^ r f ft I 1 1| ,' Mi!? H" ^ . -I' . CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library BS 440.159 The International standard Bible encycio 3 1924 008 045 423 »..« The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008045423 The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia THE International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia JAMES ORR, M.A., D.D., General Editor JOHN L. NUELSEN, D.D., LL.D. EDGAR Y. MULLINS, D.D., LL.D. ASSISTANT EDITORS MORRIS 0. EVANS, D.D., Ph.D., Managing Editor VOLUME I A-CLEMENCY CHICAGO THE HOWARD-SEVERANCE COMPANY 1915 !3 Copyright, 1915, by The Howard-Severance Company All Rights of Translation and Reproduction Reserved International Copyright Secured The Publishers supply this Kncyclopaedia only through authorized saJos-agents, Booksellers cannot obtain it. Printed by the Lakeside Press Types cast and set by the University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. PREFACE In presenting to the pubUc in completed form the volumes which comprise The International Standabd Bible Encyclopaedia it is fitting that an explanation should be given of the reasons for the appearance of so comprehensive a work, of its distinctive character and aims, and that some mention should be made of the principles by which the Publishers and Editors have been guided in its preparation. Most readers are aware that the last twenty years have been marked on both sides of the Atlantic —but in Britain chiefly— by a remarkable productivity in dictionaries and encyclopaedias of the Bible. Prior to that time the need of a new departure in Bible dictionaries had become acutely felt. The age was one of transition, of vast and rapid progress in knowledge, and the old aids to the study of the sacred Book no longer satisfied. The movement then already in process has gone forward steadily since, with the result that something Hke a revolution has taken place in our knowledge of Bibfical antiquity and still more in the prevailing methods of approaching and deaUng with Bibhcal subjects. While thus new needs have been created, the task of those entrusted with the preparation of new dictionaries and encyclopaedias of the Bible has been rendered increasingly difficult. It is a byword that things in theology are just now very much in fiux. The old landmarks are disappearing or at least are being considerably shifted. The Bible is passing through the ordeal of a remorseless and revolutionary criticism, and the singular fact is that conclusions which decades ago would have been condemned as subversive of all faith in its authority are now naturalized in large sections of the Church as the last and surest results of scholarship, to question which is well-nigh to put one's self beyond the pale of consideration — almost as if one denied the Copernican theory of the universe. The impulse to meet these new conditions has given rise, as above stated, to the preparation of numerous Biblical dictionaries and encyclopaedias, the chief of which have already taken their places as standard works in this department of scholarship. It is in no spirit of rivalry to these existing works that the present Encyclopaedia is produced. Able and scholarly as these earlier undertakings are, it is believed that there is room for yet another work of the kind, conceived on distinct lines, embodying the best scholarship and newest knowledge, yet somewhat less technical in character than the existing larger works, adapted more directly to the needs of the average pastor and Bible student, and therefore serving a purpose which the others do not so adequately fulfil. There are other con- siderations which have had weight in determining upon a production of this new work. As its title indicates, this Encyclopaedia aims at being "International." On the one hand, it may be claimed that, because it has been produced on American soil, and in considerable part under American care, it has been able to draw from a wider area, and to incorporate the fruits of a fuller and more representative American scholarship, than is possible in any British work; while on the other hand its connection through its chief editor with the Old World enables it to reap not less the PREFACE benefits of some of the best learning of Britain and its Colonies, as well as of the Continent of Europe. How far this has been accomplished will appear farther on. The choice of the word Encyclopaedia as the principal one in the title of this work has also been made with a definite purpose. While very complete in its definition of words and terms as a dictionary, the larger function of the work planned by its projectors was to group and arrange data and information after the manner of an encyclopaedia. It will be observed, therefore, that the latter term more accurately describes the completed work. An important question in connection with a new reference work of this kind is the attitude to be assumed by its writers toward matters fundamental to the newer learning, in so far as the latter deals with the structure, critical treatment, inspiration, and authority of the Bible. Scholarship alone cannot be the deciding factor here, for the scholarship of different minds leads to widely different conclusions, determined often by the ultimate presuppositions on which the treatment of a subject is based. The spirit so widely prevalent in our day which rejects the idea of the supernatural in nature and history, and the criticism which proceeds on that basis, must reach entirely different results from those attained by that attitude of mind and heart which reverently accepts a true revelation of God in the history of Israel and in Christ. It is the former spirit which eviscerates Christianity of most of the vital truths which the Church, resting on Scripture, has always regarded as of its essence. With such a spirit, and with the treatment of Biblical subjects resulting from it, the present Encyclopaedia disclaims all sympathy. In fact, its general attitude may be described as that of a reasonable con- servatism. In harmony with most, though not all, recent works of the kind, this Encyclopaedia is positive and constructive in New Testament criticism and doctrine; on the other hand, while acknowl- edging the rights of a reverent Old Testament criticism, and welcoming any aids which such criticism may bring to the better understanding of the sacred Word, it differs from most of these ultra-modern works either in declining to accept the views of, or in adopting a more cautious attitude toward, the advanced WeUhausen school. Notwithstanding, the aim throughout has been to secure fairness of statement of all subjects on which marked differences of opinion prevail, and in such cases — e.g.. Baptism, the Eucharist, questions of church government, theories of criticism, etc. — it has been provided that the divergent views be presented in separate articles, each article being prepared by a leading exponent of the view set forth therein. In harmony with the practical and authoritative character of the Encyclopaedia the greatest pains have been taken to secure comprehensiveness and completeness in its presentation of all Bibhcal matters, and in its fulness of typical Scriptural references on all subjects dealt with. In scope the work embraces the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha, together with all related subjects of Language, Text, Literature (apocalyptic, apocryphal, sub-apostolic, etc.). Archaeology, historical and religious environment — whatever, in short, may throw light on the meaning and message of the sacred Book. The aim has been that nothing great or small conducing to this end shall be omitted. History of peoples and rehgions, Ethnology, Geography, Topography, Biography, Arts and Crafts, Manners and Customs, Family Life, Natural History, Agriculture, War, Shipping, Ritual, Laws, Sects, Music, and all else pertaining to the outer and inner life of the people of the Bible, and therefore throwing light upon the meaning of the original writers, are amply and minutely treated. Proper names are explained and their occurrences in the Bible and Apocrypha noted. Large space has been devoted to the meanings and uses of the more ordinary, as well as of rarer and obsolete, English words with special reference to their Hebrew and Greek originals and to the variations of usage in the Authorized Version and the Revised Versions. Careful attention has been given to the figurative uses of words in connection with all subjects where such uses occur. This feature alone of the Ency- clopaedia will render it of special value to ministers, teachers, and the rank and file of students of the Bible. PREFACE Such being the general character and design of the Encyclopaedia, its preparation was entrusted to a staff of Editors and assistants whose scholarly attainments and known sjrmpathy with the objects to be attained furnished a guarantee that these plans would be effectively carried out in the com- pleted work. As General and Consulting Editor the Pubhshers secured the services of the Reverend Professor James Orr, D.D., of the United Free Church College, Glasgow, Scotland, and with him were conjoiued as Associate Editors the Reverend President Edgar Y. MulUns, D.D., of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, and the Reverend Bishop John L. Nuelsen, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now of Zurich, Switzerland. The duties of Managing Editor were committed to the Reverend Morris 0. Evans, D.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio; on him and his corps of skilled assistants has fallen the onerous task of seeing the work carried safely through the press. To the General and Managing Editors fell the preparation of the necessary lists of subjects and their grouping and classification; then, in conjunction with the Associate Editors, the assignment of these to suitable contributors. In this connection special care was exercised to give the work a genuinely international and representative character, not only by selecting contributors distinguished in their several departments from both sides of the Atlantic, and from the British Colonies and the Continent, but by seeing that these were chosen from the various sections of the Christian Church and, moreover, that in so far as possible the writers should be those altogether quahfied to produce the most satis- factory articles possible on the subjects assigned to them within the space allotted. In all, nearly two hundred contributors, many of them scholars of the highest rank, have been employed upon this work during the past six years. Over one hundred of these contributors are residents of the United States, about sixty of Great Britain and Continental Europe, and the rest, of Canada, Syria, India, Australia, and other countries. Inspection of the Index of Contributors will show how largely all Churches in the respective countries are represented in this Encyclopaedia. Anghcans, Baptists, Congregationahsts, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, with those of stiU other communions, diverse in name but united in the faith of the one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and laboring in the interests of His Kingdom, have all willingly lent their aid in the production of this truly ecumenical work. Valued assistance also has been unstintingly rendered by a number of Jewish authors. A large proportion of the writers are scholars engaged in professorial work in leading Universities, Seminaries, and Colleges — a fact which greatly enhances the responsible and representative character of their contributions. It is not possible, and the attempt would be invidious, to particularize the share of the several writers in a work which is the product of so many scholarly pens. An examination of the Encyclo- paedia itself wUl reveal to the most critical eye such a wealth of scholarly articles as has seldom been made available to those in need of such a work. It will be sufficient to say that it was desired at the outset by the promoters of this Encyclopaedia that special prominence should be given to Archae- ology and the most recent findings of Exploration, in their bearings on the Bible, and on the lands and civilizations with which Biblical history is connected (Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Palestine, Hittites, etc.). How fully this end has been attained is seen in the fact that a large number of the foremost authorities, on Archaeology are contributors to these pages. In this connection deep regret must be expressed for the severe loss sustained to Biblical knowledge in general and to this Encyclopaedia through the lamented death, while the work was progressing, of Colonel C. R. Conder, whose acquaint- ance with BibUcal Archaeology and Palestinian Topography, equaled by few and surpassed by none, made his services of such special value. It is, however, a gratification that, before his decease. Colonel Conder had completed most of the articles for the Encyclopaedia assigned to him. In the treatment of the wide range of subjects opened up by the Natural History of the Bible, with kindred subjects relating to the Geology, Mineralogy, Agriculture, Trades and Industries, etc., also the Topography of Palestine, this Encyclopaedia is largely indebted to Palestinian contributors PREFACE whose names occupy prominent places in the list. However, the Birds of the Bible are dealt with by a noted American writer, Mrs. Gene Stratton-Porter, whose stories and bird books have charmed multitudes of people all around the world. The abundant articles on Eastern customs, food, trades, marriage, family relationships, etc., are principally the work of American contributors. Embracing in the two Testaments well-nigh every species of literature, the Bible gives rise, even in external respects, to a multitude of questions which it is required of an adequate Encyclopaedia to answer. Such are questions of language, of manuscripts, of text, of internal arrangement, of the growth of the Canon, of Versions, of vicissitudes of literary history, then of chronology as frame- work, of diversity of contents, leading up to history and biography; all finally merging in the wider questions with which criticism proper has to deal. It is the aim of the present work to yield reliable and satisfactory information on all these important subjects. In several articles, such as " Religion in Ancient Greece," by Dr. A. Fairbanks, of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, and "The Roman Empire and Christianity," by Dr. S. Angus, the aim has been to give the true perspective and atmosphere to the Bible history. It is of the first importance that the reader should reahze the background and salient features of that history — have a clear conception of the mythological sys- tems and ancient world-powers with which Christianity had to contend and which it was destined to supplant. Several illustrations also will be found to serve the same end. The center of interest in the Bible must ever be the Lord Jesus Christ, to the consideration of whose life and teaching, as enshrined in the Gospels, and to the significance of whose Person, mission, and saving work, as further unfolded in the Epistles, large space in this Encyclopaedia is necessarily devoted. It was with great diffidence, and a deep sense of the responsibility of the task, that the principal article on Jesus Christ was undertaken by the General Editor. The treatment of the subj ect is guided by the conviction that, while critical discussion cannot be ignored, a simple and straight- forward presentation of the narrative of this transcendent life, in its proper historical and chrono- logical setting, is itself the best antidote to the vagaries of much current speculation, and the endeavor is made to give the article throughout a character which will render it inf ormatory and helpful to the average Biblical student. The same author is responsible for the articles on the Bible and on Criti- cism. On the latter subject, however, another article from a different standpoint is appended to the one by the General Editor. The articles on the greater doctrines and on doctrinal and ethical themes generally, as drawn from both Old and New Testaments, cover a wide range, and in all of these several departments of Biblical learning most painstaking effort has been put forth with such results as an examination of the Encyclopaedia itself cannot fail to reveal. It is essential to a good encyclopaedia that in addition to its scholarly execution it possess dis- tinctive outstanding features for the convenience and information of those who consult it. This Encyclopaedia is particularly characterized by the following features : I. Fulness. It has been the design of the Editors that every word in the Bible and the Apoc- rypha having a distinct Scriptural meaning should appear in this work; and also that all the doctrines of the Bible, the principal terms of Biblical criticism and related subjects of profane history, biog- raphy, geography, social life of the peoples, and the industries, sciences, literature, etc., should be included and given proper treatment. A much greater number of words and subjects are defined and treated in this Encyclopaedia than in any other work of its kind, as will be seen by comparison. II. Authority. In order that those who use such a work may be assured of its trustwortliiness it is necessary that the subject-matter should be identified with its authors. Therefore every article in this Encyclopaedia, of sufficient length to be regarded as more than a mere definition or notice, appears over the signature of its author. ■ Items of less than one hundred words are not signed, as PREFACE so many signatures to short and relatively unimportant paragraphs would serve no valuable purpose, but would give a monotonous appearance to a page. It will be noted that the authors responsible for all the major subjects were selected and requested to write upon those particular themes because of their marked ability and recognized authority in the special departments of Biblical learning to which their articles belong. III. Accessibility. More frequently than otherwise those who consult an encyclopaedia desire to obtain information on only one or two points in an article and have neither the time nor inclination to read it throughout its entire length. To aid such busy readers, therefore, a uniform division of articles by the employment of headings and subheadings has been adopted. The principal divisions of articles are indicated by captions in bold-faced italics. Subordinate to this first class of divisions appears a secondary class of numerical headings known as cut-in heads, the text-matter being in- dented for their insertion. An illustration of these two headings follows : //. The Ordinance. — The "seats of doctrine," i.e. the Scripture texts which must be employed for determining every essential jjart of 1. Source the teaching of Scripture regarding the and Norm second sacrament of the Christian of the Doc- church, are the words of institution trine of the recorded in Mt 26 26-28; Mk 14 22- Eucharist 24; Lk 22 19.20; 1 Cor 11 23-25. Valuable statements, chiefly concern- ing the proper use of the sacrament, are found in 1 Cor 10 15 ff; 11 20 ff. That these texts are controverted is no reason why a doctrine should not be established from them. No doctrine of the Christian religion could be established, if every text of Scripture had to be withdrawn from the argument, so soon as it had become controverted. Jn 6 32- 59 does not treat of this ordinance, because (1) the ordinance must be dated from the night of the betrayal, which was considerably after the Lord's discourse at Capernaum; (2) because this passage speaks of "eating the flesh," not the body, of the Son of man, and of drinking "his blood," in such The cut-in heads are followed by a third class of subject divisions indicated by plain Arabic numerals enclosed in parentheses as follows: (1), (2), (3). The reader will be further aided by a fourth class of subdivisions composed of the letters of the alphabet arranged in the following style: (a), (6), (c), etc. In a few exceptional instances other special methods of subdividing articles have been provided to suit particular cases. The principal divisions and subdivisions of each leading article appear in tabulated form as an outline or analysis immediately preceding the article itself, so that one may observe at a mere glance the general method of treatment of any particular subject, and also the relative place in the article in which any feature is located. IV. Illustrations. A large number of pictures, maps and charts, particularly adapted to illus- trating the text, serve the purposes both of instruction and embeUishment. While some of the illustrations are necessarily copied or redrawn from familiar subjects, by far the larger number are reproductions of recent photographs. Many of these latter were obtained by the PubUshers through their own special representatives who either made the photographs themselves or collected them from many available sources at great outlay of time and money. The Editors and Publishers are under special obligation to many authors and interested friends who have procured from others or loaned from their own private collections many rare pictures which have been used. Among others who have thus unselfishly aided in the production of this work special mention should be made of the following persons: the Reverend A. E. Breen, D.D., of Rochester, New York; Professor Albert T. Clay, of Yale University; Professor A. E. Day, of the Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, Syria; Professor A. C. Dickie, Manchester, England; the Reverend William Ewing, D.D., Edinburgh, Scotland; Dr. Arthur Fairbanks, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; the Reverend M. G. Kyle, LL.D., Professor in Xenia Theological Seminary, Xenia, Ohio; Dr. E. C. Richardson, Librarian at Princeton University; the Reverend Professor George L. Robinson, of McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago; the Reverend Professor G. H. Trever, D.D., of Gammon School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia; and Mrs. W. J. Williams, Cincinnati, Ohio. PREFACE V. Maps. At some places in the text maps are used for illustration. The colored maps, which comprise an atlas, are grouped at the close of the fifth volume for convenience in reference. They have been drawn under the immediate supervision of the Reverend Professor George L. Robinson, of McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. The index, which precedes the atlas, renders the location of all identified places easy. VI. Cross-References and Indexes. Although the alphabetical arrangement of an encyclo- paedia enables one using it readUy to locate its principal subjects, it is possible to obtain all the infor- mation concerning any theme only by an acquaintance with all the articles in which that theme appears. A system of cross-references extensively used throughout this work leads the reader to the various articles which give information on any given theme or subject. A little overlapping or repetition has occasionally been allowed to save readers the trouble of referring too frequently from one article to another. To aid further those who use this work to locate immediately any fact or particular contained in the Encyclopaedia there are seven indexes as follows: I. Contributors; II. General Subjects; III. Scripture Texts; IV. Hebrew and Aramaic Words; V. Greek Words; VI. Illustrations; VII. Index to the Atlas. In the pronunciation of proper names and English words the international character of the work has not been overlooked. Great care has also been exercised in view of the doubts and diffi- culties attaching to the derivation of proper names. The American Standard Edition of the Revised Version of the Bible, copyright 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York, by consent of the owners of the copyright, has been made the standard English text of the Bibhcal quotations and references where not otherwise indicated; the writers, however, have enjoyed full liberty in the use of other versions or in giving their own translations and paraphrases. The Editors and Publishers have not spared time, painstaking care or expense in their efforts to produce an Encyclopaedia in every way adequate to the exacting requirements of teachers in colleges and theological seminaries and Bible schools, clergymen, and all others who desire to be famihar with the Holy Scriptures and those themes of doctrine, criticism, and scholarship which are directly related to them. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS I. GENERAL 5« A Ab ace. ad loo. AHT AJSL AJT Akk al. (alii) Alex Am PEFSt Am Tab Amurru anc. Ant AOF Ap Lit Apoc Apos Const app. Aq Arab. Aram. art. ARV ARVm AS Assyr * AT AV b. B Bab BDB Bez Bib. BJ Bk BR BS BST BTP BW Codex Sinaiticus Codex Alexandrinus 'Abhoth, Pirlfe according at the place Ancient Hebrew Tradition American Journal of Semitic Lan- guages and Literatures American Journal of Theology Akkadian others Alexandrian American Palestine Exploration Fund Statement Tell el-Amarna Letters Clay, Amurru, the Home of the Northern Semites ancient Josephus, Antiquities Winckler, Altorientalische For- schungen Apocalyptic Literature Apocrypha Apostolical Constitutions appendix Aquila Arabic Aramaic article American Standard Revised Version American Revised Version, margin Anglo-Saxon Assyrian theoretical or unidentified forms Altes Testament Authorized Version (1611) bom Codex Vaticanus Babylonian Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the OT Bezold, Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets in the Ko{u)yunjik Collec- tion of the British Museum Biblical Josephus, Jewish Wars Book Robinson, Biblical Researches Bibliotheca Sacra Bible Student and Teacher G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets Biblical World c, cir CAO Can CAp CC CE cf ch(s) CH Chald CH {St P) CI CIO CIL CIS cod., codd. comm(s). COT CRT d. D D2 DB DCA DOB DCO Did disc. doct. DOO E E2 E. EB ed, edd Eerd St Egyp Einl Enc Brit enl. ep., epp. EPC ERE ERV . ERVm esp. ET Codex Ephraemi circa, about Smith, Chaldean Account cf Genesis Canaanite Josephus, Against Apion Covenant Code Cyclopedia of Education compare chapter(s) Code of Qammurabi Chaldaic Conybeare and Howson, St. Paul Corpus Inscriptionum Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum codex, codices commentary, commentaries Schrader, The Cuneiform Inscrip- tions and the OT Craig, Assyrian and Babylonian Re- ligious Texts died, denarius (penny) Deuteronomist, or Codex Bezae Later Deuteronomistic editors Smith, Dictionary of the Bible Dictionary of Christian Antiquities Dictionary of Christian Biography Hastings, Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels Didache discovered doctrine Deutsche Orientalische Gesellschaft Elohist Later additions to E East Encyclopaedia Biblica edition, editions Eerdmans, Studien Egyptian Einleitung Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed) enlarged epistle, epistles Wiener, Essays in Pentateuchal Criticism Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics English Revised Version English Revised Version, margin especially English translation THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA et al. and others EV English Versions of the Bible expl. exploration Expos The Expositor Expos T Expository Times f , ff following (verse, or verses, page, etc) fern. feminine fig. figurative(ly) fl. flourished Fr. French fr from fr. fragment ft. foot, feet gal(s). gallon (s) OAP Buhl, Oeographie des alten Palastina GAS Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the OT GB or Gins- Ginsburg, New Massoretico-Critical burg's Bible Text of the Hebrew Bible GBA gen. Ger. GGA GGN GJV Gr GVI H HA HCM HDB HDB, 1 vol HE Heb Hel Hex HGHL HI Hiph. Hithp. HJ HJP Hor Heh HPM HPN ib or ibid ICC id ideo. IJG IL impf. infra in loc. inscr. intrans. intro(s) introd. J J2 JAOS JBL Winckler, Geschichte Babyloniens u. Assyriens genitive German Gottingische gelehrte Anzeigen Gbttingische gelehrte Nachrichten Schiirer, Geschichte des Jiidischen Volkes (4th ed) Greek Stade, Geschichte des Volkes Israel Law of Holiness (Lev 17-26) Hehraische Archaologie (Benzinger; Nowack) Sayce, Higher Criticism and the Monuments Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes) Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (single volume) Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica Hebrew Hellenistic Hexateuch Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land Kuenen, History of Israel to the Fall of the Jewish State Hiphil Hithpael The Hibbert Journal Schiirer, History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae McCurdy, History, Prophecy and the Monuments Gray, Studies in Hebrew Proper Names same place International Critical Commentary same person or author ideogram Wellhausen, Israelitische und judische Geschichte Stevenson, Index-Lexicons to OT and NT imperfect below in the place cited inscription intransitive introduction (s) introductory Jahwist Later additions to J Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Biblical Literature and Exegesis JD Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmudim and Midrashic Literature JDT Jahrbilcher filr deutsche Theologie Jeh Jehovah (Yahweh) Jerus Jerusalem Jew Enc Jewish Encyclopedia Jos Josephus jour. journal JPT Jahrbilcher filr protestantische Theo- logie JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society KAT Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament KB Keilinschrifaiche Bibliothek (Schra- der, editor) K're and ■ Knhibh See art. Text of the OT KGF Schrader, Keilinschriften und Ge- schichtsforschung Kim Kimhi 1., 11. hne, lines lang. language Lat Latin LB Thomson, The Land and the Book LBR Robinson, Later Biblical Researches I.e. or loc. cit . in the place cited lect lecture lex. lexicon lit. literature, or literally LOT Driver, IntrodvA;tion to the Literature oftheOT LOTB Clay, Light on the OT from Babel LTJM Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah LXX Septuagint m or mg margin Maim Maimonides masc. mascuUne Masp Maspero, Dawn of Civilization MDO-G Winckler, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft ME Middle English Midr Midrash Mish Mishna mod. modern MS Moabite Stone MS(S) Manuscript (s) MT Mas(s)oretic Text. See art. Text op THE OT N. North n. note n.d. no date NHB Tristram, Natural History of the Bible Levy, Neuhebraisches und chaldd- NHWB isches Worterbuch NKZ Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift no. number N.O. Natural Order NT New Testament obs. obsolete obv. obverse OC Transactions of the International Congress of Orientalists OE Old English OHL Oxford Hebrew Lexicon; see BDB OLZ Orientalistische Literatur-Zeitung om. omitted Onli Onk;elos (Targum) Onom or OS Eusebius, Onomasticon — Onom Sacr OP Wiener, Origin of the Pentateuch op. cit. in the work quoted OT Old Testament OT (Sept or LXX) Swete, OT in Greek according to Sept OTJC Smith, OT in Jewish Church THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA PorPC P2 Pal PAOS par. II part, or ptcp. pass. PB PEF PEFSt Pent Pers Pesh PHI Phili(s) Phoen pi., plur. PN POT PRE pref. prim. prob ps(s) PS PSBA Pseudep PTR qt. q.v. R or red. r. or 1/ RE RE rev. ROO Rom RP RS RV RVm S. s. Sam SEE SBL SEOT Sch-Herz SCOT see. Sem Sept or LXX ser. Sin Priestly Code Secondary Priestly Writers Palestine Proceedings of the American Oriental Society paragraph parallel participle passive Polychrome Bible Palestine Exploration Fund Memoirs PEF Quarterly Statement Pentateuch Persian Peshito, Peshitta Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the His- tory of Israel Philistine (s) Phoenician plural Cheyne, Complete List of the Proper Names in the OT and NT Orr, The Problem t)/ the Old Testament Hauck-Herzog, Realencyklopddie filr proiestantische Theologie und Kirche preface primitive probably psalm (s) Wiener, Pentateuchal Studies Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology Pseudepigrapha Princeton Theological Review quoted by which see redactor or editor root Revue biblique See PRE revised, or reviewed Schiele-Zscharnack, Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart Roman Records of the Past Revue semitique Revised Version (English and Amer- ican) Revised Version, margin South shiUing Samaritan Miiller, Sacred Books of the East Wiener, Studies in Biblical Law Sacred Books of the Old Testament The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclo- pedia of Religious Knowledge Wright, Scientific Confirmation of the OT History section Semitic Septuagint series Sinaitio sing. singular SK Studien und Kriliken sq. square, or the following StBD Standard Bible Dictionary subst. substantive s.v. under the word SWP Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine Syr Syriao t times Talm Tahnud text. textual Tg(s), Targ(s) Targum(s) TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung TMH J. Dahse, Textkritische Materialen zur Hexateuchfrage tr translation, or translate tr'' translated tr' translations TR Textus Receptus of the NT. See art. Text of the NT trans transitive Treg. TregeUes TS Theologische Studien und Kritiken TSBA Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology TT Theologisch Tijdschrift U Untersuchungen ut supra as above V. versus V Codex Venetus ver verse vs verses VS, VSS version, versions Vulg Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390- 405 AD) v.v. vice versa W. West WAE Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians WAI Western Asiatic Inscriptions WCH WeUhausen, The Composition of the Hexateuch WOA Wright, Grammar of the Arabic Lan- guage WH Westoott and Hort, The New Testa- ment in Greek WZ{KM) Wiener Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde des Morgenlandes Z Zeitschrift ZA Zeitschrift fiir Assyriologie und ver- wandte Gebiete Zahn NT Zahn, Introduction to the New Tes- tament ZATW Zeitschrift fiir alttestamentliche Wis- senschaft ZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgen- Idndischen Gesellschaft ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina- Vereins ZK Zeitschrift fiir Keilschriftforschung ZKW Zeitschrift fiir kirchliche Wissenschaft ZNTW Zeitschrift fiir neutestamentlicKe Wis- senschaft ZWT Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Theo- logie THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA II. BOOKS OF THE BIBLE OLD TESTAMENT Gen Genesis 2K 2 Kings I Cant Canticles, or Am Amos Ex Exodus ICh 1 Chronicles Song of Solo- Ob Obadiah Lev Leviticus 2Ch 2 Chronicles mon Jon Jonah Nu Numbers Ezr Ezra Isa Isaiah Mic Mioah Dt Deuteronomy Neh Nehemiah Jer Jeremiah Nah Nahum Josh Joshua Est Esther Lam Lamentations Hab Habakkuk Jgs Judges Job Ezk Ezekiel Zeph Zephaniah Ruth Ps Psalms Dnl Daniel Hag Haggai IS 1 Samuel Prov Proverbs Hos Hosea Zee Zechariah 2S 2 Samuel Eccl Ecclesiastos Joel Mai Malachi IK 1 Kings APOCRYPHA lEsd 1 Esdras Wisd Wisdom of Solo- Ep Jer Epistle of Bel Bel and 2Esd 2 Esdras mon Jeremy Dragon Tob Tobit Sir, or Sirach, or Ec- Three Song of the Pr Man Prayer of IV Jth Judith Ecclus clesiasticus Three ] Holy nasses Ad Est Additions to Es- Children 1 Mace 1 Maccabees ther, or Rest Bar Baruch Sus Susanna • 2 Maoc 2 Maccabees of Esther NEW TESTAMENT Mt Matthew 2 Cor 2 Corinthians 1 Tim 1 Timothy 2 Pet 2 Peter Mk Mark Gal Galatians 2 Tim 2 Timothy 1 Jn 1 John Lk Luke Eph Ephesians Tit Titus 2 Jn 2 John Jn John Phil Philippians Philem Philemon 3 Jn 3 John Acts Col Colossians He Hebrews Jude Rom Romans 1 Thess 1 ThessalonianKS Jas James Rev Revelation ICor 1 Corinthians 2 Thess 2 Thessalonians 1 Pet 1 Peter the Ma- in. PSEUDEPIGRAPHA Apoc Bar Apocalypse of Baruch, Syriac (2 Baruch in Charles) Apoc Bar Apocalypse of Baruch, Greek (3 (Gr) Baruch in Charles) Asc Isa Ascension of Isaiah Asm M Assumption of Moses En Enoch, Ethiopic Book of (1 Enoch in Charles, Apoc and Pseudep) En (Slav) Jub or Bk Jub PsSol Sib Or XII P Enoch, Slavonic Book of (Book of the Secrets of Enoch, 2 Enoch in Charles) Jubilees, Book of Psalms of Solomon SibyUine Oracles Testament (s) of the Twelve Patriarchs See also arts. Apocalyptic Literature; Apocrypha. Note. — In the references to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, no uniform attempt at completeness has been made. KEY TO ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION a as in fate a a " far 4 11 " fore a (I " fat a (I " fall a It " senate ch It " church dfl It " verdure e tt " me e It " event e " " met e It " ever g tt "go i tt " ice i " " pin n tt " man n {ng sound) tt " single n tt " canon (kan'yun) o as in old 6 (( " orb tt " not 6 tt " obey oi tt "oil 00 tt " noon do It " book ou tt " sound sh It " ship th tt " thing th tt " this tfl tt " culture u tt " use A tt " urn u tt " but a tt " ■unite y tt " yet THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA SCHEME OF HEBREW TRANSLITERATION CONSONANTS (ENGLISH VALUES) !!< ' (soundless) 'aleph S b bUh 2 bh ( = v) 3 g glmel Z\ gh (aspirated g) '^ d ddleth 1 dh ( = th in the) I i h he "1 w (or v) waw{vav) 7 z zayin T, h (guttural h) hetk 13 t (intense t) iUh ^ y yodh 3 VT k kaph 5 1 kh( = Ger. ch) J 1 lamedh 52 D m mem 'i '\ n nun C ? ^amekh y ' (a peculiar guttural) 'ayin S p pe 5 q ph ( = f) ^ Y 5 (almost ts) fod/je p If (intense k) J;6pA "I r resh 123 s siri "iC sh s?ji7i ri t tdio t\ th (as in thing) VOWELS (CONTINENTAL VALUES) LONG SHORT VERY SHORT " • - -.■ ■ T •.. : v; -: t: - (fu eiou aeiou "SaO" Note. — In particular cases, where a distinction should be made between a naturally long and a tone-long vowel, the signs a and - are used, respectively. In other cases the macron (-) is used to indicate "fuU" writing (i.e. with '] or '') rather than the actual quantity, of which such writing is ordinarily a sign. In some instances i represents "'t-, whether the ^ is consonantal or vocal in origin. Where sh^wd' (:) is not sounded it is not represented. Where the vowel is not marked, it is understood to be short. To represent the definite article ha- (or ha-) is used without indicating the doubling of the following consonant where this occurs. In other instances where it is necessary to separate a prefix from a stem a hyphen is employed. See also art. Alphabet. PRONUNCIATION OF HEBREW NAMES IN THE ENGLISH BIBLE General rule. — ^Usage in the pronunciation of Hebrew names in English has developed after the analogy of Greek and Latin proper names, without any regard for the pronunciation of the Hebrew originals, either as represented in the Masoretic Text or as theoretically reconstructed. Spelling. — The spelling of these names, especially of the best known, deviates widely from any system of uniform transliteration that can be devised. Its evolution must be traced through the attrition of the Greek and Latin endings in the Vulgate forms, based in turn on the Septuagint versions. Thus "Solomon" and "Moses" have retained Greek endings that have no counterpart in the Hebrew shHomoh and mosheh; "Gomorrah" and "Gaza" have an initial vowel that represents the closest approximation that the Greek alphabet furnished for the pecuUar guttural y , elsewhere represented by a rough breathing or h (as in "Hebrew," "Hai"). The second r in "Gomorrah" is likewise due to the Greek spelling pp and not to the Hebrew "1 . The loss of an h in Aaron i'ah&ron) and of h in Isaac (yighak) must be explained in the same way. The first vowel in each of the words "Solomon," "Samuel," "Sodom," "Gomorrah," "Pharisee," "Debir," and similar words, takes the place of a practically soundless shHua', which had no exact equivalent in Greek. In form, then, the Hebrew names in the Bible are to all intents and purposes Greek. Accentuation. — The accentuation, however, is based on the Latin scheme, never on the Hebrew or Greek. That is to say: the last syllable is never accented; the second last is, if long, or if the word has only two syllables; the third from the end is accented in all other cases. Thus in each of the following names the accent differs from that of the Hebrew. Deb'o-rah (d'bhorah') ; Ab'i-dan or A-bi'dan {'dbhldhan') ; Dan'iel {dani'el') ; Sol'o-mon {shHomoh') ; Sod'om {s'dhom) ; Sam'u-el (sh^mu'el') ; Ke'naz (k^naz); A-bed'ne-go {'ahhedh-n^gho'); Che'mosh (km.osh); De'bir (d^bhlr). It will be noticed that in many of these words the syllable accented in English is not a syllable at all in Hebrew, but a part of a syllable in which there is no vowel but a mere breath. xviii THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDLl Vowels. — In determining the length of a vowel, etymology must be ignored and position in a word considered. Thus, in general, a vowel that closes a syllable is long, whereas one followed by a consonant in the same syllable is short. English models seem to be followed in this matter and the concepts "long" and "short" carry with them the qualitative changes customary in EngUsh. Thus short o is pronounced as in "cat," and not as a merely less drawn-out a. Authorities differ on the pronunciation of ai in Scriptural names (e.g. "Sinai"); thus the Imperial Dictionary prefers a, Webster and others I. vfinal is always long (as in Cozbi, Cushi, MalachI, and Zimri). Consonants. — Each of the consonants, excepting c, s, and t, has but a single sound, its ordinary English sound, g is always hard, as in "go," excepting in the word "Bethphage," which has been more thoroughly Graecized than Old Testament words, th is pronounced as in "thin"; ch as k, excepting in the name "Rachel," where it has the sound heard in the word "church"; ph is sounded /. c, s, and t are governed by the English rules, e is alwaj^s hard (sounded as k) except before e, i, and y. Thus "Cinneroth" has the soft sound (s). s as an initial vowel of a word or syllable is sounded as in the word "sit." Between two vowels or at the end of a word after e, I, to, n, or r it is pronounced as z (e.g. "Moses" [pronounced "mozez"], "Solonion," "Israel" [s soft, but oftenest given as z, "Isaac" [s as z]). The tendency to pronounce si and ti in obscure positions as sh is recog- nized bjr some, but this combination is not common in Biblical names. The pronunciation of t before th, as in "Matthew," is by some authorities disposed of by assimilating the t to the th. Conclusion.— Though. Hebrew scholars have recently displayed a tendency to permit the pro- nunciation of the Hebrew according to the Masora to influence that of Bible names in English by giving preference to forms that Show the greatest resemblance to the Hebrew (as in the name "Beza- leel," Hebrew b^gal'el, pronounced in English "bl-zal'g-el" or "bez'a-lel," former preferred), we must bear in mind that though these names are derived from the Hebrew they are spelled as if derived from Latin or Greek, accented as if Latin, and pronounced so far as separate letters are concerned as if native English words. GREEK PRONUNCIATION Form A B r A E Z H e I K A M N n p s T r X p Name ijra drjTO. IGiTa Kdirira fJLV vv ii h fXLKphv tri pQ ffiyixa rav 0? X' ■A? <3 (xiya Transliteration Eng. Pronunciatioi alpha al'fa beta ha'ta gamma gam'a delta del'ta epsilon ep'si-lon zeta za'ta eta a' la theta tha'ta iota e-o'ta kappa kap'a lambda lam'da mu ■mob; rmi nu nob; nu xi kse; zl omicron om'i-kron pi pe rho ro sigma sig'ma tau iou upsilon up'si-lon phi re chi khe (kh = Gerch) psi pse omega o'me-ga Phonetic Value a in "far," "man" b gin "go" d ^ in "set" dz in "adze" a (German) or e in "prey" th in "thin" i in "pique," "pin" k I m n ks=x 6 in "obey" V r s in "see" t in "ten" u (French and Welsh) or German ii ph=f ch (German and Welsh) ps in "so" a, 1, and w are sometimes long, sometimes short. The diphthongs are : ai as in "aisle" ei as in "eight" 01 as in "toil" 0.V as ou in "out" eu and -qv as e or ij+u, ou as in "group" VI as in "quit" hence roughly speaking = «m or au (no exact equivalents in English) THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA xix and the following so-called improper diphthongs a, ai, y, ei, , have been transliterated as a, e, 0, respectively, since the "iota subscript" was not pronounced in sounding the diphthongs (e.g. alpeoi, hairio, but aiTta, aitla). Only the rough and not the smooth vowels are indicated. Accentuation. — The Greek has three accents: (1) the acute ('), as in Oeos, theds = & rising pitch in the voice; (2) the grave Q), as in tov Otov, ton i/iedn = a falling pitch in the voice; (3) the circumflex ("), as in TOV Otav, toy, theoil = a, rising and falling pitch in the voice. The grave occurs only on the last syllable and is merely a way of indicating that other words f oUow (in the same clause or sentence) a word which has an acute accent on the final syllable, e.g. to, td ("the"), but when followed by another word, to epyov, td ergon ("the work"). The Greek accent was originally a musical or pitch accent rather than a stress accent as in English, and the acute, grave, and circumflex accents were doubtless differentiated. In indicating the accents in this Encyclopaedia, however, the stress alone is considered, and all accents are so indicated, whether acute, grave, or circumflex; e.g. to tpyov trom is transliterated to ergon poio and not to ergon poio. THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA A. — SeeALEPH; Alphabet. AALAR, a'a-lar. See Allar. AARON, Ar'un, sometimes pronomioed ar'on (■j'nni?, 'ahdron — LXX 'Aapiiv, Aardn, meaning uncertain: Gesenius suggests "mountaineer": Furst, "enlightened"; others give "rich," "fluent.'* Cheyne mentions Redslob's "ingenious conjecture" of ha-'dron — "the ark" — with its mythical, priestly significance, EB s.v.) : Probably eldest son of Amram (Ex 6 20), and according to the uniform genealogical lists (Ex 6 16-20; 1 Ch 1. Family 6 1-3), the fourth from Levi. This however is not certainly fixed, since there are frequent omissions from the Heb lists of names which are not prominent in the line of de- scent. For the corresponding period from Levi to Aaron the Judah hst has six names (Ruth 4 18-20; 1 Ch 2). Levi and his family were zealous, even to violence (Gen 34 25; Ex 32 26), for the national honor and religion, and Aaron no doubt inherited his full portion of this spirit. His mother's name was Jochebed, who was also of the Levitical family (Ex 6 20). Miriam, his sister, was several years older, since she was set to watch the novel cradle of the infant brother Moses, at whose birth Aaron was three years old (Ex 7 7). When Moses fled from Egypt, Aaron remained to share the hardships of his people, and possibly to render them some service; for we 2. Becomes are told that Moses intreated of God Moses' his brother's cooperation in his mis- Assistant sion to Pharaoh and to Israel, and that Aaron went out to meet his returning brother, as the time of deliverance drew near (Ex 4 27). While Moses, whose great gifts lay along other lines, was slow of speech (Ex 4 10), Aaron was a ready spokesman, and became his brother's representative, being called his "mouth" (Ex 4 16) and his "prophet" (Ex 7 1). After their meeting in the wilderness the two brothers returned together to Egypt on the hazardous mis- sion to which Jehovah had called them (Ex 4 27-31). At first they appealed to their own nation, recalling the ancient promises and declaring the imminent deliverance, Aaron being the spokesman. But the heart of the people, hopeless by reason of ' the hard bondage and heavy with the care of material things, did not incUne to them. The two brothers then forced the issue by appealing directly to Pharaoh himself, Aaron still speaking for his brother (Ex 6 10-13). He also performed, at Moses' direction, the miracles which confounded Pharaoh and his magicians. With Hur, he held up Moses' hands, in order that the 'rod of God might be lifted up,' during the fight with Amalek (Ex 17 10.12). Aaron next comes into prominence when at Sinai he is one of the elders and representatives of his tribe to approach nearer to the 3. An Elder Mount than the people in general were allowed to do, and to see the manifested glory of God (Ex 24 1.9.10). A few days later, when Moses, attended by his "minister" Joshua, went up into the mountain, Aaron exer- cised some kind of headship over the people in his absence. Despairing of seeing again their leader, who had disappeared into the mystery of commun- ion with the invisible God, they appealed to Aaron to prepare them more tangible gods, and to lead them back to Egypt (Ex 32). Aaron never appears as the strong, heroic character which his brother was; and here at Sinai he revealed his weaker nature, yielding to the demands of the people and per- mitting the making of the golden bullock. That he must however have yielded reluctantly, is evi- dent from the ready zeal of his tribesmen, whose leader he was, to stay and to avenge the apostasy by rushing to arms and falling mightily upon the idolaters at the call of Moses (Ex 32 26-28). In connection with the planning and erection of the tabernacle ("the Tent"), Aaron and his sons being chosen for the official priest- 4. High hood, elaborate and symbolical vest- Priest ments were prepared for them (Ex 28) ; and after the erection and dedication of the tabernacle, he and his sons were formally inducted into the sacred office (Lev 8) . It appears that Aaron alone was anointed with the holy oil (Lev 8 12), but his sons were included with him in the duty of caring for sacrificial rites and things. They served in receiving and presenting the vari- ous offerings, and could enter and serve in the first chamber of the tabernacle; but Aaron alone, the high priest, the Mediator of the Old Covenant, could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year, on the great Day of Atonement (Lev 16 12-14). After the departure of Israel from Sinai, Aaron joined his sister Miriam in a protest against the authority of Moses (Nu 12), which 5. Rebels they asserted to be self-assumed. Against For this rebellion Miriam was smit- Moses ten with leprosy, but was made whole again, when, at the pleading of Aaron, Moses interceded with God for her. The sacred office of Aaron, requiring physical, moral and cere- monial cleanness of the strictest order, seems to have made him immune from this form of punish- ment. Somewhat later (Nu 16) he himself, along with Moses, became the object of a revolt of his own tribe in conspiracy with leaders of Dan and Reuben. This rebellion was subdued and the authority of Moses and Aaron vindicated by the Aaronites Abase THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA miraculous overthrow of the rebels. As they were being destroyed by the plague, Aaron, at Moses' command, rushed into their midst with the lighted censer, and the destruction was stayed. The Divine will in choosing Aaron and his family to the priesthood was then fully attested by the mirac- ulous budding of his rod, when, together with rods representing the other tribes, it was placed and left overnight in the sanctuary (Nu 17). See Aaron's Rod. After this event Aaron does not come prominently into view until the time of his death, near the close of the Wilderness period. Because of the impa- tience, or unbelief, of Moses and Aaron at Meri- bah (Nu 20 12), the two brothers are prohibited from entering Canaan; and shortly after the last camp at Kadesh was broken, as the people jour- neyed eastward to the plains of Moab, Aaron died on Mount Hor. In three passages this event is recorded: the more detailed account in Nu 20, a second incidental record in the list of stations of the wanderings in the wilderness (Nu 33 38.39), and a third casual reference (Dt 10 6) in an address of Moses. These are not in the least contradictory or inharmonious. The dramatic scene is fully pre? sented in Nu'20: Moses, Aaron and Eleazar go up to Mount Hor in the people's sight; Aaron is divested of his robes of ofBce, which are formally put upon his eldest living son; Aaron 6. Further dies before the Lord in the Mount History at the age of 123, and is given burial by his two mourning relatives, who then return to the camp without the first and great high priest; when the people understand that he is no more, they show both grief and love by thirty days of mourning. The passage in Nu 33 records the event of his death just after the list of stations in the general vicinity of Mount Hor; while Moses in Dt 10 states from which of these stations, viz. Moserah, that remarkable funeral procession made its way to Mount Hor. In the records we find, not contradiction and perplexity, but simplicity and unity. It is not within the view of this article to present modern displacements and rearrangements of the Aaronic history; it is concerned with the records as they are, and as they contain the faith of the OT writers in the origin in Aaron of their priestly order. Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, and sister of Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah, who bore him four sons : Nadab, Abihu, 7. Priestly Eleazar and Ithamar. The sacrilegious Succession act and consequent judicial death of Nadab and Abihu are recorded in Lev 10. Eleazar and Ithamar were more pious and reverent; and from them descended the long line of priests to whom was committed the ceremonial law of Israel, the succession changing from one branch to the other with certain crises in the nation. At his death Aaron was succeeded by his oldest living son, Eleazar (Nu 20 28; Dt 10 6). Edward Mack AARONITES, ar'on-its (liinxb, l»-'ahdron, lit. "belonging to Aaron") : A word used in AV, but not in the revised versions, to translate the proper name Aaron in two instances where it denotes a family and not merely a person (1 Ch 12 27; 27 17). It is equivalent to the phrases "sons of Aaron," "house of Aaron," frequently used in the OT. According to the books of Josh and Ch the "sons'of Aaron" were distinguished from the other Levites from the time of Joshua (e.g. Josh 21 4.10.13; ICh 6 54). AARON'S ROD (Nu 17 and He 9 4) : Immedi- ately after the incidents connected with the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram against the leader- ship of Moses and the priestly primacy of Aaron (Nu 16), it became necessary to indicate and emphasize the Divine appointment of Aaron. Therefore, at the command of Jehovah, Moses directs that twelve almond rods, one for each tribe with the prince's name engraved thereon, be placed within the Tent of the .Testimony. When Moses entered the tent theiollowing day, he found that Aaron's rod had budded, blossomed and borne fruit, "the three stages of vegetable life being thus simultaneously visible." When the miraculous sign was seen by the people, they accepted it as final; nor was there ever again any question of Aaron's priestly right. The rod was kept "before the testimony", in the sanctuary ever after as a token of the Divine will (17 10). The writer of He, probably following a later Jewish tradition, mentions the rod as kept in the Holy of Holies within the ark (He 9 4; of 1 K 8 9). See Priest, III. Edward Mack AB (DS! or 35? , 'dbh or 'abh, the Heb and Aram, word for "father") : It is a very common word in the OT; this art. notes only certain uses of it. It is used both in the singular and in the plural to denote a grandfather or more remote ancestors (e.g. Jer 36 16.15). The father of a people or tribe is its founder, not, as is frequently assumed, its progenitor. In this sense Abraham is father to the Israelites (see, for example, Gen 17 11-14.27), Isaac and Jacob and the heads of families being fathers in the same modified sense. The cases of Ishmael, Moab, etc, are similar. The tradi- tional originator of a craft is the father of those who practise the craft (e.g. Gen 4 20.21.22). Sennacherib uses the term "my fathers" of his predecessors on the throne of Assyria, though these were not his ancestors (2 K 19 12) . The term is used to express worth and affection irrespective of bl6od relation (e.g. 2 K 13 14). A ruler or leader is spoken of as a father. God is father. A frequent use of the word is that in the composition of proper names, e.g. Abinadab, "my father is noble." See Abi. The Aram, word in its definite form is used three times in the NT (Mk 14 36; Rom 8 15; Gal 4 6), the phrase being in each case "Abba, Father," addressed to God . In this phrase the word ' 'Father' ' is added, apparently, not as a mere tr, nor to indi- cate that Abba is thought of as a proper name of Deity, but as a term of pleading and of endear- ment. See also Abba. Willis J. Bebchbr AB (ax, 'abh): The name of the fifth month in the Heb calendar, the month beginning in our July. The name does not appear in the Bible, but Jos gives it to the month in which Aaron died {Ant, IV,iv, 6; cf Nu 33 38). ABACUC, ab'a-kuk (Lat Abacuc) : The form given the name of the prophet Habakkuk in 2 Esd 1 40. ABADDON, a-bad'on (I'l'iaX, 'dbhaddon, "ruin," "perdition,'^ "destruction") : Though "destruction" is commonly used in translating 'ahhaddon, the stem idea is intransitive rather than passive — the idea of perishing, going to ruin, being in a ruined state, rather than that of being ruined, being destroyed. The word occurs six times in the OT, always as a place name in the sense in which Sheol is a place name. It denotes, in certain aspects, the world of the dead as constructed in the Heb imagi- nation. It is a common mistake to understand such expressions in a too mechanical way. Like ourselves, the men of the earlier ages had to use picture language when they spoke of the conditions that existed after death, however their picturing THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Aaronites Abase of the matter may have differed from ours. In three instances Abaddon is parallel with Sheol (Job 26 6; Prov 15 11; 27 20). In one instance it is parallel with death, in one with the grave and in the remaining instance the parallel phrase is "root out all mine increase" (Job 28 22; Ps 88 11; Job 31 12). In this last passage the place idea comes nearer to vanishing in an abstract concep- tion than in the other passages. Abaddon belongs to the realm of the mysterious. Only God understands it (Job 26 6; Prov 15 11). It is the world of the dead in its utterly dismal, destructive, dreadful aspect, not in those more cheerful aspects in which activities are conceived of as in progress there. In Abaddon there are no declarations of God's lovingkindness (Ps 88 11). In a slight degree the OT presentations person- alize Abaddon. It is a synonym for insatiableness (Prov 27 20). It has possibilities of information mediate between those of "all living" and those of God (Job 28 22). In the NT the word occurs once (Rev 9 11), the personalization becoming sharp. Abaddon is here not the world of the dead, but the angel^ who reigns over it. The Gr equivalent of his name is given as ApoUyon. Under this name Bunyan presents him in the Pilgrim's Progress, and Christendom has doubtless been more in- terested in this presentation of the matter than in any other. In some treatments Abaddon is connected with the evil spirit Asmodeus of Tobit (e.g. 3 8), and with the destroyer mentioned in Wisd (18 25; cf 22) , and through these with a large body of rabbinical folklore; but these efforts are simply groundless. See Apollyon. Willis J. Beechbb ABADIAS, ab-a-di'as (Gr 'APoSCas) : Mentioned in 1 Esd 8 35 as the son of Jezelus, of the sons of Joab, returned with Ezra from the captivity; and in Ezr 8 9 called "Obadiah the son of Jehiel." ABAGARUS, a-bag'a-rus. See Abgarus. ABAGTHA, a-bag'tha (Xn^SS, 'SbhaghHha', per- haps meaning "fortunate one") : One of the seven eunuchs, or "chamberlains," of Xerxes mentioned in Est 1 10. The name is Persian, and is one of the many Pers marks in the Book of Est. ABANAH, abVna, a-ba'na (HpSS, 'dbhanah [Knhlbh, LXX, Vulg]), or AMANA (npiSK, 'Umanah [K're, Pesh, Tg]; AV Abana [ARVm Amana], RV ABANAH [RVm Amanah]): Mentioned in 2 K 6 12, along with the Pharpar (q.v.), as one of the principal rivers of Damascus. The reading Amana (meaning possibly the "constant," or perennial stream) is on the whole preferable. Both forms of the name may have been in use, as the interchange of an aspirated b (bh = v) and m is not without parallel (cf Evil-merodach = Amil- marduk). . „, , The A. is identified with the Chrysorrhoas ("golden stream") of the Greeks, the modern Nahr Barada (the "cold"), which rises in the Anti- Lebanon, one of its sources, the Ain Barada, being near the village of Zebedani, and flows in a southerly and then southeasterly direction toward Damascus. A few miles southeast of Suh Wady Barada (the ancient Abila; see Abilene) the volume of the stream is more than doubled by a torrent of clear, cold water from the beautifully situated spring '■Ain Fijeh (Gr T-qy^, pegt, "fountain"), after which it flows through a picturesque gorge till it reaches Damascus, whose many fountains and gardens it supplies liberally with water. In the neighbor- hood of Damascus a number of streams branch off from the parent river, and spread out like an open- ing fan on the surrounding plain. The Barada, along with the streams which it feeds, loses itself in the marshes of the Meadow Lakes about 18 miles E. of the city. The water of the Barada, though not perfectly wholesome in the city itself, is for the most part clear and cool; its course is picturesque, and its value to Damascus, as the source alike of fertility and of charm, is inestimable. C. H. Thomson ABARIM, ab'a-rim, a-ba'rim (D^^D?) 'dbharim) : The stem idea is that of going across a space or a dividing line, or for example a river. It is the same stem that appears in the familiar phrase "beyond Jordan," used to denote the region E. of the Jor- dan, and Hellenized in the name Peraea. This fact affords the most natural explanation of the phrases 'the mountains of the Abarim' (Nu 33 47.48); 'this mountain-country of the Abarim' (Nu 27 12; Dt 32 49); lye-abarim, which means "Heaps of the Abarim," or "Mounds of the Abarim" (Nu 21 11; 33 44). In Nu 33 45 this station is called simply lyim, "Mounds." It is to be dis- tinguished from the place of the same name in southern Judah (Josh 15 29). The name Abarim, without the article, occurs in Jer (22 20 RV, where AV translates "the passages"), where it seems to be the name of a region, on the same foot- ing with the names Lebanon and Bashan, doubtless the region referred to in Nu and Dt. There is no reason for changing the vowels in Ezk 39 11, in order to make that another occurrence of the same name. When the people of Abraham lived in Canaan, before they went to Egypt to sojourn, they spoke of the region east of the Jordan as "beyond Jor- dan." Looking across the Jordan and the Dead Sea they designated the mountain country they saw there as "the Beyond mountains." They con- tinued to use these geographical terms when they came out of Egypt. We have no means of knowing to how extensive a region they applied the name. The passages speak of the mountain country of Abarim where Moses died, including Nebo, as situated back from the river Jordan in its lowest reaches; and of the Mounds of the Abarim as farther to the southeast, so that the Israelites pEissed them when making their detour around the agricultural parts of Edom, before they crossed the Arnon. Whether the name Abarim should be applied to the parts of the eastern hill country farther to the north is a question on which we lack evidence. Willis J. Beecher ABASE, a-bas': The English rendition of bSffi, shaphel (Job 40 11; Ezk 21 26), and of its deriva- tive bSUJ sh^phal (Dnl 4 37) = "bring down," "debase,''' " humble" ; of njy, 'anah (Isa 31 4) = "abase self," "afflict," "chasten self," "deal harshly with," etc; and of Taireivdu, tapeihdo = "to depress"; fig. "to humihate" (in condition or heart): "abase," "bring low," "humble self" (Phil 4 12). The word is always employed to indicate what should be done to or by him who nurtures a spirit and exhibits a demeanor contrary to the laudable humility which is a natural fruit of religion. Such a person is warned that the most extravagant audacity will not daunt Jehovah nor abate His vengeance (Isa 31 4), and good men are exhorted to employ their powers to bring him low (Job 40 11; Ezk 21 26). If men are not able to curb the arrogant, God is (Dnl 4 37) ; and He has so constituted the world, that sinful arrogance must fall (Mt 23 12 AV; Lk 14 11 AV; 18 14 jVV). Frank E. Hiksch Abate Abel-cheramim THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA ABATE, a-bat': Used six times in OT for five different Heb words, signifying "to diminish," "reduce," "assuage"; of the Flood (Gen 8 8); of strength (Dt 34 7); of pecuniary value (Lev 27 18); of wrath (Jgs 8 3) ; of fire (Nu 11 2). ABBA, ab'a (dppa, S3X , 'abba', Hebraio-Chald, "Father"): In Jewish and old-Christian prayers, a name by which God was addressed, then in oriental churches a title of bishops and patriarchs. So Jesus addresses God in prayer (Mt 11 25.26; 26 39.42; Lk 10 21; 22 42; 23 34; Jn 11 41; 12 27; 17 24.25). In Mk 14 36; Rom 8 15, and Gal 4 6 A TTaTiJp, ho pater, is appended even in direct address, in an emphatic sense. Servants were not permitted to use the appellation in addressing the head of the house. See Delitzsch on Rom 8 15; cf G. Dalman, Gram, des jud.-paldst. Aramaisch, etc, §40, c. 3. J. E. Harry ABDA, ab'da (5<'13?, ^abhM', perhaps, by abbre- viation, "servant of Jeh") : (1) The father of Adoniram, King Solomon's superintendent of forced labor (1 K 4 6). (2) A Levite mentioned in the statistical note in Neh (11 17). This "Abda the son of Shammua" is in the partly duplicate passage in 1 Ch (9 16) called "Obadiah the son of Shemaiah." ABDEEL, ab'ds-el (bs-l^?, 'abW'el, "servant of God") : The father of Shelemiah, one of the offi- cers whom King Jehoiakim commanded to arrest Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet (Jer 36 26). ABDI, ab'di Cl^?, 'abhdi, probably by abbre- viation "servant of Jeh") : A Levite, father of Kishi and grandfather of King David's singer Ethan (1 Ch 6 44; cf 15 17). This makes Abdi a contemporary of Saul the king. (2) A Levite, father of the Kish who was in service at the begin- ning of the reign of Hezekiah (2 Ch 29 12). Some mistakenly identify this Abdi with the former. (3) A man who in Ezra's time had married a foreign wife (Ezr 10 26) . Not a Levite, but "of the sons of Elam." ABDIAS, ab-dl'as (2 Esd 1 39 = Obadiah): One of the Minor Prophets. Mentioned with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Minor Prophets who shall be given as leaders to the "nation from the east" which is to overthrow Israel (cf Obadiah) . ABDIEL, ab'di-el (bxi^ny, 'abhdi'el, "servant of God") : A Gadite who lived in Gilead or in Ba- shan, and whose name was reckoned in genealogies of the time of Jotham, king of Judah, or of Jero- boam II, king of Israel (1 Ch 5 15-17). ABDON, ab'don (]T\y?, 'abhdon, perhaps "service"; ' A^Siiv, Abdon): (1) A judge of Israel for eight years (Jgs 12 13- 15). The account says that he was the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, and that he was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim. No mention is made of great public services rendered by him, but it is said that he had seventy well-mounted sons and grandsons. So far as we can judge, he was placed in office as a wealthy elderly man, and per- formed the routine duties acceptably. Very likely his two next predecessors Ibzan and Elon were men of the same type. An effort has been made to identify Abdon with the Bedan mentioned in 1 S 12 11, but the iden- tification is precarious. A certain importance attaches to Abdon from the fact that he is the last judge mentioned in the continuous account (Jgs 2 6 — 13 1) in the Book of Jgs. After the account of him follows the state- ment that Israel was delivered into the hands of the Philistines forty years, and with that statement the continuous account closes and the series of per- sonal stories begins — the stories of Samson, ■ of Micah and his Levite, of the Benjamite civil war, followed in our English Bibles by the stories of Ruth and of the childhood of Samuel. With the close of this last story (1 S 4 18) the narrative of public affairs is resumed, at a point when Israel is making a desperate effort, at the close of the forty years of Eh, to throw off the Philistine yoke. A large part of one's views of the history of the period of the Judges will depend on the way in which he combines these events. My own view is that the forty years of Jgs 13 1 and of 1 S 4 18 are the same; that at the death of Abdon the Philistines asserted themselves as overlords of Israel; that it was a part of their policy to suppress nationality in Israel; that they abolished the office of judge, and changed the high-priesthood to an- / other family, making Eli high priest; that Eli was sufficiently competent so that many of the functions of national judge drifted into his hands. It should be noted that the regaining of inde- pendence was signalized by the reestablishment of the office of judge, with Samuel as incumbent (1 S 7 6 and context). This view takes into the account that the narrative concerning Samson is detachable, like the narratives that follow, Samson belonging to an earlier period. See Samson. (2) The son of Jeiel and his wife Maacah (1 Ch 8 30; 9 36). Jeiel is described as the "father of Gibeon," perhaps the founder of the Israelitish community there. This Abdon is described as brother to Ner, the grandfather of King Saul. (3) One of the messengers sent by King Josiah to Huldah the prophetess (2 Ch 34 20) ; called Achbor in 2 K 22 12. (4) One of many men of Benjamin mentioned as dwelling in Jerus (1 Ch 8 23), possibly in Nehe- miah's time, though the date is not clear. Willis J. Bbecher ABDON, ab'don 0112?, 'abhdon, perhaps "serv- ice") : One of the four Levitical cities in the tribe of Asher (Josh 21 30; 1 Ch 6 74). Probably the same with Ebron (in AV "Hebron") in Josh 19 28, where some copies have the reading Abdon. Now called Abdeh, a few miles from the Mediterranean and about fifteen miles south of Tyre. ABED-WEGO, a-bed'nS-go (Heb and Aram. 13: -ny, 'dbhedh rfgho; Dnl 3 29, Sijp 13?, 'Sbhedh n'gho') : According to many, the nego is an inten- tional corruption of Nebo, the name of a Bab god, arising from the desire of the Heb scribes to avoid the giving of a heathen name to a hero of their faith. The name, according to this view, would mean "servant of Nebo." Inasmuch as 'dbhedh is a tr of the Bab 'arad, it seems more probable that nego also must be a tr of some Bab word. The goddess Ishtar is by the Babylonians called "the morning star" and "the perfect light" (nigittu gilmallu). The morning star is called by the Aranmeans nogah, "the shining one," a word derived from the root negah, the equivalent of the Bab nagu, "to shine." Abed-nego, according to this interpretation, would be the tr of Arad-Ishtar, a not uncommon name among the Assyrians and Babylonians. Canon Johns gives this as ihe name of more than thirty Assyrians, who are mentioned on the tablets cited by him in Vol. Ill of his great work entitled Assyrian Deeds and Documents. It means "servant of Ishtar." THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abate Abel-cheramim Abed-nego was one of the three companions of Daniel, and was the name imposed upon the Hebrew Azariah by Nebuchadnezzar (Dnl 1 7). Having refused, along with his friends, to eat the provisions of the king's table, he was fed and flourished upon pulse and water. Having successfully passed his examinations and escaped the death with which the wise men of Babylon were threatened, he was appointed at the request of Daniel along with his companions over the affairs of the province of Babylon (Dnl 2). Having refused to bow down to the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up, he was cast into the burning fiery furnace, and after his triumphant delivery he was caused by the king to prosper in the province of Babylon (Dnl 3). The three friends are referred to by name in 1 Mace 2 59, and by implication in He 11 33.34. R. Dick Wilson ABEL, aljel (55n, hebhel; "ApeX, Abel; WH Hdbel; etymology uncertain. Some tr "a breath," "vapor," "transitoriness," which are suggestive of his brief existence and tragic end; others take it to be a variant of Jabal, yabhal, "shepherd" or "herdman," Gen 4 20. Cf Assyr ablu and Bab abil, "son"): The second son of Adam and Eve. The absence of the vb. harah (Gen 4 2; cf ver 1) has been taken to imply, perhaps truly, that Cain and Abel were twins. "Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground," thus representing the two fundamental pursuits of civilized life, 1. A the two earliest subdivisions of the Shepherd human race. On the Heb tradition of the superiority of the pastoral over agricultural and city life, see Expos T, V, 351 ff. The narrative may possibly bear witness to the primitive idea that pastoral life was more pleasing to Jeh than husbandry. "In process of time," the two brothers came in a solemn manner to sacrifice unto Jeh, in order to express their gratitude to Him whose 2. A tenants they were in the land (vs 3.4. Worshipper See Sacrifice). How Jeh signified His acceptance of the one offering and rejection of the other, we are not told. That it was due to the difference in the material of the sac- rifice or in their manner of offering was probably the belief among the early Israelites, who regarded animal offerings as superior to cereal offerings. Both kinds, however, were fully in accord with Heb law and custom. It has been suggested that the LXX rendering of 4 7 makes Cain's offence a ritual one, the offering not being "correctly" made or rightly divided, and hence rejected as irregular. "If thou makest a proper offering, but dost not cut in pieces rightly, art thou not in fault? Be still!" The LXX evidently took the rebuke to turn upon Cain's neglect to prepare his offering according to strict ceremonial requirements. SiiXTjs, diSles (LXX in loc), however, implies nfi: (iiriD), nathah (nattah), and would only apply to animal sacrifices. Cf Ex 29 17; Lev 8 20; Jgs 19 29; 1 K 18 23; and see Couch. The true reason for the Divine preference is doubtless to be found in the disposition of the brothers (see Cain). Well-doing con- 3. A sisted not in the outward offering Righteous (4 7) but in the right state of mind and Man feeling. The acceptability depends on the inner motives and moral char- acters of the offerers. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent [abundant, pleiona] sacrifice than Cain" (He 11 4). The "more abundant sacrifice," Westcott thinks, "suggests the deeper gratitude of Abel, and shows a fuller sense of the claims of God" to the best. Cain's "works [the collective expression of his inner life] were evil, and his brother's righteous" (1 Jn 3 12). "It would be an outrage if the gods looked to gifts and sacrifices and not to the soul" {Alcibiades II.149E.150A). Cain's heart was no longer pure; it had a criminal propensity, springing from envy and jealousy, which rendered both his offering and person unacceptable. His evil works and hatred of his brother culminated in the act of mur- der, specifically evoked by the opposite character of Abel's works and the acceptance of his offering. The evil man cannot endure the sight of goodness in another. Abel ranks as the first martyr (Mt 23 35), whose blood cried for vengeance (Gen 4 10; cf Rev 6 9.10) and brought despair 4. A (Gen 4 13), whereas that of Jesus Martyr appeals to God for forgiveness and speaks peace (He 12 24) and is pre- ferred before Abel's. The first two brothers in history stand as the types and representatives of the two main and J. • ~ enduring divisions of mankind, and 0. A ype jjg^j, ^i^jjggg ^;q the absolute antithesis and eternal enmity between good and evil. M. O. Evans ABEL, a'bel (^3^5 , 'abhel, "meadow") : A word used in several compound names of places. It appears by itself as the name of a city concerned in the rebellion of Sheba (2 S 20 14; cf 18), though it is there probably an abridgment of the name Abel-beth-maacah. In 1 S 6 18, where the Heb has "the great meadow," and the Gr "the great stone," AV translates "the great stone of Abel." ABEL-BETH-MAACAH, a'bel-beth-ma'a-ka (n^yia rr^il bis , 'abhel bUh ma'&khah, "the meadow of the house of Maacah") : The name appears in this form in 1 K 15 20 and 2 K 15 29. In 2 S 20 15 (Heb) it is Abel-beth-hammaacah (Maacah with the article). In ver 14 of that chapter it appears as Beth-maacah, and in vs 14 and 18 as Abel. In 2 S it is spoken of as the city, far to the north, where Joab besieged Sheba, the son of Bichri. In 2 K it is mentioned, along with Ijon and other places, as a city in Naphtah captured by Tiglath- pileser, king of Assyria. The capture appears also in the records of Tiglath-pileser. In 1 K it is mentioned with Ijon and Dan and "all the land of Naphtah" as being smitten by Benhadad of Da- mascus in the time of Baasha. In the account in Ch parallel to this last (2 Ch 16 4) the cities mentioned are Ijon, Dan, Abel- maim. Abel-maim is either another name for Abel-beth-maacah, or the name of another place in the same vicinity. , i , . The prevaiUng identification of Abel-beth-maacah is with Abil, a few miles W. of Dan, on a height overlooking the Jordan near its sources. The adjacent region is rich agriculturally, and the scenery and the water supply are especially fine. Abel-maim, "meadow of water," is not an inapt designation for it. Wilms J. Beecheb ABEL-CHERAMIM, a'bel-ker'a-mim (bgS Wl?"}^ , 'abhel k'ramlm, "meadow of vineyards'') : A city mentioned in the RV in Jgs 11 33, along with Aroer, Minnith, and "twenty cities," in summa- rizing Jephthah's campaign against the Ammonites. AV translates "the plain of the vineyards.' The site has not been identified, though Eusebius and Jerome speak of it as in their time a village about seven Roman miles from the Ammonite city of Rabbah. Abel-maim Abiathar THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 6 ABEL-MAIM, a'bel-ma'im (D'^'a bSS, 'abhel mayim, "meadow of water"). See Abel-beth- MAACAH. ABEL-MEHOLAH, a'bel-ms-ho'lah (bnX npinp , 'ahhel m^holdh, "meadow of dancing") : The residence of Elisha the prophet (1 K 19 16). When Gideon and his 300 broke their pitchers in the camp of Midian, the Midianites in their first panic fled down the valley of Jezreel and the Jordan "toward Zererah" (Jgs 7 22). Zererah (Zeredah) is Zarethan (2 Ch 4 17; cf 1 K 7 46), separated from Sucooth by the clay ground where Solomon made castings for the temple. The wing of the Midianites whom Gideon pursued crossed the Jordan at Sucooth (Jgs 8 4 ff). This would indicate that Abel-meholah was thought of as a tract of country with a "border," W. of the Jordan, some miles S. of Beth-shean, in the territory either of Issachar or West Manasseh. Abel-meholah is also mentioned in connection with the jurisdiction of Baana, one of Solomon's twelve commissary officers (1 K 4 12) as below Jezreel, with Beth-shean and Zarethan in the same Ust. Jerome and Eusebius speak of Abel-meholah as a tract of country and a town in the Jordan valley, about ten Rom miles S. of Beth-shean. At just that point the name seems to be perpetuated in that of the Wady Mahh, and Abel-meholah is commonly located near where that Wady, or the neighboring Wady Helweh, comes down into the Jordan valley. Presumably Adriel the Meholathite (1 S 18 19; 2 S 21 8) was a resident of Abel-meholah. Willis J. Beecher ABEL-MIZRAIM, a'bel-miz'ra-im (n'?1.213 bnX, 'dbhel misrayim, "meadow of Egypt") : A name given to "the threshing floor of Atad," E. of the Jordan and N. of the Dead Sea, because Joseph and his funeral party from Egypt there held their mourning over Jacob (Gen 60 11). The name is a pun. The Canaanite residents saw the 'ebhel, "the mourning," and therefore that place was called 'abhel migrayim. It is remarkable that the funeral should have taken this circuitous route, instead of going directly from Egypt to Hebron. Possibly a reason may be found as we obtain additional details in Egyp his- tory. The explanations which consist in changing the text, or in substituting the North Arabian MuQri for Migrayim, are unsatisfactory. Willis J. Beecher ABEL-SHITTIM, a'bel-shit'tim (D'^ElBn IsDN, 'abhel ha-shittim, "the meadow of the Acacias") : The name appears only in Nu 33 49; but the name Shittim is used to denote the same locality (Nu 25 1; Josh 2 1; 3 1; Mic 6 S). The name always has the art., and the best expression of it in English would be "the Acacias." 'The valley of the Acacias' (Joel 3 18 [4 18]) is, apparently, a different locality. For many weeks before crossing the Jordan, Israel was encamped in the roundout of the Jor- dan valley, N. of the Dead Sea, E. of the river. The notices in the Bible, supplemented by those in Jos and Eusebius and Jerome, indicate that the camping region was many miles in extent, the southern limit being Beth-jeshimoth, toward the Dead Sea, while Abel of the Acacias was the northern limit and the headquarters. The head- quarters are often spoken of as E. of the Jordan at Jericho (e.g. Nu 22 1; 26 3.63). During the stay there occurred the Balaam incident (Nu 22- 24), and the harlotry with Moab and Midian (Nu 26) and the war with Midian (Nu 31), in both of which Phinehas distinguished himself. It was from the Acacias that Joshua sent out the spies, and that Israel afterward moved down to the river for the crossing. Micah aptly calls upon Jehovah's people to remember all that happened to them from the time when they reached the Acacias to the time when Jehovah had brought them safely across the river to Gilgal. Jos is correct in saying that Abel of the Acacias is the place from which the Deuteronomic law pur- ports to have been given. In his time the name survived as Abila, a not very important town situated there. He says that it was "sixty fur- longs from Abila to the Jordan," that is a little more than seven English miles (Ant, IV, viii, 1 and V, i, 1; BJ, IV, vii, 6). There seems to be a consensus for locating the site at Kefrein, near where the wady of that name comes down into the Jordan valley. Willis J. Beecher ABEZ, a'bez: Used in AV (Josh 19 20) forEBEZ, which see. ABGAR, ab'gar, ABGARUS, ab-ga'rus, ABAGA- RUS, a-bag'a-rus ("APvapos, Abgaros): Written also Agbarus and Augarus. A king of Edessa. A name common to several kings (toparchs) of Edessa, Mesopotamia. One of these, Abgar, a son of Uchomo, the seventeenth (14th?) of twenty kings, according to the legend {HE, i.l3) sent a letter to Jesus, professing belief in His Messiahship and asking Him to come and heal him from an incurable disease (leprosy?), inviting Him at the same time to take refuge from His enemies in his city, "which is enough for us both." Jesus answering the letter blessed him, because he had believed on Him with- out having seen Him, and promised to send one of His disciples after He had risen from the dead. The apostle Thomas sent Judas Thaddeus, one of the Seventy, who healed him {Cod. Apoc. NT). A. L. Breslich ABHOR, ab-hor': "To cast away," "reject," "despise," "defy," "contemn," "loathe," etc. (1) Tr"* in the OT from the following Heb words amongst others: 125X3 {ba'ash), "to be or to become stink- ing" (1 S 27 12; 2 S 16 21); bya {ga'al), "to cast away as unclean," "to loathe"; cf Ezk 16 5 AV; 7^P {Ifitg), "to loathe," "to fear" (Ex 1 12 m; 1 K 11 25; Isa 7 16); fp.ffl {shalfag), "to detest" (Ps 22 24); asn {ia'abh), 2?!? {ia'abh), "to contemn" (Dt 23 7); f\i<']'^. {dera'on), "an object of con- tempt," "an abhorring" (Isa 66 24; Dnl 12 2 m). (2) Tr'i in the NT from the following Gr words: bdeMssomai, which is derived from bdeo, "to stink" (Rom 2 22); apostug4d, derived from stug^o, "to hate," "to shrink from" (Rom 12 9). ABI, aODi Cax , 'Hbhl) : The name of the mother of King Hezekiah, as given in 2 K 18 2. Most naturally explained as a contraction of Abijah ("Jehovah is a father," or "is my father"), found in the || passage in 2 Ch 29 1. The spelling in the oldest tr» seems to indicate that 'Sbhl is not a copyist's error, but a genuine contracted form. She is spoken of as the daughter of Zechariah, and was of course the wife of Ahaz. ABI, a'bi, in the composition of names C3S, '&bhi, "father") : The Heb words 'abh, "father," and 'ah, "brother," are used in the forming of names, both at the beginning and at the end of words, e.g. Abram ("exalted one"), Joah ("Jehovah is brother"), Ahab ("father's brother"). At the beginning of a word, however, the modified forms 'dhhi and '&hl are the ones commonly used, e.g. THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abel-maim Abiathar Ahimelech ("king's brother") and Abimelech (by the same analogy "king's father"). These forms have characteristics which compli- cate the question of their use in proper names. Es- pecially since the publication in 1896 of Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, by G. Buchanan Gray, the attention of scholars has been called to this matter, without the reaching of any perfect consensus of opinion. The word 'dbhi may be a nominative with an archaic ending ("father"), or in the construct state ("father-of"), or the form with the suffix ("my father"). Hence a proper name constructed with it may supposably be either a clause or a sentence; if it is a sentence, either of the two words may be either subject or predicate. That is to say, the name Abimelech may supposably mean either "father of a king," or "a Idng is father," or "a father is king," or "my father is king," or "a king is my father." Further, the clause "father of a king" may have as many variations of mean- ing as there are varieties of the grammatical genitive. Further still, it is claimed that either the word father or the word king may, in a name, be a desig- nation of a deity. This gives a very large number of supposable meanings from which, in any case, to select the intended meaning. The older scholarship regarded all these names as construct clauses. For example, Abidan is "father of a judge." It explained different in- stances as being different varieties of the genitive construction; for instance, Abihail, "father of might," means mighty father. The woman's name Abigail, "father of exultation," denotes one whose father is exultant. Abishai, "father of Jesse," denotes one to whom Jesse is father, and so with Abihud, "father of Judah," Abiel, "fathel: of God," Abijah, "father of Jehovah." See the cases in detail in Gesenius' Lexicon. The more recent scholarship regards most or all of the instances as sentences. In some cases it regards the second element in a name as a verb or adj. instead of a noun; but that is not impor- tant, inasmuch as in Heb the genitive construction might persist, even with the verb or adj. But in the five instances last given the explanation, "my father is exultation," "is Jesse," 'is Judah," "is God," "is Jehovah," certainly gives the meaning in a more natural way than by explaining these names as construct clauses. There is sharp conflict over the question whether we ought- to regard the suffix pronoun as present in these names — whether the five instances should not rather be tr'' Jehovah is father, God is father, Judah is father, Jesse is father, exultation is father. The question is raised whether the same rule pre- vails when the second word is a name or a desig- nation of Deity as prevails in other cases. Should we explain one instance as meaning "my father is Jesse," and another as "God is father"? A satisfactory discussion of this is possible only under a comprehensive study of Bible names. The argument is more or less complicated by the fact that each scholar looks to see what bearing it may have on the critical theories he holds. In the Hebrew Lexicon of Dr. Francis Brown the explanations exclude the construct theory; in most of the instances they treat a name as a sen- tence with "my father" as the subject; when the second part of the name is a designation of Deity they commonly make that the subject, and either exclude the pronoun or give it as an alternative. For most persons the safe method is to remember that the final decision is not yet reached, and to consider each name by itself, counting the explana- tion of it an open question. See Names, Proper. The investigations concerning Sem proper names, both in and out of the Bible, have interesting theo- logical bearings. It has always been recognized that words for father and brother, when combined in proper names with Yah, Yahu, El, Baal, or other proper names of a Deity, indicated some relation of the person named, or of his tribe, with the Deity. It is now held, though with many differ- ences of opinion, that in the forming of proper names many other words, e.g. the words for king, lord, strength, beauty, and others, are also used as designations of Deity or of some particular Deity; and that the words father, brother, and the like may have the same use. To a certain extent the proper names are so many propositions in theology. It is technically possible to go very far in inferring that the people who formed such names thought of Deity or of some particular Deity as the father, the kinsman, the ruler, the champion, the strength, the glory of the tribe or of the individual. In particular one might infer the existence of a widely diffused doctrine of the father- hood of God. It is doubtless superfluous to add that at present one ought to be very cautious in drawing or accepting inferences in this part of the field of human study. Willis J. Bebchbr ABIA, a-bi'a, ABIAH, a-bl'ah : Variants for Abijah, which see. ABI-ALBON, ab-i-al'bon, a'bi-al'bon Cii^by "^nX 'dbhi ^al'bhon, meaning not known. Gesenius infers from the Arab, a stem which would give the meaning "father of strength," and this is at worst not quite so groundless as the conjectures which explain 'al'^bhon as a textual misreading for 'el or ba'al) : Abi-albon the Arbathite was one of David's listed heroes (2 S 23 31), called Abiel the Arbathite in 1 Ch H 32. Presumably he was from Beth-arabah (Josh 15 6.61; 18 22). ABIASAPH, a-bl'a-saf, ab-i-a'saf (aOX''3i!: , '(J6M- 'a^aph, "my father has gathered"): A descendant of Kohath the son of Levi (Ex 6 24; 1 Ch 6 23.37 [8.22]; 9 19). In Ch the name is OD^aK, 'ebh- ySfaph, which seems to be a mere variant spelling. The Sam version has the same form in Ex. The list in Ex terminates with Abiasaph, who is to be regarded as the contemporary of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. The two lists in 1 Ch 6 lead up to the prophet Samuel and the singing com- panies which David is said to have organized. The list in 1 Ch 9 leads up to the Korahite porters of the time of Nehemiah. Apparently all the lists intentionally omit names, just names enough being given in each to indicate the line. Willis J. Beecheh ABIATHAR, a-bi'a-thar, ab-i-a'thar (in^ns, 'ebhyathar, "father of super-excellence," or, "the super-excellent one is father." With changed phrase- ology these are the explanations commonly given, though "a father remains" would be more in accord with the ordinary use of the stem yathar. The pious Abiathar was still conscious that he had a Father, even after the butchery of his human relatives) : The Scriptures represent that Abiathar was de- scended from Phinehas the son of Eli, and through him from Ithamar the son of Aaron; 1. The that he was the son of Ahimelech the Biblical head priest at Nob who, with his Account associates, was put to death by King Saul for alleyed conspiracy with David; that he had two sons, Ahimelech and Jona- than, the former of whom was, in Abiathar's life- time, prominent in the priestly service (1 S 21 1-9; 22 7 ff; 2 S 8 17; 15 27 S; 1 Ch 18 16; 24 3.6.31). See Ahimelech; Ahitub. Abiathar Abigail THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 8 Abiathar escaped from the massacre of the priests at Nob, and fled to David, carrying the ephod with him. This was a great accession to David's strength. Pubhc feeling in Israel was outraged by the slaughter of the priests, and turned strongly against Saul. The heir of the priesthood, and in his care the holy ephod, were now with David, and the fact gave to his cause prestige, and a certain character of legitimacy. David also felt bitterly his having been the unwilling cause of the death of Abiathar's relatives, and this made his heart warm' toward his friend. Presumably, also, there was a deep religious sympathy between them. Abiathar seems to have been at once recognized as David's priest, the medium of consultation with Jehovah through the ephod (1 S 22 20-23; 23 6.9; 30 7.8). He was at the head of the priest- hood, along with Zadok (1 Ch 15 11), when David, after his conquests (1 Ch 13 5; cf 2 S 6), brought the ark to Jerus. The two men are men- tioned together as high priests eight times in the narrative of the rebellion of Absalom (2 S 16 24 ff), and are so mentioned in the last list of David's heads of departments (2 S 20 25). Abiathar joined with Adonijah in his attempt to seize the throne (1 K 1 7-42), and was for this deposed from the priesthood, though he was treated with consideration on account of his early comrade- ship with David (1 K 2 26.27). Possibly he remained high priest emeritus, as Zadok and Abiathar still appear as priests in the lists of the heads of departments for Solomon's reign(l K 4 4). Particularly apt is the passage in Ps 55 12-14, if one regards it as referring to the relations of David and Abiathar in the time of Adonijah. There are two additional facts which, in view of the close relations between David and Abiathar, must be regarded as significant. One is that Zadok, Abiathar's junior, is uniformly mentioned first, in all the many passages in which the two are men- tioned together, and is treated as the one who is especially responsible. Turn to the naiTative, and see how marked this is. The other similarly significant fact is that in certain especially respon- sible matters (1 Ch 24, 18 16; 2 S 8 17) the interests of the line of Ithamar are represented, not by Abiathar, but by his son Ahimelech. There must have been something in the character of Abia- thar to account for these facts, as well as for his deserting David for Adonijah. ' To sketch his character might be a work for the imagination rather than for critical inference; but it seems clear that though he was a man worthy of the friendship of David, he yet had weaknesses or misfortunes that partially incapacitated him. The characteristic priestly function of Abiathar is thus expressed by Solomon: "Because thou barest the ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father" (1 K 2 26). By its tense the verb denotes not a habitual act, but the function of ark-bearing, taken as a whole. Zadok and Abia- thar, as high priests, had charge of the bringing of the ark to Jerus (1 Ch 15 11). We are not told whether it was again moved during the reign of David. Necessarily the priestly superintendence of the ark implies that of the sacrifices and services that were connected with the ark. The details in Kings indicate the existence of much of the cere- monial described in the Pent, while numerous additional Pentateuchal details are mentioned in Ch. A priestly function much emphasized is that of obtaining answers from God through the -ephod (1 S 23 6.9; 30 7). The word ephod (see 18 2 18; 2 S 6 14) does not necessarily denote the priestly vestment with the Urim and Thummim (e.g. Lev 8 7.8), but if anyone denies that this was the ephod of the priest Abiathar, the burden of proof rests upon him. This is not the place for inquiring as to the method of obtaining divine revelations through the ephod. Abiathar's landed estate was at Anathoth in Benjamin (1 K 2 26), one of the cities assigned to the sons of Aaron (Josh 21 18). Apart from the men who are expressly said to be descendants of Aaron, this part of the narrative mentions priests three times. David's sons were priests (2 S 8 18). This is of apiece with David's carrying the ark on a new cart (2 S 6), before he had been taught by the death of Uzza. "And also Ira the Jairite was priest to the king" (2 S 20 26 ERV). "And Zabud the son of Nathan was priest, friend of the king" (1 K 4 5 ERV). These instances seem to indicate that David and Solomon had each a private chaplain. As to the descent and function of these two "priests" we have not a word of information, and it is illegitimate to im- agine details concerning them which bring them into conflict with the rest of the record. No one will dispute that the account thus far given is that of the Bible record as it stands. Critics of certain schools, however, 2. Critical do not accept the facts as thus re- Opinions corded. If a person is committed to Concerning the tradition that the Deuteronomic Abiathar and the priestly ideas of the Pent first originated some centuries later than Abiathar, and if he makes that tradition the standard by which to test his critical conclusions, he must of course regard the Biblical account of Abiathar as unhistorical. Either the record dis- proves the tradition or the tradition disproves the record. There is no third alternative. The men who accept the current critical theories understand this, and they have two ways of defending the theories against the record. In some instances they use devices for discrediting the record; in other instances they resort to harmonizing hypotheses, changing the record so as to make it agree with the theory. Without here discussing these matters, we must barely note some of their bearings in the case of Abiathar. For example, to get rid of the testimony of Jesus (Mk 2 26) to the effect that Abiathar was high priest and that the sanctuary at Nob was "the house of God," it is affirmed that either Jesus or the evangehst is here mistaken. The proof alleged for this is that Abiathar's service as priest did not begin till at least a few days later than the incident referred to. This is merely finical, though it is an argument that is gravely used by some scholars. Men affirm that the statements of the record as to the descent of the fine of Eli from Ithamar are untrue; that on the contrary we must conjecture that Abiathar claimed descent from Eleazar, his line being the alleged senior line of that family; that the senior line became extinct at his death, Zadok being of a junior line, if indeed he inherited any of the blood of Aaron. In making such affir- mations as these, men deny the Bible statements as resting on insufficient evidence, and substitute for them other statements which, confessedly, rest on no evidence at all. All such procedure is incorrect. Many are sus- picious of statements found in the Books of Ch; that gives them no right to use their suspicions as if they were perceptions of fact. Supposably one may think the record unsatisfactory, and may be within his rights in thinking so, but that does not authorize him to change the record except on the basis of evidence of some kind. If we treat the record of the times of Abiathar as fairness demands that a record be treated in a court of justice, or a scientific investigation, or a business proposition, 9 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abiatliar Abigail or a medical case, we will accept the facts sub- stantially as they are found in S and K and Ch arid Mk. Willis J. Beecheb ABIB, a'bib (2''3¥ , 'dbhibh, young ear of barley or. other grain, Ex 9 31; Lev 2 14): The first month of the Israelitish year, called Nisan in Neh 2 1; Est 3 7, is Abib in Ex 13 4; 23 15; 34 18; cf Dt 16 1. Abib is not properly a name of a month, but part of a descriptive phrase, "the month of young ears of grain." This may indicate the Israelitish way of determining the new year (Ex 12 2), the year beginning with the new moon nearest or next preceding this stage of the growth of the barley. The year thus indicated was prac- tically the same with the old Bab year, and pre- sumably came in with Abraham. The Penta- teuchal laws do not introduce it, though they define it, perhaps to distinguish it from the Egyp wander- ing year. See Calendar. Willis J. Beechbr ABIDA, a-bi'da (S^^^, 'dbhidha', "father of knowledge," or "my father knows"): A son of Midian and grandson of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25 4; 1 Ch 1 33). Abidah in AV in Gen. ABIDAH, a-bi'dah: Used in AV in Gen 25 4 for Abida, which see. ABIDAN, a-bi'dan {)y^^ , 'dbhldhan, "father is judge"): Abidan, son of Gideoni, was a "prince" of the children of Benjamin (Nu 2 22; 10 24). He was chosen to represent his tribe at the census in the wilderness of Sinai (Nu 1 11). When, on the erection, anointing and sanctification of the Tabernacle, the heads of Israel offered, Abidan offered on the ninth day (Nu 7 60.65). ABIDE, a-bid': OE word signifying progressively to "await," "remain," "lodge, ''^ "sojourn," "dwell," "continue," "endure"; represented richly in OT (AV) by 12 Heb and in NT by as many Gr words. In RV displaced often by words meaning "to so- journ," "dwell," "encamp." The Heb and Gr originals in most frequent use are STB^, yashabh, "to dwell"; m^"", m6nd, "to remain." "A. [sit or tarry] ye here" (Gen 22 5); "The earth a. [con- tinueth] forever" (Eccl 1 4); "Who can a. [bear or endure] the day?" (Mai 3 2); "Afflictions a. [await] me" (Acts 20 23). The past tense abode, in frequent use, has the same meaning. "His bow a. fremained] in strength" (Gen 49 24); "There he a.'' (dwelt) (Jn 10 40). . . Abode, as a noun (Gr /mi/-^, mont) twice m NT: "make our a. with him" (Jn 14 23); "man- sions," RVm "o6idiresr-places" (Jn 14 2). The soul of the true disciple and heaven are dwelling-places of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. DwiGHT M. Pratt ABIEL, a'bi-el, ab'yel, a-bi'el (bS^-iaX , 'AbU'el, "my father is God," or "God is father") : • (1) A descendant of Benjamin the son of Jacob. Father of Kish the father of King Saul, and also, apparently, the father of Ner the father of Saul s general, Abner (1 S 9 1; 14 51). (2) One of David's mighty men (1 Ch 11 32), called Abi-albon, which see, in 2 S 23 31. ABIEZER, ab-i-e'zer, a-bi-e'-zer (ITyinX , '< 'ezer, "father of help," or "my father is help." lezer, lezerite [in AV Jeezer, Jeezerite], is Abiezer with the letter beth omitted) : (1) A descendant of Joseph the son of Jacob, and head of one of the families of Manasseh that settled W. of the Jordan (Nu 26 30; Josh 17 1-6; 1 Ch 7 14-19). As he was great uncle to Zelophehad's daughters, who brought a case before Moses (Nu 36), he must have been an old man at the time of the conquest. He was the son of Gilead the son of Machir, in the sense of being a more remote descendant, for Machir had sons before the death of Joseph (Gen 50 23). The Machir that possessed Gilead and Bashan because he was "a man of war" was the Manassite family of Machir, with Jair as its great general (Josh 17 1; 13 30.31; Nu 32 39- 41; Dt 3 12-15). To Abiezer and other sons of Gilead territory was assigned W. of the Jordan. In later generations the name survived as that of the family to which Gideon belonged, and per- haps also of the region which they occupied (Jgs 6 34; 8 2). They are also called Abiezrites (Jgs 6 11.24; 8 32). The region was W. of Shechem, with Ophrah for its principal city. (2) One of David's mighty men, "the Anatho- thite" (2 S 23 27; 1 Ch 11 28), who was also one of David's month-by-month captains, his month being the ninth (1 Ch 27 12). Willis J. Beecheb ABIEZRITE, ab-i-ez'-rit, a-bi-ez'rit: The Gentile adj. of Abiezer, which see. ABIGAIL, ab'i-gal, ABIGAL, ab'i-gal (b'^S'^aS, 'dbhlghayil, or 55''3S, 'Shhlghal, three times, or b'^5''2^, 'dbhughayil, once, or 5'?53i$, 'dhhighayil, once; "father," or "cause of joy"): (1) The wife of Nabal, a rich shepherd of southern Judaea, whose home was Maon (1 S 25 2.3); shortly after Nabal's death she became the wife of David. Nabal grazed his flocks in or along the Southern Wilderness, where David and his men protected them from marauding tribes, so that not a sheep was lost. When Nabal was sheep-shearing and feasting at Carmel (in Judaea), David sent messengers requesting provisions for himself and men. But Nabal, who was a churhsh fellow, answered the messengers insultingly and sent them away empty-handed. David, angered by such mean ingratitude, gathered his 400 warriors and set out to destroy Nabal and all he had (1 S 25 22). Meanwhile Abigail, a woman "of good understand- ing, and of a beautiful countenance" (ver 3), heard of the rebuff given the men of David by her husband; and fearing what vengeance David in his wrath might work, she gathered a considerable present of food (ver 18), and hastened to meet the approaching soldiers. Her beautiful and prudent words, as also her fair face, so won David that he desisted from his vengeful purpose and accepted her gift (vs 32-35). When Abigail told Nabal of his narrow escape, he was stricken with fear, and died ten days afterward. Shortly after this David took Abigail to be his wife, although about the same time, probably a little before, he had also taken Ahinoam (ver 43); and these two were with him in Gath (1 S 27 3). After David became king in Hebron, Abigail bore him his second son, Chileab (2 S 3 3) or Daniel, as he is called in 1 Ch 3 1. (2) Sister of David and mother of Amasa, at one time commander of David's army (1 Ch 2 16.17; Abigal 2 S 17 25). In the first passage she is called David's sister, along with Zeruiah; while in the second she is called the "daughter of Nahash." Several explanations of this connection with Nahash have been suggested, any one of which would be sufficient to remove contradiction: (1) That Nahash was another name of Jesse, as in Isa 14 29, mish-shoresh nahash yege' (Kim) ; (2) That Nahash was the wife of Jesse and by him mother of Abigail, ^rhich is least probable; (3) That Nahash, the father of Abigail and Zeruiah, having died, his widow became the wife of Jesse, and bore sons to Abihail Abimelech THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 10 him; (4) That the text of 2 S 17 25 has been cor- rupted, "daughter of Nahash" having crept into the text. At all events she was the sister of David by the same mother. Edward Mack ABIHAIL, ab'i-hal (b'^nins 'Sbhlhayil; in some MSS 57n"ilX 'dbhihayil, when feminine, but best reading is the former : ' 'father, or cause, of strength") : Five persons in the OT are called by this name: (1) A Levite and the father of Zuriel, who in the Wilderness was head of the house of Merari, Levi's youngest son (Nu 3 35) ; (2) The wife of Abishur, a man of the tribe of Judah, in the line of Hazron and Jerahmeel (1 Ch 2 29); (3) One of the heads of the tribe of Gad, who dwelt in Gilead of Bashan (1 Ch 5 14); (4) Either a wife of Rehoboam, king of Judah, or mother of his wife Mahalath, accord- ing to the interpretation of the text (2 Ch 11 18); probably the latter view is correct, since there is no conjunction in the text, and since the following ver (19) contemplates only one wife as already mentioned. This being true, she was the wife of Jerimath, a son of David, and daughter of Eliab, David's eldest brother. It is interesting to note this frequent intermarriage in the Davidic house; (5) Father of Queen Esther, who became wife of Xerxes (Biblical Ahasuerus) king of Persia, after the removal of the former queen, Vashti (Est 2 15; 9 29). He was uncle of Mordecai. Edward Mack ABIHTI, a-bl'hu (SiniDX, 'Sbhihu', "father he is," or "my father he is"); Second son of Aaron, the high priest (Ex 6 23). With his older brother Nadab he "died before Jehovah," when the two "offered strange fire" (Lev 10 1.2). It may be inferred from the emphatic prohibition of wine or strong drink, laid upon the priests immediately after this tragedy, that the two brothers were going to their priestly functions in an intoxicated con- dition (Lev 10 8-11). Their death is mentioned three times in subsequent records (Nu 3 4; 26 61; 1 Ch 24 2). ABIHUD, a-bi'hud (H^ninS, 'abhihudh, "father of majesty," or "my father is majesty," though some regard the second part as the proper name Judah): The son of Bela the oldest son of Benja- min (1 Ch 8 3). ABIJAH, a-bi'ja (H^aS or in;'3S [2 Ch 13 20.211, 'dbhiyah or 'Sbhlyahu, "my father is Jehovah," or "Jehovah is father"): The name of six or more men and two women in the OT. (1) The seventh son of Becher the son of Benja- min (1 Ch 7 8). (2) The second son of the prophet Samuel (1 S 8 2; 1 Ch 6 28 [6 13]). (3) The eighth among "the holy captains and captains of God" appointed by lot by David in connection with the priestly courses (1 Ch 24 10). Compare "Zacharias of the course of Abijah" (Lk 1 5). (4) A son of Jeroboam I of Israel (1 K 14 1-18). The narrative describes his sickness and his mother's visit to the prophet Ahijah. He is spoken of as the one member of the house of Jeroboam in whom there was "found some good thing toward Jehovah." With his death the hope of the dynasty perished. (5) The son and successor of Rehoboam king of Judah (1 Ch 3 10; 2 Ch 11 20—14 1). As to the variant name Abijam (1 K 14 31; 15 1.7.8) see Abijam. The statements concerning Abijah's mother afford great opportunity for a person who is inter- ested in finding discrepancies in the Bible narrative. She is said to have been Maacah the daughter of Absalom (1 K 15 2; 2 Ch 11 20.21.22). As more than 5() years elapsed between the adoles- cence of Absalom and the accession of Rehoboam, the suggestion at once emerges that she may have been Absalom's daughter in the sense of being his granddaughter. But Maacah the daughter of Absalom was the mother of Asa, Abijam's son and successor (1 K 15 10.13; 2 Ch 15 16). Further we are explicitly told that Absalom had three sons and one daughter (2 S 14 27). It is inferred that the three sons died young, inasmuch as Absalom before his death built him a monument because he had no son (2 S 18 18). The daughter was distinguished for her beauty, but her name was Tamar, not Maacah. Finally, the narrative tells us that the name of Abijah's mother was "Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah" (2 Ch 13 2). It is less difficult to combine all these statements into a consistent account than it would be to com- bine some pairs of them if taken by themselves. When all put together they make a luminous nar-- rative, needing no help from conjectural theories of discrepant sources or textual errors. It is natural to understand that Tamar the daughter of Absalom married Uriel of Gibeah; that their daughter was Maacah, named for her great-grandmother (2 S 3 3; 1 Ch 3 2); that Micaiah is a variant of Maacah, as Abijah is of Abijam. Maacah mar- ried Rehoboam, the parties being second cousins on the father's side; if they had been first cousins perhaps they would not have married. Very likely Solomon, through the marriage, hoped to conciliate an influential party in Israel which still held the name of Absalom in esteem; perhaps also he hoped to supplement the moderate abilities of Rehoboam by the great abilities of his wife. She was a brilliant woman, and Rehoboam's favorite (2 Ch 11 21). On Abijah's accession she held at court the influential position of king's mother; and she was so strong that she continued to hold it, when, after a brief reign, Abijah was succeeded by Asa; though it was a position from which Asa had the authority to depose her (1 K 15 13; 2 Ch 15 16). The account in Ch deals mainly with a decisive victory which, it says, Abijah gained over northern Israel (2 Ch 13), he having 400,000 men and Jeroboam 800,000, of whom 500,000 were slain. It is clear that these numbers are artificial, and were so intended, whatever may be the key to their meaning. Abijah's speech before the battle pre- sents the same view of the religious situation which is presented in Kings and Amos and Hosea, though with fuller priestly details. The orthodoxy of Abijah on this one occasion is not in conflict with the representation in Kings that he followed mainly the evil ways of his father Rehoboam. In Chronicles coarse luxury and the multiplying of wives are attributed to both father and son. (6) A priest of Nehemiah's time, who sealed the covenant (Neh 10 7). Conjecturally the same with the one mentioned in Neh 12 4.17. (7) The wife of Judah's grandson Hezron, to whom was traced the origin of Tekoa (1 Ch 2 24). (8) The mother of King Hezekiah (2 Ch 29 1) called Abi in 2 K. See Abi. Willis J. Bebcher ABIJAM, a-bl'jam (Q^IS:, 'abhlyam, "father of sea," or, "father of west"): The name given in Kings (1 K 14 31; 15 1.7.8) to the son of Reho- boam who succeeded him as king of Judah. See Abijah. The name has puzzled scholars. Some have proposed, by adding one letter, to change it into "father of his people." Others have observed that the Gr rendering in Kings is Abeiou. Either the Heb copy used by the Gr translator read 'abhlyahu, 11 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abihail Abimelech Abijah, or else the translator substituted the form of the name which was to him more familiar. A few existing copies of the Heb have the reading Abijah, and Mt 1 7 presupposes that as the OT reading. So they infer that Abijam in K is an erroneous reading for Abijah. This seems at present to be the pre- vailing view, and it is plausible. It would be more convincing, however, if the name occurred but once in the passage in Kings, instead of occurring five times. It is improbable that a scribe would repeat the same error five times within a few sentences, while a translator, if he changed the name once, would of course change it the other four times. Exploration has revealed the fact that the whole region near the eastern end of the Mediterranean was known as "the west." "Father of the west" is not an inapt name for Rehoboam to give to the boy who, he expects, wiU inherit the Idngdom of Solomon and David. The effect of the secession of the ten tribes was to make that name a burlesque, and one does not wonder that it was superseded by Abijah, "My father is Jehovah." Willis J. Beechbr ABILA, ab'i-la. See Abilene. ABILENE, a-bi-le'ne ('APfiXiiv^, Abeileni, BA; 'APiXtiv^, Abileni, S") : Mentioned in Lk 3 1 as the tetrarchy of Lysanias at the time when John the Baptist began his ministry. The district derived its name from Abila, its chief town, which was situated, according to the Itinerarium An- tonini, 18 Roman miles from Damascus on the way to Heliopolis (Baalbec) . This places it in the neighborhood of the village of Suk Wady Barada (see Abana), near which there are considerable ancient remains, with an inscription in Gr stating that a "freedman of Lysanias the tetrarch" made a wall and built a temple, and another in Lat record- ing the repair of the road "at the expense of the .Abilenians." The memory of the ancient name probably survives in the Moslem legend which places the tomb of Abel in a neighboring height where there are ruins of a temple. Jos calls this Abila, he Lusaniou, ht. "the A. of Lysanius," thus distinguishing it from other towns of the same name, and as late as the time of Ptolemy (cir 170 AD) the name of Lysanias was associated with it. The territory of Abilene was part of the Ituraean Kingdom, which was broken up when its king, Lysanias, was put to death by M. Antonius, o 35 BC. The circumstances in which A. became a distinct tetrarchy are altogether obscure, and nothing further is known of the tetrarch Lysanias (_Ant, XIX, V, 1; XX, ii, 1). In 37 AD the tet- rarchy, along with other territories, was granted to Agrippa I, after whose death in 44 AD it was administered by procurators until 53 AD, when Claudius conferred it again, along with neigh- boring territories, upon Agrippa II. On Agrippa s death, toward the close of the 1st cent., his kingdom was incorporated in the province of Syria. See Lysanias. C. H. Thomson , ABILITY, a-bil'i-ti (Svivapiis, dilnamis, or lo-x*s, ischus): Variously used of resources, material, mental and spiritual; e.g. of wealth, "gave after their a." (Ezr 2 69); of mental endowment, a. to stand in the king's palace" (Dnl 14); of tal- ents and character, "several a." (Mt 25 15)1 oj spiritual strength, "minister, as of the a. which God giveth" (AV 1 Pet 4 11). It thus may signify either possessions, native capacity, or gifts of the Holy Spirit. ABIMAEL, a-bim'a-el, ab-i-ma'el (bS^'QiDSJ, '&bhlma'el, "my father is God," or "God is father") : The ninth of the thirteen sons of Joktan, who was descendant of Shem, and son of Eber, and brother of Peleg in whose days the earth was divided (Gen 10 25-29; 1 Ch 1 19-23). Like some of the other names in this list, the name is linguistically south Arabian, and the tribes indicated are south Arabians. On the Arab, elements in Heb proper names see Hal(5vy, Melanges d'epigraphie et d'arche- ologie s6mitiques; ZDMG, esp. early in 1883; D. H. Mtiller, Epigraphie Denkmdler aus Arabien; Glaser, Skizze der Oesch. und Oeog. Arabiens; and by index Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition; and Gray, Hebrew Proper Names; and F. Giesebrecht, Die alttestamentliche Schdtzung des Gottesnamens. Willis J. Beecheb ABIMELECH, a-bim'e-lek (TT^iainX, 'dbhlmelekh, "father of a king"): A name borne by five OT persons. (1) The name of two kings of Philistia; the first was a contemporary of Abraham, the second, probably son of the former, was king in the days of Isaac. It is quite possible that Abimelech was the royal title rather than the personal name, since in the title of Ps 34 we find it applied to the king of Gath, elsewhere known by his personal name, Achish (1 S 27 2.3). Shortly after the destruc- tion of Sodom Abraham journeyed with his herds and flocks into the extreme S.E. country of Pal (Gen 20). While sojourning at Gerar, the city of Abimelech, king of the Phili country, he made believe that Sarah was his sister (ver 2), and Abimelech took her, intending to make her one of his wives. But God rebuked him in a dream, besides sending barrenness on the women of his household (vs 3.17). After Abimelech had re- proved Abraham most justly for the deception, he dealt generously with him, loading him with presents and granting him the liberty of the land (vs 14.15). When contention had arisen between the servants of the two men over the wells of water the two men made a covenant at a well, which took its name, Beersheba, from this fact of covenant- making (Gen 21 31.32). (2) Nearly a cent, later than the events con- nected with the first Abimelech, as outlined above, a second Abimelech, king of the Philistines, is men- tioned in relations with Isaac (Gen 26), who in time of grievous famine went down from his home, probably at Hebron, to Gerar. Fearing for his fife because of his beautiful wife, Rebekah, he called her his sister, just as Abraham had done -with reference to Sarah. Neither Abimelech nor any of his people took Rebekah to wife — quite a vari- ation from the Abrahamic incident; but when the falsehood was detected, he upbraided Isaac for what might have happened, continuing neverthe- less to treat him most graciously. Isaac continued to dwell in the vicinity of Gerar, until contention between his herdsmen and those of Abimelech became too violent; then he moved away by stages, reopening the wells digged by his father (vs 18-22). Finally, a covenant was made between Abimelech and Isaac at Beersheba, just as had been made between Abraham and the first Abime- lech (Gen 26 26-33). The two kings of Philistia were probably father and son. (3) The title of Ps 34 mentions another Abime- lech who in all probability is the same as Achish king of Gath (1 S 21 10—22 1); with whom David sought refuge when fleeing from Saul, and with whom he was dwelling at the time of the Phili invasion of Israel, which cost Saul his kingdom and his life (1 S 27). It appears from this that Abime- lech was the royal title, and not the personal name of the Phili kings. (4) A son of Gideon (Jgs 9) who aspired to be king after the death of his father, and did rule three Abinadab Ablution THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 12 years (ver 22). He first won the support of the members of his mother's family and their recom- mendation of himself to all Israel (vs 3.4). He then murdered all the sons of his father, seventy in number, at Ophrah, the family home in the tribe of Manasseh, Jotham the youngest son alone escaping (ver 5). After this Abimelech was made ruler by an assembly of the people at Shechem. An insurrection led by Gaal the son of Ebed having broken out in Shechem, Abimelech, although he succeeded in capturing that city, was wounded to death by a mill-stone, which a woman dropped from the wall upon his head, while he was stormmg the citadel of Thebez, into which the defeated rebels had retreated, after that city also had been taken (vs 50-53). Finding that he was mortally wounded and in order to avoid the shame of death at a woman's hand, he required his armor-bearer to kill him with his sword (ver 54). His cruel treat- ment of the Shechemites (vs 46-49), when they took refuge from him in their strong tower, was a just judgment for their acquiescence in his crimes (vs 20.57); while his own miserable death was retribution for his bloody deeds (ver 56). (5) A priest in the days of David; a descendant of Ithamar and Eli, and son of Abiathar (1 Ch 18 16). In the LXX and in 1 Ch 24 he is called AWmelech; but is not to be confused with Abime- lech, the father of Abiathar, and therefore his grandfather. He shared with Zadok, of the line of Ithamar, the priestly office in the reign of David (1 Ch 24 31). Edward Mack ABINADAB, a-bin'a-dab (3"r5S , 'abhlnd- dhabh, "father of wiUingness," or, "my father is willing." This is according to the ordinary usage of the second word in the name — "willing" rather than "munificent" or "noble"): (1) The man in whose house the men of Kiriath- jearim placed the ark, after its return from the land of the Philis, his house being either in Gibeah ' of Benjamin or "in the hill" (1 S 7 1; 2 S 6 3.4). To account for the ambiguity note that gibh'ah means hill, and that the place-name Gibeah or- dinarily has the definite article. It is natural to think that Abinadab was himself a man of Kiriath-jearim, though the account does not exphcitly say so. The record is that the men of Kiriath-jearim were summoned to take charge of the ark at a time when no one else dared to have it (V S 6 20.21); and the implication seems to be that they had no option to refuse. Possibly this was due to their being Gibeonites, and hereditary "bondmen" of "the house of my God" (Josh 9 17.23). However this may be, they "sanctified" Abinadab's son Eleazar to have charge of the ark. According to the Heb and some of the Gr copies, the ark was in Gibeah in the middle of the reign of King Saul (1 S 14 18). About a century later, according to the Bible numbers, David went with great pomp to Kiriath- jearim, otherwise known as Baalah or Baale-judah, to bring the ark from Kiriath-jearim, out of the house of Abinadab in the hill (or, in Gibeah), and place it in Jerus (1 Ch 13; 2 S 6). _ The new cart was driven by two descendants of Abinadab. There may or may not have been another Abinadab then hving, the head of the house. (2) The second of the eight sons of Jesse, one of the three who were in Saul's army when Goliath gave his challenge (1 S 16 8; 17 13; 1 Ch 2 13). (3) One of the sons of King Saul (1 Ch 8 33; 9 39; 10 2; 1 S 31 2). He died in the battle of Gilboa, along with his father and brothers. (4) In 1 K 4 11 AV has "the son of Abinadab," where RV has Ben-abinadab, which see. Willis J. Beecher ABINOAM, a-bin'6-am, ab-i-no'am (Dy3''?S , 'abhind'am, "father of pleasantness," or, "my father is pleasantness"): A man of Kedesh-naph- tali, the father of Barak who defeated the army of Jabin and Sisera (Jgs 4 6.12; 6 1.12). ABIRAM, a-bl'ram (D'3"'5i? , 'dbhiram, "exalted father," or, "my father is an exalted one"): (1) The son of Ehab the son of Pallu the son of Reuben (Nu 26 5ff; Dt 11 6). In company with his brother Dathan and Korah the Levite and others, he disputed the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Nu 16-17, 26; Dt 11 6; Ps 106 17). Two hundred and fifty followers of Korah perished by fire at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Dathan and Abiram refused to come to the tent of meeting, at the summons of Moses; and the earth opened where their tents were, and swallowed them and their families and their goods. See Korah. (2) The firstborn son of Hiel the Bethelite, who rebuilt Jericho in the time of Ahab (1 K 16 34; cf Josh 6 26) . This incident has recently acquired a new interest owing to discoveries made at Gezer and Megiddo concerning foundation sacrifices as anciently offered in Palestine. One should not be too positive in making statements concerning this, but the following is a possible interpretation of the record. The curse pronounced by Joshua on the man who should rebuild Jericho was of a piece with the other details, Jericho being treated exceptionally, as a city placed under the ban. The language of Joshua's curse is capable of being translated: 'Cursed be the man iDefore Jehovah who shall .... build .... Jericho; [who] shall lay its foundation in his firstborn, and set up its gates in his youngest.' According to this inter- pretation the death of the builder's eldest and youngest sons is not spoken of as the penalty in- volved in the curse, but as an existing horrible custom, mentioned in order to give solemnity to the diction of the curse. The writer in Kings cites the language of the curse by Joshua. The context in which he mentions the affair suggests that he regards Kiel's conduct as exceptionally flagrant in its wickedness. Hiel, in defiance of Jehovah, not only built the city, but in building it revived the horrible old Canaanite custom, making his first- born son a foundation sacrifice, and his youngest son a sacrifice at the completion of the work. Willis J. Beecher ABIROW, a-bi'ron ('APeip<6v, Abeiron) : (1) The LXX form (Ecclus 45 18 AV) of Abiram, one of the sons of Eliab, who, with his brother Dathan, and with one of the same tribe, joined the conspiracy against Moses and Aaron (Nu 16 1.12.24.25.27; 26 9; Dt 11 6; Ps 106 17). _ (2) The eldest son of Hiel, the BetheUte, who died prematurely, thus fulfilling the doom pro-, nounced on the posterity of him who should under- take to rebuild Jericho (1 K 16 34). See Abiram. ABISEI, ab-i-se'I. See Abissei. ABISHAG, ab'i-shag, a-bi'shag (aiailS , 'Shhlr- shagh, apparently, "father of wandering," that is, "cause of wandering," or "my father wanders"): The Shunammite woman who became nurse to King David (1 K 1 1-4.15; 2 17.21.22). She was chosen for the service with great care on account of her youth and beauty and physical vigor. She ministered to the king, that is, waited on him as personal attendant and nurse. She also "cher- ished" him in his feebleness — gave to him through physical contact the advantage of her superabun- dant vitality. This was a mode of medical treat- ment recommended by the servants of the king. 13 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abinadab Ablution and it appears to have been not wholly unsuccessful. She had an intimate knowledge of the condition of David, and was present at the interview of Bath- sheba with David which resulted in the placing of Solomon on the throne. If that act had been questioned she would have been a most important witness. By reason of this and of her personal charms, she might become a strong helper to any rival of Solomon who should intrigue to supplant him. Adonijah sought Abishag in marriage. On the basis of this and of such other evidence as may supposably have been in his possession, Solomon put Adonijah to death as an intriguer. Willis J. Beechbb ABISHAI, ab'i-shi, a-bi'shi 0«ias, 'dbhishai, in Ch "^TBIlSl , 'abhshai; meaning is doubtful, prob- ably "my father is Jesse," BOB): Son of Zeruiah, David's sister, and one of the three famous brothers, of whom Joab and Asahel were the other two (2 S 2 18). He was chief of the second group of three among David's "mighty men" (2 S 23 18). He first appears with David, who was in the Wilder- ness of Ziph, to escape Saul. When David called for a volunteer to go down into Saul's camp by night, Abishai responded, and counseled the killing of Saul when they came upon the sleeping king (1 S 26 6-9). In the skirmish between the men of Ishbosheth and the men of David at Gibeon, in which Asahel was killed by Abner, Abishai was present (2 S 2 18.24). He was with and aided Joab in the cruel and indefensible murder of Abner, in revenge for their brother Asahel (2 S 3 30). In David's campaign against the allied Ammonites and Syrians, Abishai led the attack upon the Ammonites, while Joab met the Syrians; the battle was a great victory for Israel (2 S 10 10-14) . He was always faithful to David, and remained with him, as he fled from Absalom. When Shimei, of the house of Saul, cursed the fleeing king, Abishai characteristically wished to kill him at once (2 S 16 8.9); and when the king returned victorious Abishai advised the rejection of Shimei's peni- tence, and his immediate execution (2 S 19 21). In the battle with Absalom's army at Mahanaim Abishai led one division of David's army, Joab and Ittai commanding the other two (2 S 18 2). With Joab he put down the revolt against David of Sheba, a man of Benjamin (2 S 20 6.10), at which Joab treacherously slew Amasa hia cousin and rival, as he had likewise murdered Abner, Abishai no doubt being party to the crime. In a battle with the Philistines late in his life, David was faint, being now an old man, and was in danger of death at the hands of the Phili giant Ishbihenob when Abishai came to his rescue and killed the giant (2 S 21 17). In the list of David's heroes (2 S 23) Abishai's right to leadership of the "second three" is based upon his overthrowing three hundred men with his spear (ver 18). He does not appear in the struggle of Adonijah against Solomon, in which Joab was the leader, and therefore is supposed to have died before that time. , , , He was an impetuous, courageous man, but less cunning than his more famous brother Joab, although just as cruel and relentless toward rival or foe. David understood and feared their hard- ness and cruelty. Abishai's best trait was his unswerving loyalty to his kinsman, David. Edward Mack ABISHALOM, a-bish'a-lom: Variant of Ab- salom, which see. ABISHUA, a-bish'ti-a, abi-shoo'a (r'ltEJinXj '/ibhishu'^\ uncertain, perhaps "father of wealth," or "my father is wealth") : (1) A son of Bela the son of Benjamin (1 Ch 8 4). (2) The son of Phinehas, who was grandson to Aaron (1 Ch 6 4.5.50; Ezr 7 5). ABISHUR, a-bi'shur (inB"'5S, '&bhlshur, "my father is a wall"): Great-grandson of Jerahmeel and Atarah, Jerahmeel being great-grandson of Judah. Abishur was son of Shammai, and was the husband of Abihail, and the father of sons (1 Ch 2 28.29). ABISSEI, a-bis'e-I (AV Abisei): An ancestor of Ezra (2 Esd 1 2) = Abisue (1 Esd 8 2) and Abishua (1 Ch 6 4ff; e¥7 5). ABISUE, a-bis'u-e (B, 'Apio-aC, Abisai; A, Abi- souai; AV Abisum= Abishua [1 Ch 6 4ff; Ezr 7 6] and Abissei [2 Esd 12]): An ancestor of Ezra (1 Esd 8 2). ABISUM, ab'i-sum. See Abisue (Apoc). ABITAL, ab'i-tal, a-bi'tal (buiSX, 'dbhital, "my father is dew"): One of the wives of King David. In the duplicated list (2 S 3 4; 1 Ch 3 3) in which the sons born to David in Hebron are men- tioned and numbered, the fifth is said to be Shephatiah the son of Abital. ABITUB, ab'i-tub, a-bi'tub (aWnS, 'dbhitubh, "father of goodness," or, "my father is goodness") : In AV Ahitub. A descendant of Benjamin and son of Shaharaim and Hushim, born in the field of Moab (1 Ch 8 11). ABIUD, a-bl'ud ('ApioiS, Abioiid, perhaps "my father is majesty" ; see Abihud) : Mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1 13 and not elsewhere) as the son of Zerubbabel. See Genealogt. ABJECT, ab'jekt: Only as a noun, and but once (Ps 35 15) for riD5. , nekheh, lit. "smitten ones," i.e. "men of the lowest grade" (Hengstenberg, Delitzsch), "the rabble," defined by the succeeding clause as those of such inferior station that they were unknown. ABLE, aVl: The Gr Sivaiwj., d-dnamai, "to have power," may refer either to inherent strength, or to the absence of external obstacles, or to what may. be allowable or permitted. The Gr lo-x^ia, isck&o, as in Lk 13 24; Jn 21 6, refers always to the first of the above meanings. The use of the word as an adj. in AV of 2 Cor 3 6, is misleading, and has been properly changed in RV into "suffi- cient as ministers," i.e. "hath fitted us to be ministers." ABLUTION, ab-lu'shun: The rite of ablution for religious purification seems to have been practised in some form in all lands and at all times. The priests of Egypt punctiliously practised it (Herod- otus ii.37). The Greeks were warned "never with unwashed hands to pour out the black wine at morn to Zeus" (Hesiod, Opera et Dies v.722; cf Homer, Iliad vi.266; Od. iv.759). The Romans also observed it (Virgil, Aeneid ii.217); as did and do Orientals in general (cf Koran, Sura 5 8, etc). Ablutions for actual or ritual purification form quite a feature of the Jewish life and ceremonial. No one was allowed to enter a holy place or to approach God by prayer or sacrifice without having first performed the rite of ablution, or "sanctifi- cation," as it was sometimes called (Ex 19 10; 1 S 16 5; 2 Ch 29 6; cf Jos, Ant, XIV, xi, 5). Three kinds of washing are recognized in Bibhcal and rabbinical law: (1) washing of the hands, AbneT Abomination THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 14 (2) washing of the hands and feet, and (3) immer- sion of the whole body in water. (1 and 2 = Gr vItttu, nlpto; 3 = Gr Xoi)w, loud). Something more than an echo of a universal practice is found in the Scriptures. The rabbis claimed to find support for ceremonial hand-wash- ing in Lev 15 11. David's words, "I will wash my hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Jeh" (Ps 26 6; cf Ps 73 13), are re- garded by them as warranting the inference that ablution of the hands was prerequisite to any holy act. This is the form of ablution, accordingly, which is most universally and scrupulously prac- tised by Jews. Before any meal of which bread forms a part, as before prayer, or any act of wor- ship, the hands must be solemnly washed in pure water; as also after any unclean bodily function, or contact with any unclean thing. Such hand- washings probably arose naturally from the fact that the ancients ate with their fingers, and so were first for physical cleansing only; but they came to be ceremonial and singularly binding. The Talm abundantly shows that eating with unwashed hands came to be reckoned a matter of highest importance — "tantamount to committing an act of unchastity, or other gross crime." Akiba, when in prison, went without water given him to quench his thirst, rather than neglect the rite of ablution ("Er. 216). Only in extreme cases, according to the Mish, as on a battlefield, might people dispense with it. Simeon, the Essene, "the Saint" (Toseph. Kelim i.6), on entering the holy place without having washed his hands, claiming that he was holier than the high priest because of his ascetic life, was excommunicated, as under- mining the authority of the Elders (cf ^Eduy. 6 6). Washing of the hands and feet is prescribed by the Law only for those about to perform priestly functions (cf Koran, Sura 6 8, in contrast: "When ye prepare yourselves for prayer, wash your faces and hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles"; Hughes, Diet, of Islam). For example, whenever Moses or Aaron or any subordinate priest desired to enter the sanctuary (Tabernacle) or approach the altar, he was required to wash his hands and feet from the laver which stood between the Tabernacle and the altar (Ex 30 19; 40 31). The same rule held in the Temple at Jerusalem. The washing of the whole body, however, is the form of ablution most specifically and exactingly required by the Law. The cases in which the immersion of the whole body is commanded, either for purification or consecration, are very numerous. For example, the Law prescribed that no leper or other unclean person of the seed of Aaron should eat of holy flesh until he had washed his whole body in water (Lev 22 4-6); that anyone coming in contact with a person having an unclean issue, or with any article used by such a one, should wash his whole body (16 5-10); that a sufferer from an unclean issue (15 16.18); a menstruous woman (2 S 11 2.4), and anyone who touched a men- struous woman, or anything used by her, should Ukewise immerse the whole person in water (Lev 15 19-27): that the high priest who ministered on the Day of Atonement (16 24-28), the priest who tended the red heifer (Nu 19 7.8.19), and every priest at his installation (Ex 29 4; 40 12) should wash his whole body in water. Cf 'divers baptisms' (immersions) in He 9 10, and see Broadus on Mt 15 2-20 with footnote. (For another view on bathing see Kennedy in HDB, I, 257 v.) Bathing in the modern and non-rehgious sense is rarely mentioned in the Scriptures (Ex 2 5 Pharaoh's daughter; 2 S 11 2 RV Bathsheba, and the interesting case 1 K 22 38). Public baths are first met with in the Gr period — included in the "place of exercise" (1 Mace 1 14), a,nd remains of such buildings from the Rom period are numerous. Recently a remarkable series of bath-chambers have been discovered at Gezer, in Pal, in connection with a building which is sup- posed to be the palace built by Simon Maccabaeus (Kennedy [illust. in PEFS, 1905, 294 f]). The rite of ablution was observed among early Christians also. Eusebius [HE, X, 4.40) tells of Christian churches being supphed with fountains or basins of water, after the Jewish custom of pro- viding the laver for the use of the priests. The Apos Const (VIII.32) have the rule: "Let all the faithful .... when they rise from sleep, before they go to work, pray, after having washed them- selves" (nipsdmenoi) . The attitude of Jesus toward the rabbinical law of ablution is significant. Mk (7 3) prepares the way for his record of it by explaining, 'The Phar- isees and all the Jews eat not except they wash their hands to the wrist' (pugmt). (See LTJM, II, 11). According to Mt 16 1-20 and Mk 7 1-23 Pharisees and Scribes that had come from Jerusa- lem (i.e. the strictest) had seen some of Jesus' disciples eat bread with unwashed hands, and they asked Him: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread." Jesus' answer was to the Jews, even to His own disciples, in the highest degree surprising, paradoxical, revolutionary (cf Mt 12 8). They could not but see that it applied not merely to hand-washing, but to the whole matter of clean and unclean food; and this to them was one of the most vital parts of the Law (cf Acts 10 14). Jesus saw that the masses of the Jews, no less than the Pharisees, while scrupu- lous about ceremonial purity, were careless of inward purity. So here, as in the Sermon on the Mount, and with reference to the Sabbath (Mt 12 1 ff). He would lead them into the deeper and truer significance of the Law, and thus prepare the way for setting aside not only the traditions of the elders that made void the commandments of God, but even the prescribed ceremonies of the Law themselves, if need be, that the Law in its higher principles and meanings might be "fulfilled." Here He proclaims a principle that goes to the heart of the whole matter of true religion in saying: "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites" (Mk 7 6-13) — you who make great pretense of devotion to God, and insist strenuously on the externals of His service, while at heart you do not love Him, making the word of God of none effect for the sake of your tradition! LiTEEATTjRB. — Por list of Older authorities see McClln- tock and Strong, Cyclopedia; Nowack, Biblische Archae- ologie, II, 275-99; and Spitzer, Ueber Baden und Bttder bei den alien Hebrdern, 1884. Geo. B. Eager ABNER, ab'ner (~l3?ii!, 'abhner; in 1 S 14 50 the Heb has the fuller form, 13^5^, 'dbhiner, Abiner; cf Abiram by the side of Abram; meaning, "my father is a lamp") : Captain of the host under Saul and Ishbosheth (Eshbaal). He was Saul's cousin; Ner the father of Abner and Kish the father of Saul being brothers, the sons of Abiel (1 S 14 50f). In 1 Ch 8 33; 9 39 the text appears to be faulty; read: "And Ner begat Abner, and Kish begat Saul." According to 1 Ch 27 21 Abner had a son by the name of Jaasiel. Abner was to Saul what Joab was to David. Despite the many wars waged by Saul, we hear little of Abner during Saul's lifetime. Not even in the account of the battle of Gilboa is mention made of him. Yet both his high office and his kinship to the king must have brought the two 15 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abner Abomination men in close contact. On festive occasions it was the custom of Abner to sit at table by the king's side (1 S 20 25). It was Abner who introduced the young David fresh from his triumph over Goliath to the king's court (so according to the account in 1 S 17 67). We find Abner accom- panying the king in his pursuit of David (1 S 26 5 ff). Abner is rebuked by David for his negli- gence in keeping watch over his master (ib, 15) . Upon the death of Saul, Abner took up the cause of the young heir to the throne, Ishbosheth, whom he forthwith removed from the neighborhood of David to Mahanaim in the East-Jordanic country. There he proclaimed him king over all Israel. By the pool of Gibeon he and his men met Joab and the servants of David. Twelve men on each side engaged in combat which ended disastrously for Abner who fled. He was pursued by Asahel, Joab's brother, whom Abner slew. Though Joab and his brother Abishai sought to avenge their brother's death on the spot, a truce was effected; Abner was permitted to go his way after three hundred and threescore of his men had fallen. Joab naturally watched his opportunity. Abner and his master soon had a quarrel over Saul's concubine, Rizpah, with whom Abner was intimate. It was certainly an act of treason which Ishbosheth was bound to resent. The disgruntled general made overtures to David; he won over the tribe of Benjamin. With twenty men of them he came to Hebron and arranged with the king of Judah that he would bring over to his side all Israel. He was scarcely gone when Joab learned of the affair; without the knowledge of David he recalled him to Hebron where he slew him, "for the blood of Asahel his brother." David mourned sincerely the death of Abner. "Know ye not," he addressed his servants, "that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? He followed the bier in person. Of the royal lament over Abner a fragment is quoted: "Should Abner die as a fool dieth 7 Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put Into fetters : As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so didst thou fall. " (See 2 S 3 6-38.) The death of Abner, while it thus cannot in any wise be laid at the door of David, nevertheless served his purposes well. The back- bone of the opposition to David was broken, and be was soon proclaimed as king by all Israel. Max L. Maeqolis ABODE, a-bod'. See Abide. ABOLISH, a-bol'ish (Jlfin , hatkath, "to be broken down," "made void," "My righteousness shall not be aboHshed" [Isa 51 6], i.e. as shown in God's faith- fulness to His promises; nnp mdhah, "to erase," "blot out," "that your works may be abolished" [Ezk 6 6]: KOTapY^d), katarged, "to render in- operative,' "bring to nought," "make of no effect," "when he shall have abolished all rule" [1 Cor 15 24], every power opposed to God's kingdom; "having aboMshed in his flesh the enmity" [Eph 2 15]) : By His death, Christ did away with the race separa- tion due to historic ordinances and ceremonial laws (as of circumcision and uncircumcision) ; through the cross He wrought the reconciliation, and secured that common access to the Father by which the union is maintained. "Our Saviour Christ Jesus .... abolished death" (3 Tim 1 10). Men still die, "it is ap- pointed unto men" (He 9 27), but the fear of death as having power to terininate or affect our personal existence and our union with God, as a dreadful stepping out into the unknown and un- knowable (into Sheol of the impenetrable gloom), and as introducing us to a final and irreversible judgment, has been removed. Christ has taken out of it its sting (1 Cor 15 55 f) and all its hurt- ful power (He 2 14); has shown it to be under His control (Rev 1 18), brought to light the incorrupt- ible hfe beyond, and declared the ultimate de- struction of death (1 Cor 15 26; cf Rev 20 14). The Gr (katargeitai) indicates that the process of destruction was then going on. M. O. Evans ABOMINATION, a-bom-i-na'shun (biag , piggul, niyin, to'ebhah, fjitl , shekeg ]J'^fil , shikJcug]): Three distinct Heb words are rendered in the Eng- lish Bible by "abomination," or "abominable thing," referring (except in Gen 43 32; 46 34) to things or practices abhorrent to Jehovah, and opposed to the ritual or moral requirements of His religion. It would be well if these words could be distinguished in tr, as they denote different degrees of abhorrence or loathsomeness. The word most used for this idea by the Hebrews and indicating the highest degree of abomination is nnyin, to'Sbhah, meaning primarily that which offends the religious sense of a people. When it is said, for 'example, "The Eg5rptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomi- nation unto the Egyptians," this is the word used; the significance being that the Hebrews were repugnant to the Egyptians as foreigners, as of an inferior caste, and especially as shepherds (Gen 46 34). The feeling of the Egyptians for the Greeks was likewise one of repugnance. Herodotus (ii.41) says the Egyptians would not kiss a Greek on the mouth, or use his dish, or taste meat cut with the knife of a Greek. Among the objects described in the OT as "abominations" in this sense are heathen gods, such as Ashtoreth (Astarte), Chemosh, Milcom, the "abominations" of the Zidonians (Phoenicians), Moabites, and Ammonites, respectively (2 K 23 13), and everything connected with the worship of such gods. When Pharaoh, remonstrating against the departure of the children . of Israel, exhorted them to offer sacrifices to their God in Egypt, Moses said: "Shall we sacrifice the abom- ination of the Egyptians [i.e. the animals worshipped by them which were taboo, to'ebhah, to the Israel- ites] before their eyes, and will they not stone us?" (Ex 8 26). It is to be noted that, not only the heathen idol itself, but anything offered to or associated with the idol, all the paraphernalia of the forbidden cult, was called an "abomination," for it "is an abomination to Jeh thy God" (Dt J 25.26). The Deuteronomic writer here adds, in terms quite significant of the point of view and the spirit of the whole law: 'Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house and thus become a thing set apart [herem = tabooed] like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is a thing set apart' {tabooed). To'ebhah is even used as synonymous with "idol" or heathen deity, as in Isa 44 19; Dt 32 16; 2 K 23 13; and esp. Ex 8 22 ff. Everything akin to magic or divination is like- wise an abomination {to^ebhah); as are sexual transgressions (Dt 22 5; 23 18; 24 4), esp. incest and other unnatural offences: "For all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you" (Lev 18 27; cf Ezk 8 15). It is to be noted, however, that the word takes on in the later usage a higher ethical and spiritual meaning: as where "divers measures, a great and a small, "are forbidden (Dt 25 14-16); and in Prov where "lying lips" (12 22), "the proud in heart" Abomination Abound THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 16 (16 5), "the way of the wicked" (15 9), "evil de- vices" (15 26), and "he that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous" (17 15), are said to be an abomination in God's sight. At last prophet and sage are found to unite in declaring that any sacrifice, however free from physical blemish, if offered without purity of motive, is an abomination: 'Bring no more an oblation of false- hood — an incense of abomination it is to me' (Isa 1 13; of Jer 7 10). "The sacrifice of the wicked" and the prayer of him "that turneth away his ear from hearing the law," are equally an abomi- nation (seeProv 15 8; 21 27; 28 9). Another word rendered "abomination" in the AV is TB^; shelfeg or f^p'P) shikkus. It expresses generally a somewhat less degree of horror or religious aversion than to^ebhdh, but sometimes seems to stand about on a level with it in meaning. In Dt 14 3, for example, we have the command, "Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing," as introductory to the laws prohibiting the use of the unclean ani- mals (see Clean and Unclean Animals), and the word there used is to'ebhah. But in Lev 11 10-13. 20.23.41.42; Isa 66 17; and in Ezk 8 10 shekeg is the word used and likewise applied- to the pro- hibited animals; as also in Lev 11 43 shekeg is used when it is commanded, "Ye shall not make yourselves abominable." Then shekeg is often used parallel to or together with to^ebhah of that which should be held as detestable, as for instance, of idols and idolatrous practices (see esp. Dt 29 17; Hos 9 10; Jer 4 1; 13 27; 16 18; Ezk 11 18- 21; 20 7.8). It is used exactly as to'ebhah is used as applied to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites, which is spoken of as the detestable thing (shekeg) of the Ammonites (1 K 11 6). Still even in such oases to'ebhah seems to be the stronger word and to express that which ia in the highest degree abhorrent. The other word used to express a somewhat kindred idea of abhorrence and tr^ "abomination" in AV is 513S, piggiil; but it is used in the Heb Bible only of sacrificial flesh that has become stale, putrid, tainted (see Lev 7 18; 19 7; Ezk 4 14; Isa 65 4). Driver maintains that it occurs only as a "technical term for such state sacrificial flesh as has not been eaten within the prescribed time," and, accordingly, he would everywhere render it specifically "refuse meat." Compare lehem m'gho'dl, "the loathsome bread" (from gd'al, "to loathe") Mai 1 7. A chief interest in the subject for Christians grows out of the use of the term in the expression abomination of desolation" (Mt 24 15 and Mk 13 14), which see. See also Abhor. LiTEHATTTRE. — Commentators ad loc. Rabbinical lit. in point. Driver; Weiss; Gr&tz, Geach. der J uden, IV, n. 15. Geo. B. Eager ABOMINATION, BIRDS OF, Lev 11 13-19: "And these ye shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abom- ination: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the ospray, and the kite, and the falcon after its kind, every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture, and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat." Dt 14 12-18 gives the glede in addition. Each of these birds is treated in order in this work. There are two reasons why Moses pro- nounced them an abomination for food. Either they had rank, offensive, tough flesh, or they were connected with religious superstition. The eagle, gier-eagle, ospray, kite, glede, falcon, raven, night- hawk, sea-mew, hawk, little owl, cormorant, great owl, horned owl, peUcan and vulture were offen- sive because they were birds of prey or ate carrion or fish until their flesh partook of the odor of their food. Young ostriches have sweet, tender flesh and the eggs are edible also. In putting these birds among the abominations Moses must have been thinking of grown specimens. (Ostriches live to a remarkable age and on account of the dis- tances they cover, and their speed in locomotion, their muscles become almost as hard as bone.) There is a trace of his early Egyp training when he placed the stork and the heron on this list. These birds, and the crane as well, abounded in all coun- tries known at that time and were used for food according to the superstitions of different nations. These three were closely related to the ibis which was sacred in Egypt and it is probable that they were protected by Moses for this reason, since they were eaten by other nations at that time and cranes are used for food today by natives of our south- eastern coast states and are to be found in the markets of our western coast. The veneration for the stork that exists throughout the civihzed world today had its origin in Pal. Noting the devotion of mated pairs and their tender care for the young the Hebrews named the bird h&?ldhah, which means kindness. Carried down the history of ages with additions by other nations, this un- doubtedly accounts for the story now universal, that the stork deUvers newly-born children to their homes; so the bird is loved and protected. One ancient Rom writer, CorneUus Nepos, recorded that in his time both crane and storks were eaten; storks were liked the better. Later, Pliny wrote that no one would touch a stork, but everyone was fond of crane. In Thessaly it was a capital crime to kill a stork. This change from regarding the stork as a deficacy to its protection by a death penalty merely indicates the hold the character- istics of the bird had taken on people as it became better known, and also the spread of the regard in which it was held throughout Pal. The hoopoe (q.v.) was offensive to Moses on account of ex- tremely filthy nesting habits, but was considered a great delicacy when captured in migration by residents of southern Europe. See also Abomina- tion; Birds, Unclean. Gene Stratton-Porter ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, des-o- la'shun: The Heb root for abomination is Y'pl^ , shakag, "to be filthy," "to loathe," "to abhor," from which is derived yp1!3 or l^lpljj , shijpk^tg, or shikinlg, "filthy," esp. "idolatrous." This word is used to de- scribe specific forms of idolatrous worship that were specially abhorrent, as of the Ammonites (1 K 11 5.7); of the Moabites (1 K 11 7; 2 K 23 13). When Daniel undertook to specify an abomination so surpassingly disgusting to the sense of moraUty and decency, and so aggressive against everything that was godly as to drive all from its presence and leave its abode desolate, he chose this as the strongest among the several synonyms, adding' the qualification "that maketh desolate" (Dnl 11 31; 12 11), LXX ps^vyiia i/rqiubaewi, bdU-ug-ma er-e^mo-se-os. The same noun, though in the plural, occurs in Dt 29 17; 2 K 23 24; Isa 66 3; Jer 4 1; 7 30; 13 27; 32 34; Ezk 20 7.8.30; Dnl 9 27; Hos 9 10; Zee 9 7. The NT equivalent of the noun is pd4\vy/M, bdel-ug^ma = " detestable," i.e. (specially) "idolatrous." Alluding to Daniel, Christ spoke of the "abomination of desolation" (Mt 24 15; Mk 13 14). Since the invasion of the Assyrians and Chal- daeans, the Jewish people, both of the Northern and of the Southern kingdom, had been without political 17 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abomination Abound independence. From the Chaldaeans the rulership of Judaea had been transferred to the Persians, and from the Persians, after an interval 1. The of 200 years, to Alexander the Great. Historical From the beginning of the Pers sover- Background eignty, the Jews had been permitted to organize anew their religious and political commonwealth, thus establishing a state under the rulership of priests, for the high priest was not only the highest functionary of the cult, but also the chief magistrate in so far as these prerogatives were not exercised by the king of the conquering nation. Ezra had given a new significance to the tordh by having it read to the whole congregation of Israel and by his vigorous enforcement of the law of separation from the Gentiles. His emphasis of the law introduced the period of legalism and finical interpretation of the letter which called forth some of the bitterest invectives of our Saviour. Specialists of the law known as "scribes" devoted themselves to its study and subtle interpretation, and the pious beheld the highest moral accomphshment in the extremely conscientious observance of every pre- cept. But in opposition to this class, there were those who, influenced by the Hellenistic culture, introduced by the conquests of Alexander the Great, were inclined to a more "liberal" policy. Thus two opposing parties were developed: the Hellenistic, and the party of the Pious, or the Chasidim, ha^ldhim (Hasidaeans, 1 Mace 2 42; 7 13), who held fast to the strict ideal of the scribes. The former gradually came into ascend- ency. Judaea was rapidly becoming Hellenistic in all phases of its poUtical, social and religious life, and the "Pious" were dwindling to a small minor- ity sect. This was the situation when Antiochus Epiphanes set out to suppress the last vestige of the Jewish cult by the application of brute force. Antiochus IV, son of Antiochus the Great, became the successor of his brother, Seleucus IV, who had been murdered by his min- 2. Antic- ister, Heliodorus, as king of Syria chus (175-164 BC). He was by nature Epiphanes a despot; eccentric and unreliable; sometimes a spendthrift in his liber- ality, fraternizing in an affected manner with those of lower station; sometimes cruel and tyrannical, as witness his aggressions against Judaea. Polyb- ius (26 10) tells us that his eccentric ideas caused some to speak of him as a man of pure motive and humble character, while others hinted at insanity. The epithet Epiphanes is an abbreviation of theds epiphants, which is the designation given himself by Antiochus on his coins, and means "the god who appears or reveals himself." Egyp writers translate the inscription, "God which comes forth," namely, like the burning sun, Horos, on the hori- zon, thus identifying the king with the triumphal, appearing god. When Antiochus Epiphanes arose to the throne, Onias III, as high priest, was the leader of the old orthodox party in Judaea; the head of the Hellenists was his own brother Jesus, or, as he preferred to designate himself, Jason, this being the Gr form of his name and indicating the trend of his mind. Jason promised the king large sums of money for the transfer of the ofHce of high priest from his brother to himself and the privilege of erecting a gymnasium and a temple to Phallus, and for the granting of the privilege "to enroll the inhabitants of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch." Antiochus gladly agreed to everything. Onias was removed, Jason became high priest, and hence- forth the process of Hellenizing Judaea was pushed energetically. The Jewish cult was not attacked, but the "legal institutions were set aside, and illegal practices were introduced" (2 Mace 4 11). A gymnasium was erected outside the castle; the youth of Jerusalem exercised themselves in the gymnastic art of the Greeks, and even priests left their services at the altar to take part in the con- test of the palaestra. The disregard of Jewish custom went so far that many artificially removed the traces of circumcision from their bodies, and with characteristic liberality, Jason even sent a contribution to the sacrifices in honor of Heracles on the occasion of the quadrennial festivities in Tyre. Under these conditions it is not surprising that Antiochus should have had both the inclination and the courage to undertake the 3. The total eradication of the Jewish reli- Suppression gion and the establishment of Gr of the polytheism in its stead. The observ- Jewish Cult ance of all Jewish laws, especially those relating to the Sabbath and to circumcision, were forbidden under pain of death. The Jewish cult was set aside, and in all cities of Judaea, sacrifices must be brought to the pagan deities. Representatives of the crown everywhere enforced the edict. Once a month a search was instituted, and whoever had secreted a copy of the Law or had observed the rite of circumcision was condemned to death. In Jerusalem on the 15th of Chislev of the year 145 aet Sel, i.e. in December 168 BC, a pagan altar was built on the Great Altar of Burnt Sacrifices, and on the 25th of Chislev, sacrifice was brought on this altar for the first time (1 Mace 1 54.59). This evidently was the "abomination of desolation." The sacrifice, ac- cording to 2 Mace was brought to the Olympian Zeus, to whom the temple of Jerusalem had been dedicated. At the feast of Dionysus, the Jews were obliged to march in the Bacchanalian pro- cession, crowned with laurel leaves. Christ applies the phrase to what was to take place at the advance of the Romans against Jerusalem. They who would behold the "abomination of desolation" standing in the holy place. He bids flee to the mountains, which probably refers to the advance of the Rom army into the city and temple, carrying standards which bore images of the Rom gods and were the objects of pagan worship. Frank E. Hirsch ABOUND, a-bound', ABUNDANCE, a-bun'- dans, ABUNDANT, a-bun'dant, -LY, a-bun'dant-li: These words represent in the EV a considerable variety of different words in the Heb and Gr original. In the OT they most frequently stand for some form of the stem rabh, signifying "to cast together," "to increase." In Prov 8 24 the primary idea is "to be heavy" (root kahhadh); in Dt 33 19 and Job 22 11 it is "to overflow" (shapha^); in Job 36 31 it is "to plait together," "to augment," "to multiply" {makhJnr from ka- bhar); in Isa 47 9 it is "strength" Coemah); in 1 K 18 41 it is "tumult," "crowd" {hamon); in Eccl 5 12 it is "to fill to satiety" (RV "fulness"); in Isa 15 7 it is "excellence" (yithrah) and in 66 11 "a full breast" (ziz); in Jer 33 6 it is "copious- ness" Cdthereth from 'alhar). In several passages (e.g. Ezk 16 49; Ps 105 30; Isa 56 12) RV gives other and better renderings than AV. In the NT perissds, perisseiio, perissela, etc, are the usual words for "abundant," "abound," "abundance," etc (the adj. signifies "exceeding some number or measure"). A slight formal difference of concep- tion may be noted in pleondzo, which suggests that the abundance has resulted from augmenta- tion. In Rom 6 20 the two words stand in the closest connection: 'Where sin abounded [by its increase] grace abounded more exceedingly [was rich beyond measure].' In Mk 12 44; Lk 21 4; 2 Cor 8 20; 12 7; Rev 18 3 RV gives improved About Abraham THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD -BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 18 renderings instead of "abundance," and in Titus 3 6 and 2 Pet 111 instead of "abundantly." J. R. Van Pelt ABOUT, a-bout': The use of this word as prep., in the sense of "around," is confined to the OT. In the NT, generally an adverb, for Gr ws, hos or "hosei." RV adopts it in several idiomatic tr' of mello, referring to what is about to be, i.e. on the point of occurring, or immediately impending, amending AV, in Acts 5 35; 27 2; Rev 12 4, etc. ABRAHAM, a'bra-ham: I. Name 1. Various Forms 2. Etymology 3. Association II. Kindred III. Cabeer 1. Period of Wandering 2. Period of Residence at Hebron 3. Period of Residence in the Negeb IV. Conditions of Life 1. Economic Conditions 2. Social Conditions 3. Political Conditions 4. Cultural Conditions V^ Character 1. Religious Beliefs 2. Morality 3. Personal Traits VI. Significance in the History of Religion 1. In the OT 2. In the NT 3. In Jewish Tradition 4. In the Koran VII. Interpretations of the Story Other Than Historical 1. The Allegorical Interpretation 2. The Personification Theory 3. The Mythical Theory 4. The "Saga" Theory /. Name. — In the OT, when applied to the pa- triarch, the name appears as D"73S!>, 'abhram, up to Gen 17 5; thereafter always as 1. Various Dt^^??? , 'abhrdham. Two other per- Fonns sons are named DT^?!!? , 'abhlram. The identity of this name with 'abhram cannot be doubted in view of the variation between 'dbhiner and 'abhner, 'dbhishalom and 'abhshdlom, etc. A. also appears in the list at Karnak of places conquered by Sheshonk I: 'Ibrm (no. 72) represents D13X, with which Spiegelberg {Aegypt. Randglossen zum AT, 14) proposes to connect the preceding name (no. 71) p\ hlfr'% , so that the whole would read "the field of Abram." Outside of Palestine this name (Abiramu) has come to light just where from the Biblical tradition we should expect to find it, viz., in Babylonia (e.g. in a con- tract of the reign of Apil-Sin, second predecessor of Hammurabi; also for the aunt (!) of Esarhaddon 680-669 BC). Ungnad has recently found it, among documents from Dilbat dating from the Hammurabi dynasty, in the forms A-ba-am-ra-ma, A-ba-am-ra-am, as well as A-ba-ra-^ma. Until this latest discovery of the apparently full, historical form of the Bab equivalent, the best that could be done with the etymology 2. Ety- was to make the first constituent mology "father of" (construct -i rather than suffix -i), and the second constituent "Ram," a proper name or an abbreviation of a name. (Yet observe above its use in Assjo-ia for a woman; cf Abishag; Abigail). Some were inclined rather to concede that the second element was a mystery, like the second element in the ma- jority of names beginning with 'abh and 'ah, "father" and "brother." But the full cuneiform writing of the name, with the case-ending am, indicates that the noun "father" is in the accusative, governed by the verb which furnishes the second component, and that this verb therefore is prob- ably rdmu ( = Heb Qn"1, raham) "to love," etc; so that the name would mean something like "he loves the [his] father." (So Ungnad, also Ranke in Gressmann's art. "Sage und Geschichte in den Patriarchenerzahlungen," ZATW [1910], 3.) Anal- ogy proves that this is in the Bab fashion of the period, and that judging from the various writings of this and similar names, its pronunciation was not far from 'abh-ram. While the name is thus not "Hebrew" in origin, it made itself thoroughly at home among the Hebrews, and to their ears conveyed 3. Associa- associations quite different from its tion etymological signification. "Popular etymology" here as so often doubtless led the Hebrew to hear in 'abh-^am, "exalted father," a designation consonant with the patriarch's na- tional and rehgious significance. In the form 'abh-raham his ear caught the echo of some root (perhaps r-h-m; cf Arab, ruhdm, "multitude") still more suggestive of the patriarch's extensive progeny, the reason ("for") that accompanies the change of name Gen 17 5 being intended only as a verbal echo of the sense in the sound. This longer and commoner form is possibly a dialectical variation of the shorter form, a variation for which there are analogies in comparative Sem grammar. It is, however, possible also that the two forms are different names, and that 'abh-raham is etymologi- cally, and not merely by association of sound, "father of a multitude" (as above). (Another theory, based on South-Arabic orthography, in Hommel, AUisraelitische Ueberlieferung, 177.) //. Kindred. — Gen 11 27, which introduces A., contains the heading, "These are the generations of Terah." AH the story of A. is contained within the section of Gen so entitled. Through Terah A.'s ancestry is traced back to Shem, and he is thus related to Mesopotamian and Arabian fami- lies that belonged to the "Semitic" race. He is further connected with this race geographically by his birthplace, which is given as 'ur-kasdim (see Uk), and by the place of his pre-Canaanitish resi- dence, Haran in the Aramaean region. The purely Sem ancestry of his descendants through Isaac is indicated by his marriage with his own half-sister (Gen 20 12), and still further empha- sized by the choice for his daughter-in-law of Rebekah, descended from both of his brothers, Nahor and Haran (Gen 11 29; 22 22 f). Both the beginning and the end of the residence in Haran are left chronologically undetermined, for the new beginning of the narrative at Gen 12 1 is not intended by the writer to indicate chronological sequence, though it has been so understood, e.g. by Stephen (Acts 7 4). All that is definite in point of time is that an Aramaean period of resi- dence intervened between the Bab origin and the Palestinian career of A. It is left to a comparison of the Bib. data with one another and with the data of archaeology, to fix the opening of A.'s career in Pal not far from the middle of the 20th cent. BC. ///. Career. — Briefly summed up, that career was as follows. A., endowed with Jeh's promise of limitless blessing, leaves Haran with 1. Period of Lot his nephew and all their establish- Wandering ment, and enters Canaan. Successive stages of the slow journey southward are mdicated by the mention of Shechem, Bethel and the Negeb (South-country). Driven by famme into Egypt, A. finds hospitable reception, though at the price of his wife's honor, whom the Pharaoh treats in a manner characteristic of an Egyp monarch. (Gressmann, op. cit., quotes from Meyer, Geschichte des Alterthums, V, 142, the passage from a magic formula in the pyramid of Unas, a Pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty: "Then he [viz. the Pharaoh] takes away the wives from their husbands whither he will, if desire seize his heart.") Retracing f O S3 ;> M >- g > a a s CO a a M 19 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA About Abraham the path to Canaan with an augmented train, at Bethel A. and Lot find it necessary to part company. Lot and his dependents choose for residence the great Jordan Depression; A. follows the backbone of the land southward to Hebron, where he settles, not in the city, but before its gates "by the great trees" (LXX sing., "oak") of Mamre. Affiliation between A. and the local Amoritish chieftains is strengthened by a brief campaign, in which all unite their available forces 2. Period of for the rescue of Lot from an Elamite Residence king and his confederates from Baby- at Hebron Ionia. The pursuit leads them as far as the Lebanon region. On the return they are met by Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of 'el '■elyon, and blessed by him in his priestly capacity; which A. recognizes by presenting him with a tithe of the spoils. A.'s anxiety for a son to be the bearer of the divine promises conferred upon a "seed" yet unborn should have been relieved by the solemn renewal thereof in a formal covenant, with precise specifications of God's gracious purpose. But human desire cannot wait upon divine wisdom, and the Egyp woman Hagar bears to A. a son, Ishmael, whose existence from its inception proves a source of moral evil within the patriarchal household. The sign of circumcision and the change of names are given in confirmation of the covenant still unrealized, together with specification of the time and the person that should begin its realization. The theophany that sym- bolized outwardly this climax of the Divine favor serves also for an intercessory coUoquy, in which A. is granted the deliverance of Lot in the impending overthrow of Sodom. Lot and his family, saved thus by human fidelity and Divine clemency, exhibit in the moral traits shown in their escape and sub- sequent life the degeneration naturally to be expected from their corrupt environment. Moab- ites and Ammonites are traced in their origin to these cousins of Jacob and Esau. Removal to the South-country did not mean permanent residence in a single spot, but rather a succession of more or less temporary 3. Period of resting-places. The first of these Residence was in the district of Gerar, with in the whose king, Abimelech, A. and his Negeb wife had an experience similar to the earlier one with the Pharaoh. The birth of Isaac was followed by the expulsion of Ishmael and his mother, and the sealing of peaceful relations with the neighbors by covenant at Beer- sheba. Even the birth of Isaac, however, did not end the discipline of A.'s faith in the promise, for a Divine command to sacrifice the life of this son was accepted bona fide, and only the sudden inter- position of a Divine prohibition prevented its obedient execution. The death of Sarah became the occasion for A.'s acquisition of the first permanent holding of Pal soil, the nucleus of his promised inheritance, and at the same time suggested the probable approach of his own death. This thought led to immediate provision for a future seed to inherit through Isaac, a provision realized in Isaac's marriage with Rebekah, granddaughter of A.'s brother Nahor and of Milcah the sister of Lot. But a numerous progeny unassociated with the promise grew up in A.'s household, children of Keturah, a woman who appears to have had the rank of wife after Sarah's death, and of other women unnamed, who were his concubines. Though this last period was passed in the Negeb, A. was interred at Hebron, in his purchased possession, the spot with which Sem tradition has continued to associate him to this day. IV. Conditions of Life. — The life of A. in its outward features may be considered under the following topics: economic, social, political and cultural conditions. A.'s manner of life may best be described by the adjective "semi-nomadic," and illustrated by the somewhat similar conditions prevail- 1. Economic ing today in those border-communi- Conditions ties of the East that fringe the Syrian and Arabian deserts. Residence is in tents, wealth consists of flocks, herds and slaves, and there is no ownership of ground, only at most a proprietorship in well or tomb. All this in common with the nomad. But there is a relative, or rather, intermittent fixity of habitation, unUke the pure Bedawi, a limited amount of agriculture, and finally a sense of divergence from the Ishmael type — all of which tend to assimilate the semi- nomadic A. to the fixed Canaanitish population about him. As might naturally be expected, such a condition is an unstable equilibrium, which tends, in the family of A. as in the history of all border- tribes of the desert, to settle back one way or the other, now into the city-life of Lot, now into the desert-life of Ishmael. The head of a family, under these conditions, becomes at the same time the chief of a tribe, that live together under patriarchal rule 2. Social though they by no means share with- Conditions out exception the tie of kinship. The family relations depicted in Gen conform to and are illuminated by the social features of CH. (See K. D. Macmillan, art. "Mar- riage among the Early Babylonians and Hebrews," Princeton Theol. Review, April, 1908.) There is one legal wife, Sarah, who, because persistently child- less, obtains the coveted offspring by giving her own maid to A. for that purpose (cf CH, §§ 144, 146). The son thus borne, Ishmael, is A.'s legal son and heir. When Isaac is later borne by Sarah, the elder son is disinherited by divine command (Gen 21 10-12) against A.'s wish which represented the prevaiUng law and custom (CH, §§ 168 f). The "maid-servants" mentioned in the inventories of A.'s wealth (Gen 12 16; 24 35) doubtless furnished the "concubines" mentioned in Gen 25 6 as having borne sons to him. Both mothers and children were slaves, but had the right to freedom, though not to inheritance, on the death of the father (CH, § 171). After Sarah's death another woman seems to have succeeded to the position of legal wife, though if so the sons she bore were disin- herited like Ishmael (Gen 26 5). In addition to the children so begotten by A. the "men of his house" (Gen 17 27) consisted of two classes, the "home-born" slaves (Gen 14 14; 17 12 f. 23.27) and the "purchased" slaves (ib). The extent of the patriarchal tribe may be surmised from the number (318) of men among them capable of bearing arms, near the beginning of A.'s career, yet after his separation from Lot, and recruited seemingly from the "home-born" class exclusively (Gen 14 14). Over this entire establishment A. ruled with a power more, rather than less, absolute than that exhibited in detail in the CH: more absolute, because A. was independent of any perma- nent superior authority, and so combined in his own person the powers of the Bab ■paterfamilias and of the Can city-king. Social relations outside of the family-tribe may best be considered under the next heading. It is natural that the chieftain of so considerable an organism should appear an attractive ally and a formidable foe to any of the smaller 3. Political political units of his environment. Conditions That Canaan was at the time com- posed of just such inconsiderable units, viz. city-states with petty kings, and scattered fragments of older populations, is abun- Abraham THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 20 dantly clear from the Biblical tradition and veri- fied from other sources. Egypt was the only great power with which A. came into poUtical contact after leaving the East. In the section of Gen which describes this contact with the Pharaoh A. is suitably represented as playing no political role, but as profiting by his stay in Egypt only through an incidental social relation: when this terminates he is promptly ejected. The role of conqueror of Chedorlaomer, the Elamite invader, would be quite out of keeping with A.'s political status else- where, if we were compelled by the narrative in Gen 14 to suppose a pitched battle between the forces' of A. and those of the united Bab armies. What that chapter requires is in fact no more than a midnight surprise, by A.'s band (including the forces of confederate chieftains), of a rear-guard or baggage-train of the Babylonians inadequately manned and picketed. ("Slaughter" is quite too strong a rendering of the original hakkoth, "smiting," ver 17.) Respect shown A. by the kings of Salem (ver 18), of Sodom (ver 21) and of Gerar (Gen 20 14-16) was no more than might be expected from their relative degrees of political importance, although a moral precedence, assumed in the tradition, may well have contributed to this respect. Recent archaeological research has revolutionized our conception of the degree of culture which A. could have possessed and therefore 4. Cultural presumably did possess. The high Conditions plane which Hterature had attained in both Babylonia and Egypt by 2000 BC is sufficient witness to the opportunities open to the man of birth and wealth in that day for the interchange of lofty thought. And, without having recourse to A.'s youth in Babylonia, we may assert even for the scenes of A.'s maturer life the presence of the same culture, on the basis of a variety of facts, the testimony of which converges in this point, that Canaan in the second millennium BC was at the center of the intellectual life of the East and cannot have failed to afford, to such of its in- habitants as chose to avail themselves of it, every opportunity for enjoying the fruits of others' cul- ture and for recording the substance of their own thoughts, emotions and activities. V. Character. — A.'s inward life may be consid- ered under the rubrics of reUgion, ethics and per- sonal traits. The religion of A. centered in his faith in one God, who, because believed by him to be possess- or of heaven and earth (Gen 14 22; 1. Religious 24 3), sovereign judge of the nations Beliefs (15 14) of all the earth (18 25), dis- poser of the forces of Nature (18 14; 19 24; 20 17 f), exalted (14 22) and eternal (21 33), was for A. at least the only God. So far as the Biblical tradition goes, A.'s monotheism was not aggressive (otherwise in later Jewish tradition), and it is theoretically possible to attribute to him a merely "monarchical" or "henotheistio" type of monotheism, which would admit the coexistence with his deity, say, of the "gods which [his] fathers served" (Josh 24 14), or the identity with his deity of the supreme god of some Canaanite neighbor (Gen 14 18). Yet this distinction of types of monotheism does not really belong to the sphere of religion as such, but rather to that of speculative philosophical thought. _ As religion, monotheism is just monotheism, and it asserts itself in corollaries drawn by the intellect only so far as the scope of the monotheist's intellectual life appUes it. For A. Jeh not only was alone God; He was also his personal God in a closeness of fellowship (Gen 24 40; 48 15) that has made him for three religions the type of the pious man (2 Ch 20 7; Isa 41 8; Jas 2 23 j note the Arab. name of Hebron is EJ^Khalil, i.e. the friend [viz. of God]). To Jeh A. attributed the moral attributes of justice (Gen 18 25), righteousness (18 19), faithfulness (24 27), wisdom (20 6), goodness (19 19), mercy (20 6). These qualities were expected of men, and their contraries in men were punished by Jeh (Gen 18 19; 20 11). He manifested Himself in dreams (Gen 20 3), visions (15 1) and theophanies (18 1), including the voice or apparition of the Divine mal'akh or messenger ("angel") (Gen 16 7; 22 11). On man's part, in addition to obedience to Jeh's moral require- ments and special commands, the expression of his religious nature was expected in sacrifice. This bringing of offerings to the deity was dihgently practiced by A., as indicated by the mention of his erection of an altar at each successive residence. Alongside of this act of sacrifice there is sometimes mention of a "calling upon the name" of Jeh (cf 1 K 18 24; Ps 116 13 f). This pubKcation of his faith, doubtless in the presence of Canaanites, had its counterpart also in the public regard in which he was held as a "prophet" or spokesman for God (Gen 20 7). His mediation showed itself also in intercessory prayer (Gen 17 20 for Ishmael; 18 23-32; cf 19 29 for Lot; 20 17 for Abime- lech), which was but a phase of his general prac- tice of prayer. The usual accompaniment of sac- rifice, a professional priesthood, does not occur in A.'s family, yet he recognizes priestly prerogative in the person of Melchizedek, priest-king of Salem (Gen 14 20). Rehgious sanction of course sur- rounds the taking of oaths (Gen 14 22; 24 3) and the sealing of covenants (21 23). Other cus- toms associated with religion are circumcision (Gen 17 10-14), given to A. as the sign of the per- petual covenant; tithing (14 20), recognized as the priest's due; and child-sacrifice (22 2.12), enjoined upon A. only to be expressly forbidden, approved for its spirit but interdicted in its practice. As already indicated, the ethical attributes of God were regarded by A. as the ethical require- ment of man. This in theory. In 2. Morality the sphere of applied ethics and casuistry A.'s practice, at least, fell short of this ideal, even in the few incidents of his life preserved to us. It is clear that these lapses from virtue were offensive to the moral sense of A.'s biographer, but we are left in the dark as to A.'s sense of moral obliquity. (The "dust and ashes" of Gen 18 27 has no moral implication.) The demands of candor and honor are not sat- isfactorily met, certainly not in the matter of Sarah's relationship to him (Gen 12 11-13; 20 2; cf 11-13), perhaps not in the matter of Isaac's intended sacrifice (22 5.8). To impose our own monogamous standard of marriage upon the patriarch would be unfair, in view of the different standard of his age and land. It is to his credit that no such scandals are recorded in his life and family as blacken the record of Lot (Gen 19 30- 38), Reuben (35 22) and Judah (38 15-18). Similarly, A.'s story shows only regard for life and property, both in respecting the rights of others and in expecting the same from them — the antipo- des of Ishmael's character (Gen 16 12). Outside the bounds of strictly ethical require- ment, A.'s personality displayed certain charac- teristics that not only mark him out 3. Personal distinctly among the figures of history. Traits but do him great credit as a singularly symmetrical and attractive character. Of his trust and reverence enough has been said under the head of religion. But this love that is "the fulfiUing of the law," manifested in such piety toward God, showed itself toward men in exceptional 21 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abraham generosity (Gen 13 9; 14 23; 23 9.13; 24 10; 25 6), fideUty (14 14.24; 17 18; 18 23-32; 19 27; 21 11; 23 2), hospitaUty (18 2-8; 21 8) and compassion (16 6 and 21 14 when rightly under- stood; 18 23-32). A solid self-respect (Gen 14 23; 16 6; 21 25; 23 9.13.16; 24 4) and real courage (14 14-16) were, however, marred by the cowardice that sacrificed Sarah to purchase per- sonal safety where he had reason to regard Ufe as insecure (20 11). VI. Significance in the History of Religion. — A. is a significant figure throughout the Bible, and plays an important r61e in extra-Biblical Jewish tradition and in the Mohammedan rehgion. It is naturally as progenitor of the people of Israel, "the seed of A.," as they are often termed, that A. stands out most prominently 1. In the in the OT books. Sometimes the OT contrast between him as an individual and his numerous progeny serves to point a lesson (Isa 51 2; Ezk 33 24; perhaps Mai 2 10; cf 15). "The God of A." serves as a designa- tion of Jeh from the time of Isaac to the latest period; it is by this title that Moses identifies the God who has sent him with the ancestral deity of the children of Israel (Ex 3 15). Men remembered in those later times that this God appeared to A. in the- ophany (Ex 6 3), and, when he was still among his people who worshipped other gods (Josh 24 3) chose him (Neh 9 7), led him, redeemed him (Isa 29 22) and made him the recipient of those special blessings (Mie 7 20) which were pledged by covenant and oath (so every larger historical book, also the historical Ps 105 [ver 9]), notably the inheritance of the land of Canaan (Dt 6 10). Nor was A.'s religious personality forgotten by his posterity: he was remembered by them as God's friend (2 Ch 20 7; Isa 41 8), His servant, the very recollection of whom by God would offset the horror with which the sins of his descendants inspired Jeh (Dt 9 27). When we pass to the NT we are astonished at the wealth and variety of allusion to A. As in the OT, his position of ancestor lends him 2. In the much of his significance, not only as NT ancestor of Israel (Acts 13 26), but specifically as ancestor, now of the Levitical priesthood (He 7 5), now of the Mes- siah (Mt 11), now, by the peculiarly Christian doctrine of the unity of believers in Christ, of Cliristian behevers (Gal 3 16.29). All that A. the ancestor received through Divine election, by the covenant made with him, is inherited by his seed and passes under the collective names of the promise (Rom 4 13), the blessing (Gal 3 14), mercy (Lk 1 54), the oath (Lk 1 73), the cove- nant (Acts 3 25). The way in which A. responded to this peculiar goodness of God makes him the type of the Christian believer. Though so far in the past that he was used as a measure of antiquity (Jn 8 58), he is declared to have "seen" Messiah's "day" (Jn 8 58). It is his faith in the Divine promise, which, just because it was for him pecul- iarly unsupported by any evidence of the senses, becomes the type of the faith that leads to justi- fication (Rom 4 3), and therefore in this sense again he is the "father" of Christians, as believers (Rom 4 11). For that promise to A. was, after all, a "preaching beforehand" of the Christian gospel, in that it embraced "all the families of the earth'' (Gal 3 8). Of this exalted honor, James reminds us, A. proved himself worthy, not by an inoperative faith, but by "works" that evidenced his righteousness (Jas 2 21; cf Jn 8 39). The obedience that faith wrought in him is what is especially praised by the author of Hebrews (He 11 8.17). In accordance with this high estimate of the patriarch's piety, we read of his eternal felicity, not only in the current conceptions of the Jews (parable, Lk 16), but also in the express asser- tion of Our Lord (Mt 8 11; Lk 13 28). Inci- dental historical allusions to the events of A.'s life are frequent in the NT, but do not add anything to this estimate of his religious significance. Outside the Scriptures we have abundant evi- dence of the way that A. was regarded by his posterity in the Jewish nation. The 3. In Jew- oldest of these witnesses, Ecclesias- ish Tradi- ticus, contains none of the accretions tion of the later A.-legends. Its praise of A. is confined to the same three great facts that appealed to the canonical writers, viz. his glory as Israel's ancestor, his election to be recipient of the covenant, and his piety (including perhaps a tinge of "nomism") even under severe testing (Ecclus 44 19-21). The improbable and often unworthy and even grotesque features of A.'s career and character in the later rabbinical midrashim are of no religious significance, beyond the evidence they afford of the way A.'s unique posi- tion and piety were cherished by the Jews. To Mohammed A. is of importance in several ways. He is mentioned in no less than 188 verses of the Koran, more than any other 4. In the character except Moses. He is one Koran of the series of prophets sent by God. He is the common ancestor of the Arab and the Jew. He plays the same role of religious reformer over against his idolatroiis kins- men as Mohammed himself played. He builds the first pure temple for God's worship (at Mecca!). As in the Bible so in the Koran A. is the recipient of the Divine covenant for himself and for his posterity, and exhibits in his character the appro- priate virtues of one so highly favored: faith, righteousness, purity of heart, gratitude, fidehty, compassion. He receives marked tokens of the Divine favor in the shape of deliverance, guidance, visions, angehc messengers (no theophanies for Mohammed!), miracles, assurance of resurrection and entrance into paradise. He is called "Imam of the peoples" (2 118). VII. Interpretations of the Story of A. Other than the HistoricaL^-There are writers in both ancient and modem times who have, from various standpoints, interpreted the person and career of A. otherwise than as what it purports to be, viz. the real experiences of a human person named A. These various views may be classified accord- ing to the motive or impulse which they believe to have led to the creation of this story in the mind of its author or authors. Philo's tract on A. bears aa alternative titles, "On the Life of the Wise Man Made Perfect by Instruction, or. On the Unwritten 1. The Alle- Law." A.'s Kfe is not for him a history gorical In- that serves to illustrate these things, terpretation but an allegory by which these things are embodied. Paul's use of the Sarah-Hagar episode in Gal 4 21-31 belongs to this type of exposition (cf allegoroiXmena, ver 24), of which there are also a few other instances in his epistles; yet to infer from this that Paul shared Philo's general attitude toward the patriarchal narrative would be unwarrantedj since his use of this method is incidental, exceptional, and merely confirmatory of points already established by sound reason. "Luther compares it to a painting which decorates a house already built" (Schaff, "Gala- tians," Excursus). As to Philo A. is the personification of a certain type of humanity, so to some modern writers he is the personification of the Heb nation or of a tribe belonging to the Heb group. This view, Abraham Absalom THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 22 which is indeed very widely held with respect to the patriarchal figures in general, furnishes so many more difficulties in its specific appli- 2. The Per- cation to A. than to the others, that soniflcation it has been rejected in A.'s case even Theory by some who have adopted it for figures like Isaac, Ishmael and Jacob. Thus Meyer {Die Israeliten und ihre Nachbarstdmme, 250; cf also note on p. 251), speaking of his earlier opinion, acknowledges that, at the time when he "regarded the assertion of Stade as proved that Jacob and Isaac were tribes," even then he "still recognized A. as a mythical figure and originally a god." A similar differentiation of A. from the rest is true of most of the other adherents of the views about to be mentioned. Hence also Well- hausensays (Prolegomena^, 317): "Only A. is cer- tainly no naine of a people, like Isaac and Lot; he is rather ambiguous anyway. We dare not of course on that account hold him in this connection as an historical personage; rather than that he might be a free creation of unconscious fiction. He is probably the youngest figure in this company and appears to have been only at a relatively late date put before his son Isaac." Urged popularly by Noldeke (7m neuen Reich [1871], I, 508 ff) and taken up by other scholars, especially in the case of A., the view 3. The gained general currency among those Mythical who denied the historicity of Gen, Theory that the patriarchs were old deities. From this relatively high estate, it was held, they had fallen to the plane of mere mortals (though with remnants of the hero or even demigod here and there visible) on which they appear in Gen. A new phase of this mythical theory has been developed in the elaboration by Winckler and others of their astral-theology of the Bab world, in which the worship of A. as the moon-god by the Semites of Pal plays a part. A.'s traditional origin connects him with Ur and Haran, leading centers of the moon-cult. Apart from this fact the arguments relied upon to establish this identification of A. with Sin may be judged by the following samples: "When further the consort of A. bears the name Sarah, and one of the women among his closest relations the name Milcah, this gives food for thought, since these names correspond precisely with the titles of the female deities worshipped at Haran alongside the moon- god Sin. Above aU, however, the number 318, that appears in Gen 14 14 in connection with the figure of A., is convincing; because this number, which surely has no historical value, can only be satisfactorily explained from the circle of ideas of the moon-reUgion, since in the lunar year of 354 days there are just 318 days on which the moon is visible— deducting 36 days, or three for each of the twelve months, on which the moon is invisible" (Baentsch, Monotheismus, 60 f). In spite of this assurance, however, nothing could exceed the scorn with which these combinations and conjectures of Winckler, A. Jeremias and others of this school are received by those who in fact differ from them with respect to A. in httle save the answer to the question, what deity was A. (see e.g. Meyer, op. cit., 252 f, 256 f). _ Gunkel (Genesis, Introduction), in insisting upon the resemblance of the patriarchal narrative to the "sagas" of other primitive 4. The peoples, draws attention both to the "Saga" human traits of figures like A., and Theory to the very early origin of the material embodied in our present book of Gen. First as stories orally circulated, then as stories committed to writing, and finally as a number of collections or groups of such stories formed into a cycle, the A.-narratives, like the Jacob- and the Joseph-narratives, grew through a long and com- plex literary history. Gressmann (op. cit., 9-34) amends Gunkel's results, in applying to them the principles of primitive literary development laid down by Professor Wundt in his Volkerpsychologie. He holds that the kernel of the A.-narratives is a series of fairy-stories, of international diffusion and unknown origin, which have been given "a local habitation and a name" by attaching to them the (ex hypothesi) then common name of A. (simi- larly Lot, etc) and associating them with the country nearest to the wilderness of Judaea, the home of their authors, viz. about Hebron and the Dead Sea. A high antiquity (1300-1100 BC) is asserted for these stories, their astonishing accuracy in details wherever they can be tested by extra- Biblical tradition is conceded, as also the proba- bility that, "though many riddles stiU remain un- solved, yet many other traditions will be cleared up by new discoveries" of archaeology. J. Oscar Boyd ABRAHAM, BOOK OF. See Apocalyptic Literature. ABRAHAM'S BOSOM, b66z'um(K6\iros 'APpadjji, kdlpos Abradm; koXitoi 'A): Figurative. The ex- pression occurs in Lk 16 22.23, in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, to denote the place of repose to which Lazarus was carried after his death. The fig. is suggested by the practice of the guest at a feast reclining on the breast of his neigh- bor. Thus John leaned on the breast of Jesus at supper (Jn 21 20). The rabbis divided the state after death (Sheol) into a place for the righteous and a place for the wicked (see Eschatology op OT; Sheol); but it is doubtful whether the fig. of Jesus quite corresponds with this idea. "Abra- ham's bosom" is not spoken of as in "Hades," but rather as distinguished from it (Lk 16 23) — a place of blessedness by itself. There Abraham receives, as at a feast, the truly faithful, and admits them to closest intimacy. It may be regarded as equiva- lent to the "Paradise" of Lk 23 43. See Hades; Paradise. James Orr ABRAM, aTDram. See Abraham. ABRECH, a'brek: Transliteration of the Heb TfinS , 'abhrehh, in Gen 41 43 RVm, of which both the origin and meaning are uncertain. It was the salutation which the Egyptians addressed to Joseph, when he was made second to Pharaoh, and appeared in his official chariot. (1) The explanations based upon Heb derivation are unsatisfactory, whether as AV "bow the knee," from ^11 , barakh (hiph. imp.) or marginal "tender father," or "father of a king" of the Tg. The form as hiph. imp. instead of tf^TT' , habhrekh, is indefensible, while the other two derivations are fanciful. (2) The surmises of Egyptologists are almost without number, and none are conclusive. Skinner in Comm. on Gen. selects "attention!" after Spie- gelberg, as best. Speaker's Comm. suggests "rejoice thou" from ab-nek. BDB gives preference to the Coptic a-bor-k, "prostrate thyself." (3) The most satisfying || is the Assjn- abarakku, meaning "grand vizier" or "friend of a king," as suggested by Fried. Delitzsch; for Bab laws and customs were dominant in western Asia, and the Hyksos, through whom such titles would have been carried into Egypt, were ruling there at that time. Edward Mack ABROAD, a-br6d: An idiomatic rendering of &(j>UtTo, aphikeio (lit. "arrived"), "come abroad" . is used in Rom 16 19 to indicate a report that has 23 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Abraham Absalom been most widely diffused (lit. "did reach unto all")- Similar idiomatic tr° of AV have been replaced in RV by those more literal, as in Mk 4 22; Lk 8 17; Mk 6 14; 1 Thess 1 8. Used also in other idiomatic renderings, as "spread abroad" {diaphe- mizo), Mk 1 45; "noised abroad" (dialaUo), Lk 1 65; "scattered abroad," Jn 11 52; Acts 8 1, etc; in all these cases for the pervasive meaning of the Gr preposition in composition. In Gen 15 5, hug means "outside." H. E. Jacobs ABROAD, SCATTERED. See Dispeksion. ABRONAH, a-bro'na, AV Ebronah (njhl?, 'abhronah) : One of the stations of Israel in the wilderness on the march from Sinai to Kadesh — the station next before that at Ezion-geber on the eastern arm of the Red Sea (Nu 33 34.35). ABSALOM, ab'sa-lom (OibllJaS, 'abhshalom, "father is peace," written also Abishalom, 1 K 15 2.10): David's third son by 1. A Gen- Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king eral Favor- of Geshur, a small territory between ite Hermon and Bashan. Absalom was born at Hebron (2833), and moved at an early age, with the transfer of the capital, to Jerus, where he spent most of his life. He was a great favorite of his father and of the people as well. His charming manners, his personal beauty, his insinuating ways, together with his love of pomp and royal pretensions, captivated the hearts of the people from the beginning. He lived in great style, drove in a magnificent chariot and had fifty men run before him. Such magnificence produced the desired effect upon the hearts of the young aristocrats of the royal city (2 S 15 Iff). When Amnon, his half-brother, ravished his sister Tamar, and David shut his eyes to the grave crime and neglected to administer 2. In Exile proper punishment, Absalom became justly enraged, and quietly nourished his anger, but after the lapse of two years carried out a successful plan to avenge his sister's wrongs. He made a great feast for the king's Sons at Baal- hazor, to which, among others, Amnon came, only to meet his death at the hands of Absalom's servants (13 Iff). To avoid punishment he now fled to the court of his maternal grandfather in Geshur, where he remained three years, or until David, his father, had relented and condoned the murderous act of his impetuous, plotting son. At the end of three years (13 38) we find Absalom once more in Jems. It was, however, two years later be- fore he was admitted to the royal presence (14 28). Absalom, again reinstated, lost no opportunity to regain lost prestige, and having his mind made up to succeed his father upon the 3. Rebels throne, he forgot the son in the poli- against His tician. Full of insinuations and rich Father in promises, especially to the dis- gruntled and to those having griev- ances, imaginary or real, it was but natural that he should have a following. His purpose was clear, namely, to alienate as many as possible from the king, and thus neutralize his influence in the selec- tion of a successor, for he fully realized that the court party, under the influence of Bathsheba, was intent upon having Solomon as the next ruler. By much flattery Absalom stole the hearts of many- men in Israel (15 6). How long a period elapsed between his return from Geshur and his open rebellion against his father David is a question which cannot be answered with any degree of certainty. Most authorities regard the forty years of 15 7 as an error and following the Syr and some editions of the LXX, suggest four as the correct text. Whether forty or four, he obtained permission from the king to visit Hebron, the ancient capital, on pretence of paying a vow made by him while at Geshur in case of his safe return to Jerus. With two hundred men he repairs to Hebron. Previous to the feast spies had been sent throughout all the tribes of Israel to stir up the discontented and to assemble them under Absalom's flag at Hebron. Very large numbers obeyed the call, among them Ahithophel, one of David's shrewdest counselors (15 7ff). Reports of the conspiracy at Hebron soon reached the ears of David, who now became thoroughly frightened and lost no time in leaving 4. David's Jerus. Under the protection of his Flight most loyal bodyguard he fled to Gilead beyond Jordan. David was kindly received at Mahanaim, where he remained till after the death of his disloyal son. Zadok and Abiathar, two leading priests, were intent upon sharing the fortunes of David; they went so far as to carry the Ark of the Covenant with them out of Jerus (15 24). David, however, forced the priests and Levites to take it back to its place in the city and there remain as its guardians. This was a prudent stroke, for these two great priests in Jerus acted as intermediaries, and through their sons and some influential women kept up constant communications with David's army in Gilead (15 24 ff) . Hushai, too, was sent back to Jerus, where he falsely professed allegiance to Ab- salom, who by this time had entered the royal city and had assumed control of the government (15 32 ff) . Hushai, the priests and a few people less conspicuous performed their part well, for the counsel of Ahithophel, who advised immedia,te action and advance upon the king's forces, while everything was in a panic, was thwarted (17 1 ff ) ; nay more, spies were constantly kept in contact with David's headquarters to inform the king of Absalom's plans (17 15 ff). This delay was fatal to the rebel son. Had he acted upon the shrewd counsel of Ahithophel, David's army might have been conquered at the outset. When at length Absalom's forces under the generalship of Amasa (17 25) reached Gilead, ample time had been given to David 5. Absa- to organize his army, which he divided lom's Death into three divisions under the efficient and Burial command of three veteran generals: Joab, Abishai and Ittai (18 Iff). A great battle was fought in the forests of Ephraim. Here the rebel army was utterly routed. No fewer than 20,000 were killed outright, and a still greater number becoming entangled in the thick forest, perished that day (18 7f). Among the latter was Absalom himself, for while riding upon his mule, his head was caught in the boughs of a great oak or terebinth, probably in a forked branch. "He was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on" (18 9). In this position he was found by a soldier who at once ran to inform Joab. The latter without a moment's hesitation, notwith- standing David's positive orders, thrust three darts into the heart of Absalom. To make his death certain and encouraged by the action of their general, ten of Joab's young men "compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him" (18 15). He was buried in a great pit, close to the spot where he was killed. A great pile of stones was heaped over his body (18 17), in accordance with_ the custom of dishonoring rebels and great criminals by burying them under great piles of stone (Josh 7 26; 8 29). Thomson informs us that Syrian people to this day cast stones upon the graves of murderers and outlaws {LB, II, 61). Absatom Abstinence THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 24 The death of Absalom was a source of great grief to the fond and aged father, who forgot the ruler and the king in the tender- 6. David's hearted parent. His lament at the Lament gate of Mahanaim, though very brief, is a classic, and expresses in tender language the feelings of parents for wayTvard children in all ages of the world (2 S 18 33). Little is known of Absalom's family life, but we read in 14 27 that he had three sons and one daughter. From the language of 18 18, it is inferred'that the sons died at an early age. Absalom's Tomb: As Absalom had no son to perpetuate his memory "he reared up for him- self a pillar" or a monument in the King's dale, which according to Josephus was two furlongs from Jerusalem (Ant, VII, x, 3). Nothing is known Absalom's Tomb. with certainty about this monument. One of the several tombs on the east side of the Kidron passes under the name of Absalom's tomb. This fine piece of masonry with its graceful cupola and Ionic pillars must be of comparatively recent origin, probably not earlier than the Rom period. W. W. Davies ABSALOM (Apoc) (B, 'APeo-o-dXunos, Abes- sdlomos and Abessalom; A, Absdlomos; AV Ab- salon) : (1) Father of Mattathias, a captain of the Jewish army (1 Maco 11 70; Ant, XIII, v, 7). (2) Father of Jonathan who was sent by Simon Maocabee to take possession of Joppa; perhaps identical with A (1) (1 Mace 13 11; Ant, XIII, vi, 4). (3) One of two envoys of the Jews, mentioned in a letter sent by Lysias to the Jewish nation (2 Mace 11 17). ABSALON, ab'sa-lon. See Absalom (Apoc). ABSOLUTION, ab-so-lu'shun (tr of vbs. Xi5w, lilo, "loose," etc, and iw, aphiemi, "release," "give up," etc): Not a Bit?., but an ecclesiastical term, used to designate the official act described in Mt 16 19: "Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven," and Mt 18 18: "What things soever ye shall loose," etc, and interpreted by Jn 20 23: "Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them" (see Keys, Power of). The Roman church regards this as the act of a properly ordained priest, by which, in the sacrament of Pen- ance, he frees from sin one who has confessed and made promise of satisfaction. Protestants regard the promise as given not to any order within the church, but to the congregation of believers, exercis- ing its prerogative through the Christian ministry, as its ordinary executive. They differ as to whether the act be only declarative or collative. Luther regarded it as both declarative and collative, since the Word always brings that which it offers. The absolution differs from the general promise of the gospel by individualizing the promise. What the gospel, as read and preached, declares in general, the absolution applies personally. See also For- giveness. H. E. Jacobs ABSTINENCE, abs'ti-nens: Abstinence as a form of asceticism reaches back into remote antiquity, and is found among most ancient peoples. It may be defined as a self-discipline which consists in the habitual renunciation, in whole or in part, of the enjoyments of the flesh, with a view to the cultiva- tion of the life of the spirit. In its extremest forms, it bids men to stifle and suppress their physical wants, rather than to subordinate them in the interest of a higher end or purpose, the underlying idea being that the body is the foe of the spirit, and that the progressive extirpation of the natural desires and inclinations by means of fasting, cehbacy, voluntary poverty, etc, is "the way of perfection." This article will be concerned chiefly with ab- stinence from food, as dealt with in the Bible. (For other aspects of the subject, see Temperance ; Self-denial; Clean; Uncleanness; Meat, etc). ■Thus limited, abstinence may be either public or private, partial or entire. Only one such fast is spoken of as having been instituted and commanded by the Law of Moses, that of the Day of Atonement. This 1. Public is called "the Fast" in Acts 27 9 Fasts (cf Ant, XIV, iv, 3; Philo, Vit Mos, II, 4; Schurer, HJP, I, i, 322). Four annual fasts were later observed by the Jews in commemoration of the dark days of Jerus — the day of the beginning of Nebuchadrezzar's siege in the tenth month, the day of the capture of the city in the fourth month, the day of its destruc- tion in the fifth month and the day of Gedaliah's murder in the seventh month. These are all re- ferred to in Zee 8 19. See Fasts. It might reasonably be thought that such solemn anniversaries, once instituted, would have been kept up with sincerity by the Jews, at least for many years. But Isaiah illustrates how soon even the most outraged feelings of piety or patriotism may grow cold and formal. 'Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not?' the exiled Jews cry in their captivity. 'We have humbled our souls, and thou takest no notice.' Jeh's swift answer follows: 'Because your fasting is a mere form! Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure and oppress all your laborers' (cf Isa 68 3; Ex- positor's Bible, ad loc). That is to say, so formal has your fasting grown that your ordinary selfish, cruel life goes on just the same. Then Jeh makes inquest: "Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? Then shalt thou call, and Jeh will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say. Here I am" (vs 6-9). The passage, as George Adam Smith says, fills the earliest, if not the highest place in the glorious succession of Scriptures exalting practical 25 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Absalom Abstinence love, to which belong Isa 61; Mt 26; 1 Cor 13. The high import is that in God's view character grows rich and life joyful, not by fasts or formal observances, but by acts of unselfish service inspired by a heart of love. These fasts later fell into utter disuse, but they were revived after the destruction of Jerus by the Romans. Occasional public fasts were proclaimed in Israel, as among other peoples, in seasons of drought or pubUc calamity. It appears according to Jewish accounts, that it was customary to hold them on the second and fifth days of the week, for the reason that Moses was beUeved to have gone up to Mt. Sinai on the fifth day of the week (Thursday) and to have come down on the second (Monday) (cf Did, 8; Apos Const, VIII, 23). In addition to these public solemnities, indi- viduals were in the habit of imposing extra fasts upon themselves (e.g. Jth 8 6; Lk 2 2. Private 37); and there were some among the Fasts Pharisees who fasted on the second and fifth days of the week all the year round (Lk 18 12; see Lightfoot, ad loc). Tacitus alludes to the "frequent fasts" of the Jews {History, V, 4), and Jos tells of the spread of fasting among the Gentiles {CAp, II, 40; cf Ter- tulUan, ad Nat, i.13). There is abundant evidence that many religious teachers laid down rules con- cerning fasting for their disciples (cf Mk 2 18: Mt 9 14; Lk 6 33). Individuals and sects differ greatly in the degrees of strictness with which they observe fasts. In some fasts among the Jews abstinence 3. Degrees from food and drink was observed of Strict- simply from sunrise to sunset, and ness in washing and anointing were permitted. Abstinence In others of a stricter sort, the fast lasted from one sunset till the stars appeared after the next, and, not ohly food and drink, but washing, anointing, and every kind of agreeable activity and even salutations, were pro- hibited (Schurer; II, ii, 119; Edersheim, Ldfe and Times, I, 663). Such fasting was generally prac- tised in the most austere and ostentatious manner, and, among the Pharisees, formed a part of their most pretentious extemalism. On this point the testimony of Mt 6 16 is confirmed by the Mish. There arose among the Jews various kinds of ascetics and they may be roughly divided into three classes. 4. Absti- (1) The Essenes. — These lived to- nence gether in colonies, shared all things among in common and practised volimtary Different poverty. The stricter among them Kinds of also eschewed marriage. They were Ascetics indifferent, Philo says, alike to money, pleasure, and worldly position. They ate no animal flesh, drank no wine, and used no oil for anointing. The objects of sense were to them "unholy," and to gratify the natural craving was "sin." They do not seem to come distinctly into view in the NT. See Essenes. (2) The hermit ascetics. — ^These fled away from human society with its temptations and allure- ments into the wilderness, and lived there a life of rigid self-discipline. Jos (Vita, 2) gives us a notable example of this class in Banus, who "lived in the desert, clothed himself with the leaves of trees, ate nothing save the natural produce of the soil, and bathed day and night in cold water for purity's sake." John the Baptist was a hermit of an en- tirely different type. He also dwelt in the desert, wore a rough garment of camel's hair and subsisted on "locusts and wild honey." But his asceticism was rather an incident of his environment and vocation than an end in itself (see "Asceticism," DCG). In the fragments of his sermons which are preserved in the Gospels there is no trace of any exhortation to ascetic exercises, though John's disciples practised fasting (Mk 2 18). _ (3) The moderate ascetics. — There were many pious Jews, men and women, who practised asceti- cism of a less formal kind. The asceticism of the Pharisees was of a kind which naturally resulted from their legal and ceremonial conception of religion. It expressed itself chiefly, as we have seen, in ostentatious fasting and externalism. But there were not a few humble, devout souls in Israel who, like Anna, the prophetess, served God "with fastings and suppUcations night and day" (Lk 2 37), seeking by a true self-discipline to draw near unto God (of Acts 13 2.3; 14 23; 1 Tim 5 5). Some of the rabbis roundly condemned abstinence, or asceticism in any form, as a principle of life. "Why must the Nazirite bring a sin 5. Absti- offering at the end of his term?" nence as (Nu 6 13.14) asks Eliezer ha-Kappar Viewed in (Siphra', ad loc); and gives answer, the Talmud "Because he sinned against his own person by his vow of abstaining from wine"; and he concludes, "Whoever undergoes fast- ing or other penances for no special reason commits a wrong." "Man in the life to come will have to account for every enjoyment offered him that was refused without sufficient cause" (Rabh, in Yer. Kid., 4). In Maimonides {Ha-Yadh ha-H&zalgah, De'oth 3 1) the monastic principle of abstinence in regard to marriage, .eating meat, or drinking wine, or in regard to any other personal enjoyment or comfort, is condemned as "contrary to the spirit of Judaism," and "the golden middle-way of modera- tion" is advocated. But, on the other hand, abstinence is often con- sidered by the rabbis meritorious and praiseworthy as a voluntary means of self -discipline. "I par- took of a Nazirite meal only once," says Simon the Just, "when I met with a handsome youth from the south who had taken a vow. When I asked the reason he said: 'I saw the Evil Spirit pursue me as I beheld my face reflected in water, and I swore that these long curls shall be cut off and offered as a sacrifice to Jeh' ; whereupon I kissed him upon his forehead and blessed him, saying. May there be many Nazirites like thee in Israel!" {Nazir, 46). "Be holy" was accordingly interpreted, "Exercise abstinence in order to arrive at purity and holi- ness" ('Ah. Zarah, 206; Siphra', K'^dhoshlm). "Ab- stain from everything evil and from whatever is like unto it" is a rule found in the Talm {Hullin, 446), as also in the Did (3 1) — a saying evidently based on Job 31 1, "Abstain from the lusts of the flesh and the world." The Mosaic laws concerning diet are all said by Rabh to be "for the purification of Israel" (Lev R. 13) — "to train the Jew in self- discipline." The question of crowning interest and significance to us is. What attitude did Jesus take toward fast- ing, or asceticism? The answer is to 6. The At- be sought in the light, first of His prac- titude of tice, and, secondly, of His teaching. Jesus to (1) His practice. — Jesus has even Fasting been accounted "the Founder and Example of the ascetic life" (Clem. Alex., Strom, III, 6). By questionable emphasis upon His "forty days' " fast. His abstinence from marriage and His voluntary poverty, some have reached the conclusion that complete renunciation of the things of the present was "the way of per- fection according to the Saviour." A fuller and more appreciative study of Jesus' life and spirit must bring us to a different conclu- sion. Certainly His mode of life is sharply differ- entiated in the Gospels, not only from that of the Abubus Access THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 26 Pharisees, but also from that of John the Baptist. Indeed, He exhibited nothing of the asceticism of those illustrious Christian saints, St. Bernard and St. John of the Cross, or even of St. Francis, who "of all ascetics approached most nearly to the spirit of the Master." Jesus did not flee from the world, or eschew the amenities of social life. He contributed to the joyousness of a marriage feast, accepted the hospitality of rich and poor, permitted a vase of very precious ointment to be broken and poured upon His feet, welcomed the society of women, showed tender love to children, and clearly enjoyed the domestic Ufe of the home in Bethany. There is no evidence that He imposed upon Him- self any unnecessary austerities. The "forty days' " fast (not mentioned in Mk, the oldest authority) is not an exception to this rule, as it was rather a necessity imposed by His situation in the wilder- ness than a self-imposed observance of a law of fasting (of Christ's words concerning John the Baptist: "John came neither eating nor drinking"; see the article on "Asceticism," DCG). At any rate. He is not here an example of the traditional asceticism. He stands forth tlu-oughout the Gospels "as the living type and embodiment of self-denial," yet the marks of the ascetic are not found in Him. His mode of life was, indeed, so unascetic as to bring upon Him the reproach of being "a gluttonous man and a winebibber" (Mt 11 19; Lk 7 34). (2) His teaching. — Beyond question, it was, from first to last, "instinct with the spirit of self- denial." "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself," is an ever-recurring refrain of His teaching. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God," is ever His categorical imperative (Mt 6 33 AV; Lk 12 31). This is to Him the summum bonum — all desires and strivings which have not this as their goal must be suppressed or sacrificed (cf Mt 13 44-46; 19 21; Mk 10 21; Lk 9 59.60; 14 26 with Mt 5 29.30; Mk 9 43-47; Mt 16 24 f ; Mk 8 34 f; Lk 9 23 f; and 14 33). In short, if any man find that the gratification of any desire of the higher or lower self will impede or distract him in the performance of his duties as a subject of the Kingdom, he must forego such gratification, if he would be a disciple of Christ. "If it cause thee to stumble," is always the condition, implied or expressed, which justifies abstinence from any particular good. According to the record, Jesus alluded to fasting only twice in His teaching. In Mt 6 16-18, where voluntary fasting is presupposed as a reh- gious exercise of His disciples, He warns them against making it the occasion of a parade of piety: "Thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret." In short. He sanctions fasting only as a genuine ex- pression of a devout and contrite frame of mind. In Mt 9 14-17 (l[Mk 2 18-22; Lk 5 33-39) in reply to the question of the disciples of John and of the Pharisees, Jesus refuses to enjoin fast- ing. He says fasting, as a recognized sign of mourning, would be inconsistent with the joy which "the sons of the bridechamber" naturally feel while "the bridegroom is with them." But, he adds, suggesting the true reason for fasting, that the days of bereavement will come, and then the outward expression of sorrow will be appropriate. Here, as in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sanc- tions fasting, without enjoining it, as a form through which emotion may spontaneously seek expression. His teaching on the subject may be summarized in the one word, subordination (DCG). To the form of fasting He attaches little impor- tance, as is seen in the succeeding parables of the Old Garment and the Old Wine-skins. It will not do. He says, to graft the new liberty of the gospel on the body of old observances, and, yet more, to try to force the new system of life into the ancient molds. The new piety must manifest itself in new forms of its own making (Mt 9 16.17; Mk 2 21. 22; Lk 5 36.38). Yet Jesus shows sympathy with the prejudices of the conservatives who cling to the customs of their fathers: "No man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith. The old is good." But to the question, Was Jesus an ascetic? we are bound to reply. No. "Asceticism," as Harnack says, "has no place in the gospel at all; what it asks is that we should struggle against Mammon, against care, against selfishness; what it demands and disengages is love — -the love that serves and is self-sacrificing; and whoever encumbers Jesus' message with any other kind of asceticism fails to understand it" {What is Christianity? 88). On the whole, unquestionably, the practice and teachings of the apostles and early Christians were in harmony with the example and 7. The teaching of the Master. But a tend- Practice ency, partly innate, partly trans- and Teach- mitted from Jewish legalism, and ing of the partly pagan, showed itself among Apostles their successors and gave rise to the Vita Religiosa and Dualism which found their fullest expression in Monasticism. It is worthy of note that the alleged words of Jesus : 'But this kind goeth not out save by prayer and fasting' (Mk 9 29; Mt 17 21 AV), are cor- ruptions of the text. (Cf Tob 12 8; Su- 34 26; Lk 2 37) . The Oxyrhynchus fragment (disc. 1897) contains a logion with the words Ugei lesoils, edn me nesteuete tdn kdsmon, ou mt heurete tin basilei- an tou theou: "Jesus saith. Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the Kingdom of God," but the "fasting" here is clearly meta- phorical. LiTEKATUBE. — ^Bingham, Antiquities; W. Bright, Some Aspects of Primitive Church Life (1898J; J. O. Hannay, The Spirit and Origin of Christian Monasticism (1902), and The Wisdom of the Desert (1904); Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ; Migne, Dictionnaire d^ AscMisme, and Enc Theol., XLV, XLVI, 45. 46; Jew Enc, and Bible Dictionaries ad loc. Geo. B. Eager ABUBtrS, a-bu'bus ("ApovPos, Aboubos): The father of Ptolemy, who deceitfully slew Simon Maccabee and his sons at Dok near Jericho (1 Mace 16 11.15). ABUNDANCE, a-bun'dans, ABUNDANT, a-bun'dant. See ABOtrND. ABUSE, a-buz': "To dishonor," "to make mock of," "to insult," etc. (1) Tr-i in the OT from bby, 'alal, "to do harm," "to defile" (Jgs 19 25), "to make mock of" (1 S 31 4). (2) Tr"" in the NT from (ip(7ej'OKo(T7)s, arsenokoites, lit. "one who lies with a male," "a sodomite" (1 Cor 6 9; 1 Tim 1 10; AV "for them that defile themselves with mankind"). (3) In AV 1 Cor 7 31 "as not abusing it," from KaTaxpioimt, katachrdomai, "to abuse," i.e. misuse; RV "using it to the full," also 1 Cor 9 18. See Use. ABYSS, a-bis', THE (tj aPu