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PRINCETON, N. J.
Division.
Section .
Shelf Number..
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OLlVE-lKKb, IN Tilt: l.ARDLN UK GLlUSliMANE. lioiii a I'liutograijli.
Dictionary
OF
THE HOLY BIBLE,
FOR GENERAL USE
IN THE
S^UDY OF THEl ©GRIPTURRS;
WITH
ENGRAVINGS, MAPS, AND TABLES.
REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION.
W. w "R
cs"y-, o....
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,
ISO NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.
COPYRIGHT, 188C5,
BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
PREFACE.
One of the most cheering tokens of the progress of the gospel in our
country and the world is the growing interest in the study of God's Word,
which, as experience continually demonstrates more clearly, is the foun-
tain of all the truth and the channel of the only spiritual power that can
regenerate man and reform the world. To promote and aid in its study
the Tract Society has published many most valuable Bible Helps: among
them Dr. Barrows' " Companion to the Bible," and his " Sacred Geogra-
phy and Antiquities;" "The Bible Text- Book," the "Bible Atlas," two
Concordances, Locke's " Commonplace-book of the Bible," the " Family
Bible with Notes," Hanna's " Life of Christ," and " The Dictionary of the
Holy Bible." Of this latter volume over two hundred thousand copies
have been circulated, and it has been the basis of translations into several
foreign languages. But since its first publication great progress has been
made in Biblical researches : the lands of the Bible have been more thor-
oughly explored — by the " Palestine Exploration" Companies, the "Brit-
ish Ordnance Survey," and recent travellers; the admirable Bible Diction-
ary of Dr. William Smith, with those of Fairbairn, Fausset, and others,
have made a new era in Bible study ; and the Revised Version of Scrip-
ture has appeared.
All these recent works have been used in preparing this revised Bible
Dictionary, with the purpose to present clearly and briefly the best attain-
able results of Biblical research, new and old— gathering from many large
and costly works all the important information which the pastor, the Sun-
day-school teacher, or any earnest student of the Bible would require.
A great proportion of the articles have been rewritten, many new
illustrations have been added, and improved maps ; and in this revised
and enlarged form the Dictionary is almost a new work. It is sent forth
with the earnest recommendation that the student will use it only as an
aid in the study of the Bible itself, turning to all the passages referred to,
and inspecting them, with the purpose above all so to search the Scrip-
tures as to find Him of whom chiefly they testify, and who alone is " the
Way, the Truth, and the Life."
W. W. RAND.
EXPLANATORY.
In this work the received chronology, in general that of Ussher, is
adopted. While no little uncertainty exists as to some ancient epochs,
the scientific speculations which would add many thousands of years to
the early ages of mankind upon the earth are not confirmed by later re-
searches.
The meaning of Biblical names of persons and places is given in ital-
ics where it can be determined; but in many cases it is conjectured from a
somewhat uncertain derivation.
In proper' names of Greek origin »- before e or i is pronounced soft,
as in Genesis. But in almost all Scripture names it should be pronounced
hard, as in Gethsemane, Gihon.
Ch, in both Hebrew and Greek words, is pronounced like k, as in
Chloe, Chios, Charran. The exceptions are Rachel, cherub, and cheru-
bim.
In referring to a passage of Scripture, the book is first named by the
customary abridged form, then the chapter followed by a colon : the verses
are separated from one another by commas, and from a following reference
by a semicolon. When a dash is used, all the verses between the one pre-
ceding and that following the dash are referred to.
A. V. stands for the Authorized, or King James, Version of the Bible.
R. V. for the Revised Version.
ARABIC WORDS OF FREQUENT OCCURRENCE.
Khu, father. Khan, inn.
Km, fountain. Kh. for KInirbet, ruins.
Bab, gate. Kubbet, dome.
Bahr, sea. Kul'ah, castle.
Beit, house. Kuryet, village.
Benat, daughters. Merj, meadow.
Beni, sons. Nahr, river.
B\r, well. Nehy, prophet.
Deir, convent. Ras, head.
Ghor, a long valley. Tell, mound or hill.
Hummam, bath. Tfir, mountain.
J. for Jebel, mountain. Um, mother.
Jisr, bridge. Wady, bed of a stream.
Kefr, village. Wely, saint.
The Arabic definite article, el, often changes its final consonant ac-
cording to the word to which it is attached, as ed-Deir, the castle ; er-Ram,
Ramah; esh-Sheikh, the old man.
A
DICTIONARY
OF
THE HOLY BIBLE.
A, the first letter in almost all alpha-
bets. In Hebrew, it is called alcpli ; in
Greek, alpha, the last letter in the Greek
alphabet being omega. Both the Hebrews
and Greeks used their letters as numerals ;
and hence A {aleph or alpha) denoted one,
or the first. So our Lord says, " I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the
first and the last;'' thus declaring his eter-
nity, and that he is the cause and end of all
things, and that what he has been and has
•done is a surety of what he ever will be and
do, Rev. I. -8, II ; 21:6; 22:13. Compare
Isa. 44:6; 48:12; Col. 1:15-18.
AAR'ON, (ar'oii), a teacher, or lofty, the
son of Amram and Jochebed, both of the
tribe of Levi, and brother of Moses and
Miriam, Exod. 6:20; born about the year
A. M. 2430; B. C. 1574. He was younger
than Miriam and 3 years older than Moses,
Exod. 7:7; and was the spokesman and
assistant of the latter in bringing Israel
out of Egypt, Exod. 4:16, 30; 7:19. His
wife was Elisheba, daughter of Ammina-
dab ; and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar,
and Ithamar. He was 83 years old when
God summoned him to join Moses in the
desert near Horeb. Cooperating with his
brother in the exodus from Egypt, Exod.
4-16, he held up one of his hands in the
battle with Amalek, Exod. 17:9; and ap-
proached Mount Sinai with him to see the
glory of God, Exod. 24:1, 2, 9-11, though
Moses alone ascended to the summit.
Aaron's chief distinction consisted in the
choice of him and his male posterity for
the priesthood. He was consecrated the
first high-priest by God's directions, Exod.
28, 29; Lev. 8; Psa. 106: 16; and was after-
wards confirmed in his office by the de-
struction of Korah and his company, by
the staying of the plague at his interces-
sion, and by the budding of his rod. Num.
16, 17. He was faithful and self-sacrificing
in the duties of his office, and meekly " held
his peace " when his sons Nadab and Abi-
hu were slain, Lev. 10:1-3. ^^^ he fell
sometimes into grievous sins : he made the
golden calf at Sinai, as an image of Jeho-
vah for the people to worship, Exod. 32 ;
he joined Miriam in sedition against Mo-
ses, they presuming, the one as high-priest
and the other as a prophetess, to claim like
authority to his, Num. 12; and with Moses
disobeyed God at Kadesh, Num. 20:8-12.
God, therefore, did not permit him to enter
the promised land ; but he died on Mount
Hor, in Edom, near Mosera, Deut. 10:6, in
the 40th year after leaving Egypt, at the
age of about 123 years, and was buried by
Moses and Eleazar, the latter succeeding
him as high-priest, Num. 20:22-29; 33 : ,^9.
The Arabs pretend to show his tomb on the
mount still bearing his name, and highly
venerate it. In his office as high-priest,
Aaron was an eminent type of Christ : be-
ing "called of God," and anointed; offer-
ing sacrifices ; bearing the names of the
5
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ABA
tribes on his breast ; communicating God's
will by Urim and Thummim ; entering the
Most Holy place on tiie Day of Atonement,
"not without blood;" and interceding for
and blessing the people of God, Heb. 6 : 20.
See Abiathar, Eleazak, Hok, Priest.
AAR'ONITES, descendants of Aaron the
high-priest, so called, i Chr. 12:27; 27:17.
13 cities were assigned to them, in Judah
and Benjamin, Josh. 21:13-19; i Chr. 6;
57-60.
AB, father, found in many compound
Hebrew proper names: as Abner, father,
or possessor, of light; Absalom, father of
peace.
AB. The 5th month of the sacred, and
the nth of the civil, year among the Jews.
It began, according to the latest authorities,
with the new moon of late July or early
August. It was a sad month in the Jewish
calendar. On its ist day a fast was ob-
served for the death of Aaron, Num. 33 : 38 ;
and on its 9th another was held in mem-
ory of the divine edicts which excluded so
many that came out of Egypt from enter-
ing the promised land ; and also of the
overthrow of the ist and 2d temple. See
MO.NTH.
ABAD'DON, or Apol'lvo.n. The former
name is Hebrew and the latter Greek, and
both signify ilie dcslroyer, Job 31:12; Rev.
9:11. He is called the ''angel of the
abyss," that is, the angel of death, or the
destroying angel, Psa. 78 : 49. Abaddon
frequently occurs in the Hebrew, and is
translated "destruction," meaning oftea
the world of the dead. Job 26:6; 28:22;
Psa. 88: II ; Prov. 15: 11.
Pi'B\G"VHfi., forliine-giver, a court-officer
of Ahasuerus, Esth. 1 : 10.
RIVER ABANA, NOW BARADA, AND DAMASCUS.
ABA'NA, perennial, and Phar'par, swift,
rivers of Damascus, 2 Kings 5:12. The
Abana (or, as in the margin, Amana) was
undoubtedly the present Barada, the Chry-
sorrhoas of the Greeks. It is a clear, cold,
and swift mountain stream, rising in Anti-
Lebanon, northeast of Hermon, flowing
southeast into the plain 23 miles, bursting
through a gorge 2 miles northwest of Da-
mascus, turning eastward, skirting the
northern wall of the city, and terminating
20 miles east in 2 of 3 large lakes. It is a
perennial river, and so copious, that though
no less than 9 or 10 branches or canals are
drawn off from it to irrigate the plain and
supply the city and the numerous villages
around it, the stream is a large one to the
end.
The only other independent river of any
size in the territory of Damascus is the
Awaj, which rises on the southeast slopes
of Hermon, crosses the j)lain 8 miles or
more south of Damascus, and enters the
southernmost of the 3 lakes above referred
to. This is supposed to be the Pharpar of
the Bible. As these rivers of Damascus
were never dry, but made the region they
watered like the garden of Eden for fertil-
ity and beauty, Naaman might well con-
trast them with the Jordan whose waters.
ABA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ABE
are often turbid, and with most of " the
waters of Israel," which dry up under the
summer sun. See Amana.
ABA'RIM, mountains beyond, or of the
fords, east of the Dead Sea and the Lower
Jordan, " over against Jericho," within the
territory of Moab and the tribe of Reuben.
It is impossible to define exactly their ex-
tent. The mountains Nebo, Pisgah, and
Peor were in the Abarim, Num. 27:12;
33 : 47, 48 ; Deut. 32 : 49 ; 34 : i. Ije-abarim,
Num. 21:11; 33:44, seems to denote the
southern part of the same chain. It is
probably referred to in Jer. 22:20, where it
is rendered " passages." A Hebrew word,
apparently of the same derivation, desig-
nates the whole country beyond the Jor-
dan.
AB'BA, a Syriac word s\%\\\^y\x\% father,
easily pronounced by infant children, and
expressing the peculiar tenderness, famili-
arity, and confidence of the love between
parent and child, Mark 14 : 36 ; Rom. 8:15;
Gal. 4:6. Luther translated Abba, Pater,
"Abba, dear Father." In the Old Testa-
ment God sought for the.filial love and trust
of his people, Jer. 3:4; but it is through
Christ alone that we receive the true spirit
of adoption, and learn to call God " Our
Father," Luke 11:2; John 17: i, 21 ; 20: 17.
ABED'NEGO, servant of Nego ; a Chal-
dee name given to Azariah, one of the three
captive young princes of Judah, B. C. 604,
who were Daniel's companions at the court
of the king of Babylon, Dan. i : 7. Their
virtue, wisdom, and piety secured their
promotion at court, Dan. i '.3-19; 2: 17, 49;
and their steadfastness in witnessing for
God among idolators, with their deliver-
ance from the fiery furnace by the Angel-
Jehovah, led many to acknowledge the true
God, and rendered these pious youth for
ever illustrious as monuments of the excel-
lence and safety of faith in Him, Dan. 3 ;
Meb. 11:34. See Daniel, Furnace.
A'BEL, in Hebrew Hebel, vapor ; the
2d son of Adam and Eve. His name was
a recognition at the outset of the short-
ness of human life, Jas. 4: 14. He became
a shepherd, and offered to God a sacrifice
from his flocks, at the same time that Cain
his brother offered of the fruits of the earth.
God received Abel's sacrifice and not
Cain's ; hence Cain in anger killed Abel,
Gen. 4, who was the first martyr. Matt.
23:35- See Sacrifice. It was " by faith "
that Abel offered a more acceptable sacri-
fice than Cain ; that is, his heart was right
towards God, and he worshipped Him in
trustful obedience to the divine directions.
His offering, made by the shedding of
blood, was that of a penitent sinner con-
fiding in the atonement ordained of God;
and it was accepted, " God testifying of his
gifts," probably by fire from heaven; "by
which he obtained witness that he was right-
eous," that is, justified, Heb. 11:4. His life
was short, but not therefore fruitless : for
his bright and early example of faith in a
divine atonement for sinners has been a
beacon-light for all ages since, guiding men
to Christ. The first of the human race to
die, he was also the first to enter heaven,
and a pledge and firstfruits of a harvest
none can number. "The blood of Abel"
called from the ground for vengeance. Gen.
4:10; but the blood of Christ claims for-
giveness and salvation for his people, Heb.
12:24; I John 1:7. See Sin.
Abel is also a prefix in the names of
several towns. In such cases it signifies a
grassy place or meadow.
ABEL-BETH-MA'ACHAH, meadow of the
house of Maachah ; a town in the tribe of
Naphtali, north of Lake Merom, now prob-
ably Abil-el-Karub, in the upper region of
the Jordan, in the latitude of Tyre. It was
a place of some value, and was besieged in
the rebellion of Sheba, 2 Sam. 20:13-22.
80 years afterwards it was taken by Ben-
hadad, i Kin. 15:20, and again, after 200
years, by Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kin. 15:29. It
is called Abel-maim in 2 Chr. 16:4. Com-
pare I Kin. 15 : 20. Also simply Abel, 2 Sam.
20:18.
ABEL-CARMA'IM, or Kera'mim, meadow
of vineyards ; a village of the Ammonites,
6 miles from Rabbath-Ammon; in the his-
tory of Jephthah it is called "the plain of
the vineyards," Judg. 11 : 33.
ABEL-MEHO'LAH, meadow of the dance,
or Abel-mea, a town of Issachar, near the
Jordan, 10 miles south of Beth-shean. Near
this place Gideon defeated the Midianites,
Judg. 7:22; and here Elisha was born,
I Kin. 19: 16.
ABEL-MIZ'RAM, meadow (or, otherwise
pointed, mourning) of the Egyptians ; so
called from the 7 days' lamentation of Jo-
seph and his company on bringing up the
body of Jacob from Egypt for burial, Gen.
50:10, II. It lay in the plain of Jericho,
between that city and the Jordan. Jerome
locates it at Beth-hoglah.
ABEL-SHIT'TIM, plain of the acacias, in
the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan, and
near Mount Peor. It was one of the last
encampments of Israel before the death of
7
ABI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ABI
Moses, Num. 33:49; called also Shittim,
Josh. 2 : 1. Here the Israelites were enticed
by the women of Moab and Midian into
uncleanness and the idolatry of Baal-peor,
and 24,000 died of the plague, Num. 25.
ABI'A, See Abijah.
ABI' AH, the Lord is my falher, 2d son
of Samuel, who appointed his brother and
him judges in Israel. Their corruption and
injustice were the pretext upon which the
people demanded a king, i Sam. 8 : 1-5.
ABI'ATHAR, falher of abundance, son
of Ahimelech, and 4th high-priest of the
Jews after EH. When Saul sent his emis-
saries to Nob, Psa. 52, to destroy all the
priests there, Abiathar, who was young,
fled to David in the wilderness, i Sam.
22:11-23, with whom he continued in the
character of priest, i Sam. 23 : 9 ; 30 : 7.
Being confirmed in the high-priesthood on
David's accession to the throne, he aided
in bringing up the ark to Jerusalem, i Chr.
15: II, 12, and adhered to David during the
rebellion of Absalom, 2 Sam. 15:35; i Chr.
27:34; but afterwards was led to follow
Adonijah, thus strangely betraying his royal
friend in his old age. Solomon succeeding
to the throne, degraded him from the priest-
hood, and sent him to Anathoth, i Kin.
2:26, 27; thus fulfilling the prediction made
to Eli 150 years before, i Sam. 2:27-36;
3 : 11-14. Saul, it would appear, had trans-
ferred the dignity of the high-priesthood
from the line of Ithamar, to which Eli be-
longed, to that of Eleazar, by conferring the
office upon Zadok. Thus there were, at
the same time, 2 high-priests in Israel —
Abiathar with David, and Zadok with Saul.
This double high -priesthood continued
from the death of Ahimelech till the reign
of Solomon, after which the office was held
by Zadok and his race alone. See Elea-
zar.
A difficulty arises from the circumstance
that, in i Kin. 2 : 27, Abiathar is said to be
deprived of the priest's office by Solomon,
while in 2 Sam. 8:17; i Chr. 18:16; 24:3,
6, 31, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar is said
to be high-priest along with Zadok. The
most probable solution is, that both father
and son each bore the 2 names Ahime-
lech and Abiathar, as was not at all unu-
sual among the Jews. See under Abigail.
In this way also we may remove the diffi-
culty arising from Mark 2 : 26, where Abia-
thar is said to have given David the show-
bread, in allusion to i Sam. 21 : 1-6, where
it is Ahimelech.
A'BIB, the ist month of the ecclesiasti-
8
cal year of the Hebrews ; afterwards called
Nisan. It answered nearly to our April.
Abib signifies ^r^i?w ears of grain, or fresh
fruits. It was so named, because grain,
particularly barlej', was in ear at that time.
The firstfruits of barley were to be offered
on the 15th of Abib ; and the barky harvest
now occurs in the latter part of April. See
Month. On the loth of this month the
passover was set apart; it was killed on
the 14th towards sunset, and eaten the
same evening after the 15th had begun.
The 7 days from the 15th to the 21st inclu-
sive were " the feast of unleavened bread,"
closing with a solemn convocation, Exod.
12, 13.
PJB'XE.'L,, falher of slrenglh, I. the father
of Kish and Ncr, and grandfather of Saul
and Abner, i Sam. 9:1; 14 : 51.
II. One of David's 30 mighty men, i Chr.
11:32; Abi-albon, 2 Sam. 23:31.
ABIE'ZER, falher of help, great-grand-
son of Manasseh, Num. 26:29, 3°- ^ Chr.
7 : 14-18 ; and founder of the family to which
Gideon belonged. Josh. 17:2; Judg. 6:34;
8:2. In this last ,verse, " the vintage of
Abiezer " means the ist rout of the Mid-
ianites by the 300, mostly Abiezrites ; and
"the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim "
means the capture of Oreb and Zeeb, and
other fruits of the victory, gathered by the
Ephraimites.
AB'IGAIL,ya/'/!'-2>\ i Chr. 3:1; but prob-
ably these names were borne by one per-
son.
II. A sister of David, and mother of Ama-
sa, 2 Sam. 17 : 25 ; i Chr. 2 : 16, \'j.
AB'IHAIL, father of might, the wife of
Rehoboam, king of Judah, 2 Chr. 11:18;
the "daughter" — that is here, the descend-
ant— of Eliab, David's brother.
ABI'HU, he (God) is my father, the 2d
son of Aaron and Elisheba, Exod. 6 : 23 ;
Num. 3:2; honored with his brother Na-
dab, Ex. 24:1; consecrated to the priest-
hood with his 3 brethren, Exod. 28:41;
but shortly after killed by lightning from
the Lord, with Nadab, for burning incense
with common fire instead of the holy fire
that was kept burning perpetually on the
altar of burnt-offerings. Lev. 6:9,12; 10:
1,2; 16:12; Num. 16:46. As this is imme-
diately followed by the prohibition of wine
to the priests when ministering in the tab-
ernacle, it is not improbable that Nadab
ABI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ABI
and Abihu were intoxicated when thus
transgressing. Their death is a solemn
warning not to presume to worship God
except with incense kindled at the one al-
tar which Christ hath sanctified and made
acceptable with his blood, Heb. 10:10-14.
It is a dangerous thing, in the service of
God, to decline from his own institutions.
We have to do with a God who is wise to
prescribe his own worship, just to require
what he has prescribed, and powerful to
punish what he has not prescribed, Col.
2 : 20-23.
ABI'JAH, the Lord is my father, I., called,
in Luke i : 5, Abia ; founder of a family
among the posterity of Aaron and Eleazar.
When David divided the priests into 24
courses, to perform the temple service in
turn, the 8th class was called after him,
I Chr. 24:10. To this class Zacharias be-
longed.
II. Son of Jeroboam the ist king of Isra-
el. He died young, and much beloved and
lamented, i Kin. 14:1-18.
III. Son of Rehoboam the ist king of Ju-
dah. Mat. 1:7; called, in i Kin. 15: i, Abi-
jam. He came to the throne B. C. 958, in
the iSth year of Jeroboam I., and reigned
only 3 years. In war with Jeroboam he
gained a signal victory, 2 Chr. 13; yet he
followed the evil example of his father,
I Kin. 14:23, 24. There is some reason
for believing that the numbers in 2 Chr.
13:3, 17 should be, as Josephus and some
editions of the Vulgate have them — 40,000,
80,000, and 50,000. His mother Maachah,
or Michaiah, was probably the g^rand-
daughter of Absalom and daughter of Uri-
el, I Kin. 15:2; 2 Chr. 1 1 : 20 ; 13 : 2.
IV. The mother of king Hezekiah, 2 Chr.
29 : 1 ; called Abi in 2 Kin. 18 : 2.
ABILE'NE, a district on the eastern de-
clivity of Anti-Lebanon, from 12 to 20 miles
northwest of Damascus ; so called from the
city Abila, in a gorge, on the river Abana
or Barada, and also called Abilene of Ly-
sanias, to distinguish it from others. In
the 15th year of Tiberius, Abilene was a
tetrarchate under Lysanias, Luke 3:1.
ABIM'ELECH, father-king, I., king of
Gerar of the Philistines, who took Sarah
into his harem, compare Gen. 12:15; Esth.
2:3; but being restrained by God in a
dream, he restored her to Abraham, and
gave him 1,000 pieces of silver as a " cov-
ering of the eyes " for Sarah, that is, as an
atoning present, and to be a testimony of
her innocence in the eyes of all ; or as some
think, for a veil to hide her beauty, and
"thus was she reproved" for not wearing
one. He afterwards made a league with
Abraham, Gen. 20, 21.
II. Another king of Gerar, probably son
of the former, and contemporary with Isaac.
He rebuked Isaac for dissimulation in re-
gard to Rebekah, and afterwards made a
new league with him at Beersheba, Gen.
26.
III. A son of Gideon by a concubine-
wife, Judg. 8:31, made himself king of
Shechem after his father's death, and slew
his father's 70 sons, only Jotham the
youngest being left, B. C. 1235. Jotham
reproached the Shechemites in his celebra-
ted fable of the trees. Three years after-
wards they rose against Abimelech ; he de-
feated them, but perished ignominiously in
attacking Thebez, Judg. 9; 2 Sam. 11 : 21.
ABIN'ADAB, father of nobleness, the
same as Aminadab, b and m being often
interchanged in Hebrew. I. A Levite of
Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark of
God, when restored by the Philistines, re-
mained 70 years, i Sam. 7 : i ; i Chr. 13 : 7.
II. The 2d son of Jesse, one of the 3 who
followed Saul ni the war with the Philis-
tines, I Sam. 16:8; 17 : 13.
III. A son of Saul, slain in the battle at
Gilboa, I Sam. 31:2; i Chr. 8 : 33 ; 10 : 2.
ABI'RAM, a high father, I., a prince of
Reuben, who with Korah, Dathan, etc.,
conspired to overthrow the authority of
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, Num.
16. See KoR.-VH.
II. I Kin. 16 : 34, a son of Hiel, who per-
ished early because of his father's presump-
tion in rebuilding Jericho. See Hiel.
AB'ISHAG, fattier of error, a beautiful
virgin of Shunem, in Issachar, chosen to be
a member of the household of David in his
old age and cherish him. After his death,
Adonijah sought her hand to promote his
treasonable aspirations, and was punished
by death, i Kin. i, 2.
ABISH'AI,/a//zicss) his
name refers, and made a living soul by the
Creator's breath. The account of the crea-
tion, etc., in Genesis, seems to be in 3 parts :
the ist, ch. 1:1 to 2:3, being general and
preliminary ; the 2d, ch. 2 : 4 to 4 : 26, rela-
ting to Paradise and the fall, and the fam-
ily of Adam; and the 3d, ch. 5:1 to 9 : 29,
giving the history of the patriarchs, down
to Noah. See Creation.
Adam alone, of all beings on earth, was
made "in the image and likeness of (iod " —
with reason, conscience, the faculty of
knowing, loving, and communing with
God, etc., and was the greatest and last
work of the creation, and received domin-
ion over all that the earth contained. That
he might not be alone, (iod provided Kve
as a helpmeet for him, and she became his
wife. Marriage is thus a divine institu-
tion, first in order of time, as well as of
importance and blessedness to mankind.
Adam was made a perfect man — complete
in every physical, mental, and spiritual
endowment; and placed in the garden of
Eden on probation, holy and happy, but
liable to sin. From this estate he fell bj'
breaking the express command of Ciod,
through the temptations of Satan and the
compliance of Eve ; and thus brought the
curse upon himself and all his posterity.
Sovereign grace interposed; a Saviour was
revealed, and the full execution of the
curse stayed ; but Adam was banished from
Eden and its tree of life, and reduced to a
life of painful toil. His happiness was fur-
ther imbittered by witnessing the fruits of
his fall in his posterity. Cain his firstl)i)rn
son, and Abel the second, born in the like-
ness of their fallen parents, were erelong
lost to them— the one slain, and the other
a fugitive. They had many other sons and
daughters, but the name of Seth alone is
given. Adam lived to the age of 930 years,
and saw the earth rapidly peopled by his
descendants; but "the wickedness of man
was great upon the earth." At the time of
his death, Lamech, the father of Noah, was
56 j'ears of age; and being in the line of
those who " walked with (iod," had ])roba-
bly heard the early history of the race from
the lips of the penitent Adam.
The curse pronounced on man includes
not only physical labor and toil on a bar-
ADA
BIBLE DICTIONARY,
ADO
ren and thorny earth, and the physical
dissolution of the body, but also the ex-
posure of the soul, the nobler part, to ever-
lasting death. In that very day Adam lost
the moral image of his Maker, and became
subject not only to physical death, but also
to God's eternal wrath and curse, which is
death in the highest sense of the word, and
is the doom which has fallen upon all his
race. Such is the view of the apostle Paul,
who everywhere contrasts the death intro-
duced into the world through Adam with
the life which is procured for the redeemed
through Jesus Christ, Rom. 5. This life is
spiritual ; and the death, in its highest
sense, is also spiritual. So far as the pen-
alty is temporal and physical, no man is or
can be exempt from it ; but to remove the
spiritual and eternal punishment, Christ
has died ; and he who comes to Him in
penitence and faith will avoid the threat-
ened death, and enter into life eternal, both
of the body and the soul.
The Redeemer is called " the 2d Adam,''
I Cor. 15 : 45, as being the head of his spir-
itual seed, and the source of righteousness
and life to all believers, as the ist Adam
was the source of sin and death to all his
seed.
II. A city near the Jordan, towards the
Sea of Tiberias, near which the waters of
the Jordan began to be heaped up to open
a dry passage for the Jews, Josh. 3 : 16.
AD'AMANT, an old English name for the
diamond, the hardest of all minerals. It
is used for cutting or writing on glass and
other hard substances, Jer. 17:1. It is also
employed figuratively, Ezek. 3:9; Zech.
7 : 12. The diamond as a precious stone
seems to have been unknown to the an-
cients, and some other hard and sharp
mineral is meant, probably the smiris or
emery-stone.
A'DAR, the i2th month of the Hebrew
ecclesiastical year, and the 6th of the civil
year. On the 14th and 15th of this month,
occurred the celebrated feast of Purim,
Esth. 3 : 7 ; 8 : 12 ; 9 : 21. It nearly answered
to our March. As the lunar year, which
the Jews follow, is shorter than the solar
year by 11 days, which, after 3 years, make
about a month, they then insert a 13th
month, which they call Ve-Adar, or a 2d
Adar. See Month.
AD'DER, a species of serpent, more com-
monly called viper. The word adder is
used 5 times in the Bible, as a translation
of 4 different Hebrew words, denoting dif-
ferent serpents of the venomous sort. In
Gen. 49 : 17, it seems to mean the cerastes,
or horned viper, of the color of sand, and
very deadly bite ; accustomed to lie hidden
in the tracks in the sand, and dart up on
the unwary traveller. In Psa. 58 : 4 ; 91 : 13,
it is probably the asp. In Psa. 140 : 3 per-
haps the tarantula, or some serpent that
strikes backward. See Serpent, Viper.
ADJURE', to put one under oath, so bind-
ing him to speak or act as in the presence
of God, Josh. 6:26; I Sam. 14:24; Matt.
26 : 63 ; Mark 5 : 7. See Oath.
AD'MAH, earthy, one of the 4 cities in
the plain of Siddim destroyed by fire from
heaven, generally believed to be covered
by the Dead Sea, Gen. 10 : 19 ; 14 : 2 ; 19 : 24,
25; Deut. 29:23; Hos. 11:8.
ADONIBE'ZEK, lord of Bezek, the title
of a Canaanite tyrant of Bezek, east of
Shechem. Having taken 70 of the neigh-
boring petty chiefs, he disabled them for
war by cutting off their thumbs and great
toes, and fed them like dogs. The same
barbarous treatment was deservedly me-
ted out to him, when defeated at the head
of an army of Canaanites and Perizzites, by
Judah and Simeon, Judg. i :4-7.
ADONI'JAH, fehovah is my Lord, the 4th
son of David, by Haggith, 2 Sam. 3 : 4. After
the death of Amnon and Absalom, and prob-
ably Chileab, he aspired to the throne, al-
though it was divinely promised to Solo-
mon, his younger brother. Having gained
over Joab and Abiathar and other adhe-
rents, he at length openly revolted and
claimed the crown while David was yet liv-
ing. The news of this revolt being brought
to the king, he caused Solomon to be
crowned king at once ; upon which the
friends of Adonijah dispersed, and he took
refuge at the horns of the altar. Solomon
dismissed him with only an admonition— a
magnanimous course, very different from
the prevalent custom in the East. But soon
after the death of David he applied for the
15
ADO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ADR
hand of Abishag, thus renewing his preten-
sions to the throne, for which he was put
to deatii, I Kin. i, 2.
ADONI'RAM, lord of height, a receiver of
tributes under David and Solomon, and
director of the 30,000 men sent to Lebanon
to cut timber, i Kin. 4:6; 5:14. The same
person is also called Adoram, by contrac-
tion, 2 Sam. 20 : 24 ; i Kin. 12 : 18 ; and also
Hadoram, 2 Chr. 10 : 18. He was stoned to
death by the revolted 10 tribes, having been
sent to them by Rehoboam, either to in-
duce them to return, or to test them by
gathering the taxes.
ADONI-ZE'DEK, lord of justice, the offi-
cial title of an Amorite king of Jerusalem,
who made an alliance with 4 other kings
against Joshua. A great battle was fought
at Gibeon, where the Lord aided Israel b\'
a terrific hailstorm, and by miraculously
prolonging the day. The 5 kings were ut-
terly routed, and hid themselves in a cave
at Makkedah ; but were taken by Joshua,
and put to death. Josh. 10.
ADOP'TION is an act by which a person
takes a stranger into his family, acknowl-
edges him as his child, and constitutes him
heir of his estate. As a national custom, it
was more common among the Romans than
with the Jews, the Mosaic laws as to tribes,
families, and inheritances standing in its
way. Jacob's adoption of his 2 grandsons,
Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen. 48:5, was a
kind of substitution whereby he intended
that these his grandsons should have each
his lot in Israel, as if they had been his
own sons. As he gives no inheritance to
their father Joseph, the effect of this adop-
tion was simply the doubling of their inher-
itance.
But Scripture affords instances of anoth-
er kind of adoption — that of a father hav-
ing a daughter only, and adopting her chil-
dren. Thus, 1 Chr. 2:2i,Machir, grandson
of Joseph, and father of Gilead, Num. 26 :
29, gave his daughter to Hezron, and their
posterity are reckoned as sons of Machir,
the father of Gilead. Nay, more, it ap-
pears. Num. 32:41, that Jair, who was in
fact the son of Segub, the son of Hezron,
the son of Judah, is expressly called " Jair,
the son of Manasseh," because his mater-
nal great-grandfather was Machir the son
of Manasseh. In like manner we read that
Mordecai adopted Esther, his cousin; he
took her to himself to be a daughter, Esth.
2:7. So the daughter of Pharaoh adopted
Moses, and he became her son, Exod. 2 : 10.
So we read, Ruth 4: 17, that Naomi had a
16
son — a son is born to Naomi ; when indeed
it was the son of Ruth.
At the present day, adoption is not un-
common in the East, where it is made
before a public officer with legal forms.
In the New Testament, adoption denotes
that act of God's free grace by which, on
being justified through faith, we are re-
ceived into the family of God, and made
heirs of the inheritance of heaven. It is
" in Christ," and through his atoning mer-
its, that believers " receive the adoption of
sons," Gal. 4 : 4, 5. Some of the privileges
of this state are, deliverance from a fearful
and servile spirit ; the special love and care
of our Heavenly Father ; conformity to his
image; a filial confidence in him; free ac-
cess to him at all times ; the witness of the
Holy Spirit, whereby we cry, " Abba, Fa-
ther;" and a title to our heavenly home,
Rom. 8 : 14-17 ; 9 : 4 ; Eph. i : 4, 5.
ADORA'IM, 2 mounds, a town in the south
of Judah, fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr.
11:9. Now Dura, a large village 5 miles
west by south from Hebron.
ADO'RAM, see Adonik.\m.
ADORA'TION, see WORSHIP.
ADRAM'MELECH, Splendor of the king^,
I., son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, Isa.
37:38; 2 Kin. 19:37; 2 Chr. 32:21, who,
upon returning to Nineveh after his fatal
expedition against Hezekiah, was killed by
his 2 sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer,
through fear, according to a Jewish tradi-
tion, of being sacrificed to his idol Nisroch.
They then fled to the mountains of Arme-
nia, B. C. 711.
II. One of the gods adored by the inhab-
itants of Sepharvaim, who settled in Sama-
ria, in the stead of those Israelites who
were carried beyond the Euphrates. They
made their children pass through fire, in
honor of this false deity, and of another
called Anammelech, 2 Kin. 17:31. Some
think that Adrammelech represented the
sun, and Anammelech the moon.
ADRAM"yT'TIUM, a large maritime town
of Mysia, in Asia Minor, opposite to the
island of Lesbos, Acts 27 : 2. Paul no doubt
visited it during his tours in Asia Minor,
Acts 16:8; 27:2. It is now called Adra-
myti.
A'DRIA, in Acts 27 : 27, is the Adriatic
Sea, lying between Italy and Greece, and
extending on the south from Crete to Sici-
ly ; within it the island of Malta or Melita
lies. So Ptolemy and Strabo.
A'DRIEL, fock of God, a son of Barzil-
lai, married Merab, daughter of Saul, who
ADU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
AGA
had been promised to David, i Sam. i8 : 19.
Adriel had 5 sons by her, who were deliv-
ered up to the Gibeonites, to be put to
•death before the Lord, to avenge the cruel-
ty of Saul their grandfather against the
Gibeonites. From 2 Sam. 21:8 it would
seem that Michal, David's wife, had adopt-
ed the children of her sister Merab.
ADUL'LAM,7«^/iVrop/c, a son
of Herod the Great, by his Samaritan wife
Malthace. He was educated with his bro-
ther Antipas at Rome, and after his father's
death was placed over Judoea, Iduma;a,
and Samaria, with the title of e/huarch or
Ictrarch ; whence he is said to reign. Matt.
2:22. This j)assage implies that he inherit-
ed the tyrannical and cruel disposition of
his father; and history informs us that
after enjoying his power for 10 years, he
was accused before the emperor on ac-
count of his cruelties, and banished to Vi-
enne on the Rhone, where he died.
AR'CHERS, see Bow.
ARCHIP'PUS, ruler of horses, a Chris-
tian minister, closely associated with Phi-
lemon and Apphia, saluted by Paul as his
" fellow-soldier," Phile. 2, and exhorted to
fulfil his ministry at CoJosse, Col. 4.17.
ARCTU'RUS, the Bear's Tail, the con-
stellation Ursa Major. The " sons " of Arc-
turus are probably the stars in the bodj-
and tail of I'rsa Major, Job 9:9; 38:32.
AREOP'AGUS, ///// of Mars, the seat of
the ancient and venerable supreme court
of Athens, called the Areopagites, Acts 17 :
19-34. This was composed entirely of ex-
archons, of grave and blameless character,
and their wise and just decisions made it
famous far beyond the bounds of Greece.
The acting arclions, or chief magistrates of
the city for the >ear, had seats with them.
RUINS OF THE ARKOPAGUS AND ACROPOLIS.
Their numbers and authority varied from
age to age. Here a crowd once assembled
to hear Paul preach. The stone seats of the
40
Areopagus lay open to the sky ; in the court
stood Epicureans, Stoics, etc. ; around them
spread the city, full of idolaters and their
temples ; and a little southeast ro.se the
steep height of the Acropolis, on whose lev-
el summit were crowded more and richer
idolatrous structures than on anj- other
equal space in the world. Amid this scene
Paul exhibited the sin and folly of idol-
worship with such boldness and power that
none could refute him, and some were con-
verted. See Athens.
AR'ETAS, a king of Northwestern Ara-
bia, who gave his daughter in marriage to
Herod Antipas; but she being repudiated
by Herod, Aretas made war upon him and
destroyed his army. In consequence of
this, the emperor Tiberius directed V'itel-
lius, then proconsul of Syria, to make war
upon the Arabian king, and bring him alive
or dead to Rome. But while Vitellius was
in the midst of preparation for the war, he
received intelligence of the death of Tibe-
rius, A. D. 37 ; on wliich he recalled his
troops, and then left the province. Aretas,
either taking advantage of this supineness,
or favored by the new emperor Caligula,
seems to have got possession of Damascus,
over which he appointed a governor or eth-
narch, who, A. D. 39, at the instigation of
the Jews, attempted to put Paul in prison,
2 Cor. 1 1 -.32. Compare Acts 9:24, 25.
AR'GOB, stony, a city in Bashan and Ma-
nasseh east of the Jordan ; also the region
around it, afterwards' Trachonitis. This
was very fertile, and contained at one time
60 walled towns, which were taken by Jair
the son of Manasseh, and called after him,
Deut. 3:4, 13, 14; I Kin. 4:13. Recent e.x-
plorers in this region, the Lejah, south of
Damascus and east of the Sea of Galilee,
find it a vast basin full of basaltic rocks, in
which are the remains of scores of Roman
towns in a remarkable state of preserva-
tion.
A'RIEL, the lion of God, one of Ezra's
chief men, Ezra 8: 16. This word is used,
in 2 Sam. 23:20; i Chr. 11:22, as a descrip-
tive or perhaps a family name of 2 " lion-
like " men of Moab. In anotlier sense,
Ezekiel applies it to the altar of God, Ezek.
43:15, and Isaiah to Jerusalem, as the
hearth on which both the burnt-offerings
and the enemies of God should be con-
sumed, Isa. 2g:i, 2, 7. See also Gen. 49:9.
ARIMATHiE'A, or R.\'mah (dual, Ra-
mathaim), double heights, a city whence
came Joseph the counsellor, in w^hose new
tomb the body of Jesus was laid, Matt. 27:
TOWER AT RAMLEH.
ARI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ARK
57; John 19:38. We learn from Eusebius
and Jerome that this city was near Lydda,
a town 24 miles northwest of Jerusalem. It
has generally been located at the modern
Ramleh, a town near Lydda, of 3,000 in-
habitants, in which the route from Egypt
to Syria crosses that from Jerusalem to
Joppa. But its site is rather to be sought
a few miles east of Lydda, in the hills
which skirt the plain of Sharon. The ist
book of Maccabees, 11:34, speaks of it as
transferred, together with Lydda, from
Samaria to Judaea, which maj' account for
Luke's calling it " a city of the Jews," Luke
23:51. It has been supposed to be the
same place as the Ramah of Mount Ephra-
im, the birthplace and residence of Sam-
uel. This was called also Ramathaim-
Zophim, I Sam. 1:1, 19, from which name
the form Arimathaea is readilj^ derived.
See Ram.\h.
A'RIOCH, venerable, I., king of Ellasar,
and ally of Chedorlaomer, Gen. 14:1.
II. A captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard,
Dan. 2:14.
ARISTAR'CHUS, Ike best prince, a native
of Thessalonica, a faithful fellow-laborer
with Paul, Acts 20:4; 27:2; Phile. 24. His
life was endangered in the riot at Ephesus,
e.vcited by the silversmiths, Acts 19:29; but
having escaped, he continvied with Paul,
and was a prisoner with him at
Rome, Col. 4:10.
ARISTOBU'LUS, best counsel-
lor, a resident of Rome whose
household was saluted by Paul,
Rom. 16:10.
ARK OF Noah, the vessel in
which the family of Noah was
preserved during the deluge 5
when all the rest of our race
perished for their sins. We may
regard it as a large, oblong,
floating house, with a roof either
flat or only slightly inclined,
with 3 stories, and a door in
the side. There were windows
"above," probably in the roof,
a cubit in height. Gen. 6:16;
8:13.
The dimensions of the ark,
taking the cubit as 18 inches,
were 450 feet in length, 75 in
breadth, and 45 in height. It was built of
light gopher-wood, and made waterproof
with bitumen, and was no doubt large
enough to accommodate the 8 persons of
Noah's family and the animals to be saved
in it — namely, of all birds and clean beasts
7 each, and of unclean beasts 2 each, male
and female. Many questions have been
raised, and discussed at great length by
skeptics and others, respecting the form
and dimensions of the ark ; the number of
animals saved in it — whether including all
Species then e.^isting in the world, except
such as live in water or lie dormant, or
only the species living in the parts of the
world then peopled by man ; and as to the
possibility of their being all lodged in the
ark, and their food during the year. Some
of these questions the Bible clearly settles.
Others it is vain to discuss, since we have
no means of deciding them. Certain it is,
that while the Bible eulogizes the faith and
obedience of Noah, it shows that his sal-
vation was a miracle of Providence. It
was by miracle that he was forewarned
and directed to prepare for the flood ; and
the same miraculous power accomplished
all that Noah was unable to do in design-
ing, building, and filling the ark, and pre-
serving and guiding it through the deluge.
It has been commonly supposed that the
warning came to Noah 120 years before
the flood. Compare Gen. 5:32 with 7:6,
and Gen. 6:t, with i Pet. 3:20. Tradi-
tions of the ark are found in most na-
tions all over the globe. See Deluge
and Noah.
ARK of the Covenant, the sacred chest
or coffer in which the tables of the law were
deposited^ written by the finger of God, and
witnessing to his covenant with his people.
E.xod. 25:22; 34:29. It was of shittim-w^ood,
covered within and without with plates of
41
ARK
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ARM
gold, nearly 4 feet in length, and 2 feet 3
inches in width and height. On the top of
it, all around, ran a kind of golden crown.
It had 4 rings of gold, 2 on each side,
through which staves were put, by which
it was carried. These also were overlaid
with the finest gold, and were not to be re*-
moved from the rings, Exod. 25: 10-22. The
lid of the ark, all of gold, was called the
mercy-seat ; and upon its opposite ends
w'ere two golden cherubim, fronting each
other and tlie mercy-seat, which they cov-
ered with their outspread wings, Exod. t,~ :
1-9. Here God specially dwelt, 2 Kin. 19:
15, I Chr. 13:6, and shone forth, perhaps
by some sensible manifestations, Lev. 16:2;
Psa. 80: 1. It was his footstool, i Chr. 28:2;
Psa. 99:5. Here he received the homage
of his i)eople, and dispensed his living ora-
cles, Num. 7:89. The great yearly sacri-
fice of expiation was here offered by the
high-priest, Heb. 9:7, in the Holy of Ho-
lies, where no one else was allowed to
enter. Hence there was no object held
more sacred by the Jews than the " ark of
God." During their journeys in the wilder-
ness, it was borne by the priests under a
purple canopy and with great reverence
before the host of Israel, Num. 4:5, 6; 10:
33-36. Before it the Jordan was divided,
and behind it the waters flowed on again.
Josh. 3, 4. The walls of Jericho fell down
before it, Josh. 6:4-12.
.\fter this, the ark continued some time
at Gilgal, whence it was removed to Shi-
loh. Josh. 4:19; 10:43; 18:1. Hence the
Israelites took it to their camp ; but when
they gave battle to the Philistines, it was
taken by the enemy, i Sam. 4. The Phil-
istines, oppressed by the hand of God, re-
turned the ark, and it was lodged at Kir-
jath-jearim, i Sam. 7:1. It was afterwards,
in the reign of Saul, at Nob. David con-
veyed it from Kirjath-jearim to the house
of Obed-Edom, and thence to his palace
on Zion, 2 Sam. 6; and lastly, Solomon
brought it into the temple at Jerusalem,
2 Chr. 5:2. See Psalms 24, 47, 105, 132. It
remained in the temple, with all suitable
respect, till the times of the later idola-
trous kings of Judah, who ])rofaned the
Most Holy place with their idols, when the
priests appear to have removed the ark
from the temple. At least, Josiah com-
manded them to bring it back to the sanc-
tuary, and forbade them to carry it about,
as they had hitherto done, 2 Chr. 33:7;
35:3. The ark appears to have been de-
stroyed at the captivity, or perhaps con-
42
cealed by pious Jews in some hiding-place
afterwards undiscoverable, as we hear
nothing more of it ; and the want of it
made the second temple less glorious than
the first.
Besides the tables of the covenant, placed
by Moses in this sacred coffer, (iod appoint- •
ed the blossoming rod of Aaron to be lodged
there, Num. 17: 10; Heb. 9:4; agoldenvase
of manna gathered in the wilderness, Exod.
16 : ifT,, 34 ; and a copy of the book of the law,
Deut. 31 :26. At a later time these articles
seem to have been removed, at least tem-
porarily, I Kin. 8:9.
AR'KITES, descendants of Canaan, of
the Zidonian branch, who settled a town
called Arka, at the northwest foot of Mount
Lebanon, (ien. 10:17; i Chr. 1:15. The
ruins of Arka have been found by Burck-
hardt and others about 14 miles northeast
of Tripolis.
ARM, the symbol of i)ower. Job 38:15;
Psa. 10:15; 89:13; Isa. 52:10; Ezek. 30:21.
ARMAGED'DON, mountain of Megiddo,
Rev. 16: 16. Megiddo is a city in the great
plain at the foot of Mount Cartnel, which
had been the scene of much slaughter,
Judg. 4, 5, 7; I Sam. 31:8; 2 Kin. 23:29, 30.
Hence it is referred to in the above text
as the place in which God will collect to-
gether his enemies for destruction. Com-
pare the figurative name " valley of Je-
hoshaphat," suggested by the great victory
of that king, 2 Chr. 20:26; Joel 3:2, 12;
Zech. 14:2, 4.
ARME'NIA, a large country of Asia, hav-
ing Media on the east, Cappadocia on the
west, Colchis and Iberia on the north, Mes-
opotamia on the south, and the Euphrates
and Syria on the southwest. It is an eleva-
ted table-land, with a cold but salubrious
climate. Lying between the Caucasus and
the Taurus ranges, with Mount Ararat tow-
ering in its central province, it gives rise
to 3 notable rivers, the Euphrates. Tigris,
and Araxes. It is only named in Scrip-
ture as the place of refuge of 2 Assyrian
parricides, 2 Kin. 19:37. The modern Ar-
menian Church resembles strongly the
Greek Church, and is sadly debased and
corrupt. See Ar.arat, Minni, and To-
GARMAH.
ARM'LET, see Bracelet.
ARMS and ARMOR. The Hebrews used
in w^ar offensive arms of the same kinds as
were employed by other people of their
time and of the East — swords, lances,
spears, darts, javelins, bows, arrows, and
slings. For defensive armor, they used
ARM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ARO
helmets, cuirasses, bucklers, armor for the
thighs, etc. See War, Shield.
shield, target, or buckler, either of wood
covered with tough hides, or of metal;
4. The leg-pieces, or greaves, of thick leath-
er or brass. See Eph. 6:11-17. The offen-
sive arms are the bow and arrow ; the bat-
tle-a.xe ; the spear, dart, and javelin or short
In the accompanying engravings are rep-
resented specimens of the various weapons
anciently used ; also of the several parts of
the armor for defence, and the manner in
which they were worn: i. The cuirass, or
defence of the body, called in Scripture the
coat of mail, habergeon, and breastplate;
it appears to have been made of leather or
some pliant material, sometimes covered
with metallic scales, and capable of taking
the form of the parts of the body it pro-
tected ; 2. The helmet, usually of tough
hide or metal, with its flowing crest ; 3. The
spear ; the sling ; and the sword with its
sheath, the ancient sword being short,
straight, and two-edged.
Each Jewish tribe had its own banner.
Under Abomination is a cut representing
the ensigns of the Roman legions, which
the Jews regarded as idolatrous, not only
because they had been consecrated to idols,
and by heathen priests, but as they had
images on them, and were objects of ado-
ration, Exod. 20:4.
AR'NON, roaring, a river rising in the
mountains east of the Dead Sea, into which
it flows, Deut. 2:24. It is now called Wady
Modjeb, and anciently divided the territo-
ries of the Moabites in turn from those of
the Ammonites, Amorites, and Reubenites,
Num. 21 ; 13 ; Josh. 13 : 16. It flows in a deep
and wild ravine of the same name. Burck-
hardt was 35 minutes in descending to the
river bed. Here the heat of midsummer is
e.xtreme, and the river becomes almost
dried up; but in the rainy season there is
an impetuous torrent.
AR'OER, laid bai'e, I., an ancient city on
the north side of the Arnon, in the south-
ern border of the tribe of Reuben, Deut.
2:36; 4:48; Josh. 13:9, 12 miles from the
Dead Sea. It was in the territory of the
Amorites, Josh. 12:2, but seems to have
fallen at a later day into the hands of Moab,
Jer. 48:19.
II. A town in. the tribe of Gad, probably
east of Rabbath-Ammon, Josh. 13:25, and
43
ARP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ASA
perhaps on the Jabbok, 2 Sam. 24:5. It is
mentioned in Judg. 11:33.
III. A town of Judah, to which David
sent presents, i Sam. 30:28; i Chr. 11:44.
Robinson found traces of it about 12 miles
southeast from Beersheba.
AR'PAD, support, a Syrian city, associa-
ted with Hamath, 2 Kin. 18:34; 19; Isa.
10:9; 36:19, and with Damascus, Jer. 49:23.
Its site is unknown.
ARPHAX'AD, son of Shem, born 2 3'ears
after the flood, Gen. 10:22; 11:10; Luke
3 : 36. Seven generations followed him be-
fore Abraham, and yet he lived till after
the settlement of Abraham in the land of
I^romise. He died A. M. 2096, aged 438.
AR'ROW, used by the Jews both in hunt-
ing and in war; sometimes merely a sharp-
ened reed, sometimes feathered, barbed,
and even poisoned, Job 6:4. The quiver
hung by the side from the girdle or on the
back, projecting above the left shoulder, so
that arrows could easily be drawn. The
bow was of various forms and materials,
and many could be used only by the
strongest men, Psa. 18:34. Arrows were
used to convey fire to an enemy's house,
or to his clothing or person, and the shield
was sometimes wet as a safeguard, Psa.
120:4; Eph. 6:16; thej^were also employed
in divination, Ezek. 21:21. The word is
applied symbolically to children, Psa.
127:4. 5; to the lightning, Psa. 18:14; Hab.
3:11; to sudden calamities. Job 6:4; Psa.
38:2: 91:5; Ezek. 5:16; and to the deceit-
ful and bitter words of an evil tongue, Psa.
64:3; 120:4.
ARTAXER'XES, s^reat king, the name or
title of several kings of Persia. I. In Ezra
4:7-24, Smerdis the Magian, who usurped
the throne after the death of Cambyses,
B. C. 522, pretending to be .Smerdis, the
son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses had put to
death. At the instigation of Rehum, etc.,
he stopped the rebuilding of the temple.
He was murdered, after a reign of 8
months, and was succeeded by Darius, son
of Hystaspes.
II. In Ezra 7, probably Artaxer.xes Lon-
gimanus, the son and successor of Xer.xes,
who ascended the throne B. C. 466, and
died B. C. 427, after a mild reign of 39
years. In the 7th year of his reign, B. C.
459, Ezra led a 2d company of the Jewish
exiles back to Jerusalem. In the 20th year,
B. C. 446, Nehemiah was sent to Jerusalem
as gf)vernor, Neh. 2:1; ,5:14, etc.
AR'TEMAS, thr gift of Diatia, a faithful
minister, cooperating with Paul, Titus 3: 12.
44
ARTIL'LERY, or weapons; in i Sam.
20:40, bow and arrows.
AR'VAD, icandcring, a Phuenician city,
on a small rocky island north of the mouth
of the river Eleutherus, 22 miles north of
Tripolis, now called Ruad, and in ruins.
It lay in deep water 2 or 3 miles from the
shore, with walls of huge bevelled stones,
and was a stronger place than Tyre. The
Arvadites also occupied the adjacent coast ;
w^ere descendants of Canaan, (Jen. 10:18;
I Chr. 1:16; and were noted mariners,
Ezek. 27:8, II.
A'SA, healing, the 3d king of Judah after
Solomon, son and successor of Abijam,
I Kin. 15:8. He began to reign B. C. 956,
and reigned 41 years at Jerusalem. The
first part of his reign was comparatively
peaceful and prosperous. He restored the
pure worship of God ; expelled those who
prostituted themselves in honor of their
false gods; purified Jerusalem from the in-
famous practices attending the worship of
idols ; and deprived his mother of her office
and dignity of queen, because she erected
an idol to Astarte. In the nth year of his
reign, God gave him the victory over the
vast army of the Cushite king Zerah ; and
the prophet Azariah encouraged him to go
on in his work of reform. He convoked
the nation, and renewed its covenant with
Jehovah. And yet, when Baasha king of
Israel opposed this reformation, he sought
aid not from God, but from heathen Syria.
In the latter part of his life, he became dis-
eased in his feet ; and Scripture reproaches
him with having had recourse to the physi-
cians rather than to the Lord, 2 Chr. 16: 12.
Yet his reign was, on the whole, one of the
happiest which Judah enjoyed, and the
Bible repeatedly commends his piety as an
example, i Kin. 22:43; 2 Chr. 20:32; 21:12.
His funeral rites were celebrated with spe-
cial magnificence. There w?.s ill-will and
strife between Asa and Baasha all their
days, as between Rehoboam and Israel,
I Kin. 15:6, 16.
AS'AHEL, a work of God, son of David's
sister Zeruiah, and brother of Joab and
Abishai ; one of David's 30 heroes, and ex-
tremely swift of foot ; reluctantly killed by
Abner at Gibeon, 2 Sam. 2:18, 23.
Three others of this name are mentioned
in 2 Chr. 17:8; 31:13; Ezra 10:15.
A'SAPH, assembler, I., a celebrated mu-
sician in David's time, a Levite, and one
of the leaders of the temple music, i Chr.
6:39; 15:17; 16:5; 25:1,2. This service
appears to have been hered^tar}' in his
ASC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ASH
family, Neh. 7:44; 11:22. He is also called
a seer, 2 Chr. 29:30; and his name is pre-
fixed to 12 Psalms (50, 73-'i3)> perhaps
written for him or his family to sing. See
Music.
II. A recorder of king Hezekiah, 2 Kin.
18:18; Isa. 36:3.
III. Keeper of forests under Artaxer.xes,
though from his name he appears to have
been a Jew, Neh. 2:8.
ASCEN'SION, the visible ascent of Christ
to heaven. When our Saviour had re-
peatedly conversed with his apostles dur-
ing 40 days after his resurrection, and
afforded them infallible proofs of its real-
ity, he led them out to the Mount of Olives,
and thence rose to heaven in their sight,
there to continue till he shall come again
at the last day to judge the quick and the
dead, Acts 1:9, 11. The ascension was
demonstrated by the descent of the Holy
Ghost, as had been promised, John 16 : 7-14 ;
Acts 2. It was Christ's real human nature
that ascended; and he thus triumphed glo-
riously over death and hell, as head of his
body the Church. While he blessed his dis-
ciples he was parted from them, the act a
last pledge of his perpetual benediction ;
and multitudes of the angelic host accom-
panied and welcomed him, Psa. 24:9; 68:17.
The consequences resulting from his as-
cension are: the fulfilment of types and
prophecies concerning it ; his appearance
as the great High-priest in the presence of
God for us ; his more open and full as-
sumption of his kingly office; his receiving
gifts for men ; his opening the way to heav-
en for his people, Heb. 10:19, 20; and as-
suring his saints of their ascension to heav-
en after the resurrection, John 14:1, 2.
ASCENT. See Akr.4BBIm, Wall.
AS'ENATH, servant of Neith, daughter
of Potipherah, priest or prince of On ; given
in marriage by Pharaoh to Joseph, as add-
ing honor and strength to his high office.
She was the mother of Ephraim and Ma-
nasseh, Gei>, 41:45; 46:20, B. C. 1715.
AS'ER. See AsHER.
ASH, Isa. 44:14, conjectured to signify
some variety of the pine.
ASH'DOD, a stronghold, one of the 5
chief cities of the Philistines, assigned to
the tribe of Judah, but not conquered by
them. Josh. 13:3; 15:47; i Sam. 5: i ; 6: 17 ;
Neh. 4:7. Here stood the temple of Da-
gon ; and hither the ark was brought after
the battle of Ebenezer, i Sam. 5:1. It was
besieged by the Assyrian general Tartan,
Isa. 20:1, and afterwards for 29 years by
Psammeticus, Jer. 25:20. It was called by
the Greeks Azotus, and belonged to Judaea
in the time of Christ. Here Philip preached
the gospel. Acts 8:40. It was a strongly
fortified city, on an elevation halfway from
Gaza to Joppa, and 3 miles from the Med-
iterranean ; and is now a miserable village,
called Esdud.
ASH'DOTH PIS'GAH, springs of Pisg ah,
on the east side of the Dead Sea, Deut.
y-^^i; 4:49; Josh. 12:3; 13:20.
ASH'ER, happy, the 8th son of Jacob and
2d of Zilpah, Gen. 30:13; 35:26; own bro-
ther of Gad. He had 4 sons and i daugh-
ter, Num. 26:44-47. On entering Canaan
his tribe was the 5th in order, numbering
53,400. The portion of Asher lay along the
seaboard, having Lebanon and Zidon on
the north, Carmel and the tribe of Issachar
on the south, including Dor, and Zebulun
and Naphtali on the east. It was fruitful
in grain, wine, oil, and minerals, Gen.
49:20; Deut. 33:24, 25. Part of the Phoeni-
cian coast was included. Josh. 19:25, 28;
but the Asherites were unable to expel the
Canaanites, and dwelt among them, Judg.
1 :3i, 32, to the serious injury of their own
piety and patriotism, Judg. 5:17, 18. They
are honorably mentioned in the history of
David, I Chr. 12 :36, and of Hezekiah, 2 Chr.
30:11. Anna the prophetess belonged to
this tribe, Luke 2:36.
ASH'ES. To repent in sackcloth and
ashes, or to lie down among ashes, was an
external sign of self-affliction for sin, or of
grief under misfortune, Psa. 102:9. We
find it adopted by Job, 2:8 ; by many Jews
when in great fear, Esth. 4:3; and by the
king of Nineveh, Jonah 3:6. The ashes of
a red heifer were used in ceremonial puri-
fication. Num. 19; Heb. 9:13.
ASH'IMA, a deity adored by the men of
Hamath settled in Samaria, 2 Kin. 17:30.
ASH'KELON, see AsKELON.
ASH'KENAZ, son of Gomer and grand-
son of Japheth, Gen. 10:3; i Chr. 1:6. His
descendants are named in Jer. 51:27 with
Minni and Ararat, provinces of Armenia.
Their land lay towards the Black Sea, and
sent colonies into Europe, perhaps giving
rise to the name Scandinavia.
ASH'PENAZ, chief of the eunuchs of king
Nebuchadnezzar, who had the charge of
Daniel and his young companions, and
was led to show them favor at his own
peril, Dan. i :3-i8.
ASH'TAROTH, images of Astarte, a city
of Og, in Bashan, east of the Jordan ; with-
in the half-tribe of Manasseh, Josh. 13:31,
45
ASH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ASS
and a Levitical city, i Chr. 6:71, called also
Beeshterah, Josh. 21:27.
ASH'TEROTH KARNA'IM, two -homed
Aslartc, (ieii. 14:5, an ancient city of the
Rephaim, supposed to be found at the
modern town Mezareib, on the Haj or pil-
grim route to Mecca, some 50 miles south
by west of Damascus.
ASHrOKi;i H, KRO.M A r\ K1.\N COIN.
ASH'TORETH, i)lural ASH'TAROTH,
called l)y the Greeks Astarte, a goddess of
the Phcjenicians, 2 Kin. 23:13, whose wor-
ship was also introduced among the Israel-
ites and Philistines, i Kin. 11:5,33; i Sam.
7:3; 31:10; and was verj' ancient and
widely spread, ''xen. 14:5. She is common-
ly named in connection with Baal, Judg.
2:13; to: 6; I Sam. 7:4; 12:10. Another
Hebrew name for the same goddess is
Asherah, the happy, the fortunate ; or more
simply, fortune. This is commonly ren-
dered in the English version '' grove ;" but
both these Hebrew names of Astarte often
signify wooden images or statues of Astar-
te, which are said to be set up, broken
down, destroyed, etc. In connection with
her worship there was much licentiousness.
See 2 Kin. 21:7; 23:6. Compare Lev.
19:29; Deut. 23:18. See Baal. Compare
Judg. 3:7; 6:25; I Kin. 18:19; Jer. 7:18;
8:2; 11:13; 44:17, 18; Kzek. 16.
A'SIA. Asia Minor is the jieninsula which
lies l)etween the Euxine or Black Sea and
the eastern part of the Mediterranean, and
formerly included the provinces of Phry-
gia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Caria, Lycia, Lydia,
Mysia, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia,
Galatia, Lycaonia, and Pisidia. Many Jews
were scattered over these regions, as a])-
pears from the history in Acts, and from
Joscphus. The writers of the New Testa-
ment cotnprehend, under the name of Asia,
perhaps (i) the whole of Asia Minor, Acts
19:26, 27 ; but usually (2) only the western
part of that country, the region of Ionia,
^olis, and Doris, of which Ephesus was
46
the capital, and which Strabo also calls
Asia, Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22. Cicero
speaks of proconsular Asia as containing
the provinces of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and
Lydia.
AS'KELON, migralion, a strongly forti-
fied city of the Philistines, between Ashdod
and Gaza, on the Mediterranean. After
the death of Joshua, the tribe of Judah
took Askelon ; but it subsequently became
one of the 5 governments lielonging to the
Philistines, Judg. 1:18; i Sam. 6:17. Sam-
son went down there to slay ancl des])oil
30 men, Judg. 14:19. Christians were cru-
elly persecuted there in the time of Julian,
and it was occupied by king Richard dur-
ing the Crusades. It is now a scene of
desolation, Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 9:5.
ASNAP'PAR, leader, the Assyrian satrap,
by whom the territory of the 10 tribes was
peopled by emigrants from beyond the
Euphrates, 2 Kin. 17:24; Ezra 4:10. Ezra
styles him " great and noble ;" but no other
trace of him is left.
ASP, Hebrew pethcn, a serpent, whose
poison kills almost the instant it penetrates.
It is mentioned in Deut. 32:33; Job 20:14,
16; Psa. 58:4; 91:13; Isa. 11:8; Jer. 8:17;
Rom. 3: 13. A traveller in the desert south
of Judah says, "One day we saw in our
path an asp, a foot long, coiled up in the
attitude of springing. Our Arabs killed
it, saying it was exceedingly venomous."
There is no reason to suppose these ser-
pents literally deaf; but they might act as
if they were, refusing to follow the call and
music of the serpent-charmer — as the co-
bras do at this day in Egypt.
The Hebrew pethoi signifies distension,
and is now generally taken to mean the
liajc or Egyptian hooded-snake, which like
the Indian cobra-di-cai)e]lo swells its neck
when excited, and rises on its tail to strike.
It is often met in ancient Egyptian sculp-
tures under the name of Kneph. See Skr-
PKNT.
ASS, an animal well known for dt)inestic
uses, and frequently mentioned in Scrip-
ture. They were not only used as beasts
of burden, Gen. 49:14, and for jiloughing,
etc., but people of the first quality in Pales-
tine rode on asses. Deborah describes the
nobles as those who " ride on white asses,"
Judg. 5:10. Compare Judg. 10:4; 12:14.
And thus our Lord rode in kinglj- triumph
into Jerusalem. Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:2. The
Oriental asses, compared with those of
Northern countries, are far more stately,
active, and lively. Indeed, the\- were high-
ASS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ASS
ly prized, and were preferred for riding,
especially the she-asses, on account of their
sure-footedness. Hence we so often find
mention of she-asses alone.
The domestic ass was a faithful servant,
Isa. 1 :3, the mainstay of many a poor fam-
ily, Job 24 : 3, and a valuable property of the
wealthy. Gen. 49:11 ; Job 1:3.
The wild ass is a well-known Oriental
animal, often mentioned in Scripture, Gen.
16:12; Job 39:5; Hos. 8:9, and is a much
handsomer and more dignified animal than
the common ass. These animals were an-
ciently found in Palestine, Syria, Arabia
Deserta, Mesopotamia, Phrygia, and Lyca-
onia ; but they rarely occur in those regions
at the present time, and seem to be almost
entirely confined to Tartary, some parts of
Persia and India, and Africa. Their hab-
its greatly resemble those of the wild horse.
They assemble in troops under the conduct
of a leader or sentinel, and are extremely
shy and vigilant. See Ishmael.
ASSAY', to attempt. Job 4 : 2 ; Heb. 1 1 : 29.
AS'SHUR, black. See Assyria.
AS'SOS, a seaport in Mvsia, on the Gulf
of Adramyttium, opposite to and 7 miles
north of the island of Lesbos ; and 20 miles
south of Troas, though much farther by sea.
Here Paul took ship for Mitylene, Acts
20:13, 14. It is now a poor village, called
Beiram.
ASSU'RANCE OF Faith, Heb. 10:22, is a
full and hearty conviction of the truth of
the gospel of salvation by Christ's sacri-
fice. Assurance of Hope, Heb. 6:11, is
an abiding persuasion that we are children
of God and heirs in Christ Jesus of eternal
life. It must be inwrought in the soul by
the Holy Spirit, Rom. 8:15, 16; i Cor. 1:22;
1 John 3:24; 4:13, but is greatly dependent
on the measure of our penitence, faith,
charity, etc., i John 2:3,5, 29; 3:14, 19, 24.
Every believer ought to know that he is
alive unto God by the conscious vigor and
activity of his spiritual life in holy acts.
One may have a prevailing assurance, and
yet be at times harassed by doubts and
feajs ; but a confident assurance of salva-
tion, without penitence, love, etc., and the
witness of a consistent life, is fatal pre-
sumption.
ASSYR'IA, a celebrated country and em-
pire, had its name from Asshur, or Assur,
the 2d son of Shem, who went out from
Babylon and settled in that region. Gen.
10:11, 22, and appears from the recently
discovered monuments to have been dei-
fied by the later Assyrians.
Assyria ancient and proper, lay east of
the Tigris, between Armenia, Susiana, and
Media. Six provinces were attributed to
it by Ptolemy, covering nearly the region
of the modern Kurdistan and the pashalic
of Mosul. Of these provinces, Adiabene
was the most fertile and important ; in it
was situated Nineveh the capital ; and the
term Assyria seems sometimes to have
meant only this province.
Generally, however, the word means the
Kingdom of Assyria, including Babylonia
and Mesopotamia, and extending to the
Euphrates, which is therefore used by Isa-
iah as an image of this empire, Isa. 7:20;
8:7. In the height of its power it held
swa^' over a large part of Western Asia.
After the overthrow of the Assyrian state,
the name continued to be applied to those
countries which had been formerly under
its dominion, as to Babylonia, 2 Kin. 23:29;
Jer. 2:18; and to Persia, Ezra 6:22, where
Darius is also called king of Assyria.
The early history of Assyria is involved
in obscurity. The most ancient of the
Assyrian ruins, recently disentombed, are
at Kileh-Shergat, 60 miles south of Nine-
veh, on the Tigris. This was anciently
Asshur, and was the first seat of govern-
ment, probably from 1273 B. C. to 930 B. C.
The most famous of the early kings, not
mentioned in the Bible, were Tiglath-pile-
ser I. in the time of Samuel, and Sarda-
napalus, whose son Shalmaneser I. came
in conflict with Ben-hadad, Hazael, and
Jehu. We know from the sacred narrative
that Assyria was a powerful nation, and
during the reign of the Jewish kings it was
an object of perpetual dread. Pul, king of
Assyria, invaded Israel in the reign of
Menahem, about 769 B. C, 2 Kin. 15:19, 20.
Tiglath-pileser II. assisted Ahaz against a
47
AST
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ATA
confederate army formed of the Syrian
forces in league with those of the lo tribes,
2 Kin. i6:i-io. Shahiianeser II. invaded
Israel, conquered Hoshea, and made him
a vassal, bound to pay a yearly tribute.
Hoshea wishing, however, to throw off the
yoke, attempted to form a league with
Egypt, and refused the tribute. On ascer-
taining this design of the Israelitish prince,
the Assyrians again invaded Israel, re-
duced Samaria, loaded its king with fetters,
and transported the people of the land into
Media, putting an end to the separate king-
dom of the lo tribes, 2 Kin. 17:5; 18:9,
B. C. 721. The 3 tribes located east of Jor-
dan had already been deported into Media
by Tiglath-pileser, when he ravaged Israel
to save Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah.
Sargon intervened between Shalmaneser
II. and Sennacherib; and this latter king
came into Judah with a powerful army in
the reign of Hezekiah, but was miracu-
lously defeated, 2 Kin. 18:13; 19:35. Esar-
haddon, his son and successor, ravaged
Judah in the days of Manasseh, and car-
ried the conquered sovereign in chains to
Babylon. After this period the empire of
Assyria, having stood over 1,000 years and
flourished exceedingly for 500 years, began
to wane. One of its last monarchs was
Sardanapalus, Assur-bani-pal of the recent-
ly discovered stone records ; and it was he,
or perhaps his son Saracus, who on the eve
of capture collected his wives and treasures
in his palace, and setting fire to the build-
ing perished in the flames. The kingdom
fell, B. C. 625, into the hands of the Medes,
and was divided between them and the
Babylonians, and the very name of Assyria
was thenceforth forgotten. Num. 24:24;
Isa. 10:5-19; Nah. 3:19; Zeph. 2:13-15.
Its capital, once the most powerful and re-
nowned city of the Eastern world, and its
other cities, perished from history ; but their
remains, e.xhumed from the huge mounds
that have i)rotected them, signally attest
the sacred records. See Ni.neveh, C.^lah.
These sculptured remains concur with the
Bible to depict a powerful, stern, and war-
like race, familiar with many of the arts of
civilized life, but barbarous, sensual, cruel,
and idolatrous.
ASTROL'OGERS, men who pretended to
foretell future events by means of astro-
nomical observations, Isa. 47:13. It was
fancied that the stars and planets had an
influence, for good or for evil, on human
affairs, and that certain aspects and rela-
tive positions of the heavenly bodies were
48
full of meaning to those who had skill to
interpret them, Dan. 2:2; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 25.
These superstitions were prevalent among
the Chalda;ans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Phoe-
nicians, and Arabians, and were closely
connected with the worship of the sun,
moon, and stars, Deut. 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kin.
23:5, 12; Jer. 19:13 ; Ezek. 8:16; Zeph. 1:5.
They were thus idolatrous in their spirit,
robbed God of his glory, and were highly
offensive in his sight, Deut. 18: 10. See Magi.
ASTRON'OMY, /lie science 0/ the heaven-
ly bodies, was much studied in Asia in an-
cient times. The (."iialdajans e.xcelled in
it. The Hebrews do not appear to have
made great proficiency in it, though their
climate and mode of life invited to the
contemplation of the heavens. Revelation
had taught them who created and governed
all the worlds, Gen. i, and the infinite pres-
ence of the one living and true God filled
the universe, to their minds, with a glory
unknown toothers. Psalm 19; Isa. 40:26;
Amos 5:8. The Bible does not aim to teach
the science of astronomy, but speaks of the
sun, moon, and stars in the familiar lan-
guage of mankind in all ages. The fol-
lowing heavenly bodies are alluded to par-
ticularly in Scripture: Venus, as morning
star, Isa. 14:12; Rev. 2:28; Orion and the
Pleiades, Job 9:9; 38:31; Amos 5:8; the
Great Bear, called " Arcturus," Job 9:9;
38:32; Draco, "the crooked serpent," Job
26:13; Mazzaloth and Gemini, 2 Kin. 23:5;
Acts 28: II. The planets Jupiter and Venus
were worshipped under various names as
Baal and Ashtoreth, Gad and Meni, Isa.
65:11. Mercury is named as Nebo, in Isa.
46:1 ; Saturn as Chiun, in Amos 5:26; and
Mars as Xergal, in 2 Kin. 17:30. See Idol-
atry and Stars.
ASUP'PIM, collections. The " house of
.•\sui)pim " was probably a storehouse in
connection with the temple, i Chr. 26:15;
in Neh. 12:25, "thresholds."
ASYN'CRITUS, tuconifiaradle,Rom. 16: 14.
A'TAD, thorn, a Canaanite, at whose
threshing-floor a solemn mourning was
held for a week over the remains of Jacob,
on their way from Egypt to Hebron, Gen.
50:10,11. See Abel-Mizraim.
AT'AROTH, crowns. Several places of
this name occur in Scripture: one in the
tribe of Judah, i Chr. 2:54; one or two in
Ephraim, Josh. 16:2, 5, 7; 18:13; and one
or two in Gad, Num. 32:3,34, 35. Rob-
inson found traces of one of those in
Ephraim, on a hill about 6 miles north by
west from Bethel.
ATH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ATH
ATHALI'AH, afflicted by the Lord, a
granddaughter of Omri, 2 Chr. 22:2, and
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, 2 Kin. 11 :i.
Strangely enough, she was chosen as the
wife of Jehoram, son of the pious Jehosha-
phat king of Judah. Her pernicious influ-
ence drew into idolatry and crime both her
husband and her son Ahaziah, 2 Chr. 21:6;
22:3. After their ])reniature death, she
usurped the throne, and sought to secure
herself in it by the murder of all the seed
royal. Only Joash her grandson, then an
infant, was saved by his aunt Jehosheba.
Six years afterwards he was brought from
his place of refuge, and crowned by the
bold and faithful high-priest Jehoiada, who
at the same time caused the blood-stained
Athaliah to be put to death, 2 Kin. 11;
2 Chr. 23 ; S84 878 B. C.
A'THEISM is primarily a sin of the heart,
rather than an error of the intellect. All
men are by their fallen nature "without
God (literally, atheists) in the world," Eph.
2: 12. When the unrenewed mind comes to
view a just, holy, and almighty God, con-
scious of its guilt, it spontaneously cries
out, " Depart from us ; for we desire not
the knowledge of thy ways," Job 21:14.
" The fool hath said in his heart. There is
no God," Psa. 14:1. This atheism of the
heart, consciously or unconsciously, produ-
ces most of the intellectual atheism in the
world, as well as the practical atheism so
universally shown by those who profess to
believe in God, but act in many respects as
though there was no God.
In the common use of the word, all those
are atheists who deny the existence of a
personal, self-conscious, and infiniie Spirit,
the Creator and Ruler of the universe. The
term includes Pantheists and Materialists,
who find no God except matter and its
forces, as well as those philosophers who
affirm that there is no God whose existence
can be known and proved to human rea-
son, and those who say that he exists only
in the thoughts of men.
The Bible does not argue the existence of
God: it assumes and declares it. Those who
deny it are " without excuse," Rom. i :20.
THE ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS, AS IT WAS.
ATH'ENS, the city of Minerva, the chief
city of Attica in Greece, said to have been
founded by Cecrops, 1556 B. C, or 15 years
after the birth of Moses. It was situated
on the Saronic Gulf, 46 miles east of Cor-
inth, and about 5 miles from the coast.
The city was in a plain extending to the
sea on the southwest, where it had 3 ports,
Pireeus being the chief, the passage to
which was defended by long and broad
walls. Several rocky hills rose in the
4
plain, the largest of which was the citadel,
or Acropolis, 150 feet high. Around this
the city was built, most of the buildings
spreading towards t^e sea. The summit
of the hill was nearly level, about 800 feet
long and 400 wide. The only way to the
Acropolis was through the Propylaea, a
magnificent gateway at the western end,
from which there was an ascent by marble
steps to the summit of the hill, where stood,
on the left, the temple of Pallas Athene
49
ATO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
AVE
< Minerva), the protectress of the city. Un-
der the same roof was the temple of Nep-
tune. In the area, on a high pedestal,
stood a bronze statue of Minerva 70 feet
high. On the right arose the Parthenon,
the glory of Athens, the noblest triumph of
Grecian architecture. Its ruins, still sub-
lime in decay, are the first object that at-
tracts the traveller's eye. It was of the
Doric order of architecture, built of beauti-
ful white marble, and was about 160 feet
wide, 226 feet deep, and 70 feet high. With-
in the temple was a statue of Minerva, by
Phidias, celebrated for its e.\quisite beauty.
It was made of gold and ivory, and was
nearly 40 feet high. A small valley lay be-
tween the Acropolis and the hill, west by
north, on which the high council held its
sessions; it also separated the Areopagus
from the Pnyx on the west or southwest, a
small rocky hill on which the general as-
semblies of the jjeople were held. Here
the spot is yet pointed out frc^m which the
eminent orators addressed the people. It
is cut in the natural rock. In this vicinity
also was the agora, or market-place. Acts
17:17, south of the Acropolis, with the
heights of the Areopagus and the Pny.\ on
the east and northwest, and a 4th hill, that '
of the Museum, on the south. It was an
open square surrounded by beautiful struc-
tures; while on every side altars, shrines,
and temples were seen, some of them e.v-
ceedingly magnificent. This beautiful city
was also celebrated for the military talents
and the learning, eloquence, and polite-
ness of its inhabitants. It was the verj'
flower of ancient civilization; its schools of
philosophy were the most illustrious in the
world, and its painters, sculptors, and archi-
tects have never been surpassed. Yet no
city was so "wholly given to idolatry." In
New Testament times, from 140 B. C, it
was a Roman city. The apostle Paul vis-
ited it about A. D. 52, and among its proud
philosophers preached Jesus and the res-
urrection with fidelity and success. Acts
17:15-34- See Areopagus. At present
Athens has a population of about 48,000,
chiefly devoted adherents of the Greek
Church. It is the capital of the new king-
dom of Greece.
ATONE'MENT is the satisfaction offered
to divine justice for the sins of mankind
by the death of Jesus Christ ; by virtue of
which all true penitents believing in Christ
are reconciled to God, are freed from the
penalty of their sins, and entitled to eter-
nal life. The atonement by Jesus Christ is
50
the great distinguishing peculiarity of the
gospel, and is presented in a great variety
of terms and illustrations in both the Old
Testament and the New. The ideas of
expiation and of reconciliation are both
included in it; and it is spoken of as a
ransom, a purchase, a satisfaction, and a
substitution. See Expiation, Redemp-
tion, Sacrifices. The English word at-
one-ment originally denoted the reconcili-
ation of parties previouslj- at variance,
Rom. 5:11; 11:15. It is used in the Old
Testament to translate a Hebrew word
which means a covering, Psa. 32: i, 2; Acts
5:30, 31 ; implying that by a divine propi-
tiation the sinner is xrovered from the just
anger of God. This is actually eflfected by
the death of Christ ; while the ceremonial
offerings of the Jewish Church only secured
from impending temporal judgments, and
typified the blood of Jesus Christ which
" cleanseth us from all sin." See Propiti-
ation.
Atonement, Day of. See Expiation.
ATTALI'A, a seaport in Pamphylia, at
the mouth of the river Catarrhactes, visited
by Paul and Barnabas on their way from
Perga to Antioch, Acts 14:25. There is
still a considerable town there, Satalia or
Adalia, with extensive ruins in the vicinity.
AUGUS'TUS, venerable, the title added
bj- the Roman Senate to that of Caesar or
emperor, and given B. C. 27 to C. J. C. Oc-
tavianus, the first peacefully acknowledged
emperor of Rome. This was 4 years after
he gained imperial power by the decisive
naval battle of Actium. Augustus was the
emperor who appointed the enrolment,
Luke 2:1, which obliged Joseph and the
Virgin to go to Bethlehem, the place where
the Messiah was to be born. He also closed
the temple of Janus, in token of the rare
occurrence, a universal peace; thus un-
consciously celebrating the coming of the
Prince of Peace. He died A. D. 14, having
2 years before admitted Tiberius to a share
in the government.
In Acts 25:21, 25, Nero is meant.
A'VA, a i)lace from which Assyrians were
sent to colonize Samaria in exchange for
Jews, 2 Kin. 17:24,31; apparently the same
as IvAH and Ahava.
A'VEN, nothingness, or On, in Amos 1:5,
seems to denote the region around Baal-
bek, where was a famous idol temple for
sun-worship. See Hei.iopolis, II. In Hos.
10:8, Aven is the same as Beth-aven or
Bethel. In Ezek. 30:17, it is Heliopoi-is
in Egypt, which see.
AVE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAA
AVEN'GER. See Blood, Refuge.
A'VIM, or A'viTES, descendants of Ca-
naan, Gen. 10:17, on the coast of Palestine
from Gaza towards the river of Egypt, ex-
pelled by invading Philistines or Caphto-
rim, before the time of Moses, Deut. 2:23.
Some yet remained in the time of Joshua,
Josh. 13:3. They are conjectured to have
been the same people with the Hivites, of
whom traces were found in various parts
of Canaan, Gen. 34:2; Josh. 9:7; 11:3.
AZARI'AH, whom the Lord helps, a king
of Judah, 2 Kin. 15:1-7, in 2 Chr. 26 and
■elsewhere called Uzziah. He began to
reign at 16 years of age, B. C. 806. The
first part of his reign was prosperous and
happy; but afterwards, presuming to offer
incense in the temple, he was smitten with
leprosy, and continued a leper till his death,
2 Chr. 26:16-23.
This name was very common among the
Jews, and was borne by many briefly re-
ferred to in Scripture. Three of them were
high-priests, i Chr. 6:9, 10; 2 Chr. 26: 17-20;
31:10, 13, and one a prophet, 2 Chr. 15:1.
See also Abednego.
AZE'KAH, a town in the tribe of Judah,
about 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem,
mentioned in the narratives of Joshua and
Saul, Josh. 10:10; I Sam. 17:1; taken by
Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 34:7, but afterwards
repeopled by the Jews, Neh. 11:30.
AZO'TUS. See AsHDOD.
AZ'ZAH, the same as Gaza.
B.
BA'AL, lord, I., in the Old Testament
denotes an idol of the Phoenicians, and
particularly of the Tj^ians, whose worship
was also introduced with great solemnities
among the Hebrews, and especially at Sa-
maria, along with that of Astarte, Judg.
6:25-32; 2 Kin. 10:18, 28. See Ashto-
reth. The plural, Baalim, signifies ima-
ges or statues of Baal, Judg. 2:11; 10:10,
and sometimes the same god in other places
and with other titles. The worship of Baal
was very ancient and widespread; we find
it among the Moabites in the time of Mo-
ses, Num. 22:41; 25:3. Of its prevalence
among the Phoenicians and Carthaginians,
we have an evidence in the proper names
of persons ; as, among the former, Ethbaal,
Jerubbaal; and among the latter, Hanni-
bal, Asdrubal, etc. Among the Babyloni-
ans, the same idol was worshipped under
the name of Bel, Isa. 46:1; Jer. 50:2;
51:44. There are traces of Baal-worship
found in Northern Europe and the British
Islands to this day, in the names of places
and in superstitious practices.
HEAD OF BAAL, FROM A TVRIAN COIN.
Idolatry and astrology were associated
in the religions of the East. Baal and As-
tarte are regarded by some writers as rep-
resenting the sun and the moon ; by others,
Jupiter and Venus, stars of good fortune ;
and to symbolize the male and female re-
productive forces in nature. The sun was
an object of worship among these nations
under his own name, as 2 Kin. 23:11.
The temples and altars of Baal were gen-
erally on eminences. Manasseh placed in
the two courts of the temple at Jerusalem
altars to all the host of heaven, and in par-
ticular to Astarte, 2 Kin. 21:5, 7. Jeremiah
threatens the Jews who had sacrificed to
Baal on the house-top, Jer. 32:29; and Jo-
siah destroyed the altars which Ahaz had
erected on the terrace of his palace, 2 Kin.
23:12.
Human victims were offered to Baal, as
they were also to the sun, Jer. 19:5. See
Moloch.
The children of Israel were prone to
serve Baal. See Num. 25:3; Judg, 2:13;
y.j. Under Samuel they put away their
idols, 1 Sam. 7:4, and this continued under
David and Solomon; but under Ahab,
whose wife Jezebel was a daughter of the
Zidonian king Ethbaal, the worship of Baal
was restored with great pomp, i Kin. 16:31 ;
2 Kin. 11:18.
Joined with other words, Baal signifies
local idols. Baal-Berith, the "lord of the
covenant," was a god of the Shechemites,
Judg. 8:33; 9:4, 46. Baal-Peor, "the lord
of Peor," was a filthy idol of the Moabites,
Num. 25:3, 5; Hos. 9:10. Baal-Zebub,
51
BAA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAB
" lord of flies," was a g<)d of the Philistines
at Ekron. See Bkelzkhih.
II. The word Baal also occurs in many
compound names of places and persons,
usually having some reference to the idol.
BA'ALAH, misiress, a town in the tribe
of Simeon, Josh. 15:29; 19:3; i Chr. 13:6.
The same as Kikj.\th-jk.\rim.
BA'ALATH, a town in the tribe of Dan,
Josh. 19:44, not far from Bethhoron. It
may be the Baalath rebuilt by Solomon,
I Kin. 9: 18; 2 Chr. 8:6.
BA'ALBEK. See Heliopolis, II.
BAAL-GAD', a city in the valley of Leba-
non, at the foot of Hermon; the northern-
most point wiiich the conquests of Joshua
reached, Josh. 11:17; 12:7; 13:5. It was
perhaps the same as Baal -hermon, near or
a part of Mount Hermon. According to
Schwarz and Robinson, it was the place
afterwards called Banias. See C^sarea-
Philippi.
BAAL-HA'ZOR, where Absalom kept his
flocks, 2 Sam. 13:23, was near Ejjhraim,
some 8 miles east of Jerusalem.
BA'ALI, Hos. 2; 16, 17, means both my
lord, that is, my husband, and my Baal ;
and its use in the first sense was to be
avoided, so as not to suggest the second
sense. It also expressed more fear and
less love and trust than the name Ishi, viy
vian, i. e., husband.
BA'ALIS, a proud lord, king of the Am-
monites in the time of the captivity. He
caused the assassination of Gedaliah, then
governor of Judah, Jer. 40:14; 41:1-10.
B.C. 588.
BAAL-ME'ON, in Reuben, beyond the
Jordan, near Nebo, Num. 32:38; i Chr.
5:8; called also Beth-meon, Jer. 48:23, and
Beth-baal-meon,Josh. 13:17. Its ruins are 2
miles southeast of Heshbon. E^zekiel, 25:9,
speaks of it as then a Moabitish town.
BAAL-PERA'ZIM, place of breaches, a
name given by David to the scene of a bat-
tle with the Philistines, 2 Sam. 5:20; i Chr.
14:11 ; Isa. 28:21. It was in the valley of
Repliaim, not far southwest of Jerusalem.
BAAL-ZE'BUB. See BEELZEBUB.
BAAL-ZE'PHON. a town in EgvTit, prob-
ably near the modern Suez, location uncer-
tain, E.xod. 14:2; Num. 33:7.
BA'ANAH, son ofaffliciion. and Re'chab,
sons of Rimmon, in the service of Ishbo-
sheth the son of Saul. Thinking to obtain
a reward from David, they secretly slew
their master while reposing at noon, and
carried his head to David at Hebron. They
suffered, however, the punishment suitable
52
for those whose " feet are swift to shed
blood," 2 Sam. 4:1-12.
BA'ASHA, waster, son of a certain Ahi-
jah, and commander of the armies of Na-
dab, king of Israel. He killed his master
treacherously at the siege of Ciibbethon,
and usurped the kingdom, B. C. 953, which
he possessed 24 years. He exterminated
the whole race of Jeroboam, as had been
predicted, i Kin. 14:7-14; but by his bad
conduct and idolatry incurred God's indig-
nation, I Kin. 15; 16:1-7, 12. About the
middle of his reign he made war on 'Asa,
but was defeated by the aid of Ben-hadad
I. of Damascus, 2 Chr. 16. God sent him a
warning by the mouth of Jehu the i)rophet ;
which was fulfilled in the extermination of
his family 2 years after his own death.
BA'BEL, confusion, the name of a city
founded by Nimrod, in the plain of Shinar.
See Babylon. Also of a lofty tower, be-
gun by the descendants of Noah, among
whom Nimrod was a leader, about 120 years
after the flood ; so called because (}od there
confounded the language of those who were
employed in the undertaking, (Jen. 10; 10;
11:9. Tlieir object was to concentrate the
population and the dominion at that spot ;
and as this was contrary to the divine pur-
pose of re])lenishing the earth with inhab-
itants, and betrayed an ungodly and per-
haps idolatrous disposition, God frustrated
their designs by miraculously giving to dif-
ferent portions of the people different lan-
guages, or different modes of jironuncia-
tion and divergent dialects of the original
language of man, thus causing them to dis-
perse over the globe. Compare Acts 2:1-11.
The tower was apparently left incomplete,
but in its vicinity arose afterwards the cel-
ebrated city of Babylon. It has been sup-
posed that the tower of Babel was after-
wards finished, and called the tower of
Belus, within the city of Babylon. Herod-
otus visited this tower, and describes it as
a square jiyramid, measuring Iialf a mile in
circumference at the base, from which the
tower rose in 8 stories, one above anoth-
er, gradually decreasing to the summit,
which was reached by a road winding up
around tlie outside. This tower was used
for astronomical ]:)urposes, but was chiefly
devoted to the worship of Bel, whose tem-
ple contained immense treasures, inclu-
ding several statues of massive gold, one
of which was 40 feet in height. Here were
probably deposited the sacred golden ves-
sels brought from Jerusalem, 2 Chr. 36:7;
Jer. 51:44. Its ruins were generally sup-
BAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAR
RUINS AT BIRS-NIMRUU.
posed to be the present Birs-Nimrud, 6
miles southwest of Hilleh, the modern Bab-
ylon.
This, however, many regard as the an-
cient Borsippa; and its distance from the
other great ruins, lo miles, seems to put
it beyond the limits of Babylon proper.
It is nevertheless a majestic ruin, and its
structure may be studied as a type of many
other buildings of the same country and
age. This temple-tower or pyramid is now
an immense mound of sun-dried bricks,
laid with bitumen in 7 square receding
stages, the lowest 272 feet each side, and
26 feet high ; the 2d stage 230 feet each
side and 26 feet high, etc., reaching the
height of 153 feet in all. It is over 2,000
feet in circuit, and is a ruinous heap, shat-
tered by violence, furrowed by storms, and
strewn with fragments of brick, pottery,
etc., fused and vitrified by some intense
heat. On the top rises an irregular tower
90 feet in circumference and 35 feet high,
built of a fine brick — with which the whole
mound appears to have been faced. The
tower is rent asunder and mutilated at the
top, and scathed as if by lightning — a mon-
ument, as many believe, of the just wrath
of God. See Nebuchadnezz.\r.
BAB'YLON, I., a celebrated city situated
■on the Euphrates, the original foundation
of which is described under the word Ba-
bel, the capital of the Chaldaean kingdom.
It lay in the vast and fertile plain of Shi-
nar, watered by the Euphrates, which
flowed through the city. Its walls are de-
scribed as 50 miles in circumference, 300
feet high, and 75 feet wide, Jer. 51:44-58.
A deep trench ran parallel with the walls.
In each of the 4 sides were 25 brazen gates,
from which roads crossed to the opposite
gates. On the squares thus formed, count-
less houses and vast gardens were made.
The temple of Belus has been described
under Babel. Nebuchadnezzar's palace
was in an enclosure 6 miles in circumfer-
ence. Within this were also " the hanging
gardens," an immense artificial mound 75
feet high, sustained by arches upon arches,
terraced off for trees and flowers, the wa-
ter for which was drawn from the river by
machinery concealed in the mound, Dan.
4:29, 30.
According to Berosus there were 11 Chal-
dsean kings in 224 years, terminating in
1976 B. C. ; when Babylon fell under Elam-
ite kings for 458 years, till 1518 B. C. Then
followed Arab kings and a long period of
Assyrian rivalry or rule, 2 Chr. 33:11,
until 747 B. C. From this date, when Na-
bonassar was king, Ptolemy the geograph-
er gives a complete list of kings and the
times of their reigns, the names and dates
of which well agree with those compiled
by Rawlinson and Smith from 3,000 com-
mercial tablets, recently exhumed. The
5th king in his list, Nardocempalus, 721
B. C, is identified with Merodach-Baladan.
Babylon was subjected to Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, 702 B. C. ; and the name
of Esar-haddon his son appears in the list
as Asaridanus, B. C. 680. Nabopolassar,
independent king of Babylon, appears in
625 B. C, and Nebuchadnezzar his son 604
53
BAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAB
B. C. ; the Egyptian invasion under Necho
in 608 B. C. was repelled by Nebuchad-
nezzar, who afterwards overran all the
country to the Mediterranean, and ravaged
Egypt itself. He was great in peace as
well as in war, and was preeminent as a
builder of temples and palaces. Evil-me-
rodach his son, Ptolemy dates at 561 B. C,
and Neriglissar his brother at 559 B. C, fol-
lowed by Laborosoarchod son of the latter,
who was the same year, 555 B. C, succeed-
ed by Nabonnedus, father of Belshazzar.
Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon reached
the summit of her greatness and splendor.
She was renowned for learning, especially
in astronomy, Isa. 47:10; Dan. i :4, and for
skill in various arts, as the making of car-
pets and cloths, of perfumes, jewelry, etc.
Her location gave her to a great extent the
control of the traffic, by the Euphrates and
by caravans, between Central Asia and
Arabia and Egypt. She was "a city of
merchants," Isa. 43:14; Ezek. 17:4; and
into her lap flowed, either through con-
quest or commerce, the wealth of almost all
known lands, Hab. 1:6-10. Justly, there-
fore, might the prophets call her " the
great," Dan. 4 : 20 ; " the praise of the whole
earth," Jer. 51 :4i ; " the beauty of the Chal-
dees' excellency," Isa. 13:19; "the lady of
kingdoms," Isa. 47:5; but also "the ten-
der and delicate," and " given to pleas-
ures," Isa. 47: r, 8. Corruptness and licen-
tiousness of manners and morals were car-
ried to a frightful extreme. Bel, Nebo,
Nergal, Merodach, Succoth-benoth, and
other idols, were worshipped with rites in
which impurity was made a matter of reli-
gion. Well might we expect Jehovah to
bring down vengeance on her crimes. In-
deed, the woes denounced against Baby-
lon by the prophets 170 years before con-
stitute some of the most awfully splendid
and sublime portions of the whole Bible,
Isa. 13:1-22; 14:22; 21:9; 47; Jer. 25; 50;
51, etc.
The city did not long remain the capital
of the world. Under the reign of Nebu-
chadnezzar's grandson, Nabonnedus, and
his son the Belshazzar of the Scriptures, it
was besieged and taken by Cyrus. The
accounts of Greek historians harmonize
here with that of the Bible: that Cyrus
made his successful assault on a night
when the whole city, relying on the strength
of the walls, had given themselves up to
the riot and debauchery of a grand public
festival, and the king and his nobles were
revelling at a splendid entertainment. Cy-
54
rus had caused a canal, which ran west of
the city, and carried off the superfluous
water of the Euphrates into the lake of
Nitocris, to be cleared out, in order to turn
the river into it, which, by this means, was
rendered so shallow that his soldiers were
able to penetrate along its bed into the city,
Dan. 5. 538 B. C. From this time its im-
portance declined, for Cyrus made Susa the
capital of his kingdom. It revolted against
Darius Hystaspis, who again subdued it,
broke down all its gates, and reduced its
walls to the height of 50 cubits. According
to Strabo, Xerxes destroyed the tower of
Belus. Under the Persians, and under Al-
exander's successors, Babylon continued
to decline, especially after Seleucus Nica-
tor had founded Seleucia, and made it his
residence. A great portion of the inhab-
itants of Babylon removed thither ; and in
Strabo's time, that is, under Augustus,.
Babylon had become so desolate that it
might be called a vast desert, Jer. '50; 51.
There was a town on its site until the 4th
century, and many Jews dwelt there, i Pet.
5: 13. But from this time onward, Babylon
ceases almost to be mentioned; even its-
ruins have not been discovered until with-
in the last 2 centuries ; and it is only with-
in the present century that these ruins
have been traced and described. These
consist of numerous mounds, usually of
A BABVLONIAN BRICK.
brick, deeply furrowed and decayed by-
time, strewn with fragments of brick, bitu-
BAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAB
VIEW OF BABIL FROM THE \Vi:ST, W 1 IH THE KASR.
men, pottery, etc. One of these is de-
scribed above. See Babel. Another, 4
miles north by west of Hilleh, and called
by the natives Kasr, the palace, is supposed
to be the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's famous
palace. It is an irregular square, some
8,000 feet in circuit ; no plan of the palace
can be traced, but portions of the wafl re-
main— of a fine yellow, burnt brick, laid in
lime cement. Not very far from this on the
north is the great mound called Mujellibeh,
or by the natives Babil, 600 feet long, 400
wide, and 140 high. It was probably built
in stages, is coated with a fine burnt brick
laid in mortar, and is thought by George
Smith to be the site of the ancient tem-
ple of Belus, rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar.
From these mounds thousands of bricks
have been dug, bearing arrow-headed in-
scriptions as ancient as the time of Nebu-
chadnezzar, whose name constantly occurs,
and containing a full record of Babylonian
kings down to the death of Darius Hys-
taspis. South of the Kasr is another vast
mound still more ancient, more than 10,000
feet in circuit. It is called the Amram
mound ; its bricks are inferior to those of
the other two mounds, and the names upon
them are anterior to Nebuchadnezzar.
Many smaller mounds, embankments, etc.,
are spread over the plains around. The
aspect of the whole region is dreary and
forlorn. It is infested by noxious animals,
and perhaps in no place under heaven is
the contrast between ancient magnificence
and present desolation greater than here.
The awful prophecy of Isaiah, uttered more
than a century before, has been most liter-
ally fulfilled, Isa. 13 ; 14.
The name of Babylon is used symboli-
cally in Rev. 14:8; 16; 17; 18, to mark the
idolatry, superstition, lewdness, luxury,
and persecution of the people of God
which characterized heathen Rome and
modern Antichrist. No other city but
Rome can be meant by "that great city
that ruleth over the kings of the earth,"
sitting on its " 7 hills," " drunken with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Some
thus interpret i Pet. 5:13; but this is only
a fanciful conjecture. To use such an
enigmatical name, in such a place, instead
of the familiar Rome, would have been
unnatural ; and there is no reason to doubt
that the ancient Babylon is meant, since
we know that Jews lived there at the time
of Christ. See Peter.
II. There was also a Babylon in Egypt,
a fort not far from Heliopolis. Some sup-
pose this to be the Babylon mentioned
I Pet. 5:13, but with no good reason.
BABYLO'NIA, the province of which
Babylon was the capital ; now the Babylo-
nian or Arabian Irak, which constitutes
the pashalic of Bagdad. This celebrated
province included the tract of country lying
on the river Euphrates, bounded north by
Mesopotamia and Assyria, and south by
55
BAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAL
the Persian Gulf. This gulf was indeed
its only definite and natural boundary; for
towards the north, towards the east or Per-
sia, and towards the west ok desert Arabia,
its limits were quite indefinite. Both in
ancient and modern times, important tracts
on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and on
the western bank of the Euphrates, and
still more on both banks of their united
streams, were reckoned to Babylonia, or
Irak el-Arab.
The most ancient name of the country is
Shinar, Gen. io:io; Dan. 1:2. Afterwards
Babel, Babylon, and Babylonia became its
common appellation, with which, at a later
period, Chaldjca, or the land of the Chal-
daeans, was used as synonymous, after this
people had got the whole into their pos-
session.
Babylonia is an e.xtensive plain, e.xtend-
ing some 400 miles northwest and south-
east along the 2 rivers, and about 100 miles
wide, interrupted by no hill or mountain,
consisting of a fatty, brownish soil, and
subject to the annual inundations of the
Tigris and Euphrates, more especially of
the latter, whose banks are lower than
those of the Tigris. The Euphrates com-
monly rises about 12 feet above its ordi-
nary level, and continues at this height
from the end of April till June. To pro-
vide means for drawing off the superabun-
dant water, and distributing it to those
tracts which were in themselves less wa-
tered, the whole land came to be divided
up by a multitude of larger and smaller
canals, which seem to be the " rivers of
Babylon" spoken of in Psa. 137:1. Baby-
lonia also contained several large lakes,
partly the work of art and partly formed
by the inundations of the 2 rivers. It was
therefore a land abounding in water; and
Jeremiah might well say of it that it
" dwelt upon many waters." Its soil, when
well cultivated, is of extraordinary fertil-
ity; but now dry and waste lands alter-
nate with still more desolate marshes, Isa.
14:23; Jer. 51:13, 2n, 42.
The Babylonians belonged to the She-
mitic branch of the descendants of Noah,
and their language had an affinity with the
Arabic and Hebrew, nearly resembling
what is now called Chaldee. Yet the Bab-
ylonian empire was ap])arently founded by
Nimrod, a Cushite descendant of Noah, 20
centuries before Christ, and then embraced
the cities Babel, Erech, Ur, Accad, and Cal-
neh. Gen. 10:10. See Nimrofj. After the
building of Nineveh by Ninus, 1237 B. C,
56
that city became the seat of power, and con-
tinued so until about 606 B. C, when the
Assyrian empire gave way to the Chaldaean,
and Babylon reached its highest point in
fame and power. Upon the return of the
Jews from captivity, many still remained in
Babylonia, and to their posterity the gospel
was early conveyed. Peter wrote his ist
epistle there, i Pet. 5:13. The Jews had
thriving synagogues in Babylonia, and one
of their Talmuds was there composed.
See B.ABVLON and Chaldeans.
BA'CA, tears, or weeping, Psa. 84:6. It
is not necessary to understand here that
there was really a valley so called, any
more than in Psa. 23:4 any one valley in
Judaea is meant. Those who are permitted
to make the usual j)ilgrimages to Jerusa-
lem in order to worship Jehovah in the
temple, love the ways which lead thither,
even though rough and dreary; a vale of
tears is to them as a well-watered country.
BAD'GER, a small inoffensive animal, of
the bear genus, which remains torpid all
winter. It is an inhabitant of cold coun-
tries, and is not found in Palestine. Hence
many think the " badgers' skins " men-
tioned E.xod. 25:5; 26:14; Ezek. 16:10, and
elsewhere, as being used for covering the
tabernacle and for shoes, were the skins
not of this animal, but of a species of seal
found in the Red Sea, and called the du-
gong. Burckhardt remarks that he "saw
parts of the skin of a large fish, killed on
the coast, which was an inch in thickness,
and is employed by the Arabs instead of
leather for sandals." Others, objecting to
the dugong as ceremonially luiclean. Lev.
11:10-12, think the animal in question was
of the antelope species, the skins of which
the Jews had obtained in Egypt.
BAG, Deut. 25:13; Luke 12:33. Eastern
money was often sealed up in bags con-
taining a certain sum, for which they passed
current while the seal remained unbroken,
2 Kin. 12:10. The disciples had a common
purse, for the poor, John 12:6.
BAHU'RIM, i'o//«^ w^«, a town of Ben-
jamin, near Jerusalem, on the road to the
Jordan. It is several times mentioned in
the history of David, 2 Sam. 3:16; 16:5;
17:18.
BA'JITH, a house, the site of an idol tem-
ple in Moab, where the king offered vain
supplications against the AssjTians, Isa.
15:2; 16:12.
BAKER. See Brkad.
BA'LAAM, lord of Ihe people, a celebra-
ted diviner, of the city Pethor, on tiie Eu-
BAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAL
phrates, Num. 22:5. Balak, king of Moab,
having seen the multitudes of Israel, and
fearing they would overwhelm him as they
had just done the Amorites, sent for Ba-
laam, who was famous for his supposed
supernatural powers, to come and curse
them. Balaam, though eager for gain, was
led to ask counsel of God, who forbade his
going. Balak afterwards sent other depu-
ties, whom Balaam finally accompanied
without the approval of God, who sent an
angel to meet and warn him in the way.
Here occurred the miracle of Balaam's ass,
which is spoken of throughout the Bible as
a real occurrence and not a mere vision.
Num. 22:22, 35; 2 Pet. 2:16. But instead
of cursing, he was constrained by the Spirit
of God to bless the children of Israel, in
poetic strains of exceeding beauty and
power. This he did a second and a third
time, to the extreme mortification of Balak,
who dismissed him in great anger. Balaam
subsequently foretold what Israel should in
future times do to the nations round about ;
and after having advised Balak to engage
Israel in idolatry and whoredom, that they
might offend God and be forsaken by him,
returned to his own land. His bad counsel
was pursued ; the young women of Moab
inveigled the Hebrews to the impure and
idolatrous worship of Baal-Peor, for which
24,000 Israelites were slain, Num. 25:1-9;
31:16.
Balaam was probably a descendant of
Shem, and possessed many just ideas of
the true God. He calls him " the Lord
my God," Num. 22:18; and yet he seems
to have been onlj' an enchanter and false
prophet, like many in the times of the kings
of Israel, until he came in collision with
the people of God. In this transaction he
was made a bearer, against his own will, of
the sublime messages of Jehovah ; yet his
heart remained unchanged, and he died
not "the death of the righteous,'' Num.
31:8, but fighting against Israel, Josh. 13:22.
His fearful doom warns us never to disre-
gard the monitions of conscience, nor seek
for gain in ways God does not approve,
2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 1 1 ; Rev. 2 : 14.
BA'LAK, waste, king of Moab when the
Israelites were drawing near the promised
land. Filled with terror lest they should
attack and destroy him, as they had Sihon
and Og, he entered into an alliance with
the Midianities to war against them, and
implored the soothsayer Balaam to come
and curse them. His fears and his devi-
ces were both in vain, Deut. 2:9; Judg.
11:25. See Balaam. He found he had
nothing to fear from Israel if at peace with
them, and nothing to hope if at war with
them, Rev. 2:14.
BAL'ANCE, or scales, a dual word in
Hebrew. Balances were very early in use,
to weigh money, before coinage began, Gen.
23:16; 43:21; Job 31:6. They are shown
on Egyptian monuments. Stones early
gave place to lead for weights, which were
carried in a bag, Deut. 25:13, and God
made it a matter of religion to have them
just and equal. Lev. 19:36; Prov. 20:10.
Bread sold by weight was a symbol of fam-
ine. Lev. 26:26; Rev. 6:5.
BALD'NESS. It was customary to cut
oflf the hair, or to shave the head, as a to-
ken of mourning, on the death of a rela-
tive, Job 1:20; Jer. 16:6. This was forbid-
den to the Israelites, being a heathen cus-
tom, Deut. 14:1; yet it continued to mark
the close of a Nazarite's vow. Num. 6:2,
18; Acts 21 :24. Baldness was treated with
contempt, because it exposed a man to the
suspicion of leprosy. The cry of the chil-
dren at Bethel after Elisha, " Go up, thou
bald-head," 2 Kin. 2:23, indicated great
contempt for him as a prophet of the Lord,
and at the same time a scoff at the miracle
of Elijah's ascension.
BALM, or more properly. Balsam, the
gum from the balsam-tree, the Opobalsa-
mum, anciently found in Judaea, and par-
ticularly in Gilead, Jer. 8:22; 46:11. It
was reckoned very valuable in the cure of
external wounds. The true balsam-tree is
an evergreen, a native of Southern Arabia
and Abyssinia, and is about 14 feet high.
It yields its gum in very small quantities.
57
BAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAR
At the present day, this is collected chiefly
in Arabia, between Mecca and Medina, and
is therefore sometimes called the balm of
Mecca. Its odor is exquisitely fragrant and
pungent. It is very costly, and is still in
the highest esteem among the Turks and
other Oriental nations, both as a medicine
and as a cosmetic, Gen. 37:25; Jer. 51:8;
Ezek. 27: 17.
BA'MAH, plural BA'MOTH, high places,
Ezek. 20:29. Bamoth-baal was a station
of the Hebrews near the Arnon, in the bor-
der of Moab, Num. 21:20; 22:41; after-
wards assigned to the tribe of Reuben,
Josh. 13:17; Baal was worshipped there,
and it was perhaps referred to in Isa. 15:2.
See High Places.
BAND, Acts 10: 1, a military cohort, or
regiment, commanded by a tribune.
BANNER. See Abominatio.v, Ensign.
BANQUET. See Eating, Fe.asts.
BAP'TISM is the holy ordinance or sac-
rament by which persons are admitted as
members of the Christian community. It
is administered in the name of the Fa-
ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and is
a visible and public profession of faith in
Christ and his salvation, of vital union
with him, of the obligation to live a new
life according to his precepts and in his
service, and of the e.xpectation of sharing
in his glorious and heavenly immortality.
It is not by any means to be regarded as
a regenerating ordinance, though signifi-
cant of regeneration. It was established
in the Christian church by Christ and his
apostles, as i of the 2 only sacraments
of his church. Matt. 28:19; John 3:22, 26;
4:1, 2; Acts 8:12, 36; 16:33, and is bind-
ing on his followers to the end of time,
Mark 16: 16. The use of water in this ordi-
nance is grounded in part on its qualities
as the great element of purification, Psa.
26:6; 51:2, 7; Isa. 1:18; Zech. 13:1; Acts
* 22:16, and on the rites of the ancient dis-
pensation, in which "water and blood"
were the divinely-appointed symbols of
moral renovation and atonement. Lev. 16:4,
16, 24.
The proper subjects of baptism are true
believers, and according to Paedobaptists
their infant children, which Baptists deny;
and the mode, as the Baptists believe, is by
immersion only, while Pjedobaptists believe
sprinkling or pouring equally valid.
Baptism "with the Holy Ghost and
WITH FIRE," Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16, is
perhaps best explained by a reference to
Acts 1:5; 2:3,4; 10:45; 11:13. The bap-
58
tism of John, Matt. 3:11, required peni-
tence, and faith in God's pardoning love,
but preceded the outpouring of the Spirit
with his special gifts, and the command to
baptize in the name of the Trinity, Acts
18:25, 26; 19: 1-6.
In I Cor. 15:29, the question in other
words may be. Why, when many suffer
death for Christ's sake, do others still come
forward and publicly confess Christ, thus
taking the place of the dead?
BARAB'BAS, son of Abba, a noted rob-
ber in Christ's time, who was imprisoned
and awaiting death for sedition and mur-
der. Acts 3:14. It was a custom of the
Romans, for the sake of conciliating the
Jews, to release one Jewish prisoner, whom
they might choose, at the yearly Passover.
Pilate desired thus to release Jesus, but
the Jews demanded Barabbas, Matt. 27: 16-
26 ; Luke 23 : 16-25. Thus we see that men
can prefer a ruffian to the Lord of glory,
and a destroj-er of life to Him who heals
our sicknesses and saves our souls by giv-
ing his own life for ours.
BA'RAK, lightning, the son of Abinoam,
of Kedesh in the tribe of Naphtali. God
summoned him, by means of Deborah the
prophetess, to release Israel from the yoke
of Jabin, king of North Canaan. Having
first secured the attendance of the prophet-
ess, he gathered 10,000 men, and stationed
them on Mount Tabor, perhaps to avoid
the enemies' 900 chariots of iron, Judg. 4:3.
God fought for Israel in the battle which
ensued, and the song of Deborah and Ba-
rak, Judg. 5, chronicles their victory. Read-
ing the inspired narrative on the spot, one
is struck with a vivid sense of its truth and
accuracy, finding the same places around
him, with the old names, in the order re-
quired by the history. Barak is enrolled
among those illustrious for faith, Heb.
11:32. See Kishon.
BARBA'RIAN, a foreigner. According
to the Greek idiom, all other nations, how-
ever learned and polite they might be, were
"barbarians." Hence Paul comprehends
all mankind under the names of " Greeks
and barbarians," Rom. i : 14. Luke calls
the inhabitants of the island of Malta " bar-
barians, " they being of the Phcenician race,
and speaking the dialect of Carthage, Acts
28:2,4.
BAR-JE'SUS. See Elymas.
BAR'LEY was sown in Palestine from
November to February, and reaped at and
after the Passover. The Hebrews fre-
quently used barley -bread, 2 Sam. 17:28;
BAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAR
2 Kin. 4:42; John 6:9, though it was con-
sidered inferior to wheat. Compare Num.
5:15; Judg. 7:13; Ezek. 13:19. The mod-
ern Arabs ridicule their enemies as " eaters
of barley-bread." Barley also was much
used as food for cattle, i Kin. 4:28.
BARN. Garners, storehouses, and gran-
aries are often spoken of in the Bible, Job
39:12; Psa. 144:13; Matt. 3:12. They were
receptacles for grain and other produce,
rather than for hay, and were often under
ground. In some parts of the East, domes-
tic beasts are lodged on the ground floor
of the owner's house, the family occupying
the rooms above.
BAR'NABAS, son of exhortatioti, or Jo-
ses, was a Levite of the isle of Cyprus, who
sold all his property and laid the price of
it at the apostles' feet. Acts 4 : 36, 37. When
Paul came to Jerusalem, 3 years after his
conversion, about A. D. 38, Barnabas intro-
duced him to the other apostles, Acts 9 : 26,
27. Five years afterwards, the church at
Jerusalem, being informed of the progress
of the gospel at Antioch, sent Barnabas
thither, who beheld with great joy the won-
ders of the grace of God, Acts 1 1 : 20-24.
He afterwaf-ds went to Tarsus, to seek
Paul and bring him to Antioch, where they
dwelt together 2 years, and great numbers
were converted. They left Antioch A. D.
45, to convey alms from this church to that
at Jerusalem, and soon returned, bringing
with them John Mark, Acts 1 1 : 28-30 ; 12:25.
While they were at Antioch, A. D. 45, the
Holy Ghost directed that they should be
set apart for those labors to which he
had appointed them, the planting of new
churches among the Gentiles. Thus early
in the Christian church was the missionary
cause instituted: the Holy Ghost charging
believers with the duty of consecrating
chosen men to carry the gospel to the hea-
then, of providing what was necessary for
the work, and of watching over its pro-
gress. They visited Cyprus and some cit-
ies of Asia Minor, Acts 13:2-14, and after 3
years returned to Antioch, gathered the
church, and rehearsed all that God had
done by them. In A. D. 50, he and Paul
were appointed delegates from the Syrian
churches to consult the apostles and elders
at Jerusalem respecting certain questions
raised by Jewish zealots ; and having ob-
tained the judgment of the brethren at
Jerusalem, they returned with it, accom-
panied by Silas and Barnabas. At Anti-
och he was led into dissimulation by Peter,
and was, in consequence, reproved by Paul.
While preparing for a second missionary
tour, Paul and Barnabas, having a dispute
relative to Mark, Barnabas' nephew, sep-
arated, Paul going to Asia, and Barnabas
with Mark to Cyprus, Acts 13-15; Gal.
2: 13. Nothing is known of his subsequent
history.
There is a spurious gospel, in Arabic,
attributed to him, but written by some
heretical Christian ; also another spurious
work, probably of the 5th century, profess-
ing to relate his labors in Cyprus and his
death there; and an epistle, treating main-
ly of the connection of the Mosaic dispen-
sation with the gospel, but evidently writ-
ten by some other hand, though at a very
earl}' date, probably near the beginning of
the 2d century. A complete copy of the
original Greek was found by Dr. Tischen-
dorf, appended to the Sinaitic MS. of the
New Testament. Its value is that of an
ancient witness, not of an inspired author-
ity. Its language constantly accords with
that of the New Testament. It shows no
trace of pope, tradition, priests, masses,
penances, confession, or purgatory — no
word about prayers to angels, saints, or
Mary. It distinctly recognizes the Chris-
tian Sabbath : " Wherefore also we pass the
8th day in rejoicing, wherein also Jesus
rose from the dead, and having been man-
ifested, he ascended into the heavens."
BAR'REL, I Kin. 17:12; 18:33, the word
in Hebrew usually translated pitcher.
BAR'RENNESS was an affliction pecu-
liarly lamented throughout the East, Gen.
16:1; 30:1-23; I Sam. 1:6, 19; Isa. 47:9;
49:21 ; Luke i :25, especially by the Jewish
women, who remembered the promised
Messiah, Gen. 3: 15, and hoped for the hon-
or of his parentage. The strength of this
feeling is evinced by the extraordinary and
often unjustifiable measures it led them to
adopt. Gen. 16:2; 19:31; 38:14; Deut. 25:5-
10. Professed Christians are charged with
barrenness, if they are destitute of the fruits
of the Spirit, and do not abound in good
works, Luke 13:6-9; 2 Pet. i:S.
BAR'SABAS, son of Saba. I. Joseph
Barsabas, surnamed The Just, was one of
Christ's early disciples, and probably
among the 70. He was i of the 2 candi-
dates for the vacancy left by Judas Iscariot
in the apostleship. Acts i.
II. Judas Barsabas was "a prophet,"
or preacher of the gospel, and a distin-
guished member of the Jerusalem church.
He was deputed, with Silas, to accompany
Paul and Barnabas in a mission of impor-
,S9
BAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BAS
tance to the Gentile converts in the Syrian
churches, Acts 15:22-33.
BARTHOL'OMEW, son of Talmai, one of
the 12 apostles, Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:i/«£•l> or official benedictions, Num.
6:23-27; Deut. 21:5, are only good wishes^
and as it were a prayer to the Author of all
good for the welfare of the subjects of them.
Blessing, on the part of man towards God,
is an act of adoring praise, or thanksgiving
for all his mercies, Psa. 103:1, or for some
special mercy— as for food, for which thanks,
are rendered to God, or for any other good,
Psa. 116:13; I Cor. 10:16. See Saluta-
tion.
BLIND'NESS. This distressing malady
is very prevalent in the East, where many
physical causes unite to injure the eyes :
the sun is hot, and in the atmosphere floats
a very fine dust, which enters and frets the
eye ; insects also are very numerous, and
both foster and convey eye-maladies. The
armies of France and England, while in
Egypt, suffered severely from ophthalmic
diseases. Blindness is perpetuated as a
contagious disease by the filthy habits of
the natives. It is of frequent occurrence
also on the coast of Syria, one-tenth of the
population of Jaffa having lost one eye or
both. In ancient times, the eyes of persons
hated or feared were often torn out, Judg.
16:21; I Sam. 11:2; 2 Kin. 25:7. Blind-
ness was sometimes inflicted as a punish-
ment. Gen. 19:11; Acts 13:11; was often
threatened as a penalty, Deut. 28:28; and
was sometimes miraculously sent, and re-
moved, 2 Kin. 6:18-20; Acts 9:9, 18. The
Jews were enjoined by the humane laws of
Moses to show all kindness and considera-
tion to the blind. Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18.
No one affected with this infirmity could
officiate as priest. Lev. 21:18.
Our Saviour miraculously cured many-
cases of blindness, both that caused bj'^
disease and that which had e.xisted from
birth. In these latter cases there was a
double miracle; for not only was the or-
gan of sight restored, but also the faculty
of using it, which is usually gained only by
long experience, Mark 8:22-25. The an-
ointing with clay, Matt. 9:29; John 9:6,
cannot have had any healing effi?ct. The
healing was wholly miraculous, Christ first
imparting faith in his divine power and
love, and then enabling the sightless orbs
to struggle into vision in their eagerness
to behold the Lord.
" Blindness " is often used for ignorance
and error, especially our sinful want of
discernment as to spiritual things, Isa.
BLO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BOA
42:18-20; Matt. 15:14; 2 Cor. 4:4. The
abuse of God's mercy increases this bhnd-
ness, John 12:40. Blessed are the eyes
that find their sight in striving to behold
the Redeemer.
BLOOD. The life of all animals was re-
garded as especially in the blood, Gen. 9:4;
Deut. 12:23, which was hence a sacred and
essential part of the sacrifices offered to
God, Heb. 9:22. It was solemnly sprin-
kled upon the altar and the mercy-seat,
" for it is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul," Lev. 17 — the life of the vic-
tim for the life of the sinner. It was there-
fore most sacredly associated with the
blood of the Lamb of God, which " clean-
seth us from all sin," John 19:34; Eph. 1:7;
1 John I :■]. This is the blood shed on Cal-
vary to ratify and seal Christ's covenant
for the redemption of sinners, Matt. 26:28;
Heb. 13:20. See Coven.\nt. Hence the
strict prohibition of the Israelites to eat
blood, or any meat in which blood re-
mained ; a prohibition renewed in Acts
15:29. In direct opposition to this are the
heathen customs of drinking the blood of
animals and even of men — of eating raw
flesh, with the blood, and even fresh cut
from the living animal, i Sam. 14:32; Psa.
16:4; Ezek. 33:25.
Besides the ordinary meaning of the word
blood, it often signifies the guilt of murder,
2 Sam. 3:28; Matt. 27:25; also relationship
or consanguinity. " Not of blood," in John
1:13, means, not by virtue of descent from
Abraham, or any pious ancestry. " Flesh
and blood " are placed in contrast with a
spiritual nature, Matt. 16:17, the glorified
body, I Cor. 15:50, and evil spirits, Eph.
6:12. The cause "between blood and
blood," Deut. 17:8, was one where life was
depending on the judgment rendered.
BLOOD-AVEN'GER. The sacredness of
human life, and the justice of punishing a
murderer by death, are grounded on the
fact that man was made in the image of
God, Gen. 9 : 6. Among the Arabs, the near-
est male relative of a murdered person
was to pursue the homicide until by force
or craft he put him to death. The law of
Moses expressly forbade the acceptance of
any ransom for a life forfeited to justice by
taking the life of another. Num. 35:31 ; but
it interfered between an accused person
and his pursuer, by providing a sanctu-
ary— at the altar of God and in the 6 cities
of refuge — where the accused might be safe
until it was proved that he had committed
the act wilfully or accidentally, Josh. 20:6,
9. In the former case, he was at once
given up to his pursuer for death, E.xod.
21:14; I l^ii^- 2:29, 34. In the latter case,
he might dwell with safety in the city of
refuge ; but should he go elsewhere before
the death of the high-priest, he was liable
to be slain by the avenger of blood, Num.
35:25-28. See Refuge.
The " issue of blood " was often a chronic
disease, Luke 8:43 ; and the " bloody flux,"
in Acts 28:8, was the dysentery.
BLUE. See Purple.
BOANER'GES, sons of thunder, a name
given by our Saviour to James and John
the sons of Zebedee, Mark 3: 17, on account
of their power as preachers, or of the traits
shown in Matt. 20:20-23; Luke 9:53, 54.
BOAR. The wild boar is considered as
the parent stock of the common hog. He
is a furious and formidable animal. The
tusks are larger and stronger than in the
tame herds. The color is iron-gray, incli-
ning to black. His snout is long, and his
ears are short. Wild boars are found on
Mount Carmel, and near the Sea of Tibe-
rias. The destructive ravages of the ani-
mal are referred to in Psa. 80:13. See
Swine.
BO'AZ, alacrity, Ruth 2 : i, a wealthy Beth-
lehemite, a descendant of Judah, through
whom is traced the regular succession of
Jewish kings. Matt. 1:5. His conduct in
the case of Ruth proves him to have been a
man of fine spirit and of strict integrity.
He admitted the claim which Ruth had
upon him as a near kinsman, under the
Levitical law married the poor gleaner,
and thus became one of the ancestors of
David, and also of David's Son and Lord.
He was the father of Obed, Obed was the
father of Jesse, and Jesse of David. The
whole narrative is a beautiful picture of
the simplicity of the age, when artificial
courtesies had not usurped the place of
natural and sincere expressions of love.
BoAz was also the name of one of the 2
brazen pillars which Solomon erected ia
75
BOC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
liOO
the porch of the temple, the other being
called Jachin. These columns with their
chapiters were about 35 feet high, i Kin.
7:15, 16, 21.
BO'CHIM, weepings, a place near Gilgal,
where the angel of the Lord reproved Is-
rael for their remissness, Judg. 2:1-5.
BODY, Matt. 26:26. "This represents
my body." See Gen. 41 :26. Christ did
not offer his body to be eaten ; he was
still alive. " Body of this death," Rom. .
7:24, may allude to a practice of ancient ';
tyrants — binding a corpse to a criminal,
to torment, infect, and consume him.
BOLLED, Exod. 9:31, swollen out
ready to blossom.
BOND, BOND'AGE. See SLAVE.
BOOK, means primarily any writing,
Isa. 29:11, 12; a bill of divorce, accusa-
tion, or sale, a letter, a register, or a vol-
ume.
Several sorts of materials were anciently
used in making books. Plates of lead or
copper, the bark of trees, brick, stone, and
wood were originally employed to engrave
such things and documents upon as men
desired to transmit to posterity, Deut. 27:2,
3 ; Job 19 : 23, 24. God's laws were writ-
ten on stone tablets. Words cut in stone
were sometimes filled in with melted lead,
Job 19:24. Inscriptions were also made on
tiles and bricks, which were afterwards
hardened by fire. Many of these are found
in the ruins of Babylon. See B.\uylon,
Nebuchadnezzar. Thus in excavating
at Koyunjik a royal Library was found, the
floor covered to the depth of a foot or more
with terra-cotta tablets, stamped on both
sides with minute Assyrian characters.
These were all numbered, and constituted
regular treatises on history, astronomy,
astrology, law, religion, language, mathe-
matics, etc. — a full encyclopaedia " for the
use of the people." In forming these Li-
braries Assyria seems to have followed the
lead and copied the books of Babylonia,
where the ancient Accadian language was
used and cuneiform characters, translating
the books with the aid of grammars and
dictionaries still in. part extant. These
unique Libraries pour a flood of light on
the history, science, and daily life of those
days. They give legends of the creation
and the deluge, mention the division of
time into weeks, months, and years, the
day of rest, and the dates of many events
recorded in the Bible, and strikingly con-
firm its antiquity and truth. They show
that a certain knowledge of God and di-
76
vine things was then common among man-
kind. Nothing has yet been found in them
implying a beginning of authentic history
earlier than about 2400 B. C. The divine
providence is wonderfully shown in the
use and the preservation of these " books
in stones."
ancient books, pens, and inkstand.
In later days tablets of box-wood and of
ivory were common among the ancients:
when they were of wood only, they were
often coated over with wax, which received
the writing inscribed on them with the
point of a style, or iron pen, Jer. 17:13;
and what was written might be effaced by
the broad end of the style, Luke i :63. Af-
terwards, the leaves of the palm-tree were
used instead of wooden tablets, and also
the finest and thinnest bark of trees ; hence
the word liber, which denotes the inner
bark of trees, signifies also a book. As
these barks were rolled up, to be more
readilj' carried about, the united rolls were
called volumen, a volume ; a name given
likewise to rolls of paper or of parchment.
The ancients wrote likewise on linen. But
the oldest material commonly employed
for writing upon appears to have been the
papyrus, a reed very common in Egypt and
other places, and still found in Sicily and
Chaldaea. From this comes our word pa-
per. At a later period, parchment from
skins was invented in Pergamos, and was
there used for rolls or vohivies, Psa. 40:7;
Zech. 5:1; 2 Tim. 4:13; 2 John 12. The
pen for writing on these soft materials was
a small brush, or a reed split at the end,
Jer. 36:23. The ink was prepared with
lampblack, coal of ivory, various gums,
etc., and the writing was sometimes perma-
nently fixed by fire. Scribes carried their
inkhorns hanging to their girdles, Ezek.
9:2. The making of paper from linen, in
its modern form, was first known in Europe
about A. D. 1300. The art of printing was
introduced about 150 years later. See Lan-
guage.
BOO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BOR
An ancient book, therefore, had the ap-
pearance of a thick roll of some paper-like
substance, Ezek. 2:9, written usually in
CASE HOLDING THE PENTATEUCH ROLLS.
parallel columns on one side only, and read
by gradually unrolling it by means of 2
small rollers, one at the beginning and the
other at the end of the volume, Isa. 34:4;
Luke 4:17-20. The writing was without
separation into words or sentences, and in
capital letters only. A roll was sometimes
sealed, being first tied or wrapped about
with a cord, on which the wax was dropped,
and stamped by a signet, Isa. 29:11; Dan.
12:4; Rev. 5:1-3.
That writing was practised very early,
may be inferred from allusions to the art
in Gen. 5:1 ; Exod. 17:14; Job 9:25; 19:23-
31:35. The Egyptians were accustomed tc>
it from the earliest known ages.
Ancient writers, instead of writing their
books with their own hand, often employed
amanuenses. St. Paul notes it as a par-
ticular circumstance, in the Epistle to the
Galatians, that he had written it with his
own hand. Gal. 6:11. To other letters he
only affixed his salutation with his own
hand, i Cor. 16:21; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess.
3:17. The amanuensis who wrote the
Epistle to the Romans has mentioned him-
self at the close, Rom. 16:22. See Letter,
Ephesus.
Book of the Generation is used, in
Gen. 5:1; Matt. 1:1, in the sense of a gen-
eological record. See Generation.
Book of the wars of the Lord,
Num. 21 : 14, was probably a sort of mili-
tary journal, formed of detached odes.
The book of Jasher, 2 Sam. 1:18, may
perhaps have been a collection of national
ballads, one of the forms most used for
perpetuating history in ancient times.
The books of the Chronicles of the
kings of Judah and IsrUel were apparently
national annals, i Kin. 14:19, 29.
Book of Life, or of the Living, Psa.
69:28, perhaps refers to the custom of prin-
ces, of keeping a list of persons in their
service, etc. So God is represented as in-
scribing the names, acts, and destinies of
men in volumes ; and the volume of those
who are chosen to salvation is " the book
of life," Phil. 4:3.
BOOTH, a shelter, made usually of poles
fixed upright in the ground, and covered
over with green boughs. Gen. 33:17; Job
27 : 18. The great Feast of Tabernacles, or
booths, had its name from the circumstance
that the Jews were directed by their law to
dwell in booths during the 7 days of this
feast, Lev. 23:40-42; Neh. 8:14. See Tab-
ernacle and Garden.
BOO'TY. Spoils taken in war were to be
shared equally by those who fought and
those who guarded the camp. Num. 31:27-
32. The Lord's portion was first deducted
from the whole; and in after times the
king appropriated a large part to himself.
BOR'ROW. The Hebrews are said to
have " borrowed " of the Egyptians, Exod.
3:22; 12:35. The original word denotes
simply asked. As they were known to be
taking a final leave of Egypt, it is plain
that the Egyptians did not expect the things
asked for to be returned. They asked for
them by divine direction, and they un-
77
BOS
BIBLE DICTIONARY
BOW
•doubtedly received much less than a fair
compensation for their many years of hard
service.
BO'SOM. The Orientals wore long, wide,
and loose garments; and when about to
carry anything that their hands would not
contain, they used a fold in the bosom of
their robe above the girdle, Luke 6:38.
See Girdle and Garmp:nts. The expres-
sion naturally came to be used even when
the article was too large to be so carried.
Thus in Isa. 65:6, 7, " measure their work
into their bosom." Our Saviour is said to
■carry his lambs in his bosom, which beauti-
fully represents his tender care and watch-
fulness over them, Isa. 40:11. See Abr.\-
JiAM's Bosom, Eating. In Prov. 19:24;
26: 15, the word is mis-translated " bosom "
which is rendered "dish " in 2 Kin. 21:13,
and "pan" in 2 Chr. 35:13.
BOS'SES, the thickest and strongest
parts, the projecting points, of shields, Job
15:26.
GOAT-SKIN WATER BOTTLES.
BOT'TLE. The engraving shows the
form of an ancient goat-skin bottle, out of
which a water-carrier is offering to sell a
draught of water. After the skin has been
stripped off from a goat or kid, and prop-
erly dressed and tanned, the places where
the legs had been are closed up ; and where
the neck was is the opening left for re-
ceiving and discharging the contents of the
bottle. These were readily borne upon
the shoulder. Gen. 21:14. See also Josh.
9:4, 13; Jer. 13:12. They were liable to be
much injured by exposure to heat and
smoke, Psa. 119:83, and to lose their con-
tents by evaporation under the hot sun on
a journey, and were often oiled on the out-
side as a safeguard.
By receiving the liquor poured into it, a
skin bottle must be greatly swelled and
distended ; and still more, if the liquor be
wine, by its fermentation while advancing
to ripeness. Hence the propriety of put-
ting new wine into wK'*A:i.%!t.
THE TABLE OF SHOW-BREAD.
Show-bread, Heb. bread of presence^
was bread offered every Sabbath day on
the golden table which stood before God
in the holy place, Exod. 25:30; 12 cakes of
unleavened bread, offered with salt and
frankincense, Lev. 2:13; 24:5-9. The old
cakes remained till replaced by the new ;
BRE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BRI
hence the name, "the continual bread,"
Num. 4:7, and the "hallowed bread,"
I Sam. 21:4-6. The show-bread could be
lawfully eaten by none but the priests ;
nevertheless, David having received some
of these loaves from the high-priest Ahim-
elech, ate of them without scruple in his
necessity, i Sam. 21:1-6; and our Saviour
quotes his example to justify the disciples,
who had bruised ears of corn, and were
eating them on the Sabbath day, Matt.
12:1-4. The table of show-bread from
Herod's temple seems to have been faith-
fully copied on the Arch of Titus at Rome.
See Candlestick.
BREAST'PLATE, or " breastplate of judg-
ment," Exod. 28:15, 30, a piece of embroi-
dery, about 10 inches square, Exod. 28:15-
40, of very rich work, which the high-priest
wore on his breast. It was made of 2 pie-
ces of the same rich embroidered stuff of
which the ephod was made, having a front
and a lining, and forming a kind of purse
or bag. The front was set with 12 precious
stones, on each of which was engraved the
name of one of the tribes, and the high-priest
thus bore " the judgment of the children of
Israel upon his heart before the Lord"— a
" memorial " of their acceptance through
his atoning sacrifices. According to Jose-
phus and the Seventy, these jewels were
the Urim and Thummim. Probably they
still exist somewhere — symbols of the eter-
nal fidelity of God. They were placed in 4
rows, in the order of their encampment in
the wilderness. Num. 10:14-27, and divi-
ded from each other by the little golden
squares or partitions in which they were
set. At each corner was a gold ring an-
swering to a ring upon the ephod, these 4
6
pairs of rings serving to hold the breast-
plate in its place on the front of the ephod,
by means of 4 blue ribbons, one at each
corner. See also Arms and Armor.
BREATHED on them, John 20:22, com-
municating the Holy Spirit. Compare Gen.
2:7.
BREECH'ES, Exod. 28:42, short drawers
worn by the priests.
BRICKS were usually made of clay dried
and hardened in the sun, Gen. 11:3, though
brick-kilns were sometimes used, 2 Sam.
12:31; Isa. 65:3; Jer.43:9: Nah. 3:14. The
tower of Babel was constructed of brick,
cemented with bitumen. The bricks or
tiles used were often a foot square and yA
inches thick; and great numb^s of them
are found, both in Babylonia and Egypt,
impressed with some royal or priestly
stamp. See B.-vbylon, Nebuchadnezzar,
Egypt, etc.
Brick-making was the labor in which the
Hebrews in Egypt were most oppressed.
On the monuments of Egypt all the parts
of this hard and ancient task-work are
painted — the carrying, tempering, and
moulding of the clay, and the drying and
piling of the bricks— all done by foreigners
BRICK-MAKING, UNDER A TASKMASTER.
under the orders of taskmasters. Many
bricks bear the stamp of Thothmes III.,
81
BRI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BUL
contemporary with the Hebrews in Egypt.
The straw was probabl,v mixed with the
clay to compact it. See Wilkinson's "An-
cient Egyptians."
BRIDE and BRIDE'GROOM. See Mar-
RiAGK and Solomon's Song.
BRI'ERS. See Thistles.
BRIG'ANDINE, a coat of mail, Jer. 46:4;
51 :3. See Arms.
BRIM'STONE, or sulphur, a mineral sub-
stance, highly inflammable, and burning
with a suffocating smell. Sodom and the
other cities of the plain were destroyed
" by brimstone and fire," Gen. 19:24; Deut.
29:23; and this awful catastrophe is often
used in Scripture as an emblem of the
temporal Aid eternal judgments of God
upon the wicked, Job 18:15; Psa. 11:6; Isa.
30'-33', 34:9; Rev. 21:8. Crude brimstone
or sulphur is found by Arabs and travel-
lers, washed ashore around the Dead Sea,
in pieces sometimes as large as apples.
BRING ON THE WAV, sometimes to ac-
company one part way on his journey, and
sometimes also to provide him the means
for his journey. Gen. 18:16; 2 Cor. 1:16;
Tit. 3:13.
BROID'ERED, I Tim. 2:9, braided or
plaited.
BROOK. See River.
BROTH'ER signifies in Scripture the son
of the same parent or parents. Matt. 1:2;
Luke 6:14; a near kinsman, Gen. 13:8;
14:16; one of the same stock or country,
Matt. 5:47; Acts 3:22; Heb. 7:5; a fellow-
man, an equal. Matt. 5:23; 7:3; one be-
loved, 2 Sam. 1:26; Christians, as sons of
God, Acts 9:30; 11:29, ^^^ ^s disciples of
Christ, Matt. 25:40. It is a favorite He-
brew idiom to express some close resem-
blance : Job says, " I am a brother to drag-
ons," Job 30:29. In Matt. 12:46-50; 13:55,
56; Mark 3:31-35; 6:3; John 2:12; 7:3;
Acts 1:14, the brothers of Christ are so
mentioned, in connection with his mother
and sisters, as almost to require us to be-
lieve they were children of Joseph and
Mary, younger than Jesus. Christ's neigh-
bors at Nazareth say of him and his fam-
ily, " Is not this the carpenter's son? is not
his mother called Mary ? and his bj-ethren
James and Joses and Simon and Judas?
and his sisters, are they not all with us?"
Matt. 13:55, 56. The expressions in Luke
2:7, "her firstborn son," and in Matt. 1:25,
" knew her not till she had brought forth
her firstborn son," and the fact that they
lived together probably 30 year=, most natu-
rally imply that they afterwards had other
82
children. The theory that these " breth-
ren " of Christ were identical with his cous-
ins, the sons of Mary a sister of the Virgin
Mary and Alphajus, has many difiiculties;
the "brethren" of Christ are always asso-
ciated with his mother — 10 times — not with
the other woman ; they did not believe on
him till after his death, John 7:5 (compare
Psa. 69:8), whereas his cousins were 2 of
them probably apostles, and the " brethren
of Christ" are plainly distinguished from
the apostles. Acts i : 13, 14; i Cor. 9:5 ; Jude
17. So once, when his disciplfs, including
his cousins, were standing around him, his
nioihey and brethren came to see him, Matt.
12:46-50. If these were cousins, Christ
must have said, "Who is my mother and
who are my cousins ? . . . Whosoever shall
do the will of my Father in heaven, the
same is my cousin, and. sister, and mo-
ther." Equally absurd is it to substitute
" cousins " for " brethren " in Matt. 13
above quoted. Christ's brothers are men-
tioned 15 times, and the term used is al-
ways adelphos, brother ; never anepsios,
cousin, nor sungenes, kinsman. Against
these arguments, the tradition of the early
Fathers, who soon began to regard mar-
riage as a defilement, are of little account;
also " the brethren " and the cousins bear-
ing the same names, for the names were
very common, and might well recur in 2
related families; and the objection that
Christ on the cross gave his mother into
John's care is removed by the facts that he
is supposed to have had means, and that
Christ's brothers had been unbelievers.
BRUIT, rumor, Jer. 10:22; Nah. 3:19.
BUCKLER. See Shield.
BUF'FET, to strike or beat with the fist,
Matt. 26:67; I Cor. 4:11; i Pet. 2:20.
BUL, in I Kin. 6:58, the 8th month, usu-
ally called Marcheshvan, which see. Sol-
omon's temple was finished in Bui.
BULLS OF Bashan, pasturing in a fertile
region and with but few keepers, became
strong and fierce, and might "compass
about " an intruder, and trample him un-
der foot. They are symbols of powerful,
fierce, and numerous foes, Psa. 22:12;
68:30; Isa. 34:7. See Ox.
BUL'RUSH, or papy'rus, a reed formerly
growing on the banks of the Nile, and now
in Palestine around the Upper Jordan, and
in Abyssinia, in marshy ground, Job 8:n,
to the height of loor 12 feet, Isa. 35:7. The
stalks are pliable, and capable of being
interwoven very closely, as in the construc-
tion of arks, Exod. 2:3, 5, and vessels of
BUR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
BUR
larger dimensions, Isa. 18:2. Boats of this
material were very common in Egypt.
The inner bark of this plant, platted and
•cemented together, furnished a writing
material, whence our word paper ; and
the pith was sometimes used for food. See
Book.
BUR'DEN, a weight or load, on body or
soul ; often used figuratively^ to denote
afflictions, failings, sins, Psa. 38:4; 55:22;
Gal. 6:2; services under the law, Matt.
23:4; official responsibilities, Exod. 18:22;
Deut. 1:12; and especially prophetic mes-
sages, not always of a threatening charac-
ter, Isa. 19:1. In this last sense the He-
brew word may be rendered " oracle,"
" divine declaration," or " prophecy," as
in Prov. 30:1; 31:1. Seejer. 23:33-40.
• BUR'IAL. The Hebrews were at all
times very careful in the burial of their
dead. Gen. 25:9; 35:29. To be deprived
of entombment or burial was thought one
•of the greatest marks of dishonor or causes
•of unhappiness, Eccl. 6:3; Jer. 22:18, 19;
it being denied to none, not even to ene-
mies, Deut. 21:23; I Kin. 11:15. Good
men made it a part of their piety to inter
the dead. Indeed, how shocking must the
sight of unburied corpses have been to the
Jews, when their land was thought to be
polluted if the dead were in anj' manner
exposed to view, 2 Sam. 21:14; and when
the very touch of a dead body, or of any-
thing that had touched a dead body, was
esteemed a defilement, and required a cer-
emonial ablution. Num. 19:11-22.
Only 3 cases of burning the bodies of
the dead occur in Scripture : the family of
Achan, after they were stoned, Josh. 7:24,
25, the mangled remains of Saul and his
sons, I Sam. 31 : 12, and perhaps the victims
of some plague, Amos 6:10. It was cus-
tomary for the nearest relatives to close the
eyes of the dying, and give them the part-
ing kiss, and then to commence the wail-
ing for the dead. Gen. 46:4; 50:1; in this
wailing, which continued at intervals until
after the burial, they were joined by other
relatives and friends, John 11:19, whose
loud and shrill lamentations are referred
to in Mark 5:38. It is also a custom still
prevailing in the East to hire wailing wo-
men, Jer. 9:17; Amos 5:16, who praised
the deceased, Acts 9:39, and by doleful
cries and frantic gestures, aided at times
by melancholy tones of music. Matt. 9:23,
strove to e.xpress the deepest grief, Ezek.
24: 17, 18.
Immediately after death the body was
washed, and laid out in a convenient room.
Acts 9:37-39, and sometimes anointed,
Matt. 26: 12; it was wrapped in many folds
of linen, with spices, and the head bound
about with a napkin, Matt. 27 : 59 ; and
each limb and finger wrapped separately-,
John 11:44, as the mummies of Egypt are
found to have been. Unless the body was
to be embalmed, the burial took place
very soon, on account both of the heat of
the climate and of the ceremonial unclean-
ness incurred. Rarely did 24 hours elapse
between death and burial. Acts 5:6, 10;
and in Jerusalem to-day burial, as a gen-
eral rule, is not delayed more than 3 or 4
hours. The body being shrouded, was
placed upon a bier — a board resting on a
simple handbarrow borne by men — to be
conveyed to the tomb, 2 Sam. 3:31; Luke
7:14. Sometimes a more costly bier or
bed was used, 2 Chr. 16:14; and the bod-
ies of kings and some others may have
been laid in coffins of wood, or stone sar-
cophagi. Gen. 50:26; 2 Kin. 13:21. The
relatives attended the bier to the tomb,
which was usually without the city; and
spices and aromatic woods were often
burned at the burial, 2 Chr. 16: 14. A ban-
quet sometimes followed the funeral, Jer.
16:7, 8; and during subsequent days the
bereaved friends were wont to go to the
grave from time to time, to weep and to
83
BUR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
C^S
adorn the place with fresh flowers, John
11:31, a custom observed even at this day.
See Embalming, Mourning, Setulchrk.
BURN'ING. This most cruel mode of
execution was ancientlj' common, and was
not unknown to the Hebrews. See Gen.
38:24; Lev. 20:14; 21:9; Jer. 29:22; Dan. 3:6.
BURNT-OFFERINGS. See SACRIFICE.
BUSH'EL, used in the New Testament
to express the Greek modius, which was
about a peck by our measure.
BUT'LER, a court-officer in charge of the
wines, etc., of Eastern monarchs, in con-
stant attendance, obliged to taste their
wines before giving them out, as a pledge
that no poison was mixed with them, but
usually confided in, and often of much in-
fluence. Pharaoh's chief butler in Egypt,
Gen. 40; 41, Rabshakeh with Sennacherib,
Isa. 36, and Nehemiah with Artaxerxes,
Neh. I ; 2, are examples.
BUT'TER. The Hebrew word usually
rendered dnlier denotes, properly, sour or
curdled milk, Gen. i8:S; Judg. 5:25; Job
20:17, a favorite beverage in the East to
the present day. Yet butter must have
been known to the Hebrews. Though usu-
ally liquid in those hot climates, it is much
used by the Arabs and Syrians of our own
times, and is made by pouring the milk
into the common goat-skin bottle, suspend-
ing this from the tent-poles, and swinging
it to and fro with a jerk, until the process
is completed. Still it is not certain that
the Hebrew word rendered butter ever de-
notes that article. Even in Prov. 30:33 we
may render, " The pressing of milk bring-
eth forth cheese;" elsewhere the render-
ing "curd," or "curdled milk," would be
appropriate; and in Job 29:6; Psa. 55:21;
Isa. 7: 15, 22, " cream."
BUZ, despised, 2d son of Nahor and Mil-
cah, and ancestor of the Buzites, who lived
in Mesopotamia or Ram, and afterwards
perhaps in Arabia Deserta, Gen. 22:21;
Job 32:2 ; Jer. 25:23.
BY-AND-BY, Matt. 13:21; Mark 6:25;
Luke 17:7; 21:9, means immediately.
c.
CAB, a Hebrew measure, the 6th part of
a seah, and the 18th part of an ephah. A
cab contained 3 and one-third pints of our
wine measure, and 2 and five-sixths pints
of our corn measure, 2 Kin. 6:25.
CA'BUL, probably displeasing, L, a name
given by Hiram king of Tyre to a district
in Northwestern Galilee containing 20 cit-
84
ies, which Solomon gave him for his help
in building the temple, i Kin. 9:13; the
term implying his dissatisfaction with the
gift.
n. A city of Asher, 8 or 9 miles east of
Akka or Acre, Josh. 19:27.
C.«'SAR, originally the surname of the
Julian family at Rome. After being digni-
fied in the person of Julius Cassar, it be-
came the usual appellation of those of his
familj' who ascended the throne. The last
of these was Nero, but the name was still
retained by his successors as a sort of title
belonging to the imperial dignity. The
emperors alluded to by this title in the
New Testament are Augustus, Luke 2:1;
T'HERius, Luke 3:1; 20:22; Claudius,
Acts 11:28; and Nero, Acts 25:8; Phil.
4:22. Caligula, who succeeded Tiberius,
is not mentioned.
C.ffi;SARE'A, often called Caesarea of Pal-
estine, on the coast of the Mediterranean
Sea, 60 miles from Jerusalem, between
Joppa and Tyre, Acts 10:23, 24; 21:8.
It was anciently a small place, called the
Tower of Strato, but was rebuilt with great
splendor, and strongly fortified by Herod
the Great, who formed a harbor by con-
structing a vast semicircular breakwater,
adorned the city with many stately build-
ings, and named it Coesarea, in honor of
Augustus. It was inhabited chiefly by
Greeks, and Herod established in it quin-
quennial games in honor of the emperor.
This city was the capital of Judaea during
the reign of Herod the Great and of Herod
Agrippa I., and was also the seat of the
Roman power while Judtea was governed
as a province of the empire. It was sub-
ject to frequent commotions between the
Greeks, Romans, and Jews, so that on one
occasion 20,000 persons are said to have
fallen in one day.
It is noted in gospel history as the resi-
dence of Philip the evangelist, Acts 8:40;
21:8; and of Cornelius the centurion, the
firstfruits from the Gentiles, Acts 10; 11 :i-
18. Here Herod Agrippa was smitten by
the angel of God, Acts 12:20-23. Paul sev-
eral times visited it. Acts 9:30; 18:22; 21:8,
16; here he appeared before Felix, who
trembled under his appeals. Acts 23 : 23 ; 24 ;
here he was imprisoned for 2 years ; and
after pleading before Festus and Agrippa,
he sailed hence for imperial Rome, Acts
25:26; 27:1. It was the birthplace and
home of Eusebius the church historian,
early in the 4th century. It is now called
Kaiseriyeh, and is only a heap of ruins ten-
c^s
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAL
anted bj' snakes, scorpions, lizards, wild
boars, and jackals.
CffiSARE'A-PHILIP'PI, a city 3 or 4 miles
east of Dan, near the eastern source of the
Jordan; anciently called Paneas, now Ba-
nias, from an adjacent grotto dedicated to
Pan, from which one of the sources of the
Jordan flowed. It stood where the moun-
tains southwest of Hermon join the plain
above Lake Huleh, on an elevated plateau
surrounded by ravines and water-courses,
and its walls were thick and strong. It
was enlarged and embellished by Philip
the tetrarch of Trachonitis, and called
Caesarea in honor of Tiberius Caesar ; and
the name Philippi was added to distin-
guish it from Caesarea on the Mediterra-
nean. Our Saviour visited this place short-
ly before his transfiguration, Matt. 16:13-
28; Mark 8:27-38; Luke 9:18, 27. After
the destruction of Jerusalem, Titus here
made the captive Jews fight and kill each
other in gladiatorial shows. In the time of
the Crusades it underwent many changes,
and is now a paltry village amid extensive
ruins, among which is a vast castle on the
high ground, parts of which date back far
into Old Testament times.
CA'IAPHAS, depressio7i, high-priest of
the Jews, A. D. 25 to 36. He was a Saddu-
cee, and a bitter enemy of Christ. At his
palace the priests, etc., met after the resur-
rection of Lazarus to plot the death of the
Saviour, lest all the people should believe
on him. On one of these occasions, John
11:47-54, he counselled the death of Christ
for the political salvation of the nation ;
and his words were, unconsciously to him,
an inspired prediction of the salvation of a
lost world. These plots against Christ,
Matt. 26:1-5; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:2, led
to his seizure, and he was brought first be-
fore Annas, formerly high-priest, who sent
him to Caiaphas his son-in-law. See An-
N.-vs. Caiaphas examined Christ before the
assembling of the Sanhedrin, after which
the trial went on, and Christ was con-
demned, mocked, and transferred to Pilate
for sentence and execution, Matt. 26:57-68;
Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-71 ; John 18:13-
27. Not content with procuring the death
of the Saviour, Caiaphas and his friends
violently persecuted his followers, Acts
4:1-6; 5:17,33. But a few years after the
ascension of Christ, and soon after the
degradation of Pilate, Caiaphas also was
deposed from office by the Roman procon-
sul Vitellius. Like Balaam of the Old Tes-
tament, he is a melancholy instance of light
resisted, privilege, station, and opportunity
abused, and prophetic words concerning
Christ joined with a life of infidelity and
crime and a fearful death.
CAIN, possession, the firstborn of the hu-
man race. Gen. 4:1, an agriculturist, and
the first murderer. See Abel. His crime
was committed against the warnings of
God, and he despised the call of God to
confession and penitence. Gen. 4:6-9. His
punishment included an increase of physi-
cal wants and hardships, distress of con-
science, banishment from society, and loss
of God's manifested presence and favor,
Gen. 4:16. But God mingled mercy with
judgment, and appointed for Cain some
sign to assure him that he should not suffer
the death-penalty he had incurred at the
hand of man, for God only was his judge.
He withdrew into the land of Nod, east of
Eden, and built a fixed abode, which he
named Enoch, after one of his sons, Heb.
11:4; I John 3: 12 ; Jude 11.
CAI'NAN, possessor, or Kenan, I., son of
Enos, and father of Mahalaleel, Gen. 5:9;
I Chr. 1:2. He lived to be 910 years old.
II. Son of Arphaxad and father of Salah,
Luke 3:36. This Cainan, however, is not
named in the 3 Old Testament genealo-
gies. Gen. 10:24; 11:12; I Chr. 1:24, nor
in most ancient versions, but occurs in the
Septuagint in the above two passages in
Genesis, and was perhaps copied thence
by Luke.
CAKE. See Bread.
CA'LAH, old age, a very ancient city of
Assyria, built by Asshur or by Nimrod,
Gen. 10:11, 12. It was at some distance
from Nineveh, and Resen lay between
them. It is thought by Porter and Kalisch
to be the place now called Kaleh-Sherghat,
on the west bank of the Tigris, 60 miles
south of Nineveh. Here have been dis-
entombed some of the oldest Assyrian
monuments yet found, the name of Asshur
being among the inscriptions. It was the
capital of the Assyrian kingdom many
years, before Nineveh.
CAL'AMUS. See Cane.
CA'LEB, a dog, I., son of Jephunneh, of
the tribe of Judah, who was sent, with one
man from each of the other tribes, to search
out the promised land. Num. 13; 14. B. C.
1491. Of all the 12, Caleb and Joshua acted
the part of true and faithful men ; and they
only, of all the men of war of Israel, were
permitted to enter Canaan, Num. 14:6-24,
38; 26:65. He was one of the princes ap-
pointed to divide the conquered territory
85
CAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAL
among the tribes, Num. 34:19. Hebron
was given to him as a reward of his fidel-
ity, according to the promise of God, Deut.
1:36; Josh. 14. Though 85 years old, he
still retained his vigor, and soon drove out
the Anakim from his inheritance. He gave
a portion also with his daughter Achsah to
Othniel his nephew, who had earned the
reward by his valor in the capture of De-
bir. Josh. 15: 13-19; 21:12. This region was
for some time called by his name, i Sam.
30:14, and lay between Hebron and Car-
mel in the south of Judah.
n. A son of Hur, whose children peo-
pled the country about Bethlehem, etc.,
I Chr. 2:50-55.
CALF, the young of the cow, a clean ani-
mal much used in sacrifice ; hence the ex-
pression, " So will we render the calves of
our lips," Hos. 14:2., /. ^., offer as sacrifices
the pra\-ers and praises of our lips, Heb.
13 : 15. The stall-fed or fatted calf was con-
sidered the choicest animal food. Gen.
18:7; I Sam. 28:24; Amos 6:4; Luke 15:23.
In Jer. 34: 18, " they cut the calf in twain,
and passed between the parts thereof,"
there is an allusion to an ancient mode of
ratifj-ing a covenant ; the parties thus sig-
nifying their willingness to be themselves
cut in pieces if unfaithful, Gen. 15:9-18.
The golden calf worshipped by the
Jews at Mount Sinai, while Moses was ab-
sent in the mount, was cast by Aaron from
the earrings of the people. It was in imi-
tation probably of the idol Mnevis, wor-
shipped in On, Egypt, as a gilded calf. It
was a hollow figure perhaps, or a wooden
figure coated over with gold. This calf
they intended as a symbol of Jehovah,
Exod. 32:5, and its story is a most signifi-
cant admonition to worship God in spirit
and beware of all material forms and
" aids to devotion," however plausible. Its
worship was attended with degrading ob-
scenities, and was punished by the death
of 3,000 men.
The golden calves of Jeroboam were
erected by him, one at each extreme of his
kingdom, that the 10 tribes might be pre-
vented from resorting to Jerusalem to wor-
ship, and thus coalescing with the men of
Judah, 1 Kin. 12:26-29. Thus the people
"forgot God their Saviour," and sank into
gross idolatry. Jeroboam may not have
intended to institute a new religion, but to
adapt the old to his political exigencies —
making the calves as symbols of Jehovah,
whose prophets his priests still claimed to
be, I Kin. 22:6. Yet Jeroboam is scarcely
86
ever mentioned in Scripture without the
brand upon him, " who made Israel to sin,"
2 Kin. 17:21. The prophet Hosea fre-
quently alludes to the calf at Bethel, to the
folly and guilt of its worshippers, and to
the day when both idol and people should
be broken in pieces by the Assyrians.
CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD,
means to pray to him as God, Gen. 12:8;
Psa. 79:6; 105:1. This is its meaning also
when Christ is spoken of — he is worshipped
as Jehovah, Acts 2:21; 7:59; Rom. 10:12;
I Cor. 1:2. In Gen. 4:26 organized public
worship is intended.
In some passages a person is " called "
thus and so, to intimate emphatically that
he is, and is to be acknowledged, what he
is called, Isa. 9:6; 56:7; Matt. 1:25. A di-
vine " call " signifies the designation of
individuals or nations to certain functions,
privileges, or penalties, Exod. 31:2; Isa.
22:20; 42:6; also the invitation of the gos-
pel to sinners, Matt. 9:13; 11:28; 22:3, 4;
Rom. 8:28-30; 2 Tim. 1:9.
CAL'NEH, called Calno, Isa. 10:9, and
Canneh, Ezek. 27:23, one of Nimrod's cit-
ies. Gen. 10:10, afterwards called Ctesi-
phon ; it lay on the east bank of the Tigris
opposite Seleucia, 20 miles below Bagdad.
Ctesiphon was a winter residence of the
Parthian kings. Nothing now remains but
the ruins of a palace and mounds of rub-
bish. Rawlinson, however, locates Calneh
at Niffer, on the east bank of the Euphra-
tes, 60 miles southeast of Babylon — the site
of some place of importance.
CAL' VARY, Luke 23:33, or Gol'gotha,
the latter being the Hebrew term, place of
a skull, the place where our Saviour was
crucified, near by Jerusalem, John 19:20,
but outside of its walls. Matt. 27^:33; Mark
15:22; John 19:17; Heb. 13:12. In the
same place was a private garden, and a
tomb in which the body of Christ lay un-
til the resurrection, John 19:41. 42. The
expression ''Mount Calvary" has no evi-
dence to support it beyond what is implied
in the name Golgotha, which might well
be given to a slight elevation shaped like
the top of a skull, and the probability that
such a place would be chosen for the cruci-
fixion. It is very doubtful whether the true
localities of Calvary and the tomb are those
covered by the present " Church of the
Holy Sepulchre," a vast structure north of
Mount Zion and within the modern city,
built on the site which was fixed under the
empress Helena, A. D. 335, by tradition and
a pretended miracle. Some Biblical geog-
CAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAM
raphers adhere to this location ; but Rob-
inson and many others strongly oppose it,
on ^he ground of the weakness of the tra-
dition, and the difficulty of supposing that
this place lay outside of the ancient walls.
See Jerusalem. Dr. Fisk, while visiting
the spot under the natural desire to iden-
tify the scene of these most sacred events,
felt it to be just possible, and that was all,
that the spot shown him might be the ac-
tual scene of the crucifixion ; that the rock
shown him might be a part of the rock
riven by the earthquake ; that the stone
column he saw, half concealed by iron-
work, might have been that to which our
Lord was bound when scourged ; that the
small fragment of rude stone seen by the
light of a small taper, through a kind of
iron filagree, might have been the stone on
which he sat to be crowned with thorns ;
that the spot overhung with lamps, and
covered with a white marble sarcophagus,
with a kind of domed structure in the cen-
tre, might have been the place of our Lord's
burial and resurrection : but when he saw
the near juxtaposition of all these things,
and knew that in order to provide for the
structure of the church the site had to be
cut down and levelled ; when he reflected
that on the very spot a heathen temple had
stood, till removed by the empress Helena
to make room for this church ; and, more-
over, when he considered the superstitious
purpose all these things were to serve, and
the spirit of that church which thus para-
ded these objects of curiosity, he could not
bring himself to feel that they were what
they professed to be.
Let us be thankful that though the exact
scene of Christ's death is now unknown,
there can be no doubt as to the fact. " He
died, and was buried, and the third day
rose again, according to the Scriptures."
Then the old ritual passed away, Satan
was despoiled, man was redeemed, God
reconciled, and heaven opened to all be-
lievers.
CAMBY'SES. See Ahasuerus, U.
CAM'EL, carrier, a. beast of burden very
common in the East, where it is called "the
land-ship," and " the carrier of the desert."
It is 6 or 7 feet high, and is exceedingly
strong, tough, and enduring of labor. The
feet are constructed with a tough elastic
sole, which prevents the animal from sink-
ing in the sand ; and on all sorts of ground
it is very sure-footed. The Arabian spe-
cies, most commonly referred to in Scrip-
ture, has but one hump on the back; while
the Bactrian camel, found in Central Asia,
has two. While the animal is well fed,
THE SWIFT CAMEL, OR DROMEDARY.
these humps swell with accumulated fat,
which is gradually absorbed under scarcity
and toil, to supply the lack of food. The
dromedary is a lighter and swifter vari-
ety, otherwise not distinguishable from the
common camel, Isa. 60:6; Jer. 2:23. It
cannot travel more than 8 or 9 miles an
hour, but can maintain this speed hour
after hour. Within the cavity of the cam-
el's stomach is a sort of paunch, provided
with membranous cells to contain an extra
provision of water ; the supply with which
this is filled will last for many days while
he traverses the desert. His food is coarse
leaves, twigs, thistles, which he prefers to
the tenderest grass, and on which he per-
forms the longest journeys. But generally,
on a march, about a pound weight of dates,
beans, or barley will serve for 24 hours.
The camel kneels to receive its load, which
varies from 500 to i,ooo or 1,200 pounds.
Meanwhile it is wont to utter loud cries or
growls of anger and impatience. Though
generally docile, it is often obstinate and
stupid, and at times ferocious ; the young
are as dull and ungainly as the old. The
ordinary camel's average rate of travel is
about 2 and one-third miles an hour ; and
it jogs on with a sullen pertinacity hour
after hour without fatigue, seeming as fresh
at night as in the morning. No other ani-
mal could endure the severe and continual
hardships of the camel, his rough usage,
his coarse and scanty food. The Arabians
well say of him, "Job's beast is a monu-
ment of God's mercy."
This useful animal has been much em-
87
CAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAN
ployed in the East from a verj' early peri-
od, (ien. 12:16; Exod. 9:3. The merchants
of those sultry climes have found it the
only means of exchanging the products of
different lands, and from time immemorial
long caravans have traversed year after
year the almost pathless deserts. Gen.
37:25. The number of one's camels was a
token of his wealth. Job had 3,000, and
the Midianites' camels were like the sand
of the sea, Jud. 7:12; i Chr. 5:21 ; Job i :3.
Rebekah came to Isaac riding upon a cam-
el, Gen. 24:64; the queen of Sheba brought
them to Solomon, and Hazael to Elisha,
laden with the choicest gifts, i Kin. 10:2;
2 Kin. 8:9; the Cushites had them in abun-
dance, 2 Chr. 14:15; and they were even
made serviceable in war, i Sam. 30:17.
The camel was to the Hebrews an unclean
animal, as it does not fully divide the hoof.
Lev. 11:4; yet its milk has ever been to
the Arabs an important article of food, and
is highly prized as a cooling and healthy
drink. Indeed, no animal is more useful
to the Arabs, while living or after death.
Its flesh is coarse-grained but palatable,
especially when young and well fed. Out
of its hair they manufacture carpets, tent
cloth, and large sacks for corn. Of its skin
they make huge water-bottles and leather
sacks, also sandals, ropes, and thongs. Its
dung, dried in the sun, serves them for
fuel.
■ Camels' hair was woven into cloth in
the East, some of it exceedingly fine and
soft, but usually coarse and rough, used for
making the coats of shepherds and camel-
drivers, and for covering tents. It was
this that John the Baptist wore, and not
"soft raiment," Matt. 3:4; 11:8. Modern
dervishes wear garments of this kind ; and
this appears to be meant in 2 Kin. 1:8;
Zech. 13:4.
The expression, " It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle," etc..
Matt. 19:24, was a proverb to describe an
impossibility. The same phrase occurs
in the Koran ; and a similar one in the
Talmud, respecting an elephant's going
through a needle's eye. See also the prov-
erb in Matt. 23:24, which illustrates the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees by the custom
of passing wine through a strainer. The
old versions of the New Testament, instead
of " strain ai " a gnat, have " strain on/,"
which conveys the true meaning.
CAMP, ENCAMP'MENTS, 2 Kin. 6:8;
Rev. 20:9. These terms usually refer to
the movements of the Israelites between
Egypt and Canaan ; and many passages of
the Levitical law relate to things done
" within " or " without the camp," Lev.
10:4,5; 14:3124:14. Compare John 19: 17,
20; Heb. 13:11-13. The whole body of the
people consisted of 600,000 fighting men,
besides women and children. Num. 1:2;
and was disposed into 4 battalions, so ar-
ranged as to inclose the tabernacle in a
square, and each under one general stand-
ard. In the tabernacle was the ark, with
the pillar of cloud and fire over it, and the
priests' tents around it, Num. 2 ; 3. The
mode in which this vast mass of people
was arranged, with the most perfect order,
cleanliness, and subordination, must excite
general surprise. Balaam, standing on
the heights of Moab, viewed the imposing
spectacle with admiration and awe. " How
goodly are thy tents, O Jacob ! the Lord
his God is with him," Num. 23; 24.
The order appointed for the removal of
the hosts of Israel from one encampment
to another is detailed in Num. 9 ; 10. The
names of 41 encampments are given in
Num. 33 ; from the first in Rameses, in the
month April, B. C. 1491, to the last on the
brink of the Jordan 40 years later. See
Exodus and Wanderings.
Travellers in the desert chose a spot of
rising ground, and by a spring of water if
possible, and were wont to pitch their tents
in the centre of a circle formed by their
camels and baggage, which served as a
barrier against an assault. A similar mode
of encamping was practised by large cara-
vans, and by armies, i Sam. 17:20; 26:5,
margin.
CAM'PHIRE, in Sol. Song 1:14; 4:13, is
not the gum camphor of our apothecaries,
but the cyprus-flower as it is sometimes
called, the Lawsonia Alba of botanists, the
Henna of the Arabs, a whitish fragrant
flower, hanging in clusters like grapes, on
a bush 4 to 6 feet high. Oriental ladies
make use of the dried and powdered leaves
to give their nails, feet, and hands a red-
dish orange tinge. The nails of Egyptian
mummies are found thus dyed. See Eye-
lids. The flowers of the el-Henna are
fragrant; and being disposed in clusters,
the females of Egypt are fond of carrying
it in their bosoms.
CA'NA, the birthplace of Nathanael, the
city in which our Lord performed his first
miracle, and from which he soon after sent
a miraculous healing " down " to the noble-
man's son at Capernaum, 18 miles off, John
2:1-11; 4:46-54; 21:2. It was called Cana
CAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAN
of Galilee, now Kana-el-Jelil, and lay 8
miles north of Nazareth. This is Robin-
son's view. The commonly received site,
Kefr Kenna, is nearer Nazareth. Cana is
now in ruins.
CA'NAAN, low, I., the 4th son of Ham,
and grandson of Noah, Gen. 9:18. His
numerous posterity seem to have occupied
Zidon .first, and thence spread into Syria
and Canaan, Gen. 10:15-19; i Chr. 1:13-16.
The Jews believe that he was implicated
with his father in the dishonor done to
Noah, Gen. 9:20-27, which was the occa-
sion of the curse under which he and his
posterity suffered. Josh. 9:23, 27; 2 Chr.
8:7,8.
II. The land peopled by Canaan and his
posterity, and afterwards given to the He-
brews. This country has at different peri-
ods been called by various names, either
from its inhabitants or some circumstances
connected with its history, (i.) " The land
of Canaan," from Canaan, the son of Ham,
who divided it among his 11 sons, each of
whom became the head of a numerous
tribe, and ultimately of a distinct people.
Gen. 10:15-20; 11:31. This did not at first
include any land east of the Jordan, Num.
32:26-32. (2.) "The land of Promise,"
Heb. II :9, from the promise given to Abra-
ham that his posterity should possess it.
Gen. 12:7; 13:15. These being termed
Hebrews, the region in which they dwelt
was called (3.) " The land of the Hebrews,"
Gen. 40:15; and (4.) " The land of Israel,"
from the Israelites, or posterity of Jacob,
having settled there. This name is of fre-
quent occurrence in the Old Testament.
It comprehends all that tract of ground on
each side of the Jordan which God gave for
an inheritance to the Hebrews. At a later
age, this term was often restricted to the
territory of the 10 tribes, Ezek. 27 : 17.
(5.) "The land of Judah." This at first
comprised only the region which was allot-
ted to the tribe of Judah. After the sepa-
ration of the 10 tribes, the land which be-
longed to Judah and Benjamin, who formed
a separate kingdom, was distinguished by
the appellation of " the land of Judah," or
Judaea; which latter name the whole coun-
try retained during the existence of the 2d
temple, and under the dominion of the
Romans. (6.) " The Holy Land." This
name appears to have been used by the
Hebrews after the Babylonish captivity,
Zech. 2:13. (7.) "Palestine," Exod. 15:14,
a name derived from the Philistines, who
migrated from Egypt, and having expelled
the aboriginal inhabitants, settled on the
borders of the Mediterranean. Their name
was subsequently given to the whole coun-
try, though they in fact possessed only a
small part of it. By heathen writers, the
Holy Land has been variously termed Pal-
estine, Syria, and Phoenicia. Its popula-
tion in its most prosperous days was 4 or 5
millions; now one and a half millions.
Canaan was bounded on the west by the
Mediterranean Sea, north by Mount Leba-
non and Syria, east by Arabia Deserta,
and south by Edom and the desert of Zin
and Paran. Its extreme length was about
180 miles, and its average width about 60;
and it contained 10,000 square miles — more
or less, at different periods. It general
form and dimensions Coleman has well
compared to those of the State of New
Hampshire. At the period of David, vast
tributary regions were for a time annexed
to the Holy Land. These included the bor-
dering natit>ns on the east, far into Arabia
Deserta; thence north to Tiphsah on the
Euphrates, with all Syria between Leba-
non and the Euphrates. On the south it
included Edom, and reached the Red Sea
at Ezion-geber.
The land of Canaan has been variously
divided. Under Joshua it was apportioned
out to the 12 tribes. Under Rehoboam it
was divided into the 2 kingdoms of Israel
and Judah. It afterwards fell into the
hands of the Babylonians, the Greeks, the
Syrians, and the Romans. During the time
of our Saviour, it was under the dominion
of the last-mentioned people, and was divi-
ded into 5 provinces : Galilee, Samaria,
Judaea, Peraea, and Idumaea. Peraea was
again divided into 7 cantons: Abilene, Tra-
chonitis, Ituraea, Gaulonitis, Batanaea, Pe-
raea, and Decapolis. At present, Palestine
is subject to the sultan of Turkey, under
whom the pashas of Acre and Gaza govern
the sea-coast, and the pasha of Damascus
the interior of the country.
The surface of the land of Canaan is
beautifully diversified with mountains and
plains, rivers and valleys. The principal
mountains are Lebanon, Carmel, Tabor,
Gilead, Hermon, the Mount of Olives, etc.
The plain of the Mediterranean, of Esdrae-
lon, and of Jericho, are celebrated as the
scenes of many important events. The
chief streams are the Jordan, the Leontes,
the Arnon, the Sihor, the Jabbok, and the
Kishon. The lakes are the Asphaltites or
Dead Sea, the Lake of Tiberias or Sea of
Galilee, and Lake Merom. These are
89
CAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAN
elsewhere described, each in its own
place.
The general features of the country may
here be briefly described. The northern
boundary is at the lofty mountains of Leb-
anon and Hermon, some peaks of which
are 10,000 feet high. Around the base of
Mount Hermon are the various sources of
the Jordan. This river, passing through
Lake Merom and the Sea of Galilee, flows
south with 'innumerable windings into the
Dead Sea. Its valley is deeply sunk, and
from its source to the Dead Sea it has a
descent of 2,000 feet. See Arabah and
Jordan. The country between the Jordan
valley and the Mediterranean Sea is in
general an elevated table-land, broken up
by many hills, and by numerous deep val-
leys through which the wintry torrents
flow into Jordan and the sea. The table-
land of Galilee may be 900 or i,ooo feet
above the Mediterranean. In Lower Gali-
lee we find the great and beautiful plain of
Esdraelon, extending from Mount Carmel
and Acre on the west to Tabor and Gilboa,
with branches, to the Jordan, on the east.
From this plain the land again rises towards
the south. Mount Gerizim being 2,849 f^^t,
Jerusalem 2,593, and Hebron 3,040 above
the sea. On the sea-coast, below Mount
Carmel, a fertile plain is found ; towards
the south it becomes gradually wider, and
e.xpands at last into the great desert of
Paran. From this plain of the sea-coast
the ascent to the high land of the interior is
by a succession of natural terraces ; while
the descent to the Jordan, the Dead Sea,
and Edom is abrupt and precipitous. The
country beyond the Jordan is mountainous;
a rich grazing land, with many fertile val-
leys. Still farther east is the high and des-
olate plateau of Arabia Deserta.
The soil and climate of Canaan were
highly favorable. The heat was not ex-
treme except in the deep river beds and
on the sea-coast; and the climate was in
general mild and healthful. The varia-
tions of sunshine, clouds, and rain, which
with us extend throughout the year, are in
Palestine confined chiefly to the winter or
rainy season. The autumnal rains usually
commence in the latter part of October,
and soon after the first showers wheat and
barley are sowed. Rain falls more heavily
in December, and continues, though with
less frequency, until April. From May to
October no rain falls. The cold of winter
is not severe, and the ground does not
freeze. Snows a foot or more deep some-
Qo
times occur, and there are frequent hail-
storms in winter. The barley harvest is
about a fortnight earlier than the wheat,
and both are earlier in the plains than on
the high land; altogether the grain harvest
extends from April to June. The first
grapes ripen in July, but the vintage is not
over till September. In this month and
October the heat is great ; the ground be-
comes dry and parched ; verdure has long
before disappeared ; pools and cisterns be-
gin to dry up ; and all nature, animate and
inanimate, looks forward with longing for
the return of the rainy season.
The soil of Canaan was highly produc-
tive. The prevailing rock is a chalky
limestone, abounding in caverns. It read-
ily formed, and was covered with, a rich
mould, which produced, in the various
elevations and climates so remarkably
grouped together in that small region of
the world, an unequalled variety of the
fruits of the ground. Olives, figs, vines,
and pomegranates grew in abundance; the
hills were clothed with flocks and herds,
and the valleys were covered with corn.
The land of promise was currently de-
scribed as " flowing with milk and honey."
Yet the glowing description given by Mo-
ses, Deut. 8:7-9, and the statements of his-
tory as to the vast population formerly
occupying it, are in striking contrast with
its present aspect of barrenness and deso-
lation. See Census. The curse brought
down by the unbelief of the Jews still
blights their unhappy land. Long ages of
warfare and misrule have despoiled and
depopulated it. Its hills, once terraced to
the summit, and covered with luxuriant
grain, vines, olives, and figs, are now bare
rocks. Its early and latter rains, once
preserved in reservoirs, and conducted by
winding channels to water the ground in
the season of drought, now flow off" un-
heeded to the sea. The land, stripped of
its forests, lies open to the sun — which now
scorches where it once fertilized. And yet
some parts of Palestine still show an aston-
ishing fertility ; and wherever the soil is
cultivated, it yields a hundred-fold. In-
dian corn grows there 11 feet high, and
grapes are still produced that almost rival
the clusters of Eshcol. Intelligent travel-
lers agree in confirming the statements of
Scripture as to its ancient fertility. See
Hebrews, Jud^a.
Conquest of Canaan. Various argu-
ments have been adduced to justify the
conquest of Canaan, and the extermina-
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CAN
tion of its inhabitants by the Israelites ; as
that the land had been allotted to Shem
and his sons after the flood, and the sons
of Ham were usurpers ; that they first as-
saulted the Jews; that Abraham had taken
possession of the land ages before ; that the
Canaanites were akin to the Egyptians,
and implicated in their guilt and punish-
ment as oppressors of the Hebrews. What-
ever justice there may be in -any of these
reasons, they are not those which the Bible
assigns. The only true warrant of the Jews
was, the special command of the Lord of
all. They were impressively taught that
the wickedness of those nations was the
reason of their punishment, which the for-
bearance of God had long delayed, and
which was designed as a warning to them
and all mankind against idolatry and its
kindred sins. It was these sins the Jews
were to abhor and exterminate ; they were
to act as agents of God's justice, and not
for the gratification of their own avarice,
anger, or lust, the spoil in many cases
bping doomed to destruction. They were
led into Canaan by a miracle; the first
city in their way was captured by a mir-
acle; and God's hand was often seen in
their aid. The narrative of the conquest
is given in Deut. 1-4; Joshua; and Judges
I. The Canaanites were not wholly de-
stroyed. Many of them escaped to other
lands; and fragments of almost all the na-
tions remained in Judsea, subject to the
Israelites, but snares to their feet and
thorns in their sides. It must be observed,
also, that full notice was previously given
them to quit their forfeited possessions ; a
solemn writ of ejectment had been issued
by the great Proprietor, and if they resist-
ek, they incurred the consequences.
CA'NAANITES, Gen. 10:18, 19, the de-
scendants of Canaan. They were descend-
ants of Ham, while Abraham and his kins-
men were Shemites ; yet the language of
each seems to have been understood by
the others. Their first habitation was in
the land of Canaan, where they multiplied
extremely, and by trade and war acquired
great riches, and sent out colonies all over
the islands and coasts of the Mediterrane-
an. When the measure of their idolatries
and abominations was completed, God de-
livered their country into the hands of the
Israelites, who conquered it under Joshua.
See the previous article. The following
are the principal tribes mentioned.
I. The HiviTES dwelt in the northern
part of the country, at the foot of Mount
Hermon, or Anti-Lebanon, according to
Josh. 11:3, where it is related that they,
along with the united forces of Northern
Canaan, were defeated by Joshua. They
were not, however, entirely driven out of
their possessions, Judg. 3:3; 2 Sam. 24:7;
1 Kin. 9:20. There were also Hivites in
Middle Palestine, Gen. 34:2; Josh. 9:1, 7;
11:19. See Hivites.
2. The Canaanites, in a restricted sense,
inhabited the Jordan valley and the plains
west of the Jordan and on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea, Num. 13:29; Josh.
11:3; 13:2,3.
3. The GiRGASHiTES dwelt between the
Canaanites and the Jebusites ; as may be
inferred from the order in which they are
mentioned in Josh. 24 : 1 1 .
4. The Jebusites had possession of the
hill country around Jerusalem, and of that
city itself, of which the ancient name was
Jebus, Josh. 15:8, 63; 18:28. The Benja-
mites, to whom this region was allotted,
did not drive out the Jebusites, Judg. i :2i.
David first captured the citadel of Jebus,
2 Sam. 5:6.
5. The Amorites inhabited, in Abra-
ham's time, the region south of Jerusalem,
on the western side of the Dead Sea, Gen.
14:7. At a later period, they spread them-
selves out over all the mountainous coun-
try which forms the southeastern part of
Canaan, and which was called from them
the " mountain of the Amorites," and after-
wards the "mountain of Judah," Deut.
1:19, 20; Num. 13:29; Josh. 11:3. On the
east side of the Jordan also they had, be-
fore the time of Moses, founded 2 king-
doms, that of Bashan in the north, and
another, bounded at first by the Jabbok, in
the south. But under Sihon they crossed
the Jabbok, and took from the Ammonites
and Moabites all the country between the
Jabbok and the Arnon ; so that this latter
stream now became the southern boundary
of the Amorites, Num. 21:13, 14, 26; 32:33,
39; Deut. 4:46, 47; 31:4. This last tract
the Israelites took possession of after their
victory over Sihon. See Amorites.
6. The HiTTiTES, or children of Heth,
according to the report of the spies, Num.
13:29, dwelt among the Amorites in the
mountainous district of the south, after-
wards called the " mountain of Judah."
In the time of Abraham they possessed
Hebron ; and the patriarch purchased from
them the cave of Machpelah as a sepulchre,
Gen. 23; 25:9, 10. After the Israelites en-
tered Canaan, the Hittites seem to have
91
CAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAN
moved farther northward. The country
around Bethel is called " the land of the
Hittites," Judg. 1:26. See Hittites.
7. The Perizzitks were found in vari-
ous parts of Canaan. The name signifies
inhabitants of the plains, from their origi-
nal abode. According to Gen. 13:7, they
dwelt with the Canaanites, between Bethel
and Ai; and according to Gen. 34:30, in
the vicinity of Shechem. See Pkkizzites.
Besides these 7 tribes, there were several
others of the same parentage, dwelling
north of Canaan. These were the Arkites,
Arvadites, Hamathites, and Zemarites.
There were also several other tribes of di-
verse origin within the bounds of Canaan,
destroyed by the Israelites; such as the
Anakim, the Amalekites, and the Rephaim
or giants.
Simon the Canaanite. See Zelotes.
CAN'DACE, prince of servants, an Ethi-
opian queen, whose high treasurer, proba-
bly of Jewish birth, was converted to Chris-
tianity under the preaching of Philip the
evangelist, Acts 8:27. A. D. 30. The Ethi-
opia over which she ruled was not Abys-
sinia, but that region of Upper Nubia called
by the Greeks Meroe ; and is supposed to
correspond with the present province of
Atbara, lying between 13 and 18 degrees
north latitude. Extensive ruins found in
this neighborhood, and along the upper
valley of the Nile, indicate high civilization
among the ancient Ethiopians. Pliny and
Strabo inform us that for some time before
and after the Christian era Ethiopia was
under the government of female sovereigns,
who all bore the appellation of Candace.
Irenaeus and Eusebius ascribe to Canda-
ce's minister her own conversion to Chris-
tianity and the promulgation of the gospel
through her kingdom.
CAN'DLE, often used in the Bible, A. V.,
for /aw//), Job 18:6; Prov. 31:18; Luke 15:8.
Candles were unknown in the East. See
Lamp. A light in the house is an emblem
of prosperity, Job 21:17, being often kept
burning all night.
GOLDEN CANDLESTICK : PLAN ANU ELKVATION.
CAN'DLESTICK. In the tabernacle, the
golden " candlestick " — or rather candela-
brum or lamp-stand — stood on the left hand
of one entering the Holy Place, opposite
the table of show-bread. It consisted of a
pedestal ; an upright shaft ; 6 arms, 3 on
one side, and 3 on the opposite side of the
shaft ; and 7 lamps surmounting the shaft
and arms. The arms were adorned with
3 kinds of carved ornaments, called cups,
globes, and blossoms. Its lamps were sup-
plied with pure olive oil, and lighted every
evening, Exod. 25:31-40; 30:7,8; 37:17-24;
Lev. 24:1-3; I Sam. 3:3; 2 Chr. 13:11. In
the ist temple there were 10 candelabra of
pure gold, half of them standing on the
SPOILS OF JERUSALEM, KROM THE ARCH OF TITUS AT ROME.
north, and half on the south side, within
the Holy Place, i Kin. 7 : 49, 50 ; 2 Chr. 4:7;
Jer. 52 : 19. In the 2d temple there was but
1, resembling that of the tabernacle. This
92
was carried to Rome, on the destruction of
Jerusalem; it was lodged in Vespasian's
temple to Peace, and copied on the tri-
umphal arch of Titus, where its mutilated
CAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAP
image is yet to be seen. See the beautiful
and significant visions of the candlestick
by Zechariah and John, Zech. 4:2-12; Rev.
1:12, 20.
CANE, or Cal'amus, sweet, Song 4:14,
an aromatic reed mentioned among the
drugs of which the sacred perfumes were
compounded, Exod. 30:23. The true odo-
riferous calamus or grass came from India ;
and the prophets speak of it as a foreign
commodity of great value, Isa. 43:24; Jer.
6:20; Ezek. 27:19. See Reed.
CAN'KER-WORM, in our Bible, A. V., is
put where the Hebrew means a species of
locust, perhaps in the larva state, Joel 1:4;
Nah. 3:15, 16.
CAN'ON, a straight rod ; hence a rule or
standard, by which the rectitude of opin-
ions or actions may be decided. In the
latter sense it is used in Gal. 6:16; Phil.
3:16, and by the Greek fathers. As the
standard to which they sought to appeal
on all questions was the will of God in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,
they came naturally to apply this term to
the collective body of those writings, and
to speak of them as the canon or rule.
Canon is also equivalent to a list or cata-
logue, in which are inserted all those books
which contain the inspired rule of faith
and practice.
In order to establish the canon of Scrip-
ture, it must be shown that all its books
are of divine authority; that they are en-
tire and incorrupt; that it is without addi-
tion from any foreign source ; and that the
whole of the books for which divine author-
ity can be proved are included. See Bible.
CAN'TICLES. See Solomon's Song.
CAPER'NAUM, village of Naimm, a chief
city of Galilee in the time of Christ, not
mentioned before the captivity in Babylon.
It lay on the northwest shore of the Sea of
Galilee, about 5 miles from the Jordan, and
on the frequented route from Damascus to
the Mediterranean. It was a " city," and
a revenue station, Matt. 9:1, 9; 17:24.
This seems to have been the residence of
Christ, during the 3 years of his ministry,
more than any other place. The brothers
Andrew and Peter dwelt there ; Christ often
taught in its synagogues, one of which was
the gift of a Roman centurion, Luke 7:5,
and wrought mighty works there — the heal-
ing of the centurion's servant. Matt. 8:5,
the man with an unclean spirit, and Pe-
ter's wife's mother, Mark 1:21-34, the par-
alytic, Mark 2:1, and the nobleman's son,
John 4:46, and many others. On its wa-
ters the miracles of the tribute-money and
of the stilling the tempest occurred, Matt.
17:27; John 6:17-21; and it is called "his
own city," Matt. 4:12-16; 9:1; Mark 2:1.
Its inhabitants were thus " exalted unto
heaven;" but their unbelief and impeni-
tence cast them down to destruction. Matt.
1 1 : 20-24. The very name and site of Ca-
pernaum have been lost. Dr. Robinson
locates it at Khan Minyeh, on the northern
border of the fine plain of Gennesaret,
where- ruins of some extent still remain,
and a copious fountain not far from the
sea ; Capt. Wilson and other authorities, at
Tell Hflm, 3 miles to the northeast, where
the remains of a large Jewish synagogue
and other ruins are found ; and others still,
with less probability, at the Round P'oun-
tain, near the south end of the plain, 3
miles south of Khan Minyeh and a mile
and a half from the lake.
CAPH'TORIM, descendants of Mizraim,
and kindred to the Casluhim, near whom
they probably originated on the northeast
coast of Africa. These last two people are
both named as ancestors of the Philistines,
Gen. 10:14; Deut. 2:23; Amos 9:7; and it
is probable that a colony made up from
both drove out the Avim from the country
on the southeast coast of the Mediterrane-
an, and occupied it under the name of Phil-
istines, which it is generally agreed means
strangers. They were there in Abraham's
day. Gen. 21:32,34, but whether they came
directly from Egypt, or from Cyprus, Crete,
or Cappadocia, is not agreed.
CAPPADO'CIA, the largest ancient prov-
ince of Asia Minor ; having Pontus on the
north, Mount Taurus, separating it from
Cilicia and Syria, on the south, Galatia on
the west, and the Euphrates and Armenia
on the east. It was watered by the river
Halys, and was noted for its fine pastures
and its excellent breed of horses, asses,
and sheep. There were many Jews resi-
ding in it, Acts 2:9; and Christianity was
early introduced there, i Pet. 1:1, among
a people proverbial for dulness, faithless-
ness, and vice. See Crete. Several cel-
ebrated Christian fathers flourished in this
province, as Basil and the 3 Gregories ; and
their churches may be traced as late as the
loth century.
CAP'TAIN, a military chief, or in some
cases a civil officer ; often a military tri-
bune or commander of 1,000 men, John
18:12; Acts 21:31. In Gen. 39:1, etc., prob-
ably it describes Potiphar as head of the
executors of the king's orders ; in Luke
93
CAP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAP
22:4, 52 ; Acts 4:1; 5:24, it means the lead-
er of the nightly temple-guard of priests
and Levites, as in 2 Kin. 11:19; 25:18; in
Acts 28:16, it was apparently the Praetori-
an prefect, over the emperor's body-guard.
Applied to Christ in Heb. 2:10, it is not a
military term, but means " author " or
source, as in Heb. 12:2.
CAP'TIVES, taken in war, seem ancient-
ly to have been looked upon as justly liable
to death, and hence to any treatment less
dreadful than death. Their necks were
trodden upon. Josh. 10:24, in token of ab-
ject subjection, which illustrates Psa. no: i.
They were sold into servitude, like Joseph.
They were mutilated, like Samson, Adoni-
zedek, or Zedekiah. They were stripped
of all clothing, and driven in crowds to
adorn the victor's triumph, Isa. 20:4. Large
numbers of them were selected, often by a
measuring line, 2 Sam. 8:2, and slain, 2 Chr.
25: 12. This was sometimes done with de-
signed cruelty, 2 Sam. 12:31 ; i Chr. 20:3.
See CUT in Ninevkh. See also 2 Kin. 8:12;
Nah. 3:5, 6; Zech. 14:2. A whole people
was sometimes sold into slavery, or trans-
planted to another country. The Romans
in some cases bound a living cai)tive to a
dead body, and left them to perish togeth-
er— a practice which may illustrate the
apostle's cry, " O wretched man that I am !
who shall deliver me from the body of this
death ?" Rom. 7:24.
CAPTIVITY. God often punished the
sins of the Jews by captivities or servi-
tudes, according to his threatenings, Deut.
28. Their first captivity, however, from
which Moses delivered them, should be
considered rather as a permission of Prov-
idence, than as a punishment for sin.
There were 6 subjugations of the 12 tribes
during the period of the Judges. But the
most remarkable captivities, or rather ex-
patriations of the Hebrews, were those of
Israel and Judah under the regal govern-
ment. Israel was first carried away in
part about 740 B. C, by Tiglath-pileser,
2 Kin. 15:29. The tribes east of the Jor-
dan, with parts of Zebulun and Naphtali,
I Chr. 5:26; Isa. 9:1, were the first suffer-
ers. Twenty years later, Shalmaneser car-
ried away the remainder of Israel, 2 Kin.
17:6, and located them in distant cities,
many of them probably not far from the
Caspian Sea; and their place was supplied
by colonies from Babylon and Persia, 2 Kin.
17:6-24. Aside from certain prophecies,
Isa. 11:12, 13; Jer. 31:7-9, 16-20: 49:2;
Ezek. 37:16; Hos. 11: 11; Amos 9:14;
94
Obad. 18 ; 19, etc., which are variously in-
terpreted to mean a past or a future return,
a physical or a spiritual restoration, there
is no evidence that the 10 tribes as a body
ever returned to Palestine.
To Judah are generally reckoned 3 cap-
tivities : I. I'nder Jehoiakim, in his 3d year,
B. C. 606, when Daniel and others were car-
ried to Babylon, 2 Kin. 24:1, 2; Dan. 1:1.
2. In the last year of Jehoiakim, when
Nebuchadnezzar carried 3,023 Jews to Bab-
jlon ; or rather, under Jehoiachin, when
this prince also was sent to Babylon ; that
is, in the 7th and 8th years of Nebuchad-
nezzar, B. C. 598, 2 Kin. 24:12; 2 Chr. 36:8,
10; Jer. 52:28. 3. Under Zedekiah, B. C.
588, when Jerusalem and the temple were
destroyed, and most that was valuable
among the people and their treasures was
carried to Babylon, 2 Kin. 25 ; 2 Chr. 36.
This was 132 years after the final captivity
of Israel. The 70 years during which they
were to remain in captivity, Jer. 25:11;
29: 10, are reckoned probably from the date
of the first ca])tivity, B. C. 606. Besides the
3 occasions above named, several other in-
vasions and partial captivities are alluded
to in 2 Kin. 15: 19; 17:3-6; 18:13; 25:11.
While in Babylonia, the Jews were treat-
ed mildly, and more like colonists than
slaves. They had judges and elders who
governed them, and decided matters in dis-
pute juridically according to their laws.
The books of Nehemiah and Daniel show
us Jews in high positions at court, and the
book of Esther celebrates their numbers
and power in the Persian empire. There
were priests among them, Jer. 29:1, and
they preserved their genealogical registers
and many of their rites and customs. The
prophets labored, not in vain, to keep alive
the flame of true religion.
At length the 70 years were fulfilled, and
Cyrus, in the ist year of his reign at Baby-
lon, B. C. 536, made a jjroclamation through-
out his empire permitting the i)eople of God
to return to their own country and rebuild
the temple, Ezra i:ii. Nearly 50,000 ac-
cepted the invitation, though a large pro-
portion preferred to remain, Ezra 2:2; Neh.
7:7. This company laid the foundation of
the 2d temple, which was completed in the
6th year of Darius, B. C. 516. Fifty-eight
years after, Ezra led a small company of
7,000 from Babylon to Judaea. He was
succeeded as governor by Nehemiah, who
labored faithfully and successfully to re-
form the people, and many of the good
fruits of his labors remained until the time
CAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAR
of Christ. The Jewish character and lan-
guage were changed by their sojourn for
so long a time among foreigners, Neh. 8:8;
and it is noteworthy that we hear little of
idols or idolatry among them after the cap-
tivity.
Probably none among the posterity of
Jacob can now prove from which of his i2
sons they are descended. Both Judah and
Israel being removed from "the lot of their
inheritance" in Canaan, and dispersed
among strangers, the various tribes would
naturally amalgamate with each other, the
envy of Judah and Ephraim would depart,
and the memory of Abraham, Moses, and
David would revive, Ezra 6:i6, 17; 8:35;
Ezek. 37:26-28. They are called the " dis-
persed among the Gentiles," John 7:35,
and 2 of the inspired epistles were written
to them, Jas. i : i ; i Pet. i : i.
The last captivity of the Jews, A. D. 71,
after they had filled up the measure of
their iniquity by rejecting Christ and the
gospel, was a terrible one. According to
Josephus, 1,100,000 perished at the siege of
Jerusalem by Titus, and nearly 100,000 cap-
tives were scattered among the provinces
and slain in gladiatorial shows, doomed to
toil as public slaves, or sold into private
bondage. The cut represents the medal of
the emperor Vespasian, A. D. 71, in mem-
ory of the capture of Jerusalem. Under
the emperor Hadrian, A. D. 133, a similar
crushing blow fell on the Jews who had
again assembled in Judaea; and at this
day they are scattered all over the world,
yet distinct from the people among whom
they dwell, suffering under the woe which
unbelief has brought upon their fathers
and themselves, until the time come when
Christ " shall turn away ungodliness from
Jacob," Rom. 11:25, 26.
CAR'BUNCLE, a precious stone, like a
large ruby or garnet, of a dark red color,
said to glitter even in the dark, and to
sparkle more than the ruby. The word
is put to represent 2 different Hebrew
words, one of which, Exod. 28:17; Ezek.
28:13, is commonly thought to mean the
emerald; and the other, Isa. 54:12, maj'
mean a brilliant species of ruby.
CAR'CHEMISH,/or/ of Chemosh, usually
identified with Circesium, a fortified city
on the east side of the Euphrates, where
the river Chaboras enters it. In Isa. 10:9,
it appears as taken by some king of As-
syria. It was attacked by Pharaoh-necho
king of Egj-pt, near the close of Josiah's
reign, B. C. 609, 2 Chr. 35:20. Three years
afterwards Necho was signally defeated by
Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 46:1-12. In later
times it was held as a frontier post of the
Roman empire on the east. Rawlinson
places it at Hierapolis, near Bir, much far-
ther up the river.
CAR'MEL, tlie park, ox , fruitful field, I.,
a city of Judah, on a mountain of the same
name, 9 miles south by east of Hebron,
Josh. 15:55; 2 Chr. 26:10. Here Saul, re-
turning from his expedition against Ama-
lek, erected a trophy ; and here Nabal the
Carmelite, Abigail's husband, dwelt, i Sam.
15:12; 25; 27:3. Its ruins indicate that it
was a large place.
II. A celebrated range of hills, 12 miles
long, running northwest beside the plain of
Esdraelon, and ending in the promontory
south of the Bay of Acre, Josh. 19:26. Its
greatest height is about i,Sio feet; at its
northeastern foot runs the brook Kishon,
and a little farther north, the river Belus.
On its northern point now stands a convent
of the Carmelite friars, an order established
in the 12th century, and having various
branches in Europe. Mount Carmel is the
only great promontory upon the coast of
Palestine. The foot of the northern part
approaches the water so that, seen from
the hills northeast of Acre, Mount Carmel
appears as if " dipping his feet in the
western sea ;" farther south it retires more
inland, so that between the mountain and
the sea there is an extensive plain covered
with fields and olive-trees. Mr. Carne
traversed the whole summit, which occu-
pied several hours. He says, " It is the
finest and most beautiful mountain in Pal-
estine, of great length, and in many parts
covered with trees and flowers. On reach-
ing, at last, the opposite summit, and com-
ing out of a wood, we saw the celebrated
plain of Esdraelon beneath, with the river
Kishon flowing through it ; Mounts Tabor
95
CAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CAR
.MOUNT CARMEL AND HAIFA.
and Little Hermon were in front (east);
and on the right (south) the prospect was
bounded by the hills of Samaria." From
the southeast side of this ridge, a range of
low wooded hills on the south spreads
and rises into the high lands of Samaria.
Those who visit Mount Carmel in the last
part of the dry season find everything
parched and brown, especially at the west-
ern end ; but at other seasons its exuber-
ance of vegetable and animal life shows
how just were the allusions of ancient wri-
ters to its e.xceeding beauty, Isa. 55:2, its
verdure of drapery and grace of outline,
Song 7:5, and its rich pastures, Isa. 33:9;
Jer. 50:19; Amos 1:2. The rock of the
mountain is a hard limestone, abounding
in natural caves, Amos 9:3. These have
in many cases been enlarged, and other-
wise fitted for human habitation ; and the
mountain has been in various ages a favor-
ite residence for devotees. It is memora-
ble for frequent visits of the prophets Eli-
jah and Elisha, 2 Kin. 1:9-15; 2:25; 4:25;
and especially for the destruction of the
priests of Baal upon it, i Kin. 18. This
took place at the western end of the ridge.
Mar Elyas, a high and bold point sloping
down to the plain. There is still a well on
the hillside, at a spot now called F^l-Mahar-
rakah, the burning; and the ancient Ki-
96
shon is now known as the Nahr el-Mukatta,
river of slaughter. It flows into the sea
east of Carmel and Haifa.
CAR'NAL, fleshly, unholy ; in contrast
with spiritual and holy. It describes all
unrenewed men — born of fallen parents,
and not born anew of the Holj- Spirit,
Rom. 7: 14.
CAR'PENTERS, and their tools and work,
are often mentioned in the Bible ; and a
high degree of skill in many kinds of wood-
work was early attained, and shown in the
building of the ark, the tabernacle, the
temple, royal palaces, and even the car-
ving of idols, Gen. 6; Exod. 27; 2 Chr. 3;
9:11; Isa. 44:13. This trade of civilized
life was honored among the Jews, and is
for ever endeared to all its Christian mem-
bers by the fact that our Lord himself was
one of them — a workingman, Matt. 13:55;
Mark 6:3.
CAR'PUS,y>-//;V, a disciple and friend of
Paul at Troas, 2 Tim. 4:13.
CAR'RIAGE, the baggage which formed
the burden of a manor beast, i Sam. 17:22;
Acts 21:15. Once or twice it seems to in-
dicate a circular trench or rampart of bag-
gage, etc., around a camp, i Sam. 17:20;
26:5, 7.
CARTS or WAGONS. The roads in Pales-
tine are now generally impassable by any
CAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CED
wheeled vehicle ; and the chief use of the
cart drawn by cattle, 2 Sam. 6:6, was on a
limited scale for agricultural purposes, such
as forcing the ripe grain out of the ear.
A MODERN SYRIAN CART.
bruising the straw, removing the produce
ofthe fields, etc., Isa. 5:18; 28:27,28. Wag-
ons were used to carry Israel into Egypt,
and for the conveyance of the ark, Gen.
45:27; Num. 7:3-9. They were often drawn
by heifers, etc., i Sam. 6:7, and were usu-
ally low, and on solid wooden wheels, some-
times iron-shod.
CASE'MENT, Prov. 7:6. See L.\ttice.
CASIPH'IA, the home of many of the ex-
iled Jews, was probably in the direction of
the Caspian Sea from Babylon, Ezra 8:17.
CAS'LUHIM, descendants of Mizraim,
See Caphtorim.
CAS'SIA, the bark of an odoriferous tree,
from which came one ingredient of the
holy oil or ointment, Exod. 30:24; Psa.
45:8 ; Ezek. 27: 19.
CAST'AWAY, worthless, like the dross
of metals, i Cor. 9:27. In heathen coun-
tries infants are often exposed and left to
perish, Ezek. 16:5.
CAS'TLE, Acts 21:34, the Tower of An-
tonia, a fortress in Jerusalem. See Tem-
ple.
CAS'TOR and POL'LUX, twin sons of
Jupiter and Leda, and guardians of sea-
men, according to Greek and Roman my-
thology. Ships often had their images on
the prow, and bore their names. Acts 28:11.
CAT'ERPILLAR, some locust-like insect,
now undistinguishable, Deut. 28.38; i Kin.
8:37; Psa. 78:46; 105:34; Isa. 33:4. See
Locust.
CATH'OLIC. This term is Greek, sig-
nifying universal. The true church of
Christ is called catholic, because it extends
throughout the world, and during all time.
In modern times the Church of Rome has
usurped this title, improperly applying it
exclusively to itself.
The " Catholic epistles " are 5, so called
because they were addressed to the church
in general, and not to any particular
church. They are, i epistle of James, 2 of
Peter, i of John, and i of Jude.
5
CAT'TLE. See Goat, Ox, Sheep, Ass,
Camel, Horse.
CAUL, Lev. 3:4, 10, 14; 4:9, a lobe of
the liver; in Hos. 13:8, the membrane in-
closing the heart ; in Isa. 3: 18, network for
the hair.
CAUSE' WAY. I Chr. 26:16, 18, supposed
to be the "ascent," 2 Chr. 9:4, by which
men went from Zion to the west side of the
temple area. If it was first of wood, " ter-
races," 2 Chr. 9:11 ; the later structure was
stone. See Walls.
CAVE. Judaea, a limestone country,
abounds with subterranean caverns of va-
rious dimensions, often giving rise to small
rivulets. These were used as dwellings,
places of refuge for men and cattle, and
tombs. It was in a cave that Lot resided
after the destruction of Sodom, Gen. 19:30.
Petra, in Idumaea, was a city of caves, and
its early inhabitants, expelled by the Edom-
ites, were a troglodite race, called Hor-
ITES, or cave-men, Num. 24:21 ; Song 2: 14 ;
Jer. 49:16; Obad. 3. In the vicinity of He-
bron, the poor still live in caves while pas-
turing their flocks. Natural cavities were
sometimes enlarged, and artificial ones
made for refuge and defence, Judg. 6:2;
1 Sam. 13:6; Isa. 2:19; Jer. 41:9. The
caves of Machpelah, of Adullam, of Enge-
di, of Carmel, and of Arbela still exist. See
Sela, Sepulchre.
CE'DAR of Lebanon, a noble evergreen-
tree greatly celebrated in the Scriptures,
Psa. 92:12; Ezek. 31:3-6. These trees
are remarkably thick and tall ; some have
trunks from 35 to 40 feet in girth, and 90
feet in height. The cedar-tree shoots out
branches at 10 or 12 feet from the ground,
large and almost horizontal ; its leaves are
an inch long, slender and straight, growing
in tufts. The tree bears a small cone, like
that of the pine. This celebrated tree is
not peculiar to Mount Lebanon, but grows
upon Mounts Amanus and Taurus in Asia
Minor, and in other parts of the Levant,
but does not elsewhere reach the size and
height of those on Lebanon. It has also
been cultivated in the gardens of Europe;
2 are at Chiswick in England, i in the
Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and there are
possibly more young cedars in England
than in Palestine. The beauty of the cedar
consists in the proportion and symmetry
of its wide-spreading branches and cone-
like top. The gum, which exudes both
from the trunk and the cones or fruit, is
soft like balsam ; its fragrance is like that
of the balsam of Mecca. Everything about
97
CED
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CEN
THK CKDAR OF LEBANON: CEDRUS LIBANI.
the tree has a strong balsamic odor ; and
hence the whole grove is so pleasant and
fragrant that it is delightful to walk in it,
Song 4:11; Hos. 14:6. The wood is ex-
ceedingly durable, Psa. 92:12; not subject
to decay, nor to be eaten of worms ; hence
it was much used for rafters, and for boards
with which to cover houses and form the
floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a
red color, beautiful, solid, and free from
knots. The palace of Persepolis, the tem-
ple at Jerusalem, and Solomon's palace
were all partly built with cedar ; and " the
house of the forest of Lebanon" was per-
haps so called from the quantity of this
wood used in its construction, i Kin. 7:2;
10: 17.
Of the forests of cedars which once cov-
ered Lebanon, comparatively few are now
left, Isa. 2:13; 10:19, though there are still
many scattered trees and groves in various
parts. Rev. H. H. Jessup, American mis-
sionary, and Dr. Post, visited ii different
groves, 2 of them numbering thousands of
genuine cedars. Tlie largest and most an-
cient trees, formerly thought to be the only
ones, are found in a grove, lying a little off
from the road which crosses Mount Leba-
non from Baalbek to Tripoli, 6,400 feet
above the sea, and 3,000 feet below the sum-
mit of the mountain on the western side,
at the foot indeed of the highest summit or
98
ridge of Lebanon. This grove consists of
a few very old trees, perhaps as old as the
time of Christ, intermingled with 400 or 500
j'ounger ones. See Lkbanon.
Besides the true cedar of Lebanon, the
word cedar in the Bible appears to mean
sometimes the juniper, Lev. 14:4, 6, 49-52;
Num. 19:6; and sometimes the pine, Ezek.
27:5, and perhaps i Kin. 5; 6; 7; 9:11; and
the yew.
CE'DRON. See KiDRON.
CEIL'ING. The ancients took great
pains toornami.-nt the ceilings of their best
apartments : making them sometimes of a
sort of wainscoting, in squares or complica-
ted figures : and sometimes of a fine plaster
with beautiful mouldings, tinted and re-
lieved by gilding, small mirrors, etc., i Kin.
6:15; 2 Chr. 3:5; Jer. 22: 14. Hence "ceiled
houses," Hag. 1:4. Such ceilings were
used, according to Layard, in the palaces
and temples of Nineveh ; and are found at
this day in the houses of Damascus.
CEN'CHRE.ffi, a port of Corinth, now
named Kenkries, whence Paul sailed for
Ephesus, Acts 18: iS. It was a place of some
commercial note, and the seat of an early
church, Rom. 16:1. It was situated on the
eastern side of the isthmus, 8 or 9 miles
east of the city, on the Saronic Gulf. The
other port, on the western side of the isth-
mus, was Lechaeum.
CEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHA
CEN'SER, 2 Chr. 26:16, 19, a vessel in
which fire and incense were carried, in cer-
tain parts of the Hebrew worship. Little
is known of its form. The censer for the
daily offering was at first made of copper,
Num. 16:39. That used on the great day
of Atonement was made of pure gold, i Kin.
7:50; Heb. 9:4. In the daily offering, the
,^.„ , . censer was filled with
coals from the perpetual
fire, and placed on the
altar of incense where
the incense, was sprin-
kled on the coals, and
burning diffused its fra-
grance far and wide,
Exod. 30:1, 7-10. On
the day of Atonement, in
the Holy of Holies, the
censer must have been
held in the hand, and probably by a han-
dle. Lev. 16:12, 13.
The censers of the Egyptians had long
handles, like a human arm and hand, upon
the palm of which the incense-cup stood.
Those of the Greeks and Romans had
chains, by which they were carried, like
those now used in the Romish service.
The golden " vials " full of odors. Rev.
5:8, were censers, or vessels of incense.
CEN'SUS. There are 4 formal number-
ings of the Jews reported in the Bible: one
at Mount Sinai, Exod. 38:26, when the num-
ber of men over 20 years old was 603,550 ;
one in the 2d year after the exodus. Num.
1-3; one just before their entrance into
Canaan, Num. 26 ; and one in David's
reign, 2 Sam. 24:1-9; i Chr. 21:5; 27:24,
when the men numbered at least 1,300,000.
Comparing with this the vast armies raised
by subsequent kings, 2 Chr. 13:3, 17; 14:8,
9; 17:14-19; 25:5, 6, and adding 3 times
these numbers for the women and children,
we learn that the population of the Holy
Land in its prime was more dense than in
most thickly settled countries of our own
day ; and the statements of Josephus are
of the same purport.
CENTU'RION, a Roman officer com-
manding a hundred soldiers ; similar to
" captain " in modern times. Several cen-
turions are mentioned with honor in the
New Testament, Mark 15:39; Luke 7:1-
10; Acts 27:1, 3, 43; and the first fruit to
Christ from the Gentiles was the generous
and devout Cornelius, Acts 10.
CE'PHAS, a rock, a Syriac or later He-
brew name given to Peter by Christ, John
1:42. The Greek Petros and the Latin
Petrus have the same meaning. See Pe-
ter.
CE'SAR. See C^SAR.
CH, in words derived from Hebrew and
Greek, usually proper names, is to be pro-
nounced like K. As in Chaldaea, Chloe,
Archippus ; pronounced Kalde'a, Klo'e, Ar-
kip'pus. In Cher'ubim and Rachel, how-
ever, it is pronounced as in chest, chief.
CHAFF. See Threshing.
CHAINS, of iron or brass, were either
fetters or handcuffs, Judg. 16:21; 2 Sam.
3:34; 2 Kin. 25:7; Acts 12:6, 7. Chains of
gold were worn as ornaments by women,
Song 1:10; 4:9; and by men also. Num.
31:50; Prov. 1:9; but especially as official
badges of honor. Gen. 41:42; Dan. 5:16;
Ezek. 16:11. They were a part of the tem-
ple furnishing and the priestly dress, Exod.
28 ; 2 Chr. 3.
CHALCED'ONY, a precious stone, resem-
bling the agate ; of various colors, but often
a light brown or blue. Rev. 21:19. It is
named after Chalcedon, in Bithynia, oppo-
site Constantinople, and is much used as
a material for cups, vases, and other arti-
cles of taste.
CHALD.ffi'A, a country in Asia, the capi-
tal of which, in its widest extent, was Bab-
3'lon. It was originally of small extent ;
but the empire being afterwards very much
enlarged, the name is generally taken in a
more extensive sense, and includes Baby-
lonia, which see.
CHALDiE'ANS. This name is taken, i.
for the people of Chaldaea, and the subjects
of that empire generally; 2. for philoso-
phers, naturalists, or soothsayers, whose
principal employment was the study of
mathematics and astrology, by which they
pretended to foretell the destiny of men
born under certain constellations.
The Chaldaeans were originally a war-
like people, apparently Cushite in origin
and language, dwelling in the south part of
the plain of Shinar, Job 1:17. As the As-
syrian monarchs extended their conquests
towards the west, the Chaldaeans also came
under their dominion. A very vivid and
99
CHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHA
graphic description of the Chaldaean war-
riors is given by the prophet Habakkuk,
who probably lived about the time when
they first made incursions into Palestine
or the adjacent regions, Hab. i:6-ii. In
the reign of king Hezekiah, B. C. 713, a
king of Babylon is mentioned, the first of
whom we read after Nimrod and Amra-
phel. About 100 years later we find the
Chaldaeans in possession of the kingdom
of Babylon. The first sovereign in the
new line appearing in history was Nabo-
polassar. His son Nebuchadnezzar inva-
ded Palestine, as foretold by Jeremiah and
Habakkuk, Ezra 5:12; Jer. 39:5. He was
succeeded by his son Evil-merodach, 2 Kin.
25 : 27 ; Jer. 52 : 31 . After him came, in quick
succession, Xeriglissar, Laborosoarchod,
and Nabonnedus with Belshazzar, under
whom this empire was absorbed in the
Medo-Persian. The Chaldieo-Babylonian
dynasty continued probably less than 200
years. See Babylon.
The ancient Chaldaeans seem to have re-
tained their old Cushite language for scien-
tific uses, and to have been the learned
and jjriestly class when merged with the
Babylonians and Assyrians. As such thej-
are spoken of in Dan. 1:4; 2:2-12.
CHALDEE Language. See Language.
CHAMBER. See House. Chambers
sometimes denotes constellations or re-
gions in the heavens. Job 9:9; Psa. 104:3,
13. For "chambers of imagery," Ezek.
8:12, see Nineveh.
CHAM'BERING, licentiousness, Rom.
CHAM'BERLAIN, 2 Kin. 23:11. an officer
who had charge of a king's lodgings and
wardrobe. In Eastern courts eunuchs were
generally employed in this office, Esth. i : 10,
12, 15. in Acts 12:20, an officer high in the
king's confidence. This title in Rom. 16:23
probably denotes the steward or treasurer
of the city.
CHAME'LEON. See below.
CHAM'OIS, not the well-known moun-
tain goat of Southern Europe, but proba-
bly a variety of wild sheep, resembling a
goat, found in Arabia Petrtea and on Egyp-
tian monuments, Deut. 14:5.
CHAME'LEON, Lev. 11:30, a kind of liz-
ard, with a shagreened skin. Its body is
about 6 inches long ; its feet have 5 toes
each, arranged like 2 thumbs opposite to 3
fingers ; its eyes turn backwards or for-
wards independently of each other. It
feeds upon flies, which it catches by dart-
ing out its long, viscous tongue. It has the
100
faculty of inflating itself at pleasure with
air, and thus changing its color from its
ordinary gray to green, purple, and even
black when enraged.
CHAMPAIGN', Deut. 11:30, a plain or
open region.
CHAP'ITER, the capital, or upper portion
of a i)illar, E.\od. 38: 17, 19, or of a laver or
other work of art, perhaps a carved scroll,
I Kin. 7: 16-31.
CHAP'MEN, travelling merchants, 2 Chr.
9:14.
CHAP'TER. See Bible.
CHAR'GER, or PLATTER, a large, shallow
dish, Num. 7:13; Ezra 1:9; IMatt. 14:8, 11.
CHAR'GES, Acts 21 :24. " Be at charges
with ( for ) tiicm," means, " Pay the expenses
of their rites and offerings."
CHAR'IOTS. Scripture speaks of 2 sorts
of these, two-wheeled, and botli drawn by
horses : one for princes and generals to
ride in. Gen. 41:43; 46:29; 2 Kin. 5:9;
Acts 8:28; or dedicated to idols, 2 Kin.
23:11; the other to break an enemy's bat-
talions, by rushing in among them, being
CHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHE
"chariots of iron," that is, armed with
iron scythes or hooks, projecting from the
ends of the axletrees. These made terri-
ble havoc. The Canaanites whom Joshua
engaged at the waters of Merom had horse-
men, and a multitude of chariots, Josh.
11:4; Judg. 1:19. Sisera, general of Jabin
king of Hazor, had 900 chariots of iron,
Judg. 4:3; and Solomon raised 1,400, i Kin.
10:26, in spite of the prohibition in Deut.
17:16; I Sam. 8:11, 12. The later kings
also cultivated this arm of military power,
Isa. 31:1. Elijah was called the chariot
and horsemen of Israel, as being their
chief defender, 2 Kin. 2:12. In Song 3:9,
chariot seems to mean a portable sedan or
palanquin. See Litter.
CHAR'ITY in Scripture does not mean
almsgiving alone, nor a lenient judgment
of others, but that loving of men as we love
ourselves, which springs from supreme
love to God, and shows itself in all good
works, I Cor. 13. See Love.
INDIAN SERPENT-CHARMERS.
CHARM'ERS, Psa. 58:4, 5; Eccl. io:ii;
Jer. 8:17, persons very common through-
out India and Egypt, who claim to have
the faculty of catching, taming, and con-
trolling serpents, even the most venomous.
CHARMS. See Amulets.
CHAR'RAN. See Haran.
CHE'BAR, length, commonly believed to
be a river which rises in the northern part
of Mesopotamia, and flows first southeast,
then south and southwest, into the Euphra-
tes. It was called Chaboras by the Greeks ;
now Khabour. On its fertile banks Nebu-
chadnezzar located a part of the captive
Jews, and here the sublime visions of Eze-
kiel took place, Ezek. 1:3; 3:15; 10:15;
43:3. Rawlinson thinks this river is too far
north for the limits of Chaldaea, and identi-
fies the Chebar with a large canal near Bab-
ylon excavated under Nebuchadnezzar.
CHEDORLAO'MER, haiidful of sheaves,
king of Elam, in Persia, in the time of
Abraham. He made the cities in the re-
gion of the Dead Sea his tributaries ; and
on their rebelling, he came with 4 allied
kings and overran the whole country south
and east of the Jordan. Lot was among
his captives, but was rescued by Abraham
with his own dependents and his neigh-
bors. Gen. 14: 1-24. Compare Psa. no. His
name is found on Chaldaean bricks recent-
ly discovered.
CHEESE, several times alluded to in
Scripture, and still an important article of
food in the East, i Sam. 17:18;
2 Sam. 17:29. It is usually white
and very salt ; soft, when new, but
soon becoming hard and dry. The
cheese was like a small saucer in
size, Job 10:10. The "cheese-ma-
kers' valley " in Jerusalem, Tyro-
poeon, lay between Mounts Zion and
Moriah.
CHEM'ARIM, occurring once only
in the English version, Zeph. 1:4,
but frequently in the Hebrew, trans-
lated "idolatrous priests," 2 Kin.
23:5; Hos. 10:5.
CHE'MOSH, subdiier, the national
god of the Moabites and of the Am-
monites, worshipped also under Sol-
omon at Jerusalem, Num. 21:29;
Judg. 11:24; I Kin. 11:7; 2 Kin.
23: 13 ; Jer. 48:7. Some erroneously
identify Chemosh with Molech, an-
other god of the Ammonites.
CHER'ETHITES, or Cher'ethim,
I., a portion of the Philistines, sup-
posed by many to have originated in
Crete, i Sam. 30: 14; Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5.
II. A portion of David's body-guard, al-
ways mentioned with the Pelethites, 2 Sam.
8:18; 15:18; 20:7; I Chr. 18:17. Some
suppose that they were foreigners, whom
David took into his service while among
the Philistines. The Gittites mentioned
with them in 2 Sam. 15:18, were plainly
such. Others think they had their name
from their office — executioners and run-
ners. See Pelethites.
lOI
CHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHI
CHE'RITH, a cutting, a small brook flow-
ing into the Jordan, to whicli Elijah oiice
withdrew, and where ravens brought him
supplies of bread and flesh, i Kin. 17:3-5.
Robinson suggests that it may be the pres-
ent VV'ady Kelt, which drains the hills west
of Jericho, and flows near that town on its
way to the Jordan. This brook is dry in
summer. It is in a deep and wild ravine,
and the lofty sides are pierced by many cav-
erns where ravens and eagles still dwell.
CHER'UB, plural Chkr'uhi.m, an order
of celestial beings or symbolical represen-
tations often referred to in the Old Testa-
ment and in the book of Revelation. The
cherubim are variously represented as liv-
ing creatures, Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 1; Rev.
4 ; or as images wrought in tapestry, gold,
or wood, Exod. 36:35; 2,7:7; Ezek. 41:25;
as having i, 2, or 4 faces, Exod. 25:20;
Ezek. 10:14; 41:18; as having 2, 4, or 6
wings, I Kin. 6:27; Ezek. 1:6; Rev. 4:8;
in the simplest form, as in the golden fig-
ures above the ark of the covenant ; or in
the most complex and sublime form, as in
Ezekiel's wonderful visions of the glory of
fjod— discerning and ruling all things, and
executing irresistibly and with the speed of
thought all his wise and just decrees, Ezek.
I ; 10. The fullest of these descriptions
represents the cherub as a winged figure,
like a man in form, full of eyes, and with
a fourfold head— of a man, a lion, an ox,
and an eagle — with wheels turning every
way, and speed like the lightning : pre-
senting the highest earthly forms and pow-
ers of creation in harmonious and perfect
union, Ezek. i; 10; 41; Rev. 4. Usually
also the cherubim stand in a special near-
ness to God ; they are engaged in the lofti-
est adoration and service, moving in in-
stant accordance with his will, Psa. 18:10;
Ezek. 1:26; 10:20: Rev. 4; they are seen
in the temple inseparably associated with
the mercy-seal, " the cherubim of glory,"
Heb. 9:5 — made of the same mass of pure
gold, Exod. 25: 19, bending reverently over
the place of God's j^resence, Psa. 99:1,
where he met his people, Num. 7:89, ac-
cepted the blood of atonement. Lev. 16: 14-
16, and shone forth as their Saviour, Psa.
80: 1 ; Isa. 37: i6.
CHESTNUT-TREE, Gen. 30:37. The Sep-
tuagint and Vulgate here read, the plane-
tree, with which most modern expositors
agree. The plane-tree is akin to the
American button-wood-tree, and lias a tall
and stately trunk, with smooth bark, and
Ijranches spreading in every direction,
102
covered with a profusion of glossy green
leaves. It is nowhere more abundant and
noble than in the plains of Assyria, Ezek.
31:8.
CHESUL'LOTH, a town on the border of
Issachar, named between Jezreel and Shu-
nem, but possibly the same as Chisloth-
TABOK, on the border of Zebulun, about 3
miles west of Mount Tabor ; the village
called Iksal now marks its site, together
with numerous excavated tombs. Josh.
19:12, 18, 22, with 1 Chr. 6:72. See D.\bk-
K.\TH.
CHE'ZIB, Gen. 38:5, probably Achzib, II.
CHIL'DREN. A numerous offspring was
regarded as a signal blessing, Psa. 127:3-5,
and childless wives sought various means
to escape the reproach of barrenness, which
was deprecated in the blessing given to a
newly married couple, Ruth 4:11. The
pangs of childbirth, in their suddenness
and sharpness, are often alluded to in
Scripture. The apostle Paul speaks of
them as fruits and evidences of the fall ;
but assures those who abide in faith that,
amid all the suffering that reminds them
that woman was first in the transgression.
Gen. 3:16, they may yet look trustfully to
Christ, " the seed of the woman," for ac-
ceptance and salvation, 1 Tim. 2:15.
A new-born child was washed, rubbed
with salt, and wrapped in swaddling
clothes, Ezek. 16:4; Luke 2:7-11. On the
8th day a son was circumcised and named.
At his weaning a feast was often made.
Gen. 21:8, when the child was about 3
years old. Young children are still car-
ried by Arab mothers astride of the hip or
the shoulder, as was a custom in the time
of Isaiah, ch. 49:22; 66:12. At the age of
5, sons were brought more into the father's
care than before, to be taught the arts and
duties of life. The nurse of a female child
often attended her through life, Gen. 24: 59;
35:8. Children were to be instructed with
great diligence and care, Deut. 6:20-23.
They were required to honor and obey
their parents, and were subject to the fa-
ther's control in all things. Gen. 22:21;
Num. 30:5; they were even liable to be
sold into tem])orary bondage for his debts,
Lev. 25:39-41; 2 Kin. 4:1 ; Matt. 18:25.
The firstborn son received, besides other
privileges (see Birthright), 2 portions of
his father's estate ; the other sons i por-
tion each. The sons of concubines re-
ceived presents, and sometimes an equal
portion with the others, Gen. 21 :8-2i ; 25: 1-
6; 49:1-27; Judg. 11:1-7. The daughters
CHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY
CHR
received no portion, except in cases pro-
vided for in Num. 27:1-11.
The term child or children, by a Hebrew
idiom, is used to express a great variety of
relations: the good are called children of
God, of light, of the kingdom, etc. ; the bad
are named children of the devil, of wrath,
of disobedience, etc. A strong man is called
a son of strength ; an impious man, a son
of Belial ; an arrow, the son of a bow ; and
a branch, the son of a tree. The posterity
of a man are his " sons," for many genera-
tions. True wisdom may make a child
wiser than 100 years of life, Isa. 65:20.
CHIM'HAM, probably a son of Barzillai,
2 Sam. 19:37; I Kin. 2:7. He may have
received from David the place near Beth-
lehem called Chimham, Jer. 41:17. B. C.
1023.
CHIN'NERETH, or CiNNEROTH, a town
on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee,
Num. 34:11; Deut. 3:17; Josh. 11:2; 12:3;
19:35; I Kin. 15:20. It was a "fenced
city " of Naphtali, and gave its name to the
lake. Tiberias is supposed by Jerome to
have afterwards occupied its site.
CHI'OS, an island in the Ionian Archi-
pelago, between Lesbos and Samos, on the
coast of Asia Minor ; now called Scio. It
is 30 miles long and 10 wide, and has al-
ways been famous for its beauty and fertil-
ity, and in modern times for the massacre
of its inhabitants by the Turks in 1822.
Paul passed this way as he sailed south-
ward from Mitylene to Samos, Acts 20:15.
CHIS'LEU, the 9th month of the He-
brews, beginning with the new moon near-
est to the ist day of December, Neh. 1:1 ;
Zech. 7:1.
CHIS'LOTH-TABOR. See Chesulloth.
CHIT'TIM, or KiTTiM, descendants of
Javan, son of Japheth ; and the land set-
tled by them. Gen. 10:4. Chittim seems
to denote primarily the island of Cyprus ;
and also to be employed, in a wider sense,
to designate other islands and countries
adjacent to the Mediterranean, Isa. 23:1,
12; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6; as, for instance,
Macedonia, Dan. 11:30, and Rome, Num.
24:24.
CHI'UN, an idol worshipped by the Isra-
elites in the desert, Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43;
representing probably the planet Saturn,
worshipped by Eastern nations as an evil
spirit to be propitiated by sacrifices. See
Remphan.
CHORA'ZIN, a town in Galilee, near Ca-
pernaum and Bethsaida, on the northwest
shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jerome says
it was 2 miles from Capernaum. Robin-
son locates it at the modern Tell-Hiim ; Dr.
Wm. M. Thomson found more extensive
ruins, named Kherazeh, 2 miles northwest
of Tell-Hum, and this site is approved by
Wilson and other recent explorers. It was
upbraided by Christ for its impenitence,
Matt. 21:21; Luke 10:13.
CHRIST, anointed, a Greek word, equiv-
alent to the Hebrew Messiah, the conse-
crated or anointed one, and given preemi-
nently to our blessed Lord and Saviour.
See Messiah and Jesus.
The ancient Hebrews, being instructed
by the prophets, had clear notions of the
Messiah; but these became gradually de-
praved, so that when Jesus appeared in
Judcea, the Jews entertained a false con-
ception of the Messiah, expecting a tem-
poral monarch and conqueror, who should
remove the Roman yoke and subdue the
whole world. Hence they were scandal-
ized at the outward appearance, the humil-
ity, and seeming weakness of our Saviour.
The modern Jews, indulging still greater
mistakes, form to themselves ideas of the
Messiah utterly unknown to their fore-
fathers.
The ancient prophets had foretold that
the Messiah should be God, and man ; ex-
alted, and abased ; master, and servant ;
priest, and victim; prince, and subject;
sinless, and yet punished as a criminal ;
involved in death, yet victor over death ;
rich, and poor; a king, a conqueror, glori-
ous— a man of griefs, exposed to infirmi-
ties, unknown, in a state of abjectness and
humiliation. All these contrarieties were
to be reconciled in the person of the Mes-
siah ; as they really were in the person of
Jesus.
It is not recorded that Christ ever re-
ceived any external official unction. The
unction that the prophets and the apostles
speak of is the spiritual and internal unc-
tion of grace and of the Holy Ghost, Luke
4:18; Acts 10:38, of which the outward
unction, with which kings, priests, and
prophets were anciently anointed, was but
the figure and symbol.
The name Christ is the official title of
the Redeemer, and is not to be regarded
as a mere appellative, to distinguish our
Lord from other persons named Jesus,
The force of many passages of Scripture
is greatly weakened by overlooking this.
We may get the true sense of such passa-
ges by substituting for "Christ," "the An-
ointed," and where Jews were addressed,
103
CHR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHR
" THE Messiah." Thus in Matt. 2:4, Her-
od " demanded of them," the priests and
scribes, " where the Christ should be born,"
that is, the Old Testament Messiah. Peter
confessed, " Thou art the Messiah," Matt.
16: 16. The devils did the same, Luke 4:41.
See also Matt. 22:42; Acts 17:3; 18:5. In
later times the name Jesus was compara-
• tively disused; and Christ, as a proper
name, was used instead of Jesus, as in the
epistles.
When we consider the relation of Christ's
person, as God and man, to his official
work as our Prophet, Priest, and King,
and to his states of humiliation and glory ;
when we consider how God is in and with
him — how all the perfections of God are
displayed, and all the truths of God e-xem-
plified in him ; when we consider his vari-
ous relations to the purposes, covenants,
word, and ordinances of God, and to the
privileges, duties, and services of saints,
in time and to eternity, we have a delight-
ful view of him as all and in all. Col.
3:11. And we can understand that "No
man can say that Jesus is the Lord" — cor-
dially believe in and accept him as the
Messiah described in the Bible— "but by
the Holy Ghost," i Cor. 12:3. Compare
Matt. 16:16, 17 ; I John 5: 1.
CHRIS'TIANS, a name given at Antioch
in Syria to those who believed Jesus to be
the Messiah, A. D. 42, Acts 11:26. It seems
to have been given to them bj- the men of
Antioch as a term of convenience rather
than of ridicule, to designate the new sect
more perfectly than any other word could
do, and occurs in only 2 other places in
the Bible, Acts 26:28; i Pet. 4:16. They
generally called each other " brethren,"
"the faithful," "saints," "believers;" and
were named by the Jews, Nazarenes and
Galileans. The term is sometimes used
now to distinguish nominally Christian
nations or individuals from idolaters, Mo-
hammedans, or infidels, and sometimes to
denote church members only. Nominal
Christian nations, including Roman-catho-
lics 195,000,000, Greek and Oriental Chris-
tians 76,000,000, and Protestants gj,cnx>,ooo,
fdrm barely four-tenths of the human fam-
ily in numbers ; but in influence Christ-
endom, and especially Protestantism, is
largely in the ascendant above all others —
including idolaters 766,000,000, Mohamme-
dans 161,000,000, and Jews 6,000,000. He
only is a real Christian who heartily accepts
Christ as his teacher, guide, and master,
the source of his highest life, strength, and
104
joy, his only Redeemer from sin and hell,
his Lord and his God. They who rightly
bear Christ's name and partake of his na-
ture, and they only, will finally share in
his glorj'.
CHRISTS, FALSE. Our Saviour predict-
ed that many pretended Messiahs would
come, Matt. 24:24, and his word has been
abundantly fulfilled. Twenty-four differ-
ent men have pretended to be the Messiah.
One of them named Coziba, usually known
as Bar-cocheba, son 0/ the star, lived with-
in 100 years of Christ, had many followers,
and is said to have occasioned the death of
more than half a million of Jews. Others
have continued to appear, even down to
modern times, 1682.
CHRON'ICLES, the name of 2 historical
books of the Old Testament, the author of
which is not known, though the general
opinion ascribes them to Ezra, B. C. 457,
and this opinion is established by the
searching inquiries and discussions of
modern criticism. They originally formed
a single book. The inspired penman made
use, not only of the earlier books of Scrip-
ture, but of numerous other public annals,
now lost, 1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 16:11;
20:34; 27:7. The ist book contains a re-
capitulation of sacred history, by genealo-
gies, from the beginning of the world to
the time of David, and more fully the life,
reign, and death of David. The 2d book
contains the history of the kings of Judah,
without those of Israel, from the beginning
of the reign of Solomon only, to the return
from the captivity of Babylon. In this re-
spect it diflers from the books of Kings,
which give the history of the kings of both
Judah and Israel. In many places, where
the history of the same kings is related, the
narrative in Chronicles is almost a copy
of that in Kings ; in other places, the one
serves as a supplement to the other. In
the Septuagint, these hooks are called Pa-
raleipomena, that is, things omitted. The
2 books of Chronicles, written after the
restoration from Babylon and during the
reestablishment of the Hebrew state and
church, seem intended primarily to aid in
this work; they give full genealogical rec-
ords, by which the lands were to be re-
assigned, the temple service reorganized,
etc. ; they dwell more on ecclesiastical mat-
ters than the books of Kings ; they enlarge
upon the ordinances of public worship : and
detail minutely the preparations of David
for the building of the temple, and its erec-
tion and dedication by Solomon ; the histo-
CHR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CIL
ries of the other kings also are specially
full in respect to their religious character
and acts, i Chr. 13:8-11; 2 Chr. 11:13;
19:8-11; 26 : 16-19, etc. The Chronicles
should be read in connection with the
books of Samuel and the Kings ; treating
of the same periods, they illustrate each
other, with some apparent but unessential
discrepancies, and form a continuous and
instructive history, showing that religion
is the main source of national prosperity,
and ungodliness of adversity, Prov. 14:34.
The details of these books may be studied
with interest, in view of their bearing upon
the coming and the kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The whole period treated of
in the Chronicles is about 3,500 years. See
Numbers.
CHRYS'OLITE, supposed to be the Ori-
ental topaz of modern times, a transparent
precious stone, having the color of gold
with a mi.xture of green, and a fine lustre.
Rev. 21 :20.
CHRYSOP'RASUS, the loth precious
stone in the foundation of the heavenly
Jerusalem, as seen by John. Its color was
green, inclining to gold, as its name im-
ports. Rev. 21 :20.
CHUB, Ezek. 30:5, some unknown peo-
ple of North Africa, in alliance with Egypt
and defeated by Nebuchadnezzar.
CHUN, I Chr. i8:8, elsewhere called Be-
ROTH.A.1, which see.
CHURCH. The Greek word ecclesia,
translated church, signifies generally an
assembly, either common or religious ; and
it is sometimes so translated, as in Acts
19-32, 39- In the New Testament it usu-
ally means a congregation of religious
worshippers, either Jewish, as Acts 7:38,
or Christian, as Matt. 18:17; i Cor. 6:4.
The latter sense is the more common one ;
and it is thus used in a twofold manner,
denoting,
1. The universal Christian church: either
the invisible church, consisting of all saved
souls, whom God knows, but whom we can-
not infallibly know, Heb. 12:23 ; or the vis-
ible church, made up of the professed fol-
lowers of Christ. Col. 1:24; i Tim. 3:5, 15.
2. A particular church or body of pro-
fessing believers, who meet and worship
together in one place ; as the churches of
Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc., to
which Paul addressed epistles.
In Matt. 16: 18, 19, it seems to mean more
than the mere body of Christ's redeemed
people, including the doctrines, endow-
ments, institutions, and hopes he has given
them — the gospel in the full development
and accomplishment of its designs. The
expression commonly used by Christ him-
self is, "the kingdom of heaven," or of God.
See Kingdom.
CHURL, Isa. 32:5, 7, a deceiver. Churl-
ish, in I Sam. 25:3, coarse and rude.
CHURN, Prov. 30:33. See Butter.
CHU'SHAN-RISHATHA'IM, a king of
Mesopotamia, probably between the Eu-
phrates and the Chebar, who oppressed the
Israelites 8 years, A. M. 2591-9, but. was
defeated by Othniel, Caleb's nephew, Judg.
3:8-10. This was centuries before the rise
of the Assyrian empire.
CHU'ZA, a seer. See Joanna.
CILI'CIA. See below.
CINNAMON : LAL'RL'S CINNAMONUM.
CIN'NAMON, an ingredient in the per-
fumed oil with which the tabernacle and
its vessels were anointed, Exod. 30:23;
Prov. 7:17; Song 4:14. It is the inner
bark of a tree of the laurel family, grow-
ing about 20 feet high, and being peeled
off in thin strips, curls as it is found in
market. It is of a dark red color, of a
poignant taste, aromatic, and very agreea-
ble. That of the finest quality comes from
Ceylon, and reached the Jews by the way
of Babylon, Rev. 18:13.
CILI'CIA, the southeastern province of
Asia Minor, bounded north bv the Taurus
range, separating it from Cappadocia, Ly-
caonia, and Isauria, south by the Mediter-
ranean, east by Syria, and west by Pam-
phylia. The western part had the appel-
lation of Aspera, or rough ; while the east-
ern was called Campestris, or level. This
country was the province of Cicero when
proconsul, B. C. 52 ; and its chief town, Tar-
105
CIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CIS
sus, was the birthplace of the apostle Paul>
Acts 6:9. Many Jews dwelt in Cilicia, and
maintained frequent intercourse with Jeru-
salem, where they had a synagogue, and
joined the other Jews in opposing the prog-
ress of Christianity. Paul himself may
have taken part in the public discussion
with Stephen, Acts 6:9; 7:58. After his
conversion he visited his native province.
Acts 9:30; Gal. i:2i, and established
churches, which were addressed in the let-
ter of the council at Jerusalem, Acts 15:23.
The apostle once afterwards made a mis-
sionary tour among these churches, his
heart yearning to behold and to increase
their prosperity, Acts 15:36, 41. Christian-
ity flourished in Cilicia until it was sup-
pressed by the Turks in the 8th century.
CIN'NEROTH, I Kin. 15:20. See Chin-
NEKKTH.
CIRCUMCIS'ION, a cutting around, be-
cause in this rite the foreskin was cut
away. It was significant of consecration
to God, and of purification. God com-
manded Abraham to use circumcision, as
a sign of his covenant; and so the patri-
arch, at 99 years of age, was circumcised,
also his son Ishmael, and all the males of
his household. Gen. 17:10-12. God repeat-
ed the precept to Moses, and ordered that
all who intended to partake of the jjaschal
sacrifice should receive circumcision ; and
that this rite should be performed on chil-
dren on the 8th day after their birth, Exod.
12:44; Lev. 12:3: John 7:22; the giving of
a name accompanying the act, Luke 1:59;
2:21. In it as a religious rite of the cove-
nant, the males represented also the females
of the household. The Jews have always
been very exact in observing this ceremo-
ny, and it appears that they did not neglect
it when in Egypt, Exod. 4:24-26; Josh. 5:1-
9; though while wandering in the desert
under God's displeasure it was suspended.
It was required of slaves, Gen. 17:12, 13,
and of proselytes to Judaism, Acts 16:3;
and being a painful rite, fien. 34:25, was
one of the burdens from which the gospel
relieved the Jewish converts.
All the other nations that sprung from
Abraham besides the Hebrews, as the Ish-
maelites, the Arabians, etc., also retained
the practice of circumcision. At the pres-
ent day it is an essential rite of the Moham-
medan religion, and though not enjoined
in the Koran, prevails wherever this reli-
gion is found. It is also practised in some
form among the Abyssinians, and various
tribes of South Africa, as it was by the an-
106
cient Egyptians. But there is no proof
that it was practised upon infants, or be-
came a general, national, or religious cus-
tom, before God enjoined it upon Abraham.
Most of the nations around Judaea were
uncircumcised — as the Hivites, Gen. 34,
and the Philistines, who are often called
"the uncircumcised," Judg. 14:3; whence
the occurrence in i Sam. 18:25-27. The
Jews esteemed uncircumcision as a very
great impurity ; and the greatest offence
they could receive was to be called " uncir-
cumcised." Paul frequently mentions the
Gentiles under this term, not opprobrious-
ly, Rom. 2:26; 4:9, but in distinction from
the Jews, whom he names " the circum-
cision," etc.
Disputes as to the observance of this rite
by the converts from heathenism to Chris-
tianity occasioned much trouble in the
early church. Acts 15; and it was long be-
fore it was well understood that " in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision availeth any-
thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new crea-
ture," Gal. 5:2, 3; 6: 15.
The true circumcision is that of the heart,
Rom. 2:29; and those are " uncircumcised
in heart and ears," Acts 7:51, who will not
obey the law of God nor embrace the gos-
pel of Christ.
CIS'TERNS and reservoirs were very
common in Palestine, both in the country
and in cities. During nearly half the year
no rain falls, and never-failing streams
and sjjrings are rare indeed. TJie main
dependence of a large portion of the pop-
ulation was upon the water which fell in
the rainy season and was preserved in cis-
terns, 2 Sam. 17:18. Dr. Robinson alludes
to immense reservoirs within and under
the area of the temple, supplied by rain-
water and by the aqueduct from Solomon's
pools, and says, " These of themselves, in
case of a siege, would furnish a tolerable
supply. But in addition to these, almost
every house in Jerusalem, of any size, is
understood to have at least one or more
cisterns, excavated in the soft limestone
rock on which the city is built. The house
of Mr. Lanneau, in w^hich we resided, had
no less than 4 cisterns ; and as these are
but a specimen of the manner in which all
the better class of houses are supplied, I
subjoin here the dimensions:
LENGTH BREADTH. DEPTH.
I. 15 feet. 8 feet. 12 feet.
II. 8 " 4 " 15 "
III. 10 " 10 " 15 "
IV. 30 " 30 " 20 "
CIT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CLA
The water is conducted into them during
the rainy season, and with proper care re-
mains pure and sweet during the whole
summer and autumn." When dry, they
might be used as a prison. Gen. 37: 22; Jer.
38:6, or a granary, as at this day; and to
drink water only from one's own domestic
cistern means, to content one's self with the
lawful enjoyments of his own home, Prov.
5:15. Such cisterns, and others more pi-op-
erly called tanks and pools, were provided
in the fields for irrigation, and at intervals
along the highways, for the accommoda-
tion of travellers, Psa. 84:6, and "broken
cisterns " of high antiquity may still be
seen at intervals along the old highways.
Such uncertain reservoirs of earthly pleas-
ure are contrasted with the perennial foun-
tain of God's love, Jer. 2:13. The same
causes led to the erection, near all the
chief cities, of large open reservoirs for
public use. These were built of massive
stones, and in places where the winter
rains could be easily conducted into them.
Many such reservoirs, and ruins of others,
yet remain. See Bethesda, Silo.^m, Sol-
omon's Pools.
CIT'IZENSHIP, in the New Testament
the privilege of native Romans, and of
Jews, etc., who acquired it by purchase,
Acts 22:28, by military or other services,
by manumission, etc. It secured to its pos-
sessor and his children all the rights left
them by the emperors ; among others, ex-
emption from scourging, or imprisonment
without trial. Acts 16:37; 22:24-29, and the
right of appeal to the emperor. Acts 25: 11.
CITY. The towns and cities of Palestine
were commonly built on heights, for bet-
ter security against robbers or invaders.
These heights, surrounded by walls, some-
times formed the entire city. In other
cases, the citadel alone crowned the hill,
around and at the base of which the town
was built ; and in time of danger the sur-
rounding population all took refuge in the
fortified place. Larger towns and cities
were often not only defended by strong
outer walls, with towers and gates, but by
a citadel or castle within these limits — a
last resort when the rest of the city was
taken, Judg. 9:46,51. "Cities" are men-
tioned very early in the history of the
world, Gen. 4:17; 10:10-12, 19; 11:3-9;
19: 1-29. The " fenced cities " of the Jews,
Deut. 3:5, were of various sizes and de-
grees of strength ; some being surround-
ed by high and thick stone walls, and
others by feebler ramparts, often of clay or
sun-dried bricks, and sometimes combus-
tible, Isa. 9:10; Amos 1:7-14. They were
also provided with watchmen, Psa. 127:1;
Song 5:7. The streets of ancient towns
were usually narrow, with scarcely room
for two loaded camels to pass each other,
and often unpaved, almost always unlight-
ed. There were sometimes open places,
especially the forum or market-place, and
the vicinity of the gates. Some cities were
adorned with vast parks and gardens ; this
was the case with Babylon, which embraced
an immense space within its walls. It is
impossible at this day to form any reliable
estimate of the population of the cities of
Jud£ea. Jerusalem is said by Josephus to
have had 150,000 inhabitants, and to have
contained, at the time of its siege by the
Romans, more than i,ooj,ooo of persons
crowded in its circuit of 4 miles of wall.
See Gate, Refuge, Watchmen.
City of David, Mount Zion, the south-
west section of Jerusalem, which David
took from the Jebusites, and occupied by a
palace and called by his own name. In
Luke 2:11, Bethlehem his native city is
meant.
City OF God, Deut. 12:5; Psa. 46:4, and
The Holy City, Neh. xi :i, names of Jeru-
salem. Its modern name is El-Kuds, the
Holy.
CLAU'DA, a small island near the south-
west shore of Crete, approached by Paul
in his voyage to Rome, Acts 27: 16. A gale
from the east-northeast came down on the
ship from Crete, and being driven before
it under the lee of Clauda, they were ena-
bled to take the precautions described in
ver. 16, 17. Clauda is now called Gozzo,
and is occupied by about 30 families.
CLAU'DIA, lame, a Christian woman,
probably a convert of Paul at Rome,
2 Tim. 4:21.
CLAU'DIUS Cffi'SAR, 5th emperor of
Rome, succeeded Caius Caligula, A. D. 41,
and was followed by Nero, after a reign of
13 years. He endowed Agrippa with royal
authority over Judaea, which on the death
of Agrippa again became a province of
Rome, A. D. 45. About this time probably
occurred the famine foretold by Agabus,
Acts 11:28. About the 9th year of his
reign, he banished all Jews from Rome,
Acts 18:2, including Jewish Christians.
The Roman historian Suetonius says, " He
banished the Jews from Rome on account
of the continual disturbances they made at
the instigation of Chrestus " — having heard
of Christ and of disputes between Chris-
107
CLA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COA
tians and Jews, but knowing nothing of
the merits of the case. In A. D. 43-^44,
Claudius made a military expedition to
Britain. His death was caused by poison,
from the hand of his wife and niece, Agrip-
pina.
CLAU'DIUS FE'LIX. See Felix.
CLAU'DIUS LYS'IAS. See LVSIAS.
CLAY designed for earthenware was
trodden by the feet to mix it well, Isa.
41:25, was moulded on a wheel, and then
baked in a kiln, Jer. 18:3; 43:9. The pot-
ter's art is referred to in Scripture to illus-
trate man's dependence upon God, Isa.
64:8; Rom. 9:21. See Potter. Clay
seems to have been also used in sealing,
as wax is with us. Job 38:14. The bricks
of Babylon are found marked with a large
seal or stamp ; and modern travellers find
the locks of doors in Eastern khans, gran-
aries, and mummy-pits sealed on the out-
side with clay.
CLEAN and UNCLEAN, terms often used
in the Bible in a ceremonial sense ; as-
signed to certain animals, and to men in
certain cases, by the law of Moses, Lev.
11-15; Num. 19; Deut. 14. A distinction
between clean and unclean animals exist-
ed before the deluge. Gen. 7:2. The Mo-
saic law was not arbitrary, but grounded
on reasons connected with animal sacrifi-
ces, with health, with the separation of the
Jews from other nations, and their practice
of moral purity. Lev. 11:43-45; 20:24-26;
Deut. 14:2, 3, 21. To eat with Gentiles was
one of the worst forms of association with
them. Matt. 9:11; Acts 11:3. The ritual
law was still observed in the time of Christ,
but under the gospel is annulled, Acts 10:9-
16; Heb. 9:9-14.
Ceremonial uncleanness was contracted
by the Jews in various ways, voluntarily
and involuntarily. It was removed, usu-
ally at the evening of the same day, by
bathing. In other cases a week, or even
40 or 50 days, and some sacrificial oflTer-
ings, were required.
CLEM'ENT, mild, a Christian of Philippi,
mentioned in Phil. 4:3. It is conjectured,
though without evidence, that this is the
same Clement who was afterwards a pas-
tor at Rome, commonly called Clemens
Romanus.
CLE'OPHAS, rather Ct,o'p.\s, the hus-
band of Mary, John 19:26, called also Ai,-
PH^us, which see. The Cleopas men-
tioned in Luke 24:18 probably was a dif-
ferent person.
CLOAK, CLOTHES. See GARMENTS.
loS
CLOS'ET. See House.
CLOUD, Pillar of, the miraculous to-
ken of the divine presence and care, Exod.
14:24; 16:10; Num. 12:5, which guided the
Israelites in the desert, resting over the
tabernacle, and moving along majestically
above the ark when on the way; it was a
means of protection and perhaps of shade
by day, and gave them light by night, Exod.
13:21, 22; 14:19, 20. By it God directed
their movements. Num. 9:15-23; 14:14;
Deut. 1:33. See the beautiful application
of the image to the future church in Isa.
4:5-
CLOUDS, in the summer season of Pal-
estine, were an unlooked-for phenomenon,
I Sam. 12:17, 18, and rising from off the
Mediterranean, betokened rain, i Kin.
18:44; Luke 12:54. They are emblems of
transitoriness, Hos. 6:4, and of whatever
shuts men off from God's favor. Lam. 2:1 ;
3:44. Clouds are the sj-mbols of armies
and multitudes, probably by their grand
and majestic movements, Isa. 60:8; Jer.
4:13; Heb. 12:1. They betokened the
presence of Jehovah, as on Mount Sinai,
Exod. 19:9; 24:12-18; in the temple, E.\od.
40:34; I Kin. 8: 10; in the cloudy pillar, and
on the Mount of Transfiguration. They
are found in many representations of the
majesty of God, Psa. 18:11, 12; 97:2, and
of Christ, Matt. 24:30; Rev. 14:14-16.
CLOUTS, pieces of old garments, Jer.
38:11. "Clouted" clothes were old and
patched, Josh. 9:5.
CLO'VEN, divided. See Tongues.
CNI'DUS, a city and peninsula of Doris
in Caria, jutting out from the southwest
corner of Asia .Minor, between the islands
of Rhodes and Cos. It had a fine harbor,
and was celebrated for the worship of Ve-
nus. Paul passed by it in his voj'age to
Rome, Acts 27:7.
COAL, usually in Scripture, charcoal, or
the embers of fire, often in a chafing-dish
or brazier, John iS:i8. Mineral coal is
now procured in Mount Lebanon, 8 hours
from Beirut ; but we have no evidence that
it was known and used by the Jews. The
following passages are those which most
strongly suggest this substance, 2 Sam.
22:9, 13; Job 41:21. To "quench one's
coal " meant to destroy his last living child,
2 Sam. 14:7. In Rom. 12:20, the idea is, to
melt an enemy into kindness.
COAST is often used in the Bible for an
inland border of a country, not always for
a sea-coast, Judg. 11:20; Matt. 8:34.
COAT. See Garments.
COA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CON
COAT OF MAIL. See ARMS and Haber-
geon.
COCK'ATRICE, an old English word of
obscure origin, used by our translators to
designate the Hebrevv Tzepha, or Tsipho-
ni, a serpent of a highly venomous charac-
ter, Prov. 23:32; Isa. 11:8; 14:29; 59:5;
Jer. 8:17. See Serpent.
COCK'-CROW^ING, the 3d watch of the
night, in the time of Christ. See Hours.
COCK'LE, a plant growing among wheat,
Job 31:40. The Hebrew word seems to
denote some noisome weed which infests
cultivated grounds.
COF'FIN, in Gen. 50:26, a sarcophagus
or mummy-chest, hollowed out of stone,
or made of sycamore-wood. Such coffins
were used in the burial of some persons of
distinction, but for few even of these among
the Jews. See Burial.
COL'LEGE, 2 Kin. 22:14, not ^ home of
learning, but Mishneh, the second, as trans-
lated in Zeph. i : 10, A. V., the name of some
locality in Jerusalem, perhaps in the " low-
er city."
COL'ONY, Acts 16:12. See Philippi.
COLOS'SE, or rather Colos's^, a city of
Phrygia, on a hill near the junction of the
Lycus with the Meander, and not far from
the cities Hierapolis and Laodicea, Col.
2:1 ; 4:13, 15. With these cities it was de-
stroyed by an earthquake in the loth year
of Nero, about A. D. 65, while Paul was
yet living. It was soon rebuilt. The
church of Christians in this city, to whom
Paul wrote, seems to have been gathered
by Epaphras, Col. 1:2. Compare 1:7, 8, 9,
and 4:12, 13. Philemon and Onesimus
lived here, also Archippus. Its ruins are
near a place called Chonas.
COLOS'SIANS, Epistle to the, was
written by Paul from Rome during his first
detention there, A. D. 62. The occasion of
the letter was the intelligence brought him
by Epaphras, Col. i:6-8, respecting the
internal state of the church, which appar-
ently he himself had not yet visited. Col.
2:1, though familiar with their historv and
affairs, Acts 16:6; 18:23. Some Jewish
philosopher professing Christianity, but
mingling with it a superstitious regard for
the law and other errors, seems to have
gained a dangerous ascendancy in the
church. Paul shows that all our hope of
salvation is in Christ the only Mediator, in
whom all fulness dwells ; he cautions the
Colossians against the errors introduced
among them, as inconsistent with the gos-
pel, and incites them by most persuasive
arguments to a temper and conduct worthy
of their Christian character. The epistle
was written at the same time with that to
the Ephesians, and was sent by the same
bearers. The two closely resemble each
other, and should be studied together.
COM'FORTER, Greek Paracle'tos, an
advocate, teacher, or consoler. This title
is given to our Saviour; " We have an ad-
vocate [par'aclele) with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous," i John 2:1. But
more frequently it designates the Holy
Spirit. He is the " other Comforter," suc-
ceeding Christ, the great promised bless-
ing of the Christian church, John 14:16, 17,
26; 15:26; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4. The
English word Comforter does not ade-
quately describe the office of the Paraclete,
who was not only to console, but to aid
and direct them, as Christ had done. The
disciples found the promise fulfilled to
them. The Comforter aided them when
called before councils ; guided them into
all truth respecting the plan of salvation;
brought to their remembrance the words
and deeds of Christ ; and revealed to them
things to come. His presence was accom-
panied by signal triumphs of grace, and
made amends for the absence of Christ.
The church is still under the dispensation
of the Comforter, and still he convinces the
world of sin, of righteousness, and of the
judgment to come. See Holy Spirit.
COM'FORTLESS, John 14:18, literally
orphans.
COMING OF CHRIST. See THOUSAND.
COM'MERCE. See Merch.ant.
COM'MON, profane, ceremoniall_v un-
clean, Mark 7:2, 5; Acts 10:14, 15; Rom.
14:14. See Cle.-vn.
COM'PASS ; " to fetch a compass " is,
" to make a circuit," or " go round," 2 Sam.
5:23; Acts 28:13.
COMPEL', Luke 14:23, vehemently urge.
The Greek word thus translated in Matt.
5:41 refers to the custom of Persian and
Roman couriers for government, who had
power to press men and horses into their
service for the time.
CONCIS'ION, cutting off, Phil. 3:2, a term
of reproof for certain teachers who exag-
gerated the value of mere circumcision,
and required it for Gentile converts ; in
contrast with the true " circumcision," those
who were created anew in Christ Jesus
unto righteousness and true holiness.
CON'CUBINE, a woman who, without
being married to a man, lives with him like
a wife ; but in the Bible the word concubine
109
CON
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CON
means a lawful wife, but of a secondary
rank. She differed from a proper wife in
that she was not married by solemn stipu-
lation, but only betrothed; she brought no
dowry with her, and had no share in the
government of the family. She was liable
to be repudiated, or sent away with a gift,
Gen. 21 : 14, and her children might be
treated in the same way, and not share in
their father's inheritance, Gen. 25:6. One
cause of concubinage is shown in the his-
tory of Abraham and Jacob, Gen. 16; 30;
it was the barrenness of the lawful wife,
and the special urgency of desire to be
favored with children; and the children of
such concubines had no stain of illegiti-
macy, but were often adopted as children
of the wife proper. Gen. 30:6. Concubi-
nage, however, became a general custom,
and the law of Moses restricted its abuses,
E.\od. 21:7-9; Deut. 21:10-14, but never
sanctionecl it. The gospel has restored the
original law of marriage, Gen. 2:24; Matt.
19:5; I Cor. 7:2, and concubinage, always
an evil, is now ranked with fornication and
adultery.
CON'DUIT. See GiHO.N and Solomon's
POOLli.
CO'NEY, an old English name for the
rabbit; in Scripture, the Hebrew shaphan,
which agrees with the Ashkoko or Syrian
Hyrax, Lev. 11:5; Deut. 14:7; Psa. 104:18;
Prov. 30:26. This animal is externally of
the size and form of the rabbit, and of a
brownish color. It is, however, much clum-
sier in its structure, almost without tail, and
having long bristly hairs scattered through
the fur. The feet are naked below, and
the nails flat and rovmded, except those on
the inner toe of the hind feet, which are
long and awl-shaped. They cannot dig,
but reside in the clefts of rocks. They are
called by Solomon "wise," and "a feeble
1 10
folk;" they are quiet and gregarious in
their habits, and so timid that they start at
the shadow of a passing bird. The name
of Spain is said to have been given to it by
Phcenician voyagers, who seeing its west-
ern coast overrun with animals resembling
the shaphan, called it Hispania, or Coney-
land.
CONGREGA'TION, the general assem-
blage of the Jews under the Theocracy, in
eluding either all the adult males, or their
representatives by families and tribes. Josh.
9:15, 18. They were summoned before "the
tabernacle of the congregation " by 2 sil-
ver trumpets, to commune with God, Num.
10:3; 25:6, to act judicially, declare war,
or perform any important national act,
Judg. 20: i-ii ; I Sam. 10: 17-25 ; 2 Sam. 5: i.
In later periods the Sanhedrin represented
the congregation. The word " clmrch " in
Acts 7:38 means this holy congregation of
Israelites at Sinai.
CONI'AH. See Jehoiachin.
CON'SCIENCE is that faculty common to
all free moral agents, Rom. 2:13-15, in vir-
tue of which we discern between right and
wrong, and are promjjted to choose tlie
former and refuse the latter. Its appoint-
ed sphere is in the regulation, according to
the will of God revealed in nature and the
Bible, of all our being and actions so far as
these have a moral ctiaracter. The e.xist-
ence of this faculty proves the soul ac-
countable at the bar of its Creator, and its
voice is in an important sense the voice of
God. We feel that when pure and fully
informed, it is an uiierring guide to duty,
and that no imperious sway of wrong affec-
tions, no possible arra\' of inducements,
can justify us in disregarding it. In man,
however, though this conviction that we
must do what is right never fails, yet the
value of conscience is greatly impaired by
its inhering in a depraved soul, whose evil
tendencies warp and pervert our judg-
ments on all subjects. Thus Saul verily
thought that he ought to persecute the fol-
lowers of Christ, Acts 26:9. His sin was
in his culpable neglect to enlighten his
conscience by all the means in his power,
and to purify it by divine grace. A terri-
ble array of conscientious errors and per-
secutions, which have infested and afflicted
the church in all ages, warns us of our in-
dividual need of perfect light and sancti-
fyi'iR grace. A "good " and "pure " con-
science, I Tim. 1:5; 3:9, is sprinkled with
Christ's blood, clearly discerns the will of
God, and urges us to obey it from gospel
CON
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COR
motives ; in proportion as we thus obey it,
it is " void of offence," Acts 24:16, and its
approbation is one of the most essential
elements of happiness. A " weak," or ir-
resolute and blind conscience, i Cor. 8:7;
a " defiled" conscience, the slave of a cor-
rupt heart. Tit. 1:15; Heb. 10:22; and a
"seared " conscience, i Tim. 4:2, hardened
against the law and the gospel alike, unless
changed by grace, will at length become an
avenging conscience, the instrument of a
fearful and eternal remorse. The case of
Judas shows its terrific power. No bodily
tortures can equal the agony it inflicts ; and
though it may slumber here, it will here-
after be like the worm that never dies and
the fir* that never can be quenched.
CON'SECRATE, to devote to God's ser-
vice or sacred purposes, as the Jewish
priests, temple furniture, and offerings,
E.xod. 28:3; 29:31 ; 2 Chr. 26: 18; 31 : 6.
CONVEN'IENT, suitable and right, Prov.
30:8; Rom. 1:28; Eph. 5:4.
CONVERSA'TION, in the Bible, the whole
tenor of one's life, in intercourse with his
fellow-men. Gal. 1:13; Eph. 4:22; i Pet.
1 : 15. But another word is employed in
Phil. 1:27; 3:20, which means citizenship.
For conversation in the modern sense of
discourse face to face, the English version
generally has communication, 2 Kin. 9:11 ;
Matt. 5:37; Eph. 4:29, etc.
CONVER'SION, the "turning" of a sin-
ner to holiness and God. The term is
scriptural, being used of the Gentiles in
Acts 15:3, and elsewhere, Luke 1:16; Acts
26: 18. In the case of infidels and heathen,
the term sometimes denotes merely their
abandonment of infidelity and idolatrj^ to
embrace Christianity, though their regen-
eration is also usually implied. In the
case of Peter, Luke 22:32, his recovery
from a fall to a more secure and vigorous
faith is meant. In common usage, it means
the whole work by which a sinner becomes
a child of God, including the regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit ; but there is a
valid and important reason for a distinc-
tion in terms between that almighty and
gracious work of the Spirit by which a soul
is "born again," and the act of the soul
itself, thus made willing in the day of
God's power, freely and heartily accepting
Christ and forsaking sin.
CO'OS, R. V. Cos, a small island of the
Grecian archipelago, at a short distance
from the southwest point of Asia Minor.
Paul passed it in his voyage to Jerusalem,
Acts 21:1. It is now called Stanchio, and
has a population of 8,000, most of 'them
Greek Christians.
COP'PER, one of the primitive metals,
and the most ductile and malleable after
gold and silver. Of this metal and zinc is
made brass, which is a modern invention.
There is little doubt but that copper is in-
tended in those passages of our translation
of the Bible which speak of brass. Cop-
per was known prior to the flood, and was
wrought by Tubal-cain, Gen. 4:22. Hiram
of Tyre was a celebrated worker in cop-
per, I Kin. 7:14. Palestine abounded in it,
Deut. 8:9, and David amassed great quan-
tities to be employed in building the tem-
ple, I Chr. 22:3, 14. The great "brazen
laver " or "sea" was made of it, the pil-
lars Jachin and Boaz, and many other arti-
cles for the temple and its services, i Kin.
7:15-39. In Ezra 8:27, 2 vessels are men-
tioned "of fine copper, precious as gold."
This was probably a metal compounded of
copper with gold or silver, or both. It was
e.xtoUed for its beauty, solidity, and rarity,
and for some uses was preferred to gold
itself. Compare i Kin. 7:45; Dan. 10:6.
Some compound of this kind may have
been used for the small mirrors mentioned
in E.xod. 38:8; Job 37:18; and for the
"bows of steel" Job 20:24; Psa. 18:34.
The same word is used in Jer. 15:12, and
this compound with copper is spoken of as
harder than iron, like the " northern iron,"
that is, steel: the art of making which was
known to the ancient Egyptians and Mexi-
cans. See Br.\ss and Sea.
COR, Ezek. 45:14. See Table of Meas-
ures in the Appendix, and Measures.
COR'AL, a hard, calcareous, marine pro-
duction, produced by the labors of millions
of minute polypous animals, and often re-
III
COR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COR
sembling in figure the stem of a plant divi-
ded into branches. It is of various colors,
black, white, and red. The latter is the
mjst valuable. It is ranked by Job, 28: 18,
and Ezekiel, 27: 16, among precious stones.
It abounds in the Red Sea; and the islands
of the South Seas are often coral reefs,
covered over with earth. The word " ru-
bies " in Frov. 3: 15 ; 8:11; 20: 15 ; 31 : 10, is
thought by many to mean ornaments of
red coral.
COR'BAN, a sacred gift, a present devo-
ted to God, or to his temple. Matt. 23:18.
Our Saviour reproaches the Jews with cru-
elty towards their needy parents, in making
a corbaii of what should have been appro-
priated to their use: " I have already de-
voted to (iod that which you request of
me," Mark 7:11; and the traditionary
teachings of the Jewish doctors would en-
force such a vow, although it was contrary
to nature and to reason, and made void
the law of God as to honoring parents,
Matt. 15:3-9; and although the property so
" devoted " was never actually transferred
from the owner to God's service, nor even
intended to be. The Pharisees, and the
Talmudists their successors, permitted
even debtors to defraud their creditors by
consecrating their debt to God; as if the
property were their own, and not rather
the right of their creditors. God himself is
the guardian of our relatives and credi-
tors, and despises an offering or a charity
which we procure at the cost of their right-
ful claims.
CO'RE, Jude II, A. V. See Korah.
CORIAN'DER, a small round seed of an
aromatic j)lant. The plant is a native of
China, and is now widely dift'used.- Its
seeds are planted in March. They are em-
ployed as a spice, and are much used by
druggists and confectioners. The manna
which fell in the wilderness was like cori-
ander-seed in form and color, E.xod. 16:31 ;
Num. 11:17. See Manna.
MODERN CORINTH.
COR'INTH, the capital of Achaia, on the
istlinius which separates the Ionian Sea
from the ^Egean, and hence called bimaris,
"on 2 seas." The city itself stood a little
inland ; but it had 2 ports, Lechaeum on the
west, and Cenchrea on the east. Its posi-
tion gave it great commercial and military
importance ; for while the traffic of the east
and west jjoured through its gates, as over
112
the Isthmus of Darien the commerce of 2
oceans, it was also at the gate of the Pelo-
ponnesus, and was the highway between
Northern and Southern Greece. Its de-
fence, besides the city walls, was in the
Acro-corinth, a mass of rock rising 2,000
feet above the sea, with precipitous sides,
and with room for a town upon its summit.
Corinth thus became one of the most pop-
COR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COR
ulous and wealthy cities of Greece ; but its
riches produced pride, ostentation, effemi-
nacy, and all the vices generally conse-
■quent on plenty. Lasciviousness, particu-
larly, was not only tolerated, but consecra-
ted here, by the worship of Venus, and the
notorious prostitution of numerous attend-
ants devoted to her. Corinth was destroyed
by the Romans, B. C. 146. A century later
it was restored by Julius Caesar, who plant-
ed in it a Roman colony ; but though it soon
iregained its. ancient splendor, it also re-
lapsed into all its former dissipation and
licentiousness. Paul arrived at Corinth,
A. D. 52, Acts 18: 1, and lodged with Aquila
.and Priscilla, who, as well as himself, were
tent-makers. Supporting himself by this
labor, he remained at Corinth a year and
a half, preaching the gospel at first to the
Jews, and afterwards more successfully to
the Gentiles, i Cor. 12:2. See Gallic.
During this time he wrote the Epistles to
the Thessalonians ; and in a subsequent
visit, A. D. 57, Acts 20:2, 3, the Epistle to
the Romans. Some suppose he made a
short intervening visit, not narrated in the
Bible. Compare 2 Cor. 13:1 with 2 Cor.
1:15; 2:1; 12:14, 21; 13:2. ApoUos fol-
lowed him in his labors at Corinth, and
Aquila and Sosthenes were also among its
■early ministers, Acts 18:1; i Cor. 1:1;
16:19. Its site is now unhealthy and al-
most deserted, with few vestiges of its
former greatness.
CORIN'THIANS, EpiSTLE I. This was
written by Paul at Ephesus, about A. D.
57, upon the receipt of intelligence respect-
ing the Corinthian church, conveyed by
members of the family of Chloe, ch. i:ii,
and by a letter from the church requesting
advice, ch. 7:1, probably brohght by Ste-
phanas, etc., ch. 16:17. Certain factions
had arisen in the church, using his name
and those of Peter, Apollos, and of Christ
himself, in bitter partisan contentions. In
the first part of this letter he endeavors to
restore harmony among them, by reuniting
them to the great and sole Head of the
church. He then takes occasion to put
them on their guard against teachers of
false philosophy, and resting their faith on
the wisdom of men instead of the simple
but mighty word of God. He proceeds, in
ch. 5, to reprove them for certain gross im-
moralities tolerated among thern, such as
they had formerly practised like all around
them, but which he charges them to banish
from the church of Christ. He replies to
their queries respecting celibacy and mar-
8
riage, and the eating of food offered to
idols ; and meets several errors and sins
prevalent in the church by timely instruc-
tions as to disputes among brethren, deco-
rum in public assemblies, the Lord's Sup-
per, the resurrection of believers, true
charity, and the right use of spiritual gifts,
in which the Corinthian Christians ex-
celled, but not without a mixture of osten-
tation and disorder. He directs them as
to the best method of Christian benefi-
cence, and closes with friendly greetings.
Epistle II. This was occasioned by in-
telligence received through Titus, at Phi-
lippi. Paul learned of the favorable recep-
tion of his former letter, and the good
effects produced, and yet that a party re-
mained opposed to him — accusing him of
fickleness in not fulfilling his promise to
visit them; blaming his severity towards
the incestuous person; and charging him
with an arrogance and assumption unsuit-
ed to his true authority and his personal
appearance. In the course of his reply he
answers all these objections ; he enlarges
upon the excellence of the new covenant,
and the duties and rewards of its minis-
ters, and on the duty of the Corinthian
Christians as to charitable collections. He
then vindicates his own course, his dignity
and authority as an apostle, against those
who assailed him. His last words invite
them to penitence, peace, and brotherly
love. This epistle seems to have been
written a few months after the first.
COR'MORANT, Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:17,
some bird like the cormorant — which is a
water-bird about the size of a goose. It
lives on fish, which it catches with great
dexterity ; and is so voracious and greedy
that its name has passed into a kind of
proverbial use. Another Hebrew word,
translated "cormorant" in Isa. 34:11;
Zeph. 2:14, should rather be translated, as
it is in other passages, "pelican."
CORN, in the Bible, is the general word
for grain of all kinds, including various
seeds, peas, and beans. It never means,
as in America, maize, or Indian corn. Pal-
estine was anciently very fertile in grain,
which furnished in a great measure the
support of the inhabitants, Gen. 27 : 28.
" Corn, wine, and olive-oil " were the sta-
ple products, and wheat and barley still
grow there luxuriantly, when cultivated;
also spelt, rye, millet, fitches, and oats.
The disciples ate wheat in the field, the
ripe ear being simply rubbed in the hands
to separate the kernels, Deut. 23 : 25 ; Matt.
113
COR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COR
12:1. Parched wheat was a part of the
ordinary foud of the Israelites, as it still is
of the Arabs, Ruth 2:14; 2 Sam. 17:28, 29.
Their method of preparing grain for the
manufacture of bread was the following :
The threshing was done either by the staff
or the flail, Isa. 28:27, 28; by the feet of
cattle, Deut. 25:4; or by "a sharp thresh-
ing instrument having teetii," Isa. 41:15,
which was something resembling a cart,
drawn over the corn by means of horses or
oxen. See THRiiSHiNc. When the grain
was threshed, it was separated from the
chaff and dust by throwing it forward
across the wind, by means of a winnowing
fan or shovel, Matt. 3:12; after which the
grain was sifted, to separate all impurities
from it, Amos 9:9; Luke 22:31. Hence we
see that the threshing-floors were in the
open air, and if possible on high ground,
as travellers still find them in actual use,
Judg. 6:11 ; 2 Sam. 24:18. The grain thus
obtained was sometimes pounded in a mor-
tar, Num. 11:8; Rev. 18:22, but was com-
monly reduced to meal by the hand-mill.
>_-T-V .i=l?r=
This consisted of a lower millstone, the
upper side of which was slightly concave,
and an upper millstone, the lower surface
of which was convex. These stones were
each about 2 feet in diameter, and half a
foot thick ; and were called " the nether
millstone " and the rider. Job 41 : 24 ; Judg.
9:53; 2 Sam. 11:21. The hole for receiving
the corn was in the centre of the upper
millstone; and in the operation of grind-
ing, the lower was fixed, and the upper
made to move round upon it with consid-
erable velocity by means of a handle. The
meal came out at the edges, and was re-
ceived on a cloth spread under the mill on
114
the ground. Each family possessed a milU
and the law forbade its being taken in
pledge, Deut. 24:6; one among innumera-
ble examples of the humanity of the Mosaic
legislation. These mills are still in use in
the East, and in some parts of Scotland.
Dr. E. D. Clarke says, " In the island of
Cyprus I observed upon the ground the
sort of stones used for grinding corn, called
querns in Scotland, common also in Lap-
land, and in all parts of Palestine." The
employment of grinding with these mills
is confined solely to females, who sit on the
ground with the mill before them, and thus
maj" be said to be " behind the mill," Exod.
11:5. See Matt. 24:41. To this feminine
occupation Samson was degraded, Judg.
16:21. The women always accompany the
grating noise of the stones with their voi-
ces ; and when 10 or a dozen are thus em-
ployed at daybreak, the noise is heard all
over the city. The Scriptures mention the
want of this noise as a mark of desolation,
Jer. 25:10; Rev. 18:22.
CORNE'LIUS, a Roman centurion, sta-
tioned at Caesarea in Palestine, supposed
to have been of a distinguisiied family in
Rome. He was the ist Gentile convert
under Peter ; and the story of his recep-
tion of the gospel and acceptance by Jew-
ish Christians shows how God broke down
the partition-wall between Jews and (Jen-
tiles. When first mentioned, Acts 10:1, he
had evidently been led by the Holy Spirit
to renounce idolatry, to worship the true
God, and to lead, in the midst of profli-
gacy, a devout and beneficent life ; he was-
prepared to receive the Saviour, and God
did not fail to reveal Him. Cornelius was
miraculously directed to send for Peter,
who was also miraculously prepared to
attend the summons. He went from Joppa
to Caesarea, 35 miles, preached the gospel
to Cornelius and his friends, and saw with
wonder the miraculous gifts of the Spirit
poured uikmi them all. Providence thus
explained his recent vision in the trance ;
he nobly discarded his Jewish prejudices,
and at once began his great work as apos-
tle to the Gentiles by receiving into the
church of Christ those whom Christ had so
manifestly accepted, Acts 10; 11.
COR'NER-STONE, a massive stone, usu-
ally distinct from tiic foundation, Jer. 51 :26,
and so placed at the corner of the building
as to bind together the 2 walls meeting
upon it. Such a stone is foimd at Baalbek,
28 feet long, 6'2 feet wide, and 4 feet thick.
Our Lord is compared in the New Tes-
COR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
COV
tament to a corner-stone in 3 different
points of view. First, as this stone lies at
the foundation, and serves to give support
and strength to the building, so Christ, or
the doctrine of a Saviour, is called the chief
corner-stone, Eph. 2:20, because this doc-
trine is the most important feature of the
Christian religion — as a system of truths,
and as a living power in the souls of men.
Further, as the corner-stone occupies an
important and conspicuous place, Jesus is
compared to it, i Pet. 2:6, because God has
given him, as the Mediator, a dignity and
conspicuousness above all others. Lastly,
since men often stumble against a project-
ing corner-stone, Christ is so called. Matt.
21 :42, because his gospel will be the cause
of aggravated condemnation to those who
reject it.
COR'NET, a wind instrument of music,
of a curved form, i Chr. 15:28; Dan. 3:5, 7.
See Music.
CORRUP'TION, Mount OF. See Olives.
COS. See Coos.
COTES, inclosures for the safe keeping
of sheep, 2 Chr. 32:28. See Sheep.
COT'TAGE, a rustic tent or booth, made
often of boughs, Isa. 1:8; Zeph. 2:6. In
Isa. 24:20 it denotes a sort of hammock or
elevated couch for a garden watchman.
COT'TON was a native product of India,
and perhaps of Egypt, and has been sup-
posed to be intended in some of the passa-
ges where the English version has "fine
linen." But minute e.xamination of the
cloths in which Egyptian mummies were
wrapped seems to establish the fact that
linen, sometimes of extraordinary fineness,
was the only material thus used. See Flax
and Linen.
COUCH. See Bed.
COUN'CIL is occasionally taken for any
kind of assembly for deliberation. Matt.
12:14; in Acts 25:12, the advisers of Fes-
tus the Roman governor. In Matt. 5:22;
Mark 13:9, the minor Jewish courts, of
which each town had one, seem meant ;
but more frequently the Sanhedrin. The
name is applied in later times to certain
general, or at times partial, conventions of
the official representatives of churches, to
deliberate on ecclesiastical affairs. Thus
the assembly of the " apostles, elders, and
brethren," at Jerusalem, Acts 15, to deter-
mine whether the yoke of the law should
be imposed on Gentile converts, is com-
monly reputed to be the ist general coun-
cil of the Christian church. See Sanhe-
drin.
COUR'SES, the order in which the priests
were on duty at the temple. See Abia.
COURT, an inclosed space or yard within
the limits of an Oriental house, 2 Sara.
17:18. For the courts of the temple, see
Temple. The tabernacle also had a court.
All Oriental houses are built in the form
of a hollow square around a court. See
House.
COVENANT. The word testamentum is
often used in Latin to e.xpress the He-
brew word berilh, which signifies cove-
nant ; whence the titles. Old and New Tes-
taments, are used to denote the old and
new covenants. See Testament.
A covenant is properly an agreement
between 2 parties, ratified among the an-
cients by an oath, appealing to God as wit-
ness. Gen. 21:31; 31:50, and by eating or
taking salt together, as did Jacob and La-
ban, Gen. 31:46; Lev. 2:13; Num. 18:19;
or dividing animals in two and passing
between the parts. Gen. 15; Jer. 34:18, 19.
Where one of the parties is infinitely supe-
rior to the other, as in a covenant between
God and man, God's covenant assumes the
nature of a promise, Isa. 59:21; Jer. 31:33,
34; Gal. 3:15-18; but this promise is often
limited by certain conditions on the part of
man, as circumcision. Gen. 17:10, 14; Acts
7:8 ; obedience to the commandments, etc.,
Exod. 34:27, 28; Lev. 18:5. God's ist cov-
enant with the Hebrews was made when
the Lord chose Abraham and his posterity
for his people ; a 2d covenant, or a solemn
renewal of the former, was made at Sinai,
comprehending all who observe the law of
Moses. The " new covenant," of which
Christ is the Mediator and Author, and
which was confirmed by his blood, com-
115
cov
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CRE
prehends all who believe in him and are
born again, Gal. 4:24; Heb. 7:22; 8:6-13;
9- 15-23; 12:24. The divine covenants
were ratified by the sacrifice of a victim,
to show that without an atonement there
could be no communication of blessing and
salvation from God to man, Gen. 15:1-18;
Exod. 24:6-8; Heb. 9:6. Eminent believ-
ers among the covenant people of God
were favored by the establishment of par-
ticular covenants, in which he promised
them certain temporal favors; but these
were only renewals to individuals of the
*' everlasting covenant," with temporal
types and pledges of its fulfilment. Thus
God covenanted with Noah, Abraham, and
David, Gen. 9:8, 9; 17:4, 5; Psa. 89:3, 4,
etc., and gave them faith in the Saviour
afterwards to be revealed, Rom. 3 125; Heb.
Seis-
in common discourse we usually speak
of the old and new testaments, or cove-
nants—the covenant between God and the
posterity of Abraham, and that which he
has made with believers by Jesus Christ ;
because these 2 covenants contain emi-
nently all the rest, which are consequen-
ces, branches, or explanations of them.
The most solemn and perfect of the cove-
nants of God with men is that made
through the mediation of our Redeemer,
which must subsist to the end of time.
The Son of God is the guarantee of it ; it
is confirmed with his blood ; th^ end and
object of it is eternal life, and its constitu-
tion and laws are more exalted than those
of the former covenant.
Theologians use the phrase " covenant
of works " to denote the constitution es-
tablished by God with man before the fall,
the promise of which was eternal life on
condition of obedience, Hos. 6:7; Rom.
3:27; Gal. 2:19. They also use the phrase
"covenant of grace or redemption" to de-
note the arrangement made in the coun-
sels of eternity, in virtue of which the
Father forgives and saves sinful men re-
deemed by the death of the Son.
COVET, to ardently long for. The de-
sire may be right, as in i Cor. 12:31 ; or
wrong, as in Exod. 20:17. Covetousness
is a gross form of selfishness, very offen-
sive to God, Luke 12:15-21; Col. 3:5;
I Tim. 6:9, 10.
CRACK'NELS, a sort of hard, brittle,
punctured cakes, i Kin. 14:3.
CRAFT, trade or occu|)ation, Acts 18:3.
After the Captivity, Jewish boys, even of
rich parents, had to learn some useful craft,
116
manual labor not being regarded as unfit
for free citizens. It was a Rabbinical say-
ing that he who did not give his son a trade
fitted him to steal. The Bible contains
many notices of a great variety of trades
common in the East. All were not, how-
ever, equally honorable, nor were they
necessarily hereditary, though Jesus adopt-
ed the trade of Joseph, Matt. 13:55; Mark
6:3. Tradesmen of one craft, then as now
congregated in one locality in a city.
THE NUMIDIAN CRANE : GRUS VIRGO.
CRANE. In isa. 38: 14, and Jer. 8:7, two
birds are mentioned, the sus and the agtir,
the ist rendered in our version crane, and
the 2d swallow. Bochart says the sus, or
sis, is the swallow ; the a^jir, the crane.
The Numidian crane, supposed to be re-
ferred to, is about 3 feet in length, is blu-
ish-gray, with the cheeks, throat, breast,
and tips of the long hinder feathers black,
with a tuft of white feathers behind each
eye. " Like a crane, or a swallow, so did
I chatter:" there is peculiar force and
beauty in the comparison here made be-
tween the dying believer and migratory
birds about to take their departure to a
distant but more genial clime. They lin-
ger in the scenes which they have fre-
quented, but instinct compels them to re-
move.
CREA'TION, (I) the act by which God
calls into existence things not previously
in being— material or spiritual, visible or
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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invisible, Psa. 148:5; Rev. 4:11; (2) the
moulding or reconstituting things, the ele-
ments of which previously existed ; and
(3) the things thus "created and made,"
2 Pet. 3:4; Rev. 3:14; 5:13- ^t is in the
first of these senses the word " created " is
to be understood in Gen. 1:1; and the idea
of the eternity of matter is to be rejected,
as contrary to sound reason and to the
teachings of Scripture, Prov. 8:22-31 ; John
1:1-3; Heb. 11:3.
Creation is exclusively the work of God.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are each
in turn named as its author, Isa. 40 : 28 ; Col.
1:16; Gen. 2:2. It is a work the myster-
ies of which no finite mind can apprehend ;
and yet, as it reveals to us the invisible
things of God, Rom. i : 20, we may and
ought to learn what he reveals respecting
it not only in revelation, but in his works.
These 2 volumes are from the same divine
hand, and cannot but harmonize with each
other. The Bible opens with an account
of the creation unspeakably majestic and
sublime. The 6 days there spoken of have
usually been taken for our present natural
days; but modern geological researches
have given rise to the idea that "day"
here denotes a longer period. The differ-
ent rocks of our globe lie in distinct layers,
the comparative age of which is supposed
to have been ascertained. Only the most
recent have been found to contain human
remains. Older layers present in turn
different fossil remains of animals and
plants, many of them supposed to be now
e.xtinct. These layers are deeply imbed-
ded beneath the present soil, and yet ap-
pear to be formed of matter washed into
the bed of some primeval sea, and hard-
ened into rock. Above this may lie nu-
merous other strata of different materials,
but which appear to have been deposited
in the same manner, in the slow lapse of
time. These layers are also thrown up
and penetrated all over the world by rocks
of still earlier formations, apparently once
in a melted state.
There are several modes of reconciling
these geological discoveries with the state-
ments of Scripture : First, that the 6 days
of Gen. I denote 6 long epochs — periods of
alternate progressive formation and revo-
lution on the surface of the earth. To the
Lord "a thousand years are as one day,"
Psa. 90:2, 4; 2 Pet. 3:5-10; Rev. 20. Sec-
ondly, that the long epochs indicated in
the geological structure of the globe oc-
curred before the Bible account commen-
ces, or rather in the interval between the
ist and 2d verses of Gen. i. According to
this interpretation, verse 2 describes the
state of the earth at the close of the last
revolution it e.vperienced, preparatory to
God's fitting it up for the abode of man as
described in the verses following. Thirdly,
that God compressed the work of those un-
told ages into 6 short days, and created the
world as he did Adam, in a state of matu-
rity, embodying in its rocks and fossils
those rudimental forms of animal and veg-
etable life which seem naturally to lead up
to the e.xisting forms.
According to the ist of these 3 modes of
interpretation, the latest theory of the cre-
ation may be stated somewhat as follows :
In verse i is indicated the original creation
of matter, in a gaseous form, universally
diffused, "without form and void." On
the ist day light was formed, by the chem-
ical union of gaseous particles. On the
2d day the "firmament" was made, the
gas condensing into countless spheres of
nebulous matter, that " under the firma-
ment " forming the earth. On the 3d day
came the condensation of this nebulous
matter of the earth into a melted mineral
mass, gradually cooling on the surface, the
water separating from the land, and vege-
tation commencing. On the 4th day fol-
lowed the organization of the solar system,
with day and night, seasons, climates, etc.
On the 5th day came the creation of the
lower orders of animal life, the water ani-
mals, reptiles, and birds. On the 6th day
the higher orders of animals were created,
and finally man. The ist of these geo-
logic days are supposed to have been
epochs of prodigious duration, and each of
the 6 longer than its immediate successor.
The 7th day, on which God rested from
creation, is still in progress.
The Bible account of the creation of yuan
is utterly irreconcilable both with the athe-
istic theory of an eternal series of like races,
or of evolution upwards from the simplest
elements of primordial matter through a
long series of animals into man, and with
the modern infidel theory that several dis-
tinct races of men were created, and not one
alone. The Bible unequivocally teaches
the unity of the whole human race, and its
origin in Adam, Mai. 2: 10; Acts 17:26; and
no one who accepts it as the word of God
can doubt these statements. They come
forth also from the sharp investigations of
modern science confirmed with new evi-
dences. The anatomy of men's bodies
117
CRE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CRO
and the analysis of their mental and spir-
itual faculties, prove their essential unity as
one species; their various languages bear
traces of the one primeval tongue ; and
their power of adaptation to every climate
also agrees with the Bible statement. The
scriptural date of man's creation is con-
firmed by the traditions of many ancient
nations, by critical examination of the
world's progress in arts, sciences, and lan-
guages; and by the fact that no human
remains are found except in superficial
and recent deposits.
The accounts of creation on the stone
tablets of ancient Assyrian libraries re-
cently disinterred are fragmentary and
obscure traditions, but go to confirm the
Bible history, and not the theories of ma-
terialists.
The " creature " and " the whole crea-
tion," in Rom. 8:19-22, may denote the
irrational and inferior creation, which shall
be released from the curse, and share in
the glorious liberty of the sons of God,
Isa. 11:6; 35:1; 2 Pet. 3:7-13. The bodies
of believers, now subject to vanity, are
secure of full deliverance at the resurrec-
tion— " tile redemption of our bodv," Rom.
8:23.
CRES'CENS, ffrowing, an assistant of the
apostle Paul, and probably one of the 70
disciples ; supposed to have exercised his
ministry in Galatia, 2 Tim. 4:10.
CRETE, a large island, 150 miles long, 6
to 35 wide, now called Candia, in the Med-
iterranean, originally peopled probablj' by
a branch of the Caphtorim. It is rugged
and mountainous, but has many fertile
plains and valleys, and is celebrated by
Homer for its 100 cities. Its inhabitants
were excellent sailors, and visited all
coasts. They were also famous for arch-
ery, which they practised from their in-
fancy. Crete was one of the 3 K's against
whose unfaithfulness the Grecian prov-
erb cautioned — Kappadocia, Kilicia, and
Krete ; and this agrees with the character
which the apostle has given of the Cretans,
that they were "always liars," brutes, and
gormandizers, as Epimenides, a Cretan
poet, described them. Tit. 1:12, 13.
Crete is famous as the birthplace of the
legislator Minos ; and for its connection
with the voyage of Paul to Rome, Acts 27.
The ship first made Salmone, the eastern
promontory of liie island, and took shelter
at Fair Havens, a roadstead on the south
side, east of Cape Matala. After some
time, and against Paul's warning, they set
118
sail for Phoenix, a more commodious har-
bor on the western part of the island ; but
were overtaken by a fierce wind from the
east-northeast, which compelled them to
lie to, and drifted them to Malta. Paul is
supjjosed to have visited Crete afterwards,
in connection with one of his visits to Asia
Minor, after his ist imprisonment at Rome,
I Tim. 1:3; Phile. 22. Here he established
gospel institutions, and left Titus in pas-
toral charge, Tit. 1:5. See also Acts 2:11.
CRIB, a feeding-trough for cattle, often
of stones and mortar, a fixture in the sta-
ble. Each ox and ass knows its crib, Isa.
1:3; and Dr. Thomson, watching the droves
of cattle and donkeys coming down at
nightfall from the heights back of Tiberias,
saw them separate on entering the city and
each one thread the narrow and crooked
alleys straight to its own home and its own
special crib. See M.^nc;ek.
CRIM'SON, 2 Chr. 2:7-14; 3:14. See
PURIT.i:.
CRISP'ING-PINS, Isa. 3:22, rather, reti-
cules; rendered "bags" in 2 Kin. 5:23.
CRIS'PUS, curled, president of the Jew-
ish synagogue at Corinth, converted under
the preaching of Paul, Acts 18:8, and bap-
tized by him, i Cor. i : 14.
.JL,
CROSS, a kind of gibbet made of 2 pie-
ces of wood placed transversely, in one of
the above 3 forms. Death by the cross
was a punishment of the meanest slaves,
and was a mark of infamy, Deut. 21:23;
Gal. 3: 13. This punishment was practised
among many ancient nations, but proba-
bly not by the early Jews. It was so com-
mon among the Romans that pains, aflflic-
tions, trovibles, etc., were called by them
" crosses." Our Saviour says that his dis-
ciples must " take up the cross and follow "
him. Though the cross is the sign of igno-
miny and suflTering, yet it is the badge and
glory of the Christian. Paul gloried in the
cross of Christ, CJal. 6:14, that is, in his
wonderful love in dying to atone for our
sins, and in the glorious consequences
which result from it, i Cor. i : 18, 22, 23 ;
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CRO
12 : 2 ; but to make the sign of the cross, with
the idea of any efficacy in it, is supersti-
tious and childish; to adore the crucifix,
•or image of Christ on a cross, is idolatrous.
The common way of crucifying was by
fastening the criminal with nails, one
through each hand, and one through both
his feet, or through each foot. Sometimes
they were bound with cords, which, though
it seems gentler, was really more cruel,
because the sufferer was hereby made to
languish longer. Sometimes they used
both nails and cords for fastenings; and
when this was the case, there was no diffi-
•culty in lifting up the person, together with
his cross, he being sufficiently supported
by the cords; near the middle of the cross
-also there was a wooden projection, which
partially supported the body of the suf-
ferer. Before they nailed him to the cross,
they generally scourged him with whips or
leathern thongs, which was thought more
severe and more infamous than scourging
with cords. Christ's scourging preceded
his condemnation, Luke 23:22; John 19:1.
See Scourging. Slaves who had been
guilty of great crimes were fastened to a
gibbet or cross, and were thus led about
the city, and beaten. Isaac was laden with
the wood^for his own sacrifice. Gen. 22:6.
•Our Saviour too was loaded with his cross ;
•and as he sank under the burden, Simon
the Cyrenian was constrained to bear it
-after him and with him, Mark 15:21. Our
Lord was crucified between 2 malefactors,
.as was predicted, Isa. 53:12; and his feet
as well as his hands were nailed to the
•cross, Luke 24:39, 40; Psa. 22:16.
After the person had been stripped of
all his clothing and bound or nailed to the
•cross, a stupefying draught was sometimes
administered, in order to render him less
sensible to pain, Prov. 31:6, an alleviation
which our Saviour did not accept. Matt.
27:34; Mark 15:23; though beseems after-
wards to have taken a little of the common
beverage of the soldiers, Mati. 27:48 ; John
19:29. Sent by the Father to bear the
heavy load of penal suffering for a lost
race, he felt that he had no right to the pal-
liatives resorted to in ordinary cases, and
perfectly lawful except in his own. " The
cup which my Father hath given me, shall
I not drink it ?" John 18:11. He drank it,
and to the very dregs. The cross being
erected under the burning sun, the wounds
made by the scourge and the nails soon
■occasioned a general fever and an intoler-
able thirst. The blood, interrupted in its
regular flow, accumulated in various parts
of the body, and caused painful conges-
tions. Every slight writhing of the sufferer
increased his anguish, which found no re-
lief but in final mortification and death.
Those who were fastened upon the cross
sometimes lived in that condition 3 or 4
days; and in exceptional cases on record,
even as long as a week and more. Hence
Pilate was amazed at our Saviour's dying
so soon, because naturally he must have
lived longer, Mark 15:44. The death of
our blessed Redeemer was hastened by his
previous terrible agony in the garden, and
by the crushing burden upon his soul of
the world's sin. The immediate cause of
death is thought to have been a rupture of
the heart ; and the blood being released
into the cavity around the heart, separated
into serum and crassamenlum, the " water
and blood " which flowed forth when the
side was pierced by the soldier's spear.
The legs of the 2 thieves were broken to
hasten their death, that their bodies might
not remain on the cross on the Sabbath
day, Deut. 21:23; Josh. 8:29; but the cru-
cified were usually left hanging, under the
eye of guards, till their bodies fell to the
ground, or were devoured by birds and
beasts of prey.
ANTIQUE GARLANDS, DIADEMS, AND CROWNS.
CROWN. There are 2 distinct classes
of Hebrew terms rendered crown in the
Bible. The one represents such head-
dresses as we should designate coronet,
band, mitre, tiara, garland, etc. The other
is generally applied to the head-dresses of
119
CRU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CUP
kings. The former was a simple fillet or
diadem around the head, variously orna-
mented. Newly-married persons of both
sexes wore crowns on their wedding-day,
Song 3:11; Ezek. 16:12. The crowns of
kings were sometimes white fillets, bound
round the forehead, the ends falling back
on the neck ; or were made of gold tissue or
open work, or a gold band which was the
basis of ornamental raised work, adorned
with jewels. That of the Jewish high-priest
was a fillet, or diadem, tied with a ribbon of
a hyacinth color, E.\od. 28:36; 39:30. Occa-
sionally the crown was of pure gold, and
was worn by kings on all state occasions,
2 Chr. 23: II, sometimes when they went to
battle, 2 Sam. 1:10; 12:30. It was also
worn by queens, Esth. 2:17. The crown
is a symbol of honor, power, and eternal
life, Prov. 12:4; Lam. 5:16; i Pet. 5:4.
Crowns or garlands were given to the suc-
cessful competitors at the Grecian games,
to which frequent allusion is made in the
Epistles, 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. These wreaths
were of laurel, parsley, pine, and oak
leaves — highly prized, but soon perishing ;
a fact which adds force to the contrast im-
plied when the apostles speak of the " in-
corruptible " "crown of glory, that fadeth
not away," Jas. 1:12; i Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10.
See Thistles.
CRUCIFIX'ION. See Cross.
CRUSE, a small vessel for holding water
and other liquids, i Sam. 26:11; i Kin.
17:12; 19:6. The above cut rejiresents
various antique cups, travelling flasks, and
cruses, like those still used in the East.
CRYS'TAL. The same Hebrew word is
rendered by our translators, crystal, Ezek.
1:22; frost. Gen. 31:40; and ice. Job 6:16.
The word primarily denotes ice, and is
120
also applied to glass, and to a perfectly^
transparent and glass-like gem, from their
resemblance to this substance, Job 28:17;
Rev. 4:6 ; 21:11.
CU'BIT, a measure widely used among
the ancients, originally the distance from,
the elbow to the wrist, as some say, or
rather to the extremity of the middle fin-
ger, which is the fourth part of a man's-
stature. The Hebrew cubit, according tO'
most authorities, is 21K inches; but others,
fix it at 18. The Talmudists observe that
the Hebrew cubit was larger by one quar-
ter than the Roman, which would give a
length of 22 inches. This nearly corre-
sponds with the Egyptian sacred cubit,
which was 21% inches, while their common
cubit was 20K •
CUCKOO, Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15, prob-
ably one of the larger sort of petrels, sea-
birds which are often sold in the Arab-
markets on the sea-coast of Syria.
CU'CUMBER, a vegetable very plentiful
in the East, especially in Egypt, Num.
11:5, where they are esteemed delicacies,
and are much used by the lower class of
people, especially during the hot months.
The Egyptian cucumber is described by
Hasselquist as greener, smoother, softer,
sweeter, and more digestible than our cu-
cumber.
CUM'MIN, an umbellate plant much like
fennel. Its seeds yield an aromatic oil, of
a warm, stimulating nature, Isa. 28:25-27.
The Pharisees scrupulously paid tithes of
mint, anise, and cummin, and yet neglect-
ed good works and obedience to God's law,.
Matt. 23:23.
CUN'NING, skilful, expert, rather than
crafty. Gen. 25:27; Exod. 28:15; 38:23;
Psa. 137:5; 2 Pet. 1:16.
CUP. This word is taken in Scripture
both in a proper and in a figurative sense.
In a proper sense, it signifies a conmion
cup, of horn, earthenware, or some precious
metal. Gen. 40:13; 44:2; i Kin. 7:26, such
as is used for drinking out of at meals; or
a cup of ceremony, used at solemn and
religious meals — as at the Passover, when
the father of the family pronounced certain
blessings over the cup, and having tasted
the wine, passed it round to the company
and his whole family, who partook of it,
I Cor. 10:16. In a figurative sense, a cup
is spoken of as filled with the portion given
to one by divine Providence, Psa. 11:6;
16:5; with the blessings of life and of
grace, Psa. 23:5; with a thank-oflTering to-
God, Exod. 29:40; Psa. 116:13; with liquor
CUP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CYM
used at idolatrous feasts, i Cor. 10:21 ; with
love-potions, Rev. 17:4; with sore afflic-
tions, Psa. 65:8; Isa. 51:17; and with the
EGYPTIAN CUPS (alabaster).
bitter draught of death, which was often
caused by a cup of hemlock or some other
poison, Psa. 75:8. See Matt. 16:28; Luke
22:42 ; John i8:ii. See Cruse.
Those who insist on the literal meaning
instead of the real intent of Christ's words,
" This is my body," must also turn the
'V?
alizing influences of prosperity and unre-
stricted power. His temptations were nu-
merous and strong ; and tliough his general
course was in striking contrast with that ol
the kings around him, he fell into grievous
sins. Like others in those days, he had
numerous wives, and his later years were
imbittered by the evil results of polygamy.
His crimes in the case of l^riah and Bath-
sheba were heinous indeed ; but on awa-
king from his dream of folly, he repented
in dust and ashes, meekly submitted to
reproof and punishment, and sought and
found mercy from God. Thenceforth fre-
quent afflictions reminded him to be hum-
ble and self-distrustful. There were dis-
cords, profligacy, and murder in his own
household, 2 Sam. 12:10. The histories of
Tamar, Amnon, and Absalom show what
anguish must have rent their father's heart.
The rebellions of Absalom, Sheba, and
Adonijah, the famine and plague that afflict-
ed his people, the crimes of Joab, etc., led
him to cry out, " Oh, that I had wings, like
a dove; then would I fly away and be at
rest." Yet his trials bore good fruit. His
firmness and decision of character, his hu-
mility, nobleness, and piety shine in his
last acts, on the occasion of Adonijah's
rebellion. His charge to Solomon respect-
ing the forfeited lives of Joab and Shimei
was the voice of justice and not of revenge.
DAY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEA
His preparations for the building of the
temple, and the public service in which he
devoted all to Jehovah, and called on all
the people to bless the Lord God of their
fathers, crown with singular beauty and
glory the life of this eminent servant of
God. After a reign of 40 years, he died at
the age of 71, and was buried " in the city
of David," on Mount Zion, where his
tomb is now shown.
The mental abilities and acquirements
of David were of a high order ; his gen-
eral conduct was marked by generosity,
integrity, fortitude, activity, and perseve-
rance; gentleness and fire combined in his
temperament, and his religious character
was eminently adorned by sincere, fervent,
and exalted piety. He was statesman,
warrior, and poet all in one. In his Psalms
he frankly reveals his whole heart. They
are inspired poems, full of penitence and
trust in God and delightful communion
with him, containing many prophetic pas-
sages, and wonderfully fitted to guide the
devotions of the people of God so long as
he has a church on earth. Though first
sung by Hebrew tongues in the vales of
Bethlehem and on the heights of Zion, they
sound as sweetly in languages then un-
known, and are dear to Christian hearts all
round the world. In introducing them into
the temple service, David added an impor-
tant means of instruction and edification
to the former ritual.
In his kingly character, David was a re-
markable type of Christ; and his conquests
foreshadowed those of Christ's kingdom.
His royal race was spiritually revived in
the person of our Saviour, who was de-
scended from him after the flesh, and who
is therefore called " the Son of David," and
is said to sit upon his throne.
DAY. The word " day " is used in many
different senses. The scientific day is one
revolution of the earth on its axis. The
civil day is that the beginning and end of
which are determined by the custom of any
nation. The Hebrews began their day in
the evening. Lev. 23:32 ; the Babylonians at
sunrise; and we begin at midnight. The
ordinary day is the time of the sun's con-
tinuance above the horizon, which is un-
equal at different latitudes and seasons, on
account of the obliquity of the eq uator. The
sacred writers generally divide this day
into 12 hours. The 6th hour always ends
at noon throughout the year; and the 12th
hour is the last hour before sunset. But
in summer, all the hours of the day were
longer than in winter, while those of night
were shorter. See Hour, and Three.
The word day is also often put for an
indeterminate period, see Creation; for
the time of Christ's coming in the flesh, and
of his 2d coming to judgment, Isa. 2:12;
Ezek. 13:5; John 11:24; iThess. 5:2. The
prophetic " day " usually has been under-
stood as I year, and the prophetic " year "
or "time" as 360 years, Ezek. 4:6. Com-
pare the 35'i years of Dan. 7:25 with the 42
months and 1,260 days of Rev. 11:2, 3.
DAY'S JOUR'NEY. See JOURNEY.
DAYS'MAN, Job 9:33, umpire, one to
arbitrate at an appointed day.
DEA'CON, an attendant, assistant, or
helper, sometimes translated minister, as
in Matt. 20:26; 2 Cor. 6:4; Eph. 3:7. Dea-
cons are first mentioned as officers in the
Christian church in Acts 6 ; their duty was
to collect the alms of the church, and dis-
tribute them to such as had a claim upon
them, visiting the poor and sick, widows,
orphans, and sufferers under persecution,
and administering all necessary and pro-
per relief. Of the 7 there named, Philip
and Stephen are afterwards found labor-
ing as evangelists. The qualifications of
deacons are specified in i Tim. 3:8-12, and
those of bishops in the preceding verses.
DEA'CONESS. At an early period of
the Christian church, if not in the apostolic
age, such women were called deaconesses
as served the church in those offices in
which the deacons could not with propriety
engage ; such as keeping the doors of that
part of the church where the women sat,
privately instructing those of their own
sex, and visiting the sick and those impris-
oned for the faith. In Rom. 16:1, Phoebe
is said to be a deaconess of the church at
Cenchrea. See also i Tim. 5: 9-16.
DEAD. Two Hebrew words are trans-
lated "the dead" in Scripture, one ex-
pressing merely the fact that they have
ceased to live on earth ; the other entirely
different, denoting disembodied spirits.
This term is important as necessarily im-
plying the undying nature of the human
spirit. See Rephaim.
DEAD SEA. See Sea.
DEAL, part ; as "a great deal." See
Tenth-deal.
DEATH is taken in Scripture, First, for
the separation of body and soul, the ist
death, Gen. 25:11 ; secondly, for alienation
from God, and exposure to his wrath, i John
3:14, etc. ; thirdly, for the 2d death, that of
eternal damnation. Death in all 3 of these
129
DEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEC
senses was the penalty affixed to Adam's
transgression, Gen. 2:17; 3:19; and all his
posterity are transgressors with him, and
share the curse inflicted upon him. Christ
is " our life." All believers share his life,
spiritually and eternally; and though sin
and bodily death remain to afflict them
here, their sting is taken away, and in the
resurrection the last enemy shall be tram-
pled under f»ot, Rom. 5:12-21 ; i Cor. 15.
Natural death is described as a yielding
up of the breath, or spirit, expiring, Psa.
104:29; as a return to our original dust.
Gen. 3:19; Eccl. 12:7; as the soul's laying
oft" the body — its clothing, 2 Cor. 5:3, 4, or
the tent in which it has dwelt, 2 Cor. 5:1 ;
2 Pet. 1 : 13, 14. Death nowhere means an-
nihilaiioii. The body is not annihilated,
but changed into other forms; and the soul
that dies is not annihilated, but consigned
to everlasting woe. The deatii of the be-
liever is a departure, a going home, a fall-
ing asleep in Jesus, Phil, i :23; Matt. 26:24;
John 11: II. See Immortality, Saddu-
CEES.
The term death is also sometimes used
for any great calamity, or imminent dan-
ger threatening life, as persecution, 2 Cor.
1:10. "The gates of death," Job 38:17,
signify the unseen world occupied by de-
parted spirits. Death is also figurativelj'
used to denote the insensibility of Chris-
tians to the temptations of a sinful world,
Col. 3:3.
DEBATE', Rom. 1:29, strife.
DE'BIR, a sanctuary, or oracle, Judg.
i:ii, a place called also Kirjath-sepher,
a city of books; and Kirjath-sannah, a
city of palm-leaf. Josh. 15:15, 49. Judging
from the names, it appears to have been
some sacred place among the Canaanites,
and a repository of their records. It was a
royal city in Judah, lying 11 or 12 miles
southwest of Hebron, conquered from the
Anakim by Joshua, but recaptured by the
Canaanites, and resubdued by Othniel, and
afterwards given to the priests. Josh. 10:38,
39; 15:15-17; 21:15. It is now DhSheriyeh.
There was another Debir in Gad, and a
3d on the border of Benjamin, Josh. 13:26;
15:7. For Debir, king of Eglon, see Josh.
10:3, 23-26.
DEB'ORAH, a bee, I., the nurse of Rebe-
kah, whom she accompanied from Aram
into Canaan, Gen. 24:59. At her death,
near Bethel, she was buried with honora-
ble marks of affection, under the famous
oak which was then named Allon-bachuth,
the oak of weeping, Gen. 35:8. B. C. 1732.
130
She was in Jacob's household at the time,
Rebekah doubtless being now dead, and
was about sixscore years old. There is
something very beautiful in this simple
record, which would scarcely fmd a place
in our grand histories of kings, statesmen,
and renowned warriors. They seldom
take the trouble of erecting a memorial to
obscure worth and a long life of humble
usefulness.
II. A prophetess, and wife of Lapidoth,
judged the Israelites, and dwelt under a
noted and jjerhaps solitary jjalm-tree be-
tween Ramah and Bethel, Judg. 4:4, 5.
When the Jews, especially the northern
tribes, were suffering under the tyranny of
Jabin, 1296 B. C, as a prophetess she la-
bored to rouse them from their desponden-
cy ; and sending for Barak, directed him
to attack Sisera, and promised him victory.
Barak, however, refused to go unless she
accompanied him, which she did, but told
him that the success of the expedition
would be imputed to a woman and not to
him. After the victory, Deborah composed
a splendid triumphal song, which is pre-
served in Judg. 5.
DEBT'OR, one under obligations, wheth-
er pecuniary or moral, Matt. 23:16; Rom.
1:14; Gal. 5:3. If the house, cattle, or
goods of a Hebrew would not meet his
debts, his land might be appropriated for
this purpose until the year of Jubilee, or he
might be reduced into servitude till he had
paid his debt by his labor, or till the year
of Jubilee, which terminated Hebrew bond-
age in all cases. Lev 25:29-41; 2 Kin. 4:1 ;
Neh. 5:3-5. See also limitations to the
creditor's power in Deut. 24:6, 10-13. In
the time of Christ, imprisonment for debt
had become customary. Matt. 18:34.
DECALOGUE, the 10 principal com-
mandments, Exod. 20:3-17, from the Greek
words dcka, ten, and logos, word. The
Jews call these precepts. The Ten Words.
The usual division of the 10 command-
ments among Protestants is that which Jo-
sephus tells us was employed by the Jews
in his day. Rome makes a different divis-
ion, losing the 2d in the ist— practically
dropping it, in catechisms — and making 2
of the loth. The 10 commandments are a
summary of human duties to God and to
man so comprehensive, wise, just, and
good as to demonstrate their divine ori-
gin, and command the admiration of the
world. Each one is grounded in the sound-
est reason, and both fitted for and meant
for the whole race of man in all ages.
DEC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEF
They are not national and temporary, like
the details of the Jewish civil and ceremo-
nial laws, which have passed away, while
their spirit is included in the gospel; "it
is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than
■one tittle of the law to fail," Luke i6 : 17.
The Saviour himself realTirms them all,
and to annul any one of them, as some do
the 4th commandment, is a defiance of the
malediction in Rev. 22:18, 19.
DECAP'OLIS (from the Greek words,
deka, ten, and polis, a city), a country in
North Palestine, which contained 10 prin-
cipal cities, chiefly on the east side of the
Jordan, Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31. Ac-
cording to Pliny, they were Scythopolis,
Philadelphia, Raphanae, Gadara, Hippos,
Dios, Pella, Gerasa, Canatha, and Damas-
cus. Josephus inserts Otopos instead of
Canatha. Though within the limits of Is-
rael, the Decapolis was inhabited by many
foreigners, and hence it retained a foreign
appellation. This may also account for the
numerous herds of swine kept in the dis-
trict. Matt. 8:20; a practice which was for-
bidden by the Mosaic law. It is now com-
paratively uninhabited.
DECEIVED', Jer. 20:7, R.V. mar. enticed.
DE'DAN, I., the grandson of Gush, Gen.
10:7; and II., the son of Jokshan, Abra-
ham's son by Keturah, Gen. 25:3. Both
were founders of tribes frequently named
in Scripture. The descendants of the
Cushite Dedan are supposed to have set-
tled in Southern Arabia, near the Persian
Gulf, in which there is an island called by
the Arabs Daden. The descendants of the
Abrahamite Dedan lived in the neighbor-
hood of Idumaea, Jer. 49:8. It is not clear,
in all cases where the name occurs, which
of the tribes is intended. It was probably
the Cushite tribe which wa? employed in
trade. The " travelling companies " of
Dedan are mentioned by Isaiah, 21:13.
They are also named with the merchants
•of Tarshish by Ezekiel, 38:13, and were
celebrated on account of their trade with
the Phoenicians.
DEDICA'TION, a religious ceremony by
which any person, place, or thing was de-
voted to a holy purpose. Thus the taber-
nacle and the ist and 2d temples were ded-
icated to God, Exod. 40; I Kin. 8 ; Ezra 6.
The Jews also practised a certain dedica-
tion of walls, houses, etc., Deut. 20:5; Neh.
12:27. The " feast of the dedication," on
the 25th of Chisleu, was a yearly commem-
oration of the cleansing and rededication
of the temple, after it had been polluted
by Antiochus Epiphanes, B. C. 167, John
10:22.
DEEP and DEPTHS. The deep, or the
great deep, signifies in Scripture, hell, the
place of punishment, the bottomless pit,
Luke 8:31, compare Rev. 9:1; 11:7; 20:1;
the under-world, Psa. 71:20; Rom. 10:7;
the deepest parts of the sea, Psa. 69:15;
107 : 26 ; chaos in the beginning of the world,
Gen. 1:2. See Hell.
THE FALLOW-DEER.
DEER, a wild quadruped, of a middle
size between the stag and the roebuck ; its
horns turn inward, and are large and flat.
The fallow-deer is naturally very timorous;
it was reputed clean, and good for food.
Deut. 14:5; I Kin. 4:23. There are 2 spe-
cies, now known as the Barbary stag and
the Persian stag, bearing a general resem-
blance to the fallow-deer, and which were
doubtless known to the Jews. Young deer
are noticed in Proverbs, Songs, and Isaiah,
as beautiful creatures, and very swift, Prov.
5:19. See Hind.
DEFILE', DEFILE'MENT. Many were
the blemishes of person and conduct which,
under the Jewish ceremonial law, were es-
teemed defilements: some were voluntary,
some involuntary; some were inevitable,
being defects of nature, others the conse-
quences of personal transgression. Under
the gospel, defilements are those of the
heart, of the mind, the temper, the conduct.
Moral defilements are as numerous, and
as strongly prohibited under the gospel, as
ever, though ceremonial defilements have
ceased, Matt. 15:18; Rom. 1:24. See Clean.
131
DEG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEL
In I Cor. 3:17, "defile," A. V., and " de-
stro_v," are the same word in Greek, and
both should be translated " destroy."
DEGREE', I Tim. 3:13. "A good de-
gree " is, a step in advance in spiritual
life.
DEGREES', Psalms of, is the title pre-
fixed to 15 Psalms, from Psa. 120 to Psa.
134 inclusive. Uf this title commentators
have proposed a variety of explanations.
The most probable are the following: First,
pilgrim songs, sung by the Israelites while
going up to Jerusalem to worship ; com-
pare Psa. 122:4; Ijut to this explanation the
contents of only a few of these Psalms are
appropriate, as, for instance, of Psa. 122.
Secondly, songs of llie steps, meaning the
15 steps leading from the court of the wo-
men in the temple area to that of the men,
on each of which steps some Jewish au-
thors stale that one of these Psalms was
chanted. But, thirdl\% Gesenius and some
others suppose the title to refer to a species
of rhythm in these Psalms, by which the
sense ascends, one member or clause fre-
quently repeating the words with which
the preceding member closes. Thus in
Psa. 121,
1. I wUl lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
From whence cometh my help.
2. My help Cometh from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved ;
Thy keeper will not slumber.
4. Lo, not slumber nor sleep will the keeper of
Israel.
Yet even this solution does not well apply
to all these Psalms.
DEGREES', Sh.\dow OF. See Dial.
DEHA'VITES, a peof)le beyond the Eu-
phrates, who furnished colonists for Sama-
ria, 2 Kin. 17:24; Ezra 4:9; supposed to be
the Dahae, on the east of the Caspian Sea,
and under the Persian government.
DELI'LAH, /anguishing, a Philistine wo-
man in the valley of Sorek, whom Samson
loved, and who betrayed him to the ene-
mies of Israel for 5,500 silver shekels,
Judg. 16.
DEL'UGE, that universal flood which was
sent upon the earth in the time of Noah,
and from which there were but 8 persons
saved. Moses' account of this event is re-
corded in Gen. 6-8. See Ark of Noah.
The sins of mankind were the cause of the
deluge ; and most commentators place it
A. M. 1656, B. C. 2348. After the door of
the ark had been closed upon those that
132
were to be saved, the deluge commenced :
it rained 40 days; "the fountains of the
great deep were broken up, and the win-
dows of heaven were opened." All men
and all creatures living on the land per-
ished, except Noah and those with him.
For 5 months the waters continued to rise,
and reached 15 cubits above the highest
summits to which any could fly for refuge ;
"a shoreless ocean tumbled round the
world." At length the waters began to
abate; the highest land appeared, and the
ark touched ground upon Mount Ararat.
In 3 months more the hills began to ap-
pear. Forty days after, Noah tested the
state of the earth's surface by sending out
a raven ; and then thrice, at intervals of a
week, a dove. At length he removed the
covering of the ark, and found the flood
had disappeared: he came forth from the
ark, reared an altar, and ofiered sacrifices
to God, who appointed the rainbow as a
pledge that he would no more destroy man-
kind with a flood. See Noah.
Much labor has been expended in search-
ing for natural causes adequate to the pro-
duction of a deluge ; but we should beware
of endeavoring to account on natural prin-
ciples for that which the Bible represents
as miraculous. It is indeed true that mod-
ern science discovers many reasons for
doubting the universality of the deluge —
such as the apparent impossibility of find-
ing room and food in the ark for the im-
mense number of different animals now
known to exist; the apparent certainty that
all fresh water fishes would have perished
in the ocean, and with them the numerous
species of marine animals which cannot
live except along shore ; also that the sea
water would have destroyed all vegetable
life. And many of the real friends of the
Bible believe that the flood covered only
that portion of the globe then occupied by
man. There is, however, no proof of this;
the requisite miracles, however many and
great, were equally easy to God with those
known to have been effected ; and some
excellent interpreters adhere to the natu-
ral sense of the inspired narrative. In the
New Testament, the deluge is spoken of as
a stupendous exhibition of divine power,
like the creation and the final burning of
the world. It is applied to illustrate the
longsuffering of God, and assure us of his
judgment on sin, 2 Pet. 3:5-7, and of the
2d coming of Christ, Matt. 24:38.
Since all nations have descended from
the family then preserved in the ark, it is
DEM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEU
natural that the memory of such an event
should be perpetuated in various national
tradition's. Such is indeed the fact. These
traditions have been found among the Egyp-
tians, Chaldaeans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Hin-
doos, Chinese, Japanese, Scythians, and
Celts, and in the western hemisphere among
the Mexicans, Peruvians, and South Sea
islanders.
DE'MAS, a fellow-laborer with Paul and
companion in his ist imprisonment at
Rome, who after a while deserted him,
either discouraged by the hardships of the
work, or allured by the love of the world.
Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:10; Phile. 24. We
may hope that his forsaking of Paul and of
Christ was not final apostasy ; but the Bible
leaves his case under a gloomy cloud — a
serious warning to us. " This present
world " tempting us not to follow Christ,
is always a curse, and may be our ruin.
DEME'TRIUS, I., a silversmith of Ephe-
sus, who made silver models of the famous
temple of Diana, which he sold to foreign-
ers, Acts 19:24-41. Observing the progress
of the gospel, not in Ephesus only, but in
the regions around, he assembled his fel-
low-craftsmen, and represented that, by
this new doctrine, not only their trade
would suffer, but the worship of the great
Diana of Ephesus was in danger of being
entirely forsaken. This produced an up-
roar and riot in the city, which the town-
clerk with difficulty appeased by firmness
and persuasion.
II. A disciple, and probably a minister
of high repute, 3 John 12. He may have
been formerly the silversmith of Ephesus ;
but this can be neither proved nor dis-
proved.
DEP'UTY, a pasha or governor, i Kin.
22:47; Esth. 8:9; 9:3. The Greek word
translated "deputy" in Acts 13:7, 8, 12;
18: 12; 19:38, was the " proconsul," the reg-
ular title of the governor of a Roman prov-
ince when appointed by the Senate. Its
use in the above passages, instead of some
vague or general title, is one of a multitude
of undesigned evidences of the truthfulness
of the sacred narrative.
DER'BE, a small town of Lycaonia, in
Asia Minor, to which Paul and Barnabas
fled from Lystra, A. D. 41, Acts 14:20. It
lay north of the Taurus Mountains, 16 or
20 miles east of Lystra, and not far from
the well-known pass called "the Cilician
Gates." The two missionaries gained many
disciples here, and among them perhaps
Gains, who afterwards labored with Paul,
Acts 14:21; 20:4. Paul revisited Derbe on
his 2d tour, and perhaps on the 3d, Acts
16:1-4; 18:23; 19:1.
DES'ERT. The Scriptures, by " desert,"
generally mean an uncultivated place, a
wilderness, or grazing tract. Some des-
erts were entirely dry and barren ; others
were beautiful, and had good pastures, Joel
2:22. David speaks of the beauty of the
desert, Psa. 65:12, 13. Scripture names
several deserts in the Holy Land. In
Ezek. 47 : 8, the Jordan valley is meant. See
Arabah. Other deserts particularly men-
tioned are " that great and terrible wilder-
ness " in Arabia Petrsea, south of Canaan,
Deut. 8:15, in passing through which for
40 years the Israelites took with them
flocks and herds, Exod. 12:38; Num. 11:22;
32: 1 ; also the region between Canaan and
the Euphrates, Exod. 23:31; Deut. 11:24.
The pastures of these "wildernesses" are
clothed in winter and spring with rich and
tender herbage ; but the heat of summer
soon burns this up, and the Arabs are driv-
en to seek pasturage elsewhere. Similar
uninhabited spots lay near many of the
towns in Palestine itself: as " the wilder-
ness of Ziph," of Maon, Gibeon, etc. The
" wilderness of Judah " was the mountain-
ous tract west of the Dead Sea, i Sam.
17:28; Matt. 2,:2,. See also Luke 15:4;
Acts 8:26.
DESTRUCTION, CiTY OF, Isa. 19:18.
See Heres.
DEUTERON'OMY, second law, or the rep-
etition of the law, the 5th book of the Pen-
tateuch; so called by the Greeks, because
in it Moses recapitulates what he had or-
dained in the preceding books, Deut. i : i-
6; 29:1; 31:1; T,2,- This book contains the
history of what passed in the wilderness
from the beginning of the nth month to
the 7th day of the 12th month, in the 40th
year after the Israelites' departure from
Egypt, that is, about 6 weeks, B. C. 1451.
That part which mentions the death of Mo-
ses was added afterwards, very probably
by Joshua.
The book of Deuteronomy is the sublime
and precious valedictory address of the in-
spired " man of God," now venerable for
his age and experience, and standing al-
most in the gate of heaven. He gives the
people of God his fatherly counsel and
blessing, and then goes up into Mount Pis-
gah alone to die. He recounts the deal-
ings of God with them, chs. 1-4 ; recapitu-
lates His laws, chs. 5-26 ; shows them why
they should love Him, and how they should
133
DEV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DEV
serve Him, chs. 27-34. ^^ 's full of tender
solicitude, wise instruction, faithful warn-
ing, and the zealous love of a patriot and
a prophet for the people of God, whom he
had borne on his heart so long. It is often
quoted by later inspired writers, and by
our Lord, Matt. 4:4, 7, 10.
DEVIL, 1., a fallen angel; and particu-
larly the chief of them, /Jw dez'il, or Satan.
He is the great leader of evil in the world;
and it is his grand object to counteract the
good which God desires to do. He e.\erts
himself, especially with his angels, to draw
away the souls of men from embracing sal-
vation through Jesus Christ.
His name, from the Greek diabolos, sig-
nifies the false accuser — slandering God to
men, as in Gen. 3, and men, especially good
men, to God, Job 1:9, 10; Zech. 3:1; Rev.
12: 10; as the Hebrew Satan means the ad-
versary— of God and man. But the Scrip-
tures give him various other appellations
descriptive of his character. He is called,
"The prince of this world," John 12:31;
" The prince of the power of the air," Eph.
2:2; " The god of this world," 2 Cor. 4:4;
" The dragon, that old serpent," Rev. 20:2 ;
"That wicked one," i John 5:18; "A roar-
ing lion," I Pet. 5:8; "A murderer," "a
liar," John 8:44; "Beelzebub," Matt. 12:24;
"Belial," 2 Cor. 6:15. He is everywhere
shown to be full of malignity, cruelty, and
deceit, hating God and man. He is cease-
less in his efforts to destroy souls, and uses
innumerable devices to adapt his tempta-
tions to the varying characters and condi-
tions of men, enticing wicked men, and
even good men, as well as his own angels,
to aid in his work. Almost the whole
world has been under his sway. But he is
a doomed foe. Christ " shall bruise the
serpent's head;" shall dispossess him from
the world, as He has done from individu-
als, and at length confine him for ever in
the place prepared for him and his angels.
Matt. 25:41.
IL The word " devils " in the gospels is
the translation of a different Greek w-ord
from that used to denote the devil, and
might be rendered "demons." See Idols.
The Bible speaks of " the devil, and his
angels," Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7, 9, and of
Satan as " the prince of the devils," Mark
3:22-30, representing the latter as like their
leader in nature and actions — fallen an-
gels, Luke 10:17, 18. In the gospels they
are " unclean " spirits, full of active malig-
nity; they believe and tremble, Jas. 2:19;
they confess the deity of Christ, yield to
134
his authority, and dread his coming judg-
ment, Matt. 8:29; Luke 4:41; Acts 19:15.
See also Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12: 7-9. The word
" devil " is also sometimes applied to idols,
intimating the special interest of evil spir-
its in the " lying wonders" and abomina-
tions of idol-worship, Deut. 32:17; i Cor.
10:20, 31 ; Rev. 9:20.
There are manj^ examples in the New
Testament of persons possessed bj' demons.
These men are often called demoniacs^
Some have argued that these were afflicted
by natural diseases, such as epilepsy, in-
sanity, etc., and were not possessed by
evil spirits. But the demoniacs are clearly
distinguished from those afflicted with epi-
lepsy or any other disease, Matt. 4:24;
Mark 1:32; 16:17, 18; Luke 6:17, 18; and
our Saviour speaks to and commands the
demons who actuated the possessed, which
demons answered with superhuman knowl-
edge, recognized the Son of God, obeyed
his commands, and gave proofs of their
presence by tormenting those whom they
were obliged to quit. Christ alleges, as
proof of his mission, that the demons are
cast out ; he promises his apostles the same
power that he himself exercised against
those wicked spirits. Matt. 10:1. 8; Luke
9:1; and his conversations with the Jews,
and with his disciples when alone with
him, imply the agency of evil spirits in the
demoniacs. Matt. 12:22-29; 17:18-21. No
one therefore can deny this fact without
denying the inspiration of Scripture and
the honesty of Christ.
No cases of the same nature occur in our
day. They were suffered to occur in
Christ's time, since he came to save both
the bodies and the souls of men and " to
destroy the works of the devil," and had
need to exhibit his saving power by heal-
ing diseases, forgiving sins, and casting
out devils. Matt. 12:28; Luke 10:17, 18;
I John 3:8. The possessed had probably
invited the evil spirits by their vices and
crimes, which had also brought upon them
the diseases which in so many cases were
found with the demoniacal possession.
In all New Testament passages where
"devils" occurs, in the plural, the Greek
denotes "demons;" also in the following
passages where " devil " occurs, in the sin-
gular: Matt. 9:32, 33; 11:18; 12:22; 15:22;
17: 18; Mark 5: 15, 16, 18; 7:26, 29,30; Luke
4:33. 35; 7:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:14; John
7:20; 8:48,49,52; 10:20,21.
In all other passages where " devil " oc-
curs in the singular, Satan, diabolos, is de-
DEV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DIA
noted in the original, viz., Matt. 4:1, 5, 8, 11 ;
13:39; 25:41; Luke 4:2, 3, 5, 6, 13; 8:12;
John 6:70; 8:44 ; :3:2; Acts 10:38; 13:10;
Eph. 4:27; 6:11; I Tim. 3 : 6, 7 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 26 ;
Heb. 2:14; Jas. 4:7; i Pet. 5:8; i John 3:8,
10; Jude 9; Rev. 2:10; 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10.
DEVO'TIONS, in Acts 17:23, objects of
worship.
DE'W. The dews in Palestine and some
other Oriental countries are very copious,
and serve very greatly to sustain and pro-
mote vegetation in seasons when little or
no rain falls. Maundrell tells us that the
tents of his company, when pitched on Ta-
bor and Hermon, " were as wet with dew
as if it had rained on them all night," Judg.
6 : 38 ; Song 5:2. Dew was especially heavy
near the mountains, and just before and
after the rainy season ; and did not fall in
the midsummer. It was prized as a pre-
cious boon of Providence, Gen. 27 : 28 ; Deut.
33:28; I Kin. 17:1; Job 29:19; Hag. 1:10;
Zech. 8:12. The dew furnishes the sacred
penmen with many beautiful allusions,
Deut. 32:2; 2 Sam. 17:12; Psa. 110:3; Prov.
19:12; Hos. 6:4; 14:5; Mic. 5:7.
DI'ADEM, in the New Testament, the
crown of kings, in distinction from con-
querors, etc., Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 19:12.
-ANTIQUE STONE SUN-DIAL.
DI'AL, an instrument much used before
the invention of clocks, to tell the time of
day by the progress of the sun's shadow.
The dial of Ahaz, 2 Kin. 20 : 1 1 ; Isa. 38 : 1-9,
seems to have been peculiar either in struc-
ture or size, and was perhaps borrowed
from Babylon or Damascus, 2 Kin. 16:10.
The sun-dial is mentioned in the Assyrian
tablets. The term " degrees," or steps, sug-
gests its probable form, as that of a pair of
stairs, with a gnomon or column casting its
shadow on more or fewer of them as the
sun was low or high. Compare the many-
storied temples of Babel. The causing the
shadow upon it to go back 10 degrees, to
assure king Hezekiah of his recovery from
sickness, was probably effected not by ar-
resting and turning backwards the revolu-
tion of the earth, but by a miraculous re-
fraction of the sun's rays, observed only in
Judaea, though the fame of it reached Bab-
ylon, 2 Chr. 32:31.
DI'AMOND, the hardest and most bril-
liant of gems, very rare and costly, sup-
posed to have been unknown to the Jews.
Diamonds are used not only for ornaments,
but for cutting and graving hard substan-
ces, Jer. 17: i. The Hebrew word .y/iawiV,
here used, is called "adamant" in Ezek.
3:9; Zech. 7: 12. See Adam.^nt. There is
another Hebrew word, vaha/om, also trans-
lated "diamond," E.xod. 28:18; 39:11;
Ezek. 28: 13, and thought by some to mean
the topaz.
DIANA: FROM STATUE IN NAPLES MUSEUM.
DIA'NA, or Ar'temis, a celebrated god-
dess of the Romans and Greeks, and one
of their 12 superior deities. The Diana of
Ephesus, however, was a very different
deity from the fair and chaste huntress of
the Greeks ; she was like the Syrian god-
dess Ashtoreth, and appears to have been
worshipped with impure rites and magical
mysteries. Acts 19:19. Her image, fabled
135
DIB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DIS
to have fallen down from Jupiter in heav-
en, seems to have been a block of wood
tapering to the foot, with a female bust
above covered with many breasts, the head
crowned with turrets, and each hand rest-
ing on a staff'. It was of great antiquity,
and highly venerated.
The temple of this goddess was the pride
and glory of Ephesus. It was 425 feet long,
and 220 broad, and had 127 graceful Ionic
columns of white marble, each 60 feet high.
Its treasures were of immense value. It
was 220 years in building, and was one of
the 7 wonders of the world. In the year
when Alexander the (ireat was born, B. C.
356, an earlier temple had been burned
down by one Herostratus, in order to im-
mortalize his name, but was afterwards
rebuilt, as above described, with even
greater splendor. Compare i Cor. 3:9-17,
written there ; and Eph. 2 : 19-22. The " sil-
ver slirines for Diana," made by Demetrius
and others, were probably small models of
the temple for domestic use, and for sale
to travellers and visitors. Ancient coins of
Ephesus represent the shrine and statue of
Diana, with a Greek inscription, "of the
Ephesians," Acts 19:28, 34, 35. Others
bear the same words which Luke employs,
translated " deputy " and " worshipper " of
Diana ; and some, with the name and head
of Nero, were struck perhaps while Paul
was there.
DIB'LATH, Ezek. 6:14, probably Rib-
LAH, which see.
DI'BON, pining, I., Di'mon, Isa. 15:9,
and Di'bo.n-gad', Num. 33:45, 46, a town
of Gad, Num. 32:34, but afterwards of Reu-
ben, Josh. 13:17. It lay in a plain just
north of the Arnon, and was the ist en-
campment of the Israelites upon crossing
that river. Later we find it in the hands of
the Moabites, Isa. 15:2; Jer. 48:22. Traces
of it remain at a place now called Diban.
See Mesha.
II. .\ town in Judah, Neh. 11:25, called
Dimonah in Josh. 15:22.
DID'YMUS, a twin. See Thomas.
DIG'GING THROUGH HOUSES, Job 24:16.
See Houses.
DIK'LAH, a tribe descended from Jok-
tan, Gen. 10:27, and dwelling in Southern
Arabia, or perhaps near the head of the
Persian (kilf, i Chr. 1:21.
DI'MON, Isa. 15:9. See DinoN.
DI'NAH, judged, daughter of Jacob by
Leah, Gen. 30:21, his only daughter named
in Scripture. While the family were so-
journing near Shalem, she heedlessly asso-
136
ciated with the Canaanitish maidens, and
fell a victim to the seductive arts of She-
chem, a young prince of the land ; but was
perfidiously and savagely avenged by Sim-
e<5n and Levi, her full brothers, to the great
grief of Jacob their father. Gen. 34; 49:5, 7.
Her fall furnishes one of myriads of warn-
ings not to associate with the irreligious
and dissolute. She seems to have gone
with the family to Egypt, Gen. 46:15.
DIONYS'IUS, devotee of Bacchus, a mem-
ber of the court of the Areopagus at Ath-
ens, converted under the preaching of Paul,
Acts 17:34. See Akkoi-agus. Tradition
says that he was eminent for learning, that
he was ordained by Paul at Athens, and
after many labors and trials, suffered mar-
tyrdom by fire. The works ascribed to
him are spurious, being the product of
some unknown writer in the 5th or 6th cen-
tury.
DIOT'REPHES, nourished by Jupiler, an
influential member, perhaps minister, of
some early church, censured by John for
his jealous ambition and his violent rejec-
tion of the best Christians, 3 John 9, 10.
DIP'PING IN THE DISH, Matt. 26:23. See
Eating.
DISCERN'ING OF SPIRITS, I Cor. i2:io,
a miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost to
certain of the early church, empowering
them to judge of the real character of those
who professed to love Christ and to be in-
spired to teach in his name, i John 4:1;
2 John 7. Compare Acts 5:1-10; 8:21;
13:6-12.
DISCIPLE, a scholar. Matt. 10:24. In
the New Testament it is applied princi-
pally to the followers of Christ ; sometimes
to those of John the Baptist, Matt. 9: 14, and
of the Pharisees, Matt. 22:16. It is used in
a special manner to point out the twelve,
Matt. II :i; 20:17. A disciple of Christ
may now be defined as one who believes
his doctrine, rests upon his sacrifice, im-
bibes his spirit, imitates his example, and
lives to do liis work.
DIS'CIPLINE, Job 36:10, instruction.
DISCOVER, Mic. i;6, to uncover, or lay
bare, Deut. 22:30; 2 Sam. 22: 16.
DISEAS'ES were introduced into the
world by sin, and are greatly promoted by
corrupt, indolent, and lu.xurious habits.
Besides the natural causes of diseases, evil
sprits were charged with producing them
among the Hebrews, Job 2:7; Mark 9:17;
Luke 13:16; 2 Cor. 12:7. The pious Jews
recognized the hand of God in sending
them, Psa. 39:9-11; 90:3-12; and in many
DIS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DOE
cases special diseases were sent in punish-
ment of particular sins: to Abimelech, Ge-
hazi, Jehoram, Uzziah, Miriam, Herod, the
Philistines, etc., and those who partook of
the Lord's Supper unworthily, i Cor. 11:30.
Christ manifested his divine goodness and
power by healing every form of disease ;
and in these cases, as in that of king Asa,
2 Chr. 16: 12, it is shown that all the skill of
physicians is in vain without God's bless-
ing. The prevalent diseases in Bible lands
were malignant fevers, cutaneous diseases,
palsy, dysentery, and ophthalmia. Almost
every form of bodily disease has a coun-
terpart in the maladies of the soul, and the
Great Physician of souls has demonstrated
his perfect ability to cure them all, Luke
5:24. See Devil, IL
DISPENSA'TION, the charge of proclaim-
ing the gospel of Christ, i Cor. 9: 17 ; Eph.
3:2. Also the scheme or plan of God's
dealings with men. In the Patriarchal,
Mosaic, and Christian dispensations, God
has commenced, enlarged, and perfected
his revelation of himself and his grace to
this world, Eph. 1:10; Col. i : 25. The whole
development of his great plan has been
gradual, and adapted at every stage to the
existing state of the human family.
DISPER'SION, Jas. 1:1. See C.A.PTIVITY.
The exiled Jews were not in Babylonia
only, but in all lands around Palestine, far
and near, Acts 2:9-11 ; and furnished many
converts to the gospel who contributed
greatly to its rapid spread, John 7:35.
DISPOSI'TION, Acts 7:53, A. V., ordi-
nance or ministration.
DITCH, a pit or pool, Job 9:31 ; Isa. 22:11 ;
Luke 6:39.
DIVINA'TION. The Eastern people were
fond of magic, and the pretended art of in-
terpreting dreams and acquiring a knowl-
edge of futurity. When Moses published
the law, to correct the Israelites' inclination
to consult diviners, wizards, fortune-tellers,
and interpreters of dreams, it was forbid-
den them under very severe penalties, and
the true spirit of prophecy was promised
to them as infinitely superior, Exod. 22: 18 ;
Lev. 19:26, 31 ; 20:27. When this was for-
feited by disobedience, and sorcery em-
ployed instead, as by king Saul, ruin was
not far off, i Sam. 28. See Acts 8 ; 13 ; 16 ;
19. Those were to be stoned who pre-
tended to have a " familiar spirit," or the
"spirit of divination," Deut. 18:9-12; and
the prophecies are full of invectives against
the Israelites who consulted such, as well
as against false prophets, who seduced the
people, Isa. 8:19; 47:11-14; Ezek. 13:6-9.
A fresh impulse to these superstitions was
gained from intercourse with the Chaldae-
ans, during the reign of the later kings of
Judah and the captivities in Babylon, 2 Kin.
21:6; 2 Chr. 33:6. See Magic, Sorcerers.
Divination was of several kinds: by wa-
ter, fire, earth, air ; by the flight of birds,
and their singing ; by lots, dreams, arrows,
clouds, entrails of sacrifices, pretended com-
munication with spirits, etc., Ezek. 21:21.
The art of divination was nothing but an
imposing jugglery, having no basis but the
credulity and superstitious fears of its
dupes, and making an adroit use of some
secret machinery or of scientific facts un-
known to the mass. It was usually in the
hands of a priestly caste. Gen. 41:8; Isa.
47: 13 ; Dan. 2:2, and gave them vast social
and political power. In reference to his
cup, Joseph spoke as a supposed Egyptian,
Gen. 44:5.
DIVORCE' was tolerated by Moses for
sufficient reasons, Deut. 24:1-4; but our
Lord has limited it to the single case of
adultery. Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:3-9. Where for
other causes a separation of husband and
wife occurs, and they live asunder, neither
is at liberty to marry another. Paul in
I Cor. 7:10-17 applies the law of Christ to
cases where a Christian convert has a wife
still an unbeliever : he is not to separate
from her if she will remain with him; if
she will depart, he is not bound to insist
on her remaining with him, but cannot
marry another.
DOCTOR, teacher. A Doctor of the
LAW may perhaps be distinguished from a
SCRIBE, as rather teaching orally than giv-
ing written opinions, Luke 2:46. It implies
one learned in the divine law. Doctors of
the law were mostly of the sect of the Phar-
isees, but are distinguished from that sect
in Luke 5:17, where it appears that the
novelty of our Saviour's teaching drew to-
gether a great company both of Pharisees
and doctors of the law. See Rab and
Scribes.
DOCTRINE, teaching, its method and its
substance, Matt. 7:28; Mark 4:2.
DOD'ANIM, or Rod'anim, I Chr. 1:7, a
people descended from Japhet through Ja-
van, Gen. 10:4. They are associated, by
the above passage, and by dim etymologi-
cal inferences, with the island of Rhodes.
HO' E-G, fearful, an Edomite, overseer of
Saul's flocks. At Nob he witnessed the
relief kindly furnished to David when flee-
ing from Saul, by Ahimelech the high-
137
DOG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DOV
priest, and carried a malicious and distort-
ed report of it to his master. The king
gladly seized the opportunitj* to wreak his
passion on a helpless victim ; and when the
Jews around him refused to slay the priests
of God, infamously used the willing servi-
ces of this alien and heathen. Doeg not
only slew Ahimelech and 84 other priests,
but put the town in which they dwelt to the
sword, I Sam. 21 ; 22. David forebodes his
wretched fate, Psa. 52; 120; 140.
A PKRSIAN DOG.
DOGS were held in great contempt by
the Jews, but were worshipped, as well as
cats, by the Egyptians. Among the Jews,
to compare a person to this " unclean " an-
imal. Lev. 11:26, 27; Isa. 66:3, was the
most degrading expression possible, i Sam.
17:43; 24:14; 2 Sam. 9:8. The state of
dogs among the Jews was the same that
now prevails in the East, where, often hav-
ing no owners, they run about the streets
in troops, and are fed by cliarity or caprice,
or live on such offal as they can pick up.
As they are often on the jjoint of starvation,
they devour corpses, and in the night even
attack living men, Psa. 59:6, 14, 15; i Kin.
14:11; 21:23. Yet dogs were kept some-
times to guard flocks and houses. Job 30: i ;
Isa. 56:10; Matt. 15:26, 27. In various
places in Scripture the epithet "dogs" is
given to certain classes of men, as express-
ing their insolent rapacity, Psa. 22 : 16 ; Matt.
7:6 ; Phil. 3:2, and their beastly vices, Deut.
23:18; 2 Pet. 2:22; Rev. 22:15.
DOOR. See Gates, House.
DOR, a habitation, a royal city of the
Canaanites, on the Mediterranean between
Caesarea and Mount Carmel ; after the con-
quest it was assigned to Manasseh, Josh.
11:2; 12:23; 17:11: I Kin. 4:11; I Chr.
7:29. There is now a small port there, and
a village with about 300 inhabitants, called
Tantura.
DOR'CAS in Greek, the same as Tabi-
THA in Svriac, that is, gazelle, the name of
138
a pious and charitable woman at Joppa,
whom Peter raised from the dead, Acts
9:36-42. This miracle testified (iod's spe-
cial approval of a life of practical and self-
denying piety, and was followed by many
conversions.
DO'THAN, or Dotha'in, two wells, the
place where Joseph was sold to the Ish-
maelites. Gen. 2,7:17, and where the Syri-
ans were smitten with blindness at Elisha's
word, 2 Kin. 6:13. It was on the caravan-
route from Syria to Egypt, about 15 miles
north of Shechem, and 4 or 5 southwest of
Engannim, now Jenin. Its ruins still bear
the old name, Dothan, though uninhabited,
and are on a large hill, 2 Kin. 6: 15, 17. on
the south edge of a very fertile plain, (ien.
37:16, 17. Mr. Tristram met there "a long
caravan of mules and asses laden, on their
way from Damascus to Egv|it."'
THK KASTKRN CARRIER DOVE.
DOVES were clean according to the Mo-
saic ritual, and were offered in sacrifice,
especially by the poor, Gen. 15:9; Lev. 5:7;
12:6-8; Luke 2:24. Several kinds of doves
or pigeons frequented the Holy Land ; and
the immense flocks of them sometimes wit-
nessed illustrate a passage in Isaiah, 60:8.
Their swift and long flight and their beau-
tiful plumage are alluded to in Psa. 55:6;
68:13, their tender eyes, mournful notes,
etc., in Song 1 : 15; 2:14; 153.59:11. They
are symbols of simplicity, innocence, and
conjugal fidelity, Hos. 7:11; Matt. 10:16.
The dove was the chosen harbinger of
God's returning favor after the flood. Gen.
8, and was honored as an emblem of the
Holy Spirit, Matt. 3 : 16. See Turtle-
dove.
DOV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DRO
DOVES' DUNG. It is said, 2 Kin. 6:25,
that during the siege of Samaria, " the
fourth part of a cab," little more than half
a pint, "of doves' dung was sold for five
pieces of silver," about 2^ dollars. As
doves' dung is not a nourishment for man,
even in the most extreme famine, the gen-
eral opinion is, that it was a kind of lentil,
or tare, which has very much the appear-
ance of doves' dung. Two or three vegeta-
ble substances are still so named by the
Arabs.
DOWRY. In Eastern countries the
bridegroom was required to pay the father
of his betrothed a stipulated portion, in
money or other valuables, proportioned to
the rank and station of the family to which
she belonged; this was the dowry. Jacob
purchased his wives by his services to their
father. Gen. 29:18-27; 34:12; E.xod. 22:16,
17; I Sam. 18:25; Hos. 3:2. Sometimes
the father gave presents to his daughter,
Judg. 1:15; I Kin. 9:16.
DRACH'MA, Luke 15:8, 9. See Penny.
DRAG, Hab. 1:15, 16; John 21:8, a net
suspended and drawn near the bottom of
the water.
DRAG'ON answers, in the English Bible,
to the Hebrew word signifying a sea-
monster, huge serpent, etc.; in Gen. 1:21,
" whales." Thus in Deut. 32:33; Jer. 51 :34;
Psa. 91:13; and Rev. 12, it evidently im-
plies a huge serpent; in Isa. 27:1; 51:9;
Ezek. 29:3; 32:2, it may mean the croco-
dile, or any large sea-monster. A distinct
Hebrew word is used in Job 30:29; Isa.
13:22; 34:13; 43:20; Jer. 9:11 ; 10:22; 14:6 ;
49 •■ 33; 51:37; Lam. 4:3; Mic. 1:8, and
seems to refer to some wild animal of the
desert, probably the wolf or the jackal.
The animal known to modern naturalists
under the name of dragon is a harmless spe-
cies of lizard, in Asia and Africa. It may be
that some of the monstrous reptiles whose
remains are from time to time unearthed,
were known by Adam and his early de-
scendants. The application of the term to
Satan is a metaphor easily understood.
DRAG'ON- WELL, Neh. 2:13, probably
the fountain of Gihon, on the west side of
Jerusalem. See Gihon.
DRAM, Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70, a gold coin
of Persia, worth about I5.
DRAUGHT, a cesspool, privy, or recepta-
cle for filth, 2 Kin. 10:27; Matt. 15:17. Also,
all the fishes taken at one drawing of a net,
Luke 5:9.
DREAM, The Orientals greatly regard-
ed dreams, and applied for their interpre-
tation to those who claimed power to ex-
plain them. VV'e see the antiquity of this
custom in Job 4:13-15; 7:14; 33:15-17, and
in the history of Pharaoh's butler and ba-
ker, and Pharaoh himself, Gen. 40; 41. God
expressly forbade his people to observe
dreams, and to consult heathen explainers
of them. He condemned to death all who
falsely pretended to have prophetic dreams,
even though what they foretold came to
pass, if they had any tendency to promote
idolatry, Deut. 13:1-3. But the Jews were
not forbidden, when they thought they had
a significant dream, to address the prophets
of the Lord, or the high-priest in his ephod,
to have it explained. The Lord frequently
made known his will in dreams, and ena-
bled persons to explain them; as in the
cases of Abimelech, Jacob, and Laban,
Gen. 20:3-7; 28:12-15; 31:24; of the Mid-
ianite, Judg. 7:13; of Nebuchadnezzar,
Dan. 2 and 4; of Joseph, the Magi, Pilate's
wife, and Paul, Matt. 1:20; 2:12; 27:19;
Acts 27:23. Supernatural dreams are dis-
tinguished from visions, in that the former
occurred during sleep, and the latter when
the person was awake. God spoke to
Abimelech in a dream, but to Abraham by
vision. In both cases he left on the mind
an assurance of the certainty of whatever
he revealed. Both are now superseded by
the Bible, our sure and sufificient guide
through earth to heaven.
DREGS. In Isa. 51 : 17, R. V., " bowl."
DRESS'ES. See Garments.
DRINK, Strong. See Wine.
DRINK'-OFFERING, a small quantity of
wine, part of which was to be poured on
the sacrifice or meat-offering, and the resi-
due given to the priests, Exod. 29:40; Lev.
23:18; Num. 15:5, 7. It may have been
appointed as an acknowledgment that all
the blessings of the earth are from God,
Gen. 35:14. In heathen drink-offerings,
blood was sometimes mingled with wine in
making some fearful vow, Psa. 16:4.
DROM'EDARY. See Camel. The He-
brew word used in i Kin. 4: 28; Esth. 8:10,
14; Mic. 1:13, is thought to mean swift
horses.
DROP'PING, Continual. See House.
DROUGHT was an evil to which Pales-
tine was naturally subject, as no rain fell
from May to September. During these
months of summer, the ground became
parched and cleft, the streams and springs
became dry, and vegetation was kept from
extinction by the dews of night and by
artificial irrigation. If rain did not come
139
DRU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
DUS
in its season and abundantly, the distress
was general and dreadful. A drought,
therefore, is threatened as one of God's
sorest judgments. Job 24:19; Jer. 50:38;
Joel 1:10-20; Hag. i:ii; and there are
manj- allusions to its horrors in Scripture,
Deut. 28:23; Psa. 32:4; 102:4.
DRUNK'ENNESS is referred to in the
Bible both in single instances and as a
habit. Its folly is often illustrated, Psa.
107:27; Isa. 19:14; 24:20; 28:7, 8, its guilt
denounced, Isa. 5:22, its ill results traced,
1 Sam. 25:36; I Kin. 16:9; 20:16, and its
doom shown, i Cor. 6:9, 10. It is produced
b\' wine. Gen. 9:21; 19:33; Jer. 23:9; Eph.
5:18, as well as by "strong drink," i Sam.
1:13-15; Isa. 5:11. Hence the use of these
was forbidden to the priests at the altar,
Lev. 10:9; and all are cautioned to avoid
them, Prov. 20:1; 23:30. To tempt others
to drunkenness is a sin accursed of God,
2 Sam. 11:13; Hab. 2:15, 16. Its preva-
lence in a community is inseparable from
the habitual use of any inebriating liquor.
Hence the efforts made by the wise and
good to secure abstinence from all intoxi-
cating drinks, i Cor. 8:13. See Wink.
DRUSIL'LA, the youngest daughter of
Herod Agrippa I., and sister of the younger
Agrippa and Bernice, celebrated for her
beauty. She was first given in marriage
by her brother to Azizus king of Emessa.
When Felix came as governor of Judaea,
he persuaded her to abandon her husband
and her religion and become his wife.
Paul bore testimony before them to the
truth of the Christian religion, Acts 24:24.
She and Felix had a son Agrippa, who after-
wards jjerished in an eruption of \'esuvius.
DUKE. In Gen. 36:15-43, is a long list
of "dukes" of Edom, Exod. 15:15; Josh.
13:21; but the word duke, from the Latin
du.v, merely signifies a leader, and not an
order of nobility, i Chr. 1:51.
DUL'CIMER, Dan. 3:5, lo, an instrument
of music, which the rabbins describe as a
sort of bagpipe, composed of 2 pipes con-
nected with a leathern sack, and of a harsh,
screaming sound. Tlie modern dulcimer
is an instrumentof a triangular form, strung
with about 50 wires, and struck with 2 light
and slender hammers. See Mrsic.
DU'MAH, silence, I., a tribe and country
of the Ishmaelites in Arabia, Gen. 25:14;
I Chr. 1:30; Isa. 21:11; doubtless the same
which is still called by the Arabs " Duma
of the great stones " and " the Syrian Du-
ma," situated on the confines of the Ara-
bian and Syrian desert, with a fortress.
140
II. A town of Judah, a little southwest of
Hebron, Josh. 15:52.
DUNG. In Bible lands the dung of ani-
mals was and is used not only for manure,
but, when dried, for fuel. In districts
where wood is scarce, the inhabitants are ,
very careful in collecting the dung of cam-
els or asses; it is mixed with chopped
straw, and dried. It is not unusual to see
a whole village with portions of this mate-
rial adhering to the walls of the cottages to
dry ; and in autumn it is piled in conical
heaps on the roof. It is employed in heat-
ing ovens, and for other similar purposes,
Ezek. 4:12-16. The use of dung for ma-
nure is intimated in Isa. 25:10. Hence
"dung-gate," Neh. 2:13. To sit upon a
dunghill was a sign of deep humiliation
and misery, i Sam. 2:8; Psa. 113:7; Lam.
4:5. See also Exod. 29:14; Deut. 23:12;
2 Kin. 10:27: Dan. 2:5.
DU'RA, the plain at Babylon where Neb-
uchadnezzar set up his golden image, Dan.
3:1. M. Oppert finds it at a mound called
Duair, southeast of Babylon, where also he
discovered what he took for the pedestal
of a colossal statue.
DUST, Josh. 7:6. Dust or ashes put
upon the head was a sign of mourning;
sitting in the dust, a sign of affliction, Lam.
3:29; Isa. 47:1'. " Dust " is also put for the
grave, Gen. 3:19; Job 7:21. It signifies a
multitude. Gen. 13:16, and a low and mean
condition, i Sam. 2:8. To lick or kiss the
dust expresses abject submission, Psa. 72:9.
We have 2 remarkable instances of casting
dust recorded in Scripture, and they illus-
trate a practice common in Asia: those who
demanded justice against a criminal were
accustomed to throw dust ujjon him, signi-
fying that he deserved to be cast into the
grave. Shimei cast dust upon David when
he fled from Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 16: 13. The
Jews treated the apostle Paul in a similar
manner in the same city. Acts 22:22-24.
To shake off the dust of the feet against
another was expressive of entire renuncia-
tion. Matt. 10:14; Mark 6:11; Acts 13:51.
The threatening of God recorded in Deut.
28:24, "The Lord shall make the rain of
thy land powder and dust: from heaven
shall it come down upon thee, until thou
be destroyed. ' means that instead of fertil-
izing rains, clouds of fine dust, raised from
the parched ground and driven by fierce
and burning winds, shall fill the air. See
Wind. The dust of Egypt was turned into
gnats at Moses' word, Exod. 8:16. See
Lice.
EAG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EAR
E.
EA'GLE, Job 39:27-30, a large and very
powerful bird of prey, hence called the
king of birds. Four species of eagles have
been observed in Palestine. The "golden
eagle " measures 8 feet 4 inches from wing
to wing ; and from the tip of his tail to the
point of his beak, when dead, 4 feet 7
inches. In many passages the Griffon Vul-
ture is probably intended.
Of all known birds, the eagle flies not
only the highest, Prov. 23:5; Jer. 49:16;
Obad. 4, but also with the greatest rapid-
ity. To this circumstance there are stri-
king allusions in 2 Sam. 1:23; Job 9:26;
Lam. 4: 19. Among the evils threatened to
the Israelites for disobedience were ene-
mies coming " as swift as the eagle flieth,"
Deut. 28:49; Jer. 4:13; 48:40; 49:22; Hos.
8:1. This bird was a national emblem on
Persian, Assyrian, and Roman standards,
as it now is on United States coins.
The eagle lives to a great age, and, like
other birds of prey, sheds his feathers in
spring, and thus assumes the appearance of
youth, Psa. 103:5; Isa. 40:31. The careful
pains of the eagle in teaching its young to
fly, beautifully illustrate God's providential
care over Israel, Exod. 19:4; Deut. 32: 11, 12.
The eagle is remarkable for its keen
sight and scent. Job 39:29. It builds its
nest on lofty crags, Prov. 23:5; Jer. 49:16;
and often prefers to rob other birds of their
prey rather than hunt for itself. Job 9:26.
The vulture feeds on dead bodies, and is
the chief scavenger in the East, Job 39:30;
Matt. 24:28. Its flesh, like that of all birds
of prey, was unclean to the Jews, and is
never eaten unless in cases of necessity,
Luke 17:37.
EAR'ING, an old agricultural term for
ploughing. Gen. 45:6; Exod. 34:21; Deut.
21:4; iSam. S:i2; Isa. 30:24.
EAR'NEST, a part of a debt, paid in as-
surance of the payment of the whole; or
part of the price paid down to confirm a
bargain ; or part of a servant's wages, paid
at the time of hiring, to ratify the engage-
ment. It differs from a mere " pledge,"
since it is identical in kind with the thing
promised, while a pledge may be some-
thing altogether different. It describes the
gifts of God to his people here, as the assu-
rance and commencement of the far supe-
rior blessings of the life to come, 2 Cor.
1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14.
EAR'RINGS. See Rings, Amulets.
EARTH. In both Hebrew and Greek
the same word is used to denote the earth,
as a whole, Gen. 1:1, and a particular land
or spot. Gen. 21 :32 ; 23: 15 ; 33-3- The con-
text decides in which of these senses it is
to be taken in a given passage. Thus in
Matt. 27:45 we might render either "there
was darkness over all the land," or over
all the "earth," as in Luke 23:44, A. V.
See Mark 15:33. The R. V. has " land " in
all 3 passages. The expression " all the
earth" is sometimes used hyperbolically
for a large portion of it, Ezra 1:2. The
word is used of the whole world, or its sur-
face, in distinction from the heavens ; of
the people who inhabit the world, etc. In
Job 26:7 the idea seems to be implied that
the earth is freely suspended in space.
But in their common language the He-
brews spoke of it as a vast convex surface
of unknown extent, with pillars and foun-
dations. Job 9:6; 38:4, 6; Psa. 75:3; 104:5;
with an abyss under all, Gen. 49:25; Psa.
24:2; 136:6; and an arched firmament
above, in which the stars were placed, and
through whose windows the rain came.
See Deep and Heavens.
One Hebrew word, adaniah, denotes the
mould, dust, or arable land of the world;
hence Adam's name. Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7.
It is used of Noah, Gen. 9:20, as becoming
a " man of the soil." And of this material
altars were to be composed, Exod. 20:24;
2 Kin. 5:17.
In a moral sense, earthly is opposed to
what is heavenly, spiritual, and holy, John
3:31; I Cor. 15:47; Col. 3:2; James 3:15.
" The lower parts of the earth," means the
unseen world of the dead, Psa. 63 : 9 ; Isa.
44:23; Eph. 4:9.
EARTH'QUAKE, Scripture speaks of
several earthquakes, Num. 16; i Kin. 19:11,
141
EAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EAT
12. One occurred in the 27th year of Uz-
ziah, and is mentioned in Amos 1:1; Zech.
14:5; and Josephus connects it with the
crimes of Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26:16-20, and al-
ludes to a shaking down of a part of the
Mount of Olives at the time. Compare Jer.
51 125. A very memorable earthquake was
that at our Saviour's death, Matt. 27:51,
which some suppose extended throughout
the world. Palestine has been often vis-
ited by earthquakes. So late as 1837 one
occurred in the vicinity of the Sea of Gal-
ilee, by which about a third part of Tibe-
rias was destroyed, and thousands of peo-
ple perished. The subsidence of the south
end of the Dead Sea shore was probably
connected with an earthquake. Earth-
quakes were among the calamities foretold
as connected with the destruction of Jeru-
salem, Matt. 24:7; and history proves the
truth of the prediction.
The word earthquake is also used figu-
ratively to denote God's power and wrath,
as in Psa. 18:7; 46:2; 104:32, etc., and as
an emblem of a great civil or national ca-
tastrophe. Matt. 24:7, 29; Rev. 16:18, 19.
EAST. The Hebrews, in speaking of the
different quarters of the heaven, always
suppose the face to be turned towards the
east. Hence "before," or "forwards,"
means the east; "behind" is the west,
the right-hand is south, and the left-hand,
north. Besides the ordinary meanings of
the word east, Josh. 4:19; Psa. 103:12, the
Jews often used it to designate a large re-
gion lying northeast and southeast as well
as east of Palestine, including Syria and
Arabia near at hand, and Babylonia, As-
syria, etc., with the whole region from the
Caspian Sea to the Arabian Gulf, Gen.
10:30; 29:1; Num. 23:7; Judg. 6:3; 7:12;
8:10. Job was great among the children
of the East, Job 1:3. In Jer. 49:28, 29;
Ezek. 25 : 4, the Bedouin-like tribes of North-
ern Arabia are meant. The wise men who
visited the infant Saviour dwelt beyond
the Euphrates, and being " in the east,"
saw his star — not saw his star east of them.
It guided them westerly to Jerusalem, Matt.
2:1, 2. See I Kin. 4:30.
EAST'ER is improperly put for P.\ssover
in Acts 12:4, for Herod and the Jews did
not celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Easter, a word of uncertain derivation, is
the modern name of a Christian festival, in
commemoration of Christ's resurrection
and the events of Passover-week, and fixed
at the same period of the year.
EAST WIND. See Wind.
142
EAT'ING. The Jews would have consid-
ered themselves jiolluted by eating with
people of another religion, or with any who
were ceremonially unclean or disreputa-
ble— as with Samaritans, John 4:9, publi-
cans. Matt. 9:11, or Gentiles, Acts 10:28;
Gal. 2:12. "Eating and drinking," Matt.
11:19, means freely mingling with society.
Eating together was an established token
of mutual confidence, a pledge of friendlj-^
relations between families, which their chil-
dren were expected to perpetuate. The
rites of hospitality were held sacred ; and
to this day, among the Arabs, a fugitive is
safe for the time if he gains the shelter of
even an enemy's tent. The abuse of hos-
pitality was a great crime, Psa. 41:9.
To " eat " a book, is to make its precepts,
promises, and sjiirit one's own, Jer. 1,5:16;
Ezek. 3:1; John 4:14; Rev. 10:9. So to
eat Christ's flesh and drink his blood, is to
receive him as a Saviour, and by a living
faith to be imbued with his truth, his Spir-
it, and his heavenly life, John 6:32-58.
Eating, Mode of. The Hebrews an-
ciently sat at their meals. Gen. 43 : 33 ;
I Sam. 9:22; 20:25; Psa. 128:3; but after-
wards adopted the practice of reclining on
table-beds or divans, like the Persians,
Chaldajans, Romans, etc., Amos 6:4. The
accompanying engraving of a Roman tri-
clinium, three beds, will illustrate several
points obscure to the modern reader of the
Bible. It will be seen that 3 low tables are
so placed as to form 3 sides of a hollow
square accessible to the waiters. Around
these tables are placed, not seats, but
couches, or beds, one to each table, formed
of mattresses stuffed, and often highly or-
namented, Esth. 1:6; 7:1, 8. The guests
reclined with their heads to the table, each
one leaning on his left elbow, and therefore
using principally his right hand in taking
food. Observe also that the feet of the per-
son reclining were readily reached by any
one passing, Luke 7:36-50; John 12:3.
Thus it was easy for our Lord to wash
the feet of his disciples at the last supper,
John 13:5-12, and "wipe them with the
towel wherewith he was girded." This
also explains the position of John at the
same supper; for if he reclined next in
front of the Saviour, he lay as it were in
his bosom, John 13:23, 25, and might read-
ily lean back his head upon the Saviour's
breast, a posture expressive of intimacy,
friendship, and love, Luke 16:22; John
1:18.
It is unknown, however, how far or how
EAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EAT
long this custom displaced the primitive
Eastern mode still prevalent in Palestine
and vicinity. The ordinary table was no
more than a circular skin or carpet spread
upon the floor, around which the family sat
on the floor, or on rugs or cushions. Some-
times there was a small table in the cen-
tre, raising the principal dish a little above
the floor.
The meals of the Jews were generally 2,
loosely distinguished as dinner and sup-
per, Luke 14: 12 ; John 21 : 12. The ist meal
was usually light, consisting of milk, cheese,
bread, or fruits, and eaten at various hours
from early morning to the middle of the
forenoon. In the early history of the He-
brews, the principal meal, corresponding
with our dinner, was eaten about noon,
Gen. 43:25; I Kin. 20:16. At a later pe-
riod, at least- on festive occasions, it was
taken after the heat of the day was over.
This was the " supper." The Jews were
wont to wash their hands before eating, a
custom rendered necessary by their mode
of eating, but made by the Pharisees a test
of piety, Mark 7:2, 3; Luke 11:38. Devout
Jews, not only in their sacred feasts, but in
their daily enjoyments at the family meal,
recognized the Giver of all good, and im-
plored his blessing on their food, i Sam.
9:13; Matt. 14:19; 15:36; 26:26; Luke 9: 16;
John 6:11; I Tim. 4:3. Some families re-
peated the 23d Psalm as they seated them-
selves at meals. The food consisted of
flesh, fish, or fowls, butter, honey, bread,
and fruits. See Food. Animal food was
often cut into small pieces, or stewed, and
served up in one large dish with melted
butter, vegetables, etc. Knives, forks, and
spoons were unknown as table-furniture;
and the food was conveyed to the mouth
by the right hand, Prov. 19:24. Each per-
son took a portion from the dish either
with his thumb and fingers, or with the
help of a small piece of thin bread Sev-
MODERN SYRIANS AT DINNER.
eral hands were occasionally plunged into
the same dish at once, John 13:26. The
head of the family was wont to send a dou-
ble portion of food to a stranger, as an
honor, and to furnish him a greater vari-
ety. Gen. 43:31; I Sam. 1:4; 9:22-24; and
143
EBA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EBE
often would select the choicest morsels and
present them to his guest with his own fin-
gers. Compare Ruth 2: 14, and John 13:26.
This is still customary in the East. After
eating, the hands were again cleansed by
pouring water upon them, 2 Kin. 3:11. See
Feast, \Va.shinc;.
E'BAL, ba7-e mount, Deut. 27 ; 28 ; a moun-
tain in Ephraim, over against Mount Geri-
zim, from which it is separated by a valley
about 500 yards wide and 3 miles long, in
which stands the town of Shechem. Both
mountains are much alike in length, height,
and form, and some 800 feet from the level
of the valley. As you journey north from
Jerusalem, and turn to pass into the valley
west-northwest to Shechem, Ebal is on the
right hand and Gerizim on the left. Some
have described the mount of cursing as
sterile and desolate, and Gerizim as smi-
ling and fertile, Deut. 11:26-29. But at
present they are alike steep and barren.
EBAL ON THE RIGHT; GERIZIM ON THE LEFT; SHECHEM, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN.
Mount Gerizim, however, is said to have a
more fertile background, and to be a little
lower than Mount Ebal — Ebal being 3,077
feet, Gerizim 2,849, ^"^ Nablfls about 2,200
feet above the sea. They are both ter-
raced, and the base of Ebal is full of sepul-
chral excavations. See Gerizim, She-
chem.
EBED'-MELECH, kinff's slave, an Ethio-
pian servant of king Zedekiah, who saved
the, prophet Jeremiah from famishing in a
filthy dungeon, and was therefore pre-
served when Jerusalem was taken by Neb-
uzar-adan, Jer. 38:7-13; 39:15-18. The
Lord knoweth them that are his, and suc-
cors those who succor his saints, Matt.
10:41.
EBEN-E'ZER, stofie of help, the monu-
144
ment which Samuel erected in grateful re-
membrance of the divine help, given in
answer to prayer, in a great battle with
the Philistines. The same place had be-
fore witnessed the defeat of Israel and the
capture of the ark, i Sam. 4:1; 5:1; 7:5-
12; though it may not have been named
Eben-ezer then, its original name having
been displaced by the new one, at the time
when the book was written. It was be-
tween Mizpeh and Shen.
E'BER, beyond, I., called Heber in Luke
3:35, A. V. ; son of Salah and father of Pe-
leg in the patriarchal line, B. C. 2281-1817.
The chief special interest in him is that the
Hebrews claim to derive their name from
him. Gen. 10:21, 24, 25; Num. 24:24; i Chr.
1:19. See Hebrews.
EBO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGL
II. I Chr. 5:13, in A. V. Heber, a chief
among the children of Gad, in Bashan.
III. I Chr. 8:12, a Benjamite.
IV. I Chr. 8:22, in A. V. Heber, a chief
in Benjamin. B. C. about 600.
EB'ONY, the wood of various trees grow-
ing in India and Africa. The best ebony
as the heart of the trunk in the Diospyros
Ebenum, a large tree of Ceylon and South-
ern India ; it is black, hard, heavy, and fine-
grained, and receives a beautiful polish. It
was anciently highly prized, Ezek. 27:15,
and is still much used for musical instru-
ments and fancy articles.
EBRO'NAH, Num. 33:34, 35, a resting-
place of the Israelites near Ezion-geber,
on the Gulf of Akaba.
ECCLESI AS'TES, the preacher, the name
of a book of the Old Testament, ascribed
to Solomon — his personal legacy to his
son Rehoboam, though many critics think
it was the work of some later inspired
writer, availing himself of Solomon's une-
qualled experience, and speaking as in his
person, Eccl. 1:1. Compare i Kin. 3:12
and Eccl. 1:16; i Kin. 10:21, 27, and Eccl.
2:4-9; I Kin. 11:3, 4, and Eccl. 7:26, 28.
It appears to have been written by Solo-
mon in his old age, when freed from the
entanglements of idolatry, luxury, and lust,
B. C. 977. It is a discourse upon the true
■wisdom, with many isolated precepts, illus-
trated from his own unexampled experi-
•ence and from the most sagacious obser-
-vation of the course of life ; the whole
demonstrating the vanity of all earthly
■good, and showing that there is a better
life to come; that men should cheerfully
■enjoy the gifts of Providence, with deeds
of love and charity, and without feverish
longings ; and that the only true wisdom
is to " fear God and keep his command-
ments." This, he says, is the conclusion
of the whole matter, Eccl. 12:13. ^^ read-
ing this book, care should be taken not to
■deduce opinions from detached sentiments,
but from the general scope and combined
force of the whole.
ED, a witness, Josh. 22:34.
E'DEN, delight, I., a province in Asia, in
which was Paradise, Gen. 2:8. Its topog-
raphy is thus described: "And a river
went out of Eden to water the garden, and
from thence it was parted, and became into
four heads. The name of the first is Pison,"
etc. '
Such a region exists in the high lands of
Armenia, west of Mount Ararat and 5,000
feet above the sea. Here, within a circle
but a few miles in diameter, 4 large rivers
rise: the Euphrates, and Tigris, or Hidde-
kel, flowing south into the Persian Gulf;
the Araxes, flowing northeast into the Cas-
pian Sea; and the Phasis, or the Halys,
flowing northwest into the Black Sea.
This 4th river may have been the Pison
of Eden ; and the Araxes may well be the
Gihon, since both words mean the same,
and describe its dart-like swiftness. This
elevated country, still beautiful and fertile,
may have been the land of Eden ; and in
its choicest portion, towards the east, the
garden may once have smiled.
Another location of Eden is now pre-
ferred by many interpreters — near the spot
where the Euphrates and Tigris form a
junction after their long wanderings, 120
miles north of the Persian Gulf, and where
the river Ulai flows in from the northeast.
Wherever it was, it is there no more since
the fall and the curse. The first chapters
of the Bible show Paradise withdrawn from
man's view, and no pilgrimage can dis-
cover it upon earth. The last chapters of
the Bible restore to our view a more glori-
ous and enduring Paradise, secured to be-
lievers by the Second Adam. " Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life."
II. A region, probably northwest of Mes-
opotamia, alluded to as a mart of Tyre,
and as ravaged by the Assyrians, 2 Kin.
19:12; Isa. 37:12; Ezek. 27:23; Amos 1:5.
III. Two Levites in Hezekiah's day,
2 Chr. 29:12; 31:15.
E'DOM, red, a name of Esau, Isaac's
eldest son, appropriate on account of his
complexion, but given, it would seem, from
the current name of the food for which he
sold his birthright — " that same red," Gen.
25:25, 30. See Esau and Idum^a.
ED'REI, strong, I., one of the 2 capitals
of Bashan, near which Og and his forces
were destroyed. Num. 21 : 33-35 ; Deut. 1:4;
3^1-3; Josh. 12:4. It afterwards fell with-
in the limits of Manasseh, Josh. 13:31. Its
ruins, in .almost inaccessible rocky fast-
nesses, cover a large space ; it was a place
of some note in the early ages of Christian-
ity and in the era of the Crusades. It is
now Edr'a, and lies about 35 miles east of
the outlet of the Sea of Galilee.
II. In Naphtali, near Kedesh, Josh. 19:37.
EG'LAH, a heifer, one of David's wives
at Hebron, and mother of Ithream, 2 Sam.
3:5; I Chr. y.2,.
EG'LAIM, two ponds, Isa. 15:8. See En-
EGLAIM.
145
EGL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGY
EG'LON, calf-like, I., a king of Moab,
who, with the help of Amnion and Ama-
lek, subdued the southern and eastern
tribes of Israel. He made Jericho his seat
of government, and held his power i8
years, but was then slain by Ehud, and his
people west of the Jordan destroyed, Judg.
3:12-33.
II. A town in the Shephelah or low coun-
try of Judah.one of the 5 in league against
Gibeon, Josh. 10:3-5; 15:39. It is now
called Ajlan, 10 miles from Eleutheropolis
and 14 from Gaza.
E'GYPT, a celebrated country in the
north of Africa, at the eastern part of the
Mediterranean Sea. The Hebrews called
it Mizraim, Gen. 10:6, and it is now called
by the Arabs Misr. It is also called in
Scripture "the land of Ham," Psa. 105:23,
27; and " Rahab," Psa. 87:4. The Greeks
and Romans named it -lEgyptus ; but the
origin of this name is unknown.
The habitable land of Egypt is for the
most part a great valley, through which
the river Nile pours its waters, extending
in a straight line some 450 miles from north
to south, and skirted on the east and west
b\' ranges of mountains, which approach
and recede from the river more or less in
different parts. Where this valley termi-
nates, towards the north, the Nile divides
itself, about 70 miles from the sea-coast,
into several arms, which inclose the so-
called Delta, in the form of the Greek letter
A, delta. The ancients numbered 7 arms
and mouths ; the eastern was that of Pelu-
sium, now Tineh ; and the western that of
Canopus, now Aboukir. The prophet Eze-
kiel describes Egyi)l as extending from
Migdol, that is, Magdolum, not far from the
mouth of the Pelusian arm, to Syene, now
Essuan, namely, to the border of Ethiopia,
Ezek. 29:10; 30:6, margin. Here the Nile
issues from the granite rocks of the cata-
racts, and enters Egypt proper. The length
of the country, therefore, in a direct line is
about 500 miles, and its area about 11,000
square miles. The breadth of the valley,
between P^ssuan and the Delta, is very un-
equal, varying from 2 to 12 miles, averaging
ANCIENT STATUES OF MEMNON, IN THE PLAIN OF THEBES.
perhaps 7; in some places the inundations
of the river extend to the foot of the moun-
tains; in other parts there remains a strip
of a mile or two in breadth which the wa-
ter never covers, and which is therefore
146
always dry and barren. There are now
about 5,600 square miles fit for cultivation,
to which 1,500 might be added by suitable
effort. Originally the name Egypt desig-
nated only the valley and the Delta; but
EGY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGY
TEMPLE OF ABOO-SIMBKL, NUBIA, HALF BURIED IN SAND; STATUES SIXTY FEET HIGH.
at a later period it came to include also the
region between this and the Red Sea on
the east, and part of the desert on the
west.
The country around Syene and the cata-
racts is highly picturesque ; the other parts
of Egypt, and especially the Delta, are
uniform and monotonous. The prospect,
however, is extremely different according
to the season of the year. From the mid-
dle of spring, when the harvest is over,
one sees nothing but a gray and dusty soil,
full of cracks and chasms. At the time of
the autumnal equinox, the country pre-
sents nothing but an immeasurable surface
of reddish or yellowish water, out of which
rise date-trees, villages, and narrow dams,
which serve as a means of communication.
After the waters have retreated, and they
usually remain only a short time at this
height, you see, till the end of autumn,
only a black and slimy mud. But in win-
ter, nature puts on all her splendor. In
this season, the freshness and power of the
new vegetation, the variety and abundance
of vegetable productions, exceed every-
thing that is known in the most celebra-
ted parts of the European continent ; and
Egypt is then, from one end of the country
to the other, like a beautiful garden, a ver-
dant meadow, a field sown with flowers, or
a waving ocean of grain in the ear, all de-
pending upon the annual inundations of
the Nile. Hence Egypt was called by He-_
rodotus "the gift of the Nile." See Nile.
The sky is not less uniform and monoto-
nous than the earth ; it is constantly a pure
unclouded arch, of a color and light more
white than azure. The atmosphere has a
splendor which the eye can scarcely bear,
and a burning sun, whose glow is tem-
pered by no shade, scorches through the
whole day these vast and unprotected
plains. The only tree is the date-tree,
which is frequent ; but with its tall, slen-
der stem, and bunch of foliage on the top,
this tree does very little to keep off the
light, and casts upon the earth only a pale
and uncertain shade. Egypt, accordingly,
has a very hot climate ; the thermometer
in summer standing usually at 8o" or 900
of Fahrenheit ; and in Upper Egypt still
higher. The burning wind of the desert.
Simoom or Khamsin, is also experienced,
usually about the time of the vernal equi-
nox.
The provinces and cities of Egypt men-
tioned in the Bible may be arranged under
these 3 great divisions:
I. Lower Egypt. The northeastern
point of this was "the river of Egypt"
(see below), on the border of Palestine.
The desert between this point, the Red
Sea, and the ancient Pelusium, seems to
have been the desert of Shur, Gen. 20: r,
now El-Djefer. Sin, "the strength [key]
147
EGY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGY
of Egypt," Ezek. 30:15, was probably Pe-
lusium. The land of Goshkx appears to
have lain between Pelusium, its branch of
the Nile, and the Red Sea, having been
skirted on the northeast by the desert of
Shur; constituting perhaps a part of the
province Rameses, Gen. 47:11. In this
•district, or adjacent to it, are mentioned
.also the cities Fithom, Raamses, Pi-Beseth,
.and On or Heliopolis. In the proper Del-
ta itself lay Tahapanes, that is, Taphne or
Daphne; Zoan, the Tanis of the Greeks;
Leontopolis, alluded to perhaps in Isa.
19: 18. West of the Delta was Alexandria.
2. Middle Egypt. Here are mentioned
Moph or Memphis, and Hanes, the Hera-
cleopolis of the Greeks.
3. Upper Egypt. The southern part of
Egypt the Hebrews appear to have called
Pathros, Jer. 44:1, 15. The Bible mentions
here only 2 cities, namely, No, or more
fully No-Amon, for which the 70 put Di-
ospolis, the Greek name for Thebes, the
most ancient capital of Egypt (see Amon) ;
and Syene, the southern city and limit of
Egypt.
The chief agricultural productions of
Egypt are wheat, durrah, or small maize,
Turkish or Indian corn, rice, barley, beans,
cucumbers, water-melons, leeks, and on-
ions; also sugar, flax, and cotton. The
date-tree and vine are frequent. The pa-
pyrus is still found in small quantity. See
Book, Bulrush. The animals of Egypt,
besides the usual kinds of tame cattle, are
the wild ox or buffalo in great numbers.
EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE.
the ass and camel, dogs in multitudes with-
out masters, the ichneumon, the crocodile,
and the hippopotamus — the last 2 only in
the Upper Nile. Vultures and kites abound,
also fishes and frogs; and in the desert,
venomous serpents. Swarms of locusts are
not rare.
The modern inhabitants of Egypt may
be considered as including 3 divisions :
I. The Copts, or descendants of the ancient
Egyptians. 2. The Fellahs, or husband-
men, who are supposed to represent the
people in Scripture called Phul. 3. The
Arabs, or conquerors of the country, inclu-
ding the Turks, etc. The Copts are nomi-
nal Christians, and the clerks and account-
ants of the country. They have seen so
many revolutions in the governing powers
that they concern themselves very little
about the successes or misfortunes of those
who aspire to dominion. The Fellahs suffer
so much oppression, and are so despised
by the Bedouins or wandering Arabs, and
by their despotic rulers, that they seldom
acquire property, and very rarely enjoy it
in security; yet they are an interesting
race, and devotedly attached to their na-
tive country and the Nile. The Arabs hate
the Turks ; yet the Turks enjoy most offi-
ces of government, though they hold their
superiority by no very certain tenure. Of
late years there has been added a growing
element of European and American resi-
dents, occupied as missionaries and teach-
ers, in mercantile life and government ser-
148
vice. The opening of the Suez canal to the
commerce of the world, and the innova-
tions brought by railroads and steamboats,
are fast Europeanizing the land of the Pha-
raohs; and by the defeat of Arabi Pasha in
1881, it has been brought into the condition
of a virtual dependency of England.
The most extraordinary monuments of
ancient Egyptian power and industry were
the pyramids, which still subsist, to excite
the wonder and admiration of the world.
No work of man now extant is so ancient
or so vast as these mysterious structures.
The largest of them covers a square area
of 13 acres, and is still 474 feet high. It is
generally believed that they were erected
more than 2,000 years before Christ, as the
sepulchres of kings.
But besides these imperishable monu-
ments of kings long forgotten, Egypt
abounds in other structures hardly less
wonderful ; on the beautiful islands above
the cataracts, near Syene, and at other
places in Upper Egypt; and especially in
the valley of the Nile near Thebes, inclu-
ding Carnac, Luxor, etc. The temples,
statues, obelisks, and sphinxes that cover
the ground astonish the beholder with their
colossal height, their massive grandeur,
and their vast extent: while the dwellings
of the dead, tombs in the rock occupied by
myriads of mummies, extend far into the
adjacent mountains. In 1881 a fresh dis-
covery was made at Deir-el-Bahari, near
Thebes, of a subterranean cavern into
EGY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGY
which had been gathered some 40 royal
mummies and mummv-cases whose names
AVENUE IN THE GREAT HALL OK COLUMNS AT
CARNAC, THEBES.
have been identified — among them kings
and queens of the 17th, i8th, 19th, and 21st
dynasties, including Thothmes III. and
Rameses II., the most famous of Egyptian
monarchs. Of these, 29 mummies, with
sarcophagi and numerous relics, are in the
museum at Boulak.
The huge columns of the temples of
Upper Egypt, their vast walls, and many of
the tombs, are covered with sculptures and
paintings which are exceedingly valuable
as illustrating the public and the domestic
life of the ancient Egyptians. See Shi-
SHAK. With these are mingled many hie-
roglyphic records, which have begun to
yield their long-concealed meaning to the
inquisitions of modern science. Some of
these are mere symbols, comparatively
easy to understand. But a large portion
of them are now found to be written with
a sort of pictorial alphabet — each symbol
representing the sound with which its own
name commences. Thus osir, the name
of the Egyptian god Osiris, would be rep-
resented by the picture of a reed, a child,
and a mouth; because the initial sounds
of the Coptic words for these 3 objects,
namely Oke, Si, and Ro, make up the name
OSIR. There is, however, great ambiguity
in the interpretation of these records ; and
in many cases the words, when apparently
made out, are as yet unintelligible, and
seem to be part of a priestly dialect under-
stood only by the learned. These more
ancient forms of writing gave way many
years ago to the later alphabetic Coptic, in
which many Christian authors wrote, and
which is now obsolete. To-day the preva-
lent language is the Arabic.
The early history of ancient Egypt is
involved in great obscurity. All accounts,
however, and the results of all modern
researches, represent its culture and civil-
ization as having been of high antiquity.
The country in the earliest times was pos-
sessed by several contemporary kings or
states, which at length were united into
one great kingdom. The historian Mane-
tho, an Egyptian priest 280 B. C, as quoted
variously by Africanus and Eusebius, gives
a list of 30 Egyptian dynasties ; and these,
if successive, would carry back the ist,
that of Menes, to a very high antiquity.
But the monumental inscriptions, as they
are gradually deciphered, and Manetho
himself in one place, seem to show that
these dynasties, especially the early ones,
EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.
were sometimes contemporaneous, not suc-
cessive. For the later dynasties see Pha-
raoh.
The religion of ancient Egypt consisted
in the worship of the heavenly bodies and
the powers of nature ; the priests cultiva-
ted at the same time astronomy and astrol-
ogy, and to these belong probably the wise
men, sorcerers, and magicians mentioned
in Exod. 7:11, 22. They were the most
honored and powerful of the castes into
which the people were divided. It was
149
EGY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EGY
SCULPTURED TABLET, ON
probably this wisdom in which Moses also
was learned, Acts 7:22. But the Egyptian
religion ado])ted living animals as symbols
of the real objects of worship. Many spe-
cies of animals were sacred, and might
not be killed without the punishment of
death, and individual animals were kept
SACRED BULL.
in temples and worshipped with sacrifices
as gods. See Exod. 12:12. Numerous pas-
sages from the sacred " Books of the Dead,"
written on mummy wrappings and recentlj-
interpreted, prove that at least the better
class of Egyptians preserved many truths
revealed by God to mankind in the early
150
TEMPLE IN UPPER EGYPT.
ages: they believed in one supreme God of
infinite attributes, in the immortality of the
soul, in future rewards and i)unishments ;
and their concejition of God as the final
judge and the protector of faithful souls,
under the name of Osiris, was like that of
Job in ch. 19:25-27.
This ancient and remarkable land is
often mentioned in Scripture. A grand-
son of Noah seems to have given it his
name, Gen. 10:6. In the day of Abraham
it was the granary of the world, and the
patriarch himself resorted thither in a fam-
ine, Gen. 12:10. His wife had an Egyp-
tian handmaid, Hagar the mother of Ish-
mael, who also sought a wife in Egypt, Gen.
21:9, 21. Another famine, in the days of
Isaac, nearly drove him to Egypt, Gen.
26:2; and Jacob and all liis household end-
ed their days there, (len. 39-50. After the
escape of Israel from their weary bondage
in Egypt, we read of little intercourse be-
tween the 2 nations for many years. In
the time of David and Solomon, mention is
again made of Egypt. Solomon married
an F^gyptian princess, i Kin. 3:1; 9; 11.
But in the 5th year of his son Reiioboam,
Judah was humbled at the feet of Shishak,
king of Egypt, 2 Chr. 12; and for man_\-
generations afterwards the Jews were al-
EGY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ELA
ternately in alliance and at war with that
nation, until both were subjugated to the
Assyrian empire, 2 Kin. 17; 18:21; 23:29;
24; Jer. 25; 37:5; 44; 46.
Egypt was conquered by Cambyses, and
became a province of the Persian empire
about 525 B. C. Thus it continued until
conquered by Alexander, 332 B. C, after
whose death it formed, along with Syria,
Palestine, Libya, etc., the kingdom of the
Ptolemies. After the battle of Actium, 30
B. C, it became a Roman province. In the
time of Christ, great numbers of Jews were
residents of Alexandria, Leontopolis, and
other parts of Egypt ; and our Saviour him-
self found an asylum there in his infancy,
Matt. 2:13. Since that time it has ceased
to be an independent state, and its historj'
is incorporated with that of its different
conquerors and possessors. In A. D. 640,
it was conquered by the Arabs; and in
later periods has passed from the hands
■of the caliphs under the power of Turks,
Arabs, Kurds, Mamelukes; and since 1517
has been governed as a province of the
Turkish empire. Thus have been fulfilled
the ancient predictions recorded in God's
Word, Ezek. 29:14, 15; 30:7,12, 13; 32:15.
Its present population is over 5,000,000.
" The river of Egypt," Num. 34:5 ; Josh.
15:4, 47; I Kin. 8:65; 2 Kin. 24:7; Isa.
27:12; Ezek. 47:19; 48:28, is generally
thought to designate the short-lived brook
El-Arish, emptying into the southeast cor-
ner of the Mediterranean at Rhinocolura.
In Gen. 15:18, a different word is used,
signifying a permanent river — the Nile.
EGYP'TIAN. In Acts 21:38, the leader
of a popular tumult in the time of Felix.
Josephus mentions him as an Egyptian and
a juggler, at the head of a troop of assas-
sins, with whom a mixed host of thousands
were loosely joined; part of these were
apparently slain or captured on the Mount
of Olives, and the rest fled to the wilder-
ness.
E'HUD, union, a Benjamite, who deliv-
ered Israel from the Moabites, by first slay-
ing Eglon their king at Jericho, and then
raising an army and defeating his people,
1336 B. C. Jericho was in the territory of
his tribe. He judged Israel with honor for
many years, Judg. 3: 12-31 ; 4: i.
EK'RON, uprooted, the most northern
■city of the Philistines, allotted to Judah by
Joshua, 15:45, but afterwards given to Dan,
19:43, though it does not appear that the
Jews ever peaceably possessed it. It is
Tnemorable for its connection with the cap-
tivity of the ark and its restoration to the
Jews, I Sam. 5:10; 6:1-18. The fly-god
was worshipped here, 2 Kin. 1:2. Its ruin
was foretold, Amos 1:8; Zeph. 2:4; Zech.
9:5, 7. Robinson found its site at the Mos-
lem village 'Akir, some 12 miles northeast
of Ashdod. There are no ruins.
EL, strength, one of the names of God,
especially in poetry. In Gen. 33: 18-20, El-
Elohe-Israel means, " The Mighty One, the
God of Israel." This name of God is very
often found in proper names, as Bethel,
Daniel, Elijah, etc. Eloi, like Eli, means
My God, Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34.
E'LAH, oak or terebinth, I., a valley in
which David slew Goliath, i Sam. 17:2, 3,
19; 21:9. It was probably about 16 miles
southwest from Jerusalem, near Socoh and
Gibeah ; now Wady Sumt.
II. Son and successor of Baasha, king of
Israel, B. C. 926. After reigning less than
2 years, he was slain while intoxicated, bj'
Zimri, one of his officers, who succeeded
him as king. Zimri destroyed all the fam-
ily of Baasha, according to the prediction
of Jehu, I Kin. 16:6-10. Others of this
name are mentioned in i Kin. 4:18; 2 Kin.
15:30; I Chr. 1:52; 4:15; 9:8.
E'LAM, age, the region afterwards called
Persia, Gen. 14: 1 ; Isa. 21:2. It was called
Elam after a son of Shem, Gen. 10:22;
I Chr. 1:17. It corresponded to the Ely-
mais of Greek and Roman writers, which
comprehended a part of .Susiana, now
Khusistan, or more probably included the
whole of Susiana. The city Susa, or Shu-
shan, was in it, Dan. 8:2 ; and thence it ex-
tended southeast between Persia and the
Persian Gulf. In Abraham's day it was
the seat of a powerful monarchy. It long
retained its own princes, but was reduced
to a mere province of Babylonia, and after-
wards of Persia.
For other Elams and Sons of Elam, see
I Chr. 8:24; 26:3; Ezra 2:7, 31 ; 8:7; 10:2,
26; Neh. 7:12, 34; 10:14. See also Ezra
4:9; Acts 2:9.
E'LATH, or E'LOTH, a grave, a city of
Idumaea, situated at the northern extrem-
ity of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, the
Elanitic Gulf, now the Gulf of Akaba.
Ezion-geber was also situated here, and
very near Elath, Deut. 2:8; 1 Kin. 9:26.
This gulf, although known to the ancients,
has been almost unknown to modern geog-
raphers until the time of Burckhardt. This
enterprising traveller explored it, and gave
the first full account of it. The great sand
valley called El-Arabah, and towards the
151
ELD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ELE
north El-Ghor, runs from this gulf to the
Dead Sea. Elath was annexed to Judah
by David, who established there an exten-
sive commerce, 2 Sam. 8: 14. Solomon also
Sam. 4:3 ; 8:4;
I Kin. 8; I, 3; 20:7;
23:1. In New Testa-
akaba: entrance to the fort.
built ships there, 2 Chr. 8:17, 18. In the
reign of Joram the Edomites recovered it,
but lost it again to Uzziah, 2 Kin. 8:20;
14:22; and he to Rezin, 16:6. Under the
rule of the Romans it was a flourishing
commercial town, named Elana, with the
ordinances of Christianity. In 630 A. D. it
fell under the power of Mohammed, and is
now in ruins. The fortress of Akaba, near
by, now often visited by travellers from
Mount Sinai to Palestine, serves for the
protection of pilgrims to Mecca.
EL'DAD, Iffved of God, and ME'DAD,
loL'e, 2 of the 70 elders appointed to aid
Moses in governing the people. The Spirit
of God coming upon them, they jirophe-
sied in the camp at a distance from Moses.
Joshua censured them for this as an irregu-
larity, but they were nobly vindicated by
Moses, Num. 1 1 : 24-29.
EL'DERS OF Israel, the heads of tribes,
who, before the settlement of the Hebrew
commonwealth, had a government and
authority over their own families and the
people, like the modern sheikh, the old
man. Moses and Aaron treated the elders
as representatives of the nation, Exod.
3:16; 4:29; 12:21. When the law was
given, God directed Moses to take the 70
elders, as well as Aaron, and Nadab and
Abihu his sons, that they might be wit-
nesses, Exod. 24 : 1 , 9. For some time after-
wards we find this number of 70, or rather,
72, elders, 6 from each tribe, but we have
no certain information how long this con-
152
tinued. There were always, however, el-
ders in each tribe and city. For instances
of their agency and power, see Josh. 9:18;
Judg. 2:7; Ruth 4:
30:26;
2 Kin.
ment times there were " elders-
of the Jews," apparently dis-
tinct from the Sanhedrin, but
cooperating with it. Matt. 16:21 ;
21:23; 26:59; Luke 22:66; Acts.
22:5.
In imitation of the Jewish el-
ders, the ordinary pastors and
teachers of the Christian church
are called elders, or presbyters.
Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7;.
1 Pet. 5:1 ; 2 John i.
" Eldest " and " last," in Johni
_^ 9, mean the highest and low-
j"'' est in social rank. In Matt.
15:2; Heb. 11:2, the men of an-
cient times are meant.
ELEA'LEH, tlie ascending of
God, a town of the Amorites, near Hesh-
bon their capital, assigned to the tribe of
Reuben, Num. 32:3, 37, and long after-
wards threatened as a city of Moab, Isa.
15:4; 16:9; Jer. 48:34. Its ruins, now El-
A'al, are a mile or more northeast of Hesh-
ban.
ELEA'ZAR, help of God, I., the 3d son
of Aaron, and high-priest after him, Exod.
6:23; Num. 20:25-28. His mother Elishe-
ba was daughter of Amminadab, of the
tribe of Judah. He performed important
priesth' duties both before and after Aaron's
death. Num. 3:32 ; 26:3 ; 27:22 ; 31 :2i ; Josh.
14:1. The high-priesthood continued in
his family 7 generations, till the time of Eli,
when we find it transferred to the line of
Ithamar. In the reigns of Saul and David
it was restored to the line of Eleazar, and
so continued till after the captivity.
II. A son of .Abinadab, honored with the
charge of the ark while it was in his fa-
ther's house, I Sam. 7:1.
III. One of David's champions, 2 Sam.
23:9; I Chr. 11: 11-18.
Three or 4 others are mentioned in
I Chr. 23:21, 22; Ezra 8:33; Neh. 12:42;
Matt. 1:15.
ELECT', c//o.yri/i£'s, the village where-
our Lord revealed himself to 2 of his dis-
ciples, on the afternoon of his resurrection-
day. It lay about 7H miles, 60 furlongs,,
northwest from Jerusalem, Luke 24:13-33,.
perhaps Kubaibeh. Some manuscripts, in-
cluding the Codex Sinaiticus, read 160 fur-
longs, instead of 60; and Eusebius and
Jerome locate Emmaus at the ancient Ni-
copolis, 20 miles north-northwest of Jeru-
salem, where a village called Amwas still
exists. Dr. Robinson inclines to this loca-
tion, though its distance from the city seems-
too great. The 2 disciples could not return
to it in less than 6 or 7 hours, long after
midnight.
EM'PEROR, THE, in R. V. put for "Au-
gustus" in Acts 25:21, 25, where Nero is
the emperor intended.
EN, a fountain, see Ain, compounded
with many names of towns and places, as.
En-dor, En-gedi.
ENA'BLE, empower or authorize, i Tim..
1 : 12.
ENCHANT'MENTS, deceptive arts, mut-
tered spells, and charms practised by de-
signing men, and classed in the Bible with
sorcery, magic, divination, witchcraft, and
necromancy, or professed communication
with departed spirits. All these are ex-
pressly forbidden and denounced in Scrip-
END
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ENR
ture, Exod. 22:18; Lev. 19:26, 31; 20:27;
Deut. 18:10, II. The pretended power and
skill of enchanters was ascribed to infernal
agency, and the art was essentially hostile
to true religion. Their seeming wonders
were usually wrought by juggling tricks or
sleight of hand, or by mysteries of science,
known to but few. The magicians of Egypt
are said to have done several things "with
their enchantments," Exod. 7-9; Acts 19:19.
See Divination.
EN'-DOR, home spring-, a city of Manas-
seh. Josh. 17:11, 4 miles south of Mount
Tabor, near Nain, in the way to Scythopo-
lis, Psa. 83:9, 10. Here the witch lived
whom Saul consulted, i Sam. 28. The pre-
tence of this sorceress that she could call
up the spirits of the dead from their re-
pose was evidently false. She was amazed
and appalled when the form of Samuel
really appeared, sent by God himself to
put her to shame, and bring to king Saul
his last warning, The ruins of a large vil-
lage called Endur are still found, on the
north slope of Jebel el-Duhy, 8 miles north
of Gilboa. Caves abound in the mountain
above it.
EN-EGLA'IM,yb?i, B. C. 680-667. It
is only said of him in Scripture that he sent
colonists to Samaria, Ezra 4:2, but he was
one of the most powerful of all the Assyri-
an kings. The stone-records state that he
built a magnificent palace at Babylon, and
made it his joint capital with Nineveh, and
hither, not to Nineveh, though this would
otherwise have been expected from an As-
syrian king, his generals brought Manas-
seh king of Judah as a captive for a time,
2 Chr. 33: II ; also that he captured Thebes,
Nah. 3:8-10, and all Western Asia.
E'SAU, hirsute, the son of Isaac, and
twin brother of Jacob, Gen. 25. He was
the elder of the two, and was therefore
legally the heir, but sold his birthright to
Jacob. We have an account of his ill-ad-
vised marriages. Gen. 26:34; 6f his loss of
his father's chief blessing, and his conse-
162
quent anger against Jacob, Gen. 27 ; of
their subsequent reconciliation. Gen. 32 ;
2,T, ; and of his posterity. Gen. 36. He is
also called Edom ; and settled in the moun-
tains south of the Dead Sea, extending to
the Gulf of Akaba, where he became very
powerful. This country was called from
him the land of Edom, and in Greek Idu-
MyE.\, which see ; also Jacob.
ESCHEW, shun, Job 1:1, 8; i Pet. 3:11.
ESDRAE'LON, PLAIN OF. See Jezreel.
ESH'BAAL, Baal's man, I Chr. 8:33, the
4th son of Saul, generally called Ishbo-
sheth. The word Baal, the name of an
idol, was not pronounced by scrupulous
Jews; they substituted Bosheth, con/u-
sion. For Meribbaal they said Mephibo-
sheth, etc. See Ishbosheth.
ESH'COL, a cluster, I., an Amorite prince
near Hebron, who joined Abraham in pur-
suing the eastern host who had ravaged
Sodom and taken Lot captive. Gen. 14:13,
14.
II. The small and well-watered valley
from which the Hebrew spies obtained the
specimen of grapes which they suspended
from a staff borne by 2 men for safe car-
riage to Moses, Num. 13:22-27; 32:9; Deut.
1:24. This valley is believed to be one
which closelj- adjoins Hebron on the north,
and still furnishes the finest grapes in the
country, as well as pomegranates, figs,
olives, etc.
ESH'TAOL, a pass, a town on the west-
ern border of Judah, afterwards given to
Dan, Josh. 15:33; 19:41- It is named in
the history of Samson, Judg. 13:25; 16:31.
ESHTEMO'A, obedience, a city of the
priests in Judah, Josh. 15:50; 21:14; i Sam.
30:28; traced by Robinson in the modern
village Semua, 9 miles south of Hebron.
ESPOU'SALS. See Betrothing, Mar-
riage.
ESTATE', or STATE, usually a settled
condition in life, i Chr. 17:17; Esth. 1:19;
Luke 1:48; Rom. 12:16; Jude 6. Some-
times a special class or official body of
men, Mark 6:21; Acts 22:5.
ES'THER, star, a Persian name of Ha-
dassah, myrtle, a daughter of Abihail, of
the tribe of Benjamin. The family had
not returned to Judiea after the permission
given by Cyrus, and she was born proba-
bly beyond the Tigris, and nearly 500 B. C.
Her parents being dead, Mordecai, her
excellent cousin, took care of her educa-
tion. See Adoption. After Ahasuerus
had divorced Vashti, he selected Esther as
queen, and married her with royal mag-
ETA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ETH
nificence, bestowing largesses and remis-
sions of tribute on his people. Slie was
thus in a position which enabled her 5
years afterwards to do a signal favor to
her people, then very numerous in Persia.
Their deliverance is still celebrated by the
Jews in the yearly festival called Purim,
which was instituted at that time. The
husband of Esther is supposed to have been
the Xerxes of secular history.
Esther, the book of, has always been
esteemed canonical, both by Jews and
Christians, though certain additions to it,
found in some versions and manuscripts,
are apocryphal. Who was its writer is not
certainly known. It has been ascribed to
Ezra, to a high-priest named Jehoiakim,
and to Mordecai. This last opinion is sup-
ported by the internal evidence ; the book
having tvery appearance of having been
written in Persia, by an eye-witness of the
scenes it describes. It presents a graphic
picture of the Persian court and customs,
and is intensely Jewish in its spirit. The
-chief value of the book is to illustrate the
wonder-working providence of God, his
control of human passions, his righteous
judgment of sinners, and his care for his
covenant people — whom, even when cap-
tives in a strange land, he can e.xalt above
all their foes. Yet the name of God is not
■once mentioned in it.
E'TAM, lair, I., a town in Judah near
Bethlehem and Tekoa ; a favorite resort of
Solomon, and fortified by Rehoboam, i Chr.
4:3; 2 Chr. 11:6. Located at Urtas, or
perhaps at 'Ain Atan, south of Solomon's
Pools. "The rock Etam" to which Sam-
son withdrew, Judg. 15:8-19, may have
been in this vicinity, or on the north of
Eshtaol, where caverns and rock tunnels
are found.
II. There seems to have been another
Etam, I Chr. 4:32, in Simeon.
ETER'NAL. See Everlasting.
E'THAM, limit of the sea, a station of the
Israelites on their way out of Egypt, Exod.
13:20; Num. 33:6. It lay near the head
of the west gulf of the Red Sea, near Ismai-
lia on the Suez canal, and the wilderness
east of it was often called by the same
name.
E'THAN, constant, I., one of 4 men re-
nowned for wisdom, though excelled by Sol-
omon, I Kin. 4:31 ; i Chr. 2:6. He appears
to have been a son of Zerah or Ezra, and
grandson of the patriarch Judah, Psa. 89.
II. A Levite, son of Kishi, and one of the
3 masters of the temple music, i Chr. 6:44;
15: 17-19. He would seem to be the same
asjeduthun, i Chr. 25:1; 2 Chr. 35:15.
ETH'ANIM, constantly flowing , a month
so named before the captivity, because the
autumnal rains then begin to fill the dry
river channels. It was afterwards called
Tishri, and answers nearly to our October,
often including part of September. It was
the beginning of the civil year. On this
month Solomon's temple was dedicated,
I Kin. 8:2. See Tishri and Expiation.
ETH'BAAL, with Baal, king of Zidon,
and usurper of the throne of Tyre, B. C.
940-908. Jezebel was his daughter.
ETHIO'PIA, burnt faces, one of the great
kingdoms in Africa, frequently mentioned
in the Scripture under the name of Cush,
which see. Ethiopia proper lay south of
Egypt, on the Nile ; and was bounded north
by Egypt, at the cataracts near Syene ; east
by the Red Sea, and perhaps a part of the
Indian Ocean ; south by the regions of the
Blue and White Nile ; and west by Libya
and deserts. It comprehended the modern
countries of Nubia, Sennaar, and Abys-
sinia. It chief city was IMeroe, on the isl-
and or tract of the same name, between the
Nile and the Astaboras, now the Tacazze,
not far from the modern Shendi, Isa. 18 ;
Zeph. 3: 10.
The name of Seba was given to the north-
ern part of Ethiopia, afterwards Meroe, by
the eldest son of Cush, Gen. 10:7. This
country was in some parts mountainous,
and in others sandy ; but was to a great
extent well-watered and fertile. Ebony,
ivory, spices, gold, and precious stones
were among its articles of traffic. Its his-
tory is much involved with that of Egypt,
and the 2 countries are often mentioned
together in the Bible, Isa. 20:3-6; 43:3;
45:14; Ezek. 30; Dan. 11:43.
Zerah "the Ethiopian" who invaded Ju-
dah in the reign of Asa, B. C. 944, 2 Chr.
14:9-15, is thought by some to have been
an Egyptian king of an Ethiopian dynasty ;
by others, to have been a king of Ethiopia
on both sides of the Red Sea ; that is, of
the Arabian as well as African Cush. This
would explain how he could obtain access
to the land of Palestine without passing
through Egypt. But the whole question is
involved in uncertainty. The Ethiopian
queen Candace, whose treasurer is men-
tioned in Acts 8:27, was probably queen
of Meroe, where a succession of females
reigned who all bore this name. As this
courtier is said to have gone up to Jerusa-
lem "to worship," he was probably a Jew
163
EUB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EUP
by religion, if not by birth. There appear
to have been many Jews in that country.
The gospel gained adherents among them;
and early in the 4th centur}- the entire Li-
ble was translated into the ancient Ethiopic
language, from the (ireek. .
The Ethiopia of (ien. 2:13 is not Ethio-
pia in Africa, but one of the regions in the
East, called in Hebrew CusH.
EVBU'I^VS, pritdenl, 2 Tim. 4:21.
EU'NICE, ^ooil vicioiy, the mother of
Timothy and daughter of Lois. A Jewess,
though her husband was a Greek, Acts
16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5, she transmitted to her
son the lessons of truth she herself had re-
ceived from a pious mother.
EU'NUCH, bed-kcepcr, in charge of the
interior apartments of Eastern palaces ;
often the tools of their masters for all sorts
of vice and crime. But the word often de-
notes merely a court officer. Such were
Potiphar, Joseph's master, Gen. 39:17, and
the treasurer of queen Candace, Acts 8:27.
Our Saviour speaks of some who volunta-
rily abstained from marriage, in order more
effectually to labor for the kingdom of God,
Matt. 19:12; and the apostle Paul com-
mends the same abstinence in certain ex-
ceptional cases in times of persecution,
I Cor. 7:26, 27. See Gaza.
'EMO'Ti\K,ffood journey. See Syntyche.
EUPHRA'TES, copious, a famous river of
Asia, which has its sources in the moun-
tains of Armenia, one near Ararat and the
other near Erzeroum, runs along the fron-
tiers of Cappadocia, Syria, Arabia Deserta,
Chaldaea, and Mesopotamia, and falls into
the Persian Gulf. It re-
ceives the Tigris at a place
called Kurnah, the united
stream being called Shat-
el-Arab. Five miles below,
the Shat-el-Arab receives
from the northeast the Ker-
khah, which has a course
of upwards of 500 miles.
Sixty-two miles below the
mouth of the Kerkhah, an-
other large river, the Ku-
ran, comes in from the east.
At present it enters the
Shat-el-Arab 40 miles above
its mouth ; but formerly it
flowed into the Persian Gulf
by a separate channel, east
of the main stream. According to the view
which places the garden of Eden near the
junction of the Tigris with the Euphrates,
these might be regarded as the 4 rivers of
164
Paradise. Scripture often calls the Eu-
phrates simply "the river," Exod. 23:31;
Isa. 7:20 ; 8:7; Jer. 2:18; or " the great riv-
er," and assigns it for the eastern boun-
dary of that land which God promised to
the Hebrews, Deut. 1:7; Josh. 1:4. It over-
flows in summer, when the snow on the
mountains of Armenia begins to melt. The
nearest springs of this river and the Tigris
are but a few miles apart.
The Euphrates is a river of consequence
in Scripture geograph\', being the utmost
limit, east, of the territory of the Israel-
ites. It was indeed only occasionally that
the dominion of the Hebrews extended so
far; but it would appear that even Egypt,
under Pharaoh-necho, made conquests to
the western bank of the Euphrates. The
river is about 1,800 miles long. Its general
direction is southeast; but in a part of its
course it runs westerly, and approaches
the Mediterranean near Cilicia. It is ac-
companied in its general course by the
Tigris. There are man\' towns on its
banks, which are in general rather level
than mountainous. The river does not
appear to be of very great breadth, vary-
ing, however, from 60 to 6o 50; Acts 19:13-17. Exorcists were
thought to have gained this power by secret
studies respecting the nature of demons,
and the powers of certain herbs, drugs, and
stones, and were accustomed to use vari-
ous forms of adjuration and incantation in
their inilawful art ; but the whole was de-
lusion and imposture, and strictly forbid-
den. See Divination.
EXPIA'TION, an act by which satisfac-
tion is made for a crime, and the liability
to punishment for it is cancelled. It sup-
poses penitence and faith on the sinner's
part. Among the Jews, expiation 'was ef-
fected by a divinely appointed and typical
system of sacrifices, all pointing to Christ.
The New Testament shows him to be the
true sin-offering for mankind, "the Lamb
of God," "our Passover," offering " his own
blood," and putting away " sin by the sac-
rifice of himself," John 1:29; i Cor. 5:7;
Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:26.
The day of Expiation, or atonement.
was a yearly solemnity, observed with rest
and fasting on the loth day of Tishri, 5 days
before the Feast of Tabernacles, Lev. 23 : 27 ;
EYE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
EZE
25:9; Num. 29:7. This would now be in
the early part of October. The ceremonies
of this all-important day are minutely de-
scribed" in Lev. 16. On this day alone the
high-priest entered the Most Holy Place,
Heb. 9:7; but the various rites of the day
required him to enter several times, robed
in white : first with a golden censer and a
vessel filled with incense ; then with the
blood of the bullock, which he had oftered
for his own sins and those of all the priests,
in which he dipped his finger, and sprin-
kled it 7 times below and once above
the mercy-seat. This done, he left the ba-
sin of blood behind, and withdrew again.
The 3d time he entered with the blood of
the ram which he had offered for the sins
of the nation, with which he sprinkled to-
wards the veil of the tabernacle 8 times ;
and having mi.xed it with the blood of the
bullock, he sprinkled again towards the
horns of the altar of incense 7 times, and
once above it towards the east ; after which,
having again left the sanctuary' and taken
with him the basins of blood, he poured
out the whole on the floor of the altar of
burnt-offering. The 4th time he entered
to bring out the censer and vessel of in-
cense ; and having returned, he washed
his hands and performed the other servi-
ces of the day. The ceremony of the scape-
goat also took place on this day. Two goats
were set apart, one of which was sacrificed
to the Lord, while the other, the goat " for
complete separation," which was chosen
by lot to be set at liberty, was sent into the
desert burdened with the sins of the peo-
ple, Num. 29:7-11. All these solemn rites
pointed to Christ, and in every age there
were many believers who had spiritual
discernment of their sacred meaning, Heb.
9-1 1. They looked unto Him whom they
had pierced, and mourned. As this daj^ of
e.xpiation was the great fast-day of the
Jewish Church, so godly sorrow for sin
characterizes the Christian's looking unto
the Lamb of God, and " the rapture of par-
don " is mingled with " penitent tears."
EYE. The same Hebrew word means
both eye and fountain. Besides its com-
mon use, to denote the organ of sight, it is
often used figuratively in the Bible. Most
of these passages, however, require no ex-
planation. The eyes of criminals or cap-
tives are still sometimes put out in the
East, as of old, Judg. 16:21; Jer. 52:11.
The expression in Psa. 123:2, is elucidated
by the fact that many Eastern servants are
taught to stand always upon the watch,
and are in general directed by a nod, a
wink, or some slight motion of the fingers
imperceptible to strangers. Many Scrip-
ture phrases intimate the soul-like nature
of the eye, quickly and truly expressing
the thoughts of the heart: such as "the
bountiful eye" and the "evil eye," Prov.
22:9; 23:6; " haughty eyes " and " wanton
eyes," Prov. 6; 17 ; Isa. 3:16. " The lust of
the eyes," i John 2: 16, expresses a craving
for any of the gay vanities of this life.
The threatening against "the eye that
mocketh at his father," Prov. 30:17, is ex-
plained by the habit of birds of prey, which
attack the eyes of a living enemy, and
quickly devour those of the dead. A " sin-
gle " eye. Matt. 6:22, is one which is clear,
and sees every object as it is. See Apple.
Jezebel, 2 Kin. 9:30, is said to have
"painted her face," literally "put her eyes
in paint." This was sometimes done to
excess, Jer. 4:30; and was practised by
abandoned women, Prov. 6:25, A small
probe of wood, ivory, or silver is wet with
rose-water, and dipped in an impalpable
powder; this is then draw^n between the
lids of the eye nearly closed, and leaves a
narrow black border, which is thought to
make the eyes appear large and lustrous.
The powder for this purpose, called kohl,
is deposited like lampblack over the flame
of a kind of aromatic resin, and sometimes
is medicated by lead ore and other sub-
stances for the benefit of the eyes.
EYE-SER'VICE, performing duties reluc-
tantly, under watch, Eph. 6:6; Col. 3:22.
EZE'KIEL, the strength of God, son of
169
EZI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FAI
Buzi, a prophet of the sacerdotal race, was
carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchad-
nezzar, with Jehoiachin king of Judah, B. C.
598, and placed by the river Chebar. See
Nineveh. He began his ministry " in the
thirtieth year " — of his age, according to
the general account; or rather, in the 30th
year after the covenant was renewed with
God in the reign of Josiali, Ezek. 1:1, which
answers to the 5th year of Ezekiel's captiv-
ity. The elders of Israel resorted to him
for direction, Ezek. 8:1; 14: i ; 20: i ; 33:31.
He prophesied 22 years, B. C. 595-573, till
the 14th year after the final captivity of
Jerusalem. During the first 8 years he was
contemporary with Jeremiah. Daniel also
lived at the same time, Ezek. 14:14, 16;
28:3, though most of his predictions are of
a later date. The manner in which his
messages were received is described in
ch. 33:30-32. There is wonderful vehe-
mence in his writings, and a profusion of
allegories and symbols. He was zealous
for the honor of God, and ready for any
sacrifice for the good of his people, ch. 4:4-
6 ; 24 : 15-18. He was one of the four "great-
er prophets," so called, and a priest.
The BOOK OF Ezekip:l abounds with
sublime visions of the divine glory, and
awful denunciations against Israel for their
rebellious spirit against God, and the abom-
inations of their idolatry, ch. 1-24. It con-
tains also similar denunciations against
Tyre and other hostile nations, ch. 25-32.
The latter part of the book contains oracles
respecting the return and restoration of the
people of God, ch. 33-48, with a symbolical
description of the New Jerusalem, not in-
tended to be taken literally.
EZ'ION-GE'BER, or -GA'BER, a man's
spine, a city at the northern e.xtremity of
the Elanitic or eastern fork of the Red Sea,
and close by Elath. The Israelites rested
here in the last year of their wanderings
from Egypt to Canaan, Num. 33:35; Deut.
2:8. At this port Solomon equipped his
fleets for the voyage to Ophir, i Kin. 9:26.
A similar enterprise of Jehoshaphat failed,
I Kin. 22:48; 2 Chr. 20:36. See Elath
and Exodus.
EZ'RA, help, a celebrated priest and lead-
er of the Jewish nation. He was " a ready
scribe in the law," a learned, able, and
faithful man, and appears to have enjoyed
great consideration in the Persian court.
During the 80 years embraced in his nar-
rative, most of the reign of Cyrus passed,
and the whole reign of Cambyses, Smerdis,
Darius Hystaspis, Xerxes, and 8 years of
170
Artaxerxes Longimanus. From this last
king he received letters, money, and every
desirable help, and went at the head of a
large party of returning exiles to Jerusa-
lem, B. C. 457 ; Ezra 7. Here he instituted
many reforms in the conduct of the people
and in the public worship, establishing
synagogues, with reading of Scripture and
prayers, Ezra 8-10; Neh. 8. After this he
is generally believed to have written the
books of Chronicles, Ezra, and part of
Nehemiah ; and to have collected and re-
vised all the books of the Old Testament
Scripture which form the present canon.
In his work he was aided by Nehemiah
and probably by Malachi.
The BOOK OF Ezra contains a history,
written partly in Chaldee, of the return of
the Jews from the time of Cyrus, ch. 1-6;
then, 60 years later, and comprising a sin-
gle year, ch. 7-10, an account of his own
subsequent proceedings, B. C. 456. There
are 2 apocryphal books ascribed to him
under the name of Esdras, the Greek form
of his name.
Two others of this name are mentioned
in I Chr. 4:17; Neh. 12:1.
F.
FA'BLE, in the New Testament an idle,
groundless, and worthless story, like the
mythological legends of the heathen and
the vain traditions of the Jews. These
were often not only false and weak, but
pernicious, i Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4;
Titus 1:14; 2 Pet. 1 : 16. In the Old Testa-
ment there occur 2 fables in the better
sense of the word : that of Jotham, Judg.
9:8-15, the oldest on record; and that of
Jehoash, 2 Kin. 14:9.
FACE, and presence, expressed by the
same word in Hebrew, are often put for
the person himself, Gen. 48:11; Exod.
33:14; Isa. 63:9. No man has seen the
face of God, that is, had a full revelation
of his glory, Exod. 33:20; John 1:18; i Tim.
6: 16. To see him " face to face," is to en-
joy his presence. Gen. 32:30; Num. 14:14;
Deut. 5:4, and have a clear manifestation
of his nature and grace, i Cor. 13:12.
Those who rightly "seek his face" are
blessed, i Chr. 16:11; 2 Chr. 7:14; Psa.
24:3-6. " Open face," in 2 Cor. 3:18, A. V.,
is properly " unveiled face." Compare ver.
14. A similar word is used in ch. 4:3, "if
our gospel is veiled, it is veiled."
FAIN, Job 27:22; Luke 15:16, gladly.
FAIR, Isa. 54:11, beautiful. A fair com-
FAI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FAN
plexion, not darkened by exposure to the
sun, was highly prized not only as a beauty,
but as a proof of rank. Gen. 12:11, 14.
Compare Song i :5, 6, 8.
FAIR-HA'VENS, a roadstead or small
bay, near the town of Lasea, midway on
the southern coast of Crete, where Paul
wished to winter when on the voyage to
Rome, Acts 27:8. This harbor is 4 or 5
miles east of Cape Matala, where the coast
turns to the north, and Paul's vessel on
passing it would again encounter the north-
west wind. The sailors preferred Phenice
as safer, and were wrecked in consequence.
Fair -havens still retains its old Greek
name.
FAIRS, though not intended by the He-
brew word so translated in Ezek. 27, which
rather signifies wares, were doubtless com-
mon in the East in ancient times, as now.
FAITH is the assent of the understand-
ing to any truth. Religious faith is assent
to the truth of divine revelation and of the
events and doctrines contained in it. This
may be merely historical, without produ-
cing any effect on our lives and conversa-
tion; and it is then a dead faith, such as
even the devils have. But a living or sav-
ing faith not only believes the great doc-
trines of religion as true, but embraces
them with the heart and affections ; and is
thus the source of sincere obedience to the
divine will, exhibited in the life and conver-
sation. Faith in Christ is a grace wrought
in the heart by the Holy Spirit, whereby we
receive Christ as our Saviour, our Prophet,
Priest, and King, and love and obey him
as such. This living faith in Christ is the
means of salvation — not meritoriously, but
instrumentally. Without it there can be
no forgiveness of sins, and no holiness of
life; and they who are justified by faith,
live and walk by faith, Mark 16:16; John
3:15, 16; Acts 16:31 ; I John 5: 10.
True faith is an essential grace, and a
mainspring of Christian life. By it the
Christian overcomes the world, the flesh,
and the devil, and receives the crown of
righteousness, 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. In virtue of
it, worthy men of old wrought great won-
ders, Heb. 11; Acts 14:9; I Cor. 13:2, being
sustained by Omnipotence in doing what-
ever God enjoined, Matt. 17 : 20 ; Mark 9 : 23 ;
11:23, 24. In Rom. 1:8, faith is put for the
exhibition of faith, in the practice of all the
duties implied in a profession of faith. In
Heb. 10:23, "profession of our faith"
should read, as in R. V., "confession of
our hope."
FAITH'FUL, in many passages in the
Bible, means " believing." Thus in Gal.
3:9, believers are said to be blessed with
Abraham, because of his preeminent dis-
tinction above all men for steadfast faith
in God. This appellation is given in Scrip-
ture to true Christians, to indicate not only
their saving faith in Christ, but their trust-
worthy and consistent Christian character,
Acts 16 : 15 ; i Cor. 4:17; Eph. 6:21; Col.
4:9; I Pet. 5:12. "A faithful saying" is
one that cannot prove false, i Tim. i : 15;
2 Tim. 2:11.
FAITH'FULNESS is an infinite attribute
of Jehovah ; adapted to make perfect both
the confidence of those who believe his
word and rely on his promises, and the
despair of those who doubt his word and
defy his threatenings, Deut. 28:26; Num.
23:19; Psa. 89:33,34; Heb. 10:23.
FAITH'LESS, means not false-hearted,
but unbelieving, Mark 9: 19.
FAL'LOW-DEER'. See ROE.
FAL'LOW GROUND, land suitable for
cultivation, but not sowed, Hos. 10:12.
FAME, rumor, tidings. Gen. 45:16; Mark
1:28.
FAMIL'IAR SPIRIT, household sprite or
attendant. See Divination.
FAM'INE. Scripture records several
famines in Palestine and the neighboring
countries. Gen. 12:10; 26:1; Ruth 1:1;
2 Kin. 6 : 25 ; Acts 11 : 28. The most remark-
able one was that of 7 years in and around
Egypt, while Joseph was governor. Gen. 41.
It was distinguished for its duration, ex-
tent, and severity; particularly as Egypt is
one of the countries least subject to such a
calamity, by reason of its general fertility.
Famine is sometimes a natural effect, as
when the Nile does not overflow in Egypt,
or rains do not fall in Judaea, at the cus-
tomary season ; or when caterpillars, lo-
custs, or other insects destroy the fruits.
But all natural causes are under the con-
trol of God; and
he often so di-
rects them as
to chastise the
rebellious with
want, 2 Kin. 8: 1,
2 ; Ezek. 6:11 ;
Matt. 24:7. The
worst famine is
a spiritual one,
Amos 8:11.
FAN, an in-
strument used for winnowing grain. In
the East, fans are of two kinds : one, a sort
171
FAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FAV
of fork, having several prongs, and a han-
dle 4 feet long; with this they throw up
the grain to the wind, tliat the chaff may
be blown away : the other sort of fan is
formed to produce wind when the air is
calm, Isa. 30:24. This process illustrates
the complete separation which Christ the
Judge will effect between the righteous
and the wicked, Jer. 15:7; Matt. 3:12. See
Threshing.
FARTHING (ASSARION).
FAR'THING. Two different Roman
brass coins are represented by this word:
one of these, the assarton, Matt. 10:29,
Luke 12:6, was worth a cent and a half;
the other, the kodranlcs, Matt. 5:26, was
probably nearly 4 mills.
FASH'ION, Phil. 2:8, make or form.
FAST'ING has in all ages, and among all
nations, been practised in times of sorrow
and affliction, Jonah 3:5. It may be re-
garded as a dictate of nature, which under
these circumstances refuses nourishment,
suspends the cravings of hunger, and
prompts to abstinence in other respects.
In the Bible no example is mentioned of
fasting, properly so called, before Moses.
His 40 days' fast, like that of Elijah and
of our Lord, was miraculous, Deut. 9:9;
I Kin. 19:8; Matt. 4:2. The Jews often had
recourse to this practice, when they had
occasion to humble themselves before God,
to confess their sins and deprecate his dis-
pleasure, Judg. 20:26; I Sam. 7:6; 2 Sam.
12:16; Neh. 9:1; Jer. 36:9. Especially in
times of public calamity, they appointed
extraordinary fasts, and made even chil-
dren at the breast fast, Joel 2:16; but see
Dan. 10:2, 3. They began the observance
of their fasts at sunset, and remained with-
out eating until the same hour the next
day. The great day of expiation was prob-
ably the only annual and national fast-day
among them, Acts 27:9; though there were
several partial fasts in memory of tlie de-
struction of Jerusalem, etc., Jer. 39:2;
52:12-14; Zech. 7:3-5.
In New Testament times strict Jews fast-
ed twice a week, on the 2d and 5th days,
Luke 18:12. It does not appear by his
own practice or by his commands that our
172
Lord instituted any particular fast. On
one occasion he intimated that his disciples
would fast after his death, Luke 5:34, 35.
Accordingly, the life of the apostles and
first believers was a life of self-denials, suf-
ferings, and fastings. 2 Cor. 5:7; 11:27.
Our Saviour recognized the custom, and
the apostles practised it as occasion re-
quired. Matt. 6: 16-1S; Acts 13:3; yet they
did not enjoin it as imperative, Rom. 14:1-
3; I Tim. 4:3, 4. W'e should always re-
member that abstinence or entire fasting
has no virtue by itself, but is valuable only
as a helj) to penitence and holiness, Isa.
58:4-7. One mark of the great apostasy
is " commanding to abstain from meats,"
I Tim. 4:3. The word fasting is omitted
in R. V. in i Cor. 7:5.
FAT. The fat portions of animals offered
in sacrifice were always to be consumed,
as being the choice part and especially sa-
cred to the Lord. The blood was also
sacred, as containing the life of the animal.
The Jews w^ere forbidden to eat either. Lev.
3:16, 17; 7:23-27. This prohibition aj)plied
to the fat lying in masses and easily sep-
arated, not to that intermixed with the lean,
Neh. 8: 10. The " fat of the wheat," " of the
mighty," etc., denotes the choicest. In Psa.
17:10, a dull and sluggish heart is meant.
FAT, or VAT, Joel 2:24 ; 3: 13; Mark 12:1,
a receptacle into which the juice of grapes
flowed from the wine-i)ress.
FA'THER, is often synonymous with an-
cestor, founder, or originator, as Gen. 4:20,
21; John 8:56; Rom. 4:16. Joseph was a
father to Pharaoh, Gen. 45:8, as his coun-
sellor and provider. God is the F.\ther
of men, as their Creator, Deut. 32:6; Isa.
63:16; 64:8; Luke 3:38. But as we have
forfeited the rights of children by our sins,
it is only through Christ that we can call
God by that endearing name, " our Fa-
ther," John 20:17; Rom. 8:15-17.
In patriarchal times, a father was master
and judge in his own household, and exer-
cised an authority almost unlimited over
his family. Filial disobedience or disre-
spect was a high offence. Under the law,
certain acts of children were capital crimes,
Exod. 21:15-17; Lev. 20:9; and the father
was required to bring his son to the public
tribunal, Deut. 21:18-21. It is a first duty
of parents to imbue their children with re-
ligious truth and train them to the service
of God, Exod. 12:26, 27; Deut. 4:9, 10; 6:6,
7; 11:18,19; Psa. 78:5-8; Eph. 6:4, and to
hope for success, Prov. 22 :6. See Mother.
FA'VOR, usuallj- grace or good-will ; in
FEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FEA
several passages literally face, or propi-
tious countenance, Psa. 45:12; 119:58;
Prov. 19:6; 29:26. The same Hebrew
word is rendered face in Gen. 43:3, 5;
Num. 6:25; Job 33:26; Ezek. 39:29.
FEAR, Gen. 31:42, 53, the being who is
feared, i. e., worshipped.
FEAR OF GOD is of two kinds. In un-
renewed men and in devils. Acts 24:25;
Jas. 2:19, it is the sure consequence of sin,
and leads to no repentance or faith. The
heathen colonists of Samaria " feared the
Lord," and offered some forms of worship,
but " served their own gods " and sins also,
2 Kin. 17:25, :^2>- This fear mingles often
with the feelings of true Christians, Rom.
8:15; I John 4:18, but ought to be ban-
ished. True filial fear is implanted by-
God himself, Psa. 86:11; Jer. 32:40; re-
strains from sin, Psa. 4:4; 2 Cor. 7:1; is
associated with love, Deut. 10:12, trust,
Prov. 14:26, and obedience, and is often
spoken of as the synonym of all true reli-
gion. Gen. 22:12 ; Psa. 25:14; 112:1. Christ
himself was the model in this fear, Isa.
11:2; Heb. 5:7; and they who thus fear
God have nothing else to fear, Isa. 51 : 7, 12,
13 ; Luke 12:4-7.
Sinners ought indeed to tremble before
a just and holy God, Gen. 3:10; Matt. 10 : 28,
and to fear their inevitable doom, Zeph.
1:12; Mai. 4:1; Rev. 6:15-17; but this fear
is remorse and despair, and can only be
"the beginning of wisdom" when trans-
formed by penitence, love, and trust in his
mercy through the Redeemer, John 3:16,
18; so that they can serve him with the
reverence and godly fear of his children,
Eph. 5:1; Heb. 12:28, 29.
FEASTS. God appointed several festi-
vals, or days of rest and worship, among
the Jews, to perpetuate the memory of
great events : the Sabbath commemorated
the creation of the world ; the Passover,
the departure out of Egypt ; the Pentecost,
as many think, the law given at Sinai, etc.
At the 3 great feasts of the year, the Pass-
over, the Pentecost, and that of Taberna-
cles, all the males of the nation were re-
quired to visit the temple, Exod. 23:14-17;
Deut. 16:16, 17; and to protect their bor-
ders from invasion during their absence,
the shield of a special providence was al-
ways interposed, Exod. 34 : 23, 24. The
other festivals were New Moons, the Feast
of Trumpets, Purim, Dedication, the Sab-
bath year, and the year of Jubilee. These
are described elsewhere. The observance
of these sacred festivals was adapted not
merely to freshen the remembrance of their
early historj' as a nation, but to keep alive
the influence of religion and the expecta-
tion of the Messiah, to deepen their joy in
God, to dispel animosities and jealousies,
to promote beneficence, and to form new
associations between the different tribes
and families. See also Day of Expiation.
In the Christian church we have no fes-
tival that clearly appears to have been in-
stituted by our Saviour or his apostles; but
as we commemorate his death as often as
we celebrate his supper, he has hereby
seemed to institute a perpetual feast. Chris-
tians have always celebrated the memory
of his resurrection by regarding the Sab-
bath, which we see, from Rev. i : 10, was in
John's time known as "the Lord's day."
Feasts of love, Jude 12, were public
banquets of a frugal kind, instituted by
the primitive Christians, and connected by
them with the celebration of the Lord's
Supper. The provisions were contributed
by the more wealthy, and were common to
all Christians, whether rich or poor, who
chose to partake. Portions were also sent
to the sick and absent members. These
love-feasts were intended as an exhibition
of mutual Christian affection; but they
became subject to abuses, and were after-
wards generally discontinued, i Cor. 11:17-
34-
The Hebrews were a hospitable people,
and were wont to welcome their guests
with a feast, and dismiss them with anoth-
er. Gen. 19:3; 31:27; Judg. 6:19; 2 Sam.
3:20; 2 Kin. 6:23. The returning prodigal
was thus welcomed, Luke 15:23. Many
joyful domestic events were observed with
feasting: birthdays, etc.. Gen. 21:8; 40:20;
Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6; marriages, when the
festival often continued a week. Gen. 29:22;
Judg. 14:10; John 2:1-10; sheep-shearing
and harvesting, Judg. 9:27; i Sam. 25:2,
36; 2 Sam. 13:23. A feast was also provi-
ded at funerals, 2 Sam. 3:35; Jer. 16:7.
Those who brought sacrifices and offerings
to the temple were wont to feast upon them
there, with joy and praise to God, Deut.
12:6, 7; I Sam. 16:5; 2 Sam. 6:19. They
were taught to invite all the needy to par-
take with them, Deut. 16:11; and even to
make special feasts for the poor, Deut.
12:17-19; 14:28, 29; 26:12-15; a custom
which the Saviour specially commended,
Luke 14:12-14. Most of these feasts were
not merely seasons of social enjoyment,
but occasions hallowed by religious emo-
tions and services.
173
FEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FES
The manner of holding a feast was an-
ciently marked with great simplicitj-. But
at the time of Christ many Roman customs
had been introduced. The feast or "sup-
per" usually took place at 5 or 6 in the
afternoon, and often continued to a late
hour. The guests were invited some time
in advance ; and those who accepted the
invitation were again notified by servants
when the hour arrived, Matt. 22:4-8; Luke
14:16-24. The door was guarded against
uninvited persons; and was at length
closed for the day by the hand of the mas-
ter of the house, Matt. 25:10; Luke 13:25.
Sometimes verj^ large numbers were pres-
ent, Esth. 1:3, 5; Luke 14:16-24; and on
such occasions a " governor of the feast "
w^as appointed, whose social qualities, tact,
firmness, and temperance fitted him to pre-
side, John 2:8. The guests were arranged
with a careful regard to their claims to
honor, Gen. 43:33 ; i Sam. 9:22; Prov. 25:6,
7; Matt. 23:6; Luke 14:7; in which mat-
ter the laws of etiquette are still jealously
enforced in the East. Sometimes the host
provided light, rich, loose robes for the
company; and if so, the refusing to wear
one was a gross insult, Eccl. 9:8; Matt.
22:11; Rev. 3:4, 5. The guests reclined
around the tables ; water and perfumes
were served to them, Mark 7:2 ; Luke 7:44-
46 ; and after eating, the hands were again
washed, a servant pouring water over
them. See illustration in Bed. During
the repast and after it various entertain-
ments were provided; enigmas were pro-
posed, Judg. 14:12; Eastern tales were
told ; music and hired dancers, and often
•excessive drinking, etc., occupied the time,
Isa. 5:12; 24:7-9; Amos 6:5. A mission-
ary attending a wedding at Calcutta once
saw an illustration in modern life of Luke
14:8-11. While conversing with the host
in the gallery reserved for the more favored
guests, she saw one man removed from the
gallery who had no claim to be there, and
another in the court below invited " up
higher." See E.\ting, Food.
FE'LIX, happy, a Roman governor of Ju-
daea, originally a slave, but manumitted and
promoted by Claudius Caesar, from whom
he received the name of Claudius. He is
described by the historian Tacitus as cruel,
licentious, and base, and as having harmed
Judaea by his mismanagement. In Judaea
he married Drusilla, sister of the younger
Agrippa, having enticed her from her hus-
band Azizus. Paul having been sent by
Lysias to Caesarea, then the seat of govern-
174
ment, Felix gave him an audience, and was
convinced of his innocence. Nevertheless
he kept him a prisoner, though with many
alleviations, in hopes that his friends would
purchase his liberty by a heavy bribe.
Meanwhile his wife Drusilla, who was a
Jewess, desired to hear Paul e.xplain the
new religion ; and the apostle being sum-
moned before them, discoursed with his
usual boldness on justice, chastity, and the
final judgment. Feli.x trembled, but hasti-
ly remanded Paul to confinement, and sti-
fled his convictions — a melancholy instance
of the power of lust and the danger of de-
lay. In rejecting Paul, he rejected Christ
and heaven — it is to be feared, for ever!
Two years after, A. D. 60, he was recalled
to Rome; and left Paul in prison, in order
to appease the Jews. He was brought to
trial, however, for maladministration, found
guilty, and barely escaped death through
the intercession of his brother Pallas, an-
other royal favorite, Acts 23:26; 24.
FENCED, Num. 32:17, 36, fortified.
FEN'CES, for the protection of vineyards
and gardens, were often made of stones, or
large cakes of sun-dried earth, with the
addition in some cases of a thorn hedge,
Psa. 80:12; Mic. 7:4. They were a favor-
ite resort of serpents and locusts, Eccl.
10:8 ; Nah. 3: 17.
FER'RET, a sort of weasel. Lev. 11:30.
The Hebrew word means rather a species
of lizard, the gecko, which Moses forbids
as unclean.
FES'TUS, PoRCius, succeeded Felix in
the government of Judaea, A. D. 60. To
oblige the Jews, Felix, when he resigned
his government, left Paul in bonds at Caesa-
rea in Palestine, Acts 24:27; and when
Festus arrived, he was entreated by the
principal Jews to condemn the apostle, or
to order him up to Jerusalem — they having
conspired to assassinate him in the waj'.
Festus, however, answered that it was not
customary with the Romans to condemn
any man without hearing him ; and prom-
ised to hear their accusations at Caesarea.
Five days after, on hearing Paul and learn-
ing the nature of the charges against him,
and wishing like Felix to conciliate the
Jews, he projiosed to him to abide the issue
of a trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin. But
Paul appealed to Caesar, and so secured
himself from the prosecution of the Jews
and the intentions of Festus. The gover-
nor gave him another hearing during a
congratulatory visit of king Agrippa, in
order to make out a statement to be for-
FIE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FIR
warded with him to Rome. Finding how
greatly robberies abounded in Judaea, Fes-
tus very diligently pursued the thieves;
and he also suppressed a magician, who
drew the people after him into the desert.
Josephus speaks well of his brief adminis-
tration. He died in Judaea, A. D. 62, and
was succeeded by Albinus.
FIELD, ground cultivated, but not in-
closed; contrasted with the wilderness.
Gen. 33:19; 36:35, and with a vineyard,
Num. 22 : 23, 24, or a city, Deut. 28 : 3, 16.
Bounds were marked by stones, to remove
which was a great crime, Deut. 27:17.
Fields were often traversed by public
roads, Luke 6:1, and were much e.xposed
to straying cattle, which therefore needed
constant watching, Exod. 22:5.
FIG. The fig-tree is common in Pales-
tine and the East, and flourishes with the
greatest luxuriance in those barren and
stony situations where little else will grow.
Its large size, and its abundance of 5-lobed
leaves, render it a pleasant shade-tree ; and
its fruit furnished a wholesome food, very
much used in all the lands of the Bible.
Thus it was a symbol of peace and plenty,
I Kin. 4:25; Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10; John
1:49-51. Figs are of 2 sorts, the " boc-
core " and the "kermouse." The black
and white boccore, or early fig, is pro-
duced in June ; though the kermouse, the
fig properly so called, which is preserved
and made up into cakes, is rarely ripe be-
fore August. There is also a long dark-
colored kermouse, that sometimes hangs
upon the trees all winter.
The fruit of the fig-tree is one of the del-
icacies of the East, and is very often spo-
ken of in Scripture. The early fig was
especially prized, Isa. 28:4; Jer. 24:2; Nah.
3: 12, though the summer fig is most abun-
dant, 2 Kin. 20:7; Isa. 38:21. It is a pecu-
liarity of the fig-tree that its fruit begins
to appear before the leaves, and without
any show of blossoms. It has, indeed,
small and hidden blossoms, but the pas-
sage in Hab. 3:17 should read, according
to the original Hebrew, "Although the fig-
tree should not bear" instead of " blos-
som." Its leaves come so late in the spring
as to justify the words of Christ, " Ye know
that summer is nigh," Matt. 24:32; Song
2: 13. The fresh fruit is shaped like a pear.
The dried figs of Palestine were probably
like those which are brought to our own
country ; sometimes, however, they are
dried on a string. We likewise read of
" cakes of figs," i Sam. 25:18; 2 Kin. 20:7;
I Chr. 12:40. These were probably formed
by pressing the fruit forcibly into baskets
or other vessels, so as to reduce them to a
solid cake or lump. In this way dates are
still prepared in Arabia.
The barren fig-tree which was withered
at our Saviour's word, as an awful warn-
ing to unfruitful professors of religion,
seems to have spent itself in leaves. It
stood by the wayside, free to all — a single
tree seen " afar off" to be in full leaf while
others were not, Mark 11:13; hence it
was reasonable to expect to find figs upon
it. Yet there was " nothing thereon, but
leaves only," Matt. 21:19. Fig-trees still
overhang the path over the Mount of Ol-
ives, where this parable was spoken. Matt.
21:21. It furnishes a striking type of the
Jewish nation, specially cared for by God,
Isa. 5, and full of leaves, but not of the
expected fruit.
FILE, literally notchedness, i Sam. 13:21.
This verse means simply, " when the mat-
tocks, etc., were dull."
FINE, FI'NER, FI'NING, refine, etc.. Job
28:1.
FIR, an evergreen tree, of beautiful ap-
pearance, whose lofty height and dense
foliage afford a spacious shelter and shade.
The Hebrew word often seems to mean
the Cypress, which see. It was used for
shipbuilding, Ezek. 27:5; for musical in-
struments, 2 Sam. 6:5; for beams and raft-
ers of houses, I Kin. 5:8, 10; 9:11; Song
1:17. In Nah. 2:3, "fir-trees " means lan-
ces made of cypress.
FIRE, in Scripture, is often connected
with the presence of Jehovah ; as in the
burning bush, the pillar of fire, and on
Mount Sinai, Exod. 3:2; 13:21; 19:18; in
Psalm 18, and the ode of Habakkuk. The
175
FIR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FIR
2d coming of Christ will be " in flaming
fire,'" 2 Thess. i:«; Dan. 7:9, 10. In the
New Testament it illustrates the enlight-
ening, cheering, and purifjing agency of
the Holy Spirit, Matt. 3:11 ; Acts 2:3. By
sending fire from heaven to consume sac-
rifices, God often signified his acceptance
of them, as probably in the case of Abel,
Gen. 4:4; Abraham, Gen. 15:17; Manoah,
Judg. 13:19, 20; Elijah, i Kin. 18:38; and
at the dedication of the tabernacle and the
temple, Lev. 9:24; 2 Chr. 7:1. Hence the
Hebrew for "accept" is "turn to ashes,"
Psa. 20:3, margin. The fire on the altar
of burnt offering was to be preserved by
the priests with the utmost care. Lev. 6:12,
13. Nadab and Abihu were slain for using
other fire in burning incense. Lev. 10:1,
16:12, or in some way violating the divine
command, E.xod. 30:7, 8. Fire symbolizes
the sin-consuming holiness of God, his re-
fining of his people, and punishment of the
unbelieving, Psa. 66:10; Isa. 31:9; 48:10;
Mai. 3:1, 2; Heb. 12:29. I" many ancient
religions fire was worshipped ; and children
were made to pass through the fire to Mo-
loch, 2 Kin. 17: 17 ; Jer. 7:31 ; Ezek. 16:21 ;
23:37. The Jews had occasion for fires,
except for cooking, only during a small
part of the year. Besides their ordinary
hearths and ovens, they warmed their apart-
ments with " a fire of coals " in a brazier,
Jer. 36:22, 23 ; John 18: 18. They were for-
bidden to kindle a fire on the Sabbath,
Exod.35:3 — a prohibition perhaps only of
cooking on that day, but understood by
many Jews even now in the fullest extent ;
it is evaded by employing Gentile servants.
Another provision of the Mosaic law was
designed to protect the standing corn, etc.,
in the dry summer season, Exod. 22:6. The
earth is to be destroyed by fire, 2 Pet. 3:7;
of which the destruction of Sodom, and the
volcanoes and earthquakes which so often
indicate the internal commotions of the
globe, may serve as warnings. In Isa.
24:15, for "fires" say "East."
FIR'KIN, John 2:6, a Greek measure,
equivalent to the Hebrew bath, and con-
taining about 8 gallons. The quantity of
wine produced by the miracle at Cana was
large : but the assemblage was also large ;
the festivities continued, it may be, a whole
week, Judg. 14:12; and many might be
drawn to the scene by hearing of the mir-
acle.
FIR'MAMENT, Gen. 1 : 17, the expanse of
the heavens immediately above the earth.
The Hebrews seem to have viewed this as
176
an immense crystalline dome, studded with
stars, resting on the far-distant horizon all
around the spectator, and separating the
waters above us from those on the earth.
Through its windows the rain descend-
ed. It is not necessary to suppose they
thought it was solid, Psa. 19:1; Isa. 40:22.
It is not the aim of Scripture to give sci-
entific statements of natural phenomena.
Teaching religion, not astronomy or phys-
ics, it does not anticipate modern discover-
ies, but speaks of natural objects and oc-
currences in the common language of men
everywhere. Hence, in part, its attractive-
ness in all ages as a book for the people.
FIRSTBORN. This phrase is not always
to be understood literally ; it is sometimes
taken for the preeminent, most excellent,
most distinguished of things, Exod. 4:22;
Psa. 89:27; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:4-6. Thus
Jesus Christ is " the firstborn of every crea-
ture," Col. 1:15, inasmuch as he was the
" Only-begotten " of the Father before any
creature was produced. He is " the first-
born from the dead," Col. i : 18, because he
is the beginning, and the author of the
resurrection of all who die in faith.
After the destroying angel had slain the
firstborn of the Egyptians, God ordained
that all the Jewish firstborn, both of men
and of beasts for service, should be conse-
crated to him, an acknowledgment of his
right as owner and Lord of all, Exod.
4:22, 23; 19:6; but the male children only
were subject to this law. and he set apart
the tribe of Levi to minister to him, in lieu
of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 45. If a man
had several wives, he was obliged to pre-
sent the firstborn son of each one of them
to the Lord. Every firstborn son was pre-
sented at the temple, and redeemed for 5
shekels. The firstling of a clean beast
was offered at the temple, not to be re-
deemed, but to be sacrificed to the Lord,
Dent. 12:6; 15:19-21; an unclean beast, a
horse, an ass, or a camel, was either re-
deemed or exchanged ; an ass was redeem-
ed by a lamb or 5 shekels ; if not redeemed,
it was put to death, Exod. 13:2, 11, etc.
The firstborn son among the Hebrews, as
among all other nations, enjoyed special
privileges and honors. See Birthricht.
The "firstborn of death," Job 18:13,
seems to mean the chief of deadly dis-
eases; the "firstborn of the poor," Isa.
14:30, the poorest.
FIRST-FRUITS were presents made to
God of part of the fruits of the harvest, to
express the submission, dependence, and
FIR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FIT
thankfulness of the offerers. The portion
given was instead of the whole, in ac-
knowledgment that all was due to God.
They were offered in the tabernacle or
temple before the crop was gathered, and
when the harvest was over, before the peo-
ple began to use their corn. The first of
these first-fruits, offered in the name of
the nation, was a sheaf of barley, gathered
on the 15th of Nisan, in the evening, and
threshed in a court of the temple. After it
was well cleaned, about 3 pints of it were
roasted, and pounded in a mortar. Over
this was thrown a measure of olive oil and
a handful of incense ; and the priest, ta-
king the offering, waved it before the Lord
towards the 4 cardinal points, throwing a
handful of it into the fire on the altar, and
keeping the rest. After this, all were at
liberty to get in the harvest. When the
wheat harvest was over, on the day of Pen-
tecost they offered as first-fruits of another
kind, in the name of the nation, 2 loaves,
of about 3 pints of flour each, made of
leavened dough, Lev. 23:10, 17. In addi-
tion to these first-fruits, every private per-
son was obliged to bring his first-fruits to
the temple, but Scripture prescribes nei-
ther the time nor the quantity, Exod. 22 : 29 ;
Deut. 26:1-11.
There was, besides this, another sort of
first-fruits paid to God, Num. 15:19, 21;
Neh. 10:37: when the first bread of the
season in the family was kneaded, a por-
tion of it was set apart, and given to the
priest or Levite of the place ; if there was
no priest or Levite, it was cast into the
oven and there consumed. The first-fruits
of cultivated fields, vineyards, fruit-trees,
and of wool were required by God for the
priests or Levites, Num. 18:11-13; Deut.
18:4. See Fruit.
Those offerings are also often called first-
fruits which were brought by the Israelites
from devotion, to the temple, for the feast
of thanksgiving, to which they invited their
relations and friends and the Levites of
their cities. The first-fruits and tenths
were the most considerable revenue of the
priests and Levites, and the neglect of
these offerings in days of apostasy was
often reproved by the prophets, 2 Chr. 31 -.4.,
5, 12; Neh. 10:35-37; Ezek. 20:40; Mai.
3:8.
Christians have " the first-fruits of the
Holy Spirit," Rom. 8:23; that is, more
abundant and more excellent gifts than the
Jews ; these were also a foretaste of the full
harvest. " Christ is risen from the dead,
12
and become the first-fruits of them that
slept," I Cor. 15:20, the forerunner of all
those who, because he lives, shall live also,
John 14: 19.
FIRST'LING, the first offspring of an an-
imal. Gen. 4:4; Neh. 10:36.
FISH, FISH'ER. The Hebrews have
very few names of particular species of
fish. Moses says in general, that all sorts
of river, lake, or sea fish, which have scales
and fins, may be eaten ; all others shall be
to the Hebrews an abomination, Lev. 11:9-
12 ; Deut. 14:9, 10. So in the parable, Matt.
13:48. The Nile had an early celebrity,
which it still retains, for the abundance
and excellence of its fish, and hence the
significance of the plague that smote the
river and Hapi its god, Exod. 7:18-21;
Num. 11:5. The Sea of Tiberias also still
abounds in fish, Luke 5:5; John 21:6-11.
They were a common article of food among
the Jews, Matt. 7:10, and were obtained
from the Mediterranean, Neh. 13:16, and
from the Jordan. They were caught with
hooks, Amos 4 : 2, spears, Job 41 : 7, and nets,
Isa. 19:8-10. Fish-worship was forbidden
to the Jews, Deut. 4 : 18, but was prac-
tised by the Assyrians and the Philistines.
See Dagon. The " great fish," Jon. 1:17,
which swallowed Jonah, may have been of
the shark genus, as this animal is common
in the Mediterranean. The original word,
both in Hebrew and Greek, Matt. 12:40,
means a fish, and not specifically a " whale."
See Whale. Fishermen are often spoken
of in the Bible, and a large proportion of
the 12 apostles of our Lord were of that
occupation. Christ made them " fishers of
men," Matt. 4:18-22.
The early Christians, in times of perse-
cution, used to engrave the form of a fish
on their medals, seals, and tombs, as a
tacit confession of their faith ; as the 5 let-
ters of the Greek word for fish, ix'&vc, are
the initial letters of 5 words signifying
"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Sa-
viour." This symbol has thus become the
subject of a superstitious regard.
FITCH'ES, or Vetch'es, a species of
wild pea. Two Hebrew words are trans-
lated "fitches," one of which probably
means spe/l, Ezek. 4:9, and the oXher gith,
a plant resembling fennel, and very pun-
gent, Isa. 28:25. The seed is black and
aromatic, and is used as a seasoning and
for medicine. It is readily shed from the
capsules, while the grains of spelt are
firmly lodged in the husks. God exercises
judgment in dealing with his people, not
177
FLA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FLE
crushing with a wheel when beating with
a staff will suffice, ver. 27-29.
FLAG: CyPERUS ESCULENTUS,
FLAG, Job 8:11, a coarse grass growing
in wet meadows and on river banks, prob-
ably the Cyperus esculentus, translated
meadow in Gen. 41 : 2, 18. A different word
is used in Exod. 2:3, 5; Isa. 19:6, in a more
general sense.
FLAG'ON. The Hebrew word every-
where rendered in the English version
flagon, 2 Sam. 6:19; i Chr. 16:3; Song 2:5;
Hos. 3:1, means rather a cake, especially
of dried grapes or raisins, pressed into a
particular form. These are mentioned as
delicacies, by which the weary and languid
are refreshed ; they were also offered to
idols, Hos. 3:1. They differed from the
dried clusters of grapes not pressed into
any form, i Sam. 25:18, and also from the
"cakes of figs." We may refer, in illus-
tration, to the manner in which with us
cheeses are pressed in various forms, as
of pineapples, etc., and also the manner in
which dates are prepared at the present
day by the Arabs. See Figs. The word
translated flagon in Isa. 22:24 means some-
times a leather bottle, and sometimes a
musical instrument of similar shape.
FLAX, a well-known plant, upon which
the industry of mankind has been exer-
cised with the greatest success and utility.
Josh. 2:6; Prov. 31:13. Moses speaks of
the flax in Egypt, Exod. 9:31, which coun-
try has been celebrated from time imme-
morial for its production and manufacture,
the rich deposits of the overflowing Nile
rendering the soil most favorable for it.
See BoLLED. The "fine linen of Egypt,"
which was manufactured from this article,
is spoken of for its superior excellence in
178
Scripture, Prov. 7:16; Ezek. 27 : 7. " Linen
yarn, "however, in i Kin. 10:28, is translated
"horses" in the R.V. Its
production in Palestine is
mentioned in Josh. 2:6;
Judg. 16:9 ; Isa. i :3i ;
Hos. 2:5, 9. Most of
the linen found wrapped
around Egyptian mum-
mies will hardly compare
with our common sheet-
ings. But some speci-
mens are found of re-
markable fineness ; one
containing 152 threads
in the warp, and 71 in
the woof, to each square
inch; and another, 270
double threads in the
warp, and no in the
woof, per inch. Modern
cambric rarely contains
more than 160 in the
woof. See Cotton and Linen.
The various processes by which flax is
changed to fine and snowy linen well illus-
trate God's discipline in sanctifying his
children.
The prophet Isaiah, in speaking of the
gentleness of the Messiah, uses a proverb-
ial expression, " The bruised reed shall he
not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench," Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20. Here
" flax " means the wick of a lamp or taper.
He will not break a reed already bruised
and ready to be broken, nor extinguish a
flickering, dying lamp, just ready to ex-
pire; that is, he will not oppress his hum-
ble and penitent followers, but cherish the
feeblest beginnings of true grace.
FLESH. In the Bible, besides the ordi-
nary sense. Job 33:25, this word denotes
mankind as a race, Gen. 6:12; Psa. 145:21 ;
Isa. 40:5, 6; all living creatures on the
earth. Gen. 6:17, 19; and in John 1:14 the
human nature. It is often used in opposi-
tion to "spirit," as we use body and soul,
Job 14:22; and sometimes means the body
as animated and sensitive. Matt. 26:41, and
the seat of bodily appetites, Prov. 5:11;
2 Cor. 7:1. In the New Testament, " flesh "
is very often used to designate the bodily
propensities and passions which draw men
away from yielding themselves to the Lord
and to the things of the Spirit. The flesh,
or carnal principle, is opposed to the spirit,
or spiritual principle, Rom. 8; Gal. 5:17.
To " know Christ after the flesh " implied
glorying in merely outward relations to
FLO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
FOO
Tiitn — as of belonging to Israel his nation,
•or having seen him in the flesh — instead of
spiritually knowing him as having been
■created anew in him, without which all
■else is in vain, Matt. 7:22, 23; Luke 8:19-
21; 2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Phil. 3:3-10.
FLOCKS. See Sheep.
FLOOD. See Deluge. In Josh. 24:2
the Euphrates.
FLUTE, a soft, sweet-toned wind instru-
ment of music. The word flute is used
•only in Dan. 3, and is supposed to mean a
pipe with 2 reeds, such as are still to be
found in the East. It is blown at the end.
See Music, Pipe.
FLUX,7foz7-3! 23;
2 Sam. 13:18; though in these passages
some understand a tunic with long sleeves.
Blue, scarlet, and purple are most frequent-
ly referred to, the first being a sacred
color, Exod. 35:23, 25, 35; 38:18; Esth.
8:15. Embroidery and fine needlework
were highly valued among them, Judg.
5:30; Psa. 45:14-
The dress of females differed from that
of males less than is customary among us.
Yet there was a distinction ; and Moses ex-
pressly forbade any exchange of apparel
between the sexes, Deut. 22:5, a custom
associated with immodesty, and with the
worship of certain idols. It is not clear
for what reason clothing in which linen
and woollen were woven together was pro-
hibited, Deut. 22:11; but probably it had
reference to some superstitious usage of
heathenism. In Isa. 3:16-23, mention is
made of the decorations among the He-
brew women of that day; among which
seem to be included tunics, embroidered
vests, wide-flowing mantles, girdles, veils,
caps of network, and metallic ornaments
for the ears and nose, for the neck, arms,
190
fingers, and ankles; also smelling-bottles
and metallic mirrors. In Acts 19:12, men-
tion is made of handkerchiefs and aprons.
Drawers were used, Exod. 28:42, but per-
' «ft
haps not generally. See Fringes, GlR-
DLKS, Rings, and Sandals.
Presents of dresses are alluded to very
frequently in the historical books of Scrip-
ture, and in the earliest times. Joseph
gave to each of his brethren a change of
raiment, and to Benjamin 5 changes. Gen.
45:22. Naaman gave to Gehazi 2 changes
of raiment ; and even Solomon received
raiment as presents, 2 Chr. 9 : 24. This
custom is still maintained in the East, and
GAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GAT
is mentioned by most travellers. In Tur-
key, the appointment to any important
office is accompanied with the gift of a
suitable official robe. In the parable of
the wedding garment, the king expected to
find all his guests clad in robes of honor
of his own providing, Matt. 22:11. The
spreading of garments in the road, in honor
of one riding, was an ancient and general
custom in the East, Matt. 21 :8.
GAR'RISON, a military post, i Sam.
13:23; 14: 1-15, or a body of troops, 2 Sam.
5:6, 14. In 2 Chr. 17:2, the same word is
used which is translated pillar in Gen.
19:26; perhaps a monument is meant in
1 Sam. 10:5, and a statue or idol in Ezek.
26:11. Compare Jer. 43: 13.
GASH'MU. See Geshem.
GATE. The gates of Eastern walled
towns were usually two-leaved, of wood,
Judg. 16:3, often covered with thick plates
of iron of copper, Psa. 107:16; Isa. 45:2;
Acts 12:10, secured by bolts and bars,
Deut. 3:5; I Kin. 4: 13, and flanked by tow-
ers, 2 Sam. 18:24, 33. They were some-
times double — an outer and inner gate,
2 Sam. 18 : 24, ^3, and siirmounted by watch-
towers. Palace and temple gates were
highly ornate, Deut. 6:9; i Kin. 6:31-35;
2 Kin. 18:16; Ezek. 41:23-25. Large gates
ANCIENT GATE.
had keys 2 feet or more in length. Com-
pare Isa. 22:22. Some gates were of stone
slabs, Isa. 54:12; Rev. 21:21, and many
stone doors are found in the Hauran ruins.
A city was usually regarded as taken when
i':yt'-^l''^<^m ng-'-'~
!Si^-^^^ l^rk •i:--J-3-^Kf:
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DOOR.
its gates were won, Deut. 28:52; Judg. 5:8.
Hence "gate" sometimes signifies power,
dominion. God promises Abraham that
his posterity shall possess the gates of their
enemies— their towns, their fortresses, Gen.
22:17. So, too, "the gates of hell " means
the power of death or of hell itself. Matt.
16:18. Compare Jer. 43:8-11 ; i Kin. 7:7.
The "Sublime Porte," i.e., gate, at Con-
stantinople, signifies the Turkish govern-
ment offices.
In Oriental cities there was always an
open space or place adjacent to each gate,
and these were at the same time the mar-
ket-places and the place of justice. Gen.
23:10-18; Ruth 4:1-12; Deut. 16:18; 21:19;
25:6,7; 2 Kin. 7: 1 ; Neh. 13:19; Prov. 22:22;
Amos 5:10, 12, 15. See also Dan. 2:48,
49; Zech. 8:16. There, too, people assem-
bled to spend their leisure hours. Gen.
19:1 ; often idle loungers, who are coupled
with drunkards, Psa. 69:12. The woes of
a city were disclosed in the mourning or
loneliness of these places of resort, Isa.
14:31; Jer. 14:2. Here, too, the public
proclamations were made, and the messa-
ges of prophets delivered, Prov. i :2i ; 8:3 ;
Isa. 29:21; Jer. 17:19; 26:10. Near the
gate of a city, but without it, executions
191
GAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GAZ
took place, i Kin. 21:13; Acts 7:58; Heb.
13:12. To exalt the gate of a house through
pride increased one's exposure to robbery,
Prov. 17:19. To open it wide and high
was significant of joy and welcome, as
when the Saviour ascended to heaven, Psa.
24:7, 9; and the open gates of the New
Jerusalem, in contrast with those of earthly
cities carefully closed and guarded at night-
fall, indicate the happy security of that
world of light. Rev. 21:25. See Jerusa-
LE.M.
GATH, wiiic-press, one of 5 principal cit-
ies of the Philistines, i Sam. 5:8; 6:17. It
was a notable city, in the border of the
Philistines nearest to Jerusalem ; but its
site has long been lost. It was the home
of Goliath, i Sam. 17:4. Compare Josh.
11:22; I Sam. 5:8; 6:17; I Chr. 20:8. Here
David twice sought a refuge from Saul,
I Sam. 21:10; 27:2-7. It came under his
power in the beginning of his reign over
all Israel, i Chr. 18:1, as a tributary king-
dom, I Kin. 2:39. Rehoboam rebuilt or
fortified it, 2 Chr. 11:8. It fell into the
hands of Hazael, king of Syria, 2 Kin.
12:17, but probably soon became a free
city again, Amos 6 :.2; Mic. 1:10. Its strong
border position rendered it liable to fre-
quent assault, and to destruction, and it is
not mentioned by the later prophets, Zeph.
2:4; Zech. 9:5, 6. Its inhabitants were
called Gittites, Josh. 13:3; and Ittai, with
600 fellow-citizens, faithfully served David,
2 Sam. 15:18-22. One site suggested for'
Gath is Tell-es-Safieh, a hill 200 feet high
at the edge of the plain of Philistia, 10
miles east of Ashdod.
GATH-HE'PHER,orGIT'TAH-HE'PHER,
press on the hill, on the border of Zebu-
lun, Josh. 19:13, was the birthplace of Jo-
nah, 2 Kin. 14:25. It lay near Sepphoris,
5 miles north of Nazareth.
GATH-RIM'MON,/';rjj 0/ the pomegran-
ate, I., a Levitical city in Dan, Josh. 19:45;
21:24; I Chr. 6:69, on the Philistine plain.
II. A Levitical town of Manasseh, west
of the Jordan, Josh. 21 : 25, perhaps Bileam,
i.e., Ibleam, Josh. 17:11; i Chr. 6:70.
GAU'LAN, or Go'l.\n, a Levitical town
of Bashan, in Manasseh beyond Jordan.
From it was named the small province of
Gaulonitis, now Jaulan, Deut. 4:43; Josh.
20:8; 21:27 ; I Chr. 16:71.
GAZA: THP; MODERN GHUZZEH.
GA'ZA, or AzzAH, strong, fortified, now
Ghuzzeh, an ancient city in the southwest
corner of Canaan, Gen. 10:19, belonging
to the Avim, Deut. 2:23, and afterwards to
the Philistines. Joshua assigned it to the
tribe of Judah, but did not conquer it, Josh.
192
10:41; 11:21,22; 13:3; 15:47- Judahseems
to have held possession of it for a while ;
but in the time of the Judges it was inde-
pendent, and one of the 5 chief cities of
the Philistines, Judg. 1:18; y.y, 13:1; i6-
Samson carried away its gates, and after-
GAZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GED
wards perished under the ruins of its vast
temple. When the Phihstines returned the
captured ark, Gaza sent a trespass-offering
with it, I Sam. 6. It seems to have been
subdued by David, 2 Sam. 8:1, and been
subject to Solomon, i Kin. 4:21, 24, with
5:3, 4; but was afterwards independent
again. Hezekiah smote it, 2 Kin. 18:8;
2 Chr. 21:16, 17; 28:18. At subsequent
periods it was possessed by Chaldaeans,
Persians, and Egyptians, Jer. 47:1, occu-
pying an important point on the great
route from Egypt to Syria. For 5 months
it withstood Alexander the Great. About
96 B. C. the Jewish king Alexander Jan-
nseus captured and destroyed it. The
Roman general Gabinius rebuilt it ; and
not long after the ascension of the Saviour,
a Christian church was planted there to
struggle with the prevailing idolatry. In
A. D. 634 it came under the Mohammedan
yoke ; and in the era of the Crusades had
fallen into ruins. It was partially rebuilt
and fortified, and is now an unvvalled city
of some 15,000 inhabitants, chiefly Moham-
medans ; the principal mosque was for-
merly a Christian church. There are a
few Greek Christians, and 3 Protestant
schools. The few remains of the old city
cover a large but low hill 2 or 3 miles from
the sea. The modern city lies more in
the plain, which is exceedingly fertile, and
abounds in gardens, date-trees, and olive-
trees. There was a landing-place and
"port" for ancient Gaza, but no harbor
worthy of the name. It was often referred
to by the prophets, Jer. 25:20; 47:5; Amos
1:6, 7; Zeph. 2:4; Zech. 9:5. The south-
ern route from Jerusalem to Gaza, mem-
orable in the history of the Ethiopian eu-
nuch, is called "desert" in Acts 8:26, as
passing through a region then destitute of
villages.
GAZELLE'. See Roe.
G before E and I, in Hebrew, O. T.,
words, is pronounced hard, as in get, give.
In Greek words it is soft, like J.
GE'BA, or Ga'ba, hill, a Levitical town
of Benjamin, Josh. 18:24; 21:17; i Chr.
8:6, near Ramah, Neh. 7:30; Isa. 10:29,
and not far from the northern border of
the kingdom of Judah, 2 Kin. 23:8; Zech.
14:10. Here occurred Jonathan's exploit,
I Sam. 13:3, and ch. 14. Near Geba David
defeated the Philistines, 2 Sam. 5:25. Asa
renewed it from the ruins of Ramah, i Kin.
15:22. It was 6 miles from Jerusalem, and
was separated from Michmash on the north
by a deep valley. See i Sam. 14:4, 5, where
13
Geba is meant. The half-ruined village of
Jeba well marks its site, facing the village
of Mukhmas, across the great Wady Su-
weinit, where the invading Sennacherib
left his heavy baggage, Isa. 10:28, 29.
GE'BAL, mountain, I., the Gebalene of
the Romans, was a district of Idumaea,
called also at the present day Jebal. It is
the northern part of the range of moun-
tains skirting the eastern side of the great
valley El-Arabah, which runs from the
Dead Sea to the Elanitic Gulf of the Red
Sea, Psa. 83:7. See Jordan. This Psalm
is thought by many to have been written
on the occasion mentioned in 2 Chr. 20.
Compare ver. 14.
II. A seaport and district of Phoenicia,
north of Beirut, called Byblos by the
Greeks, now Jebail ; population 600. The
inhabitants were called Giblites, and are
denoted in the Hebrew word rendered
" stone-squarers " in i Kin. 5:18. Their
land and all Lebanon were assigned to the
Israelites, but never fully possessed, Josh.
13:5. It was an important place, Ezek.
27:9, and the seat of the worship of Tham-
muz.
GEDALI'AH, God is viy greatness, son
of Ahikam, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar
to govern Judaea after the destruction of
the temple and part of Jerusalem, B. C. 588.
Like his father, he honored and befriended
Jeremiah, Jer. 40:5. He began the admin-
istration of his government at Mizpeh with
wisdom, but in 2 months was treacherous-
ly murdered by Ishmael, 2 Kin. 25:22-26;
Jer. 39:14; 40:5-41:18. His death was
afterwards observed as a national fast,
Zech. 7:5; 8:19. The same name was
borne by 4 other men, i Chr. 25:3, 9; Ezra
10:18; Jer. 38:1-4; Zeph. 1:1.
GE'DER, a wall, inclosure, fortified place;
an ancient Canaanitish town in the plain of
Judah, taken by Joshua, Josh. 12:13; per-
haps the same with Gederah, or with Ge-
dor. III.
Gede'rah, the sheepcote, a city in the
" valley " or hilly lowland of Judah, on the
edge of the plain. Josh. 15:36. Some think
it the same as Beth-gader, i Chr. 2:51. Ge-
de'roth, sheep/old, and Gederotha'im,
two sheep/olds, Josh. 15:41, 36, were in the
same region.
GE'DOR, a wall, I., Josh. 15:58; a town
of Judah, now probably Jedur, a ruined vil-
lage 2 miles west of the road midway from
Bethlehem to Hebron. A name among
Judah's posterity is thus preserved, i Chr.
4:4, 18.
193
GEH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GEN
II. A Benjamite chief, ancestor of Saul,
I Chr. 8 : 3 1 ; 9 : 37. There was also a town in
Benjamin which bore his name, i Chr. 12:7.
III. On the southwestern border of Ju-
dah, I Chr. 4:39.
GEHA'ZI, valley of sight, a confidential
attendant of Elisha. He appears in the
story of the Shunammite woman, 2 Kin.
4: 14-37, a"d in that of Naaman the Syrian,
from whom he fraudulently obtained a por-
tion of the present his master had refused.
His covetousness and falsehoods were pun-
ished by a perpetual leprosy, 2 Kin. 5:2(?-
27, B. C. 885. We afterwards find him re-
counting to king Jehoram the wonderful
deeds of Elisha, at the moment when the
providence of God brought the woman of
Shunem before the king, to claim the res-
toration of her lands, 2 Kin. 8:1-6.
GEHEN'NA. See HiNNOM.
GEMARI'AH, accomplished by the Lord,
I., the son of Shaphan; a prince of Judah
and a scribe of the temple in the time of
Jehoiakim. In his apartment Baruch read
aloud to the people the prophecies of Jere-
miah ; and he with others secured a second
reading to the nobles, in the king's house.
The roll was afterwards read to the king,
who caused it to be burned, Jer. 36. B. C.
606.
II. The son of Hilkiah, sent to Babylon
by king Zedekiah with the tribute-money
for Nebuchadnezzar. He was also the
bearer of a letter in which Jeremiah warned
the captive Jews against false prophets who
promised them a speedy return, Jer. 29:3,
4. B. C. 594.
GENEAL'OGY, a record of one's ances-
tors, either the line of natural descent
from father to son, or the line in which, by
the laws, the inheritance descended, or
that preserved in the public records. Nev-
er was a nation more careful to preserve
their genealogies than the Hebrews, for on
them rested the distinction of tribes, the
ownership of lands, and the right to the
highest offices and privileges, i Chr. 5:1,
17; 9:1; 2 Chr. 12:15; Ezra 2:62. Hence
their public tables of genealogies were
kept secure amid all vicissitudes. They
were a record rather of inherited rights
than of mere natural descent, and the
" sons " of a patriarch were not necessarily
his own children by birth. Gen. 48:5; Num.
26:41. Genealogies were often abridged
by the omission of one or more generations,
as in Levi's register, Exod. 6:16-20; Da-
vid's, Ruth 4:18-22; and Ezra's, Ezra 7: 1-5.
Errors in copying are very liable to occur
194
in these lists. We find in the Bible a rec-
ord carried on for more than 3,500 years,
I Chr. I ; 3 ; 6 ; and thus were guarded the
proofs that Christ was born according to
prophecy of the seed of Abraham, and heir
to the throne of his father David, Luke
1 :32 ; 2 Tim. 2:8 ; Heb. 7: 14.
GENEAL'OGY OF JESUS CHRIST. In
the evangelists we have the genealogy of
Christ for 4,000 years. The 2 accounts in
Matt. I and Luke 3 differ from each other;
one giving possibly the genealogy of Christ's
reputed father Joseph, and the other that
of his mother Mary. The 2 lines descend
from Solomon and Nathan, David's sons ; .
they unite in Salathiel, and again in Christ.
Joseph was the legal father of Christ, and
of the same family connections with Mary ;
so that the Messiah was a descendant of
David both by law and "according to the
flesh." Another explanation is that both
evangelists give us the genealogy of Jo-
seph : Matthew, who wrote primarily for
the Hebrews, giving the line of loyal suc-
cession establishing Christ's claim to the
throne of David ; and Luke, who wrote for
Gentiles, tracing the natural descent of
Joseph and his adopted Son upwards to
Adam. The discrepancies between the
various genealogies may be reconciled in
accordance with peculiar Jewish laws, as,
for example, the laws of marriage pre-
scribed in Deut. 25:5; Num. 36:8. Had
they been false or contradictory, the ene-
mies of Christ would have refuted them
from the public records. These, which
Josephus says were scrupulously kept down
to his day, perished with the ruin of the
Jews as a nation. It is now, therefore, im-
possible for any pretended Messiah to prove
his descent from David.
Melchizedek was " without descent,"
Heb. 7:3, as regards the Jewish race. No
sacred records proved his right to be num-
bered among that people of God. His
priesthood was of a different kind from
that of Aaron and his sons. Compare Ezra
2:62.
GENERA'TION, the translation of a He-
brew word meaning a circle, and of anoth-
er Hebrew and a Greek word implying
successive births ; it is often used for peri-
ods of indefinite length, but usually denotes
the average duration of human life, now
currently reckoned as 30 years, but an-
ciently much longer. Gen. 15:16; Job 42 : 16 ;
Eccl. 1:4; Mctt. 1:17; ri:i6; Luke 1:48.
Another derived meaning is, a peculiar
breed or race of men, Prov. 30: 11-14 ; Isa.
GEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GEN
53:8; Matt. 3:7; 16:4; Luke 16:8; i Pet.
2:9. Still another use of the word is in
the sense of a genealogical register: the
origin and history of a person, family, or
thing; in Gen. 5:1, the history of Adam's
creation and his posterity; in Gen. 2:4, the
history of the creation of heaven and earth ;
in Matt. 1:1, the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the history of his descent and life ; in Matt.
24:34, the meaning is, some now livingshall
witness the initial fulfilment of the event
foretold; and in Acts 2:40, save yourselves
from the punishment which awaits these
perverse men.
GEN'ESIS, the ist book in the Old Tes-
tament, so called from the Septuagint title,
signifying "the book of the generation " or
creation of all things. The Hebrew title
is Bereshith, from its opening word, " In
the beginning." Moses is generally admit-
ted to have been the writer of this book,
after the promulgation of the law. Its au-
thenticity is attested by the most indispu-
table evidence, and it is cited as an inspired
record 33 times in the course of the Scrip-
tures. The history related in it comprises
a period of about 2,369 years, according to
the lowest computation, but according to
Dr. Hales, a much larger period. Begin-
ning with the sublime announcement of the
one only living and true God, it contains in
its first main division 11 chapters, the rec-
ord of events and institutions belonging to
the whole human race : an account of the
creation ; the primeval state, probation, and
fall of man ; the institution of the Sabbath
and of marriage ; the history of Adam and
his descendants, with the progress of reli-
gion and the origin of the arts ; the gene-
alogies, age, and death of the patriarchs
until Noah ; the general defection and cor-
ruption of mankind, the general deluge,
and the preservation of Noah and his fam-
ily in the ark ; the history of Noah and his
family subsequent to the time of the del-
uge; the repeopling and division of the
earth; the building of Babel, the confusion
of tongues, and the dispersion of mankind.
In the rest of the book general history gives
place to the special history of Abraham and
his chosen seed— that line of persons and
events in which the record of redemption
lies— down to the removal into Egypt. It
is a religious history, and was written, like
the rest of Scripture, " by inspiration of
God," with whatever immediate communi-
cations and direction He deemed neces-
sary. Yet many of the facts it records
must have been well known among the
Jews ; the account given by Adam himself
maj- have been orally transmitted through
7 of the patriarchs to Moses, and he may
also have had ancient historical writings
to consult. The book of Genesis lays the
foundation for all the subsequent books of
the Bible. Its prophecies are the germ of
all subsequent predictions. It is the most
ancient of human records, and its value in
the history of the earth, of man, and of re-
ligion, is inestimable.
From the varying use of the names of
God, Elohim and Jehovah, some critics
have inferred that Genesis was compiled
from a number of separate documents.
But whatever use Moses may have made
of previous writings — themselves perhaps
inspired — Genesis is certainly no loose and
careless compilation, but a carefully pre-
pared history, showing unity of plan and
purpose throughout, and leading on, in the
other books of the Pentateuch, to the estab-
lishment of the Israelitish Theocracy.
GENNES'ARET, garden of the prince,
now El Ghuweir, the little Ghor. A cres-
cent-shaped plain on the west shore of the
Sea of Galilee, about 3 miles long, from
Khan Minyeh on the north to Medjel on the
south, and over a mile wide. It is over-
looked by bare and rugged hills, and is
now mostly overgrown with thickets, but
in the time of our Lord was a lovely and
fertile region, producing a variety of fruits
the year round. It was the scene of many
of Christ's miracles, Matt. 14:34; Marie
6:53, and probably of the parable of the
sower, Matt. 13:1-8. Magdala lay at its
southern border. See Sea, IV.
GEN'TILES, nations. Gen. 10:5; 14:1.
including at times the Israelites them-
selves, Gen. 12:2; 35:11; Luke 7:5, but
generally signifying other nations in dis-
tinction from Israel — often with the implied
idea that they were idolaters and not the
favored people of God. Exod. 4:22 ; 19:4-6.
In the New Testament, owing to the prev-
alence of the Greek language, the term
" Greeks " is often used for Gentiles, inter-
changeably with " heathen " and " people,"
Acts 14:1; 17:4; Rom. 1:16; 2:9. Paul is
commonly called the apostle of the Gen-
tiles, Gal. 2:8; I Tim. 2:7, because he
preached Christ principally to them. Acts
13:46; whereas Peter preached generally
to the Jews, and is called the apostle of the
circumcision, Gal. 2:8. The Jews failed to
appreciate their nearness to God, Exod.
19:5,6; Psa. 147:19, 20; 148: 14; Rom. 3:1,
2, and his design to make them the means
TQ.S
GEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GES
of blessings to all nations, Gen. 22:18.
They were therefore " broken off" from
the olive-tree, that the Gentiles might be
"grafted in," Rom. 11:11-35. See also
Luke 21 :24.
Gentiles, Court of the. Josephus
says there was in the court of the temple a
wall or balustrade, breast high, having pil-
lars at regular distances, with inscriptions
on them in Greek and Latin, importing
that strangers were forbidden to approach
nearer to the altar, Eph. 2 : 14. See Tem-
ple.
Gentiles, Isles of the. Gen. 10:5, Asia
Minor and the whole of Europe, peopled
by the descendants of Japheth.
GENU'BATH, son of Hadad IV.
GE'RA, enmity, grandson of Benjamin,
Gen. 46:21; I Chr. 8:3. Perhaps the same
person mentioned in Judg. 3:15; 2 Sam.
16:5.
GE'RAH, a berry, the smallest Hebrew
weight or coin, one-twentieth of a shekel,
about i^i cents, Exod. 30:13.
GE'RAR, circle, a chief city of the Philis-
tines in the times of Abraham and Isaac,
near Beer-sheba, Gen. 10:19; 20:1; 26:1,6,
17, in a fertile region. Gen. 26:12. It is
mentioned in Asa's time, 2 Chr. 14:13, 14.
Conder identifies it with Tel-Jema, a huge
mound, with broken pottery, south of Khir-
bet el Gerar. See Abi.melech.
GERASENES', Mark 5:1; Luke 8 : 26
(R. v.). Gerasa was a city on the eastern
border of Peraea. Its ruins, now called
Jerash, are the finest east of the Jordan.
Its name and jurisdiction seem to have
reached 40 miles, to the scene of the mir-
acle referred to under Gadara. See also
GERGESENES', Matt. 8:28, where the
R. V. has Gadarenes. There are ruins
called by the Arabs Gersa, midway on the
eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which
probably mark the site of the ancient Ger-
gesa, and the exact scene of the miracle.
The ruins are but 40 feet from the w-ater,
and behind them rises a high and steep
hill, with ancient tombs in its side. See
Gadara.
GER'IZIM, a mountain in Ephraim, be-
tween which and Ebal lay the city of She-
chem, Judg. 9:7. The world has beheld
few scenes more aw^ful and suggestive than
when, having taken possession of Canaan,
all the Israelites were summoned to this
place, and 6 tribes were stationed on Mount
Gerizim to respond to the blessings pro-
nounced on those who should obev God's
law, and the other 6 on Mount Ebal to join
iq6
in denouncing curses on those who should
break it; while all the people solemnly
said, Amen, Deut. 11:29; 27:12-26; 28;
Josh. 8 : 30-35. See Ebal, Sa.maritans,
Shechem. Some .\merican travellers re-
cently stationed themselves, part on Ebal
and part on Gerizim, and read aloud in
turn the blessings and the curses. The
voices of each party were clearly heard on
the opposite mount.
GER'SHOM, a stranger there, the elder
of the 2 sons of Moses and Zipporah, in
Midian, Exod. 2:22; 18:3. Moses appears
to have given them no rank or emoluments
but those of simple Levites, i Chr. 23:14,
15. Another Gershom, a descendant of
Phinehas, is mentioned in Ezra 8:2. B. C.
459-
GER'SHON, banishment, called Gershom
in I Chr. except in 6:1; 23:6, the eldest of
Levi's 3 sons, from whom the 3 branches
of the Levitical tribe were named, Gen.
46:11; Exod. 6:16. The 2d son, however,
Kohath, had the honor of producing Moses,
Aaron, and the priestly line. Gershon's
sons were Libni and Shimi, Exod. 6:17,
I Chr. 6:17, 20, 21, 39-43, called Laadan and
Shimei in i Chr. 23:7-11. See also 2 Chr.
29:12, in the days of Hezekiah. Asaph,
the famous singer and seer, was of his line.
At the Sinai census the Gershonite males
numbered 7,500. They encamped west of
the tabernacle in the wilderness, and car-
ried its curtains and other parts from station
to station, Num. 3:17, 25; 4:24-28, 38-41,
marching in the rear of the first 3 tribes,
Num. 10: 17. Thirteen cities were assigned
to them in Northern Canaan, 2 being cities
of refuge. Josh. 21:6, 27-33; i Chr. 6:62,
71-76.
GE'SHEM, or Gash'mu, carcase, an Ara-
bian, who opposed the work of the Lord in
the time of Nehemiah, by ridicule and plots,
Neh. 2:19; 6:1-9; about 445 B. C.
GE'SHUR, a bridge. Gesh'uri, Gesh'i'-
RiTES, the name of a district and people in
Syria. Geshur lay upon the eastern side
of the Jordan between Bashan, Maachah,
and Mount Hermon, and within the limits
of the Hebrew territory ; but the Israelites
did not expel its inhabitants, Deut. 3:14;
Josh. 12:5; 13:13. They appear to have
been brought under tribute, i Chr. 2:23,
but to have retained their own kings. One
of David's wives, Maachah the mother of
Absalom, was daughter of Talmai king of
Geshur: and it was here that Absalom
found refuge after the murder of Amnon,
and remained 3 years with his grandfather,
GET
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GEZ
2 Sam. 3:3; 13:37; 15:8- The wild and
rocky region they occupied, called Argob,
in the New Testament Trachonitis, and
now El Lejah, refuge, is occupied by
fierce half-independent tribes, and is still
sometimes a refuge, as in Absalom's day. —
There was also a people of the same
name, possibly a branch, in the S3uth of
Palestine, near the Philistines, Josh. 13:2;
I Sam. 27:8.
GARDKN OF GKTHSEMANE, AND MOUNT OF OLIVES.
GETHSEM'ANE, oil-press, a garden or
olive-grove in the valley at the foot of the
Mount of Olives, over against Jerusalem,
to which our Saviour sometimes retired,
John 18:2, and in which he endured his
agony, and was betrayed by Judas, Matt.
26:36-57. Here he "trod the wine-press
alone," Isa. 63:3; Rev. 14:20, separated
from his disciples, and even the chosen 3,
taking into his hand the awful cup of sub-
stitution for the eternal sufferings of those
for whom he was to die, though his human
nature shrank from the ordeal, Isa. 53:4-6;
Heb. 5:7-9. Human sympathy failed him,
Isa. 53:3; Matt. 26:40, etc., but he was
strengthened by an angel, Luke 22:43. He
saw with composure the crowd with lant-
erns and torches following Judas down
from the city gate, and into the dark gar-
den. At his simple word, " I am he," they
" went backward and fell to the ground,'"
John 18:6. Compare Matt. 14:27; Rev.
1 : 18. He restored the ear of Malchus, and
gave himself "as a lamb to the slaugh-
ter."
The bloody sweat in the garden has been
proved to be an actual though rare phe-
nomenon. The anguish there endured, it
is thought, so weakened the heart of the
Redeemer that on the cross it actualh'
broke.
Tradition, as early as the visit of Helena
the mother of Constantine, A. D. 326, lo-
cates Gethsemane near the base of Mount
Olivet, beyond the brook Kidron. The
place now inclosed by a low stone wall
may be but a part of the original "garden."
It is about 52 yards square, and contains 7
or 8 aged olive-trees, whose roots in many
places project above the ground, and arc
protected by heaps of stones. It is the spot
which the Christian visitor at Jerusalem
first seeks out, and where he lingers lon-
gest and last ere he turns homeward. A
recent traveller. Professor Hackett, pass-
ing by Gethsemane one daV, saw a shep-
herd in the act of shearing a sheep. The
animal lay on the ground, with its feet
tied, the man's knee pressed rudely against
its side, while it seemed as if every move-
ment of the shears would lacerate its flesh ;
yet during the whole it struggled not and
opened not its mouth — a touching memen-
to, upon that sacred spot, of the Lamb of
God, Isa. 53:7.
GE'ZER, a precipice, a royal city of the
Canaanites, Josh. 10:33; 12:12, whose king,
going to help Lachish, was slain by Joshua ;
197
GEZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GIB
between lower Beth-horon and the Medit-
erranean, Josh. 16:3; afterwards on the
southwest border of Ephraim, and assigned
to the Kohathite Levites, Josh. 16:3; 21:21.
The Canaanites long remained in it under
tribute, Josh. 16:10; Judg. 1:29; and per-
haps became again independent, but were
dispossessed by a king of Egypt, who gave
the place to his daughter, the wife of Solo-
mon, I Kin. 9: 16. It is called Clob in 2 Sam.
21 : iX; compare i Chr. 20:4— a limit of Da-
vid's pursuit of the Philistines. Its site is
found at Tel el Djezer, smiles south by
west from Ramleh ; and near by is a hori-
zontal rock with an inscription in Greek
and Hebrew at least as old as 100 B. C,
marking "the limit of Gezer," Num. 35:5.
Two other similar inscriptions are found
not far off.
GEZ'RITES, rather Ger'zites, i Sam.
27:8, a tribe on the southwest border of
Palestine. Some scholars trace them back
to Mount Gerizim. They were rich in
Arabian treasures, i Sam. 27:9.
GHOST, the spirit or principle of life in
man. To "give up the ghost," is to die, to
yield the soul to God who gave it, Gen.
25:8; Luke 23:46. See Spirit.
GI'ANTS. It has long been supposed by
many that the first men were of a size and
strength superior to those of mankind at
present, since a long life is usually associ-
ated with a well-developed and vigorous
•frame. We know also that there were
•giants and families of giants, even after the
average length of human life was greatly
abridged. These, however, appear to have
been exceptions; and if we judge from the
mummie;s of Egypt, and from the armor
and implements of the earliest antiquity
found i:i ancient tombs, in bogs, and in
burier] cities, we must conclude that man-
hind never exceeded, in the average, their
present stature. There were, however,
giants befor^j the flood. Gen. 6: 1; fruits of
the union of prominent men of Sethitc fam-
ilies with heathen women, and extraordi-
nary in stature, power, and crime. After
the flood, mention is made of a race called
Rephaim, Gen. 14:5; 15:20; Josh. 17:15;
kindred with whom were the Emim, early
occupants of the land of Moab, and the
Zamzummim in Ammon, Deut. 2:10, 20.
<)g was one of the last of this race, Deut.
3:11. 13. West of the Dead Sea, around
and south of Hebron, lived the Anakim,
whose aspect so terrified the Hebrew spies,
Num. 13:28, 33; Josh. 11:21, 22. Of this
race were Goliath and his kindred, i Sam.
iq8
17:4; I Chr. 20:4-8. See Anakim, Goli-
ath, and Rephaim.
Giants, Valley of. See Rephaim.
GIB'BETHON, lofty place, a city of the
Philistines, within the bounds of the tribe
of Dan, and assigned to the Kohathite Le-
vites, Josh. 19:44; 21:23. The Philistines,
however, regained it, perhaps when Jero-
boam drove the Levites out of Israel, 2 Chr.
11:13, Hi and in the time of Nadab they
were its masters, and he was slain by Baa-
sha while besieging it, i Kin. 15:27. Omri
besieged it 23 years later, i Kin. 16: 15. Its
after history and its site are unknown.
GIB'EAH, hill, I., a city of Benjamin,
I Sam. 13:15, and the birthplace and resi-
dence of Saul king of Israel; whence it is
frequently called " Gibeah of Saul," i Sam.
10:26; 11:4; 15:34; 23: 19; 26:1 : Isa. 10:29;
and here 7 of his "sons" were sacrificed
in retribution for his wrongs to the Gibeon-
ites, 2 Sam. 21:1-14. Gibeon at an earlier
date, when " every man did what was right
in his own eyes," was the scene of a flagrant
crime, in the violence done to a young
Levite's wife, terribly punished by the de-
struction of nearly the whole tribe of Ben-
jamin, Judg. 19:20. The prophet Hosea,
5:8, 9; 9:9; 10:9, holds up Gibeah as a
warning; and Israel, unfaithful like the
woman at Gibeah, Judg. 19:2; Hos. 1:2;
9:17; 10:13, was destroyed also. See Prov.
1:31. Gibeah of Benjamin is further men-
tioned in the account of the Philistine wars
of Saul and Jonathan, i Sam. 13; 14. Its
ruins are found at Tuleil el-F(il, about 4
miles north by west from Jerusalem on
the way to Er-Ram.
II. A town in the hill country of Judah,
associated with Maon, Josh. 15:57, perhaps
the same as Gibea, i Chr. 2:49.
III. The place of the ark for a time after
its return by the Philistines, 2 Sam. 6:3, 4.
In I Sam. 7:1 the name is translated "the
hill." And there are numerous other pla-
ces where one is in doubt whether Gibeah
in the Hebrew means a town so called, or
simply a /////. Thus " the hill " or Gibeah
"of Phinehas," where Aaron's son Eleazar
was buried. Josh. 24:33, is now traced in
the narrow valley El-Jib, midway from Je-
rusalem to Shechem. See also Josh. 5:3;
Judg. 7:1; I Sam. 10:5; 23:19; 2 Sam. 2:24;
Jer. 31:39.
GIB'EATH, Josh. 18:28, perhaps Gibe-
ah, I.
GIB'EON, ///■// city, a considerable city of
the Hivites, afterwards a Levitical city in
the tribe of Benjamin, Josh. 18:25; 21:17.
GID
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GIH
It lay near Geba and Gibeah on the west.
Its Canaanite inhabitants secured a treaty
with Joshua and the elders of Israel by
stratagem, and were made hewers of wood
for the sanctuary. See Nethinim. Five
neighboring kings unitedly fell upon them,
but were defeated by Israel in a great
battle, during which " the sun stood still
upon Gibeon," Josh. 9 ; 10. Compare Isa.
28:21. Here the tabernacle was set up for
many years, though the ark was in Zion,
I Chr. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chr. 1:3, 4; and
here God communed by night with young
king Solomon, i Kin. 3:4-15; 2 Chr. 1:3-6.
It is also memorable for two scenes in the
lifeof Joab,2 Sam. 2:12-32. Compare 3: 27;
20:5-10. Saul's slaughter of the Gibeon-
ites, 2 Sam. 21:1, is not narrated, but its
chastisement — as a great crime before both
God and man. Here Ishmael was overta-
ken after his murder of Gedaliah, Jer. 41 : 2.
See also Neh. y-y; 7:25, on the return from
captivity. Its site is found in the village
El-Jib, 6^ miles from Jerusalem, on a hill
below which are the remains of a " pool "
120 feet by 100.
The phenomenon of the apparent stand-
ing still of the sun. Josh. 10, was easily
within the power of the Almighty, with all
its consequences. Yet some contend that
this is avowedly quoted from a poetical
book, ver. 13, and not intended to be un-
derstood literally. Compare Psa. 114:4.
Maimonides, a pious and learned Jew, un-
derstood the account to mean that Joshua
besought the Lord to give him a decisive
victory before the sun went down, and that
God granted his petition.
GiBLiTES, Josh. 13:5. See Gebal.
GID'EON, a hewer, the hewer down of
Baal, the 5th judge of Israel, and its deliv-
erer from the Midianites, B. C. 1249 to 1209.
He was the youngest son of Joash, family
of Abiezer, tribe of Manasseh, and lived at
Ophrah near Shechem. Israel was then
groaning under the hand of Midian, for its
sins; and in harvest-time the whole coun-
try was overrun and despoiled by preda-
tory hosts from beyond the Jordan. It was
" the Angel-Jehovah " who summoned Gid-
eon as a leader, commanded him to de-
stroy Baal's altar and the image of Ashto-
reth, "clothed" him with power — compare
I Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 24:20; Isa. 61 : 10— gave
him signs to confirm his faith, and aided
him in 3 battles to secure a complete release
from Midian for 40 years. He left -ji sons,
one of them a curse to Israel. See Abime-
LECH. In punishing the refractory cities
Succoth and Penuel, and the fratricides
Zebah and Zalmunna, in soothing the jeal-
ousy of the Ephraimites, and in declining
the crown offered him by the Jews, he
evinced those qualities which made him a
successful judge. In the matter of the
golden ephod, however, he fell into a sin
and a snare ; for this memorial of the won-
ders God had wrought became erelong an
object of idolatrous veneration, Judg. 6-8;
1 Sam. 12:11; Psa. 83:11; Isa. 9:4; 10:26;
Heb. II :32.
GIER (pron. jeer) -EAGLE, an unclean
bird. Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:17, the Egyptian
vulture, still found in all the ancient Bible
lands, about the size of a raven, filthy in
habits and offensive to the eye and nose,
but as a carrion bird very useful, and in
Egypt safe from harm and sacred to I sis.
See Vulture.
GIFTS, in all ages common in the East,
no important event passing without them.
The Hebrew has 15 different expressions
for the idea, specific, general, etc. : gifts
from an inferior, Judg. 3:15; i Kin. 10:25;
2 Chr. 17: II ; from a superior, 2 Sam. 19:42;
Esth. 2:18; complimentary. Gen. 33:11;
Judg. 1:15; to a judge, as a bribe, Exod.
23:8; to a conqueror, 2 Kin. 16:8 — the lat-
ter being often a compulsory tribute, or a
bid for favor, Psa. 68:29; 76:11; Isa. 18:7;
36:16. A prophet was wont to receive a
consulting fee, 1 Sam. 9:7; compare 12:3;
2 Kin. 5:5; 8:9. Presents were sent on any
joyful occasion, Esth. 9:19, 22; Acts 2:33,
with Eph. 4:8 ; and exchanged at weddings.
Gen. 24:22; 34:12; I Kin. 9: 16. An unusual
withholding of a gift was an insult, i Sam.
10:27; compare Prov. 23:26; Rom. 12:1;
and to refuse to accept a gift a great indig-
nity, Matt. 22:11. In the New Testament
"gifts" sometimes denotes the offerings
demanded in the law, Matt. 5:23, 24; the
blessings of the gospel. Acts 8:20; the
Christian graces, Eph. 4:8, 11; and mirac-
ulous endowments, i Cor. 12-14. See Cor-
B.\N, Tongues.
GI'HON, _s^itshing forth, I., one of the 4
rivers of Paradise ; as some suppose, the
Araxes, Gen. 2:13. See Eden and Eu-
phrates.
II. A place beside Jerusalem where Sol-
omon was anointed king, i Kin. 1:33, 38,
45, apparently at a lower level than Jeru-
salem. Compare 2 Chr. 33:14. The "wa-
ters" or fountain of Gihon Hezekiah cov-
ered in from his besiegers, and led into
the city on the west side, doubtless by a
subterranean channel, 2 Chr. 32:3, 4, 30.
199
GIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GIL
Compare 2 Kin. 20:20. Gihon has usually
been looked for on the west or northwest
side of Jerusalem, where is now the pool
called Mamilla, with water flowing by a
small conduit into the city. A section of
an ancient aqueduct was found running
from west to east 20 feet below the surface,
and may be a portion of Hezekiah's con-
duit. The pool Birket es-Sultan, in the
lower part of Hinnom, has been taken for
the lower Gihon ; but some reasons are
found for placing it on the east of the city,
at the pool of Siloam.
GILBO'A, a bubbling spring, a mountain
ridge in Issachar southeast of the plain of
Esdraelon, running 10 miles northwest and
southeast, having on each side a valley
connecting the great plain with the Jordan
valley. The valley northeast of Gilboa,
between it and the hill Moreh, Judg. 7:1, is
the proper Jezreel; that on the southwest
side separates Gilboa from the hills of Sa-
maria. On the eastern part of Ciilboa was
the town from which it was named, now
Jelbon. In this vicinity Saul and Jonathan
were defeated by the Philistines, and died,
I Sam. 28:4, 5; 31. It is now a dry and
barren mountain, 2 Sam. 1:6, 21. En-dor,
where Saul went the night before his death,
lay 7 or 8 miles away on the northern slope
of Moreh. Beth-shean, whither his body
was sent, lay at the- eastern opening of the
valley of Jezreel.
GIL'EAD, a hard, rocky region; I., a
mountainous tract adjoining the Jordan
valley on the east side of the river, e.xtend-
ing from Bashan on the north to Ammon
on the south, and sloping down the Ara-
bian plateau on the east. It is about 60
miles long and 20 in breadth. It is called
" Gilead," Gen. 37:25; Psa. 60:7; "the land
of Gilead," Num. 32 : i ; or " Mount Gilead,"
Gen. 31 :25. In a restricted sense the name
may have denoted onlj- the mountain range
a few miles south of the Jabbok, some 10
miles long from east to west, still called
Jebel JiVad, and on which are ruins called
Jil'ad. Jacob entered Gilead from the
northeast, beyond the Jabbok and Maha-
naim, CJen. 31:21-25; and by a play upon
the name, slightly changing its sound and
meaning, he called the spot G.\LKn:D, mound
of witness, ver. 45-48. At the conquest
Gilead was allotted to Gad and the half-
tribe of Manasseh, Deut. 3:12, 13, 16, 17;
Josh. 13:24-31. As a border land it was
e.xposed to the wandering tribes of Arabia,
and was somewhat isolated from Israel
west of the Jordan ; but Jephthah and Eli-
200
jah were Gileadites. Its mountains fur-
nished an asylum for refugees, i Sam. 13:7.
Here Ishbosheth made his headquarters,
2 Sam. 2:8; here David found refuge, 2 Sam.
17; and hither probably Christ twice with-
drew during his ministry, John 10:40. Here
too, in Pella, his followers found refuge
when Jerusalem was besieged.
Mount Gilead, like most of the land be-
yond Jordan and the Dead Sea, viewed
from the west across the Jordan depres-
sion stretches like a gigantic wall along
the horizon, in Gilead 2,000 or 3,000 feet
above the sea level. The surface is bro-
ken by many hills clothed with forests, the
soil is fertile, and the scener\' grand. It is
still "a land for cattle," and the Bedouins
value its rich pastures; but onlj* a small
portion is tilled. It was famous in early
ages for its spices and aromatic gums. Gen.
37:25; Jer. 8:22; 46:11. See Ramoth-Gil-
EAD.
II. The name of several men, Num.
26:29, 3a; Judg. 11: 1, 2; I Chr. 5:14.
GIL'GAL, a wheel, or rolling, I., a cele-
brated j)lace between the Jordan and Jeri-
cho, where the Israelites first encamped
after the passage of that river ; where also
they were circumcised, thus renewing their
covenant with God, which had been for-
feited by neglect, and kept their first Pass-
over in Canaan, Josh. 4:19; 5:2-12; Mic.
6:5. It continued to be the headquarters
of the Israelites for several years, while
Joshua was occupied in subduing the land,
Josh. 9:6; 10:6, 15, 43. A village was after-
wards built there, Josh. 15:7. Here the
tabernacle rested until its removal to Shi-
loh. Josh. 18: 1 ; here also, according to the
prevalent opinion, Samuel offered sacrifi-
ces, and held in turn his court as a judge
of Israel; and here Saul was recrowned,
1 Sam. 7:16; 10:8; 11:15; 13:7-9; 15:33-
Here the men of Judah met David on his
return to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 19:15, 40- At
this day no traces of it are found. Accord-
ing to Josephus, it lay \Vi miles east of
Jericho.
II. Another Gilgal lay near Antipatris,
Josh. 12:23.
III. A third was in the mountains of
Ephraim, north of Bethel, Deut. 11:30;
2 Kin. 2:1-6. A school of the prophets was
here established, 2 Kin. 4:38; and yet it
afterwards appears to have become a seat
of idolatrv, Hos. 4:15; Q^'S: 12:11; Amos
4:4; 5:5. This is probably the Beth-Gilgal
of Neh. 12:29, "o^^' represented by Jiljilieh,
5 miles from Bethel and 4 from Shiloh.
GIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GLA
GI'LOH, exile, a town in the hills of Ju-
dah, Josh. 15:51; 2 Sam. 15:12; 17:23.
GI'MEL, camel, Psa. 119, the 3d Hebrew
letter.
GIM'ZO, rich in sycatnores, a town in
Dan, captured by Philistines in the time of
Ahaz, 2 Chr. 28 : 18 ; now Jimzu, a village
one hour from Ludd on the road to Jeru-
salem from Joppa.
GIN, a trap; usually' a net or "snare,"
with an elastic stick to spring it, Isa. 8:14;
Amos 3:5. In Job 40:24, margin, the stick
or ring passed through the nose of an un-
ruly animal.
ANCIENT GIRDLES.
GIRD, GIR'DLE. The Orientals com-
monly dress in loose robes flowing down
about the feet ; so that when they wish to
run, or fight, or apply themselves to any
business, they are obliged to bind their
garments close around them with a sash
or girdle. See John 13:4, 5, 15. Hence it
was a symbol of strength and activity,
I Sam. 2:4; Job 12:18; Isa. 45:5; Jer. 13:11 ;
and "to have the loins girded," is to be
prepared for action or service, 2 Kin. 4:29 ;
Acts 12:8; to be waiting for the call or
coming of one's Master or Lord, Luke
12:35. A tightened girdle was also thought
to increase the power of endurance, and
the simile is used in exhortations to Chris-
tian courage and fortitude, Job 38:3; Jer.
1:17; Eph. 6:14; I Pet. 1:13. To have the
girdle loosed is to be unnerved and un-
prepared for action, Isa. 5:27; 11:5. Gir-
dles of leather were worn by the common
people; and also by prophets, 2 Kin. 1:8;
Matt. 3:4. Sashes were likewise made of
linen cloth, Jer. 13:1; also of silk, some-
times embroidered, Prov. 31:24 ("stom-
acher," Isa. 3:24); Dan. 10:5; Rev. 1:13;
15:6; and were used as presents, i Sam.
18:4; 2 Sam. 18:11. They were often wide
and long; and were folded lengthwise, and
passed several times around the body.
The girdle, moreover, answered the pur-
pose of a purse or pouch, to carry money
and other things; see Matt. 10:9; Mark
6:8, where the word purse is put for Cwv?7,
Greek, girdle. The Arabs and other Ori-
entals wear girdles in the same manner at
the present day ; they also carry a knife or
dagger stuck in them, as was also the cus-
tom of the Hebrews, i Sam. 25:13; 2 Sam.
20:8. Clerks carried their inkhorns, car-
penters their rules, etc., in the same way,
Ezek. 9:2. The girdles of the priests were
of exceedingly fine linen, worn over the
tunic, passing several times around the
body, and with the ends hanging down to
the feet, Exod. 28:4, 39, 40; 39:29; Lev.
16:4; Isa. 22:21. The " curious girdle " of
the high-priest was a part of the ephod
itself, Exod. 28:8; 39:5. See cuts in G.\r-
MKNTS.
GIR'GASHITES. See Canaanites.
GIT'TAH-HE'PHER,Josh. 19: 13, the same
as Gath-hepher.
GITTA'IM, two wine-presses, 2 Sam. 4:3,
a place occupied by Benjamites after th;
captivity, Neh. 11:33. Site unknown, but
northwest of Jerusalem.
GIT'TITES. See G.\TH and Obed-edom.
GIT'TITH, belonging to Gath. It proba-
bly denotes either a musical instrument or
a kind of music derived from Gath, where
David sojourned for a time during the per-
secution of Saul, I Sam. 27:1-7. The word
Gath also signifies in Hebrew a ivine-press.
Hence not a few have supposed that it de-
notes either an instrument or a melody
used in the vintage. It is prefixed to
Psalms 8, 81, 84, all of which require an
animated strain of music.
GLASS was well known to the ancients,
and no doubt to the Jews ; and the arts of
blowing, coloring, grinding, and cutting it
were familiar to the ancient Egyptians.
Images of glazed pottery and broken wine-
vases have been found in Egypt, dating as
far back as the Exodus; and the earliest
known specimen of transparent glass was
a bottle found bearing the name of Sargon,
700 B. C, and opaque glasses of many cen-
turies earlier. Glass does not appear to
have been used at that time for mirrors,
nor for windows, but for cups, bottles,
vases, ornaments, sacred emblems, etc. In
the New Testament glass is an emblem of
smoothness and brightness, and crystal of
transparency, Rev. 4:6; 15:2. The gold
201
GLE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
(iOA
of the New Jerusalem has the gem-like
brilliancy of translucent glass, Rev. 21:18,
21. (Jlass is probably alluded to in Job
28:17, where our English version has the
word crystal. See Looki.ng-c;l.\ssi;s.
GLEAN'ING, a right of the poor in har-
vest and vintage, under the Mosaic law,
Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19-21; Ruth 2.
Compare Judg. 8:2. Robinson often saw
women in Palestine beating out with a
stick small quantities of grain which they
had probably gleaned.
KITE : MILVUS EGVPTIUS.
GLEDE, a kind of hawk or kite, Deut.
14: 13, an unclean bird of prey.
GLO'RY, the distinctive excellence of
any person or thing and its manifestation.
The glory of Lebanon was in its trees, Isa.
60:13; the glory of a man is the soul, or
often the tongue, the soul's organ, Psa.
16:9; 30:12, margin; 57:8; 108:1; Acts
2:26. The glory of God denotes his divine
perfections disclosed to his creatures, Exod.
33:18, 19; Psa. 63:2; Hab. 2:14; often with
a visible effulgence betokening his special
presence, Exod. 16:7, 10; 24:9, 10, 16, 17;
40:34; I Kin. 8:11; Psa. 80:1; Acts 7:2.
God's glory is revealed in all his works of
creation and providence, Psa. 19'. i; Isa.
6:3; Ezek. 28:22; Rom. 1:19, 20, 23; but
above all in Christ and redemption, John
1:14; 2:11; 2 Cor. 4:6; Heb. 1:3 — where
the word " brightness " means not a reflect-
ed lustre, but the outflowing "effulgence"
of the Father's glory. The chief end of
the Christian is to live to the glory of God,
I Cor. 6:20; I Pet. 2:9, showing forth his
praise by obeying his law. Matt. 5:16; John
17:4; I Cor. 10:31. Contrast Rom. 1:21.
The adjuration, " Give (iod the glory,"
means, confess the truth in view of his
omniscience, Josh. 7:19; John 9 : 24. Glory
is sometimes expressive of the heavenly
state of Christ and believers, i Tim. 3:16;
I Pet. 5: 10.
GNAT, a small 2-winged insect, a mos-
quito. Matt. 23:24; where read, as in the
first English translations, "Ye strain ok/ a
gnat." Filtering wine, for fear of swallow-
ing an insect and becoming ceremonially
unclean. Lev. 11:23, is applied to those
who are superstitiously anxious in avoiding
small faults, yet do not scruple to commit
great sins.
GO ABOUT, seek or endeavor, John 7: 19,
20; Acts 9:29; Rom. 10:3.
GO BEYOND, I Thess. 4:6, overreach.
GO TO, an exhortation, Gen. 11 : 3, 4, 7,
or a call for attention, Eccl. 2:1 ; Isa. 5:5;
Jas. 4:13; 5:1.
GOAD, ox-goad, Judg. 3:31, a pole 6 or 8
feet long with a sharp point at one end, to
stimulate and guide the oxen, Eccl. 12:11,
and a chisel-like iron at the head for clear-
ing the ploughshare, cutting roots, etc.
See Plough ; also Shamgar ; and compare
Judg. 5:8; I Sam. 13:19-22. In .Acts 26:14
the word pricks is used for goads in the
A. v., also in Acts 9:5, where the clause is
omitted in the R. V., not being found in
the Greek MSS. Contrast Matt. 11:29.
SYRIAN goat: CAPRA MAMBRICA.
GOATS formed an important part of the
pastoral wealth of the East, Gen. 15:9;
27:9; 30; 31; 32:14; ^7-3^'^ and were
raised by the Israelites in Canaan and
Egypt, Exod. 12:5; I Sam. 25:2; and by
the surrounding nomadic tribes, 2 Chr.
17:11; Ezek. 27:21. They were regarded
as clean for sacrifice, Exod. 12:3; Lev.
3:12; Num. 15:27; and their milk and the
GOA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GOD
young kids were much used for food, Deut.
14:4; Judg. 6:19; Prov. 27:27; Luke 15:29.
The common leather bottles were made of
their skins. Goat-skins were used for
kneading-cloths, Exod. 12:34; and were
worn as clothing by the poor, ascetics,
mourners, and prophets, i Kin. 21:27; ^sa.
20:2; Heb. 11:37; Rev. 6:12; but goats'
hair was woven into outer garments, and
was the common covering for tents, Exod.
26 : 7 ; 35:6; Song 1:8, that used for the tab-
ernacle being specially fine, Exod. 25:4;
35:26. Several kinds of goats were kept in
Palestine : one kind having long silky hair,
like the Angora, Song 4:1; 6:5, and anoth-
er, long and broad ears. This kind is prob-
ably referred to in Amos 3:12, and is still
the common goat of Palestine. For many
bian Ibex or Beden, a large and vigorous
animal still found in the mountains in the
peninsula of Sinai, and east and south of
HEAD OF THK S^R1A.N GOAT.
sacrifices goats and kids were as accepta-
ble as sheep and lambs. For one, on the
Day of Atonement, goats exclusively could
be used, Lev. 16:5-28. See Expiation. A
kid of the goats was the prescribed sin-
offering on various occasions. Num. 28:11-
31; 29:1-38. The he-goat, leader of the
flock, Prov. 30:31; Jer. 50:8, symbolizes
leaders in wickedness, Isa. 14:9: Zech.
10:3. Compare Ezek. 34:17; Matt. 25:32,
33. Sa'ir, the shaggy goat of the sin-
oflfermg, Lev. 9:15; Ezek. 43:25, is trans-
lated "hairy" in. Gen. 27:11, 23; "rough"
in Dan. 8:21; " devils " in Lev. 17:7; 2 Chr.
11:15; "satyrs" in Isa. 13:21; 34:14. A
one-horned he-goat was an acknowledged
symbol of the Macedonian empire, Dan.
8:5. See Wild-goat.
Wild-goats are mentioned in i Sam.
24:2; Job 39:1; Psa. 104:18; Prov. 5:19,
A. V. "roe." This is doubtless the Ara-
the Dead Sea. These goats are very simi-
lar to the bouquetin or chamois of the Alps.
They feed in flocks of a score or two, with
one of their number acting as a sentinel.
At the slightest alarm they are gone in an
instant, darting fearlessly over the rocks,
and falling on their horns from a great
height without injury. Their horns are 2
or 3 feet long, and are used by the Arabs
for bottles and cut into knife-handles, etc.
For Scape-goat, see Expiation.
GOB, a pit, 2 Sam. 21 : 18, 19, called Gezer
in I Chr. 20:4; the scene of 2 battles be-
tween David's heroes and the Philistines.
Some copies of the Septuagint and the
Syriac have Gath in 2 Samuel. Compare
2 Sam. 21:20; I Chr. 20:6.
GOD. This name, the derivation of which
is uncertain, we give to that eternal, infi-
nite, perfect, and incomprehensible Being,
the Creator of all things, who preserves
and governs all by his almighty power and
wisdom, and is the only proper object of
worship. In our Scriptures God is the
translation of various Hebrew and Greek
words: i. El, the mighty one. Gen. 14:18;
16:13; 17:1, etc. 2. Elohim, Deut. 32:15:
Neh. 9:17, etc., the plural form of the word
Eloah (used in Job and Daniel), expressing
the excellence and majesty of the true God.
3. Jehovah, Lord— printed God in the
Bible when preceded by another Hebrew
word translated Lord. 4. The Greek The-
os. 5. The Greek KuRios, Acts 19:20,
203
GOD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GOL
usually translated Lord. All these words
except Jehovah are in some cases applied
to idols as well as to the true God. Other
Hebrew names applied to the Deity but
not translated (}od, are Elyon, "the Most
High," Gen. 14:22; Shaddai, "the Al-
mighty," Gen. 17: 1 ; Adonai, " Lord." The
proper Hebrew name for God is JEHO-
VAH, which signifies Nc is. But the Jews,
from a feeling of reverence, avoided pro-
nouncing this name, substituting for it,
wherever it occurs in the sacred text, the
word Adonai, Lord ; except in the expres-
sion Adonai Jehovah, Lord Jekovah, for
which they put Adonai Elohim, Lord God.
This usage, which is not without an ele-
ment of superstition, is very ancient, da-
ting its origin some centuries before Christ ;
but there is no good ground for assuming
its existence in the days of the inspired
Old Testament writers. The word Jeho-
vah occurs in the stone record set up by
king Mesha, which proves that this name
of the Hebrews' God was not then un-
known to foreigners. Compare Josh. 2:9,
10. In Exod. 3:14, God replies to Moses,
when he asks Him his name, I am that I
AM ; which implies the eternal self-exist-
ence of Jehovah, and his incomprehensible
nature. The name I am means the same
as Jehovah, the first person being used
instead of the third. According to De-
litzsch the primitive name was Jah or Jahu,
as it usually appears in compound names.
The Bible assumes and asserts the exist-
ence of God, " In the beginning God ere:
ated the heavens and the earth;" and is
itself the most illustrious proof of his ex-
istence, as well as our chief instructor as
to his nature and will. It puts a voice
into the mute lips of creation ; and not
only reveals God in his works, but illus-
trates his ways in providence, displays the
glories of his character, his law, and his
grace, and brings man into true and sa-
ving communion with him. It reveals him
to us as a Spirit, the only being from ever-
lasting and to everlasting by nature, un-
derived, infinite, perfect, and unchangea-
ble in power, wisdom, omniscience, omni-
presence, justice, holiness, truth, goodness,
and mercy. He is but one CKid, and yet
exists in 3 persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit; and this distinction
of the Three in One is, like his other attri-
butes, from everlasting. He is the source,
owner, and ruler of all beings, foreknows
and predetermines all events, and is the
eternal judge and arbiter of the destiny of
204
all. True religion has its foundation in
the right knowledge of God, and consists
in supremely loving and faithfully obeying
him. See Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit,
Trinity.
GOD'LINESS, ri^ht reverence and wor-
ship. It denotes the spirit that gives God
his due supreme place in the heart and life.
Gen. 5:22, 24; Psa. 12:1; Mic. 6:8; Mai.
2:15; I Tim. 4 : 7, 8 ; 2 Pet. 1:6. In i Tim.
3:16, "the mystery of godliness" means
the substance of revealed religion, the
" mystery " revealed in the incarnation and
work of Christ, who is the Object of the
faith of the godly, and the Life of their
obedience. In i Tim. 6:5, read, "sup-
posing that godliness is a wav of gain,"
R. V.
GODS. The words god and gods, He-
brew Elohim, are several times used in
Scripture to express the power, office, or
excellence of some created beings, as an-
gels, magistrates, Exod. 22:20, 28; Psa.
86 : 8 ; 97 : 7 ; often also for the false gods of
the heathen. These were exceedingly nu-
merous, and are denoted by various terms,
signifying vanity, falsehood, etc. Among
the first objects to be deified were the sun,
the moon, and the chief powers of nature.
Innumerable animals, deceased men, all
ages, passions, and conditions of man, and
everything which fear, lust, malice, pride,
or caprice could suggest, were made ob-
jects of worship. The gods of modern
India are numbered t)y millions.
GOD SPEED, 2 John 10, 11, A. V., good
speed, as in (ien. 24:12, a cordial greeting,
"speed " meaning prosperity.
GOG and MAGOG are usually spoken of
together in Scripture. In Gen. 10:2, Ma-
gog, which seems to denote a country with
its people, is reckoned among the descend-
ants of Japheth. In Ezek. 38 ; 39, Magog
apparently signifies a country with its peo-
ple, and Gog the king of that people, prob-
ably the Scythians or the barbarous tribes
north of the Caucasus. They reappear in
the later predictions of John as enemies of
the people of God, who are to be signally
overthrown. Rev. 20:7-9.
GO'LAN, exile, or circle, a city of Bashan,
Deut. 4:43; assigned to Manasseh and to
the Gershonite Levites, one of the 3 cities
of refuge east of the Jordan, Josh. 20:8;
21:27; I Chr. 6:71. Its site is now un-
known. It became the head of the prov-
ince named after it Gaulonitis, now JaulSn,
See Bashan.
GOLD, known and valued from the ear-
GOL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GOS
liest times, Gen. 2:11, 12; found in many
parts of the world, and obtained anciently
in Ophir, Job 28:16; Parvaim, 2 Chr. 3 :6;
Arabia, 2 Chr. 9:14; Sheba, and Raamah,
Ezek. 27 : 22. Job alludes to gold in vari-
ous forms, Job 22 : 24 ; 28 ; 15-19. Abraham
was rich in it, and ornaments were early
made of it. Gen. 13:2; 24 : 22, 35. It is spo-
ken of throughout Scripture ; and the use
of it among the ancient Hebrews, in its na-
tive and mixed state, and for the same pur-
poses as at present, was very common, as
well as among other nations, Esth. 1:6;
Dan. 3:1; Nah. 2:9. It was not coined
among the Jews until the time of Judas
Maccabaeus, but was weighed in exchange.
Gen. 43 : 21. In the days of David and Sol-
omon it was plentiful, i Kin. 10; 2 Chr.
1:15; 9:1,9, 13-24. In Job 22 : 25, for " de-
fence " read "gold," as in ver. 24. The
ark of the covenant was overlaid with pure
gold ; the mercy-seat, the vessels and uten-
sils of the tabernacle and temple were all
of gold, Exod. 38:24; I Chr. 22:14; 29:4, 7;
2 Chr. 3; 4.
GOLD'SMITH, Neh. 3:8, 32; Isa. 40:19;
41:7; 46:6; literally a founder or finer.
Compare Mai. 3:2, 3. Metallurgic pro-
cesses are also mentioned, Prov. 17:3;
27:21. The Scriptures refer to the work
of Egyptian goldsmiths, and the sculptures
of Thebes and Beni-hassan depict their
processes and the beautiful results.
GOL'GOTHA, the Hebrew name for Cal-
vary, which see.
GOLI'ATH, exile, a celebrated giant of
Gath, who challenged the armies of Israel,
and was encountered and slain by David.
The history is contained in i Sam. 17. His
height was gl4 feet; or, if we reckon the
cubit at 21 inches, over 11 feet. He was
one of 5 sons of a giant, margin Rapha, of
Gath, Josh. 11:21, 22; see Anakim and
Rephaim; 2 Sam. 21:15-22; i Chr. 20:4-8.
See Giants.
GO'MER, compleiion, I., Gen. 10:2, 3;
I Chr. 1:5; Ezek. 38:6, a son of Japheth^
and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and To-
garmah. He is generally believed to have
settled the northern shores of the Black
Sea, and given name to the ancient Cim-
merians and to the Crimea. About 700
B. C. a part of his posterity ravaged Asia
Minor for a time. Traces of his name and
parentage are also found in the Cimbri,
Umbri, and Cambri of historians, in Cymry
and Kumeraeg, the names of the Welsh
people and language, among the Gaels of
Ireland and Scotland. Yet some ethnolo-
gists regard this identification of the Cimbri
with the Cimmerians and the Celtic race as
baseless, except the similarity of names.
II. A harlot whom the prophet Hosea
appears to have married in prophetic vis-
ion, as directed by God, that Israel might
be led to reflect on the guilt of their spirit-
ual uncleanness or idolatry, Hos. i.
GOMOR'RAH, subt>iersion, one of the cit-
ies in the fruitful vale of Siddim, near the
southern part of the ancient Dead Sea,
miraculously blasted by God. See Sodom.
GOOD'MAN, Luke 12 : 39, " master," as in
Matt. 10:25, or "householder," as in Matt.
13:27; also Prov. 7:19.
GO'PHER, the wood of which Noah's ark
was built. Many suppose it to be the cy-
press, which abounded in Assyria. Others
take Gopher to be a general name for res-
inous trees, as the cedar, cypress, fir, and
pine, Gen. 6: 14.
GO'SHEN, I., the tract of country in
Egypt inhabited by the Israelites from the
time of Jacob to that of Moses. It was
probably the tract lying east of the Pelu-
sian arm of the Nile, towards Arabia, the
modern district Esh-Shurkiyeh, including
the valley et-Tumeylat. See Egypt. It
appears to have reached to the Nile, Exod.
1:22; 2:3, since the Jews ate fish in abun-
dance, Num. 1 1 :5, and practised irrigation,
Deut. 11:10. It was near Heliopolis and
Rameses, and not far from the capital of
Egypt, Gen. 45: 10; 47:11; Exod. S-12. It
was a part of "the best of the land," at
least for the pastoral Hebrews, Gen. 46:34,
and was evidently better watered and more
fertile than at present. Here they greatly
multiplied and prospered. Gen. 47:27;
Exod. 1:7, and here they were sorely af-
flicted, and yet not forgotten of God, Exod.
8 : 22 ; 9 : 26. Many Egyptians dwelt among
and around them, Exod. 11:2; 12:12, 13,
22, 23, and the Hebrews more or less ac-
quired the arts of Egyptian civilization,
Exod. 31:1-11; 35:10, 30-35; Acts 7:22.
The railroad from Cairo to Suez makes a
northern curve through Goshen, and the
fresh water canal on the west bank of the
Suez canal traverses it in going from the
Nile at Cairo to Ismailia. See Pharaoh.
II. A district in Southern Palestine, ap-
parently on the border of the hill country,
perhaps adjacent to III.
III. A city in the mountains of Judah,
Josh. 15:51; not identified.
GOS'PEL s'\gn\f\es ffood news, and is that
revelation and dispensation which God has
made known to guilty man through Jesus
205
GOS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GOS
Christ our Saviour and Redeemer. Scrip-
ture speaks of " the gospel of the king-
dom," Matt. 24 : 14, the gos])el " of the grace
of (iod," Acts 20:24, "of Christ," and "of
peace," Rom. i :i6; 10:15. I^ 's the "glo-
rious " and the " everlasting " gospel, i Tim.
i:ii; Rev. 14:6, and well merits the no-
blest epithets that can be given it. The
declaration of this gospel was made through
the life and teaching, the death, resurrec-
tion, and ascension of our Lord.
The writings which contain the recital of
our Saviour's life, miracles, death, resur-
rection, and doctrine are called gospels,
because they include the best news that
could be published to mankind. We have
4 canonical gospels — those of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. These have not
only been generally' received, but they were
received very earlj^ as the standards of
evangelical history, as the depositories of
the doctrines and actions of Jesus. They
are appealed to under that character both
by friends and enemies ; and no writer
impugning or defending Christianity ac-
knowledges anj' other gospel as of equal
or concurrent authority, although there
were many others which purported to be
authentic memoirs of the life and actions
of Christ. Some of these apocryphal gos-
pels are still extant. They contain many
errcjrs and legends, but have some indirect
value.
There appears to be valid objection to
the idea entertained by many, that the
evangelists copied from each other or from
an earlier and fuller gospel. Whether
Mark wrote with the gospel by Matthew
befc^re him. and Luke with Matthew and
Mark both, or not, we know that they
"spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost" while recounting the works and
sayings of Christ which they had seen or
knew to be true, using no doubt the most
authentic written and oral accounts of the
same current among the disciples. They
have not at all confined themselves to the
strict order of time and place.
Gosi'Ei, OF Matthew. The time when
this gospel was written is very uncertain.
All ancient testimony, however, goes to
show that it was published before the oth-
ers. It is believed by many to have been
written about A. D. 38, bv others between
50 and 60. It has been much disputed
whether this gospel was originally written
in Hebrew or Greek. The unanimous tes-
timony of ancient writers is in favor of a
Hebrew original, tloat is, that it was writ-
206
ten in the language of Palestine and for
the use of the Hebrew Christians. But, on
the other hand, the definiteness and accu-
racy of this testimony is drawn into ques
tion ; there is no historical notice of a trans-
lation into Greek; and the present Greek
gospel bears many marks of being an orig-
inal; the circumstances of the age, too,
and the prevalence of the Greek language
in Palestine, seem to give weight to the
opposite hypothesis. Critics of the great-
est name are arranged on both sides of the
question: and some who believe it to have
been first written in Hebrew, think that
the author himself afterwards made a Greek
version. Matthew writes as " an Israelite
indeed," a guileless converted Jew instruct-
ing his brethren. He often quotes from
the Old Testament. He represents the
Saviour as the fulfilment of the hopes of
Israel, the promised Messiah, King of the
" kingdom of heaven " — which e.xpression
he commonly uses where the other evange-
lists speak of the " kingdom of God."
Gospel of M.^^rk. Ancient writers agree
in the statement that Mark, not himself an
apostle, wrote his gospel under the influ-
ence and direction of the apostle Peter.
The same traditionary authority, though
with less unanimity and evidence, makes
it to have been written at Rome, and pub-
lished after the death of Peter and Paul.
Mark wrote primarily for the Gentiles, as
appears from his frequent explanations of
Jewish customs, etc. He e.xhibits Christ
as the divine Prophet, mighty in deed and
word. He is a true evangelical historian,
relating facts more than discourses, in a
concise, simple, rapid style, with occasional
minute and graphic details. One of his
peculiarities is his use of the (Jreek word
translated "straightway," "immediately,"
"anon," etc., which occurs 40 times, more
than in the other 3 gospels together.
Gospel of Luke. Luke is said to have
written his gospel under the direction of
Paul, whose companion he was on many
journeys. His e.xpanded views and cath-
olic spirit resemble those of the great apos-
tle to the Gentiles ; and his gospel repre-
sents Christ as the compassionate Friend
of sinners, the Saviour of the world. It
appears to have been written primarily for
Theophilus, some noble Greek or Roman,
and its date is generally supposed to be
about A. D. 63.
Gospel of John. The ancient writers
all make this gospel the latest. It was
probably written at Ephesus, some time
GOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GRA
after the destruction of Jerusalem. Out of
33 miracles of Christ it records 7, only one
of them related by the other evangelists ;
and out of 30 parables he records none.
The gospel of John reveals Christ as the
divine and divinely-appointed Redeemer,
the Son of God manifested in flesh. It is
a spiritual rather than historical gospel,
omitting many things chronicled by the
other evangelists, and containing much
more than they do as to the new life in the
soul through Christ, union with him, regen-
eration, the resurrection, and the work of
the Holy Spirit. The spirit of the " disci-
ple whom Jesus loved " pervades this pre-
cious gospel. It had a special adaptation
to refute the Gnostic heresies of that time,
but is equally fitted to build up the church
of Christ in all generations. Among his
characteristic e.\pressions are " abide " and
"bear witness," which occur 40 and 30
times in this gospel.
GOURD. It has been supposed that Jo-
nah's gourd was the Ricinus Communis,
or castor-oil plant. It grows in the East
with great rapidity, to the height of 8 to 12
feet, and one species much higher. Its
leaves are large, and have 6 or 7 divisions,
like a hand with outspread fingers, whence
THE CASTOR-OIL PLANT.
its name of Palma Christi. Since, how-
ever, it is now known that in the vicinity of
the ancient Nineveh a plant of the gourd
kind is commonly trained to run over struc-
tures of mud and brush, to form booths in
which the gardeners may protect them-
selves from the terrible beams of the Asi-
atic sun, this goes far to show that this vine,
called in the Arabic ker'a, is the true gourd
of Jonah. If the e.xpression, " which came
up in a night," Jonah 4:10, is to be under-
stood literally, it indicates that God " pre-
pared " the gourd, ver. 6, by miraculously
quickening its natural growth. The Ori-
ental gourd grows rapidly, forms a dense
shade, flourishes best in extreme heat, and
quickly withers when injured.
The WILD GOURD is a poisonous plant,
conjectured to mean the colocynth, which
has a cucumber-like vine, with several
branches, and bears a fruit of the size and
color of an orange, with a hard, woody
shell, within which is the white meat or
pulp, e.xceedingly bitter, and a drastic pur-
gative, 2 Kin. 4:39. It was very inviting
to the eye, and furnished a model for the
carved and molten " knops " in Solomon's
temple, i Kin. 6:18; 7:24.
GOVERNOR, Jas. 3:4, pilot.
GO'ZAN, the district, Isa. 37: 12, to which
Tiglath-pileser, and afterwards Shalmane-
ser and Sargon, carried the captive Israel-
ites, 2 Kin. 17:6; I Chr. 5:26. Identified
by some with the modern Kizzil-ozan, a
river flowing from Kurdistan into the Cas-
pian Sea ; but by Rawlinson and others
with Gauzanitis in Northern Mesopotamia
on the river Habor, now Khabur, an afflu-
ent of the Euphrates.
GRACE, favor, mercy. Divine grace is
the free and undeserved love and favor of
God towards man as a sinner, especially
as exhibited in the plan of redemption
through Jesus Christ, John 1:17; 3:16;
Rom. 3:24-26. It is only by the free grace
of God that we embrace the offers of mercy,
and appropriate to ourselves the blessings
graciously purchased by redeeming blood.
The " GR.A.CE OF God." spontaneous, un-
merited, self-directed, and almighty, is the
source of the whole scheme of redemption,
Rom. 11:6; 2 Tim. 1:9. With it are united
"the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," who
gave himself for sinners ; and that of " the
Spirit of grace," by whom alone the grace
offered by the Father and purchased by
the Son is effectually applied. Thus grace
in man, or all true holiness, 2 Pet. 3:18, is
traced up to the grace of God as its only
source ; and the gospel of Christ and the
work of the Spirit— both pure grace— are its
only channels of communication. Hence
207
GRA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GRE
also all the fruits and blessings of the gos-
pel are termed graces, 2 Cor. 8:7; Phil.
1:7; not only regeneration, pardon, en-
lightenment, sanctitication, etc., but mirac-
ulous, official, and prophetic gifts, the pe-
culiar traits of Christian character, and
everlasting salvation, i Pet. i : 13. In Gal.
5:4 "grace" means God's plan of salva-
tion by his mercy, not by our works.
GRA'CIOUS, Prov. 11:16; Jer. 22 : 23 ; com-
plaisant and winning.
GRAIN. See Corn.
GRAPES, the fruit of the vine. The
grapes of Palestine were very fine, of great
size and high flavor, Num. 13:24. At pres-
ent, and probably the same has always
been true, the wine that is made requires
but a small part of the annual yield of the
vines. Dr. Robinson says, " No wine is
made from the very extensive vineyards
of Hebron, e.xcept a little by the Jews."
While yet green, grapes are used for food
in various ways ; and are dried in the sun,
or their juice preserved in bottles, to secure
a pleasant vegetable tart all the year round.
Num. 6:4. Ripe grapes may be had in
Syria 4 or 5 months. Lev. 26:5; and when
the season closes many are hung up in
clusters, suitably protected, and remain
without drying up all through the winter.
Grapes are exceedingly cheap, and form
no small part of the ordinary food. Ripe
grapes are also dried into raisins ; and
after the hanging grapes are gone, the rais-
ins are used until the return of the new
grapes. The expressed juice is boiled
down to a syrup called dibs, much used as
a condiment by all classes.
Besides the law which protected the first
3 years' growth of the vine (see First-
fruits), there \yas another law requiring
the Jews to leave the gleanings of their
vineyards for the poor, Lev. 19: 10, 23. The
law also allowed one who was passing a
vineyard to pick a few grapes to eat on the
spot, but not to carry any awa\', Deut. 23 : 24.
Everywhere we encounter proofs of the
admirable humanity that characterized the
Mosaic legislation. A vineyard nearly
stripped of its clustered treasures was a
frequent image of desolation, Isa. 17:6;
24:13; Obad. 5. See Vine.
" Wild grapes " were the fruit of a wild
vine, probably the Vitis Labrusca of Lin-
naeus, the wild claret-grape. The fruit of
the wild vine is called oenanthes, or the
flower of wine. They never ripen, and are
good only for verjuice. In Isa. 5:2. 4 God
complains of his people whom he had plant-
208
ed as a choice vine, an excellent plant, that
he had a right to require of them good
fruit, but they had brought forth only wild
grapes— fruit of a bad smell and a bad
taste.
GRASS sometimes means any green herb-
age, Isa. 15:6, and sometimes the usual
food of cattle, Psa. 104:14. The quick
growth of grass, its tenderness, and its
rapid combustion when dry, have furnished
the sacred writers with some of their most
appropriate illustrations, Psa. 90:5,6; 92:7;
103:15, 16; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:12; Jas. 1:10;
I Pet. 1:24. All sorts of grass and small
shrubs are still used in Syria for fuel, on
account of the scarcity of wood. Matt. 6:28-
30. Travellers in that country often see
grass growing on the housetops, the roofs
being flat and coated with earth trodden
hard. Such grass quickly withers when
the rainy season is over, Psa. 129:6, 7,
where the rendering should be, " before it
is plucked up," Isa. 37:27.
GRASS'HOPPER, a kind of locust, and
so called in 2 Chr. 7: 13. It was sometimes
used for food, Lev. 11:22. Individually
thej' are insignificant and timid creatures,
Num. 13:33, and their worthlessness fur-
nishes a striking comparison in Isa. 40:22 ;
while the feebleness of age is expressed
by its inabilitj' to endure them, Eccl. 12:5.
Yet coming in great numbers they are de-
structive to all herbage, Amos 7:1. See
Locust.
GRAVE, Isa. 22:16, to excavate.
GREAVES, I Sam. 17:6, armor for the
legs.
GREECE, in the Old Testament, is put
for the Hebrew word Javan, which is equiv-
alent to Ionia, and seems to include not
only Greece but Western Asia Minor and
the intervening isles, all settled by the
Ionian race, (ien. 10:2. Greece proper,
however, is chiefly intended. See Javan.
In the New Testament Greece is usually
spoken of as Achaia, but is once called
Hellas, a name supposed to have belonged
first to a single city is Thessaly, but at
length applied to the whole country south
of Macedonia, including the Peloponnesus,
Acts 20:2. About B. C. 146 the Romans
conquered Greece, and afterwards organ-
ized 2 great provinces, namely, Macedonia,
including Macedonia proper, Thessaly, Ep-
irus, and Illyricum ; and Achaia, including
all the country which lies south of the for-
mer province. See Achaia. Greece was
bounded north by Macedonia and Illyri-
cum, from which it was separated by moun-
GRE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
GRI
tains, south by the Mediterranean Sea, east
by the ^gean Sea, and west by the Ionian
Sea. It was generally known under the 3
great divisions of Peloponnesus, Hellas,
and Northern Greece.
Peloponnesus, more anciently called Pe-
lasgia, and Argos, and now the Morea, was
the southern peninsula ; it included the
famous cities Sparta, Messene, Elis, Cor-
inth, Argos, etc. The division of Hellas,
which now constitutes a great part of Liva-
dia, included the following cities : Athens,
Megara, Plattea, Delphos, and Actium.
Northern Greece included Thessaly and
Epirus, with the cities Larissa, Nicopolis,
etc. The large islands of Crete and Eu-
boea belonged to Greece, as well as most
of those in the Archipelago and on the
west.
The Greeks purchased Jewish captives
as slaves from the Tyrians, Joel 3:6 (about
800 B. C). Compare Ezek. 27: 13. Daniel
foretold the rise of the Macedonian-Gre-
cian empire, Dan. 7:6; 8:5,21. Zechariah,
9:13, predicted the Maccabees' triumphs
over their Graeco-Syrian oppressors ; and
Isaiah, 66:19, speaks of future Jewish mis-
sionaries to Javan, a prophecy fulfilled in
the witness of the Jews against polj'theism,
and the labors of Jewish gospel missiona-
ries on Grecian soil. See Javan.
The Jews and the Greeks appear to have
had little intercourse with each other until
after Ale.xander the Great overran Egypt,
Syria, and the East. They then began to
come in contact everywhere, for both races
were widely dispersed. The Jews extend-
ed the name of Greeks (Hellenes) to in-
clude the people conquered and ruled by
Greeks ; and the word is thus often synony-
mous in the New Testament with Gentiles,
Mark 7:26; Acts 20:21; Rom. 1:16. The
term " Grecian " or Hellenist, on the con-
trary, denotes a Jew by birth or religion
who spoke Greek; in the R. V. "Grecian
Jews." It is used chiefly of foreign Jews
and proselytes, in contrast with the He-
brews, that is, those speaking the vernacu-
lar Hebrew, or Aramaean, Acts 6:1; 9:29.
In Acts 11:20 "Greeks" is probably the
true reading, for the "Grecians" would
be included among the "Jews" of ver. 19.
The Greeks were a vivacious, acute, and
polished, but superficial people, compared
with the Jews. They excelled in all the
arts of war and peace ; but were worship-
pers of beauty, not of duty. Their pride
of intellect and their corruption of morals
were almost insurmountable obstacles to
14
their reception of Christianity, i Cor. 1:22,
23. Yet it was among the Greek cities and
people that Paul chiefly labored, and with
great success. Many flourishing churches
were, in early times, established among
them; and there can be no doubt that they
for a long time preserved the apostolic cus-
toms with much care. At length, however,
opinions fluctuated considerably on points
of doctrine; schisms and heresies divided
the church ; and rancor, violence, and even
persecution followed in their train. To
check these evils, councils were called and
various creeds composed. The removal of
the seat of government from Rome to Con-
stantinople gave a preponderance to the
Grecian districts of the empire, and the
ecclesiastical determinations of the Greek
Church were extensively received. In the
middle of the 8th century disputes arose,
which terminated in a permanent schism
between the Greek and Latin Churches.
The Greek Church has a general resem-
blance to the Roman-catholic, and embra-
ces a population of not far from 70,000,000 of
souls, in Russia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, etc.
The Greek language is the original
language of all the books of the New Tes-
tament, except perhaps the gospel by Mat-
thew ; but the sacred authors have followed
that style of writing which was used by the
Hellenists, or Grecizing Hebrews, adopting
many idioms and turns of speech from the
Syriac and Hebrew languages, very differ-
ent from the classical style of the Greek
writers, but like that of the Septuagint.
They were also obliged to make use of
some new words, and new applications of
old words, to express religious ideas before
unknown to the Greeks, and for which they
had no proper expression. After Alexan-
der the Great, Greek became the language
best known throughout the East, and was
generally used in commerce. As the sa-
cred authors had in view the conversion
not only of the Jews, then scattered through-
out the East, but of the Gentiles also, it was
natural for them to write to them in Greek,
that being a language to which all were of
necessity accustomed. It was the language
commonly spoken by our Lord and his dis-
ciples, and the evangelists have doubtless
given us in many cases the very words he
spoke; though the Hebrew (Aramaic) was
probably more loved and spoken at Jeru-
salem by devout Jews, Acts 1:19; 22 : 2.
GRIEF and GRIEVOUS often denote
physical pain. Gen. 49:23; Isa. 53:4; Matt
8:6; i Pet. 2:19.
209
GRI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAD
GRIND. See Corn.
GRINDERS, Eccl. 12:3, the molars, or
jaw-teeth.
GROVE, Heb. Asherah, means a wooden
image of Ashtoreth (see), and should be so
understood, except in Gen. 21:33, where a
different Hebrew word is used, meaning a
tree, as in i Sam. 22:6; 31:13. The Israel-
ites were commanded to destroy the Ashe-
rim, Exod. 34:13; Deut. 16:21; but often
disobeyed, Judg. t,:-j; 6:25, 26; i Kin.
15:13; 2Kin. 17:10; 21:3,7; 23:6; Isa.i7:8.
Groves were early associated with the wor-
ship of the true God, Gen. 12:6, 7; 13:18,
and seem naturally fitted for such a pur-
pose. The heathen and backsliding Jews
resorted to them for idolatrous rites, some
elevated spot being generally chosen, Jer.
17:2; Ezek. 20:28; Hos. 4:13. See High
Places, Mam re, Oak.
GUARD, Gen. 37:36; 2 Kin. 25:8; Dan.
2: 14, literally a butcher, hence a cook, and
an e.xecutioner — the body-guard of the
kings of Egypt and Babylon. See Foot-
men.
GUDGO'DAH, Deut. 10:7; Hor-hagidgad,
Num. 33:32.
GUIL'TY, Matt. 26:66; Mark 14:64, in
R. V. " .worthy."
H.
HABAK'KUK, embrace, one of the minor
prophets, probably a Levite, and perhaps a
temple singer. Compare 3:19 with i Chr.
25:1-5- Of his life we know nothing, ex-
cept that he appears to have been contem-
porary with Jeremiah, and to have proph-
esied between 630 B. C, Josiah's 12th year,
and 610 B. C, before Nebuchadnezzar's ist
invasion of Judaea, 2 Kin. 24:1.
The BOOK OF Habakkuk consists of 3
chapters, which all constitute one oracle.
In the first chapter, he foretells the woes
which the rapacious and terrible Chaldae-
ans would soon inflict upon his guilty na-
tion. In the second, he predicts the future
humiliation of the iniquitous conquerors.
The third is a sublime and beautiful ode,
in which the prophet implores the succor
of Jehovah in view of his mighty works
of ancient da\-s, and expresses the most
assured trust in him. Nothing, even in
Hebrew poetry, is more loft}' and grand
than this triumphal ode, which inspires the
most afflicted believer to rejoice in his God.
HABER'GEON, Neh. 4:16; Job. 41:26, a
coat of mail ; an ancient piece of defensive
armor, in the form of a coat or tunic, de-
210
scending from the neck to the middle of
the body, and formed of tough hide, or
manj- quilted linen folds, or of scales of
brass overlapping each other like fishes'
scales, or of small iron rings or meshes
linked into each other, Exod. 28:32; 39:23.
HA'BOR, united, " the river of Gozan,"
a river and probably also a district of
Assyria, 2 Kin. 17:6; 18: u; i Chr. 5:26.
Identified with the Khabur, which flows
into the Euphrates at Karkesia. It is about
200 miles long, and traversed the province
of Gauzanitis (see Gozan), adjoining which
was Chalcitis, formerly Halah.
HACH'ILAH, a hill' in the untilled land
near Ziph (see), facing the Jeshimon (see).
A lurking-place of David and his 600, where
Saul's life was spared, i Sam. 23:19; 26:1,
3-12. Now found at Yekin or Hachin, a
ruin on a high hill between valleys run-
ning north and south.
HACH'MONITE, son of Hachmoni, to
whose family the heroes Jashobeam and
Jehiel belonged, 2 Sam. 23:8; i Chr. 11: 11 ;
27:32.
HA'DAD, or Hadar, mighty, I., son of
Ishmael, Gen. 25:15; i Chr. 1:30.
II. A king of Edom,at Avith, Gen. 36:35;
I Chr. 1:46.
III. Another king of Edom, at Pau, Gen.
36:39; I Chr. 1:50, 51, perhaps contempo-
rary with Moses.
IV. Another Edomite of the royal fam-
ily, who fled to Egypt while young, upon
David's conquest of Edom, 2 Sam. 8:14;
was well received, and married the queen's
sister. After the death of David and Joab,
he returned to Edom and made an ineffec-
tual effort to throw off the yoke of Solo-
mon, I Kin. 11:14-22,25.
Hadad was also the name of the Syrian
HAD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAI
sun-god, and is part of the name of several
Syftan kings.
HADADE'ZER, or Hadare'zer, helped
of Hadad, a powerful king of Syria, reign-
ing in Zobah and the surrounding country,
even to the Euphrates, i Kin. 11:23. He
was thrice defeated and his power over-
thrown by David, 2 Sam. 8:3, 4; 10:6-14,
16-19; I Chr. 18:3; 19:6. Psalm 60 was
written after David's first victory over the
Syrians and Edomites, 2 Sam. 8:13, 14.
HA'DAD-RIM'MON, named for 2 Syrian
deities, a city in the valley of Megiddo, the
scene of national lamentation over Josiah's
death, in battle with Pharaoh-necho, 2 Kin.
23:29; 2 Chr. 35:20-25; Zech. 12:11. After-
wards, Jerome says, called Maximianop-
olis.
HADAS'SAH. See Esther.
HA'DES. See Hell.
HA'DID, Ezra 2:33; Neh. 7:37; 11:34, in
Dan, though belonging to Benjamin; now
El-Haditheh, 3 miles east of Ludd.
HADO'RAM, Hadar is exalted, I., Gen.
10:27; I Chr. 1 :2i.
II. Son of Toi, king of Hamath, called
Joram in 2 Sam. 8: 10.
III. 2 Chr. 10:18, contracted from Ado-
NIR.\M.
HA'DRACH, the land of, Zech. 9:1. Not
identified, probably a part of Syria.
HA'GAB, Hagaba, one of the Nethinim,
Ezra 2:45, 46; Neh. 7:48.
HA'GAR, stranger, an Egyptian bond-
maid in the household of Sarah, Gen. 12: 16,
who, being barren, gave her to Abraham
for a secondary wife, that by her, as a sub-
stitute, she might have children, in accord-
ance with the customs of the East in that
age. The history of Hagar is given in
Gen. 16; 17; 21. In an allegory, Paul
makes Hagar represent the Jewish Church,
which was in bondage to the ceremonial
law ; as Sarah represents the true church
of Christ, which is free from this bondage.
Gal. 4:24. Her name is much honored
among the Arabs claiming to be her de-
scendants.
HAGARENES', or Ha'garites, i Chr.
5:10, 18-22, descendants of Hagar and Ish-
mael. In Psa. 83:6 the name seems to be
given to a distinct portion of the Ishmael-
ites. A Hagarite was fitly placed over Da-
vid's flocks, I Chr. 27:31.
, li\G'GXi,fesiive, one of the minor proph-
ets, probably accompanied Zerubbabel in
the first return of the Jews from Babylon,
B. C. 536. He prophesied during the sec-
ond year of Darius Hystaspis, B. C. 520.
urging his countrymen to resume the build-
ing of the temple, for about 14 years inter-
rupted, and at last suspended, Ezra 4:4,
5, 23, 24. The Jews had become indiffer-
ent, and excused themselves from building
until the end of the 70 years. Haggai's
reproof roused them for a time, ch. i : i-ii ;
Ezra 5:1,2; but they soon became despond-
ent, and he was charged with a 2d message
of encouragement, ch. 2:1-9. The exceed-
ing glory of the 2d temple was, as he fore-
told, that Christ " the Desire of all nations "
came into it, and made the place of his feet
glorious. Again he taught them that atten-
tion to outward rites cannot atone for dis-
obedience to God, and assured them of
God's blessing now that they had begun to
build, ch. 2:10-19. He also instructs the
inquiring Zerubbabel in regard to the na-
tional revolutions foretold, ver. 7, and the
safety of Judah represented by Zerubba-
bel, ver. 20-23; Jer. 46:28. The book still
admonishes the people of God when list-
less and slothful in his service, and cheers
those who strive to build his spiritual tem-
ple, I Pet. 2:5.
HAG'GITH, rejoicing, one of David's
wives, Adonijah's mother, 2 Sam. 3:4.
hail! a salutation customary among our
Saxon ancestors, and importing " health to
you," including all kinds of prosperity.
HAIL'STONES, drops of rain formed into
ice by the power of cold in the upper re-
gions of the atmosphere. Hail was among
the plagues of Egypt, Exod. 9:24, and was
the more terrible because it rarely occurred
in that country. Hail was also made use
of by God for defeating an army of Ca-
naanites. Josh. 10:11; and is used figura-
tively to represent terrible judgments, Isa.
28:2; Rev. 16:21.
HAIR. Egyptian men cut their hair and
shaved, except in mourning, and Joseph
ASSYRIAN HEAD.
did likewise, Gen. 41 : 14. Egyptian women
wore their hair long and braided, as now.
Wigs were worn in Egypt. Hebrew men
cut their hair moderately short, and this
was required of the priests, Lev. 21:5;
211
HAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAM
Ezek. 44:20; I Cor. 11:14. Fragrant oint-
ments were used, Exod. 30:33; Psa. 23:5;
Eccl. 9:8. In mourning men cut, or shaved
off, or plucked out the hair, Ezra 9:3;
Amos 8:10, or let it go dishevelled, Lev.
10:6; Ezek. 24:17. In Jer. 7:29, Jerusalem
is addressed as a woman. Women plait-
GRECIAN HEADS.
ed, perfumed, and decked their hair in
many ways, Isa. 3:18, 24; i Cor. 11:15, so
much as to call for apostolic interdictions,
I Tim. 2:9; I Pet. 3:$. Nazarites wore
their hair uncut as a sign of humiliation
EGYPTIAN OFFICER AND WIFE.
and self-dedication to God, Num. 6:5, 9;
Judg. 13:5; 16:17. Absalom's hair perhaps
weighed 20 shekels, not 200, a copyist's er-
ror being possible in the numerals, 2 Sam.
14:26. Arabians cut the hair around their
temples in a circular form in honor of their
god Orotal, Jer. 9:26; 25:23; 49:32, mar-
gins ; and in mourning marred their beards,
Jer. 48:37, practices forbidden to the Isra-
elites, Lev. 19:27. Lepers, when cleansed,
and Levites on their consecration, shaved
the whole body. Lev. 13; 14:8,9; Num. 8:7.
"Hair like women's," Rev. 9:8, was sug-
gestive of semi-barbarous hosts like the
long-haired Saracens, afflicters of Christian
Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries.
HA'LAH, 2 Kin. 17:6; 18:11 ; 1 Chr. 5:26.
Probably a province of Mesopotamia called
Chalcitis by Ptolemy, on the Khabfir north
of Gauzanitis. See Gozan and Habor.
The name is traced in the modern Gla, a
large mound on that river.
HA'LAK, smooth, perhaps not a proper
212
name, but descriptive of some unknown
hill, the southern limit of Joshua's 'An-
quests towards Mount Seir, Josh. 11:17;
12:7, perhaps the pass es-Suf&h.
HALE, Luke 12:58; Acts 8:3, to draw or
drag.
HALL, Luke 12:55, the court or uncov-
ered space in the midst of a house. The
"porch," Matt. 26:71 ; Mark 14:68, was the
vestibule leading to the court from the
street. See House.
HALLELU'JAH, and in the New Testa-
ment Alleluiah, Praise ye Jehovah. This
word occurs at the beginning and at the
end of many Psalms. It was also sung on
solemn days of rejoicing, as an expression
of joy and praise, and as such it has been
adopted in the Christian church, and is
still used in devotional psalmody. Rev.
19:1,3,4,6. The Jews gave the name Hal-
lel to the Psalms from 113 to 118, and sang
them on their Feast days, as Christ and
his disciples are supposed to have done at
the Lord's Supper, Matt. 26:30.
HAL'LOW, to render sacred, set apart,
consecrate. The English word is from the
Saxon, and means to make holy ; hence
hallowed persons, things, places, rites, etc. ;
hence also the name, power, and dignity of
God are hallowed, that is, reverenced as
holy.
HALT, Psa. 38:17; Matt. 18:8, limping.
HAM, hot, sunburnt, I., a son of Noah,
Gen. 5:32; 7:13; 9:18; 10:1. His name
may prophetically refer to the hot territo-
ries of his descendants. Compare Gen.
5:29. The impiety revealed in his conduct
towards his father drew upon him, or rath-
er, according to the Bible statement, on his
son Canaan, a prophetic malediction. Gen.
9:20-27. Ham was the father of Cush, Miz-
raim, Phut, and Canaan, that is, the ances-
tor of the Canaanites, Southern Arabians,
Ethiopians, Egyptians, and the Africans in
general. Gen. 10:6-20. A Cushite descend-
ant of Ham is mentioned as the founder of
Babylon, Gen. 10:8-10; a statement con-
firmed by the earliest Babylonian monu-
ments exhumed, the language of which is
Cushite.
II. A poetical name for Egypt, Psa.
78 : 51 ; 106 : 22, the first civilized of the
Hamite settlements.
III. An unknown place of the Zuzim,
Gen. 14:5.
IV. I Chr. 4:40, probably the Philistines,
as descended from Ham through Mizraim,
Gen. 10: 14.
HA'MAN, magnificent, a favorite of Ahas-
HAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAN
uerus, king of Persia. In order to revenge
himself upon Mordecal the Jew, he plotted
the extermination of all the Jews in the
kingdom ; but in the providence of God he
was thwarted by Esther, fell into disgrace
with the king, and wrought his own ruin
and the upbuilding of the Jews. He is
called an Agagite ; and as Agag was a com-
mon name of the Amalekite kings, the
Jews believe he was of that race. This
would help to explain his malice against
the Jews. See Amalekites. Similar
wholesale slaughters are still plotted in
Asia, and the whole narrative is confirmed
and illustrated by the descriptions of East-
ern life furnished by modern travellers in
the same region. The death of Haman
took place about 473 B. C. His eventful
history shows that pride goes before de-
struction; that the providence of God di-
rects all things ; that his people are safe in
the midst of perils ; and that his foes must
perish.
HA' MATH, fortress, an important city
and province of Upper Syria, settled by a
Canaanite tribe, Gen. 10: i8. " The Enter-
ing in of Hamath " is probably the north-
ern part of the valley which led up to it
from Palestine between Lebanon and Anti-
Lebanon, often mentioned as Israel's north-
•ern boundary. Num. 13:21; Josh. 13:5;
Judg. 3:3. The land of Hamath, appar-
ently independent' in David's time, 2 Sam.
3:9, 10, seems to have come under Solo-
mon's control, for he had "store cities" in
it to accommodate his northern commerce,
2 Chr. 8:4. It is mentioned in the Assyrian
inscriptions of Ahab's time as an ally of
Damascus ; was " recovered " by Jeroboam
II., 2 Kin. 14:28, taken by the Assyrians,
2 Kin. 18:34; 19:13; Amos6:2, 14. Com-
pare I Kin. 8:65. Hamah now belongs to
the Turkish empire, is built on both sides
■of the Orontes, and has 30,000 inhabitants.
HA'MATH-ZO'BAH, 2 Chr. 8:3, perhaps
Hamath.
HAM 'MATH, hot Springs or baths, a forti-
fied city in Naphtali, Josh. 19:35 ; probably
the Levitical city called Hammoth-dor,
Josh. 21:32, and Hammon, i Chr. 6:76.
About a mile south of Tiberias are still 3
or 4 hamtnam, i. e., hot springs.
HAMME'LECH,/A^/&TO^, probably should
be so translated, meaning Jehoiakim in Jer.
36 : 26, and Zedekiah in Jer. 38 : 6.
HA'MON-GOG, Ezek. 39: II, 15, a prophet-
ic name given to a ravine on the east of
the Dead Sea, on the thoroughfare of com-
merce with Arabia and Egypt.
HA'MOR, an ass, Gen. 33:19; 34; Judg.
9:28, a Hivite prince, father of Shechem.
From his sons Jacob bought some land for
100 "lambs," Gen. 33:19, margin, proba-
bly rings of silver stamped with the figure
of a lamb, Josh. 24:32. Called Emmor in
Acts 7:16, A. v., where Stephen, speaking
to men familiar with the facts, elliptically
sums up the Old Testament narrative of 2
purchases and 2 burial-places, Gen. 50:13.
HAMU'TAL, kin of the dew, 2 Kin. 23:31 ;
24:18; Jer. 52:1.
HANAM'EEL, the grace of God, son of
Shallum, a kinsman of Jeremiah, from
whom the prophet bought a piece of ground
before the captivity, and had the legal rec-
ord made, in token of his prophetic assu-
rance that his people would return to their
possessions, Jer. 32:6-15, 37, 43, 44. See
Anathoth. The law prohibiting the alien-
ation of Levitical lands. Lev. 25:25, 34, ap-
parently did not forbid sales within the
tribe of Levi.
HANAN'EEL, the tower of, on the north-
eastern wall of Jerusalem, between the fish-
gate and the sheep-gate, Neh. 3:1; 12:39;
Jer. 31:38; Zech. 14:10.
HANA'NI, gracious, I., a Levitical musi-
cian and director under David, i Chr. 25:4,
25. B. C. 1014.
II. A seer in the time of Asa, imprisoned
for his fidelity, B. C. 941. He was also the
father of the prophet Jehu, i Kin. 16:1-7;
2 Chr. 16:7-10; 19:2; 20:34.
III. A brother of Nehemiah, who brought
to Susa an account of the wretched state of
the Jews then at Jerusalem, and afterwards
had charge of the gates of the city, Neh.
1:1-3; 7:2, 3, B. C. 446.
IV. Neh. 12:35, 36.
HANANI'AH, gift of the Lord, I., i Chr.
25:4,5-23.
II. A false prophet of Gibeon, who for
his impious hardihood was overtaken with
speedy death, according to the word of
God, Jer. 28. Compare Acts 5:1-5; Rev.
21:8; 22:15.
III. I Chr. 3:19. Identified by some with
Joanna, Luke 3:27.
IV. The Hebrew name of Shadrach, Dan.
1:3.6,7-
V. A pious and faithful officer under Ne-
hemiah, Neh. 7:2.
Many others of this name are mentioned.
HAND, a symbol of skill, power, and
various actions, Psa. 24:4; Ezek. 23:37;
also of God's vengeance, i Sam. 5:6, 7;
Psa. 21:8, and mercy, Isa. 65:2. The hand
was given as a pledge of faithfulness to an
213
HAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAR
agreement, Prov. 6:i; of submission to a
master or conqueror, 2 Chr. 30:8, margin;
Ezek. 17:18; Lam. 5:6; Jer. 50:15. It was
raised in taking an oath, or in blessing, Gen.
14:22 ; Lev. 9:22, also in prayer, Job 11 : 13 ;
Psa. 28:2; 63:4; I Tim. 2:8. The offerer of
a sacrifice, by placing his hand on its head,
betokened the transfer of his guilt and pen-
alty to a divinely-appointed substitute, Lev.
1:4; 3:2; 4:15; Isa. 53:6; 2 Cor. 5:21. In
the case of the scape-goat. Lev. 16, the com-
plete removal of pardoned sin was sym-
bolized. Compare Psa. 103:12; Mic. 7:19.
The " laying on of hands " signified conse-
cration to office and the bestowal of a bless-
ing or of divine gifts. Gen. 48:14; Num.
8:10; 27:18; Mark 10:16; Acts 6:6; 19:6;
I Tim. 4:14; Heb. 6:2. To kiss the hands
was an act of adoration, Job 31 : 27 ; to pour
water on them, of service, 2 Kin. 3:11 ; to
wash them in public was a protest of inno-
cence, Deut. 21:6, 7; Matt. 27:24. "At the
right hand of God" is the place of honor,
power, and happiness, Psa. 16:11; 45:9;
110:1; Matt. 26:64; Col. 3:1. In. descri-
bing location, " to the right hand " meant
south, "to the left hand" north, the He-
brews being wont to speak as if facing the
east. Gen. 14:15; i Sam. 23:19, margin.
In Zech. 13:6, one calls on an idolatrous
prophet to account for the scars in his
hands. Compare i Kin. 18:28. See Wash-
ing.
HAND'BREADTH, the width of the palm,
nearly 4 inches, Exod. 25:25; i Kin. 7:26.
Sj'mbolic of shortness, Psa. 39:5.
HAND'ICRAFT. See Cr.'Vft.
HAND'IWORK, Psa. 19:1, products of
one's labor.
HA'NES, Isa. 30:4, a city of Egypt, prob-
ably Tahapanes.
HANG'ING was practised among the
Jews upon the dead bodies of criminals, as
a mark of ignominy. Num. 25:4; Josh.
10:26, in which case they were to be re-
moved by nightfall, Deut. 21:22, 23. Com-
pare John 19:31; Acts 5:30; Gal. 3:13,
where Christ's crucifixion is spoken of.
Hang'ing, literally cover, means the
curtain before the door of the tabernacle,
Exod. 26:36, 37; 39:38, before the entrance
of the court, Exod. 27:16; 38:18; Num.
4:26; and the same Hebrew word is "the
veil of the covering " which shut off the
Most Holy Place, Exod. 35:12; 39:34;
40:21 ; Num. 4:5.
HANG'INGS, the translation of another
Hebrew word, meaning "that which is in
motion," formed the walls of the court of
214
the tabernacle, Exod. 27:9; 35:17; 38:9;
Num. 3 : 26 ; 4 : 26. In 2 Kin. 23 : 7, for " hang-
ings " read " tents," for the impure worship
of Ashtoreth.
HAN'NAH, grace, favor, the pious wife
of a Levite of Ramathaim-zophim named
Elkanah, and mother of Samuel, B. C. 1 171.
She had earnestly besought the Lord for
him, and freely devoted him to serve God
according to her vow. She was afterwards
blessed with 3 other sons and 2 daughters,
I Sam. 1-2:21. Compare Luke 1:46-55.
HA'NUN, a king of the Ammonites, whose
father Nahash had befriended David in his
early troubles. Compare i Sam. 11. Upon
the death of Nahash, David sent an embas-
sage to condole with his son. The shame-
ful treatment received by these ambassa-
dors led to a destructive war upon the
Ammonites, 2 Sam. 10; 12:25-31; i Chr.
19 ; 20.
Two others are honorably on record as
builders of the wall of Jerusalem, Neh.
3:13, 30.
HA'RA, hill-country, i Chr. 5:26, a place
in Western Assyria, apparently on or near
the Khabur, identified by many with Ha-
ran.
HA'RAN, strong, mountaineer, I., 3d son
of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor,
and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He
was born in Ur, and died before his father,
Gen. 11:26-31. B. C. 1990.
II. A Gershonite Levite in David's time,
I Chr. 23:9.
HA'RAN, or CHAR'RAN, parched, I., sork
of Hezron's son Caleb, and Ephah, i Chr.
2:46.
II. An ancient city, called in the New
Testament Charran, in the northwest part
of Mesopotamia, that is, Padan-aram, Gen.
25:20. Here, after leaving Ur, Abraham
dwelt till his father Terah died; here he
received a 2d call, Gen. 12:1; Acts 7:2;
here Nahor remained ; and to this old
homestead Isaac sent for a wife, and Jacob-
fled from the wrath of Esau, Gen. 11:31.
32; 12:5; 24; 27:43; 28:10; 29:4. Haran
was ravaged by the predecessors of the
Assyrian king Sennacherib, 2 Kin. 19:12;
Isa. 37:12. It traded with Tyre, Ezek.
27:23. Here Crassus the Roman general
was defeated and killed by the Parthians.
Harran, as it is now called, is on the Belik,
a branch of the Euphrates, in 36" 52' N.
lat., and 390 5' E. long., in a flat and sandy
plain, and is peopled only by a few wan-
dering Arabs, who select it for the deli-
cious water it furnishes. It is 20 miles
HAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAR
from Orfah. See Ur. The traditional
tomb of Terah is still shown.
HARD, Psa. 63:8; Matt. 25:24; Acts 18:7,
close.
HARD'LY, Isa. 8:21; Matt. 19:23, with
difficulty.
HARD'NESS, 2 Tim. 2:3, hardships.
THE COMMON HARE OF PALESTINE.
HARE, prohibited to the Israelites for
food, Lev. 11:6; Deut. 14:7. The hare
masticates at leisure food which it has
cropped and retained in its cheeks, and
also keeps down the undue growth of its
incisors by a constant grinding motion, re-
sembling the cud-chewing of true rumi-
nants ; hence it is popularly classed with
them. Five varieties of the hare are found
in Palestine.
HA'RETH, Forest of, David's refuge,
I Sam. 22:5. Conder identifies it with
the village Kharas a mile above Keilah,
where ruined walls, cisterns, and caves
are found — in a region full of ravines and
thickets.
HAR'LOT, in old English, any person re-
ceiving hire, even wages honorably earned ;
afterwards an abandoned woman, Prov.
59:3 ; a type of idolatrous nations and cit-
ies, Isa. 1:21 ; Ezek. 16; Nah. 3:4; Rev. 17.
Among the Hebrews, prostitutes were often
foreigners; hence their name of "strange
women." They were often devoted to hea-
then idols, and their abominations were a
part of the worship, Num. 25:1-5; Hos.
4:14; a custom from the defilement of
which the house of God was expressly de-
fended, Deut. 23:18.
HAR'NESS, armor or weapons, i Kin.
20:11; 22:34; 2Chr. 18:33; a coat of mail.
The Hebrews went out from Egypt "har-
nessed," that is, properly equipped or ar-
ranged.
HA'ROD, terror, a. spring near Jezreel
in the valley between Little Hermon and
Mount Gilboa, Judg. 7:1 ; 2 Sam. 23:25, now
Ain Jalud.
HARO'SHETH OF THE GENTILES, SO
called from its mixed population, a city in
North Canaan, the residence of Sisera,
Judg. 4:2, 13, 16. Thomson places it at
the base of Mount Carmel, the entrance to
the narrow pass through which the Kishon
flows from the plain of Esdraelon to the
plain of Acre. Here are found a village
and a large mound with ruins, called Ha-
rothieh. Stanley and some others locate
Harosheth near Lake Merom.
HARP, Heb. KiNNoR, invented by Jubal,
Gen. 4:21. It was used on joyful occasions,
sacred or secular, and was the national
musical instrument of the Hebrews, Gen.
31:27; I Chr. 16:5; 25:1-5; Psa. 81:2.
Compare Psa. 137:2. David was a pro-
ficient in its use, i Sam. 16:16, 23; 18:10.
Harps were of various shapes and sizes,
some being small enough to be played
upon by one walking, i Sam. 10:5. Jose-
ANCIENT HARPS OR LYRES.
phus says they had 10 strings, like the in-
strument called Nebel in Hebrew, trans-
lated "psaltery," Psa. 33:2; 57:8; 144:9.
It was played with the hand, i Sam. 16:23,
or with a plectrum, a short iron rod. See
Music.
HAR'ROW, 2 Sam. 12:31, probably a
sharp threshing machine, as it is unlikely
that anything like our harrow was known
to the Hebrews. After ploughing and be-
fore sowing, in modern Palestine, the clods
are still broken by the trampling of oxen
or dragging a rugged thorn-bush over the
ground, Job 39:10; Isa. 28:24; Hos. 10:11.
HART, or Stag, a species of deer, clean
by the Levitical law, Deut. 12:15, and cel-
ebrated for its elegance, agility, and grace,
Song 2:9; Isa. 35:6. It may have been the
fallow-deer or the red deer. See Hind and
Roe.
HAR'VEST, began in Palestine with bar-
ley, at the presentation of the first-fruits in
the temple in Passover-week, the middle
of Abib, Lev. 23:9-14; 2 Sam. 21:9, 10;
next came the wheat harvest, the first-fruits
being offered at Pentecost, Lev. 23:15-20;
Ruth 2:3; the grain being cut with the
sickle, Joel 3:13, gathered by hand, bound
215
HAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HAZ
in sheaves, Psa. 129:7, and carried, some-
times in carts, Amos 2: 13, to the threshing-
floor or granary. The end of the world is
described under the figure of a harvest,
Matt. 13:30, 39. " Feast of Harvest," see
Pentecost.
HASHABI'AH, whom God regards, the
name of many descendants of Levi, i Chr.
26:30; 27: 17, etc.
HATE, a rooted dislike, which in some
cases is sinless, for God hates all sinful
thoughts and ways, Jer. 44:4, and the char-
acter of sinners, Psa. 5:5, 6, while he yet
earnestly desires their salvation, Ezek.
18:23, 32; John 3:16. And so with all holy
beings. But hatred in men is usually a
malevolent passion — a " work of the flesh,"
Gal. 5:20. No one can hate without sin
who is not perfect in love. We should hate
sin, but love and bless even our enemies.
Matt. 5:44. Hate often in Scripture de-
notes only a less degree of love. Gen. 29:30,
31; Deut. 21:15; Prov. 13:24; Mai. 1:2,3;
Luke 14:26; Rom. 9:13.
HAUNT, Ezek. 26:17, to frequent.
HAU'RAN, caves, a country east of the
Jordan and south of Damascus, bounding
Palestine on the northeast, Ezek. 47:16,
18, its name changed to Auranitis by the
Greeks and Romans ; now the Hauran. It
was included loosely in Bashan, the king-
dom of Og, Num. 21:33-35. Its limits va-
ried at diflferent periods, at times including,
besides the beautiful and fertile country
now called en-Nukra (the granary of Da-
mascus, occupied by Arab farmers), the
rocky Trachonitis on the northeast, now
el-Lejah, and the Hauran range running
north and south on the east, these hills and
rocks presenting an astonishing number
of ruined cities and towns. See B.\shan.
These buildings, including churches and
amphitheatres, Wetzstein assigns to Arabs
from Yemen, who settled here and were
Christianized, retaining the land till con-
quered by the Moslems, A. D. 635. Some
of the cave-dwellings of Mount Hauran he
traces to the ancient Rephaim, Gen. 14:5;
Deut. 3: 13.
HAVI'LAH, circuit, I., Gen. 2:11, accord-
ing to one theory, on the southeastern end
of the Black Sea; according to another,
at the head of the Persian Gulf. See
Eden.
II. A descendant from Ham, Gen. 10:7.
III. A descendant from Shem and Jok-
tan. Gen. 10:29. Some suppose these two
Havilahs to have given name to one re-
gion in which both Cushites and Joktanites
216
are found, and locate this region in Yemen,
in Arabia Felix, now Khawlan.
IV. Gen. 25:18, a boundary of the Ish-
maelites, supposed by Kalisch to have been
a country between the Persian and Arabi-
an Gulfs.
V. I Sam. 15:7, thought to be the region
around Mount Seir.
HA'VOTH-JAIR, huts or villages 0/ Jair,
23 small villages taken by Segub's son Jair,
and so called after him. Num. 32:41, in-
creased to 30 in the time of the judge Jair,
Judg. 10:4. They were in Gilead or Ba-
shan, and are supposed to form, with Ke-
nath and its villages taken by Nobah, Num.
32:42, the 60 " fenced cities " of Deut. 2>'Z<
4, 14. Others distinguish them as being,
one in Gilead, the other in Bashan. See
1 Kin. 4:7, 13.
HAWK, or Falcon, a strong-winged and
rapacious bird, of several migratory spe-
cies in Syria; unclean for the Hebrews,
Lev. 11:16, but sacred among the Greeks
and Egyptians. In its migrations it illus-
trates the wise providence of the Creator,
Job 39:26.
HAY, in Prov. 27:25 and Isa. 15:6, de-
notes the first shoots of grass. The He-
brews did not prepare and store up hay
for winter use, as is customary in cold cli-
mates. Grass was cut as it was needed.
The word translated chafif in Isa. 5:24;
33:11, means withered grass . See Mow-
ings.
HAZ'AEL, God is seeing, an officer of
Ben-hadad king of Syria, whose future
accession to the throne was revealed to the
prophet Elijah, i Kin. 19:15. Many years
afterwards he was sent by Ben-hadad to
consult Elisha, then at Damascus, as to his
recovery from sickness, and on the next
day smothered the king with a wet cloth,
2 Kin. 8:7-15, B. C. 886. His discomposure
under the eye of the prophet was an indi-
cation that he had already meditated this
crime. Having usurped the throne, he
reigned 46 years ; and by his successful
and cruel wars against Judah and Israel
justified the forebodings of Elisha, 2 Kin.
8:28; 10:32; 12:17; 13:3,7. Compare2Chr.
22:5; Amos 1:3, 4. Hazael is mentioned
on Assyrian monuments as an opponent
and afterwards a tributary. His son Ben-
hadad lost the conquests he had made,
2 Kin. 13:25; 14:25-27; Amos 1:4.
HA'ZAR, or HA'ZER, pi. Hazerim and
Hszeroth, inclosure, village — found in
many Hebrew names, and denoting a semi-
permanent collection of dwellings, like the
HAZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEA
rude stone walls roofed with tent-cloth still
found in the East.
HA'ZAR-AD'DAR, Num. 34:4, called Ad-
dar — in A. V. Adar — in Josh. 15:3, on the
southern border of Palestine, west of Ka-
desh ; now el-Kudeirat, on a ridge between
Canaan and the desert.
HA'ZAR-E'NAN, village of springs, at
the junction of the north and east borders
of the promised land, Num. 34:9, 10; Ezek.
47:17; 48:1. Perhaps Ayun-ed-Dara, a
fountain in the midst of Anti-Lebanon.
HA'ZAR-GAD'DAH, village of fortu7ie,
Josh. 15:27, now el-Ghurra, 9 miles east of
Beer-sheba.
HA'ZAR-HAT'TICON, middle village, on
the border of Hauran, Ezek. 47:16.
HA'ZAR-MA'VETH, court of death, 3d
son of Joktan, Gen. 10:26; i Chr. 1:20,
ancestor of the people of Hadramaut, in
Southwestern Arabia, a region abounding
in myrrh and frankincense, but unhealthy.
HA'ZAR-SHU'AL,yac/ta/-t/«V/a^ 35; 33:17. 18; where Aaron and
Miriam spoke against Moses, Num. 12:1-
16; probably Hudhera, 40 miles northeast
of Sinai.
HAZE'ZON-TA'MAR, Gen. 14:7. See
En-gedi.
HA'ZOR, inclosu7-e, I., a chief city of
Northern Canaan, near Lake Merom, whose
king Jabin, at the head of an allied host,
was defeated by Joshua, Josh. 11:1-13.
Hazor revived, however, and for a time
oppressed the Israelites; but was subdued
by Barak, fortified by Solomon, and re-
mained in the possession of Israel until
the invasion of Tiglath-pileser, Josh. 19:36;
Judg. 4:2; I Kin. 9:15; 2 Kin. 15:29. The
site suggested by Wilson and Anderson of
the English Palestine Survey is Tell Hara,
a hill 2!^ miles southeast of Kedesh, where
are ancient ruins.
II. Josh. 15:23, in South Judah.
III. Another town in South Judah, Ha-
zor-Hadattah, Josh. 15:25, now el-Hudhe-
rah.
IV. Also named in Josh. 15:25, where
Canon Cook reads " Kerioth-Hezron, which
is Hazor," and identifies with Kurretein.
V. A city of Benjamin, Neh. 11:33.
VI. An unidentified region in Arabia,
laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 49:28-
2,2,-
HEAD'-DRESS, among the Hebrews an
occasional adornment, the head being or-
dinarily uncovered. It was covered in
mourning, 2 Sam. 15:30; Jer. 14:3, 4, usu-
ally with the mantle, i Kin. 19:13. One of
the Hebrew words for the ornamental cov-
ering indicates a form of the turban : worn
by distinguished men and kings. Job 29 : 14 ;
Isa. 62:3, "diadem;" and by ladies, Isa.
3:23, "hoods." It is the name given to
the high-priest's mitre, Zech. 3:5. Com-
pare E.xod. 28:39. The ordinary priests'
bonnets were " for glory and for beauty,"
Exod. 28:40. Another Hebrew term, sig-
nifying ornament, denotes a head-dress
worn by the priests. Exod. 39:28; Ezek.
44:18, "bonnets;" by ladies, Isa. 3:20,
"bonnets;" by a "bridegroom, Isa. 61:10,
"ornaments;" and by others on festive
occasions, ver. 10, " beauty." Compare
2 Sam. 13:19; Ezek. 24:17, 23, "tire." The
word translated " hats," in Dan. 3:21, prob-
ably signifies cloaks.
HEAD'STONE, Zech. 4:7, the crowning
or chief stone of a building.
HEALTH, healing or wholeness. God's
"saving health," Psa. 67:2, is his gracious
soul-healing and salvation.
HEART. In the Bible the seat of the
affections, desires, hopes, motives, and will.
Acts 16:14, also of the intellectual percep-
tions as influenced by the moral character,
Psa. 14:1; John 12:40; i Cor. 2:9; thus in-
cluding the whole spiritual nature of man,
Rom. 1:21; 2 Cor. 4:6. The heart of fall-
en mankind is naturally and everywhere
alienated from God, Gen. 8:21; Eccl. 9:3;
Jer. 17:9, the fountain of sin and crime.
Matt. 15: 19, needing to be renewed by the
special grace of God, Psa. 51 :io; Jer. 32:40;
Ezek. 36:26. It is then the seat of faith,
Rom. 10:10, whereby God purifies it, Acts
15:9 (compare Heb. 10:22); the abode of
Christ, Eph. 3:17; of the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor.
1:22; of the Father, John 14:23. Its re-
newal is evidenced in the life, Matt. 12:35.
God looks upon it, i Sam. 16:7; Acts 8:21,
and judges both it and the life, Jer. 17:10;
Rev. 2:23. We are commanded to yield it
wholly to God, and to keep it diligently in
217
HEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEB
his ways, i Sam. j-.t,; Prov. 3:1, 4; 23:26;
Psa. 51:17; Jer. 4:14; Joel 2:12, 13; Phil.
4:7; I Pet. 3:15.
HEARTH. In Gen. 18:6, heated stones
on which cakes of dough were laid, and
covered with hot ashes and embers, as is
still the Bedouin custom. In Psa. 102:3 ^
fagot. In Isa. 30:14 a burning mass. In
Jer. 36:22, 23 a large pot or brazier. Such
portable furnaces, with lighted charcoal,
placed when required in a cavity in the
middle of a room, are still used in the
East. In Zech. 12:6 a small pan for hold-
ing fire.
HEATH, supposed to be the juniper, a
low and stunted tree found in desert and
rocky places, and thus contrasted with a
tree growing by a water-course, Jer. 17:5-
8; 48:6.
HEATH'EN, Jer. 10:2; Zech. 9:10; Gal.
3:8, a frequent rendering of the Hebrew
goyi?n and the Greek ethne, otherwise trans-
lated "nations," Gen. 18:18; Josh. 23:7;
Matt. 28:19, and "Gentiles," Isa. 11:10;
42:6; Rom. 11:25. In the English Bible
this term is applied to all the nations ex-
cept Israel. It now denotes all except
Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans. The
inspired descriptions of the moral and
mental darkness of the ancient nations that
ignored the true God, Jer. 10; Rom. i, are
borne out by modern heathendom; while
the Bible promises, which have already re-
ceived glorious fulfilment, still enjoin and
encourage faithful effort to win the whole
race for Christ.
HEAVEN, heaved up, high, either the
material realm of the atmospheric and stel-
lar regions, or the special abode of God
and holy spirits. In both cases the plural
is often used, and always in Greek, in the
expressions " Father in the heavens,"
"kingdom of the heavens."
1. In the former sense heaven is con-
trasted with earth, " heaven and earth "
meaning the universe. Gen. 1:1. It is spo-
ken of as a broad expanse, " firmament,"
Gen. 1:6-8, metaphorically represented as
having doors and windows, opened or shut
to give or withhold rain, etc., Deut. 11:17;
28:12; Psa. 78:23; in it the sun, moon, and
stars are set, Gen. 1:14-17; Deut. 4:19;
Nah. 3:16; in the midst of it the fowl fly,
Gen. 1:20; Rev. 19:17. It is to be destroyed
with the earth, and give place to " a new
heaven and a new earth" at the end of
time, Isa. 51:6; Matt. 24:35; 2 Pet. 3:10;
Rev. 21 :i.
2. In the second sense the word denotes
218
the world of holy bliss, the peculiar dwell-
ing-place of God, I Kin. 8:30; Matt. 5:45;
whence Christ descended, John 3: 13; i Cor.
I5-47) whither he ascended, Luke 24:51;
1 Pet. 3 : 22, and whence he is again to come,
Phil. 3:20. It is the abode of angels. Matt.
22:30; Mark 13:32. Into it Elijah passed,
2 Kin. 2: 1. There Christ intercedes for his
people, Heb. 7 : 25 ; 8:1; 9 : 24 ; and there he
has a place prepared for them, John 14: 2,
3; I Pet. 1:4, where all shall at length be
gathered. From it all sin and its bitter
fruits are for ever excluded. To set forth
its happiness, which is beyond our concep-
tion, many images are employed. It is a
kingdom, an inheritance; there are rivers
of pleasure, trees of life, glorious light,
rapturous songs, robes, crowns, feasting,
mirth, treasures, triumphs. God also gives
us positive representations: the righteous
dwell in the divine presence; they appear
with Christ in glory. Heaven is life ever-
lasting; glory, an eternal weight of glory;
salvation, repose, peace, fulness of joy, the
joy of the Lord. There are different de-
grees in that glory, and never-ceasing
advancement. It will be a social state,
and its happiness, in some measure, will
arise from mutual communion and con-
verse, and the expressions and exercises
of mutual benevolence. It will include the
perfect purity of every saint; delightful
fellowship with those we have here loved
in the Lord, Matt. 8:11; 17:3, 4; i Thess.
2:19; 4:13-18; the presence of Christ, and
the consciousness that all is perfect and
everlasting. Rev. 7:9-17. We are taught
that the body will share this bliss as well
as the soul : the consummation of our bliss
is subsequent to the resurrection of the
body; for it is redeemed as well as the
soul, and shall, at the resurrection of the
just, be fashioned like unto Christ's glori-
ous body. By descending from heaven,
and reascending thither, he proves to the
doubting soul the reality of heaven ; he
opens its door for the guilty by his atoning
sacrifice; and all who are admitted to it by
his blood shall be made meet for it by his
grace, and find their happiness for ever in
his love. See Kingdom of heaven.
" The third heaven," 2 Cor. 12:2, is prob-
ably equivalent to the " heaven of heav-
ens," Deut. 10:14, the highest heavens,
thought of as above the aerial and also the
starry heavens.
HE'BER, alliance, I., a grandson of Ash-
er. Gen. 46: 17 ; Num. 26:45 ; i Chr. 7:31.
II. A Kenite descended from Hobab.
HEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEB
He resided in North Canaan, and seems to
have been a man of note. His wife Jael
slew Sisera, Judg. 4:11, 17; 5:24.
in. Used in the A. V. for Eber, Luke
3:35. See Eber, Hebrews.
Four others are named in i Chr. 4:18;
5:13; 8:17, 22.
HE'BREWS, that branch of Abraham's
posterity whose home was in the land of
promise. The name is first applied to
Abraham himself, Gen. 14:13, and is gen-
erally supposed to have been derived from
Eber, Gen. 10:24; 11:14-17, who was the
last of the long-lived patriarchs, and out-
lived Abraham himself, after whose death
he was for many years the only surviving
ancestor of Isaac and Jacob. Others de-
rive the name from the Hebrew verb abar,
to pass over, and suppose it to have been
applied to Abraham by the Canaanites as
the man from beyond the Euphrates. " He-
brews" appears to have been the name
given to and used by the chosen people in
their relations with foreigners, Gen. 39:14;
40:15; 41:12; Exod. 2:7; Deut. 15:12;
I Sam. 4:6; Jonah 1:9. Their home name
was "the children of Israel." Compare
Exod. 3: 15 and ver. 18. The name "Jews,"
at first applied to the inhabitants of Judaea
only, 2 Kin. 16:6, afterwards became more
general.
1. Origin. God chose Abram in Ur of
the Chaldees to be the founder of the He-
brew nation. Gen. 11:31; 12:1, 2, through
Isaac and Jacob ; hence their names, "the
seed of Abraham," " the children of Isra-
el," or of "Jacob," Exod. 1:13; Psa. 105:6;
John 8:37.
2. Government. This was patriarchal
under Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After
their 430 years in Canaan and Egypt, dur-
ing 215 of which they were subjects and
slaves of Egyptian kings. Gen. 15:13;
Exod. I, God brought them out by his ser-
vant Moses, and established the theoa-acv,
Exod. 6:7, a form of government in which
God is the recognized king of the state,
gives it its laws, and specially manages ali
national aifairs. This government was va-
riously administered under the legislator
Moses, his successor Joshua, the judges,
kings, and high-priests ; but amid all these
revolutions God was considered the true
monarch of Israel, and more or less loy-
ally served. In the time of Moses God
dwelt among his people as a king in his
palace or in the midst of his camp. He
gave them the law, moral, ceremonial, so-
cial, and political, and compacted them into
a nation during their 40 years in the wil-
derness. He dwelt visibly among them in
the pillar of cloud and fire, ordering their
journeyings and encampments, accessible
for consultation, giving relief in emergen-
cies, and miraculously supplying their
wants, while punishing their rebellions.
This was the time of the theocracy in the
strictest sense of the term. Under Joshua
and the judges it continued nearly the
same: the former was appointed by God,
Num. 27:18-21, and being filled by the
spirit which animated Moses, would under-
take nothing without consulting Jehovah ;
and the latter were leaders, raised up by
God himself, to deliver the Hebrews and
govern in His name. The demand of the
people for a king occasioned to Samuel,
the prophet-judge, great disquietude, for
he regarded it as a rejection of the theo-
cratic government, i Sam. 8:6, 7. God
complied with the wishes of the people;
but he still asserted his own sovereign au-
thority, and claimed the obedience of all,
appointing and deposing Saul, i Sam. 10: i ;
16:1, and choosing David, 16:12, and Solo-
mon and his descendants, i Chr. 28:6, 7. .
3. Religion. The religion of the He-
brews may be considered in different points
of view, with respect to the different condi-
tions of their nation. Under the patriarchs
they were instructed in the will of God by
direct revelation, worshipped him by prayer
and sacrifices, opposed idolatry and athe-
ism, used circumcision as . the appointed
seal of the covenant made by God with
Abraham, and followed the laws which the
light of grace and faith discovers to those
who honestly and seriously seek God, his
righteousness, and truth. They lived in
expectation of the Messiah, the Desire of
all nations, to complete their hopes and
wishes, and fully to instruct and bless
them. Such was the religion of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Joseph, etc., who main-
tained the worship of God and the tradi-
tion of the true religion. After the time of
Moses the religion of the Hebrews became
more fixed, and ceremonies, days, feasts,
priests, and sacrifices were determined
with great exactness. This whole dispen-
sation only prefigured that more perfect
one which should in after times arise, when
the Messiah should come, and bring life
and immortality to light in his gospel, and
make a full atonement for the sins of the
world, Heb. 8:7; 10:1; i Pet. 1:10-12. See
Type.
The long abode of the Hebrews in Egypt
219
HEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEB
had nourished in them a strong propensity
to idolatry; and neither the miracles of
Moses, nor his precautions to withdraw
them from the worship of idols, nor the
rigor of his laws, nor the splendid marks
of God's presence in the Israelitish camp,
were able to conquer this unhappy perver-
sity. We know with what facility they
adopted the adoration of the golden calf,
when they had recently been eye-witnesses
of such divine wonders. Saul and David,
with all their authority, were not able en-
tirely to suppress such inveterate disorders.
Superstitions, which the Israelites did not
dare to exercise in public, were practised
in private. They sacrificed on the high
places, and consulted diviners and magi-
cians. Solomon, whom God had chosen to
build his temple, was himself a stone of
stumbling to Israel. He erected altars to
the false gods of the Phoenicians, Moabites,
and Ammonites, and not only permitted
his wives to worship the gods of their own
country, but himself to some extent adored
them, I Kin. 11:5-7. Most of his succes-
sors showed a similar weakness. Jerobo-
am introduced the worship of the golden
calves into Israel, which took such deep
root that it was never entirely extirpated.
It was for this cause that God gave the
Hebrews over into the hands of their ene-
mies, to captivity and dispersion. See
Idolatry. After the Captivity they ap-
pear to have been wholly free from the
worship of idols ; but they were still cor-
rupt and far from God, and having filled
the cup of their guilt by rejecting and cru-
cifying the Lord of glory, they were extir-
pated as a nation, and became strangers
and sojourners over all the earth.
4. Political History. This may be divi-
ded into 7 periods, as follows:
(i.) From Abraham to the Exodus. This
embraces the partriarchal period and the
sojourn in Egypt, where Jacob's descend-
ants dwelt 215 years, during which time the
Egyptians reduced them to state of sore
bondage. See Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, etc.
(2.) From the Exodus to the Kingdom.
The Hebrews were delivered from Egypt
by Jehovah through Moses, who led them
out with great signs and wonders to Sinai,
where God gave them his law; and then,
after 40 years of wanderings, he brought
them to the borders of the promised land.
Here Moses died, and was succeeded by
Joshua, who conquered the desired coun-
try, and allotted it to the several tribes.
220
From this time they were governed in the
name of Jehovah by chiefs, judges, or pa-
triarchal rulers, until the time of Samuel,
when the government was changed to a
monarchy, and Saul anointed king. See
MosKS, Exodus, Judges, Samuel.
(3.) To the Division of the Kingdom.
This period, of about 120 years, includes the
time of Israel's greatest prosperity, under
David and Solomon. David, a shepherd
youth, but the man after God's own heart,
was made king instead of the disobedient
and rejected Saul, and founded a family
which continued to reign in Jerusalem un-
til the entire subjugation of the country by
the Chaldaeans. It was during the reigns
of David and Solomon that Israel's territo-
rial limits were most extended, i Kin.
4:21-24. Foreign nations then most ac-
knowledged the glory and power of the
kingdom, i Kin. 5:1; 10:1. But Solomon's
reign, the period of the greatest prosperity,
was marked also by the beginnings of de-
cline— in the introduction of idolatry and
oppression, I Kin. 11:4-8; 12:4. See Saul,
David, Solomon, Temple.
(4.) To the Return from Captivity. At
Solomon's death the 10 tribes revolted from
his son Rehoboam, and formed under Je-
roboam a separate kingdom, that of Israel,
between which and that of Judah there
were hostile feelings and frequent wars.
Both fell into idolatry, and prophets were
sent, from time to time, to reprove, warn,
and instruct them. Temporary and par-
tial recoveries from idolatry were followed
by relapses. Both kingdoms came into
collision with surrounding nations, God's
instruments to punish them for their sins ;
and both declined in power, until the north-
ern kingdom was finally led away captive
by the Assyrians, B. C. 721, 2 Kin. 17:6-18,
and the southern by the Babj'lonians, B. C.
588, 2 Kin. 25:1-21. Between B. C. 536 and
457 two colonies of Hebrews, chiefly of Ju-
dah, Benjamin, and Levi, returned under
Zerubbabel and Ezra, Ezra 2:2; 8:1, being
followed by Nehemiah in 445, Neh. 2:7-11.
They rebuilt the temple, and the walls and
houses of Jerusalem, and attempted to re-
establish their nation, the majority of which
preferred to remain in the lands of their
captivity. See Kings.
(5.) To the Coming of Christ. Contrary
to the command of God, Jer. 42: 7-22, many
Jews after the Chaldaean conquest went
into Egypt, Jer. 43:1-7, fell into idolatry
there, Jer. 44:15-19, and were taken cap-
tive by Nebuchadnezzar when he overran
HEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEB
Egypt, B. C. 570, Jer. 46:13-28. Later, un-
der Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies,
great numbers of Jews settled in Egypt,
where they enjoyed many privileges. In
Alexandria they became exceedingly nu-
merous ; and there, under the patronage of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. C. 285, their schol-
ars made the Septuagint version of the Old
Testament. About B. C. 168 the Jews erect-
ed a temple at Leontopolis in Lower Egypt,
and worshipped there after the Mosaic rit-
ual. This temple, like that in Jerusalem,
was destroyed in Vespasian's reign. Philo,
the celebrated Jewish philosopher and his-
torian contemporary with Christ, was a
resident at Alexandria.
After the return from captivity, B. C. 536,
the Jews remained under the dominion of
Persia till the overthrow of that kingdom
by Alexander the Great, who granted them
many favors. On the disruption of his
kingdom at his death, B. C. 323, Palestine
was for over a century alternately subject
to the Graeco-Egyptian Ptolemies and the
Graeco-Syrian Seleucidfe, the " kings of the
south" and "of the north," who in their
frequent wars were often traversing the
country with their armies. The Jews final-
ly revolted from Egypt, after persecution
by Ptolemy Philopator, to Antiochus the
Great of Syria, B. C. 203, who treated them
kindly. But his youngest son, Antiochus
Epiphanes, violated the temple and dedi-
cated it to Jupiter Olympius, and endea-
vored to force the Jews to worship heathen
divinities. Of the Jews, one party, led by
the renegade high-priests Jason and Mene-
laus, favored the adoption of Greek cus-
toms, while the mass of the people clung to
their ancient faith, and many suffered tor-
ture and death rather than apostatize from
Jehovah. These were led by the Asmone-
an and Maccabean priestly and princely
family, and after a 30 years' struggle gained
their independence, peace being made with
the Syrian king Antiochus Sidetes by John
Hyrcanus, B. C. 133. His son Aristobulus
assumed the title of king B. C. 133. From
that time till B. C. 63, when Jerusalem was
taken by Pompey, the nation was engaged
in external wars and in struggles between
the rival parties of the Pharisees and Sad-
ducees. The Idumsean Antipater, father
of Herod, was made procurator of Judaea
B. C. 47, and 10 years later Herod, on
whom the Roman Senate conferred the
crown of Judaea, took possession of his
kingdom with the aid of the Roman army.
See Herod.
(6.) To the Destruction of Jerusalem.
As the gospels relate, the Jewish nation re-
jected the Messiah, and thus by despising
God's greatest offer of mercy brought ruin
upon itself. Matt. 23:34-37. The Jews suf-
fered much from the cruel Roman govern-
ors after Pilate, and at length were pro-
voked to an insurrection, which resulted
in the destruction of the temple and Jeru-
salem, A. D. 70. The Roman army under
Titus attacked the city when the nation
was gathered there to celebrate the Pass-
over. Fearful sufferings were endured,
and multitudes perished, as the Saviour
had foretold. Matt. 24:2; Luke 21:20-24.
(7.) To Modern Times. On the fall of
Jerusalem the Jews were scattered into all
parts of the Roman empire, multitudes
being sold as slaves. Many afterwards
returned to the ruins of Jerusalem. The
Jews were admitted to Roman citizenship
by the emperor Claudius, but were treated
with great severity by his successors. In
Hadrian's reign, A. D. 135, multitudes
flocked to the standard of the fanatical
Bar-Cocheba, who proclaimed himself the
Messiah ; but the Romans speedily brought
this insurrection to a bloody end, desola-
ting Judaea again, redestroying Jerusalem,
and on its ruins planting a Roman colony,
which they named ^lia Capitolina, and
forbade the Jews to enter. An unsuccess-
ful attempt to rebuild the temple was made
by the emperor Julian, A. D. 331-363, out
of hostility to Christianity.
Since the downfall of the Western Ro-
man empire, A. D. 476, the Jews have had
a variety of masters and fortunes, and have
endured much cruel persecution. Spread
over all parts of the earth, and in most
places exposed to contempt and oppres-
sion, they have yet remained a distinct
people and everywhere maintained obser-
vances peculiar to themselves : such as
circumcision, performed after the law of
their fathers ; the great day of expiation ;
also the observance of a sabbath or day of
rest on Saturday, and not on the Christian
Sabbath. They have generally retained
the observance of the Passover in some
form. They everywhere consider Judaea
as their proper country, and Jerusalem as
their metropolitan city. However com-
fortably they may be settled in any resi-
dence, they hope to see Zion and Jerusa-
lem revive from their ashes. Their con-
tinued existence as a distinct people is a
standing proof of the truth of Scripture,
and of the Christian as well as the Jewish
221
HEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEB
religion. It evinces God's providential
care over them, and his intention yet to
fulfil his gracious promises concerning
them, Rom. 11:26.
They are divided into various sects.
Some of them, who may be regarded as
successors of the ancient Pharisees, are
extremelj- attached to the traditions of the
rabbins, and to the multiplied observances
enjoined in the Talmud. Others, as the
Caraites, reject these, and adhere solely to
Scripture. The Rabbinical Jews, who are
the most numerous, are also called Ortho-
dox. Many Jews are deists or atheists.
Between these extremes are the " Conser-
vative " and the " Reformed " or " liberal "
Jews. The great Jewish theologian Moses
Maimonides, A. D. 1 135-1204, drew up a
confession of faith still used by the Ortho-
dox Jews. The modern epoch is marked
by the name of Moses Mendelssohn, 1729-
1786, whose translation of the Pentateuch
into German, with comments, was the
groundwork of reform. Within the pres-
ent century nearly all the European States
have admitted the Jews to political liberty
and nominal equality, which they fully en-
joy in the United States also. The strictly
Orthodox or Rabbinical Jews prevail in
Russia, Poland, and the East ; the Conser-
vative in Great Britain, France, and Hol-
land; the Reformed in Germany and Amer-
ica. Of late years the Jews have been in-
creasing in Jerusalem, where they gather
every Friday at the foundation of the tem-
ple wall and lament their forefathers' sins
and Jerusalem's desolation. See W.a.lls.
The Jews have distinguished themselves
in nearly all occupations, and many great
statesmen, artists, and scholars have arisen
among them. They have long been the
bankers of the world. Their number is
now estimated at 6,000,000, of whom 50,000
are in the city of New York.
For the language of the Jews, see Lan-
guage.
" Hebrew of the Hebrews," one of
pure Hebrew descent on the side of both
parents, Phil. 3:5.
Hk;brews, Epistle to the. The object
of this epistle, which ranks among the most
important of the New Testament books,
was to prove to the Christian Hebrews
from the Old Testament the divinity, hu-
manity, atonement, and intercession of
Christ, particularly his ])reeminence over
Moses and the angels of God ; to demon-
strate the superiority of the gospel to the
law, and the real object and design of the
222
Mosaic institution ; to fortify the minds of
the Hebrew converts against apostasy un-
der persecution, and to engage them to a
deportment becoming their Christian pro-
fession. In this view, the epistle furnishes
a key to the Old Testament Scriptures, and
is invaluable as a clear elucidation and an
inspired, unanswerable demonstration of
the doctrine of the great atoning Sacrifice
as set forth in Old Testament institutions.
The name of the writer of this epistle is
nowhere mentioned. Its authorship is dis-
puted, many ascribing it to the apostle Paul,
others to Apollos, Luke, or Barnabas. It
has been suggested that it may have been
written by Paul in Hebrew, and transferred
to Greek by Luke or some other of the great
apostle's disciples. This would account
for its difference in style and unity of sen-
timent as compared with the known wri-
tings of Paul. It is believed to have been
written in Italy about A. D. 63. See Paul.
HE' BRON ,/nends/np, I., an ancient city
of Canaan, and one of the most ancient in
the world, built 7 years before Tanis, the
capital of Lower Egypt, Num. 13:22. It
was anciently called Kirjath-arba (see Ar-
b.\) and Mamre, and was a favorite resi-
dence of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Here too they were buried.
Gen. 13:18; 14:13; 23:2-19; 35:27. Under
Joshua and Caleb the Israelites conquered
it from the Canaanites, and it was assigned
to the priests and made a Levitical citj^ of
refuge. Josh. 14:13-15; 15:13; 21:11, 13;
Judg. 1 : 10, 20. It was David's seat of
government during the 7 years when he
reigned over Judah only, 2 Sam. 2:3; 5:5.
Here Absalom raised the standard of re-
volt, 2 Sam. 15:9, 10. It was fortified by
Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:10, and reoccupied
after the Captivity, Neh. 11:25. It was re-
covered from Edom by Judas Maccabeus;
burned by the Romans, A. D. 69; taken by
the Mohammedans in the 7th century, and
by the Crusaders early in the 12th; it was
the seat of a " bishopric " till 1187, when it
again fell into Moslem hands, and has so
remained. It is one of the 4 holy cities of
the Moslems, and a hot-bed of fanaticism.
It is also one of the 4 holy cities of the
Jews. At present Hebron is an unwalled
city of about 10,000 inhabitants, of whom
some 500 are Jews, and the remainder
Turks and Arabs. It lies in a deep valley
and on the adjacent hillside, in the ancient
hill country of Judsea, about 20 miles south
of Jerusalem, and 20 north of Beer-sheba,
and 3,040 feet above the sea. Its modern
HEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEL
HEBRON: THE GREAT MOSQLIK AND PART OK THE TOWN.
Arabic name, el-Khulil, " the friend," is in
honor of Abraham, " the friend of God."
In one quarter of the town is the Haram —
a sacred inclosure surrounding a small
mosque, which it is generally believed
stands over the venerated cave of Machpe-
lah. The outer structure is built of mas-
sive stones, and is about 60 feet high, 150
feet wide, and 200 long. With the e.xcep-
tion of its 2 minarets, it is evidently of very
high antiquity — according to Tristram and
Stanley, probably as early as David or
Solomon. The mosque within was proba-
bly a Christian church in Justinian's time.
The Moslems guard it jealously against
the entrance of Jews or Christians, though
the Prince of Wales, with Dean Stanley,
was admitted in 1862, the Marquis of Bute
in 1866, and the Crown-prince of Prussia in
1869. The real tomb is beneath the floor of
the mosque. See Machpelah. Other rel-
ics of antiquity exist in 2 stone reservoirs,
the larger 133 feet square and 21 feet deep.
They are still in daily use; and one of
them was probably the " pool in Hebron,"
above which David hung up the assassins
of Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. 4:12. The city con-
tains 9 mosques and 2 synagogues. Its
streets are narrow; the houses of stone,
with flat roofs surmounted by small domes.
Large quantities of glass lamps and col-
ored rings are here manufactured ; also
leathern bottles, raisins, and dibs, or grape-
syrup. A brisk trade is carried on with
the Bedouins, who exchange their wool and
camels' hair for the commodities of the
town. The environs of the city are very
fertile, furnishing the finest vineyards in
Palestine, numerous plantations of olive
and other fruit trees, and excellent pas-
turage. See EsHCOL, Mamre. Two miles
west of Hebron is the tree venerated as
"Abraham's oak." Its trunk measures
32 feet in circumference, and its crown of
spreading branches 275 feet. Josephus
speaks of a great oak or terebinth on this
spot, and of the tradition that it was as old
as the world. See 0.\k.
II. A city of Asher, Josh. 19:28, perhaps
the same as Abdon, Josh. 21:30.
HE'BRONITES, descendants of Hebron,
a son of Kohath, Num. 3:19, 27; 26:58.
HEDGE. A close row of thorny shrubs
still often surmounts in the East a wall of
dried earth or of stone, Psa. 80: 12, 13 ; Isa.
5:5; Mic. 7:4 ; a formidable barrier in the
way of the slothful, Prov. 15:19. The nar-
row paths amid thorny hedges, Num. 22 : 24,
are contrasted with the highways in one
of our Saviour's parables, Luke 14:23.
HEIF'ER, a symbol of wanton wildness,
especially when highly fed, Jer. 50: 1 1 ; Hos.
4:16. A red heifer was sacrificed without
the camp, Heb. 13 : 12, as described in Num.
19, because all contact with death — the
penalty of sin— was defiling ; illustrating
the superior cleansing power of the blood
of Christ for polluted but penitent souls,
Heb. 9:13, 14; 10:22.
HEIR. See Inheritance.
223
HEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEL
HEL'BON, /£■;-//■/«■, Ezek. 27:18, noted
for its wine, supplied to Tyre by Damas-
cus merchants. Not, as formerly thought,
Aleppo (Arabic, Halebj, which is about 180
miles north of Damascus, and produces no
wine of reputation, but a wild glen and
village still called Helbon, high up on the
eastern slope of Anti-Lebanon, about 10
miles north of Damascus, and famous for
its vineyards and wool. Many ancient
ruins are to be seen here.
HE'LEPH, e:i:chan^e,Josh. 19:33, a place
on the border of Naphtali. Perhaps Beit-
lif, but not identified with certainty.
PLAIN AND OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS.
HELIOP'OLIS, city of the sun, I., a cele-
brated city of Egypt, called in Coptic, He-
brew, and the English version, On, sun,
light, Gen. 41:45. The 70 mention ex-
pressly, Exod. i:ii, that On is Heliopolis.
Jeremiah, 43:13, calls this city Beth-she-
mesh, that is, house or temple of the sun.
In Ezekiel, 30:17, the name is pronounced
Aven, which is the same as On. The Arabs
called it 'Ain-Shems, fountain of the sun.
All these names come from the circum-
stance that the city was the ancient seat of
the Egyptian worship of the sun. It was
in ruins in the time of Strabo, who men-
tions that 2 obelisks had already been car-
ried away to Rome. At present its site, 6
miles north-northeast from Cairo, is marked
only by extensive ranges of low mounds
full of ruinous fragments, and a solitary
obelisk formed of a single block of red
granite, rising 66 feet above the sand, and
covered on its 4 sides with hieroglyphics.
II. Another Heliopolis is alluded to in
Scripture under the name of the " plain of
Aven," or field of the sun," Amos i : 5. This
224
was the Heliopolis of Coele-Syria, now Ba-
albek. Its stupendous ruins have been the
wonder of past centuries, and will continue
to be the wonder of future generations, till
barbarism and earthquakes shall have done
their last work. The most notable remains
are those of 3 temples, the largest of which,
with its courts and portico, extended i,ooo
feet from east to west. A magnificent por-
tico, 180 feet long, with 12 lofty and highly-
wrought columns, led to a large hexagonal
court, and this to a vast quadrangle, 440
feet by 370. Fronting on this rose 10 col-
umns of the peristyle which surrounded
the inner temple. There were 19 columns
on each side, or 54 in all, only 6 of which
are now standing, and they were 7 feet in
diameter, and 62 feet high, besides the en-
tablature of nearly 14 feet. This temple
rested on an immense vaulted substruc-
ture, rising nearly 50 feet above the ground
outside, and in this are 3 stones 63 feet
long and 13 feet high, lying 20 feet above
the ground. The temples are of Roman
origin ; and in vastness of plan, combined
HEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HEL
RUINS OF BAALBEK.
with elaborateness and delicacy of execu-
tion, they seem to surpass all others in the
world. " They are like those of Athens for
lightness, but far surpass them in vastness ;
they are vast and massive, like those of
Thebes, but far excel them in airiness and
grace." (Robinson.)
HEL'KATH-HAZ'ZURIM,7?-^:, sometimes a determined season,
Luke 22:53 ; John 2:4 ; 4:21, 23 ; and some-
times one of the 12 portions into which
daily time was divided. Acts 5:7; 19:34.
Though the Egyptians very early divided
the day and the night each into 12 equal
portions, the Hebrews did not : but em-
ployed 3 general dixrtsions — " evening,"
" morning," and " noon " — Psa. 55: 17, and
further divided the day into unequal sec-
tions, as the Arabs now do. The Babylo-
nians divided the day into 12 equal parts
or hours, and afterwards the Greeks, and
the Jews at or before the Captivity. This
was the custom in our Lord's time, John
11:9, reckoning the hours from sunrise to
sunset — the 3d, 6th, and 9th hours answer-
ing nearly to our 9 o'clock a. m., noon, and
3 o'clock p. M. ; and these, according to
Josephus, were the appointed "hours of
prayer." See Acts 3:1; 10:9, 30. By the
Romans the hours were reckoned from
midnight to noon, and again from noon to
midnight ; and this is thought by some com-
mentators to have been the method used
by John in his gospel, 1:39; 4:6. This
assumption would harmonize John 19:14,
where Jesus is said to have been delivered
to the Jews by Pilate at "about the 6th
hour " — 6 A. M. — with the statements of the
evangelists that the crucifixion took place
at "the 3d hour" — by Jewish reckoning 9
A. M., and the darkening of the sun from
the 6th to the 9th hour, 12 to 3 p. m.. Matt.
27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44, time being
allowed for delay in going to Calvary, and
erecting and occupying the other crosses. —
Scripture hours being counted from sun-
rise to sunset, of course varied in length
in winter and summer. The astronomical
hour, or 24th part of a civil day, did not
come into general use till towards the
end of the fourth century. " The eleventh
hour," ending with sunset, became a pro-
verbial expression for lateness. Matt. 20:1-
10. The night was divided into Watches.
(See.) It is not known by what means the
Jews determined the length of their hours,
but some kind of a dial, with careful divis-
ions no doubt, for the hours of sunshine,
existed in Ahaz's time, Isa. 38:8; and they
241
HOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HOU
probably had the clepsydra, or water time-
piece, and other contrivances known to
Persians, Greeks, and Romans.
HOUSE. The difference between tents
and permanent dwellings appears very
early, (ien. 4:17, 20, and a high degree of
constructive skill had been attained before
the time of the ark and the tower of Babel,
Gen. 6:14-16; 11:3-5. Abraham and his
near descendants dwelt in tents, Heb. 11:9,
but at the time of the h;.\odus the Hebrews
occupied houses, Exod. 12:7, as did the
Canaanites whom they dispossessed, Deut.
6:io, II, having long lived in cities, like the
Assyrians and Egyptians, Gen. 10:10-12,
19. The mode o^ building in the East
seems to have been much the same from
the earliest ages, as the houses shown in
Egyptian and Assyrian records accord
nearly with those now in use. The ruins
of ancient cities show only the more sub-
stantial public buildings.
The rural poor live in huts of sun-burnt
brick or mud, usually of one story and
often with but one apartment— which in
some cases holds the cattle as well as the
family, i Sam. 2S:24. The windows are
small and high, and sometimes with wood-
en gratings ; the roofs, reached by a ladder
outside, are flat, a thick plaster of mud and
straw laid upon boughs, and booths of
boughs or rushes are often erected on them
for sleeping-places. In parts of Arabia
and Syria stone is abundant, and is used
for the houses of the poor. Their dwell-
ings in towns are similar, though some-
times they have more than one story, a bet-
ter roof, and a shaded platform in front.
Such huts afford shelter for vermin and
serpents, Amos 5:19, and may easily be
"dug through," Job 24:16; Ezek. 12:5-7;
Matt. 6:19, 20; under the wind and rain
they soon melt away if deserted, Job 15:28,
illustrating the frailtj- of human life. Job
4: 19, and of delusive teachings and ground-
less hopes, Ezek. 13:10-16; compare Matt.
7:24-27. See Inns.
Houses of a better class, of which there
are many grades, Jer. 22:14, are usually
built in the form of a hollow square with
INTERIOR OF AN ANCIENT HOrsK
an open " court " or yard " in the midst,"
2 Sam. 4:6; Luke 5: 19. The materials used
are brick and stone, sometimes marble,
2 Sam. 12:31 ; i Chr. 29:2; Jer. 43:9; Amos
5:11; Nah 3:14, wood being used for floors,
ceilings, and doors. Cramp-irons anciently
held the great blocks of stone together, and
tiles were united by mud or mortar. The
outer or street wall of an Eastern house
looks gloomy and inhospitable, having only
a door and a projecting window or two,
242
with closely-latticed casements opened only
on public occasions, 2 Kin. 9:30-33. See
Lattice. The door, usually locked and
attended by a porter, Acts 12: 13, opens into
a porch containing benches for the ser-
vants. Passing through the porch one en-
ters the court, which is commonly paved,
sometimes with costly mosaic, and often
contains a well or fountain, 2 Sam. 17:18,
with vines or trees, Psa. 52:8; 92:13. In
hot weather it may be covered with an
HOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HOU
awning; compare the description of the
heavens in Psa. 104:2. The wealthy spare
no pains to render the court a dehghtful
place of resort in summer. Here guests
are received, and at a wedding, etc., Esth.
1:5, it is furnished with carpets, rugs, di-
vans, flowers, etc. The appearance of a
deserted court is described in Isa. 34:13.
Some of our Saviour's discourses were
probably delivered in the courts of large
houses. The stairs leading to the upper
story, if there is one, and to the roof, open
on a corner of the court, or on the porch.
The court is surrounded by a colonnade or
veranda several feet deep, over which, in
houses of more than one story, is a gallery
of the same dimensions, bordered by a bal-
ustrade or lattice-work. Spacious cham-
bers communicate with the verandas, by
open fronts, by arches, or by doors, in this
■case receiving light and air from the court
by windows. These rooms do not com-
municate with each other, except by the
veranda. On the ground floor facing the
entrance into the court there is generally
a "guest-chamber," Luke 22:11, where the
master of the house receives his friends ;
it often has a portion of its floor lower than
the rest and paved with tiles, with fre-
quently a fountain in the centre. Around
the 3 inner sides of the room is a raised
platform with divans, which are seats by
day and beds at night, there being usually
no special bedrooms. The host retains a
corner seat of the divan as a place of honor.
The guests remove their sandals before
stepping on the platform, Exod. 3:5; Josh.
5:15; Luke 7:38. The ceiling is often richly
wainscoted and painted, inlaid, or adorned
with stucco, Jer. 22:14; Hag. 1:4, and the
walls are similarly ornamented, sometimes
with hangings. See Ivory. Some of the
other rooms on the ground-floor are used
as store-rooms, and others are for servants
and guests. Many houses have more than
one court, some in Damascus as many as 7.
When there are 2, the master has his pri-
vate rooms opening on the inner court, on
which also open the rooms of the women of
the family, the "harem," secluded, i Kin.
7:8; Esth. 2:3, which no man but the mas-
ter may enter— though in Israel the women
enjoyed much greater freedom than mod-
ern Orientals. Much expense is lavished
on these apartments, which are perhaps
referred to under the name of "palaces,"
I Kin. 16:18; 2 Kin. 15:25; Isa. 34:13. In
this inner court it is usual to have a foun-
tain and basin of water, 2 Sam. ir:2. If
there is but one court, the females are
lodged in a separate building, or in an up-
per story — where also in fine houses the
rooms are spacious and furnished with
mats, divans, and curtains, and considered
more desirable than the lower rooms.
There is often another "guest-chamber"
on the upper floor. Some houses have 3
stories. Acts 20:9, or even more. The up-
per story often projects over the lower,
and through the lattice of a window thus
overhanging the street Ahaziah seems to
have fallen, 2 Kin. 1:2. A structure called
aliyyah is sometimes annexed to a house,
often over the porch, communicating with
the gallery of the main building by a door,
or with the porch by private stairs, and
containing but one or two rooms, devoted
to the entertainment of visitors, or for re-
tirement. Matt. 6:6. Its roof was more
secluded than the main roof In such a
structure may have been Eglon's summer-
chamber, Judg. 3:20-23, David's retiring-
place, 2 Sam. 18:33, Elijah's loft, i Kin.
17:19, Elisha's little chamber, 2 Kin. 4:10,
and Ahaz's upper chamber, 2 Kin. 23:12.
The roof, or housetop, is reached by out-
side stairs from the porch or the court,
Matt. 24:17; 2 Kin. 9:13. The roof is usu-
ally flat, though modern houses sometimes
have domes over upper rooms to enlarge
them. A common mode of construction is
to lay beams about 3 feet apart, lay across
these shorter sticks or thorn-bushes, and
cover the whole with a kind of cement.
Stone rollers are kept on many roofs to
pack them when they crack and leak, Prov.
27:15. Or the coating may be mainly of
hardened earth, upon which grass grows
in the spring rains, but soon withers in the
sun, Psa. 129:6, 7; Isa. 37:27. In some
places the roof-floor is of stone or brick.
A wall or parapet guards the sides, often
so low that a person can easily pass from
house to house over a whole row. The
wall overlooking the court is always breast-
high, but is sometimes only a balustrade or
lattice-work, though the Israelites were by
law required to make their roofs safe, Deut
22:8. These were much frequented for va-
rious purposes — such as drying linen, corn,
flax, figs, and raisins, Josh. 2:6; conver-
sing, I Sam. 9:25, and sleeping, ver. 26 —
where Samuel " called to Saul upon the
house-top." Roofs were used for idola-
trous worship, 2 Kin. 23:12; Jer. 19:13;
32:29; Zeph. 1:5, for lamentation in time
of public calamity, Isa. 15:3; Jer. 48:38,
for public proclamations, Matt. 10:27, fo''
243
HOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HUM
observation in time of danger, 2 Sam.
18:24; Isa. 22:1, and for prayer, Acts 10:9.
Booths were erected on them at the Feast
of Tabernacles, Neh. 8:16. The doors of
Eastern houses were hung in a peculiar
way. See Hinge. A fire was sometimes
ANCIENT APARTMENT
made with wood in the open court, Luke
22:55, or rooms were warmed by charcoal
in a portable furnace, the "hearth " of Jer.
36:22. Chimneys were unknown, and the
smoke escaped by holes in the wall, Hos.
13:3- The kitchen is in the inner court, if
there are 2, and contains a raised platform
of brick, with holes in it for fire, like the
"boiling-places" of Ezek. 46:23. There
were sometimes special apartments in large
houses for summer and winter, Jer. 36:22;
Amos 3:15. In Jerusalem some houses
have no less than 4 cisterns, cut in the
limestone rock, 2 Kin. 18:31 ; into these the
rain-water is conducted from the roof.
Great care was, and still is, taken in pre-
paring the foundations of fine houses, i Kin.
5:17. digging many feet to reach solid rock,
whence arches are built up to the surface,
Luke 6:48. A new house was dedicated
by its owner, Deut. 20:5.
" House " sometimes denotes a family.
Gen. 12:17; E.xod. 1:21; property, i Kin.
13:8; the earthly and the spiritual body,
Eccl. 12; 2 Cor. 5:1; the grave. Job 30:23;
Isa. 14:18; the tabernacle, Exod. 23:19;
the church, i Tim. 3:15; and heaven, John
14:2.
"House of the rolls" and "treasure-
house," the depository of public archives,
Ezra 6:1 ; 5: 17.
"House of God," in Judg. 20:18, 26, 27;
21:2, means Bethel, where the ark of God
tarried for some time. See Bethei,.
HUK'KOK, incised, in the boundary of
244
WITH STONE CEILING.
Naphtali, Josh. 19:34; now Yakuk, west of
the Sea of Galilee, 7 miles south of Safed.
HUL'DAH, weasel, wife of Shallum, a
prophetess in the reign of Josiah, consult-
ed respecting the denunciations in the new-
found copy of the Book of the Law, 2 Kin.
22:14-20; 2 Chr. 34:22-28, B. C. 623. See
College.
HUMIL'ITY (from the Latin humus, the
ground), low-mindedness, a proper charac-
teristic of all created beings, and possessed
by all the holy, whether unfallen or re-
deemed, Isa. 6:2,3; R^v. 4:8-11; 7:9-12.
As a Christian grace it is wrought in the re-
newed heart by the Holy Spirit. It springs
from a realization of one's personal weak-
ness, unworthiness, and sinfulness, and
one's obligation to the grace of God for any
good; and results in not thinking of one's
self more highly than he ought, Luke 17:10;
Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:3, 4, giving all glory to
God, I Cor. 4:7; 2 Cor. 3:5, and submitting
one's self to him. As a recognition of need
it is indispensable to acceptance with him,
and to growth in holiness. Hence it is re-
quired by God, Mic. 6:8, has the promise of
his blessing, Isa. 57:15; i Pet. 5:5, is urged
by Christ as indispensable to his followers,.
Matt. 18:4; Luke 18:14; Col. 3: 12, and rec-
ommended by his example, John 13:4-17;
Phil. 2:5-8. Punishment is threatened for
its opposite, pride, which is an abomination
to God, Isa. 2:11-17; Prov. 16:5. There is
an affected and false humility, which is a
veil for spiritual pride — a voluntary self-
HUN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HUS
subjection to things not commanded of God,
accompanied by a depreciation and neglect
of Christ. Against this we are warned,
Col. 2:18-23.
HUNT'ING. The Scripture account of
primeval men exhibits them not as mere
savages, subsisting by the chase, but as
living an agricultural and pastoral life,
dwelling in cities, and skilled in various
arts. Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 17, 20-22; 5:29. It is
not known that the use of animal food was
customary before the flood, but Noah was
permitted to make use of the beasts, both
domestic and wild, for food, after draining
off the blood, Gen. 9:2-4. Nimrod was "a
mighty hunter," Gen. 10:9, also Esau, Gen.
25:27, 28; 27:3, 4; but in general the patri-
archs seem to have lived a quiet pastoral
and agricultural life. Gen. 9:20; 13:2;
26:12-14; 37:2-7. In Egypt, as the monu-
ments show, hunting was pursued as a
sport, hounds and the lasso being employed.
When the Israelites conquered Canaan, the
expulsion of the heathen was to be grad-
ual, to guard against an undue increase of
wild beasts, Exod. 23:27-30. Afterwards
hunting was practised, both of edible ani-
mals, Lev. 17: 13; 25:7; Prov. 12: 17, and of
wild beasts : we read of animals of the an-
telope and deer kinds, Deut. 12:15; i K.in.
4:23, and of lions and bears, Judg. 14:5;
I Sam. 17:34; 2 Kin. 2:24, jackals, Judg.
15:4, and foxes. Song 2:15. — The methods
of hunting were various : bows and arrows
were used. Gen. 27:3, large animals, like
the lion, were taken in a pit dug for the
purpose, 2 Sam. 23:20; Ezek. 19:4-8; some
being driven between nets inclosing a wide
region, converging and ending in a capa-
cious pit. Traps of several kinds were
used, some lying in the ground in the ani-
mals' run, and catching them by the foot,
Job 18 : 9, 10 ; Prov. 22 : 5. Birds were caught
by a net stretched over a frame, or held
open by a stick so placed as to give way at
a touch, Amos 3:5; by a snare to entangle
the leg, Job 18:10; Psa. 140:5; and by a
trap containing a decoy bird, Jer. 5:26, 27.
The Assyrian and Babylonian monuments
show wild-bulls and lions hunted by kings
on horseback and in chariots. War is spo-
ken of under the image of hunting, Jer.
16:16.
HUR, a hole, a chief man among the He-
brews in the desert, associated with Aaron
in upholding the hands of Moses at Rephi-
dim, and in supplying his place while on
the summit of Sinai, Exod. 17: lo, 12 ; 24: 14.
Four other men of this name are men-
tioned, Exod. 31:2; Num. 31:8; I Kin. 4:8;
Neh. 3:9.
HU'RAM. See Hiram.
HUS'BAND, a man betrothed. Matt, i : 16,
19, as well as one actually married, be-
trothal being held to be inviolable.
HUS'BANDMAN, a cultivator of the
ground, an ancient and honorable occupa-
tion. Gen. 2:15; 9:20. God is so styled,
John 15:1; compare Isa. 5:1-7, a figure
which well represents his assiduous care
for his people— his vineyard, branches of
his Vine, Christ— and his plot of tilled
ground, his "husbandry," i Cor. 3:9.
HU'SHAI, haste, the Archite, perhaps a
citizen of Archi, Josh. 16:2. See 2 Sam.
15:32-37; 16:16-19; 17; I Kin. 4:16; I Chr.
27:33. He was David's friend or compan-
ion, and probably an aged man, since
David suggested that he would be a " bur-
den " to him in fleeing from Absalom, com-
pare 2 Sam. 19:35, but might do him valu-
able service as an adviser of Absalom.
God did not sanction the deceitful policy
of David and Hushai, yet he allowed Absa-
lom's hypocrisy and treachery to be pun-
ished by like sins in Hushai.
HUSKS, Luke 15:16, the fruit of the ca-
rob-tree, Ceratonia Siliqua, a handsome
evergreen common in the countries bor-
dering on the Mediterranean. It attains a
height of from 20 to 30 feet, and has clus-
ters of dark red blossoms, which mature
245
HUZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
HYS
into flat brown pods 6 to lo inches long
and an inch or more wide. They resem-
ble the pods of the American locust-tree,
which is of the same family. From their
curved shape came their Greek name kera-
tia, "little horns." The pods contain a
number of small flat seeds imbedded in a
sweet nutritious pulp. In their native lands
they are a chief food of cattle, and much
used by the poor. From the erroneous
idea that they were the " locusts " on which
John the Baptist subsisted, they are often
called St. John's bread.
HUZ'ZAB, Nah. 2:7, A. V., often regard-
ed as a queen of Nineveh. But most mod-
ern sciiolars reject this opinion. Rawlin-
son tiiinks the fertile " Zab country," on
the river so called 12 centuries before
Christ, may be intended, as a representa-
tive of all Assyria. Others interpret it as
in the A. V. margin, " it is decreed," /. e.,
Nineveh's fall; or, connecting it with the
preceding verse and a different Hebrew
verb, "shall flow away," /. e., the palace,
ver. 6.
HYMEN^'US, perlainifig- lo marriage, a
member of the church, probably at Ephe-
sus, who fell into great errors of principle
and practice, i Tim. 1:20, and was "deliv-
ered unto Satan " by Paul. The expres-
sion probably denotes ecclesiastical excom-
munication, and the infliction, through the
permitted agency of Satan, of some bodily
infirmity, intended for the sufferer's spirit-
ual profit; compare Job 1:6-12; Matt. 4:1;
I Cor. 5:5:2 Cor. 12:7. Hymenaeus is spo-
ken of later as still in error, denying the
resurrection, and corrupting the faith of
others, 2 Tim. 2:17, 18, having perhaps
wrested Paul's teachings as to the raising
of the spirit from the death of sin, Rom.
6:4; Eph. 2:6; Col. 2:12; 2 Pet. 3:16.
H'YMN, a religious canticle, song, or
psalm. Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16. Paul bids
Christians edify one another with "psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs." Matthew
says that Christ and his disciples, having
sup])ed, sang a hymn— probably a part of
the Psalms which the Jews used to sing
during the Passover, which they called the
Hallel; that is, the Hallelujah Psalms.
These are Psalms 113-118, of which the
first 2 are supposed to have been chanted
before the Passover was eaten, and the
others afterwards. Paul and Silas sang
hymns in prison, Acts 16:25, R. V. Pliny
relates that the early Christians sang hymns
to Christ as (^od.
H'yp'OCRITE, one who, like a stage-
246
player, feigns to be what he is not. The
epithet is generally applied to those who
assume the appearance of virtue or piety,
without possessing the reality. Our Sa-
viour accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy,
Luke 12:1. Besides the self- deceived,
writers distinguish 4 sorts of hypocrites :
" worldly," professing religion for selfish
purposes. Matt. 23:5; " legal," obeying the
law to merit heaven, without a renew^a
heart, Rom. 10:3; " evangelical," rejoicing
in the idea that Christ died for them, with-
out a life that proves a genuine faith, 2 Pet.
2:20; "enthusiastic." trusting in frames
and feelings, without the fruits of the Spir-
it, 2 Cor. II : 13-15.
THE CAl'FARIS SPINOSA, OR CAPRR-PLANT.
HYS'SOP was used in the ist celebration
of the Passover, Exod. 12:22, and in the
ceremonial purifications of the Israelites,
Lev. 14:4-7, 49-52; Num. 19:6, 18, 19; Heb.
9: 19-21 ; compare Psa. 51 -.j. It sometimes
grew on walls, i Kin. 4:33. It appears to
have had a long stem, John 19:29, though
sprigs of it may have been bound around
the sponge, and both fastened to a reed or
stick. Matt. 27:48. It was perhaps a spe-
cies of marjoram. Origanum viaru, a plant
with a strong straight stalk, small downy
leaves, and a white blossom, with an aro-
matic odor and a pungent taste, abundant
in Syria, and sometimes found on tlie walls
of terraces. Others have thought that the
caper-plant was intended, which is found
in Palestine, grows on walls, has detergent
qualities, and may furnish a stalk 3 or 4
feet long.
IBL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
IDo
L
IB'LEAM, people-waster, a city of Ma-
nasseh, in the territory of Issachar or Ash-
er, Josh. 17:11; Judg. i : 27 ; 2 Kin. 9 : 27 ;
1 Chr. 6:70. Supposed to be Jelama, 2
miles north of Jenin.
IB'ZAN, illustrious, the loth "judge of
Israel," born at Bethlehem in Zebulun.
He held office 7 years, and was noted for
iiis large and prosperous family, B. C. 1182,
Judg. 12:8.
ICH'ABOD, Where is the glory? a son of
Phinehas, and grandson of Eli, both of
whom, and his mother also, died on the
day of his birth, i Sam. 4 : 19-22 ; 14:3.
ICO'NIUM, a large and opulent city of
Asia Minor, generally assigned by ancient
writers to Lycaonia, but by some to Phry-
gia or Pisidia. It was at the foot of the
Taurus range, surrounded by mountains
except on the east, where was a large and
fertile plain. Lying on the great Roman
highway that connected Ephesus with Tar-
sus, Antioch, and the East, and at the in-
tersection of several important roads, it
was a favorable centre for the spread of
the gospel, which was preached here by
Paul and Barnabas, A. D. 45, on Paul's ist
missionary journej^ Acts 13:51. He made
many converts, both Jews and Greeks, but
the unbelievers not only expelled him, but
pursued him to Lystra, Acts 14:1-6, 19;
2 Tim. 3 ■ II. Paul, however, revisited the
city later. Acts 14:21. On his 2d circuit,
with Silas, A. D. 51, he seems to have been
again at Iconium, Acts 16 : 1-3, and associ-
ated Timothy with him; also again on his
3d circuit. Acts 18:23. The church thus
planted flourished until extinguished by
the persecutions of the Saracens, and later
of the Seljukian Turks, whose sultans re-
sided at Iconium and surrounded it with
strong walls, still standing, and 108 square
towers. It is now called Konieh, and is
the capital of Caramania, having a popula-
tion of 30,000, composed of Turks, Arme-
nians, Greeks, and Jews.
ID'DO, timely, I., a prophet of Judah, who
prophesied against Jeroboam, and wrote
thehistoriesofRehoboamandAbijah,2Chr.
9:29; 12:15; 13:22; identified by Josephus
and others with the prophet sent to Jerobo-
am at Bethel, and killed by a lion, i Kin. 13 ;
but this is a mere conjecture. — II. Grand-
father of the prophet Zechariah, Zech. 1:1,
7; compare Ezra 5:1; 6:14. He returned
from Babylon with Zerubbabel, Neh. 12:4,
16.— III. I Kin. 4:14.— IV. A Levite, i Chr.
6:21. — V. Mishap, E.zra.i -.17-20. B.C. 459. —
VI. /.cc'.?/}', I Chr. 27:21. B.C. 1014. Three
difierent words in Hebrew are translated
alike in English, meaning as above.
I'DLE, in Matt. 12:36, means empty and
fruitless. The "idle word" which Christ
condemns is a word morally useless and
evil.
I'DOL, IDOL'ATRY. The word idol sig-
nifies literally a representation or figure.
It is always employed in Scripture in a bad
sense, for representations of heathen dei-
ties of what nature soever. In many pas-
sages idols are called devils. Lev. 17:7;
Deut. 32:17; 2 Chr. 11:15; Psa. 106:37;
I Cor. 10:20; Rev. 9:20. God forbids all
sorts of idols, or figures and representa-
THE IDOL JUGGERNAUT.
tions of creatures, formed or set up with
intention of paying superstitious worship
to them, Exod. 20:3-5; 34:13: Deut. 4:16-
19; 7:25,26. He also forbids all attempts
to represent him by any visible form, Exod.
32:4,5; Deut. 4:15; Neh. 9:18.
The heathen had idols of all sorts — paint-
ings, bas-reliefs, and all varieties of sculp-
ture— and these of many kinds of materi-
als, as gold, silver, brass, stone, wood, pot-
ter's earth, etc. Stars, spirits, men, ani-
mals, rivers, plants, and elements were the
subjects of them. Scarcely an object or
power in nature, scarcely a faculty of the
soul, a virtue, a vice, or a condition of
human life, has not received idolatrous
worship. See Stars. Some nations wor-
shipped a rough stone. Such is the black
stone of the ancient Arabs, retained by
Mohammed, and now kept in the Caaba at
Mecca.
It is impossible to ascertain the period at
247
IDO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
IDO
which the worship of false gods and idols
was introduced. No mention is made of
THE HINDOO IDOL PULLIAR.
such worship before the deluge ; though
from the silence of Scripture we cannot
argue that it did not exist. Josephus and
many of the fathers were of opinion that
soon after the deluge idolatry became prev-
alent; and certainly, wherever we turn our
eyes after the time of Abraham, we see
only a false worship. That patriarch's
forefathers, and even he himself, were im-
plicated in it, as is evident from Josh.
24:2, 14.
The Hebrews had no peculiar form of
idolatry; they imitated the superstitions of
others, but do not appear to have been
the inventors of any. When they were in
Egypt, many of them worshipped Egyptian
deities, Ezek. 20:8; in the wilderness they
worshipped those of the Canaanites, Egyp-
tians, Ammonites, and Moabites; in con-
quered Canaan, those of the Phcenicians,
Syrians, and other people around them.
Num. 25; Judg. 10:6; Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43.
Rachel, it may be, had adored idols at her
father Laban's, since she carried off his
teraphim. Gen. 31:19, 30. Jacob, after his
return from Mesopotamia, required his peo-
ple to reject the strange gods from among
them, and also the superstitious pendants
worn by them in their ears, which he hid
under a terebinth near Shechem, Gen.
35:2-4. He preserved his family in the
worship of God while he lived.
Under the government of the judges,
" the children of Israel did evil in the sight
248
of the Lord, and served Baalim. They for-
sook the Lord (iod of their fathers, and fol-
lowed other gods — of the gods of the people
that were round abfjut them ; and they for-
sook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashta-
roth,"Judg. 2:11-13. Gideon, after he had
been favored by God with a miraculous
deliverance, made an ephod, which en-
snared the Israelites in unlawful worship,
Judg. 8:27. Micah's teraphim also were
the objects of idolatrous worship till the
captivity of Israel under the Philistines,
Judg. 17:5; 18:30,31; I Sam. 4. See Tkr-
AI'HI.M.
During the times of Samuel, i Sam. 7:3,
4, Saul, and David, the worship of God
seems to have been preserved compara-
tively pure in Israel, tliough. judging from
the presence of " teraphim " in the home of
the daughter of Saul and wife of David,
I Sam. 19:13, some veneration for these
images then existed. Solomon, seduced by
complaisance to his strange wives, caused
temples to be erected in honor of Ashto-
reth goddess of the Phoenicians, Moloch
god of the Ammonites, and Chemosh god
of the Moabites. His son and successor in
Judah, Rehoboam, continued the worship
of heathen divinities, i Kin. 14:21-24; and
Jeroboam, king of the northern tribes, set
up golden calves at Dan and Bethel, and
made Israel to sin, i Kin. 12:20,26-33. The
people, no longer restrained by royal au-
thority, worsliipped not only these golden
calves, but many other idols, particularly
Baal and Ashtoreth. Under the reign of
Ahab, idolatry reached its height. The
impious Jezebel endeavored to extinguish
the worship of the Lord, by jwrsecuting his
prophets (who, as a barrier, still retained
some of the people in the true religion), till
God, incensed at their idolatry, abandoned
Israel to the kings of Assyria and Chal-
daea, who transplanted them beyond the
Euphrates. Judah was almost equally cor-
rupted. The descriptions given by the
prophets of their irregularities and idola-
tries, of their abominations and lascivious
ness on the high places and in woods con-
secrated to idols, and of their human sac-
rifices, fill us with dismay, and unveil the
awful corruption of the heart of man. See
Moloch. The tendency to idolatry was
not wholly eradicated by the severe disci-
pline of the Babylonish Captivity. Many
of the Hebrews, even priests and Levites,
after the return married heathen women
and followed them in their abominations ;
yet they repented at the remonstrance of
IDO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
IDU
Ezra, Ezra 9; 10. Later, at the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes, B. C. 167, we find
some of the Jews apostatizing to Greek
idolatry, voluntarily or under compulsion,
though many remained faithful to their
God, I Mace, i ; 2. Even in the army of
the noble Judas Maccabeus, men were
found who engaged in idolatrous practi-
ces, 2 Mace. 12:39, 40. The sufferings in-
flicted on the Jews by heathen persecu-
tors, and the knowledge of the Scriptures
gained by their perusal in the synagogues
every Sabbath, Acts 15:21, at length ban-
ished all forms of heathen idolatry, and
made them abhor the images adored by
their Roman masters.
As the maintenance of the worship of
the only true God was one of the funda-
mental objects of the Mosaic polity, and as
God was regarded as the king of the Isra-
elitish nation, so we find idolatry, that is,
the worship of other gods, occupying, in
the Mosaic law, the first place in the list
of crimes. The only living and true God
was also the civil legislator and ruler of Is-
rael, and accepted by them as their king ;
and hence idolatry was a crime against
the state, and therefore just as deservedly
punished with death as high treason is in
modern times. By the Mosaic law an
idolater was to be stoned to death, and an
idolatrous city must be wholly destroyed,
with all it contained, Deut. 13:12-18; 17:2-
5. Another aspect of the idolatry of Israel
is that of adultery against Jehovah, who
represents himself as the Husband of his
chosen race, Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3; Ezek. 16.
By the Mosaic law this crime also was pun-
ished with death.
Of the 19 Hebrew words translated
" idol " or " image " in A. V., many express
in the original the foolishness of idolatry,
the abhorrence against it which should ex-
ist, the shame connected with its rites and
in which it involves its votaries, and the
suffering consequent upon its practice. Its
folly is graphically set forth in Isa. 40:18-
20; 44:9-20; Jer. 10:2-16; and its unrea-
sonableness and immorality by Paul in
Rom. 1 : 18-32. John warns the Christians
against every form of it, i John 5:21, and
announces the terrible doom of idolaters.
Rev. 21:8.
At the present day idolatry prevails over
a great portion of the earth, and is prac-
tised by about 800,000,000, or nearly two-
thirds, of the human race. In some lands
professedly Christian, it is to be feared that
the adoration of crucifixes and paintings
is nothing more nor less than idol-worship.
But as idolatry consists not merely in the
external worship of false gods, but in the
preference of and devotion to something
else than the Most High, many in Chris-
tian lands must fall under this charge.
Whoever loves this world, or the pursuits
of wealth or honor or ambition, or selfish-
ness in any form, and for these forgets or
neglects God and Christ, such a one is an
idolater as truly as the ancient Israelites,
and cannot hope to escape an awful con-
demnation, 1 Sam. 15:23; Col. 3:5.
IDUM.ffi'A, Isa. 34: 5, 6, in Hebrew E'dom,
and so usually rendered in the A. V. Idu-
maea originally extended from the southern
extremity of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of
Akaba, and from the Arabah valley on the
west to the Arabian desert on the east, 100
miles by 20. At a later period a portion of
Southern Palestine and the adjacent region
of Arabia Petraea was won by the Edom-
ites, Ezek. 36:5; i Mace. 5:65; Mark 3:8.
The original Edom is a rugged mountain
district whose highest elevation, 3,000 feet,
is a limestone range on the east, bordering
the Arabian plateau, into which it gently
sinks; limestone hills skirt the Arabah
valley on the west, and the mid-chain is
formed of porphyritic rocks surmounted
by sandstone. Abrupt cliffs and deep ra-
vines abound, and the sandstone portion is
gorgeously colored with yellow, pink, blue,
purple, and brown, a deep crimson pre-
dominating— whence the name of Edom,
red, was readily transferred to his land.
In the valleys and on the broad heights
grass, flowers, and trees grow luxuriantly,
nourished by many springs and a fertile
soil, Gen. 27:39; Num. 20: 17; and crops of
grain are raised by the fellahin or semi-
Bedouin peasants. The chief cities were
Bozrah, the ancient capital, Elath, Maon,
Ezion-geber, and the later capital Sela.
(See.) The country is now divided into 2
provinces, the northern called Jebal, per-
haps the ancient Gebal, the southern Esh-
Sherah. The prophecies which foretold
the destruction of Edom have been stri-
kingly fulfilled, as every traveller testifies.
See Jer. 49:7-22; Ezek. 25:12-14; 35:3-15-
The ruins of many cities are visible, and a
few villages are inhabited by the fellahin
who cultivate the soil ; and hordes of tur-
bulent Bedouins roam through the region.
Dwelling " in the clefts of the rocks " here
were first the Horites, Gen. 14:6, whose
ancestor Seir gave it its name Mount Seir,
rugged, Gen. 36:20-30. The Horites were
249
IDU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
IMA
probably cave-dwellers, and cave-dwellings ■
abound in Southern Edom. They were
dispossessed by Esau, Gen. 32:3; 36:1, 8,
9; Deut. 2:5, 12, 22. The " dukes" of Idu-
maea were probably much the same as the
Bedouin sheikhs of modern times, and also
acknowledged the supremacy of an emir or
king. Gen. 36:31-43; E.xod. 15:15; Num.
20:14. The enmity of Jacob and Esau was
perpetuated in their descendants. On Is-
raei's approach from the west, the Edom-
ites refused a peaceful passage through
their country. Num. 20:14-21, but after-
wards granted it, Deut. 2:28, 29. Israel
was commanded to preserve friendly rela-
tions with them, Deut. 2:4-7; '^i'-l- Yet
hostilities seemed inevitable. Saul warred
with them, i Sam. 14:47; David subdued
them, 2 Sam. 8:14; i Kin. 11:15; i Chr.
18:11-13, fulfilling Isaac's prophecy. Gen.
27:29. Under Hadad they revolted against
Solomon, i Kin. 11:14-22, but helped Isra-
el and Judah against Moab, 2 Kin. 3. They
joined other enemies of Judah against Je-
hoshaphat, 2 Chr. 20:1, 10, 11; Psa. 83:6,
but were miraculously overthrown, 2 Chr.
20:14-29, and subjected to Judah, 1 Kin.
22:47. In the reign of Jehoram they as-
serted their independence, 2 Kin. 8:20-22;
2 Chr. 21:8, 10, fulfilling Isaac's 2d proph-
ecy, Gen. 27:40. Amaziah chastised them,
and took Sela, 2 Kin. 14:7; 2 Chr. 25:10,
12, but adopted their idolatry, ver. 14, 20.
They were successful against Judah in the
days of Ahaz, 2 Chr. 28: 17, and encouraged
Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem, Psa.
137:7. Punishment for their violence was
often denounced against them, Joel 3:19;
Amos 1 : 1 1 ; Jer. 49 : 1 7 ; Ezek. 25 : 1 2-14 ; 35 ;
Obad. After the taking of Jerusalem, Neb-
uchadnezzar, according to Josephus, hum-
bled all the states around Judah, though
he did not carry them captive, Jer. 27 : i-i i ;
Mai. 1:3, 4. Subsequently the Edomites
seized the southern part of Judah, and were
succeeded in their proper domain, Mount
Seir, by the Nabatheans, descendants of
Nebajoth.son of Ishmael. Gen. 25: 13. Thus
the country between the Arabah valley
and the Mediterranean, and from Elath
to Eleutheropolis northwest of Hebron,
gained the name of Idumcea. In Edom
proper the Nabatheans founded the king-
dom of Arabia Petrcea, and were ruled
by kings, some of whom have the name of
Aretas, 2 Cor. 11:32. The true Idumaeans,
in the south of Judah, were defeated by
Judas Maccabeus, and subjugated and for-
cibly proselyted by John Hyrcanus, B. C.
250
130. Antipater, governor of Judaea, B. C.
47, and his son Herod the Great, were Idu-
maeans. Twenty thousand Iduma;ans were
invited into Jerusalem previous to its siege
by Titus, but instead of defending the city
they gave themselves up to rapine and
murder. After Edom was conquered by
the Romans under Trajan, A. D. 105, its
commerce and wealth increased, roads
were made to enlarge its old trade be-
tween India and Persia and the Levant,
and the wonderful temples, palaces, tombs,
and stairways of the rock city Petra were
carved out of the solid cliffs. Christianity
was planted here, and Petra had its bishop.
Before, but still more after, the Mohamme-
dan conquest of Idumaea, its prosperity
declined and its cities became ruins, as
had been predicted. The Crusaders pen-
etrated to Petra, whose site they called
" the valley of Moses," a name which the
Arabs retain, VVady Musa. The first mod-
ern traveller who traversed Idumaea was
Burckhardt in 1812; he has since been fol-
lowed by many others, though the work of
exploration is rendered difficult by the
rival tribes of warlike Bedouins, who ex-
act the utmost possible from the traveller
whom they allow to cross their borders.
I'lM, ruins, I., Num. 33:45, a shorter form
of Ije-abarim. — II. Josh. 15:29, a town in
the south of Judah.
I'JE-ABA'RIM, ruins of the Abarim, Num.
21:11; 33:44, a station in the border of
Moab, near Aineh, at the southern end of
the Abarim range.
rjON, ruins, a city of Naphtali, smitten
by Ben-hadad, i Kin. 15:20; 2 Chr. 16:4,
and by Tiglath-pileser, 2 Kin. 15:29. Its
site is found in the ruin-covered hill Tell
Dibbin, on the plain Merj Ayfin, not far
from the river Leontes.
ILLYR'ICUM, a country of Europe, lying
east of the Adriatic Sea, north of Epirus,
and west of Macedonia. It was anciently
divided into Liburnia. now Croatia, on the
north, and Dalmatia on the south, which
still retains its name. See D.\lmati.\. The
limits of lUyricum varied much at different
times. It was reached by Paul, preaching
the gospel of Christ, and probably trav-
ersed in part, A. D. 57, Rom. 15:19.
IM'AGE, I., a pillar erected in honor of
a false god, or a representation of a god,
painted, graven, molten, etc., Dan. 3. All
use of images as objects of religious wor-
ship was strictly prohibited, E.xod. 20:4, 5;
23:24; Lev. 26:1; Deut. 16:22, and their
original adoption is condemned as " with-
IMA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
IMM
out excuse," Rom. i : 18-23. See Idol.
The "image of jealousy," Ezek. 8:3, 5, is
referred to Tammuz in verse 14. The
" chambers of imagery," Ezek. 8:7-12, had
their walls covered with idolatrous paint-
ings, such as are found on the ancient stone
walls of Egyptian temples and in Assyrian
ruins. See Nineveh.
II. Likeness. The "image of God" in
which man was created, Gen. i : 26, 27 ; 5:1;
9:6, was a spiritual, intellectual, and moral
likeness to the Creator. The traces of this
image which survive the fall should rebuke
idolatry, and constrain men to mutual re-
spect and charity. Acts 17:28, 29; Jas. 3:9,
10; I Pet. 2:17. Adam's posterity are born
in his fallen and sinful likeness. Gen. 5:3,
needing to be regenerated by the Holy
Spirit to the moral likeness of God, " in
righteousness and true holiness," Eph.
4:24; Col. 3:10. As all men naturally bear
the image of the sinful Adam, so all be-
lievers are moulded into the moral like-
ness of the 2d Adam, even their bodies
being destined to bear the likeness of his
glorified body, Rom. 8:29; i Cor. 15:47-49;
2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:21. Christ is "the
image of God," 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15, being
the same in divine nature and attributes,
and manifesting " the invisible God " as
the perfect impress of a seal shows every
trait of the seal itself, Heb. 1:3. Compare
John 14:9.
In Psa. 73:20, "thou shalt despise their
image," is denoted the unreal and transi-
tory prosperity of the wicked, which God
cuts short by death, ver. 3-19. Compare
Psa. 39:6, where the same word is trans-
lated " vain show."
Image-worship — of paintings and carv-
ings— was borrowed in Christian churches
from the surrounding heathen customs and
influence, about the close of the 2d century.
The innovation was at first strenuously
resisted by church synods, but so increased
that it was authorized by the 2d Council of
Nice, A. D. 787, and in spite of sundry pro-
tests and laws became general throughout
the Roman Church after the 9th century.
Images were rejected, more or less com-
pletely, by the Reformers of the i6th cen-
tury. In the Romish Church the Council
of Trent, A. D. 1545-1563, decreed the re-
tention of them, and the paying of "due
honor and veneration " to them, making
a subtile distinction between this and the
adoration of the divine or human persons
thus represented — a distinction not appre-
ciated by the great mass of worshippers in
* that church, nor always even by its theolo-
gians. Images are now universally used
by Papists, often in private worship as well
as in churches ; by most in a gross breach
of the 2d commandment, and by the best
in opposition to both the letter and the
spirit of the Bible, Exod. 20:4, 5; Deut.
4: 15; John 4:24; Rev. 22:8, 9.
On Gen. 31:19 see Teraphim.
IMMAN'UEL, Matt. 1:23; in A. V. Em-
manuel, which see.
.IMMORTAL'ITY, undyingness, in God is
underived and absolute, " who only hath
immortality," i Tim. 6:16. In creatures it
is dependent on the Creator's will. The
immortality of the human soul is argued
from its boundless desires and capacities,
its unlimited improvement, its desert of
punishment or reward here unsatisfied,
etc. The doctrine has been popularly held
among almost all nations and tribes, and
was taught more or less confidently by
some of the wisest ancient philosophers.
All arguments for it, however, are unsatis-
factory without the testimony of Scripture.
It is sometimes alleged that the Old Testa-
ment contains no distinct intimations of
it; but Christ refuted the Sadducees, who
held that death put an end to man in every
sense. Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8, by showing
from the Old Testament that the dead pa-
triarchs still lived, Exod. 3:6. The ancient
Hebrew belief in the continued existence
of the soul after death is shown in the oft-
recurring expression, used by God himself,
"gathered to his people," which evidently
does not apply to the body, whose burial is
spoken of in other terms. Gen. 25:8, 9;
35:29; 49:29, 33; Num. 20:24-26; 27:12,
13; Deut. 32:50; 34:5, 6. Other declara-
tions evince the writers' assurance that the
death of the body did not terminate the
life of the soul, Psa. 17:15; 73:24-26; Dan.
12:2, 3. But it was reserved for Christ, by
his clear and authoritative teachings, rais-
ing the dead and rising from the dead
himself, to " bring life and incorruption to
light," 2 Tim. i : 10. He assumed the soul's
immortality in the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31, and predict-
ed the everlasting woe of the wicked and
the everlasting blessedness of the right-
eous, Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29. His apos-
tles, taught by the Holy Spirit, spoke posi-
tively in terms implying the immortality of
the soul and the resurrection of the body,
Acts 7:55-60; 10:42; I Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5:1-
S; Phil. 1:21-23; I Thess. 4:13-18. The
immortal blessedness of the redeemed is
251
IMP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
\S\i
the gift of God through Christ, enjoyed by
them through their union with him by
faith, John 10:27, 2cS; 11:25: Rom. 6:23;
I John 5:11-13. The terms rendered in
the A. V. "immortal" and "immortality"
are in other passages rightly translated
"incorruptible" and " incorruption," as
uniformly in the R. V.
IMPLEAD', Acts 19:38, prosecute at law.
IM'POTENT, strengthless, either through
disease or natural malformation, John 5:3;
Acts 4:9; i4:cS.
IMPRECA'TION. See Oath.
IMPUTE', to count or reckon to one — to
put to his account something that does or
does not belong personally to him. Num.
18:27; Psa. 32:2; Phile. iS. Thus the
righteousness of Christ is put to the ac-
count of the believer in him, Rom. 3:22; 4
(where the same verb is translated "im-
pute," "reckon," and "count"), the sin of
the believer being put to the account of
Christ and atoned for by his sacrifice, Isa.
53:5; Luke 22:37; Rom. 5; 10:4; i Cor.
1 : 30 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 19-21 ; i Pet. 2 : 24.
IN'CENSE, the sacred perfume offered to
God by burning, on the incense-altar. The
gums which composed it are mentioned in
Exod. 30:34-38, including salt, if the word
"tempered" in ver. 35 should read "salt-
ed," as in the margin. See Frankincense,
Stacte, Galbanum, Onvcha. Incense
was offered on the incense-altar in the
holy place every morning and evening, by
the priests, with fire taken from the altar
of burnt -offering, E.xod. 30:1, 6-8; Luke
1:9; and on the annual Day of Atonement
the high-priest burned incense in the holy
of holies, Lev. 16:12, 13. The offering of
incense pertained to the priests, the sons
of Aaron, alone; the Levite Korah, with
the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, and
their followers, were killed, and king Uz-
ziah was severely punished, for claiming
this priestly prerogative. Num. 16:1-10, 39,
40; 2 Chr. 26:16-19. While the officiating
priest was offering incense, the congrega-
tion prayed silently in the court without,
Luke 1:10, their prayers ascending with
the fragrance and smoke of the incense
until the priest reappeared and gave them
the blessing, Num. 6:22-27, after which the
Levites burst into song. Incense is re-
garded by some as a symbol of prayer,
Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8; but still more aptly
it represents that which accompanies every
prayer of faith and makes it acceptable to
God, namely, the merits of Christ, made
effectual for the believer's acceptance by
252
His propitiatory death — symbolized by the
burning of incense by fire from the altar of
burnt-offering. So in Rev. 8:3, 4, "much
incense" is said to be "added" to the
"prayers of all the saints." Such prayer
is to be offered in every place, Mai. i : 11. —
Israel and Judah were reproached by the
prophets for offering incense to idols, Jer.
11:12-17; Ezek. 8:11; 16:18.
The early Christians dropped the offer-
ing of incense, with the other superseded
types of the Jewish ritual, and their de-
fenders claimed that they did not " burn
incense " like pagans. Later on the prac-
tice seems to have been adopted under the
plea of i)urifying the unwholesome air of
the places in which persecuted Christians
assembled for secresy and safety. With
other superstitious usages derived from
heathenism, incense-burning became es-
tablished in the Latin Church by the close
of the 6th century, and is now universal.
The gum olibanum is used, or some imita-
tion of it.
IN'DIA, Esth. 1:1; 8:9, the eastern bound-
ary of the kingdom of Xerxes ; not the pen-
insula of Hindostan, but the Punjab or re-
gion around the Indus, perhaps including
Scinde— north and west of modern India.
The people and productions of this region
must have been known to the Jews, for an
active trade was often carried on between
India and Western Asia. The imports of
Solomon's navy were chiefly of Indian arti-
cles, I Kin. 10: II, 22.
INDITE', Psa. 45: i, Heb. to bubble tip.
INGATH'ERING, Feast of, Exod. 23:16;
34:22. See Taiu;rn.\cles.
INHER'ITANCE. The laws of inherit-
ance among the Hebrews were very sim-
ple. Land might be mortgaged, but could
not be alienated. Num. 36:6-9. See Jubi-
lee. The only permanent right to prop-
erty was by heritage, or lineal succession.
The eldest son had a double portion, Deut.
21:15-17. Females had no territorial pos-
session; but if a man left no sons, his
daughters inherited— on condition of their
marrying into a family within the tribe to
which their father belonged. If a man had
no children, his land passed to distant rel-
atives, according to a law laid down in
Num. 27:8-11. The law of Moses rendered
wills unnecessary; they were introduced,
however, at a later period, Gal. 3:15; Heb.
9: 17. Property was sometimes distributed
among children during the lifetime of the
father : thus in the parable of the prodigal
son, the father divided his property between
INI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
INS
the 2 sons, Luke 15:12. The inheritance
of the believer in Christ is eternal salva-
tion, Heb. 1:14; 9:15, and "the kingdom
of God," Luke 12:32; Jas. 2:5. As a child
of God, he is an heir, and a joint-heir with
Christ his elder Brother, Rom. 8:17.
INIQ'UITY, erring from the law of right
and of God. To " bear iniquity," means to
have guilt laid to one's charge. Lev. 5:17;
16:22; Num. 14:34. The priests were ap-
pointed thus to assume the guilt of the con-
gregation and "make atonement for them,"
Lev. 10:17, by the prescribed sacrifices.
In this the priests were types of Christ,
Isa. 53:6, II ; I Pet. 2:24; the completeness
of their typical assumption of the people's
sins being symbolized by their eating in
some cases of the people's sin-oftering.
Lev. 6: 25, 26,30. The iniquity of the priests
themselves. Num. 18: i, was otherwise e.xpi-
ated. Lev. 8:2, 14-17; 9:2, 7; 16:3,6; Heb.
5:1-3; 9:7. The superiority of Christ's
priesthood is apparent in that he, being
sinless, needed no sacrifice for himself,
Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 9:14.
INK. See next page.
INTERIOR OF VIZIR
INN, sometimes merely a station where
caravans used to halt for the night, at a
convenient distance for a day's journey be-
tween two points, near water if possible, but
not necessarily containing any buildings,
Gen. 42:27; Exod. 4:24; Josh. 4:3. At such
points caravansaries or khans were some-
times built, Jer. 9:2. These were, and still
are, large buildings, with rooms for travel-
lers and stalls for their beasts, around a
square uncovered court, and a fountain if
possible; but travellers must carry their
own provisions. In such a stall perhaps
our Saviour was born, if not in the tradi-
tional cave, Luke 2:7. Another kind of
inn, mentioned in Luke 10:34, was in the
charge of a host, ver. 35, probably paid for
his attendance on travellers, as well as for
such provisions and provender as he fur-
nished.
INSPIRA'TION, that supernatural influ-
ence exerted on the minds of the sacred
KHAN, AT ALEPPO.
writers by the Spirit of God, in virtue of
which they unerringly declared his will.
Whether what they wrote was previously
familiar to their own knowledge, or, as in
many cases it must have been, an immedi-
ate revelation from heaven ; whether his
influence in any given case was dictation,
suggestion, or superintendence ; and how-
ever clearly we may trace in their writings
the peculiar character, style, mental en-
dowments, and circumstances of each ; yet
the whole of the Bible was written under
the unerring guidance of the Holy Ghost,
2 Tim. 3: 16.
Christ everj'where treats the Old Testa-
ment Scriptures as infallibly true, and of
divine authority — the word of God. To
the New Testament writers inspiration was
promised. Matt. 10:19, 29; John 14:26;
16:13; and they wrote and prophesied un-
der its direction, i Cor. 2:10-13; 14:37; Gal.
1:12; 2 Pet. 1:21; 3:15; Rev. 1:1, 10-19.
253
INK
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ISA
INK, Jer. 36: 18. The ink of the ancients
was much thicker than ours. It was com-
posed of powdered charcoal, or lampblack,
or ivory-black, mixed with gum and water,
and sometimes an acid to make it perma-
nent. The black liquid contained in the
cuttle-fish was also used. Often it could
be washed off with water, Num. 5:23. The
ink-horn (on the floor in the cut) was, and
is, a small vessel attached to the long case
for reed-pens, and when not in use was
carried within the girdle or suspended from
it, Ezek. 9.2. See Girdle and Writing.
IN'STANT, IN'STANTLY, urgent, ear-
nestly Luke 7:4; 23:23; Acts 26:7; Rom.
12: 12 ; 2 Tim. 4:2.
INTEND', Psa. 21:11, not only desire,
but plot.
INTERCES'SION, pleading in behalf of
others. As the antitypical High -priest,
Christ intercedes with God for men : gen-
erally, Isa. 53:12; Luke 23:34; and special-
ly, as the Advocate of his believing people,
Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; i John 2:1.
His intercession, begun upon earth, John
17, is continued in heaven, where he pre-
sents before the Father his finished and
accepted work of obedience and sacrifice,
and obtains the bestowal of salvation, with
all it includes of present and eternal good,
upon all those who come to God through
him — the " one Mediator between God and
men,' i Tim. 2:5. The Holy Spirit, called
by Christ "the Advocate," John 14:16, 26,
is also said to intercede for believers, Rom.
8:26, 27 — dwelling in their hearts, giving
them desires and words they would other-
wise fail of, which are according to the will
of God and acceptable to him through
254
Christ. It is also the privilege and duty
of believers to intercede for others, Gen.
18:23-33; I Tim. 2:1.
IN'TEREST. See Usury.
INTERPRETA'TION, revealing the true
meaning (jf supernatural dreams, Gen. 41 ;
Dan. 2; 4, or of unknown tongues, etc.,
I Cor. 12:10, 30; 14:5, 13.
For the right interpretation of the Word
of God, the chief requisites are, a renewed
heart, supremely desirous to learn and do
the will including probably the 23 con-
quered by the former Jair, supposed to
have been his ancestor. A descendant is
mentioned in 2 Sam. 20:26. See Havoth-
JAIR.
III. Father of Mordecai, a Benjamite,
Esth. 2:5.
IV. (A different word in Hebrew) awake,
1 Chr. 20:5. See Jaare-oregim.
JAI'RUS, or Ja'ir, a ruler of the syna-
gogue at Capernaum, memorable for his
faith in Christ. His deceased daughter, 12
years of age, was restored to life and
health by the Saviour, Mark 5:22; Luke
8:41. Compare Matt. 9: 18.
JA'KEH, pious, the father of Agur, Prov.
30:1. ■«
JAM'BRES. See Jaxnes.
JAMES, raiher ]xco}i,suf>piante7-, I., sur-
named the greater, or elder, to distinguish
him from James the younger, was one of
the 12 apostles, elder brother of John the
evangelist, and son of Zebedee and Salome,
Matt. 4:21; 27:56. Compare Mark 15:40.
James was of Bethsaida in Galilee. His
mother Salome was one of those women
who occasionally attended our Saviour in
his journeys, and one day desired that her
2 sons might be seated at his right and left
hand in his kingdom, Matt. 20:20-23. See
Salome.
James and John were originally fisher-
men, with Zebedee their father, Mark i : 19.
Like Andrew and Peter, they had accept-
ed Jesus as the Messiah before they were
summoned to follow him as disciples. Matt.
4: 18-22, with John i : 40-42. They seem to
have been ardent and impetuous: and when
certain Samaritans refused to receive him,
James and John wished for fire from heaven
to consume them, Luke 9: 54. For this rea-
son, or because of their zeal and energy as
ministers of Christ, the name of Boanerges,
or sons of thunder, was afterwards given
to them, Mark 3:17. Together with Peter
they appear to have enjoyed specixil honors
JAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JAP
and privileges among the disciples: they
alone were with Christ at his transfigura-
tion, Matt. 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28, at
the raising of Jairus' daughter, Mark 5:37-
42; Luke 8:51, and at the agony in the
garden of Gethsemane, Matt. 26:37; Mark
14' 33- These 3, with Andrew, witnessed
the restoration of the mother of Peter's
wife, Mark 1:29-31, and interviewed him
as to the destruction of the temple, Mark
13:3. After the ascension of our Lord, at
which James was present, he appears to
have remained at Jerusalem, and was put
to death by Herod, about A. D. 44, the first
martyr among the apostles, Acts 12:1, 2.
Compare Mark 10:39. Clement of Alexan-
dria, A. D. 195, relates that one of the offi-
cers at his execution was convinced and
led to avow himself a Christian by his
faithful testimony, and was beheaded with
him.
IL Another apostle, son of Alphaeus, or
Clopas, Matt. 10:3; Mark3:i8; Luke 6:15.
His mother's name was Mary (IIL), and
his brethren were Joses and Judas (IIL),
Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40. He is here called
THE LESS, or the small, to distinguish him
from James the son of Zebedee. He was
9th in the list of the apostles, at the head
of the 3d quaternion, and is not mentioned
after Acts i : 13, unless he is the same as
"James the Just."
III. "The Lord's brother," Gal. 1:19;
either a brother of Christ, being a son of
Joseph and Mary, or, as many think, a
cousin of Christ, and identical with the
James above, II. He resided at Jerusalem,
seems to have been married, i Cor. 9:5,
and was early a recognized leader in the
church. Acts 12:17; 21 :i8; Gal. 2:9, 12. He
appears to have seen Christ shortly before
his ascension, i Cor. 15:7, and to have pre-
sided over the council held at Jerusalem,
A. D. 49, Acts 15:13. In Gal. 1:19 he is
apparently called or classed as an apostle,
perhaps loosely, though this interpretation
of the passage is not imperative. Compare
John 17:12. He is called "the Just" by
Josephus, and by Hegesippus of the 2d
century, who says that he was celebrated
for his integrity and zeal, and was slain by
the Jewish rulers, A. D. 69. Josephus says
he was stoned to death about A. D. 62.
The Epistle of James is ascribed to him by
those who distinguish him from James the
Less. The question of his true relation-
ship to Christ is involved in much doubt.
The gospels repeatedly mention James, Jo-
ses. Judas, and Simon as " brothers " of our
Lord, and speak in the same connection
of his " mother " and his " sisters," Matt.
12:46; 13:56; Mark 3:31; 6:3; Luke 8:19;
moreover, the inspired writers expressly
distinguish the brothers of Christ from the
apostles, while they include among the
apostles both James the Less and Judas,
John 2:12; 7:3-10; Acts 1:13, 14, thus fur-
nishing strong reasons, as many believe,
for the opinion that James the Just was
literally a brother of our Lord. See Bro-
ther.
The Epistle of James is generally sup-
posed to have been written at Jerusalem,
about A. D. 61, by James the Just, shortly
before his death. It is addressed particu-
larly to converted or professedly Christian
Jews, but was intended for the benefit of
Ciiristians generally. It is therefore one of
" the Catholic Epistles," so called, i. e., gen-
eral. It has often been regarded as teach-
ing a different doctrine in respect to faith
and works from what Paul teaches in his
epistle to the Romans. But the doctrine of
the 2 apostles is at bottom the same, only
that Paul dwells more on faith, the sole ori-
gin of good works ; and James dwells more
on good works, which result from true faith.
According to Paul, there can be no true
faith which does not manifest itself in good
works ; and according to James, there can
be no truly good works which do not spring
from true faith. His style is bold, rapid,
terse, and figurative, with much fine im-
agery; and the epistle is one of the highest
in value.
JAN'NES and JAM'BRES were 2 of the
principal Egyptian magicians, who with-
stood Moses and Aaron by attempting to
imitate the miracles which they exhibited.
See Exod. 7:11, etc. These names are not
found in the Old Testament, but are often
mentioned in the rabbinical books, 2 Tim.
3:8.9-
JANO'AH, rest, a town of Naphtali, be-
tween Abel and Kedesh, 2 Kin. 15:29.
JANO'HAH, rest, Josh. 16:6, 7, a town in
the northeast border of Ephraim, now Ya-
nun, about 8 miles southeast of Nablijs.
JA'PHETH, enlargement, the eldest of
Noah's 3 sons, Gen. 9:24; 10:21, born 100
years before the flood, and preserved with
his wife, 2 out of 8 persons, in the ark,
Gen. 7:7; I Pet. 3:20. He was perhaps the
liipetos whom Greek legends represent as
the progenitor of the Greek race. His 7
sons, Gen. 10:2-5; i Chr. 1:5, occupied
with their posterity the north of Asia and
most of Europe. The probable location of
263
JAP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JEB
each of the 7 is described in its jjlace. In
later years the (jreeks and Romans sub-
dued large portions of Southern and West-
ern Asia, in accordance with the ])rediction
of Noah, Gen. 9:27. The "enlargement"
of Japheth now extends over America and
Australia also.
JAPHI'A, spleiidid, I., king of Lachish,
one of the 5 Amorite princes who united
under Adoni-zedek to attack Gibeon, but
were defeated near Beth-horon by Joshua,
with miraculous aid, and slain at the cave
of Makkedah, Josh. 10:3.
II. A son of David, born at Jerusalem,
2 Sam. 5:15; otherwise unknown.
III. A border town of Zebulun on the
south, between Daberath and Gath-he-
pher, Josh. 19:12; now Yafa, a hamlet of
30 houses, a mile and a half southwest of
Nazareth.
JA'PHO, Josh. 19:46. SeeJoppA.
JA'REB, avenger, Hos. 5:13; 10:6, not
the name of a king, but " hostile " king,
meaning Pul, whose aid Ephraim sought
and found it a chastisement, 2 Kin. 15:19,
20; compare 2 Kin. 16:7, 8.
JA'RED, in I Chr. 1:2 Je'red, descent,
the 4th in the line of patriarchs after Seth,
between Mahalaleel and Enoch, Gen. 5: 15-
20; Luke 3:37.
JAR'HA, an Egyptian slave, made free
by marrying Ahlai, the daughter of his
master Sheshan, who had no sons, i Chr.
2:31-41.
JAR'MUTH, height, I., a town in the low
hills of Judah, Josh. 15:35. Pirani its king
was confederate with Adoni-zedek. See
Japhia. It was repeopled after the Cap-
tivity, Neh. 11:29; now Yarmuk, 16 miles
south of west from Jerusalem.
II. A Levitical (Gershonite) city in Issa-
char. Josh. 21:29, called Remeth and Ra-
moth, Josh. 19:21; I Chr. 6:73; apparently
on the eastern border of the plain of Jez-
reel.
JASH'ER, THE BOOK OF, the hook of the
? A, Je/iovah knows, I., the father
of Benaiah, who was one of David's he-
roes, 2 Sam. 8:18; I Kin. i ; 2. He seems
to have joined David at Hebron, a chief
priest at the head of 3,700 armed Aaronites,
I Chr. 12:27. In I Chr. 27:34 the names
appear to have been transposed.
II. A high-priest during Athaliah's usur-
pation, who with his wife Jehosheba pre-
vented the threatened extinction of the line
of David by saving the infant prince Joash,
and secluding him in the temple for 6 years.
Jehoiada then quietly secured the aid of
the friends of David and of God, collected
the Levites at Jerusalem, armed them with
David's captured weapons then stored in
the temple, and in a full assembly of the
people led forth the young prince, crowned
and anointed him as king, and gave him
the book of the law which was to be his
guide, Deut. 17:18-20. He caused Atha-
265
JEH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JEH
liah to be put to death without the temple
gates. He then covenanted with the peo-
ple for the abandonment of Baal-worship
and the full reestablishment of the worship
of God. He long continued to be the
young king's adviser, and his wisdom and
piety greatly conserved and blessed the
nation till he died, B. C. 834, aged 130.
He was buried with royal honors, but both
king and people quickly fell away from
his ways. See Joash, Zach.\ri.\h.
III. A sagan or 2d priest, an aid of the
high-priest under the reign of Zedekiah,
Jer. 29:25-29, deposed for adhering to Jer-
emiah.
IV. A helper in rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem after the Captivity, Neh. 3:6.
JEHOI'AKIM, Jehovah will establish, first
called Eli'akim; the 2d sonofjosiah, bro-
ther and successor of Jehoahaz or Shallum,
king of Judah, for whom he with his new
name was substituted by the king of Egypt.
He was king during 11 years of luxury,
extortion, and idolatry. He murdered the
faithful Urijah and insulted his corpse. In
the 3d year, Nebuchadnezzar carried to
Babylon a part of his princes and treasures.
A year after, his allies the Egyptians were
defeated on the Euphrates ; yet he de-
spised the warnings of Jeremiah, and cast
his book into the fire. At length he re-
belled against Nebuchadnezzar, but was
defeated and ingloriously slain, and buried
like an ass, B. C. 599, 2 Kin. 23:34, 36;
24:6; 2 Chr. 36:4-8; Jer. 22; 26; 36.
JEHOI'ARIB, God a defender, usually
JoiAKiB, I Chr. 9:10. Head of the ist of
David's 24 courses of priests. Some of the
sons of Joiarib returned after the Captiv-
ity, Neh. II : 10.
JEHON'ADAB, lo whom God is liberal,
often Jon'ad.\b, a chief among the de-
scendants of Rechab, who were under life-
vows to abstain from wine and to dwell
in tents, Jer. 35:6, 7. See Rechabites.
He joined Jehu in the slaughter of the
Baal-worshippers, 2 Kin. 10:15-23. It is
the full name in Hebrew of Jonadab,
which see.
JEHO'RAM. SeeJo'RAM.
JEHOSHA'BEATH, 2 Chr. 22: II. See
Jehosheba.
VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT : TOMBS AND JEWISH BURIAL-GROUND.
JEHOSH'APHAT, God judges, the 4th
king of Judah after Solomon, the pious son
and successor of Asa. He began to reign
at the age of 35, about the year 914 B. C,
and reigned 25 years. His history is found
in I Kin. 15:24; 22; 2 Chr. 17-20. He was
distinguished by his zeal for true religion
and his firm trust in (iod. He thoroughly
cleansed the land from idolatry, restored
the divine ordinances, filled the high oosts
266
in church and state with the best men, and
provided for the religious instruction of the
people. His government was highly pros-
pered at home and abroad. The great error
of his life was an entangling alliance with
the wicked Ahab, whose infamous daughter
Athaliah early began to afflict the kingdom
of Judah, of which she was afterwards the
queen, through her marriage with Jehosh-
aphat's eldest son Jehoram. Jehoshaphat
JEH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JEH
was beguiled by Ahab into an unsuccess-
ful war with the Syrians, but soon resumed
his labors in behalf of religion and justice.
Having failed in a commercial enterprise
with Ahaziah, he declined a second trial,
I Kin. 22:48, 49, but united with Joram, his
successor, in a war with Moab. This
seems to have led to his being assailed by
a vast host of Moabites, Ammonites, Edom-
ites, and Syrians; but again he was victo-
rious through his faith in God, in which he
cheered his people after a memorable fast
and prayer in the temple. He died at the
age of 60 years.
Four others of this name are mentioned
in 2 Sam. 8: 16; i Kin. 4:3, 17 ; 2 Kin. 9:2,
14.
Jehoshaphat, valley of, or valley of
ilie judgment of God, a metaphorical name
of some place where God would judge the
foes and oppressors of his people, Joel
3:2, 12. There is no ground for applying
it to any known locality, or for connecting
it, except for illustration, with the great
battle of Jehoshaphat described in 2 Chr.
20. Since the 3d century, however, the
name has been appropriated to the deep
and narrow glen east of Jerusalem, run-
ning north and south between the city and
the Mount of Olives, called in the Bible the
brook Kidron. See Jerusalem.
JEHOSH'EBA, Jehovah's oath, the aunt
of Joash, king of Judah, whose life in in-
fancy and childhood she saved, in spite of
the designs of Athaliah, 2 Kin. 1 1 : 1-3. Her
husband was Jehoiada, the noble high-
priest, the only one known to have mar-
ried into the royal family.
JEHOSH'UA, Num. 13:16; I Chr. 7:27.
See Joshua.
JEHO'VAH, the ineffable name of God
among the Hebrews. It never has the
article before it, nor is it found in the plu-
ral form. - The Jews, out of reverence,
never pronounced this name; and wher-
ever it occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures,
they substituted for it, in reading, the word
Adonai, Lord, or Elohim, God. See God.
In the Hebrew Bible it is always written
with the vowels of one or the other of
these words. Its ancient pronunciation is
thought to have been Yahveh, he shall
BE, but this is not certain. The meaning of
Jehovah is He is; the same as I am, the
person only being changed. Thus it de-
notes the self-existence, independence, im-
mutability, and infinite fulness of the divine
Being, which is a pledge that he will fulfil
all his promises. Compare Exod. 3:14, "I
AM THAT I AM," the meaning of which see
under the article God. In Exod. 6:3 God
says, "I appeared unto Abraham, unto
Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God
Almighty — El Shaddai ; but by my name
Jehovah was I not known to them;'' yet
the appellation Jehovah appears to have
been known from the beginning. Gen. 4:1 ;
Exod. 3:16, and its derivation from a root
havah, to be, found only in the oldest He-
brew and obsolete in Moses' time, shows
its high antiquity. We have reason to be-
lieve that God himself, who named man
Adam, named himself Jehovah ; but in
his revelation to the patriarchs he had not
appropriated to himself this name in a pe-
culiar way, as he now did, nor unfolded the
deep meaning contained in it. He had said
to them, " I am God Almightj^," El Shad-
dai, and under this name and that of Elo-
him, God, he was in the thoughts and on
the lips of his people as the Creator and
Lord of the universe, the God of nature, of
providence, and of mankind; but Jeho-
vah— a "proper noun" — was a more defi-
nite name of God, the personal covenant
God of his redeemed people, the God of
grace. In John 8:58 it is noteworthy that
2 different Greek verbs are used, signify-
ing that while Abraham " came into being,"
God always existed.
It should be borne in mind that our Eng-
lish A. V. translates Jehovah by the word
Lord, in small capitals — retaining it un-
translated only in 4 passages, Exod. 6; 3;
Psa. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, except in com-
pound words, as below.
Jeho'vah-ji'reh, Jehovah will provide,
the name given by Abraham to the place
where he had been on the point of slaying
his son Isaac, Gen. 22:14. In it he alludes
to his answer to Isaac's question in ver. 8,
that God would provide a victim for the
sacrifice — an unconscious prophecy of the
Lamb of God. His expression became a
common Hebrew proverb : God will so pro-
vide for his people in every extremity.
Jeho'vah-nis'si, Jehovah my banner,
Exod. 17:15, the name Moses gave to the
altar in memory of Israel's victory over
Amalek. God's people, rallying around
this banner, go on to assured victory, Psa.
60:4; Prov. 18:10; Isa. 11:10.
Jeho'vah-sha'lom, Jehovah of peace, or
prosperity, the name given by Gideon to
an altar which he built in Ophrah, where
the Angel-Jehovah had appeared to him,
and saluted him by saying, " Peace be unto
thee," Judg. 6:24.
267
JEH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
Jeho'vah-sham'mah, Jehovah is there,
the name given by Ezekiel, 48:35, margin,
to a future holy c\\.y.
Jeho'vah-tsidke'nu, yMoz'aA our right-
eousness, the name given to the Saviour,
and through him to his church, Jer. 23:6;
33:16, margin.
JEHOZ'ABAD, God-given, often Joz'-
ABAD, I., 2d son of Obed-edom, a Levite,
keeper of the storehouse of the tabernacle,
1 Chr. 26:4, 15. See Asuppim.
II. A Benjamite general of Jehoshaphat,
2 Chr. 17:18.
III. Son of Shomer, a Moabitess, one of
2 servants of Joash who killed him in his
bed, 2 Kin. 12:21 ; 2 Chr. 24:26.
JEHOZ'ADAK, justified by God, often
Joz'adak or Jos'edech, son of Seraiah, a
high-priest under Zedekiah, i Chr. 6:14, 15.
He succeeded his father, who was slain at
Riblah, 2 Kin. 25:18-21, but was immedi-
ately carried captive and died in exile.
See Jeshua, IV.
]K'H\J, Jehovah is he, or living, I., a de-
scendant of Sheshan, tribe of Judah, i Chr.
2:38.
II. A warlike Benjamite, of Anathoth,
who joined David at Ziklag, i Chr. 12:1-3.
III. The son of Hanani, a prophet, sent
with messages from God to Baasha king of
Israel, and 30 years afterwards to Jehosh-
aphat king of Judah, i Kin. 16:1-7; 2 Chr.
19:1-3, whose life he wrote, 2 Chr. 20:34.
IV. The "son" of Jehoshaphat and
grandson of Nimshi (compare i Kin. 19:16
and 2 Kin. 9:2), a general of the army of
Joram, slew his master, and usurped the
throne of Israel, B. C. 884. He reigned 28
years. See his history in 1 Kin. 19:16, 17;
2 Kin. 9; 10. He slew Jezebel, and ful-
filled the divine purpose in extirpating the
family of the impious Ahab; he also zeal-
ously destroyed the priests of Baal and
many other friends of Ahab. But his heart
was not right with God ; his " zeal for the
Lord" was really a zeal for himself; he
continued the worship of the golden calves,
and Jehovah began to cut Israel short. The
Syrians possessed themselves of his east-
ern frontier, and his dynasty, the 5th after
Solomon, was extinguished in the 4th gen-
eration, Hos. 1 :4.
V. A prominent Simeonite in the reign
of Hezekiah, i Chr. 4:35, 38-41.
JE'HUD, a border town of Dan, Josh.
19:45, now Yehudiyeh, 8 miles east from
Jaffa.
JEHU'DI, a Jew, who brought Tiaruch to
read the prophet Jeremiah's roll to the
268
princes, and himself read it to king Jehoi-
akim.Jer. 36:14, 21-23.
JEHUDI'JAH, the Jewess, 2d wife (see
BiTHiAH) of Mered, whose sons founded
Gedor, Socoh, etc., i Chr. 4:17-19.
JEMI'MA, dove, Job's daughter, the first
of 3 born after his trials, Job 42: 14.
JEPH'THAH, opener, 9th judge of Israel,
between Jair and Ibzan. Being the son of
a concubine, Gilead's other sons excluded
him from home, and he gathered a band
in the region east of Gilead; when the
time was ripe, called of God, he took the
lead of the Gileadites in throwing off the
yoke of Ammon, signally defeated the Am-
monites, captured 20 of their cities, chas-
tised the envious and invading Ephraim-
ites, and judged Israel beyond Jordan for
6 years, B. C. 1188-1182. His history is
told in Judg. 11 ; 12. A most affecting in-
cident in it is his devoting his daughter to
God as a sacrifice, in consequence of a
rash vow.
The arguments on the question whether
Jephthah's daughter was actually sacrificed
or not cannot here be cited. That he in-
tended a real sacrifice is clear, Judg. 11 :3i ;
and it seems certain that he " did with her
according to his vow," ver. 39. Only the
natural repugnance which more enlight-
ened people feel to such a vow and its ful-
filment has led many interpreters to adopt
the less obvious theory that she was only
condemned to live and die unmarried.
There is no intimation in Scripture that
God approved of his vow, whatever it was.
Paul numbers Jephthah among the saints
of the Old Testament distinguished for
their faith, Heb. 11:32.
JEPHUN'NEH, may he be seen, I., a Ke-
nezite, the father of Caleb, Joshua's faith-
ful comrade. Num. 13:6; 14:6,30,38; 32:12;
I Chr. 6:56. See Caleb and Kenaz.
II. A son of Jether, tribe of Asher, i Chr.
JE'RAH, nczv vioo7i, 4th son of Joktan,
founder of an Arab tribe. Gen. 10:26, 30;
I Chr. 1:20. Their abode is supposed to
have been in Southeastern Arabia.
JERAH'MEEL, mercy of God, I., Hez-
ron's eldest son, father of Ram, living in
Southern Judah on a plateau southwest of
Arad, i Chr. 2:9-42. See i Sam. 27:10;
30:29.
II. A Merarite Levite, son of Kish, i Chr.
24:29.
III. Son of Hammelech, sent by Jehoia-
kim to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch, Jer.
36:26.
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
JEREMI'AH, Jehovah throws down, I.,
son of Hilkiah; the second of the "greater
prophets," and one of the chief Old Testa-
ment seers. He prophesied under Josiah,
Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, and also after
the captivity of the latter. He was born
at Anathoth in Benjamin, of the race of the
Abiathar priests, and was destined of God
to be a prophet, and consecrated for that
object before his birth, Jer. i:i, 5- At an
early age he was called to act as a prophet,
B. C. 628, in the 13th year of king Josiah,
first at Anathoth, where his townsmen and
kindred persecuted him, Jer. 11:18-21;
12:6, and afterwards at Jerusalem. He re-
mained unmarried for prophetic reasons,
Jer. 16:2. The pious king Josiah coopera-
ted with him in abolishing idolatry and
promoting a general reformation, 2 Kin.
23:1-25, and his death, B. C. 609, was la-
mented as a grievous loss, 2 Chr. 35:20-25;
Jer. 22:10, 15, 16. After the brief reign of
Jehoahaz the scene greatly changed; idol-
atry revived, and the subsequent life of the
prophet was full of afflictions and persecu-
tions. In the 4th year of Jehoiakim he
wrote his first roll of warnings and predic-
tions, which the king burned piecemeal,
and sought the prophet's life, Jer. 35. He
wrote his predictions a 2d time, foretelling
among other things the speedy captivity of
Judah in Babylon 70 years, Jer. 25:8-12,
and the fall of Babylon, ver. 13-38. But
his warnings were little heeded. Zedeki-
ah was kindly instructed by him, and
warned of the woes impending over his
guilty people, but to no purpose. The
fidelity of the prophet often endangered
his life, and he was in prison when Jerusa-
lem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. That
monarch released him, and offered him a
home in Babylon; but he chose to remain
with the remnant of the Jews, and was car-
ried by them erelong into Egypt, B. C. 586,
still faithfully advising and reproving them
till he died. For 42 years he steadfastly
maintained the cause of truth and of God
against his rebellious people. Though
naturally mild, sensitive, and retiring, he
shrank from no danger when duty called;
threats could not silence him, nor ill-usage
alienate him. Tenderly compassionate to
his infatuated countrymen, he shared with
them the woes which he could not induce
them to avert from their own heads.
The BOOK OF Jeremiah, in the chrono-
logical order of its several predictions and
divine messages, is somewhat difficult of
arrangement; but may be divided, by a
natural and sufficiently accurate method,
into 4 general sections, containing sever-
ally the prophecies uttered in the reigns of
Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Gedaliah.
The last chapter of the book appears to
have been added, perhaps by Ezra; it is
taken almost verbatim from 2 Kin. 24:18-
20, and ch. 25. See Jer. 51:64. Messianic
predictions are found in Jer. 23:1-8; 31 :3i-
40; 33:14-26. New Testament recogni-
tions of him are found in Matt. 2:17;
16:14; Heb. 8:8-12.
Jeremiah wrote also the book of Lamen-
tations, in which he utters the most plain-
tive and pathetic sentiments over the ca-
lamities of his people. See Lamenta-
tions.
There is an apocryphal " Epistle of Jer-
emiah," warning his captive countrymen
against Babylonish idolatry. It was writ-
ten in Greek, not in Hebrew, and was nev-
er included in the Jewish canon, nor ac-
cepted as genuine by the early Christian
fathers.
Seven others of this name are mentioned.
II. 2 Kin. 24:18.-111. I Chr. 5:24.— IV„ V.,
VI. I Chr. 12:4, 10, 13. — VII. Neh. 10:2;
12:1, 34.— VIII. Jer. 35:3.
JEREMI'AS, Matt. 16:14, and JER'EMY,
Matt. 2: 17, are put in A. V. for Jeremiah.
JER'ICHO,/>/ac^ offragT'ance, a rich and
strong city in the Jordan valley, in the lim-
its assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, 15
miles east-northeast from Jerusalem and 5
miles from the Jordan, Josh. 16:7; 18:21,
opposite the crossing-place of the Israel-
ites, Josh. 3:16. It is first mentioned in
the story of the Hebrew spies and Rahab,
Josh. 2:1-21. It was the first city in Ca-
naan taken by Joshua, who being miracu-
lously aided by the downfall of its walls,
totally destroyed it, sparing only Rahab
and her household, and pronounced a curse
upon the person who should ever rebuild
it — perhaps as a walled city — which was
more than 500 years afterwards fulfilled on
Hiel, Josh. 6:26; i Kin. 16:34. Meanwhile
a new Jericho had been built on some
neighboring site, Judg. 3:13; 2 Sam. 10:5.
Jericho was also called the " city of palm-
*trees," Deut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16, and became
afterwards flourishing and second in im-
portance only to Jerusalem. It contained
a school of the prophets, and was the resi-
dence of Elisha, 2 Kin. 2:4, 5, 18. Oppo-
site to it, beyond the Jordan, Elijah ascend-
ed to heaven, ver. 1-22; and in its plain
king Zedekiah was seized by the Chaldae-
ans, 2 Kin. 25:5; Jer. 39:9. Men of Jericho
269
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
THE PLAIN OF JERICHO
returned from the Captivity, and helped to
fortify Jerusalem, Ezra 2:34; Neh. 3:2;
7:36. Here also Christ healed two blind
men, Matt. 20:29-34, and forgave Zacchae-
us, Luke 19:1-10.
The site of Jericho has usually been fixed
at er-Riha, a mean and foul Arab hamlet
of some 200 inhabitants. Recent travel-
lers, however, show that the probable loca-
tion of Jericho was 2 miles west of er-Riha,
at the mouth of VVady Kelt, and where the
road from Jerusalem comes into tlie plain.
The city destroyed by Joshua may have
been near to the fountain of FZlisha, sup-
jjosed to be the present Ain es-Sultan, 2
miles northwest of er-Riha. On the west
and north of Jericho rise high limestone
hills, one of which, the dreary Quarantana,
1,200 or 1,500 feet high, derives its name
from the modern tradition that it was the
scone of our Lord's " forty days' " fast and
temptation. Between the hills and the
Jordan lies "the plain of Jericho," Josh.
4:13, over against "the plains of Moab "
east of the river. It was anciently well
watered and amazingly fruitful, and might
easily be made so again, but now lies neg-
lected, and the palm-trees, balsam, and
lioney, for which it was once famous, have
disappeared.
The road from Jericho to Jerusalem as-
cends through narrow and rocky passes
amid ravines and precipices. It is a diffi-
cult and dangerous route, and is still in-
270
FROM THE HILLS ON THE WEST.
fested by robbers, as in the time of the good
Samaritan, Luke 10:30-34.
JEROBOAM, -whose people are many, I.,
the first king of Israel after its separation
from Judah, an Ephraimite, the son of Ne-
bat and Zeruah, i Kin. 11:26. During the
latter part of Solomon's reign, and while
an officer under him, ver. 28, he plotted
against him, and was obliged to flee into
Egypt to Shishak, after a memorable in-
terview with Ahijah the prophet, foreshad-
owing the future, ver. 29-40. On the death
of Solomon he was summoned by the 10
tribes to return and present their demands
to Rehoboam ; and when these were re-
fused, he was chosen king of the revolted
tribes, B. C. 975, i Kin. 12: 1-3, 20. He thus
e.vecuted the divine judgment on Judah
and Solomon, though himself moved by an
unprincipled ambition, and pursuing the
same ungodly course that had brought
ciiastisement on Judah. He reigned 22
years. The only notable act of his reign
marked him with infamy, as the man " who
made Israel to sin." It was the idolatrous
establishment of golden calves at Bethel
and Dan, that the people might worship
there and not at Jerusalem. He also su-
perseded the sons of Aaron by priests cho-
sen from " the lowest of the people." This
God-defying but effective measure, in which
he was followed by all the kings of Israel,
was a confession of weakness as well as
of depravity. Neither miracles nor warn-
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
ings, nor the premature death of Abijah
his son, could dissuade him. Great disas-
ters befell him in his own lifetime; he was
at war with Judah all his days, i Kin.
14:1-20, 30; 2 Chr. 13:1-20, and with the
brief reign of Nadab his son the doomed
family became extinct, i Kin. 15:25, 28.
II. Jeroboam Second, the 13th king of
Israel, son and successor of Joash, B. C.
825. He was the 4th of the 5 kings of Je-
hu's dynasty, which was the 4th in the
northern kingdom, and his reign was the
most prosperous of all, and continued 41
3'ears. He followed up his father's suc-
cesses over the Syrians, took Hamath and
Damascus, and all the region east of the
Jordan down to the Dead Sea, and ad-
vanced to its highest point the prosperity
of that kingdom. Yet his long reign added
heavily to the guilt of Israel, by increased
luxury, oppression, and vice. After him,
the kingdom rapidly declined, and his own
dynasty perished within a year, fulfilling
the prediction of Jonah, 2 Kin. 14:23-29;
15:8-12. See also the contemporary proph-
ets, particularly Amos and Hosea.
JERUB'BAAL, conlender with Baal, the
name given by the men of Ophrah to Gid-
eon, when he destroyed Baal's altar, Judg.
6:31, 32. See Gideon.
JERUB'BESHETH, contende?- with the
idol, another name of Jerubbaal, given to
avoid mentioning Baal, 2 Sam. 11:21.
]E,Yt\J''E,\^, founded by God, a small desert
place between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem,
2 Chr. 20:16, with a watch-tower, ver. 24.
JERUSALEM FROM THE BETHANY ROAD, ON THE SOUTH PART OF MOUNT OLIVET.
JERU'SALEM, foiindaiion of peace, the
chief city of the Holy Land, and to the
Christian the most illustrious in the world.
It is situated in 310 46' 35" N. lat., and 350
18' 30" E. long., on elevated ground south
of the centre of the country, about 33 miles
from the Mediterranean, and about 19 from
the Jordan. Its site was early hallowed by
God's trial of Abraham's faith. Gen. 22;
2 Chr. 3:1. It was on the border of the
tribes of Benjamin and Judah, mostly with-
in the limits of the former, but reckoned as
belonging to the latter, because conquered
by it. Josh. 15:8; 18:16, 28; Judg. 1:1-8.
The most ancient name of the city was
Salem, Gen. 14:18; Psa. 76:2; Heb. 7:2;
and it afterwards was called Jebus, as be-
longing to the Jebusites, Judg. 19:10, 11.
Several other names were given it: Ariel,
Isa. 29:1, 2, 7; the city of the Great King,
Psa. 48:2; Matt. 5:35; the Holy City, Neh.
ii:i; Matt. 4:5; 27:53; Rev. 11:2. Being
a very strong position, it resisted the at-
tempts of the Israelites to become the sole
masters of it. Josh. 15:63, the "lower city"
being first captured, Judg. 1:3-8, 21, until
at length its fortress was stormed by Da-
vid, 2 Sam. 5:6-9; after which it received
its present name, and was also called "the
city of David." It now became the reli-
gious and political centre of the kingdom
by divine appointment, i Kin. 11:36, and
was greatly enlarged, adorned, and forti-
fied. But its chief glory was that in its
271
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
magnificent temple the one living and
TRUK God dwelt and revealed himself.
After the division of the tribes, it con-
tinued the capital of the kingdom of Judah,
was several times taken and plundered,
and at length was destroyed at the Baby-
lonian captivity, 2 Kin. 14:13; 2 Chr. 12:9;
2i:i6; 24:23; 25:23; 36:3, 10, 17-20. In all
it has been 17 times captured and despoiled.
After 70 years it was rebuilt by the Jews
on their return from captivity about 536 B.
C, who did much to restore it to its former
splendor. About 332 B. C. the city yielded
to Alexander of Macedon ; and not long
after his death, Ptolemy Soter of Egypt
took it by an assault on the Sabbath, when
it is said the Jews scrupled to fight, B. C.
320. In 170 B. C, Jerusalem fell under the
tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, who razed
its walls, set up an image of Jupiter in the
temple, and used every means to force the
people into idolatry. Under the Macca-
bees, however, the Jews, in 163 B. C, re-
covered their independence. Just a cen-
tury later it w-as conquered by the Romans
under Pompey. It was plundered by Cras-
sus, B. C. 54, but Herod the Great e.\pend-
ed vast sums in its embellishment, his
greatest work being the rebuilding of the
temple, commenced B. C. 19 or 20. To the
city and temple thus renovated the ever-
blessed Messiah came, in the fulness of
time, and made the place of his feet glori-
ous. By his rejection and crucifi.xion Jeru-
salem filled up the cup of her guilt; the
Jewish nation perished from off the land
of their fathers, and the city and temple
were taken by Titus and totally destroj'ed,
A. D. 70-71. Of all the structures of Jeru-
salem, only 3 towers and a part of the
western wall were left standing. Still, as
the Jews began to return thither, and mani-
fested a rebellious spirit, the emperor Adri-
an planted a Roman colony there in A. D.
135, and banished the Jews, prohibiting
their return on pain of death. He changed
the name of the city to -Elia Capitolina,
consecrated it to heathen deities, in order
to defile it as much as possible, and did
what he could to obliterate all traces both
of Judaism and Christianity. From this
period the name ^lia became so common
that the name Jerusalem was preserved
only among the Jews and better informed
Christians. In the time of Constantine,
however, it resumed its ancient name,
which it has retained to the present day.
Helena, the mother of Constantine, built 2
churches in Bethlehem and on Mount Oli-
vet, about A. D. 326; and Julian, who, after
his father, succeeded to the empire of his
uncle Constantine, endeavored to rebuild
the temple ; but his design and that of the
Jews, whom he patronized, was frustrated,
as contemporary historians relate, by an
earthquake, and by balls of fire bursting
forth among the workmen, A. D. 363.
The subsequent history of Jerusalem may
be told in a few words. In 614 it was ta-
ken by Chosroes II. king of Persia, who
slew', it is said, 90,000 men, and demolished,
to thfe utmost of his power, whatever the
Christians had venerated : in 627 Heraclius
defeated Chosroes, and Jerusalem was re-
covered by the Greeks. Soon after com-
menced the long and wretched era of Mo-
hammedanism. About 637 the city was
taken from the Christians by the caliph
Omar, after a siege of 4 months, and con-
tinued under the caliphs of Bagdad till 868,
when it was taken by Ahmed, a Turkish
sovereign of Egypt. During the space of
220 years it was subject to several masters,
Turkish and Saracenic, and in 1099 it was
taken by the Crusaders under Godfrey
Bouillon, who was elected king. He was
succeeded by his brother Baldwin, who
died in 11 18. In 1187, Saladin, sultan of
the East, captured the city, assisted by the
treachery of Raymond, count of Tripoli,
who was found dead in his bed on the
morning of the day in which he was to
have delivered up the city. It was re-
stored, in 1242, to the Latin princes, by
Saleh Ismael, emir of Damascus; they lost
it in 1291 to the sultans of Egypt, who held
it till 1382. Selim, the Turkish sultan, re-
duced Egypt and Syria, including Jerusa-
lem, in 1517, and his son Solyman built or
reconstructed the present walls in 1542.
Since then it has remained under the do-
minion of Turkey, except when held for a
short time, 1832-4, by Ibrahim Pasha, son
of Mohammed AH of Egypt. At present,
this city is included in the pashalic of Da-
mascus, though it has a resident Turkish
governor.
Jerusalem is situated on the central ta-
ble-land of Judaea, in the line of the long
ridge which forms the watershed between
the Mediterranean and the Jordan, the body
of the city being 2,593 feet above the Med-
iterranean, and the Mount of Olives 2,683.
The average temperature for 5 years was
in January 49°, Feb. 540, Mar. 55°, April
610, May 730, June 75°, July 790, Aug. 79°,
Sept. 770, Oct. 74, Nov. 630, Dec. 54°. It
lies on ground which slopes gently down
272
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
towards the east, the slope being termina-
ted by an abrupt declivity, in some parts
precipitous, and overhanging the valley of
Jehoshaphat or of the Kidron. This slo-
ping ground is also terminated on the
south by the deep and narrow valley of
Hinnom, which constituted the ancient
southern boundary of the city, and which
also ascends on its west side, and comes
out upon the high ground on the north-
west. See GiHON. But in the city itself
there were also 2 ravines or smaller val-
leys, dividing the land covered by build-
ings into 3 principal parts or hills. Zion,
the highest of these, was in the southwest
quarter of the city, skirted on the south
and west by the deep valley of Hinnom.
On its north and east sides lay the smaller
valley "of the cheesemongers," or Tyro-
poeon, opening on the southeast into the
valley of the Kidron. The Tyropoeon also
united, near the northeast foot of Zion,
with a valley coming down from the north.
Zion was also called The city of David ;
and by Josephus, "the upper city." Sur-
rounded anciently by walls as well as deep
valleys, it was the strongest part of the
city, and contained the citadel and the
king's palace. The Tyropoeon separated
it from Acra on the north and Moriah on
the northeast. Acra was less elevated
than Zion, or than the ground to the north-
west beyond the walls. It is called by Jo-
sephus " the lower city." Moriah, the
sacred hill, lay northeast of Zion, with
which it was anciently connected at its
nearest corner by a bridge over the Tyro-
poeon, some of the huge stones in its east-
ern arch having been identified by Dr.
Robinson, projecting from the western wall
of the sacred area 39 feet from its south-
west corner, and the buttress or pier which
supported the western end of the bridge
having been more recently disinterred at
the depth of 60 feet, together with stones of
the pavement of this causeway, worn it
may be by the feet of our Lord and his dis-
ciples. The arch was 51^ feet wide and
over 300 feet long across the Tyropoeon.
Moriah was at first a small eminence, but
its area was greatly enlarged to make room
for the temple. It was but a part of the
continuous ridge on the east side of the
city, overlooking the deep valley of the
Kidron ; rising on the north, after a slight
depression, into the hill Bezetha, the "new
city " of Josephus, and sinking away on
the south into the hill Ophel. On the east
of Jerusalem, and stretching from north to
18
south, lies the Mount of Olives, divided
from the city by the valley of the Kidron,
and commanding a noble prospect of the city
and surrounding country. Over against
Moriah, or a little farther north, lies the
garden of Gethsemane, with its olive-trees,
at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Just
below the city, on the east side of the val-
ley of the Kidron, lies the miserable village
of Siloa; farther down, this valley unites
with that of Hinnom, at a beautiful spot
anciently "the king's garden," Neh. 3:15;
still below, is the well of Nehemiah, an-
ciently En-rogel ; and from this spot the
united valley winds among mountains
southward and eastward to the Dead Sea.
In the mouth of the Tyropoeon, between
Ophel and Zion, is the pool of Siloam. In
the valley west and northwest of Zion are
the 2 pools of Gihon, the lower being now
broken and dry. In the rocks around Je-
rusalem, and chiefly in the sides of the val-
leys of the Kidron and Hinnom opposite
the city, are many excavated tombs and
caves, and here was always the burial-
place of the city. See Jehoshaphat.
Of the WALLS of ancient Jerusalem, the
most ancient, that of David and Solomon,
encircled the whole of Mount Zion, and
was also continued around Moriah and
Ophel. The depth of the valleys south
and east of Jerusalem rendered it com-
paratively easy to fortify and defend it on
these sides. This southern wall, in the
period of the kings and of Christ, traversed
the outmost verge of those hills, inclosing
the pool of Siloam, Ophel, and portions
apparently of the valleys of Hinnom and
Kidron, 2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 2:14; 3:15.
A 2d wall, built by Jotham, Hezekiah,
and Manasseh, made some changes on the
southern line, and inclosed a large addi-
tional space on the north. It commenced
somewhat east of the tower of Hippicus,
on the northwest border of Zion, included
Acra and part of Bezetha, and united with
the old wall on the east. This wall was
destroyed, as well as the first, at the Cap-
tivity, but both were afterwards reerected,
it is believed, on nearly the same lines,
and were substantially the same at the
time of Christ. The precise course of the
2d wall may perhaps be ascertained by fu-
ture excavations, but is now more dispu-
ted than any other point of the topogra-
phy of Jerusalem. To ascertain the exact
location of " the gate Gennath," where this
wall began, and trace its course " in a cir-
cuit" to Antonia, would show whether the
273
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
traditional site of Calvarj', now far within
the city limits, lay within or without the
ancient wall. The arguments from topog-
raphy are strongly against the tradition;
and it would seem that this whole region,
if not actually within the wall, must have
been at least occupied by the city suburbs
at that time ; for
The 3d wall, commenced by Herod
Agrippa only 10 years after the crucifixion
of Christ, ran from the tower Hippicus
nearly half a mile northwest to the tower
274
of Psephinos, and sweeping round by the
" tombs of the kings," passed down east
of Bezetha, and joined the old eastern wall.
The whole circumference of the city at that
time was a little over 4 miles. Now it is
only 2% at the most; and the large space
on the north, which the wall of Agrippa in-
closed, is proved to have been built upon
by the numerous cisterns which yet re-
main and the marble fragments which the
plough often turns up.
The city had in its various walls many
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
^ates, i8 or 20 names being found, some of
them no doubt belonging to the same gate ;
among them are the gate of Ephraim,
2 Chr. 25:23, the fish-gate, 33:14, the sheep-
gate, Neh. 3:1.
The preceding plan of ancient Jerusa-
lem exhibits the walls, gates, towers, and
other prominent objects in and around the
■city, with as much accuracy as can be se-
cured, now that it has borne the ravages
of so many centuries, been nearly a score
of times captured, and often razed to the
ground. Fuller descriptions of many of
the localities referred to may be found un-
der their respective heads.
Water seems to have always abounded
in Jerusalem. In the various sieges it sus-
tained, however tormented with hunger the
besieged may have been, they had all the
water they needed, while the besiegers
were in distress for want of it. See Cis-
terns and Pools.
Modern Jerusalem, called by the Arabs
El-Kuds, the holy, occupies unquestiona-
bly the site of the Jerusalem of the Bible.
It is still " beautiful for situation," and
DOMK OF THE ROCK,
■Stands forth on its well-defined hills " as a
■city that is compact together," Psa. 48:2,
12; 122:3,4; 125:1,2. The distant view of
its stately walls and numerous domes and
minarets is highly imposing. But its old
glory has departed; its thronging myriads
are no more ; desolation covers the barren
OR MOSQUE OF OMAR.
mountains around it, and the tribes go up
to the house of the Lord no longer. She
that once sat as a queen among them, now
sitteth solitary, " trodden down of the Gen-
tiles," " 'reft of her sons, and 'mid her foes
forlorn." " Zion is ploughed as a field,"
and the soil is mixed with the rubbish of
275
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JER
ages to the depth in some places of 40
feet.
The modern wall, built in 1542, varies
from 20 to 60 feet in height, and is about
2M miles in circuit. On the eastern and
shortest side its course is nearly straight ;
and it coincides, in the southern half on
this side, with the wall of the sacred area
now called El-Haram, llie sacred, forming
about one-eighth of the modern city. This
area, 510 to 534 yards long from north to
south, and 307 to 344 yards in breadth, is
inclosed by high walls, the lower stones of
which are in many parts very large, and
much more ancient than the superstruc-
ture. It is occupied by the great octago-
nal mosque called Kubbet es-Sukhrah, or
Dome of the Rock, and another mosque
el-Aksa, at the southwest corner, 270 feet
by 200, with their grounds. It covers the
site of the ancient temple and of the great
tower Antonia. See Tkmple. The Dome
of the Rock, also called the Mosque of
Omar, is only less revered among Moslems
than that at Mecca, and probably covers
the site of Solomon's temple. Its 8 sides
are each 66 feet long, and its dome, rising
to the height of 170 feet, is the most prom-
inent object in every view of Jerusalem.
The sacred rock under the dome, 57 feet
by 43, is said to mark the spot where the
ark of the covenant once stood. At the
southeast corner of the Haram area, where
the wall is jj feet high, the ground at its
base is 150 feet above the dry bed of the
Kidron. From this corner the wall runs
irregularly west by south, crosses Mount
Zion, leaving the greater part of it unin-
closed on the south, and at its western
verge turns north to the Jaffa gate, where
the lower part of a very old and strong
tower still remains. The upper part of this
tower is less ancient and massive. It is
known as "the Tower of David," and is
generally thought to have been the Hippi-
cus of Josephus. Thence the wall sweeps
irregularly round to the northeast corner.
It is flanked at unequal distances by square
towers, and has battlements running all
around on its summit, with loop-holes in
them for arrows or muskets. There are
now in use only 4 gates: the Jaffa or Beth-
lehem gate on the west, the Damascus gate
on the north, St. Stephen's gate on the east,
and Zion gate on the south. In the eastern
wall of el-Haram is the Golden gate, long
since blocked up, and in the city wall 2
smaller gates, more recently closed, name-
ly, Herod's gate on the northeast, and dung-
276
gate in the Tyropoeon on the south. See
Kidron.
Within the city walls are seen narrow
and often covered streets, with no level
ground, ungraded, ill-paved, and in some
parts filthy, though less so than in most
Oriental cities. The houses are of hewn
stone, often built on ruins many feet deep,
Jer. 30:18, with few windows towards the
streets. Their flat roofs are strengthened
and ornamented by many small domes.
The most beautiful part of the city is the
area of the great mosque — from which un-
til recently all Christians have been rigor-
ously excluded for 6 centuries— with its
lawns and cypress-trees, and the noble
dome rising high above the wall. On Mount
Zion much of the space within the wall is
occupied by the huge Armenian convent,
with the Syrian convent and the church of
St. James. See Zion. Beyond the wall
and far to the south is a Mohammedan
mosque, professedly over the tomb of Da-
vid. This is more jealously guarded against
Christians than even the mosque of Omar.
Near it is the small cemetery of the Amer-
ican missionaries. At the northwest cor-
ner of Zion rises the high square citadel
above referred to, ancient and grand. Still
farther north is the Latin (Franciscan) con-
vent, in the most westerly part of Jerusa-
lem ; and between it and the centre of the
city stands the Church of the Holy Sepul-
chre, over the traditional scenes of the cru-
cifixion, burial, and resurrection of our
Lord. See Calvary. In various parts of
the city the minarets of 11 mosques arise,
amid an assemblage of about 2,000 dwell-
ings, not a few of which are much dilapi-
dated. Under the city were large irregu-
lar excavations, to which one descends from
a narrow 20-inch opening near the Damas-
cus gate ; they run southeast 600 feet, and
are 200 feet wide, with many rock masses
left untouched as supports. Here were
quarried many of the stones used in build-
ing the city, and vast cisterns were formed
for storing water.
The present population of Jerusalem
may be some 20,000 souls, of whom about
two-fifths are Jews, and the remainder Mos-
lems and Christians in nearly equal num-
bers. There is also a considerable garri-
son, 800 to 1,000, stationed there; and in
April of each year many thousands of pil-
grims from foreign lands make a flying
visit to the sacred places. The spoken
language in Jerusalem is the Arabic. The
Moslems reside in the centre of the city,
MOSQUE OF OMAR.
JER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JES
and towards the north and east. The Jews'
quarter is on the northeast side of Zion.
The Greek, Latin, Armenian, Syrian, and
Coptic Christians are located chiefly around
their respective convents, and their burial-
places are on Mount Zion, as well as that
of the American Protestant mission. The
Jews bury on Mount Olivet, and the Mo-
hammedans in several places, though pre-
ferring the eastern brow of Moriah. Jeru-
salem is but the melancholj' shadow of its
former self. The nominal Christians resi-
ding there are in a state of degraded and
ignorant subjection to the Mohammedans,
and their petty discords and superstitions
are a reproach to the Christian name. The
Jews, about 8,000 in number, are still more
oppressed and abject. Most of them were
born in other lands, and have come here
to die, in a city no longer their own. Dis-
couraged by endless exactions, they subsist
on the charities of their brethren abroad.
It is only as a purchased privilege that they
are allowed to approach the foundations of
the sacred hill where their fathers wor-
shipped the only true Ciod. Here, in a
small area near some huge and ancient
stones in the base of the western wall of
Moriah at el-Aksa, they gather, on Fridays
and other sacred days, to sit weeping and
wailing on the ground, taking up the heart-
breaking lamentations of Jeremiah — living
witnesses of the truth of God's word ful-
filled in them. See Wall.
The New Jerusalem is a name given
not to a place but to a community, the
■church of Christ, and signifying its firm
foundations in the love, choice, and cove-
nant of God in Christ, i Pet. 2:6; its strong
bulwarks, living fountains, and beautiful
palaces; its thronging thousands, its in-
dwelling God, and its consummated glory
in heaven, Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22; Rev.
3:12, 21.
JERU'SHA, possessed, wife of Uzziah and
mother of Jotham, kings of Judah, 2 Kin.
15:33; 2 Chr. 27:1.
JESHA'NAH, old, a city taken from Jero-
boam by Abijah, with Bethel and Ephraim,
2 Chr. 13:19.
JESH'IMON, desert, found in the Hebrew
in Deut. 32:10; Psa. 78:40; 106:14; 107:4."
Isa. 43:19, 20. With the article prefixed it
denotes apparently the waste strip of land
on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea,
perhaps with the adjacent heights. Num.
21:20; 23:28; I Sam. 23: 19, 24; 26:1,3.
JESH'UA, a later Hebrew form of Josh-
ua, whose salvation Jehovah is, I., given in
Neh. 8:17 to Joshua, son of Nun, which
see.
n. A priest in the 9th course in David's
time, I Chr. 24: II ; Ezra 2:36.
ni. A trusted Levite in the time of Hez-
ekiah, 2 Chr. 31:15.
IV. The son of Josedech or Jozadak,
high-priest of the Jews at their return from
the Captivity. He opposed the schemes of
the Samaritans, and acted well his part in
the restoration of the city, the temple, and
the divine worship, Ezra 4:3; 5:2. His
name occurs in the prophecies of the time.
Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:2; Zech. 3; 6:11-15.
V. Several others of this name are men-
tioned in Ezra 2:6, 40; 8:33; Neh. 3:19;
7:11,43; 8:7; 9:4,5; 10:9; 12:8,24.
VI. A town of Judah after the Captivity,
Neh. II : 26, probably the modern Yeshu'a,
near the spot between Beth-horon and So-
coh, so memorable in Joshua's history. Josh.
10:11-14, 6 miles east of Ekron.
JESH'URUN, a poetical name of Israel,
probably derived from a root meaning to
be upright, and applied to the people of
God as the objects of his justifying love,
which does not " behold iniquity in Jacob,"
Deut. 32:15; 33:5, 26; Isa. 44:2.
JES'SE, living or manly, a Bethlehemite,
of the tribe of Judah, son of Obed and fa-
ther of David. He was a grandson of Ruth
the Moabitess, and in her native land he
and his wife found an asylum while David
was most in danger from the jealous pur-
suit of Saul, Ruth 4:17; I Sam. 16; 17:12;
22:3; Matt. 1:5. His wife, name unknown,
we infer from Psa. 86:16; 116:16, was a
pious woman, and trained David to wor-
ship and obey the God of his fathers. He
had 8 sons, a large flock which they tended
in turn, and ample means. His promi-
nence is implied in the frequency with
which his name appears, David being often
called "the son of Jesse," even as late as
Isa. II :i, 10, where he is mentioned as an
ancestor of our Lord.
JE'SUS CHRIST, the Son of God, the
Messiah, and Saviour of the world, the first
and principal object of the prophecies ; who
was prefigured and promised in the Old
Testament; was expected and desired by
the patriarchs ; the hope and salvation of
the Gentiles; the glory, happiness, and con-
solation of Christians. The name JESUS,
in Hebrew Jehoshuah or Joshua, signifies
Saviour, or Jehovah saz'es. No one ever
bore this name with so much justice, nor
so perfectly fulfilled the signification of it,
as Jesus Christ, who saves from sin and
277
JES
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JES
hell, and has merited heaven for us by the
price of his blood. It was given to him j
by divine appointment, Matt. 1:21, as the
proper name for the Saviour so long de-
sired, and whom all the myriads of the
redeemed in heaven will for ever adore as
their only and all-glorious Redeemer. For
Old Testament predictions of him see
Prophkts.
Jesus was the common name of the Sa-
viour; while the name Christ, meaning
The Anoinled One, The Messiah, was his
official name. Both names are used sep-
arately, in the gospels and also in the epis-
tles; but Jksus generally stands by itself
in the gospels, which are narratives of his
life; while in the epistles, which treat of
his divine nature and of his redeeming
work, he is called Christ, Christ Jesus,
or The Lord Jesus Christ. See Christ
and Titles of Christ.
Here, under the Redeemer's human
name, belong the facts relating to his hu-
man nature and the history of his life
upon earth, which forms, with the truths
flowing from it, the theme of the whole
New Testament. His true and complete
humanity, having the soul as well as the
body of man, is everywhere seen in the
gospel history. He who is " God over all,
blessed for ever," was an Israelite as " con-
cerning the flesh," Rorn. 9:5, and took upon
him our whole nature, in order to be a per-
fect Saviour. His favorite title, " Son of
man," used 81 times in the gospels in speak-
ing of himself, implies his thorough and
hearty identification with the human family,
as well as his headship of it for his purposes
of redemption. As a man, Jesus was the
King of men. No words can describe that
character in which such firmness and gen-
tleness, such dignity and humility, such
enthusiasm and calmness, such wisdom
and simplicity, such holiness and charity,
such justice and mercy, such sympathy
with heaven and with earth, such love to
God and love to man, blended in perfect
harmony. Nothing in it was redundant,
and nothing was wanting. The world had
never produced, nor even conceived of
such a character, and its portraiture in the
gospels is a proof of their divine origin
which the infidel cannot gainsay. Could
the whole human race, of all ages, kin-
dreds, and tongues, be assembled to see
the crucified Redeemer as he is, and com-
pare earth's noblest benefactors with him,
there would be but one voice among them.
Everv crown of glory and every meed of
278
praise would be given to Him who alone
is worthy — for perfection of character, for
love to mankind, for sacrifices endured,
and for benefits bestowed. His glory will
for ever be celebrated as the Friend of
man, the Lamb sacrificed for us.
But his absolute and perfect divinity is
as clearly and fully asserted and proved
as his humanity — by iiis own manifold
declarations, his countless and stupendous
miracles, the testimony of all nature that
on the instant obeyed his commands given
in his own name, of men and demons that
felt his power, of angels who ministered
unto him, and of the Father himself.
The visit of Jesus Christ to the earth
has made it for ever glorious above less
favored worlds, and forms the most signal
event in its annals. The time of his birth
is commemorated by the Christian era,
the first year of which corresponds to
about the year 754 from the building of
Rome. It is generally conceded, however,
that the Saviour was born 4 years before
A. D. I, and 4,000 years after the creation
of Adam. He was of the tribe of Judah^
on the part of both Joseph and Mary, and
of the royal line of David. His birth pre-
ceded the death of Herod only a few
months. Joseph seems to have been in
moderate circumstances, a carpenter, and
Jesus himself followed the same trade. His
public ministry commenced when he was
30 years of age, and continued, according
to the received opinion, about 3'/2 years.
Respecting his ancestors and family, see
Genealogy and Brother.
Of his personal appearance he has wisely
chosen to give no description, and no reli-
able likeness has been preserved. From
the gospel indications we infer that, like
the sacrifices prescribed in the Mosaic rit-
ual as types of him, the great Antitype
was without bodil\- defects, as he was pure
from all sin. He is believed to have been
not marked in his exterior, of vigorous
health through his freedom from the sins
which occasion most diseases, and able to
endure the journeys and labors narrated
of him; and while veiling his divine glo-
ries, except by partial disclosures from
time to time, yet something divine must
always have appeared in his aspect of no-
bleness, wisdom, purity, and benignity.
The life of the Redeemer must be stud-
ied in the 4 gospels, where it was recorded
under the guidance of supreme wisdom.
Many efforts have been made, with valua-
ble results, to arrange the narrations of
JES
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JES
the evangelists in the true order of time.
But as neither of the gospels follows the
exact course of events, many incidents are
very indeterminate, and are variously ar-
ranged by different harmonists. No one,
however, has been more successful than
Dr. Robinson; and we borrow from his
valuable "Harmony of the Gospels" the
following elaborate table, presenting in a
condensed form the various events of our
Saviour's life, with the supposed place and
period of their occurrence.
PART I.
EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE BIRTH AND
CHILDHOOD OF OUR LORD.
Time: About thirteen and a half years.
An ange! appears to Zacharias — yerusalem.
An angel appears to Mary — Nazareth.
Mary visits Elisabeth — yutlah.
Birth of John the Baptist— T/^/ZaA.
An angel appears to Joseph — Nazareth.
The birth of iesus— Bethlehem.
An angel appears to the shepherds — Near Beth-
lehem.
The circumcision of Jesus, and his presentation
in the temple — Bethlehem; yerusalem.
The Magi — yerusalem ; Bethlehem.
The flight into Egypt. Herod's cruelty. The
return — Bethlehem; Egypt; Nazareth.
At twelve years of age Jesus goes to the Pass-
over— yerusalem.
Return to his horns— Nazareth.
PART 11.
ANNOUNCEMENT AND INTRODUCTION OF OUR
lord's public MINISTRY.
Time : About one year.
The ministry of John the Baptist— 77^^ Desert;
The yordan.
The baptism of Jesus — The yordan.
The fasting and temptation — Desert of yudcea.
Preface to John's gospel.
Testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus — Bethany
beyond yordan.
Jesus gains disciples — The yordan; Galilee.
The marriage at Cana of Galilee.
PART III.
our lord's first P.\SS0VER, AND THE SUBSE-
QUENT TRANSACTIONS UNTIL THE SECOND.
Time : One year.
At the Passover Jesus drives the traders out of
the temple — y erusalem.
Our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus — yerusa-
lem.
Jesus remains in Judaea and baptizes. Further
testimony of John the Baptist.
Jesus departs towards Galilee after John's impris-
onment.
Our Lord's discourse with the Samaritan woman.
Many of the Samaritans believe on him — She-
chem.
Jesus teaches publicly in Galilee.
Jesus again at Cana, where he heals the son of a
nobleman lying ill at Capernaum — Cana of Gal-
ilee,
Jesus at Nazareth ; he is there rejected, and fixes
his abode at Capernaum.
The call of Simon Peter and Andrew, and of
James and John, with the miraculous draught
of fishes — Near Capernaum.
The healing of a demoniac in the synagogue —
Capernaum.
The healing of Peter's wife's mother and many
others — Capernaum.
Jesus with his disciples goes from Capernaum
throughout Galilee.
The healing of a leper — Galilee.
The healing of a paralytic — Capernaum.
The call of Matthew — Capernaum.
PART IV.
OUR lord's second PASSOVER, AND THE SUBSE-
QUENT TRANSACTIONS UNTIL THE THIRD.
Time : One year.
The pool of Bethesda ; the healing of the infirm
man ; and our Lord's subsequent discourse —
yerusalem.
The disciples pluck ears of grain on the Sab-
bath— On the way to Galilee.
The healing of the withered hand on the Sab-
bath— Galilee.
Jesus arrives at the Sea of Tiberias, and is fol-
lowed by multitudes — Lake of Galilee.
Jesus withdraws to a mountain, and chooses the
twelve; the multitudes follow him — Near Ca-
pernaum.
The sermon on the mount — Near Capernaum.
The healing of the centurion's servant — Caper-
naum.
The raising of the widow's son— iVam.
John the Baptist in prison sends disciples to Je-
sus— Galilee; Capernaum?
Reflections of Jesus on appealing to his mighty
works — Capernaum P
While sitting at meat with a Pharisee, Jesus is
anointed by a woman who had been a sinner —
Capernaum ?
Jesus, with the twelve, makes a second circuit in
Galilee.
The healing of a demoniac. The scribes and
Pharisees blaspheme — Galilee.
The scribes and Pharisees seek a sign. Our
Lord's reflections — Galilee.
The true disciples of Christ his nearest relatives —
Galilee.
At a Pharisee's table Jesus denounces woes
against the Pharisees and others— Galilee.
Jesus discourses to his disciples and the multi-
tude— Galilee.
The slaughter of certain Galileans. Parable of
the barren fig-tree — Galilee.
Parable of the sower— Lake of Galilee; Near
Capernaum ?
Parable of the tares. Other parables— ^V,?ar Ca-
pernaum ?
Jesus directs to cross the lake. Incidents. The
tempest stilled — Lake of Galilee.
The two demoniacs of G2.d.3X3.—Southeast coast
of the Lake of Galilee.
Levi's feast — Capernaum.
The raising of Jairus' daughter. The woman
with a bloody flux — Capernaum.
Two blind men healed, and a dumb spirit cast
out — Capernaum ?
Jesus again at Nazareth, and again rejected.
279
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JES
A third circuit in Galilee. The twelve instructed
and sent forth — Galilee.
Herod holds Jesus to be John the Baptist, whom
he had just before beheaded— 6"a/j7^^.'' Peraa.
The twelve return, ami Jesus retires with them
across the lake. Five thousand are fed — Caper-
naum ; Northeast coast of Ike Lake of Galilee.
Jesus walks upon the water— /.a^*? of Galilee;
Gennesaret.
Our Lord's discourse to the multitude in the syn-
agogue— Capernauni.
PART V.
FROM OUR lord's third PASSOVER UNTIL HIS
FINAL DEPARTURE FROM GALILEF. AT THE FES-
TIVAL OF TABERNACLES.
Time: Six^ months.
Our Lord justifies his disciples for eating with
unwashed hands. Pharisaic traditions— Co/^r-
naiini.
The daughter of a Syrophoenician woman is
healed — Region of Tyre and Sidon.
A deaf and dumb man healed ; also many others.
Four thousand are fed— 77;? Decapolis.
The Pharisees and Sadducees again require a
sign— AVar Magdala, on the west side of the
lake.
The disciples cautioned against the leaven of the
Pharisees, etc. — Northeast coast of the Lake of
Galilee.
A blind man W?A^A—Bethsaida (yttlias).
Peter and the rest again profess their faith in
Chv'x&i—Regioti of Ccesarea Philippi.
Our Lord foretells his own death and resurrec-
tion, and the trials of his followers— i?<^/o« of
Ccesarea Philippi.
The transfiguration. Our Lord's subsequent dis-
course with the three disciples — Region of Cce-
sarea Philippi.
The healing of a demoniac whom the disciples
could not heal — Region of Ccesarea Philippi.
Jesus again foretells his own death and resurrec-
tion— Galilee.
The tribute-money miraculously provided — Ca-
pernaum.
The disciples contend who should be greatest.
Jesus exhorts to humility, forbearance, and bro-
therly love — Capernaum.
The seventy instructed and sent out — Capernaum.
Jesus goes up to the festival of Tabernacles. His
final departure from Galilee. Incidents in Sa-
maria.
Ten lepers cleansed — Samaria.
PART VI.
THE FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES, AND THE SUB-
SEQUENT TRANSACTIONS UNTIL OUR LORD'S
ARRIVAL AT BETHANY, SIX DAYS BEFORE THE
FOURTH PASSOVER.
Time: Six months, less one week.
Jesus at the festival of Tabernacles. His public
teaching — yerusalem.
The woman taken in adultery — yeitisalem.
Further public teaching of our Lord. He re-
proves the unbelieving Jews, and escapes from
their \\2inA°,— yerusalem.
A lawyer instructed. Love to our neighbor de-
fined. Parable of the good Samaritan — Near
yerusalem.
280
Jesus in the house of Martha and Marj- — Bethany.
The disciples again taught how to pray — Near
yerusalem.
The seventy return — yerusalem f
A man born blind is healed on the Sabbath. Our
Lord's subsequent discourses — yerusalem.
Jesus in Jerusalem at the festival of Dedication.
He retires beyond Jordan — yerusalem ; Betha-
ny beyond yordan.
The raising of Lazarus — Bethany.
The counsel of Caiaphas against Jesus. He re-
tires (rom i^ru^aXam— yerusalem ; Ephraim.
Jesus beyond Jordan is followed by multitudes.
The healing of the infirm woman on the Sab-
bath— Valley of Jordati ; Percea.
Our Lord goes teaching and journeying towards
Jerusalem. He is warned against Herod — Pe-
rcea.
Our Lord dines with a chief Pharisee on the Sab-
bath. Incidents — Percea.
What is required of true disciples — Percea.
Parable of the lost sheep, etc. Parable of the
prodigal son — Percea.
Parable of the unjust steward — Percea.
The Pharisees reproved. Parable of the rich man
and Lazarus — Percea.
Jesus inculcates forbearance, faith, humility —
Percea.
Christ's coming will be sudden — Percea.
Parables : The importunate widow. The Phari-
see and publican — Percea.
Precepts respecting divorce — Percea.
Jesus receives and blesses little children — Percea.
The rich young man. Parable of the laborers in
the vineyard — Percea.
Jesus a third time foretells his death and resur-
rection— Percea.
James and John prefer their ambitious request —
Percea.
The healing of two blind men near yericho.
The visit to Zacchseus. Parable of the ten minae
— yericho.
Jesus arrives at Bethany six days before the Pass-
over— Bethany.
PART VII.
OUR lord's PUBLIC ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM,
AND THE SUBSEQUENT TRANSACTIONS BEFORE
THE FOURTH PASSOVER.
Time : Five days.
Our Lord's public entry into Jerusalem — Beth-
any; yerusalem.
The barren fig-tree. The cleansing of the tem-
ple— Bethany ; yerusalem.
The barren fig-tree withers away— Between Beth-
any and yerusalem.
Christ's authority questioned. Parable of the two
sons — yerusalem.
Parable of the wicked h\\sha.nAmen— yerusalem.
Parable of the marriage of the king's son— yent-
saleni.
Insidious question of the Pharisees: Tribute to
Caesar — yerusalem.
Insidious question of the Sadducees : The resur-
rection— yerusalem.
A lawyer questions Jesus. The two great com-
mandments— yerusalem.
How is Christ the son of David }— yerusalem.
Warnings against the evil example of the scribes
and Pharisees — y erttsalem.
JES
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JET
Woes against the scribes and Pharisees. Lamen-
tations over Jerusalem — ye^-usalem.
The widow's mite — yerusalem.
Certain Greeks desire to see ]&%ws,— yerusalem.
Reflections upon the unbelief of the Jews— y.?;-"-
salem.
Jesus, on taking leave of the temple, foretells its
destruction and the persecution of his Alx^zi-
p\es— yerusalem ; Mount of Olives.
The signs of Christ's coming to destroy Jerusalem
and put an end to the Jewish state and dispen-
sation— Mount of Olives.
Transition to Christ's final coming at the day of
judgment. Exhortation to watchfulness. Par-
ables: The ten virgins. The five talents—
Mount of Olives.
Scenes of the judgment-day— yi/07/«/ of Olives.
The rulers conspire. The supper at Bethany.
Treachery of Judas — yerusalem ; Bethany.
Preparation for the Vz.^^ow>i.x— Bethany ; yerusa-
lem.
PART VIII.
THE FOURTH PASSOVER ; OUR LORD'S PASSION,
AND THE ACCOMPANYING EVENTS UNTIL THE
END OF THE JEWISH SABBATH.
Time : Two days.
The Passover meal. Contention among the
twelve — yerusalem.
Jesus washes the feet of his disciples — yerusalem.
Jesus points out the traitor. Judas withdraws —
yerusalem.
Jesus foretells the fall of Peter and the dispersion
of the twelve — yerusalem.
The Lord's Supper — yerusalem.
Jesus comforts his disciples. The Holy Spirit
promised — yerusalem.
Christ the true Vine. His disciples hated by the
world — yerusalem.
Persecution foretold. Further promise of the
Holy Spirit. Prayer in the name of Christ —
yerusalem.
Christ's last prayer with his disciples — yerusalem.
The agony in Gethsemane— 71/o?
Abimelech 3
Tola 23
Jair 22
Under the Ammonites 18
Jephthah 6
Ibzan — 7
Elon 10
Abdon 8
Under the Philistines 40
JUD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JUD
YEARS.
Samson } 20
Eli J 40
Under the Philistines 20
Samuel, about 12
Saul, the first king, B. C. 1095.
The time from Othniel to Saul, according
to the above table, would be some 490
years, compare Acts 13:20; according to
the received chronology it is about 310
years, of which only iii were years of for-
eign oppression. It is supposed that some
of the above periods overlap each other;
but chronologists are not agreed as to the
mode of reconciling the accounts in Judges
with other known dates, and with i Kin.
6:1 and Acts 13:20, though several practi-
cable methods are proposed, the examina-
tion of which would e.\ceed the limits of
this work.
The BOOK OF Judges, the 7th in order of
the Old Testament books, contains the an-
nals of the times in which Israel was ruled
by judges, and is often referred to in the
New Testament and other parts of the Bi-
ble. It has 3 parts: Ch. i to 3:6 introduc-
tory; ch. 3:7 to 16 the main narrative, the
story of 6 of the judges being full and the
others brief; ch. 17-21 the appendix, con-
taining two separate narratives. The book
shows the steps by which the people came
to reject God as their ruler, and appears
to have been written before David captured
Zion, 1:21, and yet after a regal govern-
ment was introduced, 17:6; 18:1; 21:25.
Who was its author is unknown ; the ma-
jority of critics ascribe it to Samuel, B. C.
1403. It illustrates God's care over his
people, mingling his longsuffering with
timely chastisements. On 4 memorable
occasions the Angel-Jehovah appeared for
their deliverance, Josh. 2:1-5; 6:11-21;
10:10-16; 13:3-23. The period of the
judges was, on the whole, one of prosper-
ity ; and while the providence of God con-
firmed his word, "If ye refuse and rebel,
ye shall be devoured by the sword," it no
less faithfully assured them, " If ye be will-
ing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good
of the land."
JUDG'MENT is an act of the mind in dis-
cerning and forming an opinion as to the
real nature of anything, or the true charac-
ter of any person or act, Psa. 119:66; Prov.
13:23; Isa. 56:1. In this familiar use of
the word we should remember that the
judgment God forms of us is unerringly
true to the facts; all disguises melt away
beneath his eye, and each soul appears as
it is, Gen. 18:25; Rom. 2:2, and we are
warned to see ourselves as he sees us, lest
we be condemned at the last, i Cor. 11:31.
Judgment is often used in Scripture for
God's vindication of his people, Psa. 37:6;
76:9, and punishment of his foes, Rom.
1:32; 2:3, 5. His "judgments" are his
laws, the declarations of his will, Deut.
7:12; Neh. 9:13; Psa. 119, or signal chas-
tisement of transgressors, Exod. 6:6; Prov.
19:29; Ezek. 25:11; Rev. 16:7.
The word judgment is put in Matt. 5:21,
22, for a court of judgment, a tribunal,
namely, the tribunal of 7 judges, which
Josephus mentions as existing in every
city, and which decided causes of minor
importance. See under Synagogue.
For the expression, "judgment-hall," see
Pr.«torium.
The DAY OF JUDGMENT, for whicli the
word "judgment " alone is sometimes used,
is that great day, at the. end of the world
and of time, when Christ shall sit as judge
over all the universe, Acts 17:31, and when
every individual of the human race will be
judged and recompensed according to his
works, whether they be good or evil. It is
a truth of revelation, powerfully confirmed
by the forebodings of conscience and by a
contemplation of the inequalities of retri-
bution in this life. Various books will be
opened : the book of conscience, Rom. 2 : 15,
of God's providence, Rom. 2:4, 5, of the
Law and of the Gospel, John 12:48; Rom.
2:12, i6, and the book of life, Luke 10:20;
Rev. 3:5; 20:12, 15. The time of its com-
ing and its duration are known only to
God. It will break upon the world sud-
denly, and with a glorious but awful maj-
esty. It will witness the perfect vindica-
tion of all the ways of God. The revela-
tion of his justice, appalling but unstained,
will fill the universe with approving won-
der; but the revelation of his yet more
amazing goodness will crown him with un-
utterable glory. The Redeemer especially
will then receive his reward, and be glori-
fied in his saints, who shall be raised from
the dead in his likeness. He will divide
all mankind into two classes : all the right-
eous will be in one, and all the wicked in
the other; all that love God in the one, and
all that hate him in the other ; all that pen-
itently believed in Christ while they lived
in the one, and all that died impenitent
and unbelieving in the other. And this
judgment and separation will be eternal ;
the former will rise in holiness and joy,
and the latter sink in sin and woe for ever,
301
JUD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JUS
Eccl. II 9; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 10:15; 12:36;
25:31-46; 26:64; John 5:22; Rom. 14:10-
12; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Pet. 2:9; 3:7; i John
4:17; Rev. 20:12-15.
JU'DITH, the praised one, Gen. 26:34,
wife of Esau. See Aholibamah.
JU'LIA, a Christian woman at Rome, to
whom Paul sent salutations, Rom. 16:15.
JU'LIUS, a centurion of the cohort of
Augustus, to whom Festus, governor of
Judaea, committed Paul to be conveyed
from CcEsarea to Rome. Julius had great
regard for Paul. He suffered him to land
at Sidon and visit his friends; and at Mal-
ta opposed the violence of the soldiers,
directed against the prisoners generally,
in order to save the apostle. Acts 27.
JU'NIAS, Rom. 16:7, A. V. JuNiA, one of
Paul's " kinsmen " — perhaps only country-
men, Rom. 9:3 — at Rome, an earlier disci-
ple of Christ than he.
GENISTA MONOSPERMA, OR R^T/EM.
JU'NIPER is found in the English Bible,
I Kin. 19:4, 5; Job 30:4; Psa. 120:4. The
Hebrew word, however, signifies the plant
Genista, or Spanish broom, which is com-
mon in the desert regions of Arabia, and
has snow-white blossoms, streaked with
purple, and a bitter root. The Arabs call
it the retem. It grows to the height of 8 or
10 feet, and is highly prized in the desert
as food for sheep and goats, fuel, and shel-
ter from sun and wind. See Rithmah.
JU'PITER, the supreme god of the heath-
en Greeks and Romans. He was called
the son of Saturn and Ops, and was said
302
to have been born in Crete. The charac-
ter attributed to him in pagan mythology
was a compound of all that is wicked, ob-
scene, and beastly in the catalogue of hu-
man crime, though he was ever described
as of noble and dignified appearance and
bearing. Hence, after the miraculous cure
of the impotent man at Lystra, the super-
stitious populace recognizing a superhu-
man power, called Barnabas Jupiter, and
Paul Mercury, and sought to worship them.
Acts 14:11-13. The Ephesians imagined
that their wooden image of Diana was sent
down to them by Jupiter, Acts 19:35. An-
tiochus Epiphanes polluted the temple at
Jerusalem by sacrificing swine on the altar,
and changed it to a temple of Olympian
Jupiter. This idol-altar and image were
supposed by the Jews to be the " Abomi-
nation of Desolation " of Daniel. See
Abomination.
JUS'TICE, a principle of righteousness
and equity, controlling our conduct, and
securing a due regard to all the rights of
others — their persons, property, character,
and interests. It has to do, not with pecu-
niary transactions alone, but with all our
intercourse with society. It is one of the
4 cardinal virtues, and requires not only
that we abstain from doing others any
wrong, even in thought, but that we recog-
nize the brotherhood of all men, and their
consequent claim upon our good-will and
kind offices. It is U7ijust not to love our
neighbor as truly as ourselves. Justice
forms a chief element of the character ap-
proved in God's Word; and a truly just
man has but to " love mercy, and walk
humbly with God," to fulfil all righteous-
ness, Luke 2:25. Justice in magistrates,
rulers, and judges must be fearless and
impartial, and all its decisions such as will
bear revision before the court of heaven,
Deut. 1 : 16, 17; 2 Sam. 23:3 ; 2 Chr. 19:6-10.
Judgment is peculiarly the prerogative of
God, and every earthly tribunal lies under
the shadow of the "great white throne."
A just judgment is the voice of God; and
hence an unjust one is doubly hateful in
his sight, Psa. 82.
The word "just " is often used to denote,
not the natural disposition, but the charac-
ter and condition acquired by grace, Heb.
12 : 23. " The just shall live by faith," Rom.
1:17; Gal. 3:11. See Justification.
The justice of God is that essential
and infinite attribute which makes his na-
ture and his ways the perfect embodiment
of equity, and constitutes him the model
JUS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
JUS
and the guardian of equity throughout the
universe, Deut. 32:4; Psa. 89:14; 97:2. The
justice of God could not leave the world
without laws, and cannot fail to vindicate
them by executing their penalties; and as
all mankind perpetually break them, every
human soul is under condemnation, and
must perish, unless spared through the
accepted ransom, the blood of Christ.
The administration of justice among
the Hebrews was characterized by simplic-
ity and promptitude. In early times the
patriarch of each family was its judge, Gen.
38:24. Afterwards, in the absence of more
formal courts, the elders of a household,
tribe, or city were its judges by natural
right. In the wilderness, Moses organized
for the Jews a regular system of judges,
some having jurisdiction over 10 families,
others over 50, 100, or 1,000. These must
be chosen "out of all the people," and
must be " able men, such as fear God, men
of truth, hating covetousness," Exod. 18:21.
Compare 2 Sam. 23:3; Prov. 21:15. The
difficult cases were referred to Moses, and
he often sought divine direction concern-
ing them, Exod. 18:13-26; Lev. 24:12.
These judges were perhaps the "princes
of the congregation," and the chiefs of the
families and tribes of whom we afterwards
read, Num. 27:3; i Chr. 4:38. They had
their successors in Joshua's day. Josh. 24 : i .
In the land of Canaan, local magistrates
were appointed for every city and village ;
and these were instructed by and coopera-
ted with the priests, as being all together
under the theocracy, the actual govern-
ment of Jehovah, the supreme Judge of
Israel, Deut. 16:18; 17:8-10; 19:17; 21:1-6.
Their informal courts were held in the gate
of the city, as the most public and conve-
nient place, Deut. 21:9; 22:15; 25:7; and
in the same place contracts were ratified,
Ruth 4:1, 9; Jer. 32:7-15. Deborah the
prophetess judged Israel beneath a palm-
tree, Judg. 4:5. Samuel established virtu-
ally a circuit court, i Sam. 7:16; 8:1; and
among the kings, Jehoshaphat made spe-
cial provision for the faithful administra-
tion of justice, 2 Chr. 19. The kings them-
selves were supreme judges, with almost
unlimited powers, i Sam. 22:16; 2 Sam.
4:9, 10; I Kin. 22:26. They were expect-
ed, however, to see that justice was every-
where done, and to be accessible to all who
were wronged. Frequent complaints are
found of- the maladministration of judges,
of bribery and perjury, i Sam. 8:3; i Kin.
21:8-14; Isa. 1:23; 10:1; Mic. 3:11; y:;^.
There was no class among the Jews ex-
actly corresponding to our lawyers. The
accuser and the accused stood side by side
before the judge, with their witnesses, and
pleaded their own cause. The accuser is
named in several places Satan, that is, the
adversary, Psa. 109:6; Zech. 3:1-3. No
one could be condemned without the con-
curring testimony of at least 2 witnesses,
Num. 35:30; and these failing, he was
obliged to make oath of his innocence,
Exod. 22:11; Heb. 6:16. The sentence of
the judge was instantly executed ; and in
certain cases the witnesses cast the first
stone, Deut. 17:5, 7; 25:2; Josh. 7:24;
I Sam. 22:18; I Kin. 2:24; Prov. 16:14.
The same frightful celerity still marks the
administration of justice in the East. The
application of torture to extract evidence
is only once mentioned, and that under
the authority of Rome, Acts 22:24. See
Sanhedrin and Synagogue.
JUSTIFICA'TION, the being regarded and
treated as if innocent; or acquittal from
the consequences of guilt before the tribu-
nal of God. It is the opposite of condem-
nation, and means acquittal and vindica-
tion, Deut. 25:1; Psa. 143:2; Prov. 17:15.
The term is so used 40 times in the Old
Testament, and often in the New, as in
Luke 18: 14. "Justification by faith "means
that a person, on account of true and liv-
ing faith in Christ as manifested by good
works, will be delivered from condemna-
tion on account of his sins ; that is, his sins
will be forgiven, and he be regarded and
treated as if innocent and holy. Thus, be-
sides the remission of sins and their pen-
alty, it includes the restoration and ever-
lasting enjoyment of the favor of God.
We obtain justification hy faith hi Christ.
Yet neither this nor any other act of ours,
as a work, is any ground of our justifica-
tion. In acquitting us before his bar, God
regards not our works, in whole or in part,
but the atoning work and merits of Christ,
Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14: Rev. 5:9. He was
treated as a sinner that we might be treated
as righteous. " There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus," Rom. 8:1-4; the moment we be-
lieve, our justification is as perfect as the
infinite worthiness of our Redeemer. Its
validity does not depend on the measure
of our assurance of hope, nor on spotless
holiness of life. Sanctification, indeed, or
progressive growth in holiness, commences
simultaneously with justification, and must
in the end reach the same perfectness. Yet
303
JUS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KAN
it is important to distinguish between the
two, and to observe that, could the behev-
er's holiness become as perfect as an an-
gel's, it could not share with the atoning
merits of Christ in entitling him to admis-
sion to heaven.
" The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne ;
But faith can answer thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord hath done."
True justification, by the gratuitous gift
of the Saviour, furnishes the most power-
ful motive to a holy life. It is followed by
adoption, peace of conscience, and the
fruits of the Spirit in this life; and by final
sanctification, acquittal in the day of judg-
ment, and admittance to heaven, Rom.
3:20-31; 5; 10:4-10; Gal. 2:16-21; Eph.
2:4-10.
JVS'TVS, j'usl, I., a name of Joseph sur-
named Barsabas, Acts 1:23. See Barsa-
BAS.
II. A Corinthian convert, in whose house
Paul preached. Acts 18:7. In the R. V.
Titus Justus.
III. A Jewish convert, also called Jesus,
a fellow-laborer at Rome with Paul and
Mark, Col. 4:11.
JUT'TAH, inclined, a Levitical city in the
mountains of Judah, Josh. 15:55; 21 : 16, the
modern Yutta, 5 miles south of Hebron.
This is conjectured to be the "city of Ju-
dah," Luke 1:39, where Mary visited Elis-
abeth, and John the Baptist was born.
K.
KAB'ZEEL, gathered by God, a town of
Simeon, towards Edom and the Dead Sea,
Josh. 15: 21, where Benaiah was born, 2 Sam.
23:20; after the Captivity, Jekabzeel, Neh.
11:25. Robinson found a site for it at a
fountain in Wady el Kuseib, which runs
north into the Arabah several miles south
of the Dead Sea.
KA'DESH, holv, or Ka'desh -bar'nea,
called also En-mishpat, Gen. 14:7, and Mer-
ibah-Kadesh, Ezek. 47:19, the name of a
fountain, a city, and the desert around,
Psa. 29:8, in the southern border of the
promised land. Josh. 15:3, 23. It is said,
in Num. 20: 16, to lie in the " uttermost bor-
der of Edotn," and is generally believed
to have been situated near the great val-
ley el-Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. Dr.
Robinson found a watering place, 'Ain el
Weibeh, which he thought answers well to
the indications in Scripture, on the western
304
border of el-Arabah, about 27 miles from
the Dead Sea. Some later travellers, how-
ever, extend Edom westward, as including
"the mount of the Amorites," Deut. 1:19,
and find Kadesh at 'Ain el Kadeis, some 60
miles southwest of the Dead Sea and south-
east of the Mediterranean. It was on the
border of the wilderness of Paran and that
of Zin, Num. 13:26; 32:8; Josh. 15:1-3.
Scripture mentions two periods when Ka-
desh was visited by the Israelites in their
wanderings ; once in the year soon after
they left Mount Sinai, and again 37 years
after. At the first visit the mission and
return of the 12 spies took place, the rebel-
lion of the people, and their presumptuous
effort to enter Canaan by the pass Zephath,
immediately north of Kadesh, Num. 13, 14.
It may have been their headquarters dur-
ing the T,y years in the desert. At their 2d
visit occurred the death of Miriam, the
murmuring of the people for water, the
miraculous supply, the sin of Aaron and
Moses in smiting the rock, and the fruitless
request for a passage through Edom, Num.
20:1-22. The southern border of Judah
reached to Kadesh-barnea, Josh. 12:22;
15:3-
KAD'MIEL, be/ore God, a Levite who re-
turned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, and
took part in the rebuilding, confession, and
covenant, Ezra 2:40; 3:9; Neh. 7:43; 9:4,
5; 10:9; 12:8.
KAD'MONITES, eastern, or ancient. Gen.
15:19, a tribe of Canaanites who inhabited
the promised land east of the Jordan, about
Mount Hermon. Some have fancied that
Cadmus, the supposed inventor of the Greek
alphabet, and who came from the East, was
a Kadmonite, and the Greek letters are
obviously derived from the Phoenician or
ancient Hebrew letters. Among the Nusai-
riyeh north of Tripoli Thomson found this
name preserved, and a tradition that their
ancestors were expelled from Canaan by
Joshua. He also found other fragments of
this aboriginal people around Mount Her-
mon.
KA'NAH, reedy, I., Josh. 16:8; 17:9, a
brook which separated Ephraim on the
south from Manasseh on the north. The
modern Wady Kanah, a branch of the Nahr-
el-Aujeh, seems too far south. Wady Fa-
laik, or Khassal, reedy, is very small, and
west of Shechem. North of this are Nahr
Iskanderuneh and Nahr Mefjir, a branch
of either of which, for part of its course,
might suit the case.
II. A town in the northwest boundary of
KAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KEN
Asher, Josh. 19:24, 28. A village called
Kana is still found 7 or 8 miles southeast
of Tyre, with ancient ruins a mile north.
KARE'AH, A. V. Careah in 2 Kin. 25:23,
the father of Johanan and Jonathan, adhe-
rents of Gedaliah for a time, Jer. 40-43.
KAR'KAA, or Kar'ka, a floor, a town
centrally on the southernmost border of
Judah, afterwards Simeon's, Josh. 15:3.
KAR'KOR, foundation, a place beyond
Jordan, where Zebah and Zalmunna took
refuge from Gideon, but were again de-
feated and taken, Judg. 8:10. Apparently
south of the Jabbok, and northeast of Rab-
bath-ammon.
KAR'TAH, a city, and KAT'TATH, small.
Josh. 19:15; 21:34, a city of Merarite Le-
vites in Zebulun; possibly el-Harteh, on
the Kishon.
KAR'TAN, double city, a Levitical city of
refuge in Naphtali, Josh. 21:32; also called
Kirjathaim, i Chr. 6:76; perhaps el Kata-
nah, north of Lake Tiberias.
KAT'TATH, small. See Kartah.
KE'DAR, dark, the 2d son of Ishmael,
Gen. 25:13, the father of the Kedarenians,
or Cedrei, mentioned by Pliny, who dwelt
in the neighborhood of the Nabatheans, in
Arabia Deserta, east of the Red Sea. They
were a numerous and powerful tribe, not
of the best reputation, Psa. 120:5, and their
name Kedar is sometimes put for the whole
of Arabia Deserta and its wandering in-
habitants, Isa. 21:16, 17; 42:11; Jer. 2:10.
They were rich in flocks and camels, in
which they traded with Tyre, Isa. 60:7;
Ezek. 27:21. They were despoiled by
Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 49 : 28, 29. Their
black camel's-hair tents are a picturesque
feature in a landscape. Song 1:5.
KED'EMAH, eastward, youngest son of
Ishmael, Gen. 25:15; i Chr. 1:31.
KEDE'MOTH, beginnings, a Levitical
city and pasture-ground, Deut. 2:26, in
Reuben, Josh. 13:18; 21:37; i Chr. 6:79.
It lay on the north of the Arnon, in the
border of Sihon king of Heshbon, to whom
Moses sent an embassage of peace.
KE'DESH, sanctuary, I., a city in the
extreme south of Judah, or Simeon, Josh.
15:23; 19:9, probably Kadesh-barnea.
II. A Levitical city in Issachar, i Chr.
6:72.
III. Kedesh-naphtali, a fortified and Le-
vitical city of refuge in Naphtali, Josh.
19:37; 21:32; iChr.6:76. Barak, judge of
Israel, was born here, and assembled here
his forces for a decisive battle with Sisera,
Judg. 4:6, 10. It was ravaged by Tiglath-
20
pileser, 2 Kin. 15:29. It is to be found in
the modern village Kades, 4 miles west by
north of Lake el-Huleh, on a hill overlook-
ing the Jordan plain. But see Zaanaim.
KE'DRON. See KiDRON.
KEHE'LATHAH, or Kehe'lah, assem-
bling, 2ist station of the Hebrews in the
Wanderings, Num. 33:22, 23.
KEI'LAH, citadel, I., a fortified city in the
plains of Judah, towards the south. Josh.
15:44; see Keilah, II., which David once
relieved from a siege by the Philistines, but
a part of whose people, the Baalites, after-
wards sought to deliver him up to Saul,
I Sam. 23:1-13. Compare Psa. 31:6,8, 21.
Two of its rulers helped to rebuild Jeru-
salem, Neh. 3:17. It may be traced at
Khubbet Kilah, 8 miles northwest of He-
bron.
II. A descendant of Caleb, 1 Chr. 4: 15, 19.
KELA'IAH, despised of the Lord, and
KELI'TA, a dwarf, a Levite active in Ez-
ra's reform, Ezra 10:23; Neh. 8:7; 10:10.
KEM'UEL, helper, or assembly of God,
I., 3d son of Abraham's brother Nahor,
and father of Bethuel, Gen. 22:21 ; 24:15.
II. Num. 34:24. — III. I Chr. 27:17.
KE'NAN, possessor, I Chr. i :2. See Cai-
NAN.
KE'NATH, possession, a city of Gilead,
captured and named by Nobah, Num. 32:42,
and Jair, i Chr. 2:23; in the tribe of Ma-
nasseh. Now Kunawat, in the Hauran.
KE'NAZ, hunter, I., son of Eliphaz and
grandson of Esau, Gen. 36:11, 15; i Chr.
1:36, the head of a tribe of Kenezites in
Eastern Arabia, towards the Persian Gulf;
traced by some in the Anezeh, now a very
large and powerful tribe of the Eastern
Bedouins.
II. An Edomitish prince, Gen. 36:42;
I Chr. 1:53. See Josh. 14:14.
III. Younger brother of Caleb, and father
of Othniel, Josh. 15:17.
IV. Grandson of Caleb, i Chr. 4:15.
KE'NITES, 'workers in iron, an aborigi-
nal people who dwelt west of the Dead
Sea, and extended themselves far into Ara-
bia Petraea, Gen. 15:19, associated with the
Amalekites, and Midianites, i Sam. 15:5.
Jethro, a Midianite, Num. 10:29, was a Ke-
nite, and his family accompanied the Israel-
ites, and settled with other Kenites in va-
rious parts of the Holy Land, Judg. 1:16;
4:11; I Sam. 30:29; 1 Chr. 2:55. Heber
and the Rechabites were their descend-
ants, Judg. 5:24. See Jonadab and Midi-
AN. The Kenites of whom we read appear
to have known and served Jehovah, and the
305
KEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KID
whole tribe were friendly to the Hebrews.
Saul spared them, when sent by Samuel
to destroy the Amalekites among whom
they dwelt, i Sam. 15:6; and David feigned
an attack upon them, but shared with them
his spoils, I Sam. 27:10; 30:29. The Ke-
nites denounced by Balaam, Num. 24:21,
22, and dispossessed by the Israelites, Gen.
15: 19, appear to have been an older Arabi-
an tribe.
KEN'IZZITES, hunters, an ancient peo-
ple of Canaan, whose land (lod promised
to the descendants of Abraham, Gen. 15: 19.
They appear to have mingled with other
Canaanites, and lost their distinctive name
before the time of Joshua.
KEPT, John 17:12, safely guarded.
KER'CHIEF, a rich and coquettish veil
for the head, Ezek. 13:18, 21.
KE'REN-HAP'PUCH, horn for paint, i. c,
cosmetics. Job's 3d daughter, Job 42:14.
See Eyk.
KERI'OTH, «■//«, I., probably to be joined
with Hazor, Kerioth-hazor, a double town
in the south or Simeonite portion of Judah,
Josh. 15:25; now Kureitein, 12 miles south
of Hebron. See Juda.s, I.
n. A strong city of Moab, north of Am-
man and southwest of Bozrah, taken by
Babylon, Jer. 48:24, 41; Amos 2:2.
KE'ROS, curi'ed, among the Nethinim
who returned after the Captivity, Ezra
2:44 ; Neh. 7:47.
KETU'RAH,yra^ra«c''1\ 9- 'I 20:1.
The scribes had authority to teach reli-
gion, Luke II :52. Christ, the head over all
things for his church, gave Peter and the
other apostles " the keys of the kingdom
306
of heaven," Matt. 16:19; 18:18, by direct
ing them to open the church to converted
Gentiles, and by preaching to all men the
forgiveness of sin through Christ's atone-
ment, and the establishment of his king-
dom. Matt. 19:28; 21:5; Rev. 11:15. They
could only preach the ministry of reconcili-
ation, 2 Cor. 5:18-20. Hence the professed
" power of the keys," the authority of any
nominally Christian church to grant abso-
lution, and thus perform a function belong-
ing to God only, Mark 2:7; Acts 5:31, is a
usurpation of divine rights, and an intru-
sion between the sinner and his all-suffi-
cient Saviour.
KEZI'A, cassia, the fragrant name of Job's
2d daughter, Job 42: 14.
KE'ZIZ, abrupt, VALLKV OF, a city on the
east border of Benjamin, Josh. 18:21, per-
haps in the valley called Kaazis, between
Jericho and Bethany.
KIB'ROTH-HATTA'AVAH, graves of the
longing, the 14th of the encampments of
Israel in the wilderness, where they desired
of God flesh for their sustenance, declaring
they were tired of manna, Num. 11:34, 35;
33:16. Quails were sent in miraculous
quantities ; but while the meat was in their
mouths, God smote so great a number of
them that the place was called " the graves
of those who lusted," Psa. 78:30, 31, a mon-
ument to warn mankind against the sin of
discontent, Deut. 9:22; i Cor. 10:6. It was
near Taberah, Num. 11:3, 4, northeast of
Sinai, towards the eastern fork of the Red
Sea, Num. 10:33; 11:22, 31. See Quails.
KIBZA'IM, tivo heaps, a Kohathite Levit-
ical city of refuge in Ephraim, Josh. 21 :22,
near the Kishon and the boundary of Zeb-
ulun; compare i Chr. 6:68, where Jokme-
AM is substituted.
KID, the young of the goat. Num. 15:11 ;
I Kin. 20:27; Song 1:8, still a favorite food
of the Arabs, as of old among the Jews,
Luke 15:29, and used in sacrifices, Num.
7:16, etc.; Lev. 4:23, 28; 9:3; 16:5; 23:19,
etc. See Goats.
KID'RON, or Cr'dron, turbid, black, a
winter torrent, and the valley in which it
flowed, east of Jerusalem. This valley be-
gins a mile and a quarter northwest of the
city, passes easterly some 200 rods north
of the present wall, full of excavated tombs,
and turns to the south. Here it is wide
and open, with olive and other fruit-trees;
but as it runs south between the city and
Mount Olivet, it becomes narrow and deep.
Opposite Mount Moriah it is a mere tor-
rent's bed, 100 feet below the city wall, 500
KID
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KID
JERUSALEM AND ITS VALLEYS, FROM THE SOUTH; THE KIDRON VALLEY OPENING ON THE RIGHT,
AND HINNOM ON THE LEFT.
feet lower than the summit of Mount Oli-
vet. It sinks Still deeper as it passes Silo-
am, the valley of Hinnom, and the well of
Nehemiah, and then winds southeast, in a
narrow and precipitous gorge, through the
horrid wilderness of St. Saba, to the Dead
Sea. The Kidron is now a wady rather
than a " brook," its bed being dry most of
the year; even in the rainy season it has
no constant stream, though heavy and con-
tinued rains create an impetuous but short-
lived torrent. If its waters were those
" running through the midst of the land,"
which Hezekiah stopped, sealing its source,
"the upper spring of Gihon," and turning
its waters into the city, 2 Chr. 32:4, 30, this
would explain in part its present dry con-
dition. It is crossed by a causeway and a
bridge of a single arch, between St. Ste-
phen's gate and the garden of Gethsem-
ane, where the valley, nearly level, is 400
feet wide. By this route probably David
fled from Absalom, 2 Sam. 15:23, 30; and
the Saviour often passed this way in go-
ing to Bethany, Mount Olivet, and Geth-
semane, Luke 22:39; John 18:1, 2. A 2d
bridge crosses the ravine 1,000 feet south,
150 feet below the city wall. The ravine
runs on 500 yards more to the " fountain of
the virgin" and the village Siloam; then
passes the valley of the Tyropoeon, sloping
down from the right, and then the valley
of Hinnom, 200 yards wide, below which is
en-Rogel, now Bir Ayfib, or Job's well.
This region is now fertile and cultivated,
anciently "the King's Garden," Neh. 3:15.
The historical part of the Kidron is thus
about 2}i miles long. Its sides are full of
tombs, ancient and modern, the Jews still
coveting a burial on Mount Olivet, and the
Moslems using the city side of the valley.
In this valley and in that of Hinnom, at
their confluence, kings Asa, Josiah, and
Hezekiah destoj'ed the idols and abomi-
nations by which Jerusalem was defiled,
I Kin. 15: 13; 2 Kin. 23:4, 6, 12 ; 2 Chr. 29: 16;
30:14. See Hinnom and Jerusalem. Its
whole length in a straight line would be 15
miles, and it falls into the Dead Sea south
of Ras Feshkhah, through a gorge 600 feet
high, having descended 3,792 feet. About
8 miles from Jerusalem stands the Greek
convent Mar Saba, beyond which the ra-
vine is named Wady en-Nar, valley of fire.
See Sea, HI. A part of the waters of the
ancient Kidron were derived from the tem-
ple itself, flowing down by several chan-
nels to the deep bed of the brook. The
prophet Ezekiel makes use of this fact in a
beautiful and cheering allegory, foretelling
the river of divine grace that shall yet ren-
ovate the world. The stream he describes
issues from the temple, beside the altar of
God ; it flows with an ever-increasing vol-
ume; it carries with it into the dreary wil-
derness verdure, fruitfulness, and melody;
and even heals the bitter waters of the
Dead Sea itself, Ezek. 47:1-12.
307
KIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KIN
KI'NAH, an elegy, a town in the extreme
south of Judah (Simeon) towards the Dead
Sea, Josh. 15:22.
KINE, the old English for cows, Gen.
32:15; 41:2-27. "Milch-kine" are milk-
ing cows, I Sam. 6:7-14. See Heifer.
KING, KINGS. In Scripture the word
king does not always imply either a high
degree of power or great extent of terri-
tory. Many single towns, or towns with
their adjacent villages, are said to have had
kings ; and many persons are called kings
in Scripture whom we should rather de-
nominate chiefs or leaders. Moses is said
to have been " king in Jeshurun," or Israel,
Deut. 33:5; he was the chief, the leader,
the guide of his people, though not king in
the same sense as David or Solomon. So
small a country as Canaan contained 31
kings who were conquered. Josh. 12:9-24,
besides many who no doubt escaped the
arms of Joshua. Adoni-zedek, himself no
very powerful king, mentions 70 " kings "
whom he had subdued and mutilated. See
also I Kin. 4:21. These kings, in many
cases, were no doubt like the sheikhs of
Arab tribes at the present day. In the New
Testament also the title " king" is applied
to Roman emperors and governors, i Pet.
2:13, 17; Rev. 17: 10, 12; and tp Herod An-
tipas, the tetrarch, Mark 6 : 22 ; Luke 3 : 19.
The Israelites had no kings till Saul, hav-
ing been governed, first by elders, as in
Egypt; then by rulers of God's appoint-
ment, as Moses and Joshua; then by judges,
as Othniel, Ehud, Gideon, Samuel ; and
lastly by kings, as Saul, David, Solomon.
Being peculiarly the people of God, their
form of government was essentially a the-
ocracy. God prescribed for them a code
of laws ; he designated their rulers ; these
laws and rulers the people were to obey
" in the Lord;" and in all cases of doubt,
he, as the actual head of the government,
was to be consulted, in the spirit of the
words, " The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is
our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King," Isa.
33:22; I Tim. 1:17. Their demand for a
king was offensive to him, as an unbelie-
ving and rebellious departure from the more
immediate headship of Jehovah, i Sam. 8:7.
Yet even under the regal government they
were still to regard him as their king. Idol-
atry was treason against the throne. Their
code of laws was still his holy book. It
was a prophet or high-priest of Jehovah
who anointed the king, and placed the
crown upon his head and the sceptre in his
hand, Deut. 17:15, 18-20; i Sam. 10:1, 25;
308
12:12-15; 2 Sam. 1:14, 21; I Kin. 1:39;
2 Kin. 9:1-6; 11:12; Psa. 21:3. By the in-
strumentality of his sacred ministers God
gave such directions concerning public af-
fairs as were needed and sought for, i Sam.
30:7; 2 Sam. 2:1; and these agents of God,
with their instructions and warnings, per-
formed a most important part in the na-
tional history, i Kin. 20:22, 38; 2 Kin. 1:15.
So far as people and kings looked to God as
their Head they prospered ; and it was for
lack of this that they were ruined. Of the
2 kingdoms, Judah and Israel, the latter
most rapidly and fully threw off its alle-
giance, 2 Chr. 13:4-12; and therefore it was
the first to perish, having continued 254
years from the death of Solomon, B. C. 975-
721, with 19 kings of 9 different dynasties.
The kingdom of Judah continued 387 years
after the separation, B. C. 975-588, having
been held by 19 successive kings of the line
of David. See Israel and Judah.
The table on page 309 presents in one
view the kings of Judah and Israel as given
in the Bible, with the year when each one
began to reign, and the length of his reign.
The chronology is that of Usher and Wi-
ner, who nearly coincide.
The Hebrew kings were absolute mon-
archs, though restricted in many cases by
regard to religion, laws, and customs, the
desire of esteem, and the fear of revolution.
They were held sacred, as " the Lord's an-
ointed," 2 Sam. 1:14; Lam. 4:20. They
had numerous officials : recorders or chron-
iclers, I Kin. 4:3; scribes, 2 Sam. 8:17;
stewards, Isa. 22:15; 36:3; "friends" and
counsellors, I Kin. 4:5; i Chr. 27:32; keep-
ers of the wardrobe, 2 Kin. 5:22; captains
of the guard, 2 Sam. 20:23; i Vi\n. 2:25;
various treasurers, i Chr. 27:25-31; and
the chief of the army, 2 Sam. ii:i ; 20:23.
Their income was derived from the royal
lands, flocks and herds, from tithes, taxes,
and duties, sometimes from commerce, and
largely from enforced "presents." They
employed the various insignia of royalty,
and had palaces, i Kin. 7:1-12, court offi-
cers, thrones, royal robes, and golden uten-
sils, I Kin. 10:18-21; 22:10, crowns and
sceptres, 2 Sam. 1 : 10; 12:30; Psa. 45:6, sig-
net-rings, I Kin. 21:8; Esth. 8:8, and ob-
sequious service, i Sam. 24:8.
The two BOOKS of Kings, in the original
Hebrew one book, contain a history of the
kings of Judah and Israel intermingled,
commencing with Solomon and ending with
Zedekiah ; unlike the books of Chronicles,
which give an account only of the kings of
KIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KIN
KINGS OF JUDAH,
KINGS OF ISRAEL,
all of one dynasty.
of nine dynasties.
«
id
c
1
Id
K
CONTEMPORAKY PROPHETS,
NAME.
M
>
^«
sz
NAME.
X
KINGS, AND EVENTS.
C
-S
B
^
^
''^
>A
n
Q
iJ
'A
0
I
Rehoboam,
17
975
975
22
Jeroboam,
I
I.
Shishak, Egypt, 975-953-
2
Abijah,
Asa,
3
41
958 ,
955
. 954
953
2
24
Nadab,
Baasha,
2
3
II.
II.
Homer, 950.
, 930
2
Elah, Zimri,
4, 5
11. III.
f 929
12
Omri,
6
IV.
Lycurgus, 923-841.
L 918
22
Ahab,
7
IV.
Ben-hadad, 914-885.
4
Jehoshaphat,
25
914 r
1
1
J 897
2
Ahaziah,
8
IV.
5
Jehoram,
8
892 Ji
1 896
12
Jehoram,
9
IV.
Hazael, 885-845.
6
Ahaziah,
Athaliah, usurper
I
7
885 1
r 883
28
Jehu,
10
V.
Cartilage founded, 869.
7
Joash,
40
878
1
** 856
17
Jehoahaz,
II
V.
Shahnaneser II., 860-824.
8
Aniaziah,
29
8381'
J 840
16
Jehoash,
12
V.
1 825
41
Jeroboam II.
13
V.
Jonah, 830-815.
9
Uzziah,
52
810 '
. 784
12
interregnum.
Macedon founded, 815.
Joel, 812-795.
Amos, 800-784.
1 772
Snio
Zachariah,
14
V.
Hosea, 786-736.
L 771
I mo
Shallum,
15
VI.
Shalmaneser III., 783-773.
1
10
Menahem,
16
VII.
Pul invades Israel, 770.
10 Jotham,
16
758 1
J 760
2
Pekahiah,
17
VII.
Isaiah, 766-698.
.[
f 758
20
Pekah,
18
VIII.
Rome founded, 754.
Micah, 750-698.
II
Ahaz,
16
741 ^
1 738
^ 729
8
9
interregnum,
tioshea.
19
IX.
Nabonassar, 747-731-
Tiglath-pileser, 745-727-
12
Hezekiah,
29
726 J
■ 721
Captivity,
Nahum, 720-698.
Numa Pompilius, 715-673.
13
Manasseh,
55
697 l|
Sennacherib, 705-^81.
14
Amon,
2
642 _
15
Josiah,
31
640 ■
Solon, 638-558.
Zephaniah, 630-620.
Jeremiah, 628-588.
16
Jehoahaz, 3 mos.
17
18
19
Jehoiakim,
Jehoiachin,3mos.
Zedekiah,
Captivity,
II
II
609 1
598 I
588 1
Daniel, 606-538.
Nebuchadnezzar, 605-562.
Ezekiel, 594-576-
309
KIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KIN
Judah. In the Septuagint and Vulgate, our
2 books of Samuel are also called books of
Kingdoms. The various histories compri-
sing the 2 books of Kings were evidently
the work of a single inspired writer, and
not a mere collection. They are believed
to have been written before the books of
Chronicles— which contain many Chaldee
and Persian expressions— and Jewish tradi-
tion confirmed by internal evidence makes
the prophet Jeremiah their author, B. C. 620.
The writer probably drew a part of his
materials from the records of each reign
left by contemporary prophets and priests,
I Kin. 11:41 ; 14:29; 15:7, 23; 22:45; 2 Kin.
8:23; 12:19. See Chronicles. They con-
tinue the history given in the 2 books of
Samuel, and may be divided into 3 peri-
ods: I. I Kin. i-ii, Solomon's reign. — II.
I Kin. 12 — 2 Kin. 10, from the division of
the kingdom to the captivity of the 10
tribes. — III. 2 Kin. 11-25, to the captivity of
Judah, and Jehoiachin's 37th j'ear — where
we find an earnest of a still future return of
God's favor to the covenant people. The
history is not a mere record of events, but
an account of the relations of the nation to
Jehovah its rightful King, and of his deal-
ings with it in his providence and by his
priests, and especially his prophets, in ful-
filment of his word in 2 Sam. 7: 12-17. All
these sacred annals are highly instructive.
They show us the perfect fulfilment of the
divine promises and warnings by Moses;
and every page confirms the inspired dec-
laration, " The fear of the Lord is the be-
ginning of wisdom."
The book of Isaiah should be read in
connection with the storj' of Ahaz and Hez-
ekiah, and Jeremiah with that of Jehoiakim
and Zedekiah.
The names of Omri, Mesha, Jehu, Mena-
hem, Hoshea, and Hezekiah are found on
the stone tablets of Assyria and Babylon,
containing the annals of Tiglath-pileser,
Sargon, Sennacherib, and Esar-haddon ;
and Egyptian monuments confirm the
Scripture records in i Kin. 11:19, 20, 40,
and the story of Shishak's conquest of Ju-
dah, of Assyria's struggles with Egypt, and
Babylon's ascendency over both under
Nebuchadnezzar. New Testament allu-
sions to the narrative are found in Matt.
6:29; 12:42; Mark 1:6; Luke 4:25-27; 10:4
with 2 Kin. 4 : 29 ; Acts 7 : 47, 48 ; Rom. 11:2-
4; Heb. 11:35; Jas. 5:17, 18; Rev. 2:20;
11:6. See also Matt. 17:3-12.
KING'DOM OF Heaven, literally "of the
heavens," is an expression used in the New
310
Testament, especially by Matthew, to sig-
nify the reign, dispensation, or administra-
tion of Jesus Christ, Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 13:31-
47 ; 2 Tim. 4: 18. It is also called " the king-
dom of God," Matt. 6:33; Mark 1:14, 15;
Luke 4: 43; John 3:3, 5, and of Christ, Matt.
13:41; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 1:9. The ancient
prophets, when describing the character of
the Messiah, Dan. 2:44; 7:13, 14; Mic. 4:1-
7, and even when speaking of his humilia-
tion and sufferings, were wont to inter-
sperse hints of his power, his reign, and
his divinity. The Jews, overlooking the
spiritual import of this language, expected
the Messiah to appear as a temporal king,
exercising power over his enemies, resto-
ring the throne of David to all its splendor,
subduing the nations, and rewarding his
friends and faithful servants in proportion
to their fidelity and services. Matt. 20:21;
Luke 17:20; 19:11; Acts 1:6. Hence the
contests among his disciples, ere they had
fully learned Christ, about precedency in
his kingdom ; and hence probably the two
sons of Zebedee desired the two chief pla-
ces in it, or those nearest to their endeared
Master and Lord. They afterwards learned
that his kingdom was not of this world,
John 18:36,37; that its origin, spirit, means,
and ends were spiritual and heavenly, Rom.
14:17; 2 Cor. 10:3-5. It has indeed its out-
ward form, the visible church, Matt. 13:47,
and bestows on the world the richest of
temporal blessings ; but its true dominion
is in the souls of men. It embraces all who
by the Spirit of Christ are united to him as
their divine Head and King, to love, serve,
and enjoy him for ever. Matt. 18:3; 19:14,
and those only. Matt. 13:41,47-50; 22:11-
14; Luke 13:28, 29; I Cor. 6:9, 10; Rev.
21 :27. His work on earth was to establish
it. Matt. 3:2. He introduced his disciples
into it while on earth, and more fully after
his resurrection and ascension, John 20:22;
Acts 2:32-36; is "head over all things," in
order to make it triumphant and supreme
even on earth, Dan. 7:27; Eph. 1:20-22;
Rev. II : 15. It will be perfected in heaven,
Matt. 8:11, and will never cease, Luke i .^i,
even when the mediatorial reign of the Sa-
viour is accomplished, i Cor. 15:28.
See Old Testament predictions of the
Messiah under Prophets.
KINS'MAN often denotes mere relation-
ship. Lev. 18:12, 13, 17; Num. 27:11; Job
19:14; Psa. 38:11. But the Hebrew word
GOEL, redeemer, designates one's nearest
male blood relative, to whom certain rights
and duties appertained. See Redeemer.
KIR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KIS
KIR, a walled place, I., a strong city of
Moab, with a fortress, 3,000 feet above the
Dead Sea; called also Kir-hareseth, Kir-
haresh, and Kir-heres, Isa. 15.1; 16:7, 11;
Jer. 48:31, 36. It was once nearly destroyed
by Joram king of Israel, 2 Kin. 3:25. It is
now called Kerak, and is a town of 300
families, on a steep hill at the head of a
ravine running up 15 miles into the moun-
tains of Moab. Three-fourths of its pres-
ent inhabitants are nominal Christians,
greatly oppressed by the Mohammedan
Arabs around them. See Mesha.
II. A region subject to Assyria to which
Tiglath-pileser transported the captive peo-
ple of Damascus, 2 Kin. 16:9. Assyrian in-
scriptions record that this region had been
conquered by Esar-haddon. Compare
2 Kin. 19:37. It is mentioned with Elam,
Isa. 22:6, and is believed to have been in
the vicinity of the river Kur or Cyrus, on
the northeast of Armenia. The Kur flows
southeast, unites with the Araxes, and emp-
ties into the Caspian Sea.
KIRJATHA'IM, two cities, I., the dual
form of Kirjath, a city. It was an ancient
city of Emim, east of the Jordan; after-
wards inhabited by the Moabites, Amo-
rites, and Israelites in turn. Gen. 14:5;
Deut. 2:9-11 ; Jer. 48:1, 23; Ezek. 25:9. It
fell within the limits of the tribe of Reuben,
Num. 32:37; Josh. 13:19. It is supposed
to be the modern Kureyat, 11 miles south-
west of Medeba.
II. A Levitical city of refuge in Naph-
tali, I Chr. 6:76; called Kartan in Josh.
21:32.
KIR'JATH-AR'BA, the city of Arba, the
son of Anak, Gen. 23 : 2 ; Josh. 14:15; 15:13,
54; 20:7; 21:11; Judg. 1:10; Neh. 11:25.
See Hebron.
KIRJATH-A'RIM, city of forests, Ezra
2:25; called also Kirjath-baal, Josh. 15:60;
18: 14, Kirjath, Josh. i8:28,and Baalah, Josh.
15:9. See KiRJATH-JEARIM.
KIR'JATH-HU'ZOTH, city of streets, a
town of Moab to which Balak led Balaam,
Num. 22:39. Perhaps the same as Kir.
KIR'JATH-JEA'RIM, city of forests. See
KiRjATH-ARiM. It was assigned to Judah,
perhaps in part to Benjamin, being on the
border-line of each, Josh. 15:9, 60; 18:14,
15, 28, and was one of the 4 Gibeonite cities
that deceived Joshua, Josh. 9: 3-1 7. SeeMA-
HANEH-DAN. Hither the ark was brought
back from the Philistines, i Sam. 6: 21 ; 7:1,
2, and remained in the house of Abinadab
some 70 years, till David removed it to the
house of Obed-edom and thence to Jerusa-
lem, 2 Sam. 6:2-12; I Chr. 13; 15; 2 Chr.
1:4. Compare Psa. 132:6, "the fields of
Jearim." It was repeopled after the Cap-
tivity, Ezra 2:25; Neh. 7:29. Its site is
probably found at Kuryet el Enab, 8 miles
from Jerusalem on the way to Ramleh,
where are well-preserved ruins of a Gothic
church of the Crusaders.
KIR'JATH-SAN'NAH, city of palms, ]os\i.
15:49, and KIR'JATH-SE'PHER, city of
books, ]osh. 10:38,39; 12:13; 15:15,49,1150
called Debir, which see.
KISH, boiv or t7'ap, I., in A. V. Cis, Acts
13:21, the father of king Saul, i Sam. 9:1,
21; 14:51; I Chr. 8:33; 9:39.
II. A descendant of Benjamin, i Chr.
8:30; 9:36. — III. A Merarite Levite under
Hezekiah, a cleanser of the temple, 2 Chr.
29:12. — IV. I Chr. 6:44; 15:17; 23:21, 22. —
V. Esth. 2:5.
KISH'ION, hardness, a Gershonite Levite
town in Issachar, Josh. 19:20; 21:28, in A.
V. Kishon.
KI'SHON, winding, now the Nahr el-Mu-
katta. Josh. 19:11, a brook which rises in
the plain of Esdraelon, near the foot of
Mount Tabor. After passing through the
great plain and receiving the waters of va-
rious smaller streams it flows northwest,
along the foot of Mount Carmel, and dis-
charges itself into the Mediterranean a
short distance south of Acre. The supplies
it receives from the Carmel ridge, see Car-
mel, II., make it a perennial stream for
about 7 miles from its mouth. But all the
eastern part of its channel, now that the
great plain through which it flows is un-
wooded, is dry throughout the summer
season; and yet in the winter, and after
heavy rains, it swells to a full and rapid
torrent. The drowning of Sisera's host,
Judg. 4:13; 5:21, is paralleled by a simi-
lar destruction of Arabs fleeing from the
French after the battle of Mount Tabor,
April 18, 1799. The Deburieh, an affluent
of the Kishon from the northeast, is also
dry in the summer, but speedily becomes
a deep and strong current when swollen
by the rains on the surrounding heights.
See Megiddo.
KISS. This salutation was customary in
the East to e.xpress regard and reverence
as well as affection. Gen. 29: 13 ; Ruth i : 14;
Song 1:2; Acts 20:37. Sometimes the beard
was kissed, 2 Sam. 20:9; and, in token of
humble affection, the feet, Luke 7:38, or
even the ground beneath them, Isa. 49:23.
Mention is made of the practice between
parents and children, Gen. 27:26; 31:28,
3"
KIT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
KOR
55; Luke 15:20, between bridegroom and
bride, Song 8.1, between near male rela-
tives and friends, Gen. 33:4; 45:15; i Sam.
20:41, or acquaintances of equal rank,
2 Sam. 20:9; Fsa. 85:10; Luke 22:48; Acts
20 : n, from condescending superiors, 2 Sam.
15-5; 19:39. 'i"d from inferiors, Luke 7:45.
Images and the heavenly bodies were wor-
shipped by kissing the hand towards them,
1 Kin. 19:18; Job 31:27; Hos. 13:2. The
expression, " Kiss the Son," Psa. 2: 12, may
be illustrated by i Sam. 10:1, where king
Saul receives the kiss of allegiance from
Samuel. This salutation being customary
in those days between man and man, w-as
used in the early church as a pledge of
Christian peace and charity, Rom. 16:16;
1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; i Thess. 5:26;
I Pet. 5:14; and this custom was kept up
more or less for centuries between persons
of the same sex only, and died out with the
age of persecutions.
KITE, Heb. clamorer, a bird of prey, un-
clean by the Mosaic law. Lev. 11:14; Deut.
14:13, remarkable for its swiftness, cour-
age, and long sight. Job 28:7, in the A. V.
"vulture." The red kite, viilvxis 7-egalis, is
common in Palestine.
KIT'TIM, son of Javan, and grandson of
Noah, Gen. 10:4; i Chr. 1:7. See Chit-
TIM.
KNEAD'ING was usually performed by
women, Gen. 18:6; i Sam. 28:24; 2 Sam.
13:8; Jer. 7:18, but sometimes by male ba-
kers by trade, Hos. 7:4, as shown on Egyp-
tian monuments. See Bread. Each fam-
ily usually made its own bread. The
kneading-troughs, Exod. 8:3; 12:34, trans-
lated "store" in Deut. 28:5, 17, were either
small wooden bowls, or circular pieces of
leather which might be drawn up like a bag
by a cord encircling the edge. The Arabs
of the present day use both.
KNEE and KNEEL'ING. Strong knees
betokened vigor and courage, and weak or
trembling knees the opposite, Psa. 109:24;
Isa. 35:3; Dan. 5:6; Heb. 12:12. Kneeling
was a sign of subjection, Gen. 27:29; 42:6,
or of asking a favor. Matt. 17:14; Mark
1:40; 10:17, and was customary in recei-
ving a personal benediction, the same He-
brew word signifying" to bless," Gen. 27:4,
7, 10, 19; Lev. 9:22, 23; Num. 24:1, and "to
thank," Deut. 8:10; Psa. 16:7. "To bow
the knee " means "to worship," Exod. 20:5;
I Kin. 19:18; Psa. 95:6; Isa. 66:3; and this
was the customary posture in prayer, 2 Chr.
6:13; Ezra 9:5; Dan. 6:10; Luke 22:41;
Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Eph. 3:14.
312
KNIFE is used to translate 4 different
Hebrew words, and applied to all cutting
instruments, of flint, Exod. 4:25; Josh. 5:2,
3, bone, bronze, and iron, and of various
sizes, from those used in the slaughter and
carving of sacrifices. Gen. 22:6, 10; Ezra
1 :9; Prov. 30: 14, or for pruning-hooks. Isa.
18:5, to those used as lancets, i Kin. 18:28,
and in sharpening reed-pens, Jer. 36:23.
They were not generally used at table.
KNOPS or KNOBS, ornamental balls like
pomegranates, on the sacred candlestick,
Exod. 25:31-36; 37:17-22. In Amos 9:1 —
translated "lintel" — and Zeph. 2:14, indi-
cating the shape of the capital of a column.
Another Heb. word describes the gourdlike
ornaments of the temple walls and the bra-
zen sea, I Kin. 6:18; 7 : 24.
KO'HATH, assembly, the 2d son of Levi,
Gen. 46: 1 1, born in Canaan, dying in Egypt
at the age of 133, Exod. 6: 16, 18. The Ko-
hathites his descendants were prominent
among the 3 divisions of the Levites, and
had the honorable service of bearing the
ark, the altars, the table of show-bread,
etc., during the journeys of the Israelites
in the desert, Num. 3:31, these having been
previously covered by the priests, Num.
4:4-15. See UzzAH. There were 4 fami-
lies of his sons, i Chr. 23:12, and at the
e.\odus his male posterity numbered 8,600,
of whom 2,750 were from 30 to 50 years old.
Their station in camp was south of the tab-
ernacle, near that of Reuben, Num. 3:19,
20, 27-31; 4:35, 36. Their cities were in
Manasseh, Ephraim, and Dan, Josh. 21:5,
20-26; I Chr. 6:61-70, and they furnished
judges, treasurers, and singers, i Chr.
26:23-32; 2 Chr. 20:9. See Priests.
KO'RAH, ice, or baldness, I., 2d son of
Esau and Aholibamah, a prince of Edom,
Gen. 36:5, 14, 18.
II. A son of Hebron, tribe of Judah,
I Chr. 2:43.
III. A Kohathite Levite, who rebelled
against Moses and Aaron, and so against
Jehovah. He was a cousin of Moses, for
their fathers Izhar and Amram were bro-
thers, Exod. 6:16-21. He was jealous of
the civil authority and priestly dignity con-
ferred by God upon Moses and Aaron, his
cousins, while he was simply a Levite; and
to obtain a part at least of their power for
himself, he stirred up a factious spirit in
the people. Too much, alas, of what may
seem to be zeal for the honor of God has
its true character displayed in the pride
and ambition of this rebellious Levite.
Korah and the 250 Levites whom he had
KOR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LAM
enticed to join him were destroyed by fire
from the Lord; while Dathan and Abiram
were swallowed by the miraculous opening
of the earth, Num. i6; Psa. 106:17, i8; Jude
II. But Korah's children escaped. Num.
26: II ; and the Korahites, or " sons of Ko-
rah," were a celebrated family of door-
keepers, singers, and poets in the time of
David, I Chr. 9:17-19; 26:1; 2 Chr. '20:19.
To them are inscribed several Psalms, Psa.
42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88.
KO'RE, a partridge, I., i Chr. 9:19; 26:1.
II. 2 Chr. 31:14. In I Chr. 26:19 it is put
in A. V. for Korah.
KOZ, and, with the article, HAKKOZ, a
thorn, I Chr. 24:10, head of a line of priests
in David's reign, Ezra 2:61; Neh. 3:4, 21;
7:63-
L.
LA'BAN, white, I., a rich herdsman of
Mesopotamia, son of Bethuel, and grand-
son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Gen.
24:28-31. His character is shown in the
gladness with which he gave his sister Re-
bekah in marriage to the only son of his
rich uncle Abraham, Gen. 24:30, 50, and
in his deceitful and exacting treatment of
Jacob his nephew and son-in-law, against
which Jacob defended himself by cunning
as well as fidelity. When the prosperity
of the one family and the jealousy of the
other rendered peace impossible, Jacob, at
the command of God, secretly departed, to
go to Canaan. Laban pursued him; but
being warned by God to do him no harm,
returned home after making a treaty of
peace. He seems to have known and wor-
shipped God, Gen. 24:50; 30:27; 31:53; but
the "gods " or teraphim which Rachel stole
from her father. Gen. 31 :3o, 34, tend to sug-
gest that he was not without some taint of
idolatry.
II. Deut. 1:1. See Libnah, I.
LACE, twisted, the blue cord or ribbon
binding the high priest's breastplate to the
ephod, Exod. 28:28, 2)J\ 39^21, 31; Num.
15:38; also called "wire" in Exod. 39:3,
"thread" in Judg. 16:9, and "line" in
Ezek. 40:3.
LA'CHISH, impregnable, or smitten, a
royal and strong city of Canaan, whose
king Japhia united with neighboring kings
against Joshua, but was defeated and ta-
ken, Josh. 10:1-33. It lay in the southwest
part of Judah, Josh. 10:3, 5, 31; was forti-
fied by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:9, and proved
strong enough to resist for a time the whole
army of Sennacherib, 2 Kin. 18:17; 19:8;
2 Chr. 32: 1, 9, 21 ; Mic. i : 13. It was here
that king Amaziah was slain, 2 Kin. 14:19;
2 Chr. 25:27. For a wonderful confirma-
tion of the truth of Scripture, see Sen-
nacherib. The site of Lachish is thought
to be Um Lakis, 25 miles west of Hebron,
in the Shephelah.
LAD'DER, Gen. 28:12-17. The comfort-
ing vision of the heavenly ladder shown to
the fugitive Jacob assured him of the omni-
present providence of God, and of his com-
munication of all needed good to his peo-
ple in the desert of this world, Heb. i : 14.
It was also an assurance that there was a
way open from earth to heaven, as well as
from heaven to earth; and we may see in
it an illustration of the nature of Christ, in
which heaven and earth meet; and of his
work, which brings man home to God, John
1:51.
LA'ISH, a lion, I. See Dan, II.
II. Isa. 10:30, a town near Anathoth on
the north of Jerusalem, passed by the in-
vading Assyrians; now Adasa.
III. A native of Gallim, and father of
Phaltiel, I Sam. 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:15.
LAH'MAN, a town in the low land of Ju-
dah, Josh. 15:40, now Tell Hamam, 6 miles
southeast of Eglon.
LAH'MI, of Bethlehem, 1 Chr. 20:5, ap-
parently a brother of Goliath. But see
2 Sam. 21 : 19. Perhaps we should read
that Elhanan the son of Jair, a Bethlehem-
ite, slew a brother of Goliath.
LAKE. See Merom and Sea. That most
terrible description of hell, as a lake burn-
ing with fire and brimstone, Rev. 19:20;
21:8, recalls the fire and sea in which Sod-
om was consumed and swallowed up.
LAMB, the young of the sheep, and also
the kid of the goat, Exod. 12:3-5. Christ
is the Lamb of God, John i :29, 36, as being
the accepted sacrifice for human sin. Acts
8:32; I Pet. 1:19. The sacrifices of the
Old Testament were an ordained and per-
petual foreshadowing not only of his expi-
atory death, but o< his spotless holiness and
his unresisting meekness, Isa. 53:4-9. He
is described in Rev. 5:6: 12:11 as wearing
the form of a sacrificial lamb in heaven it-
self. See Passover and Sacrifices. In
I Pet. 1 : 18, 19 there may be an allusion to
the fact that ancient coins bore the figure
of a lamb.
LA'MECH, vigorous, I., son of Methusael,
Gen. 4:18-24, a descendant of Cain, in the
5th generation, and ancestor of a numerous
posterity distinguished for skill in agricul-
LAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LAN
ture, music, and several mechanic arts.
He is the first polygamist on record. His
address to his 2 wives is the oldest speci-
men of poetry extant, and is a good illus-
tration of Hebrew parallelism.
" Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech.
I have slain a man to my wounding,
Even a young man to my hurt.
If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold,
Truly Lamech seventy and seven fold."
Many explanations of this abrupt fragment
have been suggested. The most satisfac-
tory, perhaps, is that Lamech had acci-
dentally or in self-defence killed a man,
and was exposed to the vengeance of "the
avenger of blood;" but quiets the fears of
his wives by saying that as God had pro-
hibited the slaying of Cain under heavy
penalties, Gen. 4:15, much more would he
guard the life of Lamech who was compar-
atively innocent.
n. The son of Methuselah, and father of
Noah ; he lived 777 years, and died only 5
years before the flood, Gen. 5:25-31 ; i Chr.
1:3; Luke 3:36.
LAMENTA'TIONS OF JEREMIAH, an ele-
giac poem, composed by the prophet on
occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem
by Nebuchadnezzar. The first 2 chapters
principally describe the calamities of the
siege of Jerusalem ; the 3d deplores the
persecutions which Jeremiah himself had
suffered; the 4th adverts to the ruin and
desolation of the city and temple and the
misfortune of Zedekiah ; and the 5th is a
kind of form of prayer for the Jews in their
captivity. At the close, the prophet speaks
of the cruelty of the Edomites, who had in-
sulted Jerusalem in her misery, and threat-
ens them with the wrath of God. B. C. 586.
The first 4 chapters of the Lamentations
are in the acrostic form, every verse be-
ginning with a letter of the Hebrew alpha-
bet in regular order. The ist, 2d, and
4th chapters contain 22 verses each, ac-
cording to the letters of the alphabet ; the
3d chapter has 3 successive verses begin-
ning with the same letter, making 66 in all.
Moreover, all the verses in each chapter
are nearly of the same length. The 5th
chapter is not acrostic. See Letters. The
style of Jeremiah's Lamentations is lively,
tender, pathetic, and affecting. It was the
talent of this prophet to write melancholy
and moving elegies, 2 Chr. 35:25; and nev-
er was a subject more worthy of tears, nor
treated with more tender and affecting
sentiments. One would think, as has often
314
been said, that every letter was written
with a tear, and every word was the sob of
a broken heart. Yet he does not forget
that a covenant God still reigns.
LAMP. The lamps of the ancients, some-
times called "candles" in our Bible, were
cups and vessels of many convenient and
graceful shapes, and might be carried in
the hand or set upon a stand. See Can-
dlestick. The lamp was fed with vege-
table oils, chiefly olive, tallow, wax, etc.,
and was kept burning all night. Compare
Matt. 8:12; 22:13, "the outer darkness."
The poorest families, in some parts of the
East, still regard this as essential to health
and comfort. A darkened house therefore
forcibly told of the extinction of its former
occupants. Job 18:5,6; Prov. 13:9; 20:20;
Jer. 25:10, 11; while a constant light was
significant of prosperity and perpetuity,
2 Sam. 21:17; I ^i"- 1 1 '36; 15:4; Psa.
132: 17. Lamps to be carried in the streets,
Judg. 7:16, 20; 15:4, presented a large sur-
face of wicking to the air, and needed to
be frequently replenished from a vessel of
oil borne in the other hand. Matt. 25 : 3, 4, 8.
Torches and lanterns, John 18:3, were very
necessary in ancient cities, the streets of
which were never lighted.
LAND'MARK. Fences and walls seem
to have been little used in Judaea, Mark
2:23, though gardens were sometimes in-
closed. The ancient and permanent lim-
its, therefore, of individual property in the
open field, Ruth 2:3; Job 24: 2, were marked
by trees or heaps of stones at the corners ;
LAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LAN
and as it was easy, by removing these, to
encroach on a neighbor's ground, a pecu-
liar form of dishonesty arose, requiring a
severe punishment, Deut. 19:14; 27:17;
Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Hos. 5:10.
LAN'GUAGE, one of the distinguishing
gifts of God to man, essential to all high
enjoyment and improvement in social life,
and to be prized and used in a manner
worthy of its priceless value for the glory
of God and the benefit of mankind. The
original language was not the growth of a
mere faculty of speech in man, but a crea-
tion and gift of God. Adam and Eve when
created knew how to converse with each
other and with the Creator. For some
2,000 years "the whole earth was of one
language and of one speech," Gen. 11:1.
But about loo years after the flood, accord-
ing to the common chronology, and later
according to others, God miraculously
"confounded the language " of the Cushite
rebels at Babel ; and peopling the earth by
these scattered families of diverse tongues,
he frustrated their designs and promoted
his own. There are now several hundreds
of languages and dialects spoken on the
earth, and infidels have hence taken occa-
sion to discredit the Bible doctrine of the
unity of the human race. It is found, how-
ever, that these languages are distributed
in several great classes, which have stri-
king affinities with each other ; and as com-
parative philology extends its researches,
it finds increasing evidence of the substan-
tial oneness of the human race and of the
truth of Scripture. The ancient inscrip-
tions on Babylonian bricks and Assyrian
tablets, called cuneiform, or wedge-shaped,
because the letters are formed by groups
of small wedges in all positions — horizon-
tal, perpendicular, and oblique — are frag-
ments of the ancient sacred language of
Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. It has sev-
eral dialects, and is akin to the Shemitic
languages, while it furnishes evidences of
one still more ancient, called the Accadian,
from which translations were made into
the Assyrian. Not a few of its roots are
found in the Sanscrit.
The miracle performed at Jerusalem on
the day of Pentecost was the reverse of that
at Babel, Acts 2: 1-18, and beautifully illus-
trated the tendency of the gospel to intro-
duce peace and harmony where sin has
brought discord, and to reunite all the tribes
of mankind in one great brotherhood.
To the student of the Bible, one of the
most important subjects is the character
and history of the original languages in
which that holy book was written. In re-
spect to the original Greek of the New Tes-
tament, see under the article Greece. The
Greek version of the Old Testament, the
Septuagint, is often quoted in the New
Testament, sometimes when varying from
the original Hebrew, though not always.
It was the language most used by our Lord
and his disciples, and no doubt their very
words are in many cases thus preserved.
The Hebrew language, in which the Old
Testament was written, is but one of the
cluster of cognate languages which an-
ciently prevailed in Western Asia, com-
monly called the Shemitic languages, as
belonging particularly to the descendants
of Shem. A proper knowledge of the He-
brew, therefore, implies also an acquaint-
ance with these other kindred dialects.
The Shemitic languages may be divided
into 3 principal dialects, namely, the Ara-
maean, the Hebrew, and the Arabic. I. The
Aramaean, spoken in Syria, Mesopotamia,
and Babylonia, is subdivided into the Syri-
ac and Chaldee dialects, sometimes called
also the West and East Aramaean. 2. The
Hebrew or Canaanitish dialect, Isa. 19:18,
was spoken in Palestine, and probably with
little variation in PhcEnicia and the Phoeni-
cian colonies, as, for instance, at Carthage
and other places. The remains of the Phce-
nician and Punic dialects are too few and
too much disfigured to enable us to judge
with certainty how extensively these lan-
guages were the same as the dialect of Pal-
estine. 3. The Arabic, to which the Ethiop-
ic bears a special resemblance, comprises
in modern times a great variety of dialects
as a spoken language, and is spread over
a vast extent of country ; but so far as we
are acquainted with its former state, it ap-
pears more anciently to have been limited
principally to Arabia and Ethiopia.
These languages are distinguished from
European tongues by several marked pe-
culiarities; they are all, except the Ethi-
opic, written from right to left, and their
books begin at what we should call the
end; the alphabet, with the exception of
the Ethiopic, which is syllabic, consists of
consonants only, above or below which the
vowel-points are written; they have sev-
eral guttural consonants very difficult of
pronunciation to Europeans; the roots of
the language are in general verbs of 3 let-
ters, and pronounced, according to the va-
rious dialects, with one or more vowels;
the verbs have but 2 tenses, the past and
315
LAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LAO
the future ; and the pronouns in the oblique
cases are generally united in the same word
with the noun or verb to which thej' have a
relation. These various dialects form sub-
stantially one language, of which the origi-
nal home was Western Asia. That they
have all diverged from one parent stock is
manifest, but to determine which of them
has undergone the fewest changes would
be a difficult question. The language of
Noah and his son Shem was substantially
that of Adam and all the antediluvians.
Shem and Heber were contemporary with
Abraham, and transmitted, as we have good
reason to believe, their common tongue to
the race of Israel ; for it is not to be as-
sumed that at the confusion of Babel no
branch of the human family retained the
primitive language. It does not appear
that the desceiuiants of Shem were among
the builders of Babel, Gen. io;8-io. The
oldest records that are known to exist are
composed in the Hebrew language. In it
Moses wrote down the divine communica-
tions and the history of Israel, Exod. 17:14;
24:4; 34:27; Num. 33:2. It flourished in
its purest form in Palestine, among the
Phoenicians and Hebrews, until the period
of tlie Babylonish exile ; soon after which
it declined, and at 450 B. C. was succeeded
by a kind of Hebraeo-Aramaean dialect,
such as was spoken in the time of our Sa-
viour among the Jews. The West Aramae-
an had flourished before this for a long time
in the east and north of Palestine; but it
now advanced farther west, and during the
period that the Christian churches of Syria
flourished it was widely extended. It is now
almost a dead language. No translation of
the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures pre-
ceding the time of Christ is known to us.
The Hebrew may now be regarded as hav-
ing been a dead language, except among a
small circle of literati, for about the space
of 2,000 years. Our knowledge of Arabic
literature extends back very little beyond
the time of Mohammed. But the followers
of this pretended prophet have spread the
dialect of the Koran over vast portions of
the world. Arabic is now the vernacular
language of Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and in a
great measure of Palestine and all the north-
ern coast of Africa ; while it is read and un-
derstood wherever the Koran has gone, in
Turkey, Persia, India, and Tartary.
The remains of the ancient Hebrew
tongue are contained in the Old Testament
and in the few Phoenician and Punic words
and inscriptions that have been here and
316
there discovered. The remains of the Ara-
maean are extant in a variety of books. In
Chaldee we have a part of the books of
Daniel and Ezra, Dan. 2:4 to 7:28: Ezra
4:8 to 6: 18, and 7:12-26, which are the most
ancient of any specimens of this dialect.
The Targum of Onkelos, that is, the trans-
lation of the Pentateuch into Chaldee, af-
fords the next and purest specimen of that
language. In Syriac there is a considera-
ble number of books and manuscripts ex-
tant. The oldest specimen of this language
that we have is contained in the Peshito, or
Syriac version of the Old and New Testa-
ment, made perhaps within a century after
the time of Christ. A multitude of writers
in this dialect have flourished, many of
whose writings are probably still extant,
although but few have been printed in Eu-
rope. In Arabic there exists a great vari-
ety of manuscripts and books, historical,
scientific, and literary. A familiar knowl-
edge of this and its kindred dialects throws
much valuable light on the Old Testament
Scriptures.
LAODICE'A,y?-al law, Deut. 5:22; Matt. 5:17, 18;
Luke 10:26, 27, is more important than the
others from its bearings on human salva-
tion. It was written by the Creator on the
conscience of man, and sin has never fully
erased it, Rom. i : 19 ; 2 : 12-15. It was more
fully taught to the Hebrews, especially at
Mount Sinai, in the 10 commandments, and
is summed up by Christ in loving God su-
premely and our neighbor as ourselves.
Matt. 22:37-40. It was the offspring of love
to man, Rom. 7:10, 12; required perfect
obedience. Gal. 3:10; Jas. 2:10; and is of
universal and perpetual obligation. Christ
confirmed and enforced it. Matt. 5:17-20,
showing its demand of holiness in the
heart, applying it to a variety of cases, and
supplying new motives to obedience by re-
vealing heaven and hell more clearly, and
the gracious guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Some have argued from certain passages
of Scripture that this law is no longer bind-
ing upon Christians; that they "are not
under the law, but under grace," Rom.
6:14, 15; 7:4, 6; Gal. 3:13, 25; 5:18; and
the perversion of these passages leads men
to sin and perish because grace abounds.
Rightly understood, they harmonize with
the declarations of the Saviour, Matt. 5:17.
To the soul that is in Christ, the law*is no
longer the arbiter of his doom; yet it still
comes to him as the divinely-appointed
teacher of that will of God in which he now
delights, Psa. 119:97; Matt. 5:48; 11:30.
The word "law" sometimes means an
inward guiding and controlling power. The
" law in the mind " and the " law in the
members" mean the holy impulses of a
regenerated soul and the perverse inclina-
tions of the natural heart, Rom. 7:21-23.
Compare also Rom. 8:2; 9:31; Jas. 1:25;
2:12.
LANV'YERS, men who devoted them-
318
selves to the study and explanation of the
Jewish law, particularly of the traditionary
or oral law. They belonged mostly to the
sect of the Pharisees, and fell under the
reproof of our Saviour for having taken
from the people the key of knowledge.
They were as the blind leading the blind,
Matt. 22:35; Luke 10:25; 11:52; Tit. 2:10.
See ScRiBKs.
LAZ'ARUS, Heb. Eleazar, help of God,
I., a friend and disciple of Christ, brother
of Martha and Mary, with whom he resi-
ded at Bethany near Jerusalem. Our Sa-
viour had a high regard for the family, and
often visited them ; and when Lazarus was
dangerously ill, word was sent to Christ,
" Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is
sick." The Saviour reached Bethany after
he had lain 4 days in his grave, and re-
stored him to life by a word, " Lazarus,
come forth." This public and stupendous
miracle— of which Spinoza said that if he
were satisfied of its truth he would tear
to pieces his whole system and embrace
Christianity — drew so many to Christ that
his enemies sought to put both him and
Lazarus to death, John 11; 12:1-11, thus
showing the truth of what Christ said in
connection with the other Lazarus, " Nei-
ther will they be persuaded though one
rose from the dead," Luke 16:31. The
narrative displays Christ as a tender and
compassionate friend, weeping for and with
those he loved, and at the same time as the
Prince of life, beginning his triumph over
death and the grave. Happy are they
who, in view of their own death or that of
friends, can know that they are safe in Him
who says, " I am the resurrection and the
life;" and, "because I live, 3^e shall live
also."
II. The helpless beggar who lay at the
rich man's gate in one of Christ's most
solemn and instructive parables. The one,
though poor and sorely afflicted, was a
child of God. The other, described as self-
indulgent rather than vicious or criminal,
was living without God in the enjoyment
of every earthly lu.xury. Their state in
this life was greatly in contrast with their
real character before God, which was re-
vealed in the amazing changes of their
condition at death, Luke 16:19-31. See
Abraham's Bosom, and on ver. 31, Laza-
rus, I. Our Saviour plainly teaches us in
this parable that both the friends and the
foes of God know and begin to experience
their doom immediately after death, and
that it is in both cases unchangeable and
LEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LEB
eternal. The name Lazarus has passed
into many languages : the Italians have
lazzarone, beggars, and lazaretto, hospital
for the sick, especially lepers, for whose
care in part the " Knights of St. Lazarus"
were organized in 1119. In English we
have " lazar-house." See Simon.
LEAD. There are early allusions to
this well-known metal in Scripture. The
Egyptians "sank as lead " in the Red Sea,
Exod. 15:10; Num. 31:22; Ezek. 27:12;
Zech. 5:7, 8. Job refers to its use in pre-
serving a permanent record of events, by
being melted and poured into letters deep-
ly cut in a rock, Job 19:24. Leaden tab-
lets also were used by the ancients for sim-
ilar records. This metal was employed,
before the use of quicksilver was known,
in purifying silver; and the process by
which these metals are purged from their
dross illustrates God's discipline of his
people, Jer. 6:29, 30; Ezek. 22: 17-22. Lead
mines existed near Mount Sinai and in the
mountains of Egypt.
LEAF. The leaves of the olive, Gen.
8:11, the oak, Isa. 1:30; 6113, and the fig.
Gen. 2)'7] Matt. 24:32, are mentioned in
the Bible, and many apt and beautiful
allusions are made to leaves in general, as
symbols of prosperity and grace, Psa. 1:3;
Jer. 17:8, or of adversity and decay, Job
13:25; Isa. 64:6; Matt. 21:19. See also
Lev. 26:36; Isa. 34:4; Dan. 4:12, 14, 21;
Mark 13:28; Rev. 22:1, 2. In Jer. 36:23
"leaves" are folds or columns of a book-
roll.
LEAGUES with the powerful nations
around the Hebrews were allowed them
for securing peace and friendly dealings,
but entangling alliances and familiar inti-
macy were forbidden, 2 Kin. 18:20, 21;
20:12, 13; 2 Chr. 20:35-37; 28:20, 21; Isa.
30:2-7; 31:1-3; Hos. 5:13; 12:1. With the
Canaanites, Exod. 23:32, 2i2i< *^he Amale-
kites, Exod. 17:8, 14, and the Moabites,
Deut. 2:9-19, no league was ever to be
made. See Alliance.
LE'AH, iveary, the elder daughter of La-
ban, and the ist wife of Jacob, though less
beloved than her sister Rachel. She had
through life the remembrance of the deceit
by which her father had imposed her upon
Jacob. She was the mother of 7 children,
among whom were Reuben — ^Jacob's first-
born— and Judah, the ancestor of the lead-
ing tribe among the Jews, of the royal line
and of our Lord, Gen. 29:16-35; 30:1-21.
She is supposed to have died before the
removal of the family into Egypt, and was
buried in the family cemetery at Hebron,
Gen. 32:22; T,y.7; 46:5-7; 49:31.
LEAS'ING, falsehood, Psa. 4:2; 5:6.
LEAVEN is sour dough which is kept
over from one baking to another, in order
to raise the new dough. Leaven was for-
bidden to the Hebrews during the 7 days
of the Passover, the " days of unleavened
bread," Luke 22:1, in memory of what
their ancestors did when they went out of
Egypt, they being then obliged to carry
unleavened meal with them, and to make
bread in haste, the Egyptians pressing them
to be gone, Exod. 12:8, 15-20, 39; Josh. 5:11.
They were very careful in cleansing their
houses from it before this feast began, i Cor.
5:6. God forbade either leaven or honey
to be burned before him in his temple. Lev.
2:11. The pervading and transforming
eflfect of leaven is used in illustration of the
like influence on society exerted by the pu-
rifying principles of the gospel, or by false
doctrines and corrupt men. Matt. 13:33;
16:6-12; Luke 12:1 ; i Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9.
LEB'ANON, ivhite, a chain of mountains
on the north of Palestine, 100 miles in ex-
treme length and 20 wide, so named from
the whitish limestone of which they are
composed, but still more from their snowy
whiteness in winter, like Mont Blanc, the
Himalayas, the White Hills, etc. It con-
sists of 2 main ridges, running northeast
and southwest, nearly parallel with each
other and with the coast of the Mediterra-
nean. See view in Sidon. The western
ridge was called Libanus by the Greeks,
and the eastern Anti-Libanus. Between
them lies a long valley called Ccele-Syria,
that is. Hollow Syria, and the " valley of
Lebanon," Josh. 11:17, ^t present el-Bekaa,
3,000 feet above the sea level. It opens
towards the north, but is exceedingly nar-
row towards the south, where the river
Litany, anciently Leontes, issues from the
valley and flows west to the sea, north of
Tyre. The western ridge is generally high-
er than the eastern ; its highest peak, Dhor
el Kudib, north of the group of cedars, is
said to be 10,051 feet high; the average
height is about 6,000 feet. In the eastern
range, now called Jebel esh-Shurky, Mount
Hermon, now Jebel esh-Sheikh, rises into
the region of perpetual ice. See Hermon.
An Arab poet says of the 2d highest peak
of Lebanon, " The Sannin bears winter on
his head, spring upon his shoulders, and
autumn in his bosom, while summer lies
sleeping at his feet."
Lebanon formed the northern limit of the
LEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LEE
Holy Land, Deut. 1:7; 11:24, ^"d though
claimed by the Hebrews was not possessed,
Josh. 13:1-6; Judg. 3:1-3. The Hebrew
writers often allude to this sublime moun-
tain range, Isa. 10:34; 35:2, rising like a
vast barrier on their north, Isa. 37:24.
They speak of its sea of foliage agitated by
the gales, Psa. 72:16; of its noble cedars
and other trees, Isa. 60:13; Jer. 22:23; of
its innumerable herds, the whole of which,
however, could not atone for one sin, Isa.
40:16; of its excellent wine, Hos. 14:7, its
snow-cold streams, Jer. 18:14, and its bal-
samic perfume, Hos. 14:5. Its forests fur-
nished abundant materials for Solomon,
I Kin. 5:9-11, and for the Assyrians, etc.,
153.37:24; Ezek. 31:16. The fir-trees and
cedars of Lebanon are represented as say-
ing to the king of Babylon, " Since thou art
laid low no feller is come up against us,"
Isa. 14:8. An ancient inscription found at
Babylon states that Nebuchadnezzar em-
ployed for the woodwork of the Chamber of
Oracles the largest of the trees he brought
from Mount Lebanon. And a fresh con-
firmation of the fact implied by Isaiah was
found in 1883, in a wild valley on the east
slope of Lebanon — two inscriptions cut in
the rocks on opposite sides of the valley, 5
yards long and 2^ high, giving an account
of the buildings Nebuchadnezzar was erect-
ing at Babylon. Moses longed to enter the
Holy Land, that he might "see that goodly
mountain and Lebanon," Deut. 3:24, 25;
and Solomon says of the Beloved, the type
of Christ, " his countenance is as Leba-
non," Song 5:15. " The tower of Lebanon
which looketh towards Damascus," Song
7:4, is brought to recollection by the ac-
counts given by modern travellers of the
ruins of ancient temples, built of stones of
vast size. Many such ruinous temples have
been discovered in different parts of Leba-
non, several of them on conspicuous points,
high up in the mountains, where the labor
of erecting them must have been stupen-
dous.
At present Lebanon is inhabited by a
hardy and turbulent race of mountaineers.
Its vast wilderness of mountains forms al-
most a world by itself. Its western slopes
particularly, rising by a succession of ter-
races from the plain of the coast, are cov-
ered with vines, olives, mulberries, and
figs; and occupied, as well as the valleys
among the mountains, by numberless vil-
lages. Anti-Lebanon is less populous and
cultivated; most of its occupants are Mo-
hammedans. The chief inhabitants of Leb-
320
anon are Druses and Maronites; the for-
mer Mohammedan mystics, and the lat-
ter bigoted Romanists. Among them are
interspersed many Greeks and Armeni-
ans.
For " cedar of Lebanon," see Cedar.
LEBA'OTH, lionesses, a city in the south-
west of Judah and Simeon, Josh. 15:32;
19:6; in I Chr. 4:31 called Beth-birei ; now
Kh. Beeyud, near Arad, 15 miles south of
Hebron.
LEBB.flE'US, hearty. Matt. 10:3, where the
clause " Lebbaeus, whose surname was " is
omitted in the R. V. See Judas, III.
LEBO'NAH,y>-a«^/«f^o/!>/d'j, kinsmen of the Le-
TUSHIM.
LE'VI, entwined, L, the 3d son of Jacob
and Leah, born in Mesopotamia ; father of
3 sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and
of Jochebed the mother of Moses, Gen.
29:34; Exod. 6:16-20. For his share in
the treacherous massacre of the Shechem-
ites. Gen. 34, his father at death foreboded
€vil to his posterity, Gen. 49:5-7; but as
they afterwards stood forth on the Lord's
side, Moses was charged to bless them,
Exod. 32:26-29; Deut. 33:8-11. He joined
his brethren in their ill-treatment of Joseph,
Gen. T,-], went down into Egypt with his
family. Gen. 46:11, and lived to the age of
137 years. The tribe of Levi was, accord-
ing to Jacob's prediction, scattered over all
Israel, having no share in the division of
Canaan, but certain cities in the portions of
■other tribes, Josh. 21:1-40. It was not the
worse provided for, however, since God
chose this tribe for the service of the tem-
ple and priesthood, and bestowed on it
many privileges above the other tribes.
All the tithes, firstfruits, and offerings pre-
sented at the temple, as well as several
parts of all the victims that were offered,
belonged to the tribe of Levi. See Le-
VITES.
II. The apostle Matthew was also called
Levi. See Matthew.
III. and IV. Ancestors of the Saviour,
Luke 3:24, 29.
LEVI'ATHAN, a jointed -monster, Psa.
74:14; 104:26, a huge reptile described in
Job 41. Probably the animal denoted is
the crocodile, the terror of the Nile, as
Behemoth, in Job 40, is the hippopotamus
■of the same river.
The crocodile is a native of the Nile and
other Asiatic and African rivers; in some
instances even 30 feet in length; of enor-
mous voracity and strength, as well as
fleetness in swimming; attacks mankind
and the largest animals with most daring
impetuosity; when taken by means of a
powerful net, will often overturn the boats
that surround it ; has proportionally the
largest mouth of all monsters whatever;
moves both its jaws alike, the upper of
which has not less than 36, and the lower
30 sharp, but strong and massy teeth ; and
is furnished with a coat of mail so scaly
and callous as to resist the force of a mus-
ket-ball in every part except under the
belly. In several passages in the Bible
the king of Egypt appears to be addressed
as leviathan, Isa. 27:1; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2.
LE'VITES. All the descendants of Levi
may be comprised under this name, Exod.
6:16, 25; Josh. Ty-.T, (see Levi), but chiefly
those who were employed in the lower ser-
vices in the temple, by which they were
distinguished from the priests, who were
of the race of Levi by Aaron, and were
employed in higher offices, Num. 3:6-10;
18:2-7; Ezek. 44:15. God chose the Le-
vites for the service of his tabernacle and
temple instead of the first-born sou of each
family, to whom such duties naturally be-
longed, and who were already sacred to
God in memory of the great deliverance in
Egypt, Exod. 13; Num. 3:12, 13, 39-51- In
the wilderness the Levites took charge of
the tabernacle and its contents, encamped
around it as its proper guardians. Num.
3:23, 29, 35, and conveyed it from place to
place, each of the 3 families having a sep-
arate portion, Num. 1:51; 4; i Chr. 15:2,
27. After the building of the temple they
took charge of the gates, of the sacred ves-
sels, of the storehouses for cattle, flour,
wine, oil, and spices, of the preparation of
the show-bread and other offerings, and of
323
LEV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LEV
the singing and instrumental music, i Chr.
9; 23; 2 Chr. 29. They brought wood, wa-
ter, etc., for the priests; aided them in pre-
paring the sacrifices, and in collecting and
disbursing the contributions of the people,
2 Chr. 30:16, 17; 35:1. See Nethinim.
They were also the temple guards, Neh.
13:13, 22; and the salutation and response
in Psalm 134 are thought by Bishop Lowth
to have been their song in the night. But
besides their services in the temple, they
performed a very important part in teach-
ing the people, 2 Chr. 30:22; Neh. 8:7,
among whom they were scattered, binding
the tribes together, and promoting virtue
and piety. They studied the law, and were
the ordinary judges of the country, but sub-
ordinate to the priests, 2 Chr. 17:9; 19:8-
II. God provided for the subsistence of
the Levites by giving to them the tithe of
corn, fruit, and cattle, Num. 18:18-24; but
they paid to the priests the loth of their
tithes, Neh. 10:37, 38; and as the Levites
possessed no estates in land, the tithes
which the priests received from them were
considered as the firstfruits which they
were to offer to the Lord, Num. 18:21-
32. The payment of tithes to the Levites
appears not to have been enforced, but
depended on the good-will of the people;
hence the special charges laid on their
brethren not to forget them, Deut. 12:12,
18, 19; 14:28; 26:12.
God assigned for the habitation of the
Levites 48 cities, with fields, pastures, and
gardens, Num. 35. Of these, 13 were given
to the priests, all in the tribes near Jerusa-
lem. Si.x of the Levitical cities were ap-
pointed as cities of refuge. Num. 35:1-8;
Josh. 20; 21. While the Levites were ac-
tually employed in the temple they were
supported out of the provisions kept in
store there, and out of the daily offerings.
The same privilege was granted to volun-
teers drawn to Jerusalem by the fervor of
their love to God's service, Deut. 12:18, 19;
18:6-8. The consecration of Levites was
without much ceremony. See Num. 8:5-
22; 2 Chr. 29:34.
The Levites wore no peculiar dress to
distinguish them from other Israelites till
the time of Agrippa. His innovation in
this matter is mentioned by Josephus, who
remarks that the ancient customs of the
country were never forsaken with impu-
nity.
The Levites were divided into different
classes: the Gershonites, Kohathites, and
Merarites, Num. 3:17-20. They were still
324
further divided into courses, like the priests,
I Chr. 23-26. At first, assuming the lesser
duties when 25 years old, they entered in
full on their public duties at 30 years of
age. Num. 4:3; 8:24, 25; but David fixed
the age for commencing at 20 years; and
at 50 they were exempt, i Chr. 23:24-27.
The different courses of porters, singers,
guards, etc., were on duty in succession,
one week at a time, coming up to Jerusa-
lem from their own cities for the purpose,
1 Chr. 23-26; 2 Chr. 23:4, 8; 31:17; Ezra
3:8-12. After the revolt of the 10 tribes, a
large portion of the Levites abandoned
their cities in Israel and dwelt in Judah,
2 Chr. 11:12-14; 13:9-11. After the Cap-
tivity numbers of them returned from be-
yond the Euphrates to Judaea, Ezra 2:36-
42; Neh. 11:15-19; 12:24-31. In the New
Testament they are not often mentioned,
Luke 10:32; John 1:19; Acts 4:36. The
"scribes" and "doctors," however, are
supposed to have belonged chiefly to this
class.
LEVIT'ICUS, the 3d book in the Pen-
tateuch ; called Leviticus because it con-
tains principally the laws and regulations
relating to the Levites, priests, offerings,
and sacrifices. The Hebrews call it "the
priests' law." In the ist section, the vari-
ous bloody and unbloody sacrifices are
minutelj' described: the burnt -offerings,
the meat, sin, peace, ignorance, and tres-
pass offerings ; the sins for which and the
mode in which they were to be offered.
The fulness of these details not only signi-
fied the importance of God's worship, but
forbade all human additions and changes
that might lead to idolatry. The whole
scheme was "a shadow of good things to
come," typical of the Lamb "who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot unto God." Its best commentary is
the Epistle to the Hebrews.
A full account of the consecration of
Aaron and his sons as priests is followed
by the instructive narrative of Nadab and
Abihu. Then are given the laws respect-
ing personal and ceremonial purifications,
a perpetual memento of the defilement of
sin and of the holiness of God. Next fol-
lows a description of the great day of Ex-
piation ; after which the Jews are warned
against the superstitions, idolatry, impu-
rity, etc., of the Canaanites; and laws are
given guarding their morals, health, and
civil order. The observance of their dis-
tinguishing festivals is enjoined upon them ;
and laws are given respecting the Sabbath
LEV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LIF
and the Jubilee, vows and tithes. The
warnings and promises in the latter part
of the book point their attention to the fu-
ture, and aim to unite the whole nation in
serving their covenant God; it is a shadow,
the substance of which is Christ and his
kingdom. The book is generally held to
be the work of Moses, though he was prob-
ably assisted by Aaron. Its date is B. C.
1490. It contains the history of the ist
month of their 2d year after leaving Egypt.
l^EV'Y, a company of men pressed into
service on public works, i Kin. 5:13, 14;
9: 15. This enforced labor has always been
customary among Eastern tyrants, often at
a great sacrifice of life.
LEWD, in Acts 17:5, means "bad," and
in Acts 18 : 14 lewdness means " mischief."
Elsewhere the specific sense of licentious-
ness is intended.
LIB'ERTINES, Acts 6:9, Latin libertinus,
a freedman, that is, one who, having been
a slave, either by birth or capture, has ob-
tained his freedom ; or the son of a parent
who was a freedman. The " Synagogue
of the Libertines " stands connected with
those of the Cyrenians and Alexandrians,
who were of African origin ; it is therefore
supposed by some that the Libertines were
of African origin also. It is, however, more
probable that this word denotes Jews who
had been taken captive by the Romans in
war and carried to Italy, and having been
there manumitted, were accustomed to visit
Jerusalem in such numbers as to erect a
synagogue for their particular use, as was
the case with Jews from other cities men-
tioned in the context. They originated the
persecution against Stephen which resulted
in his martyrdom. See Synagogue.
LIB'NAH, whiteness, I., the 5th station of
the Israelites after leaving Sinai, Num.
33:20, 21, and after the repulse at Kadesh,
Deut. 1 : 44-46 ; 2 : 1 ; probably the Laban of
Deut. 1:1. Perhaps at Hajr el-Abyad, " the
■white stone" in the heart of the desert et-
Tih, north of Sinai.
II. A city in the Shephfelah, or western
lowland of Judah, probably southeast of
Gaza. It was conquered by Joshjua from
the Canaanites, and assigned to the priests,
Josh. 10:29-32; 12:15; 15:42; 21:13; I Chr.
6:57. Hamutal, wife of king Josiah, was
born there, 2 Kin. 23:31 ; 24: 18. Its inhab-
itants revolted against the idolatrous and
cruel Jehoram, 2 Chr. 21:10. It was a
strongly fortified place, and under its walls
• the Assyrian army was miraculously cut
off, 2 Kin. 19:8, 9, 35; Isa. 37:8.
LIB'YA, a country in the north of Africa,
stretching along on the Mediterranean be-
tween Egypt and Carthage, and running
back somewhat into the interior. The part
adjoining Egypt was sometimes called Lib-
ya Marmarica ; and that around Cyrene,
Cyrenaica, from its chief city ; or Pentapo-
litana, from its 5 cities, Cyrene, ApoUonia,
Berenice, Arsinoe, and Ptolemais. In these
cities great numbers of Jews dwelt in the
time of Christ ; and they, with their Libyan
proselytes, resorted to Jerusalem to wor-
ship, Acts 2:10. Libya received its name
from the Lehabim or Lubim, Gen. 10:13, a
warlike people, who assisted Shishak king
of Egypt, and Zerah the Ethiopian, in their
wars against Judaea, 2 Chr. 12:3; 14:9;
16:8; Dan. 11:43. They were also allies
of ancient Thebes, Nah. 3 : 9. Compare Jer.
46:9; Ezek. 30:5. See Phut. Libya fell
at length under the power of Carthage, and
subsequently of the Greeks, Romans, Sar-
acens, and Turks.
LICE, the 3d plague of Egypt, Exod.
8:16; Psa. 105:31; peculiarly offensive to
the priests, who were obliged to shave and
wash their entire body every 3d day, lest
they should carry any vermin into the tem-
ples. According to some interpreters they
were the small stinging gnats which abound
in Egypt, or, with greater probability, the
sand-ticks.
LIE. The essence of a falsehood is the
intent to deceive, and its guilt may be ag-
gravated by the selfishness or malice of the
design. Scripture condemns it in all its
forms and degrees, and ascribes it to " the
father of lies " Satan, and to his " children,"
Lev. 19:11; John 8:44; Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:9;
I Tim. 1:9, 10; Rev. 21:27; 22:15. Satan
beguiled our first parents by the greatest
of falsehoods, "Ye shall not surely die;"
and every promise to their children of good
to be derived from sin is alike false and
fatal. Lies may be told by looks, gestures,
etc., as well as by words or under oath.
All untruthfulness is diametrically opposed
to the nature of the " God of truth," and the
many instances of falsehood recorded in
Scripture do not imply his approval.
LIEUTEN'ANTS, Ezra 8:36; Esth. 3:12;
8:9; 9:3, translated "princes" in Dan. 3:2;
6:1, the provincial satraps in ancient Per-
sia.
LIFE, in the Bible, is either natural. Gen.
3:17; spiritual, that of the renewed soul,
Rom. 8:6; or eternal, a holy and blissful
immortality, John 3:36; Rom. 6:23. Jeho-
vah is "the living God," both as distin-
325
LIG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LIN
guished from idols and as the self-existent
Creator of all things, Jer. io:io; John 5:26;
Acts 14:15; I Tim. 6: 16. In the same sense
Christ is "the life," John 1:4; i John 1:1, 2.
Christ is the great Author of natural life,
Col. 1 : 16 ; and also of spiritual and eternal
life, John 14:6; 6:47. He has purchased
these by laying down his own life; and
gives them freely to his people, John 10: 11,
28. He is the spring of all their spiritual
life on earth, Gal. 2:20; will raise them up
at the last day, and make them partakers
for ever of his own life, John 11:25; 14:19;
17:2,3-
LIGHT, one of the most wonderful, cheer-
ing, and useful of all the works of God ;
called into being on the first of the 6 days
of creation by his voice: "Let there be
light ;" and there was light. No object bet-
ter illustrates whatever is pure, glorious,
spiritual, joyful, and beneficent. Hence
the beauty and force of the expressions,
"God is light," i John 1:5, and "the Fa-
ther of lights," Jas. 1:17; Christ is the " Sun
of righteousness," Mai. 4:2, and "the light
of the world," John 1:9; 8:12. So also the
word of God is "a light," Psa. 119:105;
2 Pet. 1:19; truth and Christians are lights.
Matt. 5:14; John 3: 19; 12:36; prosperity is
"light," Esth. 8:16; Isa. 58:8; and heaven
is full of light. Rev. 21:23-25. The oppo-
site of all these is "darkness."
LIGHT'NING. See THUNDER.
LIGN-ALOES. See Aloes.
LIG'URE, probably the same with the
jacinth, a stone in the high-priest's breast-
plate, Exod. 28:19; 39:12, said to have
been of a deep and brilliant red color,
with a tinge of yellow, and transparent;
perhaps the tourmaline.
LI'KING, Job 39:4; Dan. 1:10, condition.
LIL'Y. Of this queenly plant several
varieties are found among the wild flowers
of Palestine, the profusion, beauty, and fra-
grance of which are the delight of travel-
lers. The lily is a spring flower, and ap-
pears early in all parts of the Holy Land.
It was introduced in the ornamental work
of the temple, i Kin. 7:19-26; 2 Chr. 4:5.
In Canticles it is often employed as a sym-
bol of loveliness. More commonly it is
applied to the bride and her various jier-
fections : ch. 2: i, 2, where the bride speaks,
ver. I, the bridegroom answers, ver. 2, and
the bride again responds, ver. 3. The bride-
groom's lips are compared to lilies in ch.
5: 13, and he is described as feeding among
the lilies, ch. 2:16; 6:3; which typically
represents Christ as delighting himself with
.326
the graces of his people. From the lily our
Saviour has also drawn one of his most
striking figures: "Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow;" "even Solomon in
THE SCARLET MARTAGON : LILlfM CHALCEDONI-
CUM.
all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these," Matt. 6:28. The lily of the valleys,
Song 2:1, means simply the lily growing in
valleys, not our " lily of the valley," wjiich
is unknown in Palestine.
LIME was well known in Bible times.
Lev. 14:42, 4^, and its burning in a kiln
with thorns to make plaster is mentioned
in Isa. 33:12. The king of Moab so used
the bones of the king of Edom, Amos 2:1.
Inscriptions made in plaster upon rock,
Deut. 27:2-4, or upon rocks afterwards
plastered and painted, are found in Egypt
still clear and fresh after 3,000 years.
LINE, often the cord or line used in meas-
uring land, etc.. i Kin. 7:23; Psa. 78:55;
Isa. 34:17; Amos 7:17; hence in Psa. 16:6
the lot or portion so measured. In Psa.
19:4 the " line " of the heavens may denote
the stately movements of the heavenly bod-
ies which measure climates, months, and
seasons on the earth. In Isa. 44:13 "line"
means a stylus or graver.
LIN'EN. Many different words in He-
LIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LIV
brew and Greek are translated in the A. V.
" linen," " fine linen," " linen yarn," " flax,"
and " silk," in describing the garments of
the priests, Exod. 28 : 39, 42 ; 39 : 28 ; Ezek.
44:18, of princes, Gen. 41:42; 2 Sam. 6:14;
I Chr. 15:27, and of the virtuous woman,
Prov. 31:13, 22, 24, the tabernacle hang-
ings, the veil before the holy of holies, and
its curtain, Exod. 26:1, 31, 36; 2 Chr. 3:14,
the robes of angels, Ezek. 9:2, 3, 11 ; Dan.
10:5; 12:6, the cloths in which Christ's body
was wrapped^ John 19:40. Some of these
terms are used interchangeably, and it is
not easy to define them precisely ; they may
probably denote different qualities of linen
as to fineness, color, and origin. Some
Egyptian linens were of extraordinary fine-
ness and evenness of thread, one mummy
bandage from Thebes being found to have
152 threads in the warp and 71 in the woof
to each square inch. Fine linen of snowj'
whiteness was highly prized, and was a
symbol of the purity of angels and of the
redeemed church, Rev. 19:8. See Cotton,
Flax, and Silk. In Rev. 15:6 the R. V.
reads, " arrayed with precious stone pure
and bright."
LIN'TEL, or "upper door-post," the
cross-piece crowning the 2 side-posts of a
door, Exod. 12:7, 22, 23 ; i Kin. 6:31, or the
projecting chapiter of a column, Amos 9:1;
Zeph. 2:14. See P.\ssover.
LI'NUS, a Christian at Rome, whose sal-
utation Paul sent to Timothy, 2 Tim. 4:21.
LI'ON, the well-known and noble king
of beasts, frequently spoken of in Scrip-
ture, Jer. 25:38; Ezek. 19:4, 8, 9; Amos
3:12; Rev. 4:7; compare Ezek. 1:10. He
often exceeds 8 feet in length and 4 feet in
height; and his majestic and dauntless as-
pect, his prodigious strength and agility,
and his peculiar roar, make him the terror
of the forests. Lions were common in Pal-
estine, Num. 23:24; 24:9; 2 Kin. 17:26;
Song 4:8, the Hebrew name being found in
the names of several places, as Laish, Le-
baoth, etc. (see Jordan), and the Hebrews
had many different names for them, to dis-
tinguish the different ages, etc. Five of
these occur together in Job 4:10, 11. See
also Nah. 2:11, 12. There is also a variety
of words describing their movements, roars,
and growls. The Psalmist alludes to the
stealthy creeping of the lion till he can
spring upon his prey in Psa. 10:9, 10; and
I Pet. 5:8 describes Satan, the merciless de-
stroyer, as a roaring lion. The Bible read-
er will remember the exploits of Samson,
David, and Benaiah, Judg. 14:5,6; i Sam.
17:34-36; 2 Sam. 23:20, thestory of the dis-
obedient prophet slain by a lion, i Kin.
13:28, and of the obedient Daniel, safe in
the lions' den, Dan. 6; also the sublime
image of Jehovah's care for his people, in
Isa. 31:4.
" The Lion of the tribe of Judah," Rev.
5:5, is Jesus Christ, who sprang from the
tribe of Judah and the race of David, and
overcame death, the world, and the devil.
It is supposed that a lion was the device of
the tribe of Judah ; hence this allusion.
Gen. 49:9.
LIP, often translated "language," or
" tongue," and meaning a different dialect,
Isa. 28:11; I Cor. 14:21. " The fruit of the
lips," Heb. 13:15, is praise; "the calves
of the lips," Hos. 14:2, are thank-offerings.
Covering the lips with a corner of one's
garment, as if unclean, Isa. 6:5, 7, was a
sign of mourning or humiliation, Ezek.
24:17, 22; Mic. 3:7.
LIST, please, like, or will. Matt. 17:12;
Mark 9:13; John 3:8; Jas. 3:4.
LIT'TER, a light, covered conveyance,
resembling a sedan-chair, or a palanquin;
borne by men, but oftener at the present
day in Svria between 2 mules or camels.
Solomon's "chariot," Song 3:9, or bed as
in the margin, is supposed to have been an
elegant mule-litter. The Hebrew word
used in Isa. 66: 20, with another from a verb
to roll, denotes covered wagons in Num. T-Z-
LIVER, Lev. 3:4, 10, ^S; Prov. 7:23;
327
LIV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LOG
Lam. 2: II. This organ in man was re-
garded by the ancients as the seat of the
passions. Idolaters consulted the liver of
the victim offered in sacrifice, for purposes
of divination, Ezek. 21:21.
LIVE'LY, living, vigorous, Exod. 1:19;
Psa. 38:19; Acts 7:38; I Pet. 1:3; 2:5.
LIVING CREA'TURES, Ezek. i; 3:13:
10:15-17, the cherubim, Ezek. 10. Trans-
lated "beasts " in A. V. in Rev. 4:6-9; 5:6-
14; 6:1-7, etc.
LIZ'ARD, a cold-blooded reptile, with
much resemblance to the serpent, but hav-
ing 4 feet. Large numbers are found in
Syria, varying greatly in size, appearance,
and place of abode ; some dwelling partly
in water, and others on the rocks of the
desert, or among old ruins. Lizards were
unclean by the Levitical law, Lev. 11:30.
See Chameleon, Ferret.
LOAF, Heb. a circle, E.xod. 29:23; Judg.
8:5; I Sam. 10:3, a round flat cake, the
usual form of bread anciently, x Chr. 16:3;
Matt. 14:17. See Bread.
LO-AM'MI, not my people, a name di-
vinely given to Hosea's 2d son, to signify
God's rejection of Israel and subsequent
restoration, Hos. 1:9, 10; 2:23.
LOANS for commercial purposes are not
mentioned in the early Biblical records, but
only those in aid of the poor, Neh. 5:1,3, 13.
Jehovah, as the sole proprietor of the land
occupied by the Jews, required them, as
one condition of its use, to grant liberal
loans to their poor brethren ; and every 7
years the outstanding loans were to be-
come gifts, and could not be reclaimed. If
a pledge was taken on making a loan it
must be done with mercy and under cer-
tain benevolent restrictions, Exod. 22:25,
27; Deut. 15:1-11; 23:19, 20; 24:6, 10-13,
17. The great truth so prominent in this
and similar features of the Mosaic laws
ought to be restored to its fundamental
place in our theories of property ; and no
one who believes in God should act as the
owner, but only as the steward of what he
328
possesses, all of which he is to use as re-
quired by its great Owner. In the same
spirit our Saviour enjoins the duty of loan-
ing freely, even to enemies, and without
hope of reward, Luke 6:34, 35. See Usury.
LOCK, Judg. 3:23, 25; Neh. y.T,, 6, 13-15;
Song 5:5. See Key.
LO'CUST, a voracious winged insect, be-
longing to the order known among natu-
ralists as the Orthoptera, including various
creeping and leaping insects, closely re-
sembling the grasshopper, and a great
scourge in Oriental countries in both an-
cient and modern times. There are 10
different names in the Hebrew Bible for
insects of this kind ; but some of these prob-
ably designate different forms or stages in
life of the same species. The most destruc-
tive species of modern Syria and Arabia are
the Oedipoda migratoria and the Acridium
peregrinum. The Bible represents their
countless swarms as directed in their flight
and march by God, and used in the chas-
tisement of guilty nations, Deut. 28:38-42;
I Kin. 8:37; 2 Chr. 6:28. A swarm of lo-
custs was among the plagues of Egypt;
they covered the whole land, so that the
earth was darkened, and devoured every
green herb of the earth, and the fruit of
every tree which the hail had left, Exod.
10:4-19. But the most particular descrip-
tion of this insect, and of its destructive
career, in the sacred writings, is in Joel
2:3-10. This is one of the most striking
and animated descriptions to be met with
in the whole compass of prophecy; and
the double destruction to be produced by
locusts and the enemies of which they were
the harbingers is painted with the most
expressive force and accuracy. We see
the destroying army moving before us as
we read, and see the desolation spreading.
It should also be mentioned that the 4 in-
sects specified in Joel 1:4, the palmer-
worm, the locust, the canker-worm, and the
LOG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LOI
caterpillar, are strictly, according to the
Hebrew, only different forms of locusts,
some perhaps without wings, as mentioned
below. See also Lev. 11:21, 22.
Dr. Shaw remarks, " Those which I saw
were much bigger than our common grass-
hoppers, and had brown spotted wings,
with legs and bodies of a bright yellow.
Their first appearance was towards the
end of March, the wind having been some
time from the south. In the middle of
April their numbers were so vastly in-
creased that in the heat of the day they
formed themselves into large and numer-
ous swarms, flew in the air like a succession
of clouds, and as the prophet Joel expresses
it, they darkened the sun. When the wind
blew briskly, so that these swarms were
crowded by others, or thrown one upon an-
other, we had a lively idea of that compari-
son of the Psalmist, Psa. 109:23, of being
tossed up and down as the locust. In the
month of May these swarms gradually re-
tired into the Metijiah and other adjacent
plains, where they deposited their eggs.
These were no sooner hatched in June than
each of the broods collected itself into a
compact body of a furlong or more square,
and marching afterwards in a direct line
towards the sea, they let nothing escape
them, eating up everything that was green
and juicy, not only the lesser kinds of veg-
etables, but the vine likewise, the fig-tree,
the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple-
tree, even all the trees of the field, Joel
1:12; in doing which they kept their ranks
like men of war, climbing over, as they
advanced, every tree or wall that was in
their way ; nay, they entered into our very
houses and bedchambers like thieves. The
inhabitants, to stop their progress, made a
variety of pits and trenches all over their
fields and gardens, which they filled with
water : or else they heaped up therein
heath, stubble, and such like combustible
matter, which were severally set on fire
upon the approach of the locusts. But this
was all to no purpose, for the trenches
were quickly filled up and the fires extin-
guished by infinite swarms succeeding one
another, while the front was regardless of
danger and the rear pressed on so close
that a retreat was altogether impossible.
A day or two after one of these broods was
in motion others were already hatched to
march and glean after them, gnawing off
the very bark and the young branches of
such trees as had before escaped with the
loss only of their fruit and foliage. So just-
ly have they been compared by the prophet
to a great army; who further observes that
the land is as the garden of Eden before
them, and behind them a desolate wilder-
ness."
The locust was a " clean " animal for the
Jews, Lev. 11:22, and might be used for
food. In Matt. 3:4 it is said of John the
Baptist that " his meat was locusts and wild
honey." They are still eaten in the East,
and regarded by some as a delicacy, though
usually left to the poorest of the people.
Niebuhr remarks, " Locusts are brought to
market on strings in all the cities of Ara-
bia, from Babelmandel to Bassorah. On
Mount Sumara I saw an Arab who had col-
lected a whole sackful of them. They are
prepared in different ways. An Arab in
Egypt threw them upon the glowing coals,
and after he supposed they were roasted
enough, he took them by the legs and head
and devoured the remainder at one mouth-
ful. When the Arabs have them in quan-
tities, they roast or dry them in an oven,
or boil them and eat them with salt. The
Arabs in the kingdom of Morocco boil the
locusts, and then dry them on the roofs of
their houses. One sees there large baskets
full of them in the markets."
In Rev. 9:7-10 there is a terrific descrip-
tion of symbolical locusts, in which they
are compared to war-horses, their hair to
the hair of women, etc. Niebuhr heard an
Arab of the desert, and another in Bagdad,
make the same comparison. In like man-
ner the Italians still call locusts little hor-
ses, and the Germans hay-horses.
LOD, I Chr. 8:12; Ezra2:33. See Lydda.
LO'-DEBAR, no pasture, a town east of
the Jordan near Mahanaim in the north of
Dan ; the home of Machir, who gave shelter
to Mephibosheth, 2 Sam. 9:4, 5; 17:27.
LODGE, to stay over night, i Kin. 19:9;
1 Chr.9:27; Neh.4:22; 13:20,21 ; Job3i:32;
Isa. 10:29. On Isa. 1:8 see Garden.
LOG, Heb. a hollow, the smallest meas-
ure of liquids among the Hebrews, contain-
ing i-i2th of a hin, or about 5-6ths of a pint.
Lev. 14:10, 12, 15, 21, 24.
LOINS, the lower part of a man's back,
Jer. 30:6, and the organs within, Gen.
35:11; I Kin. 8:19; represented as the seat
of strength, Deut. 33:11; Job 40:16; Psa.
69:23; Isa. 21:3; girt with sackcloth in
mourning, Gen. 37:34' See Girdle.
LO'IS, a pious Jewess at Lystra, whose
" unfeigned faith " Paul traces in her daugh-
ter Eunice and her grandson Timothy,
2 Tim. 1:5.
329
LOO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LOT
LOOKED, Acts 28 : 6, expected, as in
R. V.
LOOK'ING-GLASS'ES, or rather, mirrors,
were anciently made, not of glass, but of
metal, chiefly copper, Exod. 38:8; Job 37: 18,
melted and cast in a circular form, highly
polished, and attached to an ornamental
handle. Similar mirrors have been found
in the ruins of ancient Egypt. They were
far inferior to modern mirrors, i Cor. 13: 12,
as is our present knowledge of divine
things compared with our future direct and
open vision. See also 2 Cor. 3:18; Jas.
1:23.
LORD. This name belongs to God by
preeminence, and in this sense ought never
to be given to any creature. Jesus Christ,
as the Messiah, the Son of God, and equal
with the Father, is often called Lord in
Scripture, especially in the writings of Paul.
The word Lord, in the English Bible, when
printed in small capitals, stands always for
Jehovah in the Hebrew. See Jehovah.
LORD'S-DAY. See Sabbath.
LORDS SUP'PER, called also "the
breaking of bread," Acts 2:42; 20:7, and
"the communion of the body and blood of
Christ," I Cor. 10:16, is one of the 2 simple
ordinances of the Christian church, institu-
ted by our Saviour in the most affecting
circumstances on the Passover night in
which he was betrayed, to be observed by
his followers until his 2d coming. Bread
and wine, the symbols of his body broken
and his blood shed for our redemption, are
to be tasted by each communicant, to keep
in mind that great sacrifice, the foundation
of all our hopes and the strongest motive
to a holy and devoted life, Exod. 24:5-8;
Rom. 3:25; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15. In the Lord's
Supper the covenant is renewed between
Christ and his people. It is also the visible
330
token of Christian fellowship ; and all true
believers — having united themselves to his
church and leading consistent lives — and
none but they, should claim to partake of
it, I Cor. 5:6-8. In it Christians may ex-
pect and should seek to receive of the ful-
ness of Christ, grace for grace, 2 Cor. i :2i,
22; Eph. 4:15, 16; while those who partake
heedlessly incur great guilt, and may look
for chastisement. Some such abuses seem
to have marred this service in Corinth, or
rather the love-feasts or agapce that ac-
companied it, I Cor. II : 20-34. The dogma
of the Romish Church, that the bread is
changed into the very body and soul of
Christ, which the priest offers anew in sac-
rifice, is contrary to the Scripture and to
all the senses, as it is also to common
sense.
LO-RUHA'MAH, not obtaining mercy,
the name divinely given to Hosea's ist
daughter, a type of Israel's forfeiture of his
favor during the Captivity, Hos. 1:6; 2:1,
23. See Hosea.
LOT, covering, the son of Haran, brother
of Milcah and Iscah, and nephew of Abra-
ham, followed his uncle from Ur, and after-
wards from Haran, to settle in Canaan.
They went down into the south, the Negeb,
and into Egypt during a famine, and return-
ing lived together near Bethel and Ai, (ien.
11:27-31; 12:4-6; 13:1-4. Abraham had a
great affection for him, and when they could
not continue longer together in Canaan, be-
cause they both had large flocks and their
shepherds sometimes quarrelled, Gen. 13 : 5-
7, he generously gave Lot the choice of his
abode. Lot chose the plain of Sodom, which
appears then to have been the most fertile
part of the land. Here he continued to
dwell till the destruction of Sodom and the
adjacent cities. He was a righteous man
even in Sodom, 2 Pet. 2:6-9, ^"^ "a judge,"
condemning their evil practices, Gen. 19:9;
but the calamities consequent upon his
choice of this residence — his capture by
Eastern marauders. Gen. 14, the molesta-
tion caused by his ungodly and vicious
neighbors, the loss of his property in the
burning city, the destruction of his sons-in-
law and of his wife — if they do not prove
that he regarded ease and profit more than
duty, show that the most beautiful and fruit-
ful land is not always the best ; the profli-
gacy of its citizens may sink it into the
abyss of perdition, and endanger all who
have any concern with it. Real estate in
Sodom proved worthless, as it is in any
similar place; and no "durable riches,"
LOT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LUC
worthy of being a man's chief good, can
be found in any earthly property — it is all
to be burned. Lot's wife, looking back
with disobedient regrets, and arrested by
the threatened judgment midway in her
flight to the mountain, struck dead and
becoming incrusted with salt, is an awful
warning to all who turn their faces Zion-
ward but are unwilling to leave all for
Christ, Gen. 19; Luke 17:28-32. Lot es-
caped with his 2 daughters to Zoar, and
became the father of Moab and Ammon bj'
them, they no doubt palliating their crime
by the plea that they dared not marry any
of the heathen among whom they dwelt.
The Dead Sea is now called by the natives
Bahr Lflt, the sea of Lot. See Sodom.
LO'TAN, covering, eldest son of Seir,
Gen. 36:20, 22, 29; I Chr. 1:38.
LOTS were often cast by the Jews, as well
as by other ancient nations, with the e.x-
pectation, when God was appealed to, that
he would so control them as to give a right
direction in doubtful cases, Judg. 20:9;
I Sam. 10:20, 21 ; i Chr. 26:14; Psa. 22:18;
Prov. 16:33; 18:18. They were often used
by the divine appointment. The portions
of the 12 tribes were thus assigned to them ;
and hence each tribe's portion was called
"the lot of its inheritance," Num. 26:55,
56; Psa. 125:3; Acts 8:21. The scape-goat
was to be selected and the order of the
priests' service determined by lot. Lev.
16:8; I Chr. 24:5; 25:8. By the same
means Achan, Jonathan, and Jonah were
discovered. Josh. 7:14; i Sam. 14:41, 42;
Jon. 1:7. By lot Christ's garments were
divided, Matt. 27:35, and Matthias was des-
ignated by Christ to be an apostle in the
place of Judas, Acts i : 26. A common mode
of casting lots was by the use of pebbles,
one or more of them being marked, and all
being shaken together in some fold of a
garment, an urn, or a helmet, before draw-
ing, Prov. 16:33; John 19:24. As the use
of lots by one who believes in the particu-
lar providence of God involves a solemn
appeal to the Disposer of all events, they
should never be used on trivial occasions;
and in this day a case can rarely occur
when such an appeal would be warranted.
See PuRiM.
LOVE. God is love; and he that
DWELLETH IN LOVE DWELLETH IN GOD,
AND God in him, i John 4:16. Love is a
chief attribute of Jehovah, the length and
breadth and height and depth of which are
beyond comprehension, for they are infi-
nite, Eph. 3: 18, 19. Between the 3 Persons
of the Godhead love is unutterably full^
perfect, and blissful ; towards holy angels
and Christians God's love is an infinite
fatherly complacency and affection ; to-
wards sinners it is immeasurable compas-
sion. It is shown in all his works and
ways, and dictated his holy law, but is most
signally displayed in the gospel, John 3:16.
" Herein is love." See Law.
Holy love in man would make the whole
heart and soul supremely delight in and
obey God, and cordially and practically
love all beings according to their charac-
ter— the good with fellowship of soul, and
the evil with a Christlike benevolence —
abstaining from all that would harm them,
and doing all that we can for their good,
without reference to a return. Such a love
would meet and fulfil all the ends of the
law. Matt. 22:37-40; Rom. 13:8-10. With-
out it none can enter heaven ; and as the
affections of every unrenewed heart are all
mi.\ed with sin, being given to forbidden
objects, or selfishly and unduly given to
objects not forbidden, we must be "born
again" in order to see God, John 3:3; ijohn
4:7, 19; 5:4-
LOVE-FEASTS, Jude 12 ; 2 Pet. 2 : 13. See
Feasts.
LOVER, in Scripture any intimate friend,
I Kin. 5:1 ; Psa. 38:11.
LOW COUNTRY, or Shephelah, 2 Chr.
26:10. See Ji'D.EA.
LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH, val-
leys, Isa. 44:23; also the abode of disem-
bodied spirits, secluded from view, Psa.
63:9; Eph. 4:9; hence, in Psa. 139:15, the
womb.
LU'BIM, thirsty. See Libya.
LU'CAS, A. V. Phile. 24. See Luke.
LU'CIFER, liglit-bringer, the Latin name
of the morning star, or " son of the morn-
ing." In the figurative language of Scrip-
ture, a brilliant star denoted an illustrious
prince, Num. 24:17. Christ was given to
men as the " bright and morning Star,"
Rev. 2:28; 22:16. The word Lucifer is
used once only in the English Bible, and
then of the king of Babylon, Isa. 14: 12. It
is now commonly, though inappropriately,
given to the prince of darkness.
LU'CIUS of Cyrene, Acts 13:1, compare
Acts 2:10; 11:19, 20, one of the ministers
and teachers of the Christian church at
Antioch, and probably a kinsman of Paul,
Rom. 16:21. He is supposed by some to
be the same with the evangelist Luke; but
for this there is no good reason.
LU'CRE, gain. "Filthy lucre" is ill-
331
LUD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
LYD
gotten and base gain, i Tim. ^i^, 8; Tit.
1:7, u.
LUD, the 4th son of Shem, Gen. 10:22,
and ancestor, it is thought, of the Lydians
in Asia Minor, i Chr. 1:17.
LU'DIM, descendants of Mizraim, Gen.
10:13, dwelling in Africa, probably near
Ethiopia; they were famous bowmen, Isa.
66:19, and are mentioned as soldiers with
the Ethiopians, Libyans, and Tyrians, Jer.
46:9; Ezek. 27:10; 30:5.
LU'HITH, THE .\SCENT OF, a hill leading
up to a Moabite sanctuary, Isa. 15:5; Jer.
48:5.
LUKE, Lucas, Phile. 24, or Lucanus, the
evangelist, probably the same person who
is called by St. Paul " the beloved physi-
cian," and distinguished from them "of
the circumcision," Col. 4:11, 14. Luke was
the writer of the gospel which bears his
name, and of the Acts of the Apostles, hav-
ing been the friend and companion of Paul
in most of the journeys recorded in the
latter book. Thus, in Acts 16:11, he first
uses the word "we," and shows that he
was with Paul at Troas and in his first
Macedonian tour. After they reach Phi-
lippi an interval of separation occurs ; but
they are again at Philippi when Paul sails
thence for Jerusalem, and from that time
he continues with the apostle in his la-
bors, voyages, and sufferings to the close of
his first imprisonment at Rome, Acts 17:1;
20:5,6, 13-16; 21-28; Phile. 24; 2 Tim. 4:11.
His personal history before and after this
period of his companionship with Paul is
unknown, or rests on uncertain traditions.
His own narrative contains the least pos-
sible mention of himself; yet we cannot
doubt that he was eminently useful to the
early church, by his learning, judgment,
fidelity, and even his medical skill, besides
leaving to the world the invaluable legacy
of his writings. See Acts and Gospel.
LU'NATIC, formed from the Latin /una,
the moon, and corresponding to the origi-
nal (ireek word and to the English " moon-
struck ;" applied to a class of persons men-
tally and often corporally diseased, who
were believed to suffer most when the
moon was full. Insanity, epilepsy, and
morbid melancholy were among the fre-
quent efTects of demoniac possession, yet
this possession existed independently of
these effects, and was a more dreadful ca-
lamity. Lunatics are expressly mentioned
in distinction from men possessed by evil
spirits. Matt. 4:24; 17:15. See Devils and
M.\D.
332
LUST originally meant any longing de-
sire, however innocent, Deut. 12:15; 14:26.
But, in tacit acknowledgment of the de-
pravity of man's passions, general usage
soon attached the idea of guilt to the word ;
and now it usually denotes carnal, lascivi-
ous desire, Matt. 5:28. In Gal. 5:16, 17, 24
we see that the aspirations of the heart re-
newed by the Holy Spirit oppose and will
subdue the native evil desires, i Cor. 15:57;
but in the unrenewed heart these reign
uncontrolled, lead to greater and greater
outward sins, and secure eternal death,
Jas. 1:14, 15. Lusty in Judg. 3:29 means
stout, vigorous.
LUZ, bending or hazel, I., a spot north of
Jerusalem visited while uninhabited by
Abraham, Gen. 12:8; 13:3, and by Jacob,
who named it Bethel, Gen. 28:19; 35:6;
48:3. A Canaanite town was afterwards
built near by and called Luz, and after the
conquest Bethel was built on or near the
same site. See Bethel. The 2 are dis-
tinguished in Josh. 16:2. There is now a
Khirbet el-Lozeh 3^ miles west of Beitin.
II. An unknown town in " the land of
the Hittites," founded by a refugee from
Luz who rendered an important service to
the Hebrews, Judg. 1:26.
LYCAO'NIA, a small province of Asia
Minor, bounded north by Galatia, east by
Cappadocia, south by Isauria and Cilicia,
and west by Phrygia. It appears to have
been within the limits of Phrygia Major,
but was erected into a Roman province by
Augustus. The country is level, but not
fertile, though peculiarly adapted to sheep-
pasturage. Of its cities, Iconium, Derbe,
and Lystra are mentioned in the New
Testament, Acts 14:6. See Lvstra. The
"speech of Lycaonia," ver. 11, is generally
supposed to have been a dialect of Greek,
corrupted by a large mixture of Syriac.
On his ist journey Paul traversed it from
west to east, Acts 14: 1-21 ; 2 Tim. 3:11 ; on
his 2d and 3d, from east to west — to Troas,
Acts 16:1-8, and to Ephesus, 18:23; 19:1-
Lycaonia now forms part of the Turkish
province of Caramania.
LY'CIA, a province in the southwest of
Asia Minor, bounded west by Caria, east
by Pamphylia, north by Phrygia and Pisi-
dia, and south by the Mediterranean. The
country is somewhat mountainous, though
not barren. Of its cities, only Patara and
Myra are mentioned in the New Testa-
ment, Acts 21 :i, 2; 27:5.
LYD'DA, in Hebrew Lud or Lod, in Ben-
jamin, I Chr. 8:12; Ezra 2:33, and by the
LYD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAC
Greeks called Diospolis, was a city 9 miles
east of Joppa, on the way to Jerusalem.
Here Peter healed .(Eneas, Acts 9:33, 34.
It was destroyed not long after Jerusalem,
but was soon rebuilt, and became the seat
of a famous Jewish school. A Christian
church was here organized, and was in
existence A. D. 518. Lydda is often men-
tioned in the history of the Crusades. It
was situated in the midst of fine and exten-
sive plains, the soil of which is a rich black
mould, that might be rendered exceeding-
ly fertile. It is at present only a miserable;
village called Ludd. The ruins of a stately
church of the middle ages, called the
Church of St. George, preserve the name of
a saint and martyr said to have been born
and buried here in the 3d century. The
English Crusaders adopted him as the
"patron" of England, and many fabulous
legends are told of his exploits.
LYD'IA, I., a woman of Thyatira, resi-
ding at Philippi in Macedonia, and dealing
in purple cloths. She was not a Jewess
by birth, but had become a proselyte to
Judaism and " worshipped God." She was
led by the grace of God to receive the gos-
pel with joy, Paul's first European convert;
and having been baptized with her house-
hold, constrained Paul and his fellow-la-
borers to make her house their home while
at Philippi, Acts 16:14, ^5. 4°- Compare
Phil. 4:3. See Philippi.
II. In Ezek. 30:5, properly Ludim.
LYSA'NIAS. See Abilene.
LYS'IAS, or Claudius Lysias, commander
of the Roman guard at Jerusalem during
Paul's last visit there. In the honorable
discharge of his duty he repeatedly saved
Paul from the malice of the Jews, Acts
21:27-40; 22; 23.
LYS'TRA, a city in the eastern part of
Lycaonia, near Derbe and Iconium, and
the native place of Timothy. Paul and
Barnabas preached the gospel here, and
having healed a cripple were almost wor-
shipped. Soon after, however, at the insti-
gation of persecuting Jews from Antioch
and Iconium, Paul was stoned there, Acts
14:6, 19. Timothy seems to have witnessed
or known of his sufferings, 2 Tim. 3:10, 11,
and at Paul's 2d visit was ready to enter
on the public service of Christ, Acts 16:1.
Hamilton finds its site at Bin-bir-Kilisseh,
at the foot of a mountain of volcanic origin
named Karadagh, where are the ruins of a
number of churches. The city appears to
have claimed Jupiter as its special patron,
Acts 1.1:1.^.
M.
MA'ACAH, or Maachah, oppression, I.,
a city and region of Syria or Aram, i Chr.
19:6, 7, somewhere near the foot of Mount
Hermon and Geshur, apparently the rocky
tract east of the Ledja. The portion of
Manasseh beyond Jordan reached to this
country, like that of Og king of Bashan,
Deut. 3:13, 14; but it does not appear to
have become subject to Israel, Josh. 12:4-6;
13:13, except during the reign of David,
Solomon, and Jeroboam II. The king of
Maachah, with other Syrians, joined the
Ammonites in a war with David, and they
were defeated and made tributary, 2 Sam.
10:6-8, 19.
II. A wife of David, and the mother of
Absalom. She was a daughter of Talmai,
king of Geshur in Syria, 2 Sam. 3:3;! Chr.
3:2.
III. The wife of Rehoboam and mother
of Abijah, kings of Judah. She is called
the "daughter" of Abishalom or Absalom,
I Kin. 15:2; 2 Chr. 11:20-22. In 2 Chr.
13:2 she is called Michaiah, and is said to
be the daughter of Uriel. She appears to
have exerted a great influence over the
members of the royal family, but was de-
graded from her high position by Asa her
grandson, for promoting idolatry, 2 Chr.
15:16.
Six others of the same name are men-
tioned in Gen. 22:24; i Kin. 2:39; i Chr.
2:48; 7:16; 8:29; 11:43; 27:16.
MA'ALEH-ADUM'MIM, A. V. the going
up 0/ Adtiminitn, a rough pass near Gilgal,
Josh. 15:7; 18:17.
MA'ALEH-AKRAB'BIM, ascent of scor-
pions, Num. 34:4; Josh. 15:3; Judg. 1:36.
See Akrabbim. Trumbull identifies it with
the pass el-Yemen, 30 miles southwest of
the Dead Sea, and 6 miles west of the pass
es-SufSh.
MA'ARATH, openness, a town in Judah,
north of Hebron, Josh. 15:59-
MAASE'IAH, the work of God, the name
of many places mentioned in i Chr. 15:18,
20; 2 Chr. 23:1; 26:11; 28:7; 34:8; Ezra
10:18, 21, 22, 30; Neh. 3:23; 8:4, 7; 10:25;
11:5, 7; 12:42; Jer. 21:1; 35:4; 51:59-
MACEDO'NIA, a large country lying
north of Greece proper, bounded south by
Thessaly and Epirus, east by Thrace and
the ^gean Sea, west by the Adriatic Sea
and Illyria, and north by Dardania and
Moesia. Its principal rivers were the Stry-
mon and Axius, flowing through 2 great
plains. Its most celebrated mountains were
333
MAC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAG
Olympus and Athos : the former renowned
in heathen mythology as the residence of
the gods, lying on the confines of Thessaly,
and principally within that state; the lat-
ter being at the extremity of a promontory
which juts out into the ^gean Sea, and
noted in modern times as the seat of sev-
eral monasteries, in which are manj' man-
uscripts supposed to be valuable. This
region is believed to have been peopled by
Kittim, Gen. 10:4; but little is known of
its early history. The Macedonian empire
is traced back some 400 years before the
famous Philip, under whom, and especial-
ly under his son Alexander the Great, it
reached the summit of its power. Alexan-
der, B. C. 336-323, at the head of Macedo-
nians and Greeks united, conquered a
large part of Western and Southern Asia.
This power was foretold by Daniel, 8:3-8,
under the symbol of a goat with one horn ;
and it is worthy of note that ancient Mace-
donian coins still exist bearing that na-
tional symbol. After the death of Alexan-
der the power of the Macedonians declined,
and they were at length conquered by the
Romans under Paulus ^milius, B. C. 168,
■who divided their country into 4 districts.
The Romans afterwards divided the whole
of Greece and Macedonia into 2 great prov-
inces, which they called Macedonia and
Achaia, B. C. 142, Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 9:2.
See Greece. In the New Testament the
name is to be taken in this latter sense.
Of the cities of Macedonia proper there are
mentioned in the New Testament, Amphip-
olis, Apollonia, Beroea, Neapolis, Philippi,
and Thessalonica. This country early re-
ceived the gospel, A. D. 52, Paul having
been summoned to labor there by a super-
natural vision. Acts 16:9 to 17:15. He vis-
ited it 3 or 4 times, and established churches
at Thessalonica, Philippi, etc. It is often
mentioned, as in Acts 18:5; 19:21; 20:1-6;
Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 1:16; 9:2; 11:9. Its
Christians are highly commended. Acts
17:11; Phil. 4:10, 14-19; I Thess. 1:3-8;
2:8, 17-20; 3:10, and it was honored by its
Christian women. Acts 16:13, 141 Phil. 4:2,
3. Its fertile soil is now languishing under
the Turkish sway.
MACHBAN'AI, cloaked, I Chr. 12:13.
MACHBE'NAH, a cloak, or a band, i Chr.
2:48, 49, a town of Judah, colonized by de-
scendants of Maachah.
MA'CHIR, sold, I., eldest son of the patri-
arch Manasseh, Gen. 50:23; i Chr. 7:14.
His son Gilead and his daughter Abiah,
I Chr. 2:21, 23, are mentioned. His pos-
334
terity were active in the conquest of Gil-
ead, Num. 32:39; Josh. 17:1, and in the
war with Jabin and Sisera, Judg. 5: 14.
II. Son of Ammiel, a Gileadite chief who
befriended Jonathan's son Mephibosheth,
and afterwards sent supplies to David, flee-
ing from Absalom, 2 Sam. 9:4, 5; 17:27-29.
MACHPE'LAH, double, or a portion, a
place near Hebron containing the field and
cave purchased of Ephron by Abraham for
a family tomb. Sarah was first buried
there. Gen. 23, and afterwards Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, with Rebekah, Leah, etc.,
Gen. 25:9; 49:30; 50:13. See Hebron.
MAD, and "beside thyself," in Acts 26:24,
25, are the same word in Greek. Harm-
less madmen or lunatics are still revered
in the East as persons whose spirits are in
converse with the other world, and they
are ministered to and suffered to do as
they please. Compare i Sam. 21:10-15;
2 Cor. II : 19.
MA'DAI, the 3d son of Japheth, and the
Medes, etc., descended from him. Gen. 10:2.
See Media.
MA'DIAN. See Midian.
MADMAN'NAH, dunghill, a city first as-
signed to Judah, and afterwards to Simeon,
Josh. 15:31; I Chr. 2:49. Compare Beth-
marcaboth, Josh. 19:5. It is perhaps Min-
yai, 15 miles from Gaza on the road to
Egypt.
MAD'MEN, dunghill, an unknown place
in Moab, Jer. 48:2.
MADME'NAH, dunghill, a town in Ben-
jamin not far from Jerusalem, site not
known, Isa. 10:31.
MA'DON, strife, a town in North Canaan
whose king, Jobab, was defeated by Joshua,
Josh. II : I ; 12:19.
MAG'DALA, a toiver, in R. V., Matt.
15:39, Mac;adan, now a small Turkish vil-
lage called el-Mejdel. It lay near the shore
of the Sea of Galilee, at its most westerly
point, 3 miles northwest of Tiberias, in the
southern part pf a small plain on which
stood also Capernaum at the other end,
and Dalmanutha in its immediate vicinity.
Matt. 15:39; Mark 8:10. Mary Magdalene
was born or resided at Magdala; and it
was the seat of a Jewish school after Jeru-
salem was destroyed.
MAG'DIEL, endowed by God, an Edom-
ite chief. Gen. 36:43.
MA'GI, or Wise Men, an appellation
given among the Medes and Persians to a
class of priests, wise men, philosophers,
etc., who devoted themselves to the study
of the moral and physical sciences, and
MAG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAH
particularly cultivated astrology and medi-
cine. They alone performed the religious
rites, and pretended to communicate to
men secret things, future events, and the
will of the gods. See Media. As they
thus acquired great honor and influence,
they were introduced into the courts of
kings and consulted on all occasions. They
also accompanied the army in warlike ex-
peditions; and so much importance was
attached to their advice and opinions that
nothing was attempted without their ap-
probation. See Artaxerxes, I. and Rab-
MAG. A similar class of men existed in
Babylon, Egypt, Arabia, etc. The book of
Daniel shows in what high estimation they
were held in Babylon. Daniel was appoint-
-ed master of the wise men; but their jeal-
ousy of his wisdom and their hatred of his
religion, as well as the terms in which they
are spoken of in Isa. 47:13, 14; Dan. 2:9,
27, show that as a class they were destitute
■of true wisdom. See Simon Magus.
Not so those who came " from the East "
to salute and adore the infant Jesus, Matt.
2:1-12. The captivity of the Jews beyond
the Euphrates had dispersed through the
East much knowledge of the true God;
and these philosophers and astronomers, in
their search after wisdom, had found and
believed the prophecies respecting the Mes-
siah— among others that of Balaam, who
came from the East, Num. 23:7, and fore-
told Christ as the Star of Jacob, Num . 24 : 1 7 ;
and of Daniel, "chief of the magi," Dan.
2:48; 5:11; 7:13, 14, 21, 27; 9:25-27 — and
were divinely guided to his presence at
Bethlehem. See Star. In them the sci-
ence and philosophy of the heathen world
laid their homage at the feet of Christ, fore-
tokening the opening of Christ's kingdom
to the Gentiles and the time when all the
-world shall pay him tribute as the true
King of men. Compare Psa. 72 : 10, 11; Isa.
-60:1-3.
MAG'IC means, in the Bible, all the super-
stitious ceremonies of magicians, sorcerers,
enchanters, necromancers, spiritualists, ex-
orcists, astrologers, soothsayers, interpret-
ers of dreams, fortune-tellers, casters of
nativities, etc., which are all forbidden by
the law of God, whether practised to hurt
or to benefit mankind. It was also forbid-
Aen to consult magicians on pain of death,
Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14. Magic
arts and implements are mentioned in Gen.
31 : 19, 30, 32-35, Laban'steraphim ; compare
Judg. 18:5, 6, 14-20; Ezek. 21:19-22; Zech.
10:2; in the story of the Exode, Exod. 7 and
8 ; of Balaam, Num. 22 : 5-7 ; 23 : 23 ; 24 : i ; of
the witch of En-dor, i Sam. 28 ; and of the
Ephesian books, Acts 19:19. See also Isa.
2:6; 8:19; 19:3; 29:3, 4; Jer. 14:14; 23:25
to end; 29:8, 9; Mic. 3:6, 7, 11 ; Acts 16:16-
18. There is no evidence of supernatural
power in any case. See Enchantments,
Sorcerers.
MAGI'CIANS. See Magi and Magic.
This Hebrew word means sacred scribes.
The magicians of Egypt were probably
priests.
MAG'ISTRATES. Applied in Scripture
to various civil and military rulers. In
Acts 16:20, 22, 35, 38, the Roman Prae-
tors.
MA'GOG, the 2d son of Japheth, Gen.
10:2; I Chr. 1:5. See Gog. In Ezek. 38
and 39 and Rev. 20:7-9 are denoted the
violent assaults of the enemies of Christian-
ity and their defeat. The barbaric Scythi-
ans, from between the Black Sea and the
Caspian, who overran much of Western
Asia in the 7th century B. C, well answered
to the description in Ezekiel.
MA'GOR- MIS'SABIB, terror on every
side, the significant name given by Jere-
miah to the persecuting Pashur, Jer. 20:3,
4. The same words are used in Psa. 31 : 13,
but elsewhere only by Jeremiah, Jer. 6:25;
20:10; 46:5; 49:29; Lam. 2:22.
MAHALAL'EEL, praise of God, I., the
4th from Adam in the line of Seth, Gen.
5:12-17; I Chr. 1:2; Luke 3:37.
II. A descendant of Judah and of Pharez,
Neh. 11:4.
MA'HALATH, harp, I., Esau's wife, and
daughter of Ishmael. See Bashemath.
II. A granddaughter of David, cousin and
wife of Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:18.
III. In the title of Psalms 53 and 88, con-
jectured to refer to the tune or the instru-
ment used in chanting these Psalms ; or as
Hcngstenberg and Alexander suggest, to
the spiritual malady which they lament.
MAHANA'IM, two hosts, a place so named
because a host of angels here met the host
of Jacob on his return from Padan-aram,
Gen. 32:1, 2. It lay north of the Jabbok
and near Penuel, and afterwards became
a Levitical city in the tribe of Gad, Josh.
13:26 ; 21 :38, 39. It was apparently a town
of some strength, for Ishbosheth lived there
during his short reign, and David took
refuge there during Absalom's rebellion,
2 Sam. 2:8; 4:5; 17:24,27. Solomon drew
supplies thence, -i Kin. 4:14.
MA'HANEH-DAN, the camp of Dan, as
translated in Judg. 13:25; compare 16:31;
335
MAH
BIBLE DICTIONARY
MAM
the place where the Danites assembled and
prepared to invade Laish, Judg. i8:ii, 12.
MA'HARAI, hasty, I Chr. 11:30; 27:13.
MA'HER-SHA'LAL-HASH-BAZ, haste,
Spoil, speed to the prey, the name given by
Isaiah to one of his sons for a prophetic
intimation of the speedy victory of the As-
syrians over Sj'ria and Israel, Judah's ene-
mies, Isa. 8:1-3.
MAH'LAH, disease, I., in A. V. Maha-
LAH, I Chr. 7: 18.
II. First of Zelophehad's 5 daughters,
who married their kinsmen to secure their
inheritance in Manasseh, Num. 26:33; 27: i-
II ; 36:11 ; Josh. 17:3.
MAH'LI, sick, I., son of Merari, and
grandson of Levi, Exod. 6:19; Num. 3:20,
T,T,\ I Chr. 6:19; 23:21; 24:26,28.
II. A nephew of the preceding, i Chr.
23:23; 24:30.
MAH'LON, sick, a son of Elimelech and
Naomi, and the first husband of Ruth the
Moabitess, Ruth i; 4:9.
MAKE, Luke 24:28, to act or appear; so
in 2 Sam. 13:6.
MAKHE'LOTH, assemblies, 24th station
of the wandering Israelites, Num. 33:25.
MAKKE'DAH, herdsman's place, a chief
city of the Canaanites, near which 5 con-
federate kings were defeated, taken in the
cave to which they had fled, and executed.
It lay in the vicinity of Libnah, Azekah,
and Lachish, southwest of Jerusalem, in
the tribe of Judah, Josh. 10:10-28; 12:16;
15:41.
MAK'TESH, a mortar, Zeph. i:ii, appa-
rently in or near Jerusalem, and occupied
by merchants ; but we have no clew to its
location.
MAL'ACHI, messetig'er of Jehovah, the
last of the minor prophets and of all the
Old Testament writers; little known. Hag.
1:13; Mai. 3:1. Malachi most probably
prophesied about B. C. 416, in the latter
part of the administration of Nehemiah,
and after Haggai and Zechariah, at a time
of great disorder among the priests and
people of Judah, whom he reproves. He
inveighs against the priests ; reproves the
people for having taken strange wives, for
inhumanity to their brethren, for divorcing
their wives, and for neglect of paying tithes
and firstfruits. He seems to allude to the
covenant that Nehemiah renewed with the
Lord, together with the priests and the
chief of the nation. In the latter part he
foretells the coming of John the Baptist in
the spirit and power of Elijah, Mai. 3:1;
4:5, 6; Matt. 11:10, 14; 17:10-13; Luke
336
1:17. He also foretells the twofold coming
of Christ, and the blessedness of those who
fear and serve him. Thus the Old Testa-
ment closes with predictions of the Mes-
siah, and the New Testament opens with
the record of their fulfilment.
MAL'CHAM, their king, I. See Molech.
II. Son of Shaharaim, i Chr. 8:9.
MALCHI'AH, or MALCHI'JAH./d'/zoz'aA'j
kitiff, the name of 10 or more persons in
the period of the Captivity.
MAL'CHIEL, God's king, grandson of
Asher, Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:45; i Chr.
7\V-
MAL'CHI SHU'A, /fee«j?-o/'/i<'//>, son of Saul
and Ahinoam, slain at Gilboa, i Sam. 14:49;
31:2; I Chr. 8:33; 9:39; 10:2.
M AL'CHUS, ruler or counsellor, the bond-
servant of Caiaphas, whose right ear was
cut off by Peter and miraculously restored
by Christ in Gethsemane, Matt. 26:51. The
seizure of the Saviour immediately after 2
manifestations of his divinity, Luke 22:5r ;
John 18:6, evinces the blindness and obsti-
nacy of mankind in sin. Note that his
name is given only by John, who was ac-
quainted with the family, while it is Luke
only, a physician, who mentions the heal-
ing of the ear. " Suffer ye thus far," seems
to mean, leave me free a moment for this
purpose. The hands so often stretched
out to heal were now to be bound and soon
nailed to the cross.
MAL'LOWS, Job 30:4, supposed by Bo-
chart to signify the plant called Orache, the
Atriplex Halimus of Linnaeus. It grows
in salt marshes 5 feet high, and its termi-
nal leaves are used in the East, either green
or boiled, as food by the poor.
MAL'LUCH, ruler ox counsellor, the name
of 6 men, chiefly of the era of the Captivity.
MAM'MON, a Chaldee word signifying
riches. Our Saviour says we cannot serve
God and mammon. Matt. 6:24. Wealth is
as truly an idol to those who set their hearts
on it as Jupiter or Diana; and no idolater
can enter heaven. He also charges us,
from the example of the unjust steward, so
to use worldly goods, which are generally
sought and used sinfully — "the unright-
eous mammon " — as to have God the Judge
our friend, and receive the true riches in
heaven, Luke 16:9, 11, 13.
MAM'RE, stoutness, I., an Amorite prince,
brother of Eshcol and Aner. All 3 united
their forces to aid Abraham in the rescue
of Lot, Gen. 14. He gave his name to
II., the town where he dwelt, afterwards
Hebron, Gen.35:27, in the suburbs of which
MAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAN
was a large terebinth-tree, or grove (see
Oak), called in the A. V. " the plain of
Mamre." Here Abraham and his descend-
ants often pitched their tents, Gen. 13:18;
18:1. The cave of Machpelah lay on the
slope of the valley opposite to the grove of
Mamre, Gen. 23:17, 19; 25:9; 49:30; and
from the heights near by Abraham could
see the smoking plain of Sodom, Gen.
19:27, 28.
MAN OF SIN. See Antichrist.
MAN'AEN, consoler, a converted Jew, a
foster brother of Herod Antipas, but unlike
him in character and end : Manaen was a
minister of Christ at Antioch; Herod was
guilty of the blood of both Christ and his
forerunner. Acts 13:1. "One shall be ta-
ken, and another left."
MAN'AHATH, rest, I., of Mount Seir, a
son of Shobal, driven out by the sons of
Esau, Gen. 36:23; i Chr. 1:40.
II. A place to which certain Benjamites
removed, i Chr. 8:6, perhaps in the border
of Judah, I Chr. 2:52-54.
MANAS'SEH, in Matt. i:io; Rev. 7:6,
A. V. Man.^sses, causing to f org el, I., the
eldest son of Joseph and Asenath, born in
Egypt, Gen. 41:50, 51, and adopted by Ja-
cob as one of his own sons, and head of a
tribe, as was his brother Ephraim, Gen. 48.
In apportioning his benedictions Jacob was
doubtless divinely guided.
The tribe of Manasseh, with that of
Ephraim and of Benjamin, all descendants
of Rachel, formed " the camp of Ephraim,"
on the left of the tabernacle in the desert.
In the division of the Holy Land, Manasseh
received a double portion: one part east of
the Upper Jordan and the Sea of Galilee,
the other west of the Jordan, between
Ephraim and Issachar, to the Mediterra-
nean, Num. 32:33, 39-42; Josh. 16 and 17;
yet Ephraim 's portion was better, and its
wealth and power far greater, according to
the prediction of Jacob.
In the early history of Manasseh, Machir
"the father of (the land of) Gilead," and
Jair his grandson, were famous, Deut. 3 : 13-
15; I Chr. 2:21-23. The western half of
the tribe were slow in expelling the Ca-
naanites, Josh. 17:1, 2; Judg. 1:27, 28; but
the tribe took part in the war with Jabin,
Judg. 5:14, and furnished the judges Gide-
on, Jair, and perhaps Jephthah. They ac-
cepted Ishbosheth after the death of Saul,
2 Sam. 2:9, but were among those who
crowned David at Hebron, i Chr. 12:19-21,
31, 2,^, and are honorably named as sharing
in religious revivals, 2 Chr. 15:9; 30:1-18;
31:4; 34:6-9. They were chastised by Ha-
zael, 2 Kin. 10:32, ^j,, and carried captive
by the Assyrians, i Chr. 5:25, 26. Their
recovery is alluded to in 2 Chr. 15:9; 30:1-
18; 34:6, 9; Ezek. 48:3-5.
II. The son and impious successor of the
good Hezekiah, king of Judah, and the
pious Hephzibah. Compare Isa. 62:4. He
began to reign at 12 years old, B. C. 698,
and reigned 55 years. His sons suffered a
fiery baptism to Moloch, 2 Chr. 33:6, or
were even sacrificed, Ezek. 23:37, 39. The
worship of Baal and Astarte was revived,
Jer. 7:18, impure images erected in the
temple itself, 2 Kin. 21:7; 23:17, with un-
authorized priests, Zeph. 1:4; the altars
and the ark of Jehovah were removed,
2 Chr. 33:16; 35:3, the Sabbath disregard-
ed, Isa. 56:2; 58:13, and priests and proph-
ets cruelly slain, 2 Kin. 21:16; 24:4; Isa.
57:1-4; Jer. 2:30. Isaiah and Habakkuk
prophesied at the beginning of his reign,
Jeremiah and Zephaniah at its close. For
his shocking idolatries, tyranny, and cru-
elties God suffered "him to be carried as a
prisoner to Babylon in the 22d year of his
reign, probably by Esar-haddon king of
Assyria. Here, however, he so humbled
himself that God moved the Assyrians to
restore him to his throne, as a tributary;
and thenceforth he set himself to undo
the evil he had done. He abolished the
idols he had worshipped and the diviners
he had consulted ; accomplished many re-
forms for the spiritual and material good
of his kingdom ; repaired the defences of
Jerusalem, inclosing with a wall new space
on the west and Ophel on the southeast;
and strengthened the walled cities of Judah.
After a reign longer than that of any other
king of Judah, he died in peace and was
buried in Jerusalem, 2 Kin. 21 ; 2 Chr. 2,2>-
The "prayer of Manasseh," in the Apoc-
rypha, was not admitted to the canon even
by the Council of Trent, and was probably
the work of some inventive writer before
the Christian era.
III. A grandfather of Micah's renegade
priest, Judg. 18:30, A. V. Many versions
have Moses instead of Manasseh, and that
is probably the true reading.
Two men of this name repudiated their
heathen wives in Ezra's day, Ezra 10:30, 53.
MAN'DRAKES, Hebrew Dudaim, Gen.
30:14-16; .Song 7:13, a plant to which was
attributed superstitiously the power of ren-
dering barren women fruitful. It is tlie
Atropa Mandragora of Linnaeus, a plant of
the genus belladonna, with a root like a
337
MAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAN
beet, white and reddish blossoms, and fra-
grant yellow apples, which ripen from May
to July. The strong odor of the fruit, of
the size of a small apple, made it prized in
the East.
MA'NEH, a portion, a Hebrew weight of
loo shekels, i Kin. 10:17 with 2 Chr. 9:16;
or, as usually reckoned, of 60 shekels, Ezek.
45:12. .See Pound and Weights.
MAN'GER, Greek, a crib or feeding-
trough; in Luke 13:15 a "stall" — margin,
"manger." See Inn.
MAN'NA, the miraculous food given by
God to the Israelites during their wander-
ings in the desert. It was like a small
grain, white like hoar-frost, round, and of
the size of coriander-seed, E.xod. 16; Num.
II. It fell every morning with the dew
about the camp of the Israelites, and in so
great quantities during the whole 40 years
of their journey in the wilderness that it
was sufficient to serve the entire multitude
instead of bread, Exod. 16:35; Deut. 29:5,
6; Josh. 5:12. It is nowhere said that the
Israelites had no other food. That nu-
merous flocks and herds accompanied the
camp of Israel is clear from many passages.
Certainly the daily sacrifices were offered,
and no doubt other offerings, affording ani-
mal food on which the priests and Levites
subsisted, according to their offices.
When manna was first sent, the Israel-
ites said to each other, Mais.-hu? " What is
it?" for they wist not what it was, and from
the frequent repetition of this inquiry the
name m.\n or manna arose. In the valleys
around Sinai a substance called manna is
found, dropping from the sprigs of several
trees, but principally from the tamarisk, in
the month of June. It is collected by the
Arabs, who make cakes of it, and call it
honey of bey rouk. See Exod. 16:31. The
338
exudation of this manna is occasioned by
an insect. Besides this substance and the
manna of commerce — which is used as a
laxative medicine, and is produced by the
ash -trees of Southern Europe — several
other vegetable products in Arabia, Persia,
etc., of similar origin and qualities, are
known by the same name. It is in vain,
however, to seek to identify with any of
these the manna of the Israelites, which
was evidently a special provision for them,
beginning and terminating with their need
of it, Deut. 8:3, 16. It was found, not on
trees and shrubs, but on " the face of the
wilderness " wherever they went, and was
different in its qualities from any now
known by that name, being dry enough to
grind and bake like grain, but breeding
worms on the 2d day. It was miraculous
in the amount that fell, for the supply of
millions, and all the year round; in not
falling on the Sabbath ; in falling in double
quantities the previous day ; and in re-
maining fresh during the Sabbath. By
these last 3 peculiarities God miraculously
attested the sanctity of the Sabbath as da-
ting from the creation and not from Mount
Sinai. Moreover, a specimen of manna
was laid up in a golden vase in the ark of
the covenant, in memor\' of a substance
which would otherwise have been wholly
unknown to men, Heb. 9:4.
In Psa. 78:24, 25, manna is called "an-
gels' food " and " corn of heaven." in token
of its excellence, and that it came directly
from the hand of God. This great boon of
God to the Israelites also offers many
striking analogies illustrative of "the true
Bread " which came down from heaven to
rebellious and perishing man. The "hid-
den manna," Exod. 16:33, 34, is an emblem
of the heavenly bread of eternal life. Rev.
2:17. Compare John 6:47-58. As a type
of spiritual food, note that manna was
gathered early, and daj' by day. Like the
manna, Christ descends from above around
the camp of his church in daily and abun-
dant supplies to meet the daily recurring
wants of every man. The people gath-
ered on an average about 3 quarts for each
man. They who gathered more than they
needed shared it freely with others; it
could not be hoarded up: and thus, as
Paul teaches us, 2 Cor. 8:13-15, it furnishes
for all men a lesson against hoarding the
earthly and perishable gifts of (iod, and in
favor of freely imparting to our brethren
in need. It ceased to fall as soon as the
Jews reached the plenty of Canaan, Josh.
MAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAR
5:12. Even Omnipotence is not wasteful,
Joiin 6: 12.
MANO'AH, rest, a native of Zorah, in the
tribe of Dan, and the father of Samson,
Judg. 13. He opposed his son's marriage
to a Philistine woman, but acquiesced and
attended the wedding, Judg. 14:1-10. He
soems to have died before his son, Judg.
10:31. In the prediction of his son's birth
and achievements we see the Angel of the
covenant, who appeared to Abraham, Gid-
eon, etc., and who never slumbers nor
sleeps, caring for his oppressed people. So
too he appeared to Jacob, and would not
tell his mysterious name. Gen. 32:29; Judg.
13:18; Isa. 9:6; Luke 13:34.
MAN'SIONS, John 14:2, rooms, places of
abode: there is abundant provision for all
Christ's servants in heaven.
MAN'SLAYER. See MURDER, REFUGE.
MAN'TLE. See Garments. In Judg.
4:18 a tent-shawl or coverlet. In i Kin.
19:13, 19; 2 Kin. 2:8, 13, 14, a large over-
garment of sheepskin, almost the sole rai-
ment of the prophet. Compare Zech. 13:4;
Heb. II -.-yj.
MA'ON, a dwellmg, I., a town and adja-
cent pasture-ground in the edge of the hill-
country of Judah, Josh. 15:55, near which
Nabal lived and David took refuge from
Saul, I Sam. 23:24, 25; 25:2. Dr. Robin-
son finds it in the ruinous place called
Main, 8 miles south of Hebron.
II. Founder of Beth-zur, i Chr. 2:45.
MA'ONITES, called Mehunim in 2 Chr.
26:7, an Arabian tribe, in the Septuagint
called Midian, named with the Amalekites
and other foes of Israel, Judg. 10: 12. Their
abode may have been near the place now
■called Maan, nearly east of Petra, on the
Haj route from Damascus to Mecca. Uz-
ziah defeated them.
MAR, to injure or despoil, Ruth 4:6.
MA'RAH, bitterness, I., a place in the wil-
•derness of Shur, or Etham, Num. 33:8, the
5th station of the Israelites, near the Red
Sea, 3 days' journey from the point where
they crossed it. Its well was sweetened
for the use of the distressed Hebrews by
the miraculous efficacy imparted to the
"branches of a certain tree which Moses
threw in, Exod. 15:22-25. No plant is now
known possessed of such a quality. The
name Amarah now marks the dry bed of a
wintry torrent, 43 miles southeast of the
"wells of Moses," a little south of which is
a well called Howarah, which answers well
to the description. Its water, after remain-
ing a few seconds in the mouth, becomes
exceedingly nauseous. The Arabs do not
drink it, though their camels will.
II. A name assumed by the afflicted Na-
omi, Ruth 1 :2o.
MA'RAN-A'THA, composed of two Syriac
words, signifying " Our Lord cometh." See
Anathema.
MAR'BLE, a stone composed of carbon-
ate of lime, from the common limestone of
Palestine to the fine-grained Parian mar-
ble, pure white, and of high polish. Song
5:15; Rev. 18:12, or of various colors, used
in Mosaic work, Esth. 1:6. Solomon's
building-stones came partly from under
and near Jerusalem, partly from Lebanon,
I Kin. 5:14-18; 7:10, partly from Arabia,
etc. Herod employed a fine white marble,
and many broken columns of it are found
at Jerusalem.
MARCHESH'VAN. See MONTH.
MAR'CUS, A. V. Col. 4:10; Phile. 24;
1 Pet. 5:13. Latin form for Mark, R. V.
MARE'SHAH, possession, a town in the
low country of Judah, Josh. 15:44; perhaps
the place rebuilt by Laadah, i Chr. 4:21.
It was fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:8,
was the birthplace of a prophet, Eliezer,
2 Chr. 20:37, and was warned by Micah,
ch. 1:15. In a valley near by, Asa defeat-
ed Zerah with an immense host of Ethiopi-
ans, 2 Chr. 14:9-13. It probably lay on the
western border of Judah, just southwest of
Eleutheropolis, at a place now called Me-
rash.
II. Of the tribe of Judah, an early settler
in Hebron, i Chr. 2:42.
MARK, or Marcus, the writer of one of
the 4 gospels. See Gospels. There can
be little doubt of the correctness of the
general opinion of learned men that he is
the same person who is mentioned b}' the
names of John and Mark in Acts 12:12, 25;
13:5,13, and as the relative and disciple of
Barnabas, Col. 4:10. In his mention of the
young man who hurried after Christ clad
in his tunic only, he probably relates his
own experience, Mark 14:51, 52. He was
the companion of Paul and Barnabas in
their journey through Cyprus, and unto
Perga in Pamphylia, at which last place
he left them and returned to Jerusalem,
much to the dissatisfaction of Paul, Acts
13:5, etc. ; 15:37-39- Yet he labored faith-
fully with Barnabas at Cyprus, and Paul
mentions him, when in captivity at Rome,
as one of those who were associated with
him. Col. 4:10, 11; 2 Tim. 4:11; Phile. 24.
He afterwards accompanied Peter also to
Babylon. As he was the son of that Mary
339
MAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAR
at whose house in Jerusalem the apostles
were wont to convene, so it is probable
that he was particularly instructed in the
doctrines of Christianity by Peter, who on
that account calls him son, i Pet. 5:13.
Compare i Tim. 1:2 and 2 Tim. 1:2. Tra-
dition ascribes to him the founding of the
church at Alexandria in Egypt, and asserts
that the Venetians secured his remains by
a pious stratagem, and took them to Ven-
ice, which city claims him as its patron
saint.
MAR'KET, in Greek .\g'or.\, in Latin
fo'rum, a large open area in many ancient
cities, especially of Greece and Rome, hav-
ing the public market on one side only, the
other sides of the area being occupied by
temples, theatres, colonnades, courts of jus-
tice, baths, and other public structures, the
whole square often presenting a magnifi-
cent appearance. Here was the city ex-
change, the focus to which converged all
the lines of public life. In Acts 17:5 mar-
ket-loungers, agoraioi, are mentioned ; and
in Acts 19:38, " the law is open," is literally
" court days, agoraioi, are held." Hither
laborers resorted in search of employment,
Matt. 20:3-7, and children to pursue their
sports, Luke 7:32. Here the ordinary as-
semblies of the people were held; here
philosophers and statesmen met and deba-
ted ; here laws were promulgated and news
announced ; hither men resorted for pleas-
ure as well as for business, Mark 7:4. The
most notable public men, and indeed all
classes of citizens, here congregated ; and
what was done here was done before the
whole city. Hence the proud Pharisees
desired "greetings in the market-places,"
Mark 12:38; and Paul resorted to the ago-
ra at Athens to meet and convince the phi-
losophers. Acts 17:17; and the masters of
the damsel at Philippi exorcised by Paul
and Silas, " drew them into the market-
place unto the rulers," Acts 16:19. ""
Kzek. 27 " market " denotes barter or traf-
fic, the place of traffic, and the gain thereby
made. See Gatr.
MAR'RIAGE, the union for life of one
man and one woman, to form "one flesh,"
IS an ordinance of the Creator for the per-
petuity and happiness of the human race,
instituted in Paradise, Gen. 1:27, 28; 2:18-
24, and the foundation of no small part of
all that is valuable to human society. The
narrative implies the unity of the man and
his wife, indissoluble except by adultery,
their social equality, and the subordination
of the wife as subsequently created for a
340
helpmeet, i Cor. 11:8, 9; Eph. 5:22, 23;
I Tim. 2:13 — a relation aggravated in the
fall, Gen. 3: 16; i Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:11-
14; I Pet. 3:6. By promoting parental love
and the sense of responsibility, marriage
most efTectually promotes the health and
happiness of children, and their careful
education to virtue, industry, and honor,
to right habits and ends, and to all that is
included in the idea of home. God made
originally but one man and one woman.
The first polygamists on record were La-
mech and those degenerate "sons of God,"
or worshippers of Jehovah, who " took them
wives of all that they chose," Gen. 4:17;
6:2. On the other hand, Noah and his 3
sons had each but one wife ; and the same
appears to be true of all his direct ances-
tors back to Adam. So also was it wi.h
Job, Nahor, Lot, and at first with Abra-
ham. See Concubine. In after times a
plurality of wives became more common
among the Hebrews, and the Scriptures
afford numerous illustrations of its evil re-
sults. Gen. 16; 30; Judg. 8:30; 2 Sam. y.j,-
5; I Kin. 11:1-8; 2 Chr. 11:18-21; 13:21.
In the time of Christ there is no mention
of polygamy as existing among the Jews,
Matt. 19:5.
The Israelites were forbidden to marry
within certain specified degrees. Lev. 18;
20; Deut. 27. These prohibitions were
grounded on moral propriety, distinction
from heathen practices, and social expe-
dience. They did not exist in patriarchal
times. Marriage with Canaanites and idol-
aters was strictly forbidden, Exod. 34:16,
and afterwards with any of the heathen na-
tions around them, especially such as were
uncircumcised, Neh. 13. By the Levirate
law, as it is termed, if a Jew died without
children, his nearest brother or kinsman
was bound to marry the widow, that her
firstborn son after this marriage might be
reckoned, the son and heir of the first hus-
band, Gen. 38; Deut. 25:5-10; Matt. 22:23-
26. The priests were expected to marry,
and the priesthood was perpetuated only
in priests' sons, Exod. 28: i, 43. The same
general requirement to marry is apparent
in the New Testament as to ministers of
Christ. Nowhere is their marriage prohib-
ited, but the contrary: Peter and dthers of
the apostles and evangelists had wives,
Matt. 8:14; Acts 21:9; I Cor. 7:2; 9:5.
" Marriage is honorable in all." " A bishop
must be the husband of one wife," i Tim.
3:2, II, and deacons likewise, i Tim. 3:12;
Tit. 1:6. Aquila in his early ministry was
MAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAR
accompanied by friscilla his wife, Acts
18:2, 18, 26. In fact, marriage was the
general practice of the early clergy for cen-
turies, and celibacy of the clergy was only
fully established and enforced in the Church
of Rome in the nth century. In the Rus-
sian and Armenian Churches a priest must
be married before ordination; but if his
wife dies he cannot marry again. The Sa-
viour set his seal to marriage as a divine
and permanent institution, aside from all
the civil laws which guard and regulate,
or seek to alter or annul it; forbidding di-
vorce except for one cause. Matt. 5:32;
19:3-6, 9; and denouncing all breaches of
marriage vows, even in thought, Matt. 5:28.
Compare Heb. 13:4; Rev. 21:8.
Jewish parents were wont to arrange
with other parents as to the marriage of
their children, Gen. 24:3, 4; 38:6; Exod.
2:21, sometimes according to the previous
choice of the son, and not without some
regard to the consent of the daughter. Gen.
21:21; 24; 34:3-6; Judg. 14:2,3. The par-
ties were often betrothed to each other long
before the marriage took place. See Be-
trothing. A dowry was given by the
suitor to the parents and brethren of the
bride, or an equivalent service, Gen. 29:20;
31:15; 34:12; Exod. 2:21; I Sam. 18:25;
Hos. 3:2. In the early ages the marriage
ceremonies were simple. Gen. 24:58, 59,
66, 67; 29:21-23. But afterwards the nup-
tials were often celebrated with great pomp
and ceremony and with protracted feast-
ing and rejoicings. It was customary for
the bridegroom to appoint a Paranymphus,
or groomsman, called by our Saviour "the
friend of the bridegroom," John 3:29. A
number of other young men also kept him
company during the days of the wedding,
to do him honor, as also young women
kept company with the bride all this time.
The companions of the bridegroom are ex-
pressly mentioned, as in the history of Sam-
son, Judg. 14: II, 20; Song 5:1; 8:13; Matt.
9:15; also the companions of the bride, Psa.
45:9, 14; Song 1:5; 2:7; 3:5; 8:4. The
office of the groomsman was to direct in the
ceremonies of the wedding. The friends
and companions of the bride sang the epi-
thalamium, or wedding song, at the door of
the bride the evening before the wedding.
The festivities of the wedding were con-
ducted with great decorum, the young peo-
ple of each sex being in distinct apart-
ments and at different tables. The young
men at Samson's wedding diverted them-
selves in proposing riddles, and the bride-
groom appointed the prize to those who
could explain them. Judg. 14:14.
The Jews affirm that before Jerusalem
was laid in ruins the bridegroom and bride
wore crowns at their marriage. Compare
Isa. 61:10; Song 3:11, "Go forth, O ye
daughters of Zion, and behold king Solo-
mon with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the days of his espousals,
and in the day of the gladness of his heart."
The modern Jews in some places throw
handfuls of wheat on the newly-married
couple, particularly on the bride, saying,
" Increase and multiply." In other places
they mingle pieces of money with the wheat,
which are gathered up by the poor. The
actual ceremony of marriage was very sim-
ple, consisting of little more than the read-
ing of the marriage contract, Prov. 2:17;
Mai. 2 : 14, and the nuptial blessing invoked
by the friends. Gen. 24:60; Ruth 4:11, 12.
The wedding festivities commonly lasted
7 days for a maid, and 3 days for a widow.
So Laban says to Jacob respecting Leah,
"Fulfil her week," Gen. 29:27. The cere-
monies of Samson's wedding continued 7
whole days, Judg. 14:17, 18.
The procession accompanying the bride
from the house of her father to that of the
bridegroom was generally one of more or
less pomp, according to the circumstances
of the married couple, and for this they
often chose the night, as is still the custom
in Syria. Hence the parable of the 10 vir-
gins that went at midnight to meet the
bride and bridegroom. Matt. 25. "At a
Hindoo marriage, the procession of which
I saw," says Mr. Ward, "the bridegroom
came from a distance, and the bride lived
at Serampore, to which place the bride-
groom was to come by water. After wait-
ing 2 or 3 hours, at length, near midnight,
it was announced, as if in the very words
of Scripture, ' Behold, the bridegroom com-
eth ; go ye out to meet him.' All the per-
sons employed now lighted their lamps,
and ran with them in their hands to fill up
their stations in the procession; some of
them had lost their lights, and were un-
prepared ; but it was then too late to seek
them, and the cavalcade moved forward to
the house of the bride, at which place the
company entered a large and splendidly-
illuminated area before the house, covered
with an awning, where a great multitude
of friends, dressed in their best apparel,
were seated upon mats. The bridegroom
was carried in the arms of a friend, and
placed in a superb seat in the midst of the
341
MAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAR
company, where he sat a short time, and
then went into the house, the door of which
was immediately shut and guarded by se-
poys. I and others expostulated with the
doorkeepers, but in vain. Never was I so
struck with our Lord's beautiful parable
as at this moment; 'and the door was
shut.'"
Christianity invests the family institution
with peculiar sacredness; makes true love
its basis, and mutual preference of each
other's happiness its rule; and even likens
it to the ineffable union between Christ and
his church, Eph. 5:22-33, a "mystery" —
once hidden, but now revealed. Nowhere
in the world is woman so honored, happy,
and useful as in a Christian land and a
Christian home. Believers are directed to
marry "in the Lord," i Cor. 7:39. No
doubt the restrictions laid upon the ancient
people of God contain a lesson for all peri-
ods, and the recorded ill results of forbid-
den marriages among the Jews, if heeded,
would prevent the serious evils which often
result from union between a Christian and
a worldling. As to the mutual duties of
husband and wife, see Eph. 5:22, 23; i Tim.
2:11,12; I Pet. 3: 1-7.
A large family was greatly desired in
Bible times as a blessing and an honor.
Gen. 33:5; Psa. 127:3-5; and the practice,
too common in our day, of regarding chil-
dren as an evil to be prevented or avoided,
from selfish motives and even by flagitious
means, cannot be too severely condemned.
The Holy Spirit describes marriage as
"honorable in all," Heb. 13:4, and desi-
rable, unless in exceptional cases, Matt.
19:10-12; I Cor. 7:8, 26. The Church of
Rome puts dishonor upon it, and not only
extols celibacy and virginity in the laity,
but strictly refuses marriage to all its
priests, bishops, etc., and in thus "forbid-
ding to marry" fixes upon itself the name
of anti-Christ, i Tim. 4:3. See Adultery,
Divorce, Garments, etc.
MAR'SENA, itobleinan, a councillor un-
der Ahasuerus, Esth. i : 14.
MARS'-HILL, a. V. See Arkop.\gus.
MAR'THA, sister of Lazarus and Mary
at Bethany. Though different from Mary
in temperament, she was 00 less truly a
devoted friend of Christ and beloved by
him, John 11:5. His gentle reproof, Luke
10:38-42, does not imply that she was a
stranger to renewing grace. Her affec-
tionate care for the hospitable entertain-
ment of Christ must not be forgotten, nor
her promptness in hasting to meet him, nor
342
her faith in his power, John 11 :20-28. She
served at the feast at Bethany after her
brother's resurrection, John 12:1, 2. See
Mary, IV.
MAR'TYR, a witness, Matt. 18:16; Luke
24:48. In ecclesiastical history, "a wit-
ness, by the shedding of his blood, in tes-
tifying to the truth." Thus martyrs are
distinguished from "confessors," properly
so called, who underwent great afflictions
for their confession of the truth, but with-
out suffering death. The term " martyr "
occurs only thrice in the New Testament,
Acts 22:20, simply a witness; Rev. 2:13;
17:6. Since the time of Stephen, Acts 7:59;
22:20, myriads of martyrs have sealed thc-
truth of Christianity by a painful death,
which they willingly endured through faith
rather than to deny Christ, and which they
often eagerly desired as a special privi-
lege. It is doubtless possible to be put to
death as a Christian without real love for
Christ, I Cor. 13:3; but in general "the
noble army of martyrs" have borne a true
and overwhelming testimony to the power
and preciousness of faith in Christ; and
their blood witnesses before God against
their foes, especially against that apostate
church which is "drunken with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus," Rev. 17:6.
MA'RY, in Hebrew Miriam, I., " the mo-
ther of Jesus," Acts 1:14. Her amiable
and lovely character, and her remarkable
history in connection with the wonders
relating to the birth of Christ, are record-
ed in the first 2 chapters of Matthew
and Luke. The genealogy of the Saviour
through her, in the line of David and Abra-
ham, is preserved in Luke 3, to prove that
he was born "as concerning the flesh" ac-
cording to ancient prophecies, Luke 1:27;
Rom. 1:3. After the return from Egypt to
Nazareth she is but 5 times mentioned in
the sacred history : 3 times with some ap-
pearance of reproval on the part of Christ,
Matt. 12:46-50; Luke 2:49, 50; John 2:4;
once when he commended her to the care
of John, John 19:26; and lastly, as among
the disciples at Jerusalem after his ascen-
sion, Acts 1:14. Thenceforth, throughout
the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and
the Revelation, no allusion is made to her.
Neither Peter, whom Rome regards as the
first pope, nor John, to whose care our Lord
committed her, mentions her name. Man-
ifestly the worship of Mary had not then
commenced. The inventions of the Ro-
mish Church in after centuries are wholly
destitute of foundation in Scripture, and
MAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MAS
subversive of the gospel. One of these
unauthorized inventions is the alleged im-
maculate conception and spotless holiness
of Mary. See Rom. 3:10, 23; Gal. 3:22;
I John 1:8; and compare also the reproofs
above alluded to, and her own confession
of her need of a Saviour, Luke i -.^j. An-
other unauthorized invention is her alleged
virginity after the birth of Jesus, Matt, i : 25 ;
Luke 2:7. No case can be found in Scrip-
ture where "firstborn son" is used of an
only child. In other passages the brethren,
sisters, and mother of Christ are mentioned
together, apparently as one family. Matt.
13:55, 56; and she was known as the wife
of Joseph probably for almost 30 years,
John 6:42. See Brother. To adore her
as the " queen of heaven " and the " mother
of God," is, in the light of the Bible, blas-
phemous idolatry; and to pray to her as
divine, or even as a mediator with God,
implies that she possesses the attribute of
omnipresence, and degrades the only and
sufficient Mediator, i Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:16.
She was "blessed" or signally favored
"among women," as Jael was "blessed
above women," Judg. 5:24; Luke 1:28;
but Christ himself declares that a higher
blessing belongs to those " that hear the
word of God and keep it," Luke 11:27,28.
Compar Jas. 5:11.
IL The mother of Mark the Evangelist,
and "aunt" of Barnabas, Col. 4:10. She
had a house in Jerusalem, where the follow-
ers of Jesus were wont to convene. Com-
pare Acts 2:46; 20:8. Hither Peter, when
delivered from prison by the angel, came
and knocked at the gate, Acts 12:12. Many
such hospitable Christian homes and pla-
ces of social prayer, even in troublous
times, are for ever enshrined in the mem-
ory of the people of God.
IIL The wife of Alphaeus or Clopas, and
mother of James the Less and Joses, Matt.
27:56, 61; Mark 15:40; Luke 24:10; John
19:25. This last passage leaves it uncer-
tain whether this Mary was sister to Mary
our Lord's mother or not. Some suppose
that 4 persons are there named : Christ's
mother, his mother's sister, Marj' of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. See Mary, L, and
James, IIL She believed early on Jesus
Christ, and accompanied him in some of
his journej'S, to minister to him, followed
him to Calvary, and was with his mother
at the foot of his cross. She was also pres-
ent at his burial, prepared perfumes to em-
balm him, and was early at his sepulchre
on the morning of his resurrection, Matt.
28:1; Mark 15:47; 16:1; Luke 23:55, 56;
24:22. See Alph^us.
IV. The sister of Lazarus whom our
Lord raised from the dead. Her character
presents a beautiful companion-picture to
that of her more active and impulsive sis-
ter Martha. Contemplative, confiding, and
affectionate, it was like heaven to her to sit
at the feet of her adored Teacher and Lord,
Luke 10:39-42. She hastened to him at
his call, after the death of Lazarus, and fell
at his feet, crying, " Lord, if thou hadst
been here my brother had not died." The
character of the 2 sisters was well contrast-
ed at the supper in Bethany, after the res-
urrection of Lazarus. No service was too
humble for Martha to render, and no offer-
ing too costly for Mary to pour out, in hon-
or of their Saviour, John 12:1-8. If Mary
anticipated Christ's death as near at hand,
her anointing his feet, ver. 7 — " to prepare
me for burial," Matt. 26:12, R. V. — shows
the strength of her faith in his predictions.
Matt. 27:63, 64. This occurrence should
not be confounded with that described in
Luke 7:37-50.
V. The Magdalene, or native of Magdala
on the Sea of Galilee, Josh. 19 : 38. She was
foremost among the honorable women of
substance who ministered unto Christ and
his disciples, being especially devoted to
Christ for his mercy in casting out from her
7 evil spirits, Luke 8:2, 3. She followed
him from Galilee to Jerusalem, witnessed
his crucifixion. Matt. 27:55, 56, and saw
where he was entombed, ver. 61. She was
early at his tomb with sweet spices; and
lingering there when the disciples had re-
tired, she was the first to throw herself at
the feet of the risen Saviour, Matt. 28:1-10;
Mark 15:47; 16:1-10; Luke 24:1-12; John
20:1, 2, 10-18. There is no evidence that
she was ever a profligate.
" Not she with traitorous kiss her Master stung.
Not she denied him with unfaithful tongue ;
She, when apostles fled, could dangers brave,
Last at his cross and earliest at his grave."
VI. A benevolent Jewish Christian at
Rome, saluted in Paul's epistle, Rom. 16:6.
The R. V. has i'07< here, not iis.
MAS'CHIL is a term found as a title of
13 Psalms— Psalms 32, 42, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54,
55, 74, 78, 88, 89, 142— and imports one that
instructs or makes to understand. Some
interpreters think it means an instrument
of music, but it more probably signifies an
instructive song, Psa. 47:7.
MASH, a son of Aram, his posterity, and
their home — generally thought to be near
343
MAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MEA
Mount Masius, a range on the north of
Mesopotamia, Gen. 10:23. In i Chr. 1:17
called Meshech.
MASRE'KAH, a vineyard, the birthplace
of an Edomite king, Gen. 36:36; i Chr.
1:47.
MAS'SA, a lifting, a son of Ishmael,
founder of an Arabian tribe, probably to-
wards Babylonia, Gen. 25:14; I Chr. 1:30.
MAS'SAH, iHal. See Meribah.
MAS'TER, Matt. 19:16; John 13:13, 14,
means teacher, the converse of disciple or
pupil. It is applied to Christ over 40 times
in the Gospels. In Mai. 2:12 " master and
scholar" mean "caller and answerer," or
every one. In Acts 27 : 1 1 the helmsman is
meant.
Scripture prescribes just and humane
principles to regulate the conduct of mas-
ters and employers towards those who
serve them. A just and prompt recom-
pense is required, severity and exaction
of undue service are forbidden, a genuine
concern for their happiness, health, char-
acter, and morals is enjoined, due instruc-
tion and right examples of virtue and pietj''.
Gen. 18:19; Josh. 24:15; Eph. 6:9, and a
recognition of them as " neighbors," Luke
10:36, and perhaps "brethren," Phile. 16.
See Servant.
MAS'TERIES, STRIVE FOR THE, 2 Tim.
2:5, "contend in the games."
MAT'TAN, a gift, I., a priest of Baal, ju-
dicially slain before his altar, under Jehoi-
ada, 2 Kin. ii:i8; 2 Chr. 23:17. — II. Jer.
38:1-
MATTA'NAH, a gift. Gen. 25:6, the 50th
station of the Israelites, Num. 21:18, 19, in
the region of the Arnon.
MATTANI'AH, gift of fehovah, the origi-
nal name of the last king of Judah. See
Zedekiah. Also 6 Levites mentioned in
I Chr. 9:15, 16; 25:4; 2 Chr. 20:14; 29:13;
Neh. 12:35; 13:13. Also 4 Israelites of the
period of the Captivity, Ezra 10:26, 27,
30, 7>1-
MAT'THAN, Matt. 1:15, (?) MAT'THAT,
Luke 3:24, the grandfather of Joseph.
MAT'THEW, ^/// of fehovah, an apostle
and evangelist, was son of Alphaeus, II., a
Galilean by birth, a Jew by religion, and a
publican by profession, Matt. 9:9; 10:3;
Luke 6: 15. The other evangelists call him
onl}' Levi, which was his Hebrew name,
Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27; but he always calls
himself Matthew, which was probably his
name as a publican, or officer for gather-
ing taxes. He does not dissemble his for-
mer profession ; thus exalting the grace of
344
Christ which raised him to the apostleship.
His ordinary abode was at Capernaum,
and his office probably on the main road,
near the Sea of Tiberias ; here, in the midst
of his business, he was called by Jesus to
follow Him, Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14, which
he did, after making a great feast in His
honor, Luke 5:29, in referring to which he
modestly omits his own name, Matt. 9:9-13.
It is probable that he had a previous knowl-
edge of the miracles and doctrine of Christ.
He was with Christ after the resurrection,
and with the other apostles after Christ's
ascension. Matt. 28:16; Acts 1:13.
For the Gospel of Matthew, see Gos-
pel.
MATTHI'AS, gift of God, a disciple who
continued with our Saviour from his bap-
tism to his ascension. Acts 1:21-26, and
was after the ascension chosen by lot to be
associated with the 1 1 apostles. We know
nothing further of him.
MATTITH'IAH, gift of Jehovah, 1 Chr.
9:31; 25:3, 21; Ezra 10:43; Neh. 8:4; Luke
3:25, 26.
MAT'TOCK, Isa. 7:25, a single-headed
pickaxe with a wide point. In i Sam.
13:20, 21 a ploughshare; in 2 Chr. 34:6 a
spade.
MAUL, Prov. 25:18, called in Jer. 51:20
a battle-axe, and in Ezek. 9:2 a slaughter
weapon; properly, a heavy mace or war-
club.
MAW, a stomach of ruminating ani-
mals—tripe, Deut. 18:3.
MAZ'ZAROTH, and MAZ'ZALOTH or
"planets " in 2 Kin. 23:5, probably the
signs of the zodiac. Job 38:32: " Dost thou
lead forth the Signs in their season, and
the Bear with her young, dost thou guide
them?" (Conant.)
MEAD'OW, Gen. 41:2, 18; in Job 8:ir
" flag," properly herbage on the water
brink. In Judg. 20:33 "open plains."
ME'AH, one hundred, Neh. 3:1 ; 12:39, a
tower on the east wall of Jerusalem, to-
wards the north.
MEALS. See Eating.
MEAN, Prov. 22:29; Isa. 2:9; Acts 21:39,
in A. V. signifieg only lowly, not base.
MEA'RAH, a cave, a Zidonian town on
the nortii border of Galilee, Josh. 13:4.
MEAS'URE. Under this head we present
an alphabetical list of Biblical terms de-
noting measures of weight, of capacity, dry
and liquid, of length, and of money, with
the equivalent Hebrew or Greek words,
and the approximate equivalents in our
language.
MEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY
MEA
BIBLE NAME. HEB. OR GR. NAME.
Bath (liquid).
Bekah.
Bushel.
Cab (dry).
Cor (liquid).
Cubit.
Cubit.
Cubit.
(Day's) Journey.
Dram, or Dane.
Dram, or Daric.
Ephah (dry).
Ephah (liquid).
Farthing.
Farthing.
Fathom.
Finger, or Digit
Firkin.
Furlong.
Gerah.
Half-homer.
Half-shekel.
Half-shekel.
Handbreadth.
Handful.
Handful.
Hin (liquid).
Homer (dry).
Log (liquid).
Measure.
Measuriug-line.
Mile (Roman).
Mite.
Omer.
Pace.
Penny.
Piece of Money.
Piece of Money.
Piece of Money.
Piece of Silver.
Pot.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
Reed.
Reed.
Sab.-day (jour.).
Shekel.
Shekel.
Shekel.
Span.
Talent.
Tribute.
Heb. bath.
Heb. bekah.
Gr. modios.
Heb. qab.
Heb. kor.
Heb. ammah.
Gr. pechus.
Heb. gomed.
Heb. derek.
Heb. darkemon (gold).
Heb. adarkon (gold).
Heb. ephah.
Heb. ejihah.
Gr. kodrantes.
Gr. assarion.
Gr. orguia. »
Heb. etsba.
Gr. metretes.
Gr. stadion.
Heb. gerah.
Heb. lethek.
Heb. beqa.
Heb. machatsith.
Heb. tephach.
Heb. kaph.
Heb. qomets.
Heb. hin.
Heb. homer.
Heb. log.
Heb. ammah.
Heb. middah.
Heb. cor (dry).
Gr. coros (dry).
Heb. seah (dry).
Gr. saton (dry).
Heb. lethek (dry).
Gr. choinix (dry).
Heb. ephah (dry).
Heb. bath (liquid).
Gr. batos (^liquid).
Heb. midaah.
Gr. milion.
Gr. lepton.
Heb. omer (dry).
Heb. tsa'ad.
Gr. denarion.
Heb. qesitah fgold).
Heb. qesitah (silver).
Gr. stater (silver).
Heb. keseph.
Heb. qesitah.
Heb. rats.
Heb. agorah.
Gr. argurion.
Gr. argurion.
Gr. drachma.
Gr. xestes.
Heb. maneh ^weight).
Heb. maneh (silver).
Gr. mna fweight).
Gr. litra (silver).
Heb. qaneh.
Gr. calamos.
Gr. sabbaton.
Heb. sheqel (weight).
Heb. sheqel (silver).
Heb. sheqel (gold).
Heb. zereth.
Heb. kikkar (weight).
Heb. kikkar (silver).
Heb. keseph (silver).
Heb. kikkar (gold).
Gr. talanton (weight).
Gr. talanton (silver).
Gr. didrachmon.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES.
1 Kin. 7: 26, 38; 2 Chr. 2 : 10; Isa. 5 : 10.
Exod. 38 : 26.
Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 1 1 : 33-
2 Kin. 6:25.
Ezek. 45: 14.
Gen. 6:15, i5; Exod. 25-27; 36-38.
Matt. 6:27; John 21 :8.
Judg. 3 : 16.
Gen. 30:36; Num. 10:33; i Kin. 19:4.
Ezra 2 : 69 ; Neh. 7 : 70-72.
I Chr. 29 : 7 ; Ezra 8 : 27.
Ezek. 45: II.
Exod. 16:36; Lev. 19:36.
Matt. 5 : 26 ; Mark 12 : 42.
Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6.
Acts 27 : 28.
Jer. 52: 21.
John 2:6.
Luke 24: 13; John 6: 19; ii : 18.
Exod. 30:13; Num. 3:47; 18:16.
Hos. 3 : 2.
Gen. 24: 22.
Exod. 30:13, 15; 38:26.
Exod. 25 : 25 ; i Kin. 7 : 26 : Psa. 39 : 5.
Lev. 2:2; 9 : 17.
Gen. 41 :47 ; Lev. 6: 15.
Exod. 30 : 24 ; Lev. 19:36; Ezek. 46:5-14.
Lev. 27:16; Num. 11:32; Isa. 5:10;
Lev. 14 : 10-24. [Ezek. 45 : 11-14.
Jer. 51 : 13.
Ezek. 40 : 10-35 ; 48 : 30-33. [Ezra 7 : 22.
I Kin. 4: 22 ; 5 : II ; 2 Chr. 2 : 10; 27 :5 ;
Luke 16 : 7.
Gen. 18:6; I Sam. 25 : 18 ; 1 Kin. 18 : 32.
Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:21.
Hos. 3 :2.
Rev. 6 : 6.
Deut. 25 : 14, 15 ; Prov. 20 ; 10 ; Mic. 6 : 10.
1 Kin. 7 : 26, 38 ; 2 Chr. 2 : 10 ; Isa. 5 : 10.
Luke 16:6.
Jer. 31 :39; Zech. 2: i.
Matt. 5:41.
Mark 1 2 : 42 ; Luke 12 : 59 ; 21:2.
Exod. 16 : 16-36.
2 Sam. 6 : 13.
Matt. iS : 28; 20 : 2-13; John 6:7.
2 Kin. 5:5.
Gen. 33 : 19 ; Job 42 : 11.
Matt. 17:27. [Zech. 11:12, 13.
Gen. 20 : 16 ; 37 : 28 ; 45 : 22 ; Exod. 21 : 32
Josh. 24 : 32.
Psa. 68 : 30.
I Sam. 2 : 36.
Matt. 26: 15; 27:3-9.
Acts 19: 19.
Luke 15:8, 9.
Mark 7 :4, 8.
1 Kin. 10: 17.
Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:71, 72.
John 12:3; 19:39.
Luke 19: 13-25.
Ezek. 40 : 3-8 ; 41 : 8 ; 42 : 16-19.
Rev. 21 : 15, 16.
Matt. 24 : 20 ; Acts 1:12.
I Sam. 17:5, 7 ; Ezek. 4:10; 45 : 12.
Gen. 23:15, 16; Exod. 21:32; 30:13.
I Chr. 21 : 25 ; 2 Chr. 3: 9.
Exod. 28 : 16 ; i Sam. 17:4; Ezek. 43 : 13.
Exod. 38:27; I Kin. 16:24; 20:39.
Ezra 7 : 22.
Exod. 25:39; 37:24; 2 Sam. 12:30.
Rev. 16:21.
Matt. 18:24; 25:15-28.
Matt. 17:24.
EQUIVALENT.
7 gallons.
(4)4 dwts.) 28 cents.
About a peck.
lii quarts.
70 gallons.
21 inches (18 to 23).
18 to 23 inches.
2% feet.
15 to 20 miles.
About I5.
About $5.
Sl4 pecks.
7 gallons.
Nearly 4 mills.
1% cents.
About 6 feet.
4-5 of an inch.
About 8 gallons.
Nearly Ys of n mile.
(11 grains) 2}i cents.
Nearly 4 bushels.
5^ ounce.
25 or 30 cents.
3 or 4 inches.
14 pint.
1 gill.
2)4 quarts.
About 8 bushels.
Nearly a pint.
See cubit.
145 feet ?
About 8 bushels.
About 8 bushels.
I peck.
I peck.
Nearly 4 bushels.
1% pints.
3]4 pecks.
7 gallons.
7 gallons.
Nearly J/g of a mile.
Over 9-10 of a mile.
Nearly 2 mills.
2>< quarts.
About 30 inches.
15 cents.
About J8 76.
See shekel.
61 cents.
See shekel.
See penny.
See penny.
Nearly a pint.
2"^ lbs., or 3%.
About $36.
Nearly a pound.
About $16.
9 or 10 feet.
9 or 10 feet.
About Yi of SL mile.
About % ounce.
55 cents (50 to 60).
$g or $10.
Over 9 inches.
114 lbs. 7 oz.
About $1,600.
About |i,6oo.
About 126,280.
About 115 lbs.
About $1,000.
About 30 cents.
345
MEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MEA
It must be borne in mind that critical
authorities differ somewhat in their con-
clusions from the meagre and uncertain
data in their hands, and that nearly all the
preceding estimates should be regarded as
probable and approximate, rather than as
reliably exact.
Certain common measures of weight,
length, and value, like the pound, the cu-
bit, and the shekel, had, rouglily speaking,
their equivalents among all the nations
around the Jews — the Chaldieans, Egyp-
tians, Greeks, and Romans ; yet many mis-
takes would arise should one accept any of
these as precise equivalents.
These measures also varied within the
bounds of each nation, from one period of
its history to another, and in different prov-
inces at the same period. The " shekel of
the sanctuarj' " may have been a standard,
from which the common shekel fell off.
The cubit — the measure from the elbow to
the end of the middle finger — seems some-
times to have reached only to the wrist or
to the knuckles; and it is reckoned by
some authorities at 17 inches, by others as
high as 23 inches ; so that we are not sure
which is the true length in any given pas-
sage.
Until the Return from the Babylonian
Captivity it is not certain that the Jews had
any regular coinage. Trade and com-
merce were largely carried on by barter;
and though the metals were in common
use from the earliest ages as a medium of
exchange, the requisite amount was ascer-
tained by weighing. Hence the different
values of a given weight, e. g., a bekah, in
silver and in gold.
It should also be remembered that gold
and silver have in time become so abun-
dant that their purchasing power is now
far less than formerly. Thus in the time
of Christ a "penny," 16 cents, was a day's
wages, though indeed laborers in the East
have always been poorly paid, and ill fed
and clothed.
See the general table of Weights, Meas-
ures, and Money of the Bible on the pre-
ceding page, also the particular names of
each, as Shkkkl, Talent, Bath, Ephah,
etc., and Tables at the end of this volume.
MEATS. " Meat " in the English Bible
usually signifies "food," and not "flesh,"
Gen. 1:29, 30; Matt. 15:37. So in Luke
24:41, " Have ye here any meat?" literally,
anything to eat? So also in Rom. 14:20;
I Cor. 8:13. In Psa. iii:,s by "meat" is
meant "prey" or "spoil." The " meat-
346
offerings" of the Jews were made of flour,
corn, and olive oil, etc.. Lev. 2. See (Of-
ferings and Sacrifices. As to the ani-
mal food used by the Jews, see Clean and
Food.
It does not appear that the ancient He-
brews were very particular about the sea-
soning and dressing of their food. We
find among them roast meat, boiled meat,
and ragouts. Gen. 27:9; Exod. 16:3; the
flesh of lambs, Amos 6:4, calves. Gen. 18:7,
kids. Gen. 27:9, oxen, Prov. 15:17; veni-
son and fowls, i Kin. 4:23. Moses for-
bade them to seethe a kid in its mother's
milk, Exod. 23:19; 34:26 — a precept de-
signed to inculcate principles of humanity,
and perhaps to prevent them from adopt-
ing an idolatrous custom of their heathen
neighbors. The Jews were also forbidden
to kill a cow and its calf in the same day;
or a sheep, or goat, and its young one, at
the same time. They might not cut off a
part of a living animal to eat it, either raw
or dressed. If any lawful beast or bird
should die of itself or be strangled, and the
blood not drain away, they were not al-
lowed to taste of it. They ate of nothing
dressed by any other than a Jew, nor did
they ever dress their victuals with the
kitchen implements of any but one of their
own nation.
The prohibition of eating blood, or ani-
mals that are strangled. Lev. 3:17; 7:26;
17: 10, has been always rigidly observed by
the Jews. In the Christian Church the
law was observed for a long time, being
approved by the council held at Jerusalem,
and recommended to the (ientile converts.
Acts 15.
At the first settling of the church there
were many disputes concerning the use of
meats offered to idols. Some newly con-
verted Christians, convinced that an idol
was nothing, and that the distinction of
clean and unclean creatures was abolished
by our Saviour, ate indifferently of what-
ever was served up to them, even among
pagans, without inquiring whether the
meats had been offered to idols. They
took the same liberty in buying meat sold
in the market, not regarding whether it
were pure or impure according to the Jews,
or whether it had been offered to idols or
not. But other Christians, weaker, more
scrupulous, or less instructed, were offend-
ed at this liberty, and thought the eating
of meat which had been offered to idols
was a kind of partaking in that wicked and
sacrilegious offering. This diversity of
MED
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MED
opinion among the disciples called for the
judgment of inspiration ; and we find in
several of Paul's epistles directions both
for those who held such scruples and for
those who were free from them. The for-
mer, while in obedience to their own con-
science they carefully abstained from the
food in question, were charged to view
with charity the conduct of those who did
not share their scruples. The latter might
freely buy and eat without guilt, since
meat is in no wise injured as an article of
food by being offered to an idol ; yet when-
ever others would be scandalized, pained,
or led into sin by this course, even they
were required by the laws of Christian
charity and prudence to abstain, Rom.
14:20-23; I Cor. 8; 10:19-33; Tit. 1:15.
This principle is of general application in
similar cases; and many in our own day
might well adopt the generous determina-
tion of the self-denying apostle to partake
of no questionable indulgence while the
world stands, if it may be the occasion of
sin to others.
ME'DAD, love. See Eld.\D.
ME'DAN, strife, 3d son of Abraham and
Keturah, Gen. 25:2. He is supposed to
have settled in Arabia, near Midian his
brother.
ME'DEBA, Sept. Medaba, waters of quirt,
a town and plain of Moab, east of the Jor-
dan, Num. 21:23-30; Deut. 2:34-36, con-
quered by the Ammonites under Sihon, and
afterwards by the Israelites. It lay on the
southern border of the tribe of Reuben,
Josh. 13:9, 16. Near it the army of David
gained a great victory over the Ammonites
and their allies, i Chr. 19:7. Long after-
wards it fell again into the hands of the
Moabites its ancient masters, Isa. 15:2.
Its ruins, on a round hill 7 miles south bv
west from Hesban, still retain the name
Madaba.
MEDES. . See Media.
ME'DIA, called by the Hebrews Ma'dai,
and supposed to have been peopled by the
descendants of Madai the son of Japheth,
Gen. 10:2, extended itself on the west and
south of the Caspian Sea from Armenia
and Assyria on the north and west to Far-
sistan or Persia proper on the south, and
included the districts now called Shirvan,
Adzerbijan, Ghilan, and Irak Adjemi. It
covered a territory larger than that of
Spain, lying between 330 and 400 of north
latitude, and was one of the most fertile
and earliest cultivated among the king-
doms of Asia. It had 2 grand divisions, of
which the northwestern was called Atro-
patene, or Lesser Media, and the southern
Greater Media. The former corresponds
to the modern Adzerbijan, now, as for-
merly, a province of the Persian empire,
an elevated region on the west of the Cas-
pian, surrounded by high mountains of the
Tauritic range, except towards the east,
where the river Kur, or Cyrus, discharges
its waters into the Caspian. The Greater
Media corresponds principally to the mod-
ern Irak Adjemi, or Persian Irak, together
with Kurdistan, Luristan, and Ardelan.
Media is one of the most ancient inde-
pendent kingdoms of which history makes
mention. After several centuries of conflict
and semi-subjugation under Assyria, men-
tioned on the disentombed Assyrian tab-
lets, which confirm 2 Kin. 17:6; Isa. 20:1,
the Medes united and became powerful, cul-
tivated, and wealthy, Isa. 13:17, iS; 21:2,3;
under Cyaxares thej^ conquered Assyria,
and continued an independent kingdom
until, under Cyrus, B. C. 588, Media be-
came united with Persia. In this way arose
the Medo-Persian kingdom; and the "laws
of the Medes and Persians" and their
" Chronicles " are mentioned by the sacred
writers together, Esth. 1:19; 10:2; Dan.
6:8, 12, etc. Indeed, from this time onward
the manners, customs, religion, and civili-
zation of the Medes and Persians seem ever
to have become more and more amalgama-
ted. And in general we may gather from
the ancient Zend writings that the Medes,
Persians, and Bactrians were originally the
same people, having in common one lan-
guage, the Zend, and one religion, the wor-
ship of the elements and of Ormuzd, the
highest being, under the symbol of fire.
The priests of this religion, the Magi, were
intrusted with the cultivation of the sci-
ences and the performance of the sacred
rites. Among these, and as is supposed
before the time of Cyrus, appeared Zer-
dusht, or Zoroaster, as a reformer, or rath-
er as the restorer of the ancient but degen-
erated religion of light, whose disciples
have maintained themselves even to the
present day in Persia and India under the
name of Guebres.
Media is first mentioned in the Bible as
the part of Assyria to which the 10 tribes
were transported : at first, those beyond
the Jordan, by Tiglath-pileser, i Chr. 5:26;
and afterwards, about 721 B. C, the remain-
der of Israel, by Sargon, 2 Kin. 17:6. The
subsequent history of Media is involved in
that of Persia. The united empire con-
347
MED
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MEL
quered Babylon, according to Isaiah's pre-
diction, Isa. 13: 17; 21 :2; Dan. 5; 6; Ezra i.
Both countries were subdued by Alexander
of Macedon, 330 B. C, and in the next cen-
tury became tributary to the Parthians on
their east, in connection with whom they
are mentioned in Acts 2:9. See Pkrsia.
ME'DIATOR, one who stands between 2
parties or persons as the organ of commu-
nication or the agent of reconciliation. So
far as man is sensible of his own guilt and
of the holinessand justice of God, he shrinks
from any direct communication with a be-
ing he has so much reason to fear. Hence
the disposition more or less prevalent in
all ages and in all parts of the world to
interpose between the soul and its Judge
some person or thing most adapted to pro-
pitiate his favor — as a priestly order, an
upright and devout daysman, or the smoke
of sacrifices and the sweet savor of incense,
Job 9:33. The Israelites evinced this feel-
ing at Mount Sinai, Deut. 3:23-31 ; and God
was pleased to constitute Moses a media-
tor between Himself and them, to receive
and transmit the law on the one hand, and
their vows of obedience on the other. In
this capacity he acted on various other oc-
casions, Exod. 32 : 30-32 ; Num. 14 ; Psa.
106:23; ^"d was thus an agent and a type
of Christ, Gal. 3:19, 20. The Messiah has
been in all ages the only true Mediator be-
tween God and man ; and without Him God
is inaccessible and a consuming fire, John
14:6; Acts 4:12. As the Angel of the Cove-
nant, Christ was the channel of all commu-
nications between heaven and earth in old
Testament days ; and as the Mediator of the
new covenant he does all that is needful to
provide for a perfect reconciliation between
God and man. He consults the honor of
God by appearing as our Advocate with
the blood of atonement ; and through his
sympathizing love and the agency of the
Holy Spirit he disposes and enables us to
return to God. The believing penitent is
"accepted in the Beloved" — his person, his
praises, and his prayers ; and through the
same Mediator alone he receives pardon,
grace, and eternal life. In this high office
Christ stands alone, because he alone is both
God and man, and has made the necessary
atoning sacrifice, i Tim. 2 : 5. To join Mary
and the saints to him in his mediatorship,
as the Church of Rome does, implies that
he is unable to accomplish his own pecu-
liar work, Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24. Com-
pare Col. 2:iS. See Intercession.
MED'ICINES. See Physicians.
348
MEEK'NESS, a peaceful and humble se-
renity of spirit, not easily stirred to anger
by wrongs or by the anger of others, Prov.
16:32; Jas. 3:7, 8, 13. Such a spirit God
dwells with and specially blesses, Isa.
57:15; 66:2; Matt. 5:5. Meekness is a
Christian grace, i Tim. 6:11, acquired by
many naturally fiery spirits, as Moses,
Exod. 2:12; Num. 12:3, and Paul, Acts
26: 10, II ; I Cor. 9: 19, and must be gained
by all who would be like Christ, Matt.
II :28, 29.
MEET, fit, suitable, or worthy, Gen. 2: 18;
Exod. 8:26; Matt. 3:8; Heb. 6:7.
MEGID'DO, a town of Manasseh, though
within the bounds of Issachar. It had been
a royal city of the Canaanites, and they
long retained a foothold in it, Josh. 12:21;
17:11; Judg. 1:27. It lay in the southwest
border of the plain of Esdraelon, and south
of the Kishon, which is probably intended
by " the waters of Megiddo," mentioned in
the song of Deborah and Barak as the
scene of their victory, Judg. 5:19, 21. It
commanded a pass from the plain on the
north to the hill-country of Samaria, and in
the reign of Solomon was of some impor-
tance and was fortified, i Kin. 4:12; 9:15.
Here king Ahaziah died, and king Josiah
was defeated, slain, and sorely lamented,
2 Kin. 9:27; 23:29; 2 Chr. 35:22-25; Zech.
12:11. Robinson identifies it with a vil-
lage now called Leijun, the Legio of the
Romans. Perhaps it was on the ruined
site el-Medineh, 2 miles northwest of Lei-
jun.
MEHET'ABEL, less correctly Meheta-
BEEi., blessed by God, I., wife of an Edom-
ite king. Gen. 36:39; i Chr. 1:50.
II. F"ather of Delaiah, Neh. 6: 10.
MEHl'H A, joi/ii>i£-, a person or place as-
sociated with the Nethinim, Ezra 2:52;
Neh. 7:54.
MEHO'LATHITE, I Sam. 18:19; 2 Sam.
21:8. See Abei.-meholah.
MEHU'JAEL, sviillen by God, Gen. 4:18.
MEHU'NIM, plural of Maon, Ezra 2:50;
Neh. 7:52. See Maonites.
MEKO'NAH, a base, a town and its sub-
urbs in the far south of Judah after the
Captivity, Neh. 11:28.
MEL'CHI, 7ny king, 2 ancestors of Christ,
Luke 3 : 24, 28.
MELCHIZ'EDEK, khig of righteousness.
king of Salem, and also priest of the Most
High God, in which capacity he blessed
Abraham and received tithes at his hand,
Gen. 14:18-20. Scripture tells us nothing
of his father or mother, of his genealogy.
MEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MEL
his birth, or his death; he stands alone,
without predecessor or successor, a royal
priest by the appointment of God; and
thus he was a type of Jesus Christ, who is
" a priest for ever after the order of Mel-
chizedek," and not after the order of Aaron,
whose origin, consecration, life, and death
are known, Psa. 110:4; Heb. 6:20; 7. See
Genealogy.
It has been matter of great inquiry among
commentators who Melchizedek really was.
He has been variously supposed to be the
Holy Spirit, the Son of God, an angel,
Enoch, and Shem. But the safest and most
probable opinion is that which considers
him as a righteous and peaceful king, a
worshipper and priest of the Most High
God in the land of Canaan ; a friend of
Abraham, and as a priest elevated above
him. This opinion, indeed, lies upon the
very face of the sacred record in Gen. 14
and Heb. 7, and it is the only one which
can be defended on any tolerable grounds
of interpretation. See Salem.
MEL'ITA, refuge, or honied. This name
was anciently applied to 2 islands ; one in
the Adriatic Sea, on the coast of Illyricum,
now called Meleda; the other in the Med-
iterranean, between Sicily and Africa, now
called Malta. That the latter is the one on
which Paul suffered shipwreck is evident
from the direction of the wind which blew
him thither (see Euroclydon), and from
the fact that he left the island in a ship of
Alexandria, which had wintered there on
her voyage to Italy, and after touching at
Syracuse and Rhegium, landed at Puteoli,
thus sailing on a direct course. The other
Melita would be far out of the usual track
from Alexandria to Italy; and in sailing
from it to Rhegium, Syracuse also would be
out of the direct course. The fact that the
vessel was tossed all night before the ship-
wreck in the Adriatic Sea does not militate
against this view, because the name Adria
was applied to the whole Ionian Sea which
lay between Sicily and Greece. See Adria.
Acts 27:27 ; 28:1.
Malta is a rocky island 62 miles soutii
of Sicily, 17 miles long and 9 broad, and
containing nearly 100 square miles and
100,000 inhabitants. At an early period it
was seized by the Phoenicians ; these were
dispossessed by the Greeks of Sicily, B. C.
736; they by the Carthaginians, 528; and
they in turn, 242 B. C, by the Romans, who
held it in the time of Paul. After numer-
ous changes it fell at length into the hands
of the English, who since 1814 have held
undisputed possession of it. The name of
" St. Paul's Bay " is now borne by a small
inlet on the north side of the island, open-
ing towards the east, which answers well
to the description in Acts 27. Here Paul
was protected by the hand of God amid
perils on shore as well as in the sea. He
349
MEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MEP
remained here 3 months, " honored with
many honors," and wrought many miracles.
MEL'ONS are common in the East, but
do not differ particularly from ours. Wa-
termelons and muskmelons grow luxuri-
antly in Egypt in a light and sandy soil.
They are a delicious fruit in a hot climate,
and were among the articles of food for
which the Hebrews pined in the desert,
Num. 11:5. They would have found them
abundant in the Promised Land.
MEL'ZAR, overseer, the official title of a
steward or tutor at the court of Nebuchad-
nezzar, Dan. 1:11-16.
MEMO'RIAL, Esth. 9:28; Psa. 9:6, re-
membrance.
MEM'PHIS, Hos. 9:6. See Nohh.
MEMU'CAN, high in dignily, a politic
councillor of Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:14, 16, 21.
MEN'AHEM, comforter, the i6th king of
Israel, previouslj' general of the army of
Zachariah. He was at Tirzah when he
heard of his master's murder, and imme-
diately marching against the usurper Shal-
lum, who had shut himself up in Samaria,
he captured and slew him, and then as-
cended the throne. He reigned in Sama-
ria 10 years, 771-760 B. C, and was a tyran-
nical and cruel idolater, as appears from
the contemporaneous prophecies of Hosea
and Amos. See Tiphsah. Pul, king of
Assyria, having invaded Israel during the
reign of Menahem, obliged him to pay a
tribute of 1,000 talents, which Menahem
raised by a tax on all his rich subjects of
50 shekels a head. He seems to have died
a natural death ; but his son and successor
Pekahiah reigned only 2 years, and was
the last of that dynasty, 2 Kin. 15:13-22.
The Assyrian tablets recently discovered
mention the house of Omri, or Khumri, as
350
paying tribute to Pul, or Phallukha, togeth-
er with Tyre, Damascus, Idumaea, etc. :
and another tablet names Menahem
as paying tribute to Tiglath-pileser.
ME'NAN, A. V. Luke 3:31, an an-
cestor of Christ. In R. V. Men.na.
ME'NE, he is numbered : Te'kkl,
he is iveighed ; Uphar'sin, and the^•
arc dividing ; Chaldee words super-
naturally traced on the wall at Bel-
shazzar's impious feast, and signifi-
cant of his impending doom, Dan. 5.
The astrologers could not read them.
_ Sj perhaps because they were written in
^J antique Hebrew characters; still less
could they explain, even if they had
dared to do it, what was so portent-
ous. Daniel, however, received skill
to understand and courage to declare
their awful meaning; and the same
night witnessed their fulfilment. Over how
many proud heads, often found in scenes
of ungodliness and revelling, the hand that
has recorded their past history is even now
preparing to record their doom.
ME'NI, number, Isa. 65:11, margin; a
Babylonian idol, perhaps Fortune, adored
by some of the captive Israelites.
MEO'NENIM, " observers of times" Deut.
18:10, 14; 2 Kin. 21 :6; in Mic. 5:12 "sooth-
sayers." Elon-meonkni.m, " wizards' oak,"
was a famous tree near Shechem, Judg.
9:37; perhaps the tree mentioned in Gen.
12:6; 35:4; Josh. 24:26; Judg. 9:6.
MEO'NOTHAI, vty dwellings, a son of
Othniel, i Chr. 4:14.
MEPHA'ATH, splendor, a Levitical city
of Reuben, Josh. 13: 18; 21 :37 ; i Chr. 6:79,
having first belonged to the Amorites, Num.
21:26, and afterwards to Moab, Jer. 48:21.
It lay north of the Arnon, towards the east.
MEPHIB'OSHETH, exterminator of the
shame, i. e., of Baal, son of Jonathan, and
grandson, A. V. "son," of Saul, 2 Sam.
19:24; also called Meribbaal, i Chr. 8:34.
See EsHBAAi,. Mephibosheth was very
young when his father was killed in the
battle of Gilboa, 2 Sam. 4:4, and his nurse
was in such consternation at the news that
she let the child fall, and from this acci-
dent he was lame all his days. His misfor-
tune clouded his life, though he was pa-
tient and resigned. He took refuge in the
mountains of Ciilead. SeeMACHiR. When
David found himself in peaceable posses-
sion of the kingdom he sought for all that
remained of the house of Saul, that he might
show them kindness, in consideration of
the friendship between him and Jonathan,
MER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MER
1 Sam. 20:15, 42. He gave Mephibosheth
the estate of his grandfather Saul. Of a
part of this, however, he was 14 years
afterwards deprived by the treachery of his
steward Ziba, and the hasty injustice, as it
appears, of David towards an unfortunate
but noble and loyal prince, 2 Sam. 9; 16: i-
4; 19:24-30. David subsequently took
care to exempt him from the number of the
descendants of Saul given up to the ven-
geance of the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. 21 : 1-14,
inough another Mephibosheth, a son of
Saul, was hanged, ver. 8.
ME'RAB, increase, the eldest daughter
of king Saul, was promised to David in
marriage, in reward for his victory over
Goliath; but was given to Adriel, son of
Barzillai the Meholathite, i Sam. 14:49;
17:25; 18:2, 17, 19. Merab had 5 sons by
him, who were delivered to the Gibeonites
and hanged before the Lord, 2 Sam. 21 :8, 9.
The te.xt intimates that the 5 men delivered
to the Gibeonites were "sons" of Michal;
but see Adriel.
MERA'RI, sorrowful, Num. 26:57, the
youngest of Levi's 3 sons, born in Canaan,
and head of a family of the Levites, Gen.
46:11; Exod. 6:16; Num. 3:17; iChr. 6:1,
16, 19, 47. In the journey through the wil-
derness they were charged with the frame-
work of the tabernacle, to carry from one
place of encampment to another and there
set it up, Num. 4:29-33; 7:8. They had 4
wagons and 8 oxen. Twelve cities were
assigned to them beyond Jordan out of
Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, Josh. 21:7, 34-
40; I Chr. 6:63, 77-81. They took part in
bringing the ark up to Jerusalem, i Chr.
15:6, and in the sanctuary service at vari-
ous times, r Chr. 23:5, 6, 21-23; 26:10, 19;
2 Chr. 29:12, 15; Ezra 8:18, 19.
MERATHA'IM, hvo rebelHojis, a name
of Babylon, referring either to its 2 subju-
gations of Israel, or to its own rebellions
against God, Jer. 50:17, 21, 23.
MER'CHANT, Gen. 23:16; 37:25, 28;
Matt. 13:45. The commodities of different
countries were usually exchanged by tra-
ders of various kinds, in caravans or " trav-
elling companies," Isa. 21:13, which had
their regular seasons and routes for pass-
ing from one great mart to another. The
Hebrew word denotes travellers, and these
merchants prospered by wandering, as ours
do by remaining stationary. The Hebrew
law had rules respecting commerce. Lev.
19:35) 36; Deut. 25:13-16; Mic. 6:10, II.
There is early evidence of its wide exten-
sion, Exod. 25:3-7; Num. 31 :5o; Josh. 7:21.
Solomon engaged in it largely, i Kin. 10:11,
22-29 ; 2 Chr. 8:17, i8, and Jerusalem had its
port Joppa, Isa. 2:6, 16; 3:21-23; Hos. 12:7;
Jon. 1 :3. The apostle James reminds them
to lay their plans in view of the uncertainty
of life and their need of divine guidance,
Jas. 4:13. Some of the maritime nations,
as Egypt, and still more the Phoenicians,
carried on a large traffic by sea, Isa. 23:2;
Ezek. 27:27, 28.
MER'CURY, a fabulous god of the an-
cient heathen, the messenger of the celes-
tials, and the deity that presided over learn-
ing, eloquence, and traffic. The Greeks
named him Hermes, interpreter of the will
of the gods. Probably it was for this rea-
son, and perhaps from recollecting the
legend, which Ovid relates, of the visit of
Jupiter and Hermes to their countrymen
Baucis and Philemon, that the people of
Lystra, having heard Paul preach, and hav-
ing seen him heal a lame man, would have
offered sacrifice to him as to their god Mer-
cury, and to Barnabas as Jupiter, because
of his venerable aspect. Acts 14:11, 12.
MER'CY, the divine goodness exercised
towards the wretched and the guilty, in
harmony with truth and justice, Psa. 85: 10.
It is known to us only by revelation. The
plan by which God is enabled to show sa-
ving mercy to men, for Christ's sake, is the
most consummate work of infinite wisdom
and love, Exod. 20:6; 34:6, 7; Psa. 86:15,
16; 103:17; 2 Cor. 4:6. The soul that has
truly experienced the mercy of God will be
merciful like him, Luke 6:36, compassion-
ate to the wretched, Psa. 41:1, 2, and for-
giving towards all, Matt. 5:7; 18:33.
MER'CY-SEAT, the cover of the Ark of
the Covenant, which see. The Hebrew
word means a cover, and contains an allu-
sion to the covering or forgiving of sins,
Psa. 32:1. It was the essential part of the
ark, and gave its name to the holy of holies
itself, Lev. 16:2; i Chr. 28:11. Hence ap-
propriately it covered from view the 2 tables
of the law, for whose violation it offered
forgiveness. In the New Testament it is
designated by a Greek word meaning "the
propitiatory," or "expiatory," Hfb. 9:4, 5.
It was approached only by the high-priest,
and not without the blood of atonement,
to show that the divine mercy can be grant-
ed only through the blood of Christ, Rom.
3:25.
ME'RED, rebellion, son of Ezra, a Judah-
ite, notable for having married Bithiah, a
daughter of Pharaoh, before the Exode,
I Chr. 4:17, 18.
351
MER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MER
MERE'MOTH, heights, I., son of the high-
priest Urijah, trusted and active after the
Captivity, Ezra 8:24-30, jiZ'^ Neh. 3:4, 21;
10:5. Perhaps the man named in Neh.
12:15.
II. Ezra 10:36.
ME'RES, worthy, Esth. i : 13, 14.
MER'IBAH, chiding, strife, I., a place in
Rephidim where the Israelites, missing the
waters of Egjpt, chided Moses and tempt-
ed Jehovah ; whence it was also named
Massah, temptation, Exod. 17:1-7; Deut.
6:16; 9:22; 33:8; Psa. 81:7; Heb. 3:8. See
Rephidim. In Psa. 95: 8 the Hebrew reads,
" as in Meribah, as in the day of Massah in
the wilderness."
II. A place near Kadesh-barnea, where
38 years later a like sin was committed,
Num. 20:1-13, '" which both Moses and
Aaron were involved. Num. 20:24; 27:14;
Deut. 32:51 ; whence also this Meribah was
called Kn-mishi'AT .J'ount q/judgment. See
Wanderings.
MERIB'BAAL, contender unth Baal,
1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40. See Mephibosheth.
MERO'DACH, Jer. 50:2, an idol of Baby-
lon, identified with Bel ; their chief divin-
ity in the latter part of their history ; also
of the Assyrians. See Babylon.
MERO'DACH-BAL'ADAN, Bel is his lord,
a king of Babylon who sought a friendly
alliance with Hezekiah, kingof Judah, Isa.
39:1; 2 Chr. 32:31; called Berodach in
2 Kin. 20:12. He is named in the Khorsa-
bad inscriptions as having been twice de-
feated and exiled by Sennacherib.
I-AKE MRROM, FROM THE SOUTH
ME'ROM, height. The " waters of Me-
roni," Josh. 11:5, or Lake of Semechon, is
the most northern of the 3 lakes supplied
by the river Jordan. It is situated in the
southern part of a valley formed by the 2
branches of Mount Hermon. The lake is
now called after the valley, the Lake of
Hflleh, and is 7 feet above the Mediterra-
nean. The lake proper is perhaps 4 miles
long and 4 broad, tapering towards the
south, where the Jordan finds an outlet
through the clefts and flows down 10 miles
to the Sea of Galilee. It is very shallow,
and a large part of it is covered with aquat-
ic plants. Thousands of water-fowl sport
on its surface, and its waters abound in
fish. On the north lies the plain Ard el-
352
flu^ff^^'
WITH MOUNT HKRMON IN THE DISTANCE.
Hflleh, which is a dead level for a distance
of 8 or 9 miles. Near the upper entl of
this the 3 streams which form the Jordan
unite. On the west side of the Jordan
above the lake a marsh extends up north
as far as the junction of. these streams, or
even farther; while on the eastern side the
land is tilled almost down to the lake. It
is a splendid plain, and extremely fertile.
.\1I kinds of grain grow on it with very
little labor, and it still merits the praise
accorded to it by the Danite spies: "We
have seen the land; and behold, it is very
good, ... a place where there is no want of
anything that is in the earth," Judg. 18:9,
10. Its rich soil is formed by deposit, and
it seems to be partially submerged iu the
MER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MES
spring. Thus the lake and valley el-Hflleh
form an immense reservoir, and unite with
the snows of Hermon to maintain the sum-
mer supplies of the Jordan. Near this lake
Joshua defeated the kings of Northern Ca-
naan, Josh. II :i-8.
ME'ROZ, asylum, an unknown place in
Galilee, cursed in the song of Deborah and
Barak for not joining with them against
the foes of Israel, Judg. 5:23. Compare
Judg. 21:8-10; I Sam. 11:7. Probably their
vicinity to the scene of conflict, or the
opportunity they had of rendering some
special assistance, rendered their refusal
peculiarly guilty. Jael, on the contrary,
was blessed. Sins of omission may be as
great and as ruinous as sins of commis-
sion. The site of Meroz may be the mod-
ern Murussus, 4^ miles north by west of
Beth-shean.
MER'RY, in the Bible, denotes joy and
happiness, not jollity, 2 Chr. 7:10; Prov.
17:22; Luke 15:32; Jas. 5:13.
ME'SECH, Psa. 120:5, A. V. See Me-
SHECH.
ME'SHA, deliverance, I., son of Caleb, II.,
and founder of Ziph, in Judah, i Chr. 2:42.
II. A king of Moab, rich in flocks, who
paid an enormous tribute to Ahab, king of
Israel — perhaps only on one occasion so
excessive — but revolted at his death, 2 Kin.
1:1; 3:4-27. Joram the son of Ahab, with
the aid of Judah and Edom, made war upon
him, almost exterminated his army, laid
waste his cities, and besieged him in his
capital. Unable to force his way through
the besieging host, king Mesha sought the
aid of his gods by sacrificing his own son
to Chemosh on the city wall ; and the be-
siegers, horror-struck at this atrocious act,
withdrew in terror, lest some curse should
fall on them, but despoiling the country as
they went.
In 1868 an ancient block of black basalt
was found at Dibon in Moab, 3'/^ feet high,
over 2 feet wide, and 2 feet thick, record-
ing in PhcEnician letters the exploits of
Mesha, which he ascribes to Chemosh his
god. He mentions the war of Moab with
Israel, and Moab's long oppression by
Omri, king of Israel, and alludes to many
familiar places beyond Jordan.
III. A different word in Hebrew, Gen.
10:30, on the eastern frontier of Joktan in
Arabia; probably a mountain range run-
ning southwest from the head of the Per-
sian Gulf.
IV. A Benjamite, son of Shaharaim, i Chr.
8:8,9.
23
ME'SHACH, a name probably derived
from some Chaldaean idol. See Abed-
NEGO.
ME'SHECH, or Me'sech, Psa. 120:5,
drawing out, or possession, the 6th son of
Japheth, Gen. 10:2, located near Tubal at
the northeast corner of Asia Minor, in Ibe-
ria, and supposed by many to have been
the father of the warlike Moschi or Musco-
vites. Meshech traded with Tyre in "the
persons of men and in vessels of brass,"
Ezek. 27:13; 32:26; 38:2; 39:1.
MESHUL'LAM, associate, the name of
numerous men of God in the later Jewish
history.
MESHUL'LEMETH, friend, the wife of
Manasseh, 2 Kin. 21 : 19.
MESOPOTA'MIA, between the rivers, the
Greek name of the country between the Eu-
phrates and the Tigris, Gen. 24:10; Deut.
23:4, called in Arabic el-Jezirah, the island,
in the Bible "the plain of Aram," Gen.
25:20; 31:18; 33:18, and Aram-naharaim,"
Syria of two rivers, Psa. 60, title. See Aram,
II. and Padan-aram. In its fullest sense,
Mesopotamia extended from the Persian
Gulf to Mount Taurus; but the name usu-
ally denotes only the tract above Babylo-
nia, now called Diarbekr, and celebrated
for its exuberant fertility; while the part
below, now Irak-Arabi, is sterile and with-
out water. Mesopotamia was included in
the territories of the Assyrian, Babylonian,
Persian, Macedonian, and Roman empires
successively, and belongs now to that of
the Turks.
This region is associated with the earli-
est history of the human race both before
and after the flood. Eden was not far off;
Ararat was near to it on the north, and the
land of Shinar on the south. The travel-
ler here reaches what is truly " the old
world," and is surrounded bj^ objects com-
pared with which the antiquities of Greece
and Rome are modern novelties. This
was the home of the patriarchs who prece-
ded Abraham — Terah, Heber, Peleg, etc.,
Gen. 11:26-29; Acts 7:2. Here Abraham
and Sarah were born, and the wives of
Isaac and Jacob, and most of the sons of
Jacob, the heads of the 12 tribes, Gen. 25:20;
28:2; 35:23-26. Mesopotamia is also men-
tioned in Scripture as the abode of Balaam,
and of Chushan-rishathaim the first op-
pressor of Israel in the time of the Judges,
Judg. 3:8-10; in the history of the wars of
David, 2 Sam. 10:16; and as furnishing a del-
egation of Jews, and perhaps proselytes, to
attend the Passover at Jerusalem, Acts 2:9.
353
MES
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIC
MESS, Gen. 43 : 34 ; 2 Sam. 1 1 : 8, a dish of
meat.
MES'SENGERS. See FooTMEN and
Posts. In Mai. 3:1 "angel," as in Gen.
22:15, 17, 18. See Angel of the Cove-
nant.
MESSI'AH, or Messi'as, anointed. The
Jews were accustomed to anoint their kings,
high-priests, and sometimes prophets, when
they were set apart to their office. Lev. 4:3,
5,16; I Sam. 2: 10,35; and hence the phrase,
" to anoint " for an employment, sometimes
signifies merely a particular designation or
choice for such an employment. Cyrus,
who founded the empire of the Persians,
and who set the Jews at liberty, is called,
Isa. 45: 1, " the anointed of the Lord ;" and
in Ezek. 28:14, the epithet "anointed" is
given to the king of Tyre. The term is
used many times in the Old Testament,
and is always translated in the Septuagint
Christos, anointed. See Anointing.
But Messiah is the designation given by
the Hebrews, eminently, to that Saviour
and Deliverer whom they expected, and
who was promised to them by all the proph-
ets, and more and more distinctly foreshad-
owed to the last. As the holy unction was
given to kings, priests, and prophets, by
describing the promised Saviour of the
world under the name of Christ, Anointed,
or Messiah, it was sufficiently evidenced
that the qualities of king, prophet, and
high-priest would eminently centre in him,
Psa. 45 : 7 ; and it was foretold that he should
exercise them not only over the Jews, but
over all mankind, and particularly over
those who should receive him as their Sa-
viour. The Jews faithfully preserved the
prophecies, many of which foretold a suf-
fering and dying Redeemer, but are still
slow to understand how wonderfully the
different classes of predictions have been
fulfilled in Jesus. See Christ.
That Jesus Christ was the true Messiah
of the Old Testament, the " Shiloh " of Ja-
cob, the " Redeemer " of Job, the " Angel
of the Covenant," is abundantly clear, Psa.
2:2; Luke 4: 16-21; Acts 9: 22; 17:2,3; 18:5,
28. He is named by the Hebrew word in
John 1:45; 4:25; but usually by its Greek
equivalent, the Christ. The time of his
appearance was predicted in Gen. 49:10;
Dan. 9:20, 25: Hag. 2:7; Mai. 3:1. At the
time when the Saviour actually came, and
then only, could these predictions meet:
then the 70 weeks of years were ended ;
and soon after the sceptre was torn for
ever from the hands of Judah, the only tribe
354
that could then claim the headship of the
Jews ; and the temple in which the Mes-
siah was to appear was annihilated. Then
also the genealogical lists were extant
which proved the descent of Christ from
the line predicted. Numerous and clear
detached predictions respecting the line-
age, birth, character, life, sufferings, and
death of Christ, his resurrection, ascension,
and kingdom, were all in him perfectly ful-
filled. For predictions of the Messiah in
the Old Testament see Prophecy.
MET'ALS were found in Palestine, Deut.
8:9, and were wrought for some uses at a
very early period. Job 2:8. We find men-
tion of gold. Gen. 2:11, 12; of copper and
iron. Gen. 4:22, of silver. Gen. 13:2; i Chr.
22:14; 29:4, of tin. Num. 31:22, of lead,
Exod. 15:10, of steel, Jer. 15:12, of bronze
and fine brass. Rev. 1:15. Solomgn em-
ployed Phoenicians in the metal-work of
the temple, i Kin. 7: 13. Smelting, casting,
hammering, soldering, polishing, overlay-
ing, and the requisite tools for these pro-
cesses, are mentioned. See Gold, Sil-
ver, Iron, Brass, etc.
METE, to measure, Exod. 16:18; Psa.
60:6; Matt. 7:2.
METE' YARD, Lev. 19:35, a measure.
ME'THEG-AM'MAH, bridte of the mo-
ther, i. e., the mother-city, Gath, 2 Sam.
8:1; I Chr. 18:1. See Gath.
METHU'SAEL, tnati from God, father of
the Cainite Lamech, Gen. 4:18.
METHU'SELAH, 7na7i of sending forth,
Luke S'-Zl^ son of Enoch, and father of
Lamech. He lived 969 years, a longer life
than any other on record, and died within
the year before the deluge. Gen. 5:21, 22,
25-27; I Chr. 1:3.
MEU'NIM, Neh. 7:52. See Maonites.
ME'ZAHAB, waters of gold, an Edomite
king, Gen. 36:39; i Chr. 1:50.
MIB'HAR, choice, I Chr. 11 :38. Compare
2 Sam. 23:36.
MIB'SAM, fragrance, I., a son of Ishmael,
and the tribe descended from him, Gen.
25:13; I Chr. 1:29.
II. I Chr. 4:25.
MIB'ZAR, a fortress, an early Edomite
chief, Gen. 36:42; i Chr. i : 53 ; or if a place,
possibly Petra, Psa. 60:9; 108:10; Jer. 49: 16.
MI'CAH, Jt'ho is like fehovah ? The same
as MicHA, Michah, Micaiah, and Micha-
iah, a. V.
I. An Ephraimite in the time of the
Judges, soon after Joshua, who stole 1,100
shekels of silver from his mother, but
restored them, and with her consent em-
MIC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIC
ployed them in establishing a private sanc-
tuary, with 2 images to be used in the wor-
ship of Jehovah, and with a stray Levite
for his priest, thus violating the explicit
commands of God forbidding the use of
images in his worship, and prescribing one
place for his altar and one line for his
priests. Providence frowned on his idol-
atrous service, and a troop of Danites
robbed him of his priest and of all his im-
plements of worship, Judg. 17 ; 18. It was
a time of much confusion and lack of unity
and system in public affairs. The account
is supposed to have been written after the
monarchy began, and while the tabernacle
was at Shiloh, Judg. 18:1, 31 ; 19:1.
II. Son of Mephibosheth, i Chr. 8:34, 35;
9:40, 41 ; called Micha in 2 Sam. 9:12, A. V.
III. A Kohathite priest in David's time,
I Chr. 23:20; less correctly called Michah
in I Chr. 24:24, 25, A. V.
IV. A Reubenite, i Chr. 5:5.
V. The Morasthite, /. e., of Moresheth-
gath, a village near Eleutheropolis, in the
west of Judah ; the 6th in order of the lesser
prophets. He prophesied under Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, for
about 50 years, if with some we reckon
from near the beginning of the reign of
Jotham to the last year of Hezekiah, B. C.
750-698. He was nearly contemporary with
Isaiah, and has some expressions in com-
mon with him — compare Isa. 2:2 with Mic.
4:1, and Isa. 41 : 15 with Mic. 4: 13 — also with
Hosea and Amos in part. His bold fidel-
ity served as a shield to the prophet Jere-
miah a century afterwards, Jer. 26:18, 19;
Mic. 3:12. He wrote in an elevated and
vehement style, with frequent transitions.
His figures are drawn from agricultural
rather than pastoral life. His prophecy
may be divided into 3 sections, each com-
mencing with the call " Hear ye," ch. 1:2;
3:1; 6:1. It relates to the sins and judg-
ments of Israel and Judah, their rulers and
false prophets, to the destruction of Sama-
ria and Jerusalem, the return of the Jews
from captivity, and the punishment of their
enemies. He proclaims the coming of the
Messiah, "whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting," as the foun-
dation of all hope for the glorious and
blessed future he describes, and specifies
Bethlehem in Judah as the place where He
should be born of woman, Mic. 5:2, 3. The
prediction was thus understood by the
Jews, Matt. 2:5; John 7:41, 42. Compare
also Mic. 4:5 and 5:5 with John 10:35, 36
and Eph. 2:14.
VI. The father of Abdon, 2 Chr. 34:20;
called Michaiah, father of Achbor in 2 Kin.
22:12.
VII. A Levite of the house of Asaph,
I Chr. 9: 15, A. V. ; rather Micha, as in Neh.
11:17, 22.
MICA'IAH, luho is like Jehovah? the son
of Imlah, a faithful and fearless prophet
of Samaria consulted by king Ahab at
the demand of Jehoshaphat as to the issue
of their proposed campaign against the
Syrians. He was imprisoned to abide the
event, which coincided with his predictions
and probably secured his release, i Kin.
22:8-38. The 400 prophets first consulted
were unprincipled adherents of Ahab, ver.
22, 23, worshipping his calf-symbols of Je-
hovah, as Jehoshaphat well understood.
Josephus states that Micaiah was the proph-
et who foretold the slaying of another by
a lion, I Kin. 20:35-43, and who rebuked
Ahab for not putting Ben-hadad to death,
and that he had been already imprisoned
by the offended king. It appears from this
narrative as from many others, that God
enabled honest inquirers to discern be-
tween true prophets and "lying spirits,"
who furnish to wicked men such oracles as
they want. Ahab's conduct in this matter
displays the amazing folly of sins against
light. 2 Chr. 18:6-27.
MI'CHA, who is like Jehovah? I., son of
Mephibosheth. See Micah, II.
II. A Levite. See Micah, VII.
III. A Levite, Neh. 10:11.
MI'CHAEL, who is like God? I. See
Archangel. Nine men of this name are
slightly mentioned in Scripture.
MI'CHAH, I Chr. 24:24. See Micah, III.
MICHA'IAH, who is like Jehovah? I., king
Abijah's queen-mother, 2 Chr. 13:2; called
Maachah in 2 Chr. 11:20.
II. A prince of Judah wlio seconded the
efforts of Jehoshaphat to instruct and re-
form the people of Judah, 2 Chr. 17:7-9.
III. See Micah. VI.
IV. Grandson of Shaphan king Josiah's
scribe, a young prince at the court of Je-
hoiakim, who communicated to the king's
counsellors the solemn warnings of Jere-
miah, and who in vain implored king Zed-
ekiah not to burn the prophetic roll, Jer.
36:11-14.
V. A Levite of the line of Asaph, Neh.
12:35-
VI. A priest at the rebuilding of Jerusa-
lem, Neh. 12:41.
MI'CHAL, who is like God? the younger
daughter of Saul and Ahinoam, in love
355
MIC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIG
with David, and reluctantly given to him in
marriage by Saul, after breaking his prom-
ise to give him Merab the elder, i Sam.
14:49, 50; 18:20-29. She saved her hus-
band's life from assassins sent by her ty-
rannical and unscrupulous father, by a
stratagem which gave him time to escape,
I Sam. 19: 14, 15. Her father then gave her
in marriage to Phalti, i Sam. 25:44, from
whom David some 14 years after recovered
her, 2 Sam. 3:12-21. When David brought
the ark of God to Jerusalem, she conceived
and expressed great disgust at his pious
joy, and the affections of the king remained
alienated from her till her death, 2 Sam.
6:16-25. Her hatred of unfashionable zeal
in religion was stronger than her love of
her husband and her God. She left no
children. See Merab, which is perhaps
the true reading for Michal in 2 Sam
21:8.
MICH'MASH, or MICH'MAS, hidde7i, a
town of Benjamin, 7 miles north by east of
Jerusalem and 4 miles southeast of Bethel,
Ezra 2:27; Neh. 7:31; 11:31. It was a
strong position, and lay on the north side
of a deep valley, Wady el-Suweinit ; for
which reasons perhaps Sennacherib, on his
way to Jerusalem, left his heavy equipage
there, Isa. 10:28, 29. In this valley, a little
west of the town, are 2 steep hills, sup-
posed to be the ones referred to in the ac-
count of Jonathan's achievement at " the
passage of Michmash," i Sam. 13:23; 14:4-
23. Dr. Robinson found here a village
called Mukhmas, which appeared to be the
remnant of a town of some size and im-
portance.
MICH'METHAH, hiding-place, a town on
the northern border of Ephraim, on the
east of Shechem, perhaps in the plain el-
Mukhna. Josh. 16:6; 17:7.
MICH'TAM, prefixed to Psalms 16, 56-60,
and meaning golden, or secret, as in Psa.
25: 14, or as some think, a writing or song,
as in Isa. 38:9.
MID'DLE WALL, Eph. 2:14, the sacred
barrier between the Court of the Gentiles
and the inner parts of the temple.
MID'IAN, strife, the 4th son of Abraham
and Keturah, Gen. 25:2; i Chr. 1:33.
MID'IANITES, descendants of Midian, a
nomade race in Arabia, numerous, and rich
in flocks, herds, and camels, Isa. 60:6, and
also active and successful in commerce,
Num. 31:22, 50, 52: Judg. 8:21-26. The
original and appropriate district of the
Midianites seems to have been on the east
side of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea,
356
where the Arabian geographers place the
city Madian, Acts 7 : 29. But they appear to
have spread themselves northward, proba-
bly along the desert east of Mount Seir, to
the vicinity of the Moabites, Gen. 36:35;
and on the west side also they covered a
territory extending to the neighborhood of
Mount Sinai, where the fugitive Moses
found refuge 40 years, Exod. 2:15; 3:1;
18:1; Num. 10:29. In Gen. 25:2,4, com-
pared with ver. 12-18, they are distinguish-
ed from the descendants of Ishmael, though
elsewhere we find the two very intimately
associated, so that they are called now by
one name and now by the other. See Gen.
37:25, compared with ver. 36; Judg. 7:12;
8:22, 24. Both terms may perhaps be used
as meaning simply Arabian merchants.
Their capital city was called Midian, and
its remains were to be seen in the time of
Jerome and Eusebius. It was situated on
the Arnon, south of the city Ar, or Are-
opolis.
The Midianites were idolaters, and often
led Israel astray to worship their gods.
They sought, with the aid of Moab, to de-
stroy the Hebrews by Balaam's sorceries,
by enticing them into idolatry and heaven-
defying lusts, and by open war, Num. 22:4,
7; 25:1-6, 16-18; 31:1-16. They also not
unfrequently rendered the Hebrews tribu-
tary, and oppressed them. Often when the
Israelites had sown, and their harvest was
nearly ready to be gathered in, the Midian-
ites and Amalekites, children of the east-
ern desert, came down like locusts in count-
less swarms, with their cattle and tents and
camels, to devour and carry off the fruits
of the ground, and not only rob but destroy
their owners. And often did the Jews, lack-
ing the strength or the faith or the leader-
ship necessary for effectual resistance, seek
refuge in mountain-dens and caverns till
the invaders retired. Gideon was their de-
liverer in one such period of oppression,
Judg. 6:7. Compare Psa. 83:10-12; Isa.
9:4; 10:6. The modern Ishmaelites still
follow the ancient practice, and their vio-
lent incursions, robberies, and murders
might be described in the same terms that
were used with reference to their fathers
by the historians of old.
MID'NIGHT. See Hour.
MID'WIVES, Gen. 35:17; 38:28. The 2
specially named in Exod. 1:15-21 seem to
have become heads of families among the
Hebrews.
MIG'DAL-EL, lower 0/ God, a stronghold
of Naphtali, Josh. 19:38, now found at Mej-
MIG
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIL
del Islim, 12 miles northwest of Lake Me-
rom.
MIG'DAL-GAD, tower of fortune, a town
in the plain of Judah, supposed to be el-
Mejdel, 2 miles east of Askelon.
MIG'DOL, a tower, a frontier town in
Northern Egypt, Jer. 44:1; 46:14; transla-
ted in Ezek. 29:10; 30:6, which should read
"from Migdol to Syene " — the northern
and southern limits of Egypt. The He-
brews on leaving Egypt encamped " be-
tween Migdol and the sea," Exod. 14:2;
Num. iVT- This maybe a different place,
either Jebal Ataka, southwest of Suez, Bir
Suweis, 2 miles west of Suez, or Muktala,
17 miles northwest.
MIG'RON, precipice, a place in Benjamin
in the vicinity of Ai and Gibeah, north of
Michmash, now traced in cliffs 2 miles
northwest of Michmash, separating Wady
Suweinit from Deir Diwan, i Sam. 14:2;
Isa. 10:28.
MIL'CAH, queen, or advice, I., daughter
of Haran, wife of Nahor, and mother of
Bethuel and 7 older sons, Gen. 1 1 : 29 ; 22 : 20,
23; 24:15, 24, 47.
II. One of the 5 daughters of Zelophe-
had. See.
MIL'COM, their king, I Kin. 11:5. See
Moloch.
MIL'DE^V, Heb. greenness, alluding to
the pale tinge of blasted and fungus-eaten
leaves, Deut. 28:22; i Kin. 8:37; 2 Chr.
6:28; Amos 4:9; Hag. 2:17.
MILE. The word mile, in Matt. 5:41, is
spoken of the Roman milliare, or mile,
which contained 8 stadia, 1,000 paces, that
is, about 1,618 yards, while the English
mile contains 1,760 yards.
MILE'TUS, not Miletum as in 2 Tim.
4:20, A. v., an ancient city, formerly the
metropolis of all Ionia, situated on the
western coast of Asia Minor, south of Eph-
esus, on the confines of Caria, just south of
the mouth of the river Maeander. It was
the parent of many colonies, and was cele-
brated for a temple and oracle of Apollo
Didymaeus, and as the birthplace of Thales,
Ana.vimander, Democritus, and other fa-
mous men. The apostle Paul, on his voy-
age from Macedonia towards Jerusalem,
spent a day or two here, and held an aflfect-
ing interview with the Christian elders of
Ephesus, who at his summons came nearly
30 miles from the north to meet him. Acts
20:15-38. He also revisited Miletus after
his first imprisonment at Rome, 2 Tim.
4:20. There were Christians and bishops
there from the 5th to the 8th century ; but
the city has long been in ruins, and its ex-
act site can hardly be determined, so much
is the coast altered around the mouth of
the Maeander, the sea having receded 10
miles ; but it is covered in part by the place
called Palatia, with ruins of a large theatre
and a church.
MILK, the natural food of childhood, is
contrasted with the food of robust men,
I Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12, and is often alluded
to in the Bible as a symbol of pure, simple,
and wholesome truth, Heb. 5:12, 13; i Pet.
2:2; and in connection with honey, to de-
note fertility and plenty, Gen. 49: 12; Exod.
3:8; 13:5; Num. 16:13; Josh. 5:6. The
Jews and their neighbors used not only the
milk of cows, out that of camels, sheep, and
goats. Gen. 32:15; Deut. 32:14; Prov. 27:27.
See Butter and Cheese. Boiling a kid
in its mother's milk was prohibited, proba-
bly as an idolatrous or magical rite, Exod.
23:19; 34:26; Deut. 14:21.
MILL. See Corn. In Matt. 18:6; Mark
9:42 the Greek denotes a millstone turned
by an ass; R. V. "a great millstone," such
as Samson was humiliated to turn, Judg.
16:21.
MILLEN'NIUM, a thousand years. Rev.
20:1-7, a period preceding the judgment-
day and the full retributions of eternity.
According to some, this period will be ush-
ered in, perhaps very soon, by the visible
coming of Christ, to raise the martyrs and
saints from the dead and reign personally
on the earth. But in the general belief of
Christians it denotes an era of the univer-
sal prevalence of the gospel in the earth,
preceding the general resurrection and
judgment.
Without entering on the discussion of
this subject we may suggest that it is ap-
parently the design of Providence that
prophecy shall be interpreted only by its
fulfilment ; that the attempt to pry into the
future to the neglect of present duties is
fraught with evil, and that we may well
rest in the assurance given us throughout
the Scriptures that the work of the world's
Redeemer and rightful King will not be
left incomplete.
MIL'LET, a kind of grain, of which there
are several species cultivated in Italy, Syr-
ia, Egypt, and India. It is used partly
green as fodder, and partly in the ripe
grain for bread, etc. Ezekiel, 4:9, received
an order from the Lord to make himself
bread with a mixture of wheat, barley,
beans, lentiles, and millet. The variety
called Panicum miliaceum is probably
357
MIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIN
meant, and also the Sorghum vulgare, or
dourrha of the Arabs— a maize-like plant
5 feet high, with heads of small grains— of
which Niebuhr says, " It is a kind of mil-
SORGHUM VULGARK, OR DOURRHA.
let, made into bread with camel's milk, oil,
butter, etc., and is almost the only food
eaten bj^ the common people of Arabia
Felix. I found it so disagreeable that I
would willingly have preferred plain bar-
ley bread."
UiXL.'l-.O, fulness, I., probably a bastion
of the citadel of Zion, at Jerusalem, men-
tioned in the history of David and Solo-
mon, 2 Sam. 5:9; I Kin. 9:15, 24; 2 Kin.
12:20; I Chr. 11:8; 2 Chr. 32:5.
II. The name of a family or of a fortress
at Shechem; in the latter case, the "house
of Millo " would mean the garrison of that
fortress, Judg. 9:6, 20, 46,49.
MIN'CING, Isa. 3:16, a coquettish man-
ner of walking with short steps and a
swaying motion.
MIN'GLED PEO'PLE, a miscellaneous
foreign population, sometimes hired sol-
diers, Exod. 12:38; I Kin. 10:15, A. V.,
Arabia; Neh. 13:3; Ezek. 30:5.
MI'NING, Job 28:1-17. See Mrtai-s.
MIN'ISH, Exod. 5:19; Psa. 107:39, A. V.
to lessen.
MIN'ISTER, from minor, " less," the op-
posite of master or magister, from mas^is,
"greater;" one who acts in subordination
to another, as a religious or a civil official.
The word is applied to the priests and Le-
vites, Isa. 61 :6; Luke i :23; Heb. 10:11 ; in
.^■58
Luke 4:20 to the synagogue attendant or
sexton; often to the sub-officials of kings,
I Kin. 10:5; Psa. 103:21. God makes the
flaming fire his minister, Psa. 104:4, and in
general the word denotes any one who
attends or waits on another, Matt. 20:26,
28. Elisha was the " vii?iisler" of Elijah,
I Kin. 19:21; I Kin. 3:11, and Joshua the
"minister" of Moses, Exod. 24:13; 33:11.
These persons did not feel themselves de-
graded by their stations, and in due time
they succeeded to the office of their mas-
ters. In like manner John Mark was min-
ister to Paul and Barnabas, Acts 13:5. An-
gels are ministers of God and of his people,
Dan. 7:10; Heb. 1:14. The term is ap-
plied to magistrates, Rom. 13:4, 6; to gos-
pel teachers, Rom. 15:16; i Cor. 3:5; 4:1;
and to teachers of error, 2 Cor. 11:15.
Christ came to minister, not to be minis-
tered unto, and is called a minister "of the
circumcision," Rom. 15:8, and of the heav-
enly sanctuary, Heb. 8:2. The distribu-
tion of the alms of Christians was a minis-
tration. Acts 6:1 ; 2 Cor. 9:13. The law is
a " ministration of death " to those who do
not keep it, and the gospel is a ministra-
tion of the Spirit, giving life to those who
accept it, 2 Cor. 3:7-9.
Ministers of the gospel, like Paul, Apol-
los, and Timothy, i Cor. 3:5; i Thess. 3:2,
are so called as servants of Christ, Phil.
1:1, and of his people for his sake, 2 Cor.
4:5. They should be qualified to defend
the truth by sound and Scriptural reason-
ing, to solve questions of conscience and
spiritual experience, to sympathize with
their flocks, to counsel, instruct, inspire,
restrain, and discipline them, to lead men
to Christ, and to edify them in him. Hence
they should be eminently " men of God,"
" full of faith and the Holy Ghost," " living
epistles," and " ensamples to the flock."
They need to excel in the right knowledge
of God's Word, in spiritual wisdom, in
meekness, humility, patience, self-control,
purity, benevolence, self-denial, and all
forms of likeness to Christ ; to be diligent
in study and in watchful care over each
soul for which they must give account to
God.
MIN'NI, a kingdom summoned to a war
against Babylon, with Ararat and Ashke-
naz, Jer. 51:27; supposed to denote the
district Minyas in Armenia, on the north
branch of the Euphrates, and west of Mount
Ararat.
MIN'NITH, distribution, a town of the
Ammonites in the time of Jephthah, Judg.
MIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIR
11:33, 4 or 5 miles northeast of Heshbon.
It furnished fine wheat for the market of
Tyre, Ezek. 27: 17.
MIN'STREL, in i Sam. 16:16; 18:10;
19:9; Isa. 23:16, a player on the harp. In
2Chr. 35:25; Eccl. 12:5; Jer. 9:17-20; Matt.
9:23, flute-players and professional mourn-
ers. See Music.
MINT : .MENTHA SILVESTRIS.
MINT, a garden herb of the order Labi-
ates, used anciently as now ; possibly the
" bitter-herb " sauce for the Passover, E.xod.
12:8. The Pharisees, desiring to distin-
guish themselves by a most scrupulous and
literal observation of the law, Deut. 14:22,
gave tithes of mint, anise, and cummin.
Matt. 23:23. Our Saviour does not cen-
sure this exactness, but that while they
were so precise in these lesser matters,
they neglected the essential command-
ments of the law — making their punctili-
ousness about easy and external duties an
excuse for disregarding their obligations to
love God supremely, to be regenerated in
heart, and just and beneficent in life.
MIPH'KAD, appointed, or number, a gate
in the wall of Zion, Neh. 3:31.
MIR'ACLE, also called a sign, wonder,
or mighty work, Acts 2:22; 2 Cor. 12:2;
2 Thess. 2:9; these names signif\'ing its
design to certify a divine revelation in ful-
filment of prophecy, the wonder it excites
in beholders, and the divine power exer-
cised in it. It is a work so superseding by
a higher agency the established laws of na-
ture as to evince the special interposition
of God. A miracle is to be distinguished
from wonders wrought by designing men
through artful deceptions, occult sciences,
or laws of nature unknown except to
adepts. The miracles wrought by Christ,
for example, were such as God only covild
perform; were wrought in public before
numerous witnesses, both friends and foes ;
were open to the most perfect scrutiny ;
had an end in view worthy of divine sanc-
tion; were attested by witnesses whose
character and conduct establish their claim
to our belief; and are further confirmed
by institutions still existing, intended to
commemorate them, and dating from the
period of the miracles. Christ appealed to
his mighty works as essential and undeni-
able proofs of his divinity and Messiah-
ship, Matt. 9:6; 11:4, 5, 23, 24; John 10:24-
27; 15:24; 20:29, 31- TI16 deceptions of
the magicians in Egypt, and of false proph-
ets in ancient and in modern times, Deut.
13: 1 ; Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13: 13,
14, would not bear the above tests. By
employing the agency of any man to work
a miracle God gave the highest attestation
to the truth he should teach and the mes-
sage he should bring, i Kin. 18:38, 39; this
is God's own seal, not to be affixed to false-
hoods ; and though the lying wonders of
Satan and his agents were so plausible as
to "deceive if possible the very elect," no
one who truly sought to know and do the
will of God could be deluded by them.
The chief object of miracles having been
to authenticate the revelation God has
made of his will, these mighty works ceased
when the Scripture canon was completed
and settled and Christianity was fairly es-
tablished. Since the close of the 2 centu-
ries from the ascension of Christ few or no
undoubted miracles have been wrought.
The so-called miracles narrated in early
ecclesiastical writings are ill-authenticated,
and often trivial and unworthj', and wheth-
er a sufficient occasion for new miracles
will ever arise is known only to God.
The following list comprises most of the
miracles on record in the Bible, not inclu-
ding the supernatural visions and revela-
tions of himself which God vouchsafed to
his ancient servants, nor those numerous
wonders of his providence which manifest
his hand almost as indisputably as mira-
cles themselves. See also Prophecy. The
Old Testament miracles are often those of
power: New Testament miracles those of
healing mercy.
OLD TESTAMENT MIRACLES.
The creation of all things, Gen. i.
The deluge, comprising many miracles, Geii.
6-8.
The destruction of Sodom, etc., Gen. 19.
The healing of Abimelech, Gen. 20: 17, 18.
359
MIR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIR
The burning bush, Exod. 3:2-4.
Moses' rod made a serpent, and restored, Exod.
4:3,4; 7:10.
Moses' hand made leprous, and healed, Exod.
4:6,7.
Water turned into blood, Exod. 4:9, 30.
The Nile turned into blood, Exod. 7 : 20.
Frogs brought and removed, Exod. 8:6, 13.
Lice brought, Exod. 8: 17.
Flies brought and removed, Exod. 8 : 21-31.
Murrain of beasts, Exod. 9 : 3-6.
Boils and blains brought, Exod. 9: 10, 11.
Hail brought and removed, Exod. 9: 23, 33.
Locusts brought and removed, Exod. 10: 13,
19-
Darkness brought, Exod. 10:22.
Firstborn destroyed, Exod. 12:29.
The Red Sea divided, Exod. 14: 21, 22.
Egyptians overwhelmed, Exod. 14:26-28.
Waters of Marah sweetened, Exod. 15:25.
Quails and manna sent, Exod. 16.
Water from the rock in Horeb, Exod. 17 :6.
Amaiek vanquished, Exod. 17:11-13.
Pillar of cloud and fire. Num. 9: 15-23.
Leprosy of Miriam, Num. 12 : 10.
Destruction of Korah, etc., Num. 16:28-35,
46-50.
Aaron's rod budding. Num. 17 : 8.
Water from the rock in Kadesh, Num. 20: 11.
Healing by the brazen serpent. Num. 21 :S, 9.
Moses' view of all Canaan, Deut. 34: 1-3.
Balaam's ass speaks, Num. 22 : 28.
Plague in the desert, Num. 25: i, 9.
Waters of Jordan divided, Josh. 3 : 10-17.
Jordan restored to its course, Josh. 4: 18.
Jericho taken, Josh. 6 : 6-20.
Achat! discovered, Josh. 7: 14-21.
Sun and moon stand still, Josh. 10: 12-14.
Gideon's fleece wet, Judg. 6:36-40.
Midianites destroyed, Judg. 7 : 16-22.
Exploits of Samson, Judg. 14-16.
House of Dagon destroyed, Judg. 16:30.
Dagon falls before the ark, etc., i Sam. 5.
Return of the ark, i Sam. 6: 12.
Thunder and rain in harvest, i Sam. 12 : iS.
Jeroboam's hand withered, etc., i Kin. 13:4, 6.
The altar rent, i Kin. 13:5.
Drought caused, i Kin. 17:6.
Elijah fed by ravens, i Kin. 17:7.
Meal and oil supplied, i Kin. 17: 14-16.
Child restored to life, i Kin. 17 : 22, 23.
Sacrifice consumed by fire, i Kin. 18:36, 38.
Rain brought, i Kin. 18:41-45.
Men destroyed by fire, 2 Kin. 1 : 10-12.
Waters of Jordan divided, 2 Kin. 2:14.
Noxious waters healed, 2 Kin. 2:21, 22.
Children torn by bears, 2 Kin. 2: 24.
Waters brought, 2 Kin. 3: 16-20.
Oil supplied, 2 Kin. 4 : 1-7.
Child restored to life, 2 Kin. 4:32-35.
Naaman healed, 2 Kin. 5: 10, 14.
Gehazi's leprosy, 2 Kin. 5: 27.
Iron caused to swim, 2 Kin. 6:6.
Syrians smitten blind, etc., 2 Kin. 6: i8, 20.
A man restored to life, 2 Kin. 13 : 21.
Assyrians destroyed, 2 Kin. 19:35.
Hezekiah healed, 2 Kin. 20:7.
Shadow put back, 2 Kin. 20: 11.
Pestilence in Israel, 1 Chr. 21 : 14.
Jonah preserved by a fish, Jon. i : 17 ; 2 : 10.
360
NEW TESTAMENT MIRACLES.
The conception of the \'irgin Mary, Matt, i : 18.
The star in the east, Matt. 2: 2.
The Spirit like a dove. Matt. 3 : 16.
Christ's fast and temptations. Matt. 4:1-11.
Many miracles of Christ, Matt. 4:23, 24; 8:16;
14:14,36; 15:30; Mark 1:34; Luke 6: 17-19.
Lepers cleansed. Matt. 8 : 3, 4 ; Luke 17 : 14.
Centurion's servant healed. Matt. 8:5-13.
Peter's wife's mother healed, Matt. 8: 14.
Tempests stilled. Matt. 8 : 23-26 ; 14 : 32.
Devils cast out, Matt. 8 : 28-32 ; 9 : 32, 33 ; 15 : 22-
28; 17: 14-18.
Paralytics healed. Matt. 9:2-6: Mark 2:3-12.
Issue of blood healed, Matt. 9: 20-22.
Jairus' daughter raised to life, Matt. 9: 18, 25.
Sight given to the blind, Matt. 9:27-30; 20:34;
Mark 8 : 22-25 '. John 9 : 1-7.
The dumb restored. Matt. 9:32, 33; 12:22; Mark
7 : 33-35-
Miracles by the disciples. Matt. 10: i, 8.
Multitudes fed. Matt. 14:15-21; 15:35-38.
Christ walking on the sea. Matt. 14: 25-27.
Peter walking on the sea, Matt. 14: 29.
Christ's transfiguration, etc.. Matt. 17 : 1-8.
Tribute from a fish's mouth, Matt. 17:27.
The fig-tree withered, Matt. 21 : 19.
Miracles at the crucifixion. Matt. 27:51-53.
The resurrection of Christ, and wonders attend-
ing it. Matt. 28 : 1-7 ; Luke 24 : 6.
Draught of fishes, Luke 5 : 4-6 ; John 21:6.
Widow's son raised to life, Luke 7: 14, 15.
Miracles before John's messengers, Luke 7: 21,
22.
Miracles by the seventy, Luke 10:9, 17.
Woman healed of infirmity, Luke 13: 11-13.
Dropsy cured, Luke 14: 2-4.
Malchus' ear restored, Luke 22:50, 51.
Water turned into wine, John 2:6-10.
Nobleman's son healed, John 4:46-53.
Impotent man healed, John 5:5-9.
Sudden crossing of the sea, John 6: 21.
Lazarus raised from the dead, John 11 :43, 44.
Christ's coming to his disciples, John 20: 19, 26.
Christ's ascension. Acts 1 :9.
Wonders at Pentecost, Acts 2 : i-ii.
Miracles by the apostles. Acts 2 : 43 ; 5:12.
Lame man cured. Acts 3 -.j.
Death of Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:5, 10.
Many sick healed, Acts 5:15, 16.
Apostles delivered from prison, Acts 5: 19.
Miracles by Stephen, Acts 6:8.
Miracles by Philip, Acts 8 : 6, 7, 13.
j^Sneas made whole. Acts 9: 34.
Dorcas restored to life, Acts 9:40.
Peter delivered from prison. Acts 12 :6-io.
Elymas struck blind, Acts 15 : it.
Miracles by Paul and Barnabas, Acts 14:3.
Lame man cured, Acts 14: 10.
Paul's recovery after being stoned. Acts 14:20.
Unclean spirit cast out, Acts 16: 18.
Paul and Silas delivered. Acts 16:25, 26.
Special miracles. Acts 19: 11, 12.
Eutychus restored to life. Acts 20: 10-12.
Viper's bite made harmless. Acts 28:5.
Father of Publius, etc., healed. Acts 28:8, 9.
MIR'IAM, their rebellion, I., daughter of
Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi,
the sister of Moses and Aaron, probably
MIR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MIZ
the one who, about 12 years old, watched
over Moses in the ark of bulrushes, Exod.
2:4,5; Num. 26:59. As a prophetess, Mic.
6:4, she led the women of Israel in their
song of worship and thanksgiving to God
on the drowning of the Egyptians, Exod.
15:20, 21. Her jealous murmurs against
Moses and his Cushite wife were punished
by a temporary leprosy. Num. 12; Deut.
24:9, as were the sins of Gehazi and Uzziah
against God's special servants. But she
was forgiven and restored, and near the
close of the wanderings of Israel died at
Kadesh-barnea, Num. 20:1.
II. Son of Mered and grandson of Pha-
raoh, I Chr. 4:17.
MIR'ROR. See Looking-glass.
MIS'CHIEF, Ezek. 7:26; Acts 13:10, im-
plies some serious harm accomplished.
MIS'GAB, height, a place in the highlands
of Moab, on the route of the invading Bab-
ylonians, Jer. 48: 1. Supposed to be meant
in Isa. 25:12, A. V., "high fort."
MISH'AEL, who is like God? I., son of
Uzziel and cousin of Aaron, Exod. 6:22.
He aided in the burial of Nadab and Abi-
hu, Lev. 10:4, 5. Compare Num. 9:6.
II. Me'shach, a fellow-captive with Dan-
iel in Babylon. See Abednego.
III. A supporter of Ezra, Neh. 8:4.
MI'SHAL, entfeatj, a Levitical city in
Asher, Josh. 21 :3o, called Misheal in Josh.
19:26, A. v., and Mashal in i Chr. 6:74.
Identified in Kh. Muslih, 6 miles north by
east of Acre.
MISH'MA, hearing, I., 5th son of Ish-
mael, and his posterity, a tribe northeast
of Medina; the Bene-misma, Gen. 25:14;
I Chr. 1:30. — II. I Chr. 4:25, 26.
MIS'REPHOTH-MAIM, burnings of wa-
ters, a place in North Canaan to which
Joshua pursued the host of Jabin, Josh.
11:8; 13:6.
THE ROMAN AS.
MITE, Gr. "lepton," a thin copper Ro-
man coin, in value less than 2 mills, Luke
12:59; 21:2. See Measures and Appen-
dix Tables. None are too poor to do some-
thing for Christ, but mites from a miser are
not an acceptable offering.
WXlYi.' CK^, sweetness, 27th station of the
Israelites from Goshen, Num. 33:28, 29,
perhaps Ain Ghamr, near Jebel Jerifeh.
MITH'REDATH, given by Mithras the
sun-god, I., treasurer of king Cyrus, who
restored the temple utensils, Ezra 1:8.
II. A Persian officer in Samaria, who in-
terfered with the rebuilding of Jerusalem,
Ezra 4:7.
MI'TRE, the sacred turban or bonnet of
the Jewish high-priest, made of a piece of
fine linen many yards long, wound about
the head, and having in front, secured with
blue lace, a plate of pure gold on which was
inscribed, " Holiness unto the Lord,"
Exod. 28:4, 36-38; 39:28-31.
MITYLE'NE, the ancient capital of the
island of Lesbos, in the .^Egean Sea ; a
" free " city and a seaport, on the east side
of the island, 7 miles distant from Asia
Minor. Paul touched there on his way
from Greece to Jerusalem, Acts 20: 14. The
island is now called by the Turks Midilli,
and the ruins of the city still exist.
MIXED MUL'TITUDE, Exod. 12:38;
Num. 11:4; Neh. 13:1-3, 30, a crowd of
people not purely Hebrews, followers of
the camp of Israel.
MI'ZAR, little, if a proper name, appar-
ently a southern spur of Mount Hermon,
which David in exile contrasts with Mount
Zion, Psa. 42:6. Compare Psa. 68:15, 16;
114:4-6; Isa. 2:2.
MIZ'PAH, or Miz'PEH, a watchtower, I.,
a place in Gilead, Hos. 5:1; so named from
the stone-heap cast up by Jacob and Laban,
Gen. 31:48-52, whence it was also named
Galeed and Jegar-sahadutha, heap of wit-
ness. It appears to have lain north of Ma-
hanaim.
II. Another place in Gilead farther south,
where Jephthah resided and assembled his
army, Judg. 10:17; 11:11,29,34. See also
Josh. 13:26.
III. A valley near Mount Hermon, Josh.
361
MIZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOA
11:3, 8, perhaps MutuUeh, in the Ard-el-
Hdleh, on the west of Jebel Heish, or far-
ther north in el-Buka'a.
IV. A city of Benjamin, a central gath-
ering-place of the tribes in the period of
the Judges, Josh. 18:26; Judg. 20: 1,3; 21:1,
5, 8. It is thought by some to have been
the Mizpah of Jephthah, who, though a
Gileadite, was judge over Israel west of the
Jordan also. Here Samuel sacrificed and
judged and Israel repented, and here Saul
was designated as king, i Sam. 7:5-16;
10:17-25. It was fortified by Asa as a de-
fence against Israel, i Kin. 15:22; 2 Chr.
16:6, was the residence of the governor,
under Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kin. 25:23, 25;
Jer. 40:6, and was reoccupied after the
Captivity, Neh. 3:19. Its name indicates
that it occupied an elevated site, and it was
near Ramah; hence Dr. Robinson identi-
fies it with the modern place called Neby
Samvvil, 5 miles northwest of Jerusalem —
a prominent height 2,935 feet above the
sea, commanding extended views in every
direction. Some, however, prefer Scojjus,
the prolongation of Mount Olivet 'over
against Jerusalem" on the north.
V. A town in the plain of Judah, Josh.
15:38; supposed to be el-Hesy, 3 miles
southeast of Lachish, and 16 east of Gaza.
VI. A chief town in Moab, where David
found a refuge for his parents, 1 Sam. 22:3;
possibly Kir-Moab the capital.
Some high point in the wilderness of Ju-
dah may also have been named Mizpah,
translated " watchtower" in 2 Chr. 20:24.
MIZ'PAR, rather MIS'PAR, miniber, a
Jew who returned from Babylon, Ezra 2:2;
called Mispereth in Neh. 7:7.
MIZ'RAIM, or MIZRA'IM, a son of Ham,
and father of various African races, Gen.
10:6, 13, but particularly of the Egyptians,
to whom his name was given. Mizraim,
the double Egypt, is also the Hebrew word
for Egypt in the Bible, Gen. 45:20; 46:34;
47:6, 13; Psa. 78:51; 105:23, 38, and this
country is still called Misr in Arabic. See
Egypt.
MNA'SON, remembering, a Christian
from Cyprus, the home of Barnabas, Acts
4:36; 13:2-5, "an old disciple," perhaps of
Christ in person, with whom Paul lodged
at Jerusalem on his last visit, Acts 21:16;
an elder "given to hospitality," 1 Tim.
3:2.
MOPi.'B,from the father, the son of Lot,
born near Zoar, Gen. 19:30-38; also the
race descended from him, and the country
they occupied. Num. 22:3, 4; 24:17. The
362
Moabites were thus kinsmen of Israel, Gen.
II :3i. The "country," "land," or "field"
of Moab lay east and southeast of the Dead
Sea, and chiefly south of the river Arnon —
a high plateau 3,000 feet above tiie Mediter-
ranean, 50 miles long and 15 wide, broken
by gorges running down to the Dead Sea.
At one period, however, it extended north
as far as the Jabbok, and for a long time
the region beyond the Jordan opposite Jer-
icho retained the name of "the plains of
Moab," Num. 22: 1 ; Deut. 1:5; 29:1; 34:6;
Josh. 13:32. The Moabites had dispos-
sessed a race of giants called Emim, Deut.
2:11, and had themselves been expelled by
the Amoriles from the territory north of
the Arnon, Num. 21:13,26; Judg. 11:13-18,
which was again conquered by Moses, and
assigned to the tribe of Reuben. On the
approach of Israel from Egypt the Moab-
ites refused them a peaceful passage, and
combined with the Midianites and Balaam
against them. Num. 22-24; Deut. 2:8, 9;
and though God spared them from con-
quest, he excluded them and their seed
even to the 10th generation from the pecu-
liar privileges of his people, Deut. 23:3-6.
They were gross idolaters, worshipping
Chemosh and Baal-peor with obscene rites,
Num. 25, and sometimes with human sac-
rifices, 2 Kin. 3:27. SeeMoi-OCH. At times,
as in the days of Ruth, there was peace be-
tween them and Israel ; but a state of hos-
tility was far more common, as in the time
of Eglon, Judg. 3:12-30; of Saul, i Sam.
14:47; of David, 2 Sam. 8:2, 12; of Joram
and Jeroboam, 2 Kin. 3; 13:20; 14:25. See
Mksha. Moabitish women tempted Solo-
mon to sin, 1 Kin. 11:1, 7, t,^. They aided
Nebuchadnezzar against the Jews, 2 Kin.
24:2; Ezek. 25:6-11 ; and after these began
to be carried captive, appear to have re-
gained their old possessions north of the
Arnon, Isa. 15; 16. The Jewish prophets
recorded many threatenings against these
hereditary enemies of God and his people.
Num. 24:17; Psa. 60:8; 83:6; Isa. 15; 16;
25; 26; Jer. 25:9-21; 48; Amos 2:1-3; and
all travellers concur in attesting the fulfil-
ment of these predictions. Desolation and
gloom brood over the mountains of Moab,
and its fruitful valleys are for the most part
untilled. Kerak, or the Belka, is under
Turkish government, and is infested by
migratory Arabs, Zeph. 2:8, 9. Travellers
describe it as abounding in ruins, such as
shattered tombs, cisterns, walls, temples,
etc., proving that it was once densely pop-
ulated. See " Keith on Prophecy."
MOD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MON
MODERA'TION, Phil. 4:5, conciliatory
spirit. In R. V. forbearance or gentle-
ness.
MOLA'DAH, birlh, a town in the south
or Simeonite portion of Judah, Josh. 15:26;
19:2; I Chr. 4:28, reoccupied after the Cap-
tivity, Neh. 11:25, 26. It lay in the region
where Abraham long sojourned, 8 miles
southwest of Arad, and 13 east of Beer-
sheba. It is now Kh. el-Milh.
MOLE. In Lev. 11:30 probably a spe-
cies of lizard or chameleon is meant. In
ver. 29 the "weasel," and in Isa. 2:20 the
" moles," may denote the sphalax typhlus.
or rat-mole, a large rodent, without exter-
nal eyes or tail, abundant in Palestine.
MO'LECH, or MO'LOCH, a king, called
MiLCOM in I Kin. 11:5, 2)2)} 2 Kin. 23:13,
and Malcham, or "their king," in 2 Sam.
12:30; Jer. 49:1, 3; Zeph. 1:5. See also
Isa. 30:33; 57:9; Amos 1:15; 7:13. It is
the name of a heathen deity worshipped
by the Ammonites. The Israelites also
introduced the worship of this idol, if not
during their wanderings in the desert, yet
after their settlement in Palestine, 2 Kin.
23:10; Ezek. 20:26, 31; Amos 5:25, 26.
Among the sacrifices to Moloch were hu-
man victims, namely, children, who were
cast alive into the red-hot arms of his hol-
low, brazen, calf-headed statue. See Hin-
NOM. Compare Lev. 18:21; 20:2; Deut.
12:31; Psa. 106:37, 38; Jer. 7:31; 19:2-6;
32:35. According to some of these passa-
ges Moloch would seem to be closely associ-
ated with the Moabitish Chemosh, and with
Baal, 2 Kin. 3:27; 23:10, 13; and we find
that the Phoenicians, whose chief god was
Baal, and the Carthaginians their colonists,
worshipped his image with similar horrid
sacrifices, as the Romans did their god
Saturn, 2 Kin. 17:16, 17 ; 21 : 5, 6.
MON'EY. See Measures, and Tables in
Appendix. In early ages and among un-
civilized races bartering, or the simple ex-
change of one commodity for another, pre-
ceded the use of any medium of exchange ;
afterwards cattle have been used as money,
also corn, salt, tobacco, sea-shells, etc.
When gold, silver, and copper were first
used they were not coined but weighed,
Gen. 13:2 ; 20: 16; Josh. 7:21 ; Isa. 46:6, and
the amount agreed upon was paid over by
weight, Gen. 23:16; 43:21; E.xod. 30:24.
Lastly they gave this metal, by public au-
thority, a certain mark, a certain weight,
and a certain degree of alloy, to fix its
value, and to save buyers and sellers the
trouble of weighing and examining the
coins. Greek coin were probably in use
in the 8th century B. C. Persian coins
came later, and the golden daric, the "Sa-
gittarius," was the first coin known to have
been used by the Jews, Ezra 2:69; 8:27;
Neh. 7:70-72. The first regular coinage
among the Jews is supposed to have been
in the time of Simon Maccabaeus, less than
a century and a half before Christ. The
363
MON
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MON
coins were the shekel, and a half, a third,
and a quarter of a shekel. The Jewish
COIN OF ABGARUS, FROM UR.
coins bore an almond-rod and a vase of
manna, but no image of any man was
allowed. Compare Matt. 22:16-22. Many
Greek and Roman coins circulated in Ju-
daea in New Testament times. See Tables
at the end of the volume; also Measures,
Mite, Penny, Shekel.
Volney says, " The practice of weighing
money is general in Syria, Egypt, and all
Turkey. No piece, however effaced, is
refused there : the merchant draws out his
scales and weighs it, as in the days of
Abraham, when he purchased his sepul-
chre. In considerable payments an agent
of exchange is sent for, who counts paras
by thousands, rejects pieces of false money,
and weighs all the sequins, either sepa-
rately or together." This may serve to
illustrate the phrase, " current money with
the merchant," Gen. 23:16; and the refer-
ences to " divers weights " — a large one to
weigh the money received, and a small
one for that paid out ; and to " wicked bal-
ances," Deut. 25:13; Amos 8:5; Mic. 6:11.
Our Saviour alludes to a class of " exchan-
gers," who appear to have taken money on
deposit, and so used it that the owner might
afterwards receive his own with interest,
Matt. 25:27. There were also money-bro-
kers who had stands in the outer court of
the temple, probably to exchange foreign
for Jewish coins, and to accommodate those
who wished to pay the yearly half-shekel
tax, Exod. 30:13-15, or to present an offer-
ing. They were expelled by the Lord of
the temple, not only for obtruding a secular
business within the house of prayer, but
also for pursuing it dishonestly, Matt. 21:12,
13; Mark 11 : 15-17.
In I Tim. 6:10 Paul speaks of the "love
of money " as a root of all evils ; censu-
ring not money itself, but the loz'e of it — a
prevailing form of human selfishness and
covetousness. This fatal passion may in-
fest the heart of a poor man as well as that
of the rich, for the one may have as much
of "the love of money" as the other.
364
MONTH. See below.
MON'UMENTS, Isa. 65:4, perhaps caves
to which priests retired for necromantic
dreams. In the R. \'., "secret places."
MOON, Heb. pale yellow, or while, "the
lesser light " appointed " for times and sea-
sons," Gen. 1:14-16; Psa. 104:19. This
beautiful and stately ruler of the night.
Gen. 1:16, is one of the chief witnesses to
mankind of the goodness, wisdom, and
power of the Creator, Deut. 33:14; Psa.
8:3; and as receiving all its light from the
sun, and reflecting it on all around, it is
a striking image of the church of Christ,
which is illuminated by him and reflects
his glory, Rom. 13:12; 2 Cor. 3:18. In the
clear sky of the East the moon shines with
peculiar brilliancy ; it was especially use-
ful to the early races of men from their lack
of artificial light, and their open-air pasto-
ral life; Song 6:10; and it was worshipped
by most nations of antiquity, either di-
rectly. Job 31 : 26, 27, with cakes of honey,
Jer. 7:18; 44:17-25, or as an idol-goddess
under the name of Ashtoreth, Artemis, Di-
ana, Hecate, Meni, Mylitta, Maja, etc. The
Hebrews were specially cautioned against
this form of idolatry, Deut. 4:19; 17:3, and
yet fell into it, 2 Kin. 21:3; Isa. 65:11 ; Jer.
8:2; 19:13. The withdrawal of the moon's
light, by an eclipse or by total extinguish-
ment, symbolized divine judgments, Isa.
13:10; Matt. 24:29; Rev.8:i2. See Luna-
tic and New Moon.
MONTH. The Hebrew months were lu-
nar months, that is, from one new moon to
another. These lunar months were each
reckoned at 29'^ days; or rather, one was
of 30 days, the following of 29, and so on
alternately : that which had 30 days was
called a full or complete month ; that which
had but 29 days was called incomplete.
The new moon was always the beginning
of the month, and this day they called new-
moon day, or new month. The new moon
may be detected about 40 hours after con-
junction with the sun, and observers were
stationed to watch for its appearance, and
authoritatively announce it. Num. 10:10;
Psa. 81:3. The Hebrews usually designa-
ted the months only as ist, 2d, etc. ; and
the names by which they are now known —
some of them of Persian origin— seem to
have been adopted by the Jews during the
Captivity. At the exodus from Egypt, which
occurred in April, God ordained that that
month — the 7th of the civil year— should
be the ist of the sacred year, according to
which the religious festivals were to be
MOR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOS
reckoned; and from that time both these
modes of numbering the months continued
to be employed.
As the Jewish months were governed by
the moon, while ours entirely disregard it,
the two systems cannot wholly coincide.
It is generally agreed, however, that their
month Nisan answers most nearly to our
April, lyar to our May, etc., as in the fol-
lowing table, but often including a part of
the preceding month, Abib in some years
coming partly in our March:
Hebrew Months.
Nearly corre-
sponding with
our
Months
of tlie
Sacred
Year.
Months
of the
Civil s
Year.
Sea-
ons.
Abib, or Nisan,
Exod. 12 : 2, i8.
" 13:4-
Esth. 3 : 7.
April.
ISt.
7th.
r
>
H
H
M
JO
lyar or Zif,
I Kin. 6: i.
May.
2d.
8th.
a
<
Sivan,
Esth. 8:9.
June.
ad.
9th.
Tammuz,
Ezek. 8:14.
July.
4th.
10th.
>
iSi
0
Ab.
August.
5th.
nth.
Elul,
Neh. 6:15.
September.
6th.
i2th.
Ethanim, or
Tishri,
I Kin. 8:2.
October.
7th.
ist.
>
7>
Marcheshvan,
or Bui,
I Kin. 6 :38.
November.
8th.
2d.
<
>
■ •<
M
>
Chisleu,
Zech. 7:1.
December.
9th.
3d.
Tebeth,
Esth. 2 : 16.
January.
loth.
4th.
Shebat,
Zech. 1:7.
February .
nth.
5th.
Adar,
Esth. 3 : 7.
March.
i2th.
6th.
Twelve lunar months making but 3=54
days and 8 4-5 hours, the Jewish year was
short of the solar nearly 11 days. To re-
cover the equinoctial point, from which
this difference of the solar and lunar year
would separate the new moon of the ist
month, the Jews 7 times in 19 years inter-
calated a 13th month, called Ve-adar, the
2d Adar. By this means their lunar year
nearly equalled the solar. See Year.
MOR'DECAI, little man, or worshipper of
Mars, I., son of Jair, and great-grandson of
a Benjamite named Kish, who was carried
captive to Babylon with Jehoiachin, B. C.
599, Esth. 2:5, 6. He was the cousin and
guardian of Hadassah, whose wonderful
history is related in the book of Esther, of
which he was probably the author. See
Esther, Haman.
II. A man of note among those who re-
turned to Judaea with Zerubbabel, Ezra
2:2 ; Neh. 7:7.
MO'REH, teacher, I., the name of an
" oak," or grove of oaks — called " the plain "
or "plains" in the A. V. — near Shechem,
where Abraham on entering Canaan had a
vision of God, Gen. 12:6, 7. Compare Gen.
35:4; Deut. 11:30; Josh. 24:26.
II. A height on the north of the valley of
Jezreel, a southern spur of Jebel ed-Duhy,
facing Mount Gilboa on the southeast with
the wide valley between.
MO'RESHETH-GATH,/>o.f.y«.f/o«o/'G'a/A,
a town in the lowland of Judah, the home
of Micah the prophet, Jer. 26:18; Mic. 1:1,
13-15, probably near Mareshah and Eleu-
theropolis.
MORI'AH, shown by Jehovah, the hill on
which the temple of Jerusalem was built,
2 Chr. 3:1. See Jerusalem. It seems to
have been the same place where Abraham
was about to offer up Isaac, Gen. 22:1, 2,
14, and where David interceded for his
people at the threshing-floor of Araunah,
2 Sam. 24:16-25; I Chr. 21:15-26.
MOR'TAR, for cementing bricks and
stones and plastering walls, Exod. 1:14;
Lev. 14:41, 42; Ezek. 13:10, was usually
made of clay and straw chopped fine and
well worked; sometimes of sand, ashes,
and lime. Bitumen was also used, as is
now seen in the ruins of Babylon.
MOR'TARS and pestles for separating
grain from its husks, and for pounding
grain, spices, etc., were often made of wood
as well as of metal. They were employed
by the Hebrews in preparing manna for
use. Num. 11:8. Large iron mortars for
pounding grain have been used by the
Turks in the execution of criminals ; but it
is not known that the Jews ever practised
this mode of punishment. To this day a
favorite article of food in Syria is prepared
by pounding meat for hours in an iron mor-
tar, and adding grain and spice while the
process of "braying" goes on, Prov. 27:22.
MOR'TIFY, put to death, Rom. 8:13; Col.
MOSE'RA, band, and MOSE'ROTH, bands,
37th and 29th station of the Israelites in the
desert, Num. 33:30, 2>7i 38. Compare Deut.
365
MOS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOS
io:6. It is found perhaps at et-Taiyibeh,
on the west of the traditional Mount Hor;
but according to many in Wady Murrah,
32 miles southwest of the Dead Sea, at the
foot of Jebel Maderah, which they regard
as the true Mount Hor.
MO'SES, the illustrious prophet and leg-
islator of the Hebrews, who led them from
Egypt to the promised land. Having been
originally imposed by a native Egyptian
princess, the name is no doubt Egyptian in
its origin, and Josephus gives its deriva-
tion— from the 2 Egyptian words, mo, wa-
ter, and USE, saved. With this accords the
Septuagint form, Mouses. The Hebrews
by a slight change accommodated it to their
own language, as they did also in the case
of some other foreign words; calling it Mo-
she, from the verb mash a, to draw. See
Exod. 2:10. Moses was born about 1571
B. C, the son of Amram and Jochebed, of
the Kohathite branch of the tribe of Levi,
and was the younger brother of Miriam and
Aaron. His history is too extensive to per-
mit insertion here, and in general too well
known to need it. It is enough simply to re-
mark that it is divided into 3 periods, each
of 40 years. Acts 7:23, 30, 36. The first ex-
tended from his infancy, when by the faith
of his pious "fathers," Heb. 11:23, he was
exposed in the Nile, and found and adopted
by the daughter of Pharaoh, to his flight to
Midian. During this time he lived at the
Egyptian court, and " was learned in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was
mighty in words and in deeds," Acts 7:22.
This is no unmeaning praise; the "wis-
dom" of the Egyptians, and especially of
their priests, was then the profoundest in
the world. The 2d period was from his
flight till his return to Egypt, Acts 7:30,
during the whole of which interval he ap-
pears to have lived in Midian, it may be
much after the manner of the Bedouin
sheikhs of the present day. Here he mar-
ried Zipporah (see), daughter of the wise
and pious Jethro, and became familiar with
life in the desert. What a contrast between
the former period, spent amid the splendor
and learning of a court, and this lonely no-
madic life. Still it was in this way that the
Angel-Jehovah, who appeared to him in
the burning bush, prepared him to be the
instrument of deliverance to His people
during the 3d period of his life, which ex-
tends from the exodus out of Egypt to his
death on Mount Nebo. In this interval
how much did he accomplish as the imme-
diate agent of the Most High.
366
The life and institutions of the great law-
giver and leader of Israel present one of
the finest subjects for the pen of a Chris-
tian historian, who is at the same time a
competent Biblical antiquary. His insti-
tutions breathe a spirit of freedom, purity,
intelligence, justice, and humanity else-
where unknown ; and above all, of supreme
love, honor, and obedience to God. They
moulded the character of the Hebrews,
and transformed them from a nation of
shepherds into a people of fixed residence
and agricultural habits. Through that peo-
ple, and through the Bible, the influence of
these institutions has been extended over
the world ; and often where the letter has
not been observed, the spirit of them has
been adopted. Thus it was in the laws
established by the pilgrim fathers of New
England ; and no small part of what is of
most value in the institutions which they
founded is to be ascribed to the influence
of the Hebrew legislator.
The name of this servant of God is per-
petuated in numerous places in the wilder-
ness of Sinai, and a recently discovered
Egyptian papyrus speaks of a Mesu who
had great influence with the " foreign peo-
ple " of Egypt. It occurs repeatedly in
Greek and Latin writings, and still more
frequently in those of the Arabs and the
rabbinical Jews. Many of their statements,
however, are mere legends without foun-
dation, or else distortions of the Scripture
narrative. By the Jews he has always been
especially honored as the most illustrious
personage in all their annals, and as the
founder of their whole system of laws and
institutions. Numerous passages both in
the Old and New Testaments show how
exalted a position they gave him, Psa.
103:7; 105:26; 106:16; Isa. 63: 12; Jer. 15:1 ;
Dan. 9:11; Matt. 8:4: John 5:45; 7:22;
9:28; Acts 7:20-38; Rom. 10:5, 19; 2 Tim.
3:8,9; Heb. 3; 11:23-28; Jude 9.
In all that he wrought and taught he
was but the agent of the Most High ; and
yet in all his own character stands honor-
ably revealed. He is extolled as " the man
of God," and eminently "the servant of
God." He " chose " the service of God
deliberately against strong temptations to
a worldly career. He early regarded him-
self as the goel or redeemer of his people,
and his judicial slaying of the Egyptian is
so explained by Stephen, Acts 7:25. His
despondency when called at the age of 80
to a task which he had believed hopeless
when 40 years old, God forgave. Though
MOT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOU
naturally liable to anger and impatience,
he so far subdued himself as to be termed
the meekest of men, Num. 12:3; and his
faith, humility, and forbearance, the wis-
dom and vigor of his administration, his
unfailing zeal and faith in God, and his
■disinterested patriotism are worthy of all
imitation, Exod. 32:11-14; Num. 11:29. He
did not place his sons in positions of power
and profit. Many features of his character
and life furnish admirable illustrations of
the work of Christ— as the deliverer, ruler,
and guide of his people, rejected by them,
but bearing them on his heart, interceding
for them as a mediator, rescuing, teaching,
and nourishing them even to the promised
land. All the religious institutions of Mo-
ses pointed to Christ; and he himself, on
the Mount of Transfiguration, 2,000 years
after his death, paid his homage to the
Prophet he had foretold, Deut. 18:15-19,
beheld " that goodly mountain and Leba-
non," Deut. 3:25, and was admitted to com-
mune with the Saviour on the most glori-
ous of themes, the death He should accom-
plish at Jerusalem, Luke 9:31.
He reached the border of the promised
land when 120 years old, gave his fare-
well counsels to the 12 tribes in the plains
of Moab, Deut. 1:3, 5, and died in Mount
Pisgah, Deut. 34:5-8. His last word and
act, like Christ's, were a benediction, Deut.
33:29; Luke 24:51.
Moses was the author of the Pentateuch,
as it is called, or the first 5 books of the
Bible. In the composition of them he was
probably assisted by Aaron, who kept a
register of public transactions, Exod. 17:14;
24:4, 7; 34:27; Num. 33:1, 2; Deut. 31:24,
€tc. Some things were added by a later
inspired hand; as, for example, the last
chapter of Deuteronomy. The 90th Psalm
also is ascribed to Moses; and its noble
and devout sentiments acquire a new sig-
nificance if received as from his pen near
the close of his pilgrimage. By many he
is regarded as the author of the book of
Job. His triumphal songs in Exod. 15;
Deut. 32 and 33 anticipate the final and
eternal song of Moses and the Lamb, Rev.
15:3. His writings show the familiarity of
an eyewitness and participant with all that
he relates, and are confirmed in even mi-
nute details by the extant monuments of
Egypt.
MOTE, a small, dry particle. Matt. 7:3-5.
MOTH. The common moth is an insect
destructive to woollen cloths. The egg is
laid by a small white miller, and produces
a small soft, shining worm, which houses
itself in a cylinder open at both ends,
wrought from the cloth, upon which it then
feeds destructively; after this, by another
transformation, it becomes a miller. Allu-
sions to the moth, as devouring clothes, the
wealth of Eastern homes, Jas. 5:2, and as
a frail and feeble insect, are frequent in
Scripture, Job 4:19; 13:28; 27:18; Psa.
39:11; Isa. 50:9; Hos. 5:12; Matt. 6:19, 20.
See Garments.
The insects called in general moths, of
which the above is only one species, are
exceedingly numerous. The main genus,
Lepidoptera, contains more than 1,500 spe-
cies. Moths fly abroad only in the evening
and night, differing in this respect from the
tribe of butterflies, which fly only by day.
Their larvae, or the worms from which they
spring, are active and quick in motion,
mostly smooth, and prey voraciously on the
food adapted to them; the common tinea
on cloths, others on furs, the leaves of
plants, etc.
MOTH'ER. The Hebrew words am and
AB, mother and father, are simple and easy
sounds for infant lips, like mamma and
papa in English. See Abba. " Before the
child shall have knowledge to cry. My fa-
ther, and My mother," Isa. 8:4. In addi-
tion to the usual meaning of " mother," am
sometimes signifies in the Bible grandmo-
ther, 1 Kin. 15:10, or some remote female
ancestor, Gen. 3:20. It is put for a chief
city, 2 Sam. 20:19; for a benefactress, Judg.
5:7; for a nation, as in the expressive Eng-
lish phrase, " the mother country," Isa.
3:12; 49:23. The fond affection of a mo-
ther is often referred to in Scripture ; and
God has employed it to illustrate his tender
love for his people, Isa. 49: 15. Mothers are
endowed with an all-powerful control over
their offspring; and most men of eminence
in the world have acknowledged their great
indebtedness to maternal influence. When
Buonaparte asked Madame Campan what
the French nation most needed, she replied
in one word, "Mothers." The divinity of
the Hebrew religion appears in the favora-
ble position of woman compared with that
of the heathen women around them. Lev.
19:3; Deut. 5:16; 1 Kin. 2:19; Prov. 15:20.
The Christian church already owes much,
and will owe infinitely more, to the love,
patience, zeal, and self-devotion of mothers
in training their children for Christ.
MO'TIONS, Rom. 7:5, A. V., impulses.
MOUL'DY, Josh, 9:5, 12, crumbled; mi-
nute pieces.
367
MOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOU
MOUNT, Jer. 6:6; 32:24; 33:4, a mound
or embankment thrown up in besieging a
city.
MOUN'TAIN, or MOUNT, is often meant
where the A. V. has "hill," denoting some-
times a single peak, but frequently a ridge,
as " Mount Ephraim," full of towns, 2 Chr.
15:8, and Mount Lebanon. Mountains are
among the most sublime and impressive of
the Creator's works on earth, and form the
noblest and most enduring monuments of
great events. Most of the mountains of
Scripture thus stand as witnesses for God —
every view of their lofty summits, and ev-
ery recurrence to them in thouglK, remind-
ing us of the sacred facts and truths con-
nected with them. Thus Mount Ararat is
a standing memorial of the deluge — of
man's sin, God's justice, and God's mercy.
Mount Sinai asserts the terrors of the di-
vine law. Mount Carmel summons us, like
the prophet Elijah of old, not to " halt be-
tween two opinions;" but if Jehovah is
God, to love and serve him. The Mount
of the Transfiguration still shines with the
glory of the truths there taught, and Mounts
Ebal and Gerizim still echo the curses and
the blessings once so solemnly pronounced
from them. So Mount Hor, Nebo, Leba-
non, and Gilboa have been signalized by
striking events ; Mount Zion, Moriah, and
Olivet are covered with precious memo-
ries; and the mountains about Jerusalem
and all other " everlasting hills " are sacred
witnesses of the eternal power and faithful-
ness of God.
Judaea was eminently a hilly country;
and the sacred poets and prophets drew
from the mountains around them many
beautiful and sublime illustrations of di-
vine truth. Thus a kingdom is termed a
mountain, Psa. 30:7, especially the king-
dom of Christ, Isa. 2:2; 11:9; Dan. 2:35.
Thus also difficulty is a "great mountain,"
Zech. 4:7. A revolution is the "carrying
of mountains into the midst of the sea,"
Psa. 46:3. God easily and speedily re-
moves every obstacle — " hills melt like wa.x
at the presence of the Lord," Psa. 97:5.
The integrity of the divine nature is sure
and lasting — " Thy righteousness is like
the great mountains," Psa. 36:6. The eter-
nity of God's love is pictured out by this
comparison : " For the mountains shall de-
part, and the hills be removed ; but my
kindness shall not depart from thee, nei-
ther shall the covenant of my peace be re-
moved, saith the Lord that hath mercy on
thee," Isa. 54:10. When David wishes to
368
express the stability of his kingdom, he
says, " Lord, by thy favor thou hast made
my mountain to stand strong," Psa. 30:7.
The security and protection afforded by
God to his people are thus beautifully de-
lineated: "As the mountains are round
about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round
about his people from henceforth, even for
ever," Psa. 125:2. When the prophet would
express his faith in God, how pure it was,
and what confidence it inspired, far above
any assurance which could arise from
earthly blessing or defence, he sings, " Tru-
ly in vain is salvation hoped for from the
hills, and from the multitude of mountains :
truly in the Lord our God is the salvation
of Israel," Jer. 3:23.
The head of a mountain is referred to in
the Hebrew in Gen. 8:5; its ears in Josh.
19:34; its shoulder in Deut. 33:12; its side
in I Sam. 23:26: its flanks in Josh. 19:12;
its rib in 2 Sam. 16:13; i^s thigh in Judg.
19: 1, 18 ; its back in the word Shechem, on
the slope of Gerizim.
The hills of Judaea were ancientlj- culti-
vated to the top, with scores of terraces,
and covered with vines, olives, figs, etc.
Hence the expression, alluding to the vine
of God's planting, "The hills were cov-
ered with the shadow of it," Psa. 80:10;
and others of the same kind. Travellers
say it is a rare thing to pass a mountain,
even in the wild parts of Judaea, which
does not show that it was formerly ter-
raced and made to flow with oil and wine,
though it may now be desolate and bare.
Says Paxton, "There are many districts
that are sadly encumbered with rock, yet
the soil among these rocks is of a very su-
perior kind ; and were the rock somewhat
broken up, the large pieces piled, and the
small mixed with the soil, it might be made
very productive. There is very striking
proof of this in some districts, as that about
Hebron, which abounds with rock, and yet
is covered with the most productive vine-
yards. As to such a rocky country being
so spoken of in the days of the patriarchs,
I suppose that it was in truth, at that time,
the finest of lands; that the rock which
now lies bare in so many places was then
all covered with earth of the richest kind."
MOUNT OF THE AM'ALEKITES, Judg.
12:15, a ridge running northeast in Mount
Ephraim, near Pirathon.
MOUNT OF THE CONGREGA'TION, or
assembly, Isa. 14:13, a sacred height north
of Persia, probably el-Burj.
MOUNT OF THE VAL'LEY, Josh. 13:19,
MOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOU
the high ground of Reuben, east of the
north end of the Dead Sea.
MOUN'TAIN OFTHE AM'ORITES, Deut.
1 : 19, 20, a ridge running north of east from
the desert et-Tih in the Sinaitic peninsula,
tojebel el-Mukrah.
MOURN'ING. The Orientals, at the
death of their friends and relations, made
striking demonstrations of grief and
mourning. They wept, tore their clothes,
smote their breasts, threw dust upon their
heads. Josh. 7:6, and lay upon the ground,
went barefooted, Isa. 20:2, pulled their
hair and beards, or cut them, Ezra 9:3;
Isa. 15:2, even made incisions on their
breasts, or tore them with their nails, a
practice forbidden by the Mosaic law, Lev.
19:28; 21:5; Deut. 14:1 ; Jer. 16:6, 7; 41 15;
48:37. Thetimeof mourning was common-
ly 7 days, I Sam. 31:11-13; Job i : 20, 21 ;
2:13; but it was lengthened or shortened
according to circumstances, Zech. 12:10.
That for Moses and Aaron was prolonged
to 30 days. Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8; and
that for Jacob to 70 days, Gen. 50:3-10.
Other mentions of mourning for the dead
are in the cases of Sarah, Gen. 23:2, Jo-
seph, Gen. 37:34, 35, the Egyptians, Exod.
12:30, Samuel, i Sam. 25:1, Saul, i Sam.
31:13, Abner, 2 Sam. 3:31, 39, Lazarus,
John II, and Stephen, Acts 8:2.
During the time of their mourning the
near relations of the deceased continued
sitting in their houses, and fasted, 2 Sam.
12:16, or ate on the ground. The food
they took was thought unclean, and even
themselves were judged impure. "Their
sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread
of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be
polluted," Hos. 9:4. Their faces were cov-
ered, and in all that time they could not
24
apply themselves to any occupation, nor
read the book of the law, nor offer their
usual prayers. They did not dress them-
selves, nor make their beds, nor uncover
their heads, nor shave themselves, nor cut
their nails, nor go into the bath, nor salute
anybody. Nobody spoke to them unless
they spoke first. Job 2 : 1 1-13. Their friends
commonly went to visit and comfort them,
John 11:19, 39, bringing them food, 2 Sam.
3:31-35; Jer. 16:7. They also went up to
the roof, or upon the platform of their
houses, to bewail their misfortune: "They
shall gird themselves with sackcloth; on
the tops of their houses, and in their streets,
every one shall howl, weeping abundant-
ly," Isa. 15:3; Jer. 48:38. The high-priests
and also the Nazarites were exempted from
the customary mourning, as being exclu-
sively devoted to God and his service. Lev.
10:2-6; 21:10, 11; Num. 6:7; Ezek. 24:16-
18; and so were the ordinary priests, ex-
cept on the death of their nearest relatives.
Lev. 21 : 1-4. The mourning dress among
the Hebrews was not fixed either by law
or custom. We only find in Scripture that
they used to tear their garments, a custom
still observed ; but now they tear a small
part merely, and for form's sake, 2 Sam.
13:19; 2 Chr. 34:27; Ezra 9:3; Job 2:12;
Joel 2:13. Anciently, in times of mourn-
ing, they clothed themselves in sackcloth,
or hair-cloth, that is, in clothes of coarse
brown or black stuff, 2 Sam. 3:31; i Kin.
21:27; Esth. 4:1; Psa. 35:13; 69:11.
369
MOU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MOU
They hired women to weep and wail,
and also persons to play on instruments,
at the funerals of the rich or distinguished,
Jer. 9:17. In Matt. 9:23 we observe a com-
pany of minstrels or players on the flute at
the funeral of a girl of 12 years of age. All
that met a funeral procession were accus-
tomed to join them for a time, to accom-
pany them on their way,sometimes relie-
ving the bearers of the bier, and mingling
their tears with those of the mourners,
Rom. 12:15.
MOURNING AT A GRAVE.
The custom of hiring women to weep
and wail has come down to modern times.
For example, the governor of NablOs had
died the very morning of Dr. Jowett's ar-
rival, and a numerous body of "cunning
women" were filling the whole city with
their cries, "taking up a wailing," with the
design, as of old, to make the eyes of all
the inhabitants " run down with tears, and
their eyelids gush out with waters," Jer.
9:17, 18. For this good service they would
the next morning wait upon the govern-
ment and the principal persons to receive
some trifling fee.
Some of the Jewish forms of mourning
are the appropriate and universal language
of grief; others, to our modern and occi-
dental taste, savor of extravagance. None
of these were enjoined by their religion,
which rather restricted than encouraged
370
them, Lev. 10:6; 19:27; 21:1-11; Num.
6:7; Deut. 14:1. They were the estab-
lished customs of the times. Sorrow finds
some relief in reversing all the usages of
ordinary life. Christianity, however, mod-
erates and assuages our grief, shows us a
Father's hand holding the rod, and the
dark valley itself penetrated by the heav-
enly light into which it emerges, i Cor.
15:53-55; I Thess. 4:14-18; Rev. 7:13-17;
14:13-
Instances of mourning over calamities,
private or public, are frequent: such as
those of Job, ch. i and 2 ; Israel, Exod.
33:4; Judg. 20:26; and the Ninevites,
Jon. 3:5.
Penitential mourning is also often
referred to, accompanied with fasting.
Matt. 9:15. See I Sam. 7:6; Lev. 23:27;
Joel 2: 12-17 > Zech. 12: 10, 11 ; Acts 27:9.
See Wall.
MOUSE. See below.
MOUTH is sometimes used in Scrip-
ture for speaker, Exod. 4:16; Jer. 15: 19.
God spoke with Moses "mouth to
mouth,' Num. 12:8, that is, condescend-
ingly and clearly. The law was to be
"in the mouth" of the Hebrews, Exod.
13:9, often rehearsed and talked of.
"The rod of his mouth," Isa 11:4, and
the sharp sword. Rev. i : 16, denote the
power of Christ's word to convict, con-
trol, and judge; compare Isa. 49:2;
Heb. 4:12. The Hebrew word for
mouth is often translated "command,"
Gen. 45:21; Job 39:27; Eccl. 8:2; and
the unclean spirits out of the mouth of
the dragon. Rev. 16:14, are the ready
executors of his commands.
MOWING, rather reaping with a sickle,
as the gathering and storing of a hay-crop
seems not to have been a Hebrew custom,
owing to the climate, Psa. 72:6; 106:20;
129:6,7; Prov. 27:25; Isa. 15:6; Amos 7:1.
MO'ZAH, sprhiff -head, ios\\. 18: 26, a town
in the border of Benjamin, 4^ miles north-
east of Jerusalem.
MUF'FLER, Isa. 3:19, a flowing out-door
veil.
MOUSE, in the Scriptures, is used chietly
of the field-mouse, but probably includes
various species of these animals, many va-
rieties of which are now found in Palestine.
Moses, Lev. 19:29, declared it to be un-
clean, yet it was sometimes eaten ; and Isa-
iah, 66:17, reproaches the Jews with this
practice. The hamster and the dormouse,
as well as the jerboa, are sometimes used
for food by the modern Arabs. Mice made
MUL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MUR
great havoc in the fields of the Philistines,
after that people had taken the ark of the
Lord, which induced them to send it back
with mice and emerods of gold, i Sam. 5:6,
LONG-TAILED FIELD-MOUSE: MUS SYLVATICUS.
-9, 11; 6:4, 5. The field-mice are equally-
prevalent in those regions at the present
day, and the grain crops of Hamath are
at times nearly destroyed by them.
MUL'BERRY-TREE. The Hebrew word
signifies weeping, and indicates some tree
which distils balsam or gum. The partic-
ular species is not known, though some
think the poplar, or aspen, is intended,
2 Sam. 5:23, 24; I Chr. 14:14, 15.
MULE, a mixed animal, the offspring of
a horse and an ass. A mule is smaller than
a horse, and has long ears, though not so
long as those of an ass. It is a remarka-
bly hardy, patient, obstinate, sure-footed
animal, lives twice as long as a horse, and
is much more easily and cheaply fed. Mules
are much used in Spain and South Amer-
ica for transporting goods across the moun-
tains. So also in the Alps they are used
by travellers among the mountains, where
a horse would hardly be able to pass with
safety. There is no probability that the
Jews bred mules, because it was forbidden
to couple creatures of different species.
Lev. 19:19. But they were not forbidden
to obtain them from abroad and use them,
I Kin. 10:25; 2 Chr. 9:23, 24; Neh. 7:68;
Ezek. 27:14. Thus we may observe, espe-
cially after David's time, that mules, male
and female, were common among the He-
brews; formerly they used only male and
female asses, 2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; i Kin.
1:33.38,44; 10:25; 18:5; Esth. 8:10, 14.
In Gen. 36:24 Anah is said to have
found "mules" in the desert; but the He-
brew word means hot springs. See Anah.
Another Hebrew word translated " mule "
in Esth. 8: 10, 14, A. V., is rendered " drom-
edary "in I Kin. 4:28, and "swift beast" in
Mic. 1 : 13, probably meaning swift horses.
MUNI'TIONS, fortifications, Isa.
33:16, a rocky fortress or acropolis;
the strong tower of the righteous
is impregnable and inaccessible to
their foes. Strongholds were often
on elevated ground, and at all ac-
cessible points were defended by
one or two walls, 2 Chr. 32:5; Jer.
51:58, with battlements and towers,
2 Chr. 14:7; 26:15; Zeph. i:i6, and
very strong gates, with watchtowers,
2 Sam. 13:34; 18:24, T,y, Isa. 45:2.
See War.
^MVPllA, flight SOX dark7iess, Gen.
46:21, a descendant of Benjamin,
called also Shupham, Shuppim, and
Shephupham, Num. 26:39; i Chr.
7:7, 12; 8:5.
MUR'DER, the designed and malevolent
taking of human life, was by the original
appointment of God a crime to be punished
by death. Cain, the first murderer, ac-
knowledged it as such, Gen. 4:14. The
ground for the death-penalty for murder is
the eminent dignity and sacredness of man
as a child of God, Gen. 9:5, 6. Even an ox
that gored a man was to be put to death, and
his owner also if negligent, Exod. 21:28-31.
Like the Sabbath and marriage, it is a pri-
meval and universal institution for man-
kind, and all nations have so recognized it.
Acts 28:4. The Mosaic code reenacted it.
Lev. 24:17; and while providing for the un-
intentional homicide a safe retreat, declares
that deliberate murder, proved by at least
2 witnesses, Num. 35:19-30; Deut. 19:15,
must be punished by death, from which
neither the city of refuge nor the altar of
God could shield the criminal, Exod. 21:12-
14; Num. 35:9-34; Deut. 19:1-13; i Kin.
2:5, 6, 28-34. The killing of a burglar in
the act was not a crime if it occurred in the
night, Exod. 22:2, 3. See Blood-aven-
ger, Refuge. Death was usually inflict-
ed by stoning, and kings themselves often
saw to the execution of the death-penalty,
2 Sam. 1:15, 16; 13:39; 14:7-11; I Kin.
2:31, 34. If a corpse were found in the
open fields and the murderer could not be
discovered, the town nearest to the spot
was obliged to purge itself by a solemn
ceremony, lest it should become liable to
the judgments of God, Deut. 21:1-9. In
various ways God is represented as spe-
cially abhorring this crime and securing
371
MUR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MUS
its punishment, Deut. 32:43; 2 Sam. 21:1;
Psa. 9:12; 55:23; Hos. 1:4; Rev. 22:15.
Our Saviour instructs us that one may be
guilty in the sight of God of murder in the
heart without any overt act, Matt. 5:21, 22;
1 John 3:15. Nothing is said specially in
the law respecting self-murder, and only
the cases of Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas
are described in the Bible, i Sam. 31:4;
2 Sam. 17:23; Acts 1:18. Of all murders,
that of the soul is incomparably the most
awful, John 8:44, and many even draw
others with them into the second death.
MUR'RAIN, a special mortality wrought
by miraculous agency among the cattle
of the Egyptians, while those of the He-
brews in the same region were unharmed,
Exod. 9:3-6. The same word is translated
"plagues" in Hos. 13:14.
MU'SHI, withdrawn, the 2d son of Me-
rari, Exod. 6:19; Num. 3:20, 2>2>\ 26:58;
I Chr. 23:21, 23; 24:26,30.
SACKBUT: ASSYRIAN B.-VS-RELIEF.
MU'SIC. The ancient Hebrews had a
great fondness for music, which they used
in their religious services, in their public
and private rejoicings, at their weddings
andfeasts, Isa. 5: 12; Amos6:5; Luke 15:25,
and even in their mournings, Exod. 32:17,
18; 2 Chr. 35:25; Lam. 2:7. We have in
Scripture canticles of joy, of thanksgiving,
of praise, of mourning ; also mournful ele-
gies or songs, as those of David on the
death of Saul and Abner, and the lamenta-
tions of Jeremiah on the destruction of Je-
rusalem; so, too, songs of victory, triumph,
and gratulation, as that which Moses sang
after passing the Red Sea, that of Deborah
and Barak, and others. The people of God
went up to Jerusalem thrice a year, cheered
on their way with songs of joy. Psalms 84;
122 ; Isa. 30:29. The book of Psalms com-
prises a wonderful variety of inspired pie-
ces for music, and is an inexhaustible treas-
ure for the devout in all ages.
372
Music is perhaps the most ancient of the
fine arts. Job 21:12. Jubal, who lived be-
fore the deluge, was the " father " of those
who played on the harp and the organ,
Gen. 4:21. Laban complains that his son-
in-law Jacob had left him without giving
him an opportunity of sending his family
away " with mirth and with songs, with
tabret and with harp," Gen. 31 :26, 27. Mo-
ses, having passed through the Red Sea,
composed a song, and sang it with the Is-
raelitish men, while Miriam, his sister, sang
it responsively, with dancing and playing
on instruments, at the head of the women,
Exod. 15:20, 21. He caused silver trum-
pets to be made, to be sounded at solemn
sacrifices and on religious festivals. Da-
vid, who had great skill in music, soothed
the perturbed spirit of Saul by playing on
the harp, i Sam. 16:16, 23; and when he
was himself established on the throne —
seeing that the Levites were not employed
as formerly in carrying the boards, veils,
and vessels of the tabernacle, its abode
being fixed at Jerusalem — appointed a
great part of them to sing and to play on
instruments in the temple, i Chr. 25. Da-
vid brought the ark to Jerusalem with
triumphant and joyful music, i Chr. 13:8;
15:16-28; and in the same manner Solo-
mon was proclaimed king, i Kin. 1:39,40.
Both David and he had singing men and
sitiging women, 2 Sam. 19:35; Eccl. 2:8;
and Solomon's songs were 1,005, " J^'"-
4:32. The Old Testament prophets also
sought the soothing aid of music in their
services, i Sam. 10:5, 10; 2 Kin. 3:15;
I Chr. 25:1, 3, 5.
Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun were chiefs
of the music of the tabernacle under Da-
vid, and of the temple under Solomon.
Asaph had 4 sons, Jeduthun 6, and Heman
14. These 24 Levites, sons of the 3 great
masters of the temple music, were at the
head of 24 bands of musicians, which served
in the temple by turns. Their number
there was always great, but especially at
the chief solemnities, i Chr. 23:5. They
were ranged in order about the altar of
burnt sacrifices. As the whole business
of their lives was to learn and to practise
music, it must be supposed that they un-
derstood it well, whether it were vocal or
instrumental, 2 Chr. 29:25.
In the temple service female musicians
were employed as well as male ; they gen-
erally were daughters of the Levites. Ez-
ra, in his enumeration of those whom he
brought back with him from the Captivity,
MUS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MUS
reckons 200 singing men and singing wo-
men, 2 Sam. 6:5; 19:35; Ezra 2:65; Neh.
7:67.
As to the nature of their music we can
judge of it only by conjecture, because it
has been long lost. Probably it was a
unison of several voices, of which all sang
together the same melody, each according
to his strength and skill, without musical
counterpoint, or those different parts and
combinations which constitute harmony in
our music. Probably, also, the voices were
generally accompanied by instrumental
music. If we may draw any conclusions
in favor of their music from its effects, its
magnificence, its majesty, and the lofty sen-
timents contained in their songs, we must
allow it great excellence. It is supposed
that the temple musicians were sometimes
divided into 2 or more separate choirs,
which, with a general chorus, sang in turn
responsive to each other, each a small por-
tion of the Psalm. The structure of the
Hebrew Psalms is eminently adapted to
this mode of singing, and very delightful
and solemn effects might thus be produced.
Compare Psalms 24, 136, 148, 150.
Numerous musical instruments are men-
tioned in Scripture, but it has been found
impossible to affix their names with cer-
tainty to specific instruments now in use.
By a comparison, however, of the instru-
ments probably held in common by the
Jews with the Greeks, Romans, and Egyp-
tians, a degree of probability as to most of
them has been secured. They were of 3
kinds :
I, Stringed instruments — neginoth:
I. KiNNOR, "the harp," Gen. 4:21 ; 31:27.
Frequently mentioned in Scripture, and
probably a kind of lyre.
2. Nebel, "the psaltery," i Sam. 10:5.
It appears to have been the name of vari-
ous large instruments of the harp kind.
3. AsoR, signifying lo-stringed. In Psa.
92:3 it apparently denotes an instrument
distinct from the nebel ; but elsewhere it
seems to be simply a description of the
NEBEL as lo-stringed. See Psa. 33:2;
144:9.
4. GiTTiTH. It occurs in the titles of
Psalms 8, 81, 84, etc. From the name it is
supposed that David brought it from Gath.
Others conclude that it is a general name
for a stringed instrument.
5. MiNNiM, strings, Psa. 150:4. Proba-
bly a general name for stringed instru-
ments. In Psa. 45:8, for "whereby," etc.,
read, " the stringed instruments made thee
glad."
6. Sabbeca, "sackbut," Dan. 3:5, 7, 10,
15. A kind of lyre, of 4 or more strings.
7. Pesanterin, "psaltery," occurs Dan.
y.j, and is supposed to represent the ne-
bel.
8. Machalath. Found in the titles of
Psalms 53 and 88 ; supposed to be a lute or
guitar. Machol, translated "dance " in the
A. v., was probably a kind of pipe, Exod.
15:20; Psa. 150:3-5.
See also illustrations in Harp.
II. Wind instrtinients :
9. Keren, " horn," or cornet, Josh. 6:5;
I Chr. 25:5; Psa. 150:4.
10. Shophar, "trumpet," Num. io:ro.
Used in summoning the host, etc., Exod.
19:13; Num. 10:10; Judg. 3:27; 7:8; 2 Sam.
6:15, synonymously with keren.
373
MUS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MYR
11. Chatzozkrah, the straight trumpet,
Num. io:i-io; Psa. 98:6.
12. JoBEL, or Keren Jobel, horn of ju-
bilee, or signal trumpet, Josh. 6:4. Proba-
bly the same with 9 and 10.
13. Chalil, "pipe" or "flute." The
word means bored through, i Sam. 10:5;
1 Kin. 1:40; Isa. 5:12; 30:29; Jer. 48:36.
14. Mashrokitha, Dan. 3:5, etc. Prob-
ably the Chaldaean name for the flute with
2 reeds.
15. Ugab, " organ " in our version, Gen.
4:21; Job 21:12; 30:31; Psa. 150:4. It
means a double or manifold pipe ; proba-
bly the same as the syrinx or Pan's pipe;
or perhaps resembling the bagpipe, num-
bered 16 in the cut. See Dulcimer.
III. Instruments zvhich gave out sound
07i being struck.
17. ToPH, Gen. 31:27, the tambourine
and all instruments of the drum kind,
Exod. 15:20; Job 21:12; Psa. 68:25* Isa.
24:8.
18. Paamon, "bells," E.\od. 28:33; 39:25.
Attached to the hem of the high-priest's
garment.
19. Tzeltzelim, " cymbals," 2 Sam.
6:5; I Chr. 16:5; Psa. 150:5. A word fre-
quently occurring. There were proba-
bly 2 kinds, hand-cymbals and finger-cym-
bals.
20. Shaltshim, I Sam. 18:6. In our ver-
sion " instruments of music." Margin,
"three-stringed instruments." Most wri-
ters identify it with the triangle.
21. Menaaneim, "cymbals," 2 Sam. 6:5,
A. V. " cornets." Probably the sistrum.
The Hebrew word means to shake. The
sistrum was generally about 16 or 18 inches
long, occasionally inlaid with silver, and
374
being held upright, was shaken, the bars
moving to and fro in the frame.
Further particulars concerning some of
these may be found under the names they
severally bear in our English Bible. In
Dan. 6: 18, for " instruments of music " we
should perhaps read " concubines."
MUS'TARD. A species of this annual
shrub, Sinapis nigra, is found in Palestine,
growing to the height of 7 to 9 feet, and
with a stem more than an inch thick. Prof.
Hacket, while examining a field of these
plants, saw a bird of the air come and lodge
in the branches before him, Matt. 13:31, 32;
Mark 4:31, 32. " A grain of mustard" was
used proverbially to denote anything ex-
tremely small, Matt. 17:20.
MUTH-LAB'BEN, in the title of Psalm 9,
is of unknown signification.
MUZ'ZLE. See Thkkshint,.
MY'RA, balsams, a town of Lycia, where
Paul embarked, on his way from Cassarea
to Rome, on board a ship of Alexandria,
Acts 27:5. It is now called by the Turks
Dembra.
MYRRH: BAI.SAMODENDRON MVRRHA.
MYRRH, bitter, a precious gum yielded
by a tree common in Abyssinia and Ara-
MYR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
MYS
bia, which is about 8 or 9 feet high, its
wood hard and its trunk thorny. It was of
several kinds, and of various degrees of
excellence. The best was an ingredient
in the holy ointment, Exod. 30:23. It was
also employed in perfumes, Esth. 2:12;
Psa. 45:8; Song 4:6; 5:5, 13; and in em-
balming, to preserve the body from cor-
ruption, John 19:39. The magi who came
from the East to worship Christ offered
him myrrh. Matt. 2:11.
In Mark 15:23 is mentioned "wine min-
gled with myrrh," which was offered to
Jesus previous to his crucifixion, and in-
tended to deaden the anguish of his suffer-
ings. It was a custom among the Hebrews
to give such stupefying liquors to persons
who were about to be capitally punished,
Prov. 31:6. Some have thought that the
myrrhed wine of Mark is not the same as
the "vinegar mingled with gall" of Matt.
27:34. They suppose the myrrhed wine
was given to our Lord from a sentiment of
sympathy, to prevent him from feeling too
sensibly the pain of his sufferings ; while
the potation mingled with gall, of which he
would not drink, was given from cruelty.
But the other explanation is the more prob-
able. See Gall.
Another word so translated in Gen. 37 : 25 ;
43 : 1 1 , is thought to be the ladanum of com-
merce, a resinous, aromatic, and narcotic
gum, from a low tree called the "rock-
rose," or Cistus creticus.
MYRTLE : MYRTUS COMMUNIS.
MYR'TLE, a beautiful and delightfully
fragrant evergreen-tree, growing wild
throughout the southern parts of Europe,
the north of Africa, and the temperate
parts of Asia, principally on the seacoast.
The leaves are of a rich and polished
green, the flowers white, with sometimes a
tinge of red externally, and the berries are
of the size of a small pea, violet or whi-
tish, sweetish, and with the aromatic fla-
vor which distinguishes the whole plant.
These are used for spices in the Levant.
It furnishes a useful tonic medicine, and
was among the Jews an emblem of justice.
It is mentioned in Neh. 8:15; Isa. 41:19;
55: 13; Zech. 1:8, 10, II.
MYS'IA, a province in the northwest cor-
ner of Asia Minor, bounded north by the
Propontis, west by the .lEgean Sea, south
by Lydia, and east by Bithynia. Paul
traversed this country on his first journey
to Europe, Acts 16:7, 8.
MYS'TERY means strictly a secret, and
is so used when spoken of the heathen
"mysteries" or secret rites, which were
full of abominations. In the Scriptures the
word often denotes those revealed truths
of religion which, without a revelation from
God, would have remained unknown to
man, Matt. 13:11. Our Saviour says to his
disciples that they are peculiarly happy,
because God has revealed to them " the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," Matt.
16:17; 11:25; Luke 10:21-24. Paul ex-
plains the word in Eph. 3:1-6; and often
speaks of the mystery of the gospel, of the
mystery of the cross of Christ, of the mys-
tery of Christ which was unknown to for-
mer ages, of the mystery of the incarna-
tion, the resurrection, etc., Rom. 11:25;
I Cor. 2:7-10; 4:1-3; 13:2; 15:51; Eph.
3:4-6; Col. 2:2; I Tim. 3:9, 16. The union
of Christ and his church, illustrated by mar-
riage, is a mystery, Eph. 5:31, 32. These
are in one sense mysteries, not only be-
cause they included some things which
stretch beyond all human thought, and oth-
ers which would never have been known
if the Son of God and his Holy Spirit had
not revealed them, but also because they
were not opened indifferently to every one,
according to the advice of Christ to his
apostles, " Give not that which is holy unto
the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine," i Cor. 2:14. In one place mystery
seems to denote the whole cycle of God's
secret plan in the administration of the
gospel, gradually unfolded even to the end,
Rev. 10:7; 11:15.
Mystery signifies also an allegory, that
is, a mode of information under which par-
tial instruction is given, a partial discovery
is made, but there is still a cover of some
kind, which the person who desires to
know the whole must endeavor to remove.
So the mystery of the 7 stars. Rev. 1:20,
375
NAA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAB
is an allegory representing the 7 Asiatic
churches under the symbol of 7 burning
lamps. So the mystery, " Babylon the
Great," is an allegorical representation of
the spiritual Babylon, idolatry, spiritual
fornication, etc., " I will tell thee the mys-
tery of the woman," that is, I will explain
to thee the allegory of this figure, Rev.
iJ'-S) 7- The "mystery of iniquity" in
2 Thess. 2:7,8, is the wicked principle af-
terwards developed in Antichrist.
Christianity is a revelation, a " manifes-
tation of the truth," 2 Cor. 4:2, and has no
"mysteries" for a priestly few, no secret
doctrines to be withheld from public teach-
ing. And while it is impossible for the
finite ever to comprehend the infinite, yet
much spiritual truth is revealed only to
those who live nearest to God and study
his Word most devoutly.
N.
NA'AM, pleasantness, a son of Caleb,
I Chr. 4: 15.
NA'AMAH, pleasant, I., a descendant of
Cain, Gen. 4:22.
II. An Ammonite wife of Solomon, mo-
ther of Rehoboam, i Kin. 14:21, 31; 2 Chr.
12:13. Compare i Kin. 11 :i.
III. A town of Western Judah, Josh.
15:41; probably Naaneh, 8 miles east of
Yebna.
IV. Some unknown region of Arabia,
the home of Zophar, Job 2:11; 1 1 : i ; 20 : i .
NA'AMAN, pleasantness, I., a grandson
of Benjamin, Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:40; ap-
parently called Uzzi in i Chr. T.-j.
II. The valiant and highly-esteemed gen-
eral of Ben-hadad II., king of Damascene
Syria in the time of Joram king of Israel.
He was afflicted with the leprosy ; but was
miraculously cured on washing 7 times in
the Jordan. Lev. 14:7, according to the di-
rection of Elisha, 2 Kin. 5. He had found
all his honor and power valueless, and all
physicians of no avail for his cure ; was led
to renounce his pride and avail himself of
the simple remedy prescribed, and being
cured, was grateful not only to the prophet,
but to the prophet's God. He frankly
yielded to the evidence which proved that
Jehovah was the living and true God ; and
took home with him 2 mule-loads of earth
for an altar to the Lord, E.xod. 20 : 24. With
respect to his attending Ben-hadad while
in the temple of Rimmon, the prophet gave
him no precise rule, but dismissed him in
376
peace, discerning, we may suppose, a grow-
ing fear and love of God which would pre-
serve him from all even outward homage
to the idol. See Gehazi. It is an unde-
signed confirmation of the authenticity of
Scripture that Luke, " the physician," is
the only evangelist who refers to this mir-
acle of healing, Luke 4:23-27. A hospital
for lepers occupies the professed site of
Naaman's house at Damascus.
NA'ARAH, a girl, wife of Ashur, of the
tribe of Judah, i Chr. 4:5, 6.
NA'ARAI, youthful, an officer high in
David's army, i Chr. 11:37; called Paarai,
2 Sam. 23:35.
NA'ARAN, juvenile, in Josh. 16:7, Na'-
.■VR.^TH, a town of Ephraim, towards the
east border, i Chr. 7:28. Probably Kh. el-
Aujah, 6 miles north of Jericho, overlook-
ing the Jordan valley.
NA'ASHON, Exod. 6:23, in the A. V. Na-
As'soN, Matt. 1:4; Luke 3:32. See Nah-
SHON.
^K'^KL., foolish, a descendant of Caleb,
owner of a large property in lands and
flocks, at Maon and Carmel in the south
of Judah. He was under great obligations
to David for protecting him from the rob-
bers of the desert; and yet in the very
hour most suggestive of a grateful gener-
osity he churlishly refused David's modest
request, quite in harmony with the unwrit-
ten law of the times, of provisions for his
needy troop. Indignant at this ingratitude
and inhospitality, David was soon on his
way to put him and his men to the sword.
Hai)pily, the discreet intervention of Abi-
gail convinced David that vengeance did
not belong to him, and averted this catas-
trophe. Ten da\s after the Lord smote
him, and he died, i Sam. 25. See Abigail.
The story is one of those that give us a
glimpse of Hebrew private life.
NA'BOTH,yr7///j or eminence, an Israel-
ite at Jezreel, who declined selling his an-
cestral vineyard to Ahab, the idolatrous
king of Israel, Lev. 25:23, 24; and was in
consequence murdered, on a false charge
of blasphemy contrived by Jezebel the
queen. Ahab took immediate possession
of the coveted vineyard — perhaps as being
legally forfeited to the government, con-
struing blasphemy as treason; or it may
be that the heirs, his children having per-
ished with him, were deterred from assert-
ing their claim by a dread of the unscrupu-
lous arts of Jezebel. Elijah, however, did
not fear to denounce against the king and
queen the vengeance of One " higher than
' {/M
JERUSALEM FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
NAC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAH
thev," I Kin. 21; 2 Kin. 9:24-26, 36; Eccl.
5:8:
N A' CHON, prepared, a threshing-floor of
Chidon, adjoining the home of Obed-edom,
near which Uzzah was slain — a place hence
called Perez-uzzah, 2 Sam. 6:6; i Chr. 13:9.
NA'CHOR. See Nahor.
NA'DAB, liberal, I., the eldest son of
Aaron and Elisheba, Exod. 6 : 23 ; Num. 3 : 2,
anointed to the priesthood, Exod. 28: i. He
was chosen to await the descent of Moses
from his long interview with Jehovah on
Sinai, E.xod. 24: i. He and Abihu used un-
consecrated and forbidden fire in burning
incense. Lev. 6:12; 10:1, 2; Num. 3:4;
26:61, and were slain for their presump-
tion. Nadab left no children, i Chr. 24:2.
See Abihu.
n. Son of Jeroboam I. king of Israel.
He succeeded his father, B. C. 954, and
reigned less than 2 years, being assassina-
ted while besieging Gibbethon, then in the
hands of the Philistines, by Baasha, of the
tribe of Issachar, who usurped his king-
dom. Nadab did evil in the sight of the
Lord; and with him perished his children
and the race of Jeroboam, as God had fore-
told by Ahijah, i Kin. 14:5-11; 15:25-30.
Compare i Kin. 16:9-15 as to retribution
on Baasha's posterity at the same place.
IIL Son of Shammai, tribe of Judah,
I Chr. 2:28, 30.
IV. Son of Jehiel, a Benjamite, founder
of Gibeon, i Chr. 8:30; 9:36.
NAG'GE, in R. V. NAG'GAI, brig-htness,
a son of David, and an ancestor of Jesus,
Luke 3:25; possibly the man called Nea-
riah in i Chr. 3:22, 23.
NA'HALAL, and NA'HALOL, pashtre, a
Levitical town of Zebulun, Josh. 19:15;
21 :35, from which the Canaanites were not
at once wholly excluded, Judg. 1:30; traced
at Mallil, 8^/^ miles west of Mount Tabor.
NAHA'LIEL, torrent of God, 51st station
of the Israelites, Num. 21:19, ^ wady join-
ing the Arnon from the north.
NA'HARI,or NAHARA'I, snoring, 2 Sam.
23:37; I Chr. 11:39, Joab's armor-bearer.
NA'HASH, serpent, I., a powerful and
brutal king of the Ammonites, who be-
sieged Jabesh-gilead and offered its citi-
zens barbarous terms of capitulation, but
was defeated by Saul, who came to their
relief, i Sam. 11; 12:12. He, or his son of
the same name, befriended David, as did
Shobi son of Nahash, 2 Sam. 10:2; 17:27-
29. See Hanun.
II. Apparently the husband of a woman
who bore him Abigail and Zeruiah, and
was afterwards the wife of Jesse, 2 Sam.
17:25 ; I Chr. 2:16.
NA'HATH, rest, I., an Edomite prince,
Gen. 36:13, 17.
II. A Levite, ancestor of Samuel, i Chr.
6:26; called Tohu and Toah in i Sam. 1:1;
I Chr. 6:34.
III. A Levite under Hezekiah, 2 Chr.
31:13.
NA'HOR, Heb. NA'CHOR, snorting, I.,
son of Serug, and father of Terah, Gen.
11:22-25; Luke 3:34. He lived 148 years.
II. Son of Terah, and brother of Abra-
ham and Haran. He married Milcah his
niece in Ur of the Chaldees, Gen. 11:26, 29,
but transferred his residence to Haran,
Gen. 24:10; 27:43. He had 12 sons, 8 by
his wife, and 4 by his secondary wife Reu-
mah, and among them Bethuel, the father
of Rebekah, Gen. 22:20-24. He seems to
have been a worshipper of the true God,
Gen. 24:3, 4; 27:2; 31:53.
NAH'SHON, sorcerer. See N.\ASHON.
He was the son of Amminadab and one of
our Lord's ancestors. Matt. 1:4; Luke 3: 32;
chief of the tribe of Judah in the desert.
Num. 1:7; 2:3; 7:12; 10:14; a"d brother-
in-law of Aaron, Exod. 6:23; Ruth 4: 18-20;
I Chr. 2: 10-12. He died in the wilderness.
Num. 26:64, 65. His son Salmon married
Rahab.
NA'HUM, consolation, the 7th of the 12
minor prophets. The circumstances of
Nahum's life are unknown, except that he
was a native of Elkosh, which probably
was a village in Galilee. His prophecy
consists of 3 chapters, which form one dis-
course, in which he foretells the destruc-
tion of Nineveh in so powerful and vivid a
manner that he might seem to have been
on the very spot. The native elegance,
fire, and sublimity of his style are univer-
sally admired.
Opinions are divided as to the time in
which Nahum prophesied. The best inter-
preters adopt Jerome's opinion, that he
prophesied in the time of Hezekiah, after
the war of Sennacherib in Egypt, men-
tioned by Berosus. Compare Isa. 20:6 and
Nah. 3:8. Nahum speaks of the taking of
No-amon, of the haughtiness of Rabsha-
keh, and of the defeat of Sennacherib as
things that were past. He implies that the
tribe of Judah were still in their own coun-
try, and that they there celebrated their
festivals. He notices also the captivity
and dispersion of the 10 tribes. Isaiah and
Micah were his contemporaries. Nineveh
perished about 100 years later, 606 B. C,
377
NAl
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAO
and its exhumed remains well accord with
his description of it.
NAILS or spikes were used by the Ro-
man soldiers to secure the Saviour to the
cross, John 20:25; Col. 2:14. The "nail"
with which Jael killed Sisera was rather a
tent-pin, such as is driven into the ground
in order to fasten the cords of the tent,
Exod. 27:19; Judg. 4:21, 22. Sometimes
tiie Hebrew word is used for the wooden
pins or iron spikes firmly inwrought into
the walls of a building, Ezra 9:8; Ezek.
15:3. The word implies fixedness, Isa.
22:23, 25, and a firm support, Zech. 10:4.
Another Hebrew word describes the gold-
en and ornamental nails of the temple, etc.,
2Chr. 3:9; Eccl. 12:11; Isa. 41 :7; Jer. 10:4.
NA'lti, ^-reen pastures, where Christ per-
formed one of his chief miracles, in raising
to life a widow's only son, Luke 7:11-17,
was a small village in Galilee beautifully
situated on the northwest slope of Jebel el-
Duhy, "the hill Moreh," 4 miles west by
south of Mount Tabor, and looking west
over the plain of Esdraelon. It is now a
petty hamlet of some 20 poor dwellings,
amid extensive ruins, and is called Nein,
The tombs are still found in the suburbs,
and the traveller may trace with some
probability the path by which Christ ap-
proached it.
NAI'OTH, diveUings, the abode of Sam-
uel and his pupils in a " school of the proph-
ets," I Sam. 19:18-24; 20:1. It appeai-s to
have been a suburb of Ramah ; and David,
having sought refuge there with Samuel,
was pursued by Saul.
NA'KED, in the literal sense. Gen. 2:25;
Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:15; so Hades and all se-
cret things are wholly uncovered before
God, Job 26:6; Heb. 4:13. It often means
no more than "not fully dressed." So in
John 21 : 7 Peter had on only his inner gar-
ment or tunic. See Garmknts. So prob-
ably in I Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; Mic. 1:8;
Acts 19:16. Sometimes poorness and in-
suflSciency of clothing are meant, as in Jas.
2:15. So in Isa. 58:7; 2 Cor. 11:27. A
nation is said to be " naked " when stripped
of its defences, wealth, etc., Gen. 42:9;
Exod. 32:25 ; 2 Chr. 28: 19; Jer. 49: 10.
"Nakedness" in the Bible denotes not
only shameful exposure, but all sin, espe-
cially idolatry, Exod. 32:25; Ezek. 16:36.
To " uncover the nakedness " denotes an
unlawful or incestuous union. Lev. 20:19.
NAMES among the Hebrews were fre-
quently significant, Gen. 2:19 — sometimes
of a personal or family trait, and some-
378
times of circumstances attending the birth
of a child ; and were given by one or both
the parents, either at birth or at circumcis-
ion, sometimes with the counsel of friends,
Ruth 4:17; Luke 1:59. In many cases they
were divinely suggested, with a prophetic
meaning, Isa. 7:14; 8:3; Hos. 1:4, 6, 9;
Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:13, 60, 63; or changed
later in life for a like cause, as were Abram,
Sarai, Jacob, and many others; often, too,
they were assumed afterwards to commem-
orate some striking occurrence in ones
history. Compare the cases of Ishmael,
Esau and Jacob, Moses, Ichabod, etc., Gen.
16:11 ; 17:5; 25:25, 26; Exod. 2:10; I Sam.
4:21. Compound names were frequent;
and often a part of the name of God, jah,
KL, jEHO, etc, was emploj-ed, as in Elie-
zer, Exod. 18:4, Samuel, Josiah, Adonijah.
Sometimes a whole phrase was formed into
a name, as Elioenai, to Jehovati are mine
eyes, i Chr. 4:36. Names of idols were
often made part of a child's name, as that
of Baal ; or children took the parent's name,
with the prefix of Ben or Bar, for son, or
Bath, meaning daughter. The New Tes-
tament names are chiefly ancient and fam-
ily names perpetuated, Luke 1:61. The
men of the East change their names for
slight causes; and hence many per.sons oc-
cur in the Bible bearing 2 or more names,
Ruth 1:20; 2 Sam. 23:8; John 1:42; Acts
4:36. Kings often changed the names of
those to whom they gave offices, Dan. i :6, 7;
hence the honor and privilege implied in a
" new name," Rev. 2:17; 3:12. Many slight
inflections of the same Hebrew name give
it a very different appearance to an Eng-
lish eye, as Geshem and Gashmu, Neh.
6:1, 6. A Hebrew name was sometimes
transferred to the Greek with but little
change : thus Elijah became Elias. But
sometimes it was exchanged for the Greek
word of the same meaning, though very
different in form; Thomas became Didy-
mus, and Tabitha, Dorcas.
The "name " of God is put for God him-
self, or for his perfections, Exod. 34:6;
Psa. 8:1 ; 20:1 ; John 17:26. See Jehovah.
The apostles wrought miracles by Christ's
power, Acts 3:6; 4:10; and they baptized
into the name of the Trinity, into a living
union with the Father, the Son, and the
Spirit, Matt. 28:19. To "raise up the
name of the dead " is explained in Ruth 4 ;
while to "put out" one's name means to
extinguish his family, Psa. 9:5.
NAO'MI, my deli£-ht — contrasted with
Mara, diiier, Ruth 1:20, 21— wife of Elime-
NAP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAT
lech, of Bethlehem, where she was highly
esteemed, ver. 19. The family removed to
Moab in a time of famine, where her hus-
band and her 2 sons, Mahlon and Chilion,
died, leaving with her their young Moabite
widows, Orpah and Ruth. On returning
to Judah she put to the test her 2 daugh-
ters-in-law, and though both loved her,
only Ruth loved God and chose the better
part. See Ruth.
NA'PHISH, or NE'PHISH, refreshed, nth
son of Ishmael, Gen. 25:15; i Chr. 1:31;
5 : 19-23. His posterity were a pastoral
people, somewhere on the southeast of
Harmon.
NAPH'TALI, my wrestling, the 6th son
of Jacob, and the 2d by Bilhah, Rachel's
handmaid, the name implying Rachel's
earnest prayer for him. Gen. 30:7, 8. We
know but few particulars of the life of
Naphtali. His sons were 4, Gen. 46:24;
Exod. 1:4; I Chr. 7:13. The patriarch
Jacob, when he gave his blessing, said,
" Naphtali is a hind let loose ; he giveth
goodly words," graceful and eloquent, Gen.
49:21. See Hind.
The tribe of Naphtali, called Nephthalim
in Matt. 4:15, A. V., were very numerous at
the exodus, standing midway in numbers
and in position in the camp with Dan and
Asher, Num. 1 :43; 2:25-31. Their territory
in the Holy Land, called " the west and the
south," A. v., literally " the sea and the
circuit," Deut. 33:23; Josh. 19:32-39, was in
a rich and fertile portion of Northern Pal-
estine, having Asher on the west, the Upper
Jordan and a large part of the Sea of Tibe-
rias on the east, and running north into the
Lebanon range, some lower offshoots of
which prolonged to the south formed the
"mountains of Naphtali," Josh. 19:32-39;
20:7. They were the first to suffer from
hostile approach through the Lebanon val-
ley. They attended in force at the corona-
tion of David, i Chr. 12:34, and are men-
tioned with honor in the wars of the Judges,
Judg. 1:33; 5:18; 6:35; 7:23, as much re-
duced by the Syrians, i Kin. 15:20, and as
among the first captives to Assyria, 2 Kin.
15:29; Isa. 9:1. Barak was their most no-
table leader, Judg 4:6-16. Our Saviour
spent much time in the southern part of
this region, Matt. 4:13-15; Mark 2:1-12,
partially fulfilling Isa. 9:1, 2.
NAPHTU'HIM, Gen. 10:13; I Chr. i:ii;
possibly to be traced in the ancient Mem-
phites, who had a divinity named Phtah,
see NoPH ; or in Naphata, at the great
bend of the Nile in Meroe, now Soudan.
NAP'KIN, probably a linen band used
either as a turban or a girdle, Luke 19:20;
John 11:44; 20:7; translated "handker-
chief" in Acts 19:12.
NARCIS'SUS, daffodil, a Roman, many
of whose household Paul salutes as Chris-
tians, Rom. 16: II.
NA'THAN, given, L, a Hebrew prophet,
a friend and counsellor of David. He as-
sisted the king in organizing public wor-
ship and the temple service, 2 Chr. 29:25,
and approved his purpose of building a
temple to the Lord, laut by divine direction
transferred its accomplishment to Solo-
mon, 2 Sam. 7:1-17. By a fine parable,
pointedly applied, he convicted David of
his guilt in respect to Uriah and Bathshe-
ba, 2 Sam. 12; Psa. 51; and his bold fidel-
ity here seems to have been appreciated
by David (see Nathan, H.), and is worthy
of everlasting remembrance: Solomon was
probably educated under his care, 2 Sam.
12:25, and was effectually aided by him
in his peaceful succession to the throne,
I Kin. I. He wrote some memorials, long
since lost, of both David and Solomon,
I Chr. 29:29. From 2 Chr. 9:29 he seems
to have lived through a large part of Solo-
mon's reign, and if so must have been
much younger than David. Two of his
sons were high officers at Solomon's court,
I Kin. 4:5.
n. A son of David, said to be by Bath-
sheba, i Chr. 3:5; 14:4; Zech. 12:12; an
ancestor of Christ, Luke 3:31. See Gene-
alogy.
\\\. A Syrian of Zobah, 2 Sam. 23:36.
IV. A descendant of Judah, i Chr. 2:36.
V. A friend of Ezra, sent for Levites and
Nethinim for the restored temple, Ezra8:i6.
Perhaps not the son of Bani, who had mar-
ried a foreign wife, Ezra 10:39.
NATHAN'AEL, the gift of God, a disci-
ple of Christ, probably the same as B.\r-
THOLOMEW, which see. He was a native
of Cana in Galilee, John 21:2, and was one
of the first to recognize the Messiah, who
at their first interview manifested his per-
fect acquaintance with Nathanael's secret
heart and Messianic hopes, John 1:45-51.
He was introduced by Philip to Jesus, who
on seeing him pronounced that remarka-
ble eulogy which has rendered his name
almost another word for sincerity : " Behold
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile."
He saw Christ at the Sea of Tiberias after
his resurrection, John 21:2, witnessed the
ascension, and returned with the other
apostles to Jerusalem, Acts 1:4, 12, 13.
379
NAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAZ
NA'TION, used in the Bible in its ordi-
nary sense, but in some passages implying
not only foreigners as distinct from the
Jews, but heathen, as in Psa. 9:17, 20; Isa.
9:1; 36:18; 37:12. The term nation some-
times denotes the inhabitants of a country,
Deut. 4:34, the country itself, Exod. 34:10,
one's fellow-countrymen. Acts 26:4, or the
founder of a people. Gen. 25:23. In Phil.
2: 15 read "generation," as in R. V.
NA'TURE and NAT'URAL point to the
origin, birth, and native character of a per-
son or thing, Rom. 2:27; Gal. 2:15; 4:8;
sometimes as merely animal, Rom. 1:26,
27; I Cor. 11:14; 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 10; and
sometimes as distinguished from spiritual
and regenerate, i Cor. 2:14; 15:44, 46;
Eph. 2:3.
NAUGHT, worthless, 2 Kin. 2:19; Prov.
20: 14; Jer. 24:2. Naugh'ty, wicked, Prov.
6:12. Naugh'tiness, wickedness, i Sam.
17:28; Jas. 1 :2i.
NA'UM, Luke 3:25, A. V. See Nahum.
NA'VEL, Job 40:16; Ezek. 16:4; used
figuratively in Prov. 3:8. In Song 7:2 per-
haps a bodice or similar vestment.
NAZARENE', Matt. 2:23; Acts 24:5, and
OF NAZ'ARETH, elsewhere, as in Matt.
21:11; Mark 1:24; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 4:34;
Acts 2 : 22. The prophets foretold, Psa. 22 : 7,
8 ; Isa. 53 : 2, that the Messiah should be de-
spised and rejected of men ; and this epi-
thet, which was at first simply a designation
of his residence, but afterwards came to
be used as a term of reproach, showed the
truth of these predictions, John 19:19; Acts
22:28. He is called Netser, the Heb. root
of Nazareth, in Isa. 11 :i. Nazareth was a
small city in the north part of Palestine.
See Galilee and Nazareth.
MODERN NAZARETH, SEEN FROM THE SOUTH.
NAZ'ARETH, from the Heb. Netser, a
sprout, the early home of the Saviour, com-
pare Isa. 11: 1, a city of Lower Galilee,
about 65 miles north of Jerusalem, in the
territory of the tribe of Zebulun. It was
situated on the side of a hill overlooking
from the northwest a rich and beautiful
valley, surrounded by hills, with a narrow
outlet towards the south, opening on the
plain of Esdraelon. At the mouth of this
ravine the monks profess to show the place
where the men of the city were about to
cast Jesus from the precipice, Luke 4:29.
3S0
Nazareth is nearly 6 miles west-northwest
of Mount Tabor, and nearly half way from
the Jordan to the Mediterranean. It is
called "the city of Jesus," because it was
his residence during the first 30 years of
his life, Matt. 2:23; Luke 1:26; 2:39, 51;
4: 16. He visited it during his public min-
istry, but did not perform many miracles
there because of the unbelief of the people,
Matt. 13:54-58; Luke 4: 16. It is not even
named in the Old Testament, nor by Jose-
phus, and appears to have been a small
city of no very high repute, John 1:46.
NAZ
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NAZ
The modern town, en-Nasirah, is a seclu-
ded village of 5,000 inhabitants, Greek and
Latin Christians and Mohammedans. It
lies 1,144 fset above the level of the sea,
and is one of the pleasantest towns in Syria.
Its houses are of stone, 2 stories high, with
flat roofs. It contains a mosque, an old
synagogue of the 6th century, a large Fran-
ciscan monastery on the site of a church of
the Crusaders, a Maronite church, a Greek
church, an English church, a hospital, and
an orphanage. East of the town is a per-
ennial fountain where our Lord must often
have slaked his thirst. See Wells. The
house of Joseph, a bull of Leo X. affirms,
was transported through the air to Loretto
in the 13th century; but he failed to ex-
plain the change of the material from the
light limestone of Nazareth to the dark red
stone of the Loretto house. The tradition-
ary " Mount of the Precipitation " is nearly
2 miles from the town, too remote to have
answered the purpose of the enraged Naz-
arenes, while there were several precipi-
tous spots close at hand where the fall is
still from 30 to 50 feet.
From the summit of the hill on the east-
ern slope of which Nazareth lies is a truly
magnificent prospect. Towards the north
the eye glances over the countless hills of
Galilee, and reposes on the majestic and
snow-crowned Hermon. On the east the
Jordan vallej' may be traced, and beyond
it the dim heights of ancient Bashan. To-
wards the south spreads the broad and
beautiful plain of Esdraelon, with the bold
outline of Mount Tabor and parts of Little
Hermon and Gilboa visible on its eastern
border, and the hills of Samaria on the
south, while Carmel rises on the west of
the plain and dips his feet in the blue wa-
ters of the Mediterranean. Says Dr. Rob-
inson in his " Biblical Researches in Pales-
tine," " I remained for some hours upon
this spot lost in the contemplation of the
wide prospect and of the events connected
with the scenes around. In the village be-
low the Saviour of the world had passed
his childhood; and although we have few
particulars of his life during those early
years, yet there are certain features of na-
ture which meet our eyes now just as they
once met his. He must often have visited
the fountain near which we had pitched our
tent, his feet must frequently have wan-
dered over the adjacent hills, and his eyes
have doubtless gazed upon the splendid
prospect from this very spot. Here the
Prince of peace looked down upon the
great plain where the din of battles so oft
had rolled and the garments of the war-
rior been dyed in blood; and he looked
out, too, upon that sea over which the swift
ships were to bear the tidings of his salva-
tion to nations and to continents then un-
known. How has the moral aspect of
things been changed ! Battles and blood-
shed have indeed not ceased to desolate
this unhappy country, and gross darkness
now covers the people; but from this re-
gion a light went forth which has enlight-
ened the world and unveiled new climes;
and now the rays of that light begin to be
reflected back from distant isles and con-
tinents to illuminate anew the darkened
land where it first sprang up."
NAZ'ARITE, rather NAZ'IRITE, separa-
ted, i. e., unto God, compare Gen. 49:26;
Lev. 22:2; Deut. 33:16; or crowned, Num.
6:5, 7; I Sam. 1:11; Judg. 13:4-14; Lam.
4:7; under the ancient Hebrew law a man
or woman engaged by a vow to abstain
from all intoxicating liquors, and from the
fruit of the vine in any form; to let the
hair grow; not to enter any house polluted
by having a dead body in it, nor to be
present at any funeral. If by accident any
one died in their presence they recom-
menced the whole of their consecration and
Nazariteship. This vow generally lasted 8
days, sometimes a month, and sometimes
during their whole lives. When the time
of Nazariteship expired the person brought
a number of sacrifices and offerings to
the temple — the burnt-offering, sin-offer-
ing, and peace-ofTering, 20 cakes anointed
with oil, the customary meat and drink
offering. Num. 28, and a free-will offering ;
the priest then cut off his hair and burned
it, after which he was free from his vow,
Num.6; Amos 2:11, 12. Perpetual Naza-
rites were consecrated as such by their
parents from their birth, as was proposed
by the mother of Samuel, i Sam. i:ii, and
continued all their lives in this state, nei-
ther drinking wine nor cutting their hair.
Such were Samson and John the Baptist,
Judg. 13:4, 5; Luke 1:15; 7:2,3- Nazarite-
ship was a symbolical recognition of the
obligation to keep soul and body holy unto
the Lord, Rom. 12:1.
As the cost of the offerings required at
the expiration of the term of Nazariteship
was very considerable for the poor, they
were often relieved by persons not Naza-
rites, who assumed these charges for them
for the sake of performing an act of piety
and charity. Paul availed himself of this
381
NEA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NEB
custom to disarm the jealousy of those who
represented him as hostile to the faith of
their fathers. He took 4 Christian Jews
whose vow of Nazariteship was accom-
plished, assumed the expense of their offer-
ings, and with them went through the cus-
tomary services and purifications at the
temple. Acts 21:20-26. There is also in
Acts iS:i8 an unexplained allusion to some
similar vow made by Paul himself, or per-
haps by Aquila, probably in view of some
danger escaped or some blessing received.
NE'AH, descent, a town in Zebulun, Josh.
19:13; now Kh. Nejeimiyeh, 11 or 12 miles
north of Mount Tabor.
NEAP'OLIS, new city, a maritime city
of Macedonia, near the borders of Thrace,
whither Paul came from the isle of Samo
thracia on his 1st visit to Europe, Acts
16:11. From Neapolis he went to Philippi.
He also touched it twice on his 2d visit,
Acts 20:1, 6. It is now the Turkish Ka-
valla, on a promontory, with Mount Sym-
bolum in the rear.
NEARI'AH, seti'ant 0/ Jehovah, I., i Chr.
4:41-43— II- I Chr. 3:22, 23.
HK'BAl, fruitful, Neh. 10:19.
NEBA'IOTH, and NEBA'JOTH, heights,
the firstborn son of Ishmael, Gen. 25:13,
whose posterity occupied the pasture-
grounds of Arabia Deserta, Isa. 60:7, and
ultimately possessed themselves of Edom.
They are thought to have been the Naba-
theans of profane history. See Idum^a.
NEBAL'LAT, secret folly, Neh. 11:34, a
town on the border of Benjamin and Dan ;
now Beit Nebala, 3 miles nprtheast of
Lydda.
NE'BAT, aspect, father of king Jeroboam,
of the tribe of Ephraim, living at Zereda,
I Kin. II :26; 2 Chr. 9:29.
NE'BO, prophet, I., a town in the vicinity
of Bethel and Ai, Ezra 2:29; 10:43; Neh.
7:33-
II. A city of Reuben, Num. 32:38, taken
by the Moabites, who held it in the time of
Jeremiah, Isa. 15:2; Jer. 48:1, 22.
III. A mountain of Moab, whence Moses
had a view of the promised land, and where
he died. It is a summit of the range Aba-
rim, "over against Jericho," Deut. 32:49; 34.
Jebel Nebbah, 3 miles southwest of Hesh-
bon, and 7 or 8 miles east of the mouth of
the Jordan, best answers the Scriptural
demands, though not a jirominent height.
It has several rounded summits, about 2,700
feet above the sea. Israel encamped " be-
fore," i. e., on the east of Nebo, before cross-
ing the Jordan.
382
IV. An idol of the Babylonians, Isa. 46: i.
In the astrological mythology of the Baby-
lonians this idol probably represented the
NEBO: ASSYRIAN; BRITISH MUSEUM.
god and planet Mercury. It was also wor-
shipped by the ancient Arabians. The ex-
tensive prevalence of this worship among
the Chaldaeans and Assyrians is evident
from the many compound proper names
occurring in the Scriptures of which this
word forms part ; as Nebuchadnezzar, Ne-
buzar-adan, Nebushasban, Jer. 39:9, 13;
48:1, and also in the classics, as Naboned,
Nabonassar, Nabopolassar, etc.
NEBUCHADNEZ'ZAR, or rather, as in
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, NEBUCHADREZ'-
ZAR, Nebo his protector, the son and suc-
cessor of Nabopolassar, who was the first
who reigned over Chaldaea after the down-
fall of Assyria. The son succeeded to the
kingdom of Chaldaea about 604 B. C. He
had been some time before associated in
the kingdom, and was sent to recover Car-
chemish, which had been wrested from the
empire by Necho king of Egypt. Having
been successful, he marched against the
governor of Phoenicia, and Jehoiakim king
of Judah, tributary to Necho king of Egypt.
NEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NEB
He took Jehoiakim and put him in chains
to carry him captive to Babylon ; but after-
wards he left him in Judoea, on condition
of his paying a large annual tribute. He
took away several persons from Jerusalem ;
among others, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, all of the royal family, whom
the king of Babylon caused to be carefully
educated in the language and learning of
the Chaldaeans, that they might be em-
ployed at court, 2 Kin. 24:1; 2 Chr. 36:6;
Dan. 1:1.
Nabopolassar dying, Nebuchadnezzar,
who was then either in Egypt or Judaea,
hastened to Babylon, leaving to his gener-
als the care of bringing to Chaldcea the
captives taken in Syria, Judaea, Phoenicia,
and Egypt; for, according to Berosus, he
had subdued all these countries. He dis-
tributed these captives into several colo-
nies, and in the temple of Belus he depos-
ited the sacred vessels of the temple of
Jerusalem, and other rich spoils. Jehoia-
kim king of Judah continued 3 years in
fealty to Nebuchadnezzar, and then revolt-
ed ; but after 3 or 4 years he was besieged
and taken in Jerusalem, put to death, and
his body thrown to the birds of the air,
according to the predictions of Jeremiah,
ch. 22.
His successor, Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah,
king of Judah, having revolted against
Nebuchadnezzar, was besieged in Jerusa-
lem, forced to surrender, and taken, with
his chief officers, captive to Babylon ; also
his mother, his wives, and the best work-
men of Jerusalem, to the number of 10,000
men. Among the captives were Kish, the an-
cestor of Mordecai, and Ezekiel, the proph-
et, Esth. 2:6. Nebuchadnezzar also took
all the vessels of gold which Solomon made
for the temple and the king's treasury, and
set up Mattaniah, Jeconiah 's uncle by the
father's side, whom he named Zedekiah.
Zedekiah continued faithful to Nebuchad-
nezzar 9 years, at the end of which time he
rebelled, and confederated with the neigh-
boring princes. The king of Babylon came
into Judaea, reduced the chief places of the
country, and besieged Jerusalem; but Pha-
raoh-hophra coming out of Egypt to assist
Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar went to meet
him, and forced him to retire to his own
country, Jer. 37:5, 8; Ezek. 17:15. This
done, he resumed the siege of Jerusalem,
which continued more than a year. In the
nth year of Zedekiah, B. C. 588, the city
was taken, and Zedekiah, being seized,
Jer. 39:5, was brought to Nebuchadnezzar,
who was then at Riblah in Hamath. The
king of Babylon condemned him to die,
caused his children to be put to death in
his presence, and then bored out his eyes,
loaded him with chains, and sent him to
Babylon, 2 Kin. 24; 25; 2 Chr. 36.
During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar the
city of Babylon and the kingdom of Babj-
lonia attained their highest pitch of splen-
dor. He conquered Phoenicia, bringing to
a close a long siege of Tyre, and ravaged
Egypt, Jer. 46:1-26; Ezek. 29:2-20; 30:6.
He constructed great reservoirs, canals,
and palaces, and fortified Babylon with
triple walls. The bricks now found in
scores of places through that region all
bear his name. He took great pains in
adorning Babylon; and this was one great
object of his pride. " Is not this," said he,
" great Babylon, that I have built for the
house of my kingdom, by the might of my
power, and for the honor of my majesty?"
But God vanquished his pride, afflicting
him with that strange form of madness
called zoanthropy, under which a man
thinks himself changed to some beast, and
acts accordingly. For 7 years, apparently,
Dan. 4:i'6, he thus suffered, till he learned
wisdom and was restored, according to the
predictions of Daniel. See Dan. 1-4. An
inscription found among the ruins on the
Tigris, and now in the East India House
at London, gives an account of the various
works of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon and
Borsippa. Abruptly breaking off, the rec-
ord says the king's heart was hardened
against the Chaldee astrologers. " He
would grant no benefactions for religious
purposes. He intermitted the worship of
Merodach, and put an end to the sacrifice
of victims. He labored under the effects
of enchantment." Nebuchadnezzar is sup-
posed to have died B. C. 562, after a reign
of about 43 years. He was a devoted wor-
shipper of Bel-Merodach, whose gilded im-
age in the plain of Dura was 60 cubits high,
with its pedestal. Many things show the
cruelty and violence of his nature. His
2d queen, Nitocris, mentioned by Herodo-
tus, was an Egyptian woman.
One of the famous structures ascribed to
Nebuchadnezzar, and in which no doubt
he took much pride, was the famous " hang-
ing gardens," which he is said to have
erected to gratify the longing of his first
queen Amuhia for elevated groves such as
she was accustomed to in her native Me-
dia. This could only be done, in a coun-
try so level as Babylonia, by constructing
383
NEB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NEC
an artificial mountain; and accordingly
the king caused one to be made, 400 feet
square and over 75 feet high. The succes-
sive terraces were supported on ranges of
regular piers, covered by large stones, on
which were placed thick layers of matting
and of bitumen and 2 courses of stones,
which were again covered with a solid
coating of lead. On such a platform an-
other similar, but smaller, was built, etc.
The various terraces were then covered
with earth, and furnished with trees, shrub-
bery, and flowers. The whole was watered
from the Euphrates, which flowed at its
base, by machinery within the mound.
These gardens occupied but a small por-
tion of the prodigious area of the palace,
the wall inclosing the whole being 6 miles
in circumference. Within this were 2 other
walls and a great tower, besides the palace
buildings, courts, gardens, etc. All the
gates were of brass, which agrees with the
language used by Isaiah in predicting the
capture of Babylon by Cyrus, Isa. 45:12.
The ruins of the hanging gardens are be-
lieved to be found amid the vast irregular
mound called Kasr, on the east side of the
Euphrates, 800 yards by 600 at its base.
The bricks taken from this mound are of
fine quality, and are all stamped with the
name of Nebuchadnezzar.
Another labor of this monarch was that,
the ruins of which are now called Birs-
Nimrfid, about 8 miles southwest of the
above structure. See Babel. The re-
searches of Sir Henry Rawlinson have
shown that this was built by Nebuchad-
nezzar on the platform of a ruinous edifice
of more ancient days. It had 7 terraces.
On the top was the sanctum and observa-
tory of the temple, now a vitrified mass.
Each story was dedicated to a different
planet, and stained with the color appro-
priated to that planet in their astrological
system. The lowest, in honor of Saturn,
was black; that of Jupiter was orange, that
of Mars red, that of the Sun yellow, that of
Venus green, and that of Mercury blue.
The temple was white, probably for the
moon. In the corners of this long-ruined
edifice, recently e.vplored, were found cyl-
inders with arrow-headed inscriptions, in
the name of Nebuchadnezzar, which inform
us that the building was named " The Sta-
ges of the Seven Spheres of Borsippa,"
that it had been in a dilapidated condition,
and that, moved by Merodach his god, he
had reconstructed it with bricks enriched
w^ lapis lazuli, "without changing its site
« 384
or destroying its foundation platform."
This restoration is also stated to have ta-
ken place 504 years after its first erection
in that form by Tiglath-pileser I., 1 100 B. C.
If not actually on the site of tlie tower of
Babel mentioned in the Bible, and the tem-
ple of Belus described by Herodotus, this
building would seem to have been erected
on the same general plan. Every brick
yet taken from it bears the impress of Neb-
uchadnezzar. Borsippa appears to have
been a suburb of ancient Babylon.
NEBUSHAS'BAN, adorer of Nebo, the
Rab-saris or chief chamberlain of the king
of Babylon, like Ashpenaz, Dan. 1:3; lie
sent officials to release Jeremiah from pris-
on, Jer. 39:3, 13. Compare 2 Kin. 18:17.
NEBUZAR'-ADAN, " chief of the execu-
tioners " under king Nebuchadnezzar, and
his agent in the sacking and destruction of
Jerusalem, 2 Kin. 25:8-21; Jer. 39:8-10.
He greatly befriended Jeremiah by the
king's direction, Jer. 39:11; 40:1-5. Sev-
eral years later he carried away 745 addi-
tional captives, Jer. 52:12-30.
NE'CHO, or Pharaoh-necho, an Egyp-
tian king, mentioned not only in Scripture,
but by Herodotus, who says that he was
son of Psammetichus, king of Egypt, and
that, having succeeded him in the king-
dom, he raised great armies, and sent out
great fleets, as well on the Mediterranean
as the Red Sea; that he expended a vast
sum and many thousand lives in a fruitless
effort to unite the Nile and the Red Sea by
a canal ; and that he was the first to send a
ship wholly around Africa. Josiah king of
Judah being tributary to the king of Baby-
lon, opposed Necho on his ist expedition
against Nebuchadnezzar, and gave him
battle at Megiddo, where he received the
wound of which he died, and Necho pressed
forward without making any long stay in
Palestine. On his return from the Euphra-
tes, where he had taken and garrisoned the
city of Carchemish, B. C. 610, he halted in
Riblah in Syria, and sending for Jehoahaz,
king of the Jews, he deposed him, loaded
him with chains, and sent him into Egypt.
Then coming to Jerusalem, he set up Elia-
kim,or Jehoiakim, Josiah's firstborn, in his
place, and exacted the payment of 100 tal-
ents of silver and i talent of gold. The
accompanying cut, from the great " Tomb
of the Kings " in Egypt, explored by Bel-
zoni, is believed to represent 4 Jewish hos-
tages or captives of distinction presented
before Pharaoh-necho. One of them may
be meant for Jehoahaz. They were colored
NEC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NEH
■white; and with them were 4 red, 4 black,
and 4 others white, supposed to represent
Babylonians, Ethiopians, etc. They were
led before the king, seated on his throne,
by one of the hawk-headed figures so fre-
quent on Egyptian monuments. Jeremiah,
46:2, tells us that Carchemish was retaken
by the army of the king of Babylon, in the
4th year of Jehoiakim king of Judah ; so
that Necho did not retain his conquests
in Syria more than 4 years, 2 Kin. 23:29 to
24:7; 2 Chr. 35:20 to 36:6.
NECK. The phrases to " harden the
neck," Prov. 29:1, and to be "stiff-necked,"
like a headstrong brute, illustrate the wil-
ful obstinacy of sinners against the instruc-
tions and commands of God. The 3'oke of
sin is of iron, Deut. 28 : 48, but that of Christ
is easy. Matt. 11:29. "To lay down the
neck" is to hazard one's life, Rom. 16:4.
Conquerors of ancient days sometimes put
their feet on the prostrate necks of princes
in token of their subjugation, trampling
them in the dust. This is often shown in
Egyptian and Assyrian monuments. Their
mischief sometimes returned upon their
own heads. Josh. 10:24; Psa. 18:40.
NECROMANCER, one who pretended to
discover unknown and future events by
summoning and interrogating the dead,
Deut. 18: 10, II ; 2 Kin. 21 :6; 2 Chr. 33:6, a
crime punishable by stoning to death, Lev.
19:31; 20:27. See Sorcerer. No good
reason can be given for believing that such
pretended communications with departed
spirits are less offensive to God now than
in the time of Moses, Isa. 8:19; 29:4.
25
NEE'DLE, Matt. 19:24. See Camel.
"Needlework" in Judg. 5:30 denotes em-
broidery.
NEES'ING, translated sneezing in 2 Kin.
4:35 ; used in Job 41 : 18 to describe the vio-
lent breathing of the enraged leviathan, or
crocodile.
NEGI'NAH, or NEGI'NATH, in title of
Psa. 61, and NEGI'NOTH, Hab. 3 : 19, a gen-
eral name of stringed instruments used by
the Hebrews, or the music or song for
them, I Sam. 18:6; Psa. 68:25, translated
"song" in Job 30:9; Psa. 77:6; Lam. 3:14.
Psalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 67, and 76 are addressed
to the chief musician with Neginoth. See
Music.
NEHEMI'AH, consoled by Jehovah, L, the
son of Hachaliah, brother of Hanani, of the
tribe of Judah, Neh. 1:1, 2; 2:3; 3:7, pos-
sibly of the royal family. He was born at
Babylon during the captivity, and sustained
the office of cup-bearer to the Persian king
Artaxerxes Longimanus, at Susa. Touched
by the calamitous state of the colony of
Jews which had formerly returned to Jeru-
salem, he laid their case before God in
penitent and importunate prayer, and at
length besought the king of Persia to per-
mit him to go to Jerusalem and aid in re-
building it. He was accordingly sent
thither as governor in the 20th year of Ar-
taxerxes, about 444 B. C. He directed his
attention chiefly to the great but essential
task of rebuilding the walls of the city.
The enmity of the Samaritans, under which
the colony had formerly suffered, was now
increased; and under Sanballat, the gov-
385
NEH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NEP
ernor of the country, they cast all possible
hindrances, by artifice and slander, in the
way of the Jews. They even went so far
as to attack the laborers at their work, so
that Nehemiah had to cause them to labor
with arms in their hands ; yet in one year
their task was completed. In this great
work, and in his whole administration, his
pious zeal and disinterestedness, courage,
and liberality, his love for the people and
city of God, and his prayerful reliance on
divine aid were crowned with success. He
had the cooperation of faithful friends, es-
pecially of Ezra, Neh. 8: 1, 9, 13; 12:36, and
instituted many excellent civil improve-
ments. About 432 B. C, though perhaps
not for the first time, he returned to his
post at the court of Babylon, Neh. 2:6:
5:14; 13:6; but after a few years was re-
called to Jerusalem to reform certain grow-
ing irregularities — neglect of the temple
service, breaches of the Sabbath, marria-
ges with the heathen, etc. He required of
those Jews who had married heathen wives
that they should either abandon them or
else themselves quit the country. This
voluntary exile of a number of discontent-
ed priests may have given occasion to the
building of the temple on Mount (ierizim
and the establishment of the Samaritan
worship. See S.\xn.4LLAT. The repaired
temple and walls were solemnly rededica-
ted, and he suppressed usury and exaction
from the poor, fed the destitute, provided
for the temple service, and was in all things
a model for rulers.
The BOOK OF Nehemiah contains the
history of all these transactions, written by
himself near the close of his long life, B. C.
400.? It is a sort of a continuation of the
book of Ezra, and was called by some of
the fathers the Second book of Ezra. Some
portions of it, as ch. 8 and 9 and 12:1-26,
appear to be compilations from public reg-
isters, etc. The mention of Jaddua as
high-priest and of some late names of the
line of David, ch. 12:10-22, may perhaps
have been made by some subsequent in-
spired writer. The book contains much
information as to the topography of Jeru-
salem, the genealogy of prominent He-
brews, and the trades and customs of the
people. With it the historical books of the
Old Testament close.
II. One who returned to Jerusalem with
Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7.
III. Son of Azbuk,ajudahite, whohelped
to rebuild Jerusalem, Neh. 3:16.
NEHI'LOTH, perforated, supposed to
386
mean flutes or wind instruments; found
only in the title of the 5th Psalm, which
was perhaps to be sung with this accom-
paniment only.
NE'HUM, consoled, Neh. 7:7; rather Re-
hum, which see, as in Ezra 2:2.
NEHUSH'TA, copper, wife of Jehoiakim
and mother of the j'oung king Jeconiah,
with whom she was probably associated in
the government, as she is in the reproaches
of Jeremiah, 2 Kin. 24:8; Jer. 13:18; 29:2.
NEHUSH'TAN, brazen, or 0/ copper, a
name given in contempt to the brazen ser-
pent that Moses had set up in the wilder-
ness, Num. 21:8, and which had been pre-
served by the Israelites to that time. The
superstitious people having made an idol
of this serpent, Hezekiah caused it to be
broken — a mere piece of brass, 2 Kin. 18:4.
Memorials, relics, and other outward aids
to devotion which men rel^' upon often have
the opposite effect ; the visible emblem
hides the Saviour it ought to reveal, John
3:14-16.
NEI'EL, abode of God, Josh. 19:27, a
town of Asher towards the mouth of the
Kishon ; traced at Tell en-Nahl, 4 miles
east of Haifa.
NEIGH'BOR. At the time of our Saviour
the Pharisees had restrained the meaning
of the word "neighbor" to those of their
own nation, or to their own friends, hold-
ing that to hate their enemy was not for-
bidden by the law. Matt. 5:43. But our
Saviour informed them that the whole
world were neighbors, that they ought not
to do to another what they would not have
done to themselves, and that this charity
extended even to enemies. See the beau-
tiful parable of the good Samaritan, the real
neighbor to the distressed, Luke 10:29-37.
NE'KEB, the cavern, a town in Naphtali;
now Kh. Seiyadeh, 4 miles south by west
from Tiberias.
NEKO'DA,y(7«/o//5, I., the head of a fam-
ilvtliat returned from Babylon, Ezra 2:48;
Neh. 7:50.
II. Ezra 2:60; Neh. 7:62.
NEMU'EL, day of God, I., son of Sime-
on, Num. 26:12; I Chr. 4:24; called Jem-
UEL in Gen. 46:10; Exod. 6:15.
II. A Reubenite, brother of Dathan and
Abiram, Num. 26:9.
NE'PHEG, sprout, I., son of Izhar, Exod.
6:21.-11. A son of David, 2 Sam. 5:14, 15;
I Chr. 3:7 ; 14:6.
NEPH'EWS.Judg. 12:14; Job 18:19; ^sa.
14:22; I Tim. 5:4, A. v., means grandchil-
dren.
NEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NET
NE'PHISH, I Chr. 1:31; 5:19. See Na-
PHISH.
NEPH'THALIM, A. V., Matt. 4:13, 15;
Rev. 7:6. See Naphtali.
NEPHTO'AH, opening, a flowing spring
near the border of Judah and Benjamin,
Josh. 15:8, 9; 18:14-16; probably Lifta, a
village and fountain 2^ miles northwest of
Jerusalem.
NER, light, son of Jehiel, i Chr. 8:29, 30,
compared with 9:35, 36, father of Kish, ver.
39, and grandfather of Saul, i Chr. 8:33;
9:39. He also had a brother named Kish,
I Chr. 9:36. Jehiel seems to have been the
founder of Gibeon.
NE'REUS, a Christian at Rome, Rom.
16:15.
NER'GAL, great hero, a prominent idol
of the Babylonians and Assyrians, wor-
shipped by the Cuthite heathen who were
transplanted into Palestine, 2 Kin. 17:30.
This idol probably represented the planet
Mars, which was ever the emblem of blood-
shed. Mars is named by the Zabians and
Arabians ill-luck, niisfortiuie. He was rep-
resented as holding in one hand a drawn
sword, and in the other, by the hair, a hu-
man head just cut off; his garments were
blood-red, as the light of the planet is also
reddish.
NER'GAL -SHARE'ZER, Nergal prince
of fire, I., a chief officer under Nebuchad-
nezzar, Jer. 39:3.
II. The rab-mag or chief of the magi-
cians, supposed to be Neriglissar men-
tioned by Berosus, who killed his brother-
in-law Evil-merodach, king of Babylon,
B. C. 559, and was succeeded by his son
Laborosoarchod, B. C. 556.
NE'RI, an ancestor of Christ, Luke 3:27,
28. See Neriah.
NERI'AH, Jehovah my lamp, the father
of Seraiah and Baruch, Jer. 32:12; 36:8, 14,
32; 43:6; 45:1; 51:59-
NE'RO, the infamous Roman Caesar be-
fore whom Paul appeared, Acts 25:it;
28:16, and under whom he became a mar-
tyr. He is not mentioned by name except
in the note appended to 2 Timothy, but is
referred to in Phil. 1:12, 13; 4:22. During
his reign Rome was almost destroyed by
a fire which continued more than a week
and consumed many public buildings, tem-
ples, monuments, libraries, works of art,
and human lives; and such was his char-
acter that the charge that he caused the fire
for the sake of rebuilding the city in finer
style is generally believed. Nero himself
charged the crime upon the Christians, and
instituted a merciless persecution against
them, A. D. 64. Some were sewed up in
the skins of animals and thrown into the
arena to be torn in pieces by dogs ; others
were wrapped in cloths dipped in pitch,
fastened to stakes, and set on fire as night-
torches. He perished by his own hand,
A. D. 68.
NEST, a symbol of security and comfort.
Job 29:18. Scripture writers notice the
adaptation of the thick foliage of the cedar
for birds' nests, Ezek. 31:3-6; of the flat
branches of the fir-tree for storks, Psa.
104: 17, and the hollows in the rocks for the
blue rock-dove, still found around the Dead
Sea, Jer. 48:28; also the fondness of the
swallow and sparrow for human habita-
tions, Psa. 84:3. The eagle's nest on lofty
cliffs. Job 39:27, 28; Obad. 4, pointed a
a reproof of pride and ambition, Jer. 49: 16 ;
Hab. 2:9. The Kenite's nest was "in a
rock," Num. 24:21, 22. See Sela. The
prohibition of taking a mother-bird with
her young, Maimonides says, was designed
to save the whole nest, since the eggs and
newly-fledged birds could not lawfully be
eaten.
NETHAN'EEL, given by God, the name
of 9 or 10 men mentioned in Num. 1:8;
I Chr. 2:14; 15:24; 24:6; 26:4; 2 Chr. 17:7;
35:9; Ezra 10:22; Neh. 12:21, 36.
ti\Wl\ih.U\' Kyi,givenby Jehovah, I., i Chr.
25:2, 12. — II. 2 Chr. 17:8. — III. Jer. 36: 14.^
IV. Jer. 41.
NETH'ER, lower; as the lower stone of
a handmill, Deut. 24:6; the foot of Sinai,
Exod. 19:17; the regions of the dead, Ezek.
32:18.
NETH'INIM, or NETHI'NIM, given or
consecrated, a term first applied to the Le-
vites, who were "given" to the priests, to
serve them in holy things, Num. 3:9; 8: 19;
but after the settlement in Canaan to ser-
vants dedicated to the service of the tab-
ernacle and temple, to perform the most
laborious offices, as carrying of wood and
water. Num. 31:47. The Gibeonites were
destined to this station, Josh. 9:21-27; after-
wards other Canaanites who surrendered
themselves and whose lives were spared.
Many of them appear to have been first
assigned to David, Solomon, and other
princes, and by them transferred to the
temple service, i Kin. 9:20, 21; Ezra 2:58,
70; 8:20; Neh. 11:3. It is probable that
they became proselytes, Exod. 12:48; Deut.
29:11 ; Neh. 10:28, and that many of them
could cordially unite with David in saying,
" I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house
387
NET
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
NIC
of mj' God than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness," Psa. 84:10. The Nethinim
were carried into captivity with the tribe
of Judah, and great numbers were placed
not far from the Caspian Sea, whence Ezra
brought 220 of them into Judaea, Ezra 8:17.
They probably lodged within the precincts
of tile temple, and helped to fortify Ophel
on its south side, Neh. 3:26, 31 ; 11 :2i.
NETO'PHAH, dropping, 3, town of Judah,
the home of many Levites, singers, i Chr.
9:16; 27:13,15; Ezra2:22; Neh. 7:26; 12:28.
The Netophathites are called " sons " of
Salma, who was probablj- the founder of
the town, i Chr. 2:54. See 2 Sam. 23:28,
29; 2 Kin. 25:23; Jer. 40:8.
NETS are often referred to in Scripture,
Prov. 1:17; Eccl. 7:26; Isa. 19:8, 9; Hab.
1 : 15, 16, particularly in connection with the
first disciples of Christ, Matt. 13:47-50;
Luke 5:1-10. Before the invention of fire-
arms nets were much used in hunting and
fowling, and possibly in catching men, as
robbers, etc.. Job 19:6; Psa. 140:5; Mic.
7:2. Among the ancient Romans there
was a gladiatorial game in which one man
was armed with sword and shield, and his
antagonist with a net, by casting which he
strove to entangle the other so that he
might easily despatch him with his dagger.
Drag-nets were used in fishing, Isa. 19:8;
Hab. 1:14-17; John 21:6-11. The apostles
were to be fishers of men. Matt. 4:18-22.
In Luke 5:6 read, " their nets were break-
ing," as in R. V.
NET'TLE, a well-known stinging plant,
growing in neglected grounds, Isa. 34:13;
Hos. 9:6. A different Hebrew word in
Job 30:7; Prov. 24:31 ; Zeph. 2:9, seems to
indicate a larger species, or perhaps the
charlock or wild mustard.
NEW MOON. The new moon was the
commencement of each of the Hebrew
months. See Month. The Hebrews had
a particular veneration for the first day of
every month, for which Moses appointed
peculiar sacrifices. Num. 28:11-15; but he
gave po orders that it should be kept as a
holy day, nor can it be proved that the an-
cients observed it as such ; it was a festi-
val of merely voluntary devotion. It ap-
pears that at the time of Saul they made
on this day a sort of family entertainment ;
since David ought then to have been at the
king's table, and Saul took his absence
amiss, i Sam. 20:5, 18. Moses implies that,
besides the national sacrifices then regu-
larly offered, every private person had his
particular sacrifices of devotion, Num.
388
10:10. The beginning of the month was
proclaimed by sound of trumpet, Psa. 81 :3,
and the offering of solemn sacrifices. But
the most celebrated new moon was that at
the beginning of the civil year, or the first
day of the month Tishri, Lev. 23:24. This
was a sacred festival, on which no servile
labor was performed, Amos 8 : 5. See Trum-
pet. In the kingdom of the 10 tribes it
seems to have been a custom of the people
to visit the prophets at the new moons for
the purpose of carrying them jiresents and
hearing their instructions, 2 Kin. 4:23. Eze-
kiel says, 45: 17 (see also i Chr. 23:31 ; 2 Chr.
8: 13), that the burnt-offerings offered on the
day of the new moon were to be provided
at the kings e.xpense. The observance of
this festival was discontinued soon after
the establishment of Christianity, (ial. 4:9,
10; Col. 2:16, though the Jews take some
notice of the day even now.
NEW YEAR. See Trumpet.
NEZI'AH, illustrious, Ezra 2:54; Neh.
7:56; the father of Nethinim who returned
from Babylon.
NE'ZIB, a gar7-ison,]o^\\. 15:43, a city of
Judah, in the lower hill region; now Beit
Nusib, 8"j miles northwest of Hebron.
NIB'HAZ, barker, according to the Rab-
bins a dog-shaped or dog-headed divinity
of Babylon, brought into Samaria b_\- the
Avites, 2 Kin. 17:31.
NIB'SHAN, /77-
Three species of oaks are now found in
Bible lands, and in Lebanon some are of
398
large size, as they formerly must have
been in Palestine. Dr. Robinson saw the
crests and heights of the region east of the
Jordan clothed as in ancient times with
grand oaks, Zech. 11:2. The oak is a long-
lived tree, and many single trees or groves
were notable and historical landmarks,
I Sam. 10:3. See Moreh. Under the
welcome shade of oaks and other large
trees many public affairs were transacted ;
sacrifices were offered, courts were held,
and kings were crowned. Josh. 24:26; Judg.
6:11, iq; 9.6. See Grove.
OATH, a solemn affirmation or promise
OAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OBA
accompanied by an appeal to the Supreme
Being to punish the swearer if his state-
ments are not true or his promises not
kept, Gen. 26:28; 2 Sam. 21:7; Neh. 10:29,
30. An oath was often taken when im-
portant declarations were made, i Kin.
18:10, a vow assumed, Lev. 5:4, a solemn
promise given. Gen. 14:22; 24:2-4; 50:25,
or a covenant made, Gen. 31:53; i Chr.
16:15-17. God has prohibited all false
oaths and all useless and customary swear-
ing in ordinary discourse ; but when the
necessity or importance of a matter re-
quires an oath, he allows men to swear by
his name, Exod. 22 : 1 1 ; Lev. 5:1. To swear
by a false god was an act of idolatry, Jer.
5:7; 12:16.
Among the Hebrews an oath was admin-
istered judicially, not only to witnesses,
but to an accused person whose guilt could
not be proved, that upon his solemn denial
he might be set free, Exod. 22: 10, 11 ; Lev.
5:1; 6:2-5; Num. 5:19-22; I Kin. 8:31.
The judge stood up and adjured the per-
son to be sworn in the name of God, also
mentioning one or more of His infinite at-
tributes. In this manner our Lord was
adjured by Caiaphas, Matt. 26:63. Jesus
had remained silent under long examina-
tion, when the high-priest, rising up, know-
ing he had a sure mode of obtaining an
answer, said, " I adjure thee by the living
God, that thou tell us whether thou be the
Christ." To this oath, thus solemnly ad-
ministered, Jesus replied that he was indeed
the Messiah.
An oath is a solemn appeal to God, as to
an all-seeing witness that what we say is
true, and an almighty avenger if what we
say be false, Heb. 6:16. Its force depends
upon our conviction of the infinite justice
of God; that he will not hold those guilt-
less who take his name in vain ; and that
the loss of his favor immeasurably out-
weighs all that could be gained by false
witness. It is an act of religious worship ;
on which account God requires it to be
taken in his name, Deut. 10:20, and points
out the manner in which it ought to be ad-
ministered, and the duty of the person who
swears, Exod. 22: II ; Deut. 6:13; Psa. 15:4;
24:4. Hence atheists, who profess to be-
lieve that there is no God, and persons who
do not believe in a future state of reward
and punishment, cannot consistently take
an oath. In their mouths an oath can be
only profane mockery.
God himself is represented as confirm-
ing his promise by oath, and thus conform-
ing to what is practised among men. Gen.
26:3; Psa. 95:11; Acts 2:30; Heb. 6:13, 16,
17. The oaths forbidden in Matt. 5:34, 35;
23:16-22; Jas. 5:12, must refer to the un-
thinking, hasty, and frivolous practices of
the Jews, not to reverent appeals to God on
proper occasion ; otherwise Paul must have
acted against the command of Christ, Rom.
1:9; Gal. 1 :2o; 2 Cor. 1 :23. That person is
obliged to take an oath whose duty requires
him to declare the truth in the most solemn
and judicial manner; though undoubtedly
oaths are too often administered unneces-
sarily and irreverently, and taken with but
slight consciousness of the responsibility
thus assumed. As we are bound to mani-
fest every possible degree of reverence to-
wards God, the greatest care is to be taken
that we swear neither rashly nor negli-
gently in making promises. To neglect
performance is perjury, unless the promise
be contrary to the law of nature and of
God; in which case no oath is binding;
the sin is in taking it. See Corban and
Vows.
A customary formula of taking an oath,
accompanied perhaps by some significant
gesture, was, "The Lord do so to me, and
more also," that is, the Lord slay me, as
the victim sacrificed on many such occa-
sions was slain. Gen. 15:10, 17; Jer. 34:18,
and punish me even more than this, if I
speak not the truth, Ruth 1:17; i Sam.
3:17. Similar phrases are these: "As the
Lord liveth," Judg. 8:19; "Before God I
lie not," Rom. 9:1; "I say the truth in
Christ," I Tim. 2:7; "God is my record,"
Phil. 1:8. Several acts are alluded to as
accompaniments of an oath ; as putting the
hand under the thigh, Gen. 24:2; 47:29;
and raising the hand towards heaven, Gen.
14:22, 23; Deut. 32:40; Rev. 10:5. Hence
to " lift up the hand " often means to take
an oath, Exod. 6:8; Deut. 32:40; Psa.
106:26; Ezek. 20:5-42.
Perjury or false swearing, and all pro-
fane mention of God's names or attributes,
are grievous sins and worthy of severe pun-
ishment, Exod. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; 24:10-16;
Deut. 19:16-19; Hos. 4:2,3. In some cases,
less of heedlessness than of wilful defiance
of the Almighty, it has been followed by
sudden death.
OBADI'AH, Heb. OBAD'YAH, sen>ant of
Jehovah, I., the chief ofificer of king Ahab's
household, who preserved the lives of 100
prophets from the persecuting Jezebel, by
concealing them in 2 caves and furnishing
them with food, i Kin. 18:4. He was trust-
399
OBA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OFF
ed by Ahab, and in time of famine shared
with the king in a survey of the land for
water supplies — not for the people, but for
the tyrant's beasts — during which he met
the prophet Elijah, and was sent to an-
nounce his coming to Ahab, i Kin. 18:3-16.
True piety can live in very unfavorable
circumstances, i Cor. 10:13.
. II. The 4th of the minor prophets, sup-
posed to have prophesied about 5S7 B. C.
It cannot indeed be decided with certainty
when he lived, but it is probable that he
was contemporary with Jeremiah and Eze-
kiel, W'ho denounced the same dreadful
judgments on the Edomites, as the punish-
ment of their pride, violence, and cruel in-
sultings over the Jews after the destruction
of their city, and foretold the ultimate tri-
umph of Zion, ver. 17-21. The prophecy,
according to Josephus, received its initial
fulfilment about 5 years after the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem.
Ten others of this name are mentioned
in I Chr. 3:21; 7:3; 8:38; 9:16, 44; 12:9;
27:19; 2 Chr. 17:7; 34:12; Ezra 8:9; Neh.
10:5.
O'BAL, bare, Gen. 10:28, son of Joktan
and head of an Arabian tribe ; called Ebal
in I Chr. 1:22, and probably residing near
the strait Bab el-Mandeb.
O'BED, se7i'anl, son of Boaz and Ruth,
and grandfather of David, Ruth 4: 17; i Chr.
2:12. See also the genealogies of Christ,
Matt. 1:5; Luke 3:32. Four others are
named in i Chr. 2:37, 38; 11:47; 26:7;
2 Chr. 23: 1.
O'BED-E'DOM, sei-'ant of Edom, I., a
Levite — called a Gittite, from Gath-rim-
mon. Josh. 21 :25 — whose special prosperity
while keeper of the ark after the dreadful
death of Uzzah encouraged David to carry
it up to Jerusalem. The Kohathites bore
the ark on their shoulders, as the law di-
rected, not on a cart. Obed-edom and his
sons were made doorkeepers of the taber-
nacle at Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 6:10-12; i Chr.
15:18-24; 16:38; 26:4-8, 15. Happy the
family that reveres and cherishes the ark
of God, though it brought woe to the Philis-
tines. The house of Obed-edom is sup-
posed to have stood on a level plateau of 4
acres on a ridge 6 miles west by south of
Jerusalem; it is named Kuryet es-Saideh,
"abode of the blessed one."
II. Others of this name are mentioned
in I Chr. 16:38; 2 Chr. 25:23, 24.
OBE'DIENCE to God is the supreme duly
of men. Acts 4:17; 5:29, as his creatures,
Psa. 95:6, dependent on his bounty, Psa.
400
145; Acts 14: 17, subject to his law, Psa. 119,
and redeemed by his grace, i Cor. 6:20. It
should be from the heart, i John 5:2-5, in
all things and at all times, Rom. 2:7; Gal.
6:9. Obedience is due from children to
parents, E.\od. 20: 12; Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20;
from servants to their employers, Eph. 6:5;
Col. 3:22; I Pet. 2:18; and from citizens to
government, Rom. 13:1-5; Tit. 3:1.
OBEI'SANCE. See Salutation, Wor-
ship.
O'BIL, camel-keeper, the name or title of
an Arab in charge of David's camels, i Chr.
27:30.
OBLA'TION. See Offering, First-
fruits.
O'BOTH, zvalcr-skins, or passes, the 43d
station of the Israelites, near Moab, south-
east of the Dead Sea, Num. 21:10, 11;
33:43.44-
OBSERVE', Mark 6:20, treat with re-
spect.
OBSER'VERS OF TIMES, Lev. 19:26;
Deut. 18:10, 14; 2 Kin. 21:6; 2 Chr. 33:6;
Gal. 4:10, men who had a superstitious re-
gard for supposed lucky or unlucky days
as determined by astrology. They are
condemned in Scripture. See Divin.\tion.
In our own day many have a similar weak-
ness in dreading Friday, the day of our
Lord's death, although he then took away
man's chief occasion for fear.
OCCUPY, in Exod. 38:24; Judg. 16:11, to
use; in Ezek. 27:16, 19. 21, 22, to trade: in
Ezek. 27:9, 27, to trade with; in Luke 19:13,
employ in business.
OC'RAN, afflicted, of the tribe of Asher,
Num. 1 : 13; 2:27; 7:72.
O'DED, erecting:, I., father of Azariah the
prophet, in the reign of Asa, 2 Chr. 15:1-8.
II. A prophet of the Lord, who, being at
Samaria when the Israelites under king
Pekah returned from the war against Ju-
dah and brought 200,000 captives, went to
meet them and remonstrated with them;
so that the principal men in Samaria took
care of the prisoners, gave them clothes,
food, and other assistance, and carried the
feeble on asses. Thus they conducted them
back to Jericho, 2 Chr. 28:9, etc.
OF, often used in A. V. for by, Luke 14:8;
Acts 23:27; for on, Ruth 2:16; and for /or,
Psa. 69:9; John 2:17.
OFFENCE'. This word is used in the
ordinary sense of a sin, or a wrong or dis-
pleasure, as in Eccl. 10:4; Rom. 4:25; 5:15-
20; 2 Cor. 11:7; Jas. 2:10; 3:2, and in the
sense of a stumbling-block or cause of sin
to others, 2 Cor. 6:3, or whatever is per-
OFF
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OIL
verted into an occasion or excuse for sin.
So with the verb "to offend," or cause to
fall, Psa. 119:165; Matt. 5:29, 30; 18:6, S, 9.
To be "offended " is to be led to fall away,
Matt. 13:21; 24:10. Christians are required
to give no just occasion for the stumbling
of others, even denying themselves some
things otherwise lawful, Rom. 14:13-21;
I Cor. 8:9-13; 10:32; 2 Cor. 6:3. The doc-
trine of the cross was fatally offensive to
many Jews, as it still is to human pride,
Rom. 9:33; Gal. 5:11; i Pet. 2:8; and this
was foretold, Isa. 8: 14, and should not sur-
prise us.
OF'FERING, or OBLA'TION, anything
prescribed by the law to be presented to
God to propitiate him, imploring his favor,
or expressing gratitude. Gen. 4:3-8; 8:20.
In the Hebrew, an offering, minchah, is dis-
tinguished from a sacrifice, zebah, as being
bloodless. In our version, however, the
word offering is often used for a sacrifice,
as in the case of peace-offerings, sin-offer-
ings, etc. Of the proper offerings, that is,
the unbloody offerings, some accompanied
the sacrifices, as flour, wine, salt ; others
•were not connected with any sacrifices.
Like the sacrifices, some, as the firstfruits
and tenths, were obligatory; others were
voluntary offerings of devotion. Various
sorts of offerings are enumerated in the
books of Moses. Among these are, i. Fine
flour or meal ; 2. Cakes baked in an oven ;
3. Cakes baked on a plate or shallow pan ;
4. Cakes cooked in a deep vessel by frying
in oil (English version " frying-pan," though
some understand here a gridiron, or a plate
with holes); 5. Firstfruits of the new corn,
either in the simple state, or prepared by
parching or roasting in the ear or out of
the ear. The cakes were kneaded with
olive oil, or fried in a pan, or only dipped
in oil after they were baked. The bread
offered for the altar was without leaven ;
for leaven was never offered on the altar,
nor with the sacrifices, Lev. 2:11, 12. But
they might make presents of common bread
to the priests and ministers of the temple.
Honey was never offered with the sacrifi-
ces, but it might be presented alone, as
firstfruits. Lev. 2:11, 12. 6. Clean animals
were also offered. Lev. 22:18-23. Those
who offered living victims were not ex-
cused from giving meal, wine, and salt, to-
gether with the greater sacrifices. Those
who offered only oblations of bread or of
meal offered also oil, incense, salt, and
wine, which were in a manner their sea-
soning. The priest in waiting received the
26
offerings from the hand of him who brought
them, laid a part on the altar, and reserved
the rest for his own subsistence as a minis-
ter of the Lord. Nothing was wholly burned
up but the incense, of which the priest re-
tained none. See Lev. 2:2, 13, etc.; Num.
15:4, 5-
In some cases the law required only
offerings of corn or bread, as when they
offered the firstfruits of harvest, whether
offered solemnly by the nation, or as the
devotion of private persons. The unbloody
offerings signified in general not so much
expiation, which was the peculiar meaning
of the sacrifices, as the consecration of the
offerer and all that he had to Jehovah.
Only in the case of the poor man, who could
not afford the expense of sacrificing an an-
imal, was an unbloody sacrifice accepted in
its stead. Lev. 5:11. See S.-vcrifices.
It is easier to make costly offerings than
to forsake beloved sins, and God many
times sternly reproved the Hebrews for
relying on their offerings, without the wor-
ship of the heart and life, Isa. 1:11-17; J^r-
6:20; 7:21-23; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:22-24;
Mic. 6:6-8. See also Psa. 50:8-23; Rom.
2:28, 29; Heb. 10:1-14; I3'i5i 16.
OF'TEN, I Tim. 5:23, frequent; an ad-
jective in old English.
OG, long-necked, an Amoritish king of
Bashan east of the Jordan, defeated and
slain by the Israelites under Moses at Ed-
rei. Compare Josh. 24:12. He was a giant
in stature, one of the last of the Rephaim
who had possessed that region; and his
iron bedstead, 14 feet long, was preserved
after his death as a relic. Ashtaroth-car-
naim and Edrei were his chief cities; but
there were many other walled towns, and
the land was rich in flocks and herds. It
was assigned by Moses to the half-tribe of
Manasseh, Num. 21:33; 2>'^'-'i2>\ Dent. 1:4;
3:1-13; 4:47; 31:4; Josh. 2:10; 12:4; 13:30.
His fame long continued, Psa. 135:11;
136:20.
OIL, a symbol of gladness, Psa. 45:7;
Isa. 61:3; Joel 2:19, was employed from
the earliest periods in the East, not only
for the consecration of priests and kings.
Lev. 8:12; I Sam. 10:1 ; 16:1, but to anoint
the head, the beard, and the whole person
in daily life, Gen. 28:18; Deut. 28:40; Ruth
3:3; Psa. 92:10. See Anointing. It was
employed by physicians, Isa. 1:6; Mark
6:13; Luke 10:34; Jas. 5:14; was almost
the only artificial light, Exod. 25:6; 27:20,
21; 35:8; Lev. 24:2; I Sam. 3:3; and was
universally used as food, i Kin. 5 : 11 ; 2 Chr.
401
OIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OLI
2:10, 15; Ezek. 16:13, 19- tresh and sweet
olive oil was greatly preferred to butter
and animal fat as a seasoning for food, and
to this day in Syria almost every kind of
food is cooked with oil. It had a place also
among the meat-ofi'erings in the temple,
being usually mixed with the meal of the
oblation, Lev. 5: II ; 6:21. For lamps also
pure olive oil was regarded as the best,
and was used in illuminating the taberna-
cle, Exod.35:i4; 39:37; Num. 4: 16. These
many uses for oil made the culture of the
olive-tree an extensive and lucrative busi-
ness, I Chr. 27:28; Ezek. 27:17; Hos. 12:1.
Oil was tithed by the Mosaic law. Num.
18:12; Deut. 12:17; Neh. 13:12, and was as
much an article of storage and of traffic as
corn and wine, i Chr. 27:28; 2 Chr.32:28;
Ezra y.j. The best oil was obtained
from the fruit while yet green, in No-
vember, by a slight beating or press-
ing, Exod. 27:20; 29:40, and laying
it in sloping trays, that the first juice
might flow off into receptacles. The
ripe fruit, from December to Febru-
ary, yielded more abundantly but a
less valuable oil. The berries were
crushed under stone rollers, or by
subjecting them to pressure in the
oil-mill, Hebrew gath-shemen. The
olive-berries are not now trodden
with the feet. This, however, seems
to liave been practised among the
Hebrews, at least to some extent,
when the berries had become soft
by keeping, Mic. 6:15. Gethsemane,
that is, oil-press, probably took its
name originally from some oil-press
in its vicinity. See Oljve.
OIL'-TREE, Isa. 41:19; in i Kin.
6:23 called "olive-tree;" in Neh.
8:15 "pine-branches;" supposed to
be the Pinus pinea, a tall and beau-
tiful cultivated tree.
OINT'MENTS, of various ingredi-
ents boiled together. Job 41 :3i, were
much used by the ancient Hebrews,
not chiefly for medical purposes as
among us, but as a luxury, Ruth
2,:2,; Psa. 104:15; Song 1:3; Matt.
6:17; Luke 7:46. They were also used at
funerals. Matt. 26:12; John 12:3, 7; 19:40.
Their perfumery was usually prepared in
olive oil, and not in volatile extracts and
essences. The sacred ointment is de-
scribed in Exod. 30:22-33. It was used
in anointing the tabernacle, the table, ves-
sels, candlestick, altar of incense, altar of
burnt-offerings and its vessels, the laver,
402
and the priests, Exod. 29:7; 37:29; 40:9,
15; Psa. 133:2. The ointments of the rich
were made of very costly ingredients, and
their fragrance was highly extolled, Isa,
39:2; Amos 6:6; Matt. 26:7-9; John 12:5.
See Anointing.
OLD AGE. Aged people were to be
treated witii reverence and all needful
care, Job 12:12; 15:10, the young rising at
their ap])roach. Lev. 19:32, and any lack
of respect was strongly condemned, Deut.
28:50; Lam. 5:12. Corresponding duties
were owed by them to the young. The
wisdom taught by experience is invalua-
ble; comjjare i Kin. 12:1-16; Job 32:7;
and the responsibilities of church and state,
both in Old Testament and New Testament
times, were intrusted to "elders."
olive: olea europ^a.
OL'IVE, Heb. pleasa>tl or shining. This
is one of the earliest trees mentioned in
Scripture, and has furnished, perhaps ever
since the deluge, the most universal em-
blem of peace. Gen. 8:11. It is always
classed among the most valuable trees of
Palestine, which is described as a land of
oil olive and honey, Deut. 6:11; 8:8; Hab.
3:17. No tree is more frequently men-
OLI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OLI
tioned in the Greek and Roman classics.
By the Greeks it was dedicated to Minerva,
and employed in crowning Jove, Apollo,
and Hercules. The olive is never a very
large or beautiful tree, and seldom exceeds
30 feet in height ; its leaves are dark green
on the upper surface and of a silvery hue
on the under, and generally grow in pairs.
Its wood is hard, like that of bo.\, and very
close in the grain. It was used in Solo-
mon's temple, i Kin. 6:23-33. The branch-
es were employed in making booths for the '
Feast of Tabernacles, Neh. 8:15. It blos-
soms very profusely, and bears fruit every
other year. The flower is at first yellow,
but as it expands it becomes whiter, leav-
ing a yellow centre. The blossoms are
very abundant, but many drop off at the
lightest breeze. Job 15:33. The fruit re-
sembles a plum in shape and in color,
being first green, then pale, and when ripe
almost black. It is gathered by shaking
the boughs and bj' beating them with poles,
Deut. 24:20; Isa. 17:6; 24: 13, and is some-
times plucked in an unripe state, put into
some preserving liquid, and exported. It
is principally valuable for the oil it pro-
duces, which is an important article of
commerce in the East. A full-sized tree in
full bearing vigor is said to produce 50
pounds of oil, Judg. 9:8, 9; 2 Chr. 2:10.
The olive delights in a stony soil, and will
thrive even on the sides and tops of rocky
hills where there is scarcely any earth ;
hence the expression, " oil out of the flinty
rock," etc., Deut. 32:13; Job 29:6. Yet it
will grow in a wet soil. It is an evergreen
tree, and very long-lived, an emblem of a
fresh and enduring piety, Psa. 52:8; Jer.
11:16; Hos. 14:6. Around an old trunk
young plants shoot up from the same root,
to adorn the parent stock when living and
succeed it when dead; hence the allusion
in describing the family of the just, Psa.
128:3. It is slow of growth, and no less
slow to decay. The ancient trees now in
Gethsemane are believed by many to have
sprung from the roots of those which wit-
nessed the agony of our Lord. Dr. Martin
and Bovethinkthey may be even 2,000 years
old. The largest is 6 yards in circumfer-
ence, and 9 or 10 yards high. The " wild
olive-tree " is smaller than the cultivated,
and inferior in all its parts and products.
A graft on it from a good tree bears good
fruit; while a graft from a "wild" olive
upon a good tree remains " wild " as be-
fore. Yet, " contrary to nature," the sin-
ner engrafted on Christ partakes of His
nature and bears good fruit, Rom. 11:13-
26.
An " olive-yard," or grove of olive-trees,
was as common in Palestine as vineyards
or grain fields, Exod. 23:11; Josh. 24:13;
I Sam. 8:14; 2 Kin. 5:26; i Chr. 27:28;
Neh. 5:11; 9:25.
OL'IVES, MOUNT OF, Zech. 14:4; Ezek.
11:23, called simply " the mount " in Neh.
8:15, also "Olivet" in 2 Sam. 15:30; Acts
1:12; now Jebel et-Tur, a ridge 2 miles
long running north and south on the east
side of Jerusalem, its summit not half a
mile from the city wall, and separated fron:
it by the valley of the Kidron. It rises
2,665 feet above the Mediterranean, and the
Jordan valley 14 miles ofil'lies 3,500 feet be-
low. The Church of the Ascension, on the
central height, is due east from the Mosque
of Omar ^ of a mile, 224 feet higher than
Moriah and 355 above the bed of the Kid-
ron. It is composed of a chalky limestone,
the rocks everywhere showing themselves.
The olive-trees that formerly covered it
and gave it its name are now represented
by a few trees and clumps of trees which
ages of desolation have not eradicated.
There are 3 prominent summits on the
ridge ; of these the southernmost, which is
250 feet lower than the other two, is now
known as the " Mount of Offence," origi-
nally the " Mount of Corruption," because
Solomon defiled it by idolatrous worship,
I Kin. 11:5-7; 2 Kin. 23:13, 14. Over this
ridge, between the northern and the cen-
tral summit, passes the road to Bethany,
the most frequented road to Jericho and
the Jordan. The sides of the Mount of Ol-
ives towards the west contain many tombs
cut in the rocks. The central summit, di-
rectly east of the temple area, rises 200 feet
or more above Jerusalem, and presents a
fine view of the city, and indeed of the
whole region, including the mountains of
Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea
on the southeast, and beyond it Kerak in
the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot
on earth unites so fine a view with so many
memorials of the most solemn and impor-
tant events. David climbed it sadly, flee-
ing from Absalom, 2 Sam. 15:23-32. Over
this hill the Saviour often passed in his
journeys to and from the holy city. Geth-
semane lay at its foot on the west, and
Bethany on its eastern slope, nearly a mile
from the summit, Matt. 21:1; 24:3; 26:30;
Markii:i; 13:3 ; John 8: i. It was proba-
bly near Bethany, and not as tradition says
403
OLY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ONE
on the middle summit, that our Lord as-
cended to heaven, Luke 24:50; Acts 1:12,
though superstition has built the " Church
of the Ascerision " on the i>retended sjiot,
and shows the i)rint of his feet on the rock
whence he ascended ! From the summit,
3 days before his death, he beheld Jerusa-
lem, and wept over it, recalling the long
ages of his more than parental care, and
grieving over its approaching ruin. Scarce-
ly anything in the gospels moves the heart
more than this natural and touching scene.
No one can doubt that it was God who
there spoke; his retrospect, his prediction,
and his compassion alike proved it. See
Luke 19:37-44, in connection with Matt.
23:35-38, spoken the next day. The same
spot is associated with the predictions of
"his future judgments in the earth, Zech.
14:4. See view of the central summit in
Gethsi:.mani; ; also SiiPfLCHRES.
OLYM'PAS, a Christian at Rome, Rom.
16: 15.
O'MAR, eloquent, 2d son of Eliphaz, Gen.
36:11, 15; I Chr. 1:36.
O'MEGA, the great O, or long O, the last
letter of the Greek alphabet as Alpha is the
first. See A. Rev. 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13.
Compare Isa. 41 :4; 44:6. Christ performs
what he begins, Phil. 1:6; Heb. 13:8.
O'MER, a sheaf, E.xod. 16:16-36, a He-
brew measure of capacity, the loth part of
an ephah. See Me.\sures and Appendi.x
Tables.
OMNIP'OTENT, Rev. 19:6, in the He-
brew Shaddai, the Almighty, a name of
God signifying his infinite power, an attri-
bute only partially comprehended by us
through his amazing works in the creation,
preservation, and government of the uni-
verse, Gen. 17:1; E.xod. 15:11, 12; Deut.
3:24; Psa. 62:11; 65:5-13; Matt. 19:26;
Eph. 3:20. It is the name given to God
throughout the book of Job, and he himself
assumes it for the comfort of his people
and the dismay of his enemies. Gen. 35: 1 1 ;
E.xod. 6:3; Psa. 91:1; 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev.
19:15-
OMNIPRES'ENCE, an infinite attribute
of Jehovah alone, signifying that he is ev-
erywhere present, at all times, and in the
perfection of all his other attributes. His
nature is undivided and wholly distinct
from all created things. The thought of
his presence should enter into all our life,
to restrain from sin, and to strengthen,
cheer, and inspire us, Gen. 16:13; 28:16,
17; Psa. 139; Acts 17:27,28; Heb. 1:3.
OMNIS'CIENCE, an infinite attribute of
404
God, in virtue of which he perfectly knows
all things and beings, actual and possible,
l)ast, present, and future. Like all God's
attributes, it is beyond all finite compre-
hension. Job 11:7; Isa. 46:9, 10; I John
3:20.
OM'RI, serz'ant of fehovah, I., a grand-
son of Benjamin, i Chr. 7:8.
II. The son of Imri, tribe of Judah, i Chr.
9:4.
III. A captain under David, i Chr. 27:18.
IV. Founder of the 3d dynasty of Israel,
and previously general of the army of Elah
king of Israel; but being at the siege of
Gibbethon, and hearing that his master
Elah was assassinated b\- Zimri, who had
usurped his kingdom, he raised the siege,
and being elected king by his army,
marched against Zimri, attacked him at
Tirzah, and forced him to burn himself
and all his family in the palace in which
he had shut himself up. After his death
half of Israel acknowledged Omri for king,
the other half adhered to Tibni, son of
Ginath, which division continued 4 years.
When Tibni was dead the people united
in acknowledging Omri as king of all Is-
rael, who reigned 12 years, 6 years at Tir-
zah and 6 years at Samaria, i Kin. 16:8-
28. His wickedness exceeded that of his
predecessors. Compare 2 Chr. 22:2-4;
Mic. 6:16. He lost some of his cities to the
Syrians under Ben-hadad I., i Kin. 20:34;
22:3. His son and successor was Ahab.
Tirzah had previously been the chief
residence of the kings of Israel ; but when
Omri purchased the hill of Shomeron,
I Kin. 16:24, he built there a new city,
which he called Samaria, from the name of
the previous possessor, Shemeror Shomer,
and there fixed his royal seat. From this
time Samaria was the capital of the king-
dom of the 10 tribes. It appears under the
name of Beth-khuniri, founded by Omri,
on the stone tablets exhumed by Layard
from the ruins of Nineveh.
OH, force, I., a Reubenite, son of Peleth,
engaged at first in the mutiny of Korah,
Num. 16: 1. It is conjectured that he with-
drew and escaped ruin.
II. See Heliopolis.
O'NAN, strong, 2d son of Judah, who
refused to raise up children by the widow
of his deceased brother, as the law required,
Deut. 25:5-10; Mark 12:19, and w-as pun-
ished by death. Gen. 38:4-9; 46:12.
ONES'IMUS, profitable, a slave to Phi-
lemon of Colossae in Phrygia, who ran
away from him and fled to Rome; but be-
ONE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OPH
ing converted to Christianity through the
preaching of Paul, he was the occasion of
Paul's writing the Epistle to Philemon,
which see. He ministered tenderly to the
apostle in his imprisonment, and was re-
ceived by his former master as " a brother
beloved," Col. 4:9.
ONESIPH'ORUS, projit-bearing, a Chris-
tian friend of Paul at Ephesus, who came
to Rome while the apostle was imprisoned
there for the faith, and at a time when al-
most everyone had forsaken him. This is
supposed to have occurred during Paul's
last imprisonment, not long before his
death. Having found Paul in bonds, after
long seeking him, he assisted him to the
utmost of his power, and without regard to
danger; for which the apostle implored the
highest benedictions on him and his fam-
ily, 2 Tim. i:i6-iS; 4:19.
ON'ION, the Allium cepa, one of the veg-
etables of Egypt for which the Hebrews
murmured in the desert. Num. 11:5. Has-
selquist says that the onions of Egypt are
remarkably sweet, mild, and nutritious.
Juvenal, Pliny, and Lucian satirize the
superstitious regard of the Egyptians for
this bulb.
ON'L'y-BEGOT'TEN, or only son, Luke
7:12, a Scriptural title of Christ, suggesting
a mysterious relation between him and the
Father which no human words can fully
express and no fiiAe mind comprehend,
John 1 : 14.
O'NO, strong, a town of Dan, afterwards
of Benjamin, near Lydda, i Chr. 8:12; Ezra
2:33 ; probably traced in Kefr 'Ana, 5 miles
north by west of Lydda. The " plain of
Ono " denotes a portion of the plain of
Sharon near Ono, Neh. 6:2; 7 : 37 ; 11:35.
ON'YCHA, an ingredient of the sacred
incense, whose fragrance perfumed the
sanctuary alone, E.xod. 30:34. It is conjec-
tured to mean the Blatta Byzantina of the
shops, which consists of the cover or lid of a
species of muscle, and when burned emits
a musky odor. The best onycha is found
in the Red Sea, and is white and large.
ON'YX, a nail, the nth stone in the high-
priest's breastplate, Exod. 28:9-12, 20. The
modern onyx has some resemblance to the
agate, and the color of the body of the stone
is like that of the human nail ; hence its
name. The Hebrew word so translated is
not known with certainty to signify the
onyx, but denoted some valuable stone,
Exod. 25:7; 35:9; 39 -6, 13; Job 28:16.
They were found in Havilah, Gen. 2:12,
and used by the king of Tyre, Ezek. 28 : 13.
The onyx is often of a milk-white color,
with brown strata, and is set in rings, seals,
and cameos. A species of marble resem-
bling the onyx was known to the Greeks,
and may have been the "onyx-stones"
stored up by David for the temple, i Chr.
29:2.
O'PHEL, /he k>ioll, L, a quarter of Jeru-
salem adjacent to the temple, and therefore
occupied by the Nethinim, Neh. 3:26, 27;
11:21. It appears to have been inclosed
by a wall and fortified by a strong tower,
2 Chr. 27:3; 33:14, and is thought to be
meant by the Hebrew ophel, translated
" stronghold " in Mic. 4:8. It is often men-
tioned by Josephus as Ophla. There can
be no doubt that the name belongs to the
lower ridge into which Mount Moriah sinks
south of the area of the mosque. It is 290
feet wide, and extends i ,550 feet to the south,
terminating in a bluff 40 or 50 feet high
above the pool of Siloam. It is separated
from Mount Zion on the west by the valley
called Tyropoeon, and was anciently cov-
ered with houses, but is now devoted to
the culture of olives, figs, and other fruit.
Portions of the ancient wall on the east
have been found by recent excavations 70
feet high, connecting it with the temple
area. See Jerus.\lem.
II. In the A. V. "the tower," a place on
a height near Samaria, in a house of which
Gehazi hid his spoils received from Naa-
man, 2 Kin. 5:24.
O'PHIR, fruitful or red, I., one of the
sons of Joktan, who settled in Southern
Arabia, Gen. 10:26-29.
II. A country to which the ships of Solo-
mon traded, and which had for a long time
been celebrated for the purity and abun-
dance of its gold. Job 22 : 24 ; 28 : 16. " Gold
of Ophir " was proverbially the best gold,
Psa. 45:9; Isa. 13:12. The only passages
which give us any information as to the
location of Ophir are i Kin. 9:26-28; 10:11,
22; 22:48, with the parallel passages in
2 Chr. 8: 18; 9:10, 21; 20:36, 37; from
which it appears that the so-called "ships
of Tarshish " went to Ophir; that these
ships sailed from Ezion-geber, a port of
the Red Sea ; that a voyage was made once
in 3 years; that the fleet returned freighted
with gold, peacocks, apes, spices, ivory,
algum-wood, and ebony. Upon these data
interpreters have undertaken to determine
the situation of Ophir ; but they have ar-
rived at different conclusions. Josephus
places it in the peninsula of Malacca. Oth-
ers have placed it at Sofala, in South Afri-
405
OPH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ORG
ca, where mines of gold and silver have
been found, which apj^ear to have been
anciently and extensively worked. Others
still suppose it to have been Southern Ara-
bia. General opinion now inclines to the
first location, and in Southern India alone
all Solomon's articles of commerce are
found together. See Uphaz.
OPH'Nl, J'aiiiine, a town in the northeast
of Benjamin, Josh. 18:24, the Gophna of
Josephus, now Jufna, a poor village 2%
miles northeast of Bethel.
OPH'RAH, afaioi, I., a town of the Ben-
jamites, located by Eusebius 5 miles east of
Bethel, near which site, towards the north,
now stands et-Taiyibeh on a conical hill,
with an old tower commanding a splendid
view of the Jordan valley, the Dead Sea,
and the mountains beyond. Josh. 18:23;
I Sam. 13:17. Probably the place to which
Christ went after the resurrection of Laza-
rus, John 11:54. See Ei'HR.A.i.M.
II. "Of the Abiezrites " (see Abiezer),
a town of Manasseh where Gideon resided,
and where after his death his ephod, made
or adorned from the spoils of Zebah and
Zalmunna, was superstitiously adored,
Judg. 6:11-24; 8:27,32; 9:5. It overlooked
the plain of Esdraelon from the southwest.
III. Son of Meonothai, of the tribe of Ju-
dah; or a place founded by him, i Chr.
4:14.
OR, sometimes in A. V. means ere, be-
fore,Tsa. ^0:2; Prov. 8:23; Song6:i2; Dan.
6:24; Acts 23: 15.
OR'ACLE, the secret room of the temple,
the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the
covenant was placed, where God was spe-
cially present between the cherubim, ^nd
delivered his messages, 2 Sam. 16:23;
1 Kin. 6:5, 16, 19; 7:49; 8:6, 8; 2 Chr. 3:16;
4:20; 5:7,9; Psa. 28:2. See Mercy-seat.
The established mode of " inquiring at the
mouth of the Lord" was through the high-
priest, by means of the Urim and Thum-
mim, I Sam. 23:9; 30:7, 8. In the New
Testament "oracles" means the divine
utterances, the entire word of God, Acts
7:38; Rom. 3:2; Heb. 5:12; i Pet. 4:11.
Strikingly unlike the true and living ora-
cles of God were the famous counterfeit
oracles of numerous heathen temples, often
condemned in Scripture, Judg. 17:1, 5;
2 Kin. 1:2; Hos. 4:12; Hab. 2:19. Among
the Greeks the most famous were that of
Jupiter under the oak at Dodona, and that
of Apollo at Delphi — where the priestess
sat on a tripod over a fissure in a rock,
from which issued an intoxicating vapor.
406
and her ravings were interpreted by the
priests. The priests who pretended to
convey to applicants the responses of their
gods often gave a reply capable of two
opposite interpretations, when neither pri-
vate information nor their own experience
or sagacity gave them the clew to a safe an-
swer. Thus Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, was
encouraged to a war with Rome, by an ora-
cle which was found after his defeat to
foretell defeat as much as victory : Aio te,
Aeacida, Romanos vincere posse.
OR'ATOR, the ELOQi'ENT, in Isa. 2>'Zt
A. v., rather " skilful of speech," that is,
of incantation or pretended magic. Com-
pare Psa. 58:5. In Acts 24:1 the Roman
advocate who appeared on behalf of the
Jews against Paul in the court at Rome.
OR'DER, implying system, regularity,
and decorum, whether in the public affairs
of church and state, or in the household
and individual life, is both beautiful and
essential to success. It is commended by
the example of God, Gen. 18:19; Josh.
24:15; Psa. 90:12; 119:133; Eccl. 3:1, 11;
I Cor. 14:26-40; Phil. 1:27.
ORDINANCE, a decree, charge, or law,
Exod. 12:24; 15:25; Lev. 18:30; 2 Chr.
33:8; Rom. 13:1; Heb. 9:1, 10. The gos-
pel enjoins obedience to all rightful au-
thority, I Pet. 2:13, especially that of God,
I* Cor. 11:2. Church ordinances, so called
as resting on Scriptural authority, are such
as baptism, the Lord's .Supper, public wor-
ship— with reading and expounding God's
Word, preaching the gospel, praise, pra_ver,
and thanksgiving.
O'REB and ZE'EB, raven and ivolf, 2
Midianite chiefs, captured after the victory
of Gideon, and slain by the men of Ejihraim
at the spots whither they had fled, and
which were afterwards called, in memory
of them, " the rock of Oreb " and the wine-
press or cellar of Zeeb, Judg. 7:25; 8:3.
Their punishment foretells that of all
God's enemies, Psa. >>t,; Isa. 10:26. Oreb
is placed by some at Ash el-Ghurab, 3
miles north by east of Jericho; and the
wine-press of Zeeb, a little farther north.
O'REN, ash-tree, i Chr. 2:25, son of Je-
rahmeel.
OR'GAN, Psa. 150:4, a wind 'instrument
apparently composed of several pipes. It
cannot, however, mean the modern organ,
which was unknown to the ancients, but
refers probably to the ancient syrinx, or
pipes, similar to the Pandean pipes, a se-
ries of 7 or more tubes of unequal length
and size, closed at one end, and blown into
ORI
BIBLE DICTIONARY
OS!
witli the mouth at the other, Gen. 4:21 ; Job
21:12; 30:31. See Music.
ORI'ON, languid, Job 9:9, Heb. chesll,
\mos 5:8; in Isa. 13:10 translated "con-
stellations;" according to the best inter-
preters and the ancient versions the con-
stellation Orion, which, on account of its
supposed connection with storms, Virgil
calls " nimbosus Orion." It lies south of
the ecliptic, and its belt of 3 bright stars
is crossed by the equator. In Job 38:31
fetters are ascribed to him ; and this coin-
cides with the Greek fable of the giant
Orion, bound in the heavens for an unsuc-
cessful war against the gods. The Arabs
call it " the giant," meaning Nimrod. Some
interpreters identify chesU wiLh the star
Canopus, in Arabic sohail.
OR'NAMENTS. The Hebrews and other
Eastern people were very fond of these.
The men wore seal-rings, gold chains, and
costly attire, Gen. 41 :42; the women richly-
embroidered garments, with rings for the
fingers, ears, and nose, bracelets, anklets,
and hair-ornaments, Gen. 24:22, 53; 35:4,
often in profusion, E.xod. 3:22; 11:2; 33:4;
Judg. 8:26 — see Prov. 1:8,9; Isa. 3:16-24 —
and especially by brides. Song 1:10, 11;
Jer. 2:32. They were laid aside in mourn-
ing, Exod. 33:4-6; 2 Sam. 1:24; Ezek.
16:11; 24:17, 22. Paul and Peter exhort
Christian women to adorn themselves
chiefly with womanly virtues, i Tim. 2:9,
10; I Pet. 3:4. Compare Prov. 30:10-31.
OR'NAN. See AR.A.UXAH.
OR' PAH, gazelle, a Moabitess, wife of
Chilion and Naomi's daughter-in-law, who
remained with her people and gods when
Ruth followed Naomi and the Lord, Ruth
1:4-14. The one was taken and the other
left. Orpah's name disappears, but Ruth
was the ancestor of a long line of kings
and of our Lord himself. Momentous and
everlasting results often depend on the de-
cision of a single hour.
OR'PHANS were specially provided for
by the Hebrew law, Deut. 14:29; 24:17;
Jas. 1:27. In John 14:18 rendered "com-
fortless," in R. V. " desolate," one left
without a protector. The same Greek
word, as a participle is used in i Thess.
2:17, "bereaved of you."
OSE'E, Rom. 9:25, Rosea, as in R. V.
OSHE'A, he saves, or HOSHE'A, Deut.
32:44, the name of Moses' successor,
changed to Joshua, Jehovah saves, in honor
of his faith. Num. 13:8, 16.
OS'PREY, Heb. powerful, a bird of the
eagle kind, unfit for foocl. Lev. 11:15. It is
thought to be the sea-eagle, or the black
eagle of Egypt. See Birds.
OS'SIFRAGE, bone-breaker; in Hebrew
Peres, from paras, Io break j-*an unclean '
bird of the eagle family, Lev. 11:13; Deut.
14:12. Some interpreters think the beard-
ed vulttire is intended ; others a mountain
bird like the lammergeyer -of the Alps,
which breaks the bones of wild goats by
hunting them over precipices. It is 4 or 5
feet in length and 8 or 9 in the stretch of
its wings.
THE ostrich: STRUTHIO CAMELUS.
OS'TRICH, the largest of birds, and a
sort of comiecting link between fowls and
quadrupeds, termed by the Persians, Arabs,
and Greeks the "camel-bird." It is a na-
tive of the dry and torrid regions of Africa
and Western Asia. The gray ostrich is 7
feet high, and its neck 3 feet long ; it weighs
nearly 80 pounds, and is strong enough to
carry 2 men. The other species, with
glossy black wings and white tail, is some-
times 10 feet high. The beautiful plumes
so highly valued are found on the wings,
about 20 on each, those of the tail being
usually broken and worn. There are no
feathers on the thighs or under the wings,
and the neck is but scantilv clothed with
thin whitish hairs. The weight of the body
and the size and structure of the wings
show that the animal is formed for running
and not for fl3'ing.
The ostrich is described in Job 39:13-18,
and in various places where our A. V. calls
it the "owl," Job 30:29; Jer. 50:39, or
407
OST
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OWL
"daughter of the owl," Isa. 13:21; 34:13;
43:20; Mic. 1:8. In these and other pas-
sages it figures as a bird of the desert. Shy
and timorows, it is occasionally driven by
hunger to visit and ravage cultivated fields,
but is usuallj^ found only in the heart of
the desert, in troops or small groups, or
mingling familiarly with the herds of wild
asses, gnus, and quaggas. It was unclean
by the Mosaic law, Lev. 11:16; Deut. 14:15.
Its food is often scarce and poor, jilants of
the desert " withered before they are grown
up;" also snails, insects, and various rep-
tiles; for it has a voracious and indiscrim-
inating appetite, swallowing the vilest and
the hardest substances. Job speaks par-
ticularly of the speed of the ostrich, " She
scorneth the horse and his rider." So
Xenophon, the biographer of C\-rus, says
of the ostriches of Arabia that none could
overtake them, the baffled horsemen soon
returning from the chase.
The mother-bird scoops out a circular
nest in the sand, and lays a large number
of eggs, some of which are placed
without the nest, as though intend
ed for the nourishment of the young
brood. Afterwards, with the heli^
of the sun in the tropics and of her
mate in the cool nights, she per-
forms the process of incubation ; but
her timidity is such that she flies
from her nest at the approach of
danger, and as Dr. Shaw remarks,
" forsakes her eggs or her young
ones, to which perhaps she never
returns, or if she does, it may be too
late either to restore life to the one
or to preserve the lives of the oth
ers. The Arabs meet sometime s
with whole nests of these eggs un
disturbed, some of them sweet and
good, others addle and corrupted
They often find a few of the little ones
no bigger than well-grown pullets,
half starved, straggling and moaning
about like so many distressed orphans for
their mother. In this manner the ostrich
ma}' be said to be ' hardened against her
young ones, as though they were not hers;
her labor,' in hatching and attending them
so far, 'being vain, without fear' of what
becomes of them afterwards. This want
of affection is also recorded in Lam. 4:3,
'The daughter of my people is become
cruel, like the ostriches in the wilder-
ness;' that is, api)arently by deserting her
own children and receiving others in re-
turn."
A08
When the ostrich is provoked, she some-
times makes a fierce, angry, and hissing
noise, with her throat inflated and her
mouth open ; at other times she has a moan-
ing and plaintive cry; and in the night the
male rej^eis prowling enemies by a short
roar which is sometimes taken for that of a
lion, Mic. i :!S.
OTH'NI, »ty lion, I Chr. 26:7.
OTH'NIEL, lion of God, son of Kenaz
and ist judge of the Israelites, delivering
them from the tyranny of the king of Meso-
potamia, and ruling them in peace 40 years.
His wife Achsah, daugliter of his uncle Ca-
leb, was the reward of his valor in taking
the city of Debir, Josh. 15:17; Judg. 1:13;
3:9, 10. During his administration the
Hebrews were faithful to God, and pros-
pered. Josh. 15:16-19; Judg. 1:11-15; 3-8"
II ; I Chr. 4: 13.
OUCH'ES, sockets in which precious
stones were set, Exod. 28:11, 14, 25; 39:6,
13- 16.
OVEN. See Bread.
SACRED ibis: IBIS RELIGIOSA.
OWL, a night bird of prey, unfit for food.
Several species are found in Palestine and
in all Western Asia. The horned owl,Otus
ascalaphus, is probably meant in the A. V.
by " little owl " in Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:16,
and "owl" in Psa. 102:6; and the Stri.x
flammea by "screech owl" in Isa. 34:14.
Another Hebrew word, bath -haya'anah,
translated owl in A. V., Lev. 11:16; Deut.
14:15, etc., means the ostrich (which see).
Still another word, j'anshijph, translated
"great owl" in Lev. 11:17; Deut. 14:16;
and "owl ' in Isa. 34:11, A. V., means either
ox
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
OZN
THE NlGHl-HKKUN: AKDE.A NVCTICORAX.
the sacred ibis, or more probably the night-
heron.
OX, or BULL, the male of the beeve kind
when grown. But the word o.x is some-
times used in a general sense like "herd,"
and is often rendered " kine." The o.x tribe
were clean animals by the Levitical law,
Deut. 14:4, and were much used for food,
I Kin. 1:9; 4:23 ; 19:21, though in the des-
ert wanderings those only were eaten
which had been first offered in sacrifice,
Lev. 17:1-6. They supplied milk, butter,
and "cheese," Deut. 32:14; 2 Sam. 17:29;
Isa. 7:22; were employed as beasts of bur-
den, I Chr. 12:40, and of draught, Num. j:t,;
I Sam. 6:7; 2 Sam. 6:6; in ploughing, Deut.
22:10; I Sam. 14:14; I Kin. 19:19, and in
treading out grain, etc., Deut. 25:4; Psa.
THE BULL OF SYRIA.
144:14; Hos. 10:11, during which they were
not to be muzzled, i Cor. 9:9, but well fed,
Isa. 30:24; and the Sabbath rest was to be
given them, E.xod. 23:12; Deut. 5:14. They
were sometimes fattened in stalls, i Kin.
4:23; Prov. 15:17; Luke 15:27, and barley
was the grain generally given them. They
constituted no small part of the wealth of
the Hebrews in their pastoral life, Gen.
24:35; Exod. 12:32, 38; 2 Sam, 12:2; i Chr.
27:29; Job 1:14:42:12. Hundreds of them
were offered in sacrifice every year, Exod.
20:24; and these were to be the best of
their kind, Mai. i : 14. The region east of
the Jordan was a famous grazing country,
and boasted of the strongest bullocks and
the finest herds. .Those roaming at large
were often dangerous, and were wont to
gather ominously around any object that
e.Kcited their suspicions, as is the habit of
half-wild cattle in our own day, Psa. 22: 12.
See Bashan, Butter, Milk. Oxen were
driven with goads, Judg. 3:31 ; Acts 9:5. A
man that stole an ox was obliged to give 5
oxen in return, or 2 in some cases ; and a
stray ox was to be carefully returned to its
owner, Exod. 22:1, 4; 23:4. Unruly cattle
were to be safely kept, or tljpir owner was
accountable for all damage, Exod. 21:28-
36 — one of the many precepts of the Jew-
ish law of universal equity and very wide
application in our own time. The testing
of a new yoke of oxen is still a business
of great importance in the East, as of old,
Luke 14: 19. A passage in Campbell's trav-
els in South Africa well illustrates the pro-
verbial expression, " as a bullock unaccus-
tomed to the yoke," Jer. 31:18: "When
the selection fell on an ox I had received
as a present from some African king, of
course one completely unaccustomed to
the 3'oke, such generally made a strenuous
struggle for liberty, repeatedly breaking
the yoke and attempting to make its es-
cape. At other times such bullocks lay
down upon their sides or back, and re-
mained so in defiance of the Hottentots,
though 2 or 3 of them would be lashing
them with their ponderous whips. Some-
times, from pity to the animal, I would
interfere, and beg them to be less cruel.
'Cruel,' they would say, 'it is mercy; for
if we do not conquer him now he will re-
quire to be so beaten all his life.' "
The buffalo is not uncommon in modern
Palestine, and is used with the neat cattle
around Lake Hflleh, though an ugly, sul-
len animal. See Bulls of Bashan and
Unicorn.
The " wild ox," or bull, mentioned in
Deut. 14:5; Isa. 51:20, is supposed to have
been the oryx, a species of stag or ante-
lope, large and powerful.
OX-GOAD. See Goad.
O'ZEM, power, I., a son of Jesse.
II. Son of Jerahmeel, i Chr. 2:25.
OZI'AS, Matt. 1:8, 9, A. V. See Uz-
ziah.
OZ'NI, Num. 26:16, of the tribe of Gad;
called also Ez'bon, Gen. 46:16.
409
PAD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAL
PA'DAN-A'RAM, llie plains of Aram or
Syria, Gen. 25:20; 28:2; 31:18, or simply
Padan, Gen. 48:7, the plain, in distinction
from the " mountains " of Aram, Num. 23:7.
See Mksoi'otamia and Syria.
PAIN'FUL, laborious, Psa. 73:16; 2 Cor.
11:27.
PAINT, PAINT'ING. Among the He-
brews the walls and beams of houses were
often i)ainted, Jer. 22:14; images of idols,
or drawings of them on temple walls, were
also thus adorned by the heathen, E;zek.
23:14. The Assyrian ruins and Egyptian
monuments show jiainted figures and orna-
mental device^. See Nineveh. Cosmetic
painting was common among Egyptian
and Assyrian women, and to some e.xtent
among the Hebrews. See Eve.
PAL'ACE in the Old Testament denotes
sometimes all the buildings, courts, and
gardens inclosed by the outer wall of a
royal residence, Dan. 1:4; 4:4; i Kin. 7:1-
12; sometimes the fortress or citadel, 1 Kin.
16:18; 2Kin. 15:25. In the New Testament
the word is applied to the residence of a
man of wealth or high position. Matt. 26:3,
69; Mark 14:66; Luke 11:21, or, as in the
R. v., its " court," around which the house
stood. For its meaning in Phil. 1 : 13, A. V.,
see Pr/ETORIU.m.
PA'LAL, />/<«• t', Neh. 3:25.
PAL'ESTINE denotes, in the Old Testa-
ment, the country of the Philistines, " Phi-
listia," as the Hebrew word is elsewhere
translated. It was that part of the Land of
Promise extending along the .Mediterra-
nean Sea on the varying western border
of Simeon, Judah, and Dan, Exod. 15:14;
Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4. Palestine, taken
in later usage in a more general sense,
signifies the whole country of Canaan, as
well beyond as on this side of the Jordan,
though frequently it is restricted to the
country on this side that river ; so that in
later times the words Judaea and Palestine
were synonymous. We find also the name
of Syria- Palestina given to the Land of
Promise, and even sometimes this province
is comprehended in Ccele-Syria, or the
Lower Syria. Herodotus is the most an-
cient writer known who speaks of Syria-
Palestina. He places it between Phoenicia
and Egypt. See Canaan.
PALM'ER-WORM. This old English
term, meaning pilgrim-worm, is used in
Joel 1:4; 2:25; Amos 4:9, like "canker-
worm" and "caterpillar," for some de-
410
structive insect, perhaps a species of the
locust; but in this case probably a large
pal.mer-worm and caterpillar: plusia
ga.m.ma.
moth, some varieties of which are very de-
structive even before they reach the winged
state. See Locust.
PALM-TREE, Exod. 15:27. This tree is
called in Hebrew tamar, from its straight,
upright, branchless growth, Jer. 10:5, for
which it seems more remarkable than any
other tree. It grows in hot. dry climates
and in sandy soil, sending its roots down
to subterranean waters, but flourishes best
near streams and springs. Its graceful
form was reproduced in the columns of
costlj' houses and on the doors of the tem-
ple, 1 Kin. 6 : 32 ; 2 Chr. 3 : 5 ; compare Ezek.
41:18-20. See Tamar.
The palm is one of the most beautiful
trees of the vegetable kingdom. The trunk,
of nearly uniform size throughout, is full of
rugged knots, which render it compara-
tively easy to climb to the top for the fruit.
Song 7:7, 8. These projections are the
vestiges of the decayed leaves ; for the
trunk, like that of all endogenous trees,
has its centre filled with pith, round which
is a tough bark, full of strong fibres when
young, whicli, as the tree grows cjjd, hard-
ens and becomes ligneous. To this bark
the leaves are closely joined, which in the
centre rise erect, but after they are ad-
vanced above the sheath that surrounds
them, they expand very wide on every side
the stem, and as the older leaves decay,
the stalk advances in height. It becomes
30 or 40 feet high, and in some instances
60 to 100 feet ; and with its ever-verdant
and graceful crown continually aspiring
towards heaven, and its precious fruit, it is
an apt image of the soul growing in grace,
Psa. 92:12, 14. The leaves, when the tree
has grown to a size for bearing fruit, are 6
RUINED FOUNTAIN AT JERICHO.
PAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAM
to 8 feet long, are very broad when spread
out, and are used for covering the tops of
houses, for fans, and similar purposes.
THE date-palm: PHCENIX DACTYLIFERA.
The fruit, from which one sort of palm is
often called the da/r-tree, grows below the
leaves in a dozen or more clusters, some-
times weighing over 15 pounds, and is of a
sweet and agreeable taste. The palm be-
gins to bear when about 10 years old, lives
200 years or more, and yields most abun-
dantly from the 30th to the 8oth year. The
ripe dates are gathered by hand or shalcen
into a net, and spread out in the open air
for a few days ; some are eaten fresh, others
stored for future use, or yield a rich syrup
from their expressed juice, or a pleasant
drink by maceration in hot water. Such
are the date-wines of the East. The dili-
gent natives, says Mr. Gibbon, celebrate,
either in verse or prose, the 360 uses to
which the trunk, the branches or long leaf-
stalks, the leaves, fibres, and fruit of the
palm are skilfully applied. A considera-
ble part of the inhabitants of Egypt, of Ara-
bia, and Persia subsist almost entirely on
its fruit. They boast also of its medicinal
virtues. Their camels feed upon the ground
date-stone. From the leaves they make
couches, baskets, bags, cordage, mats, and
brushes; from the branches or stalks, ca-
ges for their poultry and fences for their
gardens; from the fibres of the trunk,
thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is
prepared a spirituous liquor; and the body
of the tree furnishes fuel: it is even said
that from one variety of the palm-tree, the
plicenix farinifera, meal has been extract-
ed, which is found among the fibres of the
trunk, and has been used for food.
Several parts of the Holy Land, no less
than of Idumtea that lay contiguous to it,
are described by the ancients to have
abounded with date-trees, .'udrea is typi-
fied in several coins of Vespasian by a dis-
consolate woman sitting under a palm-
tree, with the inscription, Jl'd.-ea Capta.
See Captivity. The Hebrews carried the
leaves at the Feast of Tabernacles, Neh.
8:15. Palms flourished in Elim and Elath,
in Baal-tamar and Hazezon- tamar, in
Bethany, " house of dates," and Phoenicia,
"land of palms." In Deut. 34:3, Jericho
is called the " city of palm-trees ;" and one
of these trees is still found in that vicin-
ity ; but in general they are now rare in
Palestine. Palm -wreaths, and branches
waved in the air or strewn on the road, are
associated as a symbol of victory, not only
with the honors paid to ancient conquerors
in the Grecian games and in war, but with
the triumphant entry of the King of Zion
into Jerusalem, John 12:13, ^"d with his
more glorious triumph with his people in
heaven. Rev. 7:9.
PAL'SY, or paralysis, strikes sometimes
one side or portion of the body, and some-
times the whole, affecting the power of
motion or the power of sensation, or both,
I Kin. 13:4-6. The affected part sometimes
becomes withered, the muscles contract-
ing, Mark 3:1-5. In some violent forms,
prevalent in the East, the limbs remain
fixed as at the beginning of the attack, and
the suffering is intense, death ensuing in a
few days. Matt. 8:5-13. Palsy is one of the
least cui*able of diseases; but the Saviour
healed it with a word, Matt. 4:24; 9:2-7;
12:10; Mark 2:3-12; Acts 8:7; 9:33, 34-
There is also a palsy of the soul, which the
Great Physician can heal, and he alone.
PAL'TI, ivhom Jehovah delivers, one of
the 12 spies, a leader in Benjamin, Num.
PAMPHYL'IA, a province of Asia Minor,
411
PAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAR
having Cilicia east, Lycia west, Pisidia
north, and the Mediterranean south — a
crescent-shaped plain sweeping around the
seacoast, Acts 27:5, and extending north
to the Taurus Mountains, being about 80
miles long and 30 wide. The river Ceastrus
was formerly navigable 7 miles to Perga,
the capital. Attalia was the chief seaport,
Acts 14:25, 26. Strangers from Pamphylia
were at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost,
Acts 2:10; and Paul twice visited it on his
first missionary tour, and parted with John
Mark here. Acts 13:13; 14:24,25; 15:38.
PAN'NAG, in Ezek. 27: 17, is the Hebrew
word for some unknown product of Pales-
tine, which the Jews sold to the Tyrians.
It is variously understood to mean millet,
sweetmeats, a confection or delicate spice,
etc.
PA'PER, PAPY'RUS. See Book.
PA'PHOS, a city in the western end of
Cyprus, whose Roman governor was con-
verted at the visit of Paul and Barnabas,
Acts 13:6-13. Old Paphos, now Kuklia,
said to have been founded about B. C.
1 184, was 2 miles from the shore, and was
the site of a famous temple of Venus, often
called "the Paphian goddess," because she
was fabled to have risen from the sea here.
New Paphos, now Bafifa, was on the coast,
about 10 miles northwest of the older town ;
it had a tolerable harbor, now nearly filled
up, and was the seat of a Roman procon-
sul. See ELYM.A.S and Sergius P.\ulvs.
PAR'ABLE, Gr. P.\RABOLE. a compari-
son, as in Mark 4:30, A. V., Heb. )iiiisliul, si-
viilihide, translated "^parable " in Job 27: i,
A. v., and "proverb" in Prov. 1:1; in its
wider sense any form of teaching by anal-
og}' or figure : including metaphors, Ezek.
12:22: Matt. 24:32, proverbs or maxims,
I Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20; Luke
4:23, obscure prophetic utterances, Num.
23:18; Ezek. 20:49, typical or symbolical
signs, Heb. 9:9. In its narrower sense, as
in many of Christ's teachings, it is a short
narrative of some actual or possible occur-
rence, enforcing some important spiritual
truth. It differs from xXiq fable, which em-
ploys reasoning animals or plants to illus-
trate a wise policy, Judg. 9:8-15; 'and from
the alleffoiy, Psa. 80:8-16; John 15:1-8, in
having its meaning less plainly on the sur-
face, and requiring a careful consideration
of the personality and circumstances of
speaker and hearers.
Parabolical and enigmatical language
was much used by Eastern sages, Psa.
49:4; 78:2; and nothing was more insup-
412
portable than to hear a fool utter parables,
Prov. 26:7. A parable was employed by
Nathan in reproving David, 2 Sam. 12: 1-4;
by another prophet in rebuking Ahab,
I Kin. 20:39, 40; by Isaiah, 5:1-7. This
form of discourse was frequent with later
Hebrew writers and teachers, and has ever
been much admired by Oriental people.
Our Saviour frequently addressed the peo-
ple in parables, thereby verifying the proph-
ecy of Isaiah, 6:9, that the rebellious peo-
ple should see without knowing, and liear
without understanding, in the midst of in-
structions, Matt. 13:10-15; Mark 4:2, 10-13,
2,2,, 34. This result, however, only proved
how inveterate were their hardness of heart
and blindness of mind ; for in no other
way could he have offered them instruction
more invitingly, clearly, or forcibly than
by this beautiful and familiar mode ; and
to all who really desired to know the truth
he readily gave the needed e.xplanations.
In interpreting a parable, its primary
truth and main scope are to be chiefly con-
sidered. The details, though often signifi-
cant, must not be unduly pressed ; and the
special aspect of divine truth which it jire-
sents is not to be insisted on to the e.xclu-
sion of other aspects presented in other
parables or in the more direct teaching of
Scripture. Compare Christ's own expla-
nations of the parables of The Sower and
The Wheat and Tares.
Matthew and Luke record most of his
parables, while Mark dwells more on his
acts and John on his longer discourses.
The following jiarables of our Lord are
recorded by the evangelists:
Wise and foolish builders, Matt. 7 : 24-27.
Children of the bride-chanibcr. Matt. 9: 15.
New doth and old sainient. Matt. 9: 16.
New wine and old bottles. Matt. 9: 17.
Unclean spirit. Matt. 12:43-45.
Sower, Matt. 13:3. 'S; Luke 8: 5, 11.
Tares, Matt. 13 : 24-30, 36-43-
Mustard-seed, Matt. i3:3i>32; Luke 13: 19.
Leaven, Matt. 13:33-
Treasure hid in a field. Matt. 13:44-
Pearl of great price, Matt. 13 : 45, 46.
Net cast into the sea. Matt. 13:47-50-
Meats defiling not. Matt. 15 : io-2c.
Unmerciful servant. Matt. 18:23-35.
Laborers hired, Matt. 20: 1-16.
Two sons. Matt. 21 : 28-32.
Wicked busbandmen. Matt. 21 : 33-45-
Marriage-feast, Matt. 22:2-14.
Fig-tree leafing. Malt. 24:32-34.
Man of the house watching. Matt. 24 : 43.
Faithful and evil servants. Matt. 24:45-51.
Ten virgins, Matt. 25: 1-13.
Talents, Matt. 25: 14-3"-
Kingdom divided against itself, Mark 3 : 24.
PAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAR
House divided against itself, Mark 3 : 25.
Strong man armed, Mark 3 : 27 ; Luke 11 : 21.
Seed growing secretly, Mark 4 : 26-29.
Lighted candle, Mark 4:21 ; Luke 11 : 33-36.
Man taking a far journey, Mark 13:34-37.
Blind leading the blind, Luke 6 : 39.
Beam and mote, Luke 6:41, 42.
Tree and its fruit, Luke 6 : 43-45,
Creditor and debtors, Luke 7 : 41-47.
Good Samaritan, Luke 10 : 30-37.
Importunate friend, Luke 11 :5-9.
Rich fool, Luke 12 : 16-21.
Cloud and wind, Luke 12:54-57.
Barren fig-tree, Luke 13 :6-9.
Men bidden to a feast, Luke 14:7-11.
The great supper, Luke 14 : 15-24.
Builder of a tower, Luke 14 : 28-30, 33.
King going to war, Luke 14 : 31-33.
Savor of salt, Luke 14 : 34, 35.
Lost sheep, Luke 15:3-7.
Lost piece of silver, Luke 15 :8-io.
Prodigal son, Luke 15: 11-32.
L'njust steward, Luke 16 : 1-8.
Rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16: 19-31.
Importunate widow, Luke 18: i-S.
Pharisee and publican, Luke 18:9-14.
Pounds, Luke 19:12-27.
Good shepherd, John 10 : 1-6.
Vine and branches, John 15 : 1-5.
PAR'ADISE, Gr. PARADEisos, a word of
Persian origin answering to the Heb. g.\n,
and denoting a beautiful park, garden, or
orchard, Neh. 2:8; Eccl. 2:5; Song 4:13.
In the Septuagint the term is appHed to
the garden of Eden, Gen. 2:15, commonly
known as "the terrestrial Paradise." In
Jewish theology it designates the abode of
the righteous in the unseen world, the home
of repose and joy beyond the grave. In
its use our Saviour promised happiness to
the penitent thief, Luke 23:43. Paul in a
vision was caught up into paradise, 2 Cor.
12:4. And in Rev. 2:7; 22:14, the natural
features of the scene where innocence and
bliss were lost are used to depict the world
where these are restored perfectly and for
ever.
PA'RAH, the tnouse, Josh. 18:23, a town
of Benjamin, possibly at the ruins now
called Farah, on the point made by wadies
Faran and Suvveinit, 6 miles northeast of
Jerusalem.
PA'RAN, beauty, a large tract of desert
country south of Canaan, a high limestone
plateau nearly surrounded by mountains—
the short ranges on its east side running
down to the Arabah valley and part of
the Gulf of Akaba, those on the south be-
longing to the great Sinai group, those on
the west separating it from the desert of
Etham and Shur. On the north it merged
in the Negeb or "south country" of the
Israelites, and included the deserts of Ka-
desh and Zin, Num. 13:21, 26; 33:36. It is
described as a dreary expanse of chalky
soil, covered with coarse gravel, black flint,
and drifting sand, with scanty vegetation.
Some cities and cultivated grounds, how-
ever, and patches of pasture lands were
formerly found here. Its water-courses
are now dry except in the rainy season.
Bedouin tribes roam over it with their
flocks. The roads from Egypt and Mount
Sinai to Canaan cross it. In this region
the Israelities dwelt for 38 years, from
which fact it derives its modern name,
" Badiet et-Tih," desert of the wandering.
The first mention of Paran, " El-paran,"
the oak of Paran, is as the western limit of
Chedorlaomer's pursuit of the Horites, Gen.
14:6. It became the home of Hagar and
Ishmael, Gen. 21:21; was entered by the
Israelites soon after leaving Sinai, Num.
10:12, 2,2,; 11:3, 34, 35; 12:16; and from it
the spies were sent. Num. 13:3, 26. Isra-
el's stations in it are mentioned, Num.
33:18-36; David retired to it, i Sam. 25:1,
and Hadad went through it to Egypt,
I Kin. II : 17, 18.
"Mount Paran," Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:3,
was probably the modern Jebel Magra'h, a
conspicuous range running east to the Ara-
bah heights, midway between the Dead Sea
and the Gulf of Akaba.
PAR'BAR, I Chr. 26:16, 18, a portico or
out-building on the west side of the tem-
ple, with chambers for storage.
PARCHED GROUND, in Isa. 35:7, A. V.,
translated by Lowth " the glowing sand,"
by Henderson " the vapory illusion," and
in German sattd-nieer and wasserschein,
"sand-sea" and "water-show," refers to
the mirage, an optical illusion described
by almost all travellers in tropical deserts.
It is produced by an unequal refraction of
the ra^'S of the sun in the lower strata of
the atmosphere over the hot sand. The
inexperienced wanderer sees at a distance
what he thinks is a beautiful sheet of wa-
ter, and imagination clothes the further
shore with fresh herbage and shrubbery,
stately palms waving in the breeze, build-
ings, etc. ; but on hasting towards it he
iinds the delightful vision recede and at
length disappear, and nothing remains but
the hot, dry sands. Instead of the decep-
tive and vanishing hopes of earth, our Sa-
viour bestows the true waters of eternal
life.
PARCH'MENTS, 2 Tim. 4:13. Skins,
rudely prepared, were early used for wri-
ting. Sheepskins were thus used by the
413
PAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY
PAS
lonians 5 centuries B. C. Under Eume-
nes, a king of Pergamos, about 2 centuries
B. C, a better mode of dressing tlieni was
discovered, and they were called in Latin
" ciiarta pergamena," whence our word
parchment. See Book.
PAR'DON, Psa. 25:11, God's withholding
the punisiiment due to us for our sins, and
treating us as though we had not offended.
God alone can grant pardon, Exod. 34:6,
7; Mark 2:7, 10-12, out of his free love and
grace, Isa. 43:25; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 1:6, 7,
on account of the atonement and media-
tion of Christ, Rom. 3:23-26; Heb. 9:9-28,
who himself bore the punishment due to
sinners, Isa. 53:4-12; Gal. 3:10, 13. Re-
pentance and faith in Christ are necessary
to secure it, Isa. 55:7; John 3: 16, 18; Acts
10:43; 13:38, 39; I John 1:6-9. Men are
commissioned to deliver God's message
promising pardon to repenting and belie-
ving sinners, but no man has power t®
pardon sin, Luke 24:47. The Scriptures
show the completeness of God's pardon by
speaking of it as the covering of sin, not
imputing it, Psa. 32:1, 2, taking it away,
Psa. 103:12; Mic. 7:19, blotting it out and
not remembering it, Psa. 51 : 1,9; Heb. 8:12.
PAR'LOR, in i Chr. 28:11, an inclosed
inner room, often translated " chamber."
In I Sam. 9:22 a bedroom or " chamber "
at the corner of a court-yard. In Judg.
3:20-25 a cool and private upper chamber^
to which the owner repaired for his noon
siesta or for purer air and a better view.
PAR'MENAS, abidi)ig, Acts 6:5, one of
the first 7 deacons.
PA'ROSH, or Ph.\'rosh, a flea, Ezra 2:3;
8:3; Neh. 3:25; 7:8; 10:14, a Jew whose
family, in number 2,712, returned to Jeru-
salem with Zerubbabel, besides others with
Ezra.
PARSHANDA'THA, given by prayer, a
son of Haman, Esth. 9:7.
PAR'THIA, originally a province of Me-
dia, southeast of the Caspian Sea, appears
to have been conquered by Cyrus B. C.
550, and was subject to the Persian mon-
archs and to the Seleucidze. Under Arsa-
ces, B. C. 256, it established its independ-
ence, and in apostolic times the empire
extended from India to the Tigris. Seleu-
cia and Ctesiphon were chief cities, and
Ecbatana a royal summer residence. Par-
thia retained its power nearlj' 500 years,
and was not subjugated even by the Ro-
mans. But in A. D. 226 the Persians con-
quered the last of the Arsacidae and re-
established the Persian Empire. The Par-
414
thians were a rude people, of Scythian ori-
gin. They were expert horsemen, armed
chiefly with bows, and discharging their
arrows with wonderful skill while riding
at full sjieed and in flight, like Indians or
Cossacks. Parthia proper, now called Atak,
is included in modern Khorassan. Jews
from Parthia, and perhaps Parthian prose-
lytes to Judaism, were at Jerusalem at
Pentecost, speaking the Persian language,
Acts 2:9.
PARTI'TION, The middle wall of,
Eph. 2: 14, the wall separating the court of
the Gentiles from the inner courts of the
temple, denoting whatever distinguished
the favored people of God from the heath-
en. This distinction, as well as its cere-
monial tokens, God abolished in the ful-
ness of time, John 4:21-24; Acts 11:1-18;
14:27; 15:1-29. See Temple.
GREEK partridge: caccabis saxatilis.
PAR'TRIDGE. The Greek partridge is
common in Palestine, and at least one
other variety; and both frequent rocky
hillsides, and when disturbed seek safety
by running rather than by flight ; and the
peasants now as ancientl\-, i Sam. 26:20,
chase it until it is weary and knock it over
with a stick or stone. Its numerous eggs
also are much prized for food, and it is often
driven off and its nest robbed, Jer. 17:11.
PARU'AH. blooming, I Kin. 4:17.
PARVA'IM, 2 Chr. 3:6, a region where
fine gold was found ; the word is translated
by Gesenius " eastern regions." The loca-
tion is not known.
PAS-DAM'MIM, boundary of flowings,
I Chr. 11:13, called Ephes-dammim (see)
in I Sam. 17:1. It was near Socoh, i6 miles
southwest of Jerusalem.
PAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAS
PASE'AH, /awd", I., a descendant of Ju-
dah, I Chr. 4:12.
II. Head of a family of Nethinim in Ze-
rubbabel's time, Ezra 2:49; Neh.3:6; 7:51.
PASH'UR, prosperity, I., son of Immer,
a priest and a chief officer in the temple.
In Jehoiakim's reign he persecuted Jere-
miah for prophesying evil to Jerusalem,
and incurred a fearful punishment, Jer.
20: 1-6.
II. A priest, son of Malchiah, sent by
king Zedekiahto ask of Jeremiah the issue
of Nebuchadnezzar's preparations against
Jerusalem, Jer. 21. Afterwards, when the
Babylonians retired from the city, Jer. 37 ; 5,
II, he demanded the prophet's death as a
traitor, Jer. 38 : 1-13. Many descendants of
this Pashur, priests, returned from captiv-
ity at Babylon, i Chr. 9:12; Ezra 2:38;
Neh. 11:12.
PAS'SAGES, Jer. 22:20. See Ab.\rim.
PAS'SION, Acts 1:3, suffering ; the last
sufferings and death of Christ. See Cross.
In Acts 14:15, Jas. 5:17, "like passions" is
nearly equivalent to " the same human na-
ture."
PASS'OVER, Heb. PES.A.CH, Gr. P.a.scha,
the name given, i, to the victim sacrificed
to insure the safety of the firstborn of the
Israelites in Egypt, when the Lord slew
the firstborn in every Egyptian family, but
passed over ihe Israelites to protect them,
Isa. 31 :5, where the blood of the lamb was
sprinkled on the doorway ; and 2, to the
festival established to commemorate that
event and Israel's release from bondage,
E.xod. 12; 13:3-10. This feast, marked by
the sacrifice of the passover, was one of
the 3 chief festivals of the Hebrews, and
was like a sacrament — reminding them of
God's grace to them in the past, and bind-
ing them still to obey and trust him, and
so secure its continuance. It was called
also " the feast of unleavened bread," E.xod.
23:14-18; Deut. 16:2, 6, 16; 2 Chr. 30:1, 13,
15; Ezra 6:22; Luke 22:1, 7; i Cor. 5:7.
The month of the Exodus, named Abib,
and at a later period Nisan, was made the
first month of the sacred year, Exod. 12:2 ;
13:4. At the institution of the festival it was
commanded that the lamb or kid should
be selected on the loth day of Nisan. It
was to be a male of the first year. Each
family was to take a lamb, or if a family
was too small, one or two others might join
it. On the 14th day all leaven was scru-
pulously removed from the dwelling, as is
the custom of the Jews to this day. At
evening (see) the passover was to be killed,
and some of its blood was to be put on
the door-posts and lintel. It was to be
roasted entire, and eaten the same night;
no bone must be broken, and any residue
must be burned before morning. Unleav-
ened bread and bitter herbs were to be eat-
en with it, and no leaven was to be used
till after the 21st day of the month. The
equipments and posture of travellers in
haste were to be assumed. At every new
observance of the festival a declaration of
its meaning was to be made by the father
to his children. The first full day of the
festival, the 15th of Nisan, was to be ob-
served as a holy day of rest, a "sabbath,"
and of convocation, as was also the last
day, Nisan 21st, Lev. 23:5-8; and special
sacrifices were appointed for each day,
Num. 28:16-25. On the 2d day, the i6th
of Abib, the firstfruits of barley were to be
offered to the Lord, Lev. 23:10, 11, and
from this 50 days were reckoned to " the
feast of weeks," ver. 15-21. See Pente-
COST. One prevented from keeping the
feast at the due time was to observe it in
the 2d month ; wilful neglect of it was pun-
ished with death. Num. 9:6-14; foreigners
who had entered into covenant relation
with God were admitted to it, Exod. 12:43-
48. The prescribed place for the slaying
of the passover was at the sanctuary of
God, Deut. 16:16; Josh. 18:1; the temple
at Jerusalem when built, 2 Chr. 30:5, 8.
The slayer was the head of the family, or
else a priest or Levite. The blood was
sprinkled on the altar, where also the in-
ward fat was burned, ver. 15-17. Besides
the passover and the required national
sacrifices for the ensuing days, voluntary
peace-offerings, Heb. cliagiffali, were given
and partaken of by many families. Lev. 3;
2 Chr. 30:21, 22; 35:13. An offering of
money was prescribed, Exod. 23:15; Deut.
16:16, 17. Women were permitted, though
not commanded, to join in the celebration,
1 Sam. 1:3, 7 ; Luke 2:41.
The chief notices of the observance of
the feast of the passover are, that in Egypt,
Exod. 12:28; in the wilderness of Sinai,
Num. 9:1-5; the first in Canaan, Josh. 5: 10,
II ; those by Solomon, 2 Chr. 8: 13 ; that of
Hezekiah, the reformer, in the 2d month,
2 Chr. 30:1-22; that by Josiah, 2 Kin.
23:21-23; and one after the Captivity, Ezra
6: 19-22.
Jewish writers state that, the family or
families having performed the required
purifications, John n :55, and being assem-
bled at the table, the master of the feast
415
PAS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAT
took a cup of wine mixed with water and
blessed God for the fruit of the vine, of
which all then drank. After a washing of
hands the passover was brought in, with
unleavened cakes, bitter herbs, and a vin-
egar or fruit sauce, into which morsels of
the food were to be dipped, Matt. 26:23;
John 13:26. The father then blessed God
for the fruits of the earth, and made the
prescribed explanations, Exod. 12:26, 27.
After a 2d cup and washing of hands, an
unleavened cake was broken and distrib-
uted, and a blessing was pronounced upon
the Giver of bread. When all had eaten
of the passover a 3d cup, of thanksgiving
for deliverance from Egypt and the gift of
the law, was blessed and partaken of. Matt.
26:27; I Cor. 10:16; it was called "the cup
of blessing." The repast was usually closed
by a 4th cup and psalms of praise ; Psalms
115-118 were sung here and Psalms 113 and
114 earlier in the feast. See Hv.mn. The
whole week of the feast was one of rejoi-
cing, Deut. 27:7.
Mention is made of several passovers at-
tended by Jesus, Luke 2:42, 43; John 2:13.
He partook for the last time and instituted
the Christian memorial feast of his own
sacrifice, typified by every passover, on the
evening commencing the day of his cru-
cifixion. Matt. 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26;
Luke 22:7-23; John 13. In comparing the
4 accounts it is to be remembered that the
term "passover" denotes sometimes the
special sacrifice on the 14th of Nisan, and
sometimes the whole festival and its offer-
ings, John 18:28. Astronomical calcula-
tions show that the 14th of Nisan fell on a
Thursday in A. D. 30, the year of our Lord's
crucifixion; the 15th day, Friday, begin-
ning at 6 p. M., when the 14th closed, was
accordingly "the preparation " (see) for the
weekly Sabbath — " a high day " both as oc-
curring in the Passover week and as pre-
ceding the presentation of the first-fruits
of barley, Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John
19:14, 31, 42.
The Jews still observe the Passover,
though only as a feast of unleavened bread,
all their sacrifices having ceased with the
destruction of the temple, A. D. 70, a year
when their last full celebration of the feast
called multitudes to JerusAlem. The few
Samaritans at Nablfis, however, still slaj-
and eat the passover on Mount Gerizim.
The continued observance of this festival
is a living proof of the actual occurrence of
the great events it commemorates.
The deliverance from death and bondage
416
thus commemorated was a type of the infi-
nitely greater salvation from eternal death
and the bondage of sin, through the sac-
rifice of "the Lamb of God," "Christ our
Passover," i Cor. 5:7; compare John 1:29;
19:36. Faith in him is essential to ])lace
us under the shelter of his blood and ad-
mit us to the liberty of his service ; and it
must needs be evinced by the cleansing of
our hearts and lives from " the old leaven "
of "malice and wickedness," and by obe-
dience to his commands in " sincerity and
truth," I Cor. 5:8. See Lord's Supper.
PAS'TOR,/eeder, shepherd, Jer. 2 : 8 ; 3 : 15 ;
10:21, one whose office it is to feed and
guard the flock of Christ, Eph. 4:11 ; i Pet.
5:2. See Shkpherd.
PAS'TURAGE. See Shkpherd.
PAT'ARA, a maritime city on the south-
west coast of Lycia, 7 miles east of the
mouth of the Xanthus and opposite Rhodes.
It was celebrated for an oracle of Apollo,
the reputed father of its founder Patarus.
Its harbor was much frequented. Paul
reembarked here for Phtenicia on his last
visit to Jerusalem, Acts 21:1, 2. A Chris-
tian church was early established here,
and was represented at the Council of Nice.
Ruins of considerable extent mark the site
and retain the name of Patara, but the har-
bor is now filled with sand.
PATE, Psa. 7:16, A. v., the crown of the
head, not with the idea of contempt, as
"pate" is now used.
PATH'ROS, Isa. 11: 11; Jer. 44:1, 15:
Ezek. 29:14; 30:14, Upper or Southern
Egypt, one of the 2 main divisions of the
land ; or as some suppose, the Pathyrite
district, in which Thebes lay, and which
probably derived its name from the town
Ha-hathor, "the abode of Hathor " the
Egyptian Venus. This region was origi-
nally independent of Egypt and had its
own kings. It was probably identical with
the Thebaid of the Greeks and the Said of
the Arabs. Its early inhabitants, the Path-
rusim, were descendants of Mizraim, Gen.
10: 14. See Egypt.
PA'TIENCE, as an attribute of God, de-
notes his long-suflfering forbearance from
wrath and continuance of mercy under
great and manifold provocations from man,
Exod. 34:6, 7; Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9. As a
Christian grace it denotes sometimes tran-
quil and trustful endurance of evil and
perseverance in faith and duty, Luke 8:15;
Rom. 5:3; Jas. 1:3, 12; 2 Pet. 1:6; and
sometimes forbearance towards fellow-
mtn. Matt. 18:26, 29; 1 Thess. 5:14; 2 Tim.
PAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAU
2:24. God is the source of this as of all
grace, Rom. 15:5; and the Christian is to
seek it from him in the study of the Scrip-
tures, and of Christ, who perfectly exempli-
fied it, Rom. 15:1-5; Gal. 5:22; Heb. 6:12,
15; 12: 1, 2; Jas. 5:10, II ; I Pet. 2:18-23.
PATMOS : HARBOR OF LA SCALA.
PAT'MOS, a rocky and barren island in
the ^gean Sea, used by the Romans as a
place of exile for criminals, and to which
the apostle John was banished by Domi-
tian, A. D. 95, Rev. 1:9. It lies 20 miles
south of Samos, and 24 from the coast of
Asia Minor; it is about 25 miles in circum-
ference and has a bold and deeply-indent-
ed shore. The port and town La Scala
are on the eastern side. Crowning the
high hill on which the town lies is the old
monastery of St. John. Half way up the
hill is the grotto which tradition assigns as
the place where John saw and recorded his
prophetic visions. Patmos was called Pal-
mosa in the middle ages, but is now called
Patino. It is one of the Sporades, and pays
a small tribute to the Turks.
PA'TKIARCH, palet-nal ruler of sl family
■or tribe, applied in the New Testament to
Abraham, Heb. 7:4, Jacob's sons, Acts 7:8,
9, and David, Acts 2:29. In the Septuagint
it is sometimes used to translate the He-
brew word for "head" or "prince " of a
tribe, i Chr. 27:22. In common usage it
■denotes especially the men whom Scrip-
ture mentions as living before Moses. The
form of government indicated by the word
prevailed in the early history of the He-
brews. The father of a family exercised
authority over his descendants as long as
he lived ; at his death this dignity devolved
on one of his sons — usually, but not always,
27
the eldest, by birthright (see)— Gen. 27:29;
49:8; I Chr. 5:1, 2. From the heads or pa-
triarchs of the families composing a tribe
a prince was selected. Num. 1:4-16. See
Elders. After the destruction of Jerusa-
lem the Jews termed the 2 heads of the
Sanhedrin patriarchs ; and the word has
come into use in some branches of the
Christian church to designate dignitaries
superior to archbishops.
PAT'ROBAS, a Christian at Rome salu-
ted by Paul, Rom. 16:14. The imperial
household had one or more men of this
name. Compare Phil. 1:13; 4:22.
PAT'TERN, I Tim. 1:16, an example, as
in the R. V. In Heb. 9:23, copies, as in
the R. v., of the models mentioned in Heb.
8:5.
PA'U, or PA'I, capital of Hadar king of
Edom, Gen. 36:39; i Chr. 1:50.
PAUL, liff/e, the distinguished "apostle
of the Gentiles," Rom. 11:13; ^Iso called
Saul, asked /or, a Hebrew name. He is
first called Paul in Acts 13:9, and, as some
think, assumed this Roman name accord-
ing to a common custom of Jews in foreign
lands or in honor of Sergius Paulus, ver. 7,
his friend and an early convert. Both
names, however, may have belonged to him
in childhood. He was born at Tarsus in
Cilicia, and inherited from his father the
privileges of a Roman citizen. His parents
belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and
417
PAU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAU
brought up their son as " a Hebrew of the
Hebrews," Phil. 3:5. Tarsus was highly
distinguished for learning and culture, and
the opportunities for improvement it af-
forded were no doubt diligently improved
by Paul. At a suitable age he was sent to
Jerusalem to complete his education in the
school of Gamaliel, the most distinguished
Rabbi of that age. It does not appear
that he was in Jerusalem during the minis-
try of Christ; and it was perhaps after his
return to Tarsus that he learned the art of
tent-making, in accordance with a general
practice among the Jews and their maxim,
" He that does not teach his son a useful
handicraft teaches him to steal," Acts 18:3;
20:34; 2 Thess. 3:8.
We next find him at Jerusalem, appar-
ently about 30 years of age, high in the
confidence of the leading men of the na-
tion. He had profited by the instructions
of Gamaliel, and became learned in the
law; yielding himself to the strictest disci-
pline of the sect of the Pharisees, he had
become a fierce defender of Judaism and
a bitter enemy of Christianity, Acts 8:3;
26:9-11. After his miraculous conversion,
of which we have 3 accounts, Acts 9; 22;
26, Christ was all in all to him. It was
Christ who revealed himself to his soul at
Damascus, Acts 26:15; i Cor. 15:8; to
Christ he gave his whole heart and soul,
mind, might, and strength ; and thence-
forth, living or dying, he was "the ser-
vant of Jesus Christ." He devoted all the
powers of his ardent and energetic mind
to the defence and propagation of the
gospel of Christ, more particularly among
the Gentiles. His views of the pure and
lofty spirit of Christianity, in its worship
and in its practical influence, appear to
have been peculiarly clear and strong; and
the opposition which he was thus led to
make to the rites and ceremonies of the
Jewish worship exposed him everywhere
to the hatred and malice of his country-
men. On their accusation he was at length
put in confinement by the Roman officers,
and after being detained for 2 years or
more at Caesarea, he was sent to Rome for
trial, having himself appealed to the em-
peror. There is less certainty in respect
to the accounts which are given of Paul
afterwards by the early ecclesiastical wri-
ters. Still it was a very generally-received
opinion in the earlier centuries that the
apostle was acquitted and discharged from
his imprisonment at the end of 2 years,
and that he afterwards returned to Rome,
418
where he was again imprisoned and put to
death by Nero.
Paul appears to have possessed all the
learning which was then current among
the Jews, and also to have been acquainted
with Greek literature, as appears from his
mastery of the Greek language. Wis frequent
discussions with their philosophers, and
his quotations from their poets — Aratus,
Acts 17:28; Menander, i Cor. 15:33; and
Epimenides, Tit. i : 12. Probably, however,
a learned Greek education cannot with
propriety be ascribed to him. But the most
striking trait in his character is his enlarged
view of the universal design and the spirit-
ual nature of the religion of Christ, and of
its purifying and ennobling influence upon
the heart and character of those who sin-
cerely profess it. From the Saviour him-
self he had caught the flame of universal
love and the idea of salvation for all man-
kind. Gal. 1:12. Most of the other apostles
and teachers appear to have clung to Juda-
ism, to the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas
of the religion in which they had been
educated, and to have regarded Christian-
ity as intended to be engrafted upon the
ancient stock, which was yet to remain as
the trunk to support the new branches.
Paul seems to have been among the first to
rise above this narrow view and to regard
Christianity in its true light, as a universal
religion. While others were for Judaizing
all those who embraced the new religion
by imposing on them the yoke of Mosaic
observances, it was Paul's endeavor to
break down the middle wall of separation
between Jews and Gentiles, and show them
that they were all " one in Christ." To
this end all his labors tended ; and, ardent
in the pursuit of this great object, he did
not hesitate to censure the time-serving
Peter and to expose his own life in resist-
ing the prejudices of his countrymen. In-
deed his 5 years' imprisonment at Jerusa-
lem, Caesarea, and Rome arose chiefly from
this cause.
The following chronological table of the
principal events in Paul's life may be of
use in directing and assisting inquiries into
this most interesting portion of history.
The different chronologies of Hug, Lard-
ner, and Conybeare and Howson are here
presented side by side ; and thus the table,
while it shows the general agreement of
chronologists as to the order of events,
shows also that it has thus far been found
impossible to arrive at entire certainty re-
specting their dates.
PAU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PAU
Paul's conversion, Acts 9. In the x 2 u
twenty-first year of Tiberius 36 36 36
He goes to Arabia, and returns to Da-
mascus, Gal. 1:17; and in the third
year escapes from Damascus and vis-
its Jerusalem, Acts 9:23-26, in the
year 39 39 38
From Jerusalem he goes to Tarsus,
Acts 9 : 30 ; and after several years of
labor in Cilicia and Syria, Gal. i :2i,
during which it is supposed most
of the sufferings occurred which are
mentioned in 2 Cor. 11:24-26, he
went with Barnabas to Antioch in
Syria, Acts 11 : 25, 26, where they la-
bored during the year 44 43 44
From Antioch he is sent with Barna-
bas to Jerusalem, his second visit, to
carry relief for the famine, and re-
turns to Antioch, Acts 11 : 30- 45 44 45
First great missionary tour, with Bar-
nabas, from Antioch to Cyprus, Anti-
och in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and
Derbe, and returning through the
same places and Attalia to Antioch,
Acts 13; 14, about two years, com-
mencing — 45 48
Third visit to Jerusalem, with Barna-
bas, to consult respecting circumcis-
ion, etc., and return to Antioch, Acts
15:2-30 53 50 50
Second missionary tour, from Antioch,
through Cilicia, Derbe, Lystra, Phry-
gia, Galatia, Troas, Neapolis, Philip-
pi, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, and
Corinth, Acts 15:35 to 18:1, where
he finds Aquila - 54 51 52
After eighteen months at Corinth he
makes his fourth visit to Jerusalem,
by Cenchrea, Ephesus, and Csesarea,
and returns to Antioch, Acts 18: 11-
22, in ---56 — 54
Third missionary tour, through Gala-
tia and Phrygia, arriving at Ephe-
sus, Acts 19: i, in -- 57 53 54
And after two years at Ephesus, going
through Troas and Macedonia to
Corinth, Acts 20: 1 - 59 56 57
Fifth visit to Jerusalem, from Corinth,
by Philippi, Troas, Miletus, Tyre,
Ptolemais, and Caesarea, Acts 20:3
to2i:i5 - - 60 58 58
After two years' imprisonment at Jeru-
salem and Caesarea, he sails from Si-
don, by Myra, Fair Havens, etc., to
Malta, where he is shipwrecked ; in
the spring he proceeds to Rome,
Acts 21 : 17 to 28 : 16 63 61 61
Two years' imprisonment in Rome,
and release. Acts 28 : 30 65 63 63
After laboring, as some think, in Spain,
Rom. 15:24, 28, also in Ephesus,
Macedonia, 1 Tim. i : 3, Crete, Tit.
1:5, Asia Minor, 2 Tim. 1:15, and
Nicopolis, Tit. 3:12, he is again a
prisoner at Rome, joyfully awaiting
martyrdom, though almost alone,
2 Tim. 2 :9; 4 :6-i8 — 65 68
These various journeys of St. Paul, many
of them made on foot, should be studied
through on a map, in connection with the
inspired narrative in Acts and with his
own pathetic description of his labors,
2 Cor. 11:23-29, wherein nevertheless the
half is not told. When we review the
many regions he traversed and evangel-
ized, the converts he gathered, and the
churches he founded,- the toils, perils, and
trials he endured, the miracles he wrought,
and the revelations he received, the dis-
courses, orations, and letters in which he
so ably defends and unfolds Christianity,
the immeasurable good which God by him
accomplished, his heroic life, and his mar-
tyr death, he appears to us the most ex-
traordinary of men.
The character of Paul is most fully por-
trayed in his epistles, by which, as Chrys-
ostom says, he "still lives in the mouths
of men throughout the whole world. By
them, not only his own converts, but all the
faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the
saints who are yet to be born until Christ's
coming again, both have been and shall be
blessed." In them we observe the trans-
forming and elevating power of grace in
one originally turbulent and passionate —
making him a model of manly and Chris-
tian excellence; fearless and firm, yet con-
siderate, courteous, and gentle; magnani-
mous, patriotic, and self-sacrificing; rich
in all noble sentiments and affections.
Epistles of Paul. — There are 14 epis-
tles in the New Testament usually ascribed
to Paul, beginning with that to the Romans,
and ending with that to the Hebrews. Of
these the first 13 have never been contest-
ed ; as to the latter, many good men have
doubted whether Paul was the author, al-
though the current of criticism is in favor
of this opinion. These epistles, in which
the principles of Christianity are devel-
oped for all periods, characters, and cir-
cumstances, are among the most important
of the primitive documents of the Christian
religion, even apart from their inspired
character; and although they seem to have
been written without special premedita-
tion, and have reference mostly to tran-
sient circumstances and temporary rela-
tions, yet they everywhere bear the stamp
of the great and original mind of the apos-
tle, as purified, elevated, and sustained by
the influences of the Holy Spirit.
The following is Lardner's arrangement
of the epistles of Paul, with the places
where they were written and the dates:
419
PAY
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PEA
UriaTLKS. IXACKS.
1 Thessalonians- -Corinth
2 Thessalonians-- "
Gaiatians I ^"""'"''^ °'' | ^ . ^"^ "!; ■
I. tphesus J or beginmiig of ;
52
52
52
53
I Corinthians Ephesus beginning of 56
1 Timothy Macedonia 56
Titus " or near it, near end 56
2 Corinthians " about Oct., 57
Romans Corinth " Feb., 58
Ephesians Rome " April, 6i
2 Timothy " ' " May, 61
Philippians " before end of 62
Colossians " " " 62
Philemon " " " 62
Hebrews Italy spring, 63
The arrangement of Hug is sotnewhat
different; and most critics now place He-
brews and the pastoral epistles to Timothy
and Titus latest in the list, while those who
find evidence that Paul was released from
his first imprisonment and lived until the
spring of A. D. 68, assign them to the last
years of his life. See Timothy.
PAVE'MENT, Exod. 24:10; 2 Kin. 16:17;
Esth. 1:6. See Gabbatha.
PAVIL'ION, a tent, as for kings or gen-
erals in time of war, i Kin. 20:12, 16. Da-
vid poetically describes the Lord as dis-
comfiting his servant's enemies from the
midst of a pavilion of dark waters and
thick clouds of the skies, Psa. 18:6-14;
compare Josh. 10:10, 11. He is a secure
shelter to those who trust in him, Psa.
31:20; 83:3.
PEACE. The 2 or 3 Hebrew words thus
translated are very comprehensive, deno-
ting primarily wholeness, i. e., health, wel-
fare, or good of all kinds. Gen. 29:6, mar-
gin; Exod. 4:18; Num. 6:26; peace as op-
posed to war, Eccl. 3:8; concord or friend-
ship, Psa. 41:9, margin." The Greek word
in the New Testament has -much the same
breadthof meaning, Luke 1 : 79; 2:14; 7:50;
12:51; 14:32. "Peace be unto you," the
common salutation in the East, Christ re-
alized for his disciples in the highest sense,
John 14:27; 20:19, 21, 26, in the reconcilia-
tion made through his death between God
and man, and in all the blessings which
flow from it, Col. 1:19-23; compare Psa.
85:5; Isa. 9:6; 53:5.
The Christian grace of peace is that
tranquillity of conscience, mind, and heart
which God confers in assuring the believer
of his pardon, Rom. 5: i ; 15: 13. It may be
enjoyed amid great outward adversity, John
16:33. While the preaching of the gospel
naturally awakens opposition of thought,
aim, and effort between believers and re-
jecters of Christ, Matt. 10:34, a kindly dis-
420
position towards others is an essential fruit
of the Spirit in all who are Christ's, Gal.
5:22; Col. 3:15; and its active manifesta-
tion is blessed by Christ, Matt. 5:9, and
enjoined by him and his apostles, Mark
9:50; 2 Cor. 13: II ; Heb. 12:14; i t'et. 3:11.
The old English idiom, "to hold one's
peace," means simply to be silent, Psa.
39:12; Mark 3:4.
PEA'COCKS were imported by Solomon,
I Kin. 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21, and the Hebrew
word so translated closely resembles the
modern Tamul or Malabar term. See
Tarshish. In Job 39: 13 the word transla-
ted peacocks should be rendered ostriches,
and that rendered ostricli should be stork,
as it is elsewhere translated.
PEARL, in Job 28: 18, A. v., should prob-
ably be "crystal." Pearls have always
been highly prized as personal ornaments,
and the ancients accorded them a high
rank among precious substances. Matt.
7:6; 13:45, 46; Rev. 2i:2i. Pearls are a
globular deposit of nacre, the lining sub-
stance of many shells, and are found in
several mollusks, whose nacre is called
" mother of pearl." The pearl-oysters grow
in deep water, in clusters, on rocks called
"pearl-banks," and are found in the Per-
sian Gulf, on the west coast of Ceylon, on
the coasts of Java, Sumatra, etc., and in
smaller quantities elsewhere in both hemi-
spheres. The oysters are brought up by
trained divers, who can pursue their dan-
gerous trade only during a few weeks or
months of calm spring or summer weather.
Few pearls are as large as a cherry-stone,
PEC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PEL
yet some have reached the size of a wal-
nut, and one has been valued at $350,000.
The value and beauty of such a stone, ac-
quired with such severe toil, make it an
apt illustration of the blessing of salva-
tion, obtained for us by the self-sacrifice of
Christ, and which it is our wisdom to ac-
quire at any cost. Matt. 13:45, 46; Prov.
2:3-9; Rev. 3:18.
PECU'LIAR, Exod. 19:5; Deut. 26:18;
Psa. 135:4; Tit. 2:14; I Pet. 2:9, signifies
God's own special possession.
PEEP, in Isa. 8:19, denotes the stifled,
piping voice of necromancers.
PE'KAH, open-eyed, son of Remaliah,
and general of Pekahiah king of Israel.
He conspired against his master, and hav-
ing slain him, B. C. 758, he reigned in his
place 20 years, 2 Kin. 15:25-28. In the lat-
ter part of his evil reign he formed an alli-
ance with the Syrians of Damascus, and
early in the reign of Ahaz Pekah and Re-
zin invaded Judah and besieged Jerusa-
lem, ch. 16: 1-6. Though unable to take the
holy city, Isa. 7; 8:1-10, the allies killed
many warriors of Judah and took many
prisoners, 2 Chr. 28:5-8; but the Israelites
were divinely ordered to restore their cap-
tives, ver. 9-15; Lev. 25:39, 42, 43, 46.
Ahaz seeking the aid of Assyria, Tiglath-
pileser defeated Syria and Israel, and de-
prived Pekah of the country beyond the
Sea of Galilee, taking the inhabitants cap-
tive, 2 Kin. 15:29; 16:7-9; I Chr. 5:26;
Isa. 17. Soon afterwards Pekah was slain
by Hoshea, who after a 9 years' interreg-
num usurped the throne, 2 Kin. 15:30;
17:1. Pekah was the last of the 4 kings of
Israel assassinated in the troublous times
of the prophet Hosea, Hos. 1:1; 8:4; 10:7,
15; compare 2 Kin. 15:8-10, 13, 14, 23-25,
30.
PEKAHI' AH, whose eyes the Lord opened,
son and successor of Menahem king of
Israel, was a wicked prince, and reigned
but 2 years, B. C. 760-758. Pekah, son of
Remaliah, conspired against him, and killed
him in his own palace, 2 Kin. 15:22-25.
PE'KOD, visitation, a name applied to
Babylon, or perhaps denoting a Chaldaean
province, Jer. 50:21 ; Ezek. 23:23.
PE'LEG, division, Gen. 10:25; 11:16-19;
I Chr. 1 : 19-25, a son of Eber and brother
of Joktan. His name refers to a division
made in his time in the family of Eber,
whose elder branch, that of Peleg, remained
in Mesopotamia, while sons of the younger,
Joktan, migrated to Southern Arabia.
PEL'ETHITES and CHER'ETHITES, Da-
vid's body-guard, 2 Sam. 8: 18 ; 15:18; 20:7,
23; I Kin. 1:38, 44. The names have been
translated "executioners and couriers;"
but many suppose they were foreign mer-
cenaries, their names implying their origin
and not their duties, and that Pelethites is
another word for Philistines. See Chere-
THITES.
PEL'ICAN, vomiter. Lev. ii:i«, a vora-
cious water-fowl, of a rank oily flesh, un-
clean by the Mosaic law. It is gregarious
and migratory. The common white peli-
can, still found in Egypt and Palestine, is
nearly 6 feet long, and resembles the goose
in shape. Its broad flat bill is 15 inches in
length, and has a pouch underneath, near-
ly invisible when empty, but capable of
containing 2 or 3 gallons of water. This it
uses as a scoop-net in catching fish, of
which it holds enough for 6 men. The
young are fed on the regurgitated food of
the parent; hence its name, the process
being aided by pressure of the bill on the
breast. The bill terminates in a bright red
hook, and may have given rise to the fable
that the pelican feeds its young with its
blood. It is a good flyer as well as diver
and swimmer, and having loaded itself
with fish retires to some lonely spot to di-
gest its food ; it then has a dull and melan-
421
PEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PEN
choly aspect, Psa. 102:6. Its voice is harsh.
In the prophecies of the desolation of Idu-
maea, Isa. 34:11, and of Nineveh, Zeph.
2:14, the presence of the pelican, called
cormorant in A. V., is mentioned.
PEN, Judg. 5:14; Psa. 45:1; Jer. 8:8.
For inscriptions on stone, Exod. 24:12;
Job 19:24, or metallic plates, Isa. 8:1, where
" roll " is really a polished " writing-table"
or tablet, Isa. 30:8, the ancients used a sty-
lus of hardened iron, sometimes perhaps
tipped with a hard stone, Jer. 17:1. See
Diamond. For tablets of wood coated with
wax, Luke 1:63, the stylus had one end
broad and smooth for erasing errors. For
soft materials, such as papyrus, skin, lin-
en, parchment, a fine-pointed hair-pencil,
dipped in ink, was used, as by the Chinese
now. In later times the reed pen was used,
at first with an unsplit point, prepared with
a particular kind of knife, Jer. 36:18, 23;
3 John 13. The reed pen is still used by the
Syrians, Turks, etc. See Ink, Sceptre.
PENI'EL, or PENU'EL, the face of God,
the place where Jacob wrestled with the
Angel-Jehovah " face to face," Gen. 32:24-
31 ; Hos. 12:4. It was east of the Jordan
and near the Jabbok. There was a town
so called 500 years later, the tower of which
Gideon destroyed, Judg. 8:8-17. About
250 years later Penuel was rebuilt or forti-
fied by Jeroboam I., I Kin. 12:25. Dr. Mer-
rill would place its site on the south side
of the Jabbok and near its mouth.
PENIN'NAH, the 2d wife of Elkanah the
father of Samuel. See Hannah. Their
story illustrates the evils of polygamy,
I Sam. I.
PEN'NY, Matt. 18:28; Mark 6:37, the de-
narius, the chief Roman silver coin, equal
to about 16 cents. The Greek drachma,
"piece of silver," Luke 15:8, was of about
the same value. Distressing scarcity is
indicated. Rev. 6:6, when a whole day's
wages can buy only a "chcenix " (less than
a quart) of wheat — what a single man
would need ; a denarius usually purchased
a bushel. The "penny" shown to Christ
bore Tiberius' likeness and name, Matt.
22:19, 21. Even the nominal value of the
denarius would be better expressed by
422
"shilling" or "franc;" and its real value,
in purchase of labor or commodities, was
far greater formerly than now, the Samari-
tan's gift equalling at least two dollars
with us, Luke 10:35.
PEN'TATEUCH.yJz'*" volumes, the collec-
tive name of the 5 books of Moses : Gene-
sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deu-
teronomy. See these titles, and also Mo-
ses. The name as well as the individual
titles of the books is of Greek origin, prob-
ably given by the Alexandrian translators
of the Old Testament. See Septuagint.
By the Hebrews the roll or volume was
called ToRAH, "the Law." The Greek
names describe the contents of each book,
the Hebrew names, Bereshilh, "in the be-
ginning," etc., are either an initial word or
a prominent word in the initial verse. The
Pentateuch is called in the Bible " the law,"
Neh. 10:34, 36; Matt. 12:5; Luke 10:26;
John 8:17 (though "the law" sometimes
includes all the Hebrew Scriptures, John
15:25, which were otherwise divided into
"the law and the prophets," Matt. 22:40,
or " the law, the prophets, and the psalms,"
Luke 24:44); the "book of Moses," 2 Chr.
25:4; " the law of Moses," i Kin. 2:3; Dan.
9:11, 13; John 7:23; Acts 13:39 with John
1 • i7> 451 " the book of the law," 2 Kin. 22:8,
II ; "the book of the law of Moses," Josh.
8:31; Neh. 8:1; " the book of the covenant,"
2 Kin. 23:2, 21; "the book of the law of
Jehovah," 2 Chr. 17:9; "the law of Jeho-
vah," 2 Chr. 31:3; and "a book of the law
of Jehovah given by Moses," 2 Chr. 34:14.
The grand subject of the Pentateuch is the
Hebrew theocracy : Genesis showing the
preparation for it. Exodus the foundation of
it, Leviticus its internal constitution. Num-
bers its actual establishment in wilderness
journeys and the conquest of Canaan, and
Deuteronomy being a recapitulation and
enforcement of the legislation relating to it.
The Pentateuch bears its own testimony to
its authorship by express mention of Moses
as the writer of several portions, Exod.
17:14; 24:3-7; 34:27; Num. 33:2; Deut.
^1:9-12, 19, 22, 24-26; without strong rea-
son for the contrary opinion, such as exists
as to the account of his death, Deut. 34, it
is fair to presume that he wrote the rest,
and this presumption is confirmed by the
unity of the composition as a whole, by the
language of other Old Testament Scrip-
tures and of Christ and his apostles, by the
constant tradition of the Jewish and the
Christian church, and by the internal evi-
dence of the work itself, which calls for the
PEN
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authorship of a man with the precise prov-
idential qualifications which Moses alone
had — through his Egyptian education and
his leadership in the wilderness journey-
ings. The antiquity of the book is further
evidenced by its primitive theology and the
archaic Hebrew in which it is written, in
both which respects it differs from the wri-
tings of the Davidic period, and still more
from those of the post-exilian period, to
which some modern critics would assign
it. While Moses thus appears to have been
the only possible author of the Pentateuch,
he may, by and under divine direction,
have made use of ancient records of events
preceding his time — a supposition which
may well account for alleged differences,
in style and the use of the names of God,
on which a modern critical school has
grounded objections against the Mosaic
authorship. The anticipatory use of cer-
tain local names before their application
after the conquest of Canaan — as Dan,
Gen. 14:14; Deut. 34:1 with Josh. 19:47,
and Hebron, Gen. 13:18; 23:2 with Josh.
14:15; Judg. 1:10 — may be explained on
the ground of prophetic foreknowledge, or
of substitution in later editions of the Pen-
tateuch after the names became settled.
Some section of the Pentateuch was reg-
ularly read in each Jewish synagogue on
the Sabbath, Acts 13:15; 15:21. It was
and is the sacred book of the Samaritans,
who accept no other part of the Bible.
PEN'TECOST, 7i/77WA, Acts 2:1-41, the
Greek name for the 2d of the 3 great festi-
vals which Israel was commanded to keep
at the national sanctuary, Exod. 23:14-17.
It was celebrated on the "fiftieth" day
after the i6th of Nisan, which is the 2d
day of the Passover festival, Lev. 23:15, 16;
and it fell on the 6th day of the 3d month.
In the Old Testament it is called " the
feast of weeks," Exod. 34:22, " the feast of
harvest," Exod. 23:16, and "the day of the
first-fruits," Num. 28:26, and was institu-
ted as a day of thanksgiving to God for the
grain-" harvest," which in Palestine was
usually gathered during the 7 " weeks "
between the Passover and this festival, and
which was completed with the wheat-har-
vest. The " first-fruits" of the latter were
offered on the appointed day in 2 leavened
loaves, each containing 6 pints of the finest
wheat flour, Lev. 23:17. Special bloody
sacrifices were also prescribed, Lev. 23:18-
21 ; Num. 28:26-31 ; and the day was to be
one of holy rest and rejoicing, of gratitude
prompting new obedience, and of hospi-
tality to the needy. Of each participant a
free-will offering proportioned to his means
was required, Deut. 16:9-12.
The later Jews, after their dispersion at
the destruction of Jerusalem, regarded this
festival as commemorative of the giving of
the law from Mount Sinai, Exod. 20:1-20,
an event whose near coincidence with the
time appointed for " the feast of weeks "
may be inferred from Exod. 19:1, 10, 11,
16. This is the chief significance of the
festival among modern Jews.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit
was poured out on the Christian church.
Acts 2:1-3. This gift of a divine Enlight-
ener and Sanctifier bore to the deliverance
wrought by the sacrifice of Christ as the
true Passover a relation similar to that
which the giving of the law bore to the de-
liverance from Egypt, but was of a more
glorious efficacy, and designed for all na-
tions and the whole period of the gospel
dispensation. Acts 2:17, 38, 39. On this
day, in the conversion of the 3,000, the
" first-fruits " of a grand spiritual " har-
vest " were presented to the Lord. Com-
pare Matt. 9:37, 38; John 4:35, 36. The
mighty effects then produced foreshow the
yet greater work the Spirit will perform in
answer to prayer.
PENU'EL. See Peni'el.
PEO'PLE, usually foreign nations, some-
times the common people, John 7:20.
PE'OR, cleft, a mountain-peak in Moab,
the last of the 3 stations from which Ba-
laam beheld and blessed Israel, Num. 23:27
to 24:19, then encamped in the valley east
of the Jordan near the Dead Sea, Num.
22:1; 24:2, 5. Peor, like Pisgah, Num.
21:20, faced Jeshimon. Prof. Paine, of the
American Palestine Exploration Society,
in 1873 identified Pisgah with Jebel Siagh-
ah, whose 3 summits, it is probable, were
the sites of Balaam's 3 views. See Jeshi-
mon and Pisgah. In Num. 25:18; 31:16:
Josh. 22:17, Peor is a contraction for Baal-
peor. Num. 25:3.
PERA'ZIM, breaches, Isa. 28:21; an idol-
atrous high-place, elsewhere called B.-val-
PERAZiM (see), 2 Sam. 5:18-21; i Chr.
14:8-12.
PERDI'TION. Christ calls Judas "the
son of perdition," John 17:12 with Mark
14:21; Acts 1:25, according to the Hebrew
idiom describing his character and destiny.
See Son. Perdition is signified in Scrip-
ture by "the lake of fire," Rev. 17:8, 11;
19:20, the dreadful final abode of the devil
and of men " not written in the Lamb's
423
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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book of life," Rev. 20: 10-15. Our Saviour
refers to it as " the furnace of fire," Matt.
13-50. "the Gehenna of fire," " the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels,"
Matt. 18:9; 25:41. See Hkll, Ill.,and Hin-
NOM. The Greek word in Rev. 17:8, 11,
also translated "destruction," Rom. 9:22;
2 Pet. 2:1, 3, R. v., has a general sense of
loss, destruction, and ruin, Matt. 26:8;
Acts 8 : 20, and is often used in a special
sense to denote the loss of eternal life and
blessedness. Matt. 7:13; John 17:12; Heb.
10:39; 2 Pet. 3:7. That this does not mean
simple loss, or the annihilation of the wick-
ed, is proved by the language in which the
Bible depicts the enduring guilt, defilement,
shame, and anguish of the doomed, Dan.
12:2; Matt. 13:40,50; 18:34,35; 25:30,41;
Mark 3:29; 9:44-48; Rom. 2:4-9; R^v.
14:9-11 ; 21 :8.
The same Greek word is used by the
Septuagint to translate the Hebrew Adad-
don, " destruction," which is generally un-
derstood as referring to the place of gloom
and suffering in the unseen world, Job
26:6; 28:22; Psa. 88:11; Prov. 15:11.
The Greek verd from which the noun is
derived likewise has a general sense of
loss, destruction, and ruin, Matt. 2:13;
8:25; 9:17; Luke 15:8, 9, 24, 32, and like
the noun it is specially applied to the de-
praved and ruined condition of man as a
sinner. Matt. 18:11; Luke 19:10; from
which he may be saved through faith in
Christ, John 3:16; 10:28; 2 Pet. 3:9, but
which if continued in through this life,
2 Cor. 2:15; 4:3, will terminate in that com-
plete " perdition " in sin and misery which —
both as the natural result of persistence in
sin, unbelief, and enmity to God, John 8:24;
Matt. 12:31, 32; John 3:36, and by the di-
rect sentence and infliction of the Judge-
involves those condemned to follow out the
choice of their lives and depart from Christ,
Matt. 25:41, 46; 10:28. From 2 Thess. 2:3,
etc., we learn that another " son of perdi-
tion " would come in " the last times," " the
man of sin," and " that wicked " or " law-
less one," apparently the final embodiment
of ungodliness— whether a person or an
organization we are not told— destined to
be destroyed by Christ.
PE'RES, division, Dan. 5 : 28. See Uphar-
SIN.
PE'REZ, Neh. 11:4, 6. See Pharez.
PE'REZ-UZ'ZAH, 2 Sam. 6:8. See Uz-
Z.\H.
PER'FECT, luhole, complete, having every
essential component part. Lev. 22:21-24;
424
1 Cor. 13:10. Men are called perfect who,
though by no means sinless, were yet com-
paratively blameless, truly possessing the
qualities required by God, as faith in him,
love to him, and the spirit of obedience.
Gen. 6:9; I Kin. 15:14; 2 Kin. 20:3; Job
I : I.
To be "perfected," or "made perfect,"
is to be brought to some particular con-
templated end, 2 Chr. 8:16; as Christ to
his foretold death, Luke 13:32 with ver. 31,
T^T), and to a complete fitness for his medi-
atorial work, Heb. 2:10 with ver. 18 and
5:9; and as the believer in Christ comes to
peace of conscience, Heb. 10:14 with 7:19;
9:9; 10:1, 2; to the full reception of the
promise of the Messiah, Heb. 11:39,40; to
the goal of spotless holiness, complete con-
formity to Christ, Phil. 3:12 with ver. 8-10,
and to the holiness and blessedness of the
redeemed spirit after death, Heb. 12:23.
A "perfect " man in Christ is one spirit-
ually full-grown in faith, love, knowledge,
and strength for action, as contrasted with
a " babe " in Christ, i Cor. 2:6; Heb. 5: 14,
margin; compare ver. 12, 13; 6:1. Paul
classes himself among the "perfect," Phil.
3: 15, but does not regard himself as " made
perfect," ver. 12; see above.
Believers are exhorted to " be perfect-
ed," 2 Cor. 13:11, to "go on unto perfec-
tion," Heb. 6: 1, acquiring through the grace
of God, Heb. 13:21, a character ripened
into Christian manhood, complete in every
Christian grace, Eph. 4:13 with Jas. 1:4;
2 Pet. 1:1-11. God, in all his imitable
qualities, is the model set before them,
Matt. 5:48.
PER'FUMES were anciently, and still
are, much used in the East, Prov. 27:9;
Isa. 57:9; and were applied to the person,
John 12:3, as well as to garments, Psa. 45:8,
and to beds, Prov. 7:17, and carried burn-
ing before the litters of princes. Song 3:6,
7. Moses speaks of the art of the perfu-
mer, A. V. "apothecary," and gives the
composition of the 2 sacred perfumes used
in the tabernacle service, the one as an-
ointing oil, the other as incense, Exod.
30:23-33, 34-38. Perfumes were used in
embalming the dead, Mark 16 : 1 ; John
19:39,40. See Embalming, Incense, Oint-
ments, Spices.
PER'GA, a city of Pamphylia, on the river
Cestrus, 7 miles from its mouth. The river
is now obstructed by a bar, but was an-
ciently navigable as far as Perga, where
Paul and Barnabas landed on their first
missionary tour, with Mark — who there left
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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them, Acts 13:13. Paul revisited Perga on
his return, Acts 14:25. It was the original
capital of Pamphylia, and after the division
of the province remained the capital of one
part, and Side became the chief city of the
other. Perga had fine public buildings, and
on an adjacent height a splendid temple of
Diana, which gave celebrity to the city —
some of whose discovered coins bear the
image of that goddess. Extensive ruins
remain, called by the Turks Eski-Kalessi.
PER'GAMOS, R. V. PER'GAMUM, a city
of Mysia, 3 miles north of the river Caicus,
and 20 miles from the ^gean Sea, It was
the residence of the Attalian dynasty of
kings, who raised it to eminence as a seat
of art, literature, and idolatry. Their do-
minions fell to the Romans B. C. 133, and
became the province of Asia proper. Eu-
menes II., B. C. 197-159, founded a library
which increased to 200,000 volumes ; being
presented by Antony to Cleopatra, and re-
moved to Ale.\andria, it was destroyed by
the Caliph Omar with the famous Alexan-
drine library. In transcribing manuscripts
for it great quantities of sheepskin were
used, and great improvement was made in
the preparation of it for writing ; the im-
proved material was called " charta perga-
mena " (paper of Pergamos), whence our
word " parchment." A beautiful grove
near the city contained temples of Jupiter,
Miiierva, Apollo, Venus, Bacchus, and ^s-
culapius. Special prominence was given
anciently to the worship of Venus, and
afterwards of ^Esculapius, the god of med-
icine and pharmaceutical magic, whose
emblem was a serpent. Some interpret
the expressions in Christ's message to the
church here. Rev. i:ii; 2:12-17, "the
throne of Satan," etc., as referring espe-
cially to the worship of this serpent-idol ;
compare Rev. 12:9; others apply them to
the abundant idolatries and impurities of
the city and the hostility to Christianity
already begun there in the slaying of An-
tipas. Ruins of ancient buildings show
the former magnificence of Pergamos, now
Bergama, but the modern houses are poor.
It has a population of 20,000, chiefly Turks
and Mohammedans, with about 2,000 Greek
and Armenian Christians. A remarkable
conical height near the city, now crowned
with ruins, was held sacred by the heathen
from early antiquity, and in time was oc-
cupied by a fortress.
PER'IZZITES, Gen. 15:20, ancient in-
habitants of Palestine, often enumerated
with other tribes descended from Canaan.
They were widely scattered: in Abraham's
time near Bethel, Gen. 13:7; in Jacob's,
near Shechem, Gen. 34:30; in Joshua's, on
the wooded slopes of Carmel, Josh. 17:15;
and afterwards in the territory of Judah,
Judg. 1:4, 5. From this apparent disper-
sion, from the probable meaning of the
word, rustics or villagers, and from their
being associated several times with the
Canaanites alone, who appear to have oc-
cupied cities, some conjecture that by the
Perizzites are denoted the rural population
or villagers of the land. The Perizzites
were chiefly slain or expelled by the Isra-
elites, who however wickedly mingled with
the remainder, Judg. 3:5, 6. Some were
left in Solomon's day, i Kin. 9:20, and per-
haps after the Captivity, Ezra 9:1.
PERSECU'TION is a crime, whether com-
mitted by the church or by the civil power.
Rightly, the church has no temporal penal-
ties, but spiritual only, and for its own
members ; and the civil power has penal-
ties only for overt acts, and not for spirit-
ual offences. Persecution occurs when
either party transcends these bounds;
whether those who inflict it are malignant
haters of the truth or mistaken good men,
and whether the sufferers are faithful mar-
tyrs for Christ or the worst of errorists.
The coercion of heretics by pains, penal-
ties, and death has been defended by ref-
erence to Old Testament laws. But under
the Mosaic dispensation, when God was
the recognized legislative, judicial, and ex-
ecutive Head of the nation, the worship of
another god was treason, and incurred the
penalty of death. Lev. 20:1-5; Deut. 13, as
did outrageous breaches of others of the
commandments, which were the law of the
land. By severe chastisements God taught
the early ages of mankind the fatal nature
of sin, which unrepented of involves the
sinner in endless death. The death-pen-
alty indeed may not have been often in-
flicted, but in signal instances, e. g., Lev.
24:11-14; I Kin. 18:40; and idolatry had
many patrons among the kings of Israel.
An appeal also to the Supreme Judge was
always possible through appointed means,
which now do not exist. The Mosaic dis-
pensation is abolished, and nothing in the
precepts or spirit of the New Testament
warrants coercion in spiritual matters.
The State has no right to intrude with its
penalties on the domain of conscience,
and the church's kingdom is " not of this
world," and has no "carnal weapons," but
relies on the power of truth, on conscience,
425
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PKR
and the Spirit of God, Luke 9:53-55; John
18:36; 2 Cor. 10:4.
PER'SIA proper, probably intended in
Ezek. 38:5, extended from tiie Persian Gulf
north to Media, between Carmania on the
east and Elani or Susiana on the west. The
country and name are represented by the
division of modern Persia, called Fars or
Farsistan. The southern low tract on the
gulf is sandy and unproductive ; but north
of this is a mountainous region, with beau-
tiful and fertile valleys and plains, avera-
ging about 4,000 feet above the sea. The
chief cities w ere Pasargadae, the older cap-
ital, now Murgab, where the reputed tomb
of Cyrus is shown, and Persepolis, the la-
ter capital, founded by Darius Hystaspis,
and burned by Alexander the Great when
drunk, B. C. 330.
Other Scripture passages refer to the
Persian Empire, whose greatest extent was
from the Indus to Thrace, and from the
Black and Caspian Seas to the Indian
Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Egypt, including
all Western Asia and parts of Europe and
Africa.
Persia proper was occupied by the Per-
sians, an Aryan people akin to the Medes,
after B. C. 880, when they are first men-
tioned in Assyrian inscriptions. They mi-
grated from east of the Caspian Sea, and
were led into Persia by Achsemenes, B. C.
700. The Persian kingdom became tribu-
tary to the Medes about B. C. 630. In 558
Cyrus, son of Cambyses king of Elam,
revolted, and in 550, having added the do-
minions of the Medes to his own, he began
a career of conquest which extended his
sway from the Indus to the ^gean Sea,
thus founding the 2d great world-kingdom,
Dan. 2:32; 7:5; 8:1-4; Isa. 44:28; 45:1-4.
He conquered Babylon, B. C. 538, and fol-
lowing his conciliatory policy issued a de-
cree authorizing the return of the captive
Jews and the rebuilding of the temple, 2 Chr.
6:20-23; Ezra 1:1-4. His son and succes-
sor Cambyses, B. C. 529, the " Ahasuerus "
of Ezra 4: 6, conquered Egypt, which in sub-
sequent reigns repeatedly revolted. The
usurper Pseudo-Smerdis, B. C. 522, " Arta-
xerxes," forbade the building of the tem-
ple, Ezra 4:7-24. Under his deposer and
successor Darius Hystaspis, B. C. 521-485,
the temple was completed, Ezra 4:5, 24;
5:1-6; 6:15; Hag. 1:1; Zech. i :i ; 7:1. In
this reign Shushan (see) became the cap-
ital of the Persian Empire. Persia was
defeated by the Greeks at Marathon, B. C.
490. Darius' successor, B. C. 485-465, was
426
the " fourth king" of Dan. 11:2, the Xerxes
who invaded Greece B. C. 480, and suf-
fered defeat at Salamis, the "Ahasuerus "
of Esther. He was followed first by the
usurper Artabanus, then by his son Arta-
xerxes Longimanus, B. C. 464-424, Ezra
7:1, 11-26; Neh. 2:1-8, in whose reign the
walls of Jerusalem were restored, Neh.
2:11 to 6:15. Of his successors, the last,
Darius Codomanus, B. C. 335, is probably
referred to in Neh. 12:22; he was subdued
and slain by Alexander the Great, B. C.
330, and thus the Persian Empire ended,
Dan. 8:5-7, 20. After Alexander's death
Persia was ruled by the Seleucida; until
annexed to the Parthian Empire, B. C. 164 ;
was independent under the Sassanidae, A.
D. 226; in A. D. 642 was conquered by the
Arabs, who established Mohammedanism.
It was overrun by the Tartars under Jen-
ghis Khan in 1206, by Tamerlane in 1380,
and by the Turks in the i6th century. The
present Turkoman dynasty, whose capital
is Teheran, was established in 1796.
The ancient Persians were witty, brave,
and comparatively truthful, but passionate,
vain, and fickle. Their language, like that
of the Medes, was akin to the Sanscrit. Its
earliest forms appear in their sacred wri-
tings, the Zendavesta ; modern Persian is
derived from it, but has a large mixture of
Arabic. The Persians worshipped Or-
muzd, the good spirit and giver of life, and
feared Ahriman, the inflicter of all evil.
They also recognized inferior spirits, good
and bad. They used no images, and their
worship was originally simple, without al-
tars, sacrifices, or priests, but became cor-
rupted by Magianism, the religion of Scyth-
ic tribes, from whom the immigrating Per-
sians adopted the worship of the elements,
especially fire, the Magian ceremonial, and
divination, and special worship of the sun,
Mithra, and the moon, Homa.
Modern Persia, or Iran, is bounded north
by the Caspian Sea and Russia, west by
Asiatic Turkey, south by the Persian Gulf,
Strait of Ormuz, and Gulf of Oman, east by
Beloochistan and Afghanistan. It has an
area of 550,000 square miles, and a popula-
tion of perhaps 10,000,000. The sovereign
or Shah is leader of the unorthodox or
Sheah sect of Mohammedans, including
9-ioths of the population. The rest are
Armenian and Nestorian Christians, Jews,
and about 5,000 Parsees, representing the
ancient religion. The people are described
as handsome, intellectual, social, untruth-
ful, and polite — "the French of the East."
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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In 1833 the American Board established
a mission among the Nestorians, whose
ancient church was sunk in superstition
and ritualism. The mission was trans-
ferred to the Presbyterian Board in 187 1.
It has met with encouraging success — ex-
tending to Jews and Armenians, and even
Moslems, who are beginning to be more
accessible than formerly to Christian influ-
ences. Well-administered European and
American charities in times of famine have
operated favorably in creating a feeling
favorable to Christianity as well as in sav-
ing many lives.
PER'SIS, Persian, a Christian woman at
Rome, whom Paul salutes, Rom. 16:12.
PES'TILENCE, Exod. 5:3; 9:15, or
PLAGUE, E.xod. 9:14, in the Bible ex-
pressed all sorts of distempers and calam-
ities, the former word in the A. V. rep-
resenting the Hebrew word translated
"plagues" in Hos. 13:14, and "mur-
rain" in Exod. 9:3; Psa. 78:50, margin.
" Plague " in the A. V. is the rendering of
4 other Hebrew and 2 Greek words, all in-
volving the idea of a stroke or blow, as
from God, 2 Sam. 24:16. Compare (i) Num.
16:48-50; (2) Lev. 26:21; Num. 11:33;
(3) Exod. ii:i; Lev. '13:2, etc. ; (4) Num.
16:46; (5) Mark 3:10; (6) Rev. 9:20; 11:6.
Pestilence is appropriately called " the
sword of the Lord," i Chr. 21:12, and is
associated with war and famine. Lev. 26:25,
26; 2 Sam. 24:13-15. A "pestilent fellow,"
Acts 24:5, is a corrupting plague.
It cannot be determined that there is any
reference in the Bible to the specific conta-
gious and destructive disease now called
"the plague," which has in modern times
ravaged Egypt and other Oriental coun-
tries, and which Is considered to be a viru-
lent typhus attended by severe eruptions.
In the 14th century "the black death"
overran Europe, Asia, and Africa, and 25,-
000,000 are estimated to have died of it
within 3 years.
PES'TLE, Prov. 27:22. See Mortars.
PE'TER, Gr. PET'ROS, Syr. CE'PHAS,
stone or rock, one of the 12 apostles, and,
Avith James and John, one of the 3 most
intimately associated with our Lord. He
was probably a native of Bethsaida, John
1 :44, and was the son of Jonas or John, a
fisherman, and brother of Andrew, a fel-
low-apostle. His original name was Simon
or Simeon, Matt. 16:17; Acts 15:14, and
the name Cephas was prophetically given
to him when first introduced to Jesus in
Peraea by Andrew, John 1:28, 35, 40-42.
He was called to go with Christ when la-
boring at his trade as a fisherman, on the
Sea of Galilee near Capernaum, with his
brother Andrew and their partners James
and John, Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20;
Luke 5:1-11, and learned to be a "fisher
of men." His residence was then at Ca-
pernaum, with his brother, his wife, and
his mother-in-law. Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:21,
29-31. He seems to have left a considera-
ble business and a comfortable home to
follow Christ, Mark 10:28. After continu-
ing with the disciples for some time he was
chosen and commissioned as one of the
12 apostles, Matt. 10:1-11; Mark 3:13-19;
Luke 6:12-16, when his name Cephas or
Peter seems to have been reconferred. It
was confirmed when with the other apos-
tles he so boldly avowed the Messiahship
and divinity of Christ, Matt. 16 : 16-18. The
name, petros, and Christ's declaration,
" Upon this rock," petra, etc., were pro-
phetic of the special work and prominent
position of Peter as a confessor of Christ
in the earliest age of the church. He was
the spokesman of the apostles on the day
of Pentecost, when 3,000 Jewish converts
were added to the church. Acts 2; and he
was divinely chosen to receive the Gentiles
into the Christian church at the conversion
of Cornelius, Acts 10:11; 15:7; compare
I Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20-22; Rev. 21:14. The
churchly powers conferred upon him were
subsequently bestowed on the disciples
generally. Matt. 18:18. His ardent, impul-
sive, hopeful, and energetic temperament,
with his liability to overestimation of him-
self and to inconsistency and change, are
illustrated by many remarkable incidents
recorded in the Gospels, among which we
may mention his errors as to the design of
Christ's incarnation, for which he was se-
verely rebuked. Matt. 16:21-23; his warm
attachment to the divine Teacher, John
6:67-69; his boastful pledge to adhere to
his Master under all circumstances, his
subsequent denial of him with oaths, and
his poignant repentance. Matt. 26:31-35,
69-75; Mark 14:27-31,66-72; Luke 22:31-
34, 54-62; John 13:36-38; 18:15-18, 25-27.
He was the first of the apostles to behold
Jesus after his resurrection, Luke 24:34;
1 Cor. 15:5; he was afterwards solemnly
commissioned by Christ on his utterance
of a 3-fold assurance of his love, corre-
sponding to his 3-fold denial, John 21:15-
19. The death and resurrection of Christ,
and the accompanying circumstances, led
to a marked change in the apostle's mind,
427
PET
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PET
and thenceforward his course was, almost
witliout exception, bold and steadfast, and
worthy of his name. He is prominent in
word and deed through the first 12 chap-
ters of the Acts. After his miraculous re-
lease from prison, about A. D. 44, we lose
sight of him till A. D. 50, when he appears
at the council at Jerusalem, and though he
does not preside, contributes to the settle-
ment of the important question of the rela-
tion of the Gentile Christians to the Mosaic
law, Acts 15. Two years later, Paul, who
speaks of himself as in no way inferior or
subordinate to Peter, Gal. 1:15-18; 2:6-9,
rebuked him for inconsistent conduct at
Antioch, Gal. 2:11, etc.; a rebuke which
did not permanently disturb the affection
which Peter cherished for his " beloved
brother Paul," 2 Pet. 3:15. Paul mentions
him again, A. D. 57, as engaged in mission-
ary labors, in company with his wife, i Cor.
9:5, perhaps among the dispersed Jews
in Asia Minor, i Pet. 1:1. Peter seems to
have labored at Corinth, i Cor. 1:12; 3:22,
and at Babylon, i Pet. 5:13. Papal wri-
ters affirm that he was the bishop of Rome,
and resided there 25 years. But the evi-
dence is strongly against this assertion.
Paul does not mention Peter in the Epistle
to the Romans, written A. D. 58, though
he sends courteous salutations to leading
Christians there, men and women ; nor does
it appear from the inspired narrative in
the Acts, or from Paul's numerous epistles
from Rome — in which he sends the saluta-
tions of many Roman believers — that Peter
was there in 61, when Paul arrived there,
or during Paul's imprisonment there, 61-63,
Acts 28:14-31, or that Peter had previously
been there at all. It is, however, the testi-
mony of ancient Christian writers that Pe-
ter suffered martyrdom at Rome at or about
the same time as Paul, though the exact
date is not given. His death may possibly
have occurred in 64, during the Neronian
persecution, after the great fire, but rather
in 67 or 68. He is said to have been cruci-
fied, thus following the Lord in the mode
of his death, John 21:18, 19. Origen says
that at his own request, under a feeling of
his unworthiness, he was crucified head
downward. There is no evidence in the
Bible that Peter had any supremacy over
the other apostles, compare Acts 6:1-6;
8:14; 15:13, 22; I Cor. 1:12, 13; 3:21, 22;
Gal. 2:1, 2, 6-9, II, or any successor in that
influence naturally accorded to him as one
of the oldest, most active, and most faith-
ful of those who had "seen the Lord."
428
The Gospel of Mark, whom Peter calls
his "son," I Pet. 5:13, is believed to have
been written under the influence of Peter.
See Mark.
Epistles of Peter. We have 2 epis-
tles attributed to Peter by the common
consent of the Christian church. The gen-
uineness of the first has never been dis-
puted ; it is referred to as his accredited
work by several of the apostolic fathers.
It was addressed to Christian churches in
Asia Minor, composed primarily of con-
verted Jews and proselytes, but including
many converts from paganism, i Pet. 4:3.
It was written probably at Babylon on the
Euphrates, i Pet. 5 : 13. See Babylon.
Some, however, interpret this of Rome, and
others of a pettj- town in Egypt called Bab-
ylon, near Old Cairo. The "fiery trials"
through which the church was then passing
are supposed to have been the persecu-
tions in the later years of Nero's reign,
which terminated A. D. 68. Peter exhorts
them to faith, obedience, and patience, in
view of the truth of the gospel and the cer-
tainty of salvation in Christ.
The 2d epistle was addressed to the same
persons as the former one ; its general de-
sign being to confirm the doctrines which
had been delivered in that, and to excite
the Christian converts to a course of con-
duct becoming in every respect their high
profession of attachment to Christ. This
epistle was less confidently ascribed to the
great "apostle of the circumcision" by the
early church than the first epistle. There
is no sufficient ground, however, for doubt-
ing its canonical authority, or that Peter
was its author, 2 Pet. 1:1, 18; 3:1. Com-
pare also I Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5. In many
passages it resembles the Epistle of Jude.
Both epistles attest the harmony between
the doctrines of Peter and Paul, and by
their humble, meek, patient, and lovely
spirit show the mastery of divine grace in
the writers. " The faith expounded by
Paul kindles into fervent hope in the words
of Peter, and expands into sublime love in
those of John."
PE'THOR, interpret alio n, the residence
of Balaam in Mesopotamia, and probably
on the Euphrates, Num. 22:5; Deut. 23:4.
Its site is unknown.
PHA'LEC. Luke 3:35, Peleg, as in R. V.
PHAL'TI, or PHAL'TIEL, whom God de-
livers, son of Laish, of Gallim, to whom for
policy Saul gave David's wife. See Mi-
CHAL. He seems to have loved her devo-
tedly, I Sam. 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:15, 16.
PHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHA
PHANU'EL, whom God beholds, Luke
2:36.
PHA'RAOH, thegeneral title of the Egyp-
tian kings. It was formerly thought to be
compounded from the Egyptian article, Pi
or Ph, and Ra, the sun, the king being re-
garded as the earthly representative of the
sun-god ; or of the article Ph and the Cop-
tic word ouro, king. But recent Egyptolo-
gists translate it the great house, equiva-
lent to the Turkish "the sublime porte."
In the still uncertain state of Egyptian
chronology, and of Bible chronology before
Solomon, it is difficult to identify the Pha-
raohs of the Old Testament with kings
whose proper names are known to us from
other sources. Thirty royal dynasties, e.x-
tending from Menes, the first king, to Nec-
tanebo II., the last native ruler, Ezek.
30:13, dethroned at the 2d Persian con-
quest, B. C. 343, are enumerated by Mane-
tho, an Egyptian priest and historian, B.
C. 300-250. Some of these were, however,
contemporary kings of different parts of
Egypt. The term Pharaoh is applied to
all the Egyptian kings mentioned in Scrip-
ture except 4.
1. The Pharaoh of Abraham, whose visit
to Egypt, Gen. 12:15-20, occurred during
the period of the Hyksos or Shepherd-
kings — Semitic foreigners who conquered
Egypt, and ruled at least Lower Egypt for
several centuries, including the 15th, i6th,
and 17th dynasties. The common chronol-
ogy dates this visit B. C. 1920. R. S. Poole
of the British Museum dates it at B. C. 2080,
and under the reign of Salatis, the head of
the 15th dynasty.
2. The Pharaoh of Joseph, Gen. 37:36;
39 to 50. Joseph may have arrived in
Egypt B. C. 1728, under an earlier king
than the one who exalted him, B. C. 1715.
Eusebius says the latter was Apophis ; and
the date of his reign is given by some as
B. C. 1876-1850. H. Brugsch, the learned
Egyptologist, claims to have found in the
tomb of Baba — time of the Shepherd-
kings — an undoubted reference to Joseph
and the 7 years of famine: "I gathered
grain as were I a friend of the gods of the
harvests. . . . And when a famine arose
that lasted many years, then I distributed
grain to the city in its distress."
3. The Pharaoh of the Oppression, un-
der whom Moses was born, Exod. 1:8 to
2:23; Acts 7:18-20; Heb. 11:23, B. C. 1571.
Biblical scholars and Egyptologists now
identify this king with Rameses II., whose
date Lepsius gives as B. C. 1388-1322. He
was the 3d king of the 19th dynasty, was
called by the Greeks Sesostris, and was
the most famous of all the Pharaohs, a
mighty conqueror in Africa, Asia, and Eu-
rope, and an extensive builder. His stat-
ues and temples are found throughout the
Nile valley from Zoan to Nubia. The
mummy of Rameses II., with many others
of royal and priestly persons, was discov-
ered in 1881 in a rock-chamber on the west
bank of the Nile at Deir el-Bahari, near
Thebes, and transferred to the Boulak Mu-
seum at Cairo. It is he who is depicted as
slaughtering prisoners on p. 150.
4. It may be, however, that the Pharaoh
of Moses' exile to Midian at the age of 40,
Exod. 2:11-22, was distinct both from the
king under whose reign he was born, and
from the Pharaoh of the Exodus, when
Moses was 80 years old ; and that this Pha-
raoh of Moses in Midian was Rameses II.
5. The Pharaoh of the Exodus, Exod.
2:23 to 15:19; 2 Kin. 17:7; Neh. 9:10; Psa.
135:9; 136:15; Rom. 9:17; Heb. 11:27.
B. C. 1491. He is generally identified with
Meneptha I., the son and successor of Ra-
meses II. His reign, according to the
monuments, was inglorious, and he died
without finishing his father's tomb. A
monument at Tanis mentions his loss of a
son, which Dr. Brugsch connects with the
dea;th of the first-born. The many-cham-
bered and painted tombs of the Pharaohs
of the i8th, 19th, and 20th dynasties cata-
comb the limestone hills near Thebes.
Thence, it is believed, the newly-discov-
ered mummies were removed to the cavern
where they were found, to secure them after
the downfall of the Rameses dynasty.
6. The Pharaoh whose daughter Bithiah
became the wife of Mered, of the tribe of
Judah, I Chr. 4:18.
7. The Pharaoh in David's time, who
married his wife's sister to Hadad the
Edomite, i Kin. 11:14-22. About B. C.
1030. See Tahapanes.
8. Pharaoh, whose daughter Solomon
took to wife, B. C. loii, i Kin. 3:1, and
who took Gezer from the Canaanites and
presented it to his daughter, i Kin. 9:16.
This king and No. 7 probably belonged to
the 2istor Tanite dynasty in Lower Egypt.
9. Shishak, near the end of Solomon's
reign and during Rehoboam's, B. C. 975.
See Shishak.
10. Zerah, king of Egypt and Ethiopia
in the time of Asa, B. C. 930. See Zerah.
11. So, or Sevechus, contemporary with
Ahaz, B. C. 738, 2 Kin. 17:4. See So.
429
PHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHA
12. Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and Egypt
in the time of Hezekiah, B. C. 720, 2 Kin.
19:9; Isa. 37:9. See Tirhakah.
13. The Pharaoh in whom king Hezekiah
trusted, in his war with Sennacherib, 2 Kin.
18:21, about B. C. 712. This was probably
the Sethos of Herodotus, the Zet of Mane-
tho, last king of the 23d dynasty. A bent
reed is the hieroglyphic sign of the king of
Upper Egypt.
14. Pharaoh -nechoh, or simply Necho,
B. C. 612-596, in the time of king Josiah,
2 Kin. 23:29, 30; 2 Chr. 35:20-24; Jer. 46.
See Necho.
15. Pharaoh - hophra, about B. C. 590-
570, grandson and 2d successor of Necho,
is the Apries of Herodotus and Diodorus.
Early in his reign he subdued PhcEnicia,
taking Zidon, and returned to Egypt with
great spoil. Zedekiah, the last king of
Judah, sought his help in rebelling against
Nebuchadnezzar, Ezek. 17:11-17. His ad-
vance caused the Babylonians, who were
besieging Jerusalem, to draw off their for-
ces; but they soon returned and captured
Jerusalem, B. C. 588, the Egyptians aban-
doning their allies, Jer. 34:1; 37:5-11;
2 Kin. 25 : 1-4. Nebuchadnezzar afterwards
successfully invaded Egypt, Jer. 46:13-26;
Ezek. 30:20-25. Pharaoh-hophra was de-
posed by his subjects after a disastrous
e.xpedition against Cyrene. His successor
Amasis at first treated him kindly, but was
finally compelled by the popular sentiment
to strangle him, Jer. 44:30. Hophra's ar-
rogance, as depicted by Jeremiah and by
Ezekiel, ch. 29-32, is described by Herodo-
tus also.
Pharaoh's Daughter, i. The preser-
ver of Moses, Exod. 2:5-10; Acts 7: 20, 21. —
430
2. Bithiah, the wifeof Mered, i Chr. 4:18. —
3. A wifeof Solomon, i Kin. 3:1 ; 7:8; 9:24;
2 Chr. 8:11. She was treated with distinc-
tion, but apparently remained an idola-
tress.
The cut, from an ancient Egyptian mon-
ument, is believed to be a genuine likeness
of some Pharaoh's daughter, probably Shi-
shak's.
PHA'REZ, a breach, son of Judah and
Tamar, twin brother of Zarah, Gen. 38:29;
46:12, and ancestor of the great family of
Pharzites, Num. 26:20; Ruth 4:12, 18;
1 Chr. 9:4; called Perez, Neh. 11:4, 6, and
Phares, Matt. 1:3; Luke t,.2,2» A. V.
PHAR'ISEES, separated, a numerous and
dominant party of the Jews, in New Testa-
ment times the orthodox exponents and
defenders of the law, as contrasted with the
2 other sects, the Sadducees and Essenes.
The Pharisees agreed on main points of
doctrine and practice, but were divided
into different schools on minor points, un-
der leaders such as Hillel and Shammai,
celebrated rabbins of the generation pre-
ceding Christ. The origin of tlie Pharisees
is obscure, but they were probably a con-
tinuation of the Assideans — " the pious " —
a party existing at the time of the Maccabe-
an rising, zealous for the external obser-
vance of the law, I Mace. 2:42 ; 7: 13 ; 2 Mace.
14:6, in opposition to the Hellenizing fac-
tion, who favored conforming to heathen
practices — yielding to their Syrian rulers,,
who sought thus to amalgamate, by perse-
cution, if needful, the different nationali-
ties vmder their sway, i Mace. 1:41-64.
This position of orthodoxy and intense na-
tionalism was maintained by the Pharisees
in our Lord's day, though the former had
degenerated into an empty formalism, Matt.
23, and the latter into an unreasonable spir-
it of rebellion. At the accession of Herod
6,000 of them at first refused the oath of
allegiance, and the Pharisees organized the
desperate resistance to the Romans which
resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem
and the slaughter or dispersion of the Jew-
ish people. The popularity and influence
of the Pharisees may be ascribed to their
political attitude as well as to their pro-
fessed sanctity and close adherence to the
external forms of piety.
While they esteemed the written books
of the Old Testament, thej^ attributed equal
authority to traditional precepts supple-
mental to the written law, claiming that
God had commimicated them to Moses for
oral transmission; see Tradition; and
PHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHI
they finally exalted these precepts, chiefly
as to external rites, above the written law,
whose spirit they often violated by their
rigid application of its letter and their tra-
ditional and philosophical interpretations.
Matt. 12:1-8; 15:1-9. Besides this belief
in traditions, which the Sadducees reject-
ed, they differed from the Sadducees in
holding the immortality of the soul and the
resurrection of the body, Acts 23:8, the
doctrine of future rewards and punish-
ments, and of a divine Providence cooper-
ating with human free-will, Acts 5:34-39.
While the Pharisees scrupulously tithed
the most trifling products, they disobeyed
the divine requirements of justice, mercy,
and humility. Matt. 23:23; compare Mic.
6:8 ; while they rigidly fasted at fixed times,
they neglected that abstinence from selfish-
ness which God commands, Luke 18:12;
Matt. 23:14; compare Isa. 58:6-10; and
while they carefully practised external ab-
lutions of the person and of utensils, they
were unmindful of purity of heart, Matt.
23:25-28; Mark 7:4-23. They taxed the
conscience of the people with puerile ques-
tions, such as whether it was lawful to eat
an egg laid on the Sabbath, or of what ma-
terial the wick of the Sabbath lamp should
be made, Matt. 23:4.
Though Christ recognized the authority
of their Scriptural teachings, Matt. 23:2, 3,
he repeatedly rebuked their unscriptural
traditions and their pride, covetousness,
ostentation, and hypocrisy, Luke 16:14, 15;
and thereby he incurred their hatred, for
the gratification of which they allied them-
selves with their political and religious op-
ponents, Herodians and Sadducees, Matt.
22 : 15-34. They formed a part of the coun-
cil that sentenced him to death, Matt. 26:59-
68 with Acts 23 : 6.
On the other hand, there appear to have
been among them individuals of probity
and even of genuine piety, such as Joseph
of Arimathaea, Nicodemus, and others, Luke
23 : 50-53 ; John 3:1; 7 : 50, 51 • Saul of Tar-
sus was a Pharisee, Acts 26:5; Gal. 1:14.
The essential features of their character
are still common in Christian lands, and
are no less odious to Christ than of old.
PHAR'PAR, rapid. See Abana.
PHE'BE, rather PHCE'BE, a Christian
woman, apparently a deaconess of the
church at Cenchrea, and bearer of Paul's
Epistle to the Romans, to whose Christian
confidence and care he commends her and
her mission, Rom. 16:1, 2. One who, like
Phoebe, succors a faithful servant of Christ,
may thereby aid in accomplishing immeas-
urable good. See Cenchrea and Dea-
coness.
PHE'NICE (by some PHENI'CE) or Phce-
NiCE, L, the proper form for Phoenicia,
which see, Acts II : 19; 15:3.
IL A town and harbor of Crete, more
properly Phcenix, as in R. V. The name
is the Greek for the date-palm, a tree indig-
enous to the island. The town, lying on
the southwest coast, had a safe winter har-
bor, which the ship bearing Paul vainly
tried to reach after leaving Fair Havens,
Acts 27:8-15. The harbor of Lutro, with
which Phoenix has been identified, is about
35 miles west-northwest from Cape Mata-
la ; it is of good depth, and sheltered from
winter winds.
PHl'CHOL, apparently the title rather
than the name of the head of the army of
the king of Gerar in the time of Abraham
and Isaac, Gen. 21:22; 26:26.
PHILADEL'PHIA, brotherly love, the seat
of one of the 7 churches. Rev. i : 11 ; 3 : 7-13,
was a city of Lydia, on the border near
Phrygia, and about 27 miles southeast of
Sardis. It was on the lower slopes of Mount
Tmolus, in a volcanic region frequently
visited and desolated by earthquakes. It
was named for its founder, Attalus Phila-
delphus, king of Pergamos, who died B. C.
138. With the rest of the province of Asia
it was bequeathed to Rome by the last king
of Pergamos, B. C. 133. It was taken by
the Turks under Bajazet I., A. D. 1392, after
a brave and long resistance. The church
here was highly commended by Christ for
its fidelity, and the preservation of the city
in spite of earthquakes and wars is note-
worthy. In the 4th century its churches
were represented in the Councils of Nice,
Laodicaea, and Constantinople. It escaped
the ravages of Tamerlane, who destroyed
the seats of the other 6 churches, and it
then afforded an asylum to Christian refu-
gees from Sardis. The modern city covers
4 or 5 flat summits at the foot of Mount
Tmolus, is mean and ill-built, and has a
population of about 10,000, mostly Turks,
with some Greek Christians. One of the
mosques is said to have been the very
church in which the Christians addressed
by John worshipped. The ruins include
about 20 churches. A solitary pillar is one
of the most conspicuous remains, remind-
ing the beholder of the promise in Rev.
3:12. The modern name of the city is Alah
Shehr, "beautiful city," from its pictur-
esque site.
431
PHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHI
PHILE'MON, affectionate, a resident of
ColossiE, apparentlj" a man of means and
influence and of marked Christian charac-
ter, warm sympathy, and large hospitality
and beneficence. He was converted by
the instrumentality of Paul, who after-
wards, near the close of his first imprison-
ment at Rome, A. D. 62 or 63, wrote to
him.
PHILE'MON, EPISTLE TO. The occa-
sion of this letter, written at the same time
as those to the Ephesians and Colossians,
was the penitent return of Onesimus, an
escaped slave, converted at Rome under
the teaching of Paul, to his master Phile-
mon, whose kind reception of him as a
brother in Christ Paul bespeaks as a favor
to himself. Compare Col. 3:23 to 4:1 with
Phile. 7-9. This epistle, which is undoubt-
edly genuine, is admirable for its Christian
courtesy, delicacy, and manliness. See
Onesimus and Colossi.
PHILE'TUS, beloved, one against whom
Paul warns Timothy, associating him with
Hymenaeus as a holder and teacher of er-
ror, 2 Tim. 2:16-18. See Hymen^us. It
has been suggested by Waterland that they
regarded the doctrine of the resurrection
as an allegory, "resolving it all into figure
and metaphor."
PHIL'IP, lover of horses, I., the tetrarch,
Luke 3: 1. See Herod, V.
II. The husband of Herodias, Matt. 14:3.
See Herod, II.
III. The apostle, a native of Bethsaida, a
disciple at first of John the Baptist, and one
of the 12 who were earliest called to follow
Christ, Matt. 10:3; John 1:43-48; Acts 1:13.
He is several times mentioned in the Gos-
pels, John 6:5-7; 12:21,22; 14:8-10. Tra-
dition says that he preached the gospel in
Phrygia and died at Hierapolis.
IV. The evangelist; one of the 7 first
deacons in the primitive church at Jerusa-
lem, Acts 6:1-6. When the Christians, ex-
cept the apostles, were driven from Jerusa-
lem by persecution after Stephen's death,
Philip went to Samaria, where he preached
the gospel with great success and wrought
many miracles, " amazing " the sorcerer
Simon, Acts 8:1-13, R- V. From populous
Samaria Philip was divinely sent to a lone-
ly spot, on that one of the roads between
Jerusalem and Gaza which led through
a region then comparatively unsettled.
There he was to accost an Ethiopian of
high rank, a proselyte to Judaism and a
student of the Bible, on his way home from
one of the Jewish festivals, and was suc-
432
cessful in leading him to Christ, the Holy
Spirit presently confirming his faith by
miraculously removing Philip. From Azo-
tus he preached the gospel through the in-
tervening towns to Caesarea, where, 18 or
19 years later, Paul and his companions
were his guests for a time. Acts 8:26-40;
21:8-10. He had 4 daughters endowed
with the gift of prophecy; compare Acts
2:17.
PHILIP'PI, the chief city of Eastern
Macedonia, was near the Thracian border,
on a fertile plain between 2 mountain ran-
ges. It derived its name from Philip of
Macedon, who took it from the Thracians,
B. C. 358, strongly fortified and garrisoned
it, and resumed the working of the gold
mines near it. The town had been called
Datum, and still earlier Crenides, "foun-
tains," from its copious springs. Philippi
was the " first" city reached after leaving
its seaport Neapolis, Acts 16:12, R. V.,
northwest of which it lay, at about 10 miles'
distance, by the Via Egnatia, a paved Ro-
man road over a steep height called Sym-
bolum. On the plain of Philippi was fought
the famous battle in which Brutus and Cas-
sius were overthrown by Octavius and
Antony, B. C. 42. Later, when Octavius
had become the Emperor Augustus, he
transported Roman citizens to Philippi and
made it a "colony" — a miniature Rome,
where Roman laws, customs, and language
prevailed, the people were governed by
their own magistrates, and possessed the
rights of Roman citizens.
Here began the triumphs of the gospel
in Europe. The first convert to the preach-
ing of Paul and Silas, divinely sent hither
from Troas, A. D. 51, was the proselyte
Lydia. The missionaries having excited
the opposition of mercenarj' men by a mi-
raculous exorcism wrought through Paul
on a slave girl, were cruelly scourged and
imprisoned. Compare i Thess. 2:2. But
their bonds were miraculously loosed, their
jailer was concerted, and the magistrates
discharged them with honor; they proceed-
ed southwestward to Amphipolis, Acts 16:8
to 17:1. Luke parted company with Paul
here, but was with him here again, A. D.
58, on Paul's 5th and last visit to Jerusa-
lem, Acts 20:3-6. The Christians of Phi-
lippi partook of the .spirit of the generous
and true-hearted Lydia; on several occa-
sions they sent contributions to the sup-
port of Paul, Phil. 2:25; 4:15, 16, 18, with
4:10; 2 Cor. 8:1. He wrote to them dur-
ing his first imprisonment at Rome, A. D.
PHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHI
62 or 63, when he hoped to revisit them,
Phil. 2 : 23, 24. Ignatius stopped at Philippi,
A. D. 107, on his way from Antioch to mar-
tyrdom at Rome.
The ruins of the uninhabited city, now
embraced in Turkey, include the citadel
on a hill, traces of the city wall, and parts
of the forum where Paul and Silas were
scourged. On the west of Philippi is a
small river, the Bournabachi, on whose
bank was probably the Jewish place of
prayer. Acts 16:13, there having perhaps
been too few Jews in the city to maintain a
synagogue.
PHILIP'PIANS, EPISTLE TO THE. In
this Paul commends their Christian zeal
and firmness under persecution, informs
them of his own temporal and spiritual
condition, and of the progress of Christian-
ity at Rome, gratefully acknowledges their
continued affection to him, and the receipt
of their gift by favor of Epaphroditus ; ex-
horts them to unity and to a lowly and
unselfish life, like Christ's, Phil. 2:1-5;
warns them against Judaizing teachers and
the example of worldly men, 3 : 1-19. This
epistle, written by Paul while a prisoner at
Rome, A. D. 62 or 63, is remarkable for its
Christian joy and for the warm affection
. the apostle shows for the Philippian con-
verts, 4:1. It contains important teach-
ing as to the humiliation and exaltation of
Christ, 2:5-11, and the resurrection of be-
lievers, 3:21. The Philippian Christians
are reminded that as believers in Christ
they partake of a dignity and privileges
far more exalted than those belonging to
them as Roman citizens, Acts 16:12, and
are exhorted to live worthily of their heav-
enly citizenship, Phil. 3:20; 1:27, R. V.
See Philippi.
PHILIS'TIA, land of sojourners, Psa.
60:8; 87:4; 108:9; in Psa. 83:7 "Philis-
tines," and in all other passages " Pales-
tine," the country inhabited by the Philis-
tines, who are called by Josephus " Pales-
tines." Philistia embraced the seacoast
plain extending from Joppa and the plain
of Sharon on the north, to the valley of
Gerar and "the south country," and from
the Mediterranean to the foot of the Judae-
an hills. Its length was about 40 miles, its
width 10 miles at the north, and about 20
in the south, where it seems to have reached
Beer-sheba, Gen. 21:33, 34; 26:1; E.xod.
23:31; Josh. 13:2, 3. Warren limited it to
the plain between Ekron and Gaza, 32 miles
long and 9 to 16 wide.
On the shore are white sand-dunes, en-
28
croac^ing when neglected on the fertile
ground. East of these is an undulating
plain with deep, rich soil, from 50 to 300
feet above the sea. On the east of this
plain low spurs jut out, and higher ridges
run nearly north and south, falling off on
the east side into a valley beyond which
rises "the hill country" of Judah. The
torrents which pour through its deep ra-
vines in the rainy season form marshes
and pools on reaching the Philistine plains,
and sinking into the soil often find under-
ground ways to the sea. The Hebrew
name for this whole maritime plain was the
Shephelah, translated the " low country"
in 2 Chr. 26:10; 28:18; "low plains" in
I Chr. 27:28; 2 Chr. 9:27; "the plain," Jer.
17:26, and "the valley," Josh. 11:16; Judg.
1:9. Its fertility is frequently implied,
Gen. 26:1, 2, 12; Judg. 15:5; 2 Kin. 8:2.
The Philistines are generally believed to
have been descendants of Ham's son Miz-
raim. They are said to have migrated into
Canaan from Caphtor, which is variously
understood as Crete, Egypt, Cyprus, or
Cappadocia, Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7. They
are doubtless the Caphtorim who supplant-
ed the Avim, dwellers in Hazerim, the vil-
lages, " even to Azzah," or Gaza, Deut. 2 : 23.
In their migration they may have passed
through the country of the Casluhim, prob-
ably Lower Egypt, on their way from Crete
to Canaan, Gen. 10: 14. On Egyptian mon-
uments of about 1200 B. C. the Philistines
are depicted as tall and well-proportioned,
lighter in color than Egyptians, and with
close-shaven faces.
The Philistines with whom both Abraham
and Isaac formed treaties appear as a pas-
toral people in the far south, with a king or
chief, and some sort of warlike organiza-
tion, Gen. 20:1, 2, 14, 15; 21:22-34; 26:1,6,
12-23, 26-31. It was apparently after this
period that they, or fresh immigrants from
Caphtor, dispossessed the Avim and seized
Gaza, then a Canaanite town on the bor-
der. Gen. 10: 19. At the time of the Exode
the Philistines were powerful and warlike,
433
PHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHI
Exod. 13:17. Their country was included
in the land promised to Israel, Num. 34:5,
6, and was assigned to Judah and Dan,
Josh. 15:45,47; 19:41-46. They formed a
confederacy under the " lords " of their 5
chief cities. No attempt to conquer them
was made by Joshua, Josh. 13:1-3, but after
his death Judah took Gaza, Ashkelon, and
Ekron, Judg. i : 18. These conquests, how-
ever, were not permanent, Judg. 2:1-3, 11-
14; 3:1-4. The Philistines oppressed the
Hebrews during the period of the Judges,
Shamgar and Samson effecting onl}- tem-
porary deliverances, Judg. 3:31 ; 5:6-8, 11;
10:6, 7; 13 to 16. Israel's resistance in
Eli's last days was quelled by a Philistine
victory at Aphek, where the ark was cap-
tured ; but it was soon after restored, i Sam.
4-6. Under Samuel the Philistines were
again temporarily subdued, i Sam. 7:3-14;
they were again dominant at Saul's acces-
sion, ch. 9:16; 13, were defeated at Mich-
mash, and driven out of the central terri-
tory of Saul, ch. 14:1-7, 52. David's vic-
tory over Goliath in the valley of Elah in-
augurated a series of Hebrew successes
in Saul's time, whose reign and life were
however ended by the Philistine victory at
Mount Gilboa, ch. 17; 18:30; 19:8; 23:1-5;
29:1, 11; 31; 2 Sam. I. David had twice
sought refuge from Saul in Philistia, i Sam.
21:10-15; Psa. 34, title; 56, title; i Sam.
27; 28:1,2; 29:2-11. They made war upon
him as king, but he was enabled to subdue
them, 2 Sam. 5:17-25; 8:1, 11, 12. They
continued in subjection to Solomon, i Kin.
2:39, 40; 4:21, 24, and his son Rehoboam
fortified Gath, 2 Chr. 11:8. After the divis-
ion of Judah and Israel the Philistines were
engaged in war at various times with both
kingdoms, and gained great successes over
Judah in Ahaz's time, i Kin. 16:15; 2 Chr.
21:16, 17; 28:18. Jehoshaphat. Uzziah, and
Hezekiah were successful against them,
2 Chr. 17: 10, II ; 26:6, 7; 2 Kin. iS:8. Gath,
omitted from the prophetic denunciations
of the other cities, appears to have early
lost its power, 2 Chr. 26:6: Amos 6:2.
Philistia, being on the route between
Assyria and Egypt, was often overrun in
their wars and subdued by each in turn.
.-Vfter Egyptian successes in Philistia, Sar-
gon the Assyrian took Ashdod, B. C. 700.
Psammetichus I. of Egypt besieged Ash-
dod 29 years, and finally took it about B. C.
635. At nearly the same time Ashkelon
suffered from a Scythian horde returning
from an invasion of Egypt. Nebuchadnez-
zar probably reduced the Philistines as
4,U
well as Phoenicia and the Holy Land dur-
ing the siege of Tyre, ending B. C. 592.
Pharaoh-hophra took Gaza, Jer. 47: i. The
Philistine kingdom had dwindled away
before the captivity of Judah. Ezekiel de-
nounced them for their hostility to Judah
at that time, Ezek. 25: 15-17. After the re-
turn, some of the Jews married Philistine
women, Neh. 13:23, 24. The nation was
included in the Persian Empire. Alexan-
der the Great destroyed Gaza, which with-
stood him 5 months. The land afforded
aid and refuge to Syrian oppressors of the
Jews, and suffered from the arms of Ju-
das Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan,
I Mace. 3:24, 41 ; 5:66, 68; 10:69-87. Pom-
pey annexed Philistia to the province of
Syria, B. C. 63, but Gaza, Jamnia, Ashdod,
and Ashkelon were assigned to Herod.
The country shared in the desolations of
the Jewish and Roman wars. The denun-
ciatory predictions of Amos, 1:6-8, and
Isaiah, 14:29-31, in the 8th century B. C. ;
of Zephaniah, 2:5, and Jeremiah, 25:15-20;
47, in the 7th century; of Ezekiel, 25:15-17,
and Obadiah, 19, in the 6th century, and of
Zechariah, 9:5, 6, in the 5th century, ap-
pear to have been abundantly fulfilled.
The Philistines excelled in war, having
powerful forces of chariots and cavalry as
well as foot-soldiers, well armed, i Sam.
17:4-7. They were also skilled in agricul-
ture and other peaceful arts, Judg. 15:5;
I Sam. 13:20; and possessed a navy, as
the Egyptian monuments show, competing
with the Phernicians in commerce by sea,
besides maintaining an inland caravan
traffic. They traded in slaves with Edom
and Southern Arabia, Amos 1:6; Joel 3:4-6.
Their chief gods were Dagon, Judg. 16:23;
I Sam. 5 : 1-5, Ashtoreth, i Sam. 31 : 10.
Baal-zebub, 2 Kin. 1:2-6, and Derceto or
Atergatis, a female divinity worshipped,
like Dagon, under the form of a fish. They
were very superstitious, I Sam. 31 :9; 2Sam. ^
5:21; and their priests and diviners pos-
sessed much influence, i Sam. 6:2-11 ; Isa.
2:6.
The principal cities of Philistia, Gaza.
Ashkelon, Joppa, Ashdod, Lachish, Ekron.
and Gath, still exist as inhabited towns or
known sites, under names similar to their
Bible names, and many low mounds show
where other towns formerly stood. Mons.
Ganneau has suggested that the fellahin
or Mohammedan peasantry of Palestine, a
race differing from the nomadic Arabs, are
descendants of the ancient Canaanites, in-
cluding the Philistines. The plain of Phi-
PHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHCE
listia, though miserably cultivated, is still
exceptionally fertile, being described by
travellers as a vast wheat-rteld ; by check-
ing the inrolling sands, draining the la-
goons, and observing a rotation of crops,
it might be made to yield much more abun-
dantly.
PHILOL'OGUS, lover of letlers, a. Chris-
tian at Rome, saluted in Paul's Epistle to
the Romans, 16:15.
PHILOS'OPHY, love of wisdom, in the
New Testament means the vain and perni-
cious speculations of human reason, in
opposition to the gospel truth revealed by
God; compare i Cor. i : 18-27 ; i Tim. 6:20.
At Athens, A. D. 51, Paul came in contact
with Western philosophy in his encounter
with some Epicurean and Stoic philoso-
phers, representatives of the 2 great schools
of Greek moral philosophy, who treated
his doctrine with contempt or indifference,
Acts 17:18-32. See Epicureans and Sto-
ics. In his Epistle to the Colossians, 10
years later, he cautioned them against al-
lowing any man to " spoil " or plunder them
through philosophy; referring doubtless to
some of the early efforts of Eastern specu-
lation to dissipate the mysteries of Chris-
tianity. The " philosophy " of which he
spoke was a prototype of Gnosticism, after-
wards in various forms so prominent an
error in the Eastern church ; elements sim-
ilar to those subsequently embodied in
diflferent Gnostic sects are referred to in
Col. 2:8, 16-23. P3.UI anticipated the rising
of false teachers in Ephesus, Acts 20:30,
and writing to Timothy, who was then la-
boring there, he refers to 2 forms of error
besides Judaism: " a vain spiritualism in-
sisting on ascetic observances and inter-
preting the resurrection as a moral change,"
1 Tim. 1:6; 4 : 1-7 ; 6 : 20 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 16-18 ;
and " a materialism allied to sorcery,"
2 Tim. 3:13; compare Acts 8:9; 19:19. In
other passages in his epistles, i Cor. 2;
3:18-20, Paul opposes the false wisdom of
the age, that is, the pagan philosophy, to
the wisdom of Jesus Christ, and the true
religion, which to the philosophers and
sophists seemed to be mere folly, because
it was built neither on the eloquence nor
the subtlety of those who preached it, but
on the power of God, and on the operations
of the Holy Ghost in the hearts and minds
of believers; and because it did not amuse
and flatter man, but proved him a guilty
rebel against God, in perishing need of a
Saviour.
As there arose, under the influence of phi-
losophy, several sects among the Greeks,
as the Academics, the Peripatetics, and the
Stoics, so also there arose among the Jews
several sects, as the Essenes, the Pharisees,
and the Sadducees. The Pharisees had
some resemblance to the Stoics, the Sad-
ducees to the Epicureans, and the Essenes
to the Academics. The Pharisees were
proud, vain, and boasting, like the Stoics;
the Sadducees, who denied the immortality
of the soul and the existence of spirits,
freed themselves at once, like the Epicure-
ans, from all solicitude about futurity : the
Essenes were more moderate, more simple
and religious, and therefore approached
nearer to the Academics.
The danger against which Paul warned
the church in his day still exists. Pride of
intellect naturally allies itself with the
atheism and impenitence of the heart, re-
fuses to yield to the claims of revelation,
and rejects whatever displeases its taste or
rises above its comprehension. True wis-
dom, on the contrary, is humble and do-
cile, Matt. 11:25; Mark 10:15.
PHIN'EHAS, ^Iterance, I., son of Elea-
zar, and grandson of Aaron the high-priest,
E.xod.6:25. His zealous and decided char-
acter was shown in the prompt execution
of the profligate prince of Simeon, and his
companion a woman of Midian, in the
plains of Moab, Num. 25. For this bold
and timely service the high-priesthood was
secured to his family, also remaining faith-
ful ; and e.xcept during an interval from
Eli to Zadok, his posterity were at the head
of the priesthood till the destruction of the
temple, i Chr. 6:4-15; Hag. 1:1. Phinehas
led the host of Israel in the subsequent bat-
tle with the Midianites, Num. 31:6; Psa.
106:30, 31. He was at the head of the dep-
utation sent to remonstrate with the tribes
beyond the Jordan respecting the altar they
had erected, Josh. 22:10-34. During the
life of his father he was superintendent of
the Levites, Num. 3:32; compare i Chr.
9 : 20 ; and afterwards became the high-
priest. Josh. 24:33, and as such communi-
cated the will of God as to the punishment
of the men of Gibeah, Judg. 20:28.
II. A son of Eli the high-priest. See
HOPHNI.
III. A Levite, Ezra 8:33.
PHLEG'ON, burning, a Christian at
Rome, Rom. 16:14.
PHCE'BE. See Phebe.
PHCENI'CIA, Acts 11:19; 15:3. R- v.;
21 : 2 — so called by the Greeks, either from
an ancient abundance of palm-trees, or
435
PHCE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHCE
from Phoenix the brother of Cadmus — was
a narrow strip of country between the Leb-
anon Mountains and the Mediterranean
Sea. PhcEnicia proper extended from " the
Ladder of Tyre," a promontory south of
Tyre, to the river Bostrenus, Nahr el-Awali,
2 miles north of Sidon. The length of this
undulating plain was about 30 miles; its
width 2 miles near Sidon, and 5 near Tyre.
But its boundaries varied at different times :
from the 8th century B. C. it extended 90
miles farther north to the island city of
Arvad or Aradus, Ezek. 27:8, 11, the ut-
most width of this northern strip being 20
miles. In its largest sense the name Phoe-
nicia was applied, by one or two Greek
writers about the commencement of the
Christian era, to almost the entire length
of the eastern Mediterranean coast. Back
from the sandy seashore strip Phoenicia,
being well watered by the Leontes, Bostre-
nus, Eleutherus, Lycus, and other streams,
was generally fertile, and the slopes of
Lebanon afforded good pasture and an
abundance of fine timber. The coast was
indented by several harbors, as at Tyre
and Sidon, though that at Beirut is now the
best. The principal cities were Zidon,
Tyre, Arvad, Tripolis, and Berytus, now
Beirut. The native name of the country
was Chna or Canaan, i. e., lowland. The
Greek name is not found in the Old Testa-
ment, but there are many references to
Tyre and Zidon.
PhcEnicia was included in the territory
promised to the Israelites, and allotted to
Asher, but from lack of faith, etc., was not
conquered by them, Josh. 13:4-6; 19:24-
29; Judg. 1:31, 32. It afforded refuge to
Elijah, I Kin. 17:8-24; Luke 4:26; sent fol-
lowers to Jesus, Mark 3:8; Luke 6 : 1 7 ; and
was visited by him. Matt. 15:21; Mark 7 : 26,
and by Paul, Acts 21:2-7; 27:3.
At the dawn of history the Phoenicians
appear as a rich, cultivated, and powerful
commercial people. In race they were Ca-
naanites. Gen. 10:15, 19. Their language
belonged to the Semitic group, and was
nearly allied to the Hebrew, by means of
which the few remnants of Phoenician,
names of persons and places, and inscrip-
tions on coins and monuments, may still
be understood. Their religion was a base
and corrupting nature-worship. Baal and
Ashtoreth, their chief divinities, were wor-
shipped with cruel and impure rites. The
Phoenicians imparted their own civiliza-
tion to other nations : from them the Greeks
received the letters of the alphabet, the use
436
of astronomy in navigation, of glass, pur-
ple, etc. Besides the towns that crowded
their own coast, the Phoenicians had com-
mercial stations on the Red Sea and all
along the Mediterranean. Carthage, the
early rival of Rome, and Cadiz and Tar-
shish in Spain, were Phoenician colonies.
They reached the Atlantic coast as far as
Britain, and the productions of all known
lands were exchanged in their markets,
Ezek. 27. Each great city, with the adja-
cent territory, was governed by its own
king, and in time of danger they formed a
confederation under the leadership of the
most powerful. The Phoenicians suffered
from the attacks of the kings of Assyria
and Babylon, and were successively sub-
ject to the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.
The land was taken by the Saracens in the
7th century, and held by the Crusaders in
the nth and 12th centuries, since which
time it has been subject to the Turks.
The Phoenicians were among the oppres-
sors of Israel in the period of^ the Judges,
Judg. 3:3; io:i2. Friendly relations seem
to have existed afterwards, and alliances
were formed between the Tyrian king and
David, and afterwards Solomon, 2 Sam.
5:11; I Kin. 5. Palestine was the granary
of Phoenicia, i Kin. 5:11; 2 Chr. 2:10, 15;
compare Acts 12 : 20, and Phoenicia the
commercial agent of Palestine, Ezek. 27: 17,
the Jews having no good ports. In ex-
change for agricultural products the Phoe-
nicians aided Solomon with materials and
workmen in the building of the temple.
They also joined him in establishing a har-
bor at Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, and
in fitting out and navigating trading ves-
sels, I Kin. 9:26-28; 10:11, 12. After the
division of the kingdom they sided with
Israel, and broke the covenant with Judah,
even selling Jews to the Edomites as slaves,
Joel 3:4-8; Amos 1:9, 10; Isa. 23; Ezek.
28. Phoenician idolatry early ensnared the
Israelites, Judg. 2:13; 10:6, was encour-
aged by Solomon, i Kin. ii:i, 4, 5, 8, t,t„
and prevailed more or less under the kings
of Judah. It flourished in Israel under
Ahab, whose queen was a Zidonian, re-
ceived a temporary check from Elijah,
1 Kin. 16:31-33; 18:4, 18-40; 2 Kin. 3:2,
and afterwards from Jehu, 2 Kin. 10:18-28,
but continued to be an offence to God un-
til the final captivity of Israel, B. C. 721,
2 Kin. 17:16-18.
The Phoenician coast, from the " Ladder
of Tyre" northward, is now strewn with
ruins. Porter speaks of the " mournful
PHR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PHY
and solitary silence " reigning there, and
Stanley was equally impressed with its
desolateness and the complete destruction
of the Phoenician power denounced by the
prophets. Within the bounds of ancient
Phoenicia, however, is situated the most
civilized, prosperous, and promising city
of Syria, if not of all Turkey— Beirut,
whose flourishing Protestant missions, col-
lege, schools, and printing-offices make it
a centre of Christianizing influences for
the East.
PHRY'GIA, parched, a central district of
Asia Minor, whose boundaries varied great-
ly at different times ; so that when it inclu-
ded Galatia it is said to have touched every
other province. It was very early settled;
the ancients believed its inhabitants to have
migrated from Macedonia before the Tro-
jan war. It was afterwards divided into
Phrygia Major on the south, and Phrygia
Minor on the west, reaching to the Helles-
pont. The Romans, into whose hands it
fell, B. C. 133, divided it into 3 districts. In
apostolic times most of it belonged to the
province of Asia, and part of it to Cilicia.
The country was a high table-land, fruitful
in corn and wine, but including some bare
mountain and salt-marsh tracts. Of its
cities, Laodicaea, Hierapolis, Colossae, and
Antioch of Pisidia are mentioned in the New
Testament. It probably contained many
Jews, Acts 2 : 10. Antiochus the Great, B. C.
223-187, transported to Lydia and Phrygia
2,000 Jewish families from Mesopotamia.
The apostle Paul twice passed through it,
preaching and " strengthening the disci-
ples," Acts 16:6; 18:23. Its churches were
represented in the Councils of Nice and
Constantinople, A. D. 325 and 381.
PHU'RAH, a bough, Gideon's servant,
Judg. 7:10, II.
PHUT, or PUT, afflicted, or a bow, Gen.
10:6 ; I Chr. 1 :8, a son of Ham ; elsewhere
his descendants and the country of their
abode. In Nah. 3:9; Jer. 46:9, margin, and
Ezek. 30:5, margin, they are mentioned as
allies of Egypt; in Ezek. 27:10 as allies of
Tyre; and in Ezek. 38:5, margin, as allies
of Gog. In the A. V. the word is some-
times translated "Libya," or "the Liby-
ans." Josephus and many modern schol-
ars identify Put with Libya, west of Egypt,
the region now occupied by the Moors ; see
Libya; others with modern Nubia, the re-
gion between Egypt and Ethiopia, called
in Egyptian monuments To-pet, " the re-
gion of the bow."
PHU'VAH, mouth, PU'A, and PU'AH, a
son of Issachar, Gen. 46:13; Num. 26:23;
I Chr. 7:1.
PHYGEL'LUS, or PHY'GELUS,/M^i7zV-
The Lord having reserved to himself
the firstborn of Israel because he had pre-
served them from the hand of the destroy-
ing angel in Egypt, by way of exchange
and compensation he accepted the tribe of
Levi for the service of his tabernacle, Num.
3:41. Thus the whole tribe of Levi was
appointed to the sacred ministry, but not
all in the same manner; for of the 3 sons
of Levi, Gershom, Kohath, and Merari, the
headsof the 3 great families, the Lord chose
the family of Kohath, and out of this fam-
ily the house of Aaron, to exercise the func-
tions of the priesthood. All the rest of the
family of Kohath, even the children of Mo-
ses and their descendants, remained among
the Levites.
The high-priest, who inherited his office
as the eldest son, was at the head of all re-
ligious affairs, and was the ordinary judge
of all difficulties that belonged thereto, and
even of the general justice and judgment
of the Hebrew nation, as being at the head
of all the priests by whom this was admin-
istered, Deut. 17:8-12; 19:17; 21:5; 33:8,
10; Ezek. 44:24. He alone had the privi-
lege of entering the sanctuary' once a year,
on the day of solemn expiation, to make
atonement for the sins of the whole people.
Lev. 16:2, etc. He was to be exempt from
corporal defect. In general, no priest who
had any such defect could offer sacrifice or
enter the holy place to present the show-
bread. But such were to be maintained by
the sacrifices offered at the tabernacle. Lev.
21 : 17-22. The priests also received a tithe
from the Levites, Num. 18:28.
God appropriated to the high-priest the
oracle of his truth, so that when he was
habited in the proper garments of his
office, and with the Urim and Thummim,
God answered questions proposed to him,
and disclosed to him secret and future
things. He was to marry only a virgin of
his own people. Lev. 21:13, 14, not even
the widow of a priest. He was forbidden
to mourn for the death of any of his rela-
tions, even for his father or mother, or to
enter into any place where a dead body
lay, that he might not contract or hazard
the contraction of uncleanness. Lev. 21 : 10-
12. Less stringent rules regulated the
mourning of the priests.
The priests served immediately at the
altar. They slew and dressed the public
449
PRI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRI
sacrifices, or at least it was done by the
Levites under their direction. Private of-
ferers slew their own victims, except in
the case of turtle-doves or young pigeons.
Lev. I. But all offerings upon the altar,
the sprinkling of blood included, were
made by the priests alone. They kept up
a perpetual fire on the altar of burnt sacri-
fices, and in the golden lamps in the sanc-
tuary; they kneaded the loaves of show-
bread, baked them, offered them on the
golden table in the holy place, and changed
them every Sabbath day. Compare E.xod.
28; 29; Lev. 8. They were forbidden to
drink wine while on duty, Lev. 10:9. In
the time of David a division of the priests
was made into 24 courses, which served
in turn a week at a time, i Chr. 24:1-19;
2 Chr. 23:18. During the Captivity this
arrangement seems to have been somewhat
disordered, Ezra 2:36-39; Neh. 7:39-42.
Every day, night and morning, a priest,
appointed by casting of lotsrat the begin-
ning of the week, brought into the sanc-
tuary a smoking censer of incense, and set
it on the golden altar, otherwise called the
.altar of incense, Luke 1:9.
The sacred dress of the priests consist-
ed of the following articles: short linen
drawers ; a close-fitting tunic of fine linen,
woven in square or diamond-shaped fig-
ures— " broidered " — reaching to the feet,
and furnished with sleeves; a girdle of
fine linen, interwoven with blue, purple,
and scarlet, Exod. 28; 39. Plain linen
ephods are also ascribed to them, i Sam.
22 : 18 ; and a bonnet or turban, also of fine
linen, in many folds. The priests always
officiated with uncovered feet. The high-
450
priest wore nearly the same dress with the
priests, and 4 articles in addition: an outer
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PRIEST, WITH INCENSE.
tunic, called the robe of the ephod, woven
entire, blue, with an ornamented border
around the neck, and a fringe at the bot-
tom made up of pomegranates and golden
bells : an ephod of blue and purple and
scarlet and fine linen, with golden threads
interwoven, covering the body from the
neck to the thighs; having shoulder-pieces
joiiied on the shoulders by clasps of gold
in which were set onyx-stones graven with
the names of the 12 tribes of Israel; and
also a girdle of fine linen, woven with blue,
purple, scarlet, and gold : a breastplate,
attached at its 4 corners to the ephod, and
likewise bearing the names of the 12 tribes
on 12 precious stones: and the mitre, a
high and ornamented turban, having on
the front a gold plate with the inscription,
" HoLiNKSS TO THE LoRD." Neither he
nor the priests wore their sacred dresses
out of the temple, as we infer from Ezek.
42:^4; 44:17-19: Acts 23:5.
The Lord had given no lands of inher-
itance to the tribe of Levi in the Land of
Promise. He intended that they should
be supported by the tithes, Num. 18:26-28;
Deut. 14:28; 26:12, the first-fruits, the offer-
ings made in the sanctuary, and by their
share of the sin-offerings and thanksgiv-
PRI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRO
ing-offerings sacrificed in the sanctuary, of
which certain parts were appropriated to
them. In the peace-offerings they had the
shoulder and the breast, Lev. 7:3s, 34, in
the sin-offering they burned on the altar
the fat that covers the bowels, the liver,
and the kidneys; the rest belonged to
themselves, Lev. 7:6, 10. The skin or
fleece of every sacrifice also belonged to
them. When an Israelite sacrificed any
animal for his own use, he was to give the
priest the shoulder, the stomach, and the
jaws, Deut. 18:3. The priest had also a
share of the wool when sheep were shorn,
Deut. 18:4. Thus, though the descendants
of Levi had no lands or inheritances, their
temporal wants were moderately supplied.
God provided them houses and accommo-
dations by appointing 48 cities for their
residence. Num. 35:1-8. In the precincts
of these cities they possessed 1,000 cubits
beyond the walls. Of these 48 cities, 6
were appointed as cities of refuge for those
who had committed casual and involuntary
manslaughter. The priests had 13 of these
cities; the others belonged to the Levites,
Josh. 21:10-19.
A principal employment of the priests,
next to attending on the sacrifices and the
temple service, was the instruction of the
people and the deciding of controversies,
distinguishing the several sorts of leprosy,
divorce causes, the waters of jealousy,
vows, causes relating to the law, and un-
cleanness, etc. They publicly blessed the
people in the name of the Lord. In time
of war their duty was to carry the ark of
the covenant, to consult the Lord, to sound
the holy trumpets, and to encourage the
army, Num. 10:8, 9; Deut. 20:2; 2 Chr.
13:10-12, 14.
After the division of the kingdom under
Rehoboam, B. C. 975, the true Aaronic
priests, and the Levites, left the dominions
of Jeroboam— who established an idola-
trous priesthood— and settled in the king-
dom of Judah, I Kin. 12:26-32; 13:33;
2 Chr. 11:13-15; 13:9.
The " chief priests " of the Gospels and
Acts were heads of the courses and ex-
high-priests, the high-priesthood at that
time being no longer held for life, but ob-
tained by appointment and subject to fre-
quent changes.
The priesthood of Christ is the substance
and truth, of which that of the Israelites
was but a shadow and figure. Christ, the
everlasting priest according to the order of
Melchizedek, abides for ever, as Paul ob-
serves ; whereas the priests according to
the order of Aaron were mortal, and there-
fore could not continue long, Heb. 7. The
Lord, to e.\press to the Hebrews what
great favors he would confer on them, said
he would make them kings and priests,
Exod. 19:6; and Peter repeats this prom-
ise to Christians, or rather, he tells them
that they are in truth what Moses prom-
ised to Israel, i Pet. 2:5, 9. See also Rev.
1:6. In an important sense every Chris-
tian offers himself a spiritual sacrifice, " ac-
ceptable to God through Jesus Christ;" but
in the Christian church there is no priest
to make expiation for sin bj' a sacrifice but
Christ alone, Heb. 9:11-26.
PRINCE, Prov. 19 : 6, a liberal man.
" Prince of the host," Dan. 8:11, Jehovah;
in ver. 25 "the Prince of princes" seems
to denote Christ, Josh. 5:14; Rev. 1:5. In
Dan. 11:8, for "princes," read "molten
images."
PRINT'ED, Job 19:23, inscribed.
PRIS'CA, aficteii/, Rom. 16:3, R.V.; 2 Tim.
4:19, and its diminutive PRISCIL'LA, Acts
18:2, 18; 1 Cor. 16:19, the name of Aquila's
wife, whose hospitality and Biblical teach-
ing to ApoUos and wise counsels to the
young pastor Timothy show how useful a
mother in Israel may be.
PRIS'ON. The Egyptians had prisons
in charge of military officers. Gen. 39:20;
40:3. Dry wells or pits were sometimes
used as places of confinement, Gen. 37:24;
Jer. 38:6-11. Two persons were put "in
ward " during the wilderness journeys of
the Israelites, Lev. 24:12; Num. 15:34. But
imprisonment as a punishment was not
prescribed by the Mosaic law. In the
times of the kings, however, a prison was
connected with the palace, i Kin. 22:27;
Jer. 32:2; 37:21; compare Neh. 3:25. This
was the case with the Herods also, Matt.
14:3-11; Acts 12:4. By the Romans the
fortress Antonia was so used, and the prae-
torium at Caesarea, Acts 23:10, 35. The
sacerdotal authorities also had a prison in
Jerusalem, Acts 5:18-23; 26:10.
PROBA'TION. See Prove.
PROCH'ORUS, leader of the choir, one of
the 7 original deacons, Acts 6:5, of whom
nothing more is known.
PROGNOS'TICATORS, Isa. 47:13, Chal-
daeans who pretended to foretell future
events by the varying aspects of the moon,
or month by month.
PROM'ISE, used by Paul to denote the
spiritual gifts of God, chiefly the Messiah,
the Holy Spirit, and the fulness of gospel
451
PRO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRO
blessings, of which an assurance was given
to Abraham and other saints in behalf of
themselves and of believers who should
come after them, Rom. 4:13, 14; Gal. 3:14-
29. The "children of the promise" are
either the posterity of Isaac and Jacob, as
distinguished from Ishmael and Esau,
Rom. 9:8-13, Jews converted to Christian-
ity, or all true believers who by faith lay
hold on the promise of salvation in Christ.
In Heb. 11:39, " promise " means the thing
promised, Acts i :4. The " e.xceeding great
and precious promises " of God include
all good things for this life and the future,
whicli are infallibly secured to his people
in Christ, 2 Cor. 1:20; i Tim. 4:8; 2 Pet.
1:4. On the ground of the infinite merits
of their Redeemer, infinite love, unbounded
wisdom, and almighty power are pledged
for their benefit; and having given them
his only Son, God will with him freelj^ give
them every inferior blessing he sees to be
desirable for them, Rom. 8:32.
PROP'ER, Heb. 11:23, goodly or hand-
some. In I Chr. 29:3; Acts 1:19; i Cor.
7:7, it means one's own.
PROPH'ET. The Hebrew term thus ren-
dered seems to mean a poiirer forth, i. e.,
of communications received from God.
Two other Hebrew terms meaning seer a.re
often applied to men thus commissioned,
I Chr. 29:29. The general meaning of the
English word prophet, which is transferred
from the Greek, is a speaker for another,
especially an utterer of the will of God.
Thus Abraham is called a prophet, Gen.
20:7, and Aaron the prophet of Moses,
Exod. 7:1. The special but more frequent
meaning of the word is a foreteller of fu-
ture events, which the expounders of God's
will were often empowered by him to re-
veal. Prophecy in this sense, the fore-
telling of future events by inspiration from
God, is verj' different from a sagacious and
happy conjecture as to futurity, and from
a vague and equivocal oracle, without any
certain meaning. A true prophecy can
come only from God, and is the highest
proof of the divine origin of the message
of which it is a part, Isa. 41 :2i-23; 45:21 ;
46:9, 10. A true prophecy may be known
by these marks : being announced at a
suitable time before the event it foretells;
having a particular and exact agreement
with that event ; being such as no human
sagacity or foresight could produce; and
being delivered by one claiming to be un-
der the inspiration of the Almighty. Manv
of the prophecies of Scripture foretold
452
events ages before they occurred— events
of which there was then no apparent jirob-
ability, and the occurrence of which depend-
ed on innumerable contingencies, invol-
ving the history of things and the volitions
of persons not then in existence ; and yet
these predictions were fulfilled at the time
and place and in tiie manner prophesied.
Such were the predictions respecting the
coming and crucifixion of the Messiah, the
dispersion and preservation of the Jews,
etc. The Scripture proi)hecies are a scheme
of vast extent, the very earliest predictions
reaching down to the end of the world's
history — a scheme gradually and harmoni-
ously developed from age to age, and by
many diflferent persons, some of them not
fully apprehending, and "searching dili-
gently what the Spirit of Christ which was
in them did signify," i Pet. i:n, the whole
manifestly the work of Jehovah, and mar-
vellous in our eyes. A degree of obscurity
rests on the prophetic writings, which pa-
tient and prayerful study alone can dispel,
while those which are yet unfulfilled must
await the coming of the events which will
make all at length clear. Many predic-
tions relating primarily to events and de-
liverances near at hand were also designed
of God as sure prophecies of yet more illus-
trious events in the future ; and events re-
mote from each other in time are by the
prophet beheld and described as side by
side, as are near and remote objects in a
landscape painting. Thus in Isaiah 10 and
n the deliverance of Judah from the As-
syrians is connected with the deliverance
wrought by the Messiah; in Zechariah 9
the triumphs of Alexander the (ireat are
connected with the Messiah's coming; in
Joel 2:28-31 the Pentecostal effusion of the
Spirit is connected w^ith the last day, as
also by Peter, Acts 2; and in Matthew 24
events connected with the destruction of
Jerusalem and distinctive features of the
end of the world are blended in the gen-
eral view of the coming of Christ. Re-
specting the New Testament phrase, " This
was done that it might be fulfilled," see
Fulfilled.
The Old Testament prophets, of whom
Moses was a noble example, Deut. 18:15,
18, were special agents of Jehovah, raised
up and sent as occasion required, to incite
to duty, convict of sin, call to repentance
and reformation, instruct kings, and de-
nounce against nations the judgments of
God, 2 Kin. 17:1.^. During the period of
the Judges, the priests and Levites had ap-
PRO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRO
parently become degenerate and corrupt.
A reformation was needed. To effect this
Samuel was raised up, i Sam. 3:20, and
from his time the prophets appear as a reg-
ular and important order in the Hebrew
theocracy. Saul, David, and Solomon,
though partakers of the prophetic gift, were
admonished by them ; compare Acts 2 : 29-
31. After the division of the kingdom they
were active in Israel, from which the true
priests of the Lord withdrew, 2 Chr. 11:13,
and where the prophets preserved to some
extent the pure worship of Jehovah, i Kin.
18; 19:10, 14, 18; 2 Kin. 4:9, 23, 42; 2 Chr.
28 : 8-15. The most illustrious of the proph-
ets of Israel were Elijah and Elisha, Jonah,
Amos, and Hosea. In Judah a series of
prophets declared the will of God to suc-
cessive kings, and to the priests and peo-
ple. Some prophets were also historians,
2 Chr. 9:29; 26:22; 32:32. Most of the
prophets whose writings have been pre-
served belonged to the southern kingdom.
There were false and idolatrous prophets,
Jer. 23; 28, and some who, though true in-
terpreters of the will of God, were disobe-
dient in life. Num. 22-24 ! but most of the
genuine prophets of God were humble,
faithful, self-denying, fearless men, 2 Kin.
1:8; 5:15, 16, often persecuted and slain.
Acts 7:52; Heb. 11:32-38; Jas. 5:10, but
exerting a powerful influence as witnesses
for God, and forming a link between the
Mosaic and Christian dispensation.
Fervid and vehement utterance some-
times burst from persons under the influ-
ence of the Spirit of God; speech similar
in mode, though widely different in matter,
might be called prophesying when it came
from persons filled with an evil spirit, as
Saul, I Sam. 18: 10.
" Schools of the prophets " are first men-
tioned in Samuel's time, and may have
been founded by him. One was then es-
tablished at Ramah, i Sam. 19:19, 20; later
we find them at Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and
elsewhere, 2 Kin. 2:1, 3, 5; 4:38; 6:1, 2.
Under the superintendence of an elderly
prophet, styled "father" or "master,"
I Sam. 10:12; 2 Kin. 2:3, young men were
instructed in the Law and its interpreta-
tion, and in music and sacred poetry, both
of which were always associated with
prophecy, Exod. 15:20, 21; Judg. 4:4; 5:1;
I Sam. 10:5; I Chr. 25:1-6; 2 Kin. 3:14, 15.
Though this training might fit men to be-
come the instruments of God, the prophetic
gift of inspiration was something outside
and independent of it, having been con-
ferred, e. g., on Amos, who had received
no prophetic education, Amos 7:14, 15.
The prophets received their messages
from God, sometimes in visions, trances,
and dreams. Compare Num. 24:2-16; Isa.
6; Joel 2:28; Acts 10:11, 12; Rev. 1:10-20.
These revelations were at times attended
with overpowering manifestations of the
Godhead, and at other times were simply
breathed into the mind by the Spirit of
God. Their messages were delivered to
the kings, princes, and priests whom they
most concerned, or to the people at large,
in writing, or by word of mouth and in
public places, often with miracles, or with
symbolic actions designed to explain and
enforce them, Isa. 20; Jer. 7:2; 19; Ezek.
3:10.
Besides scattered prophetic utterances,
the Old Testament contains the inspired
writings of 16 of t]ie Hebrew prophets, 4
of whom, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel, are called the greater prophets,
and the other 12 the minor prophets. See
each name in its place for further particu-
lars.
The canonical prophets cover about 430
years, from B. C. 850 to 420. See Table
IN THE Appendix.
Some time after the close of the Old
Testament canon the Jews grouped their
Scriptures into 3 grand divisions, the 2d
being styled "the Prophets," Luke 24:44.
Prophets are represented as extinct in
I Mace. 4:46; 9:27; 14:41, and Ecclus.
36: 15. Prophetic inspiration was conferred
on Zacharias and Simeon, Luke 1:67-79;
2:25-32. The prophetic order was again
signally represented by John the Baptist,
Matt. 11:7-18; Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:2.
Christ, of whom all the prophets bore wit-
ness, Luke 24:27, 44; Acts 10:43; i Pet.
1:10, II, is eminently the Prophet of his
church in all ages, Deut. 18:15-19; Acts
3:22-24, revealing to them, by his inspired
servants, by himself, and by his Spirit, all
we know of God and immortality. His
apostles exercised a prophetic activity as
inspired teachers for God, bearing " the
testimony of Jesus," Rev. 19:10, and fore-
telling future events. They were peculiar-
ly privileged above all the Old Testament
prophets in having seen the Messiah, Matt.
13:16, 17. The writer of the Revelation is
the counterpart of the Old Testament
prophets to whom visions of the future
were revealed. In the apostolic church the
" prophets " were a class of men supernat-
urally endowed, and standing next to the
453
PRO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRO
apostles, I Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11. They
seem to have spoken from immediate inspi-
ration, whether in reference to the future,
as Agabus, Acts 11:28; 21:10, 11, or to cur-
rent time, as in the mission of Paul and
Barnabas, Acts 13:1-3, or in publicly ex-
pounding the mind of the Spirit or the
oracles of God already given as to doctrine
and practice. Acts 15:27, 28, 32; compare
1 Cor. 11:4,5; 12:10, 11; 14:1,3-6, 22-26,
29-33; Eph. 3:5.
The Greeks gave to their poets the name
of "prophets" or interpreters "of the mu-
ses;" and in this sense Paul applies the
term to the poet Aratus, Tit. i : 12.
PROPH'ETESS, the wife of a prophet,
Isa. 8:3, or a woman who has the gift of
prophecy, as in the Old Testament Miriam,
Exod. 15:20, Deborah, Judg. 4:4, Huldah,
2 Kin. 22 : 14, and apparently Hannah,
1 Sam. 2:1; in the New Testament Anna,
Luke 2:36-38, Elisabeth and Marj' for a
time, Luke 1:41-55. The 4 daughters of
Philip the evangelist " did prophesy," Acts
21:9; compare Acts 2:17, 18; i Cor. 11:5.
Noadiah was a false prophetess, Neh. 6: 14.
PROPITIA'TION, the offering which ap-
peases the wrath of one against whom an
offence has been committed. Christ is
"the propitiation for our sins," Rom. 3:25,
inasmuch as his sacrifice alone removes
the obstacles which prevented the mercy
of God from saving sinners, and appeases
the just wrath of the law, i John 2:2; 4:10.
The same Greek word is used in the Sep-
tuagint to denote an " atonement," Num.
5:8; a "sin-offering," Ezek. 44:27; and the
covering of the ark of the covenant. Lev.
16:14; Heb. 9:5. See Mercy-seat.
PROS'ELYTE, a new comer ; among the
Jews a convert from heathenism to Juda-
ism. The Mosaic law, and afterwards the
prophets, enjoined kind treatment of the
"stranger" — Septiiagint, prosclutos — i. e.,
one not born an Israelite but dwelling in
Israel, Lev. 19:33, 34; Deut. 10:18, 19;
Jer. 22:3; Zech. 7:10. He was required to
keep the Sabbath, E.xod. 20:10, and to ab-
stain from idolatry and blasphemy, Lev.
20:2; 24:16; was entitled to protection in
the cities of refuge. Num. 35:15, and might
celebrate the day of atonement. Lev. 16:29,
the feast of weeks and of tabernacles, Deut.
16:11, 14, but could not keep the passover
without submitting to circumcision, Exod.
12:48; Num. 9:14 — thus completely joining
himself to the congregation of Israel and
engaging to observe their law in all its
particulars. The dispersion of the Jews
454
through many lands in the period between
the Captivity and the rise of Christianity
made their faith known among the heathen,
many of whom, especially women, were
won to a more or less complete adoption of
it, Acts 2:10; 16:13; compare Esth. 8:7.
The Jews in their zeal to make proselytes
sometimes employed objectionable means.
Thus in the time of the Maccabees John
Hyrcanus forcibly proselyted the Idumae-
ans, B. C. 130. And our Saviour rebukes
the Pharisees for their blind zeal in making
proselytes to ceremonial Judaism without
caring for the circumcision of the heart,
Matt. 23 : 15 ; Rom. 2 : 28, 29. The later rab-
bins, 2d century A. D. and onward, classify
proselytes as, i. "proselytes of the gate,"
Exod. 20:10, who, without being circum-
cised or adopting the full Jewish ritual,
embraced the monotheism and the Mes-
sianic hopes of the Jews, and observed
what the rabbins called " the 7 precepts of
Noah " — against idolatry, blasphemy, hom-
icide, incest, robbery, resistance to magis-
trates, and eating blood — or animals with-
out shedding their blood. To this class
probably belonged the centurion of Luke
7, the Greeks of John 12:20, Cornelius,
Acts 10, and possibU' other non-Jewish per-
sons mentioned as "devout" and "fearing
God." 2. " Proselytes of righteousness,"
i. e., complete proselytes, who bound them-
selves to a full observance of the Mosaic
law, and by circumcision, baptism, and an
offering obtained all the rights of Jews by
birth, whom they often exceeded in fanat-
icism. Matt. 23:15; compare Acts 13:50.
Many proselytes became converts to Chris-
tianity, Acts 6:5; 13:43; 16:14; 17:4; 18:7.
PROVE has 2 meanings : to verify or de-
monstrate, Acts 9:22; 25:7; and to test or
make trial of, Exod. 16:4; 20:20; Luke
14 : 19. Our word probation usually has
this 2d meaning. Adam was placed on
probation, and fell, Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-6;
and every child of Adam is on trial, Psa.
7:9; 11:4, with the opportunity of turning
to God and being saved. Job 33:14-30;
Prov. 28: 13 ; 1 John 1 .g. Probation implies
a sense of right and wrong, of the obliga-
tion to obey conscience, and of the desert
of punishment for disobedience ; a period
of temptation and of divine aids to holi-
ness, and the final acceptance or continued
rejection of the divine warnings against
sin and the divine calls to turn from sin
and live. Scripture gives no sanction, but
decided contradiction, to the idea that pro-
bation in any case continues beyond this
PRO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PRU
life, Prov. 1:24-31; Matt. 25:10; Rom. 2:12-
16; Rev. 22:11; compare Eccl. 11:3. A
distinct knowledge of the way of salvation
is not necessary before one can exercise
that godly sorrow for sin and that cast-
ing one's self on the mercy of God which
insure salvation; for he imparted these
saving graces to multitudes in Old Testa-
ment times who had no clear knowledge
of Christ, and to many, we may trust, in
heathen lands. Acts 10:35; Rom. 2:12, 13.
PROVERBS OF Solomon, one of the
poetical books of the Old Testament; a
collection of pointed and sententious moral
maxims, the fruit of human sagacity and
experience, but above all, of the inspira-
tion of God. Solomon, who uttered 3,000
proverbs, i Kin. 4:32; Eccl. 12:9, is the
chief author, about B. C. 1000 ; but the book,
which may have been compiled in its pres-
ent form in Hezekiah's reign, Prov. 25:1,
contains proverbs of later date and other
authorship than Solomon. There is no
book of the Old Testament whose canoni-
cal authority is better attested, and the
New Testament often quotes or alludes to
it; see Rom. 12:20; i Thess. 5:15; Heb.
12:5, 6; Jas. 4:6; I Pet. 4:8; 2 Pet. 2:22.
Its " winged words " are a rich storehouse
of heavenly wisdom, and few questions
can arise in actual life on which they do
not shed light. A missionary in India says
that no book in the Bible is so popular
among the natives as this, being wonder-
fully adapted to the customs and needs of
Oriental people.
Its principal parts are as follows:
I Ch. I to 9. A connected series of prov-
erbs commending and describing true wis-
dom, which comes from above and begins
in the fear of God; with warnings against
folly.
2. Ch. 10 to 22:17. A. collection of sep-
arate ethical and practical maxims, with
frequent reference to the Lord as the wit-
ness and recompenser of human conduct.
3. Ch. 22:18 to 24:22. A connected se-
ries commending justice and prudence.
4. Ch. 24:23-34. Unconnected sayings of
several sages.
5. Ch. 25 to 29. Another collection of
proverbs by Solomon, copied out by the
men of Hezekiah.
6. Ch. 30. " The words of Agur the son
of Jakeh," affording examples of the enig-
matic proverbs so popular in the East.
7. Ch. 31 : 1-9. " King Lemuel's " exhor-
tations to temperance and justice.
8. Ch. 31:10-31. An alphabetic acrostic
poem, setting forth the qualities and praise
of a virtuous woman.
PROVIDENCE, Acts 24:2, a superintend-
ing and forecasting care. The providence
of God upholds and governs every created
thing. Its operation is coextensive with
the universe, and as unceasing as the flow
of time. All his attributes are engaged in
it. He provideth for the raven his food,
and satisfieth the desire of every living
thing. The Bible shows us all nature look-
ing up to him and depending upon him,
Job 38:41; Psa. 104; 145:15, 16; 147:8, 9;
and uniformly declares that every occur-
rence, as well as every being, is perfectly
controlled by him. There is no such thing
as chance in the universe; " the lot is cast
into the lap, but the whole disposing there-
of is of the Lord," Prov. 16:33. Not a
sparrow, nor a hair of the head, falls to the
ground without his knowledge, Isa. 14:26,
27; Matt. 10:29, 30; Acts 17:24-29. Noth-
ing that was not too minute for God to cre-
ate is too minute for him to preserve and
control. The history of each man, the rise
and fall of nations, and the progress of the
church of Christ reveal at every step the
hand of Him who " worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will."
PROVINCE, I, is probably used in the
sense of "tribe" in i Kin. 20:14-19.
2. Elsewhere it denotes the divisions of
the Chaldaean Empire, Dan. 2:49, and of
the Persian Empire, Ezra 2:1; Esth. 1:1,
3, 22, these latter being smaller sections of
the satrapies, each having its own govern-
or. 3. Acts 23:34; 25:1. After the battle
of Actium, B. C. 27, Augustus divided the
Roman provinces into senatorial and im-
perial provinces, assigning to the Senate
those that were easily governed, and re-
taining the turbulent for himself. Over a
senatorial province a proconsul, A. V.
"deputy," with purely civil powers, was
yearly appointed by the Senate. An im-
perial province was ruled by a legate or
president, or in some cases by a procura-
tor, A. V. " governor," appointed by the
emperor. Among the imperial provinces
was Syria, of which Judaea was a sub-prov-
ince governed by a procurator, who was
assisted in his judicial functions by a
"council," Acts 25:1, 12. It was a Roman
citizen's right to appeal from a provincial
governor to the emperor, ver. 11.
PROVOKE', in 2 Cor. 9:2; Heb. 10:24,
challenge or stimulate.
PRU'DENT, skilful, Isa. lo : 13 ; Matt.
II :25; Luke 10:21.
455
PSA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PSA
PSALMS, THE BOOK OF. The Hebrew
name for this book is tehil-lim, praises,
though a part of the book is really ele-
giac. Many of the psalms have the su-
perscription mizmbr, a poem, song. This
word is rendered in the Septuagint by
psalmos, that is, a song sung to music, a
lyric poem. The Greek psalterion means
a stringed instrument ; hence by a meta-
phor the book of Psalms is called Psalter.
For the poetical characteristics of the
Psalms see Poetry.
Cl.\ssification. — Some writers have
classified the psalms according to their po-
etic character, into odes, elegies, etc. A
preferable method is to divide them ac-
cording to their contents. In this way they
have been arranged in 7 classes.
I. Hymns in jjraise of Jehovah ; tehillim
in the proper sense. These are directed
to Jehovah as the God of all nature and
the Creator of the universe, Psa. 8, 104; as
the protector and patron of Israel, Psa. 20,
29, :h2» or of individuals, with thanksgiving
for deliverance from evils, Psa. 18, 30, 46,
47; or they refer to the more special attri-
butes of Jehovah, Psa. 90, 139. These
Psalms express thoughts of the highest
sublimity in respect to God, providence,
redemption, etc.
II. Temple hymns; sung at the conse-
cration of the temple, the entrance of the
ark, etc., or intended for the temple ser-
vice, Psa. 24, 132. So also " pilgrim songs,"
sung by those who came up to worship in
the temple, etc ; as, for e.vample, the " songs
of degrees," Psa. 120-134. See Degrees.
III. Religious and moral songs of a gen-
eral character, containing the poetical ex-
pression of emotions and feelings, and
therefore subjective ; as, for e.xample, con-
fidence in God, Psa. 23, 62, 125; devoted-
ness to God, Psa. 16; longing for the wor-
ship of the temple, Psa. 42, 43; prayers for
the forgiveness of sin, etc. To this class
belong the penitential Psalms, Psa. 6, 25,
32, 38, 51, 130, 143. Also didactic songs;
the poetical e.xpression of some truth, ma.x-
im, etc., Psa. i, 34, 128; Psa. 1.5, 32, 50, etc.
This is a numerous class.
IV. Elegiac Psalms, that is, lamentations,
psalms of complaint, generally united with
prayer for help.
V. Messianic Psalms, as 2, 8, 16, 22, 40,
45. 69, 72, 97, no, 118.
VI. Historical Psalms, in which the an-
cient history of the Israelites is repeated
in a hortatory manner, Psa. 78, 105, 106,
114.
456
VII. Imprecatory Psalms, exhibiting the
justice of God as pledged to punish impen-
itent opposers of his kingdom, Psa. 35, 52,
58, 59, 69, 109, 137.
But it is impossible to form any perfect
arrangement, because some Psalms belong
in part to 2 or more difTerent classes. Be-
sides the proper Messianic Psalms, predic-
tions of the Messiah are widely scattered
through this book, and the attention of the
devout reader is continually attracted by
passages foretelling His character and His
works. Not a few of these are alluded to
in the New Testament; and it is unques-
tionable that the language and structure of
manj' others not quoted were intended to
bear witness to the Son of God. David
himself was an eminent type of the Saviour,
and many events of his life shadowed forth
his Son and Lord. The mention of these
in the inspired writings is not undesigned;
the recorded trials and victories of David
find in their reference to the Messiah their
highest claim to a place in the sacred
writings. Lord Bacon has remarked that
many prophetic passages in the Old Testa-
ment are "of the nature of their Author, to
whom a thousand years are as one day ;
and therefore they are not fulfilled punctu-
ally at once, but have springing and germ-
inant accomplishment through many ages,
though the height or fulness of them may
refer to some one age."
Inscriptions. — With the exception of
24 Psalms, called in the Talmud orphan
Psalms, all the rest have inscriptions of
various kinds. They refer to the author,
the occasion, different kinds of song, the
melody or rhythm, the instrumental accom-
paniment, the choir who shall perform, etc.
These are mostly very obscure, because
the music and musical instruments of the
Hebrews are almost unknown to us. They
are of very high antiquity, if not as old as
the Psalms themselves, and in the Hebrew
are not detached from the Psalms, as in
modern translations. They appear with
numerous variations in the ancient Greek
and Syriac versions. Many words in these
inscriptions remain untranslated, and can
only be conjecturally interpreted. See
H1GG.A.10N, M.^SCHIL, etc.
Authors and age of the Psalms.—
To David are assigned 73 Psalms in the
Hebrew, and in the Septuagint 11 more.
Psalm 90 is ascribed to Moses. As to the
authorship of the other Psalms much di-
versity of opinion has prevailed among
Biblical critics.
PSA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PTO
In the Hebrew Bible the Psalms were
divided into 5 books, each of which closes
with a doxology.
Book I. comprises Psalms 1-41
II. " " 42-72-
" III. " " 73-89-
" IV. " " 90-106.
" V. " " 107-150.
One Psalm occurs twice, Psa. 14 ; compare
Psa. 53. Some occur as parts of other
Psalms ; as for example, Psa. 70 forms also
a part of Psa. 40. So also some Psalms are
repeated from other books of Scripture;
thus Psa. 18 is the same with 2 Sam. 22.
Books IV. and V. contain some Psalms
■which evidently were composed after the
Captivity. The final compilation of the
whole collection is generally referred to
Ezra, about 450 B. C.
These invaluable sacred songs exhibit
the sublimest conceptions of God as the
Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the
universe, to say nothing of the prophetical
■character of many of them, and their rela-
tion to the Messiah and the great plan of
man's redemption. They present us with
the most perfect models of childlike res-
ignation and devotedness, of unwavering
faith and confidence in God. They are an
inspired epitome of the Bible for purposes
of devotion, and are peculiarly dear to the
people of God as expressing every phase
of religious experience. Luther, in his
preface to the Psalter, has the following
beautiful language : " Where canst thou
find nobler words of joy than in the Psalms
of praise and thanksgiving? There thou
mayest look into the hearts of all good men
as into beautiful and pleasant gardens,
yea, as into heaven itself. How do grate-
ful and fine and charming blossoms spring
up there from every kind of pleasing and
rejoicing thoughts towards God and his
goodness ! Again, where canst thou find
more deep or mournful words of sorrow
than in the Psalms of lamentation and
woe? There thou mayest look again into
the hearts all good men as upon death,
yea, as if into hell. How dark and gloomy
is it there from anxious and troubled views
of the wrath of God! I hold, however,
that no better or finer book of models, or
legends of saints and martyrs, has existed,
or can exist on earth, than the Psalter.
For we find here not alone what one or two
saints have done, but what the Head of all
saints has done, and what all holy men
still do, in what attitude they stand to-
wards God and towards tlteir friends and
enemies, and how they conduct themselves
in all dangers and sufferings. And besides
this, all sorts of divine doctrines and pre-
cepts are contained in it. Hence it is that
the Psalter is the book of all good men ;
and every one, whatever his circumstan-
ces may be, finds in it psalms and words
suited to his circumstances, and which are
to him just as if they had been put there
on his verj' account, and in such a way
that he himself could not have made or
found or wished for better."
In Luke 24:44, the word "psalms" de-
notes one of the 3 divisions of the Hebrew
Bible, the Hagiographa or devotional wri-
tings. See Bible. Of the 804 quotations
or allusions to the Old Testament in the
New Testament, 104 are to passages in
the Psalms. With regard to alphabetical
Psalms and Psalms of degrees, see De-
grees and Letter.
PSAL'TERY. See Harp and Music.
PTOLEMA'IS. See AccHO.
PTOL'EMY, or PTOLEM.ffi'US, the dy-
nastic name of the Greek kings of Egypt.
I. Ptolemy, I., So'ter, B. C. 323-285, the
founder of the dynasty, probably a son of
Philip of Macedon, was one of the generals
of Alexander the Great. After the con-
queror's death Ptolemy seized Egypt, B. C.
323, and held it against Perdiccas, 321, De-
metrius, 312, and Antigonus, 301 B. C. In
an expedition against Sj-ria, probably B. C.
320, he took Jerusalem on a Sabbath day,
and carried captive many Jews into Egypt,
where, however, he treated them kindly,
founding a flourishing Jewish colony. He
is supposed to be referred to in Dan. 11:5
as " the king of the south."
II. Ptolemy II., Philadel'phus, B. C. 285-
247, son of the preceding. He was a lover
of learning, founded the library and muse-
um at Alexandria, and is said to have oc-
casioned the Septuagint translation of the
Old Testament. He sought to find a com-
mon ground on which the Hebrew religion
and Greek philosophy could stand togeth-
er. In a war with Antiochus II. of Syria he
secured peace, B. C. 350, by marrying his
daughter Berenice to the king of Syria.
See Dan. 11:6.
III. Ptolemy III., Euer'getes, B. C. 247-
222, son of the former, invaded Syria about
B. C. 246, to avenge the repudiation and
murder of his sister Berenice. He extend-
ed his conquests to Antioch and Babylon,
offered sacrifices in the temple at Jerusalem,
and carried back to Egypt Egyptian idols
taken toBabylon by Cambyses, Dan. 11 17-9.
457
PUB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PUL
IV. Ptolemy IV., Philop'ator, B. C. 222-
205, son of the preceding. After the inva-
sion of Egypt by Antiochus the Great, Ptol-
emy gained a great victory over the Syrian
king at Raphia, near Gaza, B. C. 215, Dan.
11:10-12; and having offered sacrifices of
thanksgiving in the temple at Jerusalem,
he attempted to enter the sanctuary, but
was suddenh' paralyzed.
V. Ptolemy V., Epiph'anes, B. C. 205-
181, was only 5 years old at the death of
his. father, Ptolemy IV. During his mi-
nority Antiochus the Great captured Coele-
Syria, Phoenicia, and Judaea, where there
was a strong Syrian faction among the
Jews; and many of the Jews who favored
the Ptolemaean dynasty took refuge in
Eg\'pt. By the mediation of Rome and the
marriage of Antiochus' daughter Cleopa-
tra to Ptolemy, B. C. 193, Egypt and Syria
were reconciled, but the power of Egypt
was rapidly declining, Dan. 1 1 : 13-17. Ptol-
emy was poisoned while preparing an ex-
pedition against Seleucus, the son of Anti-
ochus the Great.
VI. Ptolemy VI., Philome'tor, B. C. 181-
146, was 6 years old when his father died.
Under the regency of his mother Egypt
enjoyed peace with Syria; but after her
death, B. C. 173, Antiochus Epiphanes in-
vaded Egypt, B. C. 171, and took Ptolemy
prisoner. His throne was then occupied
•by his younger brother, Ptolemy Physcon,
with whom, after his release, he shared the
kingdom. Another invasion of Egypt by
Antiochus, B. C. 168, was checked by the
Romans, Dan. 11:25-30. During his reign
the high -priest Onias sought refuge in
Egypt from the disorders at Jerusalem,
and the Jewish temple at Leonto^olis was
built, afifording a religious centre to the
Jews in Egypt.
PUB'LICAN, an officer of the revenue
employed in collecting taxes. Among the
Romans there were 2 sorts of tax-gather-
ers : some were general receivers, who in
each province had deputies; they collected
the revenues of the empire, and accounted
to the emperor. These men were of great
consideration in the government; and Cic-
ero says that among these were the flower
of the Roman knights, the ornaments of
the city, and the strength of the common-
wealth. But the deputies, the under-col-
lectors, the publicans of the lower order,
were looked upon as so many thieves and
pickpockets. Theocritus being asked
which was the most cruel of all beasts, an-
swered, " Among the beasts of the wilder-
458
ness, the bear and the lion; among the
beasts of the city, the publican and the
parasite." Among the Jews the name and
profession of a publican were especially
odious. They could not, without the ut-
most reluctance, see publicans exacting
tributes and impositions laid on them by
foreigners, the Romans. The Galileans,
or Herodians, especially, submitted to this
with the greatest impatience, and thought
it even unlawful, Deut. 17:15. Those of
their own nation who undertook this office
they looked upon as heathen. Matt. 18:17.
It is even said that they would not allow
them to enter the temple or the synagogues,
to engage in the public prayers or offices
of judicature, or to give testimony in a
court of justice.
There were many publicans in Judiea in
the time of our Saviour; Zacchaeus, proba-
bly, was one of the principal receivers,
since he is called " chief among the publi-
cans," Luke 19:2; but Matthew was only
an inferior publican, Luke 5:27. The Jews
reproached Jesus with being a "friend of
publicans and sinners, and eating with
them," Luke 7:34; but he, knowing the
self-righteousness, unbelief, and hypocrisy
of his accusers, replied, " The publicans
and harlots go into the kingdom of God
before you." Matt. 21:31. Compare also
the beautiful demeanor of the penitent
publican in the temple and the self-justify-
ing spirit of the Pharisee, Luke 18:10-14.
PUB'LIUS, the governor of Melita when
Paul was shipwrecked on that island A. D.
60, Acts 28:7-9.
PUL, I., an Assyrian king, about 765
B. C, when Assyria is first mentioned in
Scripture after the time of Nimrod. He
invaded Israel during the reign of Mena-
hem, but was induced to retire by a pres-
ent of 1,000 talents of silver, equivalent to
at least $1,500,000, 2 Kin. 15:19, 20; i Chr.
5:26. He is identified with Phul-lukh of
the Nineveh tablets, where he is said to
have invaded Syria and received tribute
from Samaria. See Tu;i,ath-Pileser.
II. A name given in Isa. 66:19 to a re-
gion associated with Tarshish and Lud.
Bochart and others suppose it to be the
island Philoe in the Nile near Ethiopia,
with the surrounding country ; others place
it in some remote region of Africa; by the
Septuagint it is identified with Phut, named
with Lud in Egypt, in Ezek. 27:10; 30:5,
margin. See Phi'T.
PULSE, a general name for peas, beans,
and other podded seeds, occurs only in
PUN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
PUR
Dan. i:i2, i6, as the translation of 2 He-
brew words meaning seeds ; the reference
is probably to vegetable food in general.
In 2 Sam. 17:28, where "pulse" is sup-
plied, probably parched peas, still a favor-
ite food in the East, are denoted.
PUN'ISHMENTS. The penalties inflict-
ed in ancient times for various crimes and
offences varied in different nations and at
different times. Capital punishment for
murder was permanently instituted at the
origin of the human race ; and Cain was
only saved from it by a special interposi-
tion of God, Gen. 4: 14, 15. It was reenact-
ed, with reasons, after the deluge, Gen.
9:5, 6, and in the wilderness, Num. 35:9-
34, and was early and widely recognized
among mankind.
Other offences for which the Mosaic law
prescribed the death -penalty were blas-
phemy. Lev. 24:14-16, 23; idolatry. Lev.
20:2; Deut. 13:5-15; dishonoring a parent,
Exod. 21:15, 17; Deut. 21:18-21; adultery,
Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22, 25; man-stealing,
Exod. 21:16; false witness in capital cases,
Deut. 19:16, 19. Modes of capital punish-
ment prescribed in the Mosaic law were
stoning, Exod. 19:13; Deut. 13:10; John
8 : 5, 7, 59 ; Acts 7 ■. 58, 59 ; spearing or sword-
thrust, Exod. 19:13; 32:27; Num. 25:7, 8;
I Kin. 2:25; hanging, Num. 25:4; Deut.
21 :22 ; 2 Sam. 21 :6-9; burning, Lev. 20: 14;
21:9; compare Gen. 38:24. Some main-
tain that hanging and burning were sel-
dom used by the Jews until after death
had been otherwise inflicted, as ir. Achan's
case. Josh. 7:24, 25. Accordmg to the Mo-
saic law, accusation must be substantiated
by more than one witness, and in capital
cases the witnesses must themselves begin
to execute the death-sentence, Deut. 13:9;
17:6, 7; 19:15; John 8:7; Acts 7:58. Vari-
ous other modes of inflicting death were
practised by the Hebrews, or became
known to them by intercourse with other
nations: as decapitation, 2 Kin. 10:6-8;
Matt. 14:8-12; precipitation, 2 Chr. 25:12;
Luke 4:29; cutting asunder, Dan. 2:5;
3:29; Heb. 11:37; beating on awheel-like
frame, Heb. 11 :35 ; exposure to wild beasts,
Dan. 6; i Cor. 15:32; drowning, Matt. 18:6;
and crucifixion, John 19:18. The Egyp-
tians practised hanging, Gen. 40:19, 22,
and apparently stoning, Exod. 8 : 26. Hang-
ing was in use among the Persians, Esth.
2:23; 7:10; and burning among the Baby-
lonians, Jer. 29:21, 22; Dan. 3.
Secondary punishments prescribed in
the Law were retaliation in kind for in-
jury, Exod. 21:23-25; Deut. 19:19; see also
Judg. 1:7; Jer. 52:11; Ezek. 23:25; com-
pensation for loss of time, power, property,
or honor, Exod. 21:18-36; Lev. 24:18-21;
Deut. 19:21, double to 5-fold restitution
being required for theft, Exod. 22; scour-
ging, Lev. 19:20; Deut. 22:18, the limit
being 40 stripes, Deut. 25:3; 2 Cor. 11:24.
Sentences being executed immediately, the
Mosaic law did not prescribe imprison-
ment, but it was in use under the kings,
2 Chr. 18:26; Jer. 37:15, and later, Ezra
7:26; Matt. 4:12. Stocks were in use
among the Hebrews, Jer. 20:2, and the
Romans, Acts 16:24. Banishment among
the Hebrews in some cases consisted of
confinement to a prescribed locality, or
exclusion from the king, 2 Sam. 14:24;
I Kin. 2:36. It was practised by the Ro-
mans, Rev. 1:9.
The exact meaning of the punishment
described as " cutting off" from the congre-
gation " or " the people," etc., is disputed;
it seems, however, to have been a sentence
of death, which was sometimes executed,
sometimes remitted or commuted.
On FUTURE PUNISHMENT, see RETRIBU-
TION.
PU'NON, darkness, a station near the
end of the wilderness wanderings, between
Zalmonah and Oboth, Num. 33:42, 43. Je-
rome identified it with the Idum^ean Phae-
no, between Petra and Zoar, where were
copper-mines worked by convicts. Palmer
thinks it may be represented by the station
now called 'Anezeh, on the pilgrim road
from Damascus to Mecca.
PUR'CHASE, I Tim. 3:13, A. V., gain or
acquire, not buy.
PURIFICA'TIONS, in the legal and cere-
monial sense, were prescribed by the Mo-
saic law for a variety of occasions, and
were effected by the use of water applied
by bathing or sprinkling, combined, in the
graver cases of ceremonial defilement, with
sacrifices offered at the Lord's house, Lev.
12 to 15; Num. 19; Luke 2:22-24. The spir-
itual truth thus emphasized was man's need
of cleansing from sin, and the requisite-
ness of an expiatory sacrifice to effect this,
Isa. 1:16; Ezek. 36:25; Zech. 13:1; Heb.
9:10, 13, 14, 19-23; 10:22. After the return
of the Jews from the Captivity purifications
were multiplied beyond the requirements
of the Law, especially by the Pharisees, and
were performed as constituting in them-
selves a saving ritual, their spiritual mean-
ing being disregarded, Mark 7:1-8, 18-23.
PU'RIM, lots, a festival instituted about
459
PUR
BIBLE DICTIONARY
PUR
B. C. 474 by Esther and Mordecai, in the
reign of Ahasuerus or Xerxes, king of Per-
sia, to commemorate the Jews' providen-
tial deliverance from the massacre devised
by Haman, Ksth. 9:20-32. The festival
derived its name from the casting of lots,
in Haman's presence, for an auspicious
day for destroying the Jews, Esth. 3:7.
The day thus indicated being distant 11
months from that of promulgating the roy-
al decrees, ver. 8-15, a sufficient interval
was providentially afforded to Mordecai
for devising and executing measures for
the preservation of his people, Esth. 4:1-8,
14; 9:1-19; thus Haman's superstition was
instrumental in procuring his own destruc-
tion; compare Prov. 16:33. This festival
was observed on the 14th and isthof Adar,
Esth. 9:16-19, and was preceded by a fast
on the 13th in memory of Esther's fast,
Esth. 4:16. The roll of Esther was read
publicly in the synagogue, the congrega-
tion joining in cursing Haman and Ze-
resh and in blessing Mordecai and Esther.
After the synagogue services on the even-
ing and morning of the 14th, the feast was
further celebrated on that day and the
next by private festivities, mutual pres-
ents, alms, play, and self-indulgence. It
is still observed by the Jews in the month
of March. " The temple may fail, but Pu-
rim never," is a Jewish proverb. Some
think Purim is alluded to in John 5:1, but
more probably it was the Passover.
PUR'PLE. The famous and costly Tyr-
ian purple, the royal color of the ancients,
is fabled to have been discovered by the
god Melkat, the Tyrian Hercules, whose
dog having by chance eaten a shell-fish
called Purpura, and returning to his mas-
ter with his lips tinged with a purple color,
occasioned the discovery of this precious
dye. Two kinds of purple are mentioned
in the Old Testament: i. Argaman, ren-
dered in our version " purple," denoting a
<^.
TYRIAN rock-shell: mlrex trunculus.
reddish purple obtained from one or more
species of muscle or shell-fish found on the
460
coasts of the Mediterranean, undoubtedly
the Murex Trunculus of Linnaius, and
dog-whelk: purpura lapillus.
probably the Purpura Lapillus. 2. Te-
CHELETH, rendered in the English Bible
"blue." This was a bluish or cerulean
purple, likewise obtained from another
species of shell-fish.
The "scarlet" or "crimson," for the 2
words denote essentially the same color,
was produced from the coccus insect, coc-
cus ilicis. All these were sacred colors
among the Hebrews, and were used in col-
oring the priestly garments and the furni-
ture of the tabernacle, E.xod. 26:1, 14, 31,
36; 28:31; Num. 4:6-12; 15:38.
The "purple " of the ancients seems to
have included many different tints derived
originally from shell-fish, and modified by
various arts in which the Tyrians excelled.
As each fish yielded but a few drops of
coloring matter, the choicest purple bore a
very high price. Purple robes were worn
by the kings and first magistrates of an-
cient Rome, and Nero forbade their use
by his subjects under pain of death. Our
Saviour was clothed with a royal robe of
purple in mockery of his title, "The King
of the Jews," John 19:2, 5. Compare also
Judg. 8:26; Esth. 8:15; Prov. 31:22; Dan.
5:7; Luke 16:19. Moses used much mate-
rial, chiefly woollen, dyed of a crimson and
purple color, in the work of the taberna-
cle and in the ornaments of the high-priest,
E.xod. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36; 39:1 ; 2Chr. 3:14.
The Babylonians also clothed their idols
in robes of a purple and azure color, Jer.
9:10; Ezek. 23:15; 27:7, 16:
PURSE. Besides the bag used for car-
rving money, and by merchants for carry-
ing weights, Deut. 25:13; Prov. 1:14; Isa.
46:6; Mic. 6:11; Luke 10:4; 12:33: 22:35,
36, the girdle anciently, as now in the
East, served as a purse. Matt. 10:9; Mark
6:8, being provided with a double fold in
which there was an opening, closed with a
cover or straj).
PUR'TENANCE, A. V., Exod. 12:9. the
viscera, or " inwards " as rendered in Exod.
29:13, 22; Lev. 1:9, 13; 3:3,9, 14- In Psa.
64:6 the same word is used, the word
thought being supplied by the translators.
PUR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
QUA
PURVEY'ORS, in A. V. "officers," i Kin.
4:5, 7, literally men appointed by Solomon,
one for each month of the year, to collect
from their several portions of the kingdom,
12 in number, the large supplies of food
required for the royal houshold — the wives,
guests, and attendants. Whether they were
purchasers or tax-gatherers, or stewards of
the royal domain, is not known.
PUT, I Chr. 1:8; Nah. 3:9, A. V. See
Phut.
PUTE'OLI, sulphurous wells, was on the
northern shore of a small bay running
northward on the west of the somewhat
larger Bay of Naples. Baiae was on the
west shore. The city anciently gave its
name to the whole bay, including that of
Naples. It was a favorite watering-place
of the Romans, who resorted to its hot
springs for the cure of various diseases ;
but especially it was the great port of
Rome, though 141 miles southeast from
it. The Alexandrian corn-ships unloaded
here, and enjoyed "the peculiar privilege of
entering the harbor under full sail. Here
Paul was landed, and found Christians,
with whom he spent a week. Acts 28: 13, 14.
The ancient Greek name of the place was
Diceearchia. Cicero had a villa near Pute-
oli ; Nero planned his mother's murder
here ; Vespasian gave the city peculiar
privileges ; Hadrian was buried here. Poz-
zuoli, the modern Puteoli, is a small town
7 miles west of Naples. Remains of the
ancient city are an aqueduct, reservoirs,
an amphitheatre, baths, a building called
the temple of Serapis, and 13 of the 25
arches which supported the great pier
where passengers and merchandise were
landed.
PU'TIEL, afflicted of God, the father-in-
law of Eleazar the priest, Exod. 6:25.
PY'GARG, zvhite-riimp, Deut. 14:5, the
Septuagint, Vulgate, and A. V. rendering
of a Hebrew term believed to denote some
species of the antelope, perhaps the Oryx
addax, or the Addra ruficoUis of Africa;
the latter is a fine beast, about 3 feet 3
inches high, and 5 feet 4 inches long, often
seen in flocks in Nubia and Gondola.
PYR' RHUS, yiery-haired, the name of the
father of Sopater of Beroea, Acts 20:4, is
restored in the R. V., after the best Greek
manuscripts.
PY'THON, Acts 16 : 16, margin; This
name of Apollo, the Greek god of divina-
tion, was applied also to all oracular spir-
its, or to persons supposed to be inspired
by them.
Q.
QUAILS supplied the Israelites with flesh
on 2 occasions, in the ist and 2d years of
the wilderness journeyings, Exod. 16:1, 8,
12,13; Num. 10:11, 33 ; 11:4,10,18-23,31-
34; Psa. 78:26-28; 105:40; 106:15. The
season in each case was spring, when
quails, which abound in most parts of the
THE quail: coturnix communis.
Old World, migrate in immense flocks from
Africa northward. The miracle seems to
have consisted in a special adaptation of
the natural order of things to suit the emer-
gency. It is the custom of quails to fly at
night, and before the wind. Borne by a
providential southwest wind across the
western gulf of the Red Sea, the birds,
being weak of wing, were exhausted on
reaching the Israelites' camp; and Jlj'ing-
low — which is believed to be the meaning
of "two cubits," etc.. Num. 11:31 — were
readily taken by hand, as is frequently the
case now. " Homers," ver. 32, is believed
to bear here its indefinite sense of " heaps."
Herodotus reports that the Egyptians pre-
served quails by drying them, and this is
still the custom of the Arabs. Quails are
still common in the Arabian deserts and
near the Dead Sea and the Jordan, and are
brought in great quantities to market at
Jerusalem. They abound on the Mediter-
ranean coasts, 100,000 having been taken
in a single day at Nettuno, on the west
shore of Italy. The quail of the eastern
hemisphere, Coturnix communis, is about
7 inches long, and similar to, though not
identical with, the Ortyx Virginianus, called
"quail "in New England and "partridge"
in the Middle and Southern States.
QUARANTA'NIA, /br/i', a mountain about
7 miles northwest of Jericho, not named in
the Bible, is indicated by tradition as the
scene of our Lord's temptation, Matt. 4.
It is exceedingly steep, from 1,200 to 1,500
feet high ; its rocky, precipitous sides con-
461
QUA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
QUO
tain many caves, once the retreats of her-
mits and of robbers. Its summit, accessi-
ble only from the western side, affords a
fine view. There was a monastery on the
mountain in the time of the Crusades.
QUAR'RIES, Judg. 3:19, 26, A. V. The
same Hebrew word is elsewhere rendered
"carved" or "graven images," as in the
margin.
QUAR'TXJS, /or/r/h, a. Christian residing
at Corinth, but according to his name of
Roman origin, whose salutation Paul sends
to the brethren at Rome, Rom. 16:23.
QUATER'NION OF SoLDiFiRS, a detach-
ment consisting of 4 men. Acts 12:4. The
Romans assigned a quaternion of 4 men
for a night guard, and divided the night
into 4 watches, so that each soldier should
in his turn be on guard 3 hours. See
Hour. When therefore Herod, who adopt-
ed the Roman customs, is said to have de-
livered Peter to 4 quaternions of soldiers,
it is to be understood that he was guarded
by 4 men at a time, namely, 2 in the jirison
with him, and 2 before the doors (comjiare
ver. 6), and that they were relieved every
3 hours by 4 others, making in all 16 men.
QUEEN. Under the kings of Israel, ow-
ing to their polygamy, queenly dignity and
power were enjoyed, not as now in Chris-
tian countries by a royal consort, but rath-
er by the king's mother. Compare the
interviews of Adonijah and Solomon with
Bath-sheba, i Kin. 2:13-22. The title of
queen, literally migfily one, tnislress, is
given to the mother or rather grandmother
of Asa, I Kin. 15:13; compare ver. i, 2;
2 Chr. 11:20-22; and to the mother of Je-
hoiachin,2 Kin. 24: 12, 15; Jer. 13:18; 22:26;
29 : 2. Two other Hebrew words are trans-
lated " queen " in the A. V. : one, the femi-
nine of king, being applied to the queen-
regnant of Sheba, i Kin. 10, and to the
superior wives of a king, Esth. 1:9; 2:22;
Song 6:8, 9, etc.; the other, literally zi'i/e,
being also applied to queen-consorts, Neh.
2:6; compare Dan. 5:2, 3, "wives."
QUEEN OF HEAVEN, a name under
•which the idolaters in Judah worshipped
the moon, Jer. 7:18; 44:17-27.
QUICK, in the old English sense, means
alive, or living. Num. 16:30; Psa. 124:3;
Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 4:12; and
quicken, to make alive, John 5:21. God
bestows spiritual life on men dead in tres-
passes and sins, Eph. 2:5, through Christ
the 2d Adam, who is a quickening Spirit,
I Cor. 15:45.
QUICK'SANDS, Acts 27 : 17, properly " the
462
Syrtis," as in the R. V., a name given to 2
sandy gulfs on the northern coast of Africa,
whose dangerous shallows and uncertain
currents made them dreaded by ancient
navigators. These gulfs were called the
Greater and the Lesser Syrtis. Paul's ship
being off the southern coast of Crete, the
northeast wind would naturally drive it
into the Greater Syrtis, southwest from
Crete, now the Gulf of Sidra, north of Trip-
oli. The Lesser Syrtis is now the Gulf of
Cabes, on the eastern shore of Tunis, south-
west of Malta.
QUIRI'NUS, or in R. V. QUIRIN'IUS,
Luke 2:2. See Cyrenius.
QUIT, I Sam. 4:9; i Cor. 16:13, acquit,
or behave. In Exod. 21:19, 28; Josh. 2:20,
absolve, or set free.
QUIVER, a case of arrows. Gen. 27:3;
Isa. 49:2; Lam. 3:13. The destruction
wrought by the Chaldaeans invading Judah
is figuratively expressed in Jer. 5:16. The
Assyrians had their quivers suspended be-
tween their shoulders, or at the side of the
war-chariot. The Egyptian archer slung
his quiver nearly horizontally at his side.
QUOTA'TIONS in the Bible are of 3 class-
es: I. Those made by the later Old Testa-
ment writers from the earlier, as are many
sections of the Chronicles* and late Psalms
from the older. Chief among parallel pas-
sages of this class are Num. 26 with Gen.
46; Deut. 5 with Exod. 20; i Chr. 17 with
2 Sam. 7; Ezra 2 with Neh. 7; Psa. 18 with
2 Sam. 22; Isa. 2:1-4 with Mic. 4:1-3; Isa.
36-39 with 2 Kin. 18-20; Jer. 52 with 2 Kin.
24, 25; Obad. 1:8 with Jer. 4:9; Jonah 2:3
with Psa. 42:7; Jonah 2:5 with Psa. 69:2;
Hab. 2:14 with Isa. 11 :<).
2. Quotations from heathen writers: Acts
17:28 from Aratus; i Cor. 15:33 from Men-
ander; Tit. 1:12 from Callimachus or Epi-
menides; Gal. 5:23 from Aristotle. Per-
haps also Acts 14:17 and Jas. 1:17.
3. Quotations from the Old Testament
in the New Testament. These are numer-
ous, and are generally taken from the Sep-
tuagint, which see. In the time of Christ
this version was widely spread and much
used by the Jews, especially by those out
of Palestine. It was also intelligible to
the Greek -speaking Gentile world; and
hence the New Testament writers, in re-
ferring to the Old Testament, naturally
quoted the Septuagint rather than their
own rendering of the Hebrew original. In
cases where the Septuagint translation va-
ries from the Hebrew without important
difference, the New Testament writers fre-
RAA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
RAB
quently retain its variation, as in Matt.
15:9; compare Isa. 29:13. In other cases,
where the errors of the Septuagint cause
discrepancy in the sense, they are correct-
ed by the Hebrew, as in Matt. 21:5; i Pet.
4:8. Often the Hebrew is quoted directly,
as in Matt. 4:15, 16; John 19:37. And in
some instances the Hebrew and the Septu-
agint are combined, as in Mark 12:30. Be-
sides direct quotations, the New Testament
writers abound in references and allusions
to the Old Testament — often pointing out
some prophecy or type relating to Christ
or to the spiritual dispensation introduced
by him ; the familiar phrase, " that it might
be fulfilled," and the like, showing how full
the Old Testament is of germs of truth un-
folded in the New Testament. Compare
Isa. 49:8 and 2 Cor. 6:2. The quotations
and references to the contents of the an-
cient Scriptures in the New Testament are
said to be 804 in number.
R.
RA'AMAH, quivering, Ezek. 27 : 22, a
commercial people trading with Tyre, prob-
ably named from Raamah, a son of Cush,
Gen. 10:7; I Chr. 1:9, whose descendants
are supposed to have settled on the south-
west shore of the Persian Gulf, very near
the town Daden, representing the ancient
Dedan. The Septuagint renders Raamah
in Gen. 10:7 Rhegma, a name mentioned
b,y Ptolemy, the Egyptian geographer in
the 2d Christian centur^^, as that of a place
in the territory of thCjAnariti, an Arabic
tribe in that region.
RAAM'SES, Exod. I: II, a treasure-city
or grain-magazine built by the Israelites
during their servitude in Egypt. The
name is almost identical with Rameses, the
province in Egypt— apparently the same
as Goshen, Gen. 47:11 ; compare ver. 4, 6,
and ch. 45:10— in which the Israelites set-
tled, and which was their starting-point at
the Exodus, Exod. 12:37; Num. j)!)'-^)^ 5.
At the west end 0/ Wady et-Tumeilat. Ra-
meses, son of the sim, was the name of sev-
eral Pharaohs before and after the Exodus,
and the oppressor of the Israelites is now
generally identified with Rameses II. of
the 19th dynasty. See Pharaoh and cut
p. 150.
RAB, RAB'BI. The word rab in He-
brew and Chaldee signifies great or chief;
thus Nebuzar-adan is the chief or captain
of the^uard, 2 Kin. 25:8, in Hebrew rab-
tabbachim ; so Ashpenaz is the rab, chief
or master, of the eunuchs, and Daniel of
the magi, Dan. 1:3; 5:11. See Rab-mag.
At a later period it was introduced as a
solemn title of honor in the Jewish schools,
meaning master, teacher, doctor. There
were various distinctions and degrees; the
term rab was accounted the least honora-
ble; that of rabbi, signifying my master,
being of higher dignity. Another form of
the word was rabban or rabbon, from which
comes also rabboni, Mark 10:51, R. V.;
John 20: 16 ; this was regarded as the high-
est title of honor, and was never formally
bestowed on more than 7 persons, who all
belonged to the celebrated school of Hillel,
and were preeminently distinguished by
their rank and learning. See Gamaliel.
The more common and usual appellation
afterwards was rabbi ; and this has de-
scended among the Jews to the present
day. Matt. 23:7, 8. It was a title often giv-
en to the Saviour both by his disciples and
the people, Mark 9:5; 11 :2i ; John 1:38, 49;
4:31; 6:25.
RAB'BAH or RAB'BATH, greatness, I.,
Rabbath of the Ammonites, Deut. 3:11;
Josh. 13:25, the chief city of the Ammon-
ites, was in a small valley about 22 miles
east of the Jordan, 14 miles northeast of
Heshbon, and 19 southeast of Ramoth-
Gilead, now es-Salt. A small stream, now
Nahr Amman, tributary to the Jabbok,
flowed through the town. The Ammonites
having provoked war with Israel, Joab be-
sieged Rabbah, and here Uriah was killed
by David's arrangement, 2 Sam. 11:14-17;
12:9. After a long siege Joab took "the
city of waters," i. ««', i Chr. 2:47.
RE'GEM-ME'LECH, the king's friend,
apparently the title of a commissioner sent
with Sharezer by the Jews of the Captivity
to inquire at the temple concerning fast-
ing, Zech. 7:2, B. C. 517.
REGENERA'TION, the new birth; that
work of the Holy Spirit by which the soul,
previously dead in sins, is created anew in
Christ unto righteousness. It is expressed
in Scripture by being born again, anew, or
from above, John 3:3-7; becoming a new
creature, 2 Cor. 5:17; being quickened to
a new life of holiness, Eph. 2:1 ; being re-
newed in mind, Rom. 12:2; having Christ
formed in the heart, Gal. 4:19; and being
made partaker of the divine nature, 2 Pet.
1 :4. The sole author of this change is the
Holy Spirit, John 1:12, 13; 3:5; Eph. 2:8-
471
REH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
REH
lo; and he effects it ordinarily by the in-
strumentality of gospel truth, i Cor. 4:15;
Jas. i:iS; i Pet. 1:23. In this change the
moral image of God is brought back into
the soul, and the principle of supreme love
to him and unselfish love to our neighbor
is implanted. Regeneration, producing
faith, is accompanied by justification, and
by actual holiness of life, or sanctification
begun, and completed when the "babe in
Christ" reaches in heaven "the fulness of
the stature of the perfect man " in Him.
In Tit. 3:5 " the washing of regeneration "
denotes the purifying work of the Spirit in
the new birth. In Matt. 19:28 the refer-
ence is to the renovation or restoration of
all things at the glorious external manifes-
tation of Christ and his kingdom. Com-
pare Acts 3:21.
REHABI'AH, whom Jehovah enlarges, a
grandson of Moses, i Chr. 23:17; 24:21;
26:25.
RE'HOB, breadth, or a street, I., father
of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 2 Sam. 8:3,
12.
II. A Levite who sealed the covenant
with Nehemiah, Neh. 10:11.
III. The northernmost point reached by
the spies sent out by Moses to explore Ca-
naan, Num. 13:21. It is also called Beth-
rehob, Judg. 18:28; 2 Sam. 10:6, 8, and was
near Dan. Robinson places it west of the
sources of the Jordan, at the ruined castle
of Hunin; but Thomson suggests Banias,
east of Dan or Tell el-Kady, as the site.
IV. A town of Asher, Josh. 19:30, appa-
rently towards Zidon.
V. Another town of Asher, allotted to
the Gershonite Levites, Josh. 21 :3i ; i Chr.
6:75-
One of these is traced at Kulat er-Rahib,
16 miles east of the waters of Merom. Of
one the Canaanites long retained posses-
sion, Judg. 1 :3i.
REHOBO'AM, enlarger of the people, the
son and successor of Solomon, by Naamah,
an Ammonitess, I Kin. 12; 14:21-31; 2 Chr.
10 to 12. He was 41 years old when he be-
gan to reign, and reigned 17 years at Jeru-
salem, B. C. 975-95S. At his succession the
10 tribes, excluding Judah and Benjamin,
revolted and formed the " kingdom of Is-
rael " under Jeroboam, i Kin. 11:26-40.
Aside from Ephraim's long-standing jeal-
ousy of Judah, the immediate cause of this
secession was Rehoboam's headstrong folly
in rejecting experienced counsellors and
claiming tyrannical power, in refusing at
Shechem the request of the people for re-
472
lief from an oppressive taxation. Reho-
boam fled to Jerusalem on the stoning of
his chief tax-gatherer, and at once sought
to recover the revolted tribes by force ; but
his preparations were checked by a mes-
sage from God through the prophet She-
maiah. Yet it is probable that he did not
long delay hostilities of some sort, which
continued through his whole reign. In
spite of the settlement in Judah of the
priests and Levites driven from Israel by
Jeroboam's course, Judah, after a brief pe-
riod of comparative faithfulness to God,
lapsed into idolatry and heathen immoral-
ities such as Solomon introduced. Their
sin was punished, in Rehoboam's 5th year,
PORTRAIT OF REHOBOAM: FROM THE TEMPLE
AT KARNAK, EGYPT.
by the invasion of Shishak, king of Egypt.
See Shishak. He took the fortified cities
on his line of march, and despoiled Jeru-
salem of the treasures accumulated by
Solomon. On Rehoboam's humbling him-
self before God he was spared severer
punishment. He "did evil because he
prepared (or fixed) not his heart to seek
the Lord," a lack of sincere devotion to
God attributable in part to the influence of
his heathen mother, and to the example of
his father's idol-service at one period of
his life, I Kin. 11:4-10; 14:21, 31; 2 Chr.
12:13, 14. It is probable that Solomon
wrote Eccl. 2 : 18-21 with Rehoboam in
mind.
REHO'BOTH, u-'ide places, I., a city of
Assyria, Gen. 10:11, founded by Nimrod
in Asshur (A. V., margin), or by Asshur.
Rawlinson would locate it at Selamiyeh, a
village on the site of an ancient inclosure
REH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
REN
on the west bank df the Tigris, 3 miles
north of Nimrud. Some, however, trans-
late " the city Rehoboth " " the streets of
the city," i. e., of Nineveh, as in the A. V.
margin.
II. "Rehoboth by the river," the cityof
Shaul, an early king of the Edomites, Gen.
36:37; I Chr. 1:48. The "river" is sup-
posed to mean the Euphrates. The name
Rahabah is still borne by 2 places on this
river, said to contain ancient remains : one
is a few miles below the mouth of the Kha-
bour, and 3 miles west of the Euphrates ;
the other is a little farther down on the
east bank.
III. The well dug by Isaac after leaving
Gerar, Gen. 26:22. At the head of a wady
20 miles southwest of Beer-sheba is a place
now known as er-Ruhaibeh, where, near
some stone ruins, is a well 12 feet in cir-
cumference, whose massive stone mason-
ry, with 2 troughs made in huge blocks of
stone, has an appearance of great anti-
quity. This is supposed to be the site of
Rehoboth.
RE'HUM, compassionate, I., the " chan-
cellor" or governor of Samaria under the
king of Persia. By an insidious letter to
Artaxerxes (Pseudo-Smerdis), B. C. 522,
he procured an edict for the discontinu-
ance of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Ezra
4:8-24.
II. Four others are mentioned, Ezra 2:2,
called Nehum in Neh. 7:7; Neh. 3:17;
10:25; 12:3, called Harim in ver. 15.
RE'I, friendly, an officer of David who
refused to join Adonijah in rebellion, i Kin.
1:8.
REINS, Jer. 12:2. The Hebrews consid-
ered the reins or kidneys, as well as the
heart, to be the seat of various emotions
and affections which we popularly attrib-
ute to the heart alone. They ascribed to
them knowledge, Psa. 16:7; joy, Prov.
23:16; sorrow, Psa. 73:21 ; desire, as some
interpret Job 19:27; see margin. Hence
God is called the searcher of the reins,
Psa. 7:9; 26:2; Jer. 17:10; Rev. 2:23.
Agreeable to this ascription of moral
attributes to the kidneys seems the require-
ment of the Mosaic law selecting them for
presentation to God on the altar of burnt-
offering, in cases where only a part of the
victim was to be consumed on the altar—
as in the sin, trespass, and peace offer-
ings, Exod. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9;
7:4. Thus the Israelite seems to have
been admonished to cause his desires and
affections to ascend to God, while the out-
poured blood of the sacrifice made atone-
ment for his sins. Lev. 17:11.
RE'KEM, variegation, I., A descendant
of Machir, i Chr. 7:16.
II. A king of Midian, slain with Balaam,
Num. 31:8; Josh. 13:21.
III. Son of Hebron and father of Sham-
mai, I Chr. 2:43, 44.
IV. A city in Benjamin, Josh. 18 : 27,
traced in Kh. el-Meraghib, 2H miles north
by west from Jerusalem.
REMALI'AH, protected by Jehovah, the
father of Pekah, king of Israel, i Kin.
15:25, 27, 30, 32, i-j; 16:1, 5; 2 Chr. 28:6.
The frequent mention of his name seems
to imply that it was a reproach to his son,
Isa. 7:4, 5; 8:6.
RE'METH, height, a city of Issachar,
Josh. 19:21, perhaps the same with the Le-
vitical Ramoth, i Chr. 6:73, and Jarmuth,
named as a Levitical city, Josh. 21 :29; now
perhaps Jelameh, 3^^ miles north of En-
gannim.
REMIS'SION, or forgiveness, of sins is
granted on the ground of the atoning sac-
rifice of Christ, Matt. 26:28. The apostles
were commissioned to proclaim this doc-
trine, John 20:23; compare Acts 5:31, 32;
10:43; I John 2:1, 2, and were endowed by
the Holy Spirit with a supernatural in-
sight, enabling them to discern and declare
whether one exercised the true repentance
and faith to which remission of sins was
granted, Acts 5: i-i I ; 8:21.
REM'MON, a city of Simeon, Josh. 19:7.
See RiMMON.
REM'MON-METH'OAR, a place in Zebu-
lun, Josh. 19: 13. " Methoar " should prob-
ably read, " reaching," i. y the diviner.
Hos. 4:12; by the surveyor in measuring
land. Rev. ii:i. The " rod " of God's in-
heritance, Psa. 74:2; Jer. 10:16, might bj
rendered the " tribe " or people ; compare
Deut. 4:20, the 2 Hebrew words there useti.
meaning scions or rulers' sceptres, being
also often used for "tribes," as in Gen.
49:16,28; E.\od. 31:2; compare Matt. 24:30.
Or the reference may be to Israel as under
the special rod or rule of God ; or to the
measuring and apportionment of the land
by a rod or reed, Ezek. 40:3, the "rod"
meaning the land thus measured; compare
Deut. 32:9, where the " lot " in the A. V. is
really the surveyor's " cord " or " line," an
early and usual measuring instrument ;
compare Psa. 78:55; Amos 7:17; Zech. 2:1.
Sheep passed under the rod to be countetl
as they entered or left the fold, and in tith-
ing the lambs every loth one was marked
by the end of the rod dipped in red ochre.
Lev. 27:32; Jer. 33:13. There may be an
allusion to this custom in Ezek. 20:37, sig-
nifying Israel's reappropriation to tht-
Lord. In Isa. 10:26 the reference is to the
e.xhibitions of God's power through tho
rod of Moses.
ROE'BUCK and ROE, masc. and feni..
the A. V. translation of a Hebrew word
meaning beauty, an animal clean by the
Mosaic law, Deut. 12:15,22; 14:4,5: highly
ROE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ROM
esteemed as food, i Kin. 4:23; a favorite
■object of the chase, Prov. 6:5; Isa. 13:14;
and noted for its agility and swiftness,
2 Sam. 2:18; I Chr. 12:8; Song 2:8, 9, 17.
It is believed that the animal denoted is
the gazelle, Antilope Dorcas, or Gazella
Arabica, a species of antelope abundant in
Syria, Arabia, Persia, Egypt, and Barbary,
-and long celebrated in Oriental poetry for
its beauty and grace. It is about 2 feet
high, of a reddish-brown color, with mark-
ings of dark brown or black and of white,
with black horns, which viewed from the
front outline together the form of a lyre,
and large, lustrous eyes. It is gregarious
and easily tamed, though very timid and
apt to die in captivity; its flesh is excel-
lent. It frequents both the plains and the
mountains of Syria, and is sometimes hunt-
ed with falcon and grayhound cooperating,
also by driving the herds into large inclo-
sures, with pitfalls. Tabitha and Dorcas,
.\cts 9:36, are the Aramaic and Greek
words for gazelle.
In Prov. 5:19, "roe" in the A. V. trans-
lates a different Hebrew word, denoting
the female of the wild or mountain goat.
The " fallow-deer," only mentioned as a
clean animal, Deut. 14:5, and as food for
Solomon's table, r Kin. 4:23, was an ani-
mal of the deer tribe, either the Cervus
-dania, found in Western and Southern
Asia, or the Bubale, resembling the harte-
beest of Southern Africa.
ROLL. See Book.
ROLL'ER, Ezek. 30:21, a bandage, to
wrap a broken limb,
ROLL'ING-THING, Isa. 17:13, or "wheel,"
Psa. 83:13, A. v., conjectured to mean the
wild artichoke, the twigs of which, uniform
in length, form a globe a foot or more in
diameter, and when dry break off at the
ground and by thousands roll and bound
over the ground before the wind.
RO'MAN, a native or resident of Rome,
John 11:48; Acts 25:16; also one who has
acquired the rights of Roman citizenship,
Acts 16:21, y], 2,^; 22:25-29. See Citizen-
ship.
RO'MAN EM'PIRE. This succeeded the
Macedonian Empire in extending its rule
over the greater portion of the then known
world. It is alluded to in the prophecy of
Daniel, 2:33, 40; 7:7, 19, 23, as the 4th
world-power. At the closing of the Old
Testament canon the Romans had not come
in contact with the Jews. But about B. C.
162 Judas Maccabeus made an alliance
with them, i Mace. 8, which his brothers
Jonathan and Simon renewed, B. C. 161-
135, I Mace. 12:1; 15:17- The taking of
Jerusalem by Pompey, B. C. 63, and by
Sosius, B. C. 36, brought the Jews under
the dominion of Rome ; and Judaea becam*;
a dependency of the Roman province of
Syria at the banishment of Archelaus, A. D.
6. The Roman Empire, strictly so called,
arose from the commonwealth or republic
of Rome, and extended from B. C. 31 —
when, by the battle of Actium, Octavius,
afterwards Augustus, became the ist Ro-
man emperor — to the abdication of Augus-
tulus, A. D. 476. The New Testament ref-
erences concern chiefly the early days of
the empire under the emperors Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.
See C^SAR. Its extent and power were
then at their height. Its bounds were the
Atlantic on the west, the Euphrates on the
east, the African deserts, Nile cataracts,
and Arabian deserts on the south, the
Rhine, Danube, and Black Sea on the
north. Britain was also conquered; Par-
thia on the east, and Germania on the
north, were semi-independent powers.
The population of the empire in Claudius'
reign is estimated by Gibbon at 120,000,-
000. Countries conquered by Rome be-
came subject provinces, and were governed
by rulers usually sent from Rome, though
sometimes allowed a degree of independ-
483
ROM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ROM
ence under native rulers. See Province.
Some of the conquered cities were called
" free cities," being ruled by their own
magistrates and exempt from occupation
by a Roman garrison ; and others were
called "colonies," being primarily and
chiefly communities of transplanted Roman
citizens. The destruction of Jerusalem and
the temple, foretold by Christ, Matt. 24:1,
2, 14-22, took place in the reign of Vespa-
sian, A. D. 70. The exile and prophetic
vision of the apostle John, Rev. 1 19, 10, are
supposed to have occurred in Domitians
reign, which ended A. D. 96. The condi-
tion of external unity into which the Ro-
man dominion had brought the nations,
the construction of military roads, the sup-
pression of robbery and piracy, the exten-
sion of traffic, and the spread of Latin in
the West as Greek had already spread in
the East, were favorable to the propaga-
tion of Christianity; while the skepticism
and atheism of the learned, the supersti-
tion of the ignorant, and the universal cor-
ruptness of morals, called loudly for a di-
vine remedy. The gospel appears to have
been carried throughout the empire in the
days of the apostles. With rare exceptions
the Roman emperors were noted for their
vices and cruelty; under them the Chris-
tians from time to time suffered severe
persecutions, until Constantine embraced
Christianity, A. D. 323, and made it the
religion of his empire.
ROME, long the mistress of the known
heathen world, and for many centuries the
chief ecclesiastical capital of the nominally
Christian world, is on the river Tiber in
Italy, about 15 miles from its mouth. It is
said to have been founded by Romulus on
the Palatine Hill about B. C. 753, at which
time Jotham was king of Judah and Pekah
of Israel. The "seven hills" on the left bank
of the Tiber, which formed the nucleus of
the ancient city, were inclosed by the Ser-
vian wall, built by tlie 6th king, Servius
Tullius, B. C. 57S-534, Rev. 17:9. Rome
was at first governed by kings. After the
expulsion of Tarquin II., the 7th king,
B. C. 509, the government was committed
to 2 consuls, elected annually, with whom
were afterwards, B. C. 493, associated 2
tribunes. The republic thus established
lasted nearly 500 years, until the battle of
Actium. See Roman Empire. From B. C.
31, when Octavius became possessed of the
supreme power as the first emperor, Rome
was the capital of the Roman Empire until
A. D. 328, when Constantine transferred
the seat of government to Constantinople.
The city was enriched with the spoils of
conquered nations, including art treasures
of sculpture and painting, and was noted,
especially after Nero's time, for the mag-
nificence of its public buildings and of
many private residences. The idols of the
conquered were admitted as objects of wor-
ship, and the people were full of supersti-
tion, and in morals exceedingly corrupt.
Paul's painful representation of the sins of
heathenism, Rom. 1:21-32, is fully con-
firmed by Roman writers. The New Tes-
tament reader's interest in Rome centres
in its condition at the time of Paul's cap-
tivity there, between the restoration of the
city by Augustus — who boasted that he
found the city of brick and left it of mar-
ble— and Nero's restoration after the great
fire in A. D. 64. It had outgrown the
Servian wall, and was a vast irregular
mass of buildings over 12 miles in circuit,
and unprotected bj- any outer wall. The
streets were in general narrow and crook-
ed, flanked by crowded lodging-houses,
whose height Augustus had limited to 70-
feet. Most of the structures which now
attract attention as relics of antiquity were
still unbuilt; but some parts of the city, as
the Forum, the Campus Martins, and the
Palatine Hill — where were the emperor's
palace, the camp of his body-guard, and
connected buildings — must have presented
a magnificent appearance. Gibbon esti-
mates the population of Rome at that time
at 1,200,000; probably half were slaves, in
whose hands were the useful trades and
professions ; a large part of the remainder
were pauper citizens supported by the pub-
lic; the smaller remaining class were the
wealthy nobility, whose luxury and profli-
gacy are described by the writers of that
time. Paul approached Rome by the Ap-
pian Way, which entered the city on the
southeast. He was kept at Rome 2 years,
A. D. 61-63, being allowed to live in his
own hired dwelling with the soldiers who
guarded him,- to whom he was probably
fastened by a chain. Acts 28:16, 20, 30;
Eph. 6:20; Phil. 1:16; and was permitted
to preach the gospel to all who visited him.
Acts 28:30, 31. His epistles to the Colos-
sians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon,
and the 2d to Timothy, are believed to-
have been written here, the last shortly
before his death, 2 Tim. 4:6. Many think
he was acquitted on his appeal to the em-
peror, but after a period of freedom was
again brought a prisoner to Rome, where
ROM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ROM
tradition affirms that he suffered martyr-
dom under Nero, A. D. 68. See Paul, Pe-
ter, Pr^torium. Many Jews were taken
•to Rome as captives by Pompey ; a special
district was assigned to Jewish freedmen
and emigrants on the right bank of the
Tiber, and they were allowed liberty of
worship and other privileges by Julius
Caesar and Augustus. Their banishment
under Claudius, Acts 18:2, must have been
brief, for numbers of Jews were residing at
Rome at Paul's visit, Acts 28: 17. The gos-
pel was early introduced there, perhaps by
some who were in Jerusalem at Pentecost,
Acts 2: 10. Paul had written to the Roman
Christians as early as A. D. 58, and was
cheered by their greetings on his way to
the city. Acts 28: 15. There were believers
in the household of Nero, Phil. 4:22, prob-
ably among his slaves. Nero instituted a
fierce persecution against the Christians
on the charge of setting fire to the city,
A. D. 64. The scene was in " the gardens
of Nero," now within the Vatican. See
Nero. Rome as a persecuting power is
alluded to in the Revelation under the
name of Babylon, Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:5,
6; 18:2, 21.
The catacombs, subterranean galleries
commonly from 8 to 10 feet high and from
4 to 6 feet wide, with occasional enlarge-
ments, extending for miles under Rome,
especially in the region of the old Appian
and Nomentane Ways, were used as places
of refuge, worship, and burial by the early
Christians. More than 4,000 inscriptions
have been found in them, which are re-
ferred to the period between Tiberius and
Constantine, one of the oldest being dated
A. D. 71.
RUINS OF THE COLOSSEUM, AT ROME.
The Colosseum, whose majestic ruins
still impress the beholder with a sense of
the power and cruelty of heathen Rome,
was the scene of many a conflict of Chris-
tian martyrs with wild beasts. It was
erected by Vespasian and Titus for gladia-
torial shows, and is said to have contained
seats for 80,000 spectators. It was 620 feet
long and 513 broad, with an arena 290 feet
by 180 ; the uppermost and outer circle of
tiers of seats was 160 feet from the ground.
From the time of Constantine's establish-
ment of Christianity as the State religion.
A. D. 323, the corruption of doctrine and
practice, which had already begun to ap-
pear in the church, began to spread more
rapidly. Soon the bishop of Rome claimed
supreme authority, chiefly on the assump-
tion that he was the successor of Peter ; and
the patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria, and
Constantinople finally acknowledged him
first in honor, though not supreme in juris-
diction, A. D. 451-604. After the schism of
the 9th century, which led to the division
of Christendom into the Roman-catholic
Church and the Greek Church, the popes
485
ROM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
RUD
of Rome exercised an immense power over
Europe until the Reformation in the i6th
century. Since then their power has grad-
ually declined, though it is still considera-
ble in Roman-catholic countries and over
the Romanists in all Protestant countries.
Rome was made the political capital of the
united kingdom of Italy under Victor Em-
manuel in 1871, when tlie power of the pope
as a temporal or political sovereign was
abolished. His dignity and influence as
head of the Roman-catholic Church still
continue, and his residence is at the Vati-
can palace adjoining St. Peter's at Rome.
Modern Rome lies on the north side of
the ancient city, its principal portion on
the left bank of the Tiber covering the
plain formerly called the Campus Martius ;
(.11 the right bank it embraces the Vatican
quarter and the low ground beneath it.
The "seven hills" are largely occupied by
villas and farms. Rome is rendered espe-
cially interesting by the magnificent ruins
of its former greatness, temples, pillars,
aqueducts, triumphal arches, and amphi-
theatres. The Arch of Titus commemo-
rates his victory over the Jews and spoil-
ing of the temple. Rome retains its pre-
eminence as a treasure-house of the fine
arts. It contains large libraries, including
that of the Vatican, numerous galleries and
museums full of the choicest paintings and
sculptures, besides palaces, villas, schools,
and hospitals, and over 360 churches, among
them St. Peter's, the largest in the world.
The Epistle to the Romans, /. e., the
Christians of Rome, was written by Paul
during the 3 months he remained at Cor-
inth, early in A. D. 50, before going to Je-
rusalem to attend Pentecost, Rom. 15:25.
Compare Acts 20:2, 3, 16; Rom. 16:23;
I Cor. 1:14; 2 Tim. 4:20. It is the most
important, systematic, and argumentative
of the epistles of Paul, a profound discus-
sion of man's state as a sinner and of the
plan of salvation. Its immediate occasion
seems to have been the misunderstanding
which existed between Jewish and Gentile
converts, not only at Rome, but everywhere.
The Jew felt himself in privilege superior
to the Gentile; who, on the other hand, did
not allow this superiority, and was vexed
by the assertion of it. In reference to this,
in the first 5 chapters the apostle proves
that the entire human race is depraved
and under condemnation — that neither
Gentile nor Jew has any privilege of birth
or personal merit, but that each receives
all benefits through the mere sovereign
486
grace of God, Christ alone being onr jusli-
ficalion. He then proceeds to exhibit
Christ as our saticlijication ; and answers-
the objections made to the doctrine of gra-
tuitous justification, that it tends to encour-
age sin, and that God has no right to treat
mankind in this way. In ch. 10, 11 he ap-
plies all this to the Jews. In the remainder
of the epistle, which is hortatory, the apos-
tle lays down many practical rules of con-
duct, which are of the highest moment to-
all Christians. There is no allusion to Pe-
ter as present at Rome; and Paul's rule
was not to build on another man's founda-
tion, Rom. 15:20; the Gentiles were his
field as the Hebrews were Peter's, Gal.
2:7-9; Rom. I : II, 13.
ROOF. See HorsE.
ROOM is sometimes synonymous witb
seat or ])lace, as in Psa. 31:8; Luke 14:8-
10; 20:46.
ROPES were used for binding prisoners
Judg. 15:13; Psa. 2:3; Ezek. 3:25; volun-
tarily assumed they were a token of hum
ble submission, i Kin. 20:31, 32.
ROSE, Song 2:1; Isa. 35: i. The Hebrew
word means acrid bulb, and cannot denote
the true rose, but probably the Polyanthus,
narcissus. This beautiful and fragrant
flower grows in the plain of Sharon, and is
a great favorite, its blossoms being sold in
the bazaars. True wild roses are seldom
met with except in the extreme north of
Palestine. Cultivated varieties of the queen
of flowers are abundant in Syria and high-
ly prized, especially for the rose-water and
attar made from them.
ROSH, head or chief, should probably
have been left untranslated in Ezek. 38:2,.
3; 39:1, as a proper name of one of the 3
great Scythian tribes: "the prince of Rosh,
Meschech, and Tubal " — the first mentiot»
of the Russian race in Scripture.
RU'BY. The Oriental ruby is next in
value, as a gem, to the diamond. Indeed,
a ruby of this kind, above a certain size, is-
more valuable than a diamond of the same
weight. The Oriental ruby is a red vari-
ety of the sapphire ; its color is usually be-
tween a vivid cochineal and crimson. The
word " rubies " occurs several times in the
English Bible, as Job 28:18; Prov. 3:15;
8:11; but the corresponding word in He-
brew is thought to denote red coral, or per-
haps pearls ; while the true ruby is more
naturally designated by the " agate " or
"carbuncle " of Isa. 54: 12; Ezek. 27:16.
RUD'DER BANDS, Acts 27:40, ropes by
which the 2 large steering-paddles near
RUD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAB
the stern of ancient ships were lashed up
out of the way of the ground-tackle when
the vessel was at anchor. See Ship.
RUDE, 2 Cor. II :6, artless and unpol-
ished.
RU'DIMENTS, or elements, the first and
simplest principles of a science or litera-
ture, Gal. 4:3, 9; Col. 2:20.
RUE, the Ruta graveolens, a well-known
herb, about 2 feet high, having a strong
odor and a bitter taste. It grows wild in
Palestine, and was also cultivated as a
medicine and condiment. The Pharisees
were punctilious in paying tithes of this
plant, Lev. 27 : 30, but inconsistently ne-
glected some of the more important of the
divine requirements, Luke 11:42; compare
Matt. 23:23.
RU'FUS, red, a son of Simon, the Cyre-
nian who was constrained to carry the
cross on which the Saviour was to be cru-
cified, Mark 15:21. If Rufus is the same
person whom Paul salutes in Rom. 16: 13, as
is possible, we may see in this instance the
divine blessing abiding on the household
of one who befriended Christ and bore his
cross.
RUHA'MAH, obtaining mercy, a symbol-
ical name used by Hosea, 2:1; compare
1 :6, 7.
RU'LER, Luke 24:20; Acts 14:5, in the
New Testament a person of high position
and influence among the Jews, sometimes
of official authority, either as " ruler of the
synagogue," Matt. 9:18 with Mark 5:22,
35-3S; Luke 8:49; 13:14; Acts 13:15; 18:8,
17; see Synagogue; or as a member of
the Sanhedrin, Luke 23 : 13, 35 ; Acts 4:5, 8 ;
13:27; 16:19. In many cases it is im-
possible to saj' which class is meant. The
young ruler of Matt. 19: 16-22 ; Mark 10; 17-
22 ; Luke 18 : 18-23, brought credentials on
which many of our churches would admit
him without hesitation ; but Christ enfor-
ces the necessity of a change of heart.
RU'MAH, exalted, 2 Kin. 23:36. Some
suppose it identical with Arumah, 6 miles
southeast of Shechem, Judg. 9:41; others
with Dumah, 10 miles southwest of He-
bron, Josh. 15:52. Conder would identify
it with the ruined village Rumeh, on the
west of Rimmon, 9 miles northwest of
Mount Tabor.
RUMP. See Sheep.
RUSH. Two Hebrew words are thus
translated, one denoting the bulrush or pa-
pyrus reed, an aquatic plant of the sedge
family. Job 8:11; Isa. 35 : 7 ; Exod. 2:3; Isa.
18:2; see Bulrush; the other, also ren-
dered "bulrush" in. Isa. 58:5, A. V., and
" hook " in Job 41 :2, representing a differ-
ent reed-like plant, of the sedge or the
grass family, Isa. 9:14. The proverbial
expression in Isa. 19:15 denotes the high-
est and the lowest of the people, /. e., the
entire people. See Reed.
RUTH, a Moabitess, who, having re-
turned with her mother-in-law Naomi to
Judah, probably about the time of Gideon,
soon after married Boaz, a kinsman of
Naomi's husband. From this marriage
descended David, and through him our
Saviour Jesus Christ, Matt, i :5. See Adop-
tion.
The Book of Ruth contains this his-
tory, told in a most simple and affecting
manner. The object of the writer, no
doubt, was to trace the genealogy of king
David. At the outset he says that these
events took place when the Judges ruled
in Israel — an intimation that in the time of
the writer they had ceased to rule. At the
close of the book the name of David is
introduced ; which shows that it was not
written before his day, B. C. 1060. This
book is inserted in our Bibles after the
book of Judges, as a sort of sequel to it.
Many of the ancient fathers made but one
book of Judges and Ruth. The story of
Ruth exhibits the frank and simple man-
ners of the times, and the courtesy and
charity of the Hebrew laws, gives an inti-
mation of the future extension of the gos-
pel to the Gentiles, and illustrates God's
providential care of families, and the bless-
ings which flow from filial piety and faith
in God.
RYE, Exod. 9:32; Isa. 28:25, A. V., called
"fitches" in Ezek. 4:9. It is probable that
the true rendering is " spelt." Rye is a
Northern grain, rarely cultivated in the
Levant even now, and probably unknown
there in ancient times ; but spelt, Triticum
spelta, has been cultivated and prized in
the East for ages. It differs but little from
wheat, though inferior, and its flour is often
mixed with wheat flour in making bread.
SABACHTHA'NI, hast thou forsaken me?
a Syro-Chaldaic word, a part of our Sa-
viour's exclamation on the cross. Matt.
27:46; the whole is taken from Psa. 22:1,
where it is used prophetically.
SABA'OTH or SAB'AOTH represents the
Hebrew tsebaoth, hosts or armies, and
487
SAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAB
appears in Rom. 9:29; Jas. 5:4, as the
representative in part of the divine title so
often found in the Old Testament, and in
the A. V. translated "Lord of hosts,"
I Sam. 17:45; Psa. 24:10; Isa. 1:9; Jer.
32 : 18. We are to understand the word
hosts in the most comprehensive sense, as
including the host of heaven, the angels
and ministers of the Lord; the stars and
planets, which, as an army ranged in bat-
tle array, perform the will of God; the
armies of earth, whose conflicts his provi-
dence overrules to the accomplishment of
his own wise designs ; the hordes of infe-
rior creatures, as the locusts that plagued
Egypt, the quails that fed Israel, and " the
canker-worm and the palmer-worm, his
great army," Joel 2:25; and lastly, the peo-
ple of the Lord, both of the old and new
covenants, a truly great army, of which
God is the general and commander, Exod.
7:4; 2 Kin. 23:5; 2 Chr. 18:18; Neh. 9:6;
Psa. 148:2; Dan. 8:10, 11.
SAB'BATH, rest, cessation. God having
created the world in 6 days, " rested " on
the 7th, Gen. 2:2, 3; that is, he ceased from
producing new beings in this creation ; and
because he had rested on it, he " blessed "
or sanctified it, and appointed it in a pecu-
liar manner for his worship.
We here have an account of the origi-
nal INSTITUTION of the day of rest. Like
the institution of marriage, it was given to
man for the whole race. Those who wor-
shipped God seem to have kept the Sab-
bath from the first, and there are tokens of
tills in the brief sketch the Bible •ontains
of the ages before giving the law at Mount
Sinai. Noah sent forth the raven from the
ark, and the dove thrice, at intervals of 7
days, Gen. 8. The account of the sending
of manna in the desert implies that the
Sabbath was already known and observed,
though it may have been largely neglected
during the Egyptian bondage, E.xod. 16:5,
22-30. The week was an established divis-
ion of time in Mesopotamia and Arabia.
Gen. 29:27; and traces of it have been
found in many nations of antiquity so re-
mote from each other and of such diverse
origin as to forbid the idea of their having
received it from Sinai and the Hebrews.
.'Assyrian and Chaldaean inscriptions of an
earlier date than the time of Moses refer to
a week of 7 days, and to the 7th day as a
day of rest, on which it was unlawful to
work, or for the king to drive out or to
perform sovereign acts.
The REENACTMENT of the Sabbath on
488
Mount Sinai, among the Commandments
of the moral law, was also designed not
for the Israelites alone, but for all who
should receive the Word of God, and ulti-
mately for all mankind. Christ and his
apostles never speak of the Decalogue but
as of permanent and universal obligation.
" The Sabbath was made for man." The
4th commandment is as binding as the 3d
and the 5th. Certain additions to it, with
specifications and penalties, were a part of
the Mosaic civil law, and are not now in
force, E.xod.3i:i4; Num. 15:32-36. On the
Sabbath day the priests and Levites, min-
isters of the temple, entered on their week,
and those who had attended the foregoing
week went out, 2 Kin. 11 :5-7. They placed
on the golden table new loaves of show-
bread, and took away the old ones. Lev.
24:8. Also on this day were offered partic-
ular sacrifices of 2 lambs for a burnt-offer-
ing, with wine and meal. Num. 28:9, 10.
The weekly Sabbath was celebrated like
the other festivals, from evening to evening.
The Sabbath was kept as a day of rest, di-
vine worship and religious instruction, and
of sacred and social rejoicings, 2 Kin. 4:23;
Neh. 8:9-12; Psa. 92; 118:24; Hos. 2:11.
It was one of the signs of God's covenant
with Israel, E.xod. 31:13-17. The prophets
denounced its profanation and blessed its
faithful observance, Isa. 56:1-7; 58:13, 14;
Jer. 17:21-27; Ezek. 20:12-24. After the
return from captivity the Jews entered into
a fresh covenant to keep it, Neh. 10:31.
Under Antiochus Epiphanes profanation
of the Sabbath was one of the distinctive
marks of apostasy to heathenism, i Mace.
1:11-15, 39-45. In the time of our Lord
Pharisaic legalism had made the Sabbath
burdensome by the minute and often ab-
surd regulations concerning its observance :
e. g., forbidding walking on the grass, as
that would be a kind of threshing. Against
these oppressive human enactments our
Saviour protested, maintaining the lawful-
ness of works of necessity and mercy on
the Sabbath, while he kept the day in the
true spirit of the law.
The chief obligation of the Sabbath ex-
pressed in the law is to sanctify it, Exod.
20:8; Deut. 5:12: "Remember the Sab-
bath day to sanctify it." It is sanctified
by necessary works of charity, by prayers,
praises, and thanksgivings, by the public
and private worship of God, by the study
of his Word, by tranquillity of^ mind, and
by meditation on moral and religious truth
in its bearing on the duties of life and the
SAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAB
hope of immortality. The other require-
ment of the law is rest: "Thou shalt not
do any work," Exod. 23:12; Lev. 23:3.
The ordinary business of life is to be whol-
ly laid aside, both for the sake of bodily
and mental health, and chiefly to secure
the quiet and uninterrupted employment
of the sacred hours for religious purposes.
The spirit of the law clearly forbids all
uses of the day which are worldly, such as
amusements, journeys, etc., whereby one
fails to keep the day holy himself, or hin-
ders others in doing so.
The Christian Sabb.\th represents the
original day of rest established in the gar-
den of Eden and reenacted on Sinai, with-
out those requirements which were pecu-
liar to the old dispensation, but with all its
original moral force and with the new sanc-
tions of Christianity. It commemorates
not only the creation of the world, but a
still greater event — the completion of the
work of atonement by the resurrection of
Christ, a still greater deliverance than that
of Israel from Egypt, Deut. 5:15; and as
Christ rose from the dead on the day after
the Jewish Sabbath, that day of his resur-
rection has been observed by Christians
ever since. The change appears to have
been made at once, and as is generally be-
lieved under the direction of the " Lord of
the Sabbath." On the same day, the ist
day of the week, he appeared among his
assembled disciples ; and on the ne.xt re-
currence of the day he was again with
them, and revealed himself to Thomas,
John 20:19-29. The Pentecostal descent
of the Holy Spirit is traditionally reported,
and with probability believed, to have oc-
curred on the I St day of the week. Acts 2.
From I Cor. 11:20; 14:23, 40, it appears
that the disciples in all places were accus-
tomed to meet statedly to worship and to
celebrate the Lord's Supper; in i Cor. 16:2
the apostle connects an act which is a part
of religious worship, vt~., the regular set-
ting apart for charitable purposes of a due
proportion of the Christian's income, with
the ist day of the week; and in Acts 20:6-
II we find the Christians at Troas actually
assembled on the ist day to partake of the
supper and to receive religious instruction.
John observed the day with peculiar solem-
nity. Rev. 1:10; and it had then received
the name of " The Lord's day," which it
has ever since retained. For a time such
of the disciples as were Jews observed the
Jewish Sabbath also ; but they did not re-
quire this nor the observance of any festi-
val of the Mosaic dispensation of Gentile
converts, nor even of Jews, Col. 2:16. The
early Christian fathers refer to the ist day
of the week as the time set apart for wor-
ship, and to the transfer of the day on ac-
count of the resurrection of the Saviour.
Pliny the younger, proconsul of Pontus
near the close of the ist century, in a letter
to the Emperor Trajan, remarks that the
Christians were " accustomed on a stated
day to meet together before daylight, and
to repeat a hymn to Christ as God, and to
bind themselves by a solemn bond not to
commit any wickedness," etc. Ignatius, a
disciple of John, who wrote about A. D. 100,
contrasts Judaism with Christianity, and
in exemplification of the contrast speaks of
the Jewish Sabbath as abolished, and indi-
cates the ist day of the week as its succes-
sor. Justin Martyr, in the 2d century, ob-
serves that " on the Lord's day all Chris-
tians in the city or country meet together,
because that is the day of our Lord's res-
urrection, and then we read the writings
of the apostles and prophets ; this being
done, the person presiding makes an ora-
tion to the assembly, to exhort them to im-
itate and to practise the things the\^ have
heard ; then we all join in prayer, and after
that we celebrate the sacrament. Then
they who are able and willing give what
they think proper, and what is collected is
laid up in the hands of the chief officer,
who distributes it to orphans and widows
and other necessitous Christians as their
wants require." See i Cor. 16:2. Under
Constantine, the ist Christian emperor of
Rome, the Lord's day, or "Sunday," as it
was also called, was first civilly recognized
by an edict, A. D. 321, requiring a certain
degree of abstinence from labor on that
day.
The commandment to observe the Sab-
bath is worthy of its place in the Deca-
logue ; it is suited to the needs of man's
physical, intellectual, and spiritual nature ;
and its observance is of fundamental im-
portance to society, which without it would
fast relapse into ignorance, vice, and un-
godliness. Its very existence on earth, by
the ordinance of God, proves that there re-
mains an eternal Sabbath in heaven, of
which the "blest repose" of the day of
God is an earnest to those who rightly ob-
serve it, Heb. 4:9.
" The 2d Sabbath after the ist" — Greek,
"second-first Sabbath" — Luke 6:1, is ex-
plained by some as "the ist Sabbath after
the 2d dav of the Passover." See Pass-
489
SAB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAB
ovf:r. Others interpret it as the ist Sab-
bath in the 2d year of the Sabbatical cycle
of 7 years. By some Greek MSS., followed
in the R. V., the puzzling expression is
omitted altogether.
The " preparation of the Sabbath " was
the Friday before ; for as it was forbidden
to make a fire, to bake bread, or to dress
victuals on the Sabbath day, they provided
on the 6th day everything needful for their
sustenance on the Sabbath, Matt. 27:62;
Mark 15:42; John 19:14, 31, 42.
The term " sabbath " was applied to
other days and times similarly sanctified,
Lev. 19:3, 30; 23:24, 38, 39; 25:4. In the
original Greek of the New Testament the
word sometimes designates a week, as
counted from Sabbath to Sabbath, Matt.
28:1; Mark 16:2. In Lam. 1:7 for "sab-
baths" we should read "calamities" or
" ruin."
For a Sabb.\th day's journey see Jour-
ney, Me.\sures.
SABBAT'ICAL YEAR, or " Year of Re-
lea.se," Deut. 15:9; 31:10-13, was to be cel-
ebrated among the Israelites once every 7
years; the land was to rest and be left
without culture ; debts were to be remitted
to Hebrew borrowers; and the Law was
to be read to the assembled people at the
Feast of Tabernacles, E.\od. 23:10, 11;
Lev. 25:1-7; Deut. 15:1-11 ; 31:10-15. Pro-
vision for the 7th year might be stored up
from the abundance of preceding harvests,
Lev. 25:20-22. The fertility of the soil
would be increased by its lying fallow.
God appointed the observance of the Sab-
batical year to preserve the remembrance
of the creation of the world, to enforce the
acknowledgment of his sovereign author-
ity over all things, particularly over the
land of Canaan, which he had given to the
Hebrews, and to inculcate humanity on his
people by commanding that they should
resign to servants, to the poor, to stran-
gers, and to brutes the produce of their
fields, of their vineyards, and of their gar-
dens. A long disuse of the Sabbatical year
has been inferred from 2 Chr. 36:20, 21;
compare Lev. 26:33-35. But it seems to
have been observed after the return from
captivity, in the time of Judas Maccabeus,
I Mace. 6:49, 53; Josephus mentions the
same Sabbatical year and 2 others, and
implies the customary observance of the
law down to his own time. Ale.xander the
Great and Julius Caesar are said to have
excused the Jews from tribute in the Sab-
batic year. See Jubilee.
490
SABE'ANS. This word represents 2 dis-
tinct peoples, who, in accordance with the
original Hebrew, might have been more
properly called Sebaeans and Shebaeans.
I. The first denotes the inhabitants of
the country called Seba. This appears to
have been the great island, or rather pen-
insula of Meroe, in Northern Ethiopia, or
Nubia, formed between the Nile and the
Astaboras, now Atbara. Upon this penin-
sula lay a city of the same name, whose
site may be indicated by ruins still visible
20 miles northeast of the modern Shendy.
Meroe was a city of priests, whose origin
is lost in the highest antiquity. The mon-
arch was chosen by the priests from among
tiiemselves, and the government was en-
tirely theocratic, being managed by the
priests according to the oracle of Jupiter
Ammon. This was the Seba of the He-
brews, according to Josephus, who men-
tions at the same time that it was conquered
by Cambyses, and received from him the
name Meroe, after his sister. With this
representation accord the notices of Seba
and its inhabitants in Scripture. In Gen.
10:7 their ancestor is said to be a son of
Cush, the progenitor of the Ethiopians. In
Isa. 43:3 and Psa. 72: 10 Seba is mentioned
as a distant and wealthy country ; in the
former passage it is connected with Egypt
and Ethiopia ; and Meroe was one of the
most important commercial cities of inte-
rior Africa. These Sabeans are described
by Herodotus as men of uncommon size.
Compare Isa. 45: 14. A branch of this fam-
ily, it is thought, located themselves near
the head of the Persian Gulf: and the Sa-
beans mentioned in Job 1:15 were proba-
bly Cushites. See Clsh and Raamah.
II. The inhabitants of the country called
Sheba. The Sheba of Scripture appears
to be the Saba of Strabo, situated towards
the southern part of Arabia, at a short dis-
tance from the coast of the Red Sea, the
capital of which was Mariaba, or Mareb.
This region, called also Yemen, was prob-
ably settled by Sheba the son of Joktan, of
the race of Shem, Gen. 10:28; i Chr. 1:22.
The queen of Sheba, who visited Solo-
mon, I Kin. 10; 2 Chr. 9; Matt. 12:42, and
made him presents of gold, ivory, and
costly spices, was probably the mistress
of this region ; indeed, the Sabeans were
celebrated, on account of their important
commerce in these very products, among
the Greeks also. Job 6:19; Isa. 60:6; Jer.
6:20; Ezek. 27:22; 38:13; Psa. 72:10, 15;
Joel 3:8. The tradition of this visit of the
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAC
queen of Sheba to Solomon has maintained
itself among the Arabs, who call her Bal-
kis, and affirm that she became the wife of
Solomon.
Besides the Joktanite Sheba, 2 others of
the same name are mentioned in the Bible.
I. A son of Jokshan, and grandson of Abra-
ham and Keturah, Gen. 25:3. 2. A grand-
son of Cush, Gen. 10:7. It is possible that
the descendants of the Cushite Sheba may
have had their residence in Africa, but the
question of these 2 Shebas is obscure and
difficult to determine. The Sebaeans and
Shebseans are both mentioned in the same
prophecy, Psa. 72: 10, as coming to lay their
offerings at the feet of Christ. In Ezek.
23:42 the marginal rendering in A. V.,
" drunkards," is preferable to " Sabeans."
SAB'TAH and SAB'TECHA, sons of Cush,
Gen. 10:7. It cannot be decided whether
they settled in Africa, Arabia, or southeast-
ern Asia.
SACK, SACK'CLOTH. S.\CK is a pure
Hebrew word, and has spread into many
modern languages. Sackcloth is a coarse
dark stuff made of goats' or camels' hair.
Rev. 6:12. It was used for sacks or bags.
Gen. 42:25; and rough garments made of
it were worn as a sign of mourning or pen-
itence, sometimes next the skin, and some-
times instead of the outer garment, Gen.
37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; I Kin. 21:27; 2 Kin.
6:30; Jonah 3:6; Matt. 11:21. The proph-
ets were often clothed in sackcloth, Isa.
20:2; Zech. 13:4; Matt. 3:4; Rev. 11:3.
In times of joy, or on hearing good news,
those who were clad in sackcloth cast it
from them, and resumed their usual cloth-
ing, Psa. 30: II.
SACK'BUT. See Music.
SACRIFICE, an offering made to God of
some gift, especially an animal slain, as an
acknowledgment of guilt and an atonement
for sin, a grateful recognition of God's au-
thority and goodness, a means of securing
his favor, or a token of the giver's self-
dedication to his service. Whatever was
thus offered to the Lord had first been fur-
nished to the giver by Him, i Chr. 29:14.
The universal prevalence of sacrifice wit-
nesses to man's universal sense of guilt
and estrangement from God. It is be-
lieved that after the fall Jehovah himself
appointed sacrifices of beasts, of the first
killing of which we find indications in the
clothing of Adam and Eve, Gen. 3:21 ; com-
pare 2:17. At first sacrifices were offered
bv individual worshippers, as Cain and
Abel; after the flood, by heads of families
or tribes, as Noah, Melchizedek, Isaac, Ja-
cob, Job. From being the prerogative of
the firstborn, the offering of sacrifices was
by the Mosaic law devolved upon Aaron
and his descendants. The offering of sac-
rifice was connected with God's covenant
with Noah, Gen. 8:20 to 9:17, with Abra-
ham, Gen. 15:9-21, and with Israel at Sinai,
E.xod. 24:4-8, the ratification of his cove-
nant of eternal salvation through the sac-
rifice of Christ being thus foreshadowed,
Heb. 9:13-20; 13:20. The idea of the sal-
vation of one condemned to death by means
of a vicarious death, taught in the substitu-
tion of the ram for Isaac, Gen. 22:13, and
the idea of the necessity of the expiation
of sin by blood in order to entering into
covenant with God, were enforced by the
inaugurative sacrifices of the Mosaic pe-
riod, the killing of the passovers, Exod.
12:3-13, and the sacrifices of Exod. 24:4-8.
The law given on Sinai prescribed the offer-
ers of sacrifice, Exod. 28: i ; Lev. 21 : 16-23 ;
22:25, the place of sacrifice, the one altar
appointed by God— at first in the taberna-
cle, afterwards in the temple. Lev. 17:1-9;
Deut. 12:5-18, and the time, methods, and
kinds of sacrifice. On some special occa-
sions sacrifices were offered with the di-
vine sanction otherwise than the law pre-
scribed, Judg. 2:5; 6:25, 26; 13:19, 20:
I Sam. 7:17. The divine limitations of
sacrifice emphasized the truth that it was
God himself who provided the way of ap-
proach to him ; and the occasional excep-
tions illustrated his sovereignty over his
own law and grace, and taught that there
was no intrinsic virtue in the prescribed
persons or place. Human sacrifices were
strictly forbidden, Lev. 20:2; Deut. 12:31.
491
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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The law prescribed certain regularl}'-
recurring national sacrifices: daily, Num.
28:2-8; weekly, ver. 9, 10; monthly, ver.
11-15; and yearly, ver. 16 to 29:39 — the lat-
ter connected with the 3 great feasts and
the great Day of Atonement ; and also made
provision for occasional voluntary individ-
ual expressions of penitence, devotion, and
praise. The general term for sacrifice was
"an offering made by fire unto the Lord,"
Num. 15:3. 13-
The sacrifices prescribed in the law were
both bloody and bloodless, from the ani-
mal and the vegetable kingdoms, repre-
senting the most valuable possessions of
the people, the sustenance of their life, and
thus their life itself. The animals offered
were to be without blemish, signifying the
perfect righteousness and holiness required
by God; and were of the o.\-kind, sheep,
goats, turtle-doves, pigeons, and other small
clean birds. The bloody sacrifices were
the whole burnt-offering, the peace-offer-
ing, the sin-offering, and the trespass-offer-
ing. Of bloodless offerings there were the
meat-offering, the drink-offering, incense,
and first-fruits.
I. The whole burnt-offering — Heb. olah,
that which ffoes up, i. e., in flame and
smoke: Greek holocaust, ivhoUy burnt,
Heb. 10:8. This was an ancient form of
sacrifice, Gen. 8:20. Under the law it was
offered twice daily, was doubled on the
Sabbath, and was prescribed for other sta-
ted sacred seasons and for numerous occa-
sional emergencies. The daily national
sacrifices were 2 lambs, one offered about
492
sunrise, after the morning incense-offer-
ing, Exod. 30:7, 8; the other at the decline
of day, before the evening incense-offering,
Exod. 29:38-42; Num. 28:3-8. They were
burned by a small fire, that they might
continue burning the longer. Lev. 6:8-13.
With each was offered a meat-oftering of
flour and oil, and a drink-oftering of wine.
The voluntary whole burnt-offering might
be a young male from the herd, or of the
sheep or goats, or a turtle-dove or young
pigeon. Lev. i. If of the herd or flock, the
offerer, having brought it to the altar-court,
laid his hand upon its head to signify its
substitution for himself; it was then killed,
its blood was sprinkled bj- the priest upon
the altar; it was flayed, the skin being
given to the officiating priest. Lev. 7:8; it
was cut in pieces, which the priest laid
upon the altar, the entrails and legs being
first washed ; and the whole was burned.
Every burnt-oftering contained a general
acknowledgment of sin, national or indi-
vidual, which was typically expiated by its
blood. Lev. 17:11; it was a type of the com-
plete self-devotion of Christ for the sinner,
and of the completeness of his expiation,
John 1:29; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:4-10. It also
symbolized the offerer's entire self-surren-
der to the Lord.
II. The peace-offering, Exod. 24:5; Lev.
3; 7:11-34, was eucharistic, votive, or vol-
untary. It was a male or female of the
herd or flock. Its blood was sprinkled on
the altar in expiation of sin. The interior
fat, the kidneys, the caul, and the tail if the
victim was a sheep, were burned on the
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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altar. The breast and the right shoulder
were reserved for the priests, and these
parts, together with those to be burned,
were placed in the hands of the offerer,
and by him, supported and directed by the
priest, waved from side to side, or heaved
upward, before the Lord. The rest of the
flesh was to be eaten by the offerer and his
family or friends, they being ceremonially
clean, on the same day if the offering was
for thanksgiving ; on the ist and 2d days if
it was a votive or free-will offering; what
remained on the 3d day must be burned.
A slight exception to the requirement of
perfection was made in the free-will offer-
ing. Lev. 22 : 23. The special signification of
the peace-offering was friendship with God,
and holy communion with him, his minis-
ters, and people. Peace-offerings were pre-
scribed for certain occasions, Exod. 29 : 28 ;
Num. 6:14; 7:17, one of which was the na-
tional yearly feast of first-fruits, Lev. 23:19;
Deut. 16:9-11. Otherwise they were op-
tional.
in. The sin-offering and the trespass-
offering were sacrifices introduced by the
Mosaic law. They were closely connected,
and yet clearly distinguished, the sin-offer-
ing being the more general and compre-
hensive, and the more solemn in its ritual.
I. Regular occasions when a national sin-
offering was prescribed were the ist day
of each month. Num. 28:11-15; each day
of the Passover feast, ver. 22, 24 ; the feast
of first-fruits, ver. 26, 30 ; of trumpets, Num.
29:1, 5; each day of the feast of taberna-
cles, ver. 12-38 ; and the day of atonement,
when a special sin-offering for the high-
priest was also appointed, ver. 7, n; Lev.
16:3-28. The sin-offering, like the tres-
pass-offering, was enjoined in the case of
particular offences against law, either moral
or ceremonial, committed through "igno-
rance " (rather negligence or frailty), or at
least not in a presumptuous spirit; com-
pare Num. 15:30, 31; Heb. 10:26-29. As
an occasional offering it was of several
grades: for the high-priest, the whole con-
gregation, a ruler, a private person, Lev.
4:1 to 5: 13; Num. 15:22-28. It formed part
of the ritual of various purifications, both
sin and trespass offerings being required
in the case of a leper. The kind and sex
of the victim differed on different occa-
sins — a bullock, a he-goat or kid, a she-kid
or lamb, turtle-doves or young pigeons,
and even for the very poor about 5 pints of
flour, without oil or incense, compare Psa.
40:17, being variously required. The cer-
emonial was especially significant and sol-
emn in regard to the disposal of the blood.
On the day of atonement some was sprin-
kled on the mercy-seat in the holy of ho-
lies ; at other times some was sprinkled 7
times before the veil of the holy of holies,
and put on the horns of the altar of in-
cense; and sometimes the horns of the
burnt-offering altar were touched. When
493
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
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the victim was a quadruped, the parts
burned on the altar were the same as in the
peace-offering. When some of the blood
was brought into the sanctuary none of the
victim was eaten, but that which remained
from the altar was burned in a clean place
outside the camp, Lev. 4:11, 12, 21; 6:30;
compare Heb. 13:11, 12. Of other sin-
offerings the priests were to eat, Lev. 6:26,
29; 10:17. 2. The trespass -offering was
always an individual's sacrifice, and a ram,
Lev. 5:14 to 6:7; its blood was simply
sprinkled around the altar of burnt-offer-
ing; the parts consumed on the altar were
the same as in the sin-offering, and other
portions were eaten by the priests. Lev.
7:1-7. Restitution for wrong against the
service of God, or against human rights,
was required in connection with the tres-
pass-offering; compare Num. 5:6-8. Isa-
iah, 53: 10, says that Christ " made his soul
a trespass-offering," perhaps indicating a
specific as well as a general need and effi-
cacy of his blood. Both the sin and the
trespass offering specially set forth the
need of atonement for sin, and the fact that
ignorance and infirmity do not do away
with its guilt. The provisions respecting
the former indicate that sins are of differ-
ent degrees of heinousness. The require-
ment of restitution with the latter teaches
that reparation should if possible accom-
pany repentance, confession, and faith.
The special sacredness of the shed blood
of the sin-offering. Lev. 6:27, points to the
infinite preciousness of the blood of Jesus,
I Pet. 1:19, 20, of whom the sin-offering
was an eminent tj'pe, John i : 29 ; 2 Cor.
5:21 ; I John 2:2.
In the offering of all the animal sacrifices
the laying of hands upon the victim was an
essential part, always accompanied, ac-
cording to Jewish authorities, by confes-
sion of sin, and signifying in every sacrifice
the transfer of guilt to the innocent victim,
and the substitution of its life, represented
by its blood, in payment of the death-pen-
alty for sin, instead of the offerer's life.
The penalty being typically jiaid. and ac-
cepted by God on the altar, sin was typi-
cally expiated; and the worshipjier, re[)re-
sented or assisted by the mediating jiriest,
might engage in other acts of devotion.
The fire of the altar, kept continually burn-
ing, Lev. 6:12, 13, was expressive of the
nature of God, Exod. 24: 17, and his accept-
ance of the offerings; compare Lev. 9:24.
IV. Meat-offering, Heb. minchah, gifl.
The A. V. translation is misleading, now
494
that "meat " has the sense o{ flesh, rather
than oi food, as formerly. This offering
was an accompaniment of the stated, and
the occasional and voluntary, whole burnt-
offerings and peace-offerings. Exod. 29:40,
41 ; Lev. 23:37; Num. 28 ; 29; Lev. 2; 6:14-
18; 7:9-14; Num. 15:1-13. It consisted of
fine flour, usually of wheat; unbaked, or
made into cakes. It was salted and min-
gled with oil, and frankincense was placed
upon it. When offered for the high-priest it
was wholly burned on the altar, Lev. 6:22,
23. Otherwise, a portion of it was burned
as a memorial, and the rest was eaten by
the priests, ver. 14-18. All the incense was
burned. A drink-offering of wine accom-
panied the meat-offering, Exod. 29:40; Lev.
23:13; Num. 15:5, 7, 10. Honey and leaven
were not to be burned on the altar, though
leavened bread entered into the Passover-
offerings of first-fruits and the eucharistic
peace-offerings, Lev. 7:12-14; 23:17. The
meat-offering si^ecially signified the offer-
er's grateful and faithful service, which
was to be incorrupt and pure (salted and
unleavened), sanctified by divine influen-
ces (oil), and acceptable through the ato-
ning blood of Christ (frankincense).
With some of the sacrifices, as on the
day of atonement. Lev. 16:20-22, and the
cleansing of a leper, Lev. 14:4-7, 49-53,
the liberation of a living goat or bird was
connected, signifying in the former case
Christ's vicarious bearing and removal of
sin, and in the latter probably emancipa-
tion from the restraints of leprosy.
Sacrifices formed an important part of"
the ritual of purification from canonical
uncleannesses — as childbirth, Lev. 12; is-
sues. Lev. 15; leprosy, Lev. 14; contact
with dead bodies. Num. 19— teaching the
all-defiling presence and guilt of sin, and
its need of expiation.
Such were the sacrifices of the Hebrews:
of divine appointment, and accepted and
used bv God for the salvation of the sin-
cerely penitent and trusting worshipper;
yet in themselves incapable of atoning for
sin, clearing the offender from its guilt, or
of making him personally holy, Heb. 10: 1-4.
Paul lias described these and other cere-
monies of the law as " weak and beggarly
elements," (ial. 4:9; and as "a tutor, to
lead to Christ," Gal. 3 : 24. They were pro-
visional and temporary, projihecies and
figures of the true Sacrifice, the Lamb of
Cod, and of the regenerating and sanctify-
ing work of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly,
Jesus Christ, by his one offering of himself
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once for all, superseded and abolished all
other sacrifices, and saves for ever all who
believe on him ; while without his expia-
tory sacrifice divine justice could never
have relaxed its hold on a single human
soul, Isa. 53; Luke 24:44-47; Rom. 3:21-
26; 4:24 to 5:11 ; I Cor. 5:7; Eph. 5:2, 26;
Tit. 3:5, 6; Heb. 1:2, 3; 2:9, 17; 9; 10;
Rev. 1:5; 5:6.
The Israelites were carefully directed
not to rely on sacrifices as works of merit.
They were taught that without repentance,
faith, and reformation all sacrifices were
an abomination to God, Psa. 51:17; Prov.
21:3; Isa. 1:11-17; Js""- 6:20; Joel 2:12-18;
Amos 5:21, 22; that he desires willing obe-
dience and supreme love to himself, and
justice and mercy to fellow-men, i Sam.
15:22; Prov. 21:3; Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 5:23,
24; 9:13; Mark 12:33. So, in order to sal-
vation by the sacrifice of Christ, true re-
pentance and faith are required, and from
these will spring fruits of love to God and
man.
With allusion to the whole burnt-offer-
ing, the peace-offering, and the meat-offer-
ing of the Mosaic ritual, the services of
Christians are sometimes called sacrifices,
acceptable thrt)ugh Christ's one sin-offer-
ing and his continual high-priestly inter-
cession, and themselves fruits of the grace
■of God, Rom. 12: 1 ; Phil. 4:18; Heb. 7:25;
10:10, 12, 14, 18; 12:28; 13:15, 16; I Pet.
2:4, 5; Rev. S:3, 4.
SACRILEGE, any profanation or abuse
of things peculiarly sacred to God; such
as robbing the house of God, or making it
a den of thieves. Matt. 21:12, 13. In Acts
19:37, for "churches" read "temples,"
heathen. In Rom. 2:22, "commit sacri-
lege," A. v., has the same meaning.
SAD'DUCEES, a sect of the Jews who
were usually at variance with the other
leading sect, namely the Pharisees, but
united with them in opposing Jesus and
accomplishing his death. Matt. 16:1-12;
Luke 20:27. The term may be translated
from the Hebrew, //le just, but is more
probably derived from the proper name
Zadok, either one who was prominent in
the 3d century before Christ, and whom
the Jews commonly regarded as the found-
er of the school, or from Zadok the high-
priest under David and Solomon, i Kin.
1:32-45— whose descendants are referred
to as "the sons of Zadok," Ezek. 40:46,
and may finally have become a sort of
sacerdotal aristocracy, with many adhe-
rents, rationalistic in opinion, and in many
cases high in position and wealth ; com-
pare Acts 5: 17. The Sadducees disregard-
ed all the traditions and unwritten laws
which the Pharisees prized so highly, and
professed to consider the Scriptures, espe-
cially the Pentateuch, as the only source
and rule of the Jewish religion. They re-
jected the demonology of the Pharisees,
denied the existence of angels and spirits,
considered the soul as dying with the body,
and of course admitted no future state of
rewards and punishments. Matt. 22 : 23.
While, moreover, the Pharisees believed
that all events and actions were directed
by an overruling providence or fate, the
Sadducees considered them all as depend-
ing on the will and agency of man. The
tenets of these free-thinking philosophers
weVe not in general so acceptable to the
people as those of the Pharisees ; yet many
of the highest rank adopted them. Annas
and Caiaphas and many other members of
the Sanhedrin were Sadducees, Acts 23 : 6-9.
The resurrection of Christ naturally added
bitterness to their hatred of his doctrines
and followers, Acts 4:1-7; 5:17. The Sad-
ducees disappear from history after the ist
Christian century.
Modern Annihilationists adopt one phase
of Sadduceeism, believing that the wicked
who die out of Christ are annihilated, body
and soul. They place this event immedi-
ately after the final judgment. In support
of their opinion they allege that the soul is
not essentially immortal, but having come
from nothing may return to nothing, and
will do so unless immortality is brought to
it by Jesus Christ; that endless conscious
suffering is never expressly declared to be
the penalty of sin ; that privation of happi-
ness, continued for ever by annihilation, is
the only eternal punishment; and that this
total destruction is the true and sole mean-
ing of the word death.
This error is sufficiently refuted, prima
facie, by the fact that, although it appeals
so powerfully to our sympathies, and might
almost seem a logical necessity, arguing
from the goodness of God, it has still found
so few followers : the great mass of Chris-
tians and Bible students of every age and
sect finding the Word of God clearly teach-
ing the eternal conscious suffering of the
impenitent. Some of the Bible arguments
against annihilation are these: (i) There
are various degrees of future punishment ;
yet annihilation admits of no degrees.
(2) To the condemned soul, full of shame
and fear under the divine anger, annihila-
495
SAF
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAL
tion would be a relief rather than a pun-
ishment—Jude 7, R. v., "in eternal fire."
(3) The punishment of men is the same
as that of wicked angels, who, " reserved
to the judgment of the great day," "be-
lieve and tremble," instead of rejoicing.
(4) The other Scripture phrases which
describe this destruction show that in the
final " lake of fire " " there is weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth." (5) The
eternal life of the righteous, always con-
nected with the death of the wicked, is not
mere e.xistence, but endless holiness and
happiness; so the death set over against it
is endless sin and sorrow. See Retribu-
tion.
SAF'FRON, Song 4:14, the Crocus sati-
vus, or saffron Crocus, a plant abundant in
Palestine and adjacent countries, and much
cultivated in Europe. The flower has 3
stigmas, which, when gathered and dried,
form a valued article of commerce. They
are thread-like, orange-colored, aromatic
in odor, and slightly bitter in taste. Saf-
fron was early prized as a perfume, and
was formerly much used as a seasoning
and as a stimulating medicine, for all which
purposes it is still highly esteemed in the
East. The stigmas also yield an orange
dye.
SAINT, one set apart from the world to
the service of God, Deut. 33:2, 3 ; Psa. 50:5;
106:16; Dan. 7:21-27; Matt. 27:52; Acts
9:13, 32, 41. The original Heb. and Gr.
terms are often translated " hol\'," Exod.
19:6; 22:31; Deut. 33:8; Mark 6:20; 8:38;
John 17:11, and applied to inanimate ob-
jects devoted to God, E.xod. 16:23; 29:31 ;
Matt. 4:5. As applied to men they do not
imply perfect holiness in this life, but the
obligation to strive after it ; compare Rom.
1:7; Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22; I Pet. 1:15, 16.
Nothing is more common in the writings of
Paul than the name " saints " given to all
Christians, Rom. 8:27; i Cor. 14:33; Eph.
1:1; Phil. 1:1; Rev. 8:3, 4. The special
application of the word to apostles, evan-
gelists, and other eminent Christians, and
the rendering of peculiar honors to them,
crept into the church, with other corrup-
tions, about the 4th century. The Church
of Rome assumes the power of making
saints; that is, of announcing certain de-
parted spirits as objects of adoration, from
whom the faithful may solicit favors — a no-
tion contrary to Scripture and dishonoring
to Christ, I Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25.
SAL' AMIS, a maritime city with a good
harbor on the east coast of the island of
496
Cyprus. It stood in a plain on the north
side of the river Pediaeus, was anciently
the capital of the island, and under the Ro-
mans its most important commercial town.
Paul and Barnabas visited it on their first
missionary journey, A. D. 45, when the
Jewish residents were evidently numerous,
sustaining more than one synagogue. Acts
13:5. Jews would naturally be attracted
to this city by its flourishing trade in the
products of this fertile island, among which
were fruit, wine, flax, and honey. The city
was partially destroyed in Jewish insur-
rections under Trajan and Hadrian, and
ruined by an earthquake in the time of
Constantine the Great. When rebuilt it
was called Constantia. Its ruins, broken
cisterns, columns, and foundations, are
called Old Famagusta, and are near the
modern town of Famagusta. See Cyprus.
SALA'THIEL, I Chr. 3:17, or Sheal'-
TiEL, asked of God, father of Zerubbabel,
Ezra 3:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. i : i ; one of the
ancestors of Christ, named in both the gos-
pel genealogies. Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27.
See GisNKALOGV.
SAL'CHAH, a city in the east of Bashan,
conquered by the Israelites and assigned
to Manasseh, Deut. 3:10; Josh. 12:5; 13:11.
It was near the border of Gad, i Chr. 5:11.
It is identical with the modern Salchat or
Sulkhad, at the southern end of Jebel Hau-
ran and 56 miles east of the Jordan. Near
it begins the great Syrian desert extending
to the Euphrates. The city occupies a com-
manding position on a hill. On the sum-
mit is a castle of the Roman period, on
which are Roman eagles, and also Greek
and Arabic inscriptions. There are about
400 stone houses, many in good preserva-
tion ; but owing to the scarcity of water
there are few inhabitants. An extensive
view is had from the hill, embracing many
ruined towns.
SA'LEM, peace, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1, 3,
generally understood to mean the city of
which Melchizedek was king, and referred
to Jerusalem. So Josephus understood it.
Some interpret the word as a part of the
title of Melchizedek. It is used as a poet-
ical abbreviation of Jerusalem in Psa. 76:2.
Jerome regarded it as identical with the
Shalem of Gen. 33: 18, and located the town
6 miles from Beth-shean.
SA'LIM, peaceful, John 3:23, by some
identified with Salem. By Eusebius and
Jerome it is mentioned as near the Jordan,
8 Roman miles south of Beth-shean. Rob-
inson proposed to identify it with the vil-
SAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAL
lage of Salim, yA miles east of Shechem.
Condor apparently adopts this suggestion.
SAL'MA, or SAL'MON, a garment, i Chr.
■2:\\,a, chief man of the tribe of Judah, hus-
band of Rahab, and father of Boaz, Ruth
4:20; Matt. 1:4,5; Luke 3:32. This is
conjectured to be identical with Salnia the
son of Caleb, on the supposition that he
adopted him.
SAL'MON, shady, Psa. 68:14, supposed
to be the same as "Mount Zalmon," near
Shechem, Judg. 9:48. The Hebrew word
in the 2 passages is the same. See Zal-
mon.
SALMO'NE, Acts 27:7, a cape on the east
coast of Crete. It is usually identified with
Cape Sidero, a bold promontory at the
northeast e.xtremity of the island; but by
some with a promontory 15 miles farther
south, called by the natives Plaka, but by
sailors Cape Salmone. See Crete.
SP>X,0'MK, peace/id, I., wife of Zebedee,
mother of James the elder and John the
evangelist, one of those women of Galilee
who attended our Saviour in his journeys
and ministered to him, Matt. 27:56. She
requested of Jesus that her 2 sons James
and John might sit one on his right hand
and the other on his left hand in his king-
dom, Matt. 20:20-23. Her conceptions as
to the true nature of Christ's kingdom
were no doubt changed by his crucifixion,
which she witnessed " afar off," and by his
resurrection, of which she was early ap-
prised by the angels at the tomb, Mark
15:40; 16:1. Some infer, by comparing
Matt. 27:56 and John 19:25, that she was a
sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.
II. Salome was also the name of the
daughter of Herodias. Her name is given
by Josephus. She married her paternal
uncle Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis, and
after his death Aristobulus, king of Chal-
cis, a great-grandson of Herod the Great.
SALT was important to the Israelites not
only as an antiseptic and condiment, but
also as an indispensable adjunct to the
sacrifices and the sacred incense. It is
abundant in Palestine, being procured from
the immense ridge of rock-salt at the south-
ern end of the Dead Sea, and by evapora-
tion from the water of the Dead and Medi-
terranean Seas. The ridge referred to is
called by the Arabs Jebel Usdum, Mount
Sodom. It is 7 miles long, i^ to 3 miles
wide, and several hundred feet high, and
is mainly composed of pure rock-salt.
Blocks of salt a foot thick are sometimes
found on the eastern shore of the Dead
32
Sea, the product of evaporation after the
annual freshets. The Arabs also dig pits
on the shore, to be filled by the sea at its
spring rising; the evaporation leaves a
crust of salt an inch thick on the sides of
the pits, which the Arabs remove and sell,
Zepli. 2:9. The stones on the shore are
incrusted with lime or gypsum, and twigs
or branches that fall into the water are
coated with salt. Lot's wife, Gen. 19:26, is
by some supposed to have been thus in-
crusted ; while others suppose she was
miraculously transformed into a solid col-
umn of salt.
As an essential article of diet, Job 6:6,
salt is a symbol of subsistence and of hos-
pitality ; and being, as a preservative, also
a symbol of incorruption and perpetuity, it
symbolizes the mutual obligations to fidel-
ity which, especially according to Oriental
ideas, rest upon host and guest, and the
fidelity due from servants to their employ-
ers, Ezra 4:14 — margin, "are salted with
the salt of the palace." For the same rea-
sons salt was required with all the sacrifi-
ces consumed on God's altar, Lev. 2:13;
Ezra 6:9; Ezek. 43:24; Mark 9:49; and
also as an ingredient of the sacred incense,
Exod. 30:35, margin. It symbolized the
truth and durability of a covenant, Num.
18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5. Good men are "the salt
of the earth," Matt. 5:13, and divine grace,
or true wisdom, is the salt of human charac-
ter and language, Mark 9:50; Col. 4:6; see
also Ezek. 16:4. Among the Arabs salt is
still a symbol of fidelity ; and among the
Persians and East Indians being in the ser-
vice of another is termed " eating his salt."
Ground impregnated with salt is barren,
Deut. 29:23; Job 39:6, margin; Psa. 107:34,
margin ; Jer. 17:6; Ezek. 47:11; Zeph. 2:9;
hence the devotion of a place to desolation
was signified by " sowing it with salt,"
Judg. 9:45. Frederic Barbarossa, in 1162,
levelled the walls of Milan, and ploughed
and salted the ground.
Oriental salt often retains mineral im-
purities, and on exposure is liable to lose
its saltness and become utterly worthless
Matt. 5:13; Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34, 35.
SALT, CITY OF, the 5th of the 6 cities of
Judah situate in "the wilderness," Josh.
15:62; perhaps Nahr Maleh, ravine 0/ salt ;
or Um-baghek, a ruin 4 miles north of Jebel
Usdum.
SALT, VALLEY OF. The site of 2 vic-
tories over the Edomites : that of David,
2 Sam. 8:13; I Chr. 18:12; Psa. 60; com-
pare I Kin. 11:15, 16; and that of Amaziah,
497
SAL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAL
2 Kin. 14:7; 2 Chr. 25:11. It has usually
been located in the broad and desolate val-
le\' El-Ghor, extending south of the Dead
Sea nearly 8 miles to the chalky clifls for-
merly called Akrabbim. This plain is in
parts whitened with salt, contains brackish
pools and streams, and is bordered on the
northwest by the mountain of salt, Jebel
Usdum. The Hebrew word, however, de-
notes a ravine rather than a valley, and
the circumstances following Amaziah's vic-
tory' seem to indicate a locality nearer to
Sela, 50 miles south of the Dead Sea; and
it is suggested that the Hebrew name for
the site may represent some ancient Edom-
ite name not referring to salt.
SALUTA'TION. The usual formula of
salutation among the Hebrews was Sha-
lom lekha. Peace be with thee. The same
expression is the common one among the
Arabs to the present day : they say, Salam
lekha, to which the person saluted replies,
"With thee be peace," Gen. 29:6: Judg.
18: 15, tnargin. Hence we hear of the Arab
and Turkish "salams," that is, salutations.
Other phrases of salutation are found in
Scripture, most of them invoking a bless-
ing: as, "The Lord be with thee;" "All
hail," or, Joy to thee; " Blessed be thou of
the Lord." These and similar phrases the
Orientals still use on all occasions with the
most profuse and punctilious politeness.
The letter of an Arab will be nearly filled
with salutations ; and should he come in to
tell you your house was on fire, he would
first give and receive the compliments of
the day, and then say perhaps, " If God
will, all is well ; but your house is on fire."
Their more formal salutations they accom-
pany with various ceremonies or gestures;
sometimes they embrace and kiss each
498
other ; sometimes an inferior kisses the
hand or the beard of a superior, or bows
low, with the hand upon the breast, and
afterwards raises it to his lips or forehead,
or even prostrates himself and touches his
forehead to the ground in rendering obei-
sance to a prince, Gen. 37:7. See Jacob's
salutation of Esau, Gen. 33 ; and compare
Gen. 19: 1 ; 23:7; 42:6; i Sam. 25:23; 2 Sam.
1:2; John 20:26. The due and dignified
performance of some of these ceremonious
courtesies, especially when frequently re-
curring, requires much time; and hence,
when the prophet sent his servant in great
haste to lay his staff upon the dead child,
he forbade liim to salute any one or an-
swer any salutation by the way, 2 Kin.
4:29. For a similar reason our Saviour
forbade the 70 disciples to salute any one
by the way, Luke 10:4, that is, in this for-
mal and tedious manner, wasting precious
time. Much of the Oriental courtesy was
superficial and heartless ; but the benedic-
tion of Christ was from the heart, and car-
ried with it what was "better than life."
" My peace I give unto you ; not as the
world giveth, give I unto you," John 14:27.
The Jews restricted their salutations to
those whom they regarded as " brethren,"
i. e., members of the same religious com-
munity, Matt. 5:47 ; so a Mohammedan will
not address his salutation of " peace " to
one whom he knows not to be a Moham-
medan. See Worship.
SALVA'TION means strictly deliverance,
and so it is used of temporal deliverance,
victory, in Exod. 14:13; i Sam. 14:45. But
as the spiritual deliverance from sin and
death through the Redeemer, Matt. 1:21, is
a far greater salvation, so this word has
come to be used mostly only in this moral
and siiiritual sense, and implies not only
this deliverance, but also the consequences
of it, namely, eternal life and happiness in
the kingdom of our Lord, 2 Cor. 7: lo; Eph.
1:13. It is most justly described as a
"great salvation," Heb. 2:3.
The Hebrews rarely use concrete terms,
as they are called, but often abstract terms.
Thus, instead of saying (iod saves them
and protects them, they say God is their
salvation. So a voice of salvation, joy of
salvation, the rock of salvation, the shield
of salvation, a horn of salvation, a word of
salvation, etc., are equivalent to a voice
declaring deliverance, the joy that attends
escape from a great danger, a rock where
any one takes refuge and is in safety, a
buckler that secures from the attack of an
SAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAM
enemy, the power that effects salvation.
Thus, to work great salvation in Israel,
signifies to deliver the nation from an im-
minent danger, or give it a great victory.
The "garments of salvation," Isa. 6i:io,
refers to the splendid robes worn on festi-
val days. The expression is used figura-
tively to denote the reception of a signal
favor from God, such as deliverance from
great danger.
SAMA'RIA, I., a city about 6 miles north-
west of Shechem and 30 north of Jerusa-
lem, built upon an oblong hill rising 1,542
feet above the sea level, near the centre of
a broad and deep valley encircled by hills.
It was built by Omri king of Israel about
■920 B. C, and named after Shemer the
previous owner of the hill, i Kin. 16:23, 24.
It succeeded Shechem and Tirzah as the
capital of the kingdom of Israel, ver. 28, 29,
continuing thus 200 years. It was a seat
of idolatry, and often denounced as such
by the prophets, Hos. 10:5-7; Amos 6:1;
Mic. 1:1-7; Isa. 9:9; Jer. 23:13; Ezek.
16:46-55. Ahab built there a temple of
Baal, I Kin. 16:32, ss, and a portion of the
city was called " the city of the house of
Baal;" this temple was destroyed by Jehu,
2 Kin. 10:18-28. Samaria was a place of
great strength. It was twice besieged by
the Syrians and rescued from them : in
Ahab's reign, B. C. 901, i Kin. 20: 1-21, and
in Joram's reign, B. C. 892, 2 Kin. 6:24 to
7:20. During the latter siege the people
suffered terribly from famine, and their
remarkable deliverance was predicted by
Elisha. An act of brotherly generosity to-
wards captives from Judah was performed,
in obedience to a prophetic order, by chief
citizens of Samaria during Pekah's reign,
2 Chr. 28:6-15. Samaria was besieged for
3 years by the king of Assyria, and was
finally taken by Sargon, B. C. 720, 2 Kin.
17:5, 6; 18:9, 10, when the people of the
land were carried captive to Assyria. The
city seems to have been partially restored
by the Cuthite colonists. It was taken by
Alexander the Great, B. C. 333, and colo-
nized with Syro-Macedonians. John Hyr-
canus took it B. C. 129, and nearly demol-
ished it. Pompey replaced these Samari-
tans, who had been supplanted by the
Syro-Macedonians and the Jews. The pro-
consul Gabinius rebuilt it, and called it
Gabinia; and it was afterwards given by
Augustus to Herod the Great, who enlarged
and adorned it and named it Sebaste, the
Greek equivalent of Augusta, in honor of
the emperor. He placed in it a colony of
6,000, chiefly veterans, surrounded it with
a strong wall and colonnade, and built in
it a magnificent temple dedicated to Au-
gustus.
The gospel was successfully preached
499
SAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAM
here by Philip and others, Acts 8:5-25, and
the church there formed was represented
at the Council of Nictea, A. U. 325. The
city fell under Moslem power in A. D. 614.
A Latin bishopric was established here by
the Crusaders, and mention is made of
the place by subsequent travellers. It is
now an inconsiderable village called Se-
bustiyeh, with a few houses built of stones
from the ancient ruins.
Modern travellers describe the situation
as one of exceeding beauty, strength, and
fertility. The hill on whose slope the vil-
lage stands, and the somewhat higher hills
surrounding the encircling valley, are ter-
raced, and cultivated to the summits, sown
with grain, and planted with figs, olives,
and vines. The ascent of the hill of Sama-
ria is steep, the narrow footpath winding
among the cottages and the ruins of former
buildings ; and the summit commands a
delightful view, extending westward to the
Mediterranean, whose waters, 20 miles dis-
tant, are plainly visible. On the top is the
ruined church of John the Baptist, built by
the Crusaderp of the 12th century on the
traditional but improbable site of his grave,
and now used as a mosque. Near the sum-
mit and on 2 sides of the hill are remains of
colonnades, probably Herod's. The whole
scene vividly illustrates the prophecy in
Mic. 1 :6.
II. SAMA'RIA IN THE Old Testament
is sometimes synonymous with the king-
dom of Israel, i Kin. 13:32; 2 Kin. 17:24,
26, 28; Ezek. 16:53; Hos. 8:5, 6; Amos 3: 9.
Its size varied greatly at different periods,
being at first coextensive with the territory
of the 10 tribes both east and west of the
Jordan, but afterwards much reduced by
the conquests of the Assyrian kings Pul
and Tiglath-pileser, B. C. 771 and 740, who
carried captive the people of the northern
portion and those east of the Jordan, i Chr.
5:26; 2 Kin. 15:29. A few years later the
remaining region was deprived of most of
its Israelite inhabitants, and colonized by
heathen imported from various parts of
the Assyrian Empire, 2 Kin. 17:23-29;
Ezra 4:2, 9, 10. Its boundaries then prob-
ably corresponded nearly with No. III.
III. SAMA'RIA IN THE New Testament
is the region lying between Judaea on the
south and Galilee on the north, west of the
Jordan. Its limits, as described by Jose-
phus, have been traced by the British Ord-
nance Survey. On the northern boundary
was En-gannim, now Jenin : on the south-
western Antipatris, now Ras el-Ain ; near
500
the southern limit, but in Judaea, was Shi-
loh, now Seilun. Josephus says that Sa-
maria had no seacoast, the whole plain of
Sharon belonging to Judaea. A Roman
road from Galilee to Jerusalem ran through
the country east of the Jordan (Peraea), with
a ford near Jericho; this route enabled
Galilean pilgrims to avoid passing through
Samaria, though the direct route, a Roman
road through Samaria, was frequently pur-
sued, Luke 17:11; John 4:4, 5.
SAMAR'ITANS, inhabitants of the city
or the region of Samaria. In 2 Kin. 17:29
the idolatrous Israelites ; compare ver. 9-12.
In the New Testament the word denotes
the mixed race which sprang from the
remnant of Israel and the more numerous
heathen brought in from various parts of
Assyria at the Captivity, ver. 23, 24. This
colonization may have been effected at dif-
ferent times, and is ascribed to Esar-had-
don by the descendants of the colonists,
about B. C. 6^7, Ezra 4:2, 9, 10. The colo-
nists lived at first in unmixed heathenism ;
but terrified by the ravages of lions, they
afterwards sought to propitiate " the God
of the land " by bringing back an Israel-
itish priest to Bethel, and mingling with
their own idolatries a corrupt worship of
Jehovah, 2 Kin. 17:25-33, 41. Such a mon-
grel race and religion would of course be
odious to the Jews when purged from their
own idolatries ; and on their return from
captivity, B. C. 536, they declined the Sa-
maritans' request to be permitted to help
build the temple, Ezra 4. In consequence
of this refusal the Samaritans molested and
calumniated the Jews, hindering the erec-
tion of the temple until B. C. 520, and after-
wards the rebuilding of the walls of Jeru-
salem, B. C. 445, Neh. 4; 6. The mutual
enmity was augmented by the Samaritans'
erection of a rival temple on Mount Geri-
zim, where they offered sacrifices accord-
ing to the Mosaic law, claiming that Deut.
27:11-13 marked this, the mount of bless-
ing, as the proper site for the temple ;
though, according to the Hebrew text, the
original altar was set up on Mount Ebal,
ver. 4; Josh. 8:30-35. It is uncertain wheth-
er the Samaritan temple was built in Nehe-
miah's time, when the high-priest's son was
expelled for marrying a daughter of San-
ballat, Neh. 13:28, or, as Josephus states,
about B. C. 330, by permission of Alexan-
der the Great. The Samaritans rejected
all the Hebrew Scriptures except the Pen-
tateuch. Josephus says they claimed or
disowned kinship with the Jews as it suit-
SAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAM
ed their circumstances. Shechem became
their chief city. Their temple was de-
stroyed by John Hyrcanus about B. B. 129,
but they still esteemed the mountain sacred
and worshipped towards it. From time to
time malcontent Jews joined them, but the
national and religious hatred between the
2 peoples increased, Ecclus. 50:25, 26. In
our Saviour's time " Samaritan " was a
term of bitter contempt, John 8:48, and
Jews sought to avoid all intercourse with
them, John 4:9. On the other hand, the
Samaritans annoyed the Jews, refusing hos-
pitality to pilgrims traversing their country,
Luke 9:52, 53, and sometimes assaulting
them; still they claimed, through Joseph,
descent from a common ancestor, Jacob,
John 4:12, while the Jews taunted them
with their heathen ancestry. Jesus, while
denying the Samaritan claim of orthodoxy,
ver. 20, 22, and deferring the ministry of
his disciples among them, as among the
Gentiles, till after his resurrection. Matt.
10:5; Acts i:S, showed his superiority to
the race and sect prejudices of the Jews in
his interview with the Samaritan woman
and his personal ministry among her towns-
folk, John 4, his praise of the grateful leper
whom he healed, Luke 17:15-19, and his
parable of the good Samaritan, Luke 10:33-
^■]. The unspirituality of their formal wor-
ship, and their superstitiousness, appear
from John 4:22-24 and Acts 8:9-11. A
complaint of the Samaritans against Pi-
late's severity in subduing a tumult among
them led to his deposition ; 11,600 of them
were slain on Mount Gerizim for resisting
Vespasian in his subjugation of Palestine.
Considerable success attended the preach-
ing of the gospel among them, Acts 8:4-17;
9:31, but the greater number adhered to
their ultra-Mosaicism. They joined the
Jews in a revolt against Septimius Severus,
A. D. 193-21 1, who consequently deprived
Neapolis (Shechem) of its privileges. In
the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries they bitterly
opposed the Christians, and slew many of
them. Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish rab-
bi, writes of them in the 12th century as
residents of NablQs, Ascalon, Cresarea, and
Damascus. A community of them, num-
bering about 150, still exists at Nablfls, and
has often been visited by modern travellers.
They are strict observers of the Mosaic
law, so far as is possible without sacrifices,
which they account unlawful since the de-
struction of their temple. They rigidly
observe the Sabbath, from Friday evening
until Saturday evening, meeting 3 times
in their synagogue and worshipping to-
wards Gerizim. Their religious officers
are 2, a priest and a ministrant. Their lit-
urgy, in Hebrew, is in a great measure
unintelligible to most of them, for their
common language has long been the Ara-
bic. They observe the new moon, the pass-
over and feast of unleavened bread, pente-
cost and feast of tabernacles, and keep an
absolute fast of 25 hours at the Day of
Atonement. During their great festivals
they resort to their sacred place on the
summit of Mount Gerizim, where at the
passover 5 or 6 lambs are solemnly slain,
roasted, and hastily eaten with bitter herbs ;
their blood is applied to the children's
faces, and their right fore-legs are burned,
the observance thus partaking of the char-
acter of a sacrifice. The}' believe in Jeho-
vah as the only God, in Moses as the only
lawgiver, in the Torah or Law as the only
divine book, and in Mount Gerizim as the
only house of God. They also believe in a
future Messiah — ^" the Restorer," who is to
be a great teacher and converter of the
world to their faith, in a general resurrec-
tion, and in future rewards and punish^
ments.
In the 5th century a Christian church
was built on the summit of Mount Gerizim,
and surrounded by a strong wall in the 6th
century by Justinian, for the protection of
Christian worshippers against the Samari-
tans. The massive ruins of both church
and fortress are still to be seen.
S.\M.\RiT.\N Pentateuch. The first copy
of this was acquired by Christian scholars
in 1616 from Samaritans in Damascus. Its
variations from the Hebrew text are for
the most part unimportant, most of them
being due to an imperfect knowledge of
Hebrew ; some to the design of conforming
the text to Samaritan ideas, especially in
regard to the sanctity of Mount Gerizim, as
in Deut. 27:4, where "Gerizim" is read for
" Ebal;" others to a desire to remove ob-
scurities. The language is Hebrew ; the
characters are those called Samaritan —
rounded in form and such as were used by
the Jews themselves until some period after
the Captivity, when they adopted the pres-
ent square form. Many MSS. of the Sa-
maritan Pentateuch, more or less complete,
are now in European libraries ; they are
written on vellum or cotton-paper, and are
all in book form, not rolls ; none are thought
to antedate the loth century. In the Sa-
maritan synagogue at Nablus is a very an-
cient parchment roll, illegible and patched
501
SAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAM
VI many places, which the Samaritans
aifirm was written by Abishua the great-
grandson of Aaron. It is exhibited to the
congregation once a year, on the Day of
Atonement, when it is devoutly kissed.
Another roll is ordinarily used. The Pen-
tateuch was earh' translated into the Sa-
maritan language — a compound of Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, etc., supplanted bj' the
Arabic after the Mohammedan conquest —
and in the nth century into Arabic.
SAM'GAR-NE'BO, Jer. 39:3, one of the
Babylonish generals who took Jerusalem.
SAM'LAH, a garment, Gen. 36:36, t,~ \
I Chr. 1 147, 48, an Edomite king.
SA'MOS, a height, a lofty island in the
^gean Sea, a few miles from the western
coast of Asia Minor. It was celebrated as
the birthplace of Pythagoras, and was de-
voted to the worship of Juno, fragments of
whose magnificent temple, 2 miles west of
the city Samos, still exist. Its chief manu-
facture was a fine kind of potterj^ called
" Samian ware," a term afterwards of gen-
eral application, like our "china." In the
time of Simon Maccabeus Jews were set-
tled here, and an application was made to
the Samian governor in their favor by the
Romans, i Mace. 15:23. Paul touched here
returning from his 3d missionary tour, A. D.
58, Acts 20:15. Opposite the harbor, now
called Port Tigani, were the cape and town
of Trogyllium. Samos, the capital in Paul's
time, was "a free city." The island is still
called Samo. It is 27 miles long and 10
wide, has an area of 165 square miles and
a population of about 60,000. The Turk-
ish governor's residence is at Colonna,
named from a solitary column remaining
of the temple of Juno. The island, though
ill-cultivated, is fruitful in oranges, grapes,
and olives, and exports corn, wine, raisins,
oil, and silk.
SAMOTHRA'CIA, in the R. V. SAM'O-
THRACE, a mountainous island 8 miles
long and 6 broad, in the northeastern part
of the ^gean Sea, about 20 miles south of
the coast of Thrace. To its ancient name
S.-VMos, height, the epithet thracia was
added to distinguish it from the other
Samos. It was a conspicuous landmark
for sailors, being visible from Troas. Its
peak is 5,248 feet high. The island was
noted for its celebration of the mysteries
of Ceres and Proserpine, and of tiie deities
called the Cabiri; and hence was held sa-
cred and was a resort of pilgrims and an
asylum for fugitives. According to Pliny
it enjoyed under the Romans the privileges
502
of a small free state, though a dependency
of the province of Macedonia. The city
Samothracia was on the north side of the
island, and afforded shelter over night from
the southeast wind which gave Paul a quick
passage from Troas to Neapolis on his ist
missionary tour to Europe, Acts 16:11.
The island, now called Samothraki or Sa-
mandrichi, belongs to Turkey, and has from
1 ,000 to 2,000 inhabitants, chiefly fishermen.
It is largely covered with forests, and has
but one village.
SAM'SON, sunltke, the son of Manoah, of
the tribe of Dan, a deliverer and judge of
the southwestern tribes of the Hebrews for
20 years, during the latter part of " the 40
years" period, and partly contemporary
with Eli and Samuel, Judg. 13-16. His
birth was miraculously foretold; he was a
Nazarite from infancy, and the strongest of
men; and was equally celebrated for his
fearless and wonderful exploits, for his
moral infirmities, and for his tragical end.
He was not a giant in size, though of such
undaunted courage, and his exploits were
wrought by special divine aid; "the Spirit
of God came mightily upon him," Judg.
13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 16:20, 28. The
providence of God was signally displayed
in overruling for good the hasty passions
of Samson, the cowardice of his friends,
and the malice of his enemies. The sins
of Samson brought him into great disgrace
and misery; but grace and faith triumphed
in the end, Heb. 11:32. His story forcibly
illustrates how treacherous and merciless
are sin and sinners, and the watchful care
of Christ over his people in every age.
Compare Judg. 13:22 and Matt. 23:37.
SAM'UEL, heard of God, I Sam. i :20, a
child of prayer, the celebrated Hebrew
prophet and judge. Acts 3:24; 13:20. He
was a Levite by birth, i Chr. 6:22-28, 33-38,
and the son of Elkanah and Hannah, at
Ramah in Mount Ephraim, northwest of
Jerusalem. At a very tender age he was
carried to Shiloh, and brought up beside
the tabernacle under the care of Eli the
high-priest. Having been consecrated to
God from his birth, and devoted to Naza-
riteship, he began to receive divine com-
munications even in his childhood, i Sam.
3; and after the death of Eli he became
established as the judge of Israel. He was
the last and best of the Hebrew judges.
We contemplate his character and admin-
istration with peculiar pleasure and rever-
ence. The 12 tribes, when he assumed
their charge, were in a low condition both
SAM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAN
morally and politically. He induced them
to abandon their idolatry, freed them from
the Philistine yoke, administered justice
with vigor and impartiality, promoted edu-
cation and true religion, 2 Chr. 35:18, uni-
ted the tribes, and raised them higher in
the scale of civilization. Their demand of
a king, in view of the advanced age of
Samuel and the vile character of his sons,
showed a great want of faith in God and of
submission to his will. Yet He granted
them a "king in his wrath," Hos. 13:11.
Samuel anointed Saul as their first king;
and afterwards David, who in due time
was to take the place of Saul, already re-
jected by God. As long as he lived Sam-
uel e.xerted a paramount and most benefi
cial influence in Israel, even over Saul
himself. He instituted the "schools of the
prophets," which were long continued and
very useful. He died at an advanced age,
about B. C. 1058, honored and lamented by
all. Even after his death the unhappy
Saul, forsaken by the God whom he had
abandoned, sought the prophet's counsel
through the agency of a pretended dealer
with spirits. God was pleased to cause
Samuel to appear with a prophetic message
to the king. In Psa. 99:6 he is ranked
with Moses and Aaron. See also Jer. 15:1 ;
Heb. 11:32. His grandson Heman was a
chief singer in David's time, i Chr. 6:33;
15:17, 19. Jewish tradition, recorded in
the Talmud about A. D. 500, attributes the
books of Judges and Ruth to Samuel, as
well as the books that bear his name; see
below. A tradition, traced to the 7th Chris-
tian century, places his tomb on a com-
manding height overlooking the lovvn of
Gibeon, now el-Jib, and called NeDy Sam-
■wW, prophet Samuel. See Ram.\h, II., and
Ramathaim-Zophim.
The 2 BOOKS OF Samuel could not all
have been written by him, because his
death is mentioned in i Sam. 25, about
B. C. 1060. Thus far it is not improbable
that he was the author, while the remain-
ing chapters are commonly attributed to
Gad and Nathan, prophets under David
and Solomon: see i Chr. 29:29. The his-
tory may, however, possibly be an inspired
compilation of somewhat later date from
earlier records. In Hebrew MSS. the work
is one, and bears the name of Samuel.
The division into 2 books was made in the
Septuagint and followed in the Vulgate,
and they were called the First and Second
Books of Kings ; hence the secondary title
in some Bibles. See Kings. The 2 books
comprise the history of Samuel, Saul, and
David, and cover a period estimated at
about 150 years, forming a connecting link
between the theocratic and the regal eras.
The events there recorded synchronize
with the siege of Troy, the founding of
Tyre, and the ascendency of Nineveh as
the capital. The Hebrew is very pure, in-
dicating an early date of authorship. Por-
tions of Samuel are quoted in the New
Testament (compare Acts 13:22; Heb. 1:5,
with I Sam. 13:14; 2 Sam. 7:14), and allu-
ded to in the Old Testament, especially in
the Psalms.
SANBAL'LAT, probably a native of the
Moabite Horonaim, but a resident in Sama-
ria (ID, where he seems to have held some
office under the Persian king Artaxerxes.
Allying himself with Tobiah the Ammo-
nite, Geshem the Arabian, and others, he
bitterly and cunningly opposed Nehemiah
and the Jews, striving in various ways to
hinder the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusa-
lem, B. C. 445, Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:6. Proba-
bly during Nehemiah's absence at the Per-
sian court after his 12 years' governorship
of Jerusalem, Sanballat, with the conni-
vance of the Samaritan faction in Judah,
Neh. 6:17-19; 13:4-7, married his daughter
to a grandson of the high-priest Eliashib;
see also Tobias; for which unlawful alli-
ance Nehemiah expelled the son of Joiada
from the priesthood, ver. 28.
SANCTIFY, to make holy, or to set apart
for God, Gen. 2:3; Exod. 19:23. In the
Old Testament sanctification frequently
denotes the ceremonial or ritual consecra-
tion of any person or thing to God: thus
the Hebrews as a people were holy unto
the Lord, through the covenant with its
ordinances and atoning sacrifices, Exod.
31:13; Num. 3:12, 13; Deut. 7:6, 9-12;
compare Gen. 17:7-14; and the tabernacle,
altar, priests, etc., were solemnly set apart
for the divine service, Lev. 8:10-12. In a
similar sense men "sanctified themselves"
who made special preparation for the pres-
ence and worship of God, Exod. 19:10, 11,
22; Num. 11:18; a day was sanctified when
set apart for fasting and prayer, Joel i : 14;
and the Sabbath was sanctified when re-
garded and treated as holy unto the Lord,
Deut. 5:12. All such sanctifications were
testimonials to the holiness of God, and
signified men's need of moral sanctifica-
tion, or the devotion of purified and obe-
dient souls to his love and service. Lev.
11:44: 20:7,8; 2 Cor. 6:16-18. In Christ's
declaration that he sanctified himself, John
503
SAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY
SAN
17:19, there is an allusion to his high-
priestly self-dedication as a sacrifice to
God; compare Heb. 7:27; 9:14.
The people of God are exhorted to " sanc-
tify him," Lev. 10:3; Num. 20:12; Isa.S:i3;
i. €., really and manifestly to set him apart
from and above all other beings and con-
siderations, as the supreme object of their
reverence and obedience, thus showing
forth his glory. In i Pet. 3:15 the R. V.
reads, " sanctify in your hearts Christ as
Lord."
In a doctrinal sense sanctification is the
making truly and perfectly holy what was
before defiled and sinful. It is a progres-
sive work of divine grace upon the soul
justified by the love of Christ. The be-
liever is gradually cleansed from the cor-
ruption of his nature, and is at length pre-
sented " faultless before the presence of
his glory with exceeding joy," Jude 24.
The Holy Spirit performs this work in con-
nection with the providence and Word of
God, John 14:26; 17:17; 2 Thess. 2:13;
I Pet. 1:2; and the highest motives urge
every Christian not to resist the Spirit of
God, but to cooperate with him, and seek
to be holy even as God is holy. The ulti-
mate sanctification of every believer in
Christ is a covenant mercy purchased on
the cross. He who saves us from the pen-
alty of sin also saves us from its power,
and in promising to bring a believer into
heaven engages also to prepare him for
heaven.
SANCTUARY, a holy place devoted to
God. It appears to be the name some-
times of the entire tabernacle or temple,
Josh. 24:26; Psa. 73:17; Heb. 9:1; some-
times of the "holy place," where the altar
of incense, the golden candlestick, and the
show-bread stood, Num. 4:12; 2Chr. 26: iS;
and sometimes of the " Holy of holies," the
most secret and retired part, in wliich was
the ark of the covenant, and where none
but the high-priest might enter, and he
only once a year on the day of solemn ex-
piation, Lev. 4:6. It also denotes the fur-
niture of the tabernacle. Num. 10:21 ; com-
pare Num. 4:4-15. See Tap.krnacle and
Temple. The temple or earthly sanctu-
ary is an emblem of heaven, Psa. 102:19;
Heb. 9:1, 24; and God himself is called a
sanctuary, Isa. 8:14; Ezek. 11:16, in refer-
ence to the use of temples as a place of
refuge for fugitives, because he is the only
safe and sacred asylum for sinners pur-
sued by the sword of divine justice.
SAND. The Hebrew term is derived
504
from a root denoting a sliding or rolling
motion. In Palestine sand is rarely found
except along the seashore, Jer. 5:22, and
the desert lands on the east and south con-
sist for the most part of gravel. In Egypt
sand abounds ; the Nile valley is constantly
threatened by the shifting sands of the
great desert on the west, and many mon-
uments of antiquity have been thereby
wholly or partially covered. Sand affords
a ready hiding-place and shows no trace
of disturbance, F^xod. 2:12. It symbolizes
multitude. Gen. 32:12; weight, Job 6:3;
Prov. 27:3; and insecurity, Matt. 7:26.
SAN'DAL, Mark 6:9, a sole fastened to
the wearer by thongs passing between the
toes, around the heel, and over the lop of
the foot. Probably this is the article usu-
ally meant by " shoes " in the A. V. Laced
shoes rescmhiing those of modern times
were sometimes worn bv the Greeks and
SAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAN
Romans, but the Egyptians appear to have
used sandals only, and it is generally
thought that this was the ordinary custom
of the Hebrews. Egyptian sandals were
made of plaited palm-leaves, or papyrus
stalks, or of leather, and were sometimes
pointed and turned up at the toes. The
Assyrians often wore a sort of half-slipper,
encasing the heel and sides of the foot, but
leaving the toes bare ; it was made of wood
or leather. The Talmudists describe the
Hebrew sandal as having a sole of leather,
cloth, felt, or wood, and sometimes pro-
tected with iron. The " shoe-latchet " or
thong, and indeed the whole sandal, was
often proverbially worthless, Gen. 14:23;
Amos 2:6; 8:6. The sandals of ladies
were made of the skin of some animal,
Ezek. 16 : 10, and were frequently much
ornamented, Song 7:1, probably with em-
broidered thongs ; though something may
have been worn resembling the modern
Oriental slipper — which is often of moroc-
co, or embroidered with silk, silver, or
gold. See Badger. Sandals were not
usually worn in the house, Luke 7:38;
see Foot; but were put on for out-door
business or a journey, E.xod. 12:11; Acts
12:8; or for a military expedition, Isa. 5:27;
Eph.6:i5; and an extra pair was often car-
ried, Luke 10:4; comp. Matt. 10:10; Mark
6:9; Josh. 9:5, 13. To bind on the sandals,
to loose them, to carry them till needed,
was the business of a servant or slave,
Matt. 3:11; Mark i : 7. The poor often
went barefoot, but among the middle and
upper classes this was a sign of mourning,
2 Sam. 15:30; Isa. 20:2-4; Ezek. 24:17, 23.
Sandals were put off in token of reverence
and of moral defilement, Exod. 3:5; Josh.
5:15. Hence the priests ministered bare-
foot in the temple. Mohammedans now
remove their shoes on entering a
mosque, and Samaritans on ap-
proaching the site of their temple.
In early times in Israel transfers
of property or privilege were con-
ferred by the grantor's delivery
of his sandal to the grantee, Ruth
4:7-11, as in mediaeval Europe by
the transfer of a glove. So owner-
ship is symbolized by the casting
of one's sandal on the soil, Psa.
60): 8 ; 108 : 9 ; or these passages
may refer to a slave's caring for
the master's sandals. The public
and legal loosing of a man's san-
dal on his refusal of obedience to
one of the Mosaic marriage laws,
Deut. 25:7-10, may refer to the
usual barefootedness of slaves.
So in the parable of the prodigal
son, " putting shoes on his feet "
denotes the father's reception of
the penitent as a free man and a
son, Luke 15:22.
Modern Turks, Syrians, and
Egyptians wear a light shoe re-
sembling our slipper, and some-
times a wooden shoe with a high
heel. The Bedouins wear only
sandals.
SAN'HEDRIM, or more accurately SAN'-
HEDRIN, an Aramaic form of the Greek
SUNEDRiON, council. I. The chief insti-
tution thus termed is called in the Mish-
na "Beth-din," house of judgment, also
" The Great Sanhedrin." This, the su-
preme council and tribunal of the Jews at
Christ's time and before, held its sessions
at Jerusalem, and was composed of 71
members, chief-priests, elders of the peo-
ple, and scribes. Its officers were a Nasi,
chief, or president, who was often the high-
priest ; a vice-president, called Ab-Beth-
din ; and according to some a 2d vice-pres-
ident, called Hakam, sage. There were
also secretaries and servants or " officers,"
505
SAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAN
Mark 14:65, R. V.; John 7:32. The time
when this council originated is in dispute:
Jewish tradition and some Christian schol-
ars trace it to Moses' appointment of 70
elders ; others to Jehoshaphat's establish-
ment of a court of appeal at Jerusalem,
about B. C. 900, 2 Chr. 19:8-11; but more
probably it came into being during the
Macedonian supremacy in Palestine, in the
2d or 3d century B. C. Josephus' mention
of It as citing Herod for trial about B. C.
47, indicates that it was then an old and
powerful institution. Its meeting -place
adjoined the temple on the east side, and
earlier on the south side. It met daily ex-
cept on Sabbath and festival days. The
members sat in a semicircle, the Nasi oc-
cupying a raised central seat, the Ab-Beth-
din on his right, the Hakam on his left.
Back of these were 3 graded rows of disci-
ples, from whose ranks vacancies were
filled. The Sanhedrin had atithority to
interpret the divine law, to decide on the
qualification of priests for service, to watch
over the religious life of the nation, and try
those accused of idolatry, and false proph-
ets and heretics; even the king and the
high-priest were amenable to it ; and gen-
eral affairs, such as the waging of war, the
appointment of provincial courts, and the
regulation of the calendar, were also sub-
ject to it. It decided on appeals from infe-
rior courts, and Jews in foreign lands rec-
ognized its authority, Acts 9:2. It inflicted
corporal punishment. Acts 5:40, and also
death by stoning, burning, beheading, or
strangling, until this right was taken from
them by the Romans, about 3 years before
the crucifi.xion of Christ, John 18:31, 32.
The presence of the accused was his right,
John 7:50, 51, and just and humane regu-
lations guarded all judicial investigations,
which however were set aside when Jesus
was accused of claiming to be the Messiah
and of misleading the people. Both Phar-
isees and Sadducees were admitted as
members, Acts 23:6. It was doubtless from
the Sanhedrin that the deputation of in-
quiry was sent to John the Baptist, John
1:19-28. Christ predicted its action in his
own case. Matt. 16:21; 20:18, 19. The 3
classes constituting this court exercised a
hostile supervision over the ministry of Je-
sus, Luke 19:47, 48; 20:1-26; John 7:32;
l;;s arrest was planned by them and accom-
])lished by their emissaries, Mark 14:43-46;
Luke 22:3-6; John 11 : 47-53, 57; and it was
by an informal session of the Sanhedrin
that he was illegally tried, condemned to
506
death for blasphemy, and delivered to the
Roman governor on the charge of treason,
Malt. 26:57 to 27:2; Luke 23:1-5, 13, 14.
Yet even in the Sanhedrin Joseph of Ari-
mathaja and Nicodemus believed on him,
Luke 23:50-53; John 7:51; 19:38-42. Be-
fore this court Peter and John were twice
examined. Acts 4:5-22; 5:21-41; Stephen
was tried, and either illegally condemned
by it or executed in a popular tumult. Acts
6: 12 to 7:60. Paul appeared before it, Acts
22:301023:10; comp. 23:15; 24:20, 21; and
as Josephus relates, James " the Lord's bro-
ther " was by it condemned to be stoned,
A. D. 62. Paul's teacher Gamaliel was an
influential member of the Sanhedrin, Acts
5:34-40, and the apostle before his conver-
sion occupied some position under the 71,
Acts 7:58; 8:1. After the destruction of
Jerusalem the Sanhedrin was transferred
to Jamnia till A. D. 80, and finally, after
other changes, to Tiberias, about A. D. 200.
Its constitution underwent considerable
alteration ; near the close of the 3d century
it dropped the title Sanhedrin for Beth
ham-Midrash, house of inlcrprelation ; and
at last it became extinct, A. D. 425.
II. There was an inferior tribunal in
every town to judge less important mat-
ters, Deut. 16: 18. The number of the mem-
bers is variously given as 7 or 23, the for-
mer according with Josephus' account of
Mosaic constitutions, the latter with the
rabbinical statements in the Mishna. Ac-
cording to the rabbins the sessions were
held on the 2d and 5th days of each week,
in a room by the local synagogue, for the
trial of both civil and capital offences ; and
stripes, when ordered, were delivered in
the synagogue by the proper oflficers. Je-
rusalem *ad 2 such minor sanhedrins.
Probably such a tribunal is called " the
judgment " in Matt. 5:21 ; and reference to
them is made in Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9.
III. A still smaller tribunal of 3 judges
was established in smaller districts, and
took cognizance of debts, robbery, and in-
juries to person and rejiutation. Jerusa-
lem is said to have had 390 of these courts.
In Matt. 5:22 different grades of severity
in the one divine punishment of spiritual
death seem to be symbolized under the
terms "the judgment," see No. II., "the
council," No. I., and "the Gehenna of
fire." See Hinnom.
SANSAN'NAH, f.alm-brauch. Josh. 15:31,
a town in the south of Judah, apparently
the same as H.\z.\K-sus.Mt, afterwards as-
signed to Simeon, Josh. 19:5; i Chr. 4:31;
SAP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAR
perhaps wady es-Suny, lo miles south of
Gaza.
SAPH, a dish, 2 Sam. 21:18, a Philistine
giant; called Sippai in i Chr. 20:4.
SA'PHIR, fair, a town mentioned only
in Micah i:ii ; according to Eusebius and
Jerome, " in the mountain district between
Eleutheropolis and Askelon." It may be
represented by Suwafir el-Ghabiyeh, 9 miles
northeast of Askelon, though Suwafir lies
in the plain.
SAPPHI'RA, beautiful. See Ananias, I.
SAP'PHIRE, apparently a blue stone,
Exod. 24:10, very precious, Job 28:6, 16;
Song 5:14; set in the high-priest's breast-
plate and engraved with the name of a
tribe, Issachar, E.xod. 28:18, 21 ; 39:11, 14;
among the ornaments of the king of Tyre,
Ezek. 28:13; likened in color to the plat-
form of the throne of God and the throne
itself, as 'seen in vision by Moses and the
elders of Israel, and by Ezekiel, Exod.
24:10; Ezek. 1:26; 10:1; and one of the
foundations of the New Jerusalem in John's
vision, Rev. 21:19, compare Isa. 54:11. It
has generally been identified with the mod-
ern lapis-lazuli, an opaque stone of a gen-
eral deep blue color, with several lighter
shades, and often mottled with gold-col-
ored crystals (of iron-pyrites) ; it occurs
in masses of some size, and takes a fine
polish, Lam. 4:7. With the appearance of
our lapis-lazuli Pliny's description of the
"sapphire" exactly agrees. The best, he
says, was found in Media, and Persia is
still one of the few localities of lapis-lazuli.
This stone, however, is not well suited for
engraving; and some scholars, maintain-
ing that the Bible notices of the sapphire
indicate a pellucid gem, well adapted for
engraving, still hold that it was the same
as our modern sapphire, the blue corun-
dum— which belongs to a class of gems
ranking next in hardness and value to the
diamond, and including also the Oriental
ruby, topaz, and emerald. Its color varies
from a deep indigo blue through the lighter
shades to colorless. The best are found in
Pegu and Ceylon, and they are seldom of
large size.
SA'RAH, or Sara, I., the wife of Abra-
ham, the daughter of his father by another
mother, Gen. 20:12. Most Jewish writers,
however, and many interpreters, identify
her with Iscah, the sister of Lot and Abra-
ham's niece, Gen. 1 1 : 29 ; the word " daugh-
ter," according to Hebrew usage, compri-
sing any female descendant, and "sister"
any female relation by blood. When God
made a covenant with Abraham he changed
the name of Sarai, my princess, into that of
Sarah, or princess, and promised Abraham
a son by her, which was fulfilled i'n due
time. The most prominent points of her
history as recorded in the Bible are, her
consenting to Abraham's unbelieving dis-
simulation while near Pharaoh and Abime-
lech, her long-continued barrenness, her
giving to Abraham her maid Hagar as a
secondary wife, their mutual jealousy, and
her bearing Isaac in her old age, " the
child of promise," her faith prevailing over
her previous unbelief. Gen. 12-23. She ap-
pears to have been a woman of uncommon
beauty, a most exemplary and devoted
wife, and a sympathizing mother. Gen.
24:67. Her docility is eulogized in i Pet.
3:6, and her faith in Heb. 11: 11. See also
Isa. 51:2; Gal. 4:22-31. Sarah died at He-
bron, aged 127, about 37 years after Isaac's
birth and 28 years before Abraham's death.
She was buried near Hebron in a cave in
the field of Machpelah, which Abraham
bought of Ephron the Hittite, Gen. 23. See
Machpelah.
II. Num. 26:46. See Serah.
SA'RAPH, burning, i Chr. 4:22, a de-
scendant of Shelah the son of Judah, prob-
ably about the time of the conquest of Ca-
naan.
SAR'DIS, a town about 50 miles northeast
of Smyrna and 30 northwest of Philadel-
phia, was the seat of one of the 7 churches
in Asia Minor addressed by John, Rev.
3:1-6. It lay at the southern foot of Mount
Tmolus. on a spur of which its citadel was
built; the spacious and fertile plain before
it was watered by several streams, and the
river Pactolus with its "golden sands"
passed through the city. It was a very
507
SAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAT
ancient place, and was the capital of the
kingdom of Lydia, whose last monarch,
Crtcsus, famed for liis immense wealth,
was conquered by Cyrus king of Persia,
about H. C. 550. On account of the strength
of the citadel it was garrisoned by the Per-
sians ; it became the winter -quarters of
Xerxes on his way to Greece, B. C. 480,
and was surrendered to Alexander the
Great after his victory over the Persian
troops at the Granicus, B. C. 334. It was
taken and sacked by Antiochus the Great,
B. C. 214, and soon afterwards fell under
the Rcjman i)ower. From eaily times it
was famous for its dyed woollen manufac-
tures, and had an extensive commerce ; the
surrounding region was fertile, and the
Pactolus sands yielded much gold. Money
is said to have been first coined at Sardis.
After the Persian conquest the Lydians be-
came noted for luxury and jirolligacy.
Their manufactures and connnerce de-
clined after Alexander. The cluirch in cor-
rupt Sardis was reproached for its declen-
sion from vital religion. Rev. 3:1-3.
The ruins of Sardis are now called Sert-
Kalessi. The height on which the citadel
stood is shattered as if by an earthquake,
and only a few fragments of the wall- re-
main, korth of the citadel are remains of
a theatre and a stadium, and to the west
the ruins of the senate-house. More an-
cient than these are 2 remarkable Ionic
columns, over 6 feet in diameter, believed
to be remnants of a temple of Cybele
built only 300 j^ears after Solomon's tem-
ple. Portions of 2 churches, apparently
built from the remains of this temple, may
be seen. There are countless se])ulchral
mounds in tlie vicinity, and the site is vni-
healtlu' and desolate.
SAR'DIUS, Exod. 28:17; Ezek. 28:13, or
SAR'DINE, A. V. Rev. 4:3; 21:20, one of the
engraved gems in the high-priest's breast-
plate, and in John's vision of the New Je-
rusalem one of its foundation stones. The
Hebrew odkm was called Sard or Sardius
from Sardis in Lydia, and is now better
known as the carnelian. It is a superior
variety of agate, of a blood-red or flesh
color, and translucent. It is well suited for
engraving and a favorite with artists for
this purpose. A very fine dark-red carne-
lian is found in Yemen in Arabia.
SAR'DONYX, as if a sardius and onyx
combined, Rev. 21:20, a kind of onyx, hav-
ing a transparent red layer like the sard
resting on an o])aque white layer, or in the
reversed order.
50S
SAREP'TA, Luke4:26. See Zarephath.
SAR'GON,y/rw/ kin,<^, Isa. 20:1-4, an As-
syrian king, formerly supposed to be Shal-
maneser I\'., Sennacherib, or Esar-haddon,
but now ascertained from the Assyrian
records to have reigned about 17 years,
B. C. 722-705, between Shalmaneser, whose
throne he is thought to have usurped dur-
ing the long siege of Samaria, and Sen-
nacherib, whose father he was. On his
monunients he claims to have taken Sama-
ria in the first year of his reign, with which
agrees the indefiniteness of the Scripture
record of the capture, 2 Kin. 17:6; 18:9-11,
and to have carried captive 27,280 of the
inhabitants. He probably completed the
deportation of the Israelites later in his
reign, settling them within his own domin-
ions, and commencing the colonization of
Samaria with foreigners from conquered
regions, 2 Kin. 17:24. His annals, extend-
ing over 15 years, testify that he was a
great warrior, and changed the abode of
those whom he conquered ; he successful-
ly warred against Babylonia and Susiana,
Media, Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Arabia,
and Egypt. In his 3d campaign in this last
direction, in his 9th year, B. C. 711, his gen-
eral, or "tartan," took Ashdod, Isa. 20:1.
At this time he represents Judah as subject
to him, and in the following year he reduced
Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon, to vas-
salage. A statue of Sargon, now at Berlin,
was discovered at Idalium in Cyprus, which
island also paid him tribute.
Sargon was eminent as a builder also:
his monuments relate that he repaired the
walls of Nineveh (Koyiinjik), and the royal
palace at Calah (Nimrud), where he seems
to have chiefly resided. His greatest work,
however, was the building near Nineveh of
a magnificent i)alace, and a city which he
named after himself Diir-.Sargina ; audits
site, near the village of Khorsabad, retained
the name Sarghun till after the Mohamme-
dan conquest. His reign was marked by
an advance in various useful and orna-
mental industries, and by the perfecting of
the art of enamelling bricks.
SA'RON, Acts, 9:35, A. V. See Sharon.
SAR'SECHIM,/>;7';/<^7' 0/ the eunuchs, Jer.
39:3, conjectured by (Jesenius to be a title
equivalent to Rabsaris ; which see.
SA'RUCH. Luke 3:35, A. V. See Serug.
SATAN signifies rtrf?'<';-5ffn',<'«<'wj', i Kin.
11:14; Psa. 109:6. Hence it is used partic-
ularly of the grand adversary of souls, the
devil, the prince of the fallen angels, the
accuser and calumniator of men before
SAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SAU
God, Job 1:6-12; Zech. 3:1, 2; Rev. 12:9,
10. He seduces them to sin, i Chr. 21:1;
Luke 22:31 ; and is thus the author of that
evil, both physical and moral, by which the
human race is afflicted, especially of those
vicious propensities and wicked actions
which are productive of so much misery,
and also of death itself, Luke 13:16; Heb.
2:14. Hence Satan is represented both as
soliciting men to commit sin and as the
source, the efficient cause, of impediments
which are thrown in the way of the Chris-
tian religion, or which are designed to
diminish its efficacy in reforming the hearts
and lives of men and inspiring them with
the hope of future bliss. Matt. 4:10; John
13:27; Rom. 16:20; Eph. 2:2.
The Bible however plainly teaches his
subordination to God and his final punish-
ment and deprivation of all power to harm.
Rev. 20:10. In the meantime Christ en-
courages believers to meet the wiles of the
adversary with incessant vigilance and
prayer, assuring them that his grace will
then give them the victory, Eph. 6:10-18;
Eph. 5:8,9. See Devil.
The "synagogue of Satan," Rev. 2:9;
3:9, probably denotes the unbelieving Jews,
the false zealots for the law of Moses, who
at the beginning were the most eager per-
secutors of the Christians.
In the phrase "the depths of Satan,"
Rev. 2:24, there is probably an allusion to
the mysteries of early (inostic sects, which
professed a deep knowledge of spiritual
matters, often combined with a lawless im-
morality ; compare Rev. 2:14, 15, 20.
Christ on one occasion addressed Peter
as Satan, Matt. 16:22, 23, because the dic-
tatorial and ease-loving spirit of his words
was opposed to Christ, and in accord with
the temptations which Satan had already
presented to the Lord; comp. Matt. 4:1-10.
SAT'YRS, Isa. 13:21; 34:14. The He-
brew word means hairy, shaggy, and is
often properly rendered "goat," as in Lev.
4:24. See Go.^TS. In Lev. 17:7; 2 Chr.
II : 15 it is translated in the A. V. " devils,"
and refers to some objects of idolatrous
worship, perhaps goats or images of goats,
in imitation of the Egyptian worship of this
animal at Mendes. The monuments repre-
sent a cynocephalous or dog-faced ape as
an object of veneration. The Septuagint
has " demons " in the 2 passages in Isaiah,
and many interpreters, ancient and mod-
ern, hold that the reference is to evil spir-
its believed by the Orientals to haunt des-
olate places; compare Rev. 18:2. The
more probable opinion seems to be that
shaggy animals like wild goats, or perhaps
some species of ape, are denoted. In any
case, the desolate condition of the site of
Babylon, Isa. 13:19-22, and of Bozrah in
Edom, Isa. 34:5-15, is predicted.
In classical mythology satyrs were imag-
inary beings, half men and half goats,
clothed in skins of beasts, and revelling
with Bacchus the wine-god in forests and
groves.
SAUL, more properly SHAUL, desired,
I., an early king of the Edomites, Gen.
Z^-yi< 3^; I Chr. 1:4s, 49.
II. The son of Kish, of the tribe of Ben-
jamin, the 1st king of the Israelites, anoint-
ed by Samuel, B. C. 1096, and after a reign
of 40 years, filled with various events, slain
with his sons on Mount Gilboa. He was
succeeded by David, who was his son-in-
law, and whom he had endeavored to put
to death. His history is contained in i Sam.
9-31. It is a sad and admonitory narra-
tive. The morning of his reign was bright
with special divine favors, both providen-
tial and spiritual, i Sam. 9:20; 10:1-11,24,
25. Beautiful and commanding in person,
and rich in the talents that win popular
admiration, he was the very ideal sove-
reign the Jews longed for. But he soon
began to disobey God, and was rejected as
unworthy to found a line of kings ; his sins
and misfortunes multiplied, and his sun
went down in gloom. In his 1st war with
the Ammonites God was with him ; but then
follow his disobedient and presumptuous
sacrifice in the absence of Samuel, his rash
vow in battle with the Philistines, his spa-
ring Agag and the spoil of the Amalek-
ites, his spirit of distracted and foreboding
melancholy, his jealousy and persecution
of David, against whom his mind was poi-
soned by a secret slanderer, his barbarous
massacre of the priests and people at Nob
and of the Gibeonites, his consulting the
witch of Endor, the battle with the Philis-
tines in which his army was defeated and
his sons were slain, and, lastly, his despair-
ing self-slaughter, his insignia of royalty
being conveyed to David by an Amalekite.
He had been engaged in 7 distinct mili-
tary operations. The men of Jabesh-Gile-
ad, grateful for his deliverance of their city
many years before, 1 Sam. 11, rescued his
headless body and the bodies of his sons
from the wall of Beth-shan and buried
their bones at Jabesh-Gilead, whence they
were afterwards removed by David to
Saul's ancestral sepulchre at Zelah, i Sam,
509
SAV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SCA
II ; 31 ; 2 Sara, i ; 2:4-6; 21 : 12-14; i Chr.
10.
The guilty course and the awful end of
this 1st king of the Hebrews were a signifi-
cant reproof of their sin in desiring any
king but Jehovah, and also show to what
extremes of guilt and ruin one may go who
rebels against God and is ruled by his own
ambitious and envious passions.
III. Saul was also the Hebrew name of
the apostle Paul.
SAVE, except, as in John 6:22, 46; 13:10.
For "God save the king," i Sam. 10:24;
2 Sam. 16:16; I Kin. 1:25, 34, 39, the more
literal rendering is " Long live the king."
There is no mention of God in the Hebrew.
SAVING HEALTH, in Psa. 67:2; in the
R. \ . " salvation."
SA'VIOUR, a term applied in the Old
Testament to men especially raised up and
qualified by God to give temporal deliv-
erance and prosperity to his people: as
Joshua, whose name is the Hebrew original
of Jesus; the judges, Neh. 9:27; Jeroboam
n., 2 Kin. 13:5; and often appropriated to
Jehovah himself, Isa. 43:3, II ; 45:21; 60:16,
17, from whom a spiritual salvation from
sin was also looked for, Psa. 39:8; 79:9.
The term is applied preeminently to our
Lord Jesus Christ, because, as the angel
expressed it, he came to " save his people
from their sins," Matt, i :2i. He was there-
fore called Jesus, which signifies Saviour,
John 4:42; Acts 4:12; 5:31.
SA'VOR, that quality of objects which ap-
peals to the sense of smell or of taste. Matt.
5:13. It is also used in the sense of repu-
tation, E.xod. 5:21; compare Gen. 34:30.
The sacrifice of Noah and that of Christ
were acceptable to God, like the odor of a
sweet incense to a man, Gen. 8:21; Eph.
5 : 2. The chief savor of the apostles' teach-
ing was Christ crucified ; and this teaching
was welcomed by some to their eternal life,
and rejected by others to their aggravated
condemnation, 2 Cor. 2:15, 16. In Matt.
16:23; Mark 8:33, A. V., to savor means to
mind, to think highly of.
SA'VORY MEAT, Gen. 27:4, etc. In Prov.
23:3, 6, "dainties." Modern Orientals de-
light in a dish consisting of some kind of
flesh cut into small pieces and cooked with
as many varieties of vegetables, fruits, and
condiments as are procurable.
SAW, Isa. 10:15. This tool was early
known to the Egyptians, as their monu-
ments testify. The teeth of ancient saws,
as of modern Oriental ones, were usually
inclined towards the handle instead of
510
away from it as with us. Egyptian saws
appear to have been single-handled only,
but a double-handled iron one has been
found at Nimrud. The Hebrews had saws
for cutting stones, i Kin. 7:9. Torture and
death were sometimes inflicted with the
saw, 2 Sam. 12:31; i Chr. 20:3; a mode of
punishment also used by the Egyptians,
Persians, and Romans. According to an
ancient Jewish tradition, Isaiah was thus
put to death ; compare Heb. 11:37.
SCALL, Lev. 13:30, an eruption or tetter.
SCAPE-GOAT. See below.
SCAR'LET, a blood-red color, Song 4:3,
obtained from a small grub, often called
by the Hebrews tola (rendered "worm"
in Deut. 28:39), though the Greeks and
Romans regarded it as a vegetable excres-
cence (coccus, a grain). The insect, the
female only being used, is found abundant-
ly in Western Asia and Southern Europe,
living on various plants, especially the ev-
ergreen oak, Quercus Coccifera, to whose
branches and twigs it adheres. It grows to
the size and form of a split pea, but is of a
violet-black color, and covered with a whi-
tish powder. It is picked from the tree
and dried, and the color is obtained by in-
fusion in water, and made jiermanent by
adding a mordant, anciently alum. The
Coccus ilicis is still used in India and Per-
sia, but is superseded in Western coun-
tries by the Coccus cacti, or cochineal, an
insect found in Mexico on the cactus; this
yields a larger proportion of coloring mat-
ter, and usually a more brilliant though
perhaps less permanent dye. Scarlet was
early known in Canaan, Gen. 38:28-30;
Josh. 2:18-21. Wool thus dyed was con-
tributed for the service of the tabernacle,
in making curtains, cloths, and priestly
garments, Exod. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36; 28:6, 8,
15; 35-6, 23, 25; Num. 4:8; and in the rit-
ual for purification from leprosy. Lev. 14:4,
49-52. Scarlet was worn by women, 2 Sam.
1:24; by the wealthy and luxurious. Lam.
4:5; by Median warriors, Nah. 2:3; and by
Roman ofl^cers. Matt. 27:28. The depth
and strength of the color, " double-dyed,"
are alluded to in Isa. i : 18, and it is made
a symbol of profligacy and cruelty in Rev.
17:3, 4; compare Jer. 4:30, where "crim-
son " should be scarlet. In Prov. 31:21 the
Hebrew word may etymologically be ren-
dered "double garments," as in the mar-
gin. In Dan. 5:7, 16, 29 purple is meant.
SCAPE-GOAT, Heb. AZ.^^ZEL, found only
in Lev. 16:8, 10, 26, A. V. ; "one lot for the
Lord and the other lot for azazel,-^' "the
SCA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SCH
goat on whom the lot fell for azazel;" " he
that let go the goat for aza~e/." On the
annual Day of Atonement 2 spotless goats
were presented before the Lord as one sin-
oflfering, ver. 5; the ist by lot to be sacri-
ficed as a sin-offering to purge the Holy
Place, and the 2d "to make atonement"
for the sins of the people, having them sol-
emnly laid upon his head by the hig'.i-
priest, and then being seiit forth into the
uninhabited wilderness bearing the curse,
ver. 18-2S. The illustration of the way of
salvation furnished by this symbolic rite is
very clear: the Lamb of God " beareth
away" the guilt of his people, John 1:29.
But the exact meaning of the word azazet
is much disputed. It appears to be de-
rived from the root azal, to remove or sep-
arate, and is now believed by some schol-
ars to denote Satan or an avenging spirit,
popularly believed to haunt desolate pla-
ces, and to whom the sin-burdened goat
was surrendered as a victim ; comp. i Cor.
5:5. But Satan would be called by his
own name ; he frequents the busy haunts
of men and not the desert ; compare Matt.
12:43-45; and should not be brought in,
unless the passage requires it, as the agent
of God in the exercise of justice. Hence
most interpreters prefer to understand the
word as simply meaning complete separa-
tion; the act symbolizing the entire remo-
val of the sins of the penitent and believing
people as borne away by the victim ; com-
pare Psa. 103:12; Jer. 50:20. See Expia-
tion.
SCAT'TERED AND PEELED, etc., Isa.
iS:2, rather " tall and shaven, whose land
the rivers divide."
SCEP'TRE, a " rod " or decorated staff,
sometimes 6 feet long, borne by kings, lead-
ers, and magistrates as a symbol of author-
ity, Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:17; Esth. 4:11;
5:2; Isa. 14:5; Ezek. 19:11, 14; Zech. 10: 11.
See Rod. This usage may have been de-
rived from the shepherd's use of his rod ;
compare Num. 27:15-17. Christ's sceptre
is a "right sceptre," Psa. 45:6, but fatal to
his foes, Psa. 2:9; Dan. 2:44. The sceptre
of the wicked shall not always rule the
land of the righteous, Psa. 125:3. In Judg.
5 : 14, for " pen of the writer," read " sceptre
of the ruler."
SCE'VA, prepared, a Jew at Ephesus, a
leader among the priests, perhaps the head
of one of the 24 courses. His 7 sons pre-
tended to practise exorcism, and presumed
to call on evil spirits to come out from per-
sons possessed, in the name of Jesus. The
ignominious discomfiture of 2 of them (R.
V. ver. 16) by a man possessed by an evil
spirit promoted the cause of the gospel at
Ephesus, Acts 19:14-16.
SCHISM, a rent or fissure, Matt. 9:16;
generally used in the New Testament to
denote a division within the Christian
church by contentions and alienated affec-
tions, without an outward separation into
511
SCH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SCO
distinct bodies, i Cor. i:io, margin; 12:25,
26. The sin may lie on tiie side of the ma-
jority, or of the minority, or both. It is a
sin against Christian love, and strikes at
the heart of Christianity, John 17:21; Rom.
12:4-21.
SCHOOL. The Gr. word scholk means
leisure, /. e., from manual labor; thence
the learned occupation of leisure, a lecture
or discussion ; compare Ecclus. 3cS: 24-34;
and then, as in Acts 19:9, a room where a
teacher met his disciples for instruction
and debate.
SCHOOL'MASTER, iCor.4:i5; Gal. 3:24,
25, Paidagogos, cliild-conduclor ; among the
Greeks an attendant who took the charge
of young children, taught them the rudi-
ments of knowledge, and at a suitable age
conducted them to and from school. Thus
the law was the pedagogue of Israel, watch-
ing over the childhood of the nation, and
at length conducting them through its types
and prophecies to Christ. When a Jew came
to a believing knowledge of Christ this
office of the law ceased.
SCHOOLS, HEBREW. Nothing is known
of national or elementary schools in Israel
before the return of the Jews from captiv-
ity. The Mosaic law strictly enjoined upon
parents the personal instruction of their
children, Deut. 6:7; 11:19. In addition to
this, the Levites were charged to teach the
people, Deut. 33:10. A general knowledge
of reading and writing seems impliedly re-
quired by the directions in regard to the
inscription of certain portions of the law,
Deut. 6:9; 27:2, 3, 8. The king must be
able to read and write, Deut. 17:18, 19.
With the lapses of the nation into idolatry
and servitude to idolaters, education doubt-
less declined. In Samuel's time we first
read of associations for training young men
for the prophetic office, i Sam. 10:5, 10;
19:20; and they continued under the kings
of Israel, i Kin. 20:35; 2 Kin. 2:3, 5; 4:38;
6:1; Amos 7: 14. Yet parental instruction
was most relied upon, Prov. 1:8. In the
kingdom of Judah the Levites became neg-
ligent, 2 Chr. 15:3, and were recommis-
sioned by Jehoshaphat, 2 Chr. 17:7-9; they
attended to their charge under Hezekiah
and Josiah, 2 Chr. 30:22; 35:3 ; and in the
time of Ezra again appear as teachers and
interi)reters of the people, who had become
unfamiliar with Hebrew, Neh. 8:7-9, 13, by
long residence in Babylonia and use of the
" Syriac " or Aramaic dialect, Dan. 2:4.
According to Jewish tradition, Ezra gath-
ered around him men skilled in the law,
512.
and with their aid trained public teachers,
who established synagogues with provis-
ion for instruction in Jerusalem and the
towns of Judiea. These schools in Christ's
time were under the management of the
officers of the Sanhedrin and the " scribes "
and " doctors." The instruction in the
higher schools was catechetical, the master
propounding some doctrine and the pupils
questioning, Luke 2 : 46, or the teacher
questioning and the pupils answering. The
method often pursued by Jesus resembled
this. Matt. 22:17-22; Mark 8:27-30; Luke
20:2-4. Flagging attention was quickened
by stories, allegories, etc. Besides instruc-
tion in the Scriptures and traditions in the
sacred Hebrew, in Greek, and the sciences
as then known, etiquette as to salutations,
etc., was carefully taught. Each lad was
compelled to acquire a practical knowledge
of some trade, Acts 18:3. Our Lord's in-
dependence of these higher schools e.vcited
the surprise of his learned antagonists, John
7:15, to whom he often unfolded the true
meaning of passages which they had stud-
ied without comprehending, Matt. 12:2-5;
19:4; 21:15, 16, 42; Mark 12:18-26. His
early apostles had no high education. Acts
4:13, but Paul had been a pupil of Gama-
liel, Acts 22:3. Josephus and Philo repre-
sent Jewish parents as e.vlremely careful
for their children's instruction in the sa-
cred law, and that they should be taught to
read it ; carefully copied portions of it were
given them to study. According to the
Talmud a boy began the study of the Mo-
saic Scriptures at home at 5 years of age;
compare 2 Tim. 3:15; was sent to school at
6, and at 10 commenced the study of the
traditional lore, which however was not
committed to writing till after the time of
Christ. Persons who had not received
Rabbinical teaching were despised as igno-
rant, J(jhn 7:49. After the fall of Jerusalem
Jewish elementary and higher schools con-
tinued to flourish, and wherever the Jews
resided were regarded as of great import-
ance. The education of girls was usually
inferior to that of boys.
SCI'ENCE, I Tim. 6:20, in the R. V.
"knowledge," which is the A. V. rendering
of the Greek word in its other and frequent
occurrings. The apostle refers to the false
claims to superior knowledge, Gr. gnosis,
by the Gnostic sects, who exalted their
mystical conceits above the pure gospel of
Christ and the true way of salvation, i Cor.
8:1; Col. 2: 18-23.
SCOR'PION, Luke 10:19, a small venom-
SCO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SCO
ous animal of warm climates, belonging,
like the spider, to the class Arachnida, but
so like the lobster in form that the Arabs
call the latter the sea-scorpion. There are
many varieties of the scorpion. Those of
Southern Europe and Palestine are from
1 to 3 inches long, but in tropical Africa
and South America they reach the length
of 10 inches. The jointed tail terminates
in a poison-bulb ending in a sharp curved
sting, which inflicts a wound into which
venom is injected from 2 openings near the
point of the sting. Rev. 9:3-10. The wound
is very painful and sometimes fatal, the
effect varying with the species, age, etc., of
the scorpion and the susceptibility of the
victim. Scorpions are hibernating and
nocturnal in their habits. They lie dor-
mant through the cool and wet months of
the year, and during their active period
pass the day under stones or the loose bark
of trees or in crevices in walls, and issue
forth at night for food and pleasure. They
are useful in destroying^ other arachnida
and insects, and have been known to feed
upon their own species. Maupertius saw
100 scorpions reduced in a few days to 14
by mutual extermination, and also wit-
nessed an imprisoned female scorpion de-
vour all her young but one, which took
refuge on her back and at last killed her.
A scorpion runs with its tail erect, which,
with the formidable-looking claws termi-
nating the palpi and used for grasping its
prey, gives it a very threatening aspect. It
has been said that one surrounded with fire
will sting itself to death ; but this story may
be founded simply on the convulsive mo-
tions of the scorched animal and its habit of
curving its tail over its back. At the time
of the Exodus scorpions abounded in the
Sinaitic desert, Deut. 8:15, where they are
still found. Several species abound in Pal-
estine, in the Lebanon range, the mountains
of Judah, and the Jordan valley. Banias,
where there are many ruins, is infested
with them, and they still inhabit the low
33
range of cliffs a few miles south of the Dead
Sea, where was the point formerly called
from them "the ascent of Akrabbim " or
scorpions. Num. 34:4; Josh. 15:3. The
"scorpions" of Rehoboam's threat, i Kin.
12: II, 14, may have been thongs armed
with knots, or bits of stone or metal, unless
the expression is wholly figurative. The
earlier captives of Judah in Babylonia,
2 Kin. 24 : 10-16, among whom Ezekiel
dwelt, are called scorpions, Ezek. 1:1, 2;
2:6; a metaphor justified by the nation's
malignant treatment of many of its true
prophets; compare Jer. 26:7-11, 21-23. "A.
scorpion for an egg," i. e., a mischievous
instead of a beneficial gift, was probably a
proverb among the Jews, Luke 11:12; a
similar proverb, " a scorpion for a perch,"
is said to have been current among the
Greeks.
SCOURGE or WHIP, i Kin. 12:11-14.
See Scorpion. Scourging or beating was
a common punishment among the ancients.
In Egypt, Exod. 5:14, 16, it was often ad-
ministered by a stick applied to the soles
of the feet, the modern bastinado. To the
Israelites Moses prescribed scourging for
certain offences, limiting the number of
stripes to 40, Deut. 25:1-3. Rods or twigs
were commonly used, Prov. 10:13; 26:3.
In order not to break this law the Jews,
after the Captivity, if not before, used a
scourge of 3 thongs, of rope or leather, 13
blows of which equalled 39 stripes, 2 Cor.
11:24. Scourging was inflicted by the mi-
nor sanhedrins in the synagogues. Matt.
10:17; Acts 22:19; and by the Great San-
hedrin. Acts 5:40. See Sanhedrin. Beat-
ing with clubs was a capital punishment
among the Greeks, and was inflicted on
some of the faithful Jews by the Graeco-
Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, B. C.
170-167, and others suffered preliminary
punishment by scourging ; compare Heb.
12:35, R. V. margin ("beaten to death"),
36. Scourging was likewise a Roman pun-
ishment, Luke 23:16, and was often used
for extorting confession. Acts 22:24, and
sometimes even by the Jews. The Romans
used both rods and whips, the leather
thongs of the latter being sometimes tipped
with sharp bits of metal, which terribly
lacerated the culprit and often occasioned
death, the number of stripes being unlim-
ited. Under their law scourging com-
monly preceded crucifixion. Matt. 27:26.
Among the Hebrews the culprit was strip-
ped and made to lie down with his face to
the ground, Deut. 25:2. By a Roman law,
513
SCR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SCR
about B. C. 300, Roman citizens were ex-
empt from scourging, and it was reserved
for slaves and foreigners, Acts 22:24-29.
Christ predicted his own suffering from the
Roman scourge, Matt. 20:19; Mark 10:34;
Luke 18:33, a"tl submitted to it as a part
of the punishment laid on him as the sub-
stitute for sinners, Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:15;
John 19:1; compare Isa. 53:5; i Pet. 2:24.
Paul was 5 times scourged by the Jews,
2 Cor. 11:24; o"e of the 3 beatings with
rods of which he speaks in ver. 25 was re-
ceived by him at the order of the Roman
magistrates of Philippi, Acts 16:22, R. V.,
23-39; ^" tiers of seats, is 39 yards
in diameter, and would accommodate 3,000
or 4,000 spectators. About 100 yards far-
ther north the great valley of the main city
opens. It is strewn with ruins of temples
SEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEL
THE ROCK-TEMPLE EL-KHAZNET, IN PETRA.
and other public buildings, including a
church, and bridges. The large inclosure
on the western side, called Kasr Fir'aun,
Pharaoh's Casile, is the only structure with
walls still standing of those not excavated
from the mountain. East of it rises a tri-
umphal arch. Another remarkable monu-
ment, called ed-Deir, the Convent, is reach-
ed by a steep, narrow, and tortuous ravine
running from the northwe.stern angle of the
valley. It is hewn out of the solid rock;
its front is 152 feet in length and height,
and within are naked walls of rock, with
a single niche. The tombs excavated in
the cliffs inclosing the valley and its side
gorges are numberless, rising range above
range, and are in many cases highly orna-
mented. Many are reached by steps cut
in the rock, while others are inaccessible,
at a height of some 400 feet. The style of
the various monuments shows a mixture
of Greek and Roman with Oriental and
sometimes Egyptian taste. The beauty of
the stone from which they are wrought
gives to the whole scene a singular charm,
enhanced by the stern surroundings of the
city. The rock is a fine and soft sand-
stone, variegated with red, purple, black,
white, azure, and yellow, the deepest crim-
son and the softest pink, while high above
the cliffs rise in their native rudeness and
majesty. Though the extant ruins belong
to the Nabathaean and Roman period, none
the less does the present desolation of Sela
show the fulfilment of prophetic denuncia-
tions against its former Edomite inhabi-
tants, Isa. 34:5-15; Je''- 49:7-22; Ezek. 35;
Joel 3:19; Amos i:ri, 12; Obad. 3-16. See
HoR and Idum/ea.
Sela, translated "rock" in Num. 20:8-11;
Judg. 1:36, Rowlands, Trumbull, and oth-
ers identify with a bold cliff at 'Ain Kadeis,
Kadesh-barnea, from the base of which a
copious stream of pure and sweet water
still flows, as when struck by the rod of
Moses, supplying several wells and pools
and forming an oasis in the desert.
SE'LAH a musical term which occurs 71
times in the Psalms, and is found also in
Hab. y.i, 9, 13. It usually occurs at the
end of a period or strophe, but sometimes
at the end only of a clause. This difficult
word, it is now generally believed, was a
direction for a meditative pause in the
527
SEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEN
singing of a psalm, during which perhaps
there was an instrumental interlude.
SELEU'CIA, a fortified city of Syria, on
the Mediterranean, 5 miles north of the
mouth of the Orontes and 16 miles west of
Antioch, whose seaport it was. Paul and
Barnabas embarked here on their ist mis-
sionary tour. Acts 13:4, and probably land-
ed here on their return, Acts 14:26. The
chief part of the city lay on the slope of
Mount Coryphaeus, the southern e.xtrem-
ity of Mount Pierius, a branch of Mount
Amanus, and was called Seleucia Pieria,
and sometimes Seleucia by the sea, to dis-
tinguish it from several other cities named
from its founder Seleucus Nicator, one of
the successors of Alexander the Great.
Seleucus died B. C. 280, and was buried
here. The city was taken by Ptolemy
Euergetes B. C. 246, but was recovered 70
years later by Antiochus Epiphanes. It
retained its importance under the Romans,
and was a free city in Paul's time. Seleu-
cia had a good harbor, with an outer port,
and an inner basin covering over 47 acres.
The harbor is now choked with sand and
mud; but its masonry is well preserved,
and includes 2 ancient piers called Paul
and Barnabas. A part of the city wall re-
mains, with a gateway at its southeastern
angle, through which Paul may have passed.
The ruins, now Selukeyeh, are desolate,
but a small village called Kalusi is near
the ancient city.
SELEU'CUS, the name of 6 of the Greek
kings of Syria, from the death of Alexan-
der the Great until Syria was made a Ro-
man province, B. C. 65. Seleucus I., called
Nicator, conqueror, reigned B. C. 312-280,
founded Antioch and other cities, and was
the most powerful of the Seleucidae. He
was succeeded by his son Antiochus (I.)
Soter, B. C. 280-261. The dynasty is in-
cluded among the "4 horns" of the "he-
goat," Dan. 8:8, 22, and several of the kings
are denoted by the " king of the north," as
opposed to the " king of the south," i. e.,
Egypt, in ch. 11. Verse 6 refers to the 3d
Seleucid king Antiochus (II.) Theos, B. C.
261-246; ver. 7-9 to his son and successor
Seleucus (II.) Callinicus, B. C. 246-226;
ver. 10 to his 2 sons, Seleucus (III.) Cerau-
nus, B. C. 226-223, a"d Antiochus (III.) the
Great, B. C. 223-187, whose course verses
11-19 predict; from his reign dates the
subjection of the Jews to the Seleucidae.
Verse 20 refers to Seleucus (IV.) Philopa-
tor, B. C. 187-175, styled " king of Asia " in
■» Mace. 2>'-2» ^"d "raiser of taxes " in Dan.
528
11:20. He was succeeded by his younger
brother, Antiochus (IV.) Epiphanes, B. C.
175-164, who terribly oppressed the Jews,
as Daniel predicted, 11:21-30. The re-
maining Seleucidae had somewhat short
and troubled reigns. In the time of Simon
Maccabaeus, B. C. 143, the Jews acquired a
degree of independence for a time, and
more completely under his son John Hyr-
canus.
The Seleucidic Era dated from the vic-
tory of Seleucus I. over Antigonus, in Bab-
ylonia, B. C. 312. This era was long dorri-
nant in Central and Western Asia. The
Jews were forced to adopt it, for civil con-
tracts, etc., after they passed from under
the dominion of the Greek kings of Egypt
to that of Antiochus the Great and his suc-
cessors, B. C. 200; and continued to use it
till the final close of their schools on the
Euphrates, A. D. 1040, since when they
have dated from the creation.
SEM, Luke 3:36, A. v., Greek form of
She.m.
SEM'EI, Luke 3:26, or Sem'ein, R. V.,
one mentioned in the genealogy of Christ ;
possibly Shemaiah, i Chr. 3:22.
SENA' AH, thorny, a place whose inhab-
itants returned with Zerubbabel, B. C. 536,
Ezra 2:35; Neh. 7:38; and according to
Neh. 3:3, where the Hebrew article is pre-
fixed (has-Senaah), built the fish-gate, B. C.
445. It is traced in Magdal-Senna, men-
tioned by Eusebius and Jerome, now Kh.
el 'Afijah, 7 miles north of Jericho.
SEN'ATE, Acts 5:21, probably the body
of elders, constituting one of the 3 elements
of the Sanhedrin, the other 2 being the
chief priests and the scribes. See Sanhe-
drin.
SE'NEH, Ihorn-biish, apparently the
southernmost of the 2 " sharp rocks " be-
tween Geba (A. V. Gibeah) on the south
and Michmash on the north, i Sam. 14:4, 5.
Between Jeba and Mukhmas, which are
about a mile apart, is the deep valley wady
Suweinit, crossed by " the passage of Mich-
mash," I Sam. 13:23; Isa. 10:28, 29. The
rocks may denote its steep sides, or per-
haps the hillocks which obstruct its bed.
SE'NIR. See Shenir.
SENNACH'ERIB or SENNACHE'RIB, on
the monuments Sin-akhi-erba, Sin (the
moon-god) increases brothers, king of As-
syria, son and successor of Sargon, B. C.
705-681. The Scripture references to him
are remarkably confirmed and supplement-
ed by contemporary inscriptions on cylin-
ders, sculptured bulls, and slabs of stone
SEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEN
exhumed from the long -buried ruins of
Nineveh. In the 2d year of his reign he
quelled a revolt in Babylon, where Mero-
dach-baladan, dethroned a few years be-
fore by Sargon, had reestablished himself
as king. Appointing an Assyrian viceroy
in Babylon, Sennacherib waged a success-
ful war against the Aramtean tribes on the
Tigris and Euphrates, the inhabitants of
the Zagros mountains east of Assyria, and
in a hitherto independent portion of Media.
In B. C. 701 he led a campaign against the
Phoenician and Philistine cities and Judah,
all of which had been tributary to Assyria
and had revolted. Compare 2 Kin. 16:7-9;
18:7. He subdued Phceniciaand Philistia,
defeating an Egyptian army sent to the re-
lief of Ekron, and turned his arms against
Hezekiah, who had encouraged the rebel-
lion of the Ekronites. Sennacherib attacked
the fortified cities of Judah, 2 Kin. 18:13;
2 Chr. 32:1, of which he claims to have
captured 46, with their suburban fortress-
es and villages and their spoil; he also
claims to have taken captive over 200,000
Judahites, and to have prepared to besiege
Jerusalem by building towers around it
and earth-mounds opposite its gates. If
these records are correct, Isaiah may refer
to this desolation and captivity of Judah in
ch. 24:1-12 ; and in ch. 22:1-13 to this siege
of Jerusalem, for whose defence Hezekiah
prepared by strengthening the walls and
diverting the outer water-courses, 2 Chr.
32:2-8. He sent ambassadors to Sennach-
erib at Lachish with a message of sub-
mission, and paid a tribute of 30 talents
of gold and 300 talents of silver, 2 Kin.
18:14. The amount of gold is the same in
the Assyrian inscription, but the silver is
there stated at 800 talents — the additional
amount being perhaps afterwards e.xtorted
by Sennacherib on finding Hezekiah's re-
sources equal to it, ver. 15. The Assyrian
record adds that many of Hezekiah's cities
were given to the kings of Ashdod, Aske-
lon, Ekron, and Gaza. In B. C. 700 anoth-
er revolt in Babylonia was quelled by Sen-
nacherib, who made his eldest son viceroy.
It is believed that Hezekiah "after this,"
2 Chr. 32:9, again revolted from Assyria,
engaging the help of Egypt, as the Bible
narrative implies, Isa. 30:1-7; 31:1; 36:6;
that Sennacherib again invaded Judah,
and there sustained that tremendous re-
verse of which naturally his own monu-
ments say nothing, but which seems to be
referred to in an Egyptian story. A year
or two may have intervened betw-en these
34
2 invasions. From Lachish Sennacherib
despatched ambassadors and troops to Je-
rusalem to demand with insults Hezekiah's
unconditional surrender, 2 Kin. 18:17-37;
from Libnah also he sent a letter defying
Jehovah, 2 Kin. 19:8-13. Hezekiah spread
the threats and blasphemies of Sennache-
rib before the Lord, and received through
Isaiah assurances of divine protection —
which were speedily fulfilled, and 185,000
Assyrians were miraculously slain "that
night," ver. 1-7, 14-35; Isa. 31:4-9; 37:29,
33-36. This may have occurred at Libnah
or at some point nearer Egypt, towards
which Sennacherib may have marched to
meet the Ethiopian army, 2 Kin. 19:9. An
Egyptian story, reported by Herodotus,
relates that Sennacherib was opposed at
Pelusium by an inferior force under an
Egyptian king named Sethos, who invoked
the help of his gods, and that in the night
field-mice nibbled the bowstrings of the
Assyrians, who the ne.xt morning fled.
Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, ver. 36,
and appears to have thenceforth left Pales-
tine and Egypt unmolested. He prosecu-
ted successful wars in Armenia and Media
and against the Babylonians again in re-
volt, and their allies the Susianians, whom
he assailed by way of the Persian Gulf
with a Phoenician naval force. In the last
8 years of his reign Babylon seems to have
been independent, but submitted to his suc-
cessor Esar-haddon. Sennacherib, while
worshipping in a temple, was murdered
by 2 of his sons, about B. C. 681, 2 Kin.
19:37; compare ver. 7. He was succeeded
by his younger and favorite son.
Isaiah's portraiture of the pride of Sen-
nacherib, who still was but an instrument
of God, Isa. 10:12-27, is verified by the
boastful tone of his inscriptions: he calls
himself " the subduer of kings from the
upper sea of the setting sun to the lower
sea of the rising sun," i. e., from the Med-
iterranean to the Persian Gulf. He was a
great builder also. At Nineveh, which he
made his capital, he built a magnificent
palace over 8 acres in area, and containing
more than 60 ground-floor apartments, in-
cluding a hall 180 feet long and 40 feet
wide. Planks of foreign timber, including
cedars of Lebanon, Isa. 37:24, were em-
ployed for ceilings, spanning the width of
the rooms. This palace, much of which
has been e.xplored since its first unearth-
ment by Layard in 1847, occupies the south-
west corner of the mound of Koyunjik op-
posite Mosul. The huge alabaster tablets
529
SEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEP
wainscoting the rooms to the height of lo
or 12 feet, were covered with bas-reHefs
and cuneiform inscriptions; and though
large portions of these have perished by
violence and time, the remaining slabs and
fragments are full of interest. Hunting
S30
and building scenes are represented, the
king often aj^pearing as a spectator. His
military exploits are portrayed, including
his war against Phccnicia and Judali. A
series of well-preserved bas-reliefs repre-
sents the siege and capture of a large and
strong city; part of it is already taken,
while elsewhere the battle is fiercely ra-
ging. Captives are seen flayed, impaled,
and put to the sword. From one of the
gales a long procession of prisoners is
brought before the king, who is seated on
his throne outside of the city. Two eunuchs
stand behind him holding fans and nap-
kins. The prisoners are presented by the
vizier, accomimnied bj^ military officers.
The inscription is thus translated : " Sen-
nacherib the mighty king, king of the
country of Assyria, sitting on the throne
of judgment at the gate of the city Lachisa ;
I give permission for its slaughter." The
captives are partially stripped and have
the appearance of Hebrews. Sennacherib
also restored an ancient palace at Nineveii,
partially e.xhumed in the mound of Neby
Yunus, improved the city fortifications,
embanked the Tigris channel, constructed
aqueducts, and built a temple to Nergal.
Little did Sennacherib anticipate the
utter ruin of his own proud metropolis,
and still less that the ruins of his palace
should preserve to this remote age the tab-
lets containing his own history, and the
image of his god Nisroch so incapable of
defending him, to bear witness for the dod
whom he blasphemed and defied. See
NiNEVKH, Nisroch, Sargon, and So.
SEN'TENCE, Acts IS- 19, in the R. V.
"judgment."
SE'PHAR, "a mountain of the East," a
boundary of the Joktanites, Gen. 10:30;
generally identified with the ancient sea-
port Dhafari or Zafar.on the Indian Ocean,
east of the midway point of the southern
coast of Arabia. A mountain near the
town was celebrated for its frankincense.
The district of Isfor is now occupied by a
series of villages with adjacent ruins. See
Mi;sH.\.
SEPHA'RAD, Obad. 20, a place from
which captive Jews were to return to Ju-
dah. Jewish authorities interpret it as
Spain, and the Spanish Jews have long
been named Sephardim, in distinction
from the other chief section of the race,
the Ashkenazim or German Jews. It is a
question, however, whether any Jews had
been transported to Spain at the date of
Obadiah's prophecy: and some regard
SEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEP
Sei)harad as identical with Sippara; see
Ski'HARVAIM; others with Sardis in Lydia;
compare Joel 3:6.
SEPHARVA'IM, a j)lace whence colonists
were transported to Samaria as substitutes
for the captive Israelites, after B. C. 721,
2 Kin. 17 : 24. It is identified with Sip-
para, situated on both sides of the Euphra-
tes (hence its dual Hebrew name), about
20 miles north of Babylon. Sennacherib
mentions Sepharvaini as a city subdued
by the Assyrians before his time, 2 Kin.
19:11-13, no doubt by Sargon and Tiglath-
pileser II. Sippara was a chief seat of the
worship of the sun, and appears in various
inscriptions as Tsipar-sha-Shamas, Sippara
of the smi, with the goddess Anunit wife
of the sun— the 2 deities being probably
intended by the " Adrammelech and Anam-
melech " cruelly adored by the Sepharvites,
2 Kin. 17:31. The Chaldsean account of
the Deluge says that Xisuthros (Noah)
buried the antediluvian records at Sippa-
ra, and that his posterity recovered them
thence. The modern town Mosaib is near
the ancient site.
SEP'TUAGINT, seventy, the oldest Greek
version of the Old Testament. Its name,
(jften represented by the Roman numerals
LXX., is generally derived from the tradi-
tion that the translators were 70 or 72 in
number. According to Josephus, 6 elders
I'lom each tribe were sent to Ale.\-andria
with a copy of the Law requested by Ptol-
emy Philadelphus, and translated it in 72
days. The accounts of the origin of the
translation vary in some points, but agree
in stating that it was made at Alexandria,
begun under the early Ptoletnies, about B.
C. 285, and that the Pentateuch was transla-
ted first. The whole of the Old Testament
seems to have been complete in Greek in
the time of Ptolemy (VII.) Physcon, about
B. C. 130. See Alexandria. Internal
evidence suggests that it was made by
different persons at different times from
Egyptian Hebrew MSS., and by Alexan-
drian Jews more or less imperfectly versed
in Hebrew. The books of Moses are the
best translated. The version is faithful in
substance as a whole, but contains many
errors. Its chronology differs materially
from that of the Hebrew te.xt, adding, for
example, 5o6 years between the creation
and the deluge. The version is of great
value in the interpretation of the Old Tes-
tament, and in some passages is believed
to represent the older and more accurate
Hebrew text than that of existing Hebrew
MSS. It is frecjuenlly quoted by the New
Testament writers, whose Greek is found-
ed on that of the Septuagint. It was highly
esteemed by the Jews at the coming of
Christ; according to Philo a festival was
held yearly at Alexandria to celebrate its
completion. By its diffusion wherever
Greek-speaking Jews were settled it pre-
pared the minds of surrounding heathen
inquirers for the gospel; and when finally
Christ was preached it made easy for
Greeks and Hellenistic Jews the verifica-
tion of his claims by comparison of them
with the LXX. Old Testament prophecies,
Acts 17:11. See Quotations. It was
translated into Latin by the close cf the
2d century, and later into Egyptian dia-
lects, Elhiopic, and other languages. So
constantly was it quoted by Christian teach-
ers and writers that the Jews, pressed in
controversy by references to it, began to
deny its faithfulness to the Hebrew, and
in the 2d century adopted in its stead a
more literal Greek version by Aquila, a
Jewish proselyte of Pontus. The LXX. is
still the recognized authority in the Greek
Church. The Apocryi;)hal books were grad-
ually and early added to the Septuagint.
See Apocrypha. The oldest known MSS.
of the Septuagint are 3, supposed to have
been written in the 4th century, and now
in St. Petersburg, London, and Rome. No
Hebrew Old Testament MS. of an earlier
date than the loth century is known to
exist.
TOMBS HEWN IN THE ROCK, PETRA.
SEP'ULCHRE, a burial-place or tomb.
The ist mentioned in the Bible, that of
Abraham, was a cave in the field of Mach-
pelah near Hebron, Gen. 23. See He-
531
SEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEP
BKON. Family sepulchres were common
£i:id prized among the Hebrews, Gen.
49:29-32; 50:13; Judg. 8:32; 16:31; 2 Sam.
2:32; 21 : 14 ; comp. 2 Sam. 19:37 and i Kin.
13:22. They had also public burial-places,
2 Kin. 23:6; Jer. 26:23; Matt. 27:7. Their
tombs were sometimes underground, Clen.
3S'-^'< I Sam. 31:13; Ezek. 39:15; Luke
11:44; but were often in the side of a hill,
2 Kin. 23:16. Natural caverns abound in
the hills of Palestine, and were often used
as tombs, being enlarged and otherwise
adapted. Gen. 50:5, 13. Sepulchres were
also excavated in the solid rock at great
expense, Isa. 22:16; Matt. 27:57-60; comp.
Isa. 53:9. Richly adorned tombs of this
kind are numerous in Petra. See cuts and
SicLA. Burial caves are found along the
bases of hills in all parts of Syria: as on
the south side of Hermon, the west side of
Olivet, the hillside west of Nain, in the
gorge of Barada and in the sea-cliffs north
'»*«i^
with 2 Chr. 33:20, or in a sepulchral house.
Job 30:23; PZccles. 12:5. See also Josh.
24:30; I Kin. 2:34. The kings of Israel
OTHKR TOMBS, ETC., IN PETRA.
of Acre. Burial-grounds were usually out-
side of city limits, as is now the case in
Syria, "Mark 5:1-5; Luke 7:11-14; and it
appears to be noted as e.\ceptional that the
kings of Judah were buried in Jerusalem,
on Mount Zion, i Kin. 2:10; 11:43; 15:24;
2 Kin. 9:28; 2 Chr. 16:14; 32:33; 35:24;
Neh. 3:16; comp. Acts 2:29. The good
high-priest Jehoiada shared this royal hon-
or, 2 Chr. 24:16, from which sotne of the
kings were debarred, 2 Chr. 21:6-20; 26:23;
28:27. The prophet Samuel was interred
in "his house at Ramah," i Sam. 25:1,
perhaps in the garden; comp. 2 Kin. 21:18
532
"tomb of ABSALOM," ROCK TOMBS, AND GRAVES
IN THE KIDRON VALLEY.
were buried in Samaria after they estab-
lished their capital there, i Kin. 16:28;
22:37. Sepulchral inscriptions seem to
have been rare among the Hebrews, but
burial-places were sometimes honored by
"pillars," Gen. 35:20, or marked for dis-
honor by heaps of stones. Josh . 7 : 26 ; 8 : 29 ;
2 Sam. 18: 17. The Hebrew word translated
" title " in 2 Kin. 23 : 17, R. V. " monument,"
is "sign" in Ezek. 39:15. Contact with
sepulchres produced defilement according
to the Mosaic law. Num. 19:16; comp. Isa.
65:4. In the time of Christ it was the cus-
tom of the Jews every spring to whitewash
the outside of sepulchres as a guard against
defilement, and Christ com|)ares the hypo-
critical Pharisees to such tombs, Matt. 23:27,
28; also to "tombs which api^ear not," as
not suggesting to their admiring observers
any idea of their inward defilement, Luke
11:44. It was thought an act of piety by
the Pharisees to preserve and adorn the
tombs of the prophets; yet they were as
far as their fathers the prophet-killers had
been from honoring the real principles of
God's servants, as they showed by oppo-
sing and killing the divine Prophet and his
disciples. Matt. 23:29-36; Luke 11:47-51.
In the East as elsewhere superstitious ven-
eration for the tombs and bones of men
reputed as saints is still combined with
habitual violation of many of the laws of
God.
The Mishna, about A. D. 200, describes
a Jewish rock tomb as consisting of a fore-
court large enough to accommodate a bier.
SEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEP
bearers, etc., and opening, through an en-
trance closed by a large stone tliat could
be rolled away, Matt. 27 : 59-66 ; Mark 15 : 46 ;
i6:i-S; Lu. 24:1-12; John 11 : 38-44; 19:38-
42, into a chamber 3 yards square or more,
whose 3 other sides contained recesses,
each for one corpse. Sometimes the court
gave entrance on different sides to several
such chambers. The recesses were cut into
the rock horizontally 6 feet or more, and
were about 2 feet wide and 3 feet high ; the
corpse was placed in one of these uncof-
fined, with the feet outward, and the en-
trance was closed by a stone. Sometimes
there were 2 or 3 tiers of recesses, with a
ledge in front on which the closing stone
rested. Hebrew tombs of earlier times
may have been simpler, as were those of
the poor at all times, and did not alway;;
prevent bodies from touching each other,
2 Kin. 13:21. After the introduction of
Greek and Roman customs, shallow or
shelf recesses were also used, parallel witli
the side of the chamber, not at right angles
with it; such are found in some of the sep-
ulchres about Jerusalem, and of this sort
apparently was Christ's tomb, in which one
angel sat at the head and another at the
foot of the recess, John 20: 12.
The most noted tombs of Palestine are
the cave of Machpelah under the mosque
at Hebron ; the tomb of Joseph near She-
RACHliLS TOMB, NHAR BKTHLEHEM.
chem, Josh. 24:32; the traditional tomb of
David and his dynasty on Mount Zion,
outside of the city wall and under a build-
ing once a Christian church and now a
mosque ; the traditional sepulchre of Christ
luider the " Church of the Holy Sepulchre,"
within Jerusalem; the so-called " tombs of
the kings," about ^ a mile north of Jeru-
salem ; " of the judges," about a mile north
of the city; and " of the prophets," on the
west slope of the Mount of Olives. The
last seems to be a specimen of a purely Jew-
ish sepulchre — originally a natural cavern,
having only the deep recesses, and no ar-
chitectural mouldings such as indicate the
late origin of many of the tombs around
Jerusalem. The "tombs of the judges"
has 3 chambers, with about 60 deep re-
cesses arranged in 3 tiers. The extensive
and costly sepulchre called " the tombs of
the kings " is supposed by many to be the
work of Helena, queen of Adiabentf , a little
kingdom east of the Tigris; she was a
proselyte to Judaism and a benefactress of
the poor at Jerusalem in the famine pre-
dicted by Agabus, Acts 11:28. The tomb
is approached through a low arched door-
way, closed by a cumbrous rolling stone,
which admits into an open court excavated
out of the rock, and 92 feet long by 87 feet
533
SEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEP
SCALE OF FEET;
"tombs of the prophets," on olivet.
wide. On the west of this is a vestibule 39
feet wide, with a richly-sculptured frieze.
On the south side of the vestibule is the
descent to the sepulchre, which consists of
an entrance-hall about 20 feet square, with
3 square chambers opening from it, 2 of
them below its level and approached b\
steps ; one of these lower rooms gives en-
trance on the north to a 4th chamber. la
the sides of the chambers are many deep-
recesses for the reception of the dead. The
innermost chamber formerly contained i
richly-ornamented stone sarcophagi. The
loinljs on the southern slope of the valley
PLAN OF THE
'tombs of the kings."
of Hinnom, wady er-Rab5bi, in the early
ages of the Christian church served as her-
mitages, and were later used as dwellings
for the poor and as shelter for flocks.
534
Some bear Greek inscriptions of Christiai»
origin.
A more probable site for the sepulchre
of Christ than that of the church in Jerusa-
SER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SER
lein has been suggested by Capt. Conder :
it is a tomb lately discovered outside of the
walls of Jerusalem, near a locality which,
according to a tradition current among
Spanish Jews at Jerusalem, was the ancient
place of execution, and which agrees with
the description of the " house of stoning "
given by Jewish writers of the 2d century.
The tomb is of the shallow-recess form
described above, John 19:17-20,41; 20:12.
The Egyptians excavated large sepul-
chres in the sides of the mountains that
skirt the Nile valley, Exod. 14:11. The
pyramids were erected as tombs for their
kings. See Embalming.
In the Chaldsean lowland, sepulchres,
Gen. 11:28, as appears from excavations
in the vast and crowded burial mounds
around the sites of ancient cities, e. g., at
Mugheir and VVarka (probably Ur and
Erech), were sometimes arched brick
vaults large enough to hold several bodies
deposited uncoffined; or the corpse was
laid on a brick pavement and inclosed with
a rounded cover of baked clay 7 feet long,
2 or 3 feet high and broad; or was placed
in 2 great clay jars, which were then bitu-
niened together at the mouths. Articles of
personal property, for use and ornament,
were buried with the dead in Egypt and
Chaldaea.
The Greeks commonly burned their dead
and deposited the bones and ashes in urns
to be buried in the public burying-places
outside the cities. Among the Romans,
who at first interred the dead, the practice
of burning them, adopted from the Greeks,
became general towards the end of the re-
public. Burial was outside of the cities.
SE'RAH, abundance, a daughter of Ash-
er, thrice named among those who migra-
ted to Egypt, Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:46;
I Chr. 7:30. Why she was thus distin-
guished is unknown, but the rabbis have
many fables respecting her. The A. V.
has Sarah in Numbers.
SERA'IAH, ivarrior of Jehovah, I., a Ju-
dahite, i Chr. 4:13, 14; comp. Josh. 15:17.
II. A scribe of David, 2 Sam. 8: 17 ; called
also Sheva, 2 Sam. 20:25; Shisha, i Kin.
4:3; Shavsha, i Chr. 18:16.
III. A Simeonite, i Chr. 4:35; compare
ver. 38-41.
IV. One of the men charged by Jehoia-
kim to take Jeremiah and Baruch, about
B. C. 606, Jer. 36:26.
V. A brother of Jeremiah's secretary Ba-
ruch, Jer. 51:59-64; comp. Jer. 32:12. He
went to Babylon on some embassy from
king Zedekiah, B. C. 595; Jer. 51:59, mar-
gin, and was commissioned by Jeremiah
to perform there an act symbolical of the
destruction of the city. He is called " a
quiet prince " in the A. V., in the margin
"chief of vicnncha," which is translated
"resting-place" in Num. 10:33; he may
have directed the caravan and its halts on
its way to Babylon.
VI. The high-priest at the capture of
Jerusalem by the Chaldseans, B. C. 5SS;
put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Rib-
lah, 2 Kin. 25:18-21; 1 Chr. 6:14; Jer.
52 : 24-27 ; an ancestor of Ezra, Ezra 7:1.
VII. One of the Jewish military leaders
who accepted Gedaliah as governor, 2 Kin.
25:23; Jer. 40:8.
VIII. A priest who returned with Zerub-
babel, B. C. 536, Ezra 2:2; Neh. 12:1, 12;
called Azariah in Neh. 7:7.
IX. A priest who sealed the covenant in
the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, B. C. 445;
perhaps the same mentioned as " ruler of
the house of God," Neh. 11: 11.
SER'APHIM, burning ones, beings be-
held by Isaiah in his vision of God en-
throned in the temple, Isa. 6:1-7. Their
form is represented as human, with the
addition of 6 wings, 2 pairs of which cov-
ering the face and the feet indicate the
deepest humility and reverence, the other
pair being used promptly to execute the
will of God. The seraphim surround his
throne and responsively praise him. The
prophet being overwhelmed with a sense
of personal and national guilt, a seraph
ministers to him from the altar, the ap-
pointed provision for atonement, Heb. i : 14.
The seraphim appear to be distinct from
the cherubim in Ezekiel's vision, Ezek.
1:5-25; 10; though the latter, in Ezek.
1 : 13, 14, have the burning appearance
supposed to be denoted by the word sera-
phim; comp. Heb. 1:7. Gesenius derives
the word, not from the Heb. saraph, " to
burn," but from the root of an Arabic word
meaning " high, exalted."
SER'GEANTS, Acts 16:35, 38, properly
Roman lictors, public servants who bore
bundles of rods, sometimes with an axe in
the centre, before the magistrates of cities
and colonies as insignia of their office, and
who executed the sentences which their
masters pronounced.
SER'GIUS PAU'LUS, the Roman ruler of
Cyprus, converted under Paul's ministry.
Acts 13:6-12, A. D. 45 ; called " deputy " in
the A. V. ; "proconsul " in the R. V. He
was a man of intelligence and candor.
535
SER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SER
Cyprus, at first an imperial province after
the assignment made by Augustus, B. C.
27, and governed by a propraetor, was left
by the emjieror under the senate, and
thereafter governed by a "proconsul."
Luke's use of the proper Greek title is an
instance of his minute accuracy. Coins of
Cyprus struck in the time of the emperor
Claudius, A. D. 41-54, give the same title
to the governor of Cyprus.
SER'MON ON THE MOUNT, the com-
mon name of the longest reported dis-
course of Jesus, Matt. 5-7. In Luke 6:20-
49 there is probably a briefer report of the
same, the variations being only what might
well be expected from 2 different narra-
tors. It was delivered near Capernaum
earl}' in the 2d year of Christ's public min-
istry, probably A. D. 28, and as Matthew
states on a mountain, as Luke says on a
plain ; Christ no doubt having come down
from the higher and more retired region
to which he had withdrawn for prayer and
the choice of the 12 apostles, to the verge
of the mount where was " a level place,"
Luke 6:17, R. v., capable of accommoda-
ting a large number of hearers — his disci-
ples and the multitude. In it our Lord
illustrates in many ways the divine and
spiritual nature of true religion, having its
throne in the heart and effectually control-
ling the life, in contrast with a merely in-
herited, ceremonial, or outwardly moral
religion.
THE COBRA DI CAPELLO.
SER'PENTS. These reptiles, unclean by
the Mosaic law, Lev. 1 1 : 10, 41, 42, are most
numerous and venomous in tropical cli-
mates. They are divided into 2 great class-
es : the first including those which have on
each side of the upper jaw a movable tu-
bular poison-fang connected with a poison-
sac at its root, and constituting nearly one-
fifth of the species known to naturalists.
536
The remaining species, though destitute of
these movable fangs, contain several kmds
which are venomous. Venomous serpents
abounded and still abound in North Africa,
Arabia, and Syria, and are often referred
to in tiie Bible; but the various terms em-
ployed are not always so definite that we
can apply them with certainty to existing
species. See Adder, Asp, Cock.\trici;.
Vii'icK. The most frequent Hebrew term
for the serpent is nachasli, probably de-
rived from its hissing. Allusion is made
to the serpent's subtilty. Gen. 3:1; its in-
sidious attack, Gen. 49:17; its fierceness
and venom, Psa. 58:4; Prov. 23:32; its
lurking in hedges and walls, Eccles. 10:8;
Amos 5:19; its forked tongue, Psa. 140:3:
its mode of progression, Prov. 30: 19 — aided
by its scales, and its numerous ribs, at-
tached only to the spinal vertebrae; and to
the oviparous nature of most of the spe-
cies, Isa. 59:5. A serpent-form was em-
ployed by Satan to tempt Eve, Gen. 3: 1-13;
hence, as well as for his crafty malignity,
he is called "the serpent" and the "old
serpent," 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9, 14, 15,
over whom Christ is to be completely vic-
torious. Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-3,7-10; com-
pare Rom. 16:20. It is not probable that
the form and movement of the serpent were
ever otherwise than they are at present;
but after its agency in the fall they were
appointed a sign of the debasement and
defilement of sin and of God's condemna-
tion of it,.Gen. 3:14. See R.MNBOW. The
serpent symbolizes wickedness, Matt. 23 : jt},-
Among most heathen nations it has been
an emblem of evil, probably from a tradi-
tion of the fall. The Assyrian tablets of
creation connect the agency of a serpent
with the first sin of man. Zoroastrianism
taught that the evil spirit Ahriman spoiled
the beautiful region first prepared by the
good spirit Ormuzd by sending into it a
venomous serpent, and also that Ahriman
under the guise of a serpent first taught
man to sin. Yet the serpent was wor-
shipped in Egypt and was regarded as the
emblem of a beneficent power among the
Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. On
Egyptian monuments the cobra occurs as
the emblem of immortality and of the be-
neficent god Kneph; and thus the first
miracle performed before Pharaoh by Mo-
ses and Aaron had a direct bearing on the
idolatry of Egypt, Exod. 7:8-12; compare
4: 1-5, 17, 20, 28-30. Serpent-charming has
from time immemorial been practised in
the East, and is alluded to in the Bible.
SER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SER
The serpent usually employed by the Egyp-
tian charmers is the Egyptian cobra, or
haje, a snake from 3 to 6 feet long, similar
to the Naja tripudians, dancing naja, or
cobra di capello, of India, with which the
Hindoo jugglers perform their feats. Both
these serpents when excited expand sev-
eral pairs of anterior ribs and inflate the
fore part of the body so that it somewhat
resembles a hood. The modern Egyptian
charmers are said to be able to render the
haje perfectly rigid by a peculiar pressure
upon its neck, so that it can be held out
horizontally like a rod; and this has been
suggested as a possible explanation of the
operations of Pharaoh's magicians. It is
more probable, however, that the power of
God worked with them to a certain ex-
tent for the furtherance of his own pur-
pose and glory; comp. Exod. 7:22; 8:7,
18; I Sam. 28:11-14. The cerastes or
horned viper is also charmed in Egypt.
Serpents have no external ear-opening, and
appear to take pleasure in shrill sounds ;
hence the charmers whistle, or play on a
pipe or flute, and sing a sort of incantation,
and attract uncaught serpents from their
concealment and capture them. The ser-
pents on exhibition sway back and forth
to the music, and allow themselves to be
freely handled by the charmer, even while
in full possession of fangs and poison-bags
and using them immediately afterwards on
other animals. Eusebius, A. D. 270-340,
speaks of serpent-charmers as abounding
in Palestine and using a vocal charm, Psa.
58:4, 5; Eccles. 10:11; Jer. 8:17; Jas. 3:7.
See Charmer.
The "fiery serpents" by which many of
the rebellious Israelites were bitten and
killed in the desert on the north of Sinai,
Num. 21:4-6; Deut. 8:15, may have been
so called from the agonizing heat caused
by their bite. In our own day death has
been known to follow the bite of a venom-
ous serpent in 2 or 5 minutes. The " ser-
pent of brass," Num. 21:7-9, had no heal-
ing virtue in itself, but was a test of the
penitence, faith, and obedience of the peo-
ple. The true healer was God, Isa. 45:22.
The apocryphal book of Wisdom, about
B. C. 100, ch. 16:6, 7, says of this "sign of
salvation," " He that turned himself to-
wards it was not saved by the thing that he
saw, but by Thee, that art the Saviour of
all." Christ himself shows that the brazen
serpent was a type of him — the believing
view of whom is instant salvation to the
soul infected by the fatal poison of sin, John
3 : 14, 15 ; comp. Rom. 8:3:2 Cor. 5:21; Gal.
3:13. The brazen serpent, having become
an object of idolatrous worship, was de-
stroyed by Hezekiah, 2 Kin. 18:4. See
Nehushtan.
Isaiah, 30:6, mentions the "fiery flying
serpent " as a denizen of Egypt, or of the
desert between Judah and Egypt; in ch.
14:29 he applies the same term figuratively
to some oppressor of the Philistines, possi-
bly Hezekiah, 2 Kin. 18:8; comp. 2 Chr.
26:1, 6, 7; or Sennacherib. (See.) The
designation may refer to the burning effect
of a serpent's bite and to the rapidity of its
dart. In Egypt a serpent was a common
symbol of a powerful king. Some power
oppressive to the people of God is symbol-
ized in Isa. 27: 1.
The " crooked '" or rather "fleeing " ser-
pent of Job 26: 13 is believed to be the con-
stellation called " the Dragon " in both an-
cient and modern times, passing between
the "Great Bear" and the " Little Bear."
The sagacity shown by serpents in avoid-
ing danger is alluded to by Christ in warn-
ing his disciples not to provoke unneces-
sary persecution. Matt. 10:16; comp. ver.
23; Acts 8; I. Immunity from harm by
serpents was promised by Christ to his
first disciples, Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19,
and experienced by Paul, Acts 28 : 3-6;
comp. Psa. 91 : 13. In the early Christian
church the serpent symbolized Christ's vic-
tory over the devil, the virtue of prudence
or wisdom, and also the cross of Christ
himself, John 3:14.
SE'RUG, branch, a descendant of Shem
and an ancestor of Abraham, Gen. 11:20-
26; Luke 3:35, R. V. Jewish tradition says
he was the ist of his line that fell into idol-
atry, Josli. 24:2.
SER'VANT. This word is the A. V. ren-
dering of several Hebrew and Greek words,
most frequently of the Heb. ebed, from a
verb signifying to work, and of the Greek
DOULOs, from a verb meaning to bind.
Both words might in a great number of
cases be rendered " bond -servant " or
"slave," denoting one in a state of invol-
untary servitude to another. Gen. 41:12;
comp. 39:1; Exod. 12:44; I Cor. 7:21, 22.
This was the condition of the Israelites in
Egypt, Exod. 1:13, 14; 20:2; Deut. 5:15.
Sometimes the word denotes one who vol-
untarily dedicates himself to another's ser-
vice : thus Joshua was the "servant" of
Moses, Exod. 33: 11, the Hebrew word here
used being also translated "minister,"
Exod. 24:13. The servants of Pharaoh, of
537
SER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SER
Saul, and of David were their subjects in
general, and their court officers and coun-
sellors in particular. The Syrians and
other nations were servants of Uavid, that
is, they obeyed liim and paid Iiim tribute,
2 Sam. 8. The servants of (iod are those
who are devoted to his service and obey
his holy word. Israel is called the ser-
vant of God, Lev. 25:42, 55; Isa. 41:8; and
the term is applied preeminently to the
Messiah, Isa. 52:13; Acts 4:27, 30, R. V. ;
comp. Phil. 2:7. One appointed by God
to perform any special work is called his
servant, as Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. 25 : 9. The
a])ostles were in a peculiar manner the
servants of Jesus Christ, Rom. 1:1, a title
given also to all Christians, i Cor. 7:22. By
nature man liabitually obeys the prompt-
ings of his own evil heart and the sugges-
tions of the tempter, and so is " the bond-
servant of sin;" from this bondage Christ
delivers those who receive him as their
Saviour and King, John 8:31-47; Rom.
6:16-23.
The households of some of the early
patriarchs contained many servants, who
were apparently treated with kindness and
justice; the highest trusts were sometimes
confided to them, and they might inherit
their master's estate, Gen. 14:11-16: 15:2-
4; 24:1-10; Job 31:13-18. They shared the
religious privileges of the household, Gen.
17:9-13, 27; 18:19, and probably were not
transferred to other masters.
At the establishment of the Hebrew com-
monwealth involuntary servitude was ev-
erywhere prevalent ; and so far as it exist-
ed among the Hebrews Moses sought to
bring it under the restrictions demanded
by religion and humanity. The mildest
form of bond-service was that of a Hebrew
in the house of another Hebrew. He might
become bound to this service in various
ways, chiefly through poverty. Exod. 21 .2-
II ; Lev. 25:39-47; to acquit himself of a
debt he could not otherwise pay, 2 Kin.
4:1 ; to make restitution for a theft, Exod.
22:3; or to earn the price of his ransom
from captivity among heathen. This form
of service could not continue more than 6
or 7 years; unless, when the 7th year ar-
rived, the servant chose to remain perma-
nently or until the Jubilee with his master,
in token of which he suffered his ear to be
bored before witnesses. Exod. 21:2, 6;
Lev. 25:40. The Hebrew servant was not
to be made to serve with rigor, nor trans-
ferred to any harder bondage; he had an
appeal to the tribunals, a right to all reli-
538
gious privileges, the power of demanding
release on providing a pecuniary equiva-
lent, and a donation from his master at his
release. Lev. 25:47-55; Deut. 15: 12-18. The
law likewise provided for the deliverance
of a Hebrew who was in bondage to a res-
ident foreigner, Lev. 25:47-54. But that
the Mosaic regulations in regard to the
treatment of Hebrew servants were at times
violated appears from Jer. 34:8-23; comp.
2 Chr. 28:8-15. At the return of the Jews
from the Captivity they possessed 7,337
servants or slaves, Ezra 2:65, presumably
non-Hebrews. The attempt to resume the
holding of Hebrews as bond-servants was
promptly disallowed by Nehemiah, ch.
5:1-13. Large numl>ers of Hebrews were
at different times enslaved as war-captives
by the Philistines and Pluenicians, Joel
3:1-6; Amos 1:6, by the kings of Egypt
and Syria, and by the Romans.
From the heathen around and among
them, especially from their captive enemies
and the remains of the Caiiaanites, the
Hebrews obtained many servants. These
were protected by law, Deut. i : 16, 17;
27: 19. and might become i)roselytes, attend
the festivals, enjoy religious instruction
and privileges, Exod. 12:44; Deut. 12:18;
29:10-13; 31:10-13. The servant who was
mutilated by his master was to be set free,
Exod. 21:26, 27; the refugee from foreign
oppression was to be welcomed, Deut.
23:15, 16; and kidnapping or man-stealing
was forbidden on pain of death, Exod.
21:16; Deut. 24:7; I Tim. r:io. See Nkth-
INIM and Solomon's si-;rv'.\nts. The
holding of non- Hebrew slaves survived
the return from Captivity, but was opposed
by the Pharisees.
Hired servants, sometimes fientiles, were
also employed by the Hebrews, Exod.
12:45; Lev. 25:6; Isa. 16:14; Mark 1:20.
The Romans held in bondage captives
taken in war, and purchased slaves. Their
bondage was perpetual, and the master
held unquestioned control of the person
and life of his slaves. Yet large numbers
were set free, and in many instances Ro-
man freedmen rose to the highest honors.
A favorite slave of a Roman centurion was
healed by Christ, Luke 7:2-10. Many of
the early Christians were slaves, i Cor.
7:21 ; such was Onesimus the bond-servant
of Philemon. (See.)
The allusions of the Bible to involuntary
servitude imply that it is an evil and unde-
sirable condition of life; yet tiie bondman
who cannot obtain his freedom is divinely
SER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SEV
exhorted to contentment, i Cor. 7 : 20-24.
Meanwhile the Bible gives directions as
to the mutual duties of masters and ser-
vants, Eph. 6:5-9; €01.3:22-4:1; Tit. 2:9,
10; Phile. ; i Pet. 2:18; and proclaims the
great truths of the common origin of all
men, the immortality of every human soul,
and its right to the Bible and to all neces-
sary means of knowing and serving the
.Saviour — the application of which to all
the relations of master and servant, supe-
rior and inferior, employer and employed,
would prevent all oppression, which God
abhors, Deut. 24:14; Psa. 103:6; Isa. 10:1-
3; Amos 4:1 ; Mai. 3:5; Jas. 5:4. The prin-
ciples of the Bible have operated to the
mitigation and gradual abolition of slavery
in Christian countries.
The term applied to Phoebe, Rom. 16:1,
is the feminine of the Greek word which is
also translated "deacon." See Dk.^con-
Kss and Phebe.
SER'VITOR, 2 Kin. 4:43, a servant or
attendant.
SET ON, Acts 18: 10, assault. " Set to his
seal," John 3:33, " set his seal to this."
SETH, appointed, called SHETH in i Chr.
I : I, the 1st son of Adam after the death of
Abel, Gen. 4:25, 26; 5:3, 6, 8, and ancestor
of the line of godly patriarchs, who believed
the promises and held fast the truth trans-
mitted through them from Adam.
SE'THUR, hidden. Num. 13:13, a prince
from the tribe of Asher, one of the 12 sent
by Moses to explore Canaan.
SET'TLE, Ezek. 43:14, 17, 20; 45:19, a
border or ledge around the altar.
SEVEN. As from the beginning this
was the number of days in the week, so it
often has in Scripture a sort of emphasis
attached to it, and is very generally used as
a round or perfect number. Clean beasts
were taken into the ark by sevens, Gen. 7.
The years of plenty and famine in Egypt
were marked by sevens. Gen. 41. Accord-
ing to the Mosaic law not only was there a
7th day Sabbath, but the 7th month was
particularly distinguished, every 7th year
was a sabbath, and after every 7 times 7
years came a jubilee. The great feasts of
unleavened bread and of tabernacles were
observed for 7 days; the number of ani-
mals in many of the sacrifices was lim-
ited to 7. The golden candlestick had 7
branches. Seven priests with 7 trumpets
went around the walls of Jericho 7 days,
and 7 times on the 7th day. In the Apoc-
alypse we find 7 churches mentioned, 7
candlesticks, 7 spirits. 7 stars, 7 seals, 7
trumpets, 7 thunders, 7 vials, 7 plagues,
and 7 angels to pour them out.
Seven is often put for any round or
whole number, just as we use "ten" or "a
dozen ;" so in Matt. 12:45 ; i Sam. 2:5; Job
5:19; Prov. 26:16, 25; Isa. 4:1; Jer. 15:9.
In like manner 7 times or 7-fold often
means abundantly, completely, Gen. 4:15,
24; Lev. 26:24; Psa. 12:6; 79:12; Matt.
iS:2i. And 70 times 7 is a still higher su-
perlative, Matt. 18:22.
The regard given to the number 7 was
not restricted to the Hebrews, but pre-
vailed among the Persians, Esth. 1:10, 14,
the ancient people of India, and the Greeks
and Romans to a certain extent.
With the exception of six, seven is the
only numeral word which the Shemitic
languages have in common with the Indo-
European. The Hebrew " sheba," seven,
is essentially the same as the term in
Greek, Latin, Sanscrit, Persian, Gothic,
English, etc. The notion of 7 is also em-
bodied in the Hebrew word signifying to
swear, literally to " do 7 times;" compare
Gen. 21:29-31. See Sheba. The half of
7, 3>2 , is believed to represent incomplete-
ness, and secondarily suffering and disas-
ter; it appears in the prophetic term "a
time, and times, and half a time," Rev.
12:14; Dan. 7:25; 12:7, and other equiva-
lent expressions, Rev. 11:3; 12:6; 13:5.
SEVEN, THE, Acts 21:8. Comp. Acts
6:1-6.
SEVEN STARS, THE, Amos 5:8. See
Plei.\.des.
SEVENTY ■WEEKS, Dan. 9 : 24-27.
Counting " each day for a year," Ezek. 4:6,
this is a period of 490 years, the last period
of probation for the Jewish nation. It has
been estimated to begin with the " com-
mand," Dan. 9:25, of Artaxerxes Longima-
nus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, pub-
lished at Jerusalem in July, B. C. 457, by
Ezra, ch. 7; and to end with the divinely-
appointed formal commencement of the
proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles,
as represented by Cornelius and his friends,
Acts 10:1-11:18, whose conversion would
be placed by this calculation in A. D. 32.
The 70th "week" of years is estimated to
begin with Christ's entrance upon his pub-
lic ministry at his baptism in the fall of
A. D. 25; for one "week," /. /?., 7 years, he
personally, and after his ascension through
his apostles, " confirmed the covenant with
many;" compare the notices of numerous
conversions among the Jews prior to the
martyrdom of Stephen and the mission of
539
SEV
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHA
Peter to Cornelius, Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14-16;
6:7. " In the midst of the week," i. e., after
a ministry of y/2 jears, Christ superseded
tiie sacrifices of the Mosaic ritual, Dan.
9:26, 27, fulfilling their typical import and
efficacy and providing the reason for their
actual termination, by his sacrifice of him-
self on the cross in the spring of A. D. 29.
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro-
man prince Titus, A. D. 70, is predicted in
ver. 26, 27; compare Matt. 24:15-22; Luke
21:20.
SEVERAL, 2 Kin. 15:5; Matt. 25:15, sep-
arate, individual, or isolated.
SHAALAB'BIN, Josh. 19:42, or SHAAL'-
BIM, Judg. 1 :35, place of foxes, a town as-
signed to Dan, but held for a time by the
Amorites, whom the tribe of Ephraim as-
sisted in subduing. It was in one of Solo-
mon's commissariat districts, i Kin. 4:9, is
associated with Beth-shemesh and Ajalon,
and is probably represented now by the
village Selbit, 3 miles northwest of Yalo or
Ajalon.
SHAAL'BONITE, 2 Sam. 23:32; I Chr.
11:33, a native of Shaalbon, a place un-
known.
SHAARA'IM, or in the A. V., Josh. 15:36,
incorrectly SHARA'IM, two gateways, I., a
town in the Shephelah or plain of Judah,
I Sam. 17:52. It may be represented by
the ruin Kh. es-.Siagh, 13 miles west of Je-
rusalem, 2^ east of Beth-shemesh.
II. Shaaraim in the list of the cities of
Simeon, i Chr. 4:31, is probably identical
with Sharuhen, Josh. 19:6, and Shilhim,
Josh. 15:32.
SHAASH'GAZ, scrt'aut of the beatitiful,
Esth. 2: 14, a chamberlain of Ahasuerus.
SHAD'DAI, in the A. V. always rendered
'■ .Almighty, " an ancient name of God, self-
appropriated in his revelations to the He-
brew patriarchs, and in use by them. Gen.
17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14, before the name
Jehovah was revealed in its full signifi-
cance, Exod. 6:3. In the book of Job it is
often used by Job, Eliphaz, and Elihu, Job
5:17; 6:4; 32:8, and once by God himself.
Job 40:2. It was also used by the Mesopo-
tamian Balaam, Num. 24:4, 16, and contin-
ued in occasional use in Israel, as by Nao-
mi, Ruth 1:20, 21; David, Psa. 68:14; see
also Psa. 91 : I ; Isaiah, ch. 13:6; Ezekiel,
ch. I : 24 ; 10 : 5 ; and Joel, ch. i : 15. One
of the Greek equivalents used in the Septu-
agint, Pantokrator, Almighty or All-ruler,
is also employed in the New Testament as
one of the titles of God, 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev.
1:8; 4:8, etc.
540
SHAD'OW sometimes denotes intense
darkness and gloom, Psa. 23:4, and some-
times a cool retreat; Isa. 32:2, or perfect
protection, Psa. 17:8; Isa. 49:2. The long
shadows cast by the declining sun are allu-
ded to in Job 7:2; Jer. 6:4. The swift,
never-ceasing motion of a shadow is an
emblem of human life, i Chr. 29:15; Psa.
102:11. The term is sometimes used to
express the relation of the types of the
Mosaic economy to the realities of the
Christian dispensation, Col. 2:17; Heb.
8:5; 10:1.
SHA'DRACH, 7-oyal one, the Chaldaean
name given to Hananiah at Nebuchadnez-
zar's court, B. C. 604, Dan. i -.j. See Abkd-
NKGO. Shadrach and his 2 companions in
the furnace, ch. 3, are alluded to among the
examples of faith, Heb. 11:34. During the
persecution of the Jews under Antiochus
Epiphanes, Mattathias, father of Judas Mac-
cabaeus, encouraged his sons by referring
to their deliverance, i Mace. 2:59.
SHA'KING, Ezek. 37:7, an earthquake.
SHA'LEM, peace, Gen. 33:18. Most in-
terpreters read here, "Jacob came in peace
to the city of Shechem ;" comp. Gen. 28 : 21 ;
33:19; Josh. 24:32; John 4:5. If, however,
Shalem is a proper name, the town may be
identified with Salim, a village 35^ miles
east of Nablus, or Shechem. The Samari-
tan codex and apparently Josephus favor
the former reading; the LXX. and Vulgate
the latter.
SHA'LIM. rather SHA'ALIM, jackals,
LAND OF, I Sam. 9:4, an undetermined
locality in Ephraim; perhaps the " land of
Shual," I Sam. 13:17, in the region of Oph-
rah.
SHAL'ISHA, LAND OF, I Sam. 9:4, a
district adjoining Mount Ephraim. The city
Baal-shalisha, 2 Kin. 4:42, is thought to be
traced at Tullfiza, 6 miles east of Samaria,
and the land of Shalisha in the plain south
of the town and east of Shechem.
SHAL'LECHETH, cutting otd, I Chr.
26:16, a gate on the west of Solomon's
temple, communicating with the viaduct
from his palace, i Kin. 10:5. Grove would
place it at the gate now called es-Silsileh.
the main entrance to the Haram area, 600
feet from its southwestern corner.
SHAL'LUM, retribution, I., the murderer
of Zachariah, king of Israel, and usurper
of his throne, B. C. 772. He reigned only
I month, and was killed in Samaria by
Menahem, 2 Kin. 15:10-15. See Z.^CH.v-
RIAH.
II. See Jkhoahaz, II.
SHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHA
III. The husband of Huldah the proph-
etess in the time of Josiah, B. C. 623, 2 Kin.
22:14.
Others of this name are alluded to in
I Chr. 2:40; 7:13; 9:17, 19, 31 ; Ezra 2:42;
7:2; 10:24,42; Neh. 3:12; 7:45; but little
is known of them.
SHAL'MAN. See next page.
SHALMANE'SER, fire-ivor shipper, the I connected with the history of the kingdom
name of 4 Assyrian_kings, 2 of whom are I of Israel.
541
SHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY
SHA
I. Shalnianeser I. appears from inscrip-
tions on bricks found at Kaleh-Shergat,
anciently Assluir, an old capital of Assyria,
to have reigned about ii. C I320-I30(^).
II. Shalnianeser II. succeeded his father,
Asshur-natsi-pal, a great warrior and con-
queror, and reigned 35 years, B. C. 858-823.
lie personally conducted 23 campaigns,
besides others led by a tartan or general.
In 854 he defeated the united forces of Ben-
hadad II. king uf Syria, the king of Ha-
math, Ahab king of Israel, and kings of the
Hittites and IMuenicians. In 842 he gained
a decisive victory over Ben-liadad's suc-
cessor, Hazael, whose territtiry he overran
and plundered. Tyre, Sidon, and Byblus,
and Jehu king of Israel, intimidated by his
successes, sent him tributes. A few years
before his death his eldest son led a revolt
against him, but was subdued by his 2d
son, Shamasrimmon II., who succeeded
Shalnianeser. At Calah (Nimrud) Shal-
nianeser built a palace whose ruins were
uncovered by Layard in 1840, and are
known as the "central palace;" much of
its material had been removed for use in
later buildings. Here was found a 4-sided
black marble obelisk, about 7 feet high, in
excellent preservation, and containing on
each side 5 bas-reliefs and records in cu-
neiform writing. The bas-reliefs in the 2d
row represent Israelite envoys presenting
tributes of gold and silver to the king, be-
fore whom the chief ambassador humbly
prostrates himself. (See the illustration on
the preceding page.) The accompanying
inscription relates that this tribute was sent
by Jehu, "son," i. «■., successor, "of Khum-
ri," or Omri. The obelisk is now in the
British Museum. It seems possible that
the "Shalman " referred toby Hosea, 10: 14,
as the destroyer of Beth-arhel, may have
been Shalnianeser II., who during his west-
ern campaigns may have invaded Israel.
III. Shalmaneser III., B. C. 781-771,
reigned during a period of decline in the
Assyrian power.
IV. Shalmaneser IV., B. C. 727-722,
succeeded Tiglath-pileser II., who had
strengthened and reorganized the Assyr-
ian Empire, had attacked Israel under Pe-
kah, and transported Israelite captives
from both sides of the Jordan to Assyrian
territories, 2 Kin. 15:29; i Chr. 5:26. It
was probably soon after Shalmaneser's ac-
cession that he reasserted Assyrian domin-
ion over Israel by invading it and securing
from Hosheathe payment of tribute, 2 Kin.
17:3. On Hoshca's defection and alliance
542
with Egypt, Shalmaneser returned and im-
prisoned him, ver. 4. Soon after he over-
ran the whole kingdom and besieged Sa-
maria, which withstood the Assyrian arms
3 years, ver. 5, 6. Sargon claims its cap-
ture in his ist year, and it seems probable
that he usurped the Assyrian throne dur-
ing Shalmaneser's prolonged absence in
these campaigns. Scripture does not name
Shalmaneser as the taker of Samaria, ver.
6; 18:10. See Sargon. According to
Josephus, Shalmaneser subdued the Phue-
nician cities ; but insular Tj-re revolted
and for 5 years sustained a siege the issue
of which is unknown. He died in 722 B. C.
SHAL'MAN, Hos. 10:14, probably not to
be identified with Shalmaneser IV., as is
commonly thought, since Hosea's prophecy
seems to have been delivered years before
that monarch's invasions of Israel. Shal-
man is by some interpreters regarded as
an Assyrian king before Pul. See Shal-
man i:sek, II.
SHAM'BLES, I Cor. 10:25, a public meat-
market.
SHAME'FACEDNESS, I Tim. 2:9, in R.
V. " shamefastness," a character fi.xed in
blushing modesty. "Shameful spewing,"
Hab. 2:16, in the R. V. "ignominy."
SHAM'GAR, cup-bearer, son of Anath,
the 3d judge of Israel, after Ehud and
shortly before Barak, in a time of great in-
security and distress, Judg. 3:31 ; 5:6. He
defended Israel and killed 600 Philistines
with an o.x-goad. See Plough.
SHAM'HUTH, desolation, I Chr. 27:8;
perhaps the same as Shammoth, i Chr.
II :27.
SHA'MIR, a sharp point, I., a city in the
mountains of Judah ; probably Kh. el-Emi-
reh, 12 miles south of Hebron.
II. A city in Mount Ephraim, residence
and burial-place of Tola, a judge of Israel,
Judg. 10:1, 2; probably at Bir ed-Dowa, in
wady SSmiir, 10 miles southeast of She-
chem.
SHAM'MAH, desolation, I., one of the 3
chief of David's 30 heroes, who shared with
David and Eleazar the honor of the exploit
recorded in 2 Sam. 23:11. 12; i Chr. 11:12-
14. Another feat in which he took part is
described in 2 Sam. 23:13-17.
II. A brother of David, i Sam. 16:9;
17:13; elsewhere called Shimeah and Shim-
ma, 2 Sam. 13:3, 32; I Chr. 2:13; 20:7.
Others of this name are mentioned, Gen.
36:13, 17; 2 Sam. 23:25, 33; I Chr. 11:27;
27:8.
SHAMMOTH, 1 Chr. 11:27. perhaps
SHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHA
Shamhuth, i Chr. 27 : 8, and Shammah,
2 Sam. 23:25.
SHAMMU'AH, rcnoivned, one of the 4
sons of David and Bath-sheba, 2 Sam. 5: 14;
I Ch. 14:4; called Shimea in i Chr. 3:5.
Others of this name are mentioned in
Num. 13:4; Neh. 11:17; 12:18. The 2d of
these is called Shemaiah in i Chr. 9: 16.
SHA'PHAN, coney, the scribe or secre-
tary of king Josiah, sent with the governor
of the city and the recorder to the high-
priest, from whom he received the newly-
found roll of the law and read it to the
king, 2 Kin. 22:12; 2 Chr. 34:15-23. He
was the father of Gemariah. Jer. 36:10,
and perhaps of Ahikam and Elasah, 2 Kin.
22:12; Jer. 26:24; 29:3; grandfather of Mi-
chaiah, Jer. 36:11, and perhaps of Gedaliah
and Jaazaniah, 2 Kin. 25:22; Ezek. 8:11.
SHA'PHAT, judge, the father of Elisha,
I Kin. 19:16, 19.
Four others of this name are mentioned
in Num. 13:5; i Chr. 3:22; 5:12; 27:29.
SHA'PHER, ^oti(//l', MOUNT, 22d station
of the Israelites in the wilderness. Num.
33:23; probably Jebel Sheraif, 30 miles
west-southwest from 'Ain Kadeis (Kadesh)
and 60 miles from the mouth of wady Arish
on the Mediterranean. It is a conspicuous
conical mountain 75 miles northwest of
Elath.
SHARA'IM, Josh. 15:36. See Shaaraim.
SHA'RAR, father of one of David's he-
roes, 2 Sam. 23:33; called Sacar in i Chr.
11:35, A. V.
SHARE, I Sam. 13:20, probably the iron
point of the plough.
SHARE'ZER, prince 0/ fire, I., a son of
Sennacherib, who assisted in slaying his
father, 2 Kin. 19:37; Isa. 37:38.
II. Zech. 7:2, 3, in the A. V. Sherezer; a
delegate sent, B. C. 518, with Regem-me-
lech and others from some of the returned
Jews to inquire of the priests and prophets
at Jerusalem whether, as the new temple
was approaching completion, Ezra 4:24;
5:1,2; 6:14, 15; Hag. 1 : 14, 15, it was proper
to observe the fast bewailing the destruc-
tion of the temple 70 years before, 2 Kin.
25:8-10; Jer. 52:12-14. In answer the
Lord rebuked the formality of their fasts,
but gave them a gracious assurance of
prosperity and joy, Zech. 7:4 to 8: 19.
SHA'RON, a plain, I,, a level tract along
the Mediterranean from Carmel to Joppa,
or even as far south as Jamnia, about 60
miles, varying in width from 8 to 15 miles.
It was noted as a place for pasturage, i Chr.
27:29, and flowers. Song 2:1, and for its
fertility and beauty, Isa. 35:2. Its desola-
tion in time of war is noted as a calamity,
and its peaceful reoccupation is promised
as a blessing, Isa. 33:9; 65:10. Many
dwellers in Sharon accepted Christ, Acts
9:35, R. V. According to some " Lasha-
ron '■ in Josh. 12:18 is "the Sharon," with
a preposition prefi.xed. The Hebrew arti-
cle always accompanies the name, except
in I Chr. 5:16. See II.
Sharon is still very fertile, though its
cultivation is decreased and made difficult
for the settled villagers by the raids of
Bedouins, who encamp on the plain and
use parts of it as grazing-ground for their
flocks. It is also much encroached upon
by the sand ; a line of sand-dunes extends
along the shore, in some places 3 miles
wide and 300 feet high. The plain is cross-
ed by several streams from the mountains
on the east, the largest of which, the Nahr
el Aujeh, breaks boldly through the sand-
hills, empties into the Mediterranean north
of Jaffa, and contains water all the year.
Dense thickets of cane line the streams,
and extensive marshes are formed by the
damming of the waters by the sand. East
of the sand-dunes the plain and hilly slopes
are in part thickly wooded with pine and
oak, remnants of the "great forest" of
which Strabo spoke, A. D. 24. The heat
of summer is excessive, and the climate
somewhat unhealthy. Travellers describe
the view of the plain from the tower of
Ramleh as one of surpassing richness and
beauty. The frowning hills of Judah on
the east confront the glittering waters of
the Mediterranean on the west. Towards
the north and south far as the eye can
reach spreads the beautiful plain, covered
in many parts with fields of green or gold-
en grain. Near by are the immense olive-
groves of Ramleh and Lydda, and amid
them the picturesque towers, minarets, and
domes of these villages; while the hill-
sides towards the northeast are thickly
studded with native hamlets. The uncul-
tivated parts of the plain are covered in
spring and the early summer with a rich
profusion of flowers. See Rose.
II. A place occupied by Gad, east of the
Jordan ; perhaps equivalent to " the Mi-
shor " or upland downs, called "the plain"
in the A. V., Deut. 3:10— a region suitable
for pasturage like the western Sharon.
This would agree well with the meaning of
the word "suburbs," i Chr. 5:16, an out-
lying pasture-ground, as around the Levit-
ical cities. See Suburbs.
543
SHA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
SHARU'HEN, home of grace, a city al-
lotted to Simeon, on the south of Judah's
portion, apparently=Shiliiim, Josii. 15:32,
and Shaaraim, i Chr. 4:31; traced in the
ruins at Tell esh Sheriah, 12 miles north-
west of Beer-sheba.
SHA'UL, desired, the son of Simeon by
a woman of Canaan, and father of the
Shaulites, Gen. 46:10; Exod. 6:15; Num.
26:13; I Chr. 4:24. See also S.\UL.
SHA'VEH, a plain, tlie open valley where
Abrahani and the king of Sodom met, Gen.
14; 17, called also " the king's dale " or val-
ley; it is usually identified with the place
so called where Absalom erected a monu-
ment, 2 Sam. 18:18. Robinson regards it
as the upper part of the Kidron valley,
north of Jerusalem; Stanley would place
it east of tlie Jordan.
SHA'VEH-KIRIATHA'IM, Gen. 14:5, a
plain near the town of Kirjathaim — at Ka-
reyat, about 11 miles east of the Dead Sea,
5 miles northwest of Diban or Dibon.
SHA'VING. The Egyptians, except when
mourning, shaved the head and beard, as
appears from the ancient monuments and
the statements of Herodotus. Hence Jo-
seph, as the servant of an Egyptian, shaved
himself when called before Pharaoh, Gen.
41:14. The Egyptians, however, wore
some artificial head-covering, as a wig or
a cap, except the priests, who are repre-
sented with naked heads or with some
symbolical head-dress. Egyptian women
wore long hair, in elaborate curls. The
Assyrians, and usually the Babylonians,
retained the hair on the head and face, but
Babylonian priests shaved their faces
smooth. The Hittites shaved off the eye-
brows, moustache, and beard ; the Moab-
ites shaved the fore part of the head, Ara-
bian tribes the temples; comp. Jer. 9:26;
25:23; 49:32, margins, where the Arabian
custom is alluded to. It is also mentioned
by Herodotus. By the Mosaic law the
Hebrews were forbidden to " round the
corners of their heads " or " mar the cor-
ners of the beard," Lev. 19:27; and the
priests were especially forbidden to shave
the head or face in mourning or at any
time. Lev. 21:5; Ezek. 44:20; these regu-
lations being designed to distinguish God's
chosen people from the heathen around
them, Deut. 14:1, 2. Shaving the face and
head was, however, prescribed in examin-
ing a suspected leper and in the ceremony
of his purification, Lev. 13:29-34; 14:8, 9;
comp. Num. 8:5-7; Deut. 21:12. During
the period of a Nazarite's vow the hair
544
was permitted to grow without the usual
trimming, and at the termination of the
vow the head was shaved. Num. 6:1-9, 18,
19; Acts 18:18; 21:24. Samson's Nazarite-
ship was intended to be life-long, Judg.
13-5. 7; 16:17, 19; comp. I Sam. i:ii. The
Hebrews and other bearded nations, like
Orientals of the present day, cherished
the beard and resented any insult to it,
2 Sam. 10:4, 5. See Bkard. Neglect of it
in David's time was a sign of mourning,
2 Sam. 19:24. Shaving the head and sha-
ving or shortening the beard were common
signs of mourning aniong the Arabians and
Syrians, Job 1:20; Isa. 15:2; Jer. 47:5;
48:37; Ezek. 27:31 ; and the custom, though
forbidden by Moses, became so prevalent
among the Israelites, Jer. 41:5, that tITe
prophets often refer to it as a synonym for
mourning, Isa. 22:12; Amos 8:10; Micah
1:16; Jer. 16:6; Ezek. 7:18; compare Ezra
9:3. Modern Arabs in towns frequently
keep their heads shaved, according to the
Moslem requirements; but the Bedouins
and fellahin permit both beard and hair
to grow.
SHAV'SHA. I Chr. 18:16. See Seraiah.
SHEAL'TIEL. See Salathiel.
SHEAR'ING-HOUSE, Heb. BKTH-KKKD
ha-roim, 2 Kin. 10:12, 14, margin, a place
between Jezreel and Samaria, where Jehu
killed 42 members of the royal family of
Judah. The Septuagint and Eusebius make
it a proper name, Beth-eked ; and the latter
speaks of it as a village of Samaria, in the
plain of Jezreel, 15 Roman miles from Me-
giddo; Conder suggests Akadah, on the
western side of the plain.
SHE'AR-JASH'UB, llie remnant shall re-
turn, Isa. 7:3; 10:21, the name of one of
Isaiah's sons ; supposed to have had a pro-
phetic meaning, like Maher-shalal-hash-
baz. Comp. Isa. 8:18.
SHE'BA, I., son of Raamah, Gen. 10:7;
I Chr. 1:9. His posterity are supposed to
have settled on the Persian Gulf. See
CusH and Raamah.
II. Son of Joktan, of the race of Shem,
Gen. 10:28; I Chr. 1:22. See Sabeans, II.
III. Son of Jokshan and grandson of
Abraham by Keturah, Gen. 25:3; i Chr.
1:32. He is supposed to have settled in
Arabia Deserta.
SHE'BA, Queen of. See Sabeans, II.
SHE'BA, seven or an oath. In the He-
brew this name differs from the foregoing.
I. A turbulent Benjamite, who after the
death of Absalom made a fruitless effort to
excite a rebellion in Israel against David.
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
Being pursued and besieged in Abel-beth-
maachah, near the southern part of Leba-
non, he was beheaded by the people of the
■city, 2 Sam. 20.
II. A Gadite chief in Bashan, i Chr. 5:13.
III. A town in Simeon, Josh. 19:2, by
■some identified with Shema ; at first as-
•signed to Judah, Josh. 15:26. Probably
found at Tell es Seba', 3 miles east of
Beer-sheba, on the road to Moladah.
SHE'BAH, or SHI'BEAH, fem. of the
preceding, Gen. 26:33; comp. margin; the
.4th well reopened by Isaac's servants. Gen.
26:18,23-32; 21:25-31. See Beer-sheba.
SHE'BAM, /ra£-rance, a town in the pas-
toral district east of the Jordan, Num. 32 : 3 ;
probably=SiBMAH, which see.
SHEBAN'IAH, whom tlie Lord makes to
_grow, the name of 2 priests and 2 Levites.
I. Neh. 9:4,5; 10:10. — II. Neh. 10:4; 12:14.
— III. Neh. 10:12.— IV. I Chr. 15:24.
SHEBA'RIM, breaches, Josh. 7:5, a point,
perhaps in a craggy ravine, to which the
Israelites fled before the men of Ai.
SHE'BER, a ff-aclicre, son of Caleb and
Maachah, i Chr. 2:48.
SHEB'NA, yoiitliful vigor, I., a "treas-
urer " or prefect of the palace of king Hez-
■ekiah, Isa. 22:15, a proud and imperious
man, whose degradation the prophet was
•commissioned to foretell, ver. 16-25. He
was to be tossed " like a ball " into a large
"Country.' See Wheel. Gen. Gordon, in
■crossing the Korosko desert in the Soudan,
saw many balls of matted dry grass, some
of them 3 feet in diameter, driven cease-
lessly over the hot sands by the wind : an
impressive image of a restless soul driven
away in its wickedness.
II. A scribe or secretary of Hezekiah,
2 Kin. 18:18 to 19:7; Isa. 36:3-22; 37:2-7.
Some regard him as the same as the pre-
ceding.
SHE'CHEM, shoulder, I., a Hivite prince
who abducted Jacob's daughter Dinah, ai)d
who, with his father Hamor and many
other Shechemites, was treacherously slain
by Simeon and Levi, Gen. 34.
II. A descendant of Manasseh, Num.
26:31 ; Josh. 17:2.
III. Another of Manasseh's posterity,
I Chr. 7:19.
IV. A city of Central Canaan, in the val-
ley between Mounts Gerizim and Ebal.
Abraham here erected his first altar in Ca-
naan, Gen. 12:6, 7. Jacob, returning from
Padan-aram, encamped near Shechem,
then a city of the Hivites, bought land,
-which he bequeathed as a special portion
35
to Joseph, and erected an altar. Gen. 33: 18-
20; 48:22; Julni 4:3. In revenge for a
wrong his sons ca,;lured and spoiled the
city. Gen. 34. Under an oak near She-
chem Jacob, before departing, buried the
amulets and teraphim of his household,
Gen. 35: 1-4. His sons returned with their
flocks to this fertile region; and here Jo-
seph, journeying from Hebron, 50 miles
south, sought them. Gen. 37:12-17. After
the Conquest Joseph's bones were buried
in his inheritance near Shechem, Josh.
24:32; Acts 7:16. Tlie town lay in Ephra-
im's territory, and was assigned to the Ko-
halhite Levites and made a city of refuge,
Josh. 20:7; 21: 2D, 21. From its central
position and sacred associations it became
a gathering-place of the tribes. Near its
site occurred the soLmn reading of the
law, with accompanying curses and bless-
ings, where Mounts Lbal and Gerizim most
nearly approach each other, and persons
on the opposite sides and in the valley can
readily converse, Deut. 11 : 29; 27; 28;
Josh. 8:30-35. Here Joshua won the tribes
to a solemn engagement to serve Jehovah,
in commemoration of which he set up "a
great stone " under the oak already hal-
lowed by Abraham and Jacob, Josh. 24:1-
28. By this same monument probably Gid-
eon's son Abimelech was made king, Judg.
9:6; and from Mount Gerizim, at whose
foot the city nestled, Jotham prophesied ill
against the people and king, Judg. 9:7-20;
a prediction fulfilled 3 years later in their
destruction, ver. 22-57. Shechem was after-
wards rebuilt. David alludes to it as rep-
resenting the promised land west of the
Jordan, Psa. 60:6. Rehoboam went thither
to be crowned, but there gave the 10 tribes
occasion to revolt, i Kin. 12:1-18. The
city became the first capital of the northern
kingdom under Jeroboam, ver. 25, but the
seat of government was soon transferred
to Tirzah, i Kin. 14:17; 15:21, -^i. After
the Assyrian conquest and captivity, B. C.
721, Shechem doubtless received its share
of heathen colonists, 2 Kin. 17:6, 24-41.
After the Babylonian conquest of Judah,
B. C. 588, Shechemites were among those
slain at Mizpah by Ishmael, Jer. 41:5-7;
the "treasures in the field" for which 10
were spared, ver. 8, were probably provis-
ions hid in covered pi*^s, such as are still
used for the same purpose in the dry hill-
sides of Palestine. S'lechem became the
chief city of the Samaritans, as near their
national temple on Mount Gerizim, and so
continued at least till John Hyrcanus cap-
545
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
tured the city and destroyed tlie temple,
B. C. 129. See GicKiziiM and Samaritans.
Near Sliechem was Jacob's well, at which
Christ talked with the Samaritan woman,
John 4. Later, in the time of Josephus, the
city, which doubtless suffered in the Jew-
isli war, was rebuilt by the Romans and
named Flavia Neapolis, F". new town, in
honor of Flavius Vespasian, Roman general
and emperor. Many coins of the city under
this title are extant, and it is still retained
in the Arabic form Nabulus or Nablus.
Whether the " Sychar " of John 4:5 was
identical with Shechem, whose ordinary
Greek form " Sychem " was used by Ste-
phen, Acts 7:16, is a disputed question.
See Sychar. Shechem was no doubt vis-
ited by the apostles and disciples in their
evangelizing tours through Samaria, Acts
8:25; 9:31; 15:3. The Christian philoso-
pher and martyr Justin, a heathen bj- birth,
was born at Neapolis about A. D. 100. Pas-
tors of Neapolis are mentioned as attend-
ing church councils until A. D. 536. The
city was taken by the Moslems in the "th
century. It submitted to the Crusaders
after the taking of Jerusalem, A. D. 1099,
but was retaken by the Moslems A. D.
1242, and has since remained in their
hands.
^.•^^'
VIEW OF NABLUS AND MOUNT GERIZIM FROM THE NORTHWEST
The valley in which Nablfls lies extends
8 or 9 miles northwest; it is 2,360 feet
above the sea, and the mountains Gerizim
on the south and Ebal on the north rise
some 600 and 800 feet higher. On the east
the valley opens into the northern end of
the fertile plain el-Mukhna, \Vz miles wide
and about 10 miles long from north to
south. Along this plain runs the road to
Jerusalem, 30 miles south of Nablus; the
road leads northeast to Tubas or Thebez,
10 miles from Nablus, and thence nearly
30 miles to the southern end of the Sea of
Galilee. Sebustiveh, or Samaria, is 5'.^
miles northwest of Nablfls, on a hill at the
end of the valley; Nazareth is nearly 30
miles north of Nablds. At the foot of
Mount Gerizim, [where the Nablus valley
546
opens on the plain, and close to the road to
Jerusalem, is Jacob's well, still called Bir-
Yakub, a site acknowledged by Jews, Sa-
maritans, Christians, and Moslems. Here
Jesus, "wearied with his journey," sat "at
the 6th hour," noon, probably in Chisleu
or December, while his disciples went " into
the city to buy food ;" here he revealed his
Messiahship to the Samaritan woman and
received her fellow-citizens. At " Sychar "
he spent 2 days, reaping the harvest of
souls of which he had spoken to his disci-
ples, John 4:5-8, 25-42. The well is sur-
rounded by the ruins of a Christian church,
built in the 4th century and destroyed be-
fore the time of the Crusades. Its depth
in 1838 was 105 feet, but is now decreased
to 75 feet by the stones which have fallen
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
or been thrown in. See Jacob's Well.
About a quarter of a mile northeast of the
well is the traditional site of Joseph's tomb,
now covered by a square inclosure with
high whitewashed walls, a Mohammedan
wely's, i.e., saint's tomb. The Moslems claim
that Joseph's bones were removed hence
to the cave of Machpelah. A quarter of a
mile farther, at the foot of Mount Ebal, is
the village of Askar, by some identified
with Sychar. See Svchar. There are
ancient tombs around the mountain base.
Nablus is a mile and a half northwest of
Jacob's well, but may anciently have lain
farther east than now. The road lies
through a beautiful little valley, more than
half a mile wide at its opening on the
Mukhna, but narrowing, again expanding,
and then contracting again to its narrowest
at Nablus. About half way between the
well and the city is the watershed between
the Jordan and the Mediterranean. The
springs which rise on both sides of this
point and flow eastward and westward were
in the possession of the Canaanites when
Jacob, according to the tradition cited by
the Samaritan woman, dug his well. About
three-quarters of a mile from the well, in a
recess at the northern foot of Mount Geri-
zim, is a place now named el-Amud, Ihe
pillar, which the Samaritans make the site
of the oak — A. V. "plain" — of Moreh,
Gen. 12:6; 35:4, and the stone of Joshua,
Josh. 24:26. The valley is well watered
by several streams, and is fertile and cul-
tivated ; near the town it is well wooded,
olive-trees being most abundant. The
town is surrounded by flourishing gardens
and orchards of figs, mulberries, grapes,
almonds, oranges, apricots, and other fruits.
The main street runs from the eastern gate
to the western, and contains most of the
bazars. The side streets are narrow, vault-
ed, and dark. The houses are high, built
of stone, with domes and battlements on
the flat roofs. There are 5 mosques, 3 of
which were originally churches of the Cru-
saders. The Samaritans live in the south-
western quarter, near their synagogue, and
from the western gate of the city a road
leads up to their sacred place on Mount
Gerizim. The population is variously esti-
mated at from 9,000 to 13,000, all Moham-
medans e.xcept about 140 Samaritans, a few
Jews, and about 650 Christians, chiefly of
the Orthodox Greek Church. The inhabi-
tants are actively engaged in manufactures
and trade ; about 20 factories make soap
from olive-oil, and pile their refuse in heaps
outside of the city ; woollen and cotton
goods are also manufactured ; and the pro-
ducts supply the neighborhood and are
sent to distant points by caravans.
The following extracts are from Dr.
Clarke's description of this place: "There
is nothing in the Holy Land finer than a
view of Nablus from the heights around it.
As the traveller descends towards it from
the hills it appears luxuriantly embos-
omed in the most delightful and fragrant
bowers, half concealed by rich gardens and
by stately trees collected into groves all
around the bold and beautiful valley in
which it stands. ... In the morning after
our arrival we met caravans coming from
Grand Cairo, and noticed others reposing
in the large olive plantations near the
gates. . . .
" Upon the hills around flocks and herds
were feeding as of old ; nor in the simple
garb of the shepherds of Samaria was there
anything repugnant to the notions we may
entertain of the appearance presented by
the sons of Jacob. . . .
" Perhaps no Christian scholar ever at-
tentively read the 4th chapter of John
without being struck with the numerous
internal evidences of truth which crowd
upon the mind in its perusal. . . . In-
dependently of its importance as a theo-
logical document, ... a volume might be
filled with the illustration it reflects on the
history of the Jews and on the geography
of their country. All that can be gathered
on these subjects from Josephus seems but
as a comment to illustrate this chapter.
The journey of our Lord from Judsea into
Galilee, the cause of it, his passage through
the territory of Samaria, his approach to
the metropolis of this country, its name,
his arrival at the Amorite field which ter-
minates the narrow valley of Sychem, the
ancient custom of halting at a well, the
female employment of drawing water, the
disciples sent into the city for food, by
which its situation out of the town is obvi-
ously implied, the question of the woman
referring to existing prejudices which sep-
arated the Jews from the Samaritans, the
depth of the well, the Oriental allusion con-
tained in the expression 'living water,' the
history of the well and the customs there-
by illustrated, the worship upon Mount
Gerizim— all these occur within the space
of 20 verses."
SHECHI'NAH, divelling, a word not
found in the Bible, but used in the Jewish
Targums and by Christian writers to de-
547
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
note the visible majestic manifestation of
the presence of Jehovah, as in the cloud
concealing and also revealing his glory,
Num. 16:42, which guided the Israelites,
enveloped Sinai, Exod. 13:21, 22; 19:9, 16,
18, came to the tabernacle at its dedica-
tion, rested on it during its sojourn in the
wilderness, Exod. 40 : 34-38, and abode
within it on the mercy -seat, Lev. 16:2;
2 Sam. 6:2; which also came to Solomon's
temple at its dedication, i Kin. 8:10, 11,
and abode there on the mercy-seat, 2 Kin.
19:15; Fsa. 80: 1, perhaps with intervals of
withdrawal, till the destruction of the tem-
ple, Fsa. 91:1; 99: 1, but was absent, as the
Jews claim, from the rebuilt temple. The
Jews based an expectation of the return of
the Shechinah in the days of the Messiah
on such prophetic passages as Ezek. 43:7,
9; Hag. i:S; Zech. 2:10; comp. Isa. 4:5.
Allusion is made in the New Testament to
this "glory of the Lord," Acts 7:2; Rom.
9:4; Heb. 9:5. Similar manifestations at-
tended the birth and transfiguration of
Christ, Luke 2:9; Matt. 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17,
18. As a type, the Shechinah pointed to
the incarnation of the Son of God, John
1:14; comp. Heb. 1:3.
THE BRO.\D-T.\ILED SYRIAN SHEEP.
SHEEP. This animal was early domes-
ticated, Gen. 4:2, and offered in sacrifice,
ver. 4. Much of the wealth of the ancient
patriarchs consisted in sheep, Gen. 12:16;
13:2, 5; 24:35; 26:14; 32:5, 14; Job 1:3;
42:12. They formed an important part of
the possessions of the sons of Jacob at their
settlement in Egypt, Gen. 46:32; 47:1, 3,
and of their descendants at the Exodus,
Exod. 12:38, and on and after their en-
trance into the promised land, Num. 32: i ;
I Sam. 25:2; 2 Sam. 12:2. Scripture says
that Pharaoh gave Abraham shee]), not
horses ; and it is worthy of note that con-
548
temporary Egyptian monuments show
sheep, but no horses till after the Hyksos'
invasion. They are among the animals
accounted " clean " and eatable by the
Mosaic law, Lev. 11:2, 3; Deut. 12:20, 21;
14:4. Their milk was in common use for
food, Deut. 32:14; Isa. 7:21, 22; their flesh
was often eaten when animal food was em-
ployed, as on festive occasions, in the exer-
cise of iiospitality, or ordinarily in the
households of persons of high rank, i Sam.
25: 18 ; 2 Sam. 12:4; 17:29; i Kin. 4:22, 23 ;
Neh. 5:18; Isa. 22:13; Amos 6:4. Their
wool was spun into cloth, Lev. 13:47; Deut.
22:11 ; Job.31 :2o; Prov.3i:i3. Sheep-skins
formed one of the coverings of the taber-
nacle, Exod. 26:14; 36:19, and were worn
by the poor, Heb. 11:37. Tribute was paid
by the Moabite king Mesha in sheep and
w-ool, 2 Kin. 3:4; and they were important
articles of trade, as between Tyre and the
Syrians and Arabians, Ezek. 27:18, 21.
Sheep were ofiered as sacrifices on many
occasions. Gen. 15:9; 22:13; Exod. 20:24;
the Mosaic law prescribed 2 lambs as a
daily burnt-offering, Exod. 29:38, 39, and 4
for the Sabbath, Num. 28:3-10; and rams
and lambs were among the burnt-offerings
appointed for the new moons, the 3 great
feasts, and the Day of Atonement, Num.
28: II ; 29. A lamb was the usual Passover
victim, Exod. 12:3-5; and from the sheep
were often taken peace-offerings and sin
or trespass-offerings, Lev. 3:6, 7; 4:32;
5:6, 15, 18; 6:6. See Sacrifice. When a
sheep was presented as a peace or sin-
offering, in addition to the internal parts
required to be burned on the altar, as
when the victim was an ox or a goat, the
"whole rump," that is, the tail, is speci-
fied, Exod. 29:22; Lev. 3:9: 7:3. Dr. Rus-
sell describes 2 varieties of Syrian sheep :
the so-called Bedouin sheep, resembling
our ordinary sheep ; and the more numer-
ous broad-tailed sheep, whose tail is com-
posed of a delicate fat resembling marrow,
which is often used in cooking instead of
butter, and, cut into small pieces, forms an
ingredient in many dishes. The tail of an
ordinary sheep of this sort often weighs 15
pounds, and that of a fatted specimen may
weigh 3 times as much. Probably this
broad-tailed sheep anciently, as now, was
the favorite variety, and the Israelites were
commanded to devote to Jehovah its choi-
cest part.
Sometimes strong towers were erected
for the defence of the flock, Gen. 35:21 ;
Mic. 4:8, as is still the case in lonely dis-
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
tricts. When the sheep were lo be shorn
they were, as now, collected in a fold.
Frequently also, as now in the East, the
sheep were not folded at night, Luke 2:8.
Christ informed the Jews that besides his
"own sheep" in the "fold" of Israel, he
had other sheep among the Gentiles who
would " hear his voice," and whom he
would gather with Jewish believers into
"one flock," John 10:16, R. V. None can
pluck them out of his hand, John 10:27-29.
SHEEP'-GATE, a gate of Jerusalem as
rebuilt by Nehemiah, Neh. 3:1, 32; 12:39.
It is believed to be referred to by John as
near the pool of Bethesda, John 5:2, R. V.
Tradition would identify it with the pres-
ent St. Stephen's gate, bej'ond the north-
east corner of the temple inclosure. More
probably it was in the centre of the west-
ern wall, at the present Bab-el-Kattanin,
near which is the Hammam esh-Shifa, lieal-
ing bath.
SHEEP'- MARKET, John 5 : 2, rather
SHEEP-GATE, as in the R. V. See Sheep-
G.\TE.
SHEETS, Judg. 14:12, A. v.; "shirts,"
as in the margin ; probably the garments
worn ne.xt to the skin.
SHEK'EL, -weight. The shekel was pri-
marily only a certain weight, and as such
a common standard of measure and valu-
ation for many articles, as spices, E.xod.
30:23, 24; hair, 2 Sam. 14:26; brass or
bronze and iron. Gen. 24:22; E.xod. 38:24,
25, 29; Josh. 7:21; I Sam. 17:5, 7. It was
equal to about yi an ounce avoirdupois.
Uncoined silver, in the form of ingots,
rings, etc., was weighed by shekels in pay-
ment as money, as by Abraham to Ephron,
Gen. 23:15, 16, and bj^ Jeremiah to Hana-
meel, Jer. 32:9, 10. In distinction from the
common shekel, the " shekel of the sanctu-
ary," equal to 20 gerahs, probably denotes
a just and full shekel according to the
standard weight preserved in the house of
God, E.xod. 30:13; Ezek. 45:12; compare
Lev. 19:36; Ezra 8:29, 7,7,. By this were
to be weighed all tajces, fines, and contri-
butions for sacred purposes, Exod. 38:24-
26; Lev. 5:15; 27:2-7, 25; Num. 3:45-50;
18:14-16. Whether a shekel "after the
king's weight " differed from this is un-
known, but in 2 Sam. 14:26 a copyist's
error of " 200 " instead of " 20 " shekels is
suspected. In silver by weight in shekels
civil taxes were paid, 2 Kin. 15:20; Neh.
5: 15, and dues in general, 2 Sam. 24:24. In
a time of famine at Samaria a half-pint of
food ordinarily despised was worth 5 shek-
els, 2 Kin. 6:25; but soon after a "meas-
ure," Heb. seah, = 10 quarts, of fine flour
sold for a shekel, 2 Kin. 7:1, 16, 18. A time
of scarcity is shown by the rating of a choe-
nix, = \% pints, of wheat at a denarius, or
nearly K of a shekel. Rev. 6:6. Dishonest
merchants cheated their customers by giv-
ing small measure, weighing the silver
paid them with too heavy shekels, Amos
8:5; comp. Mic. 6:10, II. See Eph.\h.
Where amounts are mentioned a word is
often omitted in the Hebrew, as in Gen.
20:16; 37:28; Song 8:11; instead of "pie-
ces," the word supplied should always be
" shekels," as it is in some cases, Judg.
17:2, etc.; I Kin. 10:29. Half, third, and
quarter shekels of silver are mentioned,
Exod. 30:13, 15; I Sam. 9:8; Neh. 10:32.
The Jews became acquainted with coined
money in the lands of their captivity, and
after their return Ezra and Nehemiah men-
tion the Persian gold coin called "daric,"
A. V. "dram," Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70-72;
but the practice of weighing silver still
continued, Zech. 11:12, 13. About B. C.
139 Simon Maccabseus, then high -priest
and governor of the Jews, received per-
mission from the Syrian king Antiochus
VII. "to coin monej'^ with his own stamp,"
I Mace. 15:6, and there are silver shekels
and half-shekels still extant which are at-
tributed to him. The obverse of these
shekels, the first Jewish coinage, bears a
vase, perhaps a representative of the pot of
manna, and an inscription meaning "the
shekel of Israel ;" the reverse bears a twig
with 3 buds, perhaps indicating Aaron's
almond-rod, and an inscription meaning
"Jerusalem the holy." The letters are
nearly identical with those now known as
Samaritan. See Samaritan Pentateuch.
Bockh estimates the original weight of this
shekel at about 274 Paris grains. It equal-
led about 60 cents of U. S. currency. The
tribute" (Greek two drachmas) asked of
Christ at Capernaum, Matt. 17:24-27, R. V.,
was the half-shekel tax mentioned by Jo-
sephus as annually paid by the Jews in his
time into the temple treasury; compare
Exod. 30:13; 2 Kin. 12:4, 5; 2 Chr. 24:6-9;
549
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
the "piece of money " found in the fish's
mouth, in Greek "stater," =i^ 4 drachmas
or I shekel, was just the amount required
for 2 persons. The " 30 pieces of silver "
paid to Judas for betraying Christ, Matt.
26:15; comp. Zech. 11:12, was the valua-
tion set on a slave's life, Exod. 21 :32.
SHE'l^AH, />c/i7ton, I., Judah's youngest
son, Gen. 38:5, 11, 14, 26; 46:12; Num.
26:20; I Chr. 2:3.
II. Son of Arphaxad, i Clir. i : 18, 24 ;
called Salah in (jcn. 10:24.
SHE'LEPH, drawn out, the 2d son of
Joktan, Gen. 10:26; 1 Chr. 1:20. An Ara-
bian tribe and district in Yemen in South
Arabia are mentioned by Arabic writers
as bearing from him the name Sulaf.
SHELO'MITH, peaceful, Lev. 24:11, a
woman of the tribe of Dan, whose hus-
band was an Egyptian and whose son was
stoned for blasphemy.
SHELU'MIEL,//7<;-«^o/"Corf, Num. i:6;
2:12, a Simeonite prince at tlie Exodus.
SHEM, name, a son of Noah, Gen. 5:32;
6:10, always named before Ham and Ja-
pheth, as the eldest son, or as the forefa-
ther of the Hebrews. In Gen. 10:21 "el-
der " may be applied to Shem instead of
Japheth. Shem was 98 at the time of the
Flood, Gen. 7:13; comp. 11:10; his son Ar-
phaxad was born 2 years after the Flood.
The Hebrews were descended from Ar-
phaxad's grandson Eber, through his son
Peleg, Gen. 11:12-16, 18-26; many Arabian
tribes descended from Eber through his
son Joktan, Gen. 10:25-30. Elam, Asshur,
Lud, and Aram, also sons of Shem, ver. 22,
were progenitors of other nations. Shem
died, aged 600, Gen. 11:10, 11. According
to the apparent chronology of the Hebrew
text, in his first century he was contempo-
rary with Methuselah, whose first 243 years
contemporized with Adam ; and when Shem
died Abraham was 148 years old. Shem
received from his father a blessing, Gen.
9:26, in the form of a doxology to "Jeho-
vah," afterwards to reveal himself as pecu-
liarly the " God of Shem," of whose line
were the chosen patriarchs and Israel, and
finally the Messiah, Luke 3:23-36. Many
Jewish and Christian scholars regard part
of Gen. 9:27 as included in the blessing of
Shem, explaining, as the Hebrew allows,
" God shall . . . dwell in the tents of Shem ;"
comp. Exod. 25:8; Num. 5:3; others read,
" Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem,"
and find it fulfilled spiritually in the admit-
tance of the Gentiles to the church of God,
Eph. 2:13, 14; 3:6. The servitude of Ca-
550
naan under Shem, Gen. 9:26, was fulfilled
partly in the subjugation of the Canaanites
to Israel, Josh. 23:4; 2 Chr. 8:4, 7, 8; comp.
Gen. 10:15-18; 15:18-21. The regions peo- ■
pled by Shem's descendants intersect por-
tions of Japheth and Ham. A family of
languages is called Shemitic, as pertaining
to nations descended from Shem; it in-
cludes Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic,
Ethiopic, etc. ; but in this general class are
included several languages spoken by na-
tions descended from Ham.
SHE'MA, fame. Josh. 15:26, a town in
the territory first assigned to Judah. See
Sheba, HI. Probably found at Tel Jem-
neh, 9 miles south by west of Gaza.
SHEMA'IAH, fehovah hears, the name of
many Hebrews, of whom we specify, I.,
one of the chief Levites who helped David
transport the ark from Obed-edom's house
to Jerusalem, i Chr. 15:8, 11, 12; about B.
C. 1042.
II. A Levite who made for David a reg-
ister of the 24 priestly classes, i Chr. 24:6;
about B. C. 1015.
HI. A prophet b}-^ whom God forbade
Rehoboam's projected attempt to recover
by arms the revolted 10 tribes, i Kin. 12:21-
24, and a few years later called Rehoboam
and his court to repent at the invasion of
Shishak, 2 Chr. 12:5-8. He was a chroni-
cler of Rehoboam's reign, ver. 15.
IV. A false prophet among the exiled
Jews in Babylon, who opposed the prophet
Jeremiah and incurred divine judgments on
himself and his family, Jer. 29:24-32. His
appellative, " the Nehelamite," is translated
"dreamer " in the margin ; comp. ver. 8.
V. A false prophet hired by Sanballat
and Tobiah, who sought to terrify Nehe-
miah into a cowardly retreat within the
temple, Neh. 6:10-14.
SHEME'BER, soaring aloft, king of Ze-
boim in Abraham's time. Gen. 14:2-10.
SHE'MER, lees of wine, caWed SHO'MER
in I Chr. 7:32; the former owner of the
hill on which Omri built Samaria, i Kin.
16:24.
SHEM'INITH, the eighth; Psa. 6; 12.
titles; I Chr. 15:21. It seems to denote
not an instrument, but a part in music,
perhaps the lowest; or, as others think, a
a certain musical time or key.
SHEMU'EL, heard of God, I Chr. 6:33,
the true Hebrew name of the prophet
Samuel.
SHEN, the tooth, I Sam. 7:12, probably
a sharp conspicuous rock, like "Seneh, "
I Sam. 14:4.
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
SHE'NIR and SE'NIR, snowy peak, the
Amorite name for Mount Harmon, Deut.
3:9; Ezek. 27:5; or perhaps for a portion
of Hermon, i Chr. 5:23; Song 4:8. The
part of Anti- Lebanon north of Damascus,
now called Jebel esh-Shurky, east moun-
tain, was mentioned as Senir by the Ara-
bian historian and geograper Abulfeda,
A. D. 1300. See Hermon and Sirion.
SHE'OL, a Hebrew word, transferred in
the R. V. in many passages of the 65 in
which it occurs and in which in the A. V.
it is incorrectly rendered "hell," "the
grave," or "the pit." It denotes, not the
final abode of the lost, nor the place where
dead bodies are deposited, but the realm
of departed spirits, both the righteous, Gen.
37:35; Psa. 16:10, and the wicked, Psa. 9: 17.
See Hell, Soul.
SHE'PHAM, /rz^/. Num. 34:10, 11, a
place on the eastern border of the land
promised to Israel, between Hazar-enan
and Riblah.
SHEPHATI'AH, the name of 8 men allu-
ded to in the following passages : 2 Sam.
3:4; I Chr. 12:5; 27:16; 2 Chr. 21:2; Ezra
2:4; ver. 57; Neh. 11:4; Jer. 38:1.
SHEPHE'LAH, THE, the lowland, the
southern portion of that region of Canaan
lying between the central hills and the
Mediterranean, the northern part being
called Sharon. " The Shephelah " often
occurs in the Hebrew and always with this
definite signification ; it continued to be so
used down to the 5th century, and is men-
tioned by Eusebius and Jerome. It should
have been transferred to the English, but
is rendered in the A. V. " the vale," Deut.
1:7; Josh. 10:40; I Kin. 10:27; 2 Chr. 1:15;
Jer. 33:13; "the valley "or "valleys," Josh.
9:1; 11:2, 16; 12:8; 15:33; Judg. 1:9; Jer.
32:44; "the plain," Jer. 17:26; Obad. 19;
Zech. 7:7; "the low plains," i Chr. 27:28;
2 Chr. 9:27; and "the low country," 2 Chr.
26:10; 28:18. In I Mace. 12:38 it appears
as " Sephela." Josh. 15:33-47 contains a
list of 43 cities included in the Shephelah,
showing that it embraced not only the mar-
itime plain from Ekron to the "river of
Egypt" southwest of Gaza, but also the
lower hills leading up to " the mountains of
Judah." It formed one of the 3 main divis-
ions of Judah, the others being "the Moun-
tains " and the Negeb, in the A. V. " the
south," Judg. 1:9; Jer. 32:44. The region
was favorable for olive and sycamore trees,
1 Chr. 27:28; 2 Chr. 9:27, and for cattle,
2 Chr. 26:10. Though in the territory of
Judah. the Philistines long retained the
corn - producing maritime plain, with its
cities, 2 Kin. 8:1-3; Obad. 19. See Phi-
LISTIA. The Shephelah rises from 100 to
500 feet above the sea, and is still exceed-
ingly fertile ; the lower western plain and
the broad valleys among the hills produce
large crops of grain, and on the hills olive-
groves still flourish. The hilly district con-
tains many villages, with houses of stone
or mud, and also many ruins of ancient
sites. Ancient wells and some fine springs
occur. The hills are of soft white lime-
stone, with bands of brown quartz between
the strata.
In Josh. 11:16, the 2d " Shephelah," with-
out the article in the Hebrew, in the A. V.
"valley of the same," evidently refers to
the lowland adjoining Mount Ephraim—
"the mountain of Israel" — /. e., probably
the northern continuation of the Shephe-
lah, elsewhere called Sharon.
SHEP'HERD, or P.4STOR. Abel was a
keeper of sheep. Gen. 4:2. When men
began to multiply and to follow different
employments, Jabal son of Lamech was
acknowledged as father, that is the first, of
shepherds and nomads. Gen. 4 : 20. A large
part of the wealth of the ancient patriarchs
consisted in flocks and herds, the care of
which was shared by their sons, daughters,
and servants. Gen. 13:7; 29:9; 37:2. Shep-
herds were also employed, but were not
highly esteemed. Job 30:1. Jacob seems
to have been pressed by Laban beyond
the requirements of the pastoral law. Gen.
31:39; compare Exod. 22:13; Amos 3:12.
Oriental law still provides that a cattle-
tender may exonerate himself from blame
or loss by carrying to his employer some
portion of an animal that has died without
the tender's fault; but if he cannot prove
his innocence and due carefulness he must
bear the loss. Moses and David were both
shepherds before they were called to be
leaders of Israel, Exod. 3:1-10; i Sam.
16:11-13; Psa. 78:70-72. Shepherds were
highly honored in receiving from heaven
tidings of the birth of Christ, Luke 2:8-20.
In the time of the kings, the "chief herds-
man " held a post of importance and honor,
I Sam. 21:7; I Chr. 27:29-31. In Spain,
flocks of merino sheep sometimes number
10,000, and are under the care of a chief
shepherd with some 50 assistants. Char-
din mentions a clan of Turcoman shep-
herds whose sheep and goats numbered
3,000,000, and who had besides camels,
horses, oxen, and cows amounting to 400,-
000. In Palestine and its vicinity, besides
551
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHE
those who united the keeping of flocks and
herds with the tillage of the ground, there
were and still are numbers of nomads or
wandering shepherds confining themselves
to no settled home. These dwellers in
tents often had a wide range of pasture-
grounds, from one to another of which they
drove their flocks as occasion required,
Gen. 37:12-17. In the vast deserts east
and south of Palestine they found many
spots which in winter and spring were
clothed with verdure, E.Kod. 3: 1 ; Psa. 65:12,
13. But the heat of summer withered these
" pastures of the wilderness " and drove
the shepherds and their flocks to seek for
highlands and streams. There are many
indications in Scripture of the conscious
strength and independence of the ancient
shepherd patriarchs, of the e.xtent of their
households, and the consideration in which
they were held, Gen. 14:14-24; 21:22-32;
26:13-16; 30:43; Job 1:3. The Egyptians,
however, despised shepherds, Gen. 46:34,
a fact attested by the ancient monuments,
which represent shepherds as of low caste,
slovenly, and in some cases deformed.
God sometimes takes the name of Shep-
herd of Israel, Psa. So:i; Jer. 31:10; and
kings, both in Scripture and ancient wri-
ters, are distinguished by the title of "Shep-
herds of the people." The prophets often
inveigh against the "shepherds of Israel,"
that is, the kings, who feed themselves and
neglect their flocks, or distress them and
lead them astray, Ezek. 34:10. In like
manner Christ, as the Messiah, is often
called a shepherd, Zech. 13:7, and also
takes on himself the title of " the Good
Shepherd," who gives his life for his sheep,
John 10:11, 14, 15. Paul calls him the
great Shepherd of the sheep, Heb. 13:20,
and Peter gives him the appellation of
Chief shepherd, i Pet. 5:4. His ministers
are in like manner the pastors or under-
shepherds of the flock, Jer. 3:15; 23:3, 4;
Acts 20:28-30; Eph. 4:11. In many passa-
ges where the word " feed " occurs, the
expressive- original word means " be a
shepherd to," Psa. 28:9; John 21:16; Acts
20:28; I Pet. 5:2; Rev. 7:17.
In John 10:1-16, 27-29, our Saviour says
the Good Shepherd lays down his life for
his sheep, that he knows them and they
know him, that they hear his voice and fol-
low him, that he goes before them, that no
one shall force them out of his hands, and
that he calls them by their names. These,
however, being all incidents taken from the
customs of the country, are by no means
552
so striking to us as they must have been
to those who heard our Lord, and who
had often witnessed such methods of con-
ducting this domesticated animal. Mod-
ern travellers in the East meet with many
pleasing confirmations of the truth of Scrip-
ture in respect to these particulars; they
see the shepherd walking before his flock,
any one of which will instantly run to him
when called by its own name. The hire-
ling, or bad shepherd, forsakes the sheep,
and the thief enters, not by the door of the
sheepfold, but climbs in another way. See
Shkep. The Bible applies many of the
excellences of the faithful shepherd in il-
lustration of the Saviour's care of his flock.
The shepherd was responsible for each
member of the flock intrusted to him, Exod.
22:10-13; John 10:28; he had need of great
courage and endurance. Gen. 31 :4o; i Sam.
17:34, 35; John 10:15; he exercised a ten-
der care towards the feeble, carried the
lambs in his arms. Gen. 33:13; Isa. 40:11 ;
Mark 10:14, 16; and searched for the lost
sheep, bringing it back from the " land of
drought and the shadow of death" into
green pastures and by the still waters, Psa.
23; Luke 15:4-7.
SHEPHU'PHAN, serpc7it, I Chr. 8:5, a
grandson of Benjamin ; called Shu'pham,
Num. 26:39; Shup'pim, i Chr. 7:12, 15;
and Mrp'piM, Gen. 46:21.
SHE'RAH, consanguinity, I Chr. 7:24, a
female descendant of Ephraim, founder of
several towns.
SHERD, an earthenware vessel or frag-
ment, Isa. 30:14; Ezek. 23:34.
SHEREBI'AH, heat of Jehovah, a Levite
trusted and faithful in the return from Cap-
tivity, Neh. 8:7 ; 9:4, 5; 10:12; 12:8,24.
SHERE'ZER, Zech. 7:2. See Share-
ZER, II.
SHER'IFFS, Dan. 3:2, 3, in the Babylo-
nian kingdom, probably officials answering
to the muftis or " head-doctors " of Moham-
medan law in the Turkish Empire.
SHE'SHACH. a poetical or symbolical
name for Babylon, Jer. 25:26; 51:41- The
word may designate Babylon as the city
with bronze gates; or may signify, from
the Persian, " the house of the prince;" or
it may contain the name of one of the di-
vinities worshipped by the Babylonians.
SHESHBAZ'ZAR, Ezra 1:8, II ; 5=14. 16;
comp. Ezra 2:1,2; 3:8-10; Zech. 4:9; the
Chakhean or Persian name of Zerubbabel.
SHETH, tumult, I., i Chr. i:i, the more
correct form of the patriarch Seth's name.
See Seth.
SHEPHERD IN THE BETHLEHEM VALLEY.
SHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
II. Num. 24:17; the word here is proba-
bly not a proper name : instead of " chil-
dren of Sheth," it is proposed to render
"sons of tumult," /. e., the tumultuous
warriors of Moab; comp. Jer. 48:45.
SHE'THAR, star, one of the 7 chief
princes of Persia and Media under Ahasu-
erus or Xer.xes, B. C. 483, Esth. i : 14; comp.
Ezra 7: 14.
SHE'TH AR-BOZ'NAI, star of splendor, a
Persian officer in Palestine under Tatnai,
in the reign of Darius Hystaspis, B. C. 520,
Ezra 5:3, 6; 6:6, 13. See Tatnai.
SHE'VA, 2 Sam. 20:25. See Seraiah, II.
SHEAV'-BREAD, or SHOW-BREAD. See
Bread.
SHIB'BOLETH, an ear of grain, Gen.
41 :5, a branch or twig, Zech. 4: 12, a streatn
or flood, Psa. 69:2, 15. The Ephraimites,
jealous of the Gileadites' victory over the
Ammonites, provoked a war with the Gile-
adites under Jephthah, and were defeated.
When an escaping Ephraimite sought to
pass the Jordan, denying that he was an
Ephraimite, the Gileadites guarding the
fords bade him say shibboleth, but as he
pronounced it sibboleth, he was discovered
and killed. In this war 42,000 Ephraimites
perished, Judg. 12:1-6; comp. ch. 11. This
incident shows that variations of dialect
existed among tribes of the same nation
and speaking the same language. It is no
wonder, therefore, that the same word is
found written in different ways, according
to the pronunciation of different tribes.
Thus in the time of Christ the peculiarities
of Peter's dialect bore witness tliat he was
brought up in Galilee, Matt. 26:73. Shib-
boleth is naturalized in English in the
sense of a party test or watchword.
SHIB'MAH, balsam, a town in Reuben,
east of the Jordan, Num. 32:38. See Sib-
MAH.
SHIC'RON, drunkenness, a landmark in
the northern boundary of Judah, Josh.
15:11. Traced at Kh. Sukerei, 5 miles
northeast of Ashdod.
SHIELD, BUCK'LER, TAR'GET, a piece
of defensive armor, in all ages before fire-
arms rendered them useless, of different
forms and sizes, not imiforrrily distinguish-
ed in the A. V. ; usually round or oval.
The large shield, tsinnah, i Chr. 12:24, 34,
was sometimes borne before a warrior by
an attendant when not in actual combat,
I Sam. 17:7, 41. A smaller shield, magen,
Judg. 5 : 8, often translated " buckler,"
I Chr. 5:18, was in common use, and the 2
are often mentioned together as soldiers'
equipments, 2 Chr. 14:8; Jer. 46:3; Ezek.
23:24. Both Hebrew terms are applied to
God as the protector of his people : magen
in Gen. 15:1; Deut. 33:29; Psa. 84:9, 11;
trinnah in Psa. 5:12. Earthly rulers are
also called "shields," Psa. 47:9. From
1 Kin. 10:16, 17 it appears that much more
material was required for the trinnah or
" target " than for the magen or " shield."
Shields were borne on the left arm held
by a thong near the elbow and another
grasped by the hand, or with a central
knob or handle. They were made with
a light wooden framework covered with
tough hides, and so might be burned, Ezek.
39 : 9 ; often with projecting bosses or spikes,
Job 15:26, and rounded and polished to-
turn aside weapons. Sometimes they were
rimmed with iron or cased with gold, as
the shields made by Solomon for religious
or state processions, i Kin. 10:16, 17, taken
by Shishak, and replaced by Rehoboam
with bronze ones, i Kin. 14:25-28. Metal
shields were used by the soldiers of Anti-
ochus v., I Mace. 6:39. The surface was
kept in good condition by applying oil, Isa.
21:5, and was further protected by a cover
when not in use, Isa. 22:6. Saul's shield
was cast away in battle and " not anoint-
ed," 2 Sam. 1:21. Shields protected the
wearers in besieging cities, Isa. 37:33;
Ezek. 26:8, being so interlocked as to form-
an unbroken front. The word rendered
"shield" in Job 39:23; i Sam. 17:45, and
"target" in i Sam. 17:6, means a lance or
javelin. Paul the prisoner takes the shield
of his Roman guard as the symbol of Chris-
tian faith, Eph. 6:16; i John 5:4; compare
2 Sam. 22:36. See Arms.
SHIGGA'ION, pi. SHIGIO'NOTH, Psa. 7,
title ; variously derived and interpreted by
Hebrew scholars: as a song or psalm, a
song of praise or of lamentation, an irreg-
ular lofty ode. "Upon Shigionoth," or
"after the manner of the Shiggaion," Hab.
3:1, may be a musical direction as to the
accompaniment of the " prayer " or ode.
SHI'HON, ruins, Josh. 19:19, a town of
Issachar ; traced at Ayfln esh-Shain, 3 miles
northwest of Mount Tabor.
SHI'HOR, black, I Chr. 13:5. See River
OF Egypt and Sihor.
SHI'HOR-LIB'NATH, black-white, a point
in the boundary of Asher, Josh. 19:26, the
Nahr Namein, a stream emptying into the
Bay of Acre, a little southeast of that city.
SHIL'HIM,_/o//w/rt/«j', Josh. 15:32, a town
in the south of Judah. See Sharuhen.
SHIL'LEM, Gen. 46:24; Num. 26:49
553
SHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
called Shallum in i Chr. 7:13, recompense ;
a soil of Naphtali.
SHILO'AH, Isa. 8:6. See Siloam.
SHI'LOH, Gen. 49:10. This term in Ja-
cob's prophetic blessing upon Judah has
been applied by some scholars to the town
Shiloh — until Judah " come to Shiloh \' but
this town did not then exist, nor was Judah
there dethroned. The common view, sup-
ported by the ancient Jewish and Christian
versions (the Jewish Septuagint, the tar-
gums of Onkelos and Jerusalem, the Ara-
bic version, the Christian, Syriac, and Latin
versions, and the Samaritan Pentateuch)
refers the word to the Messiah. All are
not, however, agreed as to the literal sig-
nification of" Shiloh :" some translate, "till
He come to ivliom it belongs," i. e., the
sceptre; comp. Ezek. 21:27; others, "the
Peacemaker;" others still, "the Desired
One." The most probable meaning is " the
Peaceful One," of whom So\omon., peaceful,
was a type, and who is termed in Isa. 9:6
"the Prince of Peace;" comp. John 14:27.
The last clause of the verse is to be ren-
dered, "and unto him shall the obedience
of the peoples be," including heathen na-
tions. Compare Matt. 1 1 : 2S-30 ; 23:37, and
Isaiah's description of the combined peace
and power of the Messiah, Isa. 42 : 1-3.
The prophecy thus falls into line with the
previous divine announcements to Abra-
ham, Isaac, and Jacob of a Seed in whom all
the nations should be blessed. Gen. 12:3;
22:18; 26:4; 28: 14; comp. John 8:56; Gal.
3:16, while it goes beyond them in defin-
ing among Jacob's 12 sons the one from
whom the Seed, the " Lawgiver between
his feet," should descend; compare Num.
24:17; Zech. 9:9, 10; Rev. 5:5. It is fur-
ther expanded in such passages as Psalms
2, 72, and no. King David and his line
long held the sceptre of Judah, i Chr. 5:2,
and Isaiah predicted the springing of a
powerful " rod," an everlasting kingship,
from the stock of Jesse, Isa. 11:1-12. The
beginning of the fulfilment of the prophecy
of the Messiah's reign was announced to
Mary by Gabriel, Luke i :32, 33. After the
fall of the actual kingdom of Judah, the
tribal name survives as that of a national-
ity, the term Yehudim, Judaeans or Jews, in-
cluding representatives of the other tribes,
Neh. 1:2; Esth. 2:5; 3:6; John 5:1; Acts
26:3-7. The final passing away of the civil
power from Judah, indicated by the " tax-
ing " at Christ's birth, and completed in the
destruction of Jerusalem, did not occur till
Shiloh had come, to assume a spirilual
554
sceptre which is in no danger of ever pass-
ing away.
SHI'LOH, /^^ar^, resl, a city of Ephraim,
19 miles north of Jerusalem, 11 south of
Shechem, about 2 miles east of the main
road between them via Bethel, Judg. 21 : 19.
Here, when the Promised Land was sub-
dued, the Israelites assembled and estab-
lished the ark and tabernacle, previously
at Gilgal ; here Joshua allotted the portions
of the 7 tribes not already located. Josh.
18; 19; to Eleazar and Joshua and the el-
ders at Shiloh the Levites applied for their
promised cities, Josh. 21 ; from Shiloh Josh-
ua solemnly dismissed the tribes whose
possessions were east of the Jordan, Josh.
22:1-9, and hence a deputation of inquiry
was sent to them on a rumor of idolatry,
ver. 10-34. The tabernacle and ark, the
centre of the worship of Jehovah, remained
at Shiloh through the period of the Judges,
Judg. 18:31. Here, at an annual "feast of
the Lord," the remnant of the Benjamites
seized maidens of Shiloh for wives, Judg.
21 : 19-23 ; comp. Exod. 15 : 20; Psa. 68 : 25.
At Shiloh Hannah's vow was made and ful-
filled, I Sam. 1:8 to 2: II ; and here Samuel
grew up and was called to be a prophet of
the Lord, i Sam. 2:18-21, 26; 3; 4:1. The
ark, removed by Saul to the battlefield and
captured by the Philistines in Eli's time,
I Sam. 4:2-22, was not returned to Shiloh,
ch. 5:1 to 7:2 ; 2 Sam. 6:2, 11, 12 ; and the
tabernacle was transferred to Gibeon,
I Kin. 3:4; I Chr. 16:39. This catastrophe
was a striking proof that sacred objects
and forms have no talismanic virtue, but
will surely fail those who rely upon them
instead of God. The degradation of Shi-
loh because of the iniquities of Israel,
I Sam. 2:12-17, 22-25, is referred to by
Asaph, Psa. 78:58-60, and cited by Jeremi-
ah as a type of God's vengeance on Jeru-
salem and the temple, Jer. 7: 12-14; 26:6, 9.
The prophet Ahijah was a resident of Shi-
loh, I Kin. 11:29; 12:15; 14:2-4. See also
Jer. 41 : 5. In Jerome's time, A. D. 340-420,
Shiloh was in ruins.
Shiloh has been identified with Seilfln,
where, on a low hill, surrounded by higher
hills, are ruins of a comparatively modern
village, with hewn stones and foundations
of a much earlier date. In a little valley
half a mile northeast are a spring and pool
affording an abundant supply of water —
the scene probably of the dance and cap-
ture of the "daughters of Shiloh;" and
near by are rock-hewn tombs, among which
Jewish tradition places those of Eli and b'''
SHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
SEILUN, FORM
sons. Traces of terraces are on the hills,
proofs of former cultivation. The position
of Shiloh was both central and secluded,
and well fitted for the national sanctuary
of Israel.
SHILO'NI, Neh. 11:5. See Shilonites.
SHI'LONITE, an appellation of Ahijah,
as a native or resident of Shiloh, i Kin.
11:29: comp. ch. 14:2, 4.
SHI'LONITES, THE, I Chr. 9:5, descend-
ants of Judah's son Shelah, Gen. 46:12;
elsewhere called Shelanites, Num. 26:20,
and in Neh. 11:5 Shiloni, A. V.
SHIM'EA, SHIM'EAH, rumor, I., a bro-
ther of David, 2 Sam. 13:3; 21:21; i Chr.
20:7; called Shammah, i Sam. 16:9, and
Shimma, i Chr. 2:13.
II. A son of David and Bath-sheba, i Chr.
3:5; called also Shammua, 2 Sam. 5:14;
1 Chr. 14:4.
III. A Merarite Levite, i Chr. 6:30.
IV. A Gershonite Levite, i Chr. 6:39.
SHIM'EAM or SHIM'EAH, splendor, a
Benjamite, i Chr. 8:32; 9:38.
SHIM'EATH,yrtw2£', an Ammonitess, mo-
ther of Zabad or Jozachar, one of the 2
murderers of king Joash, 2 Kin. 12:21;
2 Chr. 24:26.
SHIM'EI,yawo?«, the name of 14 or more
Hebrews, of whom the following may be
specified:
I. A son of Gershon the son of Levi,
Num. 3:18; I Chr. 6:17, 42; 23:7, 9, 10;
ERLV SHILOH.
called Shimi, Exod. 6:17. It is to his de-
scendants, probably, that reference is made
in Zech. 12:13; comp. Num. 3:21.
II. The son of Gera, a Benjamite and a
kinsman of Saul, who insulted king David
when fleeing before Absalom, and humbled
himself on David's return. On both occa-
sions David spared and forgave him; but
when dying he cautioned Solomon against
a man who knew no restraints but those
of fear. Shimei gave his parole never to
leave Jerusalem, but broke it by pursuing
his fugitive servants to Gath, and was put
to death on returning, 2 Sam. 16:5-14;
19:16-23; I Kin. 2:8,9,36-46.
III. An officer under David, and perhaps
under Solomon, i Kin. 1:8; 4:18.
SHI'MI, Exod. 6:17, and SHIM'ITES,
Num. 3:21. See Shimei, I.
SHIM'MA, hearing, i Chr. 2:13. See
Shimea, I.
SHIM'RITH, 'watchful , a Moabitess, mo-
ther of Jehozabad, one of the murderers
of king Joash, 2 Chr. 24:26, who in 2 Kin.
12:21 is called the son of Shomer.
SHIM'ROM, watch, I Chr. 7:1, A. V.,
properly SHIM'RON, a son of Issachar,
Gen. 46:13; Num. 26:24.
SHIM'RON, watch, an ancient city of
Canaan, whose king, under Jabin, opposed
Joshua and was defeated, Josh. 11 : i : comp.
ver. 5-12; probably the same as Shimron-
meron, whose king was one of the 31 allies
555
SHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
defeated by Joshua, Josh. 12:20. Shimron
was allotted to Zebulun, Josh. 19:15. It is
traced at Semuniyeh, 14 miles southeast of
Haifa, and 11 miles west of Mount Tabor.
SHIM'RONITES, descendants of Issa-
char's son, Shimron, Num. 26:24.
SHIM'RON-ME'RON, Josh. 12:20. See
Shi.mrox.
SHI'NAR, THE LAND OF, contained the
cities of Babel, Erech, Calneh, and Accad,
Gen. 10:10. In this region the confusion
of tongues occurred. Gen. 11:2-9. One of
its kings, retreating with his allies from a
successful inroad 011 Canaan, was pursued
and routed by Abrani, Gen. 14:1-17. Its
textile fabrics were early and widely prized,
Josh. 7:21 (Heb. "garment of Shinar").
The term is used by Isaiah, 11:11, Daniel,
1:2, and Zechariah, 5:11. Shinar is prob-
ably to be identified with the Sumer or
Shumer of the cuneiform inscriptions, a
name there denoting apparently the south-
ern portion of the "land of the Chaldae-
ans," " Babylonia," or "Mesopotamia" in
its wider sense, Acts 7:2. "Sumer and
Accad " frequently occurs in the inscrip-
tions as a name for the whole rich and
populous alluvial plain along the Euphra-
tes and Tigris, from the Persian Gulf (which
anciently extended northward beyond the
present junction of the 2 rivers) to a point
a little north of modern Bagdad, more than
200 miles. A highly -cultivated non-She-
mitic people appear to have early held this
region, compare Gen. 10:8-10, before the
Shemitic Chalda;ans subjugated it, adopt-
ing the civilization and preserving the dia-
lect of the conquered race.
A LARGE ANCIENT SHIP: FROM A FAINTING AT POMPEU.
SHIP. The Hebrews were not a mari-
time people. The Mediterranean and Red
Sea ports were usually in the hands of their
heathen neighbors. When Solomon re-
quired timber from Lebanon, the ships of
Tyre conveyed it to Joppa, 2 Chr. 2:16;
comp. Ezra :i:7; and when he undertook
foreign navigation he again had recourse
to Phoenicians, i Kin. 9:26-28, who were
long celebrated for the ships and their ex-
tensive commerce. The attempt of Jehosh-
aphat in foreign commerce was a failure,
I Kin. 22:48. The people of the northern
kingdom, by contact with the Phoenicians,
may have acquired some naval skill ; comp.
the prophetic "blessing" of Jacob upon
Zebulun, Gen. 49:1.^, and of Moses upon
Zebulun and Issachar, Deut. 33:18, 19;
also Deborah's rebuke to Dan and Asher,
Judg. 5:17; and Ahaziah's offer of aid to
Jehoshaphat, 1 Kin. 22:49; 2 Chr. 20:35, 36.
Of the Phoenician ships, with their cedar
masts, oaken oars, and sails of Egyptian
cloth, some idea may be gained from Ezek.
27, a description in accord with represen-
tations of Phoenician galleys in Assyrian
sculptures. For an account of a tempestu-
ous voyage in an ancient merchant-ship
556
from the port of Joppa, see Jonah i. These
ships, Prov. 31 : 14, which also carried pas-
sengers, are those commonly referred to in
the Old Testament; but the following pas-
sages relate to ships of war, Num. 24:24;
Dan. 11:30, 40, and probably Isa. 33:21;
Ezek. 30:9. Ancient Egyptian monuments
represent ships with a central mast, a large
square sail, and also many rowers. War-
ships were often armed with a sharp pro-
jecting prow, and were used as rams. The
Chaldeans doubtless had ships on the Per-
sian Gulf, Isa. 43: 14- The " ships " on the
Sea of Galilee were fishing-boats, impelled
by oars, Mark 6:48; John 21:6, and some-
times having a mast and sail, Luke 8:23.
The verb "was full " in Mark 4:37 's better
rendered in the R. V., " was filling." Paul
made many voyages in ships, and was sev-
eral times wrecked, 2 Cor. 11:25. In his
voyage as a prisoner to Rome he sailed in
3 ships, the first probably being a coasting
vessel of small size, Acts 27:2, R. V., the
others large Alexandrian corn-ships, Acts
27:6; 28:11. In Greek and Roman ships
there were usually several banks of row-
ers, one above another, who could propel
the vessel steadily and swiftly without the
SHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
aid of a sail. Their merchant-ships were
•of larger and heavier build, often from 500
to 1,000 tons burden, and relied upon sails ;
that in which Paul was wrecked carried
276 persons, besides a cargo of wheat,
Acts 27:37, 38. Besides the large mast,
PART OF A WAR-GALLEY : FROM AN ANCIENT BAS-RELIEF.
■with a long yard and a large square sail,
top-sails were also used, and a fore-sail
attached to a smaller mast at the bow, ver.
40, R. V. In a gale the heavy top-gear of
the mainmast was taken down, ver. 17,
R. V. The great strain on the mainmast
was sometimes relieved and prevented
from causing leaks by the use of "helps,"
i. e., cables or chains passed around the
ship to tighten it, ver. 17. Ships were
steered by two large paddle-rudders pro-
jecting through row-locks, one on each side
of the stern ; these were lashed up when
at anchor, out of the way of the ground-
tackle, and loosed when again needed,
ver. 40, R. V. The anchors resembled
those of modern times, and were frequent-
ly cast from the stern, ver. 29. The ship's
■outfit included a boat, ver. 16, 17, 30, 32.
Ships were often highly ornamented at the
prow and stern, which were similar in
shape; an eye being often painted on each
side of the bow, ver. 15, R. V. — literally
" could not look at the wind." The " sign "
by which a vessel was known was often "a
sculptured image of its tutelar divinity,
Acts 28:11. An ancient ship could sail 7
miles an hour. Having no compasses,
ancient navigators guided their course by
the heavenly bodies, Acts 27:20, making a
Tiarbor on dark nights if practicable, Acts
20:13-16; 21:1, and not willingly remain-
ing at sea in winter, when the sky was
often obscured. Acts 27:9, 12; 28:11. The
Romans spoke of the sea as " closed " from
November till March, when it was "open-
ed " again. Luke's faithful description of
the voyage and shipwreck of Paul and him-
self. Acts 27 ; 28, gives many details as to
ancient navigation confirmed by such noti-
ces as we find in classic authors, ancient
sculptures, pictures, and coins, and the re-
sults of modern study. See Tarshish.
SHIPH'MITE, I Ciir. 27:27, probably a
native of Shephani.
SHIPH'RAH and PU'AH, midwives in
Egypt, who through the fear of God spared
the newborn sons of the Hebrews, contrary
to the orders of the king. God rewarded
their kindness to his people, though con-
demning no doubt the untruthfulness of
their excuse to the king. He " made them
houses," that is, probably gave each of
them a numerous family, Exod. 1:15-21.
SHI'SHA, I Kin. 4:3. See Seraiah, II.
SHI'SHAK, a king of Egypt who afforded
a refuge to Jeroboam fleeing from Solo-
mon, I Kin. 11:40. Perhaps incited by
Jeroboam when the latter had become king
over Israel, Shishak, with a vast army of
subjects and allies, invaded the kingdom
of Judah in the 5th year of Rehoboam,
about B. C. 969, captured his fortified cit-
ies, and appeared before Jerusalem, forcing
557
SHI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHI
Rehoboam to yield to him the treasures of
the temple and of the royal palace, inclu-
ding the golden shields made by Solomon,
1 Kin. 14:25, 26; 2 Chr. 12:2-9; compare
11:5-10.
Shishak is identified with the Sesonchis
of the Egyptian priest-historian Manetho,
B. C. 300, the Sheshonk I. of the monu-
ments, first king of the 22d or Bubastite
dynasty. He overthrew the rival dynasty
of Tanis (into which probably Solomon had
married) and that of Thebes, and estab-
lished his court at Bubastis, taking as the
title of his standard, " He who attains roy-
alty by uniting the two regions " — Upper
and Lower Egypt. Shishak has left a rec-
ord of his conquests, including that of Ju-
dah, on a wall of the great temple at Kar-
nak, Thebes. He is represented in a large
bas-relief as preparing to inflict death, in
the presence of the chief Theban god Amun,
upon a group of captives. Each conquered
country or city is personified, its name be-
ing written in an oval shield attached to
the figure. One of these figures, with He-
brew features, has on its shield the charac-
ters which stand for Joudh-Malek, followed
by the character for land, the whole signi-
fying "kingdom of Judah." See Reho-
boam. Many other symbols are believed
to denote fortified cities of Judah and Le-
vitical cities of Israel — which it is conjee-
558
tured Jeroboam may have abandoned to
Shishak to punish them for adhering to
Rehoboam and leaving Israel, 2 Chr. 11:13.
14. Shishak reigned at least 21 years, and
was succeeded by his son Osorthon or
Usarken, possibly the Zerah of Asa's reign.
See FnAK.\on and Zerah.
SHIT'TAH-TREE, Isa. 41:19. See Shit-
TIM-WOOU.
SHIT'TIM, the acacias, the place where
the Moabites and the Midianites, by Ba-
laam's advice, seduced Israel into sin, for
which a terrible punishment was inflicted
on the Israelites, Num. 25, and later upon
the Midianites, Num. 31. Shittim.or Abel-
shittim, was the last encampment of the
Israelites before crossing the Jordan into
Canaan, Num. 33:49; Josh. 2: i ; 3: i. It is
the well-watered plain extending from the
foot of the mountains of Moab to the Jor-
dan, and was named from the number of
acacias which grew there. It is now called
Ghor es-Seisaban, and is described by
Tristram as " the largest and richest oasis
in the whole Ghor" or Jordan depression.
At the southern extremity is Suweimeh,
identified by Dr. Merrill and others with
Beth-jeshimoth ; and at the northern mar-
gin is Tell Kefrain, whose " marshy ver-
dure," according to Tristram, identifies it
with Abel-shittim, meadow of the acacias.
SHIT'TIM, THE VALLEY or winter-tor-
rent OF, Joel 3:18; probably some wady
on the west of the Jordan ; by some identi-
fied with the gorge through which the Kid-
ron in rainj' seasons flows to the Dead Sea ;
comp. Ezek. 47: i, 8.
SHIT'TIM -WOOD, Exod. 25:5. The
wood of the shittah-tree, Isa. 41 : 19, was
much employed in constructing the taber-
nacle and its furniture : the boards, bars,
and pillars of the building, the ark, the
show-bread table, and the incense-altar,
with their staves, were of shittim-wood
overlaid with gold; the burnt-offering altar
and its staves were of the same wood over-
laid with brass, Exod. 25; 26; 27; 30; 36;
37; 38. The shittim-wood is identified
with the acacia, several varieties of which
grow in Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine.
The Acacia seyal is the only timber-tree
of any considerable size growing in the
deserts of Arabia ; it is scattered over the
Sinaitic peninsula, and is found on the
western shore of the Dead Sea, where it
gives its name to wady Seyal, south of Ain
Jidy, or En-gedi. SeeSnixTiM. The seyal
at a distance resembles an apple-tree. Its
wood is close-grained, hard, and of a brown
SHO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHU
color, being both handsome and exceed-
ingly durable. The leaves are decom-
pound and pinnate, the blossoms cluster in
yellow, fibrous-looking balls, and the fruit
resembles a locust-pod. The bark is yel-
low and smooth, and the branches abound
in long, sharp thorns. From cracks or in-
cisions in the seyal and some other acacias
exudes the well-known gum-arabic, which
the Arabs gather and sell and sometimes
use as food. They convert much of the
wood into charcoal. The trunk is some-
times 3 or 4 feet in diameter.
SHO' A, Ezek. 23:23, is variously inter-
preted, as a title, noble, or the name of a
place, or of some Chaldaean tribe.
SHO'BACH, the general of Hadarezer,
king of Syria-Zoba; he was defeated and
killed in a battle with David, 2 Sam. 10; 15-
18. He is called Shophach in i Chr. 19: 16-
18.
SHO'BI, taking captive, a chief Ammon-
ite who befriended David in his flight from
Absalom, 2 Sam. 17:27-29, son of a former
king, Nahash, also friendly to David, 2 Sam.
10:1, 2; comp. Prov. 17:17; 27:10.
SHO'CHO, 2 Chr. 28:18; SHO'CHOH,
I Sam. 17:1; SHO'CO. 2 Chr. 11:7. See
SOCOH.
SHOES. See Sandals. In Egypt and
Syria taking off one's slipper and striking
another with it, or throwing it at him, is
still a customary token of renunciation, as
of an unworthy son — and perhaps, play-
fully, of a daughter leaving her parents at
her marriage; in lieu of this the modern
Arab sometimes exclaims, "My shoe at
you!" Compare Ruth 4:7, 8; Psa. 60:8;
108:9, and the treatment of the refractory
brother by the Mosaic law, Deut. 25:5-9.
A missionary in Alexandria reports that
the Moslems thus renounce their relatives
converted to Christianity.
SHO'MER, keeper, I., an Asherite, called
also Shamer, i Chr. 7:32, 34.
II. Parent, perhaps father, of Jehozabad,
2 Kin. 12:21 ; comp. 2 Chr. 24:26.
SHO'PHACH, I Chr. 19:16, 18. See Sho-
BACH.
SHO'PHAN, bareness, Num. 32:35, prob-
ably to be connected with the " Atroth "
preceding, to distinguish it from the Ata-
roth of ver. 34, both in Gad, east of the
Jordan.
SHOSHAN'NIM, lilies, Psa. 45; 69, titles;
SHOSHAN'NIM-E'DUTH, lilies, a testimo-
ny, Psa. 80, title ; SHU'SHAN-E'DUTH, lily,
a testimotiy, Psa. 60, title. These expres-
sions are all inscribed "to the chief musi-
cian," and may safely be regarded as indi-
cating the melody " after " or " in the man-
ner" of which— A. V. "upon" — the Psalm
was to be sung. Some, however, see in
the terms an allusion to the subject-matter
of the Psalm; and others regard the shu-
shan, pi. shoshannim, as a lily-shaped mu-
sical instrument, a cymbal, a trumpet, or
an instrument with 6 strings.
SHOULD, John 6:71, would; in Acts
23 : 27, " was about to be."
SHOUL'DER. Burdens being commonly
borne on the shoulder, Num. 7:9; Psa.
81:6, to "bow the shoulder" denotes ser-
vitude, Gen. 49:15, and to "withdraw" it
denotes rebellion, Nell. 9:29; Zech. 7:11.
SHOVEL, Isa. 30:24, a winnowing fork
or fan .
SHOW-BREAD. See Bread.
SHRINE. See Diana.
SHROUD, Ezek,.3i :3, cover or shelter.
SHU'A, noble, daughter of Heber, i Chr.
7:32.
SHU'AH, depression, a son of Abraham
and Keturah, Gen. 25:2; i Chr. 1:32; per-
haps the progenitor of Bildad the Shuhite,
Job 2:11.
SHU'AH, prosperity, a descendant of
Caleb son of Hur, i Chr. 4:11.
SHU'AL, jackal, ox fox, THE LAND OF;
a region towards which one of the maraud-
ing Philistine bands went from Michmash,
I Sam. 13:17; probably the range south-
east of Shechem, on the east border of
Ephraim, overlooking the Jordan valley.
See Shalim and Zeboim.
SHU'HAM, a son of Dan, Num. 26:42;
called Hushim in Gen. 46:23.
SHU'HITE. See Shuah.
SHU'LAMITE, the title of the bride in
Solomon's Song, 6:13; literally the Shulam-
viitess, Heb. hash-Shulammith, which some
interpret as equivalent to " the Shunam-
559
SHU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SHU
mitess," or woman of Shunem — as if con-
trasting the rustic origin of the bride with
that of " the daughters of Jerusalem," Song
1 :5, 6, etc. Others regard it as a figurative
proper name, derived from the same root
with Solomon — Heb. Shelonioh, peaceful —
and corresponding with it as a feminine
form, as Julia with Julius. Still others
consider it a simple appellative, meaning
"the peaceful." See Shunammite and
Shunkm.
SHU'NAMMITE, a female of Shunem;
applied to Abishag, i Kin. 1:3, 15; 2:17, 21,
22; and to Elisha's hostess, 2 Kin. 4:12, 25,
36; comp. ver. 8. See Shunem.
SHU'NEM, double resting-place, a city in
Issach'ar, Josh. 19:18. Here was the first
encampment of the Israelites before the
battle of Gilboa, i Sam. 28:4. Abishag,
king David's nurse, was of Shunem, i Kin.
1:3; also the woman who entertained Eli-
sha and whose son the prophet restored to
life, 2 Kin. 4:8-37. It is now represented
by the village of Sulem, on the southwest-
ern slope of Jebel Duhy, " the hill of Mo-
reh," 6 miles south of Tabor and north of
Gilboa, 35^2 miles north of Jezreel. It is a
mud hamlet, with a fountain and trough,
■surrounded by fine grain-fields and fruit-
gardens, and looking westward across the
plain of Esdraelon to Mount Carmel. Its
people are rude and unfriendly, and its
boys are still to be seen playing bare-head-
ed in the grain-fields under the scorching
sun.
SHUR, zvall or fori, a place east of the
northeastern border of Egypt. Hagar,
fleeing from Sarah, was "in the way to
Shur " when met by the angel. Gen. 16:7;
comp. ver. 17. Abraham "dwelt between
Kadesh and Shur." Geri. 20:1; it is men-
tioned as one of the boundaries of the Ish-
maelites, Gen. 25:18, and as an ancient
boundary of the Amalekites, the southern
Geshurites, and the Gezrites, i Sam. 15:7;
27:8; comp. Josh. 13:2,3. The Israelites,
after crossing the Red Sea, entered upon
the wilderness of Shur, Exod. 15:22, 23,
called also the wilderness of Etham, Num.
33:8. The region indicated stretched along
the northeastern frontit-r of Egypt, inclu-
ding the district now called el-Jififar — white
shifting sands with a few fertile spots.
E. H. Palmer derives the name Shur from
the long wall like range which stretches on
the east of Suez northward to the Mediter-
ranean, and which Dr. Trumbull claims
was so fortified and guarded as to prevent
the Israelites from attempting the northern
560
and direct route from Egypt, and turn
them to the south by the way of Suez,
Exod. 13: 17, 18.
SHU'SHAN, lily, the capital of Elam and
a very ancient city. It is mentioned in the
inscriptions of Assur-bani-pal as captured
by him, about B. C. 650, and a plan of the
city is given. It passed into the hands
of the Babylonians at the division of the
Assyrian Em])ire between Nabopolassar of
Babylon and Cyaxares of Media. In the 3d
year of Belshazzar Daniel was at Shushan
"on the king's business," when he beheld
"the vision of the ram and the he-goat,"
Dan. 8:1, 2, 27. The conquest of Babylon
by Cyrus transferred Shushan to the Per-
sians, and it became the capital and chief
residence of the Aclia^menian kings, being
cooler than Babylon and more central than
Ecbatana and Persepolis, their summer
resorts. Darius Hystaspis founded at Shu-
shan the grand jialace referred to in Esther
as occupied b\' his son and successor Xer-
xes, Esth. 1:2, 5. Nehemiah was at Shu-
shan when he received from Jerusalem the
intelligence that led him to seek leave from
Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of the holy
citj'', Neh. 1 : 1-28. As Stisa, Shushan is
often mentioned by classic authors as the
Persian capital, the province of Elam being
called Susis or Susiana, and also Cissia.
The city retained its eminence till the Mac-
edonian conquest, when Alexander found
there treasure worth ^12,000,000. After
this period Susa declined and Babylon in-
creased. It was taken by Antigonus, B. C.
315. The Moslems gained Susiana A. D.
640.
The site of Shushan has been identified
with the ruins of Sus or Shush in lat. 32°
10' N., long. 48° 26' E., on the east bank of
the Shapur River, 275 miles east of Baby-
lon, 175 miles north of the Persian Gulf.
See Ul.a.1. The remains consist of 4 prin-
cipal mounds, in a circuit of 3 miles, with
lesser mounds eastward, the whole within
a circumference of about 7 miles. Of the
4 chief mounds, the westernmost, of earth,
gravel, and sun-dried brick, measures
about 2,580 feet around the summit, the
highest point being 1 19 feet above the river.
Its sides are steep, and it is believed to
have been the citadel. West of it is the
traditional tomb of Daniel. East of the
citadel mound is the great central platform,
covering more than 60 acres, and from 40
to 70 feet high. The square northern
mound shiws the remains of a vast palace :
the central hall, about 200 feet square, had
SHU
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SID
36 columns, probably about 60 feet high.
Adjoining on the north, east, and west
were 3 porches, each with 12 columns, and
each 200 feet wide by 65 feet deep. In one
of these the great feast of Ahasuerus was
probably held. The " king's gate," where
Mordecai sat, Esth. 2 : 19, 21, may have
been the hall 100 feet square, 150 feet or
more from the northern portico ; and this
intervening apartment, the " inner court,"
where Esther implored the king's favor,
ch. 5:1, 2. The " royal house," ch. 1:9, and
the "houses of the women," ch. 2:9, 11,
would be south of the great central hall,
between it and the citadel. Shush now
abounds in wild beasts — lions, wolves,
boars, etc., Ezek. 33:24. The summer heat
is intense, but is sometimes mitigated by
breezes from the mountain range 25 miles
eastward. Spring in this region is delight-
ful; and after the winter rains the country
is clothed with verdure and the air is laden
with the scent of flowers.
SHU'SHAN-E'DUTH, Psa. 80, title. See
Shoshannim.
SIB'BECHAI, or SIB'BECAI, a thicket,
2 Sam. 21:18; I Chr. 11:29; 20:4; 27:11,
one of David's heroes ; called Mebunnai
in 2 Sam. 23:27.
SIB'MAH, balsam, SHIB'MAH, and SHE'-
BAM, Num. 32:3, a town beyond the Jor-
dan, rebuilt or fortified by the tribe of
Reuben, ver. 38; Josh. 13:15, 19. The Is-
raelites conquered this region from the
Amorites, as the latter had taken it from
the Moabites, Num. 21:25-31. After the
trans-Jordanic tribes of Israel were carried
captive by the Assyrians, the Moabites
seem to have reoccupied their ancient pos-
sessions, 2 Kin'. 15:29; I Chr. 5:26. Sib-
mah was renowned for its grapes, Isa. 16:6-
11; Jer. 48:32. Jerome says it was hardly
500 paces from Heshbon, and some trace
of it may be preserved in the ruined vil-
lage es-Sameh, 4 miles northeast of Hes-
ban.
SIB'RAIM, double hill, a landmark in the
northern boundary of Israel, between Da-
mascus and Hamath, in the portion assign-
ed to Dan in Ezekiel's vision of the resto-
ration of the tribes of Israel, Ezek. 47:16;
comp. ver. 13-17; 40:1-4; 48:1.
SI'CHEM, Gen. 12:6, A. V. See She-
CHEM.
SID'DIM, THE VALE OF, the scene of the
battle between Chedorlaomer and his allies
and the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, etc.,
Gen. 14:3, 8-10; it abounded in wells of
bitumen, ver. 10. The Hebrew word here
36
rendered "vale" is the same used in the
term "the valley of Jezreel " — a long low
plain; probably a section of the Arabah
somewhat lower than the rest is indicated.
It is generally believed to have been the
site of the cities afterwards destroyed. In
Gen. 14:3 it seems to be identified with the
Salt Sea. For the view which locates the
vale of Siddim in part or wholly in the
shallow southern portion of the Dead Sea,
see Sea, III. Some scholars now main-
tain that the cities stood at the northern
end of the Dead Sea, and hence look for
the vale of Siddim there also. Dr. Merrill
suggests identifying it with the plain of
Shittim, in which he claims to have found
many bitumen pits. See Shittim.
SI'DON, the Greek form of the name
properly called in the Old Testament ZI'-
DON (Heb. Ts\do\\,Jish-lown); a. celebra-
ted Phoenician city on the east coast of
the Mediterranean, 20 miles north of Tyre,
40 miles south of Beirut, and 123 north of
Jerusalem, on the northern slope of a
promontory jutting out from a narrow plain
between the Lebanon range and the sea.
Zidon, now Saida, was one of the oldest
cities in the world, its founder having beea
apparently a great-grandson of Noah, Gen,
10: 15, 19; 49: 13. At the division of Canaaa
" Great Zidon " was allotted to Asher, Josh.
11:8; 19:28, but was never subdued by the
Hebrews, Judg. 1:31; 2)'i'> 10:12. In the
time of the Judges it was still the chief city
of the Phoenicians, Judg. 18:7, 28, who were
generally called Zidoniansby the Hebrews.
Its principal deities were Baal and Ashto-
reth, into whose worship the Israelites
were at different times seduced, Judg. 10:6;
I Kin. 11: 1, 5, 33; 16:31 ; 2 Kin. 23:13. The
Zidonians were among the oppressors of
Israel in the timeof the Judges, Judg. 10: 12.
Friendly relations subsisted under David
and subsequent kings, 2 Sam. 24:2, 6. Its
people were noted for arts and manufac-
tures, commerce and navigation, Isa. 23:2;
Ezek. 27:8. They assisted in the construc-
tion of Solomon's temple, i Kin. 5:6; I Chr.
22:4, and in the rebuilding of the temple
under Zerubbabel, Ezra 3: 7. For much of
their food supply they depended on Pales-
tine, I Kin. 5:9, II ; Ezek. 27:17; Acts 12:20.
Zirephath, the scene of one of Elijah's mir-
acles, was in its territory, i Kin. 17:9; Luke
4:26. Zidon continued under the govern-
ment of its own kings, but after David's
time was usually subordinate to Tyre, Isa.
23; Ezek. 28. It joined Tyre in selling in-
habitants of Judah into slavery, and was
561
SID
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SID
SAIDA, THE ANCIENT SIDON, FROM I 111-, MiKIH.
threatened by the prophets, though less
severely than Tyre, Isa. 23:4; Jer. 25:22;
'^Tl'y 47:4; Ezek. 28:20-23; 32:30; Joel
3:4-8; com p. Amos 1:9.
Homer celebraj^es the skill of Zidonian
workmen, and mentions the presence of
Zidonian ships at the siege of Troy. In
the 9th, 8th, and 7th centuries B. C. Zidon
was tributary to Assyria; it was destroyed
by Esar-haddon about B. C. 680, but was re-
built. It was next subject to the Babyloni-
ans, Jer. 27:2-7. Under the Persian domi-
nation Zidon recovered preeminence over
Tyre ; according to Herodotus, Zidonian
ships and sailors were the best in the fleet
which Xerxes led against Greece, B. C.
480, and the king of Zidon sat next to Xer-
xes in council. It rebelled in the reign of
Artaxerxes (III.) Ochus, but was betrayed
to the Persians by its king, and 40,000 citi-
zens perished in the flames of the city, kin-
dled by themselves, B. C. 351. After the
battle of Issus, Zidon, which had gradually
recovered prosperity, willingly yielded to
Alexander the Great, B. C. t,^,^,, and its fleet
assisted him in subduing Tyre. After his
death it was subject to Egypt, and then to
the Seleucidae; and fell under the Roman
power B. C. 65, and became a wealthy and
flourishing city.
People from Tyre and Sidon, or the ad-
jacent region, attended upon the teaching
of Christ, Mark 3:7, 8; Luke 6:17; com-
pare Matt. 11:20-22; Luke 10:13, i4- The
neighborhood, and possibly the city itself,
562
which is about 40 miles northwest of the
Sea of Galilee, was visited by Jesus, Matt.
15:21; Mark 7:24, 31, R. V. The gospel
was preached to the Jews at Sidon after the
martyrdom of Stephen, Acts 11:19, and
Paul visited Christian friends there on his
way to Rome, Acts 27:3. See also Acts
12:20.
A pastor from Sidon attended the Coun-
cil of Nicaea, A. D. 325. Sidon surrendered
to the Moslems after their conquest of Syria,
A. D. 636. It suffered greatly during the
Crusades, being repeatedly taken and lost,
destroyed and rebuilt, between its capture
by Baldwin I. in mi and its final recovery
by the Moslems in 1291, when it was again
destroyed. It gradually recovered, and
until 1791 was the principal commercial
city on the Syrian coast, a position to which
BeirQt has succeeded.
Saida is beautifully situated on a prom-
ontory with an island in front of it; its
southern harbor is abandoned, and the
northern is so choked with sand and stones
as to be inaccessible to any but the small-
est vessels. The city is surrounded by
walls and has many large and fine houses.
The population is estimated at 10,000, 7,000
being Mohammedans and the rest Greek
Catholics, Maronites, Orthodox Greeks, and
Jews. Saida is the seat of a flourishing
Protestant mission of the American Pres-
byterian Board. There are remains of
quays built of large hewn stones, frag-
ments of marble and granite columns. Mo-
SID
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIL
saic pavements, pottery, etc. ; and on the
island ruins of a mediaeval castle. In the
environs oranges, lemons, citrons, bana-
nas, etc., grow luxuriantly. Numerous
sepulchral caverns exist at the base of the
mountains east of the city, and sarcophagi
of various shapes and materials have been
found in them— one, of black sj'enite, bear-
ing the name of " Ashmanezer, king of the
Sidonians," and found in 1855, being now
in Paris. Its probable date was during
the Persian domination.
SIDO'NIANS, Deut. 3:9; Josh. 13:4, 6;
Judg. 3:3; 18:7; I Kin. 5:6; 11:1. See
SiDON.
SIEVE, SIFT. Ancient writers mention
4 qualities of flour, implying sieves of dif-
ferent degrees of fineness. The allusion in
Isa. 30:28; Amos 9:9; Luke 22:31 seems to
be to the husbandman's process of winnow-
ing grain to remove the chaff, rather than
to the household task of sifting meal or
flour; comp. Matt. 3:12.
SIGN, a token, pledge, or proof. Gen.
9:12, 13; 17:11; Exod. 3:12; Isa. 8:18.
Also a supernatural portent, Luke 21:11,
25, and a miracle, regarded as a token of
the divine agency, Exod. 4:7-9; Mark 8:11,
The "signs" of the Old Testament were
not evenly distributed, but seem to have
been more numerous than usual at 3 crit-
ical epochs : at the delivery of Israel from
Egypt and their establishment in Pales-
tine; at the period of their apostasy, in the
days of Elijah and Elisha; and during their
captivity, in the time of Daniel. The mir-
acles of Christ were foretold, Isa. 42:7;
Matt. 8:17. Comp. the question of John's
disciples and the miracles which Jesus
wrought as his reply, Luke 7:19-23; also
Matt. 12:23; John 7:31. Those recorded
by the evangelists were only specimens of
many others. Matt. 4:23; 8:16; Luke 6:17-
19; John 2:23. The "signs of heaven"
were the movements and aspects of the
heavenly bodies, from which heathen as-
trologers pretended to obtain revelations,
Isa. 44:25 ; Jer. 10:2. See Ship.
SIG'NET. See Rings and Seal.
SI'HON, sweeping away, bold. This king
of the Amorites was reigning at Heshbon
on the Israelites' arrival at his border, he
having driven out the Moabites to the south
of the Arnon. On refusing passage to the
Israelites and attacking them, he was slain
and his army routed, and his dominions
were divided between Reuben and Gad.
Num. 21:21-31, 34; 32:1-5, 33-38; Deut.
2:24-36; Josh. 13:15-28. In several later
books reference is made to his signal over-
throw, Judg. ii : 12-28; Psa. 135:10, II. His
name seems to be preserved in Shihan and
Jebel Shihan, 3 or 4 miles south of the Ar-
non, and the ruins called Shihan 4 miles
south of the Jabbok.
SI'HOR, properly SHI'HOR, black, turbid.
In Isa. 23 : 3 ; Jer. 2 : 18, this word must mean
the Nile; in Josh. 13:3; i Chr. 13:5, it is
probably a name for " the river of Egypt,"
Num. 34:5; I Kin. 8:65, the desert winter-
torrent now called wady el-Arish, a boun-
dary between Canaan and Egypt, flowing
northwest into the Mediterranean about 45
miles southwest of Gaza.
SI'LAS, a contraction of SILVA'NUS, a
forester ; one of the chief men of the early
church at Jerusalem, deputed, with Judas
Barsabas, to accompany Paul and Barnabas
to Antioch, bearing the decree of the coun-
cil at Jerusalem as to the relations of Gen-
tile converts to the Mosaic law, Acts 15:22-
30; compare ver. 1-21. Silas, himself "a
prophet" (see Prophet) spent some time
preaching at Antioch, ver. 32, 33. After the
separation of Paul and Barnabas, Silas ac-
companied the former, A. D. 51, on his 2d
missionary tour through the provinces of
Western Asia, Acts 15:36-16:10, and his ist
visit to Europe ; he was imprisoned with
Paul at Philippi, and seems to have been a
Roman citizen, 16:11-40. After some stay
at Thessalonica he parted from Paul at
Beroea, Acts 17:1-15, but rejoined him at
Corinth, Acts 18:5, perhaps bearing the
donations referred to in 2 Cor. 11:9; Phil.
4:15. He may have returned with Paul to
Syria, Acts 18 : 18-22. During the 18 months
spent at Corinth, ver. 11, Paul sent 2 epis-
tles to the Thessalonians, A. D. 52, 53, in
the superscriptions to which he inserts the
name of Silvanus, i Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess.
1:1; and in an epistle to the Corinthians,
A. D. 57, he mentions the labors of Silva-
nus among them, 2 Cor. i : 19. This fellow-
worker with Paul is supposed to be the
same whom Peter commends as a " faithful
brother," and by whom he sent an epistle
to the Jewish Christians in Asia Minor,
I Pet. 5:12.
SILK has been from ancient times a pro-
duct of China, whence it was early export-
ed to India. It may have become known
to the Hebrews through the foreign com-
merce of Solomon and his successors ; com-
pare Isa. 49:12. See Sinim. The word
shesh, rendered " silk " in the A. V., Gen.
41:42; Exod. 25:4, margins, and Prov. 31:22,
is however the same elsewhere correctly
563
SIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIL
translated " fine linen." Ezekiel, i6: lo, 13,
describing rich attire, uses another word,
denoting something drawn out fine, which
may well denote silk — which was probably
well known in Assyria and Babylonia long
before Ezekiel's captivity, B. C. 59S. Pliny
says that the raw material came to Greece
from Assyria, and was worked up by Gre-
cian women. Silk was among the valuable
spoils taken from the Syrians by Judas
Maccabaeus, about B. C. 166, i Mace. 4:23.
It is mentioned among the luxuries of the
typical Babylon, Rev. 18:12. Under the
Roman emperors, a robe composed wholly
of silk was accounted too lu.vurious for a
man ; and one of the extravagances im-
puted to the emperor Heliogabalus, A. D.
218-222, was that he wore such a robe.
SIL'LA, 2 Kin. 12:20, a place near which
king Joash was killed ; apparently in the
valley south of Jerusalem.
SIL'LY, Hos. 7:11; 2 Tim. 3:6, simple
and heedless, rather than foolish.
SILO'AH, The pool of, Neh. 3: 15, prop-
erly the pool of Shelach, i. e., the dart, a
corruption probably of the more ancient
form Shiloach — from shelach, to send,
Isa. 8:6. The pool is believed to have been
included within the ancient wall of Jeru-
salem at the southeast corner. The "wa-
ters of Shiloah," gently fertilizing the adja-
cent gardens and symbolizing the blessings
of Jehovah, in whom alone Judah should
have trusted, Isaiah, 8 : 6-8, contrast with
the desolating flood of the swollen Euphra-
tes, symbolizing the kingdom of Assyria,
alliance with which was secured by Ahaz
to his impoverishment, 2 Kin. 16:5-9; 2 Chr.
28:16-21: and whose forces were erelong
to desolate the kingdom of Israel, 2 Kin.
15:29; 17:3-6, and to sweep through Judah,
2 Kin. 18:13-17; 19:32-36. See SiLOAM.
SILO'AM.THE POOL OF, to which Christ
sent the blind man, John 9:7, 11, is doubt-
less the same as the above. Josephus lo-
cates it at the mouth of the Tyropoeon
valley, and Jerome in the valley of the son
of Hinnom. It still exists at the junction
of these 2 valleys, at the foot of Ophel,
the southward prolongation of the temple
mount, and nearly 1,900 feet from the Ha-
ram wall. Though the smallest of the
ancient pools of Jerusalem, it alone retains
its old name, under the Arabic form " Bir-
ket Silvvan." It is an artificial reservoir,
about 52 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 19 feet
deep, with steps leading to the bottom.
The water does not now exceed 3 or 4 feet
in depth, but flows off by an opening in the
564
southeastern end of the reservoir, in a sin-
gle stream, afterwards subdivided to irri-
gate fruit and vegetable gardens in the
valley below. The reservoir is partly cut
out of the rock and partly of masonry, and
is in a ruinous condition ; broken columns
extend from top to bottom around its sides,
possibly supports of a building mentioned
by travellers in the Middle Ages as built
over the pool. The water is supplied front
UPPER POOL, OR KOLNIAIN 01-" THK VIRGIN.
the much smaller " Fountain of the Virgin,"
Ain Sitti Maryam— or " Fountain of the
Mother of Steps," Ain Um ed-Deraj— about
1,200 feet north of Siloam, on the eastern
side of Ophel ; the connection is by a zig-
zag underground channel cut through the
rock, 1,708 feet long. This passage, whose
height varies from 16 feet at its Siloam out-
let to 16 inches in some places, was trav-
SIL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIL
ersed by Dr. Robinson, and more recently
by Barclay, Warren, and Sayce. Several
side channels were discovered, now block-
ed with rubbish, supposed to have once
brought to the conduit water from the city
pools or the temple wells. The water
ebbs and flows at intervals varying with
the season in the " Mother of Steps " — so
named from the 2 flights of steps leading
down to it — and less perceptibly in Siloam.
In the upper fountain Dr. Robinson saw it
rise a foot and fall again within 10 minutes.
The water has a peculiar taste, slightly
brackish, especially in the dry season, and
probably due in part to the use of both
reservoirs by washerwomen and tanners.
In 1880 an inscription was discovered on
the east side of this conduit, on a tablet
set in the wall 19 feet from the Siloam end :
6 lines of pure Biblical Hebrew, probably
of the time of king Hezekiah, commemora-
ting the skill of the excavators, who worked
from both ends and met midway. The con-
duit enters a rock-cut chamber 5 or 6 feet
broad, at the northwest angle of Siloam,
at the base of the cliff" above the pool ; into
this " vestibule " a few steps lead, under
which the water falls into the pool. Flow-
ing out from Siloam the stream seems an-
ciently to have passed into another reser-
voir before watering the gardens ; this 2d
pool, perhaps 5 times as large as Siloam,
is now abandoned and overgrown with
trees; it may have been the " king's pool "
of Neh. 2:14; it is now called " Birket el-
Hamra," the red pool. According to the
Rabbins it was from the pool of Siloam that
a Levite drew water to pour on the sac-
rifice on " the last or great day " of the
Feast of Tabernacles, in memory of the
water from the rock of Rephidim, Exod.
17:1-6, a custom thought to be alluded to
by Christ, John 7:37, 38; and from Siloam
was taken the water to be mingled with
the ashes of a red heifer for purification.
The gardens below Siloam, Isa. 8:6, are
the greenest spot about Jerusalem.
SILO'AM, The tower in, Luke 13:4, 5,
at some point in the city wall, which it is
believed then inclosed Siloam, Neh. 3:15,
26. Christ teaches us in this passage that
temporal calamities are not always proofs
of special guilt, though the utmost suffer-
ings here endured are far less than the sins
even of the best of men deserve. Lam. 3:39.
Fast of the Kidron valley, near the foot
of the southern height of Mount Olivet and
opposite the rough gray slope between the
■" Virgin's Fount " and Siloam pool, is the
" kefr" or village Silwan, an irregular and
dirty village on the site of an old quarrj',
and probably near the spot where altars
were erected by Solomon to Chemosh and
other idols, i Kin. 11:7; 2 Kin. 23:13.
SILVA'NUS. See SiLAS.
SIL'VER is first mentioned in Scripture
in the history of Abraham, Gen. 13:2;
20:16, though iron, gold, and lead are spo-
ken of before the Deluge. It was used in
building the tabernacle, Exod. 26:19-25,
and the temple and its furniture, i Chr.
28:14-17; 29:2-7; for trumpets. Num. 10:2,
ornaments. Gen. 24:53, vessels of various
sorts. Gen. 44:2; Num. 7:13, and in the
covering and adornment of idols, Deut.
29: 17; Isa. 40: 19; Dan. 5:4, 23 ; Acts 17:29.
It was the chief medium of trade, and as
such was anciently weighed out uncoined,
Gen. 23:16; Job 28:15; Zech. 11:12. Sil-
ver coins were common in New Testament
times, Luke 15:8, 9. See Shekel and
Money. The Hebrew word for silver,
"keseph," also denotes money in general,
like the French "argent." Solomon ob-
tained silver, which in his reign was very
abundant in Israel, i Kin. 10:27, from Ara-
bia, 2 Chr. 9:14, and from Tarshish, i Kin.
10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21 — whence also Tyre was
supplied, Ezek. 27 : 12. The Midianites
were nomads, yet gold and silver are men-
tioned in Num. 31:22, 50-54; Judg. 8:24-
26, as abundant among them ; a statement
confirmed by Capt. Burton's discovery of
ancient mine-workings in that land and an
abundance of precious metals. Masses of
almost pure silver are sometimes found,
but it usually occurs in rock veins, Job
28:1, in combination with other metals.
The mining and refining of silver are re-
ferred to in Psa. 12:6; Prov. 25:4; Ezek.
22:18-22; and filigree work in Prov. 25:11.
In Mai. 3:3 there is a reference to the so-
called fulguration of silver, the sudden
brightening of its surface at the end of the
smelting process, when the last film of the
oxide of lead disappears from tlie molten
mass and the pure silver flashes forth.
The silver breast and arms of the image
in Nebuchadnezzar's vision, Dan. 2:32, are
usually interpreted as representing the
Medo- Persian Empire, which succeeded
the Babylonian, ver. 39; comp. Dan. 5:28,
31-
SIL'VERLING, Isa. 7:23, literally "sil-
ver," as the word is elsewhere rendered;
probably the quantity denoted by a shekel.
See Silver.
SIM'EON, hearing, I., the 2d son of Ja-
565
SIM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIM
cob and Leah, Gen. 29:33, one of "the 12
patriarchs " or fathers of the tribes of Isra-
el, Acts j:8. His disposition was revenge-
ful and violent. He and Levi took a vin-
dictive and cruel revenge on Shechem and
his people for the injury done to their sister
Dinah, and were reproved by their father.
Gen. 34. There is no record that Simeon
relented, as Reuben and Judah did, in re-
gard to the murderous purpose against
Joseph, Gen. 37:18-33. It may have been
as the one either actively or by omission
guiltiest in this matter that Simeon was
afterwards detained as a hostage by Jo-
seph, Gen. 42:21-24, 55, 36. He was re-
stored to his brethren on their 2d visit to
Egypt, Gen. 43:23, and afterwards settled
in Egypt with his 6 sons. Gen. 46: 10 ; E.\od.
1:1, 2. Jacob in his dying address rebukes
the sin of Simeon and Levi in regard to
the Shechemites, and predicts the visita-
tion of it upon their descendants. Gen.
49:5-7; comp. Exod. 20:5. See Simeon,
Tribe of.
II. An eminently pious man at Jerusa-
lem, under the special influence of the Holy
Spirit, Luke 2:21-35. He was awaiting
'■ the consolation of Israel," compare Isa.
40:1, and the Holy Spirit had revealed to
him that he should live to behold the long-
promised Messiah. So he was led to the
temple just when Joseph and Mary pre-
sented Jesus there in obedience to the law ;
comp. E.\od. 13:12, 13; 22:29; Num. 18:15,
16; Lev. 12:1-8; he took the child in his
arms, gave thanks to God, and blessed
Joseph and Mary, uttering a remarkable
prediction of the effects of the Saviour's
coming; comp. Isa. 42:6; 45:17-25; 49:6.
III. Sym'eon Ni'ger, i/ie black. Acts
13:1, one of the prophets and teachers of
the Christian church at Antioch. Some,
without proof, identify him with Simon the
Cyrenian.
IV. This is the name given to Peter in
Acts 15:14, though he is elsewhere called
Simon.
V. A name in the genealogy of Joseph,
Luke 3:30.
SIM'EON, TRIBE OF. At the ist census
in the wilderness of Sinai the tribe had
59,300 men, Num. 1:1-3, 22, 23, being ex-
ceeded only by Judah and Dan ; 38 years
later, in the plains of Moab, Simeon was
the smallest of the tribes, numbering only
22,200 men, Num. 26: 1-4, 14 ; the tribe may
have suffered more severely than the rest
in chastisement for special sins, if its char-
acter is at all indicated by the flagrant and
.S66
obstinate wickedness of Zimri, one of its
princes. Num. 25:6-9, 14. Simeon belonged
to the " camp of Reuben," which encamped
south of the tabernacle, and was 2d to the
camp of Judah in the order of marching,
Num. 2:10-16; 10:18-20. Simeon had its
station on Gerizim, the mount of blessing,
at the solenna ceremony at Shechem, Deut.
27:12; comp. Josh. 8:33. In conformity
with the prediction of Jacob that Simeon
should be scattered and divided in Israel,
Gen. 49:7, the territorial limits of the tribe
seem to have been at the outset loosely
defined and to have varied somewhat in
later times. Their portion under Joshua
was only a district set off from the territory
previously assigned to Judah, Josh. 19:1-9,
including 18 cities, with villages, in the
south of Judah ; comp. Josh. 15:26-32. In
this region, which the Judahites helped the
Simeonites to conquer, Judg. 1:3, 17, the
latter were dwelling in David's time, i Chr.
4:24-33, and their warriors helped to es-
tablish him king over all Israel, i Chr.
12:23-25, 38; 2 Sam. 5:1-3. At the divis-
ion of the kingdom, B. C. 975, the Sime-
onites apparently sympathized with the
seceding northern tribes, Simeonites being
mentioned among the "strangers" outside
of Judah and Benjamin who were affected
by the reformation of Asa, B. C. 941, 2 Chr.
15:9-13; and again in the reformation of
Josiah, B. C. 630-624, 2 Chr. 34:6-9, which
extended to the " remnant of Israel " left
after the Assyrian captivity, the cities of
Simeon are so classed with Manasseh,
Ephraim, and Naphtali as to suggest that
a part of the tribe had been " scattered "
into the northern kingdom. In the earlier
reign of Hezekiah, B. C. 726-697, two expe-
ditions of Simeonites had conquered terri-
tory south and east of their original por-
tion, I Chr. 4:34-43. The name of Simeon
is omitted from the benedictions of Moses,
Deut. 33, but is mentioned in Ezekiel's vis-
ion of tile restoration of Israel, in which the
tribe is placed between Benjamin and Issa-
char, Ezek. 48:24, t^t^; and in the vision of
John, Rev. 7:7.
SIM'EONITES, members of the tribe of
Simeon, Num. 25:14; 26:14. Judith, the
heroine of a story in the Apocrypha, is rep-
resented as a Simeonite, Judith 8:1; 9:2,
also her husband Manasses, 8:2, and Ozi-
as, a governor of their city Bethulia, near
the plain of Jezreel, 6:14, 15.
SI'MON, a contraction for Simeon, or
borrowed by the post-captivity Jews from
the Greeks.
SIM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
I. One of the 12 apostles, Matt. 4:18.
See Peter.
II. Another of the 12 apostles, distin-
guished as " the Cananaean," Matt. 10 : 4,
R. v., or "zealot," Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13,
R. V. The " Zelotes " of Luke is the Greek
equivalent for the Chaldee term used by
Matthew and Mark, 3:18, which has no ref-
erence to Canaan or Cana, but is derived
from the Hebrew kan.\, zeal, and desig-
nates Simon as a member of the faction of
the Zealots, fierce defenders of the Mosaic
law and ritual.
III. One ofthe" brethren "of Jesus, Matt.
13:55; Mark 6:3. Some have supposed
him the same with Simon Zelotes, or with
the Symeon who succeeded' James in the
pastorate at Jerusalem, A. D. 62, and suf-
fered martyrdom in Trajan's reign at the
age of 120. Both identifications are prob-
ably erroneous.
IV. A Pharisee in Galilee, at whose house
Jesus was anointed by a penitent sinner,
Luke 7:36-50.
V. A leper, probably healed by Jesus.
At his house in Bethany Jesus was anoint-
ed by Mary, a sister of Lazarus, Matt.
26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; comp. John 12:1-8.
VI. A man of Cyrene, who was compelled
to bear the cross of Jesus when the Saviour
was exhausted, Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21;
Luke 23:26; comp. Jolin 19:17; an igno-
minious yet most blessed ministry. Mark,
writing for Roman Christians, calls him
"the father of Alexander and Rufus," the
latter being perhaps the Rufus residing at
Rome, to whom with his mother Paul sent
a cordial greeting, Rom. 16: 13.
VII. Simon Iscariot, the father of Judas
Iscariot, John 6:71, R. V. ; 13:2, 26, R. V.
VIII. A tanner, in whose house at Joppa
Peter lodged. Acts 9:43; 10:6, 17, 32.
IX. A Samaritan sorcerer, often called
"Simon Magus," /. e., the magiciati. By
the practice of magical arts this imposter
acquired an ascendency over the people of
Samaria, who seem to have regarded him
as divine. Under Philip's preaching many
of his fellow-citizens became Christians,
and Simon also professed conversion and
was baptized— having long " amazed " the
people by his false wonders, and now being
truly "amazed" at the genuine miracles
wrought through Philip, Acts 8:4-13, R. V.
On the arrival of Peter and John he sought
to purchase from them the divine gift of
imparting the Holy Spirit. Peter denoun-
ced his hypocrisy, to his great alarm, but
he showed no true penitence, Acts 8 : 14-24 ;
comp. Exod. 8:8. Peter bade him ask
mercy from God, evidently far from claim-
ing any power in himself to forgive sin.
There are doubtful traditions as to Simon's
subsequent course. The sin of buying and
selling spiritual offices and privileges, or
ecclesiastical preferments, called simony
after Simon Magus, was severely censured
and punished by early ecclesiastical and
civil law. It however became frequent in
the corrupted Church of Rome, being more
odious to Peter than to many who have
claimed to be his especial followers.
SIM'PLE and SIMPLICITY are some-
times used in the Bible in a good sense,
denoting sincerity, candor, and an artless
ignorance of evil, 2 Sam. 15:11 ; Rom. 16:19;
2 Cor. 1:12; 11:3; sometimes in a bad
sense, denoting a heedless foolishness both
mental and moral, Prov. 1:22; 9:4; 14:15;
22:3; and sometimes in the sense of mere
ignorance or inexperience, Prov. 1:4;
21:11.
SIN, any thought, word, desire, action, or
omission of action, contrary to the law of
God or defective when compared with it,
I John 3:4; 5:17.
The origin of sin is a subject which baf-
fles all investigation ; and our inquiries
are much better directed when we seek
through Christ a release from its penalty
and power, for ourselves and the world.
Its entrance into the world and infection
ofthe whole human race, its nature, forms,
and effects, and its fatal possession of ev-
ery unregenerate soul, are fully described
in the Bible, Gen. 3; 6:5; Psa. 51:5; Matt.
15:19; Rom. 5:12; Jas. 1:14, 15.
As contrary to the nature, worship, love,
and service of God, sin is called ungodli-
ness or impiety, Rom. 1:18; as a violation
of the law of God and of the claims of man,
it is a transgression or trespass ; as a devi-
ation from eternal rectitude, it is called in-
iquity or unrighteousness, Exod. 34:7. As
the evil and bitter root of all actual trans-
gression, the depravity transmitted from
our first parents to all their seed, it is called
by theologians "original sin," or in the
Bible "the flesh," Rom. 7:18; Gal. 5:16-21.
The just penalty or " wages of sin is death,"
Roin. 6:23 ; this was threatened against the
first sin. Gen. 2 : 17, and all subsequent
sins: "The soul that sinneth it shall die,"
Ezek. 18:4, 20. A single sin, unrepented of
and unforgiven, destroys the soul, as a sin-
gle break renders a whole ocean cable use-
less. Its guilt and evil are to be measured
by the holiness, justice, and goodnes" of
567
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
the law it violates, the eternity of the mis-
ery it causes, and the greatness of the Sac-
rifice necessary to expiate it.
" Sin " sometimes denotes the sacrifice
of expiation, the sin-offering, described in
Lev. 4:3, 25, 29. So Hos. 4:8; Rom. 8:3;
and in 2 Cor. 5:21 Paul says that God was
pleased that Jesus, who knew no sin, should
be our victim of expiation: " For he hath
made him to be sin for us who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteous-
ness of God in him." Thus many under-
stand Gen. 4: 7, "sin," or a sin -oftering,
"coucheth at the door," implying that the
use and meaning of sacrifices for sin had
already been revealed. See S.\ckifice.
For the sin against the Holy Ghost see
Bl.'^SI'HEMV.
SIN, mire, a fortified city on the north-
east frontier of Egypt, and exposed to the
predicted invasion of Egypt by Nebuchad-
nezzar, and probably also to later inva-
sions, Ezek. 30:15, 16. It is identified with
the Pelusium, muddy, of Greek and Latin
authors, 2 miles from the sea, in the midst
of morasses, on the easternmost or Pelusiac
outlet of the Nile, now dry. It witnessed
many great battles. Its exact site is not
determined- some place it at the mounds
of el-Farma, one mile from the Bay of
Tineh, the supposed Pelusiac mouth of the
Nile, and 14 miles east of the Suez Canal ;
others at the mound Abu-Khiyar, between
el-Farma and Tel-Defenneh, or Tehaphne-
hes, which is 13 miles west of the Suez
Canal. The mounds are now approached
only by boats, except during the driest part
of summer.
SIN, WILDERNESS OF, between Elim
and Rephidim, Exod. 16:1; 17:1; Num.
33:11, 12. Here, a month after leaving
Egypt, the Israelites received their first
miraculous supply of quails and of manna;
and here the Sabbath was reinstituted,
Exod. 16:2-34. It is believed to be the
desert plain now called el-Markha, running
along the east shore of the Gulf of Suez 25
miles, from wady Taiyibeh to wady Feiran.
It is a dreary region and has little vegeta-
tion. Travellers report having seen many
quails there.
SI'NA, Acts 7:30, 38, A. v., the Greek
form of Sinai.
SI'NAI, thornbxish, the mount in Arabia
Petraea from which God proclaimed the
Ten Commandments to assembled Israel,
in the 3d month after they left Egypt, Exod.
19:1-20; 20; Deut. 4:10-13, 33, 36; 5:1-22;
and to which Moses retired at several times
568
to receive from God various ordinances for
his people, Exod. 20:21; 24:1; Lev. 27:34;
Deut. 5: 23-31. Here Moses remained for
two periods of 40 days, miraculously sus-
tained without food, at the end of the first
period receiving the 2 tablets of stone in-
scribed with the Ten Commandments by
God, Exod. 24:12; 31:18; 32:15, 16, 19;
here he had a vision of the divine glory
and continued his intercession for Israel
after their idolatry of the golden calf, Exod.
34:5-9; comp. Exod. 33:18-23; and here,
at the close of the second 40 days, he re-
ceived the stone tables substituted for those
which he had broken, E.xod. 34:1-4,28, 29;
comp. Deut. 9:9-19, 25 to 10:5. In this
same region Moses had, a year or two be-
fore, beheld the burning bush and been
commissioned by God to liberate Israel,
Exod. 3:1 to 4:17; Acts 7:30, 38. Here
also, 6 centuries later, God revealed him-
self to Elijah, who had fled from the wrath
of Jezebel, i Kin. 19:1-18. The manifested
presence of God and his sublime and aw-
ful delivery of the law on Mount Sinai are
referred to in Judg. 5:5; Neh. 9:13; Psa.
68:8, 17. In the New Testament the dis-
pensation proclaimed from Sinai is con-
trasted with the gospel of the grace of God,
Gal. 4:24, 25; Heb. 12:18-29.
The Scripture use of the 2 names Sinai
and Horeb is such as to make it probable
that Horeb, dry, was the general name for
the mountain group, and Sinai the name of
the special summit on which Jehovah " de-
scended in fire " and " talked with " Israel,
Exod. 19:16, 18; Deut. 5:4; 33:2.
Modern usage applies the name Sinai to
the whole peninsula flanked by the 2 gulfs
of the Red Sea, as well as to the central
group of mountains, and to an individual
peak of that group.
The peni)isiila of Sinai is a triangle,
whose base extends from the head of the
Gulf of Suez to that of Akaba, about 150
miles ; its western side, along the Gulf of
Suez, being about 190 miles long, and its
eastern side, along the Gulf of Akaba, about
130 miles. It contains about 11,500 square
miles, one-tenth more than the State of
Vermont. On its northern border is a
broad sand-belt, adjoining the bare lime-
stone ridge which forms the southern bor-
der of the desert et-Tih. A gravelly plain
of varying breadth extends along the Gulf
of Suez, but the coast along the Gulf of
Akaba is narrow, being closely approached
by mountains. A rugged mass of granite
mountains occupies the body of the penin-
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
PLAIN ER RAHAH \ND CONVENT OF ST CATHARINE.
sula, the eastern and western ranges meet-
ing in an angle at the south. Deep wadys
leap up from the borders to the central
heights. The mountains are of granite and
gneiss, with some outcropping of limestone,
and on the north and west buttresses of red
sandstone. The highest summits are over
8,000 feet above the sea. The cliffs some-
times show gorgeous tints of red, purple,
and green, but the whole aspect
of the region, though grand, is
naked and desolate. The pen-
insula contains iron, copper, and
turquoise. The Egyptians early
established colonies there, and
at times conducted mining oper-
ations— notably at Maghara, 15
miles east of the Gulf of Suez,
where hieroglyphic inscriptions
exhibit the names of Pharaohs
from the 4th dynasty to the 19th
— from the building of the great
pyramid of Gizeh to the He-
brew Exodus. At this time the
peninsula was inhabited by the
Amalekites and Midianites, and
later by the Nabathaean Arabs,
whose chief city was Petra in
Idumaea. See Sela. With the
rest of Arabia Petrgea the penin-
sula was annexed to the Roman
Empire, A. D. 105. Christian-
ity was early planted here, and
coexisted with the native Saba-
ism, or worship of the heavenly bodies.
Christian refugees from persecution in
Egypt fled here, and many brotherhoods of
monks were formed, on Mount Serbal and
in wady Feiran. They suffered much from
the attacks of the Arabs, and in A. D. 527
Justinian authorized them to build a church
surrounded by a fortified convent, the orig-
inal of the present convent of St. Catha-
rine. Mohammedanism established its
sway over the peninsula in the 7th century.
WADV MUKATTEB.
In many parts of the peninsula, but
chiefly in wady Mukatteb, written, which
569
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
enters wady Feiran from the northwest,
there are many inscriptions on the native
rocks, short and rudely cut, largely of
l)roper names — neither Jewish nor Chris-
tian, often preceded by such words as
"peace," "blessed," "in memory of" —
mingled with rough representations of
men and animals, stars, crosses, ships, etc.
Prof. Palmer, of the English ordnance sur-
vey, pronounces the language Aramaean,
the characters Nabathtean, and the inscrip-
tions "the work of idle loungers." They
appear to range through several centuries,
from the 2d B. C. to the 4th A. D., and
some are in Greek, Coptic, and Arabic.
The loftiest summits of the Sinaitic pen-
insula are Jebel Serbal, in the northwest,
6,734 feet; Jebal Musa, 7,363 feet; Jebel
umm-Shaumer, 8,449 feet; Jebel Catharina,
8,536 feet; Jebel Zebir, 8,551 feet. The
district around Jebel Musa, which is in the
centre of the mountain range, has, with the
exception of the oasis in wady Feiran, and
near Tur on the Gulf of Suez, the best sup-
plies of water and pasturage in the penin-
sula, and to it the Bedouins resort when
springs and wells elsewhere are dry.
There has been much discussion as to
which mountain was the scene of (iod's giv-
ing the law, the chief claimants being Ser-
bal, Musa, and Ras Sufsafeh. The Scrip-
ture requirements are: I. The summit must
be visible from a level space large enough
to accommodate 2,000,000 of people, E.\od.
19:11; 20:18. 2. The mount must rise ab-
ruptly from the plain, E.vod. 19:12; Deut.
4:11; Heb. 12:18. 3. The neighborhood
must afford a supply of water and pas-
turage— a condition met by all 3 claim-
ants.
Jebel Serbal, 2 miles south of wady Fei-
ran through the rugged wady .Aleiyat, does
not fulfil the ist and 2d requirements; it
rises more than 4,000 feet above the valleys
at its base, but its summit, a ridge 3 miles
long, is broken into a number of sharp
peaks, and the surrounding valleys are " a
wilderness of boulders and torrent-beds."
Only an occasional glimpse of the moun-
tain can be obtained from wady Feiran.
About 20 miles southeast from Jebel Ser-
bal is an isolated ridge 2 miles long from
northwest to southeast, and nearly a mile
broad. Its highest peak is at the southern
1 .~**^^'//
extremity, and is now called Jebel Mflsa,
mountain of Moses, being identified by
monastic tradition from Justinian's time
with the sacred summit; but wady Sebai-
yeh, the keeper's valley — so called with ref-
erence to Exod. 3:1 — is too contracted and
570
rugged to have afforded standing-ground
for the Hebrew host.
The northern peak of the same ridge,
Ras es-Sufsafeh, peak of the willow — from
a willow-tree on its side — meets all the re-
quirements. It rises abruptly from wady
MOUNT SERBAL.
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
er-Rahah high above all the other moun-
tains near it and in sight, and is so isolated
from them by the plain and by deep and
steep ravines, that bounds might have been
set around it. At its very base lies the
wady er-Rahah, rest, a plain 2 miles long
from southeast to northwest, and half a mile
wide, containing 2,000,000 square yards
available standing-room, a space doubled
by the valleys which open into it on the
east. The summit of Ras Sufsafeh, nearly
2,000 feet above the plain, is accessible from
er-Rahah by a wild ravine, descending
which between two cliffs Moses might have
heard the shouts of the calf-worshippers
before he saw them, Exod. 32:17, 19. By
the same ravine a winter-torrent finds its
way down to er-Rahah; and there are sev-
eral perennial springs and streams in the
neighborhood, Deut. 9:21. Dr. Robinson,
who ascended Ras Sufsafeh in 1838, first
proposed its identification as the sacred
mount. " The e.xtreme difficulty," he says,
"and even danger of the ascent, was well
MOUNT SINAI, FROM THE PLAIN ER-RAHAH.
rewarded by the prospect that now opened
before us. The whole plain cr-Rahah lay
spread out beneath our feet ; while wady
esh-Sheikh on the right and a recess on
the left, both connected with and opening
broadly from er-Rahah, presented an area
which serves nearly to double that of the
plain. Our conviction was strengthened
that here, or on some one of the adjacent
cliffs, was the spot where the Lord de-
scended in fire and proclaimed the law.
Here lay the plain where the whole con-
gregation might be assembled ; here was
the mount which might be approached
and touched; and here the mountain brow
where alone the lightnings and the thick
clould woud be visible, and the thunders
and the voice of the trump be heard, when
the Lord came down in the sight of all the
people upon Mount Sinai. We gave our-
selves up to the impressions of the awful
scene, and read with a feeling which will
never be forgotten the sublime account of
the trans ction and the commandments
there promulgated, in the original words
as recorded by the great Hebrew legisla-
tor," Exod. 19:1 to 20:21.
The members of the English Ordnance
Survey, after a careful survey of the re-
gion in 1868-9, unanimously agreed in
identifying Ras Sufsafeh with the sacred
mountain.
Separated by ravines from the Sufsafeh-
Musa ridge are 2 parallel ridges. Mount
Catharine, 3 miles southwest of Jebel Mflsa,
is the southern peak of the western ridge.
In wady ed-Deir, between Sufsafeh and
the eastern ridge, is the convent or deir of
St. Catharine, founded by Justinian, A. D.
527, where about 50 monks now reside. Its
571
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SIN
library contains some 1,500 printed books
and 700 MSS., among which Tischendorf,
in 1859, discovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a
most valuable Greek MS. of the Septua-
gint and the New Testament, probably of
the 4th century. North of er-Rahah is a
mountain called Jebel Seneh, suggesting
the ancient name of Sinai, but far less im-
posing than Ras Sufsafeh.
The Israelite host, travelling from the
wilderness of Sin eastward from the Red
Sea, are believed to have reached their
camping-ground near Mount Sinai by a se-
ries of wadys winding up among the moun-
tains, chiefly wady Feiran and wady esh-
Sheikh, in one of which was Rephidim.
Wady Feiran commences near the Red
Sea, and curving to the northeast opens
into wady esh-Sheikh, which making a cir-
cuit north of Jebel Seneh bends southward
and enters the plain cr-Rahah at its east-
ern end. A shorter but much more diffi-
cult way is sometimes taken by travellers
through the rough and sublime Nu:b Ha-
wa, pass 0/ the wind, which leaves csh-
Sheikh west of Jebel Seneh, and c:nters
er-Rahah on its northwestern extret~iity,
commanding a grand view of the plain,
the fortified convent of St. Catharine, and
the majestic height of Mount Sinai.
SI'NAI, WILDERNESS OF, a region be-
tween 2 stations of the Israelites, Rephidim
and Kibroth-hattaavah, Num. 33:15, 16,
which the Israelites reached on the 3d
month after they left Egypt, Exod. 19:1, 2;
comp. Exod. 18:5, .-\nd where they remain-
ed nearly a year, Nun. 10:11, 12,33. Dur-
ing this time judges were appointed, Exod.
icS: 13-26: the law was communicated to
the people through Mos^.:> ; the tabernacle
was constructed and furnished, Exod. 39:42
to 40:35; Aaron and his sons were conse-
crated to the priesthood; Nadab and Abl-
hu perished. Lev. 8-10; Num. 3:4; the
Levites were consecrated, Num. 3:5-16;
8:5-22; the first recurring passover feast
was observed. Num. 9:1-5; and the first
census taken, Num. 1:1-19. This year's
camping-ground of the Israelites was in the
smooth and roomy upland plain north of
Mount Sinai, now called er-Rahah, togeth-
er with the adjoining wady esh-Sheikh,
and other minor wadys adjacent to these.
This region is well supplied witii springs,
streams, and pasturage. See Sinai, Mount.
SIN'CERE, I Pet. 2 : 2; 2 Pet. 3:1, R. V.,
without guile. SINCER'ITY, pureness, gen-
uineness; opposed to guile or deceit, Phil.
1:10.
572
SING'ING, in the ancient church, was an
appointed part of divine worship, 2 Chr.
29:28; Ezra 3:11; 7:24; Psa. 87:7; 100:2,
and in all ages a manifestation of joy, Psa.
126:2; Eccl. 2:8; Isa. 35:2; 44:23; 49:13;
Jer. 7:34. See Music. A recent traveller
says that in Egypt and Palestine there is
an entire absence of cheerful music, es-
pecially from the children; " the mirth of
the land is gone," Isa. 24:11.
SIN'GLE EYE, Matt. 6:22; Luke 11:34,
unclouded and clear vision, rather than sin-
gleness of aim.
SIN'GLENESS, Acts 2:46; Eph.6:5; Col.
3:22, freedom from duplicity.
SIN'GULAR, Lev. 27:2, A. V., special or
particular, not odd.
SI'NIM, a people remote from the Holy
Land, whose conversion to the God of Is-
rael is foretold, Isa. 49:12. They are now
generally identified with the Chinese, called
Sinae or Thinae by the Greek geographer
Ptolemy, A. D. 140, and earlier known to
the Arabs as Sin, and to the Syrians as
Tsini. Tsin is also the rabbinical name
for China. Commercial routes early con-
nected the east of Asia with the west, and
brought some of the commodities of China,
such as raw silk and silken goods. See
Silk.
The Nestorians early preached the gos-
pel in China. In 1625 a Jesuit missionary
discovered, at Si-gan-foo, the ancient cap-
ital of China, and now capital of the prov-
ince of Shin-se in the Northwest, a stone
tablet of th: year 7S1, recording in Chinese
and Syriac the establishment in the city,
by imperial consent, of the "King Kiao"
or Illustrious Religion, and bearing a long
list of Nestorian clergymen. In the 12th
and 13th centuries the conquests of Jen-
ghis Khan and his successors, covering the
greater part of Asia and Eastern Europe,
opened anew the way for communication
with China, then known as Khitai or Ca-
thay—from the Khitan, the ruling dynasty
of the 9th and loth centuries. Travellers,
including the famous Venetian Marco Polo,
traders, and Franciscan missionaries, now
visited Cathay; converts to Romanism
were made, and an archbishopric was es-
tablished at Cambaluc, now Peking. After
the fall of the Jenghis dynasty, 1368, Cathay
again became closed to Europeans, and all
traces of Christianity disappeared. In the
i6th century the Portuguese and Spanish
naval officers rediscovered it under the
name of China, and Jesuit and Dominican
missionaries were sent there from Rome.
SIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SLU
Their missions flourished for nearly a cen-
tury and a half; but, compromising with
the national idolatry and withholding the
Bible from the converts, they accomplished
little for the promotion of true religion,
morality, or intelligence. At last a jeal-
ousy of papal influence sprang up among
the ruling classes of the empire, and in
1722 an edict for the suppression of Chris-
tianity was issued: 300 churches were de-
stroyed or suppressed, and 300,000 con-
verts were exposed to persecution, many
submitting to suffering and death with ad-
mirable constancy. In 1842 the ports of
Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ning-po, and
Shanghai were opened to foreign com-
merce ; in 1845 toleration was granted by
edict to Christian converts ; and in 1858
all forms of Christianity were sanctioned
throughout the empire. The pioneer of
Protestant missions in China was the Rev.
Robert Morrison, 1S07 to 1834, who made
the first translation of the Bible into Chi-
nese, and labored privately to spread the
gospel, its public proclamation being then
forbidden. After the opening of the 5 ports
Protestant missions commenced in earnest,
and their abundant fruits, especially in
recent years, attest the faithfulness of the
divine promise.
SI'NITES, a Canaanite tribe. Gen. 10: 17 ;
I Chr. 1 : 15, probably near Mount Lebanon.
SIN'-OF'FERING. See SACRIFICE.
srON, I., one of the names of Mount
Hermon, Deut. 4:48; comp. Deut. 3:9, and
see Hermon.
II. The Greek form of the Hebrew Zion,
Matt. 21:5, A. V.
Sl^n'MOTU, fruitful fields, i Sam. 30:28,
a resort of David when a refugee from S^ul.
Probably 12 miles southeast of Hebron.
SIP'PAI, threshold? a Philistine giant,
I Chr. 20:4; called Saph in 2 Sam. 21:18.
SI'RAH, retired, THE WELL OF, 2 Sam.
3:26, the place which Abner had reached,
going from Hebron, when he was recalled
by Joab. There is a spring and reservoir
called Ain Sara on the western side of the
road about a mile north of Hebron.
SIR'ION, breastplate, the Zidonian name
of Mount Hermon, Deut. 3:9; Psa. 29:6.
See Hermon.
SIS'ERA, battle array, I., the general of
Jabin, king of Hazor, an oppressor of Is-
rael in the time of the Judges, defeated by
the Hebrew army under Deborah and Ba-
rak, and ingloriously slain by Jael, I Sam.
12:9; Psa. 83:9. See Jael and KiSHON.
II. Ancestor of Nethinim who returned
with Zerubbabel from captivity, Ezra 2:53 ;
Neh. 7:55.
SIS'TER, in Scripture usage as broad a
term as "brother," "father," "son," etc.
It denotes not only " a full sister " by the
same father and mother, but also a "step-
sister " or " half-sister," or any near female
relative. Gen. 12:13; 20:12; 26:7; Matt.
13:56. It also denotes one in close affinity
of thought and inclination, Ezek. 16:46;
and one of the same spiritual family by
faith, Rom. 16:1; i Cor. 9:5. It is one of
the terms by which Christ e.xpresses the
close relation to which he graciously ad-
mits his disciples. Matt. 12:49, 50. In Col.
4:10 "sister's son" should be rendered
"cousin," as in the R. V.
SITH, Ezek. 35:6, in some copies of the
Bible, an obsolete word meaning "since."
SIT'NAH, strife, the 2d well dug by Isaac
in the valley of Gerar, whose possession
Abimelech's herdsmen claimed. Gen. 26:21.
SI'VAN, the 3d Hebrew ecclesiastical
month and the 9th of the civil year, begin-
ning with the new moon of our June, Esth.
8:9. The name is probably of Persian ori-
gin. See Month.
SKILL, often used in Scripture as a verb,
to understand or know how, i Kin. 5:6;
2 Chr. 2:7, 8; 34:12.
SKINS, Gen. 3:21, perhaps of animals
offered in sacrifice, by divine appointment,
immediately after the fall.
SLAVE, Jer. 2:14; Rev. 18 : 13. See Ser-
vant.
SLIME. See Pitch and Sea, III.
SLING, a favorite weapon of Oriental
shepherds, i Sam. 17:40; comp. the meta-
phor of Abigail, the wife of the great flock-
owner Nabal, i Sam. 25:29. It was also
very effective in war, Judg. 20:16; i Sam.
17:49, 50; 2 Kin. 3:25; I Chr. 12:2; and
was regularly employed not only by the
Israelite troops, but also by the Syrians,
I Mace. 9:11, the Assyrians, Judith 9:7, the
Egyptians, and the Persians. Sling-stones
were chosen for their smoothness, i Sam.
17:40, and Uzziah had stores of them pro-
vided for his troops, 2 Chr. 26:14, margin.
The sling supplied Jeremiah with an image
of violent removal, Jer. 10:18. Travellers
speak of modern Bedouin shepherds as
dexterous in the use of this weapon. See
War.
SLOW-BELLIES, Tit. i:i2, in the R. V.
" idle gluttons."
SLUI'CES, translated " reward " in Prov.
ii:iS. In Isa. 19:10, for "all that make
sluices and ponds for fish," the R. V. reads,
573
SMI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SMY
"all they that work for hire shall be grieved
in soul."
SMITH, a worker in metal ; in the Bible
particularly copper, iron, gold, and silver.
The art of the smith, as one of the first
essentials of civilization, was early prac-
tised, Gen. 4:22. Without it a nation was
defenceless in time of war, hence Israel
was deprived of smiths by the Philistines,
I Sam. 13:19-22; comp. Judg. 5:8; and by
Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kin. 24:14, 16; Jer.
24:1 ; 29:2. In Israel, as among the heath-
en, the art was often perverted to the ser-
vice of idolatry, Judg. 17:4; Isa. 40:19;
41:7; 44:12; Acts 19:24. A smith at his
work is described in Ecclus. 38:28.
SMI'TING and "slew" in Exod. 2:11, 12
are the same verb in Hebrew, to s/qy.
PORT AND CASll.E OK S.MNRNA.
SMYR'NA, myrrh, an ancient and im-
portant city on the west coast of Asia Mi-
nor, the seat of one of the " 7 churches "
addressed by Christ in the Revelation of
John, Rev. i:ii; 2:8-11. It was on the
borders of ^olis and Ionia, at the head of
the Hermaean or Smyrnaean Gulf, on the
northeast side, and was 40 miles north of
Ephesus. It was captured and destroyed
by Alyattis, king of Lydia, B. C. 628, and
its inhabitants were scattered into villages.
Antigonus, B. C. 320, founded a new Smyr-
na on the southeast side of the gulf, 2%
miles from the former site, partly on the
slope of a hill, but chiefly on the plain at
its foot and extending to the gulf. It was
enlarged and embellished by Lysimachus,
574
and soon became the most beautiful city of
Asia Minor as well as one of the wealthiest
and most commercial. Among its temples
was one to the Olympian Zeus, in whose
honor games were celebrated every 4th
year. Christianity was early planted here.
In the general persecution under Marcus
Aurelius the Christians of Smyrna suffered
severely. Rev. 2:10; the most distinguished
of those who were then " faithful unto
death " was Polycarp, the aged bishop of
that church, a disciple of the apostle John,
and possibly the " angel " addressed in
Rev. 2:8; he died at the stake about A. D.
166. A contemporary letter from the Smyr-
naean church to Christians elsewhere de-
scribes the Jews as joining the heathen in
SNA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SNO
accusing Polycarp of enmity to the state
religion, Rev. 2:9. His traditional grave
is still pointed out on a hill. The church
was represented at the Council of Nice,
A. D. 325. Smyrna was nearly destroyed
by earthquakes in 178 and 180, and has
since suffered from the same cause, as well
as from sieges and fires. It was captured
by the Turks, A. D. 1313.
Modern Smyrna has a population of
about 190,000, a large portion of whom are
Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Europeans
of various nationalities ; hence the Turks
call it Giaour Izmir, infidel Smyrna. It
contains several Greek, Roman-catholic,
and Protestant churches. It is still a flour-
ishing city, visited by many foreign ships
and by numerous caravans of camels from
the interior; its old fame for raisins and
figs continues. Its harbor is deep and ca-
pacious, well protected e.xcept on the west
by the hills which inclose the city on 3
sides.
The ruins of the 2d Smyrna are of much
interest. At the foot of Mount Pagus, south
of the city, is the site of the theatre, now
occupied by a Jewish cemetery, the marble
seats being turned to tombstones. Ruins
of the temple of Zeus and of a watch-tower
are on the hillside, and remains of exten-
sive fortifications crown the summit. The
site of the stadium where Polycarp is re-
ported to have suffered martyrdom is
pointed out at the foot of a hill west of
Mount Pagus.
Traces of the earlier Smyrna have been
discovered on a steep hill on the northern
side of the gulf, including some remarkable
tombs, built of large stones, and an acrop-
olis on higher ground surrounded by a wall
of Cyclopean workmanship.
SNAIL, in Psa. 58:8 the common snail
or slug, both of which in moving deposit a
thick slime on their path, and thus seem to
"melt" away; though the allusion in the
Psalm may be to the destructive effect of
extreme summer heat upon these crea-
tures. In Lev. 11:30, A. V., the Hebrew
word probably denotes some sort of lizard,
perhaps the sand-lizard, which abounds in
Mount Sinai and in Palestine, and like other
species is sometimes eaten by the Arabs.
SNOW, vapor congealed in the air and
falling in flakes resembling wool, Psa.
147:16, is often alluded to in Scripture, es-
pecially in reference to its whiteness, Exod.
4:6; Psa. 51:7; Isa. 1:18; Dan. 7:9; Mark
9:3; Rev. 1:4. Like all other natural phe-
nomena, it is ascribed to the operation of
God, Job 37:6; Psa. 147:16, who is glori-
fied, Psa. 148:8, by its fulfilment of his pur-
pose, Isa. 55:10, II. The fall of snow in
Syria and Palestine, 2 Sam. 23:20; i Chr.
11:22; I Mac. 13:22, varies with the differ-
ing altitudes of the localities. At Jerusalem
in January and February it sometimes falls
to the depth of a foot, but seldom lies long.
In the ravines of the highest ridge of Leb-
anon it lies till late in the summer and
never entirely disappears ; and the summit
of Hermon in the western range always
glistens with snow, its constancy being
contrasted in Jer. 18:13-16 with Israel's
abandonment of Jehovah. Probably in
ancient times, as now, snow was brought
from Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon to lower
localities; its use in preparing cool drinks
for reapers is mentioned in Prov. 25:13;
while in Prov. 26:1 a fall of snow in sum-
mer is compared to honors inappropriately
lavished on a fool. The contrast of the
white falling flakes with the dark foliage
of Lebanon — shady; comp. Judg. 9:48 —
symbolizes, according to Dr. J. A. Alexan-
der, the change from war to peace, Psa.
68:14. Friends unfaithful in adversity are
compared to torrents formed by winter
rains and melted snow in the highlands,
but soon dried up in the summer heat,
when most needed. Job 6:15-21. The wa-
ter obtained by the melting of snow is very
soft and cleansing, Job 9:30.
SO, the king of Egypt with whom Hoshea,
the last king of Israel, allied himself on
revolting from Assyria ; in consequence of
this rebellion Hoshea was imprisoned by
the Assyrian king, Samaria was besieged
and taken, B. C. 721, and the Israelites were
deported to Assyria, 2 Kin. 17:4-6. See
Shalmaneser, IV., and Sargon. By dif-
ferent writers So is differently identified,
either with Shabak, the ist, or less proba-
bly with Shabak or Shabatuk, the 2d king,
of the 25th dynasty, an Ethiopian line of 3
575
SOA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOD
kings. The first Shabak, the Sabacon of
Manetho, is said to have conquered and
put to death Bocchoris, the sole king of the
24th dynasty, and to have reigned S or 12
years; his name occurs on the ruins at
Luxor and Carnak. The 2d Shabak, by
Manetho called Sebichos or Sevecluis, was
the son and successor of the former king,
and predecessor of Tirhakah, tlie last of
the dynasty. A reign of 12 or 14 years is
assigned to him. Sargon, in an inscription
found in his e.xhumed palace at Khorsa-
bad, states that after his capture of Sama-
ria, B. C. 721, he defeated " Sebech " —
probably Shabak I.— sultan of Egypt, and
Hanon king of Gaza, at Raphia. In a room,
apparently a hall of records, in the ruins
of Sennacherib's palace at Koyunjik, was
found among other seals a piece of fine
clay bearing the impress of 2 signets, that
of Shabak— probably Shabak II.— king of
Egypt, and that of the Assyrian king. The
seal is supposed to have been attached to
the record of a treaty between the two
kings. In a cylinder inscription Sennach-
erib claims to have defeated, in his 4th
campaign, B. C. 701, an Egyptian army
under native princes and an unnamed
Ethiopian king, at Altaku (Eltekeh, Josh.
19 : 44), whither the Egyptians had ad-
vanced to aid the Philistine city Ekron.
The Ethiopian monarch is identified by
some scholars with Shabak II. ; and a treaty
of peace might naturally follow such an
eveot. See Sennacherib and Seal.
SOAP, Mai. 3:2, Heb. borith, the clean-
ser. In Jer. 2:22 it is distinguished from
NETER, A. V. " nitre," R. V. " lye," by
which probably natron is denoted. See
Nitre. Certain plants and their juices or
ashes were anciently, as now, used for
cleansing purposes. Such as grow near
salt water contain barilla, or carbonate of
soda, used in making glass as well as soap,
and the ashes of poplar and other inland
plants contain carbonate of potash. The
ancients combined these alkalies with oil,
and thus made a soft soap, used for clean-
sing the person and the clothes. They also
applied them to the refining of metals;
comp. Job 9:30, 3d clause, R. V. margin,
and Isa. 1:25, R. V. margin. The hard
soap now abundantly manufactured in Pal-
estine was unknown to the Egyptians, and
probably to the ancients generally.
SO'CHO, SO'CHOH, SO'COH, also Sho-
cho, Shochoh, and .Shoco, branches, I., a
town in the lowland of Judah, Josh. 15:35.
See Shephelah. Near it the Philistines
576
encamped before Davids conflict with Go-
liath, I Sam. 17:1. It is mentioned in the
notice of one of Solomon's commissariat
districts, i Kin. 4:10; was fortified by Re-
hoboam, but was captured by the Philis-
tines in the reign of Ahaz, 2 Chr. 11:7;
2S:iS. Dr. Robinson, following Eusebius
and Jerome, found it at the ruins esh-Shu-
weikeh, on the southern slope of wady
es-Sumt, the " vale of Elah," 7 miles north-
east of Beit Jibrin and 16 southwest of Je-
rusalem.
II. A town in the mountains of Judah,
Josh. 15:48, identified with esh-Shuweikeh
in the wady el-Khalil, 3 miles north of Jat-
tir and 10 miles southwest of Hebron.
SOD, SOD'DEN, Gen. 25:29; E.\od. 12:9,
the preterite and past participle of
"seethe," to boil or stew.
SOD'OM, burning? one of the "cities of
the plain," Gen. 13:12, destroj-ed by God
with fire from heaven for their e.xcessive
wickedness. It was in the southern part
of the region occupied by the Canaanites,
Gen. 10:19, ^^'^s governed by its own king,
like each of the 4 cities associated with it
and which it seems to have outranked in
importance. Gen. 14:2. In the time of
Abraham these cities were subject to 4 con-
federate kings of countries bordering on
the Euphrates and Tigris, against wliom
they at length rebelled. These kings, after
overrunning the regions east of the Jordan
and Dead Sea, and south and southwest of
the latter, descended to the sea by the pass
of En-gedi, and after defeating the Amor-
ites settled there, encountered the kings of
Sodom, etc., in the vale of Siddim, defeat-
ed them, and plundered their cities, Gen.
14:4-11. Sodom was situated in the fertile
plain or "circle" of Jordan in which Lot
chose to dwell after surveying it with Abra-
ham from a mountain east of Bethel, Gen.
13:10, II. Notwithstanding the bad char-
acter of its inhabitants Lot encamped by
Sodom, ver. 12, R. V., and finally settled
within its walls ; he was one of the captives
taken by Chedorlaomer and rescued by
Abraham, Gen. 14:12-16. Lot returned to
Sodom, Gen. 19:9, though annoyed by its
immorality, 2 Pet. 2:7, 8, not even ten right-
eous men being found there. Gen. 18: 16-33.
Urged to escape by two angels, he left the
city before its destruction, Gen. 19:1-23,
26. See Lot. So terrible was the ruin of
Sodom and the other cities and so utter
and perpetual was the desolation of the
once fertile region in which they had stood,
(ien. 19:24, 25, that the catastrophe is often
SOD
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOD
alluded to in Scripture as a warning to
wicked men and nations of the sure ven-
geance of God, Deut. 29:23; Psa. 107:34;
Isa. 1:9; 13:19; Jer. 49:18; 50:40; Lam.
4:6; Zeph. 2:9; Luke 17:28-30; 2 Pet. 2:6-
9 ; Jude 4-7. Tlie name of Sodom is used
as a synonym for outrageous wickedness,
and is applied to idolatrous and corrupt
Judah and Jerusalem, Isa. 1:10; 3:9; Jer.
23:14, and to the chief city of Antichrist,
Rev. 11:8. Indeed Judah and Jerusalem,
in despising the repeated gracious inter-
ventions of Jehovah, are declared to be
more guilty than Sodom, Ezek. 16:46-52;
■comp. Lam. 4:6, R. V.; and the Saviour
teaches that those who in the light of his
gospel reject him will in the day of judg-
ment receive a heavier punishment, Matt.
10:14, 15; 11:23, 24.
Until recently Sodom and the associated
cities were universally believed to have
tstood at the southern end of the Dead Sea
as it then was ; the vale of Siddim, con-
taining or adjoining them, being supposed
to have occupied the ground now covered
by the southern bay of the sea, and to have
been submerged, wholly or in part, by some
convulsion attending the destruction of the
cities. This view was advocated by Dr.
Robinson, and continues to be held by
many eminent scholars, who urge in its
favor tradition running back to Jerome
and Josephus ; the traces of the names Sod-
om and Gomorrah found on the southwest
shore in the salt ridge Jebel Usdum and
in wady Amrah ; the presence of bitumen
sources — "slime-pits," Gen. 14:10 — at the
bottom of the bay, as evidenced by the
lumps of bitumen floating on it or cast on
its shores ; and the fact that Abraham from
the neighborhood of Hebron saw " the
smoke of the country," Gen. 19:27, 28.
The northern site has been advocated by
De Saulcy, Tristram, Merrill, and others,
on the following grounds: that the "plain
of Jordan" viewed and chosen by Lot
must have been at the north end of the Salt
Sea, for its south end is not visible from
any height near Bethel, being shut off by
the promontory of Ain Feshkah ; that Abra-
ham, near Hebron, could have seen smoke
rising from the north end of the lake as
well as from its south end ; and that the
northern site is more in accord with the
■details of Chedorlaomer's attack and Abra-
ham's pursuit. The "plain" or "circle"
•of Jordan may, however, have included
the whole depression or ghor, at both ends
and the sides of the Dead Sea, and it is
37
not said that Zoar itself was visible from
the height east of Bethel, Gen. 12:8; 13:3,
10. As to the submergeJice of this region,
it is true that the references to Sodom and
Gomorrah, etc., in both Testaments appear
to indicate a condition of the region where
they had stood answering to that of the
sun-scorched, salt-encrusted, sulphur-bear-
ing, and desolate shores of the sea, rather
than to a region covered with water ; the
Apocrypha speaks of " Sodom and Gomor-
rah, whose land lieth in clods of pitch and
heaps of ashes," 2 Esdr. 2:9; and Jose-
phus, after describing the Dead Sea, speaks
of "Sodomites," or the land of Sodom, as
"bordering upon it," as "all burned up,"
and bearing still the " remainders of the di-
vine fire " which had destroyed it ; " War,"
IV. 8, 4; though, on the other hand, it is
evident that he regards the vale of Siddim,
which he speaks of as close to Sodom, as
having been submerged at the destruction
of the city and forming in his time a part
of the sea; "Ant.," I. 9; comp. Gen. 14:3.
See Gomorrah, Sea, III., Siddim, Shit-
TiM, Zoar.
SOD'OM,.VINE OF, Deut. 32:32. This
expression may be used metaphorically
without denoting any specific plant. Jose-
phus, however, speaks of certain fruit;
growing in the region where Sodom for-
merly stood, which " have a color as though
they were fit to be eaten, but if plucked
they dissolve into smoke and ashes."
Among the plants suggested as meant by
these " apples of Sodom " is the osher of
the Arabs, the Calotropis procera of bota-
nists, resembling a huge milk-weed, 10 or
12 feet high, exuding from the punctured
stalk an acrid milky fluid, and bearing a
yellow fruit as larore as an orange, with a
slight pod running throup-h it, whose thin
and flat seeds are winged with fine silky
filaments. When oressed or struck it ex-
plodes with a uff, .eavino^ only shreds in
the hand. This however is not a vine, and
many regard the " vine of Sodom " as the
colocynth, a kind of gourd whose leaves
and tendrils somewhat resemble those of
the vine ; its fruit, of the size of an orange,
with a hard yellow rind marbled with
green and white, is nauseous and poison-
ous ; when ripe it contains only seeds and a
dry powder, and bursts on being pressed.
It is found near Gilgal, 2 Kin. 4:38, 39, and
around the Dead Sea.
SOD'OMITES, Deut. 23:17, the Biblical
term for persons who, in accordance with
a widely-prevalent heathen custom, prac-
^ 577
SOL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOL
Used as a religious rite, in the worship of
Ashtoreth, etc., the crime to which the men
of Sodom were addicted, Gen. 19:4, 5. The
Hebrew term, kadesli, means " consecra-
ted," and its feminine equivalent, kade-
sltah, occurs in Gen. 38:21, 22 ; Deut. 23: 17;
Hos. 4:14. Some of the Israelites adopted
this dreadful " consecration," though it
was expressly forbidden, with other idola-
trous practices, I Kin. 14:22-24. Its aboli-
tion was sought among the reforms institu-
ted by Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Josiah, i Kin.
15:12; 22:46; 2 Kin. 23:7; compare Rom.
1 : 22-27.
SOL'OMON, Heb. Shelo'moh, peaceful,
die successor of David, and one of his 4
sons by Bath-sheba, 2 Sam. 5:14; i Chr.
3:5; 14:4. Besides this name, chosen be-
fore his birth, i Chr. 22:9, and first given
to him, 2 Sam. 12:24, God directed the
prophet Nathan to call him Jedidiah, " be-
loved of the Lord," ver. 25. It is supposed
that he was about 10 years old at Absalom's
rebellion, and fled with his father and the
household to Mahanaim, 2 Sam. 15:13-18,
23, 30; 16:1, 5, 13; 17:22, 24, and returned
with them to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 19:15, 18,
39, 40; 20:3. Solomon was a child of spe-
cial promise, 2 Sam. 7: [2-15, and was be-
fore his birth designated by God to succeed
David, I Chr. 22:9, 10; his succession was
early promised to Bath-sheba, 1 Kin. 1:13,
17— a purpose perhaps generally suspected
though not formally announced, ver. 10, 20.
His kingly prospects and life were endan-
gered by the attempted usurpation of Ado-
nijah, i Kin. 1:5-10, 24-27, as formerly by
that of Absalom, ver. 12, 21 ; comp. 2 Sam.
19:5. But David, at the instance of Nathan
and Bath-sheba, promptly interfered and
caused Solomon to be anointed and en-
throned, 1 Kin. 1:32-53. Before David's
death Solomon was again formally and
publicly proclaimed and anointed king, and
received from his father a solemn charge
as his successor and as the builder of the
temple for which David had prepared,
I Chr. 28:1 to -29:25; comp. i Kin. 2:1-9.
He w.as not more than 20 when his father's
death made him th^ sole ruler, i Kin. 2:12;
3:7; 2 Chr. 1:1. One of his first acts was
to offer, in presence of a vast assembly,
sacrifices at Gibeon, where were the Mo-
saic tabernacle and brazen altar; and here,
upon God's proposal to confer on him what
he should ask, he made his excellent choice
of wisdom, to which God added riches and
honor, i Kin. 3:4-15; 2 Chr. 1:1-13; comp.
Prov. 8:11-16; Matt. 6:33. His unequalled
578
sagacity and great learning gradually be-
came renowned throughout the East, draw-
ing to his court representatives of other
nations, among them the queen of Sheba.
1 Kin. 4:29-34; 10:1-13; 2 Chr. 9: 1-12, 23.
He accomplished David's purpose by erect-
ing a temple, which, though not large, was
magnificent in its construction and adorn-
ment. It was begun in the 4th year of his
reign and completed in the nth, i Kin. 6;
2 Chr. 3 ; 4, and dedicated with great so-
lemnity, the dedicatory prayer being offered
by Solomon himself, 1 Kin. 8; 2 Chr. 5: i to
7:10. See Tkmple. He established the
regular sacrifices and offerings of the tem-
ple according to the Mosaic law, and the
courses of the priests and Levites, as David
had directed, i Kin. 9:25; 2 Chr. 8:12-15.
He then erected a splendid palace for him-
self and a palace for Pharaoh's daughter,
whom he had married, perhaps from po-
litical motives, i Kin. 7:1-12; 9:24; 2 Chr.
8:1,11. In the construction of these build-
ings he was aided by Hiram, king of Tyre,
who, in exchange for wheat and olive oil,
supplied him with stones, timber, and
skilled workmen, i Kin. 5:1-12; 2 Chr.
2:3-16; but the larger part of his workmen
were his own subjects, both Israelites and
" strangers," or descendants of native Ca-
naanites, proselytes to Judaism, but held
in servitude, i Kin. 5:13-18; 9:20, 21;
2 Chr. 2:2, 17, 18; 8:7, 8. He also construct-
ed reservoirs and aqueducts, Eccles. 2:4-6,
and rebuilt and fortified cities, i Kin. 9:15-
19; 2 Chr. 8:1-6, in various parts of his
kingdom, whose eastern boundary extend-
ed from Tiphsah on the northern Euphra-
tes to Elath on the eastern gulf of the Red
Sea, 1 Kin. 4:21, 24; 2 Chr. 9:26. He es-
tablished a lucrative commerce with Tyre
and Egypt, with the Phoenician colony of
Tarshisii in Spain, and with Arabia and
probablv India, i Kin. 9:26-28; 10:22, 28,
29; 2 Chr. 8:17, 18; 9:21, 28; he is also
supposed to have carried on a caravan
trade with Babylon and the East by the
way of Tadmor. By the fruits of this com-
merce, and by the tributes of vassal peo-
ples and the presents of friendly rulers,
1 Kin. 10: 14, 15, 23-25, Solomon was greatly
enriched ; he took great pride in his mag-
nificent palaces, his gardens and vineyards,,
his body-guard and hosts of attendants,
his luxurious table, his pomp and Oriental^
seraglio, divinely forbidden, Deut. 17:16,
17. Yielding to the temptations connect-
ed with this flood of prosperity, the king,
though solemnly warned by God in a 2d
SOL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOL
revelation, i Kin. 9:1-9; 2 Chr. 7:11-22,
became proud, self-indulgent, and forgetful
of God ; encouraged and finally assisted
his numerous alien wives in their abom-
inable idolatries, I Kin. 11:1-8; Neh. 13:26;
and forfeited the favor of God, who an-
nounced to him the division of his king-
dom under his son, i Kin. 11:9-13. It is
believed, however, that by divine grace
Solomon was afterwards brought to repent-
ance, and that we have proof of this in the
book of Ecclesiastes ; comp. 2 Sam. 7: 12-15.
Solomon's reign, which continued 40
years, B. C. 1015-975, was generally peace-
ful, I Kin. 4:24, 25, with the exception of
some disturbances produced by Hadad,
Rezon, and Jeroboam, i Kin. 11 : 14-43.
While the extensive internal works and
active foreign commerce conduced largely
to the prosperity and glory of the nation as
well as of its monarch, i Kin. 4:20, many
of the people felt themselves oppressed
by forced service and excessive taxation,
which they openly resented on the acces-
sion of Rehoboam, 1 Kin. 12:3-20; comp.
5:13,14; I Sam. 8:10-18; and they received
far graver injury from the corrupt example
and influence of the king.
The mental capacities and acquirements
of Solomon covered a wide range : he was a
student of nature, speaking of " trees, . . .
of beasts and of fowl, and of creeping
things and of fishes;" a poet, whose "songs
were 1,005;" a philosopher and moralist,
producing " 3,000 proverbs," i Kin. 4:32, 33.
The writings which bear his name and
are included among the inspired Scriptures
are the "Song of Songs," commonly re-
ferred to the earlier or middle part of his
reign; comp. Song 3:11; 6:8; the "Prov-
erbs;" and "Ecclesiastes," which may
probably be referred to the close of his
life, summing up the fruits of his experi-
ence, and showing the weakness of human
nature, the perils of prosperity, the insuf-
ficiency of all possible earthly good to sat-
isfy the needs of man, and the paramount
importance of fearing and obeying God.
Besides these. Psalms 72 (except ver. 20)
and 127 are, in accordance with their titles,
attributed to Solomon, and in their con-
tents reflect his reign; while the former
terminates on Christ, the greater Son of
David, and the blessings of His universal
dominion. Psalm 45 is also ascribed to
the time of Solomon ; in imagery appa-
rently derived from the incidents of his
reign, it describes the triumphs of the
Messiah, his firm and eternal rule, and,
like the Song of Songs, the conjugal rela-
tion between him and his people.
The Scripture narrators of Solomon's
reign borrowed from several contempora-
neous records: "the book of the acts of
Solomon," i Kin. 11:41; "the book of Na-
than the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah
the Shilonite, the visions of Iddo the seer,"
etc., 2 Chr. 9:29.
Solomon's degeneracy in his later years
does not detract from the value of his in-
spired teachings, but is itself a valuable
illustration and warning of the possibility
of falling into grievous sin from the heights
of spiritual privilege.
Solomon was in many respects a type of
Christ — who was the divine " Son of Da-
vid," Matt. 1:1, "greater than Solomon,"
Matt. 12:42; the "Prince of peace," Isa.
9:6, 7; the " Beloved" of the Father, Matt.
3:17; the chosen Son; comp. i Chr. 28:5;
Psa. 45:7; Heb. 1:5, 8, 9; the possessor of
" all the treasures of wisdom and knowl-
edge," Luke 2:40, 52; Col. 2:3; the ad-
mired Teacher; comp. i Kin. 4:29-31, 34;
Luke 5:1, 15; 19:48; the Intercessor for his
people; compare i Kin. 8:22-53; John 17;
the "King of kings," Rev. 17:14; 19:16;
Phil. 2:10; the Husband of his church;
comp. Song; Eph. 5:23-32; Rev. 19:7 ; 21 :2.
SOLOMON'S POOLS, Eccl. 2:6. Among
these may be included the ancient struc-
tures called by the Arabs el-Burak, the
pools, about 3 miles southwest of Bethle-
hem, on the road to Hebron. These are 3
large reservoirs lying near together in the
narrow valley wady Urtas (see Etam,
whence, according to the Talmud, the tem-
ple derived water). They are partly hewn-
out of the rock and partly mason-work,
and are all lined with cement, are formed'
on successive levels, rising from east tO'
west, though not in a direct line, with con-
duits leading from the upper to the lower,
and flights of steps from the top to the bot-
tom of each. They are supplied chiefly
by an underground aqueduct from a sub-
terranean fountain some distance to the
northwest — perhaps the "spring shut up"
of Song 4:12; in the rainy season they also
receive a large quantity of water from the
neighboring hills. An aqueduct from the
lower pool supplies Bethlehem and the
Urtas gardens, and conveys water to Jeru-
salem. The upper and westernmost pool
is 380 feet long, 236 feet broad at the east,
229 at the west, 29 feet deep at the east, 160
feet above the middle pool. This pool is
423 feet long, 250 feet broad at the east, i6»
579
SOL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOL
SOLOMON'S POOLS, IN WADV IRl AS.
at the west, 39 feet deep, above the lower
pool 248 feet. The lower pool is 5S2 feet
long, 207 feet broad at the east, 148 at the
west, 50 feet deep. When first seen by Dr.
Thomson they contained but a few feet of
water ; but on another occasion he found
the 2 higher pools full and overflowing into
the lowest one. North of the western pool
is an old square fortification called Kal'at
el-Burak, fort of the pools. The aqueduct
from the pools crosses the Hinnom valley
below the southwest corner of the city wall,
winds south around Mount Zion, and turns
north again into the Tyropoeon valley into
the city and the Haram area. A high-level
aqueduct, from a spring near Bethlehem
200 feet above the temple platform, it is
thought, conveyed water to the upper pool
of Gihon, and to " Hezekiah's pool " in Je-
rusalem near the Joppa gate.
SOL'OMON'S PORCH. I. Two among
the structures erected by Solomon for his
own use might thus be designated, viz.,
the "porch of pillars," and the " porch of
the throne " or " porch of judgment," i Kin.
7:6, 7. See Shushan.
II. The outer eastern portico or colon-
nade of the temple as rebuilt by Herod,
John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12. It adjoined
exteriorly the Court of the Gentiles on the
east; its ceiling, finished with cedar, was
40 feet above the pavement, and rested on
a double row of white marble Corinthian
columns. See Temple.
580
SOL'OMON'S SERVANTS, whose de-
scendants returned with Zerubbabel from
captivity, Ezra 2:55-58; Neh. 7:57-60, were
probably the Canaanites reduced to bond-
service by Solomon, i Kin. 9:20, 21 ; 2 Chr.
2: 17, 18; 8:7, 8 ; comp. i Chr. 22:2.
SOL'OMON'S SONG, or THE SONG OF
SONGS, ver. i, i. c, the most excellent of
songs; sometimes called " Canticles," from
its title in the Latin Vulgate, " Canticus
Canticorum." It has always held a place
in the canonical Scriptures, appearing in
the ancient versions from the Septuagint
onward, and in the catalogues from that of
Melito, about A. D. 160, onward, and being
highly esteemed by Jews and Christians.
There seems to be no sufficient reason for
doubting that its author was king Solo-
mon, at some period during the former
half of his reign. As to its subject and
plan very different opinions have been
held — embraced in one or another of the
following 3 classes :
I. The allegorical view. Almost all Jew-
ish writers of the Christian era interpret
this beautiful poem as an allegory, agree-
ing usually with the Targum, the Chaldee
paraphrase, which explains it as an alle-
goric and prophetic representation of the
history of Israel from the Exodus to the
coming of the Messiah and the building of
the third temple. The allegorical mode of
interpretation was adopted by the early
Christian writers, who regarded the Song
SOL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SON
as setting forth either (i) the loving com-
munion between Christ and the soul of
the individual believer; or (2) the rela-
tion between Christ and the church, or (3)
both; or (4) the relation between Jehovah
and the people of Israel, the Old Testa-
ment theocracy; or (5) the history of the
church in both Old Testament and New
Testament periods. The allegorical view
in some form has continued to be that of
the majority of Christian theologians and
believers to the present day.
2. Literal view. As early as the 5th
century Theodore of Mopsuestia in Cilicia
maintained the literal sense of the Song,
as celebrating the earthly love and mar-
riage of Solomon and his bride — Shelomoh
and Shulamith ("the Shulamite"), sup-
posed to be Pharaoh's daughter. This lit-
eral view long met with little acceptance,
but in the last and present centuries has
found supporters, chiefly German ration-
alists, the bride being sometimes regarded
as an Egyptian princess, sometimes as an
Israelite shepherdess from Shunem. It is
obvious that the bare literal view fails to
account for the place which the Song has
always had in the inspired Scriptures and
in the hearts of God's people, and unwar-
rantably ignores the typical character of
Solomon as well as many Scripture repre-
sentations of the relation between God
and his people drawn from the marriage
relation.
3. Typical view. Midway between the
allegorical and the literal views is that
which accepts the Song as setting forth in
its primary signification the loving inter-
course of king Solomon and his bride, and,
by virtue of the representative and typical
character of the king, as the vicegerent of
Jehovah and a type of the Messiah, shadow-
ing forth the tender relation between Je-
hovah and his chosen people, and the still
more loving communion between Christ
and his church. Thus understood, the
Song harmonizes with the divine system
of actual, historic, and personal types of
Christ in his various aspects. The Song
holds an important place in the develop-
ment of the idea of the marriage relation
as the figure of that existing between God,
and particularly Christ, and his people;
and was thus adapted to nourish the faith,
love, and fidelity of Old Testament believ-
ers, as well as of Christians in later times.
This idea is involved in expressions in the
writings of Moses, Exod. 34:15, 16; Num.
15:39; and of Asaph, Psa. 73:27; lies in the
foundation of the 45th Psalm, by a writer
contemporary with Solomon ; is enlarged
upon by the prophets in words of comfort
and rebuke, Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 3; Ezek.
16; 23; Hos. 1-3; and adopted by John the
Baptist, John 3:29, and by our Lord and
his apostles. Matt. 9: 15; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph.
5:23-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2-9. Comp. also
Song 8:12 and Isa. 5:1; Song 2:14 and
Psa. 74 : 19 ; Song 5 : 2 and Rev. 3 : 20.
In form the Song is a lyrical drama or
dialogue, the speakers being Solomon, the
bride, and her friends the maidens of Jeru-
salem. See Solomon, Shulamite.
In the exposition of this beautiful poem
we must remember that modern conven-
tional rules and notions are not the stand-
ard to which its plan, its images, or its
phraseology should be brought.
Dr. John Brown of Haddington, in the
introduction to his admirable paraphrase
of this book, says, " If understood of the
marriage and fellowship between Christ
and his people, it will appear most exalt-
ed, instructive, and heart-warming. Its
majestic style, its power on men's con-
science to promote holiness and purity,
the harmony of its language with that of
Christ's parables and the book of Revela-
tion, the sincerity of the bride in acknowl-
edging her faults, and its general recep-
tion by the Jewish and Christian church,
sufficiently prove it inspired of God. To
such as read it with a carnal and especially
with a wanton mind, it is the savor of death
unto death, as the mind and conscience of
such are defiled ; but to such as have expe-
rienced much fellowship with Christ and
read it with a heavenly and spiritual tem-
per of mind, it will be the savor of life unto
life. The speakers in it are Christ, belie-
vers, and the daughters of Jerusalem," or
companions and friends of believers.
SOME'TIME, or SOME'TIMES, in the
A. V. should read " aforetime," "once," or
"in times past," Eph. 2: 13 ; 5:8; Col. i :2i ;
y-1\ Tit. 3:3; I Pet. 3:20.
SON is used in a variety of senses in the
Scriptures: sometimes denoting a grand-
son or more remote descendant. Gen. 29:5;
Matt. 1:20; one occupying a relation like
that of a son — by adoption. Gen. 48:5; by
law, Ruth 4:17; by education, i Sam. 3:6;
I Kin. 20:35; compare Prov. 1:8, etc.; by
conversion, Tit. 1:4; by resemblance, Isa.
57:3; Matt. 5:9, 45; Acts 13:10. By a fur-
ther figure of speech, persons, to express
their real or apparent origin, their temper,
or their destiny, are sometimes called
581
SON
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SON
" sons " of localities, qualities, affections,
or conditions: as "sons of the East," Judg.
^■3> 33'- "of this world," Luke i6:8; "of
hell," Matt. 23:15, R. V.; "of Belial" or
worthlessness, Judg. 19:22; " of disobedi-
ence," Eph. 2:2; "of death," i Sam. 20:31,
margin; "of perdition," John 17:12. Even
inanimate objects were called "sons" of
other inanimate objects, as in a sense their
offspring : thus an arrow is a " son of the
bow," Job 41:28, R. v., margin, or "of the
quiver," Lam. 3:13, margin; and threshed
grain is the "son of the threshing-floor,"
Isa. 21: to,, margin. The Hebrew word
BEN, son, occurs in composition in many
personal, tribal, and local names, as Ben-
jamin, Gen. 35 : 18, margin ; Bene-berak,
sons of lig-htning, ]osh. 19:45. Bar, Ara-
maic and poetic Hebrew for son, is also
found in the New Testament, as in Bar-
timaeus, Mark 10:46.
SON OF DAVID, i Chr. 29 : 22 ; Matt, i : 20 ;
Luke 3:31. This title became, by reason
of the Old Testament prophecies announ-
cing the firm and glorious dominion of a
descendant of David, Isa. 9:7; Jer. 23:5;
Amos 9:11, one of the recognized designa-
tions of the Messiah, Matt. 12:23: 22:41,
42; Mark 12:35; John 7:42, and as such is
repeatedly appropriated to Jesus, Matt. 1:1;
■9:27; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; compare
JLuke 1:32.
SON OF GOD. I. Adam, as deriving his
origin directly from God and endowed with
a mental and moral likeness to Him, is so
called, Luke 3:38; compare Gen. 1:26, 27.
The expression occurs first in the plural,
Gen. 6:2, 4, where the best interpretation
regards it as denoting, not angels, Luke
20:35, 36, but the descendants of Seth, of
whose line were the pious patriarchs of
Gen. 5; comp. Gen. 4:26, and the "daugh-
ters of men " as denoting women of the
race of Cain, the accursed one, Gen. 4:9-
16. The term "sons of God" is also ap-
plied to angels, Job i : 6 ; 2:1; 38 : 7 ; and to
kings and rulers, 2 Sam. 7: 14 ; i Chr. 28:6;
comp. Psa. 82:6; as well as to the worship-
pers or chosen people of God — as, beside
the Sethites, Gen. 6:2, 4, Israel, E.xod. 4:22,
23 ; Deut. 14:1; Isa. 45 : 1 1 ; Jer. 3 : ^ ; 31 : 20 :
Hos. I : 10; and especially believers in
Christ — as adopted by his Father, born
again into the spiritual family of God, and
having wrought in them a new nature, di-
vine in origin and by resemblance, John
1:12,13; Rom. 8:14-17; Phil. 2:13-15; Heb.
12:5-7; 2 Pet. 1:4. See Rkcicnkkation.
Nebuchadnezzar likens the superhuman
582
companion of Shadrach and his friends in
the fiery furnace to "a son of the gods,"
Dan. 3:25, R. \.\ comp. ver. 28; in the
thought of the heathen king there was prob-
ably no reference to " the Son of God," A.
v., the Messiah.
II. The title " the Son of God " belongs
in a peculiar and always distinguishable
sense to the Lord Jesus Christ, expressing
his unique and eternal relation to the
Father, as " the only-begotten Son," the
revealer of the Father, his agent in crea-
tion and redemption, in providence and in
judgment, John i : 14, 18, 34 ; 3:16; 5 : 22, 23 ;
Heb. I ; comp. Psa. 2. This title is applied
to Christ more than 40 times in the New
Testament, Matt. 3:17; 16:16, 17; 17:5;
Rev. 2:18. The Jews rightly understood
him to assert equality with God in claim-
ing it, John 5:18, R. v.; 10:30-36. The
truth that the Messiah would be essentially
divine is involved in declarations of the
Hebrew Scriptures, Psa. 2; Isa. 7:14, R. V.,
margin; 9:6; Mic. 5:2; which were so far
understood that the title " Son of God " was
one of the recognized names of the Mes-
siah, Matt. 26:63; Mark 14:61; John 1:49.
But the vast majority of the Jews, entan-
gled in earthly conceptions of the Messiah
and his office, failed to apprehend the full
meaning of these Scriptures, stumbled at
the poverty and unworldliness of Jesus,
and rejected as false his claim to be the
Messiah and as blasphemy his announce-
ment that he was the Son of God in the
fullest sense of the term. Matt. 26:63-66;
John 5:18; 8:58, 59; 19:7. See Trinity.
God's gift of his own Son is at once the
greatest proof of the enormity of sin, of the
strict holiness and justice of God, and of
his gracious love for sinners, John 3:16;
Rom. 3:25, 26; 8:3,32; Heb. 10:28,29.
SON OF MAN. This expression is often
used in the Old Testament as an equiva-
lent for "man;" it is coupled with allu-
sions to human weakness. Num. 23: 19; Job
25:6; Psa. 144:3; 146:3, and is a reminder
to humility, Ezek. 2: i, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, etc. It is
applied to Ezekiel's contemporary, Daniel,
Dan. 8:17. In Daniel's vision of the suc-
cessive world-kingdoms, after the 4 pre-
figured under bestial forms, Dan. 7:3-8, he
describes the ruler of the final, universal,
eternal kingdom as " like unto a son of
man," ver. 13, 14, R. V.; of human aspect,
yet approaching close to "the Ancient of
Days," a remarkable prediction of the
union of the human and the divine in the
Messiah. See also Dan. 10:16. The title
soo
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SOR
"the Son of Man," understood by the Jews
of our Lord's time as a designation of the
Messiah, John 12:34, is that which Christ
most frequently applied to himself, some-
times interchanging it with "the Son of
God," John 1:49-51; 3:14-18; and appro-
priating to himself the prophecy of Daniel,
Matt. 26:63, 64; comp. Rev. 1:13; 14:14,
R. V. As applied to Christ — more than 80
times in the New Testament — it implies
not only his humiliation, Matt. 8:20, that
he, the Son of God, became a true man,
Rom. 8:3, but also that he was the one per-
fect Man, sinless, and complete in every
human virtue; also the representative
Man — personally, as elevated above indi-
vidual, class, and national prejudices, and
officially, as the representative of the hu-
man race in his life and death for man.
As Augustine says, "The Son of God be-
came the Son of Man, that you who were
sons of men might be made sons of God."
The Son of God is still also the Son of
Man, in his exaltation to the glory of the
Father, Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55, 56; comp.
John 17:5; and as such has perfect sympa-
thy with men, Heb. 4:15, and is to judge
the world, Matt. 25:31; John 5:26, 27;
Rev. 5:9, 10.
In Acts 3: 13, 26 ; 4:27, 30, the word "son "
in the A. V. is "servant" in the R. V.
Comp. Isa. 42 : 1 ; Matt. 12:18.
SOOTH'SAYER, i. 2>,Z^; Psa.9:i7; 30:3; 31:17; Isa. 14:9-
20; comp. I Sam. 28:8-19. And though the
passage into that unseen world is tinged
with sadness even to the godly man's soul.
Job 7:9; Psa. 6:5; 89:48; Isa. 38:10, 18,
there are records of divine assurances to
the righteous of release from it and of ac-
cordant joyful anticipations, Psa. 16:10;
49:15; 73:23-26; Hos. 13:14. The faith
and obedience of God's ancient servants
attest their hope of another life, Heb. 11 : 10,
13-40. It was however reserved for Christ
to reveal most fully the soul's immortality
and worth and the blessedness of those
who die "in the Lord," Matt. 10:28; 16:26;
John 11:25, 26; Heb. 12:22, 23; Rev. 14:13.
See Im.mortality. To save the souls of
men he freely devoted himself to death ;
and how does it become his redeemed peo-
ple to spend and be spent to promote the
great work for which he suffered and died !
In the Scriptures the words rendered
" soul " are used concretely to denote a liv-
ing being, especially a human being. Gen.
12:5; Lev. 5; Josh. 10:28, etc.; Acts 2:43;
Rev. 16:3; as an object of traffic, a slave.
Rev. 18:13. The same Hebrew word is
also used to denote that which has had life,
a corpse. Num. 9:6, 7, 10. With the posses-
sive pronouns, " soul " is often equivalent
to " self," Jer. 37:9, margin. A soul is as-
cribed to God, Lev. 26:11, 30; Judg. 10:16,
by the same figure of speech which im-
putes to him an " arm " or " eyes."
SOUTH. I. "The South," "the South
country," or "the land of the South," Heb.
NEGEB, dry. This is the name of a large
region on the south of Canaan (applied to
it even when approaching it from further
south) frequented by Abraham and Isaac,
Gen. 12:9; 13:1, 3; 20:1; 24:62. It was
crossed by the spies sent by Moses from
Kadesh, and was at that time a seat of the
Amalekites, Num. 13:17, 22, 29. It is men-
tioned among the grand divisions con-
quered by the Israelites, Josh. 10:40; comp.
Num. 21 : 1-3, and formed part of the terri-
tory allotted to Judah and afterwards to
Simeon, Josh. 15:21-32; 19:1-8; i Chr.
4:24-33. In this region the family of Ca-
leb the Kenite, and the Judahite family of
Jerahmeelites settled, Judg. i : 10-16; i Sam.
27:10; in David's time part of it was held
by the Philistines, who gave Ziklag to him,
1 Sam. 27:5-7; 30:1, 14-16; comp. 2 Chr.
28: 18. The mountains on the southwest of
the Dead Sea formed the eastern border
of the Negeb, which extended westward to
the neighborhood of Gaza and Gerar. It
consisted of a high plateau intersected by
mountain ranges and sloping westward
into the plain. The towns assigned to it,
from Rimmon on the north to Kadesh on
the south. Josh. 15:21-32, indicate a length
of 60 miles. The northern part of this
region was tolerably fertile and cultiva-
ted, but the southern portion partook of
the character of the wilderness on which
it bordered. Its wadys, filled with water
by the winter rains, Psa. 126:4, soon dry
up, and it suffers from the hot winds from
the desert in their season, Isa. 21:1; com-
pare Luke 12:55. There are many ruins
of former towns— wells, aqueducts, reser-
voirs, terraces, etc.— but none now inhab-
ited. Ambassadors from Judah to Egypt
would cross it, Isa. 30:1-6; comp. 36:6.
Jeremiah predicts a Jewish reoccupation
of its cities which shared in the desolation
of Judah by the Babylonians, Jer. 32:44;
33:13; comp. Obad. 19, 20; Zech. J:-]; and
the fulfilment of this prediction is record-
ed, Neh. 11:25-30.
By Jeremiah, in Jehoiachin's reign, the
term negeb seems to be applied to the en-
tire land of Judah approached from the
north, Jer. 13:19; comp. ver. 18, R. V., 20;
2 Kin. 24' 12, and a few years later by Eze-
kiel prophesying in Babylon, Ezek. 20:46,
47; 21:1, 2 ; comp. Ezek. i :i-3 ; 20: i. Dan-
iel, ch. II, applies the term to Egypt. It
sometimes denotes merely relative direc-
tion, as in Exod. 26:18. "the south side."
As a distinct geographical term the R. V.
sou
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SPA
distinguishes the South by a capital ini-
tial.
II. Darom, a word applied to part of the
territory of Naphtali, Deut. 33:23, and also
used as a simple relative term, Eccles. 1:6;
Ezek. 20:46, R. v.; 40:24, etc,; and poeti-
cally for the south wind. Job 37: 17.
III. A frequent term for the south is te-
MAN, the riglU hand, i.
see Coney ; by others to the Basque word
EzPANA, the edge-\-M\(^ of Europe. Spain
was famed for its mineral wealth of gold,
silver, etc. The Roman conquest was not
completed until the time of Augustus, B. C.
19, who divided the country into 3 provin-
ces, the one named Lusltania nearly cor-
responding to Portugal. Many Romans
settled in Spain, and their language and
civilization gradually spread through the
country ; the elder Seneca was a native of
Spain. Probably matiy Hellenistic Jews
resided there, and perhaps there were
Christians there at the date of the Epistle
to the Romans, A. D. 58, when Paul, at
Corinth intended to visit the country, Rom.
15:24, 28— a design perhaps accomplislied
between his ist and 2d imprisonments at
Rome, A. U. 64-66. See Pacl. On the
decay of the Roman Empire Spain suffered
as a battle-ground of the Teutonic tribes.
The Goths established their supremacy in
427, and exchanged their Arian Christianity
for the Roman-catholic faith in 587. About
713 the Mauritanian Arabs, or Moors, con-
quered Spain, driving the Christians into
the north, and retained a Mohammedan
empire there until deprived of their last
remaining kingdom, that of Granada, in
1482 by p-erdinand and Isabella, who also
expelled the Jews from Spain. The king-
dom reached its height of prosperity under
the emperor Charles V. (I. of Spain), Isa-
bella's grandson ; and commenced a de-
cline under Philip III., grandson of Charles.
Previous to 1868 the teaching of Protestant
doctrines was forbidden by law.
SPAN, Exod. 28:16; I Sam. 17:4; Isa.
40:12; Ezek. 43:13, the distance from the
extremity of the thumb to that of the little
finger when spread apart— 9 or 10 inches.
The Hebrew word rendered "spanned " in
Isa. 48:13 means "spread out," as in the
R. V. From the same verb is derived the
term used in Lam. 2:20, where the R. V. has
children that are "dandled in the hands,"
instead of "a span long;" comp. ver. 22,
where the same verb is rendered "dan-
dled," instead of "swaddled," A. V.
SPAR'ROW, Psa. 84 : 3 ; 102 : 7 ; Prov.
26:2., Heb. TSiPPoR, a term resembling in
sound the chirp of many small birds, and
one of wide application. It occurs more
than 40 times in the Old Testament, but is
usually rendered "bird," as in Gen. 7:14;
15:10; Job 41:5; Eccles. 12:4, or "fowl,"
Deut. 4:17. Like the still oftener occur-
ring OPH, ivingy also rendered " bird," Gen.
SPA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SPE
40:17, 19, and "fowl," Gen. 1:20; 7:14,
tsippor is sometimes used in the most com-
prehensive sense, Deut. 4:17; Psa. 148:10,
including carrion-eaters, Ezek. 39:17,
though a special term is also used for
these, viz., ayit, rendered in the R. V.
"birds of prey" and "ravenous birds,"
Gen. 15:11; Job 28:7; Isa. 18:6; Jer. 12:9.
In Ezek. 39:4 ayit is used with tsippor, and
rendered "ravenous." But the chief ap-
plication of tsippor was to the insectivo-
rous and frugivorous small birds, account-
€d "clean," permitted as food, Deut. 14:11,
and directed to be used in the ceremony
for the cleansing of a leper. Lev. 14:4,
etc. Beside sparrows, there were inclu-
ded finches, thrushes, larks, and many oth-
ers; comp. also Gen. 15:10 with ver. 9.
Wanton destruction of such birds was
guarded against, Deut. 22:6, 7. Over 100
species of passerine or sparrow-like birds
have been observed in Palestine, inclu-
ding the common English sparrow, Passer
domesticus, and 3 other sparrows. The
English tree -sparrow, Passer montanus,
abounds in the Mount of Olives and around
the mosque on the site of the temple, whence
they acquire a sort of sacredness in the
view of Mohammedans, as under the divine
protection; comp. Psa. 84:3 — where how-
ever " altars " cannot be understood liter-
ally, and many claim that birds were not
allowed within the sacred precincts at all,
and that the Psalmist only asserts that as
the birds find anywhere a safe nest, so his
soul found rest and a home in Jehovah.
In Psa. 102:7 the reference is not to the
lively and gregarious sparrow, but to the
blue thrush, Petrocincla cyanea, often seen
perched singly, or with a single compan-
ion, on houses in the villages of Palestine,
uttering from time to time its plaintive and
monotonous note. Among the birds to
whose notes reference is made in Psa.
104:12 we niaj' doubtless number the Pal-
estine bulbul, Ixus xanthopygius, a thrush-
like bird, closely allied to the nightingale
of Persia and India; it frequents wooded
districts, especially the banks of the Jor-
dan, where in the early morning it pours
forth its exquisite song. Small birds were
no doubt anciently used as a common food,
Neh. 5:18, and were so abundant in mar-
ket and cheap in our Lord's time as to fur-
nish a striking illustration of God's care
over his people. Matt. 10:29-31 ; Luke 12:6,
7 ; long strings of sparrows, wagtails, and
larks are to-day offered in the streets of
Jerusalem. The Old Testament contains
many allusions to the capture of birds,
effected by snares and nets of various sorts,
Psa. 124:7; Prov.7:23; Eccles. 9:12; Amos
3:5, sometimes with the help of a decoy
bird, Jer. 5:27. See Partridge. Mussul-
mans cut the throat of game and spill the
blood on the ground, as Moses bade the
Hebrews to do. Lev. 17:13. In Isa. 31:5
God's tender care over his people is illus-
trated by that of a mother-bird flying around
or near her young in time of danger. The
fugitive habit of the sparrows illustrates
the failure of an undeserved curse to cling
to the person against whom it is aimed,
Prov. 26:2; comp. Num. 23:8; Deut. 23:5.
The Hebrew term occurs as the name of
the father of Balak, Num. 22:2, and of the
Midianite wife of Moses, Exod. 2:21.
SPEAR. Several different kinds seem
to be intended by as many different Heb.
words. I. The clianith seems to have been
the chief weapon of this sort, i Sam. 13:19,
22 ; one of great size and weight was borne
by Goliath, i Sam. 17:7, 45, and by other
giants, 2 Sam. 21 : 19; 23:21 ; i Chr. 11 :23;
it was the habitual companion of Saul,
I Sam. 22:6: 26:7-12, 16, 22; 2 Sam. 1:6,
and other warriors, 2 Sam. 2:23; 23:18;
I Chr. 11: II, 20. It was this, and not a
"javelin," that Saul hurled at David, i Sam.
18:10, 11; 19:9, 10, and at Jonathan, i .Sam.
20:33, R- V. Its wooden staff, 5 or 6 feet
long, bore a metal head, sharp-edged and
pointed, i Sam. 17:7; its butt also was
sometimes shod with metal to facilitate
sticking it in the earth, i Sam. 26:7, etc.,
and with this end a fatal blow might be
struck, 2 Sam. 2:23. Like this was the
Roman spear with which a large wound
was inflicted in the side of Jesus, John
19:34; 20:27.
II. The kidon or "javelin" was appar-
ently a lighter weapon. It was this that
587
SPE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SPI
Joshua stretched out as a signal to his host
in ambush to assault Ai, Josh. S : 18-26, R. V.
One of brass or bronze was borne by (ioli-
ath on his shoulders when not in use, i Sam.
17:6,45, R. v., called in the A. V. "target"
and "shield." It is associated with the
spear in Job 39:23; in the A. V. "shield."
III. Another frequent term for shield is
rowarA, Num.25:7, R. V. ; Judg. 5:8; i Kin.
18:28, in the R. V. "lances;" i Chr. 12:8,
in the A. V. "buckler;" 2 Chr. 11:12; 14:8;
25:5; Neh. 4:13, 16, 21 ; Ezek. 39:9.
SPEAR'MEN, Acts 23:23, probably light-
armed lancers, in distinction from the
heavy-armed legionaries, " soldiers," and
the cavalry. The words rendered "the
company of spearmen " in Psa. 68:30, A. V.,
are translated in the R. V. " wild beast of
the reeds," meaning probably the croco-
dile, as the symbol of Egypt; comp. ver.
31; Psa. 74:14; Ezek. 29:3.
SPEED, success, Gen. 24 : 12. " God
speed," 2 John 10, 11, good health and
success; in R. V. "give him no greet-
ing." Sped, Judg. 5:30, succeeded; R. V.,
" found."
SPI'CERY, Heb. NEKOTH, Gen. 37:25;
43: II, R. V. ; either the storax, an odorous
gum valued as an incense and for its med-
ical properties — exuded from incisions in
the Storax officinalis, a low tree found in
Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, and Greece ;
or as some think, tragacanth, a gum from
the Astragalus tragacantha, which still
grows in Palestine. The shrub is low and
wide -spreading, with small leaves and
many long and strong thorns. The gum
is odorless and sweetish in taste, and has
alvyays been prized in the East, being mixed
with honey for medicinal use. Dissolved
in water it forms a fine mucilage.
SPI'CES is the rendering of 4 Heb. words,
one of which, basam, found only in Song
5:1, may perhaps denote the precious bal-
sam obtained from the gum and berries of
the Amyris opobalsamum, Arabic basham.
See Bal.m, also Song 5: 13 ; 6:2, R. V., mar-
gin. In the other passages where " spi-
ces " are mentioned the reference is prob-
ably to aromatic substances in general,
including not only odorous gums, roots,
woods, and barks, but also fragrant seeds
and the perfumes of flowers. Song 4:14, 16.
Some of these substances were used in
compounding the sacred incense and an-
ointing oil, Exod. 25:6; 30:23-25, 34, 35;
35:8, 28; 37:29. Some were products of
Palestine, others were obtained from Ara-
bia, or through Arabia from India, Persia,
588
East Africa, etc.; comp. i Kin. 10:2, 10;
Ezek. 27:22, R. V. The Greek word aro-
viala, rendered "spices" in Mark 16:1;
Luke 23:56; 24:1, also denotes aromatic
substances in general, the two specified in
John 19:39, 40 being a gum and a fragrant
wood. Josephus mentions the attendance
of 500 spice-bearers at the funeral of Herod
the Great.
SPI'DER, a well-known little creature
belonging to a family of the order Arach-
nida, of which manj^ kinds are found in
Palestine. Most of them spin some sort of
a web or "house." sufficiently strong to
catch and hold their prey, but yet exceed-
ingly frail. To this slender structure Bil-
dad compares " the hope of the godless
man," Job. 8 : 14, R. V. The spider's thread
is formed by the union of thousands of mi-
nute silky threads, invisible to the naked
eye, issuing from its spinneret and quickly
hardening in the air. It shows marvellous
ingenuity in forming its web, great cun-
ning in securing its prey, and ferocity in
seizing, poisoning, and devouring it. Isa-
iah shows the men of Judah that their sim-
ilar traits and works can as little cover or
protect them from the judgments of God,
Isa. 59:5, 6. In Prov. 30:28 a diffierent He-
brew word is used, denoting, according to
the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the R. V.,
the lizard ; perhaps the gecko, several spe-
cies of which are common among ruins in
Palestine and Egypt; with its fan-like toes
it is able to mount perpendicular walls, and
even to cling to ceilings. Some scholars,
however, with the A. V., still regard the
house spider, Aranea domestica, as re-
ferred to.
SPIKE'NARD (Heb. 7ierd, derived from
the Sanscrit and denoting " giving an
odor "), a highly-valued scented oil or oint-
ment, mentioned as perfuming the bride in
Song 1:12; comp. 4:10, and sending forth
its fragrance "while the king sat at his ta-
ble." In Song 4:13, 14, the king, likening
SPI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SPI
her to a garden, includes spikenard among
its precious plants; and she desires that
its "spices" or odors may all exhale to
THE NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI, A SINGLE SPIKE.
please him, ver. i6. In harmony with Ori-
ental custom, the bride's ointment may be
regarded as the gift of the king ; compare
Esth. 2:12; and these pleasant odors may
symbolize the spiritual graces of the church,
derived from God and exercised under the
influences of his Spirit. It is interesting to
trace the correspondence between these,
the only Old Testament references to spike-
nard, and the only New Testament notices
of it. A few days before the crucifixion
of our Lord, Mary the sister of Lazarus
brought a flask of ointment of spikenard,
' " very costly," broke its seal or its slender
neck, and anointed him with the ointment,
whose fragrance filled the house ; and for
this manifestation of her adoring love she
received the high commendation of the
King of the church, Mark 14:3-9; John
12:1-8; compare Matt. 26:6-13; Phil. 4:18.
The quantity thus expended was worth
more than 300 denarii, nearly $50. See
Alabaster, Penny, Spices. Nard is
mentioned by many Greek and Latin wri-
ters. It is an East-Indian plant, having
many shaggy spikes — Gr. stachiis, Lat.
spica — from one root ; whence it was called
nardostachus or spica nardi, Eng. spike-
nard. By the Hindoo natives it is called
jatamansi and balchur; it belongs to the
Valerian family.
SPIN, SPIN'DLE. Hebrew women oc-
cupied much of their time in spinning,
Exod. 35:25, 26; Prov. 31:19; Matt. 6:28.
Wool and flax were spun for woollen and
linen cloth, and goats' and camels' hair for
sackcloth — which was used for mourning
garments and girdles, and for tent-cover-
ings; comp. Zech. 13:4; Matt. 3:4. The
different fibres were drawn out and twist-
ed into thread by means of a distaff or
spindle, Prov. 31 : 19. The process of spin-
ning, with the spindle suspended from one
hand while the other draws out the thread,
is exhibited in Egyptian pictures and may
still be seen in Palestine. '
SPIR'IT, a word answering to the Heb.
riiach and the Gr. pneurna, primarily de-
noting "wind," Gen. 8:1; Eccles. 11:4;
John 3:8; used in various senses in Scrip-
ture.
I. For the Deity, especially the Holy
Spirit, the 3d person of the Holy Trinity,
who inspired the prophets, animates good
men, pours his unction into our hearts, im-
parts to us life and comfort, and in whose
name we are baptized and blessed, as well
as in that of the Father and the Son. When
the adjective Holy is applied to the term
Spirit we should always understand it as
here explained ; but there are many places
where it must be taken in this sense, al-
though the term Holy is omitted. See
Holy Spirit.
II. Breath, respiration; or the princi-
ple of animal life, common to men and ani-
mals; this God has given, and this he re-
calls when he takes away life, Eccles. 3:21.
See Soul.
III. The RATIONAL SOUL which animates
us and preserves its being after the death
of the body. That spiritual, reasoning,
and choosing substance which is capable
of eternal happiness or misery, Luke 23 : 46 ;
Acts 7:59; I Cor. 5:5; Heb. 12:9, 23. See
Soul. Sometimes an apparition of a dis-
embodied soul, Luke 24:37, 39. In Matt.
14:26; Mark 6:49 another Gr.woxA, phan-
tasnia, is used to express a similar idea.
See R. V.
The spirits in prison," i Pet. 3:19, seem,
according to ver. 20, to denote the souls of
antediluvian sinners now reserved in con-
finement unto the judgment-day ; compare
2 Pet. 2:4, 9, R. V. The "preaching" or
proclamation to them by Christ "in the
589
SPI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
SPO
spirit" (R. v.), is generally understood
as performed in the days of their earthly
life through Noah, influenced by the Holy
Spirit, sometimes called "the Spirit of
Christ." Comp. 2 Pet. 2:5. Thus Christ
preached to Gentiles and Jews through his
inspired apostles and ministers, Eph. 2:17;
comp. Luke 24:46, 47. Others understand
in I Pet. 3:19 some proclamation made by
Christ personally when his human spirit,
at death, entered Hades; comp. Acts 2:31 ;
such a proclamation, however, cannot be
understood as implying any change in the
condition of souls dying impenitent; comp.
Luke 16:23-31.
IV. A non-human created intelligence,
an angel; either holy, Heb. 1:14, or fallen
and sinful. Matt. 10:1. The existence of
angels and of disembodied human spirits
was denied by the Sadducees, Acts 23:8.
V. The DISPOSITION of the mind. Thus
■we read of a spirit of jealousy, a spirit of
fornication, a spirit of prayer, a spirit of
wisdom and understanding, a spirit of fear
of the Lord, Hos. 4:12; Zech. 12:10; Isa.
11:2. In Luke 13:11 "a spirit of infirm-
ity" refers to some ill condition of the
body, perhaps as in some way produced by
the permitted agency of a spiritual being,
Satan, ver. 16.
VI. The RENEWKD NATURE of true be-
lievers, which is produced by the Holy
Spirit and conforms the soul to his like-
ness. Spirit is thus the opposite of flesh,
John 3 : 6. This spirit is vitally united with,
and in some passages can hardly be dis-
tinguished from, the " Spirit of Christ,"
which animates true Christians, the chil-
dren of God, and distinguishes them from
the children of darkness, who are animated
by the spirit of the world, Rom. 8:1-16.
This indwelling Spirit is the gift of grace,
of adoption— the Holy Spirit poured into
our hearts — which emboldens us to call
God "Abba," i. e. "Father." Those who are
influenced by this Spirit "have crucified
the flesh, with its affections and lusts," Gal.
5:16-23.
" Distinguishing or discerning of spir-
its " consisted in discerning whether a man
was really inspired. by the Spirit of God,
or was a false prophet, an impostor, who
only followed the impulse of his own spirit
or of Satan. Paul speaks, i Cor. 12:10, of
the discerning of spirits as being among
the miraculous gifts granted by God to the
faithful at the first establishment of Christi-
anity.
To "quench the Spirit," i Thess. 5:19,
590
is a metaphorical expression easily under-
stood. The Spirit may be quenched by
forcing, as it were, that divine Agent to
withdraw from us by irregularity of life,
frivolity, avarice, negligence, or other sins
contrary to charity, truth, peace, and his
other gifts and influences.
We "grieve" the Spirit of God, Eph.
4:30, by withstanding his holy inspirations,
the impulses of his grace, or by living in a
lukewarm and incautious manner, by des-
pising his gifts or neglecting them, by
abusing his favors, either out of vanity,
curiosity, or indifference. In a contrary
sense, 2 Tim. 1:6. we "stir up" or "stir
into flame" the gift of the Spirit of God
which is in us by the practice of virtue, by
compliance with his inspirations, by fervor
in his service, by renewing our gratitude,
and by diligently serving Christ and doing
the works of the Spirit.
SPIR'IT, FAMIL'IAR. See DIVINATION,
Witchcraft.
^ SPIR'ITUAL, belonging to the Holy Spir-
it, Rom. i:ii ; Eph. 1:3; communicated by
him, I Cor. 10:3, 4; determined and influ-
enced by him, i Cor. 3:1; Gal. 6:1; Eph.
5:19; I Pet. 2:5. See Spirit, I., VI.
SPIR'ITUAL BODY, I Cor. 15:44, the
body of saints after resurrection, immor-
tal, incorruptible, and glorious, a fit organ
for the perfectly sanctified spirit ; comp.
ver. ,^1-53 ; Phil. 3:21.
SPIR'ITUAL GIFTS, I Cor. 12: 1, the mi-
raculous endowments conferred by the
Holy Spirit on the primitive believers in
Christ; comp. ver. 3-11.
SPIR'ITUAL WICK'EDNESS, Eph. 6:12,
rather, " the spiritual hosts of wickedness,"
as in the R. V.; wicked spirits. See Spir-
it, IV.
SPOIL, booty taken in war. A tenth of
all thus gained was devoted to God for the
use of his priest as early as the time of
Abraham, Gen. 14:20; Heb. 7; 4. After
Israel's victory over the Midianites, Moses,'
by God's command, ordered the spoil of
captives and cattle to be halved between
the 12,000 warriors engaged and the mass of
the Israelitish non-combatants; the former
being commanded to devote one five-hun-
dredth part of their share to God for the
priests, and the latter one fiftieth of their
part for the Levites, Num. 31:26-47. A
voluntary thank-offering to the Lord, of
gold, was also given, ver. 48-54. All this
was probably intended as a preceder^t for
future occasions; comp. 2 Sam. 8:6-12;
I Chr. 26:26, 27. David provided that the
SPO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STA
baggage-guard should share equally with
the fighters, i Sam. 30:21-25. As a verb
"spoil" often means "to plunder," Gen.
34 : 27, 29 ; I Sam. 14 : 36 ; 2 Kin. 7:16; 2 Chr.
14:14. In Exod. 3:22; 12:36 the word ren-
dered "spoil" and "spoiled" means to
recover property taken away by violence ;
comp. I Sam. 30:18, 22. Christ "spoiled "
principalities and powers when by his ato-
ning work he deprived Satan and his hosts
of their power to injure his people, Col.
2:15. The verb means "stripped," as of
clothing or armor ; and some interpret it as
meaning that " having put off Ms body" he
made a show of principalities, etc. Paul
warns Christians not to permit the votaries
of human philosophy, tradition, etc., to
" spoil " them, i. e., to carry them captive.
Col. 2:8. See Philosophy.
SPONGE, a submarine substance abun-
dant in the eastern parts of the Mediterra-
nean, adhering to rocks, and obtained by
divers. Homer, about B. C. 850, mentions
sponges as in use among the Greeks for
washing the person and for cleansing ta-
bles after meals. The familiar sponge of
commerce consists of a network of minute
fibres inclosed by their membranes, making
a highly porous and elastic mass, fitted to
convey drink where a cup could not be
used. Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29.
The sponge in its native state belongs to
the lowest order of animals, called Pori-
fera, from the pores with which the sub-
stance abounds ; this being clothed and
built up by a jelly-like aggregation of sep-
arate bodies, some of which are furnished
with long cilia or filaments. These by
constant vibrations keep up a current of
water, which enters the pores of the sponge
and is expelled through the larger open-
ings, after parting with such of the solid
particles in the water as can be digested
by the gelatinous mass.
SPRINK'LING, BLOOD OF, Heb. 12:24.
Once every year, on the great day of atone-
ment, the high-priest went into the holy of
holies, carrying blood, which he sprinkled
on the mercy-seat, to make atonement be-
cause of all the sins of the children of Isra-
el, Lev. i6: 15, 16. So Christ, after his sac-
rifice of himself, entered into the presence
of God in heaven, Heb. 9:12, 24, present-
ing, as the great High-priest, his own blood
as an atonement for sin. By virtue of this
" blood of sprinkling " the penitent sinner,
believing on Christ, may draw near to God
and find a gracious welcome — the blood of
Christ not calling for vengeance, like that
of Abel, Gen. 4:10, 11, but speaking of par-
don, peace with God, and eternal life;
comp. Heb. 9:13-22; 10:19-22, 29; Exod.
24:6-8; Lev. 8:30; 14:6, 7; Num. 19:17-19;
Isa. 52:15; Rev. 1:5, 6.
STA'CHYS, ear of grain, a Christian
friend of Paul at Rome, Rom. 16:9. The
name is Greek.
STAC'TE, one of the 4 ingredients of the
sacred perfume or incense, Exod. 30:34, 35.
The Heb. word nataph and the Gr. stacte
(Sept.), both denote a drop, e. g., of the
gum of some plant. Greek writers de-
scribe two kinds of stacte. One is the gum
of the myrrh-tree, found in Arabia, the
Balsamodendron opobalsamum. Myrrh,
however, is mentioned in Scripture by a
distinct name — mor deror, "pure" or
" flowing " myrrh — as an ingredient of the
sacred ointment, Exod. 30:23. The other
substance called stacte was a species of
storax-gum, transparent like a tear and re-
sembling myrrh. The storax-tree abounds
in the lower hills of Galilee, attains a height
of 15 or 20 feet, has dark green oval leaves,
whitish underneath, and flowers resembling
orange-blossoms, in clusters at the end of
the twigs. A resinous and highly fragrant
gum exudes from the bark. The gum from
a kindred plant in Borneo, the Styrax ben-
zoin, is burned as incense in Hindoo tem-
ples.
STAFF, Heb. 11:21. The statement here
found concerning Jacob is quoted from the
Septuagint translation of Gen. 47:31, where
the Greek translator mistook the Hebrew
word denoting a bed, viitiah, which occurs
also in Gen. 48:2; 49:33, for the similar
word denoting a staff, matleh. The mean-
ing is simply that Jacob assumed a rever-
ential posture; comp. i Kin. 1:47. See
Quotations. In Hos. 4:12 allusion is
made to some use of a staff" in divination.
In Isa. 30:32, first clause, read, "Every
stroke or passing of the destined staff."
STAIRS, Song 2:14, in the R. V. "steep
place," as in Ezek. 38:20; apparently a
natural rocky ascent. 63^ the leaders of
the Israelitish army at Ramoth-gilead Jehu
was informally proclaimed king " on the
top of the stairs " — or " on the bare steps,"
R. v., margin — seated on the garments of
his fellow-ofiicers, 2 Kin. 9:13. This was
probably where the stairs from the main
court of the house joined the flat roof, a
conspicuous place for thus recognizing the
prophetic anointing of Jehu, ver. 1-12. See
House.
STAND' ARD, Num. 1 :52. In the wilder-
591
STA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STA
ness journeyings the 12 tribes were grouped
in 4 camps of 3 tribes each, each camp hav-
ing its own standard, Num. 2:2, 3, 10, 17,
iS, 25, 34. Besides these grand-division
standards, other "ensigns" marked the
smaller divisions into tribes, and perhaps
sections of tribes, ver. 2. Ancient stand-
ards usually consisted of long spears or
poles surmounted by figures of symbols of
various sorts, sometimes of animals, men,
or deities ; an eagle surmounted the stand-
ard of a Roman legion. See Abomination.
One of the Heb. words rendered " stand-
ard," as in Jer. 4:6, 21, is often translated
"ensign," and denotes a rallying sign or
signal ; such were planted on some con-
spicuous spot, as a bare hill, Isa. 13:2, R.
v.; 30:17. The attractive power of the
preaching of the gospel is signified in Isa-
iah's prediction that to "the Root of Jes-
se," raised " for an ensign of the peoples,"
" the nations shall seek," Isa. 11 : 10, R. V. ;
comp. 5:16; 11:12; 49:22; Rev. 5:9. In
Isa. 59: 19, last clause, the R. V. reads, " for
he shall come like a rushing stream, which
the breath of the Lord driveth." In Isa.
10:18, "a standard-bearer fainteth," some
read, " a sick man pineth away."
STAR. Under the term stars the He-
brews included all the heavenly luminaries
except the sun and moon — planets, mete-
ors, comets, and stars. Gen. i : 16. They use
the stars " and the seashore " sands " to
express uncounted multitudes. Gen. 15:5;
22:17; 26:4; Deut. 1:10, etc. To exalt the
power and omniscience of God, the Psalm-
ist says, " He telleth the number of the
stars," etc., Psa. 147:4, like a king review-
ing his army and knowing every soldier's
name; comp. Isa. 40:26. Similarly the
stars are called " the host " or army " of
heaven," and God is "the Lord of hosts,"
Deut. 4:19; 2 Kin. 17: i6; Psa. 24:10; 33:6;
148:2, 3. No part of the visible creation
exhibits the Creator's glory more illustri-
ously than the starry heavens, Psa. 8:3;
19: 1. The stars were anciently, as at pres-
ent in the East, believed to influence the
destinj' of men, Judg. 5:20. Their value
as guides to the mariner is alluded to in
Acts 27:20.
In astronomical knowledge the Hebrews
were surpassed by the Eg^'ptians, Phoeni-
cians, and Chaldieans; but the science of
these nations was mingled with supersti-
tion and idolatry; comp. Isa. 47:1, 13. The
beauty and splendor of the stars — which
are especially brilliant in the pure dry at-
mosphere of Egypt, Arabia, and Pales-
592
tine — and the benefits ascribed to them,
early led to the conception of them as pos-
sessing life, intelligence, and power. The
religions of the East consisted more or less
of star-worship ; and omens, favorable or
hostile, were drawn from the aspects of the
heavenly bodies. Against such idolatry and
superstition the Israelites were warned,
Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Jer. 10:2; but they often
disregarded the prohibition, 2 Kin. 17:16;
21:3.5; 23:4, 5; Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Amos
5:26; Zeph. 1:5; Acts 7:42, 43; comp. Rom.
1 : 18-21, 25.
The number of stars visible to the un-
aided eye, and even the countless myriads
revealed by the telescope, are probably but
a fraction of the entire number called into
being by God; comp. Job 25:3; 26:13, i4-
So distant are the fixed stars that the
strongest telescope shows them only as
glittering points. It is calculated that the
nearest of them is at least 19 trillions of
miles from the earth, and that its light
takes nearly 4 years to reach us, while for
others thousands of years are required.
Human fancy early grouped them in con-
stellations, and the Scriptures allude to sev-
eral of these under their Shemitic names,
which in English are exchanged for the
names given by the Greeks, Job 9:9; 38:31,
32; Amos 5:8; see R. V.
Under the term stars are sometimes met-
aphorically designated earthly rulers and
illustrious men, Isa. 14:4, 12, 13, R. V.;
Dan. 8:10; also pastors. Rev. 1:16, 20;
probably angels, Job 38:7; David and his
antitype the Messiah, Num. 24:17. Times
of public calamity involving the governing
powers of nations, may in part be typified
in Matt. 24:29 ; Rev. 6:13. False teachers
are termed " wandering stars " or mete-
ors, Jude 13. Christ is called "the bright,
the Morning Star," as outshining in his
revelations his servants the prophets, and
ushering in the gospel day, Rev. 22:16;
comp. 2 Pet. 1 : 19.
The famous Jewish false Messiah, Bar-
cocheba, son of a star, who in Hadrian's
reign headed an insurrection which lasted
3 years, A. D. 132-135, and who was de-
stroyed with many of his followers, assumed
his title in allusion to Num. 24:17.
STAR OF THE WISE MEN, Matt. 2:i-12,
apparently a supernatural star or meteor,
which attracted the attention of the magi
in their country east of Palestine, probably
Chaldtea or Persia, and miraculously gui-
ded them first to Jerusalem the capital of
Judaea and thence to Bethlehem and the
STE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STE
spot where Jesus was born. This view,
most readily deducible from the gospel
narrative, harmonizes with the occurrence
of other miracles at this momentous epoch,
the incarnation and birth of the Son of
God.
Another view, first suggested by Kepler
on observing a conjunction of Jupiter, Sat-
urn, and Mars in 1604, and adopted by
many interpreters, especially by those who
seek to eliminate from the Gospels all that
is supernatural, explains the "star" by a
like conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in
May, B. C. 7, and again in December of the
same year with the addition of Mars. The
wise men may very probably have observed
with deep interest these conjunctions, and
may, as astrologers, have associated them
with the Messianic hopes of the Hebrews,
with the prediction from the mouth of Ba-
laam, an Eastern soothsayer, Num. 24:17,
and that of Daniel, well known in the East
as prince of the Magi, Dan. 4:9; 5:11;
9:24,25. But these conjunctions occurred
several years before the accepted date of
Christ's birth ; the two planets were at no
time nearer each other than twice the sun's
diameter, and could not be described by
the evangelist as " His star;" nor does it
appear how they could guide the magi
west, to Jerusalem, then reappearing, south
and southeast up to Bethlehem, and be-
come stationary over the spot where Jesus
was born. Whatever note, therefore, thej'
took of the conjunctions, they were proba-
bly impelled to their journey by a divine
influence and guided by a heavenly sign.
STEEL. Where " steel " appears in the
A. v., 2 Sam. 22:35; Job 20:24; Psa. 18:34,
and Jer. 15:12, the true rendering of the
Hebrew is copper, or " brass," as in the
R. V. and in all other passages in the A. V.
That the ancient Egyptians were acquaint-
ed with steel is inferred from representa-
tions of weapons in ancient tombs, some
being painted blue like steel, others red
like bronze. See Iron. In Nahum 2:3
the R. V. has " flash with steel " instead of
"flaming torches," referring apparently to
steel ornaments, or possibly scythes, flash-
ing in the chariots arrayed against Nine-
veh. See Nineveh.
STEM, the stock or trunk of a tree ; the
stump remaining in the earth after the tree
is cut down, Isa. 11 : i ; comp. Job 14:8, 9.
STEPH'ANAS, a Christian at Corinth,
whose family, afterwards mentioned, Rom.
16:5, as "the first-fruits" or earliest con-
verts "of Achaia," in the R. V. "Asia,"
38
and as distinguished for their services to
Christian brethren, Paul baptized, A. D.
52. Stephanas visited Paul at Ephesus in
the spring of 59, i Cor. i : 16 ; 16: 15-1S.
STE'PHEN, crown, one of the 7 men ap-
pointed by the church at Jerusalem to aid
the apostles by minislcring to the poor.
Acts 6: 1-6; whence the title " deacons," Gr.
diakonoi, ministers or servants, has been
given to them, though not directly applied
to them in the Bible. Stephen was distin-
guished among the seven as "full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit." Like his associ-
ates, except the proselyte Nicolas, he seems
from his Greek name to have been a Hel-
lenistic Jew. See Greece. His mighty
works excited the jealousy and hostility of
the Jews, especially those of the Hellenistic
synagogues, with whom he probably came
most in contact; and his unanswerable ar-
guments still further embittered them, ver.
S-io. He was arrested on a charge of blas-
phemy and heresy, and brought before the
Sanhedrin for trial, ver. 11 to 7: i. His de-
fence, including a summary of the history
of Israel, proves, against the charges of the
false witnesses, Acts 6: 11, 13, his reverence
towards God and his respect for the great
lawgiver of Israel; but at the same time he
shows that the divine presence and favor
had not been rigidly confined to a particu-
lar land or sanctuary ; that Moses himself
had taught that he was to have an illustri-
ous successor ; that a rebellious spirit had
always been characteristic of Israel; and
that they who had lately slain Christ and
were now opposing his gospel, were the
true children and imitators of their fathers
who in all ages had opposed true religion.
Stephen seems to have spoken calmly till
near the close of his address, when, noting
the gathering malice of his judges, he be-
came their just and vehement accuser. Acts
7'5i~53- Then, turning from the threaten-
ing storm of human passion, he raised his
eyes upward and spoke of what he saw:
the heavens parted, the glory of God, and
Jesus at His right hand, as if just risen from
his throne to receive his servant, ver. 54-56.
His description of this vision of the exalta-
tion of "the Son of man," the prediction
of which by Christ himself had before so
enraged a similar assembly. Matt. 26:64-
68; Luke 22:69-71, excited his judges be-
yond all pretence of obedience to the law
of their Roman masters, John 18:31, and
they at once hurried Stephen out of the city
and stoned him. Acts 7:57-60. According
to the Mosaic law, Deut. 17:7, the witnesses
593
STE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STO
took the lead, Acts 6:13; their outer gar-
ments, laid off for convenience, were put
in charge of Saul, probably one of the chief
accusers of Stephen. The faithful Chris-
tian manifested his Christlike spirit by
praying for the pardon of his murderers.
He was the first of the " witnesses," Gr.
marlures, of Jesus, Luke 24:48; Acts 22:20,
R. v., actually put to death ; hence — when
the ecclesiastical sense of " martur," which
primarily denoted any witness, comp. Acts
6:13; 7:58, had become restricted to denote
especially those who witnessed for Jesus
by submitting to death for his sake— the
application to Stephen of the title of "first
martyr." See Martyr. His death was
the prelude to a general persecution in Je-
rusalem. This, however, by scattering the
Christians and the gospel. Matt. 10 : 23,
greatly increased the number of believers.
Acts 8:1-4; 11:19-21, "the blood of the
martyrs" thus becoming, as Tertullian
(A. D. 160-220) remarks, " the seed of the
church." The custodian of the witnesses'
clothes, who may have been one of Ste-
phen's Cilician opponents, Acts 6:9; 22:3,
seems to have been at first stirred to a
fiercer bigotry. Acts 8:3; 9:1, 2; but though
he had doubtless felt the force of Stephen's
arguments and testimony, nothing availed
for his conversion till he saw the Saviour
himself, Acts 9:4-6. Yet there is doubtless
a degree of truth in the saying of Augus-
tine (A. D. 354-430), that the church owes
the conversion and ministry of Paul to
Stephen's prayer. Years afterward, when
Paul was himself in similar circumstances,
he bewailed his presence and consent at
the martyr's death, Acts 22:20 — that tri-
umph of Christian faith and love which has
taught so many martyrs and Christians
how to die. Comp. Psa. 109:31. A strong
argument for the divinity of Christ is found
in the prayers addressed to him by Ste-
phen, Acts 7:59, 60; comp. Luke 23:34, 46.
Stephen's death occurred probably about
A. D. 2,7- Early tradition located the event
on the north of Jerusalem, near the Damas-
cus gate, which in the 12th century bore the
name of St. Stephen's gate, from a neigh-
boring church built in memory of the mar-
tyr. A later tradition placed the martyr-
dom near the present St. Stephen's gate,
on the east of Jerusalem, just north of the
Haram area.
The slight variations of Stephen's de-
fence from the Hebrew Scriptures may be
accounted for partly by the influence of the
Septuagint version, and partly perhaps by
594
his use of traditionary additions, or possi-
bly of particulars taught him by the Holy
Spirit. The spirit of the Old Testament
history, if not always the e.xact letter, is
faithfully represented.
STEWARD, the chief overseer and man-
ager of a household in behalf of the mas-
ter. Gen. 43:16 (R. V.), 19; 44:1, 4. Jo-
seph filled this position in Potiphar's house,
Gen. 39:5. In Gen. 15:2 a different He-
brew e.xpression is used, denoting " the
son of acquisition," i. e., according to the
R. V. "he that shall be possessor," etc.,
the presumptive heir, ver. 3. Eliezer, who
is thus designated, probably was Abra-
ham's steward, and is commonly identified
with the " servant, the elder of his house,"
mentioned in Gen. 24:2, R. V. To this
important officer, whose responsibilities
were so great and in whom faithfulness
was so essential, there are several allusions
in the parables of our Lord, Matt. 20:8;
Luke 12:42-48. In the parable of the un-
righteous steward, Luke 16:1-9, "ot the
dishonesty, but the prudent policy of his
course is commended to the "children of
light;" comp. Luke 12:33. Ministers, Luke
12:42 ; I Cor. 4:1, 2; Tit. 1:7, and all Chris-
tians, I Pet. 4:10, are called stewards, as
being entrusted by God with all they have,
I Cor. 4:7, and responsible to him for the
use of all. Every human being is thus a
steward of God.
STOCK, the trunk of a tree. Job 14:8, a
contemptuous term for an idol carved out
of wood, Isa. 44:19; Jer. 2:27; 10:8; Hos.
4:12.
STOCKS, Job 13:27; 33: II, an instrument
for confining the feet. In Jer. 20:2, 3,
" stocks," in which Jeremiah was kept all
night, is the rendering of a different He-
brew word, which some suppose to mean
the common stocks, a frame with holes for
confining the ankles; others, a pillory, or
frame with holes for the neck and wrists ;
and others, a frame with 5 holes, in which
the neck, wrists, and ankles were placed,
the body being bent. Whatever its precise
form, it seems to have been in frequent
use; it is mentioned again in Jer. 29:26
R. V. (A. V. "prison"); and in 2 Chr.
16:10; see R. v., margin, "the house of
the stocks." The stocks which made fast
Paul and Silas, Acts 16:24, seem to have
confined their ankles only, and probably
resembled the instrument in use until re-
cent times in Europe and America, the
upper beam being movable. Stocks and
pillories were frequently placed in public
STO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STO
places, that the insults of the populace
might be added to the pain of confinement,
Jer. 20:2. Still another word is translated
"stocks" in the A. V. of Jer. 29:26, repre-
sented in R. V. by the more general term
" shackles." The word rendered " stocks "
in Prov. 7:22, A. V., is better translated
" fetters" in the R. V., the same word be-
ing represented by "anklets" in Isa. 3:18,
R. V. ; in the A. V. "tinkling ornaments."
STO'ICS, a sect of fatalistic heathen phi-
losophers, so named because its founder,
Zeno, a native of Citium in Cyprus, held
his school at Athens, in the 3d century
B. C, in a public portico or colonnade
called the Stoa Pcecile, Painted Portico.
The Stoics were pantheists, believing that
the deity was not the creator of the uni-
verse, but its reason and soul, pervading
and organizing all matter; that not only
man, but the deity himself, was subject to
inevitable destiny; and tliat the present
universe, having developed out of God,
would in time be resumed into him, and be
succeeded by a fresh development. While
the Stoics taught the unity of God, they
allowed polytheism, regarding the many
gods of heathen mythology as minor de-
velopments of the great World-god. The
soul of man they considered a material
emanation from the deity, to be burned at
death or reabsorbed into him. They ex-
pressed a disregard of pleasure and pain,
placed man's supreme good and happiness
in living virtuously, agreeably to nature
and reason, and held that a man thus liv-
ing was perfect and self-sufficient. In their
affected austerity and apathy and professed
indifference to outward circumstances they
resembled the Pharisees. They maintained
the natural equality of all men. Suicide
they esteemed a proper escape from the
evils of life when they became too great.
Thus many of the leading doctrines of Sto-
icism were in direct antagonism to Christi-
anity, and especially to the truths which
Paul preached concerning the personal
God and Saviour, the resurrection, and the
necessity for humble faith in Jesus, Acts
17:18-20; comp. ver. 22-33.
At the time of Paul's visit to Athens,
A. D. 51, and for about two centuries after-
wards, the Stoic philosophy was popular
and influential not only in Greece, but
throughout the Roman Empire. Among
the most celebrated of the school were
Cleanthes, Zeno's immediate successor, au-
thor of a hymn to "Jove of many names;"
Caesar's contemporaries Cato and Brutus ;
Seneca; the freedman Epictetus, who died,
about A. D. 115; and iVIarcus Aurelius, Ro-
man emperor, A. D. 161-180.
STOM' ACHER, Isa. 3 : 24, perhaps a broad
plaited girdle. According to the Septua-
gint, a tunic with purple stripes.
STONE is mentioned in Scripture as
used for a great variety of purposes. For
most public buildings hewn stones were
used, as for the temple erected by Solo-
mon, I Kin. 5:17, and for city walls. The
size of the stones thus used was remarka-
ble. See Heliopolis, II., and Walls.
The Phoenicians were very skilful in stone-
cutting, 2 Sam. 5:11; I Kin. 5:18. Houses
of the rich were also built of hewn stone,
Amos 5:11. Altars, according to the Mo-
saic law, were to be built of unhewn stone,
Exod. 20:25; Josh. 8:31. Different kinds
of stone used in building and decorating
are mentioned in i Chr. 29:2, where in-
stead of "glistering stones" the R. V.
reads "stones for inlaid work;" compare
2 Chr. 3:6. Stones were used for pave-
ments, 2 Kin. 16:17; compare Esth. 1:6.
Large stones were employed for closing
the entrance of caves. Josh. 10:18; Dan.
6:17; sepulchres, Matt. 27:60; John 11:38;
and wells. Gen. 29:2. Flint-stone knives
were anciently used, Exod. 4:25; Josh. 5:2,
3, R. v., and were employed by the Egyp-
tian embalmers. Stones were used as
weapons for individual defence and in reg-
ular warfare, being discharged from slings,
I Sam. 17:40, 49, and catapults, 2 Chr.
26:14, 15, R. V. They served as boundary
marks, Deut. 19:14; comp. Josh. 15:6, and
as millstones, 2 Sam. 11 :2i; and the He-
595
STO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
STO
brew " weights " were called " stones," Lev.
19:36, margin. Large stones were set up
to commemorate remarkable events, Gen.
28:18; 31:45; 35:14; Josh. 4:9; I Sam. 7: 12;
and were sometimes consecrated by an-
ointing, as by Jacob at Bethel, Gen. 28:18;
35:14. Worship of idols and pillars of stone
was practised by the Canaanite nations and
expressly forbidden to Israel, Lev. 26:1,
R. v.; Num. 33:52, R. V.; comp. Isa. 57:6;
Hab. 2: 19. Stones were heaped up in com-
memoration of a treaty, Gen. 31:46, or on
the graves of notorious offenders, Josh.
7:26; 8:29; 2 Sam. 19:17. This custom
still exists among the Arabs, each passer-
by adding a stone to such a heap. Stones
were used as tablets for inscriptions, Exod.
24:12; Josh. 8:32; Job 19:24. As hurtful
to husbandry, stones were cast on an ene-
my's ground, 2 Kin. 3:19, 25, and were re-
moved from land previous to cultivation,
Isa. 5:2; comp. Ecclus. 3:5.
Metaphorically, stones denote hardness
or insensibility, I Sam. 25:37; Ezek. 11:19;
also firmness or strength: in Gen. 49:24
"the stone of Israel " seems to be equiva-
lent to "the Rock of Israel," a title often
applied to God, 2 Sam. 23:3; Isa. 30:29,
R. V. In accordance with the conception
of the church of God as a temple, Chris-
tians are called "living stones," Christ
himself being "the chief corner-stone,"
the great "living stone " and source of life
to those built upon him, Eph. 2:20-22;
1 Pet. 2:4-8. See Corner-stone.
STONES, PRE'CIOUS. Mention is made
in the Bible of about 20 different names of
precious stones, many of which it is im-
possible to identify certainly with modern
gems. Ancient mineralogy was far from
exact, the same term being often applied
to different substances having in common
some property indicated by the term. Thus
in Greek usage the term adamant, uncon-
querable, was applied to steel and to sev-
eral extremely hard stones ; and the He-
brew " kerach " denotes either " ice," Job
6:16, or rock-crystal, Ezek. 1:22. See Sap-
phire. Precious stones, however, were
early known and valued, Gen. 2:12. The
art of cutting and engraving them was prac-
tised ; engraved signets of several kinds
of precious stones were in common use
among the ancient Babylonians and Egyp-
tians, and also, it is probable, among the
neighboring nations ; one was carried by
Judah, Gen. 38:18, 25. See Seal. The
Hebrew high-priest's shoulder-stones and
the 12 stones of his breastplate were en-
596
graved with tYie names of the tribes of
Israel, Exod. 28:9-12, 17-21. The identifi-
cation of some of these stones is still a mat-
ter of controversy, as appears from alter-
native renderings of the R. V. Some crit-
ics would exclude from the breastplate the
diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald, and to-
paz, on the assumed ground that the art of
cutting the harder gems was unknown at
the time of Moses. Precious stones were
collected by David for the temple, i Chr.
29:2. Tyre traded in them and used them
extensively, Ezek. 27:16, 22; 28:11-13, ob-
taining them from Syria 7> and having a taste for architec-
ture, resolved to seek the favor of the Jews
by rebuilding and beautifying the temple.
This he was the more inclined to do both
from the peace which he enjoyed and the
decayed state of the edifice. After employ-
ing 2 years in preparing the materials for
the work, the temple of Zerubbabel was
pulled down, B. C. 20, and 46 years before
the first Passover of Christ's ministry. Al-
though this temple was fit for divine ser-
vice in 9^ years, yet a great number of
laborers and artificers were still employed
in carrying on the outbuildings all the
time of our Saviour's abode on earth. His
presence fulfilled the predictions in Hag.
2:9; Mai. 3:1. The temple of Herod was
considerably larger than that of Zerubba-
bel, as that of Zerubbabel was larger than
Solomon's. For whereas the 2d temple
was 70 cubits long, 60 broad, and 60 high,
this was 100 cubits long, 70 broad, and 100
high. The porch was raised to the height
of 100 cubits, and was extended 15 cubits
beyond each side of the rest of the build-
ing. All the Jewish writers praise this
temple exceedingly for its beauty and the
costliness of its workmanship. It was built
of white marble, exquisitely wrought, and
with stones of large dimensions, some of
them 25 cubits long, 8 cubits high, and 12
cubits thick. To these there is no doubt a
reference in Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5: "And
as he went out of the temple, one of his
621
TEM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TEM
disciples saith unto him, Master, see what
manner of stones and what buildings are
here!" Luke says, "goodly stones." See
a description of the ornaments of one of
its gates under Vine.
This splendid building, which rose like
a mount of gold and of snow, and was once
the admiration and envy of the world, has
for ever passed away. According to our
blessed Lord's prediction, that "there
should not be left one stone upon another
that should not be thrown down," Mark
13:2, the whole structure above ground
was completely demolished by the Roman
soldiers under Titus, A. D. 70. The sacred
utensils and many of the captives were
carried to Rome and graced his triumphal
procession, and the golden table for show-
bread, the sacred candlestick, and the book
of the law are still to be traced in bold re-
lief on the Arch of Titus in that ancient
city. The emperor Julian undertook to
rebuild the temple, A. D. 363, but was re-
pulsed, we are told, by repeated and ter-
rific explosions and outbursts of flames.
The temple area is now occupied by two
Turkish mosques, into which, until recent-
ly, neither Jew nor Christian was permit-
ted to enter. The Mosque of Omar prob-
ably occupies the very site of the Holy
House, and its great and venerated rock
is supposed to have once supported the
altar of burnt-offerings. Travellers are
now admitted at times to the Haram area
under close watch. It includes the former
site of the Castle of Antonia, which occu-
pied the whole northern end and had a tur-
ret at each of its 4 corners. The area is
now 922 feet at its south side, and averages
1,540 feet from north to south. On the west
side there were 4 gates: Sur, 2 Kin. 11:6,
Parbar, i Chr. 26:18, the 2 gates of Asup-
pim, I Chr. 26: 17, with the " house of Asup-
pim " between them. On the north was
one gate named Tedi, on the east Shushan,
on the south the double gate Huldah. In
the foundation wall on the west side, 39
feet from the southwest corner, certain
huge stones mark the beginning of an arch
of 45 feet span, one of 7 arches and piers
once supporting a stately viaduct over the
Tyropceon valley, leading from the ist gate
of the temple area to the king's palace on
Zion. It was first built by Solomon, i Kin.
10:5; 2 Chr. 9:4. A little north of this is
the celebrated wailing-place of the Jews.
See Wall.
At the southeast corner of the area the
wall is now 77 feet high. Recent excava-
622
tions and shafts on the outside have reach-
ed the native rock at a depth of 80 feet
from the surface and uncovered the an-
cient foundation stones, as finely cut and
polished as the stones now above ground.
Similar explorations 90 feet east of the
southwest corner reached the well-worn
pavement of an ancient street at the depth
of 12 feet, and at 80 feet depth an aque-
duct 4 feet high, running south, and appa-
rently marking the former bed of the Tyro-
pceon. Among recent discoveries of great
interest is a stone tablet found by Ganneau,
apparently once a part of the balustrade
between the court of the Gentiles and that
of the Israelites, with an inscription for-
bidding foreigners to pass it. Acts 21:28,
29; Eph. 2:14. Beneath the vast area of
el-Haram still exist immense arched ways
and vaults of unknown date ; also a large
and deep well, and other indications that
the temple always possessed a copious and
perennial supply of water, derived perhaps
in part from Gihon by Hezekiah's aque-
duct and in part from Solomon's pools, and
RliMAlNS Ol- IHK TVROWKON ARCH.
flowing off through the fountain of the Vir-
gin and the pool of Siloam.
In the time of the kings a regular guard
of Levites was always on duty at the tem-
ple, I Chr. 26; 2 Chr. 23:19. During the
supremacy of the Romans there was a Ro-
man garrison in the strong tower of Anto-
nia, which was connected with the temple
by passages both above and under ground,
John 18:12; Acts 4:1; 5:26; 21:31-40.
The utmost veneration and love were
always cherished towards the temple by
pious Jews, Psa. 84. All the people also,
from various motives, gloried in it, many
TEM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TEN
with a bigoted and idolatrous regard.
Hence the charge of blaspheming the tem-
ple, which was found the most effectual
means of enraging the populace against
Christ and his followers, Matt. 26:61 ; 27:40;
John 2:19,20; Acts 6:13; 21:27-30.
TEMPT, sometimes simply to try or put
to the test, Acts 20:19; i Cor. 10:13; Heb.
3:9; 2 Pet. 2:9, as God proved Abraham,
Gen. 22:1, to exhibit the power of faith,
and as he tested the children of Israel,
Exod. 16:4, and as the queen of Sheba tried
the wisdom of Solomon, i Kin. 10:1 ; 2 Chr.
9:1. In other passages it has the more
familiar sense of presenting inducements
to sin. Satan is the great tempter, seek-
ing thus most effectually to destroy men's
souls, I Chr. 21:1; Job i and 2; Matt. 4:1,
3; I Cor. 7:5; I Thess. 3:5, and hence is
called "the old serpent," his temptation of
our first parents being a type of subsequent
assaults, Gen. 3:1-15; John 8:44; 2 Cor.
11:3; I John 3:8; Rev. 12:9. He tempted
Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:3. Men are
also led into sin by their own evil inclina-
tions and by other men, Jas. i : 14, 15. God
being holy and desirous of men's holiness,
does not thus tempt them, Jas. 1:13; but
he makes trial of them to prove, exercise,
and establish their graces. Gen. 22:1 ; Jas.
1:2, 3. Christ stands ready to support
his people under any possible temptation,
I Cor. 10:13; Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 2 Pet. 2:19.
Yet they are not to rush into temptation
unbidden, Luke 11:4. Men tempt God by
presumptuously experimenting on his prov-
idence or his grace, or by distrusting him,
E.xod. 17:2, 7; Num. 14:22; Psa. 78:18, 41,
56; Isa. 7:12; Matt. 4:7; Luke 10:25; Acts
5:9; 15:10. The Jews tempted Christ, ho-
ping to ensnare him into some error or sin,
Matt. 16:1; 19:3; 22:18. Sore afflictions
are often called temptations or trials, as
they are frequently the occasions of sin,
Deut. 4:34; Matt. 6:13; Luke 8:13; 22:28;
Jas. 1:12; I Pet. 1:6, 7.
Christ, at the outset of his public minis-
try, was violently assailed by the tempter,
who thus displayed his effrontery and his
blindness, hoping perhaps that the human
soul of the Redeemer would be left unaided
by his divinity. Matt. 4; Mark 1:12, 13.
The temptations are to be understood as
real transactions, and not as visions. The
first was addresed to hunger, a pressing
natural human want. Christ quotes the
words of Moses in Deut. 8:3; and the les-
son is, to remember our dependence on
God for all things, and to obey him and
trust him for the results. At the 2d Christ
stood on the brink of the lofty colonnade
at the southeast corner of the temple wall,
overlooking the deep valley of the Kidron.
He was urged to prove his claims by pre-
sumptuously forcing God to work a mira-
cle, and answered by quoting Deut. 6:16.
At the 3d he stood on some lofty mountain,
the wide view before him being perhaps
enhanced by optical illusions and showing
to the mind's eye the world's glory, and
was offered an easy way to remove the
world's opposition and transfer to himself
the dominion of mankind. His reply was
that Jehovah only is the rightful object of
adoration. The tempter was baffled, and
left him for a season, to meet a like rebuff
on every future assault, Luke 4:1-13;
22 : 53 ; John 14 : 30. The Saviour triumphed
and paradise was regained.
TEN. See Numbers and Tithes.
TEN COMMAND'MENTS. See DECA-
LOGUE.
TENT. Dwelling in tents was very gen-
eral in ancient times among Eastern na-
tions, Gen. 4:20; their way of life being
pastoral, locomotion became necessary for
fresh pasturage, and dwellings adapted for
such a life became indispensable. Gen.
26:12; Isa. 38:12. The patriarchs Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob dwelt in tents, Gen. 18:1 ;
Heb. ii:y; and on the exodus of the Isra-
elites from Egypt, throughout their pere-
grinations until they obtained the promised
land, and to some extent afterwards, they
adopted the same kind of habitation, Exod.
16:6; Josh. 7:24; 22:8. Hence the expres-
sion, " Every man to his tents, O Israel,"
etc., Judg. 7:8; 2 Sam. 20: 1, 22; i Kin. 12:16.
Indeed, the people of the East, men, wo-
men, and children, lived very much in the
open air, as is obvious from the New Tes-
tament narratives. Paul and Aquila were
tent-makers. Acts 18:3. And the same is
true at the present day. The Midianites,
the Philistines, the Syrians, the descend-
ants of Ham, the Hagarites, and the Cush-
anites are mentioned in Scripture as living
in tents. But the people most remarkable
for this unsettled and wandering mode of
life are the Arabs, who from the time of
Ishmael to the present have continued the
custom of dwelling in tents. Amid the
revolutions which have transferred king-
doms from one possessor to another these
wandering tribes still dwell in tents, un-
subdued and wild as was their progenitor.
This kind of dwelling is not, however, con-
fined to the Arabs, but is used throughout
623
TEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TER
the continent of Asia. Tents are distin-
guished from huts or booths, Gen. 33:17;
Job 29:18; Isa. 1:8; 24:20. See Booth
and Hazerim. The word tent is formed
from the Latin, "to stretch," tents being
usually made of canvas, goats' hair, or
camels' hair cloth, stretched out and sus-
tained by poles with cords secured to pegs
driven into the ground, Isa. 54:2; Jer.
10:20. The " nail of the tent" with which
ARABS PITCHING A TENT.
Jael pierced the head of Sisera was such a
tent-pin, Judg. 4:21. See also Isa. 33:2c;
40:22. The house of God and heaven are
spoken of in Scripture as the tent or tab-
ernacle of Jehovah, Psa. 15:1; 61:4; 84:1;
Isa. 40:22; Heb. 8:2; 9:11; and the body
as the tabernacle of the soul, taken down
by death, 2 Cor. 5: i ; 2 Pet. i : 13, 14. Says
Lord Lindsay, "There is something very
melancholy in our morning flittings. The
tent-pins are plucked up, and in a few
minutes a dozen holes, a heap or two of
ashes, and the marks of the camels' knees
in the sand, soon to be obliterated, are the
only traces left of what has been for a
while our home," Isa. 38:12. "Often," saj's
M'Cheyne, " we found ourselves shelter-
less before being fully dressed. What a
type of the tent of our body! Ah, how
often is it taken down before the soul is
made meet for the inheritance of the saints
in light." A tent is also put for its inmates,
Hab. 3:7; Zech. 12:7.
Tents are of various colors : black, as
the tents of Kedar, Psa. 120:5; Song 1:5;
red, as of scarlet cloth ; yellow, as of gold
shining brilliantly; white, as of canvas.
They are also of various shapes ; some cir-
cular, others of an oblo-ng figure, not un-
like the bottom of a ship turned upside
down. In Syria the tents are now gener-
624
ally made of cloth of goats' hair, woven by
women, Exod. 35:26. Those of the Arabs
are of black goats' hair. Some other na-
tions adopt the same kind, but it is not
common. An Arab sheikh will have a
number of tents, for himself, his family,
servants, and visitors, as in patriarchal
times Jacob had separate tents for himself,
for Leah, Rachel, and their maids. Gen.
24:67; 31:33; Judg. 4:17. Usually, how-
ever, one tent suffices for a family; being
divided, if large, into several apartments
by curtains. The portion intended for fe-
males is called the harem. Some tents are
so built as to house a flock at night.
TENTH-DEAL, that is, te7ith part, corre-
sponding to the Hebrew assaron, or the
loth part of an ephah. It would thus be
the same as the omer, about 5 pints, Exod.
29:40; Lev. 14:10; 23:17; Num. 15; 28; 29.
See Measure.
TE'RAH, a station, the son of Nahor and
father of Haran, Nahor, and Abraham,
Gen. 11:24-32, and ancestor of the Israel-
ites, Ishmaelites, Midianites, Moabites, and
Ammonites. He begat Abraham at the
age of 130 years, in Ur of the Chaldasans.
Upon Abraham's first call to remove into
the land of promise, Terah and all his fam-
ily went with him as far as Haran in Meso-
potamia, about B. C. 1918, Gen. 11:31,32.
TER
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TET
He died there the same year, aged 205
years. Scripture intimates that Terah had
fallen into idolatry, or had for a time min-
gled some idolatrous practices with the
worship of the true God, Josh. 24:2, 14;
comp. Gen. 31:30; and some think that
Abraham himself at first did the same
thing; but that afterwards God, being gra-
cious to him, convinced him of the vanity
of this worship, and that he undeceived
his fatiier Terah.
TER'APHIM or TERA'PHIM, noiirisfiers,
Judg. 17:5; 18:14-20, translated "idolatry"
and "idols" in i Sam. 15:23; Zech. 10:2,
and " images " in Gen. 31 : 19, 30-35 ; i Sam.
19:13-16; 2 Kin. 23:24; Ezek. 21:21, and
apparently the " strange gods " which Ja-
cob buried under the oak at Shechem, Gen.
35:2-4. Rachel's images and those of Mi-
cah seem to have been small household
divinities or talismans ; one was found in
David's family resembling the human form
or bust in shape and size, i .Sam. 19:13-16;
and in Hos. 3:4, 5 teraphim are spoken of
as even accessory to the worship of God,
like the Urim and Thummim : an illustra-
tion, among many in Hebrew history, of
the great difficulty of maintaining in the
midst of idolaters a pure and spiritual
worship.
TE'RESH, strictness, one of the 2 eu-
nuchs, doorkeepers of Ahasuerus, whose
plot to murder him was discovered by
Mordecai, and they were hanged, Esth.
2:21 ; 6:2.
TER'RACE, 2 Chr. 9:11, a staircase of
algum-wood in Solomon's palace ; in many
other passages the Heb. word is transla-
ted "highway," Num. 20:19; Judg. 20:31;
I Sam. 6:12; Isa. t.^.
TER'TIUS, third, a Christian whom Paul
at Corinth employed as his amanuensis in
writing the Epistle to the Romans, Rom.
40
16:22. He sends a personal greeting, ver.
23, and was probably a Roman.
TERTUL'LUS, third, a Roman orator or
advocate, whom the high-priest and San-
hedrin employed to bring forward their
accusation against Paul, before the Roman
procurator at Caesarea, probably because
they were themselves unacquainted with
the language and modes of proceeding in
the Roman courts, Acts 24:1, 2. His ora-
tion began with falsehood and flattery ; we
probably have only an abstract of it.
TES'TAMENT, in common usage a man's
last will, but in the New Testament the
Greek diatheke, answering to the Hebrew
berith, denotes a covenant, E.\od. 2 : 24 ;
24:8; Heb. 7:22; 9:15-20; Rev. 11:19. It
is often used with the epithet " new," Matt.
26:28, to distinguish it from the former cov-
enant, Gal. 4:24, made with Abraham and
his believing seed, Gen. 15:1-18; 17:1-19;
Luke 1 : 72, 73 ; Acts 3 : 25 ; 7:8, and renewed
under Moses, E.xod. 24:3-12; Heb. 9:4, 15;
Rev. 11:19, with Heb. 8:5. It is the gos-
pel dispensation, sealed by the blood of
Christ, Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; i Cor.
11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:8, and is some-
times translated " covenant " in the A. V.,
Heb. 8:6-10; 10:16, 29; 12:24; 13:20. In
Heb. 9:15-17 in the A. V. the idea of the
last will and death of the testator seems
implied ; but if the simple Biblical sense of
"covenant" is retained, the death of the
attesting victim would be the customary
and necessary seal of the covenant. The
titles " New Testament," given to the
Christian Scriptures," and " Old Testa-
ment," given to the ante-Christian Scrip-
tures, are retained even in the R. V. See
Bible and Coven.'Vnt.
TES'TIMONY, the whole revelation of
God, testifying to man what he is to believe,
do, and hope, including both the law and
the gospel, Psa. 19:7; 119:88,99; i Cor. 1:6;
Rev. 1:2. The two stone tables of the law
were a visible "testimony" or witness of
God's covenant with his people ; and hence
the ark of the covenant was called some-
times the testimony, or the ark of the tes-
timony, Exod. 25:16, 22; 34:29. See Ark.
TE'TRARCH, ruler of the fourth part of
a state or province, first used after Thes-
saly was divided into 4 parts; in the New
Testament a general title applied to those
who governed any part of a kingdom or
province with an authority subject only to
that of the Roman emperor. Thus Herod
the Great and his brother were at one time
in early life constituted tetrarchs of Judaea
625
THA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
THE
by Antony. At the death of Herod the
Great he left half his kingdom to Arche-
laus, with the title of ethnarch ; while the
other half was divided between 2 of his
other sons, Herod Antipas and Philip, with
the title of tetrarchs, the former over Gali-
lee and Peraea, and the latter over Ituraea
and Trachonitis, Luke 3:1. See Herod,
IV. and V. In the same manner Lysanias
is also said to have been tetrarch of Abi-
lene, Luke 3:1. It is Herod Antipas who
is called the tetrarch in Matt. 14:1 ; Luke
3:1, 19; 9:7; Acts 13:1. As the authority
of the tetrarch was similar to that of the
king, so the general term king is also
applied to Herod, Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:14-
28.
THADD/E'US, breast, a surname of the
apostle Jude, Mark 3:18. In Matt. 10:3
some of the most ancient MSS. have "Thad-
daeus ;" one has " Lebbaeus ;" and one, fol-
lowed by the A. V., " Lebbaeus, whose sur-
name was Thaddaeus." In the R. V. only
Thaddaeus is retained. Luke calls him
Judas in both his catalogues, Luke 6:16;
Acts 1:13. See Judas, III.
THA'HASH, or TA'CHASH, badger, Gen.
22:24, son of Nahor and Reumah.
THA'MAH, laughter, one of the Nethi-
nim whose sons returned from Babylon,
Ezra 2:53; called Tamah in Neh. 7:55,
A. V.
THA'MAR, A. v., Matt. 1:3. See Ta-
MAR.
THAM'MUZ. See Tammuz.
THANK'- OFFERING. See OFFERING,
Sacrifice.
THANKS'GIVING, the due expression of
gratitude to God for all his favors and mer-
cies, temporal and eternal, material and
spiritual. It implies a just appreciation of
all his kindnesses and of our un worthiness
of them, bearing them in remembrance,
loving him for them, making public ac-
knowledgment of them, and ni?king suita-
ble returns of obedience and service. In-
gratitude evinces the baseness and aliena-
tion of the human heart from God. Under
the Old Dispensation thank-offerings were
required to be offered both statedly and
on special occasions, Lev. 7:12, 15; Psa.
107:22-31; 116:17; with the voice of joy
and praise, Neh. 11 : 17; Isa. 51 =3; Rev.
7:12; and with prayer, Neh. 11:17; Phil.
4:6: I Tim. 2:1-3. See Offering.
THA'RA, Luke 3:34, A. V. See Terah.
THAR'SHISH. See Tarshish.
THE'ATRE. See next column.
THEBES. See Amon.
626
THE'BEZ, brightness, an Ephraimite
town, at the siege of which Abimelech was
killed, Judg. 9:50-55. The story was re-
called by David as well known, 2 Sam.
11:21. The site of Thebez is at the mod-
ern village Tubas, 9 miles northwest from
Nablus, on the road to Beth-shean, on a
hillside north of a plain among hills.
THEFT, Exod. 20:15; Prov. 22:22, under
the Mosaic law, was punished by exacting
a full restitution, which was secured if
necessarj- bj' the sale of the goods or ser-
vices of the thief to the requisite amount,
Prov. 6:31. Restitution was 2-fold if the
living animal stolen was returned, Exod.
22:3-8; if it was sold or spoiled it must be
repaid 4-fold in case it was a sheep or goat,
5-fDld if horned cattle, Exod. 22:1; 2 Sam.
12:6; Luke 19:8. Silver or gold stolen was
to be restored with one-fifth added. If
unable to make restitution the thief might
be sold into temporary servitude with his
wife and children. Gen. 44:17; 2 Kin. 4:1.
A night-robber might lawfully be slain in
the act, and a man-stealer was to be pun-
ished by death, Exod. 21:16; 22:2; Deut.
24:7.
THELA'SAR, 2 Kin. 19:12. See Tel.\s-
SAR.
THEOPH'ILUS, /r/>«rf 0/ God, an hon-
orable person to whom the evangelist Luke
addressed his Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles, Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1. He was
perhaps a convert from paganism under
Paul's preaching at Rome, and his title
" most excellent " suggests that he was a
magistrate or high official ; compare Acts
23:26; 24:3; 26:25.
THE'ATRE, a place built for dramatic
representations, Acts 19:29, or the scene
or " spectacle " there exhibited, i Cor. 4:9.
It was in the theatre at Caesarea, used
for large public assemblages, that Herod
Agrippa was struck with death. Acts 12:21-
23, and in the theatre at Ephesus a tumul-
tuous crowd were stirred up against Paul,
Acts 19:29. Its walls still remain, though
its marble seats are gone, and it is a work
of immense grandeur, in full view of the
temple of Diana. See Ephesus and Rome.
Ancient theatres were usually semicircular
in form, open to the air unless covered at
times by an awning, the seats in concentric
rows rising in tiers one above another;
they were often very large. A theatrical
"spectacle" was sometimes shown, where
criminals or slaves " fought with wild
beasts," and were "made a gazing-stock "
to 50,000 or more spectators, Heb. 10:33.
THE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
THE
THE ANCIKNT THEATRE AT EPHESUS.
In Heb. 12:1 the "cloud of witnesses"
means those who watch the Christian race,
as crowds of spectators watched the Gre-
cian games.
THESSALO'NIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, I.
and II. These were the earliest of Paul's
epistles, and were written from Corinth in
A. D. 52 and 53. The subscription at the
end of the epistles is not a part of them,
and in this case is wrong. These are the
only letters of Paul extant written during
his 2d missionary tour, in company with
Silas and Timothy. See Thessalonica.
After being driven from Thessalonica he
went to Beroea, Athens, and Corinth, Acts
17:1 to 18:18; and various circumstances
indicate the lapse of several years before
he returned to Jerusalem and Antioch,
I Thess. 2:9; 3:1-7; 4:13-18; 5:14; Phil.
4 : 16. He greatly desired to revisit the
Thessalonians, but being hindered, sent
Timothy to learn their state. Timothy's
good report of their faith, brought to the
apostle at Corinth, greatly cheered him,
and in his first epistle he expresses his
joy, and confirms them against the perse-
cutions and temptations they would meet,
by discussing the miraculous testimony of
God to the truth of the gospel, 1:5-10; the
character of its preachers, 2:1 to 3:13; the
holiness of its precepts, 4:1-12; and the
resurrection of Christ and his people, 4:13
to 5 : 1 r. The remainder of the epistle con-
sists of practical exhortations to constancy.
His tender and loving watch -care over
every convert in that church appears in
627
THE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
THI
this epistle, ch. 1:3; 2:7-11; 3:6-10, and he
warns them not to neglect the duties of life
in visionary anticipations of Christ's 2d
coming, ch. 4:11 ; comp. 2 Thess. 3:10-12;
and closes with salutations and a blessing.
In the second epistle, written some 6
months after the first, he commends their
faith and patience in tribulation, ch. i : 1-12,
and corrects certain errors into which they
were falling particularly respecting the 2d
coming of Christ. This, he shows, must
be preceded by a great apostasy and by
the career of "the man of sin," "the son
of perdition," " whose coming is after the
working of Satan, with all power and
signs and lying wonders;" who usurps di-
vine authority over the church and " oppo-
seth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God." These predictions probably
still await their full realization, but their re-
markable fulfilment thus far in the Church
of Rome, at first so contrary to human anti-
cipations, proves that the apostle wrote by
inspiration. In ch. 2:1, 2 he alludes to
some letter falsely ascribed to him, but
teaching an opposite doctrine, or some per-
version of his own words ; and with his
closing benedictions adds his own sign-
manual to the writing of his amanuensis.
THESSALONI'CA, conquest of TItessaly,
a city and seaport of the 2d part of Mace-
donia at the head of the Thermaic Gulf, so
called from the city's ancient name, Ther-
ma, and the hol-springs in its neighbor-
hood. It lay 27 miles from Pella and 67
from Amphipolis, Acts 17:1, and had a
good harbor and was well situated for
commerce, being on the Via Egnatia, which
connected Rome with the whole region
north of the ^gean Sea, and thus it was
well situated for diffusing the gospel by
land and sea. In the conversion of the
Slavonians and Bulgarians it was largely
instrumental. It was rebuilt about B. C.
315 by Cassander, son of Antipater, who
named it Thessalonica after his wife, sister
of Alexander the Great. When .Emilius
Paulus, after his conquest of Macedonia,
divided the country into 4 districts, this
city was made the capital of the 2d divis-
ion, and was the station of a Roman gov-
ernor and questor. It was inhabited by
Greeks, Romans, and Jews, from among
whom Paul gathered a numerous church.
There was a large number of Jews resident
in this city, where they had a synagogue,
in which Paul, after his expulsion from
Philippion his 2d missionary tour, preached
to them on 3 successive Sabbaths. Some
628
of the Jews and many of the Gentiles em-
braced the gospel ; but the rest of the Jews-
determined \o maltreat the apostle, and
surrounded the house in which they be-
lieved he was lodging. The brethren, how-
ever, secretly led Paul and Silas out of the
city towards Beroea, 45 miles west, and they
escaped from their enemies. Acts 17. This
inspired history is singularly confirmed by
several undesigned coincidences with facts
otherwise known. The magistrates men-
tioned Acts 17:6 are called polilarclis, a
name unusual in ancient literature, but
found on a local monument — which also-
bears the names of Sosipater, Secundus,
and Gains. The free assembly of the peo-
ple before which Paul and Silas were sum-
moned was characteristic of a " free city."'
Paul was afterwards there, both going and
returning, on his 3d tour, Acts 20:1-4, and
probably after his 1st imprisonment at
Rome, I Tim. 1:3:2 Tim. 4:13; Tit. 3:12.
Among the early Christians there were Ja-
son, Demas, and Gaius, Acts 19:29; 27:2;
Col. 4:10; Phile. 24, also Secundus and
Aristarchus whom Paul took with him. Acts
20:4. The city was taken by the Saracens,
A. D. 904, by the Sicilian Normans in 1185,
and by the Turks in 1430. During all these
changes many Jews seem to have lived
there. The modern Saloniki abounds in
broken columns and sculptured fragments,,
and though a wretched town has a popula-
tion of 70,000, one-third of whom are Jews-
Many of the mosques were formerly Chris-
tian churches.
When Paul left Macedonia for Athens-
and Corinth, he left behind him Timothy
and Silas at Thessalonica, that they might
confirm those in the faith who had been
converted under his ministry. He after-
wards wrote to the church at Thessalonica.
two epistles. See Paul.
THEU'DAS, praise, or God-given, an in-
surgent Jew, mentioned by Gamaliel, A. D.
29, as of the preceding generation. Acts
5:36, ?n^ ^"d therefore not to be confound-
ed w'ithTheudas of A. D. 40, mentioned by-
Josephus. The period following the death
of Herod the Great was full of revolts.
Theudas was also a common name, an-
swering to the Hebrew Matthias, under
which name Josephus speaks of an unsuc-
cessful reformer who was burned in the
latter part of Herod's reign.
THIEF, rather " robber" in Matt. 21:13;
26:55; 27:38,44; Mark 11:17; 14:48; 15:27;
Luke 10:30, 36; 19:46; 22:52; 23:39-43-
The "penitent thief" showed a faith a&
THI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
THO
Temarkable as his penitence, recognizing
Christ even on the cross as the divine King
and Saviour. His turning to Christ, possi-
bly after joining the other thief in mocking
Him, seems to have been sudden, in view
•of the Redeemer's godlike bearing, looks,
and words and the attesting signs and cir-
■cumstances.
THIGH. The mode of taking an oath
alluded to in Gen. 24:2-9; 47:29-31 was
significant of the swearer's obligation to
obedience or to fidelity as under the cove-
nant of circumcision. Jacob's thigh was
disabled by the Angel, to show the patri-
arch that his prevalence was through his
faith and prayer, not through force, Gen.
32:25-31. The ischiatic nerve is still e.x-
tracted from the hinder limbs of beeves by
the Jews in England. Smiting the thigh
was a gesture of self-condemnation and
grief, Jer. 31:19; Ezek. 21:12. Warriors
wore their swords upon the left thigh, un-
less left-handed, in readiness foruse,Judg.
^: 15-21; Psa. 45:3; Song 3:8; so too they
may have borne their names and titles, not
only on their shields, but on their swords,
•or on the robe or mailed coat covering the
thigh, Rev. 19:16. "Hip and thigh," Judg.
15:8, seems to mean utterly and irrevoca-
bly. In Isa. 47:2 " thigh " should be trans-
lated "leg;" and in Song 7:1 "the joints
of thy thighs " some render " the cincture
■of thy loins," ?'. , fatherhood, 1 Chr. 4:29; called
Eltolad in Josh. 15:30; 19:4, a town of
Simeon, in the Negeb or South, perhaps in
wady el- Thoula, 40 miles south of Beer-
sheba.
TOMB. See Sepulchre.
TONGUE, often used for speech itself, as
a chief expression of thought and character,
Job 6:30; as a soft tongue, Prov. 25:15, a
froward tongue, Prov. 10:31, an evil tongue,
Psa. 57:4, a wise and wholesome tongue,
Prov. 10:20; 12:18; 15:4. A "stammering
tongue," in Isa. 33:19, was that of one
speaking a foreign language. The power
of the tongue for good and for evil is well
described in Jas. 3.
Confusion of Tongues. It is a Bible
truth, confirmed more and more as the
sciences of ethnology and philology ad-
vance, that the whole human race was one
in origin, and at first one in language,
Gen. II :i; Mai. 2:10; Acts 17:26, which
was preserved by Noah and his family
after the flood. To frustrate the ambitious
design of the multitudes who repeopled the
earth to concentrate around a lofty metrop-
olis, God "confounded their tongues"
apparently by miraculously hastening the
process by which in the lapse of time new
dialects and languages are formed in iso-
lated communities ; and as each band who
understood each other went off in a differ-
ent direction, his plan for peopling the
earth was thus fulfilled.
Among the Borsippa inscriptions of Neb-
uchadnezzar the confusion of tongues is
thus referred to: "A former king built it,"
the Borsippa monument, " but he did not
complete its head. Since a remote time
people had abandoned it, without order
expressing their words."
The Gift of Tongues, foretold by Joel,
2:28, and by Christ, Mark 16:17; compare
Matt. 10:19, 20; Mark 13:11, seems to have
been of two kinds, both intended for the
infancy of the Christian Church. The first
gift was the power to " declare the wonder-
ful works of God " in languages ordinarily
unknown to the speakers, for the benefit of
foreign hearers. Acts 2:4-11. This served
the double purpose of attesting the divine
origin of the gospel and promoting its dif-
fusion, and may have been limited to those
Pentecostal days. The other form of the
gift of tongues is thought to have been an
ecstatic form of worship, chiefly praise, dis-
tinct from " prophesying " or preaching,
and unintelligible except to those who had
the gift of interpretation. Acts 10:46; i Cor.
12:30. It may have been marked by a
musical intonation, as when the sons of
Asaph prophesied with harps and psalter-
ies, I Chr. 25:1. It should be said, how-
ever, that interpreters are not agreed in
this view of a difficult subject, and that
some arrange all the passages under the
first head, and some exclude the first and
assign all the passages to the second head.
TOP, in Judg. 15:8, II ; Isa. 2:21, cleft.]
TO'PAZ, a precious stone of wine-yellow
color, with occasional pale tinges of green
or red. It was the second of the 12 gems in
the high-priest's breastplate, Exod. 28:17;
39:10, and the 9th stone in the foundation
of the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:20. The
king of Tyre wore it, Ezek. 28: 13, and Job,
28:19, mentions it as a highly-prized pro-
duct of Cush. Smith regards it as the mod-
ern chrysolite, a softer stone than the topaz,
and of a greenish tinge.
TO'PHEL, lime, Deut. 1:1, a town on the
Israelites' route, east of the Arabah; found
at Tuf ileh, a large village in a well-watered
and fruitful valley, 17 miles south-southeast
of the Dead Sea.
TO'PHET, or TO'PHETH, 2 Kin. 23:10;
Isa. 30:33; Jer. 7:31,32; 19:2,6, 11-14; per-
haps from TOPH, a tambourine, and mean-
ing music-grove, but otherwise interpreted
burning, or filth. It lay at the southeast
end of the valley of Hinnom, adjoining the
" king's gardens." See Hinnom.
TORCH'ES, FLA'MING, Nah. 2:3, in the
R. v., "flash with steel."
TORMENT'ORS, men who had charge of
instruments of torture by which unwilling
witnesses were compelled to testify, Acts
639
TOR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TRA
22:24, a practice which the humane Mosaic
code did not authorize. The same men
were keepers of prisons, and it is probably
with reference only to their office as jailers
that the word is used in Matt. 18:34.
TOR'TOISE, an unclean reptile accord-
ing to the Mosaic code, Lev. 11:29. Sev-
eral species of land and water tortoise are
found in Palestine and its vicinity. The
Hebrew word is translated " covered "
(wagons) in Num. 7:3, and "litters" in
Isa. 66:20, suggesting the shelly covering
of this animal. Some, however, think the
dhab or Arabian lizard is meant, a very
common animal, sometimes 2 feet long,
with a formidable tail covered with scales
or spines.
TO'U, I Chr. 18:9, 10. See Toi.
TOW, Judg. 16:9; Isa. 1:31. In Isa.
43: 17, linen.
TOWARD, Psa. 5:7, at.
TOWERS were erected on the outer walls
of cities, especially at the corners and over
the gates, 2 Chr. 26:9, 15; 32:5; Neh. 3:11 ;
12:38 ; Jer. 31 :38, and sentries were posted
on them, 2 Kin. 9:17. Elevations within
the city were also occupied by towers or
forts, Judg. 9 : 47-49, and commanding
heights along the frontiers of a country,
where the approach of an enemy could be
descried at a distance, Isa. 21:6-9; Ezek.
33:2-6. A tower afforded a refuge to the
surrounding inhabitants in case of inva-
sion ; and often, when most of a city was
subdued, the tower or citadel remained
impregnable. So God is a strong and safe
protector of his people, Psa. 18:2; 61:3;
Prov. 18:10. Many isolated towers are
mentioned in Scripture: as "the tower of
Edar " or "the flock," Gen. 35:21; Mic.
4:8, 8 miles southwest of Bethlehem; the
tower of David and of Lebanon, Song 4:4;
640
7:4; that of Siloam, Luke 13:4; and of
Ophel, Neh. 3:26. A structure for the pro-
tection of the keeper of a vineyard or flock
was often built, sometimes slight, but often
of stone and large enough to house the
whole family during the vintage, 2 Chr.
26 : 10 ; 27 : 4 ; Isa. 5:2; Matt. 21 : 33, and
travellers in Palestine see them in use at
this day. Towers were also raised by hos-
tile armies in besieging a city, Ezek. 21:22.
In Ezek. 29:10; 30:6, instead of " the tower
of Syene," some read, " from Migdol to
Syene," or Seveneh. See Migdol.
TOWN-CLERK, or scribe. Acts 19:35, the
acting head of the municipal government
at Ephesus, a lieutenant of the supreme
authority ; such an officer is mentioned in
history and on a coin of the time.
TRACHONI'TIS, rugged region, the an-
cient Argob ; in the time of Christ a Roman
province northeast of Palestine, associated
with Batanaea, Auranitis, and Gaulonitis,
Luke 3:1. It lay between Damascus on
the north and Bostra on the south, with
Gaulonitis, now Jaulan, on the west and
the ridge Jebel Hauran on the east, inclu-
ding the modern Lejah — an oval region, a
rough plain elevated 30 feet above the ad-
jacent region, and formed of black basalt,
hard as flint and full of air-bubbles and
hollows. The region is still a refuge for
the lawless, as of old, 2 Sam. 13:37, 38.
See Argob. Herod the Great subdued the
robbers that infested it ; and after his death
it was governed by Philip his son, and then
by Herod Agrippa. One of its towns, Phse-
no, had a Christian church, represented at
the councils of Chalcedon and Ephesus.
TRADI'TION, a doctrine, sentiment, or
custom not found in the Bible, but trans-
mitted orally from generation to genera-
tion from some presumed inspired author-
ity. In patriarchal times much that was
valuable and obligatory was thus preserved.
But tradition has long been superseded by
the successive and comjileted revelations
of God's will which form the inspired Scrip-
tures, the only perfect and sufficient rule
of belief and practice. With this, even be-
fore the time of the Saviour, Isa. 8:20, all
traditions were to be compared, as being
of no value if they conflicted with it, added
to it, or took from it. Conip. Acts 17:11;
2 Tim. 3: 15-17; Tit. 1:14; Rev. 22:19. The
Jews had numerous unwritten traditions,
which they affirmed to have been delivered
to Moses on Mount Sinai, and by him trans-
mitted to Joshua, the judges, and the proph-
ets. After their wars with the Romans
TRA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TRE
under Adrian and Severus, in view of their
increasing dispersion over the earth, the
Jews desired to secure their traditions by
committing them to writing. Accordingly
Rabbi Judah "the Holy" composed the
Mishna or 2d law, the most ancient collec-
tion of the Hebrew traditions, about A. D.
190-220. To this text two commentaries
were afterwards added : the Gemara of
Jerusalem, probably about A. D. 370, and
the Gemara of Babylon, A. D. 500, forming
with the Mishna the Talmud of Jerusalem
and that of Babylon. The contents of these
voluminous works poorly remunerate the
student for the laborious task of reading
them. Our Saviour severely censured the
adherents of such legendary follies in his
own day, and reproached them with pre-
ferring the traditions of the elders to the
law of God itself, and superstitiously ad-
hering to vain observances while they
neglected the most important duties, Matt.
15: 1-20; Mark 7:1-3. The traditions of
the Romish Church, with less apology than
the ancient Jews had before the New Tes-
tament was written, are still more in con-
flict with the Word of God and still more
deserving of the Saviour's condemnation.
The doctrine of that church, as expressed
by one of its prelates and approved by
Pius IX., is, " We owe entire credence to
Scripture and to tradition, for they are
equally the word of God." The apostles
appealed to God's Word as authority, not
to tradition. Acts 15:2, 15-17; 17:11; 24:14;
I Cor. 15:3, 4.
In I Cor. 11:2, R. v.; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6,
"tradition" means inspired insfa-uctions
from the lips of those who received them
from God and were authorized to dispense
them in his name. These apostolic say-
ings were obligatory only on those who
received them as inspired directly from
the apostles. Had any of them come down
to our times the only means of indorsing
them must be by showing their agreement
with the Word of God, since inspiration
and miracles have ceased.
TRANCE, a state of the human system
distinguished from dreaming and revery,
in which the bodily senses are locked up
and almost disconnected from the spirit,
which is occupied either with phantasms,
as in trances produced by disease, or, as
in ancient times, with revelations from
God. Numerous instances are mentioned
in Scripture : as that of Balaam, Num. 24:3,
16; those of Peter and Paul, Acts 10:10;
11:5; 22:17; 2 Cor. 12:1-4. Compare also
41
the " deep sleep " of Adam, Gen. 2:21, and
of Abraham, Gen. 15:12-17, the vision of
Job, 4:12-17, the experience of Saul, i Sam.
19:24, and of some of the prophets, Jer.
29:26; Ezek. 3: 15.
TRANSFIGURA'TION, Matt. 17:1-9; John
1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16-18. This remarkable
event in the life of Christ probably took
place at night, Luke 9:37, and on Hermon
or some other mountain not far from Caesa-
rea Philippi, the tradition which assigns it
to Tabor not being sustained. See Tabor.
The whole form and raiment of the Saviour
.appeared in supernatural glory. The Law
and the Prophets, in the persons of Moses
and Elijah, did homage to the Gospel.
Comp. Exod. 33:18. By communing with
Christ on the theme most momentous to
mankind, his atoning death, they evinced
the harmony that exists between the old
and new dispensations and the sympathy
between heaven and earth ; while the voice
from heaven in their hearing gave him
honor and authority over all. Besides its
great purpose, the attestation of Christ's
Messiahship and divinity, this scene dem-
onstrated the continued existence of de-
parted spirits in an unseen world, furnished
in the Saviour's person an emblem of hu-
manity glorified, and aided in preparing
both him and his disciples for their future
trials, Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36. The
witnesses of the transfiguration were Pe-
ter, James, and John. See James.
TRAVELLING. See JOURNEY.
TREAS'URES. Kings were wont to store
their possessions and guard what they most
valued in well-fortified cities, hence called
treasure-cities, Exod. i:ii; i Chr. 27:25;
Ezra 5:17. "Treasures in the field," Jer.
41 : 8, were provisions, etc., buried, as is the
custom in many parts of the world, in sub-
terranean pits. Numerous ruined grana-
ries of this kind are still found in the
vicinity of Beth-shean. The " Pilgrim fa-
thers " in like manner found heaps of corn
buried in the ground by the Indians. In
consequence also of the great insecurity of
property in the East it seems to have been
usual from the earliest times to hide in the
groimd gold and jewels; and the owners
being killed or driven away, or forgetting
the place of deposit, these hidden treasures
remain till chance or search brings them
to light. They are much sought for by the
Arabs at this day, and are believed by them
to be the object travellers from the West
have in view in exploring ancient ruins.
Job 3:21; Prov. 2:4; Matt. 13:44. A few
641
TRE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TRI
years since some workmen digging in a
garden at Sidon discovered several copper
pots filled with gold coin from the mint of
Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander,
unmixed with any of later date. The lost
treasure, worth many thousands of dol-
lars, had remained undisturbed over 2,000
years. /
TREAS'URY, the portion of the temple
in which were deposited the offerings of
the people for sacred purposes ; there were
apartments for the tithes of flour, wine, oil,
etc., 1 Chr. 9:26; Neh. 10:38; 13:4-9, and
chests for gifts in money, which the rabbis
say stood in the Court of the Women and
were 13 in number, Mark 12:41; Luke
21:1; John 8:20. Kings had their treasu-
ries, Esth. 3:9, and officers in charge of
them, Ezra i :8, those of the kings of Baby-
lon having some authority, Ezra 7:21 ; Dan.
3:2, 3. Snow, wind, hail, and rain are said
to be issued as from -God's storehouse,
2 Chr. 7:13; Job 38:22; Psa. 135:7: Jer.
51:16.
TREES were frequently used as types of
kings or men of wealth and power, Psa.
37:35; Isa. 2:13; Dan. 4:10-26; Zech.
u:i, 2. The Hebrews were forbidden to
cut down an enemy's fruit-trees in time of
war, Deut. 20: 19, 20. The " tree of knowl-
edge of good and evil " bore the forbidden
fruit, by eating of which Adam fatally in-
creased his knowledge — of good by its loss,
of sin and woe by actual experience, Gen.
2:9, 17. The "tree of life " may have been
both an assurance and a means of impart-
ing life, a seal of eternal holiness and bliss,
if man had not sinned. Comp. Rev. 22:2.
In Acts 5 : 30 ; Gal. 3 : 13, " tree " is literally
" a beam of wood."
TRENCH, in I Kin. 18:32-38, a circular
ditch; in i Sam. 26:5-7; 2 Sam. 20:15, a
wall or rampart, often formed by arran-
ging the vehicles, camels, and impedimen-
ta of a caravan or equipage of a camp in
a circle, within which the tents are pitched,
I Sam. 17:20. See Camp. A trench was
also a means of preventing sorties and a
passage of approach to the walls of a be-
sieged city, like a deep moat or ditch, the
earth thrown up constituting a wall. The
Redeemer, weeping over Jerusalem a few
days before he was crucified under its
walls, said, "The days shall come upon
thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench
about thee and compass thee round and
keep thee in on every side,'' Luke 19:43.
The Romans fulfilled this prediction by
inclosing the entire city of Jerusalem by a
642
wall in 3 days, that the Jews might neither
escape nor'ije relieved from without.
TRES'PASS, an injury done to another,
with more or less culpability. The Mo-
saic law required a trespasser not only to
make satisfaction to the person injured,
but by an offering at the altar to reconcile
himself to the divine Governor, Lev. 5;
6:1-7; Psa. 51:4. See S.^crifice. Christ
repeatedly declares that in order to be for-
given of God we must be forgiving to men.
Matt. 6:14, 15, and that no brother must
have aught against us. Matt. 5:23, 24.
TRI'AL. See Justice. In Acts 19:38
for " the law is open," read " for the court
is open," R. V. : it is now a court-day, and
the proconsul with his adsessors, selected
from the people, will do justice.
TRIBE. Jacob having 12 sons, heads of
as many families, which together formed a
great nation, each of these families was
called a tribe. They are named in the
order of their birth in Gen. 49: Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar,
Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Ben-
jamin. But this patriarch on his death-bed
adopted Ephraim and Manasseh, the 2 sons
of Joseph, and would have them also to
constitute 2 tribes in Israel, Gen. 48:5. In-
stead of 12 tribes there were now 13, that
of Joseph being 2. Yet in the distribution
of lands by Joshua under the order of God,
they reckoned but 12 tribes and made but
12 lots; for the tribe of Levi, being ap-
pointed to the sacred service, had no share
in the distribution of the land, but received
certain cities to dwell in, with the first-
fruits, tithes, and oblations of the people.
Each tribe had its own leaders and tribu-
nals; and the whole 12, in their early his-
tory, constituted a republic somewhat re-
sembling the United States. In the divi-
sion made by Joshua of the land of Canaan,
Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had
their lot beyond Jordan, east; all the other
tribes and the remaining half of Manasseh
had their inheritance on this side the riv-
er, west.
The 12 tribes continued united as one
state, one people, and one monarchy till
after the death of Solomon, when 10 of the
tribes revolted from the house of David
and formed the kingdom of Israel. See
Hkrrf.ws.
TRIB'UTE. Every Jew 20 years old was
required to pay an annual tribute or capi-
tation-tax of half a shekel, about 25 cents,
in acknowledgment of God's sovereignty
and for the maintenance of the temple
TRI
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TRO
service, Exod. 30:12-15. In Matt. 17:24,
for " tribute " the R. V. reads " the half-
shekel." It was with reference to this that
Christ says in effect, " If this tribute be
levied in the name of the Father, then I,
THE Son, am free." In other New Testa-
ment passages tribute means the tax lev-
ied by the Romans. See Tax. On the
question of paying tribute to foreigners
and idolaters. Matt. 22:16-22, Christ gave
a reply which neither party could stigma-
tize as rebellious or as unpatriotic and irre-
ligious. By themselves using Caesar's cur-
rency, both parties acknowledged the fact
of his supremacy. Christ warns them to
render to all men their dues, and above
all, to regard the claims of Him whose su-
perscription is on everything, i Cor. 10:31 ;
1 Pet. 2:9, 13.
TRIN'ITY, or TRI -UNITY, the doctrine
that Jehovah is the one and only God, ex-
isting eternally in three Persons, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all equal in
perfect and supreme Godhead. The Fa-
ther in relation to mankind appears as the
Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the
universe; the Son as the revealer of the
Deity to us, and the Redeemer ; the Holy
Spirit as the regenerator, indweller, and
sanctifier ; yet each appears in harmonious
union with the others in their several
spheres. It is a doctrine of pure revela-
tion, chiefly in the New Testament, though
intimations of it are found in the Old Tes-
tament also: possibly in several Hebrew
names of God, which are plural in form;
in texts like Gen. 1:26, " Let us make man
in our image;" in passages which speak
of the Son, Psa. 2:7-12, of the Holy Spirit,
Isa. 48 : 16, or of the three together, as Num.
6:24-27; Psa. 33:6; Isa. 6:3; 63:8-10.
In the New Testament there are many
passages where the three are named to-
gether, as in the apostolic benediction,
2 Cor. 13:14; comp. Eph. 4:4-6; in the ini-
tiatory ordinance of the Christian Church,
Matt. 28:18-20; in the descent of the Holy
Spirit at Christ's baptism, Matt. 3:16, 17;
in the Saviour's promise of the Comforter'
John 14:26; and in the opening passage of
Peter's first epistle.
To these should be added all the passa-
ges which ascribe deity to each of the sev-
eral Persons :
1. To the Father: including all that in-
volve the existence and deity of God.
2. To the Son: {a) ascribing to him the
names of God, as John 1:1, 2; 10:28-30;
20:28; Phil. 2:6 with John 5:18; Tit. 2:13^
and the many passages in which he is
called the Son of God; {b) implying divine
attributes: as eternity, John 1:1; 8 : 58;
17:5; Col. 1 : 17, creative power, John 1:1-3,
10; Col. i:i6; Heb. 1:10; 2:10, omnipo-
tence, Phil. 3:21, omniscience. Matt. 11:27;
I Cor. 4:5, and divine honor, John 5:23;
Acts 1 :24; 7:59; 2 Cor. 12:8; Heb. i :6 with
Psa. 97 : 7 ; Rom. 14:11 with Isa. 45 : 3 ; 2 Cor.
5:8-11; Phil. 2:10; 2 Tim. 4: 17, 18.
3. To the Holy Spirit, which see.
TRI'UMPH. All nations have delighted
to honor their successful generals, and a
favorite method has been by gorgeous pro-
cessions of the victorious host, the leaders
crowned with laurel, displaying their cap-
tured banners, trophies, and spoils, and
their enslaved enemies, with triumphal
arches, martial music, and the acclama-
tions of the people. There are various
Scripture allusions to similar scenes, as in ■
the songs of Miriam and Deborah, Exod.
15 : 1-21 ; Judg. 5; compare Psa. 24 : 7-10;
110:1; Isa. 60 : 14. The victors were praised
in songs, i Sam. 18:6-8; 2 Chr. 20:21-28,
and the dead were mourned, 2 Sam. 1:17-
27 ; 2 Chr. 35:25. These triumphal pomps
furnished figures for the future triumphs
of the Prince of peace, Isa. 52:7-10; Eph.
4:8; Col. 2:15, significantly foreshadowed
in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Matt.
21 :i-ij.
TRO'AS, a maritime city of Mysia, in the
northwest part of Asia Minor, situated on
the ^gean coast, at a little distance south
of the supposed site of ancient Troy, the
ruins of which, at Hissarlik, have recently
been explored by Schliemann. It lay op-
posite the island Tenedos, and Mount Ida
overlooked it on the east. The adjacent
region, including all the coast south of the
Hellespont, is also called Troas, or the
Troad. The city was a Macedonian and
Roman colony of much promise, and was
called Alexandria Troas. It had a fine
harbor, and Julius Caesar and Augustus,
and still more Constantine, seriously pro-
posed to make it the seat of their empire.
The Turks call its ruins Eski Stamboul, the
old Constantinople. Its remains, in the
centre of a forest of oaks, are still grand
and imposing. The apostle Paul was first
at Troas for a short time in A. D. 52, and
sailed thence into Macedonia, Acts 16:8-11.
At his 2d visit, in A. D. 57, he labored with
success, 2 Cor. 2:12, 13. At his 3d record-
ed visit he tarried but a week; at the close
of which the miraculous raising of Euty-
chus to life took place, Acts 20:5-14, A. D.
643
TRO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TUR
58. In 2 Tim. 4:13 we find traces of an-
other visit, after his first imprisonment at
Rome.
TROGYL'LIUM, the name of a town and
promontory of Ionia, in Asia Minor, be-
tween Ephesus and the mouth of the Mean-
der, opposite to Samos, wliicli is not a mile
distant. The navigation is intricate, and
Paul on his last visit to Jerusalem, there
being no moon, waited here one night,
Acts 20:15. The jjromontory is a spur of
Mount Mycale.
TROOP, a band of marauders, like the
modern Bedouin tribes. Gen. 49: 19; 2 Sam.
3:22; 22:30; Job 19:12; Jer. 18:22; Hos.
6:9; 7:1. In Amos 9:6 for "troop" read
rather "vault." On Isa. 65: 11 see Gad, III.
TROPH'IMUS, nourished, a disciple of
Paul, a Gentile and an Ephesian by birth.
Acts 21:29, who came to Corinth with tlie
.apostle, and accompanied him in his whole
journey to Jerusalem, probably in charge
of the collection for the poor of Judaea,
A. D. 58, Acts 20:4. When the apostle was
in the temple there the Jews laid hold of
him, crying out, " He hath brought Greeks
into the temple, and hath polluted this holy
place;" because, having seen him in the
city accompanied by Trophimus, they ima-
gined that he had introduced him into the
inner court of the temple, Acts 21:27-30.
Some years afterwards Paul writes that
he had left him sick at Miletus, 2 Tim. 4:20.
This did not occur at Paul's former visit to
Miletus, since Trophimus went with him to
Jerusalem ; nor on the voyage to Rome,
for they did not then go near Miletus. It
is therefore one of the circumstances which
prove that Paul was released and revisited
Asia Minor, Crete, Macedonia, and per-
haps Spain, before his 2d imprisonment
and death. Of Trophimus nothing farther
is known.
TROW, an old word for think, Luke 17:9.
TRUMP, I Cor. 15:52; I Thess. 4:16,
A. v., and TRUM'PET. The Lord com-
manded Moses to make 2 trumpets of beat-
en silver, for the purpose of calling the
people together when the}' were to decamp,
Num. 10:2, of proclaiming the beginning of
the civil year, of the sabbatical year, Lev.
23:24; Num. 29:1, and of the Jubilee, Lev.
25:9, 10. See Music.
The Feast of Trumpets was a New Year's
festival, kept on the first day of the 7th
month of the sacred year, which was the
first of the civil year, called Tishri. The
beginning of the year was proclaimed by
sound of trumpet, Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1 ;
644
and the day was kept solemnly, all servile
business being forbidden. In addition to
the daily and the monthly sacrifices, Num.
28:11-15, ^ solemn holocaust was offered
in the name of the whole nation, of a bul-
lock, a ram, a kid, and 7 lambs of the same
year, with ofierings of flour and wine, as
usual with these sacrifices. The ordinary
new-moon sacrifices were marked by trum-
pet-blowing, but were not days of rest and
special worship. Both the straight trum-
pet and the cornet were used at the Feast
of Trumpets, which prepared for the Day
of Atonement, the loth of Tishri, Joel 2:15;
and, according to the rabbis, commemora-
ted the finished work of creation, when
" all the sons of God shouted for joy," Job
38:7. The trumpet "long and loud" be-
tokened the descent of Jehovah on Mount
Sinai, E.xod. 19 : 16-19, his word by the
prophets, Hos. 8:1; Zeph. 1:16; Rev. 1:10,
and will mark Christ's 2d coming. Matt.
24:31; I Cor. 15:52; I Thess. 4:16.
TRUST, sometimes in the Hebrew "lean
upon," 2 Kin. 18:5, 19, 20, 21, 24; sometimes
"take refuge in," Ruth 2:12; Psa. 2:12;
31:1; Nah. 1:7; Zeph. 3:12.
TRYPHE'NA and TRYPHO'SA, luxuri-
ous, female disciples at Rome, apparently
sisters, and very useful in the work of
evangelization, Rom. 16:12.
TU'BAL, a son of Japheth, associated
with Meshech and Javan, Gen. 10:2; i Chr.
1:5, as originator of a northern nation,
Isa. 66:19; Ezek. 32:26; 38:2, 3, 15; 39:1,
2 ; supposed to have been the Tybareni,
who occupied the northeastern part of Asia
Minor. They were a warlike people, and
brought slaves and copper vessels to the
market of Tyre, Ezek. 27:13. In Assyrian
inscriptions 24 kings of that race are enu-
merated.
TU'BAL-CAIN, son of the Cainite La-
mech and Zillah, inventor of the art of
forging metals. Gen. 4:22; famed, accord-
ing to Josephus, for his prodigious strength
and success in war.
TUR'TLE-DOVE, or TURTLE, the Colum-
ba Turtur; a distinct bird from the com-
mon dove or pigeon, smaller and differ-
ently marked, having a soft and plaintive
note, Psa. 74:19; Isa. 59^"; Ezek. 7:16,
and gentle eyes. Song i : 15; 4:1 ; 5^12. Its
fidelity and innocence. Matt. 10:16, made it
especially fit to be an offering to Jehovah
and a symbol of the Holy Spirit, Matt. 3:16.
There are 3 species of the turtle in Pales-
tine : the Turtur visorius or collared turtle;
the Turtur ..Egyptiacus or palm-turtle, of a
TUT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TYR
chestnut color, a longer tail, and no collar ;
and the Turtur auritus, the most abundant
of all. It is a bird of passage, Jer. 8:7,
turtle-dove: columba turtur.
leaving Palestine for a short trip to the
south and returning early in spring, Song
2:12. It is timid and fond of seclusion,
and pines in captivity, Psa. 11 :i. The law
allowed it as a burnt or sin offering by the
poor, Lev. 1:14; 5:7; Matt. 21:12, and in
several cases of purification, etc.. Lev. 12:6-
8; 14:22; Num. 6:10, its use by Joseph and
Mary being a proof of their poverty, Luke
2:24. Even before the giving of the law
Abraham offered birds, which were a tur-
tle and a pigeon ; and when he divided the
other victims he left the birds entire, Gen.
T[5:9-
TU'TORS, Gal. 4:2, guardians.
TWAIN, two. Matt. 5:41; 27:51; Eph.
2:15.
TWIN-BROTH'ERS, Acts 28:11, R. V.,
for "Castor and Pollux." See Castor.
TYCH'ICUS, casual ox fortunate, a native
of Asia Minor, probably of Ephesus, a fellow-
laborer with Paul, first mentioned as with
him on returning from his third mission-
ary tour. Acts 20 : 4. He probably remained
at Miletus or Ephesus while Trophimus
went on to Jerusalem, Acts 20: 15, 38 ; 21 -.2^.
He was with Paul in his first imprisonment
at Rome, and was the bearer of his letters
to the Colossians and Ephesians, Col. 4:7,
8; Eph. 6:21, 22. He was probably sent
either to replace Titus in Crete or to accom-
pany him to Nicopolis, Tit. 3:12, and was
with Paul during part of his second impris-
onment, being sent on some mission to Eph-
esus, 2 Tim. 4:12. The apostle calls him
his dear brother, a faithful minister of the
Lord, and his companion in the service of
God.
TYPE, an image, stamp, or mould, Gr.
tupos, denoting resemblance, and transla-
ted "figure" in Rom. 5:14, A. V., "exam-
ple" or "ensample" in i Cor. 10:6,
II ; Phil. 3:17; I Thess. 1:7; 2 Thess.
3:9, "manner "in Acts 23: 25, "form"
in Rom. 6: 17, "fashion " in Acts 7:44,
and "pattern "in Heb. 8:5. Spir-
itual truths were thus often repre-
sented by material symbols — objects,
acts, or institutions. In the more
general use of the word, a Scriptural
type is a prophetic symbol, " a shad-
ow of good things to come," Heb.
10:1, " but the body is Christ," Col.
2:17. The typical character of the
old dispensation is its most distin-
guishing feature. For example, the
paschal lamb and all the victims sac-
rificed under the law were types of
the Lamb of God, and illustrated his
great atonement; showing that guilt de-
served death and could only be atoned for
by the blood of an acceptable sacrifice.
But they were also intended to foretell the
coming of their great Antitype.
The Old Testament types include per-
sons, officers, objects, events, rites, places,
and institutions, which were significant and
appropriate as well as figurative. Thus
Adam and Melchizedek, the prophetic and
the priestly office, manna and the brazen
serpent, the smitten rock and the passage
over Jordan, the Passover and the Day of
Atonement, Canaan and the cities of ref-
uge, are Scriptural types of Christ.
However striking the points of resem-
blance which an Old Testament event or
object may present to something in the
New Testament, it is not properly a type
unless it was so appointed by God and
thus has something of a prophetic charac-
ter. Due care should therefore be taken to
distinguish between an illustration and a
type.
TYR AN'NUS, rider, the name of a person
at Ephesus in whose audience-room Paul
publicly proposed and defended the doc-
trines of the gospel for 2 years, Acts 19:9.
By some he is thought to have been a Greek
sophist, a teacher of rhetoric or philosophy,
apparently a friend of free discussion, and
very likely a convert finally to Christianity.
TYRE, or TY'RUS, a rock, the celebrated
emporium of Phoenicia, the seat of im-
mense wealth and power, situated on the
east coast of the Mediterranean, within the
limits of the tribe of Asher as assigned by
Joshua, Josh. 19:29, though never reduced
645
TYR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
TYR
to subjection, Judg. 1:31, 32. Tyre was a
" daughter of Zidon," lying 20 miles south,
but rapidly gained an ascendency over
this and all the other cities of Phoenicia,
which it retained with few exceptions to
the last. It is mentioned by neither Moses
nor Homer. At the time of the Judges the
Phoenicians were called Zidonians, Josh.
13:6; Judg. 18:7, and Virgil so calls the
PhcEnician founders of Carthage; but from
the time of David onward reference is fre-
quently made to Tyre in the books of the
Old Testament. Though it was a commer-
cial city, its government was regal, not re-
publican, Jer. 25:22; 27:3. Many Israelites
seem to have resided there, 2 Sam. 24:7.
There was a close alliance between David
and Hiram king of Tyre, which was after-
wards continued in the reign of Solomon;
and it was from the assistance afforded by
the Tyrians, both in artificers and materi-
als, that the house of David, and after-
wards the temple, were principally built,
2 Sam. 5:11 ; i Kin. 5; i Chr. 14; 2 Chr. 2:3;
9:10. The marriage of Ahab king of Israel
with Jezebel, a royal princess of Phoenicia,
brought great guilt and endless misfor-
tunes on the 10 tribes ; for the Tyrians were
gross idolaters, worshippers of Baal and
Ashtoreth, and addicted to all the vices of
heathenism. The Bible gives us graphic
descriptions of Tyre's immense exports and
imports — its precious metals, slaves and
brass, horses and mules, ebony and ivory,
wheat, oil, honey, wine, wool, and spices,
its frequent fairs, and its dealings with
many countries, from England to India.
Secular history informs us that Tyre pos-
sessed the empire of the seas, and drew
wealth and power from numerous colonies
on the shores of the Mediterranean and
Atlantic. The inhabitants of Tyre are
represented in the Old Testament as filled
with pride and luxury and all the sins
attendant on prosperity and immense
wealth ; judgments are denounced against
them in consequence of their idolatry and
wickedness. It exulted in the capture of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Ezek. 26:2,
as removing a commercial rival and the
city of Jehovah ; comp. 2 Kin. 23:19, 20;
and was denounced by the prophet Joel,
3 : 4-8, for selling children of Judah as
slaves to the Greeks, and by Amos, i :9, 10,
for delivering them as captives to Edom,
forgetting the "brotherly covenant" with
David. Phoenicia was invaded by Shal-
maneser not far from B. C. 723. and Tyre
was besieged by him and bv Sargon, and
646
probably became tributary for a time. Its
destructioti by Nebuchadnezzar was fore-
told, and in a few years followed, Isa. 23:1,
13; Ezek. 26:7-21; 27; 28:1-19; 29:18-20,
though it appears that the conqueror pro-
fitted less than he anticipated, and made
amends by his inroad on Egypt, Ezek.
29:18-20. Tyre was a double city, appar-
ently from a very early period, a part be-
ing on the mainland, 7 miles long, and a
part on an island less than a mile long and
half a mile from the shore. The siege
under Nebuchadnezzar lasted 13 years, and
at its end it would seem that the inhabi-
tants withdrew to insular Tyre, which was
enlarged and fortified and became opulent
and powerful. It had 2 harbors, the one
on the north a natural bay, that on the
south formed by a costly breakwater. It
fell for a time under Persian control, and
furnished materials for Zerubbabel's tem-
ple, Ezra 3:7. Its strength and resources
enabled it to withstand the utmost efforts
of Alexander the Great for the space of 7
months. It was at length taken by him in
332 B. C, having been first united to the
mainland by an immense causeway made
of the ruins of the old city, the site of which
was thus laid bare ; many thousands were
massacred, and 30,000, it is said, were sold
as slaves. After the death of Alexander
Tyre was ruled by the Seleucidae, having
been besieged by Antigonus 14 months. It
fell at last under the dominion of the Ro-
mans, and continued to enjoy a degree of
commercial prosperity, though the deterio-
ration of its harbor and the rise of Alexan-
dria and other maritime cities have made
it decline more and more. Our Saviour
once journeyed into the region of Tyre and
Sidon, Matt. 15:21, and may have visited
it in his youth, for it was only 40 miles
from Nazareth. A Christian church was
here established before A. D. 58, when
Paul spent a week there. Acts 21 : 3-7.
Comp. Matt. 11:21, 22. The church pros-
pered for several centuries, and councils
were held here, at one of which Athanasius
was condemned, A. D. 335. It fell into the
hands of the Moslems under Caliph Omar,
A. D. 633-638, and was still famed as a
strong fortress, as it was also in the age of
the Crusaders, by whom it was only taken
A. D. 1 1 24, 25 years after they had gained
Jerusalem. Since its reconquest by the
Turks, A. D. 1291, it has been in a ruinous
condition and often almost without inhabi-
tants. At present it is a poor town, called
Sur, slightly defended by its wall, and hav-
MODERN TYRE.
UCA
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
UNI
ing a population of less than 5,000. It occu-
pies the east side of what was formerly the
island, one mile long and half a mile from
the shore, thus inclosing two so-called har-
bors separated by Alexander's causeway,
which is now a broad isthmus. The only
real harbor is on the north, but even this is
too shallow to admit any but the smallest
class of vessels. It is filled and the north
coast of the island lined with stone col-
umns, whose size and countless number
evince the former magnificence of this
famous city. But its old glory is gone for
ever, and a few fishermen spread their nets
amid its ruins in the place of the merchant
princes of old, Ezek. 26:5, 14.
u.
U'CAL, sorrowful, Prov. 30:1, and Ith-
lEL, God is, apparently two disciples of
Agur; yet these names may be symbolical
of two classes of people addressed by the
wise man. Dr. Davidson renders the pas-
sage, " I am weary, O God, I am weary, O
God, and have become weak."
U'LAI, pure ivater, the clasic Eulae'us,
the river in Persia on the bank of which,
bythe city Shushan, Daniel had his vision
of the ram and the he-goat, Dan. 8:2-16.
Some 20 miles north of Shushan this
river, usually called there the Choas-
pes, was divided — one stream, generally
called the Eulaeus, passing down on the
east of Shushan and emptying into the
Kurun or Pasitigris, which flowed into
the Persian Gulf; the other stream, gen- ^
erally called the Choaspes, now the Ker-
khah, passing on the west of Shushan and
flowing southwest into the Tigris. The
bed of the Eulaeus, 900 feet wide, is now
dry.
VL,AM, /ronl, I., grandson of Manas-
seh, I Chr. 7:16.
II. A descendant of Saul, i Chr. 8:39, 40.
UL'LA, yoke, a brave prince of the
tribe of Asher, i Chr. 7:39.
UM'MAH, 7aiion, a city on the north
border of Asher, Josh. 19:30; now 'Abna
esh Shaub, 6 miles northeast of Achzib.
UNBELIEF' of the testimony of God
makes him a liar, and is a sin of the great-
est enormity. It is the work of a depraved
and guilty heart ; for no one without this
bias could reject the abundant witness God
furnishes of the truth of his word, Psa. 14:1 ;
Rom. 1:19-23. Especially is unbelief to-
wards an offered Saviour an unspeakable
crime, justly sealing the condemnation of
him who thus refuses to be saved, John
3:11, iS; 5:38; I John 5:10.
UNCIR'CUMCISED persons, men not
having undergone the initiatory rite of ad-
mission to the Hebrew commonwealth;
heathen. The term is used figuratively of
lips thick and slow of speech, Exod. 6:12,
30, ears dull of hearing, Jer. 6:10, indica-
ting hearts impervious to gospel truth,
Deut. 10:16; Acts 7:51; also of the first
fruit of a tree, Lev. 19:23. See Circum-
cision.
UNCLEAN'. See Clean.
UNCTION, anointing, 1 John 2:20, 27,
the special communication of the influence
of the Holy Spirit by Christ to believers,
leading them into all truth and holiness.
Often used in our times to denote divine
aid in preaching, and implying something
far above mere earnestness and warmth.
UNDERGIRD', passing a cable several
times under and around a ship and tight-
ening it on deck to prevent the working
and parting of the timbers and planks in
a gale. Acts 27:17. The process is called
frapping, and has been resorted to in vari-
ous instances in modern times.
UNDERTAKE', to be surety for, Isa.
38:14.
U'NICORN, one-hortied, Gr. Monokeros,
by which the original Heb. Reem is trans-
lated by the Seventy. The Hebrew word
means erect, and has no reference to the
number of horns. In Deut. 33:17 we should
read, according to the Hebrew, "the horns
of a unicorn," not " unicorns." The reem
is usually associated in Scripture with cat-
tle, Isa. 34:6, 7, and is now understood to
denote a huge animal of the bison or buf-
falo kind, the Bos primigenius, or aurocks,
now extinct, of immense strength and fe-
rocity, like the wild bull so frequently rep-
647
UNK
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
UR
resented on the Assyrian monuments, as
formidable for hunters as the lion.
UNKNOWN' GOD, An, not Thk, Acts
17:23; not Jehovah, but some supposed
divinity who had befriended the Athenians,
it was claimed, in a time of general trouble.
UNKNOWN' TONGUE, literally "an-
other tongue." See Tongues.
UNLEARN'ED, the translation of four
Greek words, meaning "unlettered" in
Acts 4: 13, "untaught " in 2 Pet. 3:16, "un-
instructed " in 2 Tim. 2:23 ; a "private per-
son " in 2 Cor. 14:16, 23, 24. The latter
word is translated "rude" in 2 Cor. 11:6.
All denote a person without education.
UNLEAVENED BREAD, made from un-
fermeiUed dough, which the Hebrews, like
the modern Bedouins, often used, Gen.
19:3; Judg. 6:19; I Sam. 28:24; though
they were familiar with leaven or yeast,
made from lees of wine or from flour and
water allowed to stand, Lev. 7:13; 23:17.
At the Passover festival mileavened bread
was prescribed as a memorial of the haste
of their departure from Egypt, and every
particle of fermenting matter was scrupu-
lously removed from their houses, Exod.
12:19; 13:7; I Cor. 5:7. See Leaven and
Passover.
UNPAR'DONABLE SIN, Matt. 12:31, 32.
See Bi,.Asi'iii:.MV.
UNTO' WARD, Acts 2:40, perverse.
UNWIT'TINGLY, Lev. 22:14; Josh. 20:3,
5, not purposely.
UPHAR'SIN, and they are dividing^, a
Chaldee word, an active plural form with
the conjunction prefixed; while peres or
p HARES, from the same root, is a passive
participle, and means divided, Dan. 5:25, 28.
U'PHAZ, a region producing fine gold,
Jer. 10:9; Dan. 10:5. In Hebrew it differs
from Ophir by only one letter, and it is
thought by many to denote the same re-
gion.
UP'PER CHAM'BER or ROOM, Heb.
aliyyali, an apartment on the roof of a
hoiise, sometimes projecting over the porch
and communicating with it by a private
staircase; translated "parlor" in Judg.
3:20-24, and "loft" in i Kin. 17:19, 23,
A. V. It was often the most desirable
summer room in the house, 2 Kin. 23:12,
and a prophet was honored by being there
lodged, I Kin. 17:19; 2 Kin. 4:10, 11. See
House; also Mark 14:15; Acts 1:13; 9:37;
20:8.
UR, light, I., Ur of the Chal'dees, the
home of Terah and the birthplace of Abra-
POOL OF ABRAHAM AT ORFAH.
ham. Gen. II :28, 31 ; 15:7; Neh. 9:7; Acts
7:2-4. It has long been identified with the
648
city of Orfah, in Northwestern Mesopota-
mia, a town of 40,000 inhabitants — Turks,
URB
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
URI
Arabians, Kurds, Jews, and Armenian Chris-
tians— which both Jews and Moslems honor
as the early home of Abraham. There is a
pool near by, bearing his name, and a cave
in which he is said to have dwelt is covered
by a specially sacred mosque. Other au-
thorities have placed Ur at Warka in South-
ern Mesopotamia, 120 miles southeast of
Babylon. See Erech. Later geographers
incline to place it at Mugheir, near the
west bank of the Euphrates, just above its
junction with the Tigris, 125 miles from the
Persian Gulf. This region of Southern
Babylonia seems to have been the ancient
Chaldsea, while the country north of it was
Mesopotamia, Job 1:17; Isa. 13:19; 43:14.
The ruins of Mugheir cover a space 1,000
yards by 800 — a number of low mounds
surrounded by countless tombs, with re-
mains of a very ancient temple in several
stages, in each corner of which an inscribed
cylinder was found, and tablets, the rec-
ord of a series of kings beginning with
Urukh, about B. C. 2230, to Nabonnedus,
B. C. 540, the last of the Babylonian kings,
Avho associated with himself Belshazzar his
eldest son. See Belshazzar. The re-
gion around Mugheir is now a dismal
swamp.
II. Father of one of David's warriors,
I Chr. 11:35.
UR'BANE, R. V. UR'BANUS, of the city,
Rom. 16:9, a Roman disciple, Paul's com-
panion in Christian labors.
\i''R.l, fiery, I., son of Hur and father of
Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, Exod. 31:2;
35-30; 38:22; I Chr. 2:20; 2 Chr. 1:5.
II. Father of one of Solomon's providers
in Gilead, i Kin. 4:19.
III. A gate-keeper in the restored tem-
ple, Ezra 10:24.
URI'AH, or URI'JAH; in the A. V., Matt.
1 : 6, URI'AS ; the light of Jehovah. 1. A Hit-
tite, one of David's 2,7 chief warriors, 2 Sam.
23:39; I Chr. 11:41, husband of the beauti-
ful Bath-sheba, to whom he was devotedly
attached, 2 Sam. 12:3. He had a home in
Jerusalem near the royal palace, 2 Sam.
11:2, was a patriot of a high and noble
spirit— refusing to visit his home in war-
time at the suggestion of David, who hoped
thus to conceal his own crime, ver. 9-13 —
but was treacherously exposed to certain
death in a battle with the Ammonites, by
the order of David, who thus secured Bath-
sheba for himself, ver. 16-27; 12:9-15.
II. A high-priest in the reign of Ahaz,
supposed to have succeeded the .Azariah
under king Uzziah, and been followed by
the Azariah under king Hezekiah. He is
called "a faithful witness" by Isaiah, 8:2,
but erred in constructing at the king's re-
quest an altar unlike that prescribed in
the law, Exod. 27: 1-8 ; 38: 1-7, after the pat-
tern of one the king had seen at Damascus,
and giving it the place of honor in the holy
temple, 2 Kin. 16:10-16; compare 23:12;
2 Chr. 28:23-25.
III. A priest after the Captivity, Ezra
8:33; Neh. 3:4, 21.
IV- Son of Shemaiah, a faithful prophet
from Kirjath-jearim in Judah in the time
of Jehoiakim. He confirmed the predic-
tions of Jeremiah against Judah; and hav-
ing fled to Egypt for refuge from the en-
raged king, and been sent back by Pha-
raoh-necho on demand, he was wickedly
slain and dishonorably buried, Jer. 26:20-
23. Comp. 2 Kin. 24:4.
V. A priest who assisted Ezra when he
read the book of the law to the people,
Neh. 8:4.
U'RIEL,/r^ of God, I., father of Uzziah,
a Kohathite Levite, i Chr. 6:24.
II. A chief of the Kohathites in David's
time, prominent in bringing up the ark
from Obed-edom's house to Jerusalem,
I Chr. 15:5, II.
III. Father of the favorite wife of Reho-
boam, granddaughter of Absalom, 2 Chr.
11:20, and mother of Abijah, 2 Chr. 13:2.
U'RIM AND THUM'MIM, the lights and
perfections, or light and truth; compare
Psa. 43:3; a divinely appointed means of
"inquiring of the Lord," its name being
expressive of the truth of his revelations.
It would appear to have been made known
to the Jews at some time prior to its first
mention in Scripture, Exod. 28:15-30. It
was placed within or on the high-priest's
breastplate. Lev. 8:8, and probably is to
be understood as present when the ephod
is mentioned — being worn on the outside
of it. Num. 27:21; I Sam. 14:3; 23:9, 11;
30:7, 8; 2 Sam. 2:1; and when counsel is
asked of God by the high-priest, Judg. 1:1;
20:18, 28; I Sam. 14:18, 19. It was given
as a special prerogative to the "holy" or
consecrated tribe of Levi, in the line of its
high-priests, Deut. 33:8, 9; but is not men-
tioned after Abiathar's day, i Sam. 23:6-12,
28:6; 2 Sam. 21:1, and had been forfeited
for some time at the era of the Captivity,
Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65; comp. John 11:51.
King Sau! sought information through it,
but was not answered, i Sam. 28:6. The
teraphim seem to have become an unau-
thorized substitutefor it, Ezek. 21:21 ; Zech,
649
usu
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
UZZ
10:2. It is not known what were the mate-
rial and form of the Urim and Thummim,
nor ill what manner God thereby revealed
his will. According to Joseplius and the
rabbis, the 12 precious stones of the breast-
plate formed this divine oracle; and some
conjecture that thej^ revealed God's pur-
pose .by emitting an extraordinary lustre.
According to others the words Urim and
Thummim, or else the sacred name of
Jehovah, engraved on a plate of gold or on
one or two precious stones, comp. Rev.
2:17, and placed within the breastplate,
formed the oracle. When the Urim and
Thummim were to be used in inquiring of
the Lord, if at Jerusalem, the high-priest
put on his robes, and going into the Holy
Place, stood before the curtain that sepa-
rated the Holy Place from the Most Holy
Place; then turning towards the ark and
the mercy-seat, upon which the divine
presence rested, he proposed the subject
respecting which he desired " light and
truth." See Breastplate.
U'SURY in the A. V. means only inter-
est, the word usury not having formerly
assumed the bad sense which it now has,
Luke 19:23. The Jews might require in-
terest of foreigners, Deut. 23:19, 20, but
were forbidden to receive it from each
other, Exod. 22 : 25 ; being instructed to
lend money, etc., in a spirit of brotherly
kindness, " hoping for nothing again,"
Deut. i5:7->*< Luke 6:33-35. The exact-
ing of real usury, Heb. devouring, is often
rebuked, Neh. 5:7, 10; Psa. 15:5; Prov.
28:8; Jer. 15:10; Ezek. 22:12, 14. Land
was often mortgaged at an excessive rate
of interest. Lev. 25:36,37; Ezek. 18:8, 13,
17, and the abuse was condemned by Ne-
hemiah, 5:3-13, and by our Lord, Luke
6:30-35; yet reasonable interest for money
loaned is not censured, Matt. 25:27. The
Mosaic code was adapted to a non-com-
mercial people, but its principles of equity
and charity are of perpetual and universal
obligation.
UZ, wooded, fertile, L, son of Aram, Gen.
10:23, and grandson of Shem, i Chr. 1:17.
IL In the A. V. Huz, son of Nahor and
Milcah, Gen. 22:21.
III. A Horite prince. Gen. 36:28; i Chr.
1:42.
IV. The land where Job dwelt, Job 1:1.
The Seventy call it Ausitis. It appears to
have been a region in Arabia Deserta, be-
tween Palestine, Idum£Ea, and the Euphra-
tes, within reach of the Sabaeans and Chal-
daeans. Job 1:15, 17, near the Edomites,
650
Job 30:6, 7; Lam. 4:21, and at one time a
part of Idumaa. Eliphaz the Temanite
was an Idumtean. See Teman. It is un-
certain wiiether its inhabitants were de-
scendants of Uz the son of Aram, Huz the
son of Nahor, or Uz the Horite, Gen. 10:23;
22:21; 36:28. They appear to have had
much knowledge of the true God and the
principles of virtue and religion.
U'ZAI, strong, Neh. 3:25.
Vl'ZPkV., going /ortli,\.\\Q 6th son of Jok-
tan. Gen. 10:27; i Chr. 1:21. His home is
identified by Jewish writers with San'a in
Yemen, Arabia Felix, 150 miles from Aden
and 100 from the Red Sea — a large city on
an imposing site, with fortifications, fine
houses, minarets, etc., and having some
15,000 Jews mingled with the Arabs. In
Ezek. 27: 19 some interpreters read " from
Uzal," instead of " going to and fro." In
the R. V. the clause reads, " Vedan and
Javan traded with yarn for thy wares."
UZ'ZA, strength, I., son of Ehud the
Benjamite, i Chr. 8:7.
II. Owner of the burial-place of Manas-
seh and Anion, a garden by the royal pal-
ace, 2 Kin. 21 :i8, 26 ; 2 Chr. 33:20.
III. A father of Nethinim, Ezra 2:49;
Neh. 7:51.
UZ'ZAH, strength, in some places in the
A. V. UzzA, I Chr. 6:29; 13:7, 9, 11.
I. A Merarite Levite, i Chr. 6:29.
II. A Levite, son of Abinadab, who fell
dead while conducting the ark from Kir-
jath-jearim towards Jerusalem, after its 20
years' stay in his father's house, 2 Sam.
6; I Chr. 13. He was the 2d son, i Sam.
7:1, Eleazar being the ist and Ahio the 3d.
He was walking by the side of the ark
when the oxen stumbled, and he rudely
caught it lest it should fall to the ground.
In his person God chastised the prevalent
irreverence, which was intimated in the
rude jolting along of the ark by oxen, ex-
posed both to sight and to touch, comp.
i Sam. 6:13-19, while the law required it
to be fully covered by the priests and then
reverently borne by staves on the shoul-
ders of the Levites, who were not to look
upon or touch the ark itself on pain of
death, Exod. 25:14; Num. 4:5, 15, 19, 20.
Comp. 1 Chr. 15:2, 13, 15. The place long
bore the name of Perez-uzzah, " the breach
on Uzzah," 2 Sam. 6:8, and was near the
threshir-i^'-floor of Chidon, disaster, or Na-
chon, stroke.
UZ'ZI, my strength, the name of 6 He-
brews, I Chr. 6:5, 6, 51; 7:2; 7:7; 9:8;
Neh. 11:22; 12:19.
uzz
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VEI
UZZI'A, strength of Jehovah, one of Da-
vid's champions, i Chr. 11:44.
UZZI'AH, strength of Jehovah, I., a Ko-
hathite Levite, one of Samuel's ancestors,
I Chr. 6:24; called Azariah, ver. 36.
II. Father of one of David's purveyors,
1 Chr. 27:25.
III. The loth king of the Southern king-
dom, called OziAS in Matt. 1:8, 9, A. V.
He reigned 52 years, B. C. 810-759. -^
great earthquake occurred in his reign,
Amos 1:1; Zech. 14:5. See Azariah.
IV. A descendant of Judah, living in Je-
rusalem after the Captivity, Neh. 11:4
V. A faithful priest in Nehemiah's time,
Ezra 10:21.
UZZI'EL, strength of God, the name of
6 Hebrews. I. A Benjamite, son of Bela,
I Chr. -J -.J. — II. A Kohathite Levite, Exod.
6:i8, 22; Lev. 10:4; Num. 3:27; i Chr.
23:12, 20; 26:23. — m- A. musician, son of
Heman, i Chr. 25:4, called Azareel in ver.
18. — IV. A Levite, son of Jeduthun, 2 Chr.
29 : 14. — V. A warlike Simeonite chieftain,
who completed the subjugation of the
Amalekites defeated by Saul and David,
1 Chr. 4:42.— VI. A repairer of the walls of
Jerusalem, Neh. 3:8.
V.
VAG'ABOND, in the A. V. a wanderer,
not necessarily worthless or vicious, Gen.
4:12; Psa. 109:10; Acts 19:13.
VAIL. See Veil.
VALE, VAL'LEY. Five different He-
brew words so translated are used to des-
ignate different varieties of low ground
intermingled with the mounts and ridges
of Palestine. See Canaan. One, biqah,
generally denotes a wide and level plain
bordered by higher ground, and is often
rendered "plain," Gen. 11:2; Isa. 40:4;
Amos 1:5; it is applied to the plain of Ono,
Neh. 6:2, of Coele-Syria, Josh. 11:17; 12:7,
and of the lower Jordan, Deut. 34:3.
A 2d term, emej, denotes a long and
wide valley between hills, as the valley of
Ajalon, Josh. 10:12, of Hebron, and of Je-
hoshaphat, Joel 3:2, 12,
The 3d, gai, designates a deep and ra-
vine-like valley, as that of Hinnom, Josh.
15:8. It is applied to the valley of Salt,
2 Sam. 8:13, the ravine where Moses was
buried, Deut. 34:6, and to the "valley of
the shadow of death," Psa. 23:4, where it
images an extremely perilous and cheer-
less state of the soul. See view in Sela.
The 4th, nachal, corresponds to the mod-
ern " wady," a valley or water-course, more
or less filled with a rapid stream in the
rainy season, but for most of the year dry.
Palestine abounds in " wadys," and the He-
brew term often occurs, and is translated
"brook," "plain," "river," and "valley."
It is applied to the brook Gerar, Eshcol,
Cherith, Kidron, etc.
The 5th term, shephelah, is appropriated
to the great plain sloping down from the
mountains of Judah to the Mediterranean,
often called " the plain ;" in the R. V. " low-
lands," Deut. 1:7; Josh. 9:1; 10:40; 11:2,
16; 15:33; I Kin. 10:27; I Chr. 27:28;
2 Chr. 1:15; 9:27; Jer. 32:44; 33:13; Obad.
19; Zech. 7:7. See Shephelah.
Still another Heb. term of specific appli-
cation, the Arabah, is found in Num. 22:1;
35 : 1 ; Josh. 3:16; 2 Sam. 2 : 29, etc., and de-
notes the great valley south of the Dead
Sea, and its prolongation north along that
sea and the Lower Jordan. See Arab.\h.
VAN'ITY does not usually denote in
Scripture self-conceit or personal pride,
2 Pet. 2:18, but sometimes emptiness and
fruitlessness. Job 7:3; Psa. 144:4; Eccl. i;
often wickedness, particularly falsehood,
Deut. 32:21; Psa. 4:2; 12:2; 24:4; 26:4;
41:6; 119:37; 144:8, and sometimes idols
and idol-worship, 2 Kin. 17:15; Jer. 2:5;
18:15; Jonah 2:'i. Comp. Paul's expres-
sion, they " turned the truth of God into a
lie," Rom. 1:25. "In vain," in the third
commandment, Exod. 20.7, means "unne-
cessarily and irreverently." "Vain men,"
2 Sam. 6:20; 2 Chr. 13:7, are dissolute and
worthless fellows.
VASH'TI, beautiful, the queen of Persia,
divorced by Ahasuerus or Xerxes her hus-
band for refusing to appear unveiled before
his revelling company, Esth. i, resenting
apparently the degradation to the level of
a dancing-girl.
VEIL, an indispensable part of the out-
door dress of Eastern ladies, who live se-
cluded from the sight of all men except
their own husbands and their nearest rela-
tives, Gen. 24:65. If an Egyptian lady is
surprised uncovered, she quickly draws
her veil over her face, with some exclama-
tion like, " Oh, my misfortune !" To lift or
remove one's veil was to insult and de-
grade her. Song 5:7 ; I Cor. 11:5, 10. The
custom of wearing veils, however, has not
been prevalent at all times. Veils do not
appear on the Assyrian or Egyptian sculp-
tures. Mohammedanism has done much
to effect the change. Sarah the wife of
Abraham, and Rebekah and her compan-
651
VEN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VI N
ions at the well do not appear to have worn
them, Gen. 12:14, 15; 24:16, 65; 29:10;
I Sam. 1:12. Comp. also Gen. 38:14, 15;
Prov. 7:13. Moses put a veil over his face
when he had done speaking to the people,
Exod. 34:33. See AiiiMKLECH.
Veils were of diflerent kinds. Those
now worn in Syria and Egypt may be divi-
ded into two classes, the one large and
sometimes thick, the othef small and of
lighter materials. The usual indoor veil
is of thin muslin, attached to the head-dress
and falling over the back, sometimes to the
feet. A similar veil is added to the front
of the head-dress on going abroad,
partially covering the face and hang-
ing low. The other veil, to be worn
in the street, is a large mantle or
sheet, of black silk, linen, or some
coarse material, so ample as to en-
velop the whole person and dress, lea-
ving but one of the eyes exposed, Song
4:9. Such was the veil worn by Ruth,
3:15, properly translated "mantle"
in Isa. 3:22. Many women wear no
other veil than this. The Greek word
translated "power" in i Cor. 11:10
probably means a veil, as a token of
her husband's rightful authority and
her own subordination. This was to be
worn in their Christian assemblies "be-
cause of the angels;" that is. because of
the presence either of true angels or of the
officers of the church, w-ho being unaccus-
tomed to see the unveiled faces of women,
might be distracted by them in the dis-
charge of their public duties.
For the " veil of the temple," see Tab-
KRNAci.R and Tkmplk.
VEN'GEANCE, in Deut. 32:35; Rom.
12:19; Heb. 10:30- Jude 7, means retribu-
652
tive justice — a prerogative of God, with
which thbse interfere who seek to avenge
themselves. See Anger. In Acts 28:4
many suppose that the islanders meant
the goddess of justice, Dike, whom the
Greeks and Romans regarded as a daugh-
ter of Jupiter, and feared as an indepen-
dent, just, and unappeasable deity.
VERMIL'ION, a brilliant red color, re-
sembling scarlet. It was associated with
idolatry, Jer. 22:14; Ezek. 23:14; and on
the walls of Khorsabad, and on a marble
from Nimrtid now in the British Museum,
traces of vermilion still remain. The ver-
milion now used is a sulphuret of mercury.
VETCH'ES. See FiTCHES.
VEX, harass, or oppress, Exod. 22:21;
Num. 25:17; I Sam. 14:47; Matt. 15:22;
17:15; Acts 12:1. " Vexation of spirit," in
Eccl. 1 : 14; 2: II, 17, 26, etc., is rendered in
the R. V. "striving after wind."
VI'ALS. See Censer.
VILE, in Phil. 3:21, humiliated; in Jas.
2:2, poor.
VIL'LAGE, a collection of dw^ellings less
large and regular than a town or city,
I Sam. 6:18 , Neh. 62 ; Luke 8:1, or a tem-
porary pastoral settlement, tents or huts in
a circle, witli some inclosure by a hedge or
otherwise, and a gate, Josh. 13:23, 28;
15:32 ; often the suburbs of a walled town,
Lev. 25:31, 34; Mark 6:56; 827.
VINE. Of this valuable and familiar
plant there are several varieties, the natu-
ral products of warm climates, where also
it has been cultivated from the earliest
times. Hence the early and frequent men-
tion of its products in Scripture, Gen. 9:20;
14:18; 19:32; Job 1:18. The grape-vine
grew plentifully in Palestine, Deut. 6:11;
8:8, and was particularly excellent in some
of the districts. The Scriptures celebrate
the vines of Sibmah and Eshcol ; and pro-
fane authors mention the excellent wines
VIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VIN
of Gaza, Sarepta, Lebanon, Sharon, Aske-
lon, and Tyre. See Sorek. The grapes
of Egypt, Gen. 40:9-11, being small, we
may easily conceive of the surprise which
was occasioned to the Israelites by wit-
nessing the bunch of grapes brought by
the spies to the camp from the valley of
Eshcol, Num. 13:23, 24. The account of
Moses, however, is confirmed by the testi-
mony of several travellers; and even in
England a bunch of Syrian grapes has
been produced which weighed 19 lbs., was
23 inches in length and 19^ in its greatest
diameter. At the present day, although
the Mohammedan religion does not favor
the cultivation of the vine, there is no want
of vineyards in Palestine. Besides the
large quantities of grapes and raisins which
are daily sent to the markets of Jerusa-
lem and other neighboring places, Hebron
alone, in the first half of the i8th century,
annually sent 300 camel-loads, or nearly
300,000 lbs. weight, of grape juice, or honey
of raisins, to Egypt.
In the East grapes enter very largely
into the provisions at an entertainment,
and in various forms contribute much to
the sustenance of the people. See Gr.>\pes.
To show the abundance of vines which
should fall to the lot of Judah in the parti-
tion of the promised land, Jacob, in his
prophetic benediction, says of this tribe, he
shall be found
" Binding his colt to the vine,
And to the choice vine the foal of his ass ;
Washing his garments in wine,
His clothes in the blood of the grape."
Gen. 49 : II.
Vines are usually planted in rows, 8 or 10
feet apart in each direction, with strong
stakes at intervals, 6 or 8 feet high, between
which the vines are festooned. In many
places, where the land is uneven or on hill-
sides, they spread over the ground and
rocks unsupported. Often, however, they
are trained upon trellis-work over walls,
trees, arbors, the porches and walls of
houses, and at times within the house on
the sides of the central court ; thus grow-
ing, the vine became a beautiful emblem
of domestic love, peace, and plenty, i Kin.
4:25; Psa. 128:3; Mic. 4:4. As a wood it
was of little worth, Ezek. 15:2-6.
The law enjoined that he who planted a
vine should not eat of the produce of it be-
fore the 5th year. Lev. 19:23-25. Nor did
Hebrews gather their grapes on the year
of Jubilee or the sabbatical year ; the fruit
was then left for the poor, the orphan, and
the stranger, Exod. 23:11 ; Lev. 25:4, 5, 11,
and the gleanings every year, Lev. 19:10;
Deut. 24:21. At anytime a traveller was
permitted to gather and eat grapes in a
vineyard as he passed along, but was not
permitted to carry any away, Deut. 23 : 24.
Another generous provision of the Mosaic
code exempted from liability to serve in
war a man who, after four years of labor
and of patience, was about to gather the
first returns from his vineyard, Deut. 20:6.
Josephus describes a magnificent and
costly vine of pure gold, with precious
stones for grapes, with which Herod
adorned the lofty eastern gate of the Holy
Place. It was perhaps in view of this that
our Saviour said, " I am the true Vine,"
and illustrated the precious truth of his
oneness with his people, John 15:1-8.
"VINE OF SOD'OM," Deut. 32:32. See
Sodom, Vine of.
For the " wild grapes" in Isa. 5:2, 4, see
under Grapes.
VIN'EGAR, the product of the second or
acetous fermentation of vinous liquors.
The term sometimes designates a thin,
sour wine, much used by laborers and by
the Roman soldiers. Num. 6:3; Ruth 2:14;
2 Chr. 2:10. It was given to our Saviour
on the cross. Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36;
John 19:29, 30; and was previously offered
to him, mingled with bitter ingredients to
deaden pain, and refused by him, Matt.
27:34; Mark 15:23; comp. Psa. 69:21. See
Gall. In other places it denotes the com-
mon sharp vinegar, which furnished the
wise man with two significant illustrations,
Prov. 10:26; 25:20.
VINE'YARD. The Jews often planted
their vineyards on the side of a terraced
hill or mountain, Jer. 31 : 5 (see Mountain),.
the stones being gathered out and the space
hedged round with thorns or walled, Isa.
5:1-6; Psa. 80:13; Song 2:15; Matt. 21:33.
Vineyards were sometimes rented for a
share of their produce. Matt. 21 -.3^, 34 ; and
from other passages we may perhaps infer
that a good vineyard consisted of 1,000
vines, and produced a rent of 1,000 silver-
lings or shekels of silver, Isa. 7:23, and
that it required 200 more to pay the dress-
ers. Song 8:11, 12. In these vineyards the
keepers and vine-dressers labored, dig-
ging, planting, propping, and pruning or
purging the vines, John 15:2, gathering
the grapes, and making wine. The vine-
yard tower is often large enough to lodge
them ; and they had to guard not only
against robbers, but against wild-boars,
653
VIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VIR
jackals, birds, and locusts. They formed
a distinct class among cultivators of the
ground, and their task was sometimes la-
borious and regarded as menial, 2 Kin.
25:12; 2 Chr. 26:10; Song i:6; Isa. 61:5.
Scripture alludes to the fragrance of the
" vines with the tender grapes," Song 2: 13,
and draws from the vineyard many illus-
trations and parables, Judg. 9:12; Matt.
20:1; 21:28. The vineyard of Naboth,
I Kin. 21, has become a perpetual emblem
of whatever is violently taken from the
poor by the rich or the powerful. The de-
serted hut or tower, in which a watchman
had kept guard during the season of ripe
grapes, Psa. 80:12, 13; Song 2: 15, becomes,
when all are gathered, an apt image of
desolation, Isa. 1:8. A beautiful allegory
in Psalm 80 represents the church as a
vineyard, planted, defended, cultivated,
and watered by God.
The VINTAGE followed the wheat harvest
and the threshing. Lev. 26:5; Amos 9:13.
The " first ripe grapes " were gathered in
June, or later on elevated ground, Num.
13:20; and grapes continued to be gath-
ered for four months afterwards. The gen-
eral vintage, however, was in September,
when the clusters of grapes were gathered
with a sickle and put into baskets, Jer. 6:9,
carried and thrown into the wine-vat or
wine-press, where they were probably first
trodden by men and then pressed. Rev.
14:18-20. It was a laborious task, light-
ened with songs, jests, and shouts of mirth,
Jer. 25:30; 48:33. It is mentioned as a
mark of the great work and power of the
Messiah that he had trodden the figurative
wine-press alone, and of the people there
was none with him, Isa. 63:1-3 ; Rev. 19:15.
The vintage was a season of great mirth,
Isa. 16:9, 10, and often of excesses and idol-
atry', Judg. 9:27; while the mourning and
languishing of the vine was a sj-mbol of
general distress, Isa. 24:7; Hab. 3:17;
Mai. 3:11. Of the juice of the squeezed
grapes were formed wine and vinegar.
See Press.
Grapes were also dried into raisins. A
part of Abigail's present to David was 100
clusters of raisins, i Sam. 25:18; and when
Ziba met David his present contained the
same quantity, 2 Sam. 16:1; i Sam. 30:12;
I Chr. 12:40. Respecting other uses of the
fruits of the vine, see Grapes, Honey,
Vinegar, and Wine.
VINE'YARDS, PLAIN OF THE, Judg.
11:33, in the R. V. " Abel-cheramim." See
Abel-carmaim.
654
vrOL, Isa. 5:12; Amos 5:23; 6:5, a
stringed instrument of music, elsewhere
translated " psaltery." See Music and
Harp. It was used in the worship of Jeho-
vah, I Kin. 10:12; I Chr. 15:16; 25:1;
2 Chr. 20:28; and of idols, Dan. 3:5, 7;
and also at banquets and festivals, 2 Chr.
20: 28 : Isa. 5:12.
EASTERN VIPER.
VI'PER, a genus of serpents noted for the
virulence of their poison, which is said to
be one of the most dangerous in the animal
kingdom. Hence the viper is a symbol of
whatever is most evil and destructive. Job
20:16; Isa. 30:6; 59:5. As such the term
was applied by Christ and by John to cer-
tain classes of the Jews, Matt. 3:7; 12 : 34 ;
^3'-33, Luke 3: 7. Paul's escape from the
bite of a viper in Malta led the people to
believe that he was a god in human form,
Acts 28:3. A species of viper in Northern
Africa and Southeastern Asia — having
bright yellow and brown spots, with black-
ish specks, and being 2 feet long and thick
as a man's arm — is called the most formid-
able serpent there ; and Hasselquist speaks
of a viper in Cyprus whose bite produces a
universal gangrene, and occasions death
within a few hours. See Serpents.
VIR'GIN, usually an unmarried female,
Gen. 24:16; Exod. 22:15-17; Lev. 21:3, 14;
Deut. 22:23; Judg. 21:12; but in i Cor.
7:25; Rev. 14:4 an unmarried young man.
Fortified and guarded cities are often per-
sonified as virgins, 6-. g., Tyre and Baby-
lon, Isa. 23 : 12 ; 47: 1 ; so also Egypt, Jer.
46:11, and the chosen people, Jer. 14:17;
18:13; 31:4; Lam. 1:15; Amos 5 : 2.
VIR'TUE, Mark 5 : 30 ; Luke 6:19; 8 : 46,
healing power. In Phil. 4 : 8 ; 2 Pet. 1 :3, 5,
Christian manliness. In the general sense,
true virtue towards men is inseparable
VIS
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VUL
ffom piety towards God ; and together the
two words describe the character and life
of one who loves God supremely and his
fellow-men as truly as himself. " Virtu-
ous," in Ruth 3:11; Prov. 12:4; 31:10,
means capable and worthy.
VIS'ION, Num. 24 : 15, 16 ; i Sam. 3 : i, a
mode by which God often revealed him-
self and his will to men, usually his own
servants, and especially in the early ages
when his written Word was incomplete.
Visions came to men while asleep, Job
4:13; Dan. 2:19; 4:10; 7:2,7; and while
in a trance, Dan. 10:5-9; Acts 11:5; and
the receiver was no doubt assured of their
divine origin. The term is often applied
to the revelations of the Holy Spirit to the
prophets.
VOCA'TION, a divine calling, either to
some special service, Exod. 31:2; Isa.
22:20, or from sin and Satan to holiness
and God, Eph. 4:1; 2 Thess. 2:14. See
Call.
VOL'UME. in the R. V. "roll," Psa. 40:7;
Heb. 10:7. See Book.
VOW, a voluntary special dedication of
person or property to sacred uses, a free-
will offering made to God, or a promise to
do some good thing or abstain from some
lawful enjoyment, under the influence of
devotion to him, of gratitude for his good-
ness, of imminent danger, the apprehension
of future evils, or the desire of future bless-
ings. To fulfil a vow binding one to sin
was to add sin to sin ; but no considera-
tions of inconvenience or loss could absolve
one from a vow, Psa. 15 :4 ; Mai. i : 14. Ja-
cob going into Mesopotamia vowed the
tenthof his income, and promised to offer it
at Beth-el to the honor of God, Gen. 28:20-
22; 31:13; 35:1-3. Moses enacted several
laws for the regulation and e.xecution of
vows. " If thou shalt forbear to vow, it
shall be no sin in thee; that which is
gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and
perform," Deut. 23:21, 23; Judg. 11:35;
Eccl. 5:4, 5. The vows of minqrs, etc.,
were not binding without the consent of
the head of the family. Num. 30. A man
might devote himself or his children to the
Lord, Num. 6:2. Jephthah devoted his
daughter, Judg. 11:30-40; and Samuel was
vowed to the service of the Lord, i Sam.
i:ii, 27, 28. If men or women vowed
themselves to the service of the Lord, they
were obliged to adhere strictly to his ser-
vice; but persons and things so devoted
were sometimes redeemed, according to
specified provisions. Lev. 27. These self-
imposed services were more in keeping
with the ancient dispensation, in which
outward sacrifices and observances had so
large a share, than with enlightened Chris-
tianity. See CoRBAN, Nazarites, Rech-
ABITES.
VUL'GATE, the name of the Latin ver-
sion of the Scriptures used by the Church
of Rome, the parent of all the versions of
the Bible made by that church, and for
manj' centuries almost the only Bible in
general use in Central and Western Eu-
rope. The Old Testament was originally a
translation of the Greek Septuagint, not of
the Hebrew. This version, with the Greek
and Syriac, and the N. T. Latin //a/a, were
used by Jerome, A.D. 383-404 ; he also trans-
lated anew from the Hebrew. The final
revision of the Vulgate was in 1592.
VUL'TURE, a large bird of prey, belong-
ing to the genus hawks, and including a
great many species. It is pronounced un-
clean by Moses, Lev. 11:14: Deut. 14:13.
See Birds. The word is used in the Bible
to translate three Hebrew words, ayyah,
daah, and dayyah. The ayyah, better trans-
lated " kite " in Lev. 11:14; Deut. 14:13, is
believed to denote the Milvus regalis, very
common in Palestine in winter, hanging
about camps and villages for garbage, gath-
ering in groups on the trees in stormy
weather, hovering high in the air in fine
weather, keenly watching for its prey on
the ground, carrion, or rats, mice, frogs,
and young birds. It is of a reddish color,
27 inches long, and has a long forked tail.
It is called the " falcon " in Job 28:7, R. V.
By the dayyah, Deut. 14:13 ; Isa. 34:15, and
perhaps the daah, Lev. 11:14, is probably
meant the Black Kite, Milvus migrans, a
bird about 21 inches long, exceedingly com-
mon in Palestine except during the winter,
655
VVAF
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAJ.
building its nest loosely on ledges or trees,
and feeding on garbage. It resembles the
Milvus ^-Egj'ptius. See Glede. The He-
brew nesher, translated " eagle " in Scrip-
ture, means the Griffon or Great Vulture,
a far larger and stronger bird than our
eagles. The Egyptian vultures, a smaller
variety, are commonly called in Egypt
" Pharaoh's hens." The vulture has a na-
ked or downy head, with a long beak
curved only at the tip, a bare neck, and
long wings, and is disgusting to every
sense, especially to the smell. It is a car-
rion bird, though not exclusively, and has
extraordinary powers of vision. Scarcely
can an exhausted camel fall on its route
and die before numbers of these filthy
scavengers show themselves in the dis-
tance, hastening to the spot, Job 28 : 7 ;
9:30; Matt. 24:28. This bird is called the
"gier eagle" in Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:17;
in the R. V. the " vulture."
w.
WATER, Exod. 16:31, a thin cake made
of fine flour, unleavened, and used in con-
nection with various offerings, anointed
with sweet oil, Exod. 29:2, 23; Lev. 2:4;
7:12; 8:26; Num. 6:15, 19; I Chr. 23:29.
■WA'GES were paid both in produce and
in silver. Gen. 20; 30; 31 ; Exod. 2:9. In
Christ's time a farm laborer received "a
penny," about 16 cents, a day, Matt. 20:2-
13. The law and the gospel both require
the full and prompt payment of a just
equivalent for all services rendered ac-
cording to agreement. Lev. 19:13; Deut.
24:14, 15; Jer. 22:13; Mai. 3:5, and with-
holding wages due is denounced as a cruel
wrong, Jas. 5:4. Eternal death is the wa-
ges or just recompense of sin ; while eter-
nal life is not a recompense earned by obe-
dience, but a sovereign gift of God, Rom.
6:22, 23.
EGYPTIAN FOUR-WHEELED FUNERAL CAR, SYMBOLICAL.
WAG'ONS were sent by Joseph to con-
vey his father's family into Egj'pt, Gen.
45: 19, 21, 27. The same vehicle, sometimes
called a " cart," was employed to transport
some of the sacred utensils. Num. 7:3, 6,
in two instances, unlawfully, the ark itself,
I Sam. 6:7-14; 2 Sam. 6:3; i Chr. 13:7.
See UzzAH. See also Ezek. 23:24. Wag-
ons were drawn by oxen or by horses.
They were probably of simple structure,
with 2 solid wheels. Such carts are some-
times used in Syria in removing agricultu-
ral produce, Amos 2:13; but vehicles of
any kind are little used, and travellers and
merchandise are borne on the backs of
camels, horses, and mules. See Carts.
WALK is often figuratively used to de-
note a man's mode of life, or his spiritual
656
character, course, and relations, Ezek.
11:20. He may walk as a carnal or as a
spiritual man, Rom. 8:1; with God or in
ignorance and sin, Gen. 5:24; 1 John 1:6,
7; in the fire of affliction, Isa. 43:2, or in
the light, purity, and joy of Christ's favor
here and in heaven, Psa. 89:15; Rev. 3:4.
WALLS. The walls of dwellings in the
East were of very different materials, from
mere clay or clay and pebbles to durable
hewn stone. See the latter part of the arti-
cle House. Walls surrounding cities were
often built of earth, or of bricks made of
clay mixed with reeds and straw and dried
in the sun; these were very wide and often
high (see Babylon), and some were de-
structible by fire, Amos 1:7, 10, 14. Many
cities, however, like Jerusalem, had walls
^,ov* y-
A WALLED CITY: JAFFA.
WAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAN
of hewn stone, with towers, bastions, and
battlements, Isa. 2:15; 9:10. Even dwell-
ing-houses were sometimes built on them,
Josh. 2: 15; I Sam. 19: 12 ; 2 Cor. 11 1^;^. The
ruin caused by a falling wall was often
great, Psa. 62:3 ; Isa. 30: 13. See City and
WAILING-PLACE OF THE JEWS.
Jerusalem. The accompanying cut shows
a portion of the western wall of the sacred
area, Haram-es-Sherif, at Jerusalem. The
huge stones in its lower part are believed
by the Jews, and with good reason, to have
formed a part of the substructions of their
ancient temple, and to be as near as they
can approach to the site of the Holy of Ho-
lies. Hence they assemble here every Fri-
day, and more or less on other days, to
weep and wail with every token of the
sorest grief, Psa. 79:1, 4, 5; 102:14, and to
pray for the coming of the Messiah. In
former years they had to pay a large price
for this melancholy privilege. The wall
here is 60 feet high. A little beyond this
spot, towards the south, is the fragment of
an immense arch of 41 feet span, one of 5
or 6 which supported a lofty causeway from
Mount Zion to the temple area at its south-
ern portico, I Kin. 10:5; i Chr. 26:16, 18.
Some of the stones in this part of the wall
are 20 to 25 feet long. Excavation in some
parts has shown that the walls of the tem-
ple area reached down to the native rock.
Hillside terraces were supported by
walls, and vineyards and gardens were in-
closed by them, Num. 22:24 ; Song 4: 12.
WAN'DERINGS OF THE ISRAELITES.
42
See Exodus. On departing from Egypt
to go to the Promised Land the Israelites
were unable to take the direct road north-
east, " the way of the land of the Philis-
tines," nor "the way of Shur," directly east,
on account of the fortified frontier of Egypt
and the Amalekites, Gen. 25 : 18. They
were turned to the southeast, " the way of
the wilderness by the Red Sea," Exod.
13:17, 18, towards which they were also
turned back from Kadesh two years later,
Num. 14:25; Deut. 2:1. Having crossed
the western arm of the Red Sea below
Suez, they journeyed southeast along the
coast, and then turning to the east pene-
trated to the heart of the Sinaitic moun-
tains, around Ras Sufsafeh. Here they
received the law and remained over a year.
Thence journeying northeast and north, on
the west side of the mountainous range
bordering the Arabah on the west, they
came, some 15 months later, to Kadesh-
barnea — whence the 12 spies were sent up
to explore Canaan, and where, on their
disheartening report, the rebellious and
unbelieving Israelites were condemned to
wander in the desert till that generation of
men of war should die off, Num. 32:11-13;
Deut. 2:14-16.
657
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAN
The whole record of their 40 years' so-
journ in the desert is full of interest and
instruction — narrating many marvellous
providences and signal deliverances, show-
ing the origin of the various institutions,
and illustrating the Christian's pilgrimage
to the heavenly Canaan, Neh. 9: 10-21 ; Isa.
63:11-14; Amos 2: 10.
The scene of the wanderings was Arabia
Petraea. Of the portion included between
the two arms of the Red Sea, the southern
half is occupied by the vast ranges of the
limestone Sinaitic Mountains, bounded on
the north by the long cliffs of Jebel et-Tih;
and the northern half by the desert et-Tih,
the wande?-ing. North of this is the vast
desert of Paran, extending to the Mediter-
ranean Sea, Num. 13:26, and the desert of
Zin, Num. 33:36, on the northeast, reaching
to Mount Hor, Kadesh, and the Negeb, or
South Country. On the border of Egypt
was the desert of Etham or Shur, Exod.
13-20; 15:22, and farther south, between
Sinai and the Red Sea, the wilderness of
Sin, Exod. 16:1. The whole region is de-
scribed as "the great and terrible wilder-
ness," Deut. 8:15. It was deficient in food
for man, and the supply furnished by their
flocks and herds and obtained from neigh-
boring tribes was supplemented by manna
till they were safe in Canaan, Josh. 5:11, 12.
It was deficient in permanent water sup-
plies, and the lack was met by water from
the smitten rock, Exod. 17:6; Num. 20:8-
11; I Cor. 10:4. There was some food for
cattle, for Jethro's flock fed in the valleys
around Sinai. Er-Rahah is described by a
traveller in the i6th century as "a vast
green plain." There was a water supply
at Kadesh, where they " abode many days,"
Deut. 1:45, 46; this was sometimes inclu-
ded in "the wilderness of Paran," Num.
13:26, and a city Paran existed in the wil-
derness in the early ages of Christianity.
Towards the close of their 40 years the
Israelites were again at Kadesh, where
Miriam died and the murmuring people
were again supplied with water. Num.
20:1-13. Being refused a passage through
Edom, they visited Mount Hor and thence
journeyed south to the eastern arm of the
Red Sea, across the Arabah and up on the
eastern border of Edom to the Jordan val-
ley. The precise route of their journey-
ings cannot be determined, but the list of
the stations mentioned in the Bible is given
below, and under each name in its place is
told whatever is known of its site.
I. FROM EGYPT TO SINAI.
EXODUS XII.-XIX.
From Rameses, Exod. 12:37.
1. Succoth, 12:37.
2. Etham, 13 : 20.
3. Pi-hahiroth, 14 : 2.
4. Passage through the Red Sea, 14:22; and
three days' march into the desert of Shur,
15:22.
Marah, 15:23.
Elim, 15:27.
5'
6.
7-
8. Desert of Sin, 16:1.
9.
10.
11. Rephidim, 17 : i.
12. Desert of Sinai, 19: i.
NUMBERS XXXIII.
From Rameses, verse 3.
Succoth, ver. 5.
Etham, ver. 6.
Pi-hahiroth, ver. 7.
Passage through the Red Sea, and three days'
march in the desert of Etham, ver. 8.
Marah, ver. 8.
Elim, ver. g.
By the Red Sea, ver. 10.
Desert of Sin, ver. 11.
Dophkah, ver. 12.
Alush, ver. 13.
Rephidim, ver. 14.
Desert of Sinai, ver. 15.
II. FROM SINAI TO KADESH THE SECOND TIME.
NUMBERS X.-XX.
From the desert of Sinai, 10: 12.
13. Taberah, 11:3; Deut. 9 : 22.
14. Kibroth-hattaavah, 11:34.
15. Hazeroth, 11 :35.
16.
17. Kadesh, in the desert of Paran, 12 : 16 ; 13 : 26 ;
Deut. 1:2, 19. Hence they turn back and
wander for thirty-seven or eight years.
Num. 14:25-36.
18.
19.
30.
21.
658
NUMBERS XX.XIII.
From the desert of Sinai, ver. 16.
Kibroth-hattaavah, ver. 16.
Hazeroth, ver. 17.
Rithmah, ver. 18.
Rimmon-parez, ver. 19.
Libnah, ver. 20.
Rissah, ver. 21.
Kehelathah, ver. 22.
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAR
23-
24.
25-
26.
27.
28.
29.
30-
31
32
33-
34-
35. Return to Kadesh, Num. 20: i.
Mount Shapher, ver. 23.
Haradah, ver. 24.
Makheloth, ver. 25.
Tahath, ver. 26.
Tarah, ver. 27.
Mithcah, ver. 28.
Hashmonah, ver. 29.
Moseroth, ver. 30.
Bene-jaakau, ver. 31.
Hor-hagidgad, ver. 32.
Jotbathah, ver. 33.
Ebronah, ver. 34.
Ezion-geber, ver. 35.
Kadesh, ver. 36.
III. FROM KADESH TO THE JORDAN,
NUMBERS XX., XXI. ; DEUT. I., II., X.
From Kadesh, Num. 20:22.
Beeroth Bene-jaakan, Deut. 10:6.
Hount Hor, Num. 20:22: or Mosera, Deut.
10:6; where Aaron died.
Gudgodah, Deut. 10:7.
Jotbath, Deut. 10:7.
Way of the Red Sea, Num. 21:4; by Elath
and Ezion-geber, Deul. 2:8.
Oboth, Num. 21 : lo.
Ije-abarim, Num. 21 : 11.
The brook Zered, Num. 21:12; Deut. 2 : 13, 14.
The brook Arnon, Num. 21 : 13; Deut. 2:24.
Beer (well) in the desert, Num. 21 ; 16, i8.
Mattanah, 21 : 18.
Nahaliel, 21 : 19.
Bamoth, 21 : 19.
Pisgah, put for the range of Abarim, of which
Pisgah was part, 21 : 20.
By the way of Bashan to the plains of Moab
by Jordan, near Jericho, Num. 21:33; 22:1.
NUMBERS XXXIII.
From Kadesh, ver. 37.
Mount Hor, ver. 37.
Zalmonah, ver. 41.
Punon, ver. 42.
Oboth, ver. 43.
Ije-abarim, or lim, ver. 44, 45.
Dibon-gad, ver. 45; now Dhib^n.
Almon-diblathaim, ver. 46.
Mountains of Abarim, near to Nebo, ver. 47,
Plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho, ver. 48.
SIEGE OF A city: FROM THE NIMROUD PALACE, NINEVEH.
WAR, one of the evil fruits of the fall
and an appalling manifestation of the de-
pravity of mankind, Gen. 6:11-13; 153.9:5;
Jas. 4:1, 2, often rendered apparently inev-
itable by the assaults of enemies, or com-
manded by God for their punishment. See
Amalekites and Canaan. By this scourge,
subsequently to the conquest of Canaan,
God chastised both his own rebellious peo-
ple and the corrupt and oppressive idola-
ters around them. In many cases, more-
over, the issue was distinctly made between
the true God and idols ; as with the Philis-
tines, I Sam. 17:43-47; the Syrians, i Kin.
20:23-30; the Assyrians, 2 Kin. 19:10-19,
35; and the Ammonites, 2 Chr. 20:1-30.
659
WAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAR
Hence God often raised up champions for
his people, gave them counsel in war by
Urim and by prophets, and miraculously
aided them in battle. He himself at times
was their Captain, Exod. 15:1-3; Josh. 5:13,
14; 6:3; comp. Psa. 68.
Before the period of the kings there
seems to have been scarcely any regular
army among the Hebrews, though they
went up from Egypt equipped for war,
Exod. 6:26; 12:37,41; 13:18; but, with
some exceptions, Deut. 20 : 5-8, all who
were able to bear arms were liable to be
summoned to the field. Num. 1:3; 26:2;
I Sam. 11:7; 2 Chr. 25:5. Saul and David
organized standing armies, i Sam. 13:2;
14:47-52; 18:5. The vast armies of the
kings of Judah and Israel usually fought
on foot, armed with spears, swords, and
shields ; having large bodies of archers
and slingers, and comparatively few char-
iots and horsemen, Judg. 20:16; i Chr.
12:24; 2 Chr. 14:8. See Arm.s. The forces
were arranged in suitable divisions, with
officers of tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.,
Judg. 20:10; I Chr. 13:1 ; 2 Chr. 25:5. The
Jews were fully equal to the nations around
them in bravery and the arts of war, but
were restrained from wars of conquest, and
when invaders had been repelled the peo-
ple dispersed to their homes. A campaign
usually commenced in spring and was ter-
minated before winter, 2 Sam. 1 1 : i ; i Kin.
20:22. Spies were often sent out
in advance, Num. 13:17; Josh.
2: 1 ; Judg. 7: 10; 1 Sam. 26:4. As
the Hebrew Host approached a
hostile army the priests cheered
them by addresses, Deut. 20:2;
I Sam. 7:9, 13, and by inspiring
songs, 2 Chr. 20:21. The favor
of God was invoked by sacrifices, •;
1 Sam. 7:9; 13:8-12, and prayer,
2 Chr. 14:11; 20:3-12. The sa-
cred trumpets gave the signal for
battle, Num. 10:9, 10; 31 :6; 2 Chr.
13:12-15; the archers and sling-
ers advanced first, but at length
made way for the charge of the
heavy-armed spearmen, etc., who
sought to terrify the enemy ere
39; 2 Sam. 5:23; 2 Kin. 7:12. The comba-
tants were soon engaged hand to hand ; the
battle became a series of duels ; and the
victory was gained by the obstinate bra-
very, the skill, strength, and swiftness of
individual warriors, 2 Sam. 1:23; 2:18;
1 Chr. 12:8; Psa. 18:32-37. A general bat-
tle was sometimes preceded by single com-
bats, I Sam. 17 ; 2 Sam. 2 : 14-17. See Paul's
exhortations to Christian firmness under
the assaults of spiritual foes, i Cor. 16:13;
Eph. 6:11-18; I Thess. 3:8. The battles of
the ancients were exceedingly sanguinary,
2 Chr. 13:17; 25:12; 28:6; few were spared
except those reserved to grace the triumph
or be sold as slaves, Judg. i :6; 9:45; 1 Sam.
11:2; 2 Sam. 12:31; but the comparatively
lenient character of the Hebrews was
known, Deut. 20:10-20; i Kin. 20:31; 2 Kin.
6:20-23; Isa. 16:5. A victorious army on
returning was welcomed by the whole pop-
ulation with every demonstration of joy,
1 Sam. 18:6, 7. The spoils were divided
after reserving an oblation for the Lord,
Num.31 :5o; Judg. 5:30; trophies were sus-
pended in public places, eulogies were pro-
nounced in honor of the most distinguished
warriors, and lamentations over the dead.
In besieging a walled city it was the cus-
tom to surround it with a stockade, mounds,
and forts, cutting off supplies of water and
food, and preventing escape. Josh. 6:1;
2 Kin. 19:32; Isa. 37:33; catapults were
they reached them by their aspect and war-
cries, Judg. 7: 18-20; I Sam. 17:52; Job
39:25; Isa. 17:12, 13. War chariots armed
with scythes were sometimes used and
wrought great havoc, Josh. 17:16; Judg.
4:3. Ambuscades, rear assaults, night-
surprises, and false retreats were employ-
ed. Gen. 14:15; Josh. 8:2, 12; Judg. 20:36-
660
THE CATAPULT, A MACHINE FOR THROWING HEAVY DARTS.
prepared for hurling large darts, and ba-
listae for heavy stones, 2 Chr. 26:15; tow-
ers were erected for archers and slingers,
2 Kin. 25: 1 ; and moimds and towers were
pushed to the very walls, that by casting a
movable bridge across access to the city
might be gained. The battering-ram was
also employed to effect a breach in the
WAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAT
wall, 2 Sam. 20:15; Ezek. 4:2; 21:22; and
the crow, a long spar with iron claws at one
end and ropes at the other, to pull down
stones or men from the top of the wall.
Scaling-ladders were used, and fire was
sometimes employed, Judg. 9:52. These
and similar modes of assault the besieged
resisted by throwing down darts, stones,
heavy rocks, Judg. 9:53; 2 Sam. 11 :2i, and
sometimes boiling oil ; by hanging sacks
of chaff between the battering-ram and
the wall ; by strong and sudden sallies,
capturing and burning the towers and
enginery of the assailants, and quickly re-
treating into the city, 2 Chr. 26: 14, 15. The
modern inventions of gunpowder, rifles,
bombs, and heavy artillery have changed
all this. See Battering-ram.
As the influence of Christianity diffuses
itself in the world war is becoming less
excusable and less practicable ; and a great
advance may be observed from the cus-
toms and spirit of ancient barbarism to-
wards the promised universal supremacy
of the Prince of peace, Psa. 46:9; Isa. 2:4;
Mic. 4:3.
" Wars of the Lord " was probably
the name of an uninspired book, long since
lost, containing details of the events allu-
ded to in Num. 21:14, I5-
WARD, or Guard. To put "in ward"
was to place under guard or in confine-
ment. Gen. 40:3; Lev. 24:12. Ward also
seems to mean a guard-room, Neh. 12:25;
Isa. 21:8, and the guards themselves. Acts
12:10, or any small band, i Chr 25:8;
26:16.
■WARE, aware, Acts 14 : 6, on guard
against, 2 Tim. 4:15.
■WASH'ING. Of the two principal He-
brew words translated " wash," one de-
notes a superficial cleansing, as of a plate,
the other a through and through purifica-
tion, as of a soiled garment, Lev. 17:15;
the latter term is used in Psa. 51:2, 7;
Jer. 2:22. Various ceremonial washings
were enjoined in the Mosaic law, both upon
priests and upon others, Heb. 9: 10. These
were significant of spiritual purification
through the Saviour's blood. Tit. 3:5; Rev.
1:5, as well as of that holiness without
which none can see God. Aaron received
ablution of the whole person on assuming
the priestly office, Exod. 19:10-15; 29:4;
Lev. 8:6; 16:4; and all priests washed
before approaching the altar, Exod. 30:17-
21 ; Psa. 26:6. Those who had contracted
ceremonial defilement must wash them-
selves. Lev. 12 to 15; 16:26; Num. 19:7;
and those who declared their innocence of
a crime laid to their charge, Deut. 21:1-9;
Matt. 27:24. To the Mosaic requirements
the Jews added other traditional ablutions,
Mark 7:2-4, and regarded it as an act of
impiety to neglect them, as Christ frequent-
ly did, reproving them for the neglect of
vital duties in their scrupulous care for out-
ward forms. Matt. 15:2-20; Luke 11:37-44.
The washing of the hands before and after
meals, called for by their custom of feeding
themselves with their fingers, is still prac-
tised in Syria. See cut in Bed. Where
there is a servant in attendance, he pours
water from a pitcher over his master's
hands, holding also a broad vessel under-
neath them, 2 Kin. 3:11; Psa. 60:8. The
washing of a guest's feet on his entering
the house, to cleanse and refresh them, was
a common act of hospitality. Gen. 18:4,
usually performed by servants, i Sam.
25:41, but as a special honor by the host
himself, i Tim. 5:10. Our Saviour's per-
forming this humble service to his disci-
ples was a most impressive lesson in mu-
tual loving service, especially in preserving
moral purity, and a perpetual reminder of
our need of his cleansing, John 13:4-14;
2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:26, 27; Heb. 10:22, 23.
See Foot and Sandal.
WATCH, a division of the night hours.
For military purposes the Hebrews seem
to have divided the hours between sunset
and sunrise into three watches, the first
ending at 10 p. m., and the second at 2 A.
M., Lam. 2:19; Judg. 7:19; Exod. 14:24;
I Sam. 11: II. After the Greek and Roman
ascendency the night hours were divided
into four watches, Matt. 14:25; Mark 13:35;
Luke 12 : 38. Of the four quaternions of
661
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BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WAT
soldiers who guarded Peter each would be
on duty in turn three hours by day and
three in the night.
WATCH'ER, Dan. 4:13, 17, 23, a figura-
tive designation of heavenly beings, ap-
parently angels, as seen by Nebuchadnez-
zar in his dream. In Jer. 4: 16, besiegers.
WATCH'MEN are of as early a date as
cities, robbers, and wars, Exod. 14:24;
Judg. 7: 19. Jerusalem and other cities had
regular guards night and day, Psa. 127 : i ;
Song 3: 1-3 ; 5:7, to whose hourly cries Isa-
iah refers in illustration of the vigilance
required by God in his ministers, Isa. 21 :8,
II, 12; 62:6. At this day the watchmen of
Jerusalem " keep not silence," nor do they
"hold their peace day nor night;" espe-
cially at night and when danger is appre-
hended they are required to call to each
other every few minutes, and the cry passes
from one to another entirely around the
city walls. Those of Sidon also do the
same. Watchmen always had a station at
each gate of a city and in the adjacent
tower, 2 Sam. 18:24-27; 2 Kin. 9:27; also
on hill-tops overlooking a large circuit of
terraced vineyards, whence they could " see
eye to eye " and " lift up the voice " of
warning or of cheer, Isa. 52:7, 8; and their
responsible office, requiring so much vigi-
lance and fidelity, illustrates that of proph-
ets and ministers, Jer. 6: 17; Ezek. 33:1-9;
Heb. 13:17. In 2 Kin. 18:8, "from the
tower of the watchmen," in the remote
vineyard, " to the fenced city," seems to
mean "the whole land."
■WA'TER. See CISTERNS and Wells.
In Isa. 35:7 the Hebrew word for "parched
ground " or " glowing sand " that shall be-
come a pool of water, is the same with the
Arabic term for the mirage. The blessings
of the gospel are no alluring mockery, but
real waters of everlasting life, Isa. 55:1;
John 4:14; Rev. 22:1. Comp. Isa. 29:8;
Jer. 15:18. See Parched Ground. The
" rivers " or " streams " of waters in Psa.
1:3 may mean the artificial conduits by
which water was conveyed through parks
and gardens, Ezek. 31:4. And the " water-
ing with the foot" alluded to in Deut.
11:10 as a custom peculiar to Egypt, may
refer to the turning of these little canals by
WATERING.
closing one passage and opening another
with the foot, 2 Kin. 19:24; Prov. 21:1, or
662
the use of the feet in the treadmill process
by which water for irrigation is raised by
WAT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WEI
revolving buckets from a river to a higher
level, as in the Egyptian shadlif.
Water was used by the Hebrews to sym-
bolize spiritual cleansing, John 3:5, and
was much employed in the temple ceremo-
nies and in private life, Mark j-.t,; John
2:6. See Washing. In the Feast of Tab-
ernacles water was brought from the Pool
of Siloam and poured out before the Lord.
Comp. I Sam. 7:6; Isa. 12:3; John 7:2,37;
Rev. 22:17.
" Waters " denote tears in Jer. 9:1, and
troubles in Psa. 69:1 ; Lam. 3:54. "Stolen
waters," Prov. 9:17, are adulterous pleas-
ures.
WA'TER OF JEAL'OUSY, or " BIT'TER-
NESS," Num. 5:11-31, a test permitted in
the case of a woman suspected of adultery.
Being presented unveiled before the altar
by her husband, who brought an offering
of barley, a handful of which was cast upon
the burning coals, she drank water into
which dust from the floor was thrown, and
responded " Amen " to the priest's denun-
ciation of disease and death if she were
guilty. The water could do no harm un-
less " by visitation of God ;" and the delay
thus secured would prevent swift and un-
just violence by the husband. By some
heathen tribes in our own day fatally poi-
sonous drinks are employed in like cases.
WA'TER OF PURIFICA'TION. See PU-
RIFICATIONS.
WA'TER-SPOUTS are well-known phe-
nomena in the Levant, and are supposed
to be produced by whirlwinds. A dense,
black, funnel-shaped cloud is seen depend-
ing from the sky, and sometimes moving
rapidly over the sea, from which at times a
similar cone ascends to meet the upper one.
Where they unite the column may be 3 or
4 feet thick, and when they break torrents
of water descend. The word occurs in
Psa. 42:7, where, however, the Psalmist
probably alludes to cataracts of water.
WAVE'-OFFERING. See Offering.
■WAVES, Psa. 93:3, tumult or " roaring."
■WAX, to grow or become. Gen. 19:13;
Exod. 22:24; Lev. 25:39; Isa. 50:9; Luke
13:19.
■WAY. The word very often means a
mode or form of religious life, as that of
the heathen, Jer. 10:2; Amos 8:14, or that
required by God, Psa. 67:2; Jer. 5:5. In
the New Testament it often means the new
system of faith and practice taught by
Christ, Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22.
" Go your ways," Luke 10:3, depart. Com-
pare Gen. 19:2; John 11:46; Jas. 1:24.
WEALTH often means welfare or pros-
perity, Ezra 9:12; Esth. 10:3; Psa. 112:3;
Eccl. 5:19; 6:2; Acts 19:25; I Cor. 10:24.
WEALTH'Y, Psa. 66:12, abundant; in
Jer. 49:31 tranquil.
WEA'SEL, one of the unclean animals,
Lev. 11:29. Several varieties of weasels
^re found in Palestine, including the com-
mon weasel and the polecat ; also the short-
legged ichneumon.
WEAVING, an art very early practised
by all nations, exhibited on the ancient
monuments of Egypt, Gen. 41 :42, and prac-
tised by the Israelites in the desert, Exod.
26:1,7; 28:4,39; Lev. 13:47, 48. See Flax.
It is usually performed by women, 2 Kin.
23:7; Prov. 31:13, 19. The distaff, the
shuttle, and the weaver's beam and pin
are mentioned, Judg. 16:14; i Sam. 17:7;
2 Sam. 21:19; Job 7:6; Prov. 31:19'; Isa.
38:12. The Jews say that the high-priest's
tunic was made without a needle, being
"woven from the top throughout;" thus
also " the High-Priest of our profession "
was clothed, John 19:23.
WED'DING. See Marriage.
WED'DING-GAR'MENT. See GAR-
MENTS.
WEEKS, or successive periods of seven
days each — partially coinciding in length
with the four changes of the moon — were
known from the earliest times among na-
tions remote from each other in Europe,
Asia, and Africa, Gen. 8:10; 29:27; 50:10.
See Sabbath. The Hebrews had only nu-
meral names for the days of the week,
excepting the Sabbath, the names now
current among us being borrowed from
Saxon mythology. The Jews called Sun-
day " one of the Sabbath," that is, the first
day of the week. Monday was " two of the
Sabbath." A prophetic week and a week
of years were each 7 j^ears ; and a week
of sabbatical years, or 49 years, brought
round the year of jubilee. In John 20:26
the disciples are said to have met again
after " eight days," that is, evidently after
a week, or the eighth day after our Lord's
resurrection. See Three.
For the " Feast of Weeks " see Pente-
cost.
W^EEP'ING. See Funeral.
WEIGHTS. The ancient Hebrews
weighed all the gold and silver they used in
trade. The shekel, the half-shekel, the ma-
neh, the talent, are not only denominations
of money, of certain values in gold and sil-
ver, but primarily of certain weights. The
weight " of the sanctuary " or weight of the
663
WEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WEL
temple, Exod. 30:13, 24; Lev. 5:15; Num.
3:50; 7:19; 18:16, was perhaps the stand-
ard weight, preserved in some apartment
of the temple, and not a different weight
from the common shekel ; for though Mo-
ses appointed that all things valued by
their price in silver should be rated by the
weight of the sanctuary, Lev. 27:25, he
makes no difference between this shekel
of 20 gerahs and the common shekel. Eze-
kiel,45:i2, speakingoftheordinary weights
and measures used in traffic among the
Jews, says that the shekel weighed 20 ge-
rahs ; it was therefore equal to the weight
of the sanctuary. See Measures and the
Tables of Weights and Measures at
the end of the volume. The divine judg-
ment on Belshazzar, " thou art weighed in
the balances and art found wanting," may
be illustrated from the Egyptian monu-
ments, on which the dead are depicted as
appearing before Osiris, and the balances
in which their good and evil deeds are
weighed decide their doom.
WELLS and SPRINGS. The word
"wells " is often used in the Bible where a
spring or fountain is intended ; comp. Gen.
16:7,14. So in Gen. 24:13-45; 49:22; Exod.
15:27; Josh. 18:15; 2 Kin. 3:19, 25; Psa.
84:6; Prov. io:n; Isa. 12:3; John 4:14;
2 Pet. 2:17. In other places a cistern is
meant, 2 Sam. 3:26; 23:15, 16; i Chr. 11:17,
18; 2 Chr. 26:10; Neh. 9:25. By those liv-
ing in a temperate climate, where the well
or the aqueduct furnishes to every house a
supply of water practically inexhaustible,
no idea can be formed of the extreme dis-
tress caused by thirst, and of the luxury of
relieving it by drinking pure water — a lux-
ury which is said to excel all other pleas-
ures of sense. One must reside or travel
in a Syrian climate to realize the beauty
and force of the allusions of Scripture to
"water out of the wells of salvation," "cold
water to a thirsty soul," "the fountain of
living waters," and many others. The dig-
ging of a permanent well or the discovery
of a spring was a public benefaction, and
its possession was a matter of great im-
portance. Its existence at a given spot de-
cided the nightly resting-place of caravans,
the encampment of armies, and the loca-
tion of towns, 1 Sam. 29:1; 2 Sam. 2:13.
Hence Beer, the Hebrew name for a well,
forms a part of many names of places, as
Beeroth, Beer-sheba. See also En. So val-
uable was a supply of water that a field
containing a spring was a princely dowry,
Judg. 1:13-15, and a well was a matter of
664
strife and negotiation between different
tribes. Thus we read that Abraham, in
making a treaty with king Abimelech,
" reproved him because of a well of water
which Abimelech's servants had violently
taken away," and the ownership of the
well was sealed to Abraham by a special
oath and covenant. Gen. 21 : 25-31. A sim-
ilar transaction occurred during the life of
Isaac, Gen. 26:14-33. In negotiating with
the king of Edom for a passage through
his territory, the Israelites said, " If I and
my cattle drink of thy water, then I will
pay for it," Num. 20:17-19. Still stronger
is the expression in Lam. 5:4, "We have
drunk our own water for money ;" that is,
we bought it of our foreign rulers, though
we are the natural proprietors of the wells
that furnished it. The custom of demand-
ing pay for water from the traveller is still
found in some parts of the East ; while in
many other towns a place is provided where
cold water and sometimes bread are offered
gratuitously to the stranger at the expense
of the village, or as an act of charity by the
benevolent, Mark 9:41. In case of a hos-
tile invasion, nothing could more effectu-
ally harass an advanciag arm}^ or the be-
siegers of a city than to fill with stones the
wells on which they relied, 2 Kin. 3:25;
2 Chr. 32:3.
Wells are sometimes found in Palestine
furnished with a well-sweep and bucket or
a windlass ; and in some cases there were
steps leading down to the water. Gen. 24: 15,
16; but usually the water is drawn with
pitchers and ropes, and the stone curbs of
ancient wells, John 4:6, 11, 12, bear the
marks of long use. They were often covered
with a large flat stone, comp. 2 Sam. 17: 19,
to exclude the flying sand and secure the
water to its owners, and also lest stran-
gers should fall into them unawares — a mis-
chance which often occurs in modern Syria,
and against which the beneficent law of
Moses made provision, Exod. 21:33, 34.
This stone was removed about sunset, when
the females of the vicinity drew their sup-
ply of water for domestic use and the flocks
and herds drank from the stone troughs
which are still found beside almost every
well. At this hour the well was a favorite
place of resort, and presented a scene of
life and gayety greatly in contrast with its
ordinary loneliness. Gen. 24:11-28; 29:1-
10; Exod. 2:16-19; I Sam. 9:11. Wells,
however, were sometimes infested by rob-
bers, Exod. 2:16, 17; Judg. 5:11; and Dr.
Shaw mentions a beautiful spring in Bar-
WEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WHA
bary, the Arabic name of which means, well be inscribed over even the best springs
"Drink and away!" a motto which may I of earthly delight. See Cisterns.
THE WELL OR FOUNTAIN AT NAZARETH.
"The Fountain of the Virgin" at Naza-
reth is so called from the strong probabil-
ity that the mother of our Lord was wont
to draw water from it, as the women of
Nazareth do at this day. It is a copious
spring, just out of the village, and the
path that leads to it is well worn, as by the
feet of many generations. All travellers
in Palestine mention the throngs of females
that resort to it, with their pitchers or goat-
skins on the shoulder or head, loitering
to gossip or gayly returning in companies
of two or three. Every day witnesses
there what might almost be described in
the very words of Gen. 24:11: "And he
made his camels to kneel down without
the city, by a well of water, at the time of
the evening, even the time that women go
out to draw water. And behold, Rebek-
ah came out, with her pitcher upon her
shoulder ; and she went down to the well
and filled her pitcher, and came up." It is
an uncommon sight to see " a man bearing
a pitcher of water," Mark 14:13.
Jacob's well, at the eastern entrance of
the charming valley of Shechem, is still in
existence, though now not used and often
nearly dry. It is covered by a vaulted
roof, with a narrow entrance closed by a
heavy rock. Around it is a platform and
the remains of a church built over the spot
by the empress Helena. Close at hand is
Mount Gerizim, which the woman of Sy-
char no doubt glanced at as she said, " Our
fathers worshipped in this mountain." On
the west is the broad and fertile plain of
Mukhna, where the fields were " white al-
ready to the harvest." The woman intima-
ted that the well was deep. Actual meas-
urement shows it to be still 75 feet deep
and about 9 feet in diameter. Dr. Wilson,
in 1842, sent down with ropes a Jew named
Jacob to explore the well and recover a
Bible dropped into it by Rev. Mr. Bonar
three years before. This was found almost
destroyed by lying in water. As the trav-
eller stands by this venerated well and
thinks of the long series of men of a hun-
dred nations and generations who have
drunk of its waters, thirsted again, and
died, he is most forcibly affected by the
truth of Christ's words to the Samaritan
woman, and made to feel his own perish-
ing need of the water "springing up into
everlasting life," John 4.
■WENCH, 2 Sam. 17:17, a girl of humble
birth.
WEST, literally either Ihe sea, as in Gen.
12:8; 13:14, etc., i. e., the Mediterranean,
lying west of the Bible lands, or simsei-
//m^, asin Psa. 75:6; 103:12. In Hos. 11:10,
the people on the Mediterranean coast.
WHALE, the largest known inhabitant
of the sea, put in the A. V. for tannin, a
Hebrew word including all the huge "sea-
monsters," as in Gen. 1:21 ; Job 7:12, R. V.
665
WHE
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
VVIC
In Ezek. 32:2, referring to Egypt and the
Nile, the kindred word tannim doubtless
means the crocodile; as also in Psa. 74:13;
Isa. 27:1; 51:9; Ezek. 29:3, etc., where it
is translated "dragon," which see. The
" great fish " that swallowed Jonah can-
not be named with certainty, the Greek
word in Matt. 12:40 being also indetermi-
nate. Whales, however, are still found in
the Mediterranean, and sharks of the lar-
gest size, the Carcharias vulgaris, quite
able to swallow a man whole.
TRITICUM COMPOSITUM.
WHEAT is the principal and most valu-
able kind of grain for the service of man,
and is produced in almost every part of
the world, Matt. 13:25; i Cor. 15:37. Egypt
was famous for its wheat, also Mesopota-
mia, Gen. 30:14, Minnith, Ezek. 27:17, and
Palestine itself, Deut. 8:8; Judg. 6:11 ; Psa.
81:16; 147:14. The common wheat of Pal-
estine will sometimes yield 100 grains to
the ear, as in Christ's parable, Matt. 13:8;
comp. Gen. 26: 12. Wheat was sown late in
the year, both broadcast — being trampled
in by cattle, Isa. 32:20 — and also planted
in rows, Isa. 28:25, R. V. It ripened in
May, but earlier or later according to its
situation. It sprouted and ripened later
than barley. Wheat is often intended in
the Bible where the word " corn " is used,
Gen. 41:49. See Corn. " Parched corn,"
i. ^., wheat, is often mentioned. Lev. 23:14;
Josh. 5:11; Ruth 2: 14; I Sam. 17: 17; 25: 18;
2 Sam. 17:28; and the Arabs often prepare
666
it now of fresh wheat, laying a few sheaves
on a brush-wood fire till the stalks are
burned and the heads lightly charred, when
they are tossed off on a cloth, winnowed by
the wind, and eaten while warm. The
Egyptian wheat, Triticum Compositum,
has 6 or 7 ears on one head ; so that it pre-
sented its usual appearance in this respect
in Pharaoh's dream, Gen. 41:5-7, 22. The
"meat-offerings," R. V. "meal-offerings,"
of the Mosaic service. Lev. 2, were all
made of wheaten flour.
WHEEL, Psa. 83:13, translated "rolling
thing" in Isa. 17:13. Dr. Thomson, for
many years a missionary' in Syria, thinks
the wild artichoke may here be referred
to. This plant sends out numerous stalks
or branches of equal length in all direc-
tions, forming a globe a foot in diameter.
These globes become rigid and light as a
feather in autumn, and thousands of them
fly rolling and bounding over the plains,
the sport of every wind. This " rolling
thing " furnishes the modern Arabs with a
current proverb and a curse.
"WHIRL'WINDS. The Hebrew words so
translated denote tempestuous winds or
hurricanes, not necessarily tornadoes re-
volving on their axes, 2 Kin. 2:1, 11; Job
38:1; 40:6; Isa. 40:24; 41:16; Jer. 23:19;
25:32; 30:23; Ezek. 1 :4; Dan. II :4o; Zech.
9: 14. Yet whirlwinds were frequent in the
deserts of Arabia and on the southern bor-
der of Palestine. Most of them are not
formidable, Isa. 17:13; but one now and
then occurs, sudden, swift, and awful in its
devastating course ; houses and trees are
no obstruction in its way, and the traveller
is buried alive under the pillar of sand it
raises and bears along, like a water-spout
at sea, Job 1:19; Isa. 21:1. The sudden
and resistless judgments of God are well
compared to whirlwinds, Psa. 58:9; Prov.
1:27; Isa. 66:15. See W'INDS.
WHIS'PERER, Prov. 16:28; Rom. 1:29;
2 Cor. 12:20, a secret informer and slan-
derer.
WHITE, a symbol of purity, joy, and vic-
tory, 2 Chr. 5:12; Esth. 8:15; Eccl. 9:8;
Rev. 3:4, 5, 18; 7:9, 13. "White" in Rev.
15:6; 19:8 means "resplendent;" in the
R. V. "bright."
WICK'ED. The Hebrew and Greek
words so translated have various shades
of meaning: most frequently "Wrong," as
in Gen. 18:23; Deut. 9:27; often "evil," as
in Gen. 13:13; 39:9; sometimes "worth-
less," as in Job u:ii; 22:15; Psa. 101:3;
"perverse," as in 2 Sam. 7:10; Job 18:21;
WID
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WIL
"unkind," as in Lev. 20:17; "lawless," as
in Acts 2:23; 2 Thess. 2:8; "malignant,"
as in Matt. 13:19, 38, 49; 22:18; 2 Thess.
3:2; I John 5:19; mortally "sick," as in
Jer. 17:9, R. V.
WID'OW. A custom was prevalent in
patriarchal times, Gen. ^S, and was after-
wards confirmed by the Mosaic law, Deut.
25:5-10, that a widow without children, in
order to preserve the family name and in-
heritance, should marry the brother of her
deceased husband; or, he failing, his near-
est kinsman, Ruth 3:12, 13; 4:1-11 ; Matt.
22:23-30. The high-priest was forbidden
to marry a widow, Lev. 21 : 14. The hu-
manity and justice of true religion are
shown in the Bible, as might be expected,
by numerous indications that God and the
friends of God sympathize with the sor-
rows, supply the wants, and defend the
rights of the widow, Exod. 22:22-24; Deut.
14:29; 16:11; 24:17, 19; Psa. 68:5; Isa.
1:17; 10:2; Jer. 22:3; Matt. 23:14. The
apostolic church was not negligent in pro-
viding for widows. Acts 6:1-3; i Tim. 5:16;
and James makes this duty an essential
part of true piety, Jas. 1:27. Heathenism,
on the contrary, makes those who have
been slaves to a husband's caprices during
his life either victims upon the funeral
pile at his death or forlorn and hopeless
sufferers under destitution and contempt.
Some of the duties specially appropriate for
Christian widows are specified in i Tim.
5:3-16.
WILD BEASTS OF THE ISL'ANDS, Isa.
13:22; 34:14; Jer. 50:39, hyenas, or as in
the R. v., " wolves."
WIL'DERNESS. See DESERT and Wan-
derings.
WILD GOATS. See Go.a.ts.
AVILL, as a verb, often means simply
"pleases" or "wishes," Prov. 21:1; Dan.
4:17; I Cor. 7:36. In other passages it ex-
presses a fixed determination, John 7:17;
I Tim. 6:9.
WIL'LOW, a very common tree, which
grows in marshy places and on the banks
of rivers, Job 40:22; Isa. 44:4; Ezek. 17:5,
with a leaf much like that of the olive.
God commanded the Hebrews to take
branches of the handsomest trees, particu-
larly of the willows of the brook, and to
bear them in their hands before the Lord,
667
WIM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WIN
as a token of rejoicing, at the Feast of Tab-
ernacles, Lev. 23:40. The " weeping wil-
low," memorable in connection with the
mourning Hebrew captives, Psa. 137:2, is
a native of Babylonia, and hence is named
Salix Babylonica. Since the Caj^tivity it
has become a symbol of sorrow and mourn-
ing. There are several varieties of willow
in Palestine. The " brook of the willows,"
Isa. 15:7, on the southern border of Moab,
now Wadj' el-Aksa, flows into the south-
east extremity of the Dead Sea.
WIM'PLE, a veil or hood; but the He-
brew signifies properly a large mantle or
shawl. See Vkil. Thus, in Ruth 3:15,
Boaz gives Ruth 6 measures of barley,
which she carries away in her mantle,
rather than veil, as in the A. V. So in Isa.
3:22.
WIN'DOW, Gen. 6: 16; i Kin. 6:4; 7:4,5,
an aperture in a wall, protected in ancient
times by lattice-work instead of glass, Eccl.
12:3. Windows usually opened on the in-
ner court of the house,, but often one or
two opened on the street, and a person
approaching could be seen, Judg. 5:28;
2 Sam. 6:16; Prov. 7:6; Song 2:9. When
the casement was open one might readily
fall out, 2 King. 1:2; Acts 20:9. Through
the windows of dwellings abutting on city
walls the spies escaped at Jericho and Paul
at Damascus, Josh. 2:15; 2 Cor. 11:33. See
House.
WINDS. " The four winds," or four
quarters of the earth, are put for the whole
world, Jer. 49:36; Ezek. 37:9; Dan. 8:8;
Matt. 24:31. The north wind Ijrought cold,
Job 37:9; Song 4:16; the west and north-
west, from the sea, were refreshing and
brought rain, i Kin. 18:44, 45; Prov. 25:23,
R. V. ; Luke 12:54. The prevalent winds
in Palestine during the warm season are
from the west. Sudden squalls from the
north are often encountered on the Sea of
Galilee, as on other lakes amid heights,
Mark 4:37; Luke 8:23. For the wind Eu-
raquilo which overtook Paul, see EuROC-
LYDON.
The wind most frequently mentioned in
the Bible is the "east wind," which is rep-
resented as blasting and drying up the
fruits, Gen. 41:6, 23; Ezek. 17:10; 19:12,
and also as blowing with great violence.
Job 27 : 21 ; Psa. 48 : 7; Isa. 27 : 8; Ezek.
27:26; Jon. 4:8. It is also the "horrible
tempest," literally the "glow-wind," of Psa.
11:6. This is a sultry and oppressive wind
blowing from the southeast, and prevailing
only in the hot and dry months of sum-
668
mer. Coming thus from the vast Arabian
desert, devoid of ozone, it seems to in-
crease the heat and drought of the season,
and produces universal languor and de-
bility. Dr. Eli Smith, at Beiriit, describes
it as possessing the same qualities as the
Sirocco, which he had felt at Malta, and
which also prevails in Sicily and Italy, ex-
cept that the Sirocco, in passing over the
sea, acquires great dampness. This " wind
of the wilderness," Job 1:19; 27:21; Jer.
13:24, is called by the Arabs the Simoom,
by the Turks the Samiel, and by the Egj'p-
tians the Khamsin. It is oppressively hot
and dry, rapidly evaporating the water in
the ordinary skin-bottles, stopping the per-
spiration of travellers, drying up the palate
and the air passages, and producing great
restlessness and exhaustion. Sometimes
the sky is covered with clouds, and pal^
lightnings play through the air ; but there
is no rain, thunder, or wind ; the heat, how-
ever, is intolerable; every traveller seeks
a refuge, the birds hide themselves in the
thickest shades, the fowls pant under the
walls with open mouths, and no living
thing is in motion. But it often blows with
a terrible roaring and violence, and carries
dust and fine sand high up into the air, so
that the whole atmosphere is lurid and
seems in a state of combustion, and the
sun is shorn of his beams and looks like a
globe of dull, smouldering fire. Both men
and animals are greatly annoyed by the
dust, and seek any practicable shelter or
covering. The camels turn their backs
and hide their heads from it in the ground.
It is often accompanied by local whirl-
winds, which form pillars of sand and dust,
rising high above the ground and moving
with swiftness over the plain. Such a tem-
pest may have suggested some features in
the prophetic descriptions of the day of
God's power: "wonders in the heavens
and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars
of smoke: the sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood," Joel
2:30, 31 ; Acts 2:19, 20.
Wind is a Biblical symbol for turgid
folly. Job 15:2; Hos. 12:1; for swiftness,
Psa. 104:4, R. v., " He maketh winds his
messengers;" and for transitoriness, Job
7:7; Psa. 78:39. The Holy Spirit was
breathed upon men like the wind, John
3:8 ; 20:22 ; Acts 2:2.
WINE. The vine being natural to the
soil of Canaan and its vicinity, wine was
much used as a beverage, especially at fes-
tivals, Esth. 1:7; 5:6; Dan. 5:1-4; John
WIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WIN
2:3. As one of the staple products of the
Holy Land, it was employed for drink-of-
ferings in the temple service, Exod. 29:40;
Lev. 23:13; Num. 15:4-10; tithes of it were
required among the "first-fruits," Deut.
12: 17, 18; 18:4 , and it was used in the cel-
ebration of the Passover, and subsequently
of the Lord's Supper, Matt. 26 : 27-29.
"Corn and wine," Gen. 27:28, 37; Deut.
33:28; Psa. 4:7, and " corn, wine, and oil,"
or the products of the field, the vineyard,
and the olive-orchard, Deut. 11:14; 12:17;
28:51 ; 2 Chr. 31 :5, are put for all the fruits
of the soil. Wine is spoken of as a bless-
ing, Gen. 49:11, 12; Deut. 14:24-26; 32:14;
Judg. 9:13; Psa. 104:15: Prov. 31:6; Eccl.
9:7; Hos. 2:8; Joel 2:19, 24; Amos 4:19;
and is made a symbol of spiritual bless-
ings, Isa. 55:1. Our Saviour used it, Luke
7:33, 34, and miraculously made it, John
2:1-10.
The word "wine" in our Bible is the
translation of as many as 10 different He-
brew words and 2 Greek words, most of
which occur in but a few instances. The
two most frequently used, yayin and its
Greek equivalent oiNOS, are general terms
for all sorts of wine, Neh. 5: 18, usually fer-
mented, but often with but a small per-
centage of alcohol. Another Hebrew word
frequently used, tirosh, translated " wine "
and "new wine," is thought by some to
mean vintage-fruits in general, including
not only new wine, but grapesyrup and
grapes — fresh, dried, pressed, etc.; Isa.
62:8, 9 ; Joel 1 : 10 ; Mic. 5: 15, R. V., " vint-
age." From Hos. 4:11; Acts 2:13 — when
the "new wine" was eight months old — it
IS inferred that in some cases tirosh was
intoxicating. Without minute details on
this subject, we may observe that the fol-
lowing substances are referred to :
1. Usually the pure juice of the grape,
fermented, and therefore more or less in-
toxicating, but free from drugs of any kind,
and not strengthened by distilled liquors.
2. Must, the fresh juice of the grape, un-
fermented or in process of fermentation.
3. Honey of wine, made bv boiling down
must to one-fourth of its bulk. This com-
monly goes in the Old Testament by the
name debhash, " honey," in modern Arabic
dtds, and only the context can enable us to
determine whether honey of grapes or of
bees is to be understood, Num. 18: 12 ; Prov.
9:2, 5. See Honey.
4. Spiced wine, made stronger and more
inviting 1,0 the taste by the admixture of
spices and other drugs, Prov. 23:30.
5. " Strong drink," Heb. shechar. This
word sometimes denotes pure strong wine,
as in Num. 28:7; or drugged wine, as in
Psa. 75:8; Isa. 5:22; but more commonly
wine made from dates, honey, pomegran-
ates, etc., Song 8:2, and generally made
more inebriating by being mingled with
drugs.
See also Flagon, Myrrh, and Vine-
gar.
The " wine of Helbon " was made in the
vicinity of Damascus, and sent from that
city to Tyre, Ezek. 27:18. It resembled
the " wine of Lebanon," famous for its ex-
cellence and fragrance, Hos. 14:7. See
Helbon.
Great efforts have been made to distin-
guish the harmless from the intoxicating
wines of Scripture, and to show that inspi-
ration has in all cases approved the former
alone and condemned the latter, directly
or indirectly. It is not necessary, however,
to do this in order to demonstrate that so
far as the use of wine leads to mebriation
it is pointedly condemned by the Word of
God. Sin and shame are connected with
the first mention of wine in the Bible and
with many subsequent cases, Gen. 9:21;
19:31-36; I Sam. 25.36, 2n\ 2 Sam. 13:28;
I Kin. 20:12-21 , Esth. i: 10, 11 • Dan. 5:23;
Rev. 17:2. It is characterized as a deceitful
mocker, Prov. 20:1 ; as fruitful in miseries,
Prov. 23:29-35; in woes, Isa. 5 •22; in er-
rors, Isa. 28:1-7 ; and in impious folly, Isa.
5-11, 12; 56:12; Hos. 4:11; 7:5. The use
of it is in some cases expressly forbidden,
Lev. 10 9; Num. 6:3; and in other cases is
mentioned as characteristic of the wicked,
Joel 3:3; Amos 6:6. Numerous cautions
to beware of it are given, r Sam. 1:14,
Prov. 23:31, 31:4-6; I Tim. y.T,\ and to
tempt others to use it is in one passage
made the occasion of a bitter curse, Hab.
2:15, 16. Whatever approval was given in
Palestine to the moderate use of wine can
hardly apply to a country where wine is
an imported or manufactured article, often
containing not a drop of the juice of the
grape, or if genuine and not compounded
with drugs, still enforced with distilled
spirits. The whole state of the case, more-
over, is greatly modified in our days by the
discovery of the process of distilling alco-
hol, and by the prevalence of appalling
evils now inseparable from the general use
of any intoxicating drinks. Daniel and the
Rechabites saw good reason for total absti-
nence from wine, Jer. 35:14 ; Dan. 1:8; and
the sentiment of Paul on a matter involving
669
WIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WIT
permanent Christian principles is divinely
commended to universal adoption, Rom.
14:21; I Cor. 8:13. See Ti.mothy. The
wine used at the Passover, the rabbins in-
form us, was diluted with water ; and in
celebrating the Lord's Supper the unfer-
mented " fruit of the vine " would seem to
be far preferable to the so-called wine of
our day.
WINE-PRESS. See Press and Vine.
WINGS, used figuratively of the winds,
Psa. 18:10, and of sunbeams, Mai. 4:2.
They are a symbol of divine protection,
Psa. 17:8; 36:7; Matt. 23:37; and of the
spread of an invading army, Isa. 8 : 8.
God's loving care of his people is beauti-
fully illustrated by that of the eagle for her
young, E.xod. 19:4; Deut. 32:11.
WIN'NOWING. See Fan and Thresh-
ing.
WIN'TER, Song 2:11; Matt. 24:20, in
Palestine from November to February, a
season marked by copious rains and hail,
with northerly winds at times, and occa-
sionally frost and snow, lingering on the
mountains. Gen. 8:22; Psa. 74:17; 147:16,
17; Jer. 36:22; Zech. 14:8. See Canaan
and Snow.
WIS'DOM and WISE in Scripture have
a great variety of meanings, usually indi-
cated by the context. They may denote
mere cunning, like that of Jonadab and
Joab, 2 Sam. 13 and 14; practical skill, as in
Exod. 31:3, 6 ; sagacity in affairs, as in Job
12:2, 12; discernment and learning, like
Solomon's, i Kin. 3:28; 4:29-34; prudent
concern for one's own interest, as in Prov.
14:8; magical science, as in Gen. 41:8;
Dan. 2:2; atheistic learning and philoso-
phy, as in I Cor. 1:20; 3:19-21 ; 2 Cor. 1:12;
or a knowledge of the truth, as in Acts
6:10; Eph. 1:17: Col. 1:9, 28; 2 Tim. 3:15.
But the only true wisdom begins with giv-
ing God the supreme place in the mind,
heart, and life, Prov. 9.10; Eccl. 12:11; and
even a simple child who has learned to
love God with all his heart and his neighbor
as himself is more truly wise than the most
learned and sagacious unrenewed man, Jas.
1:3; 3:13-17-
In the eighth chapter of Proverbs divine
Wisdom is personified and nobly described,
and many of the passages might well ap-
ply to Christ, the Creator of the world,
Heb. 1:2, 10, and "the wisdom of God,"
I Cor. 1:24.
The apocryphal " Book of Wisdom," or
"Wisdom of Solomon," the work of some
Hellenistic Jew of Alexandria, a century or
670
more before Christ, comes down to us in
the original Greek and in various transla-
tions, but never was in Hebrew nor formed
a part of the Jewish Scriptures — though
adopted by the Church of Rome. It extols
divine wisdom for its inherent qualities
and its excellent fruits in the past, and has
many noble thoughts, but also many pas-
sages not in harmony with the inspired
Scriptures
WISE, way or manner. Matt. 1:18, Luke
13:11; Acts 7:6; Rom. 3.9; 10:6; Heb.
4:4. "In any wise," Lev. 19:17, in the
R. V. "surely."
WISE MEN. See Magi and Star.
WIST, knew ; the past tense, from an
obsolete present wis, Exod. 16:15; Mark
9:6; Luke 2:49; Acts 23:5. "Wot" and
" wotteth," meaning know and knoweth,
Gen. 21:26; 39:8, and to wit," meaning
to know, Gen. 24:21, are also from the
same Saxon root. ' Do you to wit," 2 Cor.
8:1, means, make you to know or mform
you. "To wit," in 2 Cor. 5:19, means,
"that is to say."
AVIT, Psa. 107:27, wisdom. See Wist.
AVITCH, Exod. 22:18, in the R. V. "sor-
ceress," the masculine form of the Hebrew
word being elsewhere rendered "sorcer-
er," Exod. 7.11 ; Jer. 27:9; Dan. 2:2; Mai
3:5, as in Deut. 18:10, R. V. See also Isa.
47:9, 12, and WIZ'ARD, Lev. 19:31; 20:6,
27; Deut. 18:11; I Sam. 28:3, 9; 2 Kin.
23:24; 2Chr.33:6; Isa. 8:19; 19:3.
Our best exposition of these terms as
found in the Bible is in the narrative of the
witch of En-dor. She was widely known
as "one that had a familiar spirit" or an
attendant demon, and was thereby pro-
fessedly able to summon departed souls
from the spirit world and converse with
them. From this it appears that the essen-
tial character of witchcraft was a pretended
commerce with demons and the spirits of
the departed. In this respect it is identi-
cal with modern witchcraft and with spir-
itualism; and all the condemnation pro-
nounced' against witchcraft m the Bible
falls equally on these and every similar
system of professed converse with ghosts
and demons.
To this practice the ancient witches and
wizards joined the arts of fortune-telling
and divining, and a professed knowledge
and control of the secret powers of the ele-
ments, heavenly bodies, etc. In order to
give color and concealment to their pre-
tended communion with spirits, they made
use of drugs, fumigations, chemical arts,
WIT
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WOL
incantations, and every mysterious device
to awe and impose upon a superstitious
people. Their unlawful arts were near
akin to the others forbidden in Deut. i8:io,
II : " There shall not be found among you
any one that maketh his son or his daugh-
ter to pass through the fire, or that useth
divination, or an observer of times or an
■enchanter or a witch (R. V. "sorcerer")
or a charmer or a consulter with familiar
spirits or a wizard or a necromancer." It
would appear from this catalogue that all
forms of superstition were as prevalent
in the East in the days of Moses as they
now are. Those familiar with the Syria
and Arabia of our days inform us that old
and young of all sects universally believe
in the potency of "the evil eye," of incan-
tations, charms, amulets, serpent-charm-
ing, and exorcism, and that these supersti-
tions exert a prodigious influence on Ori-
ental life. Even modern mesmerism has
its counterpart among the pretended magic
arts of the East, practised, like many other
superstitions, from time immemorial.
Such follies and knaveries are all strictly
forbidden in the Bible, and many of them
in the Jewish dispensation were punisha-
ble with death. They are all idolatrous —
ignoring the only true God and seeking
help from foreign sources. They are sure
to prevail in proportion as men lose a calm
trust in the Almighty and an intelligent
loving obedience to his will. He that fears
God need fear nothing else; while he that,
like king Saul, departs from God, finds help
and comfort nowhere. See En-dor and
Sorcerer.
WITHE, Judg. 16:7, a band made by
plaiting together willow or some other pli-
able twigs or stalks.
WIT'NESS, one who testifies to any fact
from his own personal knowledge. Under
the Mosaic law two witnesses under oath
were necessary to convict a person charged
with a capital crime, Num. 35:30; John
8:17; I Tim. 5:19; and if the criminal was
stoned, the witnesses were bound to cast
the first stones, Deut. 17:6, 7; Acts 7:58.
The Greek word for witness is martyr,
which see. The apostles were witnesses
in proclaiming to the world the facts of the
gospel, Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32; 2 Pet. 1:12, 16-
18; and Christ is a "faithful witness" in
testifying to men of heavenly things, John
3:12; Rev. 1:5. In Heb. 12:1, "so great a
cloud of witnesses," i. e., spectators, is an
allusion to the Grecian games and the vast
crowds that eagerly watched them.
As witnesses of important transactions,
symbolical acts were performed, as in Deut.
24:1, 3; 25:9, 10; Ruth 4:7, 8; Isa. 8:16;
Jer. 32:10-16; and durable monuments
erected, Deut. 19: 14, as in the cases of Ja-
cob and Laban, Gen. 21:30; 31:47, 52; and
of Joshua and the two tribes beyond Jor-
dan, Josh. 22:10, 26, 34; 24:26, 27; Isa.
19:19, 20.
^^j.j./.py^ Prov. 8:12, ingenious, wise.
The R. V. has " knowledge and discre-
tion " instead of " knowledge of witty in-
ventions."
WIZ'ARD. See Witch.
WOE is sometimes used in our Bibles
where a softer expression would be at least
equally proper : " Woe to such a one !" is
a threat or imprecation of some calamity,
natural or judicial, to befall a person; but
this is not always the meaning of the word
in Scripture. We find the expression,
"Woe is me!" that is, Alas for my sufTer-
ings ! and, " Woe to the women with child
and those who give suck !" that is, Alas for
their redoubled suffierings in times of dis-
tress ! If in the denunciatory language of
Christ we should read, " Alas for thee, Cho-
razin ! Alas for thee, Bethsaida !" we should
do no injustice to the general sentiments
of the passage.
Yet in many cases the word woe is used
in a fuller and more awful sense, express-
ing an inspired denunciation and foreshad-
owing of God's wrath upon sinners ; as
when we read. Woe to those who build
houses by unrighteousness and cities by
blood ; woe to those who are " rebellious
against God," etc., in numerous passages,
especially of the Old Testament, Hab. 2:6,
9, 12, 15, 19; Zeph. 3:1.
AN EGYPTIAN WOLF.
WOLF, a ferocious wild animal, emblem
of the tribe of Benjamin, Gen. 49:27, the
Canis Lupus of Linnaeus, belonging to the
dog genus and closely resembling the dog.
671
WOM
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WON
Wolves never bark, but only howl. They
are cruel but cowardly animals, and fly
from man except when impelled by hunger,
in which case they prowl by night in great
droves through villages, and destroy any
persons they meet, Jer. 5:6; Ezek. 22:27;
Hab. 1:8. They are swift of foot, strong
enough to carry off a sheep at full speed,
and an overmatch for ordinary dogs. In
severe winters wolves assemble in large
troops, join in dreadful bowlings, and make
terrible devastations, Zeph. 3:3. They prey
upon all the domestic animals, and are the
peculiar object of terror to shepherds, as the
defencelessness and timidity of the sheep
render it an easy prey, Luke 10:3; John
10:12. So persecutors and false teachers
have been "grievous wolves " to the flock
of Christ, Matt. io:i6; Acts 20:29. The
transforming power of the gospel on hu-
man nature will be as great as if the wolf
should become the playmate of the lamb,
Isa. 11:6; 65:25. The wolf inhabits the
continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America. Driven in general from the pop-
ulous parts of the country, he is yet every-
where found in large forests and moun-
tainous regions. The Syrian wolf is larger
than the Egyptian and of a grayish and
pale fawn-color. It was formerly more
common in Palestine than now.
WO'MAN is spoken of in Scripture as
the beloved and honored companion and
helpmeet, not the servant, of man. Gen.
2:23, 24, created as the necessary comple-
tion of man, Gen. 2: 18-23, ^nd though sub-
ordinate in sphere, Gen. 3:16; i Cor. 11:3,
8,9; 14:34,35; I Tim. 2:11-14, yet special-
ly qualified for that sphere, and as neces-
sary in it as man in his. In Hebrew tlie
words for man and woman, ish and ishshah,
are the same, the latter having the femi-
nine termination. Man and woman are
indeed essentially one, the natural quali-
ties of each so responding to those of the
other as to lay the foundation of the most
tender and abiding unity. The Bible thus
raised the Jewish woman high above the
women of heathenism, and the Old Testa-
ment contains some of the finest portrait-
ures of female character. But still great-
er is the contrast between the women of
heathenism and those of Christianity: the
former with mind and soul undeveloped,
secluded, degraded, the mere toys and
slaves of their husbands; the latter educa-
ted, refined, ennobled, cheering and bless-
ing the world. Christianity forbids a man
to have more than one wife, or to divorce
672
her for any cause but one. Matt. 5:32;
19:3-9; declares that bond and free, male
and female, are all one in Christ, Gal. 3:28;
that the wife must be loved and cherished
by the husband, Eph. 5:28-33; and that in
heaven they are no more given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God, Matt. 22:30.
If woman was first in the Fall, she was
honored in the exclusive parentage of the
Saviour of mankind ; and women were the
truest friends of Christ while on earth,
Mark 15:40, 41; 16:1, 2; John 11. In his
addressing his mother as " woman," John
2:4; 19:26, no reproach or disrespect is im-
plied. Seealso John2o:i3, 15. The primal
curse falls with heaviest weight on woman;
but the larger proportion of women in our
churches may indicate that it was the pur-
pose of God to make his grace to man " yet
more abound " to her who was the first in
sinning and suffering. The New Testa-
ment foreshadows the activity of woman in
Christian service, Luke 23:55, 56; 24:1;
Acts 16:15; Rom. 16:1-3,6, 12; Phil. 4:3;
I Tim. 5 : 10. In Psa. 68 : 1 1 the R. V. reads,
"The Lord giveth the word; the women
that publish the tidings are a great host."
In the East women have usually lived in
comparative seclusion, not appearing m
public unless closely veiled, not mingling
in general society nor seeing the men who
visit their husbands and brothers, nor even
taking their meals with the men of their
own family. Their seclusion was less in the
rural districts than in towns, and among
the Jews than among most other nations.
Hebrew women sat at the table with the
men, Ruth 2:14; i Sam. 1:7-9; Job 1:4;
John 2:3; 12:2; they are often mentioned as
interested in national affairs, Judg. 11:34;
21:21; I Sam. 2; iS:6, 7; i Kin. 18:13;
21:25; sometimes in places of authority,
Judg. 4:4; 5; 2 Kin. 11:3; sometimes as
prophetesses, Exod. 15:20. 21 ; 2 Kin. 22: 14;
Neh.6:i4; Luke2:36; but they were chief-
ly engaged in domestic duties, Prov. 31 ;
among which were grinding flour, baking
bread, making cloth, needlework, etc., Gen.
18:6; 2 Sam. 13:8; Acts 9:39. The poor
gleaned the remnants of the harvest; the
daughters of the patriarchs joined in tend-
ing their fathers' flocks, Gen. 29:9; Exod.
2:16; and females of all classes were ac-
customed to draw water for family use,
bearing it in earthern pitchers on their
shoulders often for a considerable distance,
Gen. 24:15-20; John 4:28.
WON'DER. An appropriate name for
many of the miracles recorded in Scripture,
WOR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WOR
Exod. 15:11; Deut. 6:22; Psa. 136:4; Joel
2:30; Heb. 2:4. See Miracle and Sign.
WOOL, Psa. 147:16, the chief material in
the manufacture of cloths, was highly val-
ued among the Hebrews, Lev. 13:47; Job
31:20; Prov. 31:13; Ezek. 34:3; Hos. 2:5.
It was a part of Mesha's tribute, 2 Kin. 3:4,
and was one of the articles bought by Tyre
from Damascus, Ezek. 27: 18. It was among
the first-fruits given to the priests, Deut.
18:4; was used in an ancient miracle, Judg.
6:37; and its pure whiteness symbolized
the perfection of God's pardoning grace,
Isa. 1 : 18. Garments of mixed fibres of
wool and flax were forbidden to the He-
brews, Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11, probably
as involving some entanglement with idol-
atry.
WORD, in Greek Log'os, one of the titles
of the second person of the Trinity, indica-
ting that by his acts and teachings God is
revealed somewhat as thought is by words,
I John 1:1 ; 5:7; Rev. 19:13. "The word
of the Lord" was a common phrase in the
Old Testament, always denoting some rev-
elation of Jehovah, Gen. 15:1, 4; i Sam.
3:1 ; I Kin. 6:11 ; 16:1, 7, 12, 34; 18:1, 31 ;
I Chr. 17:3; Jer. 1:2, etc.; Dan. 9:2. In
the account of the creation the action of
Jehovah is expressed by his speaking, Gen.
1:3, and this work is elsewhere ascribed
to his " word," Psa. 33:6, 9. See also Psa.
107:20; 147:15, 18; Isa. 55:11; Heb. 4:12^
13. Long before the coming of Christ the
Jewish paraphrasts of the Bible used "the
Word of the Lord " where Jehovah
occurred in the original; and to show its
true meaning and its application to our
Saviour was of great importance to John,
the last of the inspired writers, in whose
later years certain errors as to the person
of Christ, borrowed from Eastern philoso-
phy, had begun to creep into the Christian
church. He describes " the Word " as a
personal and divine Being, self-existent,
and coexistent from eternity with the Fa-
ther, yet distinguished from him as the
Son, the creator of all created things, the
source of all life and light to 'men, and in
the fulness of time incarnate among men,
John 1 : 1-3, 14. John's Gospel is full and
clear respecting the divinity of Christ, John
20:31.
WORKS. Great importance is attached
in Scripture to right actions— inspired by
supreme love to God and genuine love to
man, Mark 12:29-31 — as necessary eviden-
ces of a true spirit of faith and obedience,
Matt. 7:21-23; 21:28-31; 25:31-46; John
43
8:39; I Cor. 3:13-15; Eph. 2:10; Jas. 2:14-
26 ; I Pet. 1 : 17. But the " good works " of
unrenewed men lack that element of holi-
ness, Rom. 3:20-22, and the best works of
renewed men are no meritorious ground
of salvation, but only fruits and evidences
of grace. Tit. 3:5.
For "works" and "mighty works,"
John 5:20; T.T,; 15:24, see Miracle.
WORLD, the earth on which we dwell,
I Sam. 2:8; 2 Sam. 22:16; Luke 1:70; its
inhabitants, John 3:16, or a large number
of them, John 12:19; Rev. 13:3; in some
passages the universe, i Cor. 4:9; Heb.
11:3; Jas. 3:6; in several places it is equiv-
alent to " land," and denotes the Roman
Empire, Acts 17:6, or Judiea and its vicin-
ity, Luke 2:1; 4:5; Acts 11 : 28. It is some-
times a translation of the Hebrew olam,
Isa. 45:17; 64:4, in R. V. "of old;" Eccl.
3:11, R. v., margin, "eternity ;" and often
of the corresponding Greek word, aion,
meaning sometimes a future unlimited pe-
riod, Heb. 6:5, R. V. "age," and rendered
"age " in the R. V. margin of Mark 10:30;
Luke 18:30; 20:35; and often meaning this
dispensation or passing epoch, translated
"age" in the R. V. in i Cor. 10:11; Heb.
9:26 ; and in many passages in the margin,
as in Matt. 12:32; 13:22, 39, 40, 49; 24:3;
28:20; Luke 16:8; 20:34; Rom. 12:2; Gal.
1:4; Eph. 1:21; I Tim. 6:17; Tit. 2:12;
Heb. 1:2; 11:3. It often signifies the ob-
jects and interests of time and sense, Mark
4:19; 8:36; Gal. 6:14, and the riches, hon-
ors, and pleasures of this life, which are
supremely loved by mankind, and whose
pursuit is so generally full of sin that "the
world " is justly spoken of as the enemy of
God, Matt. 16:26; John 7:7; 15:18,19; Rom.
12:2; 2 Tim. 4:10; Jas. 4:4; i John : 15-17;
3:1, 13. Satan is "the god of this world,"
John 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4.
WORMS, not the common earth-worms,
but usually the larvae of various insects :
in Isa. 51:8 the moth that feeds on woollen
cloth; in Deut. 28:39; Jonah 4:7 the larv£e
of some insect destructive to vines ; in Exod.
16:20 those of some species bred in decay-
ing matter, or of beetles infesting dead bod-
ies buried in the shallow Eastern graves,
Job 19:26; 21:26, metaphorically used by
our Lord to illustrate the future remorse
and anguish of the lost, Mark 9:44-48; in
Job 25:6; Psa. 22:6; Isa. 41:14; Acts 12:23,
such as maj' breed in human ulcers. In
Mic. 7 : 17 some reptile is intended, or
" creeping things," as in the R. V.
W^ORM'WOOD, Lam. 3 : 15, 19, an intense-
673
VVOR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
WRI
ly bitter, unpalatable plant, a symbol for
whatever is nauseous and destructive,
Deut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15; 23.15. The fruits
of vicious indulgence are "bitter as worm-
wood," Prov. 5:4; and injustice and oppres-
sion are like wormwood and gall, Amos
5:7; 6:12. The Chaldee paraphrase calls
it " the wormwood of death." Tlie modern
use of absinthe, or wormwood in brandy,
embitters and destroys many lives in France
and Switzerland. Several species of Arte-
misia grow in Palestine. In Amos 6: 12 the
A. V. calls it ■' hemlock." In Rev. 8:10, n,
" the star called Wormwood " seems to de-
note a mighty prince or power of the air, the
instrument in its fall of sore judgments on
large numbers of the wicked. Comp. Isa.
14:12.
WOR'SHIP (/. e., worth-ship or worthi-
ness), in old English, the honor manifested
to one deemed worthy, or the homage of
subjects to kings. Josh. 5:14; Matt. 9:18;
Luke 14:10; Acts 10:25. It was rendered
in various ways and degrees, e. g., by fall-
ing prostrate on the ground, bending the
knee or the head and body, kissing the
hand, the feet, or the ground, or touching
the forehead to the ground once or more,
Gen. T,y.T,\ Matt.. 18:26. See Salutation.
WOR'SHIP OF God. That supreme rev-
erence of the soul which is due to him alone,
Exod. 20:3, 4; John 4:20-24; Heb. 1:6;
Rev. 21 :9, and which it is idolatry to offer
to any other, E.xod. 34:14; 2 Kin. 10:20-23;
Dan. 3:5-28; Acts 7:43 ; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev.
13:4-15. It includes adoration, praise, and
thanksgiving, confession of sin, imploring
his grace, and the study of his will ; and
the rendering of this service habitually and
with all the heart — both spiritually and vis-
ibly, in public and in private, by individu-
als, |by families, and by communities — is
not only a self-evident duty for all who be-
lieve in God, but is abundantly command-
ed in his Word. See Prayer. The stated
assembling of all people for united worship
on the Sabbath, in continuance of the tem-
ple and synagogue services enjoined bj'
God and practised by Christ, is a most
manifest duty. The very name " church,"
674
meaning assembly, implies it ; and the
preaching of the gospel, the great means
for promoting Christianity, requires it. The
directions of Paul, not to forsake the "as-
sembling of ourselves together," to read
his epistles " in all the churches," and to
join in "psalms and hynms and spiritual
songs," and his rules for securing the high-
est spiritual edification of all when they
come together in the church, all indicate
the established law of Christianity.
Public worship is taught in manj* of the
Psalms, as Psa. 42; 63; 84; also 27:4;
95:6; 96:8, 9; Joel 2:15-17; Matt. 18:19, 20.
In Old Testament times it included " holy
convocations" on the Sabbath, Lev. 23:3,
with the reading of Scripture, Acts 15:21,
and no doubt religious instruction, with
songs of praise, Psa. 42:4; 92; 118:24.
Double sacrifices were then offered in the
temple. Num. 28:9, 10, the show-bread was
renewed. Lev. 24:8, and prophets were con-
sulted, 2 Kin. 4:23. Our Lord himself ha-
bitually practised it, Luke 4 : 16. Family
worship is implied in numerous passages,
Gen. 12:5, 8 ; 35:2, 3, 7 , Josh. 24: 15 ; 2 Sam.
6:20; Job 1:5; Dan. 6:10; Acts 1:13, 14;
10:2; Rom. 16:5; I Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15;
Phile. 2. The terms of our Lord's prayer
show that it was for use every day and by
several persons in company. Private and
secret worship is essential to the believer's
spiritual life and walk with God, and is en-
joined in many ways in the word, Psa. 4:4;
5-3; 55: 17; 141 : 1. 2; Dan. 6:10; by the ex-
press direction of Christ, Matt. 6:5, 6; as
well as by his example. Matt. 14:23; Mark
1 :35; Luke 5: 16; 6:12; 9: 18, 29, and that of
the apostles. Acts 10:9.
" VVill-worship," Col. 2:23, is a term de-
scriptive of such forms of adoration and
service as are not prescribed in God's
Word, but are offensive in his sight. Such
are the masses and penances of popery.
WORTH, Ezek. 30:2, from a Saxon verb
weorthan, to be : " woe be to the day."
W^OT. See Wist.
W^OULD GOD, Num. 11:29; 14:2; 20:3;
Deut. 28:67; 2 Sam. 18:33; 2 Kin. 5:3, and
"Would to God," Exod. 16:3; Josh. 7:7;
Judg. 9:29; I Cor. 4:8; 2 Cor. ii:i, might
better be translated "Oh that," as in Job
6:8. In the original there is no mention of
God.
WOUND, in Obad. 7 should be rendered,
asnare; in Prov. 18:8 a dainty morsel.
•WRI'TING was doubtless of very early
origin, and would naturally at first be ideo-
graphic— consisting of rude pictures of nat-
YAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
YES
ural objects and symbols of natural process-
•es — numbers, movements, and thoughts ;
and subsequently phonetic — by letters and
syllables representing the sound of spoken
words. The Egyptian hieroglyphics exem-
plify the transition from the former to the
latter method; and the 22 letters of the an-
cient Hebrew alphabet, as well as those of
the still older Phcenician, are significant of
the same transition and of a pastoral ori-
jjin — aleph meaning o-r, beth a diaellmg,
and gimel a camel, etc. The earliest Scrip-
ture mention of writing is in Exod. 17:14,
as of an art long and well known. The ten
commandments were inscribed on stone
tablets, and Moses wrote down all the laws
and statutes prescribed by God, Exod. 24:4,
7, 12; 32:32, T,T,. Written chronicles were
kept. Num. 21:14; 2 Sam. 1:18. The peo-
ple were required thus to familiarize them-
selves with the law, Deut. 6:6-9, and many
copies of it were made, Jer. 8:8. Writing
was used in legal and business transac-
tions. Num. 5:23; Josh. 18:9, and in corre-
spondence, 2 Sam. II :i4; Ezra 4:8, 11 ; 5:6;
Neh. 6:17; Jer. 29:1, and recorders and
scribes are often mentioned, 2 Sam. 8:17;
20:24, 25; Jer. 36. Letters and books took
the form of cylindrical rolls, Psa. 40:7; Isa.
^4:4; Zech. 5:1, and the writing on papy-
rus, 2 John 12, or parchment, 2 Tim. 4:13,
was without capitals and punctuation
marks, or any separation between words
■or sentences. Inscriptions were made on
lead, brass, clay tiles, wax tablets, plaster,
stone, and gems, Exod. 39:14, 30; and the
letters were formed by hand, with the reed
pen or hair-pencil and ink, the metallic
.stylus, and graving tools. See Book, Ink,
and Pen.
In Jud. 5:14, for "pen of the writer," the
R. V. has " marshal's staff."
Y.
YARN, Linen, i Kin. 10:28, in the R. V.
■droves of horses.
YEAR. The Hebrews always had years
of 12 months. But at the beginning, as
som^e s-uppose, they were solar years of 12
months, each month having. 30 days, ex-
cepting the twelfth, which had 35 days. It
is supposed that they had an intercalary
month at the end of 120 years, at which
time the beginning of their year would be
out of its place full 30 days. Subsequently,
however, and throughout the history of the
Jews, the year was lunar, having alternate-
ly a full month of 30 days and a defective
month of 29 days, thus completing their
year in 354 days. To accommodate this
lunar year to the solar year (365 days, 5
hours, 48 minutes, and 48. 7 seconds), or the
period of the revolution of the earth around
the sun, and to the return of the seasons,
they added a whole month after Adar about
7 times in 19 years. This intercalary month
they called Ve-adar. See Month.
From several passages it appears that the
year was sometimes reckoned as 360 days,
or 12 months of 30 days each. This may
have been a common mode of speech for
the sake of round numbers, and as such
used by Daniel, 7:25; 12:7, where "a time"
evidently denotes a year; and "a time,
times, and a half" means three and a half
prophetic years or 1,260 prophetic days or
natural years. Compare the 42 months and
the 1,260 days of Rev. II :2, 3; 12:6.
The Hebrew year commenced with the
new moon of the month Abib or Nisan
nearest to the vernal equinox, usually after
the equinox and never long before it, for
the first-fruits of the barley harvest were
to be ofTered on the i6th of that month.
The ancient Hebrews appear to have had
no formal and established era, but to have
dated from the most memorable events in
their history; as from the exodus out of
Egypt, Exod. 19:1 ; Num. 33:38; i Kin. 6:1 ;
from the erection of Solomon's temple,
I Kin. 8:1 ; 9:10; and from the Babylonish
Captivity, Ezek. 33:21 ; 40:1. See Sabbat-
ical Year and Jubilee.
The phrase " from two years old and
under," Matt. 2:16, that is, "from a child of
two years and under," is thought by some
to include all the male children who had
not entered their second year; and by oth-
ers all who were near the beginning of
their second year, within a few months be-
fore or after.
The cardinal and ordinal numbers are
often used indiscriminately. Thus in Gen.
7:6, 11, Noah is 600 years old, and soon
after in his 6ooth year; Christ rose from
the dead "three days after," Matt. 27:63,
and "on the third day," Matt. 16:21 ; cir-
cumcision took place when the child was
"eight days old," Gen. 17:12, and "on the
eighth day," Lev. 12:3. Comp. Luke 1:59;
2r2i. Many slight discrepancies in chro-
nology may be thus accounted for.
YES'TERDAY and TO-DAY, in Heb. 13:8,
are used in a general sense for time past
and present. Christ is eternally the same.
The life and knowledge of man are com-
paratively only "of yesterday," Job 8:9.
675
YES
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZAC
YES'TER-NIGHT, Gen. 31:29, last night.
YOKE, a symbol of subjection and servi-
tude, I Kin. 12:4; an iron yoke, of severe
oppression, Deut. 2^:48. The ceremonial
law was a yoke, a burdensome restriction,
Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1. The withdravvmg or
breaking of a yoke denoted a temporary or
an unlimited emancipation from bondage,
Isa. 58:6; Jer. 2:20, and sometimes the dis-
owning of rightful authority, Jer. 5:5. The
iron yoke imposed by our sins none but
God can remove, Lam. 1:14; but the yoke
of Christ's service is easy and ligiit, Matt.
11:29, 30. The word yoke also denotes a
pair of oxen, 1 Kin. 19:19, 21 ; Job 1:3;
Luke 14:19. See Acre.
YOKE'-FELLOW, Phil. 4:3, comrade,
fellow-laborer.
ZAANA'IM, removals, the plain of,
rather the " oak " or " terebinth " of Zaana-
im, a notable tree or grove near which He-
ber the Kenite was encamped when Sisera
fled to his tent and was slain, Judg. 4:11.
It was near Kedesh in Naphtali, which the
Palestine E.xploration party found on the
west shore of the Sea of Galilee, 2 miles
above the outlet of the Jordan. Zaanaim,
now Bessum, would thus be 6 or 7 miles
northeast of Mount Tabor.
ZA'ANAN, place of flocks, Mic. i : 11, sup-
posed to be the same as Zenan, Josh. 15:37,
a town in the plain country of Judah, 6
miles northwest of Gath, where the name
lingers as Zeidan.
ZAANAN'NIM, Josh. 19:33, the same as
Zaanaim.
ZA'AVAN, disquieted, a Horite chief,
grandson of Esau, Gen. 36:27, called Za-
van in i Chr. 1:42, A. V.
ZA'BAD, a gift. \. One of David's war-
riors, I Chr. 2:36, 37; 11:41.
n. An Ephraimite, i Chr. 7:21.
in. The son of an Ammonitess, who with
Jehozabad, son of a Moabitess, assassina-
ted king Joash in his bed, 2 Chr. 24:25, 26;
called Jozachar in 2 Kin. 12:21. The mur-
derers were put to death later by .^maziah,
2 Kin. 14:5, 6; 2 Chr. 25:3, 4; but their
children were spared. Comp. Deut. 24:16.
IV. Three Hebrews wlio divorced their
foreign wives in Ezra's day, Ezra 10:27,
33- 43-
ZAB'DI, my gift. Four of this name are
mentioned, josh. 7:1, 17, 18; i Chr. 8:19;
27:27; Neh. II : 17.
ZAB'DIEL,,^7>7 of God. I. The father of
676
Jashobeam, captain of one of David's hosts,
I Chr. 27:2.
II. A leading priest in Nehemiah's day,
Neh. II :i4.
ZA'BUD, given, a priest, in the A. V.
"principal officer," or king's friend, a son
of Natfian the prophet and the confidential
friend and adviser of king Solomon, prob-
ably having shared with him the instruc-
tions of the venerable prophet, i Kin. 4:5.
Such a position in an Eastern court often
implies more influence w'ith the king than
is enjoyed by his legal advisers. Comp.
HUSHAI.
ZAB'ULON, the Greek form of Zebulun,
used in the A. V. in Matt. 4:13, 15; Rev.
7:8.
ZAC'CAI, pure, Ezra 2:9; Neh. 7:14, the
ancestor of 760 Hebrews who returned from
the Captivity.
ZKCCYLJE'US, pure, the Greek form of the
Hebrew Zaccai, Luke 19:1-10. He was a
Jew and yet a wealthy superintendent of
tax-gatherers at Jericho. In order to see
Christ he took a position in a sycamore-
tree, by which He was about to pass. The
Saviour drawing near and knowing his
heart, called to him to come down, and pro-
posed to make a brief stay at his house.
As he held office under the Romans he was
called " a sinner " by the Jews. He showed
sincere penitence and faith in the Saviour,
who in turn promised him salvation as " a
son of Abraham " by faith, Gal. 3:7, as well
as by birth. True conversion will evince
itself by the making of all practicable rep-
aration for any wrongs done. There is some
obscurity as to the relation of this interview
with the healing of the blind men. Possi-
bly the house of Zacchajus was on the west
of Jericho and the healing occurred be-
tween it and Jericho, the blind men having
followed him through the village. The
" house of Zacchaeus " now shown on the
plain of Jericho is probably the remnant of
a fort built in the loth century, or even
more recently.
ZAC'CUR, mindful, the name of 7 Israel-
ites mentioned in Num 13:4; i Chr. 4:26;
24:27; 25:2,10; Neh. 3:2; 10:12; 13:13.
ZACHARI'AH, properly Zkchariah, the
14th king cif Israel and the last of the line
of Jehu. He succeeded his father Jerobo-
am II., 773 B. C, and reigned 6 months.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
Shallum son of Jabesh consjjired against
him, killed him in public, and reigned in
his stead. Thus was fulfilled what the
Lord had foretold to Jehu, that his children
ZAC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZAP
should sit on the throne of Israel to the 4th
generation, 2 Kin. 14:29; 15:8-11.
ZACHARI'AS, the Greek form of Zecha-
RiAH, remembered by Jehovah. I. An Old
Testament martyr, slain in the temple court
between the altar and the Holy Place, Matt.
23:35; Luke 11:51; probably the son of the
high-priest Jehoiada, who was stoned to
death by order of king Joash, 2 Chr. 24:20-
22. See Zp:ch.-^ri.^h, IV. Our Lord calls
the martyr he refers to " the son of Bara-
chiah ;" but " son " may mean grandson or
•descendant. Some suppose the prophet
Zechariah to be intended, but history gives
no account of his death.
II. A priest belonging to the 8th course
or class, called that of Abia, i Chr. 24:10,
the husband of Elisabeth and father of
John the Baptist. His residence when not
on duty was in the hill-country south of
Jerusalem. Each class ministered in turn
one week in the temple, and the service of
offering incense was a high honor, allowed
only once to any one priest. He is known
to us by his pious and blameless life, his
vision of Gabriel in the temple promising
him a son in his old age, his hesitancy in
believing, for which he was visited by a
temporary dumbness, his miraculous res-
toration at the circumcision of his son, and
his noble and prophetic song of praise,
Luke 1:5-25, 57-79.
ZA'DOK, righteous, I., the son of Ahitub
and father of Ahimaaz, a high-priest to-
gether with Abiathar in the reigns of David
and Solomon. He was of the house of Ele-
azar, the son of Aaron, i Chr. 24:3, and was
a "seer" as well as a priest, 2 Sam. 15:27.
It is thought that he was the Zadok men-
tioned in I Chr. 12:27, 28 as giving in his
allegiance to David after Saul's death, and
he continued faithful to his king, i Chr.
27:17. He fled from Jerusalem with David
when Absalom rebelled, but was sent back
and communicated between David and Hu-
shai, 2 Sam. 15-17. He and Abiathar led
the elders of Judah to recall the king, 2 Sam.
19:11; he remained faithful to him and
Solomon when Abiathar fell away ; whence
the king deposed Abiathar and made Za-
dok the sole high-priest, i Kin. 1:7, 8, 26,
32-39; 2:27, 35; 4:4; I Chr. 29:22.
II. The father-in-law of king Uzziah,
2 Kin. 15:33; 2 Chr. 27:1.
III. The son of another Ahitub, and high-
priest, I Chr. 6:12; 9:11.
IV. A repairer of the wall of Jerusalem
and sealer of the covenant, Neh. 3:4; 10:21.
V. The son of Immer, a priest, i Chr.
24:14, who returned from the Captivity,
Ezra 2:37, and aided in repairing the city
wall, Neh. 3:29.
VI. A priest at Jerusalem, Neh. 11: 11.
VII. A scribe and treasurer under Nehe-
miah, Neh. 13: 13.
ZA'HAM, fatness, a son of Rehoboam,
2 Chr. II : 19.
ZA'IR, small, 2 Kin. 8:21, a spot where
Joram's army attacking the Edomites was
surrounded and fought its way out. Its
site is unknown, though some would iden-
tify it with Zoar.
ZAL'MON, shady, I., an Ahohite, a hero
of David, 2 Sam. 23 : 28 ; called Ilai in
I Chr. II :29.
II. A wooded height in Samaria, 3 or 4
miles south- southwest of Shechem, with
wood from which Abimelech burned the
Shechemitesout of their citadel, Judg. 9:48.
In Psa. 68:14 its aspect, when snow is fly-
ing over it, seems to illustrate God's easy
scattering of his enemies.
ZALMO'NAH, shady, the 41st station of
the Israelites in the desert, reached after
leaving Mount Hor and passing the south
border of Idumaea, Num. 33 : 41 . Perhaps in
wady el-Amran, 6 miles northeast of Elath.
ZALMUN'NA, unprotected. See Zeb.\h.
ZAMZUM'MIM, or ZU'ZIM, a race of
Rephaim or giants east of the Jordan, prob-
ably near Rabbath Ammon, defeated by
Chedorlaomer, Gen. 14:5, and extermina-
ted by the Ammonites, who possessed their
territory until themselves subdued by Is-
rael, Deut. 2:20, 21. See Ammonites and
ZlIZIM.
ZANO'AH, marsh, I., a town in the She-
phelah or lowland of Judah, near Zorah
and Jarmuth, Josh. 15:34. Its inhabitants
after the Captivity, Neh. 11:30, aided in
repairing the wall of Jerusalem, Neh. 3:13.
Its site is traced at Zanii'a, just north of
Yarmuk, and 13 miles west of Bethlehem.
II. A town in the hillcountr}' of Judah,
grouped with Maon, Carmel, and Ziph,
Josh. 15:56; now Ghanaim, 5 miles south
by west of Hebron.
ZAPH'NATH-PAANE'AH, p}-eservcr of
the age, an Egyptian name given by Pha-
raoh to Joseph in commemoration of the
salvation wrought through him, Gen. 41 :45.
ZA'PHON, north, a town in Gad, near
Succoth, Josh. 13:27, apparently in the Jor-
dan valley, ver. 17-21, and near the Sea of
Galilee; probably Amathus, now Amateh,
in wady Regib. In Judg. 12:1, for "north-
ward " the R. V. has in the margin, " to
Zaphon."
677
ZAR
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZEB
ZA'RA, Matt. 1:3, A. V., and ZA'RAH,
Gen. 38:30; 46:12. See Zerah.
ZA'REAH. See ZoR.'VH.
ZA'RED. See Zered.
ZAR'EPHATH, smelling-place, Obad. 20,
a Phoenician seaport on the Mediterranean
between Tyre and Zidon, usually subject
to Tyre. During part of a long drought
and famine in Israel the prophet Elijah
resided here with a widow, whose cruse of
oil and barrel of flour were supplied and
whose child was restored to life by mira-
cle. Her noble faith in God is worthy of
everlasting remembrance, and her gener-
ous self-forgetfulness of universal imita-
tion, I Kin. 17:9-24. The place was called
by the Greeks Sarepta, Luke 4:26, and its
ruins are found on the seashore, a mile dis-
tant from Surafend, a large village on the
adjacent hills.
ZAR'ETAN, Josh. 3:16; ZARTA'NAH,
I Kin. 4:12; and ZAR'THAN, i Kin. 7:46;
all in the R. V. ZAR'ETHAN, splendor, a
place in the Jordan valley, and apparently
a region bordering the Jordan, on the west,
extending to the south from Beth-shean, and
belonging to the tribe of Manasseh. It was
reached by the retroceding waters of the
Jordan when the Israelites miraculously
crossed the river, and gave its name to one
of Solomon's commissariat districts. In it
were the clay-pits where brass castings
were made for king Solomon. In a paral-
lel passage this latter place is named ZE-
RED'ATHAH, 2 Chr. 4:16, 17, which again
would seem to be the same as ZERE'RATH,
in the R. V. ZERE'RAH, Judg. 7:22. The
name Zahrah now marks a portion of the
Jordan valley.
ZA'RETH (rather ZE'RETH)-SHA'HAR,
Splendor of the dawn, a town of Reuben,
on a height overlooking the Jordan or Dead
Sea valley, Josh. 13 : 19. Its site may be
marked by the ruins called Zara, near the
mouth of wady Zerka Nain.
ZAR'HITE, a descendant of Zerah, the
son of Judah, Num. 26:20; Josh. 7:17;
I Chr. 27:11, 13.
ZARTA'NAH, cooling? I Kin. 4:12. See
Zaret.\n.
ZAR'THAN, I Kin. 7:46, in 2 Chr. 4:17,
called Zeredathah. See Zaretan.
ZEBADI'AH, Heb. Zebad'vah, gift of
Jehovah, tiie name of 9 Israelites, i Chr.
8:15; 8:17; 12:7; 26:2; 27:7; 2 Chr. 17:8;
19:11 ; Ezra 8:8; 10:20.
ZE'BAH, sacrifice, one of two Midianite
kings who oppressed Israel, and when Gid-
eon raised an army and defeated them,
678
escaped over the Jordan by a ford near
Beth-shean. Gideon pursued and captured
them at Karkor, and taking them back ta
his home at Ophrah slew them, to avenge
their slaying of his brothers, Judg. 8:18.
Comp. Psa. 83:11, 12.
ZEBA'IM, gazelles, an unknown home of
some of Solomon's bondmen, Ezra 2:57;
Neh. 7:59.
ZEB'EDEE, gift of Jehovah, the husband
of Salome and father of James and John
the apostles. He was a fisherman in com-
fortable circumstances, owning his boat
and having men in his employ, Mark i : 19^
20, at or near Bethsaida, on the west shore
of the Sea of Galilee, and readily spared
his two sons at the call of the Saviour, Matt.
4:21. His wife also attended Christ and
ministered to him of her substance, Matt.
27:55,56; Marki5:4o; 16:1. See Salome.
His son John was personally known to the
high-priest, and was charged by the dying
Saviour with the care of His mother, John
18:15, 16; 19:26, 27.
ZEBO'IM; in Gen. 14:2, 8; Deut. 29:23,
ZEBOI'IM, gazelles. I. One of the four cit-
ies of the " plain " or " circle " of the Jordan
and Dead Sea depression — " in the vale of
Siddim, which is the Salt Sea." Gen. 10:19;
14:2, 8 — which were destroyed by fire from
heaven. Its king was named Shemeber.
It is always associated with Admah, Deut.
29:23; Hos. 11:8. Its location is unknown,
whether at the southern end of the sea or
the northern.
II. A valley, and perhaps an adjacent
town, Neh. 11:34, of the Benjamites, i Sam.
13:18. A wild gorge, running up from Jer-
icho to Michmash, is called Shuk-ed-Dub-
ba, which has the same meaning as this
Zebo'im, hyoia-ravine.
ZEBU'DAH, given, wife of king Josiah
and mother of Jehoiakim, 2 Kin. 23:36.
ZE'BUL, a dwelling, a governor of the
city of Shechem, who labored adroitly ta
preserve the city for Abimelech his master,
the son of Gideon, Judg. 9:28-41.
ZEB'ULUN, in the A. V., Rev. 7:8, ZAB'-
ULON, a habitation. I. The tenth son of
Jacob and si.\th and last of Leah, born in
Mesopotamia, Gen. 30:20; 49: 13, and father
of three sons, the heads of the tribe. Gen.
46:14.
II. The tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400
at Sinai, and 60,500 at the next census.
Num. 1:30, 31 ; 26:26, 27; it encamped on
the east of the tabernacle, and marched
with Issachar under the standard of Judah,
Num. 2:7, 8; 10:14-16. It stood on Mount
ZEC
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZEC
Ebal when the blessings and curses were
pronounced, Deut. 27:13. Its portion in
the Holy Land accorded with the predic-
tion of Jacob, Gen. 49:13, extending from
the Mediterranean Sea at Carmel to the
Sea of Gennesaret, between Issachar on the
south and Naphtali and Asher on the north
and northwest, Josh. 19:10-16. The tribe
occupied one of the richest portions of
Western Palestine, and " offered the sacri-
fices of righteousness " from its abundant
flocks; rejoicing in its "goings out" to-
wards the sea at Acre, and sucking "of the
abundance of the sea " at the harbor of
Haifa, and of " treasures hid in the sands,"
possibly in allusion to the glass first made
on that coast. Zebulun's posterity are often
mentioned in connection with those of Issa-
char, his nearest brother, Deut. 33:18, 19.
They were entangled with the Phoenicians
on the west and did not entirely expel the
Canaanites, though holding them in sub-
jection, Judg. 1 : 30. In process of time they
and their successors became much foreign-
ized in customs, language, and even reli-
gion, 2 Chr. 30:10, II, 18, and were con-
temned by the Judahites, Isa. 9:1; Matt.
4:16; 26:73. But in their earlier period
they took part with Barak and Gideon in
the defence of the country against its op-
pressors, Judg. 4:6, 10; 5:14, 18; 6:35.
Elon, one of the judges of Israel, was a
Zebulunite, Judg. 12:11, 12, and the proph-
et Jonah. Fifty thousand of them joined
their brethren of the other tribes in ma-
king David king and contributing supplies,
I Chr. 12:33, 40; aiid their princes are hon-
orably mentioned in Psa. 68 : 27. They pen-
itently heeded the call of Hezekiah and
were among those who abandoned their
idolatry and celebrated the Passover with
renewed zeal, 2 Chr. 30:10, 11, 18. But
they relapsed into idolatry and were car-
ried into captivity, 2 Kin. 17:13. Zebulun
and Naphtali were especially included by
Isaiah in his prediction of the Messiah's
illumining the national darkness, Isa. 9:1,
2, and Matt. 4:12-16 records its partial ful-
filment. The inhabitants of this region in
the time of Christ were highly favored by
his instructions— Nazareth and Cana, Ca-
pernaum, Magdala, and Tiberias being all
in these limits.
III. A city in the southern border of
Asher, but probably belonging to Zebulun,
Josh. 19:27.
ZECHARl'AH, God remembers, I., son of
Berechiah and grandson of Iddo the priest ;
called the son of Iddo in Ezra 5:1; 6:14, and
his successor in the priesthood, Neh. 12:4,
16, perhaps because Berechiah was then
dead. Zechariah is the nth of the minor
prophets. He was born in Babylon, and
returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua the
high-priest, and began to prophesy while
yet young, Zech. 2:4, in the 2d year of Da-
rius son of Hystaspes, B. C. 520, in the 8th
month of the holy year, and 2 months after
Haggai. These two prophets, vvith united
zeal, encouraged the people to resume the
work of the temple, which had been discon-
tinued for some years, Ezra 5:1. Its foun-
dations had been laid in the time of Cyrus ;
but during the reigns of Cambyses and
the pseudo-Smerdis the work was arrested
through the hostility of the Samaritans.
The favor of Darius encouraged the re-
sumption of the work, and it was vigorous-
ly prosecuted, Ezra 6:14, to the end of the
i6th year after the return of the first band
of Israelites from exile.
Zechariah's prophecies concerning the
Messiah are more particular and express
than those of most other prophets (see
Zech. 3:8; 6:12; 9:9; Ii:i2; 12:10; 13:1,
6, 7), and many of them, like those of Dan-
iel, are couched in symbols. The book
opens with a brief warning introduction ;
after which six chapters contain a series of
visions, setting forth the fitness of that time
for the promised restoration of Israel, the
destruction of the enemies of God's people,
the conversion of heathen nations, the ad-
vent of Messiah the B.ranch, the outpouring
and blessed influences of the Holy Spirit,
and the importance and safety of faithfully
adhering to the service of their covenant
God. Two years later, chs. 7 and 8, a dep-
utation of Jews came to the temple to in-
quire whether the fast days of the Captiv-
ity were to be observed now that they had
returned, and were taught that God loves
mercy and truth more than fasting and
sackcloth, and that their days of mourning
should be turned to days of joy. Chs. 9-1 1
predict the prosperity of Judah during the
times of the Maccabees, together with the
fate of Damascus, the Palestine coast, and
other adjacent regions. The remaining
three chapters describe, in a style befitting
the grandeur of the themes, the future des-
tiny of the Jews, the siege of Jerusalem, the
triumphs of Messiah, and the glories of the
latter day when "Holiness to the Lord"
shall be inscribed on all things.
II. A wise and faithful prophetic coun-
sellor of king Uzziah in the early part of
his reign, whose death was the beginning
679 '
ZED
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZEL
of calamities to Judah, 2 Chr. 26:5, 16. He
was wise because he " had understanding
in the visions," or the fear, "of God." Comp.
Dan. 1:17. Perhaps the same who was the
father-in-law of Ahaz, 2 Chr. 28:27 ; 29:1.
III. A son of Jeberechiah, associated
with Urijah the higii-priest bj' Isaiah as a
" faithful witness," Isa. 8:1,2; 2 Chr. 29: 13.
IV. A son of the high-priest Jehoiada in
the reign of Joash, 2 Chr. 24:20. Having
probably succeeded his father in office, he
was stoned in the very house of God, ver.
21, for faithfully rebuking the king, court,
and peo'ple for their growing idolatry and
corruptions. This impious crime, aggrava-
ted by the fact that Zechariah was not only
a holy man of God but also the king's own
cousin, 2 Chr. 22:11, was long remembered,
and is supposed to have been referred to
in Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51— the " Zachari-
as, the son of Barachias," " slain between
the temple and the altar," being so called
for some unknown reason. The dying cry
of Zechariah was not like that of Stephen,
Acts 7:60.
A number of other men of this name are
mentioned in I. and II. Chronicles, Ezra,
and Nehemiah ; but little of interest is said
of them.
ZE'DAD, side or slope, a place on the
northern border of the Holy Land, Num.
34:8; Fizek. 47:15. Identified by some with
a remote town east of the north end of
Anti-Lebanon, about 50 miles east-north-
east of Baalbek.
ZEDEKI'AH, 7-iffJiteousness of Jehovah,
I., the 19th and last king of Judah, son of
Josiah and Hamutal, full brother of Jehoa-
haz, 2 Kin. 23:31 ; 24:18, and uncle to Jeco-
niah his predecessor, 2 Kin. 24:17, 19:
I Chr. 3:15; Jer. 52:1. When Nebuchadnez-
zar took Jerusalem he carried Jeconiah to
Babylon, with his wives, children, officers,
and the best artificers in Judaea, and put in
his place his uncle Mattaniah, whose name
he changed to Zedekiah, and made him
promise with an oath that he would main-
tain fidelity to him. He was 21 years old
when he began to reign at Jerusalem, and
he reigned there 11 years. He did evil in
the sight of the Lord, committing the same
crimes as Jehoiakim, 2 Kin. 24: 18-20; 2 Chr.
36:11-13. Comp. Jer. 29:16-19; 34; 38:5;
Ezek. 17:12, 14, 18. In the 9th year of his
reign he revolted against Nebuchadnezzar,
trusting to the support of Pharaoh-hophra
kingof Egypt, which proved ineffectual, and
weakly despising the faithful remonstran-
ces of Jeremiah, Jer. 37:2, 5, 7-10. In con-
680
sequence of this Nebuchadnezzar marched
his armj- into Judiea and took all the forti-
fied places, Jer. 34 7. In the nth year of
his reign, on the 9th day of the 4th month
(July), Jerusalem was taken, 588 B. C. The
king and his people endea\ored to escape
by favor of the night ; but the Chaldaean
troops pursuing them, they were overtaken
in the plain of Jericho. ZedeLiah was ta-
ken and carried to Nebuchadnezzar, then
at Riblah, in Syria, who reproached him
with his perfidy, caused his children to be
slain before his face and his own eyes to be
put out; and then loading him with chains
of brass, he ordered him to be sent to Bab-
ylon, where he was put " in prison," that
is, " in the house of visitations or punish-
ments," probably at penal labor, as was
Samson, Judg. 16:21 ; 2 Kin. 25; Jer. 39;
52; Ezek. 19. All these events remarka-
bly fulfilled the predictions of Jeremiah and
Ezekiel in the chapters previously referred
to. See also other prophecies of Jeremiah
during this period : chs. 21, 24, 27-29, 32-34,
and Ezek. 26:11-2'. Compare also, with
respect to Zedekiah 's bl'ndness, Jer. 32:4;
343; Ezek. 12:13.
II. One who was consulted as head of
the false prophets, at the court of idola-
trous Ahab, on the success or failure of
Ahab's war with Ramoth-gilead, i Kin. 22;
2 Chr. 18. Comp. i Kin. 18: 19, 22, 40. His
buffalo horns were the emblem of the tribe
of Ephraim, Deut. 33:17. In his anger he
struck and tai:nted Micaiah the prophet,
who had foretold the true result of the
campaign, and received a solemn premo-
nition of his own doom, i Kin. 22:25.
III. Son of Hananiah, a prince of Judah,
present in the palace royal when the read-
ing of Jeremiah's predictions to the people
was announced, Jer. 36:12.
IV. A false prophet at Babylon, son of
Maaseiah, denounced by Jeremiah for
buoying up the people with false hopes,
Jer. 29:21, 22.
ZE'EB, ivolf, Judg. 7:19-25; 8:3; Psa.
S3: II, a Midianite prince, defeated by Gid-
eon and slain at a ford of the Jordan to
which he gave a name. See Oreb.
ZE'LAH, a rib, a town in the south of
Benjamin, Josh. 18:28, where was the fam-
ily tomb of Kish, 2 Sam. 21:14, in which
the remains of Saul, Jonathan, and others
were laid, ver. 13. Probably the same as
ZlCI.ZAH.
ZE'LEK, a fissure, one of David's guard,
an Ammonite, 2 Sam. 23:37; i Chr. 11:39.
ZELOPH'EHAD, first rjipture ? a de-
ZEL
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZEP
scendant of Joseph by Manasseh, Machir,
Gilead, and Hepher, Josh. 17:3,4; i Chr.
7:15, who took no part in Korah's rebel-
lion, but whose death in the wilderness.
Num. 14:35; 27:3, leaving 5 daughters and
no sons, led to the establishment of a law
that in such cases daughters should inherit
the patrimony of their father ; but they
were not to marry out of their tribe, Num.
26:33; 27:1-11; 36.
ZELO'TES.y?^// of zeal. In several pas-
sages the Greek word is used in a favora-
ble sense, i Cor. 14:12; Tit. 2:14, especially
of those zealous in Jewish law. Acts 21:21 ;
22:3; Gal. 1:14. In other passages it de-
notes a zealot, one passionately and fanat-
ically ardent in his zeal. After the time of
Christ the name Zelotse was commonly ap-
plied to an association of private individu-
als who without authority or law sought to
enforce their own views of right. In their
opinion it was a high crime to pay tribute
to the Romans, and rebellion was the duty
of every patriotic Jew. Beginning with
moderation, they became more and more
violent; and during the siege of Jerusalem
by Titus their crimes under the pretext of
zeal for the Lord are described by Jose-
phus as truly appalling; so that they ac-
quired the appropriate name of Sicarii, or
assassins. As the germ of this body seems
to have existed in our Lord's day, some
suppose that the apostle Simon Zelotes was
so called from his having once belonged to
it, Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13. His name Ca-
naanite.or more properly Cananaean, from
the Syriac kanedn, has the same meaning
with Zelotes, Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18. Little
more is known respecting Simon.
ZEL,' Z AH, shadow, i Sam. 10:2, a place
on the southern border of Benjamin, con-
jectured to be at Beit Jala, half a mile west
of Rachel's sepulchre, on the north of Beth-
lehem.
ZEMARA'IM, double fleece of ivool, I., an
ancient town of Canaan, allotted to the
tribe of Benjamin, Josh. 18:22; it lay in
the Jordan valley, or on the adjacent rising
grounds towards Bethel; probably at Kh.
es-Sumrah, 4 miles north of er-Riha.
II. An eminence in Mount Ephraim,
2 Chr. 13:4; probably Ras es-Zeimerah,
3 '-2 miles east-northeast of Bethel.
ZEM'ARITES, the name of a Hamitic
tribe, akin to the Hittites and Amorites
and called "sons of Canaan," Gen. 10:18;
I Chr. 1:16. The name is perhaps pre-
served in the ruins called Samra, near the
mouth of the river Eleutherus.
ZE'NAN, pointed, or pasture-ground, a
town in the southwest of Judah, Josh. 15:37;
located at Kh. Zeidan, 4 miles south of La-
chish.
ZK'HAZ, Jove-given, a pious lawyer, and
apparently also a preacher, a friend of
Paul, who, writing from Nicopolis during
the last year of his life, commends him and
Apollos, then at Crete on a journey, to the
kind offices of Titus, Tit. 3:13. His name
is Greek, and his profession may have been
Greek or Roman civil law, rather than
Jewish law.
ZEPHANI'AH, hidden by Jehovah, I., a
Kohathite Levite, in the 7th generation
from Levi ; ancestor of Samuel and He-
man, I Chr. 6:36; called Uriel in ver. 24.
II. AsonofCushi; the 9th of the 12 minor
prophets, a great-grandson of " Hizkiah,"
possibly king Hezekiah, Zeph. 1:1. He
began to prophesy about B. C. 630, in the
early part of king Josiah's reign, before the
reforms of that good king were completed,
2 Chr. 34:3 ; Zeph. i :4, 5. The destruction
of Nineveh, foretold in Zeph. 2 : 13-15, prob-
ably occurred about B. C. 606; and the
threats against the Baalites, Chemarim,
etc., Zeph. 1:4-6, were fulfilled by Josiah,
2 Kin. 23:4, 5. His prophecy contains two
oracles, in three chapters, directed against
idolaters in Judah, against surrounding
idolatrous nations — Moab, Ammon, Ethio-
pia, and Nineveh — and against wicked ru-
lers, priests, and prophets. In ch. 2:1-3 he
calls the nation to repentance. In ch. 3 : 1-7
he warns Jerusalem of coming judgments,
but closes with cheering promises of gos-
pel blessings. His style and manner are
like those of Jeremiah, during whose early
years they were contemporary. His sub-
sequent history is unknown.
ZEPH'ATH, zvatch-tower, a Canaanitish
city, called Hormah after its destruction at
the Conquest, Num. 21:3; Judg. 1:17, but
afterwards rebuilt, i Sam. 30:30; one of the
" uttermost cities of Judah southwards,"
afterwards assigned to Simeon, Josh. 12:14;
15:30; 19:4. Robinson affixed this name
to the long and rough pass es-Sufa, lead-
ing up from the Arabah border into the
hill-country of Judah. But of late Row-
lands, Palmer, Trumbull, and others trace
Zephath at the extensive ruins called Se-
bata, nearly midway between Bir-es-Saba
and 'Ain Kadeis. It was at Zephath that
the Israelites were repulsed in attempting
to ascend from Kadesh, Num. 14:40-45;
Deut. 1 :44.
ZEPHA'THAH, watch-tower, a valley
681
ZEP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZER
near Mareshah, where Asa defeated Zerah
theCushite, 2Chr. 14:10. Four miles north-
west of Mareshah is now a place called Zei-
ta, in a ravine opening into a broad valley,
which runs up northwest to Ashdod. Zeita
is 25 miles west-southwest from Jerusalem.
ZEPH'ON, or ZIPH'ION, Gen. 46:16;
Num. 26: 15, a son of Gad.
ZE'RAH, a rising^ I., an Edomite prince,
son of Reuel and grandson of Esau, Gen.
36:13- 17.33; I Chr. 1:37, 44.
II. Twin brother of Pharez, son of Judah
and Tamar, Gen. 38:30; i Chr. 2:4, 6;
called Zara in Matt. 1:3, A. V. His pos-
terity were called Zarhites, Num. 26:20;
Josh. 7:17.
III. Son of Simeon and father of a fam-
ily called Zarhites, Num. 26:13; i Chr.
4:24; called Zohar in Gen. 46:10.
IV. A Gershonite Levite, i Chr. 6:21,41.
V. A Cushite king who invaded Judah
in the reign of Asa with an immense army
of 1,000,000 men, Lubim and Cushites, and
300 chariots, and was defeated by the spe-
cial power of God, and retreated by the
way of Gerar, 2 Chr. 14:9-13. Asa's sol-
emn appeal to God is put on record to en-
courage our trust in the Hearer of prayer.
Mareshah lay on the border of the hill-
country of Judah, on the route from Egypt
to Jerusalem. See Zephath.\h. Zerah
has usually been identified with Usarken
or Osorchon I., son of Shishak, or with
Usarken II., but seems rather to have been
an Ethiopian who was able to secure a
passage through Egypt.
ZE'RED, or ZK"R'E.T),exiiberance,2Lhroo\i
between Edom and Moab, emptying into
the Dead Sea at its southeast corner, and
mentioned as the terminus of Israel's so-
journ in the wilderness, Num. 21:12; Deut.
2:13, 14; perhaps the "brook of the wil-
lows," Isa. 15:7, and the "river of the Ara-
bah," R. v., Amos 6: 14. It is usually iden-
tified with wady el-Ahsy.
ZERE'DA, the fortress, a to\Vn in Mount
Ephraim where Jeroboam was born, i Kin.
11:26. Probably Surdah, 2^ miles north-
west of Beitin or Bethel.
ZERED'ATHAH, the place of Solomon's
brass-foundry, 2 Chr. 4 : 17, or Zaretan,
I Kin. 7:46.
ZERE'RAH, or ZERE'RATH, A. V., Judg.
7:22. See Zaretan.
ZE'RESH, gold, the wife of Haman the
Agagite, haughty and revengeful like him,
and destined, as she foreboded, to see him
and his ten sons hung on the gallows she
had designed for Mordecai the servant of
682
God, Esth. 5 : 10-14; 6 : 13 ; 7 : 10 ; 9 : 13.
Comp. Isa. 54: 17.
ZERUB'BABEL, in Greek ZOROB'ABEL,
begotten in Babylon, the son of Salathiel or
Shealtiel, of the royal race of David ; called
by his Chaldiean name " Sheshbazzar, the
prince of Judah," in Ezra 1:8; and "the
son of Pedaiah," Salathiel's brother, in
1 Chr. 3:17-19, perhaps as being his legal
heir. Zerubbabel held an official position
at Babylon, and was the leader of the first
colony of Jews which returned from the
Babylonish Captivity, 536 B. C. Cyrus
committed to his care the sacred vessels of
the temple, with which he returned to Je-
rusalem, with valuable gifts of gold and
silver, goods and beasts, and with Joshua
the high-priest and many Levites, priests,
Nethinim, and princes, and perhaps with
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, Ezra
i:ii; he had also a royal order for the
timber and stones needed in rebuilding
the temple. He is always named first, as
being chief of the Jews that returned to
their own country, Ezra 2:2; y.%\ 5:2;
Hag. 1:1; 2:1-9,21-23. He laid the foun-
dations of the temple, Ezra 3:8, 9 ; Zech.
4:9, and restored the worship of the Lord
and the usual sacrifices. When the Sa-
maritans offered to assist in rebuilding the
temple Zerubbabel and the principal men
of Judah refused them this honor, since
Cyrus had granted his commission to the
Jews only, Ezra 4:2, 3. They procured
from the Persian court an order that the
work should cease ; and it was not resumed
until 16 years later, in the second year of
Darius the son of Hystaspes, B. C. 521. It
may be that he was too easily daunted by
opposition, and turned aside with the rest
to private enterprises, Hag. i : 2-1 1, but
was roused and greatly cheered by the
stirring appeals of the prophets. Hag. 1:13,
14; 2:4-9, 21-23; Zech. 4:6-10; 8:3-9, 18-
23. He completed the temple 4 years later,
Ezra 5:2, restored the courses and main-
tenance of the priests and Levites, Ezra
6:i8; Neh. 12:47, and secured a registra-
tion of the returned Jews, Neh. 7:5, and
the observance of the Passover, Ezra 6:22.
The genealogy of both Joseph and Mary is
traced to him. Matt, i : 13 ; Luke 3:27.
ZERUI'AH, cleft, the sister or half-sister
of David, and mother of his famous gener-
als Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, i Sam. 26:6;
2 Sam. 2:18. Probably Abigail and she
were daughters of Nahash and of a woman
who afterwards married Jesse, 2 Sam.
17:25; I Chr. 2: 13-17.
ZET
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZIM
ZE'THAR, a star, one of the 7 eunuchs of
Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:10.
ZI'BA, a statue, a servant or freedman
of Saul, who became his steward and had
15 sons and 20 servants, and whom Da-
vid charged with the same' office towards
Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, 2 Sam. 9 ;
19:17, 24-30. By a false representation
David was induced to transfer to Ziba the
lands he had given to Mephibosheth, but
afterwards divided them between the two,
being convinced that he had acted hastily,
and unable to decide with certainty for
either, 2 Sam. 16:1-4; 19:24-30.
ZIB'EON, dyed, the grandfather of Esau's
wife Aholibamah, Gen. 36:2, a Hivite, but
classed as a Horite in Gen. 36:20, 24, 29;
I Chr. 1:38, 40.
ZICH'RI, memorable, 2 Chr. 28:7, a val-
iant Ephraimite prince, general of Pekah
king of Israel in the war with Ahaz. He is
perhaps the man called " Tabeal's son,"
Isa. 7:6, whom Rezin and Pekah proposed
to make king of Judah. Eleven others of
this name are mentioned, in Exod. 6:21
(sometimes printed Zithri in the A. V. ),
1 Chr. 8:19, 23, 27; 9:15; 26:25; 27:16;
2 Chr. 17:16; 23:1; Neh. 11:9; 12:17.
ZID'DIM, the declivities, Josh. 19:35, a
fortified town of Naphtali; conjecturally
traced at Jisr es-Sidd, a mile or so south-
west of the outlet of the Jordan from the
Sea of Galilee.
ZlUKl'^AH, justice of Jeliovah, Neh. 10:1,
one who joined in the solemn covenant with
Nehemiah.
Zl'TtOH, fish-town, the proper spelling of
the Hebrew Tzidon, and the form used
throughout the Old Testament in the R. V.
See SiDON.
Zipo'NiANS, the people of Zidon, inclu-
ding sometimes all the other Phcenicians,
2 Kin. 23:13; Ezra 3:7; Ezek. 32:30. See
SiDON.
ZIF, bloom, the ancient name of the 2d
Hebrew month, lyar, of the sacred year,
nearly corresponding to our May, i Kin.
6:1,37. In the R. V. Ziv.
zr HA, parched, the name of two Nethi-
nim, I., Ezra 2:43; Neh. 7:46. — II. Neh.
II :2i.
ZIK'LAG, zvinding, a city of Simeon, first
assigned to Judah, Josh. 15:31; 19:5, near
the border of Philistia, and sometimes held
by the Philistines ; bestowed by Achish
king of Gath on David, who occupied it a
year and four months. Hither many other
refugees from Judah resorted, and David
was thus enabled to aid Achish and to chas-
tise the Amalekites who had sacked Zik-
lag during his absence, i Sam. 27:1-7; 30.
After Saul's death, 2 Sam. 1:1; 4: 10, David,
removed to Hebron, 2 Sam. 2:1. Ziklag
was repeopled after the Captivity, Neh.
11:28. The English engineers locate it at
the ruins called Kh. Zuheilikah, on 3 small
hills in a plain 11 miles east-southeast of
Gaza.
ZIL'LAH, shade, one of the Cainite La-
mech's wives, addressed in the poetical
fragment. Gen. 4:19, 22, 23; the mother of
Tubal-cain and Naamah. See LaiMECH.
ZIL'PAH, distillation, a Syrian young
woman, given as a maid by Laban to his
daughter Leah, Gen. 29:24, and by her to
Jacob as a secondary wife ; the mother of
Gad and Asher, Gen. 35:26; 37:2; 46:18.
ZIL'THAI, shady, I., of the tribe of Ben-
jamin, I Chr. 8:20.
II. A captain of the tribe of Manasseh,.
I Chr. 12:20.
ZIM'MAH, purpose, I., a Gershonite Le-
vite, I Chr. 6:20, 42.
II. Ancestor of another Gershonite, 2 Chr.
29: 12.
ZIM'RAN, celebrated, a son of Abraham
and Keturah, Gen. 25:2; i Chr. 1:32.
ZIM'RI, celebrated, I., a grandson of Ju-
dah, I Chr. 2:6.
II. A prince of the tribe of Simeon, slain
by Phinehas for his public and heaven-
daring crime on the plains of Moab with
the Midianite princess Cozbi, Num. 25:6-8,
14, 15. The Heb. word translated "tent"
in ver. 8 indicates that it was not of the
ordinary form and use.
III. A descendant of king Saul, i Chr.
8:36; 9:42.
IV. The fifth king of the Northern king-
dom, B. C. 930. He was general of half the
cavalry of Elah king of Israel, but rebelled
against his master, killed him while in a
drunken revel at his capital, Tirzah, and
usurped his kingdom. He slew Elah's
whole family , not sparing any of his relatives
or friends ; whereby was fulfilled the word
of the Lord denounced to Baasha the father
of Elah by the prophet Jehu. Zimri reigned
but 7 days ; for the army of Israel, then be-
sieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines,
made their general, Omri, king, and came
and besieged Zimri in the city of Tirzah.
Zimri, seeing the city on the point of be-
ing taken, burned himself in the palace
with all its riches, i Kin. 16:1-20; 2 Kin.
9:31-
V. An Oriental people, mentioned in Jer.
25:25 with other children of the East.
683
ZIN
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZIO
ZIN, a low palm-tree, or coolness, a wil-
derness on the south border of Canaan.
Josh. 15:1-3, and on the west border of
Edom, Num. 34:1-4. In it was Kadesh-
barnea, memorable for the death of Miriam,
the mission of the 12 spies into Canaan, the
murmuring of the Israelites, the rock flow-
ing with water, and the unholy passion of
Moses, Num. 13:21; 20:1-13; 27.14; Deut.
32:51. The southern border of Canaan,
running south from the Dead Sea, and
then turning to the southwest by "the as-
cent of Akrabbim," passed tiirough wady
el-Fikreh, wady el Murrah, to 'Ain Kadeis
or Kadesh, and thence northwest by wady
el-Arish or '' the river of Egypt," etc., to
the Mediterranean. The wilderness of
Zin, the northeastern part of the wilder-
ness of Paran, was a wild and dreary moun-
tain region, sloping to the Ghor.
MOUNT 2ION FROM THE SOUTHEAST; WITH THE
OF THE CITV, AND TH
zrON, in the New Testament, A. V.,
SI'ON, Hebrew TZI'ON, sunny, the highest
and largest of the mounts in Jerusalem, ri-
sing 2,593 ^^^^ above the Mediterranean and
100 feet above Mount Moriah. It formed
the southwestern part of the city and had
a level tract of about 500 yards by 250, fall-
ing off at first gradually and then abruptly
into the valleys around it. That on the
north is now nearly obliterated; on the
east is the Tyropccon valley, on the south
that of Hinnom, on the west that of Gihon.
These were all much deeper in olden times
than now, having been filled up in part by
the ruins of many wars and overturnings ;
but Zion is still 300 feet above the valley
on the southwest and 500 feet above en-
Rogel. It was a position of great military
strength, and the Jebusites, who held it at
the time of the Conquest and long after,
scornfully defied assault. But it was cap-
tured by David, and thenceforward was-
often called "the city of David," 2 Sam.
684
MOSQUE OF DAVID, PART OF THE SOUTH WALL
E VALLEY OF HINNOM.
5:5-9; I Kin. 8:1 ; 2 Chr. 5:2. He seems
to have greatly delighted in its beauty and
strength and to have loved it as a type of
the church of the Messiah : • Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is
Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the
city of the great King." " Walk about Zion
and go round about her ; tell the towers
thereof; mark ye well her bulwarks, con-
sider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the
generation following." " The kings were
assembled, they passed by together ; they
saw it, and so they marvelled ; they were
troubled, and hasted away," Psa. 48:2, 12,
13. A mosque near its southern brow now
covers the " tomb of David," so called,
where he and 14 of his successors were
buried ; it is most jealously guarded by the
Mohammedans, i Kin. 2:10; 11:43; 22:50.
This mount, together with Moriah and
Ophel, " the holy mountains," Psa. 87: i, 2,
was inclosed by the first wall and fortified by
citadels, i Chr. 11:5. Upon it were erected
ZIO
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZIP
the magnificent palaces of Solomon and
long afterwards of Herod. It was called
byjosephus "the Upper City," and on its
northern brow stood 3 great towers — Hip-
picus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne — in a wall
extending from the Joppa gate eastward.
passing the royal palace and the Xystus,
to the temple area; and so strongly was
it fortified at the time of its capture by
the Romans that the emperor exclaimed,
" Surely we have had God for our aid in
the war ; for what could human hands or
machines do against these towers ?" Great
changes have occurred on its surface, and
a considerable portion of it lies outside of
the modern wall on the south, and is oc-
cupied by cemeteries or "ploughed as a
field," according to Jer. 26:18; Mic. 3:12.
Two rabbis, we are told, approaching Je-
rusalem, observed a fox running upon the
hill of Zion, and Rabbi Joshua wept, but
Rabbi Eliezer laughed. " Wherefore dost
thou laugh?" said he who wept. "Nay,
wherefore dost thou weep?" demanded
Eliezer. " I weep," replied the Rabbi Josh-
ua, " because I see what is written in the
Lamentations fulfilled; because of the
Mount of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes
walk upon it." " And therefore," said Rab-
bi Eliezer, "do I laugh; for when I see
with my own eyes that God has fulfilled
his threatenins^s to the very letter, I have
thereby a pledge that not one of his prom-
ises shall fail , for he is ever more ready to
show mercy than judgment."
" Zion " and " the daughter of Zion " are
sometimes used to denote the whole city,
including especially Moriah and the tem-
ple, Psa. 2:6; 9:11; 48 : 2 ; 74 : 2 ; Isa. 1:8;
8:18; 10:24; 30:19; Joel 2:23, and some-
times figuratively for the seat of the true
church on earth and in heaven, Jer. 8:19;
Heb. 12 : 22 ; Rev. 14 : i. See Jerusa-
lem.
ZI'OR, smalhiess, Josh. 15:54, now Sair,
4 or 5 miles north-northeast of Hebron.
ZIPH, battleme7il. I. A Judahite, i Chr.
4 : 16.
II. A town in Simeon, Josh. 15:24. It
may perhaps be associated with the pass
es-Sufa. See Zeph.a.th.
III. A town in Southern Judah nearCar-
mel and Juttah, notable as the scene of
David's perils and escapes from Saul,
I Sam. 23 : 14, 15, 24 ; 26 : 2. Its people are
called Ziphim in Psa. 54, title, A. V., Ziph-
ites in R. V. and in i Sam. 23:19: 26:1. It
was founded by Mesha son of Caleb, i Chr.
2:42, and fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr.
11:8. Traced at Tel es-Zif, 4 miles south-
southeast of Hebron, where is a rounded
hill, with considerable ruins half a mile on
the east.
ZIPH'RON, fragrance, a place on the
685
ZIP
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
ZOA
north border of Naphtali, Num. 34:9; prob-
ably ill the Lebanon valley.
ZIP'POR, sparrow, the father of Balak
king of Moab, always mentioned with Ba-
lak, Num. 22:2, 4, 10, 16; 23: 18 ; Josh. 24:9;
Judg. II :25. Perhaps the king referred to
in Num. 21 : 26.
ZIP'PORAH, rather ZIPPO'RAH, the fem-
inine of Zippor, a sparrow ; the daughter
of Jethro, E.\od. 2: 15-22, wife of Moses and
mother of Gershom and Eliezer. Her an-
gry reluctance against the circumcision of
Gershom led to her temporary return to
her father, by whom she was afterwards
restored to Moses, Exod. 4:18, 20, 24-26;
18:1-12. It is not certain whether the
" Cushite " wife of Moses, of whom Aaron
and Miriam complained. Num. 12:1, 2, was
Zipporah herself or a second wife. In
Hab. 3 : 7 Cushan and Midian are named
together.
ZITH'RI, Hebrew SITH'RI, protection of
Jehovali, a grandson of Kohath, Exod. 6:22.
In ver. 21 the correct reading is Zichri.
ZIZ, with the article, HAZ'ZIZ, the projec-
tion, the pass by which the Moabites, Am-
monites, and Maonites came up from the
shore of the Dead Sea, having followed the
southwestern coast to this point, and going
northwest towards Tekoa against Jehosha-
phat, 2 Chr. 20:16; comp. ver. 20: no doubt
the pass 'Ain Jidy, very precipitous, but still
traversed by marauding Arabs. A level
tract, " the wilderness of Jeruel " and of
Tekoa, lies between the cliff and Tekfla.
See En-gedi, and map on page 687.
zrZA, abitndance, or shining. I. Son of
Rehoboam and Maachah, 2 Chr. 11:20.
II. A Simeonite chief in the time of Hez-
ekiah, who led a raid against the peacea-
ble men of Gedor, i Chr. 4:37-41.
ZI'ZAH, or ZI'NA, a Gershonite Levite,
I Chr. 23 : 10, II.
ZO'AN, place of departure, a very ancient
city of Lower or Northern Egypt, near its
eastern border, founded soon after He-
bron, Num. 13:22, on the east side of the
Tanitic arm of the Nile, and called by the
Greeks Tanis, now San. It was a royal
city, and the 21st dynasty was that of the
Tanites, as well as the 23d, ending with
Sethos; comp. Isa. 19:11, 13. It gave its
name to the level country around it, " the
field of Zoan," which extended some 30
miles eastward to Pelusium, and in which
were wrought the first mighty works of
God by Moses, Psa. 78 : 12, 43. Ambassa-
dors from Judah met Egyptian officials here,
•seeking alliance, Isa. 30:4, and its capture
686
and burning by Nebuchadnezzar were fore-
told, Ezek. 30:10-14. In the time of Christ
it was again a large city, but now lies in
ruins, fever-haunted and infested by beasts
and reptiles, the home of a few fishermen ;
while the region east of it, once exceed-
ingly fertile, is now desolate and sparsely
inhabited, being overflowed in part by Lake
Menzaleh. Huge mounds of ruins attest
the ancient grandeur of the city, where
many interesting monuments have recent-
ly been found, two fine colossal statues of
Menesha, of the 13th dynasty, and many
memorials of Rameses II., who embellished
the great temple of Set, the Egyptian Baal,
the inclosure of which measures 500 yards
by 400.
ZO'AR, smallness, a city in the Jordan
and Dead Sea valley, called Bela in the
days of Abraham, and associated with the
cities of "the plain of Jordan," Sodom, Go-
morrah, Admah, and Zeboim, in the battle
with invading Assyrian tribes in which Lot
was captured. Gen. 13:10; 14:28. Its name
Zoar was given to it when at the interces-
sion of Lot it was spared to be his place of
refuge against the destruction impending
over it and its neighbors, Sodom, etc.. Gen.
19:17-25. It was evidently near Sodom,
and apparently at the foot of the mountains
of Moab, comp. Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:33, 34, in
which Lot afterwards dwelt. Gen. 19:30.
Moses on Mount Pisgah saw the valley from
Jericho to Zoar, Deut. 34:3. It is believed
to have been in wady Kerak, the ordinary
passage from the south of the Dead Sea to
the eastern highlands. De Saulcy places
Zoar in the wady Zuweirah, leading up
from the Dead Sea to Hebron ; and others
in or around the plain at the north end of
the sea. See cut on page 518.
ZO'BA and ZO'BAH, station, 2 Sam. 10:6-
8 ; 23:36, a powerful Syrian kingdom in the
time of the first Hebrew monarchs, lying
east of Lebanon— an arid plain with moun-
tain ranges and many well-watered and
fertile valleys— stretching towards the Eu-
phrates, I Chr. 18:3, 9; 19:6, and perhaps
west into the Lebanon valley, for Hamath
is sometimes called Hamath-zobah, 2 Chr.
8:3. Its kings suffered in war with Saul,
I Sam. 14:47. Its king Hadadezer was a
man of power, 2 Sam. 8:10, but was defeat-
ed bv David, 2 Sam. 10:16-19; i Chr. 18:3-
8; 19:16-19. Zobah, however, gave great
trouble to Israel in after years, i Kin.
11:23-25; 2 Chr. 8:3. The Assyrian in-
scriptions of later date speak of it as a sub-
ject country sending tributes, and as lying
ZOH
BIBLE DICTIONARY.
zuz
in the line of their armies on the way to
Hamath.
ZO'HAR, a Hittite, Gen. 23:8. Also a
son of Simeon, Gen. 38:30, and a descend-
ant of Judah, I Chr. 4:7.
ZO'HELETH, creeping, the stone in the
valley of Jehoshaphat near which Adonijah
slew sheep, oxen, and fat cattle for his cor-
onation feast or sacrifices, i Kin. 1:9; found
in ez-Zehweile, a rocky plateau on the edge
of the village of Silwan. Solomon was
crowned in the valley of Gihon.
ZO'PHAR, a sparrow, one of Job's three
friends, a native of Naamah. He appears
but twice in the dialogue, once less than
his two associates, whose general senti-
ments he shares, with perhaps more sever-
ity of judgment against Job, Job 2:11; 11;
20; 42:9.
ZO'PHIM, watchers, a level place on the
height of Pisgah, whence Balaam had his
second view of the host of Israel, Num.
23:14. Mount Nebo being recognized as
Jebel Neba, near Hesban, Jebel Siaghah, a
height a little to the west, might well rep-
resent Zophim.
ZO'RAH, a hornet, or ZA'REAH, Neh.
II :29, a city of the Danites within the bor-
ders of Judah, Josh. 19:41 ; called also ZO'-
REAH, Josh. 15:33. It was the home of
Manoah and Samson, Judg. 13:2, 25; 16:31,
and the starting-point of the Danite expe-
dition to Laish, Judg. 18:2, 8, 11. It was
fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chr. 11:10, and
occupiedafter the Captivity, Neh. 11:29. Its
people were called Zorites and Zorathites,
I Chr. 2:54; 4:2. It is now recognized in
a secluded mountain village called Sur'ah,
on the edge of the hills 2 miles north of Beth-
shemesh overlooking the valley of Sor'ak,
15 miles west of Jerusalem. The region was
famous for its wines, which Samson was
forbidden to use. The road followed by
Samson in going to Timnath leads down
through rocky gorges, very likely to be
haunted by wild beasts. It was here that
he slew the lion without the help of any
weapon, Judg. 14:5-7.
ZOROB'ABEL. See Zerubbabel.
ZU'AR, littleness, a descendant of Issa-
char at the time of the exodus. Num. 1:8;
2:5; 7:18, 23; 10:15.
ZUPH, honey-cotnb, or moist. I. An an-
cestor of Samuel, i Chr. 6:35; an Ephraim-
ite, not " Ephrathite," as in i Sam. 1:1,
A. V.
II. A district south of Benjamin, in a
city of which Saul met Samuel, apparent-
ly near Bethlehem, i Sam. 9:5-10; 10:2.
The name appears in the ancestry of Sam-
uel, in his native place Ramathaim- zo-
phim, in Mizpah, Zephathah, etc. Possibly
the region immediately south of Bethlehem.
ZUR, a rock, Heb. TzuR, the name of
Tyre. I. The father of Cozbi, the Midian-
ite princess slain with Zimri by Phinehas,
Num. 25:6-8, 14, 15, 18. He himself, with
four other "kings" of Midian, afterwards
perished with Balaam in battle with the
Israelites, Num. 31:8. He is associated
with Sihon king of the Amorites in Josh.
13:21.
II. A son of Jehiel and Maachah, i Chr.
8:30; 9:36.
ZU'RIEL, my rock is God, Num. 3:35,
chief of the Merarite Levites at the time
of the exodus.
ZURISHAD'DAI, my rock is the Almighty,
a Simeonite at the time of the exodus,
Num. 1:6; 2:12 ; 7:36, 41 ; 10:19.
ZU'ZIM, taken by the Chaldee and Sep-
tuagint versions as an appellative for stout
and valiant men. They dwelt east of the
Jordan in the time of Abraham, when they
were subdued by Chedorlaomer and his
allies. Gen. 14:5, and are supposed to have
been the same race of giants called Zam-
zummim in Deut. 2:20.
687
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PALESTINE.
SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE SEASONS, THE PREVAILING WINDS AND
WEATHER FOR EACH MONTH IN THE YEAR.
PROGRESS OF THE SEASONS.
WIND.
WEATHER.
< — 1
Country verdant with young grain, groves
and meadows adorned with many flow-
ers. Oranges begin to ripen.
N. W., N., n. e.
Heavy rains ; thunder-
storms. Occasionally
snow, and thin ice; ground
never frozen.
Almond-tree and peach-tree in blossom :
in the lower and warmer parts, orange-
tree laden with ripening fruit.
N. W., N., N. E.
Heavy rains, etc., in January
and February, called by
the Arabs the " fathers of
rain."
n
All trees in full leaf, many in bloom. In
the lowlands, orange and lemon trees
laden with fruit. Palm-tree blossoms :
barley ripening.
w^.
Rain, hurricanes, sometimes
snow; rivers much swol-
len.
>
Fruits of oleaster and white mulberry ri-
pen. Barley harvest. Wheat harvest
beginning.
s.
Occasionally rain ; some-
times Sirocco from the
southeast.
IS
Principal harvest month, especially
of wheat. Apricots and apples ripen.
(In Jordan valley vegetation withered
and burnt up.)
s.
Rain very seldom. From
this to September no rain
occurs.
e
n
Almonds ripe. (Beyrouk honey of the
Jordan valley collected in May, June,
and July.) Grapes begin to ripen.
E.
Frequent hot winds (Si-
mooms) ; air motionless.
Various fruits: apples, pears, plums, etc.
Grapes fully ripe. Pumpkins. Harvest
of grain in the higher mountains.
E.
Greatest heat in general;
sky serene.
>
c
Principal fruit month. Grapes, figs,
etc.: in the plains, walnut and olive.
E.
Dews begin to fall ; at times
large and dense clouds
(Nile clouds).
C/2
ft
Commencement of vintage. Harvest
of the dourra and maize. Cotton and
pomegranate begin.
N. E.
Much lightning without thun-
der ; very rarely rain.
O
n
End OF vintage. Gathering of cotton.
Ploughing and sowing commence, Pis-
tachio-nuts ripen.
N. E.
Dews very heavy ; autumnal
rains begin.
Z
o
<
Month of ploughing and sowing.
Rice harvest. Fig-tree laden with fruit.
Orange and citron-tree in bloom.
N. W., N., N. E.
Rainy month. Thunder
storms. Rains from the
west or southwest.
d
f6
p
Trees lose their leaves. The brown and
desolate plains and deserts become
green pastures.
N.W., N., N. E.
Rainy, etc. In December,
January, and February,
greatest amount of rain in
the year.
688
Chronological Index to the Bible.
COMPUTED BY JOSEPH ANGUS, D. D.
PERIOD I.
FROM THE CREATION, B. C. 4004, TO THE DEATH OF NOAH, 2006 YEARS.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
4004.
4004.
Eden.
Eden.
4003-2,
Near Eden.
3875-
3875.
3875-3504,
Nod.
3874,
Near Eden.
3769-
3074-
2468.
2348.
2347.
Armenia, or Ar-
arat, Gen. 8:4.
Togarmah,
Ezek. 27: 14.
2247, A. M.
1757-
B. C. 2233.
Shinar, or Irak
Arabi.
44
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
The creation
Institution of the Sabbath
Creation of Adam and Eve, briefly described in chap.
I, recapitulated
The fall of man
Connection of the first sin with man's subsequent f
state I
First promise of a Saviour ; expulsion from Eden
Birth of Cain and Abel
Sacrifice first mentioned; AbePs accepted
Cain's crime and curse
Cain builds Enoch ; his descendants ; Lamech's
speech, etc.
Birth of Seth and of Enos ; world and church distin-
guished
Genealogy from Adam to Noah ; the line of the Mes-
siah
Adam dies, aged 930 years
Wickedness of the world ; God determines to de-
stroy it after a respite of 120 years ; Noah preaches
(2 Pet. 2:5)
Covenant renewed with him ; he builds an ark as
God commanded
Noah enters the ark ; the Deluge, A. M. 1656
The waters abate; Noah leaves the ark
God's covenant renewed with Noah
Noah and his sons ; his prediction concerning
them
Babel; confusion of tongues ; dispersion
Genealogies of Noah's sons ; Nimrod founds the Bab-
ylonian or Assyrian empire
Genealogy from Shem to Terah ; the line of the Mes-
siah
Death of Noah
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Gen. I ; 2:4-7.
Gen. 2:1-3.
Gen. 2:8-25
Gen. 3:1-13.
Rom. 5:14.
I Cor. 15.
Gen. 3:14-24.
Gen. 4:1, 2.
Gen. 4:3-7.
Gen. 4:8-15.
Gen. 4:16-24.
Gen. 4:25, 26.
Gen. 5.
Gen. 5:5.
Gen. 6.
Gen. 6:18.
Gen. 7.
Gen. 8.
Gen. 9:1-17.
Gen. 9:18-27.
Gen. 11:1-9.
Gen. 10.
Gen. 11:10-28.
Gen. 9:28, 29.
689
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD II.
FROM THE DEATH OF NOAH TO THE BIRTH OF MOSES, 417 YEARS.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
Uz, in Eastern
Idumaea.
1996,
Ur, Or/a.
1922,
Haran, Charrce,
Harran.
1921, Canaan.
1921.
1920.
1918.
1917, Hebron.
1913, Siddim,
El Ghor.
1912, Hebron.
1910.
1897.
1896, Gerar.
Land of Moab.
i872,Moriah ("site
of tlie temple).
Machpelah, near
Hebron.
1S56,
Beersheba.
1850.
1836, Lahai-roi,
1821, Beersheba.
1804, Lahai-roi.
1804.
1804, Beersheba.
1796,
1773.
1760, Beersheba.
1760,
Padan-aram.
1760, Arabia.
690
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
L JOB.
The exact date of Job is not known. There is good
reason, however, for placing his history before that
of Abraham. Chapters 19:25-27; 32:23-28 are di-
rect references to the work of the Messiah
n. ABRAHAM.
Birth of Abraham ; marries Sarai ; leaves Ur and his
idolatrous kindred (Josh. 24:2)
Terah, Lot, and Sarai ; death of Terah
Leaves Haran at God's command with Sarai and Lot
(
Great blessings promised him -j
Visits Egypt; dissimulates
Returns to Canaan; Lot in Sodom
Promises renewed; goes to Mamre
Chedorlaomer; Lot taken and rescued
Melchizedek blesses Abram
Covenant of tiod with Abram
Hagar; Ishmael born
Covenant renewed ; names changed ; circumcision ._
Abraham entertains angels, one of whom is tlie
Angel of the covenant; Sodom; Lot's wife; Lot's
incest
Abraham leaves Hebron ; dissembles with Abimelech
at Gerar
Moab and Ben-ammi born
Isaac born ; Ishmael sent away ; covenant with Abim-
elech
Trial of Abraham's faith
Death and burial of Sarah ,-
.'\ccount of Nalior's family
Abraham sends his servant to Haran ; Laban receives
him; marriage of Isaac
.Abraham marries Keturah ; children by her
Birth of Esau and Jacob ; their character
Abraham dies; Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the
cave of Machpelah
III. IS.AAC AND JACOB.
Esau sells Jacob his birthright; Isaac leaves Canaan
Covenant confirmed to Isaac at Cierar
Isaac dissembles; covenant with Abimelech
Esau marries two Hittite women
Death of Ishmael; descendants
Jacob obtains his father's blessing and flees from Esan
Jacob's vision at Luz ; the promises continued to f
him; stays with Laban liis uncle (
Esau marries a dautrhler of Ishmael
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Job 1-42.
Gen. 11:27-32.
See Acts 7:2-4.
Gen. 12:1-9.
Gen. 12:1-9.
See Acts 3:25.
Rom. 4.
Gal. 3:16.
Cien. 12: 10-20.
Cien. 13:1-13.
Gen. 13: 14-18.
Gen. 14.
Gen. 14.
Gen. 15.
Gen. 16.
(ien. 17.
Gen. 18;
36; 19
30-36.
19: I-
4-11,
Gen. 20.
Gen. 19:37,38.
Gen, 21:1-34.
Gen. 22:1-19.
Gen. 23.
Gen. 22:20-24.
Gen. 24.
Gen.' 25:1-6.
Gen. 25:19-28.
Gen. 25:7-11.
Gen.
Gen.
Gen.
CJen.
Gen.
Gen.
Gen.
29:
Gen.
25:29-35.
26:1-5.
26:6-33.
26:34,35-
25:12-18.
27; 28:1-5.
28 : 10-22 ;
r-14.
28:6-9.
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD II. — CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1753-
1752-1745-
Padan-aram,
Al Jezirah.
1745-
1739, Galeed.
1739, Succotli.
See Josh. 13:27.
1736, Shechem.
1732.
Bethel, Luz,
Beit- in.
1729, Hebron.
1729.
1728, Dothan.
1726, Timnath.
1719, Egypt.
1718.
1716.
1715-
1712, 1711.
1708.
1707.
1706.
1706.
1704-1701.
1689, Egypt.
16S9.
Machpelah.
1689.
1635, Egypt.
1577, Egypt.
1573-
EVENT OR NARUATIVE.
Jacob marries Leah and Rachel
Jacob's children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ]
by Leah; Dan and NaplUali, by Bilhah, Rachel's |
maid; Gad and Asher, b\- Zilpah, Leali's maid; |-
Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, by Leah; Joseph, i
by Rachel J
Jacob's bargain with Laban ; he becomes rich
Jacob, returning to Canaan, is pursued by Laban ;
their covenant
Jacob's vision at iVIahanaim; wrestles with the Angel
at Fennel ; reconciled to Esau; settles at Succoth__
Jacob removes to Shalem, Gen. 33:18-20; birth of
sons of Judah
Dinah defiled by Shechem ; slaughter of Shechemites
by Simeon and Levi
Jacob removes ; purges his liousehold of idols ; the
promises renewed to him ; his name changed to Is-
rael ■__
Rachel dies on the birth of Benjamin
Sin of Reuben ; Jacob abides with Isaac
Esau's descendants
IV. JOSEPH, ETC.
Josepli's two dreams; envy of his brethren; sold to
the Ishmaelites and to Potiphar in Egypt
Er and Onan slain by God; incest of judah and Ta-
mar ; Pharez, a progenitor of Messiah, born
Joseph advanced, tempted, falsely accused, and im-
prisoned
Pharaoh's butler and baker imprisoned; Joseph in-
terprets their dreams
Death of Isaac at Mamre
Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams; his elevation __
Birth of Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim--
Commencement of the seven years' famine
Joseph's ten brethren come to buy corn ; Simeon a
pledge
Tliey come again to buy corn ; Joseph makes himself
known to ihem ; sends for his father
Jacob and his family arrive; settle in Goshen ; Ja- f
cob meets Pharaoh (
Joseph, by giving corn to the Egvptians, increases
the wealth of the king
Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh j
Jacob's predictions concerning his sons and Judah ;
his death
Joseph and his brethren bury their father
JosepJ! shows kindness to his brethren
Joseph predicts the return to Canaan ; ciiarges them
to carry up his bones there; his death
The Israelites multiply; a new king oppresses J
them J j
Pharaoh orders the male ciiildren to be cast into the
river
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Gen. 29: 15-30.
Gen. 29:31-35;
30:1-24.
Gen. 30:25-43.
Gen 31. ■
Gen. 32; 33:1-17.
Gen. 38: 1-5.
Gen. 34.
Gen. 35:1-15.
Gen. 35:16-20.
Gen. 35:21-27.
Gen. 36.
Gen. 2,7-
Gen. 38:6-30.
Gen. 39.
Gen. 40.
Gen. 35:28, 29.
Gen. 41:1-49.
Gen. 41:50-52.
Gen. 41:53-57-
Gen. 42.
Gen. 43-45.
Gen. 46:8-25;
47:1-12.
Gen. 47:13-26.
Gen. 47 : 27-31 ;
48.
Gen. 49.
Gen. 50:1-13.
Gen. 50:14-21.
Gen. 50:22-26.
Exod. 1:1-21 ;
15-21.
Exod. 1:22.
691
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD III.
FROM THE BIRTH OF MOSES, B. C. 1571, TO HIS DEATH, 120 YEARS.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1571-1532-
1531, Midian.
1531. Egypt.
Rarneses II.
1491, Horeb
(Acts 7:31).
1491, Egypt
(Acts 7:31).
Menephtha III.
1491.
1491.
1491.
1491.
1491.
1491.
1491.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
IBIBLR REFERENCE.
I49I.
I. TO THE EXODE.
Birth, exposure, rescue, and early life of Moses
Moses, having killed an Egyptian, flees; marries Zip-
porah, daughter of Jelhro ; Gershom born
The Israelites groan for their bondage \
God appears to Moses in a burning bush ; appoints
him and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt
Moses leaves Midian ; meets Aaron ; they deliver
their message -
Moses and Aaron demand the release of the Israel-
ites; Pharaoh refuses
God renews his promise by his name Jehovah
Descendants of Reuben, Simeon, and of Levi, from
whom came Moses and Aaron
Moses and Aaron again sent; confirm their mes- j
sage by a miracle ; magicians imitate them \
Pharaoh refuses to let Israel go; eight plagues <,
The Passover instituted
The ninth plague, three days darkness
Israelites bidden to ask gold of the Egyptians ; f
Pharaoh threatened with the death of the first- 1
born (
The Passover eaten the same day of the same month
on which Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us;
the firstborn slain
1491, Rarneses.
1491, Succoth,
Eccl. year i.
I month, I day.
Etham.
1491, Pihahiroth ;
that is, mouth
of pass.
Marah.
Elim, JVady
Ghurundel.
Red Sea.
2 mon., 15 days.
Desert of Sin.
Dophkah.
Alush.
Rephidim.
3 mon., 15 days,
Sinai.
692
The e-xodus of Israel from Egypt, A. M. 2513
II. JOURNEYS OF THE ISRAELITES.
First journey. Passover reinforced. Firstborn
commanded to be set apart
moved
Second journey,
and fire
Joseph's bones re-
Israel guided by a pillar of cloud
Third journey. Pharaoh pursues
Fourth journey. Passage of the Red Sea. See
I Cor. 10:1, 2. Destruction of Pharaoh's army.
Song of Moses. The bitter waters sweetened--.
Fifth journey
Sixth journev .---
Seventh journey. People murmur for Bread. Quails
and manna. Directions on manna. See John
6:31, 49; Rev. 2:17
Eighth journey
Ninth journey 7--
Tenth journev. Water given from the rock in
Horeb (i Cor. 10:4). Joshua defeats Amalek,
while Moses prays
Eleventh journey. Preparation for giving of the
law
Exod. 2:1-10.
Exod. 2: 11-22.
Exod. 2 : 23-25 i
Psa. 88.
Exod. 3; 4:1-17.
Exod. 4:18-31.
Exod. 5.
ETkod. 6:1-13.
Exod. 6:14-27.
Exod. 6 : 28-30 ;
7:1-13-
Exod. 7 ; 14-25;
8; 9; 10:1-20.
Exod. 12:1-20.
Exod. 10:21-27.
Exod. 11:1-8;
10 : 28, 29;
11:9, 10.
Exod. 12:21-30.
Exod. 12:31-36,
and 40 to 42.
Exod. 12:37-39,
43-51; 13:1-
19;
Num. 33:1-5.
Exod. 13:20-22;
Num. 33:6.
Exod. 14:1-9;
Num. 33:7.
Exod. 14:10;
15:26.
Num. 33:8.
Exod. 17:27;
Num. 33:9.
Num. 33:10.
Exod. 16:1-36;
Num. 33:11.
Num. 33:12.
Num. 33:13-
Exod. 17:1-16.
Num. 33:14-
Exod. 19:1-25;
Num. 33:15-
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD III.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACK.
B. C.
1491.
mon., 15 days.
Sinai.
Eccl. year i.
6 months, Sinai.
1491.
1490.
Eccl. year 2.
I month, I day.
1490.
Eccl. year 2.
I month, I day.
I month, 8 days.
I month, 14 days.
2 months, i day.
1490.
2 mo., 20 days.
Wilderness of
Paran, Et Tyh.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Moral law given. Divers laws (chiefly judicial) en-
joined. The angel promised as a guide to the
Israelites
The people promise obedience ; the blood of the cov-
enant sprinkled on them. Moses and others have
a vision of God's glory. Moses remains forty days
and forty nights in the mount
Ceremonial law given. The tabernacle and its furni-
ture, the priests and their garments, etc. The Sab-
bath again enjoined. Daily sacrifice and incense,
Rom. 8:3; Rev. 8:3, 4. Tables of the law given to
Moses
Idolatry of the calf; the tables broken; the people
punished; the tabernacle removed out of the camp.
Moses intercedes for the people and asks to see
God's glory
The tables renewed ; the name of the Lord proclaim-
ed; God makes a covenant with Israel. Moses
stays on the mount forty days and forty nights ; his
face shines
Offerings of the people for the tabernacle. Bezaleel
and others prepare the tabernacle and its furniture
Moses commanded to rear the tabernacle and to |
anoint it, and to sanctify Aaron and his sons
The tabernacle set up. The glory of the Lord fills it.
The Israelites directed by the cloud
Laws on various sacrifices and offerings
Consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests
The offerings of Aaron. Fire consumes the sacrifice
The offerings of the princes accepted
Destruction of Nadab and Abihu
Of the great day of atonement, and of the scape- f
goat I
The second Passover celebrated. Some allowed to
observe it in the second month
Laws on meats and purifications
Miscellaneous laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial.
Shelomith's son stoned for blasphemy
Laws concerning festivals, etc
Prophetic promises and threatenings
Laws of vows, devotions, and tithes
The tribes numbered; their order
The Levites appointed to the service of the taberna-
cle instead of the firstborn ; their duties
Institution of various ceremonies. The law of the
Nazarites. The form of blessing
Consecration of the Levites ; their age and period of
service
Use of the silver trumpets
Manner in which the cloud guided the people
Arrival of Jethro with Moses' wife and sons. He ad-
vises Moses to appoint judges to assist
Twelfth journey. Order of the march ]
Moses entreats Hobab to accompany Israel ; Jethro \
returns to Midian j
Form of blessing on the removal and resting of the ark
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Exod. 20-23.
Exod. 24.
Exod. 25-31.
Exod. 32 ; i2>.
Exod. 34.
Exod. 35-39.
Exod. 40:1-16;
(John 1:14;
2:19-31.
Col. 2:9).
Exod. 40:17-38.
Lev. 1-7.
Lev. 8.
Lev. 9.
Num. 7.
Lev. 10.
Lev. 16; see
Heb. 9; 5:1.
Num. 9:1-14.
Lev. 11-15.
Lev. 17-22; 24.
Lev. 23 ; 24.
Lev. 26.
Lev. 27.
Num. I ; 2.
Num. 3 ; 4.
Num. 5; 6.
Num. 8.
Num. 10: i-io.
Num. 9:15-23.
Exod. 18:1-26.
Num. 10: II, 12;
(33:16), 28.
Num. 10:29-32;
Exod. 18:27.
Num. 10:33-36.
693
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD III. — CO.NTINUKU.
DATK AND PLACli.
EVENT OR NARRATIVK.
B. C.
1490.
Hazeroth.
5 mon. to 7 moil.
Kadesh Barnea,
or En Mislipat.
1490.
Eccl. year 2.
7 mon. 6 days.
1490-1452.
Eccl. year 2-40.
1452.
Eccl. year 40.
I month.
1452, Kadesh.
Mount Hor.
Zalmonah.
Punon, Oboth
lim.
Dibon-gad.
Almon-dibla-
thaim.
Abarim.
Plains of Moab
by Jordan.
14.SI.
Eccl. year 40.
694
The burning at Taberah. People murmur for flesh;
Moses complains of his charge ; seventy elders ap-
pointed as a council to assist him; quails given in
wrath
Tiiirteenth journey. Miriam smitten with leprosy j
for sedition |
Fourteenth journey. Spies sent to searcli the land ; ")
ten of them bring an evil report ; Caleb and >
Joshua faithful J
Israel murmurs at the report of the spies; God]
threatens ; Moses intercedes ; condemned to wan- >
der forty years J
The people, going up against the will of God, are
discomfited
Laws of offerinais ; the sabbath-breaker stoned
The rebellion of Korali, etc. ; earthquake, fire, and
plague inflicted; Aaron approved as high priest by
the budding of his rod
The charge and portion of the priests and Levites -
Water of purification ; how to be made and used
The ne.xt seventeen journeys (15th to 31st) of the
Israelites, being their wandering in the wilderness
nearly thirty-eiglit years
Thirty-second journey; death of Miriam j
The people murmur for water ; Moses and Aaron
transgressing, not to enter Canaan
Edom refuses a passage to the Israelites
Thirty-third journey ; Aaron dies; Arad attacks |
Israel and is defeated ]
Thirty-fourth journey ; the people murmur; fiery
serpents are sent; the brazen serpent set up
Thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh jour- J
neys I
Tliirty-eighth journey
The Israelites stop at Zared, Arnon, and Beer
Sihon the Amorite opposes their passage ; defeated,
and his land occupied
Og of Bashan attacks them ; defeated
Th i rty-ninth journey
P'ortieth journey ■,
Forty-first journey ; account of Balaam and Balak
Forty-second journey; idolatry of Baal-peor; zeal (
of Phinehas (
Third numbering of the people
The daughters of Zelophehad ; laws of inheritance ^
Law of offerings, vows, etc
The slaughter of Midian ; Balaam slain
Territories given to Reuben, (Jad, and ])art of Manas-
seh, on tlie east of Jordan . .-.
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Num. II :i-34.
Num. II : 35;
(33:17), 12:15.
Num. 13; (33: 18).
Num. 14 : 1-39;
Psa. 90.
Num. 14:40-45.
Num. 15.
Num. 16; 17.
Num. 18.
Num. 19.
Num. 33:19-35.
Num. 20 : I ;
33:36.
Num. 20:2-13.
Num. 20:14-21.
Num. 20 : 22 to
21:3; 33:37-40-
(See John 3:14);
Num. 21 : 4-9;
(33:41)-
Num. 21: 10, II ;
33:42-44.
Num. 33:45-
Num. 21 : 12-18.
Num. 21 :2i-32.
Num. 21:33-35.
Num. 33:46.
Num. 21 : 18-20;
33:47-
(Luke 1:78;
Rev. 22: 16;
I Cor. 15:251;
Num. 22:1-41 ;
(33:48); 23;
24.
Num. 25 : 1-18 ;
(33:49)-
Num. 26.
Num. 27 : i-ii ;
36-
Num. 28-30.
Num. 31.
Num. 22.
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD III.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1451-
Eccl. year 40.
II nion., I day.
Plains of Moab
by Jordan.
Eccl. year 40.
II months.
1451-
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Directions for the Israelites on their entering Ca- 1
naan ; borders.,of the land described ; forty-eight |
cities for the Levites, of which six are to be cities j
of refuge; the laws on murder J
III. THE REVIEW AND CLOSING CHARGE
OF MOSES.
Moses reviews the history of the Israelites, introdu-
cing some new particulars
The moral law repeated and enforced -
The ceremonial law repeated, with injunctions j
against idolatry, etc. |
The judicial law repeated and explained. Christ]
foretold as the Prophet to whom they are to V
hearken J
Moses directs Israel, after entering Canaan, to write
the law on stones, and to recite its blessings and
curses upon Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
Prophetic promises and curses
Concluding appeal to the Israelites
IV. JOSHUA'S APPOINTMENT— DEATH OF
MOSES.
Joshua appointed to succeed Moses
Moses encourages the people and Joshua; charges
the priests to read the law publicly every seventh
year ^
God's charge to Joshua ; Moses writes a song of wit-
ness ; completes the writing of the law and delivers
it to the Levites, with a prediction of the disobedi-
ence of Israel
Moses recites his song and exhorts Israel to set |
their hearts upon it j
Moses ascends Mount Nebo to view the land of Ca-
naan and to die
Moses prophetically blesses the tribes
Moses views the promised land; his death, burial,
and character
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Num. S3 '■
34; 35-
50-56;
Deut. 1:4.
Deut. 5:9; 10:1-
5, 10-22 ; II.
Deut. 12-16;
17:1.
Deut. 17:2-20;
18-26.
Deut. 27.
Deiit. 28.
Deut. 29; 30.
Num. 27:12-23.
Deut. 31:1-13.
Deut. 31:14-29.
Deut. 31:30;
32:1-47.
Deut. 32 : 48-52.
Deut. S3-
Deut. 34.
PERIOD IV.
FROM THE ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN TO THE DEATH OF SOLOMON,
475 YEARS.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1451-
Eccl. year 41.
I month, I dav.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
I. CONQUEST OF CANAAN, 7 YEARS.
(TO THE JUDGES, 25 YEARS.)
God's charge to Joshua
Spies sent to Jericho ; Rahab receives them
Joshua reminds Reuben, etc., of their engagement
(cf. Num. 22); they promise obedience. The
Israelites directed concerning the passage of the
Jordan. God encourages Joshua
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Josli. I :i-9.
Josh. 2.
Josh. I : lo-iJ
3:1-13-
695
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— CONTINUED.
■ DATE AND PLACE.
B.C.
1451-
I month, 10 days.
1451, Gilgal.
Gilgal.
1450-1445-
1444, Ebal and
Gerizim.
1444.
Hebron, Kirjath
Arba,
Josh. 21:11.
1444, Shiloh.
1427, Shechem,
Sychar, N. T.
1426, Shechem.
1425, Bochim.
1413-
1406, Gibeah,
Jeba.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Passage of the Jordan (A. M. 2551); a memorial f
erected; the Canaanites alarmed \
Circumcision renewed; the Passover; manna ceases
The Captain of the Lord's host appears to Joshua ;
miraculous capture of Jericho; a curse on the re-
builder of it
The Israelites discomfited through Achan's sin ; he is
destroyed
Capture of Ai by stratagem
The Gibeonites obtain a league with Joshua
Conquest of several kings in succession
The rest of the conquests
The law written on a stone altar (cf. Deut. 27), and
proclaimed to all the people
Reuben, etc., return to their land on the eastern side
of Jordan ; the\^ erect an altar of memorial ; Israel
offended, ask an explanation
II. GENERAL DIVISION OF THE LAND. |
Enumeration of conquests
Land not yet conquered
Joshua divides the land ; the nine tribes and a half]
receive their portions by lot ; the Levites not to ■
receive land J
Inheritance of Reuben, etc., on the eastern side of
Jordan
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Josh. 3:14-17; 4;
: 5:1-
Josh.
Josh.
6:1
Josh.
Josh.
Josh.
Josh.
Josh.
5:2-12.
5:13-15;
7-
8:1-29.
9-
10.
II.
Josh. 8:30:35.
Josh. 22.
Inheritance of Caleb
Lot of Judah
Lot of Ephraim and half of Manasseh
The tabernacle set up
Lots of the other tribes; Joshua's inheritance-
Cities of refuge appointed
Levitical cities
III. LAST ACTS OF JOSHUA, ETC.
Joshua's charge to the elders of Israel
696
Josiuia addresses the tribes and renews the covenant
Death and burial of Joshua
Burial of Joseph's bones, etc.
IV. INTERREGNUM AND GOVERNMENT OF
JUDGES, 330 YEARS.
Conquests after Joshua's death
Nations not subdued by Israel
The Angel of the Lord rebukes the Israelites for not
driving out the Canaanites
Commencement of idolatry in Israel
.Account of Micah and his image —
A party of Danites, having robbed Micah of his im-
age, establish themselves in Laish (afterwards Dan),
and set up idolatry
History of the Levite and his concubine ; slaughter
of the Benjamites, etc
The captivities of Israel for idolatry, and their de- f
liverance by judges (
Josh.
Josh.
Josh.
14:
Josh.
Josh.
15:
Josh.
20-
Josh.
Josh.
Josh.
19-
Josh.
Josh.
12.
13:1-6.
13:7-
1-5-
14;
13:15-33-
14:6-15;
13-19-
15 : 1-12,
63-
16; 17.
18:1.
18 : 2-28 ;
20.
21.
Josh. 23.
Josh. 24:1-28.
Josh. 24:29-31.
Josh. 24:32, 2>l-
Judg. 1:1-26.
Judg. 1:27-36.
Judg. 2:1-5.
Judg. 2:6-13.
Judg. 17.
Judg. 18.
Judg. 19; 20; 21.
Judg. 2:14-23;
3:1-4-
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1402-1394.
1354-1336,
1316-1296.
1256.
Bethlehem.
1249, Shechem.
1 235- 1 232.
1232-1 188.
1206-11S8.
1 187.
1182-1157.
1156-1116.
1 156.
1 155, Shiloh.
"43-
1136-1117.
1116, Gaza.
1 1 16, Ebenezer.
Ashdod, Azotus,
Acts 8:40 ;
Esdud.
1112, Mizpeh.
1095, Raniah, in
Ephraim.
1096, Ramah.
Mizpeh.
Gilgal, S. E. of
Jericho.
1094.
1080.
1064.
Bethlehem.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Captivity of the eastern Israelites for eight years to
Mesopotamia; Othniel judge
Captivity of the eastern Israelites for eighteen years
to Moab ; Ehud judge
Captivity of the western Israelites to the Philistines ;
Shamgar judge
Captivity of the northern Israelites for twenty years
to the Canaanites ; Deborah judge; song of Debo-
rah and Barak
Captivity of the eastern and northern Israelites for
seven years to Midian
The history of Ruth, an ancestress of David and of |
the Messiah |
Gideon judge ; is visited by the Angel of the cove-
nant, and delivers Israel from Midian ; refuses to
be made king
Usurpation of Abimelech ; Jotham's fable
Tola and Jair judges
The Philistines and Ammonites oppress Israel for J
eighteen years; Jephthah ; his vow (
Slaughter of Ephraim by the Gileadites
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judges
The Philistines oppress Israel forty years
Birth of Samson
Birth of Samuel; Hannah's song
The wickedness of Eli's sons
Call of Samuel
Marriage of Samson ; his exploits j
Judgment on Eli's house
Capture and death of Samson
Israel twice defeated by the Philistines ; ark taken j
and Eli's sons slain ; death of Eli j
The ark placed in the house of Dagon ; removed to ]
Ekron (Akir). then to Bethshemesh {Am Sliems), \
thence to Kirjath-jearim, where it remains till re- j
moved by David J
Samuel judge ; he moves the Israelites to repentance;
the Philistines discomfited
Samuel appoints his sons judges ; their corrupt gov-
ernment; the Israelites ask for a king; God bids
Samuel hearken to them ^
V. THE REIGN OF SAUL, 40 YEARS.
Samuel privately anoints Saul as king, and gives f
him three signs |
Saul chosen and proclaimed king
Saul rescues Jabesh-gilead ; is inaugurated as king;
Samuel's address to Israel
Saul gathers an army against the Philistines ; he dis-
obeys Samuel, and is warned of his rejection from
the kingdom
The Philistines discomfited ; Saul's rash oath en-
dangers Jonathan ; the people rescue him ; Saul's
victories; his family
Saul smites the Amalekites ; spares Agag and the best
of the spoil ; denounced by Samuel
Samuel secretly anoints David at Bethlehem as future
king
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Judg. 3:5-11.
Judg. 3:12-30.
Judg. 3:31.
Judg. 4; 5.
Judg. 6: 1-6.
Ruth 1-4.
-40;
Judg. 6
7; 8-
Judg. 9.
Judg. 10:1-5.
Judg. 10 : 6-18;
II.
Judg. .12:1-6.
Judg. 12:7-15.
Judg. 13:1.
Judg. 13:2-25.
I Sam. I ; 2:1-11.
I Sam. 2:12-21.
I Sam. 3.
Judg. 14; 15:1-
19; 16:1-3.
I Sam. 2:22-36.
Judg. 16:4-31.
I Sam. 4: 19-22.
I Sam. 5; 6;
7:1, 2.
I Sam. 7:3-17.
I Sam. 8.
I Sam. 9; 10:1-
16.
I Sam. 10: 17-27.
I Sam. II ; 12.
I Sam. 13:1-15-
I Sam. 13:16-23 ;
14.
I Sam. 15.
I Sam. 16:1-13.
697
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
1063.
1062, Gibeah,
Naioth.
1062.
1061, Nob and
Gath.
1062, AduUam.
Nob
Keilah.
1060, Ziph.
1059, Eiigedi,
Hazezon Tamar,
1058, Ziph.
1057-
1056.
Gilboa, Djebal
Gilbo.
Ziklag.
1056, Hebron.
Acts 13:21.
1054.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
David's victory over Goliath; Jonathan loves Da-
vid
David's victories ; Saul's melancholy ; he attempts
to kill David
David marries Saul's daughter; Saul makes vari-
ous attempts to kill iiim; David flees to Samuel ;
Saul sends after him
David's covenant with Jonathan
David flees to Ahimelech (where his lie costs the
lives of the priests of the house of Eli), then to
Achish ; feigns madness
BIBLE REFERENCE.
David flees again, joined by several followers
David goes to Mizpeh, then to Hareth ; slaughter]
of the priests by Saul 1
Abiathar joins David ; David defeats the Philis-
tines
Saul pursues David; an invasion obliges him to (
return "j
Saul pursues David; David spares Saul's life; Saul (
confesses his fault (
Death of Samuel ; David and Nabal
David again spares Saul's life
David flees to Achish, i Sam. 27:1-7; Psa. 141; sev-
eral resort to him
David makes an excursion on the Amalekites, and
repairs to Gath with the booty
The Philistines prepare for war, and advance to Shu-
nem ; David accompanies them ; Saul consults the
witch of Endor
David dismissed from the army of the Philistines;
on his way back to Ziklag he is joined by sev-
eral '-
On his return to Ziklag, David finds that it had been
sacked bv .Amalek, and liis family taken ; he pur-
sues .Amalek, and smites them
Saul, defeated in battle and his sons slain, kills \
himself |
.An Amalekite pretends to have slain Saul, and is put
to death by David
David's lament over Saul and Jonathan
I Sam. 17:1-54;
18:1-4;
Psa. 9.
I Sam. 18:5-9;
16:14-23;
18:10-16.
I Sam. 18:17-30;
19:1-3;
Psa. II ;
I Sam. 19:4-24;
Psa. 59.
I Sam. 20.
I Sam. 21 ;
Psa. 56; 34.
1 Sam. 22:1 ;
Psa. 142 ;
2 Sam. 22:1, 2;
1 Chr. 12:8-18;
2 Sam. 23: 13-17;
I Chr. II : 15-19.
I Sam. 22:3-19:
, Psa. 17,35,52,64.
j 109, 140.
j I Sam. 22:20-23;
i 23.
Psa. 31.
I Sam. 23 : 13-23 ;
Psa. 54 :
I Sam. 23:24-28.
I Sam. 23: 29; 24;
Psa. 57, 58. 63.
I Sam. 25.
I Sam. 26.
I Chr. 12: 1-7.
I Sam. 27:8-12.
I Sam. 28.
I Sam. 29.
I Chr. 12:19-22.
698
VI. THE REIGN OF DAVID, 40 YEARS.
David acknowledged as king of Judah
Ishbosheth, tlie son of Saul, proclaimed king of Is- )
rael by Abner J
Civil war ensues; David waxes stronger; Abner and
Ishbosheth treacherouslv slain. ... ._
I Sam. 30.
I Sam. 31.
1 Chr. 10:1-14.
2 Sam. 1:1-16.
2 Sam. 1 : 17-27.
2 Sam. 2:1-7.
2 Sam. 2:8-11.
2 Sam. 12:32 ;
3: 4-
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— CONTINUED.
DATK AND PLACE.
B. C.
1049, Hebron,
Jerusalem.
1048.
1046, from Kir-
jath-jearim to
house of Obed-
edoiii, thence
to Zion, Psa.
132.
1041.
1038-1037,
Medeba.
1036 and 1034,
Jerusalem.
1033-
103 1.
1028.
1025.
1024.
1024, Bahurim.
Jerusalem.
Mahanaim, 65
miles N. E. of
Ephraim.
Jerusalem.
1023.
102 1.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
I
David made king over all Israel; his troops; he |
dispossesses the Jebusites of the hill of Zion and |
dwells there
Hiram of Tyre congratulates David; David's fam-
ily; he twice defeats the Philistines
David removes the ark; Uzzah, not being a Levite,
smitten for touching the ark (see Num. 4: 15)
David forbidden to build the temple ; great bless-
ings promised him; his prayer and thanksgiving
Victories over Philistia, Moab, Syria, and Edom.
David's kindness to Mephibosheth
David defeats Ammon and Svria
Siege of Rabbah ; David's adultery and murder-
Birth of Solomon; Amnon, David's eldest son, for-"]
ceth his sister Tamar, David's daughter ; David >
fails to punish this injury . J
Absalom kills Amnon, and flees
Absalom brought back and restored to his father's |
presence J
Absalom raises a revolt against David
David and his followers flee; Zadok and Abiatharl
sent back with the ark; Hushai desired by David j
to join himself to Absalom to circumvent Ahitho- j
phel's counsels J
Ziba's treachery to Mephibosheth ; Shimei curses f
David I
Hushai defeats Ahithophel's counsel; Ahithophel f
hangs himself ]
David furnished with provisions, chiefly by Bar- |
zillai __' ' ']
1
.\bsalom defeated and slain by Joab
David returns ; Shimei pardoned ; Mephibosheth e.x
poses Ziba's treachery; David's gratitude to Bar
zillai
Revolt of Sheba (at Abel) j
The three \ears' famine
1 BIBLE REFERE.MCE.
2 Sam. 5:1-3;
23:8-12,18-39;
5:4, 5,6-10;
1 Chr. 11:1-3;
I 2 : 23-40 ;
II : 10-14, 20,
26-47, 4-9-
2 Sam. 5:11-25,
13-17;
1 Chr. 14:1-17.
2 Sam. 6: i-ii ;
12-23;
Psa. 68, 132, 105,
96, 106;
1 Chr. 13:1-4,
5-14; 15:1 to
16:43.
2 Sam. 7 ;
1 Chr. 17 ;
Psa. 2, 45, 22, 16,
118, no.
2 Sam. 8;
1 Chr. 18;
Psa. 60, 108.
2 Sam. 9.
2 Sam. 10;
1 Chr. 19;
Psa. 20, 21.
2 Sam. 11 : 1 ;
II ■.2-2J.
1 Chr. 20: 1, 3 ;
Psa. 51, 32, 35,
103.
2 Sam. 12:24, 25;
13: 1-22.
2 Sam. 13:23-39.
2 Sam. 14.
2 Sam. 15:1-12.
2 Sam. 15:13-27;
Psa. 3.
2 Sam. 16: 1-14;
Psa. 7.
2 Sam. 16:15-23;
17:1-26.
2 Sam. 17:27-29;
Psa. 4, 5, 42, 43,
55, 62, 70, 71,
143, 144-
2 Sam. 18.
2 Sam. 19; 20:3,.
2 Sam. 20:1, 2,
4-26.
2 Sam. 21 :i-i4.
699
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— COxNTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B.C.
IOI9.
IOI8.
ioi6.
Jerusalem.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Last wars with the Philistines ; David's praise for
victories; his enemies subdued l
David in pride numbers Israel ; the plague
1016, Gibeon,
Jib, 17 miles
N. W. of Gilgal
1015,
Jerusalem.
Tj-re, Tsiir.
1012,
Jerusalem.
1012-1005,
I Kin. 6:1-37.
1005,
Jerusalem.
700
David prepares materials and instructs Solomon as
to the building of the temple
Adonijah's rebellion; Solomon anointed and pro-
claimed David's successor; Adonijah submits
David arranges the courses of the priests, etc.
Arrangement of the State officers
I
■ .(
David calls a solemn assembly and exhorts both |
them and Solomon to the work of the temple ; j
the offerings of the princes and people ; Da- \
vid's thanksgiving ; Solomon acknowledged as |
king I
David's final charge to Solomon ; directs Joab and |
Shimei to be put to death; David's last words; !
his death
Psalms of David, of which the date and occasion
are not known
VII. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON, 40 YEARS.
Solomon's burnt-offering ; God giving him a choice,
he asks for wisdom ; wealth and honor added to
him
Solomon's wise judgment
Adonijah and Joab put to death; Abiathar deposed;
Shimei not to leave Jerusalem
Solomon obtains materials and men for the build- f
ing of the temple ]
Shimei put to death for going to Gath
Solomon marries Pharaoh's daughter
The building of the temple_
The dedication of the temple
BIBLE REFERENCE.
2 Sam. 21:15-22;
22:2-51 ;
1 Chr. 20:4-8;
Psa. 18.
2 Sam, 24:1-9;
10-25 ;
I Chr. 21 :i-5;
27:23,24; 2i:6»
7, 8-30.
I Chr. 22.
I Kin. i:it4.
I Chr. 23-26.
I Chr. 27:1-22,
25-34-
I Chr. 28:11-21 ;
29:1-25;
Psa. 72, 91, 145.
1 Kin. 2:1-9;
2 Sam. 23:1-7;
I Chr. 29:26-30;
I Kin. 2:10, II.
Psa. 6, 8, 12, 19,.
23, 24, 28, 29,
38-41, 61, 65,
69, 78, 86, 95,
loi, 104, 120-
122, 124, 131^
i33> 139-
1 Kin. 2:12;
3:4-15;
2 Chr. 1 : 1-5,6-12.
I Kin. 3:16-28.
I Kin. 2:13-38.
1 Kin. 5:1-18;
2 Chr. 2: 1-18.
I Kin. 2:39-46.
I Kin. 3:1-3.
1 Kin. 6:1-8;
16-36; 7:i3-5or
6:9-14, 2)1 > 38,
7:51;
2 Chr. 3 : I to
4:22; 5:1.
1 Kin. 8: i-ii,
62-64, 12-61,
65,66;
2 Chr. 5:2-14.-
7:4-7; 6; 7:3^
8, 10;
Psa. 47, 97-100,
135, 136.
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD IV.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
I002.
lOOI,
Jerusalem.
993, Jerusalem.
50-977-
977-
976, Jerusalem.
976, Shechem.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Other buildings of Solomon; God makes a cove-
nant with him
Acquisitions of Solomon ; he carries out David's
arrangements for the temple services
Pharaoh's daughter brought by Solomon to his new
palace
Solomon's song ■
The greatness of Solomon
The wisdom of Solomon-
Solomon's fame ; visit of the queen of Sheba.
Solomon's wives seduce him into idolatry ; Hadad
and Rezon stirred up against him
Ahijah predicts to Jeroboam the division of the king-
dom ; Solomon seeks to kill Jeroboam, who flees
into Egypt
Solomon writes Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, prob- f
ably as an expression of repentance |
Death of Solomon ; Rehoboam his son succeeds .-_ ]
VIII. DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM.
On the accession of Rehoboam, the people, headed f
by Jeroboam, demand a relaxation of burdens __ (
Acting upon the advice of the young men instead (
of the old men, Rehoboam refuses the request of^
the people [
Ten tribes revolt ; Judah and Benjamin adhere to f
Rehoboam, and form the kingdom of Judah ]
The ten tribes make Jeroboam their king, and form
the kingdom of Israel
BIBLE REFERENCE.
1 Kin. 7 : 1-12;
9:1-9;
2 Chr. 7:11-22.
1 Kin. 9:10-14,
15, 25;
2 Chr. 8:1-10,
12-16.
1 Kin. 9:24;
2 Chr. 8:11.
Song 1-8.
1 Kin. 4:1-28,
10:26; 9:26-
28; 10:14-25,
27-29 ;
2 Chr. 9:26, 25;
1:14; 8:17, 18;
9:13-21, 24;
1:15-17; 9:27,
28.
1 Kin. 4:29-33;
2 Chr. 9:22;
Prov. 1-31.
1 Kin. 4:34.
10:1-13;
2 Chr. 9:23, 1-12.
I Kin. 11: 1-25.
I Kin. 11:26-40.
Eccl. 1-12.
1 Kin. 11:41-43;
2 Chr. 9:29-31.
1 Kin. 12:1-5;
2 Chr. 10:1-5.
1 Kin. 12:6-15;
2 Chr. 10:6-15.
1 Kin. 12:16-19:
2 Chr. 10:16-19.
I Kin. 12-20.
701
CHRONOLOGICAL hXDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD V.
FROM THE DEATH OF SOLOMON TO THE CLOSE OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT CANON,* •
I. HISTORY OF THE TWO KINGDOMS.
JUDAH.
REHOBOAM, king 17 years, i Kings
14:21,7! />. (JudaJi); 2 Chr. 12:13,7'". />.
(reigtied).
Rehoboam, preparing to attack the ten
tribes, is forbidden by Shemaiah, i Kin.
12:21-24; 2 Chr. ,11 : 1-4.
Rehoboam fortifies his kingdom ; the
priests and Levites wed
Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem for the
third time
Ezekiel foretells the destruction of Jerusalem
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Dan 1:5, 8-17.
Jer. 36:9-32.
2 Kin. 24:1.
Dan. 1:18-21.
2 Kin. 24:5-9;
2 Chr. 36:8, 9;
Jer. 22:24-30; 23.
2 Kin 24: 10-19;
2 Chr. 36:10-12 ;
Jer. 52 :"i, 2, 24-30,
Jer. 29:1-14, 16-
20.
Jer. 30; 31.
Jer. 27; 28; 48;
49.
Jer. 50; 51.
Ezek. 3:22-27;
4-7-
Ezek. 8; 10; 11.
Ezek. 12-19;
16; 18:5-18.
Ezek. 21-23.
Jer. 37:1, 2;
2 Kin. 24:20;
2 Chr. 36:13;
Jer. 52:3.
2 Chr. 36:14-21.
2 Kin. 25:1 ;
Jer. 39:1; 52:4;
37:3. 4-
Ezek. 24.
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD v.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
Jerusalem.
589-
■ Babylon.
Jerusalem.
Babylon.
587.
573-
572.
570.
569-
56S-563.
561.
558.
556.
538.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Capture of the city foretold. The people, at Jere-
miah's word, release their Hebrew boud-servants--
Jeremiah shut up in prison ; his predictions there
Ezekiel in Babylon prophecies against Egypt, Ezek. (
29:1-16, and against Tyre |
The Chaldaeans raise the siege to march against the
approaching Egyptian army. Jeremiah predicts
the destruction of the Philistines
On the departure of the Chaldaean army the people j
recall their bond-servauts, for which Jeremiah |
denounces them and predicts the speedy return I
of the Chaldaeans J
Jeremiah reimprisoned ; continues to denounce f
Zedekiah ; he is put into the dungeon of Malchiah |
Ezekiel, in Babylon, again prophesies against Egypt j
and Nineveh [
Jerusalem finally taken. Zedekiah carried to Bab-
ylon. Jeremiah delivered
Nebuzaradan burns the temple and carries away |
the people, leaving a few poor persons to till the j
land I
I
Jeremiah bewails the desolation of his country
Gedaliah appointed governor. Jeremiah and many (
others attach themselves to him j
Ishmael slays Gedaliah and attempts to carry away 1
the people to the Ammonites ; Johanan intercepts |
him ; the people, fearing the Chaldaeans, flee into I
Egypt, contrary to the command of God J
Jeremiah prophesies against Egypt and the idola- 1
trous Jews (
Brief summary of the captivities by Nebuchadnezzar
REMAINDER OF THE HISTORY OF THE
JEW.S IN CAPTIVITY— BABYLON.
Ezekiel predicts the utter desolation of Judaea
Predictions against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philis- [
tia. Tyre, and Egypt j
Ezekiel appeals to the captives
Evil rulers denounced; restoration of the Jews]
promised; predictions of Messiah's kingdom f
Prophesies of the church and its enemies, and of the
conversion of the Jews
Ezekiel's vision of the future temple
Last prediction against Egypt ]
Nebuchadnezzar sets up an image
Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's second dream -.
The fulfilment of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in his
madness and subsequent recovery
Evil-merodach king of Babylon releases Jehoia- f
chin I
Daniel's first vision of the living creatures
Belshazzar's feast. Babylon taken
Daniel's vision of the ram and he-goat
Daniel's prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, f
Prophecy of the seventy weeks (
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Jer. 34:1-10.
Jer. 32 ; 33.
Ezek. 26.
See Isa. 23.
Jer. 37:5; 47.
Jer. 34:11-22;
37:6-10.
Jer. 37:11-21; 21;
38; 39:15-18.
Ezek. 30 : 20-26 ;
31-
2 Kin. 25:2, 4-7;
Jer. 52:5-7;
39:2-7, 11-14.
2 Kin. 25:8-21;
Jer. 52:12-30;
39:8-10;
Psa. 74; 79; 83;
94-
Lam. 1-5.
2 Kin. 25:22-24;
Jer. 40:1-16.
2 Kin. 25:25, 26;
Jer. 41-43; 44:1-
7-
Jer. 43:8-13;
46:13-28; 44.
Jer. 52:28-30.
Ezek. 33:21-33.
Ezek. 25; 27; 28;
32.
Ezek. 3S '■ 1-20.
Ezek. 34-37.
Ezek. 38; 39.
Ezek. 40-48.
Ezek. 29:17-2-1;
30:1-19.
Dan. 3.
Dan. 4:1-27.
Dan. 4:28-37.
2 Kin. 25:27-30;
Jer. 52:31-34.
Dan. 7.
Dan. 5.
Dan. 8.
Dan. 9;
Psa. 102.
709
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD v.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B.C.
537-
536.
Jerusalem and
Babylon.
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Daniel cast into the den of lions Dan. 6.
Decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the temple J p ^\K-1^' ^^ '
and restoration of the Jews to their own country 1 pfo^jjg. o'c '
I Psa. 10, 13-15,
Psalms conjectured to have been written during the | 25-27, 36, 2)7>
distresses and afflictions of the church, chiefly in -| 49, 50, 53, 67,
the Babylonish captivity j 77, 80, 89, 92,
93,123, 130, 137.
IV.
FROM THE DECREE OF CVRUS, B. C. 536, TO THE FINAL PROPHECY OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT, B. C. 397, ABOUT 139 YEARS.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
536, Jerusalem.
535' Jerusalem.
534-
Babylon.
520, Jerusalem.
519-
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
516.
486.
464.
462, Susa.
458.
457-
Jerusalem.
710
FROM THE RETURN OF THE JEWS TO THE
DEDICATION OF THE SECOND TEMPLE.
Return of the Jews. Cyrus restores the vessels of j
the temple. An altar set up |
I
Foundation of the second temple under the direc- (
tion of Zerubbabel 1
The building of the temple interrupted by the Sa- |
mar i tans 1
The last vision of Daniel
Building of the temple resumed. Haggai and
Zechariah incite the people to the work and ex-
hort them to repentance
The building of the temple again interrupted and
resumed
Dedication of the second temple.
i
FROM THE OPPOSITION TO THE JEWS IN
THE REIGN OF XERXES TO THE DEATH
OF HAMAN.
Opposition in the reign of Xerxes
Opposition in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus--
Artaxerxes, or Ahasuerus, divorces Vashti his queen
Ezra commissioned to visit Jerusalem
Artaxerxes makes Esther queen.
Ezra comes to Jerusalem ; causes the people to put
away their heathen wives
BIBLE REFERENCE.
2;
Ezra 1:5-11
Psa. 87, 107, III-
114, 116, 117,
125, 127, 128,
134-
Ezra 3:8-13;
Psa. 84 ; 66.
Ezra 4:1-5, 24;
Psa. 129.
Dan. 10-12.
Ezra 4:24; 5:1;
Hag. I :i-ii ;
Ezra 5:2;
Hag. 1:12-15;
2:1-9;
Zech. x:i-6;
Hag. 2:10-23;
Zech. 1 :7-2i ;
2; 6; 2:5.
Ezra 5:3-17;
6:1-13;
Psa. 138;
Zech. 7; 8.
Ezra 6:14-22;
Psa. 48 ; 81 ; 146-
150.
Ezra 4:6.
Ezra 4:7-23-
Esth. I.
Ezra 7:2-14.
Esth. 2 : 1-20.
Ezra 8-10.
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD v.— CONTINUED.
DATE AND PLACE.
B. C.
457-
Susa.
453, 452.
445, Susa.
Jerusalem.
Susa.
Jerusalem.
433-
428.
397-
EVHNT OR NARRATIVE.
Concluding prophecies of Zechariah
Mordecai discovers the conspiracy against Ahasuerus
Plot of Haman to destroy the Jews, and its defeat.
The feast of Purim
FROM THE FIRST COMMISSION OF NEHE-
MIAH TO THE CLOSING OF THE OLD TES-
TAMENT C.\NON.
Nehemiah receives a commission from Artaxerxes to
visit Jerusalem and rebuild the wall
Nehemiah arrives at Jerusalem. Sanballat strives]
to hinder the work ; the builders work under >
arms J
Nehemiah relieves the Jews oppressed by usury ; his
own generosity
The wall completed by the Jews and dedicated
Nehemiah returns to Persia
Second commission of Nehemiah and reformation.
Malachi prophecies against the corruptions intro- f
duced during the second absence of Nehemiah.- |
Further reformation by Nehemiah |
Final prophecy of the Old Testament
Detached genealogies, etc., inserted probably at )
the completion of the canon |
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Zech. 9-14.
Esth. 2:21-23.
Esth. 3-10.
Neh. i; 2:1-8.
Neh. 2 : 9-20 ;
3; 4-
Neh. 5.
Neh. 6; 12:27-43.
Neh. 7:1-4.
Neh. 7:6-73;
8; 9; 10; 11;
12:1-9, 44-47;
13: 1-3 ;
Psa. I ; 119.
Mai. i; 2; 3:1-
15-
Neh. 13:4-31.
Mai. 3:16-18; 4.
I Chr. 1-9;
Neh. 12:10-26.
711
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
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713
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
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714
CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX TO THE BIBLE.
PERIOD VII.
FROM THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE END OF THE FIRST CEN-
TURY.
DATE AND PLACE.
A. D.
68.
69.
70.
71-
79-
95-
96.
96.
97-
EVENT OR NARRATIVE.
Nativity of Jesus Christ (four years before the com-
mon era). Death of Herod
Jesus visits Jerusalem, at the age of 12 years
Augustus Caesar followed by Tiberius.
Pilate sent from Rome as governor of Judsea
John the Baptist begins his ministry
Jesus baptized by John
Jesus Christ was crucified, and rose from the dead-..
Ananias and Sapphira struck dead
Stephen stoned, and the church persecuted
Saul converted
Tiberius dies, and is followed by Caligula.
Conversion of the Gentiles
Caius Caligula succeeded by Claudius.
Herod Agrippa made king of Judaea.
James beheaded by Herod ; Peter liberated by an
angel
Herod Agrippa dies at Caesarea.
Paul's first missionary tour, with Barnabas
Paul and Barnabas attend the council at Jerusalem __
Paul's second missionary tour, with Silas
Claudius Caesar followed by Nero, at Rome.
Paul's third tour
Paul's fifth visit to Jerusalem
Paul reaches Rome as a prisoner
The Jewish war begins.
The Roman general raises the siege of Jerusalem, by
which an opportunity is afforded for the Christians
to retire to Pella beyond Jordan, as admonished by
Christ
Paul suffers martyrdom at Rome by order of Nero.
Vespasian made emperor by his army.
Jerusalem besieged and taken by Titus Vespasian,
according to the predictions of Christ ; when 1,000,
000 Jews perished, by sword, fire, and crucifix-
ion ; besides 97,000 who were sold as slaves, and
vast multitudes who perished in other parts of Ju-
daea
Jerusalem and its temple razed to their foundations. _
Vespasian dies, and is succeeded by Titus. Hercu-
laneum and Pompeii destroyed by an eruption of
Vesuvius.
Titus dies, and is succeeded by Domitian.
John banished to the Isle of Patmos, by Domitian
John writes the Revelation.
Domitian succeeded by Nerva.
John liberated from exile. New Testament canon
closed.
Nerva dies, and is succeeded by Trajan.
John, the last surviving apostle, dies, about one hun-
dred years old.
BIBLE REFERENCE.
Luke 2: 1-16.
Luke 2:41-52.
Luke 3:1.
Matt. 3:1.
Matt. 3:1.
Matt. 27 ; 28.
Acts 5.
Acts 6 ; 7.
Acts 9; 13:9.
Acts 10.
Acts 12:1-19.
Acts 13 ; 14.
Acts 15:2-30.
Acts 15:38 to 18:1.
Acts 19:1.
Acts 20:3 to 21:15.
Acts 21 :i7 to
28:16.
Matt. 24:16-20.
2 Tim. 4:6, 7.
Luke 19:41-44.
Matt. 24:2.
Rev. 1:9.
715
CHRONOLOGY OF THE PATRIARCHS.
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716
TABULAR VIEW OF THE PROPHETS.
TABULAR VIEW OF THE PROPHETS,
SHOWING THE PERIODS DURING WHICH IT IS SUPPOSED THEIR
PROPHECIES WERE DELIVERED.
KINGS OF JUDAH
CROWNED. 3
B.C. -
<
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KINGS OP
ISRAEL
CROWNED.
Amaziah, 839
:
Jeroboam II., 825
Uzziah, 810
1
1
1
1
I
Inteiregnum, 784
Menatiem, 772
i
1
1
Pekahiah, 761
Jothani, 758
Pekali, 758
Ahaz, 742
i
1
Anarchy, 729
Hezekiah, 726
730
Hosea, 730
1
Q
700
Manasseh, 698
- —
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660
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Amon, 643. Josiah, 641
4
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Jehoahaz, 610
1
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Jeconiali, 599
1
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Destr. of Jerusalem, 588
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Zerubbabel, 536 -
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717
TABLE OF HEBREW MONTHS AND FESTIVALS.
Hebrew Montlo
Abib, or Nisan.
Ex. 12:2, 18; 13:4.
Esther 3 : 7.
lyar, or Zif,
I Kings 6:1.
Sivan,
Esther 8:9.
Thammuz,
Ezek. 8: 14.
Ab.
Elul,
Neh. 6:15.
Ethanim, or Tish-
ri, I Kin. 8:2.
Marchesvan, or
Bui, I Kin. 6:38.
Chisleu,
Zech. 7:1.
Tebeth,
Esther 2: 16.
Shebat,
Zech. I :•].
Adar,
Esther 3:7.
Ve-Adar is added
here about seven
times in 19 years.
7^8
April.
MontliH uf
the SHCietl
Year
May.
2d
June. 3d
July.
August.
September.
October.
November.
December.
January.
February.
March.
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
loth
nth
1 2th
MoiltliH iif
tlie Civil
beuHoiis.
Year.
1 7i
< Vi
7th
3
1
8th
9th
D
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2;
nth
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6th
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14. Paschal lamb killed.
15. Passover.
16. First-fruits of barley har-
vest presented to the
Lord.
Passover ended.
The New Moon is celebrated
at the beginning of every
month.
6. Pentecost. First fruits of
wheat presented to the
Lord.
17. Fast, for the taking of Je-
rusalem bv Titus.
9. Temple taken on this day
by the Chaldaeans, and
afterwards by the Ro-
mans. Fast.
I. Feast of Trumpets. New
Year's Day.
10. Day of Atonement. Fast.
15. Fe.\st of Tabernacles.
22. Last day of the Feast.
25. Feast of the Dedication of
the Temple.
10. Siege of Jerusalem. Fast.
14 and 15. Feast of Purim.
Esther 9:18-21.
TABLES
OF
WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND MONEY,
MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE.
PRELIMINARY NOTE.
It must be borne in mind in using these tables that authorities differ greatly in their
conclusions from the meagre and uncertain data in their hands, and that nearly all the
following estimates should be regarded as probable and approximate, rather than as
reliably exact.
Certain common measures of weight, length, and value, like the pound, the cubit,
and the shekel, had, roughly speaking, their equivalents among all the nations around
the Jews — the Chaldaeans, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans ; yet many mistakes would
arise should one accept any of these as precise equivalents.
Those measures also varied within the bounds of each nation from one period of its
history to another, and in different provinces at the same period. The " shekel of the
sanctuary " may have been a standard, from which the common shekel fell off. The
cubit — the measure from the elbow to the end of the middle finger — seems sometimes to
have reached only to the wrist or to the knuckles ; and it is reckoned by some authori-
ties at 17 inches, by others as high as 23 inches; so that we are not sure which is the true
length in any given passage.
Until the return from the Babylonian Captivity it is not certain that the Jews had
any regular coinage. Trade and commerce were largely carried on by barter ; and
though the metals were in common use from the earliest ages as a medium of exchange,
the requisite amount was ascertained by weighing. Hence the different values of a
given weight, e. g., a bekah, in silver and in gold.
bush.
Cab
Omer = 1.8 cabs
Seah =T,.2, omers
Ephah ^3 seahs
Lethek = 5 ephahs 3
Homer = 2 letheks -.6
2. HEBREW MEASURES FOR LIQUIDS.
HEBREW DRY MEASURES.
APPROXIMATE
RABBINS.
JOSEPHUS.
AVERAGE.
i. qta.
pts. litres.
bush. pks qts.
pis.
I
0.24= 1.27
2
0
1 1/2 quarts.
2
0.24 = 2.30
3
I.I
2% quarts.
6
1.44= 7.65
I 3
17
I peck.
4
0.32 = 22.97
102
3-2
3^ pecks.
5
0.2 =114.84
522
0
4 bushels.
2
0.42 = 229.68
II 0 4
0
8 bushels.
galls.
Log
Hin = 12 logs
Bath = 6 hins 5
Cor = 10 baths 50
RABBINS,
qts. pts. litres.
0.56 = 0.32
3 0.73 = 3.83
o 0.32 = 22.97
2 0.43 = 229.68
JOSEPHUS.
galls. qts.
pts.
0.99
1.96
1.28
0.80
4-5 pint.
2% quarts.
7 gallons.
70 gallons.
719
TABLES OF WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND MONEY.
3. SCRIPTURE MEASURES OF LENGTH AND DISTANCE.
LONG ESTIMATE. SHORT ESTIMATE.
yila. It. ill. yUB. ft. lu. meti-en.
Digits 0.912 0.8 0.02
Handbreadth = 4 digits 3.648 3.15 0.08
Span = 3 palms 10.944 9.06 0.23
Cubit = 2 spans i 9.888 i 6.11 0.46
Fathom = 4 cubits 7 3.552 6 0.84 1.85
Reed = 6 cubits 10 11.328 9 1.06 2.77
Stadium = 400 cubits 243 i 9.6 202 o 10.28 184.94
Sabbath day's journey ^ 6 stadia 1461 i 9.6 1212 i 6.8 1109.62
Mile = 8 stadia 1948 2 4.8 1618 i 0.4 I479-50
4. HEBREW WEIGHTS, REDUCED TO TROY WEIGHTS.
lbs. oz. dwts. grs. grammes.
Gerah = 10.96 0.71
Bekah = 10 gerahs 4 13.5 7.12
Shekel = 2 bekahs 9 3.91 14.25
Maneh = 60 shekels* 239 23.55 855.31
Kikkar = 50 manehs 114 6 19 1.7 42,765.50
* Ezek. 45: 12. According to i Kin. 10: 17, compared with 2 Chron. 9: 16, a maneh or pound con-
tained 100 shekels, or 3 lbs., 16 dwt., 16 gr. The kikkar or talent would then contain 30 manehs.
5. HEBREW MONEY, REDUCED TO U. S. CURRENCY.
SILVER.
Gerah $0.0275
Bekah = 10 gerahs 0.275
Shekel = 2 bekahs 0.55
Maneh = 100 shekels 54-42
Kikkar = 30 manehs 1,632.81
GOLD.
$0,438
4-38
8.76
876.00
26,280.00
GREEK AND ROMAN MONEY, IN U. S. CURRENCY.
$
Mite, lepton (copper)
Farthing, kodraiites (copper), = 2 mites
Farthing, assario7t (copper), =4 kodrantes
Penny, denarion (silver), = 10 assaria
Didrachma (silver) = 2 denaria
Stater (silver) = 2 didrachmas
Mina (silver) = 25 staters 15
Talent (silver) = 60 minas 928
0
1-9
0
3-8
I
5-4
15
4-7
30
9-4
61
8.9
47
3-8
42
8.0
720
Old Tmlnnvuft noiius in back UlUrs
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iludtrn nanus tn Italic
SYnEitt Upper and MiddU Asia
TA-SuTIV. Persia. M/iasintun
Assyrians
Lfp'Ka.XaA. Xortfi Assyria
Descendants of Noah.
Set Gfntsts J<* CkcuOtr
l^l^ffl Afrvca ^ S.W Arabia
Asia Minor
kta.*in. Syria., ifcsopolainia
V>x Jf. Ara/iia east ofEdfim
I Uu\ N. of Paltstiiu
E of Arnunia
, K Assyria
C)^XS!CV. Ethiopians
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Ranmoh East Arabia
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HCTrvrod, Plain of Shinar
IJL'vl'gaA.lfl. ipyptiana
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'SapWnfa.TO „ N. „
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Cttg\u\\\nv~ NE. coast of
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Cgphtortm Crete
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pnmiibfl nations which sprung
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ASI^YKEA, CHALIDEA,
MEDIA. ARMENIA. AND SYRIA
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D "n^e bpa2.cn. Lavrr K The Eastern op Shustaa G*te
E The court of nQAde
P The'coxirtof L*rael M The Roywl Porcli
G The g«ie Nicanor N The outer Wall
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