COR

COR

The " parched corn " of the Bible, Lev. 23 : 14 ; Ruth 2 : 14 ; 1 Sam. 17 : 17, etc., '• corresponds to the kali/ of the Arabs, and is obtained in the following manner : When wheat is being harvested, some of the green ears are thrown upon the coals of fire and roasted; they are but partially divested of the hull by rubbing between the hands, and are very much relished."— Van Lennep.

CORNE'LIUS, a Roman centurion of the Italian cohort stationed at Caesarea, and the first heathen convert to Christianity. He was a Gentile by birth, but a God-fearing man, a half proselyte— i. e. leaning to the Jewish religion, yet uncircumcised, and hence considered unclean. Acts 10 : 1. His prayers, being offered in the faith of a promised Messiah, were heard, and God sent Peter to make known to him the plan of salvation through a crucified and risen Redeemer. Thus the door of faith was opened to the Gentiles. Cornelius and his family were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 10 and 11.

COR'NER. According to the Mosaic law, it was forbidden to reap the corners of the field, so that there might be gleanings for the poor. Lev. 19 : 9; 23 :22. The "corner of the house-top," Prov. 21: 9, is a narrow place exposed to sun and rain, contrasted with the wide room or house below. The word " corner" in the phrase "corners of Moab," or of any other country. Num. 24 : 17 ; Jer. 48 : 45, means the length and breadth of the country, and also of the world. " Corner of a bed," Am. 3 : 12, the corner of a room, was on the elevated part (used by night for a bed or couch), and contained the most honorable seat. See Bed. In the passage last cited it figuratively denotes the most proud and luxurious of the Israelites in Samaria. In Zech. 10 : 4 the word "corner" is used to denote either

COR

COW

the corner-stone or the most conspicuous part of a building, and evidently refers to Christ, Matt. 21: 42, where he is mentioned as " the head " (or chief) " of the corner," though the Jews, in erecting the temple of their faith, rejected him as unfit for so important a place.

Corner-stone. Job 38: 6. A massive stone placed at the foundation in the corner of a building, and binding the two walls together. Christ is called " the Corner-stone of the Church" because he gives strength and unity to the whole structure of God's house. Comp. Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6; Matt. 21 : 42; Eom. 9 : 32, 33 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 23.

COR'NET. IChr. 15:28. An instrument of music about 18 inches long, used by the priests, and giving a loud, smooth sound.

CORRUP'TION, MOUNT OF. See Olives, Mount of.

COS. See Coos.

CO'SAM (a diviner), one of Christ's ancestors. Luke 3 : 28.

COT'TAGE. Isa. 24 : 20. The same with tent or garden-hut.

COT^TON is now grown in Syria and Palestine, and is preferred to linen for turbans and shirts. But there is no proof that the ancient Hebrews knew anything about it. The word occurs only in Esth. 1: 6, where the A. V. renders " green."

COUCH. See Bed.

COUN'CIL. There are three legal bodies called ''councils" in the English N. T.

1. The Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, the fountain of their government, which sat at Jerusalem. By this body Jesus was tried. Matt. 26 : 59. See Sanhedrin.

2. The lesser courts. Matt. 10:17; Mark 13 : 9. One was in each town, but two in the capital. Josephus states that each court consisted of seven judges, with two Levites as assessors. The "judgment," Matt. 5 : 21, probably applies to them.

3. The "council" spoken of in Acts 25:12 was a kind of jurj^ "composed of councillors appointed to assist and advise the Roman governors."

COUN'SELLOR. Luke 23 : 50. An ofiicer connected with the royal camp of the Jews; supposed to be referred to in 1 Kgs. 12 : (5-12, 202

COURSE. See Abia.

COURT. See Temple, Dwellings.

COVENANT, an agreement or mutual obligation contracted deliberately and with solemnity. God's covenant with men signifies his solemn promise or engagement. Gen. 17:14; Ex.34: 10; Deut. 4:13; Isa. 59:21.

The Hebrew word for " making a covenant" signifies " a cutting," because covenants were often made by cutting animals in two and passing between their parts. Gen. 15 : 10, 17 : Jer. 34:18.

The term "the covenants," Rom. 9 : 4, refers to the various promises made to Abraham. God made a covenant with Noah and with Abraham.

The chief and most important use of the word, however, is in relation to the two great dispensations which are distinguished as the old and new, or as the covenant of the law and the covenant of the gospel. The former was made with the children of Israel through Moses, and rested much in the outward ceremonies and observances which the law enjoined (meats and drinks, and divers washings and carnal ordinances). The new covenant was made through Christ, sealed by his own blood, and secures to every believer the blessings of salvation and eternal life. Comp. Ex. 20 : 24; Gal. 3 ; Heb. 8. The titles " Old and New Testaments" arose from the inaccurate rendering of the word "covenant" by testamentum in the Latin Vulgate.

Covenant op Salt. Num. 18 : 19 ; 2 Chr. 13 : 5. This term denotes a covenant in the sealing or ratiiication of which salt was used, which made it inviolable. Lev. 2 : 13. See Salt.

COVET, Ex. 20:17, COV'ET-OUSNESS. Ex. 18: 21. To covet is to desire strongly. 1 Cor. 12 : 31. When such a desire is felt for that which we cannot lawfully possess, it is sinful and becomes covetousness, which is idolatrj'. Col. 3 : 5, for it is placing the heart and affections on the creature rather than on the Creator. Covetousness has relation commonly to riches, and, in the scriptural sense, includes the desire of accumulating, whatever may be the means. Prov. 28 : 16 ; Eccl. 5 : 10 ; Luke 12 : 15-34: 1 Tim. 6:9, 10.

COW, Isa. 7 : 21. In this remark-

Cormorant. {After Tristram.)

Gruuf. i^Ajicr Iriatram.)

coz

CEE

able prophecy the event foretold is that the face of the land of Judah should be so completely changed, and the inhabitants so greatly reduced in number, that, with only a single young cow and two sheep, a family should be supplied with an abundance of milk and butter, and vineyards which before commanded a high rent should be overgrown with briers and thorns.

By the Levitical law, Lev. 22 : 28, a cow and her calf were not to be killed on the same day. A similar precept is found in Ex. 23 : 19, and another in Deut. 22 : 6, 7. Whether they were designed to prevent inhumanity or referred to some heathen custom is uncertain. The cow is esteemed holy by the Hindoos.

COZ {thorn), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chr. 4:8.

COZ'BI (lying), the daughter of a Midianite chief. She was slain by Phineas. jSTum. 25 : 15, 18.

CRACK'NELS denotes crumb-cakes, so called because of the " sharp noise made when bi-eaking." 1 Kgs. 14 : 3.

CRANE, next to the ostrich, the largest bird found in the Holy Land, measuring 4 feet in height and 7 feet from tip to tijj of its extended wings. The crane {Grus cinerea) feeds upon frogs, fish, worms, insects, and sometimes vegetable substances. When upon the wing it is always noisy, and its cry is hoarse and melancholy ; hence the allusion of Isa. 38 : 14. These birds return in the spring with great regularity from their migrations, and flocks of thousands pass over Palestine. Jer. 8:7.

CREATE', Ps. 61:10, CREA'-TOR, Eccl. 12 : 1, CREATION. Mark 10 : 6. The word " creation " sometimes denotes all living things, and at others the act of creation. To create is to cause anything to exist that never existed in any form or manner before. Gen. 1:1,- Col. 1:16. It is to make without materials to make of. Thus, " God said, Let there be light, and there was light." Gen. 1:3.

The panorama of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis is the sublimest that can be found or conceived, and eminently worthy of God, and man as made in the image of God. Neither poetry 204

nor science has been able, or will ever be able, to produce anything better. God must have revealed it to the writer in a retrospective vision. The Bible gives two accounts. Gen. 1:1 to 2: 3, and 2 : 4-25. They supplement each other, and they differ as the names of God Elohim (used in the first) and Jehovah (used in the second) differ. The first refers to the creation of the whole universe, the second looks particularly to the creation of man and to the subsequent history of the fall and of redemption. The great object of the inspired writer in both was to show that God is the Author of all existence, that he made all things in beautiful order, and that he made them for his glory and for the use and dominion of man as the crowning work of his hands; that the God who created the universe is the same as the Jehovah of the history of the redemption of fallen man. The six days represent six indescribaole divine works in six divine periods, ending in a divine rest. Gen. 2 : 2, 3.

The first work was the creation of light— i. e. the diff'used cosmic light; the second, the organization of the physical heavens and the separation of the firmament from the earth ; the third, the formation of the earth and the division of sea and land, with the creation of vegetable life; the fourth, the creation of the sun— i. e. the concentrated solar light—and the planetary system ; the fifth, the creation of lower animal life in water and air; the sixth, the creation of higher animals on land, and the creation of man in the image of God. On the seventh day God rested from his creative work and entered upon his activity as the Preserver of all things, blessing his creatures and instituting the weekly day of rest for the benefit of body and soul. The first three days represent the era of matter, the next three days the era of life; the seventh day introduces the period of history, or of the moral world as distinct from the physical.

The six days of creation are not necessarily six literal days, but may be, and are probablj', periods of indefinite length. The question is not what God could do (for one hour or one minute would suffice for his omnipotence), but in what manner he usually works. That

CRE

CRE

the word '^ daj' " is often used in a wider sense is evident from such expressions as the '* day of the wicked," the *' day of grace," the "day of judgment." To (iod a thousand years are as one day. Ps. 90 : 4 ; 2 Pet. 3 : 8. The narrative itself indicates such a wider use of the word ; for the sun, that huninary wliich determines the solar day, was not created before the fourth day, and the seventh day, which represents the period of divine rest or preservation, has no evening. (Jen.2:4. For aprofound scholarly handling of this matter see Tayler Lewis's, " Special Introduction to the First Chapter of Genesis," part ii. pp. 131-135, in Lange's Commentary on Genesis (and his Six Days of Creation). He says: "It is not any duration, but the phenomenon, the appearing itself, that is called day." The Bible and science, nature and revelation, being the products of one and the same God, cannot contradict each other; and various attempts have been made to harmonize the Mosaic cosmogony with modern geology and astronomy by able Christian scientists (such as Prof. Guyot, Principal Dawson, and others). But it should be kept in mind that the Bible does not intend to teach science, but religion and the way of salvation. The great truths taught by Moses in the first two chapters of Genesis are obvious and independent of all science, as Guyot says: " A personal God calling into existence by his/ree, ahnifjhty icill, manifested by his ii-ord, executed by his Spirit, things which had no being; a Creator distinct from his creation; a universe, not eternal, but which had a beginning in time ; a creation successire —the six days—and progressive —beginning with the lowest element, matter, continuing by the plant and animal life, terminating by man, made in God's image; thus marking the great steps through which God, in the course of ages, has gradually realized the vast organic plan of the cosmos we now behold in its completeness, and which he declared to be very fjood, — these are the fundamental spiritual truths which have enlightened men of all ages on the true relations of God to his creation and to man. To understand them fully, to be comforted by them, requires no astronomy or geology. To depart from them is to relapse into

the cold, unintelligent fatalism of the old ])antheistic religions and modern philoso])hies, or to fall from the up])er regions of light and love infinite into the dark abysses of an unavoidable scepticism."

It is interesting to compare with the Mosaic cosmogony the old Ass^'rian tradition of the Creation, which has been brought to light by modern discovery.

These Chaldfean or Assyrian legends of the Creation have been discovered in a mutilated form, written upon twelve tablets, and are printed by the late Mr. George Smith in his Chaldiean Account of Genesis (London, 1876). He thus translates the fragments which contain the first part of the story: " When above were not raised the heavens, and below on the earth a plant had not grown up; the abyss also had not broken up their boundaries: the chaos (or water) Tiamat (the sea) was the producing mother of the whole of them. Those waters at the beginning were ordained; but a tree had not grown, a flower had not unfolded. AVhen the gods had not sprung up, any one of them; a plant had not grown, and order did not exist; were made also the great gods, the gods Lahmu and Laha-mu they caused to come . . . and they grew . . . the gods Sar and Kisar were made ... a course of days and a long time passed" (pp. 62, 63). Compare Gen. 1:1, 2.

The succeeding tablets are so broken that no connected stor^' can be read from them until we come to the fifth, which gives an account of the fourth day of creation: " It was delightful, all that was fixed by the great gods. Stars, their appearance [in figures] of animals he arranged. To fix the year through the observation of their constellations, twelve months (or signs), of stars in three rows he arranged, from the day when the year commences unto the close. He marked the position of the wandering stars [planets] to shine in their courses, that they may not do injury, and may not trouble any one; the positions of the gods Bel and Ilea he fixed with him. And he opened the great gates in the darkness shrouded— the fastenings were strong on the left and right. In its mass [i. e. the lower

CUE

ciiE

chaos] he made a boiling, the god Urn [the moon] he caused to rise out, the night he overshadowed, to fix it also for the light of the night, until the shining of the dnj, that the month might not be broken, and in its amount be regular. At the beginning of the month, at the rising of the night, his horns are breaking through to shine on the heaven. On the seventh day to a circle he begins to swell, and stretches toward the dawn further" (pp. 69-71). Comp. Gen. 1: 14-19.

The seventh tablet is very imperfect, but the translation gives some interesting coincidences with Genesis : " When the gods in their assembly had created . . . were delightful the strong monsters . • . they caused to be living creatures . . . cattle of the field, beasts of the field, and creeping things of the field . . . they fixed for the living creatures . . , cattle and creeping things of the city they fixed . . . the assembly of the creeping things the whole which were created . . , which in the assembly of my family . . . and the god Nin-si-ku (the lord of noble face) caused to be two . . . the assembly of the creeping things he caused to go ... " (pp. 76,77). Comp. Gen. 1: 24, 25.

The tablets which relate the creation of man are unhappily so mutilated that the sense is totally uncertain, but the first fragment appears to give the speech of the Deity to the newly-created pair, and on the reverse a particular address to the woman. Then follow more tablets relating the Fall.

Prof. Oppert read before the congress of Orientalists in Florence (1878) a translation of the Assyrian tablets relating to the Creation and the Fall, which differs greatly from the above-given translation of Mr. George Smith. The mutilated condition of the tablets, together with the uncertainty of many of the meanings, easily accounts for the differences. We give, by way of comparison, Prof. Oppert's translation of the tablet on which the fourth creative day is described :

"1. He distributed the stations of the great gods, seven in number, 2. And fixed the stars, the mansions of the seven litmari {i.e. fixed stars regulating the celestial movements). 206

3. He created the perpetual renewal of

the year and divided it into thirty-six decades.

4. For each of the twelve months he

fixed three stars.

5. From the day of the beginning of

the year until its close

6. He fixed the station of the god Nib-

iru that their circles (of days) might be perpetually renewed.

7. In order to prevent either shorten-

ing or interruption

8. The stations of Bel and Hea he fixed

with it,

9. And he spread the three gates on the

limbs of the angles.

10. He made a aiyar on the right and on

the left:

11. At the four exteriors he established

staircases.

12. The moon was' appointed to betray

the night,

13. And he made it renew itself to hide

the night and make day perpetual;

14. (Saying): ' Every month with day-

break accomplis^h thy circle.

15. In the beginning of the month the

night will reign :

16. Thy horns will be invisible, for the

heaven is renewed.

17. The seventh day thy disk will be

filled up on the left,

18. But open in darkness will remain

the half on the right.

19. (In the middle of the month) the

sun will be on the horizon of the sky at thy rising.

20. (In splendor may thy form reign

and make . . .

21. (Hence go back) and turn thyself

toward the way of the sun.

22. (Then will change) the darkness : to

the sun return,

23. . . . seek her ways . . .

24. (Rise and) set according to the eter-

nal laws.'"

The account of the Creation upon these tablets is manifestly confused. How different the account in Genesis,^ which bears throughout the impress of truth ! The Bible contains the revealed order of events; the tablets have only the traditional, and in part purely fanciful, storv to tell.

CREDITOR. See Loan.

CRES'CENS djrotving), a Christian of whom Paul speaks in 2 Tim. 4 : 10.

CRETE, now Candia, a large island

CRI

CRO

in the Mediterranean Sea, midway between Syria and Italy. It is about 140 miles long by 35 miles wide. Its surface is mountainous, the classic Mount Ida being one of its peaks, but there are fertile valleys. It was formerly possessed by a rich and powerful people ; Virgil speaks of its hundred cities. But the people were proverbially liars, Tit. 1:12—a character they are said still to bear. " Homer dates all the fictions of Ulysses from Crete, as if he meant to pass a similar censure on the Cretans to that quoted b}^ Paul—Kp^re? ael \jjev(Trai." —CoWPER : Odynsey, b. xiii. Cretans were at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:11; Paul was shipwrecked near the island, and he left Titus there as the first pastor and superintendent, who was " to ordain elders in every city " of the island. Tit. 1:5. It is now under the tyranny of the Turks, but thoroughly Greek in nationality and sympathy, and will probably ere long be annexed to the kingdom of Greece. It is supposed to have been first settled by the Philistines. See Gaphtorim.

CRIB, a stall for cattle or fodder, Prov. 14 : 4; Job 39 : 9 ; Isa. 1:3; or perhaps simply the manger out of which the cattle were to eat.

CRIM'SON. Jer. 4 : 30. See Colors.

CRISP'ING-PINS. The word is not properly translated in Isa. 3 : 22, for it denotes a reticule, probably richly ornamented.

CRIS'PUS. Acts 18: 8. An officer of the Jewish synagogue at Corinth. He and his family were converted under Paul's preaching, and he received the ordinance of baptism at the apostle's hands. 1 Cor. 1 : 14.

CROSS, CRUCIFY. Matt. 23 : 34; 27:32. Crucifixion is a mode of execution of great antiquity, and still prevails among the Hindoos and Chinese. It was regarded by the Romans as the basest and most ignominious death, deserved only by traitors and slaves. Luke 23 : 32. It was an accursed death. Deut. 21: 23 ; Gal. 3:13. Hence the force of the expressions 1 Cor. 1 : 23 ; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 12 : 2. As soon as the sentence was pronounced, "■ Thou shalt be crucified," the person was stripped and fastened to a post about as high as the waist, and was then scourged

with rods or whij)s made of leather strips armed with small bits of lead or bone, and often so severely as to occasion death. After the scourging the person was compelled to bear his own cross to the place of execution. This was usually an elevated place without the city, and near the highway.

There are three forms of the cross— one in which the two pieces of wood cross below the top, one in which they are placed one on the top of the other, and one in which they are placed diagonally :

Three Forms of the Cross.

The first is the usual form ; the second' is probably the oldest.

The monogram of Christ used by the early Christians and by Constantine represents the cross with the initials of the name of Christ (the X and the-P), thus :

The cross was so fixed into the earth that the feet of the sulferer were usu-all}' about 2 feet from the ground. In or near the middle of the upright post there was a projection, to which he was raised by cords ; and being previously divested of his clothing, he was first bound to the cross-beam, and then nailed by his hands, with strong iron spikes, to its extremities. There is conclusive evidence from profane history that the hands were pierced in this way, and that it was peculiar to the punishment of crucifixion, but whether the feet were

CEO

CEO

nailed separately, or whether a single nail transfixed them both, or whether they were merely tied to the beam by a cord, is doubtful. In order to lessen the pain, it was customary to give the sufferer wine medicated with myrrh, etc. Our Redeemer rejected this draught, Mark 15 : 23, choosing to suff"er to the full extent the pains of death. Vinegar, too, was a refreshing and sustaining drink, and was off'ered to him. Matt. 27 : 48. The criminal was fastened to the cross by four soldiers appointed for the purpose, who were allowed the apparel of the suff"erer as the perquisite of their office. Matt. 27 : 35.

Over the cross was commonly placed a writing or superscription, indicating the off"ence for which the' individual was put to death. It was called by the Romans titulus, or the title. John 19 : 19-22.

Among the Romans the prisoner often remained upon the cross till his body fell to the earth by its own weight, but the Jews were permitted, in obedience to the prece])t of their law, Deut. 21: 22, 23, to terminate the suff'erings of the malefactor before sundown. This was eff"ected in various ways—sometimes by setting fire to the foot of the cross, and at others by breaking the limbs with a hammer or piercing the body with a lance. John 19 : 31-37. The agonies of this death were extreme. Cicero says : "The executioner, the covering of the head, the very name of the cross, should be removed afar, not only from the body, but from the thoughts, the eyes, the ears, of Roman citizens; for of all these things, not only the actual occurrence and endurance, but the very contingency and expectation—nay, the mention itself—is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a freeman." The judges denominated it " the utmost torment, the extremest punishment."

The extension of the limbs just after so sevei'e a scourging, and the impossibility of making the slightest motion without occasioning suff'ering. the j^ier-cing of the hands and feet in the parts most susceptible of acute and agonizing pain, the exposure of the wounded antl lacerated flesh to the action of the sun and air hour after hour, the loss of blood, and the sense of the indignity and contempt, which, as shown to our Saviour, 208

was the most bitter, malicious, and unsparing that can be conceived,—all conspired to make it, to the very last degree, a death of pain. Often the strength of the malefactor lingered for three days, and even longer. Hence the surprise of Pilate. Mark 15:44.

The figure of a cross has often been represented on the banners of contending armies, thus :

With the conversion of the Roman

empire, the cross, from a sign of shame,

became a sign of honor. It reminds us

I of the great price of our salvation, and

I points the true way to immortality and

; glory : " No cross, no crown."

The cross is often used figuratively for i those reproaches, self-denials, and sac-I rifices which the true followers of Christ I must be expected to endure if they faithfully maintain their profession. Matt. 1 16 : 24.

! The classic work upon the cross and the 1 crucifixion of Jesus is Justus Lipsius's (d. 1606) Be Crucc, 1595. But in 1878, Herman Fulda, pastor near Halle, Germany, issued a work entitled Das Kreuz I nnddie Kreuzigung, which maintains that i Lipsius and all his followers are wrong. j This statement he fortifies by a fresh examination of the sources. According to Fulda, the cross of Jesus was a post. His hands were nailed on either side of it; his feet, the knees being much bent, were fastened by a stout cord to this post, but not nailed, and they, together with the nailed hands, supported the

CRO

CRY

body. Owing to haste, he deems it probable that the customary '' seat " fastened to the cross as a partial support was wanting. Fulda finds in this extremely painful position one reason for the speedy death of Jesus, which occasioned Pilate's incredulity.

CROWN. 2 Kgs« 11 : 12. Anciently the crown or diadem was only a headband, Eze. 16 : 12, or a ribbon or fillet, made of silk or linen, surrounding the head, and probably connected behind. Crowns arose probably from the natural custom of wearing wreaths of flowers on occasions of joy and festivity, or else from the custom of binding the hair to prevent its dishevelment by the wind. Ex. 28 : 36, 37 ; 29 : 6. We find it represented on ancient medals. Newly-married persons of both sexes wore crowns. Comp. Song Sol. 3:11 with Eze. 16: 12. It was usually a badge of royalty or princely distinction. It was sometimes of pure gold, and was worn by kings, 2 Chr. 23:11,- Matt. 27 : 29, and sometimes in battle. 2 Sam. 1:10; 12 : 30. The weight, in the last passage, denotes the value, and not the

Crowns. (After Ayre.) 1. Crown of Upper Egj-pt. 2. Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt United, 3. Assyriiiii Crown, from Nineveh Marbles. 4. Laurel Crown. 5. Crown of Herod the Great. 6. Crown of Aretas, King of .\rabia.

gravity, of the crown. Afterward the shape and size were changed, and costly ornaments appended to it. 2 Sam. 12:30. It was worn by queens. Esth. 2:17. It was customary for a king to wear as many crowns as he had kingdoms. Rev. 19 : 12. The word is figu-14

ratively used by the sacred writers to denote honor, Prov. 12 : 4, prosperity, Lam. 5:16, eternal life, and blessedness. 1 Pet. 5 : 4. The inscription on the crown of the high priest, Ex. 39 :30, was significant of his sacred office and functions. Such inscriptions have sometimes been placed on the crowns of princes and heroes to indicate some splendid action or service. Paul uses the custom of giving crowns of laurel or parsley to the victors in the (irrcek games to furnish an illustration of the difference between the honor of earthly distinction and that which comes from following Christ. In Rev. 17 : 5 allusion seems to be made to the crown of the .Jewish high priest, whose raiment is described as having the colors and ornaments of the sacred vestments. It is said that the word mystcrium ("mystery") was formerly engraven on the papal crown, and was erased in the time of Julius III.

The ''crown of thorns" worn by Christ, Matt. 27 : 29, was probably made of a common Arabian plant, called »abk, which has " many small and sharp spines, soft, round, pliant branches, leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep green, as if in designed mockery of a victor's wreath."— Hasselqidst, quoted in Ayre: Treasury of Bible Kiwtcledge. The soldiers plaited the wreath for Christ rather as an insult than to cause him suflfering.

CRU'CIFY. See Cross.

CRUSE. 1 Kgs. 17 : 12. A small vessel for liquids, used by the Jews.

CRYS'TAL. Job28:17. The word here rendered " crj'stal " is used nowhere else, and is believed to mean '• glass," which was made by the ancient Egyptians and highly valued. Elsewhere the subject of this paragraph usually denotes ice or frost, and the original term is often so translated, as ''frost," Gen. 31:40; Job 37 : 10; Jer. 36 : 30; and "ice." Job 6:16; 38 : 29 ; Ps. 147 : 17. In Eze. 1 : 22, rock-crystal, a stone perfectly transparent and resembling the purest glass, was plainly meant, and there may be reference to the peculiarly dazzling eff"ect of light reflected from its surface. The ancients supposed that this mineral was only "ice congealed by intense cold," and valued it highly for its great beauty. Its transparency is alluded to in Rev. 4: 6; 21 : 11 ; 22 : 1.

CUB

CUP

CU'BIT. See Measures.

CUCK'OO. Lev. 11:16. Doubtless a mistranslation. It is thought most probable that *' the slender bird " here referred to may have been a species of shearwater {Pii(^mis), several kinds of which are common on the coast of Palestine, are sold in the markets of maritime towns, and, as living on fish, would be forbidden food to the Jews.

CU'CUMBER. Num. 11 : 5. A garden-vegetable well known in this coun-

Squirting Cucumber. c. Sectiou of the Fruifc.

(From Eiehm.) . Plant. 6. Fruit.

try. Cucumbers, melons, and onions are now among the leading productions of Egypt, and are also commonly cultivated in Palestine. Besides our own kind, another (Ciicumis chafe) is cultivated, having a fruit with less flavor, but larger.

" Cucumbers form an important item in the summer food of the poor, and are eaten with the rind on, without any condiment. In the oppressive heat of summer they form a most grateful vegetable. I remember seeing dinner served out to an Arab school in Jerusalem, which consisted of a thin barley-cake and a raw cucumber to each boy."— Tristram.

The "lodge in the garden of cucumbers," Isa. 1 : 8, rudely constructed of poles and boughs, may still be seen in many fields. It is intended to shelter a watchman set to protect the fruit from jackals and other animals, as well as from thievish men. When the crop is over and the lodge forsaken by the keeper, " the poles fall down, or lean every which way, and those green 210

boughs with which it is shaded will have been scattered by the wind, leaving only a ragged, sprawling wreck, a most att'ecting type of utter desolation." — Thoinson. Job seems to have had such ruins in mind. 27 : IS.

CUM'MIN. Matt. 23 : 2.3. A low herb [Cnminum sativum) of the fennel kind, which produces aromatic seeds and is found in Syria. In Isa. 28:25, 27 reference is made to the manner of sowing and threshing it. The same method is observed in Malta at this day. It was one of the things of less consequence which the Pharisees strictly tithed. See Mint.

CUN'NING is used in the Bible in its original sense of " knowing," " skilful." Gen. 25 : 27; 1 Sam. 16 : 16, etc In 2 Pet. 1:16 the word " cunningly " if used in a similar sense.

CUP. 1 Kgs. 7:26. The horns of animals were anciently used by some nations as drinking-vessels, but the Jews had cups and goblets at a wevy early period, Gen. 44:2, though they used horns for anointing-oil. 1 Sam. 16 : 13. Some of their cups were highly ornamented, 1 Kgs. 7: 26, and in shape were probably not unlike those now used for culinary purposes by the Egyptians. Cups of this kind, made of gold, silver, copper, etc., according to the owner's wealth, are in use in Persia at this day.

Assyrian King and Cup-bearer.

The figurative use of this word in the Scriptures is frequent. Generally, how-

CUP

CYP

ever, it represents the blessings or the judgments of Ileivven, or the allotments of God's providence. Ps, 23 : 5 ; 75 : 8 : 116 : 13 ; Isa. 51 : 17-22. Comp. Jer. 25 : 15 and 51 : 7 with Rev. 14 : 10 and 16 : 10. The sufferings of our Saviour are also represented bv a similar figure. Matt. 20:22 and 26:39.

CUP'-BEAUER. See Butler.

CUP OF BLESSING. See Blessing.

CURSE. Gen. 27 : 12. In the scriptural use it is the opposite of bless.

To curse is to imjjrecate evil upon any one. Gen. 9 : 25 ; comp. Gen. 27 : 12 ; Neh. 13 : 2 ; Matt. 5 : 44 ; John 7 : 49 : James 3 : 9. The curses which are recorded in the Bible as being pronounced b}' Noah, Moses, Joshua, and others, are not to be regarded as the effects of passion or revenge. They were either pronounced under the immediate influence of God's Spirit, or are to be viewed as only predictions of evil uttered in the form of imprecation.

The words "curse" and "cursed" are the opposite of '' bless" and " blessed," and are often so contrasted. Deut. 28. See Bless. The curse of the ground and of the serpent. Gen. 3 : 14, 17, is to be regarded as the doom or jvidgment of God upon them.

The curse of the Law is the sentence of condemnation which it pronounces on the transgressor, Gal. 3 : 10, and from which Christ redeems us by "being made a curse for us." Gal. 3 : 13 ; comp. Rom. 8:1 and Gal. 3:13 with Rom. 5:16 and 2 Cor. 3 : 7-9.

To curse, in an evil or blasphemous sense, is to affirm or deny anything with thoughtless or rash imprecations of divine vengeance. Matt. 26 : 74.

CUSH [hhickf). 1. The oldest son of Ham, and father of Nimrod. Gen. 10 : 6, 7, 8 ; 1 Chr. 1: 8, 9, 10.

2. A Benjamite in the time of Saul. Ps. 7, title.

CUSH. 1. A country near the Gi-hon, Gen. 2 : 13, marg., north of Assyria.

2. The country peo])led by Cush or the Ethiopians, Gen. 10:6, lying to the south of Egypt, on the upper Nile, and possible' extending its rule into southern Arabia. See Ethiopia.

CU'SHAN. Hab. 3 : 7. Perhaps the same as Cush, though some think it refers to the king Chushan-rishathaim.

CU'SHI [the Ethio]}lmi). 1. One to whom Joab intrusted the news of the defeat and death of Absalom. 2 Sam. 18:21-23, 31, 32.

2. An ancestor of Jehudi. Jer. 36 : 14.

3. The father of Zephaniah the prophet. Zeph. 1:1.

CUSH'ITE. See Cusn.

CUS'TOM, RECEIPT OF. See Publican.

CUTH, AND CU'TIIAH. 2 Kgs. 17:24, 30. A city of Assyria, 15 miles north-east of Bab3'lon, where the name Cutha is inscribed upon bricks of Nebuchadnezzar's age. At Cutha was the great university from whence the originals of the tablets giving an Assyrian account of the Creation were brought by Assurbanipal. II. Rassam, a distinguished Assyrian scholar, in 1879 attempted to discover the site of the roj^al record-office and to re-explore these ruins of Cutha.

CUT'TINGS IN THE FLESH. This repulsive practice, common among idolaters, ancient and modern, originates in the notion that pain and blood please the angry deity. Cutting with a knife also formed a part of a funeral ceremony. It would seem that the Syrians were particularly addicted to the custom ; accordingly, the Israelites were strongly forbidden thus to mutilate themselves. Comp. Lev. 19 : 28 ; Deut. 14 : 1 ; 1 Kgs. 18 : 28 : Jer. 16 : 6.

CYM'BALS. There are two kinds of cymbals, both of which we find mentioned in Ps. 150 : 5. The frst kind, called the " loud cymbals," like castanets, consisted of small round plates, two of which are held in each hand, one upon the thumb and the other upon the middle finger, and being struck together skilfully make an agreeable sound. The second kind, called the " high-sounding cymbals," were two broad convex plates of brass, the concussion of which produced a shrill, piercing sound, like clattering rather than tiukh'ug. 1 Cor. 13 :1. The cymbals were used in connection with other instruments, not onl}' in the temple or on sacred occasions, but in times of war and as a musical accompaniment to Hebrew women in dancing. Both kinds are in common use to-day in the East.

CY'PRESS. Isa. 44 : 14. The

CYP

CYP

Hebrew word indicates a tree with hard-grained wood, but there are objections to the true cypress, and there is no certainty what it was. It may have been the Syrian juniper, which grows wild upon Lebanon, as the cypress never does in the Holy Land. The latter tree {Onprefifixs senipervirom) is a tall evergreen, the wood of which is heavy, aromatic, and remarkably durable. Its foliage is dark and gloomy, its form close and pyramidal, and it is usually planted in the cemeteries of the East. Coffins were made of it in the East, and the mummy-cases of Egypt are found at this day of the cypress-wood. The timber has been known to suffer no decay by the lapse of 1100 years.

CY'PRUS, a large, fertile island of the Mediterranean Sea, triangular in form, 150 miles long, and from 50 to 60 miles broad. Venus was its chief goddess ; hence her name Cypria. It con-

tained two prominent cities, Salamis and Paphos, and 17 towns. Salamis was at the east and Paphos at the west end of the island. Acts 13 : 5. Barnabas was a native of Cyprus, and its people are noticed in apostolic history. Acts 4 : 36 ; 13 : 4 : 15 : 39. Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus, was converted by Paul on his first missionary-tour, Acts 13 : 7 ff., and thus became the first Christian ruler on record.

History. —Cyprus was colonized by the Phoenicians at a very early date. It was the Chittim, or Kittim, of the 0. T. Num. 24 : 24. Through Greek colonists it received the name of Kypros, perhaps from the plant ci/prus (henna— Lnwsonia alba. See Camphire). Copper-mining and the production of swords, armor, and other articles in bronze were its principal industries. There was also an extensive commerce. In literature, Cyprus boastedof very early distinction. Thoth-

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mes III. of Egypt conquered the island. At a later period Belus, king of Tyre, destroyed most of its cities. Sargon made it tributary to Assyria, B. c. 707 : Apries, king of Egypt (the Pharaoh of Scripture), plundered it. Later, it was tributary to Darius. The Athenians and Lacedemonians conquered part of Cj'prus from the Persians, b. c. 477. Alexander the Great was aided by 120 ships from this island in his siege of Tyre, b. c. 335. In B. c. 294 the island was a dependency of Egypt. Cato took possession of it for the Romans. Cicero was proconsul 212

there, B. c. 52. The Byzantine emperors and the Arabs successively held sway. Cyprus was a frequent halting-place of the Crusaders. Richard I, of England captured it in A. n. 1191, and sold it to the Knights Templars. Later, the Genoese and Venetians held the island. The Turks dispossessed the Venetians a. d. 1570, and have retained their mastery for more than 300 years.

The control of Cyprus was secured in 1S78 by the English government as a naval station and base of operation for the protection of Asiatic Turkey and the

CYR

CYR

Indian government. The recent excavations and discoveries of General Ces-nola have brought to light a vast number of antiquities and works of art of Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, and specific Cypriotic characters, which are deposited in the Metropolitan Museum of New York. See Cesnola : Cyprus, its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples, New York. 1878.

CYRE'NE, the capital of a small province, and the chief city of Libya, in northern Africa. It was the centre of a wide district between Carthage andEgypt, and corresponding to modern Trlpnli. It was a Grecian city, founded about B. c. 631. Under Alexander the Great the Jews were about one-fourth of the population, and were granted citizenship on the same terms as Greeks. At Alexander's death it was attached to Egypt. became a Roman province in b. c 75 ; Simon, who bore our Saviour's cross, was of that city, Matt. 27 • 32 ; its people were at Jerusalem during the Pentecost, and they had a synagogue there, Acts 2 : 10; 6 : 9, and some of them became preachers of the gospel. 11: 20 ; 13 : 1. Cy-rene was destroyed by the Saracens in the fourth centurv, and is now desolate,

CYRE'NIANS. See Cyrene.

CYRE'NIUS (A>emos),the Greek form of the Roman name Quirinius. Luke 2 : 2. He was probably twice governor of Syria—the first time from B. c. 4 (the year of our Lord's birth) to B.C. 1, and again from a. d. 6 to 11. It was during his first governorship that the " first taxing " or enrolment occurred, which necessitated the visit of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. The second census took place A. d. 6, and is mentioned by Luke in Acts 5 : 37 and by Josephus. His full name was Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. See Taxing, Days

OF THE.

CY'RUS {the sun; in Hebrew, Ko-resh), founder of the Persian empire, a prince, statesman, and conqueror of great renown, and an instrument em-

ployed by Jehovah in the execution of his designs of mercy toward the Jew.s, as foretold by Isaiah. 44 : 28 ; 45 : 1-7 ; comp. 2 Chr. 36 : 22, 23 ; Ezr. 1:1-4; Dan. 6 : 28. He was the son of Cam-byses, king of Persia, and a nephew of Darius the Mede (Cyaxares), and united the crowns of Persia and Media. His chief biographers (Xenophon and Herodotus) present his history and exploits in very difi'erent aspects. His conquests extended over all western

Keputed Tomb of Cyrus.

Asia, but the most brilliant of them was that of Babylon, B. c. 538. After this event he ordered a return of the Jews, who had been 70 years in captivity, to their own land, and furnished them very liberally with the means of rebuilding their temple. Daniel lived at his court, and was his favorite minister and adviser. Dan. 6 : 28. His edict for the rebuilding of the temple may be said to mark the beginning of strict Judaism, for the Jews from that time became consolidated ecclesiastically under the government of the Sanhedrin. Cyrus died from a wound received in battle, B. c. 529. His reputed tomb still exists, near Murgab, the ancient Pasarga-dae.— Rawlinson : Ancient Monarchies, vol. iii. p. 318. The captivity of the Jews, which was ended by the decease of Cyrus, ended also the sin of idolatry in th^ nation.

DAB

DAM

D.

DAB'AREH. Josh. 21 : 28. An incorrect form for Daberath.

DAB'BASHETH {hump of a camel), a town of Zebulon. Josh. 19 : 11.

DAB'ERATH {jjco^ture), a town of Zebulon and Issachar, Josh. 19 : 12 ; 21: 28 : now Deburieh, west of Mount Tabor.

DAG'GER, a short sword, usually made with a double edge, and suspended from the girdle. Jud. 3 : 16, 21, 22. See Arms.

DA'GON (diminutive, to express endearment, of fish), the national god of the Philistines. His corresponding goddess was Atargatis or Derceto, and they were at times worshipped in a common temple. Atargatis is manifestly related to Astarte. There were temples of Dagon at Gaza, where Samson performed his final feat of strength in pulling down the pillars, Jud. 16 : 23 ; at Anhdod, where the idol miraculously fell down before the ark of the covenant, 1 Sam. 5 : 1-4 (this temple was destroyed by Jonathan in the Maecabgean war, 1 Maec. 10 : 83, 84; 11: 4; Joseph., Ant., 13,4, ^ 5) J at Beth-dagon, in Judah, Josh. 15 : 41, and in Asher, Josh. 19: 27 ,• and elsewhere. Dagon was represented with the face and hands of a man and the body of a fish, the fish part signifying fecundity.

The worship of a fish-god was not original with the Philistines or the

The Fish-God. (From a bas-relief from Khorsabad. Botia.)

Phoenicians, who also wei'e Dagon's worshippers, but with the Assyrian Babylonians, upon whose monuments are representations of such a god. under the name Odakon, sporting in the sea 214

surrounded by fishes and marine animals. He was said to have emerged from the sea and to have been " one of the great benefactors of men," because he taught them the use of letters, the arts, religion, and agriculture.

DALiAI'AH {tohom Jehovah hath freed), a man of David's posterity. 1 Chr. 3 : 24.

DALE, THE KING'S. Gen. 14: 17 : 2 Sam. 18 : 18. Probably in the val-lev of Jehoshaphat, near Jerusalem.

'DALMANU'THA, a town on the Sea of Galilee, near Magdala, Mark 8 : 10; Matt. 15:39; probably at 'Aiii-el-Bdn'deh, on the west side of the sea, 2 miles from Tiberias, where are ruins.

DALMA'TIA, a mountainous district on the east of the Adriatic Sea; visited bv Titus. 2 Tim. 4 : 10.

DAL'PHON {sunft ?), the second of the ten sons of Haman. Esth. 9: 7.

DAM^ARIS (a heifer), a woman, probably of distinction, who was converted under Paul's preaching in Athens. Because she is mentioned, Acts 17 : 34, immediately after Dionysius the Areop-agite, Chrysostom and others maintained she was the latter's wife. But the very mode of mentioning—" a woman named" —is against the conjecture.

DAMAS'CUS, the most ancient and famous city of Syria, 133 miles north-east of Jerusalem, at the base of Anti-Lebanon mountains. It is on a fertile plain 30 miles in diameter, with mountains on three sides. The plain is well watered by the Barada, the Chrysorrhoas (or "Golden Stream") of the Greeks, the Abana of Scripture; and El A'waj {" the crooked"), the Pharpar of Scripture. 2 Kgs. 5 : 12. These streams flow into meadow-lakes 18 miles east of the city. Damascus lies 2260 feet above the sea-level. The climate is delightful; frost is not uncommon in winter, but fireplaces are unknown: in summer the thermometer marks 100° to 104°, but the nights are cool and the dews heavy; yet the people sleep on the flat roofs of their houses. Damascus is called by the Arabs " the Eye of the Desert" and the "Pearl

DAM

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of the East." It is to the Mohammedan tire earthly reflection of paradise. The chief cause of its beauty and fertility is the abundance of water, which calls forth a most luxuriant vegetation round about the city, and makes it a blooming oasis in the midst of a vast desert.

History. —Damascus is called the oldest city in the world ; said by Josephus to have been founded by Uz, a grandson of Shem ; Abraham visited it, Gen. 14:

15 : 15 : 2; it was conquered by David, 2 Sam. 8 : 5, 6 ; was allied with Israel and against Israel, 1 Kgs. 15 : 18, 20; 2 Chr.

16 : 3 : was taken by Tiglath-pileser ; de-

Wall of Damascus.

{From, Conybeare and Howson's 'St. Paul.")

nounced by Jeremiah. Jer. 49 : 27 ; and afterward seldom noticed in 0. T. history. It was surrendered to Alexander the Great after the battle of Issus, b. c. 3.3.3. In the N. T. it is noticed as the place of the scene of Paul's conversion, Acts 9 : 1-25: later it became the residence of a Christian bishop ; was conquered by the Arabs, a. d. 635 ; attacked by the Crusaders, A. i). 1126: several times besieged: was taken by the Mongols, 1260; plundered by the Tartars, 1300 ; attacked by Timour, 1399, to whom it paid a million pieces of gold ; became A provincial capital of the Turkish em-216

pire, 1516; and is now the residence of a Turkish governor. It is the hot-bed of Mohammedan fanaticism. In 1860, 6000 Christians were massacred by the Moslems in cold blood, in the city and adjoining districts.

Prenent Condition. — Though twelve times pillaged and burned, it now extends on both sides of the Barada, and has a population of from 110,000 to 150,000. The most remarkable building is the Great Mosque, which was once a Byzantine church dedicated to John the Baptist. The principal street, known as Sultany, or Queen's street, runs in nearly a straight line from east to west, and is supposed to be the same as the street called "Straight" in Acts9 : 11. The traditional sites of the houses of Naaman and Ananias and the place in the wall where Paul was let down in a basket are still pointed out. No less than four ])laces near the city have been claimed as the scene of Paul's con-■version.

The Presbyterian Church of Ireland maintains a Protestant mis-«!ion there, which has several substantial buildings and labors among 1;he Greeks and the Jews. There is also an Episcopal mission and chapel in Damascus.

DAMNA'TION. This term, in common use, denotes the endless perdition of the ungodly. Matt. 23 : 3 : Mark 3:29; John 5 : 28, 29 ; 2 Pet. 2 : 3. But when the Bible was translated the word was used where "condemnation" or "judgment" would more properly express the sense, so that, while generally applying to the eternal state of the soul, it is sometimes to be taken in its milder meaning. Ignorance of this fact has led to deplorable consequences. Saints have been made despondent and sinners driven to despair. 1 Cor. 11: 29 ought to be translated "eateth and drinketh judgment to himself." So in Rom. 13:2 and 14:23.

DAN {jnd(je), the fifth son of Jacob, and the first of Bilhah, Rachel's maid. Gen. 30 : 6. Nothing is known personally' of the patriarch. The prediction uttered by Jacob respecting him, Gen. 49 : 16, 17, is variously interpreted. It is probable that the elevation of bis

DAN

DAN

tribe to an equal rank with the others, notwithstanding that he was born of a concubine, was foretohl in v. 16, and the residue of the prediction may allude to the subtle and crafty disposition of his descendants. Indeed, we know that Samson, who was among the most noted of them, was remarkably successful in stratagem, Jud. 14; 15 ; and perhaps the same trait was characteristic of their tribe. Jud. 18 : 26, 27.

It is noticeable that the tribe of Dan is omitted from the numbering in Rev. 7. Because of this, and because Dan first introduced idolatry into Israel, Jud. 18, many of the fathers maintained that Antichrist would come from Dan.

DAN. 1. The territory in Canaan allotted to Dan was on the sea-coast, west of Benjamin and between Ephraim and Judah. It embraced a broad plain, 14 miles long, near the sea. The Am-orites kept them from the plain and forced them into the mountains. Hence they had another portion granted them, near Mount Hermon, Jud. 18, where they set up a graven image stolen from Micah.

2. Dan, City of, the chief city of the northern district held by this tribe. Jud. 20 : 1. It was originally called Laish, Jud. 18 : 29 ; noted for idolatry, Jud. 18 : 30 ; now called Tel-el-Kcidy, or " mound of the judge," 3 miles from Ba-nias, north of the waters of Merom.

3. The Dan of Eze. 27 : 19 is possibly the same as No. 2, but some identify it with Dedar, others with Aden, in Arabia.

DANCE. The Jewish dances were generally expressions of joy and gratitude, sometimes in honor of a conqueror, Jud. 11 : 34 : 1 Sam. 18 : 6, 7, and sometimes on domestic occasions. Jer. 31: 4, 13 ; Luke 15 : 25. The dance was also introduced into the religious service, and the timbrel (tambourine) was employed to direct it. Some individual led, and the rest followed with measured steps and devotional songs. Thus, David and Miriam led such a band. 2 Sam. 6 : 14 ; Ex. 15 : 20. Individuals often expressed feelings of joy in the same way. Luke 6 : 23 ; Acts 3: 8.

Dancing was practised from a very early period as a natural exercise and aTnusement. Job 21: 11; Mark 6 : 22. But the mingling of males and females

which is so common in modern dances was unknown to the Jews. Indeed, the dancing was mostly done by the women alone, as is still the case in Egypt.

A Hebrew word, mahhol, which occurs in some passages—e. g. Ps. 150 : 4—and is rendered " dance " in our version, is supposed by some scholars to mean a musical instrument.

DANIEL {God is my judge). 1. One of the four greater prophets. He was of noble, perhaps of royal, descent, and probably born at Jerusalem. Dan. 1 : 3; 9:24; comp. Josephus's J.?i<("2. In his early youth he was carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, together with three other Hebrew youths of rank, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, b. c. 604. He was there instructed in the language and arts of the Chaldieans, and, with his three companions, trained for the royal service in the palace. Dan. 1: 1-4. The prince of the eunuchs changed all their names, calling them respectively Belteshazzar (?". e.''prince of Bel"), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These four refused to eat of the king's meat and to drink his wine, but chose "pulse and water." Notwithstanding this diet, they were in better condition than the heathen courtiers.

After three years' training, God gave Daniel an opportunity to display his learning and wisdom. He interpreted a dream which Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten. Dan. 2. In reward, he was made *'ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon," and in this position so distinguished himself that he won great fame and was mentioned as a model man even by his contemporaries. Eze. 14 : 14, 20 ; 28 : 3. On another occasion he faithfully explained to his monarch the intention of God to punish him for his pride. Dan. 4. For Belshazzar, a grandson and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, he performed a similar service, reading the handwriting upon the wall, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. Dan. 5.

Under Darius the Mede, Daniel was made the first of the " three presidents " of the empire. His enemies obtained a command from Darius forbidding all prayer save unto the king for 30 days. But Daniel did not stop praying; and this fact being discovered, he was cast

DAN

DAN

into the den of lions, which was the punishment for a violation of the king's order. But God delivered him, and he was kept in his office. In the reign of Cyrus he likewise prospered, but seems to have left Babylon, as his latest recorded vision, 10:1, 4, was by the Hid-dekel, in the third j'ear of Cyrus, b. c. 534. When he died, and where, are uncertain. His reputed tomb is shown at Sitsa, on the Tigris.

Daniel at the court of Babylon resembles Joseph at the court of Pharaoh. Both were involuntary exiles from their country and people; both were great statesmen ; both maintained the purity of their religion and their personal character, though surrounded by idolatry and corruption ; both rose by their wisdom and integrity from slavery to the highest dignity in a heathen empire; both are shining examples of loyalty to God and to virtue.

2. Daniel is the name of two. or perhaps three, other persons mentioned in the Bible.

(a) The second son of David by Abigail the Carmelitess. 1 Chr. 3:1. He is, however, called Chileab in 2 Sam. 3 :3.

(6)'A priest of the family of Itha-mar, mentioned, Ezr. 8:2, as having returned with Ezra. He is probably again spoken of in Neh. 10: 6 among those who sealed the covenant di'awn up by Nehemiah, b. c. 445.

DANIEL, BOOK OF. It consists of two distinct parts. 1. Historical, chs. 1-6, containing the interesting narrative given in the preceding section, and with it an account of the attempted burning of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in a fiery furnace because they would not worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar set up on the plain of Dura. 2. Apocalyptic, chs. 7-12, or the record of Daniel's visions. Ch. 1 contains the introduction,- chs. 2-6 present a general view of the progressive history of the powers of the world, and of the principles of the divine government, as seen in events in the life of Daniel; and chs. 7-12, the prophecy of the future of the people of God. The book is written in prose, but not in the same language throughout. The introduction, chs. 1-2 : 4, first clause, is written in Hebrew, but from the second clause of the fourth verse of the 218

second chapter to the end of ch. 7 it is in Aramaic, called Syriac in that verse. From the beginning of ch. 8 to the end, in which part the visions are related in the first person, the language is Hebrew.

The interpretation of Daniel requires profound knowledge of ancient history. The book is, in fact, a sort of religious philosophy of history. Its fundamental idea is that all the kingdoms of the world, which pass away, are ruled and overruled by divine Providence for the kingdom of Christ, which will last for ever. The book of Daniel occupies in the 0. T. the same position which the Revelation of John occupies in the New. It views the kingdom of God in its contact and conflicts with the empires of the world, and looks forward to the universal reign of Christ, the resvirrection of the dead, and the final judgment. The empires of the world appear first in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, ch. 2, under the figure of a colossal image with a head of gold, a breast and arms of silver, a belly of brass, and legs and feet of iron and clay. These represent respectively (according to the usual orthodox interpretation) the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Macedo-Greek, and the Roman empires; they are overthrown at last by a stone cut out of the mountain without hands and becoming a great mountain, which represents the reign of the Messiah. The indestructible rock of God's own workmanship breaks to pieces the metal colossus of man's hand. The same succession of monarchies is presented in the seventh chapter, under the form of a vision of four beasts seen by the prophet himself. The fourth beast has ten horns, denoting ten kingdoms, growing out of it, and a little horn (7 : 8, 24) springing up among the four fractured horns of the Greek empire. Interpreters agree as to the first empire, which must be Babylonia, but differ as to the other three. Some combine the Medes and Persians in one empire; others divide them, and regard the Greeks (Alexander the Great and his successors) as representing the fourth empire, and refer the " little horn " to Antiochus Epiphanes. Still others give the prophecy of Daniel a more comprehensive sweep over all the world-empires before

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and after Christ, as preparing the way for the ultimate and everlasting reign of Christ. This prophecy of Christ, the most important in the book, is constantly fuUilliug before our eyes, and cannot be set aside by any negative criticism.

The book of Daniel has been much attacked, but also successfully vindicated by biblical scholars. In the second part Daniel speaks in the first person as the receiver of the divine revelations recorded therein, so that the only alternative here is between truth and fraud. The very fact that two languages are used renders it extremely unlikely that it should have been forged or written in any later period, but to Daniel, familiar as he was with both Hebrew and Aramaic, it was natural. The book displa3^s familiar acquaintance with Babylonian life and royal manners, and suits throughout the period of the Babylonian exile and the peculiar position of Daniel at the Babylonian court. The genuineness is sanctioned by the highest authority—that of Christ, Matt. 24 : 15, from which there is no appesil for believers.

The attacks upon the book have been in three lines: (1) Its extraordinary events—the golden image, the burning fiery furnace, the dreams, the lions' den, etc.; (2) its minute prophecies; (3) its foreign (Greek) words ; (4) its narrative. To these objections it is sufficient to reply : (1) The characteristics of Babylon," the manners and customs of the East, amply justify the language and prove that the book is genuinely Oriental and Babylonian. (2) The peculiar position of Daniel required an exceptional and startling character for his revelations ; his prophecies have been in great part fulfilled. (3) The Greek words are only four in number, and are the names of musical instruments which may have been imported from Greece as early as B. c. 600. (4) Its historical difficulties. Belshaz-zar is represented as the last king of Babylon, while the authority there known gave Nabonnedus as the last king. This difficulty was solved by Sir Henry Raw-linson's decipherment of a cylinder among the ruins of Ur in Chaldaea in 1854. Nabonnedus had his eldest son, Belshazzar, as co-regent, and therefore it might well be that while he met the

Persians in the field his son ruled in the capital. Thus is explained how Daniel was made the third ruler in the kingdom. Dan. 5:16, 29.

Apocryphal Additions to Daniel. — These exist in the Greek version, and are: The 8ong of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, and the Story of Bel and the Dragon. They passed into the Vulgate, and so into modern translations. They embody popular ti'aditions, but never formed part of the Hebrew Bible.

1. The Song of the Three Holy Children purports to be the triumphal song of the three confessors in the furnace, Dan. 3 : 23, in praise of their miraculous deliverance. The chief part has been used as a hymn (Benedicite) in the Christian Church since the fourth century.

2. The History of Susanna, who was cleared from a charge of adultery by the shrewdness of Daniel. Probably based upon a fact.

3. The History of Bel and the Dragon, a strange exaggeration of the record of the divine deliverance of Daniel, ch. 6.

DAN-JA'AN. 2 Sam.24:6. Probably Danian, a ruin north of Achzib.

UAN'NAH, a city in the mountains of Judah. Josh. 15 : 49. Conder identifies it with modern Idhnd, about 8 miles north-west of Hebron.

DA'RA, contr. form of DAR'DA (pearl of wisdom), one whom Solomon outrivalled in wisdom. 1 Kgs. 4 : 31 j 1 Chr. 2 : 6.

DAR'IC, the name of a Persian gold coin, which is translated ''dram" in 1 Chr. 29 : 7 : Ezr. 2 : 69 ; 8 : 27 ; Neh. 7 : 70, 71, 72. The name comes from the Persian word dam, " a king." like the English sovereif/n. It was the common gold-piece of the Persian empire. It was current in Palestine under Cyrus, and Artaxerxes Longimanus. It weighed about 128 grains Troy, nnd was worth about five dollars. Besides the gold there was a silver daric, worth about fifty cents. There is no mention of this latter coin in the Bible. See Measures.

DARI'US {restrainer), the name of several kings of Media and Persia mentioned in the Bible.

1. Darius the Median, Dan. 5 : 31, was the son of Ahasuerus; he took Babylon from Belshazzar the Chaldaean, being at

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that time about 62 years old. The best identification is that which makes him Astyages, the last king of the Medes. " Only one year of the reign of Darius is mentioned, Dan. 9:1; 11 :1; and if, as seems probable, Darius (Astyages) occupied the throne of Babylon as supreme sovereign, with Nerigalsarasser as vassal-prince, after the murder of Evil-merodaeh (Belshazzar), b. c. 559, one year only remains for this Median supremacy before its overthrow by Cyrus, B. c. 558, in exact accordance with the notices in Daniel." Under him Daniel was advanced to the highest dignity, which exposed him to the malice of enemies and led to his being cast into the den of lions, but by a miracle he escaped injury. See Daniel.

2. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the founder of the Perso-Aryan dynasty, and ruler, b. c. 521-486. Ezr. 4 : 5, 24; Hag. 1:1, 15; Zech. 1:1, 7 ; 7:1. He found in the palace at Achmetha or Ecbatana, the capital of Cyrus, a decree of that king concerning the temple in Jerusalem. This he confirmed, and the temple was finished in 4 years, b. c. 516. Ezr. 6 : 15. It may, however, have been used before it was entirely completed, as is inferred from Zech. 7 : 2, 3.

3. Darius the Persian, mentioned in Neh. 12 : 22, is generally identified with Darius Codomannus, the antagonist of Alexander the Great, who ascended the throne B. c. 336, and reigned until B. c. 330. He was the last Persian monarch, and was killed by his own generals. Alexander defeated him, and thus the prophecy of Daniel, ch. 8, was fulfilled.

DARK'NESS. The darkness which constituted one of the plagues of Egypt might " be felt." Ex. 10:21. This may have been occasioned by a thick, heavy vapor, or other sensible change in the atmosphere, which caused an entire interception of the sun's rays. It was evidently miraculous, and the dread and terror it inspired are vividly described. Ex. 10 : 22, 23. So of the darkness that shrouded the earth when our Saviour was put to death, Luke 23 : 44, 45 ; it was manifestly miraculous, as no natural eclipse of the sun could take place at that period of the moon. " Darkness" is used in a metaphorical sense for ignorance or sin, John 1:5; Rom. 220

13 : 12 ; Eph. 5:11; for misery, Isa. 5 : 30 ; 59 : 9, 10 ; for the final doom. Matt. 8 : 12. God is said to dwell in the thick darkness. Ex. 20 : 21; 1 Kgs. 8:12.

DAR'KON {scatterer), one whose posteritv returned from Babylon. Ezr. 2 : 56 ; *Neh. 7 : 58.

DARLi'ING. The word occurs in Ps. 22 : 20 and 35 : 17 as the translation of a Hebrew word which correctly means " my only one," as it is applied to *' something which exists singly and cannot be replaced if lost, as an only son. Gen. 22 : 2, or daughter." Jud. 11: 34.

DA'THAN {belongiuf/ to a fonn-tain), a Reubenite chieftain who joined in Korah's rebellion. Num. 16 ; 26 : 9 ; Deut. 11:6: Ps. 106:17.

DAUGH'TER is used in the Bible in several other senses than the literal one. It describes a female descendant. Gen. 27 : 46, the women of a city or country. Gen. 36 : 2, or women in general, Prov. 31 : 29; the female worshippers of an idol, Mai. 2:11; cities and their dependent towns. In Eccl. 12 : 4 " daughters of music " are singing-women.

DA'VID {beloved), the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, was born in Bethlehem, b. c. 1085, and was both in his prophetical and regal character an eminent type of the Messiah. 1 Sam. 16: 13. While he was employed as a shepherd in his father's fields God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, on the occasion of the annual sacrificial feast, with instructions to anoint David as king of Israel in the place of Saul, who had incurred the divine displeasure, and was therefore to be deposed. Dean Stanley thus describes David's appearance and physique as he stood before Samuel: " He was short of stature, had red hair and bright eyes. He was remarkable for the grace of his figure and countenance, well made, and of immense strength and agility. In swiftness and activity he could only be compared to a wild gazelle, with feet like harts' feet, with arms strong enough to break a bow of steel. Ps. 18 : 33, Si."—History of the Jewish Church, 2d series, Lect. 22. Probably neither David nor any one else understood the real meaning of this anointing. At all events, David went

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back to the shepherd-life. We next hear of him as chosen by Saul, upon the suggestion of one of the bodyguard, to play upon a harp, and thus soothe the troubled spirit of the king. In this he was eminently successful. Saul made him one of his armor-bearers, and requested permission of Jesse to allow him to remain at his court. 1 Sam. 16:21-23. But it seems that David after a time returned home. It was then perhaps that his adventure with the lion and the bear took place. After an interval of uncertain length— Josephus says ''after a few j'ears"— David had his famous fight with Goliath. But he had so altered that Saul did not recognize in the grown man flushed by triumph the lad who had played the harp in his hours of mental distress; hence his question of Ab-ner—'' Whose son is this youth ?"—was natural. 1 Sam. 17 : 55. The superiority in military glory which the women gave David excited the jealousy of the king, and so, although David was made a chieftain, lived at court, and enjoyed the friendship of the king's son, yet he was constantly exposed to the wrath of Saul.

Agreeably to the terms of the king's promise to him who slew the giant, David became the king's son-in-law, marrying Michal, whom he loved, but only on condition that he slew a hundred Philistines—an exaction made in hope that the attempt would end fatall3^ But David and his men slew two hundred. David found his position full of danger. His very presence seemed to arouse the envy of Saul, so that the latter determined to kill him, and several times cast his javelin at him as he stood playing before him. By a stratagem Michal saved David's life and enabled him to flee to Samuel at Ramah. 1 Sam. 19 : 13, 18. David then became convinced that a further residence at court was impossible, and accordingly' an affecting parting with Jonathan took place, 1 Sam. 20, and David became a fugitive from the hand of Saul. Armed with the sword of Goliath and anointed with the sacred oil, the future king sought a home among the Philistines. But his fame had preceded him, and his assumed madness scarcely saved him. 1 Sam. 21. Therefore he went

to the cave of Adullam and gathered gradually a motley crowd, composed of insolvent debtors and malcontents. 1 Sam. 22 : 1, 2. But David })roved his fitness to rule a kingdom by controlling these men and bringing them to accede to his wishes.

The history of David's life for the next few years is filled with the details of alternate defeats and victories, of his flight, of his magnanimous refusal to lay hands on the Lord's anointed, 1 Sam. 24: 16, of his residence among neighboring tribes, of the episode of Abigail, 1 Sam. 25, and finally of the battle of Gilboa, in which Jonathan fell and Saul slew himself, unable to bear defeat. 1 Sam. 31. The lament which he then composed is one of the noblest odes of friendship, and a monument of his generosity to a fallen foe and of devotion to a fallen friend. 2 Sam. 1 : 19-27.

Then David, by divine direction, removed to Hebron, where the chief men of Judah met him and ofl'ered him the government of their tribe, which he accepted. Accordingl}', he was anointed for the second time. 2 Sam. 2 : -4. In Hebron, as king of Judah, he reigned seven years and a half. During this time Ishbo-sheth, the son of Saul, by means of the skilful general Abner, maintained a decreasing semblance of authority over Israel. But at length he and Abner were killed, and thus the way prepared for the execution of God's plan to set David on the throne of united Israel.

David was solemnly anointed for the third time. 2 Sam. 5 : 3. Soon after he assumed the govei'nmcnt he obtained possession of Jerusalem, reduced the fortress which the Jebusites had maintained, and established the seat of his government there. Under his wise and liberal policy the place was greatly enlarged ,• magnificent edifices rose up on every side, fortifications were erected, and the ark, which had been before without a fixed abode, was brought into the new city with religious ceremonies peculiarly joyful and solemn. 2 Sam. 6 : 12-19. Thenceforward, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom, the residence of the royal family, and, more than all, the city of God. Ps. 48 : 2 ; Matt. 6 : 35. To it the tribes repaired from every quarter of the land to celebrate their annual festivals, and its

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growth in population, wealth, and splendor was very rapid.

David now formed the design of building a magnificent temple for the worship of Jehovah, to take the place of the tabernacle, which was but a temporary and movable structure. He was informed, however, by God's di-lection, that this service would be reserved for his son Solomon. 2 Sam. 7.

After several contests with the nations that bordered on Israel, in which David was uniformly victorious, there broke out a war with the Ammonites (see Ammonites), during the progress of which David fell into those most a2;s;ra-

vated sins of murder and adultery which brought disgrace and distress on his family and government and involved him in trouble during the remnant of his days. 2 Sam. 12 : 9. His domestic peace was destroyed by the outrage committed upon Tamar by Amnon, revenged, " after two full years," by Absalom, who slew Amnon at a feast. 2 Sam. 13 : 14, 29. This murder occasioned Absalom's flight to his father-in-law's court at Geshur. Being recalled, he started a rebellion Avhich compelled the king to flee from his capital and exile himself to avoid being cut off by a parricidal hand. 2 Sam. 15-18. The

Tomb of David. {After

death of Absalom, though it brought relief to the kingdom, inflicted a deep wound on the father's heart. The insurrection under Sheba and the murder of Amasa by Joab followed in quick succession. And to close the melancholy catalogue was the terrible judgment which he brougl)(t upon himself and the nation by numbering the people for some purpose which was sinful in the sight of God, though not explained to us. 2 Sam. 24.

David was now 70 years old, and had reigned seven and" a half years over the tribe of Judah and thirty-three over the whole kingdom of Israel. Just before his death his son 222

a Photograph by Good.)

Adonijah made a bold attempt to usurp the throne,- and to secure the kingdom against any pretender, David resigned the crown to Solomon, put into his hands the plan and model of the temple and the treasure accumulated for it, summoned the influential men of the nation, and delivered his farewell address. He died B. c. 1015, and was buried in the ''city of David." 1 Kgs. 2 : 10. His tomb became the sepulchre of subsequent kings, and one of the sacred places of the kingdom. It is pointed out on Mount Zion, at Jerusalem, outside the city wall. See cut, above. David was a type of Christ. They both inherited their kingdoms after

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suffering. And David, as the ruler over temporal Israel, was a forerunner of the Son of David, who was to reign over the spiritual Israel for ever. Matt. 1:1; 9:27; 12 : 2:5, etc.

When David is spoken of as a man after God's ''own heart," 1 Sam. 13: 14-; Acts 13 : 22, reference is obviously intended to his general character an<l conduct, and not to every particular instance of it. As he was human, he was imperfect; and when he sinned, God punished him, and that with great severity. But he was remarkable for his devotion to God's service, and he kept himself from idols. He established the government of Israel, and extended its dominions to the full extent of the promise to Abraham, and left a compact and united empire, stretching from Egypt to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean.

The life and character of David shine in his poetry—the life of action, adventure, war; the character of manly strength and womanly tenderness. Thus his Psalms supply biographical material. By means of them his heart is read. The man who could kill a giant is fovind to have a delicate appreciation of friendship. He whose passion led him into sin, whose hate into words of cursing, was able to mourn with deepest humility and bless with heartiest assent. It is to the Psalms

of David, albeit he did not write the entire collection, that the Church of God has appealed for comfort in adversity and sanctification in prosperity. In regard to them Canon Perowne truthfully and eloquently says : " The very excellence of these Psalms is their universality. They spring from the deep fountains of the human heart, and God, in his providence and by his Spirit, has so ordered it that they should be for his Church an everlasting heritage. Hence they express the sorrows, the joys, the aspirations, the struggles, the victories, not of one man, but of all. And if we ask. How comes this to pass ? the answer is not far to seek. One object is ever before the eyes and the heart of the Psalmist. All enemies, all distresses, all persecutions, all sins, are seen in the light of God, It is to him that the cry goes up; it is to him that the heart is laid bare ; it is to him that the thanksgiving is uttered. This it is which make? them so true, so precious, so universal. No surer proof of their inspiration can be given than this—that they are not of an age, but for all time ; that the ripest Christian can use them in the fulness of his Christian manhood, though the words are the words of one who lived centuries before the coming of Christ in the flesh."— The Psalms, 3d ed., vol. i. p. 21.

Genealogical Table.

Elimelech=Naorai. Ruth 1:1.

Salmon or Salmah Ruth 4 : 21; 1 Chr. 2

:11.

Boaz=Ruth=MahIon.

Obed. Ruth 4: 17.

Chilion^Orpah.

2 Sam. 17 : 25, Nahash^unknown=Jesse.

Jonathan. 1 Clir. 27 : 32.

Zeruiah. 1 Chr. 2 : 16.

Abigail=Jether=Ira ? 7 I Chr. 1 Chr. 2:17. 11:40.

I I I

Eliab, Abin- Shammah,

Rlihu. adab. Shimmah,

1 Chr. Shimeah.

27: 2 Sam.

18. 21:21.

I I

Netha- Raddai Ozem neel. (Rael). (Asam)

(one DAVID is not given, unless Elihu. 1 Chr. 2:15).

Abishai. Joab. Asahel. Amasa. A))ihaiI=Rehoboara. Jonathan. Jonadab

~1 Joel?

2 Chr. 11: 18.

1 Chr. 27:7.

David, City of, applied to Zion, 2 Sam. 5:7; to Jerusalem, 1 Kgs. 2:10; 3:1; to Bethlehem, Luke 2 :4, 11.

2 Sam. 21: 21 ; 2 .Sam. 1 Chr. 1 Chr. 27:32. 13:3. 11:38.

Nathan?? 1 Sam 16: 12.

DAY. The natural day consists of 24 hours, or one revolution of the earth upon its axis. The artificial day is the

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time during which the sun is above the horizon. The civil day is reckoned ditFerently by different nations—some from sunrise to sunrise ; others from sunset to sunset; others still from noon to noon, or from midnight to midnight. The Jewish day was reckoned from evening to evening, adopted, as some think, from Gen. 1 : 5, or, as others with more probability hold, from the " use of the lunar calendar in regulating days of religious observance." Lev. 23 : 32. Their Sabbath, or seventh day, which was the only day named —the others were numbered merely—began on what we call Friday, at sunset, and ended on what we call Saturday, at sunset. Ex. 12 : 18. This mode of reckoning days was not uncommon in other Eastern nations. The day was originally divided into morning, noon, and night. Ps. 55 : 17. But besides, the Jews distinguished six unequal parts, which were again subdivided. 1. Dawn, subdivided into gray dau-n and rosy dawn. 2. Sunrise. Some supposed that the Hebrews, prior to leaving Egypt, began the day at that time, but discontinued it by divine command, and began at even in order to be difi'erent from those nations which worshipped the rising sun. 3. The heat of the day, about nine o'clock. 1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7 : 3, etc. 4. The two noons. Gen. 43 : 16 ; Deut. 28 : 29. 5. The cool (lit. tcind) of the day, before sunset. Gen. 3:8. 6. Evening. In Ex. 12 : 6 ; 30 :8, margins, occurs the phrase " between the two evenings," which probably is correctly taken to mean " between the beginning and end of sunset."

The mention of hours in the Bible dates from the Captivity, Dan. 3 : 6, and it is therefore reasonably presumed that this division of time is of Babylonish origin. Before the Captivity the Jews divided the night into three watches — from sunset to midnight, from midnight to cock-crow, Jud. 7 : 19 ; from cock-crow to sunrise. Ex. 14 : 24. In the N. T. mention is made of four watches, because the Greek and Roman division Avas then adopted. In our Lord's time the division of the day into 12 hours was common. John 11 : 9. The word " day " is used of a festal day, Hos. 7:5; a birthday. Job 3 :1 ; a dav of ruin, Hos. 1:11 '; Job 18 : 20 ,• the 224

judgment-day, Joel 1: 15 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 2 ; Acts 17 : 31; and the kingdom of Christ. John 8 : 56 ; Rom. 13 : 12. It is also often used to denote an indefinite time. Gen. 2:4; Isa. 22 : 5. The term "three days and three nights," in Matt. 12 : 40, denotes the same space of time as '' three days." Matt. 27: 63, 64.

Day's Journey, a distance mentioned Gen. 31 : 23 ; Ex. 3 : 18, etc. It is quite evident that this phrase does not mean any particular distance, but rather the space travelled during one day, and this would of course vary with the circumstances of the traveller. But unless there is special reason for believing the contrary, we may interpret it as meaning a stretch of 25 to 30 miles, since this is the usual length of a day's journey in the East, on camel or horseback, performed in 6 to 8 hours. See also Sabbath Day's Journey.

Day, Lord's. See Sabbath.

Daysman. Job 9 : 33. The word is derived by Webster from " him who fixes the day upon which he will decide as judge or arbitrator." It was in common use, when the Bible was translated, in the sense of ''umpire."

Dayspring. Job 38: 12; Luke 1: 78. The first dawning of light. Comp. Isa. 60:1, 2 and Rev. 22:16.

Day-star, or Morning-star, 2 Pet. 1: 19, in the figurative language of the apostle, is supposed to mean the light which shines on the soul of the believer, and cheers him with the expectation of a perfect day of holiness and joy.

DEA'CON [servant). This name, as a title of office, has been applied to the '• seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom," who were appointed over the business of serving tables, in order that the apostles might be at liberty to give themselves continually to prayer and the ministrj^ of the word. They were set apart by prayer and the laying on of the apostles' hands. Acts 6 : 1-6. Very likel}^ these seven men held a higher position than those afterward appointed, as, in addition to routine and more or less servile duties, they preached and did the work of evangelists; e. ^. Stephen and Philip. The idea that a man must be a deacon before he can be an elder or bishop is not found in the N. T. The qualifications

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and duties of deacons are particularly set forth in Acts 6:1 -G and 1 Tim. 3 : 8—12

DJEA'CONESS. Such was Phoebe, and in all jjrobability Tryphena, Try-phosa, and Persis occupied the same office in the church in Rome. Rom. 16 : 1, 12. It is therefore probable that there was in the different churches an order of pious women employed in attending upon those of their own sex in some of the same offices and duties which the deacons performed for their brethren. Among these we reckon the care of the sick, of the poor and the widows, the education of orphans, attention to strangers, the practice of hospitality, comp. 1 Tim. 5 : 10, and the assistance needed at the baptism of females. The question whether the '' widows" in 1 Tim. 5: 9-16 are proper deaconesses may be answered in the affirmative, because the word translated'* to take into the number" or "to enroll" applies not to widows in general, but to the deaconesses, for the following reasons :

1. If understood of any insertion merely in the list of those supported from the congregational fund, it implies an injustice to widows under 60 years old or to those twice married, who might easily be even more destitute.

2. The opposite interpretation conflicts with the context, for Paul advises, in V. 14, the younger widows to remarry; but this would be to cut them off from all help in case they were widows again.

3. This interpretation leaves it inexplicable why a special vow was required of these widows, v. 12.

4. But by understanding the word to apply, not to widows in general, but to those who were specially elected and ordained to the particular office of deaconess, all these objections vanish.

DEAD, DEATH. Death is the destruction or extinction of life. By the transgression of God's commandment our first parents became liable to death. The threatening was , " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2 : 17 (comp. Rom. 5 : 12-14; 1 Cor. 15 : 21, 22 : Ileb. 9 : 27). This expression does not mean to define the time of actual dissolution, but rather to denote an inevitable liability or 15

exposure to death, which, in that day and by that act, they should surely incur.

The sacred writers speak of a death which affects the body only. Gen. 25 : 11; of another, which describes the condition of the soul under the power of sin, Eph. 2:1; and a third, whic'u denotes the everlasting perdition of the wicked. James 5 : 20. In each of these senses our divine Redeemer may be regarded as having virtually destroyed death and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb. 2 : 14, 15. To avail ourselves, however, of the benefits of his perfect triumph, we must believe, trust, love, and obey him. See Bunv, Resurrection, Christ.

DEAD SEA, a name not found in Scripture. See Salt Sea.

DE'BIR {sanctuary), the name of three places. 1. In the highlands of Judah, near Hebron; captured by Joshua, Josh. 10 : 38, 39 ; was first called Kirjath-sepher, Josh. 15:15, and Kir-jath-sannah, 15:49; was allotted to the priests. 21 : 15. It has been placed at Dewir-ban, 3 miles west of Hebron, and at Dilbeh, 6 miles south-west. Conder, however, rejects these, and suggests Dlidheriyeh, north of which are copious springs, which he identifies with "the upper springs and the nether springs" of Jud. 1:15.

2. A place near the valley of Achor, Josh. 15 : 7 ; perhaps Wady Dabir, between Jericho and Jerusalem.

3. A place on the boundary of Gad, east of the Jordan, Josh. 13 : 26; possibly the same as Lo-bebar, which see.

"DE'BIR, king of Eglon, one of the five kings who warred against Gibeon. He, with his companions, was slain by Joshua and hanged on a tree. Josh. 10 : 3, 23, 26.

DEB'ORAH (n bee). 1. The nurse of Rebekah, and her companion into Canaan. Gen. 24:59. She was buried at Bethel, under the "oak of weeping." 35 : 8. " Nurses held a high and honorable place in ancient times, and especially in the East, where they were often the principal members of the family. 2 Kgs. 11:2: 2 Chr. 22:11."

2. A woman of eminent wisdom and holiness (called a prophetess), and a judge of the people of Israel. Jud. 4:

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DEC

4. She was the wife of Lapidoth ^although some think the passage should read "a woman of Lapidoth"), and had her judgment-seat under a palm tree, which from this circumstance, and from the rarity of the tree, is spoken of as '* the [well-known] palm tree of Deborah." Jud. 4 : 5. Israel was suffering at that time a most oppressive bondage under Jabin, a Canaanitish king, to which it was doomed in consequence of its sin. Deborah, by divine direction, called upon Barak, who had probably signalized himself in some way, and commanded him to station himself upon Mount Tabor with a prescribed number of men, and she would see to it that Sisera, the commander of the tyrant's army, should be there, and should fall into Barak's hands. Barak engaged to undertake the enterprise if Deborah would accompany him. To this she consented, prophesying, however, that if she went the honor of the victory would be hers and not his, and that Sisera would be regarded as having fallen by the hands of a woman. Jud. 4:9. The two armies met, and the event was as Deborah predicted. Sisera fled, and died by the hand of Jael ;

his army was cut off and every man slain. Jud. 4 : 21.

The triumphal song composed or dictated by Deborah on that occasion is regarded as one of the finest specimens of Oriental poetry. Jud. 5. We give a few verses from a revised version :

'Lord, when thou wentest forth out of

Seir, When thou marchedst out of the field of

Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also

dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water. Tlie mountains flowed down at the presence

of the Lord, Even that Sinai at the presence of the Lord

the God of Israel.

The kings came, they fought;

Then fought the kings of Canaan

In Taaiiach by the waters of Megiddo;

They took no gain of silver.

They fought from heaven ;

The stars from their courses fought against

Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away. That ancient river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul, with strength."

See Barak. Jael.

DEBTOR. See Loax.

DECAP'OLIS {ten cities), & region noticed three times in the Bible. Matt.

32.

Map of Decapolis. {From Schaff's "New Testament Commentary.")

4:25; Mark 5 : 20; 7 : 3L It lay near 1 sides of the Jordan. The cities were the Sea of Galilee, probably on both | rebuilt by the Romans about B. c. 65 ; 226

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BEM

but as other cities grew up, writers are not agreed as to the names of the ten cities. Pliny gives them as follows: Scythopolis, Hippos, (ladara, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Raphana, Damascus. Six are deserted, and none have many inhabitants except Damascus.

DECISION, VALLEY OF. J )el 3 : 14. See Jehosiiaphat.

DK'DA^ {low (/round). 1. The name of a descendant of Ham. Gen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1: 9.

2. A son of Jokshan, son of Abraham by Keturah. Gen. 25 : 3 : 1 Chr. 1 : 32.

DEDaCATE,DEDICA'TION, a religious ceremony by which any person, place, or thing is set apart for the service of God or to some sacred use. Num. 7; 2 Sam. 8 : 11; 1 Kgs. 8. Cities, walls, gates, and private houses were thus dedicated. Neh. 12 : 27. The practice of consecration was very common among the Jews, and was suited to the peculiar dispensation under which they lived.

Dedicatiox, Feast of the, mentioned only once in the canonical Scriptures, John 10 : 22, was instituted to commemorate the purging of the temple and the rebuilding of the altar after Judas Mac-cabaeus had driven out the Syrians, 1 Mace. 4 : 52-59, b. c. 164. Like the other Jewish feasts, it lasted eight days, but, unlike them, attendance at Jerusalem was not obligatory. In general, it was kept like the feast of tabernacles. The Hallel was sung every day. It was a time of rejoicing. It began upon the 25th day of Chisleu (December), the anniversary of the pollution of the temple bv Antiochus Epiphanes, B. c. 167.

DEEP, THE, in Luke 8: 31 and Rom. 10 : 7, does not refer to the sea, but to the abyss, the place where lost spirits await their final doom. The same word is rendered the '* bottomless pit" in Rev. 9 : 1, 2, 11: 11:7; 20:13.

DEFILE'. Under the Jewish law, many blemishes of person and conduct were regarded as defilements or pollutions, rendering those upon whom they were found unclean, and subjecting them, for the time being, to many civil and religious disabilities. Mark 7 : 2. The term is most frequently used by the sacred writers in a figurative sense.

DEGUEE'. This word is used to signify rank or station. Ps. 62 : 9; 1 Tim. 3 : 13. The phrase "song, or psalm of degrees," which forms the title to Psalms 120 to 134 inclusive, has been variously interpreted; some suppose it has reference to the elevated voice in which they were sung, others to the time when they were sung—viz. at the annual festivals, when the Jews went up to Jerusalem, and that in this sense they were called " odes of ascension." The Rabbins suppose tliey were sung by the Levites as they ascended the 15 steps which separated the men's court from the women's in the temple ; and others again suppose that the word " degree " denotes the peculiarly climacteric style of these Psalms—viz. that the thought or expression of one verse is resumed and carried forward in the next succeeding verse, as in Psalm 121 ; but this is improbable.

DEHA'VITES, supposed by Herodotus to be a Persian tribe, and, as some think, the same who are mentioned as from Ava. Ezr. 4:9; 2 Kgs. 17 : 24.

DE'KAR {n lancer), the father of one of Solomon's commissariat officers. 1 Kgs. 4 : 9.

DELAI'AH (7chom Jehovah hath freed). 1. The head of the twenty-third temple-course of priests. 1 Chr. 24:18.

2. " Children of Delaiah " are spoken of in Ezr. 2 : 60 : Neh. 7 : 62.

3. The father of a man who tried to terrify Nehemiah. Neh. 6:10.

4. A prince in the time of Jeremiah. Jer. 36 : 12, 25.

DEL'ILAH (pininrf with desire), a harlot of the valley of Sorek, in the tribe of Judah, and near the borders of the Philistines, with whom Samson associated, and who was the instrument of betraying him to his enemies. Jud. 16:4-18. See Samson.

DE'MAS, a zealous disciple and fellow-laborer of Paul, Phile. 24; Col. 4:14, who afterward left him through inordinate love of the world, 2 Tim. 4 : 10. The name is most probably a contraction from " Demetrius" or from " Demarchus."

DEMF/TRIUS. 1. A silversmith who resided at Ephesus and manufactured silver shrines or small portable temples and images of Diana. See Di-

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AXA. Acts 19 : 24. These were purchased by foreigners, who either could not come to Ephesus, or else desired a memento of the city and a model of its famous temple. This was a very lucrative business in that city, where the worship of Diana was chiefly maintained ; and hence, when the gospel began to make an impression, and the people to forsake their vain idols for the service of the living God. Demetrius saw that he should lose his business unless he could still keep the people in sin. So he called a meeting of those who worked at that trade, and made a speech to them. By this harangue he inflamed the passions of his fellow-craftsmen, and they excited the multitude, until the whole city of Ephesus was thrown into an uproar, which was finally quelled by the politic and seasonable advice of the town-clerk. Acts 19.

2. A disciple of high reputation, and, as some suppose (though without warrant), the Demetrius of Ephesus converted to the faith of the gospel. 3 John 12.

DENA'RIUS, a Roman silver coin nearly equivalent to the Greek drachma, and worth about 15 cents; translated in

Koman Denarius. {From Eielwi.)

the A. V. "penny," which makes the impression of a very small sum; it was really the amount of a day's wages. Matt. 20 : 2 ; comp. Luke 10 : 35. "Shilling " would be a much nearer equivalent ; but the better way would have been to transfer the Greek term into English (denar), as the evangelists retained the Latin term in the Greek. See Penny.

DEP'UT Y. The ofiice was that of proconsul, or governor of a senatorial province. Acts 13 : 7, 8, 12 ; 19 : 38.

D£R'BE, a city of Lvcaonia, Acts 14: 16, 20; 16: 1, about .20 miles from Lystra. Kiepei't places it near L((ke Ak-Ghieul, but Hamilton at Divle, several miles farther south.

DES'ERT. The popular conception of the term must not be applied 228

[ to all passages in the English Bible, in i which the woi'd is the translation of I four Hebrew words denoting definite

localities. I 1. It is applied to the Arahah, Eze. 47 : 8, the name of the remarkable depression which runs through the land I of Palestine; but this is a waste merely j because of the depopulated and neglected state of the country. It is capable of cultivation. See Arabah. ' 2. It is used to translate midhar, 1 " pasture-ground," in Ex. 3:1; 5:3; j 19:2; Num. 33:15, 16.

3. Horhah. Ps. 102 : 6 ; Isa. 48 : 21; Eze. 13 : 4. But the term commonly employed is "waste places " or " desolation." I 4. JesJu'mon. With the definite article, it is treated as a proper name. See Jeshimon. Without the article, it occurs in a few passages of poetry. In the following verses it is translated "desert:" Ps. 78 : 40 ; 106:14; Isa. 43 : 19, 2%.

The " detert," as an illimitable stretch of heavy srnid, does not exist in Bible lands. The "desert of Sinai" is a wild and desolate region of country, but in many parts, especially from Elim ( Wadi/ Ghurundel) to Mount Sinai, and the region toward the southei-n border of Palestine, are traces of previous fertility ; and when the Israelites guided their flocks through it, they found pasture in many of the little valleys, and perhaps upon some of its plains. The different tracts mentioned under this name in the Bible, as Shur, Sin, Paran, etc., will be found particularly noticed in their proper places. DESOLATION, ABOMINATION OF. See Abominable.

DEU'EL {imwcdtion of God), the father of the prince of Gad in the wilderness. Num. 1:14; 7 : 42 ; 10 : 20. But in 2:14 he is called Reuel.

DEU'TER-ON'OMY, or THE SECOND 1.AW (so called from its repeating the Law), is the fifth book of the Bible, and (except the last chapter) was evidently written by Moses. Deut. 1:5, comp. with Deut. 34:1: 2 Chr. 25 : 4; Dan. 9:13; Mark 12 : 19 ; Acts 3 : 22. This book contains three addresses of Moses to the Israelites in the plain of Moab in the eleventh month of the fortieth year of their journeyings, , expounding, supplementing, and en-

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forcing the Law, the delivery of the book of the Law to the Levites, and the song of Moses. The JirHt address, 1: 1-

4 : 40, is a brief rehearsal of the history of the " Wandering," particularly of those events which conditioned their entry into the Promised Land. Upon this resume Moses grounds an exhortation to obedience. The second address,

5 : 1-26 : I'.t, follows almost immediately after the first, being separated from it only by three verses, giving a brief notice of the three cities of refuge which Moses severed on the east side of the Jordan. This address, like the first, has a formal historical setting, 4 : 44—49, by way of introduction. It contains a recapitulation, with a few additions and alterations, of the Law given on Sinai. Particularly noticeable is the slightly-different version of the ten commandments. But this long address is not the least like a dry legal recital. Throughout, the spiritual earnestness of Moses is shown, and, as has been well said, " It is the father no less than the legislator who speaks. And whilst obedience and life are bound up together, it is the obedience of a loving heart, not a service of formal constraint, which is the burden of his exhortations." The third part of Deuteronomy, 27 : 1-30 : 20, opens with the joint command of Moses and the elders to keep all the commandments, and, when they had crossed the Jordan, to write them upon the great plastered stones they were ordered to set up with appropriate ceremonies. Then follows the third address, 27 : 11-30 : 20, whose topic is " The blessing and the curse."

After these three addresses, in ch. 31 there follows the delivery of the Law to Joshua and Moses's speech on the occasion, containing a command to read the Law every seven yeiirs. In ch. 32 we have the song of Moses; in ch. 33, Moses's blessing of the twelve tribes. These were the last written words of Moses, and most beautifully do they set forth the majesty of God and the excellency of Israel. The final verses of the book give an account of the death of Moses, and were, of course, written by another hand. The date of the book may be set down as about b. c. 1277. See also Pentateuch.

DEVaL (RhnHlerer). This word (from the Greek dinholos) is sometimes applied

to very wicked men or women, John 6 : 70 (Judas Iscariot) ; Acts 13 : 10 ; 2 Tim. 3:3; Tit. 2 : .3, and translated *' devil " or " false accusers," but usually it denotes the one most subtle and malignant of the evil spirits, and the great enemy of God and man. It corresponds to the Hebrew Sntun (''adversary"), which is also used in the N. T. Matt. 16 : 23; Mark 8 : 33 ; Luke 22 : 3. Satan can assume a character quite opposite to his real one, and hence he is said by Paul to transform himself into an " angel of light," 2 Cor. 11 : 14. Although there is only one devil, our English version often speaks of " casting out devils" and of persons ''possessed with devils "—e. <j. Matt. 4 : 24. The word is not the same as that applied to Satan, but means " demons" or " evil spirits." It is common to call these afflicted people demoniacs. Three views are held upon the demoniacal possessions :

1. That the possession of the devil symbolizes the prevalence of evil in the world, the casting out of the devils by our Lord, his conquest over that evil power by his doctrine and his life. This theory of course gives up the historic character of the narratives.

2. That the demoniacs were not really under the power of demons ; but inasmuch as it was commonly believed they were, our Lord and the evangelists spoke to them and of them in this fashion. They were merely persons suffering unusual diseases of body and mind, especially epilepsy, melancholy, insanity. The advocates of this view present three arguments : (1) The symptoms of the " possessed" were frequently those of bodily disease—dumbness. Matt. 9 : 32 ; blindness. Matt. 12 : 22 ; epilepsy, Mark 9 : 17-27—or those seen in cases of ordinary insanity. Matt. 8 : 28. (2) " To have a devil" seems to be equivalent to to be " mad," John 7 : 20 : 8 : 48 ; 10 : 20. (3) There is no such thing to-day as " demoniacal possession," but there are frequent cases similar to those recorded. Hence the language is popular, and not exact.

3. That there were persons actually possessed bj' demons—such possession manifesting itself in the forms of bodily and mental disease. Our Lord really cast out demons. This theorv has in its

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support: (1) The plain meaning of the text. It is the most natural interpretation. The demons are plainly distinguished from the persons whom they possess: they have a separate consciousness; they know Jesus, and look forward with trembling to the judgment-day ; they pass from one person to another, or even into a herd of swine. (2) It accords with the Scripture notion of the malignity of Satan that he should make a special exhibition of his jjower against Jesus. (3) It explains the confessions of our Lord's divinity which imply superhuman knowledge. (4) It renders intelligible the crucial narrative of the man among the tombs, Mark 5:1-20. The other theories either deny the fact or give a forced interpretation. (5) It vindicates the truthfulness of Jesus, which the other theories impugn. He not only addressed the patients as "possessed," Luke 4 : 35, but distinctly linked demoniacal possession with the evil one. Matt. 12 : 25-30 ; Luke 10:18.

DEVO'TIONS. In Acts 17: 23 we should read '' your objects of devotion " instead of ''your devotions,'' because in King James's day the word denoted the objects, and not the acts, of worship.

DEW, a dense vapor which falls on the earth during the night, and which in Judaea was so copious as in a great measure to supply the absence of showers. It thus became a beautiful emblem of spiritual blessings, Deut. 32 : 2 ; Hos. 14 : 5-7, as well as of temporal prosperity, because without the apparent effort of rain it gently accomplished the same result. But then it vanished so quickly on exposure to the sun that it was likewise an emblem of transient desires and relinquished efforts in God's service. Job 29 : 19. The heat and dryness of the air in the Holy Land are such that if it were not for the dews the earth would be parched and all its fruits withered. The same fact mav be inferred from Jud. 6 : 37-40 ; 2 Sam.' 17 : 12 : Job 29 : 19 ; Song Sol. 5 : 2. The Psalmist, Ps. 133 : 3, mentions particularly the dew of Hermon as emblematical of the rich and abundant blessings of spiritual communion. So Hos. 14 : 5-7.

DI'ADEM. See Crown.

DI'AL, an instrument employed to 230

measure time, or to determine the apparent progress of the sun by the shadow which the gnomon, or point in the centre of a graduated arc, casts.

The ''dial of Ahaz" is the only one mentioned in the Bible. 2 Kgs. 20 : 11; Isa. 38 : 8. The sign of Hezekiah's recovery was that the shadow of the sun went ten degrees backward upon it. The best interpretation of the passage is to suppose that the dial, liko those discovered in Babj-lonia, " was a series of Steps or terraces on which an upright pole cast its shadow." It was therefore probably modelled after those in familiar use with the ally of Ahaz, Tiglath-pileser. The fact that ambassadors came from Babylon to inquire of the wonder proves that the fame thereof had reached that city. It is a question of considerable importance whether this miracle was wrought upon the rays of the sun, by which they were deflected in an extraordinary manner, so as to produce this retrograde motion of the shadow, while the sun itself seemed to go on its way, or whether the motion of the earth or the position of the sun was so changed as to produce this result. It was this miracle to which reference is made in 2 Chr. 32 : 31.

DI'AMOND. Ex. 28 : 18 ; Eze. 28 : 13. " There is no trace of evidence that the ancients ever acquired the skill to engrave on the diamond, or even that they were acquainted with the stone."— Canon Cook. The claims of jasper, onyx, chalcedony, emerald, and rock-crjstal to be the diamond of the Bible have all been urged. Its diversity from any other stone in the high priest's breast-plate will incline some minds to advocate rock-crystal. For Jer. 17 : 1, see Adamant.

DIA'NA, a heathen goddess of great celebrity, whose worship was attended with peculiar splendor and magnificence at Ephesus, her guardian city. Acts 19 : 28. Her magnificent temple in that city was ranked among the Seven AVon-ders of the world. It was 220 years in building. Pliny tells us that it was 425 feet long and 220 in breadth, and that it was adorned with 127 columns, each 60 feet high, 27 of which were curiousl}' carved and the rest polished. Little silver models of the temple, with the image of the goddess enshrined in

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them (see the opposite cut), were made for sale, and were disposed of in such quantities as to afford profitable work for many hands. Acts 19 : 24, 25. See Demetrius.

In this temple there was "the image

Diana of Ephesus. (From Lewin's "St. Paul.") (This figure was taken from an alabaster image in the museum of Naples, but it is in great measure ideal. A more accurate representation is on the coin, following.)

which fell down from Jupiter," a rude wooden image having a head decorated with a mural crown ; '' each hand held a bar of metal, and the lower part ended in a rude block cgv^red with figures of

Temple of Diana. (i-Vowi a Coin in the Pembroke Collection.)

animals and mystic inscriptions." Later figures had many breasts, evidently symbolical of the reproductive powers of Nature, and therefore it was a sort of companion-idol to Ashtoreth. No bloody sacrifices were offered in her worship. Her temple in Ephesus was the treasury in which immense quantities of wealth were stored up, and was also a place of safety. It was beloved with singular passion, and hence the insinuation that Paul's preaching tended to lower the regard for it led to the uproar so graphically described in Acts 19. See Ephesus, Paul.

DIB'LAIM {double cake), one whose daughter the prophet Hosea married. Hos. 1:3.

DIB'LATH. Eze. 6 : 14. It has been identified with the modern ruin Bibl. See Riblah.

DIBLATHA'IM. See Almon-

DIBLATHAIM.

DI'BON (wasting), the name of two towns.

1. Dibon in Moab. Num. 21: 30 ; 15 : 2. It was built by Gad, Num. 34, and hence called Dibon-gad : assigned to Reuben, Josh. 13 : 9 was also called Dimon. Isa. 15 : 9 afterward returned to Moab, Isa. 15 : -: Jer. 48 : 18, 22 ; now called Dlnhau, about 12 miles east of the Dead Sea and 3 miles north of the Amon. Its ruins are extensive, covering the tops of two adjacent hills.

The famous Moabite Stone, bearing an inscription of Mesha, a king of"Moab, about 900 b. c, was found here within the gateway by Rev. F. A. Klein (a German missionary at Jerusalem) in 1868. The stone is of black ' 231

Isa. 32:

was

17:

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basalt, 3 feet Si inches high, 2 feet 3^ inches wide, and 1 foot 1.78 inches thick. It has 34 lines of Hebrew-Phoenician writing, and contains a most remarkable corroboration of the Scripture history in 2 Kgs. 3. Translations have

/6 >'/y I fe ^.< ^ /«fi><; # ^ i *+> ? f 3 ■f yif \j2; ^

The Moabite Stone.

been made by Dr. Ginsburg, M. Gan-neau, and Prof, v^chlottmann. The lat-ter's translation is as follows:

I Mesa, son of Chamos-nadab, the king of Moab [son of] Yabni. My father ruled over Moab [ . . years], and I ruled after my father. And I made this high place of sacrifice to Chamos in Korcha, a high place of deliverance, for he saved me from all [who fought against Moab].

Omri, king of Israel, allied himself with all his (Moab's) haters, and they oppressed Moab [many days] : then Chamos was irritated [against him and against] his land, and let it go over 232

[into the hand of his haters], and they

oppressed Moab very sore.

In mj' days spoke Ch[amos], I will

therefore look upon him and his house,

and Israel shall perish in eternal ruin.

And Omri took possession of the town of Medeba, and sat therein [and they oppressed Moab, he and] his son, forty years. [Then] Chamos looked upon Moab in my days.

And I built Baal Meon, and made therein walls and mounds. And I went to take the town of Kirjathaim, and the men of Gad [lived] in the district [of Kirjathaim] from days of their grandfathers, and the king of Israel built Kirjathaim. And I fought against the town and took it, and I strangled all the people that were in the city [as a sacrifice] to Chamos, the god of Moab.

(Here follows a lacuna: at the end of it the words 'before the face of Chamos in Kirjathaim.' Probably stood here, just as in lines 17, 18, a notice of the change of an Israelitish to a Moabite sanctuary.)

And I destroyed the High Place of Jehovah, and dedicated it before the face of Chamos in Kirjathaim. And I allowed to dwell therein the men of .... and the men of ... .

And Chamos said to me, ' Go up. Take [the town of] Nebo against Israel • . .' and I went up during the night, and fought against it from the dawn to midday, and I took it . . . and I saw it quite . . .

(In the rest of this part—more than two lines—there are, besides isolated letters, only legible through the gaps the names of God separated from each other.)

to Astar Chamos . . . Jehovah .... before the face of Chamos.

(It may safely be presumed that mention was made here of the restoration of heathen in the room of the Israelitish worship.)

And the king of Israel built Jahaz, and sat therein, while he fought against me, and Chamos drove him before my sight. And I took from Moab two hundred men, fully told. And I beleaguered Jahaz and took it, in addition to Dibon.

I built Korcha, the wall toward the forest, and the wall . . . and I built her gates, and I built her towers, and I built the king's house; and I made store-places for the mountain water in the midst of the town. And there were

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no cisterns within the town, in Korcha. and I said to all the peoj)le,' Make (you) every man a cistern in his house.'

(Here follows a sentence with difficult expressions at the beginning and a gap in the middle. The following is conjectural:)

And I hung up the prohibition for Korcha [against association with the] people of Israel.

I built Aroer, and I made the streets in Arnon. I built Beth Bamoth, for [it was destroyed]. I built Bezer, for men of Dibon compelled it, fifty of them, for all Dibon was subject; and I filled [with inhabitants] Bikran, which I added to the land. And I built . . . the temple of Diblathaim, and the temple of Baal Meon, and brought thither Ch[amos].

(After a hiatus are the words:)

. . the land . . . And Horonaim . . dwelt therein . . .

(Probably there followed the name of an Edomite parent tribe or clan. Then again after a gap:)

Chamos said to me, ' Come. Fight against Horonaim and [take it].'

In the last gap, out of more than two lines, it is only possible, besides separated letters, to read the word of Chamos. Without doubt it was here related how the king, by the help of Cheniosh, took the town.

Prof. Schlottmann divides the inscription into three parts : the first to the sixth section, inclusive, of the victories of Mesa over Israel; the second, sections seven and eight, of the buildings and erections of the king; and the third, of a battle in the south, toward Edom. (See The Recovery of Jerusalem, pp. 396-399.)

2. A town in the south of Judah, Neh. 11 : 25 ; the same as Dimonah, Josh. 16 : 22, and probably modern eh-Bheih.

DI'BON-GAD. Num. 33 : 45, 40. See Dibon, 1.

DIB'RI (elnquent), a Danite, father of Shelomith, wife of an Esryptian. Lev. 24:11. "^

DID'YMUS. See Thomas.

DIK'LAH {palm tree), a son of Joktan, Gen. 10 : 27 ; 1 Chr. 1 : 21, who settled a district in Arabia abounding in palm trees; probably Yemen, in southern Arabia.

DIL'EAN (f/ourd, or cncumher), a city in the lowlands of Judah, near Mizpeh. Josh. 15 : 38. Van de Velde

places it at Tina, south of Ekron (Robinson's lieit-Tima), Warren at li'abin.

DIM'NAH, a Levitical city in Zeb-ulon, Josh. 21 : 35 ; same as Ilimmon. 1 Chr. 6:77; now Mummdnch.

DIMO'NAH. Josh. 15 : 22. See Dibon, 2.

DI'MON, WA'TERS OF. Isa. 15: 9. See DiBO.v, 1.

DI'NAH {judged, or avenged), the only daughter of Jacob and Leah, Gen. 30 : 21, mentioned in Scripture, although there were probably others. The daughters were less likely to be spoken of than the sons. Jacob, on his return from Padan-aram to Canaan, halted at Shechem: here Dinah was wronged by Shechem, son of the prince Hainor. His offer of marriage was accepted on condition that he and all the other men in the town were circumcised. But while they were recovering, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's own brothers, led an attack upon them and killed them all, completely pillaged the place, and made prisoners of the women and children. Jacob's words to his sons after the act betray more fear of the anger aroused among their neighbors and its bad consequences than offence at their treachery. Gen. 34:30. Dinah is mentioned with the rest of the family who went into Egypt. Gen. 46 : 8, 15.

DI'NAITES, the name of some of the Cuthcean colonists placed in Samaria by the Assyrians after the conquest of the ten tribes. Ezr. 4: 9.

DIN'HABAH. Gen. 36 : 32 ; 1 Chr. 1:43. A capital city of Edom; site unknown.

DIN'NER. See Meals.

DIONY'SIUS {votary nf Dionysus ; i. e. Bacchus), a member of the court of the Areopagus; converted under the preaching of Paul at Athens. Acts 17 : 34. Tradition says he became the bishop of Athens, where he suffered martyrdom, A. D. 95. The writings which bear his name are of much later date.

DIOT'REPHES (Joi;e-no»n8^erf), the head of the church, situation unknown, in Asia Minor to which Gaius belonged. 3 John 9. John rebukes him for his arbitrary use of authority and resistance to the higher powers. See John'. Epistles of.

DISCERNING OF SPIRITS was one of the miraculous gifts of the

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Holy Ghost, by virtue of which the spirits of men were tried whether they were of God. 1 Cor. 12 : 10 ; 1 John 4 :1. It was a most desirable gift in the first ages of the Cliurch, when false prophets and wicked spirits abounded on every side. Comp. Acts 5 : 1-10 ; 13 : 6-12.

DISCI'PLE, one who receives, or professes to receive, instruction from another. In the N. T., it denotes the professed followers of our Saviour, but not always his true followers. Matt. 10 : 24 ; 11 : 2 ; Luke 14 : 26, 27, 33 j John 6 : 66 ; 9 : 28. See School.

DISCOVER (from dis, negative, and cover) is used in the English Version for " uncover," " lay bare." Ps. 29 : 9 ; Isa. 22:8; Mic. 1:6. " The voice of the Lord . . . discovereth the forests "— i. €. strippeth off the leaves.

DISEAS'ES. The multiplied forms in which sickness and suffering appear among men are so many signs of the evil of sin. Reference is made to the interposition of God in sending and removing diseases. Ps.39 :9-ll: 90:3-12.

The plagues, pestilences, and other instrumentalities by which, in former ages, a multitude of lives were destroyed at once were often miraculous —that is, the natural causes and progress of disease were not employed, or were not visible. Ex. 12 : 23, 29 -2 Kgs. 19 : 35 ; 1 Chr. 21 : 12-15 ; Acts 12 : 23.

The simple diets and habits of the Jews would keep them from many diseases, but the Bible proves that they enjoyed no miraculous protection. The diseases of the East of to-day were known to them ; such are ophthalmia, leprosy, brain-fever, pestilential fevers, lung-disorders. There was also a special form of disease, known as " having an evil spirit," very common in our Lord's dav. See Devil, Medicine.

DISH. See Table.

DI'SHAN (anfehpe), a son of Seir the Horite. Gen. 36: 21, 28, 30; 1 Chr. 1 : 38, 42.

DI'SHON {antelope). 1. Another son of the same. Gen. 36 : 21, 26, 30 ; 1 Chr. 1:38, 41.

2. A son of Anah, and a grandchild of Seir. Gen. 36 : 25 : 1 Chr. 1 : 40.

DISPENSA'TION. This word, in its scriptural use, generally denotes a plan or scheme, or a system of precepts and principles prescribed and re-234

vealed by God for his own glory, and for the advantage and happiness of his creatures. 1 Cor. 9 : 17 ; Eph. 1: 10 ; 3 : 2 ; Col. 1: 25. In the passages above cited it is supposed to mean an authority or commission to preach the gospel. The dispensation of the Law by Moses and of the gospel by Jesus Christ are examples of the use of the word in its former meaning.

DISPERSED', DISPERSION. These terms are usually applied to the Jews who after their captivity, and during the time of the second temple,werescatteredabroad through the earth. Jas. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1. In the time of Christ they were divided into three g'-eat sections—the Babylonian, the Syrian, and the Egyptian. The Epistles of James and Peter were addressed to them. Apostolic preaching followed the line of these Jewish settlements.

The settlement of the Jews in Rome dates from the conquest of Palestine by Pompey, B. c. 63. But long ere this Jews became residents in other lands. Naturally, they gave up some of their distinctive customs. The thrice-a-year visitation of the temple was impossible. The temple in Jerusalem, although their national centre, was no longer their religious home. The synagogue became their usual place of meeting. Thus the loosening of the stiff hold of original Judaism prepared them for the change to the freedom of Christianity.

DIS'TAFF, a staff around which the tow is wound for spinning. Prov. 31: 19. The spindle is mentioned in connection with the distaff as an instrument of employment on the part of the virtuous woman. In early ages, spinning (hence, the law-term "spinster" for an unmarried female) was a part of the household duties of women, even in rich and distinguished families; and it was a maxim that a young woman should never be married until she had spun herself a set of body-, bed-, and table-linen. At the present day the Egyptian women spend their leisure-hours in working with the needle, particularly in embroidering veils, handkerchiefs, etc., with colored silk and gold, in which they carry on a sort of traffic through the channel of a female broker. In ancient Egypt the yarn seems all to have been spun with the

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hand, and the spindle is seen in all the pictures representing the manufacture of cloth, as well as both men and women employed in the manufacture. See Spixhle.

DI'VES. See Lazarus.

DIVINA'TION is the practice of divining or foretelling future events. Deut. 18 : 10. In the passage cited it is put in connection with witchcraft, nec-romanc}', and other abominations of the heathen which the Jews were to avoid. Divination prevailed among the Israelites and many of the Eastern nations. The modes or means of divining were by consulting or being familiar with spirits, by the motions of the stars, clouds, etc., and by lots, rods or wands, dreams, the flight of birds, the entrails of animals, etc., etc. It is said of Joseph's cup. Gen. 44:5, that he divined by it. It is not to be inferred, however, that he practised divination, but rather that he uses the words in his supposed character of a native Egyptian. His brethren would therefore believe that by the cup he did actually divine, as was the custom of the land. In so speaking, Joseph practised deception; we are not, however, called upon to believe he was perfect. The Egyptian magicians were diviners, so were the wise men, the Chaldfeans of Babylon. There are many words used in Scripture to denote them. Some diviners were learned, others very ignorant. Ventriloquism and illusion formed part of their business, although many believed in the reality of their revelations. In divining with the cup, a small piece of gold or silver, or a jewel, was thrown into a spherical goblet, an incantation was pronounced, the number of waves were counted and the appearance of the object studied. Or else the goblet was simply filled with pure water and exposed to the sunlight: whatever it reflected was suppose to give an answer. In the case of the witch of Endor, she began to practise her art, but, to her amazement, no less than to Saul's, the vision or spirit of Samuel actually arose, and announced the imminent defeat and death of the king. The root of the Hebrew word translated "witch" means " a bottle." The term arose from the supposed injiation of these persons by the spirit.

The Jews were familar with four genuine ways adopted by God to make known the future. These were (1) by visions, as in the case of the patriarchs; (2) dreams interpreted, as by Joseph and Daniel; (3) by the Urim and Thummim ; (4) and by the prophets, 1 Sam. 28 : (5. The practice of divination in all its forms is severely reprobated by Moses and other sacred writers, Lev. 20 : 27 ; Deut. 18 : 9-14; Jer. 14:14; Eze. 13:8,9, because "a prying into the future clouds the mind with superstition and is *an incentive to idolatry," as is the case with the pagans. In whatever form it is practised or regarded, it is reproachful to Christianity, and argues great folly, ignorance, and sin. 2 Pet. 1 : 19.

DIVORCE', the dissolution of the marriage relation. This was permitted by the law of Moses because already existent, but so regulated as to mitigate its injustice and cruelty to the wife, Deut. 24; 1-4, and in certain cases forbidden, Deut. 22 : 19, 29. Although divorce was common in the later days of the Hebrew nation, Mai. 2 : 16, and men put away their wives for trivial causes, Matt. 19 : 3—and many of the Jewish doctors contended that this was the spirit of the Law—there is no distinct case of divorce mentioned in the 0. T. Our Saviour was questioned upon this matter, but he defeated the purpose of his inquisitors to entangle him in his talk, and took the opportunity to rebuke the lax morals of the day and set forth adultei'y as the only proper ground of divorce. Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11; Luke 16:18.

According to Jewish customs, the husband was required to give his wife a writing or bill of divorcement, in which was set forth the date, place, and cause of her repudiation, and a permission was given by it to marry whom she pleased. It was provided, however, that she might be restored to the relation at any future time if she did not meanwhile marry any other man. The woman also seems to have had power—at least in a later period of the Jewish state—to put away her husband— i. e. without a formal divorce to forsake him. Mark 10 : 12.

D I Z '' A H A B {region of gold), a place in the Arabian desert, near which

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Moses rehearsed to Israel God's dealings Avith them, Deut. 1:1; possibly Dehab.

DOCTOR. Doctors or teachers of the law Avere those who made it their business or profession to teach the Law of Moses, and they were in great repute among the Jews. Luke 2: 46. Some have distinguished the scribes from the doctors by supposing that the former wrote their opinions, while the latter taught extemporaneously. The doctors were generally of the sect of the Pharisees, perhaps alwa3's. Luke 5:17. The word " teachers " came into early use among Christians as a title to those who taught the doctrines of the faith, 1 Cor. 12 : 28, and hence was afterward applied to those who became eminent for their learning and aptness in teaching.

DOD'AI {loving), one of David's captains. 1 Chr. 27:4.

DOD'ANIM {leaders r), a family or race descended from Javan, son of Japh-eth. Gen. 10:4; 1 Chr. 1:7.

DOD'AVAH {love of JehovaJi), a man of Mareshah, father of the Eliezer who prophesied against Jehoshaphat. 2 Chr. 20:37.

DO'DO {amatory). 1. The father of Eleazar, one of David's mighty men. 2 Sam. 23:9: 1 Chr. 11:12.

2. The father of Elhanan. another mighty man, 2 Sam. 23 : 24 : 1 Chr. 11: 26.

DO'EG {/earful). See Ahimelech.

DOG. Ex. 11:7. The dog was not only an unclean animal by the Jewish Law, but was regarded with peculiar contempt, E.x. 22 : 31; Deut. 23 : 18 ; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14; 2 Sam. 9: 8; 2 Kgs. 8 : 13: Phil. 3:2; Rev. 22 : 15; and he is so regarded at the present day by the Turks, who can find no more abusive and contemptuous language to apply to a Christian than to call him a dog. In Eastern countries dogs are more like wolves than our dogs, and live wild in the open air.

Solomon puts a living dog in contrast with a dead lion to show that the meanest thing alive is of more importance than the noblest that is dead. Eccl. 9: 4. Abner's exclamation, "Am 1 a dog's head?" 2 Sam. 3 : 8, has a signification of the same kind. Isaiah expresses the necessity of repentance and sincerity to make a sacrifice acceptable to God by declaring that without them ''he thatsac-236

rificesalamb" does nothing better than "as i/he cut off a dog's neck." Isa. 66 : 3. The only useful purpose to which dogs appear to have been put was to guard the flocks. Job 30 : 1, and even in that passage they are spoken of with contempt. Isaiah may be understood to allude to this manner of employing them in his description of the spiritual watchmen of Israel. Isa. 56:10, 11.

Although dogs were numerous in the Jewish cities, they were not kept in the houses, but wandered through the streets (as thej' do to this day in Constantinople), picking up whatever was

Dog modelled in Clay. {From Kouywijik. After liawUnson.)

thrown out of the remains of the table after the family had eaten. So David speaks of his wicked enemies. Ps. 59 : 6, 14, 15. The Mosaic law directed the people to throw to the dogs the flesh that was torn by beasts. Ex. 22:31.

This manner of living accounts for the savageness of dogs in the East. They preyed upon human flesh, licked the blood of the slain, and sometimes were wild enough to attack men as bloodhounds do. 1 Kgs. 14 : 11; 16 : 4; 21 : 19, 23 ; 22 : 38 ; 2 Kgs. 9 : 10, 36 ; Ps. 22 : 16, 20 ; 68 : 23; Jer. 15 : 3. Their habits made them dangerous to touch. Prov. 26 : 17.

The Eastern people were in the practice of applying the names of animals to men who resemble them in their disposition, as we call a cunning man a fox, a brave man a lion, etc. So our Saviour told his disciples, " Give not that which is holy unto the dogs," lest they turn upon you and tear you after they have eaten it. Matt. Y : 6, meaning that they should not off"er the sacred truths of the gospel to those insolent

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and abominable men who would only heap abuse on them for it, having reference, also, to the practice of the priests at the altar, who would not throw to the dogs any of the meat used in sacrifice. He told also the Syro-Phoenician woman that it was not proper to give the children's meat to dogs. Matt. 15 : 20—that is, the gospel was sent first to the Jews, who are called the children, and was not yet to be given to one of the Gentiles, as she was, whom the Jews called dogs — for the children must first be fed before the meat was thrown into the street. Those who are shut out of the kingdom of heaven are dogs, sorcerers, etc.. Rev. 22: 15, where the word is applied to all kinds of vile persons, as it is to a particular class in Deut. 23 : 18. The comparison of Solomon illustrating the return of a fool to his folly, Prov. 26 : 11, cited in 2 Pet. 2 : 22, 'is taken from a natural fact. Persecutors are called dog. Ps. 22 : 16.

DOOR. See Dwellings.

DOPH'KAH {cattle-drivimj), an encampment of Israel in the wilderness. Num. 33 : 12, 13 ; somewhere in Wady Fet'ran.

DOR {dwelling), a royal city of the Canaanites, Josh. 11 : 2 ; 12 : 23, within the territory of Asshur, but allotted to Manasseh, Josh. 17 : 11 ; Jud. 1 : 27 ; 1 Chr. 7 : 29, and was one of Solomon's provision-districts, 1 Kgs. 4:11; now Tantura, 8 miles nortli of Cassarea, where there are considerable ruins.

DOR'CAS {fiazelle). See Tabitha.

DO'THAN {two cisterns), where Joseph found his brethren, Gen. 37 : 17, and Elisha resided. 2 Kgs. 6 : 13. It was on the south side of the plain of Jezreel, 12 miles north of Samaria ; now called Tell-Dothdii, 5 miles south-west of Jenin. Numerous bottle-shaped cisterns hewn in the rock are still found, which are supposed to resemble the "pit" of Gen. 37:24. Caravans still pass this place, as of old, on their way from Damascus to Egypt.

DO TO WIT means to make known. 2 Cor. 8:1.

DOUGH. See Brkad.

DOVE. Gen. 8:9. A bird clean by the Mosaic law, and often mentioned by the sacred writers. In their wild state doves dwell principally in holes in the rocks. Song Sol. 2 : 14=; Jer. 48 : 28.

They are innocent in tiieir dispositions, and make no resistance to their enemies. Matt. 10 : 16. They are very much attached to their mates ; and when one is absent or dies, the other, or survivor, laments its loneliness. Isa. 38 : 14; 59 : 11; Eze. 7 : 16 ; Nah. 2 : 7.

There are various allusions to the mildness, peacefulness, and affection of doves. The Church is called a " turtledove " and a " dove," or compared to it. Ps. 74:19; Song Sol. 1:15; 2:14; 4: 1 ; 5 : 2 ; 6:9. Where " doves' eyes " are spoken of in these passages, allusion is made to the meekness of their expression. Lange's CowtmeH^or?/translates Song Sol. 5 : 12 thus : "His eyes [are] like doves by brooks of water, bathing in milk, sitting on fulness." Thus understood, the passage compares the iris nestling in the white of the eye to a blue pigeon bathing in a brook of milk. It was in the manner of a dove that the Holy Spirit descended upon our Saviour at his baptism. Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3 : 22 ; John 1: 32. Hosea compares timid Ephraim to " a silly dove without heart," 7 : 11, and says that when the Jews shall be called to their own land they shall " tremble," or fly, "as a dove out of the land of Assyria." 11 : 11. David in his distress wished that he could fly from his troubles as the doves do to warmer climates on the approach of winter. Ps. 55 : 6-8. The appearance of the dove is spoken of as an emblem of spring. Song Sol. 2:12.

The dove is mentioned in an interesting part of the early history of the world as being sent out by Noah from the ark to discover whether the dry land had appeared. Gen. 8:6-12.

The dove was used in sacrifices. It was, among other animals, prepared by Abram when God manifested his intention to bless him, as narrated in Gen. 15 : 9. When a child was born the mother was required within a certain time to bring a lamb and a young pigeon, or turtle-dove, for offering; but if she were too poor to afford a lamb, she might bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons. Lev. 12 : 6-8. Thus we may judge of the poverty of Mary, the mother of .Jesus, when upon his birth she brought to the temple at Jerusalem the two birds instead of a lamb. Luke

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2 : 24. It was to supply applicants with animals for sacrifice that certain persons sat in the temple with doves to sell, whom our Lord forced to leave it because *'the house of prayer" was not a fit place for buying and selling. Mark 11: 15; John 2 :U-16.

David, Ps. 68:13, "refers to a kind" ' f dove " found at Damascus, whose leathers, all except the wings, are lit-

erally as yellow as gold ; they are very small and kept in cages. I have often had them in my house, but their note is so very sad that I could not endure it." — Thomson.

In all Eastern towns homes are provided for the jjigeons ; sometimes special towers are erected for them ; sometimes the upper stories of the houses are fitted with openings or " windows,"

Turtle Dove. {After Houghton.)

and are sacred to their use. The immense compact masses of these birds as they are seen flying to their houses or places of resort "can never be forgotten by Eastern travellers. They sometimes resemble a distant cloud, and are so dense as to obscure the rays of the sun. Hence the allusion in Isa. 60 : 8. Tristram says that the pigeon tribe abound in Palestine to a degree unknown in other countries. The great 238

abundance of plants of the clover and vetch family accounts for their numbers. Rock-doves, in myriads beyond computation, inhabit the caves and fissures which honeycomb the limestone cliffs of Palestine." The wild rock-pigeon {Columba livia), the ancestor of the domestic races, is found here, as well as other species. See Turtledove.

Dove's Dung. There are two views

DRI

concerning the material to which there is reference in 2 Kgs. 6 : 25. Some suppose that this substance was in great demand as a quick manure for those vegetables which might be soonest raised for the famishing Samaritans; others believe that so terrible was the extremity that the people were glad to get even so disgusting a substauce as this for food. The great price at which it was held—about a dollar and a half a pint—militates against either form of this view. The other view is that the produceof some plant not commonly used for food is intended. The seeds of a kind of millet formerly called by the Hebrews " doves' seed," and of other plants, have been proposed. The root of the star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum — i.e. hi'rd-7nilk) meets with much favor. The bulb of this plant has often been eaten, and it is abundant in Palestine.

DOWRY, in the Eastern acceptation of the word, means that which the husband pays for his wife, instead of that which the wife receives from her father and brings to her husband. Gen. 29 : 18 ; 34 : 12; 1 Sam. 18 : 25. So, Ex. 22 : 16, 17 ,• Josh. 15 : IS, a man was required to pay a certain sum as dowry or a nuptial-present, and this was to be according to the rank the woman sustained, and such as the fathers of virgins of the same rank were accustomed to receive for their daughters. Hos. 3 : 2. See Marriage.

DRACH'MA, a Greek silver coin, translated '* a piece of silver" in Luke 15: 8, 9, equal in value to a Roman denarius, or about fifteen and a half cents (wrongly translated "penny"). See Denarius.

DRAG'ON. This word, in the Bible, has at least three meanings. Very commonly, where it occurs in connection with ostriches, owls, deserts, and ruins, it denotes the jackal, whose characteristics are unmistakably indicated, such as his "wailing" and "snuffing up the wind." So in Job 30 : 29 ; Vs. 44 : 19 ; Jer. 9:11, in all which passages solitude and desolation are illustrated. Mic. 1:8. In some passages it denotes monsters of the deep or huge land-reptiles, as in Deut. 32 : 33 ; Ps. 91: 13. The figurative use of this term, as in Ps. 74 : 13 ; Eze. 29 : 3 ; Rev. 12 : 3 and 20 : 2, is sufficiently obvious.

DRAMS. See Measures.

DRAUGHT. Matt. 15 : 17. A vault or drain for the recei)tion of filth. In this sense it is probably used in 2 Kgs. 10 : 27. When applied to fishes it means those which are caught by one sweep or drawing of the net.

DREAM. From a very early period dreams have been observed with superstitious regard. God was pleased to make use of them to reveal his purposes or requirements to individuals, and he also gave power to interpret them. Gen. 20: 3-6 ; 28 : 12-14 ; 1 Sam. 28: 6 ; Ban. 2; Joel 2 : 28. And if any person dreamed a dream which was peculiarly striking and significant, he was permitted to go to the high priest in a particular way and see if it had any special import. But the observance of ordinary dreams and the consulting of those who pretend to skill in their interpretation are repeatedly forbidden. Deut. 13 :1-5; 18:9-14.

The words dreams and visions are sometimes used indiscriminately. Gen. 46 : 2 ; Num. 12 : 6 ; Job 20 : 8 ; 33 : 14,15 ; Dan. 2 : 28 ; 7 :1, though elsewhere they would seem to be distinguished. Joel 2 : 28. In the vision the subject may be awake even though it take place at night. 2 Kgs. 6 : 17 ; Acts 18 : 9 ; 23 :11 ; 27 : 23. Paul's vision, 2 Cor. 12 : 1, 2, 4, was an ecstasy. To his mind heaven was open, yet so real was the vision that he could not tell whether he were in the body or out of it. Some commentators place this vision while Paul lay on the ground at Lystra as if dead from the stoning.

Sometimes miraculous revelations of God's will are called visions. Luke 1 : 22 ; 1 Sam. 3:15. See Vision, Trance.

The power of interpreting dreams was, of course, a supernatural gift, so far as the dreams had reference to future events; for these are necessarily unknown, except to the supreme Disposer of them. Gen. 40:5, 8; 41:16. Since the fuller revelation of God's will has been made to us in the gospel, all confidence in dreams as indicative of future events is presumptuous and delusive, and all pretension to the power of interpreting them must be regardecj as in the highest degree impious and absurd. DRESS. See Clothes. DRINK-OFFERING. See Of-

FERING.

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DRINK, STRONG. The use of

strong drink, even to excess, was not uncommon among the Israelites. This is inferred from the striking figures by which the use and efiects of it are described, Ps. 107 : 27 ; Isa. 24 : 20 ; 49 : 26; 51 : 17-22, and also from various express prohibitions and penalties. Prov. 20 : 1: Isa. 5:11. A variety of intoxicating drinks are comprised under the term. Isa. 28 : 7. Although the Bible sheds little light upon the nature of the mixtures described, it doubtless alludes to drink brewed from grain or made of honeycombs, dates, or boiled fruits, and the beer of Egypt. Date-wine was in great request among the Parthians, Indians, and other Orientals, and is said by Xenophon to have produced severe headaches.

The Jews carefully strained their wine and other beverages, from fear of violating Lev. 11 : 20, 23, 41, 42, as do now the Buddhists in Ceylon and Hindostan. This fact explains our Lord's remark to the Pharisees in Matt. 23 : 24: ''Ye blind guides, who strain out" (not at) '' a gnat and swallow a camel." See Wine, Vinegar.

DROM'EDARY. Isa. 60 : 6. A breed of the camel remarkable for its speed. Jer. 2 : 2o. It can travel from 60 to 90 miles or more in a day. The dromedary- is taller and has longer limbs than other varieties of camel, and cannot as well bear heat or cold. See Camel.

DROPPING, A CONTIN'-XJAIj. The force of the comparison used in Prov. 27 : 15 will be understood when it is borne in mind that Oriental houses have flat roofs made of mud. These naturally crack under the heat, and so in a shower the water often comes through the large crack.

DROUGHT. From the end of Aprilto September in the land of Ju-da;a is "the drought of summer." The grass is sometimes completely withered, Ps. 102 : 4, and all the land and the creatures upon it suffer, and nothing but the copious dew of the night preserves the life of an}' living thing. Hag. 1 : 11. The heat is at times excessive. Near Cana, in Galilee, in July, the thermometer, in a gloomy recess under ground, perfectly shaded, stood at 100° Fahrenheit at noon. For a more full account of the climate, see Palestine. 240

DRUNK'ENNESS. See Duink, Wine.

DRUSIL'L A, third daughter of the Herod who is mentioned in Acts 12 : 1-4, 20-23. She first married Azizus, king of Emesa, whp professed Judaism for her sake. Bu| by means of a sorcerer, Simon of Cyjjcus, she was induced to forsake her h^eband and marry Felix, the Roman governor, and was present at the hearing of the apostle Paul before her husband at Cassarea. She was noted for great personal beauty. Acts 24 : 24.

DUKE, in the English Bible, means only a chief or leader (an Oriental Sheikh), and must not be understood, in the modern sense, as a title of hereditary nobility. Gen. 36:15-19.

DUL'CIMER. The instrument denoted by this word was, in the opinion of the best Bible scholars, as well as of the Rabbins, a bag-pipe like that in use at the present day among the peasants of north-western Asia and southern Europe, and called by them zampagna, which is a word of similar sound to the word here used, sumpJwniah. Dan. 3 : 5, 10, 15. It was composed of two pipes with a leathern sack, and produced a harsh, screaming sound. It has no resemblance at all to the modern dulcimer,

DU'MAH {silence), a son of Ishmael. Gen. 25: 14: 1 Chr. 1:30.

DV'MAH {silence). l.AtowninJu-dah, near Hebron, Josh. 15 : 52 : now ecl-Bomeh, 10 miles south-west of Hebron.

2. A region, perhaps near Mount Seir. Isa. 21:11.

DUNG. In many countries of the East wood is so scarce and dear as to be sold by weight. Hence animal excrements are used as fuel. Eze. 4: 12. It is a very common material for heating ovens, even among people of comfortable circumstances. In Arabia the excrements of asses and camels are collected in the streets by children, mixed with cut straw, put in the sun to dry, and thus fitted for use as fuel. The effluvia arising from the use of it are very offensive, and penetrate the food.

Dove's Ding, See Dove,

DUNG-GATE. See Jerusalem

{Gates <}/).

DU'RA, the plain near Babylon where Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image. Dan. 3 : 1. Oppert identifies it with BHair, a little south-east of Baby-

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Ion, where the pedestal of a huge statue was discovered.

DURE, Matt. 13 : 21, for "endure,"

"last." ''During," which is still common, is the participle of the same verb.

DUST. " To shake off the dust of one's feet" against another, Matt. 10 : U ; Mark 6:11; Acts 13 : 51, was expressive of entire renunciation, because it conveyed the idea that " those against whom it was directed were so unworthy that it was defiling to one to allow so much as a particle of the soil to cleave to his garments." The custom is supposed to have been common among the Jews, when they had set a foot on heathen ground, to shake otf the dust, so as to carry nothing unclean or polluting into their own land. Dust thrown into the air, 2 Sam. 16 : 13 ; Acts 22 :23, was an expression of rage and threatening, while the very act probably increased the passionate hatred. *' Dust and ashes " are coupled together as a phrase describing man's feebleness as contrasted with divine strength. Gen. 18 : 27; Job 30:19.

Dust, Rain op. Deut. 28 : 24. In Ju-diea or its immediate vicinity are plains or deserts of fine sand, which when agitated by a violent wind makes most terrific and desolating storms. Eastern travellers describe them particularly, and think them much more dreadful than storms at sea. This fact affords us a striking illustration of the nature and horrors of the plague mentioned in Ex. 8:16.

DWELL'INGS. The most common dwellings in the earlier ages of the world were tents, formed by setting poles in the ground and stretching over them a covering of cloth or skin, which Avas fastened to stakes by means of cords. Isa. 54 : 2. Sometimes they were divided into apartments by means of curtains, and the ground was covered with mats or carpets. The door was formed of a fold of cloth, which was dropped or raised. The fire was kindled in an excavation in the middle of the tent-ground, and the cooking-utensils, which were very few and simple, were easily moved from place to place. Isa. 38 : 12.

When the habits of mankind changed and their pursuits fixed them to one spot, their dwellings were built with a 16

view to permanency, and we may suppose that the science of building was well understood at a very early period. But while the Canaanites and Assyrians built cities, the Hebrews dwelt in tents; and it was not until they went down to Egypt, or more likely not until the eon-quest of the Promised Land, that they abandoned their simple habits; then they entered the houses the Canaanites left. It thus appears that the science of architecture first developed itself among the idolatrous peoples.

That large and costly houses were often built in Judiea we have scriptural evidence, Jer. 22 : U ; Am. 3:15; Hag. 1 : 4, though doubtless those which were occupied by the mass of the people were rude and inconvenient.

Plan of an Eastern House.

c, Entrance. A, Family-room. E, Walls, or galleries, between the open court and the rooms. G, Stairs to the upper stories and roof. h, PrivaM staircase.

The above cut represents the ground-plan of an Eastern house of the better class. The house is built in the form of a cloister, surrounding the area or open court. The entrance is by a door, which was commonly locke<l, and attended by some one who acted as porter. Acts 12 : 13. This door opens into a porch, which is furnished with the conveniences of sitting, and through which we pass, both to the flight of stairs which leads up to the chambers and also to the open quadrangular court.

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