Peeface To Secoistd Edition.
PEEFACE TO SECOISTD EDITION.
The call for a new edition of this Dictionary has given me a favorable opportunity to remove a few obscurities and inaccuracies and to introduce some important results of the most recent biblical investigation.
I express my grateAil acknowledgments for the signal favor with which this book has been received throughout the country.
PHILIP SCHAFF.
New York, April, 1881.
PEEFACE TO FIEST EDITIO]^.
This Dictionary aims to be a useful companion in the study of the Scriptures by furnishing, in convenient alphabetical order and in popular form, the condensed results of the most recent investigations in biblical literature, history, biography, geography, topography, and archaeology.
The American Sunday-School Union first published a Bible Dictionary in 1831 under the editorship of the late venerable Dr. Archibald Alexander, of the Theological Seminary at Princeton, which was revised by F. A. Packard, LL.D., in 1837, and again by the same in 1855. It served a good purpose in its day, but biblical learning has since made such vast progress that an entirely new work, with new illustrations and maps, was needed.
I have been effectually aided in the preparation of this volume by several competent scholars. The Rev. S. M. Jackson and Mr. Clemens Petersen have devoted nearly two years' uninterrupted labor on it in my library, and prepared under my direction most of the historical, biographical, and archffiological articles; the Rev. Edwin W. Rice wrote the geographical and topographical articles, and supervised the selection and preparation of the illustrations and maps, crediting them to their proper sources; the Rev. W. P. Alcott has had charge of the department of natural history. The editor has also had the co-operation of the Rev. David Schley vSchaff, the late Rev. Isaac Riley, the Rev. Moseley H. Williams, and S. Austin Allibone, LL.D., in otherwise perfecting the work.
The full-page colored maps at the end of the Dictionary were prepared and engraved specially for it by the Messrs. W. & A. K. Johnston, of Edinburgh, Scotland, whose reputation as geographers is a sufficient guarantee of the accuracy and scholarship of these important aids to the student.
The multiplication of Bibles and Bible helps in our age and country is
truly astonishing, and furnishes the best evidence of the divine origin and
power of the Boak of books,
PHILIP SCHAFF. Union Theological Seminary, New York, April, 1880.
[these will be found at the end of the volume.]
1. Distribution of the Descendants of Noah after the Deluge.
2. Canaan in Patriarchal Times,
3. Egypt, Ancient and Modern.
4. Sinai and the Route of the Israelites to Canaan.
5. Canaan as Divided among the Twelve Tribes.
6. Kingdom of David and Solomon, and the two Kingdoms of Israel and
JUDAH.
7. Lands of the Jewish Captivities, including the four great Empires
on the Euphrates.
8. Palestine in the Time of Christ.
9. Journeys of St. Paul.
10. Modern Palestine, showing its Physical Features.
11. Environs of Jerusalem.
12. Modern Jerusalem, indicating also its Ancient Divisions.
LIST OF MAPS NOT COLOEED.
PAGE
Sketch-map of Abana and Pharpar 11
Plan of Alexandria 39
Sketch-map of Arabia 61
Sketch-map of Assyria and Mesopotamia 81
Plan of Babylon 91
Sketch-map of Canaan before the Conquest 156
Sketch-map of Cyprus 212
Sketch-map of Decapolis 226
Sketch-map of Egypt 254
Sketch-map of Route of the Exodus ........ 294
Sketch-map of Sea of Galilee 320
Sketch-map of Greece 347
Plans of Ancient Jerusalem 447
Sources op 'Ae Jordan 477
Course op the Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea . 478
Map of Macedonia 534
Sketch-map of St. Paul's Bay 560
Sketch-map op Nineveh 613
The Holy Land during the Monarchy (based on Smith and Grove) 646, 647
The Salt or Dead Sea . 753
Outline-map of Mount Sinai 807
Plans of the Temple-area 854
Plan of Herod's Temple 856
[An Index of Illustrations will be found at the end of the book.] 4
LIST OF WORKS ON BIBLICAL LEARNING MADE USE OF IN THIS DICTIONARY.
1. Dictionaries and Concordances to the Original Languages.
W"iLHELM Gesenius : Hebrdisches u. Chalddisches-Handwdrterbuch iiher da^ Alte Testament, 8th revised ed., by Miihlau u. Volck (Leipzig, 1878), also bis Thesaurus. Hebrew Lexicon, translated from the Latin and edited by Edward Robinson (1854; 20th ed., Boston, 1872).
Julius Fuerst : A Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, translated by Samuel Davidson (4th ed.,
Leipzig and London, 1871). EnwAKD Kobinson: A Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament (New York, ISoO).
A thorough revision on the basis of the last German ed. of Gesenius is in course of
preparation (1884).
C L. W. Grimm : Lexicon Grceco-Latimim in Libros Novi Testamenti (2d ed., Leipzig, 1879). An English ed. enlarged by Dr. Thayer will bepubl. by the Harpers, N. Y., in 1884 or 1885.
Herrmann Cremer, Bibli^ch-Theologisches Worterbuch der NeutestamenUichen Grdcitdt (3d revised ed., Gotha, 1882); Engl, transl. by W. Urwick; BibHco-Greek Lexicon (Edinburgh and New York, 1878).
C. H. Bruder : Concordantice N. T. Gneci (Lips., 1853).
G. V. Wigram : The Englishman''s Hebrew and. Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament (.3d ed., London, 1866; 4 parts, 2 vols.); The Hebi-aist's Vade Mecum (London, 1867) ; The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament (5th ed., London, 1868).
C. F. Hudson: A Critical Greek and English Concordance of the New Testament, revised and completed by Ezra Abbot (7th ed., Boston, 1883).
Robert Young: Analytical Concordance to the Bible (Edinburgh, 1879; New York, 1881).
Abr. Trommius : Concordantice Grcecce Versionis LXX. Interpretum (Amstel, 1718; 2 vols, folio).
William Henderson: Dictionary and Concordance of Scriptural Names {Edinburgh, 1869).
2. General and Special Introduction to the Old and New Testaments.
K. F. Keil: Einleitung in das A. Test. (Frankfurt, 2d ed., 1859); English transl. with Supplementary Notes, by Principal G. C. M. Douglas (Edinbui-gh, 1869; in 2 vols.).
F. Bleek: Einleitung in's A. T. (4th ed., Berlin, 1878); translated into f^nglish by G. H. Venables (London, 1869; 2 vols.). By the same: Einleitung in's N. T. (3d ed., Berlin, 1875); translated by Kev. W. Urwick (Edinburgh, 1870 ; 2 vols.).
Ed. Reuss : Gesch. d. heil. Sch. N. T. (5th ed. Braunschweig, 1874); Gesch d. heil. Schr. A. T.
(1881).
W. M. L. De Wette : Hislorisch-kritische Einleitung in die Bibel (8th ed., Berlin, 1869). E. H. Plumptre : The Bible Educator (London and New York, 1876-78; 4 vols.). E. C. Bissell : The Historic Origin of the Bible (New York, 1873). T. H. HoRNE, Introduction to the Holy Scriptures (14th ed., London, 1877, 4 vols.).
3. Bible History and Theology.
The Works of Philo and Josephus.
Philip Schaff : History of the Apostolic Church (New York, 1853; new ed., 1880).
Heinrich Ewald : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (3d ed., Gottingen, 1864-1868 ; 8 vols.); English translation. History of Israel (London, 1871-1876; 5 vols.); Life of Jesus Christ (Cambridge, 1865); Antiquities of Israel (London, 1876).
Rabbi Raphall: Post-Biblical History of the Jews (New York, 1866 , 2 vols.).
CoNYBEARE AND HowsoN: Life and Epistles of St. Paul (London, 1853 ; often reprinted).
William Brown: The Tabernacle: Its Priests and Services. With diagrams, etc. (Edinburgh, 1872).
George Rawlinson: The Five Great Monarchies of the Eastern World (2d. ed., London and New York, 1873; 3 vols.).
Thomas Lewin: The Life and Epistles of St. Paul (revised ed.; London, 1875; 2 vols.). A. P. Stanley : History of the Jewish Church (London and New York, 1876 ; revised ed., 1880, 3 vols.).
A. Edersheim : Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ (London, 1876).
F. W. Farrar: lAfe and Epittles of St. Paul (London and New York, 1879; 2 vols.). C. F. Schmid: Biblische Theologie des Neuen Testaments (Stuttgart, 1853).
G. F. Oehler : TheoJoqie des Alien Testament (Tiibingeu, 1863 ; Engl, transl., Edinb., and
as revised by Dr. Day, N. Y., 1884). H. ScHULTZ: Theologie des Allen Testament (Frankfurt; 2d ed., rewritten, 1878). J. J. Van Oosterzee: Theology of the New Testament (London, 1870). Paul Scholz : Gotzendienst u. Zauberwesen bei den alien Hebriiern (Regensburg, 1877).
B. Weiss: Biblical Theology of the New Testament (Engl, transl. of the 3d ed., London,
1882-83, 2 vols.).
Jf,. Bible Lands, especially Palestine.
Hadrian Reland (professor in Utrecht; died 1718): Palestina ex monum^ntis veteribus
illustrata (Traj., 1714; 2 vols.). H. Maundrell : Aleppo to Jerusalem, and Cairo to Mount Sinai, by Rt. Rev. R. Clayton
(London, 1810).
A. H. La YARD: Nineveh and its Remains (London, 1849 ; 2 vols.).
Edward Robinson (professor in Union Theological Seminary, New York; died 1863):
Biblical Researches in Palestine and the adjacent Regions: A Journal of Travels in the
Years 1838 and 1852, by E. Robinson and Eli Smith (new ed., Boston, 1856; 3 vols.
Published simultaneously in America, England, and Germany); Physical Geography
of the Holy Land (New York, 1865).
W. M. Thomson (American missionary in Beirut): Tfie Land and the Book (Edinburgh and New York, 1859; 2 vols. A new and enlarged edition in 3 vols., with superior illustrations, New York, 1880, sqq.).
John Wilson : The Lands of the Bible (Edinburgh, 1845; 2 vols.).
Carl Ritter (who made thorough and comprehensive studies of the subject, although he never visited the country): Vergleichende Erdkunde der Sinai-Halbinsel, von Palestina und Syrien (Berlin, 1848-55, 4 vols.)'. Parts 14-17 of tbe second edition of the author's great work, Die Erdkunde. Abridged translation by W. L. Gage (New York and Loudon, 1866; 4 vols.).
W. F. Lynch : Exploration of the Jordan and the Dead Sea (U. S. Expedition). (Philadelphia, 1849.)
Carl von Raumer: Paldstina (Leipzig, 1835; 4th ed., 1860).
Arthur P. Stanley (Dean of Westminster, who visited the Holy Land in 1853, and
with the prince of Wales, 1861): Sinai and Palestine in Connection with their History
(London and New York, 1853; thoroughly revised, 1883).
H. B. Tristram (Canon of Durham): The Land of Israel (with special reference to its physical features) (London, 1865; 3d ed., 1876); Bible Places: or. The Topography of the Holy Land (London, 1871; new ed. 1875); The Land of 3Ioab (London, 1873).
J. Macgregor: Rob Roy on the Jordan (London and New York, 1870). E. H. Palmer : The Desert of the Exodus (Cambridge, 1871, 2 vols.; N. Y., 1872, 1 vol.). J. L. Porter: Giant Cities of Bashan (New York, 1873). George Smith: Assyrian Discoveries (New York, 1875).
H. J. Van Lentjep: Bible Lands : their Modern Customs and Manners illustrative of Scripture (New York, 1875).
C. R. Conder: Tent-Work in Palestine (London and New York, 1878; 2 vols.).
Philip Schaff: Through Bible Lands: Notes of Travel in Egypt, the Deseii, and Palestine (New York and London, 1878; revised and e"nlarged, London ed., 1880).
J. G. WiLKiN.*!ON: Mannei-s and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. New ed. ; revised by
Samuel Birch, LL.D. (London, 1878; 3 vols.). E. W. Lane : Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (London, 1836 ; 5th ed., 1871). Samuel Manning: Land of the Pharaohs (London, 1878); Those Holy Fields (London, 1879), S. C. Bartlett : lYom Egypt to Palestine (New York, 1879). 6
British Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly StatemenUi (London, 1868, .-t^g.); Our
Work in Palesline (London, 1875); Maps and Mevioirs (1880-1884, 8 vols). American Palestine Exploration Society: Occasional Reports (New York, 1872, sqq.). Deutscher Palestina-Verein : Zeitschrift (Leipzig, 1878, s^^.)-J. L. Porter: Handbook for Tiavellers in Syria and Palestine (London, Murray, ixirt). K. Baedeker : Palestine and Syria, Handbook for Ti-avellers (IjCipzig, 187(1; "id (iorinaii ed.,
revised and enlarged, 1880). By the same: Egypt and Sinai (Leipzig, 1878). M. E. Brugsch : La Trouvaille de Deir-El-Bahari Vingt Photographies; Ti'xli' par G. Ma.s-
pero, d'A7itiquites Directeur General des Musies d'Egypte, Le Caire, Iinpriinerie 1' ran-
caise, F. Monres et C'*, 1881.
Georg Ebers : Durch Gosen zum Sinai (2d ed., Leipzig, 1881). Selah Merrill : East of the Jordan, (1 vol., N. Y., 1881). H. C. Trumbull: Aadesh-baiiiea (New York, 1884: 1 vol).
5. Topography of Jerusalem.
George Williams : Tlie Holy City (2d ed., London, 1849; 2 vols.).
Dr. Titus Tobler (a Swiss physician and very accurate archaeologist; died 1877): Topo-graphie von Jenisaleni (Berlin, 1854; 2 vols.).
J. T. Barclay, M. D. : T/ie City of the Great King; or, Jerusalem as it Was, as it Is, and as it Is to Be (Philadelphia, 1858).
E. Pierotti: Jerusalem Explored. Trans, by Bonney (London, 1864; 2 vols, quarto. The second vol. contains plates).
The Recovery of Jerusalem (London and New York, 1871), Contains the reports and journals of Captains Wilson and Warren, etc., relating to the recent excavations of the Palestine Exploration Fund during the preceding three years; with an Introduction by Dean Stanley,
Walter Besant and E, H, Palmer: Jerusalem, the CUy of Herod and Saladin (London, 1871).
Charles Warren (captain of Royal Engineers ; late in charge of the explorations in the Holy Land): Underground Jerusalem {IjonAon, 1876).
Dr. Carl Zimmermann : Karten und Plane zur Topographic des Alien Jerusalem^ (Basel,
1876). Bernhard Neumann (a Jewish physician who resided in Jerusalem fifteen years): Die
heilige Stadt und deren Bewohner (Hamburg, 1877). Instructive for modern Jerusalem.
6. Bible Maps.
Samuel Clark : Biblical Atlas. Index of geographical names by George Grove (quarto; London, 1868).
William Smith : Atlas of Ancient Geography, Biblical and Classical. Edited by William Smith, D..C. L., LL.D., and George Grove (folio; London, 1874).
7, Natural History and Mineralogy of the Bible.
Petrus Forskal: Flora JEgyptiaco-Arabica {Ha\msd [Copenhagen], 1775).
C. W. King: Antique Gems and Rings (London, 1860).
S. Tenney : Natural History of Animals (New York, 1865).
H. B. Tristram : Natural History of the Bible (London and New York, 1867).
J. D. Dana, LL.D.: A System of Mineralogy (New York, 1869).
J. G. Wood : Bible Animals (London, 1869).
E. LOOMIS, M. D.: A Treatise on Meteorology (New York, 1872).
J. T. Moggridge: Harvesting-Ants (London, 1873),
Edmond Boissier: Flora Orientalis CBi^&ie: now issuing).
J. G. Wood: Animal Kingdom (London and Boston, 1870).
Bohn's NaturalisVs Library. Edited by Sir William Jardine, F. R, S, E., etc. (Edinburgh
and London, 1858, sqq.; 40 vols.), CasseWs Nalural History. Edited by Dr, P. M, Duncan, F, R. S. (London and New York,
1878-1880),
7
8. History of the English Bible.
B. F. Westcott: History of the English Bible (London, 1868). John Eadie: History of the English Bible (London, 1876; 2 vols.).
W. F. MouLTON : History of the English Bible (London, Paris, and New York).
John Stoughton : Our English Bible (London, 1878).
H. Stevens : The Bibles in the Chxton Exhibition (London, 1878).
J. I. MoMBERT: Handbook of the English Versions (N. Y. and London, 1883).
P. ScHAFF: Companion to the Greek Text and the English Version (N. Y. and London, 1883; revised ed., 1884).
9. Commentaries.
J. P. Lange: Commentai-y on Old and Neiv Testaments (Anglo-American edition. New York and Edinburgh, 1864-80, 25 vols.; new ed., 1884).
The Bible (Speaker's) Commentary (London and New York, 1871-82; 10 vols.). Edited by Canon F. ('. Cook.
H. A. AV. INIeyer : Commentary on the New Testament (Engl, transl., Edinburgh, 1873-82, 20 vols.; partly republ. with additions, N. Y., 1881, sqq.).
C. J. Ellicott: New Testament Commentary for English Readers (London, 1878; 3 vols.).
J. B. Lightfoot: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galaiians (6th ed., London, 1880); Coin-
mentury on the Epistle to the Philippians (3d ed., Loudon, 1873); Commentary on ihe
Epistle to the Colossians, Philemon (London, 1875). Philip Schaff: Popular Illustrated Commentary on the New Testament (New York and
Edinb., 1879-83, 4 vols.). Also since 1882 in small vols, under title of International
Revision Commentai-y.
A number of other commentaries, German and English, on the Old and New Testaments, have been used more or less. Among these the German commentaries of Keil and Delitzsch, translated in Clark's Library, and the Scotch of Jamieson, Fausset, and Broivn, deserve mention.
10. Biblical Oyclopoidias.
(a) ENGLISH WORKS.
William Smith: Dictionary of the Bible (London, 1863, 3 vols.). . Am. ed. complete, with a number of original contributions and bibliographical supplements by Prof. H. B. Hackett, D. D., and Ezra Abbot, LL.D. (New York, 1868-70 ; 4 vols.).
J. KiTTO : Cyclopredia of Biblical Literature. 3d ed. by W. L. Alexander, D. D., of Edinburgh (London and Philadelphia, 1866, 3 vols.).
P. Faikbairn : The Imperial Bible Dictionary, Illustrated (Edinburgh, 1867 ; 2 vols.). M'Clintock and Strong : Cyclopcedia of Biblical Theology and Ecclesiastical Literature
(New York, 1867-81; 10 vols.; 3 vols, of supplements). ' J. Ayre : The Treasury of Bible Knowledge (new ed., London, 1870).
Potter's Bible Encyclopcedia. Edited by W. Blackwood, D.D., LL.D. (Philadelphia, 1876; 2 vols.).
A. R. Fausset : The Englishman's Bible Cyclopmdia (London, 1878).
Schaff-Herzog : Encyclopcedia of Religious Knowledge (N. Y., 1882-84; 3 vols.).
{h) GERMAN WORKS.
G. B. Winer : Biblisches Realworterbuch (3d ed., Leipzig, 1849; 2 vols.).
H. Zeller (with Fronmuller, Hainlen, Klaiber, Leyrer, ^lerz, D. Volter, L. Volter, Wun-derlich, etc.): Biblischoi Worterbuch fiir das christliche Volk (2d ed., Gotha, 1866; 2 vols.X
D. Schenkel (in connection with Bruch, Diestel, Dillraann, Fritzsche, Gass, Graf, Haus-rath, Hitzigr, Holtzmann, Keim, Lipsius, Mangold, Merx, Noeldeke, Reuss, Roskofl", Schrader, Schwarz, Schweizer): Bibel-Lexikon (Leipzig, 1869-75 ; 5 vols.).
Ed. G. Aug. Riehm (aided by G. Baur, Beyschlag, Delitzsch, Ebers. Kamphausen, Kleinert, Schlottmann. Schrader, Schurer): 'Handworterbuch des Biblischen Altertums. With many illustrations (Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1875, sqq.).
Herzog and Plitt: Real-Encyklopmdie fiir Protest. Theologie %md Kirche. (New ed., Leipzig, 1876, sqq. To be completed in 15 vols. The first edition had 22 vols.).
8
Dictionary of the Holy Bible.
A AND O, or ALPHA and OMEGA, the first and the hist letters of the Greek alphabet, are four times used by Christ, Rev. 1: 8, 11 [omitted in oldest MSS.]; 21 : 6; 22 : 13, just as the phrase " The first and .... the last" is used by Jehovah, Isa. 41: 4; 44 : 6, to express the idea of eternit}', and also of divine causality. The Church very early adopted these two letters as a symbol of the eternal divinity of our Lord, and used it extensively on monuments of every description, sometimes alone, but more frequently in connection with the cross and the monogram of Christ in its various forms, as
a|w Api
di)
AA'RON {mountaineer, or more probably, from another root, enliyhtened), the first high priest of the Jews; eldest son of Amram, the grandson, and Jochebed, the daughter, of Levi; brother of Miriam, who was several years older, and of Moses, who was three years younger. Ex. 6 : 20 ; cf. 2 : 1, 4; 7:7; Num. 26 : 59. The family of Aaron belonged to the Kohathite branch of the tribe of Levi, the most numerous and powerful. This gave them prominence, so that the leadership naturally fell to them. When first mentioned he is called, Ex. 4 : 14, the '' Levite," which implies that he was a recognized leader in his tribe, and, as the first-born son, he would be the priest of the household. Aaron's wife was Elisheba, daughter of the prince of Judah, and he had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Ex. 6 : 23. The greater portion of his life is passed over in silence by the Bible writers, and he was eighty-three years old before he is introduced to us. Moses
AAR
had timidly declined to be the leader of his people out of captivity, and had assigned as a reason that ho was "slow of speech and of a slow tongue," Ex. 4:10; whereupon God tells him that Aaron, his brother, was coming toward him, evidently under divine direction, and that he would act as his mouthpiece, because he possessed in a high degree popular gifts of speech and ai-gument.
Thus brought together, and understanding their respective functions, the brothers started for the court of Pharaoh, and from that time on Aaron played a very prominent part in the drama of Israel's deliverance. Side by side Moses and Aaron stand before the Lord, before Pharaoh, before the enraged elders of Israel. Furnished with words, Aaron utters them in these several presences, works miracles, and evinces courage. His work was by no means easy, but he carried it on successfully.
On the way to Sinai the battle with Amalek was fought, and Aaron joins Hur in holding up the weary arms of Moses. Ex. 17 : 9, 13. With his two sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, he and Moses saw the Lord. Ex. 24. But when Moses was not with him, then he showed himself weak, and it will always be told, to his discredit, that he made the golden calf—not, indeed, as a substitute for Jehovah, but rather as a concession. He proclaimed a feast to the Lord, but the people ran into great excesses, and as Moses was descending from the mount it was the noise of the dancing and music which so raised his anger. Ex. 32. Notwithstanding this grievous sin Aaron and his sons were consecrated as the first priests of the Israel-
AAE
ABA
ites. Ex. 40: 12-15; cf. Ex. 28 ; Lev. 8.
See Priest. He was forbidden to mourn for his sons, Nadab and Abihu, who were destroyed for offering strange fire. Lev. 10. Miriam, becoming jealous of Moses' wife, probably because her influence was weakened, induced Aaron to murmur against Moses on the ground that he assumed too much authority. Aaron deeply repented when rebuked, and joined with Moses in a prayer for Miriam's recovery. Num. 12. See Miriam. Twenty years later the Lord interposed to vindicate Aaron's authority against Korah and his company, and by a miracle, the budding rod, confirmed the original choice. Num. 16, 17. The plague which broke out was stopped by Aaron's atonement. He stood between the living and the dead.
Aaron fell under the influence of whichever strong nature was nearest to his at the time. So he was carried away by Moses into sin at the waters of Meribah, and in punishment they were both kept out of the Promised Land. Aaron died first, upon Mount Hor, from whence he could obtain a distant view of Palestine, and there, in the presence of Moses, who stripped him of his priestly garments and put them upon Aaron's son, Eleazar, the first high priest, who for nearly forty years had discharged his sacred office, in spite of his faults thus highly exalted, fell, at the age of one hundred and twenty-three, under the dominion of the universal conqueror, and was buried upon the mountain. Num. 20 : 23-29. A Mohammedan mosque marks the supposed grave of Aaron, on one of the two tops of Mount Hor, which is near Petra, in the desert. See Hor, Mount.
Aaron is called the " saint of the Lord" with reference to his official character, Ps. 106 : 16, but, as the most superficial study of his life shows, he was far from perfect. He was a better servant than master. He was weak in command, but faithful in duty. He yielded like wax to the impressions of the moment. Yet it may readily be believed that the people loved him, perhaps more than Moses, and that the mourning over his death, which lasted thirty days, Num. 20 : 28, was sincere. One of the fasts of later Ju-10
daism was one in his memory, held on the first day of the fifth month, Ab, our July or August.
The Jewish priesthood began in the family of Aaron and remained its possession, though not uninterruptedlj', in the line of Eleazar; it passed into the family of Ithamar, the brother of Eleazar, in the person of Eli; but, in consequence of the excesses of Eli's sons, God declared that it should be taken from his family, 1 Sam.
2 : 30, and this prophecy was fulfilled in the time of Solomon, who took the priesthood from Abiathar and restored it to Zadok, of the line of Eleazar. 1 Kgs.
3 : 27.
AA'RONITES. 1 Chr. 12 : 27. Levites of the family of Aaron : the priests who served the sanctuary. Eleazar, Aaron's son, was their chief. Num.
4 : 16.
AB. See Month.
ABAD'DON {destruction), the Hebrew name for the angel of the bottomless pit, and answering to the Greek name Apollyon, the destroyer. Rev. 9 : 11.
ABAG'THA (derivation doubtful; probably God-given), one of the seven chamberlains of the court of Ahasuerus. Esth, 1:10.
AB'ANA (stony), a river of Damascus, 2 Kgs. 5 : 12, and supposed to be identical with the Amana of Song Sol. 4 : 8. Probably the mod-ei*n Barada, which the Greeks called the Chrysorrhoas (golden stream). It rises in the mountains of Anti-Libanus, about 23 miles N. W, of Damascus, runs through the city in several streams or canals, thence across the plain, and 18 miles east of Damascus falls by several branches into the marshy Bahret-el-Kihliyeh, or so-called " Meadow Lakes." The river is a clear, limpid, copious, and perennial stream, and is the chief source of the fertility of the plain of Damascus, making it a garden in the desert. It falls 1149 feet, and waters 800 square miles of territory containing about 14 villages.
AB'ARIM {mountains beyond, or of the fords), a range of mountains east of the river Jordan, in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho. Num. 27 : 12; 33 : 47 ; Deut. 32 : 49. Nebo, Peor, and Pisgah belong to this range. In Jer. 22 : 20 the word is translated " passages." Ije-abarim in Num. 21 : 11
ABB
ABE
Sketch-Map of the Abana and Pharpar Rivers.
means heaps or ruinn of Aharim, and was near the same range.
AB'BA, the Chaldee form of the Hebrew word ah, signifying father. Applied to God in the New Testament by Christ, Mark 14 : 36, and by Paul, Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4 : 6. The syllable ah, in the sense of "possessed of," "endowed with," frequently occurs in the composition of Hebrew proper names; e. g. Abner, Absalom.
AB'DA {servant, Chaldee form). 1. Father of Adoniram. 1 Kgs. 4 : 6.
2. Son of Shammua, Neh. 11: 17; called Obadiah in 1 Chr. 9 : 16.
AB'DEEL [servant of God), father of Shelemiah. Jer. 36 : 26.
AB'DI {my servant). 1. A Merarite Levite, and ancestor of Ethan the singer. 1 Chr. 6 : 44.
2. A Levite of the same family, father of Kish. 2 Chr. 29 : 12.
3. One of the sons of Elam, who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 26.
AB'DIEL {servant of God), a chief of Gad. 1 Chr. 5 : 15.
AWDO^ {servile). 1. An Ephraim-ite who judged Israel, Jud. 12 : 13-15; perhaps the same with Bedan of 1 Sam. 12 : 11.
2. A Benjamite, son of Shashak. 1 Chr. 8 : 23.
3. A Benjamite, son of Jehiel, of Gib-eon. 1 Chr. 8 : 30; 9:36.
4. A son of Micah, one of Josiah's officers, 2 Chr. 34 : 20; called Achbor. 2 Kgs. 22 : 12, 14.
AB'DON {servile), a city in tho territory of Asher, assigned to the Le-vites. Josh. 21 : 30; 1 Chr. 6 : 74. It may be located at the modern Ahdeh, ruins 10 miles N. E. of Accho.
ABED'-NEGO {servant of Ne,jo, perhaps the same as Nebo, the Chaldean name of the planet Mercury, who was worshipped as the scribe and interpreter of the gods), the Chaldee name given by an officer of the king of Babylon to Azariah, one of the four youths mentioned in the book of Daniel who were taken captive at Jerusalem, B. c. 604, and carried to Babylon, where they were trained for the royal service. Dan.l: 7. The names of the others were likewise changed. .Daniel was called Belteshaz-zar; Hananiah, Shadrach ; and Mishael, Meshach. Daniel, j^romoted in consequence of his interpretation of the king's dream, secured positions for his three companions. These three are immortal because on the occasion of the dedication of a golden image by Nebuchadnezzar they refused to bow down and worship it. Accordingly, they were cast into a burning fiery furnace, from which they were miraculously delivered unscathed. Dan. 3. See Daniel.
A'BEJL (Ileb. Hehel—i. e. breathf
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vapor), the second son of Adam and Eve, so called perhaps from the fleeting character of his life, or because, since Cain was not the promised seed, as Eve expected at his birth, life itself seemed of little worth ; it was but " a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Gen. 4:2. He was a keeper or feeder of sheep, and in process of time brought of the firstlings or first-fruits of his flock an oifering unto the Lord. God accepted his off'er-ing and gave him evidence of it. Heb. 11: 4. Not so with Cain. Either his sacrifice, or the manner of presenting it, ofi'ended God, and the ofl'ering was rejected. 1 John 3 : 12. Cain, exceedingly angry, and filled with envy, embraced an opportunity when they were in the field together to take his brother's life. Gen. 4.
Our Saviour distinguishes Abel by the title "righteous." Matt. 23:35. He is also one of the faithful "elders" mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 11, and is justly called the first martyr.
A'BEIi (meadoio), a prefix in the names of several places, as below.
A'BEIi, of the vineyards, see margin, Jud. 11 : 33, or "plain of the vineyards," as the text reads, was a place east of the Jordan, perhaps the present MerJ Ekkeh.
A'BEL, AND A'BEL-BETH-
MA'ACHAH (meadow of the house of ojypression), a town in the north of Palestine near Cesarea Philippi, the modern Ahil-el-Kamh, a ruin on a stream north of the waters of Merom. It was attacked by Joab, 2 Sam. 20 : 14,15 ; by Benhadad, 1 Kgs. 15 : 20 ; and by Tiglath-pileser. 2 Kgs. 15 : 29.
A'BEL-MA'IM {meadoin of waters), another name for Abel-Beth-Maaehah. 2 Chr. 16 : 4.
A'BEL - MEHO'LAH [meadoio of the dance), a place in the Jordan valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. 1 Kgs. 4:12. Gideon
Pursued the Midianites near it, Jud. : 22; and it was the home of Elisha. 1 Kgs. 19 : 16. Van de Yelde locates it 10 miles south of Bethshean ; Conder, in Wadi/ Maleh, on the road from Bei-san to the Jordan, at Ain Helweh.
A'BEL-MIZ'RAIM {meadow of
Egypt), a name given by the Canaanites
12
to the floor of Atad, where Joseph mourned for his father, Jacob. Gen. 50:11. It was " beyond "—that is, west of—the Jordan, as the writer was on the east side. Some place it at Beth-hog-lah, or near Jericho ; others think it was near Hebron.
A'BEL-SHIT'TIM {meadow of the acacias), the name of the last halting-place of the Israelites before entering Canaan, and in the plain of Moab, near the Jordan. Num. 33 : 49. It is also called Shittim. Num. 25 :1.
A'BEL, STONE OF. 1 Sam. 6 : 18. A place near Beth-shemesh, where the ark of the Lord was set down.
A'BEZ {tin ? or lofty), 2i town of Is-sachar. Josh. 19 : 20. Some think it the same as Thebez, Jud. 9 : 50, near to En-gannim and Shunem ; others identify it with Kuehiz, three miles S. W. of Iksal. Conder suggests el-Beida.
A'BI (/a?^e?- = progenitor), the mother of Hezekiah, 2 Kgs. 18 : 2; called more fully Abijah. 2 Chr. 29 : 1.
ABI'A, ABFAH, and ABI'JAH {tchose father is Jehovah) are all the same name.
ABI'A. 1. Abijah, king of Judah, so called in 1 Chr. 3 : 10; Matt. 1 : 7.
2. The Greek form of Abijah, head of one of the courses of priests. Luke 1 : 5. See Abijah.
ABI'A, COURSE OF. Luke 1 : 5. In 1 Chr, 24 we have an account of the divisions of the priests into twenty-four classes, courses, or orders, who ministered at the altar in rotation. The courses were distinguished by the name of the most prominent member of the family from which the course was taken. The eighth of these courses fell to the family of Abia or Abijah; and to this course belonged Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
ABI'AH. 1. Second son of Samuel.
1 Sam. 8 : 2; 1 Chr. 6 : 28.
2. The wife of Hezron. 1 Chr. 2 : 24.
3. Son of Becher, Benjamin's son. 1 Chr. 7 : 8.
A'BI-AL'BON {father of strength, i. e. stron<i), one of David's warriors,
2 Sam. 23 : 31 ; called Abiel. 1 Chr. 11 : 32.
ABI'ASAFH {father of gathering, i. e. gathered), a Levite, one of the sons of Korah, and head of one of the
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Korhitic families, Ex. 6 : 24: called Ebiasaph in 1 Chr. 6 : 37 and 9 : 19.
ABI'ATHAR {father of abundance, i. e. liberal), the tenth high priest of the Jews, and fourth in descent from Eli. 1 Sam. 22 : 20. lie was the son of Ahimelech, and the only one who escaped when Doeg at Saul's command slew the priests at Nob in revenge for Ahimelech's service to David in inquiring of the Lord for him, and in giving him the shew-bread to eat, and Goliath's sword.
1 Sam. 22. Abiathar fled to David at Keilah, and told him what Saul had done. David received him, and he afterward became high priest. Thus there were two high priests in Israel at the same time—Abiathar, in the party of David, and Zadok, in the party of Saul, 2 Sam. 8 : 17; but, in consequence of his supporting Adonijah in his pretensions to the throne of David, Solomon, upon becoming king, thrust Abiathar out of the priesthood, 1 Kgs. 2 : 27, and conferred the ofiice exclusively upon Zadok. See Zadok, Thus was fulfilled the word of God to Eli, 1 Sam.
2 : 31; for Abiathar was the last of the priests of the house of Ithamar, to which Eli belonged ; and Zadok, who succeeded him, was of the family of Eleazar; and so the priesthood passed into its former channel. Abiathar, mentioned in Mark 2 : 26, has been supposed by some to be the same with Ahimelech. The most probable solution of the difficulty is, perhaps, that Abiathar and Ahimelech may have been hereditary names in the family, and therefore were both borne by the same person. Hence the name Abiathar, being that of David's friend, would be more commonly used than Ahimelech. This theory also accounts for the substitution of one name for another in 2 Sam 8:17; 1 Chr. 18: 16, and 1 Chr. 24 : 3, 6, 31. The facts to which the Gospel alludes in the passage cited are fully stated in 1 Sam. 21.
A'BIB (month). See Month.
ABI'DA, OR ABI'DAH {fither of knotcledge, i. e. wise), a son of Midian. Gen. 25: 4; 1 Chr. 1 : 33.
AB'IDAN {father of the judge), prince of Benjamin. Num. 1 : 11; 2 : 22; 7 : 60, 65; 10 : 24.
ABI'EL (father of strength, i. e. strong). 1. The father of Kish and Ner. 1 Sam. 9:1; 14 : 51.
2. One of David's warriors. 1 Chr. 11: 32. See Abi-ai.bon.
ABIE'ZER {the father of help, i. e. helpful), the eldest son of Gilead, Josh. 17 :"2; Num. 26 : 30 ; or of a sister of Gilead, 1 Chr. 7 : 18; founded a family at Ophrah, from which sprang Gideon. Jud. 8 : 32.
ABIEZ'RITE {the father of help), a family descended from Abiezer. Jud. 6 : 11, 24; 8 : 32.
AB'IGAIL {father, i. e. source, of joy). 1. The wise and beautiful wife of the churlish and wicked Nabal, a wealthy man of Carmel. 1 Sam. 26 : 3. When her husband had exposed himself to the anger of David by his rude and contemptuous treatment of his messengers, Abigail hastened to meet him while he was on his way with four hundred men to revenge the insult. She managed the affair with so much prudence as to pacify David and obtain his blessing. About ten days after her return the Lord visited Nabal with sickness, and he died, and Abigail became David's wife.
2. One of David's sisters, married to Jether, and mother of Amasa. 2 Sam. 17:25: 1 Chr. 2:17.
ABIHA'IL {father of strength, i. 6. the strong one). 1. The father of Zuriel, " chief of the .. . house of the families of Marari." Num. 3 : 35.
2. The wife of Abishur. 1 Chr. 2 : 29.
3. The son of Huri, of the tribe of Gad. 1 Chr. 5:14.
4. The wife of Rehoboam. 2 Chr. 11:18.
5. The father of Esther. Esth. 2:15; 9:29.
ABI'HU {ichose father is He, i. e. God), the second son of Aaron, who with his elder brother, Nadab. his fathei", and 70 of the elders of Israel, went upon Mount Sinai with Moses. Ex. 6:23; 28:1. lie was afterward set apart by God, with his brothers, Nadab, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to the priesthood. Soon after they entered on their sacred duties. Nadab and Abihu violated God's commands res])ecting the manner of offering incense, and were instantly consumed. Lev. 10 : 1. 2. This event happened in the wilderness of Sinai. The nature of their offence is very obvious ; they used common fire instead of the fire which burnt contin-
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ually upon the altar of burnt-offering, and some suppose they were drawn into this presumptuous sin by the too free use of wine. Their father and brothers were forbidden to make public mourning for them.
ABI^HUD (whose father is Jtidah, i. e. renown), the son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8 : 3.
ABI'JAH {whose father is Jehovah). 1. A son of Jeroboam I., king of Israel, who died under interesting circumstances in early life. 1 Kgs. 14 : 1. See Jeroboam.
2. Abijah or Abijam, 2 Chr. 13 : 1, the son of Rehoboam and Michaiah, succeeded his father as king of Ju-dah B. c. 959. He made war against Jeroboam, king of Israel, for the purpose of getting back the kingship of the ten tribes, and defeated him, with a loss of 500,000 men. These figures are probably through a mistake made too large; the loss, it is likely, was not greater than 50,000. He began to reign in the 18th year of Jeroboam, and was succeeded by his son Asa in the 20th year of Jeroboam, so that he reigned only a part of three years. The apparent contradiction in respect to the parentage of this person, as it is given in 1 Kgs. 15 :2 and 2 Chr. 13 :2. may be explained by supposing that his mother Maachah (or Michaiah) was the daughter of Uriel and the granddaughter of Absalom, who is called Abishalom. 1 Kgs. 15 : 2. The term "daughter" is given in the Bible to other relatives than one's own child; e. g. to a niece, granddaughter, or great-granddaughter.
3. The head of one of the courses of priests, 1 Chr. 24 : 10; Neh. 12 : 17; termed Abia in Luke 1: 5.
4. The mother of Hezekiah, 2 Chr. 29 :1 : also called Abi in 2 Kgs. 18 : 2.
5. One of the priests who "sealed the covenant;" i. e. appended their seals unto it to signify that they were parties to it. Neh. 10:7.
6. A priest who returned with Zerub-babel from Babvlon. Neh. 12 : 4, 17.
ABI'JAM [father of the sea, i. e. a. maritime persoji). 1 Kgs. 15 : 1, 7, 8. See ABT.rAH (2).
ABILE'NE (from Abila), a small
district of Palestine on the eastern slopes
of Anti-Libanus, of which Abila on the
river Barada was the capital. It was
14
governed by Lysanias in the time of John the Baptist. Luke 3:1.
ABIM'AEL (father of Mael), a descendant of Joktan, and supposed progenitor of the Arabian tribe Mali. Gen. 10 : 28 ; 1 Chr. 1: 22.
ABIM'EL,BCU (father of the king). 1. A king of the Philistines at Gerar. Gen. 20 : 2. Being deceived by Abraham, he took Sarah, Abraham's wife, to be his wife. God warned him, however, in a dream of Sarah's relation to Abraham, and thus withheld him from the commission of sin, because he did it in ignorance. Gen. 20 : 6. Abimeleeh, having rebuked Abraham, restored Sarah to him with many gifts, and offered him a dwelling-place in any part of the land. God afterward remitted the punishment of the family of Abimeleeh.
2. At a subsequent period, Abimeleeh, a successor of the preceding, was deceived in like manner by Isaac, respecting his wife Rebekah, while they dwelt in Gerar during a time of famine in Canaan. Gen. 26.
3. A son of Gideon, who, after the death of his father, persuaded the men of Shechem to make him king. Jud. 8 : 31 ; 9 : 18. He afterward put to death seventy of his brothers who dwelt in his father's house at Ophrah, leaving only Jotham, the youngest, alive. On learning of his exaltation to the kingship of the Shechemites, who had formed themselves into an independent state, Jotham told them the fable of the trees, Jud. 9 : 7, etc., which is the oldest fable extant. The Shechemites in the third year of his reign rebelled against him during his absence, but he put the revolt down on his return. Shortly afterward, while storming the fortress of Thebez, he was mortally wounded by a piece of a millstone thrown upon his head by a woman from the top of a tower. That it might not be said a woman slew him, he called to his armor-bearer to stab him with his sword, and thus he died. Jud. 9 : 54-57.
4. A son of Abiathar. 1 Chr. 18 : 16.
5. The name given to Achish in the title of Ps. 34.
ABIN'ADAB (father of nohleness, i e. noble). 1. A Levite of Kirjath-jearim, with whom the ark of the Lord was deposited when it was brought
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back from the Philistines. 1 Sam. 7:1 and 1 Chr. 13 : 7.
2. The second of the eight sons of Jesse, and one of his three sons who followed Saul in battle. 1 Sam. 16 : 8.
3. One of Saul's sons who was slain at the battle of Gilboa. 1 Sam. 31: 2.
4. The father of one of the twelve officers appointed by Solomon to provide alternately, month by month, food for the king and his household. 1 Kgs. 4:11.
AB'INER {father of light). 1 Sam. 14 : 50, margin, same as Abner.
ABIN'OAM {father of pleasantness), the father of Barak. Jud. 4: 6, 12; 5:1, 12.
ABI'RAM {father of height, i. e. renowned). 1. One of the sons of Eliab, the Reubenite, who were destroyed with Korah for a conspiracy against Moses. See Korah. Num. 16 : 1.
2. The first-born of Hiel the Beth-elite. 1 Kgs. 16 : 34. His death at the time his father began the rebuilding of Jericho fulfilled the first part of Joshua's curse. Josh. 6 : 26.
AB'ISHAG {father of error), a fair woman of Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar, who was selected by the servants of David to minister to him in his old age and to cherish him, 1 Kgs. 1:1-4. After David's death and the ascension of Solomon to the throne, Adon-ijah desired Abishag in marriage, but Solomon perceived his policy (see Adon-ijah), and caused him to be put to death.
1 Kgs. 2 : 25.
ABISH'AI {father of a gift), the eldest son of Zeruiah, David's sister, and among the chief of his mighty men. 2 Sam. 2 : 18. He accompanied David to the camp of Saul, and counselled him to take Saul's life, which David refused to do, 1 Sam. 26 : 5-12, and was probably with David during the latter's wandering life. He was associated with Joab in the assassination of Abner. 2 Sam. 3 : 30. The victory over the Edomites in the valley of Salt, which is ascribed to David in
2 Sam. 8 : 13, is ascribed to Abishai in 1 Chr. 18 : 12. Probably Abishai actually obtained the victory, but as he was an officer under David, it might also with propriety be spoken of as David's achievement. Abishai, with Joab his brother, attacked and defeated the Syr-
ians and the children of Ammon. 2 Sam. 10. David appointed him, in conjunction with Joab and Ittai, to the command of the people when they went forth to battle against Israel in the wood of Eph-raim. 2 Sam. 18 : 2. He afterward rescued David from the giant Philistine, Ishbi-benob, whom he smote and killed. 2 Sam. 21:16, 17.
ABISH'ALOM {father of peace), father of Maachah; called Absalom in 2 Chr. 11: 20, 21, and undoubtedly the same person. 1 Kgs. 16 : 2, 10.
ABISH'UA {father of deliverance). 1. Son of Phineas the high priest. 1 Chr. 6:4, 5, 50; Ezr. 7:5.
2. A descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:4.
AB'ISHUR {father of the wall, i. e. stronghold), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2 : 28, 29.
AB'ITAL {lohose father is the dew), one of David's wives. 2 Sam. 3:4; 1 Chr. 3 : 3.
AB'ITUB {father of goodne.<<s), a
descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8 : 11.
ABl'UD {whose father is Judah),
a descendant of Zerubbabel, mentioned
in our Lord's genealogy. Matt. 1: 13.
AB'NER {father of light), the son of Ner, was a first cousin of Saul, and a faithful and distinguished general of his armies. 1 Sam. 14 : 50. We first hear of him, particularly, as the captain of the host, of whom Saul inquired concerning the stripling, David, whose victory over Goliath had excited his astonishment; and after a little time Abner introduced David to Saul, with the head of the giant Philistine in his hand. 1 Sam. 17 : 57. It was through the want of vigilance in Abner that Saul's life was placed in David's power in the wilderness of Ziph. 1 Sam. 26. See David, Saul. After David was anointed king of Judah, Abner procured the appointment of Ish-bo-sheth, Saul's son, as king of Israel: and in process of time the army of David, under Joab, and the army of Israel, under Abner, arrayed themselves on either side of the pool of Gibeon. While occupying this position twelve men of each army met and fought desperately. This contest was followed by a general battle, which resulted in Abner's defeat. He fled, but was pursued by Asahel, who " was light of foot as a wild roe."
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When in the heat of pursuit, Abner counselled him to desist, and threatened to turn upon him and sla}^ him if he did not, but Asahel refused to turn aside, and Abner, '' with the hinder end of the spear," smote him so that he died. Joab and Abishai were also engaged in the pursuit, but at Abner's entreaty they desisted and returned. 2 Sam. 2.
As David's strength increased, the house of Saul, though faithfully served by Abner, became gradually weaker, till at length Ish-bosheth charged Abner with an offence against Saul's family. 2 Sam. 3 : 7. He had taken Rizpah, the concubine of Saul, into his harem, j and this act was interpreted according to Oriental ideas as an attempt to seize the throne. He was exceedingly irritated by the charge, and immediately forsook the interests of Saul's house and espoused the cause of David. David received him cordially, and sent him away in peace to persuade Israel to submit to David's government.
While he was gone on this errand, Joab returned ; and hearing what had been done, he went to the king and warned him against Abner as a spy and traitor. Soon after, and without David's knowledge, Joab sent for Abner; and when he arrived, took him aside privately, and murdered him in revenge of the death of his brother Asahel; and they buried him in Hebron. The estimation in which he was held by the king and people appears from the sacred history. The king wept and refused his food, and all the people wept; '" And the king said unto his servants. Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel ?" 2 Sam. 3 : 38.
ABOMINABLE, ABOMINA'-TION. 1. An abomination, or an abominable thing, is a thing hateful or detestable, as the employment or calling of shepherds was to the Egyptians. Gen. 46 : 34.
2. Under the Mosaic law those animals and acts are called abominable the use or doing of which was prohibited. Lev. 11: 13 and Deut. 23 : 18.
3. Idolatry of every kind is especially denoted by this term. Jer. 44:4 and 2 Kgs. 23 : 13.
4. So of sins in general. Isa. 66 : 3. The Abomination op Desolation, Matt
16
24: 15 and Dan. 9 : 27 and 12 : 11. prob-ably refers to the ensigns or banners of the Roman army, with the idolatrous,
Roman Standards. {After Fairhairn's "Imperial Dictionary.")
and therefore abominable, images upon them, the approach of which would warn the city of its desolation. When the city should be besieged, and these idolatrous standards should be seen " in the holy place," or, more strictly, in the vicinity of the holy city, thus threatening a complete conquest and speedy destruction, it would be time for the men of Judea to flee to places of refuge to save themselves from tribulation and death. The words are hard to interpret. To the explanation given it is objected that unless the standards were worshipped they would not properly be " abominations."' Others say the words refer to the '* internal desecration of the temple by the Jewish zealots, under pretence of defending it."
A'BRAM {father of elevation), A'BRAHAM [father of a multitude), the greatest, purest, and most venerable of the patriarchs, held in equal reverence by Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians. Gen. 11: 27. The leading trait in his character is unbounded trust in God; hence he is called "the friend of God" and " the father of the faithful." He was the son of Terah, born at Ur, a city of Chaldea, which has been identified with Mngheir. The family was probably idolatrous, but all trace of monotheism may
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not have been lost. Abram would seem always to have been the consistent servant of the one God, While he was dwelling in his father's house at Ur, God directed him to leave his country and kindred and go to a land which should be shown him : promising, at the same time, to make of him a great nation, and to bless him, and to make his name great, and that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed.
Obedient to the heavenly calling, Abram took Sarai his wife, and, Avith Terah his father and other members of the family, left Ur to remove to Canaan, and stopped at Haran in Mesopotamia. There Terah died. Abram, who was then seventy-five years old, with his wife and Lot, his nephew, pursued his journey to Canaan ; and having reached Sichem, one of the oldest cities of Palestine (see Shechem), the Lord appeared to him, and repeated his promise to give him the land. Gen. 12 : 7.
A grievous famine soon visited the country, and Abram was obliged to go into Egypt. Fearful that Sarai's beauty might attract the notice of the Egyptians, and that, if they supposed her to be his wife, they would kill him to secure her, he proposed that she should pass for his sister. It happened as he expected. The servants of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, commended her beauty so much that he sent for her, and took her into his house, and loaded Abram with tokens of his favor; but the Lord punished him severely, so that he sent away Abram and his wife, and all that he had. His stay in Egypt was probably very brief.
Having become very rich in cattle, silver, and gold, he returned from Egypt to Canaan, and encamped between Bethel and Ai, in Southern Palestine. Lot, his nephew, had been with him, and shared his prosperity; and it happened that his servants fell into some strife with the servants of Abram. Their property being too great for them to dwell together, Abram generously proposed to his nephew to avoid controversy by an amicable separation. He offered Lot his choice of the territory, on the right or left, as it pleased him—a rare illustration of meekness and condescension. Lot chose to remove to the eastward, and occupy that part of the fertile plain 2
of Jordan where Sodom and Gomorrah stood, having, perhaps, a desire to quit the wandering life.
Then the Lord appeared again to Abram, and renewed the ])romise of the land of Canaan as his inheritance in the most explicit manner. He thence removed his tent to the oak-groves of Mamre in Hebron. In an invasion of the cities of the plain by several of the petty kings of the adjoining provinces, under the leadership of Chcdorlaomer, king of Elam, Sodom was taken and Lot and his family carried captive. When Abram received intelligence of it he armed his trained servants, born in his house (three hundred and eighteen in number), defeated the kings, and brought Lot and his family back to Sodom; restoring to liberty the captives who had been taken, with all their property, of which he generously refused to take any part as the reward of his services or as the spoils of victory. On his return he was met by Molchisedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, to whom he gave a tenth of all that he had. Gen. 14. See Mel-
CHISEDEK.
While in Hebron the Lord appeared again to Abram in a vision, repeated to him the promises, and accompanied them with the gracious declaration of his favor. He appointed a certain sacrifice for him to offer, and toward night caused a deep sleep to fall ujion him, attended by a horror of great darkness, during which there were revealed to him some of the most important events in his future history and in that of his posterity, which were all accomplished in du • time and with wonderful exactness. Th ; revelation related—1. To the captivity of Israel by the Egyptians and their severe and protracted bondage ; 2. To the judgments which Egypt should suffer because of their oppression of God's chosen people, and the circumstances under which they should leave Egypt;
3. To Abram's death and burial; and,
4, to the return of his posterity to the promised land.
In the same day the covenant respecting the land of promise was renewed and confirmed with the strongest expressions of divine favor. Sarai, however, was childless, and she proposed to Abraham that Hagar, an Egyptian woman living
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with them, should be his concubine; by { whom he had a son, called Ishmael. He was then in his eighty-sixth year. Gen. 16.
At ninety-nine years of age he was favored with another remarkable vision. The Almighty was revealed to him in such a manner that he was filled with awe and fell upon his face, and we are told that '' God talked with him." The promise respecting the great increase of his posterity and the possession of Canaan was repeated in the most solemn and explicit terms ; his name was changed from Abram (a high father) to Abraham {father of a great multitude), and the circumcision of every male child at eight days old was established as a token of the covenant between him and God. See Circumcision. At the same time the name of Sarai {^ny jyrincess) was changed to Sarah [the 2i>'i»eens), and a promise was given to Abraham that Sarah should have a son and be the mother of nations and kings.
It seemed so entirely out of the course of nature that they should become parents at their advanced age that Abraham, filled with reverence and joyful gratitude, fell upon his face '' and said in his heart. Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" Nevertheless, against hope he believed in hope; and being not weak in faith, he staggered not at the promise of God, but was fully jjersuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform; and his faith was imputed to him for righteousness. Rom. 4 : 18-22.
; Abraham, finding that the blessings of the covenant were to be bestowed on his future offspring, immediately thought of Ishmael, in whom he had probably before supposed the promises were to be fulfilled, and he uttered the solemn and affecting prayer, " 0 that Ishmael might live before thee!" God heard him, and almost while he was yet speaking answered him by making known to him his great purposes respecting Ishmael. Gen. 17:20 and 25:16.
As soon as the vision had closed, Abraham hastened to obey the divine command, and with Ishmael, his son, and all the men of his house, was circumcised in the self-same day. He was 18
not long without another divine communication. As he sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day three men approached him. He received them with all the courtesy and hospitality customary in the East, and after they had refreshed themselves they inquired of him respecting Sarah and repeated the promise respecting the birth of her son.
It was on this occasion, or in connection with these circumstances, that a divine testimony was given to the patriarchal character of Abraham. Gen. 18 : 19. It was because of his faithfulness that he was favored with a revelation of God's purposes respecting the devoted cities of the plain, and with an opportunity to plead for them ; and it was for Abraham's sake, and probably in answer to his prayers, that Lot and his family were rescued from the sudden destruction which came upon Sodom.
After this, Abraham removed to Ge-rar, perhaps because the Amorites, with whom he was in alliance, had been driven from Hebron by the Hittites. Here he made a second attempt to have Sarah taken for his sister. See Abim-ELECH. Here, also, the prediction was fulfilled respecting the birth of a son. Sarah had a son, whom he called Isaac, and who was duly circumcised on the eighth day.
AVhen Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a feast. Ishmael, being then a lad of thirteen years, mocked Isaac, quite possibly without malicious intent. This roused the jealousy of Sarah, who urged Abraham to drive out Hagar and her son. Abraham, although unwilling to do this injustice, at last obej'ed at the command of God. Thus it came to pass that the prophecy of the wild life Ishmael was to lead was realized. Gen. 21:10-13.
Abraham so obviously enjoyed the favor and blessing of God in all that he did that Abimelech, the king, proposed to make with him a covenant of perpetual friendship; and a matter of wrong about a well, of which Abimelech's servants had violently deprived Abraham, was thus happily adjusted. This transaction was at a place which was thereafter called Beer-sheba {the well of the oath, or the well of swearing). Gen. 21: 23-31.
ABS
ABS
The events of many years are now passed over in silence, but the scene next related shows how worthy Abraham was to be called the father of the faithful. He was commanded to take his son, his only son, Isaac, then a young man, and to offer him up for a burnt-offering upon a distant mountain. Without an inquiry or murmuring word, and with a prompt submission, Abraham obeyed the couiuiand. A journey of three days was accom2)lished. Every preparation for the offering was made, and the knife was uplifted to slay his son. when his purpose was arrested by a voice from Heaven requiring him to spare the lad. A ram was provided in the neighboring thicket, which he took and offered up; and, after having been favored with special tokens of the divine approbation, he returned with his son to Beer-sheba. This grand trial and proof of the patriarch's faith took place upon Mount Moriah (or, as others suppose, on Mount Gerizim). In commemoration of it he gave to the place the name Je-hovah-jireh {the Lord will provide), intimating a general truth respecting the divine faithfulness and care, and in prophetical allusion to the great sacri-lice which was to be offered for the sins of mankind. Gen. 22 : 14.
At the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years Sarah died, and Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron at Hebron, for a family burial-place, and there buried his wife. Gen. 23:19, 20,
Isaac had now arrived at mature age, and Abraham called one of his servants, probably Eliezer, Gen. 15 : 2, and made him promise to obtain a wife for Isaac, not among the Canaanites, but in Abra-
ham's native country and from among his own kindred. This enterprise terminated successfully, and every desire of the patriarch respecting Isaac's marriage was answered. Gen. 24.
Abraham married a second time and had several sons, but he made Isaac his sole heir, having in his lifetime distributed gifts among the other children, who were now dispersed. He died in jicace at the age of one hundred and seventy-five years, and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael inthe same sepulchre with Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah. Gen. 25: 8. It is now in the possession of the Moham-
Abrahani's Oak, near Hebron. Gen. 13
medans, and jealously guarded by them as a most sacred spot beneath the great mosque of Hebron. See Machpelah. On Abraham's Oak, see Hebron.
Abraham's Bosom. See Bosom.
AB'SAIiOM {father of peace) was the third son of David by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. 2 Sam. 3 : 3. He was remarkable for his beauty, and for his hair, which is said to have weighed 200 shekels when cut off every year. But if the royal shekel equal the sacred shekel, this would make 6 pounds, which is incredible. The difficulty is not removed by reducing the value of the shekel one-half or one-third.
ABS
ABS
The simplest explanation is that by the error of a copyist the 200 was written for 20, the difference between the figures being very slight in Hebrew notation.
Absalom's fair sister, called Tamar, having been violated by Amnon, his half-brother, he meditated revenge, since he was her natural avenger ; and after brooding over the outrage for two years, he at last took Amnon's life at a feast to which he had invited him, and then at once fled to Talmai, his maternal grandfather, at Geshur, where he stayed three years.
Joab, in order to secure Absalom's return and restoration to his father's favor, employed a woman of Tekoa to appear before David and feign a case similar to the situation of Absalom, and having obtained his decision, to apply the principle to the real case. After a favorable decision was obtained in the feigned case, the woman began to plead for Absalom's return. The king suspected Joab's concern in the plot, and the woman confessed that it was wholly planned hj him. David, however, directed Joab to go to Geshur and bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, but would not receive him into favor nor admit him to his presence, nor did he see his face for two years more.
Wearied with his banishment, Absalom often attempted to obtain an interview with Joab, but for spme cause Joab was not disposed to go to him. To compel him to come, Absalom resorted to a singular expedient: he directed his servants to set fire to Joab's fields. Joab immediatelj^ came to Absalom, was persuaded to plead with the king in his behalf, succeeded in his effort, and Absalom was received into full favor.
Absalom then showed the object of his ambition was to obtain his father's throne. He was jealous of the favor his father gave to Solomon, Bath-sheba's son, for, since he was the oldest living son of David, he was by birth the rightful heir to the kingdom. To this end he lived in great pomp, procured chariots and horsemen and other appendages of royalty, and stood in the public places courting the favor of the people by the meanest arts, persuading them that their rights were not regarded by the government, and that it would be for their interest to elevate him to power, that equal 20
justice might be administered to all. By these and other means Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
In pursuing his traitorous design, and with a pretended regard to filial duty, he asked his father's permission to go to Hebron and pay a vow which he said he had made. The unsuspicious king consented, and Absalom immediately sent men throughout Israel, who were, at a given signal, to proclaim him king in Hebron. He also took two hundred men with him from Jerusalem, though they did not know his plan, and then sent for Ahithophel, who was David's counsellor, that he might have his advice and assistance. Absalom's party increased rapidly, and intelligence of the conspiracy was communicated to the king, and so alarmed him that he fled from the city.
At length David persuaded Hushai to go to Absalom, who had now come back to Jerusalem with his party, and become his servant, and when opportunity occurred to give such counsel as should defeat Ahithophel's plans and bring confusion and discomfiture upon Absalom. By a train of providential interpositions Absalom's ruin was hastened.
Before David's men went out to battle with the revolted party, he gave them special charge respecting Absalom, and commanded them to deal gently with him for his father's sake. The two parties met in the wood of Ephraim, and the battle was bloody. Absalom rode upon a mule, and in passing under the thick boughs of an oak he was caught by his head in the fork or angle of two branches, and the mule passed onward, leaving him suspended in the air. Joab, one of David's chief captains, being informed of it, took three darts and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak ; and they took his body and cast it into a pit in the wood, and covered it with stones.
ABSALOM'S PLACE, orPIL-LAR, Avas in the '' king's dale," or valley of the Kedron. 2 Sam. 18 : 18. " The Tomb of Absalom," now standing east of Jerusalem, at the foot of Mount Olivet, is supposed by the Jews to be the one erected by Absalom during his lifetime, and is pelted by them with stones, as they pass by, in
ACC
ACH
execration of his treason; but the monument betrays Grajco-Latin architecture
Absalom's Tomb. (Fro7n original Photographs. Bonfils.)
(especially the Ionic columns), and is not mentioned before A. i). 333.
AC'CAD (fortress), one of the four cities in the kingdom of Nimrod. Gen. 10:10. It was in the land of Shinar, and George Smith locates it at AyudI, on the Euphrates, north of Babylon. Rawlinson places it at Aker-Kuf, 10 miles west by north of Bagdad. Others had regarded it as identical with Ctesi-2)ho)i.
AC'CARON, the same as Ekron.
ACC HO {heated sand), a seaport-town of Phoenicia, about 8 miles north of Mount Carmel, given to Asher. Jud. 1: 31. In New Testament times it was called Ptolemais. Acts 21: 7. It now has about 6000 inhabitants, and is called Acre (Arabic, Akkn).
ACEL'DAMA (Jield of blood), the "potter's field'' purchased with the money given to Judas for betraying Christ. Matt. 27 : 7; Acts 1 : 18, 19. Tradition locates it on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near the pool Siloam, and now Hahk ed Dnmm.
ACHA'IA (trouble), a Roman province in the New Testament times nearly co-extensive with the modern kingdom of Greece. Paul visited the churches in that region. Acts 18 : 12, 27 ; 19 : 21 ; Rom. 15 : 26 ; 16 : 5 ; 2 Cor. 1:1; 9:2; 11: 10 ; 1 Thess. 1: 7, 8. For its towns see Corinth, Cenchrea.
ACHA'ICUS (belongingto Achaia), a Christian mentioned in 1 Cor. 16: 17.
A'CHAN, OR A'CHAR (trouhler), son of Carmi, of the tribe of Judah, whose concealment of a part of the spoils of Jericho in violation of the divine command. Josh. 6 : 18, brought defeat upon his countrymen at Ai. Josh. 7:18; 1 Chr. 2:7. He was providentially convicted, and with his family was stoned to death, and his property, together with their remains, was burnt. The valley in which this event occurred was called after him. See Achor.
A'CHAZ, Matt. 1: 9, the Greek form of Ahaz.
ACH'BOR (mouse). 1. The father of Baal-hanan, king of the Edomites. Gen. 36: 38, 39; 1 Chr. 1 : 49.
2. An officer of Josiah, 2 Kgs. 22 : 12,14; Jer. 26:22; 36:12; called Ab-don in 2 Chr. 34:20.
A^CHIM (Hebrew form is Jachin, a contraction of Jehoiachin, the Lord will establish), an ancestor of Christ. Matt. 1: 14.
A'CHISH (serpent-charmer ?), a king of Gath, called Abimelech in the title of Ps. 34, to whom David fled twice. The first time, being in danger, he feigned madness, whereupon he was dismissed. 1 Sam. 21 : 10. The second time Achish received him cordially because of his supposed hostility to Saul, gave him Ziklag, and took him on his campaign against Saul, but finally dismissed him, with commendations of his fidelity, because of the mistrust of his princes. 1 Sam. 27, 29.
The Achish to whom Shimei went seeking for his servants may have been this same king, but much more probably his grandson, since David's first flight took place fifty years before. 1 Kgs. 2:39. 40.
ACH'METHA, a city of Media. Ezr. 6 : 2. See Ecbatana.
ANCHOR (trouble), a valley near Jericho where Achan was stoned. Josh. 7 : 24. Probably the Wady Kelt.
ACH
ADA
ACH'SA (anklet), daughter of Caleb, the son of Hezron. 1 Chr. 2:49.
ACH'SAH {anklet), the daughter of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, married to Othniel, her cousin or uncle (who took Kirjath-sepher or Debir), in accordance with Caleb's promise to give her hand to whomsoever should first smite the city. Achsah after her marriage obtained the upper and lower springs, with the fields in which they were, in addition to her dowry. Josh. 15 : 15-19 ; Jud. 1: 11-15. See Othniel.
ACH'SHAPH (enchantment), a city of Canaan, Josh. 11:1 ,• 12 : 20, allotted to Asher. Josh. 19: 25. Some have located it at Khaifa, near Mount Carmel: Robinson at El-Kesaf, above the sources of the Jordan; the Palestine Fund " Memoirs " give Kesaf, as Khurhet-Iksaf, and accept Robinson's suggestion.
ACH'ZIB (fahe). 1. A town of Asher, Josh. 19 : 29, now ez-Zib, 20 miles north of Acre, on the Mediterranean.
2. A city of Judah, Josh. 15 : 44 ; Mic. 1 : 14; perhaps identical with Chezib. Gen. 38 : 5. Conder locates it at the modern Ain Kezbeh.
ACRAB'BIM. Josh. 15:3, margin. See Maaleh-acrabbim.
ACTS OF THE APOS'TLES, the fifth book in the New Testament. It is supposed to have been compiled by Luke the evangelist in Rome, during Paul's imprisonment or shoi'tly after, a.d. 63, and may be regarded as a continuation of his Gospel. It contains the history of the Christian Church from Jerusalem to Rome, or the establishment of Christianity among the Jews by Peter, and among the Gentiles by Paul. It begins with the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and concludes with the first imprisonment of Paul in Rome, 61 to 63. It is the first history of the Christian Church, and contains the only trustworthy account of the missionary labors of the apostles.
The book of Acts has been subjected to very rigid and critical examination in connection with the apostolic Epistles, and the genuineness of both is proved by coincidences so minute and yet so undesigned, so obvious and yet so remote, that no unprejudiced mind can entertain a doubt of their truthful-
ness.
22
The period of time embraced in this history is about thirty-three years, and includes the reigns of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. See the Missionary Map at the close of the volume.
AD'ADAH (boundary,ox festival), a town in the south of Judah, Josh. 15 :
22 ; probably either the modern el-Folca or Adaduh.
A'DAH (ornament). 1. One of the two wives of Lamech in the line of Cain. Gen. 4:19.
2. One of Esau's wives, a Hittitess, daughter of Elon, Gen. 36 : 2, 4, etc.: called Bashemath in Gen. 26 : 34.
ADAI'AH (whom Jehovah adorns). 1. The maternal grandfather of King Josiah. 2 Kgs. 22 : 1.
2. A Levite. 1 Chr. 6 : 41.
3. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:21.
4. A priest. 1 Chr. 9:12.
5. A descendant of Bani who had taken a foreign wife. Ezr. 10 : 29.
6. Another descendant guilty of the same oifence. Ezr. 10 : 39.
7. A man of Judah. Neh. 11: 5.
8. An ancestor of Maaseiah, a captain who supported Jehoiada. 2 Chr.
23 :1.
ADALI'A (strong of heart ?), a son of Haman. Esth. 9 : 8.
AD'AM (red ear'h), a city in the Jordan valley near Zaretan. Josh. 3: 16. It has been located at ed-Dami-eh, but Drake suggests Khurbet-el-Ham-rath, or " the red ruin," 1 mile south of Tell Sarem.
ADAM (red, or earth-horn). The word is used in the Bible in two senses: 1. Man generically, including woman (in the English Version translated man). Gen. 1: 26, 27; 5:1; 6:1; Job 20 : 29: 21:33; Ps. 68:18; 76:10.
2. Man historically, or, as a proper name, Adam individually, the first man, who was at the same time the representative man. Gen. 2:7; 3:8. Adam was not born, but created; not in feeble, helpless infancy, but in the maturity of his physical and intellectual nature; not a sinful, diseased, dying creature, but pure and free from sin, yet liable to temptation and in need of trial in order to be confirmed in his innocence. He was the crown of creation, made on the sixth day, after the vegetable and animal world. Adam was the root of hu-
ADA
ADA
manity, and all that affected him aflfect-ed his posterity. His sin tainted their blood and poisoned their nature ; while the Saviour promised to him was the Saviour of all who came after him. His mortality in consequence of sin has remained as a permanent fact in man ; his immortality in consequence of faith upon the promised Saviour will be shared in by all of like belief. In him God put humanity to the test. If Adam had kept his first estate, the world would never have been darkened by sin and guilt.
Adam was also the beginning of a new order of beings. He was of the earth, earthy—the earth is called ada-mah in Hebrew in Gen. 2 : 7—dust from dust, as to his physical organization, but into him God had breathed a living soul; he was an immortal spirit, made in the very " image and likeness of God." This is the noblest conception of man. The ''image of God" means man's personality, his rational, moral, and immortal nature, which is destined for the glory and communion of God and for everlasting felicity. It also includes dominion over the creatures.
God created Eve to be a help meet for Adam. He dreamt of woman, and awaked to find her at his side. . The pair lived together in happiness and innocence, the keepers of a garden which yielded abundantly of fruit and flowers for their nourishment and pleasure. The fruit of one tree only, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was forbidden to them. But the prohibition piqued their desire. Eve listened to the specious arguments of Satan, who had come to her under the form of a serpent; " she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Gen. 3:6; comp. 2 Cor. 11: 3; 1 Tim. 2 : 14; John 8 : 44.
In this simple language does the Bible describe the most momentous event in history previous to the birth of Christ. For then happened the Fall ; sin was let loose to ravage the world; a blight had fallen upon the race. The first proof of sin was shame. The wretched folly of all attempts to cover sin is symbolized by the fig-leaf aprons of our first parents: they were no coverings at all. The second proof of sin
was their fear before God. They stood condemned, and owned his dreadful sentence just. They were banished from Paradise. The ground was cursed for their sake. In the hardship of toil and labor, in the care and suffering of childbirth and parentage, they began to feel at once the woes their transgression involved. All the burdens of life, the heavy cross, sickness, disaster, trouble, death, come from the action of that fatal day. They are the dread reminders of our fallen state. Our first parents involved all their posterity in that ruin they first experienced.
But in the narrative of the Fall there stands also the promise of a deliverer, the woman's seed (the son of Mary), who should crush the serpent's head— that is, destroy the power of sin and Satan. Gen. 3 : 15. This promise, which is called the " first gospel," was fulfilled in the Crucifixion. Christ is the second Adam, as Paul shows in Rom. 5 : 12 fif. and 1 Cor. 15 : 45. He undid the work of the first. He abolished the power of sin and death for believers, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Tim. 1: 10. The redemption by Christ is the glorious solution of the fall of Adam. Christ has given us much more than we lost by Adam. Paradise regained is better than Paradise lost, and can never be lost again. God in his infinite wisdom and mercy overruled the fall of man for the revelation of his redeeming love, which in turn calls out the deepest gratitude and bliss of the redeemed.
" In Christ the tribe of Adam boast More blessings tdan their father lost."
AD'AMAH (earth), a fortified city of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 36; probably Ddmieh, west of the Sea of Galilee.
AD'AMANT. Eze. 3 : 9. This word means the %inconquerable, and denotes some very hard stone. The same substance in Jer. 17 : 1 is called dln-niond, which it cannot be, for the Hebrew name there used is never mentioned with precious stones. Probably it was the mineral emery, one of the hardest of rocks.
AD'AMI (earth, or huniati), a place on the border of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 33 ; probably the modern Khurhct Admah.
A'DAR (heif/ht), a town on the southern boundary of Judah, Josh.
ADA
ADM
15 : 3, and the same as Hazar-addar, Num. 34:4; possibly the modern Ain el-Kadeirat.
A'DAR. See Month.
AD'ASA, OR HAD'ASHAH, a town in Judah, Josh. 15 : 37, near Beth-horon ; now 'Adaseh.
AD''BEEIj {miracle of God), a son of Ishmael. Gen. 25 : 13 ; 1 Chr. 1: 29.
AD'DAN {8to),i/). Ezr.' 2 : 59 ; called also Addon. Neh. 7 : 61. Its site is unknown.
AD'DAR (ehief), a son of Bela, 1 Chr. 8:3; called Ard in Num. 26 : 40.
AD'DER. The word translated thus in various passages of the Bible does not always mean what the English word denotes. 1. In Gen. 49 : 17 it indicates a venomous serpent (jierhaps the cerastes, or horned snake) which lurks in the path. The usual habit of the ceras-
Horned Cerastes. (Pi'om specimen in British Museum.)
tes is "to coil itself on the sand, where it basks in the impress of a camel's footmark, and thence suddenly to dart out on any passing animal. So great is the terror which its sight inspires in horses, that I have known mine, when I was riding in the Sahara, to suddenly start and rear, trembling and perspiring in every limb, and no persuasions would induce him to proceed. I was quite unable to account for his terror until I noticed a cerastes coiled up in a depression two or three paces in front, with its basilisk eyes steadily fixed on us, and no doubt preparing for a spring as the horse passed."— Tristram.
2. In Ps. 58 : 4 and 91: 13 the Egyptian cobra is probably meant, for it is found in southern Palestine, dwells in holes, is used by snake-charmers, and is very dangerous. This is the animal 24
seen on Egyptian monuments, symbolizing immortality, and always connected with the winged globe. In the former passage above, there is reference to the fact that there are serpents of some kinds or particular individuals which will not yield to the charmer. Though capable of hearing, they iP<7/not hear, and are properly termed " deaf." See Asp.
3. Still other kinds of serpents are referred to under this name in Ps. 140 : 3 ; Prov. 23 : 32—species of viper, it is thought.
AD'DI {ornament), one of the progenitors of Christ. Luke 3 : 28.
A'DER {Jiock), a Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:15.
AD'IDA, a fortified town overlooking the low country of Judah and near Jerusalem, noticed in 1 Mace. 12 : 38, and used by Vespasian in his siege of Jerusalem ; probably the same as Hadid. Ezr. 2 : 33. Conder locates it at the modern Haditheh.
A'DIEL {ornament of God). 1. A Simeonite. 1 Chr. 4 : 36.
2. A priest. 1 Chr. 9 : 12.
3. The ancestor of David's treasurer, Azmaveth. 1 Chr. 27 : 25.
A'DIN {delicate), one whose descendants returned with Zerub-babel. Ezr. 2:15; 8:6; Neh. 7 : 20; 10:16.
AD'INA {slender), a Reuben-ite, one of David's warriors. 1 Chr. 11: 42. AD'INO THE EZNITE. 2 Sam. 23 : 8. See Jashobeam.
ADITHA'IM {double booty), Ato\vn of Judah, Josh. 15 : 36 ; afterward called Hadid, which see.
ADJURE'. 1. To bind under a curse. Josh. 6 : 26.
2. Solemnly to require a declaration of the truth at the peril of God's displeasure. Matt. 26 : 63. Such is the interpretation of the language of the high priest, "I adjure thee," etc., or, *'I put thee to thy oath," addressed to our Saviour when he declined to answer the false accusations of his persecutors. Compare 1 Sam. 14: 24 and 1 Kgs. 22 : 16 with Josh. 6:26.
AD'LiAI {Justice of Jehovah), the father of one of David's chief herdsmen. 1 Chr. 27:29.
ADM
ADO
the five cities in the vale of Siddim taken by Ohedorlaomer, Gen. 10 : 19 ; 14 : 2. and destroyed with Sodom. Deut. 29 : 23 ; Hos. 11: 8; now cd JJdinieh.
AD'MATHA {earthy ?), one of the seven Persian princes. Esth. 1 : 14.
AD'NA [pleasure). 1. One who married a foreign woman, Ezr. 10 : 30.
2. A prieL^t. Neh. 12: 15.
AD'NAH (pleasure). 1. A Manassite captain of Saul who followed David. 1 Chr. 12 : 20.
2. A captain of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chr. 17 :U.
ADON I-BE'ZEK. Jud. 1 : 5. Lord or king of Bezek, a city of the Canaanites. See Bezek. His name was a title, not a proper name. He fled from the armies of Judah, but was caught and his thumbs and great toes cut off, so that he could neither fight nor flee. He was then carried to Jerusalem, where he died. He seems to have regarded the maiming he suffered as a just requital of his own cruelty, he having mutilated seventy kings or chieftains in the same inhuman manner.
ADONI'JAH {»,y Lord is Jehovah). 1. David's fourth son. 2 Sam. 3 : 4. He was born at Hebron, and after the death of his brothers, Amnon, Chileab, and Absalom, he made pretensions to the throne of his father, because he was then the oldest living son of David. He prepared himself with horses and chariots and other marks of royalty, and took counsel with Joab and Abiathar how he could best accomplish his purpose. Bath-sheba, Solomon's mother, fearing that her son's title to the throne might be disturbed, immediately informed the king of Adonijah's revolt; and Nathan the prophet having confirmed the statement of the matter, David gave Bath-sheba the strongest assurances that her son should reign after him ; and he caused Solomon to be anointed and proclaimed king amid general rejoicings. 1 Kgs. 1 : 39.
Adonijah was just ending a feast when he heard the noise of the shouting, and Jonathan came in and told him all that had taken place. His guests fled precipitately, and Adonijah himself ran and caught hold of the horns of the altar, which from long-existent custom was regarded as a place of safety. But Solomon sent for him, and pardoned him on condition that he showed himself " a
worthy man." 1 Kgs. 1: 52. This was an act of rare clemency.
After David's death, Adonijah persuaded Bath-sheba to ask Solomon, her son, who was now on the throne, to give him Abishag for his wife. This request was, according to Oriental court-etiquette, equivalent to a fresh attempt on the throne. So Solomon caused him to be put to death by the hand of Benaiah. 1 Kgs. 2:25.
2. A Levite in Jehoshaphat's time. 2 Chr. 17 :8.
3. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10:16.
ADON'IKAM (lord of the enemij), one whose descendants came back with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2: 13; 8 : 13; Neh. 7:18.
ADONI'RAM. See Adoram.
ADON'I-ZE'DEK (lord of justice), the Amorite king of Jerusalem at the time the country was entered by the Israelites. Josh. 10:1. The name was probably the oflicial title of the Jebusite kings of Jerusalem. Hearing of Joshua's victories over Ai and Jericho, and finding that the inhabitants of Gibeon, one of the most important cities of the kingdom, had made a league with him, he called four other kings of the Ammonites to his aid and laid siege to Gibeon, with a view to destroy it as a punishment for their conduct.
But Joshua came to the assistance of the Gibeonites ; hailstones fell upon the armies of the five kings, and after a hard battle they were overthrown. See Joshua.
Adoni-zedek, with his allies, fled to a cave at Makkedah, in which they were soon discovered and brought before Joshua, who caused them to be slain and hanged on separate trees until evening, and then their bodies were taken down and cast into the cave in which they had concealed themselves. Josh. 10:27.
ADOP'TION is an act by which a stranger is received into a man's family as his own child, and becomes entitled to the peculiar privileges of that connection as fully and completely as a child by birth. So Moses was adojited by Pharaoh's daughter, Ex. 2: 10, and Esther by her cousin Mordecai. Esth. 2:7.
In the figurative use of the term by
ADO
ADU
the sacred writers it indicates that intimate relation of the believer to God which follows regeneration and conversion from sin to holiness, when we are received into the family of God and are made, by grace, his children or sons, and heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Gal. 4 : 4, 5 ; Rom. 8 : 14-17.
ADORA'IM {doable mound), a city of Judah fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11: 9; supposed to be the modern Dura, about 6 miles west of Hebron.
ADO'RAM, contr. from ADON-I'RAM {lord of height). J. An officer of the customs under David. 2 Sam. 20 : 24.
2. An officer of Rehoboam's treasury (perhaps the son of the former), who was stoned to death by the people of Israel who followed Jeroboam. 1 Kgs. 12 : 18. Some suppose him to have been the same with Adoniram, 1 Kgs. 5: 14, who was over the customs in Solomon's reign, and that the people were so indignant at the oppression they had suffered through his agency that they took this method of revenge.
ADORA'TION. The word means to 2i>'(fiJ ^'^j ^iid is properly applied to the worship of God. Among the Hebrews adoration by outward act was variously performed. We gather from different Scripture passages that it consisted in putting off the shoes, bowing the knee or the head, or in slowly prostrating the body by first falling on the knees and then bending the body until the head touched the ground. But these forms of adoration were not limited to the worship of Jehovah. The Eastern mode of salutation is very obsequious, and so between an inferior and a superior the same ceremonies would be performed, and also between equals. Similar was their conduct in the worship of idols '.vhen seeking the good-will of one whom they had offended. Kissing the hand of an idol was a common mode of adoration. These acts were often repeated more than once. In the New Testament we read that our Lord was treated with these outward signs of respect and reverence. So, too, in the case of Peter, to whom Cornelius prostrated himself. See AVoRSHip.
ADRAM^MELECH {Icing of/ire). 1. An idol-god of Sepharvaim, supposed to represent the sun, while another idol, called Anammelech, repre-26
sented the moon. 2 Kgs. 17 : 31. Sacrifices of living children were made to these idols, as to Moloch.
Adrammelech. {Fron Nimrud. After Layard.)
2. A son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Isa. 37 : 38. He and his brother, Sharezer, killed their father while he was in the act of idolatry. Their motive for this parricidal deed is not known. They both fled to Armenia, and Esar-haddon succeeded to the crown.
ADRAMYT^TIUM, named from Adramys, bi'other of Croesus, a seaport-town of Mysia, Acts 27 : 2-5, on a bay of the ^gean Sea north of Smyrna. It is now a poor village known as Advamyti.
A'DRIA. Acts 27: 27. The northern part of the Ionian Sea between Greece, Italy, and Sicilv.
A'DRIEL.' See Merab.
ADUIj'IjAM {justice of the jjeojile, or hidiug- or resting-place), a cave not far from Bethlehem in which David hid.
I Sara. 22 :1; 2 Sam. 23 : 13 ; 1 Chron.
II : 15. Tradition has located it in Wady Khureitun, east of Bethlehem.
The cave is said to be well fitted for a robbers' hold, being dry and airy and full of intricate passages. The greatest length of this cave is 550 feet. Lieut. Conder, however, places the cave of Adullam in the valley of Elah, not far from the city of Adullam, about 13 miles west from Bethlehem. Near it are numerous caverns, each as large as an ordinary cottage, which would give room for David and his band. He
ADU
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states that the great caverns at Beit Jih-rin, which some have regarded as the cave of AduUam, are damp, cold, and full of bats and creeping things, and carefully avoided by the cave-dwelling peasants, while the smaller caves north and west of Adullam are almost constantly in use, and are from their position strong and defensible. A row of these caves has been found north and west of the city of Adullam capable of holding 200 to 300 men. M. Ganneau lirst suggested this location in 1872, from the resemblance of the modern name Aid el-Ma, and it seems to answer the requirements of the Scripture narrative.
ADUL'LAM, a royal city of the Canaanites allotted to Judah, Gen. 38: 1; Josh, 12 : 15 ; 15 : 35 ; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11 : 7 j repeopled by the Jews after the Captivity, Neh. 11 : 30. See also Mic. 1: 15. Ganneau and Conder locate it in Wady es-Sutit, about 2J miles south of Socoh or Sho-coh, where they found heaps of stones and ruined walls, called Aid el-Ma.
ADUL'TERY, the crime forbidden in the seventh commandment. According to Jewish law, it is the unlawful intercourse of a man, whether married or not, with a married or betrothed woman not his wife. The crime was punished in patriarchal times, if Tamar's be a specimen case, by burning. Gen. 38 : 24, or at least capitally. Under the Mosaic law in the case of the free woman both offenders were stoned. But a bondwoman thus guilty was to be scourged, and the man must make a trespass-offering. Lev. 19 : 20, 22. The so-called " water of jealousy," by which the guilt of the accused woman was proven or refuted, was simply some " holy water," or that from the laver which stood near the altar in an earthen vessel, into which dust from the floor of the tabernacle was sprinkled. This mixture was given to the woman, who was solemnly charged by the priest with an oath of cursing. If she was guilty, then by divine interposition—for it contained nothing injurious—this test proved her guilt. If innocent no effect was produced. The accuser in these cases was the husband. Num. 5 : 11-31. There is no case of the use of this test in Scripture. Adultery is the only ground of divorce recognized by our Lord. Matt. 5: 32.
Adultery is used in the Bible in a spiritual sense to denote the unfaithfulness and apostasy of the Jews, because the union between God and his people was set forth as a marriage. In the N. T. " an adulterous generation" means a faithless and God-denying people.
ADUM'MIM {red ones), an ascent or steep pass. Josh. 15: 7, on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, upon the south side of the Wady Kelt, '' over against Geliloth " or Gilgal. Josh. 18: 17. Our Lord probably refers to this dangerous pass. Luke 10 : 30-36; now Talat ed Dunnn.
AD^VOCATE, OR PAR'A-CLETE. 1 John 2 : 1. One who pleads another's cause, a counsellor, an intercessor. It is the term used by Christ to describe the oflice of the Holy Spirit, John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7, but translated in A. V. " Comforter." It is also applied to Christ as our intercessor. 1 John 2:1. The forensic office of advocate was unknown among the Jews before their subjection to the Romans; then they were obliged to conduct their trials before the Roman magistrates after the Roman manner. Their ignorance of their conquerors' law compelled them to employ udvocaten or lawyers speaking Greek and Latin. Such an advocate was Tertullus, whom the Jews hired to accuse Paul before Felix. Acts 24:1. See Trial.
^'NEAS, OR ENE'AS, the paralytic at Lydda healed by Peter. Acts 9 : 33, 34.
iE'NON. See Enon.
AFFIN'ITY. 1 Kgs. 3 : 1. Relation by marriage, in contradistinction from consanguinity, which is relation by birth. The degrees of affinity which should prevent marriage under the Mosaic law may be found in Lev. 18 : 6-17. See Marriage.
AG'ABUS (possibly locust), a prophet who foretold in Antioch while Paul and Barnabas were there, A. i). 43. Acts 11: 28. A famine took place the following year. It was probably limited to Judaea, where it was severe. The poor Jews were relieved by Helena, the queen of Adiabene, who bought corn for them out of Alexandria. Aid was sent to the Christians in Jerusalem from Antioch. Acts 11 : 29. Many years after,
AGA
AGR
Agabus met Paul at Cesarea, and warned him of the suflferings he would endure if he went to Jerusalem. Acts 21: 10.
A'GAG (flame) was probably the title of the Amalekite kings, like Pharaoh of the Egyptian rulers. Two kings of this name are mentioned in Scripture.
1. In Num. 24 : 7, the way in which this Agag is referred to indicates that he was very jjowerful, above all other kings known to Balaam.
2. An Agag who was captured by Saul, but was spared, contrary to the express prohibition of Jehovah. He was afterward brought to Samuel, who hewed him in pieces. This act was not only the execution of the divine order, but it would seem an act of retributive justice as well, since Agag is charged with infamous cruelty. 1 Sam. 15: 8, 33,
A'GAGITE. Haman is called an Agagite, perhaps because of his ancestry. Esth. 3:1.
A'GAR. See Hagar. • AG'ATE. Ex. 39 : 12. A precious stone, variegated chalcedony, translucent or opaque. It is often banded in delicate parallel lines, waving or zigzag in their course, and of white, tendon-like, wax-like, pale and dark brown, black or sometimes bluish colors. It is sometimes clouded, and at other times presents a group of figures disposed with so much regularity as to seem like a work of art, showing trees, plants, rivers, clouds, buildings, and human beings. The name is supposed by some to be derived from the river Achates, in Sicily, Avhere the stone was fox'merly found in great abundance. The agate of Isa. 54:12 and Eze. 27 : 16 (a different Hebrew word) was doubtless the riibi/. The agate was the second stone in the third row of the high priest's breastplate. Ex. 28 : 19.
AG'EE (fugitive), the father of one of David's might.y men. 2 Sam. 23 : 11.
AG'RICULTURE. In its special sense, and as here employed, the term denotes the cultivation of grain and other field crops. In a broader meaning, the threefold business of many agriculturists includes, besides such cultivation, the keeping of flocks and herds, and horticulture.
History. —To dress and keep the garden of Eden was-the happy employment given to man at his creation. After 28
the Fall, Adam was driven forth to till the ground as the first farmer. This was also the employment of Cain, but Abel was a keeper of sheep. After the Flood, " Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard." The patriarchs and their descendants, till their settlement in Palestine, gave little attention to agriculture. Joseph's words comprehensively describe their occupation: "The men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle." With the possession of the cultivated lands of the Ca-naanites, the Hebrews adopted a more strictly agricultural life, and, in general, the methods of farming of those whom they conquered. Pastoral employments were, however, never wholly abandoned. The tribes east of the Jordan were possessed of " a very great multitude of cattle," and in Judaea and all the more hilly districts shepherds always abounded.
Soil. —Palestine is divided agriculturally, and as to all its physical conditions, into four districts : 1. The maritime plains, including the rich coast-lands of Gaza, Sharon, etc., with a mild and equable climate, under which even the orange and banana flourish. 2. The valley of the Jordan, reaching from the waters of Merom to the southern end of the Dead Sea, having a tropical temperature. 3. The hill-country between these divisions eastward of Carmel, bisected by the rich plain of Jezreel, and bosoming many fertile vales, such as those of Nazareth, Shechem, Samaria, Hebron, but often rising, especially southward, into bleak moors and highlands, where snow sometimes falls in winter. 4. Perasa, the rolling and often mountainous plateau east of the Jordan valley, not very different in climate from the last division, but in soil more fertile. In this last region Dr. Merrill reports the tillable area of the Hauran (ancient Bashan) to be 150 by 40 miles in extent, and one vast natural wheat-field. Here he has "seen a peasant plough a furrow as straight as a line, one and even two miles long." In Argob and Trachonitis he saw one of the largest lava-beds in the world, covering 400 or 500 square miles, and the source of inexhaustible fertilit}^ Of Palestine west of the Jordan, which is less in extent than the State of Vermont, Captain Warren says: "The soil
AGR
AGR
is so rich, the climate so varied, that within ordinary limits it may be said that the more people it contained the more it may. Its productiveness will increase in proportion to the labor bestowed on the soil, until a population of fifteen millions may be accommodated there." By others we are told that the very sand of the shore is fertile if watered. The soil of Palestine is enriched by the disintegration of the rocks, which are commonly limestone, often quite chalky.
Seanons. —Of these there are practically but two—the rainy and the dry— nearly divided from each other by the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. The showers begin to fall in November, at the latest, and the rains of the winter months, except it be February, are heavy. These are "the former rain" of Scripture, which rarely fails, while "the latter rain" of March and early April is more uncertain; and as the filling of the ears of grain depends upon it, this " latter rain " is eagerly expected. Job 29 : 23 ; Zech. 10 : 1. Storms in Palestine are ordinarily brought by the west or south-west wind. l»Kgs. 18 : 44; Luke 12: 54.
Without question, this country was in Bible times better supplied with forests and orchards than now, and its climate was more humid and equable. The hills were generally terraced and provided with reservoirs, as abundant ruins testify, and the sudden torrents, which now wash away what little soil they find, were, by these means and others, dispersed and absorbed by the ground. Many of the most rugged districts were covered with vineyards and olive-orchards, so that Deut. 8 : 7-9 is but a literal description of what the land once was, and, in particular localities, still remains. Unlimited extortion, in addition to heavy taxes upon every crop and every tree, even to the oak upon the hills, the unrestrained pillage of the harvests by Bedouins, with other causes, are fast abandoning this fertile land to denudation, drought, and the desert.
Calendar of Labor. —There have been few changes in the art or instruments of agriculture in Western Asia since ancient times. The present tense may therefore ordinarily be used for the past. Ploughing and sowing grain begin with the
rainy season, and, as the ground does not freeze, continue, when the weather permits, till March. Then are sown the podded and garden plants, the melons, and all the crops which demand a warmer soil. Barley-harvest quickly follows the cessation of the latter rain, and then wheat-harvest. The remaining crojis having one after another been brought to perfection and gathered, the droughts of summer now end most agricultural operations till the ingathering of the fig, the olive, and the grape in August and Se])tember. Occasionally, during the busy season, the husbandman tents upon the land he cultivates. Ordinarily, his home is in some village or walled town, perhaps miles away from his farm. In the early morning he walks or rides to his labor, the patient ass or the camel bearing his light ploughs and other implements. Thus in the parable the " sower went forth to sow." So varied is the character of the soil and climate within short ranges as often greatly to prolong the season of planting and harvesting. Grain frequently requires replanting or replacing with other crops. Where there are permanent streams or opportunities for irrigation, sowing follows harvest, crop succeeds crop through the entire year, and the promises of Lev. 26 : 5 and Am. 9 : 13 are verified.
Crops. —In this fertile soil, with an almost unparalleled variety of climate and exposure, between such points as Jericho, Hermon, and Gaza, there is opportunity for the cultivation of nearly all plants either of the torrid or temperate zones; and we find in the Bible, for such a book, a very extended botanic list. The variety of cultivated species was, however, much less than now. Wheat, barley, millet, and spelt (not rye) were the only cereals. Beans and lentiles vpere staples, while flax, cucumbers, fitches, cummin, and the onion family were often extensively cultivated. Jewish writers mention peas, lettuce, endives, and melons as ancient garden-plants. Fruit- and nut-bearing trees were cultivated for the most part within enclosures.
Methods and Instrnments. —As population increased, irrigation, by conducting water to the crops from brooks and reservoirs, became more common. The painful Egyptian labor of raising a sup-
AGE
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ply from a lower level was rarely necessary. Such passages as Jer. 9 : 22 show that the use of dung as manure was not uncommon. In Jer. 4:3; Hos. 10 : 12 there is reference to the practice of leaving the land fallow for a time. The former passage, with many others, reminds us of the great variety and abundance of thorny plants in Palestine, said to be one mark of a fertile soil. Rotation of crops seems to have been practised to some extent.
The instruments of agriculture are particularly described under their respective titles. Oriental ploughing does not turn a sod, but merely scratches the earth to the depth of three or four inches at most, which is all the primitive and light plough and the small cattle of the East can do. Often—always in the case of new ground — a second ploughing crosswise was practised; and this is referred to by the word " break " in Isa. 28 : 24. Steep hill-sides were prepared for planting with the mattock or hoe, an iron-pointed instrument of wood resembling in shape the modern "pick." Isa. 7:25. Good farmers ploughed before the
rains, that the moisture might be more abundantly absorbed. The seed, being scattered broadcast upon the soil, was ordinarily ploughed in, as is still the custom. Light harrowing, often with thorn-bushes, completed the process. In wet ground the seed was trampled in by cattle. Isa. 32 : 20. After its planting there was commonly little further labor bestowed upon the crop till it was ready for the harvest. Weeds were removed by hand when it was safe to do so. Matt. 13 : 28, 29. Irrigation was sometimes necessary. As the ingathering drew near, the fields must be protected by the watchman in his lodge from the wild boar and other beasts, and from human marauders. The newly-scattered seed and the ripening crop also required to be defended against great flocks of birds. Matt. 13 : 4.
Grain when ripe was, in more ancient times, plucked up by the roots. Later, it was reaped by a sickle resembling our own, either the ears alone being cut off or the whole stalk. The sheaves were never made into shocks ; but this word in Scripture use denotes merely a loose
An Egyptian Tlireshin
heap of them. Laborers, animals, or carts bore the harvest to the threshing-floor, where, as elsewhere described, the grain was separated from the ears and winnowed. More delicate seeds were beaten out with a stick. Isa. 28 : 27. Peculiarities. —Agriculture was recog-30
-Floor. {Fiovi Eieh7n.)
nized and regulated by the Mosaic law as the chief national occupation. Inalienable ownership—under God—of the soil was a fundamental provision, and renting the ground till the year of jubilee was alone possible. " The land shall not be sold for ever : for the land is mine ; for
AGR
AHA
ye are strangers and sojourners with me." Lev. 25 : 8-10, 23-35. The encouragement such a provision gave to agricultural improvements cannot be exaggerated.
That the land must rest one year in seven was another remarkable and most beneficent requirement. Lev. 25 : 1-7. The Jews were forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds. Dcut. 22 : U. For example, wheat and lentiles must not be mixed, nor areas of them meet. The rabbis describe with minuteness how to vary the position of crops, yet avoid actual contact between them, and prescribe at least three furrows' margin between such divers kinds. The yoking together of an ox and ass was prohibited, but is common enough among the present inhabitants. Horses were never used for farm-work.
Vineyards are enclosed in walls, and gardens are usually protected in the same way, or by banks of mud taken from ditches. Otherwise, in agricultural districts the absence of all fences or enclosures is, and always was, in striking contrast to our own practice. A brook or a cliff may serve as a boundary, but ordinarily large stones almost covered by the soil are the landmarks. Deut. 19 : 14. Exceedingly beautiful to the eye are the vast fertile areas of Palestine, checkered only by cultivation. As cattle find pasture through most of the year, there are no proper barns to be seen. Grass is cut in watered places with a sickle for " soiling," and stock is fed with this or with grain when the fields are dried up. More commonly, during periods of scarcity, the flocks and herds are driven to other feeding-grounds. Booths are sometimes provided for inclement weather, and at night cattle are driven into caves or folds.
The permission to pluck and eat a neighbor's grapes or grain, but not to put the former in a vessel nor use a sickle on the latter, is not to be forgotten. Deut. 23 : 24, 25. There was also merciful provision that the poor might glean in the vineyard and harvest-field, and that something should be left for them. Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; Deut. 24: 19.
Altogether, the agricultural laws of the Pentateuch have been unapproached in their wisdom and beneficence by any
similar legislation on record. See (tAr-DKN, Mowing, Plough, Seasons, Thresh, ViNKS. etc.
AGRIP'PA. See Herod (3, 4).
A'CwllR. {<nt. asueiiihlcr, i. e. <>/ wise me)i), a sage mentioned in Prov. 30:1. Nothing is known of him. The rabbins identified him, but groundlessly, with Solomon.
A'lIAB ( father's brother). 1. Seventh king of" Israel, u. c. 919-896. 1 Kgs. 16 : 29. Son and successor of Omri. He reigned twenty-two years. His capital was Samaria. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre, who had been priest of Astarte, but had seized the throne of his brother. Being a weak man, he was ruled by his ambitious and daring wife. Idolatry was set up in Israel. Ahab built a temple to Baal in Samaria, and Jezebel maintained at her own cost 400 prophets of Astarte. These were allowed to become the relentless persecutors of the servants of Jehovah, so that true religion was almost extinct. In punishment God sent three years of drought. Elijah had prophesied this event, and at its termination appeared before the king, challenged the false prophets to a trial of power, demonstrated their feebleness, ami caused them to be slain. Ahab was deeply impressed, and might have yielded, were it not for Jezebel, who threatened the life of Elijah, and by her energy prevented a reaction in favor of Jehovah. See Elijah. Ahab had a taste for splendid architecture : this he showed by building an ivory palace and several cities. But it was on the city of Jezreel he seems to have spent the most attention. The desire to beautify it led to the affair of Naboth's vineyard. This he coveted, that he might add it to his pleasure-grounds in Jezreel. But Na-both refused to part with the land for money or in exchange, for he was forbidden by the Levitical law. Lev. 25 : 23. Ahab took the refusal to heart. But the scheming Jezebel secured Naboth's murder under orders marked with Ahab's seal. And thus the land-passed into his hands. See Naboth. The Lord by Elijah denounced Ahab and Jezebel, and foretold the extinction of their house. But Ahab's remorse and repentance secured the postponement of the sentence. 1 Kgs. 21.
AHA
AHA
Ahab fought three wars or campaigns with Ben-hadad II.. king of Syria, in the first two of which, only a year apart, both defensive, he was victorious. The second victory put Ben-hadad into his hands, and he was able to exact very favorable terms of peace—viz. that all the Israelitish cities lost should be restored, and in Damascus Jewish officials should be permanently settled in their own houses, in order that they might look after the interests of Ahab and his subjects. This is what is meant by making " streets" in Damascus. 1 Kgs. 20 : 34. For letting Ben-hadad go he was strikingly rebuked by a prophet, and the failure of his hopes prophesied. It was indeed foolish, since no pledge had been given by Ben-hadad ; and ungrateful, because God, who had given the victory, was not consulted. For the next three years the kingdom had peace. But then Ahab in conjunction with Jehoshaphat, kingof Judah,his son-in-law, fought Ben-hadad the third time, in order to recover Kamoth-gilead, which Ahab claimed belonged to him. Lying prophets encouraged him in his enterprise, but at Jehoshaphat's request Micaiah, the prophet of Jehovah, was called, who foretold his death. Ahab in anger imprisoned Micaiah, but still was so impressed that he took the precaution to disguise himself; but a certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote him, so that at eventide he died. His body was carried to Samaria ; the dogs licked up his blood as a servant washed it from the chariot. Thus the prophecy of Elijah was partially fulfilled, but more exactly in the case of his son. Ahab left three children by Jezebel, all of whom died violent deaths ; also, by other wives, seventy sons, who were slain by Jehu.
2. Ahab, a false prophet, who deceived the captive Israelites in Babylon, and was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar, B. c. 594. Jer. 29:22.
AHAR'AH (after the brother), the third son of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:1.
AHAR'HEL {behind the breastwork), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:8.
AHAS'AI (probably a contraction of Ahaziah, lohom Jehovah hoUh), a priest, Neh. 11:13; called Jahzerah in 1 Chr. 9:12.
32
AHAS'BAI (/ toill confide in Je-hovah), the father of one of David's warriors. 2 Sam. 23 : 34.
AHASHVE ROSH. Ezr. 4 : 6, margin ; Hebrew form of Ahasuerus.
AHASUE'RUS (probably lion-kiiuj), the Hebrew form of Xerxes, the name, or perhaps only the title, of one Median and two Persian kings mentioned in the Old Testament.
1. The father of Darius the Median, and the same with Astyages. Dan. 9: 1.
2. Supposed to be the son and successor of Cj'rus, probably Cambyses, who reigned seven years and five months from B. c. 529. Ezr. 4 : 6.
3. The husband of Esther, undoubtedly the Xerxes of profane history. Esth. 1:1. The story of his acts of caprice and cruelty recorded in the book of Esther agrees exactly with what we otherwise know of his character, for once he* scourged the sea and beheaded the engineers because a storm carried away their bridge, and was guilty of many other crimes. In the third year of his reign he called a council of his nobles, very likely for the purpose of arranging the invasion of Greece. The meeting lasted six months, and was followed by a munificent feast, on the seventh day of which he commanded his queen, Vashti, to show herself unto his drunken nobles. This she properly refused to do, whereupon he deposed her. Four years after, he married Esther. The interval is accounted for by supposing the war with Greece intervened. See Esther.
AHA'VA (water), a place or river where Ezra collected the returning exiles and proclaimed a fast. Ezr. 8: 15, 21, 31. Rawlinson suggests that Aha-va was identical with Ava and Ivah, the modern Hit, on the Euphrates, east of Damascus.
A'HAZ (possessor). 1. Eleventh king of Judah, son of Jotham, whom he succeeded. 2 Kgs. 16:2: 2 Chr. 28:1. He reigned sixteen years, b. c. 742-726. He was a gross idolater, and even sacrificed his children to the gods. He remodelled the temple to fit it for idolatrous rites. He kept chariot-horses dedicated to the sun. This course brought upon him and his kingdom severe judgments. God made them to flee before their enemies. Their allies often proved un-
AHA
Attt
faithful, and involved them in great distress.
Early in his reign, ])robably the second year, Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, who, just at the close of Jotham's reign, had cunfeder-ated for the destruction of Judah, invaded the kingdom with a powerful army and laid siege to Jerusalem.
Isaiah foretold their overthrow and inspired the king. Isa. 7. But the allies, though defeated at Jerusalem, captured Elath, wasted Judah, and carried 200,000 into captivity ; the prophet Oded caused these to be restored. Ahaz in his extremity made a league with Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, who freed him from his enemies, but at the cost of the Judaic kingdom, which became tributary, and Ahaz sent him all the treasures of the temple and his palace, and appeared before him in Damascus as a vassal. Neglecting the warnings of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, he ran to even greater excesses in idolatry, and indeed so lowered himself in the popular esteem that when he died he was refused a burial with his royal ancestors. 2 Chr. 28: 27. His only permanent service to his people was the introduction of the sun-dial, which was probably connected with the Assyrian astrology and necromancy.
2. A son of Micah, the grandson of Jonathan. 1 Chr. 8 : 35, 36 ; 9 : 42.
AHAZI'AH {who7)i Jehovah s^is-tains). 1. The son and successor of Ahab, and eighth king of Israel, b. c. 896-895. 1 Kgs. 22:40. He was an idolater, and for this reason, when he attempted to unite with Jehoshaphat in the gold-trade with Ophir, God caused the ships to be broken in port at Ezion-geber, not allowing this union between his friends and foes. See Jehoshaphat. Under him Moab rebelled. A fall through a lattice, probably from the window of his chamber in his palace in Samaria, occasioned his death. Characteristically, he sent to inquire at Ekron of Baal-zebub whether his injury would be fatal. Elijah met the messengers and told them that he would die. The king sent to take Elijah, and thus two companies of soldiers were destroyed. But with the third, Elijah went and told the king in person of his speedy death. 2 Kgs. 1. 3
2. Called also Azariah, 2 Chr. 22:6, and Jehoahaz, 2 Olir. 21: 17, was a son of Jehoram and Athaliali, and fifth king of Judah, and at the ago of twenty-two succeeded his fiitlu-r as king of Judah. 2 Kgs. 8 : 25. lie continued the idolatry of the house of Ahab, and was governed by the advice of his infamous mother. His reign lasted only one year, b. c. 884. He allied himself with his uncle, Jehoram, king of Israel, and attacked Hazael, king of Syria, who defeated them at Ramoth-gilead. Jehoram was severely wounded and carried to his palace in Jezreel. There Ahaziah visited him. Israel meanwhile rebelled under Jehu. The two kings went out to meet him, and Jehu killed Jehoram. Ahaziah fled, and was pursued to the pass of Gur, where he was mortally wounded, but escaped, and died at Megiddo. In this way the slightly differing accounts, 2 Kgs. 9 : 27 and 2 Chr. 22 : 9, can be reconciled.
AH'BAN {brother of the wise), a descendant of Judah. 1 "Chr. 2 : 29.
A'HER {after, followiny), a Benja-mite. 1 Chr. 7 : 12.
A'HI {brother). 1. A Gadite. 1 Chr. 5:15.
2. An Asherite. 1 Chr. 7 : 34.
AHI'AH {friend of Jehovah). 1. Supposed by some to be the same with Ahimelech, 1 Sam. 21:1, was the son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priest's office. 1 Sam. 14 : 3, 18. See Ahimelech and Ahitcjb.
2. The son of Shisha, one of Solomon's scribes or secretaries. 1 Kgs. 4: 3.
3. A descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:7.
AHI'AM {father's brother), one of David's warriors. 2 Sam. 23 : 33; 1 Chr. 11 : 35.
AHI'AN {brotherly), a son of Shemi-dah. 1 Chr. 7:19.
AHIE'ZER {brother of help). 1. A prince of Dan. Num. 1:12; 2:25; 7:66; 10:25.
2. A Benjamite chief who joined David. 1 Chr. 12 : 3.
AHI'HUD {brother, i. e. friend, of Judah, i. e. renown), the prince of the tribe of Asher. Num. 34:27.
AHI'HUD (different name in Hebrew from the above, brother of union), a descendant of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:7.
AHI'JAH {brother, i.e.friend, ofJe-
AHI
AHI
horah). 1. A prominent prophet, called the Shilonite from his place of residence, who foretold to Jeroboam the disruption of the kins^dora and the assignment of the ten tribes to him. 1 Kgs. 11: 29-39. The prophecy is referred to 1 Kgs. 12: 1.'); 2 Chr. 10 : 15. To the wife of Jeroboam the same prophet subsequently announced not only the fate of the sick child, but that of the nation. 1 Kgs. 14:1-18. A part of this latter prophecy Baasha realized. 1 Kgs. 15 : 29. He left annals of Solomon's reign. 2 Chr. 9: 29.
2. The father of Baasha, the king. 1 Kgs. 15 : 27, 33 ; 21: 22 ; 2 Kgs. 9^: 9.
3. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 2:25.
4. One of David's " valiant men." 1 Chr. 11: 36.
5. The Levite"over the treasui-es of the house of God and . . . the dedicated things." 1 Chr. 26 : 20.
6. One who sealed the covenant. Neh. 10: 2fi.
AHI'KAM {brother of the enemy), a son of Shaphan, and the father of Gedaliah, was an oflBcerat the court of Josiah and Jehoiakim, and one of those whom Josiah sent to Huldah the prophetess to inquire of her concerning the book of the law which had been found in the temple. 2 Kgs. 22 : 12. He afterward protected the prophet Jeremiah. Jer. 26: 24. See Jeremiah.
AHI'LUD {brother of one born, sc. before him), the father of Jehoshaphat, the official recorder of the reigns of David and Solomon. 2 Sam. 8 :16 ; 20 : 24; 1 Kgs. 4:3; 1 Chr. 18:15. The father likewise, in all probability, of Baana, one of Solomon's twelve commissariat officers. 1 Kgs. 4 : 12.
AHIM'AAZ {brother of wrath). 1. The father of Saul's wife Ahinoam. 1 Sam. 14 : 50.
2. Son and successor of Zadok the priest.
During the revolt of Absalom, Zadok and Abiathar, the high priests, stayed in Jerusalem with Hushai, David's friend; while Ahimaaz and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, stationed themselves at En-rogel, a short distance from the city, and the plot was that all that Hushai should hear respecting Absalom's plans he should communicate to Zadok and Abiathar, and they to their 34
sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan, by whom the intelligence should be communicated to David. 2 Sam. 15 : 30. As soon as Absalom had rejected the counsel of Ahithophel, and adopted that of Hushai, Zadok and Abiathar were promptly in-foiined of it, and directed their sons to go with all possible haste to David and tell him to cross Jordan at once. A woman bore the message. Seeing her speak to the men, and noticing that they ran off with haste, a lad informed Absalom of the suspicious event, and accordingly he ordered a pursuit. When they came to Bahurim, they concealed themselves in a well. The woman of the house covered the mouth of the well with a blanket, on which she spread corn to dry ; and when Absalom's messengers came up in the pursuit, and inquired where they were, she told them that the young men had passed on. Thus they escaped, and while their pursuers returned to Jerusalem they hastened to David with their message. 2 Sam. 17:15-22.
At his own urgent request, Ahimaaz was employed to carry the intelligence of Absalom's death to David, his father. He outran Cushi, who had been previously despatched on the same errand. Before he had delivered his message, however, Cushi came up, and made known the sad event. 2 Sam. 18 : 19-33. See David.
3. A son-in-law of Solomon, and one of his commissariat officers. 1 Kgs. 4 15.
AHI'MAN {brother of a f/ift). 1 One of three Hebronitic Anakim, Num 13 : 22, defeated and killed by Caleb with the help of Judah. Josh. 15:14; Jud. 1:10.
2. A Levite porter. 1 Chr. 9 : 17.
AHIM'ELECH {brother or friend of the kinrj). 1. The son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priesthood at Nob. 1 Sam 21 : 1. He gave David some of the shew-bread and the sword of Goliath when he fled from Saul. For this offence he and all the priests at Nob were slain at the instigation of Doeg the Edomite. 1 Sam. 22 : 11. See Abiathar.
2. A Hittite who was one of David's friends during his flight from Saul. 1 Sam. 26:6.
AHI'MOTH {brother of death), a
AHT
AHU
Kohathite, 1 Chr. 6 : 25; called in v. 35, Ma.hath.
AHIN'ADAB {brother of the noble, i. e. noble brother), one of Solomon's commissariat olticors. 1 Kgs. 4 : 14. See Abiathak.
AHIN'OAM {brother of j^leasnut-nens, \. e. plettsoiit). 1. Tlie daughter of Ahimaaz, and the wife of Saul. 1 Sam. 14:50.
2. A woman of Jezreel, and one of David's wives. 1 Sam. 25 : 43. She was taken captive by the Amalekites in the siege of Ziklag, and afterward rescued from captivity by David. 1 Sam. 30 : 5,18. She 'lived with him while he was king of Judah in Hebron, and was the mother of Amnon, his eldest son. 2 Sam. 2:2; 3:2; 1 Chr. 3:1.
AHI'O {brotherl,/). 1. A son of Abinadab, who, with his brother Uz-zah, was intrusted by David with the transportation of the ark from Kii-jath-jearim to Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 6:3; 1 Chr. 13 : 7. See Uzzah.
2. A Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8 : 14.
3. Another Benjamite. 1 Chr. 8:31; 9:37.
AHI'RA {brother of evil), the prince of the tribe of Naphtali. Num. 1:15; 2:29; 7 : 78, 83 ; 10 : 27.
AHI'RAM {brother of the high), a son of Benjamin, Num. 26 : 38 ; called Ehi in Gen. 46: 21, and was possibly the same as Aher. 1 Chr. 7:12. His descendants were called Ahiramites. Num. 26:38.
AHIS'AMACH {brother of support), a Danite, the father of Aholiab, one of the architects of the tabernacle. Ex. 31: (5; 35:34; 38:23.
AHISH'AHAR {brother of the damn), a great-grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 7: 10.
AHI'SHAR {brother of the singer), the controller of Solomon's household. 1 Kgs. 4 : 6.
AHITH'OPHEL {brother of foolishness), a native of Giloh, and the familiar friend, companion, and counsellor of David. Ps. 55 : 12-14; 2 Sam. 16 : 12 ; 1 Chr. 27 : 33. He was the grandfather of Bath-sheba. Cf. 2 Sam. 11: 3 with 23 : 34. His wisdom seemed superhuman. 2 Sam. 16 : 23. Absalom persuaded him to join in the conspiracy against his father, David ; but the cunning measures which Ahithophel pro-
posed for the accomplishment of Absalom's ambitious ])lans were all defeated by the counsel of llushai. Ahithophel, seeing that the probable issue would be the utter ruin of Absalom and his cause, which would almost necessarily involve his own destruction, returned at once to (riloh and hanged himself. 2 Sam. 17 : 23.
AHI'TITB (brother of goodness). 1. The son of Phinehas, and grandson of Eli. 1 Sam. 14 : 3. Some suppose that he succeeded Eli in the priesthood. See Ahimklech.
2. The son of Amariah, and the father of Zadok. 1 Chr. 6 : 8.
AH'LiAB (fitness, fertility), a town in Asher held by the Canaanites, Jud. 1:31; probably the place known later as Gnsh Hidab or Chaleb, and which Robinson locates at el-Jish, ne.ar Safed, north-west of the Sea of Galilee.
AH'IiAI {would God .'), daughter of Sheshan; married to his slave Jarha ; ancestress of one of David's mighty men. 1 Chr. 2:31, 34, 35; 11:41.
AHO'AH (friendship) of Jehovah?), a grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chr. 8:4.
AHO'HITE, "from Ahoah, a patronymic of some of David's warriors.
AHO^LAH {her tent), AND AHOL'IBAH {my tabernacle in her), the names of imaginary harlots; symbolically used for Judah and Samaria. Eze. 23 : 4, 5, 36, 44.
AHO'LIAB {tent of his father), son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who, with Bezaleel, was divinely appointed to construct the tabernacle and its furniture. Ex. 35 : 34.
AHO LIB'AMAH {tent of the height). 1. A wife of Esau, and daughter of Anah, Gen. 36 : 2, etc. She was the same with Judith, daughter of Beeri. 26 : 34. Judith was perhaps her original name.
2. The name appears in the genealogical list, Gen. 36 : 41 ; 1 Chr. 1:52, but it is the name of a district, and not of a person.
AHU'MAI {brother of water, i. e. pusillanimons), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4 : 2.
AHU'ZAM {their possession), the son of Ashur. 1 Chr. 4:6.
AHUZ'ZATH {possession), a particular friend of Abimelech, king of Gerar, who attended him when he met
AI
ALA
Isaac, and made a treaty with him at Beer-sheba. Gen. 26 : 26.
A'l {heap of ruins). 1. A city of the Canaanites, Gen. 13 : 3; taken by Joshua, Josh. 7 : 2-5 ; 8 :1-29 ; also called Aiath, Isa. 10 : 28, and Aija. Neh. 11 : 31. Abraham pitched his tent between Ilai and Bethel. Gen. 12 : 8. The two cities were so far apart that Joshua could place an ambush west of Ai unseen by the men of Bethel, while he was in the valley north of Ai. The city of Ai was east of Bethel, and about 9 miles north of Jerusalem. It is named 38 times in the Bible. It is now Haiyan.
2. A city of the Ammonites not far from Heshbon. Jer. 49 : 3.
AI'AH [hawk). 1. The father of Rizpah, Saul's concubine. 2 Sam. 3 : 7; 21:8,10,11.
2. The son of Zibeon, 1 Chr. 1: 40; called Ajah in Gen. 36 :24.
AI'ATH. Isa. 10 : 28. Feminine form of Ai, and probably the same as Ai.
AI'JA. Neh. 11 : 31. See Ai.
AIJ'ALON. See AjaloxX.
AIJ'ELETH SHA'HAR {hind of the dawn). These words occur in the title to Ps. 22, and probably "indicate, not the subject-matter of the poem, but rather a time for the guidance of the precentor." "There was some poem or lyrical composition extant which bore the name of Aijeleth Shahar—similar names have frequently been given to poems in the East—and according to the well-known measure of that the chief musician was to sing or chant the psalm."— AvRE: Treasury of Bible JCnoicledge.
A'lN (eye, spring). 1. A place, or probably a fountain, and one of the landmarks on the eastern boundary of Canaan. Num. 34:11. It is now known as Ain el-Azy, a remarkable spring, one of the sources of the Orontes, and about 10 miles west of Riblah.
2. A city of southern Palestine, first given to Judah, Josh. 15 : 32, afterward assigned to Simeon, Josh. 19 : 7, and then to the Levites, Josh. 21:lfi; 1 Chr. 4 : 32. The same place as Ashan, 1 Chr. 6 : 59, and possibly as En-rimmon. Neh. 11: 29.
A'J AH. See Aiah.
AJ'ALON (place of gazeUen). 1. A Levitical city of Dan, Josh. 19 : 42; given 36
to the Kohathites, Josh. 21 : 24; held by the Amorites, Jud. 1 : 35 ; noticed in the wars with the Philistines, 1 Sam. 14: 31; 2 Chr. 28:18; fortified by Reho-boam, 2 Chr. 11: 10; then in the territory of Benjamin, as the Danites had extended their territory farther north. See Jud. 18 : 1. Being on the border of the two kingdoms, it is sometimes men tioned as in Ephraim, 1 Chr. 6 : **)(). 69. and sometimes as in Judah and Benjamin. 2 Chr. 11 : 10 ; 28 : 18. Its modern name is Yalo, a small village about 14 miles west of Jerusalem, and north of the Jaffa road.
2. A valley, Josh. 10: 12, near the above city, now called Merj Ihn Omeir, which is broad and very beautiful. There Joshua fought a great battle. See Gibeon.
3. A town in Zebulun. possibly named after Elon the judge, who was buried there. Jud. 12: 12. Its site may be the modern Jalnn.
A'KAN {sharp-sighted f), a descendant of Esau, Gen. 36 : 27 ; called Jakan in 1 Chr. 1 : 42.
AK'KUB {insidious). 1. A descendant of David. 1 Chr. 3 : 24.
2. One of the porters at the east gate of the temple. 1 Chr. 9 : 17: Ezr. 2 : 42; Neh. 7:45; 11:19; 12:25.
3. One of the Nethinim whose family returned with Zerubbabel. Ezr. 2 : 45.
4. A Levite who assisted Ezra in explaining the law. Neh. 8 : 7.
AKRAB'BIM {scorpions), a range of hills on the southern boundary of Judah, Num. 34 : 4 ; Josh. 15 : 3, and on the border of the territory of the Amorites. Jud. 1:36. The "ascent of" and the "going up to" Akrabbim is the famous "Scorpion Pass," where the route from Petra to Hebron passes out of the Ghnr, or Wady, el-Fikreh. At the upper end of this winding valley, 10 miles from Maderah, is a wild ascent now called Nahh Kareb, which is regarded as the ancient Akrabbim or " Scorpion Pass." Scorpions still abound in the region. It was also called Maaleh-acrabbim. Josh. 15 : 3.
AI/AB ASTER. Matt. 26 : 7. A white mineral, easily carved and susceptible of a fine polish. It was of two distinct kinds. One was a pure variety of gypsum or sulphate of lime, the rock i which is often ground into plaster of
ALA
ALE
Paris; the other kind was carbonate of lime, a mineral of the same chemical composition as most of the marbles. It was hij^hly valued for its translucency and for its variety of reddish or grayish streaiiings. The name "alabaster" is from Aldhastrou, in Egypt, where this material was found, and where vessels were manufactured from it for holding perfumes. Vases of the same mineral for containing ointments or cosmetics were found at Nineveh by Mr. Layard. The well-known sculptured slabs from that city are of alabaster of the gypsum kind. The druggists in Egypt at the present
place in Asher. Josh. 19 : 26. The name seems to be preserved in the Wady Mtlik, which joins the Kishon not far from the sea and near Mt. Carmel.
ALE'METH [covcnng), a Benjam-ite. 1 Chr. 8 : .'JG ; 9 : 42.
AL'EMETH, and AL'LE-METH, the same as Alameth {cover-iiKj), a Levitical city of Benjamin, 1 Chr. 6 : 60 ; called also Almon, Josh. 21: 18 ; probably the modern Almit, 4 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and about 1 mile north-east of Anata, the ancient Anathoth.
ALEXAN'DER {man-defender). 1. The son of Simon the Cyrenian. Mark 15: 21.
2. A distinguished Jew who, with others, took part against Peter and John. Acts 4: 6.
3. A Jew of Ephesus who took a conspicuous part in the controversy between Paul and the populace of that city, and attempted, without success, to quell the commotion. Acts 19: 33.
4. A coppersmith and apostate from Christianity, whom Paul mentions in terms of severe reproach. 1 Tim. 1 : 19, 20 and 2 Tim. 4 : 14.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the famous king of Macedonia and conqueror, died B.C. 323. He brought Europe and Asia into contact, made the Greek Alabaster Vases. {From the British Museum.) the ruling language of civiliza-
The inscription on the centre vessel denotes the quantity it holds, tion, and thuS UUCOnscioUSly pre-
day use vessels of this substance for the purpose of keeping medicines and perfumes. Theocritus, an ancient profane historian, speaks of gilded alabasters of Syrian ointment. The phrase " she brake the box," used Mark 14:3, is sup])Osed to mean that she broke the slender neck of the sealed bottle or pitcher. Thus the offering was very ca^U.y ^^^ appropriate. Box was for-m<(r1y used in a more general sense than now. The word is said to come from the tvood of the same name, and at first was used for any vessel formed from that material.
AL'AMETH {covering), another form of Alemeth, which see. 1 Chr. 7:8.
ALAM'MELECH {Umfa oak), a
pared the way for the spiritual conquest of the gospel. He is not mentioned by name in the canonical books, but in the Apocrypha, 1 Mace. 1 : 1-9 j 6 : 2, and
Head of Alexander the Great. {On a coin of Lysimachus, king of Thrace.)
is meant in the prophecies of Daniel, where he is represented first as the belly of brass in Nebuchadnezzar's
ALE
ALE
dream of the colossal statue, 2 : 39, and then in the vision of Daniel, under the figures of a leopard with four wings, and a one-horned he-goat, to indicate his great strength and the swiftness of his conquests, 7:6; 8 : 5-7 ; 11: 3, 4. He succeeded his father, Philip, b. c. 336, conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, destroyed the Persian empire and substituted the Grecian, but died at the age of 32, from the effects of intemperance, in Babylon, and was buried in Alexandria, which he had founded, B. c, 332. His conquests were divided among his four generals. Josephus relates that after the siege of Tyre he visited Jerusalem ; and being shown the prophecy of Daniel concerning himself, he granted the Jews everywhere the most important privileges. But the heathen historians ignore this event.
ALEXAN'DRIA,the Grecian capital of Egypt, founded by and named after Alexander the Great, b. c. 332.
Sitaatioti. —It was a noted seaport of Lower Egypt, and was situated on a low, narrow tract of land which divides Lake Mareotis from the Mediterranean, and near the western mouth of the Nile, about 120 miles from the present city of Cairo.
History. —Soon after its foundation by Alexander it became the capital of the Ptolemies and the Grecian kings reigning in Egypt, and one of the most populous and prosperous cities of the East. Its harbor could accommodate vast navies, fitting it to become the commercial metropolis of the entire Eastern world. In front of the city, on the island of Pharos, stood a famous light-house, named after the island and noted as one of the Seven AVonders of the world. Alexandria numbered, in the days of its ancient prosperity, 600,000 inhabitants (half of them slaves), and ranked next to Athens in literature. It had the greatest library of ancient times, which contained upward of 700,000 rolls or volumes. The portion in the museum, consisting of 400,000 volumes, was burnt in B. c. 47. The additional or " new library " in the Serapeum, afterward increased to about 500,000 volumes, including the original 300,000 volumes, was destroyed by the fanatical vandalism of the Saracens in a. d. 640. At Alexandria the 0. T. was translated 38
into the Greek by seventy learned Jews (hence called the " Septuagint), in the third century before the Christian era. The Alexandrian Greek dialect, known as Hellenistic Greek, was the language used by the early Christian fathers, and is still the study of the biblical scholar in the pages of the N. T. Alexandria was the birthplace of Apollos, Acts 18 : 24, and in the apostle Paul's time, it carried on an extensive commerce with the countries on the Mediterranean. Acts 6:9; 27 : 6 ; 28 : 11. The city was the home of Philo, who there blended the Mosaic religion with the philosophy of Plato. Mark founded there a Christian church, which in later years became a patriarchal see, outranking Jerusalem and Antioch, being itself afterward outranked by Constantinople and Rome. In its catechetical school—the theological seminary of those days—Clement and Origen taught the Christian religion, in opposition to the false philosophy of the Gnostic sects. In Alexandria originated the Arian heresy denying that Jesus Christ was divine, and there Athanasius, the " father of orthodoxy," firmly opposed the false and defended the true doctrine of the deity of our Lord. From A. D. 300 to 600* the city was second only to Rome in size and importance, and was the chief seat of Christian theology. It was conquered by the Saracens under Caliph Omar about A. D. 640, when it began to decline. The rising importance of Constantinople, and the discovery of an ocean passage to India by way of Cape Good Hope, contributed to its further ruin, until it was reduced from a prosperous city of half a million to a poor village of only 5000 to 6000 inhabitants. The plan of Alexandria on the next page is taken from Fairbairn's Impeyial Dictionary of the Bible.
Preaent Condition. —It is now an important city of 200,000 inhabitants (including 50,000 Franks), and is connected with Cairo by a railway, and also with Suez, on the Red Sea. The city has a new artificial harbor with a breakwater two miles long. Among the ancient monuments to be seen are the Catacombs, the Column of Diocletian, 94 feet high and named *' Pompey's Pillar "—not from the famous Pompey, but from a Roman prefect who erected the
ALE
ALL
column in honor of the emperor Diocletian—and one of the two obelisks or ''Needles of Cleopatra," which, however, belong to the time of the Pharaohs and were brought from Heliopolis. One was transferred to London in 1878, and now adorns the embankment of the Thames : the other is to be removed to the city of New York (1880).
ALEXANDRIANS. Acts 6 : 9. Jews from Alexandria at Jerusalem, where they had a synagogue by themselves, or perhaps the Libertines and Cyrenians worshipped with them.
AL'GUM. See Almug.
ALI'AH (ivicl-cditoifi). See Alvah.
ALI'AN {tall). 1 Chr. 1 : 40. See Alvan.
A'LIEN. See Stranger.
AL'LEGORY. Gal. 4:24. A figure of speech, nearly resembling the parable or fable, common in the Scriptures and among all Oriental nations. It properly means a figurative speech which, under the literal sense of the words, conveys a deeper spiritual meaning. But the literal or historic sense is not necessarily denied. Paul gives two examples of allegorical interpreta-
tion—the rock in the wilderness of which the Israelites did drink, and which spiritually or mystically means Christ, 1 Cor. 10 : 4; and the story of Hagar and Sarah. Gal. 4 : 24, 25. In v. 25 the best critical authorities leave out "Agar," and thus rid the verse of much of its difficulty, for it is not asserted that Agar is. but that Sinai is, a mountain in Arabia. See Parable.
ALLELII'IA, Rev.l9: 1,0R HAL-LELU'JAH, a Hebrew word signifying Praific ye the Lord. It was a common exclamation of joy and praise in the Jewish worshi]i, and begins and concludes several of the Psalms, as 106, 111, 112,113,117, and 135. The Psalms 113 to 118 constituted, according to Jewish enumeration, the Ilallel, which was sung on the first of the month and at the Feasts of Dedication, Tabernacles, Weeks, and of the Passover.
ALLI'ANCE. The Jews were in intention a peculiar people, designed to live apart from all other nations. But they frustrated this design, and leagued themselves in off'ensive and defensive treaties with the surrounding governments. We know so little of the details
ALL
ALM
of these affairs that we cannot always be sure just when they took phice. But it is noticeable that the decay of the Jewish state in purity is synchronous with a desire to receive outside help. They left God for man. Before the state arose, alliances were indeed formed by the patriarchs, Gen. 21: 27-32; 26 : 28, 29 ; 31: 44-54, but the}' were of very limited extent. When the Israelites invaded Palestine they were forbidden to ally themselves with the inhabitants, but the Gibeonites fraudulently made a treaty with them, to which Israel abode faithful. Josh. 9. David and Solomon made an alliance with Tyre, 2 Sam. 5 : 11;
1 Kgs. 5 : 1-12, but it was for pacific ends. When, however, the disruption took place, both Judah and Israel looked to neighboring states for assistance in their " intestine internecine wars." By means of these foreigners idolatry was introduced, the national purity eventually destroyed, and the anger of God thus excited.
Alliances were made by an oath between the parties, who in solemn fashion passed between the parts of an equally-divided victim. Gen. 15:10; Jer. 34: 18-20. A feast followed. Gen. 26 : 30 :
2 Sam. 3 : 20. Salt, symbol of fidelity to this day in the East, was used ; hence the phrase "covenant of salt." Num. 18 : 19 ; 2 Chr. 13 : 5. Once made, these alliances must not be broken. Josh. 9: 18; the punishment for so doing was severe. 2 Sam. 21 : 1; Eze. 17 : 16.
AL'LON {an oak), a place on the boundary of Naphtali, Josh. 19 : 33 ; probably should be rendered the "oak-forest." See Zaanannim.
AL'LON (ou oak), the son of Je-daiah. 1 Chr. 4:37.
AL'LON-BACH'UTH (oak of iveepiiif/), an oak tree near Bethel, under which Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried. Gen. 35 : 8.
ALMO'DAD (immeasurable), the Joktanite. Gen. 10 : 26; 1 Chr. 1: 20.
AL'MOX. Josh. 21: 18. See Ale-
METH.
Ali'MOND (Amygdalus communis), a tree resembling the peach in size, leaf, flower, and fruit. The fruit is green, almost pulpless, and shrivels off in September, leaving the nuts, for which the tree is chiefly valued, and which the sons of Jacob carried down to the governor 40
of Egypt, a country where almonds seem to have been rare. Gen. 43:11. "Hazel," in Gen. 30 : 37, probably' denotes this tree. The bowls of the sacred candlestick were made like unto almonds, Ex. 25:33, by which name of "almonds" English workmen to this day call the pieces of glass used to ornament branch-candlesticks. Aaron's rod that budded yielded this fruit. Num. 17 : 8.
In January, before flowers appear on other trees, they adorn the naked twigs of the almond. Hence the allusion of the poet:
" The hope, in dreams of a happier hour. That alights on Misery's brow, Springs out of the silvery almond-flower. That blooms on a leafless bough."
The Hebrew name for this tree, doubtless suggested by its early blooming, means hasten, which explains Jer. 1:11, 12: " The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou ? And I said, I see a rod of an almond [hasteii] tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it." The allusion in Eccl. 12 : 5 is by some thought to refer to the beautiful resemblance of the almond ti'ee when in blossom to a hoary head. But as these
Almond. {From Wm. Smith.)
flowers, though white in contrast with peach-bloom, are still pinkish, the opinion now prevails that " as the almond ushers in the spring, so do the signs referred to in the context indicate the hastening of old age and death."
ALM
ALT
AL'MON-DIB'LATHA^IM
(hidhuj of the two Ji(/-c((k('>i), one of the halting-places of the Israelites near the river Arnon ; probably the same as Beth-diblathaim. Num. 33 : 46, 47 ; Jer. 48 : 22.
ALMS, ALMS DEEDS. The word is not found in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, but is frequent in the New Testament. The duty was. however, enjoined very strictly upon the Jews, who by law were required always to leave gleanings in the fields that the poor might be fed. Lev. 19 : 9, 10 ; 23 : 22 : Deut. 15 : 11 ; 24 : 19; 26:2-13; Ruth 2 : 2. Every third year the tithe of the produce of the farmers was to be shared with the Levite, the fatherless, the stranger, and the widow. Deut. 14 : 28. Alms-giving is a subject of praise in the Old Testament; e.g. Job 31:17; Ps. 41:1 and 112 : 9. In the temple there was one box for the reception of alms to be dedicated to the education of the poor children of good family. Alms-giving was a part of Pharisaic practice. Our Lord did not rebuke them for it, but for their self-satisfaction in the performance. Matt. 6:2. In Acts 10 : 31; Rom. 15 : 25-27 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-4 the Christian mode of relieving the wants of others is set forth.
AL'MUG TREES, 1 Kgs. 10:11, AL'GUM TREES, 2Chr. 2:8; 9: 10, 11. Two forms of the same word. A precious wood used for musical instruments or cabinet-work. Being ordered by Solomon, it was brought from Ophir to Tyre, and thence with cedar of Lebanon to Jerusalem. As to what almug-wood was there are many theories, but some of the best authorities believe it to have been the red sandalwood of India.
AL'OES. Ps. 45 : 8 ; Song Sol. 4 : 14. We may infer that aloes was some fragrant and costly wood or gum entirely different from the medicine which we know by that name. It is believed to have been brought from India, and was used in embalming the dead. John 19 : 39.
Lign-aloes—that is, wood-aloes, Num. 24 : 6—is a translation of the same Hebrew word, but probably means a different plant. Balaam appears to refer to a well-known tree whose qualities might illustrate the condition of the Israelites
—possibly, to some kind of odoriferous cedar.
Aloes (Aquilaria agallocha. After Dr. Blrdwood.)
A'LOTH, a district in charge of Baanah, one of Solomon's officers; perhaps it should be Bealoth. 1 Kgs. 4 : 16; possibly, Alia, near Malia.
AL'PHA. See A and 0.
ALPHE'US {exchamie ?). 1. The father of the apostle James the Less, Matt. 10:3, and husband or father of Mary. John 19 : 25. Others make him the uncle of Jesus by identifying him with Cleophas and calling his wife a sister of the mother of Jesus; but it is more likely that " the sister of the mother of Jesus," mentioned John 19 : 25, was Salome, the mother of John, who was at the cross, according to the synoptical Gospels. Matt. 27 : 36 ; Mark'l5 : 40.
2. The father of Levi or Matthew. Mark 2:14.
AL'TAR. Gen. 8:20. A structure appropriated exclusively to the offering of sacrifices, under the Jewish law. See Sacrifices. Though sacrifices were offered before the Flood, the word altar does not occur until the time of Noah's departure from the ark.
Altars were of various forms, and at first rude in their construction, being nothing more, probably, than a square heap of stones or mound of earth. The altar on which Jacob made an offering at Bethel was the single stone which had served him for a pillow during the night. Gen. 28 : 18. Primarily for sacrifice, they seem at times to have been built for a witness merely, to mark the spot of God's appearance or other
ALT
ALT
memorable event. Gen. 12 : 7 ; Ex. 17 : 15, 16; Josh. 22:10-29. The altar which Moses was commanded to build, Ex. 20 : 24, was to be made of earth. If made of stone, it was expressly required to be rough, the use of a tool being regarded as polluting, Ex. 20: 25, but this refers only to the body of the altar and that part on which the victim was laid, as is evident from the directions given for making a casing of shittim-wood and overlaying it with brass for the altar of burnt-oflfering. It was also to be without steps. Ex. 20 : 26. See also Deut. 27 : 2-6 and Josh. 8 : 31. The law of Moses forbade the erection of altars except in the tabernacle; yet even pious Israelites disobeyed the letter of this law, for Gideon, Samuel, David, and Solomon are mentioned as setting up altars. The , temple altar was an asylum ; e. g. 1 Kgs. 1: 50. Altars were used in idol-worship ; and because they were often erected on high places they acquired the name of "high places."