who were sent
(Num. xiii. 17) to explore the land of Canaan,
and one of the two (xiv. 6) who gave an en
couraging report of their journey. The 40
years of wandering were almost passed, and
Joshua was one of the few survivors, when
Moses, shortly before his death, was directed
(Num. xxvii. 18) to invest Joshua solemnly
and publicly with definite authority, in con
nexion with Eleazar the priest, over the
people. And after this was done, God Him
self gave Joshua a charge by the mouth of
the dying Lawgiver (Deut. xxxi. 14, 23).
Under the direction of God again renewed
(Josh. i. 1), Joshua assumed the command
of the people at Shittim, sent spies into
Jericho, crossed the Jordan, fortified a camp
at Gilgal, circumcised the people, kept the
passover, and was visited by the Captain of
the Lord's Host. A miracle made the fall of
Jericho more terrible to the Canaanites. In
the first attack upon Ai the Israelites were
repulsed : it fell at the second assault, and
the invaders marched to the relief of Gibeon.
In the great battle of Bethhoron the Amorites
were signally routed, and the south country
was open to the Israelites. Joshua returned
to the camp at Gilgal, master of half of
Palestine. In the north, at the waters of
Merom, he defeated the Canaanites under
Jabin king of Hazor ; and pursued his suc
cess to the gates of Zidon and into the valley
of Lebanon under Hermon. In six years,
six tribes with thirty-one petty chiefs were
conquered ; amongst others the Anakhn- —
the old terror of Israel — are especially re
corded as destroyed everywhere except in
Philistia. Joshua, now stricken in years,
proceeded in conjunction with Eleazar and
the heads of the tribes to complete the divi
sion of the conquered land ; and when all
was allotted, Timnath-serah in Mount
Ephraim was assigned by tha people as

Joshua's peculiar inheritance. After an
interval of rest, Joshua convoked an as
sembly from all Israel. He delivered two
solemn addresses reminding them of the
marvellous fulfilment of God's promises to
their fathers, and warning them of the con
ditions on which their prosperity depended ;
and lastly, he caused them to renew their
covenant with God, at Shechem, a place
already famous in connexion with Jacob
(Gen. xxxv. 4), and Joseph (Josh. xxiv. 32).
He died at the age of 110 years, and was
buried in his own city, Timnath-serah.
JOSH'UA, BOOK" OF. This book has
been regarded by many critics as a part of
the Pentateuch, forming with tbe latter one
complete work ; but there do not appear to
be sufficient grounds for this opinion. The
fact that the first sentence of Joshua begins
with a conjunction does not show any closer
connexion between it and the Pentateuch
than exists between Judges and it. The re
ferences in i. 8, viii. 31, xxiii. 6, xxiv. 26,
to the " book of the law " rather show that
that book was distinct from Joshua. Other
references to events recorded in the Penta
teuch tend in the same direction. No quo
tation (in the strict modern sense of the
word) from the Pentateuch can be found in
Joshua. — The book may be regarded as con
sisting of three parts : (I.) Tho conquest of
Canaan, (II.) The partition of Canaan, (III.)
Joshua's farewell. — I. The preparations for
the war and the passage of the Jordan, ch.
1-5 ; the capture of Jericho, 6; the conquest
of the south, 7-10 ; the conquest of the
north, 11 ; recapitulation, 12. — II. Territory
assigned to Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh,
13; the lot of Caleb and of the tribe of
Judah, 14, 15; Ephraim and half Manasseh,
16, 17; Benjamin, 18; Simeon, Zebulun,
Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan, 19 ; the
appointment of six cities of refuge, 20 ; the as
signment of forty-eight cities to Levi, 21 ; the
departure of the transjordanic tribes to their
homes, 22. This part of the book has been
aptly compared to the Domesday-book of the
Norman conquerors of England. The docu
ments of which it consists were doubtless the
abstract of such reports as were supplied by
the men whom Joshua sent out to describe
the land. In the course of time it is pro
bable that changes were introduced into their
reports by transcribers adapting them to the
actual state of the country in later times,
when political divisions were modified, new
towns sprang up and old ones disappeared.
— III. Joshua's convocation of the people
and first address, 23; his second address at
Shechem, and his death, 24. Nothing is
really known as to the authorship of the

JOSIAH

277

JUDAEA

book. Joshua himself is generally named as
the author by the Jewish writers and the
Christian Fathers ; but no contemporary
assertion or sufficient historical proof of the
fact exists, and it cannot be maintained with
out qualification. The last verses (xxiv. 29-
33) were obviously added at a later time.
Some events, such as the capture of Hebron,
of Debir (Josh. xv. 13-19, and Judg. i. 10-15),
of Leshem (Josh. xix. 47, and Judg. xviii. 7),
and the joint occupation of Jerusalem (Josh.
xv. 63, and Judg. i. 21) probably did not
occur till after Joshua's death.
JOSI'AH. The son of Amon and Jedidah,
succeeded bis father b.c 641, in the eighth
year of his age, and reigned 31 years. His
history is contained in 2 K. xxii. -xxiv. 30 ;
2 Chr. xxxiv., xxxv. ; and the first twelve
chapters of Jeremiah throw much light upon
the general character of the Jews in his days.
He began in the eighth year of his reign to
seek the Lord ; and in his twelfth year, and
for six years afterwards, in a personal pro
gress throughout all the land of Judah and
Israel, he destroyed everywhere high places,
groves, images, and all outward signs and
relics of idolatry. The temple was restored
under a special commission ; and in the
course of the repairs Hilkiah the priest found
that book of the Law of the Lord which
quickened so remarkably the ardent zeal of
the king. The great day of Josiah's life was
the day of the Passover in the eighteenth
year of his reign. After this, bis endeavours
to abolish every trace of idolatry and super
stition were still carried on. But tbe time
drew" near which had been indicated by
Huldah (2 K. xxii. 20). When Pharaoh-
Necho went from Egypt to Carchemish to
carry on his war against Assyria, Josiah,
possibly in a spirit of loyalty to the Assyrian
king, to whom he may have been hound,
opposed his march along the sea-coast.
Xecho reluctantly paused and gave him battle
in the valley of Esdraelon. Josiah was mor
tally wounded, and died before he could
reach Jerusalem. He was buried with ex
traordinary honours.
JO'THAM. 1. The youngest son of
Gideon (Judg. ix. 5), who escaped from the
massacre of his brethren. His parable of
the reign of the bramble is the earliest
example of tbe kind. — 2. The son of king
Uzziah or Azariah and Jerusbah. After
administering the kingdom for some years
during his father's leprosy, he succeeded to
the throne b.c 758, when he was 25 years
old, and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He
was contemporary with Pekah and with the
prophet Isaiah. His history is contained in
2 K. xv. and 2 Chr. xxvii.

JU'BAL, a son of Lamech by Adah, and
the inventor of the " harp and organ " (Gen.
iv. 21), probably general terms for stringed
and wind instruments.
JUBILEE, THE YEAR OF, the fiftieth
year after the succession of seven Sabbatical
years, in which all the land which had been
alienated returned to the families of those to
whom it had been allotted in the original
distribution, and all bondmen of Hebrew
blood were liberated. The relation in which
it stood to the Sabbatical year and the general
directions for its observance are given Lev.
xxv. 8-16 and 23-55. Its bearing on lands
dedicated to Jehovah is stated Lev. xxvii.
16-25. There is no mention of tbe Jubilee
in the book of Deuteronomy, and the only
other reference to it in the Pentateuch is in
Num. xxxvi. 4. The year was inaugurated
on the Day of Atonement with the blowing
of trumpets throughout the land, and by a
proclamation of universal liberty. Josephus
states that all debts were remitted in the
year of Jubilee ; but the Scripture speaks of
the remission of debts only in connexion with
tbe Sabbatical Year (Deut. xv. 1, 2), and the
Jewish writers say expressly that the remis
sion of debts was a point of distinction be
tween the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee.
The Jewish writers in general consider that
tbe Jubilee was observed till the destruction of
the first temple. But there is no direct his
torical notice of its observance on any one
occasion, either in the books of the O. T., or
in any other records. The only passages in
the Prophets which can be regarded with
much confidence, as referring to the Jubilee
in any way, are Is. v. 7, 8, 9, 10, lxi. 1, 2 ;
Ez. vii. 12, 13, xlvi. 16, 17, 18. The Ju
bilee is to be regarded as the outer circle of
that great Sabbatical system which comprises
within it the Sabbatical year, the sabbatical
month, and tbe sabbath day. But the Jubilee
is more immediately connected with the body
politic ; and it was only as a member of the
state that each person concerned could parti
cipate in its provisions. It was not distin
guished by any prescribed religious observance
peculiar to itself, like the rites of the sabbath
day and of the sabbatical month. As far as
legislation could go, its provisions tended to
restore that equality in outward circum
stances which was instituted in the first set
tlement of the land by Joshua.
JU'CAL, son of Shelemiah (Jer. xxxviii. 1).
JU'DA, one of the Lord's brethren, enu
merated in Mark vi. 3. [Judas, p. 280.]
JUDAE'A, or JUDE'A, a territorial divi
sion which succeeded to the overthrow of
the ancient landmarks of the tribes of Israel
and Judah in their respective captivities.

JUDAH

JUDAH, KINGDOM OF

The word first occurs Dan .v. 1 3 ( A . Y.
" Jewry "), and the first mention of the
" province of Judaea " is in the book of Ezra
(v. 8) ; it is alluded to in Neh. xi. 3 (A. V.
" Judah "), and was the result of the division
of the Persian empire mentioned by Hero
dotus (iii. 89-97), under Darius (comp. Esth.
viii. 9 ; Dan. vi. 1). In the Apocryphal
Books the word " province " is dropped, and
throughout the books of Esdras, Tobit, Judith,
and Maccabees, tbe expressions are the " land
of Judaea," "Judaea" (A. Y. frequently
"Jewry"), and throughout the N. T. In a
wide and more improper sense, the term
Judaea was sometimes extended to the whole
country of the Canaanites, its ancient inhabi
tants ; and even in the Gospels we seem to
read of the coasts of Judaea " beyond Jor
dan " (Matt. xix. 1; Mark x. 1). Judaea
was, in strict language, the name of the third
district, west of the Jordan, and south of
Samaria. It was made a portion of the
Roman province of Syria upon the deposition
of Archelaus, the ethnarch of Judea in a.d.
6, and was governed by a procurator, vWio
was subject to the governor of S\ria.
JU'DAII, the fourth son of Jacob and the
fourth of Leah, the last before the temporary
cessation in the births of her children. His
whole- brothers were Reuben, Simeon, and
Levi, elder than himself — Issachar and Ze
bulun younger (see Gen. xxxv. 23). Of
Judah's personal character more traits are
preserved than of any other of the patriarchs,
with the exception of Joseph. In the matter
of the sale of Joseph, he and Reuben stand
out in favourable contrast to the rc-t of the
brothers. When a second visit to Egypt for
corn had become inevitable, it was Judah
who, as the mouthpiece of the rest, headed
the remonstrance against the detention of
Benjamin by Jacob, and finally undertook to
be responsible for the safety of the lad (xliii.
3-10). And when, through Joseph's artifice,
the brothers were brought back to the palace,
he is again the leader and spokesman of the
band. So too it is Judah who is sent before
Jacob to smooth the way for him in the land
of Goshen (xlvi. 28). This ascendancy over
his brethren is reflected in the last words
addressed to him by his father. His sons
were five. Of these, three were by his
Canaanite wife Bath-shua. They are all in
significant : two died early ; and the third,
Shelah, does not come prominently forward,
either in his person or his family. The other
two, Pharez and Zerah, were illegitimate
sons by the widow of Er, the eldest of the
former family. As is not unfrequently the
case, the illegitimate sons surpassed the legi
timate, and from Pharez, the elder, were de

scended the royal and other illustrious familu. ¦«.
of Judah. The three sons went with their
father into Egypt at the time of the final
removal thither (Gen. xlvi. 12 ; Ex. i. 2).
When we again meet with the families of
Judah they occupy a position among the
tribes similar to that which their progenitor
had taken amongst the patriarchs. The
numbers of the tribe at the census at Sinai
were 74,600 (Num. i. 26, 27), considerably
in advance of any of the others, the largest
of which— Dan— numbered 02,700. On the
borders of the Promised Land they were
76,500 (xxvi. 22), Dan being still the
nearest. During the march through the
desert Judah's place was in the van of 4he
host, on the east side of the Tabernacle, with
his kinsmen Issachar and Zebulun (ii, 3-9, x.
14). During the conquest of tbe country
the only incidents specially affecting the
tribe of Judah arc— (1) the misdeed of
Achan, who was of the great house of Zerah
(Josh. vii. 1, l(i-ls) ; and (2) tbe conquest
of the mountain district of Hebron by Caleb,
and of the strong city Debir, in the same '
locality, by his nephew and son-in-law Oth
niel (Josh. xiv. 6-15, xv. 13-19).— The
boundaries and' contents of the territory
allotted to Judah are narrated at great
length, and with greater minuteness than
the others, in Josh. xv. 20-63. The north
boundary, for the most part coincident with
the south boundary of Benjamin, began at
the embouchure of the Jordan, entered the
hills apparently at or about the present road*
from Jericho, ran westward to En-shemesh,
probably the present Ain-Haud, below Be
thany, thence over the Mount of Olives to
Enrogel, in the valley beneath Jerusalem ;
went along the ravine of Hinnom, under the
precipices of the city, climbed the hill in a
N.W. direction to the water of the Nephtoah
(probably Lifta ), and thence by Kirjath-Jea-
rim (probably Kitriet-el-Enab), Bethshemesh
(Ain-Shems), Timnath, and Ekron to Jab-
neel on the sea-coast. On the east the Dead
Sea, and on the west the Mediterranean
formed the boundaries. Tbe southern line
is hard to determine, since it is denoted by
places many of which have not been iden
tified. It left the Dead Sea at its extreme
south end, and joined the Mediterranean at
the Wady cl-Arhh. This territory is in
average length about 4 5 miles, and in
average breadth about 50.
JU'DAH, KINGDOM OF. When the dis
ruption of Solomon's kingdom took place at
Shechem, only the tribe of Judah followed
the house of David. But almost immediately
afterwards, when Rehoboam conceived the
design of establishing his authority over

JUDAH, KINGDOM OF

270

JUDAS ISCARIOT

Israel by force of arms, the tribe of Ben
jamin also is recorded as obeying his sum
mons, and contributing its warriors to make
up his army. Two Benjamite towns, Bethel
and Jericho, were included in the northern
kingdom. A part, if not all, of the territory
of Simeon (1 Sam. xxvii. 6 ; 1 K. xix. 3 ;
comp. Josh. xix. 1) and of Dan (2 Chr. xi.
10 ; comp. Josh. xix. 41, 42) was recognised
as belonging to Judah ; and in the reigns of
Abijah and Asa tho southern kingdom was
enlarged by some additions taken out of the
territory of Ephraim (2 Chr. xiii. 19, xv. 8,
xvii. 2). The kingdom of Judah possessed
many advantages which secured for it a
lgnger continuance than that of Israel. A
frontier less exposed to powerful enemies, a
soil less fertile, a population hardier and
more united, a fixed and venerated centre of
administration and religion, an hereditary
aristocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army
always subordinate, a succession of kings
which no revolution interrupted ; — to these
and other secondary causes is to be attri
buted the fact that Judah survived her more
populous and more powerful sister kingdom
by 135 years, and lasted from b.c. 975 to
B.C. 536. (a.) The first three kings of Judah
seem to have cherished the hope of re-estab
lishing their authority over the Ten Tribes ;
for sixty years there was war between them
and the kings of Israel. The victory achieved
by the daring Abijah brought to Judah a
temporary accession of territory. Asa ap
pears to have enlarged it still farther, (b.)
Hanani's remonstrance (2 Chr. xvi. 7) pre
pares us for the reversal by Jehoshaphat
of the policy which Asa pursued towards
Israel and Damascus. A close alliance
sprang up with strange rapidity between
Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat, active and
prosperous, repelled nomad invaders from
the desert, curbed the aggressive spirit of
his nearer neighbours, and made his influ
ence felt even among the Philistines and
Arabians. Amaziah, flushed with the re
covery of Edom, provoked a war with bis
more powerful contemporary Jehoash tbe
conqueror of the Syrians ; and Jerusalem
was entered and plundered by the Israelites.
Under Uzziah and Jotham, Judah long en
joyed political and religious prosperity, till
Ahaz became the tributary and vassal of Tig-
lath-Pileser. (c.) Already in the fatal grasp
of Assyria, Judah was yet spared for a che
quered existence of almost another century
and a half after the termination of the king
dom of Israel. The consummation of the
ruin came upon them in the destruction of
the Temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan,
(amid the wailings of prophets, and the taunts

of heathen tribes released at length from the
yoke of David.
JU'DAS, surnamed BAR'SABAS, a leading
member of the Apostolic church at Jeru
salem (Acts' xv. 22), endued with the gift
of prophecy (ver. 32), chosen with Silas to
accompany Paul and Barnabas as delegates
to the church at Antioch, to make known
the decree concerning the terms of admission
of the Gentile converts (ver. 27). After em
ploying their prophetical gifts for the con
firmation of the Syrian Christians in the
faith, Judas went back to Jerusalem.
JU'DAS OF GALILEE, the leader of a
popular revolt "in the days of the taxing "
(i.e. the census, under the prefecture of P.
Sulp. Quirinus, a.d. 6, a.u.c 759), referred
to by Gamaliel in his speech before the San
hedrim (Acts v. 37). According to Josephus,
Judas was a Gaulonite of the city of Gamala,
probably taking his name of Galilaean from
his insurrection having had its rise in Ga
lilee. His revolt had a theocratic character,
the watchword of which was, " We have no
Lord or master but God." Judas himself
perished, and his followers were dispersed.
WTith bis fellow-insurgent Sadoc, a Pharisee,
Judas is represented by Josephus as the
founder of a fourth sect, in addition to the
Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. The
Gaulonites, as his followers were called, may
be regarded as the doctrinal ancestors of the
Zealots and Sicarii of later days.
JU'DAS ISCAR'IOT. He is sometimes
called "the son of Simon" (John vi. 71, xiii.
2, 26), hut more commonly called (the three
Synoptic Gospels give no other name) Isca-
riotes (Matt. x. 4; Mark iii. 19; Luke vi.
16, &c). In the three lists of the Twelve
there is added in each case the fact that he
was the betrayer. The name Iscariot has
received many interpretations more or less
conjectural. The most probable are — (1)
From Kerioth (Josh. xv. 25), in the tribe of
Judah. On this hypothesis his position
among the Twelve, the rest of whom be
longed to Galilee (Acts ii. 7), would be ex
ceptional; and this has led to (2) From
Kartha in Galilee (Kartan, A.V. Josh. xxi.
32). (3) From scortea, a leathern apron,
the name being applied to him as the bearer
of the bag and=Judas with the apron. — Of
the life of Judas, before the appearance of his
name in the lists of the Apostles, we know
absolutely nothing. What that appearance
implies, however, is that he had previously
declared himself a disciple. He was drawn,
as the others were, by the preaching of the
Baptist, or his own Messianic hopes, or the
"gracious words" of the new Teacher, to
leave his former life, and to obey the call of

JUDAS ISCARIOT

2S0 JUDAS, THE LORD'S BROTHER

the Prophet of Nazareth. The choice was
not made, we must remember, without a pre
vision of its issue (John vi. 64). The germs
of the evil, in all likelihood, unfolded them
selves gradually. The rules to which the
Twelve were subject in their first journey
(Matt. x. 9, 10) sheltered him from the
temptation that would have been most dan
gerous to him. The new form of life, of
which we find the first traces in Luke viii. 3,
brought that temptation with it. As soon as
the Twelve were recognised as a body, travel
ling hither and thither with their Master,
receiving money and other offerings, and re
distributing what they received to the poor,
it became necessary that some one should act
as the steward and almoner of the small
society, and this fell to Judas (John xii. 6,
xiii. 29). The Galilean or Judaean peasant
found himself entrusted with larger sums of
money than before, and with this there came
covetousness, unfaithfulness, embezzlement.
It was impossible after this that he could
feel at ease with One who asserted so clearly
and sharply the laws of faithfulness, duty,
unselfishness. The narrative of Matt, xxvi.,
Mark xiv., places this history in close connexion
with the fact of the betrayal. It leaves the
motives of the betrayer to conjecture. During
the days that intervened between the supper
at Bethany and the Paschal or quasi-Paschal
gathering, he appeared to have concealed his
treachery. At the last Supper he is present,
looking forward to the consummation of his
guilt as drawing nearer every hour. Then
come the sorrowful words which showed him
that his design was known. " One of you
shall betray me." After this there comes on
him that paroxysm and insanity of guilt as
of one whose human soul was possessed by
the Spirit of Evil — " Satan entered into him "
(John xiii. 27). He knows that garden in
which his Master and his companions had so
often rested after the weary work of the day.
He comes, accompanied by a band of officers
and servants (John xviii. 3), with the kiss
whieh was probably the usual salutation of
the disciples. The words of Jesus, calm and
gentle as they were, showed that this was
what embittered the treachery, and made the
suffering it inflicted more acute (Luke xxii.
48). What followed in the confusion of that
night the Gospels do not record. The fever
of the crime passed away. There came ha.es
on him the recollection of the sinless right
eousness of the Master he had wronged (Matt.
xxvii. 3). He repented, and his guilt and
all that had tempted him to it became hate
ful. He carried back the thirty pieces of
silver to the chief priests, and confessed his
sin, hoping perhaps that good might yet be

done by this assertion of Christ's innocence.
Their only answer was to throw the responsi
bility upon him ; and casting down the money
on the pavement of the Temple he went and
hanged himself. His death was made more
horrible to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
by the circumstance recorded by St. Luke in
the Acts ; but most awful of all is the sen
tence which was more than once pronounced
upon him by the Lord, and with which Peter
dismisses his name from the apostles' list,
"from which Judas by transgression fell,
that he might go to his own place." With a
scrupulousness which is the most striking
example of religious formalism glossing over
moral deformity, the chief priests decided
that tbe thirty silver pieces, as the price of
blood, must not be put back into the treasury,
so they purchased with them the potter's
field, without the city, as a burial place for
strangers. It seems to be implied in the
narrative that the field thus purchased was also
the place where Judas committed suicide, and
the double memorial of the scene and the price
of blood was preserved by its name, Aceldama,
the field of blood (Matt, xxvii. 3-10; Acts i.
18, 19). It is hardly necessary to point out '
that " purchased " in the latter passage is
an instance of a common figure of speech,
implying indirect agencv. [Aceldama.]
JUDE, or JU'DAS, LUBBE'US and TlIAD-
DE'US (A. Y. "Judas the brother of James"),
one of the Twelve Apostles; a member, toge
ther with his namesake " Iscariot," James
the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, of
the last of the three sections of the Apostolic
body. The name Judas only, without any
distinguishing mark, occurs in the lists given
by St. Luke vi. 16 ; Acts i. 13 ; and in John
xiv. 22 (where we find "Judas not Iscariot"
among the Apostles), but the Apostle has
been generally identified with " Lebbeus
whose surname was Thaddeus " (Matt. x. 3 ;
Mark iii. 18). Much difference of opinion
has existed from the earliest times as to the
right interpretation of the words 'lovSas
'IokwjSou. The generally received opinion is
that the A. Y. is right in translating " Judas
the brother of James." But we prefer to
follow nearly all the most eminent critical
authorities, and render the words " Judas
the son of James." The name of Jude occurs
only once in the Gospel narrative (John xiv.
22). Nothing is certainly known of the later
history of the Apostle. Tradition connects
him with the foundation of the church at
Edessa. JU'DAS MACCAP.AE'US. [Maccabees.]
JU'DAS, THE LORD'S BROTHER. Among
the brethren of our Lord mentioned by the
people of Nazareth (Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi.

JUDE, EPISTLE OF

281

JUDGES, BOOK OF

3) occurs a " Judas," who has been some
times identified with the Apostle of the same
name. It has been considered with more
probability that he was the writer of the
Epistle which bears the name of " Jude the
brother of James."
JUDE, EPISTLE OF. Its author was
probably Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus,
the subject of the preceding article. Although
the canonicity of this Epistle was questioned
in the earliest ages of the Church, there never
was any doubt of its genuineness. The ques
tion was never whether it was the work of
an impostor, but whether its author was of
sufficient weight to warrant its admission
into the Canon. This question was gradually
decided in its favour. There are no data
from which to determine its date or place of
writing. The object of the Epistle is plainly
enough announced, ver. 3 : the reason for
this exhortation is given ver. 4. The re
mainder of the Epistle is almost entirely
occupied by a minute depiction of the adver
saries of the faith. The Epistle closes' by
briefly reminding tbe readers of the oft-re
peated prediction of the Apostles — among
whom the writer seems not to rank himself
— that the faith would be assailed by such
enemies as he has depicted (ver. 17-19), ex
horting them to maintain their own stead
fastness in the faith (ver. 20, 21), while they
earnestly sought to rescue others from tbe
corrupt example of those licentious livers
(ver. 22, 23), and commending them to the
power of God in language which forcibly
recalls the closing benediction of the Epistle
to 0 the Romans (ver. 24, 25; cf. Rom. xvi.
25-27). This Epistle presents one peculiarity,
which, as we learn from St. Jerome, caused
its authority to be impugned in very early
times — the supposed citation of apocryphal
writings (ver. 9, 14, 15). The former of
these passages, containing the reference to
the contest of the archangel Michael and the
devil "about the body of Moses," was sup
posed by Origen to have been founded on a
Jewish work called the " Assumption of
Moses." As regards the supposed quotation
from the Book of Enoch, the question is not
so clear whether St. Jude is making a cita
tion from a work already in the hands of his
readers, or is employing a traditionary pro
phecy not at that time committed to writing.
The larger portion of this Epistle (ver. 3-16)
is almost identical in language and subject
with a part of the Second Epistle of Peter
(2 Pet. ii. 1-19). This question is examined
in the article Peter, Second Epistle of.
JUDGES. The Judges were temporary
and special deliverers, sent by God to deliver
the Israelites from their oppressors, not su

preme magistrates, succeeding to the authority
of Moses and Joshua. Their power only
extended over portions of the country, and
some of them were contemporaneous. Their
name in Hebrew is Shophetim, which is the
same as that for ordinary judges, nor is it
applied to them in a different sense.* For,
though their first work was that of deliverers
and leaders in war, they then administered
justice to the people, and their authority
supplied the want of a regular government.
But the only recognised central authority
was still the oracle at Shiloh, which sunk
into a system of priestly weakness and dis
order under Eli and his sons. Even while
the administration of Samuel gave something
like a settled government to the South, there
was scope for the irregular exploits of Sam
son on the borders of the Philistines ; and
Samuel at last established his authority as
Judge and prophet, but still as the servant of
Jehovah, only to see it so abused by his sons
as to exhaust the patience of the people, who
at length demanded a King, after the pattern
of the surrounding nations. The following
is a list of the Judges, whose history is given
under their respective names : —
First Servitude, to Mesopotamia — ¦
First Judge ; Othniei,.
Second Servitude, to Moab —
Second Judge : Ehud ;
Third Judge : Shamgar.
Third Servitude, to Jabin and Sisera —
Fourth Judge ; Deborah and Barak.
Fourth Servitude, to Midian — ¦
Fifth Judge : Gideon ;
Sixth Judge : Abimelech ;
Seventh Judge : Tola ;
Eighth Judge : Jair.
Fifth Servitude, to Ammon —
Ninth Judge : Jephthah ;
Tenth Judge : Ibzan ;
Eleventh Judge ; Elon ;
Twelfth Judge : Abdon.
Sixth Servitude, to the Philistines-
Thirteenth Judge : Samson ;
Fourteenth Judge : Eu.
Fifteenth Judge : Samuel.
On the Chronology of the Judges, see the
following article.
JUDGES, BOOK OF, of which the book of
Ruth formed originally a part, contains the
history from Joshua to Samson. As the history
of tbe Judges occupies by far the greater part
of the narrative, and is at the same time the
history of the people, the title of the whole
book is derived from that portion. The book
* Tlie Hebrew word is the same aa that of the Car-
thapitiitin " Suffetcs," the name of tliemagiatratL'B whom
we find in the time of the Punic wars.

JUDGES, BOOK OF

2S2

JUDITH, THE BOOK OF

may be divided into two parts — (I.) Ch.
i.-xvi. — The subdivisions are — (a) i.-ii. 5,
which may be considered as a first introduc
tion, giving a summary of the results of the
war carried on against the Canaanites by the
several tribes on the west of Jordan after
Joshua's death, and forming a continuation
of Josh. xii. (b) ii. 6-iii. 6. — This is a second
introduction, standing in nearer relation to
the following history, (c) iii. 7 -xvi. — The
words, "and the children of Israel did evil
in the sight of the Lord," which had been
already used in ii. 1 1, are employed to intro
duce the history of the thirteen Judges com
prised in tbis book. An account of six of
these thirteen is given at greater or less
length. The account of the remaining seven
is very short, and merely attached to the
longer narratives. We may observe in ge
neral on this portion of the bowk, that it is
almost entirely a history of the wars of
deliverance. (II.) Ch. xvii. -xxi. — This part
has no formal connexion with tho preced
ing, and is often called an appendix. No
mention of the Judges occurs in it. It con
tains allusions to " the house of God," the
ark, and the high-priest. The period to
which the narrative relates is simply marked
by the expression, " when there was no king
in Israel" (xix. 1; cf. xviii. 1). It records
(a) the conquest of Laish by a portion of the
tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of
the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already
instituted by Micah in Mount Ephraim. (b)
The almost total extinction of the tribe of
Benjamin. The date is marked by the men
tion of Phinehas, the grandson' of Aaron
(xx. 28). From the above account it will be
observed that tbe history ceases with Samson,
excluding Eli and Samuel ; and then at this
point two historical pieces are added — xvii.-
xxi. and the book of Ruth — independent of
the general plan and of each other. This
is sufficiently explained by the supposition,
that the books from Judges to 2 Kings formed
one work. [Kings, Books of.] In this
case the histories of Eli and Samuel, so
closely united between themselves, are only
deferred on account of their close connexion
with the rise of the monarchy. And Judg.
xvii.-xxi. is inserted both as an illustration
of the sin of Israel during the time of the
Judges, in which respect it agrees with i.-xvi.,
and as presenting a contrast with the better
order prevailing in the time of the kings.
If we adopt the view, that Judges to 2 Kings
form one book, the final arrangement of the
whole must have been after the thirty-seventh
year of Jehoiachin's captivity, or b.c. 562
{2 K. xxv. 27.) — The time commonly assigned
to the period contained in this book is 299

years. The dates which are given amount to
410 yours when reckoned consecutively; and
Acts xiii. 20 would show that this was the
computation commonly adopted, as the 450
years seem to result from adding 40 years for
Eli to the 410 of this book. But a difficulty
is created by xi. 26, and in a still greater
degree by 1 K. vi. 1 , where the whole period
from the Exodus to the building of tho
Temple is stated as 480 years. On the
whole, it seems safer to give up the attempt
to ascertain the chronology exactly. The
successive narratives gi\e us the history of
only parts of the country, and some of the
occurrences may have been contemporarv
(x. 7).
JUDGMENT-HALL. The word Praeto-
rium is so translated five times in the A. Y.
of the N. T. ; and in those five passages it
denotes two different places. 1. In John
xviii. 28, 33, xxix. 9, it is the residence
which Pilate occupied when he visited Jeru
salem. The site of Pilate's praetorium in
Jerusalem has given rise to much dispute,
some supposing it to be the palace of king
Herod, others the tower of Antonia ; but it
was probably the latter, which was then and
long afterwards the citadel of Jerusalem.
2. In Acts xxiii. 35 Herod's judgment-hall
or praetorium in Caesarea was doubtless a
part of that magnificent range of buildings,
the erection of which by king Herod is de
scribed in Josephus. — The word " palace,"
or " Caesar's court," in the A. Y. of Phil. i.
13, is a translation of the same word prae
torium. It may here have denoted the
quarter of that detachment of the Praetorian
Guards which was in immediate attendance
upon the emperor, and had barracks in Mount
Palatine. JU'DITH, the heroine of the apocryphal
book which bears her name, who appears as
an ideal type of piety (Jud. viii, 6), beauty
(xi. 21), courage, and chastity (xvi. 22 ff.).
JU'DITH, THE BOOK OF, one of the
books of the Apocrypha, like that of Tobit,
belongs to the earliest specimens of historical
fiction. The narrative of the reign of " Ne
buchadnezzar king of Nineveh " (i. l), of the
campaign of Holofernes, and the deliverance
of Bethulia, through the stratagem and cour
age of the Jewish heroine, contains too many
and too serious difficulties, both historical
and geographical, to allow of the supposition
that it is either literally true, or even care
fully moulded on truth. It belongs to the
Maccabacan period, which it reflects not only
in its general spirit but even in its smaller
traits. The text exists at present in two
distinct recensions, the Greek and the Latin.
The former evidently is the truer represcnta-

JULIA

283

KAN AH

tive of the original, and it seems certain that
the Latin was derived, in the main, from the
Greek by a series of successive alterations.
JU'LIA, a Christian woman at Rome, pro
bably the wife, or perhaps the sister, of Philo-
logus, in connexion with whom she is saluted
by St. Paul (Rom. xvi. 15).
JU'LIUS, the centurion of " Augustus'
band," to whose charge St. Paul was de
livered when he was sent prisoner from
Caesarea to Rome (Acts xxvii. I, 3).
JU'NIA, a Christian at Rome, mentioned
by St. Paul as one of his kinsfolk and fellow-
prisoners, of note among the Apostles, and
in Christ before St. Paul (Rom. xvi. 7).
JUNIPER (1 K. xix. 4, 5; Ps. cxx. 4 ;
Job xxx. 4). The word which is rendered
in A. Y. juniper is beyond doubt a sort of
broom, Genista monosperma, G. raetara of
Forskal, answering to the Arabic Rethem, It
is very abundant in the desert of Sinai, and
affords shaie and protection, both in heat
and storm, to travellers. The Rothem is a
leguminous plant, and bears a white flower.
It is also found in Spain, Portugal, and
Palestine. JU' PITER (the Greek Zeus). Antiochus
Epiphanes dedicated the Temple at Jerusalem
to the service of Zeus Olympius (2 Mace. vi.
2), and at the same time the rival temple on
Gerizim was devoted to Zeus Xenius (Jupiter
hospitalis, Yulg.) . The Olympian Zeus was the
national god of the Hellenic race, as well as
the supreme ruler of the heathen world, and
as such formed the true opposite to Jehovah.
The application of the second epithet, " the
God of hospitality," is more obscure. Ju
piter or Zeus is mentioned in one passage of
the N. T., on the occasion of St. Paul's visit
toLystra (Acts xiv. 12, 13), where the expres
sion "Jupiter, which was before their city,"
means that his temple was outside the city.
JUST'US. 1. A surname of Joseph called Bar-
sabas(Aetsi. 23). — 3. A Christian at Corinth,
with whom St. Paul lodged (Acts xviii. 7). —
3. A surname of Jesus, a friend of St. Paul
(Col. iv. 11).

KABZEE'L, one of the "cities" of the
tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 21), the native
place of the great hero Benaiah-ben-Jehoiada
(2 Sam. xxiii. 20 ; 1 Chr. xi. 22). After the
captivity it was reinbabited by the Jews, and
appears as Jekabzeel.
KA'DESH, KA'DESH-BARNE'A (Kadesh
means holy : it is the same word as the
Arabic name for Jerusalem, El-Kliuds). This
place, the scene of Miriam's death, was the
farthest point which the Israelites reached in

their direct road to Canaan ; it was also that
whence the spies were sent, and where, on
their return, the people broke out into mur
muring, upon which their strictly penal term
of wandering began (Num. xiii. 3, 26, xiv.
29-33, xx. 1 ; Deut. ii. 14). It is probable
that the term " Kadesh," though applied to
signify a " city," yet had also a wider appli
cation to a region, in which Kadesh-Meribah
certainly, and Kadesh-Barnea probably, indi
cates a precise spot. In Gen. xiv. 7 Kadesh
is identified with En-Mishpat, the " fountain
of judgment," and is connected with Tamar
or Hazazon Tamar. Precisely thus stands
Kadesh-Barnea in the books of Numbers and
Joshua (comp. Ezek. xlvii. 19, xlviii. 28 ;
Num. xxxiv. 4; Josh. xv. 3). The name of
the place to which the spies returned is
"Kadesh" simply, in Num. xiii. 26, and is
there closely connected with the " wilderness
of Paran ;" yet the "wilderness of Zin "
stands in near conjunction, as the point
whence the " search " of the spies commenced
(ver. 21). Again, in Num. xx., we find the
people encamped in Kadesh after reaching
the wilderness of Zin. Hence it has been
supposed that there were two places of the
name of Kadesh, one in the wilderness of
Paran, and the other in that of Zin ; but it
is more probable that only one place is meant,
for whether these tracts were contiguous, and
Kadesh on theii common border, or ran into
each other, and embraced a common terri
tory, to which the name " Kadesh," in an
extended sense, might be given, is compara
tively unimportant. Kadesh must be placed
in a site near where the mountain of the
Amorites descends to the low region of the
Arabah and Dead Sea ; but its exact locality
cannot be ascertained. Dean Stanley would
identify it with Petra.
KAD'MIEL, one of the Levites who with
bis family returned from Babylon with Zerub
babel (Ezr. ii. 40; Neh. vii. 43). He and
his house are prominent in history on three
occasions (Ezr. iii. 9 ; Neh. ix. 4, 5, x. 9).
KAD'MONITES, THE, a people named in
Gen. xv. 19 only ; one of the nations who at
that time occupied the land promised to the
descendants of Abram. The name is pro
bably a synonym for the Bene-Kedem — the
" children of the East."
KA'NAH. 1. One of the places which
formed the landmarks of the boundary of
Asher ; apparently next to Zidon-rabbah, or
"great Zidon " (Josh. xix. 28). — 2. The
River, a stream falling into the Mediterra
nean, which formed the division between the
territories of Ephraim and Manasseh, the
former on the south, the latter on the north
(Josh. xvi. 8, xvii. 9).

KAREAH

2S4

KETURAH

KARE'AH, the father of Johanan and
Jonathan, who supported Gcdaliah's autho
rity and avenged his murder (Jer. xl. 8, 13,
15, 16, xli. 11^ 13, 14, 16, xiii. 1, 8, xliii. 2,
4, 5).
KAR'KOR, the place in which Zebah and
Zalmunna were again routed by Gideon
(Judg. viii. 10), must have been on the east of
Jordan. KE'DAR, the second in order of the sons
of Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 13 ; 1 Chr. i. 29}, and
the name of a great tribe of the Arabs,
settled on the north-west of the peninsula
and the confines of Palestine. The " glory
of Kedar " is recorded by the prophet Isaiah
(xxi. 13-17) in the burden upon Arabia;
and its importance may also be inferred
from the "princes of Kedar " mentioned by
Ez. (xxvii. 21), as well as the pastoral cha
racter of the tribe. They appear also to have
been, like the wandering tribes of the present
day, " archers " and " mighty men " (Is.
xxi. 17 ; comp. Ps. cxx. 5). That they also
settled in villages or towns, we find from
Isaiah (xiii. 11). The tribe seems to have
been one of the most conspicuous of all
the Ishmaelite tribes, and hence the Rab
bins call the Arabians universally by this
name. KE'DEMAH, the youngest of the sons of
Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 15 ; 1 Chr. i. 31).
KE'DEMOTH, one of the towns in the dis
trict east of the Dead Sea allotted to the tribe
of Reuben (Josh. xiii. 18) ; given to the
Merarite Levites (Josh. xxi. 37 ; 1 Chr. vi.
79). It possibly conferred its name on the
" wilderness," or uncultivated pasture land,
"of Kedemoth " (Num. xxi. 23 ; Deut. ii.
26, 27, &c).
KE'DESH. 1. In the extreme south of
Judah (Josh. xv. 23). — 2. A city of Issachar,
allotted to the Gershonite Levites (1 Chr. vi.
72 ) . The Kedesh mentioned among the
cities whose kings were slain by Joshua
(Josh. xii. 22), in company with Megiddo
and Jokneam of Carmel, would seem to have
been this city of Issachar. — 3. Kedesh : also
Kedesh in Gat.ii.ee : and once, Judg. iv. 6,
Kedesii-Naphtali. One of the fortified
cities of the tribe of Naphtali, named between
Hazor and Edrei (Josh. xix. 37) ; appointed
as a city of refuge, and allotted with its
" suburbs " to the Gershonite Levites (xx. 7,
xxi. 32 ; 1 Chr. vi. 76). It was the resi
dence of Barak (Judg. iv. 6), and there he
and Deborah assembled the tribes of Zebulun
and Naphtali before the conflict, being pro
bably, as its name implies, a " holy place " of
great antiquity. It was taken by Tiglath-
Pileser in the reign of Pekah (2 K. xv. 29).
It is identified with the village Kades, which

lies 4 miles to the N.W. of the upper part of
the Sea of Merom.
KED'RON, properly Kidron. [KmnoN.]
KE'ILAH, a city of the Shefelah or low
land district of Judah ;Josh. xv. 44). Its
main interest consists in its connection with
David (1 Sam. xxiii. 7-13). It is represented
by Kiln, a site with ruins, on the lower road
from Beit Jibrin to Hebron.
KEM'UEL, son of Nahor by Milcah, and
father of Aram (Gen. xxii. 21).
KE'NAN = Cain-an, the son of Enos (1 Chr.
i. 2). KE'NAZ, son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau,
was one of the dukes of Edom (Gen. xxxvi.
15, 42 ; 1 Chr. i. 53).
KE'NEZITE, or KKNIZZITE (Gen. xv. 19),
an Edomitish tribe (Num. xxxii. 12 ; Josh.
xiv. 6, 14).
KE'NITE, THE, and KE'NITES, THE, a
tribe or nation, first mentioned in company
with the Kenizzites and Kadmonites (Gen.
xv. 19). Their origin is hidden from us.
But we may fairly infer that they were a
branch of the larger nation of Midian —
from the fact that Jethro, who in Exodus
(sec ii. 15, 16, iv. 19, &c.) is represented as
dwelling in the land of Midian, and as priest
or prince of that nation, is in Judges (i. 16,
iv. 11) as distinctly said to have been a
Kenite. The important services rendered by
the sheikh of the Kenites to Moses during a
time of great pressure and difficulty, were
rewarded by the latter with a promise of
firm friendship between the two peoples.
The connexion then commenced lasted as
firmly as a connexion could last between a
settled people like Israel and one whose ten
dencies were so ineradicably nomadic as the
Kenites. They seem to have accompanied
the Hebrews during their wanderings (Num.
xxiv. 21, 22; Judg. i. 16; comp. 2 Chr.
xxviii. 15). But the wanderings of Israel
over, they forsook the neighbourhood of the
towns, and betook themselves to freer air —
to " the wilderness of Judah, which is to the
south of Arad" (Judg. i. 16). But one of
the sheikhs of the tribe, Heber by name, had
wandered north instead of south (Judg. iv.
11). The most remarkable development of
this people is to be found in the sect or family
of the Rechabites.
KE'NIZZITE. (Gen. xv. 19). [Kenezite.]
KE'REN-HAP'PUCH, the youngest of the
daughters of Job, born to him during tho
period of his reviving prosperity (Job xiii. 14).
KETU'RAH, the wife whom Abraham
"added and took" (A. V. "again took")
besides, or after the death of, Sarah (Gen.
xxv. 1 ; 1 Chr. i. 32). Some critics think
that Abraham took Keturah after Sarah's

KEY

285

KING

death ; but it is more probable that he took
her during Sarah's lifetime (comp. Gen. xvii.
17; xviii. 11; Rom. iv. 19; Heb. xi. 12).
That she was strictly speaking bis wife is also
very uncertain. In the record in 1 Chr. i.
32, she is called a "concubine" (comp. Gen.
xxv. 5, 6).'
KEY. The key of a native Oriental lcck
is a piece of wood, from 7 inches to 2 feet in
length, fitted with wires or short nails, which,
being inserted laterally into the hollow bolt
which serves as a lock, raises other pins
within the staple so as to allow the bolt to be
drawn back. But it is not difficult to open
a lock of this kind even without a key, viz.
with the finger dipped in paste or other ad
hesive substance. The passage Cant. v. 4, 5,
is thus probably explained.
KEZI'A, the second of the daughters of
Job, born to him after his recovery (Job
xiii. 14).
KEZl'Z, of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 21) and
the eastern border of the tribe.
KIB'ROTH-HATTA'AYAH, Num. xi. 34 ;
marg. "the graves of lust" (comp. xxxiii,
17). From there being no change of spot
mentioned between it and Taberah in xi. 3,
it is probably, like the latter, about three
days' journey from Sinai (x. 33), and near
the sea (xi. 22, 31). If Hudherd be Haze-
roth, then " the graves of lust " may be per
haps within a day's journey thence in the
direction of Sinai.
KID. [Goat.]
KID'RON (or KED'RON), THE BROOK,
a torrent or valley — not a " brook," as in tbe
A. V. — close to Jerusalem. It lay between
the city and the Mount of Olives, and was
crossed by David in his flight (2 Sam. xv. 23,
comp. 30), and by our Lord on His way to
Gethsemane (John xviii. 1 ; comp. Mark xiv.
26 ; Luke xxii. 39). Its connexion with these
two occurrences is alone sufficient to leave no
doubt that the Kidron is the deep ravine on
the east of Jerusalem, now commonly known
as the " Yalley of Jehoshaphat." [Map, p.
249.] The distinguishing peculiarity of the
Kidron valley — that in respect to which it is
most frequently mentioned in the O. T. — is
the impurity which appears to have been
ascribed to it. In the time of Josiah it was
the common cemetery of the city (2 K.
xxiii. 6; comp. Jer. xxvi. 23, "graves of
the common people"). At present it is the
favourite resting-place of Moslems and Jews,
the former on the west, the latter on the east
of the valley. The channel of the valley of
Jehoshaphat is nothing more than the dry
bed of a wintry torrent, bearing marks of
being occasionally swept over by a large
volume of water.

KING, the name of the Supreme Ruler of
the Hebrews during a period of about 500
years previous to the destruction of Jerusa
lem, b.c 586. The immediate occasion of
the substitution of a regal form of govern
ment for that of Judges, seems to have been
the siege of Jabesh-Gilead by Nahash, king
of the Ammonites (1 Sam. xi. 1, xii. 12), and
the refusal to allow the inhabitants of that
city to capitulate, except on humiliating and
cruel conditions (1 Sam. xi. 2, 4-6). The
conviction seems to have forced itself on the
Israelites that they could not resist their for
midable neighbour unless they placed them
selves under the sway of a king, like sur
rounding nations. Concurrently with this
conviction, disgust had been excited by the
corrupt administration of justice under the
sons of Samuel, and a radical change was
desired by them in this respect also (1 Sam.
viii. 3-5). Accordingly the original idea of
a Hebrew king was twofold : first, that he
should lead the people to battle in time of
war ; and, 2ndly, that he should execute judg
ment and justice to them in war and in peace
(1 Sam. viii. 20). In both respects the de
sired end was attained. To form a correct
idea of a Hebrew king, we must abstract our
selves from the notions of modern Europe,
and realise the position of Oriental sovereigns.
Besides being commander-in-chief of the
army, supreme judge, and absolute master,
as it were, of the lives of his subjects, the
king exercised the power of imposing taxes on
them, and of exacting from them personal
service and labour. And the degree to which
the exaction of personal labour might be
carried on a special occasion is illustrated by
King Solomon's requirements for building
the temple. In addition to these earthly
powers, the King of Israel had a more awful
claim to respect and obedience. He was the
vicegerent of Jehovah (1 Sam. x. 1, xvi. 13),
and as it were His son, if just and holy
(2 Sam. vii. 14 ; Ps. lxxxix. 26, 27, ii. 6, 7).
He bad been set apartas aconseciated ruler.
Upon his head had been poured the holy
anointing oil, which had hitherto been re
served exclusively for the priests of Jehovah.
He had become, in fact, emphatically " the
Lord's Anointed." A ruler in whom so
much authority, human and divine, was em
bodied, was naturally distinguished by out
ward honours and luxuries. He had a court
of Oriental magnificence. When the power
of the kingdom was at its height, he sat on
a throne of ivory, covered with pure gold, at
the feet of which were two figures of lions.
The king was dressed in royal robes (1 K.
xxii. 10 ; 2 Chr. xviii. 9) ; his insignia were,
a crown or diadem of pure gold, or perhaps

KINGS, BOOKS OF

2S0

KINGS, BOOKS OF

radiant with precious gems (2 Sam. i. 10,
xii. 30 ; 2 K. xi. 12 ; Ps. xxi. 3), and a royal
sceptre. Those who approached him did
him obeisance, bowing down and touching the
ground with their foreheads (1 Sam. xxiv. 8 ;
2 Sam. xix. 24) ; and this was done even by
a king's wife, the mother of Solomon (1 K. i.
16). Their officers and subjects called them
selves his servants or slaves, though they do
not seem habitually to have given way to
such extravagant salutations as in the Chal-
daean and Persian courts (1 Sam. xvii. 32, 34,
36, xx. 8 ; 2 Sam. vi. 20 ; Dan. ii. 4). As
in the East to this day, a kiss was a sign
of respect and homage (1 Sam. x. 1, perhaps
Ps. ii. 12). He lived in a splendid palace,
with porches and columns (1 K. vii. 2-7). All
his drinking vessels were of gold (1 K. x.
21). He had a large harem, which in the
time of Solomon must have been the source
of enormous expense. As is invariably the
case in the great eastern monarchies at pre
sent, his harem was guarded by eunuchs ;
translated "officers" in the A. Y. for the
most part (1 ^am. viii. 15 ; 2 K. xxiv. 12,
15 ; 1 K. xxii. 9 ; 2 K. viii. 6, ix. 32, 33,
xx. 18, xxiu. 11 ; Jer. xxxviii. 7). The law
of succession to the throne is somewhat ob
scure, but it seems most xtrobablc that the
king during his lifetime named his successor.
This was certainly the case with David (1 K.
i. 30, ii. 22) ; and with Rehoboam (2 Chr. xi.
21, 22). At the same time, if no partiality
for a favourite wife or son intervened, there
would always be a natural bias of affection in
favour of the eldest son
KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS
OF, originally only one book in the Hebrew
Canon, form in the LXX. and the Vulgate
the third and fourth books of Kings (the
books of Samuel being the first and second).
It must also be remembered that the division
between the books of Kings and Samuel is
equally artificial, and that in point of fact
the historical books commencing with Judges
and ending with 2 Kings present the appear
ance of one work, giving a continuous history
of Israel from the time of Joshua to the death
of Jehoiachin. The Books of Kings contain
the history from David's death and Solomon's
accession to the destruction of the kingdom of
Judah and the desolation of Jerusalem, with
a supplemental notice of an event that oc
curred after an interval of twenty-six years,
viz. the liberation of Jehoiachin from his
prison at Babylon, and a still further exten
sion to Jehoiachin's death, the time of which
is not known, but which was probably not
long after his liberation. The history there
fore comprehends the whole time of the I--
raclitish monarchy, exclusive of the reigns

of Saul and David. As regards the authorship
of the books, but little difficulty presents it
self. The Jewish tradition, which ascribes
them to Jeremiah, is borne out by the strong
est internal evidence, in addition to that of
the language. The last chapter, especially
as compared with the last chapter of the
Chronicles, bears distinct traces of having
been written by one who did not go into cap
tivity, but remained in Judaea after the
destruction of the Temple. This suits Jere
miah. The events singled out for mention
in the concise narrative are precisely those
of which he had personal knowledge, and in
which he took special interest. The writer in
Kings has nothing more to tell us concerning
the Jews or Chaldees in tbe land of Judah,
which exactly agrees with the hypothesis
that he is Jeremiah, who we know was car
ried down into Egypt with the fugitives. In
fact, the date of the writing and the position
of the writer seem as clearly marked by the
termination of the narrative at v. 26, as in
the case of the Acts of the Apostles. But
though the general unity and continuity of
plan lead us to assign the whole history in a
certain sense to one author, yet it must be
borne in mind that the authorship of those
parts of the history of which Jeremiah was
not an eye-witness — that is, of all before the _
reign of Josiah — would have consisted merely
in selecting, arranging, inserting *the con
necting phrases, and, when necessary, slightly
modernising the old histories which had been
drawn up by contemporary prophets through
the whole period of time. (See e.g. 1 K.
xiii. 32.) For, as regards the sources of
information, it may truly be said that we
have the narrative of contemporary writers
throughout. There was a regular series of
state-annals both for the kingdom of Judah
and for that of Israel, which embraced the
whole time comprehended in the books of
Kings, or at least to the end of the reign of
Jehoiakim (2 K. xxiv. 5). These annals are
constantly cited by name as "the Book of
the Acts of Solomon" (1 K. xi. 41); and
after Solomon, " the Book of the Chronicles
of the Kings of Judah, or, Israel " (e. g. 1 K.
xiv. 29, xv. 7, xvi. 5, 14, 20 ; 2 K. x. 34,
xxiv. 5, &c.) ; anditis manifest that the author
of Kings had them both before him, while he
drew up his history, in which the reigns of
the two kingdoms are harmonized, and these
annals constantly appealed to. But, in addi
tion to these national annals, there were also
extant, at the time that the Books of Kings
were compiled, separate works of the several
prophets who had lived in Judah and Israel.
Thus the acts of Uzziah, written by Isaiah,
neve very likely identical with the history

KINGS, BOOKS OF

KINGS, BOOKS OF

of his reign in the national chronicles ; and
part of the history of Hezekiah we know
is identical in the chronicles and in the pro
phet. The chapter in Jeremiah relating
to the destruction of the Temple (Iii.) is
identical with that in 2 K. xxiv., xxv. —
Relation of the Books of Kings to those
of Chronicles. — It is manifest, and is uni
versally admitted, that the former is by far
the older work. The language, which is
quite free from the Persicisms of the Chro
nicles and their late orthography, clearly
points out its relative superiority in regard to
age. Its subject also, embracing the king
dom of Israel as well as Judah, is another
indication of its composition before the king
dom of Israel was forgotten, and before the
Jewish enmity 10 Samaria, which is appai-ent
in such passages as 2 Chr. xx. 37, xxv., and
in those chapters of Ezra (i.-vi.) which be
long to Chronicles, was brought to maturity.
While the Books of Chronicles therefore
were written especially for the Jews after
their return from Babylon, the Book of Kings
was written for the whole of Israel, before
their common national existence was hope
lessly quenched. Another comparison of
considerable interest between the two his
tories may be drawn in respect to the main
design, that design having a marked relation
both to the individual station of the supposed
writers, and the peculiar circumstances of
their country at the time of their writing.
Jeremiah was himself a prophet. He lived
while the prophetic office was in full vigour,
in his own person, in Ezekiel, and Daniel,
and many others, both true and false. Ac
cordingly, we find in the Books of Kings great
prominence given to the prophetic office.
Ezra, on the contrary, was only a priest. In
his days the prophetic office had wholly fallen
into abeyance. That evidence of the Jews
being the people of God, which consisted in
the presence of prophets among them, was
no more. But to the men of his generation,
the distinctive mark of the continuance of
God's favour to their race was the rebuilding
of the Temple at Jerusalem, the restoration of
the daily sacrifice and the Levitical worship,
and the wonderful and providential renewal
of the Mosaic institutions. The chief in
strument, too, for preserving the Jewish
remnant from absorption into the mass of
Heathenism, and for maintaining their na
tional life till the coming of Messiah, was the
maintenance of the Temple, its ministers, and
its services. Hence we see at once that the
chief care of a good and enlightened Jew of
the age of Ezra — and all the more if he were
himself a priest — would naturally be to en
hance the value of the Levitical ritual, and

the dignity of the Levitical caste. And in
compiling a history of the past glories of his
race, he would as naturally select such pas
sages as especially bore upon the sanctity of
the priestly office, and showed the deep con
cern taken by their ancestors in all that
related to the honour of God's House, and
the support of his ministering servants.
Hence the Levitical character of the Books of
Chronicles, and the presence of several de
tailed narratives not found in the Books of
Kings, and the more frequent reference to
the Mosaic institutions, may most naturally
and simply be accounted for, without resort
ing to the absurd hypothesis that the cere
monial law was an invention subsequent to the
Captivity. (2 Chr. xxix., xxx., xxxi., com
pared with 2 K. xviii. is perhaps as good a
specimen as can be selected of the distinctive
spirit of the Chronicles. See also 2 Chr.
xxvi. 16-21, compared with 2 K. xv. 5 ; 2
Chr. xi. 13-17, xiii. 9-20, xv. 1-15, xxiii.
2-8, compare with 2 K. xi. 5-9, and vers. 18,
1 9, compare with ver. 1 8, and many other pas
sages.) Moreover, upon the principle that
the sacred writers were influenced by natural
feelings in their selection of their materials,
it seems most appropriate that while the
prophetical writer in Kings deals very fully
with the kingdom of Israel, in which the
prophets were much more illustrious than
in Judah, the Levitical writer, on the con
trary, should concentrate all his thoughts
round Jerusalem, where alone the Levitical
caste had all its power and functions, and
should dwell upon all the instances preserved
in existing muniments of the deeds and even
the minutest ministrations of the priests and
Levites, as well as of their faithfulness and
sufferings in the cause of truth. From the
comparison of parallel narratives in tbe two
books, it appears that the results are precisely
what would naturally arise from the circum
stances of the case. The writer of the Chro
nicles, having the Books of Kings before him,
made those books to a great extent the basis
of his own. But also having his own per
sonal views, predilections, and motives in
writing, composing for a different age, and
for people under very different circumstances ;
and, moreover, having before him the
original authorities from which the Books of
Kings were compiled, as well as some others,
he naturally rearranged the older narrative as
suited his purpose and his taste. He gave
in full passages which the other had abridged,
inserted what bad been wholly omitted,
omitted some things which the other had in
serted, including nearly everything relating
to the kingdom of Israel, and showed the
colour of his own mind, not only in the na-

K1R-HARASETH

KIR OF MOAB

ture of the passages which he selected from
the ancient documents, but in the reflections
which he frequently adds upon the events
which he relates, and possibly also in the
turn given to some of the speeches which he
records. KIR-HARA'SETH (2 K. iii. 25^. KIR-
HA'RESH (Is. xvi. 11). KIU-HARE'SETH
(Is. xvi. 7). KIR-HE'RES (Jer. xlviii. 31,
36). These four names are all applied to
one place, probably Kir-Moab.
KIR'IAH, apparently an ancient or archaic
word, meaning a city or town. It may be
compared to the word "burg" or "bury " in
our own language. Closely related to Kiriah
is Kereth, apparently a Phoenician form,
which occurs occasionally (Job xxix. 7 ;
Prov. via. 3). This is familiar to us in the
Latin garb of Cart Jingo, and in the Parthian
and Armenian names Ci/ta, Tigrnno-Certa.
As a proper name it appears in the Bible
under the forms of Keriuth, Kartah, Kartan ;
besides those immediately following.
KIRIATIIA'IM. [Kirjathaim.j
KIR'IOTH, a place in Moab, the palaces of
which were threatened by Amos with de
struction by fire (Am. ii. 2) ; unless indeed
the word means simply " the cities " — which
is probably the case also in Jer. xlviii. 4.
KIR'JATH, the last of the cities enume
rated as belonging to the tribe of Benjamin
(Josh, xviii. 28), probably identical with the
better known place Kirjath-Jeaium.
KlttJATIIA'IM.— 1. On the east of the
Jordan, one of the places which were taken
possession of and rebuilt by the Reubcnites,
and had fresh names conferred on them (Num.
xxxii. 37, and see 38), tbe first and last of
which are known with some tolerable degree
of certainty (Josh. xii. 19). It existed in
the time of Jeremiah (xlviii. 1, 23) and Eze
kiel (\xv. 9 — in these three passages the
A. Y. gives the name Kiriathaim). By Euse
bius it appears to have been well known.
He describes it as a village entirely of Chris
tians, 10 miles west of Medeba, "close to the
Baris." — 2. A town in Naphtali not men
tioned in the oiiginal lists of the possession
allotted to the tribe (see Josh. xix. 32-39),
but inserted in the list of cities given to the
Gershonite Levites, in 1 Chr. (vi, 76), in
place of K art ax in the parallel catalogue,
Kartan being probably only a contraction
thereof. KIR'JATH-AR'BA, an early name of the
city which after the conquest is, generally
known as Hebron (Josh. xiv. 15 ; Judg, i.
10). The identity of Kirjath-Arba with
^ebron is constantly asserted (Gen. xxiii.
2, $xxv. 27 j Josh. xiv. 15, xv. 1,3, 54, xx.
7, xxi. li).

KIR'JATH-A'RIM, an abbreviated form
of the name Kiiuajh-Jearim, which occurs
only in Ezr. ii. 25.
KIR'JATH-BA'AL. [Kirjath-Jeaium.]
KIR'JATH-HU'ZOTII, a place to which
Balak accompanied Balaam immediately after
his arrival in Moab (Num. xxii. 39).
KIK'JATH-JE'ARIM, first mentioned as
one of the four cities of the Gibeonites (Josh.
ix. 17) : it next occurs as one of the land
marks of the northern boundary of Judah
(xv. 9) and as the point at which the western
and southern boundaries of Benjamin coin
cided (xviii. 14, 15) ; and in the two last
passages wc find that it bore another, perhaps
earlier, name — that of the great Canaanite
deity Baal, namely Baalah and Kirjath-
Baal. It is reckoned among the towns of
Judah (xv. 60). It is included in the genea
logies of Judah (1 Chr. ii. 50, 52) as founded
by, or descended from, Shodal, the son of
Cateb-ben-llur. ' " Behind Kirjath-jearim "
the band of Danites pitched their camp before
their expedition to Mount Ephraim and
Laisb, leaving their name attached to the
spot for long after (Judg. xviii. 12). [Ma-
HANim-HAN.) Hitherto beyond the early
sanctity implied in its bearing the name of
Baal, there is nothing remarkable in Kir
jath-jearim. It was no doubt this reputation
for sanctity which made the people of Beth-
shemesh appeal to its inhabitants to relieve
them of the Ark of Jehovah, which was bring
ing such calamities on their untutored inex
perience (1 Sam. vi. 20, 21). In this high
place the ark remained for twenty years (vii.
2). At the close of that time Kirjath-jearim
lost its sacred treasure, on its removal by
David to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite
(1 Chr. xiii. 5, 6 ; 2 Chr. i. 4 ; 2 Sam. vi. 2,
&c). To Eusebius and Jerome it appears to
have been well known. They describe it as
a village at the ninth mile between Jerusalem
and Diospolis (Lydda). These requirements
are exactly fulfilled in the modern village of
Kuriet-el-Enab— now usually known as Abu
Gosh, from the robber-chief whose head-quar
ters it was — on the road from Jaffa to Jeru
salem. KIR'JATH-SAN'NAn. [Debir.]
KIR'JATH-SE'PHER. (Judg. i. 11, 12.)
[Debir.] KIR OF MOAB, one of the two chief
strongholds of Moab, the other being An of
Moa^. The name occurs only in Is. xv. I,
though the place is probably referred to under
the names of Kir-heres, Kir-haraseth, &c.
It is almost identical with the name Kerak,
by which the site of an important city in a
high and very strong position at the S.E. of
the Dead Sea is known at this day. Its

KISH

289

KNOP

situation is truly remarkable. It is built
upon the top of a steep hill, surrounded on
all sides by a deep and narrow valley, which
again is completely inclosed by mountains
rising higher than the town, and overlooking
it on all sides.
KISH. 1. The father of Saul; a Ben
jamite of the famiiy of Matri, according to 1
Sam. x. 21, though descended from Becher
according to 1 Chr. vii. 8, compared with
1 Sam. ix. 1. — 2. Son of Jehiel, and uncle
to the preceding (1 Chr. ix. 36). — 3. A Ben
jamite, great grandfather of Mordecai (Esth.
ii. 5). — 4. A Merarite, of the house of Mahli,
" of the tribe of Levi. His sons married the
daughters of his brother Eleazar (1 Chr.
xxiii. 21, 22, xxiv. 28, 29), apparently about
tbe time of King Saul, or early in the reign
of David, since Jeduthun the singer was the
son of Kish (1 Chr. vi. 44, compared with
2 Chr. xxix. 12).
KISH 'ION, one of the towns on the boun
dary of the tribe of Issachar (Josh. xix. 20),
which with its suburbs was allotted to the
Gershonite Levites (xxi. 28 ; A. V. Kishon).
Kl'SHON, THE RIVER, a torrent or
winter stream of central Palestine, the scene
of two of the grandest achievements of Is
raelite history — the defeat of Sisera (Judg.
iv.), and the destruction of the prophets of
Baal by Elijah (1 K. xviii. 40). The Nahr
Mukiitta, the modern representative of the
Kishon, is tbe drain by which the waters of
the plain of Esdraelon, and of tbe mountains
which enclose that plain, find their way to the
Mediterranean. Like most of the so-called
"rivers" of Palestine, the perennial stream
forms but a small part of the Kishon. During
the greater part of the year its upper portion
is dry, and the stream confined to a few miles
next the sea. The part of the Kishon at
which the prophets of Baal were slaughtered
by Elijah was doubtless close below the spot
on Carmel where the sacrifice had taken
place. KI'SON, an inaccurate mode of represent
ing the name Kishon (Ps. lxxxiii. 9).
KISS. Kissing the lips by way of affec
tionate salutation was customary amongst
near relatives of both sexes, both in Patri
archal and in later times (Gen. xxix. 11;
Cant. viii. 1). Between individuals of the
same sex, and in a limited degree between
those of different sexes, the kiss on the cheek
as a mark of respect or an act of salutation
has at all times been customary in the East,
and can hardly be said to be extinct even in
Europe. In the Christian Church the kiss
of charity was practised not only as a friendly
salutation, but as an act symbolical of love
and Christian brotherhood (Rom. xvi. 16 ; 1
Sm. D. B.

Cor. xvi. 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 12; 1 Thess. v.
26 ; 1 Pet. v. 14). The written decrees of a
sovereign are kissed in token of respect ;
even the ground is sometimes kissed by
Orientals in the fulness of their submission
(Gen. xli. 40 ; 1 Sam. xxiv. 8 ; Ps. lxxii.
9 ; &c). Kissing is spoken of in Scripture
as a mark of respect or adoration to idols
(1 K. xix. 18 ; Hos. xiii. 2).
KITE (Heb. ayydh). The Hebrew word
thus rendered occurs in three passages, Lev.
xi. 14, Deut. xiv. 13, and Job xxviii. 7 : in
the two former it is translated " kite " in the
A. V., in the latter " vulture." It is enume
rated among the twenty names of birds men
tioned in Deut. xiv. (belonging for the most
part to the order Raptores), which were con
sidered unclean by the Mosaic Law, and for
bidden to be used as food by the Israelites.
The allusidn in Job alone affords a clue to its
identification. The deep mines in the re
cesses of the mountains from which the
labour of man extracts the treasures of the
earth are there described as " a track which
the bird of prey hath not known, nor hath
the eye of the ayydh looked upon it." The
ayydh may possibly be the " kite," but there
is no certainty on the subject.

KIT'RON, one of the towns from which
Zebulun did not expel the Canaanites (Judg.
i. 30). In the Talmud it is identified with
" Zippori," i.e. Seppboris, now Seffurieh.
KIT'TIM. Twice written in tbe A. V. foi'
Chittim (Gen. x. 4 ; 1 Chr. i. 7).
KNEADING-TROUGHS. [Bread.]
KNOP. A word employed in the A. V. to
I translate two terms, which refer to some
U

KOHATH

290

LACHISH

architectural or ornamental object, but which
have nothing in common. 1. Caphtor. This
occurs in the description of the candlestick
of the sacred tent in Ex. xxv. 31-36, and
xxxvii. 17-22. 2. The second term, Peka'im,
is found only in 1 K. vi. 18, and vii. 24.
The word no doubt signifies some globular
thing resembling a small gourd, or an egg,
though as to the character of^ the ornament
we are quite in the dark. The following
woodcut of a portion of a richly ornamented
door-step or slab from Kouyunjik, probably
lepresents something approximating to the
" knop and the flower " of Solomon's Temple.

Border of a Slab from Kouyunjik.
KO'HATH, second of the three sons of
Levi, from whom the three principal divisions
of the Levites derived their origin and their
name (Gen. xlvi. 11; Exod. vi. 16, 18;
Num. iii. 17 ; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 12, &c). Ko-
hath was the father of Amram, and he of
Moses and Aaron. From him, therefore,
were descended all the priests ; and hence
those of tbe Kohatbites who were not priests
were of the highest rank of the Levites,
though not the sons of Levi's first-born. In
the journeyings of the Tabernacle the sons of
Kohath had charge of the most holy portions
of the vessels (Num. iv.). It appears from
Ex. vi. 18 — 22, compared with 1 Chr. xxiii.
12, xxvi. 23-32, that there were four families
of sons of Kohath — Amramites, Izharites,
Hebronites, and Uzzielites. Of the personal
history of Kohath we know nothing, except
that he came down to Egypt with Levi and
Jacob (Gen. xlvi. 11), that his sister was
Jochebed (Ex. vi. 20), and that he lived to
the age of 133 years (Ex. vi. 18).
KO'RAH. 1. Third son of Esau by Aholi
bamah (Gen. xxxvi. 5, 14, 18 ; 1 Chr. i. 35).
He was born in Canaan before Esau migrated
to Mount Seir (xxxvi. 5-9), and was one of
the "dukes" of Edom. — 2. Another Edom-
itish duke of this name, sprung from Eliphaz,
Esau's son by Adah (Gen. xxxvi. 16).— 3.
Son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of
Levi. He was leader of the famous rebellion
against bis cousins Moses and Aaron in the
wilderness, for which he paid the penalty of
perishing with his followers by an earthquake

and flames of fiie ;Num. xvi. xxvi. 9-11).
The particular grievance which rankled in
the mind of Korah and his company was
their exclusion from tbe office of the priest
hood, and their being confined— those among
them who were Levites — to the inferior ser
vice of the tabernacle. Korah's position as
leader in this rebellion was evidently the
result of his personal character, which was
that of a bold, haughty, and ambitious man.
From some cause which does not clearly ap
pear, the children of Korah were not involved
in the destruction of their father (Num. xxvi,
11). Perhaps the fissure of the ground which
swallowed up the tents of Dathan and Abi-
ram did not extend beyond those of the Reu-
benites. From ver. 27 it seems clear that
Korah himself was not with Dathan and
Abiram at the moment. He himself was
doubtless with the 250 men who bare cen
sers nearer the tabernacle (ver. 19), and
perished with them by the "fire from Jeho
vah " which accompanied the earthquake.
In the N. T. (Jude 11) Korah is coupled
with Cain and Balaam.
KOR'AHITE (1 Cbr. ix. 19, 31), KOR'-
niTE, or KOR'ATHITE, that portion of the
Kohatbites who were descended from Korah,
and are frequently styled by the synonymous
phrase Sons of Korah. They were an im
portant branch of the singers (2 Chr. xx.
1 9) . Hence we find eleven Psalms (or
twelve, if Ps. 43 is included under the same
title as Ps. 42) dedicated or assigned to the
sons of Korah, viz. Ps. 42, 44-49, 84, 85,
87, 88.

LA'BAN, son of Bethuel, brother of Rebe
kah, and father of Leah and Rachel.
The elder branch of the family remained at
Haran when Abraham removed to the land
of Canaan, and it is there that we first meet
with Laban, as taking the leading part in
the betrothal of his sister Rebekah to her
cousin Isaac (Gen. xxiv. 10, 29-60, xxvii.
43, xxix. 4). The next time Laban appears
in the sacred narrative it is as the host of his
nephew Jacob at Haran (Gen. xxix. 13, 14).
The subsequent transactions by which he
secured the valuable services of his nephew
are related under Jacob.
LACEDEMO'NIANS, the inhabitants of
Sparta or Lacedaemon, with whom the Jews
claimed kindred (1 Mace. xii. 2, 5, 6, 20,
21 ; xiv. 20, 23 ; xv. 23 ; 2 Mace. v. 9).
LA'CHISH, a city of the Amorites, the
king of which joined with four others, at the
invitation of Adonizedek king of Jerusalem,
to chastise the Gibeonites for their league
with Israel (Josh. x. 3, 5). They were

LAHAI-ROI, THE WELL

291

LAMP

routed by Joshua at Bethhoron, and the
king of Lachish fell a victim with the others
under the trees at Makkedah (ver. 26). The
destruction of the town shortly followed the
death of the king (ver. 31-33). In the spe
cial statement that the attack lasted two days,
in contradistinction to the other cities which
were taken in one (see ver. 35), we gain our
first glimpse of that strength of position for
which Lachish was afterwards remarkable.
Lachish was one of the cities fortified and
garrisoned by Rehoboam after tbe revolt of
the northern kingdom (2 Chr. xi. 9). It
was chosen as a refuge by Amaziah from the
conspirators who threatened him in Jeru
salem, and to whom he at last fell a victim
at Lachish (2 K. xiv. 19; 2 Chr. xxv. 27).
In the reign of Hezekiah, it was one of the
cities taken by Sennacherib when on his way
from Phoenicia to Egypt. This siege is con
sidered by Layard and Hincks to be depicted
on the slabs found by tbe former in one of
the chambers of the palace at Kouyunjik.
But though the Assyrian records appear to
assert the capture of Lachish, no statement
is to be found either in the Bible or Josephus
that it was taken. After the return from
captivity, Lachish with its surrounding
" fields " was re-occupied by the Jews (Neh.
xi. 30). By Eusebius and Jerome, in the
Onomasticon, Lachish is mentioned as "7
miles from Eleutheropoiis, towards Daroma,"
i.e. towards the south.
LAHA'I-RO'I, THE WELL. In this form
is given in the A. V. of Gen. xxiv. 62, and
xxv. 11, the name of the famous well of
Hagar's relief, in the oasis of verdure round
which Isaac afterwards resided.
LA'ISH, the city which was taken by the
Danites, and under its new name of Dan be
came famous as the northern limit of the
nation (Judg. xviii. 7, 14, 27, 29). [Dan.]
In the A. V. Laish is again mentioned in the
account of Sennacherib's march on Jerusalem
(Is. x. 30). This Laish is probably the
small village, Laishah, lying between Gallim
and Anathoth. and of which hitherto no
traces have been found.
LA'ISH, father of Phaltiel, to whom Saul
had given Michal, David's wife (1 Sam. xxv.
44 ; 2 Sam. iii. 15).
LAKES. [Palestine.]
LA'KUM, properly LAKKUM, one of the
places which formed the landmarks of the
boundary of Naphtali (Josh. xix. 33).
LAMBS formed an important part of al
most every sacrifice (Ex. xxix. 38-41 ; Num.
xxviii. 9, 11, xxix. 2, 13-40, &c). On the
Paschal Lamb see Passover.
LA'MECH, properly Lemech.— 1. The fifth
lineal descendant from Cain (Gen. iv. 18-24).

He is the only one except Enoch, of the
posterity of Cain, whose history is related
with some detail. His two wives, Adah and
Zillah, and his daughter Naamah, are, with
Eve, the only antediluvian women whose
names are mentioned by Moses. His three
sons — Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain, are
celebrated in Scripture as authors of useful
inventions. Tbe remarkable poem which
Lamech uttered has not yet been explained
quite satisfactorily. It may be rendered : —
Adah and Zillah ! hear my voicp,
Ye wives of Lamech ! give ear unto my speech,
For a man had I slain for smiting me,
And a youth for wounding me :
Surely sevenfold shall Cain be avenged,
But Lamech seventy and seven.
It may perhaps be regarded as Lamech's
song of exultation on the invention of the
sword by his son Tubal-cain, in the possession
of which he foresaw a great advantage to
himself and his family over any enemies.—
2. The father of Noah (Gen. v. 29).
LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. The
Hebrew title of this Book, Ecah, is taken,
like those of the five Books of Moses, from
the Hebrew word with which it opens. It
contains the utterance of Jeremiah's sorrow
upon the capture of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Temple. It consists of
five chapters, each of which, however, is a
separate poem, complete in itself, and having
a distinct subject, but brought at the same
time under a plan which includes them all.
The book has supplied thousands with the
fullest utterance for their sorrows in the
critical periods of national or individual
suffering. We may well believe that it
soothed the weary years of the Babylonian
exile. On the ninth day of the month of Ab
(July-August), the Lamentations of Jeremiah
were read, year by year, with fasting and
weeping, to commemorate the misery out of
which the people had been delivered. It
enters largely into the order of the Latin
Church for the services of Passion-week.
LAMP. 1. That part of the golden candle
stick belonging to the Tabernacle which bore
the light ; also of each of the ten candlesticks
placed by Solomon in the Temple before the
Holy of Holies (Ex. xxv. 37 ; IK. vii, 49 ;
2 Chr. iv. 20, xiii. 11; Zech. iv. 2). The
lamps were lighted every evening, and
cleansed every morning (Ex. xxx. 7, 8). 2.
A torch or flambeau, such as was carried by
the soldiers of Gideon (Judg. vii. 16, 20;
comp. xv. 4). The use of lamps fed with oil
in marriage processions is alluded to in the
parable of the ten virgins (Matt. xxv. 1).
Modern Egyptian lamps consist of small glass
vessels with a tube at the bottom containing
a cotton-wick twisted round a piece of straw.
U 2

292

LATCHET

For night-travelling, a lantern composed of
waxed cloth strained over a sort of cylinder
of wire-iings, and a top and bottom of per
forated copper. This would, in form at
least, answer to the lamps within pitchers of
Gideon.

Egyptian Lamp.
LANCET. This word is found in 1 K.
xviii. 28 only. The Hebrew term is Romach,
which is elsewhere rendered, and appears to
mean a javelin, or light spear. In the
original edition of the A. V. (1611) the word
is " lancers."
LANGUAGE. [Tongues, Confusion ok.]
LAODICE'A, a town in the Roman pro
vince of Asia, situated in the valley of the
Maeander, on a small river called the Lycus,
with Colossae and Hierapolis a few miles
distant to the west. Built, or rather rebuilt,
by one of the Seleucid monarchs, and named
in honour of his wife, Laodicea became under
the Roman government a place of some im
portance. Its trade was considerable : it
lay on the line of a great road ; and it was
the seat of a conventus. From Rev. iii. 17,
we should gather it was a place of great
wealth. It was soon after this occurrence
that Christianity was introduced into Lao
dicea, not, however, as it would seem,
through the direct agency of St. Paul. We
have good reason for believing that when, in
writing from Rome to the Christians of
Colossae, he sent a greeting to those of
Laodicea, he had not personally visited either
place. But the preaching of the Gospel at
Ephesus (Acts xviii. 19-xix. 41) must in
evitably have resulted in the formation of
churches in the neighbouring cities, especi
ally where Jews were settled : and there
were Jews in Laodicea. In subsequent times
it became a Christian city of eminence, the
see of a bishop, and a meeting-place of
councils. The Mohammedan invaders de
stroyed it ; and it is now a scene of utter
desolation: but the extensive ruins near
Denislu justify all that we read of Laodicea
in Greek and Roman writers. One Biblical
subject of interest is connected with Laodicea.
From Col. iv. 16 it appears that St. Paul
wrote a letter to this place when he wrote
the letter to Colossae. The question arises

whether we can give any account of this
Laodicean epistle. Wieseler's theory is that
the Epistle to Philemon is meant. Another
view maintained by Paley and others, is that
the Epistle to the Ephesians is intended.
Ussher's view is that this last epistle was a
circular letter sent to Laodicea among other
places. The apocryphal Epistola ad Lao-
dicenses is a late and clumsy forgery.
LAP'IDOTH, the husband of Deborah the
prophetess (Judg. iv. 4).
LAPWING (Heb. duciphath) occurs only
in Lev. xi. 19, and in the parallel passage
of Deut. xiv. 18, amongst the list of those
birds which were forbidden by the law of
Moses to be eaten by the Israelites. Com
mentators generally agree that the Hoopoe is
the bird intended. The hoopoe is not now
eaten except occasionally in those countries
where it is abundantly found — Egypt, France,
Spain, &e., &c. The hoopoe is an occasional
visitor to this country, arriving for the most
part in the autumn. Its crest is very
elegant, the long feathers forming it are each
of them tipped with black.

The Hoopoe {Upupa Fpopa.)
LASE'A (Acts xxvii. 8), a city of Crete, the
ruins of which were discovered in 1856, a few
miles to the eastward of Fair Havens.
LA'SHA, a place noticed in Gen. x. 19 as
marking the limit of the country of the
Canaanites. It lay somewhere in th'i south
east of Palestine. Jerome and other writers
identify it with Callirhoe", a spot famous for
hot springs near the eastern &hore of the
Dead Sea.
LATCHET, the thong or fastening by
which the sandal was attached to tbe foot.
It occurs in the proverbial expression in Gen.
xiv. 23, and is there used to denote something
trivial or worthless. Another semi-pro
verbial expression in Luke iii. 16 points to

LATIN

293

LAW

the fact that the office of bearing and un
fastening the shoes of great personages fell
to the meanest slaves.
LATIN, the language spoken by the Ro
mans, is mentioned only in John xix. 20,
and Luke xxiii. 38.
LATTICE. The rendering in A. V. of
three Hebrew words. 1. Eshfidb, which oc
curs but twice, Judg. v. 28, and Prov. vii. 6,
and in the latter passage is translated "case
ment" in the A. V. In both instances it
stands in parallelism with "window." 2.
Khdraccim (Cant. ii. 9), is apparently synony
mous with the preceding, though a word of
later date. 3. Sebdcdh, is simply "a net
work " placed before a window or balcony.
Perhaps the network through which Ahaziah
fell and received his mortal injury was on
the parapet of his palace (2 K. i. 2).
LAVER. 1. In the Tahernaele, a vessel
of brass containing water for the priests to
wash their hands and feet before offering
sacrifice. It stood in the court between the
altar and the door of the Tabernacle (Ex.
xxx. 19, 21)* It rested on a basis, i.e. a
foot, though by some explained to be a cover
of copper or brass, which, as well as the
laver itself, was made from the mirrors of
the women who assembled at the door of the
Tabernacle-court (Ex. xxxviii. 8). The form
of tbe laver is not specified, hut may be as
sumed to have been circular. Like the other
vessels belonging to the Tabernacle, it was,
together with its "foot," consecrated with
oil (Lev. viii. 10, 11). 2. In Solomon's
Temple, besides the great molten sea, there
were ten lavers of brass, raised on bases
(I K. vii. 27, 39), five on the N. and S. sides
respectively of the court of the priests. Each
laver contained 40 of the measures called
" bath." They were used for washing the
animals to be offered in burnt - offerings
(2 Chr. iv. 6). The dimensions of the bases
with the lavers, as given in the Hebrew text,
are 4 cubits in length and breadth, and 3 in
height. There were to each 4 wheels of 1^
cubit in diameter, with spokes, &c, all cast
in one piece.
LAW. The word is properly used, in
Scripture as elsewhere, to express a definite
commandment laid down by any recognised
authority. The cominandmentmaybe general,
or (as in Lev. vi. 9, 14, &c, " the law of the
burnt-offering," &c.) particular in its bear
ing ; the authority either human or divine.
But when the word is used with the article,
and without any words of limitation, it refers
to the expressed will of God, and, in nine
eases out of ten, to the Mosaic Law, or to
the Pentateuch, of which it forms the chief
portion. The Hebrew word, tdrdh, lays

more stress on its moral authority, as teach
ing the truth, and guiding in the right way ;
tbe Greek nomas (v6{j.os), on its constraining
power, as imposed and enforced by a recog
nised authority. The sense of the word, how
ever, extends its scope, and assumes a more
abstract character in the writings of St. Paul.
Nomos, when used by him with the article,
still refers in general to the Law of Moses ;
but when used without the article, so as to
embrace any manifestation of "law," it in
cludes all powers which act on the will of
man by compulsion, or by the pressure of
external motives, whether their commands
be or be not expressed in definite forms.
The occasional use of the word " law " (as in
Rom. iii. 27, "law of faith;") to denote an
internal principle of action, does not really
militate" against the general rule. It should
also be noticed that the title " the Law " is
occasionally used loosely to refer to the whole
of the Old Testament (as in John x. 34, re
ferring to Ps. lxxxii. 6 ; in John xv. 25,
referring to Ps. xxxv. 19; and in 1 Cor.
xiv. 21, referring to Is. xxviii. 11, 12). — ¦
The question has been frequently discussed
how far the Mosaic Law has any obligation
or existence under the dispensation of the
Gospel. As a means of justification or salva
tion, it ought never to have been regarded,
even before Christ : it needs no proof to show
that still less can this he so since He has
come. But yet the question remains whether
it is binding on Christians, even when they
do not depend on it for salvation. It seems
clear enough, that its formal coercive au
thority as a whole ended with the close of
the Jewish dispensation. It referred through
out to the Jewish covenant, and in many
points to the constitution, the customs, and
even the local circumstances of the people.
That covenant was preparatory to the Chris
tian, in which it is now absorbed ; those
customs and observances have passed away.
It follows, by the very nature of the case,
that the formal obligation to the Law must
have ceased with the basis on which it is
grounded. But what then becomes of the
declaration of our Lord, that He came "not
to destroy the Law, but to perfect it," and
that " not one jot or one tittle of it shall pass
away"? what of the fact, consequent upon
it, that the Law has been reverenced in all
Christian churches, and had an important
influence on much Christian legislation 1
The explanation of the apparent contradic
tion lies in the difference between positive
and moral obligation. To apply this principle
practically there is need of much study and
discretion, in order to distinguish what is
local and temporary from what is universal,

294

LAZARUS

and what is mere external form from what is
the essence of an ordinance.
LAWYER. The title "lawyer" is gene
rally supposed to be equivalent to the title
" scribe," both on account of its etymological
meaning, and also because the man, who is
also called a "lawyer" in Matt. xxii. 35
and Luke x. 25, is called " one of the
scribes'' in Mark xii. 2$. If tbe common
reading in Luke xi. 44, 45, 46, be correct, it
will be decisive against this. By the use of
the word po^uko? (Tit. iii. 9) as a simple ad
jective, it seems more probable that the title
" scribe" was a legal and official designation,
but that the name vop-ikos was properly a
mere epithet signifying one "learned in the
law," and only used as a title in common
parlance (comp. the use of it in Tit. iii. 13,
"Zenas the lawyer ").
LAYING ON OF HANDS. [Baptism.]
LAZ'ARUS, another form of the Hebrew
name Eleazar. — 1. Lazarus of Bethany, the
brother of Martha and Mary (John xi. 1). All
that we know of him is derived from the Gospel
of St. John, and that records little more than
the facts of his death and resurrection ; hut
we may, with at least some measure of pro-
oability, fill up these scanty outlines. (1.)
The language of John xi. 1, implies that the
sisters were the better known. Lazarus is
" of Bethany, of the village of Mary and
her sister Martha." From this, and from
the order of the three names in John xi. 5,
we may reasonably infer that Lazarus was
the youngest of the family. (2.) In Luke
x. 38 and John xii. 1, 2, a feast is given to
Jesus by Martha and Mary ; but in Matt.
xxvi. 6, Mark xiv. 3, the same feast appears
as occurring in "the house of Simon the
leper." A leper, as such, would have been
compelled to lead a separate life, and certainly
could not have given a feast and received a
multitude of guests. Among the conjectural
explanations which have been given of this
difference, the hypothesis that this Simon
was the father of the two sisters and of
Lazarus, that he bad been smitten with
leprosy, and that actual death, or the civil
death that followed on his disease, had left
his children free to act for themselves, is at
least as probable as any other, and has some
support in early ecclesiastical traditions.
(3.) All the circumstances of John xi. and
xii., point to wealth and social position above
the average. (4.) A comparison of Matt.
xxvi. 6, Mark xiv. 3, with Luke vii. 36, 44,
suggests another conjecture that harmonises
with and in part explains the foregoing. If
Simon the leper were also the Pharisee, it
would explain the fact just noticed of the
friendship between the sisters of Lazarus and

the members of that party in Jerusalem. It
would follow on this assumption that the
Pharisee, whom we thus far identify with
the father of Lazarus, was probably one of
tbe members of that sect, sent down from
Jerusalem to watch the new teacher. (5.)
One other conjecture may yet be hazarded.
There are some coincidences which suggest
the identification of Lazarus with the young
ruler that had great possessions, of Matt.
xix., Mark x., Luke xviii. The age (Matt.
xix. 20, 22) agrees with what has been be
fore inferred (sec above, 1), as does the fact
of wealth above the average with what we
know of the condition of the family at
Bethany (see 2). If the father were an in
fluential Pharisee, if there were ties of some
kind uniting the family with that body, it
would be natural enough that the son, even
in comparative youth, should occupy the
position of a " ruler." But further, it is of
this rich young man that St. Mark uses the
emphatic word ("Jesus, beholding him, loved
him") which is used of no others in the
Gospel-history, save of the beloved apostle
and of Lazarus and his sisters (John xi. 5).
— Combining these inferences then, we get
an insight into one aspect of the life of the
Divine Teacher and Friend, full of living
interest. The village of Bethany and its
neighbourhood were a frequent retreat from
the controversies and tumults of Jerusalem
(John xviii. 2 ; Luke xxi. 37, xxii. 39). At
some time or other one household, wealthy,
honourable, belonging to the better or Nico
demus section of the Pharisees (see above,
1,2, 3) learns to know and reverence him.
Disease or death removes the father from the
scene, and the two sisters are left with their
younger brother to do as they think right.
In them and in the brother over whom they
watch, He finds that which is worthy of His
love. But two at least need an education in
the spiritual life. A few weeks pass away,
and then comes the sickness of John xi.
One of the sharp malignant fevers of Pa
lestine cuts off the life that was so precious.
The sisters know how truly the Divine Friend
has loved him on whom their love and their
hopes centered. They send to him in the
belief that the tidings of the sickness will at
once draw Him to them (John xi. 3). Slowly,
and in words which (though afterwards
understood otherwise) must at the time have
seemed to the disciples those of one upon
whom the truth came not at once but by
degrees, he prepares them for the worst.
"This sickness is not unto death" — "Our
friend Lazarus sleepeth" — " Lazarus is
dead." The work which he was doing as a
teacher or a healer (John x. 41, 42) in Betha-

LEAD

295

LEAF, LEAVES

bara, or the other Bethany (John x. 40 and
i. 28), was not incerrupted, and continues for
two days after the message reaches him.
Then comes the journey, occupying two days
more. When He and His disciples come,
three days have passed since the burial.
The friends from Jerusalem, chiefly of the
Pharisee and ruler class, are there with their
consolations. The sisters receive the Pro
phet, each according to her character. His
sympathy with their sorrow leads Him also
to weep. Then comes the work of might as
the answer of the prayer which the Son offers
to the Father (John xi. 41, 42). The stone
is rolled away from the mouth of the rock-
chamber in which the body had been placed.
¦' He that was dead came forth, bound hand
and foot with grave-clothes ; and his face
was bound about with a napkin." One scene
more meets us, and then the life of the family
which has come before us with such daylight
clearness lapses again into obscurity. In
the house which, though it still bore the
father's name (sup. 1), was the dwelling of
the sisters and the brother, there is a supper,
and Lazarus is there, and Martha serves, no
longer jealously, and Mary pours out her
love in the costly offering of the spikenard
ointment, and finds herself once again mis
judged and hastily condemned. After this
all direct knowledge of Lazarus ceases. The
resurrection of Lazarus is recorded only by
St. John. The writers of the first three
Gospels confined themselves, as by a deli
berate plan, to the miracles wrought in
Galilee (that of the blind man at Jericho
being the only exception).— 2. The name of
a poor man in the well-known parable of
Luke xvi. 19-31. The name of Lazarus has
been perpetuated in an Institution of the
Christian Church. The leper of the Middle
Ages appears as a Lazzaro. Among the
orders, half-military and half-monastic, of
the 12 th century, was one which bore tbe
title of the Knights of St. Lazarus (a.d.
1119), whose special work it was to minister
to the lepers, first of Syria, and afterwards
of Europe. The use of lazaretto and lazar-
house for the leper-hospitals then founded in
all parts of Western Christendom, no less
than that of lazzarone for the mendicants of
Italian towns, are indications of the effect of
the parable upon the mind of Europe in the
Middle Ages, and thence upon its later speech.
LEAD, one of the most common of metaTs,
found generally in veins of rocks, though
seldom in a metallic state, and most com
monly in combination with sulphur. It was
early known to the ancients, and the allusions
to it in Scripture indicate that the Hebrews
were well acquainted with its uses. The

rocks in the neighbourhood of Sinai yielded
it in large quantities, and it was found in
Egypt. That it was common in Palestine is
shown by the expression in Ecclus. xlvii. 18
(comp. 1 K. x. 27). It was among the
spoils of the Midianites which the children
of Israel brought with them to the plains of
Moab, after their return from the slaughter
of the tribe (Num. xxxi. 22). The ships of
Tarshish supplied the market of Tyre with
lead, as with other metals (Ez. xxvii. 12).
Its heaviness, to which allusion is made in
Ex. xv. 10, and Ecclus. xxii. 14, caused it to
be used for weights, which were either in
the form of a round flat cake (Zech. v. 7), or
a rough unfashioned lump or "stone" (ver.
8) ; stones having in ancient times served
the purpose of weights (comp. Prov. xvi. 11).
In modern metallurgy lead is used with tin
in the composition of solder for fastening
metals together. That the ancient Hebrews
were acquainted with the use of solder is
evident from Isaiah xli. 7 . No hint is
given as to tbe composition of the solder,
but in all probability lead was one of the
materials employed, its usage for such a pur
pose being of great antiquity. In Job. xix.
24 the allusion is supposed to be to the prac
tice of carving inscriptions upon stone, and
pouring molten lead into the cavities of the
letters, to render them legible, and at the
same time preserve them from the action of
the air. In modern metallurgy lead is em
ployed for the purpose of purifying silver
from other mineral products. The alloy is
mixed with lead, exposed to fusion upon an
earthen vessel, and submitted to a blast of
air. By this means the dross is consumed.
This process is called the cupelling operation,
with which the description in Ez. xxii. 18-
22 accurately coincides.
LEAF, LEAVES. The word occurs in the
A. V. either in the singular or plural number
in three different senses. 1. Leaf of a tree.
The olive leaf is mentioned in Gen. viii. 11.
Fig-leaves formed the first covering of our
parents in Eden. The barren fig-tree (Matt.
xxi. 19 ; Mark xi. 13) on the road between
Bethany and Jerusalem, " had on it nothing
but leaves." Tbe oak -leaf is mentioned in
Is. i. 30, and vi. 13. The righteous are often
compared to green leaves (Jer. xvii. 8). The
ungodly on the other hand are '• as an oak
whose leaf fadeth " (Is. i. 30). In Ez. xlvii.
12 ; Rev. xxii, 1, 2, there is probably an al
lusion to some tree whose leaves were used
by the Jews as a medicine or ointment ; in
deed, it is very likely that many plants and
leaves were thus made use of by them, as by
the old English herbalists. 2. Leaves of
doors. The Hebrew word, which occurs

290

LEBANON

very many times in the Bible, and which in
1 K. vi. 32 (marginl and 34 is translated
" leaves" in the A. V., signifies beams, ribs,
sides, &c. 3. Leaves of a book or roll occurs
in this sense only in Jer. xxxvi. 23. The
Hebrew word (literally dvors) would perhaps
be more correctly translated columns.
LE'AH, the daughter of Laban (Gen. xxix.
16). The dulness or weakneps of her eyes
tvas so notable, that it is mentioned as a con
trast to the beautiful form and appearance of
her younger sister Rachel. Her father took
advantage of the opportunity which the local
marriage-rite afforded to pass her off in her
sister's stead on the unconscious bridegroom,
and excused himself to Jacob by alleging that
the custom of the country forbade tbe younger
sister to be given first in marriage. Jacob's
preference of Rachel grew into hatred of
Leah, after he had married both sisters.
Leah, however, bore to him in quick suc
cession Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, then
Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, before Rachel
had a child. She died some time after Jacob
reached the south country in which his father
Isaac lived. She was buried in the family
grave in Machpelah (ch. xlix. 31).
LEASING, " falsehood." This word is re
tained in the A. V. of Ps. iv. 2, v. 6, from
the older English versions ; but the Hebrew
word of which it is the rendering is else
where almost uniformly translated "lies"
(Ps. xl. 4, lviii. 3, &c).
LEATHER. The notices of leather in the
Bible are singularly few ; indeed the word
occurs but twice in the A. V., and in each
instance in reference to the same object, a
girdle (2 K. i. 8 ; Matt. iii. 4.). There are,
however, other instances in which the word
"leather" might with propriety be substi
tuted for "skin" (Lev. xi. 32, xiii. 48;
Num. xxxi. 20).
LEAVEN. Various substances were known
to have fermenting qualities ; but the ordi
nary leaven consisted of a lump of old dough
in a high state of fermentation, which was
inserted into the mass of dough prepared for
baking. The use of leaven was strictly for
bidden in all offerings made to the Lord by
fire. It is in reference to these prohibitions
that Amos (iv. 5) ironically bids the Jews of
his day to " offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving
with leaven." In other instances, where the
offering was to be consumed by the priests,
and not on the altar, leaven might be used.
Various ideas were associated with the pro
hibition of leaven in the instances above
quoted. But the most prominent idea, and
the one which applies equally to all the cases
of prohibition, is connected with the cor
ruption which leaven itself had undergone,

and which it communicated to bread in the
process of fermentation. It is to this pro
perty of leaven that our Saviour points when
he speaks of the " leaven (i.e. the corrupt
doctrine) of the Pharisees and of the Saddu-
cees" (Matt. xvi. 6) ; and St. Paul, when he
speaks of the " old leaven " (1 Cor. v. 7).
LEB'ANON, a mountain range in the
north of Palestine. The nanre Lebanon sig
nifies " white," and was applied either on
account of the snow, which, during a great
part ot the year, covers its whole summit, or
on account of the white colour of its lime
stone cliffs and peaks. It is the " white
mountain" — the Mont Blanc of Palestine.
Lebanon is represented in Scripture as lying
upon the northern border of the land of
Israel (Deut. i. 7, xi. 24 ; Josh. i. 4). Two
distinct ranges bear this name. They run
in parallel lines from S.W. to N.E. for about
90 geog. miles, enclosing between them a
long fertile valley from 5 to 8 miles' wide,
anciently called Code-Syria. The western
range is the " Libanus " of the old geogra
phers, and the Lebanon of Scripture. The
eastern range was called " Anti-Libanus " by
geographers, and " Lebanon toward the sun-
rising" by the sacred writers (Josh. xiii. 5).
1. Lebanon — the western range— commences
on the south of the deep ravine of the Litany t
the ancient river Leontes, which drains the
valley of Coele-Syria, and falls into the Medi
terranean five miles north of Tyre. It runs
N.E. in a straight line parallel to the coast,
to the opening from the Mediterranean into
the plain of Emesa, called in Scripture the
"Entrance of Hamath" (Num. xxxiv. 8).
Here Nahr el-Kebir — the ancient river Eleu-
therus — sweeps round its northern end, as
the Leontes does round its southern. The
average elevation of the range is from 6000
to 8000 ft. ; but two peaks rise considerably
higher. On the summits of both these peaks
the Bnow remains in patches during the whole
summer. The line of cultivation runs along
at the height of about 6000 ft. ; and below
this the features of the western slopes are
entirely different. The rugged limestone
banks are scantily clothed with the ever
green oak, and the sandstone with pines;
while every available spot is carefully culti
vated. The cultivation is wonderful, and
shows what all Syria might be if under a
good government. Fig-trees cling to the
naked rock ; vines are trained along narrow-
ledges ; long ranges of mulberries, on ter
races like steps of stairs, cover the more
gentle declivities ; and dense groves of olives
fill up the bottoms of the glens. Hundreds
of villages are seen — here built amid laby
rinths of rocks, there clinging like swallows'

CHAIN OF LEBANON.

To face, p. 297

LEBBAEUS

297'

LEES

nests to the sides of cliffs ; while convents,
no less numerous, are perched on the top of
every peak. The vine is still largely culti
vated in every part of the mountain. Leba
non also abounds in olives, figs, and mulber
ries ; while some remnants exist of tbe
forests of pine, oak, and cedar, which for
merly covered it (1 K. v. 6 ; Ps. xxix. 5 ;
Is. xiv. 8; Ezr. iii. 7). Considerable num
bers of wild beasts still inhabit its retired
glens and higher peaks ; the writer bas seen
jackals, hyenas, wolves, bears, and panthers
(2 K. xiv. 9; Cant. iv. 8; Hab. ii. 17).
Along the base of Lebanon runs the irregular
plain of Phoenicia ; nowhere more than two
miles wide, and often interrupted by bold
rocky spurs, that dip into the sea. The main
ridge of Lebanon is composed of Jura lime
stone, and abounds in fossils. Long belts of
more recent sandstone run along the western
slopes, which is in places largely impreg
nated with iron. Lebanon was originally
inhabited by the Hivites and Giblites (Judg.
iii. 3; Josh. xiii. 5, 6). The whole moun
tain range was assigned to the Israelites, but
was never conquered by them (Josh. xiii.
2-6; Judg. iii. 1-3). During the Jewish
monarchy it appears to have been subject to
the Phoenicians (1 K. v. 2-6 ; Ezr. iii. 7).
From the Greek conquest until modern times
Lebanon had no separate history. — 2. Anti-
Libanus. — The main chain of Anti-Libanus
commences in the plateau of "Bashan, near
the paraUel of Caesarea-Philippi, runs north
to Hermon, and then north-east in a straight
line till it sinks down into the great plain of
Emesa, not far from the site of Riblah.
Hekmox is the loftiest peak ; the next
highest is a few miles north of the site of
Abila, beside the village of Bluddn, and has
an elevation of about 7000 feet. The rest of
the ridge averages about 5O00 ft. ; it is in
general bleak and barren, with shelving gray
declivities, gray cliffs, and gray rounded
summits. Here and there we meet with
thin forests of dwarf oak and juniper. The
western slopes descend abruptly into the Bu-
kd'a ; but the features of the eastern are
entirely different. Three side ridges here
radiate from Hermon, like the ribs of an
open fan, and form the supporting walls of
three great terraces. Anti-Libanus is only
once distinctly mentioned in Scripture, where
it is accurately described as " Lebanon toward
tbe sun-rising " (Josh. xiii. 5). " The tower
of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus "
(Cant. vii. 4) is doubtless Hermon, which
forms the most striking feature in the whole
panorama round that city.
LEBBAE'US. This name occurs in Matt.
x. 3, according to Codex D (Bezae) of the

sixth century, and in the received Text. In
Mark iii. 18, it is substituted in a few unim
portant MSS. for Thaddaeus. [Jude.]
LEECH. [Horse-Leech.]
LEEKS (Heb. chdtsir). . The word chats ir,
which in Num. xi. 5 is translated leeks, occurs
twenty times in the Hebrew text. The He
brew term, which properly denotes grass, is
derived from a root signifying " to be green,"
and may therefore stand in this passage for
any green food, lettuce, endive, &c. ; it
would thus be applied somewhat in the same
manner as we use the term " greens ; " yet
as the chdtsir is mentioned together with
onions and garlick in the text, and as the
most ancient versions unanimously under
stand leeks by the Hebrew word, we may be
satisfied with our own translation. There is,
however, another and a very ingenious inter
pretation of chdtsir, first proposed by Hengs-
tenberg, and received by Dr. Kitto (Pictor.
Bible, Num. xi. 5), which adopts a more
literal translation of the original word, for,
says Dr. Kitto, " among the wonders in the
natural history of Egypt, it is mentioned by
travellers that the common people there eat
with special relish a kind of grass similar to
clover." This plant (of which the scientific
name is Trigonella fomvum Graecum) is si
milar to clover, but its leaves more pointed,

Trigonella foenum -grace urn
and great quantities of it are eaten by the
people. The leek is too well-known to need
description. Its botanical name is Allium
porrnm. LEES. The Hebrew shemer bears the
radical sense of preservation, and was applied

298

LEOPARD

to "lees" from the custom of allowing the
wine to stand on the lees in order that its
colour and body might be better preserved.
Hence the expression " wine on the lees," as
meaning a generous full-bodied liquor (Is.
xxv. 6). Before the wine was consumed,
it was necessary to strain off the lees ; such
wine was then termed "well refined" (Is.
xxv. 6). To drink the lees, or " dregs," was
an expression for the endurance of extreme
punishment (Ps. lxxv. 8).
LEGION, the chief sub-division of the
Roman army, containing about 6000 in
fantry, with a contingent of cavalry. The
term does not occur in the Bible in its pri
mary sense, but appears to have been adopted
in order to express any large number, with
the accessory ideas of order and subordination
(Matt. xxvi. 53 ; Mark v. 9).
LE'HABIM, occurring only in Gen. x. 13,
the name of a Mizraite people or tribe. There
can be no doubt that they are the same as
the ReBU or LeBU of the Egyptian inscrip
tions, and that from them Libya and the
Libyans derived their name. These primi
tive Libyans appear to have inhabited the
northern part of Africa to the west of Egypt,
though latterly driven from the coast by the
Greek colonists of the Cyrenaica.
LE'HI, a place in Judah, probably on the
confines of the Philistines' country, between
it and the cliff Etam ; tbe scene of Samson's
well-known exploit with the jawbone (Judg.
xv. 9, 14, 19). It contained an eminence —
Ramath-lehi, and a spring of great and last
ing repute — En-hak-kore. It may perhaps be
identified with Beit-Likiyeh, a village about
2 miles below the upper Beth-horon.
LEM'UEL, the name of an unknown king
to whom his mother addressed the prudential
maxims contained in Prov. xxxi. 1-9. The
Rabbinical commentators identified Lemuel
with Solomon. Others regard him as king
or chief of an Arab tribe dwelling on the
borders of Palestine, and elder brother of
Agur, whose name stands at the head of
Prov. xxx.
LENTILES (Heb. 'dddshim). The word
occurs in the four following passages : — Gen.
xxv. 34, 2 Sam. xvii. 28, xxiii. 11, and Ez.
iv. 9. There are three or four kinds of len-
tiles, all of which are still much esteemed in
those countries where they are grown, viz.
the South of Europe, Asia, and North Africa :
the red lentile is still a favourite article of
food in the East ; it is a small kind, the
seeds of which after being decorticated, are
commonly sold in the bazaars oflndia. The
modern Arabic name of this plant is identical
with the Hebrew ; it is known in Egypt and
Arabia, Syria, &c, by the name 'Adas.

Lentile bread is still eaten by the poor of
Egypt.

Lentile (Eri-utn Unit.)
LEOPARD (Heb. ndmer) is invariably
given by the A. V. as the translation of the
Hebrew word, which occurs in the seven fol
lowing passages, —Is. xi. 6; Jer. *'. 6, xiii.
23 ; Dan. vii. 6 ; Hos. xiii. 7 ; Cant. iv. 8 ;
Hab. i. 8. Leopard occurs also in Ecclus.
xxviii. 23, and in Rev. xiii. 2. From Cant.
iv. 8, we learn that the hilly ranges of Le
banon were in ancient times frequented by
these animals. They arc now not uncom
monly seen in and about Lebanon, and the
southern maritime mountains of Syria. Under
the name ndmer, whieh means " spotted,"
it is not improbable that another animal,
namely the cheetah (Gueparda jubata), may
be included; which is tamed bv the Maho-

Lc-opard (Le-iHtrdut vuritu.)

LEPER

299

LEUMMIM

metans of Syria, who employ it in hunting
tbe gazelle.
LEPER, LEPROSY. The predominant
and characteristic form of leprosy in Scrip
ture is a white variety, covering either the
entire body, or a large tract of its surface ;
which has obtained the name of lepra Mo-
saica. Such were the cases of Moses, Miriam,
Naaman, and Gehazi (Ex. iv. 6 ; Num. xii.
10; 2 K. v. 1, 27; comp. Lev. xiii. 13).
But, remarkably enough, in the Mosaic ri
tual-diagnosis of the disease (Lev, xiii., xiv.),
this kind, when overspreading the whole sur
face, appears to be regarded as " clean " (xiii.
12, 13, 16, 17). The Egyptian bondage,
with its studied degradations and privations,
and especially the work of the kiln under an
Egyptian sun, must have had a frightful ten
dency to generate this class of disorders ;
hence Manetho asserts that the Egyptians
drove out the Israelites as infected with
leprosy — a strange reflex, perhaps, of the
Mosaic narrative of the " plagues" of Egypt,
yet probably also containing a germ of truth.
The sudden and total change of food, air,
dwelling, and mode of life, caused by the
Exodus, to this nation of newly-emancipated
slaves, may possibly have had a further ten
dency to produce skin -disorders, and severe
repressive measures may have been required
in the desert-moving camp to secure the
public health, or to allay the panic of infec
tion. Hence it is possible that many, per
haps most of this repertory of symptoms may
have disappeared with the period of the Ex
odus, and the snow-white form, which had
pre-existed, may alone have ordinarily con
tinued in a later age. But it is observable
that, amongst these Levitical symptoms, the
scaling, or peeling off of the surface, is no
where mentioned, nor is there any expression
in the Hebrew text which points to exfolia
tion of the cuticle. The principal morbid
features are a rising or swelling, a scab or
baldness, and a bright or white spot (xiii.
2). But especially a white swelling in the
skin, with a change of the hair of the part
from the natural black to white or yellow
(3, 10, 4, 20, 25, 30), or an appearance of a
taint going " deeper tban the skin," or again,
"raw flesh" appearing in the swelling (10,
14, 15), were critical signs of pollution. The
mere swelling, or scab, or bright spot, was
remanded for a week as doubtful (4, 21, 26,
31), and for a second such period, if it had
not yet pronounced (5). If it then spread
(7, 22, 27, 35), it was decided as polluting.
But if after the second period of quarantine
the trace died away and showed no symptom
of spreading, it was a mere scab, and the
patient was adjudged clean (6, 23, 34). Thia

tendency to spread seems especially to have
been relied on. A spot most innocent in all
other respects, if it " spread much abroad,"
was unclean ; whereas as before remarked,
the man so wholly overspread with the evil
that it could find no farther range, was ou
the contrary "clean" (12, 13). These two
opposite criteria seem to show, that whilst
the disease manifested activity, the Mosaic
law imputed pollution to and imposed segre
gation on the sufferer, but that the point at
which it might be viewed as having run its
course was the signal for his readmission to
communion. It is clear that the leprosy of
Lev. xiii., xiv. means any severe disease
spreading on the surface of the body in tho
way described, and so shocking of aspect, or
so generally suspected of infection, that pub
lic feeling called for separation. — It is now
undoubted that the "leprosy" of modern
Syria, and which has a wide range in Spain,
Greece, and Norway, is the Elephantiasis
Graecm^um. It is said to have been brought
home by the crusaders into the various coun
tries of Western and Northern Europe. It
certainly was not the distinctive white le
prosy, nor do any of the described symptoms
in Lev. xiii. point to elephantiasis. " White
as snow " (2 K. v. 27) would be as inapplic
able to elephantiasis as to small-pox. — There
remains a curious question as regards the
leprosy of garments and houses. Some have
thought garments worn by leprous patients
intended. This classing of garments and
housewalls with the human epidermis, as
leprous, has moved the mirth of some, and
the wonder of others. Yet modern science
has established what goes far to vindicate
the Mosaic classification as more philoso
phical than such cavils. It is now known
that there are some skin-diseases which ori
ginate in an acarus, and others which proceed
from a fungus. In these we may probably
find the solution of the paradox. The ana
logy between the insect which frets the
human skin and that which frets the garment
that covers it, between the fungous growth
that lines the crevices of the epidermis and
that which creeps in the interstices of ma
sonry, is close enough for the purposes of a
ceremonial law. It is manifest also that a
disease in the human subject caused by an
acarus or by a fungus would be certainly
contagious, since the propagative cause could
be transferred from person to person.
LE'SHEM, another form of Laish, after
wards Dan, occurring in Josh. xix. 47.
LET'USHIM, the name of the second of
the sons of Dedan, son of Jokshan (Gen.
xxv. 3).
LE'UMMIM, the name of the third of the

LEVI

300

LEVITES

descendants of Dedan, son of Jokshan, Gon.
xxv. 3, being in the plural form like his
brethren, Asshurim and Letushim.
LE'VI. 1. The name of the third son of
Jacob by his wife Leah. The name, derived
from lavdh, "to adhere," gave utterance to
the hope of the mother that the affections of
her husband, which had hitherto rested on the
favoured Rachel, would at last be drawn to
her. "This time will my husband bejoined
unto me, because I have borne him three
sons" (Gen. xxix. 34). The new-born child
was to be a fresh link binding the parents
to each other more closely than before.
Levi, with his brother Simeon, avenged
with a cruel slaughter the outrage of their
sister Dinah. [Dinah.] Levi, with his three
sons, Gershon, Kohath, Merari, went down
to Egypt with his father Jacob (Gen. xlvii.
11). When Jacob's death draws near, and the
sons are gathered round him, Levi and Si
meon hear the old crime brought up again to
receive its sentence. They, no less than Reu
ben, the incestuous first-born, had forfeited
the privileges of their birthright (Gen. xlix.
5-7). [Levites.] — 2. Son of Alphaeus (Mark
ii. 14 ; Luke v. 27, 29). [Matthew.]
LEVIATHAN occurs five times in the text
of the A. V., and once in the margin of
Job iii. 8, where the text has " mourning. '
In the Hebrew Bible the word livyathan,
which is, with the foregoing exception, always
left untranslated in the A. V.. is found only
in the following passages : Job iii. 8, xli. 1 ;
Ps. Ixxiv. 14, civ. 26 ; Is. xxvii. 1. In the
margin of Job iii. 8, and text of Job xli. 1,
the crocodile is most clearly the animal de
noted by the Hebrew word. Ps. Ixxiv, 14
also clearly points to this same saurian.
The context of Ps. civ. 26 seems to show
that in this passage the name represents
some animal of the whale tribe ; but it is
somewhat uncertain what animal is denoted
in Is. xxvii. 1,

Crocodile of the Nile {0. vulgnris.')

As the term leviathan is evidently used in
no limited sense, it is not improbable that
the "leviathan the piercing serpent," or
"leviathan the crooked serpent," may denote
some species of the great rock-snakes which
are common in South and West Africa.
LE'VIS, improperly given as a proper name
in I Esd. ix. 14. It is simply a corruption of
" the Levite " in Ezr. x. 15.
LE'VITES. The analogy of the names of
the other tribes of Israel would lead us to in
clude under these titles the whole tribe that
traced its descent from Levi. The existence
of another division, however, within the tribe
itself, in the higher office of the priesthood
as limited to " the sons of Aaron," gave to
the common form, in this instance, a peculiar
meaning. Most frequently the Levites are
distinguished, as such, from the priests (1 K.
viii. 4 ; Ezr. ii. 70 ; John i. 19, Arc), and this
is the meaning which has perpetuated itself.
Sometimes the word extends to the whole
tribe, the priests included (Num. xxxv. 2;
Josh. xxi. 3, 11 ; Ex. vi. 25 ; Lev. xxv. 32,
&c). Sometimes again it is added as an
epithet of the smaller portion of the tribe,
and wo read of "the priests the Levites"
(Josh. iii. 3 ; Ez. xliv. 15). The history of
the tribe and of the functions attached to its
several orders is essential to any right appre
hension of the history of Israel as a people.
It will fall naturally into four great periods.
I. The time of the Exodus — There is no trace
of the consecrated character of the Levites till
the institution of an hereditary priesthood in
the family of Aaron, during the first with
drawal of Moses to the solitude of Sinai
(xxviii. 1). The next extension of the idea of
the priesthood grew out of the terrible crisis
of Ex. xxxii. The tribe stood forth, separate
and apart, recognising even in this stern
work the spiritual as higher than the natural.
From this time they occupied a distinct
position. The tribe of Levi was to take the
place of that earlier priesthood of the first
born as representatives of the holiness of the
people. As the Tabernacle was the sign of
the presence among the people of their unseen
King, so the Levites were, among the other
tribes of Israel, as the royal guard that waited
exclusively on Him. When the people were
at rest they encamped as guardians round the
sacred tent (Num. i. 51, xviii. 22). When
on the inarch no hands but theirs might
strike the tent at the commencement of tho
day's journey, or carry the parts of its struc
ture during it, or pitch the tent once again
when they halted (Num. i. 51). It was ob
viously essential for such a work that there
6hould be a fixed assignment of duties ; and
now accordingly we meet with the first out-

LEVITES

301

LEVITES

lines of the organization which afterwards
became permanent. The division of the tribe
into tbe three sections that traced their
descent from the sons of Levi, formed the
groundwork of it. The work which they all
had to do required a man's full strength, and
therefore, though twenty was the starting-
point for military service (Num. i.), they
were not to enter on their active service till
they were thirty (Num. iv. 23, 30, 35). At
fifty they were to be free from all duties but
those of superintendence (Num. viii. 25, 26).
The Kohatbites, as nearest of kin to the
priests, held from the first the highest offices.
They were to bear all the vessels of the sanc
tuary, the ark itself included (Num. iii. 31,
iv. 15 ; Deut. xxxi. 25), after the priests had
covered them with the dark-blue cloth which
was to hide them from all profane gaze.
The Gershonites had to carry the tent-hang
ings and curtains (Num. iv. 22-26). The
heavier burden of the boards, bars, and
pillars of the tabernacle fell on the sons of
Merari. The Levites were to have no terri
torial possessions. In place of them they
were to receive from the others the tithes of
the produce of the land, from whieh they, in
their turn, offered a tithe to the priests, as
a recognition of their higher consecration
(Num. xviii. 21, 24, 26 ; Neh. x. 37). When
the wanderings of the people should be over
and the tabernacle have a settled place, great
part of the labour that had fallen on them
would come to an end, and they too would
need a fixed abode. Distinctness and diffu
sion were both to he secured by the assign
ment to the whole tribe of forty-eight cities,
with an outlying "suburb" (Num. xxxv. 2)
of meadow-land for the pasturage of their
flocks and herds. The reverence of the
people for them was to be heightened by
the selection of six of these as cities of re
fuge. Through the whole land the Levites
were to take the place of the old household
priests, sharing in all festivals and rejoicings
(Deut. xii. 19, xiv. 26, 27, xxvi. 11). Every
third year they were to have an additional
share in the produce of the land (Deut. xiv.
28, xxvi. 12). To "the priests the Le
vites " was to belong the office of preserving,
transcribing, and interpreting the law (Deut.
xvii. 9-12, xxxi. 26). II. The period of the
Judges. — The successor of Moses, though be
longing to another tribe, did faithfully all
that could be done to convert this idea into
a reality. The submission of the Gibeonites
enabled him to relieve the tribe-divisions of
Gershon and Merari of the most burdensome
of their duties. The conquered Hivites be
came " hewers of wood and drawers of
water " for the house of Jehovah and for

the congregation (Josh. ix. 27). As soon
as the conquerors had advanced far enough
to proceed to a partition of the country,
the forty-eight cities were assigned to them.
III. The Monarchy. — The rule of Samuel,
himself a Levite, tended to give them the
position of a ruling caste. The reign of
Saul, in its later period, was the assertion
of a self-willed power against the priestly
order. The reign of David, however,
wrought the change from persecution to
honour. When bis kingdom was established,
there came a fuller organisation of the whole
tribe. Their position in relation to the
priesthood was once again definitely recog
nised. When the ark was carried up to its
new resting-place in Jerusalem, their claim
to be the hearers of it was publicly acknow
ledged (1 Chr. xv. 2). In the procession
which attended the ultimate conveyance of
the ark to its new resting-place the Levites
were conspicuous, wearing their linen ephods,
and appearing in their new character as
minstrels (1 Chr. xv. 27, 28). In the worship
of the tabernacle under David, as afterwards
in that of the Temple, we may trace a de
velopment of the simpler arrangements of the
wilderness and of Shiloh. The Levites were
the gatekeepers, vergers, sacristans, chorist
ers of the central sanctuary of the nation.
They were, in the language of 1 Chr. xxiii.
24-32, to which we may refer as almost the
locus classicus on this subject, " to wait on
the sons of Aaron for the service of the house
of Jehovah, in the courts, and the chambers,
and the purifying of all holy things." This
included the duty of providing " for the
shew-bread, and the fine flour for meat-offer
ing, and for the unleavened bread." They
were, besides this, " to stand every morning
to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at
even." They were lastly " to offer " — i.e. to
assist the priest in offering — " all burnt-
sacrifices to Jehovah in the sabbaths and on
the set feasts." They lived for the greater
part of the year in their own cities, and
came up at fixed periods to take their turn
of work (1 Chr. xxv. xxvi.). The educa
tion which the Levites received for their
peculiar duties, no less than their connexion
more or less intimate with the schools of
the prophets, would tend to make them the
teachers of the others, the transcribers and
interpreters of the Law, the chroniclers of the
times in which they lived. We have some
striking instances of their appearance in this
new character. The two books of Chronicles
bear unmistakable marks of having been
written by men whose interests were all ga
thered round the services of the Temple, and
who were familiar with its records. The

LEVITICUS

302

LICE

revolt of the ten tribes, and the policy pur
sued by Jeroboam, led to a great change in
the position of the Levites. They were the
witnesses of an appointed order and of a
central worship. He wished to make the
priests the creatures and instruments of the
king, and to establish a provincial and di
vided worship. The natural result was, that
they left the cities assigned to them in the
territory of Israel, and gathered round the
metropolis of Judah (2 Chr. xi. 13, 14). In
the kingdom of Judah they were, from this
time forward, a powerful body, politically,
as well as ecclesiastically. IV. After the
Captivity. — On the return from Babylon, the
Levites take their old places in the Temple
and in the villages near Jerusalem (Neh. xii.
29), and are present in full array at the great
feast of the Dedication of the Wall. The two
prophets who were active at the time of the
Return, Haggai and Zechariah, if they did
not belong to the tribe, helped it forward in
the work of restoration. The last prophet
of the O. T. sees, as part of his vision of the
latter days, the time when the Lord "shall
purify the sons of Levi " (Mal. iii. 3). Dur
ing the period that followed the Captivity
they contributed to the formation of the so-
called Great Synagogue. They, with the
priests, formed the majority of the permanent
Sanhedrim, and as such had a large share in
the administration of Justice even in capital
cases. They take no prominent pait in the
Maccabaean struggles, though they must
have been present at the great purification of
the Temple. They appear but seldom in the
history of the N. T. Where we meet with
their names it is as the type of a formal
heartless worship, without sympathy and
without love (Luke x. 32). The mention of
a Levite of Cyprus in Acts iv. 36 shows that
the changes of the previous century had
carried that tribe also into " the dispersed
among the Gentiles."
LEVITICUS. The Book, which is so
called because it relates principally to the
Levites and Priests, consists of the following
principal sections : — I. The laws touching
sacrifices (chap, i.-vii.). IL An historical
section containing, first, the consecration of
Aaron and his sons (chap, viii.) ; next, his
first offering for himself and his people
(chap, ix.) ; and lastly, the destruction of
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, for
their presumptuous offence (chap. x.). III.
The laws concerning purity and impurity,
and the appropriate sacrifices and ordinances
for putting away impurity (chap, xi.-xvi,).
I V. Laws chiefly intended to mark the separa
tion between Israel and the heathen nations
(chap. xvii. -xx.). V. Laws concerning the

priests (xxi., xxii.) ; and certain holy days
and festivals (xxiii.. xxv.), together with an
episode (xxiv.). The section extends from
chap. xxi. 1 to xxvi. 2. VI. Promises and
threats (xxvi. 2-46). VIE. An appendix
containing the laws concerning vows (xxvii.).
LIB'ANUS. [Lebanon.]
LIBERTINES. This word, which occurs
once only in the N. T. (Acts vi. 9), is the
Latin Libertini, that is " freedmen." They
were probably Jews who, having been taken
prisoners by Pompcy and other Roman
generals in the Syrian wars, had been re
duced to slavery, and had afterwards been
emancipated, and returned, permanently or
for a time, to the country of their fathers.
LIB'NAII. 1. A city which lay in the
south-west part of the Holy Land, taken by
Joshua immediately after the rout of Beth-
horon. It belonged to the maritime lowland
of Judah, among the cities of which district
it is enumerated (Josh. xv. 42). It was ap
propriated with its " suburbs " to tbe prie.-ts
(Josh. xxi. 13 ; 1 Chr. vi. 57). In the reign
of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat it " re
volted " from Judah at the same time with
Edom (2 K. viii. 22 ; 2 Chr. xxi. 10). On
completing or relinquishing the siege of
Lachish — which of the two is not quite cer
tain — Sennacherib laid siege to Libnah (2 K.
xix. 8 ; Is. xxxvii. 8). It was the native
place of Hamutal, or Hamital, the queen of
Josiah, and mother of Jehoahaz (2 K. xxiii.
31) and Zedekiah (xxiv. 18; Jer. Iii. 1).
Its exact site is uncertain. — 2. One of the
stations at which the Israelites encamped, on
their journey between the wilderness of Sinai
and Kadesh (Num. xxxiii. 20, 21); and the
only conjecture which appears to have been
made concerning it is that it was identical
with Laban, mentioned in Deut. i. 1.
LIB'NI, eldest son of Gershon, the son of
Levi (Ex. vi. 17 ; Num. iii. 18 ; 1 Chr. vi.
17, 20), and ancestor of the family of the
Libnites (Num. iii. 21, xxvi. 58).
LIB'YA occurs only in Acts ii. 10, in tbe
periphrasis " the parts of Libya about Cyrene,"
which obviously means the Cyrenaica. The
name Libya is applied by the Greek and
Roman writers to the African continent,
generally however excluding Egypt.
LICE (Heb. cinnim, cinndm). This word
occurs in the A. V. only in Ex. viii. 16-18,
and in Ps. cv. 31 ; both of which passages
have reference to the third great plague of
Egypt. The Hebrew word has given occasion
to whole pages of discussion. Some com
mentators, and indeed modern writers gene
rally, suppose that gnats are the animals
intended by the original word ; while, on the
other hand, the Jewish Rabbis, Josephus and

LIGN ALOES

303

LINEN

others, arc in favour of the translation of the
A. V. Upon the whole it appears that there
is not sufficient authority for departing from
the translation of the A. V.
LIGN ALOES. [Aloes.]
LIGURE (Heb. leshem), a precious stone
mentioned in Ex. xxviii. 19, xxxix. 12, as
tbe first in the third row of the high-priest's
breastplate. It is impossible to say, with
any certainty, what stone is denoted by the
Heb. term ; but perhaps towmaline, or more
definitely the red variety known as i-ubellite
has better claims than that of any other
mineral. Rubellite is a hard stone and used
as a gem, and is sometimes sold for red
sapphire. LILY (Heb. shushan, shoshanndh). Al
though there is little doubt that the Hebrew
word denotes some plant of the lily species,
it is by no means certain what individual
of this class it especially designates. If the
shushan or shoshanndh of the 0. T. and the
Kpivov of the Sermon on the Mount be iden
tical, which there seems no reason to doubt,
the plant designated by these terms must
have been a conspicuous object on the shores
of the Lake of Gennesaret (Matt. vi. 28;
Luke xii. 27) ; it must have flourished in
the deep broad valleys of Palestine (Cant. ii.
1), among the thorny shrubs (ib. ii. 2) and
pastures of the desert (ib. ii. 16, iv. 5, vi. 3),
and must have been remarkable for its rapid
and luxuriant growth (Hos. xiv. 5 ; Ecclus.
xxxix. 14). That its flowers were brilliant
in colour would seem to be indicated in Matt.
vi. 28, where it is compared with the gor-

l. iilnm Chalcedonicum.

geous robes of Solomon ; and that this colour
was scarlet or purple is implied in Cant. v.
13. There appears to be no species of lily
which so completely answers all these re
quirements as the Li-Hum Chalcedonicum, or
Scarlet Martagon, which grows in profusion
in the Levant. But direct evidence on the
point is still to be desired from the observa
tion of travellers. — The Phoenician architects
of Solomon's temple decorated the capitals of
the columns with "lily-work," that is, with
leaves and flowers of the lily (1 K. vii.), cor
responding to the lotus-headed capitals of
Egyptian architecture. The rim of the
"brazen sea" was possibly wrought in the
form of the recurved margin of a lily flower
(1 K. vii. 26).
LINEN. 1. As Egypt was the great centre
of the linen manufacture of antiquity, it is in
connexion with that country that we find the
first allusion to it in the Bible. Joseph,
when promoted to the dignity of ruler of the
land of Egypt, was arrayed "in vestures of
fine linen" (shesh, marg. "silk," Gen. xli.
42), and among the offerings for the taber
nacle of tbe things which the Israelites had
brought out of Egypt were "blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine linen " (Ex.
xxv. 4, xxxv. 6). — 2. But in Ex. xxviii. 42,
and Lev. vi. 10, the drawers of the priests
and their flowing robes are said to be of
linen (bad) ; and the tunic of the high-priest,
his girdle and mitre, which he wore on the
day of atonement, were made of the same
material (Lev. xvi. 4). From a comparison
of Ex. xxviii. 42 with xxxix. 28 it seems
clear that bad and shesh were synonymous.
— 3. Biits, always translated "fine linen,"
except 2 Chr. v. 12, is apparently a late
word, and probably the same with the Greek
0vo-o-oy, by which it is represented by the
LXX. It was used for the dresses of the
Levite choir in the temple (2 Chr. v. 12),
for the loose upper garment worn by kings
over the close-fitting tunic (1 Chr. xv. 27),
and for the vail of the temple, embroidered
by the skill of the Tyrian artificers (2 Chr.
iii. 14). The dress of the rich man in the
parable was purple and fine linen (p-va-a-os,
Luke xvi. 19). "Fine linen," with purple
and silk, are enumerated in Rev. xviii. 12
as among the merchandise of the mystical
Babylon. — 4, 5. Etitn (Prov. vii. 16) and sddin
(Judg. xiv. 12, 13) also signify linen. But the
general term which included all those already
mentioned was pishteh, which was employed —
like our " cotton " — to denote not only the
flax (Judg. xv. 14) or raw material from
which the linen was made, but also the plant
itself (Josh. ii. 6), and the manufacture from
it. It is generally opposed to wool, as a

304

LIZARD

vegetable product to an animal (Lev.xiii. 4 7,
48, 52, 59 ; Deut. xxii. 11 ; Prov. xxxi. 13;
Hos. ii. 5, 9), and was used for nets (Is.
xix. 9), girdles (Jer. xiii..l), and measuring-
lines (Ez. xl. 3), as well as for the dress of
the priests (Ez. xliv. 17, 18).
LI'NUS, a Christian at Rome, known to
St. Paul and to Timothy (2 Tim. iv. 21),
who was the first bishop of Rome after the
apostles. LION. At present lions do not exist in
Palestine ; but they must in ancient times
have been numerous. The names Lebaoth
(Josh. xv. 32), Beth-Lebaoth (Josh, xix, 6),
Arieh (2 K. xv. 25), and Laish (Judg. xviii.
7; 1 Sam. xxv. 44), were probably derived
from the presence of or connexion with lions,
and point to the fact that they were at one
time common. They had their lairs in the
forests whicii have vanished with them (Jer.
v. 6, xii. 8 ; Am. iii. 4), in the tangled
brushwood (Jer. iv. 7, xxv. 38 ; Job xxxviii.
40), and in the caves of the mountains (Cant.
iv. 8 ; )£,¦/.. xix. 9 ; Nab. ii. 12), The cane-
brake on the banks of the Jordan, the
"pride" of the river, was their favourite
haunt (Jer. xlix. 19, 1. 44; Zech. xi. 3).
The lion of Palestine waB in all probability
the Asiatic variety, described by Aristotle
and Pliny as distinguished by its short curly
mane, and by being shorter and rounder in
shape, like the sculptured lion found at Ar-
ban. It was less daring than the longer
maned species, but when driven by hunger
it not only ventured to attack the flocks in
the desert in presence of the shepherd (Is.
xxxi. 4 ; ,1 Sam. xvii. 34), but laid waste
towns and villages (2 K. xvii. 25, 26 ; Prov.
xxii. 13, xxvi. 13), and devoured men (1 K.
xiii. 24, xx. 36; 2 K. xvii. 25; Ez. xix.
3, 6). The shepherds sometimes ventured
to encounter the lion single-handed (1 Sam.
xvii. 34) ; and the vivid figure employed by
Amos (iii. 12), the herdsman of Tekoa, was
but the transcript of a scene which he must
have often witnessed. At other times they
pursued the animal in large bands, raising
loud shouts to intimidate him (Is. xxxi. 4),
and drive him into the net or pit they had
prepared to catch him (Ez. xix. 4, 8). Be
naiah, one of David's heroic body-guard, had
distinguished himself by slaying a lion in his
den (2 Sam. xxiii. 20). The kings of Persia
had a menagerie of lions (Dan. vi, 7, &c).
When captured alive they were put in a cage
(Ez. xix. 9), but it does not appear that they
were tamed. The strength (Judg. xiv. 18 ;
Prov. xxx. 30 ; 2 Sam. i. 23), courage
(2 Sam. xvii. 10 ; Prov. xxviii. 1 ; Is. xxxi.
9 ; Nah. ii. 11), and ferocity (Gen. xlix. 9;
Num. xxiv. 4) of the lion were proverbial.

The "lion-fared" warriors of Gad were
among David's most valiant troops (1 Chr.
xii. 8) ; and the hero Judas Maccabeus is
described as "like a lion, and like a lion's
whelp roaring for his prey" (1 Mace. iii. 4).
Among the Hebrews, and throughout the
O. T., the lion was the achievement of the
princely tribe of Judah, while in the closing
book of the canon it received a deeper signi
ficance as the emblem of him who "prevailed
to open the book and loose tho seven seals
thereof" (Rev. v. 5). On the other hand its
fierceness and cruelty rendered it an appro
priate metaphor for a fierce and malignant
enemy (Ps. vii. 2, xxii. 21, lvii. 4 ; 2 Tim.
iv. 17), and hence for the arch-fiend himself
(1 Pet. v. 8). The figure of the lion was
employed as an ornament both in architec
ture and sculpture.

Persian Lion ifrom specimen in tho Zoological Gordons).
LIZ'ARD (Heb. letddh, Lev. xi. 30).
Lizards of various kinds abound in Egypt,
Palestine, and Arabia. The lizard denoted
by the Hebrew word is probably the Fan-
Foot Lizard (Ptyodactylus Gecko), which is
common in Egypt and in parts of Arabia,
and perhaps is also found in Palestine. It
is reddish brown, spotted with white. The

The Fan-Foot Lizard (Ptyodactylus GecJ:o.f

LO-AMMI

305

LOCUST

Geckos live on insects and worms, which
they swallow whole. They derive their
name from the peculiar sound which some of
the species utter.
LO-AM'MI, i.e. "not my people," the
figurative name given by the prophet Hosea
to his second son by Gomer, the daughter of
Diblaim (Hos. i. 9), to denote the rejection
of the kingdom of Israel by Jehovah. Its
significance is explained in ver. 9, 10.
LOAN. The Law strictly forbade any
interest to be taken for a loan to any poor
person, and at first, as it seems, even in tbe
case of a foreigner ; but this prohibition was
afterwards limited to the Hebrews only,
from whom, of whatever rank, not only was
no usury on any pretence to be exacted, but
relief to the poor by way of loan was en
joined, and excuses for evading this duty
were forbidden (Ex. xxii. 25 ; Lev. xxv. 35,
37; Deut. xv. 3, 7-10, xxiii. 19, 20). As
commerce increased, the practice of usury,
and so also of suretyship, grew up ; but the
exaction of it from a Hebrew appears to
have been regarded to a late period as dis
creditable (Prov. vi. 1, 4, xi. 15, xvii. 18,
xx. 16, xxii. 26 ; Ps. xv. 5, xxvii. 13 ; Jer.
xv. 10 ; Ez. xviii. 13, xxii. 12). Systematic
breach of the law in this respect was cor
rected by Nehemiah after the return from
captivity (Neh . v. 1 , 13). The money
changers, who bad seats and tables in the
Temple, were traders whose profits arose
chiefly from the exchange of money with
those who came to pay their annual half-
shekel. The Jewish law did not forbid tem
porary bondage in the case of debtors, but it
forbade a Hebrew debtor to be detained as a
bondsman longer than the 7th year, or at
farthest the year of Jubilee (Ex. xxi. 2 ;
Lev. xxv. 39, 42 ; Deut. xv. 9).
LOAVES. [Bread.]
LOCUST, a well-known insect, which com
mits terrible ravages on vegetation in the
countries whieh it visits. In the Bible there
are frequent allusions to locusts ; and there
are nine or ten Hebrew words which are
supposed to denote different varieties or
species of this family. The most destructive
of tbe locust tribe that occur in the Bible
lands are the Oedipoda migratoria and the
Acridium peregrinum, and as both these
species occur in Syria and Arabia, &c, it is
most probable that one or other is denoted in
those passages which speak of the dreadful
devastations committed by these insects.
Locusts occur in great numbers, and some
times obscure the sun (Ex. x. 15 ; Jer. xlvi.
23 ; Judg. vi. 5, vii. 12 ; Joel ii. 10 ; Nah.
iii. 15). Their voracity is alluded to in Ex.
x. 12, 15 ; Joel i. 4, 7, 12, and ii. 3 ; Deut.
Sm. D. B.

xxviii. 38; Ps. lxxviii. 46, cv. 34; Is.
xxxiii. 4. They are compared to horses —
Joel ii. 4 ; Rev. ix. 7. They make a fearful
noise in their flight (Joel ii. 5 ; Rev. ix. 9).

Locust (Oedipoda migratoria).
They have no king (Prov. xxx. 27). Their
irresistible progress is referred to in Joel ii.
8, 9. They enter dwellings, and devour even
the woodwork of houses (Ex. x. 6 ; Joel ii.
9, 10). They do not fly in the night (Nah.
iii. 17). The sea destroys the greater num
ber (Ex. x. 19; Joel ii. 20). Their dead
bodies taint the air (Joel ii. 20). The flight of
locusts is thus described by M. Olivier
(Yoyage dans V Empire Othoman, ii. 424) :
" With the burning south winds (of Syria)
there come from the interior of Arabia and
from the most southern parts of Persia clouds
of locusts (Acridium peregrinum) , whose
ravages to these countries are as grievous
and nearly as sudden as those of the heaviest
hail in Europe. We witnessed them twice.
It is difficult to express the effect produced
on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere
filled on all sides and to a great height by an
innumerable quantity of these insects, whose
flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise
resembled that of rain : the sky was dark
ened, and the light of the sun considerably
weakened. In a moment the terraces of the
houses, the streets, and all the fields were
covered by these insects, and in two days
they had nearly devoured all the leaves of
the plauts. Happily they lived hut a short
time, and seemed to have migrated only to
reproduce themselves and die ; in fact, nearly
all those we saw the next day had paired,
and the day following the fields were covered
with their dead bodies." — Locusts were used
as food (Lev. xi. 21, 22 ; Matt. iii. 4 ; Mark
i. 6). There are different ways of preparing
locusts for food : sometimes they are ground
and pounded, and then mixed with flour and

LoCUBt {Acrid,

LOD

300

LORD'S SUPPER

water and made into cakes, or they are salted
and then eaten ; sometimes smoked ; boiled
or roasted ; stewed, or fried in butter. From
ignorance of this fact, some persons have erro
neously asserted that the locusts which formed
part of the food of the Baptist were not the
insect of that name, but the long sweet pods
of the locust-tree, " St. John's bread," as the
monks of Palestine call it.
LOD. [Ltdda.]
LO'-DEBAR, a place named with Ma-
hanaim, Rogelim, and other trans-Jordanic
towns (2 Sam. xvii. 27), and therefore no
doubt on the eastern side of the Jordan. It
was the native place of Machir-ben-Ammiel
(ix. 4, 5).
LOG. [Weights and Measures.]
LO'IS, the grandmother of Timothy, and
doubtless the mother of his mother Eunice
(2 Tim. i. 5). It seems likely that Lois had
resided long at Lystra ; and almost certain
that from her, as well as from Eunice,
Timothy obtained his intimate knowledge of
che Jewish Scriptures (2 Tim. iii. 15).
LOOKING-GLASSES. [Mirrors.]
LORD. [God.]
LORD'S DAY, THE ft Kvpicuerj 'lip.epa,
Rev. i. 10 only), the weekly festival of our
Lord's resurrection, and identified with " the
first day of the week," or " Sunday," of
every age of the Church. Scripture says
very little concerning this day. But that
little seems to indicate that tbe 'divinely in
spired apostles, by their practice and by their
precepts, marked the first day of the week as
a day for meeting together to break bread,
for communicating and receiving instruction,
for laying up offerings in store for charitable
purposes, for occupation in holy thought and
prayer. The first day of the week so de
voted seems also to have been the day of the
Lord's Resurrection. The Lord rose on the
first day of the week, and appeared, on the
very day of His rising, to His followers on
five distinct occasions — to Mary Magdalene,
to the other women, to the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus, to St. Peter separately,
to ten Apostles collected together. After
eight days, that is, according to the ordinary
reckoning, on the first day of the next week,
He appeared to the eleven. On the day of
Pentecost, which in that year fell on the first
day of the week, " they were all with one
accord in one place," had spiritual gifts con
ferred on them, and in their turn began to
communicate those gifts, as accompaniments
of instruction, to others. At Troas ( Acts
xx. 7), many years after the occurrence at
Pentecost, when Christianity had begun to
assume something like a settled form, St.
Luke records the following circumstances.

St. Paul and his companions arrived there,
and "abode seven day.s, and upon the first
day of the week when the disciples came to
gether to break bread, Paul preached unto
them." In 1 Cor, xvi. 1, 2, that same St.
Paul writes thus : " Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I have given
order to the churches in Galatia, even so do
ye. Upon the first day of the week, let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God
: hath prospered him, that there be no gather
ings when I come." In Heb. x. 25, the
correspondents of the writer are desired
" not to forsake the assembling of themselves
together, as the manner of some is, but to
exhort one another," an injunction which
seems to imply that a regular day for such
assembling existed, and was well known ;
for otherwise no rebuke would lie. And
lastly, in the passage given above, St. John
describes himself as being in the Spirit "on
the Lord's Day." Taken separately, perhaps,
and even all together, these passages seem
scarcely adequate to prove that the dedica
tion of the first day of the week to the pur
poses above mentioned was a matter of
apostolic institution, or even of apostolic
practice. But, it may be observed, that it
is at any rate an extraordinary coincidence,
that almost immediately we emerge from
Scripture, we find the same day mentioned
in a similar manner, and directly associated
with the Lord's Resurrection ; that it is an
extraordinary fact that we never find its
dedication questioned or argued about, but
accepted as something equally apostolic with
Confirmation, with Infant Baptism, with
Ordination, or at least spoken of in the same
way. The results of our examination of
the principal writers of the two centuries
after the death of St. John are as follows.
The Lord's Day (a name which has now
come out more prominently, and is connected
more explicitly with our Lord's resurrection
than before) existed during these two cen
turies as a part and parcel of apostolical, and
so of Scriptural Christianity. It was never
defended, for it was never impugned, or at
least only impugned as other things received
from the apostles were. It was never con
founded with the Sabbath, but carefully dis
tinguished from it. Religiously regarded, it
was a day of solemn meeting for the Holy
Eucharist, for united prayer, for instruction,
for alms-giving. [Sabbath.]
LORD'S SUPPER (KvpiaKov Selwvov).
The words whieh thus describe the great
central act of the worship of the Christian
Church occur but in one single passage of the
N. T. (1 Cor. xi. 20). I. It was instituted
Dn that night when Jesus and his disciples

LORD'S SUPPER

307

LORD'S SUPPER

met together to eat the Passover (Matt. xxvi.
19; Mark xiv. 16; Luke xxii. 13). The
Paschal feast was kept by the Jews of that
period in the following order, (1) The
members of the company that were joined
for this purpose met in the evening and re
clined on couches (comp. Matt. xxvi. 20 ;
Luke xxii. 14 ; and John xiii. 23, 25). The
head of the household, or celebrant, began
by a form of blessing " for the day and for
the wine," pronounced over a cup, of which
he and the others then drank. (2) All who
were present then washed their hands ; this
also having; a special benediction. (3) The
table was then set out with the paschal lamb,
unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the dish
known as Charoseth, a sauce made of dates,
figs, raisins, and vinegar, and designed to
commemorate the mortar of their bondage in
Egypt- (4) The celebrant first, and then the
others, dipped a portion of the bitter herbs
into the Charoseth and ate them. (5) The
dishes were then removed, and a cup of wine
again brought. Then followed an interval
which was allowed theoretically for the ques
tions that might be asked by children or
proselytes, who were astonished at such a
strange beginning of a feast, and the cup was
passed, round and drunk at the close of it.
(6) The dishes being brought on again, the
celebrant repeated the commemorative words
which opened what was strictly the paschal
supper, and pronounced a solemn thanks
giving, followed by Ps. cxiii. and cxiv. (7)
Then came a second washing of the hands,
with a short form of blessing as before, and
the celebrant broke one of the two loaves or
cakes of unleavened bread, and gave thanks
over it. All then took portions of the bread
and dipped them, together with the bitter
herbs, into the Charoseth, and so ate them.
(8)After this they ate the flesh of the paschal
lamb, with bread, &c, as they liked ; and
after another blessing, a third cup, known
especially as the "cup of blessing," was
handed round. (9) This was succeeded by a
fourth cup, and the recital of Ps. cxv.-cxviii.
followed by a prayer, and this was accord
ingly known as the cup of the Hallel, or of
the Song. (10) There might be, in con
clusion, a fifth cup, provided that the " great
Hallel" (possibly Psalms cxx.-cxxxviii.) was
sung over it. — Comparing the ritual thus
gathered from Rabbinic writers with the
N. T., and assuming that it represents sub
stantially the common practice of our Lord's
time ; and* that the meal of which He and
His disciples partook, was either the passover
itself, or an anticipation of it, conducted ac
cording to the same rules, we are able to
point, though not with absolute certainty, to

the points of departure which the old practice
presented for the institution of the new. To
(I) or (3), or even to (8), we may refer the
first words and the first distribution of the
cup (Luke xxii. 17, 18) ; to (2) or (7), the
dipping of the sop of John xiii. 26; to (7),
or to an interval during or after (8),->the dis
tribution of the bread (Matt. xxvi. 26 ; Mark
xiv. 22 ; Luke xxii. 19 ; 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24) ;
to (9) or (10) ("after supper," Luke xxii.
20) the thanksgiving, and distribution of the
cup, and the hymn with which the whole
was ended. — The narratives of the Gospels
show how strongly the disciples were im
pressed with the words which had given a
new meaning to the old familiar acts. They
leave unnoticed all the ceremonies of the
Passover, except those which had thus been
transferred to the Christian Church and per-'
petuate'd in it. Old things were passing
away, and all things becoming new. They
had looked on the bread and the wine as
memorials of the deliverance from Egypt.
They were now told to partake of them " in
remembrance" of their Master and Lord.
The festival had been annual. No rule was
given as to the time and frequency of the
new feast that thus supervened on the old,
but the command " Do this as oft as ye drink
it" (1 Cor. xi. 25), suggested the more con
tinual recurrence of that which was to be
their memorial of one whom they would wish
never to forget. The words, " This is my
body," gave to the unleavened bread a new
character, They had been prepared for
language that would otherwise have been so
startling, by the teaching of John (vi. 32-58),
and they were thus taught to see in the bread
that was broken the witness of the closest pos
sible union and incorporation with their Lord.
The cup which was "the new testament in
His blood," would remind them, in like
manner, of the wonderful prophecy in which
that new covenant had been foretold (Jer.
xxxi. 31-34). — II. In the account given by
the writer of the Acts of the life of the first
disciples at Jerusalem, a prominent place is
given to this act, and to the phrase whieh
indicated it. He describes the baptized
members of the Church as continuing stead
fast in or to the teaching of the apostles, in
fellowship with them and with each other,
and in breaking of bread and in prayers
(Acts ii. 42). We can scarcely doubt that
this implies that the chief actual meal of each
day7 was' one in which they met as brothers,
and which was either preceded or followed
by the more solemn commemorative acts of
the breaking of the bread and the drinking
of the cup. It will be convenient to antici
pate the language and the thoughts of a
X t

LORD'S SUPPER

308

LO-RUIIAMAH

somewhat later date, and to say that, ap
parently,' they thus united every day the
Agape or feast of Love with the celebration
of the Eucharist. It would be natural that
in a society consisting of many thousand
members there should be many places of
meeting. The congregation assembling in
each place would come to be known as "the
Church" in this or that man's house (Rom.
xvi. 5, 23 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; Col. iv. 15;
Philem. ver. 2). When they met, the place
of honour would naturally be taken by one
of the apostles, or some elder representing
him. It would belong to him to pronounce
the blessing and thanksgiving, with which
the meals of devout Jews always began and
ended. The bread (unless the converted
Jews were to think of themselves as keeping
' a perpetual passover) would be such as they
habitually used. The wine (probably the
common red wine of Palestine, Prov. xxiii.
31) would, according to their usual practice,
be mixed with water. At some time, before
or after the meal of which they partook as
such, the bread and the wine would be given
with some special form of words or acts, to
indicate its character. New converts would
need some explanation of the meaning and
origin of the observance. What would be
so fitting and so much in harmony with the
precedents of the Paschal feast as the nar
rative of what had passed on the night of its
institution (1 Cor. xi. 23-27) ? With this
there would naturally be associated (as in
Acts ii. 42) prayers for themselves and others.
Their gladness would show itself in the
psalms and hymns with which they praised
God (Heb. ii. 46, 47 ; James v. 13). The
analogy of the Passover, the general feeling
of the Jews, and the practice of the Essenes
may possibly have suggested ablutions, partial
or entire, as a preparation tor the feast (Heb.
x. 22 ; John xiii. 1-15). At some point in
the feast those who were present, men and
women sitting apart, would rise to salute
each other with the " holy kiss " (1 Cor. xvi.
20 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 12). The next traces that
meet us are in 1 Cor., and the fact that we
find them is in itself significant. The com
memorative feast has not been confined to
the personal disciples of Christ, or the Jewish
converts whom they gathered round them at
Jerusalem. The title of the "cup of bless
ing " (I Cor. x. 16), has been imported into
the Greek Church. The synonym of " the
cup of the Lord " (1 Cor. x. 21 ) distinguishes
it from the other cups that belonged to the
Agape, or Love feast. The word "fellow
ship " is passing by degrees into the special
signification of " Communion." The apostle
refers to his own office as breaking the bread

and blessing the cup (1 Cor. x. 16). Tl«
table on which the bread was placed was the
Lord's Table. But the practice of the Agape,
as well as the observance of the commemora
tive feast, bad been transferred to Corinth,
and this called for a special notice. Evils
had sprung up which bad to be checked at
once. The meeting of friends for a social
meal, to which all contributed, was a suffi
ciently familiar practice in the common life
of Greeks of this period ; and the club-feasts
were associated with plans of mutual relief
or charity to the poor. The Agape of the
new society would seem to them £p be such a
feast, and hence came a disorder that alto
gether frustrated the object of the Church in
instituting it. What was to be the remedy
for this terrible and growing evil St. Paul
does not state explicitly. He reserves formal
regulations for a later personal visit. In the
mean time he gives a rule which would make
the union of tbe Agape and the Lord's Supper
possible without the risk of profanation.
They were not to come even to the former
with the keen edge of appetite. They were
to wait till all were met, instead of scrambling
tumultuously to help themselves (1 Cor. xi.
33, 34). In one point, however, the custom
of the Church of Corinth differed apparently
from that of Jerusalem. The meeting for the
Lord's Supper was no longer daily (1 Cor. xi.
20, 33). The directions given in 1 Cor. xvi.
2, suggest the constitution of a celebration
on the first day of the week. The meeting
at Troas is on the same day (Acts xx. 7).
A change gradually takes place. The Lord's
Supper is separated from the Agape, and the
latter finally dies out. The morning celebra
tion of the Supper takes the place of the
evening. In Acts xx. 11 we have an ex
ample of the way in which the transition
may have been effected. The disciples at
Troas meet together to break bread. The
hour is not definitely stated, hut the fact that
St. Paul's discourse was protracted till past
midnight, and tbe mention of the many
lamps indicate a later time than that com
monly fixed for the Greek Selirvov, Then
came the teaching and the prayers, and then,
towards early dawn, the breaking of bread,
which constituted the Lord's Supper, and for
which they were gathered together. If this
midnight meeting may he taken as indicating
a common practice, originating in reverence
for an ordinance which Christ had enjoined,
we can easily understand how the next step
would be to transfer the celebration of the
Eucharist permanently to the morning hour,
to which it had gradually been approximating.
LO-RUHA'MAH, i.e. "the uncompas-
sionated," the name of the daughter of Hosea

LOT

309

LUCIFER

the prophet, given to denote the utterly
ruined condition of the kingdom of Israel
(Hos.i. 6).
LOT, the son of Haran, and therefore the
nephew of Abraham (Gen. xi. 27, 31). His
sisters were Milcah the wife of Nahor, and
Iscah, by some identified with Sarah. Haran
died before the emigration of Terah and his
family from Ur of the Chaldees (ver. 28), and
Lot was therefore born there. He removed
with the rest of his kindred to Charran, and
again subsequently with Abraham and Sarai
to Canaan (xii. 4, 5). With them he took
refuge in Egypt from a famine, and with
them returned, first to the "South" (xiii. 1),
and then to their original settlement between
Bethel and Ai (ver. 3, 4). But the pastures
of the hills of Bethel, which had with ease
contained the two strangers on their first
arrival, were not able any longer to bear
them, so much had their possessions of sheep,
goats and cattle increased. Accordingly they
separated, Lot choosing the fertile plain of the
Jordan, and advancing as far as Sodom (Gen.
xiii. 10-14). The next occurrence in the
life of Lot is his capture by the four kings of
the East, and his rescue by Abram (Gen,
xiv.). For details see Abraham. The last
scene preserved to us in the history of Lot is
too well known to need repetition. He is
still living in Sodom (Gen. xix.). But in
the midst of the licentious corruption of that
city, he preserves some of the delightful
characteristics of his wandering life, his
fervent and chivalrous hospitality (xix. 2,
8), the unleavened bread of the tent of the
wilderness, the water for the feet of the way
farers, affording his guests a reception iden
tical with that which they had experienced
that very morning in Abraham's tent on the
heights of Hebron (comp. xviii. 3, 6). His
deliverance from the guilty and condemned
city points the allusion of St. Peter (2 Pet.
ii. 6-9). Where Zoar was situated, in which
he found a temporary refuge during the
destruction of the other cities of the plain,
we do not know with absolute certainty. —
The end of Lot's wife is commonly treated as
one of the' difficulties of the Bible. But it
surely need not be so. It cannot be neces
sary, as some have done, to create the details
of the story where none are given. On these
points the record is silent. The value and
the significance of the story to us are con
tained in the allusion of Christ (Luke xvii.
32). Later ages have not been satisfied so
to leave . the matter, but have insisted on
identifying the "pillar" with some one of
the fleeting forme which the perishable rock
of the south end of the Dead Sea is constantly
assuming in its process of decomposition and

liquefaction. — From the incestuous inter
course between Lot and his two daughters
sprang the nations of Moab and Ammon.
LOT. The custom of deciding doubtful
questions by lot is one of great extent and
high antiquity. The religious estimate of
them may be gathered from Prov. xvi. 33.
The following historical or ritual instances
are — 1. Choice of men for an invading force
(Judg. i. 1, xx. 10). 2. Partition (a) of the
soil of Palestine among the tribes (Num.
xxvi. 55 ; Josh, xviii. 10 ; Acts xiii. 19).
(b) of Jerusalem ; i. e. probably its spoil or
captives among captors (Obnd. 11) ; of the
land itself in a similar way (1 Mace. iii. 36).
(c) Apportionment of possessions, or spoil, or
of prisoners, to foreigners or captors (Joel
iii. 3 ; Nah, iii. 10 ; Matt, xxvii. 35). 3.
(a) Settlement of doubtful questions (Prov,
xvi. 33, xviii. 18). (b) A mode of divination
among heathens by means of arrows, two
inscribed, and one without mark (Hos. iv.
12 ; Ez xxi. 21). (c) Detection of a criminal
(Josh. vii. 14, 18). (d) Appointment of per
sons to offices or duties, as above in Achan's
case, (e) Selection of the scape-goat on the
Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi. 8, 10). 4.
The use of words heard or passages chosen
at random from Scripture.
LO'TAN, the eldest son of Seir the Horite
(Gen. xxxvi. 20, 22, 29 ; 1 Chr. i. 38, 39).
LOTS, FEAST OF. [Purim.]
LOVE-FEASTS (Jude 12, and 2 Pet. ii. 13).
[Lord's Supper.]
LU'BIM, a nation mentioned as contribut
ing, together with Cushites and Sukkiim, to
Shishak's army (2 Chr. xii. 3) ; and appar
ently as forming with Cushites the bulk of
Zerah's army (xvi. 8), spoken of by Nahum
(iii. 9) with Put or Phut, as helping No-Amon
(Thebes), of which Cush and Egypt were the
strength; and by Daniel (xi. 43) as paying
court with the Cushites to a conqueror of
Egypt or the Egyptians. Upon the Egyptian
monuments we find representations of a people
called Rebu, or Lebu, who correspond to the
Lubim, and who may be placed on the Afri
can coast to the westward of Egypt, perhaps
extending far beyond the Cyrenaica.
LU'CAS (Philem. 24). [Luke.]
LU'CIFER, found in Is. xiv. 12, coupled
with the epithet " son of the morning,"
clearly signifies a " bright star," and pro
bably what we call the morning star. In this
passage it is a symbolical representation of
the king of Babylon, in his splendour and in
his fall. Its application from St. Jerome
downwards, to Satan in his fall from heaven,
arises probably from the fact that the Baby
lonian Empire is in Scripture represented as
the type of tyrannical and self-idolising

310

LUKE

power, and especially connected with the
empire of the Evil One in the Apocalypse.
LU'CIUS. 1. A Roman consul who is said
to have written the letter to Ptolemy (Euer
getes), which assured Simon I. of the protec
tion of Rome (cir. b.c 139-8 ; 1 Mace. xv.
10, 15-24). The whole form of the letter
shows that it cannot be an accurate copy of
the original document. Lucius may perhaps
be identified with Lucius Calpurnius Piso,
who was consul b.c 139. — 2. Lvcius of Cy-
ue.se is first mentioned in the N. T. in com
pany with Barnabas, Simeon, called Niger,
Manaen, and Saul, who are described as pro
phets and teachers of the church at Antioch
(Acts xiii. 1). Whether Lucius was one of
the seventy disciples, is quite a matter of
conjecture ; but it is highly probable that he
formed one of the congregation to whom
St. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost
(Acts ii. 10) ; and there can hardly be a
doubt that he was one of "the men of Cy
rene " who, being "scattered abroad upon
the persecution that arose about Stephen,"
went to Antioch preaching the Lord Jesus
(Acts xi. 19, 20). It is commonly supposed
that Lucius is the kinsman of St. Paul, men
tioned by that Apostle as joining with him in
his salutation to the Roman brethren (Rom.
xvi. 21), and who is said by tradition to
have been ordained bishop of the church of
Cenchreae. LUD, the fourth name in the list of the
children of Shem (Gen. x. 22 ; comp. 1 Chr.
i. 17), supposed to have been the ancestor of
the Lvdians.
LU'DIM (Gen. x. 13 ; 1 Chr. i. 11), a
Mizraite people or tribe. From their position
at the head of the list of the Mizraites, it is
probable that the Ludim were settled to the
west of Egypt, perhaps further than any
other Mizraite tribe. Lud and the Ludim
are mentioned in four passages of the pro
phets (Is. lxvi. 19; Jer. xlvi. 9; Ez. xxvii.
1 0, xxxviii. 5 ) . There can be no doubt
that but one nation is intended in these
passages, and it seems that the preponder
ance of evidence is in favour of the Mizraite
Ludim. LU'HITH, THE ASCENT OF, a place in
Moab, occurs only in Is. xv. 5, and the pa
rallel passage of Jeremiah (xlviii. 5). In the
days of Eusebius and Jerome it was still
known, and stood between Areopolis (Rabbath-
Moab) and Zoar.
LUKE, or LUCAS, is an abbreviated form
of Lucanus. It is not to be confounded with
Lucius (Acts xiii. 1 ; Rom. xvi. 21), which
belongs to a different person. The name
Luke occurs three times in the N. T. (Col. iv.
14; 2 Tim. iv. Il ; Philem. 24), and pro

bably in all three, the third evangelist is the
person spoken of. Combining the traditional
element with the scriptural, we are able to
trace the following dim outline of the Evan
gelist's life. He was born at Antioch in
Syria, and was taught the science of medicine.
The well known tradition that Luke was also
a painter, and of no mean skill, rests on the
authority of late writers. He was not born
a Jew, for he is not reckoned among them
"of the circumcision" by St. Paul (comp.
Col. iv. 11 with ver. 14). The date of his
conversion is uncertain. He joined St. Paul
at Troas, and shared his journey into Mace
donia. The sudden transition to the first
person plural in Acts *vi. 9, is most natu
rally explained, after all the objections that
have been urged, by supposing that Luke,
the writer of the Acts, formed one of St.
Paul's company from this point. As far as
Philippi the Evangelist journeyed with the
Apostle. The resumption of the third person
on Paul's departure from that place (xvii. 1)
would show that Luke was now left behind.
During the rest of St. Paul's second mission
ary journey we hear of Luke no more. But
on the third journey the same indication
reminds '.is that Luke is again of the company
(Acts xx. 5), having joined it apparently at
Philippi, where he had been left. With the
Apostle he passed through Miletus, Tyre, and
Caesarea to Jerusalem (xx. 5, xxi. 18). Be
tween the two visits of Paul to Philippi seven
years had elapsed (a.d. 51 to a.d. 58), which
the Evangelist may have spent in Philippi
and its neighbourhood, preaching the Gospel.
There remains one passage, which, if it refers
to St. Luke, must belong to this period.
" We have sent with him" (i. c. Titus) " the
brother whose praise is in the gospel through
out all the churches" (2 Cor. viii. 18). The
subscription of the Epistle sets forth that it was
" written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia,
by Titus and Lucas," and it is an old opinion
that Luke was the companion of Titus, al
though he is not named in the body of tbe
Fpistle. If this he so, we are to suppose
that during the "three months" of Paul's
sojourn at Philippi (Acts xx. 3) Luke was
sent from that place to Corinth on this
errand. He again appears in the company
of Paul in the memorable journey to Rome
(Acts xxvii. 1). He remained at his side
during his first imprisonment (Col. iv. 14 ;
Philem. 24, ; and if it is to be supposed that
the Second Epistle to Timothy was written
during the second imprisonment, then the
testimony of that Epistle (iv. II) shows that
he continued faithful to the Apostle to the
end of his afflictions. After the death of St.
Paul, the acts of his faithful companion are

LUKE, GOSPEL OF

311

LYCAONIA

hopelessly obscure to us. In the well-known
passage of Epiphanius, we find that Luke,
receiving the commission to preach the (Jos-
pel, preaches first in Dalmatia and Gallia.
As to his age and death, there is the utmost
uncertainty. He probably died a martyr, be
tween a.d. 75 and a.d. 100.
LUKE, GOSPEL OF. The third Gospel
is ascribed, by the general consent of ancient
Christendom, to " the beloved physician,"
Luke, the friend and companion of the
' Apostle Paul. From Acts i. 1, it is clear
that the Gospel described as " the former
treatise " was written before the Acts of the
Apostles ; but how much earlier is uncertain.
Perhaps it was written at Caesarea during
St. Paul's imprisonment there, a.d. 58-60.
The preface, contained in the first four verses
of the Gospel, describes the object of its
writer. Here are several facts to be ob
served. There were many narratives of the
life of our Lord current at the early time
when Luke wrote his Gospel. The ground
of fitness for the task St. Luke plaees in his
having carefully followed out the whole course
of events from the beginning. He does not
claim the character of an eye-witness from
the first ; but possibly he may have been a
witness of some part of our Lord's doings.
The ancient opinion, that Luke wrote his
Gospel under the influence of Paul, rests on
the authority of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen,
and Eusebius. The two first assert that we
have in Luke the Gospel preached by Paul ;
Origen calls it " the Gospel quoted by Paul,"
alluding to Rom. ii. 16 ; and Eusebius refers
Paul's words, " according to my Gospel"
(-2 Tim, ii. 8), to that of Luke, in which Je
rome concurs. The language of the preface
is against the notion of any exclusive influ
ence of St. Paul. The four verses could not
have been put at the head of a history composed
under the exclusive guidance of Paul or of
any one apostle, and as little could they have
introduced a gospel simply communicated by
another. The truth seems to be that St.
Luke, seeking information from every quarter,
sought it from the preaching of his beloved
master, St. Paul ; and the apostle in his turn
employed the knowledge acquired from other
sources by his disciple. Upon the question
whether Luke made use of the Gospels of
Matthew and Mark see Gospels.— The Evan
gelist professes to write that Theophilus
" might know the certainty of those things
wherein he had been instructed " (i. 4). This
Theophilus was probably a native of Italy,
and perhaps an inhabitant of Rome, for in
tracing St. Paul's journey to Rome, places
which an Italian might be supposed not to
know are described minutely (Acts xxvii. 8,

12, 16); but when he comes to Sicily'and
Italy this is neglected. Hence it would ap
pear that the person for whom Luke wrote in
the first instance was a Gentile reader ; and
accordingly we find traces in tbe Gospel of a
leaning towards Gentile rather than Jewish
converts. It has never been doubted that the
Gospel was written in Greek. Whilst He
braisms are frequent, classical idioms and
Greek compound words abound. The num
ber of words used by Luke only is unusually
great, and many of them are compound
words for which there is classical authority.
On comparing the Gospel with the Acts it is
found that the style of the latter is more
pure and free from Hebrew idioms.
LUNATICS. This word is used twice in
the N. T. (Matt. iv. 24, xvii. 15). It is evi
dent that the word itself refers to some dis
ease, affecting both the body and the mind,
which might or might not be a sign of pos
session. By the description of Mark ix.
17-26, it is concluded that this disease was
epilepsy. LUZ. It seems impossible to discover
with precision whether Luz and Bethel re
present one and the same town — the former
the Canaanite, the latter the Hebrew name —
or whether they were distinct plaees, though
in close proximity. The latter is the natural
inference from two of the passages in which
Luz is spoken of (Gen. xxviii. 19 ; Josh. xvi.
2, xviii. 13); Other passages, however,
seem to speak of the two as identical (Gen.
xxxv. 6 ; Judg. i. 23). The most probable
conclusion is that the two places were, during
the times preceding the conquest, distinct,
Luz being the city and Bethel the pillar and
altar of Jacob : that after the destruction of
Luz by the tribe of Ephraim the town of
Bethel arose. — 2. When the original Luz
was destroyed, through the treachery of one
of its inhabitants, the man who had intro
duced the Israelites into the town went into
the " land of the Hittites " and built a city,
which he named after the former one (Judg.
i. 26). Its situation, as well as that of the
" land of the Hittites," has never been dis
covered, and is one of the favourite puzzles
of Scripture geographers.
LYCAO'NIA, a district of Asia Minor.
From what is said in Acts xiv. 11 of "the
speech of Lycaonia," it is evident that the
inhabitants of the district, in St. Paul's day,
spoke something very different from ordinary
Greek. Whether this language was some
Syrian dialect, or a corrupt form of Greek,
has been much debated. The fact that the
Lycaonians were familiar with the Greek
mythology is consistent with either supposi
tion. Lycaonia is for the most part a dreary

LYCIA

312

LYSIAS

plain, bare of trees, destitute of fresh water,
and with several salt lakes. After the pro
vincial system of Rome bad embraced the
whole of Asia Minor, the boundaries of the
provinces were variable ; and Lycaonia was,
politically, sometimes in Cappadocia, some
times in Galatia. It is interesting to see
these rude country people, when Paul and
Barnabas worked miracles among them,
rushing to the conclusion that the strangers
were Mercury and Jupiter, whose visit to
this very neighbourhood forms the subject of
one of Ovid's most charming stories (Ovid,
Mctam. viii. 626). Nor can we fail to notice
how admirably St. Paul's address on the
occasion was adapted to a simple and im
perfectly civilised race (xiv. 15-17). This
was at Lystra, in the heart of tbe country.
Further to the east was Dekbe (ver, 6), not
far from the chief pass which leads up
through Taurus, from Ciucia and the coast,
to the central table-land. At the western
limit of Lycaonia was Iconii-m (ver. 1), in the
direction of Antioch in Pisidia. A good
Roman road intersected the district along
the line thus indicated. On St. Paul's first
missionary journey he traversed Lycaonia
from west to east, and then returned on his
steps (ver. 21 ; see 2 Tim. iii. 11). On the se
cond and third journeys he entered it from the
east; and after leaving it, travelled in the
one case to Troas (Acts xvi. 1-8), in tbe other
to Ephesus (Acts xviii. 23, xix. 1).
LYC'IA is the name of that south-western
region of the peninsula of Asia Minor which
is immediately opposite the island of Rhodes.
The Lycians were incorporated in the Persian
Empire, and their ships were conspicuous in
the great war against the Greeks (Herod, vii.
91, 92). After the death of Alexander the
Great, Lycia was included in the Greek Se-
leucid kingdom, and was a part of the terri
tory which the Romans forced Antiochus to
cede. It was not till the reign of Claudius
that Lycia became part of the Roman pro
vincial system. At first it was combined
with Pamphylia. Such seems to have been
the condition of the district when St. Paul
visited the Lycian towns of Patara (Acts xxi.
1), and Myva f Acts xxvii. 5). At a later period
of the Roman empire Lydia was a separate
pi-ovince, with Myra for its capital.
LYD'DA, the Greek form of tbe name
(Acts ix. 32, 35, 38), which appears in the
Hebrew records as Lod, a town of Benjamin,
founded by Shamed or Shamer (1 Chr. viii.
12 ; Ezr. ii. 33 ; Neh. vii. 37, xi. 35). It is
still called Lidd, or Ludd, and stands in
part of the great maritime plain which an
ciently bore the name of Sharon. It is 9
miles from Joppa, and is the first town on the

northernmost of the two roads between that
place and Jerusalem. The watercourse out
side the town is said still to bear the name
of Ahi-Butrus (Peter), in memory of the
Apostle. It was destroyed by Vespasian, and
was probably not rebuilt till the time of Ha
drian, when it received the name of Diospolis.
When Eusebius wrote (a.d. 320-330) Dios
polis was a well-known and much-frequented
town. The modern town is, for a Moham
medan place, busy and prosperous.
LYD'IA, a maritime province in the west "
of Asia Minor, bounded hv Mysia on the
W, Phrygia on the E., and Caria on the S.
The name occurs only in 1 Mace. viii. 8 (the
rendering of the A. V. in Ez. xxx. 5 being
for Ludim) ; it is there enumerated among
the districts which the Romans took away
from Antiochus the Great alter the battle of
Magnesia in u.c. 190, and transferred to Eu-
menes II. king of Pergamus. For the con
nexion between Lydia and the Lud and Ludim
of the 0. T., sec Ludim. Lydia is included in
the "Asia" of the N. T.
LYD'IA, the first European convert of St-
Paul, and afterwards his hostess during his
first stay at Philippi (Acts xvi. 14, 15, also
40). She was a Jewish proselyte at the time
of the Apostle's coming ; and it was at the
Jewish Sabbath-worship by the side of a
stream (ver. 13) that the preaching of the
Gospel reached her heart. Her native place
was Thyatira, in tbe province of Asia (ver.
14 ; Rev. ii. 18). Thyatira was famous for
its dyeing-works ; and Lydia was connected
with this trade, either as a seller of dye,
or of dyed goods. We infer that she was
a person of considerable wealth.
LYSA'NIAS, mentioned by St. Luke in one
of his chronological passages (iii. 1) as being
tetrarch of Abilene (i. e. the district round
Abila) in the 15th year of Tiberius, at the
time when Herod Antipas was tetrarch of
Galilee, and Herod Philip tetrarch of Ituraea
and Trachonitis.
LYS'IAS, a nobleman of the blood-royal
(1 Mace. iii. 32 ; 2 Mace. xi. 1), who was
entrusted by Antiochus Epiphanes (cir. b.c.
166) with the government of southern Syria,
and the guardianship of his son Antiochus
Eupator (1 Mace. iii. 32 ; 2 Mace. x. 11).
He carried on the war against Judas Macca
baeus. After the death of Antiochus Epi
phanes b.c (164), Lysias assumed the go
vernment as guardian of his son, who was
yet a child (1 Maec. vi. 17). The war against
the Jews was renewed ; and Lysias was be
sieging Jerusalem when he received tidings
of the approach of Philip, to whom Antiochus
had transferred the guardianship of the prince
(1 Maec. vi. 18 ; 2 Mace. xiii.). Hedefeated

LYSIAS

313

MACCABEES, THE

Philip (b.c 163), and was supported at Rome ;
but in the next year, together with his ward,
fell into the hands of Demetrius Soter, who
put them both to death (1 Mace. vii. 2-4 ;
2 Mace. xiv. 2).
LY'SIAS, CLAU'DIUS, "chief captain of
the band," that is, tribune of the Roman co
hort, who rescued St. Paul from the hands
of the infuriated mob at Jerusalem, and sent
him under a guard to Felix, the governor or
proconsul of Caesarea (Acts xxi. 31, seq.,
xxiii. 26, xxiv. 7).
LYSIM'ACHUS. 1. " A son of Ptolemaeus
of Jerusalem," the Greek translator of the
book of Esther (comp. Esth. ix. 20). — S. A
brother of the high-priest Menelaus, who was
left by him as his deputy during his absence
at the court of Antiochus. He fell a victim
to the fury of the people (2 Mace. iv. 29-42).
LYS'TRA has two points of interest in con
nexion respectively with St. Paul's first and
second missionary journeys — (1) as the place
where divine honours were offered to him, and
where he was presently stoned (Acts xiv.) ;
(2) as the home of his chosen companion and
fellow-missionary Tijiotheus (Acts xvi. 1).
Lystra was in the eastern part of the great
plain of Lycaonia ; and its site may be iden
tified with the ruins called Bin-bir-Kilisseh,
at the base of a conical mountain of volcanic
structure, named the Karadagh.

MA'ACAH. 1. The mother of Absalom, also
called Maachah (2 Sam. iii. 3).— 2. Maa-
cae, and (in Chr.) Maachah. A small kingdom
in close proximity to Palestine, which appears
to have lain outside Argob (Deut. iii. 14) and
Bashan (Josh. xii. 5). These districts, pro
bably answering to the Lejah and Jauldn of
modern Syria, occupied the space from the
Jordan on the^west to Salcah on the east and
Mount Hermon on the north. Maacah must
therefore be placed somewhere to the east of
the Lejah. The Ammonite war was the only
occasion on which the Maacathites came into
contact with Israel, when their king assisted
the Ammonites against Joab with a force whieh
he led himself (2 Sam. x. 6, 8 ; i Chr. xix. 7).
MA'ACHAH. 1. The daughter of Nahor
by his concubine Reumah (Gen. xxii. 24). —
3. The daughter, or more probably grand
daughter, of Absalom, named after his mo
ther ; the third and favourite wife of Reho
boam, and mother of Abijah (1 K. xv. 2 ;
2 Chr. xi. 20-22). The mother of Abijah is
elsewhere called "Michaiah, the daughter of
Uriel of Gibeah" (2 Chr. xiii. 2). It is pro
bable that "Michaiah" is the error of a tran
scriber, and that " Maachah " is the true
reading in all cases. During the reign of her

grandson Asa she occupied at the court of
Judah the high position of " King's Mother"
(comp. I K. ii. 19), which has been compared
with that of the Sultana Yalidc in Turkey. It
may be that at Abijah's death, after a short
reign of three years, Asa was left a minor,
and Maachah acted as regent, like Athaliah
under similar circumstances. If this conjec
ture be correct, it would serve to explain the
influence by which she promoted the practice
of idolatrous worship.
MA'ALEH-ACRAB'BIM, the full form of
the name (Josh. xv. 3) which in its other oc
currences is given in the A.V. as " the ascent of,
or the going up to, Akrahbim." [Akrabbim.]
MACCABEES, THE. This title, which
was oviginally the surname of Judas, one of
the sons of Mattathias, was afterwards ex
tended to the heroic family of which he was
one of the noblest representatives. The origi
nal term Maccabi was probably formed from
Makkdbdh, "a hammer," giving a sense not
unlike that in which Charles Martel derived a
surname from his favouriteweapon. Although
the name Maccabees has gained the widest
currency, that of Asmonaeans, or Hasmonae-
ans, is the proper name of the family,
which is derived from Cashmon, great
grandfather of Mattathias. 1. The causes of
the Maccabaean war are pointed out under
Antiochus IV. (1 Mace. v. 62). The stand
ard of independence was first raised by
Mattathias, a priest of the course of Joiarib,
which was the first of the twenty-four courses
(1 Chr. xxiv. 7), and consequently of the
noblest blood. He seems, however, to have
been already advanced in years when the
rising was made, and he did not long survive
the fatigues of active service. He died b.c
166, and " was buried in the sepulchre of his
fathers at Modin." — 2. Mattathias himself
named Judas — apparently his third son — as
his successor in directing the war of inde
pendence (1 Maec. ii. 66). The energy and
skil! of "the Maccabee," as Judas is often
called in 2 Mace, fully justified his father's
preference. After gaining several victories
over the other generals of Antiochus, and
defeating Lysias, whom Antiochus Epiphanes
left in the government of the Palestinian
provinces, Judas was able to occupy Jerusa
lem, except the' "tower" (1 Mace. vi. 18,
19), and purified the Temple (1 Mace. iv. 36,
41-53) on the 25th of Cisleu, exactly three
years after its profanation (1 Mace. i. 59).
The accession of Demetrius brought with it
fresh troubles to the patriot Jews. A large
party of their countrymen, with Alctmus at
their bead, gained the ear of the king, and
he sent Nicanor against Judas. Nicanor was
defeated, first at Capharsalama, and again in

MACCABEES, THE

31-1

MACCABEES, BOOKS OF

a decisive battle at Adasa, near to the glorious
field of Bethhoron (b.c 161) on the 13th
Adar (1 Mace. vii. 49; 2 Mace. xv. 36),
where he was slain. This victory was the
greatest of Judas's successes, and practically
decided the question of Jewish independence,
but it was followed by an unexpected reverse.
A new invasion under Bacchides took place.
Judas was able only to gather a small force
to meet the sudden danger. Of this a large
part deserted him on the eve of the battle ;
but the courage of Judas was unshaken, and
he fell at Eleasa, the Jewish Thermopylae,
fighting at desperate odds against the invad
ers. His body was recovered by his brothers,
and buried at Modin " in the sepulchre of
his fathers" (b.c. 161).— 3. After the, death
of Judas the patriotic party seems to have
been for a short time wholly disorganised,
and it was only by the pressure of unpara-
lelled sufferings that they were driven to
renew the conflict. For this purpose they
offered the command to Jonathan, surnamed
Apphus (the v-ary), the youngest son of
Mattathias. After two or three campaigns
Bacchides accepted terms which Jonathan
proposed ; and upon his departure Jonathan
"judged the people at Michmash" (1 Mace.
ix. 73), and gradually extended his power.
The claim of Alexander Balas to the Syrian
crown gave a new importance to Jonathan
and his adherents. The success of Alexander
led to the elevation of Jonathan, who assumed
the high-priestly office (1 Mace. x. 21) ; and
not long after he placed the king under fresh
obligations by the defeat of Apollonius, a
general of the younger Demetrius (1 Mace x.).
After the death of Alexander, Jonathan at
tached himself to Antiochus VI. He at last
fell a victim to the treachery of Tryphon,
who put him to death b.c 144 (1 Mace. xi.
8 -xii. 4). — 4. As soon as Simon, the last
remaining brother of the Maccabaean family,
heard of the detention of Jonathan in Ptole-
mais by Tryphon, he placed himself at the
head of the patriot party. He made over
tures to Demetrius II. (b.c 143), which were
favourably received, and the independence of
the Jews was at length formally recognised.
The long struggle was now triumphantly
ended, and it remained only to reap the
fruits of victory. This Simon hastened to
do. The prudence and wisdom for which he
was already distinguished, at the time of his
father's death (1 Mace. ii. 65), gained for the
Jews the active support of Rome (1 Mace.
xv. 16-21), in addition to the confirmation
of earlier treaties. After settling the external
relations of the new state upon a sure basis,
Simon regulated its internal administration.
With two of his sons he was murdered at

D6k by Ptolemaeus, b.c 135 (1 Mace. xvi.
11-16). — 5. The treason of Ptolemaeus failed
in its object. Johanni s Hyrcanus, one of
the sons of Simon, escaped from the plot by
which his life was threatened, and at once
assumed the government (b.c 135). At first
he was hard pressed by Antiochus Sidetes,
and only able to preserve Jerusalem on con
dition of dismantling tho fortifications and
submitting to a tribute, n.c. 133. He reduced
Idumaea, confirmed the alliance with Rome,
aud at length succeeded in destroying Sama
ria, the hated rival of Jerusalem, b.c 109.
The external splendour of his government
was marred by the growth of internal divi
sions ; but John escaped the fate of all the
older members of his family, and died in
peace, b.c 106-5. His eldest son Aristo-
bulus I., who succeeded, was the first who
assumed the kingly title, though Simon had
enjoyed the fulness of the kingly power.—
The great outlines of the Maccabaean contest,
which are somewhat hidden in the annals
thus briefly epitomised, admit of being traced
with fair distinctness. The disputed succes
sion to the Syrian throne (b.c. 153) was the
political turning-point of the struggle, which
may thus be divided into two great periods.
During the first period (n.c. 168-153) the
patriots maintained their cause with varying
success against the whole strength of Syria :
during the second (b.c. 153-139) they were
courted by rival factions, and their inde
pendence was acknowledged from time to
time, though pledges given in times of danger
were often broken when the danger was over.
The war, thus brought to a noble issue, if
less famous is not less glorious than any of
those in which a few brave men have suc
cessfully maintained the cause of freedom or
religion against overpowering might. For it
is not only in their victory over external
difficulties that the heroism of the Maccabees
is conspicuous : their real success was as
much imperilled by internal divisions as by
foreign force.
MACCABEES, BOOKS OF. Four books
which bear the common title of " Macca
bees " are found in some MSS. of the LXX.
Two of these were included in the early cur
rent Latin versions of the Bible, and thence
passed into the Vulgate. As forming part of
the Vulgate they were received xs canonical
by the council of Trent, and retained among
the apocrypha by the reformed churches,
The two other books obtained no such wide
circulation, and have only a secondary con
nexion with the Maccabaean history. 1 .
The First Book of Maccabees contains a
history of the patriotic struggle, from the
first resistance of Mattathias to the settled

MACCABEES, BOOKS OF

315

MACEDONIA

sovereignty and death of Simon, a period of
thirty-three years (b.c. 168-135). The open
ing chapter gives a short summary of the
conquests of Alexander the Great, and de
scribes at greater length the oppression of
Antiochus Epiphanes. The great subject of
the book begins with the enumeration of the
Maccabaean family (ii. 1-5), whieh is followed
by an account of the part which the aged
Mattathias took in rousing and guiding the
spirit of his countrymen (ii. 6-70). The re
mainder of the narrative is occupied with the
exploits of his five sons. Each of the three
divisions into which the main portion of the
book thus naturally falls, is stamped with an
individual character derived from its special
hero. The great marks of trustworthiness
are everywhere conspicuous. Victory and
failure and despondency are, on the whole,
chronicled with the same candour. There is
no attempt to bring into open display the work
ing of providence. The testimony of antiquity
leaves no doubt but that the book was first
written in Hebrew. Its whole structure points
to Palestine as the place of its composition.
There is, however, considerable doubt as to its
date. Perhaps we may place it between b.c
120-100. The date and person of the Greek
translator are wholly undetermined. — 2. The
Second Book of Maccabees. — The history
of the Second Book of the Maccabees begins
some years earlier than that of the First
Book, and closes with the victory of Judas
Maccabaeus over Nicanor. It thus embraces
a period of twenty years, from b.c 180 (?)
to b.c. 161. For the few events noticed
during the earlier years it is the chief autho
rity ; during the remainder of the time the
narrative goes over the same ground as 1
Mace, but with very considerable differences.
The first two chapters are taken up by two
letters supposed to be addressed by the Pales
tinian to the Alexandrine Jews, and by a
sketch of the author's plan, which proceeds
without any perceptible break from the close
of the second letter. The main narrative
occupies the remainder of the book. This
presents several natural divisions, which
appear to coincide with the "five books" of
Jason on which it was based. The first
(c iii.) contains the history of Heliodorus
(cir. b c. 180). The second (iv.-vii.) gives
varied details of the beginning and course of
the great persecution (b.c 175-167). The
third (viii.-x. 9) follows tbe fortunes of Judas
to the triumphant restoration of the Temple
service (b.c 166, 165). The fourth (x. 10-
xiii.) includes the reign of Antiochus Eupator
(b.c 164-162). The fifth (xiv., xv.) records
the treachery of Alcimus, the mission of Ni
canor, and the crowning success of Judas

(b.c 162, 161). The writer himself dis
tinctly indicates the source of his narrative
— "the five books of Jason of Cyrene" (ii.
23), of which he designed to furnish a short
and agreeable epitome for the benefit of those
who would be deterred from studying the
larger work. His own labour, which he de
scribes in strong terms (ii. 26, 27 ; com. xv.
38, 39), was entirely confined to condensa
tion and selection ; all investigation of detail
he declares to be the peculiar duty of the
original historian. Of Jason himself nothing
more is known than may be gleaned from
this mention of him. The district of Cyrene
was most closely united with that of Alex
andria. In both the predominance of Greek
literature and the Greek language was abso
lute. The work of Jason must therefore
have been composed in Greek ; and the style
of the epitome proves beyond doubt that the
Greek text is the original. It is scarcely less
certain that the book was compiled at Alex
andria. — The Second Book of Maccabees is
not nearly so trustworthy as the First. In
the Second Book the groundwork of facts is
true, but the dress in which the facts are
presented is due in part at least to the nar
rator. It is not at all improbable that the
error with regard to the first campaign of
Lysias arose from the mode in which it was
introduced by Jason as a prelude to the more
important measures of Lysias in the reign of
Antiochus Eupator. In other places (as very
obviously in xiii. 19 ff.) the compiler may
have disregarded the historical dependence
of events while selecting those which were
best suited for the support of his theme.
The latter half of the hook (cc viii.-xv.) is
to be regarded not as a connected and com
plete history, but as a series of special inci
dents from the life of Judas, illustrating the
providential interference of God in behalf of
His people, true in substance, but embellished
in form. — 3. The Third Book, of the Mac
cabees contains the history of events which
preceded the great Maccabaean struggle, be
ginning with b.c. 217. — 4. The Fourth
Book of Maccabees contains a rhetorical
narrative of the martyrdom of Eleazer and
of the " Maccabaean family," following in
the main the same outline as 2 Mace.
MACEDO'NIA, the first part of Europe
which received the Gospel directly from St.
Paul, and an important scene of his sub
sequent missionary labours and those of
his companions. It was hounded by the
range of Haemus or the Balkan northwards,
by the chain of Pindus westwards, by the
Camhunian hills southwards, by which it is
separated from Thessaly, and is divided on
the east from Thrace by a less definite moun-

MACIIIR

31G

MAGDALA

tain-boundary running southwards from Hae-
mus. Of the space thus enclosed, two of the
most remarkable physical features are two
great plains, one watered by the A\his,
which comes to the sea at the Thermaic gulf,
not far from Thessalonica ; the other by tbe
Strymori, which, after passing near Philippi,
flows out below Amphipolis. Between the
mouths of these two rivers a remarkable pe
ninsula projects, dividing itself into three
points, on the farthest of which Mount Athos
rises nearly into the region of perpetual snow.
Across the neck of this peninsula St. Paul
travelled more than once with his companions.
This general sketch sufficiently describes the
Macedonia whieh was ruled over by Philip
and Alexander, and which the Romans con
quered from Perseus. At first the conquered
country was divided by Aemilius Paulus into
four districts- This division was only tem
porary. The whole of Macedonia, along with
Thessaly and a large tract along the Adriatic,
was made one province and centralised under
the jurisdiction of a proconsul, who resided
at Thessalonica. We have now reached the
definition which corresponds with the usage
of the term in the N. T. {Acts xvi. 9, 10, 12,
&c). Three Roman provinces, all very fa
miliar to us in the writings of St. Paul,
divided tbe whole space between the basin of
the Danube and Cape Matapan. The bor
der town of iLi/VRicrsi was Lissus on the
Adriatic. The boundary - line of Achaia
nearly coincided, except in the western por
tion, with that of the kingdom of modern
Greece, and ran in an irregular line from
the Acroceraunian promontory to the bay of
Thermopylae and the north of Euboea. By
subtracting these two provinces, we define
Macedonia. The account of St. Paul's first
journey through Macedonia (Acts xvi. 10-
xvii. 15) is marked by copious detail and
well-defined incidents. At the close of this
journey he returned from Corinth to Syria
by sea. On the next occasion of visiting
Europe, though he both went and returned
through Macedonia (Acts xx. 1-6), the nar
rative is a very slight sketch, and the route
is left uncertain, except as regards Philippi.
The character of the Macedonian Christians
is set before us in Scripture in a very fa
vourable light. The candour of the Be-
reans is highly commended (Acts xvii. 11) ;
the Thessalonians were evidently objects of St.
Paul's peculiar affection (I Thess. ii. 8, 17-20,
iii. 10) ; and the Philippians, besides their
general freedom from blame, are noted as re
markable for their liberality and self-denial
(Phil. iv. 10, 14-19 ; see 2 Cor. ix. 2, xi. 9).
MACH'IR. 1. The eldest son (Josh. xvii. 1)
of the patriarch Manasseh by an Aramite or

Syrian concubine (I Chr. vii. 14). His chil
dren are commemorated as having been ca
ressed by Joseph before his death (Gen. 1.
23). At the time of the conquest the family
of Machir had become very powerful, and a
large part of the country on the cast of Jor
dan was subdued by them (Num. xxxii. 39 ;
Deut. iii. 15). So great was their power
that the name of Machir occasionally super
sedes that of Manasseh. — 2. The son of Am-
miel, a powerful sheykh of one of the trans-
Jordanic tribes, who rendered essential service
to the cause of Saul and of David successively
— in each case when they were in difficulty
(2 Sam. ix. 4, 5, xvii. 27-29).
MACH'PELAH. [Hebron.]
MADA'I (Gen. x. 2) is usually called the
third son of Japhet, and the progenitor of
the Medes. But probably all that is intended
is, that the Modes, as weli as the Gomerites,
Greeks, Tibareni, Moscbi, See., descended from
Japhet. MA'DIAN, Act" vii. 29. [Midian.]
MAD'MANNAH, one of the towns in the
south district of Judah (Josh. xv. 31). In
the time of Eusebius and Jerome, it was
called Mcnoi's, and was not far from Gaza.
The first stage southward from Gaza is now
el-Miiiydy, which is perhaps the modern re
presentative of Menoi's, and therefore of
Madman nah.
MAD'MKNVH, one of the Benjamite vil
lages north of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of
which were frightened away by the approach
of Sennacherib along the northern road (Is.
x. 31).
MA'DON, one of the principal cities of
Canaan before the conquest, probably in the
north. Its king joined Jabin and his confe
derates in their attempt against Joshua at
the waters of Merom, and like the rest was
killed (Josh. xi. 1, xii. 19).
MAG'BISII, a proper name in Ezr. ii. 30,
but whether of a man or of a place is doubt
ful ; probably the latter, as all the names
from Ezr. ii. 20 to 34, except Elam and
Hariin, are names of places.
MAG'DALA. The name Magdala does
not really exist in the Bible. It is found in
the received Greek text and the A. V. of
Matt. xv. 39 only ; but the chief MSS. and ,
versions exhibit the name as " Magadan."
Into the limits of Magadan Christ came by
boat, over the lake of Gennesareth, after Hn
miracle of feeding tbe four thousand on the
mountain of the eastern side (Matt. xv. 39) ;
and from thence, after a short encounter
with the Pharisees and Sadducees, He re
turned in the same boat to the opposite
shore. In the present text of the parallel
narrative of St. Mark (viii. 10) we find the

MAGDIEL

317

MAGI

" parts of Dalmanutha," on the western edge
of the lake of Gennesareth. The Magdala,
which conferred her name on "Mary the
Magdal-ene," one of the numerous Migdols,
i.e. towers, which stood in Palestine, was
probably the place of that name which is
mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as near
Tiberias, and this again is as probably the
modern eLMejdel, a miserable little Muslim
village, on the water's edge at the south-east
corner of the plain of Gennesareth. By the
Jews the word megaddela is used to denote a
person who platted or twisted hair, a prac
tice then much in use amongst women of
loose character. Magdalum is mentioned as
between Tiberias and Capernaum, as early as
by Willibald, a.d. 722.
MAG'DIEL, one of the " dukes" of Edom,
descended from Esau (Gen. xxxvi. 43 ; 1
Chr. i. 54).
MAGI (A. V. "wise men"). I. In tbe
Hebrew text of the O. T. the word occurs
hut twice, and then only incidentally. In
Jer. xxix. 3 and 13 we meet, among the
Chaldaean officers sent by Nebuchadnezzar
to Jerusalem, one with the name or title of
Rab-Mag. This word is interpreted, as equi
valent to chief of the Magi. Historically the
Magi are conspicuous chiefly as a* Persian
religious caste. Herodotus connects them
with another people by reckoning them
among the six tribes of the Medes (i. 101).
They appear in his history of Astyages as
interpreters of dreams (i. 120), the name
having apparently lost its ethnological and
acquired a caste significance. But as they
appear in Jeremiah among the retinue of the
Chaldaean king, we must suppose Nebuchad
nezzar's conquests led him to gather round
him the wise men and religious teachers of
the nations which he subdued, and that thus
the sacred tribe of the Medes rose under his
rule to favour and power. The Magi took
their places among "the astrologers and
star-gazers and monthly prognosticators."
It is with such men that we have to think
of Daniel and his fellow-exiles as associated.
The office which Daniel accepted (Dan. v.
11) was probably identical with that of the
Rab-Mag who first came before us. The
name of the Magi does not meet us in the
Biblical account of the Medo-Persian kings.
— II. The word presented itself to the Greeks
as connected with a foreign system of divina
tion, and it soon became a by-word for the
worst form of imposture. This isthe predo
minant meaning of the word as it appears in
the N. T. The noun and the verb derived
from it are used by St. Luke in describing
the impostor, who is therefore known dis
tinctively as SinJon Magus (Acts viii. 9).

Another of the same class (Bar-jesus) is de
scribed (Acts xiii. 8) as having, in his cog
nomen Elymas, a title which was equivalent
to Magus. — III. In one memorable instance,
however, the word retains its better mean
ing. In the Gospel of St. Matthew (ii. 1-12),
the Magi appear as "wise men" — properly
Magians — who were guided by a star from
" the East " to Jerusalem, where they sud
denly appeared in the days of Herod the
Great, enquiring for the newborn king of the
Jews, whom they had come to worship. As
to the country from which they came, opi
nions vary greatly ; but their following the
guidance of a star seems to point to the banks
of the Tigris and Euphrates, where astronomy
was early cultivated by the Chaldaeans. The
religion of Zoroaster remaining pure from
the grosser forms of idolatry, preserved the
hope of a great deliverer, who should reform
the world, and establish a reign of universal
peace. That some tradition, influenced possi
bly by the Jews of the dispersion, went so far
as to make this deliveier a " King of the Jews,"
seems a fair inference from the direct form
of their enquiry for Him. As to the sign
which guided them, the chief difficulties have
arisen from the attempt to find a natural
explanation ; for the plain narrative of St.
Matthew evidently represents it as a miracle
vouchsafed for the occasion. The ingenious
conjecture of certain astronomers, that the
appearance of the star was caused by a re
markable conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
is now exploded. The approach of the two
planets was not at all near enough for them
to be mistaken for a single star ; nor could
habitual observers of the heavens fail to re
cognise the positions of such well-known pla
nets. Besides, their " standing over the
place where the young child was," so as to
define the spot on the surface of the earth, is
utterly inconceivable. It only remains for
us to be content with the obvious explana
tion, that some new luminary, whether me
teoric or celestial, was made to appear, in a
manner distinct enough to the eyes of prac
tised astronomers, expressly to guide the
sages on their way. Their arrival and en
quiries threw Jerusalem into commotion.
With his usual craft, Herod summoned the
Sanhedrim, and learnt that the Messiah was
to be born at Bethlehem. Having enquired
from the Magi the time of the star's appear
ance, as a guide to that of the child's birth,
he professed his desire to worship the new
born king, and sent them on to discover his
abode. Tbe star again guided them over the
five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and
at length stood still above the house where
Jesus was. They paid Him their willing

MAGIC

318

MAKTES1I

homage, and presented their costly gifts, the
first-fruits of the wealth and wisdom of the
Gentile world. By means of a dream, a form
of divination which they we're wont to follow
with implicit faith, they were warned by God
not to return to Herod, and they departed
into their own country by another route,
perhaps by Hebron and round the southern
end of the Dead Sea. According to a late
tradition, the Magi are represented as three
kings, named Gaspar, Melchior, and Beltha-
zar, who take their place among the objects
of Christian reverence, and are honoured as
the patron saints of travellers. Among other
relics supplied to meet the demands of the
market which the devotion of Helena had
created, the bodies of the Magi were dis
covered somewhere in the Fast, were brought
to Constantinople, were thence transferred to
Milan, and were in 1162 finally deposited in
the cathedral of Cologne, .where the shrine of
the Three Kings is shown as the greatest of
its many treasures.
MAGIC, MAGICIANS. [Divination;
Magi.] MA'GOG. In Gen. x. 2 Magog appears as
the second son of Japheth in connexion with
Gomer (the Cimmerians) and Madai (the
Medes) : in Ez. xxxviii. 2, xxxix. 1, 6, it
appears as a country or people of which Gog
was the prince, in conjunction with Meshech
(the Moschici), Tubal (the Tibareni), and
Rosh (the Roxolani). In the latter of these
senses there is evidentlyr implied an etymo
logical connexion between Gog and Ma-gog,
the Ma being regarded by Ezekiel as a prefix
significant of a country. In this case Gog
contains the original element of the name,
which may possibly have its origin in some
Persian root. The notices of Magog would
lead us to fix a northern locality : it is ex
pressly stated by Ezekiel that he was to come
up from " the sides of the north " (xxxix. 2),
from a country adjacent to that of Togarmah
or Armenia (xxxviii. 6), and not far from
"the isles "or maritime regions of Europe
(xxxix. 6). The people of Magog further
appear as having a force of cavalry (xxxviii.
15), and as armed with the bow (xxxix. 3).
From the above data, we may conclude that
Magog represents the important race of the
Scythians. MAHA'LALEEL, the fourth in descent
from Adam, according to the Sethite genea
logy, and son of Cainan (Gen. v. 12, 13, 15-
17 ; 1 Chr. i. 2).
MAH'ALATH, the title of Ps. liii., and
MAH'ALATH-LEAN'NOTH, the title of Ps.
Ixxxviii. The meaning of these words is
uncertain. The conjecture is, that Mahalath
is a guitar, and that Leannoth has reference

to the character of the psalm, and might be
rendered "to humble, or afflict," in which
sense the root occurs in verse 7.
MAHANA'IM, a town on the east of the
Jordan, signifying two hosts or two camps, a
name given to it by Jacob, because he there
met " the angels of God " (Gen. xxxii. 1, 2).
We next meet with it in the records of the
conquest (Josh. xiii. 26 and 29). It was
within the territory of Gad (Josh. xm. 38,
39), and therefore on the south side of the
torrent Jabbok. The town with its "sub
urbs " was allotted to the service of the
Merarite Levites (Josh. xxi. 39 ; 1 Chron.
vi. 80). From some cause — the sanctity of
its original foundation, or the strength
of its position— Mahanaim had become in
the time of the monarchy a place of mark
(2 Sam. ii. 9, 12, iv. 6). The same causes
which led Abner to fix Ishbosheth's residence
at Mahanaim probably induced David to take
refuge there when driven out of the western
part of his kingdom by Absalom (2 Sam.
xvii. 24; 1 K. ii. 8). Mahanaim was the
seat of one of Solomon's commissariat officers
(1 K. iv. 14) ; and it is alluded to in the
Song which bears his name (vi. 13). There
is a place called Mth/ieh among the villages
of the east of Jordan, though its exact posi
tion is not certain.
MAH'ANEH-DAN (the "Camp-of-Dan :"),
the position of which is specified with great
precision, as "behind Kirjath-jearim" (Judg.
xviii. 12), and as "between Zorah and Esh-
taol " (xiii. 25).
MA'HER-SHA'LAL-HASH-BAZ, i. e.,
hasten -booty, speed-spoil, whose name was
given by Divine direction, to indicate that Da
mascus and Samaria were soon to be plundered
by the king of Assyria (Is. viii. 1-4).
MAH'LAH, the eldest of the five daughters
of Zelophebad, the grandson of Manasseh
(Num. xxvii. 1-11).
MAH'LI. 1. Son of Merari, the son of
Levi, and ancestor of the family of the Mah-
i.ites (Num. iii. 20 ; 1 Chr. vi. 19, 29, xxiv.
26). — 2. Son of Mushi, and grandson of
Merari (1 Chr. vi. 47, xxiii. 23, xxiv. 30).
MAH'LON, the first husband of Ruth. He
and his brother Chilion were sons of Eli-
melech and Naomi, and are described as
" Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah " (Ruth i.
2, 5 ; iv. 9, 10 ; comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 12).
MAK'KEDAH, a. place memorable in tbe
annals of the conquest of Canaan as the
scene of the execution by Joshua of the five
confederate kings (Josh. x. 10-30). The
catalogue of the cities of Judah in Joshua
(xv. 41) place it in the maritime plain, but
its site is uncertain.
MAK'TESH, a place, evidently in Jeru-

MALACHI

319

MANAEN

salem, the inhabitants of which are denounced
by Zephaniah (i. 11). Ewald conjectures that
it was the " Phoenician quarter " of the city.
The meaning of " Maktesh " is probably a
deep hollow, literally a " mortar." This the
Targum iderftifi.es with the torrent Kedron.
MALACHI (that is, the angel or messenger
of Jehovah) is the last, and is therefore
called "the seal" of the prophets, and his
prophecies constitute the closing book of the
canon. Of his personal history nothing is
known. That Malachi was contemporary
with Nehemiah is rendered probable by a
comparison of ii. 8 with Neh. xiii. 15 ; ii,
10-16 with Neb. xiii. 23, &c. ; and iii. 7-12
with Neh. xiii. 10, &e. That he prophesied
after the times of Haggai and Zechariah is
inferred from his omitting to mention the
restoration of the Temple, and from no allu
sion being made to him by Ezra. The
captivity was already a thing of the long
past, and is not referred to. The existence
of the Temple-service is presupposed in i. 10,
iii. 1, 10. The Jewish nation had still a
political chief (i. 8), distinguished by the
same title as that borne by Nehemiah (Neh,
xii. 26). Hence we may conclude that
Malachi delivered his prophecies after the
second return of Nehemiah from Persia
(Neh. xiii. 6), and subsequently to the 32nd
year of Artaxerxes Lcngimanus (b.c 420).
From the striking parallelism between the
state of things indicated in Malachi's pro
phecies and that actually existing on Nehe
miah's return from the court of Artaxerxes,
it is on all accounts highly probable that the
efforts of the secular governor were on this
occasion seconded by the preaching of "Je
hovah's messenger," and that Malachi oc
cupied the same position with regard to the
reformation under Nehemiah, which Isaiah
held in the time of Hezekiah, and Jeremiah
in that of Josiah. The last chapter of canon
ical Jewish history is the key td the last
chapter of its prophecy. The whole pro
phecy naturally divides itself into three
sections, in the first of which Jehovah is
represented as the loving father and ruler of
His people (i. 2-ii. 9) ; in the second, as the
supreme God and father of all (ii. 10-16);
and in the third, as their righteous and final
judge (ii. 17-end). The prophecy of Malachi
is alluded to in the N. T. (comp. Mark i. 2,
ix. II, 12 ; Luke i. 17 ; Rom. ix. 13).
MAL'CHI-SHU'A, one of the sons of king
Saul (1 Sam. xiv. 49, xxxi. 2 ; 1 Chr. viii.
33, ix. 39).
MAL'CHUS, the name of the servant of
the high-priest, whose right ear Peter cut
off at the time of the Saviour's apprehension
in the garden (Matt. xxvi. 51 ; Mark xiv. 47 ;

Luke xxii. 49-51 ; John xviii. 10). He was
the personal servant of the high-priest, and
not one of the bailiffs or apparitors of the
Sanhedrim. It is noticeable that Luke the
physician is the only one of the writers who
mentions the act of healing.
MALLOWS (Job xxx. 4). By the Hebrew
word mallilach we are no doubt to under
stand some species of Orache, and in all pro
bability the Atriplcx halimus of botanists.

Alrijle*. huhwus.
MAM'MON (Matt. vi. 24 ; Luke xvi. 9), a
word which often occurs in the Chaldee Tar-
gums of Onkelos, and later writers, and in
the Syriac Version, and which signifies
" riches." It is used in St. Matthew as «
personification of riches.
MAM'RE, an ancient Amorite, who with
his brothers Eshcol and Aner was in alli
ance with Abram (Gen. xiv. 13, 24), andundei
the shade of whose oak- grove the patriarch
dwelt in the interval between his residence
dt Bethel and at Beersheba (xiii. 18, xviii. 1).
In the subsequent chapters Mamre is a mere
local appellation (xxiii. 17, 19, xxv. 9, xlix.
30, 1. 13).
MAN'AEN is mentioned in Acts xiii. 1 ae

MANASSEH

320

MANASSEH

one of the teachers and prophets in the
church at Antioch at the time of the appoint
ment of Saul and Barnabas as missionaries
to the heathen. He is said to have been
brought up (o-vvrpotpos) with Herod, that is
Herod Antipas. There are two interpreta
tions of avvTpo<}>o<; ; one that it means edu
cated with another ; and the second, that it
denotes foster-brother, brought up at the
same breast, so that Manaen's mother would
have been also Herod's nurse.
MAXAS'sEH, that is, forgetting, the eldest
son of Joseph, by his wife Asenath (Gen. xli.
51, xlvi. 20), so called by Joseph because
" God hath-made-me-forget all my toil and
all my father's house." Both he and Eph
raim were bprn before the commencement of
the famine. Whether the elder of the two
sons was inferior in form or promise to the
younger, or whether there was any external
reason to justify the preference of Jacob, we
are not told. [Ephraim.] The position of
the tribe of Manasseh during the march to
Canaan was with Ephraim and Benjamin on
the west side of the sacred Tent. The Chief
of the tribe at the time of the census at Sinai
was Gamaliel ben-Pedahzur, and its numbers
were then 32,200 (Num. i. 10, 35, ii. 20, 21,
vii. 54-59). In the division of the Promised
Land half of the tribe of Manasseh settled
east of the Jordan, in the district embracing
the hills of Gilead with their inaccessible
heights and impassable ravines, and the al
most impregnable tract of Argob (Josh. xiii.
29-33). Here they throve exceedingly,
pushing their way northward over the rich
plains of Jauldn and Jedtir to the foot of
Mount Hermon (1 Chr. v. 23). But they
gradually assimilated themselves to the old
inhabitants of the country, and on them
descended the punishment which was
ordained to be the inevitable consequence of
such misdoing. They, first of all Israel,
were carried away by Pul and Tiglath-Pileser,
and settled in the Assyrian territories (1 Chr.
v. 25, 26). The other half tribe settled to
the west of the Jordan, north of Ephraim
(Josh. xvii.). For further particulars, see
Ephraim. M ANAS'SEH, the thirteenth king of Judah,
son of Hezekiah and Hephzibah (2 K. xxi.
1), ascended the throne at the age of 12.
His accession was the signal for an entire
change in the religious administration of the
kingdom. Idolatry was again established,
and he consecrated idolatrous altars in the
Sanctuary itself (2 Chr. xxxiii. 4). Every
faith was tolerated but the old faith of Israel.
This was abandoned and proscribed. The
aged Isaiah, according to the old Jewish
tradition, was put to death. [Isaiah.] But j

the persecution did not stop there. It at
tacked the whole order of the true prophets,
and those who followed them. Retribution
came soon in the natural sequence of events.
The Babylonian alliance, which the king had
formed, bore the fruits which had been pre
dicted. The rebellion of Merodach-Baladan
was crushed, and then the wrath of the As
syrian king fell on those who had supported
him. Judaea was again overrun by the
Assyrian armies, and this time the invasion
was more successful than that of Sennacherib.
The city apparently was taken. The king
himself was made prisoner and carried off to
Babylon in the 22nd year of his reign, ac
cording to a Jewish tradition. There his
eyes were opened, and he repented, and his
prayer was heard, and the Lord delivered
him (2 Chr. xxiii. 12-13). The period
that followed is dwelt upon by the writer of
2 Chr. as one of a great change for the
better. The compassion or death of Esar
haddon led to his release, and he returned
after some uncertain interval of time to Jeru
salem. The old faith of Israel was no longer
persecuted. Foreign idolatries were no longer
thrust, in all their foulness, into the Sanc
tuary itself. The altar of the Lord was again
restored, and peace-offerings and thank-
offerings sacrificed to Jehovah (2 Chr. xxxiii.
15, 16). But beyond this the reformation
did not go. The other facts known of
Manasseh's reign connect themselves with
the state of the world round him. The
Assyrian monarchy was tottering to its fall,
and the king of Judah seems to have thought
that it was still possible for him to rule as
the head of a strong and independent king
dom, lie fortified Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxvii.
3), and put captains of war in all the fenced
cities of Judah. There was, it must be re
membered, a special reason. Egypt was
become strong and aggressive under Psammi-
tichus. About this time we find the thought
of an Egyptian alliance again beginning to
gain favour. The very name of Manasseh's
son, Amon, identical in form and sound with
that of the great sun-god of Egypt, is pro
bably an indication of the gladness with
which the alliance of Psamraitichus was wel
comed. As one of its consequences, it in
volved probably the supply of troops from
Judah to serve in the armies of the Egyptian
king. If this was the close of Manasseh's
reign, we can understand how it was that on
his death he was buried as Ahaz had been,
not with the burial of a king, in the sepul
chres of the house of David, but in the garden
of Uz*a (2 K. xxi. 26), and that long after
wards, in spite of his repentance, the Jews
held his name in abhorrence. He was sue-

MANA8SITES'

321

MANNA

ceeded by his son Amon, b.c. 642. Little is
added by later tradition to the O. T. nar
rative of Manasseh's reign. The prayer that
bears his name in the Apocrypha cannot be
considered as identical with that referred to
in 2 Chr. xxxiii. The original is extant in
Greek ; and it is the work of a later writer, who
has endeavoured to express, not without true
feeling, the thoughts of the repentant king.
MANASS'ITES, THE, that is, the members
of the tribe of Manasseh. The word occurs
but thrice in the A. V. viz. Deut. iv. 43 ;
Judg. xii. 4 ; and 2 K. x. 33.
MAN'DRAKES (Heb. duddim) are men
tioned in Gen. xxx. 14, 15, 16, and in Cant.
vii. 13. From the former passage »-<; learn
that they were found in the fields of Mesopo
tamia, where Jacob and his wives were at
one time living, and that the fruit was ga
thered " in the days of wheat-harvest," i.e.
in May. From Cant. vii. 13 we learn that
the plant in question was strong-scented, and
that it grew in Palestine. The translation

W9m

Wmt:Mi

WW' I, ,

¦

Sp

w

The Mandrake (A ropa Mandragora).
SM. D. B.

in the A. V. is probably correct. It has been
objected that the mandrake is far from odori
ferous, the whole plant being, in European
estimation at all events, very fetid. But, on
the other hand, it is well known that the
mandrakes are prized by the Arabs for their
odour, and that Orientals set an especial
value on strongly-smelling things that to
more delicate European senses are unpleas-
ing. That the fruit was fit to be gathered at
fee time of wheat-harvest is clear from the
testimony of several travellers. Schultze
found mandrake-apples on the 15th of May.
Hasselquist saw them at Nazareth early in
May. Dr. Thomson found mandrakes ripe
on the lower ranges of Lebanon and Hermon
towards the end of April. The mandrake
(Atropa mand/ragora) is closely allied to the
well-known deadly nightshade (A. bella
donna), and belongs to the order Solanaceae.
MA'NEH. [Weights and Measures.]
MANGER. This word occurs only in con
nexion with the birth of Christ in Luke ii.
7, 12, 16. The original term is <pa.Tvw, which
is found but once besides in the N, T., viz.
Luke xiii. 1 5, where it is rendered by
" stall." The word in classical Greek un
doubtedly means a manger, crib, or feeding
trough ;' but according to Schleusner its real
signification .in the N. T. is the open court
yard, attached to the inn or khan, into which
the cattle would be shut at night, and where
the poorer travellers might unpack their ani
mals and take up their lodging, when they
were either by want of room or want of
means excluded from the house.
MAN'NA (Heb. mdn). The most impor
tant passages of the O. T. on this topic are
the following : — Ex. xvi. 14-36 ; Num. xi.
7-9; Deut. viii. 3, 16; Josh. v. 12; Ps.
lxxviii. 24, 25 ; Wisd. xvi. 20, 21. From
these passages we learn that the manna came
every moiming except the Sabbath, in the
form of a small round seed resembling the
hoar frost ; that it must be gathered early,
before the sun became so hot as to melt it ;
that it must be gathered every day except
the Sabbath ; that the attempt to lay aside
for a succeeding day, except on the day im
mediately preceding the Sabbath, failed by
the substance becoming wormy and offen
sive ; that it was prepared for food by grind
ing and baking ; that its taste was like fresh
oil, and like wafers made with honey, equally
agreeable to all palates ; that the whole nation
subsisted upon it for forty years ; that it sud
denly ceased when they first got the new
corn of the land of Canaan ; and that it was
always regarded as a miraculous gift directly
from God, and not as a product of nature.
The natural products of the Arabian deserts

MANNA

322

MARESHAH

and other* Oriental regions, which bear the
name of manna, have not the qualities or
uses ascribed to the manna of Scripture, The
manna of Scripture we regard as wholly mi
raculous, and not in any respect a product of
nature. The Hebrew word man, by which
this substance is always designated in the
Hebrew Scriptures, is the neuter interro
gative pronoun (what 1) ; and the name is
derived from the inquiry (man hu, what is
this 1) which the Hebrews made when they
first saw it upon the ground. The substance
now called inanna in the Arabian desert
through which the Israelites passed, is col
lected in the month of June from the tarfa
or tamarisk shrub (Tamarix gallica). Ac
cording to Burckhardt it drops from the

Tamarix GaUictt.

thorns on the sticks and leaves with which
the ground is covered, and must be gathered
early in the day, or it will be melted by the
sun. The Arabs cleanse and boil it, strain it
through a cloth, and put it in leathern bot
tles ; and in this way it can be kept unin
jured for several years. They use it like
honey or butter with their unleavened bread,
but never make it into cakes or eat it by
itself. Tho manna of European commerce
comes mostly from Calabria and Sicily. It
is gathered during the months of June and
July from some species of ash ( Ornus Eu-
ropaea and Omits rotundifolia), from which
it drops in consequence of a puncture by an
insect resembling the locust, but distinguished
from it by having a sting under its body. The
substance is fluid at night, and resembles the
dew, hut in the morning it begins to harden.
M ANO'AII, the father of Samson ; a Danite,
native of the town of Zorah (Judg. xiii. 2).
[Samson.] MA'ON, one of the cities of the tribe of
Judah, in the district of the mountains
(Josh. xv. 55). Its interest for us lies in its
connexion with David (1 Sam. xxiii. 24, 25).
The name of Maon still exists in Main, a
lofty conical bill, south of, and about 7 mileB
distant from, Hebron.
MA'RAH, that is bitterness, a place which
iay in the wilderness of Shur or Etham, three
days' journey distant (Ex. xv. 23-24, Num.
xxxiii. 8) from the place at which the Is
raelites crossed the Red Sea, and where was
a spring of bitter water, sweetened subse
quently by the easting in of a tree which
" the Lord showed " to Moses. It has been
suggested that Moses made use of the berries
of the plant Ghurkud. Hoxvarah, distant
16* hours from Ayoun Mousa, has been by
many identified with it, apparently because
it is the bitterest water in the neighbourhood.
MARAN'ATHA, an expression used by St.
Paul at the conclusion of his first Epistle to
the Corinthians (xvi. 22). It is a Grecised
form of the Aramaic words mar an uthd, "our
Lord cometh."
MARCHESHVAN. [Months.]
MAR'CUS, the Evangelist Mark (Col. iv.
10 ; Philem. 24 ; 1 Pet. v. 13). [Mark.]
MAR'ESHAH, one of tho cities of Judah
in the district of the Shefelah or low country
(Josh. xv. 44). It was one of the cities for
tified and garrisoned by Rehoboam after the
rupture with the northern kingdom (2 Chr.
xi. 8). It is mentioned once or twice in the
history of tbe Maccabaean struggles (1 Mace.
v. 66 ; 2 Mace. xii. 35). About 110 b.c it
was taken from the Idumaeans by John Hyr-
canus. It was in ruins in the 4th century,
when Eusebius' and Jerome describe it as in

MARK

323

MARK, GOSPEL OF

the second mile from Eleutheropolis. S.S.W.
of Beify'ibrin — in all probability Eleuthero
polis — and a little over a Roman mile there
from, is a site called Marash, which is very
possibly the representative of the ancient
Mareshah. MARK. Mark the Evangelist is probably
the same as " John whose surname was
Mark" (Acts xii. 12, 25). John was tbe
Jewish name, and Mark (Marcus), a name
of frequent use among the Romans, was
adopted afterwards, and gradually superseded
the other. John Mark was the son of a cer
tain Mary, who dwelt at Jerusalem, and was
therefore probably born in that city (Acts xii.
12). He was the cousin of Barnabas (Col.
iv. 10). It was to Mary's house, as to a
familiar haunt, that Peter came after his de
liverance from prison (Acts xii. 12), and
there found " many gathered together pray
ing ; " and probably John Mark was con
verted by Peter from meeting him in his
mother's house, for he speaks of "Marcus
my son" (1 Pet. v. 13). The theory that he
was one of the seventy disciples is without
any warrant. Another theory, that an event
of the night of oui' Lord's betrayal, related
by Mark alone, is one that befell himself,
must not be so promptly dismissed (Mark
xiv. 51, 52). The detail of facts is remark
ably minute, the name only is wanting. The
most probable view is that St. Mark sup
pressed his own name, whilst telling a story
which he had the best means of knowing.
Anxious to work for Christ, he went with
Paul and Barnabas as their " minister " on
their first journey ; but at Perga, he turned
back (Acts xii. 25, xiii. 13). On the second
journey Paul would not accept him again as
a companion, hut Barnabas his kinsman was
more indulgent ; and thus he became the
cause of the memorable "sharp contention"
between them (Acts xv. 36-40). Whatever
was the cause of Mark's vacillation, it did
not separate him for ever from Paul, for we
find him by the side of that Apostle in his
first imprisonment at Rome (Col. iv. 10 ;
Philem. 24). In the former place a possible
journey of Mark to Asia is spoken of. Some
what later he is with Peter at Babylon (1
Pet. v. 13). On his return to Asia he seems
to have been with Timothy at Ephesus when
Paul wrote to him during his second impri
sonment (2 Tim. iv. 11). — The relation of
Mark to Peter is of great importance for our
view of his Gospel. Ancient writers with
one consent make the Evangelist the Inter
preter of the Apostle Peter. Some explain
this word to mean that the office of Mark
was to translate into tbe Greek tongue the
Aramaic discourses of the Apostle; whilst

others adopt the more probable view that
Mark wrote a Gospel which conformed more
exactly than the others to Peter's preaching,
and thus "interpreted" it to the church at
large. The report that Mark was the com
panion of Peter at Rome, is no doubt of great
antiquity. Sent on a mission to Egypt by
Peter, Mark there founded the church of
Alexandria, and preached in 'various places,
then returned to Alexandria, of which church
he was bishop, and suffered a martyr's death .
But none of these later details rest on sound
authority. MARK, GOSPEL OF. The characteristics
of this Gospel, the shortest of the four in
spired records, will appear from the discus
sion of the various questions that have been
raised about it. — I. Sources of this Gospel. —
The tradition that it gives the teaching of
Peter rather than of the rest of the Apostles,
has been alluded to above. Moreover there
are peculiarities in the Gospel which are best
explained by the supposition that Peter in
some way superintended its composition.
Whilst Mark goes over the same ground for
the most part as the other Evangelists, and
especially Matthew, there are many facts
thrown in which prove that we are listening
to an independent witness. Thus the hum
ble origin of Peter is made known through
him (i. 16-20), and his connexion with Ca
pernaum (i. 29) ; he tells us that Levi was
"the son of Alphaeus" (ii. 14), that Peter
was the name given by our Lord to Simon
(iii. 16), and Boanerges a surname added by
Him to the names of two others (iii. 17) ;
he assumes the existence of another body of
disciples wider than the Twelve (iii. 32, iv.
10, 36, -viii. 34, xiv. 51, 52) : we owe to
him the name of Jairus (v. 22), the word
" carpenter " applied to our Lord (vi. 3), the
nation of the " Syrophoenician " woman (vii.
26) ; he substitutes Dalmanutha for the
" Magdala " of Matthew (viii. 10) ; he names
Bartimaeus (x. 46) ; he alone mentions that
our Lord would not suffer any man to carry
any vessel through the Temple (xi. 16) ; and
that Simon of Cyrene was the father of Alex
ander and Rufus (xv. 21). All these are
tokens of an independent writer, different
from Matthew and Luke, and in the absence
of other traditions it is natural to look to
Peter. — II. TJiis Gospel written- primarily for
Gentiles.—The Evangelist scarcely refers to
the O. T. in his own person. The word Law
does not once occur. The genealogy of our
Lord is likewise omitted. Other matters in
teresting chiefly to the Jews are likewise
omitted ; such as the references to the O. T.
and Law in Matt. xii. 5-7, the reflexions on
the request of the Scribes, and Pharisees for a
Y 2

MARK, GOSPEL OF

324

MARRIAGE

sign, Matt. xii. 38-45 ; the parable of the
king's son, Matt. xxii. 1-14 ; and the awful
denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees in
Matt, xxiii. Explanations are given in some
places which Jews could not require ; thus,
Jordan is a "river" (Mark i. 5; Matt. iii.
6) ; the Pharisees, &c, " used to fast "
(Mark ii. 18 ; Matt. ix. 14), and other cus
toms of theirs are describrd (Mark vii. 1-4 ;
Matt. xv. 1, 2) ; " the time of figs was not
yet," i. e. at the season of the Passover
(Mark xi. 13; Matt. xxi. 19); the Saddu-
cecs' worst tenet is mentioned (Mark xii.
18) ; the Mount of Olives is "over against
the temple" (Mark xiii. 3; Matt. xxiv. 3) ;
at the Passover men eat " unleavened bread "
(Mark xiv. 1, 12; Matt. xxvi. 2, 17), and
explanations are given which Jews would not
need (Mark xv. 6, 16, 42 ; Matt, xxvii. 15,
27, 57). From the general testimony of
these and other places, whatever may be ob
jected to an inference from one or other
amongst them, there is little doubt but that
the Gospel was meant for use in the first
instance amongst Gentiles. — III. Time when
the Gospel utis written. — This is uncertain,
It is not likely that it dates before the refer
ence to Maik in the epistle to the Colossians
(iv. 10), where he is only introduced as a
relative of Barnabas, as if this were his
greatest distinction ; and this epistle was
written about a.d. 62. On the other hand it was
written before the destruction of Jerusalem
(xiii. 13, 24-30, 33, &c). Probably, there
fore, it was written bptween a.d. 63 and 70.
— IV. Language. — The Gospel was written
in Greek ; of this there can be no doubt if
ancient testimony is to weigh. — V. Genuine
ness of the Gospel. — All ancient testimony
makes Mark the author of a certain Gospel,
and that this is the Gospel which has come
down to us, there is not the least historical
ground for doubting. — VT. Style and Diction.
The purpose of the Evangelist seems to be to
place before us a vivid picture of the earthly
acts of Jesus. The style is peculiarly suit
able to this. He uses the present tense in
stead of the narrative aorist, almost in every
chapter. Precise and minute details as to
persons, places, and numbers, abound in the
narrative. All these tend to give force and
vividness to the picture of the human life of
our Lord. On the other side, the facts are
not very exactly arranged. Its conciseness
sometimes makes this Gospel more obscure
than the others (i. 13, ix. 5, 6, iv. 10-34).
Many peculiarities of diction may be noticed ;
amongst them the following : — 1. Hebrew
(Aramaic) words are used, but explained for
Gentile readers (iii. 17, 22, v. 41, vii. 11, 34,
ix. 43, x. 46, xiv. 36, xv. 22, 34). 2. Latin

words are very frequent. 3. Unusual words
or phrases are found here. 4. Diminutives
are frequent. 5. The substantive is often
repeated instead of the pronoun ; as (to cite
from ch. ii. only) ii. 16, 18, 20, 22, 27, 28.
6. Negatives are accumulated for the sake of
emphasis (vii, 12, ix. s, xii. 34, xv. 5, i.
44). 7. Words arc often added to adverbs
for the sake of emphasis (ii. 20, v. 5, vi. 25,
also vii. 21, viii. 4, x. 20, xiii. 29, xiv. 30,
43). 8. The same idea i3 often repeated
under another expression, as i. 42, ii. 25,
viii. 15, xiv. 68, &c. 9. And sometimes the
repetition is effected by means of the opposite,
as in i. 22, 44, and many other places. 10.
Sometimes emphasis is given by simple reite
ration, as in ii. 15, 19. 11. The elliptic use
of 'iua, like that of ottujs in classical writers,
is found, v. 23. 12. The word cn-epwra^ is
used twenty-five times in this Gospel. 13.
Instead of Gvp.fiovhiov Xap.fidvei.v of Matt.
Mark has <ru/x/3ovA<.oi/ iroitiv, iii. 6, xv. 1, 14.
There are many words peculiar to Mark.
The diction of Mark presents the difficulty
that whilst it abounds in Latin words, and in
expressions that recall Latin equivalents, it is
still much more akin to the Hebraistic diction
of Matthew than to the purer style of Luke.
MARRIAGE. The topics which this sub
ject presents to our consideration in con
nexion with Biblical literature may be ar
ranged under five heads : — I. !/•>• origin and
history. — The institution of marriage dates
from the time of man's original creation. No
sooner was the formation of woman effected,
than Adam recognised in that act the will of
the Creator as to man's social condition.
" Therefore shall a man leave his father and
his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife :
and they shall be one flesh" (ii. 24). From
these words, coupled with the circumstances
attendant on the formation of the first woman,
we may evolve the following principles : —
(1) The unity of man and wife, as implied
in her being formed out of man, and as
expressed in the words " one flesh ; " (2)
the indissolublencss of the marriage bond,
except on the strongest grounds (comp. Matt.
xix. 9) ; (3) monogamy, as the original law
of marriage; (1) the social equality of man
and wife ; (5) the subordination of the wife
to the husband (1 Cor. xi. 8, 9 ; 1 Tim. ii.
13) ; and (6) the respective duties of man
and wife. In the patriarchal age Polygamy
prevailed (Gen. xvi. 4, xxv. 1, 6, xxviii. 9,
xxix. 23, 28 ; 1 Chr. vii. 14), but to a great
extent divested of the degradation which in
modern times attaches to that practice. Di
vorce also prevailed in the patriarchal age,
though but one instance of it is recorded
(Gen. xxi. 14). The Mosaic law aimed at

MARRIAGE

325

MARRIAGE

mitigating rather than removing evils which
were inseparable from the state of society in
that day. Its enactments were directed (1)
to the discouragement of polygamy ; (2) to
obviate the injustice frequently consequent
upon the exercise of the rights of a father or
a master; (3) to bring divorce under some
restriction ; and (4) to enforce purity of life
during the maintenance of the matrimonial
bond. In the post-Babylonian period mono
gamy appears to have become more prevalent
than at any previous time : indeed we have
no instance of polygamy during this period
on record in the Bible, all the marriages
noticed being with single wives (Tob..i. 9, ii.
11 ; Susan, vers. 29, 63 ; Matt, xviii. 25 ;
Luke i. 5 ; Acts v. 1). The practice of poly
gamy nevertheless still existed ; Herod the
Great had no less than nine wives at one
time. Tbe abuse of divorce continued un
abated. Our Lord and His Apostles re-es
tablished the integrity and sanctity of the
marriage-bond by the following measures : —
(1) by the confirmation of the original char
ter of marriage as the basis on which all
regulations were to be framed (Matt. xix. 4,
5) ; (2) by the restriction of divorce to the
case of fornication, and the prohibition of re
marriage in all persons divorced on improper
grounds (Matt. v. 32, xix. 9 ; Rom. vii. 3 ;
1 Cor. vii. 10, 11) ; and (3) by the enforce
ment of moral purity generally (Heb. xiii. 4,
&c), and especially by the formal condem
nation of fornication, which appears to have
been classed among acts morally indifferent
by a certain party in the Church (Acts xv.
20). — II. The conditions of legal marriage
are decided by the prohibitions which the
law of any country imposes upon its citizens.
In the Hebrew commonwealth these prohi
bitions were of two kinds, according as they
regulated marriage (i.) between an Israelite
and a non-Israelite, and (ii.) between an Israe
lite and one of his own community.— (i.) The
prohibitions relating to foreigners were based
On that instinctive feeling of exclusiveness,
which forms one of the bonds of every social
body, and which prevails with peculiar
strength in a rude state of society. The
only distinct prohibition in the Mosaic law
refers to the Canaanites, with whom the Is
raelites were not to marry on the ground
that it wpuld lead them into idolatry (Ex.
xxxiv. 16; Deut. vii. 3, 4). But beyond
this, the legal disabilities to which the Am
monites and Moabites were subjected (Deut.
xxiii. 3), acted as a virtual bar to intermar
riage with them, totally preventing the mar
riage of Israelitish women with Moabites,
but permitting that of Israelites with Moa-
bite women, such as that of Mahlon with

Ruth. The prohibition against marriages
with the Edomites or Egyptians was less
stringent, as a male of those nations received
the right of marriage on his admission to the
full citizenship in the third generation of
proselytism (Deut. xxiii. 7, 8). There were
thus three grades of prohibition — total in
regard to the Canaanites on either side ;
total on the side of the males in regard of
the Ammonites and Moabites ; and temporary
on the side of the males in regard of the Edo
mites and Egyptians, marriages with females
in the two latter instances being regarded as
legal. The progeny of illegal marriages be
tween Israelites and non-Israelites was de
scribed under a peculiar term mamzdr (A. V.
"bastard"; Deut. xxiii. 2). — (ii.) The regu
lations relative to marriage between Israelites
and Israelites were based on considerations
of relationship. The most important passage
relating to these is contained in Lev. xviii. 6-
18, wherein we have in the first place a general
prohibition against marriages, between a man
and the " flesh of his flesh," and in the second
place special prohibitions against marriage
with a mother, stepmother, sister, or half-sis
ter, whether " born at home or abroad," grand
daughter, aunt, whether by consanguinity on
either side, or by marriage on the father's
side, daughter-in-law, brother's wife, step
daughter, wife's mother, step-grand-daughter,
or wife's sister during the lifetime of the
wife. An exception is subsequently made
(Deut. xxv. 5-9) in favour of marriage with
a brother's wife in the event of his having
died childless. The law which regulates this
has been named the " Levirate," from the
Latin levir, " brother-in-law." The first in
stance of this custom occurs in the patriarchal
period, where Onan is called upon to marry
his brother Er's widow (Gen. xxxviii. 8).
The Levirate marriage was not peculiar to
the Jews ; it has been found to exist in many
eastern countries, particularlj' in Arabia, and
among the tribes of the Caucasus. — III. The
modes by which marriage was effected. — The
customs of the Hebrews and of Oriental na
tions in regard to marriage, differ in many
respects from those with which we are fami
liar. In the first place, the choice of the
bride devolved not on the bridegroom him
self, but on his relations or on a friend de
puted by the bridegroom for this purpose.
The consent of the maiden was sometimes
asked (Gen. xxiv. 58) ; but this appears to
have been subordinate to the previous consent
of the father and the adult brothers (Gen.
xxiv. 51, xxxiv. 11). Occasionally the whole
business of selecting the wife was left in the
hands of a friend. The selection of the bride
was followed by the espousal, which was a

MARRIAGE

326

MARRIAGE

formal proceeding, undertaken by a friend or
legal representative on the part of the bride
groom, and by the parents on the part of the
bride ; it was confirmed by oaths, and accom
panied with presents to the bride. These
presents were described by different terms,
that to the bride by mohar (A. V. " dowry "),
and that to the relations by mattdn. Thus
Shechem offers " never so much dowry and
gift" (Gen. xxxiv. 12), the former for the
bride, the latter for the relations. It would
undoubtedly be expected that the mohar
should be proportioned to the position of the
bride, and that a poor man could not on that
account afford to marry a rich wife (1 Sam.
xviii. 23). The act of betrothal was cele
brated by a feast, and among the more
modern Jews it is the custom in some parts
for the bridegroom to place a ring on the
bride's finger. Some writers have endea
voured to prove that the rings noticed in the
O. T, (Ex. xxxv. 22 ; Is. iii. 21) were nup
tial rings, but there is not the slightest evi
dence of this. The ring was nevertheless
regarded among the Hebrews as a token of
fidelity (Gen. xli. 42), and of adoption into a
family (Luke xv. 22). Between the be
trothal and the marriage an interval elapsed,
varying from a few days in the patriarchal
age (Gen. xxiv, 55), to a full year for virgins
and a month for widows in later times. Dur
ing this period the bride-elect lived with her
friends, and all communication between her
self and her future husband was carried on
through the medium of a friend deputed for
the purpose, termed the " friend of the bride
groom " (John iii. 29). She was now virtually
regarded as the wife of her future husband.
Hence faithlessness on her part was punish
able with death (Deut. xxii. 23, 24), the
husband having, however, the option of
"putting her away" (Matt, i 19; Deut.
xxiv. l). — We now come to the wedding
itself ; and in this the most observable point
is, that there were no definite religious cere
monies connected with it. It is probable, in
deed, that some formal ratification of the
espousal with an oath took place, as implied
in some allusions to marriage (Ez. xvi. 8 ;
Mal. ii. 14), particularly in the expression,
"the covenant of her God" (Prov. ii. 17),
as applied to the marriage bond, and that a
blessing was pronounced (Gen. xxiv. 60 ;
Ruth iv. 11, 12), sometimes by the parents
(Tob. vii. 13). But the essence of the mar
riage ceremony consisted in the removal of
the bride from her father's house to that of
the bridegroom or his father. The bride
groom prepared himself for the occasion by
putting on a festive dress, and especially by
placing on his head the handsome turban

described by the term peer (Is. lxi. 10 ; A.V,
"ornaments"), and a nuptial crown or gar
land (Cant. iii. 11): he was redolent of myrrh
and frankincense and " all powders of the
merchant " (Cant. iii. 6). The bride prepared
herself for the ceremony by taking a bath,
generally on the day preceding the wedding.
The notices of it in the Bible are so few as to
have escaped general observation (Ruth iii,
3 ; Ez. xxiii. 40 ; Eph. v. 26, 27). The dis
tinctive feature of the bride's attire was the
" veil " — a light robe of ample dimensions,
which covered not only the face but the
whole person (Gen. xxiv. 65 ; comp. xxxviii.
14, 15). This was regarded as the symbol
of her submission to her husband (1 Cor. xi.
10). She also wore a peculiar girdle, named
kishshurim, the "attire" (A.V.), which no
bride could forgot (Jer. ii. 32) ; and her head
was crowned with a chaplet, which was again
so distinctive of the bride, that the Hebrew
term calldh, " bride," originated from it. If
the bride were a virgin, she wore her hair
flowing. Her robes were white (R.ev. xix.
8), and sometimes embroidered with gold
thread (Ps. xiv. 13, 14), and covered with
perfumes (Ps. xiv. 8) : she was further
decked out vrith jewels (Is. xlix. IS, lxi. 10 ;
Rev. xxi. 2). When the fixed hour arrived,
which was generally late in the evening, the
bridegroom set forth from his house, attended
by his groomsmen (A. V. " companions,"
Judg. xiv. 11 ; "children of the bride-cham
ber," Matt. ix. 15), preceded by a band of
musicians or singers (Gen. xxxi. 27 ; Jer. vii.
34, xvi. 9 ; 1 Maec. ix. 39), and accompanied
by persons bearing flambeaux (2 Esdr. x. 2 ;
Matt. xxv. 7 ; compare Jer. xxv. 10 ; Rev.
xviii. 23, " the light of a candle "). Having
reached the house of the bride, who with her
maidens anxiously expected his arrival (Matt.
xxv. 6), he conducted the whole party back
to his own or his father's house, with every
demonstration of gladness (Ps. xiv. 15). On
their way back they were joined by a party
of maidens, friends of the bride and bride
groom, who were in waiting to catch the
procession as it passed (Matt. xxv. 6). The
inhabitants of the place pressed out into the
streets to watch the procession (Cant. iii. 11).
At the house a feast was prepared, to which
all the friends and neighbours were invited
(Gen. xxix. 22 ; Matt. xxii. 1-10 ; Luke xiv.
8 ; John ii. 2), and the festivities were pro
tracted for seven, or even fourteen days (Judg.
xiv. 12; Tob. viii. 19). The guests were
provided by the host with fitting robes (Matt.
xxii. 11), and the feast was enlivened with
riddles (Judg. xiv. 12) and other amuse
ments. The bridegroom now entered into
direct ooramunieatioa with the bride, and

MARRIAGE

327

MARS' HILL

the joy of the friend was " fulfilled " at
hearing the voice of the bridegroom (John
iii. 29) conversing with her, which he re
garded as a satisfactory testimony of the
success of his share in the work. The last
act in the ceremonial was the conducting
of the bride to the bridal chamber (Judg.
xv. 1 ; Joel ii. 16), where a canopy was pre
pared (Ps. xix. 5 ; Joel ii. 16). The bride
was still completely veiled, so that the
deception practised on Jacob (Gen. xxix.
23) was very possible. A newly married
man was exempt from military service, or
from any publie business which might draw
him away from his home, for the space of a
year (Dent. xxiv. 5) : a similar privilege was
granted fo him who was betrothed (Deut. xx.
7). — IV. The social and domestic conditions of
married life. — We must in the first place
take into account the position assigned to
women generally in their social scale. There
is abundant evidence that women, whether
married or unmarried, went about with their
faces unveiled (Gen. xii. 14, xxiv. 16, 65, xxix.
11 ; 1 Sam. i. IS). Women not unfrequently
held important offices. They took their part
in matters of publie interest (Ex. xv. 20 ;
1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7) : in shoi't, they enjoyed
as. much freedom in ordinary life as the
women of our own country. If such was
her general position, it is certain that the
wife must have exercised an important in
fluence in her own home. She appears to
have taken her part in family affairs, and
even to have enjoyed a considerable amount
of independence (2 K. iv. 8 ; Judg. iv. 18 ;
1 Sam. xxv. 14, &c). In the N. T. the
mutual relations of husband and wife are a
subject of frequent exhortation (Eph. v. 22,
33 ; Col. iii. 18, 19 ; Tit. ii. 4, 5 ; 1 Pet. iii.
1-7). The duties of the wife in the Hebrew
household were multifarious : in addition to
the general superintendence of the domestic
arrangements, such as cooking, from which
even women of rank wei'e not exempted (Gen.
xviii. 6 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 8), and the distribution
of food at meal-times (Prov. xxxi. 15), the
manufacture of the clothing and the various
textures required in an Eastern establishment
devolved upon her (Prov. xxxi. 13, 21, 22),
and if she were a model of activity and skill,
she produced a surplus of fine linen 6hirtB
and girdles, which she sold, and so, like a
well - freighted merchant-ship, brought in
wealth to her husband from afar (Prov. xxxi.
14, 24). The legal rights of the wife are
noticed in Ex. xxi. 10, under the three heads
of food, raiment, and duty of marriage or
conjugal right. — V. Tlie allegorical and ty-
vical allusions to marriage have exclusive
reference to one subject, viz.* to exhibit the

spiritual relationship between God and his
people. The earliest form, in which the
image is implied, ~ is in the expressions " to
go a whoring," and " whoredom," as descrip
tive of the rupture of that relationship by
acts of idolatry. These expressions have by
some writers been taken in their primary and
literal sense, as pointing to the licentious
practices of idolaters. But this destroys the
whole point of the comparison, and is opposed
to the plain language of Scripture. The
direct comparison with marriage is confined
in the 0. T. to the prophetic writings, unless
we regard the Canticles as an allegorical
work. In the N. T. the image of the bride
groom is transferred from Jehovah to Christ
(Matt. ix. 15 ; John iii. 29), and that of the
bride to the Church (2 Cor. xi. 2 ; Rev. xix.
7, xxi. 2, 9, xxii. 17), and the comparison
thus established is converted by St. Paul into
an illustration of the position and mutual
duties of man and wife (Eph. v. 23-32). The
breach of the union is, as before, described
as fornication or whoredom in reference to
the mystical Babylon (Rev. xvii. 1, 2, 5).
MARS' HILL, the Hill of Mars or Ares,
better known by the name of Areopagus, of
which the Hill of Mars or Ares is a trans
lation. The Areopagus was a rocky height
in Athens, opposite the western end of the
Acropolis, from which it is separated only by
an elevated valley. It rises gradually from
the northern end, and terminates abruptly
on the south, over against the Acropolis, at
which point it is about fifty or sixty feet
above the valley already mentioned. Ac
cording to tradition it was called the hill of
Mars (Ares), because this god was brought
to trial here before the assembled gods by
Neptune (Poseidon), on account of his mur
dering Halirrhothius, the son of the latter,
The spot is memorable as the place of meet
ing of the Council of Areopagus, frequently
called the Upper Council, to distinguish it
from the Council of Five Hundred, which
held its sittings in the valley below the bill.
It existed as a criminal tribunal before the
time of Solon, and was the most ancient and
venerable of all the Athenian courts. It
consisted of all persons who had held the
office of Archon, and who were members of
it for life, unless expelled for misconduct.
It enjoyed a high reputation, not only in
Athens, but throughout Greece. Before the
time of Solon the court tried onlyr cases of
wilful murder, wounding, poison, and arson ;
but he gave it extensive powers of a censorial
and political nature. The Council continued
to exist even under the Roman emperors.
Its meetings were held on the south-eastern
summit of the rock. There are still sixteen

MARTHA

328

MARY MAGDALENE

stone steps cut in the rock, leading up to the
hill from the valley of the Agora below ; and
immediately above the steps is a bench of
stones excavated in the rock, forming three
sides of a quadrangle, and facing the south.
Here the Areopagites sat as judges in the
open air. On the eastern and western side
is a raised block. The Areopagus possesses
peculiar interest to the Christian, as the spot
from which St. Paul delivered bis memorable
address to the men of Athens (Acts xvii. 22-
31). It has been supposed by some com
mentators that St. Paul was brought before
the Council of Areopagus ; but there is no
trace in the narrative of any judicial proceed
ings. St. Paul " disputed daily " in the
"market" or Agora (xvii. 17), which was
situated south of the Areopagus in the valley
lying between this hill and those of the Acro
polis, the Pnyx and the Museum. Attracting
more and more attention, " certain philoso
phers of the Epicureans and Stoicks" brought
him up from the valley, probably by the
stone steps already mentioned, to the Areo
pagus above, that they might listen to him
more conveniently. Here the philosophers
probably took their seats on the stone benches
usually occupied by the members of the
Council, while the multitude stood upon the
steps and in the valley below.
MAR'THA, the sister of Lazarus and Mary.
[Lazarus.] The facts recorded in Luke x.
and John xi. indicate a character devout
after the customary Jewish type of devotion,
sharing in Messianic hopes and accepting
Jesus as the Christ. When she first comes
before us in Luke x. 38, as receiving her
Lord into her house, she loses the calmness
of her spirit, is " cumbered with much serv
ing," is " careful and troubled about many
things." She needs the reproof " one thing
is needful;" but her love, though imperfect
in its form, is yet recognised as true, and
she too, no less than Lazarus and Mary, has
the distinction of being one whom Jesus
loved (John xi. 3). Her position here, it
may be noticed, is obviously that of the elder
sister, the head and manager of the house
hold. In the supper at Bethany (John xii.
2), the old character shows itself still, but it
has been freed from evil. She is no longer
"cumbered," no longer impatient. Activity
has been calmed by trust. When other
voices are raised against her sister's over
flowing love, hers is not heard among them.
MARY OF CLEOPHAS. So in A. V., but
accurately " of Clopas." In St. John's
Gospel we read that " there stood by the
cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's
sister, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene"
(John xix. 25). The same group of women

is described by St. Matthew as consisting of
" Mary Magdalene, and Mary of James and
Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children "
(Matt, xxvii. 56) ; and by St. Mark, as
" Mary Magdalene, and Mary of James the
Little and of Joses, and Salome " (Mark xv.
40). From a comparison of these passages,
it appears that Mary of Clopas, and Mary
of James the Little and of Joses, are the
same person, and that she was the sister of
St. Mary the Virgin. Mary of Clopas was
probably the elder sister of the Lord's
mother. It would seem that she had mar
ried Clopas or Alphaeus while her sister was
still a girl. She had four sons, and at least
three daughters. The names of the daugh
ters are unknown to us : those of the sons
are James, Joses, Jude, Simon, two of whom
became enrolled among the twelve apostles
[James], and a third (Simon), may have suc
ceeded his brother in the charge of the
Church of Jerusalem. Of Joses and the
daughters wc know nothing. Mary herself
is brought before us for the first time on the
day of the Crucifixion — in the parallel pas
sages already quoted from St. Matthew, St.
Mark, and St. John. In the evening of the
same day we find her sitting desolately at
the tomb with Mary Magdalene (Matt, xxvii.
61 ; Mark xv. 47), and at the dawn of
Easter morning she was again there with
sweet spices, which she had prepared on the
Friday night (Matt, xxviii. 1 ; Mark xvi. 1 ;
Luke xxiii. 56), and was one of those who
had " a vision of angels, which said that He
was alive" (Luke xxiv. 23). These are all
the glimpses that we have of her. Clopas or
Alphaeus is not mentioned at all, except as
designating Mary and James. It is probable
that he was dead before the ministry of our
Lord commenced. Joseph the husband of
St. Mary the Virgin, was likewise dead ; and
the two widowed sisters, as was natural both
for comfort and for protection, were in the
custom of living together in one house.
MARY MAGDALE'NE. Different expla
nations have been given of this name ; but
the most natural is, that she came from the
town of Magdala. She appears before us for
the first time in Luke viii. 2, among the
women who " ministered unto Him of their
substance." All appear to have occupied a
position ef comparative wealth. With all
the chief motive was that of gratitude for
their deliverance from " evil spirits and in
firmities." Of Mary it is said specially that
" seven devils went out of her," and the
number indicates, as in Matt. xii. 45, and
the " Legion "' of the Gadarene demoniac
(Mark v. 9), a possession of more than ordi
nary malignity. This life of ministration

MARY MAGDALENE

329

MARY, SISTER OF LAZARUS

must have brought Mary Magdalene into
companionship of the closest nature with
Salome the mother of James and John (Mark
xv. 40). and even also with Mary the mother
of the Lord (John xix. 25). The women
who thus devoted themselves are not pro
minent in the history : we have no record of
their mode of life, or abode, or hopes or fears
during the few momentous days that preceded
the crucifixion. They " stood afar off, be
holding these things " (Luke xxiii. 49) dur
ing the closing hours of the Agony on the
Cross. The same close association which
drew them together there is seen afterwards.
She remains by the cross till all is over, waits
till the body is taken down, and wrapped in
the linen cloth and placed in the garden-
sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea (Matt.
xxvii. 61 ; Mark xv. 47 ; Luke xxiii. 55).
The sabbath that followed brought an en
forced rest, but no sooner is the sunset over
than she, with Salome and Mary the mother
of James, "bought sweet spices that they
might come and anoint " the body (Mark
xvi. 1). The next morning accordingly, in
the earliest dawn (Matt, xxviii. 1 ; Mark
xvi, 2) they come with Mary the mother of
James, to the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene
had been to the tomb and had found it
empty, had seen the "vision of angels"
(Matt, xxviii. 5; Mark xvi. 5). She went
with her cry of sorrow to Peter and John
fjohn xx. 1, 2). But she returns there.
She follows Peter and John, and remains
when they go hack. The one thought that
fills her mind is still that the body is not
there (John xx. 13). The utter stupor of
her grief is shown in her want of power to
recognise at first either the voice or the form
of the Lord to whom she had ministered
(John xx. 14, 15). At last her own name
uttered by her Lord, recalls her to conscious
ness ; and then follows the cry of recogni
tion, with the strongest word of reverence
which a woman of Israel could use, " Rab-
boni," and the rush forward to cling to His
feet. — (1) Mary Magdalene has become the
type of a class of repentant sinners ; but there
is no authority for identifying her with the
"sinner" who anoints the feet of Jesus in
Luke vii. 36-50. When the name of Mary
Magdalene appears in Luke viii. 3 there is
not one word to connect it with the history
that immediately precedes. Never, perhaps,
has a figment so utterly baseless obtained so
wide an acceptance as that which we con
nect with the name of the "penitent Mag
dalene." It is to be regretted that the
chapter-heading of the A. V. of Luke vii.
should seem to give a quasi-au thoritative
sanction to a tradition so utterly uncertain

and that it should have been perpetuated in
connexion with a great work of mercy. — (2)
It has also been believed that Mary Magda
lene is the same as the sister of Lazarus.
But this supposition is still more startling.
Not one single circumstance, except that of
love and reverence for their Master, is com
mon. The epithet Magdalene, whatever may
be its meaning, seems chosen for tbe express
purpose of distinguishing her from all other
Maries. No one Evangelist gives the slight
est hint of identity. The Gospels record
two anointings of our Saviour, one by the
" sinner," in some city unnamed during our
Lord's Galilean ministry (Luke vii.) , the
other at Bethany, by Mary, the sister of
Lazarus, before the last entry into Jerusalem
(Matt. xxvi. ; Mark xiv. ; John xii.). The
only passage adduced in favour of the sup
position that in these two narrations one
woman is intended, is John xi. 2. But the
words which we find there, "It was that
Mary which anointed the Lord with oint
ment  whose brother Lazarus was
sick," evidently refer by anticipation to the
history which was about to follow in ch. xii.
Moreover there is not the slightest trace of
the life of Mary of Bethany ever having been
one of open and flagrant impurity.
MARY, MOTHER OF MARK. The wo
man known by this description must have
been among the earliest disciples. We learn
from Col. iv. 10 that she was sister to Barna
bas, and it would appear from Acts iv. 37,
xii. 12, that, while the brother gave up his
land and brought the proceeds of the sale
into the common treasury of the Church, the
sister gave up her house to be used as one of
its chief places of meeting. The fact that
Peter goes to that house on his release from
prison, indicates that there was some special
intimacy (Acts xii. 12) between them, and
this is confirmed by the language which he
uses towards Mark as being his " son "
(1 Pet. v. 13).
MARY, SISTER OF LAZARUS. She and
her sister Martha appear in Luke x. 40, as
receiving Christ in their house. Mary sat
listening eagerly for every word that fell
from the Divine Teacher. She had chosen
the good part, the life that has found its
unity, the " one thing needful," in rising
from the earthly to the heavenly, no longer
distracted by the "many things" of earth.
The same character shows itself in the his
tory of John xi. Her grief is deeper but less
active. Her first thought when she sees the
Teacher in whose power and love she had
trusted, is one of complaint. But the great
joy and love which her brother's return to
life calls up in her, pour themselves out in

MARY THE VIRGIN

330

MASSA

larger measure than had been seen before.
The treasured alabaster-box of ointment is
brought forth at the final feast of Bethany,
John xii. 3. [See further, Mary Magdalene.]
MARY THE VIRGIN, the mother of our
Lord. We are wholly ignorant of the name
and occupation of St. Mary's parents. She
was, like Joseph, of the tribe of Judah, and
of the lineage of David (Ps. exxxii. 11 ;
Luke i. 32; Rom. i. 3). She had a sister,
named like herself, Mary (John xix. 25),
and she was connected by marriage (Luke i.
36) with Elisabeth, who was of the tribe of
Levi and of the lineage of Aaron. This is
all that we know of her antecedents. Her
betrothal to Joseph, and the circumstances
connected with her becoming the mother of
our Lord are related elsewhere. [Jesus
Christ.] From the time at which our Lord's
ministry commenced, St. Mary is withdrawn
almost wholly from sight. Four times only
is the veil removed. These four occasions
are, — 1. The marriage at Cana of Galilee
(John ii.). 2. The attempt which she and
his brethren made " to speak with him "
(Matt. xii. 46; Mark iii. 21 and 31 ; Luke
viii. 19). 3. The Crucifixion. 4, The days
succeeding the Ascension (Acts i. 14). If
to these we add two references to her, the
first by her Nazarene fellow-citizens (Matt.
xiii. 54, 55 ; Mark vi. 1-3), the second by a
woman in tlie multitude (Luke xi. 27), we
have specified every event known to us in
her life. We have no record of her presence
at the Ascension, or at the descent of the
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. What
we do read of her is, that she remained sted-
fast in prayer in the upper room at Jeru
salem with Mary Magdalene and Salome, and
those known as the Lord's brothers and the
apostles. This is the last view that we have
of her. Holy Scripture leaves her engaged
in prayer. From this point forwards we
know nothing of her. It is probable that
the rest of her life was spent in Jerusalem
with St. John. According to one tradition
the beloved disciple would not leave Palestine
until she had expired in his arms. Other
traditions make her journey with St. John to
Ephesus, and there die in extreme old age.
The character' of St. Mary is not drawn by
any of the Evangelists, but some of its linea
ments are incidentally manifested in the
fragmentary record which is given of her.
It is clear from St. Luke's account, though
without any such intimation we might rest
assured of the fact, that her youth had been
spent in the study of the Holy Scriptures,
and that she had set before her the example
of the holy women of the Old Testament as
her model. This would appear from the

Magnificat (Luke i. 46). Her faith and
humility exhibit themselves in her immediate
surrender of herself to the Divine will, though
ignorant how that will should be accomplished
(Luke i. 38) ; her energy and earnestness, in
her journey from Nazareth to Hebron (Luke
i. 39) ; her happy thankfulness, in her song
of joy (Luke i. 48) ; her silent musing
thoughtfulncss, in her pondering over the
shepherds' visit (Luke ii. 19), and in her
keeping her Son's words in her heart (Luke
ii. 51), though she could not fully under
stand their import. In a word, so far as
St. Mary is portrayed to us in Scripture, she
is, as we should have expected, the most
tender, tho most faithful, humble, patient,
and loving of women, but a woman still.
The legend of the Assumption of St. Mary
first appears in an insertion (now recognised
on all hands to be a forgery) in Eusebius'
Chronicle, to the effect that " in the year
a.d. 48 Mary the Virgin was taken up into
heaven, as some wrote that they had had it
revealed to them." Thus the legend crept
into the Church during the 6th and 7th
centuries, and was finally ratified by the
authority both of Rome and Constantinople.
The sinlessness of St. Mary, which has issued
in the dogma of the Immaculate Conception,
was likewise of late origin. It became al
most universal in the 12th century, and the
schoolmen further maintained the idea of an
Immaculate Conception, which would exempt
St. Mary from original as well as actual sin.
This doctrine was affirmed by the Papal
decree of Dec. 8, 1854.
MARY, a Roman Christian who is greeted
by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans
(xvi. 6) as having toiled hard for him,
MAS'CHIL. The title of thirteen Psalms;
xxxii., xiii., xliv., xiv., lii.-lv., Ixxiv.,
lxxviii., lxxxviii., lxxxix,, cxlii. Ewald
regards Ps. xlvii. 7 (A. V. " sing ye praises
with understanding;" Heb. maschil), as the
key to the meaning of Maschil, which in
his opinion is a musical term, denoting a
melody requiring great skill in its execu
tion. MASH, one of the sons of Aram (Gen. x.
23). In 1 Chr. i. 17 the name appears as
Meshech. The name Mash is probably re
presented by the Mons Masius of classical
writers, a range which forms the northern
boundary of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris
and Euphrates.
MAS'REKAH, an ancient place, the native
spot of Samlah, one of the old kings of the
Edomites (Gen. xxxvi. 36 ; 1 Chr. i. 47).
MAS'SA, a son of Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 14 ;
1 Chr. i. 30). His descendants were not im
probably the Masani, placed by Ptolemy in

MASSAH

131

MATTHEW, GOSPEL OF

the east of Arabia, near the borders of Baby
lonia. MAS'SAH, i. e. "temptation," a name
given to the spot, also called Meribah, where
the Israelites tempted Jehovah (Ex. xvi. 7 ;
Ps- xcv. 8, 9 ; Heb. iii. 8).
MASTICH-TREE occurs only in the Apo
crypha (Susan, ver. 54), where the margin
of the A. V. has lentisk. The fragrant resin
known in the arts as " mastich," and which
is obtained by incisions made in the trunk in
the month of August, is the produce of this
tree, whose scientific name is Pistachia
lentiscus. It is used with us to strengthen
the teeth and gums, and was so applied by
the ancients, by whom it was much prized
on this account, and for its many supposed
medical virtues.

Mnstlcb (PLitathia Lentiscus).
MAT'TANAH, a station in the latter part
of the wanderings of the Israelites (Num.
xxi. 18, 19). It was probably situated to
the S.E. of the' Dead Sea.
MATTANl'AH. 1. The original name of
Zedekiah king of Judah, which was changed
when Nebuchadnezzar placed him on the
throne (2 K. xxiv. 17). — 2. A Levite singer
of the sons of Asaph (1 Chr. ix. 15). He
is described as the son of Micah, Micha (Neh.
xi. 17), or Michaiah (Neb. xii. 35), and after
the return from Babylon lived in the villages
of the Netophathites (1 Chr. ix. 16) or Neto-
phathi (Neh. xii. 28), which the singers had
built in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem

(Neh. xii. 29). As leader of the Temple
choir after iU restoration (Neh. xi. 17, xii.
8) in the time of Nehemiah, he took part in
the musical service which accompanied the
dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. xii.
25, 35).
MATTATHI'AS. 1. The father of the
Maccabees (1 Mace. ii. 1, 14, 16, 17, 19, 24,
27, 39, 45, 49, xiv. 29).— 2. The son of
Simon Maccabaeus who was treacherously
murdered, together with his father and
brother, in the fortress of Docns, by Ptolo-
meus the son of Abubus (1 Maec. xvi. 14).
[Maccabees.] MAT'THEW. Matthew the Apostle and
Evangelist is the same as Levi (Luke v. 27-
29) the son of a certain Alphaeus (Mark ii.
14). His call to be an Apostle is related by
all three Evangelists in tbe same words,
except that Matthew (ix. 9) gives the former,
and Mark (ii. 14) and Luke (v. 27) the latter
name. The publicans, properly so called
(publicani), were persons who farmed the
Roman taxes, and they were usually, in later
times, Roman knights, and persons of wealth
and credit. They employed under them
inferior officers, natives of the province
where the taxes were collected, called pro
perly portitores, to which class Matthew no
doubt belonged. The traditions respecting
the later life of St. Matthew are various ;
but nothing whatever is really known.
MATTHEW, GOSPEL OF. The Gospel
which bears the name of St. Matthew was
written by the Apostle, according to the
testimony of all antiquity. I. Language in
which it was first written. — Every early
writer who mentions that St. Matthew wrote
a Gospel at all says that he wrote in Hebrew
(that is in the Syro-Chaldaic) and in Palestine
in the first century. Moreover every early
writer that has come down to us uses the
Greek of St. Matthew, and this with the
definite recognition that it is a translation ;
hence we may be sure that the Greek copy
belongs to the Apostolic age, having been
thus authoritatively used from and up to that
time. Thus the question is not the authority
of the Greek translation, which comes from
the time when the Churches enjoyed Apos
tolic guidance, but whether there was a
Hebrew original from which it had been
translated. Tbe witnesses to the Hebrew
original were men sufficiently competent to
attest so simple a fact, especially seeing that
they are relied on in what is far more im
portant, —that St. Matthew wrote a Gospel
at all. There is in fact no evidence whatso
ever that St. Matthew wrote in Greek. — II.
Style and Diction. — 1. Matthew uses the
expression, " that it might be fulfilled which

MATTHIAS

332

MEALS

was spoken of the Lord by 'the prophet "
(i. 22, ii. 15). In ii. 5, and in later pas
sages of Matt, it is abbreviated (ii. 17, iii. 3,
iv. 14, viii. 17, xii. 17, xiii. 14, 35, xxi. 4,
xxvi. 56, xxvii. 9). 2. Tho reference to the
Messiah under the name " Son of David,"
occurs in Matthew eight times ; and three
times each in Mark and Luke. 3. Jeru
salem is called " the holy city," " the holy
place" (iv. 5, xxiv. 15, xxvii. 55). 4. The
expression trwreAeia tov atwvo? is used five
times; in the rest of the N. T. only once, in
Ep. to Hebrews. 5. The phrase " kingdom
of heaven," about thirty-three times ; other
writers use "kingdom of God," which is
found also in Matthew. 6. "Heavenly
Father," used about six times ; and " Father
in heaven" about sixteen, and without ex
planation, point to the Jewish mode of speak
ing in this Gospel. — III. Genuineness of the
Gospel. — The genuineness of the two first
chapters of the Gospel has been questioned,
but is established on satisfactory grounds.
1. All the old MSS. and versions contain
them ; and they are quoted by the Fathers
of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. 2. Their con
tents would naturally form part of a Gospel
intended primarily for the Jews. 3. The
commencement of ch. iii. is dependent on
ii. 23 ; and in iv. 13 there is a reference to
ii. 23. 4. In constructions and expressions
they are similar to the rest of the Gospel. —
IV. Time when the Gospel was written. —
Nothing can be said on this point with cer
tainty. The most probable supposition is
that it was written between 50 and 60. — V.
Puipose of the Gospel. — The Gospel itself
tells us by plain internal evidence that it was
written for Jewish converts, to show them in
Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah of the O. T.
whom they expected. Jewish converts over
all the world seem to have been intended,
and not merely Jews in Palestine. It is
pervaded by one principle, the fulfilment of
the Law and of the Messianic prophecies in
the person of Jesus.
MATTHI'AS, the Apostle elected to fill the
place of the traitor Judas (Acts i. 26). All
beyond this that we know of him for certainty
is that he had been a constant attendant upon
the Lord Jesus during the whole course of
His ministry ; for such was declared by
St. Peter to be the necessary qualification of
one who was to be a witness of the resurrec
tion. It is said that he preached the Gospel
and suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia.
MAZ'ZAROTH. The margin of the A. V.
of Job xxxviii. 32 gives "the twelve signs"
as the equivalent of " Mazzaroth," and this
ia in all probability its true meaning.
ME'AH, THE * TOWER OF, one of the

towers of the wall of Jerusalem when rebuilt
by Nehemiah (iii. 1, xii. 39), appears to
have been situated somewhere at the north
east part of the city, outside of the walls of
Zion. MEALS. Our information on this subject
is but scanty : the early Hebrews do not
seem to have given special names to their
several meals, for the terms rendered "dine"
and "dinner" in the A. V. (Gen. xliii. 16 ;
Prov. xv. 17) are in reality general expres
sions, which might more correctly be ren
dered " cat " and " portion of food." In the
N. T. we have the Greek terms dpurTov and
Silm/ov, which the A. V. renders respectively
" dinner " and "supper " (Luke xiv. 12 ;
John xxi. 12), but which are more properly
" breakfast " and " dinner." There is some
uncertainty as to the hours at which the
meals were taken : the Egyptians undoubtedly
took their principal meal at noon (Gen. xliii.
16) ; labourers took a light meal at that time
(Ruth ii. 14 ; comp. ver. 17) ; and occasion
ally that early hour was devoted to excess
and revelling (1 K. xx. 16). It has been
inferred from those passages (somewhat too
hastily, we think) that the principal meal
generally took place at noon : the Egyptians
do indeed still make a substantial meal at
that time ; but there are indications that the
Jews rather followed the custom that prevails
among the Bedouins, and made their principal
meal after sunset, and a lighter meal at about
9 or 10 a.m. The posture at meals varied
at various periods : there is sufficient evidence
that the old Hebrews were in the habit of
sitting (Gen. xxvii. 19 ; Judg. xix. 6 ; 1 Sam.
xx. 5, 24 ; 1 K. xiii. 20), but it does not
hence follow that they sat on chairs ; they
may have squatted on the ground, as was the
occasional, though not perhaps the general
custom of tbe ancient Egyptians. The table
was in this case but slightly elevated above
the ground, as is still the case in Egypt. As
luxury increased, the practice of sitting was
exchanged for that of reclining : the first
intimation of this occurs in the prophecies of
Amos (iii. 12, vi. 4). The custom may have
been borrowed in the first instance from the
Babylonians and Syrians, among whom it
prevailed at an early period (Esth. i. 6, vii.
8). In the time of our Saviour recliningwan
the universal custom, as is implied in the
terms used for " silting at meat," as the
A. V. incorrectly has it. The couch itself is
only once mentioned (Mark vii. 4 ; A. V.
" table "), but there can be little doubt that
the Roman triclinium had been introduced,
and that the arrangements of the tables re
sembled those described by classical writers.
Generally speaking, only three persons re-

MEALS

333

MEDAD

clined on each couch, but occasionally four
or even five. The couches were provided
with cushions on which the left elbow rested
in support of the upper part of the body,
while the right arm remained free : a room
provided with these was described as eorpu)-
pivov, lit. "spread" (Mark xiv. 15; A. V.
"furnished"). As several guests reclined
on the same couch, each overlapped his
neighbour, as it were, and rested his head
on or near the breast of the one who lay he-
hind him ; he was then said to " lean on the
bosom" of his neighbour (John xiii. 23, xxi.
20). The ordinary arrangement of the
couches was in three sides of a' square, the
fourth being left open for the servants to
bring up the dishes. Some doubt attends
the question whether the females took their
meals along with the males. The cases of
Ruth amid the reapers (Ruth ii. 14), of El-
kanah with his wives (1 Sam. i. 4), of Job's
sons and daughters (Job i. 4), and the general
intermixture 5f the sexes in daily life, make
it more than probable that they did so join ;
at the same time, as the duty of attending
upon the guests devolved upon them (Luke
x. 40), they probably took a somewhat irre
gular and briefer repast. Before commencing
the meal, the guests washed their hands.
This custom was founded on natural decorum ;
not only was the hand the substitute for our
knife and fork, but the hands of all the
guests were dipped into one and the same
dish. Another preliminary step was the
grace or blessing, of which we have hut one
instance in the O. T. (1 Sam. ix. 13), and
more than one pronounced by our Lord
Himself in the N. T. (Matt. xv. 36 ; Luke ix.
16 ; John vi. 11). The mode of taking the
food differed in no material point from the
modern usages of the East ; generally there
was a single dish into which each guest
dipped his hand (Matt. xxvi. 23) ; occasion
ally separate portions were served out to
each (Gen. xliii. 34 ; Ruth ii. 14 ; 1 Sam. i.
4). A piece of bread was held between the
thumb and two fingers of the right hand, and
was dipped either into a bowl of melted
grease (in which case it was termed " a sop,"
John xiii. 26), or into the dish of meat,
whence a piece was conveyed to the mouth
between tbe layers of bread. At the conclu
sion of the meal, grace was again said in
conformity with Deut. viii. 10, and the hands
were again washed. Thus far we have de
scribed the ordinary meal ; on state occasions
more ceremony was used, and the meal was
enlivened in various ways* Such occasions
were numerous, in connexion partly with
rublic, partly with private events. On these
occasions a sumptuous repast was prepared ;

the guests were previously invited (Esth. v.
8 ; Matt. xxii. 3), and on the day of the
feast a second invitation was issued to those
that were bidden (Esth. vi. 14 ; Prov. ix. 3 ;
Matt. xxii. 3). The visitors were received
with a kiss (Tob. vii. 6 ; Luke vii. 45) ; water
was produced for them to wash their feet
with (Luke vii. 44) ; the head, the beard,
the feet, and sometimes the clothes, were
perfumed with ointment (Ps. xxiii. 5 ; Am.
vi. 6 ; Luke vii. 38 ; John xii. 3) ; on special
occasions robes were provided (Matt. xii. 11);
and the head was decorated with wreaths
(Is. xxviii. I ; Wisd. ,ii. 7, 8 ; Joseph. Ant.
xix. 9, § 1). The regulation of the feast was
under the superintendence of a special officer
(John ii. 8 ; A. V. " governor of the feast "),
whose business it was to taste the food and
the liquors before they were placed on the
table, and to settle about tbe toasts and
amusements ; he was generally one of the
guests (Ecclus. xxxii. 1, 2), and might there
fore take part in the conversation. The
places of the guests were settled according to
their respective rank (Gen. xliii. 33 ; 1 Sam.
ix. 22; Luke xiv. 8; Mark xii. 39; John
xiii. .23) ; portions of food were placed be
fore each (1 Sam. i. 4 ; 2 Sam. vi. 19 ; 1 Chr.
xvi. 3), the most honoured guests receiving
either larger (Gen. xliii. 34 ; comp. Herod.
vi. 57) or more choice (1 Sam.ix. 24) portions
than the rest. The meal was enlivened with
music, singing, and dancing (2 Sam. xix. 35;
Ps. lxix. 12 ; Is. v. 12 ; Am. vi. 5), or with
riddles (Judg. xiv. 12) ; and amid these en
tertainments the festival was prolonged for
several days (Esth. i. 3, 4).
MF/ARAH, a place named in Josh. xiii. 4
only. The word means in Hebrew a cave,
and it is commonly assumed that the reference
is to some remarkable cavern in the neigh
bourhood of Zidon.
MEASURES. [Weights and Measures.]
MEAT. It does not appear that the word
"meat" is used in any one instance in the
A. V. of either the O. or N. Testament, in
the sense which it now almost exclusively
bears of animal food. The latter is denoted
uniformly by "flesh." The only possible
exceptions to this assertion in tbe O. T. are :
— (a.) Gen. xxvii. 4, &c, "savoury meat."
(&.) Ib. xiv. 23, "corn and bread and meat."
The only real and inconvenient ambiguity
caused by the change which has taken place
in the meaning of the word is in the case of
the "meat-offering," which consisted solely
of fine flour, seasoned with salt, and mixed
with oil and frankincense. It is described in
Lev. ii. and vi. 14-23.
MEAT-OFFERING. [Meat.]
ME'DAD. [Eldad and Medad.]

MEDAN

33 i

MEDES

ME'DAN, a son of Abraham and Keturah
(Gen. xxv. 2 ; 1 Chr. i. 32). It has been
supposed, from the similarity of the name,
that the tribe descended from Medan was
more closely allied to Midian than by mere
blood-relation, and that it was the same as,
or a portion of, the latter. There is, how
ever, no ground for this theory beyond its
plausibility. ME'DEBA, a town on the eastern side of
Jordan, first alluded to in Num. xxi. 30.
Here it seems to denote the limit of the ter
ritory of Heshbon. It next occurs in the
enumeration of the country divided amongst
the Transjordanic tribes (Josh. xiii. 9), as
giving its name to a district of level downs
called "the Mishor of Medeba," or "the
Mishor on Medeba." At the time of the
conquest Medeba belonged to tbe Amorites,
apparently one of the towns taken from Moab
by them. In the time of Ahaz Medeba was
a sanctuary of Moab (Is. xv. 2). It has
retained its name down to our own times, and
lies 4 miles S.E. of Heshbon, on a rounded
but rocky hill.
MEDES, ME'DIA. Media lay north-west
of Persia Proper, south and south-west of the
Caspian, east of Armenia and Assyria, west
and north-west of the great salt desert of
Iram. Its greatest length was from north to
south, and in this direction it extended from
the 32nd to the 40th parallel, a distance of
550 miles. In width it reached from about
long. 45° to 53° ; but its average breadth was
not more than from 250 to 300 miles. The
division of Media commonly recognised by
the Greeks and Romans was that into Media
Magna and Media Atropatene. 1. Media
Atropatene corresponded nearly to the modern
Azerbijan, being the tract situated between
the Caspian and the mountains which run
north from Zagros. 2. Media Magna lay
south and east of Atropatene. It contained
great part of Kurdistan and Luristan, with
aU Ardelan and Irak Ajemi. It is indicative
of the division, that there were two Ecbatanas
— one, the northern, at Takht-i- Suleiman :
the other, the southern, at Hamadan, on the
flanks of Mount Orontes — respectively the
capitals of the two districts. [Ecdataxa.]
Next to the two Ecbatanas, the chief town in
Media was undoubtedly Rhages — the Raga of
the inscriptions. — It may be gathered from
the mention of the Medes, by Moses, among
the races descended from Japhet [Madai],
that they were a nation ot very high anti
quity ; and it is in accordance with this view
that we find a notice of them in the primitive
Babylonian history of Berosus, who says that
the Medes conquered Babylon at a very
remote period (cir. b.c. 2458), and that eight

Median monarchs reigned there consecutively,
over a space of 224 years. The deepest ob
scurity hangs, however, over the whole his
tory of the Medes from the time of their
bearing sway in Babylonia (b.c. 2458-2234)
to their first appearance in the cuneiform
inscriptions among the enemies of Assyria,
about b.c 880. Herodotus represents the
decadence of Assyria as greatly accelerated
by a formal revolt of the Medes, and places
this revolt about n.c. 70S. He gives a suc
cession of kings— Deioces, Phraortes, Cyax
ares, and Astyages. But the cuneiform
records of Sargon, Sennacherib, and Esar
haddon clearly show that the Median king
dom did not commence so early as Herodotus
imagined. These three princes, whose reigns
cover the space extending from b.c 720 to
b.c. 660, all carried their arms deep into
Media, and found it, not under the dominion
of a single powerful monarch, but under the
rule of a vast number of petty chieftains. It
cannot have been till near the middle of the
7 th century b.c. that the Median kingdom
was consolidated, and became formidable to
its neighbours. Cyaxares, the third Median
monarch, took Nineveh and conquered As
syria, b.c. 625. The limits of the Median
Empire cannot be definitely fixed. From
north to south its extent was in no place
great, since it was certainly confined between
the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates on the
one side, the Black and Caspian Seas on the
other. From east to west it had, however, a
wide expansion, since it reached from the
Halys at least as far as the Caspian Gates,
and possibly further. It was separated from
Babylonia either by tbe Tigris, or more pro
bably by a line running about half-way
between that river and the Euphrates. Of
all the ancient Oriental monarchies the Me
dian was the shortest in duration. It was
overthrown by the Persians under Cyrus,
B.C. 558. — The treatment of the Medes by
the victorious Persians was not that of an or
dinary conquered nation. The two nations
were closely akin ; they had the same Aryan
or Iranic origin, the same early traditions,
the same language, nearly the same religion,
and ultimately the same manners and cus
toms, dress, and general mode of life. Medes
were advanced to stations of high honour and
importance under Cyrus and his successors.
— The customs of the Medes nearly resembled
those of their neighboius, the Armenians and
the Persians ; but they were regarded as the
inventors, their neighbours as the copyists.
They were brave and warlike, excellent
riders, and remarkably skilful with the bow.
The flowing robe, so well known from the
Persepolitan sculptures, was their native

MEDES

335

MEDICINE

dress, and was certainly among the points
for which the Persians were beholden to
them. References to the Medes. — The refer^
ences to the Medes in the canonical Scriptures
are not very numerous, but they are striking.
We first hear of certain " cities of the Medes,"
in which the captive Israelites were placed
by " the king of Assyria " on the destruction
of Samaria, b.c. 721 (2 K. xvii. 6, xviii. 11).

Median Dress. (From Monuments.)
This implies the subjection of Media to As
syria at the time of Shalmaneser, or of Sar
gon, his successor, and accords very closely
with the account given by the latter of certain
military colonies which he planted in the
Median country. Soon afterwards Isaiah
prophesies the part which the Medes shall
take in the destruction of Babylon (Is. xiii.
17, xxi. 2) ; which is again still more dis
tinctly declared by Jeremiah (li. 11 and 28),
who sufficiently indicates the independence
of Media in his day (xxv. 25). Daniel re
lates the fact of the Medo-Persic conquest (v.
28, 31), giving an account of the reign of
Darius the Mede, who appears to have been
made viceroy by Cyrus (vi. 1-28). In Ezra
we have a mention of Achmetha (Ecbatana),
" the palace in the province of the Medes,"

where the decree of Cyrus was found (vi.
2-5) — a notice which accords with the known
facts that the Median capital was the seat
of government under Cyrus, but a royal
residence only and not the seat of go
vernment under Darius Hystaspis. Finally,
in Esther, the high rank of Media under
the Persian kings, yet at the same time its
subordinate position, are marked by the fre
quent combination of the two names in
phrases of honour, the precedency being in
every case assigned to the Persians. In the
Apocrypha the Medes occupy a more pro
minent place. The chief scene of one whole
book (Tobit) is Media ; and in another (Jud
ith) a very striking portion of the narrative
belongs to tbe same country. The mention
of Rhages in both narratives as a Median
town and region of importance is geographi
cally correct ; and it is historically true that
Phraortes suffered his overthrow in the Rha-
gian district.
MEDICINE. Egypt was the earliest home
of medical and other skill for the region of
the Mediterranean basin, and every Egyptian
mummy of the more expensive and elaborate
sort, involved a process of anatomy. Still
we have no trace of ^ any philosophical or
rational system of Egyptian origin ; and
medicine in Egypt was a mere art or profes
sion. The practice of physic was not among
the Jews a privilege of the priesthood. > Any
one might practise it, and this publicity
must have kept it pure. Nay, there was no
Scriptural bar to its practice by resident
aliens. We read of "physicians," "healing,"
&c, in Ex. xxi. 19 ; 2 K. viii. 29 ; 2 Chr.
xvi. 12 ; Jerem. viii. 22. At the same time
the greater leisure of the Levites and their
other advantages would make them the
students of the nation, as a rule, in all science,
and their constant residence in cities would
give them the opportunity, if carried out in
fact, of a far wider field' of observation. The
reign of peace of Solomon's days must have
opened, especially with renewed Egyptian
intercourse, new facilities for the study. He
himself seems to have included in his favour
ite natural history some knowledge of- the
medicinal uses of the creatures. His works
show him conversant with the notion of
remedial treatment (Prov. iii. 8, vi. 15\
xii. 18, xvii. 22, xx. 30, xxix. 1 ; Eccles. iii.
3) ; and one passage indicates considerable
knowledge of anatomy. The statement that
King Asa (2 .Chr. xvi. 12) "sought not to
Jehovah but to the physicians," may seem to
countenance the notion that a rivalry of
actual worship, based on some medical fan
cies, had been set up. The captivity at
Babylon brought the Jews in contact with a

MEDICINE

330

MEDICINE

new sphere of thought. We know too little
of the precise state of medicine in Babylon,
Susa, and the "cities of the Medes," to de
termine the direction in which the impulse
so derived would have led the exiles. The
book of Ecclesiasticus shows the increased
regard given to the distinct study of medi
cine, by the repeated mention of physicians,
&c, which it contains, and which, as pro
bably belonging to the period of the Ptolemies,
it might be expected to show. Rank and
honour are said to be the portion of the
physician, and his office to be from the Lord
(xxxviii. I, 3, 12). The repeated allusions to
sickness in vii. 35, xxx. 17, xxxi. 22, xxxvii.
30, xxxviii. 9, coupled with the former re
cognition of merit, have caused some to sup
pose that this author was himself a physician.
In Wisd. xvi. 12, plaister is spoken of; anoint
ing, as a means of healing, in Tob. vi. 8. To
bring down the subject to the period of the
N. T., St. Luke, "the beloved physician,"
who practised at Antioch whilst the body
was his care, could hardly have failed to be
conversant with all the leading opinions cur
rent down to his own time. The medicine
and surgery of St. Luke were probably not
inferior to those commonly in demand among
educated Asiatic Greeks, and must have been,
as regards their basis, Greek and not Jewish.
— Among special diseases named in the O. T.
are, ophthalmia (Gen. xxix. 17), which is
perhaps more common in Syria and Egypt
than anywhere else in the world ; especially
in the fig season, the juice of the newly-ripe
fruit having the power of giving it. It may
occasion partial or total blindness (2 K. vi. 18),
The eye-salve (Rev. iii. 18), was a remedy
common to Orientals, Greeks, and Romans.
Several diseases are mentioned, the names of
which are derived from various words, sig
nifying to burn or to be hot (Lev. xxvi. 16 ;
Deut. xxviii. 22). The "burning boil," or
"of aboil" (Lev. xiii. 23) is merely marked
by the notion of an effect resembling that of
fire, like our "carbuncle;" it may possibly
find an equivalent in the Damascus boil of
the present time. The diseases rendered
" scab " and " scurvy " in Lev. xxi. 20, xxii.
22, Deut. xxviii. 27, may be almost any skin
disease. Some of these may be said to ap
proach the type of leprosy. The "botch
(shechin) of Egypt" (Deut. xxviii. 27), is so
vague a term as to yield a most uncertain
sense ; the plague, as known by its attendant
bubo, has been suggested. It is possible that
the Elephantiasis Graecorum may be intended.
The same word is used to express the "boil "
of Hezekiah. In Deut. xxviii. 35, is men
tioned a disease attacking the "knees and
legs," consisting in a " sore botch which

cannot be healed," but extended, in the sequel
of the verse, from the " sole of the foot to
the top of the head." The latter part of the
quotation would certainly accord with Ele
phantiasis Graecorum. The Elephantiasis
Graecorum is what now passes under the
name of "leprosy" — the lepers, e. g. of the
huts near the Zion gate of modern Jerusalem
are elephantiasiacs. [Leprosy.] The disease
of king Antiochus (2 Mace. ix. 5-10, &c.) is
that of a boil breeding worms. There is
some doubt whether this disease be not allied
to phthiriasis, in which lice are bred, and
cause ulcers. In Deut. xxviii. 65, it is pos
sible that a palpitation of the heart is in
tended to be spoken of (comp. Gen. xiv, 26).
In Mark xi. 17 (comp. Luke ix. 38) we have
an apparent case of epilepsy. The expres
sion of Ex. ix. 10, a "boil" flourishing, or
ebullient with blains, may perhaps be a
disease analogous to phlegmonous erysipelas,
or even common erysipelas. The " withered
hand " of Jeroboam (1 K. xiii. 4-6), and
of the man, Matt. xii. 10-13 (comp. Luke
vi. 10), is such an effect as is known to
follow from the obliteration of the main
artery of any member, or from paralysis of
the principal nerve, either through disease
or through injury. The case of the widow's
son restored by Elisha (2 K. iv. 19), was
probably one of sunstroke. The disease of
Asa " in his feet " which attacked him in his
old age (1 K. xv. 23; 2 Chr. xvi. 12), and
became exceeding great, may have been either
oedema, swelling, or podagra, gout. The
disease of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iv. 33)
may be viewed as a species of the melancholy
known as Lycanthropia. Persons so affected
wander like wolves in sepulchres by night,
and imitate the howling of a wolf or a dog.
Here should be noticed the mental malady
of Saul. His melancholy seems to have had
its origin in his sin. Music, which soothed
him for a while, has entered largely into the
milder modern treatment of lunacy. The
palsy meets us in the N. T. only, and in fea
tures too familiar to need special remark.
Gangrene, or mortification in its various
forms, is a totally different disorder from the
"canker" of the A. V. in 2 Tim. ii. 17.
Both gangrene and cancer were common in
all the countries familiar to the Scriptural
writers, and neither differs from the modern
disease of the same name. The bite or sting
of venomous beasts can hardly be treated as
a disease ; but in connexion with the " fiery
(i. e. venomous) serpents " of Num. xxi. 6,
and the deliverance from death of those
bitten, it deserves a notice. The brazen
figure was symbolical only. It was custom
ary to consecrate the image of the affliction,

MEGIDDO

337

MELCH1ZEDEK

either in its cause or in its effect, as in the
golden emerods, golden mice, of 1 Sam. vi.
4, 8, and in the ex-votos common in Egypt,
even before the Exodus ; and these may be
compared with this setting up of the brazen
serpent. The scorpion and centipede are
natives of the Levant (Rev. ix. 5, 10), and,
with a large variety of serpents, swarm there.
— Among surgical instruments or pieces of
apparatus the following only are alluded to
in Scripture. A cutting instrument, sup
posed a "sharp-stone" (Ex. iv. 25). The
" knife " of Josh. v. 2 was probably a more
refined instrument for the same purpose. An
"awl" is mentioned (Ex. xxi. 6) as used to
bore through the ear of the bondman who
refused release, and is supposed to have been
a surgical instrument. The " roller to bind "
of Ez. xxx. 21 was for a broken limb, as still
used. A scraper, for which the " potsherd"
of Job was a substitute (Job ii. 8). — Ex. xxx.
23-25 is a prescription in form. An occa
sional trace occurs of some chemical know
ledge, e. g. the calcination of the gold by
Moses ; the effect of " vinegar upon natrum "
(Ex. xxxii. 20 ; Prov. xxv. 20 ; comp. Jer.
ii. 22); the mention of "the apothecary"
(Ex. ixx. 35 ; Eccles. x. 1), and of the mer
chant in "powders" (Cant. iii. 6), shows
that a distinct and important branch of trade
was set up in these wares, in which, as at a
modern druggist's, articles of luxury, &c.,,
are combined with the remedies of sickness.
Among the most favourite of external reme
dies has always been the bath. There were
special occasions on which the bath was cere
monially enjoined. The Pharisees and Es
senes aimed at scrupulous strictness of all
such rules (Matt. xv. 2 ; Mark vii. 5 ; Luke
xi. 38). River -bathing was common, but
houses soon began to include a bath-room
(Lev. xv. 13; 2 K. v. 10; 2 Sam. xi. 2;
Susanna 15).
MEGID'DO was in a very marked position
on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon,
on tbe frontier-line of the territories of the
tribes of Issachar and Manasseh, and com
manding one of those passes from the north
into the hill-country which were of such
critical importance on various occasions in
the history of Judaea (Judith iv. 7). The
first mention occurs in Josh. xii. 21, where
Megiddo appears as the city of one of the
kings whom Joshua defeated on the west of
the Jordan. The song of Deborah brings the
place vividly before us, as the scene of the
great conflict between Sisera and Barak. The
chariots of Sisera were gathered "unto the
river of Kishon" (Judg. iv. 13); Barak
went down with his men "from Mount
Taboe" into the plain (iv. 14); "then
Sm. D. B.

fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by
the waters of Megiddo " (v. 19). The chief
historical interest of Megiddo is concentrated
in Josiah's death. When Pharaoh-Necho
came from Egypt against the king of Assyria,
Josiah joined the latter, and was slain at
Megiddo (2 K. xxiii. 29), and his body was
carried from thence to Jerusalem (ib. 30).
The story is told in the Chronicles in more
detail (2 Chr. xxxv. 22-24). There the fatal
action is said to have taken place "in the
valley of Megiddo." This calamity made a
deep and permanent impression on the Jews.
Thus, in the language of the prophets (Zech.
xii. 11), "the mourning of Hadadrimmon in
the valley of Megiddon " becomes a poetical
expression for the deepest and most despair
ing grief; as in the Apocalypse (Rev. xvi.
16) Armageddon, in continuance of the same
imagery, is presented as the scene of terrible
and final conflict. Megiddo is the modern
el-Lejjtin, which is undoubtedly the Legio of
Eusebius and Jerome. There is a copious
stream flowing down the gorge, and turning
some mills before joining the Kishon. Here
are probably the "waters of Megiddo " of
Judg. v. 19.
ME'HUNIMS, THE, a people against whom
king Uzziah waged a successful war (2 Chr.
xxvi. 7). Although so different in its English
dress, yet the name is in the original merely
the plural of Maon [Maon]. The latest ap
pearance of the name Mehunims in the Bible
is in the lists of those who returned from
the Captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezr. ii. 50,
A. V. "Mehunim;" Neh. vii. 52, A. V.
" Meunim"). MELCHIZ'EDEK, king of Salem and priest
of the Most High God, who met Abram in
the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's val
ley, brought out bread and wine, blessed
Abram, and received tithes from him (Gen.
xiv. 18-20). The other places in which Mel-
chizedek is mentioned are Ps. ex. 4, where
Messiah is described as a priest for ever,
" after the order of Melchizedek," and Heb.
v., vi., vii., where these two passages of the
O.T. are quoted, and the typical relation of Mel
chizedek to our Lord is stated at great length.
There is something surprising and mysterious
in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and
in the subsequent reference to him. Bearing
a title which Jews in after ages would recog
nise as designating their own sovereign, bear
ing gifts which recall to Christians the Lord's
Supper, this Canaanite crosses for a moment
the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly re
cognised as a person of higher spiritual rank
than the friend of God. Disappearing as
suddenly as he came in, he is lost to the
sacred writings for a thousand years. The
Z

MELITA

338

MKMPHIS

faith of early ages ventured to invest his per
son with superstitious awe. Jewish tradi
tion pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor
of tbe Deluge, the patriarch Shem. The way
in which he is mentioned in Genesis would
rather lead to the inference that Melchizedek
was of one blood with the children of Ham,
among whom he lived, chief (like the King of
Sodom) of a settled Canaanitish tribe. And
as Balaam was a prophet, so Melchizedek
was a priest among the corrupted heathen,
not self-appointed, hut constituted by a spe
cial gift from God, and recognised as such by
Him. The " order of Melchizedek," in Ps.
ex. 4, is explained to mean "manner" —
likeness in official dignity=a king and priest.
The relation between Melchizedek and Christ
as type and antitype is made in the Ep. to
the Hebrews to consist in the following par
ticulars. Each was a priest, (I) not of the
Levitical tribe; (2) superior to Abraham;
(3) whose beginning and end are unknown ;
(4) who is not only a priest, but also a king
of righteousness and peace. — A fruitful source
of discussion has been found in the site of
Salem. [Salem.]
MEL'ITA, the modern Malta. This island
( has an illustrious place in Scripture, as the
scene of that shipwreck of St. Paul which is
described in such minute detail in the Acts of
the Apostles (Acts xxvii.). The wreck pro
bably happened at the place traditionally
known as St. Paul's Bay. Malta is in the
track of ship3 between Alexandria and Pu-
teoli : and this c"-responds with the fact that
the "Castor and Pollux," an Alexandrian
vessel, which ultimately conveyed St. Paul
to Italy, had wintered in the island (Acts
xxviii. 11). As regards the condition of the
island of Melita, when St. Paul was there, it
was a dependency of the Roman province of
Sicily. Jts chief officer (under the governor
of Sicily) appears from inscriptions to have
had the title of irpO>TO<; MeAirauoi/, or Primus
Melitensium, and this is the very phrase
which St. Luke uses (xxviii. 7). Melita,
from its position in the Mediterranean, and
the excellence of its harbours, has always
been important both in commerce and war.
It was a settlement of the Phoenicians at an
early period, and their language, in a cor
rupted form, continued to be spoken there in
St: Paul's day.
MELONS (Heb. abattichim) are mentioned
only in Num. xi. 5. By the Hebrew word
we are probably to understand both the
Melon (Cucumis meio) and the water Melon
(Cucurbita citrullus). The water - melon,
which is now extensively cultivated in all
hot countries, is a fruit not unlike the com
mon melon, but the leaves are deeply lobed

and gashed, the flesh is pink or white, and
contains a large quantity of cold watery juice
without much flavour ; the seeds are black.

Cucurbita citrullus.
MEM'PHIS, a city of ancient Egypt, situ
ated on the western bank of the Nile in lati
tude 30° 6' N. It is mentioned by Isaiah
(xix. 13), Jeremiah (ii. 16, xlvi. 14, 19), and
Ezekiel (xxx. 13, 16), under the name of
Noph ; and by Hosea (ix. 6) under the name
of Mopn in Hebrew, and Memphis in our
English version. Though some regard Thebes
as the more ancient city, the monuments of
Memphis are of higher antiquity than those
of Thebes. Herodotus dates its foundation
from Menes, the first king of Egypt. The
city is said to have had a circumference of
about 19 miles. Its overthrow was distinctly
predicted by the Hebrew prophets (Is. xix.
13 ; Jer. xlvi. 19). The latest of these pre
dictions was uttered nearly 600 years before
Christ, and half a century before the invasion
of Egypt by Cambyses (cir. b.c. 525). Hero
dotus informs us that Cambyses, enraged at
the opposition he encountered at Memphis,
committed many outrages upon the city. The
city never recovered from the blow inflicted
by Cambyses. The rise of Alexandria has
tened its decline. The Caliph conquerors
founded Fostat (Old Cairo) upon the opposite
bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Mem
phis, and brought materials from the old city
to build their new capital (a.d. 638). At
length so complete was the ruin of Memphis,

MENAHEM

339

MERAB

that for a long time its very site was lost.
Recent explorations have brought to light
many of its antiquities.
MEN'AHEM, son of Gadi, who slew the
usurper Shallum and seized the vacant throne
of Israel, b.c. 772. His reign, which lasted
ten years, is briefly recorded in 2 K. xv. 14-
22. It has been inferred from the expression
inverse 14, "from Tirzah," that Menahem
was a general under Zechariah stationed at
Tirzah, and that he brought up his troops to
Samaria and avenged the murder of his mas
ter by Shallum. He maintained the calf-
worship of Jeroboam. The contemporary
prophets, Hosea and Amos, have left a melan
choly picture of the ungodliness, demoralisa-
tion, and feebleness of Israel. In the brief
history of Menahem, his ferocious treatment
of Tiphsah occupies a conspicuous place. But
the most remarkable event in his reign is the
first appearance of a hostile force of Assyrians
on the north-east frontier of Israel. King
Pul, however, withdrew, having been con
verted from an enemy into an ally by a timely
gift of 1000 talents of silver.
MENE' (lit. "numbered"). The first
word of the mysterious inscription written
upon the wall of Belshazzar's palace, in which
Daniel read the doom of the king and his
dynasty (Dan. v. 25, 26).
MENELA'US, a usurping high-priest who
obtained the office from Antiochus Epiphanes
(about b.c. 172) by a large bribe (2 Mace. iv.
23-25), and drove out Jason, who had obtained
it not long before by similar means. He met
with a violent death at the hands of Antiochus
Eupator (cir. b.c. 163), which seemed in a
peculiar manner a providential punishment
of his sacrilege (xiii. 3, 4). According to
Josephus he was a younger brother of Jason
and Onias, and, like Jason, changed his pro
per name Onias, for a Greek name. In 2
Maccabees, on the other hand, he is called
a brother of Simon the Benjamite (2 Mace.
iv. 23).
MEPHA'ATH, a city of the Reuhenites,
one of the towns dependent on Heshbon (Josh.
xiii. 18), lying in the district of the Mishor
(comp. 17, and Jer. xlviii. 21, A.V. "plain"),
which probably answered to the modern
Belka. It was one of the cities allotted with
their suburbs to the Merarite Levites (Josh.
xxi. 37 ; 1 Chr. vi. 79). Its site is uncer
tain. MEPHIBO'SHETH, the name borne by
two members of the family of Saul — his son
and his grandson. — 1. Saul's son by Rizpah
the daughter of Aiah, his concubine (2 Sam.
xxi. 8). He and his brother Armoni were
among the seven victims who were surren
dered by David to the Gibeonites, and by

them crucified in sacrifice to Jehovah, tc
avert a famine from which the country was
suffering. — 2. The son of Jonathan, grandson
of Saul, and nephew of the preceding. His
life seems to have been, from beginning to
end, one of trial and discomfort. The name
of his mother is unknown. When his father
and grandfather were slain on Gilboa he was
an infant but five years old. He was then
living under the charge of his nurse, probably
at Gibeah, the regular residence of Saul.
The tidings that; the army was destroyed, the
king and his sons slain, and that the Philis
tines were sweeping all before them, reached
the royal household. The nurse fled, carry
ing the child on her shoulder. But in her
panic and hurry she stumbled, and Mephi-
bosheth was precipitated to the ground with
such force as to deprive him for life of the
use of both feet (2 Sam. iv. 4). After the
accident which thus embittered his whole ex
istence, Mephibosheth was carried with the
rest of his family beyond the Jordan to the
mountains of Gilead, where he found a refuge
in the house of Machir ben-Ammiel, a power
ful Gadite or Manassite sheykh at Lo-debar,
not far from Mahanaim, which during the
reign of his uncle Ishbosheth was the head
quarters of his family. By Machir be was
brought up, there he married, and there he
was living at a later period, when David
having completed the subjugation of the ad
versaries of Israel on every side, heard of his
existence from Ziba. David invited him to
Jerusalem, and there treated him and his son
Micha with the greatest kindness. From
this time forward he resided at Jerusalem.
Of Mephibosheth's behaviour during the re
bellion of Absalom we possess two accounts
—his own (2 Sam. xix, 24-30), and that of
Ziba (xvi. 1-4). They are naturally at
variance with each other. In consequence
of the story of Ziba, he was rewarded by the
possessions of his master. Mephibosheth's
story — which, however, he had not the op
portunity of telling until several days later,
when he met David returning to his kingdom
at the western bank of Jordan — was very dif
ferent to Ziba's. That David did not dis
believe it is shown by his revoking the
judgment he had previously given. That he
did not entirely reverse his decision, but
allowed Ziba to retain possession of half the
lands of Mephibosheth, is probably due partly
to weariness at the whole transaction, but
mainly to the conciliatory frame of mind in
which he was at that moment. " Shall there
any man be put to death this day 1 " is the
key-note of the whole proceeding.
ME'RAB, the eldest daughter of king Saul
(1 Sam. xiv. 49). In accordance with the
Z 2

MERAIOTH

340

MERODACH BALADAN

promise which he made before the engage
ment with Goliath (xvii. 25), Saul betrothed
Merab to David (xviii. 17). Before the mar
riage Merab's younger sister Michal had dis
played her attachment for David, and Merab
was then married to Adriel the Meholathite,
to whom she bore five sons (2 Sam. xxi. 8).
MERAI'OTH, a descendant of Eleazar the
son of Aaron, and head of a priestly house
(1 Chr. vi. 6, 7, 52). It is apparently an
other Meraioth who comes in between Zadok
and Ahitub in the genealogy of Azariah (1
Chr. ix. 11, Neh. xi. 11), unless the names
Ahitub and Meraioth are transposed, which
is not improbable.
MER'ARI, third son of Levi, and head of
the third great division of the Levites, the
Merarites. He was born before the descent
of Jacob into Egypt, and was one of the
seventy who accompanied Jacob thither (Gen.
xlvi. 8, 11). At the time of the Exodus, and
the numbering in the wilderness, the Mera
rites consisted of two families, the Mahlites
and the Mushites, Mahli and Mushi being
either the two sons, or the son and grandson,
of Merari (1 Chr. vi. 19, 47). Their chief
at that time was Zuriel. Their charge
was the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, pins,
and cords of the tabernacle and the court,
and all the tools connected with setting them
up. Owing to the heavy nature of the mate
rials which they had to carry, four waggons
and eight oxen were assigned to them ; and
in the march both they and the Gershonites
followed immediately after the standard of
Judah, and before that of Reuben, that they
might set up the tabernacle against the ar
rival of the Kobathites (Num. iii, 20, 33-37,
iv. 29-33, 42-45, vii. 8, x. 17, 21). In the
division of the land by Joshua, the Merarites
had twelve cities assigned to them, out of
Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, of which one was
Ramoth-Gilead, a city of refuge, and in later
times a frequent subject of war between Israel
and Syria (Josh. xxi. 7, 34-40 ; 1 Chr. vi.
63, 77-81). In the days of Hezekiah the
Merarites were still flourishing (2 Chr. xxix.
12, 15). After the return from captivity
Shemaiah represents the sons of Merari, in
1 Chr. ix. 14, Neh. xi. 15. There were also
at that time sons of Jeduthun under Obadiah
or Abda, the son of Shemaiah (1 Chr. ix. 16 ;
Neh. xi. 17).
MERCU'RIUS, properly Hermes, the Greek
deity, whom the Romans identified with their
Mercury the god of commerce and bargains.
Hermes was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and
Maia the daughter of Atlas, and is constantly
represented as the companion of his father in-
his wanderings upon earth. The episode of
Baucis and Philemon (Ovid, Metam. viii. 620-

724) appears to have formed part of the folk
lore of Asia Minor, and strikingly illustrates
the readiness with which the simple people
of Lystra recognised in Barnabas and Paul
the gods who, according to their wont, had
come down in the likeness of men (Acts xiv.
11). They called Paul "Mercurius, because
he was the chief speaker ; " identifying in him
as they supposed by this characteristic, the
herald of the gods and of Jupiter, the eloquent
orator, inventor of letters, music, and the arts.
MERCY-SEAT (Ex. xxv. 17, xxxvii. 6 ;
Heb. ix. 5). This appears to have been
merely the lid of the Ark of the Covenant,
not another surface affixed thereto. It was
that whereon the blood of the yearly atone
ment was sprinkled by the high-priest ; and
in this relation it is doubtful whether the
sense of the word in the Heb. is based on the
material fact of its " covering " the Ark, or
derived from this notion of its reference to
the "covering" (i.e. atonement) of sin,
MER'IBAH. In Ex. xvii. 7 we read,
" he called the name of the place Massah
and Meribah," where the people murmured,
and the rock was smitten. [For the situa
tion see Rephidim.] The name is also given
to Kadesh (Num. xx. 13, 24, xxvii. 14;
Deut. xxii. 51 " Meribah-kadesh "), because
there also the people, when in want of water,
strove with God.
MERIB-BA'AL, son of Jonathan the son
of Saul (1 Chr. viii. 34, ix. 40), doubtless
the same person who in the narrative of
2 Samuel is called Mi phibosheth.
MER'ODACH, a Babvlonian god (Jer.
1.2). MER'ODACH-BAL'ADAN is mentioned as
king of Babylon in the days of Hezekiah,
both in the second book of Kings (xx. 12)
and in Isaiah (xxxix. 1). In the former
place be is called Berodach-Baladan. The
orthography " Merodach " is, however, to be
preferred. The name of Merodach-Baladan
has been recognised in the Assyrian inscrip
tions. It appears there were two reigns of
this king, the first from b.c. 721 to b.c 709,
when he was deposed ; and the second, after his
recovery of the throne in b.c. 702,which lasted
only half a year. There is some doubt as to
the time at which he sent his ambassadors to
Hezekiah, for the purpose of enquiring as to
the astronomical marvel of whieh Judaea had
been the scene (2 Chr. xxxii. 31), but it
appears to have been b.c. 713. The real
object of the mission was most likely to effect
a league between Babylon, Judaea, and
Egypt (Is. xx. 5, 6), in order to check the
growing power of the Assyrians. The league,
however, though designed, does not seem to
have taken effect. Sargon sent expedition*

MEROM

341

MESOPOTAMIA

both into Syria and Babylonia — seized the
stronghold of Ashdod iu the one, and com
pletely defeated Merodach-Baladan in the
other. That monarch sought safety in flight,
and lived for eight years in exile. At last
he found an opportunity to return. In b.c.
7.03 or 702, Babylonia was plunged in anarchy
— the Assyrian . yoke was thrown off, and
various native leaders struggled for the
mastery. Under these circumstances the
exiled monarch seems to have returned, and
recovered his throne. Merodach-Baladan had
obtained a body of troops from his ally, the
king of Susiana ; but Sennacherib defeated
the combined army in a pitched battle.
Merodach-Baladan fled to " the islands at
the mouth of the Euphrates." He lost his
recovered crown after wearing it for about
six months, and spent the remainder of his
days in exile and obscurity.
ME'ROM, THE WATERS OF, a place
memorable in the history of the conquest of
Palestine. Here, after Joshua had gained
possession of the southern portions of the
country, a confederacy of the northern chiefs
assembled under the leadership of Jabin,
king of Hazor (Josh. xi. 5), and here they
were encountered by Joshua, and completely
routed (ver. 7). It is a remarkable fact that
though by common consent the "waters of
Merom " are identified with the lake through
which the Jordan runs between Banias and
the Sea of Galilee — the Bahr el-Huleh of the
modern Arabs — yet that identity cannot be
proved by any ancient record. In form the
lake is not far from a triangle, the base being
at the north and the apex at the south. It
measures about 3 miles in each direction.
The water is clear and sweet ; it is covered
in parts by a broad-leaved plant, and abounds
in water-fowl.
ME'ROZ, a place mentioned only in the
Song of Deborah and Barak in Judg. v. 23,
and there denounced because its inhabitants
had refused to take any part in the struggle
with Sisera. Meroz must have been in the
neighbourhood of the Kishon, but its real
position is not known : possibly it was de
stroyed in obedience to the curse.
ME'SECH, ME'SHECH, a son of Japheth
(Gen. x. 2; 1 Chr. i. 5), and the progenitor
of a race frequently noticed in Scripture in
connexion with Tubal, Magog, and other
northern nations. They appear as allies of
Gog (Ez. xxxviii. 2, 3, xxxix. 1), and as
supplying the Tyrians with copper and slaves
(Ez. xxvii. 13) ; in Ps. cxx. 5, they are no
ticed as one of the remotest, and at the same
time rudest nations of the world. Both the
name and the associations are in favour of
the identification of Meshech with the Moschi,

a people on the borders of Colchis and Ar
menia. ME'SHA. 1. The name of one of the geo
graphical limits of the Joktanites when they
first settled in Arabia (Gen. x. 30), probably
in north-western Yemen. — 2. The king of
Moab in the reigns of Ahab and his sons
Ahaziah and Jehoram, kings of Israel (2 K.
iii. 4), and tributary to the first. When
Ahab had fallen in battle at Ramoth Gilead,
Mesha seized the opportunity afforded by the
confusion consequent upon this disaster, and
the feeble reign of Ahaziah, to shake off the
yoke of Israel and free himself from the
burdensome tribute of " a hundred thousand
wethers and a hundred thousand rams with
their wool." When Jehoram succeeded to
the throne of Israel, one of his first acts was
to secure the assistance of Jehoshaphat, his
father's ally, in reducing the Moabites to
their former condition of tributaries. The
united armies of the two kings marched by a
circuitous route round the Dead Sea, and
were joined by the forces of the king of Edom.
The Moabites were defeated, and the king
took refuge in his last stronghold and de
fended himself with the energy of despair.
With 700 fighting men he made a vigorous
attempt to cut his way through the beleaguer
ing army, and when beaten back, he with
drew to the wall of his city, and there, in
sight of the allied host, offered his first-born
son, his successor in the kingdom, as a burnt-
offering to Chemosh, the ruthless fire-god of
Moab. His bloody sacrifice had so far the
desired effect that the besiegers retired from
him to their own land.
ME'SHACH, the Chaldaean name given to
Mishael, one of the three friends of Daniel
miraculously saved from the fiery furnace
(Dan. i. 6, 7, iii.).
MESOPOTA'MIA, is the ordinary Greek
rendering of the Hebrew Aram-Naharaim,
or " Syria of the two rivers." If we look to
the signification of the name, we must re
gard Mesopotamia as the entire country
between the two rivers — the Tigris and the
Euphrates. This is a tract nearly 700 miles
long, and from 20 to 250 miles broad, ex
tending in a south-easterly direction from
Telek (lat. 38" 23', long. 39° 18') to Kurnah
(lat. 31°, long. 47° 30'). The Arabian geo
graphers term it " the Island," a name which
is almost literally correct, since a few miles
only intervene between the source of the
Tigris and the Euphrates at Telek. But the
region which bears the name of Mesopotamia,
par excellence, both in Scripture, and in the
classical writers, is the north-western portion
of this tract, or tbe country between the
great bend of the Euphrates (lat. 35° to

MESSIAH

342

MESSIAH

37° 30') and the upper Tigris. We first
hear of Mesopotamia in Scripture as the
country where Nahor and his family settled
after quitting Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. xxiv.
10). Here lived Bethuel and Laban; and
hither Abraham sent his servant, to fetch
Isaac a wife " of his own kindred " (ib. ver.
38). Hither too, a century later, came Jacob
on the same errand ; and hence he returned
with his two wives after an absence of 21
years. After this we have no mention of
Mesopotamia, till the close of the wanderings
in the wilderness (Deut. xxiii. 4). About
half a century later, we find, for the first
and last time, Mesopotamia the seat of a
powerful monarchy (Judg. iii.). Finally,
the children of Ammon, having provoked a
war with David, " sent a thousand talents of
silver to hire them chariots and horsemen
out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-Ma-
acbah, and out of Zobah" (1 Chr. xix. 6).
According to the Assyrian inscriptions Meso
potamia was inhabited in the early times of
the empire (b.c. 1200-1100) by a vast num
ber of petty tribes, each under its own prince,
and all quite independent of one another.
The Assyrian monarchs contended with these
chiefs at great advantage, and by the time of
Jehu (b.c 880) had fully established their
dominion over them. On the destruction of
the Assyrian empire, Mesopotamia seems to
have been divided between the Medes and
the Babylonians. The conquests of Cyrus
brought it wholly under the Persian yoke ;
and thus it continued to the time of Alex
ander. MESSI'AH. This word (Mashiach) which
answers to the word Christ (Xpioro?) in the
N. T., means anointed ; and is applicable in
its first sense to any one anointed with the
holy oil. It is applied to the high-priest in
Lev. iv. 3, 5, 16. The kings of Israel were
called anointed, from the mode of their con
secration (1 Sam. ii. 10, 35, xii. 3, 5, &c).
This word also refers to the expected Prince
of the chosen people who was to complete
God's purposes for them, and to redeem
them, and of whose coming the prophets of
the old covenant in all time spoke. It is
twice used in the N. T. of Jesus (John i. 41,
iv. 25, A. V. "Messias"); hut the Greek
equivalent the Christ, is constantly applied,
at first with the article as a title, exactly the
Anointed One, hut later without the article,
as a proper name, Jesus Christ. The pre
sent article contains a brief survey of the
expectation of a Messiah among the Jews.
The earliest gleam of the Gospel is found in
the account of the fall (Gen. iii. 15). Many
interpreters would understand by the seed, of
the woman, the Messiah only ; but it is

easier to think with Calvin that mankind,
after they are gathered into one army by
Jesus the Christ the Head of the Church, are
to achieve a victoiwover evil. The blessings
in store for the children of Shem are re
markably indicated in the words of Noah,
"Blessed be Jehovah the God of Shem"
(Gen. ix. 26). Next follows the promise to
Abraham, wherein the blessings to Shem are
turned into the narrower channel of one
family (Gen. xii. 2, 3). The promise is still
indefinite ; but it tends to the undoing of
the curse of Adam, by a blessing to all the
earth through the seed of Abraham, as death
had come on the whole earth through Adam.
A great step is made in Gen. xlix. 10, "Tho
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come ; and unto him shall the gathering of
the people be." This is the first case in
which the promises distinctly centre in one
person. The next passage usually quoted is
the prophecy of Balaam (Num. xxiv. 17-19).
The star points indeed to the glory, as tho
sceptre denotes the power of a king. But it
is doubtful whether the prophecy is not ful
filled in David (2 Sam. viii. 2, 14) ; and
though David is himself a type of Christ, tbe
direct Messianic application of this place is
by no means certain. The prophecy of
Moses (Deut. xviii. 18) claims attention.
Does this refer to the Messiah 1 The refer
ence to Moses in John v. 45-47, " He wrote
of me," seems to point to this passage. The
passages in the Pentateuch which relate to
" the Angel of the Lord " have been thought
by many to bear reference to the Messiah.
The second period of Messianic prophecy
would include the time of David. Passages
in the Psalms are numerous which are ap
plied to the Messiah in the N. T. ; such as
Ps. ii., xvi., xxii., xl., ex. The advance in
clearness in this period is great. The name
of Anointed, i. e. King, comes in, and the
Messiah is to come of the lineage of David.
He is described in His exaltation, with His
great kingdom that shall be spiritual rather
than temporal, Ps. ii., xxi., xl., ex. In
other places He is seen in suffering and
humiliation, Ps. xxii., xvi., xl. After the
time of David the predictions of the Messiah
ceased for a time ; until those prophets arose
whose works we possess in the canon of
Scripture. The Messiah is a king and Ruler
of David's house, who should come to reform
and restore the Jewish nation and purify the
church, as in Is. xi., xl.-lxvi. The blessings
of the restoration, however, will not be con
fined to Jews; the heathen are made to share
them fully (Is. ii. lxvi.). The passage of
Micah v. 2 (comp. Matt. ii. 6) left no douht

METHEG-AMMAH

343

MICAH

in the mind of the Sanhedrim as to the birth
place of the Messiah. The lineage of David
is again alluded to in Zechariah xii. 10-14.
The time of the second Temple is fixed by
Haggai ii. 9 for Messiah's coming ; and the
coming of the Forerunner and of the Anointed
are clearly revealed in Mal. iii. 1, iv. 5, 6.
The fourth period after the close of the canon
of the O. T. is known to us in a great measure
from allusions in the N. T. to the expectation
of the Jews. The Pharisees and those of
the Jews who expected Messiah at all, looked
for a temporal prince only. The Apostles
themselves were infected with this opinion,
till after tbe Resurrection, Matt. xx. 20, 21 ;
Luke xxiv. 21; Acts i. 6. Gleams of a
purer faith appear, Luke ii. 30, xxiii. 42 ;
John iv. 25. On the other hand there was a
sceptical school which had discarded the
expectation altogether. The expectation of
a golden age that should return upon the
earth, was common in heathen nations.
This hope the Jews also shared ; but with
them it was associated with the coming of a
particular Person, the Messiah. It has been
asserted that in Him the Jews looked for an
earthly king, and that the existence of the
hope of a Messiah may thus he accounted for
on natural grounds and without a divine
revelation. But the prophecies refiute this ;
they hold out not a Prophet only, but a King
and a Priest, whose business it should he to
set the people free from sin, and to teach
them the ways of God, as in Ps. xxii., xl.,
ex. ; Is. ii., xi., liii. In these and other
places too the power of the coming One
reaches beyond the Jews and embraces all
. the Gentiles, which is contrary to the ex
clusive notions of Judaism. A fair consider
ation of all the passages will convince that
the growth of the Messianic idea in the pro
phecies is owing to revelation from God.
METH'EG-AM'MAH, a place which David
took from the Philistines, apparently in his
last war with them (2 Sam. viii. I). Ammah
may be taken as meaning " mother-city "
or "metropolis" (comp. 2 Sam. xx. 19), and
Metheg-ha-Ammah "tbe bridle of the mother-
city" — viz. of Gath, the chief town of the
Philistines. METHU'SAEL, the son of Mehujael, fourth
in descent from Cain, and father of Lamech
(Gen. iv. 18).
METHUfSELAH, the son of Enoch, sixth
in descent from Seth, and father of Lamech
(Gen. v, 25-27).
MI'CAH (the same name as Micaiah)
[Micaiah]. 1. An Israelite whose familiar
story is preserved in the xviith and xviiith
chapters of Judges. From this interesting
narrative we see (1.) how completely some

of the most solemn and characteristic enact
ments of the Law had become a dead letter.
Micah was evidently a devout believer in
Jehovah. His one anxiety is to enjoy the
favour of Jehovah (xvii. 13) ; the formula of
blessing used by his mother and his priest
invokes the same awful name (xvii. 2, xviii.
6) ; and yet so completely ignorant is he of
the Law of Jehovah, that the mode which he
adopts of honouring Him is to make a molten
and graven image, teraphim or images of
domestic gods, and to set up an unauthorised
priesthood, first in his own family (xvii. 5),
and then in the person of a Levite not of the
priestly line (ver. 12). (2.) The story also
throws a light on the condition of the Levites.
Here we have a Levite belonging to Beth-
lehem-Judah, a town not allotted to his tribe ;
next wandering forth to take up his abode
wherever he could find a residence ; then
undertaking the charge of Micah's idol-
chapel ; and lastly, carrying off the property
of his master and benefactor, and becoming
the first priest to another system of false
worship. But the transaction becomes still
more remarkable when we consider (3.) that
this was no obscure or ordinary Levite. He
belonged to the chief family in the tribe,
nay, we may say to the chief family of the
nation, for though not himself a priest, he
was closely allied to the priestly house, and
was the grandson of no less a person than
the great Moses himself. (4.) The nar
rative gives us a most vivid idea of the
terrible anarchy in which the country was
placed, when " there was no king in Israel,
and every man did what was right in his
own eyes," and shows how urgently neces
sary a central authority had become. A
body of six hundred men completely armed,
besides the train of their families and cattle,
traverses the length and breadth of the land,
not on any mission for the ruler or the
nation, as on later occasions (2 Sam. ii. 12,
&c, xx. 7, 14), but simply for their private
ends. Entirely disregarding the rights of
private property, they burst in wherever
they please along their route, and plunder
ing the valuables and carrying off persons,
reply to all remonstrances by taunts and
threats. As to the date of these interesting
events, the narrative gives us no direct in
formation ; but we may at least infer that it
was also before the time of Samson, because
in this narrative (xviii. 12) we meet with the
origin of the name Mahaneh-dan, a place
which already bore that name in Samson's
childhood (xiii. 25). — 2. The sixth in order
of the minor prophets. To distinguish him
from Micaiah the son of Imlah, the contem
porary of Elijah, he is called the Morasthite,

MICAIAH

344

MICHAL

that is a native of Moresheth, or some place
of similar name, which Jerome and Eusebius
call Morasthi and identify with a small village
near Eleutheropolis to the east, where for
merly the prophet's tomb was shown, though
in the days of Jerome it had been succeeded
by a church. It is stated in the superscrip
tion to his prophecies that Micah exercised the
prophetical office during the reigns of Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, giving
thus a maximum limit of 59 years (b.c 756-
697), from the accession of Jotham to the
death of Hezekiah, and a minimum limit of
16 years (b.c 742-7261, from the death of
Jotham to the accession of Hezekiah. In
either case he would be contemporary with
Hosea and Amos during part of their ministry
in Israel, and with Isaiah in Judah. With
respect to one of his prophecies (iii. 12) it is
distinctly assigned to the reign of Hezekiah
vIer. xxvi. 18), and was probably delivered
before the great passover which inaugurated
the reformation in Judah. According to the
most probable arrangement ch. i. was de
livered in the contemporary reigns of Jotham
king of Judah and of Pekah king of Israel ;
ii. 1 — iv. 8 in those of Ahaz, Pekah, and
Hosea ; iii. 12 being assigned to the last
year of Ahaz, and the remainder of the book
to the reign of Hezekiah. But, at whatever
time the several prophecies were first de
livered, they appear in their present form as
an organic whole, marked by a certain re
gularity of development. Three sections,
omitting the superscription, are introduced
by the same phrase, " hear ye," and represent
three natural divisions of the prophecy — i.,
ii., iii. -v., vi.-vii. — each commencing with
rebukes and thrcatenings and closing with a
promise. The style of Micah has been com
pared with that of Hosea and Isaiah. His
diction is vigorous and forcible, sometimes
obscure from the abruptness of its transi
tions, but varied and rich in figures derived
from the pastoral (i. 8, ii. 12, v. 4, 5, 7, 8,
vii. 14) and rural life of the lowland country
(i. 6, iii. 12, iv. 3, 12, 13, vi. 15), whose
vines and olives and fig-trees were celebrated
(1 Chr. xxvii. 27, 28), and supply the pro
phet with so many striking allusions (i. 6,
iv. 3, 4, vi. 15, vii. 1, 4), as to suggest that,
like Amos, he may have been either a herds
man or a vine-dresser, who had heard the
howling of the jackals (i. 8, A. V. " dragons ")
as he watched his flocks or his vines by
night, and had seen the lions slaughtering
the sheep (v. 8). The language of Micah
is quoted in Matt. ii. 5, 6, and his prophecies
are alluded to in Matt. x. 35, 36 ; Mark xiii.
12 ; Luke xii. 53 ; John vii. 42.
MICAI'AH, the same name as Micah, both

meaning the same thing, " Who like Jeho
vah ? " — Micaiah, the son of Imlah, was a
prophet of Samaria, who, in the last year of
the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, predicted
his defeat and death, b.c 897 (1 K. xxii.
1-35 ; 2 Chr. xviii.).
Ml'CHAEL, "one," or "the first of the
chief princes" or archangels (Dan. x. 13;
comp. Jude 9), described in Dan. x. 21 as the
"prince" of Israel, and in xii. 1 as "the
great prince which standeth" in time of
conflict " for the children of thy people." All
these passages in the O. T. belong to that
late period of its Revelation, when, to the
general declaration of the angelic office, was
added the division of that office into parts,
and the assignment of them to individual
angels. As Gabriel represents the ministra
tion of the angels towards man, so Michael
is the type and leader of their strife, in God's
name and His strength, against the power of
Satan. In the O. T. therefore he is the
guardian of the Jewish people in their an
tagonism to godless power and heathenism.
In the N. T. (see Rev. xii. 7) he fights in
heaven against the dragon — " that old ser
pent called the Devil and Satan, which de-
ceiveth the whole world ; " and so takes part
in that struggle, which is the work of the
Church on earth. There remains one passage
(Jude 9 ; comp. 2 Pet. ii. 11) in which we are
told that "Michael the archangel, when con
tending with the devil he disputed about the
body of Moses, durst not bring against him
a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee." The allusion seems to be to
a Jewish legend attached to Deut. xxxiv. 6.
Ml'CHAL, the younger of Saul's two
daughters (1 Sam. xiv. 49). The king had
proposed to bestow on David his eldest
daughter Merab ; but before the marriage
could be arranged an unexpected turn was
given to the matter by the behaviour of Michal,
who fell violently in love with the young
hero. The marriage with her elder sister
was at once put aside. Saul eagerly caught
at the opportunity which the change afforded
him of exposing his rival to the risk of
death. The price fixed on Michal's hand
was no less than the slaughter of a hundred
Philistines. David by a brilliant feat doubled
the tale of victims, and Michal became his
wife. Shortly afterwards she saved David
from the assassins whom her father had
sent to take his life (1 Sam. xix. 11-17). But
when the rupture between Saul and David had
become open and incurable, she was married
to another man, Phalti or Phaltiel of Gallim
(1 Sam. xxv. 44). After the death of her
father and brothers at Gilboa, David com
pelled her new husband to surrender Michal

MICHMASH

345

MIDIAN

to him (2 Sam. iii. 13-16). • How Michal
comported herself in the altered circum
stances of David's household we are not told ;
but it is plain from the subsequent occur
rences that something had happened to alter
the relations of herself and David. It was
the day of David's greatest triumph, when
he brought the ark of Jehovah from its tem
porary resting-place to its home in the newly-
acquired city. Michal watched the procession
approach from the window of her apartment ;
the motions of her husband shocked her as
undignified and indecent, " she despised him
in her heart." After the exertions of the
long day were over, the king was received
by his wife with a hitter taunt. David's re
tort was a tremendous one, conveyed in
words which once spoken could never be
recalled. All intercourse between her and
David ceased from that date (2 Sam. vi.
20-23). Her name appears (2 Sam. xxi. 8)
as the mother of five of the grandchildren of
Saul. But it is probably more correct to
substitute Merab for Michal in this place.
MICH'MASH, a town which is known to
us almost solely by its connexion with the
Philistine war of Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam.
xiii., xiv.). It bas been identified with
great probability in a village which still
bears the name of Mukhmas, about 7 miles
north of Jerusalem. The place was thus si
tuated in the very middle of the tribe pf
Benjamin. In the invasion of Sennacherib
in the reign of Hezekiah, it is mentioned by
Isaiah (x. 28). After the captivity the men
of the place returned (Ezr. ii. 27 ; Neh. vii.
31). At a later date it became the residence
of Jonathan Maccabaeus, and the seat of his
government (1 Mace. ix. 73). In the time
of Eusebius and Jerome it was " a very large
village retaining its ancient name, and lying
near Ramah in the district of Aelia (Jerusa
lem) at 9 miles distance therefrom." Im
mediately below the village the great wady
spreads out to a considerable width — perhaps
half a mile ; and its bed is broken up into an
intricate mass of hummocks and mounds,
Borne two of which, before the torrents of
3000 winters had reduced and rounded their
forms, were probably the two " teeth of
cliff " — the Bozez and Seneh of Jonathan's
adventure. Right opposite is Jeba (Geba) on
a curiously terraced hill.
MICHTHETHAH, a place which formed
one of the landmarks of the boundary of the
territories of Ephraim and Manasseh on the
western side of Jordan (Josh. xvii. 7 ) . The po
sition of the place must be somewhere on the
east of and not far distant from Shechem.
MICH'TAM. This word occurs in the
titles of six Psalms (xvi. lvi.-lx.), all of

which are ascribed to David. The margina.
reading of our A. V. is " a golden Psalm,"
while in the Geneva version it is described as
" a certain tune." From the position which
it occupies in the title we may infer that
michtam is a term applied to these Psalms to
denote their musical character, but beyond
this everything is obscure.
MID 'IAN, a son of Abraham and Keturah
(Gen. xxv. 2 ; 1 Chr. i. 32) ; progenitor of the
Midianites, or Arabians dwelling principally in
the desert north of the peninsula of Arabia.
Southwards they extended along the eastern
shore of the Gulf of Eyleh (Sinus Aelanitieus) ;
and northwards they stretched along the
eastern frontier of Palestine. Midian is first
mentioned, as a people, when Moses fled,
having killed the Egyptian, to the "land of
Midian" (Ex. ii. 15), and married a daughter
of a priest of Midian (21). The "land of
Midian," or the portion of it specially referred
to, was probably the peninsula of Sinai. The
next occurrence of the name of this people
in the sacred history marks their northern
settlement on the border of the Promised
Land, "on this side Jordan [by] Jericho"
in the plains of Moab (Num. xxii. 1-4). It
was " on this side Jordan," that the chief
doings of the Midianites with the Israelites
took place. The influence of the Midianites
on the Israelites was clearly most evil, and
directly tended to lead them from the injunc
tions of Moses. The events at Shittim occa
sioned the injunction to vex Midian and smite
them. Twelve thousand men, a thousand
from each tribe, went up to this war, a war
in which all the males of the enemy were
slain. After a lapse of some years, the
Midianites appear again as the enemies of
the Israelites. They had recovered from the
devastation of the former war, probably bv
the arrival of fresh colonists from the desert
tracts over which their tribes wandered ; and
they now were sufficiently powerful to be
come the oppressors of the children of Israel.
Allied with the Amalekites, and the Bene-
Kedem, they drove them to make dens in the
mountains and caves and strongholds, and
wasted their crops even to Gaza, on the
Mediterranean coast, in the land of Simeon.
The Midianites had oppressed Israel for seven
years ; but were finally defeated with great
slaughter by Gideon. [Gideon.] — The Mi
dianites are described as true Arabs. The
spoil taken in both the war of Moses and
that of Gideon is remarkable. The gold,
silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead (Num. xxxi.
22), the "jewels of gold, chains, and brace
lets, rings, earrings, and tablets " (50) taken
by Moses, is especially noteworthy; and it
is confirmed by the booty taken by Gideon

MIGDAL-EL

340

MILK

(Judg. viii. 21, 21-26). We have here a
wealthy Arab nation, living by plunder, de
lighting in finery ; and, where forays were
impossible, carrying on the traffic southwards
into Arabia, the land of gold — if not natu
rally, by trade — and across to Chaldaea ; or
into the rich plains of Egypt.
MIG'DAL-EL, one of the fortified towns of
the possession of Naphtali (Josh. xix. 38
only)j possibly deriving its name from some
ancient tower — the " tower of El, or God."
MIG'DAL-GAD, a city of Judah (Josh. xv.
37) in the district of the Shefelah, or mari
time lowland.
MIG'DOL, the name of one or two places
on the eastern frontier of Egypt, cognate to
Migdal, which appears properly to signify a
military watchtower, or a shepherd's look
out. 1. A Migdol is mentioned in the ac
count of the Exodus (Ex. xiv. 2 ; Num.
xxxiii. 7, 8). We suppose that the position
of the encampment was before or at Pi-
hahiroth, behind which was Migdol, and on
the other hand Baal-zephon and the sea,
these places being near together. The place
of the encampment and of the passage of the
sea we believe to have been not far from the
Persepolitan monument, which is made in
Linant's map the site of the Serapeum. 2. A
Migdol is spoken of by Jeremiah and Ezekiel,
The latter prophet mentions it as a boundary-
town, evidently on the eastern border, corre
sponding to Seveneh, or Syene, on the southern
(xxix. 10, xxx. 6). In the prophecy of Jere
miah the Jews in Egypt are spoken of as
dwelling at Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Noph,
and in the country of Pathros (xliv. 1) ; and
in that foretelling, apparently, an invasion of
Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, Migdol, Noph, and
Tahpanhes are again mentioned together (xlvi.
14). It seems plain, from its being spoken
of with Memphis, and from Jews dwelling
there, that this Migdol was an important town,
and not a mere fort, or even military settle
ment. After this time there is no notice of
any place of this name in Egypt, excepting of
Magdolus, by Hecataeus of Miletus, and in
the Itinerary of Antoninus, in which Magdolo
is placed twelve Roman miles to the south
ward of Pelusium, in the route from the Sera
peum to that town. This latter place most
probably represents the Migdol mentioned by
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Its position on the
route to Palestine would make it both strate
gically important and populous, neither of
whieh would be the case with a town in the
position of the Migdol of the Pentateuch.
MIG'RON, a town or a spot — for there is
nothing to indicate which — in the neighbour
hood of Saul's city, Gibeah, on the very edge
of the district belonging to it (1 Sam. xiv,

2). Migron is»also mentioned in the list of
the places disturbed by Sennacherib's ap
proach to Jerusalem (Is. x. 28). But here
its position seems a little further north than
that indicated in the former passage. In
Hebrew, Migron may mean a " precipice,"
and it is not impossible, therefore, that two
places of the same name are intended.
MIL'COM. The "abomination" of the
children of Ammon, elsewhere called Molech
(I K. xi. 7, &c.) and Mai.cham (Zeph. i. 5,
marg. " their king "), of the latter of which
it is probably a dialectical variation.
MILE, a Koman measure of length, equal
to 1618 English yards. It is only once noticed
in the Bible (Matt. v. 41), the usual method
of reckoning both in the N. T. and in Josephus
being by the stadium. The mile of the Jews
is said to have been of two kinds, long or
short, dependent on the length of the pace,
which varied in different parts, the long pace
being double the length of the short one.
MILE'TUS (Acts xx. 15, 17, less correctly
called Miletl'm in 2 Tim. iv, 20). In the
context of Acts xx. 6 we have the geogra
phical relations of Miletus brought out as
distinctly as if it were St. Luke's purpose to
state them. In the first place it lay on the
coast to the S. of Ephesus. Next, it was a
day's sail from Trogyllium (ver. 15). More
over, to those who are sailing from the north,
it is in the direct line for Cos. All these
details correspond with the geographical facts
of the case. The site of Miletus has now re
ceded ten miles from the coast, and even in
the Apostle's time it must have lost its strictly
maritime position. The passage in the second
Epistle to Timothy, where Miletus i3 men
tioned, presents a very serious difficulty to the
theory that there was only one Roman im
prisonment. As to the history of Miletus
itself, it was far more famous five hundred
years before St. Paul's day, than it ever be
came afterwards. In early times it was the
most flourishing city of the Ionian Greeks.
In the natural order of events, it was absorbed
in the Persian empire. After a brief period
of spirited independence, it received a blow
from which it never recovered, in the siege
conducted by Alexander, when on his Eastern
campaign. But still it held, even through
the E.oman period, tho rank of a second-rate
trading town, and Strabo mentions its four
harbours. At this time it was politically in
the province of Asia, though Caria was the
old ethnological name of the district in which
it was situated.
MILK. As an article of diet, milk holds a
more important position in Eastern countries
than with us. It is not a mere adjunct in
cookery ; or restricted to the use of the young,

MILL

347

MILLO

although it is naturally the characteristic food
of childhood, both from its simple and nutri
tive qualities (1 Pet. ii. 2), and particularly
as contrasted with meat (1 Cor. iii. 2 ; Heb.
v. 1 2) : but beyond this it is regarded as sub
stantial food adapted alike to all ages and
classes. Not only the milk of cows, but of
sheep (Deut. xxxii. 14), of camels (Gen.
xxxii. 15), and of goat6 (Prov. xxvii. 27)
was used ; the latter appears to have been
most highly prized. Milk was used some
times in its natural state, and sometimes in a
sour coagulated state : the former was named
chdldb, and the latter chemah. In the A. V.
the latter is rendered " butter," but there
can be no question that in every case (except
perhaps Prov. x'xx. 33) the term refers to a
preparation of milk well known in Eastern
countries under the name of leben. The
method now pursued in its preparation is to
boil the milk over a slow fire, adding to it a
small piece of old leben or some other acid in
order to make it coagulate. The refreshing
draught which Jael offered " in a lordly dish "
to Sisera (Judg. v. 25) was leben. Leben is
still extensively used in the East : at certain
seasons of the year the poor almost live upon
it, while the upper classes eat it with salad
or meat. It is still offered in hospitality to
the passing stranger, exactly as of old in
Abraham's tent (Gen. xviii. 8).
MILL. The mills of the ancient Hebrews
probably differed but little from those at pre
sent in use in the East. These consist of
two circular stones, about 18 inches or two
feet in diameter, the lower of which is fixed,
and has its upper surface slightly convex,
fitting into a corresponding concavity in the
upper stone. The latter has a hole in it
through which the grain passes, immediately
above a pivot or shaft which rises from the
centre of the lower stone, and about which
the upper stone is turned by means of an up
right handle fixed near the edge. It is -Worked
by women, sometimes singly and sometimes
two together, who are usually seated on the
bare ground (Is. xlvii. 1, 2) "facing each
other ; both have hold of the handle by which
the upper is turned round on the ' nether '
millstone. The one whose right hand is dis
engaged throws in the grain as occasion re
quires through the hole in the upper stone.
It is not correct to say that one pushes it
half round, and then the other seizes the
handle. This would be slow work, and would
give a spasmodic motion to the stone. Both
retain their hold, and pull to or push from,
as men do with the whip or crosscut saw.
The proverb of our Saviour (Matt. xxiv. 41)
is true to life, for women only grind. I can
not recall an instance in which men were at

the mill." (Thomson, The Land and the
Book, c. 34.) The labour is very hard, and
the task of grinding in consequence performed
only by the lowest servants (Ex. xi. 5), and
captives (Judg. xvi. 21 ; Job xxxi. 10 ; Is.
xlvii. 1, 2 ; Lam. v. 13). So essential were
mill-stones for daily domestic use, that they
were forbidden to be taken in pledge (Deut.
xxiv. 6), in order that a man's family might
not be deprived of the means of preparing
their food. The hand-mills of the ancient
Egyptians appear to have been of the same
character. " They had also a large mill on
a very similar principle ; but the stones were
of far greater power and dimensions ; and
this could only have been turned by cattle or
asses, like those of the ancient Romans, and
of the modern Cairenes" (Wilkinson). It
was the millstone of a mill of this kind, driven
by an ass, which is alluded to in Matt, xviii.
6. With the moveable upper millstone of
the hand-mill the woman cf Thebez broke
Abimelech's skull (Judg. ix. 53).
MILLET (Heb. dochan) occurs only in Ez.
iv. 9. Dr. Royle maintains that the true
dukhun of Arab authors is the Panicum milia-
ceum, which is universally cultivated in the
East. It is probable that both the Sorghum
vulgare, and the Panicum miliaceum, were
used by the ancient Hebrews and Egyptians,
and that the Heb. dochan may denote either
of these plants.
MIL'LO, a place in ancient Jerusalem.
Both name and place seem to have been
already in existence when the city was taken
from the Jebusites by David (2 Sam. v. 9 ;
1 Chr. xi. 8). Its repair or restoration was
one of the great works for which Solomon
raised his "levy" (1 K. ix. 15, 24, xi. 27) ;
and it formed a prominent part of the fortifi
cations by which Hezekiah prepared for the
approach of the Assyrians (2 Chr. xxxii. 5).
The last passage seems to show that " the
Millo " was part of the " city of David," that
is of Zion (comp. 2 K. xii. 20). If " Millo "
be taken as a Hebrew word, it would be de
rived from a root which has the force of " fill
ing ; " but the only ray of light which we
can obtain as to the meaning of the word is
from the LXX. Their rendering in every
case (excepting only 2 Chr. xxxii. 5) is 17 atcpa,
a word which they employ nowhere else in
the O. T. Now yj dxpa means " the citadel,"
and it is remarkable that it is the word used
with unvarying persistence throughout the
Books of Maccabees for the fortress on Mount
Zion. It is therefore perhaps not too much
to assume that the word Millo was employed
in the Hebrew original of 1 Maccabees.
MIL'LO, THE HOUSE OF. 1. Apparently
a family or clan, mentioned in Judg. ix. 6,

MINGLED PEOPLE

343

MINT

20 only, in connexion with the men or lords
of Shechem. — 2. The "house of Millo that
goeth down to Silla " was the spot at which
king Joash was murdered by his slaves (2 K.
xii. 20). There is nothing to lead us to sup
pose that the murder was not committed in
Jerusalem, and in that case the spot must be
connected with the ancient Millo (see pre
ceding article).
MINGLED PEOPLE. This phrase, like
that of " the mixed multitude," which the
Hebrew closely resembles, is applied in Jer.
xxv. 20, and Ez. xxx. 5, to denote the
miscellaneous foreign population of Egypt
and its frontier-tribes, including every one,
says Jerome, who was not a native Egyptian,
but was resident there. It is difficult to
attach to it any precise meaning, or to iden
tify with the mingled people any race of
which we have knowledge. "The kings of
the mingled people that dwell in the desert,"
are the same apparently as the tributary kings
(A. V. " kings of Arabia ") who brought pre
sents to Solomon (1 K. x. 15) ; the Hebrew
in the two cases is identical. The " mingled
people " in the midst of Babylon (Jer. 1. 37),
were probably the foreign soldiers or merce
nary troops, who lived among the native
population. MINISTER. This term is used in the
A.V. to describe various officials of a religious
and civil character. In the O. T. it answers
to the Hebrew meshdretli, which is applied
(1) to an attendant upon a person of high
rank (Ex. xxiv. 13 ; Josh. i. 1 ; 2 K. iv. 43) ;
(2) to the attaches of a royal court (1 K. x.
5 ; 2 Chr. xxii. 8 ; comp. Ps. civ. 4), where,
it may be observed, they are distinguished
from the "servants" or officials of higher
rank ; (3) to the Priests and Levites (Is. lxi.
6; Ez. xliv. 11; Joel i. 9, 13; Ezr. viii.
17 ; Neh. x. 36). In the N. T. we have
three terms, each with its distinctive meaning
— AetToi/pyo?, uTnjpe'njs, and Sl6.kovos, The first
answers most nearly to the Hebrew meshd-
reth, and is usually employed in the LXX. as
its equivalent. It betokens a subordinate
public administrator (Rom. xiii. 6, xv. 16;
Heb. viii. 2). In all these instances the ori
ginal and special meaning of the word, as
used by the Athenians of one who performs
certain gratuitous public services, is pre
served. The second term, uTnjpenjs, differs
from the two others in that it contains the
idea of actual and personal attendance i*pon
a superior. Thus it is used of the attendant
in the synagogue, the chazan of the Talmu-
dists (Luke iv. 20), whose duty it was to
open and close the building, to produce and
replace the books employed in the service,
and generally to wait on the officiating priest

or teacher. The idea of personal attendance
comes prominently forward in Luke i. 2 ;
Acts xxvi. 16. In all these cases the etymo
logical sense of the word (virb epenjs, literally
a "sub-rower," one who rows under com
mand of the steersman) comes out. The
third term, BtaKofos, is the one usually em
ployed in relation to the ministry of the Gos
pel : its application is twofold, in a general
sense to indicate ministers of any order, whe
ther superior or inferior, and in a special
sense to indicate an order of inferior ministers.
[Deacon.] MIN'NITH, a place on the east of the Jor
dan, named as the point to which Jephthah's
slaughter of the Ammonites extended (Judg.
xi. 33). A site bearing the name Menjah, is
marked in Van de Velde's Map, at 7 Roman
miles east of Heshbon, The " wheat of Min-
nith " is mentioned in Ez. xxvii. 17, as being
supplied by Judah and Israel to Tyre ; but
there is nothing to indicate that the same
place is intended, and indeed the word is
thought by some not to be a proper name.
MINSTREL. The Hebrew word in 2 K.
iii. 15 properly signifies a player upon a
stringed instrument like the harp or kinnor
[Harp]. The "minstrels" in Matt. ix. 23,
were the flute-players who were employed as
professional mourners to whom frequent allu
sion is made (Eccl. xii. 5 ; 2 Chr. xxxv. 25 ;
Jer. ix. 17-20).
MINT occurs only in Matt, xxiii. 23, and
Luke xi. 42, as one of those herbs, the tithe

{Mentha lyhrslrU.)

MIRACLES

349

MIRACLES

of which the Jews were most scrupulously
exact in paying. The woodcut represents
the horse mint (M. sytvestris) which is com
mon in Syria.
MIRACLES. The word " miracle " is the
ordinary translation, in our Authorized Eng
lish *version, of the Greek word Semeion
(o~np.eiov), which signifies " a sign." The
habitual use of the term " miracle " has
tended to fix attention too much on the phy
sical strangeness of the facts thus described,
and to divert attention from what may be
called their signality. A miracle may be de
fined to be a plain and manifest exercise by a
man, or by God at the call of a man, of those
powers which belong only to the Creator and
Lord of nature ; and this for the declared ob
ject of attesting that a divine mission is given
to that man. Itis nottherefore the wonder, the
exception to common experience, that consti
tutes the miracle, as is assumed both in the
popular use of the word, and by most ob
jectors against miracles. No phenomenon in
nature, however unusual, no event in the
course of God's providence, however unex
pected, is a miracle, unless it can be traced
to the agency of man (including prayer under
the term agency), and unless it be put forth
as proof of a divine mission. Prodigies and
special providences are not miracles. On the
other hand, it is a mere petitio principii, to
argue against all miracles, on the ground
that if we could see the secret manner of
God's working, we might find them to be
consistent with some higher law unknown to
our experience. For it is not so much the
violation of law, as the manifest application
of it to a special occasion, that attests the
immediate power of God. — In the case of the
Old Testament Miracles, in order fully to
understand their evidential character, we
must consider the general nature and design
of the dispensation with which they were
connected. The general design of that dis
pensation appears to have been to keep up in
one particular race a knowledge of the one
true God, and of the promise of a Messiah in
whom " all the families of the earth " should
be " blessed." And in order to this end, it
appears to have been necessary that, for some
time, God should have assumed the character
of the local tutelary Deity and Prince of that
particular people. And from this peculiar
relation in which He stood to the Jewish
people resulted the necessity of frequent
miracles, to manifest and make sensibly per
ceptible His actual presence among and go
vernment over them. The miracles, therefore,
of the Old Testament are to be regarded as
evidential of the theocratic government ; and
this again is to be conceived of as subordinate

to the further purpose of preparing the way
for Christianity, by keeping up in the world
a knowledge of the true God and of His pro
mise of a Redeemer. With respect to the
character of the Old Testament miracles, we
must also remember that the whole structure
of the Jewish economy had reference to the
peculiar exigency of the circumstances of a
people imperfectly civilized, and is so dis
tinctly described in the New Testament, as
dealing with men according to the " hardness
of their hearts," and being a system of " weak
and beggarly elements," and a rudimentary
instruction for " children " who were in the
condition of "slaves." — The New Testament
Miracles do not seem to have been generally
denied by the opponents of Christianity.
They appear to have preferred adopting the
expedient of ascribing them to art, magic,
and the power of evil spirits. We know
that in two instances, in the Gospel narrative,
the cure of the man born blind and the Resur
rection, the Jewish priests were unable to
pretend such a solution and were driven to
maintain unsuccessfully a charge of fraud.
The circumstances of the Christian miracles
are utterly unlike those of any pretended in
stances of magical wonders. This difference
consists in (1.) The greatness, number, com
pleteness, and publicity of the miracles. (2.)
The natural beneficial tendency of the doc
trine they attested. (3.) The connexion of
them with a whole scheme of revelation ex
tending from the first origin of the human
race to the_time of Christ. The Ecclesiastical
Miracles are not delivered to us by inspired
historians ; nor do they seem to form any
part of the same series of events as the mira
cles of the New Testament. The miracles of
the New Testament (setting aside those
wrought by Christ Himself) appear to have
been worked by a power conferred upon par
ticular persons according to a regular law, in
virtue of which that power was ordinarily
transmitted from one person to another, and
the only persons privileged thus to transmit
that power were the Apostles. The only ex
ceptions to this rule were, (1.) the Apostles
themselves, and (2.) the family of Cornelius,
who were the first-fruits of the Gentiles. In
all other cases, miraculous gifts were con
ferred only by the laying on of the Apostles''
hands. By this arrangement, it is evident
that a provision was made for the total ceas
ing of that miraculous dispensation within a
limited period : because, on the death of the
last of the Apostles, the ordinary channels
would be all stopped through which such
gifts were transmitted in the Church. One
passage has, indeed, been appealed to as
seeming to indicate the permanent residence

MIRIAM

350

MISREPIIOTII-MAIM

of miraculous powers in the Christian Church
through all ages, Mark xvi. 17, 18. But —
(I.) That passage itself is of doubtful autho
rity, since we know that it was omitted in
most of the Greek MSS. which Eusebius was
able to examine in the 4th century ; and it
is still wanting in some of the most important
that remain to us. (2.) It docs not neces
sarily imply more than a promise that such
miraculous powers should exhibit themselves
among the immediate converts of the Apostles.
And (3.) this latter interpretation is sup
ported by what follows — " And they went
forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word
tcith the accompanying sigjis." Moreover,
the ecclesiastical miracles are improbable (1.)
as varying from the analogy of nature ; (2.)
as varying from the analogy of the Scripture
miracles ; (3.) as resembling those legendary
stories which are the known product of the
credulity or imposture of mankind.
MIR'IAM, the sister of Moses, was the
eldest of that sacred family ; and she first
appears, probably as a young girl, watching
her infant brother's cradle in the Nile (Ex.
ii. 4), and suggesting her mother as a nurse
(ib. 7). The independent and high position
given by her superiority of age she never
lost. " The sister of Aaron " is her Biblical
distinction (Ex. xv. 20). In Num. xii. 1 she
is placed before Aaron ; and in Mic. vi. 4
reckoned as amongst tbe Three Deliverers.
She is the first personage in that household
to whom the prophetic gifts are directly as
cribed — " Miriam the Prophetess " is her
acknowledged title (Ex. xv. 20). The pro
phetic power showed itself in her under the
same form as that which it assumed in the
days of Samuel and David, — poetry, accom
panied with music and processions (Ex. xv.
1-19). She took the lead, with Aaron, in
the complaint against Moses for his marriage
with a Cushite. " Hath Jehovah spoken by
Moses 1 Hath He not also spoken by us 1 "
(Num. xii. 1, 2). A stern rebuke was ad
ministered in front of the sacred Tent to both
Aaron and Miriam. But the punishment fell
on Miriam, as the chief offender. The hate
ful Egyptian leprosy, of which for a moment
the sign had been seen on the hand of her
younger brother, broke out over the whole
person of The proud prophetess. How grand
was her position, and how heavy the blow, is
implied in the cry of anguish which goes up
from both her brothers. And it is not less
evident in the silent grief of the nation (Num.
xii. 10-15). This stroke, and its removal,
which took place at Hazeroth, form the last
public event of Miriam's life. She died to
wards the close of the wanderings at Kadesh,

and was buried there (Num. xx. I). Her
tomb was shown near Petra in the clays of
Jerome. According to Josephus, she was
married to the famous Hur, and, through
him, was grandmother of the architect Beza-
LEEL. MIRROR. Two Hebrew words in* Ex.
xxxviii. 8, and Job xxxvii. 18 are rendered
"looking glass" in the A. V., but from the
context evidently denote a mirror of polished
metal. The Hebrew women on coming out
of Egypt probably brought with them mirrors
like those which were used by the Egyptians,
and were made of a mixed metal, chiefly
copper, wrought with admirable skill, and
susceptible of a bright lustre. The metal of
which the mirrors were composed, being
liable to rust and tarnish, required to be
constantly kept bright (Wisd. vii. 26 ; Ecclus.
xii. 11). The obscure image produced by a
tarnished or imperfect mirror, appears to be
alluded to in 1 Cor. xiii. 12.

Egyj.iiau Mirror.
MISH'AEL. [Meshach.]
MIS'REPHOTH-MA'IM, a place in north
ern Palestine, in close connexion with Zidon-
rabbah, i. e. Sidon (Josh. xi. 8, xiii. 6).
Taken as Hebrew, the literal meaning of the
name is "burnings of waters," and accord
ingly it is taken by the old interpreters to
mean "warm waters," whether natural, i. e.
hot baths or springs — or artificial, i. e. salt,
glass, or smelting works. Dr. Thomson
treats Misrephoth-maim as identical with a
collection of springs called Ain-Musheirifeh,

MITE

351

MIZPAH

on the sea-shore, close under the Ras en-
Nakhura ; but this has the disadvantage of
being very far from Sidon. May it not
rather be the place with which we are
familiar in the later history as Zarephath'!
MITE, a coin current in Palestine in the
time of our Lord (Mark xii. 41-44 ; Luke
xxi. 1-4). It seems in Palestine to have
been the smallest piece of money, being the
half of the farthing, which was a coin of very
low value. From St. Mark's explanation,
" two mites, which make a farthing " (ver.
42), it may perhaps be inferred that the
farthing was the commoner coin. In the
Graeco-Roman coinage of Palestine, the two
smallest coins, of which the assarion is the
more common, seem to correspond to the
farthing and the mite, the larger weighing
about twice as much as the smaller.
MITRE. [Crown.]
MITYLE'NE, the chief town of Les
bos, and situated on the east coast of
the island. Mitylene is the intermediate
place where St. Paul stopped for the night
between Assos and Chios (Acts xx. 14, 15).
The town itself was celebrated in Roman
times for the beauty of its buildings. In
St. Paul's day it had the privileges of a free
city. MIXED MULTITUDE. When the Israel
ites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth,
the first stage of the Exodus from Egypt,
there went up with them " a mixed multi
tude" (Ex. xii. 38; Num. xi. 4). They
were probably the offspring of marriages
contracted between the Israelites and the
Egyptians ; and the term may also include
all those who were not of pure Israelite
blood. MI'ZAR, THE HILL, a mountain ap
parently in the northern part of trans-
Jordanic Palestine, from which the author
of Psalm xiii. utters his pathetic appeal
(ver. 6).
MIZ'PAH, and MIZ'PEH, " a watch-
tower," the name of several places in
Palestine. — 1. The earliest of all, in order of
the narrative, is the heap of stones piled up
by Jacob and Laban (Gen. xxxi. 48) on
Mount Gilead (ver. 25), to serve both as a
witness to the covenant then entered into,
and also as a landmark of the boundary be
tween them (ver. 52). This heap received a
name from each of the two chief actors in
the transaction — Galeed and Jegar Saha-
dutha. But it had also a third, viz. Miz
pah, which it seems from the terms of the
narrative to have derived from neither party,
but to have possessed already. The name
remained attached to the ancient meeting-
place of Jacob and Laban, and the spot where

their conference had been held became a
sanctuary of Jehovah, and a place for solemn
conclave and deliberation in times of difficulty
long after. On this natural " watch-tower,"
did the children of Israel assemble for the
choice of a leader to resist the children of
Ammon (Judg. x. 17) ; and when the out
lawed Jephthah had been prevailed on to
leave his exile and take the head of his
people, his first act was to go to " the
Mizpah," and on that consecrated ground
utter all his words "before Jehovah." At
Mizpah he seems to have henceforward
resided ; there the fatal meeting took place
with his daughter on his retmrn. from the
war (xi. 34), and we can hardly doubt that
on the altar of that sanctuary the father's
terrible vow was consummated. It seems
most probable that the " Mizpeh-Gilead "
which is mentioned here, and here only, is
the same as the ham-Mizpah of tbe other
parts of the narrative ; and both are pro
bably identical with the Ramath-Mizpeh
and Ramoth-Gilead, so famous in the later
history. Mizpah still retained its name in
the days of the Maccabees, by whom it was
besieged and taken with the other cities of
Gilead (1 Mace. v. 35). — 2. A second Miz
peh, on the east of Jordan, was the Mizpek-
Moab, where the king of that nation was
living when David committed his parents to
his care (1 Sam. xxii. 3). — 3. A third was
The Land of Mizpeh, or more accurately
" of Mizpah," the residence of the Hivites
who joined the northern confederacy against
Israel, headed by Jabin king of Hazor (Josh.
xi. 3). No other mention is found Qf this
district in the Bible, unless it be identical
with — 4. The Valley of Mizpeh, to which
the discomfited hosts of the same confederacy
were chased by Joshua (xi. 8), perhaps iden
tical with the great country of Coele-Syria.
— 5. Mizpeh, a city of Judah (Josh. xv. 38) ;
in the district of the Shefelah or maritime
lowland. — 6. Mizpeh, in Josh, and Samuel ;
elsewhere Mizfah a "city" of Benjamin,
named in the list of the allotment between
Beeroth and Chephirah, and in apparent
proximity to Ramah and Gibeon (Josh.
xviii. 26). Its connexion with the two last-
nampd towns is also implied in the later
history (1 K. xv. 22 ; 2 Chr. xvi. 6 ; Neh.
iii. 7). It was one of the places fortified by-
Asa against the incursions of the kings of
the northern Israel (1 K. xv. 22 ; 2 Chr.
xvi. 6 ; Jer. xli. 9) ; and after the destruc
tion of Jerusalem it became the residence of
the superintendent appointed by the king of
Babylon (Jer, xl. 7, &c), and the scene of
his murder and of the romantic incidents
connected with the name of Ishmael the son

MIZPEH

352

MOAB

of Nethaniah. But Mizpah was more than
this. In the earlier periods of tbe history of
Israel, at the first foundation of tbe monarchy,
it was one of the three holy cities which
Samuel visited in turn as judge of tbe people
(vii. 6, 16), the other two being Bethel and
Gilgal. But, unlike Bethel and Gilgal, no
record is preserved of the cause or origin of
a sanctity so abruptly announced, and yet so
fully asserted. With the conquest of Jeru
salem and the establishment there of the
Ark, the sanctity of Mizpah, or at least its
reputation, seems to have declined. We
hear of no religious act in connexion with
it till that affecting assembly called to
gether thither, as to the ancient sanctuary of
their forefathers, by Judas Maccabaeus,
"when the Israelites assembled themselves
together and came to Massepha over against
Jerusalem ; for in Maspha was there afore
time a place of prayer for Israel " (1 Mace.
iii. 46). The expression "over against," no
less than the circumstances of the story,
seems to require that from Mizpah the City
or the Temple was visible. These conditions
are satisfied by the position of Scopus, the
broad ridge which forms the continuation of
the Mount of Olives to the north and east,
from which the traveller gains, like Titus,
his first view, and takes his last farewell, of
the domes, walls, and towers of the Holy
City. MIZ'PEH. [Mizpah.]
MIZ'RAIM, the usual name of Egypt in
the O. T., the dual of Mazor, which is less
frequently employed. It is probably derived
from the Arabic word Mizr, which signifies
" red earth or mud." Mizraim first occurs
in the account of the Hamites in Gen. a.,
where we read, "And the sons of Ham ;
Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan "
(ver. 6 ; comp. 1 Chr. i. 8). In the use of
the name Mizraim for Egypt there can be no
doubt that the dual indicates the two regions
(Upper and Lower Egypt) into which the
country has always been divided by nature
as well as by its inhabitants.
MNA'SON is honourably mentioned in
Scripture, like Gaius, Lydia, and others, as
one of the hosts of the Apostle Paul (Acts
xxi. 16). It is most likely that his resi
dence at this time was not Caesarea, but
Jerusalem. He was a Cyprian by birth, and
may have been a friend of Barnabas (Acts
iv. 36), and possibly brought to the know
ledge of Ckri:~tianity by him.
MO'AB, MO'ABITES. Moab was the son
of Lot's eldest daughter, the progenitor of
the Moabites, and the elder brother of Ben-
Ammi, the progenitor of the Ammonites (Gen.
xix. 37). Zoar was the cradle of the race uf

Lot. From this centre the brother-tribes
spread themselves. The Moabites first in
habited the rich highlands which crown the
eastern side of the chasm of the Dead Sea,
extending aB far north as the mountain of
Gilead, from which country they expelled
the Emims, the original inhabitants (Deut.
ii. 11). But they themselves were after
wards driven southwards by the warlike
Amorites, who had crossed the Jordan, and
were confined to the country south of the
river Arnon, which formed their northern
boundary (Num. xxi. 13 ; Judg. xi, 18).
The territory occupied by Moab at the period
of its greatest extent, before the invasion of
the Amorites, divided itself naturally into
three distinct and independent portions.
Each of these portions appears to have had
its name by which it is almost invariably
designated. ( 1 ) The enclosed corner or
canton south of tbe Arnon was the " field of
Moab " (Ruth i. 1, 2, 6, &c). (2) The more
open rolling country north of the Arnon,
opposite Jericho, and up to the hills of
Gilead, was the "land of MoaS" (Deut. i. 5,
xxxii. 49 &c). (3) The sunk district in
the tropical depths of the Jordan valley, tak
ing its name from that of the great valley
itself — the Arabah — was the Arboth-Moab,
the dry regions — in the A.V. very incorrectly
rendered the "plains of Moab" (Num. xxii.
1, &c). — The Israelites, in entering the
Promised Land, did not pass through the
Moabites (1 Judg. xi. 18), but conquered the
Amorites, who occupied the country from
which the Moabites had been so lately ex
pelled. After the conquest of Canaan the
relations of Moab with Israel were of a
mixed character. With the tribe of Ben
jamin, whose possessions at their eastern end
were separated from those of Moab only by
the Jordan, they had at least one severe
struggle, in union with their kindred the
Ammonites (Judg. iii. 12-30). The feud
continued with true Oriental pertinacity to
the time of Saul. Of his slaughter of the
Ammonites we have full details in 1 Sam.
xi., and amongst his other conquests Moab is
especially mentioned (1 Sam. xiv. 47). But
while such were their relations to the tribe
of Benjamin, the story of Ruth, on the other
hand, testifies to the existence of a friendly
intercourse between Moab and Bethlehem,
one of the towns of Judah. By his descent
from Ruth, David may be said to have had
Moabite blood in his veins. The relation
ship was sufficient to warrant his visiting
the land, and committing his parents to the
protection of the king of Moab, when hard
pressed by Saul (1 Sam. xxii. 3, 4). But
here all friendly relations stop for ever. The

MODIN

353

MOLECH

next time the name is mentioned is in the
account of David's war, who made them tri
butary (2 Sam. viii. 2; 1 Chr. xviii. 2).
At the disraption of the kingdom, Moab
seems to have fallen to the northern realm.
At the death of Ahab, eighty years later, the
Moabites threw off the yoke (1 E. i. 1, iii. 4).
They afterwards fought against the united
forces of Israel, Judah, and Edom, but were
defeated with great ioss (2 K. iii. ; 2 Chr.'
xx. 1). Isaiah (xv., xvi., xxv. 10-12) pre
dicts the utter annihilation of Moab ; and
they are frequently denounced by the sub
sequent prophets. For the religion of the
Moabites see Chemosh, Molech, Peor.
MO'DIN, a place not mentioned in either
Old or New Testament, though rendered im
mortal by its connexion with the history of
the Jews in the interval between the two. It
was the native city of the Maccabaean family
(1 Mace xiii. 25), and as a necessary conse
quence contained their ancestral sepulchre
(ii. 70, ix. 19, xiii. 25-30). At Modin the
Maccabaean armies encamped on the eves of
two of their most memorable victories — that
of Judas over Antiochus Eupator (2 Mace.
xiii. 14), and that of Simon over Cendebeus
(1 Mace. xvi. 4), the last battle of the veteran
chief before his assassination. The only
indication of the position of the place to be
gathered from the above notices is contained
in the last, from which we may infer that it
was near " the plain " i. e. the great mari
time lowland of Philistia (ver. 5). By Eu
sebius and Jerome it is specified as near
Diospolis, i. e. Lydda ; while the notice in the
Mishna states that it was 1 (Roman) mile
from Jerusalem. At the same time the des
cription of the monument seems to imply
that the spot was so lofty as to be visible
from the sea, and so near that even the
details of the sculpture were discernible
therefrom. All these conditions, excepting
the last, are tolerably fulfilled in either of
the two sites called Latrun and Kubdb. The
mediaeval and modern tradition places Modin
at Soba, an eminence south of Kurietel-enab ;
but this being not more than 7 miles from
Jerusalem, while it is as much as 25 from
Lydda and 30 from the sea, and also far re
moved from the plain of Philistia, is at
variance with every one of the conditions
implied in the records.
MO'LADAH, a city of Judah, one of those
which lay in the district of "the south,"
next to Edom (Josh. xv. 26, xix. 2). In
the latter tribe it remained at any rate till
the reign of David (1 Chr. iv. 28), but by
the time of the captivity it seems to have
come back into the hands of Judah, by
whom it was reinhabited after the captivity
Sm. D. B.

(Neh. xi. 26). In the Onomasticon a place
named Malatha is spoken of as in the in
terior of Daroma ; apd further it is men
tioned as 4 miles from Arad and 20 from
Hebron. It may be placed at el-Milh, which
is about 4 English miles from Tell Arad, 17
or 18 from Hebron, and 9 or 10 due east of
Beersheba. MOLE. 1. Tinshemeth (Lev. xi. 30). It
is probable that the animals mentioned with
the tinshemeth in the above passage denote
different kinds of lizards ; perhaps, there
fore, the chameleon may be the animal
intended. — 2. CMphdr pcrdth is rendered
" moles " in Is. ii.

AT— i,. -— .

The Chameleon. {Chameleo vulgaris.)
MO'LECH. The fire-god Molech was the
tutelary deity of the children of Ammon,
and essentially identical with the Moabitish
Chemosh. Fire-gods appear to have been
common to all the Canaanite, Syrian, and
Arab tribes, who worshipped the destructive
element under an outward symbol, with the
most inhuman rites. Among these were
human sacrifices, purifications and ordeals by
fire, devoting of the first-born, mutilation,
and vows of perpetual celibacy and virginity.
The root of the word Molech is the same as
that of melee or "king." The first direct
historical allusion to Molech-worsbip is in the
description of Solomon's idolatry in his old
age (1 K. xi. 7). Two verses before, the
same- deity is called Milcom. Most of the
Jewish interpreters say that in the worship
of Molech the children were not burnt, but
made to pass between two burning pyres, as
a purificatory rite. But the allusions to the
actual slaughter are too plain to be mistaken.
Compare Deut. xii. 31 ; Ps. cvi. 37, 38 ; Jer.
vii. 31, xix. 5 ; Ez. xvi. 20, 21, xxiii. 37.
The worship of Molech is evidently alluded
to, though not expressly mentioned, in con
nexion with star-worship and the worship of
Baal in 2 K. xvii. 16, 17, xxi. 5, 6, which
seems to show that Molech, the flame-god,
and Baal, the sun-god, were worshipped
with the same rites. According to Jewish
tradition, the image of Molech was of brass,
hollow within, and was situated without
2 A"

MOLOCH

354

MONEY

Jerusalem. Kimchi (on 2 K. xxiii. 10)
describes it as "set within seven chapels,
and whoso offered fine flour they open to
him one of them; (whoso offered) turtle
doves or young pigeons they open to him
two ; a lamb, they open to him three ;
a ram, they open to him four ; a calf,
they open to him five; an ox, they open to
him six ; and so whoever offered his son
they open to him seven. And his face was
(that) of a calf, and his hands stretched forth
like a man who opens his hands to receive
(something) of his neighbour. And they
kindled it with fire, and the priests took the
babe and put it into the hands of Molech,
and the babe gave up tbe ghost." " The
tabernacle of Moloch " mentioned in Acts
vii. 43, was more probably a shrine or ark in
which the figure of the god was carried in
processions. Molech, "the king," was the
lord and master of the Ammonites ; their
country was his possession (Jer. xlix. 1), as
Moab was the heritage of Chemosh ; the
princes of the land were the princes of Mal-
cham (Jer. xlix. 3 ; Am. i. 15). His priests
were men of rank (Jer. xlix. 3), taking pre
cedence of the princes. The priests of Molech,
like those of other idols, were called Che-
marim (2 K. xxiii. 5; Hos. x. 5; Zeph. i. 4).
MO'LOCH, the same as Molech.
MONEY. We have no evidence of the use
of coined moneg before the return from the
Babylonian captivity ; but silver was used for
money, in quantities determined by weight,
at least as early as the time of Abraham ; and
its earliest mention is in the generic sense of
the price paid for a slave (Gen. xvii. 13)
The 1000 pieces of silver paid by Ahimelech

Egyptian weighing rings for money.

to Abraham (Gen. xx. 16), and the 20 piece,
of silver for which Joseph was sold to the
Ishmeelites (Gen. xxxvii. 28) were probably
rings such as we see on the Egyptian monu
ments in the act of being weighed. In the
first recorded transaction of commerce, the
cave of Machpelah is purchased by Abraham
for 400 shekels of silver, and it was this just
weight that was recognised as current with
the merchant (" money" is not in the origi
nal : Gen. xxiii. 15, 10). The shekel weight
of silver was the unit of value through the
whole age of Hebrew history, down to the
Babylonian captivity. In only one place is
there a mention of so many shekels of gold
as a sum of money (1 Chr. xxi. 25), and
even here, in the older parallel passage, silver
only is mentioned (2 Som. xxiv. 9). In the
transaction between Naaman and Gehazi,
the "six thousand of gold" (2 K. v. 5,
where pieces is not in the original) probably
denotes shekels, like the "six hundred of
gold" in 1 K. x. 16. — After the Captivity we
have the earliest mention of coined money,
in allusion, as might have been expected,
to the Persian coinage, the gold Baric
(A. V. dram : Ezra ii. 69, viii. 27 ; Neh,
vii. 70,71,72). [Daric] No native Jewish
coinage appears to have existed till Anti
ochus VII. Sidetes granted Simon Macca
baeus the licence to coin money (b.c 140) ;
and it is now generally agreed that tbe oldest
Jewish silver coins belong to this period.
They are shekels and half-shekels of the
weight of 220 and 110 grains. With this
silver there was associated a copper coinage,
some pieces of which have been supposed to
reach as high as Judas Maccabaeus ; but
probably none are really older than John
Hyrcanus (b.c 135), from whom the series is
continued, almost without interruption, to the
end of the Asmonaean house. Most of them
are marked as the half or quarter (doubtless
of the shekel), their average weight being
235^ and 132 grains; and there is a third
piece of about 82 grains, which seems to be
the sixth of a shekel. The abundant money
of Herod the Great, which is of a thoroughly
Greek character, and of copper only, seems
to have been a continuation of the copper
coinage of the Maccabees, with some adapta
tion to the Roman standard. In the money
of the New Testament we see the native
copper coinage side by side with tbe Graeco-
Roman copper, silver, and gold. An interest
ing illustration occurs in our Lord's first
commission to tbe Apostles. st Matthew
(x. 9), with comprehensive generalitv men
tions all the three metals, " Prnv;rfo 7' *
gold, nor silver, nor brass, i„ Y°Jir "S**

MONEY-CHANGERS

355

MONTH

koi/) "which formed the common native cur
rency. St. Luke (ix. 3) uses the general
word for money (apyvpiov). — The coins men
tioned by the Evangelists, and first those of
silver, are the following : — The stater is
spoken of in the account of the miracle of the
tribute-money. The receivers of didrachms
demanded the tribute, but St. Peter found in
the fish a stater, which he paid for our Lord
and himself (Matt. xvii. 24-27). The stater
was therefore a tetradrachm, and it is note
worthy that at this period almost the only
Greek Imperial silver coin in the East was a
tetradrachm, the didrachm being probably
unknown, or very little coined. The di
drachm is mentioned as a money of account
in the passage above cited, as the equivalent
of the Hebrew shekel. The denarius, or
Roman penny, as well as the Greek drachm,
then of about the same weight, are spoken of
as current coins (Matt. xxii. 15-21 ; Luke
xx. 19-25). Of copper coins the farthing and
its half, the mite, are spoken of, and these
probably formed the chief native currency.
MONEY-CHANGERS (Matt. xii. 12 ; Mark
xi. 15 ; John ii. 15). According to Ex. xxx.
13-15, every Israelite who had reached or
passed the age of twenty must pay into the
sacred treasury, whenever the nation was
numbered, a half-shekel as an offering to
Jehovah. The money-changers whom Christ,
for their impiety, avarice, and fraudulent
dealing, expelled from the Temple, were the
dealers who supplied half-shekels for such a
premium as they might be able to exact, to
the Jews from all parts of the world, who
assembled at Jerusalem during the great fes
tivals, and were required to pay their tribute
or ransom money in the Hebrew coin.
MONTH. The terms for "month" and
" moon " have the same close connexion in
the Hebrew language, as in our own. From
the time of the institution of the Mosaic law
downwards the month was a lunar one. The
cycle of religious feasts commencing with the
Passover, depended not simply on the month,
but on the moon ; the 14th of Abib was co
incident with the full moon ; and the new
moons themselves were the occasions of regu
lar festivals (Num. x. 10, xxviii. 11-14).
The commencement of the month was gene
rally decided by observation of the new
moon. The usual number of months in a
year was twelve, as implied in 1 K. iv. 7 ;
1 Chr. xxvii. 1-15; but inasmuch as the
Hebrew months coincided with the seasons,
it follows as a matter of course that an addi
tional month must have been inserted about
every' third year, which would bring the
number up to thirteen. No notice, however,
is taken of this month in the Bible. In the

modern Jewish calendar the intercalary
month is introduced seven times in every 19
years. The usual method of designating the
months was by their numerical order, e. g.
"the second month" (Gen. vii. 11), "the
fourth month" (2 K. xxv. 3) ; and this was
generally retained even when the names
were given, e. g. " in the month Zif, which is
the second month" (1 K. vi. I), " in the third
month, that is, the month Sivan" (Esth. viii.
9). An exception occurs, however, in regard
to Abib in the early portion of the Bible (Ex.
xiii. 4, 'xxiii. 15 ; Deut. xvi. 1), which is
always mentioned by name alone. The
practice of the writers of the post-Babylonian
period in this respect varied : Ezra, Esther,
and Zechariah specify both the names and
the numerical order ; Nehemiah only the
former ; Daniel and Haggai only the latter.
The names of the months belong to two dis
tinct periods ; in the first place we have those
peculiar to the period of Jewish independence,
of which four only, even including Abib,
which we hardly regard as a proper name,
are mentioned, viz. : Abib, in which the
Passover fell (Ex. xiii. 4, xxiii. 15, xxxiv.
18 ; Deut. xvi. 1), and which was established
as the first month in commemoration of the
Exodus (Ex. xii. 2) ; Zif, the second month.
(1 K. vi. 1, 37) ; Bui, the eighth (1 K. vi.
38) ; and Ethanim, the seventh (I K. viii. 2).
In the second place we have the names which
prevailed subsequently to the Babylonish
Captivity ; of these the following seven ap
pear in the Bible : — Nisan, the first, in which
the Passover was held (Neh. ii. 1 ; Esth. iii.
7) ; Sivan, the third (Esth. viii, 9 ; Bar. i.
8) ; Elul, the sixth (Neh. vi. 15 ; 1 Mace. xiv.
27); Chisleu, the ninth (Neh. i. 1; Zech.
vii. 1 ; 1 Mace. i. 54) ; Tebeth, the tenth
(Esth. ii. 16); Sebat, the eleventh (Zech. i.
7 ; 1 Mace. xvi. 14) ; and Adar, the twelfth
(Esth. iii. 7, viii. 12 ; 2 Mace. xv. 36). The
names of the remaining five occur in the
Talmud and other works ; they were, Iyar,
the second (Targum, 2 Chr. xxx. 2) ; Tam-
muz, the fourth ; Ab, the fifth ; Tisri, the
seventh ; and Marcheshvan, the eighth. The
name of the intercalary month was Veadar,
i. e. the additional Adar. — Subsequently to
the" establishment of the Syro-Macedonian
Empire, the use of the Macedonian calendar
was gradually adopted for purposes of litera
ture or intercommunication with other coun
tries. Tbe only instance in which the Mace
donian names appear in the Bible is in 2 Mace.
xi. 30, 33, 38, where we have notice of
Xanthicus in combination with another named
Dioscorinthius (ver. %1), which does not ap
pear in the Macedonian calendar. It is most
probable that the author of 2 Mace or a
2 A 2

MOON

35fi

MORDKCAI

copyist was familiar with the Cretan calendar,
which contained a month named Dioscurus,
holding the same place in the calendar as the
Macedonian Dystrus, i. e. immediately before
Xanthicus, and that he substituted one for
the other. — The identification of the Jewish
months with our own cannot be effected with
precision on account of the variations that
must inevitably exist between the lunar and
the solar month. Nisan (or Abib) answers
to March; Zif or Iyar to May; Sivan to
June ; Tamniuz to July ; Ab to August ; Elul
to September ; Ethanim or Tisri to October ;
Bui or Marchcshvan to November ; Chisleu to
December ; Tebeth to January ; Sebat to,
February ; and Adar to March.
MOON. The moon held an important
place in the kingdom of nature, as known to
the Hebrews. In the history of the creation
(Gen. i. 14-16), it appears simultaneously
with the sun. Conjointly with the sun, it
was appointed " for signs and for seasons,
and for days and years;" though in this
respect it exercised a more important influ
ence, if by the "seasons" we understand
the great religious festivals of the Jews, as is
particularly stated in Ps. civ. 19, and more
at length in Ecclus. xliii. 6, 7. Besides this,
it had its special office in the distribution of
light; it was appointed "to rule over the
night," as the sun over the day, and thus the
appearance of the two founts of light served " to
divide between the day and between the night."
The inferiority of its light is occasionally no
ticed, as in Gen. i. 16 ; in Cant. vi. 10 ; and
in Is. xxx. 26. The coldness of the night-
dews is prejudicial to the health, and parti
cularly to the eyes of those who are exposed
to it, and the idea expressed in Ps. cxxi. 6
may have reference to the general or the par
ticular evil effect. The worship of the moon
was extensively practised by the nations of
the East, and under a variety of aspects. In
Egypt it was honoured under the form of
Isis, and was one of the only two deities
which commanded the reverence of all the
Egyptians. In Syria it was represented by
that one of the Ashtaroth, surnamed " Kar-
naim," from the horns of the crescent moon
by which she was distinguished. There are
indications of a very early introduction into
the countries adjacent to Palestine of a species
of worship distinct from any that we have
hitherto noticed, viz. of the direct homage of
the heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars,
which is the characteristic of Sabiamsm.
The first notice we have of this is in Job
(xxxi. 26, 27), and it is observable that the
warning of Moses (Deut. iv. 19) is directed
against this nature-worship, rather than
against the form of moon-worship, which the

Israelites must have witnessed in Egypt. At
a later period, however, the worship of the
moon in its grosser form of idol-worship was
introduced from Syria. In the figurative
language of Scripture the moon is frequently
noticed as presaging events of the greatest
importance through the temporary or per
manent "withdrawal of its light (Is. xiii.
10 ; Joel ii. 31 ; Matt. xxiv. 29 ; Mark xiii.
24). MOON, NEW. [NkwMoon.]
MORASTHITE, THE, that is, the native
of a place named Moreshl;tii. It occurs
twice (Jer. xxvi. 18 ; Mic. i. I), each time
as the description of the prophet Micah.
MOR'DECAI, the deliverer, under Divine
Providence, of the Jews from the destruction
plotted against them by Haman the chief
minister of Xerxes ; the institutor of the
feast of Puriin. The incidents of his history
are too well known to need to be dwelt upon.
[Esther.] It will he more useful to point
out his place in sacred, profane, and rab
binical history respectively. Three things
are predicated of Mordecai in the Book of
Esther: (1) that he lived in Shushan; (2)
that his name was Mordecai, son of Jair,
son of Shimei, son of Kish the Benjamite who
was taken captive with Jehoiachin ; (3) that
he brought up Esther. It is probable that
the Mordecai mentioned in Ezr. ii. 2 ; Neh.
vii. 7, as one of the leaders of the captives
who returned from time to time from Babylon
to Judaea, was the same as Mordecai of the
Book of Esther. — As regards his place in
profane history, the domestic annals of the
reign of Xerxes are so scanty, that it would
not surprise us to find no mention of Morde
cai. But there is a person named by Ctesias,
who probably saw the very chronicles of the
kings of Media and Persia referred to in
Esth. x. 2, whose name and character present
some points of resemblance with Mordecai,
viz. Matacas, or Natacas, whom he describes
as Xerxes' chief favourite, and the most
powerful of them all. If we suppose the
original form of the name to have been Ma-
tacai, it would easily in the Chaldee orthogra
phy become Mordecai.— As regards his place
in Rabbinical estimation, Mordecai, as is na
tural, stands very high. The interpolations
in the Greek book of Esther are one indication
of his popularity with his countrymen. The
Targum (of late date) shows that this in
creased rather than diminished with the
lapse of centuries. It is said of Mordecai
that he knew the seventg languages, i. e. the
languages of all the nations mentioned in
Gen. x., which the Jews count as seventy
nations, and that his age exceeded 400 years.
He is continually designated by the appella-

MOREH

357

MORTAR

tion " the Just." Benjamin of Tudela places
the tomb of Mordecai and Esther at Hamadan,
or Ecbatana. Others, however, place the
tomb of Mordecai in Susa.
MO'REH. — 1. Thk plain, or plains (or,
as it should rather be rendered, the oak or
oaks), of Moreh. The Oak of Moreh was
the first recorded halting place of Abram
after his entrance into the land of Canaan
(Gen. xii. 6). It was at the "place of She
chem" (xii. 6), close to the mountains of
Ebal and Gerizim (Deut. xi. 30). There is
reason for believing that this place, the scene
of so important an occurrence in Abram's
early residence in Canaan, may have been
also that of one even more important, the
crisis of his later life, the offering of Isaac,
on a mountain in " the land of Moriah."
Whether the oaks of Moreh had any con
nexion with — 3. The Hill of Moreh, at
the foot of which the Midianites and Amalek
ites were encamped before Gideon's attack
upon them (Judg. vii. 1), seems, to say the
least, most uncertain. But a comparison of
Judg. vi. 33 with vii. 1 makes it evident that
it lay in the valley of Jezreel, rather on the
north side of the valley, and north also of
the eminence on which Gideon's little band
of heroes was clustered. These conditions
are most accurately fulfilled if we assume
Jebel ed-Duhy, the " Little Hermon " of the
modern travellers, to be Moreh, the Ain-
Jalood to be the spring of Harod, and
Gideon's position to have been on the north
east slope of Jebel Fukua (Mount Gilboa), be
tween the village of Nuris and the last-men
tioned spring.
MORESH'ETH-GATH, a place named by
the prophet Micah only (Mic. i. 14), in com
pany with Lachish, Achzib, Mareshah, and
other towns of the lowland district of Judah.
Micah was himself the native of a place
called Moresheth, Eusebius and Jerome, in
the Onomasticon, describe Morasthi as a
moderate-sized village near Eleutheropolis, to
the east.
MORI' AH.— 1. The Land op MomAn. On
" one of the mountains " in this district took
place the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. xxii. 2).
What the name of the mountain was we are
not told ; but it was a conspicuous one, visible
from " afar off" (ver. 4). Nor does tbe
narrative afford any data for ascertaining its
position. It is most natural to take the
" land of Moriah " as the same district with
that in which the " Oak (A. V. " plain ") of
Moreh " was situated, and not as that which
contains Jerusalem, as the modern tradition,
which would identify the Moriah of Gen.
xxii. and that of 2 Chr. iii. 1, affirms. — 2.
Mount Moriah. The name ascribed, in

2 Chr. iii. 1 only, to the eminence on which
Solomon built the Temple ; "where He ap
peared to David his father, in a place whieh
David prepared in the threshing-floor of
Araunah the Jebusite." From the mention
of Araunah, the inference is natural that the
" appearance " alluded to occurred at the
time of the purchase of the threshing-floor
by David, and his erection thereon of the
altar (2 Sam. xxiv. ; 1 Chr. xxi.). But it
will he observed that nothing is said in the
narratives of that event of any " appearance "
of Jehovah. A tradition which first appears
in a definite shape in Josephus, and is now
almost universally accepted, asserts that the
"Mount Moriah" of the Chronicles is iden
tical with the " mountain " in " the land of
Moriah)" of Genesis, and that the spot on
which Jehovah appeared to David, and on
which the Temple was built, was the very
spot of the sacrifice of Isaac. But the single
occurrence of the name in this one passage
of Chronicles is surely not enough to estab
lish a coincidence, which if we consider it is
little short of miraculous. Except in the
case of Salem— and that is by no means ascer
tained — the name of Abraham does not ap
pear once in connexion with Jerusalem or
the later royal or ecclesiastical glories of
Israel. Jerusalem lies out of the path of the
patriarchs, and has no part in the history of
Israel till the establishment of the monarchy.
But in addition to this, Jerusalem is incom
patible with the circumstances of the narra
tive of Gen. xxii. To name only two
instances — (1.) The Temple mount cannot
be spoken of as a conspicuous eminence. It
is not visible till the traveller is close upon
it at the southern edge of the valley of Hin
nom, from whence he looks down upon it as
on a lower eminence. (2.) If Salem was
Jerusalem, then the trial of Abraham's faith,
instead of taking place in the lonely and
desolate spot implied by the narrative, where
not even fire was to be obtained, and where
no help but that of the Almighty was nigh,
actually took place under the very walls of
the city of Melchizedek. But, while there is
no trace except in the single passage quoted
of Moriah being attached to any part of
Jerusalem — on the other hand, in the slightly
different form of Moreh it did exist attached
to the town and the neighbourhood of She
chem, .the spot of Abram's first residence in
Palestine. MORTAR. The simplest and probably most
ancient method of preparing corn for food
was by pounding it between two stones. The
Israelites in the desert appear to have pos
sessed mortars and handmills among their
necessary domestic utensils. When the

MORTER

358

MOSES

manna fell they gathered it, and either ground
it in the mill or pounded it in the mortar till
it was fit for use (Num. xi. 8). So in the
present day stone mortars are used by the
Arabs to pound wheat for their national dish
kibby. Another word occurring in Prov.
xxvii. 22, probably denotes a mortar of a
larger kind in which corn was pounded.
" Though thou bray the fool in the mortar
among the bruised corn with the pestle, yet
will not his folly depart from him." Corn
may be separated from its husk and all its
good properties preserved by such an opera
tion, hut the fool's folly is so essential a
part of himself that no analogous process
can remove it from him. Such seems the
natural interpretation of this remarkable
proverb. The language is intentionally ex
aggerated, and there is no necessity for sup
posing an allusion to a mode of punishment
by which criminals were put to death, by
being pounded in a mortar. A custom of this
kind existed among the Turks, but there is
no distinct trace of it among the Hebrews.
Such, however, is supposed to be the reference
in the proverb by Mr. Roberts, who illustrates
it from his Indian experience.
MORTER (Gen. xi. 3; Ex. i. 14; Lev.
xiv. 42, 45 ; Is. xli. 25 ; Ez. xiii. 10, 11, 14,
15, xxii. 28 ; Nah. iii. 14). The various
compacting substances used in Oriental build
ings appear to be — 1. bitumen, as in the
Babylonian structures ; 2. common mud or
moistened clay ; 3. a very firm cement com
pounded of sand, ashes, and lime, in the
proportions respectively of 1, 2, 3, well
pounded, sometimes mixed and sometimes
coated with oil, so as to form a surface
almost impenetrable to wet or the weather.
In Assyrian, and also Egyptian brick build
ings stubble or straw, as hair or wool among
ourselves, was added to increase the tenacity.
MO'SERAH, Deut. x. 6, apparently the same
as MOSEROTH, Num. xxxiii. 30, its plural
form, the name of a place near Mount Hor.
MO'SES (Heb. Mdsheh =¦" drawn "), the
legislator of the Jewish people, and in a cer
tain sense the founder of the Jewish religion.
His birth and education. The immediate
pedigree of Moses is as follows : —
Levi
 I 

Hu

Gerahon Kohath Merari
Am ram = Jochebed
i 
ii i
_ Miriam Aaron= ElUUeba Mosks = Zipporah
i j  ;i

Nadab Abilm Eleazar Ithamar Gerahom Eliezer
i i
Phineas oualhan

The fact that he was of the tribe of Levi no
doubt contributed to the selection of that
tribe as the sacred caste. The story of Mb
birth is thoroughly Egyptian in its scene.
The beauty of the new-born babe induced the
mother to make extraordinary efforts for its
preservation from the general destruction of
the male children of Israel. For three
months the child was concealed in the house.
Then his mother placed him in a small boat
or basket of papyrus, closed against the water
by bitumen; This was placed among the
aquatic vegetation by the side of one of the
canals of the Nile. The mother departed as
if unable to bear the sight. The sister
lingered to watch her brother's fate. The
Egyptian princess came down, after the
Homeric simplicity of the age, to bathe in
the sacred river. Her attendant slaves fol
lowed her. She saw the basket in the flags,
and despatched divers after it. The divers,
or one of the female slaves, brought it. It
was opened, and the cry of the child moved
the princess to compassion. She determined
to rear it as her own. The sister was at
hand to recommend a Hebrew nurse. The
child was brought up as the princess's son,
and the memory of the incident was long
cherished in the name given to tbe foundling
of the water's side — whether according to its
Hebrew or Egyptian form. Ils Hebrew form
is Mdsheh, from Mdshdh, "to draw out" —
"because I have drawn him out of the
water." But this is probably the Hebrew
form given to a foreign word. In Coptic,
mo — water, and ushe = saved. This is the
explanation given by Josephus. The child
was adopted by the princess. From this
time for many years Moses must be con
sidered as an Egyptian. In the Pentateuch
this period is a blank, but in the N. T. he is
represented as " educated in all the wisdom oi
the Egyptians," and as " mighty in words and
deeds " (Acts vii. 22). But the time at last
arrived when he was resolved to reclaim hii
nationality (Heb. xi. 24-26). Seeing an Israel
ite suffering the bastinado from an Egyptian,
and thinking that they were alone he slew
the Egyptian, and buried the corpse in the
sand. The fire of patriotism which thus
turned him into a deliverer from the oppres
sors, turns him into the peace-maker of the
oppressed. It is characteristic of the faith
fulness of the Jewish records that his flight
is there occasioned rather by the malignity of
his countrymen than by the enmity of the
Egyptians. He fled into Midian. Beyond
the fact that it was in or near the peninsula
of Sinai, its precipe situation is unknown.
There was a famous well (" the well," Ex. ii.
15) surrounded by tanks for the watering of

MOSES

359

MOSES

the flocks of the Bedouin herdsmen. By this
well the fugitive seated himself, and watched
the gathering of the sheep. There were the
Arabian shepherds, and there were also seven
maidens, whom the shepherds rudely drove
away from the water. The chivalrous spirit
which had already broken forth in behalf of
his oppressed countrymen, broke forth again
in behalf of the distressed maidens. They
returned unusually soon to their father, and
told him of their adventure. Moses, who up
to this time had been "an Egyptian" (Ex.
ii. 19), now became for forty years (Acts vii.
30), an Arabian. He married Zipporah,
daughter of his host, to whom he also became
the slave and shepherd (Ex. ii. 21, iii. 1).
But the chief effect of this stay in Arabia is
on Moses himself. It was in the seclusion
and simplicity of his shepherd-life that he
received his call as a prophet. The tradi
tional scene of this great event is in the val
ley of Shoayb, or Hobab, on the N. side of
Jebel Mitsa. The original indications are
too slight to enable us to fix the spot with
any certainty. It was at " the back of the
wilderness" at Horeb (Ex. iii. 1), "the
mountain of God." Upon the mountain was
a well-known acacia, the thorn-tree of the
desert, spreading out its tangled branches
thick set with white thorn, over the rocky
ground. It was this tree which became the
symbol of the Divine Presence : a flame
of fire in the midst of it, in which the dry
branches would naturally have crackled and
burnt in a moment, but which played around
it without consuming it. The rocky ground
at once became " holy," and the shepherd's
sandal was to be taken off no less than on
the threshold of a palace or a temple. The
call or revelation was twofold — 1. The decla
ration of the Sacred Name expresses the
eternal self-existence of the One God. 2.
The mission was given to Moses to deliver
his people. The two signs are characteristic
— the one of his past Egyptian life — the
other of his active shepherd life. In the
rush of leprosy into his hand is the link be
tween him and the people whom the Egypt
ians called a nation of lepers. In the trans
formation of his shepherd's staff is the
glorification of the simple pastoral life, of
which that staff was the symbol, into the
great career which lay before it. He returns
to Egypt from his exile. His Arabian wife
and her two infant sons are with him. 5he
is seated with them on the ass. He appar
ently walks by their side with hi3 shepherd's
staff. On the journey back to Egypt a my
sterious incident occurred in the family.
The most probable explanation seems to be,
that at the caravanserai either Moses or

Gershom was struck with what seemed to he
a mortal illness. In some way this illness
was connected by Zipporah with the fact that
her son had not been circumcised. She in
stantly performed the rite, and threw the
sharp instrument, stained with the fresh
blood, at the feet of her husband, exclaiming
in the agony of a mother's anxiety for the
life of her child — "A bloody husband thou
art, to cause the death of my son." Then,
when the recovery from the illness took place,
she exclaims again, " A bloody husband still
thou art, but not so as to cause the child's
death, but only to bring about his circumci
sion." It would seem to have been in conse
quence of this event, whatever it was, that
the wife and her children were sent back
to Jethro, and remained with him till Moses
joined them at Rephidim (Ex. xviii. 2-6),
After this parting he advanced into the desert,
and at the same spot where he had had hi6
vision encountered Aaron (Ex. iv. 27). From
that meeting and cooperation we have the
first distinct indication of his personal ap
pearance and character. But beyond the
slight glance at his infantine beauty, no hint
of this grand personality is given in the Bible.
What is described is rather tlie reverse. The
only point there brought out is a singular
and unlooked for infirmity. " I am slow of
speech and of a slow tongue." In the solution
of this difficulty which Moses offers, we read
both the disinterestedness, which is the most
distinct trait of his personal character, and
the future relation of the two brothers,
Aaron spoke and acted for Moses, and was
the permanent inheritor of the sacred staff
of power. But Moses was the inspiring soul
behind. — The history of Moses henceforth is
the history of Israel for forty years. It is
important to trace his relation to his imme
diate circle of followers. In the Exodus, he
takes the decisive lead on the night of the
flight. Up to that point he and Aaron appeal-
almost on an equality. But after that, Moses
is usually mentioned alone. Aaron still held
the second place. Another, nearly equal to
Aaron, is Hur, of the tribe of Judah. Mi
riam always held the independent position
to which her age entitled her. Her part
was to supply the voice and song to her bro
ther's prophetic power. But Moses is incon-
testably the chief personage of the history,
in a sense in which no one else is described
before or since. He was led into a closer
communion with the invisible world than
was vouchsafed to any other in the O. T.
There are two main characters in which he
appears as a Leader and as a Prophet, (a.) As
a Leader, his life divides itself into the three
epochs —of the march • to Sinai ; the march

MOSES

360

MOSES

from Sinai to Kadesh ; and the conquest of
the Transjordanic kingdoms. Of his natural
gifts in this capacity, we have but few means
of judging. The two main difficulties which
he encountered were the reluctance of the
people to submit to his guidance, and the im
practicable nature of the country which they
had to traverse. The incidents with which
his name was especially connected both in
the sacred narrative, and in the Jewish,
Arabian, and heathen traditions, were those
of supplying water, when most wanted. In
the Pentateuch these supplies of water take
place at Marah, at Horcb, at Kadesh, and in
the land of Moab. Of the three first of these
incidents, traditional sites, bearing his name,
are shown in the desert at the present day,
though most of them are rejected by modern
travellers. The route through the wilderness
is described as having been made under his
guidance. The particular spot of the en
campment is fixed by the cloudy pillar. But
the direction of the people first to the Red
Sea, and then to Mount Sinai, is communi
cated through Muses, or given by him. On
approaching Palestine the office of the leader
becomes blended with that of the general or
the conqueror. By Moses the spies were
sent to explore the country. Against his
advice took place the first disastrous battle
at Hormah. To his guidance is ascribed the
circuitous route by which the nation ap
proached Palestine from the east, and to his
generalship the two successful campaigns in
which Sihon and Og were defeated. The
narrative is told so shortly, that we are in
danger of forgetting that at this last stage of
his life Moses must have been as much a
conqueror and victorious soldier as Joshua.
(b.) His character as a Prophet is, from the
nature of the case, more distinctly brought
out. He is the first as he is the greatest
example of a prophet in the O. T. In a cer
tain sense, he appears as the centre of a
prophetic circle, now for the first time named.
His brother and sister were both endowed
with prophetic gifts. The seventy elders,
and Eldad and Medad also, all " prophesied "
(Num. xi. 25-271. But Moses rose high
above all these. With him the Divine reve
lations were made, " mouth to mouth, even
apparently, and not in dark speeches, and
the similitude of Jehovah shall he behold "
(Num. xii. 8). Of the especial modes of this
more direct communication, four great ex
amples are given, corresponding to four
critical epochs in his historical career. (1.)
The appearance of the Divine presence in
the flaming acacia-tree has been already
noticed. No form is described. " The
Angel," or "Messenger," is snoken of as

being "in the flame" (Ex. iii. 2-6). (2.)
In the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai,
the outward form of the revelation was a
thick darkness as of ? thunder-cloud, out of
which proceeded a voice (Ex. xix. 19, xx.
21). The revelation on this occasion was
especially of the Name of Jj'hovui. On two
occasions he is described as having penetrated
within the darkness, and remained there suc
cessively, for two periods of forty days, of
which the second was spent in absolute seclu
sion and fasting (Ex. xxiv. 18, xxxiv. 28).
(3.) It was nearly at the close of those com
munications in the mountains of Sinai that
an especial revelation was made to him
personally. In the despondency produced by
the apostacy of the molten calf, he besought
Jkhovah to show him " His glory." The
Divine answer announced that an actual
vision of God was impossible. " Thou canst
not see my face; for there shall no man see
my face and live." He was commanded to
hew two blocks of stone, like those which he
had destroyed. He was to come absolutely
alone. He took his place on a well-known
or prominent rock (" the rock ") (xxxiii. 21).
The cloud passed by (xxxiv. 5, xxxiii. 22).
A voice proclaimed the two immutable attri
butes of God, Justice and Love—in words
which became part of tbe religious creed of
Israel and of the world (xxxiv. 6, 7). (4.)
The fourth mode of Divine manifestation was
that which is described as commencing at this
juncture, and which continued with more
or less continuity through the rest of his
career. Immediately after the catastrophe
of the worship of the calf, and apparently in
consequence of it, Moses removed the chief
tent outside the camp, and invested it with
a sacred character under the name of " the
Tent or Tabernacle of the congregation "
(xxxiii. 7). This tent became henceforth the
chief scene of his communications with God.
It was during these communications that a
peculiarity is mentioned which apparently
had not been seen before. It was on his
final descent from Mount Sinai, after his
second long seclusion, that a splendour shone
on his face, as if from the glory of the Divine
Presence.— There is another form of the pro
phetic gift, in which Moses more nearly
resembles the later prophets. It is clear that
the prophetical office, as represented in the
history of Moses, included the poetical form
of composition which characterizes the Jew
ish prophecy generally. These poetical ut
terances, whether connected with Moses by
ascription or by actual authorship, enter so
largely into the full Biblical conception of
his character, that they must be here men
tioned. 1, " The song which Moses and the

MOSES

361

MOSES

children of Israel sung " (after the passage
of the Red Sea, Ex. xv. 1-19). 2. A frag
ment of a war-song against Amalek (Ex. xvii.
16). 3. A -fragment of a lyrical burst of
indignation (Ex. xxxii. 18). 4. Probably,
either from him or his immediate prophetic
followers, the fragments of war-songs in
" Num. xxi. 14, 15, 27-30, preserved in the
"book of the wars of Jehovah," Num. xxi.
14 ; and the address to the well, xxi. 16, 17,
18. 5. The Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii.
1-43), setting forth the greatness and the
failings of Israel. 6. The blessing of Moses
on the tribes (Deut. xxxiii. 1-29). 7. The
90th Psalm, " A prayer of Moses, the man of
God." The title, like all the titles of the
Psalms, is of doubtful authority, and tbe
Psalm has often been referred to a later
author. How far the gradual development
of these revelations or prophetic utterances
had any connexion with his own character
and history, the materials are not such as to
justify any decisive judgment. His Egyptian
education, must, on the one hand, have sup
plied him with much of the ritual of the
Israelite worship. The coincidences between
the arrangements of the priesthood, the dress,
the sacrifices, the ark, in the two countries,
are decisive. On the other hand, the procla
mation of the Unity of God, implies distinct
antagonism, almost a conscious recoil against
the Egyptian system. And the absence of
the doctrine of a future state proves at least
a remarkable independence of the Egyptian
theology, in which that great doctrine held
so prominent a place, — The prophetic office
of Moses can only be fully considered in con
nexion with his whole character and appear
ance (Hos. xii. 13). He was in a sense
peculiar to himself the founder and repre
sentative of his people. And, in accordance
with this complete identification of himself
with his nation, is the only strong personal
trait which we are able to gather from his
history (Num. xii. 3). The word "meek"
is hardly an adequate reading of the Hebrew
term, which should be rather " much" endur
ing." It represents what we should now
designate by the word "disinterested." All
that is told of him indicates a withdrawal ofi
himself, a preference of the cause of his
nation to his own interests, which makes him
the most complete example of Jewish patriot
ism. — In exact conformity with his life is the
account of his end. The Book of Deutero
nomy describes, and is, the long last farewell
of the prophet to his people. It takes place
on the first day of the eleventh month of the
fortieth year of the wanderings, in the plains
of Moab (Deut. i. 3, 5). He is described as
120 years of age, but with his sight and his

freshness of strength unabated (Deut. xxxiv.
7). The address from ch. i. to ch. xxx. con
tains the recapitulation of the Law. Joshua
is then appointed his successor. The Law is
written out, and ordered to be deposited in
the Ark (ch. xxxi.) The song and the bless
ing of the tribes conclude the farewell (ch.
xxxii., xxxiii.). And then comes the my
sterious close. As if to carry out to the last
the idea that the prophet was to live not for
himself, but for his people, he is told that
he is to see the good land beyond the Jor
dan, but not to possess it himself. Tbe sin
for which this penalty was imposed on the
prophet is difficult to ascertain clearly. He
ascends a mountain in the range which rises
above the Jordan valley. The mountain tract
was known by the general name of the
pisgah. Its summits apparently were dedi
cated to different -divinities (Num. xxiii. 14).
On one of these, consecrated to Nebo, Moses
took his stand, and surveyed the four great
masses of Palestine west of the Jordan— so
far as it could be discerned from that height.
The view has passed into a proverb for all
nations. " So Moses the servant of Jehovah
died there in the land of Moab, according to
the word of Jehovah, and he buried him in
a ' ravine ' in the land of Moab, ' before '
Beth-peor — but no man knoweth of his se
pulchre unto this day . . . And the children
of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of
Moab thirty days" (Deut. xxxiv. 5, 8). This
'is all that is said in the sacred record.
Jewish, Arabian, and Christian traditions
have laboured to fill up the detail. His
grave, though studiously concealed in the
sacred narrative, is shown by the Mussul
mans on the west (and therefore the wrong)
side of the Jordan, between the Dead Sea
and St. Saba. — In the O. T. the name of
Moses does not occur so frequently, after the
close of the Pentateuch, as might be expected.
In the Psalms and the Prophets, however, he
is frequently named as the chief of the prophets.
In the N. T. he is referred to partly as the re
presentative of the Law — as in the numerous
passages cited above — and in the vision of the
Transfiguration, where he appears side by
side with Elijah. As the author of the Law
he is contrasted with Christ, the Author of
the Gospel : "The Law was given by Moses "
(John i. 17). The ambiguity and transitory
nature of his glory is set against the per
manence and clearness of Christianity (2 Cor.
iii. 13-18), and .his mediatorial character
against the unbroken communication of God
in Christ (Gal. iii. 19). His "service" of
God is contrasted with Christ's sonship (Heb.
iii. 5, 6). But he is also spoken of as a like
ness of Christ ; and as this is a point of

362

MOURNING

view which has been almost lost in the
Church, compared with the more familiar
comparisons of Christ to Adam, David, Joshua,
and yet has as firm a basis in fact as any of
them, it may be well to draw it out in detail.
1. Moses is, as it would seem, the only cha
racter of the O. T. to whom Christ expressly
likens Himself — " Moses wrote of me " (John
v. 46). It suggests three main points of
likeness : — (a.) Christ was, like Moses, the
great Prophet of the people — the last, as
Moses was the first, (b.) Christ, like Moses,
is a Lawgiver : " Him shall ye hear." (c.)
Christ, like Moses, was a Prophet out of the
midst of the nation — " from their brethren."
As Moses was the entire representative of his
people, feeling for them more than for him
self, absorbed in their interests, hopes, and
fears, so, with reverence be it said, was
Christ. 2. In Heb. iii. 1-19, xii. 24-29, Acts
vii. 37, Christ is described, though more
obscurely, as the Moses of the new dispensa
tion — as the Apostle, or Messenger, or Medi
ator, of God to the people — as the Controller
and Leader of the flock or household of God.
3. The details of their lives are sometimes,
though not often, compared (Acts vii. 24-28,
35). In Jude 9 is an allusion to an alterca
tion between Michael and Satan over the body
of Moses. It probably refers to a lost apo
cryphal book, mentioned by Origen, called
the "Ascension, or Assumption of Moses." —
Respecting the books of Moses, see Penta
teuch. MOTH. By the Hebrew word we are
certainly to understand some species of
clothes-moth (tinea). Reference to the de
structive habits of the clothes-moth is made
in Job iv. 19, xiii. 28; Ps. xxxix. 11, &c.
In Job xxvii. 18, " He buildeth his house as
a moth," it is clear that allusion is made
either to the well-known case of the Tinea
pellioneila, or some allied species, or else to
the leaf-building larvae of some other mem
ber of the Lepidoptcra. The clothes-moths
belong to the group Tineina, order Lcpido-
ptera. MOTHER. The superiority of the Hebrew
over all contemporaneous systems of legisla
tion and of morals is strongly shown in the
higher estimation of the mother in the Jewish
family, as contrasted with modern Oriental,
as well as ancient Oriental and classical usage.
The king's mother, as appears in the case of
Bathsheba, was treated with especial honour
(1 K. ii. 19; Ex. xx. 1.2; Lev. xix. 3;
Deut. v. 16, xxi. 18, 21 ; Prov. x. 1, xv. 20,
xvii, 25, xxix. 15, xxxi. 1, 30).
MOUNT, MOUNTAIN. The Hebrew word
har, like the English " mountain," is em
ployed both for single eminences more or less

isolated, such as Sinai, Gerizim, Ebal, Zion,
and Olivet, and for ranges, such as Lebanon.
It is also applied to a mountainous country
or district. The frequent occurrence through
out the Scriptures of personification of the
natural features of the country is very re
markable. The following are all the words
used with this object in relation to mountains
or hills : — 1. Head, Rdsh, Gen. viii. 5 ; Ex.
xix. 20 ; Deut. xxxiv. 1 ; 1 K. xviii. 42 ;
(A. V. "top"). 2. Ears, Azndth, Aznoth-
Tabor, Josh. xix. 34 : possibly in allusion to
some projection on the top of the mountain.
3. Shoulder, Cdtheph. Deut. xxxiii. 12;
Josh. xv. 8, and xviii. 16 ("side"). 4.
Side, Tsad. Used in reference to a moun
tain in 1 Sam. xxiii. 26 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 34.
5. Loins or Flanks, Cisldth. Chisloth-
Tabor, Josh. xix. 12. It occurs also in the
name of a village, probably situated on this
part of the mountain, Ha-Cesulloth, i. e. the
"loins" (Josh. xix. 18). 6. Rib, Tseld.
Only ueed once, in speaking of the Mount of
Olives, 2 Sam. xvi. 13, and there translated
" side." 7. Back, Shecem. Possibly the root
of the name of the town Shechem, which
may be derived from its situation, as it were
on the back of Gerizim. 8. Thigh, Jarc&h.
Applied to Mount Ephraim, Judg. xix. 1,18;
and to Lebanon, 2 K. xix. 23 ; Is. xxxvii.
24. Used also for the "sides" of a cave,
1 Sam. xxiv. 3. 9. The word translated
" covert " in 1 Sam. xxv. 20 is Sether, from
sdthar " to hide " and probably refers to the
shrubbery or thicket through which Abigail's
path lay. In this passage " hill " should be
"mountain." The Chaldee tur is the name
still given to the Mount of Olives, the Jebel
et-Tilr. MOURNING. (1.) One marked feature
of Oriental mourning is what may be called
its studied publicity, and the careful obser
vance of tbe prescribed ceremonies (Gen.
xxiii. 2 ; Job i. 20, ii. 8 ; Is. xv. 3, &c).
(2.) Among the particular forms observed
the following may be mentioned : — a. Rend
ing the clothes (Gen. xxxvii. 29, 34, xliv.
13, &c). b. Dressing in sackcloth (Gen.
xxxvii. 34 ; 2 Sam. iii. 31, xxi. 10, &c).
c. Ashes, dust, or earth sprinkled on the per
son (2 Sam. xiii. 19, xv. 32, &c). d. Black
or sad-coloured garments (2 Sam, xiv. 2 ;
Jer. viii. 21, &c). e. Removal of orna
ments or neglect of person (Deut. xxi. 12,
13, &c). /. Shaving the head, plucking out
the hair of the head or beard (Lev. x. 6 ;
2 Sam. xix. 24, &c). g. Laying bare some
part of tbe body (Is. xx. 2, xlvii. 2, &c).
h. Fasting or abstinence in meat and drink
(2 Sam. i. 12, iii. 35, xii. 16, 22, &c). i.
In the same direction may he mentioned

MOURNING

303

MULE

diminution in offerings to God, and prohibi
tion to partake in sacrificial food (Lev. vii. 20 ;
Deut. xxvi. 14). k. Covering the " upper
lip," i. e. the lower part of the face, and
sometimes the head, in token of silence (Lev.
xiii. 45 ; 2 Sam. xv. 30, xix. 4). I. Cutting
the flesh (Jer. xvi. 6, 7, xli. 5). Beating
the body (Ez. xxi. 12 ; Jer. xxxi. 19). m.
Employment of persons hired for the pur
pose of mourning (Eccl. xii. 5 ; Jer. ix. 17 ;
Am. v. 16 ; Matt. ix. 23). n. Akin to this
usage the custom for friends or passers-by
to join in the lamentations of bereaved or
afflicted persons (Gen. 1. 3 ; Judg. xi. 40 ;
Job ii. 11, xxx. 25, &c). o. The sitting or
lying posture in silence indicative of grief
(Gen. xxiii. 3 ; Judg. xx. 26, &c). p.
Mourning feast and cup of consolation (Jer.
xvi. 7, 8). The period of mourning varied.
In the case of Jacob it was seventy days
(Gen. 1. 3) ; of Aaron (Num. xx. 29), and
Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), thirty. A further
period of seven days in Jacob's case, Gen.
1. 10. Seven days for Saul, which may have
been an abridged period in time of national
danger, 1 Sam. xxxi. 13. (3.) In the last
place we may mention — a. The idolatrous
"mourning for Tammuz," Ez. viii. 14, as
indicating identity of practice in certain cases
among Jews and heathens ; and the custom
in later days of offerings of food at graves,
Ecclus. xxx. 18. b. The prohibition, both
to the high-priest and to Naxarites, against
going into mourning even for a father or
mother, Lev. xxi. 10, 11 ; Num. vi. 7. The
inferior priests were limited to the cases of
their near relatives, Lev. xxi. 1, 2, 4. c.
The food eaten during the time of mourning
was regarded as impure, Deut. xxvi. 14 ;
Jer. xvi. 5, 7 ; Ez. xxiv. 17 ; Hos. ix. 4. —
With the practices above mentioned, Oriental
and other customs, ancient and modern, in
great measure agree. Arab men are silent
in grief, but the women scream, tear their
hair, hands, and face, and throw earth or
sand on their heads. Both Mahometans and
Christians in Egypt hire wailing women, and
wail at stated times. Burckhardt says the
women of Atbara in Nubia shave their heads
on the death of their nearest relatives — a
custom prevalent also among several of the
peasant tribes of Upper Egypt. He also
mentions wailing women, and a man in dis
tress besmearing his face with dirt and dust
in token of -grief. In the Arabian Nights
are frequent allusions to similar practices.
They also mention ten days and forty days as
periods of mourning. Lane, speaking of the
modern Egyptians, says, "After death the
women of the family raise cries of lamenta
tion called welweleMi or wilwal, uttering the

most piercing shrieks, and calling upon the
name of the deceased, ' O, my master ! O,
my resource ! O, my misfortune ! O, my
glory!' (see Jer. xxii. 18). The females of
the neighbourhood come to join with them in
this conclamation : generally, also, the family
send for two or more nedddbehs, or public
wailing women. Each brings a tambourine,
and beating them they exclaim, ' Alas for
him ! .' The female relatives, domestics, and
friends, with their hair dishevelled, and
sometimes with rent clothes, beating their
faces, cry in like manner, ' Alas for him ! '
These make no alteration in dress, but women,
in some cases, dye their shirts, head-veils,
and handkerchiefs of a dark-blue colour.
They visit the tombs at stated periods"
(Mod. Eg. iii. 152, 171, 195).
MOUSE occurs in Lev. xi. 29 ; 1 Sam. vi.
4, 5 ; Is. lxvi. 17. The Hebrew word is in
all probability generic, and is not intended to
denote any particular species of mouse. The
original word denotes a field-ravager, and
may therefore comprehend any destructive
rodent. It is probable, however, that in
1 Sam. vi. 5, " the mice that mar the land"
may include and more particularly refer to
the short-tiiiled field-mice (Arvicola agrestis,
Flem.), which cause great destruction to the
corn-lands of Syria.
MOWIXG. As the great heat of the
climate in Palestine and other similarly
situated countries soon dries up the herbage
itself, hay-making in our sense of the term
is not in use. The term " hay," therefore,
in Prov. xxvii. 25, and Is. xv. 6 is incorrect.
The "king's mowings" (Am. vii. 1), i.e.
mown grass (Ps. lxxii. 6), may perhaps refer
to some royal right of early pasturage for the
use of tne cavalry.
MO'ZAH, one of the cities in the allotment
of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 26 only), named
between hac-Cephirah and Rekem. No trace
of any name resembling Mozah has hitherto
been discovered.
MULBERRY-TREES (Heb. becalm) occur
only in 2 Sam. v. 23 and 24, and 1 Chr. xiv.
14. We are quite unable to determine what
kind of tree is denoted by the Hebrew word.
Though there is no evidence to show that the
mulberry-tree occurs in the Hebrew Bible,
yet the fruit of this tree is mentioned in
1 Mace. vi. 34.
MULE. It is an interesting fact that we
do not read of mules till the time of David,
just at the time when the Israelites were be
coming well acquainted with horses. After
this time horses and mules are in Scripture
often mentioned together. In Solomon's
time it is possible that mules from Egypt
occasionally accompanied the horses which

MUPPIM

364

MUSIC

we know the king of Israel obtained from
that country ; for though the mule is not of
frequent occurrence in the monuments of
Egypt, yet it is not easy to believe that the
Egyptians were not well acquainted with
this animal. It would appear that kings and
great men only rode on mules. We do not
read of mules at all in the N. T., perhaps
therefore they had ceased to be imported.
Mules are mentioned in Gen. xxxvi. 24 : —
" This was that Anah that found the mules
in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon
his father:" but the A.V. is certainly in
correct ; and the Hebrew word ye mini here
translated " mules," probably means " warm
springs," as the Vulg. has it.
MUP'PIM, a Benjamite, and one of the
fourteen descendants of Rachel who belonged
to the original colony of the sons of Jacob in
Egypt (Gen. xlvi. 21). In Num. xxvi. 39
the name is written Shupham. In I Chr.
vii. 12, 15. it is Shuppim (the same as xxvi.
16), and viii. 5 Shephupban. Hence it is
probable that Muppim is a corruption of the
text, and that Shupham is the true form.
MURDER. The principle on whieh the
act of taking the life of a human being was
regarded by the Almighty as a capital offence
is stated on its highest ground as an outrage
on the likeness of God in man, to be punished
even when caused by an animal (Gen. ix. 5,
6 ; see also John viii. 44; 1 John iii. 12, 15).
The Law of Moses, while it protected the
accidental homicide, defined with additional
strictness the crime of murder. It pro
hibited compensation or reprieve of the
murderer, or his protection if he took refuge
in the refuge-city, or even at the altar of
Jehovah (Ex. xxi. 12, 14; Lev. xxiv. 17,
21 ; IK. ii. 5, 6, 31). If an animal known
to be vicious caused the death of any one,
not only was the animal destroyed, but the
owner also, if he had taken no steps to re
strain itr was held guilty of murder (Ex. xxi.
29, 31). The duty of executing punishment
on the murderer is in the Law expressly laid
on the " revenger of blood ; " but the ques
tion of guilt was to be previously decided by
the Levitical tribunal. In regal times the
duty of execution of justice on a murderer
seems to have been assumed to some extent
by the sovereign, as well as the privilege of
pardon (2 Sam. xiii. 39, xiv. 7, 11 ; IK. ii.
34). It was lawful to kill a burglar taken at
night in the act, but unlawful to do so after
sunrise (Ex. xxii. 2, 3).
MU'SHI, the son of Merari the son of
Kohath (Ex. vi. 19 ; Num. iii. 20 ; 1 Chr.
vi. 19, 47, xxiii. 21, 23, xxiv. 26, 30).
MUSIC. The inventor of musical instru
ments, like the first poet and the first forger

of metals, was a Cainitc. We learn from
Gen. iv. that Jubal the son of Lamech was
" the father of all such as handle the harp
and organ," that is of all players upon
stringed and wind instruments. The first
mention of music in the times after the
Deluge is in tbe narrative of Laban's inter
view with Jacob (Gen. xxxi. 27). So that,
in whatever way it was preserved, the prac
tice of music existed in the upland country
of Syria, and of the three possible kinds of
musical instruments, two were known and
employed to accompany the song. The three
kinds are alluded to in Job xxi. 12. On the
banks of the Red Sea Moses and the children
of Israel sang their triumphal song of de
liverance from the hosts of Egypt ; and
Miriam, in celebration of the same event,
exercised one of her functions as a prophetess
by leading a procession of the women of the
camp, chanting in chorus the burden to the
song of Moses, " Sing ye to Jehovah, for He
hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and
his rider hath He thrown into the sea."
The triumphal hymn of Moses had unques
tionably a religious character about it, but
the employment of music in religious service,
though idolatrous, is more distinctly marked
in the festivities which attended the erection
of the golden call'. The silver trumpets made
by the metal workers of the tabernacle,
which were used to direct the movements of
the camp, point to music of a very simple
kind (Sum. x. 1-10). The song of Deborah
and Barak is cast in a distinctly metrical
form, and was probably intended to be sung
with a musical accompaniment as one of the
people's songs. The simpler impromptu with
which the women from the cities of Israel
greeted David after the slaughter of the
Philistine, was apparently struck off on the
spur of the moment, under the influence of
the wild joy with which they welcomed their
national champion, " the darling of the songs
of Israel" (1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7). Up to this
time we meet with nothing like a systematic
cultivation of music among the Hebrews, but
tbe establishment of the schools of the pro
phets appears to have supplied this want.
Whatever the students of these schools may
have been taught, music was an essential
part of their practice. Professional musicians
soon became attached to the court. David
seems to have gathered round him " singing
men and singing women" (2 Sam. xix. 35).
Solomon did the same (Eccl. ii. 8), adding to
the luxury of his court by his patronage of
art, and obtaining a reputation himself as no
mean composer (1 K. iv. 32). But the
Temple was the great school of music, and it
was consecrated to its highest service in the

MUSIC

365

MUSTARD

worship of Jehovah. Before, however, the
elaborate arrangements had been made by
David for the temple choir, there must have
been a considerable body of musicians
throughout the country (2 Sam. vi. 5), and
in the procession which accompanied the ark
from the house of Obededom, the Levites,
with Chenaniah at their head, who had ac
quired skill from previous training, played
on psalteries, harps, and cymbals, to the
words of the psalm of thanksgiving which
David had composed for the occasion (1 Chr.
xv. xvi.). It is not improbable that the
Levites all along had practised music and
that some musical service was part of the
worship of the tabernacle. The position
which they occupied among the other tribes
naturally favoured the cultivation of an art
which is essentially characteristic of a leisurely
and peaceful life. The three great divisions
of the tribe had each a representative family
in the choir. Asaph himself appears to have
played on the cymbals (1 Chr. xvi. 5), and
this was the case with the other leaders
(1 Chr. xv. 19), perhaps to mark the time
more distinctly, while the rest of the band
played on psalteries and harps. The singers
were distinct from both, as is evident in Ps.
lxviii. 25, " the singers went before, the
players on instruments followed after, in the
midst of the damsels playing with timbrels."
The " players on instruments " were the
performers upon stringed instruments, like
the psaltery and harp. The " players on in
struments " in Ps. lxxxvii. 7, were different
from these last, and were properly pipers or
performers on perforated wind-instruments
(see 1 K. i. 40). "The damsels playing with
timbrels" (comp. 1 Chr. xiii. 8) seem to
indicate that women took part in the temple
choir. The trumpets, which are mentioned
among the instruments played before the ark
(1 Chr. xiii. 8), appear to have been reserved
for the priests alone (1 Chr. xv. 24, xvi. 6).
As they were also used in royal proclama
tions (2 K. xi. 14), they were probably in
tended to set forth by way of symbol the
royalty of Jehovah, the theocratic king of
his people, as well as to sound the alarm
against His enemies (2 Chr. xiii. 12). — In
the private as well as in the religious life of
the Hebrews music held a prominent place.
The kings had their court musicians (Eccl.
ii. 8) who bewailed their death (2 Chr. xxxv.
25), and in the luxurious times of the later
monarchy the effeminate gallants of Israel,
reeking with perfumes and stretched upon
their couches of ivory, were wont at their
banquets to accompany the song with the
tinkling of the psaltery or guitar (Am. vi.
4-6), and amused themselves with devising

musical instruments while their nation was
perishing. But while music was thus made
to minister to debauchery and excess, it was
the legitimate expression of mirth and glad
ness, and the indication of peace and pro
sperity. It was only when a curse was upon
the land that the prophet could say, "the
mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them
that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp
ceaseth, they shall not drink wine with a
song " (Is. xxiv. 8, 9). The bridal proces
sions as they passed through the streets were
accompanied with music and song (Jer. vii.
34), and these ceased only when the land
was desolate (Ez. xxvi. 13). The music of
the banquets was accompanied with songs
and dancing (Luke xv. 25), The triumphal
processions which celebrated a victory were
enlivened by minstrels and 6ingers (Ex. xv.
1, 20 ; Judg. v. 1, xi. 34 ; 1 Sam. xviii. 6,
xxi. 11 ; 2 Chr. xx. 28 ; Jud. xv. 12, 13),
and on extraordinary occasions they even
accompanied armies to battle. Besides songs
of triumph there were also religious songs
(Is. xxx. 29 ; Am. v. 23 ; Jam. v. 13),
"songs of the temple" (Am. viii. 3), and
songs which were sung in idolatrous worship
(Ex. xxxii. 18). Love songs are alluded to
in Ps. xiv. title, and Is. v. 1 . There were
also the doleful songs of the funeral proces
sion, and the wailing chant of the mourners
who went about the streets, the professional
" keening " of those who were skilful in
lamentation (2 Chr. xxxv. 25 ; Eccl. xii. 5 ;
Jer. ix. 17-20 ; Am. v. 16). The grape
gatherers sang as they gathered in the vint
age, and the wine-presses were trodden with
the shout of a song (Is. xvi. 10 ; Jer. xlviii.
33) ; the women sang as they toiled at the
mill, and on every occasion the land of the
Hebrews during their national prosperity was
a land of music and melody. — The instru
ments of music whieh have been represented
in our version by some modern word, are
treated under their respective titles.
MUSTARD occurs in Matt. xiii. 31, xvii.
20; Mark iv. 31; Luke xiii. 19, xvii. 6.
The mustard-tree of Scripture is maintained
by Dr. Royle to be the Salvadora persica,
which he supposes to be the same as the tree
called Kliardal (the Arabic for mustard),
seeds of which are employed throughout
Syria as a substitute for mustard, of which
they have the taste and properties. This
tree is found all along the banks of the
Jordan, near the lake of Tiberias, and near
Damascus, and is said to be generally re
cognised in Syria as the mustard-tree of
Scripture. But notwithstanding all that has
been adduced by Dr. Royle in support of his
argument, it will be well to consider whether

MUSTARD

366

MYRRH

some mustard-plant (Sbiapis) may not after
all be the mnstard-tree of the parable. The
objection commonly made against any Sinapis
being the plant of the parable is, that the
seed grew into "a tree," or, as St. Luke has
it, " a great tree," in the branches of which
the fowls of the air are said to come and
lodge. Now in answer to the above objec
tion it is urged with great truth, that the
expression is figurative and Oriental, and
that in a proverbial simile no literal accuracy
is to be expected. It is an error, for which
the language of Scripture is not accountable,
to assert, as Dr. Royle and some others have
done, that the passage implies that birds
" built their nests " in the tree, the Greek
word has no such meaning, the word merely
means "to settle or rest upon" any thing
for a longer or shorter time ; nor is there
any occasion to suppose that the expression
" fowls of the air " denotes any other than
the smaller insessorial kinds, linnets, finches,
&c. Hiller's explanation is probably the
correct one ; that tbe birds came and settled
on the mustard-plant for the sake of the seed,
of which they are very fond. Again, what
ever the Sinapis may be, it is expressly said
to be a herb, or more properly " a garden
herb." lrby and Mangles mention the large

size which the mustard-plant attains in
Palestine. In their journey from Bysan to
Adjeloun, in the Jordan valley, they crossed
a small plain very thickly covered with her
bage, particularly the mustard-plant, which
reached as high as their horses' heads. Dr.
Thomson also says he has seen the Wild
Mustard on the rich plain of Akkar as tall
as the horse and the rider. If then, the
wild plant on the rich plain of Akkar grows
as high as a man on horseback, it might
attain to the same or a greater height when
in a cultivated garden. The expression
"which is indeed the least of all seeds," is
in all probability hyperbolical, to denote a
very small seed indeed, as there are many
seeds which are smaller than mustard.
" The Lord in his popular teaching," says
Trench (Notes on Parables, 108), "adhered
to the popular language ; " and the mustard-
seed was used proverbially to denote any
thing very minute.
MYN'DUS, a town on the coast of Caria,
between Mn.hTus and Halicarnassus. We
find in 1 Maec. xv. 23 that it was the resi
dence of a Jewish population.
MY'RA, an important town in Lycia, and
interesting to us as the place where St. Paul,
on his voyage to Rome (Acts xxvii. 5), was
removed from the Adramyttian ship which
had brought him from Caesarea, and entered
the Alexandrian ship in which he was wrecked
on the coast of Malta. Myra (called Dembra
by the Greeks) is remarkable still for its
remains of various periods of history.
MYRRH, is mentioned in Ex. xxx. 23, as
one of the ingredients of the " oil of holy
ointment;" in Esth. ii. 12, as one of the
substances used in the purification of women;
in Ps. xiv. 8, Prov. vii. 17, and in several
passages in Canticles, as a perfume. The
Greek occurs in Matt. ii. II amongst the
gifts brought by the wise men to the infant
Jesus, and in Mark xv. 23, it is said that
" wine mingled with myrrh " was offered to,
but refused by, our Lord on the cross. Myrrh
was also used for embalming (see John xix.
39, and Herod, ii. 86). The Balsamodendron
myrrha, which produces the myrrh of com
merce, has a wood and bark which emit a
strong odour ; the gum which exudes from
the bark is at first oily, but becomes hard by
exposure to the air : it belongs to the natural
order Terebinthaceae. For the "wine mingled
with myrrh," see Gall, The "myrrh"
mentioned in the A. V. in Gen. xxxvii. 25,
xliii. 11, is a translation of the Hebrew word
lot, and is generally considered to denote tbe
odorous resin which exudes from the branches
of the Cistus creticus, known by the name of
ladanum or labdanum. It is clear that lot

MYRTLE

367

NAAMAN

cannot signify "myrrh," which is not pro
duced in Palestine. There can be no douht
that the Hebrew lot, the Arabic ladan, the
Greek K-rjSavov, the Latin and English la-
danitm, are identical.

Bahamodenilron Myrrha.
MYRTLE is mentioned in Neh. viii. 15 ;
Is. xli. 19, lv. 13 ; Zech. i. 8, 10, 11. The
modern Jews still adorn with myrtle the
booths and sheds at the Feast of Tabernacles.
Formerly, as we learn from Nehemiah (viii.
15), myrtles grew on the hills about Jeru
salem. " On Olivet," says Dean Stanley,
" nothing is now to be seen but tbe olive and
the fig tree : " on some of the hills, however,
near Jerusalem, Hasselquist observed the
myrtle. Dr. Hooker says It is not uncom
mon in Samaria and Galilee. The Myrtus
communis is the kind denoted by the Hebrew
word. MYS'IA (Acts xvi. 7, 8) was the region
about the frontier of the provinces of Asia
and Bithynia. The term is evidently used
in an ethnological, not a political sense.

"VTA' AMAH (loveliness). 1. One of the four
XI women whose names are preserved in
the records of the world before the Flood ;
all except Eve being Cainites. She was
daughter of Lamech by his wife Zillah, and
sister, as is expressly mentioned, to Tubalcain

(Gen. iv. 22 only).— 2. Mother of king Re
hoboam (1 K. xiv. 21, 31; 2 Chr. xii. -13).
On each occasion she is distinguished by the
title " the (not ' an,' as in A. V.) Ammonite."
She was therefore one of the foreign women
whom Solomon took into his establishment
{1 K. xi. 1).
NA'AMAH, one of the towns of Judah in
the district of the lowland or Shefelah (Josh.
xv. 41).
NA'AMAN (pleasantness). 1. " Naaman
the Syrian " (Luke iv. 27). A Jewish tradi
tion, at least as old as the time of Josephus,
and which may very well he a genuine one,
identifies him with the archer whose arrow,
whether at random or not, struck Ahab with
his mortal wound, and thus "gave deliver
ance to Syria." The expression in 2 K. v.
1 is remarkable — " because that by him Je
hovah had given deliverance to Syria." The
most natural explanation perhaps is that
Naaman, in delivering his country, had killed
one who was the enemy of Jehovah not less
than he was of Syria. Whatever the par
ticular exploit l-eferred to was, it bad given
Naaman a great position at the court of Ben
hadad. He was commander-in-chief of the
army, and was nearest to the person of the
king, whom he accompanied officially, and
supported, when he went to worship in the
temple of Rimmon (ver. 18). He was afflicted
with a leprosy of the white kind (ver. 27),

Uyrtas

(ArfciMyruo.*)

NAAMATHITE

3G8

NADAB

which had hitherto defied cure. The circum
stances of his visit to Elisha are related else
where. [Elisha, p. 156.] — 2. One of the family
of Benjamin who came down to Egypt with
Jacob, as read in Gen. xlvi. 21. He v*as
the son of Bela, and head of the family of
the Naamites. (Num. xxvi. 40 ; 1 Chr. viii.
3, 4).
NAA'MATHITE, the gentilic name of one
of Job's friends, Zophar the Naamathite (Job
ii. 11, xi. 1, xx. 1, xiii. 9). There is no
other trace of this name in the Bible, and the
town whence it is derived, is unknown.
NA'BAL (fool) was a sheepmaster on the
confines of Judaea and the desert, in that
part of the country which bore from its great
conqueror the name of Caleb (1 Sam. xxx.
14, x xv. 3 ) . His residence was on the
southern Carmel, in the pasture lands of
Maon. nis wealth, as might be expected
from his abode, consisted chiefly of sheep and
goats. It was the custom of the shepherds
to drive them into the wild downs on the
slopes of Carmel ; and it was whilst they
were on one of these pastoral excursions,
that they met a band of outlaws, who showed
them unexpected kindness, protecting them
by day and night, and never themselves com
mitting any depredations (1 Sam. xxv. 7, 15,
16). Once a year there was a grand ban
quet, on Carmel, "like the feast of a king "
(xxv. 2, 4, 30). It was on one of these occa
sions that Nabal cunie across the path of the
man to whom he owes his place in history.
Ten youths from the chief of the freebooters
approached him with a triple salutation —
enumerated the services of their master, and
ended by claiming, with a mixture of cour
tesy and defiance, characteristic of the East,
"whatsoever cometh into thy hand for thy
servants and for thy son David." The great
sheepmaster was not disposed to recognise
this unexpected parental relation. On hear
ing the demand of the ten petitioners, he
broke out into fury, " Who is David ? and
who is the son of Jesse 1 " — " What runaway
slaves are these to interfere with my own
domestic arrangements 1 " (xxv. 10, 11),
The moment that the messengers were gone,
the shepherds that stood by perceived the
danger that their master and themselves
would incur. To Nabal himself they durst
not speak (xxv. 17). To his wife, as to the
good angel of the household, one of the shep
herds told the state of affairs. tShe, with
the offerings usual ou such occasions, loaded
the asses of Nabal's large establishment —
herself mounted one of them, and, with her
attendants running before her, rode down
the hill towards David's encampment. David
had already made the fatal vow of extermi

nation (xxv. 22). At this moment, as it
would seem, Abigail appeared, threw herself
on her face before him, and poured forth her
petition in language which both in form and
expression almost assumes the tone of poetry.
She returns with the news of David's recan
tation of his vow. Nabal is then in at the
height of his orgies, and his wife dared not
communicate to him either his danger or his
escape (xxv. 36). At break of day she told
him both. The stupid reveller was suddenly
roused to a sense of that which impended
over him. " His heart died within him, and
he became as a stone." It was as if a stroke
of apoplexy or paralysis had fallen upon
him. Ten days he lingered, " and the Lord
smote Nabal, and he died" (xxv. 37, 38).
NA'BOTH, victim of Ahab and Jezebel,
was the owner of a small vineyard at Jezreel,
close to the royal palace of Ahab (1 K, xxi.
I, 2). It thus became an object of desire to the
king who offered an equivalent in money, or
another vineyard, in exchange for this. Na
both, in the independent spirit of a Jewish
landholder, refused. " Jehovah forbid it to
me that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee." Ahab was cowed by
this reply; but the proud spirit of Jezebel
was roused. She took the matter into her
own hands. A solemn fast was proclaimed
as on tbe announcement of some great cala
mity. Naboth was " set on high " in the
public place of Samaria : two men of worth
less character accused him oMiaving " cursed
God and the king," He and his children
(2 K. ix. 26) were dragged out of tbe city
and despatched the same night. The place
of execution there, was by the large tank or
reservoir, which still remains on the slope of
the hill of Samaria, immediately outside the
walls. The usual punishment for blasphemy
was enforced. Naboth and his sons were
stoned ; and the blood from their wounds
ran down into the waters of the tank below.
NABUCHODONO'SOR. [Nebuchadnez
zar], NA'CHON'S THRESHING-FLOOR, the
place at which the ark had arrived in its
progress from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem,
when Uzzah lost his life in his too hasty
zeal for its safety (2 Sam. vi. 6).
NA'CHOR. [Nahor.]
NA'DAB (liberal). 1. The eldest son ef
Aaron and Elisheba, (Ex. vi. 23 ; Num. iii.
2). He, his father and brother, and seventy
old men of Israel were led out from the midst
of the assembled people (Ex. xxiv. 1), and
were commanded to stay and worship God
" afar off," below the lofty summit of Sinai,
where Moses alone was to come near to the
Lord. Subsequently (Lev. x. 1) Nadab and

NAGGE

369

NAHUM

his brother were struck dead before the sanc
tuary by fire from the Lord. Their offence
¦ was kindling the incense in their censers
With " strange " fire, i.e., not taken from
that which burned perpetually (Lev. vi.
IS) on the altar. — 2. King Jeroboam's son,
who succeeded to the throne of Israel b.c.
954, and reigned two years (1 K. xv. 25-31).
At the siege of Gibbethon a conspiracy broke
out in the midst of the army, and the king
was slain by Baasha, a man of Issachar.
NAG'GE, one of tbe ancestors of Christ
(Luke iii. 25). It represents the Heb. Nogah
(1 Chr. iii. 7). Nagge must have lived about
the time of Onias I., and the commencement
of the Macedonian dynasty.
NAH'ALAL, one of the cities of Zebulun,
given with its " suburbs " to the Merarite
Levites (Josh. xxi. 35). It is the same
which in Josh. xix. 15 is inaccurately given
in the A. V. as Nahallal, the Hebrew being
in both cases identical. Elsewhere it is called
Nahalol (Judg. i. 30). The Jerusalem Tal
mud asserts that Nahalal was in post-biblical
times called Mahlul ; and this is identified
with the modern Malul, a village in the
plain of Esdraelon.
NAHA'LIEL (twents of God), one of the
halting-places of Israel in the latter part of
their progress to Canaan (Num. xxi. 19).
It lay "beyond," that is, north of the Arnon
(ver. 13), and between Mattanah and Baraoth,
the next after Bamoth being Pisgah. Its
name seems to imply that it was a stream or
wady, and it is not impossibly preserved in
that of the Wady Encheyle, which runs into
the Mojeb, the ancient Arnon, a short dis
tance to the east of the place at which the
road between Rabba and Aroer crosses the
ravine of the latter river.
NAH'ALOL. [Nahalal.]
NA'HASH (serpent). 1. King of the Am
monites, who dictated to the inhabitants of
Jabesh-Gilead that cruel alternative of the
loss of their right eyes or slavery, which
roused the swift wrath of Saul, and caused
the destruction of the Ammonite force (1
Sam. xi. 1, 2-11). "Nahash" would seem
to have been the title of the king of the
Ammonites rather than the name of an indi
vidual. Nahash the father of Hanun had
rendered David some special and valuable
service, which David was anxious for an
opportunity of requiting (2 Sam. x. 2).— 2.
A person mentioned once only (2 Sam. xvii.
25) in stating the parentage of Amasa, the
commander-in-chief of Absalom's army.
Amasa is there said to have been the son of
a certain Ithra, by Abigail, "daughter of
Nahash, and sister to Zeruiah." By the
genealogy of 1 Chr. ii. 16 it appears that
Sm. D. B.

Zeruiah and Abigail were sisters of David
and the other children of Jesse. The ques
tion then arises, How could Abigail have
been at the same time daughter of Nahash
and sister to the children of Jesse ? To this
two answers may be given : — 1. The uni
versal tradition of the Rabbis that Nahash
and Jesse were identical. 2. That Nahash
was the king of the Ammonites, and that the
same woman had first been his wife or concu
bine —in which capacity she had' given birth
to Abigail and Zeruiah — and afterwards wife
to Jesse, and the mother of his children.
NA'HATH, one of the " dukes " or phy-
larchs in the land of Edom, eldest son of
Reuel the son of Esau (Gen. xxxvi. 13, 17 ;
1 Chr. i. 37).
NA'HOR, the name of two persons in the
family of Abraham. — 1. His grandfather :
the son of Serug and father of Terah (Gen.
xi. 22-25). -=-2. Grandson of the preceding,
son of Terah and brother of Abraham and
Haran (Gen. xi. 26, 27). The order of the
ages of the family of Terah is not improbably
inverted in the narrative ; in which case
Nahor, instead of being younger than Abra
ham, was really older. He married Milcah,
the daughter of his brother Haran ; and
when Abraham and Lot migrated to Canaan,
Nahor remained behind in the land of his
birth, on the eastern side of the Euphrates.
Like Jacob, and also like Ishmael, Nahor was
the father of twelve sons, and further, as in
the case of Jacob, eight of them were the
children of his wife, and four of a concubine
(Gen. xxii. 21-24). Special care is taken in
speaking of the legitimate branch to specify
its descent from Milcah — " the son of Milcah,
which she bare unto Nahor." It was to this
pure and unsullied race that Abraham and
Rebekah in turn had recourse for wives for
their sons. But with Jacob's flight from
Haran the intercourse ceased.
NAH'SHON, or NAASH'ON, son of Am-
minadab, and prince of the children of Judah
(as he is styled in the genealogy of Judah,
1 Chr. ii. 10} at the time of the first number
ing in the wilderness (Exod. vi. 23 ; Num. i.
7, &c). His sister, Elisheba, was wife to
Aaron, and his son, Salmon, was husband to
Rahab after the taking of Jericho. He died
in the wilderness according to Num. xxvi.
64, 65.
NA'HUM (consolation). Nahum " tbe El-
kosbite," the seventh in order of the minor
prophets. His personal history is quite un
known. The site of Elkosh, his native place,
is disputed, some placing it in Galilee, others
in Assyria. Those who maintain the latter
view assume that the prophet's parents were
carried into captivity by Tiglath-pileser, and
2 B *

NAIN

370

NAniTALI

that the prophet was born at the village of
Alkush, on the east bank of the Tigris, two
miles north of Mosul. But there is nothing
in the prophecy of Xahuni to indicate that it
was written in the immediate neighbourhood
of Nineveh, and in full view of the scenes
which are depicted, nor is the language that
of an exile in an enemy's country. No allu
sion is made to the captivity ; while, on the
other hand, the imagery is such as would be
natural to an inhabitant of Palestine (i. 4),
to whom the rich pastures of Bashan, the
vineyards of Carmel, and the blossom of Le
banon, were emblems of all that was luxu
riant and fertile. The language employed in
i. 15, ii. 2, is appropriate to one who wrote
for his countrymen in their native land. In
fact the sole origin of the theory that Nahum
flourished in Assyria is the name of the village
Alkush, which contains his supposed tomb,
and from its similarity to Elkosh was appa
rently selected by mediaeval tradition as a
shrine for pilgrims. The date of Nahum's
prophecy can be determined with as little
precision as his birth-place. It is, however,
certain that the prophecy was written before
the final downfall of Nineveh, and its capture
by the Medes and Chaldaeans (cir. b.c. 625).
The allusions to the Assyrian power imply
that it was still unbroken (i. 12, ii. 13, 14,
iii. 15-17). It is most probable that Nahum
flourished in the latter half of the reign of
Hezekiah, and wrote his prophecy either in
Jerusalem or its neighbourhood. The sub
ject of the prophecy is, in accordance with
the superscription, " the burden of Nineveh,"
the destruction of which he predicts.
NA'IN, a village of Galilee, the gate of
which is made illustrious by the raising of
the widow's son (Luke vii. 12). The modern
Nein is situated on the north-western edge
of the " Little Hermon," or Jebel-ed-Duhy,
where the ground falls into the plain of Es-
draelon. The entrance to the place, where
our Saviour met the funeral, must probably
always have been up the steep ascent from
the plain ; and here, on the west 6ide of
the village, the rock is full of sepulchral
caves. NA'IOTH, or more fully, "Nuioth in Ra
mah ; " a place in which Samuel and David
took refuge together, after the latter had
made his escape from the jealous fury of
Saul (I Sam. xix. 18, 19, 22, 23, xx. 1). It
is evident from ver. 18, that Naioth was not
actually in E,amah, Samuel's habitual resi
dence. In its corrected form the name sig
nifies "habitations," and probably means the
huts or dwellings of a school or college of
prophets over which Samuel presided, as
Flisha did over those at Gilgal and Jericho.

NANE'A. The last act of Antiochus Epi
phanes was his attempt to plunder tbe temple
of Nanea at Elymais, which had been en
riched by the gifts and trophies of Alexander
the Great (1 Mace. vi. 1-4 ; 2 Mace. i. 13-16).
The Persian goddess Nanea is apparently the
Moon-goddess. NA'OMI, the wife of Elimelech, and mother-
in-law of Ruth (Ruth i. 2, &c, ii. 1, Sec,
iii. 1, iv, 3, &c). The name is derived from
a root signifying sweetness or pleasantness;
whence we read : — " Call me not Naomi
(pleasant), call mc Mara (bitter) .... why
call ye mc Naomi when Jehovah had testified
against me 1 "
NA'PHISII, the last but one of the sons of
Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 15 ; 1 Chr. i. 31). The
tribe descended from Nodab was subdued by
the Reubenites, tho Gaditcs, and the half of
the tribe of Manasseh, when " they made war
with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Neph'ish,
and Nodab" (1 Chr. v. 19).
NAPH'TALI (wrestling). The fifth son of
Jacob ; the second child borne to him by Bil-
hah, Rachel's slave. His birth and the be
stowal of his name are recorded in Gen. xxx.
8: — "and Rachel said 'wrestlings (or con
tortions— naphtule) of God have I wrestled
(niphtalti) with my sister and have pre
vailed.' And she called his name Naphtali."
At the migration to Egypt four sons are at
tributed to Naphtali (Gen. xlvi. 24 ; Ex. i.
4; 1 Chr. vii. 13). When the census was
taken at Mount Sinai the tribe numbered no
less than 53,400 fighting men (Num. i. 43,
ii. 30). But when the borders of the Pro
mised Land were reached, its numbers were
reduced to 45,400 (Num. xxvi. 48-50). Dur
ing the march through the wilderness Naph
tali occupied a position on the north of the
Sacred Tent with Dan and Asher (Num. ii.
25-31). In the apportionment of the land,
the lot of Naphtali was enclosed on three
sides by those of oL.er tribes. On the west
lay Asher ; on the south Zebulun, and on the
east tbe trans-jordanic Manasseh. The north
terminated with the ravine of the Litany or
Leontes, and opened into the splendid valley
which separates the two ranges of Lebanon.
The south boundary was probably very much
the same as that which at a later time sepa
rated Upper from Lower Galilee. In the
reign of Pekah king of Israel (cir. b.c. 730),
Tiglath-Pilescr overran the whole of the
north of Israel, swept off the population, and
bore them away to Assyria. But though the
history of the tribe of Naphtali ends here,
yet under the title of Galilee the district
which they had formerly occupied was des
tined to become in every way far more im
portant than it had ever before been.

I

NAPHTALI, MOUNT

371

NAZARETH

NAPH'TALl, MOUNT. The mountainous
district which formed the main part of the
inheritance of Naphtali (Josh. xx. 7), answer
ing to " Mount Ephraim " in the centre
and "Mount Judah" in the south of Pa
lestine. NAPH'TUHIM, a Mizraite nation or tribe,
mentioned only in the account of the descen
dants of Noah (Gen. x. 13; 1 Chr. i. 11).
If we may judge from their position in the
list of the Mizraites, the Naphtuhim were
probably settled at first, either in Egypt or
immediately to the west of it.
NARCIS'SUS, a dweller at Rome (Rom.
xvi. 11), some members of whose household
were known as Christians to St. Paul. Some
have assumed the identity of this Narcissus
with the secretary of the Emperor Claudius ;
but this is quite uncertain.
NARD. [Spikenard.]
NA'THAN (a giver). 1. An eminent He
brew prophet in the reigns of David and
Solomon. He first appears in the consulta
tion with David about the building of the
Temple (2 Sam. vii. 2, 3, 17). He next
comes forward as the reprover of David for
the sin with Bathsheba ; and his famous apo
logue on the rich marr and the ewe lamb,
which is the only direct example of his pro
phetic power, shows it to have been of a
very high order (2 Sam. xii. 1-12). On the
birth of Solomon he was either specially
charged with giving him bis name, Jedidiah,
or else with his education (2 Sam. xii. 25).
At any rate, in the last years of David, it is
Nathan who, by taking the side of Solomon,
turned the scale in his favour. He advised
Bathsheba; he himself ventured to enter the
royal presence with a remonstrance against
the king's apathy ; and at David's request he
assisted in the inauguration of Solomon (1 K.
i. 8, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24, 32, 34, 38, 45).
This is the last time that we hear directly of
his intervention in the history. He left two
works behind him — a Life of David (1 Chr.
xxix. 29), and a Life of Solomon (2 Chr. ix.
29). The last of these may have been in
complete, as we cannot be sure that he out
lived Solomon. But the biography of David
by Nathan is, of all the losses which anti
quity, sacred or profane, has sustained, the
most deplorable. His grave is shown at
Halhul, near Hebron. — 2. A son of David ;
one of tbe four who were born to him by
Bathsheba (1 Chr. iii. 5 ; comp. xiv. 4, and
2 Sam. v. 14). Nathan appears to have
taken no part in the events of his father's or
his brother's reigns. He is interesting to us
from his appearing as one of the forefathers
of Joseph in the genealogy of St. Luke (iii.
31). — S. Son, or brother, of one of the mem

bers of David's guard (2 Sam. xxiii. 36 ; 1
Chr. xi. 38).
NATHAN'AEL, a disciple of Jesus Christ
concerning whom, under that name at least,
we learn from Scripture little more than his
birthplace, Cana of Galilee (John xxi. 2),
and his simple truthful character (John i.
47). The name does not occur in the first
three Gospels. But it is commonly believed
that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the
same person. The evidence for that belief is
as follows : St. John, who twice mentions
Nathanael, never introduces the name of Bar
tholomew at all. St. Matt. x. 3 ; St. Mark
iii. 18; and St. Luke vi. 14, all speak of
Bartholomew, but never of Nathanael. It
may be, that Nathanael was the proper name,
and Bartholomew (son of Tholmai) the sur
name of the same disciple, just as Simon was
called Bar-Jona, and Jose's, Barnabas. It was
Philip who first brought Nathanael to Jesus,
just as Andrew had brought his brother
Simon ; and Bartholomew is named by each
of the first three Evangelists immediately
after Philip, while by St. Luke he is coupled
with Philip precisely in the same way as
Simon with his brother Andrew, and James
with his brother John,
NAZ'ARENE, an inhabitant of Nazareth,
This appellative is applied to Jesus in many
passages in the N. T. Its application to Jesus,
in consequence of the providential arrange
ments by which His parents were led to take
up their abode in Nazareth, was the filling
out of the predictions in which the promised
Messiah is described as a Netser, i.e. a shoot,
sprout, of Jesse, a humble and despised de
scendant of the decayed royal family. When
ever men spoke of Jesus as the Nazarene,
they either consciously or unconsciously pro
nounced one of the names of the predicted
Messiah, a name indicative both of his royal
descent and his humble condition. Once
(Acts xxiv. 5) the term Nazar&nes is applied
to the followers of Jesus by way of contempt.
The name still exists in Arabic as the ordi
nary designation of Christians.
NAZ 'ARETH, the ordinary residence of
our Saviour, is not mentioned in the O. T.,
but occurs first in Matt, ii.- 23. It derives
its celebrity from its connexion with the his
tory of Christ, and in that respect has a hold
on the imagination and feelings of men which
it shares only with Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
It is situated among the hills which consti
tute the south ridges pf Lebanon, just before
they sink down into the Plain of Esdraelon.
Of the identification of the ancient site there
can be no doubt. The name of the present
village is en-Ndzirah, the same, therefore, as
of old ; it is formed on a hill or mountain
2 B 2

NAZARITE

NAZARITE

(Luke iv. 29) ; it is within the limits of the
province of Galilee (Mark i. 9) ; it is near
Cana, according to the implication in John ii.
I, 2, 11 ; a precipice exists in the neighbour
hood (Luke iv, 29) ; and, finally, a series of
testimonies reach back to Eusebius, the father
of Church history, which represent the place
as having occupied an invariable position.
The modern Nazareth belongs to tbe better
class of eastern villages. It has a population
of 3000 or 4000 ; a few are Mohammedans,
the rest Latin and Greek Christians. The
origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth
stood (John i. 47) is not certainly known.
All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked
upon with contempt by the people of Judaea
because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less
cultivated, and were more exposed by their
position to contact with tbe heathen. But
Nazareth laboured under a special oppro
brium, for it was a Galilean and not a south
ern Jew who asked the reproachful question
whether "any good thing" could come from
that source. — Among the " holy places "
which tbe legends have sought to connect with
events in the life of Christ, two localities are of
special interest. One of these is the " Foun
tain of the Virgin," situated at the north
eastern extremity of the town, where, accord
ing to one tradition, the mother of Jesus
received the angel's salutation (Luke i. 28).
The other place is that of the attempted Pre
cipitation. Above the town are several rocky
ledges over which a person could not be
thrown without almost certain destruction.
But there is one very remarkable precipice,
almost perpendicular, and forty or fifty feet
high, near the Maronite church, which may
well be supposed to be the identical one over
which His infuriated townsmen attempted to
hurl Jesus.
NAZ'ARITE, more properly NAZ'IRITE
(one separated), one of either sex who was
bound by a vow of a peculiar kind to be set
apart from others for the service of God.
The obligation was either for life or for a
defined time. There is no notice in the Pen
tateuch of Nazarites for life ; but the regu
lations for the vow of a Nazarite of days are
given Num. vi. 1-21. The Nazarite, during
the term of his consecration, was bound to
abstain from wine, grapes, with every pro
duction of the vine, and from every kind of
intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut
the hair of his head, or to approach any dead
body, even that of his nearest relation. When
the period of his vow was fulfilled, he was
brought to the door of the tabernacle and
was required to offer a he lamb for a burnt-
offering, a ewe-lamb for a sin-offering, and a
ram for a peace-offering, with the usual ac

companiments of peace-offerings (Lev. vii,
12, 13) and of the offering made at the con
secration of priests (Ex. xxix. 2), " a basket
of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour min
gled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread
anointed with oil" (Num. vi. 15). Ho
brought also a meat-offering and a drink-
offering, which appeai to have been presented
by themselves as a distinct act of service
(ver. 17). He was to cut off the* hair of
"the head of his separation" (that is, the
hair which had grown during the period of
his consecration) at the door of the taber
nacle, and to put it into the Are under the
sacrifice on the altar. The priest then placed
upon his hands the sodden left shoulder of
the ram, with one of the unleavened cakes
and one of the wafers, and then took them
again and waved them for a wave-offering.
Of the Nazarites for life three are mentioned
in the Scriptures ; Samson, Samuel, and St.
John the Baptist. The only one of these
actually called a Nazarite is Samson. We
rlo not know whether the vow for life was
ever voluntarily taken by the individual. In
all the cases mentioned in the sacred history,
it was made by the parents before the birth
of the Nazarite hims*elf.— Of the two vows
recorded of St. Paul, that in Acts xviii. 18
certainly cannot be regarded as a regular
Nazarite vow. All that we are told of it is
that, on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem,
he " shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he
had a vow." It is most likely that it was a
sort of vow, modified from the proper Naza
rite vow, which had come into use at this
time amongst the religious Jews who had
been visited by sickness, or any other cala
mity. The other reference to a vow taken
by St. Paul is in Acts xxi. 24, where we find
the brethren at Jerusalem exhorting him to
take part with four Christians who had a
vow on them, to sanctify (not purify, as in
A. V.) himself with them, and to be at
charges with them, that they might shave
their heads. It cannot he doubted that this
was a strictly legal Nazarite vow. — The mean
ing of the Nazarite vow has been regarded in
different lights. It may be regarded as an
act of self-sacrifice. That it was essentially
a sacrifice of the person to the Lord is ob
viously in accordance with the terms of the
Law (Num. vi. 2). As the Nazarite was a
witness for the straitness of the Law, as dis
tinguished from the freedom of the Gospel,
his sacrifice of himself was a submission to
the letter of the rule. Its outward manifesta
tions were restraints and eccentricities. The
man was separated from his brethren that he
might be peculiarly devoted to the Lorn.
This was consistent with the purpose of

NEAPOLIS

373

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

divine wisdom for the time for which it was
ordained. NEAP'OLIS, is the place in northern
Greece where Paul and his associates first
landed in Europe (Acts xvi. 11) ; where, no
doubt, he landed also on his second visit to
Macedonia (Acts xx. 1), and whence certainly
he embarked on his last journey through that
province to Troas and Jerusalem (Acts xx,
6). Philippi being an inland town, Neapolis
was evidently the port, and is represented
by the present Kavalla.
NEBAl'OTH, NEBAJ'OTH, the " first
born of Ishmael" (Gen. xxv. 13 ; 1 Chr. i.
29), and father of a pastoral tribe named
after him, the " rams of Nebaioth " being
mentioned by the prophet Isaiah (lx. 7) with
the flocks of Kedar. From the days of Jerome
this .people had been identified with the Na-
bathaeans, of whom Petra was the capital.
NE'BAT, the father of Jeroboam (1 K. xi.
26, xii. 2, 15, &c.),is described as an Ephra-
thite, or Ephraimite, of Zereda.
NE'BO, MOUNT, the mountain from which
Moses took his first and last view of the
Promised Land (Deut. xxxii. 49, xxxiv. 1).
It is described as in the land of Moab ; fac
ing Jericho ; the head or summit of a moun
tain called the Pisgah ; but notwithstanding
the minuteness of this description, no one
has yet succeeded in pointing out anyr spot
which answers to Nebo.
NE'BO. 1. A town of Reuben on the
eastern side of Jordan (Num. xxxii. 3, 38).
In the remarkable prophecy adopted by
Isaiah (xv. 2) and Jeremiah (xlviii. 1, 22)
concerning Moab, Nebo is mentioned in the
same connexion as before, but in the hands
of Moab. Eusebius and Jerome identify it
with Nobah or Kenath, and place it 8 miles
south of Heshbon, where the ruins of el-
Habis appear to stand at present. — 2. The
children of Nebo returned from Babylon with
Zerubbabel (Ezr. ii. 29, x. 43 ; Neh. vii. 33).
The name occurs between Bethel and Ai, and
Lydda, which implies that it was situated in
the territory of Benjamin to the N.W. of
Jerusalem. This is possibly the modern
Beit-Nubah, about 12 miles N.W. by W. of
Jerusalem, 8 from Lydda. — 3. Nebo, which
occurs both in Isaiah (xlvi. 1) and Jeremiah
(xlviii. 1) as the name of a Chaldaean god,
is a well known deity of the Babylonians and
Assyrians. He was the god who presided
over learning and letters. His general cha
racter corresponds to that of the Egyptian
Thoth, the Greek Hermes and the Latin
Mercury. Astronomically he is identified
with the planet nearest the sun. In Baby
lonia Nebo held a prominent place from an
early time. The ancient town of Borsippa

was especially under bis protection, and the
great temple there (the modern Birs-Nimrud)
was dedicated to him from a very remote
age. He was the tutelar god of the most
important Babylonian kings, in whose names
the word Nabu, or Nebo, appears as an ele
ment, NEBUCHADNEZ'ZAR, or NEBUCHAD-
REZ'ZAR, the greatest and most powerful of
the Babylonian kings. His name is ex
plained to mean "Nebo is the protector
against misfortune." He was the son and
successor of Nabopolassar, the founder of the
Babylonian Empire. In the lifetime of his
father, Nebuchadnezzar led an army against
Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, defeated him
at Carchemish (n.c. 605) in a great battle
(Jer. xlvi. 2-12), recovered Coele-syria, Phoe
nicia, and Palestine, took Jerusalem (Dan. i.
1, 2), pressed forward to Egypt, and was en
gaged in that country or upon its borders
when intelligence arrived which recalled him
hastily to Babylon. Nabopolassar, after reign
ing 21 years, had died, and the throne was
vacant. In some alarm about the succession
he hurried back to the capital, accompanied
only by his light troops ; and crossing the
desert, probably by way of Tadmor or
Palmyra, reached Babylon before any dis
turbance had arisen, and entered peaceably
on his kingdom (b.c. 604). Within three
years of Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition
into Syria and Palestine, disaffection again
showed itself in those countries. Jehoiakim,
who, although threatened at first with cap
tivity (2 Chr. xxxvi. 6) had been finally
maintained on the throne as a Babylonian
vassal, after three years of service " turned
and rebelled " against his suzerain, probably
trusting ,to be supported by Egypt (2 K.
xxiv. 1). Not long afterwards Phoenicia
seems to have broken into revolt ; and the
Chaldaean monarch, who had previously en
deavoured to subdue the disaffected by his
generals (ib. ver.' 2), once more took the field
in person, and marched first of all against
Tyre. Having invested that citj-, and left a
portion of his army there to continue the
siege, he proceeded against Jerusalem, which
submitted without a struggle. According to
Josephus, who is here our chief authority,
Nebuchadnezzar punished Jehoiakim with
death (comp. Jer. xxii. 18, 19, and xxxvi.
30), but placed his son Jehoiachin upon
the throne. Jehoiachin reigned only three
months ; for, on his showing symptoms of
disaffection, Nebuchadnezzar came up against
Jerusalem for the third time, deposed the
young prince (whom he carried to Babylon,
together with a large portion of the popula
tion of the city, and the chief of the Temple

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

D(^

NEBUZARADAN

treasures), and made his uncle, Zedekiah,
king in his room. Tyre still held out ; and
it was not till the thirteenth year from the
time of its first investment that the city of
merchants fell (n.c. 5S5). Ere this happened,
Jerusalem had been totally destroyed. This
consummation was owing to the folly of
Zedekiah, who, despite the warnings of Jere
miah, made a treaty with Apries (Hophra),
king of Fgypt (li/. xvii. 15), and on the
strength of this alliance renounced his alle
giance to the king of Babylon. Nebuchad
nezzar commenced the final siege of Jeru
salem in the ninth year of Zedekiah, — his
own seventeenth year (n.c. 588), and took it
two years later (n.c. 586). One effort to
carry out the treaty seems to have been
made by Apries. An Egyptian army crossed
the frontier, and began its march towards
Jerusalem ; upon which Nebuchadnezzar
raised the siege, and set off to meet the new
foe. According to Josephus a battle was
fought, in which Apries was completely de
feated : but the Scriptural account seems
rather to imply that the Egyptians retired
on the advance of Nebuchadnezzar, and
recrossed the frontier without risking an
engagement (Jer. xxxvii. 5-8). After an
eighteen months' siege Jerusalem fell. Ze
dekiah escaped from the city, but was cap
tured near Jericho (ib. xxxix. 5) and brought
to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the territory
of Hamath, where his eyes were put out by
the king's order, while his sons and his chief
nobles were slain. Nebuchadnezzar then re
turned to Babylon with Zedekiah, whom he
imprisoned for the remainder of his life ;
leaving Nebuzar-adan, the captain of his
guard, to complete the destruction of the
city and the pacification of Judaea. Gedaliah,
a Jew, was appointed governor, but he was
shortly murdered, and the rest of the Jews
either fled to Egypt, or were carried by
Nebuzar-adan to Babylon. The military
, successes of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be traced
minutely beyond this point. It may he
gathered from the prophetical Scriptures
and from Josephus, that the conquest of
Jerusalem was rapidly followed by the fall
of Tyre and the complete submission of
Phoenicia (Ez. xxvi. -xxviii.) ; after which
the Babylonians carried their arms into
Egypt, and inflicted severe injuries on that
fertile country (Jer. xlvi. 13-26 ; Ez. xxix.
2-20).— We are told that the first care of
Nebuchadnezzar, on obtaining quiet posses
sion of his kingdom after the first Syrian
expedition, was to rebuild the temple of Bel
(Bel-Herodach) at Babylon out of the spoils
of the Syrian war. He next proceeded to
strengthen and beautify the city, which he

renovated throughout, and surrounded w iths
several lines of fortification, himself adding
one entirely new quarter. Having finished
the walls and adorned the gates magnificently,
he constructed a new palace. In the grounds
of this palace he formed the celebrated
"hanging garden." But he did not confine
his efforts to the ornamentation and improve
ment of his capital. Throughout the empire,
at Borsippa, Sippara, Cutha, Chilmad, Du-
raba, Ter.edon, and a multitude of other
places, he built or rebuilt cities, repaired
temples, constructed quays, reservoirs, canals,
and aqueducts, on a scale of grandeur and
magnificence surpassing everything of the
kind recorded in history, unless it be the
constructions of one or two of the greatest
Egyptian monarchs. The wealth, greatness,
and general prosperity of Nebuchadnezzar
are strikingly placed before us in the book of
Daniel. Towards the close of his reign the
glory of Nebuchadnezzar suffered a tem
porary eclipse. As a punishment for his
pride and vanity, that strange form of mad
ness was sent upon him which the Greeks
called Lycanthropy, wherein the sufferer
imagines himself a beast, and quitting the
haunts of men, insists on leading the life of a
beast (Dan. iv. 33). After an interval of
four or perhaps seven years (Dan. iv. 16),
Nebuchadnezzar's malady left him. We are
told that " his reason returned, and for the
glory of his kingdom his honour and bright
ness returned ; " and he " was established
in his kingdom, and excellent majesty was
added to him" (Dan. iv. 36). He died in
the year b.c 561, at an advanced age (83 or
84), having reigned 43 years. A son, Evil-
Mickodach, succeeded him,
NEBUSHAS'BAN, one of the officers of
Nebuchadnezzar at the time of the capture
of Jerusalem. He was Rab-saris, i. e. chief
of the eunuchs (Jer. xxxix. 13). Nebu-
sbasban's office and title were the same as
those of Ashpenaz (Dan. i. 3), whom he pro
bably succeeded.
NEBUZAR'ADAN, the Rab-tahhachim, i.e.
chief of the slaughterers (A. V. " captain of
the .guard") a high officer in the court of
Nebuchadnezzar. On the capture of Jeru
salem he was left by Nebuchadnezzar in
charge of the city (comp. Jer. xxxix. 11).
He seems to have quitted Judaea when he
took down the chief people of Jerusalem to
his master at Riblah (2 K. xxv. 18-20). In
four years he again appeared (Jer. Hi. 30).
Nebuchadnezzar in his twenty-third year
made a descent on the regions east of Jordan,
including the Ammonites and Moabites, who
escaped when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Thence he proceeded to Egypt, and, either on

NEGINAH

375

NEHEMIAH

the way thither or on the return, Nebuzar
adan again passed through the country aud
carried off more captives (Jer. Iii. 30).
NEG'INAH, properly Neginath, occurs in
the title of Ps. lxi., " to the ohief musician
upon Neginath." The LXX. and Vulg. evi
dently read " Neginoth " in the plural, which
occurs in the titles of Ps. iv. vi. liv. Iv. lxvii.
lxxvi., and the margin of Hab. iii. 19, and is
perhaps the true reading. Whether the
word be singular or plural, it is the general
term by which all stringed instruments are
described. " The chief musician on Neginoth "
was therefore the conductor of that portion
of the Temple-choir who p)ayed upon the
stringed instruments, and who are mentioned
in Ps. lxviii. 25.
NEG'INOTH. [Neginah.]
NEHEMI'AH, son of Hachaliah, and ap
parently of the tribe of Judah. All that we
know certainly concerning him is contained
in the book which bears his name. We first
find him at Shushan, the winter residence of
the kings of Persia, in high office as the cup
bearer of king Artaxerxes Longimanus. In
the 20th year of the king's reign i. e. b.c
445, certain Jews arrived from Judaea, and
gave Nehemiah a deplorable account of the
state of Jerusalem. He immediately con
ceived the idea of going to Jerusalem to
endeavour to better their state, and obtained
the king's consent to his mission. Having
received his appointment as governor of
Judaea, he started upon his journey : being
under promise to return to Persia within a
given time. Nehemiah's great work was re
building, for the first time since their de
struction by Nebuzaradan, the walls of
Jerusalem, and restoring that city to its
former state and dignity, as a fortified town.
In a wonderfully short time the walls seemed
to emerge from the heaps of burnt rubbish,
and to encircle the city as in the days of old.
It soon became apparent how wisely Nehe
miah had acted in hastening on the work.
On his very first arrival, as governor, San-
ballat and Tobiah had given unequivocal
proof of their mortification at his appoint
ment. But when the restoration was seen
to be rapidly progressing, their indignation
knew no bounds. They made a great con
spiracy to fall upon the builders with an
armed force and put a stop to the under
taking. The project was defeated by the
vigilance and prudence of Nehemiah. Various
stratagems were then resorted to to get
Nehemiah away from Jerusalem, and if pos
sible to take bis life. But that which most
nearly succeeded was the attempt to bring
him into suspicion with the king of Persia,
as if he intended to set himself up as an in

dependent king, as soon as the walls were
completed. The artful letter of Sanballat so
far wrought upon Artaxerxes, that he issued
a decree stopping the work till further orders.
It is probable that at the same time he re
called Nehemiah, or perhaps his leave of
absence had previously expired. But after
a delay, perhaps of several years, he was
permitted to return to Jerusalem, and to
crown his work by repairing the Temple,
and dedicating the walls. Nehemiah docs
not indeed mention this adverse decree ; nor
should we have suspected his absence at all
from Jerusalem, hut for the incidental allu
sion in ch. ii. 6, xiii. 6, coupled with the
long interval of years between the earlier
and later chapters of the hook. It seems
that the work stopped immediately after the
events narrated in vi. 16-19, and that chapter
vii. goes on to relate the measures adopted
by him upon his return with fresh powers.
— During his government Nehemiah firmly
repressed the exactions of the nobles, and
the usury of the rich, and rescued the poor
Jews from spoliation and slavery. He re
fused to receive his lawful allowance as
governor from the people, in consideration of
their poverty, during the whole twelve years
that he was in office, hut kept at his own
charge a table for 150 Jews, at which any
who returned from captivity were welcome.
He made most careful provision for the
maintenance of the ministering priests and
Levites, and for the due and constant cele
bration of Divine worship. Beyond the 32nd
year of Artaxerxes, to which Nehemiah's
own narrative leads us, we have no account
of him whatever.
NEHEMI'AH, BOOK OF, like the pre
ceding one of Ezra, is clearly and certainly
not all by the same hand. [Ezra, Book of.]
By far the principal portion, indeed, is the
work of Nehemiah ; but other portions are
either extracts from various chronicles and
registers, or supplementary narratives and
reflections, some apparently by Ezra, others,
perhaps, the work of the same person who
inserted the latest genealogical extracts from
the public chronicles. — The main history con
tained in the book of Nehemiah covers about
12 years, viz., from the 20th to the 32nd
year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, i. e. from
b.c 445 to 433. The whole narrative gives
us a graphic and interesting account of the
state of Jerusalem and the returned captives
in the writer's times, and, incidentally, of
the nature of the Persian government and
the condition of its remote provinces. The
documents appended to it also give some
further information as to the times of Zerub
babel on the one hand, and as to the con-

NEHILOTH

370

NETHINIM

tinuation of the genealogical registers and
the succession of the high-priesthood to the
close of the Persian empire on the other.
The view given of the rise of two factions
among the Jews — the one the strict religious
party ; the other, the gentilizing party, sets
before us the germ of much that we meet
with in a more developed state in later Jewish
history. Again, in this history as well as in
the book of Ezra, we see the bitter enmity
between the Jews and Samaritans acquiring
strength and definitive form on both religious
and political grounds. The book also throws
much light upon the domestic institutions of
the Jews. Some of its details give us inci
dentally information of great historical im
portance. NE'HILOTH. The title of Ps. v. in the
A. V. is rendered "to the chief musician upon
Nehiloth." It is most likely that Nehiloth
is the general term for perforated wind-
instruments of all kinds, as Neginoth denotes
all manner of stringed instruments.
NEHUSH'TAN, the name by which the
brazen serpent, made by Moses in the wilder
ness (Num. xxi. 9), was worshipped in the
time of Hezekiah (2 K. xviii. 4). It is evi
dent that our translators by their rendering,
" and he called it Nehushtan," understood
that the subject of the sentence is Hezel-iah,
and that when he destroyed the brazen ser
pent he gave it the name Nehushtan, "a
brazen thing," in token of his utter contempt,
But it is better to understand the Hebrew as
. referring to the name by which the serpent
was generally known, the subject of the verb
being indefinite — "and one called it 'Ne
hushtan.' "
NE'REUS, a Christian at Rome, saluted by
St. Paul, Rom. xvi. 15. According to tradi
tion he was beheaded at Terracina, probably
in the reign of Nerva.
NER'GAL, one of the chief Assyrian and
Babylonian deities, seems to have corres
ponded closely to the classical Mars (2 K.
xvii. 30).
NER'GAL-SHARE'ZER occurs only in Jer.
xxxix. 3 and 13. There appear to have
been two persons of the name among the
" princes of the king of Babylon," who ac
companied Nebuchadnezzar on his last ex
pedition against Jerusalem. One of these is
not marked by any additional title ; but the
other has the honourable distinction of Rab-
mag, and it is to him alone that any parti
cular interest attaches. In sacred Scripture
he appears among the persons, who, by com
mand of Nebuchadnezzar, released Jeremiah
from prison : profane history gives us reason
to believe that he was a personage of great
importance, who not long afterwards mounted

the Babylonian throne. This identification
depends in part upon the exact resemblance
of name, which is found on Babylonian bricks
in the form or Nergal-shar-uzur ; but mainly
it rests upon the title of Rubu-emga, or Rab-
Mag, which this king bears in his inscrip
tions. He is the same as the monarch called
Neriglissar or Neriglissoor, who murdered
Evil-Merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar,
and succeeded him upon the throne. His
reign lasted from b.c. 559 to b.c. 556.
NETH'INIM. As applied specifically to
a distinct body of men connected with the
services of the Temple, this name first meets
us in the later books of the 0. T. ; in 1 Chr.,
Ezra, and Nehemiah. The word, and the
ideas embodied in it may, however, be traced
to a much earlier period. As derived from
the verb ndthan (=give, set apart, dedicate),
it wa-< applied to those who were specially
appointed to the liturgical offices of tho
Tabernacle. We must not forget that tho
Levites were given to Aaron and his sons,
i. e. to the priests as an order, and were ac
cordingly the first Nethinim (Num. iii. 9,
viii. 19). At first they were the only at
tendants, and their work must have been
laborious enough. The first conquests, how
ever, brought them their share of the cap
tive slaves of the Midianites, and 320 were
given to them as having charge of the Taber
nacle (Num. xxxi. 47), while 32 only were
assigned specially to the priests. This dis
position to devolve the more laborious offices
of their ritual upon slaves of another race
showed itself again in the treatment of the
Gibeonites. No addition to the number thus
employed appears to have been made during
the period of the Judges, and they continued
to be known by their old name as the Gibeon
ites. Either the massacre at Nob had in
volved the Gibeonites as well as the priests
(1 Sam. xxii. 19), or else they had fallen
victims to some other outburst of Saul's fury,
and, though there were survivors (2 Sam.
xxi. 2), the number was likely to be quite
inadequate for the greater stateliness of the
new worship at Jerusalem. It is to this
period accordingly that the origin of the class
bearing this name may be traced. The
Nethinim were those " whom David and the
princes appointed (Heb. gave) for the service
of the Levites" (Ezr. viii. 20). Analogy
would lead us to conclude that, in this as
in the former instances, these were either
prisoners taken in war, or else some of the
remnant of the Canaanites. From this time
the Nethinim probably lived within the pre
cincts of the Temple, doing its rougher work,
and so enabling the Levites to take a higher
position as the religious representatives and

NETOPHAH

377

NICOLAS

instructors of the people. The example set
by David was followed by his successor. As
suming, as is probable, that the later Rab
binic teaching represents the traditions of an
earlier period, the Nethinim appear never
to have lost the stigma of their Canaanite
origin. They were all along a servile and
subject caste. The only period at which they
rise into anything like prominence is that of
the return from the captivity. In that re
turn the priests were conspicuous and numer
ous, but the Levites, for some reason unknown
to us, hung back. The services of the Ne
thinim were consequently of more importance
(Ezr. viii. 17), but in their case also, the
small number of those that joined (392 under
Zerubbabel, 220 under Ezra, including " So
lomon's servants") indicates that many pre
ferred remaining in the land of their exile to
returning to their old service. Those that
did come were consequently thought worthy
of special mention.
NET'OPHAH, a town the name of which
occurs only in the catalogue of those who
returned with Zerubbabel from the Captivity
(Ezr. ii. 22; Neh. vii. 26; 1 Esdr. v. 18).
But, though not directly mentioned till so
late a period, Netophah was really a much
oldsr place. Two of David's guard (1 Chr.
xxvii. 13, 15), were Netophathftes. The
" villages of the Netophathites " were the
residence of the Levites (1 Chr. ix. 16).
From another notice we learn that the parti
cular Levites who inhabited these villages
were singers (Neh. xii. 28). To judge from
Neh. vii. 26 the town was in the neighbourhood
of, or closely connected with, Bethlehem.
NETTLE. The Hebrew word so translated
in Job xxx. 7 ; Prov. xxiy. 31, was perhaps
some species of wild musfard. The Hebrew
word translated nettle in Js. xxxiv. 13 ; Hos.
ix. 6 ; Prov. xxiv. 31, may be understood to
denote some species of nettle (Urtica).
NEW MOON. The first day of the lunar
month was observed as a holy day. In ad
dition to the daily sacrifice there were offered
two young bullocks, a ram and seven lambs
of the first year as a burnt-offering, with
the proper meat-offerings and drink-offerings,
and a kid as a sin-offering (Num. xxviii. 11-
15). As on the Sabbath, trade and handi
craft work were stopped (Am. viii. 5), and the
Temple was opened for public worship (Ez.
xlvi. 3; Is. lxvi. 23). The trumpets were
blown at the offering of the special sacrifices
for the day, as on the solemn festivals (Num.
x. 10; Ps. lxxxi. 3). It was an occasion
for state-banquets (I Sam. xx. 5-24). In
later, if not in earlier times, fasting was
intermitted at the new moons (Jud. viii. 6).
The new moons are' generally mentioned so

as to show that they were regarded as a
peculiar class of holy days, distinguished
from the solemn feasts and the Sabbaths (Ez.
xiv. 17 ; 1 Chr. xxiii. 31 ; 2 Chr. ii. 4, viii.
13, xxxi. 3 ; Esr. iii. 5 ; Neh. x. 33). Tho
seventh new moon of the religious year,
being that of Tisri, commenced the civil
year, and had a significance and rites of its
own. It was a day of holy convocation.
NEW TESTAMENT. [Bible.]
NEW YEAR. [Trumpets, Feast of.]
NIB'HAZ, a deity of the Avites, introduced
by them into Samaria in the time of Shal
maneser (2 K. xvii. 31). There is no certain
information as to the character of the deity,
or the form of the idol so named. The Rab
bins derived the name from a Hebrew root
ndbach, " to bark," and hence assigned to it
the figure of a dog, or a dog-headed man.
NICA'NOR. 1. Son of Patroclus (2 Mace.
viii. 9), a general who was engaged in the
Jewish wars under Antiochus Epiphanes and
Demetrius I. (1 Maec. iii. 38, iv., vii. 26, 49).
— 2. One of the first seven deacons (Acts vi.
5). NICODE'MUS, a Pharisee, a ruler of the
Jews, and teacher of Israel (John iii. 1, 10),
whose secret visit to our Lord was the occa
sion of the discourse recorded only by St.
John. A constitutional timidity is discernible
in the character of the inquiring Pharisee.
Thus the few words w hich he interposed
against the rash injustice of his colleagues
are cautiously rested on a general principle
(John vii. 50). And even when the power of
Christ's love, manifested on the cross, had
made the most timid disciple bold, Nicodemus
does not come forward with his splendid gifts
of affection until the example had been set
by one of his own rank, and wealth, and
station in society (xix. 39). In these three
notices of Nicodemus a noble candour and a
simple love of truth shine out in the midst of
hesitation and fear of man. We can there
fore easily believe the tradition that after the
resurrection he became a professed disciple of
Christ, and received baptism at the hand3
of Peter and John.
NICOLA'ITANS. [Nicolas.]
NICOLAS (Acts vi. 5), a native of An
tioch, and a proselyte to the Jewish faith.
When the church was still confined to Jeru
salem, he became a convert ; and being a
man of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost
and of wisdom, he was chosen by the whole
multitude of the disciples to be one of the
first se^ven deacons, and he was ordained by
the apostles.— A sect of Nicolaitans is men
tioned in Rev. ii. 6, 15 ; but there is no
reason except the similarity of name for
identifying Nicolas with the sect which our

NICOPOLIS

37S

NINEVEH

Lord denounces, for the traditions on the
subject are of no value. It would seem from
Rev. ii. 14, that the Nicolaitans held that it
was lawful " to eat things sacrificed to idols,
and to commit fornication," in opposition
to the decree of the church rendered in Acts
xv. 20, 29.
MC0l*'0LIS is mentioned in Tit. iii. 12,
as the place where St. Paul was intending
to pass the coining winter. Nothing is to
be found in the Epistle itself to determine
which Nicopolis is here intended. One Ni-
copolis was in Thrace, near the borders of
Macedonia. The subscription (which, how-
pver, is of no authority) fixes on this place,
calling it the Macedonian Nicopolis. But we
little doubt that Jerome's view is correct, and
that the Pauline Nicopolis was the celebrated
city of Epirus. This city (the " City of Vic
tory ") was built by Augustus in memory of
the battle of Actium. It was on a peninsula
to tbe west of the bay of Actium.
NI'GER is the additional or distinctive
name given to the Simeon who was one of the
teachers and prophets in the Church at Antioch
(Acts xiii. 1).
NIGHT. [Day.]
NIGHT-HAWK. The Hebrew word so
translated (Lev. xi. 16; Deut. xiv. 15) pro
bably denotes some kind of owl.
NILE, the great river of Egypt. The
word Nile nowhere occurs in the A. V. ; but
it is spoken of under the name of Sihor
[Sihor], and " the river of Egypt " (Gen. xv.
18). On the inundation of the Nile see Egypt.
The Nile is constantly before us in the
history of Israel in Egypt. Into it the male
children were cast ; in it, or rather in some
canal or pool, was the ark of MosTjs put, and
found by Pharaoh's daughter when she went
down to bathe. When the plagues were
sent, the sacred river — a main support of the
people — and its waters everywhere, were
turned into blood.
NIM'RAH, a place mentioned by this name,
in Num. xxxii. 3 only. If it is the same as
Beth-nimrah (ver. 36) it belonged to the
tribe of Gad. By Eusebius, however, it is
cited as a "city of Reuben in Gilead." A
wady and a town, both called Nimreh, have
been met with in Betheniyeh, east of the
Lejah, and five miles north-west of Kuna-
wdt. NIM'RIM, THE WATERS OF, a stream
or brook within the country of Moab, which
is mentioned in the denunciations of that na
tion by Isaiah (xv. 6) and Jeremiah (xlviii. 34).
We should perhaps look for the site of Nim-
rim in Moab proper, i. e. on the south-eastern
shoulder of the Dead Sea.
NIM'ROD, a son of Cush and grandson of

Ham. The events of his life are recorded in
Gen. x. 8, ff., from which we learn (1) that
he was a Cushite ; (2) that he established an
empire in Shinar (the classical Babylonia),
the chief towns being Babel, Erecb, Accad,
and Calneh : and (3) that he extended this
empire northwards along the course of the
Tigris over Assyria, where he founded a
second group of capitals, Nineveh, Rehoboth,
Calah, and Resen. (In verse 11 instead of
"out of that land went forth Asshur," we
ought to read " out of that land he went
forth to Assyria," as in the margin.) These
events may be held to represent the salient
historical facts connected with the earliest
stages of the great Babylonian empire. 1. In
the first place there is abundant evidence that
the race that first held sway in the lower
Babylonian plain was of Cushite or Hamitic
extraction. The name Cush itself was pre
served in Babylonia and the adjacent coun
tries under the forms of Cossaei, Cissia,
Cuthah, and Susiana or Cliuzistan. 2. In
the second place, the earliest seat of empire
was in the south part of the Babylonian
plain. The large mounds which for a vast
number of centuries have covered the ruins
of ancient cities, have already yielded some
evidences of the dates and names of their
founders, and we can assign the highest
antiquity to the towns represented by the
mounds of Niffcr (perhaps the early Babel,
though also identified with Calneh), Warka
(the Biblical Erech), Mugheir (Ur), and Sen-
kereh (Ellasar), while the name of Accad is
preserved in the title Kinzi-Akkad, by which
the founder or embellisher of those towns
was distinguished. The date of their founda
tion may be placed at about b.c. 2200. — 3. In
the third place, the Babylonian empire ex
tended its sway northwards along the course
of the Tigris at a period long anterior to the
rise of the Assyrian empire in the 13th cen
tury B.C.
NIM'SHI. The grandfather of Jehu, who
is generally called " the son of Nimshi "
(1 K. xix. 16; 2 K. ix. 2, 14, 20; 2 Chr.
xxii. 7J.
NIN'EVEII, the capital of the ancient
kingdom and empire of Assyria. The name
appears to be compounded from that of an
Assyrian deity, " Nin," corresponding, it is
conjectured, with the Greek Hercules, and
occurring in the names of several Assyrian
kings, as in " Ninus," the mythic founder,
according to Greek tradition, of the city.
Nineveh is first mentioned in the O. T. in
connexion with the primitive dispersement
and migrations of the human race. Asshur,
or, according to the marginal reading which
is generally preferred, Nimrod, is there dc-

NINEVEH

379

NINEVEH

scribed (Gen. x. 11) as extending his king
dom from the land of Shinar, or Babylonia,
in the south, to Assyria in the north, and
founding four cities, of which the most
famous was Nineveh. Hence Assyria was
subsequently known to the Jews as " the
land of Nimrod" (cf. Mic. v. 6), and was be
lieved to have been first peopled by a colony
from Babylon. The kingdom of Assyria and
of the Assyrians is referred to in the O. T. as
connected with the Jews at a very early
period ; as in Num. xxiv. 22, 24, and Ps.
lxxxiii. 8 ; but after the notice of the founda
tion of Nineveh in Genesis no further men
tion is made of the eity until the time of the
book of Jonah, or the 8th century b.c In
this book neither Assyria nor the Assyrians
are mentioned, the king to whom the prophet
was sent being termed the "king of Nine
veh," and his subjects " the people of Nine
veh." Assyria is first called a kingdom in
the time of Menahem, about b.c. 770.
Nahum (1 b.c. 645) directs his prophecies
against Nineveh ; only once against the king
of Assyria, ch. iii. 18. In 2 K. (xix. 36) and
Is. xxxvii. 37 the city is first distinctly
mentioned as the residence of the monarch.
Sennacherib was slain there when worship
ping in the temple of Nisroch his god. Zepha
niah, about b.c 630, couples the capital and
the kingdom together (ii. 13); and this is
the last mention of Nineveh as an existing
city. The destruction of Nineveh occurred
b.c 606. The city was then laid waste, its
monuments destroyed, and its inhabitants
scattered or carried away into captivity. It
never rose again from its ruins. This total
disappearance of Nineveh is fully confirmed
by the records of profane history. The poli
tical history of Nineveh is that of Assyria,
of which a sketch has already been given.
[Assyria.] — Previous to recent excavations
and researches, the ruins which occupied the
•presumed site of Nineveh seemed to consist
of mere shapeless heaps or mounds of earth
and rubbish. Unlike the vast masses of brick
masonry which mark the site of Babylon,
they showed externally no signs of artificial
construction, except perhaps here and there
the traces of a rude wall of sun-dried bricks.
The only difficulty is to determine which
ruins are to be comprised within the actual
limits of the ancient city. The principal
ruins are— I, the group immediately opposite
Mosul, including the great mounds of Kouyun
jik and Nebbi Yunus ; 2, that near the junc
tion of the Tigris and Zab, comprising the
mounds of Nimroud and At hur ; 3, Khorsa-
bad, about 10 miles to the east of the former
river; 4, ShcreefKhan, about h\ miles to the
north of Kouyunjik * and 5, Selamiyah, 3 miles

to the north of Nimroud. The first traveller
who carefully examined the supposed site of
Nineveh was Mr. Rich, formerly political
agent for the East India Company at Bagdad ;
but his investigations were almost entirely
confined to Kouyunjik and the surrounding
mounds, of which he made a survey in 1820.
In 1843 M. Botta, the French consul at
Mosul, fully explored the ruins. They con
sisted of the lower part of a number of halls,
rooms, and passages, for the most part wains
coted with slabs of coarse gray alabaster,
sculptured with figures in relief, the principal
entrances being formed by colossal human-
headed winged bulls. No remains of exterior
architecture of any great importance were
discovered. The calcined limestone and the
great accumulation of charred wood and
charcoal showed that the building had been
destroyed by fire. Its upper part had entirely
disappeared, and its general plan could only be
restored by the remains of the lower story.
The collection of Assyrian sculptures in the
Louvre came from these ruins. M. Botta'sdis-
coveries at Khoi'sabad were followed by those
of Mr. Layard at Nimroud and Kouyunjik,
made between the years 1845 and 1850. The
mound of Nimroud was found to contain the
ruins of several distinct edifices, erected at
different periods. In general plan and in con
struction they resembled the ruins at Khorsa-
bad — consisting of a number of halls, cham
bers, and galleries, panelled with sculptured
and inscribed alabaster slabs, and opening one
into the other by doorways generally formed
by pairs of colossal human-headed winged
bulls or lions. The exterior architecture
could not be traced. — The Assyrian edifices
were so nearly alike in general plan, con
struction, and decoration, that one descrip
tion will suffice for all. They were built
upon artificial mounds or platforms, varying
in height, but generally from 30 to 50 feet
above the level of the surrounding country,
and solidly constructed of regular layers of
sun-dried bricks, as at Nimroud, or consisting
merely of earth and rubbish heaped up, as
at Kouyunjik. This platform was probably
faced with stone masonry, remains of which
were discovered at Nimroud, and broad
flights of steps or inclined ways led up to its
summit. Although only the general plan of
the ground-floor can now be traced, it is evi
dent that the palaces had several stories
built of wood and sun-dried bricks, which,
when the building was deserted and allowed
to fall to decay, gradually buried the lower
chambers with their ruins, and protected the
sculptured slabs from the effects of the
weather. The depth of soil and rubbish
above the alabaster slabs varied from a few

NINEVEH

380

NINEVEH

inches to about 20 feet. It is to this ac
cumulation of rubbish above them that the
bas-reliefs owe their extraordinary preserva
tion. The portions of the edifices still re
maining consist of halls, chambers, and
galleries, opening for the most part into large
uncovered courts. The wall, above the
wainscoting of alabaster, was plastered, and
painted with figures and ornaments. The
sculptures, with the exception of the human-
headed lions and bulls, were for the most
part in low relief. The colossal figures usu
ally represent the king, his attendants, and
the gods ; the smaller sculptures, which
either cover the whole face of the slab, or
are divided into two compartments by bands
of inscriptions, represent battles, sieges, the
chase, single combats with wild beasts, reli
gious ceremonies, &c. &c. All refer to public
or national events ; the hunting-scenes evi
dently recording the prowess and personal
valour of the king as the head of the people —
" the mighty hunter before the Lord." The
sculptures appear to have been painted —
remains of colour having been found on
most of them. Thus decorated, without and
within, the Assyrian palaces must have dis
played a barbaric magnificence, not however
devoid of a certain grandeur and beauty,
which no ancient or modern edifice has pro
bably exceeded. These great edifices, the
depositories of the national records, appear
to have been at the same time the abode
of the king and the temple of the gods. —
Site of the City. — Much diversity of opinion
exists as to the identification of the ruins
which may be properly included within
the site of ancient Nineveh. According to
Sir II. Rawlinson and those who concur in
his interpretation of the cuneiform characters,
each group of mounds already mentioned
represents a separate and distinct city. On
the other hand, it has been conjectured, with
much probability, that these groups of mounds
are not ruins of separate cities, but of forti
fied royal residences, each combining palaces,
temples, propylaea, gardens, and parks, and
having its peculiar name ; and that they all
formed part of one great city built and added
to at different periods, and consisting of dis
tinct quarters scattered over a very large
area, and frequently very distant one from
the other. Nineveh might thus be compared
with Damascus, Ispahan, or perhaps more
appropriately with Delhi. It is thus alone
that the ancient descriptions of Nineveh, if
any value whatever is to be attached to them,
can be reconciled with existing remains. As
at Babylon, no great consecutive wall of
inclosure comprising all the ruins has been
discovered at Nineveh and no such wall

ever existed. — Prophecies relating to Nineveh
and Illustratio7is of the 0. r.— These arc
exclusively contained in the books of Nahum
and Zephaniah ; for although Isaiah foretells
the downfall of the Assyrian empire (ch. x.
and xiv.), he makes no mention of its capital.
Nahum threatens the entire destruction of
the city, so that it shall not rise again from
its ruins: "With un overrunning flood he
will make an utter end of the place thereof."
" He will make an utter end : affliction shall
not rise up the second time " (i. 8, 9). " Thy
people is scattered upon the mountains, and
no one gathereth them. There is no healing
of thy bruise " (iii. 18, 19). Some commen
tators believe that "the overrunning flood"
refers to the agency of water in the destruc
tion of the walls by an extraordinary overflow
of the Tigris, and the consequent exposure of
the city to assault through a breach ; others,
that it applies to a large and devastating
army. Most of the edifices discovered had
been destroyed by fire, but no part of the
walls of either Nimroud or Kouyunjik appeal's
to have been washed away by the river. The
likening of Nineveh to "a pool of water"
(ii. 8) has been conjectured to refer to the
moats and dams by which a portion of the
country around Nineveh could be flooded.
The city was to be partly destroyed by fire,
"The fire shall devour thy bars," "then
shall the fire devour thee " (iii. 13, 15). The
gateway in the northern wall of the Kouyunjik
inclosure had been destroyed by fire as well
as the palaces. The population was to be
surprised when unprepared, " while they are
drunk as drunkards they shall be devoured
as stubble fully dry " (i. 10). Diodorus states
that the last and fatal assault was made when
they were overcome with wine. The cap
tivity of the inhabitants, and their removal
to distant provinces, are predicted (iii. 18).
The palace- tern pies were to be plundered of
their idols, " out of the house of thy gods
will I cut off the graven image and the molten
image" (i. 14), and the city sacked of its
wealth: "Take ye the spoil of silver, take
the spoil of gold" (ii. 9). For ages the
Assyrian edifices have been despoiled of their
sacred images. Only one or two fragments
of the precious metals were found in the
ruins. Nineveh, after its fall, was to be
" empty, and void, and waste " (ii. 10) ; " it
shall come to pass, that all they that look
upon thee shall flee from thee, and say,
Nineveh is laid waste" (iii. 7). These epi
thets describe the present state of the site of
the city. But the fullest and the most vivid
and poetical picture of its ruined and deserted
condition is that given by Zephaniah, who
probably lived to see its fall (ii. 13, 14, 15).

NISAN

381

NOAH

Tbe canals which once fertilised the soil are
now dry. Except when the earth is green
after the periodical rains the site of the city,
as well as the surrounding country, is an
arid yellow waste. Many allusions in the
0. T. to the dress, arms, modes of warfare,
and customs of the people of Nineveh, as well
as of the Jews, are explained by the Nineveh
monuments. Thus (Nah. ii. 3), "the shield
of his mighty men is made red, the valiant
men are in scarlet." The shields and the
dresses of the warriors are generally painted
red in the sculptures. The magnificent
description of the assault upon the city (iii.
1, 2, 3) is illustrated in almost every particu
lar. The mounds built up against the walls
of a besieged town (Is. xxxvii. 33 ; 2 K. xix.
32 ; Jer. xxxii. 24, &c), the battering-ram
(Ez. iv. 2), the various kinds of armour, hel
mets, shields, spears, and swords, used in
battle during a siege ; the chariots and horses
(Nah. iii. 3) are all seen in various bas-
reliefs. The interior decoration of the
Assyrian palaces is described by Ezekiel,
himself a captive in Assyria and an eye
witness of their magnificence (xxiii. 14, 15} ;
a description strikingly illustrated by the
sculptured likenesses of the Assyrian kings
and warriors. The mystic figures seen by
the prophet in his vision (ch. i.), uniting the
man, the lion, the ox, and tbe eagle, may
have been suggested by the eagle-headed
idols, and man-headed bulls and lions, and
the sacred emblem of the "wheel within
wheel " by the winged circle or globe fre
quently represented in the bas-reliefs.
NI'SAN. [Months.]
NIS'ROCH, an idol of Nineveh, in whose
temple Sennacherib was worshipping when
assassinated by his "sons, Adrammelech and
Sharezer (2 K. xix. 37 ; Is. xxxvii. 38).
The word signifies " the great eagle." It is
identified with the eagle-headed human figure,
which is one of the most prominent on tbe
earliest Assyrian monuments, and is always
represented as contending with and conquer
ing the lion or the bull.
NITRE occurs in Prov. xxv. 20, " and as
vinegar upon nitre ; " and in Jer. ii. 22. The
substance denoted is not that which we now
understand by the term nitre, i.e. nitrate of
potassa — " saltpetre " — but the nitrum of the
Latins, and the natron or native carbonate of
soda of modern chemistry. The latter part of
the passage in Proverbs is well explained by
Shaw, who says (Trav. ii. 387), "the unsuit-
ableness of the singing of songs to a heavy
heart is very finely compared to the contra
riety there is between vinegar and natron."
NO.- [No-Amok.]
NO 'AH, the tenth in descent from Adam,

in the line of Seth, was the son of Lamech,
and grandson of Methuselah. In the reason
whieh Lamech gives for calling his son Noah,
there is a play upon the name which it is im
possible to preserve in English. He called
his name Noah (Noach, rest), saying " this
same shall comfort us." Of Noah himself
we hear nothing till he is 500 years old,
when it is said he begat three sons, Shem,
Ham, and Japhet. In consequence of the
grievous and hopeless wickedness of the
world at this time, God resolved to destroy
it. " My spirit," He says, " shall not always
'dwell' or 'bear sway' in man — inasmuch
as he is but flesh." The meaning of which
seems to be that whilst God had put His
Spirit in man, i.e. not only the breath of life,
but a spiritual part capable of recognising,
loving, and worshipping Him, man had so
much sunk down into the lowest and most
debasing of fleshly pleasures, as to have al
most extinguished the higher light within
him. Then follows : " But his days shall be
a hundred and twenty years," which has
been interpreted by some to mean, that still
a time of grace shall be given for repentance,
viz. 120 years before the Flood shall come;.
and by others, that the duration of human
life should in future be limited to this term
of years, instead of extending over centuries
as before. This last seems the most natural
interpretation of the Hebrew words. Of
Noah's life during this age of almost uni
versal apostasy we are told but little. It is
merely said, that he was a righteous man and
perfect in his generations (i.e. amongst his con
temporaries), and that he, like Enoch, walked
with God. St. Peter calls him " a preacher
of righteousness" (2 Pet. ii. 5). Besides this
we are merely told that he had three sons,
each of whom had married a wife ; that he
built the Ark in accordance with Divine direc
tion ; and that he was 600 years old when the
Flood came (Gen. vi. vii.). Both about the
Ark and the Flood so many questions have
been raised, that we must consider each of
these separately. The Ark.— The precise
meaning of the Hebrew word (tebdh) is un
certain. The word occurs only in Genesis and
in Exodus (ii. 3). In all probability it is to
the old Egyptian that we are to look for its
original form. Bunsen, in his vocabulary,
gives tba, "a chest," tpt, "a boat," and in
the Copt. Vers, of Exod. ii. 3, 5, thebi is the
rendering of tebdh. This " chest," or " boat,"
was to be made of gopher (i.e. cypress) wood,
a kind of timber which both for its lightness
and its durability was employed by the Phoe
nicians for building their vessels. The planks
of the ark, after being put together, were to
be protected by a coating of pitch, or rather

NOAH

382

NOAH

bitumen, which was to be laid on both inside
and outside, as the most effectual means of
making it water-tight, and perhaps also as a
protection against the attacks of marine ani
mals. The ark was to consist of a number
of "nests" or small compartments, with a
view no doubt to the convenient distribution
of the different animals and their food. These
were to be arranged in three tiers, one above
another ; " with lower, second, and third
(stories) shalt thou make it." Means were
also to be provided for letting light into the
ark. In the A. V. we read, "A window shalt
thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt
thou finish it above : " — words which it must
be confessed convey no very intelligible idea.
The original, however, is obscure, and has
been differently interpreted. What the " win
dow," or "light-hole" was, is very puzzling.
It was to be at the top of the ark apparently.
If the words " unto a cubit shalt thou finish
it above," refer to the window and not to the
ark itself, they seem to imply that this aper
ture, or skylight, extended to the breadth of
a cubit the whole length of the roof. But if
so, it could not have been merely an open
slit, for that would have admitted the rain.
Are we then to suppose that some transparent,
or at least translucent, substance was em
ployed 1 It would almost seem so. But be
sides the window there was to be a door.
This was to be placed in the side of the ark.
Of the shape of the ark nothing is said ; but
its dimensions are given. It was to be 300
cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in
height. Taking 21 inches for the cubit, the
ark would be 525 feet in length, 87 feet
6 inches in breadth, and 52 feet 6 inches in
height. This is very considerably larger
than the largest British man-of-war. It
should be remembered that this huge struc
ture was only intended to float on the water,
and was not in the proper sense of the word
a ship. It had neither mast, sail, nor
rudder ; it was in fact nothing but an enor
mous floating house, or oblong box rather.
Twr objects only were aimed at in its con-
strui ..ion : the one was that it should have
ample stowage, and the other that it should
be able to keep steady upon the water.
After having given Noah the necessary in
structions for the building of the ark, God
tells him the purpose for which it was de
signed. The earth is to be destroyed by
water. "And I, behold I do bring the flood
— waters upon the earth — to destroy all flesh
wherein is the breath of life . . . but 1 will
establish my covenant with thee, &c." (vi.
17, 18). The inmates of the ark are then
specified. They are to be Noah and bis wife,
and his three sons with their wives. Noah

is also to take a pair of each kind of animal
into the ark with him that he may preserve
them alive ; birds, domestic animals, and
creeping things are particularly mentioned.
ne is to provide for the wants of each of
these stores " of every kind of food that is
eaten." It is added, "Thus did Noah; ac
cording to all that God commanded him, so
did he." A remarkable addition to these
directions occurs in the following chapter.
The pairs of animals are now limited to one
of unclean animals, whilst of clean animals
and birds (ver. 2), Noah is to take to him
seven paii s. — The Flood. — The urk was
finished, and all its living freight was ga
thered into it as in a place of safety. Jeho
vah shut him in, says the chronicler, speaking
of Noah. And then there ensued a solemn
pause of seven days before the threatened
destruction was let loose. At last the Flood
came ; the waters were upon the earth. The
narrative is vivid and forcible, though en
tirely wanting in that sort of description
which in a modern historian or poet would
have occupied the largest space. But one
impression is left upon the mind with pecu
liar vividness, from the very simplicity of
the narrative, and it is that of utter deso
lation. From vii. 17 to the end of the chap
ter a very simple but very powerful and
impressive description is given of the appal
ling catastrophe. The waters of the Flood
increased for a period of 190 days (40+150,
comparing vii. 12 and 24). And then " God
remembered Noah," and made a wind to pass
over the earth, so that the waters were as
suaged. The ark rested on the seventeenth
day of the seventh month on the mountains
of Ararat. After this the waters gradually
decreased till the first day of the tenth month,
when the tops of the mountains were seen.
It was then that Noah sent forth, first, the
raven, whieh flew hither and thither, resting
probably on the mountain-tops, but not re
turning to the ark; and next, after an in
terval of seven days (cf. ver. 10), the dove,
" to see if the waters were abated from the
ground" (i. e. the lower plain country).
" But the dove found no rest for the sole
of her foot, and she returned unto him into
the ark." After waiting for another seven
days he again sent forth the dove, which re
turned this time with a fresh olive-leaf in
her mouth, a sign that the waters were still
lower. And once more, after another inter
val of seven days, he sent forth the dove,
and she " returned not again unto him any
more," having found a home for herself upon
the earth. — Whether the Flood was universal
or partial has given rise to much contro
versy ; but there can be no doubt that it was

NOAH

383

universal, so far as man was concerned : we
mean that it extended to all the tlien known
world. The literal truth of the narrative
obliges us to believe that tlie whole human
race, except eight persons, perished by the
waters of the Flood. In the New Testament
our Lord gives the sanction of His own autho
rity to the historical truth of the narrative
(Matt. xxiv. 37 ; Luke xvii. 26), declaring
that the state of the world at His second
coming shall be such as it was in the days of
Noah. St. Peter speaks of the "long suffering
of God," which "waited in tbe days of Noah
while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,
that is, eight souls, were saved by water,"
and sees in the waters of the Flood by which
the ark was borne up a type of Baptism, by
whieh the Church is separated from the world
(1 Pet. iii. 20, 21), And again, in his Second
Epistle (2 Pet. ii. 5), he cites it as an instance
of the righteous judgment of God who spared
not the old world. But the language of the
Book of Genesis does not compel us to sup
pose that the whole surface of the globe was
actually covered with water, if tbe evidence
of geology requires us to adopt the hypothesis
of a partial deluge. It is natural to suppose
that the writer, when he speaks of " all
flesh," " all in whose nostrils was the breath
of life," refers only to his own locality. This
sort of language is common enough in the
Bible when only a small part of the globe is
intended. Thus, for instance, it is said that
" all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to
buy corn;" and that "a decree went out
from Csesar Augustus that all the world should
be taxed." In these and many similar pas
sages the expressions of the writer are ob
viously not to be taken in an exactly literal
sense. Even the apparently very distinct
phrase "all the high hills that were under
the whole heaven were covered " may be
matched by another precisely similar, where
it is said that God would put the fear and
the dread of Israel upon every nation under
heaven. — The truth of the Biblical narrative
is confirmed by the numerous traditions of
other nations, which have preserved the
memory of a great and destructive flood,
from which but a small part of mankind
escaped. They seem to point back to a com
mon centre, whence they were carried by
the different families of man, as they wan
dered east and west. There is a medal of
Apamea in Phrygia struck as late as the time
of Septimius Severus, in whieh the Phry
gian deluge is commemorated. This medal
represents a kind of square vessel floating in
the water. Through an opening in it are
seen two persons, a man and a woman.
Upon the top of this chest or ark is perched

a bird, whilst another flies towards it carry
ing a branch between its feet. Before the
vessel are represented the same pair as having
just quitted it, and got upon the dry land.
Singularly enough, too, on some specimens of
this medal the letters Nfi, or NOE, have been
found on the vessel, as in the annexed cut.
— After the Flood. — Noah's first act after he
left the ark was to build an altar, and to
offer sacrifices. This is the first altar of
which we read in Scripture, and the first
burnt sacrifice. Then follows the blessing of
God upon Noah and his sons. All living
creatures are now given to man for food ;
but express provision is made that the blood
(in which is the life) should not be eaten.

Medal Of Apamea in Phrygia, representing the Deluge.
Next, God makes provision for the security
of human life. The blood of man, in which
is his life, is yet more precious than the blood
of beasts. Hence is laid the first foundation
of tbe civil power. Of the seven precepts of
Noah, as they are called, the observance of
which was required of all Jewish proselytes,
three only ai'e here expressly mentioned. It
is in the terms of the blessing and the
covenant made with Noah after the Flood
that we find the strongest evidence that it
extended to all the then known world. Noah
is clearly the head of a new human family,
the representative of the whole race. It is
as such that God makes His covenant with
him ; and hence selects a natural phenomenon
as the sign of that covenant. The bow in
the cloud, seen by every nation under heaven,
is an unfailing witness to the truth of God. —
Noah now for the rest of his life betook him
self to agricultural pursuits. It is parti
cularly noticed that he planted a vineyard,
Whether in ignorance of its properties or
otherwise, we are not informed, but he drank
of the juice of the grape till he became in
toxicated and shamefully exposed himself in
his own tent. One of his sons. Ham, mocked

NO-AMON

384

NUMBERS

openly at his father's disgrace. The others,
with dutiful care and reverence, endeavoured
to hide it. When he recovered from the
effects of his intoxication, he declared that a
curse should rest upon the sons of Ham.
With the curse on his youngest son was
joined a blessing on the other two. After
this prophetic blessing we hear no more of
the patriarch but the sum of his years.
NO-A'MON (Nah. iii. 8), NO (Jer. xlvi.
25; Ez. xxx. 14, 15, 16), a city of Egypt,
better known under the name of Thebes, or
Diospolis Magna. The second part of the
first form is the name of Amen, the chief
divinity of Thebes, mentioned or alluded to
in connexion with this place in Jeremiah,
"Behold, I will punish Amon in No, and
Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and
their kings ; " and perhaps also alluded to in
Ezekiel (xxx. 15). There is a difficulty as
to the meaning of No. It seems most reason
able to suppose that No is a Shemitic name,
and that Amon is added in Nahum (I.e.) to
distinguish Thebes from some other place
bearing the same name, or on account of the
connexion of Amen with that city. The de
scription of No- Amon, as " situate among tbe
rivers, the waters round about it" (Nah. I.e.),
remarkably characterizes Thebes.
NOB (1 Sam. xxiii. 11; Neh. xi. 32), a
sacerdotal city in the tribe of Benjamin, and
situated on some eminence near Jerusalem,
It was one of the places where the tabernacle,
or ark of Jehovah, was kept for a time during
the days of its wanderings (2 Sam. vi. 1,
&c.). But the event for which Nob was most
noted in the Scripture annals, was a frightful
massacre which occurred there in the reign
of Saul (1 Sam. xxii. 17-19).
NO'BAH, an Israelite warrior (Num. xxxii.
42), who during tbe conquest of the territory
on the east of Jordan possessed himself of
the town of Kenath and the villages or ham
lets dependent upon it, and gave them his
own name. For a certain period after the
establishment of the Israelite rule tbe new
name remained (Judg. viii. 11). But it is
not again heard of, and the original appella
tion, as is usual in such cases, appears to
have recovered its hold, which it has since
retained ; for in the slightly modified form of
Kunawdt it is the name of the place to the
present day.
NOD. [Cain.]
NO'E, the patriarch Noah (Tob. iv. 12;
Matt. xxiv. 37, 38; Luke iii. 36, xvii. 26,
27). NOPH. [Memphis.]
NOSE-JEWEL (Gen. xxiv. 22 ; Ex. xxxv.
22 "ear-ring;" Is. iii. 21; Ez. xvi. 12,
"jewel on the forehead"), a ring of metal,

sometimes of gold or silver, passed usually
through the right nostril, and worn by way
of ornament by women in the East. Upon
it are strung beads, coral, or jewels. In
Egypt it is now almost confined to the lower
classes. NUMBERS, the Fourth Book of the Law
or Pentateuch. It takes its name in the
LXX. and Vulg. (whence our ' Numbers ')
from the double numbering or census of the
people ; the first of which is given in chaps,
i.-iv., and the second in chap. xxvi. — A,
Contents. — The Book may be said to contain
generally the history of the Israelites from
the time cf their leaving Sinai, in the second
year after tbe Exodus, till their arrival at
the borders of the Promised Land in the
fortieth year of their journeyings. It con
sists of the following principal divisions : —
I. The preparations for the departure from
Sinai (i. 1-x. 10). II. The journey from
Sinai to the borders of Canaan (x. 11-xiv.
45). III. A brief notice of laws given, and
events which transpired, during the thirty-
seven years' wandering in the wilderness (xv.
1-xix. 22). IV. The history of the last year,
from the second arrival of the Israelites in
Kadesh till they reach "the plains of Moab
by Jordan near Jericho " (xx. 1. -xxxvi. 13).

Pistacia vera. (Art. ' Nuts.' I

NUN

OBADIAH

NUN, the father of the Jewish captain
Joshua (Ex. xxxiii. 11, &c). His genealo
gical descent from Ephraim is recorded in
1 Chr. vii.
NURSE. It is clear, both from Scripture
and from Greek and Roman writers, that in
ancient times the position of the nurse,
wherever one was maintained, was one of
much honour and importance. (See Gen.
xxiv. 59, xxxv. 8 ; 2 Sam. iv. 4 ; 2 K. xi.
2 ; 3 Mace. i. 20.) The same term is applied
to a foster-father or mother, e.g., Num. xi.
12; Ruthiv. 16; Is. xlix. 23.
N UTS are mentioned among the good
things of the land which the sons of Israel
were to take as a present to Joseph in Egypt
(Gen. xliii. 11). There can scarcely be a
doubt that the Hebrew word, here translated
" nuts," denotes the fruit of the Pistachio
tree (Pistacia vera), for which Syria and
Palestine have been long famous. In Cant.
vi. 11 a different Hebrew word is translated
" nuts." In all probability it here refers to
the Walnut-tree. According to Josephus the
walnut-tree was formerly common, and grew
most luxuriantly around the lake of Genne
sareth. NYM'PHAS, a wealthy and zealous Chris
tian in Laodicea, Col. iv. 15.

OAK. The following Hebrew words, which
appear to be merely various forms of the
same root, occur in the O. T. as the names of
some species of oak, viz., el, elah, eldn, ildn,
alldh, and alldn. There is much difficulty
in determining the exact meanings of the
several varieties of the term mentioned above.
Some maintain that el, elim, eldn, elah, and
alldh, all stand for the terebinth -tree (Pis
tacia terebinthus), while alldn denotes an oak.
But if we examine the claims of the terebinth
to represent the elah, we shall see that in point
of size it cannot compete with some of the oaks
of Palestine. Dr. Thomson (The Land and
the Book, p. 243) remarks on this point :
" There are more mighty oaks here in this
immediate vicinity (Mejdel es-Shems) than
there are terebinths in>all Syria and Pales
tine together." Two oaks (Quercus pseudo-
coccifera and Q. aegilops) are well worthy of
the name of mighty trees ; though it is
equally true that over a greater part of the
country the oaks of Palestine are at present
merely bushes,
OATH. The principle on which an oath
is held to be binding is incidentally laid down
in Heb. vi. 16, viz. as an ultimate appeal to
divine authority to ratify an assertion. There
the Almighty is represented as promising or
denouncing with an oath, i.e. doing so in the
Sai. D. B.

most positive and solemn manner. On the
same principle, that oath has always been
held most binding which appealed to the
highest authority, both as regards indivi
duals and communities. As a consequence
of this principle, appeals to God's name on
the one hand, and to heathen deities on the
other, are treated in Scripture as tests of
allegiance (Ex. xxiii. 13, xxxiv. 6; Deut.
xxix. 12, &c). So also the sovereign's name
is sometimes used as a form of obligation
(Gen. xiii. 15; 2 Sam. xi. 11, xiv. 19). —
Other forms of oath, serious or frivolous, are
mentioned, some of which are condemned by
our Lord (Matt. \. 33, xxiii. 16-22 ; and see
Jam. v. 12). — The forms of adjuration men
tioned in Scripture are — 1. Lifting up the
hand. Witnesses laid their hands on the
head of the accused (Gen. xiv. 22 ; Lev.
xxiv. 14 ; Deut. xxxiii. 40 ; Is. iii. 7). 2.
Putting the hand under the thigh of the
person to whom the promise was made (Gen.
xxiv. 2, xlvii. 29). 3. Oaths were sometimes
taken before the altar, or, as some understand
the passage, if the persons were not in Jeru
salem, in a position looking towards the
Temple (1 K. viii. 31 ; 2 Chr. vi. 22).
4. Dividing a victim and passing between or
distributing the pieces (Gen. xv. 10, 17 ; Jer.
xxxiv. 18). — As the sanctity of oaths was
carefully inculcated by the Law, so the crime
of perjury was strongly condemned ; and to a
false witness the same punishment was as
signed which was due for the crime to which
he testified (Ex. xx. 7 ; Lev. xix. 12 ; Deut.
xix. 16-19; Ps. xv. 4; Jer. v. 2, vii. 9; Ez.
xvi. 59; Hos. x. 4; Zech. viii. 17).— The
Christian practice in the matter of oaths was
founded in great measure on the Jewish.
Thus the oath on the Gospels was an imitation
of the Jewish practice of placing the hands on
the book of the Law. — The stringent nature
of the Roman military oath, and the penalties
attached to infraction of it, are alluded to,
more or less certainly, in several places in
the N. T., e.g. Matt. viii. 9; Acts xii. 19,
xvi. 27, xxvii. 42.
OBADI'AH (servant of the Lord), the
fourth of the twelve minor prophets. We
know nothing of him except what we can
gather from the short book which bears his
name. The Hebrew tradition that he is the
same person as the Obadiah of Ahab's reign
(1 K. xviii. 7-16), is destitute of all founda
tion. The question of his date must depend
upon the interpretation of the 11th verse of
his prophecy. He there speaks of the con
quest of Jerusalem and the captivity of Jacob.
If he is referring to the well-known captivity
by Nebuchadnezzar he must have lived at
the time of the Babylonish captivity, and
2 C

OBED

3S(3

OINTMENT

have prophesied subsequently to the year
b.c 588. If, further, his prophecy against
Edom found its first fulfilment in the con
quest of that country by Nebuchadnezzar in
the year b.c 583, we have its date fixed. It
must have been uttered at some time in the
five years which intervened between those
two dates. The only argument of any weight
for the early date of Obadiah is his position
in the list of the books of the minor prophets.
Why should he have been inserted between
Amos and Jonah if his date it> about n.c. 585 '.'
The answer seems to be that the prophecy of
Obadiah is an amplification of the last five
verses of Amos, and was therefore placed
next after the book of Amos. The book of
Obadiah is a sustained denunciation of the
Edomites, melting into a vision of the future
glories of Zion, when the arm of the Lord
should have wrought her deliverance and
have repaid double upon her enemies.
O'BED, son of Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess
(Ruthiv. 17) .The name of Obed occurs only
Ruth iv. 17, and in the four genealogies, Ruth
iv. 21, 22 ; 1 Chr. ii. 12 ; Matt. i. 5 ; Luke iii.
32. In all these five passages, and in the first
with peculiar emphasis, he is said to be the
father of Jesse.
O'BED-E'DOM. 1. A Levite, described aa
a Gittite (2 Sam. vi. 10, 11), that is, pro
bably, a native of the Levitical city of Gath-
Rimmon in Manasseh, which was assigned to
the Kohatbites (Josh. xxi. 45). After the
death of Uzzah, the ark, which was being
conducted from the house of Abinadab in
Gibeah to the city of David, was carried aside
into the house of Obed-edom, where it con
tinued three months. It was brought thence
by David (I Chr. xv. 25; 2 Sam. vi. 12).—
2. " Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun " (1 Chr.
xvi. 38), a Merarite Levite, appears to he a
different person from the last-mentioned.
He was a Levite of the second degree and a
gatekeeper for the ark (1 Chr. xv. 18, 24),
appointed to sound " with harps on the
Sheminith to excel " (1 Chr. xv. 21, xvi. 5).
ODOL'LAM. [Adullam.]
OFFERINGS.. [Sacrifice.]
OG, an Amoritish king of Bashan, whose
rule extended over sixty cities (Josh. xiii.
12). He was one of the last representatives
of the giant-race of Rephaim, and was, with
his children and his people, defeated and ex
terminated by the Israelites at Edrei, im
mediately after the conquest of Sihon (Deut.
iii. 1-13 ; Num. xxxii. 33. Also Deut. i. 4,
iv. 47, xxxi. 4 ; Josh. ii. 10, ix. 10, xiii. 12,
30). The belief in Og's enormous stature is
corroborated by an appeal to his iron bed
stead preserved in "Rabbath of the children
of Ammon" (Deut. iii. 11). Some have sup

posed that this was one of the common fiat
beds used sometimes on the housetops of
Eastern cities, but made of iron instead of
palm-branches, which would not have sup
ported the giant's weight. It is more pro
bable that the words mean a " sarcophagus of
black basalt," a rendering of which they un
doubtedly admit.
OIL. [Olive.]
OIL-TREE (Heb. et.t shemen). The He
brew words occur in Neh. viii. 15 (A. V. " pine-
branches"), 1 K. vi. 23 ("olive-tree"), and
in Is. xli. 19 (" oil-tree "). From the passage
in Nehemiah, where the ets shemen is men
tioned as distinct from the " olive-tree," it
may perhaps be identified with the zaekum-
tree of the Arabs, the Balanites Aegyptiaca,
a well-known and abundant shrub or small
tree in the plain of Jordan. The zackum-oil
is held in high repute by the Arabs for its
medicinal properties. [Olive.]

Balanites Aegypti

OINTMENT.— 1. Cosmetic The Greek and
Roman practice of anointing the head and
clothes on festive occasions prevailed also
among the Egyptians, and appears to have
had place among the Jews (Ruth iii. 3 ; Eccl.
vii. 1 ix. 8; Prov. xxvii. 9, 16, &c.). Oil

OLD TESTAMENT

387

OLIVES, MOUNT OF

of myrrh, for like purposes, is mentioned
Esth. ii. 12. — 2. Funereal. Ointments as well
as oil were used to anoint dead bodies and
the clothes in which they were wrapped
(Matt. xxvi. 12 ; Mark xiv. 3, 8 ; Luke
xxiii. 56 ; John xii. 3, 7, xix. 40).— 3. Medi
cinal. Ointment formed an important feature
in ancient medical treatment (Is. i. 6). The
mention of balm of Gilead and of eye-salve
(collyrium) points to the same method (Is.
i. 6 ; John ix. 6 ; Jer. viii. 22 ; Rev. iii. 18,
&c>). — 4. Ritual. Besides the oil used in
many ceremonial observances, a special oint
ment was appointed to be used in consecra
tion (Ex. xxx. 23, 33, xxix. 7, xxxvii. 29,
xl. 9, 15). Strict prohibition was issued
against using this unguent for any secular
purpose, or on the person of a foreigner, and
against imitating it in any way whatsoever
(Ex. xxx. 32, 33). — A person whose business
it was to compound ointments in general was
called an " apothecary " (Neh. iii. 8 ; Eccl. x.
1 ; Ecclus. xlix. 1). The work was some
times carried on by women " confectionaries "
(1 Sam. viii. 13). In the Christian Church
the ancient usage of anointing the bodies
of the dead was long retained. The cere
mony of Chrism or anointing was also added
to baptism.
OLD TESTAMENT. [Bible.]
OLIVE. No tree is more closely associated
with the history and civilisation of man.
Many of the Scriptural associations of the
olive-tree are singularly poetical. It has this
remarkable interest, in the first place, that its
foliage is the earliest that is mentioned by
name, when the waters of the flood began to
retire (Gen. viii. 11). Next we find it the
most prominent tree in the earliest allegory
(Judg. ix. 8, 9). With David it is the em
blem of prosperity and the divine blessing
(Ps. Iii. 8, cxxviii. 3). So with the later
prophets it is the symbol of beauty, luxuri
ance, and strength. We must bear in mind,
in reading this imagery, that the olive was
among the most abundant and characteristic
vegetation of Judaea. Turning now to the
mystic imagery of Zechariah (iv. 3, 11-14),
and of St. John in the Apocalypse (Rev. xi.
3, 4), we find the olive-tree used, in both
cases, in a very remarkable way. Finally,
in the argumentation of St. Paul concerning
the relative positions of the Jews and Gentiles
in the counsels of God, this tree supplies the
basis of one of his most forcible allegories
(Rom. xi. 16-25). The Gentiles are the
"wild olive " grafted in upon the "good
olive," to which once the Jews belonged, and
with which they may again he incorporated.
The olive tree grows freely almost everywhere
on the shores of tbe Mediterranean, but it

was peculiarly abundant in Palestine (see
Deut. vi. 11, viii. 8, xxviii. 40). Olive-yards
are a matter of course in descriptions of the
countrj', like vineyards and cornfields (Judg.
xv. 5 ; 1 Sam. viii. 14). The kings had very
extensive ones (1 Chr. xxvii. 28). Even
now the tree is very abundant in the country.
Almost every village has its olive-grove.
Certain districts may be specified where at
various times this tree has been very luxuri
ant. The cultivation of the olive tree had
the closest connexion with the domestic life
of the Israelites (2 Chr. ii. 10), their trade
(Ez. xxvii. 17 ; Hos. xii. 1), and even their
publie ceremonies and religious worship.
The oil was used in coronations : thus it was
an emblem of sovereignty (1 Sam. x. 1, xii.
3, 5). It was also mixed with the offerings
in sacrifice (Lev. ii. 1, 2, 6, 15). For the
burning of it in common lamps see Matt.
xxv. 3, 4, 8. The use of it on the hair and
skin was customary, and indicative of cheer
fulness (Ps. xxiii. 5 ; Matt. vi. 17). It was
also employed medicinally in surgical cases
(Luke x. 34). See again Mark vi. 13 ; Jam.
v. 14, for its use in combination with prayer
on behalf of the sick. In Solomon's temple
the cherubim were " of olive-tree " (1 K. vi.
23), as also the doors (vers. 31, 32) and the
posts (ver. 33). As to the berries (Jam. iii.
12 ; 2 Esd. xvi. 29), which produce the oil,
they were sometimes gathered by shaking the
tree (Is. xxiv. 13), sometimes by beating it
(Deut. xxiv. 20). Then followed the tread
ing of the fruit (Deut. xxxiii. 24 ; Mic. vi.
15). Hence the mention of " oil-fats " (Joel
ii. 24). The wind was dreaded by the culti
vator of the olive, for the least ruffling of a
breeze is apt to cause the flowers to fall (Job
xv. 33). It is needless to add that tbe locust
was a formidable enemy of the olive (Amos
iv. 9). It happened not unfrequently that
hopes were disappointed, and that " the
labour of the olive failed " (Hab. iii. 17). As
to the growth of the tree, it thrives best in
warm and sunny situations. It is of a mo
derate height, with knotty gnarled trunks,
and a smooth ash-coloured bark. It grows
slowly, but it lives to an immense age. Its
look is singularly indicative of tenacious
vigour ; and this is the force of what is said
in Scripture of its " greenness," as emblem
atic of strength and prosperity. The leaves,
too, are not deciduous. Those who see
olives for the first time are occasionally dis
appointed by the dusty colour of their foliage ;
but those who are familiar with them find an
inexpressible charm in the rippling changes
of their slender grey-green leaves.
OLIVES, MOUNT OF. The exact expres
sion "the Mount of Olives" occurs in the
2 C 2

OLIVES, MOUNT OF

3SS

OLIVES, MOUNT OF

O. T. in Zech. xiv. 4 only; in the other i
places of the 0. T. in which it is referred to, j
the form employed is the "ascent of the]
olives " (2 Sam. xv. 30 ; A. V. inaccurately j
"the ascent of Mount Olivet"), or simply I
"the Mount" (Neh. viii. 15), "the mount \
facing Jerusalem" (1 K. xi. 7), or "the
mountain which is on the east side of the
city" (Ez. xi. 23). In the N. T. three forms
of the word occur : 1. The usual one, "the
Mount of Olives." 2. By St. Luke twice
(xix. 29, xxi. 37), "the mount called the
Mount of Olives." 3. Also by St. Luke
(Acts i. 12), .the " mount called Olivet." But
in the Greek text, both in the Gospel and
the Acts, the same word is used, translated
by the Vulgate " Olivetum," that is, the
Mount of Olives. — It is the well-known emi
nence on the east of Jerusalem, intimately
connected with some of the gravest events of
the history of the Old Testament and the New
Testament, the scene of the flight of David
and the triumphal progress of the Son of
David, of the idolatry of Solomon, and the
agony and betrayal of Christ. It is not so
much a "mount" as a ridge, of rather more
than a mile in length, running in general
direction north and south ; covering the
whole eastern side of the city. At its north
ern end the ridge bends round to the west,
so as to form an enclosure to the city on that
side also. But there is this difference, that
whereas on the north a space of nearly a
mile of tolerably level surface intervenes be
tween the walls of the city and the rising
ground, on the east the mount is close to the
walls, parted only by that which from the
city itself seems no parting at all — the
narrow ravine of the Kidron. It is this por
tion which is the real Mount of Olives of the
history. In general height it is not very
much above the city: 300 feet higher than
the Temple mount, hardly more than 100
above the so-called Zion. The word " ridge "
has been used above as the only one available
for an eminence of some length and even
height, but that word is hardly accurate.
There is nothing "ridge-like" in the appear
ance of the Mount of Olives, or of any other
of the limestone hills of this district of Pales
tine ; all is rounded, swelling, and regular in
form. At a distance its outline is almost
horizontal, gradually sloping away at its
southern end ; but when seen from below the
eastern wall of Jerusalem, it divides itself
into three, or rather perhaps four, independ
ent summits or eminences. Proceeding from
north to south these occur in the following
order : Galilee, or Viri Galilaei ; Mount of
the Ascension ; Prophets, subordinate to the
las', and almost a part of it ; Mount of

Offence. 1. Of these the central one dis
tinguished by the minaret and domes of the
Church of the Ascension, is in every way
the most important. Three paths lead from
the valley to the summit. The first passes
under the north wall of the enclosure of
Gethsemane, and follows the line of the
depression between the centre and the north
ern hill. The second parts from the first
about 50 yards beyond Gethsemane, and
striking off to the right up the very breast of
the hill, surmounts the projection on which
is the traditional spot of the Lamentation
over Jerusalem, and thence proceeds directly
upwards to the village. The third leaves
the other two at the N.E. corner of Geth
semane, and making a considerable de'tour to
the south, visits the so-called " Tombs of the
Prophets," and, following a very slight de
pression which occurs at that part of the
mount, arrives in its turn at the village. Of
these three paths the first, from the fact that
it follows the natural shape of the ground, is
unquestionably older than the others, which
deviate in pursuit of certain artificial objects.
Every consideration is in favour of its being
the road taken by David in his flight. It
is, with equal probability, that usually taken
by our Lord and His disciples in their morn
ing and evening transit between Jerusalem
and Bethany, and that also by which the
Apostles returned to Jerusalem after the
Ascension. The central hill, which we are
now considering, purports to contain the sites
of some of the most sacred and impressive
events of Christian history. The majority of
these sacred spots now command little or no
attention; but three still remain, sufficiently
sacred — if authentic — to consecrate any place.
These are : (1.) Gethsemane, at the foot of the
mount. (2). The spot from which our Saviour
ascended on the summit. (3.) The place of
the Lamentation of Christ over Jerusalem,
halfway up. Of these, Gethsemane is the
only one which has any claim to be authentic.
[Gethsemane.] — 2. We have spoken of the
central and principal portion of the mount.
Next to it on the southern side, separated
from it by a slight depression, up which the
path mentioned above as the third takes its
course, is a hill which appears neither to
possess, nor to have possessed, any ii.depend-
ent name. It is remarkable only for the fact
that it contains the "singular catacomb"
known as the " Tombs of the Prophets,''
probably in allusion to the words of Christ
(Matt, xxiii. 29). — 3. The most southern
portion of the Mount of Olives is that usually
known as the " Mount of Offence," Mons Of-
fensionis. It rises next to that last men
tioned ; and in the hollow between the two,

OLIVES, MOUNT OF

389

OMRI

more marked than the depressions between
the more northern portions, runs the road
from Bethany, which was without doubt the
road of Christ's entry to Jerusalem. The
title Mount of Offence, or Scandal, was be
stowed on the supposition that it is the
" Mount of Corruption" on which Solomon
erected the high places for the gods of his
foreign wives (2 K. xxiii. 13; 1 K. xi. 7).
The southern summit is considerably lower
than the centre one. — 4. The only one of the
four summits remaining to be considered is
that on the north of the " Mount of Ascen
sion" the Karem es Seyad, or Vineyard of
the Sportsman ; or, as it is called by the
modern Latin and Greek Christians, the Viri
Galilaei. This is a hilt of exactly the same
character as the Mount of tbe Ascension, and
so nearly its equal in height that few travel
lers agree as to which is the more lofty.
The summits of the two are about 400 yards
apart. It stands directly opposite the N.E.
corner of Jerusalem, and is approached by
the path between it and the Mount of Ascen
sion, which strikes at the top into a cross
path leading to el-Isawiyeh and Anata. The
Arabic name well reflects the fruitful cha
racter of the hill, on which there are several
vineyards, besides much cultivation of other
kinds. The Christian name is due to the
singular tradition, that here the two angels
addressed ' the Apostles after our Lord's
ascension — " Ye men of Galilee ! " This
idea, which is so incompatible, on account of
the distance, even with the traditional spot of
the Ascension, is of late existence and inex
plicable origin. —The presence of the crowd
of ehurches and other edifices must have
rendered the Mount of Olives, during the
early and middle ages of Christianity, en
tirely unlike what it was in the time of the
Jewish kingdom or of our Lord. Except the
high places on the summit, the only buildings
then to be seen were probably the walls of
the vineyards and gardens, and the towers
and presses which were their invariable ac
companiment. But though the churches are
nearly all demolished there must be a con
siderable difference between the aspect of the
mountain now and in those days when it
received its name from the abundance of its
olive-groves. It does not now stand so pre
eminent in this respect among the hills in
the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. It is only
in the deeper and more secluded slope leading
up to the northernmost summit that these
venerable trees spread into anything like a
forest. The cedars commemorated by the
Talmud, and the date-palms implied in the
name Bethany, have fared still worse ; there
is not one of either to be found within many

miles. Two religious ceremonies performed
there must have done much to increase the
numbers who resorted to the mount. The
appearance of the new moon was probably
watched for, certainly proclaimed, from the
summit. The second ceremony referred to was
the burning of the Red Heifer. This solemn
ceremonial was enacted on the centra] mount,
and in a spot so carefully specified that it
would seem not difficult to fix it. It was
due east of the sanctuary, and at such an
elevation on the mount that the officiating
priest, as he slew the animal and sprinkled
her blood, could see the facad&of the sanctu
ary through the east gate of the Temple. To
this spot a viaduct was constructed across the
valley on a double row of arches, so as to
raise it far above all possible proximity with
graves or other defilements. It was probably
demolished by the Jews themselves on the
approach of Titus, or even earlier, when
Pompey led his army by Jericho and over the
Mount of Olives. This would account sa
tisfactorily for its not being alluded to by
Josephus. OL'IVET (2 Sam. xv. 30; Acts i. 12).
[Olives, Mount of.]
OLYM'PAS, a Christian at Rome (Rom.
xvi. 15), perhaps of the household of Philo-
logus. O'MAR, son of Eliphaz the firstborn of
Esau, and "duke" or phylarch of Edom
(Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15 ; 1 Chr. i. 36).
O'MEGA, the last ¦ letter of the Greek
alphabet, as Alpha is the first. It is used
metaphorically to denote the end of anything :
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the ending,  the first and the last"
(Rev. i. 8, 11).
OMER. [Weights and Measures.]
OM'RI, originally " captain of the host "
to Elah, was afterwards himself King of
Israel, and founder of the third dynasty.
When Elah was murdered by Zimri at Tirzah,
then capital of the northern kingdom, Omri
was engaged in the siege of Gibbethon,
situated in the tribe of Dan, which had been
occupied by the Philistines. As soon as the
army heard of Elah's death, they proclaimed
Omri king. Thereupon he broke up the
siege of Gibbethon, and attacked Tirzah,
where Zimri was holding his court as king
of Israel. The city was taken, and Zimri
perished in the flames of the palace, after a
reign of seven days. Omri, however, was
not allowed to establish his dynasty without
a struggle against Tibni, whom " half the
people" (1 K. xvi, 21) desired to raise to
the throne. The civil war lasted four years
(cf. 1 K. xvi. 15, with 23). After the defeat
and death of Tibni, Omri reigned for six

ON

390

ONIAS

years in Tirzah ; but at the end of that time
he transferred his residence, probably from
the proved inability of Tirzah to stand a siege,
to tbe mountain Shomron, better known by
its Greek name Samaria, which he bought for
two talents of silver from a rich man, other
wise unknown, called Shcmer. At Samaria
Omri reigned for six years more. He seems
to have been a vigorous and unscrupulous
ruler, anxious to strengthen his dynasty by
intercourse and alliances with foreign states.
'Ihe probable date of Ornri's accession (i.e.
of the deaths of Elah and Zimri) was b.c.
935 ; of TibnVs defeat and the-beginning of
Oinri's sole reign b.c. 931, and of his death
n.c. 919.
ON, tbe son of Peleth, and one of the chiefs
of the tribe of Reuben who took part with
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in their revolt
against Moses (Num. xvi. 1). His name
does not again appear in the narrative of the
conspiracy, nor is he alluded to when refer
ence is made to the final catastrophe.
ON, a tow n of Lower Egypt, which is men
tioned in the Bible under at least two names,
Beth-Shkmesh (Jer. xliii. 13), corresponding
to the ancient Egyptian sacred name Ha-ra,
" the abode of the sun," and that above,
corresponding to the common name An. On
is better known under its Greek name Helio
polis. It was situate on the east side of the
Pelusiac branch of the Nile, just below the
point of the Delta, and about twenty miles
north-east of Memphis. The chief object of
worship at Heliopolis was the sun, whose
temple, described by Strabo, is now only re
presented by the single beautiful obelisk,
which is of red granite, 68 feet 2 inches high
above the pedestal. Heliopolis was anciently
famous for its learning, and Eudoxus and
Plato studied under its priests. The first
mention of this place in the Bible is in the
history of Joseph, to whom we read Pharaoh
gave " to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-
pherah, priest of On" (Gen. xli. 45, comp.
ver. 50, and xlvi. 20).
O'NAN, the second son of Judah by the
Canaanitess, " the daughter of Shua " (Gen.
xxxviii. 4; 1 Chr. ii. 3). "What he did
was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He slew
him also," as He had slain his elder brother
(Gen. xxxviii. 9 ) . His death took place,
before the family of Jacob went down into
Egypt (Gen. xlvi. 12 ; Num. xxvi. 19).
" ONE'SIMUS is the name of the servant or
slave in whose behalf Paul wrote the Epistle
to Philemon. He was a native, or certainly
an inhabitant of Colossae, since Paul in writ
ing to the Church there speaks of him (Col.
iv. 9) as "one of you." Slaves were numer
ous in Phrygia, and the name itself of Phry

gian was almost synonymous with that of
slave. Onesirnus was one of this unfortunate
class of persons, as is evident both from the
manifest implication in Phil. 16, and from
the general tenor of the epistle. The man
escaped from his master and fled to Rome,
where in the midst of its vast population he
could hope to be concealed. Though it may
be doubted whether Onesirnus heard the
gospel for the first time at Rome, it is beyond
question that he was led to embrace the
gospel there through the apostle's instru
mentality. The language in ver. 10 of the
letter is explicit on this point. After his
conversion, the most happy and friendly rela
tions sprung up between the teacher and the
disciple. The situation of the apostle as a
captive and an indefatigable labourer for the
promotion of the gospel (Acts xxviii. 30, 31)
must have made him keenly alive to the
sympathies of Christian friendship and de
pendent upon others for various services of
a personal nature, important to his efficiency
as a minister of the word. Onesirnus appears
to have supplied this twofold want in an
eminent degree. Whether Paul desired his
presence as a personal attendant or as a
minister of the gospel, is not certain from
ver. 13 of the Epistle.
ONESIPll'ORUS is named twice only in
the N. T., viz., 2 Tim. i. 16-18, and iv. 19.
In the former passage Paul mentions him in
terms of grateful love, as having a noble
courage and generosity in his behalf, amid
his trials as a prisoner at Rome, when others
from whom he expected better things had
deserted him (2 Tim. iv. 16) ; and in the
latter passage he singles out "the household
of Onesiphorus " as worthy of a special greet
ing. It has been made a question whether
this friend of the apostle was still living
when the letter to Timothy was written,
because in both instances Paul speaks of
"the household" (in 2 Tim. i. 16) and not
separately of Onesiphorus himself. The pro
bability is that other members of the family
were also active Christians ; and as Paul
wished to- remember them at the same time,
he grouped them together (2 Tim. iv. 19),
and thus delicately recognised the common
merit, as a sort of family distinction. It is
evident from 2 Tim. i. 18, that Onesiphorus
had his home at Ephesus ; though if we
restrict the salutation near the close of t^e
Epistle (iv. 19) to his family, he himself may
possibly have been with Paul at Rome when
the latter wrote to Timothy.
ON l' AS, the name of five high priests in
the period between the Old and New Testa
ments. — 1. The son and successor of Jaddua,
about b.c. 330-309. According to JoBephus

ONIONS •

391

OPHIR '

he was father of Simon the Just. — 2. The
son of Simon the Just. He was a minor at
the time of bis father's death (about b.c.
290), and the high-priesthood was occupied
in succession by his uncles Eleazar and
Manasseh to his exclusion. He entered on
the office about b.c 240, and retained it till
his death, about b.c. 226, when he was suc
ceeded by his son Simon II. — 3. The son of
Simon IL, who succeeded his father in the
high- priesthood, about b.c 198. Seleucus
Philopator was informed by Simon, governor
of the Temple, of the riches contained in
the sacred treasury, and he made an attempt
to seize them by force. At the prayer of
Onias, according to the tradition (2 Mace.
iii.), the sacrilege was averted ; but the high-
priest was obliged to appeal to the king him
self for support against the machinations of
Simon. Not long afterwards Seleucus died
(b.c 175), and Onias found himself sup
planted in the favour of Antiochus Epiphanes
by his brother Jason, who received the high-
priesthood from the king. Jason, in turn, was
displaced by his youngest brother Menelaus,
who procured the murder of Onias (about b.c
I VI). — 4. The youngest brother of Onias III.,
who bore the same name, which he after
wards exchanged for Menelaus. — 5. The son
of Onias III., who sought a refuge in Egypt
from the sedition and sacrilege which dis
graced Jerusalem. The immediate occasion
of his flight was the triumph of " the sons
of Tobias," gained by the interference of
Antiochus Epiphanes. Onias, receiving the
protection of Ptol. Philometor, endeavoured
to give a unity to the Hellenistic Jews.
With this object he founded the Temple at
Leontopolis. ONIONS occur only in Num. xi. 5, as one
of the good things of Egypt of which the
Israelites regretted the loss. Onions have
been from time immemorial a favourite
article of food amongst the Egyptians. The
onions of Egypt are much milder in flavour
and less pungent than those of this country.
ONO, one of the towns of Benjamin, is
first found in 1 Chr. viii. 12, where Shamed
or Shamer is said to have built Ono and Lod
with their " daughter villages." A plain
was attached to the town, called " the plain
of Ono" (Neh. vi. 2), perhaps identical with
the "valley of craftsmen" (Neh. xi. 36).
ONYCHA occurs only in Ex. xxx. 34, as
one of the ingredients of the sacred perfume.
In Ecclus. xxiv. 15, Wisdom is compared to
the pleasant odour yielded by " galbanum,
onyx, and sweet storax." It is probably the
operculum of a Strombus, perhaps S. lenti-

ONYX, the translation of the Heb. shd-

ham ; but there is nothing in the contexts of
the several passages (Gen. ii. 12 ; Ex. xxviii.
9, 20 ; 1 Chr. xxix. 2 ; Ez. xxviii, 13) where
the Hebrew term occurs to help us to de
termine its signification. Some writers be
lieve that the " beryl " is intended ; but the
balance of authority is in favour of some
variety of the onyx.
OPHEL, a part of ancient Jerusalem.
The name is derived by tbe lexicographers
from a root of similar sound, which has the
force of a swelling or tumour. It does not
come forward till a late period of Old Test.
history. In 2 Chr. xxvii. 3, Jotham is said
to have built much " on the wall of Ophel."
Manasseh, amongst his other defensive works,
" compassed about Ophel " (Ibid, xxxiii. 14).
From the catalogue of Nehemiah's repairs to
the wall of Jerusalem, it appears to have
been near the "water-gate" (Neh. iii. 26)
and the " great tower that Heth out " (ver.
27). Lastly, the former of these two pas
sages, and Neh. xi. 21, show that Ophel was
the residence of the Levites. Josephus in
his account of the last days of Jerusalem
mentions it four times as Ophla. Ophel was
the swelling declivity by which the Mount of
the Temple slopes off on its southern side
into the Valley of Hinnom — a long narrowish
rounded spur or promontory, which inter
venes between the mouth of the central
valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the
Kidron, or Valley of Jehoshaphat. Halfway
down it on its eastern face is the " Fount of
the Virgin," so called ; and at its foot the
lower outlet of the same spring — the Pool of
Siloam. O'PHIR. 1. The eleventh in order of the
sons of Joktan, coming immediately after
Sheba (Gen. x. 29 ; 1 Chr. i. 23). From the
way in which the sons of Joktan are here
described, it is evident that this Ophir cor
responds to some city, region, or tribe in
Arabia.— 2. A seaport or region from which
the Hebrews in the time of Solomon obtained
gold, in vessels whieh went thither in con
junction with Tyrian ships from Ezion-geher,
near Elath, on that branch of the Red Sea
which is now called the Gulf of Akabah.
The gold was proverbial for its fineness, so
that " gold of Ophir " is several times used
as an expression for fine gold (Ps. xiv. 10;
Job xxviii. 16 ; Is. xiii. 12 ; 1 Chr. xxix. 4) ;
and in one paesage (Job xxii. 24) the word
" Ophir " by itself is used for gold of Ophir,
and for gold generally. In addition to gold,
the vessels brought from Ophir almug-wood
and precious stones. The precise geogra
phical situation of Ophir bas long been a
subject of doubt and discussion. The two
countries which have divided the opinions of

OPHIR

:v,r2

OUGAN

the learned have been Arabia and India,
while some have placed it in Africa. There
are only five passages in the historical books
which mention Ophir by name : three in the
Books of Kings (1 K. ix. 26-29, *. 11, xxii.
48), and two in the Books of Chronicles
C2 Chron. viii. 18, ix. 10). The latter were
probably copied from the former. In addi
tion to these passages, the following verse
in the Book of Kings has very frequently
been referred to Ophir : " For the king (i. e.
Solomon) had at sea a navy of Tharshish
with the navy of Hiram: once in three
years came the navy of Tharshish bringing
gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and pea
cocks" (1 K. x. 22). But there is not
sufficient evidence to show that the fleet
mentioned in this verse was identical with
the fleet mentioned in 1 K. ix. 26-29, and
1 K. x. 11, as bringing gold, almug-trces,
and precious stones from Ophir. If the
three passages of the Book of Kings are
carefully examined, it will be seen that all
the information given respecting Ophir is,
that it was a place or region accessible by
sea from Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, from
which imports of gold, almug-trees, and
precious stones were brought back by the
Tyrian and Hebrew sailors. Now we have
seen above that the author of the 1 0th
chapter of Genesis certainly regarded Ophir
as the name of some city, region, or tribe in
Arabia. And it is almost equally certain
that the Ophir of Genesis is the Ophir of the
Book of Kings. There is no mention either
in the Bible or elsewhere, of any other Ophir;
and the idea of there having been two Ophirs
evidently arose from a perception of the
obvious meaning of the 10th chapter of
Genesis, on the one hand, coupled with the
erroneous opinion on the other, that the
Ophir of the Book of Kings could not have
been in Arabia. Hence the burden of proof
lies on any one who denies Ophir to have
been in Arabia. There do not, however,
appear to be sufficient data for determining
in favour of any one emporium or of any one
locality rather than another in Arabia, as
having been the Ophir of Solomon. The
Book of Kings certainly suggests the infer
ence that there was some connexion between
the visit of the Queen of Sheba and the voy
age to Ophir, but this would be consistent
with Ophir being either contiguous to Sabaea,
or situated on any point of the southern or
eastern coasts of Arabia ; as in either of these
cases it would have been politic in Solomon
to conciliate the good will of the Sabaeans,
who occupied a long tract of the eastern
coast of the Red Sea, and who might pos-
Bibly have commanded the Straits of Bab-el-

mandeh. In answer to objections against the
obvious meaning of the tenth chapter of
Genesis, the alternatives may be stated as
follows. Either Ophir, although in Arabia,
produced gold and precious stones ; or, if it
shall be hereafter proved in tho progress of
geological investigation that this could not
have been the case, Ophir furnished gold and
precious stones as an emporium.
OPH'NI, a town of Benjamin, mentioned
in Josh, xviii. 24, tie same as the Gophna of
Josephus, a place which at the time of Ves
pasian's invasion was apparently so important
as to be second only to Jerusalem. It still
survives in the modern Jif/ia or Jiifna, 2£
miles north-west of Bethel.
OPH'UAII. l. A town in the tribe of
Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 23 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 17).
Jerome places it 5 miles east of Bethel. It
is perhaps et-Tniyibeh, a small village on the
crown of a conspicuous hill, 4 miles E.N.E.
of Bcitin (Bethel).— 3. More fully Ophrah
of thk Abi-ezrites, the native place of
Gideon (Judg. vi. 11) ; the scene of his ex
ploits against Baal (ver. 24) ; his residence
after his accession to power (ix. 5), and the
place of his burial in the family sepulchre
(viii. 32). It was probably in Manasseh (vi.
15), and not far distant from Shechem (ix.
1,5). ORATOR. 1. The A. V. rendering in Is.
iii. 3, for what is literally " skilful in whisper,
or incantation." — 2. The title applied to Ter-
tullus, who appeared as tbe advocate or
patronus of the Jewish accusers of St. Paul
before Felix, Acts xxiv. 1.
ORCHARD. [Garden.]
O'REB, the "raven" or "crow," the com
panion of Zeeb, the " wolf," was one of the
chieftains of the Midianite host which in
vaded Israel, and was defeated and driven
back by Gideon. The defeat is but slightly
touched upon in the narrative of Judges, but
the terms in which Isaiah refers to it (x. 26)
are such as to imply that it was a truly awful
slaughter. He places it in the same rank
with the two most tremendous disasters re
corded in the whole of the history of Israel
— the destruction of the Egyptians in the
Red Sea, and of the army of Sennacherib
(comp. Ps. lxxxiii.). The slaughter was
concentrated round the rock at which Oreb
•fell, and which was long known by his name
(Judg. vii. 25 ; Is. x. 26).
ORGAN (Gen. iv. 21, Job xxi. 12, xxx.
31, Ps. cl. 4). The Hebrew word 'ugdb or
'uggdb, thus rendered in our version, pro
bably denotes a pipe or perforated wind-in
strument, as the root of the word indicates.
In Gen. iv. 21 it appears to be a general
term for all wind-instruments. In Job xxi.'

ORION

393

12 are enumerated the three kinds of musical
instruments which are possible, under the
•general terms of the timbrel, harp, and organ.
Some identify it with the Pandean pipes, or
syrinx, an instrument of unquestionably
aneient origin, and common in the East.
ORI'ON. That the constellation known
to the Hebrews by the name cesil is the same
as that which the Greeks called Orion, and
the Arabs " the giant," there seems little
reason to doubt (Job ix. 9, xxxviii. 31 ; Am.
v. 8). The "giant" of Oriental astronomy
was Nimrod, the mighty hunter, who was
fabled to have been bound in the sky for his
jmpiety. The two dogs and the hare, which
are among the constellations in the neigh
bourhood of Orion, made his train complete.
There is possibly an allusion to this belief in
" the bands of cesil " (Job xxxviii. 31).
OR'NAN, the same as Araunah (1 Chr.
xxi. 15 ; 2 Chr. iii. 1). [Araunah.]
OR'PAH, a Moabite woman, wife of Chilion
son of Naomi, and thereby sister-in-law to
Ruth (Ruth i. 4, 14).
OSHE'A. [Joshua.]
OSPRAY (Heb. ozniyydh). The Hebrew
word occurs in Lev. xi. 13, and, Deut. xiv.
12, as the name of some unclean bird. It is
probably either the ospray (Pandion haliae
etus) or the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus
Albieella).

or bearded vulture, as it is sometimes calle l,
is one of the largest of the birds of prey.

Ospray {Pandion, haliaeetuaf.

i'',L.

OSSIFRAGE (Heb. peres). The Hebrew
word occurs, as the name of an unclean bird,
in Lev. xi. 13, and Deut. xiv. 12. If much
weight is to be allowed to etymology, the
peres of the Hebrew Scriptures may well be
represented by the ossifrage, or bone-breaker ;
for peres in Hebrew means " the breaker."
And the ossifrage (Gypaetus barbatus) is well
deserving of his name. The Lammergeyer,

9m 'dMSL

Ossifrage (GypaSlus barbatus).
OSTRICH. There can he no doubt that
the Hebrew words bath haya'anah, yd' en, and
rdndn, denote this bird of the desert.— 1.
Bath haya'anah occurs in Lev. xi. 16, Deut.
xiv. 15, in the list of unclean birds; and in
other passages of Scripture. The A. V. erro
neously renders the Hebrew expression, which
signifies either " daughter of greediness" or
" daughter of shouting," by "owl," or, as in
the margin, by " daughter of owl." In Job
xxx. 29, Is. xxxiv. 13, and xliii. 20, the
margin of the A. V. correctly reads "os
triches." The loud crying of the ostrich
seems to be referred to in Mic. i. 8. — 2.
Yd'en occurs in Lam. iv. 3, where the con
text shows that the ostrich is intended. — 3.
Rdndn, occurs in Job xxxix. 13, where it is
clear from the whole passage (13-18) that
ostriches are intended by the word. The
A. V. erroneously translates the word " pea
cocks ; " but there is a different Hebrew
name for peacocks, and this bird was pro
bably not known to the people of Arabia or
Syria before the time of Solomon. The
" ostrich" of the A. V. in Job xxxix. 13 is
the representative of the Hebrew ndtseh,

OSTRICH

394

OVEN

" feathers." — The following short account of
the nidification of the ostrich (Struthio came-
lus) will elucidate those passages of Scripture
which ascribe cruelty to this bird in neglect
ing her eggs or young. Ostriches are poly
gamous : the hens lay their eggs promis
cuously in one^nest, which is merely a hole
scratched in the sand ; the eggs are then
covered over to the depth of about a foot, and
are, in the case of those birds which are found
within the tropics, generally left for the
greater part of the day to the heat of the
sun, the parent-birds taking their turns at
incubation during the night. But in those
countries which have not a tropical sun os
triches frequently incubate during the day,
the male taking his turn at night, and watch
ing over the eggs with great care and affec
tion, as is evidenced by the fact that jackals
and other of the smaller carnivora are occa
sionally found dead near the nest, having
been killed by the ostrich in defence of the
eggs or young. The habit of the ostrich
leaving its eggs to be matured by the sun's
heat is usually appealed to in order to confirm
the Scriptural account, " she leaveth her eggs
to the earth ; " but this is probably the case
only with the tropical birds. And even if
the Hebrews were acquainted with the habits
of the tropical ostriches, how can it be said
that " she forgetteth that the foot may crush"
the eggs, when they are covered a foot deep
or more in the sand ? We believe the true
explanation of this passage is to be found in

the fact that the ostrich deposits some of her
eggs not in the nest, but around it ; these lie
about on the surface of the sand, to all ap
pearance forsaken ; they are, however, de
signed for the nourishment of the young
birds. And this remark will hold good in
the passage of Job which speaks of the ostrich
being without understanding. It is a general
belief amongst tbe Arabs that the ostrich is a
very stupid bird : indeed they have a pro
verb, " Stupid as an ostrich." But it by no
means deserves such a character, as travellers
have frequently testified. "So wary is the
bird," says Mr. Tristram, " and so open are
the vast plains over which it roams, that no
ambuscades or artifices can be employed, and
the vulgar resource of dogged perseverance
is the only mode of pursuit." The ostrich is
,the largest of all known birds, and perhaps
the swiftest of all cursorial animals. The
feathers so much prized are the long white
plumes of the wings. The best come to us
from Barbary and the west coast of Africa.
OTH'NIEL, son of Kcnaz, and younger
brother of Caleb, Josh. xv. 17 ; Judg. i. 13,
iii. 9 ; 1 Chr. iv. 13. But these passages all
leave it doubtful whether Kenaz was his
father, or, as is more probable, the more
remote ancestor and head of the tribe, whose
descendants were called Kenezites (Num.
xxxii. 12, &c), or sons of Kenaz. If Je-
phunneh was Caleb's father, then probably
he was father of Othniel also. The first
mention of Othniel is on occasion of the
taking of Kirjath-Sepher, or Debir, as it was
afterwards called. Debir was included in the
mountainous territory near Hebron, within
the border of Judah, assigned to Caleb the
Kenezite (Josh. xiv. 12-14) ; and in order to
stimulate the valour of the assailants, Caleb
promised to give his daughter Achsah to
whosoever should assault and take the city.
Othniel won the prize. The next mention of
him is in Judg. iii. 9, where he appears as
the first judge of Israel after the death of
Joshua, and their deliverer from the oppression
of Chushan-Rishathaim. This with his genea
logy, 1 Chr. iv. 13, 14, which assigns him a
son, Hathath, is all that we know of Othniel.
OVEN. The Eastern oven is of two kinds
— fixed and portable. The former is found
only in towns, where regular bakers are em
ployed (Hos. vii. 4). The latter is adapted
to the nomad state. It consists of a large
jar made of clay, about three feet high, and
widening towards the bottom, with a hole
for the extraction of the ashes. Each house
hold possessed such an article (Ex. viii. 3) ;
and it was only in times of extreme dearth
that the same oven sufficed for several fami
lies (Lev. xxvi. 26). It was heated with

395

ox

dry twigs and grass (Matt. vi. 30) ; and the
loaves were placed both inside and outside of it.

Egyptian Oven.
OWL, the representative in the A. V. of
the Hebrew words bath haya'anah, yanshuph.
cos, kippdz, and lilith. 1. Bath haya'anah
[Ostrich.] — 2. Yanshuph, or yanshoph, oc
curs in Lev. xi. 17, Deut. xiv. 16, as the
name of some unclean bird, and in Is. xxxiv.
11, in the description of desolate Edom, "the
yanshoph and the raven shall dwell in it-."
The A.V. translates yanshuph by "owl," or
"great owl." The LXX. and Vulg. read
ibis, i.e. the Ibis religiosa, the sacred bird of
Egypt. 3. Cos, the name of an unclean bird
(Lev. xi. 17 ; Deut. xiv. 16) ; it occurs again
in Ps. cii. 6. The passage in Ps. cii. 6 points
decidedly to some kind of owl. The owl we
figure is the Otus ascalaphus, the Egyptian
and Asiatic representative of our great horned
owl (Bubo maximus). — 4. Kippdz occurs only

in Is. xxxiv. 15 : "There (i.e. in Edom) the
kippdz shall make her nest, and lay and hatch
and gather under her shadow." It is hope
less to attempt to identify the animal denoted
by this word ; hut it may denote some species
of owl. — 5. Lilith. The A. V. renders this
word by "screech owl" in the text of Is.
xxxiv. 14, and by "night-monster" in the
margin. According to the Rabbins the lilith
was a nocturnal spectre in the form of a
beautiful woman that carried off children at
night and destroyed them. If, however,
some animal be denoted by the Hebrew term,
the screech-owl (strix fiammea) may well be
supposed to represent it, for this bird is found
in the Bible lands, and is, as is well known >
a frequent inhabiter of ruined places.

Ibis reli'jiosa.

Otus ascalaphus.

OX. There was no animal in the rural
economy of the Israelites, or indeed in that
of the ancient Orientals generally, that was
held in higher esteem than the ox ; and de
servedly so, for the ox was the animal upon
whose patient labours depended all the ordi
nary operations of farming. Oxen were used
for ploughing (Deut. xxii. 10 ; 1 Sam. xiv.
14, &c.) ; for treading out corn (Deut. xxv.
4 ; Hos. x. 11, &c.) ; for draught purposes,
when they were generally yoked in pairs
(Num. vii. 3 ; 1 Sam. vi. 7, &c.) ; as beasts
of burden (1 Chr. xii. 40) ; their flesh was
eaten (Deut. xiv. 4 ; 1 K. i. 9, &c.) ; they
were used in the sacrifices ; they supplied
milk, butter, &c. (Deut. xxxii. 14 ; Is. vii.
22; 2 Sam. xvii. 29). Connected with the
importance of oxen in the rural economy o*

PADAN-ARAM

:M

PALACE

the Jews is the strict code of laws which was
mercifully enacted by God for their protection
and preservation. The ox that threshed the
corn was by no means to be muzzled ; he was
to enjoy rest on the Sabbath as well as his
master (Ex. xxiii. 12; Deut. v. 14). The
law which prohibited the slaughter of any
clean animal, excepting as "an offering unto
the Lord before the tabernacle," during the
time that the Israelites abode in the wilder
ness (Lev. xvii. 1-6), no doubt contributed to
the preservation of their oxen and sheep. It
seems clear from Prov. xv. 17, and 1 K. iv.
23, that cattle were sometimes stall-fed,
though as a general rule it is probable that they
fed in tho plains or on the hills of Palestine.
The cattle that grazed at large in the open
country would no doubt often become tierce
and wild, for it is to be remembered that in
primitive times the lion and other wild beasts
of prey roamed about Palestine. Hence the
force of the Psalmist's complaint of his ene
mies (Ps. xxij. 13).

PA'DAN-ARAM. By this name, which
signifies " the table-land of Aram," the
Hebrews designated the tract of country
which they otherwise called Aram-naharaim,
" Aram of the two rivers," the Greek Meso
potamia (Gen. xxiv. 10), and "the field (A.V.
'country') of Aram" (Hos. xii. 13). The
term was perhaps more especially applied to
that portion which bordered on the Euphrates,
to distinguish it from the mountainous dis
tricts in the N, and N.E. of Mesopotamia.
It is elsewhere called Padan simply (Gen.
xlviii. 7).
PAINT [as a cosmetic]. The use of cos
metic dyes has prevailed in all ages in
Eastern countries. We have abundant evi- |
dence of the practice of painting the eyes |
both in ancient Egypt and in Assyria; and j
in modern times no usage is more general, j
It does not appear, however, to have been by
any means universal among the Hebrews. ]
The notices of it are few ; and in each in- |
stance it seems to have been used as a mere- I
tricious art, unworthy of a woman of high
character. Thus Jezebel " put her eyes in
painting " (2 K. ix. 30, margin) ; Jeremiah
says of the harlot city, "Though thou
rentest thy eyes with painting " (Jer. iv.
30) ; and Ezekiel again makes it a charac
teristic of a harlot (Ez. xxiii. 40). The ex
pressions used in these passages are worthy
of observation, as referring to the mode in
which the process was effected. It is thus
described by Chandler (Travels, ii. 140) : " A
girl, closing one of her eyes, took the two
lashes between the forefinger and thumb of

the left hand, pulled them forward, and then
thrusting in at the external corner a bodkin
which had been immersed in the soot, and
extracting it again, the particles before ad
hering to it remained within, and were pre
sently ranged round the organ." The eyes
were thus literally " put in paint," and were
"rent" open in the process. A broad line
was also drawn round the eye, as represented
in the accompanying cut. The effect was an

11 Eye, ornamented with Kohl, ns represented in ancient
paintings." (.LmWi p 37, new odiliuli.)
apparent enlargement of the eye ; and the
expression in Jer. iv. 30 has been by some
understood in this sen.se. The Bible gives no
indication of the substance out of which the
dye was formed. The old versions agree in
pronouncing the dye to have been produced
from antimony. Antimony is still used for
the purpose in Arabia and in Persia, but in
Egypt the kohl is a soot produced by burning
cither a kind of frankincense or the shells of
almonds. The dye-stuff was moistened with
oil, and kept in a small jar, which we may
infer to have been made of horn, from the
proper name, Keren-happueh, " horn for
paint " (Job xiii. 14). Whether the custom
of staining the hands and feet, particularly
tbe nails, now so prevalent in the East, was
known to the Hebrews, is doubtful. The
plant, henna, which is used for that purpose,
was certainly known (Cant. i. 14 ; A. V.
" camphire "), and the expressions in Cant.
v. 14 may possibly refer to the custom.
PALACE. The site of the Palace of Solo
mon was almost certainly in the city itself,
on the brow opposite to the Temple, and over
looking it and the whole city of David. The
principal building situated within the palace
was, as in all Eastern palaces, tbe great hall
of state and audience, called " The House of
the Forest of Lebanon," apparently from the
four rows of cedar pillars by which it was
supported. It was 100 cubits long, 50 wide,
and 30 high. Next in importance was the
Hall or " Porch of Judgment," a quadran
gular building supported by columns, as we
learn from Josephus, which apparently stood
on the other side of the great court, opposite
the House of the Forest of Lebanon. The
third edifice is merely called a " Porch of
Pillars." Its dimensions were 50 by 30
cubits. Its use cannot be considered aa
doubtful, as it was an indispensable adjunct
to an Eastern palace. It was tbe ordinary
place of business of the palace, and the recep
tion-room when the king received ordinary

( 397 )

Plan of Solomon's Palace.

PALESTINE

PALESTINE

visitors, and sat, except on great state occa
sions, to transact the business of the kingdom.
Behind this, we are told, was the inner court,
adorned with gardens and fountains, and sur
rounded by cloisters for shade ; and there
were other courts for the residence of the
attendants and guards, and for the women of
his harem ; all of which are shown in the
plan with more clearness than can be con
veyed by a verbal description. Apart from
this palace, but attached, as Josephus tells
us, to the Hall of Judgment, was the palace
of Pharaoh's daughter : too proud and im
portant a personage to be grouped with the
ladies of the harem, and requiring a residence
of her own. Solomon constructed an ascent
from his own house to the Temple, " the
house of Jehovah" (1 K. x. 5), which was
a subterranean passage 250 feet long by 42
feet wide, of which the remains may still be
traced. PALESTI'NA and PALESTINE. These
two forms occur in the A. V. but four times
in all, always in poetical passages; the first
in Ex. xv. 14, and Is. xiv. 29, 31 ; the second,
Joel iii. 4. In each case the Hebrew is
Pelesheth, a word found, besides the above,
only in Ps. Ix. 8, lxxxiii. 7, lxxxvii. 4, and
cviii. 9, in all which our translators have
rendered it by " Philistia" or " Philistines."
Palestine, in the A. V. really means nothing
but Philistia. The original Hebrew word
Pelesheth, to the Hebrews signified merely
the long and broad strip -of maritime plain
inhabited by their encroaching neighbours ;
nor does it appear that at first it signified
more to the Greeks. As lying next the sea,
and as being also the high road from Egj'pt
to Phoenicia and the richer regions north of
it, the Philistine plain became sooner known
to the western world than the country fur
ther inland, and was called by them Syria
Palaestina — Philistine Syria. From thence
it was gradually extended to the country
further inland, till in the Roman and later
Greek authors, both heathen and Christian,
it becomes the usual appellation for the whole
country of the Jews, both west and east of
Jordan. The word is now so commonly em
ployed in our more familiar language to
designate the whole country of Israel, that,
although biblically a misnomer, it has been
chosen here as the most convenient heading
under which to give a general description of
the Holt Land, embracing those points
which have not been treated under the sepa
rate headings of cities or tribes. This de
scription will most conveniently divide itself
into three sections: — I. The Names applied
to the country of Israel in the Bible and
elsewhere. II. The Land: its situation,

aspect, climate, physical characteristics, in
connexion with its history ; its structure,
botany, and natural history. III. The His
tory of the country is so fully given under
its various headings throughout the work,
that it is unnecessary to recapitulate it
here. I. Tin: Names.— Palestine, then, is desig
nated in the Bible by more than one name : — ¦
1. During the Patriarchal period, the Con
quest, and the age of the Judges, and also
where those early periods are referred to in
the later literature (as Ps. cv. II), it is
spoken of as " Canaan," or more frequently
" the Land of Canaan," meaning thereby tbe
country west of the Jordan, as opposed to
"the Land of Gilead" on the east. 2. Dur
ing the monarchy the name usually, though
not frequently, employed, is " land of Israel "
(1 Sam. xiii." 19 ; 2 K. v. 2, 4, &c). It is
EzekieFs favourite expression. The pious and
loyal aspirations of Hosea find vent in the ex
pression, " land of Jehovah " (Hos. ix. 3).
In Zechariah it is "the Holy land" (Zech. ii.
12); and in Daniel "the glorious land"
(Dan. xi. 41). In Amos (ii. 10) alone it is
"the land of the Amorite." Occasionally it
appears to be mentioned simply as "The
Land :" as in Ruth i. 1 ; Jer. xxii. 27 ;
1 Mace. xiv. 4 ; Luke iv. 25, and perhaps
even xxiii. 44. 3. Between the Captivity
and the time of our Lord the name " Judaea "
had extended itself from the southern portion
to the whole of the country, even that beyond
Jordan (Matt. xix. 1 ; Mark x. 1). In the
book of Judith it is applied to the portion
between the plain of Esdraelon and Samaria
(xi. 19), as it is in Luke xxiii. 5 ; though it is
also used in the stricter sense of Judaea
proper (John iv. 3, vii. 1). In this narrower
sense it is employed throughout 1 Mace, (see
especially ix. 50, x. 30, 38, xi. 34). 4.
The Roman division of the country hardly
coincided with the Biblical one, and it does
not appear that the Romans had any distinct
name for that which we understand by Pales
tine. 5. Soon after the Christian era we find
the name Palaestina in possession of the
country. 6. The name most frequently used
throughout the middle ages, and down to our
own time, is Terra Sancta— the Holy Land.
II. The Land. — The Holy Land is not in
size or physical characteristics proportioned
to its moral and historical position, as the
theatre of the most momentous events in the
world's history. It is but a strip of country
about the size of Wales, less than 140 miles
in length, and barely 40 in average breadth,
on the very frontier of the East, hemmed in
between the Mediterranean Sea on the one
hand, and the enormous trench of the Jordan

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( 668 )

PALESTINE

400

PALESTINE

valley on the other, by which it is effectually
cut off from the mainland of Asia behind it.
On the north it is shut in by the high ranges
of Lebanon and anti-Lebanon, and by the
chasm of the Litany. On the south it is no
less enclosed by the arid and inhospitable
deserts of the upper part of the peninsula of
Sinai. — 1. Its position on the Map of the
World — as the world was when the Holy
Land first made its appearance in history — is
a remarkable one. (i.) It is on the very out
post — on the extremest western edge of the
East. On the shore of the Mediterranean it
stands, as if it had advanced as far as pos
sible towards the West, separated therefrom
by that which, when the time arrived, proved
to be no barrier, but the readiest 'medium of
communication — the wide waters of the
" Great Sea." Thus it was open to all the
gradual influences of the rising communities
of the West, while it was saved from the re
trogression and decrepitude which have ulti
mately been the doom of all purely Eastern
States whose connexions were limited to the
East only. (ii.) There was however one
channel, and but one, by which it could
reach and be reached by the great Oriental
empires. Tbe only road by which the two
great rivals of the ancient world could ap
proach one another — by which alone Egypt
could get to Assyria, and Assyria to Egypt —
lay along the broad flat strip of coast whieh
formed the maritime portion of the Holy
Land, and thence by the Plain of the Lebanon
to the Euphrates, (iii.) After this the Holy
Land became (like the Netherlands in Europe)
the convenient arena on which in successive
ages the hostile powers who contended for
the empire of the East, fought their battles.
— 2. It is essentially a mountainous country.
Not that it contains independent mountain
chains, as in Greece for example, but that
pvery part of the highland is in greater or
less undulation. But it is not only a moun
tainous country. The mass of hills which
occupies the centre of tbe country is bordered
or framed on both sides, east and west, by a
broad belt of lowland, sunk deep below its
own level. The slopes or cliffs which form,
as it were, the retaining walls of this depres
sion, are furrowed and cleft by the torrent
beds which discharge the waters of the hills,
and form the means of communication be
tween the upper and lower level. On the
west this lowland interposes between the
mountains and the sea, and is the Plain of
Philistia and of Sharon. On the east it is
the broad bottom of the Joedan Valley, deep
down in which rushes the one river of Pales
tine to its grave in the Dead Sea. Such is
the first general impression of the physio

gnomy of the Holy Land. It is a physiognomy
compounded of the three main features al
ready named — the plains, the highland hills,
and the torrent beds : features which are
marked in the words of its earliest describers
(Num. xiii. 29; Josh. xi. 16, xii. 8), and
which must be comprehended by every one
who wishes to understand the country, and
the intimate connexion existing between its
structure and its history. In the accompany
ing sketch-map an attempt has been made to
exhibit these features with greater distinct
ness than is usual, or perhaps possible, in
maps containing more detail. — 3. About half
way up the coast the maritime plain is sud
denly interrupted by a long ridge thrown out
from the central mass, rising considerably
above the general level, and terminating in a
bold promontory on the very edge of the
Mediterranean. This ridge is Mount Cah-
mei.. On its upper side, the plain, as if to
compensate for its temporary displacement,
invades the centre of the country and forms
an undulating hollow right across it from the
Mediterranean to the Jordan valley. This
central lowland, which divides with its broad
depression the mountains of Ephraim from
the mountains of Galilee, is the Plain op
Esdraelon or Jezreel, the great battle-field
of Palestine. North of Carmel the lowland
resumes its position by the sea-side till it is
again interrupted and finally put an end to
by the northern mountains which push their
way out of the sea, ending in the white pro
montory of the Ras Nakhura. Above this is
the ancient Phoenicia. — 4. The Country thus
roughly portrayed, and which, as before
stated, is less than 140 miles in length, and
not more than 40 in average breadth, is to
all intents and purposes the whole Land of
Israel. The northern portion is Galilli-, ;
the centre, Samabia ; the south Judaea. This
is the Land of Canaan which was bestowed
on Abraham ; the covenanted home of his
descendants. The two tribes and a half re
mained on the uplands beyond Jordan ; and
the result was, that these tribes soon ceased
to have any close connexion with the others,
or to form any virtual part of the nation.
But even this definition might without impro
priety he further circumscribed; for during
the greater part of the Old Testament times
the chief events of the history were confined
to the district south of Esdraelon, which con-
tained the cities of Hebron, Jerusalem, Bethel,
Shiloh, Shechem, and Samaria, the Mount of
Olives, and Mount Carmel. The battles of
the Conquest and the early struggles of the
era of the Judges once passed, Galilee sub
sided into obscurity and unimportance till
the time of Christ.— 5. The highland dis-

Fold out

PALESTINE

401

PALESTINE

trict, surrounded and intersected by its broad
lowland plains, preserves from north to south
a remarkably even and horizontal profile.
Its average height may be taken as 1500 to
1800 feet above the Mediterranean. It can
hardly be denominated a plateau, yet so
evenly is the general level preserved, and so
thickly do the hills stand behind and between
one another, that, when seen from the coast
or the western part of the maritime plain, it
has quite tbe appearance of a wall. This
general monotony of profile is, however, ac
centuated at intervals by certain centres of
elevation.* Between these elevated points
runs the watershed of the country, sending
off on either hand — to the Jordan valley on
the east and the Mediterranean on the west—
the long tortuous arms of its many torrent
beds. The valleys on the two sides of the
watershed differ considerably in character.
Those on the east are extremely steep and
rugged. This is the case during the whole
length of the 'southern and middle portions
of the country. It is only when the junction
between the Plain of Esdraelon and the Jordan
Valley is reached, that the slopes become gra
dual and the ground fit for tbe manoeuvres
of anything but detached bodies of foot sol
diers. But, rugged and difficult as they are,
they form the only access to the upper
country from this side, and every man or"
body of men who reached the territory of
Judahj Benjamin, or Ephraim, from the Jor
dan Valley, must have climbed one or other
of them. The western valleys are more gra
dual in their slope. The level of the external
plain on this side is higher, and therefore
the fall less, while at the same time the dis
tance to be traversed is much greater. Here
again the valleys are the only means of com
munication between the lowland and the
highland. From Jaffa and the central part
of the plain there are two of these roads
" going up to Jerusalem : " the one to the
right by Ramleh and the Wady Aly ; the
. Other to the left by Lydda, and thence by the
Beth-horons, or the Wady Suleiman, and
Gibeon. The former of these is modern, but
the latter is the scene of many a famous in
cident in the ancient history. — 6. When the
highlands of the country are more closely
examined, a considerable difference will be
found to exist in the natural condition and
appearance of their different portions. Tbe
south, as being nearer the arid desert, and
0 Beginning from the south, these elevations are He
bron, 3029 f«et nbftve the Mediti;iT»ui<;.±ii ; Jerusalem
2B10, and M i .in j t of Olives 2724. with J* ehy ••umwil on the
north, 2650; Bethel, 2400; S njil, 2«85; Ebal and Ge
rizim, 2700; "Little Humn>n " mid Tabor (on Ihe noith
Hide of the Pltuu of Jisdraelou), 1900; Safed, 2775 ; Jtbd
Jurmafc, 4000.
Su. D. B

farther removed from the drainage of the
mountains, is drier and less productive than
the north. The tract below Hebron, which
forms the link between the hills of Judah and
the desert, was known to the ancient Hebrews
by a term originally derived from its dryness
(Negeb). This was the south country. As
the traveller advances north of this tract
there is an improvement ; but perhaps no
country equally cultivated is more monoto
nous, bare, or uninviting in its aspect, than
a great part of the highlands of Judah and
Benjamin during the largest portion of the
year. The spring covers even those bald
grey rocks with verdure and colour, and fills
the ravines with torrents of rushing water ;
but in summer and autumn the look, of the
country from Hebron up to Bethel is very
dreary and desolate. At Jerusalem this
reaches its climax. ¦ To the west and north
west of the highlands, where the sea-breezes
are felt, there is considerably more vegeta
tion.— 7. Hitherto we have spoken of the
central and northern portions of Judaea. Its
eastern portion — a tract some nine or ten
miles in width by about thirty-five in length
— which intervenes between the centre and
the abrupt descent to the Dead Sea, is far
more wild and desolate, and that not for a
portion of the year only, but throughout it.
This must have been always what it is now —
an uninhabited desert, because uninhabitable.
— 8. No descriptive sketch of this part of the
counti y can be, complete which does not
allude to the caverns, characteristic of all
limestone districts, but here existing in asto
nishing numbers. Every hill and ravine is
pierced with them, some very large and of
curious formation — perhaps partly natural,
partly artificial — others mere grottoes. Many
of them are connected with most important
and interesting events of the ancient history
of the country. Especially is this true of
the district now under consideration. Mach-
pelah, Makkedah, Adullam, Engedi, names
inseparably connected with the lives, adven
tures, and deaths of Abraham, Joshua, David;
and other Old Testament worthies, are all
wiihin the small circle of the territory of
Judaea. Moreover, there is perhaps hardly
one of these caverns, however' small, which
has not at some time or other furnished a
hiding-place to some ancient Hebrew from
the sweeping incursions of Philistine or Ama-
lekite.— 9. The bareness and dryness which
prevail more or less in Judaea are owing
partly to the absence of wood, partly to its
proximity to the desert, and partly to a scar
city of water, arising from its distance from
the Lebanon. But to this discouraging
aspect there1 are' some important exceptions.
2D

PALESTINE

402

PALESTINE

The valley of Urtds, south of Bethlehem, con
tains springs which in abundance and excel
lence rival even those of Nab/us ; the huge
" Pools of Solomon " are enough to supply a
district for many miles round them ; and the
cultivation now going on in that neighbour
hood shows what might be done with a soil
which requires only irrigation and a mode
rate amount of labour to evoke a boundless
produce.— 10. It is obvious that in the ancient
days of the nation, when Judah and Benjamin
possessed the teeming population indicated in
the Bible, the .condition and aspect of the
country must have been very different. Of
this there are not wanting sure .evidences.
There is no country in which the ruined
towns bear so large a proportion to those
still existing. Hardly a hill-top of the many
within sight that is not covered with vestiges
of some fortress or city. But, besides this,
forests appear to have stood in many parts of
Judaea until the repeated invasions and sieges
caused their fall; and all this vegetation
must have reacted on the moisture of the
climate, and, by preserving the water in
many a ravine and natural reservoir where
now it is rapidly dried by the fierce sun of
the early summer, must have influenced ma
terially the look and the resources of the
country. — 11. Advancing northwards from
Judaea the country (Samaria) becomes gra
dually more open and pleasant. Plains of
good soil occur between the hills, at first
small, but afterwards comparatively large.
The hills assume here a more varied aspect
than in the southern districts, springs are
more abundant and more permanent, until at
last, when the district of Jebel Nablus is
reached — the ancient Mount Ephraim— the
traveller encounters an atmosphere and an
amount of vegetation and water which is
greatly superior to anything he has met with
in Judaea, and even sufficient to recall much
of the scenery of the West. Perhaps the
springs are the only objects which in them
selves, and apart from their associations,
really strike an English traveller with asto
nishment and admiration. Such glorious
fountains as those of Ain-jalud or the Ras el-
Mukdtta, where a great body of the clearest
water wells silently but swiftly out from deep
blue recesses vorn in the foot of a low cliff
of limestone rock, and at once forms a con
siderable stream— are very rarely to be met
with out of irregular, rocky, mountainous
countries, and being such unusual sights can
hardly be looked on by the traveller without
surprise and emotion. The valleys which
lead down from the upper level in this dis
trict to the valley of the Jordan, are less pre
cipitous than in Jitdaea. The eastern district

of the Jebel Nablils contains some of the most
fertile and valuable spots in the Holy Land.
Hardly less rich is the extensive region which
lies north-west of the city of Shechem (Nab
lus), between it and Carmel, in which the
mountains gradually break down into the
Plain of Sharon. But with all its richness,
and all its advance on the southern part of
the country, there is a strange dearth of
natural wood about this central district. It
is this which makes the wooded sides of Car
mel and the parklike scenery of the adjacent
slopes and plains so remarkable. — 12. No
sooner, however, is the Plain of Esdraelon
passed, than a considerable improvement is
perceptible. The low hiUs which spread
down from the mountains of Galilee, and
form the barrier between the plains of Akka
and Esdraelon, are covered with timber, of
moderate size, it is true, but of thick vigorous
growth, and pleasant to the eye. Eastward
of these hills rises the round mass of Tabor,
dark with its copses of oak, and set off by
contrast with the bare slopes of Jebel ed-
Duhy (the so-called " Little Hermon ") and
the white hills of Nazareth. North of Tabor
and Nazareth is the plain of el-Buttauf, an
upland tract hitherto very imperfectly de
scribed, but apparently of a similar nature to
Esdraelon, though much more elevated. The
notices of this romantic district in the Bible
are but scanty; in fact till the date of the
New Testament, when it had acquired the
name of Galilee, it may be said, for all pur
poses of history, to be hardly mentioned.
And even in the New Testament times the
interest is confined to a very small portion —
the south and south-west corner, containing
Nazareth, Cana, and Nain, on the confines of
Esdraelon, Capernaum, Tiberias, and Genne
sareth, on the margin of the Lake. — 13. Few
things are a more constant source of surprise
to the stranger in the Holy Land than tbe
manner in which the hill tops are, through
out, selected for habitation. A town in a
valley is a rare exception. On the other
hand scarce a single eminence of the multi
tude always in sight hut is crowned with \U
city or village, inhabited or in ruins, often so
placed as if not iiccessibility but inaccessi
bility had been the object of its builders.
And indeed such was their object. These
groups of naked forlorn structures, piled
irregularly one over the other on the curve
of the hill-top, are the lineal descendants, if
indeed they do not sometimes contain the
actual remains, of the " fenced cities, great
and walled up to heaven," which are so fre
quently mentioned in the records of the Is
raelite conquest. These hill-towns were not
what gave the Israelites their main diffic ilty

PALESTINE

403

PALESTINE

in the occupation of the country. Wherever
strength of arm and fleetness of foot availed,
there those hardy warriors, fierce as lions,
sudden and swift as eagles, sure-footed and
fleet as the wild deer on the hills (1 Chron.
xii. 8 ; 2 Sam. i. 23, ii. 18), easily conquered.
It was in the plains, where the horses and
chariots of the Canaanites and Philistines
had space to manoeuvre, that they failed in
dislodging the aborigines. " Judah drove
out the inhabitants of the mountain, but could
not drive out the inhabitants of the valley,
because they had chariots of iron . . . nei
ther could Manasseh drive out the inhabitants
of Bethshean . . . nor Megiddo," in the
Plain of Esdraelon ..." nor could Ephraim
drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer,"
on the maritime plain near Bamleh . . .
"nor could Asher drive out the inhabitants
of Accho " . . . " and the Amorites forced
the children of Dan into the mountain, for
they would not suffer them to come down
into the valley" (Judg. i. 19-35). Thus in
this case the ordinary conditions of conquest
were reversed — the conquerors took the hills,
the conquered kept the plains'. To a people
so exclusive as the Jews there must have
been a constant satisfaction in the elevation
and inaccessibility of their highland regions.
This is evident in every page of their lite
rature, which is tinged throughout with a
highland colouring. The " mountains " were
to "bring peace," the "little hills, justice to
the people : " when plenty came, the corn
was to flourish on the " top of the moun
tains" (Ps. Ixxii. 3, 16). In like manner
the mountains were to be joyful before Jeho
vah when He came to judge His people (Ps.
xcviii. 8). What gave its keenest sting to
the Babylonian conquest, was the considera
tion that the "mountains of Israel*" the
" ancient high places," were become a "prey
and a derision ; " while, on the other hand,
one of the most joyful circumstances of the
restoration is, that the mountains " shall
yield their fruit as before, and be settled
after their old estates" (Ezek. xxxvi. 1, 8,
11). We have the testimony of the heathens
that in their estimation Jehovah was the
" God of the mountains" {1 K. xx. 28), and
they showed their appreciation of the fact by
fighting, when possible, in the lowlands. The
contrast is strongly brought out in the re
peated expression of the psalmists. " Some,"
like the Canaanites and Philistines of the
lowlands, "put their trust in chariots, and
some in horses ; but we " — we mountaineers,
from our "sanctuary" on the heights of
"Zion" — "will remember the name of Je
hovah our God," "the God of Jacob our
father," the shepherd- warrior, whose only

weapons were sword and bow — the God who
is now a high fortress for us — " at whose
command both chariot and horse are fallen,"
"who burnetii the chariots in the fire " (Ps.
xx. 1, 7, xlvi. 7-11, lxxvi. 2, 6).— 14. A few
words must be said in general description of
the maritime lowland, which intervenes be
tween the sea and the highlands. This
region, only slightly elevated above the level
of the Mediterranean, extends without inter
ruption from el-Aris3i, south of Gaza, to
Mount Carmel. It naturally divides itself
into two portions, each of about half its
length : the lower one the wider ; the upper
one the narrower. The lower half is the
Plain of the Philistines — Philistia, or, as the
Hebrews called it, the Shefelah or Lowland*
The upper half is the Sharon or Saron of the-
Old and New Testaments. The Philistine
Plain is on an average 15 or 16 miles in
width from the coast to the first beginning of
the belt of hills, which forms the gradual
approach to- the high land of the mountains
of Judah. The- larger towns, as Gaza and
Ashdod, which stand near the shore, are sur
rounded with huge groves of olive, sycamore,
and palm, as in the days of King David ( 1
Chron. xxvii. 28). The whole plain appears
to consist of brown loamy soil, light, but rich,
and almost without a stone. It is now, as itt
was when the Philistines possessed it, one
enormous cornfield ; an ocean of wheat covers
the wide expanse between the hills and the
sand dunes of the sea-shore, without inter
ruption of any kind — no break or hedgey
hardly even a single- olive-tree. Its fertility
is marvellous ; for the prodigious crops which
it raises are produced, and probably have
been produced almost year by year for the
hist forty centuries, without any of the ap
pliances which we find necessary for success.
The Plain of Sharon is much narrower than
Philistia* It is about 10 miles wide from the
sea to the foot of the mountains, which are
here of a move abrupt character than those
of Philistia, and without the intermediate
hilly region there oecu-rring. — 15. The one
ancient port of the Jews, the "beautiful"
city of Joppa, occupied a position centi'al
between the Shefelah and 'Sharon. Roads
led from these various cities to each other,
to Jerusalem, Neapolis, and Sebaste in the
interior, and to Ptolemais and Gaza on the
north and south. The commerce of Damascus*
and, beyond Damascus, of Persia and Indin\
passed this way to Egypt, Rome, and the
infant colonies of the west; and th,at' traffic
and the constant movement of troops back-.
wards and forwards must .h.ive made this.
plain one of the busiest and most populous
regions of Syria at the time of Christ.' — 16*
3 5 2

PALESTINE

404

PALM-TREE

The characteristics already described are
hardly peculiar to Palestine. But there is
one feature, as yet only alluded to, in which
sh/f stands alone. This feature is the Jordan
— the one river of the country. The river is
elsewhere described [Jordan] ; but it and the
valley through which it rushes down its extra
ordinary descent — must be here briefly cha
racterized. This valley begins with the river
at its remotest springs of Ilasbeiya on the N.W.
Ride of Hermon, md accompanies it to the
lower end. of the Dead Sea, a length of about
150 miles. During the whole of this distance
its course is straight, and its direction nearly
due north and south. The springs of Hasbeiya
are 1700 feet above tbe level of the Mediter
ranean, and the northern end of the Dead
Sea is 1317 feet below it, so that between
these two points the valley falls with more or
less regularity through a height of more than
3000 feet. But though the river disappears
at this point, the valley still continues its
descent below the waters of the Dead Sea till
it reaches a further depth of 1308 feet. So
that the bottom of this extraordinary crevasse
is actually more than 2600 feet below the
surface of the ocean. In width the valley
varies. In its upper and shallower portion,
as between Banias and the lake of Merom
(Huleh), it is about five miles across. Be
tween the lake of Merom and the sea of Gali
lee it contracts, and becomes more of an
ordinary ravine or glen. It is in its tnird
and lower portion that the valley assumes its
more definite and regular character. During
tbe greater part of this portion, it is about
seven miles wide from the one wall to the
other. The eastern mountains preserve their
straight line of direction, and their massive
horizontal wall-like aspect, during almost the
whole distance. The western mountains are
more irregular in height, their slopes less
vertical. North of Jericho they recede in a
kind of wide amphitheatre, and the valley
becomes twelve miles broad, a breadth which
it thenceforward retains to the southern ex
tremity of the Dead Sea. Buried as it is
between such lofty ranges, and shielded from
every breeze, the climate of the Jordan valley
is extremely hot and relaxing. Its enervating
influence is shown by the inhabitants of Je
richo. All the irrigation necessary for the
cultivation which formerly existed is obtained
from the torrents of the western mountains.
For all purposes to which a river is ordi
narily applied the Jordan is useless. The
Dead Sea, which is the final receptacle of
the Jordan, is described elsewhere. [Sea,
The Salt.] — 17. Monotonous and uninviting
as much oi the Holy Land will appear from
the above description to English readers ac

customed to the constant verdure, the suc
cession of flowers, lasting almost throughout
the year, the ample streams and the varied
surface of our own country — we must re
member, that its aspect to the Israelites after
that weary march of forty years through the
desert, and even by the side of the brightest
recollections of Egypt that they could conjure
up, must have been very different. They
entered the country at the time of the Pass
over, when it was arrayed in the full glory
and freshness of its brief springtide, before
the scorching sun of summer had had time
to wither its flowers and embrown its ver
dure. Taking all these circumstances into
account, and allowing for the bold metaphors
of oriental speech, it is impossible not to feel
that those way-worn travellers could have
chosen no fitter words to express what their
new country was to them than those which
they so often employ in the acoounts of the
conquest — " a land flowing with milk and
honey, the glory of all lands,"
PALMER-WORM (Heb. gdzdm), occurs
Joel i. 4, ii. 25 ; Am. iv. 9. It is main
tained by many that gdzdm denotes some
species of locust, but it is more probably a
caterpillar. PALM-TREE (Heb. tamar). Under this
generic term many species are botanically
included ; but we have here only to do with
the Date-pulm, the Phoenix Daciylifera of
Linnaeus. While this tree was abundant
generally in the Levant, it was regarded by
the ancients as peculiarly characteristic of
Palestine and the neighbouring regions. The
following places may be enumerated from
the Bible as having some connexion with
the palm-tree, either in the derivation of the
name, or in the mention of the tree as grow
ing on the spot. (1.) At Ei.im, one of the
stations of the Israelites between Egypt and
Sinai, it is expressly stated that there were
" twelve wells (fountains) of water, and
three-score and ten palm-trees" (Ex. xv. 27 ;
Num. xxxiii. 9). (2.) Next, it should be
observed that Elath (Deut. ii. 8 ; IK. ix.
26 ; 2 K. xiv. 22, xvi 6 ; 2 Chr. viii. 17,
xxvi. 2) is another plural form of the same
word, and may likewise mean "the palm-
trees." (3.) No place in Scripture is so
closely associated with the subject before us
as Jericho. Its rich palm-groves are con
nected with two very different periods, —
with that of Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 3 ; Judg.
i. 16) and Joshua on the one hand, and that
of the Evangelists on the other. What the
extent of these palm-groves may have been
in the desolate period of Jericho we cannot
tell ; but they were renowned in the time
of the Gospels and Josephus. The Jewish

PALM-TREE

405

PALM-TREE

historian mentions the luxuriance of these
trees again and again. (4.) The name of
Hazezon-Tamar, " the felling of the palm-
tree," is clear in its derivation. This place
is mentioned in the history both of Abraham
(Gen. xiv. 7) and of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr.
xx. 2). (5.) Another place having the same
element in its name, and doubtless the same
characteristic in its scenery, was Baal-Tamar
(Judg. xx. 33). (6.) We must next men
tion the Tamar, " the palm," which is set
before us in the vision of Ezekiel (xlvii. 19,
xlviii. 28). (7.) There is little doubt that
Solomon's Tadmor, afterwards the famous
Palmyra, on another desert frontier far to
the N.E. of Tamar, is primarily the same
word. (8.) Nor again are the places of the
N. T. without their associations with this
characteristic tree of Palestine. Bh'iiany
means " the house of dates ; " and thus we
are reminded that the palm grew in the
neighbourhood of the Mount of Olives. This
helps our realisation of Our Saviour's entry
into Jerusalem, when the people " took
branches of palm-trees and went forth to
meet Him" (John xii. 13 ; comp. Neh. viii.
15). (9.) Theword Phoenicia, which occurs
twice in the N. T. (Acts xi. 19, xv. 3) is in
all probability derived from the Greek word

Pahn-Trec. Xl'hannU lia^ly ijera..

for a palm. (10.) Lastly, Phoenix in the
island of Crete, the harbour which St. Paul
was prevented by the storm from reaching
(Acts xxvii. 12), has doubtless the same
derivation. — From the passages where there
is a literal reference to the palm-tree, we may
pass to the emblematical uses of it in Scrip
ture. Under this head may be classed the
following: — (1.) The striking appearance of
the tree, its uprightness and beauty, would
naturally suggest the giving of its name
occasionally to women (Gen. xxxviii. 6 ;
2 Sam. xiii. 1, xiv. 27). (2.) We have
notices of the employment of this form in
decorative art, both in the real temple of
Solomon and in the visionary temple of
Ezekiel. This work seems to have been in
relief. It was a natural and doubtless cus
tomary kind of ornamentation in Eastern
architecture. (3.) With a tree so abundant
in Judaea, and so marked in its growth and
appearance, as the palm, it seems rather
remarkable that it does not appear more
frequently in the imagery of the O. T. There
is, however, in the Psalms (xcii. 12) the
familiar comparison, "The righteous shall
flourish like the palm-tree," which suggests
a world of illustration, whether respect be
had to the orderly and regular aspect of the
tree, its fruitfulness, the perpetual gi-eenness
of its foliage, or the height at which the foli
age grows, as far as possible from earth and
as near as possible to heaven. Perhaps no
point is more worthy of mention, if we wish
to pursue the comparison, than the elasticity
of the fibre of the palm, and its determined
growth upwards, even when loaded with
weights. (4.) The passage in Rev. vii. 9,
where the glorified of all nations are des
cribed as "clothed with white robes and
palms in their hands," might seem to us a
purely classical image. But palm-branches
were used by Jews in token of victory and
peace (I Maec. xiii. 51 ; 2 Mace. x. 7; xiv.
4). As to the industrial and domestic uses
of the palm, it is well known that they are
very numerous ; but there is no-vplear allu
sion to them in the Bible. That the ancient
Orientals, however, made use of wine and
honey obtained from the Palm-tree is evident
from Herodotus, Straho, and Pliny. It is
indeed possible that the honey mentioned in
some, places may be palm-sugar. (In 2 Chr.
xxxi. 5 the margin has " dates.") There
may also in Cant. vii. 8, "I will go up to
the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs
thereof," be a reference to climbing for the
fruit. So in ii. 3 and elsewhere (e.g. Ps. i. 3)
the fruit of the palm may be intended : but
.this cannot be proved. It is curious that
this tree, once so abundant in Judaea, is now

PALSY

406

PARABLE

comparatively rare, except in the Philistine
plain, and in the old Phoenicia about Beyrout.
PALSY. The palsy meets us in the N. T.
only, and in features too familiar to need
special remark. The words " grievously
tormented " (Matt. viii. fi), may refer to
paralysis agitans, or even St. Vitus' dance,
in both of which the patient, being never
still for a moment save when asleep, might
well be so described. The woman's case who
w:is "bowed together" by "a spirit of in
firmity," nuiy probably have tjeen paralytic
(Luke xiii. 1 1 1.
PAMPIIYL'IA, one of the coast-regions in
the south of Asia Minor, having Cilicia on
the east, and Lycia on the west. In St. Paul's
time it was not only a regular province, but
the Emperor Claudius had united Lycia with
it, and probably also a good part of Pisidia.
It was in Pamphylia that St. Paul first
entered Asia Minor, after preaching the
Gospel in Cyprus. He and Barnabas sailed
up the river Cestrus to Perga (Acts xiii. 13).
The two missionaries finally left Pamphylia
by its chief seaport, Attalia. Many years
afterwards St, Paul sailed near the coast
(Acts xxvii. 5).
PAN NAG, an article of commerce exported
from Palestine to Tyre (Ez. xxvii. 17), the
nature of which is a pure matter of con
jecture, as the term occurs nowhere else. A
comparison of the passage in Ezekiel with
Gen. xliii. 11, leads to the supposition that
pannag represents some of the spices grown
in Palestine.
PAPER. [Writing.]
PAPHOS, a town at the west end of
Cyprus, connected by a road with Salamis
at the east end. Paul and Barnabas travelled,
on their first missionary expedition, " through
the isle," from the latter place to the former
(Acts xiii. 6). The great characteristic of
Paphos was the worship of Aphrodite or
Venus, who was here fabled to have risen
from the sea. Her temple, however, was at
" Old Paphos," now called Kuklia. The
harbour and the chief town were at "New
Paphos," at some little distance. The place
is still called Baffa.
PAPY'RUS. [Reed.]
PARABLE. The word Parable, in Gr.
Parabole (1ra.paP0X.TJ), does not of itself imply
a narrative. The juxtaposition of two things,
differing in most points, but agreeing in
some, is sufficient to bring the comparison
thus produced within the etymology of the
word. In Hellenistic Greek it acquired a.
meaning, eo-extensive with that of the He
brew mdshdl. That word (= similitude) had
a large range of application, and was applied
sometimes to the shortest proverbs (I Sam.

x. 12, xxiv. 13 ; 2 Chr. vii. 20), sometimes
to dark prophetic utterances (Num. xxiii. 7,
18, xxiv. 3 ; Ez. xx. 49), sometimes to enig
matic mr.xims (Ps. lxxviii. 2 ; Prov. i. 6), or
metaphors expanded into a narrative (Ez.
xii. 22). In the N. T. itself the word is used
with a like latitude. By the Jewish Rabbis
the parable was made tho instrument for
teaching the young disciple to discern the
treasures of wisdom of which the "accursed"
multitude were ignorant. The teaching of
Our Lord at the commencement of His
ministry was, in every way, the opposite of
this. The Sermon on the Mount may be
taken as the type of the " words of Grace "
which he spake, "not as the scribes." So
for some months He taught in the synagogues
and on the sea-shore of Galilee, as He had
before taught in Jerusalem, and as yet
without a parable. But then there comes a
change. The direct teaching was met with
scorn, unbelief, hardness, and He seems for
a time to abandon it for that which took the
form of parables. The question of the dis
ciples (Matt. xiii. 10) implies that they were
astonished. Their master was speaking to
the multitude in the parables and dark say
ings which the Rabbis reserved for their
chosen disciples. Here for them were two
grounds of wonder. Here, for us, is the key
to the explanation which He gave, that He
had chosen this form of teaching because the
people were spiritually blind and deaf (Matt.
xiii. 13), and in order that they might re
main so (Mark iv. 12). The worth of parables,
as instruments of teaching, lies in their being
at once a test of character, and in their pre
senting each form of character with that
which, as a penalty or blessing, is adapted to
it. They withdraw the light from those who
love darkness. They protect the truth which
they enshrine from the mockery of the scoffer.
They leave something even with the careless
which may be interpreted and understood
afterwards. They reveal, on the other hand,
the seekers after truth. The.-e ask the mean
ing of the parable, and will not rest till the
teacher has explained it. In this way the
parable did its work, found out the fit hearers
and led them on. In the parables which
remain it is possible to trace something like
an order. (A.) There is the group which
have for their subject the laws of the Divine
Kingdom. Under this head we have — 1.
The Sower (Matt. xiii. ; Mark iv. ; Luke viii.).
2. The Wheat and the Tares (Matt. xiii.).
3. The Mustard-Seed (Matt. xiii. ; Markiv.).
4. The Seed cast into the Ground (Mark iv.).
5. The Leaven (Matt. xiii.). 6. The Hid
Treasure (Matt, xiii.), 7. The Pearl of Great
Price (Matt. xiii.). 8. The Net cast into the

PARABLE

407

PARAN

Sea (Matt. xiii.). (B.) When the next par
ables meet us they are of a different type and
occupy a different position. They are drawn
from the life -of men rather than from the
world of nature. They are such as these —
9. The Two Debtors (Luke vii.). 10. The
Merciless Servant (Matt, xviii.). 11. The
Good Samaritan (Luke x.). 12. The Friend
at Midnight (Luke xi.). 13. The Rich Fool
(Luke xii.). 14. The Wedding Feast (Luke
xii.). 15. The Fig-Tree (Luke xiii.). 16.
The Great Supper (Luke xiv.). 17. The
Lost Sheep (Matt, xviii.; Luke xv.). 18.
The Lost Piece of Money (Luke xv.). 19.
The Prodigal Son (Luke xv.). 20. The Un
just Steward (Luke xvi.). 21. The Rich
Man and Lazarus (Luke xvi.), 22. The Un
just Judge (Luke xviii.). 23. The Pharisee
and the Publican (Luke xviii.). 24. The
Labourers in the Vineyard (Matt. xx.). (C)
Towards the close of Our Lord's ministry,
the parables are again theocratic, but the
phase of the Divine Kingdom, on which they
chiefly dwell, is that of its final consumma
tion. To this class we may refer — 25. The
Pounds (Luke xix.). 26. The Two Sons
(Matt. xxi.). 27. The Vineyard let out to
Husbandmen (Matt. xxi. ; Mark xii. ; Luke
xx.). 28. The Marriage-Feast (Matt. xxii.).
29. The Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt.
xxv.). 30. The Talents (Matt. xxv.). 31.
The Sheep and the Goats (Matt. xxv.). It is
characteristic of the several Gospels that the
greater part of the parables of the first and
third groups belong to St. Matthew, emphati
cally the Evangelist of the kingdom. Those
of the second are found for the most part in
St. Luke. — Lastly, there is the law of inter
pretation. It has been urged by some writers,
that there is a scope or purpose for each
parable, and that our aim must be to discern
this, not to find a special significance in each
circumstance or incident. It may he ques
tioned, however, whether this canon of in
terpretation is likely to lead us to the full
meaning of this portion of Our Lord's teach
ing. It must be remembered that in the
great patterns of interpretation which He
himself has given us, there is more than
this. Not only the sower and the seed and
the several soils have their counterparts in
the spiritual life, but the birds of the air, the
thorns, the scorching heat, have each of them
a significance. It may be inferred from these
two instances that we are, at least, justified
in .looking for a meaning even in the seeming
accessories of a parable. The very form of
the teaching makes it probable that there
may be, in any case, more than one legiti
mate explanation. A parable may he at once
ethical, and in the highest sense of the term

prophetic. There is thus a wide field open
to the discernment of the interpreter. There
are also restraints upon the mere fertility of
his imagination. (1.) The analogies must be
real, not arbitrary. (2.) The parables are
to be considered as parts of a whole, and the
interpretation of one is not to over-ride or
encroach upon the lessons taught by others.
(3.) The direct teaching of Christ presents
the standard to which all our interpretations
are to be referred, and by whieh they are to
be measured.
PARADISE is a word of Persian origin,
and is used in the Septuagint as the transla
tion of Eden. [Eden.] The Rabbis in the time
of our Saviour taught that there was a region
of the world of the dead, of Sheol, in the
heart of the earth. Gehenna was on one
side, with its flames and torments. Paradise
on the other, the intermediate home of the
blessed. But in the common belief Paradise
was a far-off land, a region where there was
no scorching heat, no consuming cold; and
the common prayer for the dying or the dead
was that their souls might rest in Paradise,
in the garden of Eden. It is with this
popular belief, that the language of the N. T.
connects itself. The old word is kept, and is
raised to a new dignity or power. It is
significant, indeed, that the word "paradise"
nowhere occurs in tbe public teaching of our
Lord, or in His intercourse with His own
disciples. Connected as it had been with the
thoughts of a sensuous happiness, it was net
the fittest or the best word for those whom
He was training to rise out of sensuous
thoughts to the higher regions of the spiritual
life. For them, accordingly, the kingdom of
Heaven, the kingdom of God, are the words
most dwelt on. With the thief dying on the
cross the case was different (Luke xxiii. 43).
We can assume nothjng in the robber-outlaw
but the most rudimentary forms of popular
belief. The answer to his prayer gave him
what he needed most, the assurance of im
mediate rest and peace. The word Paradise
spoke to him, as to other Jews, of repose,
shelter, joy — the greatest contrast possible
to the thirst, and agony, and shame of the
hours upon the cross. There is a like signi
ficance in the general absence of the word
from the language of the Epistles. Here also
it is found nowhere in the direct teaching.
It occurs only in passages that are apo
calyptic, and therefore almost of necessity
symbolic (2 Cor. xii. 3 ; comp. Rev. ii. 7).
PA 'RAN, EL-PA'RAN. 1. The name
Paran corresponds probably in general out
line with the desert Et-Tih. [Kadesh.]
Between the wilderness of Paran and that of
Zin no strict demarcation exists in the nana-

PARCHMENT

40b

PASHUR

tive, nor do the natural features of the region
yield a well-defined boundary. The name of
Paran seems, as in the story of Ishmael (Gen.
xxi. 21), to have predominated towards the
western extremity of the northern desert
frontier of Et-Ti'h, and in Num. xxxiv. 4 the
wilderness of Zin, not Paran, is spoken of as
the southern border of the land or of the tribe
of Judah (Josh. xv. 3). Was there, then, a
Paran proper, or definite spot to which the
name was applied? From Deut. i. 1 it should
seem there must have been. This is con
firmed by 1 K. xi. 18, from which we further
learn the fact of its being an inhabited
region ; and the position required by the
context here is one between Midian and
Egypt. Padan proper is probably the Wady
Feiran. — 3. "Mount" Paran occurs only in
two poetic passages (Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Hab.
iii. 3). It probably denotes the north-western
member of the Sinaitic mountain - group,
which lies adjacent to the Wady Feiran.
PARCHMENT. [Writing.]
PAR'MENAS. One of the seven deacons,
" men of honest report, full of the Holy
Ghost and wisdom " (Acts vi. 5). There is
a tradition that he suffered martyrdom at
Philippi in the reign of Trajan.
PARTHIANS occurs only in Acts ii. 9,
where it designates Jews settled in Parthia.
Parthia Proper was the region stretching
along the southern flank of the mountains
which separate the great Persian desert from
the desert of Kharesui. It lay south of
Hyrcania, east of Media, and north of Sagar-
tia. The ancient Parthians are called, a
" Scythic " race, and probably belonged to
the great Turanian family. After being sub
ject in succession to the Persians and the
Seleucidae, they revolted in n.c. 256, and
under Arsaces succeeded in establishing their
independence. Parthia^ in the mind of the
writer of the Acts, would designate this
empire, which extended from India to the
Tigris, and from the Chorasmian desert to
the shores of the Southern Ocean. Hence
the prominent position of the name Parthians
in the list of those present at Pentecost.
Parthia was a power almost rivalling Rome
— the only existing power which had tried
its strength against Rome and not been
worsted in the encounter. The Parthian
dominion lasted for nearly five centuries,
commencing in the third century before,
and terminating in the third century after,
our era.
PARTRIDGE (Heb. kdre) occurs only 1
Sam. xxvi. 20, and Jer. xvii. 11. The
"hunting this bird upon the mountains"
(1 Sam. xxvi. 20) entirely agrees with the
habits of two well-known species of partridge,

viz. Caccabis sacatilis (the Greek partridge)
and Ammoperdix Ileyii. The expression in
Ecclus. xi. 30, "like as a partridge taken
(and kept) in a cage," clearly refers to " a
decoy partridge." Our common partridge
(Perdix cinerea) does not occur in Palestine.

Partridge. (Cocctrfcw saxutilis.)
PARVA'IM, the name of an unknown
place or country whence the gold was pro
cured for the decoration of Solomon's Temple
(2 Chr. iii. 6). We may notice the conjecture
that it is derived from the Sanscrit purva,
" eastern," and is a general term for the
East. PAS-DAM'MIM. [Ephks-dammim.]
PASH'UR. 1. One of the families of
priests of the chief house of Malchijah (Jer.
xxi. 1, xxxviii. 1 ; 1 Chr. ix. 12, xxiv. 9 ;
Neh. xi. 12). In the time of Nehemiah this
family appears to have become a chief house,
and its head the head of a course (Ezr. ii. 38 ;
Neh. vii. 41, x. 3). The individual from
whom the family was named was probably
Pashur the son of Malchiah, who in the reign
of Zedekiah was one of the chief princes of
the court (Jer. xxxviii. 1). He was sent,
with others, by Zedekiah to Jeremiah at the
time when Nebuchadnezzar was preparing
his attack upon Jerusalem (Jer. xxi.) Again
somewhat later, Pashur joined with several
other chief men in petitioning the king that
Jeremiah might he put to death as a traitor:
(Jer. xxxviii.). 2. Another person of thia
name, also a priest, and "chief governor of
the house of the Lord," is mentioned in Jer.
xx. 1. He is described as "the son of;
Immer" (1 Chr. xxiv. 14), probably the
same as Amariah (Neh. x. 3, xii. 2, &c). In
the reign of Jehoiakim he showed himself as
hostile to Jeremiah as his namesake the son
of Malchiah did afterwards, and put him in-

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the stocks by the gate of Benjamin. For this
indignity to God's prophet, Pashur was told
by Jeremiah that his name was changed to
Magor-missabib (Terror on every side), and
that he and all his house should be carried
captives to Babylon and there die (Jer. xx.
1-6). PASSOVER, the first of the three great
annual Festivals of the Israelites, celebrated
in the month Nisan, from the 14th to the
21st. The following are the principal pas
sages in the Pentateuch relating to the Pass
over : — Ex. xii. 1-51, xiii. 3-10, xxiii. 14-19,
xxxiv. 18-26 ; Lev. xxiii. 4-14 ; Num. ix.
1-14, xxviii. 16-25 ; Deut. xvi. 1-6.— I. In
stitution and First Celebration of the
Passover. — When the chosen people were
about to be brought out of Egypt, the word
of the Lord came to Moses and Aaron, com
manding them to instruct all the congrega
tion of Israel to prepare for their departure
by a solemn religious ordinance. On the
tenth day of the month of Abib, the head of
each family was to select from the flock
either a lamb or a kid, a male of the first
year, without blemish. If his family was
too small to eat the whole of the lamb, he
was permitted to invite his nearest neighbour
to join the party. On the fourteenth day of
the month he was to kill his lamb, while the
sun was setting. He was then to take blood
in a basin, and with a sprig of hyssop to
sprinkle it on the two side-posts and the
lintel of the door of the house. The lamb
was then thoroughly roasted, whole. It was
expressly forbidden that it should be boiled,
or that a bone of it should he broken.
Unleavened bread and bitter herbs were to
be eaten with the flesh. No male who was
uncircumcised was to join the company.
Each one was to have his loins girt, to hold
a staff in his hand, and to have shoes on his
feet. He was to eat in haste, and it would
seem that he was to stand during the meal.
The number of the party was to be calculated
as nearly as possible, so that all the flesh of
the lamb might be eaten ; but if any portion
of it happened to remain, it was to be burned
in the morning. No morsel of it was to be
carried out of the house. The legislator was
further directed to inform tbe people of God's
purpose to smite the first-born of the Egyp
tians, to declare that the Passover was to be
to them an ordinance for ever, to give them
directions respecting the order and duration
of the festival in future times, and to enjoin
upon them to teach their children its mean
ing, from generation to generation. When
the message was delivered to the people they
bowed their heads in worship. The lambs
were selected, on the fourteenth they were

slain, and the blood sprinkled, and in the
following evening, after tbe fifteenth day
of the month had commenced, the first pas
chal meal was eaten. At midnight the first
born of the Egyptians were smitten. The'
king and his people were now urgent that
the Israelites should start immediately, and
readily bestowed on them supplies for the
journey. In such haste did the Israelites
depart, on that very day (Num. xxxiii. 3),
that they packed up their kneading-troughs
containing the dough prepared for the mor
row's provisions, which was not yet leavened.
— II. Observance of the Passover in later
times. — 1 . In the twelfth and thirteenth
chapters of Exodus there are not only distinct
references to the observance of the festival in
future ages (e. g. xii. 2, 14, 17, 24-27, 42,
xiii. 2, 5, 8-10), but there are several injunc
tions which were evidently not intended for
the first passover, and which indeed could
not possibly have been observed. In the
later notices of the festival in the books of
the law there are particulars added which
appear as modifications of the original insti
tution (Lev. xxiii. 10-14; Num. xxviii. 16-
25 ; Deut. xvi. 1-6). Hence it is not with
out reason that the Jewish writers have laid
great stress on the distinction between " the
Egyptian Pas'sover " and " the perpetual
Passover." 2. The following was the gene-.
ral order of the observances of the Passover
in later times : — On the 14th of Nisan every
trace of leaven was put away from th* houses,
and on the same day every male Israelite
not labouring under any bodily infirmity or.
ceremonial impurity, was commanded to
appear before the Lord at the national sanc
tuary with an offering of money in proportion
to his means (Ex. xxiii. 15; Deut. xvi. 16,
17). Devout women sometimes attended, as
is proved by the instances of Hannah and
Mary (1 Sam. i. 7 ; Luke ii. 41-42). As the
sun was setting, the lambs were slain, and
the fat and blood given to the priests (2 Chr.
xxxv. 5, 6). The lamb was then roasted
whole, and eaten with unleavened bread and '
bitter herbs ; no portion of it was to be left
until the morning. The same night, after
the 15th of Nisan had commenced, the fat
was burned by the priest and the blood
sprinkled on the altar (2 Chr. xxx. 16, xxxv.
11). On the 15th, the night being passed,
there was a holy convocation, and during
that day no work might he done, except the
preparation of necessary food (Ex. xii. 16).
On this and the six following days an offer
ing in addition to tbe daily sacrifice was
made of two young bullocks, a ram, and
seven lambs of the first year, with meat
offerings, for a burnt- offering, and a goat for

PASSOVER

410

PASSOVER

a sin-offering (Num. xxviii. 19-23). On the
16th of the month, "the morrow after the
sabbath "'(i.e. after the day of holy convoca
tion), the first sheaf of harvest was offered
and waved by the priest before the Lord, and
a male lamb was offered as a burnt sacrifice
with a meat and drink offering. Nothing
necessarily distinguished the four following
days of the festival, except the additional
burnt and sin-offerings, and the restraint
from some kinds of labour. On the seventh
day, the 21st of Nisan, there was a holy con
vocation, and the day appears to have been
one of peculiar solemnity. As at all the
festivals, cheerfulness was to prevail during
the whole week, and all care was to be laid
aside (Deut. xxvii. 7). 3. (a.) The Paschal
Lamb.— After the first Passover in Egypt
there is no trace of the lamb having been
selected before it was wanted. In later
times we are certain that it was sometimes
not provided before tbe 14th of the month
(Luke xxii. 7-9; Mark xiv. 12-16). Tbe
law formally allowed the alternative of a kid
(Ex. xii. 5), but a lamb was preferred, and
was probably nearly always chosen. It was
to be faultless and a male, in accordance with
the established estimate of animal perfection
(see Mal. i. 14). Either the head of the
family, or any other person who was not
ceremonially unclean (2 Chr. xxx. 17), took
it into the court of the Temple on his shoul
ders. As the paschal lamb could be legally
slain, and the blood and fat offered, only in
the national sanctuary (Deut. xvi. 2), it of
course ceased to be offered by the Jews after
the destruction of Jerusalem. The spring
festival of the modem Jews strictly consists
only of the feast of unleavened bread, (b.)
The Unleavened Bread. — It might be made
of wheat, spelt, barley, oats, or rye, but not
of rice or millet. It appears to have been
usually made of the finest wheat flour. It
was probably formed into dry, thin biscuits,
not unlike those used by the modern Jews.
(c.) The Bitter Herbs and the Sauce. — Ac
cording to the Mishna the bitter herbs (Ex.
xii. 8) might be endive, chicory, wild lettuce,
or nettles. These plants were important
articles of food to the ancient Egyptians.
The sauce into which the herbs, the bread,
and the meat were dipped as they were eaten
(John xiii. 26 ; Matt. xxvi. 23) is not men
tioned in the Pentateuch, (d.) The Four
Cups of Wine. — There is no mention of wine
in connexion with the Passover in the Penta
teuch ; but the Mishna strictly enjoins that
there should never be less than four cups of
it provided at the paschal meal even of the
poorest Israelite. Two of them appear to be
distinctly mentioned Luke xxii. 17, 20.

"The cup of blessing" (1 Cor. x. 16) was
probably the latter one of these, and is gene
rally considered to have been the third of the
series, after which a grace was said ; though
a comparison of Luke xxii. 20 (where it is
called " the cup after supper ") with a passage
in the Talmud, and the designation " cup of
the Hallel," suggests that it was the fourth
and last cup. (e.) The Hallel. — The service
of praise sung at the Passover is not men
tioned in the Law. The name is contracted
from Hallelujah. It consisted of the series
of Psalms from cxiii. to cxviii. The first
portion, comprising Ps. cxiii. and cxiv., was
sung in the early part of the meal, and the
second part after the fourth cup of wine.
This is supposed to have been the "hymn"
sung by our Lord and His Apostles (Matt.
xxvi. 30; Mark xiv. 26). (/.) Mode and
Order of the Paschal Meal. — Adopting as
much from Jewish tradition as is not incon
sistent or improbable, the following appears
to have been the usual custom : — All work,
except that belonging to a few trades con
nected with daily life, was suspended for
some hours before the evening of the 14th
Nisan. It was not lawful to eat any ordinary
food after mid-day. No male was admitted
to the table unless he was circumcised, even
if he was of the seed of Israel (Ex. xii. 48).
It was customary for the number of a party
to be not less than ten. When the meal was
prepared, the family was placed round the
table, the paterfamilias taking a place of
honour, probably somewhat raised above the
rest. There is no reason to doubt that the
ancient Hebrews sat as they were accustomed
to do at their ordinary meals. Our Lord and
His Apostles conformed to the usual custom
of their time, and reclined (Luke xxii. 14,
&c). When the party was arranged the
first cup of wine was filled, and a blessing
was asked by the head of the family on the
feast, as well as a special one on the cup.
The bitter herbs were then placed on the
table, and a portion of them eaten, either
with or without the sauce. The unleavened
bread was banded round next, and after
wards the lamb was placed on the table in
front of the head of the family. Before the
lamb was eaten the second cup of wine was
filled, and the son, in accordance with Ex.
xii. 26, asked his father the meaning of the
feast. In reply, an account was given of
the sufferings of the Israelites in Egypt, and
of their deliverance, with a particular expla
nation of Deut. xxvi. 5, and the first part
of the Hallel (Ps. cxiii., cxiv.) was sung.
This being gone thiough, the lamb was carved
and eaten. The third cup of wine was
poured out and drunk, and soon afterwards

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411

PASSOVER

the fourth. The second part of the Hallel
.(Ps. cxv. to cxviii.) was then sung. A fifth
wine-cup appears to have been occasionally
produced, but perhaps only in later times.
What was termed the greater Hallel (Ps.
Cxx. to cxxxviii.) was sung on such occasions.
The Israelites who lived in the country ap
pear to have been accommodated at the feast
by the inhabitants of Jerusalem in their
houses, so far as there was room for thein
(Luke xxii. 10-12; Matt. xxvi. 18). Those
who could not be received into the city en
camped without the walls in tents, as the
pilgrims now do at Mecca. (g.) The first
Sheaf of Harvest. — The offering of the Omer,
or sheaf, is mentioned nowhere in the Law
except Lev. xxiii. 10-14. It is there com
manded that when the Israelites reached the
land of promise, they should bring, on the
:16th of the month, " the morrow after the
sabbath" (i. e. the day of holy convocation),
the first sheaf of the harvest to the priest, to
be waved by him before the Lord. The sheaf
was of barley, as being the grain which was
first ripe (2 K. iv. 42). (h.) The Cliagigah.
The daily sacrifices are enumerated in the
Pentateuch only in Num. xxviii. 19-23, but
reference is made to them Lev. xxiii. 8.
Besides these public offerings, there was
another sort of sacrifice connected with the
Passover, as well as with the other great fes
tivals, called in the Talmud Cliagigah, i. e.
." festivity." It was a voluntary peace-offer
ing made by private individuals. The victim
might be taken either from the flock or the
herd. It might he either male or female, but
it must be without blemish. The offerer laid
his hand upon its head, and slew it at the door
of the sanctuary. The blood was sprinkled
on the altar, and the fat of the inside, with
the kidneys, was burned by the priest. The
breast was given to the priest as a wave-
offering, and the right shoulder as a heave-
offering (Lev. iii. 1-5, vii. 29-34). What
remained of the victim might be eaten by the
offerer and his guests on the day on which it
was slain, and on the day following ; but if
any portion was left till the third day it was
burned (Lev. vii. 16-18). The eating of the
Chagigah was an occasion of social festivity
connected with the festivals, and especially
with the Passover, (i.) Release of Prisoners.
It is a question whether the release of a
prisoner at the Passover (Matt, xxvii. 15 ;
Mark xv. 6 ; Luke xxiii. 17 ; John xviii. 39)
was a custom of Roman origin resembling
what took place at the lectisternium (Liv. v.
13), and, in later times, on the birthday of an
emperor ; or whether it was an old Hebrew
usage belonging to the festival, which Pilate
allowed the Jews to retain, (k.) Tlie Second,

oi- Little Passover. — When the Passover was
celebrated the second year, in the wilderness,
certain men were prevented from keeping it,
owing to their being defiled by contact with
a dead body. Being thus prevented from
obeying the Divine command, they came
anxiously to Moses to inquire what they
should do. He was accordingly instructed
to institute a second Passover, to be observed
on the 14th of the following month, for the
benefit of any who had been hindered from
keeping the regular one in Nisan (Num. ix.
11). The Talmudists called this the Little
Passover. (I.) Observances of the Passover
recorded in Scripture. — Of these, seven are
of chief historical importance: — 1. The first
Passover in Egypt (Ex. xii.). 2. The first
kept in the desert (Num. ix.). 3. That cele
brated by Joshua at Gilgal (Josh. v.). 4. That
which Hezekiah observed on the occasion of
his restoring the national worship (2 Chr.
xxx.). This Passover was not held till the
second month, the proper time for the Little
Passover. 5. The Passover of Josiah in the
eighteenth year of his reign (2 Chr. xxxv.).—
6. That celebrated by Ezra after the return
from Babylon (Ezr. vi.). 7. The last Passover
of our Lord's life. — III. The Last Supper. —
Was the supper which our Lord ate with his
disciples on the Thursday evening the true
Paschal Supper, or did the latter fall oh the
following evening, the same as that of His
crucifixion 1 (No point in .the Gospel history
has been more disputed.) The truth of the
former view could never have been ques
tioned, had we possessed the first three
Gospels only. They expressly call the Supper
of the Thursday evening the Passover ; and
even if St. John does not so call it, no. infer
ence can be drawn from his silence, any
more than from his not mentioning the
institution of the Lord's Supper, considering
the supplementary nature of his Gospel.
There are, however, other passages in St.
John's narrative of our Saviour's passion,
which seem to suggest the inference that the
Passover was yet to be eaten on the Friday
evening ; but all these passages admit of
another explanation. [For the detailed argu
ment the reader is referred to the larger Dic
tionary.] The crowning application of the
paschal rites to the truths of which they were
the shadowy promises appears to be that which
is afforded by the fact that our Lord's death
occurred during the festival. According to
the Divine purpose, the true Lamb of God was
slain at nearly the same time as " the Lord's
Passover," in obedience to the letter of the
law. It does not seem needful that, in order
to give point to this coincidence, we should (as
some have done) draw from it an a priori argu-

PATARA

412

PAUL

ment in favour of our Lord's crucifixion
having taken place on the 14th of Nisan. It
is enough to know that our own Holy Week
and Easter stand as the anniversary of the
same great facts as were foreshown in those
events of which the yearly Passover was a
commemoration. PAT'ARA, a Lycian city situated on the
south-western shore of Lycia, not far from
the left bank of the river Xanthus. The
coast here is very mountainous and hold.
Immediately opposite is the island of Rhodes.
Patara was practically the seaport of the city
of Xanthus, which was ten miles distant.
These notices of its position and maritime
importance introduce us to the single men
tion of the place in the Bible (Acts xxi.
1, 2).
PATH'ROS, gent, noun PArniu-'sra, a part
of Egypt, and a Mizraite tribe. In the list of
the Mizraites, the Pathrusim occur after the
Naphtuhim, and before the Ca^luhim ; the
latter being followed by the notice of the
Philistines, and by the Caphtorim (Gen. x.
13, 14 ; 1 Chr. i. 12). Pathros is mentioned
in the prophecies of Isaiah (xi. 11), Jeremiah
(xliv. 1, 15), and Ezekiel (xxix. 14, xxx.
13-18). It was probably part of or all
Upper Egypt, and we may trace its name in
the Pathyrite nome, in which Thebes was
situate. PATH'RUSIM. [Pathros.]
PAT'MOS (Rev. i. 9), a rugged and bare
island, is one of the Sporades, and in that part
of the Aegean which is called the Icarian Sea.
Such a scene of banishment for St. John in
the reign of Domitian is quite in harmony
with what we read of the custom of the
period. Patmos is divided into two nearly
equal parts, a northern, and a southern, by a
very narrow isthmus, where, on the east side,
are the harbour and the town. On the hill
to the south, crowning a commanding height,
is the celebrated monastery, which bears the
name of " John the Divine." Halfway up
the ascent is the cave or grotto where tradi
tion says that St. John received the Revela
tion. PATRIARCHS. The name Patriarch is
applied in the N. T. to Abraham (Heb. vii. 4),
to the sons of Jacob (Acts vii. 8, 9), and to
David (Acts ii. 29) ; and is apparently
intended to be equivalent to the phrase, the
"head" or "prince of a tribe," so often
found in the O. T. It is used in this sense
by the LXX. in 1 Chr. xxiv. 31, xxvii. 22 ;
2 Chr. xxiii . 20, xx vi. 12. In common
usage the title of patriarch is assigned
especially to those whose lives are recorded
in Scripture previous to the time of Moses.
PAT'ROBAS, a Christian at Rome to whom

St. Paul sends his salutation (Rom. xvi. 14).
Like many other names mentioned in Rom.
xvi., this was borne by at least one member
of the emperor's household (Suet. Galba,
20; Martial, Ep. ii. 32, 3).
PAU, but in 1 Chr. i. 50, Pai, the capital
of Hadar, king of Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 39).
Its position is unknown.
PAUL, the Apostle of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles. Promi?ient points in the Life. —
Foremost of all is his Conversion. This was
the main root of his whole life, outward and
inward. Next after this, we may specify hip
Labours at Antioch. From these we pass to
the First Missionary Journey, in the eastern
part of Asia Minor. Tlie Visit to Jerusalem
was a critical point- both in the history of the
Church and of the Apostle. The introduction
of the Gospel into Europe, with the memorable
visits to Philippi, Athens, and Corinth, was
the boldest step in the carrying out of St.
Paul's mission. A third great missionary
journey, chiefly characterized by a long stay
at Ephesus, is further interesting fiom its
connexion with four leading Epistles. This
was immediately followed by the apprehension
of St. Paul at Jerusalem, and his imprison'
ment at Caesarea. And the last event of
which we have a full narrative is the Voyage
to Rome. — Said of Tarsus, before his Con
version. — Up to the time of his going forth as
an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles,
the Apostle was known by the name of Saul.
This was the Jewish name which he received
from his Jewish parents. But though a
Hebrew of tbe Hebrews, he was born in a
Gentile city. Of his parents we know no
thing, except that his father was of the tribe
of Benjamin (Phil. iii. 5), and- a Pharisee
(Acts xxiii. 6), that he had acquired by
some means the Roman franchise ("I was
free born," Acts xxii. 28), and that he was
settled in Tarsus. " I am a Jew of Tarsus, a
city in Cilicia, a. citizen of no mean city "
(Acts xxi. 39). At Tarsus he must have
learnt to use the Greek language with free
dom and mastery in both speaking and
writing. At Tarsus also he learnt that trade
of "tentmaker " (Acts xviii. 3), at which he
afterwards occasionally wrought with his own
hands. There was a goat's-hair cloth called
Cilicium, manufactured in Cilicia, and largely
used for tents. Saul's ti ade was probably
that of making tents of this haircloth. When
St. Paul makes his defence before his country
men at Jerusalem (Acts xxii.), he tells them
that though born in Tarsus, he had been
" brought up " in Jerusalem. He must,
therefore, have been yet a boy, when he was
removed, in all probability for the sake of his
education, to the Holy City of his fathers.

PAUL

413

PAUL

He learnt, he says, "at the feet of Gamaliel."
He who was to resist so stoutly the usurpa
tions of the law, had for his teacher one of
the most eminent of all the doctors of the
law. Saul was yet "a young man" (Acts
vii. 58), when the Church experienced that
sudden expansion which was connected with
the ordaming of the Seven appointed to serve
tables, and with the special power and inspi
ration of Stephen. Amongst those who
disputed with Stephen were some " of them
of Cilicia." We naturally think of Saul as
having been one of these, when we find him
afterwards keeping the clothes of those
suborned witnesses who, according to the law
(Deut. xvii. 7), were the first to cast stones
at Stephen. " Saul," says the sacred writer,
significantly, " was consenting unto his
death." — Saul's Conversion. — The persecutor
was to be converted. Having undertaken to
follow up the believers " unto strange cities,"
Saul naturally turned his thoughts to Da
mascus, What befell him as be journeyed
thither, is related in detail three times in the
Acts, first by the historian in his own person,
then in the two addresses made by St. Paul
at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. St. Luke's
statement is to be read in Acts ix. 3-19,
where, however, the words " It is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks," included in
the English version, ought to be omitted.
The sudden light from heaven ; the voice of
Jesus speaking with authority to His perse
cutor ; Saul struck to the ground, blinded,
overcome ; the three days' suspense ; the
coming of Ananias as a messenger of the
Lord; and Saul's baptism; — these were the
leading. features of the great event, and in
these we must look forthe chief significance
of the conversion. The manifestation of Jesus
as the Son of God is clearly the main point in
the narrative. It was in Damascus that he
was received into the Church by Ananias,
and here to the astonishment of all his hearers
he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues,
declaring him to be the Son of God. The
narrative in the Acts tells us simply that he
was occupied in this work, with increasing
vigour, for " many days," up to the time
when imminent danger drove him from Da
mascus. From the, Epistle to the Galatians
(i. 17, 18) we learn that the many days
were at least a good part of " three years,"
and that Saul, not thinking it necessary to
procure authority to preach from the Apostles
that were before him, went after his conver
sion into Arabia, and returned from thence to
Damascus. We know nothing whatever of
this visit to Arabia ; but upon his departure
from Damascus, we are again upon historical
ground, and have the double evidence of St.

Luke in the Acts, and of the Apostle in his
2nd Epistle to the Corinthians. According
to the former, the Jeios lay in wait for Saul,
intending to kill him, and watched the gates
of the city that he might not escape from
them. Knowing this, the disciples took him
by night and let him down in a basket from
the wall. According to St. Paul (2 Cor. xi.
32) it was the ethnarch under Aretas the
king who watched for him, desiring to
apprehend him. There is no difficulty in
reconciling the two statements. Having
escaped from Damascus, Saul betook himself
to Jerusalem, and there " assayed to join
himself to the disciples ; but they were all
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a
disciple." Barnabas became his sponsor to
the Apostles and Church at Jerusalem, as
suring them— from some personal knowledge,
we must presume— of the facts of Saul's
conversion and subsequent behaviour at
Damascus. Barnabas's introduction removed
the fears of the Apostles, and Paul "was
with them coming in and going out at
Jerusalem." His Hellenistical education
made him, like Stephen, a successful disputant
against the " Grecians ;" and it is not strange
that the former persecutor was singled out
from the other believers as the object of a
murderous hostility. He was therefore
again urged to flee ; and by way of Caesarea
betook himself to his native city Tarsus. In
the Epistle to the Galatians St. Paul adds
certain particulars. He tells us that his
motive for going up to Jerusalem rather than
anywhere else was that he might see Peter ;
that he abode with him fifteen days ; that the
only Apostles he saw were Peter and James
the Lord's brother ; and that afterwards he
came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia,
remaining unknown by face, though well-
known for his conversion, to the Churches in
Judaea which were in Christ.- — St. Paul at
Antioch. — While Saul was at Tarsus, amove-
ment was going on at Antioch, which raised
that city to an importance second only to that
of Jerusalem itself in the early history of the
Church. It was there that the Preaching of
the Gospel to the Gentiles first took root,
and from thence that it was afterwards pro
pagated. There came to Antioch, when tbe
persecution which arose about Stephen scat
tered upon their different routes the disciples
who had been assembled at Jerusalem, men
of Cyprus and Cyrene, eager to tell all who
would hear them the goo'd news concerning
the Lord Jesus. A great number believed ;
and when this was reported at Jerusalem,
Barnabas was sent on a special mission to
Antioch. . As the work grew under his hands,
he felt the need of help, went himself to

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Tarsus to seek Saul, and succeeded in bring
ing him to Antioch. There they laboured
together unremittingly for "a whole year."
All this time Saul was subordinate to Barna
bas. An opportunity soon occurred for
proving the affection of these new disciples
towards their brethren at Jerusalem. There
came " prophets " from Jerusalem to Antioch:
*' and there stood up one of them, named
Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that
there should be great dearth throughout all the
world." It is obvious that the fulfilment
followed closely upon the intimation of the
coming famine. For the disciples at Antioch
determined to send contributions immediately
to Jerusalem ; and the gift was conveyed to
the ciders of that Church by the hands of
Barnabas and Saul. Having discharged their
errand, Barnabas and Saul returned to
Antioch, bringing with them another helper,
John surnamed Mark, sister's sou to Barna
bas. The work of prophesying and teaching
was resumed. Antioch was in constant com
munication with Cilicia, with Cyprus, with
all the neighbouring countries. The question
must have forced itself upon hundreds of the
" Christians " at Antioch, " What is the
meaning of this faith of ours, of this baptism,
of this incorporation, of this kingdom of the
Son of God, for the world ? The Gospel is
not for Judaea alone : here are we called by
it at Antioch. Is it meant to stop here 1 "
The Church was pregnant with a great move
ment and the time of her delivery was at hand.
Something of direct expectation seems to be
implied in what is said of the leaders of the
Church at Antioch, that they were "minis
tering to the Lord, and fasting," when the
Holy Ghost spoke to them. " Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto
I have called them." Everything was done
with orderly gravity in the sending forth of
the two missionaries. Their brethren, after
fasting and prayer, laid their hands on them,
and so they departed. — The first Missionary
Journey. — As soon as Barnabas and Saul
reached Cyprus, they began to " announce
the word of God," but at first they delivered
their message in the synagogues of the Jews
only. When they had gone through the
island, from Salamis to Paphos, they were
called upon to explain their doctrine to an
eminent Gentile, Sergius Paulus, the pro
consul. A Jew, named Barjesus, or Elymas,
a magus and false prophet, had attached
himself to the governor, and had no doubt
interested his mind with what he had told
him of the history and hopes of the Jews.
Accordingly, when Sergius Paulus heard of
the strange teachers who were announcing to
the Jews the advent of their true Messiah, he

wished to see them and sent for them. The
impostor, instinctively hating the Apostles,
and seeing his influence over the proconsul in
danger of perishing, did what he could to
withstand them. Then Saul, " who is also
called Paul," denouncing Elymas in remark
able terms declared against him God's sentence
of temporary blindness. The blindness im
mediately falls upon him ; and the proconsul,
moved by the scene and persuaded by the
teaching of the Apostle, becomes a believer.
This point is made a special crisis in the his-
tory of tbe Apostle by the writer of the Acts.
Saul now becomes Paul, and begins to take
precedence of Barnabas. Nothing is said to
explain the change of name. No reader
could resist the temptation of supposing that
there must be some connexion between Saul's
new name and that of his distinguished
Roman convert. But on reflection it does
not seem probable that St. Paul would either
have wished, or have consented, to change
his own name for that of a distinguished con
vert. There is no reason, therefore, why
Saul should not have borne from infancy the
other name of Paul. In that case he would
be Saul amongst his own countrymen, Paulus
amongst the Gentiles. The conversion of
Sergius Paulus may be said, perhaps, to mark
the beginning of the work amongst the Gen
tiles ; otherwise, it was not in Cyprus that
any change took place in the method hitherto
followed by Barnabas and Saul in preaching
the Gospel. Their public addresses were as
yet confined to the synagogues ; but it waB
soon to be otherwise. From Paphos "Paul
and his company" set sail for the mainland,
and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. Here
the heart of their companion John failed him,
and he returned to Jerusalem. From Perga
they travelled on to a place, obscure in
secular history, but most memorable in the
history of the kingdom of Christ, — Antioch
in Pisidia. Here " they went into the
synagogue on the sabbath- day, and sat
down." Small as the place was, it contained
its colony of Jews. What took place here in
the synagogue and in the city, is interesting
to us not only on account of its bearing on
the history, but also because it represents
more or less exactly what afterwards occurred
in many other places. The Apostles of
Christ sat still with the rest of the assembly,
whilst the La- and the Prophets were read.
Then the rulers of the synagogue sent to
invite them, as strangers but brethren, to
speak any word of exhortation which might
be in them to the people. Paul stood up,
and beckoning with his hand, he spoke. The
speech is given in Acts xiii. 16-41. Thedis-
course produced a strong impression ; and

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the hearers (not " the Gentiles"), requested
the Apostles to repeat their message on the
next sabbath. During the week so much in
terest was excited by the teaching of the
Apostles, that on the sabbath-day " almost
the whole city came together, to hear the
Word of God." It was this concern of the
Gentiles which appears to have first alienated
the minds of the Jews from what they had
heard. They were filled with envy, and
set themselves to oppose bitterly the words
which Paul spoke. The new opposition
brought out new action on the part of the
Apostles. Rejected by the Jews, they became
hold and outspoken, and turned from them
to the Gentiles. At Antioch now, as in every
city afterwards, the unbelieving Jews used
their influence with their own adherents
amongst the Gentiles, to persuade the
authorities or the populace to persecute the
Apostles, and to drive them from the place.
Paul and Barnabas now travelled on to
Iconium, where the occurrences at Antioch
were repeated, and from thence to the
Lycaonian country which contained the cities
Lystra and Derbe. Here they had to deal
with uncivilized heathens. At Lystra the
healing of a cripple took place. Thereupon
these pagans took the Apostles for gods,
calling Barnabas, who was of the more
imposing presence, Jupiter, and Paul, who
was the chief speaker, Mercurius. This mis
take, followed up by the attempt to offer
sacrifices to them , gives occasion to the
recording of an address, in which we see a
type of what the Apostles would say to an
ignorant pagan audience. Although the
people of Lystra had been so ready to wor
ship Paul and Barnabas, the repulse of their
idolatrous instincts appears to have provoked
them, and they allowed themselves to be
persuaded into hostility by Jews who came
from Antioch and Iconium, so that they
attacked Paul with stones, and thought they
had killed hiin. He recovered, however, as
the disciples were standing round him, and
went again into tbe city. The next day he
left it with Barnabas, and went to Derbe, and
thence they returned once more to Lystra,
and so to Iconium and Antioch. In order to
establish the Churches after their departure,
they solemnly appointed " elders " in every
city. Then they came down to the coast, and
from Attalia they sailed home to Antioch in
Syria, where they related the successes which
had been granted to them, and especially the
" opening of the door of faith to the Gen
tiles." And so the First Missionary Journey
ended. — Tlie Council at Jerusalem. (Acts
xv.; Galatians ii ) Whilst Paul and Barnabas
were staying at Antioch, " certain men from

Judaea " came there and taught the brethren
that it was necessary for the Gentile con
verts to he circumcised. This doctrine was
vigorously opposed by the two Apostles, and
it was determined that the question should be
referred to the Apostles and elders at
Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas themselves,
and certain others, were selected for this
mission. The Apostles and elders came
together, and there was much disputing*
At length, St. James gives a practical judg
ment upon the question. The judgment was
a decisive one. The injunction that the
Gentiles should abstain from pollutions of
idols and from fornication explained itself.
The abstinence from things strangled and
from blood is desired as a concession to the
customs of the Jews, who were to be found
in every city, and for whom it was still right,
when they had believed in Jesus Christ, to
observe the Law. St. Paul had completely
gained his point. The judgment of the
Church was immediately recorded in a letter
addressed to the Gentile brethren in Antioch
and Syria and Cilicia. — Second Missionary
Journey. — The most resolute courage, indeed,
was required for the work to which St. Paul
was now publicly pledged. He would not
associate with himself in that work one who
had already shown a want of constancy.
This was the occasion of what must have
been a mo>t painful difference between him
and his comrade in the faith and in past
perils, Barnabas (Acts xv. 35-40). Silas, or
Silvanus, becomes now a chief companion of
the Apostle. The two went together through
Syria and Cilicia, visiting the churches, and
so came to Derbe and Lystra. Here they
find Timotheus, who had become a disciple
on the former visit of the Apostle. Him St.
Paul took and circumcised. Paul and Silas
were actually delivering the Jerusalem decree
to all the churches they visited. They were
no doubt triumphing in the freedom secured
to the Gentiles. Yet at this very time our
Apostle had the wisdom and largeness of
heart to consult the feelings of the Jews by
circumcising Timothy. St. Luke now steps
rapidly over a considerable space of the
Apostle's life and labours. " They went
throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia"
(xvi. 6). At this time St. Paul was founding
"the churches of Galatia" (Gal. i. 2). He
himself gives us hints of the circumstances of
his preaching in that region, of the reception
he met with, and of the ardent, though un
stable, character of tbe people (Gal. iv. 13-15).
St. Paul at this time had not indulged the
ambition of preaching his Gospel in Europe.
His views were limited to the peninsula of
Asia Minor. Having gone through Phrygia

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and Galatia he intended to visit the western
coast ; but " they were forbidden by the Holy
Ghost to preach the word" there. Then,
being on the borders of Mysia, they thought
of going back to the north-east into Bithynia ;
but again the Spirit of Jesus " suffered them
not." So they passed by Mysia, and came
down to Troas. St. Paul saw in a vision a
man of Macedonia, who besought him, saying
" Come over into Macedonia and help us."
The vision was at once accepted as a heavenly
intimation ; the help wanted by the Mace
donians was believed to be the preaching of
the Gospel. It is at this point that the his
torian, speaking of St. Paul's company, sub
stitutes " we " for " they." He says nothing
of himself ; we can- only infer that St. Luke,
to whatever country he belonged, became a
companion of St. Paul at Troas. The party,
thus reinforced, immediately set sail from
Troas, touched at Samothrace, then landed on
the continent at Neapolis, and from thence
journeyed to Philippi. There were a few
Jews, if not many, at Philippi; and when
the Sabbath came round, the Apostolic com
pany joined their countrymen at the place by
the river-side where prayer was wont to be
made. The narrative in this part is very
graphic (xvi. 13). The first convert in
Macedonia was but an Asiatic woman who
already worshipped the God of the Jews ;
but she was a very earnest believer, and
besought the Apostle and his friends to
honour her by staying in her house. They
could not resist her urgency, and during
their stay at Philippi they were the guests of
Lydia (ver. 40). But a proof was given
before long that the preachers of Christ were
come to grapple with the powers in the
spiritual world to which heathenism was then
doing homage. A female slave, who brought
gain to her masters by her powers of predic
tion when she was in the possessed state,
beset Paul and his company. Paul was
vexed by her cries, and addressing the
spirit in the girl, he said, "I command thee
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her." The girl's masters saw that now the
hope of their gains was gone. Paul and
Silas were dragged before the magistrates,
the multitude clamouring loudly against
them, upon the vague charge of " troubling
the city," and introducing observances which
were unlawful for Romans. The magistrates
yielded without inquiry to the clamour of the
inhabitants, caused the clothes of Paul and
Silas to be torn from them, and themselves
tp be beaten, and then committed them, to
prison- This cruel wrong was to be the
occasion of a signal appearance of the God
ot righteousness and deliverance. The nar

rative tells of the earthquake, the jailor's
terror, his conversion, and baptism (xvi. 26-
34). In the morning the magistrates sent
word to the prison that the men might be let
go. But St. Paul denounced plainly their
unlawful acts, informing them moreover
that those whom they had beaten and im
prisoned without trial were Roman citizens.
The magistrates, in great alarm, saw the
necessity of humbling themselves. They
came and begged them to leave the city.
Paul and Silas consented to do so, and, after
paying a visit to " the brethren " in the
house of Lydia, they departed. Leaving St.
Luke, and perhaps Timothy for a short time,
at Philippi, Paul and Silas travelled through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, and stopped again
at Thessalonica. At this important city
there was a synagogue of the Jews. True
to his custom, St. Paul went in to them, and
for three Sabbath-days proclaimed Jesus to be
the Christ, as he would have done in a city
of Judaea. Again, as in Pisidian Antioch,
the envy of the Jews was excited. The mob
assaulted the house of Jason, with whom
Paul and Silas were staying as guests, and,
not finding them, dragged Jason himself and
some other brethren before the magistrates.
But the magistrates, after taking security of
Jason and the rest, let them go. After these
signs of danger the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night. They
next came to Beroea. Here they found the
Jews more noble than those at Thessalonica
had been. Accordingly they gained many
converts, both Jews and Greeks ; but the
Jews of Thessalonica, hearing of it, sent
emissaries to stir up the people, and it was
thought best that St. Paul should himself
leave the city, whilst Silas and Timothy
remained behind. Some of "the brethren"
went with St. Paul as far as Athens, where
they left him, carrying back a request to
Silas and Timothy that they would speedily
join him. There he witnessed the most pro
fuse idolatry side by side with the most pre
tentious philosophy. Either of these would
have been enough to stimulate his spirit. To
idolaters and philosophers he felt equally
urged to proclaim his Master and the Living
God. So he went to his own countrymen and
the proselytes in the synagogue and declared
to thein that the Messiah had come ; but he
also spoke, like another Socrates, with people
in the market, and with the followers of the
two great schools of philosophy, Epicureans
and Stoics, naming to all Jesus and the
Resurrection. The philosophers encountered
him with a mixture of curiosity and con
tempt. But any one with a novelty was wel
come to those who "spent their time in

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nothing else but either to hear or to tell some
new thing." They brought him therefore to
the Areopagus, that he might make a formal
exposition of his doctrine to an assembled
audience. Here the Apostle delivered that
wonderful discourse, reported in Acts xvii.
22-31. He gained hut few converts at-
Athens, and he soon took his departure and
came to Corinth. Athens still retained its
old intellectual predominance : but Corinth
was the political and commercial capital of
Greece. Here, as at Thessalonica, he chose
to earn his own subsistence by working at his
trade of tent-making. This trade brought
him into close connexion with two persons
who became distinguished as believers in
Christ, Aquila and Priscilla. Labouring thus
on the six days, the Apostle went to the
synagogue on the Sabbath, and there by ex
pounding the Scriptures sought to win both
Jews and proselytes to the belief that Jesus
was the Christ. He was testifying with un
usual effort and anxiety, when Silas and
Timothy came from Macedonia and joined
him. Their arrival was the occasion of the
writing of the First Epistle to the Thessa-
lbnians. This is the first extant example of
that work by which the Apostle Paul has
served the Church of all ages in as eminent
a degree as he laboured at the founding of it
in his lifetime. It is notorious that the
order of the Epistles in the book of the N. T.
is not their real, or chronological order. Tlie
two Epistles to the Tliessalonians belong —
and these alone— to the present Missionary
Journey. The Epistles to the Galatians,
Romans, and Corinthians, were written
during the next journey. Those to Philemon,
the Colossians, the Ephesians, and the Phi-
lippians, belong to the captivity at Rome. —
When Silas and Timotheus came to Corinth,
St. Paul was testifying to the Jews with great
earnestness, but with little success. So
"when they opposed themselves and blas
phemed, he shook out his raiment," and said
to them, in words of warning taken from
their own prophets (Ezek. xxxiii. 4) ; " Your
blood be upon your own heads ; I am clean,
and henceforth will go to the Gentiles." The
Apostle went, as he threatened, to the Gen
tiles, and began to preach in the house of a
proselyte named Justus. Corinth was the
chief city of the province of Achaia, and the
residence of the proconsul. During St. Paul's
stay, we find the proconsular office held by
Gallio, a brother of the philosopher Seneca.
Before him the Apostle was summoned by his
Jewish enemies, who hoped to bring the
Roman authority to bear upon him as an
innovator in religion. But Gallio perceived
at once, before Paul could " open his mouth "
Sm. D. B.

to defend himself, that the movement was due
to Jewish prejudice, and refused to go into
the question. " If it be a question of words
and names and of your law," he said to the
Jews, speaking with the tolerance of a Roman
magistrate, " look ye to it ; for I will be no
judge of such matters." Then a singular
scene occurred. The Corinthian spectators,
either favouring St. Paul, or actuated only by
anger against the Jews, seized on the
principal person of those who had brought
the charge, and beat him before the judg
ment-seat. Gallio left these religious quarrels
to settle themselves. The Apostle, therefore,
was not allowed to be "hurt," and remained
some time longer at Corinth unmolested.
Having been the instrument of accomplishing
this work, St. Paul took his departure for
Jerusalem, wishing to attend a festival there.
Before leaving Greece, he cut off his hair at
Cenchreae, in fulfilment of a vow (Acts xviii.
18). He may have followed in this instance,
for some reason not explained to us, a custom
of his countrymen. [See Nazarite, p. 372.]
When he sailed from the Isthmus, Aquila
and Priscilla went with him as far as
Ephesus. Paul paid a visit to the syna
gogue at Ephesus, but would not stay. Leav
ing Ephesus, he sailed to Caesarea, and from
thence went up to Jerusalem and " saluted
the Church." It is argued, from considera
tions founded on the suspension of naviga
tion during the winter months, that the
festival was probably the Pentecost. From
Jerusalem, almost immediately, the Apostle
went down to Antioch, thus returning to the
same place from which he had started with
Silas. — Third Missionary Journey, including
the stay at Ephesus (Acts xviii. 23-xxi. 17).
The great Epistles which belong to this period,
those to the Galatians, Corinthians, and Ro
mans, show how the " Judaizing" question
exercised at this time the Apostle's mind. St.
Paul " spent some time " at Antioch, and,
during this stay, as we are inclined to believe,
his collision with St. Peter (Gal. ii. 11-14),
took place. When he left Antioch, he "went
over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia
in order, strengthening all the disciples," and
giving orders concerning the collection for
the saints (1 Cor. xvi. 1). It is probable that
the Epistle to the Galatians was written soon
after this visit. This Letter was, in all pro
bability, sent from Ephesus. This was the
goal of the Apostle's journeyings through
Asia Minor. He came down to Ephesus,
from the upper districts of Phrygia. Here he
entered upon his usual work. He went into
the synagogue, and for three months he spoke
openly, disputing and persuading concerning
"the kingdom of God." At the end of this
2 E

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time the obstinacy and opposition of some of
the Jews led him to give up frequenting the
synagogue, and he established the believers
as a separate society, meeting " in the school
of Tyrannus." This continued for two years.
During this time many things occurred, of
which the historian of the Acts chooses two
examples, the triumph over magical arts, and
the great disturbance raised by the silver
smiths who made shrines for Diana ; amongst
which we are to note further the writing of
the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Before
leaving Ephesus he went into Macedonia,
where he met Titus, who brought him news
of the state of the Corinthian church. There
upon he wrote the Second Epistle to the Cor
inthians, and sent it by tbe hands of Titus
and two other brethren to Corinth. The par
ticular nature of this Epistle, as an appeal to
facts in favour of his own Apostolic authority,
leads to the mention of many interesting fea
tures of St. Paul's life. His summary, in xi.
23-28, of the hardships and dangers through
which he had gone, proves to us how little
the history in the Acts is to be regarded as
a complete account of what he did and suf
fered. The mention of "visions and revela
tions of the Lord," and of the " thorn (or
rather stake) in the flesh," side by side, is
peculiarly characteristic both of the mind and
of the experiences of St. Paul. As an in
stance of the visions, he alludes to a trance
which had befallen him fourteen years before,
in which he had been caught up into para
dise, and had heard unspeakable words. But
he would not, even inwardly with himself,
glory in visions and revelations without re
membering how the Lord had guarded him
from being puffed up by them. A thorn in
the flesh was given him, a messenger of Satan
to buffet him, lest he should be exalted above
measure. Different interpretations have pre
vailed of this " thorn ; " but it is almost the
unanimous opinion of modern divines that
the " stake " represents some vexatious bodily
infirmity. After writing this Epistle, St. Paul
travelled through Macedonia, perhaps to the
borders of Illyricum (Rom. xv. 19), and then
came to Corinth. The narrative in the Acts
tells us that "when he bad gone over those
parts (Macedonia), and had given them much
exhortation, he came into Greece, and there
abode three months" (xx. 2, 3). There is
only one incident which we can connect with
this visit to Greece, but that is a very impor
tant one — the writing of his Epistle to the
Romans. That this was written at this time
from Corinth appears from passages in the
Epistle itself, and has never been doubted.
The letter is a substitute for the personal
visit which he had longed " for many years "

to pay. Before his departure from Corinth,
St. Paul was joined again by St. Luke, as wc
infer from the change in the narrative from
the third to the first person. He was bent
on making a journey to Jerusalem, for a spe
cial purpose and within a limited time. Wiih
this view he was intending to go by sea to
Syria. But he was made aware of some plot
of the Jews for his destruction, to be carried
out through this voyage ; and he determined
to evade their malice by changing his route.
Several brethren were associated with him
in this expedition, the bearers, no doubt, of
the collections made in all the Churches for
the poor at Jerusalem. These were sent on
by sea, and probably the money with them,
to Troas, where they were to await St. Paul.
He, accompanied by St. Luke, went north
wards through Macedonia. During the stay
at Troas there was a meeting on the first day
of the week " to break bread," and Paul was
discoursing earnestly and at length with the
brethren. He was to depart the next morn
ing, and midnight found them listening to
his earnest speech. A youth named Eutychus
was sitting in the window, and was gradually
overpowered by sleep, so that at last he fell
into the street or court from the third story,
and was taken up dead. The meeting was
interrupted by this accident, and Paul went
down and fell upon him and embraced him,
saying, " Be not disturbed, his life is in him."
His friends then appear to have taken charge
of him, whilst Paul went up again, first pre
sided at the breaking of bread, afterwards
took a meal, and continued conversing until
daybreak, and so departed. Whilst the ves
sel which conveyed the rest of the party sailed
from Troas to Assos, Paul gained some time
by making the journey by land. At Assos
he went on board again. Coasting along by
Mitylene, Chios, Samos, and Trogyllium, they
arrived at Miletus. At Miletus, however,
there was time to send to Ephesus ; and the
elders of the Church were invited to come
down to him there. This meeting is made
the occasion for recording another charac
teristic and representative address of St. Paul
(Acts xx. 18-35). This spoken address to
the elders of the Ephesian Church may be
ranked with the Epistles, and throws the
same kind of light upon St. Paul's Apostolical
relations to the Churches. The course of the
voyage from Miletus was by Coos and Rhodes
to Patara, and from Patara in another vessel
past Cyprus to Tyre. Here Paul and his
company spent seven days. From Tyre they
sailed to Ptolemais, 'where they spent one
day, and from Ptolemais proceeded, appa
rently by land, to Caesarea. In this place
was settled Philip the Evangelist, one of the

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PAUL

seven, and he became the host of Paul and
his friends. Philip had four unmarried
daughters, who " prophesied," and who re
peated, no doubt, the warnings already heard*.
They now " tarried many days " at Caesarea.
During this interval the prophet Agabus
(Acts xi. 28) came down from Jerusalem,
and crowned the previous intimations of
danger with a prediction expressively deli
vered. At this stage a final effort was made
to dissuade Paul from going up to Jerusalem,
by the Christians of Caesarea, and by his
travelling companions. After a while, they
went up to Jerusalem, and were gladly re
ceived by the brethren. This is St. Paul's
fifth and last visit to Jerusalem. — St. Paul's
Imprisonment : Jerusalem and Caesarea. — He
who was thus conducted into Jerusalem by a
company of anxious friends had become by
this time a man of considerable fame amongst
his countrymen. He was widely known as
one who had taught with pre-eminent bold
ness that a way into God's favour was opened
to the Gentiles, and that this way did not lie
through the door of the Jewish Law. He
had thus roused against himself the bitter
enmity of that unfathomable Jewish pride
which was almost as strong in some of those
who had professed the faith of Jesus, as in
their unconverted brethren. He was now
approaching a crisis in the long struggle, and
the shadow of it has been made to rest upon
his mind throughout his journey to Jeru
salem. He came " ready to die for the name
of the Lord Jesus." The history of the tu
mults which arose, and in which St. Paul
was only saved by the Roman soldiers from
being torn in pieces, are related at length in
the Acts, and need not be repeated here. At
length a conspiracy was formed, by more than
forty of "the Jews, who bound themselves
under a curse neither to eat nor to drink
until they had killed Paul. The plot was
discovered, and St. Paul was hurried away
from Jerusalem. The chief captain, Claudius
Lysias, determined to send him to Caesarea,
to Felix the governor, or procurator, of Ju
daea. He therefore put him in charge of a
strong guard of soldiers, who took him by
night as far as Antipatris. From thence a
smaller detachment conveyed him to Cae
sarea, where they delivered up their prisoner
into the hands of the governor. — Imprison
ment of Caesarea. — St. Paul was henceforth,
to the end of the period embraced in the
Acts, if not to the end of his life, in Roman
custody. This custody was in fact a protec
tion to him, without which he would have
fallen a victim to the animosity of the Jews.
He seems to have been treated throughout
with humanity and consideration. The go

vernor before whom he was now to be tried,
according to Tacitus and Josephus, was a
mean and dissolute tyrant. After hearing
St. Paul's accusers, and the Apostle's defence,
Felix made an excuse for putting off the
matter, and gave orders that the prisoner
should be treated with indulgence, and that
his friends should be allowed free access to
him. After a while, he heard him again.
St. Paul remained in custody until Felix left
the province. The unprincipled governor
had good reason to seek to ingratiate himself
with the Jews ; and to please them, he handed
over Paul, as an untried prisoner, to his suc
cessor Festus. Upon his arrival in the pro
vince, Festus went up without delay from
Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the leading Jews
seized the opportunity of asking that Paul
might he brought up there for trial, intending
to assassinate him by the way. But Festus
would not comply with their request. He
invited them to follow him on his speedy
return to Caesarea, and a trial took place
there, closely resembling that before Felix.
"They had certain questions against him,"
Festus says to Agrippa, " of their own super
stition (or religion), and of one Jesus, who
was dead, whom Paul affirmed to he alive.
And being puzzled for my part as to such
inquiries, I asked him whether he would go
to Jerusalem to be tried there." This pro
posal, not a very likely one to be accepted,
was the occasion of St. Paul's appeal to
Caesar. The appeal having been allowed,
Festus reflected that he must send with the
prisoner a report of " the crimes laid against
him." He therefore took advantage of an
opportunity which offered itself in a few days
to seek 60me help in the matter. The Jewish
prince Agrippa arrived with his sister Bere
nice on a visit to the new governor. To him
Festus communicated his perplexity. Agrippa
expressed a desire to hear Paul himself. Ac
cordingly Paul conducted his defence before
the king ; and when it was concluded Festus
and Agrippa, and their companions, consulted
together, and came to the conclusion that the
accused was guilty of nothing that deserved
death or imprisonment. And Agrippa's final
answer to the inquiry of Festus was, " This
man might have been set at liberty, if he
had not appealed unto Caesar." — The Voyage
to Rome. —No formal trial of St. Paul had
yet taken place. After a while arrangements
were made to carry " Paul and certain other
prisoners," in the custody of a centurion
named Julius into Italy ; and amongst the
company, whether by favour or from any
other reason, we find the historian of the
Acts. The narrative of this voyage is accord
ingly minute and circumstantial; but we
2 E 2

PAUL

420

PAUL

must refer the reader to articles in this Dic
tionary on the names of places which occur
in the narrative. The land on which the
wreck took place' was found to belong to
Malta. The inhabitants of the island re
ceived the wet and exhausted voyagers with
no ordinary kindness, and immediately lighted
a fire to warm them. This particular kind
ness is recorded on account of a curious inci
dent connected with it. The Apostle was
helping to make the fire, and had gathered a
bundle of sticks and laid them on it, when
a viper came out of the heat and fastened
on his hand. When the natives saw the
creature hanging from his hand they be
lieved him to be poisoned by the bite, and
said amongst themselves, " No doubt this
man is a murderer, whom, though he has
escaped from the sea, yet Vengeance suffers
not to live." But when they saw that no
harm came of it they changed their minds
and said that he was a god. This circum
stance, as well as the honour in which he
was held by Julius, would account for St.
Paul being invited with some others to stay
at the house of the chief man of the island,
whose name was Publius. After a three
months' stay in Malta the soldiers and their
prisoners left in an Alexandrian ship foi
Italy. They touched at Syracuse, where
they stayed three days, and at Rhegium,
from which place they were carried with a
fair wind to Puteoli, where they left theii
ship and the sea. At Puteoli they found
" brethren," for it was an important place,
and especially a chief port for the traffic be
tween Alexandria and Rome ; and by these
brethren they were exhorted to stay a while
with them. Permission seems to have been
granted by the centurion ; and whilst they
were spending seven days at Puteoli news of
the Apostle's arrival was sent on to Rome. —
St. Paul at Rome. — On their arrival at Rome
the centurion delivered up his prisoners into
the proper custody, that of the praetorian
prefect. Paul was at once treated with spe
cial consideration, and was allowed to dwell
by himself with the soldier who guarded
him. He was now therefore free " to preach
the Gospel to them that were at Rome
also ; " and proceeded without delay to act
upon his rule — " to the Jew first." But, as
of old, the reception of his message by the
Jews was not favourable. He turned there
fore again to the Gentiles, and for two years
he dwelt in his own hired house. These are
the last words of the Acts. But St. Paul's
career is not abruptly closed. Before he
himself fades out of our sight in the twilight
of ecclesiastical tradition, we have letters
written by himself^ which contribute some

particulars to his biography. — Period of the
later Epistles. — To that imprisonment to
which St. Luke has introduced us — the im
prisonment which lasted for such a tedious
time, though tempered by much indulgence
— belongs the noble group of Letters to Phi
lemon, to the Colossians, to the Ephesians, and
to the Philippians. The three former of
these were written at one time and sent by
the same messengers. Whether that to the
Philippians was written before or after these,
we cannot determine ; but the tone of it seems
to imply that a crisis was approaching, and
therefore it is commonly regarded as the
latest of the four. — In this Epistle St. Paul
twice expresses a confident hope that before
long he may be able to visit the Philippians
in person (i. 25, ii. 24). Whether this hope
was fulfilled or not, has been the occasion of
much controversy. According to the general
opinion, the Apostle was liberated from his
imprisonment and left Rome, soon after the
writing of the letter to the Philippians, spent
some time in visits to Greece, Asia Minor,
and Spain, returned again as a prisoner to
Rome, and was put to death there. From
the Pastoral Epistles we may draw the fol
lowing conclusions; — (1.) St. Paul must
have left Rome, and visited Asia Minor, and
Greece ; for he says to Timothy (1 Tim. i. 3),
" I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus,
when I was setting out for Macedonia."
After being once at Ephesus, he was pur
posing to go there again (1 Tim. iv. 13), and
he spent a considerable time at Ephesus (2
Tim. i. 1 8 ) . (2.) He paid a visit to Crete, and
left Titus to organize Churches there (Titus
i. 5). He was intending to spend a winter
at one of the places named Nicopolis (Tit. iii.
12). (3.) He travelled by Miletus (2 Tim.
iv. 20), Troas (2 Tim. iv. 13), where he left
a cloak or case, and some books, and Corintb
(2 Tim. iv. 20). (4.) He is a prisoner at
Rome, " suffering unto bonds as an evil
doer " (2 Tim. ii. 9), and expecting to be
soon condemned to death (2 Tim. iv. 6). At
this time he felt deserted and solitary, having
only Luke of his old associates, to keep him
company; and he was very anxious that
Timothy should come to him without delay
from Ephesus, and bring Mark with him (2
Tim. i. 15, iv. 16, 9-12). We conclude then,
that after a wearing imprisonment of two
years or more at Rome, St. Paul was set free,
and spent some years in various journeyings
eastwards and westwards. Towards the close
of this time he pours out his warnings in the
Letters to Timothy and Titus. The first to
Timothy and that to Titus were evidently
written at very nearly the same time. After
these were written, be was apprehended again

PAUL

421

PEKAH

and sent to Rome. The Apostle appears now
to have been treated, not as an honourable
state prisoner, but as a felon (2 Tim. ii. 9).
But he was at least allowed to write this
Second Letter to his " dearly beloved son "
Timothy ; and though he expresses a con
fident expectation of his speedy death, he yet
thought it sufficiently probable that it might
be delayed for some time, to warrant him in
nrging Timothy to come to him from Ephesus.
Meanwhile, though he felt his isolation, he
was not in the least daunted by his danger.
He was more than ready to die (iv. 6), and
had a sustaining experience of not being de
serted by his Lord. Once already, in this
second imprisonment, he had appeared before
the authorities; and "the Lord then stood
by him and strengthened him," and gave
him a favourable opportunity for the one
thing always nearest to his heart, the public
declaration of his Gospel. This Epistle,
surely no unworthy utterance at such an age
and in such an hour even of a St. Paul, brings
us, it may well he presumed, close to the end
of his life. For what remains, we have the
concurrent testimony of ecclesiastical anti
quity, that he was beheaded at Rome, about
the same time that St. Peter was crucified
there. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth (a.d.
170), says that Peter and Paul went to Italy
and taught there together, and suffered mar
tyrdom about the same time. Eusebius him
self adopts the tradition that St. Paul was
beheaded under Nero at Rome. — Chronology
of St. Paul's Life. — There are two principal
events which serve as fixed dates for deter
mining the Pauline chronology' — the death of
Herod Agrippa, and the accession of Festus.
Now it has been proved almost to certainty
that Felix was recalled from Judaea and suc
ceeded by Festus in the year 60. In the
autumn, then, of a.d. 60 St. Paul left Caesa
rea. In the spring of 6 1 he arrived at Rome.
There he lived two years, that is, till the
spring of 63, with much freedom in his own
hired house. After this we depend upon
conjecture ; but the Pastoral Epistles give us
reasons for deferrnrg the Apostle's death until
67, with Eusebius, or 68, with Jerome. Simi
larly we can go backwards from a.d. 60. St.
Paul was two years at Caesarea (Acts xxiv.
27) ; therefore he arrived at Jerusalem on
his last visit by the Pentecost of 58. Before
this he had wintered at Corinth (Acts xx. 2,
3), having gone from Ephesus to Greece. He
left Ephesus, then, in the latter part of 57,
and as he stayed 3 years at Ephesus (Acts
xx. 31), he must have eome thither in 54.
Previously to this journey he had spent
"some time" at Antioch (Acts xviii. 23),
and our chronology becomes indeterminate.

We can only add together the time of a hasty
visit to Jerusalem, the travels of the great
second missionary journey, which included
It year at Corinth, another indeterminate
stay at Antioch, the important third visit
to Jerusalem, another "long" residence at
Antioch (Acts xiv. 28), the first missionary
journey, again an indeterminate stay at
Antioch (Acts xii. 25) — until we come to
the second visit to Jerusalem, which nearly
synchronised with the death of Herod Agrippa
in a.d. 44. Within this interval of some
10 years the most important date to fix is
that of the third visit to Jerusalem; and
there is a great concurrence of the best autho
rities in placing this visit in either 50 or 51.
St. Paul himself (Gal. ii. 1) places this visit
" 14 years after " either his conversion or
the first visit. In the former ease we have
37 or 38 for the date of the conversion. The
conversion was followed by 3 years (Gal. i.
18) spent in Arabia and Damascus, and end
ing with the first visit to Jerusalem; and
the space between the first visit (40 or 41)
and the second (44 or 45) is filled up by an
indeterminate time, presumably 2 or 3 years,
at Tarsus (Acts ix. 30), and 1 year at An
tioch (Acts xi. 26). The date of the martyr
dom of Stephen can only be conjectured, and
is very variously placed between a.d. 30 and
the year of St. Paul's conversion. In the
account of the death of Stephen St. Paul is
called " a young man " (Acts vii. 58). It is
not improbable therefore that he was born
between a.d. 0 and a.d. 5, so that he might
be past 60 years of age when he calls himself
" Paul the aged" in Philemon 9.
PAVEMENT. [Gabbatha.]
PEACOCKS (Heb. tucciyyim). Amongst
the natural products of the land of Tarshish
which Solomon's fleet brought home to Jeru
salem, mention is made of " peacocks " (1 K.
x. 22 ; 2 Chr. ix. 21), which is probably the
correct translation. The Hebrew word may
be traced to the Taniul or Malabaric togei,
" peacock." PEARL (Heb. gdbish). The Heb. word in
Job xxviii. 18, probably means "crystal."
Pearls, however, are frequently mentioned in
the N.T. (Matt. xiii. 45 ; 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; Rev.
xvii. 4, xxi. 21). " The pearl of great price "
is doubtless a fine specimen yielded by the
pearl oyster (Avicula margaritifera), still
found in abundance in the Persian Gulf, which
has long been celebrated for its pearl fisheries.
PE'KAH, son of Remaliah, originally a
captain of Pekahiah king of Israel, murdered
his master, seized the throne, and became the
18th sovereign of the northern kingdom (b.c.
757-740). Under his predecessors Israel
had been much weakened through the pay-

PEKAHIAII

4'22

PEXIEL

ment of enormous tribute to the Assyrians
(see especially 2 K. xv. 20), and by internal
wars and conspiracies. Pekah seems steadily
to have applied himself to the restoration of
its power. For this purpose he sought for
the support of a foreign alliance, and fixed
his mind on the plunder of the sister kingdom
of Judah. He must have made the treaty by
which he proposed to share its spoil with
Rezin king of Damascus, when Jotham was
still on the throne of Jerusalem (2 K. xv.
37) ; but its execution was long delayed,
probably in consequence of that prince's
righteous and vigorous administration (2
Chr. xxvii.). When, however, his weak son
Ahrtz succeeded to the crown of David, the
allies no longer hesitated, and formed the
siege of Jerusalem (b.c. 742). The history
of the war is found in 2 K. xvi. and 2 Chr.
xxviii. It is famous as the occasion of the
great prophecies in Isaiah vii.-ix. Its chief
result was the capture of the Jewish port of
Elath on the Red Sea ; but the unnatural
alliance of Damascus and Samaria was pun
ished through the final overthrow of the fero
cious confederates by Tiglath-pileser. The
kingdom of Damascus was finally suppressed,
and Rezin put to death, while Pekah was de
prived of at least half his kingdom, including
all the northern portion, and the whole dis
trict to the east of Jordan. Pekah himself,
now fallen into the position of an Assyrian
vassal, was of course compelled to abstain
from further attacks on Judah. Whether
his continued tyranny exhausted the patience
of his subjects, or whether his weakness em
boldened them to attack him, we do not
know ; but, from one or the other cause,
Hoshea the son of Elah conspired against
him, and put him to death.
PEKAHI'AH, son and successor of Mena
hem, was the 17th king of the separate king
dom of Israel (b.c. 759-757). After a brief
reign of scarcely two years a conspiracy was
organized against him by Pekah, who mur
dered him and seized the throne.
PEKO'D, an appellative applied to the
Chaldaeans (Jer. 1. 21 ; Ez. xxiii. 23). Au
thorities are undecided as to the meaning of
the term.
PE'LEG, son of Eber and brother of Joktan
(Gen. x. 25, xi. 16). The only incident con
nected with his history is the statement that
"in his days was the earth divided" — an
event which was embodied in his name, Peleg
meaning "division." This refers to a divi
sion of the family of Eber himself, the
younger branch of whom (the Joktanids)
migrated into southern Arabia, while the
elder remained in Mesopotamia.
PEL'ETHITES. [Cheeethttes.]

PELICAN (Heb. kdath). Amongst the
unclean birds mention is made of the kdath
(Lev. xi. 18 ; Deut. xiv. 17). The suppliant
psalmist compares his condition to " a kdath
in the wilderness" (Ps. cii. 6). As a mark
of the desolation that whs to come upon
Edom, it is said that "the kdath and the
bittern should possess it" (Is. xxxiv. 11).
The same words are spoken of Nineveh (Zeph.
ii. 14). In these two last places the A. V.
has " cormorant " in the text and " pelican "
in the margin. The best authorities are in
favour of the pelican being the bird denoted
by kdath. The psalmist, in comparing his
pitiable condition to tbe pelican, probably

~r -j. j^ y
Pelncanus onoctou.lwt.
has reference to its general aspect as it sits
in apparent melancholy mood, with its hill
resting on its breast.
PEL'ONITE, THE. Two of David's mighty
men, Helez and Ahijah, are called Pelonites
(1 Chr. xi. 27, 36). From 1 Chr. xxvii. 10,
it appears that the former was of the tribe of
Ephraim, and " Pelonite " would therefore
be an appellation derived from his place of
birth or residence. "Ahijah the Pelonite"
appears in 2 Sam. xxiii. 34 as " Eliam the
son of Ahithophel the Gilonitc," of which the
former is a corruption.
PEN. [Wnmxo.J
PEN'IEL, the name which Jacob gave to
the place in which he had wrestled with
God : " He called the name of the place

PENNY

423

PENTATEUCH

* Face of El,' for I have seen Elohim face to
face" (Gen. xxxii. 30). In xxxii. 31, and
the other passages in which the name occurs,
its form is changed to Penuel. From the nar
rative it is evident that Peniel lay somewhere
between the torrent Jabbok and Succoth.
PENNY, PENNYWORTH. In the A. V.
of the N. T., "penny," either alone or in
the compound " pennyworth," occurs as the
rendering of the Roman denarius (Matt. xx.
2, xxii. 19 ; Mark vi. 37, xii. 15 ; Luke xx.
24; John vi. 7 ; Rev, vi. 6). The denarius
was the chief Roman silver coin, and was
worth about 9d.
PENTATEUCH, THE, is the Greek name
given to the five books commonly called the
" Five Books of Moses." * In the time of
Ezra and Nehemiah it was called " the Law
of Moses " (Ezr. vii. 6) ; or " the book of the
Law of Moses" (Neh. viii. 1) ; or simply
"the book of Moses" (Ezr. vi. 18; Neh.
xiii. 1 ; 2 Chron. xxv. 4, xxxv. 12). This
was beyond all reasonable doubt our existing
Pentateuch. The book which was discovered
in the temple in the reign of Josiah, and
which is entitled (2 Chron. xxxiv. 14) " the
book of the Law of Jehovah by the hand of
Moses," was substantially, it would seem, the
same volume, though it may afterwards have
undergone some revision by Ezra. The pre
sent Jews usually called the whole by the
name of Torah, i.e. "the Law," or Torath
Moshch, " the Law of Moses." The division
of the whole work into five parts was pro
bably made by the Greek translators ; for the
titles of the several books are not of Hebrew
but of Greek origin. The Hebrew names are
merely taken from the first words of each
book, and in the first instance only designated
particular sections and not whole books. The
MSS. of the Pentateuch form a single roll or
volume, and are divided, not into books, hut
into the larger and smaller sections called
Parshiyoth and Sedarim. The Five Books of
the Pentateuch form a consecutive whole.
The work, beginning with the record of Crea
tion, and the history of the primitive world,
passes on to deal more especially with the
early history of the Jewish family. It gives
at length the personal history of the three
great Fathers of the family : it then describes
how the family grew into a nation in Egypt,
tells us of its oppression and deliverance, of
its forty years' wandering in the wilderness,
of the giving of the Law, with all its enact
ments both civil and religious, of the con
struction of the tabernacle, of the numbering
* tj Trei'Ta.Tevx'os sc £tj3A.05 ; Pentateuchns ec,
liber; tho fivefold book; from tevxos, which meaning
originally " vessel, instrument," 4c., came In Alex
andrine Greek to mean ** book.

of the people, of the rights and duties of the
priesthood, as well as of many important
events which befell them before their entrance
into the Land of Canaan, and finally concludes
with Moses' last discourses and his death.
The unity of the work in its existing form is
now generally recognised. It is not a mere ¦
collection of loose fragments carelessly put
together at different times, but bears evident
traces of design and purpose in its compo
sition. Even those who discover different
authors in the earlier books, and who deny
that Deuteronomy was written by Moses, are
still of opinion that the work in its present
form is a connected whole, and was at least
reduced to its present shape by a single re
viser or editor. Till the middle of last cen
tury it was the general opinion of both Jews
and Christians, that the whole of the Penta
teuch was written by Moses, with the excep
tion of a few manifestly later additions — such
as the 34th chapter of Deuteronomy, which
gives the account of Moses' death. The first
attempt to call in question the popular belief
was made by Astruc, Doctor and Professor of
Medicine in the Royal College at Paris, and
Court Physician to Louis XIV.* He had ob
served that throughout the book of Genesis,
and as far as the 6th chapter of Exodus,
traces were to he found of two original docu
ments, each characterised by a distinct use of
the names of God ; the one by the name Elo
him, and the other by the name Jehovah
[God]. Besides these two , principal docu
ments, he supposed Moses to have made use
of ten others in the composition of the earlier
part of his work. The path traced by Astruc
has been followed by numerous German
writers ; but for the various hypotheses which
have been formed upon the subject we must
refer the reader to the larger Dictionary. It
is sufficient here to state that there is suffi
cient evidence for believing that the main
bulk of the Pentateuch, at any rate, was
written by Moses, though he probably availed
himself of existing documents in the compo
sition of the earlier part of the work. Some
detached portions would appear to be of later
origin ; and when we remember how entirely,
during some periods of Jewish history, the
Law seems to have been forgotten, and again
how necessary it would be after the seventy
years of exile to explain some of its archaisms,
and to add here and there short notes to' make
it more intelligible to the people, nothing can
be more natural than to suppose that such later
additions were made by Ezra and Nehemiah.
For an account of the separate books see
* His work was published at Brussels in 1753 under
the dtle of "Conjectures sur les M&noiies originaux,
dont il pardit que Moyse s'est servi pour composer le
Livre de Genese."

PENTECOST

42-4

PERFUMES

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deu
teronomy. PENTECOST, that is, the fiftieth day* or
Harvest Feast, or Feast op Weeks, may be
regarded as a supplement* to the Passover.
It lasted only for one day ; but the modern
Jews extend it over two. The people, having
at the Passover presented before God the first
sheaf of the harvest, departed to their homes
to gather it in, and then returned to keep
the harvest-feast before Jehovah. From the
sixteenth of Nisan seven weeks were reckoned
inclusively, and the next or fiftieth day was
the Day of Pentecost, which fell on the sixth
of Sivan (about the end of May) (Ex. xxiii.
16, xxxiv. 22 ; Lev. xxiii. 15-22 ; Num.
xxviii. 26-31 ; Deut. xvi. 9-12 ; 2 Maec. xii.
32; Acts ii. 1, xx. 16; 1 Cor. xvi. 8). The
intervening period included the whole of the
grain harvest, of which the wheat was the
latest crop. Its commencement is also
marked as from the time when " thou be-
ginnest to put the sickle to the corn." The
Pentecost was the Jewish harvest home, and
the people were especially exhorted to rejoice
before Jehovah with their families, their ser
vants, the Levite within their gates, the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, in
the place chosen by God for His name, as
they brought a freewill-offering of their hand
to Jehovah their God (Deut. xvi. 10, 11).
The great feature of the celebration was the
presentation of the two loaves, made from
the first-fruits of the wheat-harvest, and lea
vened, that is, in the state fit for ordinary
food. In this point, as contrasted with the
unleavened bread of the Passover, we see the
more homely and social nature of the Feast ;
while its bounty to the poor is connected with
the law which secures them plenty of glean
ings (Lev. xxiii. 22). With the loaves two
lambs were offered as a peace-offering; and
all were waved before Jehovah, and given to
the priests : the loaves, being leavened, could
not be offered on the altar. The other sacri
fices were, a burnt- offer ing of a young bul
lock, two rams, and seven lambs, with a meat
and drink-offering, and a kid for a shij-ofrer-
ing (Lev. xxiii. 18, 19). Till the pentecostal
loaves were offered, the produce of the har
vest might not be eaten, nor could any other
first-fruits be offered. The whole ceremony
was the completion of that dedication of the
harvest to God, as its giver, and to whom
both the land and the people were holy, which
was begun by the offering of the wavesheaf
at the Passover. The interval is still re
garded as a religious season. — The Pentecost
* This Greek name in not the translation of any
eorrespending word in the Pentateuch; but the later
name of the feast, which naturally grew out of the
calculation of its interval from the Passover.

is the only one of the three great feasts which
is not mentioned as the memorial of events
in the history of the Jews. But such a sitr-
nificance has been found in the fact, that tbe
Law was given from Sinai on the fiftieth day
after the deliverance from Egypt (comp. Ex.
xii. and xix.). In the Exodus, the people
were offered to God, as living first-fruits ; at
Sinai their consecration to Him as a nation
was completed. The typical significance of
the Pentecost is made clear from the events
of the day recorded in the Acts of the Apos
tles (Acts ii.). The preceding Passover had
been marked by the sacrifice upon the cross
of the true Paschal Lamb, and by his offering
to his Father as " tbe first-fruits of them
that slept." The day of Pentecost found his
disciples assembled at Jerusalem, like the
Israelites before Sinai, waiting for " tbe pro
mise of the Father." Again did God descend
from heaven in fire, to pour forth that Holy
Spirit, which gives the spiritual discernment
of His law ; and the converts to Peter's
preaching were the first-fruits of the spiritual
harvest, of which Christ had long before as
sured his disciples. Just as the appearance
of God on Sinai was the birthday of the Jewish
nation, so was that Pentecost the birthday of
the Christian Church. The Pentecost was
the last Jewish feast that Paul was anxious
to keep (1 Cor. xvi. 8), and Whitsuntide, its
successor, was the first annual festival adopted
in the Christian Church.
PEN'UEL. [Peniel.]
PE'OR. 1. A mountain in Moab, from
whence, after having ascended the lower or
less sacred summits of Bamoth-Baal and
Pisgah, the prophet Balaam was conducted
by Balak for his final conjurations (Num.
xxiii. 28 only). Peor was " facing Jeshi-
mon." The same thing is said of Pisgah.
But unfortunately we are as yet ignorant of
the position of all three, so that nothing can
be inferred from this specification. In the
Onomasticon it is stated to be above the town
of Libias (the ancient Beth-ararn), and op
posite Jericho. — 2. In four passages (Num.
xxv. 18 twice; xxxi. 16 ; Josh. xxii. 17) Peor
occurs as a contraction for Baal-peor. [Baai,.]
PER'AZIM, MOUNT, a name which occurs
in Is. xxviii. 21 only,— unless the place which
it designates be identical with the Eaal-
Perazim mentioned as the scene of one of
David's victories over the Philistines.
PERFUMES. The free use of perfumes
was peculiarly grateful to the Orientals
(Prov. xxvii. 9), whose olfactory nerves are
more than usually sensitive to the offensive
smells engendered by the heat of their
climate. The Hebrews manufactured their
perfumes chiefly from spices imported from

s

PERGA

425

PERSIA

Arabia, though to a certain extent also
from aromatic plants growing in their own
country. Perfumes entered largely into the
Temple service, in the two forms of incense
and ointment (Ex. xxx. 22-38). Nor were
they less used in private life : not only were
they applied to the person, but to garments
(Ps. xiv. 8 ; Cant. iv. 11), and to articles of
furniture, such as beds (Prov. vii. 17). On
the arrival of a guest the same compliments
were probably paid in ancient as in modern
times (Dan. ii. 46). When a royal personage
went abroad in his litter, attendants threw
up " pillars of smoke " about his path (Cant.
iii. 6). The use of perfumes was omitted in
times of mourning, whence the allusion in
Is. iii. 24.
PER'GA, a city of Pamphylia (Acts xiii.
13), situated on the river Cestius, at a dis
tance of 60 stadia from its mouthy and cele
brated in antiquity for the worship of Artemis
(Diana). PER'GAMOS, a city of Mysia, about 3
miles to the N. of the river Caicus, and
20 miles from its present mouth. The name
was originally given to a remarkable hill,
presenting a conical appearance when viewed
from the plain. It was the residence of a
dynasty of Greek princes, founded after the
time of Alexander the Great, and usually
called the Attalic dynasty from its founder
Attalus. This Attalic dynasty terminated
b.c 133, when Attalus III., dying at an early
age, made the Romans his heirs. His do-
rninions formed the province of Asia. The
sumptuousness of the Attalic princes had
raised Pergamos to the rank of the first city
in Asia as regards splendour. It became a
city of temples, devoted to a sensuous wor
ship ; and being in its origin, according to
pagan notions, a sacred place, might not un
naturally he viewed by Jews and Jewish
Christians as one " where was the throne of
Satan" (Rev. ii. 13). After the extinction of
its independence, the sacred character of Per
gamos seems to have been put even more pro
minently forward. In the time of Martial,
Aesculapius had acquired so much prominence
that he is called Pergameus deus. From the
circumstance of this notoriety of the Per-
gamene Aesculapius, and from the seipent
being his characteristic emblem, it has been
supposed that the expressions " the throne of
Satan " and " where Satan dwelleth," have
an especial reference to this one pagan deity,
and not to the whole city as a sort of focus of
idolatrous worship.
PER'IZZITE, THE, and PER'IZZITES,
one of the nations inhabiting the Land of
Promise before and at the time of its con
quest by Israel. They are continually men

tioned in the formula so frequently occurring
to express the Promised Land (Gen. xv. 20 ;
Ex. iii. 8, 17, xxiii. 23, xxxiii. 2, xxxiv. 11 ;
Deut. vii. 1, xx. 17; Josh. iii. 10, ix. 1,
xxiv. 11 ; Judg. iii. 5 ; Ezr. ix. 1 ; Neh. ix. 8).
They appear, however, with somewhat greater
distinctness on several occasions (Gen. xiii. 7,
xxxiv. 30 ; Judg. i. 4, 5 ; 2 Esdr. i. 21). The
notice in the book of Judges locates them in
the southern part of the Holy Land. The
signification of the name is not by any means
clear. It possibly meant rustics, dwellers in
open, unwalled villages, which are denoted
by a similar word.
PERSEP'OLIS, mentioned only in 2 Mace.
ix. 2, was the capital of Persia Proper, and
the occasional residence of the Persian court
from the time of Darius Hystaspis, who seems
to have been its founder, to the invasion of
Alexander. Its wanton destruction by that
conqueror is well known. Its site is now
called the Chehl-Minar or Forty Pillars.
PER'SEUS, the eldest son of Philip V. and
last king of Macedonia (b.c. 179-168). The
defeat of Perseus by the Romans put an end
to the independence of Macedonia, and ex
tended even to Syria* the terror of the Roman
name (1 Mace. viii. 5).
PER'SIA, PERSIANS. Persia Proper was
a tract of no very large dimensions on the
Persian Gulf, which is still known as Ears,
or Farsistan, a corruption of the ancient ap
pellation. This tract was bounded, on the
west, by Susiana or Elam, on the north by
Media, on the south by the Persian Gulf, and
on the east by Carmania. But the name is
more commonly applied, both in Scripture
and by profane authors, to the entire tract
which came by degrees to be included within
the limits of the Persian Empire. This em*
pire extended at one time from India on the
east to Egypt and Thrace upon the west, and
included, besides portions of Europe and
Africa, the whole of Western Asia between
the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian, and
the Jaxartes upon the north, the Arabian
desert, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian
Ocean upon the south. The only passage in
Scripture where Persia designates the tract
which has been called above " Persia Proper "
is Ez. xxxviii. 5. Elsewhere the Empire is
intended. The Persians were of tlie same
race as the Medes, both being branches of the
great Aryan stock. Their language was
closely akin to the Sanskrit, or ancient lan
guage of India. Modern Persian is its de
generate representative, being, as it is, a
motley idiom, largely impregnated with
Arabic. The history of Persia begins with
their revolt from the Medes and accession of
Cyrus the Great, b.c. 558. As usual in the

PERSIA

42i;

PETER

East, this success led on to others. Cyrus
defeated Croesus, and added the Lydian em
pire to his dominions. This conquest was
followed closely by the submission of the
Greek settlements on the Asiatic coast, and
by the reduction of Caria and Lycia. The
empire was soon afterwards extended greatly
towards the north-east and east. In b.c
539 or 538, Babylon was attacked, and after
a stout defence fell before his irresistible
bands. This victory first brought the Per
sians into contact with the Jews. The con
querors found in Babylon an oppressed race — ¦
like themselves abhorrers of idols — and pro
fessors of a religion in which to a great extent
they could sympathize. This race Cyrus de
termined to restore to their own country ;
which he did by the remarkable edict re
corded in the first chapter of Ezra (Ezr. i.
2-4). He was slain in an expedition against
the Massagetae or the Derbices, after a reign
of twenty-nine years. Under bis son and
successor, Cambyses, the conquest of Egypt
took place (b.c. 525). This prince appears
to be the Ahasuerus of Ezra (iv. 6). In
the absence of Cambyses with the army, a
conspiracy was formed against him at court,
and a Magian priest, Gomates by name, pro
fessing to be Smerdis, the son of Cyrus,
whom his brother, Cambyses, had put to
death secretly, obtained quiet possession of
the throne. Cambyses despairing of the re
covery of his crown, ended his life by suicide.
His reign had lasted seven years and five
months. Gomates the Magian found himself
thus, without a struggle, master of Peisia
(b.c. 522). His situation, however, was one
of great danger and difficulty. There is
reason to believe that he owed his elevation
to his fellow-religionists; whose object in
placing him upon the throne was to secure the
triumph of Magianism over the Dualism of
the Persians. He reversed the policy of
Cyrus with respect to the Jews, and forbad
by an edict the further building of the Temple
(Ez. iv. 17-22). Darius, the son of Hys-
ta;.pes, headed a revolt against him, which in
a short time wad crowned with complete suc
cess. The reign of Gomates lasted seven
months. The first efforts of Darius were
directed to the re-establishment of the Oro-
niasdian religion in all its purity. Appealed
to, in his second year, by the Jews, who
wished to resume the construction of their
Temple, he not only allowed them, confirming
the decree of Cyrus, but assisted the work by
grants from his own revenues, whereby the
Jews were able to complete the Temple as
early as his sixth year (Ezr. vi. 1-15).
During the first part of the reign of Darius
the tranquillity of the empire was disturbed

by numerous revolts. After five or six years.
of struggle, he became as firmly seated on bis
throne as any previous monarch. The latter
part of his reign was, however, clouded by
reverses. The disaster of Mardonins at
Mount Athos was followed shortly by the
defeat of Datis at Marathon ; and before any
attempt could be made to avenge that blow,
Etrypt rose in revolt (b.c. 486), massacred its
Persian garrison, and declared itself inde
pendent. When, after a reign of thirty-six
years, the fourth Persian monarch died (b.c.
485), leaving his throne to a young prince of
strong and ungoverned passions, it was evi
dent that the empire had reached its highest
point of greatness, and was already verging
towards its decline. The first act of Xerxes
was to reduce Egypt to subjection (b.c. 484),
after which he began at once to make pre
parations for his invasion of Greece. It is
probable that he was the Ahasuerus of Esther.
Ix is unnecessary to give an account of the
well-known expedition against Greece, which
ended so disastrously for the invaders. A
conspiracy in the seraglio having carried off
Xerxes (b.c 465) Artaxerxes his son, called
by the Greeks " Long-Handed," succeeded
him, after an interval of seven months, during
which the conspirator Artabanus occupied the
throne. This Artaxerxes, who reigned forty
years, is beyond a doubt the king of that
name who stood in such a friendly relation
towards Ezra (Ezv. vii. 11-28) and Nehemiah
(Neh. ii. 1-9, &c). He is the last of the
Persian kings who had any special connexion
with the Jews, and the last but one men
tioned in Scripture. His successors were
Xerxes IL, Sogdianus, Darius No thus, Ar
taxerxes Mnemon, Artaxerxes Ochus, and
Darius Codomannus, who is probably the
" Darius the Persian " of Nehemiah (xii. 22).
These monarchs reigned from b.c 424 to
b.c. 330. The collapse of the empire under
the attack of Alexander is well known, and
requires no description here. On the division
of Alexander's dominions among his generals
Persia fell to the Seleucidae, under whom it
continued till after the death of Antiochus
Epiphanes, when the conquering Parthians
advanced their frontier to the Euphrates, and
the Persians became included among their sub
ject-tribes (b.c. 164). Still their nationality
was not obliterated. In a.d. 226, tbe Per
sians shook off the yoke of their oppressors,
and once more became a nation.
PER'SIS, a Christian woman at Rome
(Rom. xvi. 12) whom St. Paul salutes.
PESTILENCE. [Plague.]
PE'TER. His original name was Simon,
i. e. " hearer." He was the son of a man
named Jonas (Matt. xvi. 17 ; John i. 43,

PETER

427

PETER

xxi. 16), and was brought up in his father's
occupation, a fisherman on the sea of Tiberias.
He and his brother Andrew were partners of
John and James, the sons of Zebedee, who
had hired servants. The Apostle did not live,
as a mere labouring man, in a hut by the
sea-side, but first at Bethsaida, and after
wards in a house at Capernaum, belonging to
himself or his mother-in-law. That he was
an affectionate husband, married in early
life to a wife who accompanied him in his
Apostolic journeys, are facts inferred from
Scripture, while very ancient traditions,
recorded by Clement of Alexandria and by
other early hut less trustworthy writers,
inform us that her name was Perpetua, that
she bore a daughter, or perhaps other
children, and suffered martyrdom. — Peter
and his brother Andrew, together with their
partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
were disciples of John the Baptist, when he
was first called by our Lord. The particulars
of this call are related with graphic minute
ness by St. John. It was upon this occasion
that Jesus gave Peter the name Cephas, a
Syriac word answering to the Greek Peter,
and signifying a stone or rock (Johni. 35-42).
This first call led to no immediate change in
Peter's external position. He and his fellow-
disciples looked henceforth upon our Lord as
their teacher, hut were not commanded to
follow him as regular disciples. They
returned to Capernaum, where they pursued
their usual business, waiting for a further
intimation of His will. The second call is
recorded by the other three Evangelists ; the
narrative of Luke being apparently supple
mentary to the brief, and, so to speak,
official accounts given by Matthew and Mark.
It took place on the sea of Galilee near
Capernaum — where the four disciples, Peter
and Andrew, James and John, were ' fishing.
Peter and Andrew were first called. Our
Lord then entered Simon Peter's boat and
addressed the multitude on the shore. Im
mediately after that call our Lord went to
the house of Peter, where He wrought the
miracle of healing on Peter's wife's mother.
Some time was passed afterwards in attend
ance upon our Lord's public ministrations in
Galilee, Decapolis, Peraea, and Judaea. The
special designation of Peter and his eleven
fellow-disciples took place some time after
wards, when they were set apart as our
Lord's immediate attendants (see Matt. x.
2-4; Mark iii. 13-19, the most detailed
account — Luke vi. 13). They appear then
first to have received formally tbe name of
Apostles, and from that time Simon bore
publicly, and as it would seem all but ex
clusively, the name Peter, whieh had hitherto

been used rather as a characteristic appellation
than as a proper name. From this time
there can be no doubt that Peter held the
first place among the Apostles, to whatever
cause his precedence is to be attributed.
He is named first in every list of the Apostles ;
he is generally addressed by our Lord as
their representative ; and on the most solemn
occasions he speaks in their name. Thus
when the first great secession took place in
consequence of the offence given by our
Lord's mystic discourse at Capernaum (see
John vi. 66-69), " Jesus said unto the twelve,
Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter
answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go ?
Thou hast the words of eternal life : and
we believe and are sure that Thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." Thus
again at Caesarea Philippi, St. Peter (speaking
as before in the name of the twelve, though,
as appears from our Lord's words, with a
peculiar distinctness of personal conviction)
repeated that declaration, " Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." The
confirmation of our Apostle in his special
position in the Church, his identification with
the rock on which that Church is founded,
the ratification of the powers and duties
attached to the apostolic office, and the pro
mise of permanence to the Church, followed
as a reward of that confession. The early
Church regarded St. Peter generally, and
most especially on this occasion, as the repre
sentative of the apostolic body', a very dis
tinct theory from that whieh makes him
their head, or governor in Christ's stead.
Primus inter pares Peter held no distinct
office, and certainly never claimed any
powers which did not belong equally to all
his fellow- Apostles. This great triumph of
Peter, however, brought other points of his
character into strong relief. The distinction
which he then received, and it may be his
consciousness of ability, energy, zeal, and
absolute devotion to Christ's person, seem to
have developed a natural tendency to rash
ness and forwardness bordering upon pre
sumption. On this occasion the exhibition of
such feelings brought upon him the strongest
reproof ever addressed to a disciple by our
Lord. In his affection and self-confidence
Peter ventured to reject as impossible the an
nouncement of the sufferings and humilia
tion which Jesus predicted, and heard the
sharp words — " Get thee behind me, Satan,
thou art an offence unto me — for thou
savourest not the things that be of God, but
those that be of men." It is remarkable
that on other occasions when St. Peter
signalized his faith and devotion, he displayed
at the time, or immediately afterwards, a

PETER

428

PETER

more than usual deficiency in spiritual dis
cernment and consistency. Thus a few days
after that fall he was selected together with
John and James to witness the transfigura
tion of Christ, but the words which he then
uttered prove that lae was completely bewil
dered, and unable at the time to comprehend
the meaning of the transaction. Thus again,
when his zeal and courage prompted him to
leave the ship and walk on the water to go to
Jesus (Matt. xiv. 29), a sudden failure of
faith withdrew the sustaining power ; he was
about to sink when he was at once reproved
and saved by his master. Towards the close
of our Lord's ministry Peter's characteristics
become especially prominent. Together with
his brother, and the two sons of Zebedee, he
listened to the last awful predictions and
warnings delivered to the disciples, in
reference to the second advent (Matt. xxiv.
3 ; Mark xiii. 3, who alone mentions these
names; Luke xxi. 7). At the last supper
Peter seems to have been particularly earnest
in the request that the traitor might be
pointed out. After the supper his words
drew out the meaning of the significant act
of our Lord in washing His disciples' feet.
Then too it was that he made those repeated
protestations of unalterable fidelity, so soon
to be falsified by his miserable fall. On the
morning of the resurrection we have proof
that Peter, though humbled, was not crushed
by his fall. He and John were the first to
visit tbe sepulchre ; he was the first who
entered it. We are told by Luke and by
Paul that Christ appeared to him first among
the Apostles. It is observable, however,
that on that occasion he is called by his
original name, Simon, not Peter : the higher
designation was not restored until he had
been publicly reinstituted, so to speak, by his
Master. That reinstitution took place at the
sea of Galilee (John xxi.), an event of the
very highest import. Slower than John to
recognize their Lord, Peter was the first to
reach Him : he brought the net to land.
The thrice repeated- question of Christ
referring doubtless to the three protestations
and denials, was thrice met by answers full of
love and faith. He then received the formal
commission to feed Christ's sheep, rather as
one who had forfeited his place, and could
not resume it without such an authorization.
Then followed the prediction of his martyr
dom, in which he was to find the fulfilment
of his request to be permitted to follow the
Lord. — With this event closes tbe first part
of Peter's history. Henceforth, he with his
colleagues were to establish and govern the
Church founded by their Lord, without the
support of His presence. The first part of

the Acts of the Apostles is occupied by the
record of transactions, in nearly all of which
Peter stands forth as the recognized leader of
the Apostles ; He is the most prominent
person in the greatest event after the resur
rection, when on the day of Pentecost the
Church was first invested with the plenitude
of gifts and powers. The first miracle after
Pentecost was wrought by him (Acts iii.).
This first miracle of healing was soon followed
by the first miracle of judgment. Peter
was the minister in that transaction. [Ana
nias.] When the Gospel was first preached
beyond the precincts of Judaea, he and John
were at once sent by the Apostles to confirm
the converts at Samaria. Henceforth he
remains prominent, but not exclusively pro
minent, among tbe propagators of the Gospel,
At Samaria he was confronted with Simon
Magus, the first teacher of heresy. About
three years later (compare Acts ix. 26, and
Gal. i. 17, 18) we have two accounts of the
first meeting of Peter and Paul. This inter
view was followed by other events marking
Peter's position — a general apostolical tour
of visitation to the Churches hitherto estab
lished (Acts ix. 32), in the course of which
two great miracles were wrought on Aeneas
and Tabitba, and in connexion with which
the most signal transaction after the day of
Pentecost is recorded, the baptism of Cor
nelius. That was the crown and consumma
tion of Peter's ministry. The establishment
of a Church in great part of Gentile origin at
Antioch, and the mission of Barnabas, be
tween whose family and Peter there were the
bonds of near intimacy, set the seal upon
the work thii3 inaugurated by Peter. This
transaction was soon followed by the im
prisonment of our Apostle. His miraculous
deliverance marks the close of this second
great period of his ministry. — The special work
assigned to him was completed. From that
time we have no continuous history of him.
It is quite clear that he retained bis rank as
the chief Apostle, equally so, that he neither
exercised nor claimed any right to control
their proceedings. He left Jerusalem, but it
is not said where he went. Certainly not
to Rome, where there are no traces of his
presence before the last years of his life ; he
probably remained in Judaea; six years
later we find him once more at Jerusalem,
when the Apostles and elders came together
to consider the question whether converts
should be circumcised. Peter took the lead
in that discussion, and urged with remarkable
cogency the principles settled in the case of
Cornelius. His arguments, adopted and en
forced by James, decided that question at
once and for ever. It is a disputed point

PETER, FIRST EPISTLE OF 429 PETER, SECOND EPISTLE OF

whether the meeting between Paul and
Peter, of which we have an account in the
Galatians (ii. 1-10) took place at this time,
or on St. Paul's return from his great Mis
sionary Journey. The only point of real im
portance was certainly determined before the
Apostles separated, the work of converting
the Gentiles being henceforth specially en
trusted to Paul and Barnabas, while the
charge of preaching to the circumcision was
assigned to the elder Apostles, and more
particularly to Peter (Gal. ii. 7-9). This
arrangement cannot, however, have been an
exclusive one. Paul always addressed him
self first to the Jews in every city : Peter
and his old colleagues undoubtedly admitted
and sought to make converts among the
Gentiles. It may have been in full force only
when the old and new apostles resided in the
same city. Such at least was the case at
Antioch, where Peter went soon afterwards.
From this time until the date of his Epistles,
we have no distinct notices in Scripture of
Peter's abode or work. Peter was probably
employed for the most part in building up,
and completing the organization of Christian
communities in Palestine and the adjoining
districts. There is, however, strong reason to
believe that he visited Corinth at an early
period. The name of Peter as founder, or joint
founder, is not associated with any local Church
save those of Corinth, Antioch or Rome, by early
ecclesiastical tradition. It may be considered
as a settled point that he did not visit Rome
before the last year of his life ; but there is
satisfactory evidence that he and Paul were
the founders of that Church, and suffered
death in that city. The time and manner of
the Apostle's martyrdom are less certain.
According to the early writers he suffered at,
¦or about the same time with Paul, and in
the Neronian persecution. A 11 agree that he
was crucified. — The Apostle is said to
have employed interpreters. Of far more
importance is the statement that Mark
wrote his gospel under the teaching of
Peter, or that he embodied in that gospel
the substance of our Apostle's oral instruc
tions. [Mark.] The only written docu
ments which Peter has left, are the First
Epistle, about which no doubt has ever been
entertained in the Church ; and the Second,
which has been a subject of earnest contro
versy. PETER, FIRST EPISTLE OF.— The ex
ternal evidence of authenticity is of the
strongest kind; and the internal is equally
strong. It was addressed to the Churches of
Asia Minor, which had for the most part been
founded by Paul and his companions. Sup
posing it to have been written at Babylon, it

is a probable conjecture that Sihanus, by
whom it was transmitted to those Churches,
had joined Peter after a tour of visitation,
and that his account of the condition of the
Christians in those districts determined the
Apostle to write the Epistle. The objects
of the Epistle were: — 1. To comfort and
strengthen the Christians in a season of
severe trial. 2. To enforce the practical and
spiritual duties involved in their calling. 3.
To warn them against special temptations
attached to their position. 4. To remove all
doubt as to tbe soundness and completeness
of the religious system which they had already
received. Such an attestation was especially
needed by the Hebrew Christians, who were
wont to appeal from Paul's authority to that
of the elder Apostles, and above all to that of
Peter. The last, which is perhaps the very
principal object, is kept in view throughout
the Epistle, and is distinctly stated, ch. v.
ver. 12. The harmony of such teaching with
that of Paul is sufficiently obvious ; but the
indications of originality and independence of
thought are at least equally conspicuous. He
dwells more frequently than Paul upon the
future manifestation of Christ, upon which
he bases nearly all his exhortations to pa
tience, self-control, and the discharge of all
Christian duties. The Apostle's mind is full
of one thought, the realization of Messianic
hopes. In this he is the true representative
of Israel, moved by those feelings which were
best calculated to enable him to do his work
as the Apostle of the circumcision. But while
Peter thus shows himself a genuine Israelite,
his teaching is directly opposed to Judaizing
tendencies. He belongs to the school, or to
speak more correctly, is the leader of the
school, which at once vindicates the unity of
the Law and Gospel, and pats the superiority
of the latter on its true basis, that of spiritual
development. The Apostle of the circumci
sion says not a word in this Epistle of the
perpetual obligation, the dignity or even the
bearings of the Mosaic Law. He is full of
the Old Testament ; his style and thoughts
are charged with its imagery, but he contem
plates and applies its teaching in the light of
the Gospel ; he regards the privileges and
glory of the ancient people of God entirely in
their spiritual development in the Church of
Christ. PETER, SECOND EPISTLE OF. — The
following is a brief outline of its contents : —
The customary opening salutation is followed
by an enumeration of Christian blessings and
exhortation to Christian duties (i, 1-13). Re
ferring then to his approaching death, the
Apostle assigns as grounds of assurance for
believers his own personal testimony as eye-

PHARAOH

430

PHARAOH

witness of the transfiguration, and the sure
word of prophecy, that is the testimony of
the Holy Ghost* (14-21). The danger of
being misled by false prophets is dwelt upon
with great earnestness throughout the second
chapter, which is almost identical in language
and subject with the Epistle of Jude. The
overthrow of all opponents of Christian truth
is predicted in connexion with prophecies
touching the second advent of Christ, the
destruction of the world by fire, and the pro
mise of new heavens and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness (iii.). — This Epistle of
Peter presents questions of difficulty. Wc
have few references to it in the writings of
the early Fathers ; the style differs mate
rially from that of the First Epistle ; and
the resemblance amounting to a studied imi
tation, between this Epistle and that of Jude,
seems scarcely reconcilable with the position
of Peter. Doubts as to its genuineness were
entertained by the early Church ; in the time
of Eusebius it was reckoned among the dis
puted books, and was not formally admitted
into the Canon until the year 393, at the
Council of Hippo. These difficulties however
are insufficient to justify more than hesi
tation in admitting its genuineness. Sup
posing, as some eminent critics have be
lieved, that this Epistle was copied by St.
Jude, we should have the strongest possible
testimony to its authenticity ; but if, on the
other hand, we accept the more general opi
nion of modern critics, that the writer of this
Epistle copied St. Jude, the following consi-
siderations have threat weight. It seems
quite incredible that a forger, personating
the chief among the Apostles, should select
the least important of all the Apostolical
writings for imitation ; whereas it is pro
bable that St. Peter might choose to give the
stamp of his personal authority to a document
bearing so powerfully upon practical and doc
trinal errors in the Churches which he ad
dressed. The doubts as to the genuineness
of the Epistle appear to have originated with
the critics of Alexandria, where, however,
the Epistle itself was formally recognised at
a very early period. The opinions of modern
commentators may be summed up under three
heads. Many reject the Epistle altogether
as spurious. A few consider that the first
and last chapters were written by Peter or
under his dictation, but that the second
chapter was interpolated. But a majority of
names may be quoted in support of the ge
nuineness and authenticity of this Epistle.
PHA'RAOH, the common title of the
native kings of Egypt in the Bible, corre
sponding to f-e,a or ph-ra, "the Sun," of
the hieroglyphics. As several kings are only

mentioned by the title " Pharaoh " in the
Bible, it is important to endeavour to dis
criminate them. — 1. The Pharaoh of Abra
ham. — At the time at which tho patriarch
went into Egypt, it is generally held that the
country, or at least Lower Egypt, was ruled
by the Shepherd kings, of whom the first and
most powerful line was the xvth dynasty, the
undoubted territories of which would be first -
entered by one coming from the east. The date
at which Abraham visited Egypt was about
n.c. 2081, which would accord with the time
of Salatis, the head of the xvth dynasty, ac
cording to our reckoning. — 2. The Pharaoh
of Joseph. — The chief points for the identifi
cation of the line to which this Pharaoh be
longed, are that he was a despotic monarch,
ruling all Egypt, who followed Egyptian cus
toms, but did not hesitate to set them aside
when he thought fit ; that he seems to have
desired to gain complete power over the Egyp
tians ; and that he favoured strangers. These
particulars certainly lend support to the idea
that he was one of the Shepherd kings, per
haps Apophis, who belonged to the xvth dy
nasty. He appears to have reigned from
Joseph's appointment (or, perhaps, somewhat
earlier) until Jacob's death, a period of at
least twenty-six years, from about n.c. cir.
1876 to 1850, and to have been the fifth or
sixth king of the xvth dynasty. — 3. The
Pharaoh of the Oppression. — The first perse
cutor of the Israelites may be distinguished
as the Pharaoh of the Oppression, from the
second, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, especially
as he commenced, and probably long carried
on, the persecution. The general view is
that he was an Egyptian. He has been gene
rally supposed to have been a king of the
xviiith or xixth dynasty : we believe that he
was of a line earlier than either. If a Shep
herd, he must have been of the xvith or the
xviith dynasty. The reign of this king pro
bably commenced a little before the birth of
Moses, whieh we place b.c 1732, and seems
to have lasted upwards of forty years, per
haps much more. — 4. The Pharaoh of the
Exodus. — What is known of the Pharaoh of
the Exodus is rather biographical than his
torical. He was reigning for about a year
or more before the Exodus, which we place
b.c 1652. — 5. Pharaoh, father-in-law of
Mered. — In the genealogies of the tribe of
Judah, mention is made of the daughter of a
Pharaoh, married to an Israelite ; " Bithiah
the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took "
(1 Chr. iv. 18). This marriage may tend to
aid us in determining the age of the sojourn
in Egypt. It is perhaps less probable that
an Egyptian Pharaoh would have given his
daughter in marriage to an Israelite, than

PHARAOH

431

PHAREZ

that a Shepherd king would have done so,
before the oppression. — 6. Pharaoh, brotlier-
in-law of Hadad the Edomite. — This king
gave Hadad as his wife the sister of his own
wife Tahpenes (1 K. xi. 18-20). He was
probably a Tanite of the xxist dynasty. —
7. Pharaoh, father-in-law of Solomon. — The
mention that the queen was brought into the
city of David, while Solomon's house, and
the Temple, and tbe city-wall, were building,
shows that the marriage took place not later
than the eleventh year of the king, when the
Temple was finished, having been commenced
in the fourth year (1 K. vi. 1, 37, 38). He
was probably also a Tanite of the xxist dy
nasty, but it seems certain not the Pharaoh
who was reigning when Hadad left Egypt.
This Pharaoh led an expedition into Palestine
(1 K. ix. 16). — 8. Pharaoh, the opponent of
Sennacherib. — This Pharaoh (Is. xxxvi. 6)
can only be the Sethos whom Herodotus men
tions as the opponent of Sennacherib, and
who may reasonably be supposed to be the
Zet of Manetho, the last king of his xxiiird
dynasty., Tirhakah, as an Ethiopian, whe
ther then ruling in Egypt or not, is, like So,
apparently not called Pharaoh.— 9. Pharaoh
Neeho. — The first mention in the Bible of a
proper name with the title Pharaoh is in the
case of Pharaoh Neeho, who is also called
Neeho simply. This king was of the Saite
xxvith dynasty, of which Manetho makes
him either the fifth ruler or the sixth. He
rodotus calls him Nekos, and assigns to him
a reign of 16 years, which is confirmed by
the monuments. He seems to have been an
ente: prising king, as he is related to have
attempted to complete the canal connecting
the Red Sea with tbe Nile, and to have sent
an expedition of Phoenicians to circumnavi
gate Africa, which was successfully accom
plished. At the commencement of his reign
(b.c. 610) he made war against the king of
Assyria, and, being encountered on his way
by Josiah, defeated and slew the king of
Judah at Megiddo (2 K. xxiii. 29, 30 ; 2
Chr. xxxv. 20-24). Neeho seems to have
soon returned to Egypt ; perhaps he was on
his way thither when he deposed Jehoahaz.
The army was probably posted at Carche
mish, and was there defeated by Nebuchad
nezzar in the fourth year of Neeho (b.c. 607),
that king not being, as it seems, then at its
head (Jer. xlvi. 1, 2, 6, 10). This battle led
to the loss of all the Asiatic dominions of
Egypt (2 K. xxiv. 7). — 10. Pharaoh Hophra.
— The next king of Egypt mentioned in the
Bible is Pharaoh Hophra, the second suc
cessor of Neeho, from whom he was separated
by the six years' reign of Psammetichus II.
He came to the throne about b.c. 589, and

ruled 19 years. Herodotus, who calls him
Apries, makes him son of Psammetichus II. ,
whom he calls Psammis, and great-grandson
of Psammetichus I. In the Bible it is related
that Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, was
aided by a Pharaoh against Nebuchadnezzar,
in fulfilment of a treaty, and that an army
came out of Egypt, so that the Chaldeans
were obliged to raise the siege of Jerusalem.
The city was first besieged in the ninth year
of Zedekiah, b.c 590, and was captured in
his eleventh year, b.c 588. It was evi
dently continuously invested for a length of
time before it was taken, so that it is most
probable that Pharaoh's expedition took place
during 590 or 589. There may, therefore,
be some doubt whether Psammetichus II. he
not the king here spoken of; but it must be
remembered that the siege may be supposed
to have lasted some time before the Egyptians
could have heard of it and marched to relieve
the city, and also that Hophra may have
come to the throne as early as b.c. 590. The
Egyptian army returned without effecting its
purpose (Jer. xxvii. 5-8; Ez. xvii. 11-18;
comp. 2 K. xxv. 1-4). — No subsequent Pha
raoh is mentioned in Scripture, but there are
predictions doubtless referring to the mis
fortunes of later princes until the second
Persian conquest, when the prophecy " there
shall be no more a prince of the land of
Egypt" (Ex. xxx. 13) was fulfilled.
PHARAOH'S DA UGHTER. Three Egyp
tian princesses, daughters of Pharaohs, are
mentioned in the Bible. — 1. The preserver of
Moses, daughter of the Pharaoh who first
oppressed the Israelites (Ex. ii. 5-10). —
2. Bithiah, wife of Mered an Israelite,
daughter of a Pharaoh of an uncertain age,
probably of about the time of the Exodus
(1 Chr. iv. 18). [Pharaoh, No. 5.] — 3. A
wife of Solomon, most probably daughter of a
king of the xxist dynasty (1 K. iii. 1, vii. 8,
ix, 24). [Pharaoh, 7.]
PHA'REZ (Perez, 1 Chr. xxvii. 3 ; Phares,
Matt. i. 3 ; Luke iii. 33 ; 1 Esd. v. 5), twin
son, with Zarah or Zerah, of Judah and
Tamar his daughter-in-law. The circum
stances of his birth are detailed in Gen.
xxxviii. Pharez seems to have kept the
right of primogeniture over his brother, as,
in the genealogical lists, his name comes
first. The house also which he founded was
far more numerous and illustrious than that
of the Zarhites. Its remarkable fertility is
alluded to in Ruth iv. 12, " Let thy house be *
like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare
unto Judah." After the death of Er and
Onan without children, Pharez occupied the
rank of Judah's second son, and from two of
his sons sprang two new chief houses, those

PHARISEES

432

PHARISEES

of the Hezronites and Hamulites. From
Hezron's second son Ram, or Aram, sprang
David and the kings of Judah, and eventually
Jesus Christ. In the reign of David the
house of Pharez seems to have been emi
nently distinguished.
PHARISEES, a religious party or school
amongst the Jews at the time of Christ, so
called from Perishin, the Aramaic form of
the Hebrew word Perushim, " separated."
The name does not occur either in the Old
Testament or in the Apocrypha ; but it is
usually considered that the Pharisees were
essentially the same with the Assideans
(i. e. chasidhn = godly men, saints) men
tioned in the 1st Book of Maccabees ii. 42,
vii. 13-17, and in the 2nd Book xiv. 6. A
knowledge of the opinions and practices of
this party at the time of Christ is of great im
portance for entering deeply into the genius
of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal
of the Gospels is sufficient to show that
Christ's teaching was in some respects tho
roughly antagonistic to theirs. He denounced
the.n in the bitterest language. (See Matt.
xv. 7, 8, xxiii. 5, 13, 14, 15, 23 ; Mark vii. 6 ;
Luke xi. 42-44, and compare Matt. vii. 1-5,
xi. 29, xii. 19, 20; Luke vi. 28, 37-42.)
Indeed, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion
that His repeated denunciations of the Phari
sees mainly exasperated them into taking
measures for causing his death ; so that in
one sense He may be said to have shed His
blood, and to have laid down His life, in pro
testing against their practice and spirit. (See
especially Luke xi. 53, 54.) Hence, to under
stand the Pharisees is, by contrast, an aid
towards understanding the spirit of uncor-
rupted Christianity. I. The doctrines of tho
Pharisees are contained in the Mishna, which
is the first portion of the Talmud. [Talmud.]
The Pharisees formed a kind of society. A
member was called a chdber, and those among
the middle and lower classes who were not
members were called " the people of the land,"
or the vulgar. Each member undertook, in
the presence of three other members, that he
would remain true to the laws of the associa
tion. Perhaps some of the most characteristic
laws of the Pharisees related to what was
clean and unelean. According to the Levitical
law, every unclean person was cut off from
all religious privileges, and was regarded as
defiling the sanctuary of Jehovah (Num.
xix. 20). On principles precisely similar to
those of the Levitical laws (Lev. xx. 25,
xxii. 4-7), it was possible to incur these
awful religious penalties either by eating or
by touching what was unclean in the Phari
saical sense. One point alone raised an in
superable barrier between the free social

intercourse of Jews and other nations. This
point is, " that any thing slaughtered by a
heathen should be deemed unfit to be eaten,
like the carcase of an animal that had died of
itself, and like such carcase should pollute
the person who carried it." On the reason
able assumption that under such circum
stances animals used for food would be killed
by Jewish slaughterers, regulations the most
minute are laid down for their guidance. In
reference, likewise, to touching what is un
clean, the Mishna abounds with prohibitiona
and distinctions no less minute. To any one
fresh from the perusal of the regulations upon
this subject in the Mishna the words, " Touch
not, taste not, handle not," seem a correct
but almost a pale summary of their drift
and purpose (Col. ii. 21) ; and the stern
antagonism becomes vividly visible between
them and Him who proclaimed boldly that a
man was defiled not by anything he ate, but
by the bad thoughts of the heart alone (Matt.
xv. 11) ; and who, even when the guest of a
Pharisee, pointedly abstained from washing
his hands before a meal, in order to rebuke
the superstition which attached a moral
value to such a ceremonial act (see Luke xi.
37-40). It is proper to add that it would be
a great mistake to suppose that the Pharisees
were wealthy and luxurious, much more
that they had degenerated into the vices
which were imputed to some of the Roman
popes and cardinals during the 200 years
preceding the Reformation. Josephus com
pared the Pharisees to the sect of the Stoics.
He says that they lived frugally, in no respect
giving in to luxury, but that they followed
the leadership of reason in what it had selected
and transmitted as a good. Although there
would be hypocrites among them, it would
be unreasonable to charge all the Pharisees
as a body with hypocrisy, in the sense wherein
we at the present day use the word. They
must be regarded as having been some of the
most intense formalists whom the world has
ever seen. It was alleged against them, on
the highest spiritual authority, that they
" made the word of God of no effect by their
traditions." This would be true in the
largest sense, from the purest form of religion
in the Old Testament being almost incom
patible with such endless forms (Mic. vi. 8) ;
but it was true in another sense, from some
of the traditions being decidedly at variance
with genuine religion. II. One of the funda
mental doctrines of the Pharisees was a belief
in a future state. They appear to have be
lieved in a resurrection of the dead, very
much in the same sense as the early Chris
tians. This is in accordance with St. Paul's
statement to the chief priests and council

PHARPAR

433 PHILEMON, EPISTLE OF PAUL TO

(Acts xxiii. 6), that he was a Pharisee, the
son of a Pharisee, and that he was called in
question for the hope and resurrection of the
dead ; and it is likewise almost implied in
Christ's teaching, which does not insist on
the doctrine of a future life as anything
new, but assumes it as already adopted by
his hearers, except by the Sadducees, although
he condemns some unspiritual conceptions of
its nature as erroneous (Matt. xxii. 30 ;
Mark xii. 25; Luke xx. 34-36). III. In
reference to the spirit of proselytism among
the Pharisees, there is indisputable authority
for the statement that it prevailed to a very
great extent at the time of Christ (Matt.
xxiii. 15) ; and attention is now called to it
on account of its probable importance in
having paved the way for the early diffusion
of Christianity. Jews at the time of Christ
had become scattered over the fairest portions
of the civilized world. On the day of Pente
cost, Jews are said to have been assembled
with one accord in one place at Jerusalem,
"from every region under heaven." More
over, the then existing regulations or customs
of synagogues afforded facilities which do not
exist now either in synagogues or Christian
churches for presenting new views to a con
gregation (Acts xvii. 2 ; Lukeiv. 16). Under
such auspices the proselytizing spirit of the
Pharisees inevitably stimulated a -thirst for
inquiry, and accustomed the Jews to theo
logical controversies. Thus there existed
precedents and favouring circumstances for
efforts to make proselytes, when the greatest
of all missionaries, a Jew by race, a Pharisee
by education, a Greek by language, and a
Roman citizen by birth, preaching the resur
rection of Jesus to those who for the most
part already believed in the resurrection of
the dead, confronted the elaborate ritual-
system of the written and oral law by a pure
spiritual religion : and thus obtained the co
operation of many Jews themselves in breaking
down every barrier between Jew, Pharisee,
Greek, and Roman, and in endeavouring to
unite all mankind by the brotherhood of a
common Christianity.
PHAR'PAR, the second of the " two
livers of Damascus " — Ahana and Pharpaf
—alluded to by Naaman (2 K. v. 12). The
two principal streams in the district of
Damascus are the Barada and the Awaj:
the former being the Abana, and the latter
the Pharpar. The Awaj rises on the S.E.
slopes of Hermon, and flows into the most
southerly of the three lakes or swamps of
Damascus. PHASE'LIS, a town on the coast of Asia
Minor, on the confines of Lycia and Pam
phylia, and consequently ascribed by the
Sk. D. B.

ancient writers sometimes to one and some
times to the other (1 Mace. xv. 23).
PHE'BE. [Phoebe.]
PHENI'CE. 1. See Phoenice, Phoe
nicia. — 3. (Acts xxvii. 12), more properly
Phoenix, the name of a haven in Crete on
the south coast. The name was doubtless de
rived from the Greek word for the palm-tree,
which Theophrastus says was indigenous in
the island. It is the modern Lutro.
PHI'CHOL, chief captain of the army of
Ahimelech, king of the Philistines of Gerar in
the days of both Abraham (Gen. xxi. 22, 32)
and Isaac (xxvi. 26).
PHILADELPHIA, a town on the confines
of Lydia and Phrygia Catacecaumene, built
by Attalus II., king of Pergamus. It was
situated on the lower slopes of Tmolus, and
is still represented by a town called Allah-
shehr (city of God). Its elevation is 952 feet
above the sea. The original population of
Philadelphia seems to have been Macedonian ;
but there was, as appears from Rev. iii. 9, a
synagogue of Hellenizing Jews there, as well
as a Christian Church. The locality was
subject to constant earthquakes, which in the
time of Strabo rendered even the town-walls
of Philadelphia unsafe. The expense of re
paration was constant, and hence perhaps the
poverty of the members of the Christian
Church (Rev. iii. 8).
PHILE'MON, the name of the Christian to
whom Paul addressed his Epistle in behalf of
Onesirnus. He was a native probably of
Colossae, or at all events lived in that city
when the Apostle wrote to him ; first, be
cause Onesirnus was a Colossian (Col. iv. 9) ;
and, secondly, because Archippus was a
Colossian (Col. iv. 17), whom Paul associates
with Philemon at the beginning of his letter
(Philem. i. 2). It is related that Philemon
became bishop of Colossae, and died as a
martyr under Nero. He was indebted to
the Apostle Paul as the medium of his per
sonal participation in the Gospel. It is not
certain under what circumstances they be
came known to each other.
PHILE'MON, THE EPISTLE OF PAUL
TO, is one of the letters which the Apostle
wrote during his first captivity at Rome.
The time when Paul wrote may be fixed with
much precision. The Apostle at the close of
the letter expresses a hope of his speedy
liberation. Presuming, therefore, that he
had good reasons for such an expectation, we
may conclude that this letter was written by
him about the year a.d. 63, or early in a.d.
64. Our knowledge respecting the occasion
and object of the letter we must derive from
declarations or inferences furnished by the
letter itself. Paul, so intimately connected
2 F

PHILETUS

434

PHILIP THE EVANGELIST

with the master and the servant, was anxious
naturally to effect a reconciliation between
them. Paul used his influence with One
sirnus (in ver. 12) to induce him to return to
Colossae, and place himself again at the dis
posal of his master. On his departure, Paul
put into his hand this letter as evidence that
Onesirnus was a true and approved disciple
of Christ, and entitled as such to be received
not as a servant, but above a servant, as a
brother in the faith. He intercedes for him
as his own child, promises reparation if he
had done any wrong, demands for him not
only a remission of all penalties, but the
reception of sympathy, affection, Christian
brotherhood. The result of the appeal can
not be doubted. It may be assumed from the
character of Philemon that the Apostle's inter
cession for Onesirnus was not unavailing.
PHILE'TUS was possibly a disciple of
Hymenaeus, with whom he is associated in
2 Tim. ii. 17, and who is named without
him in an earlier Epistle (1 Tim. i. 20).
They appear to have been persons who be
lieved tbe Scriptures of the O. T., but mis
interpreted them, allegorising away the
doctrine of the Resurrection, and resolving
it all into figure and metaphor. The deliver
ing over unto Satan seems to have been a
form of excommunication declaring the per
son reduced to the stute of a heathen; and
in the Apostolical age it was accompanied
with supernatural or miraculous effects upon
the bodies of the persons so delivered.
PHILIP THE APOSTLE, was of Beth
saida, the city of Andrew and Peter (John i.
44), and apparently was among the Galilaean
peasants of that district who flocked to hear
the preaching of the Baptist. The manner
in which St. John speaks of him, the repeti
tion by him of the selfsame words with which
Andrew had brought to Peter the good news
that the Christ had at last appeared, all indi
cate a previous friendship with the sons of
Jona and of Zebedee, and a consequent parti
cipation in their Messianic hopes. The close
union of the two in John vi. and xii. suggests
that he may have owed to Andrew the first
tidings that the hope had been fulfilled. The
statement that Jesus found him (John i. 43)
implies a previous seeking. To him first in
the whole circle of the disciples were spoken
the words so full of meaning, "Follow me"
(Ibid.). As soon as he has learnt to know
his Master, he is eager to communicate his
discovery to another who had also shared the
same expectations. He speaks to Nathanael,
probably on his arrival in Cana (comp. John
xxi. 2), as though they had not seldom com
muned together, of the intimations of a better
time, of a divine kingdom, which they found

in their sacred books. In the lists of the
twelve Apostles, in the Synoptic Gospels, his
name is as uniformly at the head of the
second group of four, us the name of Peter is
at that of the first (Matt. x. 3 ; Mark iii. 18 ;
Luke vi. 14) ; and the facts recorded by St.
John give the reason of this priority. Philip
apparently was among the first company of
disciples who were with the Lord at the
commencement of His ministry, at the mar
riage of Cana, on His first appearance as a
prophet in Jerusalem (John ii.). When John
wns cast into prison, and the work of declar
ing the glad tidings of the kingdom required
a new company of preachers, we may beiieve
that ho, like his companions and friends,
received a new call to a more constant
discipleship (Matt. iv. 18-22). When the
Twelve wore specially set apart for their
office, he w;is numbered among them. The
first three Gospels tell ua nothing more of
him individually. St. John, with his cha
racteristic fulness of personal reminiscences,
records a lew significant utterances (John vi.
5-9, xii. 20-22, xiv. 8). No other fact con
nected with the name of Philip is recorded in
the Gospels. He is among the company of
disciples at Jerusalem after the Ascension
(Acts i. 13), and on the day of Pentecost.
After this all is uncertain and apocryphal.
PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, is first
mentioned in the account of the dispute be
tween the Hebrew and Hellenistic disciples
in Acts vi. He is one of the Seven appointed
to superintend the daily distribution of food
and alms, and so to remove all suspicion of
partiality. Whether the office to which he
was thus appointed gave him the position
and the title of a Deacon of the Church, or
was special and extraordinary in its cha
racter, must remain uncertain. ' The after-
history of Philip warrants the belief, in any
case, that his office was -not simply that of
the later Diaconate. The persecution of
which Saul was the leader must have stopped
the " daily ministrations " of the Church.
The teachers who had been most prominent
were compelled to take to flight, and Philip
was among them. It is noticeable that the
city of Samaria is the first scene of his
activity (Acts viii.). He is the precursor of
St. Paul in his work, as Stephen had been in
his teaching. It falls to bis lot, rather than
to that of an Apostle, to take that first step
in the victory over Jewish prejudice and the
expansion of the Church, according to its
Lord's command. The scene which brings
Philip and Simon the Sorcerer into contact
with each other, in which the magician has
to acknowledge a power over nature greater
than his own, is interesting, rather as be-

PHILIP HEROD

435 PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO THE

longing to the life of the heresiarch than to
that of the Evangelist. This step is followed
by another. He is directed by an angel of
the Lord to take the road that led down from
Jerusalem to Gaza on the way to Egypt.
Here he met the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts vi.
26, foil.). The history that follows is in
teresting as one of the few records in the
N. T. of the process of individual conversion.
A brief sentence tells us that Philip con
tinued his work as a preacher at Azotus
(Ashdod) and among the other cities that
had formerly belonged to the Philistines,
and, following the coast - line, came to
Caesarea. Then for a long period, not less
than eighteen or nineteen years, we lose
sight of him. The last glimpse of him in
the N. T. is in the account of St. Paul's
journey to Jerusalem. It is to his house, as
to one well known to them, that St. Paul and
his companions turn for shelter. He has
four daughters, who possess the gift of pro
phetic utterance, and who apparently give
themselves to the work of teaching instead of
entering on the life of home (Acts xxi. 8, 9).
He is visited by the prophets and elders of
Jerusalem. One tradition places the scene
of his death at Hierapolis in Phrygia. Ac
cording to another, he died Bishop of Tralles.
PHILIP HEROD I., II. [Herod.]
PHILIP 'PI, a city of Macedonia, about.
nine miles from the sea, to the N.W. of the
island of Thasos, whieh is twelve miles
distant from its port Neapolis, the modern
Kavalla. It is situated in a plain between
the ranges of Pangaeus and Haemus. St.
Paul, when, on his first visit to Macedonia
in company with Silas, he embarked at Troas,
made a straight run to Samothrace, and the
next day to Neapolis, and from thence to
Philippi (Acts xvi. 11, 12). The Philippi
which St. Paul visited was a Roman colony
founded by Augustus, and the remains which
strew the ground near the modern Turkish
village Bereketli, are no doubt derived from
that city. The original town, built by Philip
of Macedonia, was probably not exactly on
the same site. Philip, when he acquired
possession of the site, found there a town
named Datus or Datum, which was in all
probability in its origin a factory of the
Phoenicians, who were tbe first that worked
the gold-mines in the mountains here, as in
the neighbouring Thasos. The proximity of
the gold-mines was of course the origin of so
large a city as Philippi, hut the plain in
which it lies is of extraordinary fertility.
The position too was on the main road from
Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which from
Thessalonica to Constantinople followed the
6ame course as the existing post-road. On

St. Paul's visits to Philippi, see the following
article. PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, was
written by St. Paul from Rome in a.d. 62 or
63. — St. Paul's connexion with Philippi wa*-
of a peculiar character, which gave rise to
the writing of this Epistle. St. Paul entered
its walls, a.d. 52 (Acts xvi. 12). There, at
a greater distance from Jerusalem than any
Apostle had yet penetrated, the long-restrained
energy of St. Paul was again employed in
laying the foundation of a Christian Church .
Philippi was endeared to St. Paul, not only
by the hospitality of Lydia, the deep sjrm-
pathy of the converts, and the remarkable
miracle which set a seal on his preaching,
but also by the successful exercise of his
missionary activity after a long suspense,
and by the happy consequences of his un
daunted endurance of ignominies, which re
mained in his memory (Phil. i. 30) after the
long interval of eleven years. Leaving
Timothy and Luke to watch over the infant
Church, Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica
(1 Thess. ii. 2), whither they were followed
by the alms of the Philippians (Phil. iv. 16),
and thence southwards. After the lapse of
five years, spent chiefly at Corinth and
Ephesus, St. Paul passed through Macedonia,
a.d. 57, on his way to Greece, and probably
visited Philippi for the second time, and was
there joined by Timothy. He wrote at
Philippi his second Epistle to the Corinthians.
On returning from Greece (Acts xx. 4), he
again found a refuge among his faithful
Philippians where he spent some days at
Easter, a.d. 58, with St. Luke, who accom
panied him when he sailed from Neapolis.
Once more, in his Roman captivity (a.d. 62)
their care of him revived again. They sent
Epaphroditus, bearing their alms for the
Apostle's support, and ready also to tender
his personal service (Phil. ii. 25). St. Paul's
aim in writing is plainly this: while acknow
ledging the alms of the Philippians and the
personal services of their messenger, to give
them some information respecting his own
condition, and some advice respecting theirs.
After the inscription (i. 1-2) in which Timothy
as the second father of the Church is joined
with Paul, he sets forth his own condition
(i. 3-26), his prayers, care,' and wishes for
his Philippians, with the troubles and un
certainty of his imprisonment, and his hope
of eventually seeing them again. Then (i.
27-ii. 18) he exhorts them to those particular
virtues which he would rejoice to see them
practising at the present time. He hopes
soon to hear a good report of them (ii. 19-30),
either by sending Timothy, or by going him
self to them, as he now sends Epaphroditus
2 F 2

PHILISTIA

436

PHILISTINES

whose diligent service is highly commended.
Reverting (iii. 1-21) to the tone of joy which
runs through the preceding descriptions and
exhortations — as in i. 4, 18, 25, ii. 2, 16, 17,
18, 28— he bids them take heed that their
joy be in the Lord, and warns them against
admitting itinerant Judaising teachers, the
tendency of whose doctrine was towards a
vain confidence in more earthly things ; in
contrast to this, he exhorts them to follow
him in placing their trust humbly but entirely
in Christ, and in pressing forward in their
Christian course, with the Resurrection-day
constantly before their minds. Again (iv.
1-9), adverting to their position in the midst
of unbelievers, he beseeches them, even with
personal appeals, to be firm, united, joyful in
the Lord ; to be full of prayer and peace,
and to lead such a life as must approve itself
to the moral sense of all men. Lastly (iv.
10-23), he thanks them for the contribution
sent by Epaphroditus for his support, and
concludes with salutations and a benediction.
PHILIS'TIA (Heb. Pelesheth). Tho word
thus translated (in Ps. Ix. 8, lxxxvii. 4,
cviii. 9) is in the original identical with that
elsewhere rendered Palestink.
PHIL'ISTINES. The origin of the Philis
tines is nowhere expressly stated in the
¦ Bible ; but as the prophets describe them as
" the Philistines from Caphtor " (Am. ix. 7),
and " the remnant of the maritime district
of Caphtor" (Jer. xlvii. 4), it is prima facie
probable that they were the " Caphtorims
which came out of Caphtor " who expelled
the Avim from their territory and occupied
it in their place (Deut. ii. 23), and that these
again were the Caphtorim mentioned in the
Mosaic genealogical table among the descend
ants of Mizraim (Gen. x. 14). But in esta
blishing this conclusion a difficulty arises out
of the language of the Philistines ; for while
the Caphtorim were Hamitic, the Philistine
language is held to have been Semitic. This
difficulty however may be met by assuming
either that the Caphtorim adopted the lan
guage of the conquered Avim, or that they
diverged from the Hamitic stock at a period
when the distinctive features of Hamitism
and Semitism were yet in embryo. It has
been generally assumed that Caphtor repre
sents Crete, and that the Philistines migrated
from that island, either directly or through
Egypt, into Palestine. But the name Caphtor
is more probably identified with the Egyptian
Coptos. [Caphtoe.] The Cretan origin of
the Philistines has been deduced, not so
much from the name Caphtor, as from that
of the Cherethites. This name in its Hebrew
form bears a close resemblance to Crete, and
is rendered Cretans in the LXX. But the

mere coincidence of the names cannot pass
for much without some ' corroborative testi
mony. Without therefore asserting that
migrations may not have taken place from
Crete to Philistia, we hold that the cvidenco
adduced to prove that they did is insufficient.
— The Philistines must have settled in the
land of Canaan before the time of Abraham :
for they are noticed in his day as a pastoral
tribe in the neighbourhood of Gerar (Gen.
xxi. 32, 34, xxvi. 1, 8). Between the times
of Abraham and Joshua, tbe Philistines had
changed their quarters, and had advanced
northwards into the plain of Philistia. This
plain has been in all ages remarkable for the
extreme richness of its soil. It was also
adapted to the growth of military power ;
for while the plain itself permitted the use of.
war-chariots, which were the chief arm of
offence, tho occasional elevations which rise
out of it offered secure sites for towns and
strongholds. It was, moreover, a commercial
country ; from its position it must have been
at all times the great thoroughfare between
Phoenicia and Syria in the north, and Egypt
and Arabia in the south. They had at au
early period attained proficiency in the arts
of peace. Their wealth was abundant (Judg.
xvi. 5, 18), and they appear in all respects
to have been a prosperous people. Possessed
of such elements of power, the Philistines
had attained in the time of the Judges an
important position among eastern nations.
About n.c. 1209 we find them engaged in
successful war with the Sidonians (Justin,
xviii. 3). The territory of the Philistines,
having been once occupied by the Canaanites,
formed a portion of the promised land, and
was assigned to the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv.
2, 12, 45-47). No portion, however, of it
was conquered in the lifetime of Joshua
(Josh. xiii. 2), and even after his death no
permanent conquest was effected (Judg. iii.
3), though we are informed that the three
cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron were
taken (Judg. i. 18). The Philistines soon
recovered these, and commenced an aggressive
policy against the Israelites, by which they
gained a complete ascendancy over them.
Individual heroes were raised up from time
to time, such as Shamgar the son of Anath
(Judg. iii. 31), and still more Samson (Judg.
xiii.-xvi.) ; but neither of these men suc
ceeded in permanently throwing off the yoke.
Under Eli there was an organised but un
successful resistance to the encroachments
of the Philistines, who were met at Aphek
(1 Sam. iv. 1). The production of the ark
on this occasion demonstrates the greatness
of the emergency, and its loss marked the
lowest depth of Israel's degradation. The

PHILISTINES

437

PHILISTINES

next action took place under Samuel's leader
ship, and the tide of success turned in Israel's
favour. The Israelites now attributed their
past weakness to their want of unity, and
they desired a king, with the special object
of leading them against the foe (I Sam.
viii. 20). Saul threw off the yoke; and the
Philistines were defeated with great slaughter
at Geba (1 Sam. xiii. xiv.). They made no
attempt to regain their supremacy for about
25 years, and the scene of the next contest
shows the altered strength of the two parties :
it was no longer in the central country, but
in a ravine leading down to the Philistine
plain, the valley of Elah, the position of
which is about 14 miles S.W. of Jerusalem :•
on this occasion the prowess of young David
secured success to Israel, and the foe was
pursued to the gates of Gath and Ekron
(1 Sam. xvii.). The power of the Philistines
was, however, still intact on their own terri
tory. The border warfare was continued.
The scene of the next conflict was far to the
north, in the valley of Esdraelon. The battle
on tbis occasion proved disastrous to the
Israelites : Saul himself perished, and the
Philistines penetrated across the Jordan, and
occupied the forsaken cities (1 Sam. xxxi.
1-7). On the appointment of David to be
king, he twice attacked them, and on each
occasion with signal success, in the first case
capturing their images, in the second pur
suing them "from Geba until thou come to
Gazer" (2 Sam. v. 17-25 ; 1 Chr. xiv. 8-16).
Henceforth the Israelites appear as the
aggressors : about seven years after the
defeat at Rephaim, David, who had now
consolidated his power, attacked them on
their own soil, and took Gath with its de
pendencies (1 Chr. xviii. 1), and thus (ac
cording to one interpretation of the obscure
expression " Metheg-ammah " in 2 Sam.
viii. 1) "he took the arm-bridle out of the
hand of the Philistines," meaning that their
ascendancy was utterly broken. The whole
of Philistia was included in Solomon's empire.
The division of the empire at Solomon's
death was favourable to the Philistine cause :
Rehoboam secured himself against them by
fortifying Gath and other cities bordering on
the plain (2 Chr. xi. 8) : the Israelite mon
archs were either not so prudent or not so
powerful, for they allowed the Philistines to
get hold of Gibbethon (1 K. xv. 27, xvi. 15).
Judah meanwhile had lost the tribute (2 Chr.
xvii. H). The increasing weakness of the
Jewish monarchy under the attacks of Hazael
led to the recovery of Gath, which was after
wards dismantled and probably destroyed by
Uzziah (2 Chr. xxvi. 6 ; 2 K. xii. 17). We
have reason to suppose that the Philistines

were kept in subjection until the time of
Ahaz (2 Chr. xxviii. 18). A few years later
the Philistines, in conjunction with the
Syrians and Assyrians, and perhaps as the
subject-allies of the latter, carried on a series
of attacks on the kingdom of Israel (Is. ix.
11, 12). Hezekiah formed an alliance with
the Egyptians, as a counterpoise to the As
syrians, and the possession of Philistia be
came henceforth the turning-point of the
struggle between the two great empires of
the East. The Assyrians under Tartan, the
general of Sargon, made an expedition against
Egypt, and took Ashdod, as the key of that
country (Is. xx. 1, 4, 5). Under Senna
cherib Philistia was again the scene of im
portant operations. The Assyrian supre
macy was restored by Esar-haddon, and it
seems probable that the Assyrians retained
their hold on Ashdod until its capture, after
a long siege, by Psammetichus. It was
about this time that Philistia was traversed
by a vast Scythian horde on their way to
Egypt. The Egyptian ascendancy was not
as yet re-established, for we find the next
king, Neco, compelled to besiege Gaza on
his return from the battle of Megiddo. After
the death of Neco, the contest was renewed
between the Egyptians and the Chaldaeans
under Nebuchadnezzar, and the result was
specially disastrous to the Philistines, The
" old hatred " that the Philistines bore to
the Jews was exhibited in acts of hostility at
the time of the Babylonish captivity (Ez.
xxv. 15-17) : but on the return this was
somewhat abated, for some of the Jews
married Philistine women, to the great
scandal of their rulers (Neh. xiii. 23, 24).
From this time the history of Philistia is
absorbed in the struggles of the neighbouring
kingdoms. The latest notices of the Philis
tines as a nation, occur in 1 Mace, iii.-v.
With regard to the institutions of the Philis
tines our information is very scanty. The
five chief cities bad, as early as the days of
Joshua, constituted themselves into a con
federacy, restricted, however, in all pro
bability, to matters of offence and defence.
Each was under the government of a prince
(Josh. xiii. 3 ; Judg. iii. 3, &c. ; 1 Sam.
xviii. 30, xxix. 6), and each possessed its
own territory. The Philistines appear to
have been deeply imbued with superstition :
they carried their idols with them on their
campaigns (2 Sam. v. 21), and proclaimed
their victories in their presence (1 Sam.
xxxi. 9). The gods whom they chiefly wor
shipped were Dagon (Judg. xvi. 23 ; I Sam.
v. 3-5 ; 1 Chr. *. 10 ; 1 Mace. x. 83) ; Ash-
taroth (1 Sam. xxxi. 10 ; Herod, i. 105) ;
and Baal-zebub (2 K. i. 2-6).

PHILOLOGUS

438

PHOENICE

PHILOL'OGUS, a Christian at Rome to
whom St. Paul sends his salutation (Rom.
xvi. 15).
PHIN'EHAS, son of Eleazar and grandson
of Aaron (Ex. vi. 25). He is memorable for
having while quite a youth, by his zeal and
energy at the critical moment of the licen
tious idolatry of Shittim, appeased the divine
wrath and put a stop to the plague which
was destroying the nation (Num. xxv. 7).
For this he was rewarded by the special
approbation of Jehovah, and by a promise
that the priesthood should remain in his
family for ever (10-13). He was appointed
to accompany as priest the expedition by
which the Midianites were destroyed (xxxi.
6;. Many years later he also headed the
party who were despatched from Shiloh to
remonstrate against the Altar which the
trans-Jordanic tribes were reported to have
built near Jordan (Josh. xxii. 13-32). In
the partition of the country he received an
allotment of his own — a hill on Mount
Ephraim which bore his name. After Elea-
zar's death he became high priest — the 3rd
of the series. In this capacity he is intro
duced as giving the oracle to tho nation
during the whole struggle with the Bcnjamites
on the matter of Gibeah (Judg. xx. 28). The
verse which closes the Book of Joshua is
ascribed to Phinehas, as the description of
the death of Moses at the end of Deuteronomy
is to Joshua. The tomb of Phinehas, a place
¦of great resort to both Jews and Samaritans,
is shown at Awertah, four miles S.E. of
Nablus. — 2. Second son of Eli (1 Sam. i. 3,
ii. 34, iv. 4, 11, 17, 19, xiv. 3). Phinehas
was killed with his brother by the Philistines
when the ark was captured. [Eli.]
PHLEG'OX, a Christian at Rome, whom
St. Paul salutes (Rom. xvi. 14).
PHOE'BE, the first, and one of the most
important, of the Christian persons the de
tailed mention of whom fills nearly all the
last chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.
What is said of her (Rom. xvi. 1, 2} is worthy
of especial notice, because of its bearing on
the question of the deaconesses of the Apostolic
Church. PHOENI'CE, PHOENICIA, a tract of
country, of whieh Tyre and Sidon were the
principal cities, to the north of Palestine,
along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea;
bounded by that sea on the west, and by the
mountain range of Lebanon on the east. The
name was not the one by which its native
inhabitants called it, hut was given to it by
the Greeks, from the Greek word for the
palm-tree. The native name of Phoenicia
was Kenaan (Canaan) or Knd, signifying
lowland, so named in contrast to the adjoin- j

ing Aram, i. e. highland ; the Hebrew name
of Syria. The length of coast to which the
name of Phoenicia wa* applied varied at dif
ferent times, i. What may be termed Phoe
nicia Proper was a narrow undulating plain,
extending from the pass of Rds el-Beydd or
Abyad, the " Promontorium Album" of the
ancients, about six miles south of Tyre, to
the Nahr el-Auly, the ancient Bostrenus,
two miles north of Sidon. The plain is only
2S miles in length. Its average breadth is
about a mile ; but near Sidon, tLe mountains
retreat to a distance of 2 miles, and near
Tyre to a distance of 5 miles. 2. A longer
district, which afterwards became entitled to
•the name of Phoenicia, extended up the
coast to a point marked by the island of
Aradus, and by Antaradus towards the north;
the southern boundary remaining the same
as in Phoenicia Proper. Phoenicia, thus
defined, is estimated to have been about 120
miles in length ; while its breadth, between
Lebanon and the sea, never exceeded 20
miles, and was generally much less. Scarcely
16 geographical miles farther north than
Sidon was Berytus ; with a roadstead so well
suited for the purposes of modern navigation
that, under the modern name of Beirout, it
has eclipsed both Sidon and Tyre as an em
porium for Syria. Still farther north was
Byblus, the Gebal of the Bible (Ez. xxvii. 9),
inhabited by seamen and calkers. It still
retains in Arabic the kindred name of Jcbeil.
Then came Tripolis (now Tardbulus), said to
have been founded by colonists from Tyre,
Sidon, and Aradus, with three distinct towns.
And lastly, towards the extreme point north
was Aradus itself, the Arvad of Gen. x. 18,
and Ez. xxvii. 8 ; situated, like Tyre, on a
small island n*>ar the mainland, and founded
by exiles from Sidon. — The whole of Phoe
nicia Proper is well watered by various
streams from the adjoining hills. The havens
of Tyre and Sidon afforded water of sufficient
depth for all the requirements of ancient na
vigation, and the neighbouring range of the
Lebanon, in its extensive forests, furnished
what then seemed a Dearly inexhaustible
supply of timber for shipbuilding. In refer
ence to the period when the Phoenicians had
lost their independence, scarcely any two
Greek and Roman writers give precisely the
same geographical boundaries to Phoenicia.
In the Apocrypha, it is not defined, though
spoken of as being, with Coele-Syria, under
one military commander (2 Mace. iii. 5, 8,
viii. 8, x. 11 ; 3 Mace. iii. 15). In the New
Testament, the word occurs only in three
passages, Acts xi. 19, Xv. 3, xxi. 2 ; and not
one of these affords a clue as to how far the
writer deemed Phoenicia to extend.— The

PHRYGIA

439

PILATE, PONTIUS

Phoenicians spoke a branch of the Semitic
language so closely allied to Hebrew, that
Phoenician and Hebrew, though different
dialects, may practically be regarded as the
same language. In regard to Phoenician
trade, connected with the Israelites, it must
be recollected that up to the time of David,
not one of the twelve tribes seems to have
possessed a single harbour on the sea-coast ;
it was impossible therefore that they could
become a commercial people. But from the
time that David had conquered Edom, an
opening for trade was afforded to the Israel
ites. The command of Ezion-geber near
Elath, in the land of Edom, enabled them to
engage in the navigation of the Red Sea.
As they were novices, however, at sailing,
and as the Phoenicians, during the period of
the independence of Edom, were probably
allowed to trade from Ezion-geber, it was
politic in Solomon to permit the Phoenicians
of Tyre to have docks, and build ships at
Ezion-geber on condition that his sailors and
vessels might have the benefit of their expe
rience. The results seem to have been
strikingly successful. — The only other fact
respecting tbe Phoenicians that need be
mentioned here is, that the invention of
letters was universally asserted by the Greeks
and Romans to have been communicated by
the Phoenicians to the Greeks. The names
of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet are in
accordance with this belief. Moreover, as to
writing, the ancient Hebrew letters, substan
tially the same as Phoenician, agree closely
with ancient Greek letters. — For further de
tails respecting the Phoenicians, see Tyre and
Zidon. PHRYG'IA. Perhaps there is no geogra
phical term in the New Testament which is
less capable of an exact definition. In fact
there was no Roman province of Phrygia till
considerably after the first establishment of
Christianity in the peninsula of Asia Minor.
The word was rather ethnological than poli
tical, and denoted, in a vague manner, the
western part of the central region of that pe
ninsula. Accordingly, in two of the three
places where it is used, it is mentioned in a
manner not intended to be precise (Acts xvi.
6, xviii. 23). By Phrygia we must under
stand an extensive district in Asia Minor,
which contributed portions to several Roman
provinces, and varying portions at different
times. PHU'RAH, Gideon's servant, probably his
armour-bearer (comp. 1 Sam. xiv. 1), who
accompanied him in his midnight visit to the
camp of the Midianites (Judg. vii. 10, 11).
PHU'RIM, Esth. xi. 1. [Pueim.]
PHUT, FUT, the third name in the list of

the sons of Ham (Gen. x. 6 ; 1 Chr. i. 8),
elsewhere applied to an African country or
people. The few mentions of Phut in the
Bible clearly indicate a country or people of
Africa, and, it must be added, probably not
far from Egypt (Is. lxvi. 19; Nah. iii. 9;
Jer. xlvi. 9 ; Ez. xxvii. 10, xxx, 5, xxxviii.
5). From these passages we cannot infer
anything as to the exact position of this
country or people ; unless indeed in Nahum,
Cush and Phut, Mizraim and Lubim, are
respectively connected, which might indicate
a position south of Egypt.
PHYGEL'LUS. [Hermogenes.]
PHYLACTERY. [Frontlets.]
PI-BES'ETH, a town of Lower Egypt,
mentioned in Ez. xxx. 17, the same as Eu-
bastis, which was situate on the west bank of
the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about 40
miles from Memphis.
PIECE OF SILVER. In the N. T. two
words are rendered by the phrase " piece of
silver " : — 1. Drachma (Luke xv. 8, 9), which
was a Greek silver coin, equivalent, at the
time of St. Luke, to the Roman denarius. —
2. Silver only occurs in the account of the
betrayal of our Lord for "thirty pieces of
silver" (Matt. xxvi. 15, xxvii. 3, 5, 6, 9).
It is difficult to ascertain what coins are here
inttnded. If the most common silver pieces
he meant, they would be denarii. The pa
rallel passage in Zechariah (xi. 12, 13) must,
however, be taken into consideration, where
shekels must he understood. It is more pro
bable that the thirty pieces of silver were
tetradrachms than that they were denarii.
PIGEON. [Turtle-Dove.]
PI-HAHI'ROTH, a place before or at which
the Israelites encamped, at the close of the
third march from Rameses, when they went
out of Egypt (Ex. xiv. 2, 9 ; Num. xxiii. 7,
8). It is an Egyptian word, signifying " the
place where sedge grows."
PI'LATE, PON'TIUS. The name indicates
that he was connected, by descent or adoption,
with the gens of the Fontii, first conspicuous
in Roman history in the person of C. Pontius
Telesinus, the great Samnite general. He
was the sixth Roman procurator of Judaea,
and under him our Lord worked, suffered,
and died, as we learn, not only from Scrip
ture, but from Tacitus (Ann. xv. 44). He
was appointed a.d. 25-6, in the twelfth year
of Tiberius. His arbitrary administration
nearly drove the Jews to insurrection on two
or three occasions. His slaughter of certain
Galileans (Luke xiii. 1) led to some remarks
from our Lord on the connexion between sin
and' calamity. It must have occurred at
some feast at Jerusalem, in the outer court of
the Temple. — It was the custom for the procu-

PILLED

440

PISGAH

rators to reside at Jerusalem during the great
feasts, to preserve order, and accordingly, at
the time of our Lord's last passover, Pilate
was occupying his official residence in Herod's
palace. The history of his condemnation of
our Lord is related fully elsewhere. [Jesus
Christ, p. 263.] We learn from Josephus
that Pilate's anxiety to avoid giving offence
to Caesar did not save him from political
disaster. The Samaritans were unquiet and
rebellious — Pilate led his troops against
them, and defeated them easily enough.
The Samaritans complained to Vitellius, now
president of Syria, and he sent Pilate to Rome
to answer their accusations before the em
peror. When he reached it he found Tiberius
dead, and Caius (Caligula) on the throne, a.d.
36. Eusebius adds that soon afterwards,
" wearied with misfortunes," he killed him
self. As to the scene of his death there are
various traditions. One is that he was ban
ished to Vienna Allobrogum (Vienne on the
Rhone), where a singular monument — a
pyramid on a quadrangular base, 5 2 feet high
— is called Pontius Pilate's tomb. Another
is that he sought to hide his sorrows on the
mountain by the Lake of Lucerne, now called
Mount Pilatus ; and there, after spending
years in its recesses, in remorse and despair
rather than penitence, plunged into the dis
mal lake which occupies its summit. We
learn from the Fathers that Pilate made an
official report to Tiberius of our Lord's trial
and condemnation ; but the Acta P'dati now
extant in Greek, and two Latin epistles from
him to the emperor, are certainly spurious.
PILLED (Gen. xxx. 37, 38) : Peeled (Is.
xviii. 2; Ez. xxix. 18). The verb "to
pill " appears in old Eng. as identical in
meaning with " to peel = to strip," and in
this sense is used in the above passages from
Gen. Of the next stage in its meaning as =
plunder, we have traces in the words " pil
lage," " pilfer." In the English of the 17th
century " peel " was used for the latter signi
fication. PILTAI, the representative of the priestly
house of Moadiah, or Maadiah, in the time of
Joiakim the son of Jeshua (Neh. xii. 17).
PINE-TREE. 1. Heb. Tidhdr (Is. xli.
19, lx. 13). What tree is intended is not
certain; but the rendering "pine" seems
least probable of any.— 2. Shemen (Neh. viii.
15) is probably the wild olive.
PINNACLE of the Temple (Matt. iv. 5 ;
Luke iv. 9). The Greek word ought to be
rendered not a pinnacle, but the pinnacle.
The only part of the Temple which answered
to the modern sense of pinnacle was the
golden spikes erected on the roof to pi-event
birds from settling there. Perhaps the word

means the battlement ordered by law to bo
added to every roof.
PI'NON, one of the " dukes " of Edom ;
that is, bead or founder of a tribe of that
nation (Gen. xxxvi. 41 ; 1 Chr. i. 52).
PIPE (Heb. chdlil). The Hebrew word so
rendered is derived from a root signifying
" to bore, perforate," and is represented with
sufficient correctness by the English "pipe "
or "flute," as in the margin of 1 K. i. 40.
It is one of the simplest, and therefore pro
bably one of the oldest, of musical instruments.
It is associated with the tabret as an instru
ment of a peaceful and social character.
The pipe and tablet were used at the ban
quets of the Hebrews (Is. v. 12), and
accompanied the simpler religious services,
when the young prophets, returning from the
high-place, caught their inspiration from the
harmony (1 Sam. x. 5) ; or the pilgrims, on
their way to the great festivals of their ritual,
beguiled the weariness of the march with
psalms sung to the simple music of the pipe
(Is. xxx. 29). The sound of the pipe was
apparently a soft wailing note, which made
it appropriate to be used in mourning and at
funerals (Matt. ix. 23), and in the lament of
the prophet over the destruction . of Moab
(Jer. xlviii. 36). It was even used in the
Temple choir, as appears from Ps, lxxxvii.
7, where, " the players ou instruments " are
properly "pipers."
PI'RATIIOX, " in the land of Ephraim in
the mount of the Amalekife;" a place in Judg.
xii. 15. Its site, now called Fer'ata, is about
one mile and a half S. of the road from
Jaffa by Hableh to Nahhis. Tirathonites are
mentioned in Judg. xii. 13, 15, and 1 Chr.
xxvii. 14.
PIS'GAH (Num. xxi. 20, xxiii. 14 ;
Deut. iii. 27, xxxiv. 1), a mountain range or
district, the same as, or a part of that called
the mountains of Abarim (comp. Deut. xxxii.
49 with xxxiv. 1). It lay on the east of
Jordan, contiguous to the field of Moab, and
immediately opposite Jericho. Its highest
point or summit — its "head" — :wasthe Mount
Nebo, If it was a proper name we can only
conjecture that it denoted the whole or part
of the range of the highlands on the east of
the lower Jordan. No traces of the name
Pisgah have been met with in later times on
the east of Jordan, but in the Arabic garb of
Ras el-Feshkah (almost identical with the
Hebrew Rosh hap-pisgah) it is attached to a
well-known headland on the north -western
end of the Dead Sea, a mass of mountain on
which is situated the great Mussulman
sanctuary of Neby Mdsa (Moses). This
association of the names of Moses and
Pisgah on the wpM side of the Dead Sea ia

PISIDIA

44 1

PLAGUES, THE TEN

extremely startling. No explanation of it
has yet been offered. — Ashdoth-Pisgah is
noticed under its own head.
PISID'IA was a district in Asia Minor, N.
of Pamphylia, and reached to, and was partly
included in, Phrygia. Thus Antioch in
Pisidia was sometimes called a Phrygian
town. St. Paul passed through Pisidia
twice, with Barnabas, on the first missionary
journey i. e, both in going from Perga to
Iconium (Acts xiii. 13, 14, 51), and in
returning (xiv. 21, 24, 25 ; compare 2 Tim.
,Si. 11). It is probable also that he traversed
Jie northern part of the district, with Silas
and Timotheus, on the second missionary jour
ney (xvi. 6) : but the word Pisidia does not oc
cur except in reference to the former journey.
PI'SON. [Eden.]
PIT. [Hell.]
PI'THOM, one of the store-cities built by
the Israelites for the first oppressor, the
Pharaoh " which knew not Joseph " (Ex. i.
11). It is probably the Patumus of Hero
dotus (ii. 159), a town on the borders of
Egypt, near which Neeho constructed a canal
from tbe Nile to the Arabian Gulf.
PLAGUE, THE. Several Hebrew words
are translated "pestilence" or "plague;"
but not one of these words can be considered
as designating by its signification the disease
now called the Plague. Whether the Qisease
be mentioned must be judged frsm the sense
of passages, not from the sense of words.
Those pestilences which were sent as special
judgments, and were either supernaturally
rapid in their effects, or in addition directed
against particular culprits, are beyond the
reach of human inquiry. But we also read
of pestilences which, although sent as judg
ments, have the characteristics of modern
epidemics, not being rapid beyond nature,
nor directed against individuals (Lev. xxvi.
25 ; Deut. xxviii. 21). In neither of these
; passages does it seem certain that the Plague
is specified. The notices in the prophets
present the same difficulty. Hezekiah's dis
ease has been thought to have been the
^lague, and its fatal nature, as well as the
mention of a boil, makes this not improbable.
On the other hand, there is no mention of a
pestilence among his people at the time.
PLAGUES, THE TEN. The Occasion on
which the plagues were sent is described in
Ex. iii. -xii. — 1. Tlie Plague of Blood. — After
a warning to Pharaoh, Aaron, at the word of
Moses, waved his rod over the Nile, and the
river- was turned into blood, with all its
canals and reservoirs, and every vessel of
water drawn from them ; the fish died, and
the river stank. The Egyptians could not
drink of it, and digged around it for water.

This plague was doubly humiliating to the
religion of the country, as the Nile was held
sacred, as well as some kinds of its fish, not
to speak of the crocodiles, which probably
were destroyed (Ex. vii. 16-25).— 2. The
Plague of Frogs. — When seven days had
passed after the first plague, the river and all
the open waters of Egypt brought forth
countless frogs, which not only covered the
land, hut filled the houses, even in their
driest parts and vessels, for the ovens
and kneading-troughs are specified. This
must have been an especially trying judgment
to the Egyptians, as frogs were included
among the sacred animals (Ex, viii. 1-15). — ¦
3. The Plague of Lice. — The dry land was how
smitten by the rod, and its very dust seemed
turned into minute noxious insects, so
thickly did they swarm on man and beast, or
rather " in " them. The scrupulous cleanli
ness of the Egyptians would add intolerably
to the bodily distress of this plague, by
which also they again incurred religious de
filement. As to the species of the vermin
there seems no reason to disturb the authorised
translation of the word. The magicians, who
had imitated by their enchantments the two
previous miracles, were now foiled. They
struck the ground, as Aaron did, and repeated
their own incantations, but it was without
effect (Ex. viii. 16-19).— 4. The Plague of
Flies. — After the river and the land, the air
was smitten, being filled with winged insects,
which swarmed in the houses and devoured
the land, but Goshen was exempted from the
plague. The word translated " swarms of
flies " most probably denotes the great
Egyptian beetle (scarabaeus sacer), which is
constantly represented in their sculptures.
Besides the annoying and destructive habits
of its tribe, it was an object of worship, and
thus the Egyptians were again scourged by
their own superstitions (Ex. viii. 20-32).
— 5. The Plague of the Murrain of Beasts. —
Still coming closer and closer to the Egyp
tians, God sent a disease upon the cattle,
which were not only their property, but their
deities. At the precise time of which Moses
forewarned Pharaoh, all the cattle of the
Egyptians were smitten with a murrain and
died, but not one of the cattle of the Israel
ites suffered (Ex. ix. 1-7).— 6. The Plague of
Boils. — From the cattle, the hand of God
was extended to their own persons. r Moses
and Aaron were commanded to take ashes of
the furnace, and to " sprinkle it toward the
heaven in the sight of Pharaoh." It was to
become "small dust" throughout Egypt,
and "be a boil breaking forth [with] blains
upon man, and upon beast" (Ex. ix. 8-12).
This accordingly came to pass. The plague

PLAGUES, THE TEX

442

POMEGRANATE

teems to have been tbe black leprosy, a fear
ful kind of elephantiasis, which was long
remembered a<* " the botch of Egypt " (Deut.
xxviii. 27, 35). — 7. The Plague of Hail.—
The account of the seventh plague is preceded
by a warning, which Moses was commanded
to deliver to Pharaoh, respecting the terrible
nature of the plagues that were to ensue if he
remained obstinate. Man and beast were
smitten, and the herbs and every tree broken,
save in the land of Go-hen. The ruin caused
by the hail was evidently far greater than
that effected by any of the earlier plagues.
Hail is now exti cmcly rare, but not unknown,
in Etrypt, and it is interesting that the nar
rative seems to imply that it sometimes falls
there (Ex. ix. 13-34). — 8. The Plague of Lo
custs. — The severity of this plague can be
well understood by those who have been in
Egypt in a part of the country where a flight
of locusts has alighted. In this case the
plague was greater than an ordinary visita
tion, since it extended over a far wider space,
rather than because it was more intense ; for
it is impossible to imagine any more complete
destruction than that always caused by a
swarm of locusts (Ex. x.l -20 ). — 9. The Plague
of Darkness. — "There was a thick darkness
in all the land of Egypt three days ;" while
" all the children of Israel had light in their
dwellings." It has been illustrated by refer
ence to the Samoom and the hot wind of the
Khamfiseen. The former is a sand-storm
which occurs in the desert, seldom lasting
more than a quarter of an hour or twenty
minutes, but for the time often causing the
darkness of twilight, and affecting man and
beast. The hot wind of the Khamaseen
usually blows for three days and nights, and
carries so much sand with it, that it produces
the appearance of a yellow fog. It thus
resembles the Samoom, though far less pow
erful and far less distressing in its effects. It
is not known to cause actual darkness. The
plague may have been an extremely severe
sand-storm, miraculous in its violence and
duration, for the length of three days does
not make it natural, since the severe storms
are always very brief fEx. x. 21-29). — 10.
The Death of the Firstborn. — Before the tenth
plague Moses went to warn Pharaoh. "Thus
saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out
into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn
in the land of Ecypt shall die, from the first
born of Pharaon that sitteth upon his throne,
even to the firstborn of the maidservant that
is behind the mill ; and all the firstborn of
beasts" (Ex. xi. 4, 5). The clearly miracu
lous nature of this plague, in its severity, its
falling upon man and bea^t, and the singling
out of the firstborn DUts it wholly beyond

comparison with any natural pestilence, even
the severest recorded in history, whether of
the peculiar Egyptian Plague, or other like
epidemics. — The history of the ten plagues
strictly ends with the death of the firstborn.
The gradual increase in severity of the
plagues is perhaps- the best key to their
meaning. They seem to have been sent as
warnings to the oppressor, to afford him a
means of seeing God's will and an opportu
nity of repenting before Egypt was ruined.
The lesson that Pharaoh's career teaches us
seems to be, that there are men vihom the
most signal judgments do not affect so as to
cause any lasting repentance.
PLEDGE. [Loan.]
PLEIADES. The Heb. word (cimdh) so
rendered occurs in Job ix. 9, xxxviii. 31,
and Am. v. 8. In the last passage our A.Y.
has "the seven stars," although the Geneva
version translates the word " Pleiades" us in
the other cases.
PLOUGH. [Agriculture.]
POLLUX. [Castor and Pollux.]
POLYGAMY. [Markiaok.]
POMEGRANATE. The pomegranate was
early cultivated in Egypt : hence the com
plaint of the Israelites in the wilderness of
Zin (Num. xx. 5), this "is no place of figs,
or of vines, or of pomegranates." The tree,
with its characteristic calyx-crowned fruit, is
easily recognised on the Egyptian sculptures.
Mention is made of "an orchard of pomegra-

Pomegranatc [I'umcu ijramUun.

POMMELS

443

POTIPHAR

nates" in Cant. iv. 13. Carved figures of
the pomegranate adorned the tops of the pil
lars in Solomon's Temple (1 K. vii. 18, 20,
&c.) ; and worked representations of this
fruit, in blue, purple, and scarlet, ornamented
the hem of the robe of the ephod- (Ex. xxviii.
33, 34). The pomegranate -tree (Punica gra-
natum) derives its name from the Latin
pomum granatum, "grained apple.V The j
Romans gave it the name of Punica, as the \
tree was introduced from Carthage.
POMMELS, only in 2 Chr. iv. 12, 13. In
1 Iv. vii. 41, "bowls." The word signifies
convex projections belonging to the capitals
of pillars.
PON'TIUS PILATE. [Pilate.]
PONTUS, a large district in the north of
Asia Minor, extending along the coast of the
Pontus Euxinus, from whieh circumstance
the name was derived. It is three times
mentioned in the N.T. (Acts ii. 9, 10, xviii.
2 ; 1 Pet. i. 1). All these passages agree in
showing that there were many Jewish resi
dents in the district. As to the annals of
Pontus, the one brilliant passage of its history
is the life of the great Mithridates. Under
Nero the whole region was made a Roman
province, bearing the name of Pontus.
POOL. Pools, like the tanks of India, are
in many parts of Palestine and Syria the
only resource for water during the dry sea
son, and the failure of them involves drought
and calamity (Is. xiii. 15). Of the various
pools mentioned in Scripture, perhaps the
most celebrated are the pools of Solomon near
Bethlehem, called by the Arabs el-Burak,
from which -an aqueduct was carried which
still supplies Jerusalem with water (Eccl. ii.
6 ; Ecclus. xxiv. 30, 31).
POOR. The general kindly spirit of the
law towards the poor is sufficiently shown by
such passages as Deut. xv. 7, for the reason
that (ver. 11), "the poor shall never cease
out of the land." Among the special enact
ments in their favour the following must be
mentioned. 1. The right of gleaning (Lev.
xix. 9, 10; Deut. xxiv. 19, 21). 2. From
the produce of tbe land in sabbatical years,
the poor and the stranger were to have their
portion (Ex. xxiii. 11 ; Lev. xxv. 6). 3.
Re-entry upon land in the jubilee year, with
the limitation as to town homes (Lev. "xxv.
25-30). 4. Prohibition of usury, and of re
tention of pledges (Lev. xxv. 35, 37 ; Ex.
xxii. 25-27, &c), 5. Permanent bondage
forbidden, and manumission of Hebrew bonds
men or bondswomen enjoined in the sabba
tical and jubilee years (Deut. xv. 12-15;
Lev. xxv. 39-42, 47-54). 6. Portions from
the tithes to be shared by the poor after the
Levites (Deut. xiv. 28, xxvi. 12„ 13). 7.

The poor to partake in entertainments at the
feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles (Deut. xvi.
11, 14; see Neh. viii. 10). 8. Daily pay
ment of wages (Lev. xix. 13). Principles
similar to those laid down by Moses are in
culcated in N. T., as Luke iii. 11, xiv. 13;
Acts vi. 1 ; Gal. ii. 10 ; James ii. 15.
POPLAR, the rendering of the Hebrew
word libneh which occurs in Gen. xxx. 37 ;
and Hos. iv. 13. Several authorities are in
favour of the rendering of the A. V., and
think the "white poplar" (Populus alba) is
the tree denoted ; others understand the
" stoiax tree " (Styrax ofiic'male, Linn.). Both
poplars and styrax or stoiax trees are com
mon in Palestine, and cither would suit the
passages where the Heb. term occurs. Sto-
rax is mentioned in Ecclus. xxiv. 1 5, together
with other aromatic substances. The btyrax
officinale is a shrub from nine to twelve feet

Styrax officinale.
high, with ovate leaves, which are white un
derneath ; the flowers are in racemes, and
are white or cream-coloured. The white ap
pearance agrees with the etymology of the
Heb. libneh.
POR'CIUS FESTUS. [Festus.]
POSSESSION. [Demoniacs.]
, POT'IPHAR. an Egyptian name, also

POTIPHERAH

444

PRESENTS

written Potiphk.rah, signifies "Belonging to
the Sun." Potiphar, with whom the history
of Joseph is connected, is deB.iibed as "an
officer of Pharaoh, chief of the executioners,
an Egyptian" (Gen. xxxix. 1 ; comp. xxxvii.
3G). [Joseph.]
POTIPHE'RAH was priest or prince of
On, and his daughter Asenath was given
Joseph to wife by Pharaoh (Gen. xli. 45, 50,
xlvi. 20).
POTTER'S-FIELD, THE. [Aceldama.]
POTTERY. The art of pottery is one of
the most common and most ancient of all
manufactures. It is abundantly evident,
both that the Hebrews used earthenware
vessels in the wilderness, and that the pot
ters' trade was afterwards carried on in Pales
tine. They had themselves been concerned
in the potters' trade in Egypt (Ps. lxxxi. 6),
and the wall-paintings minutely illustrate the
Egyptian process. The clay, when dug, was
trodden by men's feet so as to form a paste
(Is. xli. 25; Wisd. xv. 7); then' placed by
the putter on the wheel beside which he sat,
and shaped by him with his hands. How
early the wheel came in use in Palestine we
know not, but it seems likely that it was
adopted from Egypt (Is. xiv. 9 ; Jer. xviii.
3). The vessel was then smoothed and
coated with a glaze, and finally burnt in a
furnace. There was at Jerusalem a royal
establishment of potters (1 Chr. iv. 23), from
whose employment, and from the fragments
cast away in the process, the Potter's Field
perhaps received its name (Is. xxx, 14).
POUND. 1. A weight. See Weights
and Measures. — 2. A money of account,
mentioned in the parable of the Ten Pounds
(Luke xix. 12-27), as the talent is in the
parable of the Talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30).
The reference appears to be to a Greek
pound, a weight used as a money of account,
of which sixty went to the talent, the weight
depending upon the weight of the talent.
PRAYER. There are no directions as to
prayer given in the Mosaic law : the duty is
rather taken for granted, as an adjunct to
sacrifice, than enforced or elaborated. It is
hardly conceivable that, even from the begin
ning, public prayer did not follow every pub
lic sacrifice. Such a practice is alluded to as
common in Luke i. 10 ; and in one instance,
at the offering of the first-fruits, it was or
dained in a striking form (Deut. xxvi. 12-
15). In later times it certainly grew into a
regular service, both in the Temple and in
the Synagogue. But, besides this public
prayer, it was the custom of all at Jeiusa-
lem to go up to the Temple, at regular hours
if possible, for private prayer (see Luke xviii.
10 ; Acts iii. 1) ; and those who were absent

were wont to " open their windows towards
Jerusalem," and pray " towards " the place
of God's Presence (1 K. viii. 46-49 ; Dan. vi.
10; Ps. v. 7, xxviii. 2, exxxviii. 2). The
regular hours of prayer seem to have been
three (see -Ps. Iv. 17; Dan. vi. 10), "the
evening," that is, the ninth hour (Acts iii. 1,
x. 3), the hour of the evening sacrifice (Dan.
ix. 21); the "morning," that is, the third
hour (Acts ii. 15), that of the morning sacri
fice ; and the sixth hour, or " noonday."
Grace before meat would seem to have been
a common practice (see Matt. xv. 36 ; Acts
xxvii. 35). The posture of prayer among
the Jews seems to have been most often
standing (1 Sam. i. 26 ; Matt. vi. 5 ; Mark
xi. 25; Luke xviii. 11); unless the prayer
were offered with especial solemnity, and
humiliation, which was naturally expressed
by kneeling (1 K. viii. 54 ; comp. 2 Chr. vi.
13; Ezr. ix. 5; Ps. xcv. 6; Dan. vi. 10);
or prostration (Josh. vii. 6 ; IK. xviii. 42 ;
Neh. viii. 6). — The only Form of Prayer
given for perpetual use in the O. T. is the
one in Deut. xxvi. 5-15, connected with the
offering of tithes and first-fruits, and con
taining in simple form the important elements
of prayer, acknowledgment of God's mercy,
self-dedication, and prayer for future bless
ing. To this may perhaps be added the
threefold blessing of Num. vi. 24-26, couched
as it is in a precatory form ; and the short
prayer of Moses (Num. x. 35, 36) at the
moving and resting of the cloud, the former of
which was the germ of the 68th Psalm. But
of the prayers recorded in the O. T., the two
most remarkable are those of Solomon at the
dedication of the Temple (1 K. viii. 23-53),
and of Joshua the high-priest, and his col
leagues, after the captivity (Neh. ix. 5-38).
— It appears from the question of the dis
ciples in Luke xi. 1, and from Jewish tra
dition, that the chief teachers of the day
gave special forms of prayer to their dis
ciples, as the badge of their discipleship and
the best fruits of their learning. All Chris
tian prayer is, of course, based on the Lord's
Prayer ; but its spirit is also guided by that
of His prayer in Gethsemane, and of the
prayer recorded by St. John (ch. xvii.), the
beginning of His great work of intercession.
The influence of these prayers is more dis
tinctly traced in the prayers contained in the
Epistles (see Eph. iii. 14-21 ; Rom. xvi. 25-
27; Phil. i. 3-11; Col. i. 9-15; Heb. xiii,
20, 21 ; 1 Pet. v. 10, 11, &c), than in those
recorded in the Acts. The public prayer
probably in the first instance took much of
its form and style from the prayers of the
synagogues. PRESENTS. [Gifts.]

445

PRIEST

PRIEST. The English word is derived
from the Greek Presbyter, signifying an
" elder " (Heb. cohen). No trace of an here
ditary or caste-priesthood meets us in the
worship of the patriarchal age. Once, and
once only, does the word Cohen meet us as
belonging to a ritual earlier than the time of
Abraham. Melchizedek is " the priest of the
most high God" (Gen. xiv. 18). In the
worship of the patriarchs themselves, the.
chief of the family, as such, acted as the
priest. The office descended with the birth
right, and might apparently be transferred
with it. The Priesthood was first established
in the family of Aaron, and all the sons of
Aaron were Priests. They stood between the
High Priest on the one hand and the Levites
on the other. [High Priest ; Levites.]
The ceremony of their consecration is de
scribed in Ex. xxix., Lev. viii. The dress
which they wore during their ministrations
consisted of linen drawers, with a close-fitting
cassock, also of linen, white, but with a dia
mond or chessboard pattern on it. This came
nearly to the feet, and was to he worn in its
garment shape (comp. John xix. 23). The
white cassock was gathered round the body
with a girdle of needlework, into which, as
in the more gorgeous belt of the High Priest,
blue, purple, and scarlet, were intermingled
with white, and worked in the form of flowers
(Ex. xxviii. 39, 40, xxxix. 2 ; Ezek. xliv.
17-19). Upon their heads they were to wear
caps or bonnets in the form of a cup-shaped
flower, also of fine linen. In all their acts of
ministration they were to be bare-footed

a of Egyptian High-priest.

Before they entered the Tabernacle they were
to wash their hands and their feet (Ex. xxx.
17-21, xl. 30-32). During the time of their
ministration they were to drink no wine or
strong drink (Lev. x. 9 ; Ez. xliv. 21). Ex
cept in the case of the nearest relationships
(six degrees are specified, Lev. xxi. 1-5 ; Ez.
xliv. 25), they were to make no mourning
for the dead. They were not to shave their
heads. They were to go through their minis
trations with tbe serenity of a reverential
awe, not with the orgiastic wildness which
led the priests of Baal in their despair to
make cuttings in their flesh (Lev. xix. 28 ;
1 K. xviii. 28). They were forbidden to
marry an unchaste woman, or one who had
been divorced, or the widow of any hut a
priest (Lev. xxi. 7, 14 ; Ezek. xliv. 22).
Their chief duties were to watch over the
fire on the altar of burnt-offerings, and to
keep it burning evermore both by day and
night (Lev. vi. 12 ; 2 Chr. xiii. 11), to feed
the golden lamp outside the vail with oil
(Ex. xxvii. 20, 21 ; Lev. xxiv. 2), to offer
the morning and evening sacrifices, each ac
companied with a meat-offering and a drink-
offering, at the door of the Tabernacle (Ex.
xxix. 38-44). They were also to teach the
children of Israel the statutes of the Lord
(Lev. x. 11; Deut. xxxiii. 10; 2 Chr. xv.
3; Ezek. xliv. 23, 24). During the journeys
in the wilderness it belonged to them to cover
the ark and all the vessels of the sanctuary
with a purple or scarlet cloth before the Le
vites might approach them (Num. iv. 5-15).
As the people started on each day's march
they were to blow " an alarm " with long
silver trumpets (Num. x. 1-8). Other instru
ments of music might be used by the more
highly-trained Levites and the schools of the
prophets, hut the trumpets belonged only to
the priests. Functions such as these were
clearly incompatible with the common acti
vities of men. On these grounds therefore
a distinct provision wa3 made for them.
This consisted— (1) of one-tentb of the tithes
which the people paid to the Levites, i.e. one
per cent, on the whole produce of the country
(Num. xviii. 26-28). (2) Of a special tithe
every third year (Deut. xiv. 28, xxvi. 12).
(3) Of the redemption-money, paid at the
fixed rate of five shekels a head, for the first
born of man or beast (Num. xviii. 14-19).
(4) Of the redemption-money paid in like
manner for men or things specially dedicated
to the Lord (Lev. xxvii.). (5) Of spoil, cap
tives, cattle, and the like, taken in war (Num.
xxxi. 25-47). (6) Of the shew-bread*, the
flesh of the burnt-offerings, peace-offerings,
trespass-offerings (Num. xviii. 8-14; Lev.
vi. 26, 29, vii. 6-10), and, in particular, the

PRIEST

44(3

PROCURATOR

heave-shoulder and the wave-breast (Lev. x.
12-15). (7) Of an undefined amount of the
first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil (Ex. xxiii.
19; Lev. ii. 14 ; Deut. xxvi. 1-10). Of some
of these, as " most holy," none but the priests
were to partake (Lev. vi. 29). It was lawful
for their sons and daughters (Lev. x. 14),
and even in some cases for their home-born
slaves, to eat of others (Lev. xxii. 11). The
stranger and the hired servant were in all
cases excluded (Lev. xxii. 10). (8) On their
settlement in Canaan the priestly families
had thirteen cities assigned them, with
" suburbs " or pasture-grounds for their
flocks (Josh. xxi. 13-19). These provisions
were obviously intended to secure tbe reli
gion of Israel against the dangers of a caste
of pauper-priests, needy and dependent, and
unable to bear their witness to the true faith.
They were, on the other hand, as far as pos
sible removed from the condition of a wealthy
order. The standard of a priest's income,
even in the earliest days after the settlement
in Canaan, was miserably low (Judg. xvii.
10). The earliest historical trace of any
division of the priesthood, and corresponding
cycle of services, belongs to the time of David.
The priesthood was then divided into the
four-and-twenty "courses" or orders (1 Chr.
xxiv. 1-19 ; 2 Chr. xxiii. 8 ; Luke i. 5),
each of which was to serve in rotation for
one week, while the further assignment of
special services during the week was deter
mined by lot (Luke i. 9). Each course appears
to have commenced its work on the Sabbath,
the outgoing priests taking the morning sa
crifice, and leaving that of the evening to
their successors (2 Chr. xxiii. 8). In this
division, however, the two great priestly
houses did not stand on an equality'. Tbe
descendants of Ithamar were found to have
fewer representatives than those of Eleazar,
and sixteen courses accordingly were assigned
to the latter, eight only to the former (1 Chr.
xxiv. 4). The division thus instituted was
confirmed by Solomon, and continued to be
recognised as the typical number of the priest
hood. On the return from the captivity there
were found but four courses out of the twenty-
four, each containing, in round numbers,
about a thousand (Ezr. ii. 36-39). Out of
these, however, to revive at least the idea of
the old organization, the four-and-twenty
courses were reconstituted (comp. Luke i. 5),
bearing the same names as before, and so
continued till the destruction of Jerusalem. —
The language of the N. T. writers in relation
to the priesthood ought not to be passed over.
They recognize in Christ, the first-born, the
king, the Anointed, the representative of the
true primeval priesthood after the order of

Melchizedek (Heb. vii., viii.), from which
that of Aaron, however necessary for the
time, is now seen to have been a deflection.
But there is no trace of an order in the new-
Christian society, bearing the name and exer
cising functions like those of the priests of
the older Covenant. The idea which pervades
the teaching of the Epistles is that of an uni
versal priesthood. It was the thought of
a succeeding age that the old classification of
the hi^h-priest, priests, and Levites was re
produced in the bishops, priests, and deacons
of the Christian Church.
PRIS'CA (2 Tim. iv. 19) or PRISCILLA.
[AauiLA.] PROCH'ORUS, one of the seven deacons,
being the third on the list, and named next
after Stephen and Philip (Acts vi. 5).
PROCON'SUL. The Greek a^uTraros, for
which this is the true equivalent, is rendered
uniformly " deputy " in the A. V. of Acts
xiii. 7, 8, 12, xix. 38 ; and the derived verb
duBv-irarsvu} in Acts xviii. 12, is translated
"to be deputy." At the division of the
Roman provinces by Augustus, in the year
b.cv 27, into Senatorial and Imperial, the
emperor assigned to the senate such portions
of territory as were peaceable, and could be
held without force of arms. Over these
senatorial provinces the senate appointed by
lot yearly an officer, who was called "pro
consul," and who exercised purely civil func
tions. The provinces were in consequence
called "proconsular."
PROCURA'TOR. The Greek vyep.d}v, ren
dered " governor " in the A. V., is applied in
the N. T. to the officer who presided over the
imperial province of Judaea. It is used of
Pontius Pilate (Matt, xxvii.), of Felix (Acts
xxiii., xxiv.), and of Festus (Acts xxvi. 30).
In all these cases the Vulgate equivalent is
praeses. The office of procurator is men
tioned in Luke iii. 1. It is explained, under
Proconsul, that after the battle of Actium
(b.c 27) the provinces of the Roman empire
were divided by Augustus into two portions,
giving some to the senate, and reserving to
himself the rest. The imperial provinces
were administered by Legati. No quaestor
came into the emperor's provinces, but the
property and revenues of the imperial trea-
; sury were administered by Proeuratores.
\ Sometimes a province was governed by a pro-
l curator with the functions of a Legatus. This
j was especially the case with the smaller pro-
i vinces and the outlying districts of a larger
! province ; and such is the relation in which
Judaea stood to Syria. The head-quarters of
! the procurator were at Caesarea (Acta xxiii.
j 23), where he had a judgment-seat (Acts xxv.
6) in the audience chamber (Acta xxv. 23),

PROPHET

447

PROPHET

and was assisted by a council (Acts xxv. 12),
whom he consulted in eases of difficulty. In
the N. T. we see the procurator only in bis
judicial capacity. Thus Christ is brought
before Pontius Pilate as a political offender
(Matt, xxvii. 2, 11), and the accusation is
heard by the procurator, who is seated on
the judgment-seat (Matt, xxvii. 19). Felix
heard St. Paul's accusation and defence from
the judgment-seat at Caesarea (Acts xxiv.) ;
and St. Paul calls him "judge" (Acts xxiv.
10), as if this term described his chief func
tions. The procurator is again alluded to in
his judicial capacity in I Pet. ii. 14. He
was attended by a cohort as body-guard
(Matt, xxvii. 27), and apparently went up to
Jerusalem at the time of the high festivals,
and there resided at the palace of Herod, in
which was the praetorium, or "judgment-
hall," as it is rendered in the A. V. (Matt.
xxvii. 27 ; Mark xv. 16 ; comp. Acts xxiii.
35). PROPHET, The ordinary Hebrew word for
prophet is ndbi, derived from a verb signify
ing " to bubble forth" like a fountain. Hence
the word means one who announces or pours
forth the declarations of God. The English
word comes from the Greek Prophetes {irpofyri-
ttjs), which signifies in classical Greek one who
speaks for another, specially one who speaks
for a god and so interprets his will to man.
Hence its essential meaning is "an inter
preter." The use of the word in its modern
sense as "one who predicts" is post-classical.
The larger sense of interpretation has not,
however, been lost. In fact the English
word Prophet has always been used in a
larger and in a closer sense. The different
meanings, or shades of meaning, in which
the abstract noun is employed in Scripture,
have been drawn out by Locke as follows : —
" Prophecy comprehends three things : pre
diction ; singing by the dictate of the Spirit ;
and understanding and explaining the mys
terious, hidden sense of Scripture, by an
immediate illumination and motion of the
Spirit." — The sacerdotal order was originally
the instrument by whieh the members of the
Jewish Theocracy were taught and governed
in things spiritual. Teaching by act and
teaching by word were alike their task. But
during the time of the Judges, the priesthood
sank into a state of degeneracy, and the
people were no longer affected by the acted
lessons of the ceremonial service. They re
quired less enigmatic warnings and exhorta
tions. Under these circumstances a new
moral power was evoked — the Prophetic
Order. Samuel, himself a Levite, of the
family of Kohath (1 Chr. vi. 28), and almost
certainly a priest, was the instrument used

at once for effecting a reform in the sacer
dotal order (1 Chr, ix. 22), and for giving to
the prophets a position of importance which
they had never before held. Nevcitheless, it
is not to be supposed that Samuel created the
prophetic order as a new thing before un
known. The germs both of the prophetic
and of the regal order are found in the Law
as given to the Israelites by Moses (Deut.
xiii. 1, xviii. 20, xvii. 18), but they were
not yet developed, because there was not yet
the demand for them. Samuel took measures
to make his work of restoration permanent as
well as effective for the moment. For this
purpose he instituted Companies, or Colleges
of Prophets. One we find in his lifetime at
Ramah (1 Sam. xix. 19, 20); others after
wards at Bethel (2 K. ii. 3), Jericho (2 K. ii.
5), Gilgal (2 K. iv. 38), and elsewhere (2 K.
vi. 1). Their constitution and object were
similar to those of Theological Colleges. Into
them were gathered promising students, and
here they were trained for the office which
they were afterwards destined to fulfil. So
successful were these institutions, that from
the time of Samuel to the closing of the
Canon of the Old Testament, there seems
never to have been wanting a due supply of
men to keep up the line of official prophets.
Their chief subject of study was, no doubt,
the Law and its interpretation ; oral, as dis
tinct from symbolical, teaching being hence
forth tacitly transferred from the priestly to
the prophetical order. Subsidiary subjects of
instruction were music and sacred poetry,
both of which had been connected with pro
phecy from the time of Moses (Ex. xv. 20)
and the Judges (Judg. iv. 4, v. 1). — But to
belong to the prophetic order and to possess
the prophetic gift are not convertible terms.
Generally, the inspired prophet came from
the College of the Prophets, and belonged to
the prophetic order ; but this was not always
the case. Thus Amos, though called to the
prophetic office, did not belong to the pro
phetic order (Am. vii. 14). The sixteen
prophets whose books are in the Canon have
therefore that place of honour, because they
were endowed with the prophetic gift as well
as ordinarily (so far as we know) belonging
to the prophetic order. What then are the
characteristics of the sixteen prophets, thus
called and commissioned, and entrusted with
the messages of God to His people? (1.) They
were the national poets of Judaea. (2.) They
were annalists and historians. A great por
tion of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Daniel, of Jonah,
of Haggai, is direct or indirect history. (3.)
They were preachers of patriotism ; their
patriotism being founded on the religious
motive. (4.) They were preachers of morals

PROPHET

448

PROPHET

and of spiritual religion. The system of
morals put forward by the prophets if not
higher, or sterner, or purer than that of the
Law, is more plainly declared, and with
greater, because now more needed, vehe
mence of diction. (5.) They were extraordi
nary, but yet authorized, exponents of the
Law. (6.) They held a pastoral or quasi-
pastoral office. (7.) They were a political
power in the state. (8.) But the prophets
were something more than national poets
and annalists, preachers of patriotism, morei
teachers, exponents of the Law, pastors, and
politicians. Their most essential character
istic is, that they were instruments of reveal
ing God's will to man, as in other ways, so,
specially by predicting future events, and, in
particular, by foretelling the incarnation of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the redemption
effected by Him. — Of the sixteen Prophets,
four are usually called the Great Prophets,
namely, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel ;
and twelve the Minor Prophets, namely,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Ze
chariah, Malachi. — They may he divided into
four groups : the Prophets of the Northern
Kingdom' — Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah ; the
Prophets of the Southern Kingdom — Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habak
kuk, Zephaniah ; the Prophets of the Cap
tivity — Ezekiel and Daniel ; the Prophets of
the Return — Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
They may be arranged in the following chro
nological order : namely, Joel, Jonah, Hosea,
Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah,
Habakkuk, Obadiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Da
niel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. — Use of
Prophecy. — Predictive prophecy is at once a
part and an evidence of revelation : at the
time that it is delivered, and until its fulfil
ment, a part ; after it has been fulfilled, an
evidence. St. Peter (Ep. 2, i. 19) describes
it as " a light shining in a dark place," or
"a taper glimmering where there is nothing
to reflect its rays," that is, throwing some
light, hut only a feeble light as compared
with what is shed from the Gospel history.
But after fulfilment, St. Peter says, "the
word of prophecy " becomes " more sure "
than it was before ; that is, it is no longer
merely a feeble light to guide, but it is a firm
ground of confidence, and, combined with the
apostolic testimony, serves as a trustworthy
evidence of the faith. As an evidence, ful
filled prophecy is as satisfactory as anything
can be, for who can know the future except
the Ruler who disposes future events ; and
from whom can come prediction except from
Him who knows the future 1 — Development of
Messianic Prophecy. — Prediction, in the shape

of promise and threatening, begins with the
Book of Genesis. Immediately upon the Fall,
hopes of recovery and salvation are held out,
but the manner in which this salvation is to
be effected is left altogether indefinite. All
that is at first declared is that it shall come
through a child of woman (Gen. iii. 15). By
degrees the area is limited : it is to come
through the family of Shem (Gen. ix. 26),
through the family of Abraham (Gen. xii. 3),
of Isaac (Gen. xxii. 18), of Jacob (Gen. xxviii.
14), of Judah (xlix. 10). Balaam seems to
say that it will be wrought by a warlike
Israelitish King (Num. xxiv. 17) ; Jacob, by
a peaceful Ruler of the earth (Gen. xlix. 10) ;
Moses, by a Prophet like himself, i. e. a
revealer of a new religious dispensation
(Deut. xviii. 15). Nathan's announcement
(2 Sam. vii. 16) determines further that the
salvation is to come through the house of
David, and through a descendant of David
who shall be himself a king. This promise
is developed by David himself in the Mes
sianic Psalms. Pss. xviii. and lxi. are
founded on the promise communicated by
Nathan, and do not go beyond the announce
ment made by Nathan. The same may be
said of Ps. lxxxix., which was composed by
a later writer. Pss. ii. and ex. rest upon the
same promise as their foundation, hut add
new features to it. The Son of David is to
be the Son of God (ii. 7), the anointed of the
Lord (ii. 2), not only the King of Zion (ii. 6,
ex. 1), but the inheritor and lord of the
whole earth (ii. 8, ex. 6), and besides this,
a Priest for ever after the order of Melchi
zedek (ex. 4). At the same time he iB, as
typified by his progenitor, to be full of suffer
ing and affliction (Pss. xxii., lxxi., cii., cix.) :
brought down to the grave, yet raised to life
without seeing corruption (Ps. xvi.). In
Pss. xiv., lxxii., the sons of Korah and Solo
mon describe his peaceful reign. Between
Solomon and Hezekiah intervened some 200
years, during which the voice of prophecy
was silent. The Messianic conception en
tertained at tbis time by tbe Jews might
have been that of a King of the roya.
house of David who would arise, and gather
under his peaceful sceptre his own people
and strangers. Sufficient allusion to his
prophetical and priestly offices had been
made to create thoughtful consideration, but
as yet there was no clear delineation of
him in these characters. It was reserved
for the Prophets to bring out these features
more distinctly. In this great period of pro- ,
phetism there is no longer any chronological
development of Messianic Prophecy, as in
the earlier period previous to Solomon. Each
prophet adds a feature, one more, another

PROSELYTES

449

PROSELYTES

less clearly : combine the features, and we
have the portrait ; but it does no* grow
gradually and perceptibly under the hands of
the several artists. Its culminating point is
found in the propheGy contained in Is. Iii.
13-15, and \iii.— Prophets of the New Testa
ment. — So far as their predictive powers are
concerned, the Old Testament prophets find
their New Testament counterpart in the
writer of the Apocalypse ; but in their gene
ral character, as specially illumined revealers
of God's will, their counterpart will rather
be found, first in the Great Prophet of the
Church, and his forerunner John the Baptist,
and next in all those persons who were
endowed with the extraordinary gifts of the
Spirit in the Apostolic age, the speakers with
tongues and the interpreters of tongues, the
prophets and the discerners of spirits, the
teachers and workers of miracles (1 Cor. xii.
10, 28). That predictive powers did occa
sionally exist in the N. T. prophets is proved
by the case of Agabus (Acts xi. 28), but this
was not their characteristic. The prophets of
the N. T. were super naturally -illuminated
expounders and preachers.
PROSELYTES. The Hebrew word thus
translated is in the A. V. commonly rendered
"stranger" (Gen. xv. 13 ; Ex. ii. 22, Is. v.
17, &c). In theN. T. the A. V. has taken
the word in a more restricted meaning, and
translated it accordingly (Matt, xxiii. 15;
Acts ii. 10, vi. 5). The Chehethites and
Pelethites consisted probably of foreigners
who had been attracted to the service of
David, and were content for it to adopt the
religion of their master. A convert of another
kind, the type, as it has been thought, of the
later proselytes of the gate is found in Naaman
the Syrian (2 K. v. 15, 18) recognising Je
hovah as his God, yet not binding himself to
any rigorous observance of the Law. The
Dispersion of the Jews in foreign countries,
which has been spoken of elsewhere [Disper
sion, The], enabled them to make many con
verts to their faith. — Tbe converts who were
thus attracted, joined, with varying strict
ness, in the worship of the Jews. In Pa
lestine itself even Roman centurions learnt
to love the conquered nation, built syna
gogues for them (Luke vii. 5), fasted and
prayed, and gave alms after the pattern of
the strictest Jews (Acts x. 2, 30), and became
preachers of the new faith ¦ to the soldiers
under them (ib. v. 7). Such men, drawn by
what was best in Judaism, were naturally
among the readiest receivers of the new
truth which rose out of it, and heoame, in
many cases, the nucleus of a Gentile Church.
Proselytism had, however, its darker side.
The Jews of Palestine were eager to spread
^m. D. B.

their faith by the same weapons as those
with which they had defended it. The Idu-
maeans had the alternative offered them by
John Hyrcanus of death, exile, or circumci
sion. The Ituraeans were converted in the
same way by Aristobulus. Where force was
not in their power, they obtained their ends
by the most unscrupulous fraud. Those
who were most active in proselytizing were
precisely those from whose teaching all
that was most true and living had departed.
The vices of the Jew were engrafted on
the vices of the heathen. A repulsive casu
istry released the convert from obligations
which he had before recognised, while in
other things he was bound, hand and foot, to
an unhealthy superstition. It was no wonder
that he became " twofold more the child of
hell" (Matt, xxiii. 15) than the Pharisees
themselves. The position of such proselytes
was indeed every way pitiable. At Rome,
and in other large cities, they became the
butts of popular scurrility.* Among tbe
Jews themselves their case was not much
better. For the most part the convert gained
but little honour, even from those who glo
ried in having brought him over to their
sect and party. The popular Jewish feeling
about them was like the popular Christian
feeling about a converted Jew. — We find in
the Talmud a distinction between Proselytes
of the Gate and Proselytes of Righteous
ness. — 1. The term Proselytes of the Gate
was derived from the frequently occurring
description in the Law, " the stranger that
is within thy gates" (Ex. xx. 10, &c.). Con
verts of this class were not bound by circum
cision and the other special laws of the
Mosaic code. It was enough for them to
observe the seven precepts of Noah — i. e. the
six supposed to have been given to Adam,
(1) against idolatry, (2) against blaspheming,
(3) against bloodshed, (4) against unclean-
ness, (5) against theft, (6) of obedience, with
(7) the prohibition of " flesh with the blood
thereof " given to Noah. The proselyte was
not to claim the privileges of an Israelite,
might not redeem his first-born, or pay the
half-shekel. He was forbidden to study the
Law under pain of death. The later Rabbis
insisted that the profession of his faith shotild
be made solemnly in the presence of three
witnesses. The Jubilee was the proper sea
son for his admission. All this seems so fuL
and precise that it has led many writers to
look on it as representing a reality; and most
commentators accordingly have seen these
Proselytes of the Gate in the " religious
* The words " curtus," " verpes," met them at even-
corner ^Hor. Sat, L 4, 142; Mail. vii. 29, 34, 81, xi. 9i
xii. 37). 2 G

PROVERBS, BOOK OF

450

PROVERBS, BOOK OF

proselytes," "the devout persons," "devout
men" of the Acts (Acts xiii. 43, xvii. 4, 17,
ii. 5). It remains doubtful, however, whe
ther it was ever more than a paper scheme
of what ought to be, disguising itself as hav
ing actually been. — 2. The Proselytes of
Righteousness, known also as Proselytes of
the Covenant, were peifect Israelites. Wc ,
learn from the Talmud that, in addition to I
circumcision, baptism was also required to
complete their admission to the faith. The ,
proselyte was placed in a tank or pool, up to
his neck in water. His teachers, who now
acted as his sponsors, repeated the great
commandments of the Law. The baptism
wa* followed, as long as the Temple stood,
by the offering or Corban. — This account
suggests many questions of grave interest.
Was this ritual observed as early as the com
mencement of the first century ? If so, was
the baptism of John, or that of the Christian
Church, in any way derived from, or con
nected with, the baptism of proselytes ? If
not, was the latter in any way borrowed from
the former ? It will he enough to sum up
the conclusions which seem fairly to be drawn
from the controversy on this subject. (1.)
There is no direct evidence of the practice
being in use before the destruction of Jerusa
lem. (2.) The negative argument drawn
from the silence of theO. T., of the Apocry
pha, of Philo, and of Josephus, is almost
decisive agninst the belief that there was, in
their time, a baptism of proselytes with as
much importance attached to it as we find in
the Talmudists. (3.) It is probable, however,
that there was a baptism in use at a period
considerably earlier than that for which we
have direct evidence. (4.) The history of
the N. T. itself suggests the existence of such
a custom. A sign is seldom chosen unless it
already has a meaning for those to whom it
is addressed. The fitness of the sign in this
case would be in proportion to the associa
tions already connected with it. The question
of the Priests and Levites. " Why baptizest
thou then?" (John i. 25) implies that they
wondered, not at the thing itself, but at its
being done for Israelites by one who dis
claimed the names which, in their eyes,
would have justified the introduction of a
new order.
PROVERBS, BOOK OF. The superscrip
tions which are affixed to several portions of
the Book, in i. 1, x. 1, xxv. 1, attribute the
authorship of those portions to Solomon, the
son of David, king of Israel. With the ex
ception of the last two chapters, which are
distinctly assigned to other authors, it is pro
bable that the statement of the superscriptions
is in the main correct, and that the majority

of the Proverbs contained in the Book were
uttered or collected by Solomon. Speaking
roughly the Book consists of three main divi
sions, with two appendices. 1. Chaps, i.-ix.
form •. connected didactic poem, in which
Wisdom is praised and the youth exhorted to
devote himself to her. This portion is pre
ceded by an introduction and title describing
the character and general aim of the Book.
2. Chaps, x.-xxiv., with the title, "the Pro
verbs of Solomon," consist of three parts : —
x. 1-xxii. 16, a collection of single proverbs,
and detached sentences out of the region of
moral teaching and worldly prudence ; xxii.
17-xxiv. 21, a more connected didactic poem,
with an introduction, xxii. 17-22, which con
tains precepts of righteousness and prudence:
xxiv. 23-34, with the inscription, " these
also belong to the wise," a collection of un
connected maxims, which serve as an ap
pendix to the preceding. Then follows the
third division, xxv. -xxix., which, according
to the superscription, professes to be a col
lection of Solomon's proverbs,' consisting of
single sentences, which the men of the court
of Hezekiah copied out. The first appendix,
ch. xxx., " the words of Agur, the son of
Jakeh," is a collection of partly proverbial
and partly enigmatical sayings ; the second,
ch. xxxi,, is divided into two parts, "the
words of king Lemuel " (1-6), and an alpha
betical acrostic in praise of a virtuous woman,
which occupies the rest of the chapter. Who
was Agur, and who was Jakeh, are questions
which have been often asked, and never satis
factorily answered. All that can be said of
him is that he is an unknown Hebrew sage,
the son of an equally unknown Jakeh, and
that he lived after the time of Hezekiah.
Lemuel, like Agur, is unknown. It is even
uncertain whether he is to be regarded as a
real personage, or whether the name is
merely symbolical. If the present text be
retained it is difficult to see what other con
clusion can be arrived at. If Lemuel were
a real personage he must have been a foreign
neighbour-king or the chief of a nomade
tribe, and in this case the proverbs attri
buted to him must have come to tbe Hebrews
from a foreign source, which is highly im
probable and contrary to all we know of the
people. The Proverbs are frequently quoted
or alluded to in the New Testament, and the
canonicity of the Book thereby confirmed.
The following is a list of the principal
passages : —
Prov. i. 36 compare Rom. iii. 10, lo.
iii- 7 „ Rom. xii. IG.
iii. 11, 12 „ Heb. xii. 5, 6 ; see also. Rev
iii. 10.
iii. 34 „ Jam. iv. 6.
x. 12 „ 1 Pet. iv. 8

PROVINCE

451

PSALMS, BOOK OF

Prov. xi. 32 compare 1 Pet iv. 18.
xvii. 13 „ Rom. xii. 17 ; 1 Thess. v. 15 ;
1 Pet. iii. 9.
xvii. 27 „ Jam. i. 19.
xx. 9 „ 1 John i. 8.
xx. 20 „ Matt. xv. 4 ; Mark vii. 10.
xxii. 8 (LIS..") „ 2 Cor. is. 7.
xxv. 21, 22 „ Rom. xii. 20.
xevi. 11 „ 2 Pet ii. 22.
xxvii. 1 » Jam. iv. 13, 14.

PROVINCE. In the N. T. we are brought
into contact with the administration of the
provinces of the Roman empire. The lassi-
fication of provinces supposed to need military
control, and therefore placed under the im
mediate government of the Caesar, and those
still belonging theoretically to the republic,
and administered by the senate ; and of the
latter again into proconsular and praetorian,
is recognised, more or less distinctly, in the
Gospels and the Acts. [Proconsul ; Pro
curator.] The orpanryot of Acts xvi. 22
(" magistrates," A. V.), on the other hand,
were the duumviri, or praetors of a Roman
colony. The right of any Roman citizen to
appeal from a provincial governor to the
emperor meets us as asserted by St. Paul
(Actsxxv. 11). In the council of Acts xxv. 12
we recognise, the assessors who were ap
pointed to take part in the judicial functions
of the governor.
PSALMS, BOOK OF. The present Hebrew
name of the Book is Tehillim, " Praises."
But in the actual superscriptions of the
psalms the word Tehilldh is applied only to
one', Ps. cxiv., which is indeed emphatically
a praise-hymn. The LXX. entitled them
¦iaXfj-oi, or " Psalms." The Christian Church
obviously received the Psalter from the Jews
not only as a constituent portion of the sacred
volume of Holy Scripture, but also as the
liturgical hymn-book which the Jewish
Church had regularly used in the Temple.
The Book contains 150 Psalms, and may be
divided into five great divisions or books,
which must have been originally formed at
different periods. This is by various further
considerations rendered all but certain.
Thus, there is a remarkable difference be
tween the several Books in their use of the
divine names Jehovah and Elohim, to desig
nate Almighty God. In Book»I. (i.-xli.) the
former name prevails : it is found 272 times,
while Elohim occurs but 1 5 times. In Book II.
(xlii.-lxxii.), Elohim is found more than five
times as often as Jehovah. In Book III,
(lxxiii.-lxxxix.), the preponderance of Elohim
in the earlier is balanced by that of Jehovah
in the latter psalms of the Book. In
Book IV. (xc.-cvi.) the name Jehovah is ex
clusively employed ; and so also, virtually, in
Book V. (evii.-cl.), Elohim being there found
only in two passages incorporated from earlier

psalms. We find the several groups of psalms
which form the respective five Books dis
tinguished, in great measure, by their super
scriptions from each other. Book I. is, by
the superscriptions, entirely Davidic ; nor do
we find in it a trace of any but David's
authorship. We may well believe that the
compilation of the Book was also David's
work. Book II. appears by the date of its
latest psalm, Ps. xlvi., to have been com
piled in the reign of king Hezekiah. It
would naturally comprise, 1st, several or
most of the Levitical psalms anterior to that
date ; and 2ndly, the remainder of the psalms
of David previously uncompiled. To these
latter the collector, after properly appending
the single psalm of Solomon, has affixed the
notice that "the prayers of David the son of
Jesse are ended" (Ps. lxxii. 20) ; evidently
implying, at least on the prima facie view,
that no more compositions of the royal
psalmist remained. How then do we find,
in the later Books III., IV., V., further
psalms yet marked with David's name? The
name David is used to denote, in other parts
of Scripture, after the original David's death,
the then head of the Davidic family ', and so,
in prophecy, the Messiah of the seed of
David, who was to sit on David's throne
(1 K. xii. 16; Hos. iii. 5 ; Is. Iv. 3 ; Jer.
xxx. 9 ; Ez. xxxiv. 23-24). And thus then
we may explain the meaning of the later
Davidic superscriptions in the Psalter. The
psalms to which they belong were written by
Hezekiah, by Josiah, by Zerubbabel, or others
of David's posterity. The above explanation
removes all serious difficulty respecting the
history of the later Books of the Psalter.
Book III., the Interest of which centres m
the times of Hezekiah, stretches out, by its
last two psalms, to the reign of Manasseh : it
was probably compiled in the reign of Josiah.
Book IV. contains the remainder of the
psalms up to the date of the Captivity ;
Book V. the Psalms of the Return. There is
nothing to distinguish these two Books from
each other in respect of outward decoration
or arrangement, and they may have been
compiled together in the days of Nehemiah. —
Connexion ofJ^lie Psalms with the Israelitish
history. — The psalm of Moses, Ps. xc, which
is in point of actual date the earliest, faith
fully reflects the long, weary wanderings, the
multiplied provocations, and the consequent
punishments of the wilderness. It is, how
ever, with David that Israelitish psalmody
may be said virtually to commence. Pre
vious mastery over his harp had probably
already prepared the way for his future
strains when the anointing oil of Samuel
deseaadcd upon him, and he began to drink
2 G 2

PSALMS, BOOK OF

452

PSALMS, BOOK OF

in special measure, from that day forward, of
the Spirit of the Lord. It was then that,
victorious at home over the mysterious melan
choly of Saul and in the field over the vaunt
ing champion of the Philistine hosts, he sang
how from even babes and sucklings God had
ordained strength because of His enemies
(Ps. viii.). His next psalms are of a different
character ; his persecutions at the hands .of
Saul had commenced. When David's reign
has begun, it is still with the most exciting
incidents of his history, private or public,
that his psalms are mainly associated. There
are none to which the period of his reign at
Hebron can lay exclusive claim. But after
the conquest of Jerusalem his psalmody
opened afresh with the solemn removal of
the ark to Mount Zion; and in Pss. xxiv.-
xxix., which belong together, we have the
earliest definite instance of David's sys
tematic composition or arrangement of
psalms for public use. Even of those psalms
which cannot be referred to any definite oc
casion, several reflect the general historical
circumstances of the times. Thus Ps. ix. is
ti thanksgiving for the deliverance of the land
of Israel from its former heathen oppressors.
Ps. x. is a prayer for the deliverance of the
Church from the high-handed oppression
exercised from within. The succeeding
psalms dwell on the same theme, the virtual
internal heathenism by which the Church of
God was weighed down. So that there re
main very few, e. g. Pss. xv.-xvii,, xix.,
xxxii. (with its choral appendage xxiii.),
xxxvii., of which some historical account
may not be given. A season of repose near
the close of his reign induced David to com
pose his grand personal thanksgiving for the
deliverances of his whole life, Ps. xviii. ; the
date of which is approximately determined
by the place at which it is inserted in the
history (2 Sam. xxii.). It was probably at
this period that he finally arranged for the
sanctuary-service that collection of his psalms
which now constitutes the First Book of the
Psalter. The course of David's reign was
not, however, as yet complete. The solemn
assembly convened by him for the dedication
of tbe materials of the future Temple (1 Chr.
xxviii. xxix.) would naturally call forth a
renewal of his best efforts to glorify the God
of Israel in psalms ; and to this occasion we
doubtless owe the great festal hymns Pss.
lxv.-lxvii., lxviii., containing a large review
of the past history, present position, and pro
spective glories of God's chosen people. The
supplications of Ps. lxix. suit best with the
renewed distress occasioned by the sedition of
Adonijah. Ps. lxxi., to which Ps. lxx., a
fragment of a former psalm, is introductory,

forms David's parting strain. Yet that the
psalmody of Israel may not seem finally to
terminate with him, the glories of the future
are forthwith anticipated by his son in Ps.
lxxii. For a time the single psalm of Solomon
remained the only addition to those of David.
If, however, religious psalmody were to re
vive, somewhat might be not unreasonably
anticipated from the great assembly of King
Asa (2 Chr. xv.) ; and Ps. 1. suits so exactly
with the circumstances of that occasion, that
it may well be assigned to it. The great
prophetical ode Ps. xiv. connects itself most
readily with the splendours of Jehoshaphat's
reign. And after that psalmody had thus
definitely revived, there would be no reason
why it should not thenceforward manifest
itself in seasons of anxiety, as well as of fes
tivity and thanksgiving. Hence Ps. xlix.
Yet the psalms of this period flow but
sparingly. Pss. xlii.-xliv., Ixxiv., are best
assigned to the reign of Ahaz. The reign of
Hezekiah is naturally rich in psalmody.
Pss. xlvi., lxxiii., lxxv., lxxvi,, connect
themselves with the resistance to the supre
macy of the Assyrians and the divine destruc
tion of their host. We arc now brought to a
series of psalms of peculiar interest, springing
out of the political and religious history of
the separated ten tribes. In date of actual
composition they commence before the times
of Hezekiah. The earliest is probably Ps.
lxxx., a supplication for the Israelitish people
at the time of the Syrian oppression. All
these psalms (lxxx.-lxxxiii.) are i-eferred by
their superscriptions to the Levite singers,
and thus bear witness to the efforts of the
Levites to reconcile the two branches of
the chosen nation. The captivity of Manasseh
himself proved to be but temporary ; but the
sentence which his sins had provoked upon
Judah and Jerusalem still remained to be
executed, and precluded the hope that God's
salvation could be revealed till after such an
outpouring of His judgments as the nation
never yet had known. Labour and sorrow
must be the lot of the present generation ;
through these mercy might occasionally gleam,
but the glory which was eventually to be
manifested must be for posterity alone. The
psalms of Book IV. bear generally the im
press of this feeling. We pass to Book V.
Ps. cvii. is the opening, psalm of the return,
sung probably at the first Feast of Taber
nacles (Ezr. iii.). The ensuing Davidic
psalms may well be ascribed to Zerubbabel.
We here pass over the questions connected
with Ps. cxix. ; but a directly historical cha
racter belongs to Pss. exx.-exxxiv., styled in
our A. V. " Songs of Degrees." Internal evi
dence refers these to the period when the

PSALTERY

453

PTOLEMAEUS

Jews under Nehemiah were, in the very face
of the enemy, repairing the walls of Jeru
salem, and the title may well signify " Songs
of goings up upon the walls," the psalms
being, from their brevity, well adapted to be
sung by the workmen and guards while en
gaged in their respective duties. Of some
what earlier date, it maybe,'are Ps. cxxxvii.
and the ensuing Davidic psalms. Of these,
Ps. cxxxix. is a psalm of the new birth of
Israel, from the womb of the Babylonish cap
tivity, to a life of righteousness ; Pss. cxl.-
cxliii. may be a picture of the trials to which
the unrestored exiles were still exposed in
the realms of the Gentiles. Henceforward,
as we approach the close of the Psalter, its
strains rise in cheerfulness ; and it fittingly
terminates with Pss. cxlvii.-cl., which were
probably sung on the occasion of the thanks
giving procession of Neh. xii., after the re
building of the walls of Jerusalem had been
completed. . PSALTERY, was a stringed instrument of
music to accompany the voice. The Hebrew
nebel, or nebel, is so rendered in the A. V. in
all passages where it occurs, except in Is. v.
12, xiv. 11, xxii. 24 marg. ; Am. v. 23, vi.
5, where it is translated viol. The ancient
viol was a six-stringed guitar. In the
Prayer Book version of the Psalms, the
Hebrew word is rendered "lute." This in
strument resembled the guitar, but was su
perior in tone, being larger, and having a
convex back, somewhat like the vertical
section of a gourd, or more nearly resembling
that of a pear. These three instruments, the
psaltery or sautry, the viol, and the lute, are
frequently associated in the old English poets,
and were clearly instruments resembling
each other, though still different. The Greek
Psalterium (\haXrripiov) from which our word
is derived, denotes an instrument played with
the fingers instead of a plectrum or quill, the
verb being used of twanging the bow-string.
It is impossible to say positively with what
instrument the nebel of the Hebrew exactly
corresponded. From the fact that nebel in
Hebrew also signifies a wine-bottle or skin, it
has been conjectured that the term when
applied to a musical instrument denotes a
kind of bagpipe. The psalteries of David
were made of cypress (2 Sam. vi. 5), those of
Solomon of algum or almug-trees (2 Chr. ix.
11). Among the instruments of the band
which played before Nebuchadnezzar's golden
image on the plains of Dura, we again meet
with the psaltery (Dan. iii. 5, 10, 15 ; pSsan-
terin). The Chaldee word appears to be merely
a modification of the Greek psalterium.
PTOL'EMEEandPTOLEME'US.— 1. "The
son of Dorymenes" (1 Mace. iii. 38 ; 2 Mace.

iv. 45 ; comp. Polyb. v. 61), a courtier who
possessed great influence with Antiochus
Epiphanes. He was induced by a bribe to sup
port the cause of Menelaus (2 Maec. iv. 45-
50). Ptolemy took part in the great expedi
tion which Lysias organized against Judas
(1 Mace. iii. 38).— 2. Thespn of Agesarchus,
a Megalopolitan, surnamed Macron (2 Mace.
x. 12), who was governor of Cyprus during
the minority of Ptolemy Philometor. He af
terwards deserted the Egyptian service to join
Antiochus Epiphanes. He stood high in the
favour of Antiochus, and received from him
the government of Phoenicia and Coele-Syria
(2 Mace. viii. 8, x. 11, 12). On the accession
of Antiochus Eupator, his conciliatory policy
towards the Jews brought him into suspicion
at court. He was deprived of his govern
ment, and in consequence of this disgrace he
poisoned himself c. b.c. 164 (2 Mace. x. 13).
— 3. The son of Abubus, who married the
daughter of Simon the Maccabee. He was a
man of great wealth, and being invested with
the government of the district of Jericho,
formed the design of usurping the sovereignty
of Judaea.PTOLEMAE'US I. SOTER, tbe son of
Lagus, a Macedonian of low rank, distin
guished himself greatly during the campaigns
of Alexander; at whose death, he secured for
himself the government of Egypt, where he
proceeded at once to lay the foundations of a
kingdom (b. c. 323). He abdicated in favour
of his youngest son Ptol. II. Philadelphus,
two years before his death, which took place
in b.c 283. Ptol. Soter is described very
briefly in Daniel (xi. 5) as one of those who
should receive part of the empire of Alexander
when it was " divided toward the four winds
of heaven."

PTOLEMAE'US II. PHILADEL'PHUS,
(b.c 285-247) the j'oungest son of Ptol. I.,
was made king two years before his death, to
confirm the irregular succession. The con
flict between Egypt and Syria was renewed
during his reign in consequence of the
intrigue of his half-brother Magas. " But in

PTOLEMAEUS

454

PTOLEMAEUS

the end of gears they [the kings of Syria and
Egypt] joined themselves togetlier [in friend
ship]. For the king's daughter of the south
[Berenice, the daughter of Ptol. Philadelphus]
came [as bride] to the king of the north
[Antiochus II. ], to make an agreement " (Dan.
xi. 6). In other respects, however, this
reign was a critical epoch for the develop
ment of Judaism, as it was for the intellectual
history of the ancient world. The liberal
encouragement which Ptolemy bestowed on
literature and science gave birth to a new
school of writers and thinkers. The critical
faculty was called forth in place of the creative,
and learning in some sense supplied the place
of original speculation. It was impossible
that the Jew, who was now become as true a
citizen of the world as the Greek, should
remain passive in the conflict of opinions
It is enough now to observe the greatness of
the consequences involved in the union of
Greek language with Jewish thought. From
this time the Jew was familiarized with the
great types of Western literature, and in some
degree aimed at imitating them. An elder
Philo celebrated Jerusalem in a long hexame
ter poem. Another epic poem, " on the
Jews," was written by Theodotus. The work
of AitiSTonrLirs on the interpretation of the
Law was a still more important result of the
combination of the old faith with Greek
culture, as forming the groundwork of later
allegories. A second time and in a new
fashion Egypt disciplined a people of God.
It first impressed upon a nation the firm
unity of a family, and then in due time recon
nected a matured people with the world from
which it had been called but.

Ptolemaeus II.
PTOLEMAE'US III. EUER'GETES (b.c.
247-222) was the eldest son of Ptol. Philad.
and brother of Berenice the wife of Antiochus
II. The repudiation and murder of his sister
furnished him with an occasion for invading
Syria (c. b.c. 246). He "stood up, a branch
out of her stock [sprung from the same
parents] in his [father's] estate; and set
himself at [the head of] his armg, and came
against the fortresses of the king of the north

[Antiochus], and dealt against them and
prevailed" (Dan. xi. 7). He extended hig
conquests as far as Antioch, and then east
wards to Babylon, but was recalled to Egypt
by tidings of seditions which had broken out
there. His success was brilliant and com
plete. " He carried captive into Egypt the
gods [of the conquered nations] with their
molten images, and with their precious vessels
of silver and gold" (Dan. xi. 8). This cap
ture of sacred trophies earned for the king
the name Euergetes — " Benefactor." After
his return to Egypt (cir. b.c. 213) he suffered
a great part of the conquered provinces to
fall again under the power of Seleucus. But
the attempts which Seleucus made to attack
Egypt terminated disastrously to himself.
He first collected a fleet which was almost
totally destroyed by a storm ; and then, as if
by some judicial infatuation, " he came against
tlie realm of the king of the south, and [being
defeated] returned to h is own land [to
Antioch] " (Dan. xi. 9 ; Justin xxvii. 2).
After tbis Ptolemy " desisted some years from
[attacking] the king of the north" ( Dan. xi. 8).

Ptolemaeus III
PTOLEMAE'US IV. PHILOP'ATOR (b.c.
222-205). After the death of Ptol. Euergetes
tbe line of the Ptolemies rapidly degenerated.
Ptol. Philopator, his eldest son, who suc
ceeded him, was to the last degree sensua.,
effeminate, and debased. But externally his
kingdom retained its power and splendour
and when circumstances forced him to action,
Ptolemy himself showed ability not unworthy
of his race. The description of the campaign
of Raphia (b.c 217) in the Book of Daniel
gives a vivid description of his character.
"The sons of Seleucus [Seleucus Ceraunus and
Antiochus the Great] were stirred up, and as*
sembled a multitude of great forces; and one
of them [Antiochus] came and overflowed and
passed through [even to Pelusium : Polyb. v.
62]; and he returned [from Seleucia, to
which he had retired during a faithless truce :
Polyb. v. 66]; and thry [Antiochus and
Ptolemy] were stirred up [in war] even to his
[Antiochus'] fortress. And the king of the
south [Ptol. Philopator] was moved with

PTOLEMAEUS

455

PTOLEMAEU

choler, and came forth and fought with him
{at Raphia] ; and he set fo?-th a great
multitude ; and the multitude was given into
his hand [to lead to battle] ; and the multi
tude raised itself [proudly for the conflict],
and his heart was lifted up, and he cast down
ten thousands (cf. Polyb. v. 86) ; but lie was
not vigorous " [to reap the fruits of his vic
tory] (Dan. xi. 10-12 ; cf. 3 Maec. i. 1-5).
After this decisive sueeess Ptol. Philopator
visited the neighbouring cities of Syria, and
among others Jerusalem. After offering
sacrifices of thanksgiving in the Temple he
attempted to enter the sanctuary. A sudden
paralysis hindered his design ; hut when he
returned to Alexandria he determined to in
flict on the Alexandrine Jews the vengeance
for his disappointment. He was succeeded
by his only child, Ptol. V. Epiphanes, who
was at the time only four or five years old.

Ptolemaeus IV.
PTOLEMAE'US V. EPIPH'ANES (b.c.
£05-181). The reign of Ptol. Epiphanes was
a critical epoch in the history of the Jews.
The rivalry between the Syrian and Egyptian
parties, which had for some time divided the
people, came to an open rupture in the strug
gles which marked his minority. In the
strong language of Daniel, " Tlie robbers of
the people exalted themselves to establish the
vision " (Dan. xi. 14). The accession of
Ptolemy and the confusion of a disputed
regency furnished a favourable opportunity
for foreign invasion. " Many stood up
against the king of the south " under Antio
chus the Great and Philip III. of Macedonia,
who formed a league for the dismemberment
of his kingdom. "So the king of the north
[Antiochus] came, and cast up a mount, and
took the most fenced city [Sidon], and the
arms of the south did not uithstand " [at
Paneas, b.c 198] (Dan. xi. 14, 15). The
Romans interfered, and in order to retain the
provinces of Coele-S3'ria, Phoenicia, and
Judaea, Antiochus "gave him [Ptolemy, his
daughter Cleopatra] a young maiden" [as his
betrothed wife] (Dan. xi. 17). But in the
end his policy only partially succeeded.
After the marriage of Ptolemy and Cleopatra

was consummated (b.c. 193), Cleopatra did
" not stand 071 his side," but supported her
husband in maintaining the alliance with
Rome. The disputed provinces, however,
remained in the possession of Antiochus ;
and Ptolemy was poisoned at the time when
he was preparing an expedition to recover
them from Seleucus, the unworthy successor
of Antiochus.

Ptolemaeus V.
PTOLEMAE'US VI. PHILOME'TOR (b.c.
181-145). On the death of Ptol. Epiphanes,
his wife Cleopatra held the regency for her
young son, Ptol. Philometor, and preserved
peace with Syria till she died, b.c. 173. The
government then fell into unworthy hands,
and an attempt was made to recover Syria
(comp. 2 Mace. iv. 21). Antiochus Epiphanes
seems to have made the claim a pretext for
invading Egypt. The generals of Ptolemy
were defeated near Pelusium, probably at the
close of b.c. 171 (1 Mace. i. 16 ff.) ; and in
the next year Antiochus, having secured the
person of the young king, reduced almost the
whole of Egypt (comp. 2 Mace. v. 1). Mean
while Ptol. Euergetes II., the younger brother
of Ptol. Philometor, assumed the supreme
power at Alexandria ; and Antiochus, under
the pretext of recovering the crown for
Philometor, besieged Alexandria in b.c. 169.
By this time, however, his selfish designs
were apparent : the brothers were reconciled,
and Antiochus was obliged to acquiesce for
the time in the arrangement which they
made. But while doing so he prepared for
another invasion of Egypt, and was already
approaching Alexandria, when he was met
by the Roman embassy led by C. Popillius
Laenas, who, in the name of the Roman
senate, insisted on his immediate retreat (b.c
168,) a command which the late victory at
Pydna made it impossible to disobey. These
campaigns, which are intimately connected
with the visits of Antiochus to JeYusalem in
n.c 170, 168, are briefly described in Dan.
xi. 25-30. After the discomfiture of Antio
chus, Philometor was for some time occupied
in resisting the ambitious designs of his
brother, who made two attempts to add

PTOLEMAIS

456

PUL

Cyprus to the kingdom of Cyrene, which was i
allotted to him. Having effectually put j
down these attempts, he turned his attention
again to Syria. During the brief reign of
Antiochus Eupator he seems to have sup
ported Philip against the regent Lysias
(Comp. 2 Mace. ix. 29). After the murder
of Eupator by Demetrius I., Philometor
espoused the cause of Alexander Balas, the
rival claimant to the throne, because Deme
trius had made an attempt on Cyprus ; and
when Alexander had defeated and slain his
rival, he accepted the overtures which he
made, and gave him his daughter Cleopati'a
in marriage (b.c. 150: 1 Mace. x. 51-58).
But, according to 1 Mace. xi. 1, 10, &c, the
alliance was not made in good faith, but only
as a means towards securing possession of
Syria. According to others, Alexander him
self made a treacherous attempt on the life of
Ptolemy (comp. I Maec. xi. 10), which
caused him to transfer his support to Deme
trius II. , to whom also he gave his daughter,
whom he had taken from Alexander. The
whole of Syria was quickly subdued, and he
was crowned at Antioch king of Egypt and
Asia (1 Mace. xi. 13). Alexander made an
effort to recover his crown, but was defeated
by the forces of Ptolemy and Demetrius, and
shortly afterwards put to death in Arabia.
Bu^ Ptolemy did not long enjoy his success.
He fell from his horse in the battle, and died
within a few days (1 Mace. xi. 18). Ptole
maeus Philometor is the last king of Egypt
who is noticed in Sacred history, and his
reign was marked also by the erection of the
Temple at Leontopolis.

Ptolemaeus VI.
PTOLEMA'IS. [Accho.j
PUBLICAN. The class designated by
this word in the N. T. wore employed as col
lectors of the Roman revenue. The Roman
senate farmed the vectigalia (direct taxes)
and the portoria (customs) to capitalists who
undertook to pay a given sum into the trea
sury (in publicum), and so received the name
of publicani. Contracts of this kind fell
naturally into the hands of the equites, as the
richest class of Romans. They appointed

managers, under whom were tbe portitores,
the actual custom-house officers, who exa
mined each bale of goods exported or im
ported, assessed its value more or less arbi
trarily, wrote out the ticket, and enforced
payment. The latter were commonly natives
of the province in which they were stationed,
as being brought daily into contact with all
classes of the population. The name publi
cani was used popularly, and in the N. T.
exclusively, of the portitores. The system
was essentially a vicious one. The portitores
were encouraged in the most vexatious or
fraudulent exactions, and a remedy was all
but impossible. They overcharged whenever
they had an opportunity (Luke iii. 13). They
brought false charges of smuggling in the
hope of extorting hush-money (Luke xix. 8).
They detained and opened letters on mere
suspicion. It was the basest of all liveli
hoods. All this was enough to bring the
class into ill-favour everywhere. In Judaea
and Galilee there were special circumstances
of aggravation. The employment brought
out all the besetting vices of the Jewish cha
racter. The strong feeling of many Jews as
to the absolute unlawfulness of paying tri
bute at all made matters worse. The Scribes
who discussed the question (Matt. xxii. 15),
for the most part answered it in the negative.
In addition to their other faults, accordingly,
the Publicans of the N. T. were regarded as
traitors and apostates, defiled by their fre
quent intercourse with the heathen, willing
tools of the oppressor. The class thus prac
tically excommunicated furnished some of the
earliest disciples both of the Baptist and of
Our Lord. The position of Zacchaeus as a
" chief among the publicans " (Luke xix. 2),
implies a gradation of some kind among the
persons thus employed.
PUB'LIUS, the chief man—probably the
governor — of Melita, who received and lodger
St. Paul and his companions on the occasioi
of their being shipwrecked off that islanc
(Acts xxviii. 7). Publius may perhaps havi
been the delegate of the Roman praetor ol
Sicily to whose jurisdiction Melita or Malta
belonged. PU'DENS, a Christian friend of Timothy
at Rome (2 Tim. iv. 21). According to
legend he was the host of St. Peter and
friend of St. Paul, and was martyred under
Nero. PUL, a country or nation mentioned in Is.
lxvi. 19. It is spoken of with distant na
tions, and is supposed by some to represent
the island Philae in Egypt.
PUL, an Assyrian king, and the first of
those monarchs mentioned in Scripture. He
made an expedition against Menahem, king

PULSE

457

PURIFICATION

of Israel about b.c. 770 (2 K. xv. 19, 20).
The Assyrian monuments have a king, whose
name is read very doubtfully as Vul-lush or
Ira-lush, at about the period when Pul must
have reigned. His probable date is b.c. 800-
750, while Pul, as we have seen, ruled over
Assyria in b.c 770. The Hebrew name Pul
is undoubtedly curtailed ; for no Assyrian
name consists of a single element.
PULSE occurs only in the A. V. in Dan. i.
12, 16, as the translation of words, the literal
meaning of which is "seeds" of any kind.
Probably the term denotes uncooked grain
of any kind, whether barley, wheat, millet,
vetches, &c.
PUNISHMENTS. Punishments are two
fold, Capital and Secondary. I. (A.) Of the
former kind, the following only are pre
scribed by the Law. 1. Stoning, which was
the ordinary mode of execution (Ex. xvii. 4 ;
Luke xx. 6 ; John x. 31 ; Acts xiv. 5). In
the case of idolatry, and it may be presumed
in other cases also, the witnesses, of whom
there were to be at least two, were required
to cast the first stone (Deut. xiii. 9 ; Acts vii.
58). 2. Hanging is mentioned as a distinct
punishment (Num. xxv. 4 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 6,
9). 3. Burning, in pre-Mosaic times, was
the punishment for unchastity (Gen. xxxviii.
24). Under the Law it is ordered in the
case of a priest's daughter (Lev. xxi. 9). 4.
Death by the sword or spear is named in the
Law (Ex. xix. 13, xxxii. 27 ; Num. xxv.
7) ; and it occurs frequently in regal and
post-Babylonian times (1 K. ii. 25, 34, xix.
1; 2 Chr. xxi. 4, &c). 5. Strangling is
said by the Rabbins to have been regarded
as the most common but least severe of the
capital punishments, and to have been per
formed by immersing the convict in clay or
mud, and then strangling him by a cloth
twisted round the neck. (B.) Besides these
ordinary capital punishments, we read of
others, either of foreign introduction or of
an irregular kind. Among the former, 1.
Crucifixion is treated elsewhere. 2. Drown
ing, though not ordered under the Law, was
practised at Rome, and is said by St. Jerome
to have been in use among the Jews. 3.
Saiving asunder or crushing beneath iron
instruments (2 Sam. xii. 31, and perhaps
Prov. xx. 26 ; Heb. xi. 37). 4. Pounding
in a mortar, or beating to death, is alluded to
in Prov. xxvii. 22, but not as a legal punish
ment, and cases are described (2 Mace. vi.
28, 30). 5. Precipitation, attempted in the
case of our Lord at Nazareth, and carried
out in that of captives from the Edomites,
and of St. James, who is said to have been
cast from "the pinnacle" of the Temple.
Criminals executed by law were buried out

side the city-gates, and heaps of stones were
flung upon their graves (Josh. vii. 25, 26 ;
2 Sam. xviii. 17; Jer. xxii. 19).— II. Of
secondai-y punishments among the Jews the
original principles were, 1. Retaliation, "eye
for eye," &c. (Ex. xxi. 24, 25). 2. Com
pensation, identical (restitution), or analo
gous; payment for loss of time or of power
(Ex. xxi. 18-36; Lev. xxiv. 18-21; Deut.
xix. 21). Slander against a wife's honour
was to be compensated to her parents by a
fine of 100 shekels, and the traducer him
self to be punished with stripes (Deut. xxii.
18, 19). 3. Stripes, whose number was not
to exceed forty (Deut. xxv. 3) ; whence the
Jews took care not to exceed thirty-nine (2
Cor. xi. 24). 4. Scourging with thorns is
mentioned Judg. viii. 16. The stocks are
mentioned Jer. xx. 2 ; passing through fire,
2 Sam. xii. 31 ; mutilation, Judg. i. 6 ; 2
Mace. vii. 4 ; and see 2 Sam. iv. 12 ; pluck
ing out hair, Is. 1. 6 ; in later times, impri
sonment, and confiscation or exile, Ezr. vii.
26; Jer. xxxvii. 15, xxxviii. 6; Acts iv. 3,
v. 18, xii. 4.
PUN'ON, one of the halting-places of the
Israelite host during the last portion of the
Wandering (Num. xxxiii. 42, 43). By Eu
sebius and Jerome it is identified with Phaeno,
which contained the copper-mines so noto
rious at that period, and was situated between
Petra and Zoar.
PURIFICATION, in its legal and technical
sense, is applied to the ritual observances
whereby an Israelite was formally absolved
from the taint of uncleanness. The essence
of purification, in all cases, consisted in the
use . of water, whether by way of ablution
or aspersion ; but in the majora delicta of
legal uncleanness, sacrifices of various kinds
were added, and the ceremonies throughout
bore an expiatory character. Ablution of
the person and of the clothes was required
in the cases mentioned in Lev. xv. 18, xi.
25, 40, xv. 16, 17. In cases of childbirth
the sacrifice was increased to a lamb of the
first year with a pigeon or turtle-dove (Lev.
xii. 6). The ceremonies of purification re
quired in cases of contact with a corpse or a
grave are detailed in Num. xix. The purifi
cation of the leper was a yet more formal
proceeding, and indicated the highest pitch
of uncleanness. The rites are described in
Lev. xiv. 4-32. The necessity of purification
was extended in the post- Babylonian period
to a variety of unauthorized cases. Cups
and pots, brazen vessels and couches, were
washed as a matter of ritual observance
(Mark vii. 4). The washing of the hands
before meals was conducted in a formal
manner (Mark vii. 3).— What may have been

PURIM

45S

QUAILS

the specific causes of uncleanness in those
who came up to purify themselves before the
Passover (John xi. 55), or in those who had
taken upon themselves the Nazarite's vow
(Acts xxi. 24, 26) we are not informed. — In
conclusion it may be observed, that the dis
tinctive feature in the Mosaic rites of purifi
cation is their expiatory character. The idea
of uncleanness was not peculiar to the Jew.
But with all other nations simple ablution
sufficed ; no sacrifices were demanded. The
Jew alone was taught by the use of expiatory
offerings to discern to its full extent the con
nexion between the outward sign and the
nwarrl fount of impurity.
PURIM (Lots), the annual festival insti
tuted to commemorate the preservation of
the Jews in Persia from the massacre with
which they were threatened through the ma
chinations of Haman (Esth. ix.). It was
probably called Purim by the Jews fn irony.
Their great enemy Haman appears to have
been very superstitious, and much given to
casting lots (Esth. iii. 7i. They gave the
name Purim, or " Lots," to the commemora
tive festival, because he had thrown lots to
ascertain what day would be auspicious for
him to carry into effect the bloody decree
which the king had issued at his instance
(Esth. ix. 24). The festival lasted two days,
and was regularly observed on the 14th and
l5thof Adar. According to modern custom, as
soon as the stars begin to appear, when the
14th of the month has commenced, candles
are lighted up in token of rejoicing, and the
people assemble in the synagogue. After a
short prayer and thanksgiving, the reading
of the Book of Esther commences. The book
is written in a peculiar manner, on a roll
called "the Roll" (Megillah). When the
reader comes to the name of Haman, the con
gregation cry out, " May his name be blotted
out," or " Let the name of the ungodly
perish." When the Megillah is read through,
the whole congregation exclaim, " Cursed be
Haman ; blessed be Mordecai ; cursed be
Zoresh (the wife of Haman) ; blessed be
Esther ; cursed be all idolaters ; blessed he
all Israelites, and blessed be Harbonah who
hanged Haman." In the morning service in
the synagogue, on the 14th, after the prayers,
the passage is read from the Law (Ex. xvii.
8-16) whieh relates the destruction of the
Amalekites, the people of Agag (1 Sam. xv.
8), the supposed ancestor of Haman (Esth.
iii. 1). The Megillah is then read again in
the same manner. The 14th of Adar, as the
very day of the deliverance of the Jews, is
more solemnly kept than the 13th ; but when
the service in the synagogue is over all give
themselves up to merrymaking.

PURSE. The Hebrews, when on a jour
ney, were provided with a hag, in which
they carried their money (Gen. xiii. 35 ;
Prov. i. 14, vii. 20 ; Is. xlvi. 6), and, if they
were merchants, also their weights (Deut.
xxv. 13 ; Mic. vi. 11). This bag is described
in the N. T. by the terms fiaXavriov (Luke x.
4, xii. 33, xxii. 35, 36), and y\(ocro-6Kop.ov
(John xii. 6, xiii. 29). The girdle also served
as a purse (Matt. x. 9 ; Mark vi. 8). Ladies
wore ornamental purses (Is. iii. 23).
PUT (1 Chr. i. 8 ; Nah. iii. 9) [Phut.]
PUTE'OLI, the great landing-place of tra
vellers to Italy from the Levant, and the
harbour to which the Alexandrian corn-ships
brought their cargoes (Acts xxvii. 13). The
celebrated hay which is now " the bay of
Naples," was then called " Sinus Puteolanus."
The city was at the north-eastern angle of the
bay. The name Puteoli arose from the strong
mineral springs which are characteristic of
the place. It is now a fourth-rate Italian
town, still retaining the name of Pozzuoli,
PU'TIEL. One of the daughters of Putiel
was wife of Eleazar the son of Aaron, and
mother of Phinehas (Ex. vi. 25).
PYGARG occurs (Deut. xiv. 5) in the list
of clean animals as the rendering of the Heb.
dishon, the name apparently of some species
of antelope, though it is by no means easy to
identify it.

QUAILS (Heb. seldv, seldiv). There can
be no doubt that the Hebrew word
in the Pentateuch (Ex. xvi. 13 ; Num. xi.
31, 32) and the 105th Ps. denotes the common

Quail i Colurniz vttlgurU),

QUARTUS

459

RABBAH

quail (Coturnix dactylisonans) . The expres
sion " as it were two cubits (high) upon the
face of the earth" (Num. xi. 31) refers pro
bably to the height at which the quails flew
above the ground, in their exhausted con
dition from their long flight. As to the enor
mous quantities which the least successful
Israelite is said to have taken, viz. " ten
homers," in the space of a night and two
days, there is every reason for believing that
the " homers " here spoken of do not denote
strictly the measure of that name, but simply
" a heap." The Israelites would have had
little difficulty in capturing large quantities
of these birds, as they are known to arrive at
places sometimes so completely exhausted by
their flight as to be readily taken, not in nets
only, but by the hand. They "spread the
quails round about the camp : " this was for
the purpose of drying them. The Egyptians
similarly prepared these birds. The expres
sion "quails from the sea" (Num. xi. 31)
must not be restricted to* denote that the
birds came from the sea as their starting-
point, but it must he taken to show the direc
tion from which they were coming. The
quails were, at the time of the event narrated
in the sacred writings, on their spring journey
of migration northwards. It is interesting
to note the time specified, "it was at even "
that they began to arrive ; and they no doubt
continued to come all the night. Many ob
servers have recorded that the quail migrates
by night.
QUAR'TUS, a Christian of Corinth (Rom.
xvi, 23), said to have been one of the
Seventy disciples, and afterwards bishop of
Berytus. QUATERNION, a military term, signifying
a guard of four soldiers, two of whom were
attached to the person of a prisoner, while
the other two kept watch outside the door of
his cell (Acts xii. 4).
QUEEN. This title is properly applied to
the queen-mother, since in an Oriental house
hold, it is not the wife but the mother of the
master who exercises the highest authority.
Strange as such an arrangement at first sight
appears, it is one of the inevitable results of
polygamy. The extent of the influence of
the queen-mother is well illustrated by the
narrative of the interview of Solomon and
Bathsheba, as given in I K. ii. 19 ff. The
term is applied to Maachah, Asa's mother,
who was deposed from her dignity in con
sequence of her idolatry ( 1 K. x v. 1 3 ; 2 Chr.
xv, 16) ; to Jezebel as contrasted with Joram
(2 K. x. 13, "the childron of the king, and
the children of the queen ") ; and to the
mother of Jehoiachin or Jeconiah (Jer. xiii.
18 ; compare 2 K. xxiv. 12 ; Jer. xxix. 2).

QUEEN OF HEAVEN (Jer. vii. 18, xliv.
17, 18, 19, 25) is the moon, worshipped as
Ashtaroth or Astarte, to whom the Hebrew
women offered cakes in the streets of Jeru
salem. v
QUICKSANDS, THE, more properly the
Syrtis (Acts xxvii. 17), the broad and deep
bight on the North African coast between
Carthage and Cyrene. The name is derived
from Sert, an Arabic word for a desert. For
two reasons this region was an object of
peculiar dread to the ancient navigators of
the Mediterranean, partly because of the
drifting sands and the heat along the shore
itself, but chiefly on account of the shallows
and the uncertain currents of water in the
bay. There were properly two Syrtes : the
eastern or larger, now called the Gulf af
Sidra ; and the western or smaller, now the
Gulf of Cabes. ' It is the former to which our
attention is directed in this passage of the
Acts. QUIVER. [Arms, p. 45.]

RA'AMAH, a son of Cush, and father o£
the Cushite Sheba and Dedan (Gen. x.
7). The tribe of Raamah became afterwards
renowned as traders (Ez. xxvii. 22). They
were settled on the Persian Gulf.
RAB'BAH, a very strong place on the east
of the Jordan, was the chief city of the Am
monites. In five passages (Dent. iii. 11;
2 Sam. xii. 26, xvii. 27 ; Jer. xlix. 2 ; Ez.
xxi. 20) it is styled at length Rabbath of
the Ammonites, or, children of Ammon ;
but elsewhere (Josh. xiii. 25 ; 2 Sam. xi. 1,
xii. 27, 29 ; 1 Chr. xx. 1 ; Jer. xlix. 3 ; Ez.
xxv. 5; Amos i. 14) simply Rabbah. When
first named it is mentioned as containing the
bed or sarcophagus of the giant Og (Deut.
iii. 11). David sent Joab to besiege P^abbah
(2 Sam. xi. 1). The siege must have lasted
two years. The sallies of the Ammonites
appear to have formed a main feature of the
siege (2 Sam. xi. 17, &c). At the end of
that time Joab succeeded in capturing a por
tion of the place— the " city of waters," that
is, the lower town, so called from its con
taining the perennial stream which rises in
and still flows through it. But the citadel,
which rises abruptly on the north side of the
lower town, a place of very great strength,
still remained to be taken ; and the honour
of this capture, Joab insists on reserving for
the king. Shortly after David's arrival the
fortress was taken (2 Sam. xii. 26-31). We
are not told whether the city was demolished,
or whether David was satisfied with the
slaughter of its inmates. In the time of
Amos, two centuries and a half later, it had

RABBATH MOAB

4 CO

RACHEL

again a "wall" and "palaces," and was still
the sanctuary of Molech — "the king" (Am.
i. 14). So it was also at the date of the in
vasion of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. xlix. 2, 3),
when its dependent towns are mentioned,
and when it is named in such terms as imply
that it was of equal importance with Jeru
salem (Ez. xxi. 20). At Rabbah, no doubt
Baalis, king of the Ammonites (Jer. xl. 14),
held such court as he could muster ; and
within its walls was plotted the attack of
Ishmael, which co^t Gedaliah his life, and
drove Jeremiah into Egypt. In the period
between the Old and New Testaments, Rab-
bath-Ammon appears to have been a place of
much importance, and the scene of many
contests. From Ptolemy Philadelphus (b.c
285-247) it received the name of Phila
delphia. It was one of the cities of the
Decapolis, and became the seat of a Christian
bishop. Its ruins, which are considerable,
are found at Amman, about 2 2 miles from
the Jordan. It lies in a valley which is a
branch, or perhaps the main course, of the
Wady Zerka, usually identified vrith the
Jabbok. The public buildings are said to be
Roman, except the citadel, which is described
as of large square stones put together with
out cement, and which is probably more
ancient than the rest.
RAB'BATH MOAB. [Ar.]
RAB'BI, a title of respect signifying
Master, Teacher, given by the Jews to their
doctors and teachers, and often addressed to
our Lord (Matt, xxiii. 7, 8, xxvi. 25, 49;
Mark ix. 5, xi. 21, xiv. 45; John i. 39, 50,
iii. 2, 26, iv. 31, vi. 25, ix. 2, xi. 8). An
other form of the title was Rabboni (Mark
x. 51 ; John xx. 16). The i which is added
to the*e titles has been thought to be tbe
pronominal affix " My : " but it is to be noted
that St. John does not translate either of
these by "My Master," but simply "Master,"
so that the i would seem to have lost any
especial significance as a possessive pronoun
intimating appropriation or endearment, and,
like the "my" in titles of respect among
ourselves, or in such terms as J/bnseigneur,
J/bresieur, to be merely part of the formal
address. The title Rabbi is not known to
have been used before the reign of Herod the
Great, and is thought to have taken its rise
about the time of the disputes between the
rival schools of Hillel and Shammai. Rabbi
was considered a higher title than Rab, and
Rabban higher than Rabbi.
RABBO'NL [Rabbi.j.
RAB-MAG (Jer. xxxix. 3, 13), a title
borne by Neigal-sharezer, probably identical
with the king, called by the Greeks Nerig
lissar. [Neroal-sharezer.] This king, as

well as certain other important personages,
is found to bear tbe title in the Babylonian
inscriptions. It is written indeed with a
somewhat different vocalisation, being read
as Rabu-Emga. The signification is some
what doubtful. Rabu is most certainly
" great," or " chief;" but Mag, or Emga, is
an obscure term. It has been commonly
| identified with the word " Magus," but this
identification is very uncertain.
RAB'SARIS. 1. An officer of the king of
Assyria sent up with Tartan and Rabshakeh
against Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah
(2 K. xviii. 17). — 2. One of the princes of
Nebuchadnezzar, who was present at the
capture of Jerusalem, b.c. 588 (Jer. xxxix.
3, 13). — Rabsaris is probably rather the
name of an office than of an individual, the
word signifying chief eunuch. In Dan. i. 3,
Ashpenaz is called the master of the eunuchB
(Rab-sarisim). It is not improbable that in
Jeremiah xxxix. we have not only the title
of the Rabsaris given, but his name also,
either Sarsechim (ver. 3) or (ver. 13) Nebu-
shasban (worshipper of Nebo, Is. xlvi. 1).
RAB'SHAKEH (2 K. xviii., xix. ; Is.
xxxvi., xxxvii.), one of the officers of the
king of Assyria sent against Jerusalem in the
reign of Hezekiah. [Hezekiah.] Many
have imagined, from the familiarity of Rab
shakeh with Hebrew, that he either was a
Jewish deserter or an apostate captive of
Israel. The English version takes Rab
shakeh as the name of a person ; but it is more
probably the name of tbe office which he held
at the court, that of chief cupbearer.
RA'CA, a term of reproach used by the
Jews of our Saviour's age (Matt. v. 22),
derived from the Chaldee rekd, " worth
less." RACE. [Games.]
RA'CHAB. Rahab the harlot (Matt.
i. 5). RA'CHEL, the younger of the daughters
of Laban, the wife of Jacob, and mother of
Joseph and Benjamin. The incidents of her
life may be found in Gen. xxix. -xxxiii.,
xxxv. The story of Jacob and Rachel has
always had a peculiar interest. The beauty
of Rachel, the deep love with which she was
loved by Jacob from their first meeting by
the well of Haran, when be showed to her
the simple courtesies of the desert life, and
kissed her and told her he was Rebekah's
son ; the long servitude with which he
patiently served for her, in which the seven
years " seemed to him but a few days, for
the love he had to her ;" their marriage at
last; and the death of Rachel at the very
time when in giving birth to another son her
own long-delayed hopes were accomplished,

RAGES

461

RAIN

and she had become still more endeared to
her husband; his deep grief and ever-living
regrets for her loss (Gen. xlviii. 7) : these
things make up a touching tale of personal
and domestic history which has kept alive
the memory of Rachel. Yet from what is
related to us concerning her character there
does not seem much to claim any high
degree of admiration and esteem. The dis
content and fretful impatience shown in her
grief at being for a time childless., moved
even her fond husband to anger (Geu. xxx.
1, 2). She appears moreover to have shared
• all the duplicity and falsehood of her family.
See, for instance, Rachel's stealing her father's
images, and the ready dexterity and presence
of mind with which she concealed her theft
(Gen. xxxi.). From this incident we may
also infer that she was not altogether free
from the superstitions and idolatry which
prevailed in the land whence Abraham had
been called (Josh. xxiv. 2, 14). — Rachel's
tomb. — " Rachel died and was buried in the
way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And
Jacob set a pillar upon her grave ; that is
the piUar of Rachel's grave unto this day "
(Gen. xxxv. 19, 20). The site of Rachel's
tomb, " on the way to Bethlehem," " a little
way to come to Ephrath," " in the border of
Benjamin," has never been questioned. It
is about two miles S. of Jerusalem, and one
mile N. of Bethlehem.
RA'GES, an important city in north-eastern
Media, where that country bordered upon
Parthia. It i3 not mentioned in the Hebrew
Scriptures, but occurs frequently in the Book
of Tobit (i. 14, v. 5, vi. 10 and 12, &c), and
twice in Judith (i. 5 and 15). Its ruins,
still known by the name of Rhey, lie about
five miles S.E. of Teheran.
RAG'UEL, or REU'EL. 1. Probably the
same as Jethro. [Jethro.] — 2. A pious Jew
of " Ecbatane, a city of Media," father of
Sara, the wife of Tobias (Tob. iii. 7, 17, &c).
RATHAB, or RA'CHAB, a celebrated
woman of Jericho, who received the spies
sent by Joshua to spy out the land, hid
them in her house from the pursuit of her
countrymen, was saved with all her family
when the Israelites sacked the city ; and
became the wife of Salmon, and the ances
tress of the Messiah (Josh. ii. 1 ; Matt. i. 5).
She was a "harlot," and probably combined
the trade of lodging-keeper for wayfaring
men. She seems also to have been engaged
in the manufacture of linen and the art of
dyeing, for which the Phoenicians were early
famous ; since we find the flat roof of her
house covered with stalks of flax put there
to dry, and a stock of scarlet or crimson line
in her house. Her house was situated on

the wall, probably near the town gate, so as
to be convenient for persons coming in and
going out of the city. We may conjecture
that Rabab therefore had been well informed
with regard to the events of the Exodus.
But, however this may be, it is certain, on
the authority of St. Matthew, that Rahab
became the mother of the line from which
sprung David, and eventually Christ ; for
that the Rachab mentioned by St. Matthew
is Rahab the harlot, is as certain as that
David in the genealogy is the same person as
David in the books of Samuel. The attempts
that have been made to prove Rachab dif
ferent from Rahab, in order to get out of the
chronological difficulty, are singularly absurd.
We may also dismiss, as inconsistent with
truth, the attempt to clear her character of
stain by saying that she was only an inn
keeper, and not a harlot ; but it is very
possible that to a woman of her country and
religion such a calling may have implied a
far less deviation from the standard of moral
ity than it does with us, and moreover, that
with a purer faith she seems to have entered
upon a pure life. The author of the Epistle
to the Hebrews tells us that " by faith the
harlot Rahab perished not with them that
believed not, when she had received the spies
with peace" (Heb. xi. 31) ; and St. James
fortifies his doctrine of justification by works,
by asking, " Was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works, when she had received
the messengers, and had sent them out an
other way?" (James ii. 25).
RA'HAB, a poetical name of Egypt (Ps.
lxxxix. 10; Is. li. 9), signifying "fierceness,
insolence, pride."
RAIN. In the Bible Early Rain signifies
the rains of the autumn (Deut. xi. 14; Jer.
v. 24) ; also moreh (Joel ii. 23) ; and Latter
Rain, the rain of spring (Prov. xvi. 15 ; Job
xxix. 23 ; Jer. iii. 3 ; Hos. vi. 3 ; Joel ii.
23 ; Zech. x. 1). The early and latter rains
are mentioned together (Deut. xi. 14 ; Jer.
v. 24 ; Joel ii. 23 ; Hos. vi. 3 ; James v. 7).
In a country comprising so many varieties of
elevation as Palestine, there must of necessity
occur corresponding varieties of climate.
For six months in the year no rain falls, and
the harvests are gathered in without any of
the anxiety with which we are so familiar
lest the work be interrupted by unseasonable
storms. There are, however, very consider
able, and perhaps more than compensating,
disadvantages occasioned by this long ab
sence of rain : the whole land becomes dry,
parched, and brown, the cisterns are empty,
the springs and fountains fail, and the
autumnal rains are eagerly looked for, to
prepare the earth for the reception of the

RAINBOW

462

RAMAH

seed. These, the early rains, commence
about the latter end of October or beginning
of November, in Lebanon a month earlier :
not suddenly but by degrees ; the husband
man has thus the opportunity of sowing his
fields of wheat and barley. The rains come
mostly from the west or south-west (Luke
xii. 54), continuing for two or three days at
a time, and falling chiefly during the night ;
thefwind then shifts round to the north or
east, and several days of fine weather suc
ceed (Prov. xxv. 23). During the months
of November and December the rains con
tinue to fall heavily, but at intervals ; after
wards they return, only at longer intervals,
and are less heavy ; but at no period during
the winter do they entirely cease. January
and February are the coldest months, and
snow falls, sometimes to the depth of a foot
or more, at Jerusalem, but it does not lie
long ; it is very seldom seen alpng the coast
and in the low plains. Rain continues to
fall more or less during the month of March ;
it is very rare in April, and even in Lebanon
the showers that occur are generally light.
In the valley of the Jordan the barley har
vest begins as early as the middle of April,
and the wheat a fortnight later; in Lebanon
the grain is seldom ripe before the middle of
June. With respect to the distinction be
tween the early and the latter rains, Robin
son observes that there are not at the present
day " any particular periods of rain or suc
cession of showers, which might be regarded
as distinct rainy seasons. The whole period
from October to March now constitutes only
one continued season of rain without any
regularly intervening term of prolonged fine
weather. Unless, therefore, there has been
some change in the climate, the early and
the latter rains for which the husbandman
waited with longing, seem rather to have
implied the first showers of autumn which
revived the parched and thirsty soil, and
prepared it for the seed; and the later
showers of spring, which continued to re
fresh and forward both the ripening crops
and the vernal products of the fields (James
v. 7 ; Prov. xvi. 15)."
RAINBOW. The token of the covenant
which God made with Noah when he came
forth from the ark, that the waters should
no more become a flood to destroy all fle^h.
The right interpretation of Gen. ix. 13 seems
to be that God took the rainbow, which had
hitherto been but a beautifol object shining
in the heavens when the sun's rays fell on
falling rain, and consecrated it as the sign of
His love and the witness of His promise
(Ecclus. xliii. 11). The figurative and sym
bolical use of the rainbow as an emblem of

God's mercy and faithfulness must not be
passed over. In the wondrous vision shown
to St. John in the Apocalypse (Rev. iv. 3), it
is said that " there was a rainbow round
about the throne, in sight like unto an
emerald : " amidst the awful vision of sur
passing glory is seen the symbol of Hope,
the bright emblem of Mercy and of Love.
RAISINS. [Vise.]
RAM, BATTERING, is mentioned in Ez.
iv. 2, xxi. 22 ; and both references are to
the battering-rams in use among the Assy-
rians and Babylonians. In attacking the
walls of a fort or city, the first step appears
to have been to form an inclined plane or
bank of earth (comp. Ez. iv. 2, "cast a
mount against it "), by which the besiegers
could bring their battering-rams and other
engines to the foot of the walls. "The batter
ing-rams," says Mr. Layard, "were of several
kinds. Some were joined to moveable towers
which held warriors and armed men. The
whole then formed one great temporary
building, the top of which is represented in
sculptures as on a level with the walls, and
even turrets, of the besieged city. In some
bas-reliefs the battering-ram is without
wheels : it was then perhaps constructed
upon the spot, and was not intended to he
moved." RA'MA, Matt. ii. 18, referring to Jer. xxxi.
15. The original passage alludes to a mas
sacre of Benjamites or Ephraimites (comp.
ver. 9, 18), at the Ramah in Benjamin or in
Mount Ephraim. This is seized by the
Evangelist and turned into a touching refer
ence to the slaughter of the Innocents at
Bethlehem, near tc which was (and is) the
sepulchre of Rachel.
RA'MAH, a word signifying " a hill," and
which in its simple or compound shape forms
the name of several places in the Holy Land.
— 1. One of the cities of the allotment of
Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 25). Its site is at
er-Rum, on the elevation which its ancient
name implies, about five miles from Jeru
salem. This position is in close agreement
with the notices of the Bible (Judg. iv. 5,
xix. 13 ; 1 K. xv. 17, 21, 22 ; 2 Chr. xvi.
1, 5, 6; Is. x. 29; Jer. xl. 1, &c). Its
proximity to Gibeah is implied in 1 Sam. xxii.
6; Hos. v. 8; Ezr. ii. 26; Neh. vii. 30:
the last two of which passages show also that
its people returned after the Captivity. The
Ramah in Neh. xi. 33 occupies a different
position in the list, and may be a distinct
place situated further west, nearer the plain.
— S. The home of Elkanah, Samuel's father
(1 Sam. i. 19, ii. 11), the birthplace of Samuel
himself, his home and official residence, the
site of his altar (vii. 17, viii. 4, xv. 34, xvi.

RAMAH

4G3

RAMOTH GILEAD

13, xix. 18), and finally his burial-place
(xxv. 1, xxviii. 3). It is a contracted form
of Ramathaim-zophim. AU that is directly
said as to its situation is that it was in Mount
Ephraim (1 Sam. i. 1), and this would natu
rally lead us to seek it in the neighbourhood
of Shechem. But the whole tenor of the
narrative of the public life of Samuel (in
connexion with which alone this Ramah is
mentioned) is so restricted to the region of
the tribe of Benjamin, and to the neighbour
hood of Gibeah, the residence of Saul, that it
seems impossible not to look for Samuel's
city in the same locality. On the other hand,
the boundaries of Mount Ephraim are no
where distinctly set forth. In the mouth of
an ancient Hebrew the expression would
mean that portion of the mountainous dis
trict which was at the time of speaking in
the possession of the tribe of Ephraim. In
this district, tradition places the residence of
Samuel on the lofty and remarkable eminence
of Neby Samwil, which rises four miles to the
N.W. of Jerusalem, and which its height
(greater than that of Jerusalem itself), its com
manding position, andits peculiar shape, render
the most conspicuous object in all the land
scapes of that district, and make the names of
Ramah and Zophim exceedingly appropriate to
it.— 3. One of the nineteen fortified places
of Naphtali (Josh. xix. 36} name'd between
Adamah and Hazor. It would appear to
have been in the mountainous country N.W.
of the Lake of Gennesareth. In this district
a place bearing the name of Rameh has been
discovered by Dr. Robinson. It lies on the
main track between Akka and the north end
of the Sea of Galilee, and about eight miles
E.S.E. of Safed. — 4. One of the landmarks
on the boundary (A. V. "coast") of Asher
(Josh. xix. 29), apparently between Tyre and
Zidon. Two places of the same name have
been discovered in the district allotted to
Asher ; the one east of Tyre, and within
about three miles of it, the other more than
ten miles off, and south-east of the same city.
If either of these places represent the Ramah
in question, it certainly seems safer to identify
it with that nearest to Tyre and the sea-coast.
—5. By this name in 2 K. viii. 29 and 2 Chr.
xxii. 6, only, is designated Ramoth-Gilead.
— 6. A place mentioned in the catalogue of
those re-inhabited by the Benjamites after
their return from the Captivity (Neh. xi. 33).
It may be the Ramah of Benjamin (above,
No. 1) or the Ramah of Samuel, hut its posi
tion in the list (remote from Geba, Michmash,
Bethel, ver. 31, comp. Ezr. ii. 26, 2S), seems
to remove it further west, to the neighbour
hood of Lod, Hadid, and Ono. The situation
of the modern Ramleh agrees very well with

this, a town too important and too well placed
not to have existed in the ancient times.
RA'MATH-LE'HI, the name bestowed by
Samson on the scene of his slaughter of the
thousand Philistines with the jaw-bone (Judg.
xv. 17). "He cast away tbe jaw-bone out
of his hand, and called that place * Ramath-
lehi,' " — as if " heaving of the jaw-hone."
RA'MATH-MIZ'PEH. [Ramoth-Gilead.]
RA'MATH OF THE SOUTH, more ac
curately Ramah of the South, one of the
towns in the allotment of Simeon (Josh. xix.
8), apparent at its extreme south limit. It
appears from this passage to have been an
other name for Baalath-Beer. It is in all
probability the same place as Sonth Ramoth
(1 Sam. xxx. 27).
RAMATHA'IM-ZO'PHIM. [Ramah, 2.]
RAM'ESES, or RAAM'SES, a city and
district of Lower Egypt, is first mentioned in
the narrative of the settling by Joseph of his
father and brethren in Egypt, where it is
related that a possession was given them "in
the land of Rameses" (Gen. xlvii. 11). This
land of Rameses, either corresponds to the
land of Goshen, or was a district of it, more
probably the former, as appears from a com
parison with a parallel passage (6). The
name next occurs as'that of one of the two
store-cities built for the Pharaoh who first
oppressed the children of Israel (Ex. i. 11).
In the narrative of the Exodus it is the start
ing-point of the journey (Ex. xii. 37 ; see
also Num. xxxiii. 3, 5). Rameses seems to
correspond to the western part of the land of
Goshen, since two full marches, and part at
least of a third, brought the Israelites from
this town to the Red Sea ; and the narrative
appears to indicate a route for the chief part
directly towards the sea.
RA'MOTH GIL'EAD, the "heights of
Gilead," one of the great fastnesses on the
east of Jordan, and the key to an important
district, as is evident not only from the direct
statement of 1 K. iv. 13, that it commanded
the regions of Argoh and of the towns of
Jair, hut also from the obstinacy with which
it was attacked and defended by the Syrians
and Jews in the reigns of Ahab and Joram.
It seems probable that it was identical with
Ramath-Mizpeh (Josh. xiii. 26), which again
there is every reason to believe occupied the
spot on which Jacob had made his covenant
with Laban. It was the city of refuge for the
tribe of Gad (Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xx. 8, xxi.
38). We next encounter it as the residence
cf one of Solomon's commissariat officers
(1 K. iv. 13). In the second Syrian war
Ramoth-Gilead played a conspicuous part.
During the invasion related in 1 K. xv. 20,
or some subsequent incursion, this important

RAMS' HORNS

464

RECHAB

place had been seized by Benhadad I, from
Omri, The incidents of Ahab's expedition
are well known. [Ahab.] During Ahaziah's
shoi t reign we hear nothing of it, it probably
remained in possession of the Syrians till the
suppression of the Moabite rebellion gave
Joram time to renew the siege. He was
more fortunate than Ahab. The town was
taken by Israel, and held in spite of all the
efforts of Hazael (who was now on the throne
of Damascus) to regain it (2 K. ix. 14).
Henceforward Ramoth-Gilead disappears from
our view. Eusebius and Jerome specify the
position of Ramoth as 15 miles from Phila
delphia (Amman). It may correspond to the
site bearing the name of Jel'dd, exactly
identical with the ancient Hebrew Gilead,
which is four or five miles north of es-Salt.
RAMS' HORNS. [Cornet; Jubilee.]
RAPII'AEL. " One of the seven holy
angels which .... go in and out before the
glory of the Holy One" (Tob. xii. 15). Ac
cording to another Jewish tradition, Raphael
was one of the four angels which stood round
the throne of God (Michael, Uriel, Gabriel,
Raphael). In Tobit he appears as the guide
and counsellor of Tobias.
RA'PHON, a city of Gilead (1 Mace. v. 37),
perhaps identical with Raphana, which is
mentioned by Pliny as one of the cities of
the Decapolis.
RAVEN (Heb. 'dreb), from a root signify
ing " to be black." A raven was sent out by
Noah from the ark to see whether the waters
were abated (Gen. viii. 7). This bird was
not allowed as food by the Mosaic law
(Lev. xi. 15). Ravens were the means,
under the Divine command, of supporting the
prophet Elijah at the brook Cherith (1 K.
xvii. 4, 6)-. They are expressly mentioned
as instances of God's protecting love and
goodness (Job xxxviii. 41, Luke xii. 24,
Ps. cxlvii. 9). They are enumerated with
the owl, the bittern, &c, as marking the de
solation of Edom (Is. xxxiv. 11). "The
locks of the beloved" are compared to the
glossy blackness of the raven's plumage
(Cant. v. 11). The raven's carnivorous
habits, and especially his readiness to attack
the eye, are alluded to in Prov. xxx. 17.
To the fact of the raven being a common bird
in Palestine, and to its habit of flying rest
lessly about in constant search for food to
satisfy its voracious appetite, may perhaps be
traced the reason for its being selected by our
Lord and the inspired writers as the especial
object of God's providing care. The raven
belongs to the order Insessores, family Cor-
vidae. RE'BA, one of the five kings of the
Midianites slain by the children of Israel in

their avenging expedition, when Balaam fell
(Num. xxxi. 8 ; Josh. xiii. 21).
REBEK'AH, daughter of Bethuel (Gen.
xxii. 23) and sister of Laban, married to
Isaac, her father's cousin. She is first pre
sented to us in the account of the mission of
Eliezer to Padan-aram (Gen. xxiv.), in which
his interview with Rebekah, her consent and
marriage are related. For nineteen years she
was childless : then, after the prayers ol
Isaac and her journey to inquire of the Lord,
Esau and Jacob were born, and while tht
younger was more particularly the companion
and favourite of his mother (xxv. 19-28) the
elder became a grief of mind to her (xxvi. 35).
When Isaac was driven by a famine into the
lawless country of the Philistines, Robekah's
beauty became, as was apprehended, a source
of danger to her husband, It was probably
a considerable time afterwards when Rebekah
suggested the deceit that was practised by
Jacob on his blind father. She directed and
aided him in carrying it out, foresaw the
probable consequence of Esau's anger, and
prevented it by moving Isaai to send Jacob
away to Padan-aram (xxvii.) to her own kin
dred (xxix. 12). It has been conjectured that
she died during Jacob's sojourn in Padan-aram.
St. Paul (Rom. ix, 10) refers to her as being
made acquainted with the purpose of God
regarding»her children before they were born.
RE'CHAB (rider). 1. One of the two
"captains of bands," whom Ishbosheth took
into his service, and who conspired to murder
him (2 Sam. iv. 2). — 2. The father or ancestor
of Jehonadab (2 K. x. 15, 23; 1 Chr. ii. 55;
Jer. xxxv. 6-19), identified by some writers
with Hobab. It was from this Rechab that
the tribe of the Rechahites derived their
name. Nothing is known of his personal
history. In 1 Chr. ii. 55, the bouse of
Rechab is identified with a section of the
Kenites, who came into Canaan with the
Israelites and retained their nomadic habits.
It has been inferred from this passage that
the descendants of Rechab belonged to a
branch of the Kenites settled from the first at
Jabez in Judah. But it is more probable
that this passage refers to the locality occu
pied by the Rechahites after their return from
the captivity. The real founder of the tribe
was Jehonadab, whose history has been given
elsewhere. [JEHONAnAB.] He and his people
had all along been worshippers of Jehovah,
circumcised though not reckoned as belonging
to Israel, and probably therefore not con
sidering themselves hound by the Mosaic law
and ritual. The worship of Baal was ac
cordingly not less offensive to them than to the
Israelites. The luxury and licence of Phoe
nician cities threatened the destruction of the

RECHAB

465

RED SEA

simplicity of their nomadic life (Amos ii. 7, 8,
vi. 3-6). A protest was needed against both
evils, and as in the case of Elijah, and of the
Nazarites of Amos ii. 11, it took the form of
asceticism. There was to be a more rigid
adherence than ever to the old Arab life.
They were to drink no wine, nor build house,
nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have
any. All their days they were to dwell in
tents, as remembering that they were strangers
in the land (Jer. xxxv. 6, 7). This was to
be the condition of their retaining a distinct
tribal .existence. For two centuries and a
half they adhered faithfully to this rule.
The Nabathaeans and Wahabys supply us
with a striking parallel. The invasion of
Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in b.c 607, drove
the Rechahites from their tents. Some in
ferences may be safely drawn from the facts
of Jer. xxxv. The names of the Rechahites
show that they continued to be worshippers
of Jehovah. They are already known to the
prophet. One of them (ver. 3) bears the
same name. Their rigid Nazaiite life gained
for them admission into the house of the
Lord, into one of the chambers assigned to
priests and Levites, within its precincts.
Here they are tempted and are proof against
the temptation. The history of this trial ends
with a special blessing : " Jonadab, the son
of Rechab, shall not want a man to stand be
fore me for ever" (ver. 19). The words "to
stand before me," are essentially liturgical.
The Rechahites were solemnly adopted into
the families of Israel, and were recognised as
incorporated into the tribe of Levi. It re
mains for us to see whether there are any
traces of their after-history in the Biblical or
later writers. (1.) We have the singular
heading of the Ps. lxxi. in the LXX. version,
indicating that the " sons of Jonadab " shared
the captivity of Israel. (2.) There is the
significant mention of a son of Rechab in
Neh. iii. 14, as co-operating with the priests,
Levites, and princes in the restoration of the
wall of Jerusalem. (3.) The mention of the
house of Rechab in 1 Chr. ii. 55, though not
without difficulty, points, there can be little
doubt, to the same conclusion. The Rechah
ites have become Scribes. They give them
selves to a calling which, at the time of the
return from Babylon was chiefly if not ex
clusively, in the hands of Levites. (4.) The
account of the martyrdom of James the Just
given by Hegesippus brings the name of the
Rechahites once more before us, and in a
very strange connexion. While the Scribes
and Pharisees were stoning him, "one of
the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of
Rechabim, who are mentioned by Jeremiah
the prophet," cried out, protesting against
Sm. D. B.

the crime. We may accept Hegesippus as an
additional witness to the existence of the
Rechahites as a recognised body up to the de
struction of Jerusalem, sharing in the ritual
of the Temple. (5.) Some later notices are
not without interest. Benjamin of Tudela in
the 12th century mentions that near El Jubar
(=Pumbeditha) he found Jews who were
named Rechahites. They tilled the ground,
kept flocks and herds, abstained from wine
and flesh, and gave tithes to teachers who
devoted themselves to studying the Law, and
weeping for Jerusalem. A later traveller,
Dr. Wolff, gives a yet stranger and more de
tailed report. Tbe Jews of Jerusalem and
Yemen told him that he would find the Re
chahites of Jer. xxxv. living near Mecca.
When he came near Senaa he came in contact
with a tribe, the Beni-Khaibr, who identified
themselves with the sons of Jonadab. With
one of them, Mousa, Wolff conversed.
RE'CHABITES. [Rrchab.]
RECORDER, an officer of high rank in the
Jewish state, exercising the functions, not
simply of an annalist, but of chancellor or
president of the privy council. In David's
court the recorder appears among the high
officers of his household (2 Sam. viii. 16,
xx. 24 ; '1 Chr. xviii. 15). In Solomon's, he
is coupled with the three secretaries, and is
mentioned last, probably as being their pre
sident (1 K. iv. 3 ; comp. 2 K. xviii. 18, 37 ;
2 Chr. xxxiv. 8).
RED SEA. The sea known to us as the
Red Sea was by the Israelites called " the
sea" (Ex. xiv. 2, 9, 16, 21, 28; xv. 1, 4, 8,
10, 19 ; Josh. xxiv. 6, 7 ; and many other
passages) ;' and specially "the sea of suph "
(Ex. x. 19 ; xiii. 18 ; xv. 4, 22 ; xxiii. 31 ;
Num. xiv. 25; &c). It is also perhaps
written suphdh in Num. xxi. 14, rendered
" Red Sea " in A. V. ; and in like manner, in
Deut. i. 1, silph. This word signifies a sea
weed resembling wool, and such sea-weed is
thrown up abundantly on the shores of the
Red Sea. The most important change in the
Red Sea has been the drying up of its northern
extremity, " the tongue of the Egyptian Sea."
The land about the head of the gulf has risen,
and that near the Mediterranean become de
pressed. The head of the gulf has conse
quently retired gradually since the Christian
era. Thus the prophecy of Isaiah has been
fulfilled (xi. 15, xix. 5) : the tongue of the
Red Sea has dried up for a distance of at
least 50 miles from its ancient head. The
kingdom of Solomon extended as far as the
Red Sea, upon which he possessed the har
bours of Elath and Eziongeber. [Elath ;
Eziongeber.] In reference to the passage of
the Red Sea by the Israelites it is necessary
2 H

RED SEA

466

REED

first to endeavour to ascertain the route of
the Israelites before we can attempt to dis
cover where they crossed the sea. The point
from which they started was Rameses, a place
certainly in the Land of Goshen, which we
identify with the Wddi-t-Tumeyldt. After
the mention that the people journeyed from
Rameses to Succoth, and before the account of
their departure from Succoth, a passage occurs
whieh appears to show the first direction of the
journey, and not a change in the route (Ex.
xiii. 17, 181. At the end of the second day's
journey the camping-place was at Etham "in
the edge of the wilderness" (Ex. xiii. 20;
Num. xxxiii. 6). Here the Wddi-t-Tutneyldt
was probably left, as it is cultivable and ter
minates in the desert. The first passage
relating to the journey, after the mention of
the encamping at Etham, is this, stating a
command given to Moses : " Speak unto the
children of Israel, that they turn [or 're
turn'] and encamp [or 'that they encamp
again'] before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol
and the sea, over against Baal-zephon " (Ex.
xiv. 2). At the end of the third day's march,
for each camping-place seems to mark the
close of a day's journey, the Israelites en
camped by the sea. The place of this last
encampment, and that of the passage, would
be not very far from the Persepolitan monu
ment. From Pi-hahiroth the Israelites crossed
the sea. The only points bearing on geo
graphy in the account of this event are that
the sea was divided by an east wind, whence
we may reasonably infer that it was crossed
from west to east, and that the whole Egyp
tian army perished, which shows that it must
have been some miles broad. On the whole
we may reasonably suppose about twelve
miles as the smallest breadth of the sea. A
careful examination of the narrative of the
passage of the Red Sea is necessary to a right
understanding of the event. When the
Israelites had departed,1 Pharaoh repented
that he had let them go. The strength of
Pharaoh's army is not further specified than
by the statement that " he took six hundred
chosen chariots, and [or ' even '] all the
chariots of Egypt, and captains over every
one of them" (Ex. xiv. 7). With this army,
which, even if a small one, was mighty in
comparison to the Israelite multitude, en
cumbered with women, children, and cattle,
Pharaoh overtook the people " encamping by
the sea" (9). When the Israelites saw the
oppressor's army they were terrified and mur
mured against Moses. Then Moses encou
raged them, bidding them see how God would
>ave them. It seems from the narrative that
Moses did not know at this time how the
people would be saved, and spoke only from

a heart full of faith, for we read, " And the
Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore ciicst thou
unto me 1 speak unto the children of Israel,
that they go forward : hut lift thou up thy
rod, and stretch thou out thine hand over the
sea, and divide it : and the children of Israel
shall go on dry [ground] through the midst
of tbe sea" (15, 16). That night the two
armies, the fugitives and the pursuers, were
encamped near together. Between them was
the pillar of the cloud, darkness to the Egyp
tians and a light to the Israelites. Perhaps
in the camp of Israel the sounds of the hostile
camp might be heard on the one hand, and
on the other, the roaring of the sea, But
the pillar was a barrier and a sign of deliver
ance. The time m as now come for the great
decisive miracle of the Exodus. " And Moses
stretched out hN hand over the sea : and the
Lord caused the sea to go [hack] by a strong
east wind all that night, and made the sea
dry [land], and the waters were divided.
And the children of Israel went through the
midst of the sea upon the dry [ground] : and
the waters [wcre]*a wall unto them on their
right hand, and on their left" (21, 22,
comp. 29). The narrative distinctly states
that a path was made through the sea, and
that the waters were a wall on either hand.
It was during the night that the Israelites
crossed, and the Egyptians followed. In the
morning watch, the last third or fourth of
the night, or the period before sunrise, Pha
raoh's army was in full pursuit in the divided
sea, and was there miraculously troubled, so
that the Egyptians sought to flee (23-25).
Then was Moses commanded again to stretch
out his hand, and the sea returned to its
strength, and overwhelmed the Egyptians, of
whom not one remained alive (26-28). In a
later passage some particulars are mentioned
which are not distinctly stated in the narrative
in Exodus. The place is indeed a poetical one,
but its meaning is clear, and we learn from
it that at the time of the passage of the sea
there was a storm of rain with thunder and
lightning, perhaps accompanied by an earth
quake (Ps. Ixxvii. 15-20). — The importance
of this event in Biblical history is shown by
the manner in which it is spoken of in the
books of the O. T. written in later times. In
them it is the chief fact of Jewish history.
REED. Under this name may he noticed
the following Hebrew words : — 1 . Agmdn
occurs Job xl. 26 (A. V. xli. 2, "hook"), xl.
12 (A. V. xli. 20, "caldron"); Is. ix. 14
(A. V. "rush"). The agmdn is mentioned
also as an Egyptian plant, in a sentence
similar to the last, in Is. xix. 15 ; while
from lviii. 5 we learn that it had a pendulous
panicle. There can be no doubt that it de-

KEKD

467

notes some aquatic reed.-like plant, probably
the Phragmitis communis, whieh, if it does
not occur in Palestine and Egypt, is repre
sented by a very closely allied species, viz.
the Arundo isiaca of Delisle. The drooping
panicle of this plant will answer well to the
"bowing down the head" of which Isaiah
speaks. — 2. Gome, translated "rush " and
"bulrush" by the A.V., without doubt de
notes the celebrated paper-reed of the ancients
(Papyrus antiquorum), which formerly was
common in some parts of Egypt. The
Hebrew word is found four times in the
Bible (Ex. ii. 3 ; Is. xviii. 2, xxxv. 7 ; Job
viii. 11). The papyrus reed is not now
found in Egypt; it grows, however, in Syria.
Dr. Hooker saw it on the banks of Lake Ti
berias, a few miles north of the town. Tbe
papyrus plant (Papyrus antiquorum) has an
angular stem from 3 to 6 feet high, though
occasionally it grows to the height of 14 feet;
it has no leaves ; the flowers are in very

Papyrus antiquorum.

Arundo donor.
small spikelets, which grow on the thread
like flowering hranchlets which form a bushy
crown to each stem. — 3. 'Ardth is translated
" paper-reed " in Is. xix. 7 ; but there is not
the slightest authority for this rendering of
the A. V. It probably denotes the open
grassy land on the banks of the Nile. — 4.
Kdneh, the generic *name of a reed of any
kind ; it occurs in numerous passages of tbe
O. T., and sometimes denotes the " stalk " of
wheat (Gen. xli. 5, 22), or the "branches"
of the candlestick (Ex. xxv. and xxxvii.).
The word is variously rendered in the A. V.
by "stalk," "branch," "bone," "calamus,"
" reed." The Arundo donax is common on
the banks of the Nile, and may perhaps be
" the staff of the bruised reed " to which
Sennacherib compared the power of Egypt
(2 K. xviii. 21 ; Ez. xxix. 6, 7). The thick
stem of this reed may have been used a;
walking-staves by the ancient Orientals ;
perhaps the measuring-reed was this plant ;
at present the dry culms of this huge grasi
are in much demand for fishing-rods, &c
Some kind of fragrant reed is denoted by
the word kench (Is. xliii. 24 ; Ez-. xxvii.
19; Cant. iv. 14), or more fully by kench
bdsem, see Ex. xxx. 23, or by kdneh hattdb,
2 H 2

REFINER

408

REINS

Jer. vi. 20 ; which the A. V. renders "sweet
cane," and " calamus." It was of foreign im
portation (Jer. vi. 20). It maybe represented
by the lemon grass of India and Arabia.
REFINER. , The refiner's art was essen
tial to the working of the precious metals.
It consisted in the separation of the dross
from the pure ore, which was effected by
reducing the metal to a fluid state by the
application of heat, and by the aid of sol
vents, such as alkali (Is. i. 25) or lead (Jer.
vi. 29), which, amalgamating with the dro^s,
permitted the extraction of the unadulterated
metal. The instruments required by the re
finer were a crucible or furnace, and a bel
lows or blow-pipe. The workman sat at his
work (Mal. iii. 3) : he was thus better
enabled to watch the process, and let the
metal run off at the proper moment.
REFUGE, CITIES OF. [Cities of Refuge.]
RE'HOB. 1. The father of Hadadezer
king of Zobah, whom David smote at the
Euphrates (2 Sam. viii. 3, 12).— S. The
northern limit of the exploration of the spies
(Num. xiii. 21). It is specified as being "as
men come unto Hamath," i.e. at the com
mencement of the territory of that name, by
which in the early books of the Bible the
great valley of Lebanon seems to be roughly
designated. This seems to fix the position
of Rehob as not far from Tell el-Kady and
Banias. Inasmuch, however, as Beth-rehob
is distinctly stated to have been "far from
Zidon " (Judg. xviii. 28), it must be a dis
tinct place from — 3. one of the towns allotted
to Asher (Josh. xix. 28). — 4. Asher contained
another Rehob (Josh. xix. 30) ; but the
situation of these towns is unknown.
REHOBO'AM, son of Solomon, by the Am
monite princess Naamah (1 K. xiv. 21, 31),
and his successor (1 K. xi. 43). From the
earliest period of Jewish history we per
ceive symptoms that the confederation of the
tribes was but imperfectly cemented. The
powerful Ephraim could never brook a posi
tion of inferiority. When Solomon's strong
hand was withdrawn the crisis came. Reho
boam selected Shechem as the place of his
coronation, probably as an act of concession
to the Ephraimites. The people demanded
a remission of the severe burdens imposed
by Solomon, and Rehoboam promised them
an answer in three days, during which time
he consulted first his father's counsellors, and
then the young men " that were grown up
with him, and which stood before him."
Rejecting the advice of the elders to con
ciliate the people at the beginning of his
reign, he returned as his reply the frantic
bravado of his contemporaries. Thereupon
rose the formidable song of insurrection,

heard once before when the tribes quarrelled
after David's return from the war with Absa
lom. Rehoboam sent Adoram or Adoniram
(I K. iv. 6 ; 2 Sam. xx. 24) to reduce the
rebels to reason, but he was stoned to death
by thein ; whereupon the king and his atten
dants fled to Jerusalem. Jeroboam was mode
king of the northern tribes. [Jeroboam.]
On Rehoboam's return to Jerusalem he as
sembled an army of 180,000 men from the
two faithful tribes of Judah and Benjamin,
in the hope of reconquering Israel. The ex
pedition, however, was forbidden by the pro
phet Shemaiah (1 K. xii. 24) : still during
Rehoboam's lifetime peaceful relations be
tween Israel and Judah were never restored
(2 Chr. xii. 15 ; 1 K. xiv. 30). Rehoboam
now occupied himself in strengthening the
territories which remained to him, by build
ing a number of fortresses (2 Chr. xi. 6-10).
The pure worship of God was maintained in
Judah. But Rehoboam did not check the
introduction of heathen abominations into his
capital ; the lascivious worship of Ashtoreth
was allowed to exist by the side of the true
religion, " images " were set up, and the
worst immoralities were tolerated (1 K. xiv.
22-24). These evils were punished and put
down by the terrible calamity of an Egyptian
invasion. In the 5th year of Rehoboam's
reign the country was invaded by a host of •
Egyptians and other African nations under
Shishak, numbering 1200 chariots, 60,000
cavalry, and a miscellaneous multitude of
infantry. The line of fortresses which pro
tected Jerusalem to the W. and s. was forced,
Jerusalem itself was taken, and Rehoboam
had to purchase an ignominious peace by
delivering up all the treasures with which
Solomon had adorned the temple and palace,
including his golden shields, 200 of the
larger, and 300 of the smaller size (1 K. x.
16, 17). After this great humiliation the
moral condition of Judah seems to have im
proved (2 Chr. xii. 12), and the rest of Reho
boam's life to have been unmarked by nny
events of importance. He died b.c 958,
after a reign of 17 years, having ascended
the throne b.c. 975 at the age of 41 (1 K.
xiv. 21 ; 2 Chr. xii. 13).
RE'HOBOTH. 1. The third of the series
of wells dug by Isaac (Gen. xxvi. 22).— 2.
One of the four cities built by Asshur, or by
Nimrod in Asshur, according as this difficult
passage is translated (Gen. x. 11). Nothing
certain is known of its position. — 3. The city
of a certain Saul or Shaul, one of the early
kings of the Edomites (Gen. xxxvi. 37 ; 1
Chr. i. 48). The affix, " by the river," fixes
the situation of Rehoboth as on the Euphrates.
REINS, i.e. kidneys, from the Latin renes.

REMALIAH

469

REVELATION OF ST. JOHN

In the ancient system of physiology the kid
neys were believed to be the seat of desire
and longing, which accounts for their often
being coupled with the heart (Ps. vii. 9, xxvi.
2 ; Jer. xi. 20, xvii. 10, &c).
REMALI'AH, the father of Pekah, captain
of Pekahiah king of Israel, who slew his
master and usurped his throne (2 K. xv. 25-
37, xvi. 1, 5 ; 2 Chr. xxviii. 6 ; Is. vii. 1-9,
viii. 6).
REM'PHAN (Acts vii. 43) : and CHIUN
(Am. v. 26) have been supposed to be names
of an idol worshipped by the Israelites in the
wilderness. Much difficulty has been occa
sioned by this corresponding occurrence of
two names so wholly different in sound. The
most reasonable opinion seems to be that
Chiun was a Hebrew or Semitic name, and
Remphan an Egyptian equivalent substituted
by the LXX.
REPH'AIM. [Giants.]
REPH'AIM, THE VALLEY OF. [Giants.]
REPH'IDIM (Ex. xvii. 1, 8; xix. 2).
The name means "rests" or "stays;" the
plaee lies in the march of the Israelites from
Egypt to Sinai. Its site is not certain, but
it is perhaps Wady Feiran.
RES'EN is mentioned only in Gen. x. 12,
where it is said to have been one of the cities
built by Asshur, and to have lain " between
Nineveh and Calah." Assyrian remains of
• some considerable extent are found near the
modern village of Selamiyeh, and these per
haps represent Resen.
RE'U, son of Peleg, in the line of Abra
ham's ancestors (Gen. xi. 18, 19, 20, 21 ;
1 Chr. i. 25).
REU'BEN (Beliold a son). Jacob's first
born child (Gen. xxix. 32), the son of Leah,
apparently not born till an unusual interval
had elapsed after the marriage (31). To
him, the preservation of Joseph's life appears
to have been due. Of the repulsive crime
which mare his history, and which turned
the blessing of his dying father into a curse
— his adulterous connexion with Bilhab — we
know only the fact (Gen. xxxv. 22). At the
time of the migration into Egypt Reuben's
sons were four (Gen. xlvi. 9 ; 1 Chr. v. 3).
'The census at Mount Sinai (Num. i. 20, 21,
ii. 11) shows that at the Exodus the numbers
of the tribe were 46,500 men above twenty
years of age, and fit for active warlike ser
vice. During the journey through the wil
derness the position of Reuben was on the
south side of the Tabernacle. The " camp "
which went under his name was formed of
his own tribe, that of Simeon and Gad. The
Reubenites, like their relatives and neigh
bours on the journey, the Gadites, had main
tained through the march to Canaan, the

ancient calling of their forefathers. Their
cattle accompanied them in their flight from
Egypt (Ex. xii. 38). It foUowed naturally"
that when the nation arrived on the open
downs east of the Jordan, the three tribes of
Reuben, Gad, and the half of Manasseh,
should prefer a request to their leader to be
allowed to remain in a place so perfectly
suited to their requirements. The part
selected by Reuben had at that date the
special name of "the Mishor," with refer
ence possibly to its evenness. Under its
modern name of the Belka it is still esteemed
beyond all others by the Arab sheepmasters.
Accordingly, when the Reubenites and their
fellows approach Moses with their request,
his main objection is that by what they pro
pose they will discourage the hearts of tbe
children of Israel from going over Jordan
into the land which Jehovah had given them
(Num. xxxii. 7). It is only on their under
taking to fulfil their part in the conquest of
the western country, the land of Canaan
proper, that Moses will consent to their pro
posal. From this time it seems as if a bar,
not only the material one of distance, and of
the intervening river and mountain wall,
but also of difference in feeling and habits,
gradually grew up between the Eastern and
Western tribes. Being remote from the cen
tral seat of the national government and of
the national religion, it is not to be wondered
at that Reuben relinquished the faith of Je
hovah. The last historical notice which we
possess of them, while it records this fact,
records also as its natural consequence that
the Reubenites and Gadites, and the half-
tribe of Manasseh were carried off by Pul
and Tiglath-Pileser (1 Chr. v. 26).
REU'EL. 1. One of the sons of Esau, by
his wife Bashemath, sister of Ishmael (Gen.
xxxvi. 4, 10, 13, 17 ; 1 Chr. i. 35, 37).— 3.
One of the names of Moses' father-in-law
(Ex. ii. 18) ; the same which is given in an
other passage of the A. V. Raguel.
REVELATION OF ST. JOHN, the last
book of the N. T. It is often called the
Apocalypse, which is its title in Greek, signi
fying *' Revelation." I. Canonical Autho
rity and Authorship.— The question as to
the canonical authority of the Revelation
resolves itself into a question of authorship.
Was St. John the Apostle and Evangelist the
writer of the Revelation?. The evidence ad
duced in support of his being the author con
sists of (1) the assertions of the author, and
(2) historical tradition. (1) The author's
description of himself in the 1st and 22nd
chapters is certainly equivalent to an asser
tion that he is the Apostle. He names him
self simply John, without prefix or addition.

REVELATION OF ST. JOHN

470

REZIN

He is also described as a servant of Christ,
one who had borne testimony as an eye
witness of the word of God and of the testi
mony of Christ — terms which were surely
designed to identify him with tbe writer of
the verses John xix. 35, i. 14, and 1 John i.
2. II els in Patmos for the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is also a
fellow-sufferer with those whom he addresses,
and the authorised channel of the most direct
and important communication that was ever
made to the Seven Churches of Asia, of which
churches John the Apostle was at that time
the spiritual governor and teacher. Lastly,
the writer was a fellow-servant of angels and
a brother of prophets. All these marks are
found united together in the Apostle John,
and in him alone of all historical persons.
(2) A long series of writers, beginning with
Justin Martyr, testifies to St. John's author
ship. Tbe book was admitted into the list of
tbe Third Council of Carthage, a.d. 397. II.
Timk and Place of Writing. — The date of
the Revelation is given by the great majority
of critics as a.d. 95-97. Irenaeus s.iys : " It
(;". c. the Revelation) was seen no very long
time ago, but almost in our own generation,
at the close of Domitian's reign." Eusebius
also records that, in the persecution under
Domitian, John the Apostle and Evangelist
was banished to the island Patmos for his
testimony of the divine word. There is no
mention in any writer of the first three cen
turies of any other time or place. Unsupported
by any historical evidence, some commentators
have put forth the conjecture that the Reve
lation was written as early as the time of
Nero. This is simply their inference from
the style and contents of the book. It has
been inferred from i. 2, 9, 10, that the Re
velation was written in Ephesus, immediately
after the Apostle's return from Patmos. But
the style in which the messages to the Seven
Churches are delivered rather suggests the
notion that the book was written in Patmos.
III. Interpretation. — A short account of
the different directions in which attempts
have been made to interpret the Revelation,
is all that can be given in this place. In
the interval between the Apostolic age and
that of Constantine the visions of St. John
were chiefly regarded as representations of
general Christian truths, scarcely yet em
bodied in actual facts, for the most part to
be exemplified or fulfilled in the reign of
Antichrist, the coming of Christ, the millen
nium, and the day of judgment. Imme
diately after the triumph of Constantine, the
Christians, emancipated from oppression and
persecution, and dominant and prosperous in
their turn, began to lose their \ivid expecta

tion of our Lord's speedy Advent, and their
spiritual conception of His kingdom, and to
look upon the temporal supremacy of Chris
tianity as a fulfilment of the promised reign
of Christ on earth. The Roman empire be
come Christian was regarded no longer as the
object of prophetic denunciation, but as the
scene of a millennial development. This view,
however, was soon met by the figurative in
terpretation of the millennium as the reign of
Christ in the hearts of all true believers.
Modern interpreters are generally placed in
three great divisions, a. The Historical or
Continuous expositors, in whose opinion the
Revelation is a progressive history of the for
tunes of the Church from the first century to
the end of time. b. The Praeterist expositors,
who are of opinion that the Revelation hns
been almost, or altogether, fulfilled in the
time which has passed since it was written;
that it refers principally to the triumph of
Christianity over Judaism and Paganism,
signalised in the downfall of Jerusalem and
of Rome. c. The Futurist expositors, whose
views show a strong reaction against some
extravagances of the two preceding schools.
They believe that the whole book, excepting
perhaps the first three chapters, refers prin
cipally, if not exclusively, to events which
are yet to come. Each of these three schemes
is open to objection. In conclusion, it may
be stated that two methods have been pro-'
posed by which the student of the Revelation
may escape the incongruities and fallacies of
the different interpretations, whilst he may
derive edification from whatever truth they
contain. It has been suggested that the
book may be regarded as a prophetic poem,
dealing in general and inexact descriptions,
much of which may be set down as poetic
imagery, mere embellishment. But such a
view would be difficult to reconcile with the
belief that the book is an inspired prophecy.
A better suggestion is made, or rather is
revived, by Dr. Arnold in his Sermons On the
Interpretation of Prophecy ; that we should
bear in mind that prediction's have a lower
historical sense, as well as a higher spiritual
sense ; that there may be one or more than
one typical, imperfect, historical fulfilment of
a prophecy, in each of which the higher spi
ritual fulfilment is shadowed forth more or
less distinctly.
REZ'EPH, one of the places which Senna
cherib mentions in his taunting message to
Hezekiah, as having been destroyed by his
predecessor (2 K. xix. 12 ; Is. xxxvii. 12).
REZ'IN, king of Damascus, contemporary
with Pekah in Israel, and with Jotham and
Ahaz in Judaea. He attacked Jotham during
the latter part of his reign (2 K. xv. 37) ;

REZON

471

RIMMON

but his chief war was with Ahaz, whose ter
ritories he invaded, in company with Pekah
(about b.c 741). The combined army laid
siege to Jerusalem, where Ahaz was, but
"could not prevail against it" (Is. vii. 1 ;
2 K. xvi. 5). Rezin, however, " recovered
Elath to Syria" (2 K. xvi. 6). Soon after
this he was attacked, defeated, and slain by
Tiglath-Pileser IL, king of Assyria (2 K.
xvi. 9 ; compare Tiglath-Pileser's own in
scriptions, where the defeat of Rezin and the
destruction of Damascus are distinctly men
tioned). REZ'ON, son of Eliadah, a Syrian, who
when David defeated Hadadezer, king of Zo
bah, put himself at the head of a band of
freebooters and set up a petty kingdom at
Damascus (1 K. xi. 23). From his position
at Damascus Rezon harassed the kingdom
of Solomon during his whole reign. The
name is Aramaic, and may be compared with
Rezin. RHE'GIUM, an Italian town situated on
the Bruttian coast, just at the southern en
trance of the Straits of Messina, occurs in
the account of St. Paul's voyage from Syra
cuse to Puteoli, after the shipwreck at Malta
(Acts xxviii. 13). By a curious coincidence
the figures on its coins are the very "twin
brothers " which gave the name to St. Paul's
ship. RHODES. St. Paul touched at this island
on his return voyage to Syria from the third
missionary journey (Acts xxi. 1). Rhodes is
immediately opposite the high Carian and
Lycian . headlands at the S.W. extremity of
the peninsula of Asia. Minor. Its position
has had much to do with its history. Its real
eminence began (about 400 b.c) with the
founding of that city at the N.E. extremity
of the island, which still continues to be the
capital. After Alexander's death it entered
on a glorious period, its material prosperity
being largely developed, and its institutions
deserving and obtaining general esteem. As
we approach the time of the consolidation of
the Roman power in the Levant, we have a
notice of the Jewish residents in Rhodes (1
Mace. xv. 23).
RIB'LAH. 1. One of the landmarks on
the eastern boundary of the land of Israel,
as specified by Moses (Num. xxxiv. 11). It
seems hardly possible, without entirely dis
arranging the specification of the boundary,
that the Riblah in question can be the same
with the following. — 2. Riblah in the land
of Hamath, a place on the great road be
tween Palestine and Babylonia, at which the
kings of Babylonia were accustomed to re
main while directing the operations of their
armies in Palestine and Phoenicia. Here

Nebuchadnezzar waited while the sieges of
Jerusalem and of Tyre were being conducted
by his lieutenants (Jer. xxxix. 5, 6, Iii. 9,
10, 26, 27 ; 2 K. xxv. 6, 20, -21). In like
manner Pharaoh -Neeho, after his victory
over the Babylonians at Carchemish, re
turned to Riblah and summoned Jehoahaz
from Jerusalem before him (2 K. xxiii. 33).
This Riblah Still retains its ancient name,
on the right (east) bank of the el Asy
(Orontes), upon the great road which con
nects Baalbek andHums, about 35 milesN.E.
of the former and 20 miles S.W. of the latter
place. RIDDLE. The Hebrew word is derived
from an Arabic root meaning " to bend off,"
"to twist" (Judg. xiv. 12-19). The riddles
which the queen of Sheba came to ask of
Solomon (1 K. x. 1 ; 2 Chr. ix. 1) were rather
" hard questions" referring to profound en
quiries. Solomon is said, however, to have
been very fond of riddles. We know that all
ancient nations, and especially Orientals, have
been fond of riddles. We find traces of the
custom among the Arabs (Koran xxv. 35), and
indeed several Arabic books of riddles exist ;
but these are rather emblems and devices
than what we call riddles, although they are
very ingenious. They were also known to
the ancient Egyptians, and were especially
used in banquets both by Greeks and Romans.
Riddles were generally proposed in verse,
like the celebrated riddle of Samson, whieh,
however, was properly no riddle at all, be
cause the Philistines did not possess the only
clue on which the solution could depend.
RIM'MON (pomegranate) the name of seve
ral towns, probably so called from producing
pomegranates. 1. A city of Zebulun belong
ing to the Merarite Levites (1 Chr. vi. 77).
It is not impossible that Dimnah (Josh. xxi.
35) may have been originally Rimmon, as
the D and R in Hebrew are notoriously easy
to confound. — 2. A town in the southern
portion of Judah (Josh. xv. 32), allotted to
Simeon (Josh. xix. 7 ; 1 Chr. iv. 32). In
each of the above lists the name succeeds
that of Ain, also one of the cities of Judah
and Simeon. In the catalogue of the places
reoccupied by the Jews after the return from
Babylon (Neh. xi. 29) the two are joined,-
and appear in the A. V. as En-Rimmon. — 3.
Rimmon- P a kkz, the name of a march-station
in the wilderness (Num. xxxiii. 19, 20). No
place now known has been identified with it.
— 4. A rock or inaccessible natural fastness,
in which the six hundred Benjamites who
escaped the slaughter of Gibeah took refuge
(Judg. xx. 45, 47, xxi. 13). It is described
as in the " wilderness," that is, the wild un
cultivated country which lies on the east of

RIMMON

RIZPAH

the central highlands of Benjamin, on which
Gibeah was situated — between them and the
Jordan Valley. Here the name is still found
attached to a village perched on the summit
of a conical chalky hill, visible in all direc
tions, and commanding the whole country.
RIM'MON, a deity worshipped by the
Syrians of Damascus, where there was a
temple or house of Rimmon "(2 K. v. 18).
Rimmon is perhaps the abbreviated form of
Hadad-Rimmon, Hadad being the sun-god of
the Syrians. Combining this with the pome
granate, which was his symbol, Hadad-
Rimmon would then be the sun-god of the
late summer, who ripens the pomegranate
and other fruits.
RING. The ring was regarded as an in
dispensable article of a Hebrew's attire,
inasmuch as it contained his signet. It was
hence the symbol of authority, and as such
was presented by Pharaoh to Joseph (Gen.
xli. 42), and by Ahasuerus to Haman (Esth.
iii. 10). Such rings were worn not only by
men, but by women (Is. iii. 21), and are enu
merated among the articles presented by
men and women for the service of the taber
nacle (Ex. xxxv. 22). The signet-ring was
worn on the right hand (Jer. xxii. 24). We
may conclude, from Ex. xxviii. 11, that the
rings contained a stone engraven with a
device, or with the owner's name. The cus
tom appears also to have prevailed among the
Jews of the Apostolic age ; for in James ii. 2,
a rich man is described as not simply " with
a gold ring," as in the A. V., but " golden-
ringed."

Egyplian Rings.
RI'PHATH, the second son of Gomer, and
the brother of Ashkenaz and Togarmah (Gen.
x. 3). The Hebrew text in 1 Chr. i. 6 gives
the form Diphath, but this arises out of a
clerical error. The name may be identified
with the Rhipaean mountains, i. e. the Car
pathian range in the N.E. of Dacia.
RIS'SAH, a march-station in the wilderness
(Num. xxxiii. 21, 22).
RITH'MAH, a march-station in the wilder
ness (Num. xxxiii. 18, 19), probably N.E. of
Hazeroth. RIVER. In the sense in which we em
ploy the word, viz. for a perennial stream of
considerable size, a river is a much rarer
object in the East than in the West. With

the exception of the Jordan and the Litany,
the streams of the Holy Land arc either
entirely dried up in the summer months, and
converted into hot lanes of glaring stones, or
else reduced to very small streamlets deeply
sunk in a narrow bed, ami concealed from
view by a dense growth of shrubs. The
perennial river is called Nahar by the He
brews. AYith the definite article, " the river,"
it signifies invariubly the Euphrates (Gen.
xxxi. 21 ; Ex. xxiii. 31 ; Num. xxiv. 6;
2 Sam. x. 16, ate. &c). It is never applied
to the fleeting fugitive torrents of Palestine.
The term for these is nachal, for whieh our
translators have used promiscuously, and some
times almost alternately, "valley," "brook,"
and " river." No one of these words ex
presses the thing intended, ; but the term
"brook" is peculiarly unhappy. Many of
the wadys of Palestine are deep, abrupt
chasms or rents in the solid rock of tbe
hills, and have a savage, gloomy aspect, far
removed from that of an English brook.
Unfortunately our language does not contain
any single word which has both the meanings
of the Hebrew nachal and its Arabic equiva
lent wadg, which can be used at once for a
dry valley and for the stream which occasion
ally flows through it.
RIVER OF EGYPT. 1. The Nile (Gen.
xv. 18). [Nile.]— 2. A desert stream on the
border of Egypt, still occasionally flowing in
the valley called Wadi-l- Areesh. The centre
of the valley is occupied by the bed of this
torrent, which only flows after rains, as is
usual in the desert valleys. This stream is
first mentioned as the point where the south
ern border of the Promised Land touched the
Mediterranean, which formed its western
border (Num. xxxiv. 3-6). In the later his
tory we find Solomon's kingdom extending
from the "entering in of Hamath unto the
river of Egypt" (1 K. viii. 65), and Egypt
limited in the same manner where the loss of
the eastern provinces is mentioned (2 K.
xxiv. 7).
RIZ'PAH, concubine to king Saul, and
mother of his two sons Armoni and Mephi
bosheth. After the death of Saul and occu
pation of the country west of the Jordan by
the Philistines,' Rizpah accompanied the
other members of the royal family to their
new residence at Mahanaim (2 Sam. iii. 7).
We hear nothing more of Rizpah till the
tragic story which has made her one of the
most familiar objects in the whole Bible
(2 Sam. xxi. 8-11). Every one can appre
ciate the love and endurance with which the
mother watched over the bodies of her two
sons and her five relatives, to save them
from an indignity peculiarly painful to the

ROE

473

ROMAN EMPIRE

whole of the ancient world (see Ps. lxxix. 2).
But it is questionable whether the ordinary
conception of the scene is accurate. The
seven victims were not, as the A. V. implies,
" hung ;" they were crucified. The seven
crosses were planted in the rock on the top
of the sacred hill of Gibeah. The victims
were sacrificed at the beginning of barley
harvest — the sacred and festal time of tbe
Passover — and in the full blaze of the summer
sun they hung till the fall of the periodical
rain in October. During the whole of that
time Rizpah remained at the foot of the
crosses on which the bodies of her sons were
exposed : the Mater dolorosa, if the ex
pression may be allowed, of the ancient
dispensation. ROE, ROEBUCK. The Hebrew words
thus translated denote some species of ante
lope, probably the Gazella Arabica of Syria
and Arabia. The gazelle was allowed as
food (Deut. xii. 15, 22, &c.) ; it is mentioned
as very fleet of foot (2 Sam. ii. 18; 1 Chr.
xii. 8) ; it was hunted (Is. xiii. 14 ; Prov. vi.
5) ; it was celebrated for its loveliness (Cant.
ii. 9, 17, viii. 14).

Guzella Arabica.
RO'GELIM, the residence of Barzillai the
Gileadite (2 Sam. xvii. 27, xix. 31) in the
highlands east of the Jordan.
ROLL. A book in ancient times consisted
of a single long strip of paper or parchment,
which was usually kept rolled up on a stick,
and was unrolled when a person wished to
read it. The roll was usually written on one
side only, and hence the particular notice of
one that was " written within and without "
(Ez. ii. 10). The writing was arranged in
columns. We may here idd that the term
in Is. viii. 1, rendered in the A. V. "roll,"
more correctly means tablet.

ROMAN EMPIRE. The notices of Roman
history which occur in the Bible are confined
to the last century and a half of the common -
wealth and the first century of the imperial
monarchy. The first historic mention of
Rome in the Bible is in 1 Mace. i. 10.
About the year 161 b.c Judas Maccabaeus
heard of the Romans as the conquerors of
Philip, Perseus, and Antiochus (1 Mace. viii.
5, 6). In order to strengthen himself against
Demetrius king of Syria he sent ambassadors
to Rome (viii. 17), and concluded a defensive
alliance with the senate (viii. 22-32). This
was renewed by Jonathan (xii. 1) and by
Simon (xv. 17). In the year 65 b.c, when
Syria was made a Roman province by Pom-
pey, the Jews were still governed by one of
the Asmonaean princes. Aristobulus had
lately driven his brother Hyrcanus from the
chief priesthood, and was now in his turn
attacked by Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea,
the ally of Hyrcanus. Pompey's lieutenant,
M. Aemilius Scaurus, interfered in the eon-
test b.c 64, and the next year Pompey him
self marched an army into Judaea and took
Jerusalem. From this time the Jews were
practically under the government of Rome.
Hyrcanus retained the high-priesthood and a
titular sovereignty, subject to the watchful
control of his minister Antipater, an active
partisan of the Roman interests. Finally,
Antipater's son, Herod the Great, was made
king by Antony's interest, b.c. 40, and con
firmed in the kingdom by Augustus, b.c 30.
The Jews, however, were all this time tribu
taries of Rome, and their princes in reality
were mere Roman procurators. On the
banishment of Archelaus, a.d. 6, Judaea
became a mere appendage of the province of
Syria, and was governed by a Roman pro-*
curator, who resided at Caesarea. Such were
the relations of the Jewish people to the
Roman government at the time when the
N. T. history begins. In illustration of the
sacred narrative it may be well to give a
general account of the position of the em
peror, the extent of the empire, and the
administration of the provinces in the time
of our Lord and His Apostles. I. When
Augustus became sole ruler of the Roman
world he was in theory simply the first '
citizen of the republic, entrusted with tem
porary powers to settle the disorders of the
state. The old magistracies were retained,
but the various powers and prerogatives of
each were conferred upon Augustus. Above
all he was the Emperor (Imperator). This
word, used originally to designate any one
entrusted with the imperium or full military
authority over a Roman army, acquired a
new significance when adopted as a perma-

ROMAN EMPIRE

474

ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

nent title by Julius Caesar. By his use of it
as a constant prefix to his name in the city
and in the camp he openly asserted a para
mount military authority over the state.
The Empire was nominally elective, but prac
tically it passed by adoption ; and till Nero's
time a sort of hereditary right seemed to be
recognised. — II. Extent of the Empire. —
Cicero's description of the Greek states and
colonies as a " fringe on the skirt-* of bar
barism," has been well applied to the Roman
dominions before the conquests of Pompey
and Caesar. The Roman Empire was still
confined to a narrow strip encircling the
Mediterranean Sea. Pompey added Asia
Minor and Syria. Caesar added Gaul. Tlie
generals of Augustus overran the N.W. por
tion of Spain, and the country between the
Alps and the Danube. The boundaries of
the Empire were now, the Atlantic on the
W., the Euphrates on the E., the deserts of
Africa, the cataracts of the Nile, and the
Arabian deserts on the S., the British Channel,
the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black Sea on
the X. The only subsequent conquests of
importance were those of Britain by Claudius
and of Dacia by Trajan. The only independ
ent powers of importance were tbe Parthians
on the E. and the Germans on the N. The
population of the Empire in the time of
Augustus has been calculated at 85,000,000.
— III. The Provinces. — The usual fate of a
country conquered by Rome was to become a
subject province^ governed directly from
Rome by officers sent out for that purpose.
Sometimes, however, petty sovereigns were
left in possession of a nominal independence
on the borders, or within the natural limits,
of the province. Augustus divided the pro
vinces into two classes : (1.) Imperial, (2.)
Senatorial ; retaining in his own hands, for
obvious reasons those provinces where the
presence of a large military force was neces
sary, and committing the peaceful and un
armed provinces to the Senate. The Im
perial provinces at first were — Gaul, Lusit-
ania, Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Cyprus, and
Aegypt. The Senatorial provinces were
Africa, Numidia, Asia, Achaia and Epirus,
Dalmatia, Macedonia, Sicily, Crete and
Cyrene, Bithynia and Pontus, Sardinia,
Baetica. Cyprus and Gallia Narbonensis
were subsequently given up by Augustus, who
in turn received Dalmatia from the Senate.
Many other changes were made afterwards.
The N.T. writers invariably designate the
governors of Senatorial provinces by the
correct title of dvOviraTOL, proconsuls (Acts
xiii. 7, xviii. 12, xix. 38). For the governor
of an Imperial province, properly styled
*' Legatus Caesaris," the word 'Hye/xw»'

(Governor) is used in the N. T. The pro
vinces were heavily taxed for the benefit of
Rome and her citizens. They arc said to
have been better governed under tlie Empire
than under the Commonwealth, and those of
the emperor better than those of the senate.
Two important changes were introduced un
der the Empire. The governors received a
fixed pay, and the term of their command
was prolonged. The condition of the Roman
Empire at the time when Christianity ap
peared has often been dwelt upon, as afford
ing obvious illustrations of St. Paul's expres
sion that the "fulness of time had come"
(Gal. iv. 4). The general peace within the
limits of the Empire, the formation of mili
tary roads, the suppression of piracy, the
march of the legions, the voyages of the corn
fleets, the general increase of traffic, the
spread of the Latin language in the West us
Greek had already spread in the East, the
external unity of the Empire, offered facilities
hitherto unknown for the spread of a world
wide religion. The tendency too of a despo
tism like that of the Roman Empire to reduce
all its subjects to a dead level, was a power
ful instrument in breaking down the pride of
privileged races and national religions, and
familiarising men with the truth that "God
hath made of one blood all nations on the
face of the earth" (Acts xvii. 24, 26). But
still more striking than this outward prepara
tion for the diffusion of the Gospel was the
appearance of a deep and wide-spread cor
ruption which seemed to defy any human
remedy. — The chief prophetic notices of the
Roman Empire are found in the Book of
Daniel. According to some interpreters the
Romans are intended in Deut. xxviii. 49-57.
ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE, was written
from Corinth during St. Paul's third mis
sionary journey, on the occasion of the se-
condof the two visits recorded in the Acts,
a.d. 58 (Acts xx. 3). The occasion which
prompted this Epistle, and the circumstances
attending its writing, were as follows. St.
Paul had long purposed visiting Rome, and
still retained this purpose, wishing also to
extend his journey to Spain (i. 9-13, xv. 22-
29). For the time, however, he was pre
vented from carrying out his design, as he
was bound for Jerusalem with the alms of the
Gentile Christians, and meanwhile he ad
dressed this letter to the Romans, to supply
the lack of his personal teaching. Phoebe, a
deaconess of the neighbouring Church of
Cenchreae, was on the point of starting for
Rome (xvi. 1, 2), and probably conveyed the
letter. The body of the Epistle was written
at the Apostle's dictation by Tertius (xvi.
22) ; but perhaps we may infer from the

ROME

475

ROME

abruptness of the final doxology, that it was
added by the Apostle himself. The Origin of
the Roman Church is involved in obscurity,
[Rome p. 477], hut it appears that the
church consisted of Jews and Gentiles, the
latter perhaps being the more numerous.
It would seem that the letter was not
specially written to answer any doubts or
settle any controversies then rife in the Roman
Church. There were therefore no disturbing
influences such as arise out of personal rela
tions, or peculiar circumstances, to derange a
general and systematic exposition of the
nature and working of the Gospel. Thus the
Epistle to the Romans is more of a treatise
than of a letter. In this respect it differs
widely from the Epistles to the Corinthians
and Galatians, which are full of personal and
direct allusions. In describing the purport
of this Epistle we may start from St. Paul's
own words, which, standing at the beginning
of the doctrinal portion, may be taken as
giving a summary of the contents (i. 16, 17).
Accordingly the Epistle has been described as
comprising " the religious philosophy of the
world's history." The atonement of Christ
is the centre of religious history. The
Epistle, from its general character, lends
itself more readily to an analysis than is
often the case with St. Paul's Epistles. The
following is a table of its contents : — Saluta
tion (i. 1-7). The Apostle at the outset
strikes the key-note of the Epistle in tbe ex
pressions " called as an apostle," " called as
saints." Divine grace is everything, human
merit nothing. — I. Personal explanations.
Purposed visit to Rome (i. 8-15). — II.
Doctrinal (i. 16-xi. 36). The general pro
position. The Gospel is the salvation of
Jew and Gentile alike. This salvation comes
by faith. — III. Practical exhortations (xii.
1-xv. 13). — IV. Personal matters, (a) The
Apostle's motive in writing the letter, and
his intention of visiting the Romans (xv.
14-33). (6) Greetings (xvi. 1-23). The letter
ends with a benediction and doxology (xvi.
24-27). While - this Epistle contains the
fullest and most systematic exposition of the
Apostle's teaching, it is at the same time a
very striking expression of his character.
Nowhere do his earnest and affectionate
nature, and his tact and delicacy in handling
unwelcome topics appear more strongly than
when he is dealing with the rejection of his
fellow-countrymen the Jews.
ROME, the famous capital of the ancient
world, is situated on the Tiber at a distance
of about 15 miles from its mouth. The
"seven hills" (Rev. xvii. 9) which formed
the nucleus of the ancient city stand on the
left hank. On the opposite side of the river

rises the far higher side of the Janiculum.
Here from very early times was a fortress
with a suburb beneath it extending to the
river. Modern Rome lies to the N. of the
ancient city, covering with its principal por
tion the plain to the N. of the seven hills,
once known as the Campus Martius, and on
the opposite hank extending over the low
ground beneath the Vatican to the N. of the
ancient Janiculum. Rome is not mentioned
in the Bible except in the books of Maccabees
and in three books of the N. T., viz. the
Acts, the Epistle to the Romans, and the 2nd
Epistle to Timothy. For the notices of Rome
in the books of Maccabees see Roman Em
pire. — The conquests of Pompey seem to have
given rise to the first settlement of Jews at
Rome. Tbe Jewish king Aristobulus and his
son formed part of Pompey's triumph, and
many Jewish captives and emigrants were
brought to Rome at that time. A special
district was assigned to them, not on the
site of the modern "Ghetto," between the
Capitol and the island of the Tiber, but
across the Tiber. Many of these Jews were
made freedmen. Julius Caesar showed them
some kindness ; they were favoured also by
Augustus, and by Tiberius during the latter
part of his reign. At an earlier period ap
parently he banished a great number of them
to Sardinia. Claudius "commanded all Jews
to depart from Rome " (Acts xviii. 2), on
account of tumults connected, possibly, with
the preaching of Christianity at Rome. This
banishment cannot have been of long dura
tion, for we find Jews residing at Rome ap
parently in considerable numbers at the time
of St. Paul's visit (Acts xxviii. 17). It is
chiefly in connexion with St. Paul's history
that Rome comes before us in the Bible. In
illustration of that history it may be useful
to give some account of Rome in the time of
Nero, the "Caesar" to whom St. Paul ap
pealed, and in whose reign he suffered
martyrdom. — 1. The city at that time must
be imagined as a large and irregular mass of
buildings unprotected by an outer wall. It
had long outgrown the old Servian wall ;
but the limits of the suburbs cannot be
exactly defined. Neither the nature of the
buildings nor the configuration of the ground
were such as to give a striking appearance to
the city viewed from without. "Ancient
Rome had neither cupola nor campanile,"
and the hills, never lofty or imposing, would
present, when covered with the buildings
and streets of a huge city, a confused appear
ance like the hills of modern London, to
which they have sometimes been compared.
The visit of St. Paul lies between two famous
epochs in the history of the city, viz. its

476

ROME

restoration by Augustus and its restoration
by Nero. The boast of Augustus is well
known, " that he found the city of brick and
left it of marble." Some parts of the city,
especially the Forum and Campus Martius,
must now have presented a magnificent ap
pearance, of which the accompanying restora
tion wili give a general idea, but many of
the principal buildings which attract the
attention of modern travellers in ancient
Rome were not yet built. The streets were
generally narrow and winding, flanked by
densely crowded lodging-houses (insulae) of
enormous height. Augustus found it neces
sary to limit their height to 70 feet. St.
Paul's first visit to Rome took place before
the Neronian conflagration, but even after
the restoration of the city, which followed
upon that event, many of the old evils con
tinued. The population of the city has been
variously estimated. Probably Gibbon's esti
mate of one million two hundred thousand
is nearest to the truth. One half of the
population consisted, in all probability, of
slaves. The huger part of the remainder
consisted of pauper citizens supported in idle
ness by the miserable system of public gra
tuities. There appears to have been no
middle class and no free industrial popula
tion. Side by side with the wretched classes
just mentioned was the comparatively small
body of the wealthy nobility, of whose luxury
and profligacy we hear so much in the heathen
writers of the time. — Such was the popula
tion which St. Paul would find at Rome at
the time of his visit. AVe learn from the
Acts of the Apostles that he was detained at
Rome for " two whole years," " dwelling in
his own hired house with a soldier that kept
him" (Acts xxviii. 16, 30), to whom, ap
parently, according to Roman custom, he
was bound with a chain (Acts xxviii. 20 ;
Eph. vi. 20 ; Phil. i. 13). Here he preached
to all that came to him, no man forbidding
him (Acts xxviii. 30, 31). It is generally
believed that on his "appeal to Caesar" he
was acquitted, and, after some time spent in
freedom, was a second time imprisoned at
Rome. Five of his Epistles, viz. those to
the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, that
to Philemon, and the 2nd Epistle to Timothy,
were, in all probability, written from Rome,
the latter shortly before his death (2 Tim.
iv. 6), the others during his first imprison
ment. It is universally believed that he
suffered martyrdom at Rome. — 2. The local
ities in and about Rome especially connected
with the life of St. Paul, are— (1.) The Ap-
pian way, by which he approached Rome
(Acts xxviii. 15). [Appii Forum.] (2.) j
"The palace," or "Caesar's court" (Prae

torium. Phil. i. 13). This may mean either
the great camp of the Praetorian guards
which Tiberius established outside the walls
on the N.E. of the city, or, as seems more
probable, a barrack attached to the Impcrinl
residence on the Palatine. There is no suffi
cient proof that the word " Praetoriuni " was
ever used to designate the emperor's palace,
though it is used for the official residence of
a Roman governor (John xviii. 28 ; Acts
xxiii. 35). The mention of "Caesar's house
hold" (Phil. iv. 22), confirms the notion that
St. Paul's residence was in the immediate
neighbourhood of the emperor's house on the
Palatine. — 3. The connexion of other local
ities at Rome with St. Paul's name rests only
on traditions of more or less probability.
Wo may mention especially — (1.) The Ma-
mertine prison or Tullianum, built by Ancus
Martius near the forum. It still exists be
neath the church of S. Giuseppe dciFalegnami,
Here it is said that St. lYler and St. Paul
were fellow-prisoners for nine months. This
is not the place to discuss the question whether
St. Peter was ever at Rome. It may be suffi
cient to state, that though there is no evi
dence of such a visit in the N. T., unless
Babylon in 1 Pet. v. 13 is a mystical name
for Rome, yet early testimony, and the uni
versal belief of the early Church seem suffi
cient to establish the fact of his having
suffered martyrdom there. [ Peter.] The
story, however, of the imprisonment in the
Mamertine prison seems inconsistent with
2 Tim., esp. iv. 11. (2.) The chapel on the
Ostian road which marks the spot where the
two Apostles are said to have separated on
their way to martyrdom. (3.) The supposed
scene of St. Paul's martyrdom, viz. tbe church
of St. Paolo alle tre fontane on the Ostian
road. To these may be added (4.) The sup
posed scene of St. Peter's martyrdom, viz.,
the church of St. Pietro in Montorio, on the
Janiculum. (5.) The chapel " Domine quo
Vadis," on the Appian road, the scene of the
beautiful legend of our Lord's appearance to
St. Peter as he was escaping from' martyrdom.
(6.) The places where the bodies of the two
Apostles, after having been deposited first in
the catacombs, are supposed to have been
finally buried — that of St. Paul by the Ostian
road— that of St. Peter beneath the dome of
the famous Basilica which bears his name.—
4. We may add, as sites unquestionably con
nected with the Roman Christians of the
Apostolic age — (1.) The gardens of Nero in
the Vatican, not far from the spot where
St. Peter's now stands. Here Christians
wrapped in the skins of beasts were torn to
pieces by dogs, or, clothed in inflammable
robes, were burnt to serve as torches during

!>¦; ;

JHliiUlililliilP^Uiili^^

ROOF

477

RUMAH

the midnight games. Others were crucified.
(2.) The Catacombs. These subterranean
galleries, commonly from 8 to 1 0 feet in
height, and from 4 to 6 in width, and ex
tending for miles, especially in the neighbour
hood of the old Appian and Nomentan ways,
were unquestionably used as places of refuge,
of worship, and of burial by the early Christ
ians. — The earliest dated inscription in the
catacombs is a.d. 71. Nothing is known of
the first founder of the Christian Church at
Rome, Christianity may, perhaps, have been
introduced into the city not long after the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost by the " strangers of Rome," who
were then at Jerusalem (Acts ii. 10). It is
clear that there were many Christians at
Rome before St. Paul visited the city (Rom.
i. 8, 13, 15, ixv. 20). The names of twenty-
four Christians at Rome are given in the
salutations at the end of the Epistle to the
Romans. Linus (who is mentioned, 2 Tim.
iv. 21), and Clement (Phil. iv. 3) are sup
posed to have succeeded St. Peter as bishops
of Rome. — Rome seems to be described
under the name of Babylon in Rev. xiv.
8, xvi. 19, xvii. 5, xviii. 2, 21 ; and again,
as the city of the seven hills (Rev. xvii. 9,
cf. xii. 3, xiii. 1).
ROOF. [House.]
ROOM. This word is employed in the
A. V. of the New Testament as the equivalent
of no less than eight distinct Greek terms.
The only one of these, however, which need
be noticed here is irptoTOKKixrCa (Matt, xxiii.
6 ; Mark xii. 39 ; Luke xiv. 7, 8, xx. 46),
which signifies the highest place on the
highest couch round the dinner or supper
table — the " uppermost seat," as it is more
itccurately rendered in Luke xi. 43.
ROSE occurs twice only, viz. in Cant. ii.
1 ; Is. xxv. 1. There is much difference of
opinion as to what particular flower is here
denoted ; but it appears to us most probable
that the narcissus is intended. The narcissus
and the lily (Lilium candidum) would be in
blossom together in the early spring, while
the Colchicum is an autumn plant. Chateau
briand mentions the narcissus as growing in
the plain of Sharon. Though tbe Rose is
apparently not mentioned in the Hebrew
Bible, it is referred to in Ecclus. xxiv. 14
(comp. also ch. 1. 8 ; xxxix. 13 ; AVisd. ii. 8).
Roses are greatly prized in the East, more
especially for the sake of the rose-water,
which is in much request. Dr. Hooker
observed seven species of wild roses in
Syria. ROSH. In the genealogy of Gen. xlvi. 21 ,
Rosh is reckoned among the sons of Benjamin,
but the name does not occur elsewhere, and

it is extremely probable that "Ehi and Rosh'*
is a corruption of "Ahiram" (comp. Num.
xxvi. 38). •
ROSH (Ez. xxxviii. 2, 3, xxxix. 1). The
whole sentence thus rendered by the A. A'.
" Magog the chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal," ought to run " Magog the prince of
Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal." The meaning
is that Magog is the head of the three great
Scythian tribes, of whieh "Rosh" is thus
the first. By Rush is apparently meant the
tribe on the north of the Tauvus, so called
from the neighbourhood to the Rha, or
Volga, arid thus in this name and tribe we
have the first trace of the Russ or Russian
nation. The name probably occurs again
under the altered form of Rasses, in Judith
ii. 23.
RUBIES. Concerning the meaning of the
Hebrew words translated " rubies " there is
much difference of opinion (Job xxviii. 18 ;
see also Prov. iii. 15, viii. 11, xxxi. 10). In
Lam. iv. 7*it is said, "the Nazarites were
purer than snow, they were whiter than
milk, they were more ruddy in body than
rubies." Some suppose " coral " to be in
tended. Others contend that the Hebrew
term denotes pearls, and explain the " ruddi
ness " alluded to above, by supposing that
the original word signifies merely " bright in
colour," or "colour of a reddish tinge."
RUE occurs only in Luke xi. 42. The
rue here spoken of is doubtless the common
Ruta graveolens, a shrubby plant about 2 feet
high, of strong medicinal virtues. It is a
native of the Mediterranean coasts, and has
been found by Hasselquist on Mount Tabor.
The Talmud enumerates rue amongst kitchen-
herbs, and regards it as free of tithe, as being
a plant not cultivated in gardens. In our
Lord's time, however, rue was doubtless a
garden-plant, and therefore titheable.
RU'FUS is mentioned in Mark xv. 21,
along with Alexander, as a son of Simon the
Cyrenian (Luke xxiii. 26). Again, in Rom.
xvi. 13, the Apostle Paul salutes a Rufus
whom he designates as " elect in the Lord."
It is generally supposed that this Rufus was
identical with the one to whom Mark refers.
Yet we are to bear in mind that Rufus was
not an uncommon name, and possibly, there
fore, Mark and Paul may have had in view
different individuals.
RUHA'MAH. The margin of our version
renders it "having obtained mercy" [Hos.
ii. 1). The name, if name it be, is, like Lo-
ruhamah, symbolical, and is addressed to the
daughters of the people to denote that they
were still the objects of his love and tender
compassion. RU'MAH, mentioned once only (2 K.

478

SABBATH

xxiii. 36). It has been conjectured to be
the same place as Arumah (Judg. ix. 41),
which was apparently near Shechem. It is
more probable that it is identical with Dumah
(Josh. xv. 52).
RUSH. [Reed.]
RUST occurs as the translation of two
different Greek words in Matt. vi. 19, 20,
and in James v. 3. In the former passage
the word /Spuo-is, which is joined with
" moth," has by some been understood to
denote the larva of some moth injurious
to corn, as the Tinea granella. It can
scarcely be taken to signify " rhst," for
which there is another term tos, which is
used by St. James to express rather the
" tarnish " which overspreads silver than
" rust," by which name we now understand
" oxide of iron."
RUTH, a Moabitish woman, the wife, first,
of Mahlon, secondly of Boaz, the ancestress
of David and of Christ, and one of the four
women who are named by St. Multhew in the
genealogy of Christ. A severe famine in
the land of Judah induced Elimelech, a native
of Bethlehem Ephratah, to emigrate into the
land of Moab, with his wife Naomi, and his
two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. At the end
of ten years Naomi, now left a widow and
childless, having heard that there was plenty
again in Judah, resolved to return to Beth
lehem, and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, re
turned with her. They arrived at Bethlehem
just at the beginning of barley harvest, and
Ruth, going out to glean, chanced to go into
the field of Boaz, a wealthy man, and near
kinsman of her father-in-law Elimelech.
Upon learning who the stranger was, Boaz
treated her with the utmost kindness and
respect, and sent her home laden with corn
which she had gleaned. Encouraged by this
incident, Naomi instructed Ruth to claim at
the hand of Boaz that he should perform the
part of her husband's near kinsman, by pur
chasing the inheritance of Elimelech, and
taking her to be his wife. But there was a
nearer kinsman than Boaz, and it was neces
sary that he should have the option of re
deeming the inheritance for himself. He,
however, declined, fearing to mar his own
inheritance. Upon which, with all due
solemnity, Boaz took Ruth to he his wife,
amidst the blessings and congratulations of
their neighbours. Their son, Ohed, was the
father of Jessie, who was the father of
David. RUTH, BOOK OF, contains the history of
Ruth, as narrated in the preceding article.
The main object of the writer is evidently to
give an account of David's ancestors ; and
the book was avowedly composed long after

the time of the heroine. (See Ruth i. 1, iv
7, 17.) Its date and author are quite un
certain. It is probable that the books of
Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings originally
formed but one work. The book of Ruth
clearly forms part of those of Samuel, sup
plying as it does the essential point of David's
genealogy and early family history, and is no
less clearly connected with the book of Judges
by its opening verse, and the epoch to which
the whole book relates.
RYE (Heb. cussemetli) occurs in Ex,
ix, 32 ; Is. xxviii. 25 : in the latter the
margin reads " spelt." In Ez. iv, 9 the
text has "fitches" and the margin "ric."
It is probable that by Cussemeth " spelt " is
intended. Spelt (Ti'iticum spelta) is grown
in some parts of the south of Germany ; it
differs but slightly from our common wheat
(T. vulg are).

SAB'AOTH, THE LORD OF, occurs in
Rom. ix. 29 ; James v. 4, but is more
familiar through its occurrence in the Sanctus
of the Te Deum— " Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
God of Sabaoth." Sabaoth is the Greek
form of the Hebrew word tsebddth, "armies,"
and is translated in the Authorised Version
of the O. T. by "Lord of Hosts," "Lord
God of Hosts." In the mouth and the mind
of an ancient Hebrew, Jehovali-tsebadth was
the leader and commander of the armieB of
the nation, who " went forth with them "
(Ps. xliv. 9), and led them to certain victory
over the worshippers of Baal, Chemosh,
Molech, Ashtaroth, and other false gods.
SABBATH (shabbdth, "a day of rest,"
from shdbath, " to cease to do," "to rest").
The name is applied to divers great festivals,
but principally and usually to the seventh
day of the week, the strict observance of
which is enforced not merely in the general
Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself.
The consecration of the Sabbath was coeval
with the Creation. It has been maintained
by some that this is only an anticipatory re
ference to the Fourth Commandment, because
there is no record of the observance of the
Sabbath between the Creation and the Exodus.
But this is just in accordance with the plan
of the Scripture narrative, in which regular
and ordinary events are unnoticed. There
are not wanting indirect evidences of its ob
servance, as the intervals between Noah's
sending forth the birds out of the ark, an act
naturally associated with the weekly service
(Gen. viii. 7-12), and in the week of a wed
ding celebration (Gen. xxix. 27, 28) ; but,
when a special occasion arises, in connection
with the prohibition against gathering manna

SABBATH

'479

SABBATH

on the Sabbath, the institution is mentioned
as one already known (Ex. xvi. 22-30).*
And that this was especially one of the insti
tutions adopted by Moses from the ancient
patriarchal usage is implied in the very
words of the law, "Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy." But even if such
evidence were wanting, the reason of the
institution would be a sufficient proof. It
was to be a joyful celebration of God's com
pletion of His creation. It has indeed been
said that Moses gives quite a different reason
for the institution of the Sabbath, as a me
morial of the deliverance from Egyptian
bondage (Deut. v. 15). As if Moses, in his
repetition of the law, had forgotten the rea
son given by God himself from Sinai (Ex.
xx. 11). The words added in Deuteronomy
are a special motive for the joy with which
the Sabbath should be celebrated, and for
the kindness which extended its blessings to
the slave and beast of burthen as well as
the master : "that thy manservant and thy
maidservant mayrest asivell as thou" (Deut.
v. 14). These attempts to limit the ordinance
proceed from an entire misconception of its
spirit, as if it were a season of stern priva
tion rather than of special privilege. But,
in truth, the prohibition of work is only sub
sidiary to the positive idea of joyful rest and
recreation, in communion with Jehovah, who
himself " rested and was refreshed " (Ex.
xxxi. 17 : comp. xxiii. 12). It was to he a
sacred pause in the ordinary labour by which
man earns his bread ; the curse of the fall
was to be suspended for one day ; and, hav
ing spent that day in joyful remembrance of
God's mercies, man had a fresh start in his
course of labour. A great snare, too, has
always been hidden in the word work, as if
the commandment forbade occupation and
imposed idleness. A consideration of the
spirit of the law and of Christ's comments on
it Will show that it is tvork for icorldly gain
that was to he suspended ; and hence the
restrictive clause is prefaced with the positive
command : " Six days shalt thou labour, and
do all thy work ; " for so only could the
Sabbatic rest be fairly earned. Hence,
too, the stress constantly laid on permitting
the servant and beast of burthen to share
the rest, whieh selfishness would grudge
to them. Thus the spirit of the Sabbath
was joy, refreshment, and mercy, arising
from remembrance of God's goodness as
the Creator, and as the deliverer from
bondage. — These views are practically illus
trated by the manner in which the Israelites
* All this is confirmed fay the gTeat antiquity of the
division of tune into weeks, and the naming the days
after the sun, moon, and planets.

were to spend, and in which the prophets
afterwards reprove them for not spending,
the Sabbath and the other festivals. The
Sabbath was a perpetual sign and covenant,
and the holiness of the day is connected with
the holiness of the people : " that ye may
know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify
you" (Ex. xxxi. 12-17 ; Ez. xx. 12). Joy
was the key-note of their service. Moses
declared that a place of sacrifice should he
given them ; "and there shall ye eat before
Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice, ye
and your households" (Deut. xii. 7, xiv. 26,
xvi. 14, 15, xxvi. 11). The Psalmists echo
back the same spirit : " This is the day
which Jehovah hath made ; we will rejoice
and be glad in it" (Ps. cxviii. 24). Isaiah
reproves the fasts whieh were kept with mere
outward observance, in place of acts of cha
rity, by promising that those who called the
Sabbath a delight and honoured God by
doing His works in it, should delight them
selves in Jehovah (Is.lviii. 3-14). Nehemiah
commanded the people, on a day holy to
Jehovah, " Mourn not, nor weep : eat the fat,
and drink the sweet, and send portions to
them for whom nothing is prepared " (Neh.
viii. 9-13). The Sabbath is named as a day
of special worship in the sanctuary (Lev. xix.
30, xxvi. 2). It was proclaimed as a holy
convocation (Lev. xxiii. 3). The public re
ligious services consisted in the doubling of
the morning and evening sacrifice, and the
renewal of the shewbread in the Holy Place.
-In later times the worship of the sanctuary
was enlivened by sacred music (Ps. lxviii.
25-27, cl., &c). On this day the people
were accustomed to consult their prophets
(2 K. iv. 23), and to give to their children
that instruction in the truths recalled to
memory by the day, which is so repeatedly
enjoined *s the duty of parents ; it was " the
Sabbath of Jehovah " not only in the Sanc
tuary, but "in all their dwellings" (Lev.
xxiii. 3). It is quite true that we have but
little information on this part of the subject
in the Scriptures themselves, but the in
ferences drawn from what is told us, and
from the character of the day, are confirmed
by the testimony of later writers, and by
the system of public worship in the syna
gogues, whieh we find in full operation at
the time of Christ. The prohibitory part of
the law is general; and the only special
cases mentioned relate to the preparation of
food. The manna was not given on the
Sabbath, but a double supply was to be ga
thered on the day before (Ex. xvi. 22-30),
just as the rest of the Sabbatic year was com
pensated by the extraordinary fertility of the
year before. No fire was to be kindled on

S \BBATH-DAY'S JOURNEY

480

SABBATICAL YEAR

the Sabbath, under the penalty of death (Ex.
xxxv. 2, 3 : comp. xxxi. 14), which was in
flicted on a man who went out to gather
sticks on the Sabbath (Num. xv. 35). Its
observance is enjoined in the time of earing
and harvest, when there was a special tempta
tion to find an ex cum1 for work (Ex. xxxiv.
21). The habitual transgression of these laws,
by priests as well as people, was denounced
by the prophets (Is. lvi. 2, lviii. 13 ; Ez. xxii.
26, comp. xliv. 22), and excited the reform
ing zeal of Nehemiah after the Babylonish
captivity (Neh. xiii. 15-19). Henceforward
there is no evidence of the Sabbath being neg
lected by the Jews, except such as (1 Mace.
i. 11-15, 39-45) went into open apostacy. —
When we come to the N. T. we find the most
marked stress laid on the Sabbath. In what
ever ways the Jew might err respecting it,
he had altogether ceased to neglect it. On
the contrai y, wherever he went its observance
became the most visible badge of his nation
ality. Our Lord's mode of observing the
Sabbath was one of the main features of His
life, which His Pharisaic adversaries most
eagerly watched and criticised. They had
invented many prohibitions respecting the
Sabbath of which we find nothing in the
original institution. Some of these prohibi
tions were fantastic and arbitrary, in the
number of those " heavy burdens and griev
ous to be borne " which the later expounders
of the Law "laid on men's shoulders " (comp.
Matt. xii. 1-13; John v. 10). That this
perversion of the Sabbath had become very
general in our Saviour's time is apparent
both from the recorded objections to acts of
His on that day, and from His marked con
duct on occasions to which those objections
were sure to be urged (Matt. xii. 1-15 ; Mark
iii. 2 ; Luke vi. 1-5, xiii. 10-17 ; John v.
2-18, vii. 23, ix. 1-34). — Among Jhe Chris
tians the " Lord's Day " — the first day of the
week — gradually took the place of the Jewish
Sabbath. [Lord's Day].
SABBATH-DAY'S JOURNEY (Acts i. 12).
On occasion of a violation of the command
ment by certain of the people who went to
look for manna on the seventh day, Moses
enjoined every man to " abide in his place,"
and forbade any man to " go out of his place "
on that day (Ex. xvi. 29). It seems natural
to look on this as a mere enactment pro re
natd, and having no bearing on any state of
affairs subsequent to the journey through the
wilderness and the daily gathering of inanna.
Whether the earlier Hebrews did or did not
regard it thus, it is not easy to say. In after
times the precept in Ex. xvi. was undoubted
ly viewed as a permanent law. But as some
departure from a man's own place was un

avoidable, it was thought necessary to deter
mine the allowable amount, which was fixen
at 2000 paces, or about six furlongs, from
the wall of the city. The terminus it quo wm.
thus not a man's own house, but the wall of
the city where he dwelt.
SABBATICAL YEAR. As each seventh
day and each seventh month wore holy, bo
was each seventh year, by the Mosaic code.
We first encounter this law in Ex. xxiii.
10, 11. The commandment is, to sow and
reap for rix years, and to let the land rest
on the seventh, " that the poor of thy
people may eat; and what they leave the.
beasts of the field shall eat." It is added,
" In like manner thou shalt deal with thy
vineyard and thy oliveyard." We next mci't
with the enactment in Lev. xxv. 2-7, and
finally in Deut. xv., in which last place the
new feature presents itself of the seventh
year being one of release to debtors. When
we combine these several notices, we hnd
that every seventh year the land was to
have rest to enjoy her Sabbaths. Neither
tillage nor cultivation of any sort was to be
practised. This singular institution has the
aspect, at first sight, of total impracticability.
This, however, wears off when we consider
that in no year was the owner allowed to
reap the whole harvest (Lev. xix. 9, xxiii.
22). Moreover, it is clear that the owners of
land were to lay by corn in previous years
for their own and their families' wants (Lev.
xxv. 20-22). The release of debtors during
the Sabbatical year must not be confounded
with the release of slaves on the seventh year
of their service. The spirit of this law is the
same as that of the weekly Sabbath. Both
have a beneficent tendency, limiting the
rights and checking the sense of property;
the one puts in God's claims on time, the
other on the land. There may also have
been an eye to the benefit which would accrue
to the land from lying fallow every seventh
year, in a time when the rotation of crops
was unknown. The Sabbatical year opened
in the Sabbatical month, and the whole
La w was to be read every such year,
during the Feast of Tabernacles., to the as
sembled people. At the completion of a
week of Sabbatical years, the Sabbatical
scale received its completion in the year of
Jubilee. [Jijbii.ee] . The constant neglect of
this law from the very first was one of tbe
national sins that were punished by the
Babylonian captivity. Moses warned Israel
of the retribution, that their land should be
desolate till it had enjoyed its Sabbaths (Lev.
xxvi. 32-35) ; and the warning was fulfilled
in the seventy years' duration of the cap
tivity (2. Chr. xxxvi. 20-21). Of the observ-

SABEANS

481

SACRIFICE

ance of the Sabbatic year after the captivity
we have a proof in 1 Mace. vi. 49.
SABE'ANS. [Sheba.]
SAB'TAH (Gen. x. 7), or SABTA (1 Chr.
i. 9), the third in order of the sons of Cusb.
The statements of Pliny and Ptolemy respecting
Sabbatha, Sabota, or Sobotale, metropolis of the
Atramitae (probably the Chatramotitae), seem
to point to a trace of the tribe which descended
from Sabtah. Ptolemy places Sabbatha in
77° long. 16° 30' lat. It was an important
city, containing no less than sixty temples.
SAB'TECHA, and SAB'TECHAH (Gen. x.
7 ; 1 Chr. i. 9), the fifth in order of the sons
of Cuhh, whose settlements would probably
be near the Persian Gulf.
SACKBUT (Dan. iii. 5, 7, 10, 15), the
rendering in the A. Y. of the Chaldee
sabbeca. If this musical instrument be the
same as the Greek and Latin sambuca, the
English translation is entirely. wrong. The
sackbutwas a wind-instrument ; the sambuca
was played with strings.
SACKCLOTH, a coarse texture, of a dark
colour, made of goats'-hair (Is. 1. 3 ; Rev.
vi. 12), and resembling the cilicium of the
Romans. It was used for making sacks (Gen.
xiii. 25; Lev. xi. 32; Josh. ix. 4) ; and for
making the rough garments used by mourners,
which were in extreme cases worn next the
skin (1 K. xxi. 27 ; 2 K. vi. 30 ; Job. xvi.
15 ; Is. xxxii. 11), and this even by females
(Joel i. 8 ; 2 Mace. iii. 19), but at other
times were worn over the coat (Jon. iii. 6) in
lieu of the outer garment.
SACRIFICE. The peculiar features of each
kind of sacrifice are referred to under their
respective heads. I. The universal pre
valence of sacrifice shows it to have been
primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts
of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined
by an external command, or whether it was
based on that sense of sin and lost communion
with God which is stamped by His hand on
the heart of man — is an historical question,
perhaps insoluble. The great difficulty in
the theory which refers it to a distinct com
mand of God, is the total silence of Holy
Scripture. It is to be noticed that, except in
Gen. xv. 9, the method of patriarchal sacrifice
is left free. The inference is at least proba
ble, that when God sanctioned formally a
natural rite, then, and not till then, did He
define its method. In examining the various
sacrifices recorded in Scripture before the
establishment of the Law, we find that the
words specially denoting expiatory sacrifice
are not applied to them. This fact does not
at all show that they were not actually
expiatory, but it justifies the inference that
this idea was not then the prominent one in
Sm. D. B.

the doctrine of sacrifice. The sacrifice of
Cain and Abel is called minchah, although in
the case of the latter it was a bloody sacrifice,
In the case of both it would appear to have
been eucharistic. The sacrifice of Noah after
the flood (Gen. viii. 20) is called burnt-
offering. This sacrifice is expressly connected
with the institution of the Covenant which
follows in ix. 8-17. The sacrifice of Jacob at
Mizpah also marks a covenant with Laban,
to which God is called to be a witness and a
party. In all these, therefore, the prominent
idea seems to have been what is called the
federative, the recognition of a bond between
the sacrificer and God, and the dedication of
himself, as represented by the victim, to the
service of the Lord. The sacrifice of Isaac
(Gen. xxii. 1-13) stands by itself. Yet in its
principle it appears to have been of the same
nature as before : the voluntary surrender of
an only son on Abraham's part, and the will
ing dedication of himself on Isaac's, are in
the foreground; the expiatory iidea if recog
nised at all, holds certainly a secondary
position. In the burnt-offerings of Job for
his children (Job i. 5) and for his three
friends (xiii. 8), we for the first time find
the expression of the desire of expiation for
sin. The same is the case in the words of
Moses to Pharaoh (Ex. x. 25). Here the
main idea- is at least deprecatory. — The
Sacrifices op the Mosaic Period are in
augurated by the offering of the Passover
and the sacrifice of Ex. xxiv. The Passover
indeed is unique in its character ; but it is
clear that the idea of salvation from death by
means of sacrifice is brought out in it with a
distinctness before unknown. The sacrifice
of Ex. xxiv., offered as a solemn inaugura
tion of the Covenant of Sinai, has a simi
larly comprehensive character. The Law of
Leviticus now unfolds distinctly the various
forms of sacrifice : — (a.) The burnt-offering.
Self-dedicatory, —(b.) The meat-offering
(unbloody); the peace-offering (bloody). Eu
charistic. — (c.) The sin-offering; the tres
pass-offering. Expiatory. — To these may be
added, — (d.) The incense offered after sacri
fice in the Holy Place, and (on the Day of
Atonement) in the Holy of Holies, the symbol
of the intercession of the priest (as a type of
the Great High Priest), accompanying and
making efficacious the prayer of the people.
In the consecration of Aaron and his sons
(Lev. viii.) we find these offered in what
became ever afterwards the appointed order :
first came the sin-offering, to prepare access
to God ; next, the burnt-offering, to mark
their dedication to His service ; and thirdly,
the meat-offering of thanksgiving. Hence
forth the sacrificial system was fixed in all
2 I

SACRIFICE

482

SADDUCEES

1ts parts, until He should come whom it typi
fied. It will not be necessary to pursue, in
detail, the history of Post-Mosaic Sacrifice,
for its main principles were now fixed for
ever. The regular sacrifices in the Temple ser
vice were : — (a.) Burnt-Offerings. 1. The
daily burnt-offerings (Ex. xxix. 38-42). 2.
The double burnt-offerings on the Sabbath
(Num. xxviii. 9, 10). 3. The burnt-offerings
at the great festivals (Num. xxviii. 11-xxix.
39). — (b.) Meat-Offerings. 1. The daily
meat-offerings accompanying the daily burnt-
offerings (Ex. xxix. 40, 41). 2. The shew-
bread, renewed every Sabbath (Lev. xxiv. 5,
9). 3. The special meat-offerings at the
Sabbath and the great festivals (Num. xxviii.,
xxix.). 4. The first-fruits, at the Passover
(Lev. xxiii. 10-14), at Pentecost (xxiii. 17-
20) ; the first-fruits of the dough and thresh
ing-floor at the harvest-time (Num. xv. 20,
21 ; Deut. xxvi. 1-11). — (c.) Sin-Offerings,
1. Sin-offering each new moon (Num. xxviii.
15). 2. Sin-offerings at the Passover, Pente
cost, Feast of Trumpets, and Tabernacles
(Num. xxviii. 22, 30, xxix. 5, 16, 19, 22,
25, 28, 31, 34, 38). 3. The offering of the
two goats for the people, and of the bullock
for the priest himself, on the Great Day
of Atonement (Lev. xvi.). — (d.) Incjinse.
1 . The morning and evening incense (Ex.
xxx. 7, 8). 2. The incense on the Great
Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi. 12). Besides
these public sacrifices, there were offerings
of the people for themselves individually. —
II. The meaning of sacrifice is set forth fully in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, which contains
the key of the whole sacrificial doctrine. The
object of tbe Epistle is to show the typical
and probationary character of sacrifices, and
to assert that in virtue of it alone they had a
spiritual meaning. This typical character
of all sacrifice being thus set forth, the next
point dwelt upon is the union in our Lord's
Person of the priest, the offerer, and the
sacrifice. It is clear that the Atonement, in
this Epistle, as in the N. T. generally, is
viewed in a twofold light. On the one hand,
it is set forth distinctly as a vicarious sacri
fice, whieh was rendered necessary by the sin
of man, and in which the Lord "bare the sins
of many." It is its essential characteristic
tbat in it He stands absolutely alone, offering
His sacrifice without any reference to the
faith or the conversion ;^inen. In it He
stanus out alone as the Mediator between God
and man ; and His sacrifice is offered once
for all, never to be imitated or repeated.
Now this view of the Atonement is set forth
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as typified by
the sin-offering. All the expiatory and pro
pitiatory sacrifices of the Law are now for

the first time brought into full light. As the
sin-offering, though not the earliest, is the
most fundamental of all sacrifices, so the ns-
pect of the Atonement, which it symbolizes,
is the one on which all others rest. On the
other hand, the sacrifice of Christ is set forth
to us, as the completion of tbat perfect
obedience to the will of tho Father, which is
the natural duty of sinless man, in which lie
is the representative of all men, and in which
He calls upon us, when reconciled to God, to
" take up the Cross and follow Him." In
this view His death is not the principal
object ; we dwell rather on His lowly Incar
nation, and His life of humility, temptation,
and suffering, to which that death was but a
fitting close. The main idea of this view of
the Atonement is representative rather than
vicarious. It is typified by the burnt-offering,
in respect of which the N. T. merely quotes
and enforces the language already cited from
the O. T., and especially (see Heb. x. 0-9)
the words of Ps. xl. 6, &c, which contrast
with material sacrifice tbe " doing the will of
God." As without tbe sin-offering of the
Cross, this, our burnt-offering, would be im
possible, so also without the burnt-offering
the sin-offering will to us be unavailing.
With these views of our Lord's sacrifice on
earth, as typified in the Levitical sacrifices
on the outer altar, is also to be connected the
offering of His Intercession for us in heaven,
which was represented by the incense. The
typical sense of the meat-offering, or peace-
offering, is less connected with the sacrifice of
Christ Himself, than with those sacrifices of
praise, thanksgiving, charity, and devotion,
which we, as Christians, offer to God, and
" with which He is well pleased " (Heb. xiii.
15, 16) as with " an odour of sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable to God" (Phil. iv. 18). ,
SADDUCEES (Matt. iii. 7, xvi. 1, 6, 11,
12, xxii. 23, 34 ; Mark xii. 18 ; Luke xx.
27 ; Acts iv. 1, v. 17, xxiii. 6, 7, 8), a reli
gious party or school among the Jews at the
time of Christ, who denied that the oral law
was a revelation of God to the Israelites, and
who dec jned the written law alone to be
obligatory on the nation, as of divine autho
rity. Although frequently mentioned in the
New Testament in conjunction with the Pha
risees, they do not throw such vivid light as
their great antagonists on the real significance
of Christianity. Except on one occasion,
when they united with the Pharisees in insi
diously asking for a sign from heaven (Matt.
xiv. 1, 4, 6), Christ never assailed the Sad-
ducees with the same hitter denunciations
which he uttered against the Pharisees ; and
they do not, like the Pharisees, seem to have
taken active measures for causing Him to ho

SADDUCEES

433

SADDUCEES

put to death. — The origin of their name is in
volved in great difficulties. The Hebrew word
by which they are called in the Mishna is
2'esdukim, the plural of Tsdddk, which un
doubtedly means "just," or "righteous," but
which is never used in the Bible except as a
proper name, and in the English Version is
always translated "Zadoc" (2 K. xv. 33 ; 2
Sam. viii. 17; 1 Chr. vi. 8, 13, &e. ; Neh.
iii. 4, 29, xi. 11). The most obvious trans
lation of the word, therefore, is to call them
Zadocs or Zadokites ; and a question would
then arise as to why they were so called.
The ordinary Jewish statement is that they
are named from a certain Zadoc, a disciple of
the Antigonus of Socho, who is mentioned in
the Mishna as having received the oral law
from Simon the Just, the last of the men of
the Great Synagogue ; but it is certain that
this statement must be rejected. As recourse
is had to conjecture, the first point to be con
sidered is whether the word is likely to have
arisen from the meaning of " righteousness,"
or from the name of an individual. This
must be decided in favour of the latter alter
native, inasmuch as the word Zadok, as we
have already seen, never occurs in the Bible,
except as a proper name; and then we are
led to inquire as to who the Zadok of the
Sadducees is likely to have been. Now there
was one Zadok of transcendent importance,
and only one : viz. the priest who acted such
a prominent part at the time of David, and
who declared in favour of Solomon, when
Abiathar took the part of Adonijah as suc
cessor to the throne (1 K. i. 32-45). His
line of priests appears to have had decided
pre-eminence in subsequent history. Thus,
in Ezekiel's prophetic vision of the future
Temple, "the sons of Zadok," and "the
priests the Levites of the seed of Zadok " are
spoken of with peculiar honour, as those who
kept the charge of the sanctuary of Jehovah,
when the children of Israel went astray (Ez.
xl. 46, xiii. 19, xliv. 15, xlviii. 11). Now, as
the transition from the expression "sons of
Zadok," and " priests of the seed of Zadok "
to Zadokites is easy and obvious, and as in
the Acts of the Apostles, v. 17, it is said,
" Then the high priest rose, and atl they that
were with him, which is the sect of the Sttddu-
cees, and were filled with indignation," it
has been conjectured that the Sadducees or
Zadokites were originally identical with the
sons of Zadok, and constituted what may be
termed a kind of sacerdotal aristocracy. To
these were afterwards attached all who for
any reason reckoned themselves as belonging
to the aristocracy ; such, for example, as the
families of the high-priest ; who had obtained
consideration under the dynasty of Herod.

These were for the most part judges, and
individuals of the official and governing
class. Now, although this view of the Sad
ducees is only inferential, and mainly con
jectural, it certainly explains the name better
than any other, and elucidates at once in the
Acts of the Apostles the otherwise obscure
statement that the high-priest, and those who
were with him, were the sect of the Saddu
cees.— I. The leading tenet of the Sadducees
was the negation of the leading tenet of their
opponents. As the Pharisees asserted, so the
Sadducees denied, that the Israelites were in
possession of an Oral Law transmitted to them
by Moses. [Pharisees.] In opposition to the
Pharisees, they maintained that the written
law alone was obligatory on the nation, as
of divine authority. — II. The second distin
guishing doctrine of the Sadducees, the denial
of man's resurrection after death, followed in
their conceptions as a logical conclusion from
their denial that Moses had revealed to the
Israelites the Oral Law. For on a point so
momentous as a second life beyond the grave,
no religious party among the Jews would
have deemed themselves bound to accept any
doctrine as an article of faith, unless it had
been proclaimed by Moses, their great legis
lator ; and it is certain that in the written
Law of the Pentateuch there is a total absence
of any assertion by Moses of the resurrection
of the dead. This fact is presented to Chris
tians in a striking manner by the well-known
words of the Pentateuch which are quoted by
Christ in argument with the Sadducees on
this subject (Ex. iii. 6, 16 ; Mark xii. 26, 27 ;
Matt. xxii. 31, 32 ; Luke xx. 37). It cannot
be doubted that in such a case Christ would
quote to his powerful adversaries the most
cogent text in the Law ; and yet the text
actually quoted does not do more than sug
gest an inference on this great doctrine. It
is true that in other parts of the Old Testa
ment there are individual passages which
express a belief in a resurrection, such as in
Is. xxvi. 19, Dan. xii. 2, Job xix. 26, and in
some of the Psalms ; and it may at first sight
be a subject of surprise that the Sadducees
were not convinced by the authority of tnose
passages. But, although the Sadducees re
garded the books which contained these pas
sages as sacred, it is more than doubtful
whether any of the Jews regarded them as
sacred in precisely the same sense as the
written Law. In connexion with the dis--
belief of a resurrection by the Sadducees, it
is proper to notice the statement (Acts xxiii.
8) that they likewise denied there was " angel
or spirit." A perplexity arises as to the pre
cise sense in which this denial is to be under
stood. Angels are so distinctly mentioned in
2 12

SADDUCEES

484

SALAMIS

the Pentateuch and -other books of the Old
Testament, that it is haTd to understand how
those who acknowledged the Old Testament to
have divine authority could deny the existence
of angels (Gen. xvi. 7, xix. 1, xxii. 11, xxviii.
12 ; Ex. xxiii. 20 ; Num. xxii. 23 ; Judg. xiii.
18 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16). The two principal ex
planations which have been suggested are,
either that the Sadducees regarded the angels
of the Old Testament as transitory, unsubstan
tial representations of Jehovah, or that they dis
believed, not the angels of the Old Testament,
but merely the angelical system which had
become developed in the popular belief of the
Jews after their return from the Babylonian
Captivity. Either of these explanations may
possibly be correct ; and the first, although
there are numerous texts to which it did not
apply, would have received some countenance
from passages wherein the same divine ap
pearance, which at one time is called the
" angel of Jehovah," is afterwards called
simply "Jehovah" (Gen. xvi. 7, 13, xxii.
11, 12, xxxi. 11, 16 ; Ex. iii. 2, 4 ; Judg. vi.
14, 22, xiii. 18, 22).— III. Josephus states
that the Sadducees believed in the freedom of
the ¦will, which the Pharisees denied. Pos
sibly the great stress laid by the Sadducees
on the freedom of the will, may have had
some connexion with their forming such a
large portion of tbat class from which cri
minal judges were selected. Those Jews who
were almost exclusively religious teachers
would naturally insist on the inability of
man to do anything good if God's Holy Spirit
were taken away from him (Ps. li. 11, 12),
and would enlarge on the perils which sur
rounded man from the temptations of Satan
and evil angels or spirits (1 Chr. xxi. 1 ;
Tob. iii. 17). But it is likely that the ten
dencies of the judicial class would be more
practical and direct. — IV. Some of the early
Christian writers attribute to the Sadducees
the rejection of all the Sacred Scriptures
except the Pentateuch. Such rejection, if true,
would undoubtedly constitute a most impor
tant additional difference between the Saddu
cees and Pharisees. The statement of these
Christian writers is, however, now generally
admitted to have been founded on a miscon
ception of the truth, and it seems to have
arisen from a confusion of the Sadducees
with the Samaritans. — V. An important
fact in the history of the Sadducees is their
rapid disappearance from history after the
first century, and the subsequent predomi
nance among the Jews of the opinions of the
Pharisees. Two circumstauces, indirectly but
powerfully, contributed to produce this result :
1st. The state of the Jews after the capture
of Jerusalem by Titus ; and 2ndly. The

growth of the Christian religion. As to
the first point, it is difficult to over-estimate
the consternation and dismay which the de
struction of Jerusalem occasioned in the
minds of sincerely religious Jews. In this
their hour of darkness and anguish, they
naturally turned to the consolations and.
hopes of a future state ; and the doctrine
of the Sadducees, that there was nothing;
beyond the present life, would have appeared
to them cold, heartless, and hateful. Again,
while they were sunk in the lowest depths of
depression, a new religion, which they de
spised as a heresy and a superstition, was
gradually making its way among the sub
jects of their detested conquerors, the Ro
mans. One of the causes of its success was
undoubtedly the vivid belief in the resurrec
tion of Jesus, and a consequent resurrection
of all mankind, which was accepted by its
heathen converts with a passionate earnest
ness, of which those who at the present day
are familiar from infancy with the doctrine
of the resurrection of the dead can form only
a faint idea. To attempt to check the pro
gress of this new religion among the Jews
by an appeal to the temporary rewards and
punishments of the Pentateuch, would have
been as idle as an endeavour to check an
explosive power by ordinary mechanical re
straints. Consciously, therefore, or uncon
sciously, many circumstances combined to
induce the Jews who were not Pharisees, but
who resisted the new heresy, to rally round
the standard of the Oral Law, and to assert
that their holy legislator, Moses, had trans
mitted to his faithful people by word of mouth,
although not In writing, the revelation of a
future state of rewards and punishments.
SA'DOC, a descendant of Zerubbabel in the
genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matt. i. 14).
SAFFRON (Cant. iv. 14). Saffron has
from the earliest times been in high esteem
as a perfume: " it was used," says Rosen-
muller, "for the same purposes as the modern
pot-pourri." The word saffron is derived
from the Arabic Zaf ran, "yellow."
SALAH, the son of Arphaxad and father
of Eber (Gen. x. 24, xi. 12-14; Luke iii.
35). The name is significant of extension.
It thus seems to imply the historical fact of
the gradual extension of a branch of the
Semitic race from its original seat in North
ern Assyria towards the river Euphrates.
SAL' AMIS, a city at the east end of the
island of Cyprus, and the first place visited
by Paul and Barnabas, on the first missionary
journey, after leaving the mainland at Se-
leucia. Here alone, among all the Greek
cities visited by St. Paul, we read expressly of
"synagogues" in tbe plural (Acts xiii. 5)-

SALATHIEL

48~.

SALOME

Hence we conclude that there were many
Jews in Cyprus. And this is in harmony
with what we read elsewhere. Salamis was
not far from the modern Famagousta.
SALA'THIEL (/ have asked of God), son
of Jechonias king of Judah, and father of
Zorobabel, according to Matt. i. 12 ; but son
of Neri, and father of Zorobabel, according
to Luke iii. 27 ; while the genealogy in
1 Chr. iii. 17-19, leaves it doubtful whether
he is the son of Assir or Jechonias, and
makes Zerubbabel his nephew. Upon the
incontrovertible principle that no genealogy
would assign to the true son and heir of a
king any inferior and private parentage,
whereas, on the contrary, the son of a pri
vate person would naturally be placed in
the royal pedigree on his becoming the right
ful heir to the throne ; we may assert, with
the utmost confidence, that St. Luke gives
us the true state of the case, when he informs
us that Salathiel was the son of Neri, and a
descendant of Nathan the son of David. And
from his insertion in the royal pedigree, both
in 1 Chr. and St. Matthew's gospel, after the
childless Jechonias, we infer, with no less
confidence, that, on the failure of Solomon's
line, he was the next heir to the throne of
David. It may therefore be considered as
certain, that Salathiel was the son of Neri, and
the heir of Jechoniah. As regards the ortho
graphy of the name, it has two forms in He
brew. The A. V. has Salathiel in 1 Chr. iii. 17,
but everywhere else in the 0. T. Shealtiel.
SAL'CAH, a city named in the early re
cords of Israel as the extreme limit of Bashan
(Dent. iii. 10; Josh. xiii. 11) and of the
tribe of Gad (1 Chr. v. 11). On another oc
casion the name seems to denote a district
rather than a town (Josh. xii. 5). It is iden
tical with the town of Sulkhad.
SA'LEM (peace). 1. The place of which
Melchizedek was king (Gen. xiv. 18; Heb.
vii. 1, 2). No satisfactory identification of
it is perhaps possible. Two main opinions
have been current from the earliest ages of
interpretation. 1. Tbat of the Jewish com
mentators, who affirm that Salem is Jerusa
lem, on the ground that Jerusalem is so
called in Ps. lxxvi. 2. 2. Jerome himself,
however, is not of the same opinion. He
states without hesitation, that the Salem of
Jlelchizedek was not Jerusalem, but a town
near Scythopolis, which in his day was still
called Salem. Elsewhere he places it more
precisely at eight Roman miles from Scytho
polis, and gives its then name as Salumias.
Further, he identifies this Salem with the
Salim of St. John the Baptist.— 2. Ps. lxxvi.
2. It is agreed on all hands that Salem is
here employed for Jerusalem, but whether as

a mere abbreviation to suit some exigency
of the poetry, and point the allusion to the
peace (salem) which the city enjoyed through
the protection of God, or whether, after a
well-known habit of poets, it is an antique
name preferred to the more modern and
familiar one, is a question not yet decided.
SA'LIM, a place named (John iii. 23) to
denote the situation of Aenon, the scene of
St. John's last baptisms — Salim being the
well-known town or spot, and Aenon a place
of fountains, or other water, near it. [Salem.]
The name of Salim has been discovered by
Mr. Van de Velde in a position exactly in
accordance with the notice of Eusebius, viz.
six English miles south of Beisdn (Scytho
polis), and two miles west of the Jordan.
Salim fulfils also the conditions implied in
the name of Aenon (springs), and the direct
statement of the text, that the place contained
abundance of water.
SAL'MA, or SAI/MON (Ruth iv. 20, 21 ;
1 Chr. ii. 11, 51, 54 ; Matt. i. 4, 5 ; Luke iii.
32). Son of Nahshon, the prince of the
children of Judah, and father of Boaz, the
husband of Ruth. On the entrance of the Is
raelites into Canaan, Salmon took Rahab of
Jericho to he his- wife, and from this union
sprang the Christ. [Rahab.]
SAL'MON, a bill near Shechem, on which
Abimelech and his followers cut down the
boughs with which they set the tower of
Shechem on fire (Judg. ix. 48). Its exact
position is not known. It is usually sup
posed that this hill is mentioned in a verse of
the Psalms (Ps. lxviii. 14). The allusion is
probably to the ground being snow-white with
bones after a defeat of the Canaanitish kings.
SALMO'NE, the east point of the island of
Crete (Acts xxvii. 7).
SALO'ME. 1. The wife of Zebedee, as
appears from comparing Matt, xxvii. 56 with
Mark xv. 4 0. It is further the opinion of
many modern critics that she was the sister
of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom refer
ence is made in John xix. 25. The words
admit, however, of another explanation, ac
cording to which they refer to the "Mary
the wife of Cleophas " immediately after
wards mentioned. We can hardly regard the
point as settled, though the weight of modern
criticism is decidedly in favour of the former
view. The only events recorded of Salome
are that she preferred a request on behalf of
her two sons for seats of honour in the king
dom of heaven (Matt. xx. 20), that she at
tended at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark xv.
40), and that she visited his sepulchre (Mark
xvi. 1). She is mentioned by name only on
the two later occasions. — 2. The daughter of
Herodias by her first husband, Herod Philip

SALT

4S6

SAMARIA

(Matt. xiv. 6). She married in the first place
Philip the tetrarch of Trachonitis, her paternal
uncle, and secondly Aristobulus, the king of
Chalcis. SALT. Indispensable as salt is to our
selves, it was even more so to the Hebrews,
being to them not only au appetizing condi
ment in the food both of man (Job vi. 6) and
beast (Is. xxx. 24, sec margin), and a most
valuable antidote to the effects of the heat of
climate on animal food, but also entering
largely into their religious services as an
accompaniment to the various offerings pre
sented on the altar (Lev. ii. 13). They pos
sessed an inexhaustible and ready supply of
it on the southern shores of the Dead Sea.
[Sea, the Salt.] In addition to the uses of
salt already specified, the inferior sorts were
applied as a manure to the soil, or to hasten
the decomposition of dung (Matt. v. 13 ; Luke
xiv. 35). Too large an admixture, however,
was held to produce sterility ; and hence also
arose the custom of sowing with salt the
foundations of a destroyed city (Judg. ix.
45), as a token of its irretrievable ruin. The
associations connected with salt in Eastern
countries are important. As one of the most
essential articles of diet, it symbolized hospi
tality; as an antiseptic, durability, fidelity,
and purity. Hence the expression "cove
nant of salt " (Lev. ii. 13 ; Num. xviii. 19 ;
2 Chr. xiii. 5), as betokening an indissoluble
alliance between friends. It was probably
with a view to keep this idea prominently
before the minds of the Jews that the use of
salt was enjoined on the Israelites in their
offerings to God.
SALT, CITY OF, the fifth of the six cities
of Judah which lay in the "wilderness"
(Josh. xv. 62).
SALT SEA, or DEAD SEA. [Sea, the
Salt.] SALT, VALLEY OF, a valley in which
occurred two memorable victories of the
Israelite arms. 1. That of David over the
Edomites (2 Sam. viii. 13 ; 1 Chr. xviii. 12).
2. That of Amaziah (2 K. xiv. 7 ; 2 Chr.
xxv. 11). Neither of these notices affords
any clue to the situation of the Valley of Salt.
It is perhaps the broad open plain which
lies at the lower end of the Dead Sea, and
intervenes between the lake itself and the
range of heights which crosses the valley at
six or eight miles to the south. Others sug
gest that it lay nearer to Petra.
SALUTATION. Salutations maybe classed
under the two heads of conversational and
epistolary. The salutation at meeting con
sisted in early times of various expressions
of blessing, such as " God be gracious unto
thee" (Gen. xliii. 29) ; " Blessed he thou of

the Lord" (Ruth iii. 10; 1 Sam. xv. 13);
"The Lord be with you," "The Lord bless
thee " (Ruth ii. 4) ; " The blessing of the
Lord be upon you ; we bless you in the name
of the Lord" (Ps. exxix. 8). Hence the
term "bless" received the secondary sense
of " salute." The Hebrew term used in
these instances (shdlom) has no special refer
ence to "peace" as stated in the marginal
translation, but to general well-being, and
strictly answers to our " welfare." The
salutation at parting consisted originally of
a simple blessing (Gen. xxiv. 60, xxviii. 1,
xlvii. 10; Josh. xxii. 6), but in later times
the term shdlom was introduced here also in
the form "Go in peace," or rather "Fare
well " (1 Sam. i. 17, x<c. 42 ; 2 Sam. xv. 9),
In modern times the ordinary mode of address
current in the East resembles the Hebrew : —
Es-seldm aleykum, " Peace be on you," and
the term "salam' has been introduced into
our own language to describe the Oriental
salutation. — Tbe epistolary salutations in the
period subsequent to the O. T. were framed
on the model of the Latin style : the addition
of the term "peace" may, however, be re
garded as a vestige of the old Hebrew form
(2 Mace. i. I). The writer placed his own
name first, and then that of the person whom
he Baluted ; it was only in special caries that
this order was reversed. (2 Mace. i. 1, ix. 19;
1 Esdr. vi. 7). A combination of the first
and third persons in the terms of the saluta
tion was not unfrequent (Gal. i. 1, % ; Philem.
1 ; 2 Pet. i. 1). A form of prayer for spiri
tual mercies was also used. The concluding
salutation consisted occasionally of a transla
tion of the Latin valete (Acts xv. 29, xxiii.
30), but more generally of the term "I salute,"
or the cognate substantive, accompanied by
a prayer for peace or grace.
SAMA'RIA (Heb. Shomerdn), a city of
Palestine. The word Shomerdn means, ety-
mologically, " pertaining to a watch," or "a
watch-mountain;" and there can be little
doubt that the peculiarity of the situation
gave occasion to its name. In the territory
originally belonging to the tribe of Joseph,
about six miles to the north-west of Shechem,
there is a wide basin-shaped valley, encircled
with high hills, almost on the edge of the
great plain which borders upon the Mediter
ranean. In the centre of this basin, which
is on a lower level ttian tbe valley of Shechem,
rises a less elevated oblong hill, with steep
yet accessible sides, and a long flat top. This
hill was chosen by Omri, as the site of tbe
capital of the kingdom of Israel. He "bought
the hill of Samaria of Shemer for two talents
of silver, and built on the hill, and called the
name of the city which he built, after the

¦•.¦."¦::''' i' :tf''Ml

*

SAMARITANS

487

SAMARITANS

name of the owner of the hill, Samaria " ( 1 K.
xvi. 23, 24). From the date of Omri's pur
chase, b.c 925, Samaria retained its dignity
as the capital of the ten tribes, and the name
is given to the northern kingdom as well as
to the city. Ahab built a temple to Baal
there (1 K. xvi. 32, 33) ; and from this cir
cumstance a portion of the city, possibly for
tified by a separate wall, was called "the
city of the house of Baal" (2 K. x. 25).
Samaria must have been a place of great
strength. It was twice besieged by the
Syrians, in b.c 901 (1 K. xx. 1), and in b.c.
892 (2 K. vi. 24-vii. 20) ; but on both occa
sions the siege was ineffectual. The possessor
of Samaria was considered de facto king of
Israel (2 K. xv. 13, 14) ; and woes denounced
against the nation were directed against it
by name (Is. vii. 9, &c). In b.c. 721, Sa
maria was taken, after a siege of three years,
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria (2 K. xviii.
9, 10), and the kingdom of the ten tribes
was put an end to. Some years afterwards
the district of which Samaria was the centre
was repeopled by Esarhaddon ; but we do
not hear especially of the city until; the
days of Alexander the Great. That con
queror took the city, which seems to have
somewhat recovered itself, killed a large por
tion of the inhabitants, and suffered the
remainder to settle at Shechem. He replaced
them by a colony of Syro-Macedonians. These
Syro-Macedonians occupied the city until the
time of John Hyrcanus, who took it after a
year's siege, and did his best to demolish it
entirely. After this disaster (which occurred
in b.c. 109), the Jews inhabited what re
mained of the city ; at least we find it in
their possession in the time of Alexander
Jannaeus, and until Pompey gave it back to
the descendants of its original inhabitants.
By directions of Gabinius, Samaria and other
demolished cities were rebuilt. But its more
" effectual rebuilding was undertaken by Herod
the Great. He called it Sebaste — Augusta,
after the name of his patron. How long Sa
maria maintained its splendour after Herod's
improvements we are not informed. In the
N. T. the city itself does not appear to be
mentioned, but rather a portion of the district
to which, even in older times, it had ex
tended its name (Matt. x. 5 ; John iv. 4, 5).
At this day the city is represented by a small
village retaining few vestiges of the past
except its name, Sebiistiyeh, an Arabic cor
ruption of Sebaste. Some architectural re
mains it has, partly of Christian construction
or adaptation, as the ruined church of St.
John the Baptist, partly, perhaps, traces of
Idumaean magnificence.
SAMARITANS. In 2 K. xvii. 29, and in

the N. T-, this word is used to signify the
foreign colonists whom Esarhaddon settled in
the cities of Samaria, which had remained
uninhabited since the deportation of the ten
tribes by Shalmaneser. In the words of
2 K. xvii. 24, "the king of Assyria brought
men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and
from Ava (Ivah, 2 K. xviii. 34), and from
Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed
them in the cities of Samaria instead of the
children of Israel : and they possessed Sama
ria, and dwelt in the cities thereof." Thus
the new Samaritans were Assyrians by birth
or subjugation, and were of course idolaters.
God's displeasure was kindled, and they were
infested by beasts of prey, which had pro
bably increased to a great extent before their
entrance upon it. On their explaining their
miserable condition to the king of Assyria,
he despatched one of the captive priests to
teach them " how they should fear the Lord."
The priest came accordingly, and henceforth,
in the language of the sacred historian, they
"feared the Lord and served their graven
images, both their children and their .chil
dren's children : as did their fathers, so do
they unto this day" (2 K. xvii. 41). A gap
occurs in their history until Judah has re
turned from captivity. They then desire to
be allowed to participate in the rebuilding of
the Temple at Jerusalem. But they do not
call it a national undertaking. They advance
no pretensions to Jewish blood. They confess
their Assyrian descent, and even put it for
ward ostentatiously, perhaps to enhance the
merit of their partial conversion to God.
Ezra, no doubt, from whose pen we have a
record of the transaction, saw them through
and through. "On this the Samaritans throw
off the mask, and become open enemies,
frustrate the operations of the Jews through
the reigns of two Persian kings, and are only
effectually silenced in the reign of Darius
Hystaspis, b.c 519. The feud, thus unhap
pily begun, grew year by year more invete
rate. Matters at length came to a climax.
About b.c 409, a certain Manasseh, a man of
priestly lineage, on being expelled from Jeru
salem by Nehemiah for an unlawful mar
riage, obtained permission from the Persian
king of his day, Darius Nothus, to build a
temple on Mount Gerizim, for the Samaritans,
with whom he had found refuge. The ani
mosity of the Samaritans became more in
tense than ever. They are said to have done
everything in their power to annoy the Jews,
Their own temple on Gerizim they considered
to be much superior to that at Jerusalem,
There they sacrificed a passover. Towards
the mountain, even after the temple on it had
fallen, wherever they were, they directed

SAMARITANS

488

SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH

their worship. To their copy of the Law
they arrogated an antiquity and authority
greater than attached to any copy in the
possession of the Jews. The Law (i.e. the
five books of Moses) was their sole code ; for
they rejected every other book in the Jewish
canon. The Jews, on the other hand, were
not more conciliatory in their treatment of
the Samaritans. The copy of the Law pos
sessed by that people they declared to be the
legacy of an apostate (Manasseh), and cast
grave suspicions upon its genuineness. Cer
tain other Jewish renegades had from time
to time taken refuge with the Samaritans,
Hence, by degrees the Samaritans claimed to
partake of Jewish blood, especially if doing
?o happened to suit their interest. A re
markable instance of this is exhibited in a
request which they made to Alexander the
Great, about b.c. 332. They desired to be
excused payment of tribute in the Sabbatical
year, on the plea that as true Israelites,
descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, sons
of Joseph, they refrained from cultivating
their land in that year. Another instance of
claim to Jewish descent appears in the words
of the woman of Samaria to our Lord, John
iv. 12, "Art thou greater than our father
Jacob, who gave us the well ? " Very far
were the Jews from admitting this claim to
consanguinity on the part of these people.
They were ever reminding them that they
were after all mere Cuthaeans, mere strangers
from Assyria. The traditional hatred in
whieh the Jew held the Samaritan is ex
pressed in Ecclus 1. 25, 26. And so long
was it before such a temper could be banished
from the Jewish mind, that we find even the
Apostles believing that an inhospitable slight
shown by a Samaritan village to Christ would
be not unduly avenged by calling down fire
from heaven. Such were the Samaritans of
our Lord's day : a people distinct from the
Jews, though lying in the very midst of
the Jews ; a people preserving their identity,
though seven centuries had rolled away since
they had been brought from Assyria by Esar
haddon, and though they had abandoned
their polytheism for a sort of ultra Mosaicism ;
a people, who — though their limits had gra
dually contracted, and the rallying-place of
their religion on Mount Gerizim had beer
destroyed one hundred and sixty years before
by John Hyrcanus (b.c. 130), and though
Samaria (the city) had been again and again
destroyed — still preserved their nationality,
still worshipped from Shechem and their
impoverished settlements towards their sacred
hill ; still retained their nationality, and
could not coalesce with the Jews. Not in
deed that we must suppose that the whole of

the country called in our Lord's time Syma-
ria, was in the possession of the Cuthaean
Samaritans, or that it had ever been so. It
was bounded northward by the range of hills
which commences at Mount Carmel on the
west, and, after making a bend to the south
west, runs almost due east to the valley of
the Jordan, forming the southern border of
the plain of Esdraelon. It touched towards
the south, as nearly as possible, the northern
limits of Benjamin. Thus it comprehended
the ancient territory of Ephraim, and of those
Manassites who were west of Jordan. The
Cuthaean Samaritans, however, possessed
only a few towns and villages of this large
area, and these lay almost together in the
centre of the district. At Ndblus the Sama
ritans have still a settlement, consisting of
about 200 persons. [Shechem.]
SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH, aRecension
of the commonly received Hebrew Text of
the Mosaic Law, in use with the Samaritans,
and written in the ancient Hebrew, or so-
called Samaritan character. The origin of
the Samaritan Pentateuch has given rise to
much controversy, into which we cannot
enter in this place. The two most usual
opinions are : 1. That it came into the hands
of the Samaritans as an inheritance from the
ten tribes whom they succeeded. 2. That it
was introduced by Manasseh at the time of
the foundation of the Samaritan Sanctuary
on Mount Gerizim, and written in the ancient
Hebrew, or so-called Samaritan character.
It differs in several important points from the
Hebrew text. Among these may be men
tioned : 1 . Emendations of passages and
words of the Hebrew text which contain
something objectionable in the eyes of the
Samaritans, on account either of historical
improbability or apparent want of dignity in
the terms applied to the Creator. Thus in
the Samaritan Pentateuch no one in the ante
diluvian times begets his first son after he
has lived 150 years : hut one hundred years
are, where necessary, subtracted before, and
added after, the birth of the first son.
2. Alterations made in favour of or on behalf
of Samaritan theology, hermeneutics, and
domestic worship. Thus the word Elohim,
four times construed with the plural verb in
the Hebrew Pentateuch, is in the Samaritan
Pentateuch joined to the singular verb (Gen,
xx. 13, xxxi. 53, xxxv. 7; Ex. xxii. 9);
and further, anthropomorphisms as well as
anthropopathisms are carefully expunged — a
practice very common in later times. The
last and perhaps most momentous of all in
tentional alterations is the constant change
of all the phrases, "God will choose a spot,"
into " He has chosen," viz. Gerizim, and the

SAMOS

489

SAMSON

well-known substitution of Gerizim for Ebal
in Deut. xxvii. 4. In Exodus as well as in
Deuteronomy the Sam. has, immediately after
the Ten Commandments, the following in
sertions from Deut. xxvii. 2-7 and xi. 30 :
" And it shall be on the day when ye shall
pass over Jordan ... ye shall set up these
stones ... on Mount Gerizim . . . and there
shalt thou build an altar . . . ( That moun
tain' on the other side Jordan by the way
where the sun goeth down ... in the cham
paign over against Gilgal, beside the plains
of Moreh, * over against Shechem.' "
SA'MOS, a Greek island off that part of
Asia Minor where Ionia touches Caria.
Samos comes before our notice in the detailed
account of St. Paul's return from his third
missionary journey (Acts xx. 15). He had
been at Chios, and was about to proceed to
Miletus, having passed by Ephesus without
touching there.
SAMOTHRA'CIA. The mention of this
island in the account of St. Paul's first voyage
to Europe (Acts xvi. 11) is for two reasons
worthy of careful notice. In the first place,
being a very lofty and conspicuous island, it
is an excellent landmark for sailors, and
must have been full in view, if the weather
was clear, throughout that voyage from Troas
to Neapolis. Secondly, this voyage was made
with a fair wind. Not only are we told that
it occupied only parts of two days, whereas
on a subsequent return-voyage (Acts xx. 6)
the time spent at sea was five : but tbe
technical word here used implies that they
ran before the wind. Now the position of
Samothrace is exactly such as to correspond
with these notices, and thus incidentally to
confirm the accuracy of a most artless nar
rative. St. Paul and his companions anchored
for the night off Samothrace. The ancient
city, and therefore probably the usual anchor
age, was on the N. side, which would be
sufficiently sheltered from a S.E. wind.
SAM 'SON (properly Sham-sun, i.e. "little
sun," or "sun-like," from skemesh, the sun),
son of Manoah, a man of the town of Zorah,
in the tribe of Dan, on the border of Judah
(Josh. xv. 33, xix. 41). The miraculous cir
cumstances of his birth are recorded in Judg.
xiii. ; and the three following chapters are
devoted to the history of his life and exploits.
Samson takes his place in Scripture, (1) as a
judge — an 'office which he filled for twenty
years (Judg. xv. 20, xvi. 31); (2) as a
Nazarite (Judg. xiii. 5, xvi. 17) ; and, (3) as
one endowed with supernatural power by the
Spirit of the Lord (Judg. xiii. 25, xiv. 6, 19,
xv. 14).- — As a judge his authority seems to
have been limited to the district bordering
upon the country of the Philistines. It is

evident from Judg. xiii. 1, 5, xv. 9-11, 20,
and the whole history, that the Israelites, or
at least Judah and Dan, whieh are the only
tribes mentioned, were subject to the Philis
tines through the whole of Samson's judge
ship ; so that Samson's twenty years of office
would be included in the forty years of the
Philistine dominion. From the angel's speech
to Samson's mother (Judg. xiii. 5), it appears
further that the Israelites were already sub
ject to the Philistines at his birth; and as
Samson cannot have begun to be judge before
he was twenty years of age, it follows that
his judgeship must have coincided with the
last twenty years of Philistine dominion.
But when we turn to the First Book of
Samuel, and especially to vii. 1-14, we find
that the Philistine dominion ceased under the
judgeship of Samuel. Hence it is obvious
to conclude that the early part of Samuel's
judgeship coincided with the latter part of
Samson's ; and that the capture of the ark by
the Philistines in the time of Eli occurred
during Samson's lifetime. — The divine in
spiration, which Samson shared with Othniel,
Gideon, and Jephthah, assumed in him the
unique form *if vast personal strength, ani
mated by undaunted bravery. It was in
separably connected with the observance of
his vow as a Nazarite ; " his strength was in
his hair." Conscious of his power, he began
to seek a quarrel with the Pttilistines ; and
with this view he asked the hand of a Philistine
woman whom he had seen at Timnath. One
day, as he passed by the vineyards of the city
on a visit to his intended bride, a young lion
rushed out upon him : the spirit of Jehovah
came on Samson, and without a weapon he
tore the lion as he would have torn a kid, but
he told no one of the exploit. As he passed
that way again, he saw a swarm of bees in
the carcase of the lion ; and he ate of the
honey, but still he told no one. He availed
himself of this circumstance, and of the
custom of proposing riddles at marriage-
feasts, to lay a snare for the Philistines.
But Samson told the riddle to his wife, and
she told it to the men of the city. The spirit
of Jehovah came again upon him ; and going
down to Askelon, he slew thirty men of the
city, and gave their spoil to their fellow-
countrymen of Timnath. He then returned
to his own house. His wife was given to
one of the groomsmen, and on Samson's visit
ing her soon after, her father refused to let
him see b/*r. Samson revenged himself by
taking 300 foxes (or rather jackals) and
tying them together two by two by the tails,
with a firebrand between every pair of tails
and so he let them loose into the standing
corn of the Philistines, which was ready for

SAMSOX

490

harvest. The Philistines took vengeance by
burning Samson's wife and her father ; but
he fell upon them in return, and smote them
" hip and thigh with a great slaughter," after
which he took refuge on the top of the rock
of Etam, in the territory of Judah. The
Philistines gathered an army and marched
against the men of Judah, who hastened to
make their peace by giving up Samson.
Three thousand of them went up to tlie rock
of Etam to bind him, and he submitted on
their promise not to fall upon him them
selves. Bound with two new cords, he was
brought down to the camp of the Philistines,
who received him with a shout of triumph ;
but the spirit of Jehovah came upon him, he
broke the cords like burnt flax, and finding a
jawbone of an ass at hand, he slew with it a
thousand of the Philistines. The place was
henceforth called Ramath-Lehi (the height of
the jawbone). The supernatural character
of the exploit was confirmed by the miraculous
bursting out of a spring of water to revive
the champion as he was ready to die of
thirst. He called the spring En-hakkore,
that is the well of him that cried. This
achievement raised Samson to the position of
a judge, which he held for twenty years.
After a time be began to fall into the tempta
tions which addressed themselves to his strong
animal nature, but he broke through every
snare in which be was caught so long as he
kept his Nazarite's vow. While he was
visiting a harlot in Gaza, the Philistines shut
the gates of the city, intending to kill him in
the morning; but at midnight he went out
and tore away the gates, with the posts and
bar, and carried them to the top of a hill
looking towards Hebron. Next he formed
his fatal connexion with Delilah, a woman
who lived in the valley of Sorek. She was
bribed by the lords of the Philistines to enLice
Samson to tell her the secret of his strength ;
and though not at once betraying it, he
played with the temptation. Thrice he suf
fered himself to be bound with green wiches,
with new ropes, and by weaving the seven
locks of his hair to the beam of a loom ; and
each time, when Delilah gave the signal,
" The Philistines are upon thee, Samson," he
burst the witbes and ropes, and tore away
the beam with its pin. Instead of resenting
Delilah's evident treachery, he seems to have
enjoyed the certainty of triumph over each
new snare, till he was betrayed into the pre
sumption that perhaps bis strength might
survive the loss of his Nazarite's locks.
Wearied out with her importunity, he at last
"told her all his heart," and, while he was
asleep, she had him shaven of his seven locks
of hair. For the last time he was awakened

' by her cry, "The Philistines are upon thee,
Samson," and thought he had only to go out
n nd shake himself, as at the other times, for
" he wist not that Jehovah was departed
from him." They put out his eyes, and led
him down to Gaza, bound in brazen fetters,
and made him grind in the prison. As his
hair grew, his strength returned ; but bis in-
tatuated toes only saw in this the means of
their diversion. The lords and chief people
of the Philistines held a great festival in the
temple of Dagon, to celebrate their victory
over Samson. They brought forth the blind
champion tu make sport for them ; and, after
he had shown his feats of strength, they
placed him between the- two chief pillars
which supported the roof that surrounded
the court, which, as well as the court itself,
was crowded with spectators, to the number
of 3Q00. Samson asked the lad who guided
him to let him feel the pillars, to lean upun
them. Then, with a fervent prayer that God
would strengthen him only this once, to be
avenged on the Philistines, he bore with all
his might upon the two pillars : they yielded,
and the house fell upon the lords and all the
people. " So the dead which he slew at his
death were more than they which he slew in
his, life." His name is enrolled among the
worthies of the Jewish church in Heb. xi. 32.
SAM' U EL, was the son of Elkanah, an
Ephrathite or Ephraimite, and Hannah or
Anna, and was born at Ramathaim-Zophim.
[RAMAn, No. 2.] It is on the mother of
Samuel that our chief attention is fixed in
the account of his birth. She is described as
a woman of a high religious mission. Al
most a Nazarite by practice (1 Sam. i. 15),
and a prophetess in her gifts (1 Sam. ii. 1),
she sought from God the gift of the child for
u hich she longed with a passionate devotion
of silent prayer, of which there is no other
example in the O. T., and when the son was
granted, the name which he bore, and thus
first introduced into the world, expressed her
sense of the urgency of her entreaty — Samuel,
"the Asked or Heard of God." She had
before his birth dedicated him to the office
of a Nazarite. As soon as he was weaned,
she herself with her husband brought him to
the Tabernacle at Shiloh, where she had re
ceived the first intimation of his birth, and
there solemnly consecrated him. The hymn
which followed on this consecration is the
first of the kind in the sacred volume. From
this time the child is shut up in the taber
nacle, and "ministered unto the Lord before
Eli." He seems to have slept within the
Holiest Place, and his special duty was to
put out the sacred candlestick, and to open
the doors at sunrise. In this way his child-

SAMUEL

491.

SAMUEL

hood was passed. It was whilst thus sleep
ing in the tabernacle that he received his
first prophetic call (I Sam. iii. 1-18). From
this moment the prophetic character of Samuel
was established. His words were treasured
up, and Shiloh became the resort of those
who came to hear him (iii. 19-21). In the
overthrow of the sanctuary, whieh followed
shortly on this vision, we hear not what
became of Samuel (iv. 11). He next appears,
probably twenty years afterwards, suddenly
amongst the people, warning them against
their idolatrous practices (vii. 3, 4). He con
vened an assembly at Mizpeh, probably the
place in Benjamin. It was at the moment
that he was offering up a sacrifice that the
Philistine host suddenly burst upon them.
A violent thunderstorm came to the timely
assistance of Israel. The Philistines fled,
and, exactly at the spot where twenty years
before they had obtained their great victory,
they were totally routed. A stone was set
up, which long remained as a memorial of
Samuel's triumph, and gave to the place' its
name of Eben-ezer, " the Stone of Help "
(1 Sam. vii. 12). This was Samuel's first,
and, as far as we know, his only military
achievement. But it was apparently this
which raised him to the office of " Judge"
(comp. 1 Sam. xii. 11, and Ecclus. xlvi. 15-
18). He visited, in discharge of his duties
as ruler, the three chief sanctuaries on the
west of Jordan — Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh
(1 Sam. vii. 16). His own residence was
still his native city, Ramah or Ramathaim,
which he further consecrated by an altar
(vii. 17). Here he married, and two sons
grew up to repeat under his eyes the same
perversion of high office that he had himself
witnessed in his childhood in the case of tbe
two sons of Eli. In his old age he shared
his power with them (1 Sam. viii. 1-4). —
Down to this point in Samuel's life there is
but little to distinguish his career from that
of his predecessors. But his peculiar position
in the sacred narrative turns on the events
which follow. He is the inaugurator oi the
transition from what is commonly called the
theocracy to the monarchy. The misdemea
nour of his own sons precipitated the cata
strophe which had been long preparing. The
people demanded a king. For the whole
night he lay fasting and sleepless, in the per
plexity of doubt and difficulty. In the vision
of that night, as recorded by the sacred his
torian, is given the dark side of the new
institution, on which Samuel dwells on the
following day (1 Sam. viii. 9-18). This pre
sents his reluctance to receive the new order
of things. The whole narrative of the recep
tion and consecration of Saul gives his acqui

escence in it. The final conflict of feeling
and surrender of his office is given in the
last assembly over which he presided, and in
his subsequent relations with Saul. The as
sembly was held at Gilgal, immediately after
the victory over the Ammonites. The mo
narchy was a second time solemnly inau
gurated. Then takes place his farewell
address. It is the most signal example
afforded in the O. T. of a great character
reconciling himself to a changed order of
things, and of the Divine sanction resting on
his acquiescence.— His subsequent relations
with Saul are of the same mixed kind. The
two institutions which they respectively re
presented ran on side by side. Samuel was
still Judge. He judged Israel " all the days
of his life" (vii. 15), and from time to time
came across the king's path. But these inter
ventions are chiefly in another capacity, which
this is tbe place to unfold. Samuel is called
emphatically "the Prophet" (Acts iii. 24,
xiii. 20). He was especially known in his old
age as "Samuel the Seer" (1 Sam. ix. 11,
18, 19; 1 Cbr. ix. 22, xxvi. 28, xxix. 29).
Pie was consulted far and near on the small
affairs of life (1 Sam. ix. 7, 8). From this
faculty, combined with his office of ruler, an
awful reverence grew up around him. No
sacrificial feast was thought complete without
his blessing (ib. ix. 13). A peculiar virtue
was believed to reside in his intercession.
There was something peculiar in the long-
sustained cry or shout of supplication, which
seemed to draw down as by force the Divine
answer (1 Sam. vii. 8, 9). But there are two
other points which more especially placed him
at the bead of the prophetic order as it after
wards appeared. The first is brought out in
his relation with Saul, the second in his rela
tion with David. (1) He represents the in
dependence of the moral law, of the Divine
Will, as distinct from regal or sacerdotal
enactments, which is so remarkable a cha
racteristic of all the later prophets. Saul's
sin in both cases where he came into collision
with Samuel, was not of intruding into sacer
dotal functions, but of disobedience to the
prophetic voice. The first was that of not
waiting for Samuel's arrival, according to
the sign given by Samuel at his original
meeting at Ramah (1 Sam. x. 8, xiii. 8) ;
the second was that of not carrying out the,
stern prophetic injunction for the destruction
of the Amalekites. He is the first of the
regular succession of prophets (Acts iii. 24).
Moses, Miriam, and Deborah, perhaps Ehud,
had been prophets. But it was only from
Samuel that the continuous succession was
unbroken. It is in his lifetime, long after
he had been "established as a prophet" (1

SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

4H2

SANBALLAT

Sam. iii. 20), that we hear of the companies
of disciples, called in the O. T. " the sons of
the prophets," by modern writers "the schools
of the prophets." In those schools, and learn
ing to cultivate the prophetic gifts, were
some, whom we know for certain, others
whom we may almost certainly conjecture,
to have been 60 trained or influenced. One
was Saul. Twice at least he is described as
having been in the company of Samuel's dis
ciples (1 Sam. x. 10, 11, xix. 24). (2) The
first acquaintance of Samuel with David ^as
when he privately anointed him at the house
of Jesse. But the connexion thus begun w ith
the shepherd boy must have been continued
afterwards. David, at first, fled to " Naioth
in Ramah," as to his second home (1 Sara,
xix. 19). It is needless to enlarge on the
importance with which these incidents invest
the appearance of S.imuel. He there becomes
the spiritual father of the Psalmist king. The
death of Samuel is described as taking place
in the year of the close of David's wander
ings. It is said with peculiar emphasis, as
if to mark the loss, that " all the Israelites
were gathered together " from all parts of
this hitherto divided country, and " lamented
him," and "buried him," not in any conse
crated place, nor outside the walls of his city,
but within his own house, thus in a manner
consecrated by being turned into his tomb
(1 Sam. xxv. 1). The place long pointed
out as his tomb is the height, most conspi
cuous of all in the neighbourhood of Jeru
salem, immediately above the town of Gibeon,
known to the Crusaders as " Montjoye," as
the spot from whence they first saw Jeru
salem, now called Neby Samwil, " the Pro
phet Samuel." Heman, his grandson, was
one of the chief singers in the Levitical choir
(1 Chr. vi. 33, xv. 17, xxv. 5). The appa
rition of Samuel at Endor (1 Sam. xxviii. 14)
belongs to the history of Saul.
SAMUEL, BOOKS OF, are not separated
from each other in the Hebrew MSS., and,
from a critical point of view, must be re
garded as one book. The present division
was first made in the Septuagint translation,
and was adopted in the Vulgate from the Sep
tuagint. The book was called by the Hebrews
" Samuel," probably because the birth and
life of Samuel were the subjects treated of in
the beginning of the work. — The books of
Samuel commence with tbe history of Eli and
Samuel, and contain an account of the esta
blishment of the Hebrew monarchy and of
the reigns of Saul and David, with the excep
tion of the last days of the latter monarch,
which are related in the beginning of the
books of Kings, of which those of Samuel
form the previous portion. [Kings, Books

of.] With respect to the authorship, the
co'mmon opinion is, that the first twenty-four
chapters were written by the prophet him
self, and the rest by the prophets Nathan
and Gad. But this rests upon a mistrans
lation of an ambiguous passage in the First
Book of Chronicles (xxix. 29), which ought
to be rendered :— " Now the history of David
first and last, behold it is written in the his
tory of Samuel the seer^and in the history
of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of
Gad the seer" — which does not imply that
the books were written by these persons.
But although the authorship cannot be ascer
tained with certainty, it appears clear that,
in its present form, it must have been com
posed subsequent to the secession of the Ten
Tribes. This results from the passage in
1 Sam. xxvii. 6, wherein it is said of David,
" Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day :
wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings
of Judah to this day : " for neither Saul,
David, nor Solomon is in a single instance
called king of Judah simply. Before tbe
secession, the designation of tbe kings wae
that they were kings of Israel (1 Sam. xiii.
1, xv. 1, xvi. 1; 2 Sam. v. 17, viii. 15;
1 K. ii. 11, iv. 1, vi. 1, xi. 42). On the
other hand, it would hardly have been written
later than the reformation of Josiah, since it
seems to have been composed at a time when
the Pentateuch was not acted on as the rule
of religious observances. According to the
Mosaic Law, sacrifices to Jehovah were not
lawful anywhere but before the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation, whether this
was a permanent temple, as at Jerusalem, or
otherwise (Deut. xii. 13, 14; Lev. xvii. 3,
4 ; but see Ex. xx. 24). But in the Buok of
Samuel, the offering of sacrifices, or the erec
tion of altars, which implies sacrifices, is
mentioned at several places, such as Mizpeh,
Ramah, Bethel, the threshing-place of Arau
nah the Jebusite, and elsewhere, not only
without any disapprobation, apology, or ex
planation, but in a way which produces the
impression that such sacrifices were pleasing
to Jehovah (1 Sam. vii. 9, 10, 17, ix. 13, x,
3, xiv. 35; 2 Sam. xxiv. 18-25). Now we
know that after the reformation of Josiah the
worship upon high-places was abolished by
the king's orders (2 K. xxii. 8, xxiii. 8, 13, 15,
19, 21). All, therefore, that can be asserted
with any certainty is, that the book, as a
whole, can scarcely have been composed later
than the reformation of Josiah, and that it
could not have existed in its present form
earlier than the reign of Rehoboam.
SANBAL'LAT, a Moabite of Horonaim
(Neh. ii. 10, 19, xiii. 28). He held appa
rently some civil or military command in

SANDAL

493

SANHEDRIM

Samaria, in the service of Artaxerxes (Neh.
iv. 2), and, from the moment of Nehemiah's
arrival in Judaea, he set himself to oppose
every measure for the welfare of Jerusalem.
His companions in this hostility were Tobiah
the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian (Neh.
ii. 19, iv. 7). The only other incident in
his life is his alliance with the high-priest's
family by the marriage of his daughter with
one of the grandsons of Eliashib, which, from
the similar connexion formed by Tobiah the
Ammonite (Neh. xiii. 4), appears to have
been part of a settled policy concerted be
tween Eliashib and the Samaritan faction.
SANDAL, was the article ordinarily used
by the Hebrews for protecting the feet. It
consisted simply of a sole attached to the
foot by thongs. We have express notice of
the thong (A. V. "shoe-latchet") in several
passages (Gen. xiv. 23 ; Is. v. 27 ; Mark i.
7). In Assyria the heel and the side of the
foot were encased, and sometimes the sandal
consisted of little else than this. Sandals
were worn by all classes of society in Pales
tine, even by the very poor (Am. viii. 6),
and both the sandal and the thong or shoe-
latchet were so cheap and common, that they
passed into a proverb for the most insigni
ficant thing (Gen. xiv. 23 ; Ecclus. xlvi. 19).
They were not, however, worn at all periods ;
they were dispensed with in-doors, and were
only put on by persons about to undertake
some business away from their homes ; such
as a military expedition (Is. v. 27 ; Eph. vi.
15), or a journey (Ex. xii. 11 ; Josh. ix. 5,
13 ; Acts xii. 8) : on such occasions persons
carried an extra pair. During meal-times
the feet were undoubtedly uncovered, as im
plied in Luke vii. 38 ; John xiii. 5, 6. It
was a mark of reverence to cast off the shoes
in approaching- a place or person of eminent
sanctity (Ex. iii. 5 ; Josh. v. 15). It was
also an indication of violent emotion, or of
mourning, if a person appeared barefoot in
public (2 Sam. xv. 30 ; Is. xx. 2 ; Ez. xxiv.

Assyrian Sandals. (From Layard, ii. 23i.)

17, 23). To carry or to unloose a person's
sandal was a menial office betokening great
inferiority on the part of the person perform
ing it (Matt. iii. 11 ; Mark i. 7 ; John i. 27 ;
Acts xiii. 25). The expression in Ps. Ix. 8,
cviii. 9, " over Edom I cast out my shoe,"
evidently signifies the subjection of that
country, but the exact point of the com
parison is obscure. The use of the shoe in
the transfer of property is noticed in Ruth
iv. 7, 8.
SAN'HEDRIM (accurately Sanhedrin, from
the Greek a-uveSpiov, " a council-chamber "),
called also in the Talmud the great Sanhe
drim, the supreme council of the Jewish
people in the time of Christ and earlier. 1.
The origin of this assembly is traced in the
Mishna to the seventy elders whom Moses
was directed (Num. xi. 16, 17) to associate
with him in the government of the Israelites ;
but this tribunal was probably temporary,
and diduiot continue to exist after the Israel
ites had entered Palestine. In the lack of
definite historical information as to the esta
blishment of the Sanhedrim, it can only he
said in general that the Greek etymology of
the name seems to point to a period subse
quent to the Macedonian supremacy in Pales
tine. From tbe few incidental notices in the
New Testament, we gather that it consisted
of chief priests, or the heads of the 24 classes
into which the priests were divided, elders,
men of age and experience, and scribes, law
yers, or those learned in the Jewish law
(Matt. xxvi. 57, 59; Mark xv. 1; Luke
xxii. 66; Acts v. 21). 2. The number of
members is usually given as 71. The pre
sident of this body was styled Nasi, and was
chosen on account of his eminence in worth
and wisdom. Often, if not generally, this
pre-eminence was accorded to the high-priest.
The vice-president, called in the Talmud
" father of the house of judgment," sat at
the right hand of the president. Some
writers speak of a second vice-president, but
this is not sufficiently confirmed. While in
session the Sanhedrim sat in the form of a
half-circle. 3. The place in which the ses
sions o£ the Sanhedrim were ordinarily held
was, according to the Talmud, a hall called
Gazzith, supposed by Lightfoot to have been
situated in the south-east corner of one of
the courts near the Temple building. In
special exigencies, however, it seems to have
met in the residence of the high-priest (Matt.
xxvi. 3). Forty years before the destruction
of Jerusalem, and consequently while the
Saviour was teaching in Palestine, the ses
sions of the Sanhedrim were removed from
the hall Gazzith to a somewhat greater dis
tance from the temple building, although still

404

SARGON

on Mt. Moriah. After several other changes,
its seat was finally established at Tiberias. —
As a judicial body the Sanhedrim constituted
a supreme court, to which belonged in the
first instance the trial of a tribe fallen into
idolatry, false prophets, and the high-priest ;
also the other priests. As an administrative
council it determined other important mat
ters. Jesus was arraigned before this body
as a false prophet (John xi. 47), and Peter,
John, Stephen, and Paul as teachers of error
and deceivers of the people. From Acts ix.
2 it appears that tbe Sanhedrim exercised a
degree of authority beyond the limits of Pales
tine. According to the Jerusalem Gemara
the power of inflicting capital punishment
was taken awayfiom this tribunal forty years
before the destruction of Jerusalem. With
this agrees the answer of the Jews to Pilate
(John xix. 31). The Talmud also mentions
a lesser Sanhedrim of twenty-three members
in every city in Palestine in which were not
less than 120 householders.
SA'PHIR, one of the villages addressed
by the Prophet Micah (i. 11), is described by
Eusebius and Jerome "in the mountain dis
trict between Eleutheropolis and Ascalon,"
perhaps represented by the village es-Sawdfir
seven or eight miles to the N.E. of Ascalon.
SAPPHI'RA. [Ananias.]
SAPPHIRE (Heb. sappir), a precious stone,
apparently of a bright blue colour (see Ex.
xxiv. 10) ; the second stone in the second
row of the high-priest's breastplate (Ex.
xxviii. 18) ; extremely precious (Job xxviii.
16) ; it was one of the precious stones that
ornamented the king of Tyre (Ez. xxviii, 13).
The sapphire of the ancients was not our gem
of that name, viz. the azure or indigo blue,
crystalline variety* of Corundum, but our
Lapis-lazuli (.Ultra-marine).
SA'RA. [Sarah.]
SA'RAH, the wife of Abraham, and mother
of Isaac. Of her birth and parentage we
have no certain account in Scripture. Her
name is first introduced in Gen. xi. 29, as
follows : " Abram and Nahor took them
wives : the name of Abram's wife was Sarai ;
and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah,
the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah
and the father of Iscah." In Gen. xx. 12,
Abraham speaks of her as " his sister, the
daughter of the same father, but not the
daughter of the same mother." The common
Jewish tradition is that Sarai is the same ae
Iscah, the daughter of Haran, and the sister
of Lot. The change of her name from
"Sarai" to "Sarah" was made at the same
time that Abram's name was changed to
Abraham, on the establishment of the co
venant of circumcision between him and God.

That the name " Sarah" signifies "princess"
is universally acknowledged ; hut the mean
ing of " Sarai " is still a subject of contro
versy. The older interpreters suppose it to
mean "my princess." Her history is of
course that of Abraham. [Abraham.] She
died at Hebron at the age of 127 years,
28 years before her husband, and was buried
by him in the cave of Machpelah. She is
referred to in the N. T. as a type of conjugal
obedience in 1 Pet. iii. 6, and as one of tho
types of faith in Heb. xi. 11.
' SARA'I. [Sakah.]
SAR'AMEL, the name of the place in
which the assembly of the Jews was held at
which the high- priesthood was conferred
upon Simon Maccabaeus (1 Mace. xiv. 28),
some have treated it as a corruption of Jeru
salem, but this is inadmissible, though it was
probably some part of the city.
SARDINE, SARD1US (Heb. ddetn), the
stone which occupied the first place in the
first row of the high-priest's breastplate (Ex.
xxviii. 17, xxxix. 10; Ez. xxviii. 13). In
Rev. iv. 3, St. John declares that he whom
he saw sitting on the heavenly throne " was
to look upon like a jasper and a sardjne
stone." The sixth foundation of the wall of
the heavenly Jerusalem was a sardius (Rev.
xxi. 20). The nrd, which is the stone pro
bably denoted by ddem, is a superior variety
of agate, and has long been a favourite stone
for the engraver's art. Sards differ in colour :
there is a bright red variety, and perhaps
the Heb. odem, from a root which means " to
be red," points to this kind.
SAR'DIS, a city situated about two miles
to the south of the river Hermus, just below
the range of Tmolus (Bos Dagh), on a fepur
of which its acropolis was built. It was the
ancient residence of the kings of Lydia. There
are still considerable remains of the ancient
city at Sert-Kalessi. Travellers describe the
appearance of the locality as that of complete
solitude. The only passage in which it is
mentioned in the Bible is Rev. iii. 1-6.
SARDONYX is mentioned in the N. T.
once only, viz. in Rev. xxi. 20. The Bard-
onyx consists of " a white opaque layer,
superimposed upon a red transparent stratum
of the true red sard." It is, like the sard,
merely a variety of agate, and is frequently
emplcyed by engravers for a signet-ring.
SAREP'TA. [Zarephath.]
SAR'GON, one of the greatest of the As
syrian kings, is mentioned by name only
once in Scripture (Is. xx. 1). Earlier writers
hod identified him with either Shalmaneser,
or Sennacherib, or Esarhaddon. All lhe?e
conjectures are now shown to be wrong by
the Assyrian inscriptions, which prove Sargon

SAKDIS AND MOUNT TMOLFS.

To face p. 495.

495

SATAN

to have been distinct from the several mon
archs named, and fix his place in the list be
tween Shalmaneser and Sennacherib. His
name is read in the inscriptions as " Sargina."
He was Sennacherib's father, and his im
mediate predecessor, and reigned from b.c.
721 to 702, and seems to have been an usur
per. He was undoubtedly a great and suc
cessful warrior. In his annals, which cover
a space of fifteen years (from b.c 721 to 706),
he gives an account of his warlike expedi
tions against Babylonia and Susiana on the
south, Media on the east, Armenia and Cap-
padocia towards the north, Syria, Palestine,
Arabia, and Egypt towards the west and
south-west. In b.c 712 he took Ashdod, by
one of his generals, which is the event which
causes the mention of his name in Scripture.
SA'RON. [Sharon.]
SARO'THIE. "The sons of Sarothie "
are among the sons of the servants of Solo
mon who returned with Zorobabel (I Ebd.
v. 34).
SAR'SECHIM, one of the generals of Nebu
chadnezzar's army at the taking of Jerusalem
(Jer. xxxix. 3j. He appears to have held
the office of chief eunuch. In Jer. xxxix.
13, Nebushasban is called Rab-saris, "chief
eunuch ; " and perhaps Nebushasban and
Sarseehim may be names of the same person.
SA'TAN. The word itself, the Hebrew
mt&n, is simply an "adversary," and is so
used in I Sam. xxix. 4 ; 2 Sam. xix. 22 ;
1 K. v. 4, xi. 14, 23, 25 ; Num. xxii. 22, 32 ;
Ps. cix. 6. This original sense is still found
in our Lord's application of the name to
St. Peter in Matt. xvi. 23. It is used as a
proper name or title only four times in the
0. T. viz. (with the article) in Job i. 6, 12,
ii. 1, Zech. iii. 1, and (without the article) in
1 Chr. xxi. 1. It is with the scriptural
revelation on the subject that we are here
concerned ; and it is clear, from this simple
enumeration of passages, that it is to be
sought in the New, rather than in the Old
Testament. — I. The personal existence of a
Spirit of Evil is clearly revealed in Scripture,
but the revelation is made gradually in ac
cordance with the progressiveness of God's
method. In the first entrance of evil into
the world, the temptation is referred only to
the serpent. Throughout the whole period
of the patriarchal and Jewish dispensation,
this vague and imperfect revelation of the
Source of Evil alone was given. The Book
of Job stands alone on the basis of " natural
religion," apart from the gradual evolutions
of the Mosaic revelation. In it, for the first
time, we find a distinct mention of " Satan,"
the A adversary " of Job. But it is im
portant to remark the emphatic stress laid on

his subordinate position, on the absence of
all but delegated power, of all terror, and all
grandeur in his character. It is especially
remarkable that no power of spiritual influ
ence, hut only a power over outward circum
stances, is attributed to him. Tbe Captivity
brought the Israelites face to face with the
great dualism of the Persian mythology, the
conflict of Ormuzd with Ahriman, the co
ordinate Spirit of Evil. In the books written
aftei"*the Captivity we have again the name
of ." Satan" twice mentioned (1 Chr. xxi. 1 ;
Zech. iii. 1, 2) ; but it is confessed by all that
the Satan of Scripture hears no resemblance
to the Persian Ahriman. His subordination
and inferiority are as strongly marked as
ever. In the interval between the Old and
New Test, the Jewish mind had pondered
on the scanty revelations already given of
evil spiritual influence. But the Apocryphal
Books (as, for example, Tobit and Judith),
while dwelling on "demons," have no notice
of Satan. The same may be observed of
Josephus. But, while a mass of fable and
superstition grew up on the general subject
of evil spiritual influence, still the existence
and nature of Satan remained in the back
ground, felt, but not understood. The N. T
first brings it plainly forward. From the
beginning of the Gospel, when he appears as
the personal tempter of our Lord, through
all the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse, it
is asserted or implied, again and again, as
a familiar and important truth. Without
dwelling on other passages, the plain, solemn,
and unmetaphorical words of John viii. 44,
must be sufficient. — II. Of the nature and
original state of Satan, little is revealed in
Scripture. He is spoken of as a " spirit " in
Eph. ii. 2, as the prince or ruler of the
"demons" in Matt. xii. 24-26, and as hav
ing "angels" subject to him in Matt. xxv.
11 ; Rev. xii. 7, 9. The whole description
of his power implies spiritual nature and
spiritual influence. We conclude therefore
that he was of angelic nature, a rational and
spiritual creature, superhuman in power,
wisdom, and energy ; and not only so, but
an archangel, one of the " princes " of
heaven. We cannot, of course, conceive that
anything essentially and originally evil was
created by God. We can only conjecture.
therefore, that Satau is a fallen angel, who
once had a time of probation, but whose
condemnation is now irrevocably fixed. But
of the time, cause, and manner of his fall,
Scripture tells us scarcely anything. It
limits its disclosures, as always, to that
which we need to know. The passage on
which all the fabric of tradition and poetry
has been raised is Rev. xii. 7 9. Whatever

SATAN

4SJLJ

SATAN

be the meaning of this passage, it is certain
that it cannot refer to the original fall of
Satan. The only other passage which refers
to the fall of the angels is 2 Pet. ii. 4, with the
parallel passage in Jude 6. Here again the
passage is mysterious ; but it ,-enib hardly
possible to consider Satan as one of these ;
for they are in chains and guarded till the
Great Day; he is permitted still to go about
as the Tempter and the Adversary, until his
appointed time be come. Setting thesS pas
sages aside, we have still to consider the
declaration of our Lord in Luke x. 18, "I
beheld Satan, as lightning, fall from heaven."
This may refer to the fact of his original fall ;
but, in any case, it tells nothing of its cause
or method. There is also the passage already
referred to (John viii. 44) ; but here it seems
likely the words refer to the beginning of his
action upon man. Perhaps the only one,
which has any value, is 1 Tim. iii. 6, " lest
being lifted up by pride he fall into the con
demnation of the devil." It is concluded
from this that pride was the cause of the
devil's condemnation. But, while these points
are passed by almost in silence, Scripture
describes to us distinctly the moral nature of
the Evil One. The ideal of goodness is made
up of the three great moral attributes of God
— Love, Truth, and Purity or Holiness ; com
bined with that spirit which is the natural
temper of a finite and dependent creature,
the spirit of Faith. We find, accordingly,
that the opposites of these qualities are dwelt
upon as the characteristics of the devil. — III.'
The power of Satan over the soul is repre
sented as exercised either directly or by hiB
instruments. His direct influence over the
soul is simply that of a powerful and evil
nature on those in whom lurks the germ of
the same evil. Besides this direct influence,
we learn from Scripture that Satan is the
leader of a host of evil spirits or angels who
share his evil work, and for whom the
"everlasting fire is prepared" (Matt. xxv.
41). Of their origin and fall we know no
more than of his, for they cannot be the
same as the fallen and imprisoned angels of
2 Pet. ii. 4, and Jude 6 ; but one passage
(Matt. xii. 24-26) identifies them distinctly
with the "demons" (A. V. "devils") who
had power to possess the souls of men.
They are mostly spoken of in Scripture in
reference to possession; but in Eph. vi. 12,
they are described in various lights, as
"principalities," "powers," "rulers of the
darkness of this world," and " spiritual
powers of wickedness in heavenly places "
(or "things"); and in all as "wrestling"
against the soul of man. In Rev. xii. 7-9,
they are spoken of as fighting with " the

dragon, the old serpent called the devil and
Satan," against ".Michael and his angels,"
and as cast out of heaven with their chief.
Taking all these passages together, we find
them sharing the enmity to Gud and man
implied in the name and nature of Satan ;
but their power and action are but little
dwelt upon in comparison with his. But
the Evil One is not only the " prince of the
demons," but also he is called the " prince
of this world," in John xii. 31, xiv. 30, xvi.
11, and even the "god of this world" in
2 Cor. iv. 4 ; the two expressions being
united in Eph. vi. 12. This power he
claimed for himself, as a delegated authority,
in the temptation of our Lord (Luke iv. 6) ;
and the temptation would have been unreal
had he spoken altogether falsely. The in
direct action of Satan is best discerned by
an examination of the title by which he is
designated in Scripture. He is called em
phatically 6 8io0oack, " the devil." The
derivation of the word in itself implies only
the endeavour to break the bonds between
others, and "set them at variance;" but
common usage adds to this general sense the
special idea of " setting at variance by
slander." In the application of the title to
Satan, both the general and special senses
should be kept in view. His general object
is to break the bonds of communion between
God and man, and the bonds of truth and
love which bind men to each other. The
slander of God to man is seen best in the
words of Gen. iii. 4, 5. They attribute
selfishness and jealousy to the Giver of all
good. The slander of man to God is illus
trated by the Book of Job (Job i. 9-11, ii.
4, 5). In reference to it, Satan is called the
" adversary " of man in 1 Pet. v. 8, and
represented in that character in Zech. iii.
1,2; and more plainly still designated in
Rev. xii. 10, as " the accuser of our brethren,
who accused them before our God day and
night." It is difficult for us to understand
what can be the need of accusation, or the
power of slander, under the all-searching
eye of God. But these points, important as
they are, are of less moment than the dis
closure of the method of Satanic action upon
the heart" itself. It may be summed up in
two words — Temptation and Possession. The
subject of temptation is illustrated, not only
by abstract statements, but also by the record
of the temptations of Adam and of our Lord.
It is expressly laid down (as in James i. 2-4;
that "temptation," properly so called, i.e.
" trial," is essential to man, and is accord
ingly ordained for him and sent to him by
God (as in Gen. xxii. 1). It is this tenta-
bility of man, even in his original nature,

SATYRS

407

SAUL

which is represented in Scripture as giving
scope to the evil action of Satan. He is
called the " tempter " (as in Matt. iv. 3 ;
1- Thess. iii. 5). He has power, first, to
present to the appetites or passions their
objects in vivid and captivating forms ; and
next, to act upon the false desire of the will
for independence. It is a power which can
be resisted, because it is under the control
and overruling power of God (1 Cor. x. 13 ;
James iv. 7, &c). It is exercised both ne
gatively and positively. Its negative exercise
is referred to in the parable of the sower.
Its positive exercise is set forth in the parable
of the wheat and the tares. This exercise
of the Tempter's power is possible, even
against a sinless nature. We see this in the
Temptation of our Lord. But in the temp
tation of a fallen nature Satan has a greater
power. Every sin committed makes a man
the " servant of sin " for the future (John
viii. 34 ; Rom. vi. 16) : it therefore creates
in the spirit of man a positive tendency to
evil, which sympathises with, and aids, the
temptation of the Evil One. On the subject
of Possession see Demoniacs.
SATYRS are mentioned in Is. xiii. 21, and
xxxiv. 14, where the prophet predicts the
desolation of Babylon. The Hebrew word
Bignifies "hairy" or "rough," and is fre
quently applied to " he-goats." In the pas
sages cited it probably refers to demons of
woods and ,desert places, half men and half
goats (comp. Lev. xvii. 7 ; 2 Chr. xi. 15).
SAUL, more accurately Shatjl. — 1. Saul of
Rehoboth by the River was one of the early
kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah (Gen.
xxxvi. 37, 38; 1 Chr. i. 48).- 2. The first
king of Israel, was the son of Kish and of
the tribe of Benjamin. His character is in
part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful
nature of the tribe, and in part accounted for
by the struggle between the old and new
systems in which he found himself involved.
To this we must add a taint of madness, which
broke out in violent frenzy at times, leaving
him. with long lucid intervals. He was re
markable for his strength and activity (2
Sam. i. 23), and like the Homeric heroes, of
gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders
than the rest of the people, and of that kind
of beauty denoted by the Hebrew word
"good" (1 Sam. ix. 2), and which caused
him to be compared to the gazelle, "the
gazelle of Israel." His birthplace is not
expressly mentioned ; but, as Zelah was the
place of Kish's sepulchre (2 Sam. xxi.), it was
probably his native village. His father,
Kish, was a powerful and wealthy chief,
though the family to which he belonged was
of little importance (ix. 1, 21). A portion of
Sm. D. B.

his property consisted of a drove of asses. In
search of these asses, gone astray on the
mountains, he sent his son Saul, accompanied
by a servant, who acted also as a guide and
guardian of the young man (ix. 3-10). It
was while prosecuting this adventure that
Saul met with Samuel for the first time. A
Divine intimation had indicated to him the
approach and the future destiny of the youth
ful Benjamite. In anticipation of some dis
tinguished stranger, Samuel had bade the
cook reserve a boiled shoulder, from which
Saul, as the chief guest, was hidden to tear
off the first morsel. They then descended to
the city, and a bed was prepared for Saul on
the housetop. At daybreak Samuel roused
him. They descended again to the skirts of
the town, and there (the servant having left
them) Samuel poured over Saul's head the
consecrated oil, and with a kiss of salutation
announced to him that he was to be the ruler
of the nation (ix. 25-x. 1). From that
moment a new life dawned upon him ; and
on his return homewards, his call was con
firmed by the incidents which, according to
Samuel's prediction, awaited him (x. 9, 10).
This is what may be called the private, inner
view of his call. The outer call, which is re
lated independently of the other, was as
follows : — An assembly was convened by
Samuel at Mizpeh, and lots were cast to find
the tribe and the family which was to produce
the king. Saul was named — and, by a
Divine intimation, found hid in the circle of
baggage which surrounded the encampment
(x. 17-24). His stature at once conciliated
the public feeling, and for the first time the
shout was raised, afterwards so often repeated
in modern times, " Long live the king " (x.
23-34), and he returned to Gibeah where he
usually resided. He was (having apparently
returned to his private life) on his way home*
driving his herd of oxen, when he heard one
of those wild lamentations in the city of
Gibeah, such as mark in Eastern towns the
arrival of a great calamity. It was the
tidings of the threat issued by Nahash king
of Ammon against Jabesh Gilead. "The
Spirit of the Lord came upon him," as on the
ancient Judges. He speedily collected an
army, and Jabesh was rescued. The effect
was instantaneous on the people, and the
monarchy was inaugurated anew at Gilgal
[xi. 1-15). It should be, however, observed
that according to 1 Sam. xii. 12, the affair of
Nahash preceded and occasioned the election
of Saul. He becomes king of Israel. But he
still so far resembles the earlier Judges, as to
be virtually king only of his own tribe, Ben*
jamin, or of the immediate neighbourhood.
Almost all his exploits are confined to this
2 K

SAUL

498

SAUL

circle of territory or associations. Samuel,
who had up to this time been still named as
ruler with Saul (xi, 7, 12, 14), now with
drew, and Saul became the acknowledged
chief. In the 2nd year of his reign, he began
to organise an attempt to shake off tbe
Philistine yoke which pressed on his country ;
not least on his own tribe, where a Philistine
officer had long been stationed even in his
own field (x. 5, xiii. 3). An army of 3000
was formed, which he soon afterwards
gathered together round him ; and Jonathan,
apparently with his sanction, rose against the
officer and slew him (xiii. 2-4). This roused
the whole force of the Philistine nation against
hiin. The spirit of Israel was completely
broken. In this crisis, Saul, now on the
very confines of his kingdom at Gilgal, found
himself m the position long before described
by Samuel; longing to exercise his royal
right of sacrifice, yet deterred by his sense of
obedience to the Prophet. At last on the
7 th day, he could wait no longer, but just
after the sacrifice was completed Samuel ar
rived, and pronounced the first curse, on his
impetuous zeal (xiii. 5-14). Meanwhile, the
adventurous exploit of Jonathan at Michmash
brought on the crisis which ultimately drove
the Philistines back to their own territory.
It was signalised by two remarkable incidents
in the life of Saul. One was the first ap
pearance of his madness in the rash vow
which all but cost the life of his son (1 Sain.
xiv. 24, 44). The other was the erection of
his first altar, built either to celebrate the
victory, or to expiate the savage feast of the
famished people (xiv. 35). The expulsion of
the Philistines (although not entirely com
pleted, xiv. 52) at once placed Saul in a posi
tion higher than that of any previous ruler of
Israel. The warlike character of his reign
naturally still predominated, and he was now
able to attack the neighbouring tribes of Moab,
Ammon, Edom, Zobah, and finally Amalek
(xiv. 47). The war with Amalek is twbe
related, first briefly (xiv. 48), and then at
length (xv. 1-9). lu chief connexion with
Saul's history lies in the disobedience to the
prophetical command of Samuel ; shown in
the sparing of the king, and the retention of
the spoil. This second act of disobedience
called down the second curse, and the first
distinct intimation of the transference of the
kingdom to a rival. The struggle between
Samuel and Saul in their final parting is indi
cated by the rent of Samuel's robe of state, as
he tears himself away from Saul's grasp, and
by the longmourningof Samuelfor the separa
tion — " Samuel mourned for Saul." — The rest
of Saul's life is one long tragedy. The frenzy,
which had given indications of itself before,

now at times took almost entire possession of
him. It is described in mixed phrases as " an
evil spirit of God " (much as we might
speak of " religious madness "), which, when
it came upon him, almost choked or strangled
him from its violence. In this crisis David
was recommended to him by one of the young
men of his guard. From this time forward
their lives are blended together. [David.]
In Saul's better moments he never lost the
strong affection which he had contracted for
David. Occasionally too his prophetical gift
returned, blended with his madness (xix. 24).
But his acts of fierce, wild zeal increased. At
last the monarchy itself, which he had raised
up, broke down under the weakness of its
head. The Philistines re-entered the country,
and with their chariots and horses occupied
tbe plain of Esdraelon, Their camp was
pitched on the southern slope of the range
now called Little Hermon, by Shunem. On
the opposite side, on Mount Gilboa, was the
Israelite army, clinging as usual to the
heights which were their safety. It was near
the spring of Gideon's encampment, hence
called the spring of Harod or " trembling"
— and now the name assumed an evil omen,
and the heart of the king as he pitched his
camp there " trembled exceedingly" (1 Sam,
xxviii. 5). In the loss of all the usual means
of consulting the Divine Will, he determined,
with that wayward mixture of superstition
and religion which marked his whole career,
to apply to one of the necromancers who had
escaped his persecution. She was a woman
living at Endor, on the other side of Little
Hermon. Volumes have been written on the
question, whether in the scene that follows
we are to understand an imposhire or a real
apparition of Samuel. At this distance of
time it is impossible to determine the relative
amount of fraud or of reality, though the
obvious meaning of the narrative itself tends
to the hypothesis of some kind of apparition.
.She recognises the disguised king first by the
appearance of Samuel, seemingly from his
threatening aspect or tone as towards his
enemy. Saul apparently saw nothing, but
listened to her description of a god-like figure
of an aged man, wrapped round with the
royal or sacred robe. On hearing the denun
ciation, which the apparition conveyed, Saul
fell the whole length of his gigantic stature
on the ground, and remained motionless till
the woman and his servants forced him to eat.
The next day the battle came on. The
Israelites were driven up the side of Gilboa,
The three sons of Saul were slain. Saul
himself with his armour-bearer was pursued
by the archers and the charioteers of the
enemy. He was wounded. According to

SCAPE-GOAT

499

SCOURGING

one account, he fell upon his own sword (1
Sam. xxxi. 4). According to another ac
count, an Amalekite came up at the moment
of his death-wound, and found him " fallen,"
but leaning on his spear ; and he was, at his
own request, put out of his pain by the Ama
lekite, who took off his royal diadem and
bracelet, and carried the news to David (2
Sam. i. 7-10). The body on being found by
the Philistines was stripped, and decapitated.
The armour was sent into the Philistine cities,
as if in retribution for the spoliation of Goli
ath, and finally deposited in the temple of
Astarte, apparently in the neighbouring
Canaanitish city of Bethshan ; and oyer the
walls of the same city was hung the naked
headless corpse, with those of his three sons
(ver. 9, 10). The head was deposited (pro
bably at Ashdod) in the temple of Dagon ( 1
Chr. x. 10). The corpse was removed from
Bethshan by the gratitude of the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead, who came over the Jordan
by night, carried off the bodies, burnt them,
and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh
(1 Sam. xxxi. 13). Thence, after the lapse
of several years, his ashes and those of Jona
than were removed by David to their ances
tral sepulchre at Zelah in Benjamin (2 Sam.
xxi. 14). — 3. The Jewish name of St. Pal'l.
This was the most distinguished name in the
genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin, to
which the Apostle felt some pride in belong
ing (Rom. xi. 1 ; Phil. iii. 5). Nothing cer
tain is known about the change of the Apostle's
name from Saul to Paul (Acts xiii. 9). Two
chief conjectures prevail concerning the
change. (1.) That the name was derived
from Sbegius Paulus, the first of his Gentile
converts. (2.) That Paulus was tbe Apostle's
Roman name as a citizen of Tarsus, whieh
was naturally adopted into common use by
his biographer when his labours among the
heathen commenced.
SCAPE-GOAT. [Atonement, Day of.]
SCEPTRE, originally meant a rod or staff.
It was thence specifically applied to the shep
herd's crook (Lev. xxvii. 32 ; Mic. vii. 14),
and to the wand or sceptre of a ruler. The
allusions to it are all of a metaphorical charac
ter, and describe it simply as one of the
insignia of supreme power (Gen. xlix. 10 ;
Num. xxiv. 17 ; Ps. xiv. 6 ; Is. xiv. 5 ; Am.
i. 5 ; Zech. x. 11 ; Wisd. x. 14 ; Bar. vi. 14).
We are consequently unable to describe the
article from any Biblical notices ; we may in
fer that it was probably made of wood. The
Sceptre of the Persian monarch is described
as "golden," i. e. probably of massive gold
(Esth. iv. 11).
SCE'VA, a Jew residing at Ephesus at the
time of St. Paul's second visit to that town

(Acts xix. 14-16). He is described as a
"high-priest," either as having exercised
the office at Jerusalem, or as being chief of
one of the twenty-four classes.
SCORPION (Heb. 'akrdb), twice mentioned
intheO.T. (Deut. viii. 15; Ez. ii. 6), and four
times in the N. T. (Luke x. 19, xi. 12; Rev. ix.
3, 10). The wilderness of Sinai is especially
alluded to as being inhabited by scorpions at
the time of the exodus, and to this day these
animals are common in the same district, as
well as in some parts of Palestine. Scorpions
are generally found in dry and in dark places,
under stones and in ruins, chiefly in warm
climates. They are carnivorous in their
habits, and move along in a threatening atti
tude with the tail elevated. The sting, which
is situated at the extremity of the tail, has at
its base a gland that secretes a poisonous
fluid, whieh is discharged into the wound by
two minute orifices at its extremity. In hot
climates the sting often occasions much suf
fering, and sometimes alarming symptoms.
The "scorpions" of 1 K. xii. 11, 14, 2 Chr.
x. 11, 14, have clearly no allusion whatever
to the animal, but to some instrument of
scourging — unless indeed the expression is a
mere figure.

Scorpion.
SCOURGING. The punishment of scourg
ing was prescribed by the Law in the case of
a betrothed bondwoman guilty of unchastity,
and perhaps in the case of both the guilty
persons (Lev. xix. 20). Th* instrument of
punishment in ancient Egypt, as it is also in
modern times generally in the East, was
usually the stick, applied to the soles of the
feet— bastinado. Under the Roman method
the culprit was stripped, stretched with cords
or thongs on a frame, and beaten with rods.
2 K 2

SCREECH-OWL

500

SCRIBES

SCREECH-OWL. [Owl.]
SCRIBES (Heb. sdpherim, from the Hebrew
sdphar, "to write"). Three men are men
tioned as successively filling the office of
Scribe under David an£ Solomon (2 Sam. viii.
17, xx. 25 ; 1 K. iv. 3). We may think of
them as the king's secretaries, writing his
letters, drawing up his decrees, managing his
finances (comp. 2 K. xii. 10).- At a later
period the word again connects itself with
the act of numbering the military forces of
the country (Jer. Hi. 25, and probably Is.
xxxiii. 18). Other associations, however,
began to gather round it about the same
period. The zeal of Hezekiah led him to
foster the growth of a body of men whose
work it was to transcribe old records, or to
put in writing what had been handed down
orally (Prov. xxv. 1). To this period ac
cordingly belongs the new significance of the
title. It no longer designates only an officer
of the king's cuurt, but a class, students and
interpreters of the Law, boasting of their
wisdom (Jer. viii. 8). The seventy years of
the Captivity gave a fresh glory to the name
The exiles would be anxious above all things
to preserve the sacred books, the laws, tbe
hymns, the prophecies of the past. The
Scribes' office became more and more pro
minent. They appear as a distinct class,
"the families of the Scribes," with a local
habitation (1 Chr. ii. 55). They compile, as
in the two Books of Chronicles, exceipta and
epitomes of larger histories (1 Chr. xxix. 29 ;
2 Chr. ix. 29). Of the Scribes of this period,
with the exception of Ezra and Zadok (Neh.
xiii. 13), we have no record. A later age
honoured them collectively as the men of the
Great Synagogue. Never, perhaps, was so
important a work done so silently. They
devoted themselves to the careful study of the
text, and laid down rules for transcribing it
with the most scrupulous precision. A say
ing is ascribed to Simon the Just (b.c 300-
290), the last of the succession of the men of
the Great Synagogue, which embodies the
principle on which they acted, and enables us
to trace the growth of their system. " Our
fathers have taught us," he said, " three
things : to be cautious in judging, to train
many scholars, and to set a fence about tbe
Law." They wished to make the Law of
Moses the rule of life for the whole nation
and for individual men. But it lies in the
nature of every such law, of every informal,
balf-systematic code, that it raises questions
which it does not solve. Decisions on fresh
questions were accumulated into a complex
system of casuistry. The new precepts, still
transmitted orally, came practically to take
their place. The "Words of the Scribes,"

now used as a technical phrase for these de
cisions, were honoured above the Law. It
was a greater crime to offend against them
than against the Law. The first step waa
taken towards annulling the commandments
of God for the sake of their own traditions.
The casuistry became at once subtle and
prurient, evading the plainest duties, tamper
ing with conscience (Mutt. xv. 1-6; xxiii,
16-23). We can therefore understand why
they were constantly denounced by our Lord
along with the Pharisees. While the ScribeB
repeated the traditions of the elders, He
"spake as one having authority," "not as
the Scribes" (Matt. vii. 29). While they
confined their teaching to the class of scholars,
He "had compassion on the multitudes"
(Matt. ix. 36). While they were to be found
only in the council or in their schools, He
journeyed through the cities and villages
(Matt. iv. 23, ix. 35, &c. &c). While they
spoke of the kingdom of God vaguely, as a
thing far off, He proclaimed that it had
already come nigh to men (Matt. iv. 17).
But in most of the points at issue between
the two parties, He must have appeared in
direct antagohism to the school of Shammai,
in sympathy with that of Hillel. So far, on
the other hand, as the temper of the Hillel
school was one of mere adaptation to the
feeling of the people, cleaving to tradition,
wanting in the intuition of a higher life, the
teaching of Christ must have been felt as un
sparingly condemning it. The special train
ing for a Scribe's office began, probably, about
the age of thirteen. The boy who was des
tined by his parents to the calling of a Scribe,
went to Jerusalem, and applied for admission
in the school of some famous Rabbi. After a
sufficient period of training, probably at the
age of thirty, the probationer was solemnly
admitted to his office. After his admission
there was a choice of a variety of functions,
the chances of failure and success. He might
give himself to any one of the branches of
study, or combine two or more of them. He
might rise to high places, become a doctor of
the law, an arbitrator in family litigations
(Luke xii. 14), the head of a school, a member
of the Sanhedrim. He might have to content
himself with the humbler work of a tran
scriber, copying the Law and the Prophets
for the use of synagogues, or a notary writing
out contracts of sale, covenants of espousals,
bills of repudiation. The position of the
more fortunate was of course attractive
enough. In our Lord's time the passion for
distinction was insatiable. The ascending
6cale of Rab, Rabbi, Rabban, presented so
many steps on the ladder of ambition. Other
forms of worldliness were not far off. The

SCRIP

501

SEA, THE SALT

salutations in the market-place (Matt, xxiii. 7 ),
the reverential kiss offered by the scholars to
their master, or by Rabbis to each other, the
.greeting of Abba, father (Matt, xxiii. 9),
.the long robes with the broad blue fringe
(Matt, xxiii. 5), all these go to make up the
picture of a Scribe's life. Drawing to them
selves, as they did, nearly all the energy and
thought of Judaism, the close hereditary caste
of the priesthood was powerless to compete
.with them. Unless the priest became a
Scribe also, he remained in obscurity. The
order, as such, became contemptible and base.
For the Scribes there were the best places at
feasts, the chief seats in synagogues (Matt.
xxiii. 6 ; Luke xiv. 7).
SCRIP. The Hebrew word thus trans
lated appears in 1 Sam. xvii. 40, as a synonym
for the bag in which the shepherds of Pales
tine carried their food or other necessaries.
The scrip of the Galilean peasants was of
leather, used especially to carry their food on
a journey, and slung over their shoulders
<Matt. x.'lO ; Mark.vi. 8 ; Luke ix. 3, xxii.
35). The English word " scrip " is probably
connected with scrape, scrap, and was used
in like manner for articles of food.
SCRIPTURE. [Bible.]
SCYTH'IAN occurs in Col. iii. 11 as a
generalised term for rude, ignorant, degraded.
The same view of Scythian barbarism appears
in 2 Mace. iv. 47, and 3 Maec. vii. 5. The
Scythians dwelt mostly on the north of the
Black Sea, and the Caspian, stretching thence
indefinitely into inner Asia, and were -re
garded by the ancients as standing extremely
low in point of intelligence and civilisation.
SCYTHOP'OLIS. [Bethshean.]
SEA. The Sea, yam, is used in Scripture
to denote — 1. " The gathering of the waters "
(ydmim), encompassing the land, or what we
call in a more or- less definite sense, " the
Ocean" (Gen. i. 2, 10; Deut. xxx. 13, &c).
2. Some portion of this, as the Mediterranean
Sea, called the "hinder," the "western,"
and the " upmost " sea (Deut. xi. 24, xxxiv. 2 ;
Joel ii. 20) ; "sea of the Philistines" (Ex.
xxiii. 31); "the great sea" (Num. xxxiv,
$, 7 ; Josh. xv. 47) ; " the sea" (Gen. xlix.
13; Ps. lxxx. 11, cvii. 23; 1 K. iv. 20, &c).
Also frequently of the Red Sea (Ex. xv. 4 ;
Josh. xxiv. 6), or one of its gulfs (Num. xi.
31 ; Is. xi. 15). [Red Sea.] 3. Inland
lakes termed seas, as the Salt or Dead Sea.
(See the special article.) 4. Any great col
lection of waters, as the river Nile (Is.
xix. 5 ; Am. viii. 8, A. V. " flood ;" Nah. iii. 8 ;
Ez. xxxii. 2), and Euphrates (Jer. li. 36).
- SEA, MOLTEN. In the place of the laver
of the tabernacle, Solomon caused a laver to
be cast for a similar purpose, which from its

size was called a sea. It was made partly or
wholly of the brass, or rather copper, which
had been captured by David from " Tibhath
and Chun, cities of Hadarezer king of Zobah "
(1 K. vii. 23-26 ; 1 Chr. xviii. 8). It is said
to have been capable of containing 2000, or
according to 2 Chr. iv. 5, 3000 baths. Below
the brim there was a double row of " knops."
These were probably a running border or
double fillet of tendrils, and fruits, said to be
gourds, of an oval shape. The brim itself,
or lip, was wrought " like the brim of a cup,
with flowers of lilies," i.e. curved outwards
like a lily or lotus flower. The laver stood
on twelve oxen, three towards each quarter
of the heavens, and all looking outwards. It
was mutilated by Ahaz, by being removed
from its basis of oxen and placed on a stone
base, and was finally broken up by the Assy
rians (2 K. xvi. 14, 17, xxv. 13).

Hypo tli etical restoration of the Laver.
SEA, THE SALT. The usual, and per
haps the most ancient, name, for the remark
able lake, which to the Western world is now
generally known as the Dead Sea. — I. 1. It is
found only, and but rarely, in the Penta
teuch (Gen. xiv. 3; Num. xxxiv. 3, 12;
Deut. iii. 17), and in the Book of Joshua
(iii. 16, xii. 3, xv. 2, 5, xviii. 19). , 2. Another,
and possibly a later name, is the Sea of the
Arabah (A. V. " sea of the plain '*), which is
found in Deut.. iv. 49, and 2 K. xiv. 25 ; and
combined with the former — " the sea of the
Arabah, the salt sea" — in Deut. iii. 17;
Josh. iii. 16, xii. 3. 3. In the prophets
(Joel ii. 20 ; Ezek. xlvii. 18 ; Zech. xiv. 8) it
is mentioned by the title of the East Sea.
4. In Ez. xlvii. 8, it is styled, without pre
vious reference, the sea, and distinguished
from "the great sea" — the Mediterranean
(ver. 10). 5. Its connexion with Sodom is
first suggested in the Bible in the book of
2 Esdras (v. 7) by the name " Sodomitish
sea." 6. In the Talmudical books it is called
both the " Sea of Salt," and " Sea of Sodom."
7 . Josephus, and before him, Diodorus Siculus,

SEA, THE SALT

502

SEA, THE SALT

names it the Asphaltic Lake. 8. The name
"Dead Sea" appears to have been first used
in Greek by Pausanias and Galen, and in
Latin (mare mortuum) by Justin xxxvi. 3,
§ 6), or rather by the older historian, Trogus
Pompeius (cir. b.c 10), whose work he epi
tomized. 9. The Arabic name is Bahr Lilt,
the "Sea of Lot."— II. The so-called Dead
Sea is the final receptacle of the river Jordan,
the lowest and largest of the three lakes which
interrupt the rush of its downward course.
It is the deepest portion of that very deep
natural fissure which runs like a furrow from
the Gulf of Akaba to the range of Lebanon,
and from the range of Lebanon to the ex
treme north of Syria. Viewed on the map,
the lake is of an oblong form, of tolerably re
gular contour, interrupted only by a large
and long peninsula which projects from the
eastern shore, near its southern end, and
virtually divides the expanse of the water
into two portions, connected by a long,
narrow, and somewhat devious, passage. Its
water surface is from N. to S. as nearly as
possible 40 geographical, or 46 English miles
long. Its greatest width is about 9 geogr.
miles, or 10£ Eng. miles. Its area is about
250 square geographical miles. At its northern
end the lake receives the stream of the Jordan :
on its Eastern side the Ziirka Ma' in (the
ancient Callirrhoe, and possibly the more
ancient en-Eglaim), the Moj'ib (the Arnon of
the Bible), and the Beni-Hemdd. On the
South the Kurdhy or el-Ahsy ; and on the
West that of Ain Jidy. The depression of its
surface, and the depth which it attains below
tbat surface, combined with the absence of
any outlet, render it one of the mo^t remark
able spots on the globe. The surface of the
lake in May 1848 was 1316-7 feet below the
level of the M editerranean at Jaffa. Its
depth, at about one-third of its length from
the north end, is 1308 feet. The water of
the lake is not less remarkable than its other
features. Its most obvious peculiarity is its
great weight. Its specific gravity has been
found to be as much as 12-28 ; that is to say, a
gallon of it would weigh over 12£ lbs. instead
of 1 0 lbs., the weight of distilled water. Water
so heavy must not only be extremely buoyant,
but must possess great inertia. Its buoy
ancy is a common theme of remark by the
travellers who have been upon it or in it.
Dr. Robinson " could never swim before,
either in fresh or salt water," yet here he
" could sit, stand, lie, or swim without diffi
culty" (B. R. i. 506). The remarkable weight
of the water is due to the very large quantity
of mineral salts which it holds in solution.
Each gallon of the water, weighing 12i lbs.,
contains nearly 3£ lbs. of matter in solution —

an immense quantity when we recollect that
sea- water, weighing 10i lbs. per gallon, con
tains le*s than £ a lb. Of this 3$ lbs. nearly
1 lb. is common salt (chloride of sodium) ;
about 2 lbs. chloride of magnesium, and less
than i a lb. chloride of calcium (or muriate
of lime). The most unusual ingredient is
bromide of magnesium, which exists in truly
extraordinary quantity. — It has been long
supposed that no life whatever existed in the
lake. But recent facts show that some in
ferior organizations do find a home even in
these salt and acrid waters. The statements
of aficient travellers and geographers to the
effect that no living creature could exist on
the shores of the lake, or bird fly across its
surface, are amply disproved by later tra
vellers. The springs on the margin of the
lake harbour snipe, partridges, ducks, night
ingales, and other birds, as well as frogs;
and hawks, doves, and hares are found along
the shore. — The appearance of the lake does
not fulfil the idea conveyed by its popular
name. "The Dead Sea," says a recent tra
veller, " did not strike me with that sense of
desolation and dreariness which I suppose it
ought. I thought it a pretty, smiling lake —
a nice ripple on its surface." The truth lies,
as usual, somewhere between these two ex
tremes. On the one hand the lake certainly
is not a gloomy, deadly, smoking gulf. In
this respect it does not at all fulfil the pro
mise of its name. At sunrise and sunset the
scene must- be astonishingly beautiful. But on
the other hand, there is something in the
prevalent sterility and the dry, burnt look of
tbe shores, the overpowering heat, the occa
sional smell of sulphur, the dreary salt marsh
at the southern end, and the fringe of dead
driftwood round the margin, whieh must go
^far to excuse the title which so many ages
have attached to the lake, and which we may
be sure it will never lose. — The connexion
between this singular lake and the Biblical
history is very slight. In the topographical
records of the Pentateuch and the Book of
Joshua, it forms one among the landmarks of
the boundaries of the whole country as well
as of the inferior divisions of Judah and Ben
jamin. As a landmark it is once named in
what appears to be a quotation from a lost
work of the prophet Jonah (2 K. xiv. 25),
itself apparently a reminiscence of the old
Mosaic statement (Num. xxxiv. 8, 12). Be
sides this the name occurs once or twice in
the imagery of the Prophets. In the New
Testament there is not even an allusion to it.
There is, however, one passage in which the
" Salt Sea" is mentioned in a manner dif
ferent from any of those already quoted, viz.,
as having been in the time of Abraham the

SEAL

503

SEIR

Vale of Siddim (Gen. xiv. 3). In consequence
of this passage it has been believed that the
present lake covered a district which in his
toric times had been permanently habitable
dry land. But it must not be overlooked
that the passage in question is the only one
in the whole Bible to countenance the notion
that the cities of the plain were submerged :
a notion which does not date earlier than the
Christian era. [Sodom ; Zoae.] The belief
which prompted the statements just quoted
from modern writers, viz. that the Dead Sea
was formed by the catastrophe which over
threw the " Cities of the Plain" — is a mere
assumption. It is not only unsupported by
Scripture, but is directly in the teeth of the
evidence of the ground itself. Of the situa
tion of those cities we only know that, being
in the " Plain of the Jordan," they must
have been to the north of the lake. Of the
catastrophe which destroyed them, we only
know that it is described as a shower of
ignited sulphur descending from the skies.
Its date is uncertain, but we shall be safe in
placing it within the limit of 2000 years
before Christ. The destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah may have been by volcanic action,
but it may be safely asserted that no traces
of it have yet been discovered, and that,
whatever it was, it can have had no con
nexion with that far vaster and far more
ancient event which opened the great valley
of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and at some
subsequent time cut it off from communica
tion with the Red Sea by forcing up between
them the tract of the Wady Arabah.
SEAL. The importance attached to seals
in the East is so great that without one no
document is regarded as authentic. The use
of some method of sealing is obviously, there
fore, of remote antiquity. In many cases
the seal consisted of a lump of clay, impressed
with the seal and attached to the document,
whether of papyrus, or other material, by
strings. The use of clay in sealing is noticed
in the Book of Job (xxxviii. 14), and the
signet-ring as an ordinary part of a man's
equipment in the case of Judah (Gen. xxxviii.
18), who probably, like many modern Arabs,
wore it suspended by a string from his neck
or arm (Cant. viii. 6). The ring or the seal
as an emblem of authority both in Egypt, in
Persia, and elsewhere, is mentioned in the
cases of Pharaoh with Joseph (Gen. xli. 42),
of Ahab (1 K. xxi. 8), of Ahasuerus {Esth.
iii. 10, 12, viii. 2), of Darius (Dan. vi. 17 ;
also 1 Mace. vi. 15), and as an evidence of a
covenant in Jer. xxxii. 10, 54 ; Neh. ix. 38,
x. 1 ; Hag. ii. 23. Its general importance
is denoted by the metaphorical use of the
word, Rev. v. 1, ix. 4. Engraved signets

were in use among the Hebrews in early
times, as is evident in the description of the
high-priest's breastplate Ex. xxviii. 11, 36,
xxxix. 6, and the work of the engraver as a
distinct occupation is mentioned in Ecclus.
xxxviii. 27.
SE'BA (pi. Sebdim : A. V. incorrectly ren
dered Sabeans), heads the list of the sons of
Cush. Besides the mention of Seba in the
list of the sons of Cush (Gen. x. 7; 1 Chr. i. 9),
there are but three notices of the nation (Ps.
lxxii. 10 ; Is. xliii. 3, xiv. 14). These pas
sages seem to show that Seba was a nation
of Africa, bordering on or included in Cush,
and in Solomon's time independent and of
political importance. It may perhaps be
identified with the island of Meroe.
SE'BAT. [Month.]
SE'CHU, a place mentioned once only
(I Sam. xix. 22), apparently as lying on the
route between Saul's residence, Gibeab, and
Ramah (Ramathaim Zophim), that of Samuel.
It was notorious for " the great well " (or
rather cistern) which it contained. Assuming
that Saul started from Gibeah (Tuleil el-Ful),
and that Neby Samwil is Ramah, then Bir
Neballa (the well of Neballa), alleged by a
modern traveller to contain a large pit, would
be in a suitable position for the great well of
Seehu. SECUN'DUS, a Thessalonian who went
with the Apostle Paul from Corinth as far as
Asia, on his return to Jerusalem from his
third missionary tour (see Acts xx. 4).
SEER. [Prophet.]
SEIR {hairy, shaggy). 1. We have both
" land of Seir " (Gen. xxxii. 3, xxxvi. 30),
and "Mount Seir" (Gen. xiv. 6). It is the
original name of the mountain ridge extend
ing along the east side of the valley of Ara
bah, from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf.
The name may either have been derived from
Seir the Horite, who appears to have been
the chief of the aboriginal inhabitants (Gen.
xxxvi. 20), or, what is perhaps more pro
bable, from the rough aspect of the whole
country. The name Gebala, or Gebalene,
was applied to this province by Josephus, and
also by Eusebius and Jerome. The northern
section of Mount Seir, as far as Petra, is still
called Jebdl, the Arabic form of Gebal. The
Mount Seir of the Bible extended much far
ther south than the modern province, as is
shown by the words of Deut. ii, 1-8. It had
the Arabah on the west (vers. 1 and 8) ; it
extended as far south as the head of the
Gulf of Akabah (ver. 8) ; its eastern border
ran along the base of the mountain range
where the plateau of Arabia begins. Its
northern border is not so accurately deter
mined. The land of Israel, as described by

SEIRATH

504

SEM

Joshua, extended from "the Mount Halak
that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal Gad"
(Josh. xi. 17). As no part of Edoin was
given to Israel, Mount Halak must have been
upon its northern border. Now there is a
Mne of "naked" (halak signified " naked ")
white hills or cliffs which runs across the
great valley about eight miles south of the
Dead Sea, forming the division between
the Arabah proper and the deep Ghor north
of it. The view of these cliffs, from the
shore of the Dead Sea, is very striking. They
appear as a line of hills shutting in the
valley, and extending up to the mountains of
Seir. This is probably the very "Mount
Halak that goeth up to Seir." — 2. An entirely
different place from the foregoing ; one of
the landmarks on the north boundary of the
territory of Judah (Josh. xv. 10 only). It lay
westward of Kirjath-jearim, and between it
and Beth-shemesh. If Kuriet el Enab be the
former, and Aiu-shems the latter of these
two, then Mount Seir cannot fail to bo the
ridge which lies between tbe Wady Aly and
the Wady Ghurab.
SEI'RATH, the place to which Ehud fled
after his murder of Eglon (Judg. iii. 26, 27).
It was in "Mount Ephraim" (27), a con
tinuation, perhaps, of the same wooded shaggy
hills (such seems to be the signification of
Seir and Seirath) which stretched even so
far south as to enter the territory of Judah
(Josh. xv. 10).
SE'LA and SE'LAH, 2 K. xiv. 7 ; Is. xvi.
1 : rendered "the rock" in the A. V., in
Judg. i. 36, 2 Chr. xxv. 12, Obad. 3. Pro
bably the city later known as Petra, the
ruins of which are found about two clays'
journey N. of the top of the gulf of Akaba,
and three or four S. from Jericho. It was in
the midst of Mount Seir, in the neighbour
hood of Mount Hor, and therefore Edomite
territory, taken by Amaziah, and called Joic-
theel. In the end of the fourth century
b.c. it appears as the head-quarters of the
Nabatheans, who successfully resisted the at
tacks of Antigonus. About 70 b.o. Petra
appears as the residence of the Arab princes
named Aretas. It was by Trajan reduced to
subjection to the Roman empire. The city
Petra lay, though at a high level, in a hollow
shut in by mountain-cliffs, and approached
only by a narrow ravine, through which, and
across the city's site, the river winds. There
are extensive ruins at Petra of Roman date,
which have been frequently described by
modern travellers.
SE'LA-HAM-MAHL'EKOTH (i. e " the
cliff of escapes" or " of divisions''), a rock
-or cliff in the wilderness of Maon, the scene of
one of those remarkable escapes which are so

frequent in the history of Saul's pursuit of
David (1 Sam. xxiii. 28). No identification
has yet been suggested.
SK'LAH. This word, which is only found
in the poetical books of the O. T., occurs
seventy-one times in the Psalms, and three
times in Habakkuk. In sixteen Psalms it is
found once, in fifteen twice, in seven three
times, and in one four times — always at the
end of a verse, except in Ps. Iv. 19 [20], Ivii.
3 [4], and Hab. iii. 3, 9, where it is in the
middle, though at the end of a clause. It is
probably a term which had a meaning in the
musical nomenclature of the Hebrews, though
what that meaning may have been is now a
matter of pure conjecture.
SELEUCI'A, near the mouth of the Orontes,
was practically the seaport of Antioch. The
distance between the two towns was about
16 miles. We are expressly told that St,
Paul, in company with Barnabas, sailed from
Seleucia at the beginning of his first mission
ary circuit (Acts xiii. 4) ; and it is almost
certain that he landed there on bis return
from it (xiv. 26). This strong fortress and
convenient seaport was constructed by the
first Seleucus, and here he was buried. It
retained its importance in Roman times, and
in St. Paul's day it had the privileges of a
free city. The remains are numerous.
SELEU'CUS IV. (Philopator), "king of
Asia" (2 Mace. iii. 3), that is, of the pro
vinces included in the Syrian monarchy,
according to the title claimed by the Scleu-
cidae, even when they had lost their footing
in Asia Minor, was the son and successor of
Antiochus the Great. He took part in the
disastrous battle of Magnesia (b.c 190), and
three years afterwards, on the death of his
father, ascended the throne. He was mur
dered after a reign of 'twelve years (b.c. 175),
by Heliodorus, one of his own courtiers (Dan.
xi. 20). His son Demetrius I. (Soter), whom
he had sent, while still a boy, as hostage to
Rome, after a series of romantic adventures,
gained the crown in 162 b.c (1 Mace. vii. 1 ;
2 Mace. xiv. 1). The general policy of Se
leucus towards the Jews, like that of his
father (2 Mace. iii. 2, 3), was conciliatory,
and he undertook a large share of the ex
penses of the Temple-service (2 Mace. iii. 3,
6). On one occasion, by the false representa
tions of Simon, a Jewish officer, he was in
duced to make an attempt to carry away the
treasures deposited in the Temple, by means
of the same Heliodorus, who murdered
him. The attempt signally failed, but it
does not appear that he afterwards showed
any resentment against the Jews (2 Maec. iv.
5, 6).
SEM. Shem the patriarch (Luke iii. 36),

SEMITIC LANGUAGES

505

SENNACHERIB

SEMITIC LANGUAGES. [Hebrew.]
SEN 'EH, tbe name of one of the two iso
lated rocks which stood in the " passage of
Michmash" (1 Sam. xiv. 4). It was the
southern one of the two (ver. 5), and the
nearest to Geba. The name in Hebrew means
a"thorn,"or thorn-bush. Josephus mentions
that the last encampmentof Titus's army was
at a spot "which in the Jews' tongue is called
J;he valley " or perhaps the plain " of thorns,
pear to a village called Gabathsaoule," i. e.
Gibeath of Saul.
SEN'IR. This name occurs twice in the
A. V„ viz. 1 Chr. v. 23, and Ez. xxvii. 5 ;
but it should be found in two other passages,
in each of which the Hebrew word is exactly
similar to the above, viz. Deut. iii. 9, and
Cant. iv. 8. In these it appears in the A. V.
as Shenir. It is the Amorite name for the
mountain in the north of" Palestine which
the Hebrews called Hermon, and the Phoeni
cians Sirion ; or perhaps it was rather the
name for a portion of the mountain than the
whole. t
SENXACH'ERIB was the son and succes
sor of Sargon. [Sargon.] His name in the
original is read as Tsinakki-irib, which is
understood to mean, " Sin (or the Moon)
increases brothers :" an indication that he
was not the first-born of his father. Senna
cherib mounted the throne b.c 702. His
efforts were directed to crushing the revolt
of Babylonia, which he invaded with a large
army. Merodach-Baladan ventured on a
battle, but was defeated and driven from the
country. In his third year (b.c. 700) he
turned his arms towards the west, chastised
Sidon, took tribute from Tyre, Aradus, and
Other Phoenician cities, as well as from Edom
and Ashdod, besieged and captured Ascalon,
made war on Egypt, which was still depend
ent on Ethiopia, took Libnah and Lachish on
the Egyptiari frontier, and, having probably
concluded a convention with his chief enemy,
finally marched against Hezekiah, king of
Judah. It was at this time that " Senna
cherib came up against all the fenced cities
of Judah, and took them" (2 K. xviii. 13).
There can be no doubt that the record which
he has left of his campaign against " I-Iis-
kiah " in his third year, is the war with
Hezekiah so briefly touched in the four verses
Of this chapter (vers. 13-16). In the follow
ing year (b.c 699), Sennacherib invaded
Babylonia for the second time. It was per
haps in this same year that Sennacherib made
his second expedition into Palestine. Heze
kiah had again revolted, and claimed the
protection of Egypt. Instead, therefore, of be-
9ieging Jerusalem, the Assyrian king marched
pnst it to the Egyptian frontier, attacked

once more Lachish and Libna, but apparently
failed to take them, sent messengers from the
former to Hezekiah (2 K. xviii. 17), and on
their return without his submission wrote
him a threatening letter (2 K. xix. 14).
Tirhakah was hastening to the aid of the
Egyptians when an event occurred which
relieved both Egypt and Judaea from their
danger. In one night the Assyrians lost,
either by a pestilence or by some more awful
manifestation of divine power, 185,000 men !
The camp immediately broke up — the king
fled. Sennacherib reached his capital in
safety, and was not deterred, by the terrible
disaster which had befallen his arms, from
engaging in other wars, though he seems
thenceforward to have carefully avoided Pa
lestine. In his fifth year he led an expedi
tion into Armenia and. Media ; after which,
from his sixth to his eighth year, he was
engaged in wars with Susiana and Babylonia.
From this point his annals fail us. Senna-

Senna herib on his tltroim before Luc'.ish.

SEPHAR

506

SEPTUAGINT

eherib reigned 22 years, and was succeeded
by Esarhaddon, b.c 680. Sennacherib was
one of the most magnificent of the Assyrian
kings. He seems to have been the first who
fixed the seat of government permanently at
Nineveh, which he carefully repaired and
adorned with splendid buildings. His great
est work is the grand palace at Koyunjik.
Of the death of Sennacherib nothing is known
beyond the brief statement of Scripture, that
"as he was worshipping in the house of Nis-
roch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his
sons smote him with the sword, and escaped
into the land of Armenia " (2 K. xix. 37 ; Is.
xxxvii. 38).
SE'PHAR. It is written, after the enu
meration of the sons of Joktan, " and their
dwelling was from Mesha as thou goest unto
Sephar, a mount of the east" (Gen. x. 30).
The immigration of the Joktanites was pro
bably from west to east, and they occupied
the south-western portion of the peninsula.
The undoubted identifications of Arabian
places and tribes with their Joktanite origi
nals are included within these limits, and
point to Sephar as the eastern boundary.
There appears to he little doubt that the
ancient seaport town called Dhafdri or Zafari,
and Dhafdr or Zafdr, without the inflexional
termination, represents the Biblical site or
district. SEPH'ARAD, a name which occurs in
Ohad. ver. 20 only. Its situation has always
been a matter of uncertainty.
SEPHARVA'IM is mentioned by Senna
cherib in his letter to Hezekiah as a city
whose king had been unable to resist the
Assyrians (2 K. xix. 13 ; Is. xxxvii. 13,
comp. 2 K. xviii. 34). It is coupled with
Hena and Avah, or Ivah, which were towns
on the Euphrates above Babylon. Again, it
is mentioned in 2 K. xvii. 24, where it is
again joined with Avah, and also with Cuthah
and Babylon. These indications are enough
to justify us in identifying the place with
the famous town of Sippara, on the Euphrates
above Babylon, which was near the site of
the modern Mosaib. The dual form indicates
that there were two Sipparas, one on either
side of the river. Berosus called Sippara,
" a city of tbe sun ;" and in the inscriptions
it bears the same title, being called Tsiparsha
Shamas, or " Sippara of the Sun " - the sun
being the chief object of worship there (comp.
2 K. xvii. 31).
SEPHE'LA, the Greek form of the an
cient word has-Sh%feldh, the native name
for the southern division of the low-lying
fiat district which intervenes between the
central highlands of the Holy Land and the
Mediterranean, the other and northern por

tion of which was known as Sharon. The
name occurs throughout the topographical
records of Joshua, the historical works, and
the topographical passages in the Prophets ;
always with the article prefixed, and alwayB
denoting the same region (Deut. i. 7 ; Josh,
ix. 1, x. 40, xi. 2, 16 .7, xii. 8, xv, 33;
Judg. i. 9 ; 1 K. x. 27 ; 1 Chr. xxvii. 28;
2 Chr. i. 15, ix. 27, xxvi. 10, xxviii. 18;
Jer. xvii. 26, xxxii. 44, xxxiii. 13; Obad. 19;
Zech. vii. 7). In each of these passages,
however, the word is treated in the A. V. not
as a proper name, analogous to the Cam-
pagna, the Wolds, the Carse, but as a mere
appellative, and rendered "the vale," "the
valley," " the plain," " the low plains," and
"the low country." The Shefelah waB, and
is, one of the most productive regions of the
Holy Land. It was in ancient times the
corn-field of Syria, and as such the constant
subject of warfare between Philistines and
Israelites, and the refuge of the latter when
the harvests in the central country were
ruiqed by drought (2 K, viii. 1-3).
SEPTUAGINT. The Septuagint or Greek
version of the Old Testament, owed its origin
to the same cause as the Targums. [Tab-
gums.] The Jews of Alexandria had' probably
still less knowledge of Hebrew than their
brethren in Palestine ; their familiar language
was Alexandrian Greek. They had settled
in Alexandria in large numbers soon after
the time of Alexander, and under the early
Ptolemies. They would naturally follow the
same practice as the Jews in Palestine ; and
hence would arise in time an entire Greek
version. But the numbers and names of the
translators, and the times at which different
portions were translated, are all uncertain.
The commonly received story respecting its
origin is contained in an extant letter as
cribed to Aristeas, who was an officer at the
court of Ptolemy Philadelphus. 'This letter,
which is addressed by Aristeas to his brother,
Philocrates, gives a splendid account of the
origin of the Septuagint ; of the embassy and
presents sent by King Ptolemy to the high-
priest at Jerusalem, by the advice of Deme
trius Phalereus, his librarian, 50 talents of
gold and 70 talents of silver, &c. ; the Jew
ish slaves whom he set free, paying their
ransom himself ; the letter of the king ; the
answer of the high-priest ; the choosing of
six interpreters from each of the twelve
tribes, and their names ; the copy of the
Law, in letters of gold ; the feast prepared
for the seventy-two which continued for
seven day3 ; the questions proDosed to each
of the interpreters in turn, with the answers
of each ; their lodging by the sea-shore ; and
the accomplishment of their work in seventy-

SEPTUAGINT

507

SERGIUS PAULUS

two days, by conference and comparison.
This is the story, whieh probably gave to the
Version the title of the Septuagint, and which
has been repeated in various forms by the
Christian writers. But it is now generally
admitted that the letter is spurious, and is
probably the fabrication of an Alexandrian
Jew shortly before the Christian era. Still
there can he no doubt that there was a basis
of fact for the fiction : on three points of
the story there is no material difference of
opinion, and they are confirmed by the study
of the Version itself: — 1. The Version was
made at Alexandria. 2. It was begun in
the time of the earlier Ptolemies, about 280
b.c 3. Tbe Law (i.e. the Pentateuch) alone
was translated at first.— The Septuagint ver
sion was highly esteemed by the Hellenistic
Jews before the coming of Christ. The
manner in which it is quoted by the writers
of the New Testament proves that it had been
long in general use. Wherever, by the con
quests of Alexander, or by colonization, the
Greek language prevailed ; wherever Jews
were settled, and the attention of the neigh
bouring Gentiles was drawn to their won
drous history and law, there was found the
Septuagint, which thus became, by Divine
Providence, the means of spreading widely
the knowledge of the One True God, and His
promises of a Saviour to come, throughout
the nations. To the wide dispersion of this
version we may ascribe in great measure tbat
general persuasion which prevailed over the
¦whole East of the near approach of the
Redeemer, and led the Magi to recognise
the star which proclaimed the birth of the
King of the Jews. — Not less wide was the
influence of the Septuagint in the spread of
the Gospel. Many of those Jews who were
assembled at Jerusalem on the day of Pente
cost, from Asia Minor, from Africa, from
Crete and Rome, used the Greek language ;
the testimonies to Christ from the Law and
the Prophets came to them in the words of
the Septuagint ; St. Stephen probably quoted
from it in his address to the Jews ; the
Ethiopian eunuch was reading the Septuagint
version of Isaiah in his chariot ; they who
were scattered abroad went forth into many-
lands speaking of Christ in Greek, and point
ing to the things written of Him in the
Greek version of Moses and the Prophets ;
from Antioch and Alexandria in the East, to
Rome and Mas'silia in the West, the voice of
the Gospel sounded forth in Greek ; Clemens
of Rome, Ignatius at Antioch, Justin Martyr
|n Palestine, Irenaeus at Lyons, and many
wore, taught and wrote in the words of the
Greek Scriptures ; and a still wider range
was given to them by the Latin version (or

versions) made from the LXX. for the use of
the Latin Churches in Italy and Africa ; and
in later times by the numerous other versions
into the tongues of Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia,
Arabia, and Georgia. For a long period the
Septuagint was the Old Testament of the far
larger part of the Christian Church.
SEPULCHRE. [Burial.]
SERAI' AH. 1. The king's scribe or secre
tary in the reign of David (2 Sam. viii. 17).
— 3. The high-priest in the reign of Zedekiah
(2 K. xxv. 18 ; 1 Chr. vi. 14 ; Jer. Iii. 21).
¦ — 3. The son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite
(2 K. xv. 23; Jer. xl. 8). — 4. The son of
Neriah, and brother of Baruch (Jer. li. 59,
61). SER'APHIM, an order of celestial beings,
whom Isaiah beheld in vision standing above
Jehovah as fie sat upon His throne (Is. vi. 2).
They are described as having each of them
three pairs of wings, with one of which they
covered their faces (a token of humility) ;
with the second they covered their feet (a
token of respect) ; while with the third they
flew. They seem to have borne a general
resemblance to the human figure, for they are
represented as having a face, a voice, feet,
and hands (ver. 6). Their occupation was
twofold — to celebrate the praises of Jehovah's
holiness and power (ver. 3), and to act as
the medium of communication between
heaven and earth (ver. 6"). From their
antiphonal chant ("one cried unto another ")
we may conceive them to have been ranged
in opposite rows on each side of the throne.
The idea of a winged human figure was not
peculiar to the Hebrews : among the sculp
tures found at Mourghaub in Persia, we meet
with a representation of a man with two
pairs of wings, springing from the shoulders,
and extending, the one pair upwards, the
other downwards, so as to admit of covering
the head and the feet. The meaning of the
word "seraph" is doubtful; it is perhaps
connected with an Arabic term signifying
high or exalted ; and this may be regarded
as the generally received etymology.
SER'GIUS PAULUS was the proconsul of
Cyprus when the Apostle Paul visited that
island with Barnabas on his first missionary
tour (Acts xiii. 7 sq.). He is described as
an intelligent man, truth-seeking, eager for
information from all sources within his reach.
It was this trait of his character which led
him in the first instance to admit to his
society Elymas the Magian, and afterwards
to seek out the missionary strangers and
learn from them the nature of the Christian
doctrine. But Sergius was not effectually or
long deceived by the arts of the impostor ;
for on becoming acquainted with the Apostle

SERPENT

nos

SERPENT

he examined at once the claims of the Gos
pel, and yielded his mind to the evidence of
its truth.
SERPENT. 1. The Hebrew word Ndcluhh
is the generic name of any serpent. The
following are the principal Biblical allusions
to this animal :— Its subtilty i« mentioned
in Gen. iii. 1 ; its wisdom is alluded to by
our Lord in Matt, x, 16 ; the poisonous pro
perties of some species are often mentioned
(see Ps. lviii. 4 ; Prov. xxiii. 32) ; the sharp
tongue of the serpent, which it would appear
some of the ancient Hebrews believed to be
the instrument of poison, is mentioned in Ps.
cxl. 3, Job xx. 16, "the viper's tongue shall
slay him ;" although in other places, as in
Prov. xxiii. 32, Eccl. x. 8, 11, Num. xxi. 9,
the venom is correctly ascribed to the bite,
while in Job xx. 14 the gall is said to be the
poison ; the habit serpents have of lying con
cealed in hedges is alluded to in Eccl. x. 8,
and in holes of walls, in Am. v, 19 ; their
dwelling in dry sandy places, in Deut. viii.
15 ; their wonderful mode of progression did
not escape the observation of the author of
Prov. xxx., who expressly mentions it as " one
of the three things which were t^o wonder
ful for him" (19) ; the oviparous nature of
most of the order is alluded to in Is. lix. 5,
where the A. V., however, has the unfortunate
rendering of " cockatrice." The art of tam
ing and charming serpents is of great anti
quity, and is alluded to in Ps. lviii. 5 ; Eccl.
x. 11 ; Jer. viii. 17, and doubtless intimated
by St. James (iii. 7), who particularises ser
pents among all other animals that "have
been tamed by man." Serpents used for this

rpcr.t-cliarming

purpose, both in Africa and in India, are the
hooded snakes (Nnia tripudians, and Naia
haje) and the horned (.'erast/s. That the
charmers frequently and perhaps generally,
take the precaution of extracting the poison*
fangs before the snakes are subjected to their
skill, there i> much probability for believing;
but that this operation is not always attended
to is clear from the testimony of Bruce and
numerous other writers. Some have sup
posed that the practice of taking out or
breaking off the poison-fangs is alluded to in
Ps. lviii. 6, " Break thoir teeth, O God, in
their mouth." The serpent-charmer's usual
instrument is a flute. It was under the form
of a serpent that the devil seduced Eve :
hence in Scripture Satan is called " the old
serpent " (Rev. xii. 9, and comp. 2 Cor. xi. 3).
— It has been supposed by many commen
tators that the serpent, prior to the Fall,
moved along in an erect attitude. It is
quite clear that an erect mode of progres
sion is ut'erly incompatible with the struc
ture of a serpent : consequently, had the
snakes before the Fall moved in an erect
attitude, they must have been formed on a
different plan altogether. The typical form
of the serpent and its mode of progression
were in all probability the same before the
Fall as after it : but subsequent to the Fall
its form and progression were to be regarded
with hatred and disgust by all mankind, and
thus the animal was cursed " above all
cattle," and a mark of condemnation was for
ever stamped upon it. Serpents are said in
Scripture to "eat dust" (see Gen. iii. 14;
Is. lxv. 25; Mic. vii. 17); these animals,
which for the most part take their food on tho
ground, do consequently swallow with it large
portions of sand and dust. — Throughout the
East the serpent was used as an emblem of the
evil principle, of the spirit of disobedience
and contumacy. — Much has been written on
the question of the " fiery serpents " of Num.
xxi. 6, 8, with which it is usual erroneously
to identify the "fiery flying serpent" of Is.
xxx. 6, and xiv. 29. The word "fiery"
probably signifies " burning," in allusion to
the sensation produced by the bite. The
Cerastes, or the Naia haje, or any other
venomous species frequenting Arabia, may
denote the "serpent of the burning bite"
which destroyed the children of Israel. The
"fiery flying aerpent " of Isaiah (I. c), can
have no existence in nature. Monstrous
forms of snakes with birds' wings occur on
the Egyptian sculptures.— 2. The Hebrew
word Eph' eh occurs in Job xx. 16 ; Is. xxx.
6, and lix. 5 (A. V. "viper "). There is no
Scriptural allusion by means of which it is
possible to determine the species of serpent

SERUG

509

SHALISHA, THE LAND OF

indicated by the Hebrew term, which is
derived from a root which signifies "to hiss."
The snake that fastened on St. Paul's hand
when he was at Melita (Acts xxviii. 3) was
probably the common viper of this country
( Pelias berus) , or else th e Tip era aspis.
[See also Adder ; Asp.]— When God punished
the murmurs of the Israelites in the wilder
ness by sending among them serpents, whose
fiery bite was fatal, Moses, upon their re
pentance, was commanded to make a serpent
of brass, whose polished surface shone like
fire, and to set it up on the banner-pole in
the midst of the people ; and whoever was
bitten by a serpent had but to look up at it
and live (Num. xxi. 4-9). But a far deeper
interest belongs to this incident of the
pilgrimage of Israel. " As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life" (John iii. 14, 15). Preserved
as a relic, whether on the spot of its first
erection or elsewhere, the Brazen Serpent,
called by the name of Nehushtan, became an
object of idolatrous veneration, probably in
Connection with the Ophite worship that was
adopted in the reign of Ahaz, with all the
other idolatries of the neighbouring nations ;
and the zeal of Hezekiah destroyed it with
the other idols of his father (2 K. xviii. 4).
[Nehushtan.] But the passion for relics is
not extinguished by the destruction of its
objects. In a.d. 971, a Milanese envoy to
Constantinople, being asked to select a
present from the imperial treasures, chose a
brazen serpent which the Greeks assured
him was made of the same metal that
Hezekiah had broken up ; and this serpent,
probably the idol of some Ophite sect, is still
shown in the church of St. Ambrose at Milan
as that which was lifted up by Moses in the
wilderness. SERU'G, son of Reu, and great-grand
father of Abraham. His age is given in the
Hebrew Bible as 230 years (Gen. xi. 20-23) ;
30 years before he begat Nahor, and 200
years afterwards.
SERVANT. [Slave.]
SETH (Gen. iv. 25, v. 3 ; 1 Chr. i. 1), the
third son of Adam, and father of Enos. The
signification of his name is " appointed " or
"put" in the place of the. murdered Abel.
Adam handed down to Seth and his descend
ants the promise of mercy, faith in which
became the distinction of God's children.
This seems to be the meaning of the state
ment that, in the days and in the family of
Seth, "men began to call upon the name of
Jehovah" (Gen. iv. 26).
SHA'ALBIM or SHAAL'ABBIN, a town in

the allotment of Dan, named between Ir-She-
mesh and Ajalon (Judg. i. 35 ; Josh. xix.
42 ; 1 K. iv. 9). By Eusebius and Jerome
it is mentioned in the Onomasticon as a large
village in the district of Sebaste (i.e. Samaria),
and as then called Selaba.
SHAARA'IM, a city in the territory al
lotted to Judah (Josh. xv. 36 ; in A. V. incor
rectly Sharaim ; 1 Sam. xvii. 52). Shaaraim,
one of the towns of Simeon (1 Chr. iv. 31),
must be a different place.
SHADDA'I, an ancient name of God, ren
dered " Almighty " everywhere in the A. V.
In all passages of Genesis, except one (xlix.
25), in Ex. vi. 3, and in Ez. x. 5, it is found
in connexion with el, "God," El Sbaddai
being there rendered " God Almighty," or
" the Almighty God." By the name or in
the character of El-Shaddai, God was known
to the patriarchs (Gen. xvii. 1, xxviii. 3,
xliii. 14, xlviii. 3, xlix. 25), before the name
Jehovah, in its full significance, was revealed
(Ex. vi. 3). [God.]
SHAD'RACH, the Hebrew, or rather Chal
dee name of Hananiah, the chief of the " three
children," whose song, as given in the apo
cryphal Daniel, forms part of the service of
the Church of England, under the name of
"Benedicite, omnia opera." The history of
Shadrach, or Hananiah, as told in Dan. i.-iii.,
is well known. After their deliverance from
the furnace, we hear no more of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego in the O. T. ; nei
ther are they spoken of in the N. T., except
in the pointed allusion to them in the Epistle
to the Hebrews, as having " through faith
quenched the violence of fire " (Heb. xi. 33,
34). But there are i-epeated allusions to
them in the later apocryphal books, and the
martyrs of the Maccabaean ( period seem to
have been much encouraged by their example.
See 1 Mace. ii. 59, 60; 3 Mace. vi. 6 ; 4
Mace xiii. 9, xvi. 3, 21, xviii. 12.
SHA'LEM, Gen. xxxiii. 18. It seems
more than probable that this word should
not here he taken as a proper name, but that
the sentence should be rendered, " Jacob came
safe to the city of Shechem." It is certainly
remarkable that there should be a modern
village bearing the name of Salim, 3 miles
east of Ndblus (the ancient Shechem) ; but
tbis appears to be only a fortuitous coinci
dence. SHA'LIM, THE LAND OF, a district
through which Saul passed on his journey
in quest of his father's asses (1 Sam. ix. 4,
only). The spelling of the name in the ori
ginal, properly Sha'dlim, shows that it had
no connexion with Shalem, or with the
modern Salim, east of Ndblus.
SHAL'ISHA, THE LAND OF, one of the

SHALLECHETH, THE GATE

510

SHARON

districts traversed by Saul when in search of
the asses of Kish (1 Sam. ix. 4, only).
SHALLECH'ETH, THE GATE, one of the
gates of the "house of Jehovah" (I Chr.
xxvi. 16). It was the gate "to the cause
way of the ascent." As the causeway is
actually in existence, the gate Shallecheth
can hardly fail to be identical with the Bab
Silsileh, or Shislch, which enters the west
wall of the Haram about 600 feet from the
south-west corner of the Haram wall.
SHAL'LUM. 1. The fifteenth king of
Israel, son of Jabesh, conspired against Ze-
ctyuiah, son of Jeroboam II. , killed him, and
brought the dynasty of Jehu to a close, b.c
7 70. Shallum, after reigning in Samaria for
a month only, was in his turn dethroned and
killed by Menahem (2 K. xv. 10-14).— 2.
The husband of Huldah the prophetess (2 K.
xxii. 14; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 22) in the reign of
Josiah. — 3. The third son of Josiah king of
Judah, known in the Books of Kings and
Chronicles as Jehoahaz (1 Chr. iii. 15 ; Jer.
xxii. 11). [Jehowiaz.]
SHALMANE'SER was the Assyrian king
who reigned immediately before Sargon, and
probably immediately after Tiglath-pileser.
He can scarcely have ascended the throne
earlier than b.c 730, and may possibly not
have done so till a few years later. It must
have been soon after his accession that he
led the forces of Assyria into Palestine, where
Hoshea, the last king of Israel, had revolted
against bis authority (2 K. xvii. 3). No
sooner was he come than Hoshea submitted,
acknowledged himself a "servant" of the
Great King, and consented to pay him a
fixed tribute annually. He soon after con
cluded an alliance with the king of Egypt,
and withheld his tribute in consequence. In
b.c 723 Shalmaneser invaded Palestine for
tbe second time, and, as Hoshea refused to
submit, laid siege to Samaria. The siege
lasted to the third year (b.c 721), when the
Assyrian arms prevailed (2 K. xvii, 4-6,
xviii. 9-11). It is uncertain whether Shal
maneser conducted the siege to its close, or
whether he did not lose his crown to Sargon
before the city was taken.
SHAM'GAR, son of Anath, judge of Israel
after Ehud, and before Barak, though pos
sibly contemporary with the latter, since he
seems to be spoken of in Judg. v. 6 as a con
temporary of Jael. Shamgar with no arms
in his hand but an ox-goad (Judg. iii. 31;
comp. 1 Sam. xiii. 21), made a desperate
assault upon the Philistines, and slew 600 of
them. But it was reserved for Deborah and
Barak to complete the deliverance.
SHA'MIR. l. A town in the mountain
district of Judah (Josh. xv. 4 8, only). It

probably lay some eight or ten miles south of
Hebron, but it has not been yet discovered,
— S. A place in Mount Ephraim, the resi
dence and burial-place of Tola the judge
(Judg. x. 1, 2). Perhaps Samur, half-way
between Samaria and Jenin.
SIIAM'MAH. 1. The son of Reuel the
son of Esau (Gen. xxxvi. 13, 17; 1 Chr,
i. 37). — 2. The third son of Jesse, and bro
ther of David (1 Sara. xvi. 9, xvii. 13). Called
also Shimka, SnrMEAU, and Suimmi.- 3. One
of the three greatest of David's mighty men
(2 Sam. xxiii. 11-17). — 4. The Harodite, one
of David's mighties (2 Sam. xxiii. 25), He
is called "Sh^mmoth the Harorite" in 1
Chr. xi. 27, and in 1 Chr. xxvii. 8 " Sham-
huth the Izrahite," Kennicott maintained
the true reading in both to be "Shamhoth
the Harodite." — 5. In the list of David's
mighty men in 2 Sam. xxiii. 32, 33, we find
"Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite ; " while
in the corresponding verse of 1 Chr. xi. 34,
it is " Jonathan, the son of Shage the Hara
rite." Combining the two, Kennicott pro
poses to read "Jonathan, the son of Shamha,
the Hararite."
SHAM'MOTH. [Shammah.]
SHA'PHAN, the scribe or secretary of king
Josiah. He was the son of Azaliah (2 K.
xxii. 3 ; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 8), father of Ahikam
(2 K. xxii. 12 ; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 20), Elasah
(Jer. xxix. 3), and Gemariah (Jer. xxxvi.
10, 11, 12), and grandfather of Gedaliah
(Jer. xxxix. 14, xl. 5, 9, 11, xli. 2, xliii. 6),
Michaiah (Jer. xxxvi, 11), and probably of
Jaazaniah (Ez. viii. 11). The history of
Shaphan brings out some points with regard
to the office of scribe which he held. He
appears on an equality with the governor of
the city and the Toyal recorder, with whom
he was sent by tbe king to Hilkiah to take
an account of the money which had been col
lected by the Levites for the repair of the
Temple, and to pay the workmen (2 K. xxii.
4; 2 Chr. xxxiv. 9; comp. 2 K. xii. 10).
It was on this occasion that Hilkiah commu
nicated his discovery of a copy of the Law,
I which he had probably found while making
preparations for the repair of the Temple.
SHA'PHER, MOUNT (Num. xxxiii. 23),
the name of a desert station where the Is
raelites encamped. No site has been sug
gested for it.
SHARA'IM. [Siiaaraim.]
SHA'RON, a district of the Holy Land
occasionally referred to in the Bible (1 Chr.
v. 16, xxvii. 29; Is. xxxiii. 9, xxxv. 2, lxv.
10 ; Cant. ii. 1 : Acts ix. 35, A. V. Sahon).
The name has on each occurrence, with one
exception only, the definite article (1 Chr.
* . 16). It would therefore appear that " the

SHAUL

511

SHEBA

Sharon" was some well-defined region fami
liar to the Israelites. It is that broad rich
tract of land which lies between the moun
tains of the central part of the Holy Land
and the Mediterranean — the northern con
tinuation of the Shefelah. A general sketch
of the district is given under the head of
Palestine (p. 403, b).— 2. The Sharon of
1 Chr. v. 16, to which allusion has already
been made, is distinguished from the western
plain by not having the article attached to
its name as the other invariably has. It is
also apparent from the passage itself that it
was some district on the east of Jordan in the
neighbourhood of Gilead and Bashan. The
name has not been met with in that direc
tion. SHA'UL. 1. The son cf Simeon by a
Canaanitish woman (Gen. xlvi. 10 ; Ex. vi.
15 ; Num. xxvi. 13 ; 1 Chr. iv. 24), and
founder of the family of the Shaulites. — 2.
One of the kings of Edom (1 Chr. i. 48, 49).
In the A. V. of Gen. xxxvi. 37 he is less
accurately called Saul.
SHA'VEH, THE VALLEY OF, described
as "the Valley of the King " (Gen. xiv. 17).
The "Valley of the King" is mentioned
again in 2 Sam. xviii. 18, as the site of a
piilar set up by Absalom ; but neither pas
sage conveys any indication of its position ;
and it is by no means certain that the two
passages refer to the same spot.
SHA'VEH KIRIATHA'IM, mentioned
(Gen. x;v. 5) as the residence of the Emim
at the time of Chedorlaomer's incursion,
Kiriathaim is named in the later history,
though it has not been identified ; and
Shaveh Kiriathaim was probably the valley
in or by which the town lay.
SHAWM. In the Prayer-book version of
Ps. xcviii. 7, "with trumpets also and
ahawjns " is the rendering of what stands in
the A. V. " with trumpets and sound of
cornet." The Hebrew word translated
" cornet " is treated under that head. The
" shawm " was a musical instrument re
sembling the clarionet.
SHEARING-HOUSE, THE, a place on
the road between Jezreel and Samaria, at
which Jehu, on his way to the latter, en
countered forty-two members of the royal
family of Judah, whom he slaughtered at
the well or pit attached to the place (2 K.
x. 12, 14). Eusebius mentions it a3 a
village of Samaria "in the great plain
[of Esdraelon] 15 miles from Legeon."
SHE'AR-JA'SHUB (lit. "a remnant shall
return "), the son of Isaiah the prophet (Is.
vii. 3). The name, like that of Maher-
shalal-hash-haz, had a mystical significance
(comp. Is. A. 20-22).

SHE'BA, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite
from the mountains of Ephraim (2 Sam. xx.
1-22), the last chief of the Absalom insurrec
tion. He is described as a " man of Belial."
But he must have been a person of some eon-
sequence, from the immense effect produced
by his appearance. It was in fact all but an
anticipation of the revolt of Jeroboam. The
occasion seized by Sheba v^as the emulation,
as if from loyalty, between the northern and
southern tribes on David's return (2 Sam.
xx. 1, 2). The king might well say, " Sheba
the son of Bichri shall do us more harm than
did Absalom." Sheba traversed the whole of
Palestine, apparently rousing the population,
Joab following in full pursuit. It seems to
have been his intention to establish himself
in the fortress of Abel-Beth-maachab, famous
for the prudence of its inhabitants (2 Sam.
xx. 18). That prudence was put to the test
on the present occasion. Joab's terms were
— the head of the insurgent chief. A woman
of the place undertook the mission to her
city, and proposed the execution to her
fellow-citizens. The head of Sheba was
thrown over the wall, and the insurrection
ended. SHE'BA. 1. A son of Raamah, son of
Cush (Gen. x. 7 ; 1 Chr. i. 9).— 2. A son
of Joktan (Gen. x. 28 ; 1 Chr. i. 22).— 3.
A son of Jokshan, son of Keturah (Gen. xxv.
3; 1 Chr. i. 32). We shall consider, first,
the history of the Joktanite Sheba ; and,
secondly, the Cushite Sheba and the Ketu-
rahite Sheba together. — I. The Joktanitcs
were among the early colonists of southern
Arabia, and the kingdom which they there
founded was, for many centuries, called the
kingdom of Sheba, after one of the sons of
Joktan. The inhabitants are the " Sabaei "
of the Greeks and Romans. In tbe Bible,
the Joktanite Sheba, mentioned genealogi
cally in Gen. x. 28, recurs, as a kingdom, in
the account of the visit of the queen of Sheba
to king Solomon (1 K. x. 1). The other
passages in the Bible which seem to refer to
the Joktanite Sheba occur in Is. Ix. 6 ; and
again in Jer. vi. 20. In Ps. lxxii. 10, the
Joktanite Sheba is undoubtedly meant. The
kingdom of Sheba embraced the greater part
of the Yemen, or Arabia Felix. Its chief
cities, and probably successive capitals, were
Seba, San'5. (Uzal), and Zafdr (Sephar).
Seba was probably the name of the city, and
generally of the country and nation. — II.
Sheba, son of Raamah son of Cush, settled
somewhere on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
It was this Sheba that carried on the great
Indian traffic with Palestine, in conjunction
with, as we hold, the other Sheba, son of
Jokshan son of Keturah, who like Dedan,

SHEBA

512

SHECHEM

appears to have formed, with the Cushite of
the same name, one tribe,
SHE'BA, one of the towns of the allotment
of Simeon (Josh. xix. 2), probably the same
as Shema (xv. 26).
SHE'BAH, the famous well which gave its
name to the city of Beersheba (Gen. xxvi.
33). [Bfkrsheua.]
SHEBA'M, onejaf the towns in the pastoral
district on the east of Jordan — demanded by
and finally ceded to the tribes of Reuben and
Gad (Num. xxiii. 3). It is probably the
same which appears in the altered forms of
Shibmah (Num. xxxii. 38), and Sibmah
(Josh. xiii. 19 ; Is. xvi. 8, 9 ; Jer. xlviii.
32). SIIEB'ARIM, a place named in Josh. vii. 5,
only, as one of the points in the flight from
Ai." SIIEB'NA, a person of high position in
Hezekiah's court, holding at one time the
office of prefect of the palace (Is. xxii. 15),
but subsequently the subordinate office of
secretary (Is. xxxvi. 3 ; 2 K. xix. 2).
SHECH'EM (back or shoulder), an import
ant city in Central Palestine. The etymology
of the Hebrew word indicates that the place
was situated on some mountain or hill-side ;
and that presumption agrees with Josh. xx.
7, which places it in Mount Ephraim (comp.
1 K. xii. 25), and with Judg. ix. 9, which
represents it as under the summit of Gerizim,
which belonged to the Ephraim range. Its
present name, Ndbubis, is a corruption of
Neapolis ; which succeeded the more ancient
Shechem, and received its new name from
Vespasian. On coins still extant it is called
Flavia Neapolis. The situation of the town
is one of surpassing beauty. It lies in a
sheltered valley, protected by Gerizim on the
south, and Ebal on the north. The feet of
these mountains, where they rise from the
town, are not more than five hundred yards
apart. The bottom of the valley is about
1800 feet above the level of the sea, and the
top of Gerizim 800 feet higher still. The
site of the present city, which was also that
of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the
water-summit ; and streams issuing from the
numerous springs there, flow down the oppo
site slopes of the valley, spreading verdure
and fertility in every direction. Travellers
vie with each other in the language which
they employ to describe the scene that bursts
here so suddenly upon them on arriving in
spring or early summer at this paradise of'
the Holy Land. " The whole valley," says
Dr. Robinson, " was filled with gardens of
vegetables, and orchards of all kinds of fruits,
watered by fountains, which burst forth in
various parts and flow westwards in refresh

ing streams. It came upon us suddenly like
a scene of fairy enchantment. We saw no
thing to compare with it in all Palestine.
Here, beneath the shadow of an immense
mulberry-tree, by the side of a purling rill,
we pitched our tent for the remainder of the
day and the night  We rose early,
awakened by the songs of nightingales and
other birds, of which the gardens around us
were full." — The allusions to Shechem in the
Bible are numerous, and show how important
the place was in Jewish history, Abraham,
on his first migration to the Land of Promise,
pitched his tent and built an altar under the
Oak (or Terebinth) of Moreh at Shechem,
" The Canaanite was then in the land ;" and
it is evident that the region, if not the city,
was already in possession of the aboriginal
race (see Gen. xii. 6). At the time of Jacob's
arrival here, after his sojourn in Mesopotamia
(Gen. xxxiii. 18, xxxiv.), Shechem was a
Hivite city, of which Hamor, the father of
Shechem, was the headman. It was at this
time that the patriarch purchased from that
chieftain " the parcel of the field," which he
subsequently bequeathed, as a special patri
mony, to his son Joseph (Gen. xliii. 22 ;
Josh. xxiv. 32 ; John iv. 5). The field lay
undoubtedly on the rich plain of the Mukhna,
and its value was the greater on account of
the well which Jacob had dug there, so as
not to be dependent on his neighbours for a
supply of water. The defilement of Dinah,
Jacob's daughter, and the capture of Shechem
and massacre of all the male inhabitants by
Simeon and Levi, are events that belong to
this period (Gen. xxxiv. 1 sq.}. The oak
under which Abraham had worshipped, sur
vived to Jacob's time (Gen. xxxv. 1-4). The
" oak of the monument " (Judg. ix. 6), where
the Shechemites made Abimelech king,
marked, perhaps, the veneration with which
the Hebrews looked back to these earliest
footsteps of the patriarchs in the Holy Land.
In the distribution of the land after its con
quest by the Hebrews, Shechem fell to the
lot of Ephraim (Josh. xx. 7), but was assigned
to the Levites, and became a city of refuge
(Josh. xxi. 20, 21). It acquired new im
portance as the scene of the renewed promul
gation of the Law, when its blessings were
heard from Gerizim and its curses from Ebal,
and the people bowed their heads and acknow
ledged Jehovah as their king and ruler (Deut.
xxvii. 11 ; and Josh. ix. 33-35). It was
here Joshua assembled the people, shortly
before his death, and delivered to them his
last counsels (Josh. xxiv. 1, 25). After the
death of Gideon, Abimelech, his bastard son,
induced the Shechemites to revolt from the
Hebrew commonwealth and elect him as king

SHECHEM

513

SHECHINAH

(Judg. ix.). In revenge for his expulsion,
after a reign of three years, Abimelech de
stroyed the city, and, as an emblem of the
fate to which he would consign it, sowed the
ground with salt (Judg. ix. 34-45). It was
soon restored, however, for we are told in
1 K. xii. that all Israel assembled at Shechem,
and Rehoboam, Solomon's successor, went
thither to be inaugurated as king. Here, at
this same place, the ten tribes renounced the
house of David, and transferred their allegi
ance to Jeroboam (1 K. xii. 16), under whom
Shechem became for a time the capital of his
kingdom. From the time of the origin of
the Samaritans, the history of Shechem
blends itself with that of this people and of
their sacred mount, Gerizim. [Samaria ;
Samaritan Pent.] — Shechem reappears in
the New Testament. It is the Svchar of
John iv. 5, near which the Saviour conversed
with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.
In Acts vii. 16, Stephen reminds his hearers
that certain of the patriarchs (meaning Joseph,
as we see in Josh. xxiv. 32, and following,
perhaps, some tradition as to Jacob's other
sons) were buried at Stchem. — The popula
tion of Ndbulus consists of about 5000,
among whom are 500 Greek Christians, 150
Samaritans, and a few Jews. The enmity
between the Samaritans and Jews is as inve
terate still, as it was in the days of Christ.
The Mohammedans of course, make up the
bulk of the population. The Well of Jacob
and the Tomb of Joseph are still shown in
the neighbourhood of the town. The Well
of Jacob lies about a mile and a half east of
the city, close to the lower road, and just
beyond the wretched hamlet of Baldta. The
Christians sometimes call it Bir es-Samariyeli
— " the well of the Samaritan woman." The
well is deep — 75 ft- when last measured —
and there was probably a considerable ac
cumulation of rubbish at the bottom. Seme-
times it contains a few feet of water, but at
others it is quite dry. It is entirely exca
vated in the solid rock, perfectly round, 9 ft.
in diameter, with the sides hewn smooth and
regular. Of all the special localities of our
Lord's life, this is almost the only one ab
solutely undisputed. — The Tomb of Joseph
lies about a quarter of a mile north of tbe
well, exactly in the centre of the opening of
the valley between Gerizim and,EbaL It is
a small square enclosure of high whitewashed
walls, surrounding a tomb of th& ordinary
kind, but with the peculiarity that it is
placed diagonally to the walls, instead of
parallel, as usual. A rough pillar used as an
altar, and black with the traces of fire, is at
the head, and another at the foot of the tomb.
In the walls are two slabs with Hebrew in-
Sm. D. B.

scriptions, and the interior is almost covered
with the names of pilgrims in Hebrew, Arabic,
and Samaritan. Beyond this there is nothing
to remark in the structure itself. The local
tradition of the Tomb, like that of the well,
is as old as the beginning of the 4th century.
SHECHl'NAH. This term is not found in
the Bible. It was used by the later Jews, and
borrowed by Christians from them, to express
the visible majesty of the Divine Presence,
especially when resting, or dwelling, between
the Cherubim on the mercy-seat in the Taber
nacle, and in the temple of Solomon ; hut
not in Zerubbabel's temple, for it was one of
the five particulars which the Jews reckon
to have been wanting in the second temple.
The use of the term is first found in the
Targums, where it forms a frequent peri
phrasis for God, considered as dwelling
amongst the children of Israel, and is thus
used, especially by Onkelos, to avoid ascrib
ing corporeity to God Himself. In Ex. xxv.
8, where the Hebrew has " Let them make
me a sanctuary that I may dwell among
them," Onkelos has, "I will make my She-
cbinah to dwell among them." In xxix. 45,
46, for the Hebrew " I will dwell among the
children of Israel," Onkelos has, "I will make
my Shechinah to dwell," &c. As regards the
visible manifestation of the Divine Presence
dwelling amongst the Israelites, to which the
term Shechinah has attached itself, the idea
which the different accounts in Scripture con
vey is that of a most brilliant and glorious
light, enveloped in a cloud, and usually con
cealed by the cloud, so that the cloud itself was
foi- the most part alone visible ; but on particu
lar occasions the glory appeared. The allusions
in the N. T. to the Shechinah are not unfre-
queut. Thus in the account of the Nativity,
the words, " Lo, the angel of the Lord came
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them " (Luke ii. 9), followed by
the apparition of " the multitude of the Hea
venly host," recall the appearance of the
Divine glory on Sinai, when " He shined
forth from Paran, and came with ten thou
sands of saints" (Deut. xxxiii. 2, comp. Ps.
lxviii. 17 ; Acts vii. 53 ; Heb. ii. 2 ; Ezek.
xliii. 2). The " God of glory " (Acts vii. 2,
55), "the cherubims of glory " (Heb. ix. 5),
"the glory" (Rom. ix. 4), and other like
passages, are distinct references to the mani
festations of the glory in the O. T. When
we read in John i. 14, that " the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we
beheld his glory;" or in 2 Cor. xii. 9, " that
the power of Christ may rest upon me ;" or
in Rev. xxi. 3, " Behold the tabernacle of God
is with men, and He will dwell with them "
we have not only references to the Shechinah,
2 L

SHEEP

514

SHELEPH

but are distinctly taught to connect it with
the incarnation and future coming of Mes
siah, as type with antitype.
SHEEP. Sheep were an important part
of the possessions of the ancient Hebrews
and of Eastern nations generally. The first
mention of sheep occurs in Gen. iv. 2. They
were used in the sacrificial offerings, both
the adult animal (Ex. xx. 24 ; IK. viii. 63 ;
2 Chr. xxix. 33) and the lamb, i.e. "a male
from one to three years old," but young
lambs of the first year were more generally
used in the offerings (see Ex. xxix. 38 ; Lev.
ix. 3, xii. fi ; Num. xxviii. 9, &c). Sheep
and lambs formed an important article of
food (1 Sam. x^tv. 18 ; 1 K. i. 19, iv. 23 ;
Ps. xliv. 11, &c). The wool was used as
clothing (Lev. xiii. 47 ; Deut. xxii. 11 ; Prov.
xxxi. 13; Job xxxi. 20, &c). "Rams'
skins dyed red " were used as a covering for
the tabernacle (Ex. xxv. 5). Sheep and
lambs were sometimes paid as tribute (2 K.
iii. 4). It is very striking to notice the
immense numbers of sheep that were reared
in Palestine in Biblical times. Sheep-shear
ing is alluded to Gen. xxxi. 19, xxxviii. 13 ;
Deut. xv. 19 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 4 ; Is. liii. 7, &c.
Sheep-dogs were employed in Biblical times,
as is evident from Job xxx. 1, " the dogs of
my flock." Shepherds in Palestine and the
East generally go before their flocks, which
they induce to follow by calling to them
(comp. John x. 4 ; Ps. lxxvii. 20, lxxx. 1),
though they also drove them (Gen. xxxiii.
13). The following quotation from Hartley's
Researches in Greece and the Levant, p. 321,
is strikingly illustrative of the allusions in
John x. 1-1G : "Having had my attention
directed last night to the words in John x.
3, I asked my man if it was usual in Greece
to give names to the sheep. He informed
me that it was, and that the sheep obeyed
the shepherd when he called them by their
names. This morning I had an opportunity
of verifying the truth of this remark. Pass
ing by a flock of sheep, I asked the shepherd
the same question which I had put to the
servant, and he gave me the same answer. I
then bade him caU one of his sheep. He
did so, and it instantly left its pasturage and
its companions and ran up to the hands of
the shepherd with signs of pleasure and
with a prompt obedience which I had never
before observed in any other animal. It is
also true in this country that ' a stranger
will they not follow, but will flee from him.*
The shepherd told me that many of his sheep
were still wild, that they had not yet learned
their names, hut that by teaching them they
would all learn them." The common sheep
of Syria and Palestine are the broad-tailed.

— As the sheep is an emblem of meekness,
patience, and submission, it is expressly
mentioned as typifying these qualities in the
person of our Blessed Lord (Is. liii. 7 ; Acts
viii. 32, &c). The relation that exists be
tween Christ, " the chief Shepherd," and Hie
members is beautifully compared to that
which in the East is so strikingly exhibited
by the shepherds to their flocks. [Shep
herd.]

Brond-tfiilcd sheep.
SHEEPGATE, THE, one of the gates of
Jerusalem as rebuilt by Nehemiah (Neh. iii.
1, 32, xii. 39). It stood between the tower
of Meah and the chamber of the corner (iii.
32, 1) or gate of the guard-house (xii. 39,
A. V. "prison-gate"). The latter seems to
have been at the angle formed by the junc
tion of the wall of the city of David with
that of the city of Jerusalem proper, hav
ing the sheep-gate on the north of it The
position of the sheep-gate may therefore
have been on or near that of the Bab el-
Kattdnin. SHEEP-MARK^ET, THE (John v. 2). The
word "market" is an interpolation of our
translators. We ought probably to supply
the word " gate1' (not "market") meaning
the gate mentioned in the preceding article.
SHEKEL. [Money.]
SHE'LAH, the youngest son of Judah by
the daughter of Shuah (Gen. xxxviii. 5, 11,
14, 26, xlvi. 12 ; Num. xxvi. 20 ; 1 Chr. ii.
3, iv. 21).
SHEL'EPH, the second in order of the

SHEM

515

SHEPHERD

sons of Joktan (Gen. x. 26; I Chr.i. 20).
The district of the Yemen named after him is
that of Sulaf.
SHEM, the eldest son of Noah, born (Gen.
v. 32) when his father had attained the age
of 500 years. He was 98 years old, married,
and childless, at the time of the Flood. After
it, he, with his father, brothers, sisters-in-
law, and wife, received the blessing of God
(ix. 1), and entered into the covenant. Two
years afterwards he became the father of
Arphaxad (xi. 10), and other children were
born to him subsequently. With the help of
his brother Japheth, he covered the nakedness
of their father which Canaan and Ham did
not care to hide. In the prophecy of Noah
which is connected with this incident [ix. 25-
27), the first blessing falls on Shem. He
died at the age of 600 years. The portion of
the earth occupied by the descendants of
Shem (x. 21-31) intersects the portions
of Japheth and Ham, and stretches in an
uninterrupted line from the Mediterranean
Sea to the Indian Ocean. Beginning at its
north-western extremity with Lydia, it in
cludes Syria (Aram), Chaldaea (Arphaxad),
parts of Assyria (Asshur), of Persia (Elam),
and of the Arabian Peninsula (Joktan). Mo
dern scholars have given the name of Shemitic
or Semitic to the languages spoken by his real
or supposed descendants. [Hebrew.]
SHEM'A (Josh. xv. 26). [Sheba.]
SHEMAI'AH, a prophet in the reign of
Rehoboam. When the king had assembled
180,000 men of Benjamin and Judah to
reconquer the northern kingdom after its
revolt, Shemaiah was commissioned to charge
them to return to their homes, and not to
war against their brethren (1 K. xii. 22 ;
2 Chr. xi. 2). His second and last appear
ance upon the stage was upon the occasion of
the invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem
' by Shishak king of Egypt (2 Chr. xii. 5, 7).
He wrote a chronicle containing the events
of Rehoboam's reign (2 Chr. xii. 15).
SHEM'ER, the owner of the hill on which
the city of Samaria was built (1 K. xvi. 24).
[Samaria.] SHEMIDA'ITES, THE. The descendants
of Shemida the son of Gilead (Num. xxvi, 32).
They obtained their lot among the male
phildren of Manasseh.
SHEM'INITH. The title of Ps. vi. is :
" To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon
Sheminith," or " the eighth," as the margin
of the A. V. has it. A similar direction is
found in the title of Ps. xii. (comp. 1 Chr.
xv. 21). It seems most probable that She
minith denotes a certain air known as the
eighth, or a certain key in which the Psalm
was to he sung.

SHEN'IR. [Senir.]
SHEPHA'M, a place mentioned only in the
specification by Moses of the eastern bound
ary of the Promised Land (Num. xxxiv. 10,
11). The ancient interpreters render the
name by Apamea; but it seems uncertain
whether by this they intend the Greek city of
that name on the Orontes, 50 miles below
Antioch, or whether they use it as a synonym
of Banias or Dan.
SHEPHERD. In a nomadic state of so
ciety every man, from the sheikh down to the
slave, is more or less a shepherd. The pro.
genitors of the Jews in the patriarchal age
were nomads, and their history is rich in
scenes of pastoral life. The occupation of
tending the flocks was undertaken, not only
by the sons of wealthy chiefs (Gen. xxx.
29 IT., xxxvii. 12 ff.), but even by their
daughters (Gen. xxix. 6 ff . ; Ex. ii. 19).
The Egyptian captivity did much to implant
a love of settled abode, and consequently we
find the tribes which still retained a taste for
shepherd life selecting their own quarters
apart from their brethren in the Trans-
jordanic district (Num. xxxii. 1 ff.). Hence
forward in Palestine Proper the shepherd held
a subordinate position. The office of the
Eastern shepherd, as described in the Bible,
was attended with much hardship, and even
danger. He was exposed to the extremes of
heat and cold (Gen. xxxi. 40) ; his food fre
quently consisted of the precarious supplies
afforded by nature, such as the fruit of the
"sycamore" or Egyptian fig (Am. vii. 14),
the "husks" of the carob-tree (Lukexv. 16),
and perchance the locusts and wild honey
which supported the Baptist (Matt. iii. 4) ;
he had to encounter the attacks of wild
beasts, occasionally of the larger species,
such as lions, wolves, panthers, and hears
(1 Sam. xvii. 34; Is. xxxi. 4; Jer. v. 6;
Am. iii. 12) ; nor was he free from the risk
of robbers or predatory hordes (Gen. xxxi.
39). To meet these various foes the shep
herd's equipment consisted of the following
articles : — a mantle, made probably of sheep
skin with the fleece on, which he turned
inside out in cold weather, as implied in the
comparison in Jer. xliii. 12 (cf. Juv. xiv.
187); a scrip or wallet, containing a small
amount of food (1 Sam. xvii. 40) ; a sling,
which is still the favourite weapon of the
Bedouin shepherd (I Sam. xvii. 40) ; and,
lastly, a staff, which served the double pur
pose of a weapon against foes, and a crook for
the management of the flock (1 Sara. xvii.
40 ; Ps. xxiii. 4 ; Zech. xi. 7). If the shep
herd was at a distance from his home, he
was provided with a light tent (Cant. i. 8 ;
Jer. xxxv. 7), the removal of which was
I L 2

SHESHACH

516

SHEW-BREAD

easily effected (Is. xxxviii. 12). In certain
localities, moreover, towers were erected for
the double purpose of spying an enemy at a
distance, and protecting the flock : such
towers were erected by Uzziah and Jotham
(2 Chr. xxvi. 10, xxvii. 4), while their
existence in earlier times is testified by the
name Migdal-Eder (Gen. xxxv. 21, A. V.
"tower of Edar ;" Mic. iv. 8, A. V. "tower
of the flock "). The routine of the shepherd's
duties appears to have been as follows : — In
the morning he led forth his flock from the
fold (John x. 4), which he did by going
before them and calling to them, as is still
usual in the East ; arrived at the pasturage,
he watched tbe flock with the assistance of
dogs (Job xxx. 1), and, should any sheep
stray, he bad to search for it until he found
it (Ez. xxxiv. 12 ; Luke xv. 4) ; he supplied
them with water, either at a running stream
or at troughs attached to wells (Gen. xxix.
7, xxx. 38; Ex. ii. 16; Ps. xxiii. 2); at
evening he brought them back to the fold,
and reckoned them to see that none were
missing, by passing them "under the rod"
as they entered the door of the enclosure
(Lev. xxvii. 32; Ez. xx. 37), checking each
sheep as it passed, by a motion of the hand
(Jer. xxxiii. 13) ; and, finally, he watched
the entrance of the fold throughout the night,
acting as porter (John x. 3). The shepherd's
office thus required great watchfulness, par
ticularly by night (Luke ii. 8 ; cf. Nah. iii.
18). It also required tenderness towards
the young and feeble (Is. xl. 1 1), particulaily ¦
in driving them to and from the pasturage !
(Gen. xxxiii. 13). In large establishments
there were various grades of shepherds, the
highest being styled "rulers" (Gen. xlvii.
6), or "chief shepherds" (1 Pet. v. 4) : ina1
royal household the title of abbir, "mighty," j
was bestowed on the person who held the ¦
post (1 Sam. xxi. .7). [Sheep]. The hatred
of the Egyptians towards shepherds (Gen.
xlvi. 34) may have been mainly due to their
contempt for the sheep itself, which appears
to have been valued neither for food nor
generally for sacrifice, the only district where
they were offered being about the Natron
lakes. It may have been increased by the
memory of the Shepherd invasion.
SHE'SHACH is a term which occurs only
in Jeremiah (xxv. 26, li. 41), who evidently
uses it as a synonym either for Babylon or
for Babylonia.
SHESHA'I, one of the three sons of Anak
who dwelt in Hebron (Num. xiii. 22) and
were driven thence and slain by Caleb at the
head of the children of Judah (Josh. xv. 14;
Judg. i. 10).
SHESHBAZ'ZAR, the Chaldean or Persian

name given to Zerubbabel, in Ezr. i. 8, 11,
v. 14, 16; 1 Esdr. ii. 12, 15. [Zerub
babel.] ,SHETHA'R (Pers. "a star"), one of the
seven princes of Persia and Media, who had
access to the king's presence (Esth. i. 14) .
SHETIIAR-BOZNAI (Pers. " star of splen
dour "), a Persian officer of rank in the reign
of Darius Hystaspis (Ezr. v. 3, 6, vi. 6, 13).
SHE'VA, the scribe or royal secretary of
David (2 Sam. xx. 25). He is called else
where Seraiah (2 Sam. viii. 17), Siiisha
(1 K. iv. 3), and Shavsha (1 Chr. xvi. 18).
SHEW-BREAD (Ex. xxv. 30, xxxv. 13,
xxxix. 36, &c), literally " bread of the face"
or " faces." Within the Ark it was directed
that there should be a table of shittim wood,
i. e. acacia, two cubits in length, a cubit in
breadth, and a cubit and a half in height,
overlaid with pure gold, and " having a
golden crown to the border thereof round
about," i.e. a border or list, in order, as we
may suppose, to hinder that which was placed
on it from by any accident falling off. The
further description of this table will be found
in Ex. xxv. 23-30, and a representation of it
as it existed in the Herodian Temple forms an
interesting feature in the bas-reliefs within the
Arch of Titus. It exhibits one striking cor
respondence with the prescriptions in Exodus.

Tabic of Shew-Bread. (From tho Arch of Titoa).
We there find the following words : " and
thou shalt make unto it a border of a hand-
breadth round about." In the sculpture of
the Arch the hand of one of the slaves who is
carrying the Table, and the border, are of
about equal breadth. The table of the second
Temple was carried away by Antiochus Epi
phanes (1 Macc.-i. 22), and a new one made
at the refurnishing of the sanctuary under
Judas Maccabaeus (1 Mace. iv. 49). After
wards Ptolemy Philadelphus presented a
magnificent table. The Table stood in the
sanctuary together with the seven-branched
candlestick and the altar of incense. Every
Sabbath twelve newly-baked loaves were put

SHIBBOLETH

517

SHILOH

on it in two rows, six in eacb, and sprinkled
with incense, where they remained till the
following Sabbath. Then they were replaced
by twelve new ones, the incense was burned,
and they were eaten by the priests in the
Holy Place, out of which they might not be
removed. Besides these, the Shew-bread
Table was adorned with dishes, spoons, bowls,
&c, which were of pure gold (Ex. xxv. 29).
The number of loaves (twelve) plainly answers
to the twelve tribes (compare Rev. xxii. 2).
But, taking this for granted, we have still to
ascertain the meaning of the rite. Its name
"Bread of the Face" seems to indicate that
bread through which God is seen, that is,
with the participation of which the seeing of
God is bound up, or through the participation
of which man attains the sight of God.
Whence it fdllows that we have not to think
of bread merely as such, as the means of
nourishing the bodily life, but as spiritual
food, as a means of appropriating and re
taining that life which consists in seeing the
face of God.
SHIB'BOLETH (Judg. xii. 6) is the Hebrew
word which the Giieadites under Jephthah
made use of at the passage of the Jordan,
after a victory over the Ephraimites, to test
the pronunciation of the sound sh by those
who wished to cross over the river. The
Ephraimites, it would appear, in their dialect
substituted for sh the simple sound s ; and the
Giieadites, regarding every one who failed to
pronounce sh as an Ephraimite and therefore
an enemy, put him to 'death accordingly.
The word " Shibboleth," which has now a
second life in the English language in a new
signification, has two meanings in Hebrew :
1st, an ear of corn ; 2ndly, a stream or flood
(Ps. lxix. 2, 15) : and it was, perhaps, in the
latter sense that this particular word sug
gested itself to the Giieadites, the Jordan
being a rapid river. There is no mystery in
this particular word. Any word beginning
with the sound sh would have answered
equally well ae a test.
SHIB'MAH. [Shebam.]
SHICRON, one of the landmarks at the
western end of the north boundary of Judah
(Josh, xv. 11, only). It lay between Ekron
(Akir) and Jabneel (Tebna), the port at
which the boundary ran to the sea.
SHIELD. [Arms, p. 45. >
SHIGGAl'ON (Ps. vii. 1), a particular
kind of Psalm ; tbe specific character of which
ia now not known.
SHI'HON, a town of Issachar, named only
in Josh. xix. 19, Eusebius mentions it as
then existing " near Mount Tabor."
SHI'HOR OF EGYPT. [Sihor.]
SHI'HOR-LIB'NATH, named only in Josh.

xix. 26 as one of the landmarks of the
boundary of Asher. Nothing is known of it.
SHILO'AH, THE WATERS OF, a certain
soft-flowing stream mentioned by the prophet
Isaiah (viii. 6), better known under the later
name of Siloam— the only perennial spring
of Jerusalem.SHI'LOH. In the A. V. of the Bible,
Shiloh is once used as the name of a person,
in a very difficult passage, in Gen. xlix. 10,
" The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather
ing of the people be." Supposing that the
translation is correct, the meaning of the
word is Peaceable or Pacific, and the allusion
is either to Solomon, whose name has a
similar signification, or to the expected Mes
siah, who in Is. ix. 6 is expressly called the
Prince of Peace. [Messiah, p. 342, b.]
Other interpretations, however, of the passage
are given, one of which makes it refer to the
city of this name. (See the following article.)
It might be translated, " The sceptre shall
not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff
from between his feet, till he shall go to
Shiloh." In this case the allusion would be
to the primacy of Judah in war (Judg. i. 1, 2,
xx. 18; Num. ii. 3, x. 14), which was to
continue until the Promised Land was con
quered, and the Ark of the Covenant was
solemnly deposited at Shiloh.
SHI'LOH, a city of Ephraim. In Judg.
xxi. 19 it is said that Shiloh is "on the
north side of Bethel, on the east side of the
highway that goeth up from Bethel to She
chem, and on the south of Lebonah." In
agreement with this the traveller at the pre
sent day, going north from Jerusalem, lodges
the first night at Beitin, the ancient Bethel ;
the next day, at the distance of a few hours,
turns aside to the right, in order to visit
Seildn, the Arabic for Shiloh ; and then pass
ing through the narrow Wady, which brings
him to the main road, leaves el-Lebbdn, the
Lebonah of Scripture, on the left, as he pur
sues "the highway" to Ndblus, the ancf.ent
Shechem. [Shechem.] Shiloh was one of
the earliest and most sacred of the Hebrew
sanctuaries. The ark of the covenant, which
had been kept at GilgalT during the progress
of the Conquest (Josh, xviii. 1 sq.) was re
moved thence on tbe subjugation of the
country, and kept at Shiloh from the last
days of Joshua to the time of Samuel (Josh.
xviii. 10 ; Judg. xviii. 31 ; 1 Sam. iv. 3). It
was here the Hebrew conqueror divided
among the tribes the portion of the west
Jordan-region, which had not been already
allotted (Josh, xviii. 10, xix. 51). In this
distribution, or an earlier one, Shiloh fell

SHIMEI

51S

SHIP

within the limits of Ephraim (Josh. xvi. 5).
The ungodly conduct of the sons of Eli occa
sioned the loss of the ark of the covenant,
which had been carried into battle against
the Philistines, and Shiloh from that time
sank into insignificance. It stands forth in
the Jewish history as a striking example of
the Divine indignation (Jer. vii. 12).
SHIM'EI. 1. Son of Gershon the son of
Levi (Num. iii. 18 ; 1 Chr. vi. 17, 29, xxiii,
7, 9, 10; Zech. xii. 13); called Shimi in
Ex. vi. 17. — 2, Shimei the son of Gera, a
Benjamite of the house of Saul, who lived at
Bahurim. When David and his suite were
seen descending the long defile, on his flight
from Absalom (2 Sam. xvi. 5-13), the whole
feeling of the clan of Benjamin burst forth
without restraint in the person of Shimei,
He ran along the ridge, cursing, and throw
ing stones at the king and his companions.
The next meeting was very different. The
king was now returning from his successful
campaign. Just as he was crossing the
Jordan (2 Sam. xix. 18), the first person to
welcome him was Shimei, who threw himself
at David's feet in abject penitence. But
the king's suspicions were not set at rest by
this submission; and on his deathbed he re
calls the whole scene to the recollection of his
son Solomon. Solomon gave Shimei notice
that from henceforth he must consider him
self confined to the walls of Jerusalem on
pain of death (1 K. ii. 36, 37). For three
years the engagement was kept. At the end
of that time, for the purpose of capturing two
slaves who had escaped to Gath, he went out
on his ass, and made his journey successfully
(ib. ii. 40). On his return, the king took
him at his word, and he was slain by Benaiah
(ib. ii. 41-46). — 3. One of the adherents of
Solomon at the time of Adonijah's usurpation
(I K. i. 8).
SHIM'RON, fourth son of Issachar (Gen.
xlvi. 13; Num. xxvi. 24), and the head of
the family of the SHniRONiTES.
SHIM'RON-ME'RON. The king of Shim-
ron-meron is mentioned as one of tbe thirty-
one kings vanquished by Joshua (Josh. xii. 20) .
It is probably the complete name of the place
elsewhere called Shimron, a city of Zebulun
(Josh. xi. 1, xix. 15).
SHl'NAR, the ancient name of the great
alluvial tract through which the Tigris and
Euphrates pass before reaching the sea — the
tract known in later times as Chaldaea or
Babylonia. It was a plain country where
brick had to be used for stone, and slime for
mortar (Gen. xi. 3). Among the cities were
Babel (Babylon), Erech or Orech (Orchoe),
Calneh or Calno (probably Niffer), and Accad,
the site of which is unknown. It may be

suspected that Shinar was the name by which
the Hebrews originally knew the lower Meso-
potamian country, where they so long dwelt,
and which Abraham brought with him from
" Ur of the Chaldees."
SHIP. No one writer in the whole range
of Greek and Roman literature has supplied
us with so much information concerning the
merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in
the narrative of St. Paul's voyage to Rome
(Acts xxvii. xxviii,). It is important to re
member that he accomplished it in three
ships : first the Adramyttian vessel which took
him from Caesarea to Myra, and whieh was
probably a coasting vessel of no great size
(xxvii, 1-6) ; secondly, the large Alexandrian
corn-ship, in which he was wrecked on the
coast of Malta (xxvii. 6-xxviii. 1); and
thirdly, another lnrge Alexandrian corn-ship,
in which he sailed from Malta by Syracuse
and Rhegium to Puteoli (xxviii. 11-13),
(1.) Size of Ancient Ships. — The narrative
which we take as our chief guide affords a
good standard for estimating this. The ship
in which St. Paul was wrecked had 276 per
sons on board (Acts xxvii. 37), besides a
cargo of wheat (ib. 10, 38); and all these
passengers seem to have been taken on to
Puteoli in another ship (xxviii. 11) which
had its own crew and its own cargo. Now
in English transport-ships, prepared for carry
ing troops, it is a common estimate to allow
a ton and a half per man. On the whole, if
we say that an ancient merchant-ship might
range from 500 to 1000 tons, we are clearly
within the mark. (2.) Steering Apparatus.
— Some commentators have fallen into strange
perplexities from observing that in Acta
xxvii. 40 ("the fastenings of the rudders")
St. Luke uses the plural. Ancient ships were
in truth not steered at all by rudders fastened
or hinged to the stern, but by means of two
paddle-rudders, one on each quarter, acting
in a rowlock or through a porthole, as the
vessel might be small or large. (3.) Build
and Ornaments of the Hull. — It is probable
that there was no very marked difference
between the bow and the stern. The " hold"
(Jonah i. 5) would present no special pecu-<
liarities. That personification of ships, which
seems to he instinctive, led the ancients to
paint an eye on each side of the bow (comp.
Acts xxvii. 15). An ornament of that which
took Paul on from Malta to Pozzuoli is more
explicitly referred to. The " sign " of that
ship (Acts xxviii. 11) was Castor and
Pollux ; and the symbols of these heroes
were doubtless painted or sculptured on each
side of the bow. (4.) Under-girders. — The
imperfection of the build, and still more (see
below, 6) the peculiarity of the lig, in ancient

SHIP

519

SHIP

ships, resulted in a greater tendency than in
our times to the starting of the planks, and
consequently to leaking and foundering.
Hence it was customary to take on board
peculiar contrivances, suitably called " helps "
(Acts xxvii. 17), as precautions against such
dangers. These were simply cables or chains,
¦which in ease of necessity could be passed
round the frame of the ship, at right angles
to its length, and made tight. (5.) Anchors.
— Ancient anchors were similar in form to
those which we use now, except that they
were without flukes. Two allusions to anchor
ing are found in the N. T., one in a very
impressive metaphor concerning Christian
hope (Heb. vi. 19). The other passage is
part of the literal narrative of St. Paul's
voyage at its most critical point. The ship
in which he was sailing had four anchors on
board, and these were all employed in the
night, when the danger of falling on breakers
was imminent. The sailors on this occasion
anchored by the stern (Acts xxvii. 29).
(6.) Masts, Sails, Ropes, and Yards. — The
rig of an ancient ship was more simple and
clumsy than that employed in modern times.

Ancient Ship. From a Painting at Pompeii.
Its great feature was one large mast, with
one large square sail fastened to a yard of
great length. Hence the strain upon the
hull, and the danger of starting the planks,
were greater than under the present system,
which distributes the mechanical pressure
more evenly over the whole ship. Not that
there were never more masts than one, or
more sails than one on the same mast, in an
ancient merchantman. But these were repe
titions, so to speak, of the same general unit
of rig. In the 0. T. the mast is mentioned
(Is. xxxiii. 23) ; and from another prophet
(Ez. xxvii. 5) we learn that cedar- wood from
Lebanon was sometimes used for this part of
ships. There is a third passage (Prov. xxiii.

34), where the top of a ship's mast is probably
intended. In Ez. xxvii. 29, oars are dis
tinctly mentioned : and it seems that oak-
wood from Bashan was used in making them.
Another feature of the ancient, as of the
modern ship, is the flag at the top of the
mast (Is. I.e., and xxx. 17). (7.) Rate of
Sailing. —St. Paul's voyages furnish excellent
data for approximately estimating this ; and
they are quite in harmony with what we learn
from other sources. We must notice here,
however (what commentators sometimes cu
riously forget), that winds are variable. Thus
the voyage between Troas and Philippi, ac
complished on one occasion (Acts xvi. 11, 12)
in two days, occupied on another occasion (Acts
xx. 6) five days. With a fair wind an ancient
ship would sail fully seven knots an hour. (8.)
Sailing before the wind, and near the wind.
— The rig which has been described is, like
the rig of Chinese junks, peculiarly favour
able to a quick run before the wind (Acts
xvi. 11, xxvii. 16). It would, however, be a
great mistake to suppose that ancient ships
could not work to windward. The superior
rig and build, however, of modern ships enable
them to sail nearer to the wind than was the
case in classical times. A modern ship, if
the weather is not ver$ boisterous, will sail
within six points of the wind. To an ancient
vessel, of whieh the hull was more clumsy,
and the yards could not he braced so tight,
it would be safe to assign seven points as the
limit. (9.) Lying-to. — A ship that could
make progress on her proper course, in mode
rate weather, when sailing within seven points
of the wind, would lie-to in a gale, with her
length making about the same angle with the
direction of the wind. This is done when the
object is, not to make progress at all hazards,
but to ride out a gale in safety ; and this is
what was done in St. Paul's ship when she
was undergirded and the boat taken on board
(Acts xxvii. 14-17) under the lee of Clauda.
(10.) Ship's Boat. — This appears prominently
in Acts xxvii. 16, 32. Every large merchant-
ship must have had one or more boats. It is
evident that the Alexandrian corn-ship in
which St. Paul was sailing from Fair Havens,
and in which the sailors, apprehending no
danger, hoped to reach Phenice, had her
boat towing behind. (11.) Officers and Crew.
— In Acts xxvii. 11 we have both /cy)3epwJ7-ns
and vavic\r}pos. The latter is the owner (in
part or in whole) of the ship or the cargo,
receiving also (possibly) the fares of the pas
sengers. The former has the charge of the
steering. The word for " shipmen " (Acts
xxvii. 27, 30) and "sailors" (Rev. xviii. 17)
is simply the usual term vavrai. (12.) Storms
and Shipwrecks. — The first century of the

SHISHAK

520

SHITTAH-TREF.

Christian era was a time of immense traffic
in the Mediterranean ; and there must have
been many vessels lost there every year by
shipwreck, and (perhaps) as many by founder
ing. This last danger would be much in
creased by the form of rig described above.
Besides this, we must remember that the
ancients had no compass, and very imperfect
charts and instruments, if any at all. Cer
tain coasts were much dreaded, especially the
African Syrtis (Acts xvii. 17). The danger
indicated by breakers (ib. 29), and the fear of
falling on rocks, are matters of course. St,
Paul's experience seems to have been full of
illustrations of all these perils. (13.) Boats
on the Sea of Galilee. — In the narratives of
the call of the disciples to be " fishers of
men" (Matt. iv. 18-22; Mark i. 16-20;
Luke v. 1-11), there is no special information
concerning the characteristics of these boats.
In the account of the storm and the miracle
on the lake (Matt. viii. 23-27 ; Mark iv. 35-
41 ; Luke viii. 22-25), it is for every reason
instructive to compare the three narratives ;
and we should observe that Luke is more
technical in his language than Matthew, and
Mark than Luke. With the large population
round the Lake of Tiberias, there must have
been a vast number both of fishing-boats and
pleasure-boats, and that boat-building must
have been an active trade on its shores. (14.)
Merchant-Ships in the Old Testament.— The
earliest passages where seafaring is alluded
to in the O. T. are the following in order,
Gen. xlix. 13, in the prophecy of Jacob con
cerning Zebulun ; Num. xxiv. 24, in Balaam's
prophecy; Deut. xxviii. 68, in one of the
warnings of Moses ; Judg. v. 1 7, in Deborah's
Song. Next alter these it is natural to men
tion the illustrations and descriptions con
nected with this subject in Job (ix. 26) ; and
in the Psalms (xlvii. [xlviii.] 7, ciii. [civ.]
26, cvi. 23). Prov. xxiii. 34 has already
been quoted. To this add xxx. 19, xxxi. 14.
Solomon's own ships, which may have sug
gested some of these illustrations (1 K. ix.
26 ; 2 Chr. viii. 18, ix. 21), have previously
been mentioned. We must notice the dis
astrous expedition of Jehoshaphat's ships
from the same port of Ezion-geber (1 K.
xxii. 48, 49 ; 2 Chr. xx. 36, 37). The pas
sages which remain are in the prophets (Is,
ii. 16, xxiii. 1, 14, lx. 9; Ez. xxvii.; Jon.
i. 3-16). SHl'SHAK, king of Egypt, the Sheshenk
I. of the monuments, first sovereign of the
Bubastite xxiind dynasty. His reign offers
the .first determined synchronisms of Egyp
tian and Hebrew history. The first year of
Shishak would about correspond to the 26th
of Solomon, and the 20th of Shishak to the

5th of Rehoboam. Shishak at the beginning
of his reign received the fugitive Jeroboam
(1 K. xi. 40); and it was probably at the
instigation of Jeroboam that he attacked
Rehoboam. " He took the fenced cities
which [pertained] to Judah, and came to
Jerusalem." He exacted all the treasures of
his city from Rehoboam, and apparently made
him tributary (1 K. xiv. 25, 26 ; 2 Chr. xii.
2-9). Shishak has left a record of this expe
dition, sculptured on the wall of the great
temple of El-Karnak. It is a list of the
countries, cities, and tribes, conquered or
ruled by him, or tributary to him.
SHITTAH-TREE, SHITTIM (Heb. shittdh),
is without doubt correctly referred to some
species of Acacia, of which three or four
kinds occur in the Bible lands. The wood
of this tree — perhaps tlie Acacia Seyal is
more definitely signified — was extensively
employed in the construction of the taber
nacle (see Ex. xxv., xxvi., xxxvi , xxxvii.,
xxxviii.). The A. Seyal is very common in
some parts of the peninsula of Sinai. It
yields the well-known substance called gum
arabic which is obtained by incisions in the
bark, but it is impossible to say whether the

<C? f ^|p

Acacia SeyaL

SHITTIM

521

SHUSHAN

ancient Jews were acquainted with its use.
From the tangled thickets into which the
stem of this tree expands, Stanley well re
marks that hence is to be traced the use of
the plural form of the Heb. noun, Shittim,
the sing, number occurring but once only in
tho Bible. This acacia must not he con
founded with the tree (Robinia pseudo-acacia)
popularly known by this name in England,
which is a North American plant, and belongs
to a different genus and sub-order. The true
acacias belong to the order Leguminosae, sub
order Mimoseae.
SHIT'TIM, the place of Israel's encamp
ment between the conquest of the Transjor-
danic highlands and the passage of the Jordan
(Num. xxxiii. 49, xxv. 1 ; Josh. ii. 1, iii. 1 ;
Mic. vi. 5). Its full name appears to be given
in the first of these passages — Abel has-Shittim
— " the meadow, or moist place of the aca-
Gias." It was "in the Arboth-Moab, by
Jordan-Jericho " (Num. xxii. 1, xxvi. 3,
xxxi. 12, xxxiii. 48, 49). That is to say, it
was in the Arabah or Jordan Valley, opposite
Jericho. The "Valley of Shittim," of Joel
[iii. 18), can hardly be the same spot as that
described above, but there is nothing to give
a clue to its position.
SHO'A, a proper name which occurs only
in Ez, xxiii. 23, in connexion with Pekod
and Koa. The three apparently designate
districts of Assyria with which the southern
kingdom of Judah had been intimately con
nected, and which were to be arrayed against
it for punishment.
- SHO'BAB, son of David by Bathsheba
(2 Sam. v. 14; 1 Chr. iii. 5, xiv. 4).
SHO'BACH, the general of Hadarezer
king of the Syrians of Zoba, who was de
feated by David (2 Sam. x. 15-18). In 1
Chr. xix. 16, 18, he is called Shophach.
SHO'BAL, second son of Seir the Horite
(Gen. xxxvi. 20; 1 Chr. i. 38), and one of
the "dukes" of the Horites (Gen. xxxvi
29). . SHOE. [Sandal.]
SHOSHAN'NIM. " To the chief musician
upon Shoshannim " is a musical direction to
the leader of the Temple-choir which occurs
in Pss. xiv., lxix., and most probably indi
cates the melody " after " or " in the manner
of" (A.V. "upon") which the Psalms were
to be sung.— Shoshannim-Eduth occurs in
the same way in the title of Ps. lxxx. As
the words now stand they signify " lilies, a
testimony," and the two are separated by a
large distinctive acoent. In themselves they
have no meaning in the present text, and
must therefore be regarded as probably a
fragment of the beginning of an older Psalm
With which the choir were familiar.

SHU'AL, THE LAND OF, a district named
only in 1 Sam. xiii. 17. It is pretty certain
from the passage that it lay north of Mich
mash. SHU'HITE. This ethnic appellative " Shu-
hite " is frequent in the Book of Job, but
only as the epithet of one person, Bildad.
The local indications of the Book of Job point
to a region on the western side of Chaldaea,
bordering on Arabia ; and exactly in this
locality, above Hit and on both sides of the
Euphrates, are found, in the Assyrian in
scriptions, the Tsukhi, a powerful people.
It is probable that these were the Shuhites.
SHU'LAMITE, THE, one of the person
ages in the poem of Solomon's Song (vi. 13).
The name denotes a woman belonging to a
place called Shulem, whieh is probably the
same as Shunem. [Shunem.] If, then,
Shulamite and Shunammite are equivalent,
we may conjecture that the Shunammite who
was the object of Solomon's passion was
Abishag. SHU'NAMMITE, THE, i.e. the native of
Shunem, is applied to two persons : — Abi
shag, the nurse of king David (1 K. i. 3, 15,
ii. 17, 21, 22), and the nameless hostess of
Elisha (2 K. iv. 12, 25, 36).
SHU'NEM, one of the cities allotted to the
tribe of Issachar (Josh. xix. IS). It is men
tioned on two occasions (I Sam. xxviii. 4 ;
2 K. iv. 8). It was besides the native place
of Abishag (1 K. i. 3). It is mentioned by
Eusebius as 5 miles south of Mount Tabor,
and then known as Sulem. This agrees with
the position of the present Solarn, a village
3 miles N. of Jezreel, and 5 from Gilboa.
SHUR, a place just without the eastern
border of Egypt. ShuT is first mentioned in
the narrative of Hagar's flight from Sarah
(Gen. xvi. 7 ) . Abraham afterwards " dwelled
between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in
Gerar" (xx. 1). The first clear indication
of its position occurs in the account of Ish-
mael's posterity. " And they dwelt from
Havilah unto Shur, that [is] before Egypt,
as thou goest toward Assyria" (xxv. 18;
comp. 1 Sam. xv. 7, xxvii. 8). The wilder
ness of Shur was entered by the Israelites
after they had crossed the Red Sea (Ex. xv.
22, 23). It was also called the Wilderness
of Etham (Num. xxxiii. 8). Shur may have
been a fortified town east of the ancient head
of the Red Sea ; and from its being spoken of
as a limit, it was probably the last Arabian
town before entering Egypt.
SHU'SHAN, or SU'SA, is said to have re
ceived its name from the abundance of the
lily (Shushan or Shushanali) in its neigh
bourhood. It was originally the capital of
the country called in Scripture Elam, and by

SHUSHAN-EDUTH

SILAS

the classical writers Susis or Susiana. In
the time of Daniel Susa was in the possession
of the Babylonians, to whom Elam had pro
bably passed at the division of the Assyrian
empire made by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar
(Dan. viii. 2). The conquest of Babylon by
Cyrus transferred Susa to the Persian domi
nion ; and it was not long before the Achae-
menian princes determined to make it the
capital of their whole empire, and the chief
place of their own residence. According to
some writers, the change was made by Cyrus ;
according to others, it had at any rate taken
place before the death of Cambyses ; but, ac
cording to the evidence of the place itself and
of the other Achaemenian monuments, it
would seem most probable that the transfer
was really the work of Darius Hystaspis.
Nehemiah resided here (Neh. i. 1). — Shu
shan was situated on the Ulai or Choaspps.
It is identified vi ith the modern Sits or Shush,
and its ruins are about 3 miles in circum
ference. SHU'SHAN-E'DUTH (Ps. Ix.), is probably
an abbreviation of " Shoshannim-eduth " (Ps.
lxxx.). [Shoshannim.]
SHUTHE'LAH, head of an Ephraimite
family, called after him Shuthalhites (Num.
xxvi, 35), and lineal ancestor of Joshua, the
son of Nun (1 Chr. vii. 20-27).
SIBBECHA'I, one of David's guard, and
eighth captain for the eighth month of
24,000 men of the king's army (1 Chr. xi.
29, xxvii. 11 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 18).
SIB'MAH. [Shebam.]
Sl'CHEM (Gen. xii. 6). [Shechem.]
SIC'YON (1 Mace. xv. 23), a celebrated
Greek city in Peloponnesus upon the Corin
thian gulph.
SID'DIM, THE VALE OF, a place named
only in one passage of Genesis (xiv. 3, 8,
10). It was one of that class of valleys
which the Hebrews designated by the word
Emek. This term appears to have been as
signed to a broad flattish tract, sometimes of
considerable width, enclosed on each side by
a definite range of hills. It was so far a
suitable spot for the combat between the four
and five kings (ver. 8) ; but it contained a
multitude of bitumen-pits sufficient materially
to affect the issue of the battle. In this val
ley the kings of the five allied cities of Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela, seem
to have awaited the approach of the invaders.
It is therefore probable tbat it was in the
neighbourhood of the "plain, or circle, of
Jordan" in which those cities stood. If we
could venture, as some have done, to inter
pret the latter clause of verse 3, " which is
near," or " which is at, or by, the Salt Sea,"
then we might agree with Dr. Robinson and

others in identifying the Valley of Siddim
with the enclosed plain which intervenes be
tween the south end of the lake and the range
of heights whieh terminate the GAoVand com
mence the Wadg Arabah. But the original
of the passage seems to imply that the Salt
Sea covers the actual space formerly occupied
by the Vale of Siddim. [Sea, The Salt,
p. 503.J Sl'DE, a city on the coast of Pamphylia,
10 or 12 miles to the east of the river Eury-
medon (1 Mace. xv. 23).
SI' DON, the Greek form of the Phoenician
name Zidon. [Zidon.]
SI'HON, king of the Amorites when Israel
arrived on the borders of the Promised Land
(Num. xxi. 21). Shortly before the time of
Israel's arrival he had dispossessed the Moab
ites of a splendid territory, driving them
south of the natural bulwark of the Arnon
(xxi. 26-29). When the Israelite host ap
pears, he does not hesitate or temporise like
Balak, but at once gathers his people together
and attacks them. But the battle was his
last. He and all his host were destroyed,
and their district from Arnon to Jabbok
became at once the possession of the con
queror. SI'HOR, accurately SHI'HOR, once THE
SHIHOR or SHIHOR OF EGYPT, when un
qualified - name of the Nile. It is held to
signify " the black " or " turbid." There
are but three occurrences of Shihor in the
Bible, and but one of Shihor of Egypt, or
Shihor-Mizraim. It is spoken of as one of
the limits of territory which was still uncon-
quered when Joshua was old (Josh. xiii. 2, 3).
With this passage must be compared that in
which Shihor-Mizraim occurs. David is re
lated to have " gathered all Israel together
from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering
of Hamath" (1 Chr. xiii. 5). There is no
other evidence that the Israelites ever spread
westward beyond Gaza. The stream may
therefoi'e be that of the Wddi-V Areesh. That
the stream intended by Shihor unqualified
was a navigable river is evident from a pas
sage in Isaiah, where it is said of Tyre,
" And by great waters, the sowing of Shihor,
the harvest of the river [is] her revenue "
[xxiii. 3). Here Shihor is either the same
as, or compared with, Yeor, generally thought
to be the Nile, but perhaps the extension of
the Red Sea. In Jeremiah the identity of
Shihor with the Nile seems distinctly stated
(ii. 18).
SI'LAS, an eminent member of the early
Christian Church, described under that name
in the Acts, but as Silvanus in St. Paul's
Epistles. He first appears as one of the
leaders of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts xv.

SILK

523

SILOAM

22), holding the office of an inspired teacher
(xv. 32). His name, derived from the Latin
silva, " wood," betokens him a Hellenistic
Jew, and he appears to have been a Roman
citizen (Acts xvi. 37). He was appointed as
a delegate to accompany Paul and Barnabas
on their return to Antioch with the decree of
the Council of Jerusalem (Acts xv. 22, 32).
Having accomplished this mission, he returned
to Jerusalem (Acts xv. 33). He must, how
ever, have immediately revisited Antioch, for
we find him selected by St. Paul as the com
panion of his second missionary journey (Acts
xv. 40-xvii. 40). At Beroea he was left
behind with Timothy while St. Paul pro
ceeded to Athens (Acts xvii. 14), and we
hear nothing more of his movements until he
rejoined the Apostle. at Corinth (Acts xviii.
5). His presence at Coriuth is several times
noticed (2 Cor. i. 19 ; 1 Thess. i. 1 ; 2 Thess.
i. 1). Whether he was the Silvanus who
conveyed St. Peter's First Epistle to Asia
Minor (1 Pet. v. 12) is doubtful; the pro
babilities are in favour of the identity. A
tradition of very slight authority represents
Silas to have become bishop of Corinth.
SILK. The only undoubted notice of silk
in the Bible occurs in Rev. xviii. 12, where
it is mentioned among the treasures of the
typical Babylon. It is, however, in the
highest degree probable that the texture
was known to the Hebrews from the time
that their commercial relations were ex
tended by Solomon. The well-known clas
sical name of the substance does not occur in
the Hebrew language. The Hebrew terms
which have been supposed to refer to silk
are meshi and demeshek. The former occurs
only in Ez. xvi. 10, 13 (A. V. "silk"). The
other term demeshek occurs in Am. iii. 12
(A. V, "Damascus") and has been supposed
to refer to silk from the resemblance of the
word to our "damask." It appears, how
ever, that " damask " is a corruption of di-
makso, a term applied by the Arabs to the
raw material alone. We must, therefore,
consider the reference to silk as extremely
dubious. The value set upon silk by the
Romans, as implied in Rev. xviii. 12, is
noticed by Josephus, as well as by classical
writers. SIL'LA. "The house of Millo which
goeth down to Silla," was tbe scene of the
murder of king Joash (2 K. xii. 20). What
or where Silla was is entirely matter of con
jecture. Some have suggested the Pool of
Siloam. SILO'AH, THE POOL OF, properly "the
Pool of Shelach," (Neh. iii. 15). [Siloam.]
SILO' AM (SHloach, Is. viii. 6 ; Shelach,
tfeh. iii, 15 ; Siloam, John ix. 7, II). Siloam

is one of the few undisputed localities in the
topography of Jerusalem ; still retaining its
old name (with Arabic modification, Silwdn),
while every other pool has lost its Bible-
designation. This is the more remarkable as
it is a mere suburban tank of no great size,
and for many an age not particularly good or
plentiful in its waters, though Josephus tells
us that in his day they were both " sweet
and abundant." A little way below the
Jewish burying ground, but on the opposite
side of the valley, where the Kedron turns
slightly westward, and widens itself consider
ably, is the fountain of the Virgin or Um-ed-
Deraj, near the beginning of that saddle-
shaped projection of the Temple-hill supposed
to be the Ophel of the Bible, and the Ophlas
of Josephus. At the back part of this foun
tain a subterraneous passage begins, through
which the water flows, and through which a
man may make his way, sometimes walking
erect, sometimes stooping, sometimes kneel
ing, and sometimes crawling, to Siloam. This
conduit has had tributaries which have form
erly sent their waters down from the city
pools or Temple-wells to swell Siloam. It
enters Siloam at the north-west angle ; or
rather enters a small rock-cut chamber which
forms the vestibule of Siloam, about five or
six feet broad. To this you descend by a few
rude steps, under which the water pours itself
into the main pool. This pool is oblong;
about 18 feet broad, and 19 feet deep ; but it
is never filled, the water either passing
directly through, or being maintained at a
depth of three or four feet. The present pool
is a ruin, with no moss or ivy to make it
romantic ; its sides falling in ; its pillars
broken ; its stair a fragment ; its walls giving
way ; the edge of every stone worn round or
sharp by time ; in some parts mere debris ;
though around its edges, wild flowers, and,
among other plants, the caper-tree, grow
luxuriantly. The grey crumbling limestone
of the stone (as well as of the surrounding
rocks, which are almost verdureless) gives a
poor and worn-out aspect to this venerable
relic. The pi-esent pool is not the original
building ; it may be the work of crusaders,
perhaps even improved by Saladin, whose
affection for wells and pools led him to care
for all these things. Yet the spot is the
same. This pool, which we may call the
second, seems anciently to have poured its
waters into a third, before it proceeded to
water the royal gardens. This third is per
haps that which Josephus calls " Solomon's
pool," and which Nehemiah calls " the King's
pool" (ii. 14). The expression in Isaiah
(viii. 6), " waters of Shiloah that go softly,"
seems to point to the slender rivulet, flowing

SILOAM, TOWER IN

524

SIMEON

gently, though once very profusely, out of
Siloam into the lower breadth of level, where
tbe king's gardens, or royal paradise, stood,
and which is still the greenest spot about the
Holy City. Siloam is a sacred spot, even to
the Moslem ; much more to the Jew. It was
to Siloam that the Levite was sent with the
golden pitcher on the " last and great day of
the feast " of Tabernacles ; it was from Siloam
that he brought the water which was then
poured over the sacrifice, in memory of the
water from the rock of Rephidim ; and it was
to this Siloam water that tbe Lord pointed
when He stood in the Temple on that day and
cried, " If any man thirst, lot him come unto
me and drink." The Lord sent the blind
man to wash, not in, as our version has it,
but at (eis) the pool of Siloam ; for it was the
clay from his eyes that was to be washed off;
and the Evangelist is careful to throw in a
remark, not for the purpose of telling us that
Siloam meant an "aqueduct," as some think,
but to give higher significance to the miracle.
" Go wash at Siloam," was the command;
the Evangelist adds, " which is by interpre
tation, sent." (John ix. 7). That " Sent" is
the natural interpretation is evident, not sim
ply from the word itself, but from other pas
sages where the Hebrew word is used in con
nexion with water, as Job iii. 10, " he sendeth
waters upon the fields ;" and Ezek. xxxi. 4,
" she sent out her little rivers unto all the
trees of the field."
SILO'AM, TOWER IN (Luke xiii. 4). Of
this we know nothing definitely beyond these
words of the Lord. In connexion with Ophel,
there is mention made of " a tower that Heth
out" (Neh. iii. 26) ; and there is no unlikeli
hood in connecting this projecting tower with
the tower in Siloam, while one may be almost
excused for the conjecture that its projection
was the cause of its ultimate fall.
SILVA'NUS. [Silas.]
SILVER. In very early times, silver was
Uf-ed for ornaments (Gen. xxiv. 53) and for
vessels of various kinds. Images for idola
trous worship were made of silver or overlaid
with it (Ex. xx. 23 : Hos. xiii. 2 ; Hah. ii. 19;
Bar. vi. 39), and the manufacture of silver
shrines for Diana was a trade in Ephesus
(Acts xix. 24). But its chief use was as a
medium of exchange, and throughout the
O. T. we find "silver," used for money, like
the Fr. argent. Silver was brought to Solo
mon from Arabia (2 Chr. ix. 14) and from
Tarshish (2 Chr. ix. 21), which supplied the
markets of Tyre (Ez. xxvii. 12). From Tar
shish it came in the form of plates (Jer. x.
9), like those on which the sacred books of
the Singhalese are written to this day. Spain
appears to have been the chief source whence

silver was obtained by the ancients. Possibly
the hills of Palestine may have afforded some
supply of this metal. Silver mixed with
alloy is referred to in Jer. vi. 30, and a finer
kind, either purer in itself, or more thoroughly
purified, is mentioned in Prov. viii. 19.
SILVERLINGS, a word used once only in
the A. V. (Is. vii. 23), as a translation of the
Hebrew word elsewhere rendered "silver"
or " money."
SIM 'EON, (heard) the second of Jacob's
sons by Leah. His birth is recorded in Gen.
xxix. 33. The first group of Jacob's children
consists, besides Simeon, of the three othef
sons of Leah — Reuben, Levi, Judah. With
each of these Simeon is mentioned in some
connexion. " As Reuben and Simeon are
mine," says Jacob, " so shall Joseph's sons
Ephraim and Manasseh be mine " (Gen. xlviii.
5). With Levi, Simeon was associated in the
massacre of the Shechemites (xxxiv. 25).
With Judah the connexion was drawn still
closer. He and Simeon not only " went up "
together, side by side, in the fore-front of the
nation, to the conquest of tbe south of tho
Holy Land (Judg. i. 3, 17), but their allot
ments lay together in a more special manner
than those of the other tribes. Besides the
massacre of Shechem, the only personal inci
dent related of Simeon is the fact of his being
selected by Joseph as the hostage for the ap
pearance of Benjamin (Gen. xiii. 19, 24, 36 ;
xliii. 23). The chief families of the tribe are
mentioned in the lists of Gen. xlvi. (10), in
which one of thein, bearing the name of Shaul
(Saul), is specified as "the son of the Ca
naanites " — Num. xxvi. (12-14), and 1 Chr.
iv. (24-43). At the census at Sinai Simeon
numbered 59,300 fighting men (Num. i. 23).
When the second census was taken, at Shittim,
the numbers had fallen to 22,200, and it was
the weakest of all the tribes. This was no
doubt partly due to the recent mortality fol
lowing the idolatry of Peor, but there must
have been other causes which have escaped
mention. The connexion between Simeon
and Levi implied in the Blessing of Jacob
(Gen. xlix. 5-7) has been already adverted
to. The connexion between Judah and
Simeon already mentioned seems to have
begun with the Conquest. Judah and the
two Joseph-brethren were first served with
the lion's bhire of the land ; and then,
the Canaanites having been sufficiently sub
dued to allow the Sacred Tent to be esta
blished without ribk in the heart of the
country, the work of dividing the remainder
amongst the seven inferior tribes was pro
ceeded with (Josh. viii. 1-6). Benjamin had
the first turn, then Simeon (xix. 1 J: By this
time Judah had discovered that the tract al-

SIMEON NIGER

525

SIMON

lotted to him was too large (xix. 9), and also
too much' exposed on the west and south for
even his great powers. To, Simeon according
ly was allotted a district out of the territory
of his kinsman, on its southern frontier,
which contained eighteen or nineteen cities,
with their villages, spread round the venera
ble well of Beersheba (Josh. xix. 1-8 ; 1 Chr.
iv. 28-33), Of these places, with the help of
Judah, the Simeonites possessed themselves
(Judg. i. 3, 17) ; and here they were found,
doubtless by Joab, residing in the reign of
David (1 Chr. iv. 31). What part Simeon
took at the time of the division of the king
dom we are not told. The only thing which
can be interpreted into a trace of its heaving
taken any part with the northern kingdom
are the two casual notices of 2 Chr. xv. 9
and xxxiv. 6, which appear to imply the pre
sence of Simeonites there in the reigns of Asa
and Josiah. On the other hand the definite
statement of 1 Chr. iv. 41-43 proves that at
that time there were still some of them remain
ing in the original seat of the tribe, and
actuated by all the warlike lawless spirit of
their progenitor. Simeon is named by Eze
kiel (xlviii. 25), and the author of the Book
of the Revelation (vii. 7) in their catalogues
of the restoration of Israel. — 3. A devout Jew,
inspired by the Holy Ghost, who met the
parents of our Lord in the Temple, took Him
in his arms, and gave thanks for what he saw
and knew of Jesus (Luke ii. 25-35). There
was a Simeon who succeeded his father Hillel
as president of the Sanhedrim about a.d. 13,
and whose son Gamaliel was the Pharisee at
whose feet St. Paul was brought up (Acts xxii.
3). Ifhas been conjectured that he may be
the Simeon of St. Luke.
SIMEON NIGER. Acts xiii. 1. [Niger.]
SI'MON. 1. Son of Mattathias. [Macca
bees.]— 2. Son of Onias the high-priest,
whose eulogy closes the "praise of famous
men " in the Book of Ecclesiasticus (ch. iv.).
— 3. " A governor of the Temple " in the
time of Seleucus Philopator, whose informa
tion as to the treasures of the Temple led to
the sacrilegious attack of Heliodorus (2 Mace.
iii. 4, &c). — 4. Simon the Brother of
Jesus. — The only undoubted notice of this
Simon occurs in Matt. xiii. 55, Mark vi. 3.
He has been identified by some writers with
Simon the Canaanite, and still more generally
with Symeon who became bishop of Jeru
salem after the death of James, a.d. 62. The
former of these opinions rests on no evidence
whatever, nor is the latter without its diffi
culties. — 5. Simov the Canaanite, one of the
Twelve Apostles (Matt. x. 4 ; Mark iii. 18),
otherwise described as Simon Zelotes (Luke
vi. 15 ; Acts i. 13). The latter term, which

is peculiar to Luke, is the Greek equivalent
for the Chaldee term preserved by Matthew
and Mark. [Canaanite.] Each of these
equally points out, Simon as belonging to the
faction of the Zealots, who were conspicuous
for their fierce advocacy of the Mosaic ritual.
— 6. Simon op Cyrene. — A Hellenistic Jew,
born at Cyrene on the north coast of Africa,
who was present at Jerusalem at the time of
the crucifixion of Jesus, either as an attendant
at the feast (Acts ii. 10), or as one of the nu
merous settlers at Jerusalem from that place
(Acts vi. 9). Meeting the procession that
conducted Jesus to Golgotha, as he was return
ing from the country, he was pressed into the
service to bear the cross (Matt, xxvii. 32 ;
Mark xv. 21; Luke xxiii. 26), when Jesus
himself was unable to hear it any longer
(comp. John xix. 17). Mark describes him
as the father of Alexander and Rufus, perhaps '
because this was the Rufus known to the Ro
man Christians (Rom. xvi. 13), for whom
he more especially wrote. — 7. Simon the
Leper. — A resident at Bethany, distinguished
as " the leper." It is not improbable that he
had been miraculously cured by Jesus. In
his house Mary anointed Jesus preparatory to
His death and burial (Matt. xxvi. 6 &e. ;
Mark xiv. 3 &c; John xii. 1 &c). — 8. Simon
Magus. — A Samaritan living in the Apostolie
age, distinguished as a sorcerer or "magician,"
from his practice of magical arts (Acts viii.
9 ) . According to ecclesiastical writers he was
born at Gitton, a village of Samaria, and was
probably educated at Alexandria in the tenets
of the Gnostic school. He is first introduced
to us as pi'actising- magical arts in a city of
Samaria, perhaps Sychar (Acts viii. 5 ; comp.
John iv. 5), and with such success, that he
was pronounced to be " the power of God
which is called great" (Acts viii. 10). The
preaching and miracles of Philip having ex
cited his observation, he became one of his
disciples, and received baptism at his hands.
Subsequently he witnessed the effect produced
by the imposition of hands, as practised by the
Apostles Peter and John, and, being desirous
of acquiring a similar power for himself, he
offered a sum of money for it. His object
evidently was to apply the power to the pro
secution of magical arts. The motive and the
means were equally to he reprobated ; and his
proposition met with a severe denunciation
from Peter, followed by a petition on the part
of Simon, the tenor of which bespeaks terror
but not penitence (Acts viii. 9-24). The
memory of his peculiar guilt has been per
petuated in the word simony, as applied to all
traffic in spiritual offices. Simon's history,
subsequently to his meeting with Peter, is
involved in difficulties. Early Church his-

SIN

526

SIN-OFFERING

torians depict him as the pertinacious foe of
the Apostle Peter, whose movements he fol
lowed for the purpose of seeking encounters,
in which he' was signally defeated. He is
said to have followed the Apostle to Rome.
His death is associated with this meeting :
according to Hippolytus, the earliest autho
rity on the subject, Simon was buried alive
at his own request, in the confident as
surance that he would rise again on the
third day. According to another account,
he attempted to fly in proof of his superna
tural power ; in answer to the prayers of
Peter, he fell and sustained a fracture of his
thigh and anklebones; overcome with vexa
tion, he committed suicide. — 9. Simon Peter.
[Peter.] — 10. Simon, a Pharisee, in whose
house a penitent woman anointed the head
and feet of Jesus (Luke vii. 40).— 11. Simon
the Tanner. — A Christian convert living at
Joppa, at whose house Peter lodged (Acts ix.
43). The house was near the sea-side (Acts
x. 6, 32), for the convenience of the water.
— 12. Simon, the father of Judas Iscariot
(John vi. 71, xiii. 2, 26).
SIN, a city of Egypt, mentioned only by
Ezekiel (xxx. 15, 16). The name is Hebrew,
or, at least, Semitic, perhaps signifying "clay."
It is identified in the Vulg. with Pelusium,
" the clayey or muddy " town. Its antiquity
may perhaps be inferred from the mention of
" the wilderness of Sin " in the journeys of the
Israelites (Ex. xvi. 1 ; Num. xxxiii. 11).
Ezekiel speaks of Sin as " Sin the stronghold
of Egypt" (xxx. 15). This place it held from
that time until the period of the Romans.
Herodotus relates that Sennacherib advanced
against Pelusium, and that near Pelusium
Cambyses defeated Psammenitus. In like
manner the decisive battle in which Ochus
defeated the last native king, Nectanebos, was
fought near this city.
SIN, WILDERNESS OF, a tract of the
wilderness which the Israelites reached after
leaving the encampment by the Red Sea
(Num. xxxiii. 11, 12). 'Their next halting-
place (Ex. xvi. 1, xvii. 1) was Rephidim, pro
bably the Wady Feiran [Rephidim] ; on
which supposition it would follow that Sin
must lie between that wady and the coast of
the Gulf of Suez, and of course west of Sinai.
In the wilderness of Sin the manna was first
gathered, and those who adopt the supposition
that this was merely the natural product of
the tarfa bush, find from the abundance cf
that shrub in Wady es Sheikh, S.E. of W.
GhUrundel a proof of local identity.
SIN-OFFERING. The sin-offering among
the Jews was the sacrifice, in which the ideas
of propitiation and of atonement for sin were
most distinctly marked. The ceremonial of.

the sin-offering is described in Lev. iv. and
vi. The Trespass-offering is closely con
nected with the sin-offering in Leviticus, but
at the same time clearly distinguished from
it, being in some cases offered with it as a
distinct part of the same sacrifice ; as, for ex
ample, in the cleansing of the leper (Lev. xiv.).
The distinction of ceremonial clearly indicates
a difference in the idea of the two sacrifices.
The nature of that difference is still a subject
of great controversy. We find that the sin-
offerings were — (A.) Regular. (1.) For the
whole people, at the New Moon, Passover,
Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, and Feast of
Tabernacles (Num. xxviii. 15-xxix. 38) : be-
sidestfhe solemn offering of the two goats on
the Great Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi.).
(2.) For the Priests and Levites at their con
secration (Ex. xxix. 10-14, 36) ; besides the
yearly sin-offering (a bullock) for the high-
priest on the Great Day of Atonement (Lev.
xvi.). (B.) Special. (1.) For any sin of
"ignorance" (Lev. iv.). (2.) For refusal to
bear icitness (Lev. v. 1). (3.) For ceremonial
defilement not wilfully contracted (Lev. v. 2, 3,
xii. 6-8, xiv. 19, 31, xv. 15, 30 ; Num. vi. 6-
11, 16). (4.) For the breach of a rash oath
(Lev. v. 4). The trespass-offerings, on the
other hand, were always special, as — (1.)
For sacrilege " inignorance " (Lev. v. 15, 16).
(2.) For ignorant transgression (v. 17-19).
(3.) For fraud, suppression of the truth, or
perjury (vi. 1-6). (4.) For rape of a be
trothed slave (Lev. xix. 20, 21). (5.) At the
purification of the leper (Lev. xiv. 12), and
the polluted Nazarite (Num. vi. 12), offered
with the sin-offering. From this enumeration
it will be clear that the two classes of sacri
fice's, although distinct, touch closely upon
each other. Josephus declares that the sin-
offering is presented by those "who fall into
sin in ignorance," and the trespass-offering
by " one who has sinned and is conscious of
his sin, but has no one to convict him there
of." Without attempting to decide so diffi
cult and so controverted a question, we may
draw the following conclusions : — First, that
the sin-offering was far the more solemn and
comprehensive of the two sacrifices. Second
ly, that the sin-offering looked more to the
guilt of the sin done, irrespective of its con
sequences, while the trespass-offering looked
to the evil consequences of sin, either against
the service of God, or against man, and to the
duty of atonement, as far as atonement was
possible. Thirdly, that in the sin-offering
especially we find symbolized the acknow
ledgment of sinfulness as inherent in man,
and of the need of expiation by sacrifice to
renew the broken covenant between man and
God.

SINA, MOUNT

527

SIRAH, THE WELL OF

SI'NA, MOUNT, the' Greek form of the
well-known name Sinai (Acts vii. 30, 38).
SI'NAI. Nearly in the centre of the penin
sula which stretches between the horns of
the Red Sea lies a wedge of granite, grunstein,
and porphyry rocks. These mountains may
he divided into two great masses — that of
Jebel Serbal (6759 feet high) in the north
west above Wady Feiran and the central
group, roughly denoted by the general name
of Sinai. This group rises abruptly from the
Wady es-Sheykh at its north foot, first to the
cliffs of the Ras Sufsdfeh, behind which
towers the pinnacle of Jebel Musa (the Mount
of Moses) and further back to the right of it
the summit of Jebel Katerin (Mount St. Ca
therine, 8705 feet), all being hacked up and
overtopped by Um Shaumer (the mother of
fennel, 9300 feet), which is the highest point
of the whole peninsula. Before considering
the claims of the individual mouutains to
Scriptural notice, there occurs a question
regarding the relation of the names Horeb
and Sinai. The latter name first occurs as
that of the limit on the further side from
Egypt of the wilderness of Sin (Ex. xvi. 1),
and again (xix. 1, 2) as the "wilderness" or
"desert of Sinai," before Mount Sinai is
actually spoken of, as in ver. 11 soon after
we find it. But the name "Horeb" is, in
the case of the rebuke of the people by God
for their sin in making the golden calf, re
introduced into the Sinaitic narrative (xxxiii.
6), having been previously most recently used
in the story of the murmuring at Rephidim
[xvii. 6), and earlier as the name of the
scene of tbe appearance of God in the
"burning bush" (hi. 1). Horeb, strictly
taken, may probably be a dry plain, valley,
or bed of a wady near tbe mountain ; and
yet Mount Horeb, on the " vast green plain "
of which was doubtless exceUent pasture, may
mean the mountain viewed in reference
thereto, or its side abutting thereon. But
beyond the question of the relation which
these names naturally hear, there remains
that of site. Sinai is clearly a summit dis
tinctly marked. Where are we to look for it 1
There are three principal views in answer to
this question : — I. That Sei'bdl is Sinai, some
30 miles distant westward from the Jebel
Musa, but close to the Wady Feiran, which
is thus identified with Rephidim. The ear
liest traditions are in its favour. But there
are two main objections to this : — (1.) It is
clear, from Ex. xix. 2 (comp. xvii. 1), tbat
the interval between Rephidim and Sinai was
that of a regular stage of the march. (2.)
There i3 no plain or wady of any sufficient
size near Serbal to offer camping-ground to
ao large a host, or perhaps the tenth part of

them. — II. That Jebel Musa is Sinai, and
that the Wady es Sebayeh, which its S.E. or
highest summit overhangs, is the spot where
the people camped before the monnt ; but the
second objection to Serbal applies almost in
equal force to this — the want of space below,
— III. That the modern Horeb of the monks
— viz. the N.W. and lower face of the Jebel
Musa, crowned with a range of magnificent
cliffs, the highest point called Ras Sufsdfeh,
as overlooking the plain er Rahah, is the
scene of the giving of the Law, and that
peak the mountain into whieh Moses ascended.
But the whole of Jebel Musa is, compared
with the adjacent mountains, insignificant.
The conjunction of mountain with plain is
the greatest feature of this site ; in choosing
it, we lose in the mountain, as compared with
Serbal, but we gain in the plain, of which
Serbal has nothing. It may be added that,
supposing Wady Tayibeh to have been the
encampment " by the sea," as stated in Num.
xxxiii. 10, three routes opened there before
the Israelites : the most southerly one down
the plain el Kda to Tur ; the most northerly
by the Sarbut el Khadem; and the middle
one by Wady Feiran, by which they would
pass the foot of Serbal, which therefore in
this case alone could possibly be Sinai. The
middle route aforesaid from W. Tayibeh
reaches the W. Feiran through what is called
the W. Mokatteb, or "written valley," from
the inscriptions on the rocks which line it,
generally considered to have been the work
of Christian hands, but whether those of a
Christian people localised there at an unknown
period, as Lepsius thinks, or of passing pil
grims, as is the more general opinion,'is likely
to continue doubtful.
SIN'IM, a people noticed in Is. xlix. 12,
as living at the extremity of the known
world. They may be* identified with the
classicallSmae, the inhabitants of the southern
part of CJiina.
SI'NITE, a tribe of Canaanites (Gen. x.
17 ; 1 Chr. i. 15), whose position is to he
sought for in the northern part of the Lebanon
district. SI'ON, MOUNT. 1. One of the various
names of Mount Hermon (Deut. iv. 48 only).
— 2. The Greek form of the Hebrew name,
Zion, the famous Mount of the Temple (1
Mace. iv. 37, 60, v. 54, vi. 48, 62, vii. 33,
x. 11, xiv. 27 ; Heb. xii. 22 ; Rev. xiv. 1).
[Jerusalem.] SI'RACH, the father of Jesus (Joshua), the
writer of the Hebrew original of the Book of
Ecclesiasticus. SI'RAH, THE WELL OF, from which
Abner was recalled by Joab to his death at
Hebron (2 Sam. iii. 26 only). It was ap-

SIRION

528

SLAVE

parently on the northern road from Hebron.
There is a spring and reservoir on the west
ern side of tbe ancient northern road, about
one mile out of Hebron, which is called Ain
Sara. SIR'ION, one of the various names of
Mount Hermon (Deut. iii. 9 ; Ps. xxix. 6) is
remarkable. SIS'ERA, captain of the army of Jabin
king of Canaan who reigned in Hazor. He
himself resided in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
The particulars of the rout of Megiddo and
of Sisera's flight and death are drawn out
under the heads of Barak-, Deborah, Jael,
Kishon. SIT'NAH, the second of the two wells dug
by Isaac in the valley of Gerar, the posses
sion of which the herdmen of the valley dis
puted with him (Gen. xxvi. 21).
SIVAN. [Month.]
SLAVE. The institution of slavery was
recognised, though not established, by the
Mosaic Law with a view to mitigate its hard
ship and to secure to every man his ordinary
rights. — I. Hebrew Slaves. 1. The circum
stances under which a Hebrew might be
reduced to servitude were — (1) poverty; (2)
the commission of theft; and (3) the exer
cise of paternal authority. In the first case,
a man who had mortgaged his property, and
was unable to support his family, might sell
himself to another Hebrew, with a view both
to obtain maintenance, and perchance a sur
plus sufficient to redeem his property (Lev.
xxv. 25, 39). (2) The Commission of theft
rendered a person liable to servitude, when
ever restitution could not be made on the
scale prescribed by the Law (Ex. xxii. 1, 3).
The thief was bound to work out the value of
his restitution money in the service of him
on whom the theft had been committed. (3)
The exercise of paternal authority was limited
to the sale of a daughter of tender rfge to be
a maidservant, with the ulterior view of her
becoming the concubine of the purchaser
(Ex. xxi. 7). 2. The servitude of a Hebrew
might be terminated in 'three ways : — (1) by
the satisfaction or the remission of all claims
against him ; (2) by the recurrence of the
year of Jubilee (Lev. xxv. 40) ; and (3) the
expiration of six years from the time that his
servitude commenced (Ex. xxi. 2 ; Deut. xv.
12). (4) To the above modes of obtaining
liberty the Rabbinists added as a fourth, the
death of the master without leaving a son,
there being no power of claiming the slave
on the part of any heir except a son. If a
servant did not desire to avail himself of the
opportunity of leaving his service, he was to
signify his intention in a formal manner I
before the judges (or more exactly at the j

place of judgment), and then the master was
to take him to the door-post, and to bore his
ear through with an awl (Ex. xxi. 6), driving
the awl into or " unto the door," as stated
in Deut. xv. 17, and thus fixing the servant
to it. A servant who had submitted to this
operation remained, according to the words
of the Law, a servant " for ever " (Ex. xxi.
G\. These words are, however, interpreted
by Josephus and by the Rabbinists as mean
ing until the year of Jubilee. 3. The condi
tion of a Hebrew servant was by no means
intolerable. His master was admonished to
treat him, not "as a bondservant, but as an
hired servant and as a sojourner," and, again,
"not to rule over him with rigour" (Lev.
xxv. 39, 40, 43). At the termination of his
servitude the master was enjoined not to
"let him go away empty," but to remunerate
him liberally out of his flock, his floor, and
his winepress (Deut. xv. 13, 14). In the
event of a Hebrew becoming the servant of a
" stranger," meaning a non-Hebrew, the ser
vitude could he terminated only in two ways,
viz. by the arrival of the year of Jubilee, or
by the repayment to the master of the pur
chase-money paid for the servant, after de
ducting a sum for the value of his services
proportioned to the length of his servitude
(Lev. xxv. 47-55). A Hebrew woman might
enter into voluntary servitude on the score
of poverty, and in this case she was entitled
to her freedom after six years' service, to
gether with her usual gratuity at leaving,
just as in the case of a man (Deut. xv. 12,
13). Thus far we have seen little that is
objectionable in the condition of Hebrew ser
vants. In respect to marriage there were
some peculiarities which, to our ideas, would
be regarded as hardships. A master might,
for instance, give a wife to a Hebrew servant
for the time of his servitude, the wife being
in this case, it must be remarked, not only a
slave, but a non-Hebrew. Should he leave
when his term had expired, his wife and
children would remain the absolute property
of the master (Ex. xxi. 4, 5). Again, a
father might sell his young daughter to a
Hebrew, with a view either of marrying her
himself, or of giving her to his son (Ex,
xxi. 7-9). It diminishes the apparent harsh
ness of this proceeding if we look on the
purchase-money as in tbe light of a dowry
given, as was not unusual, to the parents
of the bride ; still more, if we accept the
Rabbinical view that the consent of the maid
was required before the marriage could take
place. The position of a maiden thus sold
by her father was subject to the following
regulations:— (1) She could not "go out as
the men servants do," i. e. she could not leave

SLAVE

529

SNOW "

at the termination of six years, or in the year
of Jubilee, if her master was willing to fulfil
the object for which he had purchased her.
(2) Should he not wish to marry her, he should
call upon her friends to procure her release
by the repayment of the purchase-money.
(3) If he betrothed her to his son, he was
bound to make such provision for her as he
would for one of his own daughters. (4) If
either he or his son, having married her,
took a second wife, it should not be to the
prejudice of the first. (5) If neither of the
three first specified alternatives took place,
the maid was entitled to immediate and gra
tuitous liberty (Ex. xxi. 7-11). The custom
of reducing Hebrews to servitude appears to
have fallen into disuse subsequently to the
Babylonish captivity. Vast numbers of He
brews were reduced to slavery as war-captives
at different periods by the Phoenicians (Joel
iii. 6), the Philistines (Joel iii. 6 ; Am. i. 6),
the Syrians (1 Mace. iii. 41 ; 2 Mace. viii.
11), the Egyptians (Joseph. Ant. xii. 2, §3),
and, above all, by the Romans (Joseph. B. J.
vi. 9, §3).— II. Non-Hebrew Slaves. — 1. The
majority of Non-Hebrew slaves were war-
captives, either of the Canaanites who had
survived the general extermination of their
race under Joshua, or such as were conquered
from the other surrounding nations (Num.
xxxi. 26 ff.). Besides these, many were
obtained by purchase from foreign slave-
dealers (Lev. xxv. 44, 45) ; and others may
have been resident foreigners who were re
duced to this state either by poverty or crime.
The children of slaves remained slaves, being
the class described as "born in the house"
(Gen. xiv. 14, xvii. 12; Eccl. ii. 7), and
hence the number was likely to increase as
time went on. The average value of a slave
appears to have been thirty shekels (Ex. xxi.
32). 2. That the slave might he manu
mitted, appears from Ex. xxi. 26, 27 ; Lev.
xix. 20. 3. The slave is described as the
" possession " of bis master, apparently with
a special reference to the power which the
latter had of disposing of him to his heirs as
he would any other article of personal pro
perty (Lev. xxv. 45, 46) ; the slave is also
deacrrbedas his master's " money " (Ex. xxi.
21), i. e. as representing a certain money
value. Such expressions show that he was
regarded very much in the light of a chattel.
But on the other hand provision was made
for the protection of his person (Lev. xxiv.
17, 22 ; Ex. xxi. 20). A minor personal
injury, such as the loss of an eye or a tooth,
was to be recompensed by giving tbe servant
bis liberty (Ex. xxi. 26, 27). The position
of the slave in regard to religious privileges
ffas favourable. He was to be circumcised
Sm. D. B.

(Gen. xvii. 12), and hence was entitled to
partake of the Paschal sacrifice (Ex. xii. 44),
as well as of the other religious festivals
(Deut. xii. 12, 18, xvi. 11, 14). The occu
pations of slaves were of a menial character,
as implied in Lev. xxv. 39, consisting partly
in the work of the house, and partly in per
sonal attendance on the master.
SLIME, translated bitumen in the Vulgate.
The three instances in which it is mentioned
in tbe O. T. are illustrated by travellers and
historians. It is first spoken uf as used for
cement by the builders in the plain of Shinar,
or Babylonia (Gen. xi. 3). The bitumen
pits in the vale of Siddim are mentioned in
the ancient fragment of Canaanitish history
(Gen. xiv. 10) ; and the ark of papyrus in
which Moses was placed was made impervious
to water by a coating of bitumen and pitch
(Ex. ii. 3). Herodotus (i. 179) tells us of
the bitumen found at Is, a town of Babylonia,
eight days' journey from Babylon. The town
of Is, mentioned by Herodotus, is the modern
Hit or Heet, on the west or right bank of the
Euphrates, and four days' journey from
Bagdad. The principal bitumen pit at Heet
has two sources, and is divided by a wall
in the centre, on one side of which bitu
men bubbles up, and on the other the oil of
naphtha. SLING. [Arms, p'. 45.]
SMITH. [Handicraft.]
SMYR'NA, the city to which allusion is
made in Revelation ii. 8-11, was founded by
Alexander the Great, and was situated twenty
stades from the city of the same name, which
after a long series of wars with the Lydians
had been finally taken and sacked by Haly-
attes. SNAIL. 1. The Hebrew word shablill
ocenrs only in Ps. lviii. 8. The rendering
of the A. V. is probably correct. The term
would denote either a Limax or a Helix,
which are particularly noticeable for the
slimy track they leave behind them. 2. The
Hebrew word Chdmei occurs only as the
name of some unclean animal in Lev. xi.
30. Perhaps some kind of lizard may be
intended. SNOW. The historical books of the Bible
contain only two notices of snow actually fall
ing (2 Sam. xxiii. 20 ; 1 Mace. xiii. 22), but
the allusions in the poetical books are so
numerous that there can be no doubt as to
its being an ordinary occurrence in the winter
months (Ps. cxlvii. 16, exlviii. 8). The snow
lies deep in the ravines of the highest ridge
of Lebanon until the summer is far advanced,
and indeed never wholly disappears ; the
summit of Herinon also perpetually glistens
with frozen snow. From these sources pre-
2 M

so

530

SODOM

bably the Jews obtained their supplies of ice
for the purpose of cooling their beverages in
summer (Prov. xxv. 13). The liability to
snow must of course vary considerably in a
country of such varying altitude as Palestine.
At Jerusalem snow often falls to the depth of
a foot or more in January and February, but
it seldom lies. At Nazareth it falls more
frequently and deeply, and it has been ob
served to fall even in the maritime plain of
Joppa and about Carmel.
SO. "So king of Egypt" is once men
tioned in the Bible. Hoshea, the last king
of Israel, evidently intending to become the
vassal of Egypt, sent messengers to him and
made no present, as had been the yearly
custom, to the king of Assyria (2 K. xvii. 4).
So has been identified by diffeient writers
with the iir-t and second kings of the Ethi
opian XXVth dynasty, called by Manetho,
Sabakon (Shebek), and Sebichos (Shebetek).
SOAP. The Hebrew term borith is a
general term for any substance of cleansing
qualities. As, however, it appears in Jer.
ii. 22, in contradistinction to nether, which
undoubtedly means " natron," or mineral
alkali, it is fair to infer that bdrith refers to
voluble alkali, or some kind of potash,
which forms one of the usual ingredients in
our soap. Numerous plants, capable of
yielding alkalies, exist in Palestine and the
surrounding countries ; we may notice one
named Ilubeibeh (the salsota kali of botanists)
found near the Dead Sea, the ashes of which
are called el-Kuli from their strong alkaline
properties. SO'COH. The name of two towns in tbe
tribe of Judah. 1. In the district of the
shefelah (Josh. xv. 35 ; I Sam. xvii. 1 ;
2 Chr. xi. 7, xxviii. 18). In the time of
Eusebius it bore the name of Socchoth, and
lay between 8 and 9 Roman miles from Eleu-
theropolis, on the road to Jerusalem. It
may be identified with esh-Shuweikeh in the
western part of the mountains of Judah.
From this village probably came " Antigonus
of Soco," who lived about the commencement
of the 3rd century b.c. — 2. Also a town of
Judah, but in the mountain district (Josh.
xv. 48). It has been discovered about 10
uiiles S.W. of Hebron ; bearing, like the
other Socoh, the name of esh-Shuweikeh.
sOD'OM, one of the most ancient cities of
Syria. It is commonly mentioned in con
nexion with Gomorrah, but also with Admah
and Zeboim, and on one occasion (Gen. xiv.)
with Bela or Zoar. Sodom was evidently
the chief town in the settlement. The four
are first named in the ethnological records of
Gen- x. 19, as belonging to tbe Canaanites.
The next mention of the name of Sodom

(Gen. xiii. 10-13) gives more certain indica
tion of the position of the city. Abram and
Lot are standing' together between Bethel
and Ai (ver. 3), taking a survey of the land
around and below them. Eastward of them,
and absolutely at their feet, lay the " circle
of Jordan." The whole circle was one great
oasis— " a garden of Jehovah " (ver. ] 0).
In the midst of the garden the four cities of
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim ap
pear to have been situated. It is necessary
to notice how absolutely the cities are identi
fied with the district. In the subsequent
account of their destruction (Gen. xix.), the
topographical terms are employed with all
the precision which is characteristic of such
early times. The mention of the Jordan is
conclusive as to the situation of the district,
for the Jordan ceases where it enters the
Dead Sea, and can have no existence south
of that point. The catastrophe by whieh
they were destroyed is described in Gen.
xix. as a shower of brimstone and fire from
Jehovah. However we may interpret the
words of the earliest narrative one thing is
certain, that the lake was not one of the
agents in the catastrophe. Nor is it implied
in any of the later passages in which the
destruction of the cities is referred to through
out the Scriptures. Quite the contrary.
Those passages, always speak of the district
on which the cities once stood, not as sub
merged, but, as still visible, though desolate
and uninhabitable. In agreement with this
is the statement of Josephus, and the ac
counts of heathen writers, as Strabo and
Tacitus ; who, however vague their state
ments, are evidently under the belief that
the district was not under water, and that
the remains of the towns were still to be
seen. From all these passages, though much '
is obscure, two things seem clear. 1. That
Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain
of Jordan stood on the north of the Dead
Sea. 2. That neither the cities nor the
district were submerged by the lake, but
that the cities were overthrown and the land
spoiled, and that it may still be seen in its
desolate condition. When, however, we turn
to more modern views, we discover a re
markable variance from these conclusions.
1. The opinion long current, that the five
cities were submerged in the lake, and that
their remains— walls, columns, and capitals
— might be still discerned below the water,
hardly needs refutation after the distinct
statement and the constant implication of
Scripture. But— 2. A more serious de
parture from the terms of the ancient history
is exhibited in the prevalent opinion that tbe
cities stood at the south end of the Lake.

SODOM

531

SOLOMON

This appears to have been the belief of Jose
phus and Jerome, It seems to have been
universally held by the mediaeval historians
and pilgrims, and it is adopted by modern
topographers, probably without exception.
There are several grounds for this belief ;
but the main point on which Dr. R,obinson
rests his argument is the situation of Zoar,
(a.) "Lot," says he, "fled to Zoar, which
was near to Sodom ; and Zoar lay almost at
the southern end of the present sea, probably
in the mouth of Wadg Kerak." (b.) An
other consideration in favour of placing the
cities at the southern end of the lake is the
existence of similar names in that direction.
(c, ) A third argument, and perhaps the
weightiest of the three, is the existence of
the salt mountain at the south of the lake,
and its tendency to split off in columnar
masses, presenting a rude resemblance to the
human form. But it is by no means certain
that salt does not exist at other spots round
the lake. It thus appears that on the situa
tion of Sodom no satisfactory conclusion can
at present be come to. On the one hand the
narrative of Genesis seems to state positively
that it lay at the northern end of the Dead
Sea. On the other hand the long-continued
tradition and the names of existing spots
seem to pronounce with almost equal posi-
tiveness that it was at its southern end. —
Of the catastrophe which destroyed the city
and the district of Sodom we can hardly hope
ever to form a satisfactory conception. Some
catastrophe there undoubtedly was. But
what secondary agencies, besides fire, were
employed in the accomplishment of the
punishment cannot he safely determined in
the almost total absence of exact scientific
description of the natural features of the
ground round the lake. It was formerly
supposed that the overthrow of Sodom was
caused by the convulsion which formed
the Dead Sea. But the changes which
occurred when the limestone strata of
Syria were split by that vast fissure which
forms the Jordan Valley and the basin of
the Salt Lake, must not only have taken
place at a time long anterior to the period
of Abraham, but must have been of such a
nature and on such a scale as to destroy all
animal life far and near. But in fact the
narrative of Gen. xix. neither states nor
implies that any convulsion of the earth
occurred. If it were possible to speculate
on materials at once so slender and so ob
scure as are furnished by that narrative, it
would he more consistent to suppose that the
actual agent in the ignition and destruction
of the cities had been of the nature of a
tremendous thunderstorm accompanied by a

discharge of meteoric stones. The name
Sodom has been interpreted to mean " burn
ing. " The miserable fate of Sodom and
Gomorrah is held up as a warning in numer
ous passages of the Old and New Testaments
(2 Pet. ii. 6 ; Jude 4-7 ; Mark vi. 11).
SOD'OMITES. This word does not denote
the inhabitants of Sodom ; but it is em
ployed in the A. V. of the Old Testament for
those who practised as a religious rite the
abominable and unnatural vice from which
the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah have
derived their lasting infamy. It occurs in
Deut. xxiii. 17 ; 1 K. xiv. 24, xv. 12, xxii.
46; 2 K. xxiii. 7; and Job xxxvi. 14
(margin). The Hebrew word Kadesh is said
to be derived from a root kadash, which
(strange as it may appear) means " pure,"
and thence "holy." This dreadful "conse
cration," or rather desecration, was spread
in different forms over Phoenicia, Syria,
Phrygia, Assyria, Babylonia.
SOL'OMON. I. Early Life and Accession.
— He was the child of David's old age, the
last-born of all his sons (1 Chr. iii. 5). The
feelings of the king and of his prophet-guide
expressed themselves in the names with
which they welcomed his birth. The yearn
ings of the " man of war " now led him to
give to the new-born infant the name of
Solomon (Shelomoh = the peaceful one).
Nathan, with a marked reference to the
meaning of the king's own name (Davit] = the
darling, the beloved one), calls the infant
Jedidiah (Jedid-yah), that is the "darling of
the Lord" (2 Sam. xii. 24, 25). He was
placed under the care of Nathan from his
earliest infancy. At first, apparently, there
was no distinct purpose to make him his
heir. Absalom is still the king's favourite
son (2 Sam. xiii. 37, xviii. 33) — is looked
on by the people as the destined successor
(2 Sam. xiv. 13, xv. 1-6). The death of
Absalom, when Solomon was about ten years
old, left the place vacant, and David pledged
his word in secret to Bathsheba that he, and
no other, should be the heir (1 K. i. 13).
— The feebleness of David's old age led to
an attempt which might have deprived
Solomon of the throne his father destined
for him. Adonijah, next in order of birth
to Absalom, like Absalom " was a goodly
man" (1 K. i. 6), in full maturity of years,
backed by the oldest of the king's friends and
counsellors. Following in tbe steps of Ab
salom, he assumed the kingly state of a
chariot and a bodyguard. At last a time
was chosen for openly proclaiming him as
king. A solemn feast at En-rogel was to
inaugurate the new reign. It was necessary
for those whose interests were endangered
2 112'

SOLOMON

5.°.2

SOLOMON

to take prompt measures. Bathsheba and
Nathan took counsel together. The king
was reminded of his oath. Solomon went
down to Gihon, and was proclaimed and
anointed king. The shouts of his followers
fell on the startled ears of the guests at
Adonijah's banquet. One by one they rose
and departed. The plot had failed. A few
months more, and Solomon found himself,
by his father's death, the sole occupant of
the throne. The position to which he suc
ceeded was unique. Never before, and never
after, did the kingdom of Israel take its
place among the great monarchies of tbe
East. Large treasures accumulated through
many years were at his disposal. — Of Solo
mon's personal appearance we have no direct
description, as we have of the earlier kings.
There arc, however, materials for filling up
the gap. Whatever higher mystic meaning
nfay be latent in Ps. xiv., or the Song of
Son^s, -we are all but compelled to think of
thein as having had, at least, a historical
starting-point. They tell us of one who was,
in tbe eyes of the men of his own time,
" fairer than the children of men," the face
"bright and ruddy" as his father's (Cant.
>'. 10; 1 Sam. xvii. 42), bushy locks, dark
as the raven's wing, yet not without a
golden glow, the eyes soft as "the eyes of
doves," the "countenance as Lebanon, excel
lent as the cedars," " the chiefest among ten
thousand, the altogether lovely" (Cant. v.
9-16). Add to this all gifts of a noble, far-
reaching intellect, large and ready sym
pathies, a playful and genial humour, the
lips " full of grace," the soul " anointed "
as "with the oil of gladness" (Ps. xiv.),
and we may form some notion of what the
king was like in that dawn of his golden
prime. — The narrative of the earliest facts in
the history of the new reign, as told in 1 K.
ii., is not a little perplexing. Bathsheba,
who had before stirred up David against
Adonijah, now appears as interceding for
him, begging that Abishag the Shunamite,
the virgin concubine of David, might be
given him as a wife. Solomon, who till then
had professed the profoundest reverence for
his mother, suddenly flashes into fiercest
wrath at this. The petition is treated as
part of a conspiracy in whieh Joab and
Abiathar are sharers. Adonijah is put to
death at once. Joab is slain even within
the precincts of the Tabernacle, to which he
had fled as an asylum. Abiathar is deposed,
and exiled, sent to a life of poverty and
shame (1 K. ii. 31-36), and the high-priest
hood transferred to another family. [Zadok.]
— II. Reign. All the data for a continuous his
tory that we have of Solomon's reign are —

(a.) The duration of the reign, 40 years (1 K.
xi. 42) b.c. 1015-975. (b.) The commence
ment of the Temple in the 4th, its completion in
the 11th year of his reign (1 K. vi. 1, 37, 38).
(c.) The commencement of his own palace in
the 7th, its completion in the 20th ycar(l Iv,
vii. 1 ; 2 Chr. viii. 1). (d.) The conquest
of nanuith-Zobah, and the consequent foun
dation of cities in the region North of Pales
tine after the 20th year (2 Chr. viii. 1-6).
With materials so scanty as these, it will be
bettor to group the chief facts in an order
which will best enable us to appreciate their
significance. — III. Foreign Policy. — 1. Egypt.
The first act of tbe foreign poliey of the new
reign must have been to most Israelites a
very startling one. lie made affinity with
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by marrying his
daughter (1 K. iii. 1). The immediate
results were probably favourable enough.
The new queen brought with her as a
dowry the frontier- city of Gezer, against
which, as threatening the tranquillity of
Israel, and as still possessed by a remnant
of the old Canaanites, Pharaoh had led his
armie3. She was received with all honour.
A separate and stately palace was built fqr
her, before long, outside the city of David
(2 Chr. viii. 11). The ultimate issue of the
alliance showed that it was hollow and im
politic. There may have been a revolution
in Egypt. There was at any rate a change
of policy. There was planned the scheme
which first led to the rebellion of the Ten
Tribes, and then to the attack of Shishalpon
the weakened and dismantled kingdom of the
son of Solomon. 2. Tyre. The alliance
with the Phoenician king rested on a some
what different footing. It had been part of
David's policy from the beginning of his
reign. Hiram had been " ever a lover of
David." As soon as he heard of Solomon's
accession he sent ambassadors to salute him.
A correspondence passed between the two
kings, which ended in a treaty of commerce.
The opening of Joppa as a port created a new
coasting-trade, and the materials from Tyre
were conveyed to it on floats, and thence to
Jerusalem (2 Chr. ii. 16). In return for
these exports, the Phoenicians were only too
glad to receive the corn and oil of Solomon's
territory. The results of the alliance did not-
end here. Now, for the first time in the his
tory of Israel, they entered on a career as a
commercial people. They joined the Phoe
nicians in their Mediterranean voyages to the
coasts of Spain. Solomon's possession of the
Edomite coast enabled him to open to his ally
a new world of commerce. The ports of
Elath and Ezion-geber were filled with ships
of Tarshish, merchant-ships, manned chiefly

KINGDOMS OF JUDAH & ISRAEI
VXD TH*
LANDSofthe CAPTIVITIES
Sv.ilr orF.u^ihM.1.-

Fast i>r Greenwich

London. John Murray, JTbetnarh "*

SOLOMON

53-°.

SOLOMON

by Phoenicians, but built at Solomon's ex
pense, which sailed down the Aelanitic Gulf of
the Red Sea, on to the Indian Ocean, to lands
which had before been hardly known even
by name. 3. These were the two most im
portant alliances. The absence of any refer
ence to Babylon and Assyria, and the fact
that the Euphrates was recognised as the
boundary of Solomon's kingdom (2 Chr. ix.
26), suggest the inference that the Meso-
potamian monarchies were at this time com
paratively feeble. Other neighbouring nations
were content to pay annual tribute in the
form of gifts (2 Chr. ix. 42). 4. The sur
vey of the influence exercised by Solomon on
surrounding nations would be incomplete if
we were to pass over that which was more
directly personal— the fame of his glory and
his wisdom. Wherever the ships of Tarshish
went, they carried with them the report,
losing nothing in its passage, of what their
creivs had seen and heard. The journey of
the queen of Sheba, though from its circum
stances the most conspicuous, did not stand
alone. She had heard of the wisdom of Solo
mon, and connected with it " the name of
Jehovah" (1 K. x. 1). She came with hard
questions to test that wisdom, and the words
just quoted may throw light upon their
nature. The historians of Israel delighted
to dwell on her confession that the reality
surpassed the fame, " the one-half of the
greatness, of thy wisdom was not told me "
' (2 Chr. ix. 6).— IV. Internal History.— 1 . The
first prominent scene in Solomon's reign is
one which presents his character in its
noblest aspect. There were two holy places
which divided the reverence of tbe people,
the ark and its provisional tabernacle at Jeru
salem, and the original Tabernacle of the con
gregation, which, after many wanderings, was
now pitched at Gibeon. It was thought right
that the new king should offer solemn sacri
fices at both. After those at Gibeon there
came that vision of the night, in which Solo
mon prayed, not for riches, or long life, or
victory over enemies, but for a " wise and
understanding heart," that he might judge
the people. The " speech pleased the Lord."
The wisdom asked for was given in large
measure, and took a varied range. The wide
¦world of nature, animate and inanimate, the
lives and characters of men, lay before him,
and he took cognisance of all. But the highest
! Wisdom was that wanted for the highest work,
fur governing and guiding, and the historian
[hastens to give an illustration of it. The
i pattern-instance is, in all its circumstances,
thoroughly Oriental (1 K. iii. 16-28). 2. In
reference to the king's finances, the first
impression of the facts given us is tbat of

abounding plenty. Large quantities of the
precious metals were imported from Ophir
and Tarshish (1 K. ix, 28). All the kings
and princes of the subject-provinces paid
tribute in the form of gifts, in money and in
kind, " at a fixed rate year by year " ( 1 K. x.
25). Monopolies of tiade contributed to the
king's treasury (1 K. x. 28, 29). The king's
domain-lands were apparently let out, at a
fixed annual rental (Cant. viii. 11). All the
provinces of his own kingdom were bound
each in turn to supply the king's enormous
household with provisions (1 K. iv. 21-23).
The total amount thus brought into the trea
sury in gold, exclusive of all payments in
kind, amounted to 666 talents (1 K. x. 14).
3. It was hardly possible, however, that
any financial system could bear the strain of
the king's passion for magnificence. The
cost of the Temple was, it is true, provided
for by David's savings and the offerings of the
people ; but even while that was building, yet
more when it was finished, one structure fol
lowed on another with ruinous rapidity. All
the equipment of his court, the " apparel" of
his servants, was on the same scale. A body
guard attended him, " threescore valiant
men," tallest and handsomest of the sons of
Israel. Forty thousand stalls of horses for
his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen,
made up the measure of his magnificence
(1 K. iv. 26). As the treasury became
empty, taxes multiplied and monopolies be
came more irksome. The people complained,
not of the king's idolatry, but of their
burdens, of his " grievous yoke " (1 K. xii. 4).
Their hatred fell heaviest on Adoniram, who
was over the tribute. 4. A description of
the Te3iple erected by Solomon is given else
where. After seven years and a half the
work was completed, and the day came to
which all Israelites looked back as the cul
minating glory of their nation. The ark
from Zion, the tabernacle from Gibeon, were
both removed (2 Chr. v. 5), and brought to
the new Temple. In the solemn dedication
of the building the person of tbe king is the
one central object, compared with whom even
priests and prophets are for the time sub
ordinate. From him came the lofty prayer,
the noblest utterance of the creed of Israel,
setting forth the distance and the nearness of
the Eternal God, One, Incemprehensible,
dwelling not m temples made with hands, yet
ruling men, hearing their prayers, giving
them all good things, wisdom, peace, righteous
ness. 5. But the king soon fell from the
loftiest height of his religious life to the
lowest depth. Before long the priests and
prophets had to grieve over rival temples tc
Moloch, Chemosh, Ashtaroth, forms of ritual

SOLOMON

no

4

SOWER, SOWING

not idolatrous only, but cruel, dark, impure.
This evil came as the penalty of another
(1 K. xi. 1-8). He gave himself to " strange
women." He found himself involved in a
fascination which led to the worship of strange
gods. Disasters followed before long as the
natural consequence of what was politically
a blunder as well as religiously a sin. The
strength of the nation rested on its unity,
and its unity depended on its faith. What
ever attractions the sensuous ritual which he
introduced may have had for the great body
of the people, the priests and Levites nnv-t
have looked on the rival worship with entire
disfavour. The zeal of the prophetic order
was now kindled into active opposition (1 K.
xi. 28-39).' The king in vain tried to check
the current that was setting strong against
him. The old tribal jealousies gave signs of
renewed vitality. Ephraim was prepared
once more to dispute the supremacy of Judah,
needing special control (1 K. xi, 28). And
with this weakness within there came attacks
from without. The king, prematurely old,
mn-l have foreseen the rapid breaking up of
the great monarchy to which he had suc
ceeded. Of the inner changes of mind and
heart whieh ran parallel with this history
Scripture is comparatively silent. Something
may be learnt from the books that bear his
name. They represent the three stages of
his life. The Song of Songs brings before us
the brightness of his youth. Then comes in
the Book of Proverbs, the stage of practical,
prudential thought. Tho poet has become
the philosopher, the mystic has passed into the
moralist. But the man passed through both
stages without being permanently the better
for either. They were to him but phases of
his life which he had known and exhausted
(Eccl. i., ii.). And therefore there came, as
in the Confessions of the Preacher, the great
retribution. — V. Legends. — Round the facts
of the history, as a nucleus, there gathers a
whole world of fantastic fables, Jewish,
Christian, and Mahometan. Even in the Tar-
guin of Ecclesiastes we find strange stories of
his character. He left behind him spells and
charms to cure diseases and cast out evil
spirits. His wisdom enabled him to inter
pret the speech of beasts and birds. He
knew the secret virtues of gems and herbs.
Arabic imagination took a yet wilder flight.
After a strong struggle with the rebellious
Afreets and Jinns, Solomon conquered them
and cast them into the sea. To him belonged
the magic ring which revealed to him the
past, the present, and the future. The visit
of the queen of Sheba furnished some three
or four romances.
SOLOMON'S PORCH. [Palace; Temple.]

SOLOMON'S SERVANTS {Children op).
(Ezr. ii. 56, 58 ; Neh. vii. 57, 60). The per
sons thus named appear in the lists of the
exiles who returned from the Captivity.
They weie the descendants of the Canaanites
who were reduced by Solomon to the helot
state, and compelled to labour in the king's
stone-quarries, and in building his palaces
and cities (1 K. v. 13, 14, ix. 20, 21 ; 2 Chr.
viii. 7, 8). They appear to have formed a
distinct order, inheriting probably the same
functions and the same skill as their an
cestors. SOLOMON'S SONG. [Canticlks.]
SOLOMON, WISDOM OF. [Wisdom,
Book of.]
SOOTHSAYER. [Divination.]
SO'PATER, son of Pyrrhus of Beroea, was
one of the companions of St. Paul on his
return from Greece into Asia (Acts xx. 4).
SORCERER. [Divination.]
SO'REK, THE VALLEY OF, a wady in
which lay the residence of Dalilah (Judg.
xvi. 4). It was possibly nearer Gaza than
any other of the chief Philistine cities, since
thither Samson was taken after his capture
at Dalilah's house.
SOSIP'ATER, kinsman or fellow-tribesman
of St. Paul (Rom. xvi. 21), is probably the
same person as Sopater of Beroea.
SOSTHENES was a Jew at Corinth, who
was seized and beaten in the presence of
Gallio (see Acts xviii. li>-17). Paul wrote
the First Epistle to the Corinthians jointly in
his own name and that of a certain Sosthenes
whom he terms " the brother ' (1 Cor. i. 1).
Some have held that he was identical with
the Sosthenes mentioned in the Acts. If this
be so, he must have been converted at a later
period, and have been at Ephesus and not at
Corinth, when Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
The name was a common one, and but little
stress can be laid on that coincidence.
SOUTH RA'MOTH. [Ramath, No. 463,6. 1
SOW. [Swine.]
SOWER, SOWING. The operation of
sowing with the hand is one of" so simple a
character, as to need little description. The
Egyptian paintings furnish many illustra
tions of the mode in which it was conducted.
The sower held the vessel or basket contain
ing the seed, in his left hand, while with his
right he scattered the seed broadcast. The
"drawing out" of the seed is noticed, as the
most characteristic action of the sower, in
Ps. exxvi. 6 (A. V. "precious") and Am.
ix. 13. In wet soils the seed was trodden in
by the feet of animals (Is. xxxii. 201. The
sowing season commenced in October and
continued to tbe end of February, wheat
being put in before, and barley after the

SPAIN

535

SPARTA

beginning of January. The Mosaic law pro
hibited the sowing of mixed seed (Lev. xix.
19; Deut. xxii. 9).
SPAIN (1 Mace. viii. 3 ? Roin. xv. 24, 28).
The local designation, Tarshish, representing
the Tartessus of the Greeks, probably pre
vailed until the fame of the Roman wars
in that country reached the East, when it
was superseded by its classical name. The
mere intention of St. Paul to visit Spain im
plies two interesting facts, viz. the establish
ment of a Christian community in that
country, and this by means of Hellenistic
Jews resident there.
SPARROW. (Heb. izippdr). This Heb.
word occurs upwards of forty times in the
0. T. In all passages excepting two it is
rendered by A. V. indifferently "bird" or
"fowl." In Ps. lxxxiv. 3, and Ps. cii. 7, it
is rendered " sparrow." The Greek "2,Tpov9Lov
("sparrow," A. V.) occurs twice in N. T.,
• Matt. x. 29, Luke xii. 6, 7. Tzippdr, from a
root signifying to " chirp" or " twitter," ap
pears to be a phonetic representation of the
call-note of any passerine bird. Although
the common sparrow of England (Passer do-
mesticus, L.) does not occur in the Holy Land,
its place is abundantly supplied by two very
closely allied Southern species (Passer saliei-
cola, Vieill., and Passer cisalpina, Tem.).
Our English Tree Sparrow (Passer mon-
taniis, L.) is also very common, and may be
seen in numbers on Mount Olivet, and also
about the sacred enclosure of the mosque of
Omar. Tbis Is perhaps the exact species
referred to in Ps. Lxxxiv. 3. Most of our

PtlrocosByphux cyuneu*.

commoner small birds are found in Palestine.
The starling, chaffinch, greenfinch, linnet,
goldfinch, corn-bunting, pipits, blackbird,
song-thrush, and the various species of wag
tail abound. The rock sparrow (Petronia
stulta, Strickl.) is a common bird in the
barer portions of Palestine, eschewing woods,
and generally to be seen perched alone on
the top of a rock or on any large stone.
From this habit it has been conjectured to be
the bird alluded to in Ps. cii. 7, as " the
sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house
top ;" but as the rock sparrow, though found
among ruins, never resorts to inhabited
buildings, it seems more probable that the
bird to which the psalmist alludes is the blue
thrush (Petrocossyphus cyaneus). It is a
solitary bird, eschewing the society of its own
species, and rarely more than a pair are seen
together. There are but two allusions to the
singing of birds in the Scriptures, Eccles. xii. 4
an*. Ps. civ. 12. As the psalmist is hero
speaking of the sides of streams and rivers, he
probably had in his mind the bulbul of the
country, or Palestine nightingale (Ixos xantho-
pygius, Hempr.), a bird not very far removed
from the thrush tribe, and a closely allied
species of which is the true bulbul of Persia
and India. — Small birds were probably as
ordinary an article of consumption among the
Israelites as they still are in the markets both
of the Continent and of the East (Luke xii. 6 ;
Matt. x. 29). There are four or five simple
methods of fowling practised at this day in
Palestine which are probably identical with
those alluded to in the O. T. The simplest,
but by no means the least successful, among
the dexterous Bedouins, is fowling with the
throw-stick. The only weapon used is a
short stick, about 18 inches long and half an
inch in diameter. When the game has been
discovered, the stick is hurled with a re
volving motion so as to strike the legs of the
bird as it runs, or sometimes at a rather
higher elevation, so that when the victim,
alaTmed by the approach of the weapon,
begins to rise, its wings are struck and it is
slightly disabled. The fleet pursuers soon
come up, and, using their burnouses, as a
sort of net, catch and at once cut the throat
of the game. A more scientific method of
fowling is that alluded to in Ecclus. xi. 30,
by the use of decoy-birds. Whether falconry
was ever employed as a mode of fowling or
not is by no means so clear. At the present
day it is practised with much care and skill
by the Arab inhabitants of Syria, though not
in Judaea proper.
SPARTA (1 Mace. xiv. 16 ; 2 Mace. v. 9 :
A. V. "Lacedaemonians"). In the history
of the Maccabees mention is made of a re-

53G

SPIKENARD

mark able correspondence between the Jews
and the Spartans, which has been the subject
of much discussion. The alleged facts are
briefly these. When Jonathan endeavoured
to strengthen his government by foreign alli
ances (b.c. 144), he sent to Sparta to renew
a friendly intercourse which had been begun
at an earlier time between Are us and Onias,
on the ground of their common descent from
Abraham (1 Mace. xii. 5-23). The embassy
was favourably received, and after the death
of Jonathan "the friendship and league"
was renewed with Simon (1 Mace. xiv. 16-
23). Several questions arise out of these
statements. 1. The whole context of the
passage, as well as the independent reference
to the connexion of the " Lacedaemonians "
and Jews in 2 Mace. ». 9, seem to prove
clearly that the reference is to the Spartans,
properly so called. 2. The actual relationship
of the Jews and Spartans (2 Mace. v. 9) is
an ethnological error, which it is difficult to
trace to its origin. It is certain, from an
independent passage, that a Jewish colony
existed at Sparta at an early time (1 Mace.
xv. 23). 3. The difficulty of fixing the date of
the first correspondence is increased by the
recurrence of the names involved. Two kings
bore the names Areus, one of whom reigned
b.c. 309-265, and the other, his grandson,
died u.c. 257, being only eight years old.
The same name was also borne by an adven
turer, who occupied a prominent position at
Sparta, B.C. 184. In Judaea, again, three
high priests bore the name Onias, the first
of whom held office n.c. 330-309 (or 300) ;
the second b.c. 240-226 ; and the third
n.c. 198-171. Josephus is probably correct
in fixing the event in the time of Onias III.
SPEAR. [Arms.]
SPEARMEN. The word thus rendered in
the A. V. of Acts xxiii. 23 is of very rare
occurrence, and its meaning is extremely
obscure. They were probably troops so
lightly armed, as to be able to keep pace on
the march with mounted soldiers.
SPICE, SPICES. 1. Hebrew Bdsam, besem,
or bdsem. In Cant. v. 1, "I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice," the word points ap
parently to some definite substance. In the
other places, with the exception perhaps of
Cant. i. 13, vi. 2, the words refer more gene
rally to sweet aromatic odours, the principal
of which was that of the balsam or balm of
Gilead; the tree which yields this substance
is now generally admitted to be the Balsamo-
dendron opobalsamum. The balm of Gilead
tree grows in some parts of Arabia and Africa,
and is seldom more than fifteen feet high,
with straggling branches and scanty foliage.
The balsam is chiefly obtained from incisions

in the bark, but the substance is procured
also from the green and ripe berries. 2. Ne-
cdth (Gen. xxxvii. 25, xliii. 11). The most
probable explanation is that which refers the
word to the Arabic naka'at, i. e. " the gum
obtained from the Tragacanth" (Astragalus).
3. Sanimim. A general term to denote those
aromatic substances which were used in the
preparation of the anointing oil, tho incense
offerings, &c. The spices mentioned as being
used by Nicodemus for the preparation of our
Loid's body (John xix. 39, 40) are "myrrh
and aloes," by which latter word must be
understood not the aloes of medicine (Aloe),
but the highly-scented wood of the, Aquilaria
agallochum.

Balm of Gilead.

SPIDER. The Hebrew word 'acedbish in
Job viii. 14 ; Is. lix. 5, is correctly rendered
"spider." But Semdmith is wrongly trans
lated "spider" in Prov. xxx. 28 ; it refers
probably to some kind of lizard.
SPIKENARD (Heb. nerd) is mentioned
twice in the O. T., viz. in Cant. i. 12, iv. 13,
14. The ointment with which our Lord was
anointed as He sat at meat in Simon's hoiii*

SPINNING

¦JO I

STEPHEN

at Bethany consisted of this precious sub
stance, the costliness of which may be in
ferred from the indignant surprise manifested
by some of the witnesses of the transaction
(see Mark xiv. 3-5 ; John xii. 3, 5). There
is no doubt that sunbal is by Arabian authors
used as the representative of the Greek nar-
dos. Dr. Royle having ascertained that the
jatamansee, one of the Hindu synonyms for the
sunbul, was annually brought from the moun
tains overhanging the Ganges and Jumna
rivers down to the plains, purchased some of
these fresh roots and planted them in the
botanic gardens at Saharunpore. This plant
has been called Nardostaeligs jatamansi by
De Candolle.

Spikenard.
SPINNING. The notices of spinning in
the Bible are confined to Ex. xxxv. 25, 26 ;
Matt. vi. 28; and Prov. xxxi. 19. The
latter passage implies (according to the A. V.)
the use of the same instruments which have
been in vogue for hand-spinning down to the
present day, viz. the distaff and spindle. The
distaff, however, appears to have been dis
pensed with, and the term so rendered
means tho spindle itself, while that rendered
"spindle " represents the whirl of the spindle,
a button of circular rim which was affixed to
it, and gave steadiness to its circular motion.
The " whirl " of the Syrian women was made
of amber in the time of Pliny. The spindle
was held perpendicularly in the one hand,

while the other was employed in drawing out
the thread.
SPONGE is mentioned only in the N. T.
(Matt, xxvii. 48 ; Mark xv. 36 ; John xix.
29). The commercial value of the sponge
was known from very early times ; and al
though there appears to be no notice of it in
the 0. T., yet it is probable that it was used
by the ancient Hebrews, who could readily
have obtained it good from the Mediterra
nean. - STACH'YS, a Christian at Rome, saluted
by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans
(xvi. 9).
SPOUSE. [Marriage.]
STACTE (Heb. nataf), the name of one of
the sweet spices which composed the holy
incense (see Ex. xxx. 34). The Hebrew woid
occurs once again (Job xxxvi. 27). Some
identify the ndidf with the gum of the storax
tree (Styrax officinale), but all that is posi
tively known is that it signifies an odorous
distillation from some plant.
STAR OF THE WISE MEN. [Magi]
STATER. [Money, p. 355.]
STEEL. In all cases where the word
" steel" occurs in the A. V. the true render
ing of the Hebrew is " copper."
STEPH'ANAS, a Christian convert of
Corinth whose household Paul baptised as
the "first fruits of Achaia" (1 Cor. i. 16,
xvi. 15).
STE'PHEN, the First Christian Martyr,
was the chief of the Seven (commonly called
Deacons) appointed to rectify the complaints
in the early Church of Jerusalem, made by
the Hellenistic against the Hebrew Christians.
His Greek name indicates his own Hellenistic
origin. His importance is stamped on the
narrative by a reiteration of emphatic almost
superlative phrases : " full of faith and of
the Holy Ghost " (Acts vi. 5) ; " full of grace
and power" (ib. 8); irresistible "spirit and
wisdom" (ib. 10) ; " full of the Holy Ghost"
(vii. 55). He shot far ahead of his six com
panions, and far above his particular office.
First, he arrests attention by the " great
wonders and miracles that he did." Then
begins a series of disputations with the Hel7
leni3tic Jews of North Africa, Alexandria,
and Asia Minor, his companions in race and
birthplace. The subject of these disputations
is not expressly mentioned ; but, from what
follows, it is evident that he struck into a new
vein of teaching, which evidently caused his
martyrdom. Down to this time the Apostles
and the early Christian community had dunl
in their worship, not merely to the Holy
Land and" the Holy City, but to the Holy
Place of the Temple. This local worship,
with the Jewish customs belonging to it, he

STOCKS

538

now denounced. So we must infer from the
accusations brought against him, confirmed
as they are by the tenor of his defence, ne
was arrested at the instigation of the Hel
lenistic Jews, and brought before the San
hedrim His speech in his defence, and his
execution by stoning outside the gates of
Jerusalem, are related at length in the Acts
(vii.). Those who took the lead in the exe
cution were the persons who had taken upon
themselves the responsibility of denouncing
him (Deut. xvii. 7 ; comp. John viii. 7). In
this ui-tince, they were the witnesses who
had reported or mis-reported the words of
Stephen. They, according to the custom,
stripped themselves ; and one of the promi
nent leaders in the transition was deputed
by custom to signify his assent to the act by
taking the clothes into his custody, and stand
ing over them whilst the bloody work went
on. Tbe person who officiated on this occa
sion was a young man from Tarsus — the
future Apostle of the Gentiles. [Paul.]
STOCKS. Tbe term "stocks" is applied in
the A. V. to two different articles, one of which
answers rather to our pillory ; while the other
answers to our " stocks," the feet alone being
confined in it. The prophet Jeremiah was
confined in the first sort (Jer. xx. 2), which
appears to have been a common mode of
punishment in his day (Jer. xxix. 26), as the
prisons contained a chamber for the special
purpose, termed "the house of the pillory "
(2 Chr. xvi. 10; A. V. "prison-house")-.
Tlie stocks, properly so-called, are noticed in
Job xiii. 27, xxxiji. 11, and Acts xvi. 24.
The term used in Prov. vii. 22 (A. V.
"stocks") more properly means a fetter.
STOICS. The Stoics and Epicureans, who
are mentioned together in Acts xvii. 18, re
present the two opposite schools of practical
philosophy which survived the fall of higher
speculation in Greece. The Stoic school was
founded by leno of Citium (c. b.c 280), and
derived its name from the painted "portico"
(o-7-oa, ia which he taught. Zeno was fol
lowed by Cleanthes (c. b.c. 260), Cleanthes by
Chrysippus (c. b.c 240), who was regarded as
the intellectual founder of the Stoic system.
The ethical system of the Stoics has been com
monly supposed to have a close connexion
with Christian morality. But the morality
of stoicism is essentially based on pride, that
of Christianity on humility ; the one upholds
individual independence, the other absolute
faith in another ; the one looks for consola
tion in tbe issue of fate, the other in Provi
dence ; the one is limited " by periods of
cosmical ruin, the other is consummated in a
personal resurrection (Acts xvii. 1 8j .
STOMACHER. The Hebrew word, so

translated, describes some article of female
attire (Is. iii. 24), the character of which is a
mere matter of conjecture.
STONES. Besides the ordinary uses to
which stones were applied, we may mention
that large stones were setup tocommemnrnte
any remarkable events (Gen. xxviii. 18,
xxxv. 14, xxxi. 45 ; Josh. iv. 9 ; 1 Sum. vii.
12). Such stones wore occasionally conse
crated by anointing (Gen. xxviii. 18). A
similar practice existed in heathen countries,
and by a singular coincidence these stones
were described in Phoenicia by a name very
similar to Bethel, viz. baetylia. The only
point of resemblance between the two consists
in the custom of anointing. That the wor
ship of stones prevailed among the heathen
nations surrounding Palestine, and was bor
rowed from them by apostate Israelites,
appears from Is. lvii. 6, according to the
ordinary rendering of tbe passage. — Stones
are used metaphorically to denote hardness
or insensibility (1 Sam. xxv. 37 : Ez. xi. 19,
xxxvi. 26), as well as firmness or strength
(Gen. xlix. 24). The members of the Church
are called " living stones," as contributing
to rear that living temple in which Christ,
himself " a living stone," is the chief or
head of the corner (Eph. ii. 20-22 ; 1 Pet, ii.
4-8). STONES, PRECIOUS. Precious stones
are frequently alluded to in the Holy Scrip
tures ; they were known and very highly
valued in tbe earliest times. Tbe Tyrians
traded in precious stones supplied by Syria
(Ez. xxvii. 16). The merchants of Sheba
and Raamah in South Arabia, and doubtless
India and Ceylon, supplied the markets of
Tyre with various precious stones. The art
of engraving on precious stones was known
from the very earliest times (Gen. xxxviii.
18). The twelve stones of the breastplate
were engraved each one with the name of one
of the tribes (Ex. xxviii. 17-21). Precious
stones are used in Scripture in a figurative
i sense, to signify value, beauty, durability,
| &c, in those objects with which they are
1 compared (see Cant. v. 14; Is. liv. 11, 12;
I Lam. iv. 7 ; Rev. iv. 3, xxi. 10, 21).
STONING. [Punishments.]
STORK (Heb. chasiddh). The White
[ Stork (Ciconia alba, L.) is one of the largest
! and most conspicuous of land birds, standing
! nearly four feet high, the jet black of its
wings and its bright red beak and legs con-
1 trasting finely with the pure white of its
plumage (Zech. v. 9). In the neighbourhood
of man it devours readily all kinds of offal
and garbage. For this reason, doubtless, it
is placed in the list of unclean birds by the
Mosaic Law (Lev. xi. 19; Deut. xiv. 18).

STRAIN AT

539

STRANGER

The range of the white stork extends over
the whole of Europe, except the British
Isles, where it is now only a rare visitant,
and over Northern Africa and Asia as far
at least as Birmah. The Black Stork (Cico
nia nigra, L.), though less abundant in
places, is scarcely less widely distributed,
but has a more easterly range than its con
gener. Both species are very numerous in
Palestine. While the black stork is never
found about buildings, but prefers marshy
places in forests, and breeds on the tops of
the loftiest trees ; the white stork attaches
itself to man, and for the service which it
renders in the destruction of reptiles and the
removal of offal has been repaid from the
earliest times by protection and reverence.
The derivation of chasiddh (from chesed,
"kindness") points to the paternal and filial
attachment of which the stork seems to have
been a type among the Hebrews no less than
the Greeks and Romans.

White Stork {Ciconia alia).
STRAIN AT. The A. V. of 1611 renders
Matt, xxiii. 24, "Ye blind guides! which
'strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
There can be little doubt, that this obscure
phrase is due to a printer's error, and that
the true reading is " strain out." Archbishop
Trench gives an interesting illustration of the
passage from the letter of a traveller in

North Africa, who says : "In a ride from
Tangier to Tetuan, I observed that a Moorish
soldier who accompanied me. when he drank,
always unfolded the end of his turban and
placed it over the mouth of his boia, drinking
through the muslin, to strain out the gnats,
whose larvae swarm in the water of that
country." STRANGER. A "stranger" in the tech
nical sense of the term maybe defined to be a
person of foreign, i. e. non-Israeli tish, extrac
tion resident within the limits of the promised
land. He was distinct from the proper
" foreigner," inasmuch as the latter still be
longed to another country, and would only
visit Palestine as a traveller : he was still
more distinct from the "nations," or non-
Israelite peoples. The term may be compared
with our expression " naturalized foreigner."
The terms applied to the "stranger" have
special reference to the fact of his residing in
the land. The existence of such a class of
persons among the Israelites is easily account
ed for : the " mixed multitude " that accom
panied them out of Egypt (Ex. xii. 38) formed
one element; the Canaanitish population,
which was never wholly extirpated from their
native soil, formed another and a still more
important one ; captives taken in war formed
a third; fugitives, hired servants, merchants,
&c, formed a fourth. The enactments of the
Mosaic Law, whieh regulated the political and
social position of resident strangers, were con
ceived in a spirit of great liberality. VVith
the exception of the Moabites and Ammonites
(Deut. xxiii. 3), all nations were admissible
to the rights of citizenship under certain con
ditions. The stranger appears to have been
eligible to all civil offices, that of king ex
cepted (Deut. xvii. 15). In regard to religion,
it was absolutely necessary that the stranger
should not infringe any of the fundamental
laws of the Israelitish state. If he was a
bondsman he was obliged to submit to cir
cumcision (Ex. xii. 44) ; if he was indepen
dent, it was optional with him ; but if he re
mained uncircumcised, he was prohibited from
partaking of the Passover (Ex. xii. 48), and
could not be regarded as a full citizen. Liber
ty was also given in regard to the use of pro
hibited food to an uncircumcised stranger.
Assuming, however, that the stranger was
circumcised, no distinction existed in regard
to legal rights between the stranger and the
Israelite. The Israelite is enjoined to treat
him as a brother (Lev. xix. 34 ; Deut. x. 19).
It also appears that the " stranger " formed
the class whence the hirelings were drawn ;
the terms being coupled together in Ex, xii,
45; Lev. xxii 10, xxv. 0, 40. The liberal
spirit of the Mosaic regulations respecting

540

stringers presents a strong contrast to the
rigid exclusiveness of the Jews at the com
mencement of the Christian era. The growth
of this spirit dates from the time of the Baby
lonish oaptivity.
STRAW. Both wheat and barley straw
were used by the ancient Hebrews chiefly as
fodder for their horses, cattle, and camels
(Gen. xxiv. 25 ; IK. iv. 28 ; Is. xi. 7, lxv.
25). There is no intimation tbat straw was
used for litter. It -nus employed by the
Egyptians for making bricks (Ex. ^. 7, 16),
being chopped up and mixed with the clay to
make them more compact and to prevent
their cracking.
STREAM OF EGYPT (Is. xxvii. 12).
[Rivf r of Egypt.]
STREET. The streets of a modern Orien
tal town presented a great contrast to those
with w hich we are familiar, being generally
narrow, tortuous, and gloomy, even in the
best towns. Their chamcter is mainly fixed
by the climate and the style of architecture,
the narrowness being due to the extreme heat,
and the gloominess to the circumstance of the
windows looking for the most part into the
inner court. The street called " Straight,"
in Damascus (Aets ix. 11/, was an exception
to the rule of narrowness : it was a noble
thoroughfare, 100 feet wide, divided in the
Roman age by colonnades into three avenues,
the central one for foot passengers, the side
passages for vehicles and horsemen going in
different directions. The shops and ware
houses were probably collected together into
bazars in ancient as in modern times (Jer.
xxxvii. 21), and perhaps the agreement
between Benhadad and Ahab that the latter
should "make streets in Damascus" (1 K.
xx. 34), was in reference rather to bazars,
and thus amounted to the establishment of a
ius coininercii. That streets occasionally had
names appears from Jer. xxxvii. 21 ; Aets ix.
11. That they were generally unpaved may
be inferred from the notices of the pavement
laid by Herod the Great at Antioch, and 'by
Herod Agrippa II. at Jerusalem. Hence
pavement forms one of the peculiar features
of the ideal Jerusalem (Tob. xiii. 17 ; Rev.
xxi. 21). Each street and bazar in a modern
town is locked up at night : the same custom
appears to have prevailed in ancient times
(Cant. iii. 3).
STRIPE'S. [Punishments.]
SUC'CoTH. 1. An ancient town, first
heard of in the account of the homeward
journey of Jacob from Padan-aram (Gen.
xxxiii. 17). The name is derived from the
fact of Jacob's having there put up "booths"
(Succoth) for his cattle, as well as a house
for himself. From the itinerary of Jacob's

return it seems that Succoth lay between
Picnikl, near the ford of the torrent Jabbok,
and Shechem (comp. xxxii. 30, and xxxiii.
18). In accordance with this is the mention
of Succoth in the narrative of Gideon's pur
suit of Zebah and Zalmunna (Judg. viii. 5-
17;. It would appear from this passage that
it lay east of the Jordan, which is corroborated
by the fact that it was allotted to the tribe of
Gad (Josh. xiii. 27). Succoth is named once
again after this — in 1 K. vii. 4G ; 2 Chr. iv,
17 — as marking the spot at which the brass
foundries were placed for easting the metal-
work of the Temple. It appears to have
been known in the time of Jerome, who suys
that there was then a town named Sochoth
beyond the Jordan, in the district of Scytho
polis. — 2. The first camping-place of the
Israelites when they left Egypt (Ex. xii. 37,
xiii. 20 ; Num. xxxni. 5, 6).
SCC'COTH-IIENO'TU occurs only in 2 K.
xvii. 30. It has generally been supposed
that this term is pure Hebrew, and signifies
the " tents of daughters ; " which so.nc ex
plain as "the booths in which the daughters
of the Babylonians prostituted themselves in
honour of their idol," others as " small taber
nacles in which were contained images of
female deities." Sir II. Rawlinson thinks
tbat Succoth-benoth represents the Chaldaean
goddess Zirbanit, the wife of Mcrodach, who
was especially worshipped at Babylon.
SUK'KTIMS, a nation mentioned (2 Chr.
xii. 3) with the Lubim and Cushim as sup
plying part of the army which came with
Shishak out of Egypt when he invaded Judah.
The Sukkiims may correspond to some one of
the shepherd or wandering races mentioned
on the Egyptian monuments.
SUN. In the history of the creation the
sun is described as the "greater light" in
contradistinction to tbe moon or " lesser
light," in conjunction with vdiich it was to
serve " for signs, and for seasons, and for
days, and for years," while its special office
was "to rule the day" (Gen. i. 14-16). The
" signs " referred to were probably such ex
traordinary phenomena as eclipses, which were
regarded as conveying premonitions of coming
events (Jer. x. 2 ; Matt. xxiv. 29, with Luke
xxi. 25). The joint influence assigned to the
sun and moon in deciding the '¦ seasons," both
for agricultural operations and for religious
festivals, and also in regulating the length
and subdivisions of the " years," correctly
describes the combination of the lunar and
solar year, which prevailed at all events sub
sequently to the Mosaic period. Sun-rise
and sun-set are \he only defined points of
time in the absence of artificial contrivances
for telling the hour of the day. Between

SURETISHIP

541

SWEAT, BLOODY

these two points the Jews recognized three
periods, viz. when the sun became hot, about
9 a.m. (1 Sam. xi. 9 ; Neh. vii. 3) ; the double
light or noon (Gen. xliii. 16 ; 2 Sam. iv. 5),
and " the cool of the day " .shortly before sun
set (Gen. iii. 8). The sun also served to fix
the quarters of the hemisphere, east, west,
north, and south, which were represented
respectively by the rising sun, the setting sun
(Is. xiv. 6 ; Ps. 1. 1), the dark quarter (Gen.
xiii. 14 ; Joelii. 20), and t^he brilliant quarter
(Deut. xxxiii. 23 ; Job xxxvii. 17 ; Ez. xl.
24) ; or otherwise by their position relative
to a person facing the rising sun — before,
behind, on the left hand, and on the right
hand (Job xxiii. 8, 9). The apparent motion
of the sun is frequently referred to (Josh. x.
13; 2 K. xx. 11 ; Ps. xix. 6; Eccl. i. 5;
Hab. iii. 11). — The worship of the sun, as flic
most prominent and powerful agent in the
kingdom of nature, was widely diffused
throughout the countries adjacent to Pales
tine. The Arabians appear' to have paid
direct worship to it without the intervention
of any statue or symbol (Job xxxi. 26, 27),
and this simple style of worship was proba
bly familiar to the ancestors of the Jews in
Chaldaea and Mesopotamia. The Hebrews
must have been well acquainted with the
idolatrous worship of the sun during the cap
tivity in Egypt, both from the contiguity of
On, the chief seat of the worship of the sun as
implied in the name itself (On=:the Hebrew
Bethshemesh, " house of the sun," Jer. xliii.
13.), and also from the connexion between
Joseph and Poti-pherah (" he who belongs to
Ra"), the priest of On (Gen. xli. 45). After
their removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came
in contact with various forms of idolatry,
which originated in the worship of the sun ;
such as the Baal of the Phoenicians, the
Molech or Milcom of the Ammonites, and the
Hadad of the Syrians. The importance at
tached to the worship of the sun by the Jewish
kings, may he inferred from the fact that the
horses sacred to the sun were stalled within
the precincts of the temple (2 K. xxiii. 11).
— In the metaphorical language of Scripture
the sun is emblematic of the law of God (Ps.
xix. 7), of the cheering presence of God
(Ps. lxxxiv. 11), of the person of the Saviour
(John i. 9 ; Mal. iv. 2), and of the glory and
purity of heavenly beings (Rev. i. 16, x. 1,
xii. 1).
SURETISHIP. In the entire absence of
commerce the law laid down no rules on the
Bubject of suretiship, but it is evident that in
the time of Solomon commercial dealings had
become so multiplied that suretiship in the
commercial sense was common (Prov. vi. 1,
xi. 15, xvii. 18, xx. 16, xxii. 26, xxvii. 13).

But in older times the notion of one man be
coming a surety for a service to be discharged
by another was in full force (see Gen. xliv.
32). The surety of course became liable for
his client's debts in case of his failure.
SU'SA. Esth. xi. 3, xvi. 18. [Shushan.]
SUSAN'NA. 1. The heroine of the story
of the Judgment of Daniel [see p. 318.] — 2.
One of the women who ministered to the Lord
(Luke viii. 3).
SWALLOW, (Heb. derdr, in Ps. lxxxiv. 3 ;
Prov. xxvi. 2 ; Heb. 'agur, in Is. xxxviii.
14 ; Jer. viii. 7, but "crane " is more probably
the true signification of 'dgiir [Chanju]). The
rendering of A. V. for derdr seems correct.
The characters ascribed in the passages where
the names occur, are strictly applicable to the
swallow, viz. its swiftness of flight, its nesting
in the buildings of the Temple, its mournful,
garrulous note, and its regular migration,
shared indeed in common with several others.
Many species of swallow occur in Palestine.
All those familiar to us in Britain are found.
SWAN (Heb. tinshemeth, thus rendered by
A. V. in Lev. xi. 18 ; Deut. xiv. 16, where
it occurs in the list of unclean birds). But
the renderings of the LXX., " porphyrio "
(purple water-hen) and "ibis," are cither of
them more probable. Neither of these birds
occurs elsewhere in the catalogue, both would
be familiar to residents in Egypt, and the
original seems to point to some water-fowl.
The purple water-hen, is allied to our corn
crake and water-hen, and is the largest and
most beautiful of the family RalUdae. It
frequents marshes and the sedge by the hanks
of rivers in all the countries bordering on
the Mediterranean, and is abundant in Lower
Egypt. SWEARING. [Oath.]
SWEAT, BLOODY. One of the physical
phenomena attending our Lord's agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane is described by St. Luke
(xxii. 44) : " His sweat was as it were great
drops (lit. clots) of blood falling down to the
ground." Of this malady, known in medical
science by the term diapedesis, there have
been examples recorded both in ancient and
modern times. The cause assigned is gener
ally violent mental emotion. Dr. Millingen
[Curiosities of Medical Experience, p. 489, 2nd
ed.) gives the following explanation of the
phenomenon: " It is probable that this strange
disorder arises from a violent commotion of
the nervous system, turning the streams of
blood out of their natural course, and forcing
the red particles into the cutaneous excretories.
A mere relaxation of the fibres could not pro
duce so powerful a revulsion. It may also
arise in cases of extreme debility, in connexion
with a thinner condition of the blood."

SWINE

54'.

SYCAMORE

SWINE. (Heb. chazir). (1.) The flesh of
swine was forbidden as food by the Levitical
law (Lev. xi. 7 ; Deut. xiv. 8) ; the abhor
rence which the Jews as a nation had of it
may be inferred from Is. lxv. 4, and 2 Mace.
vi. 18, 19. No other reason for the com
mand to abstain from swine's flesh is given in
the law of Moses beyond the general one
which forbade any of tbe mammalia as food
which did not literally fulfil the terms of the
definition of a " clean animal," viz. that it
was to be a cloven-footed ruminant. It is,
however, probable that dietetieal considera
tions may have influenced Moses in his pro
hibition of swine's flesh ; it is generally be
lieved that its use in hot countries is liable to
induce cutaneous disorders ; hence in a peo
ple liable to leprosy the necessity for the ob
servance of a strict rule. Although the Jews
did not breed swine, during the greater period
of their existence as a nation, there can be
little doubt that the heathen nations of Pales
tine used the flesh as food. At the time of
our Lord's ministry it would appear that the
Jews occasionally violated the law of Moses
with respect to swine's flesh. AVhether " the
herd of swine " into which the devils were
allowed to enter (Matt. viii. 32 ; Mark v. 13)
were the property of the Jewish or Gentile

Mortis nigra (Mulberry). Art. 'Sycamine-Tree.'

Ficus Sycomorvt. Ait. ' Sycninore.
inhabitants of Gadara does not appear from
the sacred narrative. (2.) The wild boar of
the wood' (Ps. lxxx. 13) is the common Sua
scrofa which is frequently met with in the
woody parts of Palestine, especially in Mount
Tabor. SWORD. [Akms.]
SYCAMINE-TREE is mentioned only in
Luke xvii. 6. There is no reason to doubt
that the sycamine is distinct from the syca
more of the same evangelists (xix. 4). The
sj'camine is the mulberry-tree (Morus). Both
black and white mulberry- trees are common
in Syria and Palestine.
SYCAMORE ^Heb. shikmdh). The Hebrew
word occurs in the O. T. only in the plural
form masc. and once fern., Is. lxxviii. 47.
The two Greek words occur only once each in
the N. T. (Luke xvii. 6, xix. 4). Although
it may be admitted that the Sycamine is pro-

SYCHAR

548

SYNAGOGUE

perly, and in Luke xvii. 6, the Mulberry, and
the Sycamore the Fig-mulbeiTy, or Sycamore-
fig (Ficus Sycomorus), yet the latter is the
tree generally referred to in the O. T., and
called by the Sept. sycamine, as 1 K. x. 27 ;
l'Chr. xxvii. 28 ; Ps. lxxviii. 47 ; Am. vii.
14. The Sycamore, or Fig-mulberry, is in
Egypt and Palestine a tree of great impor
tance and very extensive use. It attains the
size of a walnut-tree, has wide-spreading
branches, and affords a delightful shade.
On this account it is frequently planted by
the waysides. Its leaves are heart-shaped,
downy on the under side, and fragrant. The
fruit grows directly from the trunk itself on
little sprigs, and in clusters like the grape.
To make it eatable, each fruit, three or four
days before gathering, must, it is said, be
punctured with a sharp instrument or the
finger-nail. This was the original employ
ment of the prophet Amos, as he says vii. 14.
So great was the value of these trees, that
David appointed for them in his kingdom a
special overseer, as he did for the olives (1
Chr. xxvii. 28) ; and it is mentioned as one
of the heaviest of Egypt's calamities, that her
sycamores were destroyed by hailstones (Ps.
lxxviii. 47).
SY'CHAR (John iv. 5). [Shechem.]
SY'CHEM (Acts vii. 16). [Shechem.]
SYE'NE, properly Seveneh, a town of
Egypt on the frontier of Cush or Ethiopia.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the desolation
of Egypt "from Migdol to Seveneh, even
unto the border of Cush" (xxix. 10), and of
its people being slain " from Migdol to
: Seveneh" (xxx. 6). Migdol was on the
eastern border, and Seveneh is thus rightly
identified with the town of Syene, which was
always the last town of Egypt on the south,
though at one time included in the nome
Nubia. SYNAGOGUE. I. History.— The word
Synagogue (crvvayojyrj), whieh means a "con
gregation," is used in the New Testament
to signify a recognized place of worship. A
knowledge of the history and worship of the
synagogues is of great importance, since they
are the characteristic institution of the later
phase of Judaism. We cannot separate them
from the most intimate connexion with our
Lord's life and ministry. In them He wor
shipped in.His youth, and in His manhood.
They were the scenes, too, of no small por
tion of His work. — We know too little of the
life of Israel, both before and under the
monarchy, to be able to say with certainty
whether there was anything at all corre
sponding to the synagogues of later date,
They appear to have arisen during the exile,
in the abeyance of the Temple-worship, and

to have received their full development on
the return of the Jews from Captivity. The
whole history of Ezra presupposes the habit
of solemn, probably of periodic meetings (Ezr.
viii. 15; Neh. viii. 2, ix. 1 ; Zech. vii. 5).
The "ancient days" of which St. James
speaks (Acts xv. 21) may, at least, go back
so far. After the Maccabaean struggle for
independence, we find almost every town or
village had its one or more synagogues.
Where the Jews were not in sufficient num
bers to be able to erect and fill a building,
there was the Proseucha (irpoa-evxv), or place
of prayer, sometimes opened, sometimes
covered in, commonly by a running stream
or on the sea-shore, in which devout Jews
and proselytes met to worship, and, perhaps,
to read (Acts xvi. 13 ; Juven. Sat. iii. 296).
It is hardly possible to overestimate the in
fluence of the system thus developed. To it
we may ascribe the tenacity with which,
after the Maccabaean struggle, the Jews ad
hered to the religion of their fathers, and
never again relapsed into idolatry. The
people were now in no danger of forgetting
the Law, and the external ordinances that
hedged it round. Here, as in the cognate
order of the Scribes, there was an influence
tending to diminish and ultimately almost to
destroy the authority of the hereditary priest
hood. The way was silently prepared for a
new and higher order, which should rise in
"the fulness of time" ont of the decay and
abolition of both the priesthood and the
Temple. — II. Structure. — The size of a syna
gogue varied with the population. Its posi
tion was, however, determinate. It stood,
if possible, on tbe highest ground, in or near
the city to which it belonged. And its direc
tion too was fixed. Jerusalem was the Kibleh
of Jewish devotion. The synagogue was sc
constructed, that the worshippers as they
entered, and as they prayed, looked toward
it. The building was commonly erected at
the cost of the district. Sometimes it was
built by a rich Jew, or even as in Luke vii,
5, by a friendly proselyte. In the internal
arrangement of the synagogue we trace an
obvious analogy to the type of the Taber
nacle. At the upper or Jerusalem end stood
the Ark, the chest which, like the older and
more sacred Ark, contained the Book of the
Law. It gave to that end the - name and
character of a sanctuary. This part of the
synagogue was naturally the place of honour.
Here were the " chief seats," after which
Pharisees and Scribes strove so eagerly (Matt
xxiii. 6), to which the wealthy and honoured
worshipper was invited (James ii. 2, 3).
Here too, in front of the Ark, still reproduc
ing the type of the Tabernacle, was the

SYNAGOGUE

;>44

SYNAGOGUE

eight-branched lamp, lighted only on the
greater festivals. Besides this, there was
one lamp kept burning perpetually. A little
further towards the middle of the building
was a raised platform, on which several
persons could stand at once, and in the middle
of this rose a pulpit, in which the Reader
stood to read the lesson or sat down to teach.
The congregation were divided, men on one
side, women on the other, a low partition,
five or six feet high, running between them.
The arrangements of modern synagogues, for
many centuries, have made the separation
more complete by placing the women in low
side-galleries, screened off by lattice- work. —
III- Officers. — In smaller towns there was
often but one Rabbi. Where a fuller organi
zation was possible, there was a college of
Elders (Luke vii. 3) presided over by one
who was " the chief of the synagogue " (Luke
viii. 41, 19, xiii. 14; Acts xviii. 8, 17).
The most prominent functionary in a large
synagogue was known as the Sheliaeh (=.lc-
gattts), the officiating minister who acted as
the delegate of the congregation, and was
therefore the chief reader of prayers, &c, in
their name. The Chazzdn, or " minister "
of the synagogue (Luke iv. 20} had duties
of a lower kind resembling those of the
Christian deacon- or sub-deacon. He was to
open the doors, to get the building ready
for service. Besides these there were ten
men attached to every synagogue, known as
the Ballanim (=Otia*i). They were sup
posed to be men of leisure, not obliged to
labour for their livelihood, able therefore to
attend the week-day as well as the Sabbath
services. It will be seen at once how closely
the organization of the synagogue was re
produced in that of the Ecclesia. Here also
there was the single presbyter - bishop- in
small towns, a council of presbyters under
one head in large cities. The legatus of the
synagogues appears in the Angel (Rev. i.
20, ii. 1), perhaps also in tho Apostle of
the Christian Church. — IV. Worship. — It
will be enough, in this place, to notice in
what way the ritual, no less than the organi
zation, was connected with the facts of the
N. T. history, and with the life and order of
the Christian Chureh. From the synagogue
came the use of fixed forms of prayer. To
that the first disciples had been accustomed
from their youth. They had asked their
Master to give them a distinctive one, and
he had complied with their request (Luke
xi. 1), as the Baptist had done before for
his disciples, as every Rabbi did for his.
The forms might be and were abused. The
large admixture of a didactic element in
Christian worship, that by which it was dis

tinguished from all Gentile forms of adora
tion, was derived from the older order.
" Mo<es " was " read in the synagogues
every Sabbath-day" (Acts xv. 21), the whole
Law being read consecutively, so as to be com
pleted, according to one cycle, in three years.
The v» ritings of the Prophets were read as
second lessons in a corresponding order. They
were followed by the Derash (Acts xiii. 15),
the exposition, the sermon of the synagogue.
The conformity extends also to the times of
prayer. In the hours of service this was
obviously the case. The third, sixth, and
ninth hours were in the times of the N. T.
(Acts iii. 1, x. 3, 9), and had been probably
for some time before (Ps. Iv. 17 ; Dan. vi.
10), the fixed times of devotion. The same
hours, it is well known, were recognised in
the Church of the second, probably in that
of the first century also. The solemn days
of the synagogue were the second, the fifth,
and the seventh, the last or Sabbath being
the conclusion of the whole. The transfer
of the sanctity of the Sabbath to the Lord's
Day involved a corresponding change in the
order of the week, and the first, the fourth,
and the sixth became to the Christian society
what the other days had been to the Jewish.
From the synagogue lastly come many less
conspicuous practices, which meet us in the
liturgical life of the first three centuries.
Ablution, entire or partial, before entering
the place of meeting (Heb. x. 22 ; John xiii.
1-15) ; standing and not kneeling, as the
attitude of prayer (Luke xviii. 11} ; the arms
stretched out ; the face turned towards the
Kibleh of the East ; the responsive Amen of
the congregation to the prayers and benedic
tions of the elders (1 Cor. xiv. 16). — X. Judicial
Functions. The language of the N. T. shows
that the officers of the synagogue exercised
in certain cases a judicial power. It is not
quite so easy, however, to define the nature
of the tribunal, and the precise limits of its
jurisdiction. In two of the passages referred
to (Matt. x. 17 ; Maik xiii. 9) they are care
fully distinguished from the councils. It
seems probable that the council was the
larger tribunal of 23, which sat in every
city, and that under the term synagogue we
are to understand a smaller court, probably
that of the Ten judges mentioned in the Tal
mud. Here also we trace the outline of a
Christian institution. The Church, either by
itself or by appointed delegates, was to act as
a Court of Arbitration in all disputes among
its members. The elders of the Church were
not, however, to descend to the trivial dis
putes of daily life. For the elders, as for
those of the synagogue, were reserved the
graver offences against religion and morals.

SYNAGOGUE, THE GREAT

545

SYRIA

SYNAGOGUE, THE GREAT. On the
return of the Jews from Babylon, a great
council was appointed, according to Rabbinic
tradition, to re-organize the religious life of
the people. It consisted of 120 members,
and these were known as the men of the
Great Synagogue, the successors of the pro
phets, themselves, in their turn, succeeded by
scribes prominent, individually, as teachers.
Ezra was recognised as president. Their
aim was to restore again the crown, or glory
of Israel. To this end they collected all the
sacred writings of former ages and their own,
and so completed the canon of the O. T. They
instituted the feast of Purim, organised the
ritual of the synagogue, and gave their sanc
tion to the Shemdneh Esreh, the eighteen
solemn benedictions in it. Much of this is
evidently uncertain. The absence of any his
torical mention of such a body, not only in
the 0. T. and the Apocrypha, but in Josephus,
Philo, &c, have led some critics to reject
the whole statement as a Rabbinic invention.
The narrative of Neh. viii. 13 clearly implies
the existence of a body of men acting as
counsellors under the presidency of Ezra,
and these may have been an assembly of
delegates from all provincial synagogues — a
synod of the National Church.
SYN'TYCHE, a female member of the
Church of Philippi (Phil. iv. 2, 3).
SY'RACUSE, tbe celebrated city on the
eastern coast of Sicily. St. Paul arrived
thither in an Alexandrian ship from Melita,
on his voyage to Rome (Acts xxviii. 12).
The site of Syracuse rendered it a convenient
place for the African corn-ships to touch at,
for the harbour was an excellent one, and
the fountain Arethusa in the island furnished
an unfailing supply of excellent water.
SYR'IA is the term used throughout our
version for the Hebrew Aram, as well as for
the Greek Supt'a. Most probably Syria is for
Tsyria, the country about Tsur, or Tyre,
which was the first of the Syrian towns
known to the Greeks. It is difficult to fix
the limits of Syria. The limits of the Hebrew
Aram and its subdivisions are spoken of under
Aram. Syria Proper was bounded by Ama-
nus and Taurus on the N., by the Euphrates
and the Arabian desert on the E., by Pales
tine on the S., by the Mediterranean near the
mouth of the Orontes, and then by Phoenicia
upon the W. This tract is about 300 miles
long from north to south, and from 50 to 150
miles broad. It contains an area of about
30,000 square miles. — The general character
of the tract is mountainous, as the Hebrew
.name Aram (from a root signifying " height ")
sufficiently implies. The most fertile and
valuable tract of Syria is the long valley in-
Sm. D. B.

tervening between Libanus and Anti-Libanus.
[Lebanon.] — The principal rivers of Syria
are the Litany and the Orontes. The Litany
springs from a small lake situated in the
middle of the Coele-syrian valley, about six
miles to the south-west of Baalbek. It enters
the sea about 5 miles north of Tyre. The
source of the Orontes is but about 1 5 miles
from that of the Litany. Its modern name
is the Nahr-el-Asi, or " Rebel Stream," an
appellation given to it on account of its vio
lence and impetuosity in many parts of its
course. The chief towns of Syria may be
thus arranged, as nearly as possible in the
order of their importance : 1. Antioch ; 2.
Damascus ; 3. Apamea ; 4. Seleucia; 5.
Tadmor or Palmyra; 6. Laodicea; 7. Epi-
phania (Hamath) ; 8. Samosata ; 9. Hiera-
polis (Mabug) ; 10. Chalybon ; ll.OEmesa;
12. Heliopolis; 13. Laodicea ad Libanum ;
14. Cyrrhus ; 15. Chalcis ; 16. Poseideum ,
17. Heraclea ; 18. Gindarus ; 19. Zeugma;
20. Thapsacus. Of these, Samosata, Zeugma,
Thapsacus, are on the Euphrates ; Seleucia,
Laodicea, Poseideum, and Heraclea, on the
seashore ; Antioch, Apamea, Epiphania, and
Emesa (Hems) on the Orontes ; Heliopolis
and Laodicea ad Libanum, in Coele-syria ;
Hierapolis, Chalybon, Cyrrhus, Chalcis, and
Gindarus, in the northern highlands ; Da
mascus on the skirts, and Palmyra, in the
centre of the eastern desert. — History.- — The
first occupants of Syria appear to have been
of Hamitic descent. The Canaanitish races,
the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, &c., are
connected in Scripture with Egypt and Ethio
pia, Cush and Mizraim (Gen. x. 6 and 15-18).
These tribes occupied not Palestine only, but
also Lower Syria, in very early times, as we
may gather from the fact that Hamath is
assigned to them in Genesis (x. 18). After
wards they seem to have become possessed of
Upper Syria also. After a while the first comers,
who were still to a great extent nomads, re
ceived a Semitic infusion, which most pro
bably came to them from the south-east. The
only Syrian town whose existence we find
distinctly marked at this time is Damascus
(Gen. xiv. 15 ; xv. 2), which appears to have
been already a place of some importance.
Next to Damascus must be placed Hamath
(Num. xiii. 21, xxxiv. 8). Syria at this
time, and for many centuries afterwards,
seems to have been broken up among a
number of petty kingdoms. The Jews first
come into hostile contact with the Syrians,
under that name, in the time of David.
Claiming the frontier of the Euphrates,
which God had promised to Abraham (Gen.
xv. 18), David made war on Hadadezer, king
of Zobah (2 Sam. viii. 3, 4, 13). The Damas-
2 N

SYRIA

540

TABERING

cene Syrians were likewise defeated with
great loss (ib. ver. 5). Zobah, however,
was far from being subdued as yet. When,
a few years later, the Ammonites determined
on engaging in a war with David, and applied
to the Syrians for aid, Zobah, together with
Beth-Rehob, sent them 20,000 footmen, and
two other Syrian kingdoms furnished 13,000
(2 Sam. x. 6). This army being completely
defeated by Joab, Hadadezer obtained aid
from Mesopotamia (ib. ver. 16), and tried
the chance of a third battle, which likewise
went against him, and produced the general
submission of Syria to the Jewish monarch.
The submission thus begun continued under
the reign of Solomon (1 K. iv. 21). The
only part of Syria which Solomon lost seems
to have been Damascus, where an independent
kingdom was set up by Rezon, a native of
Zobah (1 K. xi. 23-25). On the separation
of the two kingdoms, soon after the accession
of Rehoboam, the remainder of Syria no doubt
shook off the yoke. Damascus now became
decidedly the leading state, Hamath being
second to it, and the northern Hittites, whose
capital was Carchemish near Bambuk, third.
[Damascus.] Syria became attached to the
great Assyrian empire, from which it passed
to the Babylonians, and from them to the
Persians. In b.c 333 it submitted to Alex
ander without a struggle. Upon the death
of Alexander Syria became, for the. first time,
the head of a great kingdom. On the divi
sion of the provinces among his generals (b.c.
321), Seleucus Nicator received Mesopota
mia and Syria. Antioch was begun in b.c.
300, and, being finished in a few years, was
made the capital of Seleucus' kingdom. The
country grew rich with the wealth which
now flowed into it on all sides. The history
of Syria under the Seleucid princes has been
already given in the articles treating of each
monarch [Antiochus, Demetrius, Seleucus,
&c.]. — Syria holds an important place, not
only in the Old Testament, but in the New.
While the country generally was formed into
a Roman province, under governors who were
at first propraetors or quaestors, then pro
consuls, and finally legates, there were ex
empted from the direct rule of the governor,
in the first place, a number of " free cities,"
which retained the administration of their
own affairs, subject to a tribute levied accord
ing to the Roman principles of taxation ; and
2ndly, a number of tracts, whieh were as
signed to petty princes, commonly natives,
to be ruled at their pleasure, subject to the
same obligations with the free cities as to
taxation. After the formal division of the
provinces between Augustus and the Senate,
Syria, being from its exposed situation among

the provinciae pnncipis, was ruled by legates,
who were of consular rank (consular es) and
bore severally the full title of " Legatus
Augusti pro praetore." Judaea occupied a
peculiar position. A speciall procurator was
therefore appointed to rule it, who was sub
ordinate to the governor of Syria, but within
his own province had the power of a legatus.
Syria continued without serious disturbance
from the expulsion of the Parthians (u.c. 38)
to the breaking out of the Jewish war (a.b.
66). In a.d. 44-47 it was the scene of a
severe famine. A little earlier Christianity
had begun to spread into it, partly by means
of those who "were scattered" at the time
of Stephen's persecution (Acts xi. 19), partly
by the exertions of St. Paul (Gal. i. 21).
The Syrian Church soon grew to be one of
the most flourishing (Acts xiii. 1, xv. 23,
35, 41, &c).
SY'RO-PHOENIC'IAN occurs only in Mark
vii. 26. The word denoted perhaps a mixed
race, half-Phoenicians and half-Syrians. Mat
thew (xv. 22) speaks of " a woman of Ca
naan " in place of St. Mark's " Syro-Phoc-
nician," on the same ground that the
Septuagint translate Canaan by Phoenicia.
The names Canaan and Phoenicia ,had suc
ceeded one another as geographical names in
the same country.

TA'ANACH, an ancient Canaanitish city,
whose king is enumerated amongst the
thirty-one conquered by Joshua (Josh. xii. 21).
It came into the half tribe of Manasseh (Josh.
xvii. 11, xxi. 25 ; 1 Chr. vii. 29), and was
bestowed on the Kohathite Levites (Josh. xxi.
25). Taanach is almost always named in
company with Megiddo, and they were evi
dently the chief towns of that fine rich dis
trict which forms the western portion of the
great plain of Esdraelon (1 K. iv. 12). It is
still called Ta'annuk, and stands about 4 miles
S.E. of Lejjun.
TA'ANATH-SHI'LOH, a place named once
only (Josh. xvi. 6) as one of the landmarks
of the boundary of Ephraim. Perhaps Taa-
nath was the ancient Canaanite name of the
place, and Shiloh the Hebrew name.
TAB'BATH, a place mentioned only in
Judg. vii. 22, in describing the flight of the
Midianite host after Gideon's night attack.
TABERING, an obsolete English word
used jn the A. V. of Nah. ii. 7. The Hebrew
word connects itself with tdph, "a timbrel."
The A. V. reproduces the original idea. The
" tabour " or " tabor " was a musical instru
ment of the drum-type, which with the pipe
formed the band of a country village. To
" tabour," accordingly, is to beat with loud

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547

TABERNACLE

strokes as men beat upon such an instru
ment. TABERNACLE. The Tabernacle was the
'tent of Jehovah, called by the same name as
the tents of the people, in the midst of which
it stood. It was also called the sanctuary,
and the tabernacle of the congregation. The
first ordinances given to Moses, after the pro
clamation of the outline of the law from Sinai,
related to the ordering of the Tabernacle, its
furniture, and its service, as the type which
was to be foUowed when the people came to
their own home, and " found a place " for
the abode of God. During the forty days of
Moses' first retirement with God in Sinai, an
exact pattern of the whole was shown him,
and all was made according to it (Ex. xxv.
9, 40, xxvi. 30, xxxix. 32, 42, 43 ; Num.
viii. 4; Acts vii. 44; Heb. viii. 5). The
description of this plan is preceded by an
account of the freewill offerings which the
children of Israel were to be asked to make
for its execution. The materials were : — (a)
Metals : gold, silver, and brass, (b) Textile
fabrics: blue, purple, scarlet, andjSne (white)
Unen, for the production of which Egypt was
celebrated ; also a fabric of goats' hair, the
produce of their own flocks, (c) Skins : of
the ram, dyed red, and of the badger, (d)
Wood : the shittim wood, the timber of the
wild acacia of the desert itself, the tree of
the "burning bush." (e) Oil, spices, and
incense, for anointing the priests, and burn
ing in the tabernacle. (/) Gems : onyx
stones, and the precious stones for the breast
plate of the High Priest. The people gave
jewels, and plates of gold and silver, and
brass ; wood, skins, hair and linen ; the
women wove ; the rulers offered precious
stones, oil, spices, and incense ; and the
artists soon had more than they needed (Ex.
xxv. 1-8; xxxv. 4-29; xxxvi. 5-7). The
superintendence of the work was intrusted
to Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, and to
Aholiah, of the tribe of Dan, who were skilled
in "all manner of workmanship " (Ex. xxxi.
2, 6, xxxv. 30, 34). — The tabernacle was a
portable building, designed to contain the
sacred ark, the special symbol of God's pre
sence, and was surrounded by an outer court.
(i.) The Court of the Tabernacle, in which the
Tabernacle itself stood, was an oblong space,
100 cubits by 50 (i.e. 150 feet by 75), having
its longer axis east and west, with its front to
the cast. It was surrounded by canvas screens
-in tbe East called Kannauts— 5 cubits in
height, and supported by pillars of brass 5
cubits apart, to which the curtains were at
tached by hooks and fillets of silver (Ex. xxvii.
9, &q.). This enclosure was only broken on the
eastern side by the entrance, which was 20

cubits wide, and closed by curtains of fine
twined linen wrought with needlework, and of
the most gorgeous colours. In the outer or
eastern half of the court was placed the altar
of burnt-offering, and between it and the
Tabernacle itself, the laver at which the
priests washed their hands and feet on enter
ing the Temple. — (ii.) The Tabernacle itself
was placed towards the western end of this
enclosure. It was an oblong rectangular
structure, 30 cubits in length by 10 in width
(45 feet by 15), and 10 in height ; the interior
being divided into two chambers, the first or
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TABERNACLE

548

TABERNACLE

outer of 20 cubits in length, the inner of
10 cubits, and consequently an exact cube.
The former was the Holy Place, or First
Tabernacle (Heb. ix. 2), containing the
golden candlestick on one side, the table of
shew-bread opposite, and between them in
the centre the altar of incense. The latter
was the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of
Holies, containing the ark, surmounted by
tbe cherubim, with the Two Tables inside.
The two sides, and the further or western
end, were enclosed by boards of shittim wood
overlaid with gold, twenty on the north and
south side, six on the western side, and the
corner-boards doubled. They stood upright,
edge to edge, their lower ends being made
with tenons, which dropped into sockets of
silver, and the corner-boards being coupled
at the top with rings. They were furnished
with golden rings, through which passed
bars of shittim wood, overlaid with gold, five
to each side, and the middle bar passing from
end to end, so as to brace the whole together.
Four successive coverings of curtains looped
together were placed over the open top, and
fell down over the sides. The first, or in
most, was a splendid fabric of linen, em
broidered with figures of cherubim, in blue,
purple, and scarlet, and looped together by
golden fastenings. It seems probable that
the ends of this set of curtains hung down
within the Tabernacle, forming a sumptuous
tapestry. The next was a woollen covering
of goats' hair ; the third, of rams' skins dyed
red ; and the outermost, of badgers' skins
(so called in our version ; but the Hebrew
word probably signifies seal-skins. [Badgkr-
skins.] ). It has been usually supposed that
these coverings were thrown over the walls,
like a pall is thrown over a coffin ; but this
would have allowed every drop of rain that
fell on the Tabernacle to fall through ; for,
however tightly the curtains might be
stretched, the water could never run over
the edge, and the sheep skins would only
make the matter worse, as when wetted their
weight would depress the centre, and pro
bably tear any curtain that could be made.
There can he no reasonable doubt tbat the
tent had a ridge, as all tents have had from
the days of Moses down to the present day.
The front of the Sanctuary was closed by a
hanging of fine linen, embroidered in blue,
purple, and scarlet, and supported by golden
hooks; on five pillars of shittim wood overlaid
with gold, and standing in brass ¦sockets ;
and the covering of goats' hair was so made
as to fall down over this when required. A
more sumptuous curtain of the same kind,
embroidered with cherubim, hung on four
Buch pillars, with silver sockets, divided the

Holy from the Most Holy Place. It was
called the Veil,* as it hid from the eyes of
all but the High Priest, the inmost sanctuary, ;
where Jehovah dwelt on his mercy seat, be-j
tween the cherubim above the ark. Hence
" to enter within the veil " is to have the
closest access to God. It was only passed
by the High Priest once a year, on the Day
of Atonement, in token of the mediation of
Christ, who, with his own blood, hath entered
for us within the veil which separates God's
own abode from earth (Heb. vi. 19). In the
temple, the solemn barrier was at length pro
faned by a Roman conqueror, to warn the
Jews that the privileges they had forfeited
were " ready to vanish away ; " and the veil
was at last rent by the hand of God himself,
at the same moment that the body of Christ >
was rent upon the cross, to indicate that the
entrance into the holiest of all is now laid
open to all believers " by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which Ile hath con
secrated for us, through the vail, that is to
say, His flesh " (Heb. x. 19, 20). The Holy
Place was only entered by the priests daily,
to offer incense at the time of morning and
evening prayer, and to renew the lights on
the golden candlestick ; and on the Sab
bath, to remove the old shew-bread, and
to place the new upon tbe table. — (iii.) The
Sacred Furniture and Instruments of the
Tabernacle. — These are described in sepa
rate articles, and therefore it is only neces
sary to give a list of them here. — 1. In the
Outer Court. The Altar of Burnt- Offering,
and the Brazen Laver. [Altar; Laver.] —
2. In the Holy Place. The furniture of the
court was connected with sacrifice, that of
the sanctuary itself with the deeper mysteries
of mediation and access to God. The First
Sanctuary contained three objects : the altar
of incense in the centre, so as to be directly
in front of the ark of the covenant (1 K. vi.
22), the table of shew-bread on its right or
north side, and the golden candlestick on the
left or south side. These objects were all
considered as being placed before the pre
sence of Jehovah, who dwelt in the holiest of
all, though with the veil between. [Altar ;
Shew-Bread; Candlestick.] — 3. In the
Holy of Holies, within the veil, and shrouded
in darkness, there was but one object, the
Ark of the Covenant, containing the two
tables of stone, inscribed with the Ten Com
mandments. [Ark.] — History of the Taber
nacle. — As long as Canaan remained uncon-
quered, and the people were still therefore
an army, the Tabernacle was probably moved
• * Sometimes the second m7, either in reference to tho
first at tho entrance of the Holy Place, or as being the
veil of the second sanctuary (Hob. ix. 3).

TABERNACLE

549

TABERNACLES, FEAST OF

from place to place, wherever the host of
Israel was for the time encamped. It rested
finally at "the place which the Lord had
chosen," at Shiloh (Josh. ix. 27, xviii. 1).
The reasons of the choice are not given.
Partly, perhaps, its central position, partly
its belonging to the powerful tribe of Ephraim,
the tribe of the great captain of the host, may
have determined the preference. There it
continued during the whole period of the
Judges (Josh. xix. 51, xxii. 12 ; Judg. xxi.
12). It was far, however, from being what
it was intended to be, the one national sanc
tuary, the witness against a localized and
divided worship. The old religion of the
high places kept its ground. Altars were
erected, at first with reserve, as being not for
sacrifice (Josh. xxii. 26), afterwards freely
and without scruple (Judg. vi. 24, xiii. 19).
Of the names by which the one special sanc
tuary was known at this period, those of the
" House," or the "Temple," of Jehovah (1
Sam. i. 9, 24, iii. 3, 15) are most prominent.
A state of things which was rapidly assimi
lating the worship «of Jehovah to that of Ash-
taroth, or Mylitta, needed to be broken up.
The Ark of God was taken, and the sanctuary
lost its glory ; and the Tabernacle, though it
did not perish, never again recovered it (1
Sam. iv. 22). Samuel treats it as an aban
doned shrine, and sacrifices elsewhere, at
Mizpeh (1 Sam. vii. 9), at Ramah (ix. 12, x.
3), at Gilgal (x. 8, xi. 15). It probably be
came once again a moveable sanctuary. For
a time it seems, under Saul, to have been
settled at Nob (1 Sam. xxi. 1-6). The mas
sacre of the priests and the flight of Abiathar
must, however, have robbed it yet further of
its glory. It had before lost the Ark : it now
lost the presence of the High-Priest (1 Sam.
xxii. 20, xxiii. 6). What change of fortune
then followed we do not know. In some way
or other, it found its way to Gibeon (1 Chron.
xvi. 39). The anomalous separation of the
two things which, in the original order, had
been joined, brought about yet greater ano
malies ; and, while the Ark remained at Kir
jath-jearim, the Tabernacle at Gibeon con
nected itself with the worship of the high
places (1 K. iii. 4). The capture of Jeru
salem and the erection there of a new Taber
nacle, with the Ark, of which the old had
, heen deprived (2 Sam. vi. 17 ; 1 Chron. xv.
1), left it little more than a traditional, his
torical sanctity. It retained only the old
altar of burnt-offerings (1 Chron. xxi. 9).
Such as it was, however, neither king nor
people could bring themselves to sweep it
away. The double service went on ; Zadok,
as high-priest, officiated at Gibeon (1 Chron.
xvi. 39) ; the more recent, more prophetic

service of psalms and hymns and music, under
Asaph, gathered round the Tabernacle at Je
rusalem (1 Chron. xvi. 4, 37). The divided
worship continued all the days of David, The
sanctity of both places was recognised by So
lomon on his accession (1 K. iii. 15 ; 2 Chron.
i. 3). But it was time that the anomaly
should cease. The purpose of David, fulfilled
by Solomon, was that the claims of both should
merge in the higher glory of the Temple.
The final day at last came, and the Taber
nacle was either taken down, or left to perish
and be forgotten. So the disaster of Shiloh
led to its natural consummation. [Temple.]
TABERNACLES, THE FEAST OF (Ex.
xxiii. 16, "the feast of ingathering"), the
third of the three great festivals of the He
brews, which lasted from the 15 th till the
22nd of Tisri. I. The following are the
principal passages in the Pentateuch which
refer to it : Exod. xxiii. 16 ; Lev. xxiii. 34-36,
39-43 ; Num. xxix. 12-38 ; Deut. xvi. 13-15,
xxxi. 10-13. In Neh. viii. there is an ac
count of the observance of the feast by Ezra. —
II. The time of the festival fell in the autumn,
when the whole of the chief fruits of the
ground, the corn, the wine, and the oil, were
gathered in (Ex. xxiii. 16 ; Lev. xxiii. 39 ;
Deut. xv. 13-15). Its duration was strictly
only seven days (Deut. xvi. 13 ; Ez. xiv. 25).
But it was followed by a day of holy con
vocation, distinguished by sacrifices of its
own, which was sometimes spoken of as an
eighth day (Lev. xxiii. 36 ; Neh. viii. 18).
During the seven days the Israelites were
commanded to dwell in booths or huts formed
of the boughs of trees. The houghs were of
the olive, palm, pine, myrtle, and other trees
with thick foliage (Neh. viii. 15, 16). Ac
cording to Rabbinical tradition, each Israelite
used to tie the branches into a bunch, to be
carried in his hand, to which the name luldb
was given. The burnt-offerings of the Feast
of Tabernacles were by far more numerous
than those of any other festival. There were
offered on each day two rams, fourteen lambs,
and a kid for a sin-offering. But what waH
most peculiar was the arrangement of the
sacrifices of bullocks, in all amounting to
seventy (Num. xxix. 12-38). The eighth
day was a day of holy convocation of peculiar
solemnity. On the morning of this day the
Hebrews left their huts and dismantled them,
and took up their abode again in their houses.
The special offerings of the day were a bullock,
a ram, seven lambs, and a goat for a sin-
offering (Num. xxix. 36, 38). "When the
Feast of Tabernacles fell on a Sabbatical
year, portions of the Law were read each day
in public, to men, women, children, and
strangers (Deut. xxxi. 10-13). We find Ezra

TABERNACLES, FEAST OF

550

TABITHA

reading the Law during the festival " day by
day, from the first day to the last day "
(Neh. viii. 18). — III. There are two par
ticulars in the observance of the Feast of
Tabernacles which appear to be referred to
in the New Testament, hut are not noticed in
the Old. These were, the ceremony of pour
ing out some water of the pool of Siloam, and
the display of some great lights in the court
of the women. We are told that each Israelite,
in holiday attire, having made up his tilldb,
before he broke his fast, repaired to the
Temple with the liildb in one hand and the
citron in the other, at the time of the ordinary
morning sacrifice. The parts of the victim
were laid upon the altar. One of the priests
fetched some water in a golden ewer from the
pool of Siloam, which he brought into the
court through the water gate. As he entered
the trumpets sounded, and he ascended the
slope of the altar. At the top of this were
fixed two silver basins with small openings at
the bottom. Wine was poured into that on
the eastern side, and the water into that on
the western side, whence it was conducted
by pipes into the Cedron. In the evening,
both men and women assembled in the court
of the women, expressly to hold a rejoicing
for the drawing of the water of Siloam. At
the same time there were set up in the court
two lofty stands, each supporting four great
lamps. These were lighted on each night of
the festival. It appears to be generally ad
mitted that the words of our Saviour (John
vii. 37, 38) — "If any man thirst, let him
come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as tbe Scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water " — were
suggested by the pouring out of the water of
Siloam. But it is very doubtful what is meant
by " the last day, that great day of the feast."
It would seem that either the last day of the
feast itself, that is the seventh, or the last
day of the religious observances of the series
of annual festivals, the eighth, must be in
tended. The eighth day may be meant, and
then the reference of our Lord would be to
an ordinary and well-known observance of
the feast, though it was not, at the very time,
going on. We must resort to some such ex
planation, if we adopt the notion that our
Lord's words (John viii. 12) — "I am the
light of the world " — refer to the great lamps
of the festival. — IV. There are many direc
tions given in the Mishna for the dimensions
and construction of the huts. They were
not to be lower than ten palms, nor higher
than twenty cubits. They were to stand by
themselves, and not to rest on any external
support, nor to be under the shelter of a
larger building, or of a tree. They were not

to be covered with skins or cloth of any kind,
but only with boughs, or, in part, with reed
mats or laths. The furniture of the huts was
to be, according to most authorities, of the
plainest description. It is said that the altar
was adorned throughout the seven days with
sprigs of willows, one of which each Israelite
who came into the court brought with him.
The great number of the sacrifices has been
already noticed. But besides these, the Chagi-
gahs or private peace-offerings, were more
abundant than at any other time. — V. Though
all the Hebrew annual festivals were seasons
of rejoicing, the Feast of Tabernacles was, in
this respect, distinguished above them all.
The huts and the luldbs must have made a
gay and striking spectacle over the city by
day, and the lamps, the flambeaux, the music,
and the joyous gatherings in the court of the
Temple must have given a still more festive
character to the night. — VI. The main pur
poses of the Feast of Tabernacles arc plainly
set forth (Ex. xxiii. IG and Lev. xxiii. 43).
It was to be at once a thanksgiving for the
harvest, and a commemoration of the time
when the Israelites dwelt in tents during
their passage through the wilderness. In
one of its meanings it stands in connexion
with the Passover, as the Feast of Abib ; and
with Pentecost, as the feast of harvest : in its
other meaning, it is related to the Passover as
the great yearly memorial of the deliverance
from the destroyer, and from the tyranny of
Egypt. But naturally connected with this
exultation in their regained freedom was the
rejoicing in the more perfect fulfilment of
God's promise, in the settlement of His people
in the Holy Land. But the culminating
point of this blessing was the establishment of
the central spot of the national worship in
the Temple at Jerusalem. Hence it was evi
dently fitting that the Feast of Tabernacles
should be kept with an unwonted degree of
observance at the dedication of Solomon's
Temple (1 K. viii. 2, 65 ; Joseph. Ant. viii. 4,
§5), again, after the rebuilding of the Temple
by Ezra (Neh. viii. 13-18), and a third time
by Judas Maccabaeus when he had driven
out the Syrians and restored the Temple to
the worship of Jehovah (2 Mace. x. 5-8).
TAB'ITHA, also called Dorcas by St. Luke :
a female disciple of Joppa, " full of good
works," among which that of making clothes _
for the poor is specifically mentioned. While
St. Peter was at the neighbouring town of
Lydda, Tabitha died, upon which the dis
ciples at Joppa sent an urgent message to the
Apostle, begging him to come to them with
out delay. Upon his arrival Peter found tbe
deceased already prepared for burial, and laid
out in an upper chamber where she was sur-

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rounded by the recipients and the tokens of
her charity. After the example of our Saviour
"in the house of Jairus (Matt. ix. 25 ; Mark v.
40), "Peter put them all forth," prayed for
the Divine assistance, and then commanded
Tabitha to arise (comp. Mark v. 41 ; Luke
viii, 54). She opened her eyes and sat up,
and then, assisted by the Apostle, rose from
her couch. This great miracle, as we are
further told, produced an extraordinary effect
in Joppa, and was the occasion of many con
versions there (Acts ix. 36-42). The name
" Tabitha " is an Aramaic word, signifying a
" female gazelle." St. Luke gives " Dorcas "
as the Greek equivalent of the name.
TA'BOR and MOUNT TA'BOR, one of the
most interesting and remarkable of the single
mountains in Palestine. It rises abruptly
from the north-eastern arm of the Plain of
Esdraelon, and stands entirely insulated ex
cept on the west, where a narrow ridge
connects it with the hills of Nazareth. It
presents to the eye, as seen from a distance,
a beautiful appearance, being so symmetrical
in its proportions, and rounded off like a
hemisphere or the segment of a circle, yet
varying somewhat as viewed from different
directions. The body of the mountain con
sists of the peculiar limestone of the country.
It is now called Jebel et-Tiir. It lies about
6 or 8 miles almost due east from Nazareth.
The ascent is usually made on the west side,
near the little village of Deburieh, probably
the ancient Daberath (Josh. xix. 12), though
it can be made with entire ease in other
places. It requires three-quarters of an hour
or an hour to reach the top. The top of
Tabor consists of an irregular platform, em
bracing a circuit of half- an -hour's walk and
commanding wide views of the subjacent
plain from end to end. Tabor does not occur
in the New Testament, hut makes a pro
minent figure in the Old. The Book of Joshua
(xix. 22) mentions it as the boundary be
tween Issachar and Zebulun (see ver. 12).
Barak, at tbe command of Deborah, assembled
his forces on Tabor, and descended thence
with " ten thousand men after him " into the
plain, and conquered Sisera on the banks of
the Kishon (Judg. iv. 6-15). The brothers
of Gideon, each of whom " resembled the
children of a king," were murdered here
by Zebah and Zalmunna (Judg. viii. 18, 19). I
There are at present ruins of a fortress round
all the top of the summit of Tabor. The
Latin Christians have now an altar here, at
which their priests from Nazareth perform,
an annual mass. . The Greeks also have a
chapel, where, on certain festivals they as
semble for the celebration of religious rites.
The idea that our Saviour was transfigured

on Tabor prevailed extensively among the
early Christians, and reappears often still in
popular religious works. It is impossible,
however, to acquiesce in the correctness of
this opinion. It can be proved from the Old
Testament, and from later history, that a
fortress or town existed on Tabor from very
early times down to b.c 53 or 50; and, as
Josephus says that he strengthened the forti
fications there, about a.d. 60, it is morally
certain that Tabor must have been inhabited
during the intervening period, that is, in the
days of Christ. Tabor, therefore, could not
have been the Mount of Transfiguration ; for
when it is said that Jesus took his disciples
" up into a high mountain apart, and was
transfigured before them" (Matt. xvii. 1, 2),
we must understand that He brought them to
the summit of the mountain, where they were
alone by themselves.
TA'BOR is mentioned in the lists of 1 Chr.
vi. as a city of the Merarite Levites, in the tribe
of Zebulun (ver. 77). The list of the towns
of Zebulun (Josh, xix.) contains the name of
Chisloth-tabob, (ver. 12). It is therefore,
possible, either that Chisloth-tabor is abbre
viated into Tabor by the chronicler, or that
by the time these later lists were compiled,
the Merarites had established themselves on
the sacred mountain, and that Tabor is Mount
Tabor. TA'BOR, THE PLAIN OF. This is an in
correct translation, and should he the Oak of
Tabor. It is mentioned in 1 Sam. x. 3 only,
as one of the points in the homeward journey
of Saul after his anointing by Samuel.
TABRET. [Timbrel.]
TAB'RIMON, properly, Tabrimmon, i. e.
"good is Rimmon," the Syrian god. The
father of Benhadad I., king of Syria in the
reign of Asa (1 K. xv. 18).
TACHE. The word thus rendered occurs
only in the description of the structure of the
tabernacle and its fittings (Ex. xxvi. 6, 11,
33, xxxv. 11, xxxvi. 13, xxxix. 33}, and
appears to indicate the small hooks by which
a curtain is suspended to the rings from
which it hangs, or connected vertically, as in
the case of the veil of the Holy of Holies,
with the loops of another curtain.
TAD'MOR, called " Tadmor in the wilder
ness," is the same as the city known to the
Greeks and Romans under the name of Palmyra ..
The word Tadmor has nearly the same mean
ing as Palmyra, signifying probably the " City
of Palms," from Tamar, "a Palm." It was
built by Solomon after his conquest of Hamath
Zobah (1 Chr. viii. 4; IK. ix. 18). As the
city is nowhere else mentioned in the Bible,
it would be out of place to enter into a detailed
history of it on 'the present occasion. In the

TAHPANHES

55^

TALMUD

second century a.d. it seems to have been
beautified by the Emperor Hadrian. In the
beginning of the third century a.d. it became
a Roman colony under Caracalla (211-217
a.u.). Subsequently, in the reign of Gal-
lienus, the Roman Senate invested Odenathus,
a senator of Palmyra, with the regal dignity,
on account of his services in defeating Sapor
king of Persia. On the assassination of Oden
athus, his celebrated wife Zenobia seems to
have conceived the design of erecting Palmyra
into an independent monarchy ; and in pro
secution of this object, she for a while, suc
cessfully resisted the Roman arms. She was
at length defeated and Liken captive by the
Emperor Aurelian (a.d. 273), who left a Ro
man garrison in Palmyra. Tbis garrison was
massacred in a revolt; and Aurelian punished
the city by the execution not only of those who
were taken in arms, hut likewise of common
peasants, of old men, women, and children.
From this blow Palmyra never recovered,
though there are proofs of its having con
tinued to be inhabited until the downfall of
the Roman Empire.
TAH'PANHES, TEHAPH'NEHES, TA-
HAP'ANES, a city of Egypt, mentioned in
the time of the prophets Jeremiah and Eze
kiel. The name is evidently Egyptian, and
closely resembles that of the Egyptian queen
TAHr-ENES. It was evidently a town of Lower
Egypt near or on the eastern border. When
Johanan and the other captains went into
Egypt " they came to Tahpanhes " (Jer. xliii,
7). The Jews in Jeremiah's time remained
here (Jer. xliv. 1). It was an important
town, being twice mentioned by the latter
prophet with Noph or Memphis (ii. 16. xlvi.
14). Here stood a house of Pharaoh-hophra
before which Jeremiah hid great stones (xliii.
8-10). Herodotus calls this place Daphnae
of Pelusium. In the Itinerary of Antoninus
this town, called Dafno, is placed 16 Roman
miles to the south-west of Pelusium. X'his
position seems to agree with that of Tel-De-
fennch, which marks the site of Daphnae.
Can tbe name be of Greek origin 1
TAH'PENES, an Egyptian queen, was wife
of the Pharaoh who received Hadad the
Edomite, and who gave him her sister in mar
riage (1 K. xi. 18-20). In the addition to ch.
xii. Shishak (Susakim) is said to have given
Ano, the elder sister of Thekemina his wife,
to Jeroboam. It is obvious that this and the
earlier statement are irreconcileable. There
is therefore but one Tahpenes or Thekemina.
No name that has any near resemblance to
either Tahpenes or Thekemina has yet been
found among those of the period.
TAHRE'A, son of Micah, and grandson of
Mephibosheth (I Chr. ix. 41).

TAll'TIM HOD'SHI, THE LAND OF, one
of the places visited by Joab during his cen
sus of the land of Israel. It occurs between
Gilead and Dan-jaan (2 Sam. xxiv. 6).
TALENT. [Weights.]
TALI'THA CU'Ml, two Syriac words (Mark
v. 41), signifying "Damsel, arise."
TALMA'I. 1. One of the three sons of
" the Anak," who were slain by the men of
Judah (Num. xiii. 22 ; Josh. xv. 14; Judg.
i. 10). — 3. Son of Ammihud, king of Geshur
(2 Sam. iii. 3, xiii. 37 ; 1 Chr. iii. 2). He was
probably a petty chieftain dependent on David.
TALMUD (/. e. doctiinc, from the Hebrew
word "to learn") is a large collection of
writings, containing a full account of the civil
and religious laws of the Jews. It was a
fundamental principle of the Pharisees com
mon to them with all orthodox modern Jews,
that by the side of the written law regarded
as a summary of the principles and general
laws of the Hebrew people, there was an oral
law to complete and to explain the written
law. It was an. article of faith that in the
Pentateuch there was no precept, and no
regulation, ceremonial, doctrinal, or legal, of
which God had not given to Moses all expla
nations necessary for their application, with
the order to transmit them by word of mouth.
The classical passage in the Mishna on this
subject is the foPowing : — " Moses received
the (oral) law from Sinai, and delivered it to
Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the
elders to the prophets, and the prophets to
the men of the Great Synagogue." This
oral law, with the numerous commentaries
upon it, forms the Talmud. It consists of
two parts, the Mishna and Gemara. 1. The
Mishna, or " second law," which contains a
compendium of the whole ritual law, was re
duced to writing in its present form by Rabbi
Jehudah the Holy, a Jew of great wealth and
influence, who flourished in the 2nd century
of the Christian era. He succeeded his father
Simeon as patriarch of Tiberias, and held that
office at least thirty years. The precise date
of his death is disputed ; some placing it in a
year somewhat antecedent to 194, a.d. while
others place it as late as 220 a.d., when he
would have been about 81 years old. Viewed
as a whole, the precepts in the Mishna treated
men like children, formalizing and defining
the minutest particulars of ritual observances.
The expressions of " bondage," of " weak and
beggarly elements," and of " burdens too heavy
for men to bear," faithfully represent the im
pression produced by their multiplicity. The
Mishna is very concisely written, and requires
notes. 2. This circumstance led to the Com
mentaries called Gemara (i. e. Supplement,
Completion'' which form the second part of

TAMAR

553

TAMAR

the Talmud, and which are very commonly
meant when the word " Talmud " is used by
itself. There are two Gemaras : one of Jeru
salem, in which there is said to he no passage
which can he proved to he later than the first
half of the 4th century ; and the other of
Babylon, completed about 500 A.r>. The latter
is the most important, and by fai the longest.
It is estimated to he fifteen times as long as
the Mishna. — Tbe language of the Mishna is
that of the later Hebrew, purely written on
the whole, though with a few grammatical
Avamaisms, and interspersed with Greek,
Latin, and Aramaic words which had become
naturalized. The work is distributed into six
great divisions or orders. The first (Zeraim)
relates to "aeeds," or productions of the land,
and it embraces all matters connected with
the cultivation of the soil, and the disposal of
its produce in offerings or tithes. It is pre
ceded by a treatise on " Blessings " (Bera-
coth). The 2nd (Moed) relates to festivals
and their observances. The 3rd (Nashim) to
women, and includes regulations respecting
betrothals, marriages, and divorces. The 4th
(Nezikin) relates to damages sustained by
means of man, beasts, or things ; with deci
sions on points at issue between man and
man in commercial dealings and compacts.
The 5th (Kodasliim) treats of holy things, of
offerings, and of the Temple-service. The 6th
(Tohardtli) treats of what is clean and unclean.
These 6 Orders are subdivided into 6 1 Trea
tises. The Mishna wa^s published by Suren-
husius in 6 vols, folio, Amsterdam, 1698,
1703, with a Latin translation of the text.
An English reader may obtain an excellent
idea of the whole work from an English trans
lation of 18 of its Treatises by De Sola and
Raphall, London, 1843. There is no reason
able doubt that although it may include a
few passages of a later date, the Mishna was
composed, as a whole, in the 2nd century,
and represents the traditions which were
current amongst the Pharisees at the time
of Christ.
TA'MAR (palm-tree). — 1. The wife suc
cessively of the two sons of Judah, Er and
Onan (Gen. xxxviii. 6-30). Her importance
in the sacred narrative depends on the great
anxiety to keep up the lineage of Judah. It
seemed as if the family were on the point of
extinction. Er and Onan had successively
perished suddenly. Judah's wife Bathshuah
died ; and there only remained a child Shelah,
whom Judah was unwilling to trust to the
dangerous union, as it appeared, with Tamar,
lest he should meet with the same fate as his
brothers. Accordingly she resorted to the
desperate expedient of entrapping the father
himself into the union which he feared for

his son. He took her for one of the unfortu
nate women who were consecrated to the
impure rites of the Canaanite worship. He
promised her, as the price of his intercourse,
a kid from the flocks to which he was going,
and left as his pledge his ornaments and his
staff. The kid he sent back by his shepherd,
but the woman could nowhere be found.
Months afterwards she was discovered to he
his own daughter-in-law Tamar. She was.sen-
tenced to be burnt alive, and was only saved
by the discovery, through the pledges which
Judah had left, that her seducer was no less
than the chieftain of the tribe. The fruits
of this intercourse were twins, Pharez and
Zarah, and through Pharez the sacred line
was continued. — 2. Daughter of David and
Maachah the Geshurite princess, and thus
sister of Absalom (2 Sam. xiii. 1-32 ; 1 Chr.
iii, 9). She and her brother were alike re
markable for their extraordinary beauty.
This fatal beauty inspired a frantic passion in
her half-brother Amnon, the eldest son of
David by Ahinoam. Morning by morning,
as be received the visits of his friend Jonadab,
he is paler and thinner. Jonadab discovers
the cause, and suggests to him the means of
accomplishing his wicked purpose. He was
to feign sickness. The king came to visit
him ; and Amnon entreated the presence of
Tamar, on the pretext that she alone could
give him food that he would eat. She came
to his house, took the dough and kneaded it
into the form of cakes. She then took the
pan, in which they had been baked, and poured
them all out in a heap before the prince. He
caused his attendants to retire, called her to
the inner room, and there accomplished his
design. In her touching remonstrance two
points are remarkable. First, the expression
of the infamy of such a crime " in Israel,"
implying the loftier standard of morals that
prevailed, as compared with other countries
at that time ; and, secondly, the belief that
even this standard might be overborne law
fully by royal authority — " Speak to the king,
for he will not withhold me from thee." The
brutal hatred of Amnon succeeding to his
brutal passion, and the indignation of Tamar
at his barbarous insult even surpassing heT
indignation at his shameful outrage, are pa
thetically and graphically told. — 3. Daughter
of Absalom (2 Sam. xiv. 7), became, by her
marriage with Uriah of Gibeah, the mother
of Maachah, the future queen of Judah, or
wife of Abijah (1 K. xv. 2).— 4. A spot on
the south-eastern frontier of Judah, named,
in Ezek. xlvii. 19, xlviii. 28 only, evidently
called from a palm-tree. If not Hazazon
Tamar, the old name of Engedi, it may be
a place called Thamar in the Onomasticon

TAMMUZ

554

TARSHISH

("Hazazon Tamar"), a day's journey south
of Hebron.
TAM'MUZ, properly "the Tammuz," the
article indicating that at some time or other
the word had been regarded as an appellative
(Ez. viii. 14). Jerome identifies Tammuz
with Adonis, and in so doing has been followed
by most sdbsequent commentators. The slight
hint given by the prophet of the nature of
the worship and worshippers of Tammuz has
been sufficient to connect them with the yearly
mourning for Adonis by tbe S\ rian damsels.
Rut beyond this we can attach no especial
weight to the explanation of Jerome.
TAPPU'AII (the apple-city). 1. A city
of Judah, in the district of the Shefelah, or
lowland (Josh. xv. 34). — 2. A place on the
boundary of the " children of Joseph " (Josh.
xvi. 8, xvii. 8). Its full name was probably
En-tappuah (xvii. 7).
TARES. There can be little doubt that
the zizania of the parable (Matt. xiii. 25}
denote the weed called " darnel " (Lo/ium
temulentum). The darnel before it comes
into ear is very similar in appearance to
wheat ; hence the command that the zizania
should be left to the harvest, lest while men
plucked up the tares " they should root up also
the wheat with them." Dr. Stanley, however,
speaks of women and children picking up
from the wheat in the corn-fields of Samaria
the tall green stalks, still called by the Arabs
zuwdn. "These stalks," he continues, "if
sown designedly throughout the fields, would
be inseparable from the wheat, from which,
even when growing naturally and by chance,
they are at first sight hardly distinguishable."
TARGUM, a Chaldee word of uncertain
origin, is the general term for the Chaldee, or,
more accurately, Aramaic Versions of the Old
Testament. The Jews, on the return from
captivity, no longer spoke the Hebrew lan
guage ; and as the common people had lost
all knowledge of the tongue in which the
sacred books were written, it naturally fol
lowed that recourse must be had to a transla
tion into the idiom with which they were
familiar— the Chaldee or Aramaic. More
over, since a bare translation could not in all
cases suffice, it was necessary to add to tbe
translation an explanation, more particularly
of the more difficult and obscure passages.
Both translation and explanation were desig
nated by the term Targum. Tbe Targums
were originally oral, and the earliest Targum,
which is that of Onkelos on the Pentateuch,
began to be committed to writing about the
2nd century of the Christian era ; though it
did not assume its present shape till the
end of the 3rd, or the beginning of the 4th
century. It follows a sober and clear, though

not a slavish exegesis, and keeps as closely
and minutely to the text as is at all consistent
with it-* purpose, viz., to be chiefly, and above
all, a version for the people. Its explanations
of difficult and obscure passages bear ample
witness to the competence of those who gave
it its final shape. It avoids the legendary
character with which all the later Targums
entwine the Biblical word, as far as ever cir
cumstances would allow. For an account of
the other Targums, the reader must consult
the larger Dictionary.
TAR'SHISH. 1. Probably Tartessus, a
city and emporium of the Phoenicians in the
south of Spain, is represented as one of the
sons of Javan (Gen. x. 4 ; Jon. i. 3, iv. 2 ;
1 Chr. i. 7 ; Is. ii. 16, xxiii. 1, 6, 10, 14, lx. 9,
lxvi. 19 ; Jer. x. 9 ; Ez. xxvii. 12, 25, xxxviii.
13 ; IK. x. 22, xxii. 48 [49] ; Ps. xlviii. 8,
lxvii. 10). The identity of the two places
is rendered highly probable by the following
circumstances. 1st. There is a very close
similarity of name between them, Tartessus
being merely Tarshish in the Aramaic form.
2ndly. There seems to have been a special
relation between Tarshish and Tyre, as there
was at one time between Tartessus and the
Phoenicians. 3rdly. The articles which
Tarshish is stated by the prophet Ezekiel
(xxvii. 12) to have supplied to Tyre, are
precisely such as we know through classical
writers to have been productions of the
Spanish Peninsula. In regard to tin, the
trade of Tarshish in this metal is peculiarly
significant, and taken in conj unction with
similarity of name and other circumstances
already mentioned, is reasonably conclusive
as to its identity with Tartessus. For even
now the countries in Europe, or on the shores
of the Mediterranean Sea where tin is found
are very few ; and in reference to ancient
times, it would be difficult to name any such
countries except Iberia or Spain, Lusitania,
which was somewhat less in extent than Por
tugal, and Cornwall in Great Britain. In
the absence of positive proof, we may ac
quiesce in the statement of Strabo, that the
river Baetis (now the Guadalquivir) was
formerly called Tartessus, that the city Tar
tessus was situated between the two arms by
which the river flowed into the sea, and that
the adjoining country was called Tartessis. —
2. From the Book of Chronicles there would
seem to have been a Tarshish, accessible from
tbe Red Sea, in addition to the Tarshish of
the south of Spain. Thus, with regard to
the ships of Tarshish, which Jehoshaphat
caused to be constructed at Ezion Geber on
the Aelanitic Gulf of the Red Sea (1 K. xxii.
48), it is said in the Chronicles (2 Chr. xx.
36) that they were made to go to Tarshish :

TARSUS

TEKOA

and in like manner the navy of ships, which
Solomon had previously made in Ezion Geher '
(1 K. ix. 26), is said in the Chronicles (2 '
Chr. ix. 21) to have gone to Tarshish with j
the servants of Hiram. It is not to be sup
posed that the author of these passages in
the Chronicles contemplated a voyage to
Tarshish in the south of Spain by going
round what has since been called the Cape
of Good Hope. The expression " ships of
Tarshish," originally meant ships destined to
go to Tarshish ; and then probably came to
signify large Phoenician ships, of a parti
cular size and description, destined for long
voyages, just as in English " East Indiaman "
was a general name given to vessels, some of
which were not intended to go to India at
all. Hence we may infer that the word
Tarshish was also used to sigfnify any distant
place, and in this case would be applied to
one in the Indian Ocean. This is shown by
the nature of the imports with which the
fleet returned, which are specified as " gold,
silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks" (1 K. x.
22). The gold might possibly have been ob
tained from Africa, or from Ophir in Arabia,
and the ivory and the apes might likewise
have been imported from Africa ; but the
peacocks point ' conclusively, not to Africa,
but to India. There are only two species
known ; both inhabit the continent and
islands of India : so that the mention of the
peacock seems to exclude the possibility of
the voyage having been to Africa. The in
ference to be drawn from the importation of
peacocks is confirmed by the Hebrew name
for the ape and the peacock. Neither of
these names is of Hebrew, or even Semitic,
origin ; and each points to India. Thus the
Hebrew word for ape is Kdph, while the San
scrit word is kapi. Again, the Hebrew word
for peacock is tukki, which cannot he ex
plained in Hebrew, hut is akin to tdka in the
Tamil language. There are not, however,
sufficient data for determining what were the
ports in India or the Indian Islands which
were reached by tbe fleet of Hiram and Solo
mon, though the suggestion of Sir Emerson
Tennent that they went to Point de Galle, in
Ceylon, is very probable.
TAR'SUS, the chief town of Cilicia, "no
mean city " in other respects, but illustrious
to all time as the birthplace and early resid
ence of the Apostle Paul (Acts ix. 11, xxi.
39, xxii. 3). Even in the flourishing period of
Greek history it was a city of some consider
able consequence. In the Civil Wars of Rome
it took Caesar's side, and on the occasion of a
visit from him had its name changed to Julio-
polis. Augustus made it a " free city." It
was renowned as a place of education under

the early Roman emperors. Strabo compares
it in this respect to Athens and Alexandria.
^Tarsus also was a place of much commerce.
It was situated in a wild and fertile plain on
the banks of the Cydnus. No ruins of any
importance remain.
TAR'TAK, one of the gods of the Avite, or
Awite, colonists of Samaria (2 K. xvii. 31).
According to Rabbinical tradition, Tartak is
said to have been worshipped under the form
of an ass.
TAR'TAN, whieh occurs only in 2 K. xviii.
17, and Is. xx. 1, has been generally regarded
as a proper name ; but like Rabsaris and
Rahshakeh, it is more probably an official
designation, and designates the Assyrian
commander-in-chief. TAVERNS, THE THREE. [Three Ta
verns.] TAXING. The English word now con
veys to us more distinctly the notion of a tax
or tribute actually levied, but it appears to
have been used in the 16th century for the
simple assessment of a subsidy upon the pro
perty of a given county, or the registration
of the people for the purpose of a poll-tax.
Two distinct registrations, or taxings, are
mentioned in the N. T., both of them by St.
Luke. The first is said to have been the
result of an edict of the emperor Augustus,
that "all the world (i.e. the Roman empire)
should be taxed" (Luke ii. 1), and is con
nected by the Evangelist with the name of
Cyrenius, or Quirinus. [Ctrenius.] The
second, and more important (Acts v. 37), is
distinctly associated, in point of time, with
the revolt of Judas of Galilee.
TEKO'A and TEKO'AH, a town in the
tribe of Judah (2 Chr. xi. 6), on the range of
hills which rise near Hebron, and stretch
eastward towards the Dead Sea. The " wise
woman" whom Joab employed to effect a
reconciliation between David and Absalom
was obtained from this place (2 Sam. xiv. 2).
Here also, Ira, the son of Ikkesh, one of
David's thirty, " the mighty men," was born,
and was called on that account " the Te-
koite " (2 Sam. xxiii. 26). It was one of
the places which Rehoboam fortified, at the
beginning of his reign, as a defence against
invasion from the south (2 Chr. xi. 6). Some
of the people from Tekoa took part in build
ing the walls of Jerusalem, after the return
from the Captivity (Neh. iii. 5, 27). In
Jer. vi. I, the prophet exclaims, " Blow the
trumpet in Tekoa and set up a sign of fire in
Beth-Haccerem." But Tekoa is chiefly me
morable as the birthplace of the prophet
Amos (Amos vii. 14). Tekoa is known still
as Teku'a. It lies on an elevated hill, which
spreads itself out into an ii-regulai plain of

350

TEMPLE

moderate extent. Various ruins exist, such
as the walls of houses, cisterns, broken
columns, and heaps of building-stones.
TEL'AIM, the place at which Saul col
lected and numbered his forces before his
attack on Amalek (1 Sam, xv. 4), may be
identical with Telfji. .
TELAS'SAR is mentioned in 2 K. xix. 12,
and in Is. xxxvii. 12 as a city inhabited by
" the children of Eden," which had been con
quered, and was held in the time of Senna
cherib by the Assyrians. It must have been
in Western Mesopotamia, in the neighbour
hood of narran and Orfa.
TEL'EM, one of tbe cities in the extreme
south of Judah (Josh. xv. 24), probably the
same as Telaim. The name Dhulldm is found
in Van de Vclde's map, attached to a district
immediately to the north of the Kubbet cl-
Baul, south of el Milh and Ar'arah — a posi
tion very suitable.
TEL'EM, a porter or doorkeeper of the
Temple in the time of Ezra (Ezr. x. 24).
He is probably the same as Talmon in Neh.
xii. 25.
TEL-HAR'SA, or TEL-HAR'ESHA, one of
the Babylonian towns, or villages, mentioned
in Ezr. ii. 59 ; Neh. vii. GI, along with Tel-
Melah and Cherub, probably in the low
country near the sea.
TEL-ME'LAH. [Tel-Hahsa.]
TF/MA, the ninth son of Ishmael (Gen. xxv.
15 ; 1 Chr. i. 30) ; whence the tribe called
after him, mentioned in Job vi. 19 ; Jer. xxv.
23, and also the land occupied by this tribe
(Is. xxi. 13, 14). The name is identified with
Teymd, a small town on the confines of Syria.
TE'MAN. 1. A son of Eliphaz, son of
Esau by Adah (Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15, 42; 1
Chr. i. 36, 53). — 2. A country, and probably
a city, named after the Edomite phylarch, or
from which the phylarch took bis name. The
Hebrew signifies "south," &c. (see Job ix.
9 ; Is. xliii. 6) ; and it is probable that the
land of Teman was a southern portion of the
land of Edom, or, in a wider sense, that of
the sons of the east. Teman is mentioned in
five places by the prophets, in. four of which
it is connected with Edom, and in two with
Dedan (Jer. xlix. 7, 8 ; Ez. xxv. 13). In
common with most Edomite names, Teman
appears to have been lost.
TEMPLE. 1. The Temple of Solomon.
— It was David who first proposed to replace
the Tabernacle by a more permanent build
ing, but was forbidden for the reasons as
signed by the prophet Nathan (2 Sam. vii.
5, &c), and though be collected materials
and made arrangements, the execution of the
task was left for his son Solomon. He, with
the assistance of Hiram king of Tyre, com

menced this great undertaking in the fourth
year of his reign (n.c. 1012), and completed
it in seven years (b.c. 1005). It occupied
the site prepared for it by David, which had
formerly been the threshing-floor of the Jebu
site Oman or Araunah, on Mount Moriah.
The whole area enclosed by the outer walls
formed a square of about 600 feet; but the
sanctuary itself was comparatively small, in
asmuch as it was intended only for the minis
trations of the priests, the congregation of
the people assembling in the courts. In this,
and all other essential points, the Temple fol
lowed the model of the Tabernacle, from
which it differed chiefly by having chambers
built about the ssmctuary for the abode of
the priests and attendants, and the keeping
of treasures and stores. In all its dimensions,
length, breadth, and height, the sanctuary
itself was exactly double of the Tabernacle,
the ground-plan measuring 80 cubits by 40,
whilst that of the Tabernacle was 40 by 20,
and the height of the Temple being 30 cubits,
while that of the Tabernacle was 15. (The
reader should compare the following account
with the article Tabernacle.) As in the
Tabernacle, the Temple consisted of three
parts, the Porch, the Holy Place, and the
Holy of Holies. The Porch of the Temple
was 10 cubits deep (in the Tabernacle 5
cubits), the width in both instances being
the width of the house. The front of the
porch was supported, after the manner of
some Egyptian temples, by the two great
brazen pillars, Jachin and Boaz, 18 cubits
high with capitals of 5 cubits more, adorned
with lily-work and pomegranates (1 K. vii.
15-22). Some have supposed that Jachin
and Boaz were not pillars in the ordinary-
sense of the term, but obelisks. But for this
there is no authority ; and as the porch was
fifteen cubits (thirty feet) in width, a roof of
that extent, even if composed of a wooden
beam, would not only look painfully weak
without some support, but in fact, almost
impossible to construct with the imperfect
science of those days. " The chapiter of lily-
work " on these columns may have borne
some resemblance to the cornice of lily-work
figured below. The Holy Place, -or outer
hall, was 40 cubits long by 20 wide, being in
the Tabernacle 20 by 10. TheHoly of Holies
was a cube of 20 cubits, being in the Taber
nacle 10. The places of the two "veils"
of the Tabernacle were occupied by parti
tions, in which were folding-doors. The
whole interior was lined with woodwork
richly carved and overlaid with gold. In
deed, both within and without, the building
was conspicuous chiefly by the lavish use of
the gold of Ophir and Parvaim. It glittered

557

TEMPLE

Cornice of Lily-work at Persopolis.
in the morning sun (it has been well said)
like the sanctuary of an El Dorado. Above
the sacred ark, which was placed, as of old,
in the Most Holy Place, weie made new che-

Plan Cf Solomon's Temple, showing; the disposition of
the chambers in two stories.

rubim, one pair of whose wings met above
the ark, and another pair reached to the
walls behind them. In the Holy Place, be
sides the Altar of Incense, which was made of
cedar, overlaid with gold, there were seven
golden candlesticks instead of one, and the
table of shew-bread was replaced by ten
golden tables bearing besides the shew-bread,
the innumerable golden vessels for the ser
vice of the sanctuary. The Outer Court was
no doubt double the size of that of the Taber
nacle ; and we may therefore safely assume
that it was 10 cubits in height, 100 cubits
north and south, and 200 east and west. It
contained an inner court called the " court
of the priests ; " but the arrangement of the
courts and of the porticoes and gateways of
the enclosure, though described by Josephus,
belong apparently to the Temple of Herod.
There was an eastern porch to Herod's tem
ple, which was called Solomon's Porch, and
Josephus tells us that it was built by that
monarch ; hut of this there is absolutely no
proof, and as neither in the account of Solo
mon's building nor in any subsequent repairs
or incidents is any mention made of such
buildings, we may safely conclude that they
did not exist before the time of the great
rebuilding immediately preceding the Chris
tian era. In the outer court there was a
new altar of burnt-offering much larger than
the old one. [Altar.] Instead of the brazen
laver there was " a molten sea " of brass, a
masterpiece of Hiram's skill, for the ablution
of the priests. It was called a "sea" fiom
its great size. [Sea, Molten.] The cham
bers for the priests were arranged in succes
sive stories against the sides of the sanctuary ;
not, however, reaching to the top, so as to
leave space for the windows to light the Holy
and Most Holy Places. We are told by Jo
sephus and the Talmud that there was a
superstructure on the Temple equal in height
to the lower part ; and this is confirmed by
the statement in the Books of Chronicles that
Solomon " overlaid the upper chambers with
gold" (2 Chron. iii. 9). Moreover, "the
altars on the top of the upper chamber,"
mentioned in the Books of the Kings (2 K.
xxiii. 12), were apparently upon the Temple.
It is probable that these upper chambers
bore some analogy to the platform or Talar
that existed on the roofs of the Palace-Tem
ples at Persepolis, as shown in. the accom
panying drawing, which represents the Tomb
of Darius. It is true this was erected five
centuries after the building of Solomon's tem
ple ; but it is avowedly a copy in stone of
older Assyrian forms, and as such may repre
sent, with more or less exactness, contem
porary buildings. Nothing in fact could

558

TEMPLE

represent more correctly " the altars on the j temple, which

the grandest ceremony

top of the upper chamber," which Josiah beat
down, than this, nor could anything more
fully meet all the architectural or devotional
exigencies of the case. — The dedication of the

ever performed under the Mosaic dispensa
tion, is described under Solomon. This
Temple was destroyed on the capture of Jeru
salem by Nebuchadnezzar, n.c. 586.

Tomb of Darius.

' Temple op Zerubbabel. — We have very
few particulars regarding the Temple which
the Jews erected after their return from the
Captivity (about b.c 520), and no description
that would enable us to realize its appear
ance. But there are some dimensions given
in the Bible and elsewhere which are ex
tremely interesting as affording points of
comparison between it and the Temple which
preceded it, and the one erected after it. The
first and most authentic are those given in
the Book of Ezra (vi. 3), when quoting the
decree of Cyrus, wherein it is said, " Let the
house be huilded, the place where they offered
sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be
strongly laid; the height thereof threescore
cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore
cubits, with three rows of great stones and a
row of new timber." Josephus quotes this
passage almost literally, hut in doing so en
ables us with certainty to translate the word

here called Row as "Story" — as indeed the
sense would lead us to infer. The other di
mension of 60 cubits in breadth, is 20 cubits
in excess of that of Solomon's Temple, but
there is no reason to doubt its correctness,
for we find both from Josephus and the
Talmud that it was the dimension adopted for
the Temple when rebuilt, or rather repaired
by Herod. We are left therefore with the
alternative of assuming that the porch and
the chambers all round were 20 cubits in
width, including the thickness of the walls,
instead of 10 cubits, as in the earlier build
ing. This alteration in the width of the
Pteromata made the Temple 100 cubits in
length by 60 in breadth, with a height, it ie
said, of 60 cubits, including the upper room
or Talar, though we cannot help suspecting
that this last dimension is somewhat in excess
of the truth. From these dimensions we
gather, that if the Priests and Levites and

TEMPLE

559

Elders of families were disconsolate at seeing
how much more sumptuous the old Temple
was than the one which on account of their
poverty they had just been able to erect
(Ezr. iii. 12), it certainly was not because it
was smaller, as almost every dimension had
been increased one-third ; but it may have
been that the carving and the gold, and other
ornaments of Solomon's Temple far surpassed
this, and the pillars of the portico and the
veils may all have been far more splendid, so
also probably were the vessels ; and aU this is

what a Jew would mourn over far more than.
mere architectural splendour.
Temple op Herod. — Herod announced to
the people assembled at the Passover (b.c 20
or 19) his intention of restoring the Temple.
If we may believe Josephus, he pulled down
the whole edifice to its foundations, and laid
them anew on an enlarged scale ; but the
ruins still exhibit, in some parts, what seem
to be the foundations laid by Zerubbabel, and
beneath them the more massive substructions
of Solomon. The new edifice was a stately

lumw-i

r~

CLIL

COURT OF GENTILES

P' n ''' '¦¦ -''in u th n-rra-n- t-i m-.ttt

¦j 'J m n -i ..i .-  i-f'i -i :-rn itt

Iii m u i. u ii a ,i ,i ., n r.i M n .1 i

STOA BASILICA

Temple of Herod restored. Scale of 200 feet to 1 inch.

pile of Graeco-Eoman architecture, built in
white marble with gilded acroteria. It is
minutely described by Josephus, and the New
Testament has made us 'familiar with the
pride of the Jews in its magnificence. A dif
ferent feeling, however, marked the com
mencement of the work, which met with
some opposition from the fear that what
Herod had begun he would not be able to
finish. He overcame all jealousy by engaging
not to pull down any part of the existing
buildings till all the materials for the new

edifice were collected on its site. Two years
appear to have been occupied in these pre
parations, among which Josephus mentions
the teaching some of the priests and Levites
to work as masons and carpenters — and then
the work began. The holy " house," in
cluding the Porch, Sanctuary, and Holy of
Holies, was finished in a year and a half
(b.c 16). Its completion, on the anniversary
of Herod's inauguration, was celebrated by
lavish sacrifices and a great feast. About
b.c. 9— eight years from the commencement

TEMPLE

500

TEMPLE

_ — the court and cloisters of the Temple were
finL-hed, and the bridge between tbe south
cloister and the upper city (demolished by
Pompey) was doubtless now rebuilt with that
massive masonry of which some remains still
survive. The Temple or holy " house " itself
was in dimensions and arrangement very
similar to that of Solomon, or rather that of
Zerubbabel — more like the latter ; but this
was surrounded by an inner enclosure of
great strength and magnificence, measuring
as nearly as can be made out 180 cubits by
240, and adorned by porches and ten gate
ways of great magnificence ; and beyond this
again was an outer enclosure measuring ex
ternally 400 cubits each way, which was
adorned with porticoes of greater splendour
than any we know of as attached to any
temple of the ancient world. The Temple
was certainly situated in the S.W. angle of
the area now known as the Haram area at
Jerusalem, and its dimensions were what
Josephus states them to be — 400 cubits, or
one stadium, each way. At the time when
Herod rebuilt it, he enclosed a space "twice
as large" as that before occupied by the
Temple and its courts, an expression that
probably must not be taken too literally, at
least if we are to depend on the measure
ments of Hecataeus. According to them, the
whole area of Herod's Temple was between
four and five times greater than that which
preceded it. What Herod did apparently was
to take in the whole space between the Temple
and the city wall on its eastern side, and to
add a considerable space on the north and
south, to support the porticoes which he
added there. As the Temple terrace thus
became the principal defence of the city on
the east side, there were no gates or openings
in that direction, and being situated on a sort
of rocky brow — as evidenced from its appear
ance in the vaults that bound it on this side —
it was at all later times considered unattack-
able from the eastward. The north side, too,
where not covered by the fortress Antonia,
became part of the defences of the city, and
was likewise without external gates. On the
south side, which was enclosed by the wall of
Ophel, there were double gates nearly in the
centre. These gates still exist at a distance
of about 365 feet from the south-western
angle, and are perhaps the only archi
tectural features of the Temple of Herod
whieh remain in situ. This entrance con
sists of a double archwav of Cyclopean archi
tecture on the level of the ground, opening
into a square vestibule measuring 40 feet
each way. Erom this a double tunnel, nearly
200 feet in length, leads to a flight of steps
which rise to the surface in the court of the

Temple, exactly at that gateway of the inner
Temple which led to the altar, and is the one
of the four gateways on this side by which
any one arriving from Ophel would naturally
wish to enter the inner enclosure. We learn
from the Talmud that the gate of the inner
Temple to which this passage led was called
the " Water Gate ;" and it is interesting to
be able to identify a spot so prominent in the
description of Nehemiah (xii. 37). Towards
the west there were four gateways to the
external enclosure of the Temple. — Cloisters.
— The most magnificent part of the Temple,
in an architectural point of view, seems cer
tainly to have been the cloisters which were
added to the outer court when it was enlarged
by Herod. The cloisters in the west, north,
and east sides were composed of double rows
of Corinthian columns, 25 cubits or 37 feet
6 inches in height, with flat roofs, and rest
ing against the outer wall of the Temple.
These, however, were immeasurably surpassed
in magnificence by the royal porch or Stoa
Basilica, which overhung the southern wall.
It consisted of a nave and two aisles, that
towards the Temple being open, that towards
the country closed by a wall. The breadth
of the centre aisle was 45 feet; of the side
aisles 30 from centre to centre of the pillars ;
their height 50 feet, and that of the centre
aisle 100 feet. Its section was thus some
thing in excess of that of York Cathedral,
while its total length was one stadium or
600 Greek feet, or 100 feet in excess of York,
or our largest Gothic cathedrals. This mag
nificent structure was supported by 162 Co
rinthian columns. The court of the Temple
was very nearly a square. It may have been
exactly so, for we have not all the details to
enable us to feel quite certain about it. To
tbe eastward of this was the court of the
women. The great ornament of these inner
courts seems to have been their gateways,
the three especially on the north and south
leading to the Temple court. These, accord
ing to Josephus, were of great height, strongly
fortified and ornamented with great elabora
tion. But the wonder of all was the great
eastern gate leading from the court of the
women to the upper court. It was in all
probability the one called the " Beautiful
Gate " in the New Testament. Immediately
within this gateway stood the altar of burnt-
offerings. Both the Altar and the Temple
were enclosed by a low parapet one cubit in
height, placed so as to keep the people sepa
rate from the priests while the latter were
performing their functions. Within this last
enclosure, towards the westward, stood the
Temple itself. As before mentioned, its in
ternal dimensions were the same as those of

TEN COMMANDMENTS

561

TEN COMMANDMENTS

the Temple of Solomon. There is no reason
for doubting that the Sanctuary always stood
on the identically same spot in which it had
been placed by Solomon a thousand years
before it was rebuilt by Herod.
TEN COMMANDMENTS. The popular
name in this, as in so many instances, is not
that of Scripture. There we have the " Ten
"Words" (Ex. xxxiv. 28 ; Deut. iv. 13, x. 4),
the "Covenant" (Ex., Deut., U. cc. ; IK.
viii. 21 ; 2 Chron. vi. II, &c), or, very often,
as the solemn attestation of the divine will,
the Testimony (Ex. xxv. 16, 21 ; xxx. 18,
&c). The term' " Commandments " had
come into use in the time of Christ (Luke
xviii. 20). Their division into Two Tables
is not only expressly mentioned, but the
stress laid upon the two leaves no doubt that
fiK distinction was important, and that it
answered to that summary of the law, which
was made both by Moses and by Christ into
two precepts ; so that the First Table con
tained Duties to God, and the Second, Duties
to our Neighbour. — But here arises a diffi
culty, not only as to the arrangement of the
commandments between the " Two Tables,"
but as to the division of the " Ten Words "
themselves. The division is not clearly made
in the Scripture itself; and that arrange
ment, with which we are familiar from child
hood, is only one of three modes, handed
down from the ancient Jewish and Christian
churches, to say nothing of modern theories ;
and others are used at this day by Jews and
Roman Catholics. (1) The modern Jews,
following the Talmud, take the words which
are often called the Preface, as the Fi?'st
Commandment (Ex. xx. 2 ; Deut. v. 6 : "I
am Jehovah thy God, which brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage") ; and the prohibitions both against
having other gods, and against idolatry, as
the second (Ex. xx. 3-6 ; Deut. v. 7-10) ; the
rest being arranged as with us. (2) The
Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches, fol
lowing St. Augustine, regard the First Com
mandment as embracing all the above words,
in one comprehensive law against false wor
ship and idolatry. Thus our Third Com
mandment is their Seemid, and so on to our
Ninth, which is their Eighth. They then
make our Tenth against coveting their Ninth
and Tenth. In the arrangement of the Two
Tables, the First contains three command
ments, closing with the Sabbath law, and the
Second the remaining seven. (3) The ar
rangement adopted by the Greek and English
churches following Philo, Josephus, and
Origen, and all the Latin fathers, makes the
law against having other gods besides Jehovah
the First Commandment, and that against
Sm. D. B.

idolatry the Second, though a slight differ
ence of opinion remains, whether the first
words belong to the First Commandment, or
form a Preface to the whole. — There are then
three principal divisions of the Two Tables :
(i.) That of the Roman Catholic Church men
tioned above, making the First Table contain
three commandments, and the second the
other seven, (ii.) The familiar division, re
ferring the first four 'to our duty towards
God, and the six remaining to our duty to
wards man. (iii.) The division recognised
by the old Jewish writers, Josephus and
Philo, which places five commandments in
each Table ; and thus preserves the pentade
and decade grouping which pervades the
whole code. It has been maintained that
the law of filial duty, being a close conse
quence of God's fatherly relation to us, may
be referred to the First Table. But this is
to place human parents on a level with God,
and, by parity of reasoning, the Sixth Com
mandment might he added to the First Table,
as murder is the destruction of God's image
in man. Far more reasonable is the view
which regards the authority of parents as
heading the Second Table, as the earthly re
flex of that authority of the Father of His
people and of all men which heads the first,
and as the first principle of the whole law of
love to our neighbours, because we are all
brethren ; and the family is, for good and ill,
the model of the state. — To these Ten Com
mandments we find in the Samaritan Penta
teuch an eleventh added : — " But when the
Lord thy God shall have brought thee into
the land of Canaan, whither thou goest to
possess it, thou shalt set thee up two great
stones, and shalt plaister them with plaister,
and shalt write upon these stones all the
words of this Law. Moreover, after thou
shalt have passed over Jordan, thou shalt set
up those stones which I command thee this
day, on Mount Gerizim, and thou shalt build
there an altar to the Lord thy God, an altar
of stones : thou shalt not lift up any iron
thereon. Of unhewn stones shalt thou build
that altar to the Lord thy God, and thon
shalt offer on it burnt-offerings to the Lord
thy God, and thou shalt sacrifice peace-offer
ings, and shalt eat them there, and thou shalt
rejoice before the Lord thy God in that moun
tain beyond Jordan, by the way where the
sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanite
that dwelleth in the plain country over against
Gilgal, by the oak of Moreh, towards Sichem."
The interpolation has every mark of being a
bold attempt to claim for the schismatic wor
ship on Gerizim the solemn sanction of the
voice on Sinai, to place it on the same footing
as the Ten great Words of God. 2 0

TENT

562

THANK-OFFERING

TENT. Among the leading characteristics
of the nomade races, those two have always
been numbered, whose origin has been as
cribed to Jabal the son of Lamech (Gen. iv.
20), viz., to be tent-dwellers and keepers of
cattle. The same may be said of the fore
fathers of the Hebrew race ; nor was it until
the return into Canaan from Egypt that the
Hebrews became inhabitants cf cities. An
Arab tent is called beit, " house ; " its cover
ing consists of stuff, about three-quarters of a
yard broad, made of black goats'-hair (Cant.
i. 5), laid parallel with the tent's length.
This is sufficient to resist tbe heaviest rain.
The tent-poles, or columns, are usually nine
in number, placed in three groups, but many
tents have only one pole, others two or three.
The ropes which hold the tent in its place
are fastened, not to the tent-cover itself, but
to loops consisting of a leathern thong tied
to the ends of a stick, round which is twisted
a piece of old cloth, which is itself sewed to
the tent-cover. The ends of the tent-ropes
are fastened to short sticks or pins, which
are driven into tlie ground, with a mallet
(Judg, iv. 21). Round the back and sides
of the tent runs a piece of stuff removable
at pleasure to admit air. The tent is divided
into two apartments, separated by a carpet
partition drawn across the middle of the tent
and fastened to the three middle posts. When
the pasture near an encampment is exhausted,
the tents are taken down, packed on camels
and removed (Is. xxxviii. 12 ; Gen xxvi. 17,
22, 25). In choosing places for encampment,
Arabs prefer the neighbourhood of trees, for
the sake of the shade and coolness which they
afford (Gen. xviii. 4, 8).
TE'RAH, the father of Abram, Nahor, and
Haran, and through them the ancestor of the
great families of the Israelites, Ishmaelites,
Midianites, Moabites, and Ammonites (Gen.
xi. 24-32). The account given of him in the
0. T. narrative is very brief. We learn from
it simply that he was an idolater (Josh. xxiv.
2;, that he dwelt beyond the Euphrates in
Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. xi. 28), and that
in the south-westerly migration, which from
some unexplained cause he undertook in his
old age, he went with his son Abram, his
daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot,
" to go into the land of Canaan, and they
came unto Haran, and dwelt there" (Gen.
xi. 31). And finally, "tbe days of Terah
were two hundred and five years : and Terah
died in Haran" (Gen. xi. 32).
TER'APHIM, only in plural, images con
nected with magical rites. The derivation
of the name is obscure. In one case a single
statue seems to be intended by the plural
(1 Sam. xix. 13, 16). The teraphim, trans

lated "images" in A. V., carried away from
Laban by Rachel, were regarded by Laban
as gods, and it would therefore appear that
they were used by those who added corrupt
practices to the patriarchal religion. Tera
phim again are included among Micah's im
ages (Judg. xvii. 3-5, xviii. 17, 18, 20).
Teraphim were consulted for oracular answers
by the Israelites (Zech. x. 2 ; comp. Judg.
xviii. 5, 6; 1 Sam. xv. 22, 23, xix. 13, 16,
LXX. ; and 2 K. xxiii. 24), and by the
Babylonians, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar
(Ez. xxi. 19-22).
TER'TIUS, probably a Roman, was the
amanuensis of Paul in writing the Epistle to
the Romans (Rom. xvi. 22).
TERTUL'LUS, "a certain orator" (Acts
xxiv, 1) who was retained by the High Priest
and Sanhedrim to accuse the Apostle PdR
at Caesarea before the Roman Procurator
Antonius Felix. He evidently belonged to
the class of professional orators. We may
infer that Tertullus was of Roman, or at all
events of Italian origin.
TESTAMENT, NEW. [Bible.]
TESTAMENT, OLD. [Bible.]
TETRARCH, properly the sovereign or
governor of the fourth part of a country.
(1.) Herod Antipas (Matt. xiv. 1 ; Luke iii.
1, 19, ix. 7 ; Acts xiii. 1), who is commonly
distinguished as "Herod the tetrarch," al
though the title of "king" is also assigned
to him both by Matthew (xiv„ 9) and by
Mark (vi. 14, 22 sqq.). (2.) Herod Philip,
who is said by Luke (iii. 1) to have been
" tetrarch of Ituraea, and of the region of
Trachonitis." (3.) Lysanias, who is said
(Luke iii. 1) to have been " tetrarch of Abi
lene." — The title of tetrarch was at this time
probably applied to petty tributary princeB
without any such determinate meaning.
But it appears from Josephus that the tetrar-
chies of Antipas and Philip were regarded
as constituting each a fourth part of their
father's kingdom. We conclude that in
these two cases, at least, the title was used
in its strict and literal sense.
THADDAE'US, a name in Mark's catalogue
of the twelve Apostles (Mark iii. 18) in the
great majority of MSS. In Matthew's cata
logue (Matt. x. 3) Lehbaeus is probably the
original reading. From a comparison with
the catalogue of St. Luke (Luke vi. 15 ; Acts
i. 13) it seems scarcely possible to doubt that
the three names of Judas, Lehbaeus, and
Thaddaeus were borne by one and the same
person. THANK-OFFERING, or PEACE-OFFER
ING, the properly eucharistic offering among
the Jews, in its theory resembling the Meat
offering, and therefore indicating that the

THARSHISH

563 THESSALONIANS, FIRST EPISTLE

offerer was already reconciled to, and in
covenant with, God. Its ceremonial is de
scribed in Lev. iii. The peace-offerings, un
like other sacrifices, were not ordained to he
offered in fixed and regular course. The
only constantly recurring peace-offering ap
pears to have been that of the two firstling
lambs at Pentecost (Lev. xxiii. 19). The
general principle of the peace-offering seems
to have been, that it should be entirely spon
taneous, offered as occasion should arise,
from the feeling of the sacrificer himself
(Lev. xix. 5). On the first institution (Lev,
vii. 11-17), peace-offerings are divided into
"offerings of thanksgiving," and "vows or
free-will offerings ; " of which latter class the
offering by a Nazarite, on the completion of
his vow, is the most remarkable (Num. vi.
14). We find accordingly peace-offerings
offered for the people on a great scale at
periods of unusual solemnity or rejoicing.
In two cases only (Judg. xx. 26 ; 2 Sam.
xxiv. 25) peace-offerings are mentioned as
offered with burnt-offerings at a time Of
national sorrow and fasting.
THAR'SHISH. [Tarshish.]
THEATRE. For the explanation of the
biblical allusions, two or three points only
require notice. The Greek term, like the
corresponding English term, denotes the place
where dramatic performances are exhibited,
and also the scene itself or spectacle which is
witnessed there. It .occurs in the first or
local sense in Acts xix. 29. It was in the
theatre at Caesarea that Herod Agrippa I.
gave audience to the Tyrian deputies, and
was himself struck with death, because he
heard so gladly the impious acclamations of
the people (Acts xii. 21-23). The other
sense of the term " theatre " occurs in 1 Cor.
iv. 9, where the A. V. renders : " God hath
set forth us the apostles last, as it were
appointed to death ; for we are made a
spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and
to men." Instead of " spectacle," some
might prefer the more energetic Saxon,
"gazing-stock," as in Tyndale, Cranmer, and
the Geneva version.
THEBES. [No-Amon.]
THE'BEZ, a place memorable for the death
of the bravo Abimelech (Judg. ix. 50), was
known to Eusebius and Jerome, in whose
time it was situated "in the district of Nea
polis," 13 Roman miles therefrom, on the
road to Scythopolis. There it still is ; its
name — Tubas — hardly changed.
THEL'ASAR. [Tel-assar.]
THEOPH'ILUS, the person to whom St.
Luke inscribes his Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles ^Luke i. 3; Acts i. 1). From the
honourable epithet applied to him in Luke

i. 3, it has been argued with much probability
that he was a person in high official posi
tion. THESSALO'NIANS, FIRST EPISTLE TO
THE, was written by the Apostle Paul at
Corinth, a few months after he had founded
the Church at Thessalonica, at the close of
the year 52 or the beginning of 53, The
occasion of this Epistle was as follows : St.
Paul had twice attempted to revisit Thessa
lonica, and both times had been disappointed.
Thus prevented from seeing them in person,
he had sent Timothy to inquire and report to
him as to their condition (iii. 1-5). Timothy
returned with most favourable tidings, re
porting not only their progress in Christian
faith and practice, but also their strong
attachment to their old teacher (iii. 6-10).
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians is the
outpouring of the Apostle's gratitude on re
ceiving this welcome news. At the same
time the report of Timothy was not unmixed
with alloy. There were certain features in
the condition of the Thessalonian Church
which called for St. Paul's interference, and
to which he addresses himself in his letter.
(1.) The very intensity of their Christian
faith, dwelling too exclusively on the day of
the Lord's coming, had been attended with
evil consequences. On the other hand, a
theoretical difficulty had been felt. Certain
members of the Church had died, and there
was great anxiety lest they should be ex
cluded from any share in the glories of the
Lord's advent (iv. 13-18). (2.) The Thessa
lonians needed consolation and encouragement
under persecution (ii, 14, iii. 2-4). (3.) An
unhealthy state of feeling with regard to
spiritual gifts was manifesting itself (v. 19,
20). (4.) There was the danger of relapsing
into their old heathen profligacy (iv. 4-8).
Yet notwithstanding all these drawbacks,
the condition of the Thessalonian Church was
highly satisfactory, and the most cordial
relations existed between St. Paul and his
converts there. This honourable distinction
it shares with the other great Church of Ma
cedonia, that of Philippi. — The Epistle is
rather practical than doctrinal. It was sug
gested rather by personal feeling, than by
any urgent need, which might have formed
a centre of unity, and impressed a distinct
character on the whole. Under these cir
cumstances we need not expect to trace unity
of purpose, or a continuous argument, and
any analysis must be more or less artificial.
The body of the Epistle, however, may con
veniently be divided into two parts, the
former of which, extending over the first
three chapters, is chiefly taken up with a
retrospect of the Apostle's relation to his
2 0 2

THESSALONIANS, SECOND EPISTLE 564

THE U DAS

Thessalonian converts, and an explanation of
his present circumstances and feelings, while
the latter, comprising the 4th and 5th chap
ters, contains some seasonable exhortations.
At the close of each of these divisions is a
prayer, commencing with the same words,
"May God Himself," &c, and expressed iu
somewhat similar language. The Epistle
closes with personal injunctions and a bene
diction (v. 25-28).
THESSALO'NIANS, SECOND EPISTLE
TO THE, appears to have been written from
Corinth not very long after the First, for
Silvanus and Timotheus were still with St.
Paul (i. 1). In the former letter we saw i
chiefly the outpouring of strong personal |
affection, occasioned by the renewal of the j
Apostle's intercourse with the Thessalonians,
and the doctrinal and hortatory portions are j
there subordinate. In the Second Epistle,
on the other hand, his leading motive seems
to have been the desire of correcting errors
in the Church of Thessalonica. We notice
two points especially which call for his re
buke. First, it seems that tbe anxious
expectation of the Lord's advent, instead
of subsiding, had gained ground since the
writing of the First Epistle. Secondly, the
Apostle had also a personal ground of com
plaint. His authority was not denied by
any, but it was tampered with, and an un
authorized use was made of his name. — This
Epistle, in the range of subject as well as in
style and general character, closely resembles
the First ; and the remarks made on that
Epistle apply for the most part equally well
to this. The structure also is somewhat
similar, the main body of the Epistle being
divided into two parts in the same way, and
each part closing with a prayer (ii. 16, 17,
iii. 16). The Epistle ends with a special
direction and benediction (iii. 17, 18).
THESSALONI'CA. The original name of
this city was Therma ; and that part of the
Macedonian shore on which it was situated
retained through the Roman period the de
signation of the Thermaie Gulf. Cassander
the son of Antipater rebuilt and enlarged
Therma, and named it after his wife Thessa
lonica, the sister of Alexander the Great.
The name ever since, under various slight
modifications, has been continuous, and the
city it=elf has never ceased to be eminent.
Saloniki is still the most important town of
European Turkey, next after Constantinople.
Strabo in the first century speaks of Thessa- \
lonica as the most populous city in Macedonia, j
Thus we are brought to St. Paul's visit (with '
Silas and Timothy) during his second mis
sionary journey, and to the introduction of
Christianity into Thessalonica. Three cir

cumstances must here be mentioned, which
illustrate in an important manner this visit
and this journey as well as the two Epistles
to the Thessalonians. (1.) This was the
chief station on the great Roman Road, called
the Via Egnatia, which connected Rome with
the whole region to the north of the Aegean
Sea. (2.) Placed as it was on this great
Road, and in connexion with other important
Roman ways, Thessalonica was an invaluable
centre for the spread of the Gospel. In fact
it was nearly, if not quite, on a level with
Corinth and Ephesus in its share of the com
merce of the Levant. (3.) The circumstance
noted in Acts xvii. 1, that here was the
synagogue of the Jews in this part of Mace
donia, had evidently much to do with the
Apostle's plans, and also doubtless with his
success. Trade would inevitably bring Jews
to Thessalonica : and it is remarkable that,
ever since, they have had a prominent place
in the annals of the city. Tlie first scene of the
Apostle's work at Thessalonica was the syna
gogue (Acts xvii. 2, 3). It is stated thnt
the ministrations among the Jews continued
for three weeks (ver. 2). Not that we are
obliged to limit to this time the whole stay
of the Apostle at Thessalonica. A flourish
ing Church was certainly formed there : and
the Epistles show that its elements were
much more Gentile than Jewish. The narra
tive in the Acts affords a singularly accurate
illustration of the political constitution of
Thessalonioa. Not only is the demus men
tioned (Acts xvii. 5) in harmony with what
has been above said of its being a " free city,"
but the peculiar title politarclis (ib. 6), of the
chief magistrates. This term occurs in no
other writing ; but it may be read to this
day conspicuously on an arch of the early
Imperial times, which spans the main street
of the city. The arch just mentioned (called
the Yarddr gate) is at the western extremity
of the town. At its eastern extremity is
another Roman arch of later date, and pro
bably commemorating some victory of Con
stantine. The main street which both these
arches cross, and which intersects the city
from east to west, is undoubtedly the line of
the Via Egnatia.
THEU'DAS, the name of an insurgent
mentioned in Gamaliel's speech before the
Jewish council (Acts v. 35-39) at the time of
the arraignment of the Apostles, He ap
peared, according to Luke's account, at the
bead of about four hundred men. Josephns
speaks of a Theudas who played a similar
part in the time of Claudius, about a.d. 44,
/. e. some ten or twelve years at least later
than the delivery of Gamaliel's speech ; and
since Luke places his Theudas, in the ordei

THISTLE

565

THREE TAVERNS

of time, before Judas the Galilean, who made
his appearance soon after the dethronement
of Archelaus, i. e. a.d. 6 or 7, the Theudas
mentioned by St. Luke must be a different
person from the one spoken of by Josephus.
The former was probably one of the insurrec
tionary chiefs or fanatics by whom the land
was overrun in the last year of Herod's
reign. . THISTLE. [Thorns and Thistles.]
THOM'AS, one of the Apostles. The word
means " a twin ;" and so it is translated in
John xi. 16, xxi. 2 (Didymus). In the cata
logue of the Apostles he is coupled with
Matthew in Matt. x. 3 ; Mark iii. 18 ; Luke
vi. 15; and with Philip in Acts i. 13. All
that we know of him is derived from the
Gospel of St. John ; and this amounts to
three traits, which, however, so exactly
agree together, that, slight as they are, they
place his character before us with a precision
which belongs to no other of the twelve
Apostles, except Peter, John, and Judas Isca
riot. This character is that of a man, slow
to believe, seeing all the difficulties of a
case, subject to despondency, viewing things
on the darker side, and yet full of ardent
love of his Master. The first trait is his
speech when our Lord determined to face the
dangers that awaited Him in Judaea on his
journey to Bethany. Thomas said to bis fellow-
disciples, " Let us also go, that we may die
with Him" (John xi. 16). The second was
his speech during the Last Supper "Thomas
saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither
thou goest, and how can we know the way ?"
(xiv. 5). It was the prosaic, incredulous
doubt as to moving a step in the unseen
future, and yet an eager inquiry to know
how this 6tep was to be taken. The third
was after the Resurrection. He was absent
— possibly by accident, perhaps characteristi
cally— from the first assembly when Jesus
had appeared. The others told him what
. they had seen. He broke forth into an ex
clamation, the terms of which convey to us
at once the vehemence of his doubt, and at
the same time the vivid picture that his mind
retained of his Master's form as he had last
seen Him lifeless on the cross (John xx. 25).
On the eighth day he was with them at their
gathering, perhaps in expectation of a recur
rence of the visit of the previous week ; and
Jesus stood amongst them. He uttered the
same salutation, "Peace be unto you;" and
then turning to Thomas, as if this had been
the special object of His appearance, uttered
^the words which convey as strongly the sense
of condemnation and tender reproof as those
of Thomas bad shown the sense of hesitation
and doubt. The effect on Thomas is im

mediate. The conviction produced by the
removal of his doubt became deeper and
stronger than that of any of the other
Apostles. The words in which he expressed
his belief contain a far higher assertion of his
Master's divine nature than is contained in
any other expression used by Apostolic lips,
" My Lord, and my God." The answer of
our Lord sums up the moral of the whole
narrative : " Because thou hast seen me,
thou hast believed : blessed are they that
have not seen me, and yet' have believed"
(xx. 29). In the N. T. we hear of Thomas
only twice again, once on the Sea of Galilee
with the seven disciples, where he is ranked
next after Peter (John xxi. 2), and again in
the assemblage of the Apostles after the
Ascension (Acts i. 13). The earlier tradi
tions, as believed in the 4th century, repre
sent him as preaching in Parthia or Persia,
and as finally buried at Edessa. The later
traditions carry him further East. His mar
tyrdom (whether in Persia or India) is said to
have been occasioned by a lance ; and is com
memorated by the Latin Church on Dec. 21,
by the Greek Church on Oct. 6, and by the
Indians on July 1 .
THORNS and THISTLES. There appear
to- be eighteen or twenty Hebrew words
which point to different kinds of prickly
or thorny shrubs. These words are vari
ously rendered in the A. V, by "thorns,"
" briers," " thistles," &c. It were a hopeless
task to enter ' into a discussion of these nu
merous Hebrew terms ; but it is necessary
to make a few remarks upon the " crown of
thorns" (aTe'^ai'Os ef a.Kav8tav, Matt, xxvii.
29), which was put in derision upon our
Lord's head before his crucifixion. The
Rhamnus or Spina Christi, although abundant
in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, cannot he
the plant intended, because its thorns are so
strong and large that it could not have been
woven into a wreath. The large-leaved
acanthus (bear's-foot) is totally unsuited for
the purpose. Had the acacia been intended,
as some suppose, the phrase would have been
e£ d«:ae0T)s. Obviously some small flexile
thorny 6hrub is meant ; perhaps eappares
spinosae. Hasselquist (Travels, p. 260) says
that the thorn used was the Arabian Nabk.
"It was very suitable for their purpose, as it
has many sharp thorns which inflict painful
wounds; and its flexible, pliant, and round
branches might easily be plaited in the form
of a crown." It also resembles the rich dark
green of the triumphal ivy-wreath, which
would give additional pungency to its ironical
purpose. THREE TAVERNS, a station on the Ap-
pian Road, along which St. Paul travelled

THRESHING

566

TITYINE WOOD

from Puteoli to Rome (Acts xxviii. 15). The
distances, reckoning southwards from Rome,
are given as follows in the Antonine Itinerary,
" to Aricia, 16 miles ; to Three Taverns,
17 miles; to Appii Forum, 10 miles;" and,
comparing this with what is observed still
along the line of road, we have no difficulty
in coming to the conclusion that " Three
Taverns " was near the modern Cist em a.
Just at this point a road came in from Antium
on the coast, There is no doubt that "Three
Taverns " was a frequent meeting-place of
travellers. THRESHING. [Agriculture.]
THRESHOLD. [Gate.]
THRONE. The Hebrew word, so trans
lated, applies to any elevated seat occupied
by a person in authority, whether a high-
priest (I Sam. i. 9), a judge (Ps. cxxii. 5), or
a military chief (Jer. i. 15). The use of a
chair in a country where the usual postures
were squatting and reclining, was at all
times regarded as a symbol of dignity (2 K.
iv. 10 ; Prov. ix. 14). In order to specify a
throne in our sense of the term, it was neces
sary to add to the word the notion of royalty ;
hence the frequent occurrence of such ex
pressions as " throne of the kingdom " (Deut.
xvii. 18; 1 K. i. 46 ; 2 Chr. vii. 18). The
characteristic feature in the royal throne was
its elevation : Solomon's throne was ap
proached by six steps (1 K. x. 19 ; 2 Chr. ix.
18) ; and Jehovah's throne is described as
"high and lifted up" (Is. vi. 1). The
materials and workmanship were costly. It

Assyrian throne or chair of state (Layanl),

was furnished with arms or " stays." The
steps were also lined with pairs of lions. As
to the form of chair, we are only informed in
1 K. x. 19 tbat " the top was round behind."
The king sat on his throne on state occasions.
At such times he appeared in his royal robes,
The throne was the symbol of supreme power
and dignity (Gen. xli. 40). Similarly, "to
sit upon the throne," implied the exercise of
regal power (Deut. xvii. 18 ; IK. xvi. 11),
THUMMIM. [TJniM and Tiiusim™.]
THUNDER is hardly ever heard in Pales
tine from the middle of April to the middle of
September. Hence it was selected by Samuel
as a striking expression of the Divine, dis
pleasure towards the Israelites (1 Sam. xii.
17). In tbe imaginative philosophy of tbe
Hebrews, thunder was regarded as the voice
of Jehovah (Job xxxvii. 2, 4, 5, xl. 9; Ps.
xviii. 13, xxix. 3-9; Is. xxx. 30, 31), who
dwelt behind the thunder-cloud (Ps. lxxxi. 7).
Thunder was, to the mind of the Jew, the
symbol of Divine power (Ps. xxix. 3, &c),
and vengeance (1 Sam. ii. 10 ; 2 Sam,
xxii. 14).
THYATI'RA, a city on the Lycus, founded
by Seleucus Nicator, lay to the left of the
road from Pergamus to Sardis, on the very
confines of Mysia and Ionia, so as to be some
times reckoned within the one, and sometimes
within the other. Dyeing apparently formed
an important part of the industrial activity
of Thyatira, as it did of that of Colossae and
Laodicea (Acts xvi. 14), The principal deity
of the city was Apollo ; but there was an
other superstition, of an extremely curious
nature, which seems to have been brought
thither by some of the corrupted Jews of the
dispersed tribes. A fane stood outside the
walls, dedicated to Sambatha — the name of
the sibyl who is sometimes called Chaldaean,
sometimes Jewish, sometimes Persian — in the
midst of an enclosure designated "the Chal-
daean's court." This seems to lend an illus
tration to the obscure passage in Rev. ii. 20,
21, which some interpret of the wife of the
bishop. Now there is evidence to show that
in Thyatira there was a great amalgamation
of races. If the sibyl Sambatha was really a
Jewess, lending her aid to the amalgamation
of different religions, and not discountenanced
by the authorities of the Judaeo- Christian
Church at Thyatira, both the censure and its
qualification become easy of explanation.
THYINE WOOD occurs in Rev. xviii. 12,
where the margin has " sweet " (wood).
There can be little doubt that the wood here
spoken of is that of the Thuya articulata,
Desfont., the CalHtris qnadrkalvis of present
botanists. This tree was much prized by the
ancient Greeks and Romans, on account of

THYATIRA.

To face p. 507.

TIBERIAS

567

TIBHATH

the beauty of its wood for various orna
mental purposes. By the Romans the tree
was called citrus, the wood citrum. It is a
native of Barbary, and grows to the height of
15 to 25 feet.

Thuya articulate.
TIBE'RIAS, a city in the time of Christ, on
tbe Sea of Galilee ; first mentioned in the New
Testament (John vi. I, 23, xxi. 1), and then
by Josephus,. who states that it was built by
Herod Antipas, and was named by him in
honour of the emperor Tiberius. It was pro
bably a new town, and not a restored or en
larged one merely; for "Rakkath" (Josh.
xix. 35), which is said in the Talmud to have
occupied the same position, lay in the tribe of
Naphtali, whereas Tiberias appears to have
been within the limits of Zebulun (Matt. iv.
13). Tiberias was the capital of Galilee from
the time of its origin until the reign of Herod
Agrippa IL, who changed the seat of power
back again to Sepphoris, where it had been
before the founding of the new city. Many
of the inhabitants were Greeks and Romans,
and foreign customs prevailed there to such
an extent as to give offence to the stricter
Jews. The ancient name has survived in
that of the modern Tubariehf which occupies

the original site. Near Tuharieh, about a
mile further south along the shore, are the
celebrated warm baths, which the Roman
naturalists reckoned among the greatest
known curiosities of the world. It is re
markable that the Gospels give us no infor
mation, that the Saviour, who spent so much
of his public life in Galilee, ever visited
Tiberias. Tiberias has an interesting history,
apart from its strictly Biblical associations.
It bore a conspicuous part in the wars be
tween the Jews and the Romans. The San
hedrim, subsequently to the fall of Jerusalem,
after a temporary sojourn at Jamnia and Sep
phoris, became fixed there about the middle
of the second century. Celebrated schools of
Jewish learning flourished there through a
succession of several centuries. The Mishna '
was compiled at this place by the great Rabbi
Judah Hakkodesh (a.d. 190).
TIBE'RIAS, THE SEA OF (John xxi. 1).
[Gennesarict, Sea of.]
TIBE'RIUS (in full, Tiberius Claudius
Nero), the second Roman emperor, successor
of Augustus, who began to reign a.d. 14, and
reigned until a.d. 37. He was the son of
Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia, and hence
a stepson of Augustus. He was born at
Rome on the 16th of November, b.c 45. He
became emperor in his fifty-fifth yeai*, after
having distinguished himself as a commander
in various wars, and having evinced talents
of a high order as an orator, and an adminis
trator of civil affairs. He even gained the
reputation of possessing the sterner virtues of
the Roman character, and was regarded as
entirely worthy of the imperial honours to
which his birth and supposed personal merits
at length opened the way. Yet, on being
raised to the supreme power, he suddenly he-
came, or showed himself to be, a very different
man. His subsequent life was one of in
activity, sloth, and self-indulgence. He was
despotic in his government, cruel and vin
dictive in his disposition. Tiberius died,
a.d. 37, at the age of 78, after a reign of
23 years. Our Saviour was put to death in
the reign of Tiberius.

Coin of Tiberius,

TIB'HATH, a city of Hadadezer, king of
Zobah (1 Chr. xviii. 8), which in 2 Sam. viii. 8
is called Betah. Its exact position is unknown.

TIBNI

56S

TIGRIS

TIB'NI. After Zimri had burnt himself in
his palace, there was a division in the northern
kingdom, half of the people following Tibni
the son of Ginath, and half following Omri
(1 K. xvi. 21, 22). Omri was the choice of
the army. Tibni was probably put forward
by the people of Tirzah, which was then be
sieged by Omri and his host. The struggle
between the contending factions lasted four
years (comp. 1 K. xvi. 15, 23).
TI'DAL is mentioned only in Gen. xiv. 1, 9.
He is called "king of nations," from which
we may conclude that he was a chief over
various nomadic tribes.
TIG'LATH-PILE'SER. In 1 Chr. v. 26,
and again in 2 Chr. xxviii. 20, the name of
this king is written " Tilgath-pilnescr ;" but
' in this form there is a double corruption.
The native word reads as Tigulti-pal-tsira,
for which the Tiglath-pil-eser of 2 Kings is a
fair equivalent. Tiglath-Pileser is the second
Assyrian king mentioned in Scripture as
having come into contact with the Israelites.
He attacked Samaria in the reign of Pekah,
probably because Pekah withheld his tribute,
and, having entered his territories, he " took
Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah,
and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and
Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, and
carried them captive to Assyria" (2 K. xv.
29). The date of tbis invasion cannot be
fixed. After his first expedition, a close
league was formed between Rezin, king of
Syria, and Pekah, having for its special object
the humiliation of Judah. At first great suc
cesses were gained by Pekah and his con
federate (2 K. xv. 37 ; 2 Chr. xxviii. 6-8) ;
but, on their proceeding to attack Jerusalem
itself, Ahaz appl'ied to Assyria for assistance,
and Tiglath-Pileser, consenting to aid him,
again appeared at the head of an army in
these regions. He first marched, naturally,
against Damascus, which he took (2 K. xvi. 9),
razing it to the ground, and killing Rezin,
the Damascene monarch. After this, pro
bably, he proceeded to chastise Pekah, whose
country he entered on the north-east, where
it bordered upon " Syria of Damascus." Here
he overran the whole district to the east of
Jordan, carrying into captivity " the Reu
benites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of
Manasseh" (IChr. v. 26). Before returning
into his own land, Tiglath-Pileser had an in
terview with Ahaz at Damascus (2 K. xvi. 10).
This is all that Scripture tells us of Tiglath-
Pileser, He appears to have succeeded Pul,
and to have been succeeded by Shalmaneser ;
to have been contemporary with Rezin, Pekah,
and Ahaz ; and therefore to have ruled As
syria during the latter half of the eighth
century before our era. From his own in

scriptions we learn that his reign lasted at
least seventeen years ; that, besides warring
in Syria and Samaria, he attacked Babylonia,
Media, Armenia, and the independent tribes
in the upper regions of Mesopotamia ; thuB,
like the other great Assyrian monarchs, war
ring along the whole frontier of the empire ;
and finally, that he was (probably) not a
legitimate prince, but an usurper and the
founder of a dynasty. He reigned certainly
from b.c 747 to B.C. 730, and possibly a few
years longer, being succeeded by Shalmanesev
at least as early as b.c. 725. His slabs,
which are tolerably numerous, show that he
must have built or adorned a residence at
Calah (Nimrud), where they were found.

Tighith-rilescr.
TI'GRIS is used by the LXX. as the Greek
equivalent of the Hebrew Hiddekel ; and
occurs also in several of the apocryphal books,
as in Tobit (vi. 1), Judith (i. 6), and Ec-
clesiasticus (xxiv. 25). The Tigris, like the
Euphrates,' rises from two principal sources
in the Armenian mountains, and flows into
the Euphrates. Its length, exclusive of me
anders, is reckoned at 1146 miles. It re
ceives, along its middle and lower course, no
fewer than five important tributaries. These
are the river of Zakko or Eastern Khabour,
the Great Zab (ZabAla), the Lesser Zab {Zab
Asfal), the Adhem, and the Diyalehox ancient
Gyndes. All these rivers flow from the high
range of Zagros. We find but little mention

TIMBREL

569

TIMOTHEUS

of the Tigris in Scripture. It appears indeed
under the name of Hiddekel, among the rivers
of Eden (Gen. ii. 14), and is there correctly
described as " running eastward to Assyria."
But after this we hear no more of it, if we
except one doubtful allusion in Nahum (ii. 6),
until the Captivity, when it becomes well
known to the prophet Daniel. With him it
is "the Great River." The Tigris, in its
upper course, anciently ran through Armenia
Ana Assyria. Lower down, from about the
point where it enters on the alluvial plai::, it
separated Babylonia from Susiana. In the
wars between the Romans and the Parthians,
we find it constituting, for a short time (from
a.b. 114 to a.d. 117), the boundary-line be
tween these two empires.
TIMBREL, TABRET (Heb. ttiph). In Old
English tabor was used for any drum. Ta
bouret and tabourine are diminutives of tabor,
and denote the instrument now known as the
tambourine. Tabret is a contraction of ta
bouret. The Heb. tdph is undoubtedly the
instrument described by travellers as the duff
or diff of the Arabs. It was used in very
early times by the Syrians of Padan-aram at
their merry-makings (Gen. xxxi. 27). It
was played principally by women (Ex. xv.
20 ; Judg. xi. 34 ; 1 Sam. xviii. 6 ; Ps. lxviii.
25) as an accompaniment to the song and
dance (comp. Jud. iii. 7), and appears to have
been worn by them as an ornament (Jer.
xxxi. 4). The diff of the Arabs is described
by Russell as " a hoop (sometimes with pieces
of brass fixed in it to make a jingling) over
which a piece of parchment is distended. It
16 beaten with the fingers, and is the true
tympanum of the ancients." In Barbary it
is called tar.

Tur, (Lane's Modern Egyptians.)
TIM'NA, TIM'NAH. 1. A concubine of
Eliphaz son of Esau, and mother of Amalek
(Gen. xxxvi. 12) : it may be presumed that
she was the same as Timna, sister of Lotan
(ver. 22, and 1 Chr. i. 39).— 0. A duke, or
phylarch, of Edom in the last list in Gen.
xxxvi. 40-43 (1 Chr. i. 51-54). Timnah was

probably the name of a place or a district.
(See following article.)
TIM'NAH. 1. A place which formed one
of the landmarks on the north boundary of
the allotment of Judah (Josh. xv. 10). It is
probably identical with the Thimnathah of
Josh. xix. 43, and that again with the Tim
nath, or more accurately Timnathah of Sam
son (Judg. xiv. 1, 2, 5), and the Thamnatha
of the Maccabees. The modern representa
tive of all these various forms of the same
name is probably Tibneh, a village about two
miles west of Ain Shems ( Bethshemesh) . In
the later history of the Jews Timnah must
have been a conspicuous place. It was for
tified by Bacchides as one of the most impor
tant military posts of Judaea (1 Mace. ix.
50). — 2. A town in the mountain district of
Judah (Josh. xv. 57). A distinct place from
that just examined. — 3. Inaccurately writ
ten Timnath in the A.V., the scene of the
adventure of Judah with his daughter-in-law
Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 12, 13, 14). There is
nothing here to indicate its position. It may
be identified either with the Timnah in the
mountains of Judah [No. 2], or with the
Timnathah of Samson. [No. 1.]
TIM'NATH. [Timnah.]
TIM'NATH-SE'RAH, the name of the city
which was presented to Joshua after the par
tition of the country (Josh. xix. 50) ; and in
" the border " of which he was buried (xxiv.
30). It is specified as "in Mount Ephraim
on the north side of Mount Gaash." In
Judg. ii. 9, the name is altered to Timnath-
heres. The latter form is that adopted by
the Jewish writers. Accordingly, they iden
tify the place with Kefar cheres, which is
said by Jewish travellers to be about 5 miles
S. of Shechem (Nablus). No place with that
name appears on the maps. Another identi
fication has, however, been suggested by Dr.
Eli Smith. In his journey from Jifna to Mej-
del-Yaba, about six miles from the former,
he discovered the ruins of a considerable
town. Opposite the town was a much
higher hill, in the north side of which are
several excavated sepulchres The whole
bears the name of Tibneh.
TI'MON, one of the seven, commonly called
"deacons" (Actsvi. 1-6). He was probably
a Hellenist. TIMO'THEUS. 1. A " captain of the Am
monites " (1 Mace. v. 6), who was defeated
on several occasions by Judas Maccabaeus,
b.c. 164 (1 Mace. v. 6, 11, 34-44). He was
probably a Greek adventurer. — 2. In 2 Mace.
a leader named Timotheus is mentioned as
having taken part in the invasion of Nicanor
(b.c 166 : 2 Mace. viii. 30, ix. 3). At a
later time he was driven to a stronghold,

TIMOTHY

570

TIMOTHY

Gazara, which was stormed by Judas, and
there Timotheus was taken and slain (2 Maec.
x. 24-37). It has been supposed that the
events recorded in this latter narrative are
identical with those in 1 Mace. v. 6-8, But
the name Timotheus was very common, and
it is evident that Timotheus the Ammonite
leader was not slain at Jazer (1 Mace. v. 34).
— 3. The Greek name of Timothy (Acts xvi.
1, xvii. 14, &c).
TIM'OTHY. The disciple thus named was
the son of one of those mixed marriages
which, though condemned by stricter Jewish
opinion, were yet not uncommon in the later
periods of Jewish history. The father's name
is unknown : he was a Greek, i.e. a Gentile
by descent (Acts xvi. 1, 3). The absence of
any personal allusion to the father in the
Acts or Epistles suggests the inference that
he must have died or disappeared during his
son's infancy. The care of the boy thus de
volved upon his mother Eunice and her
mother Lois (2 Tim. i. 5). Under their
training his education was emphatically
Jewish. " From a child " he learnt to
"know the Holy Scriptures" daily. The
language of the Acts leaves it uncertain whe
ther Lystra or Derbe were the residence of
the devout family. The arrival of Paul and
Barnabas in Lycaonia (Acts xiv. 6) brought
the message of glad-tidings to Timothy and
his mother, and they received it with " un
feigned faith" (2 Tim. i. 5). If at Lystra,
as seems probable from 2 Tim. iii. 11, he
may have witnessed the half-completed sacri
fice, the half-finished martyrdom, of Acts xiv.
19. The preaching of the Apostle on his
return from his short circuit prepared him
for a life of suffering (Acts xiv. 22). From
that time his life and education must have
been under the direct superintendence of the
body of elders (ib. 23). During the interval
of seven years between the Apostle's first and
second journeys, the boy grew up to man
hood. His zeal, probably his asceticism, be
came known both at Lystra and Iconium.
Those who had the deepest insight into cha
racter, and spoke with a prophetic utterance,
pointed to him (1 Tim. i. 18, iv. 14), as
others had pointed before to Paul and Bar
nabas (Acts xiii. 2), as specially fit for the
missionary work in which the Apostle was
engaged. Personal feeling led St. Paul to
the same conclusion (Acts xvi. 3), and he
was solemnly set apart to do the work and
possibly to bear the title of Evangelist (1
Tim. iv. 14; 2 Tim. i. 6, iv. 5). A great
obstacle, however, presented itself. Timothy,
though reckoned as one of the seed of Abra
ham, had been allowed to grow up to the age
of manhood without the sign of circumcision.

His condition was that of a negligent, almost
of an apostate Israelite. The Jews might
tolerate a heathen, as such, in the synagogue
or the church, but an uncircumcised Israelite
would be to thera a horror and a portent.
With a special view to their feelings, making
no sacrifice of principle, the Apostle, who
had refused to permit the circumcision of
Titus, "took and circumcised" Timothy
(Acts xvi. 3). Henceforth Timothy was ono
of his most constant companions. They and
Sihanus, and probably Luke also,<journeyed
to Philippi (Acts xvi. 12), and there already
the young Evangelist was conspicuous at
once for his filial devotion and his zeal (Phil.
ii. 22). His name does not appear in the
account of St. Paul's work at Thessalonica,
and it is possible that he remained some time
at Philippi. He appears, however, at Beroea,
and remains there when Paul and Silas are
obliged to leave (Acts xvii. 14), going on
afterwards to join his master at Athens (I
Thess. iii 2). From Athens he is sent back
to Thessalonica (ib.), as having special gifts
for comforting and teaching. He returns from
Thessalonica, not to Athens but to Corinth,
and his name appears united with St. Paul's
in the opening words of both the letters
written from that city to the Thessalonians
(1 Thess. i. 1 ; 2 Thess. i. 1). Of the next
five years of his life we have no record.
When we next meet with him it is as being
sent on in advance when the Apostle was
contemplating the long journey which was
to include Macedonia, Achaia, Jerusalem,
and Rome (Acts xix. 22). It is probable
that he returned by the same route and met
St. Paul according to a previous arrangement
( 1 Cor. xvi. 1 1 ), and was thus with him when
the second Epistle was written to the Church
of Corinth (2 Cor. i. 1). He returns with
the Apostle to that city, and joins in mes
sages of greeting to the disciples whom he
had known personally at Corinth and who
had since found their way to Rome (Rom.
xvi. 21). He forms one of the company of
friends who go with St. Paul to Philippi and
then sail by themselves, waiting for his ar
rival by a different 6hip (Acts xx. 3-6). The
absence of his name from Acts xxvii. leads to
the conclusion that he did not share in the
perilous voyage to Italy, He must have
joined the Apostle, however, apparently soon
after bis arrival in Rome, and was with him
when the Epistles to the Philippians, to the
Colossians, and to Philemon were written
(Phil. i. 1, ii. 19; Col. i. 1; Philem. 1).
All the indications of this period point to in
cessant missionary activity. From the two
epistles addressed to him, we are able to put
together a few notices as to his later life.

TIMOTHY, EPISTLES OF PAUL TO 571

TIPHSAH

It follows from 1 Tim. i. 3 that he and his
master, after the release of the latter from
his imprisonment, revisited the proconsular
Asia, that the Apostle then continued his
journey to Macedonia, whilst the disciple re
mained, half-reluctantly, even weeping at the
separation (2 Tim. i. 4), at Ephesus, to check,
if possible, the outgrowth of heresy and licen
tiousness which had sprung up there. The
position in which he found himself might
well make him anxious. He had to rule
.presbyters, most of whom were older than
-himself (1 Tim. iv. 12). Leaders of rival
sects were there. The name of his beloved
teacher was no longer honoured as it had
been. We cannot wonder that the Apostle,
knowing these trials, should be full of anxiety
and fear for his disciple's steadfastness. In
the second epistle to him this deep personal
feeling utters itself yet more fully. The last
recorded words of the Apostle express the
earnest hope, repeated yet more earnestly,
that he might see him once again (ib. iv. 9,
21). We may hazard the conjecture that he
reached him in time, and that the last hours
of the teacher were soothed by the presence
of the disciple whom he loved so truly. Some
writers have even seen in Heb. xiii. 23 an
indication that he shared St. Paul's imprison
ment and was released from it by the death
of Nero. Beyond this all is apocryphal and
uncertain. He continues, according to the
old traditions, to act as bishop of Ephesus,
and dies a martyr's death under Domitian or
Nerva. A somewhat startling theory as to
the intervening period of his life has found
favour with some. If he continued, accord
ing to the received tradition, to be bishop of
Ephesus, then he, and no other, must have
been the "angel" of that church to whom
the message of Rev. ii. 1-7 was addressed.
TIMOTHY, EPISTLES OF PAUL TO.
The First Epistle was probably written in
the interval between St. Paul's first and
second imprisonments at Rome. The absence
of any local reference but that in i. 3, sug
gests Macedonia or some neighbouring dis
trict. In some MSS. and versions, Laodicea
is named in the inscription as the place from
which it was sent. The Second Epistle ap
pears to have been written soon afterwards
and in all probability at Rome. The follow
ing are the characteristic features of these
Epistles: — (1) The ever-deepening sense in
St. Paul's heart of the Divine Mercy, of
which he was the object, as shown in the
insertion of the word "mercy" in the salu
tations of both EpisLles, and in the " obtained
mercy " of 1 Tim. i. 13. — (2) The greater ab
ruptness of the Second Epistle. From first
to last there is no plan, no treatment of sub

jects carefully thought out. AU speaks of
strong overflowing emotion, memories of the
past, anxieties about the future. — (3) The
absence, as compared with St. Paul's other
Epistles, of Old Testament references. This
may connect itself with the fact just noticed,
that these Epistles are not argumentative,
possibly also with the request for the " books
and parchments " which had been left behind
(2 Tim. iv. 13). — (4) The conspicuous posi
tion of the "faithful sayings" as taking the
place occupied in other Epistles by the O. T,
Scriptures. The way in which these are cited
as authoritative, the variety of subjects which
they cover, suggest the thought that in them
we have specimens of the prophecies of the
Apostolic Church which had most impressed
themselves on the mind of the Apostle, and
of the disciples generally. 1 Cor. xiv. shows
how deep a reverence he was likely to feel
for such spiritual utterances. In 1 Tim. iv.
1, we have a distinct reference to them. — (5)
The tendency of the Apostle's mind to dwell
more on the universality of the redemptive
work of Christ (1 Tim. ii. 3-6, iv. 10), and
his strong desire that all the teaching of his
disciples should be " sound." — (6) The im
portance attached by him to the practical
details of administration. The gathered ex
perience of a long life had taught him that
the life and well-being of the Church required
these for its safeguards. — (7) The recurrence
of doxologies (1 Tim. i. 17, vi. 15, 16; 2
Tim. iv. 18) as from one living perpetually
in the presence of God, to whom the language
of adoration was as his natural speech.
TIN. Among the various metals found
among the spoils of the Midianites, tin is
enumerated (Num. xxxi. 22). It was known
to the Hebrew metal-workers as an alloy of
other metals (Is. i. 25; Ez. xxii. 18, 20).
The markets of Tyre were supplied with it by
the ships of Tarshish (Ez xxvii. 12). It was
used for plummets (Zech. iv. 10), and was so
plentiful as to furnish the writer of Ecclesias-
ticus (xlvii. 18) with a figure by which to
express the wealth of Solomon. As to the
country from which the Hebrews obtained
tin, see Tarshish.
TIPH'SAH is mentioned in 1 K. iv. 24 as
the limit of Solomon's empire towards the
Euphrates, and in 2 K. xv. 16 it is said to
have been attacked by Menahem. It was
known to the Greeks and Romans under tbe
name of Thapsacus, and was the point where
it was usual to cross the Euphrates. Thap
sacus has been generally placed at the modern
De'ir ; but the Euphrates expedition proved
that there is no ford at De'ir, and that the
only ford in this part of the course of the
Euphrates is at Suriyeh, 45 miles below Balis,

TIRAS

571

TITHE

and 165 above De'ir. This then must have
been the position of Thapsacus.
Tl'RAS, the youngest son of Japheth (Gen.
x. 2), usually identified with the Thracians,
as presenting the closest verbal approxima
tion to the name.
TIRE, an ornamental headdress worn on
festive occasions (Ez. xxiv. 17, 23).
TIR'HAKAH, king of Ethiopia (Cush), the
opponent of Sennacherib (2 K. xix. 9 ; Is.
xxxvii. 9). He may be identified with Tar-
kos or Tarakos, who was the third and last
king of the xxvth dynasty, which was of
Ethiopians. His accession was probably
about b.c 695. Possibly Tirhakah ruled over
Ethiopia before becoming king of Egypt.
TIRSHA'THA (always written with the
article), the title of the governor of Judaea
under the Persians, perhaps derived from a
Persian root signifying " stern," " severe,"
is added as a title after the name of Nehe
miah (Neh. viii. 9, x. 1) ; and occurs also
in three other places. In the margin of the
A. V. (Ezr. ii. 63 ; Neh. vii. 65, x. 1) it is
rendered " governor."
TIR'ZAH, youngest of the five daughters
of Zelophehad (Num. xxvi. 33, xxvii. 1,
xxxvi, 11 ; Josh. xvii. 3).
TIR'ZAH, an ancient Canaanite city, whose
king is enumerated amongst those overthrown
in the conquest of the country (Josh. xii. 24).
It reappears as a royal city— the residence of
Jeroboam and of his successors (1 K. xiv. 17,
18). Tirzah reappears as the seat of the
conspiracy of Menahem ben-Gaddi against
the wretched Shallum (2 K. xv. 14, 16). Its
reputation for beauty throughout the country
must have been wide-spread. It is in this
sense that it is mentioned in the Song of
Solomon. Eusebius mentions it in connexion
with Menahem, and identifies it with a " vil
lage of Samaritans in Batanaea." Its site is
Telliizah, a place in the mountains north of
Nab lus.
TISH'BITE, THE, the well-known desig
nation of Elijah (1 K. xvii. 1, xxi. 17, 28;
2 K. i. 3, 8, ix. 36). Assuming that a town
is alluded to, as Elijah's native place, it is
not necessary to infer that it was itself in
Gilead, as many have imagined. The com
mentators and lexicographers, with few ex
ceptions, adopt the name " Tishbite " as re
ferring to the place Thisbe in Naphtali, which
if. found in the LXX. text of Tohit i. 2.
TITHE. Instances of the use of tithes are
found prior to the appointment of the Levit
ical tithes under the Law. In Biblical his
tory the two prominent instances are — 1.
Abram presenting the tenth of all his pro
perty, or rather of the spoils of his victory,
to Melchizedek (Gen. xiv. 20 ; Heb. vii. 2,

6). 2. Jacob, after his vision at Luz, de
voting a tenth of all his property to God in
case he should return home in Bafety (Gen.
xxviii. 22). The first enactment of the Law
in respect of tithe is the declaration that
the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks
and cattle, belongs to Jehovah, and must be
offered to Him. That the tithe was to be
paid in kind, or, if redeemed, with an addi
tion of one-fifth to its value (Lev. xxvii. 30-
33). This tenth is ordered to be assigned to
the Levites, as the reward of their service,
and it is ordered further, that they are them-
belves to dedicate to the Lord a tenth of
these receipts, which is to be devoted to the
maintenance of the high-priest (Num. xviii.
21-28). This legislation is modified or ex
tended in the Book of Deuteronomy, i. e, from
thirty-eight to forty years later. Commands
are given to the people, 1. to bring their
tithes, together with their votive and other
offerings and first-fruits to the chosen centre
of worship, the metropolis, there to be eaten
in festive celebration in company with their
children, their servants, and the Levites
(Deut. xii. 5-18). 2. All the produce of the
soil wa3 to be tithed every year, and these
tithes with the firstlings of the flock and
herd were to be eaten in the metropolis. 3.
But in case of distance, permission is given
to convert the produce into money, which is
to be taken to the appointed place, and there
laid out in the purchase of food for a festal
celebration, in which the Levite is, by special
command, to be included (Deut. xiv. 22-27).
4. Then follows the direction, that at the
end of three years all the tithe of that year
is to he gathered and laid up "within the
gates," and that a festival is to he held, in
which tho stranger, the fatherless, and the
widow, together u ith the Levite, are to par
take (ib. vers. 28, 29). 5. Lastly, it is
ordered that after taking the tithe in each
third year, " which is the year of tithing,"
an exculpatory declaration is to be 'made by
every Israelite, that he has done his best to
fulfil the divine command (Deut, xxvi. 12-
14). From all this we gather, 1. That one-
tenth of the whole produce of the soil was
to he assigned for the maintenance of the
Levites. 2. That out of this the Levites
were to dedicate a tenth to God, for the use
of the high-priest. 3. That a tithe, in all
probability a second tithe, was to be applied
to festival purposes. 4. That in every third
year, either this festival tithe or a third tenth
was to be eaten in company with the poor
and the Levites. It is plain that under the
kings the tithe-system partook of the general
neglect into which the observance of the Law
declined, and that Hezekiah, among his other

TITUS

573

TITUS, EPISTLE TO

reforms, took effectual means to revive its
use (2'Chr. xxxi. 5, 12, 19). Similar mea
sures were taken after the Captivity by
Nehemiah (Neh. xii. 44), and in both these
cases special officers were appointed to take
charge of the stores and store-houses for tbe
purpose. Yet, notwithstanding partial eva
sion or omission, the system itself was con
tinued to a late period in Jewish history (Heb.
vii, 5-8 ; Matt, xxiii. 23 ; Luke xviii. 12).
TI'TUS is not mentioned in the Acts at all.
Taking the passages in the Epistles in the
chronological order of the events referred to,
we turn first to Gal. ii. 1, 3. Here we see
Titus in close association with Paul and
Barnabas at Antioch. He goes with them
(p Jerusalem. His circumcision was either
not insisted on at Jerusalem, or, if demanded,
was firmly resisted. He is very emphati
cally spoken of as a Gentile, by which is
most probably meant that both his parents
were Gentiles. After leaving Galatia (Acts
xviii. 23), and spending a long time at
Ephesus (Acts xix. 1-xx. 1), the Apostle pro
ceeded to Macedonia by way of Troas. Here
he expected to meet Titus (2 Cor. ii. 13),
who had been sent on a mission to Corinth.
In this hope he was disappointed, but in
Macedonia Titus joined him (2 Cor. vii. 6, 7,
13-15). Paul sends him back from Mace
donia to Corinth, in company with two other
trustworthy Christians, bearing the Second
Epistle, and with an earnest request (viii.
6, 17) that he would see to the completion
of the collection for the poor Christians of
Judaea (viii. 6). A considerable interval
now elapses before we come upon the next
notices of this disciple. St. Paul's first im
prisonment .is concluded, and his last trial is
impending. In the interval between the
two, he and Titus were together in Crete
(Tit. i. 5). We see Titus remaining in the
island when St. Paul left it, and receiving
there a letter written to him by the Apostle.
From this letter we gather the following
biographical details : — In the first place we
learn that he was originally converted
through St. Paul's instrumentality (i. 4).
Next we learn the various particulars of the
responsible duties which he had to discharge
in Crete. He is to complete what St. Paul
had been obliged to leave unfinished (i. 5),
and he is to organise the Church throughout
the island by appointing presbyters in every
city. Next he is to control and bridle (ver.
11) the restless and mischievous Judaizers,
and he is to be peremptory in so doing (ver.
13). He is to urge the duties of a decorous
and Christian life upon the women (ii. 3-5
some of whom (ii. 3) possibly had something
of an official character (vers. 3, 4). The

notices which remain are more strictly per
sonal. Titus is to look for the arrival in
Crete of Artemas and Tychicus (iii. 12), and
then he is to hasten to join St. Paul at Nico
polis, where the Apostle is proposing to pass
the winter. Zenas and Apollos are in Crete,
or expected there ; for Titus is to send them
on their journey, and supply them with
whatever they need for it (iii. 13). Whether
Titus did join the Apostle at Nicopolis we
cannot tell. But we naturally connect the
mention of this place with what St. Paul
wrote at no great interval of time afterwards,
in the last of the Pastoral Epistles (2 Tim.
iv. 10) ; for Dalmatia lay to the north of
Nicopolis, at no great distance from it. From
the form of the whole sentence, it seems pro
bable that this disciple had been with St. Paul
in Rome during his final imprisonment ; hut
this cannot be asserted confidently. The
traditional connexion of Titus with Crete is
much more specific and constant, though
here again we cannot be certain of the facts.
He is said to have been permanent bishop in
the island, and to have died there at an ad
vanced age. The modern capital, Candia,
appears to claim the honour of being his
burial-place. TITUS, EPISTLE TO. This Epistle has
all the characteristics of the other Pastoral
Epistles. This tends to show that this Letter
was written about the same time and under
similar circumstances with the other two.
[Timothy, Epistles to.] At the same time
this Epistle has features of its own, especially a
certain tone of abruptness and severity, which
probably arises partly out of the circumstances
of the Cretan population, partly out of the cha
racter of Titus himself. Concerning the con
tents of this Epistle, enough has already been
said in the preceding article. No very exact
subdivision is either necessary or possible.
As to the time and place and other circum
stances of the writing of this Epistle, the
following scheme of filling up St. Paul's
movements after his first imprisonment will
satisfy aU the conditions of the case : — We
may suppose him (possibly after accomplish
ing his long-projected visit to Spain) to have
gone to Ephesus, and taken voyages from
thence, first to Macedonia and then to Crete,
during the former to have written the First
Epistle to Timothy, and after returning from
the latter to have written the Epistle to Titus,
being at the time of despatching it on the
point of starting for Nicopolis, to which place
he went, taking Miletus and Corinth on the
way. At Nicopolis we may conceive him to
have been finally apprehended and taken to
Rome, whence he wrote the Second Epistle
to Timothy.

TOB, THE LAND OF

TONGUES, CONFUSION OF

TOB, THE LAND OF, in which Jephthah
took refuge when expelled from home by his
half-brother (Judg. xi. 3) ; and where he
remained, at the head of a band of free
booters, till he was brought back by the
sheikhs of Gilead (ver. 5). The narrative
implies that the land of Tob was not far
distant from Gilead ; at the same time, from
the nature of the case, it must have lain out
towards the eastern deserts. It is un
doubtedly mentioned again in 2 Sam. x. 6, 8,
as Ishtob, i. e. Man of Tob, meaning, accord
ing to a common Hebrew idiom, the "men
of Tob." After a long interval it appears
again, in the Maccabaean history (1 Mace.
v. 13) in the names Tobie and Tubieni
(2 Maec. xii. 17). No identification of this
ancient district with any modern one has
yet been attempted.
TOBI'AH. "Tobiah tbe slave, the Am
monite," played a conspicuous part in the
rancorous opposition made by Sanballat the
Moabite and his adherents to the rebuilding
of Jerusalem. The two races of Moab and
Ammon found in these men fit representa
tives of that hereditary hatred to the Israel
ites whieh began before the entrance into
Canaan, and was not extinct when the He
brews had ceased to exist as a nation. But
Tobiah, though a slave (Neh. ii. 10, 19),
unless this is a title of opprobrium, and an
Ammonite, found means to ally himself with a
priestly family, and his son Johanan married
the daughter of Meshullam the son of Bere-
chiah (Neh. vi. 18). He himself was the
son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah
(Neh. vi. 17), and these family relations
created for him a strong faction among the
Jews. TO'BIT, BOOK OF, a book of the Apo
crypha, which exists at present in Greek,
Latin, Syriac, and Hebrew texts, but it was
probably written originally in Greek. The
scene of the book is placed in Assyria, whither
Tobit, a Jew, had been carried as a captive
by Shalmaneser. It is represented as com
pleted shortly after the fall of Nineveh (b.c.
606 ; Tob. xiv. 15), and written, in the main,
some time before (Tob. xii. 20). But the
whole tone of the narrative bespeaks a later
age ; and above all, the doctrine of good and
evil spirits is elaborated in a form which be
longs to a period considerably posterior to the
Babylonian Captivity (Asmodeus, iii. 8, vi. 14,
viii. 3; Raphael, xii. 15). Itcannotberegarded
as a true history. It is a didactic narrative ;
and its point lies in the moral lessons which
it conveys, and not in the incidents. In
modern times the moral excellence of the
book has been rafed highly, except in the
heat of controversy. Nowhere else is there

preserved so complete and beautiful a picture
of the domestic life of the Jews after the
Return. TOGAR'MAH, a son of Gomer, and brother
of Ashkenaz and Riphath (Gen. x. 3). To-
garmah, as a geographical term, is connected
with Armenia, and the subsequent notices of
the name (Ez. xxvii. 14, xxxviii. 6) accord
with this view. The Armenian language
presents many peculiarities which distinguish
it from other branches of the Indo-European
family ; but in spite of this, however, no
hesitation is felt by philologists in placing it
among the Indo-European languages.
TO'I, king of Hamath on the OronteB
(2 Sam. viii. 9, 10).
TO'LA. 1. The first-born of Issachar, and
ancestor of the Tolaites (Gen. xlvi. 13 ; Num.
xxvi. 23 ; I Chr. vii. 1, 2).— 2. Judge of
Israel after Abimelech (Judg. x. 1, 2). ne
is described as " the son of Puah, the son of
Dodo, a man of Issachar." Tola judged
Israel for 23 years at Shamir in Mount Eph
raim, where he died and was buried.
TO'LAD, one of the towns of Simeon (1 Chr.
iv. 29), elsewhere called El-Tolad.
TOMBS. [Burial.]
TONGUES, CONFUSION OF. The unity
of the human race is most clearly implied, if
not positively asserted, in tbe Mosaic writ
ings. The general declaration, " So God
created man in His own image .... male
and female created He them" (Gen. i. 27),
is limited as to the mode in which the act
was carried out, by the subsequent narrative
of the creation of Adam (Gen. ii. 22). Unity
of language is assumed by the sacred historian
apparently as a coroUary of the unity of race.
No explanation is given of the origin of
speech, but its exercise is evidently regarded
as coeval with the creation of man. The
original unity of speech was restored in
Noah . Disturbing causes were, however,
early at work to dissolve this twofold union
of community and speech. The human family
endeavoured to check the tendency to separa
tion by the establishment of a great central
edifice, and a city which should serve as the
metropolis of the whole world. The project
was defeated by the interposition of Jehovah,
who determined to " confound their language,
so that they might not understand one an
other's speech." Contemporaneously with,
and perhaps as the result of, this confusion
of tongues, the people were scattered abroad
from thence upon the face of all the earth,
and the memory of the great event was pre
served in the name Babel. [Babel, Tower of.]
In the Borsippa inscription of Nebuchadnez
zar there is an allusion to the Confusion of
Tongues. "We say for the other, that is,

TONGUES, CONFUSION OF

575

TONGUES, GIFT OF

this edifice, the house of the Seven Lights of
the Earth, the most ancient monument of
Borsippa : a former king buUt it (they rec
kon 42 ages), but he did not complete its
head. Since a remote time people had aban
doned it, without order expressing their words.
Since that time, the earthquake and the
thunder had dispersed its sun-dried clay ;
tbe bricks of the casing had been split, and
the earth of the interior had been scattered
in heaps." It is unnecessary to assume that
the judgment inflicted on the builders of
Babel amounted to a loss, or even a suspen
sion, of articulate speech. The desired object
would be equally attained by a miraculous
forestalment of those dialectical differences
of language which are constantly in process
of production. The elements of the one
original language may have remained, but
So disguised by variations of pronunciation,
and by the introduction of new combinations,
as to he practically obliterated. The con
fusion of tongues and the dispersion of na
tions are spoken of in the Bible as contem
poraneous events. The divergence of the
various families into distinct tribes and na
tions ran parallel with the divergence of
6peech into dialects and languages, and thus
the 10th chapter of Genesis is posterior in
historical sequence to the events recorded in
the 11th chapter. — The Mosaic table does not
profess to describe the process of the dis
persion ; but, assuming that dispersion as
having taken place, it records the ethnic
relations existing between the various nations
affected by it. These relations are expressed
under the. guise of a genealogy ; the ethno
logical character of the document is, how
ever, clear. The general arrangement of
the table is as follows :— The whole human
jace is referred hack to Noah's three sons,
Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The Shemites are
described last, apparently that the continuity
of the narrative may not be further disturbed ;
and the Hamites stand next to the Shemites,
in order to show that these were more closely
related to each other than to the Japhetites.
1. The Japhetite list contains fourteen names,
of which seven represent independent, and
the remainder affiliated nations, as follows :
— (i.) Gomer, connected ethnically with the
Gimmerii, Cimbri (1), and Cymry ; and geo
graphically with Crimea. Associated with
Gomer are the three foUowing : — (a) Ash
kenaz. (b) Riphath. (c) Togarmah. (ii.)
Magog, the Scythians, (iii.) Madai, Media.
(iv.) Javan, the Ionians, as a general appel
lation for the Hellenic race, with whom are
associated the four following: — (a) Elishah.
(&) Tarshish. (c) Kittim. {d) Dodanim.
(v.) Tubal. (vi.) Meshech. (vii.) Tiras.

2. The Hamitic list contains thirty names,
of which four represent independent, and the
remainder affiliated nations, as follows : — (i.)
Cush, in two branches, the western or African
representing Aethiopia, the Keesh of the old
Egyptian, and the eastern or Asiatic being
connected with the names of the tribe Cossaei,
the district Gissia, and the province Susiana
or Kliuzistan. With Cush are associated :
— (a) Seba. (b) Havilah. (c) Sabtah.
(d) Raamah, with whom are associated : —
(a2) Sheba. (b2) Dedan. (e) Sabtechah.
(/) Nimrod. (ii.) Mizraim, the two Misrs,
i. e. Upper and Lower Egypt, with whom
the following seven are connected: — (a)
Ludim. (6) Anamim. (c) Naphtuhim. (d)
Pathrusim. (e) Casluhim. (/) Caphtorim.
(g) Phut, (iii.) Canaan, the geographical
position of whieh calls for no remark in this
place. To Canaan belong the following
eleven: — (a) Zidon, the well-known town of
that name in Phoenicia. (6) Heth, or the
Hittites of Biblical history, (c) The Jebusite,
of Jebus or Jerusalem, (d) The Amorite.
(e) The Girgasite. (/) The Hivite. (g)
The Arkite. (h) The Sinite. (i) The Ar-
vadite. (j) The Zemarite. (k) The Ham-
athite. 3. The Shemitic list contains twenty-
five names, of which five refer to independent,
and the remainder to affiliated tribes, as
follows :— (i.) Elam. (ii.) Asshur. (iii.)
Arphaxad, with whom are associated : — (a)
Salah ; Salah's son (a2) Eber ; and Eber's
two sons (a3) Peleg and (b3) Joktan, with the
following thirteen sons of Joktan, viz. : —
(a4) Almodad. (&*) Sheleph. (c4) Hazar-
maveth. (<Z4) Jerah. (ei) Hadoram. (/»)
Uzal. (g4) Diklah. (A4) Obal. (t4) Abi-
mael. (i4) Sheba. (ft4) Ophir. (Z4) Ha
vilah. (mA) Jobah. (iv.) Lud. (v.) Aram,
with whom the following are associated : —
(a) Uz. (6) Hul. (c) Gether. (d) Mash.
There is yet one name noticed in the table,
viz. Philistim, which occurs in the Hamitic
division, hut without any direct assertion of
Hamitic descent. The total number of names
noticed in the table, including Philistim,
would thus amount to 70, which was raised
by patristic writers to 72. For an account
of the identification of these names, see the
separate articles.
TONGUES, GIFT OF. The promise of
our Lord to his disciples, " They shall speak
with new tongues" (Mark xvi. 17), was
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when cloven
tongues like fire sat upon the disciples, and
" every man heard them speak in his1 own
language" (Acts ii. 1-12). It is usually
supposed that this supernatural knowledge
of languages was given to the disciples for
their work as Evangelists ; but it appears

TOPAZ

Ol

6

TOWER

from, the narrative that the " tongues " were
used as an instrument, not of teaching but
of praise, and those who spoke them seemed
to others to be under the influence of some
strong excitement, " fuU of new wine."
Moreover the Gift of Tongues is definitely
asserted to be a fulfilment of the prediction
of Joel ii. 28 ; and we are led, therefore, to
look for that which answers to the Gift of
Tongues in the other element of prophecy
which is included in the O. T. use of the
word ; and this is found in the ecstatic
praise, the burst of song (1 Sam. x. 5-13,
xix. 20-24; 1 Chr. xxv. 3). The First
Epistle to the Corinthians supplies fuller data.
The spiritual gifts are classified and com
pared, arranged, apparently, according to
their worth. The facts which may he
gathered are briefly these: — (1.) The phe
nomena of the Gift of Tongues were not con
fined to one Church or section of a Church.
(2.) The comparison of gifts, in both the
lists given by St. Paul (1 Cor. xii. 8-10,
28-30), places that of tongues, and the in
terpretation of tongues, lowest in tbe scale.
(3.) The main characteristic of the "tongue "
is that it is unintelligible. The man " speaks
mysteries," prays, blesses, gives thanks, in
the tongue (1 Cor. xiv. 15, 16), hut no one
understands him. (4.) The " tongues,"
however, must be regarded as real languages.
The "divers kinds of tongues" (1 Cor. xii.
28), the " tongues of men" (1 Cor. xiii. 1),
point to differences of some kind, and it is
easier to conceive of these as differences of
language than as belonging to utterances aU
equally wild and inarticulate. (5.) Con
nected with the " tongues," there was the
corresponding power of interpretation.
TOPAZ (Heb. pitddh: Ex. xxviii. 17,
xxxix. 10 ; Ez. xxviii. 13 ; Job xxviii. 1*9 ;
Rev. xxi. 20). The topaz of the ancient
Greeks and Romans is generally allowed to
be our chrysolite, whUe their chrysolite is
our topaz. Chrysolite is a silicate of magne
sia and iron ; it is so soft as to lose its polish
unless worn 'with care.
TO'PHEL (Deut. i. 1) has been identified
with Tufiteh on a wady of the same name
running north of Bozra towards the S.E.
corner of the Dead Sea.
TO'PHETH, and once TO'PHET, was in
the S.E. extremity of the " Valley of the Son
of Hinnom" (Jer. vii. 31), which is "by the
entry of the east gate" (xix. 2). The lo
cality of Hinnom is explained elsewhere.
[Hinnom.] It seems also to have been part
of the king's gardens, and watered by Siloam,
perhaps a little to the south of the present
Birket el-Hamra. The name Tophet occurs
only, in the Old Testament (2 K. xxiii. 10;

Is. xxx. 83; Jer. vii. 31, 32, xix. 6, 11, 12,
13, 14). The New does not refer to it, nor
the Apocrypha. Tophet has been variously
translated. The most natural seems that
suggested by the occurrence of the word in
two consecutive verses, in the one of which
it is a tabret, and in the other Tophet (Is.
xxx. 32, 33). The Hebrew words are nearly
identical; and Tophet was probably the
king's "music-grove" or garden, denoting
originally nothing evil or hateful. Certainly
there is no proof that it took its name from
the drums beaten to drown the cries of the
burning victims that passed through the fire
to Molech. Afterwards it was defiled by
idols, and polluted by the sacrifices of Baal
and the fires of Molech. Then it became the
place of abomination, the very gate or pit of
hell. The pious kings defiled it, and threw
down its altars and high places, pouring into
it all the filth of the city, till it became the
" abhorrence" of Jerusalem.
TORTOISE (Heb. tsdb). The tsdb occurs
only in Lev. xi. 29, as the name of some
unclean animal. The Hebrew word may be
identified with the kindred Arabic dhab, " a
large kind of lizard," which appears to be
the Psammosaurus Scincus of Cuvier.

Piammasaurua Seincua.
TOWER. Watch-towers or fortified posts
in frontier or exposed situations are men
tioned in Scripture, as the tower of Edar,
&c. (Gen. xxxv. 21 ; Mic. iv. 8 ; Is. xxi.
5, 8, 11, &o.)i the tower of Lebanon (2
Sam. viii. 6). Besides these military struc
tures, we read in Scripture of towers built
in vineyards as an almost necessary ap-

TOWN-CLERK

577

pendage to them (Is. v. 2 ; Matt. xxi. 33 ;
Mark xii. 1). Such towers are still in use
in Palestine in vineyards, especially near He
bron, and are used as lodges for the keepers
of the vineyards.
TOWN -CLERK, the title ascribed in our
Version to the magistrate at Ephesus who
appeased the mob in the theatre at the time
of the tumult excited by Demetrius and his
fellow-craftsmen (Acts xix. 35). The original
service of this class of men, was to record the
laws and decrees of the state, and to read them
in public.
TRACHONI'TIS (Luke iii. 1) is in all pro
bability the Greek equivalent for the Aramaic
Argob. [Argob.]
TRANCE is used by St. Luke (Acts x. 10,
xi. 5, xxii. 17), apparently with the same
meaning which it still bears, namely, to de
scribe the loss of conscious perception.
TRESPASS-OFFERING. [Sin-offering.]
TRIAL. A few remarks may here be
added on judicial proceedings mentioned in
Scripture. (1.) The trial of our Lord before
Pilate was, in a legal sense, a trial for the
offence laesae majestatis ; one which would be
punishable with death (Luke xxiii. 2, 38 ;
John xix. 12, 15). (2.) The trials of the
Apostles, of St. Stephen, and of St. Paul
before the high-priest, were conducted ac
cording to Jewish rules (Acts iv., v. 27, vi.
12, xxii. 30, xxiii. 1). (3.) The trial, if it
may be so called, of St. Paul and Silas at
Phjlippi, was held before the duumviri, on
the charge of innovation in religion — a crime
punishable with banishment or death (Acts
xvi. 19, 22). (4.) The interrupted trial of
St. Paul before the proconsul Gallio, was an
attempt made by the Jews to establish a
^charge of the same kind (Acts xviii. 12-17).
f.{5.) The trials of St. Paul at Caetarea (Acts
fxxiv,, xxv., xxvi.) were conducted according
to Roman rules of judicature, (a.) In the
first of these, before Felix, we observe the
'.employment, by the plaintiffs, of a Roman
advocate to plead in Latin, (b.) Tbe post
ponement of the trial after St. Paul's reply.
(e.) The free custody in which the accused
-was kept, pending the decision of the judge
(Acts xxiv. 23-26). The second formal trial
(Acts xxv. 7, 8) presents two new features :
(«.) the appeal, appellatio or provocatio, to
Caesar, by St. Paul as a Roman citizen. The
effect of the appeal was to remove the case at
once to the jurisdiction of the emperor. (6.)
The conference of the procurator with " the
council" (Acts xxv. 12), the assessors, who
sat on the bench with the praetor as consi-
liarii. But the expression may denote the
deputies from the Sanhedrim. (6). We have,
lastly, the mention (Acts xix. 38) of a ju-
Sh. D. B.

dicial assembly which held its session at
Ephesus. TRIBUTE. The tribute (money) men
tioned in Matt. xvii. 24, 25, was the half-
shekel (= half stater = two drachmae), ap
plied to defray the general expenses of the
Temple. After the destruction of the Temple
it was sequestrated by Vespasian and his
successors, and transferred to the Temple of
the Capitoline Jupiter. Tbis "tribute" of
Matt. xvii. 24 must not be confounded with
the tribute paid to the Roman emperor (Matt.
xxii. 17). The Ternple-rate, though resting
on an ancient precedent (Ex. xxx. 13) was
as above a fixed annual tribute of compara
tively late origin. The question whether the
cost of the morning and evening sacrifice
ought to be defrayed by such a fixed compul
sory payment, or left to the free-will offerings
of the people, had been a contested point
between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and
the former had carried the day after a long
struggle and debate. We have to remember
this .when wc come to the narrative of St.
Matthew. In a hundred different ways, the
teaching of our Lord had been in direct an
tagonism to that of the Pharisees. The San
hedrim, by making the Temple-offering a
fixed annual tax, collecting it as men collected
tribute to Caesar, were lowering, not raising
the religious condition and character of the
people. They were placing every Israelite
on the footing of a "stranger," not on that of a
" son." In proportion to the degree in whieh
any man could claim the title of a Son of
God, in that proportion was he " free " from
this forced exaction. Hence we see, in these
words, a precept as wide and far-reaching as
the yet more memorable one, " Render unto
Caesar the things that he Caesar's, and unto
God the things that be God's."
TRIP'OLIS, the Greek name of a Phoenician
city of great commercial importance, which
served at one time as a point of federal union
for Aradus, Sidon, and Tyre. What its Phoe
nician name was is unknown (2 Mace. xiv. 1).
The ancient Tripolis was finally destroyed by
the Sultan El Mansour in the year 1289 a.d. ;
and the modern Turablous is situated a couple
of miles distant to the east, and is no longer
a port. El Myna, which is perhaps on the
site of the ancient Tripolis, is a small fishing
village. TROA'S, the city from which St. Paul first
sailed, in consequence of a divine intimation,
to carry the Gospel from Asia to Europe
(Acts xvi. 8, 11). It is mentioned on other
occasions (Acts xx. 5, 6 ; 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13 ;
2 Tim. iv. 13), Its full name was Alexandria
Troas (Liv. xxxv. 42), and sometimes it was
called simply Alexandria, sometimes simply
2 P

TROGYLLIUM

TURTLE

Troas. It was first built by Antigonus, under
the name of Antigonea Troas, and peopled
with the inhabitants of some neighbouring
cities. Afterwards it was embellished by
Lysimachus, and named Alexandria Troas.
Its situation was on the coast of Mysia, op
posite the S.E. extremity of the island of
Tenedos. Under the Romans it was one of
the most important towns of the province
of Asia. In the time of St. Paul it was a
colonia with the Jus Italicum. The modern
name is Eski-Stamboul, with considerable
ruins. We can still trace the harbour in a
basin about 400 feet long and 200 broad.
TROGYL'LIUM is the rocky extremity of
the ridge of Mycale, exactly opposite Samos
(Acts xx. 15). A little to the east of the ex
treme point there is an anchorage, which is
still called St. Paul's Port.
TROPH'IMUS. [TvcHicnus.]
TRUMPET. [Cornkt.]
TRUMPETS, FEAST OF (Num. xxix. 1 ;
Lev. xxiii. 24), the feast of the new moon,
which fell on the first of Tizri. It differed
from the ordinary festivals of the new moon
in several important particulars. It was one
of the seven days of Holy Convocation. In
stead of the mere blowing of tbe trumpets of
the Temple at the time of the offering of the
sacrifices, it was " a day of blowing of trum
pets." In addition to the daily sacrifices
and the eleven victims offered on the first of
every month, there were offered a young
bullock, a ram, and seven lambs of the first
year, with the accustomed meat-offerings,
and a kid for a sin offering (Num. xxix. 1-6).
The regular monthly offering was thus re
peated, with the exception of the young
bullock. It has been conjectured that Ps.
lxxxi., one of the songs of Asaph, was com
posed expressly for tlie Feast of Trumpets.
The Psalm is used in the service for the day
by the modern Jews. Various meanings
have been assigned to the Feast of Trumpets.
But there seems to be no sufficient reason to
call in question the common opinion of Jews
and Christians, tbat it was the festival of the
New Year's Day of the civil year, the first of
Tizri, the month which commenced the Sab
batical year and the year of Jubilee.
TRYPHE'NA and TRYPHO'SA, two Chris
tian women at Rome, enumerated in the
conclusion of St. Paul's letter (Rom. xvi. 12).
They may have been sisters, but it is more
likely tbat they were fellow-deaconesses.
TRY'PHON, a usurper of the Syrian
throne. His proper name was Diodotus, and
the surname Tryphon was given to him, or
adopted by him, after his accession to power.
Ile'was a native of Cariana. In the time of
Alexander Balas he was attached to the

court ; but towards the close of bis, reign he
seems to have joined in the conspiracy which
was set on foot to transfer the crown of Syria
to Ptolemy Philometor (1 Mace. xi. 13).
After the death of Alexander Balas he took
advantage of the unpopularity of Demetrius II.
to put forward the claims of Antiochus VI.,
the young son of Alexander (1 Maec. xi. 39 ;
b.c 145). After a time he obtained the sup
port of Jonathan, and the young king was
crowned (b.c 144). Tryphon, however, soon
revealed his real designs on the kingdom,
and, fearing the opposition of Jonathan, he
gained possession of his person by treachery
(1 Mace. xii. 39-50), and after a short time
put him to death (1 Mace. xiii. 23). As the
way seemed now clear, he murdered Anti
ochus and seized the supreme power (1 Mute.
xiii. 31, 32). Demetrius was preparing an
expedition against him (n.c 141), when he
was taken prisoner (1 Mace. xiv. 1-3), and
Tryphon retained the throne till Antiochus
VII. , the brother of Demetrius, drove him to
Dora, from which he escaped to Orthosis
(1 Mace. xv. 10-14, 37-39; b.c. 139). Not
long afterwards, being hard pressed by An
tiochus, he committed suicide, or, accord
ing to other accounts, was put to death by
Antiochus. TRYPHO'SA. [Trypiiena and Trtt-hosa.]
TUB'AL is reckoned with Javan and Me
shech among the sons of Japheth (Gen. x. 2 ;
1 Chr. i. 5). The three are again associated
in the enumeration of the sources of «the
wealth of Tyre (Ez. xxvii. 13). Tubal and
Javan (Is. lxvi. 19), Meshech and Tubal (Ez.
xxxii. 26, xxxviii. 2, 3, xxxix. 1), are nations
of the north (Ez. xxxviii. 15, xxxix. 2). Jose
phus identifies the descendants of Tubal with
the Iberians, that is, the inhabitants of a tract
of country between the Caspian and Euxine
Seas, which nearly corresponded to the
modern Georgia. The Moschi and Tibareni
are constantly associated, under the names,
of Muskai and Tuplai in the Assyrian in
scriptions. TUB'AL-CA'IN, the son of Lamech the
Cainite by his wife Zillah (Gen. iv. 22). He
is called " a furbisher of every cutting instru
ment of copper and iron."
TURPENTINE-TREE occurs only once,
viz. in the Apocrypha (Ecclus. xxiv. 16). It
is the Pistacia terebinthus, terebinth-tree,
common in Palestine and the East. The
terebinth occasionally grows to a large size.
It belongs to the Nat. Order Anacardiaceae,
the plants of whieh order generally contain
resinous secretions.
TURTLE, TURTLE-DOVE (Heb. tor).
The turtle-dove occurs first in Scripture in
Gen. xv. 9. During the early period of

TYCHICUS

579

TYRE

Jewish history, there is no evidence of any
other bird except the pigeon having been
domesticated, and up to the time of Solomon,
who may, with the peacock, have introduced
other gaUinaceous birds from, India, it was
probably the only poultry known- to the
Israelites. It is not improbable that the
palm-dove (Turtur aegyptiacus, Temm.) may
'in some measure have supplied the sacrifices
in the wilderness, for it is found in amazing
numbers wherever the palm-tree * occurs,
whether wild or cultivated. From its habit
of pairing for life, and its fidelity for its mate,
it was a symbol of purity and an appropriate
offering. The regular migration of the turtle
dove and its return in spring are alluded to
in Jer. viii. 7, and Cant. ii. 11, 12. It is
from its plaintive note doubtless that David
in Ps. Ixxiv. 19, pouring forth his lament to
God, compares himself to a turtle-dove. The
turtle-dove (Turtur auritus, L.) is most
abundant, and in the valley of the Jordan,
an allied species, the palm-dove, or Egyptian
turtle (Turtur aegyptiacus, Temm.), is by no
means uncommon .

Turtur aeyyi>ltecuA.
TY'CHICUS and TROPH'IMUS, com
panions of St. Paul on some of his journeys,
are mentioned as natives of Asia. (1) In Aets
xs. 4 Tychicus and Trophimus are expressly
said to be " of Asia : " but while Trophimus

went with St. Paul to Jerusalem (Acts xxi. 29),
Tychicus was left behind in Asia, probably at
Miletus (Actsxx. 15, 38). (2) How Tychicus
was employed in the interval before St. Paul's
first imprisonment we cannot tell : but in
tbat imprisonment he was with the Apostle
again, as we see from Col. iv. 7, 8. Together
with Onesirnus, he was doubtless the bearer
both of this letter and the following as well
to Philemon. (3) The language concerning
Tychicus in Eph. vi. 21, 22, is very similar,
though not exactly in the same words. (4) The
next references are in the Pastoral Epistles,
the first in chronological order being Tit. iii.
12. Here St. Paul (writing possibly from
Ephesus) says that it is probable he may send
Tychicus to Crete, about the time when he
himself goes to Nicopolis. (5) In 2 Tim. iv.
12 (written at Rome during the second im
prisonment) he says, " I am herewith sending
Tychicus to Ephesus." Probably this mission
may have been connected with the carrying
of the first Epistle. From the same Epistle
(2 Tim. iv. 20) we learn that Trophimus had
been left by the Apostle a little time pre
viously, in infirm health, at Miletus. There
is much probability in the conjecture that
Tychicus and Trophimus were' the two
brethren who were associated with Titus
(2 Cor. viii. 16-24) in conducting the busi
ness of the collection for the poor Christians
in Judaea.
TYRAN'NUS, the name of a man in whose
school or place of audience Paul taught the
Gospel for two years, during his sojourn at
Ephesus (see Acts xix. 9). The presumption
is that Tyrannus himself was a Greek, and a
public teacher of philosophy or rhetoric.
TYRE, a celebrated commercial city of
Phoenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean
Sea. Its Hebrew name " Tzor " signifies a
rock ; which well agrees with tbe site of Stir,
the modern town, on a rocky peninsula, for
merly an island. There is no doubt that,
previous to the siege of the city by Alexander
the Great, Tyre was situated on an island ;
but, according to the tradition of the in
habitants, there was a city on the mainland
before there was a city on the island ; and the
tradition receives some colour from the name
of Palaetyrus, or Old Tyre, which was borne
in Greek times by a city on the continent,
30 stadia to the south. But a difficulty arises
in supposing that Palaetyrus was built before
Tyre, as the word Tyre evidently means " a
rock," and few persons who have visited the
site of Palaetyrus can seriously suppose that
any rock on the surface there can have given
rise to the name. It is important, however,
to bear in mind that this question regarding
Palaetyrus is merely archaeological, and that
2 P 2

TYRE 580
nothing in Biblical history is affected by it.
Nebuchadnezzar necessarily besieged the por
tion of the city on the mainland, as he had no
vessels with which to attack the island ; but
it is reasonably certain that, in the time of
I*aiah and Ezekiel, the heart or core of the
city was on the inland. Whether built before
or later than Palaetyrus, the renowned city
of Tyre, though it laid claims to a very high
antiquity (Is. xxiii. 7), i« not mentioned
either in the Iliad or in the Odyssey. The tribe
of Canaanites which inhabited the small tract
of country which may be called Phoenicia
Proper was known by the generic name of
Sidonians (Judg. xviii. 7 ; Is. xxiii. 2, 4, 12 ;
Josh. xiii. 6 ; Ez. xxxii. 30) ; and this name
undoubtedly included Tyrians, tbe inhabitants
being of the same race, and the two cities
being less than 20 English miles distant from
each other. In the Bible, Tyre is named for
the first time in the Book of Joshua (xix. 29),
where it is adverted to as a fortified city (in
the A. V. " the strong city"), in reference to
the boundaries of the tribe of Asher. The
Israelites dwelt among the Sidonians or Phoe
nicians, who were inhabitants of the land
(Judg. i. 31, 32), and never seem to have had
any war with that intelligent race. Subse
quently, in a passage of Samuel (2 Sam.
xxiv. 7), it is stated that the enumerators of
the census in the reign of David went in pur
suance of their mission to Tyre, amongst
other cities, which must be understood as im
plying, not that Tyre was subject to David's
authority, but merely that a census was thus
taken of the Jews resident there. But the
first passages in the Hebrew historical writings,
or in ancient history generally, which afford
glimpses of the actual condition of Tyre, are
in the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. v. 11), in con
nexion with Hiram king of Tyre sending
cedar-wood and workmen to David, for build
ing him a palace ; and subsequently in the
Book of Kings, in connexion with the building
of Solomon's temple. It is evident that under
Solomon there was a close alliance between
the Hebrews and the Tyrians. Hiram sup
plied Solomon with cedar-wood, precious
metals, and workmen, and gave him sailors
for the voyage to Ophir and India, while on
the other band Solomon gave Hiram supplies
of corn and oil, ceded to him some cities, and
permitted him to make use of some havens on
the Red Sea (1 K. ix. 11-14, 26-28, .v. 22).
These friendly relations survived for a time
the disastrous secession of the Ten Tribes,
and a century later Ahab married a daughter
of Ethbaal, king of -the Sidonians (1 K. xvi,
31), who, according to Menander, was daugh
ter of Ithobal, king of Tyre. When mercantile
cupidity induced the Tyrians and the neigh-

TYRE

bouring Phoenicians to buy Hebrew captive*
from their enemies and to sell them a.-, slaves
to the Greeks and Edomites, there com
menced denunciations, and, at first, threats
of retaliation (Joel iii. 4-8 ; 'Amos i. 9, 10).
When Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, had
taken the city of Samaria, had conquered
the kingdom of Israel and carried its in
habitants into captivity, he laid siege to
Tyre, which, however, successfully resisted his
arms. It is in reference to this siege that
the prophecy against Tyre in Isaiah, chap.
xxiii., was uttered. After the siege of Tyre
by Shalmaneser (which must have taken place
not long after 721 b.c), Tyre remained a
powerful state with its own kings (Jer. xxv.
22, xxvii. 3 ; Ez. xxviii. 2-12), remarkable
for its wealth, with territory on the main
land, and protected by strong fortifications
(Ez. xxviii. 5, xxvi. 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, xxvii.
11 ; Zech. ix. 3). Our knowledge of its
condition thenceforward until tbe siege by
Nebuchadnezzar depends entirely on various
notices of it by the Hebrew prophets ; but
some of these notices are singularly full, and
especially, the twenty-seventh chapter of
Ezekiel furnishes us, on some points, with
details such as have scarcely come down to
us respecting any one city of antiquity, ex
cepting Rome and Athens. One point espe
cially arrests the attention, that Tyre, like its
splendid daughter Carthage, employed mer
cenary soldiers (Ez. xxvii. 10, 11). Inde
pendently, however, of this fact respecting
Tyrian mercenary soldiers, Ezekiel gives inte
resting details respecting the trade of Tyre.
It appears that its gold came from Arabia by
the Persian Gulf (v. 22), just as in the time
of Solomon it came from Arabia by the Red
Sea. On the other hand, the silver, iron,
lead, and tin of Tyre came from a very dif
ferent quarter of the world, viz. from the
South of Spain, where the Phoenicians had
established their settlement of Tarshish, or
Tartessus. As to copper, we should have
presumed that it was obtained from the
valuable mines in Cyprus ; but it is mentioned
here in conjunction with Javan, Tubal, and
Meshech, which points to the districts on the
south of the Black Sea, in the neighbourhood
of Armenia, in the southern line of the Cau
casus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian.
The country whence Tyre was supplied with
wheat was Palestine. Tyre likewise obtained
from Palestine oil, honey, and balm, but not
wine apparently, notwithstanding the abund
ance of grapes and wine in Judah (Gen. xlix.
11 J. The wine was imported from Damascus,
and was called wine of Helbon. The Bedawln
Arabs supplied Tyre with lambs and rams
and goats. Egypt furnished linen for sails,

TYRE

581

TJLAI

and the dyes from shell-fish were imported
from the Peloponnesus. Lastly, from Dedan
in the Persian Gulf, horns of ivory and ebony
were imported, whieh must originally have
been obtained from India (Ez. xxvii. 10, 11,
22, 12, 13, 17, 18, 21, 7, 15).- In the midst
of great prosperity and wealth, which was
the natural result of such an extensive trade
(Ez. xxviii. 4), Nebuchadnezzar, at the head
of an army of the Chaldees, invaded Judaea,
and captured Jerusalem. As Tyre was so
near to Jerusalem, and as the conquerors were
a fierce and formidable race (Hab. i. 6), it
would naturally be supposed that this event
would have excited alarm and terror amongst
the Tyrians. Instead of this, we may infer
from Ezekiel's statement (xxvi. 2) that their
predominant feeling was one of exultation.
At first sight this appears strange and almost
inconceivable ; but it is rendered intelligible
by some previous events in Jewish history.
Only 34 years before the destruction of Jeru
salem, commenced the celebrated Reformation
of Josiah, b.c. 622. This momentous religious
revolution (2 K. xxii. xxiii.) fully explains
the exultation and malevolence of the Tyrians.
In that Reformation, Josiah had heaped in
sults on the gods who were the objects of
Tyrian veneration and love. Indeed, he
seemed to have endeavoured to exterminate
their religion (2 K. xxiii. 20). These acts
must have been regarded by the Tyrians as a
series of sacrilegious and abominable out
rages ; and we can scarcely doubt that the
death in battle of Josiah at Megiddo, and the
subsequent destruction of the city and Temple
of Jerusalem were hailed by them with tri
umphant joy as instances of divine retribution
in human affairs. This joy, however, must
soon have given way to other feelings, when
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Phoenicia, and laid
'siege to Tyre. That siege lasted thirteen
years, and it is still a disputed point whether
Tyre was actually taken by Nebuchadnezzar
on this occasion. However this may be, it is
probable that, on some terms or other, Tyre
submitted to the Chaldees. The rule of Ne
buchadnezzar over Tyre, though real, may
have been light, and in the nature of an
alliance. During the Persian domination the
Tyrians were subjeet in name to the Persian
king, and may have given him tribute. With
the rest of Phoenicia, they had submitted to
the Persians, without striking a blow. To
wards the close of the following century,
B.c. 332, Tyre was assailed for the third time
by a great conqueror. At that time Tyre
was situated on an island nearly half a mile
from the mainland, it was completely sur
rounded by prodigious walls, the loftiest
'portion of which on the side fronting the

mainland reached a height of not less than
150 feet ; and notwithstanding the perse
vering efforts of Alexander, he could not have
succeeded in his attempt, if the harbour of
Tyre to the north had not been blockaded by
the Cyprians, and that to the south by the
Phoenicians, thus affording an opportunity to
Alexander for uniting the island to the main
land by an enormous artificial mole. The
immediate results of the capture by Alex
ander were most disastrous to it, as its brave
defenders were put to death ; and in accord
ance with the barbarous policy of ancient
times, 30,000 of its inhabitants, including
slaves, free females and free children were
sold as slaves. It gradually, however, re
covered its prosperity through the immigra
tion of fresh settlers, though its trade is said
to have suffered by the vicinity and rivalry
of Alexandria. Under the Macedonian suc
cessors of Alexander, it shared the fortunes
of the Seleueidae. Under the Romans, at
first it continued to enjoy a kind of freedom.
Subsequently, however, on the arrival of
Augustus in the East, he is said to have de
prived both Tyre and Sidon of their liberties
for seditious conduct. Still the prosperity of
Tyre in the time of Augustus was undeniably
great. Strabo gives an account of it at that
period, and speaks of the great wealth which
it derived from the dyes of the celebrated
Tyrian purple, which, as is well known, were
extracted from shell-fish found on the coast,
belonging to a species of the genus Murex.
The accounts of Strabo and Pliny hove a
peculiar interest in this respect, that they
tend to convey an idea of what the city must
have been, when visited by Christ (Matt. xv.
21 ; Mark vii. 24). It was perhaps more
populous than Jerusalem, and if so, it was
undoubtedly the largest city which he is
known to have visited. At the time of the
Crusades Tyre was still a flourishing city,
when it surrendered to the Christians on the
27th of June, 1144. It continued more than
a century and a half in the hands of Chris
tians, but was deserted by its inhabitants in
a.d. 1291, upon the conquest of Acre (Ptole
mais) by the Sultan of Egypt and Damascus.
This was the turning-point in the history of
Tyre, which has not yet recovered from the
blow. Since the beginning of the present
century there has been a partial revival of
prosperity.

TTLA'I is mentioned by Daniel (viii. 2, 16)
U as a river near to Susa, where he saw his
vision of the ram and the he-goat. It has been
generally identified with the Eulaeus of the
Greek and Roman Geographers, a large stream

UMMAH

riS2

UNICORN

in the immediate neighbourhood of that city.
The Eulaeus has been by many identified with
the Choaspes, which is undoubtedly the
modern Kcrkhah, an affluent of the Tigris,
flowing into it a little below Kurnah.
I'M 'M AH, one of the cities of the allotment
of Asher (Josh. xix. 30 only). Probably
'Alma in the highlands on tlie co.i-.t-, about
five miles E.N.E. of Ras en-Xakhura.
UNCLEAN MEATS. These were things
strangled, or dead of themselves, or through
beasts or birds of prey ; whatever beast did j
not both part the hoof and chew tlie cud ; and j
certain other smaller animals rated as " creep
ing things ; " certain classes of birds men
tioned in Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv. twenty or
twenty-one in all ; whatever in the waters
had not both fins and scales ; whatever winged
insect had not besides four legs the two hind-
legs for leaping ; besides things offered in
sacrifice to idols ; and all blood or whatever
contained it (save perhaps the blood of fish,
a? would appear from that only of beast and
bird being forbidden, Lev. vii. 26), and there
fore flesh cut from the live animal ; as also all
fat, at any rate that disposed in masses
among the intestines, and probably wherever
discernible and separable among the flesh
(Lev. iii. 14-17, vii. 23). The eating of blood
was prohibited even to " the et ranger thai so-
journeth among you" (Lev. xvii. 10, 12, 13,
14). It is note- worthy that the practical
effect of the rule laid down is to exclude all
the c irnivora among quadrupeds, and, so far as
we can interpret the nomenclature, the raptores
among birds. They were probably excluded
as being not averse to human carcases, and
i n most Eastern countries acti ng as the
servitors of tbe battle-field and the gibbet.
Even swine have been known so to feed ; and,
further, by their constant runeation among
whatever lies on the ground, suggest im
purity, even if they were not generally foul
feeders. Amongst fish those which were al
lowed contain unquestionably the most whole
some varieties, save that they exclude the
oyster. As Orientals have minds sensitive to
teaching by types, there can be little doubt
that such ceremonial distinctions not only
tended to keep Jew and Gentile apart, but
were a perpetual reminder to the former that
he and the latter were not on one level before
God. Hence, when that ceremony was
changed, we find that this was the very
symbol selected to instruct St. Peter in the
truth that God was not a " respecter of per
sons." UNDERGIRDING, Acts xxvii. 17. [Ship.]
UNICORN, the rendering of the A. V. of |
the Hebrew Reem, a word which occurs seven j
times in the O. T. as the name of some large

wild animal. The Reem of the Hebrew Bible,
however, has- nothing at all to do with the
one-horned animal of the Greek and Roman
writers, as is evident from Deut. xxxiii. 17,
where, in the blessing of Joseph, it is said,
" His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,
and his horns arc like the horns of a unicorn "
not, as the text of the A. V. renders it "the
horns of unicorns.'" The two horns of the
Re cm are " the ten thousands of Ephraim
and the thousands of Manasseh." This text
puts a one-horned animal entirely out of the
question. Considering that the RSem is
spoken of as a two-homed animal of great
strength and ferocity, that it was evidently
well known and often seen by the Jews, that
it is mentioned as an animal fit for sacrificial
purposes, and that it is frequently associated
with bulls and oxen, we think there can be no
doubt tbat some species of wild-ox is intended.
The allusion in Ps. xcii. 10, " But thou shalt
lift up, as a Rl-eytn, my horn," seems to point
to the mode in which the Bovidae use their
horns, lowering the head and then tossing it
up. But it is impossible to determine what
particular species of wild-ox is signified. Pro
bably some gigantic Urus is intended.
UR was the land of Har.in's nativity (Gen.
xi. 28), the place from which Terah and
Abraham started "to go into the land of Ca
naan" (Gen. xi. 31). It is called in Genesis
" Ur of the Chaldaeans " while in the Acts St.
Stephen places it, by implication, in Meso
potamia (vii. 2, 4). These are all the indica
tions which Scripture furnishes as to its loca
lity. It has been identified by the most
ancient traditions with the city of Or-fah in
the highlands of Mesopotamia, which unite
the table-land of Armenia to the valley of the
Euphrates. In later ages it was called Kdessa,
and was celebrated as the capital of Abgarus
or Acbarus, who was said to have received
the letter and portrait of our Saviour. " Two
physical features must have secured Or/ah,
from the earliest times, as a nucleus for the
civilization of those regions. One is a high-
crested crag, the natural fortifications of the
crested citadel  The other is an abun
dant spring, issuing in a pool of transparent
clearness, and embosomed in a mass of
luxuriant verdure, which, amidst the dull
brown desert all around, makes, and must
always have made, this spot an oasis, a para
dise, in the Chaldaean wilderness. Round
this sacred pool, ' The Beautiful Spring Callir-
rhoe,' as it was called by the Greek writers,
gather the modern traditions of the Patri
arch." (Stanley, Jewish Cliurch, part i., p. 7).
But in opposition to the most ancient traditions,
many modern writers have fixed the site of
Ur at a very different position, in the extreme

URBANE

583

URIM AND THUMMIM

south of Chaldea, at Mugheir, not very far
above — and probably in the time of Abraham
actually upon — the head of the Persian Gulf,
Among the ruins which are now seen at the
spot, are the remains of one of the great tem
ples, of a model similar to that of Babel,
dedicated to the Moon, to whom the city was
sacred. UR'BANE, would have been better written
Uhbax in the A.V. ; since unlearned readers
sometimes mistake the sex of this Christian
disciple, who is in the long list of those
whom St. Paul salutes in writing to Rome
(Rom. xvi. 9).
Ultf'AH. 1. One of the thirty commanders
of the thirty hands into which the Israelite
army of David was divided (1 Chr. xi. 41 ; 2
Sam. xxiii. 39). Like others of David's officers
he was a foreigner — a Hittite. His name,
however, and his manner of speech (2 Sam.
xi. 11) indicate that he had adopted the Jew
ish religion. He married Bathsheba, a
woman of extraordinary beauty, the daughter
of Eliam — possibly the same as the son of
Ahithophel, and one of his brother officers (2
Sam. xxiii. 34), and hence, perhaps, Uriah's
first acquaintance with Bathsheba. It may be
inferred from Nathan's parable (2 Sam. xii.
3) that he was passionately devoted to his
wife, and that their union was celebrated in
Jerusalem as one of peculiar tenderness. In
the first war with Ammon he followed Joab
to the siege, and with him remained encamped
in the open field (ib. 11). He returned to
Jerusalem, at an order from the king, on the
pretext of asking news of the war, — really in
the hope that his return to his wife might
cover the shame of his own crime. The king
met with an unexpected obstacle in the
austere, soldier-like spirit which guided all
Uriah's conduct, and which gives us a high
notion of the character and discipline of
David's officers. On the morning of the third
day, David sent him back to the camp with a
letter containing the command to Joab to
cause his destruction in the battle. The
device of Joab was, to observe tbe part of the
wall of Rabbath- Ammon, where the greatest
force of the besieged was congregated, and
thither, as a kind of forlorn hope, to send
Uriah. A sally took place. Uriah and the
officers with him advanced as far as the gate
of the city, and were there shot down by the
archers on the wall. Just as Joab had fore
warned the messenger, the king broke into a
furious passion on hearing of the loss. The
messenger, as instructed by Joab, calmly con
tinued, and ended the story with the words :
" Thy servant also, Uriah the Hittite, is dead."
In a moment David's auger is appeased. It
is one of the touching parts of the story that

Uriah falls unconscious of his wife's dis
honour. — 2. High-priest in the reign of Ahaz
(Is, viii. 2 ; 2 K. xvi.. 10-16). We first hear
of him as a witness to Isaiah's prophecy con
cerning Maher-shalal-bash-baz, with Zecha
riah, the son of Jeberechiah. He is probably
the same as Urijah the priest, who built the
altar for Ahaz (2 K. xvi. 10). If this be so,
the prophet may have summoned him as a
witness on account of his position as high-
priest, not on account of his personal qualities ;
though, as the incident occurred at the begin
ning of the reign of Ahaz, Uriah's irreligious
subserviency may not yet have manifested
itself. Of the parentage of Uriah we know
nothing. He probably succeeded Azariah,
who was high-priest in the reign of Uzziah,
and was succeeded by that Azariah who wa3
high-priest in the-reign of Hezekiah. Hence
it is probable that he was son of the former
and father of the latter.— 3. A priest of the
family of Hakkoz, the head of the seventh
course of priests (Ezr. viii. 33 ; Neh. iii. 4,
21). U'RIEL, " the fire of God," an angel named
only in 2 Esdr. iv. 1, 36, v. 20, x. 28.
U'RIEL. 1. A Kohathite Levite, son of
Tahath (1 Chr. vi. 24).— 3. Chief of the
Kohatbites in the reign of David (1 Chr. xv.
5, 11).— 3. Uriel of Gibeah was the father of
Maachah, or Michaiah, the favourite wife of
Rehoboam, and mother of Abijah (2 Chr. xiii.
2). In 2 Chr. xi. 20 she is called " Maachah
the daughter of Absalom." Rashi gives a
long note to the effect that her father's name
was Uriel Abishalom.
URI'JAH. 1. Urijah the priest in the
reign of Ahaz (2 K. xvi. 10), probably the
same as Uriah 2.— S. The son of Shemaiah
of Kirjath-jearim. He prophesied in the
days of Jehoiakim and the king sought to
put him to death ; but he escaped, and fled
into Egypt. His retreat was soon discovered :
Elnathan and his men brought him up out of
Egypt, and Jehoiakim slew him with the
sword, and cast his body forth among the
graves of the common people (Jer. xxvi.
20-23). URIM AND THUMMIM. Urim means
"light," and Thummim "perfection." We
are told that "the Urim and the Thummim"
were to be on Aaron's heart, when he goes
in before the Lord (Ex, xxviii. 15-30). When
Joshua is solemnly appointed to succeed the
great hero-lawgiver, he is bidden to stand
before Eleazar, the priest, " who shall ask
counsel for him after the judgment of Urim,"
and this counsel is to determine the move
ments of the host of Israel (Num. xxvii. 21).
In the blessings of Moses they appear as the
crowning glory of the tribe of Levi ; " Thy

584

UZZI

Thummim and thy Urim are with thy Holy
One" (Deut. xxxiii. 8, 9). In what way
the Urim and Thummim were consulted is
quite uncertain. Josephus and the Rabbins
supposed that the stones gave out the ora
cular answer, by preternatural illumination.
But it seems to be far simplest and most in
agreement with the different accounts of en
quiries made by Urim and Thummim (1 Sam.
xiv. 3, 18, 19, xxiii. 2, 4, 9, 11, 12, xxviii.
6 ; Judg. xx. 28 ; 2 Sam. v. 23, &c.) to sup
pose that the answer was given simply by the
Word of the Lord to the high-priest (comp.
John xi. 51), wheh he had enquired of tbe
Lord clothed with the ephod and breastplate.
Such a view agrees with the true notion of
the breastplate, of which it was not the lead
ing characteristic to he oracular, but only an
incidental privilege connected with its funda
mental meaning. What that meaning was
we learn from Ex. xxviii. 30, where we read
" Aaron shall bear the judgment of the chil
dren of Israel upon his heart before the Lord
continually." Now the judicial sentence is
one by which any one is either justified or
condemned. In prophetic vision, as in actual
Oriental life, the sentence of justification was
often expressed by the nature of the robe
worn. " He hath clothed me with the gar
ments of salvation, He hath covered me with
the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a
bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Is.
lxi. 10) is a good illustration of this ; cf. lxii.
3. In like manner, in Rev. iii. 5, vii. 9, xix.
14, &c, the white linen robe expresses the
righteousness or justification of saints.
USURY. [Loan.]
U'TA, 1 Esdr. v. 30. It appears to he a
corruption of Akkub (Ezr. ii. 45).
UTHA'I. 1. The son of Ammihud, of the
children of Pharez, the son of Judah (1 Chr.
ix. 4). — 2. One of* the sons of Bigvai, who
returned in the second caravan with Ezra
(Ezr. viii. 14).
U'THII. 1 Esdr. viii. 40. [Uthai 2.]
UZ, the country in which Job lived (Job i.
1). As far as we can gather, "the land of
Uz " lay either E. or S.E. of Palestine (Job i.
3) ; adjacent to the Sabaeans and the Chal-
daeans (Job i. 15, 17), consequently N. of the
southern Arabians, and W. of the Euphrates ;
and, lastly, adjacent to the Edomites of Mount
Seir, who at one period occupied Uz, probably
as conquerors (Lam. iv. 21), and whose trog
lodyte habits are probably described in Job
xxx. 6, 7. From the above data we infer
that the land of Uz corresponds to the Arabia
Deserta of classical geography, at all events
to so much of it as lies north of the 30th
parallel of latitude. Whether the name of

Uz survived to classical times is uncertain :
a tribe named Aesitae is mentioned by Pto
lemy, who perhaps may be identified with the
Uz of Seiipture.
U'ZAL, the sixth son of Joktan (Gen. x.
27 ; 1 Chr. i. 21), whose settlements are
clearly traced in the ancient name of San' a,
the capital city of the Yemen, which was
originally Awzdl. Uzal, or Awzal, is most
probably the same as the Auzara, or Ausara
of the classics. It is perhaps referred to by
Ezek. (xxvii. 19), translated in the A. V.
" Javan, going to and fro."
UZ'ZA. [Uzzah.j
UZ'ZA, THE GARDEN OF, the spot in
which Manasseh king of Judah, and his son
Amon, were both buried (2 K. xxi. 18, 26).
It was the garden attached to Manasseh's
palace (ver. 18). The fact of its mention.
shows that it Mas not where the usual sepul
chres of the kings were. No clue, however,
is afforded to its position. It has been sug
gested that the garden was so called from
being on the spot at which Uzza died during
the removal of the Ark from Kirjath-jearim
to Jerusalem.
UZ'ZAII, or UZ'ZA, one of the sons of Abi-
nadab, in whose house at Kirjath-jearim the
ark rested for 20 years. Uzzah probably
was the second, and Ahio the third. They
both accompanied its removal, when David
first undertook to carry it to Jerusalem.
Ahio apparently went before the new cart
(1 Chr. xiii. 7) on which it was placed, and
Uzzah walked by the side. " At the thresh
ing-floor of Nachon" (2 Sam. vi. 6), or Chi-
don (1 Chr. xiii. 9), perhaps slipping over
the smooth rock, the oxen stumbled. Uzzah
caught the ark to prevent its falling. The
profanation was punished by his instant
death, to the great grief of David, who named
the place Percz-Uzzah (the breaking-forth on
Uzzah). But Uzzah's fate was not merely
the penalty of his own rashness. The im
proper mode of transporting the ark, which
ought to have been borne on the shoulders of
the Levites, was the primary cause of his
unholy deed ; and David distinctly recognised
it as a punishment on the people in general,
"because we sought him not after the due
order." UZ'ZEN-SHERAH, a town founded or re
built by Sherah, an Ephraimite woman, the
daughter either of Ephraim himself or of
Beriah. It is named only in 1 Chr. vii. 24,
in connexion with the two Bethhcrons.
UZ'ZI, son of Bukki, and father of Zera-
hiah, in the line of the high-priests (1 Chr.
vi. 5, 51 ; Ezr. vii. 4). Though Uzzi was
the lineal ancestor of Zadok, it does not
appear that be was ever high-priest. He

UZZIAH

585

VERSION, AUTHORISED

must have been contemporary with, but
rather earlier than, Eli,
UZZI'AH. 1. King of Judah (b.c. 808-9
— 756-7). In some passages his name ap
pears in the lengthened form Azariah, which
some attribute to an error .of the copyists.
This is possible, but there are other instances
of the princes of Judah changing their names
on succeeding to the throne. After the mur
der of Amaziah, his son Uzziah was chosen
by the people to occupy the vacant throne at
the age of 16 ; and for the greater part of his
long reign of 52 years he lived in the fear of
God, and showed himself a wise, active, and
pious ruler. He began his reign by a suc
cessful expedition against his father's enemies
the Edomites, who had revolted from Judah
in Jehoram's time, 80 years before, and pene
trated as far as the head of the Gulf of 'Akaba,
where he took the important place of Elath
(2 K. xiv. 22 ; 2 Chr. xxvi. 1, &c). Uzziah
waged other victorious wars in the south,
especially against the Mehunim, or people of
Maan, and the Arabs of Gurbaal. Towards
the west, Uzziah fought with equal success
against the Philistines, levelled to the ground
the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and
founded new fortified cities in the Philistine
territory. He strengthened the walls of Je
rusalem. He was also a great patron of agri
culture. He never deserted the worship of
the true God, and was much influenced by
Zechariah, a prophet who is only mentioned
in connexion with him (2 Chr. xxvi. 5). So
the southern kingdom was raised to a condi
tion of prosperity which it had not known
since the death of Solomon. The end of
Uzziah was less prosperous than his begin
ning. Elated with his splendid career, be
determined to burn incense on the altar of
God, but was opposed by the high-priest Aza
riah and eighty others. (See Ex. xxx. 7,
8 ; Num. xvi. 40, xviii. 7). The king was
enraged at their resistance, and, as he pressed
forward with his censer, was suddenly smit
ten with leprosy. Uzziah was buried " with
his fathers," yet apparently not actually in
the royal sepulchres (2 Chr. xxvi. 23). Dur
ing his reign an earthquake occurred, which,
though not mentioned in the historical books,
was apparently very serious in its conse
quences, for it is alluded to as a chronological
epoch by Amos (i. 1) and mentioned in Zech.
xiv, 5, as a convulsion from which the people
" fled." 16 is to be observed, with reference
to the general character of* Uzziah's reign,
that the writer of the Second Book of Chro
nicles distinctly states that his lawless at
tempt to burn incense was the only exception
to the excellence of his administration (2
Ghr. xxvii. 2).— 2. A priest of the sons of

Harim, who had taken a. foreign wife in tbe
days of Ezra (Ezr. x. 21). — 3. Father of
Athaiah, or Uthai (Neh. xi. 4). — 4. Father
of Jehonathan, one of David's overseers (1
Chr. xxvii. 25).
UZ'ZIEL, fourth son of Kohath, father of
Mishael, Elzaphan or Elizaphan, and Zithri,
and uncle to Aaron (Ex. vi. 18, 22 ; Lev. x.
4). His descendants the Uzzielites, were
one of the four groat families of the Koha-
thites (Num. iii. 27 ; 1 Chr. xxvi. 23).

VASH'TI, the "queen" of Ahasuerus,
who, for refusing to show herself to
the king's guests at the royal banquet, when
sent for by the king, was repudiated and de
posed (Esth. i.). Many attempts have been
made to identify her with historical person
ages ; but it is far more probable that she
was only one of the inferior wives, dignified
with the title of queen, whose name has
utterly disappeared from history.
VEIL. With regard to the use of the veil,
it is important to observe that it was by no
means so general in ancient as in modern
times. Much of the scrupulousness in re
spect of the use of the veil dates from the
promulgation of the Koran, which forbade
women appearing unveiled except in the pre
sence of their nearest relatives. In ancient
times, the veil was adopted only in excep
tional cases, either as an article of ornamental
dress (Cant. iv. 1, 3, vi. 7), or by betrothed
maidens in the presence of their future hus
bands, especially at the time of the wedding
(Gen. xxiv. 65, xxix. 25), or, lastly, by
women of loose character for purposes of
concealment (Gen. xxxviii. 14). Among the
Jews of the New Testament age it appears to
have been customary for the women to cover
their heads (not necessarily their faces) when
engaged in public worship.
VEIL OF THE TABERNACLE AND
TEMPLE. [Tabernacle; Temple.]
VERSION, AUTHORISED. I. Wy-
cliffe (b. 1324; d. 1384).— The N. T. was
translated by Wycliffe himself. The O. T.
was undertaken by Nicholas de Hereford,
but was interrupted, and ends abruptly (fol
lowing so far the order of the Vulgate) in
the Middle of Baruch. Many of the MSS, of
this version now extant present a different
recension of the text, and it is probable that
the work of Wycliffe and Hereford was re
vised by Richard Purvey, cire. a.d. 1388.
The version was based entirely upon the
Vulgate. The following characteristics may
be noticed as distinguishing this version :
(1) The general homeliness of its style. (2)
The substitution in many cases, of English

VERSION, AUTHORISED

oH 1 )

VERSION, AUTHORISED

equivalents for quasi-technical words. (3)
The extreme literalness with which, in some
instances, even at the cost of being unintel
ligible, the Vulgate text is followed, as in
2 Cor. i. 17-19.— II. Ttxdai,.— The work of
Wycliffe stands by itself. Whatever power
it exercised in preparing the way for the
Reformation of the 16th century, it had no
perceptible influence on later translations.
With Tyndal we enter on a continuous suc
cession. He is the patriarch, in no remote
ancestry, of the Authorised Version. More
than Cranmer or Ridley he is the true hero
of the English Reformation. "Ere many
year*," he said at the age of thirty-six (a.d.
1520), he would cause "a boy that driveth
the plough " to know more of Scripture than
the great body of the clergy then knew.
He prepared himself for the work by long
years of labour in Greek and Hebrew. In
1525 the whole of the N. T. was printed in
4to. at Cologne, and in small 8vo. at Worms.
In England it was received with denuncia
tions. Tonstal, Bishop of London, preaching
at Paul's Cross, asserted that there were at
least 2000 errors in it, and ordered all copies
of it to be bought up and burnt. An Act of
Parliament (35 Henry VIII. cap. 1} forbade
tbe use of all copies of Tyndal's " false trans
lation." The treatment whieh it received
from professed friends was hardly less annoy
ing. In the mean time the work went on.
Editions were printed one after another.
The last appeared in 1535, just before his
death. His heroic life was brought to a
close in 1536. To Tyndal belongs the hon
our of having given the first example of a
translation based on true principles, and the
excellence of later versions has been almost
in exact proportion as they followed his. All
the exquisite grace and simplicity which have
endeared the A. V. to men of the most oppo
site tempers and contrasted opinions — is due
mainly to his clear-sighted truthfulness. —
III. Coverdale. — A complete translation of
the Bible, different from Tyndal's, bearing the
name of Miles Coverdale, printed probably at
Zurich, appeared in 1535. The undertaking
itself, and the choice of Coverdale as the
translator, were probably due to Cromwell.
Tyndal's controversial treatises, and the po
lemical character of his prefaces and notes,
had irritated the leading ecclesiastics and
embittered the mind of the king himself
against him. There was no hope of obtain
ing the king's sanction for anything that bore
his name. But the idea of an English trans
lation began to find favour. Cromwell, it is
probable, thought it better to lose no further
time, and to strike while the iron was hot.
A divine whom he had patronised, though

not, like Tyndal, feeling himself called to that
special work, was willing to undertake it.
To him accordingly it was intrusted. The
work which was thus executed was done, us
might be expected, in a very different fashion
from Tyndal's. Of the two men one had
made this the great object of his life, the
other, in his own language, "sought it not,
neither desired it," but accepted it as a task
assigned to him. lie was content to make
the translation at second hand "out of the
Douche (Luther's German Version) and the
Latine." It is not improbable, however,
that as time went on he added to his know
ledge. He, at any rate, continued his work
as a painstaking editor. Fresh editions of
his Bible were published, keeping their
ground in spite of rivals in 1537, 1539, 1550,
1553. He was called in ot a still later period
to assist in the Geneva version. — IV. Mat
thew. — In the year 1537, a large folio Bible
appeared as edited and dedicated to the king,
by Thomas Matthew. No one of that name
appears at all prominently in the religious
history of Henry VIII., and this suggests the
inference that the name was adopted to con
ceal the real translator. The tradition which
connects this Matthew with John Rogers, the
proto-martyr of the Marian persecution, is
all but undisputed. Matthew's Bible repro
duces Tyndal's work, in the N. T. entirely,
in the O. T. as far as 2 Chr., tbe rest being
taken with occasional modifications from
Coverdale. The printing of the book was
begun apparently abroad, and was carried
on as far as the end of Isaiah. At that point
a new pagination begins, and the names of
the Lpndon printers appear. A copy was
ordered, by royal proclamation, to be set up
in every church, the cost being divided be
tween the clergy and the parishioners. This
was, therefore, the first Authorised Version.
What has been said of Tyndal's Version,
applies, of course, to this. There are, how
ever, signs of a more advanced knowledge of
Hebrew. More noticeable even than in
Tyndal is the boldness and fulness of tbe
exegetical notes scattered throughout the
book. Strong and earnest in asserting what
he looked on as the central truths of the
Gospel, there was in Rogers a Luther-like
freedom in other things which has not ap
peared again in any authorised translation or
popular commentary. — V. Taverner (1539).
— The boldness of the pseudo-Matthew had
frightened the ecclesiastical world from its
propriety. Coverdale's Version was, however,
too inaccurate to keep its ground. It was
necessary to find another editor, and the
printers applied to Richard Taverner. But
little is known of his life. The fact that,

VERSION, AUTHORISED

587

VERSION, AUTHORISED

though a layman, he had been chosen as one of
the canons of the Cardinal's College at Oxford
indicates a reputation for scholarship, and
this is confirmed by the character of his
translation. In most respects this may be
described as an expurgated edition of Mat
thew's. — VI. Cranmer. — In the same year as
Taverner's, and coming from the same press,
appeared an English Bible, in a more stately
folio, with a preface containing the initials
T. C, which imply the archbishop's sanction.
It was reprinted again and again, and was
the Authorised Version of the English Church
till 1568 — the interval of Mary's reign ex
cepted. From it, accordingly, were taken
most, if not all, the portions of Scripture in
the Prayer-books of 1549 and 1552. The
Psalms, as a whole, the quotations from
Scripture in the Homilies, the sentences in
the Communion Services, and some phrases
elsewhere, still preserve the remembrance of
it. — VII. Geneva. — The exiles who fled to
Geneva in the reign of Mary, entered on the
work of translation with more vigour than
ever. The N. T., translated by Whittingham,
was printed in 1557, and the whole Bible in
1560. Whatever may have been its faults,
the Geneva Bible, commonly called the
Breeches Bible, from its rendering of Gen. iii.
7, was unquestionably, for sixty years, the
most popular of all versions. Not less than
eighty editions, some of the whole Bible,
were printed between 1558 and 1611. It
kept its ground for some time even against
the A. V., and gave way, as it were, slowly
and under protest. It was the version spe
cially adopted by the great Puritan party
through the whole reign of Elizabeth, and far
in that of James. As might be expected, it
was based on Tyndal's Version. It was the
first English Bible which entirely omitted
the Apocrypha. The notes were character
istically Swiss, not only in their theology, but
in their polities. — VIII. The Bishops' Bible.
—The facts just stated will account for the
wish of Archbishop Parker, to bring out an
other version which might establish its
claims against that of Geneva. Great prepa
rations were made. Eight bishops, together
with some deans and professors, brought out
the fruit of their labours in a magnificent
folio (1568 and 1572). It was avowedly
based on Cranmer's ; hut of all the English
versions it had probably the least success. It
(lid not command the respect of scholars, and
its size and cost were far from meeting the
wants of the people. — IX. Rheims and Douay.
—The English Catholic refugees who were
settled at Rheims undertook a new English
version. The N. T. was published at Rheims
in 1582, and professed to be based on "the

authentic text of the Vulgate." Notes were
added, as strongly dogmatic as those of the
Geneva Bible, and often keenly controversial,
The work of translation was completed some
what later by the publication of the 0. T. at
Douay in 1609. — X. Authorised Version.—
The position of the English Church in relation
to the versions in use at the commencement
of the reign of James was hardly satisfactory.
The Bishops' Bible was sanctioned by autho
rity. That of Geneva had the strongest hold
on the affections of the people. Scholars,
Hebrew scholars in particular, found grave
fault with both. Among the demands of the
Puritan representatives at the Hampton Court
Conference in 1604, was one for a new, or,
at least, a revised translation. The work of
organising and superintending the arrange
ments for a new translation was one specially
congenial to James, and in 1606 the task was
accordingly commenced. It was intrusted to
54 scholars. The following were the instruc
tions given to the translators. (1) The
Bishops' Bible was to be followed, and ae
little altered as the original will permit. (2)
The names of prophets and others were to be
retained, as nearly as may be as they are
vulgarly used. (3) The old ecclesiastical
words to he kept. (4) When any word hath
divers significations, that to be kept which
hath been most commonly used by the most
eminent fathers, being agreeable to the pro
priety of the place and the analogy of faith.
(-5) The division of the chapters to be altered
either not at all or as little as possible. (6)
No marginal notes to be affixed but only for
the explanation of Hebrew and Greek words.
(7) Such quotations of places to be margin
ally set down as may serve for fit reference of
one Scripture to another. (8 and 9) State
plan of translation. Each company of trans
lators is to take its own books; each person
to bring his own corrections. The company
to discuss them, and having finished their
work, to send it on to another company, and
so on. (10) Provides for ¦ differences of
opinion between two companies by referring
thein to a general meeting. (11) Gives
power, in cases of difficulty, to consult any
scholars. (12) Invites suggestions from any
quarter. (13) Names the directors of the
work : Andrews, Dean of Westminster ; Bar
low, Dean of Chester ; and the Regius Profes
sors of Hebrew and Greek at both Universi
ties. (14) Names translations to he followed
when they agree more with the original than
the Bishops' Bible, se. Tyndal's, Coverdale's,
Matthew's, Whitchurch's (Cranmer's), and
Geneva. (15) Authorises Universities to ap
point three or four overseers of the work.
For three years the work went on, the separ-

588

VINE OF SODOM

ate companies comparing notes as directed.
When the work drew towards its completion
it was necessary to place it under the care of
a select few. Two from each of the three
groups were accordingly selected, and the six
met in London, to superintend the publica
tion. The final correction, and the t;i^k of
writing the arguments of the several books
was given to.Bilson, bishop of Winchester,
and Dr. Miles Smith, the latter of whom also
wrote the Dedication and Preface. The ver
sion thus published did not all at once super
sede those already hi possession. The fact
that five editions were published in three
years, shows that there was a good demand.
But the Bishops' Bible probably remained in
many Churches, and the popularity of the
Geneva Version is shown by not less than
thirteen reprints, in whole, or in part, be
tween 1611 and 1617. It is not easy to
ascertain the impression which the A. V.
made at the time of its appearance. Selden
says it is " the best of all translations as
giving the true ^cnse of the original."
VILLAGE. This word, in addition to its
ordinary sense, is often used, especially in
the enumeration of towns in Josh, xiii., xv.,
xix., to imply unwalled suburbs outside the
walled towns. Arab villages, as found in
Arabia, are often mere collections of stone
huts, "long, low, rude hovels, roofed only
with the stalks of palm-leaves," or covered
for a time with tent-cloths, which are re
moved when the tribe ehange their quarters.
Others are more solidly built, as are most of
the modern villages of Palestine, though in
some the dwellings are mere mud-huts.
There is little in the O. T. to enable us more
precisely to define a village of Palestine, be
yond the fact that it was destitute of walls
or external defences. Persian villages are
spoken of in similar terms (Ez. xxxviii. 11 ;
Esth. ix. 19). By the Talmudists a village
was defined as a place destitute of a syna
gogue. VINE. The well-known valuable plant
(Tit is vinifera), very frequently referred to
in the Old and New Testaments, and culti
vated from the earliest times. The first
mention of this plant occurs in Gen. ix. 20,
21. That it wa3 abundantly cultivated in
Egypt is evident from the frequent repre
sentations on the monuments, as well as from
the Scriptural allusions (Gen. xl. 9-11 ; Ps.
lxxviii. 47). The vines of Palestine were
celebrated both for luxuriant growth and for
the immense clusters of grapes which they
produced. When the spies were sent forth
to view the promised land, we are told that
on their arrival at the valley of Eshcol they
cut down a branch with one cluster of

grapes ?*nd bare it between two on a staff
(Num. xiii. 23). Travellers have frequently
testified to the large size of the grape-clusters
of Palestine. Especial mention is made in
the Bible of the vines of Eshcol (Num. xiii.
24, xxxii. 9), of Sibmah, Heshbon, and
Elealeh (Is. xvi. 8, 9, 10; Jer. xlviii. 32),
and Engedi (Cunt. i. 14). From the abund
ance and excellence of the vines, it may
readily be understood how frequently this
plant is tlie subject of metaphor in the Holy
Scriptures. To dwell under the vine and
fig-tree is an emblem of domestic happiness
and peace (1 K. iv. 25; Mic. iv. 4; Ps.
exxviii. 3) ; the rebellious people of Israel
are compared to "wild grapes," "an empty
vine," "the degenerate plant of a strange
vine," &c. (Is. v. 2, 4 ; Hos. x. 1 ; Jer. ii.
21). It is a vine which our Lord selects to
show the spiritual union which subsists be
tween Himself and his members (John xv.
1-6). The ancient Hebrews probably allowed
the vine to grow trailing on the ground, or
upon support-.. This latter mode of cultiva
tion appears to be alluded to by Ezekiel (xix.
11, 12). The vintage, which formerly was
a season of general festivity, commenced in
September. The towns are deserted, and the
people live among the vineyards in the lodges
and tents (comp. Judg. ix. 27 ; Jer. xxv. 30 ;
Is. xvi. 10). The grapes were gathered with
shouts of joy by the "grape-gatherers" (Jer.
xxv. 30), and put into baskets (see Jer. vi. 9).
They were then carried on the head and
shoulders, or slung upon a yoke, to the
" wine-press." Those intended for eating
were perhaps put into flat open baskets of
wickerwork, as was the custqm in Egypt.
In Palestine at present the finest grapes,
says Dr. Robinson, are dried as raisins, and
the juice of the remainder, after having been
trodden and pressed, " is boiled down to a
syrup which, under the name of dib3, is much
used by all classes, wherever vineyards are
found, as a condiment with their food." The
vineyard, which was. generally on a hill (Is.
v. 1 ; Jer. xxxi. 5; Amos ix. 13), was sur
rounded by a wall or hedge in order to keep
out the wild boars (Ps. Ixxx. 13), jackals,
and foxes (Num. xxii. 24; Cant. ii. 15;
Neh. iv. 3 ; Ez. xiii. 4, 5 ; Matt. xxi. 33).
Within the vineyard was one or more towers
of stone in which the vine-dressers lived (Ih.
i. 8, v. 2 ; Matt. xxi. 33). The press and
vat, whi^h was dug (Matt. xxi. 33) or hewn
out of the rocky soil, were part of tbe vine
yard furniture (Is. v. 2).
VINE OF SODOM occurs only in Deut.
xxxii. 32. It is generally supposed that this
passage alludes to the celebrated apples of
Sodom, of which Josephus speaks, " which

VINEGAR

589

VULGATE, THE

indeed resemble edible fruit in colour, but,
on being plucked by the hand, are dissolved
into smoke and ashes." It has been vari
ously identified. Dr. Robinson pronounced
in favour of the 'osher fruit, the Asclepias
(Caiotropis) procera of botanists. He says,
"The fruit greatly resembles externally a
large smooth apple or orange, hanging in
clusters of three or four together, and when
ripe is of a yellow colour. It was now fair
and delicious to the eye, and soft to the
touch ; but, on being pressed or struck, it
explodes with a puff, like a bladder or puff-
ball, leaving in the hand only the shreds of
the thin rind and a few fibres. It is indeed
filled chiefly with air, which gives it the
roand form." Dr. Hooker writes, " The Vine
(of Sodom I always thought might refer to
Cueumis colocynthis, which is bitter and
powdery inside ; the term' vine would scarcely
be given to any but a trailing or other plant
of the habit of a vine." His remark that
the term vine must refer to some plant of the
habit of a vine, is conclusive against the
claims of all the plants hitherto identified
with the Vine of Sodom.
VINEGAR. The Hebrew word translated
"vinegar" was applied to a beverage con
sisting generally of wine or strong drink
turned sour, but sometimes artificially made
by an admixture of barley and wine, and
thus liable to fermentation. It was acid even
to a proverb (Prov. x. 26), and by itself
formed a nauseous draught (Ps. lxix, 21),
but was used by labourers (Ruth ii. 14).
Similar was the acetum of the Romans — a
thin, sour wine, consumed by soldiers. This
was the beverage of which the Saviour par
took in His dying moments (Matt, xxvii. 48 ;
Mark xv. 36 ; John xix. 29, 30).
VIOL. [Psaltery.]
VIPER. [Serpent.]
, VOWS. The earliest mention of a vow is
that of Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 18-22, xxxi. 13).
.Vows in general are also mentioned in the
Book of Job (xxii. 27). The Law therefore
did not introduce, but regulated the practice
of vows. Three sorts are mentioned :— I.
Vows of devotion ; II. Vows of abstinence ;
III. Vows of destruction. I. As to vows of
devotion, the following rules are laid down :
— A man might devote to sacred uses posses
sions or persons, but not the firstborn either
of man or beast, which was devoted already
(Lev, xxvii. 26). a. If he vowed land, he
might either redeem it or not (Lev. xxv.,
xxvii.). b. Animals fit for sacrifice, if de
voted, were not to be redeemed or changed
,(Lev. xxvii. 9, 10, 33). c. The case of per
sons devoted 6tood thus : — A man might
devote either himself, his child (not the first

born), or his slave. If no redemption took
place, the devoted person became a slave of
I he sanctuary : see the case of Absalom
(2 Sam. xv. 8). Otherwise he might be re
deemed at a valuation according to age and
sex, on the scale given in Lev. xxvii. 1-7.
Among general regulations affecting vows,
the following may be mentioned: — 1. Vows
were entirely voluntary, but once made were
regarded as compulsory (Num. xxx. 2 ; Deut.
xxiii. 21 ; Eccl. v. 4). 2. If persons in a
dependent condition made vows, as (a) an
unmarried daughter living in her father's
house, or (6) a wife, even if she afterwards
became a widow, the vow, if (a) in the first
case her father, or (b) in the second, her
husband, heard and disallowed it, was void;
but if they heard without disallowance, it
was to remain good (Num. xxx. 3-16), 3.
Votive offerings arising from the produce of
any impure traffic were wholly forbidden
(Deut. xxiii. 18). — IL, III. For vows of ab
stinence, see Corban ; and for vows of ex
termination, Anathema, and Ezr. x. 8 ; Mie.
iv. 13. It seems that the practice of shaving
the head at the expiration of a votive period
was not limited to the Nazaritic vow (Acts
xviii. 18, xxi. 24).
VULGATE, THE, the Latin version of
the Bible. The name is equivalent to Vul-
gata editio (the current text of Holy Scrip
ture) . — The history of the earliest Latin
Version of the Bible is lost in obscurity. All
that can be affirmed with certainty is that it
was made in Africa in the 2nd century.
During the first two centuries the Churches
of Rome and Gaul were essentially Greek ;
but the Church of N. Africa seems to have
been Latin-speaking from the first. This
version was known by the name of the Old
Latin (Vetus Latino), and the language was
rude and provincial. It continued to be
used in Africa in its original form ; but in
the 4th century an ecclesiastical recension
appears to have been made in Northern
Italy, which was distinguished by the name
of Itala. At the close of the 4th century
the Latin texts of the Bible current in tbe
Western Church had fallen into the greatest
corruption. In a.d. 363 Jerome, at the re
quest of Damasus, the Pope, undertook a
revision of the current Latin version of the
N. T. by the help of the Greek original. He
next proceeded to revise the. O. T. from the
Septuagint. He commenced his task by a
revision of the Psalter. This revision, which
was not very complete or careful, obtained
the name of the Roman Psalter, probably
because it was made for the use of the Ro
man Church at the request of Damasus.
Shortly afterwards, at the urgent request of

VULGATE, THE

500

VULGATE, THE

Paula and Eustochium Jerome commenced a
new and more thorough revision. This new
edition soon obtained a wide popularity.
Gregory of Tours is said to have introduced
it from Rome into the public services in
France, and from this it obtained tbe name
of the Galilean Psalter. From the second
(Gallican) revision of the Psalms Jerome ap
pears to have proceeded to a revision of the
other books of the O. T., restoring all, by the
help of the Greek, to a general conformity
with the Hebrew. The revised texts of the
Psalter and Job have alone been preserved;
but there is no reason to doubt that Jerome
carried out his design of revising all the
" Canonical Scripture*. '' Subsequently Je
rome undertook a still more important work,
namely, the translation of the O. T. from
the Hebrew. He commenced the study of
Hebrew when he was already advanced in
middle life (about a.d. 374). His first teacher
had been a Jewish convert; but afterwards
he did not scruple to seek the instruction of
Jews, whose services he secured with great
difficulty and expense. After retiring to
Bethlehem, he anpears to have devoted him
self with renewed ardour to the study of
Hebrew, and he published several works on
the subject (about a.d. 389). These essays
served as a prelude to his New Version,
which he now commenced. This version
was not undertaken with any ecclesiastical
sanction, as the revision of the Gospels was,
but at the urgent request of private friends,
or from his own sense of the imperious neces
sity of the work. Its history is told in the
main in the Prefaces to the several instal
ments which were successively published.
The Books of Samuel and Kings were issued
first, and to these he prefixed the famous
Prologus galeaius, addressed to Paula , and
Eustochium, in which he gives an account of
the Hebrew Canon (about a.d. 391, 392).
The other books followed in succession, and
the whole work was completed in a.d. 404.
— The critical labours of Jerome were re
ceived with a loud outcry of reproach. He
was accused of disturbing the repose of the
Church, and shaking the foundations of faith.
But clamour based upon ignorance soon dies
away; and the New translation gradually
came into use equally with the Old, and at
length supplanted it. In the 6th century
the use of Jerome's Version was universal
among scholars except in Africa, where the
other still lingered. In the 7th century the
traces of the Old Version grow rare. In the
8th century Bede speaks of Jerome's Version
as "our edition;" and from this time it is
needless to trace its history, though the Old
Latin was not wholly forgotten. Yet through

out, the New Version made its way without
any direct ecclesiastical authority. It was
adopted in the different Churches gradually,
or at least without any formal command.
But the Latin Bible which thus passed gradu
ally into use under the name of Jerome was
a strangely composite work. The books of
the O. T., with one exception, were certainly
taken from his Version from the Hebrew ;
but this had not only been variously cor
rupted, but was itself in many particulars
(especially in the Pentateuch) at variance
with his later judgment. Long use, how
ever, made it impossible to substitute his
Psalter from the Hebrew for the Gallican
Psalter ; and thus this book was retained
from the Old Version, as Jerome had corrected
it from the LXX. Of the Apocryphal books
Jerome hastily revised or translated two only,
Judith and Tobit. The remainder were re
tained from the Old Version against his judg
ment; and the Apocryphal additions to Daniel
and Esther, which he had carefully marked
as apocryphal in his own Version, were treated
as integral parts of tbe books. In the N. T.
the te\t of the Gospels was in the main
Jerome's revised edition ; that of the re
maining books his very incomplete revision
of the Old Latin. Meanwhile the text of the
different parts of the Latin Bible was rapidly
deteriorating. The simultaneous use of the
Old and New Versions necessarily led to
great conniptions of both text1*. Mixed texts
were formed according to the taste or judg
ment of scribes, and the confusion was further
increased by the changes which were some
times introduced by those who had some
knowledge of Greek. In the 8th century the
corruption had arrived at such a height, that
Charlemagne intrusted to Alcuin (about a.d.
802) the task of revising the Latin text for
public use. Alcuin's revision probably con
tributed much towards preserving a good
Vulgate text. It was subsequently revised
by many eminent scholars, both before and
after the invention of printing ; but when
the Council, of Trent declared the Vulgate to
be the authoritative text of Scripture, the
want of a standard text became more urgent
than ever. At length an edition was pub
lished in 1590, under the superintendence of
the Pope Sixtus V., with the famous consti
tution prefixed, in which Sixtus affirmed the
plenary authority of the edition for all futnre
time. It was, however, soon found that this
edition also was defective ; and accordingly
another edition was prepared under papal
authority. It appeared in 1592 in the Pon
tificate of Clement VIII., with a Preface,
written by Bellarmin. — The vast power which
the Vulgate has had in determining the

VULTURE

591

WAR

theological terms of Western Christendom
can hardly be overrated. By far the greater
part of the current doctrinal terminology is
based on the Vulgate. Predestination, justi-
jication, supererogation (supererogo), sancti-
jication, salvatwn, mediator, regeneration, re
velation, visitation (met.), propitiation, first
appear in the Old Vulgate. Grace, redemp
tion, election, reconciliation, satisfaction,
inspiration, scripture, were devoted there to
a new and holy use. Sacrament and com
munion are from the same source ; and
though baptism is Greek, it comes to us
from the Latin. It would be easy to extend
the list by the addition of orders, penance,
congregation, priest. But it can be seen
from the forms already brought forward that
the Vulgate has left its mark both upon our
language and upon our thoughts. It was
the Version which alone they knew who
handed down to the Reformers the rich stores
of mediaeval wisdom ; the Version with which
the greatest of the Reformers were most
familiar, and from which they had drawn
their earliest knowledge of Divine truth.
VULTURE. The rendering in tbe A. V. of
the Heb. dddh, dayydh, and also in Job
xxviii. 7, of ayydh. There seems nc doubt
but tbat the A. V. translation is incorrect,
and that the original words refer to some of
the smaller species of raptorial birds, as kites
or buzzards. [Kite.] But the Hebrew word
nesher, invariably rendered "eagle" in the
A. V., is probably the vulture. [Eagle.]

WAGES. The earliest mention of wages
is of a reeompencc not in money but
in kind, to Jacob from Laban (Gen. xxix. 15,
20, xxx. 28, xxxi. 7, 8,41). In Egypt, money
payments by way of wages were in use, but the
terms cannot now be ascertained (Ex. ii. 9).
The only mention of the rate of wages in
Scripture is found in the parable of the house
holder and the vineyard (Matt. xx. 2), where
the labourer's wages are set at one denarius
per day, probably .=7fd. The law was very
strict in requiring daily payment of wages
(Lev. xix. 13; Deut. xxiv. 14, 15). The
employer who refused to give his labourers
sufficient victuals is censured (Job xxiv. 11),
and the iniquity of withholding wages is de
nounced (Jer. xxii. 13; Mal. iii. 5; James
v. 4).
WAGGON. [Cart and Chariot.]
WALLS. Only a few points need be
noticed. 1. The practice common in Pales
tine of carrying foundations down to the
Bolid rock, as in the case of the Temple, with
structures intended to be permanent (Luke
rt. 48). 2. A feature of some parts of Solo

mon's buildings, as described by Josephus,
corresponds remarkably to the method adopted
at Nineveh of encrusting or veneering a wall
of brick or stone with slabs of a more costly
material, as marble or alabaster. 3. Another
use of walls in Palestine is to support moun
tain-roads or terraces formed on the sides of
hills for purposes of cultivation. 4. The
"path of the vineyards " (Num. xxii. 24) is
a pathwaj' through vineyards, with walls on
each side.
WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS.
[Wilderness op Wandering.]
WALL Before entering on a war of ag
gression the Hebrews sought for the Divine
sanction by consulting either the Urim and
Thummim (Judg. i. 1, xx. 2, 27-8; 1 Sam.
xiv. 37, xxiii. 2, xxviii. 6, xxx. 8), or some
acknowledged prophet (1 K. xxii. 6 ; 2 Chr.
xviii. 5). Divine aid was further sought in
actual warfare by bringing into the field the
Ark of the Covenant, which was the symbol
of Jehovah Himself (1 Sam. iv. 4-18, xiv.
18). Formal proclamations of war were not
interchanged between the belligerents. Before
entering the enemy's district spies were sent
to ascertain the character of the country and
the preparations of its inhabitants for resist
ance (Num. xiii. 17 ; Josh. ii. 1 ; Judg. vii.
10 ; 1 Sam. xxvi. 4). When an engagement
was imminent a sacrifice was offered (1 Sam.
vii. 9, xiii. 9), and an inspiriting address
delivered either by the commander (2 Chr.
xx. 20) or by a priest (Deut. xx. 2). Then
followed the battle-signal (1 Sam. xvii. 52;
Is. xiii. 13 ; Jer. 1. 42 ; Ez. xxi. 22 ; Am. i.
14). The combat assumed the form of a
number of hand-to-hand contests. Hence
the high value attached to fleetness of foot
and strength of arm (2 Sam. i. 23, ii. 18 ;
1 Chr. xii. 8). At the same time various
strategic devices were practised, such as the
ambuscade (Josh. viii. 2, 12 ; Judg. xx. 36),
surprise (Judg. vii. 16), or circumvention
(2 Sam. v. 23). Another mode of settling
the dispute was by the selection of champions
(1 Sam. xvii. ; 2 Sam. ii. 14), who were
spurred on to exertion by the offer of high
reward (1 Sam. xvii. 25, xviii. 25 ; 2 Sam.
xviii. 11 ; 1 Chr. xi. 6). The contest having
been decided, the conquerors were recalled
from the pursi.it by the sound of a trumpet
(2 Sam. ii. 28, xviii. 16, xx. 22). The siege
of a town or fortress was conducted in the
following manner : — A line of circumvalla-
tion was drawn round the place (Ez. iv. 2 ;
Mic. v. 1), constructed out of the trees found
in the neighbourhood (Deut. xx. 20), together
with earth and any other materials at hand.
This line not only cut off the besieged from
the surrounding country, but also served as

WASHING THE HANDS AND FEET 592

WAVE-OFFERING

a base of operations for the besiegers. The
next step was to throw out from this line
one or more mounds or "banks " in the di
rection of the city (2 Sam. xx. 15 ; 2 Iv. xix.
32 ; Is. xxxvii. 33), which were gradually in
creased in height until they were about half as
high as the city wall. On this mound or
bank towers were erected {2 K. xxv. 1 ; Jer.
Iii. 4 ; Ez. iv. 2, xvii. 17, xxi. 22, xxvi. 8),
whence the slingers and archers might attack
with effect. Battering-rams (Ez. iv. 2, xxi.
22) were brought up to the walls by means
of the bank, and scaling-ladders might also
be placed on it. — The treatment of the con
quered was extremely severe in ancient times.
The bodies of the soldiers killed in action
were plundered (1 Sam. xxxi. 8 ; 2 Mace,
viii. 27) : the survivors were either killed in
some savage manner (Judg. ix. 45 ; 2 Sam.
xii. 31 ; 2 Chr. xxv. 12), mutilated (Judg. i.
6 ; 1 Sam. xi. 2), or carried into captivity
(Num. xxxi. 26 ; Deut. xx. 14). Sometimes
the bulk of the population of the conquered
country was removed to a distant locality.
The Mosaic law mitigated to a certain extent
the severity of the ancient usages towards
the conquered. The conquerors celebrated
their success by the erection of monumental
stones (1 Sam. vii. 12; 2 Sam. viii. 13), by
hanging up trophies in their public buildings
(1 Sam. xxi. 9, xxxi. 10 ; 2 K. xi. 10), and
by triumphal songs and dances in which the
whole population took part (Ex. xv. 1-21 ;
Judg. v. ; 1 Sam. xviii. 6-8 ; 2 Sam. xxii. ;
Jud. xvi. 2-17 ; 1 Mace. iv. 24).
WASHING THE HANDS AND FEET.
As knives and forks were dispensed with in
eating, it was absolutely necessary that the
hand, which was thrust into the common
dish, should be scrupulously clean ; and again,
as sandals were ineffectual against the dust
and heat of an Eastern climate, washing the
feet on entering a house was an act both of
respect to the company and of refreshment
to the traveller. The former of these usages
wa* transformed by the Pharisees of the New
Testament age into a matter of ritual observ
ance (Mark vii. 3), and special rules were
laid down as to the times and manner of its
performance. Washing the feet did not rise
to the dignity of a ritual observance, except
in connexion with the services of the sanc
tuary (Ex. xxx. 19, 21). It held a high
place, however, among the rites of hospitality.
Immediately that a guest presented himself
at the tent-door, it was usual to offer the
necessary materials for washing the feet (Gen.
xviii. 4, xix. 2, xxiv. 32, xUii. 24 ; Judg.
xix. 21). It was a yet more complimentary
act, betokening equally humility and affec
tion, if the host actually performed the office

for his guest (1 Sam. xxv. 41 ; Luke vii. 38,
44; John xiii. 5-14; 1 Tim. v. 10). Such
a token of hospitality is still occasionally ex
hibited in the East.
WATCHES OF NIGHT. The Jews, like
the Greeks and Romans, divided the night
into military watches instead of hours, each
watch representing the period for which sen
tinels or pickets remained ou duty. The
proper Jewish reckoning recognised only
three such watches, entitled the first or
"beginning of the watches" (Lam. ii. 19),
the middle watch (Judg. vii. 19), and the
morning watch (Ex. xiv. 24 ; 1 Sam.xi. 11).
These would last respectively from sunset to
10 p.m. ; from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. ; and from
2 a.m. to sunrise. Subsequently to the esta
blishment of the Roman supremacy, the num
ber of watches was increased to four, whieh
were described either according to their nu
merical order, as in the case of the "fourth
watch" (Matt, xiv, 25), or by the terms
" even, midnight, cock-crowing, and morn
ing " (Mark xiii. 35). These terminated
respectively at 9 p.m., midnight, 3 a.m., and
6 a.m. WATER OF JEALOUSY. (Num. v. 11-
31). The ritual prescribed consisted in the
husband's bringing the woman before the
priest, and the essential part of it is unques
tionably the oath, to which the " water "
was subsidiary, symbolical, and ministerial.
With her be was to bring the tenth part of
an ephah of barley-meal as an offering. In
the first instance, the priest " set her before
the Lord," with the offering in her hand.
As she stood holding the offering, so the
priest stood holding an earthen vessel of
holy water mixed with the dust from the
floor of the sanctuary, and declaring her free
from all evil consequences if innocent, so
lemnly devoted her in the name of Jehovah
to be " a curse and an oath among her
people " if guilty, further describing the
exact consequences ascribed to the opera
tion of the water in the " members " which
she had "yielded as servants to unclean*
ness" (vers. 21, 22, 27; comp. Rom. vi.
19). He then "wrote these curses in a
book, and blotted them out with the bitter
water," and having thrown the handful of
meal on the altar, " caused the woman to
drink" the potion thus drugged, she more
over answering to the words of his impreca
tion, " Amen, Amen." Josephus adds, if the
suspicion was unfounded, she obtained' con
ception, if true, she died infamously.
WAVE-OFFERING. This rite, together
with that of " heaving " or " raising " the of
fering, was an inseparable accompaniment of
peace-offerings. In such the right shoulder,

WEAPONS

593

WEEKS, FEAST OF

considered the choicest part of the victim,
was to be " heaved,", and viewed as holy to
the Lord, only eaten therefore by the priest ;
the breast was to be " waved," and eaten by
the worshipper. On the second day of the
Passover a sheaf of corn, in the green ear,
was to be waved, accompanied by the sacri
fice of an unblemished lamb of the first year,
from the performance of which ceremony the
days till Pentecost were to he counted. When
that feast arrived, two loaves, the first-fruits
of the ripe corn, were to be offered with a
burnt-offering, a sin-offering, and two lambs
of the first year for a peace-offering. These
likewise were to be waved. Tbe Scriptural
notices of these rites are to he found in Ex.
xxix. 24, 28 ; Lev. vii. 30, 34, viii. 27, ix.
21, x. 14, 15, xxiii. 10, 15, 20 ; Num. vi. 20,
xyiii. 11, 18, 26-29, &c. In conjecturing the
meaning of this rite, regard must be had, in
the first instance, to the kind of sacrifice to
which it belonged. It was the accompani
ment of peace-offerings. These not only, like
the other sacrifices, acknowledged God's great
ness and His right over the creature, but they
witnessed to a ratified covenant, an established
communion between God and man.
WEAPONS. [Arms.]
WEASEL (chdled) occurs only in Lev. xi.
29, in the list of unclean animals ; but the
Hebrew word ought more probably to be
translated " mole." Moles are common in
Palestine. WEAVING. The art of weaving appears
to be coeval with the first dawning of civiliza
tion. We find it practised with great skill by
the Egyptians at a very early period. The
" vestures of fine linen " such as Joseph wore
(Gen. xli. 42) were the product of Egyptian
looms. The Israelites were probably ac
quainted with the process before their sojourn
, in Egypt ; but it was undoubtedly there that
they attained the proficiency which enabled
them to execute the hangings of the Taber
nacle (Ex. xxxv. 35 ; 1 Chr. iv. 21), and
other artistic textures. At a later period the
Egyptians were still famed for their manu
factures of "fine" (i.e. hackled) flax and of
ehdri, rendered in the A. V. " networks," but
more probably a white material either of linen
or cotton (Is. xix. 9 ; Ez. xxvii. 7). The
character of the loom and the process of weav
ing can only be inferred from incidental
notices. The Egyptian loom was usually up
right, and the weaver stood at his work.
The cloth was fixed sometimes at the top,
sometimes at the bottom. The modern Arabs
use a procumbent loom, raised above the
ground by short legs. The Bible does not
notice the loom itself, but speaks of the beam
to which the warp was attached (1 Sam. xvii.
Sm. d. b.

7 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 19) ; and of the pin to which
the cloth was fixed, and on which it was
rolled (Judg. xvi. 14). We have also notice
of the shuttle, which is described by a term
significant of the act of weaving (Job vii. 6) ;
the thrum or threads which attached the web
to the beam (Is. xxxviii, 12, margin) ; and
the web itself (Judg. xvi. 14 ; A. V.
"beam"). Whether the two terms in Lev.
xiii. 48, rendered " warp" and " woof,"
really mean these, admits of doubt. The
textures produced by the Jewish weavers were
very various. The coarser kinds, such as
tent-cloth, sack-cloth, and the " hairy gar
ments " of the poor were made of goat's or
camel's hair (Ex. xxvi. 7 ; Matt. iii. 4). Wool
was extensively used for ordinary clothing
(Lev. xiii. 47 ; Prov. xxvii. 26, xxxi. 13 ; Ez.
xxvii. 18), while for finer work flax was
used, varying in quality, and producing the
different textures described in the Bible as
" linen " and " fine linen." The mixture of
wool and flax in cloth intended for a garment
was interdicted (Lev. xix. 19 ; Deut. xxii.
ID- WED DIN G. [Marriage . ]
WEEK. There can be no doubt about the
great antiquity of measuring time by a period
of seven days (Gen. viii. 10, xxix. 27). The
origin of this division of time is a matter
which has given birth to much speculation.
Its antiquity is so great, * its observance so
wide-spread, and it occupies so important a
place in sacred things that it must probably be
thrown hack as far as the creation of man.
The week and the Sabbath are thus as old as
man himself. In Exodus the week comes
into very distinct manifestation. Two of the
great feasts — the Passover and the Feast of
Tabernacles — are prolonged for seven days
after that of their initiation (Exod. xii. 15-20,
&c). The division by seven was expanded
so as to make the seventh month and the
seventh year Sabbatical. In the N. T. wo of
course find such clear recognition of and
familiarity with the week as needs scarcely be
dwelt on. The Christian Church, from the
very first, was familiar with the week. St.
Paul's language (1 Cor. xvi. 2) shows this.
We cannot conclude from it that such a divi
sion of time was observed by the inhabitants
of Corinth generally ; for they to whom he
was writing, though doubtless the majority
of them were Gentiles, yet knew the Lord's
Day, and most probably the Jewish Sabbath.
But though we can infer no more than this
from the place in question, it is clear that if
not by this time, yet very soon after, the
whole Roman world had adopted the hebdo
madal division.
WEEKS, FEAST OF. [Pentecost.] 2 a

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

594

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

WEIGHTS and MEASURES. A. Weights.
— The chief Unit was the Shekel (i. e. weight),
called also the Holy Shekel or Shekel of the
Sanctuary; subdivided into the Beka (i.e.
half) or half-shekel, and the Gerah (i. e. a
grain or bean). The chief multiple, or higher
unit, was the Kikkar (i. e. circle or globe,
probably for an aggregate sum), translated in
our Version, after the LXX., Talent ; sub

divided into the Maneh (i. e. part, portiont or
number), a word used in Babylonian and in
the Greek pva. or Mina. 1. The relations
of these weights, as usually employed for tlie
standard of weighing silver, and their absolute
values, determined from the extant silver
coins, and confirmed from other sources,
were, as follows, in grains exactly, and in
Avoirdupois weight approximately : —

Silver Weights.

Grains.

Lbs.

Oz.

Correction.

Gerah 10

11
no220
1 j, 200
660,000

2
100

1X k

+ -o6gr. nearly.
+ -6gr.
4-1-75 gr.
- 2 oz. nearly.
- 6 lb. nearly.

20

I20O
(Kikkar)
63,000
6000 i 3000 50 j Talent
2. For Gold a different Shekel was used,
probably of foreign introduction. Its value
has been calculated at from 129 to 132
grains. The former value assimilates it to
the Persian Daric of the Babylonian standard.
The Talent of this system was just double
that of the silver standard ; it was divided
into 100 manehs ; and each maneh into 100
shekels, as follows :—
Gold Wrights.
Grains.
Lbs.
Oz. 1 Correction.
100 Maneh . .
U2
1 j. 200
1,320,000
2
200
•3
+ '75 gr.
— 2 oz. nearly.
- 12 lb. nearly.
10,000 | 100 j Talent (Kikkar)
3. There appears to have been a third stand
ard for Copper, namely : — a shekel four times
as heavy as the Gold Shekel (or 528 grains),
1500 of which made up the Copper Talent of
792,000 grains. It seems to have been sub
divided, in the coinage, into Halves (of 264
grains), Quarters (of 132 grains), and Sixths
(of 88 grains).
B. Measures. I. Measures op Length.
— In the Hebrew, as in every other system,
these measures are of two classes ; length, in
the ordinary sense, for objects whose size we
wish to determine, and distance, or itinerary
measures ; and the two are connected by
some definite relation, more or less simple,
between their units. 1. The measures of the
former class have been universally derived,
in the first instance, from the parts of the
human body ; but it is remarkable that, in
the Hebrew system, the only part used for
this purpose is the hand and fore-arm, to tbe
exclusion of the foot, which was the chief
unit of the Western nations. Hence arises
the difficulty of determining the ratio of the
foot to the Cubit,* which appears as the chief
oriental unit from the very building of Noah's
ark (Gen. vi. 15, 16, vii. 20). The Hebrew _
lesser measures were the finger's breadth (Jer.
Iii. 21, only) ; the palm or handbreadth (Ex.
xxv. 25 ; 1 K. vii. 26 ; 2 Chr. iv. 5, used
metaphorically in Ps. xxxix. 5) ; the span,
i.e. the full stretch between the tips of the
thumb and the little finger (Ex. xxviii. 16;
1 Sam. xvii. 4 ; Ez. xliii. 13, and figuratively
Is. xl. 12). The data for determining the
actual length of the Mosaic cubit involve
peculiar difficulties ; and absolute certainty
seems unattainable. The following, however,
seem the most probable conclusions : — first,
that three cubits were used in the times of
the Hebrew monarchy; namely: — (1) The
cubit of a man (Deut. iii. 11), or the common
cubit of Canaan (in contradistinction to the
* The Hebrew word for the cubit {ummnh) appears to
have been of Egyptian origin, ns some of the measures
of capacity (the Am and tpha/t) were certainly.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

595

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Mosaic cubit) of the Chaldaean standard : (2)
The old Mosaic or legal cubit, a handbreadth
larger than the first, and agreeing with the
smaller Egyptian cubit: (3) The new cubit,
which was still larger, and agreed with the
larger Egyptian cubit, of about 20-6 inches,
used in the Nilometer :— And, secondly, that

the ordinary cubit of the Bible did not come I tainty :-

up to the full length of the cubit of other
countries. The reed (kdneh) for measuring
buildings (like the Roman decempeda) was
equal to 6 cubits. It only occurs in Ezekiel
(xl. 5-8, xli. 8, xiii. 16-19). The values
given in the following table are to be accepted
with reservation, for want of greater cer-

Inches.
Approximate
Feet.
Inches.

¦79J8
3-11515-5251
19-0515
114*3090
l
9
•8 or H
J A
9* 7
6
4 | Palm
12 | i
Span
24 | 6
2
Cdbit
....
'44 1 i°
12 ] 6
Reed . . .
2. Of Measures of Distance the smallest is
the pace, and the largest the day's journey.
(a) The Pace (2 Sam. vi. 13), whether it be
single, like our pace, or double, like the Latin
pass us, is defined by nature within certain
limits, its usual length being about 30 inches
for the former, and 5 feet for the latter.
There is some reason to suppose that even
before the Roman measurement of the roads
of Palestine, the Jews had a Mile of 1000
paces, alluded to in Matt. v. 41. It is said
to have been single or double, according to
the length of the pace ; and hence the pecu
liar force of our Lord's saying : " Whosoever
¦ shall press thee as a courier for one mile, go
with him twain :" — put the most liberal con
struction on the demand, (b) The Day's
Journey was the most usual method of cal
culating distances in travelling (Gen. xxx.
36, xxxi. 23 ; Ex. iii. IS, v. 3 ; Num. x. 33,
xi. 31, xxxiii. 8 ; Deut. i. 2 ; 1 K. xix. 4 ;
2 K. iii. 9 ; Jon. iii. 3 ; 1 Mace. v. 24, 28,
vii. 45 ; Tob. vi. 1), though but one instance
of it occurs in the New Testament (Luke ii.
¦44). The ordinary day's journey among the
Jews was 30 miles ; but when they travelled
in companies only 10 miles : Neapolis formed
the first stage out of Jerusalem, according to
the former, and Beeroth according to the
latter computation. (c) The Sabbath-day's
Journey of 2000 cubits (Acts i. 12) is peculiar
to the N. T., and arose from a Rabbinical
-restriction. It was founded on a universal
application of tbe prohibition given by Moses
;ior a special occasion : — " Let no man go
out of his place on the seventh day" (Ex.
xvi. 29). An exception was allowed for the
purpose of worshipping at the Tabernacle ;
and, as 2000 cubits was the prescribed space
to be kept between the Ark and the people,
as well as the extent of the suburbs of the
levitical cities on every side (Num. xxxv. 5),
this was taken for the length of a Sabbath-
day's journey, measured from the wall of the
city in which the traveller lived. Computed
from the value given above for the cubit, the
Sabbath-day's journey would be just six-tenths
of a mile, (d) After the Captivity, the rela
tions of the Jews to the Persians, Greeks,
and Romans, caused the use, probably of the
Parasang, and certainly of the Stadium and
the Mile. Though the first is not mentioned
in the Bible, it is well to exhibit the ratios of
the three. The universal Greek standard,
the stadium of 600 Greek feet, which was the
length of the race-course at Olympia, occurs
first in the Maccabees, and is common in the
N. T. Our version renders it furlong ; il
being, in fact, tho 8th part of the Roman
mile, as the furlong is of ours (2 Mace. xi. 5,
xii. 9, 17, 29 ; Luke xxiv. 13 ; John vi. 19,
xi. 18; Rev. xiv. 20, xxi. 16). One mea
sure remains to be mentioned. The fathom,
used in sounding by the Alexandrian mari
ners in St. Paul's voyage, is the Greek
bpyvia, i. e. the full stretch of the two arms
from tip to tip of the middle finger, which
is about equal to the height, and in a
man of full stature is six feet. For the sake
of completeness, the values of the Greek and
Roman foot are shown in the following
table ; —
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

596

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Miles.

Feet.

Inches.

Roman

¦9193
}.} nearly

14
6
606
=4854 •¦

11 '6496
01 35
10-248 0-8l9 W

• A

5

4I Roman Pace (pawus), ....

H

6 1^ Greek Fathom (bpyvia) . .

625
5,020

600 : 125 ! 100 Furlong (.a-raStov) .
4,800 1,000 | 8001 8 Human Mile . . .

18,750

18,000 j,7jO ij.cooi 30 | jj 1 Persian Parasang

For estimating Area, and especially Land,
there is no evidence that the Jews used any
special system of Square Measures, but they
were content to express the length and breadth
of the surface to be measured, by the cubit
(Num. xxxv. 4, 5 ; Ez. xl. 27) or by the
reed (Ez. xiii. 20, xliii. 17, xiv. 2, xlviii. 20;
Rev. x\i. 16).
II. Mj-vsvnis of Capacity.— 1. The mea
sures of capacity for Liquids were : — (a) The
log (Lev. xiv. 10, &c), the name originally
signifying a "basin." (b) The hin, a name
of Egyptian origin, frequently noticed in the
Bible (Ex. xxix. 40, xxx. 24; Num. xv. 4,
7, 9; Ez. iv. 11, A-c). (c) The bath, the
name meaning " measured," the largest of
the liquid measures (I K. vii. 20, 38 ; 2
Chr. ii. 10; Ezr. vii. 22; Is. v. 10). The
relative values of these measures stand
thus : —

Log.

Hin.

Batn.

12

72

6

2 The Dry measure contained the following
denominations : — (a) The cab, mentioned
only in 2 K. vi. 25, the name meaning liter
ally hollow or concave, (b) The omer, men
tioned only in Ex. xvi. 16-36. The word
implies a heap, and secondarily, a sheaf, (c)
The s'edh, or "measure," this being the ety
mological meaning of the term, and appro
priately applied to it, inasmuch as it was the
ordinary measure for household purposes
(Gen. xviii. 6 ; 1 Sam. xxv. 18 ; 2 K. vii. I,
16). The Greek equivalent occurs in Matt.
xiii. 33; Luke xiii. 21. (d) The ephah, a
word of Egyptian origin, and of frequent re
currence in the Bible (Ex. xvi. 36 ; Lev. v.
LI, vi. 20; Num. v. 15, xxviii. 5; Judg. vi.

19 ; Ruth ii. 17 ; 1 Sam. i. 24, xvii. 17 ; Ez.
xiv. 11, 13, 14, xlvi. 5, 7, ll, 14). (e) The
letlwc, or " half-homer," literally meaning
what is poured out : it occurs only in Hos.
iii. 2. (/) The homer, meaning heap (Lev.
xxvii. 16; Num. xi. 32 ; Is. v. 10 ; Ez. xiv.
13). It is elsewhere termed cor, from the
circular vessel in whieh it was measured
(1 K. iv. 22, v. 11 ; 2 Chr. ii. 10, xxvii. 5 ;
Ez. vii. 22; Ez. xiv. 14). The Greek equi
valent occurs in Luke xvi. 7. The following
scale gives the relative values of these mea
sures : —

Cab. i|

Omer.

Seah.

Ephah.

6

sj

13

,0

3

180

100

30

10 Homer.

The absolute values of the liquid and dry
measures are stated differently by Josephus
and the Rabbinists, and as we are unable to
decide between them, we give a double esti
mate of the various denominations.
(Josephus.) {Rabbinists.)
Gallons. Gallons. Bushels.
Homer or Cor 86*696 or 44-286 lo^ors.j
Ephah or Bath 8 '6696 or 4-4286
Seah . 2-8898 or 1-4762
Hin . . 1 "4449 or
Omer -866901-
Cab . , -4816 or
¦Log ¦ 1 204 or

"7J8i '4428
•246
*c6i5

In the N. T. we have notices of the following
foreign measures: — (a) The metretcs (Johnii.
6; A. v. "firkin") for liquids. (b) The
ehoenix (Rev. vi. 6 ; A. V. "measure"), for
dry goods, (c) The xesiec, applied, however.

597

WHALE

not to the peculiar measure so named by the
Greeks, but to any small vessel, such as a
cup (Mark vii. 4, 8 ; A. V. " pot "). (d) The
modiics, similarly applied to describe any ves
sel of moderate dimensions (Matt. v. 15 ;
Markiv. 21 ; Luke xi. 33 ; A.V. "bushel ") ;
though properly meaning a Roman measure,
amounting to about a peck. The value of
the Attic metrites was 8*6696 gallons, and
consequently the amount of liquid in six
¦stone jars, containing on the average 2\
metretae each, would exceed HO gallons
(John ii. 6). Very possibly, however, the
Greek term represents the Hebrew bath, and,
if the bath he taken at the lowest estimate
assigned to it, the amount would be reduced
to about 60 gallons. The choenix was l-48th
of an Attic medimnus, and contained nearly a
quart. It represented the amount of corn
for a day's food ; and hence a choenix for a
penny (ot denarius), which usually purchased
a bushel (Cic. Verr. iii. 81), indicated a great
scarcity (Rev. vi. 6).
WELL. The special necessity of a supply
of water (Judg. i. 15) in a hot climate has
always involved among Eastern nations ques
tions of property of the highest importance,
and sometimes given i*ise to serious con
tention. Thus the well Beersheba was opened,
and its possession attested with special for
mality by Abraham (Gen. xxi. 30, 31). To
acquire wells which they had not themselves
dug, was one of the marks of favour foretold
to the Hebrews on their entrance into Canaan
(Deut. vi. 11). To possess one is noticed as
a mark of independence (Prov. v. 15), and to

incient Egyptian machine for raising water, identical
with the shadoof oi the present da,y. (.Wilkinson.)

abstain from the use of wells belonging to
others, a disclaimer of interference with their
property (Num. xx. 17, 19, xxi. 22). Similar
rights of possession, actual and hereditary,
exist among the Arabs of the present day.
It is thus easy to understand how wells have
become in many cases links in the history
and landmarks in the topography both of
Palestine and of the Arabian Peninsula.
Wells in Palestine are usually excavated from
the solid limestone rock, sometimes with
steps to descend into them (Gen. xxiv. 16).
The brims are furnished with a curb or low
wall of stone, hearing marks of high an
tiquity in the furrows worn by the ropes
used in drawing water. It was on a curb
of this sort that our Lord sat when He con
versed with the woman of Samaria (John
iv. 6), and it was this, the usual stone cover,
which the woman placed on the mouth of the
well at Bahurim (2 Sam. xvii. 19), where
the A. V. weakens the sense by omitting tho
article. The usual methods for raising water
are the following : — 1. The rope and bucket,
or water-skin (Gen. xxiv. 14-20 ; John iv.
11). 2. The sakiyeh, or Persian wheel.
This consists of a vertical wheel furnished
with a set of buckets or earthern jars, at
tached to a cord passing over the wheel,
v^hich descend empty and return full as the
wheel revolves. 3. A modification of the last
method, by which a man, sitting opposite to
a wheel furnished with buckets, turns it by
drawing with his hands one set of spokes pro
longed beyond its circumference, and pushing
another set from him with his feet. 4. A
method very common, both in ancient and
modern Egypt, is the shadoof, a simple con
trivance consisting of a lever moving on a
pivot, which is loaded at one end with a
lump of clay or some other weight, and- has
at the other a bowl or bucket. — Wells are
usually furnished with troughs of wood or
stone, into which the water is emptied for the
use of persons or animals coming to the wells.
Unless machinery is used, which is commonly
worked by men, women are usually the water-
carriers. WHALE. As to the signification of the
Hebrew terms tan and tannin, variously ren
dered in the A. V. by " dragon," " whale,"
"serpent," " sea-monster," see Dragon. It
remains for us in this article to consider the
transaction recorded in tlie Book of Jonah, of
that prophet having been swallowed up by
some "great fish" which in Matt. xii. 40 is
called cetos (kt)tos), rendered in our version
by "whale." In the first place, it is neces
sary to observe that the Greek word cetos,
used by St. Matthew, is not restricted in its
meaning to " a whale," or any Cetacean; like

WHEAT

598 WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING

the Latin cete or cetus, it may denote any
sea-monster, either " a whale," or " a shark,"
or "a seal," or "a tunny of enormous size."
Although two or three species of whale are
found in the Mediterranean Sen, yet the " great
fish " that swallowed the prophet cannot pro
perly be identified with any Cetacean, for,
although the Sperm whale has a gullet suffi
ciently large to admit the body of a man, yet
it can hardly be the fish intended ; as the
natural food of Cetaceans consists of small
animals, such as medusae and Crustacea. The
only fish, then, capable of swallowing a man
would be a large specimen of the White
Shark (Carcharias vulgaris), that dreaded
enemy of sailors, and the most voracious of
the family of Squalidae. This shark, which
sometimes attains the length of thirty feet, is
quite able to swallow a man whole. The
whole body of a man in armour has been
found in the stomach of a white shark ; and
Captain King, in his Survey of Australia,
says he had caught one which could have
swallowed a man with the greatest ease.
Blumenbach mentions that a whole horse has
been found in a shark, and Captain Basil
Hall reports the taking of one in which, be
sides other things, he found the whole skin of
a buffalo which a short time before had been
thrown overboard from his ship (i. p. 27).
The white shark is not uncommon in the
Mediterranean. WHEAT, the well-known valuable cereal,
cultivated from the earliest times, is first
mentioned in Gen. xxx. 14, in the account of
Jacob's sojourn with Laban in Mesopotamia.
Egypt in ancient times was celebrated for the
growth of its wheat ; the best quality was all
bearded ; and the same varieties existed in
ancient as in modern times, among which
may be mentioned the seven-eared quality
described in Pharaoh's dream (Gen. xli. 22).
Babylonia was also noted for the excellence
of its wheat and other cereals. Syria and
Palestine produced wheat of fine quality and
in large quantities (Ps. cxlvii. 14, lxxxi. 16,
&c). There appear to be two or three kinds
of wheat at present grown in Palestine, the
Triticum vulgare, the T. spelta, and another
variety of bearded wheat which appears to be
the same as the Egyptian kind, the T. com-
positum. In the parable of the sower our
Lord alludes to grains of wheat which in
good ground produce a hundred fold (Matt.
xiii. 8). The common Triticum vulgare will
sometimes produce one hundred grains in the
ear. Wheat is reaped towards the end of
April, in May, and in June, according to the
differences of soil and position ; it was sown
either broadcast, and then ploughed in or
trampled in by cattle (Is. xxxii. 20), or in

rows, if we rightly understand Is. xxviii. 25,
which seems to imply that the seeds were
planted apart in order to insure larger and
fuller ears. The wheat was put into the
ground in the winter, and some time after
the barley ; in the Egyptian plague of hail,
consequently, the barley suffered, hut tho
wheat had not appeared, and so escaped
injury. WIDOW. Under the Mosaic dispensation
no legal provision was made for the main
tenance of widows. They were left dependent
partly on the affection of relations, more espe
cially of the eldest son, whose birthright, or
extra share of the property, imposed such a
duty upon him, and partly on the privileges
accorded to other distressed classes, such as a
participation in the triennial third tithe
(Deut. xiv, 29, xxvi. 12), in leasing (Deut.
xxiv. 19-21), and in religious feasts (Deut.
xvi. 11, 14). With regard to the remarriage
of widows, the only restriction imposed by
the Mosaic law had reference to the con
tingency of one being left childless, in which
case the brother of the deceased husband had
a right to marry the widow (Deut. xxv. 5, 6 ;
Matt. xxii. 23-30). In the Apostolic Church
the widows were sustained at the public ex
pense, the relief being daily administered in
kind, under the superintendence of officers
appointed for this special purpose (Acts vi.
1-6). Particular directions are given by
St. Paul as to the class of persons entitled to
such public maintenance (1 Tim. v, 3-16).
Out of the body of such widows a certain
number were to be enrolled, the qualifications
for such enrolment being that they were not
under sixty years of age ; that they had been
" the wife of one man," probably meaning
but once married ; and that they had led
useful and charitable lives (vers. 9, 10).
WIFE. [Marriage.]
WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING.
With all the material for fixing the localities
of the Exodus, the evidence for many of them
is so slight that the whole question is in
volved in much obscurity. The uncertainties
commence from the very starting-point of the
route of the Wandering. It is impossible to
fix the point at which in " the wilderness of
Etham" (Num. xxxiii. 6, 7) Israel, now a
nation of freemen, emerged from that sea
into which they had passed as a nation of
slaves. The fact that from " Etham in the
edge of the wilderness," their path struck
across the sea (Ex. xiii. 20), and from the
sea into the same wilderness of Etham, seems
to indicate the upper end of the furthest
tongue of the Gulf of Suez as the point of cross
ing. There seems reason al«o to think that
this gulf had then, as also at Ezion-Geber, a

Zimdmt JohnMmrav. M

WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING 599 WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING

further extension northward than at present,
owing to the land having upheaved its level.
[Red Sea, Passage op.] Their route now lay
southwards down the east side of the Gulf of
Suez, and at first along the shore. The
station of Ayun Mousa (the Wells of Moses),
with its tamarisks and seventeen wells, may
have served for their gathering after the
passage. They marched for three days
through the wilderness of Shur or Etham, on
the south-west margin of the great desert of
Paran (et-Tih), where they found no water
(Ex. xv. 22 ; Num. xxxiii. 8). It is a part
of the belt of gravel which surrounds the
mountains of the Peninsula, and is crossed
by several Wadys, whose sides are fringed
'with tamarisks, acacias, and a few palm-trees.
Near one of these, the Wady-el 'Amarah, is
a spring called Ain Awdrah, not only in the
position of Marah, but with the bitter taste
which gave it the name. The people, tor
mented with thirst, murmured against Moses,
¦who, at the command of God, cast a certain
tree into the waters which made them sweet
[Ex. xv. 26). They must have been cheered
at reaching the oasis of Elisi, whose twelve
wells and threescore palm-trees mark it as
one of the wadys that break the desert ; either
the Wady Ghurundel or the- Wady Useit.
After passing the Wady Taiyibeh, the route
descends through a defile on to a beautiful
pebbly beach, where Dean Stanley places the
Encampment et the Red Sea, which is men
tioned in Numbers (Num. xxxiii. 10) next to
Elim, but is omitted in Exodus. Here the
Israelites had their last view of the Red Sea
and the shores of Egypt. Striking inland
from this point, they entered the Wilderness
of Sin (probably the plain of Murkhah),
which leads up from the shore to the entrance
to the mountains of Sinai (Ex. xvi. 1). Here
occurred their second great trial since leaving
Egypt. Their unleavened bread was ex
hausted ; and they began to murmur that
they had better have died by the flesh-pots of
Egypt than have been led out to he killed
with hunger in the wilderness. But God was
teaching them to look to him for their " daily
bread," which He now rained down from
heaven in the form of manna, and continued
the supply till they reached Canaan (Ex. xvi.
4, 35). [Manna.] From this valley others
lead up, by a series of steep ascents, into the
recesses of Sinai; resembling the beds of
rivers, but without water, and separated by
defiles which sometimes become staircases of
rock. Such were no doubt the stations of
Dophkah and Alush (Num. xxxiii. 12, 13),
and such are the Wadys Shellal and Mukatteb.
From the latter the route passes into the
long and winding Wady Feiran, with its

groves of tamarisks and palms, overhung by
the granite rocks of Mount Serbal, perhaps
the Horeb of Scripture. This valley answers
in every respect to Rephidim (the resting-
places), the very name of which implies a
long halt (Ex. xvii. 1). Here the cry for
water burst forth into an angry rebellion
against Moses ; and God vouchsafed a miracle
for a permanent supply during their abode in
the wilderness of Sinai. Moses was com
manded to go before the people, with the
elders of Israel, and to smite the rock in
Horeb, and water flowed forth out of it.
The place was called Massah (temptation),
and Meribah (chiding or strife), in memory
of the rebellion by which the people tempted
Jehovah and doubted His presence among
them (Ex. xvii. 2-7 ) . The spring thus
opened seems to have formed a brook, which
the Israelites used during their whole sojourn
near Sinai (Deut. ix. 21 ; comp. Ps. lxxviii.
15, 16, cv. 41). Hence the rock is said to
have "followed them" by St. Paul, who
makes it a type of Christ, the source of the
spiritual water of life (1 Cor. x. 4; comp.
John iv. 14, vii. 35 ; Isa. Iv. I ; Ez. xlvii. 1 ;
Zech. xiv. 8 ; Rev. xxii. 1, 17 : the waters
flowing out of the temple, which also stood
on a bare rock, complete the type, linking
together Sinai, Sion, and the spiritual sense
of both). The next stage brought the
Israelites to the Wilderness of Sinai, on the
first day of the third month (Sivan, June), and
here they encamped before the Mount (Ex.
xix. 1, 2). The site of their camp has been
identified, to a high degree of probability, with
the Wady er-Rahah (the enclosed plain) in
front of the magnificent cliffs of Ras Sufsdfeh.
On the identification of Sinai itself see Sinai.
The sojourn of the Israelites for a year in
the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai was an
eventful one. The statements of the Scrip
tural narrative which relate to the receiving
of the two Tables, the Golden Calf, Moses'
vision of God, and the visit of Jethro, are too
well known to need special mention here.
They now quitted the Sinaitic region for that
of Paran, in which they went three days
without finding a permanent encampment
(Num. i. ix. 15-23, x. 13, 33, xi. 35, xii.
16). In following the route of the Israelites
from Sinai, we must try to determine two or
three chief positions. The general direction
is northwards from Sinai " to the mount of
the Amorites," the highlands of southern
Palestine. The two extremes are the camp
before Sinai on the south, and the " city " of
Kadesh, or Kadesh-Barnea, on the north
(Num. xiii. 26, xx. 6, xxxii. 8). The dis
tance between these points was eleven days'
journey (about 165 miles), "by the way of

WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING 600 WILDERNESS OF THE WANDERING

Mount Seir" (Deut. i. 2). This is evidently
mentioned as the ordinary route, and it seems
to be implied (though this must not be as
sumed as certain) that it was followed by the
Israelites. Between " the mount of the Amo
rites" and the group of Sinai, lies the great
table-land now called the desert of Et-Tih
(the wandering). There can be no doubt of
its general correspondence to the wilderness
of Paran, in which they went three days
without finding a permanent encampment
(Num. x. 12, 33). It took them some time
to get clear of the wadys about Sinai ; and
although Paran is mentioned from the first
as the region into which they passed, the
three important stations of Taberau, Kid-
rot h-Hatt a avah, and IIazeroth (Num. xi.
3, 34, 35, xxxiii. 17) can hardly be reckoned
to Paran, as they are said to have encamped in
the wilderness of Paran after leaving Hazeroth
(Num. xii. 16). Unfortunately these three
names furnish little, if any, clue to the route
they took from Sinai. Taberah (a burning)
records the awful judgment that befel the
people, who now began again to murmur
against Jehovah (Num. xi. 23). The name
of the next station, Kieroth-Hattaavah
(the graves of lust), is of similar origin.
They loathed the manna, and asked for flesh.
God sent them quails, on which they sur
feited themselves for a whole month; and
while the flesh was yet between their teeth,
they were smitten with a great plague, which
gave the place its name. For the next halt
ing-place, Hazeroth (the enclosures), a site
has been found at the Wady Huderah, on
the main route from Sinai to the shores of
the Gulf of Akabah (Num. xi. 35). At Haze
roth Moses was troubled by a seditious oppo
sition from Miriam and Aaron. Miriam was
smitten with leprosy ; and, though she was
¦ healed at the prayer of Moses, Aaron, as the
high priest, was obliged to shut her out from
the camp for seven days; after which "the
people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched
in the wilderness of Paran." Here is the
Gordian knot of the topography. We are not
told at what point they passed into the wil
derness of Paran, nor how many stages they
made in it. We find them next at Kadesh,
whence the spies were sent out (Num. xiii.
26 ; Deut. i. 19) ; but to determine the posi
tion of Kadesh itself is the great problem of
the whole route. We obtain no help from
the list of stations (Num. xxxiii.), in which
Kadesh is not mentioned, and the name of
Hazeroth is followed by several unknown
places, of which it is even uncertain whether
they belong to this journey, ot to the years
of wandering in the wilderness. The latter
heems the more probable alternative, since

the mention of Mount Hor (Num. xiii. 37-
41) clearly refers to the fortieth year, and at
least the eight preceding stations (Num. xiii.
31-37) are closely connected with it (comp,
Deut. x. 6, 7) ; while the halt at Kadesh
(Num. xiii. 37) must he understood of o
return to that place after the long wander
ings (comp. Num. xx. 1). The only escape
from these difficulties is by tho hypothesis
that Kadesh served as a sort of head-quarters
during the thirty-eight years of wandering.
The Israelites arrived at Kadesh forty days
before the vintage, or about the latter part of
August ; and they made there a longer halt
than at any other place, except before Sinai.
At Kadesh, Jehovah declared to the people
that they had reached the mountain of the
Amorites, into which they were to ascend, to
possess the land He had given them (Deut.
i. 20, 21). But first the country was explored
by twelve spies, who were heads of their re
spective tribes (Num. xiii. 1-16 ; Deut. i. 22,
23). The people, alarmed by the report
which the spies brought back of the strength
of the Canaanite cities, broke out into open
rebellion, and proposed to elect a captain and
to return to Egypt. God punished them by
declaring that they should not see the pro
mised land. The execution of the sentence
was to begin on the morrow, by their turn
ing into the wilderness by the way of the
Red Sea. There they were to wander for
forty years — a year for each day that the
spies had searched the land — till all the men
of twenty years old and upwards had left their
carcases in the desert ; and then at length
their children, having shared their wander
ings, should enter on their inheritance (Num.
xiv.) Now that it was too late, the people
changed their mind ; and, having lost the .
opportunity given them by God, they tried
to seize it against His will. In the morning
they 'marched up the mountain-pass (Es-
Sufa), in spite of the warning of Moses —
that it should not prosper ; and the Amale
kites and Canaanites, coming down upon
them with the Amorites of the mountain,
defeated them with great slaughter, and
chased them as far as Hormah, and even to
Mount Seir (Num. xiv. 40-45 ; Deut. i. 41-
44). The entrance to the promised land on
this side was now hopelessly barred ; and
their forlorn state is thus described by Moses
— " And ye returned and wept before Je
hovah ; but Jehovah would not hearken to
your voice nor give ear unto you" (Deut. i.
45, 46). The thirty-eight years (or rather
exactly thirty-seven years and a half) occu
pied in the execution of God's judgment
form almost a blank in the sacred history.
Their close may be fixed at the period of the

WILLOWS

601

WINDS

final march from Kadesh to Mount Hor,
and thence down through the Arabah, and
up the eastern side of Mount Seir, to the
plains of Moab (Num. xx. 1. xxxiii. 37 ;
.Deut. ii. 23). But the intervening por
tions of the narrative are most difficult
to assign to their proper place — whether
to the first or final stay at Kadesh, or to
the years between. The mystery which
hangs over this period seems like an awful
silence into which the rebels sink away.
After^the rout in Hormah, the people " abode
in Kadesh many days" (Deut. i. 46). This
phrase may possibly cover the whole period
of the wandering ; and Kadesh may very
well be taken for a general name of the wil
derness (See Ps. xxix. S). The direction in
.which the people started on their wanderings
.is defined, " by the way of the Red Sea " (Num.
xiv. 25 ; Deut. i. 40), which seems clearly to
mean down the Arabah to the head of the
Elanitic Gulf. Now it seems that the pas
sage in Deut. ii. 1, must, be referred to
this same " turning into the wilderness by
way of the Red Sea," and not to tbe final
march, the signal for which is recorded at
v. 3 ; and this is confirmed by the compu
tation of the thirty-eight years of wandering
from the time they left Kadesh-barnea (Num.
xiv. 14). If this be so, we have a clue to
the direction of the wandering in the words,
" and we compassed Mount Seir many days ; "
words which point to the Arabah. With this
agrees the notice of their last march back to
Kadesh, being from Ezion-gaber at the head
of the Gulf of Akabah (Num. xxxiii. 36).'
WILLOWS are mentioned in Lev. xxiii.
40 ; Job xl. 22 ; Is. xliv. 4 ; Ps. cxxxvii. 2.
With respect to the tree upon which the cap
tive Israelites hung their harps, there can be
no doubt that the weeping willow 'Salix
Babylonica) is intended. This tree grows
abundantly on the banks of the Euphrates,
in other parts of Asia as in Palestine. The
Hebrew word, translated willows, is generic,
and includes several species of the large
family of Saliees, which is well represented
in Palestine and the Bible lands, such as the
Salix alba, S. viminalis (osier), S. Aegyptiaca.
WILLOWS, THE BROOK OF THE, a
wady mentioned by Isaiah (xv. 7) in his
dirge over Moab. His language implies that
it was one of the boundaries of the country,
and is possibly identical with a wady men
tioned by Amos (vi. 14) as the then recog
nised southern limit of the northern kingdom.
This latter appears in the A.V., as " the river
-of the wilderness." Widely as they differ in
the A. "V., the names are all hut identical in
the original.
WILLS. Under a system of close inherit

ance like that of the Jews, the scope for be
quest in respect of land was limited by the
right of redemption and general re-entry in
the Jubilee year. But the law does not for
bid bequests by will of such limited interest
in land as was consistent with those rights.
The case of houses in walled towns was dif
ferent, and there can be no doubt that they
must, in fact, have frequently been bequeathed
by will (Lev. xxv. 30). Two instances are
recorded in the O. T. under the Law, of tes
tamentary disposition, (1) effected in the case
of Ahithophel (2 Sam. xvii. 23), (2) recom
mended in the ease of Hezekiah (2 K. xx. 1 ;
Is. xxxviii. 1).
WIMPLE, an old English word for hood
or veil, used in the A. V. of Is. iii. 22. The
same Hebrew word is translated " veil" in
Ruth iii. 15, but it signifies rather a kind of
shawl or mantle.
WINDOW. [House.]
WINDS. That the Hebrews recognised
the existence of four prevailing winds as
issuing, broadly speaking, from the four car
dinal points, north, south, east, and west,
may be inferred from their custom of using
the expression "four winds" as equivalent
to the ** four quarters " of the hemisphere
(Ez. xxxvii. 9 ; Dan. viii. 8 ; Zech. ii. 6 ;
Matt. xxiv. 31). The North wind, or, as it
was usually called " the north," was naturally
the coldest of the four (Ecclus. xliii. 20), and
its presence is hence invoked as favourable to
vegetation in Cant. iv. 16. It is described
in Prov. xxv. 23, as bringing rain; in this
case we must understand the north-west wind.
The north-west wind prevails from the au
tumnal equinox to the beginning of Novem
ber, and the north wind from June to the
equinox. The East wind crosses the sandy
wastes of Arabia Deserta before reaching
Palestine, and was hence termed " the wind
of the wilderness" (Job i. 19 ; Jer. xiii. 24).
It blows with violence, and is hence supposed
to be used generally for any violent wind
(Job xxvii. 21, xxxviii. 24 ; Ps. xlviii. 7 ;
Is. xxvii. 8 ; Ez. xxvii. 26). In Palestine
the east wind prevails from February to June.
The South wind, which traverses the Arabian
peninsula before reaching Palestine, must ne
cessarily be extremely hot (Job xxxvii. 17 ;
Luke xii. 55). The West and south-west
winds reach Palestine loaded with moisture
gathered from the Mediterranean, and are
hence expressively termed by the Arabs " the
fathers of the rain." Westerly winds prevail
in Palestine from November to February.
In addition to the four regular winds, we
have notice in the Bible of the local squalls
(Mark iv. 37 ; Luke viii. 23), to which the
Sea of Gennesareth was liable. In the nar-

WINE

602

WINE

rative of St. Paul's voyage we meet with the
Greek term Lips to describe the south-west
wind ; the Latin Cartts or Counts the north
west wind (Acts xxvii. 12) ; and Euroclydon,
a wind of a very violent character coming
from E.N.E. (Acts xxvii. 14).
WINE. The manufacture of wine is
carried back in the Bible to the age of Noah
(Gen. ix. 20, 21), to whom the discovery of
the process is apparently, though not expli
citly, attributed. The natural history and
culture of the vine is described under a sepa
rate head. [Vine.] The only other plant
whose fruit is noticed as having been con
verted into wine was the pomegranate (Cant.
viii. 2). In Palestine the vintage takes place
in September, and is celebrated with great
rejoicings. The ripe fruit was gathered in
baskets (Jer. vi. 9), as represented in Egyp
tian paintings, and was carried to the wine
press. It was then placed in the upper one
of the two vats or receptacles of which the
wine-press was formed, and was subjected to
the process of " treading," which has pre
vailed in all ages in Oriental and South-
European countries (Neh. xiii. 15; Job xxiv.
11; Is. xvi. 10; Jer. xxv. 30, xlviii. 33;
Am. ix. 13 ; Rev. xix. 15). A certain
amount of juice exuded from the ripe fruit
from its own pressure before the treading
commenced. This appears to have been
kept separate from the rest of the juice, and
to have formed the " sweet wine " noticed in
Acts ii. 13. (See below.) The "treading"
was effected by one or more men according to
the size of the vat. They encouraged one an
other by shouts (Is. xvi. 9, 10 ; Jer. xxv.
30, xlviii. 33). Their legs and garments
were dyed red with the juice (Gen. xlix. 1 1 ;

p>yy. v tmA\\\i\\\j illliRuiiMituuTW

Egyptian Wine-prG3S. (Wilkinson.)

Is. lxiii. 2, 3). The expressed juice escaped
by an aperture into the lower vat, or was at
once collected in vessels. A hand-press was
occasionally used in Egypt, hut we have no
notice of such an instrument in the Bible.
As to the subsequent treatment of the wine,
we have but little information. Sometimes
it was preserved in its unfermented state,
and drunk as must, but more generally it
was bottled off after fermentation, and, if it
were designed to be kept for some time, a
certain amount of lees was added to give it
body (Is. xxv. 6). The wine consequently
required to be "refined" or strained pre
viously to being brought to table (Is. xxv,
6). To wine is attributed the " darkly flash
ing eye" (Gen. xlix. 12; A.V, " red "), the
unbridled tongue (Prov. xx. 1 ; Is. xxviii.
7), the excitement of the spirit (Prov. xxxi.
¦ 6; Is. v. 11; Zech. ix. 15, x. 7), the en
chained affections of its votaries (Hos. iv,
11), the perverted judgment (Prov. xxxi. 5 ;
Is. xxviii. 7), the indecent exposure (Hab. ii.
15, 10), and the sickness resulting from the
heat (chemdh A. V. " bottles ") of wine (Hos.
vii. 5). It has been disputed whether the
Hebrew wine was fermented ; but the im
pression produced on the mind by a general
review of the above notices is, that the Hebrew
words indicating wine refer to fermented,
intoxicating wine. The notices of fermenta
tion are not very decisive. A certain amount
of fermentation is implied in the distension
of the leather bottles when new wine was
placed in them, and which was liable to burst
old bottles. It is very likely that new wine
was preserved in the state of must by placing
it in jars or bottles, and then burying it in
the earth. The mingling that we read of in
conjunction with wine may have been designed
either to increase, or to diminish tbe strength
of the wine according as spices or water
formed the ingredient that was added. The
notices chiefly favour the former view; for
mingled liquor was prepared for high fes
tivals (Prov. ix. 2, 5), and occasions of excess
(Prov. xxiii. 30; Is. v. 22). At the same
time strength was not the sole object sought:
the wine " mingled with myrrh " given to
Jesus, was designed to deaden pain (Mark
xv. 23), and the spiced pomegranate wine
prepared by the bride (Cant. viii. 2) may
well have been of a mild character. In the
New Testament the character of tbe " sweet
wine," noticed in Acts ii. 13, calls for some
little remark. It could not be new wine in
the proper sense of the term, inasmuch as
about eight months must have elapsed be
tween the vintage and the feast of Pentecost.
The explanations of the ancient lexicogra*
phers rather lead us to infer that its luscious

WINE-PRESS

603

WOMEN

qualities were due, not to its being recently
made, but to its being produced from the
very purest juice of the grape. There can
be little doubt that the wines of Palestine
varied in quality, and were named after the
localities in which they were made. The
only wines of which we have special notice,
belonged to Syria : these were the wine of
Helbon (Ez. xxvii. 18), and the wine of Le
banon, famed for its aroma (Hos. xiv. 7).
With regard to the uses of wine in private
life there is little to remark. It was pro
duced on occasions of ordinary hospitality
(Gen. xiv. 18), and at festivals, such as mar
riages (John ii. 3). Under the Mosaic law
wine formed the usual drink-offering that
accompanied the daily sacrifice (Ex. xxix.
40), the presentation of the first fruits (Lev.
ixiii. 13), and other offerings (Num. xv. 5).
Tithe was to be paid of wine as of other pro
ducts. The priest was also to receive first-
fruits of wine, as of other articles (Deut.
xviii. 4 ; comp. Ex. xxii. 29). The use of
wine at the paschal feast was not enjoined by
the Law; but had become an established
custom, at all events in the post-Babydonian
period. The wine was mixed with warm
water on these occasions. Hence in the
early Christian Church it was usual to mix
the sacramental wine with water.
• niWINE-PRESS. From the scanty notices
contained in the Bible we gather that the
wine-presses of the Jews consisted of two re
ceptacles or vats placed at different elevations,
in the upper one of which the grapes were
trodden, while the lower one received the ex
pressed juice. The two vats are mentioned
together only in Joel iii. 13 : — " The press is
full : the fats overflow " — the upper vat being
full of fruit, the lower one overflowing with
the must. [See p. 602.] The two vats were
usually hewn out of the solid rock (Is. v. 2,
margin; Matt. xxi. 33). Ancient wine-presses,
pfficonstructed, are still to be seen in Palestine.
.'- WINNOWING. [Agriculture.]
h WISDOM OF JESUS, SON OF SIRACH.
[ECCLESIASTICUS.] 'WISDOM, THE, OF SOLOMON, a book
of the Apocrypha, may be divided into two
parts, the first (cc. i.-ix.) containing the
doctrine of Wisdom in its moral and intel
lectual aspects ; the second, the doctrine of
WiBdom as shown in history (cc. x.-xix.).
The first part contains the praise of Wisdom
a* the source of immortality, in contrast with
the teaching of sensualists ; and next the
praise of Wisdom as the guide of practical
and intellectual life, the stay of princes, and
the interpreter of the universe. The second
part, again, follows the action of Wisdom
summarily, as preserving God's servants, from

Adam to Moses, and more particularly in the
punishment of the Egyptians and Canaanites.
From internal evidence it seems most reason
able to believe that the book was composed in
Greek at Alexandria some time before the
time of Philo (about 120-80 B.C.).
WISE MEN. [Magi.] ¦
WITCH, WITCHCRAFTS. [Divination.]
WITNESS. Among special provisions
with respect to evidence are the following :
— 1. Two witnesses at least are required to
establish any charge (Num. xxxv. 30 ; Deut.
xvii. 6 ; John viii. 17 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1 ; comp,'
1 Tim. v. 19). 2. In the case of the sus
pected wife, evidence besides the husband's
was desired (Num. v. 13). 3. The witness
who withheld the truth was censured (Lev, v.
1). 4. False witness was punished with the
punishment due to the offence which it sought
to establish. 5. Slanderous reports and
officious witness are discouraged (Ex. xx. 16,
xxiii. I; Lev. xix. 16, 18, &c). 6. The
witnesses were the first executioners (Deut.
xiii. 9, xvi. 7 ; Acts vii. 58). 7. In case of
an animal left in charge and torn by wild
beasts, the keeper was to bring the carcase
in proof of the fact and disproof of his own
criminality (Ex. xxii. 13). 8. According to
Josephus, women and slaves were not ad
mitted to bear testimony. In the N. T. the
original notion of a witness is exhibited in
the special form of one who attests his belief
in the Gospel by personal suffering. Hence
it is that the use of the ecclesiastical term
"Martyr," the Greek word for "witness,"
has arisen.
WIZARD. [Divination.]
WOLF. There can be little doubt that the
wolf of Palestine is the. common Canis lupus,
and that this is the animal so frequently
mentioned in the Bible. Wolves were doubt
less far more common in Biblical times than
they are now, though they are occasionally
seen by modern travellers. The following are
the Scriptural allusions to the wolf : — Its
ferocity is mentioned in Gen. xlix. 27 ; Ez.
xxii. 27 ; Hab. i. 8 ; Matt. vii. 15 : its noc
turnal habits, in Jer. v. 6 ; Zeph. iii. 3 ; Hab.
i. 8 : its attacking sheep and lambs, John x.
12 ; Matt. x. 16 ; Luke x. 3. Isaiah (xi. 6,
lxv. 25) foretells the peaceful reign of the
Messiah under the metaphor of a wolf dwell
ing with a lamb ; cruel persecutors are com
pared with wolves (Matt. x. 16 ; Acts xx. 29).
WOMEN. The position of women in the
Hebrew commonwealth contrasts favourably
with that which in the present day is assigned
to them generally in Eastern countries. The
most salient point of contrast in the usages of
ancient as compared with modern Oriental
society was the large amount of liberty en-

WOOL

604

WRITING

joyed by women. Instead of being immured
in a harem, or appearing in public with the
face covered, the wives and maidens of ancient
times mingled freely and openly with the
other sex in the duties and amenities of ordi
nary life. Rebekah travelled on a camel
with her face unveiled, until she came into
the presence of her affianced (Gen. xxiv. 64,
65). Jacob saluted Rachel with a kiss in the
presence of the shepherds (Gen. xxix. 11).
Women played no inconsiderable part in public
celebrations (Ex. xv. 20, 21; Judg. xi. 34).
Tbe odes of Deborah (Judg. v.) and of Han
nah (1 Sam. ii. 1, &c.) exhibit a degree of in
tellectual cultivation which is in itself a proof
of the position of the sex in that period.
Women also occasionally held public offices,
particularly that of prophetess or inspired
teacher (Ex. xv. 20 ; 2 K. xxii. 14 ; Neh. vi.
14 ; Luke ii. 36 ; Judg. iv. 4). The man
agement of household affairs devolved mainly
on the women. The value of a virtuous and
active housewife forms a frequent topic in the
Book of Proverbs (xi. 16, xii. 4, xiv. 1, xxxi.
10, &c). Her influence was of course pro-
portionably great. The effect of polygamy
was to transfer female influence from the
wives to the mother. Polygamy al^o neces
sitated a separate establishment for the wives
collectively, or for each individually.
r WOOL wa* an article of the highest value
among the Jews, as the staple material for
the manufacture of clothing (Lev. xiii. 41 ;
Deut. xxii. 11; Job xxxi. 20; Prov. xxxi.
13 ; Ez. xxxiv. 3 ; Hos. ii. 5). The impor
tance of wool is incidentally shown by the
notice that Mesha's tribute was paid in a cer
tain number of rams " with the wool " (2 K.
iii. 4). The wool of Damascus was highly
prized in the mart of Tyre (Ez. xxvii. 1«).
Tbe Israelites were forbidden to wear a gar
ment mingled of woollen and linen (Lev.
xix. 19 ; Deut. xxii. 11).
WORM, the representative in the A. V. of
several Hebrew words. Sas, which occurs
in Is. li. 8, probably denotes some particular
species of moth, whose larva is injurious to
wool. Rimmdh (Ex. xvi. 20) points evi
dently to various kinds of maggots, and the
larvae of insects which feed on putrefying
animal matter, rather than to earthworms.
Tdle'dh is applied in Deut. xxviii. 39 to
some kinds of larvae destructive to the vines.
Various kinds of insects attack the vine,
amongst which one of the most ¦ destructive
is the Tortrix vitisann, the little caterpillar
of whieh eats off the inner parts of the blos
soms, the clusters of which it binds together
by spinning a web around them. In Job
xix. 26, xxi. 26, xxiv. 20, there is an allu
sion to worms (insect larvae) feeding on the

dead bodies of the buried. There is the same
allusion in Is. lxvi. 24, which words are
applied by our Lord (Mark ix. 44, 46, 48)
metaphorically to the torments of the guilty
in the world of departed spirits. The death
of Herod Agrippa I. was caused by worms
(Acts xii. 23) ; according to Josephus (Ant.
xix. 8), his death took place five days after
his departure from the theatre. Whether
the worms were the cause or the result of
the disease is an immaterial question.
WORMWOOD occurs frequently in the
Bible, and generally in a metaphorical sense,
as in Deut. xxix. 18, where of the idolatrous
Israelites it is said, " Lest there be among
you a root that beareth wormwood" (»ee
also Prov. v. 4). In Jer. ix. 15, xxiii. 13;
Lam. iii. 15, 19, wormwood is symbolical of
bitter calamity and sorrow ; unrighteous
judges are said to " turn judgment to worm
wood " (Am*, v. 7). The orientals typified
sorrows, cruelties, and calamities of any kind
by plants of a poisonous or bitter nature.
The name of the star which, at the sound of
the third angel's trumpet fell upon the rivers,
was called Wormwood (Rev. viii. 11). Four
kinds of wormwood are found in Palestine —
Artemisia nilotica, A. Judaica, A. frutieosa,
and A- cinerea.
WORSHIPPER, a translation of the Greek
word neocoros, used once only, Acts xix. 35 ;
in the margin "Temple-keeper." The neo
coros was originally an attendant in a temple,
probably intrusted with its charge. The divine
honours paid in later Greek times to eminent
persons even in their lifetime, were imitated
and exaggerated by the Romans under the
empire, especially in Asia. The term neocoros
became thus applied to cities or communities
which undertook the worship of particular
emDerors even during their lives. The fir^t oc
currence of the term in connexion with Ephe
sus is on coins of fhe age of Nero (a.d. 54-68).
WRESTLING. [Games.]
WRITING. There is no account in the
Bible of the origin of writing. Throughout
the Book of Genesis there is not a single al
lusion, direct or indirect, either to its practice
or existence. That the Egyptians in the
time of Joseph were acquainted with writing
of a certain kind there is evidence to prove,
but there is nothing to show that up to tbis
period the knowledge extended to the He
brew family. At the same time there is no
evidence against it. Writing is first dis
tinctly mentioned in Ex. xvii. 14, and the
connexion clearly implies that it was not
then employed for the first time, but was so
familiar as to be used for historic records.
Moses is commanded to preserve the memory
of Amalek's onslaught in the desert by com-

WRITING

605

WRITING

mitting it to writing. The tables of the
testimony are said to be "written by the
finger of God" (Ex. xxxi. 18) on both sides,
and " the writing was the writing of God,
graven upon the tables" (Ex. xxxii. 15).
The engraving of the gems of the high-priest's
breastplate with the names of the children
of Israel (Ex. xxviii. 11), and the inscription
upon the mitre (Ex. xxxix. 30) have to do
more with the art of the engraver than of
the writer, but both imply the existence of
alphabetic characters. The curses against
the adulteress were written by the priest
"ia the book;" and blotted out with water
(Num. v. 23). Hitherto, however, nothing
has been said of the application of writing
to the purposes of ordinary life, or of the
knowledge of the art among the common
people. Up to this point such knowledge is
only attributed to Moses and the priests.
From Deut. xxiv. 1, 3, however, it would
appear that it was extended to others. It is
not absolutely necessary to infer from this
that the art of writing was an accomplish
ment possessed by every Hebrew citizen,
though there is no mention of a third party ;
and it is more than probable that these
"bills of divorcement," though apparently
go informal, were the work of professional
scrjbes. It was enjoined as one of the duties
of the king (Deut. xvii. 18), that he should
transcribe the book of the law for his own
private study. If we examine the instances
in which writing is mentioned in connexion
with individuals, we shall find that in all
cases the writers were men of superior posi
tion. In Is. xxix. 11, 12, there is clearly
a distinction drawn between the man who
was able to read, and the man who was not,
and it seems a natural inference that the
accomplishments of reading and writing
were not widely spread among the people,
when we find that they are universally attrib
uted to those of high rank or education,
kings, priests, prophets, and professional
scribes. In the name Kirjath-Sepher (Book-
town, Josh. xv. 15) there is an indication of
a knowledge of writing among the Phoeni
cians.— The Hebrews, then, a branch of the
great Semitic family, being in possession of
the art of writing, according to their own
historical records, at a very early period, the
further questions arise, what character they
made use of, and whence they obtained it 1
Recent investigations have shown that the
square Hebrew character is of comparatively
modern date, and has been formed from a
more ancient type by a gradual process of
development. What then was this ancient
type? Most probably the Phoenician. To
the iPhaenicians, the daring seamen, and

adventurous colonisers of the ancient world,
tradition assigned the honour of the inven
tion of letters. The old Semitic alphabets
may be divided into two principal classes :
J.. The Phoenician, as it exists in the in
scriptions in Cyprus, Malta, Carpentras, and
the coins of Phoenicia and her colonies.
From it are derived the Samaritan character,
and the Greek. 2. The Hebrew-Cbaldee
character ; to which belong the Hebrew
square character ; the Palmyrene, which has
some traces of a cursive hand : the Estran-
gelo, or ancient Syriac : and the ancient
Arabic or Cufic. It was probably about the
first or second century after Christ that the
square character assumed its present form ;
though in a question involved in so much
uncertainty it is impossible to pronounce with
great positiveness. The Alphabet. — The
oldest evidence on the subject of the Hebrew
alphabet is . derived from the alphabetical
Psalms and poems ; Pss. xxv., xxxiv.,
xxxvii., cxi., cxii., cxix.. cxiv. ; Prov. xxxi.
10-31 ; Lam. i.-iv. From these we ascertain
that the number of the letters was twenty-
two, as at present. The Arabic alphabet
originally consisted of the same number.
It has been argued by many that the
alphabet of the Phoenicians at first consisted
only of sixteen letters. The legend, as told
by Pliny (vii. 56), is as follows. Cadmus
brought with him into Greece sixteen letters ;
at the time of the Trojan war Palainedes
added four others, ©, E, *, X, and Simouides
of Melos four more, Z, H, \£r, O. — Writing-
materials, 4'C. — The oldest documents which
contain the writing of a Semitic race are pro
bably the bricks of Nineveh and Babylon on
which are impressed the cuneiform Assyrian
inscriptions. There is, however, no evidence
that they were ever employed by the He
brews. Wood was used upon some occasions
(Num. xvii. 3), and writing tablets of box
wood are mentioned in 2 Esd. xiv. 24. The
" lead," to which allusion is made in Job xix.
24, is supposed to have been poured when
melted into the cavities of the stone made by
the letters of an inscription, in order to render
it durable. It is most probable that the
ancient as well as the most common material
which the Hebrews used for writing was
dressed skin in some form or other. We
know that the dressing of skins was practised
by the Hebrews (Ex. xxv. 5 ; Lev. xiii. 48),
and they may have acquired the knowledge
of the art from the Egyptians, among whom
it had attained great perfection, the leather-
cutters constituting one of the principal sub
divisions of the third caste. Perhaps the
Hebrews may have borrowed, among their
other acquirements, the use of papyrus from

XANTHICUS

606

YEAR

the Egyptians, but of this we have no posi
tive evidence. In the Bible the only allu
sions to the use of papyrus are in 2 John 12,
where chartes, (A.V. "paper") occurs, which
refers especially to papyrus paper, and 3 Mace.
iv. 20, where charteria is found in the same
sense. Herodotus, after telling us that the
lonians learnt the art of writing from the
Phoenicians, adds that they called their books
skins, because they made use of sheep-skins
and goat-skins when short of paper. Parch
ment was used for the MSS. of the Penta
teuch in the time of Josephus, and the
membranae of 2 Tim. iv. 13, were skins of
parchment. It was one of the provisions in
the Talmud that the Law should be written
on the skins of clean animals, tame or wild,
or even of clean birds. The skins when
written upon were formed into rolls (megil-
loth; Ps. xl. 8; comp. Is. xxxiv. 4; Jer.
xxxvi. 14; Ez. ii. 9; Zech. v. 1). They
were rolled upon one or two sticks and fast
ened with a thread, the ends of which were
sealed (Is. xxix. 11 ; Dan. xii. 4 ; Rev. v. 1,
&c). The rolls were generally written on
one side only, except in Ez. ii. 9 ; Rev. v. 1.
They were divided into columns (A. V.
" leaves," Jer. xxxvi. 23) ; the upper mar
gin was to be not less than three fingers
broad, the lower not less than four ; and a
space of two fingers' breadth was to be left
between every two columns. But besides
skins, which were used for the more per
manent kinds of writing, tablets of wood
covered with wax (Luke i. 63) served for
tbe ordinary purposes of life. Several of
these were fastened together and formed
volumes. They were written upon with a
pointed style (Job xix. 24), sometimes of
iron (Ps. xiv. 2 ; Jer. viii. 8, xvii. 1). For
harder materials a graver (Ex. xxxii. 4 ; Is.
viii. 1) was employed. For parchment or
skins a reed was used (3 John 13; 3 Mace.
t. 20). The ink (Jer. xxxvi. 18), literally
'black," like the Greek pi/\.av (2 Cor. iii. 3 ;
2 John 12; 3 John 13), was to be of lamp
black dissolved in gall-juice. It was carried
in an inkstand, which was suspended at the
girdle (Ez. ix. 2, 3), as is done at the present
day in the East. To professional scribes
there are allusions in Ps. xiv. 1 ; Ezr, vii.
6 ; 2 Esdr. xiv. 24.

X

AN'THICUS. XER'XES.

[Month.]
[Ahasueeus.]

TARN. The notice of yarn is contained in
an extremely obscure passage in 1 K. x.
28 (2 Chr. i. 16). The Hebrew Received

Text is questionable. Gesenius gives the
sense of "number" as applying equally to
the merchants and the horses : — " A band of
the king's merchants bought a drove (of
horses) at a price."
YEAR, the highest ordinary division of
time. Two years were known to, and appa
rently used by, the Hebrews. 1 . A year of
360 days appears to have been in use in
Noah's time, or at least in the time of the
writer of the narrative of the Flood, for in
that narrative the interval fiom the 17th day
of the 2nd month to the 17th day of the 7th
of the same year appears to be stated to be a
period of 150 days (Gen. vii. 11, 24, viii. 3,
4, comp. 13), and, as the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and
10th months of one year are mentioned (viiL
13, I4,vii.ll,viii. 4, 5), the IstdayofthelOth
month of this year being separated from the
1 st day of the first month of the next year '
by an interval of at least 54 da3*s (viii. 5, 6,
10, 12, 13), we can only infer a year of 12
months. A year of 360 days is the rudest
known. It is formed of 12 spurious lunar
months, and was probably the parent of the
lunar year of 354 days, and the Vague year
of 365. The Hebrew year, from the time of
the Exodus, was evidently lunar, though in
some manner rendered virtually solar, and
we may therefore infer that the lunar year is
as old as the date of the Exodus. 2. The
year used by the Hebrews from the time of
the Exodus may be said to have been then
instituted, since a current month, Abib, on
the 14th day of which the first Passover was
kept, was then made the first month of the
year. The essential characteristics of this
year can be clearly determined, though we
cannot fix those of any single year. It was
essentially solar, for the offering of produc
tions of the earth, first-fruits, harvest-produce,
and ingathered fruits, was fixed to certain
days of the year, two of which were in the
periods of great feasts, the third itself a feast
reckoned from one of the former days. But
it is certain that the months were lunar, each
commencing with a new moon. There must
therefore have been some method of adjust
ment. The first point to be decided is how
the commencement of each year was fixed.
Probably the Hebrews determined their new
year's day by the observation of heliacal or
other star-risings or settings known to mark
the right time of the solar year. It follows,
from the determination of the proper new
moon of the first month, whether by observa--
tion of a stellar phenomenon, or of the for
wardness of the crops, that the method of
intercalation can only have been that in use
after the Captivity, the addition of a thir
teenth month whenever the twelfth ended

YEAR, SABBATICAL

607

ZACHARIAH

too long before the equinox for the offering
of the first-fruits to be made at the time
fixed. The later Jews had two commence
ments of the year, whence it is commonly
bnt inaccurately said that they had two years,
the. sacred year and the civil. We prefer to
speak of the sacred and civil reckonings. The
sacred reckoning was that instituted at the
Exodus, according to which the first month
was Abib : by the civil reckoning the first
month was the seventh. The interval be
tween the two commencements was thus
exactly half a year. It has been supposed
that the institution at the time of the Exodus
was a change of commencement, not the
introduction of a new year, and that thence
forward the year had two beginnings, respec
tively at about the vernal and the autumnal
equinoxes.— The year was divided into — 1.
Seasons. Two'seasons are mentioned in the
Bible, "summer" and "winter." The for
mer properly means the time of cutting
fruits, the latter, that of gathering fruits ;
they are therefore originally rather summer
and autumn than summer and winter. But
that they signify ordinarily the two grand
oivisions of the year, the warm and cold
seasons, is evident from their use for the
whole year in the expression " summer and
winter" (Ps. ixxiv. 17 ; Zech. xiv. 8). 2.
Months. [Months.] 3. Weeks. [Wkeks.]
¦ YEAR, SABBATICAL. [Sabbatical
Yeae.]•j YEAR OF JUBILEE. [Jubilee, Year of.]
: YOKE. 1- A well-known implement of
husbandry, is frequently used metaphorically
for subjection (e.g. 1 K. xii. 4, 9-11 ; Is. ix.
I; Jer. v. 5) : hence an " iron yoke " repre
sents an unusually galling bondage (Deut.
ixviii. 48; Jer. xxviii. 13). 2. A pair of
oxen, so termed as being yoked together
(1 Sam. xi. 7 ; 1 K. xix. 19, 21). The
Hebrew term is also applied to asses (Judg.
Xix. 10) and mules (2 K. v. 17), and even to
a couple of riders (Is. xxi. 7). 3. The term
is also applied to a certain amount of land
(1 Sam. xiv. 14), equivalent to that which a
couple of oxen could plough in a day (Is. v.
10 ; A. V. " acre "), corresponding to the
tstinjugum.

more A

ZAAN'AIM, THE PLAIN OF ; or, i
accurately, "the oak by Zaanaim.'
Dree — probably a sacred tree — mentioned as
marking the spot near which Heber the
Kenite was encamped when Sisera took refuge
in his tent (Judg. iv. 11). Its situation is
aefined as " near Kedesh," i. e. Kedesh-
Saphtali, the name of which still lingers on
the high ground, north of Safed, and west of

the Lake of el Huleh. The Keri, or correc
tion, of Judg. iv. 11, substitutes Zaanannim
for Zaanaim, and the same form is found in
Josh. xix. 33.
ZAAN'AN. [Zenan.]
ZA'AVAN, or ZA'VAN, a Horite chief, son
of Ezer the son of Seir (Gen. xxxvi. 27 ;
IChr. i. 42).
ZABADE'ANS, an Arab tribe who were
attacked and spoiled by Jonathan, on his
way back to Damascus from his fruitless
pursuit of the army of Demetrius (1 Maec.
xii. 31). Their name probably survives in
the village Zebddny, standing at the upper
end of a plain of the same name, which is the
very centre of Antilibanus.
ZA'BUD, son of Nathan (1 K. Iv. 5), is
desciibed as a priest (A. V. "principal offi
cer "), and as holding at the court of Solomon
the confidential post of " king's friend,'*
which had been occupied by Hushai the Ar-
chite during the reign of David (2 Sam. xv.
37, xvi. 16 ; 1 Chr. xxvii. 33).
ZAB'ULON, tbe Greek form of the name
Zebulun (Matt. iv. 13, 15; Rev. vii. 8).
ZACCHAE'US, a tax-collector near Jericho,
who being short in stature climbed up into a
sycamore- tree, in order to obtain a sight of
Jesus as He passed through that place (Luke
xix. 1-10). Zacchaeus was a Jew, as may
be inferred from his name and from the fact
that the Saviour speaks of him expressly as
" a son of Abraham." The term which
designates his office — " the chief among the
publicans " — is unusual, but describes him
no doubt as the superintendent of customs or
tribute in the district of Jericho, where he
lived. The office must have been a lucrative
one in such a region, and it is not strange
that Zacchaeus is mentioned by the Evange
lists as a rich man.
ZACHARI'AH. 1. Or properly Zechariah,
was son of Jeroboam IL, 14th king of Israel,
and the last of the house of Jehu. There is a
difficulty about the date of his reign. Most
ehronologers assume an interregnum of 11
years between Jeroboam's death and Zacha-
riah's accession, during which the kingdom
was suffering from the anarchy of a disputed
succession, but this seems unlikely after the
reign of a resolute ruler like Jeroboam, and
does not solve the difference between 2 K.
xiv. 17 and xv. 1. We are reduced to sup
pose that our present MSS. have here incor
rect numbers, to. substitute 15 for 27 in 2 K.
xv. 1 , and to believe that Jeroboam II.
reigned 52 or 53 years. But whether we
assume an interregnum, or an error in the
MSS., we must place Zachariah's accession
b.c. 771-2. His reign lasted only six months.
He was killed in a conspiracy, of whicr

ZACHARIAS

608

ZARTANAH

Shallum was the head, and by which the
prophecy in 2 K. x. 30 was accomplished. —
2. The father of Abi, or Abijah, Hezekiah's
mother (2 Iv. xviii. 2).
ZACHARI'AS. 1. Father of John the
Baptist (Luke i. 5, &c). [John the Baptist.]
— 2. Son of Barachias, who, our Lord says,
was slain by the Jews between the altar and
the temple (Matt, xxiii. 35 ; Luke xi. 51).
There has been much dispute who this Zacha-
rias was. Many of the Greek Fathers have
maintained that the father of John the Baptist
is the person to whom our Lord alludes; but
there can be little or no doubt that the allu
sion is to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada
(2 Chr. xxiv. 20, 21). The name of the
father of Zacharias is not mentioned by St
Luke ; and we may suppose that the name
of Barachias crept into the text of St. Mat
thew from a marginal gloss, a confusion
having been made between Zechariah, the
son of Jehoiada, and Zacharias, tbe sun of
Barachias (Bercchiah) the prophet.
ZA'DOK (just), son of Ahitub, and one of
the two chief priests in the time of David,
Abiathar being the other. Zadok was of the
house of Eleazar, the son of Aaron (1 Chr.
xxiv. 3), and eleventh in descent from
Aaron (1 Chr. xii. 28). He joined David at
Hebron after Saul's death (1 Chr. xii. 28),
and henceforth his fidelity to David was
inviolable. When Absalom revolted, and
David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all
the Levites hearing the Ark accompanied
him, and it was only at the king's ex
press command that they returned to Jeru
salem, and became the medium of commu
nication between the king and Hushai the
Archite (2 Sam. xv., xvii.). When Absalom
was dead, Zadok and Abiathar were the per
sons who persuaded the elders of Judah to
invite David to return (2 Sam. xix. 11).
When Adonijah, in David's old age, set up
foriking, and had persuaded Joab, and Abia
thar, the priest, to join his party, Zadok was
unmoved, and was employed by David to
anoint Solomon to he king in his room (1 K.
i.). And for this fidelity he was rewarded
by Solomon, who "thrust out Abiathar from
being priest unto the Lord," and " put in
Zadok the priest" in his room (1 J£. ii. 27,
35). From this time, however, we hear
little of him. It is said in general terms in
the enumeration of Solomon's officers of state
that Zadok was the priest (1 K. iv. 4 ; 1 Chr.
xxix. 22), but no single act of his is men
tioned. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly
equal dignity (2 Sam. xv. 35, 36, xix. 11).
The duties of the office were divided. Zadok
ministere I before the Tabernacle at Gibeon
(1 Chr. xvi. 391 Abiathar had the care of the

Ark at Jerusalem. Not, however, exclusively,
as appears from 1 Chr. xv. 11 ; 2 Sam. xv.
24, 25, 29.
ZA'IR, a place named, in 2 K. viii. 21
only, in the account of Joram'e expedition
against the Edomites. The parallel account
in Chronicles (2 Chr. xxi. 9} agrees with this,
except that the words "to Zair," are omitted.
ZAL'MON, MOUNT, a wooded eminence
in the immediate neighbourhood of Shechem
(Judg. ix. 48). The name of Dalmanutha
has been supposed to he a corruption of that
of Zalmon.
ZAL'MONAH, a desert - station of the
Israelites (Num. xxxiii. 41), lies on the east
side of Edom.
ZAL'MUNNA. [Zebah.]
ZAM'ZUMMIMS, the Ammonite name for
the people, who by others were called Re
phaim (Deut. ii. 20) only. They are described
as having originally been a powerful and
numerous nation of giants. From a slight
similarity between the two names, and from
the mention of the Emim in connexion with
each, it is conjectured that the Zamzummim
are identical with tbe Zuzim.
ZANO'AH. 1. A town of Judah in the She
felah or plain (Josh. xv. 34 ; Neh. iii. 13,
xi. 30), possibly identical with ZdiuVa. — 2. A
town of Judah in the highland district (Josh.
xv. 56), not improbably identical with
Sanute, about 10 miles S. of Hebron.
ZAPH'NATH-PAANE'AH, a name given
by Pharaoh to Joseph (Gen. xli. 45). As the
name mu^t have been Egyptian, it has been
explained from the Coptic as meaning "the
preserver of the age."
ZA'PHON, a place mentioned in the enume
ration of the allotment of the tribe of Gad
(Josh. xiii. 27).
ZA'RED, THE VALLEY OF. [Zkreo.]
ZAR'EPHATH, the residence of the pro
phet Elijah during the latter part of the
drought (1 K. xvii. 9, 10). Beyond stating
that it was near to, or dependent on, Zidon,
the Bible gives no clue to its position. It is
mentioned by Obadiah (ver. 20), but merely
as a Canaanite (that is, Phoenician) city. It
is represented by the modern village of
Sura-fend. In the N. T. Zarephath appears
under the Greek form of Sarepta (Luke iv.
26). ZAR'ETAN. ZAnTHAN (Josh. iii. 16).
ZA'RETH-SHA'HAR, a place mentioned
only in Josh. xiii. 19, in the catalogue of the
towns allotted to Reuben.
ZAR'HITES, THE, a branch of the tribe of
Judah : descended from Zerah the son of
Judah (Num. xxvi. 13, 20; Josh. vii. 17;
1 Chr. xxvii. ll, 13).
ZART'ANAH (1 K. iv. 12). [Zaethan.j

ZARTHAN

609

ZEBULUN

ZAR'THAN. 1. A place in the circle of
Jordan, mentioned in connexion with Succoth
(1 K. vii. 46). - 2. It is also named, in the
account of the passage of the Jordan by the
Israelites (Josh. iii. 16), where the A. V. has
Zaretan. 3. A place with the similar name
of Zartanah (1 K. iv. 12). 4. Further, in
Chronicles (2 Chr. iv. 17), Zeredathah is
substituted for Zarthan ; and this again is not
Impossibly identical with the Zererath of the
story of Gideon (Judg. vii. 22). All these
jspots agree in proximity to the Jordan, but
beyond this we are absolutely at fault as to
their position.
^ ZA'VAN. [Zaavan.J
" -ZE'BAH and ZAL'MUNNA, the two
" kings " of Midian who commanded the
great invasion of Palestine, and who finally
fell by the hand of Gideon himself (Judg. viii.
5-21 ; Ts. lxxxiii. 11).
ZE'BAIM, mentioned in the catalogue of
the families of " Solomon's slaves," who re
turned from the Captivity with Zerubbabel
{Ezra ii. 57 ; Neh. vii. 59).
ZEB'EDEE, a fisherman of Galilee, the
father of the Apostles James the Great and
John (Matt. iv. 21), and the husband of
Salome (Matt, xxvii. 56 ; Mark xv. 40). He
probably lived either at Bethsaida or in its
immediate neighbourhood. It has been in
ferred from the mention of his " hired ser
vants" (Mark i. 20), and from the acquaint
ance between the Apostle John and Annas the
high-priest (John xviii. 15) that the family of
Zebedee were in easy circumstances (comp.
xix. 27), although not above manual labour
(Matt. iv. 21). He appears only once in the
Gospel narrative, namely in Matt. iv. 21, 22 ;
Marki. 19, 20, where he is seen in his boat
with his two sons mending their nets.
ZE'BOIM. 1. One of the five cities of the
'Iplain" or circle of Jordan. It is men
tioned in Gen. x. 19, xiv. 2, 8 ; Deut. xxix.
23; and Hos.xi. 8, in each of which passages
it is either coupled with Admah, or placed
next it in the lists. Perhaps represented by
Talda Sebdan, a name attached to extensive
ruins on the high ground between the Dead
Sea and Kerak. In Gen. xiv. 2, 8, the name
is given more correctly in the A. V. Zeboiim.
—2. The Valley of Zeboim, a ravine or
gorge, apparently east of Michmash, men
tioned only in 1 Sam. xiii. 18. The road
nmning from Michmash to the east is specified
as " the road of the border that looketh to the
ravine of Zeboim towards the wilderness."
pi? wilderness is no doubt the district of un
cultivated mountain tops and sides which
ties between the central district of Benjamin
and the Jordan Valley. In that very district
there is a wild gorge, bearing the name of
Sh. D. B.

Slink ed-Dubba', " ravine of the hyena," the
exact equivalent of Ge hat-tsebo'im.
ZEB'UDAH, wife of Josiah and mother of
king Jehoiakim (2 K. xxiii. 36).
ZE'BUL, chief man (A. V. " ruler ") of the
city of Shechem at the time of the contest
between Abimelech and the native Canaanites
(Judg. ix. 28, 30, 36, 38, 41).
ZEB'ULONITE, a member of the tribe of
Zebulun (Judg. xii. 11, 12).
ZEB'ULUN (a habitation), the tenth of the
sons of Jacob, according to the order in
which their births are enumerated ; the sixth
and last of Leah (Gen. xxx. 20, xxxv. 23,
xlvi. 14; 1 Chr. ii. 1). His birth is re
corded in Gen. xxx. 19, 20. Of the individual
Zebulun nothing is recorded. The list of
Gen. xlvi. ascribes to him three sons, founders
of the chief families of the tribe (comp. Num.
xxvi. 26) at the time of the migration to
Egypt. The head of the tribe at Sinai was
Eliab son of Helon (Num. vii. 24) ; at Shiloh,
Elizaphan son of Parnach (Ib. xxxiv. 25).
Its representative amongst the spies was
Gaddiel son of Sodi (xiii. 10). The tribe is
not recorded to have taken part, for evil or
good, in any of the events of the wandering
or the conquest. Judah, Joseph, Benjamin,
had acquired the south and the centre of the
country. To Zebulun fell one of the fairest
of -the remaining portions. It is perhaps im
possible, in the present state of our knowledge,
exactly to define its limits ; hut the statement
of Josephus is probably in the main correct,
that it reached on the one side to the lake of
Gennesareth, and on the other to Carmel and
the Mediterranean. On the south it was
hounded by Issachar, who lay in the great
plain or valley of the Kishon ; on the north
it had Naphtali and Asher. The fact recog
nised by Josephus that Zebulun extended to
the Mediterranean, though not mentioned or
implied, as far as we can discern, in the lists
of Joshua and Judges, is alluded to in the
Blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix. 13). Situated
so far from the centre of government, Zebulun
remains throughout the history, with one ex
ception, in the obscurity which envelopes the
whole of the northern tribes. That ex
ception, however, is a remarkable one. The
conduct of the tribe during the struggle with
Sisera, when they fought with desperate
valour side by side with their brethren of
Naphtali, was such as to draw down the
especial praise of Deborah, who singles them
out from all the other tribes (Judg. v. 18).
A similar reputation is alluded to in the men
tion of the tribe among those who attended
the inauguration of David's reign at Hebron
(1 Chr. xii. 33). The same passage, how
ever, shows that they did not neglect the
2 R

ZECHARIAH

610

ZEDEKIAH

arts, of peace (ver. 40). We are nowhere
directly told that the people of Zebulun were
carried off to Assyria.
ZECHARI'AH. 1. The eleventh in order
of the twelve minor prophets. He is called
in his prophecy the son of Berechiah, and the
grandson of Iddo, whereas in the Book of
Ezra (v. 1, vi. 14) he is said to have been
the son of Iddo. It is natural to suppose, as
the prophet himself mentions his father's
name, whereas the Book of Ezra mentions
only Iddo, that Berechiah had died early, and
that there was now no intervening link be
tween the grandfather and the grandson.
Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before
him, was priest as well as prophet. He seems
to have entered upon his office while yrt
young (Zech. ii. 4), and must have been born
in Babylon, whence he returned with the first
caravan of exiles under Zerubbabel and
Jeshua. It was in the eighth month, in the
second year of Darius, that he first publicly
discharged his office. In this he acted in
conceit with Haggai. Both prophets had the
same great object before them ; both directed
all their energies to the building of the Second
Temple. To their influence we find the re
building of the Temple in a great measure
ascribed. " And the elders of the Jews
builded," it is said, "and they prospered
through the prophesying of Haggai the pro
phet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo " (Ezr. vi.
14). If tbe later Jewish accounts may be
trusted, Zechariah, as well as Haggai, was a
member of the Great Synagogue. The Book
of Zechariah, in its existing form, consists of
three principal parts, chaps, i.— viii., chaps.
ix.-xi., chaps, xii.-xiv. I. The first of these
divisions is allowed by all critics to be the
genuine work of Zechariah the son of Iddo.
It consists, first, of a short introduction or
preface, in which the prophet announces his
commission ; then of a series of visions, de
scriptive of all those hopes and anticipations
of which the building of the Temple was the
pledge and sure foundation ; and finally of a
discourse, delivered two years later, in reply to
questions respecting the observance of certain
established fasts. II. The remainderofthe Book
consists of two sections of about equal length,
ix.-xi. and xii.-xiv., each of which has an
inscription. 1. In the first section he threatens
Damascus and the Sea-coast of Palestine with
misfortune ; but declares that Jerusalem shall
be protected. The Jews who are still in cap
tivity shall return to their land. 2. The
Second Section, xii.-xiv., is entitled "the
burden of the word of Jehovah for Israel."
But Israel is here used of the nation at large,
not of Israel as distinct from Judah. Indeed
the prophecy which follows concerns Judah

and Jerusalem. In this the prophet beholds
the near approach of troublous times, when
Jerusalem should be hard pressed by enemies.
But in that day Jehovah shall come to save
them, and all the nations which gather them
selves against Jerusalem shall be destroyed.
Many modern critics maintain that the later
chapters, from the 9th to tbe 14th, were
written by some other prophet, who lived be
fore the exile. We must refer to the larger
Dictionary for an account of the arguments
both for and against the genuineness of the
later chapters.— 2. Son of the high-priest
Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah
(2 Chr. xxiv. 20), and therefore the king's
cousin. After the death of Jehoiada Zechariah
probably succeeded to his office, and in at-
tempting'to check the reaction in favour of
idolatry which immediately followed, he fell
a victim to a conspiracy formed against him
by the king, and was stoned in the court of
the Temple. He is probably the same as the
" Zacharias son of Barachias," who was slain
between the Temple and the altar (Matt.
xxiii. 35). [Zacharias, No. 2.] — 3. The son
of Jeberechiah, who was taken by the prophet
Isaiah as one of the "faithful witnesses to
record," when he wrote concerning Maher-
shalal-hash-baz (Is. viii. 2). He may have
been the Levite of the same name, who in the
reign of Hezekiah assisted in the purification
of the Temple (2 Chr. xxix. 13). Another
conjecture is that he is the same aa Zechariah
the father of Abijah, the queen of Ahaz.
ZEDAD', one of the landmarks on the
north border of the land of Israel, as promised
by Moses (Num. xxxiv. 8) and as restored by
Ezekiel (xlvii. 15). A place named Siidud
exists to the east of the northern extremity
of the chain of Antilihanus, about 50jniles
E.N.E. of Baalbec. This may be identical
with Zedad.
ZEDEKl'AH. 1. The last king of Judah
and Jerusalem. He was the son of Josiah by
his wife Hamutal, and therefore own brother
to Jehoahaz (2 K. xxiv. 18 ; comp. xxiii. 31).
His original name had been Mattaniah,
which was changed to Zedekiah by Nebuchad
nezzar, when he carried off his nephew Jehoi-
achim to Babylon, and left him on the
throne of Jerusalem. Zedekiah was but 21
years old when he was thus placed in charge
of an impoverished kingdom (b.c. 597). His
history is contained in a short sketch of the
events of his reign given in 2 K. xxiv. 17-xxv.
7, and with some trifling variations, in Jer.
xxxix. 1-7, Iii. 1-11, together with the still
shorter summary in 2 Chr. xxxvi. 10, &c.;
and also in Jer. xxi. xxiv. xxvii. xxviii. xxix.
xxxii. xxxiii. xxxiv. xxxvii. xxxviii. and
Ez. xvi. n-21. From these it is evident that

ZEDEKIAH

611

ZEMARITE

Zedekiah was a man not so much bad at
heart as weak in will. It is evident from Jer.
xxvii. and xxviii. that the earlier portion of
Zedekiah's reign was marked by an agitation
throughout the whole of Syria against the
Babylonian yoke. Jerusalem seems to have
taken the lead, since in the fourth year of
Zedekiah's reign we find ambassadors from all
the neighbouring kingdoms —Tyre, Sidon,
Edom, and Moab — at his court, to consult as
to the steps to be taken. This happened
either during the king's absence or immedi
ately after his return from Babylon, whither
he went on some errand, the nature of which
ia not named, but which may have been an
attempt to blind the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar
to his contemplated revolt (Jer. li. 59). The
first act of overt rebellion of which any record
survives was the formation of an alliance with
Egypt, of itself equivalent to a declaration of
enmity with Babylon. As a natural conse
quence it brought on Jerusalem an immediate
invasion of the Chaldeans. The mention of
this event in the Bible, though sure, is ex
tremely slight, and occurs only in Jer. xxxvii.
5-11, xxxiv. 21, and Ez. xvii. 15-20; but
Josephus (x. 7, §3) relates it more fully, and
gives the date of its occurrence, namely the
eighth year of Zedekiah. It appears that
Nebuchadnezzar, being made aware of Zede
kiah's defection, either by the non-payment
of the tribute or by other means, at once sent
an army to ravage Judaea. This was done,
and the whole country reduced, except Jeru
salem and two strong places in the western
plain, Lachish and Azekah, which still held
out (Jer. xxxiv. 7 ) . — In tbe meantime Pharaoh
had moved to the assistance of his ally. On
hearing of his approach the Chaldeans at once
raised the siege and advanced to meet him.
The nobles seized the moment of respite to
reassert their power over the king. How
long the Babylonians were absent from Jeru
salem we are not told. All we certainly know
is that on the tenth day of the tenth month of
Zedekiah's ninth year the Chaldeans were
again before the walls (Jer. Iii. 4) . From this
time forward the siege progressed slowly but
surely to its consummation. Zedekiah again
interfered to preserve the life of Jeremiah
from the vengeance of the princes (xxxviii.
7-13), and then occurred the interview
between the king and the prophet, which
affords so good a clue to the condition of abject
dependence into which a long course of op
position had brought the weak-minded mon
arch. While the king was hesitating the end
was rapidly coming nearer. The city was
indeed reduced to the last extremity. The
bread had for long been consumed (Jer.
xxxviii. 9), and all the terrible expedients

had been tried to which the wretched inhabi
tants of a besieged town are forced to resort
in such cases. At last, after sixteen dreadful
months, the catastrophe arrived. The wretched
remnants of the army quitted the city in the
dead of night ; and as the Chaldean army
entered the city, at one end, the king and his
wives fled from it by the opposite Gate. They
took the road towards the Jordan; but were
overtaken near Jericho, and carried to Nebu
chadnezzar who was then at Riblah, at the
upper end of the valley of Lebanon. Nebu
chadnezzar, with a refinement of cruelty char
acteristic of those cruel times, ordered the
sons of Zedekiah to be killed before him, and
lastly his own eyes to be thrust out (b.c. 586).
He was then loaded with brazen fetters, and
at a later period taken to Babylon, where he
died.— 2. Son of Chenaanah, a prophet at the
court of Ahab, head, or, if not head, virtual
leader of the college. He appears but once,
viz., as spokesman when the prophets are
consulted by Ahab on the result of his pro
posed expedition to Ramoth-Gilead (1 K.
xxii. ; 2 Chr. xviii.). —3. Tbe son of Maaseiah,
a false prophet in Babylon (Jer. xxix. 21, 22).
— 4. The son of Hananiah, one of the princes
of Judah in the time of Jeremiah (Jer. xxxvi.
12). ZEEB. _ [Oreb,]
ZE'LAH, a city in the allotment of Benjamin
(Josh, xviii. 28), contained the family tomb
of Kish the father of Saul (2 Sam. xxi.' 14).
ZEL'EK, an Ammonite, one of David's
guard (2 Sam. xxiii. 37 ; 1 Chr. xi. 39).
ZELOPH'EHAD, son of Hepher, son of
Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh (Josh.
xvii. 3). He was apparently the second son
of his father Hepher (1 Chr. vii. 15). Zelo-
phehad came out of Egypt with Moses, but
died in the wilderness, as did the whole of
that generation (Num. xiv. 35, xxvii. 3). On
his death without male heirs, his five daugh
ters, just after the second numbering in the
wilderness, came before Moses and Eleazar
to claim the inheritance of their father in the
tribe of Manasseh. The claim was admitted by
divine direction (Num. xxvi. 33, xxvii. 1-11).
ZELO'TES, the epithet given to the Apostle
Simon to distinguish him from Simon Peter
(Luke vi. 15). [Canaanite; Simon 5.]
ZEL'ZAH, a place named once only (1
Sam. x. 2), "as on the boundary of Benjamin,
close to Rachel's sepulchre.
ZEMARA'IM, a town in the allotment of
Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 22), perhaps identical
with Mount Zemaraim, which was " in
Mount Ephraim," that is to say within the
general district of the highlands of that great
tribe (2 Chr. xiii. 4).
ZEM'ARITE, THE, one of the Hamite
2R2

ZEN AN

612

ZERUBBABEL

tribes who in the genealogical table of Gen. _x.
(ver. 18) and 1 Chron. i. (ver. 16), are repre
sented as " sons of Canaan." Nothing is
certainly known of this ancient tribe. The
old interpreters place them at Emessa, the
modern Hums.
ZEN AN', a town in the allotment of Judah,
situated in the district of the Shefdlah (Josh.
xv. 37). It is probably identical with Za-
anan (Mie. i. 11).
ZE'NAS, a believer, and, as may be in
ferred from the context, a preacher of the
Gospel, who is mentioned in Tit. iii. 13 in
connexion with Apollos. He is further de
scribed as "the lawyer." It is impossible
to determine whether Zenas was a Roman
jurisconsult or a Jewish doctor.
ZEPHANI'AH. 1. The ninth in order of
the twelve minor prophets. His pedigree
is traced to his fourth ancestor, Hezekiah
(i. 1), supposed to be the celebrated king of
that name. In chap. i. the utter desolation
of Judaea is predicted as a judgment for
idolatry, and neglect of tbe Lord, the luxury
of the princes, and the violence and deceit of
their dependents (3-9). The prosperity, se
curity, and insolence of the people is con
trasted with the horrors of the day of wrath
(10-18). Ch. ii. contains a call to repent
ance (1-3), with prediction of the ruin of the
cities of the Philistines, and the restoration
of the house of Judah after the visitation
(4-7). Other enemies of Judah, Moab, Am
mon, are threatened with perpetual destruc
tion (8-15). In chap. iii. the prophet ad
dresses Jerusalem, which he reproves sharply
for vice and disobedience (1-7). He then
concludes with a series of promises (8-20).
The chief characteristics of this book are the
unity and harmony of the composition, the
grace, energy, and dignity of its style, and
the rapid and effective alternations of threats
and promises. The general tone of the last
portion is Messianic, but without any specific
reference to the person of our Lord. The
date of the book is given in the inscription ;
viz. the reign of Josiah, from 642 to 611 b.c.
It is most probable, moreover, that the pro
phecy was delivered before the 18th year of
Josiah. — 2. The son of Maaseiah (Jer. xxi. 1),
and sagan or second priest in the reign of
Zedekiah. He succeeded Jehoiada (Jer. xxix.
25, 26), and was probably a ruler of the
Temple, whose office it was among others to
punish pretenders to the gift of prophecy.
In this capacity he was appealed to by She-'
maiah. the Nehelamite to punish Jeremiah
(Jer. xxix. 29). Twice was he sent from
Zedekiah to inquire of Jeremiah the issue of
the siege of the city by the Chaldeans (Jer.
xxi. 1), and to implore him to intercede for

the people (Jer. xxxvii. 3). On the capture
of Jerusalem he was t.ikcn and slain at Ribluh
(Jer. Iii. 24, 27; 2 K. xxv. 18, 21).— 3.
Father of Josiah 2 (Zech. vi. 10), and of
Hen, according to the reading of the received
text of Zech. vi. 14.
ZEPIIATH'. [Hormah.]
ZE'PHATIIAH, THE VALLEY OF, the '
spot in which Asa joined battle with Zerah
the Ethiopian (2 Chr. xiv. 10 only).
ZE'PHO, son of Eliphaz son of Esau fGen.
xxxvi. 11), and one of the "dukes," or phy-
larchs, of the Edomites (ver. 15). In 1 Chr.
i. 36 he is called Zephi.
ZER, a fortified town in the allotment of
Naphtali (Josh. xix. 35 only), probably in
the neighbourhood of the S.W. side of the
Lake of Gennesareth.
ZE'UAH, a son of Reuel son of Esau (Gen.
xxxvi. 13; 1 Chr. i. 37), and one of the
" dukes " or phylarchs, of the Edomites (Gen.
xxxvi. 17).
ZE'RAH. 1. Less properly, Zarah, twin
son, with his elder brother Pharez, of Judah
and Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 30 ; 1 Chr. ii. 6 ;
Matt. i. 3). His descendants were called
Zarhites, Ezrahites, and Izrahites (Num.
xxvi. 20 ; 1 K. iv. 31 ; 1 Chr. xxvii. 8, 11).
— 2. Son of Simeon (1 Chr. iv. 24), called
Zohar in Gen. xlvi. 10.— 3. The Ethiopian
or Cushite, an invader of Judah, defeated by
Asa about b.c 941. [Asa.] Zerah is pro
bably the Hebrew name of Usarken L, second
king of the Egyptian xxiind dynasty ; or
perhaps more probably Usarken II. , his
second successor.
ZER'ED (Deut. ii. 13, 14) or ZAR'ED
(Num. xxi. 12 , a brook or valley running
into the Dead Sea near its S.E. corner, which
Dr. Robinson with some probability suggests
as identical with the Wady el-Ahsy. It lay
between Moab and Edom, and is the limit of
the proper term of the Israelites' wandering
(Deut. ii. 14).
ZER'EDA, the native place of Jeroboam
(1 K. xi. 26). Zeredah has been supposed
to be identical with Zeredathah and Zar-
than or Zartanah. But the two last were
in the valley of the Jordan, while Zeredah
was, according to the repeated statement of
the LXX. on Mount Ephraim.
ZERE'DATHAH (2 Chr. iv. 17). [Zar-
THAN.] ZER'ERATH (Judg. vii. 22). [Zarthan.]
ZERUB'BABEL (born at Babel, i. e. Baby
lon), the head of the tribe of Judah at the time
of the return from the Babylonish Captivity
in the first year of Cyrus. He was appointed
by the Persian king to the office of governor
of Judaea. On arriving at Jerusalem, Zeruh-
babel's great work, which he set about im-

ZERTJIAH

613

ZIDON

mediately, was the rebuilding of the Temple.
After much opposition [see Nehemiah], and
many hindrances and delays, the Temple was
at length finished, in the sixth year of Darius,
and was dedicated with much pomp and re
joicing. [Temple.] The only other works
of Zerubbabel which we learn from Scripture
are the restoration of the courses of priests
and Levites, and of the provision for their
maintenance, according to the institution of
David (Ezr. vi. 18 ; Neh. xii. 47) ; the re
gistering the returned captives according to
their genealogies (Neh. vii. 5) ; and the
keeping of a Passover in the seventh year of
Darius, with which last event ends all that
we know of the life of Zerubbabel. His
apocryphal history is told in 1 Esdr. iii.-vii.
The exact parentage of Zerubbabel is a little
obscure, from his being always called the
son of Shealtiel (Ezr. iii. 2, 8, v. 2, &c. ;
Hagg. i. 1, 12, 14, &c), and appearing as
such in the genealogies of Christ (Matt. i. 12 ;
Luke iii. 27), whereas in 1 Chr. iii. 19, he is
represented as the son of Pedaiah, Shealtiel
or Salathiel's brother, and consequently as
Salathiel's nephew. It is of more moment
to remark that, while St. Matthew deduces
his line from Jechonias and Solomon, St. Luke
deduces it through Neri and Nathan. Zerub
babel was the legal successor and heir of
Jeeoniah's royal estate, the grandson of Neri,
and the lineal descendant of Nathan the son
of David. In the N. T. the name appears
in the Greek form of Zorobabel.
ZERU'IAH, the mother of the three lead
ing heroes of David's army> — Abishai, Joab,
and Asahel — known as the " sons of Zeruiah."
She and Abigail are specified in 1 Chr. ii. 1 3-
17 as "sisters of the sons of Jesse " (v. 16).
The expression is in itself enough to raise a
suspicion that she was not a daughter of
Jesse, a suspicion which is corroborated by
the statement of 2 Sam. xvii. 25, that Abigail
was the daughter of Nahash. [Nahash.] Of
Zeruiah's husband there is no mention in the
Bible. ZI'BA, a person who plays a prominent
part, though with no credit to himself, in
one of the episodes of David's history (2 Sam.
ix. 2-12, xvi. 1-4, xix. 17, 29). [Mephi
bosheth.] ZIB'EON, father of Anah, whose daughter
Aholibamah was Esau's wife (Gen. xxxvi. 2).
Although called a Hivite, he is probably the
Bame as Zibeon the son of Seir the Horite
(vers. 20, 24, 29 ; 1 Chr. i. 33, 40).
ZID'DIM, a fortified town in the allotment
ofNaphtali (Josh. xix. 35).
ZI'DON or SI'DON (Gen. x. 19, 15 ; Josh.
si. 8, xix. 28 ; Judg. i. 31, xviii. 28 ; Joel
iii. 4 (iv. 4) ; Is. xxiii. 2, 4, 12; Jer. xxv.

22, xxvii. 3 ; Ez. xxviii. 21, 22 ; Zech. ix.
2 ; Matt. xi. 21, 22, xv. 21 ; Luke vi. 17, x.
13, 14 ; Mark iii. 8, vii. 24, 31). — An ancient
and wealthy city of Phoenicia, on the eastern
coast of the Mediterranean Sea, less than 20
English miles to the north of Tyre. Its
Hebrew name, Tsidon, signifies " Fishing,"
or " Fishery." Its modern name is Saida.
It is situate in the narrow plain between the
Lebanon and the sea. From a Biblical point
of view, this city is inferior in interest to its
neighbour Tyre ; though in early times Zidon
was the most influential of the two cities.
This is shadowed forth in the Book of Genesis
by the statement that Zidon was the first
born of Canaan (Gen. x. 15), and is implied
in the name of "Great Zidon," or "the Me
tropolis Zidon," which is twice given to it in
Joshua (xi. 8, xix. 28). It is confirmed, like
wise, by Zidonians being used as the generic
name of the Phoenicians, or Canaanites (Josh.
xiii. 6; Judg. xviii. 7); and by the reason
assigned for there being no deliverer to Laish
when its peaceable inhabitants were massa
cred, that " it was far from Zidon ; " whereas,
if Tyre had been then of equal importance, it
would have been more natural to mention
Tyre, which professed substantially the same
religion, and was almost twenty miles nearer
(Judg. xviii. 28). From the time of Solomon
to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar Zidon is
not often directly mentioned in the Bible,
and it appears to have been subordinate to
Tyre. When the people called " Zidonians "
is mentioned, it sometimes seems that the
Phoenicians of tbe plain of Zidon are meant
(1 K. v. 6, xvi. 31, xi. 1, 5, 33 ; 2 K. xxiii.
13). There is no doubt, however, that Zidon
itself, tbe city properly so called, was threa
tened by Joel (iii. 4) and Jeremiah (xxvii.
3). Still, all that is known respecting it
during the epoch is very scanty, amounting to
scarcely more than that one of its sources of
gain was trade in slaves, in which the inha
bitants did not shrink from selling inhabi
tants of Palestine ; that the city was governed
by kings (Jer. xxvii. 3 and xxv. 22) ; that,
previous to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar,
it had furnished mariners to Tyre (Ez. xxvii.
8j ; that, at one period it was subject, in
some sense or other, to Tyre ; and that,
when Shalmaneser king of Assyria invaded
Phoenicia, Zidon seized the opportunity to
revolt. During the Persian domination,
Zidon seems to have attained its highest
point of prosperity ; and it is recorded that,
towards the close of that period, it far ex
celled all other Phoenician cities in wealth
and importance. It is very probable that
the long siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar
had tended not only to weaken and impo-

ZIF

(1U

ZOAN

verish Tyre, but likewise to enrich Zidon at
the expense of Tyre. Its prosperity was
suddenly cut short by an unsuccessful revolt
against Persia, which ended in the destruc
tion of the town (b.c. 351). Forty thousand
persons are said to have perished in the
flames. Sidon, however, gradually recovered
from the blow, and became again a flourish
ing town. It is about fifty miles distant
from Nazareth, and is the most northern
city which is mentioned in connexion with
Christ's journeys.
ZIF. (1 K. vi. 37.) [Month.]
ZIK'LAG, is first mentioned in the cata
logue of the towns of Judah in Josh, xv., and
occurs, in the same connexion, amongst the
places which were allotted out of the terri
tory of Judah to Simeon (xix. 5). We next
encounter it in the possession of the Philis
tines (1 Sam. xxvii. 6), when it was at
David's request, bestowed upon him by
Achish king of Gath. He resided there for a
year and four months (ibid. 7 ; 1 Sam. xxxi.
14, 26; 1 Chr. xii. 1, 20). It was there he
received the news of Saul's death (2 Sam. i.
1, iv. 10). He then relinquished it for
Hebron (ii. 1). Ziklag is finally mentioned
as being reinhabited by the people of Judah
after their return from the Captivity (Neh.
xi. 28). The situation of the town is diffi
cult to determine, and we only know for cer
tain that it was in the south country.
ZIL'LAH. [Lamech.]
ZIL'PAH, a Syrian given by Laban to his
daughter Leah as an attendant (Gen. xxix.
24), and by Leah to Jacob as a concubine.
She was the mother of Gad and Asher (Gen.
xxx. 9-13, xxxv. 26, xxxvii. 2, xlvi. 18).
ZIM'RAN, the eldest son of Keturah (Gen.
xxv. 2 ; 1 Chr. i. 32). His descendants are
not mentioned, nor is any hint given that he
was the founder of a tribe.
ZIM'RI. 1. The son of Salu, a Simeonite
chieftain, slain by Phinehas with the Midia-
nitish princess Cozbi (Num. xxv. 14). — 3.
Fifth sovereign of the separate kingdom of
Israel, of which he occupied the throne for
the brief period of seven days in the year
n.c. 930 or 929. Originally in command of
half the chariots in the royal army, he gained
the crown by the murder of king Elah son of
liaasha. But the army which at that time
was besieging the Philistine town of Gibbe
thon, when they heard of Elah's murder,
proclaimed their general Omri king. He
immediately marched against Tirzah, and
took the city. Zimri retreated into the inner
most part of the late king's palace, set it on fire
and perished in the ruins (1 K. xvi. 9-20).
ZIN, the name given to a portion of the
desert tract between the Dead Sea, Ghor,

and Arabah on the E., and the general pla
teau of the Tih which stretches westward.
The country in question consists of two or
three successive terraces of mountain con
verging to an acute angle at the Dead Sea's
southern verge, towards which also they
slope. Kadesh lay in it, and here also Idu-
mea was conterminous with Judah; since
Kadesh was a city in the border of Edom
(see Kadesh; Num. xiii. 21, xx. 1, xxvii.
14, xxxiii. 36, xxxiv. 3 ; Josh. xv. 1).
ZI'ON. [Jerusalem.]
Zl'OR, a town in the mountain district of
Judah (Josh. xv. 54). It belongs to the
same group with Hebron.
ZIPH, the name of two towns in Judah.
1. In the south ; named between Itlman and
Telem (Josh. xv. 24). It does not appear
again in the history, nor has any trace of it
been, met with. — 2. In the highland district ;
named between Carmel and Juttah (Josh. xv.
55). The place is immortalised by its con
nexion with David (1 Sam. xxiii. 14, 15, 24,
xxvi. 2). These passages show, that at that
time it had near it a wilderness (i.e. a waste
pasture- ground) and a wood. The latter has
disappeared, but the former remains. The
name of Zif is found about three miles S. of
Hebron, attached to a rounded hill of some
100 feet in height, which is called Tell Zif.
In the A. V. its inhabitants are called in one
passage the Ziphims (Ps. liv.), but more
usually the Ziphites (1 Sam. xxiii. 19 ;
xxvi. 1).
ZIPH'RON, a point in the north boundary
of the Promised Land as specified by Moses
(Num. xxxiv. 9).
ZIP'POR, father of Balak king of Moab
(Num. xxii. 2, 4, 10, 16, xxiii. 18; Josh.
xxiv. 9 ; Judg. xi. 25).
ZIP'PORAH, daughter of Reuel or Jethro,
the priest of Midian, wife of Moses, and
mother of his two sons Gershom and Eliezer
(Ex. ii. 21, iv. 25, xviii. 2; comp. 6). The
only incident recorded in her life is that of
the circumcision of Gershom (iv. 24-26).
ZIZ, THE CLIFF OF, the pass by which
the horde of Moabites, Ammonites, and Me-
hunim, made their way up from the shores of
the Dead Sea to the wilderness of Judah near
Tekoa (2 Chr. xx. 16 only; comp. 20)- It
was the pass of Ain Jidy — the very same
route which is taken by the Arabs in their
marauding expeditions at the present day.
ZO'AN, an ancient city of lower Egypt,
called Tanis by the Greeks. It stood on the
eastern bank of tbe Tanitic branch of the
Nile. Its name indicates a place of departure
from a country, and hence it has been iden
tified with Avaris, the capital of the Shepherd
dynasty in Egypt. We read in the book of

ZOAR

615

ZORAH

Numbers that " Hebron was built seven years
before Zoan in Egypt" (xiii. 22), which tends
to establish the identity of Avaris and Zoan,
since we know that Hebron was already built
in Abraham's time, and the Shepherd-invasion
may be dated about the same period. Sup
posing that the Pharaoh who oppressed the
Israelites belonged to tbe Shepherds, it would
be natural for him to reside at Zoan ; and
this city is mentioned in connexion with the
Plagues in such a manner as to leave no
doubt that it is the city spoken of in the nar
rative in Exodus as that where Pharaoh
dwelt (Ps. lxxviii. 42, 43). Tanis gave its
name to the xxist and xxiiird dynasties, and
hence its mention in Isaiah (xix. 13, xxx. 4).
"I will set fire in Zoan" (xxx. 14), where
it occurs among the cities to be taken by
Nebuchadnezzar. ZO'AR, one of the most ancient cities of
the land of Canaan. Its original name was
Bela (Gen. xiv. 2, 8). It was in intimate
connexion with the cities of the " plain of
Jordan " — Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and
Zeboiim (see also xiii. 10 ; but not x. 19). In
the general destruction of the cities of the
plain, Zoar was spared to afford shelter to
Lot (xix. 22, 23, 30). It is mentioned in the
account of the death of Moses as one of the
landmarks which bounded his view from
Pisgah (Deut. xxxiv. 3), and it appears to
have been known in the time both of Isaiah
(xv. 5) and Jeremiah (xlviii. 34). These are
all the notices of Zoar contained in the Bible.
It was situated in the same district with the
four cities already mentioned, viz. in the
"plain" or "circle" "of the Jordan," and
the narrative of Gen. xix. evidently implies
that it was very near to Sodom (ver. 15, 23,
27). The definite position of Sodom is, and
probably will always be, a mystery, but there
can be little doubt that the plain of the Jordan
was at the north side of the Dead Sea, and
that the cities of the plain must therefore
have been, situated there instead of at the
southern end of the lake, as it is generally
taken for granted they were. [Sodom.]
ZO'BA, or ZO'BAH, the name of a portion
of Syria, which formed a separate kingdom in
the time of the Jewish monarchs, Saul, David,
and Solomon. It probably was eastward of
Coele-Syria, and extended thence north-east
and east, towards, if not even to, the Eu
phrates. We first hear of Zobah in the time
of Saul, when we find it mentioned as a
separate country, governed apparently by a
number of kings who owned no common head
or chief (1 Sam. xiv. 47). Some forty years
later than this, we find Zobah under a single
ruler, Hadadezer, son of Rehob. He had
wars with Toi, king of Hamath (2 Sam. viii.

10), and held various petty Syrian princes as
vassals under his yoke (2 Sam. x. 19). David
(2 Sam. viii. 3) attacked Hadadezer in the
early part of his reign, defeated his army,
and took from him a thousand chariots, seven
hundred (seven thousand, I Chr. xviii. 4)
horsemen, and 20,000 footmen. Hadadezer's
allies, the Syrians of Damascus, were defeated
in a great battle. The wealth of Zobah is
very apparent in the narrative of this cam
paign. It is not clear whether the Syrians
of Zobah submitted and became tributary on
this occasion, or whether, although defeated,
they were able to maintain their independ
ence. At any rate a few years later, they
were again in arms against David. The war
was provoked by the Ammonites, who hired
the services of the Syrians of Zobah. The
allies were defeated in a great battle by Joab,
who engaged the Syrians in person (2 Sam.
x. 9). Hadadezer, upon this, made a last effort
(1 Chr. xix. 16). A battle was fought near
Helam, where the Syrians of Zobah and their
new allies were defeated with great slaughter.
Zobah, however, though subdued, continued
to cause trouble to the Jewish kings. A man
of Zobah, Rezon, son of Eliadah, made him
self master of Damascus, where he proved a
fierce adversary to Israel all through the
reign of Solomon (1 K. xi. 23-25). Solomon
also was, it would seem, engaged in a war
with Zobah itself (2 Chr. viii. 3). This is
the last that we hear of Zobah in Scripture.
The name, however, is found at a later date
in the Inscriptions of Assyria, where the
kingdom of Zobah seems to intervene between
Hamath and Damascus.
ZO'HAR. 1. Father of Ephron the Hittite
(Gen. xxiii. 8, xxv. 9). — 2. One of the sons
of Simeon (Gen. xlvi. 10 ; Ex. vi. 15) ; called
Zerah in 1 Chr. iv. 24.
ZOHEL'ETH, THE STONE. This was
" by En Rogel " (1 K. i. 9) ; and therefore, if
En Rogel he the modern Um-ed-Deraj, this
stone, " where Adonijah slew sheep and
oxen," was in all likelihood not far from the
well of the Virgin.
ZO'PHAR, one of the three friends of Job
(Job ii. 11, xi. 1, xx. 1, xiii. 9).
ZO'PHIM, THE FIELD OF, a spot on or
near the top of Pisgah, from which Balaam
had his second view of the encampment of
Israel (Num. xxiii. 14). The position of the
field of Zophim is not defined. May it not
be the same place whieh later in the history
is mentioned as Mizpah-Moab ?
ZO'RAH, a town in the allotment of the
tribe of Dan (Josh. xix. 41). It is previously
mentioned (xv. 33) in the catalogue of Judah,
among the places in the district of the She
felah (A. V. Zoreah). It was the residence

ZOREAH

616

ZUZIMS

of Manoah and the native place of Samson.
It is mentioned amongst the places fortified
by Rehoboam (2 Chr. xi. 10). It is perhaps
identical with the modern village of SUr'ah.
ZO'REAH. [Zorah.]
ZOROB'ABEL. [Zerubbabel.]
Z U 'AR, father of Nethaneel the chief of the
tribe of Issachar at the time of the Exodus
(Num. i. 8, ii. 5, vii. 18, 23, x. 15).
ZUPH, THE LAND OF, a district at which
Saul and his servant arrived after passing
through those of Shalisha, of Shalim, and of
the Benjamites (1 Sam. ix. 5 only). It may
perhaps be identified with Soba, a well-known
place about 7 miles due west of Jerusalem.

ZUPH, a Kohathite Levite, ancestor of
Elkanah and Samuel (1 Sam. i. 1 ; 1 Chr. vi.
35). In 1 Chr. vi. 26 he is called Zophai.
ZURISHADDA'I, father of Sheluraiel, the
chief of the tribe of Simeon at the time of
the Exodus (Num. i. C, ii. 12, vii. 36, 41,
x. 19).
ZU'ZIMS, THE, an ancient people who
lying in the path of Chedorlaomer and hia
allies were attacked and overthrown by them
(Gen. xiv. 5). The Zuzim perhaps inhabited
the country of the Ammonites, and were
identical with the Zamzummim, who are
known to have been exterminated and suc
ceeded in their land by the Ammonites.

[ 617 ]
TPIE JEWISH CALENDAR.

Corresponding Dates for Thhee Years.

Jewish Calendar
A.M. 5623.
a.m. 5624.
A.M. 5625.
(In the Sacred Order of the Montbs).
a.d. 186S.
A.D. 1864.
A.D. 1865.
I. ABIB or NISAN. April.
Mar. 21 . .
Apr. 7 . .
Mar. 28 . .
1. New Moon.
Apr. 4. 5,10,11
Apr. 21, 22,27, 28
Apr. 11, 12, 17, 18
15, 16, 21, 22. Passover Davs, 1, 2, 7, last.
Apr. 19
30. New Moon. IT. JYAR (Yiah). May.
Apr. 20 . .
May 7
Apr. 27 .
1. New Moon,
Apr. 29 . .
May 1
Mav 17
May 24
May 14 .
10. Death of Elijah (Lag B' Omer). Fast.
12.
28. Death of Samuel. Fast.
May 19
30. New Moon. IXI. SIVAN. June.
May 19
Jnne 5 . .
May 26 . .
1. New Moon.
May 24, 25 . .
June 10, 11 .
May 31, June 1
6, 7. Pentecost or Sebnoth.
Jane 17
30. New Moon. IV. THAMMTJZ. July.
Jane 18
Jnly 5
June 25
I. New Moon.
July 5
Jnly 21
July 11
17. TaMng of Jerusalem by Titus. Fast.
V. AB. August.
July 17 . .
Aug. 3 . .
July 24 . .
1. New Moon.
July 26 . .
Aug. 11 . .
Aug. 1 . .
9. Destruction of Temple. Fast.
July 31 . .
15. Tubeah. Little Festival.
Aug. 15 . .
30. New Moon. VI. ELTJL. September.
Aug . 16 . .
Sept. 2
Aug. 23
1. New Moon.
Aug. 22 . .
7. Dedication of Walls by Nehemiah. Feast.
Sept. 1 . .
17. Expulsion of the Greeks.
A.ar. 5624.
a.d. 1863-4.
A.M.. 5625.
A.D. 1864-5.
A.M. 5626.
A.D. 1865-6.
Beginning of Civil Yev.
VII. TISKI. October.
Sept 14,15 .
Oct. 1, 2
Sept. 21, 22 .
1, 2. New Year and New Moon.
Sept. 16 . .
Oct 3
Sept 24
3. Death of Gedaliah. Fast.
Sept. 23 . .
Oct 10 . .
Sept. 30
10. Kipur. Day op Atonement. Fast.
Sept. 28, 29 .
Oct. 15,16 .
Oct 5, 6 .
15, 16. Feast op Tabernacles.
Oct. 1 . .
18. Hosanna Babba.
Oct. 4
Oct 21*
Oct. 11
21. Feast of Branches or of Palms.
Oct. 5
Oct 22
Oct. 12
22. End of Feast of Tabernacles.
Oct. 6
Oct. 23
Oct. 13
23. Feast of the Law.
•
VTII. CHESVAN (Marchesvan). November.
Oct. 14
Oet. 31
Oct. 21
1. New Moon. IS. CHISLEU. December.
Nov. 12 . .
Nov. 30 . .
Nov. 19 . .
1. New Moon.
Dec. 6 . .
Dec. 24 . .
Dec. 13 . .
25. Hanuca. Dedication of Temple.
X. THEBET. January.
Dec. 11
Dec. 30
1865.
Dec. 10 . .
1. New Moon.
Dec. 20
Jan. 8
Dec. 28
1 0. Siege of Jerusalem. Fast.
1864.
1866.
XI. SEBAT. February.
Jan. 9
Jan. 28
Jan. 17
1. New Moon. XH. ADAE. March.
Feb. 8
Feb. 27
1. New Moon.
Feb. 21
14. Little Purim.
Txn.* VEADAIl (Intercalary). Latter part of
March and beginning of April.
Mar. 9 . .
1 1. New Moon.
Mar. 21 . .
Mar. 9 . .
1 13. Feast of Esther.
Mar. 22, 23 .
Mar. 12,13 .
^14, 15. Feast of Purim and Shucham Purim.
Apr. 6 . .
i*a&t Day of the Year.
Mem.— The Jewish year contains 354 day3, or 12 lunations of the moon j but in a cycle of 19 years an
Lutercalary month (Veadar) is seven times inti odnced to render the average lengt i of the year nearly
correct .
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