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PEEFACE The Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature was designed to furnish a Dictionary of the Bible, not framed, as others had been, out of old materials, but embodying the products of the best and most recent researches in Bibhcal Literature, in which the scholars of this country and of the continent had been engaged. That work — the result of an immense labour and research, and enriched by the contributions of writers of distinguished eminence in the various departments of Sacred Literature — has been, by universal consent, pronounced to be the first work of its class, and the one best suited to the advanced knowledge of the present da}^, in all the studies connected with Theo- logical Science. But although that Cyclopaedia is regarded as indispensable to the libraries of all Ministers and Theological Students, it has been concluded that a Com-pendious Abridgment of itS contents, embracing all the matter suited to popular and general use, might be acceptable to very many whose studies have not created a need for the larger work, or whose means do not enable them to secure the possession of it. In the present volume an attempt has, therefore, been made to supply this Avant, by providing such a popular Abridgment of the Cyclopgedia of Biblical Literature as may be suited to the use of the great body of the religious public, and which may be expected to be of essential service to parents and teachers in the important business of Biblical Education, while to many young persons it may serve as an introduction to the more extensive woi-k. The original publication is above twice the size of the present. The Epitome now offered for popular use has been prepared with much care and solicitude, by the condensation of most of the matter in the original work, and by the entire omission of some articles which were supposed to be of less interest to the general reader than to the Clergyman and the Theological Student. In the work, as it here stands, is offered such an exhibition of the results of large research, without the details and authorities, as could not, it is beheved, have been produced, had not the larger Cyclopaedia previously existed, and its valuable materials been made available for this service. Drawn from such a source, it is believed that this Abridgment will possess the same superi- ority over PopuLAK Cyclopaedias of this class, as the original Avork confessedly does over those which aspire to liigher erudition. In the Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature the initials of the writers are annexed to theu* respective contributions. Tliis has not been deemed necessary in the present Abridgment ; but a list is given of all the writers who coop- erated with the editor in the production of the original work, from which the present Compendium has been formed. Many articles in the larger Cyclopaedia, more especially in the department of Natural History, are treated under the Hebrew or Greek form of word; but, in the present popular Compendium, it has been judged better that these articles should appear under the names by which they ai'c represented in the authorized version of the Scriptures, and take then- place in the alphabetical position they hold under these names. It remains only to be added, that although the editor lias taken some part of the labour, and has superAased the whole operation, the substantial work of the Abridgment has been executed by the careful hands of the Reverend James Taylor, D. D., of Glasgow. JOHN KITTO. LIST OF CONTEIBUTOES. Rev. W. L. Alexander, D. D., Author of ' The Connexion and Harmony of the Old and New Testaments,' &c. Rev. G. Baur, Ph. D., Extraordinary Professor of Evangelical Theology in the University of Giessen. Rev. J. R. Beard, D. D., Member of the Historico-Theological Society of Leipzig. G. M. Bell, Author of ' Universal Mechanism,' &c. Rev. C. H. F. Bialloblotzky, Ph. D., Gottingen, Author of ' De Abrogatione Legis.' Rev. John Brown, D. D., Professor of Exegetical Theology to the United Presby- terian Church. Rev. George Bush, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the University of New York. Rev. James D. Butler, AWjot Resident, Theological Seminary, Andover, United States. K. A. Credner, D. D., Professor of Theology in the University of Giessen. Rev. S. Davidson, LL. D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Oriental Languages in the Lancashire Independent College. Rev. Benjamin Davies, D. D. Rev. J. F. Denham, M. A., St. John's College, Cambridge, F. R. S. Rev. J. W. DoRAN, LL. D., Association Secretary of the Church Missionary Society. Rev. John Eadie, LL. D., Professor of Biblical Literature to the United Presbyterian Church. G. H. A. VON EwALD, D. D., Professor of Theology in the University of Gottingen. Rev. F. W. Gotch, M. A., Trinity College, Dublm. H. ^. C. Havernick, D. D., Professor of Theology in the University of Konigsberg. E. W. Hengstenberg, D. D., Professor of Theology in the University of Berlin. Rev. J. Jacobi, of the University of Berlin. Vm LIST OF CONTKIBUTORS. Rev. R. Jamieson, M. A., Editor of ' Paxton's Illustrations of Scripture.' Rev. E. a. Lawrence, Haverhill, United States. Rev. Robert Lee, D. D., Edinburgh. Fredeiiick R. Lees, Ph.D., F.S.S.A.; Editor of ' The Truth-Seeker,' &c. E. MiCHELSON, Ph. D. of the University of Heidelberg. Rev. Peter Mearns, Author of ' Tirosh,' &e. Rev. N. Morren, M. A., Author of ' Biblical Theology,' and Translator of ' Rosen- miiller's Biblical Geography.' F. W. Newman, late Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, Professor of Latin Language and Literature in the University of London. John Nicholson, B. A., Oxford, Ph. D., Tubingen; Author of 'An Account of the Establishment of the Fatemite Dynasty,' Translator of ' Ewald's Hebrew Gram- mar.' W. A. Nicholson, M.D. Rev. John Phillips Potter, M. A., Oriel College, Oxford. Rev. Baden Powell, M. A., F. R. S., F. G. S., Savillian Professor of Geometry in the University of Oxford. J. F. RoYLE, M. D., F.R.S., F.L.S., F. G. S., Member of the Royal Asiatic So- cieties of Calcutta and London ; Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in King's College, London. J. E. Ryland, Translator of ' Neander's Chui-ch History,' and of ' Semisch's Justin Martyr.' Leeut.-Colonel C. Hamilton Smith, K. H. and K. W., F. R. and L. S., President of the Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society, &c. &c. Rev. J. Pye Smith, D. D., F. R. S., F. G. S. Rev. H. Stebbing, D. D., of St. John's College, Cambridge, Author of ' A History of the Church,' &c. Rev. a. Tiioluck, D. D., Professor of Theology in the University of Halle. Rev. David Welsh, D. D., Professor of Divinity and Church History, New College, Edinburgh. Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D., Professor of Theology in the Andover Theological Seminary, United States. Rev. William Wright, LL. D. of Trinity College, Dublin, Translator of ' SeUor's Biblical Hermeneutics.' C Y C L 0 P -E D I A BIBLICAL LITERATURE CONDENSED. AA'EON, the eldest son of Amram and Jocliebad, of the tribe of Levi, and brother of Moses. He was born b.c. 1574 (Hales, b.c. 1730), three years before Moses, and one year before Pharaoh's edict to destroy the male children of the Israelites (Exod. vi. 20 ; vii. 7). His name first occurs in the mj'sterious inter- view -which Moses had with the Lord, who appeared to him in the burning bush, while he kept Jethro's flock in Horeb. Among other excuses by which Moses sought to evade the great commission of delivering Israel, one was that he lacked that persuasive readiness of speech (literally was 'not a man of words') which appeared to him essential to such an undertaking. But he was reminded that his brother Aaron possessed in a high degree .the endowment which he deemed so needful, and could therefore speak in his name and on his behalf (Exod. iv. 14). During the forty years' absence of Moses in the land of Midian, Aaron had married a woman of the tribe of Judah, named Elisheba (or Elizabeth), who had born to him four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer, and Ithamar ; and Eleazer had, before the return of ]\Ioses, become the father of Phinehas (Exod. vi. 23-25). In obedience to an intimation from God, Aaron went into the wilderness to meet his brother, and conduct him back to Egypt. After forty years of separation they met and embraced each other at the mount of Horeb. "W hen they arrived in Goshen, Aaron introduced his brother to the chiefs of Israel, and assisted him in open- ing and enforcing the great commission which had been confided to him (Exod. iv. 27-.31). In the subsequent transactions, from the first inter- view Avith Pharaoh till after the delivered nation had passed the Red Sea, Aaron appears to have been almost always present with Moses, assist- ing and supporting him ; and no separate act of his own is recorded. This co-operation was ever afterwards maintained. Aaron and Hur were present on the hill from which Moses sur- veyed the battle which Joshua fought with the Amalekites ; and these two long sustained the weary hands upon whose uplifting the fate of the battle was found to depend (Exod. xvii, 10-12). "While Moses was absent in the mountain to receive the tables of the law, the people seem to have looked upon Aaron as their head, and growing impatient at the protracted absence of their great leader, they gathered around Aaron, and clamorously demanded that he should pro- vide them with a visible symbolic image of their God, that they might worship him as other gods were worshipped. Aaron ventured not to stem the torrent, but weakly complied with their demand ; and Avith the ornaments of gold which they freely offered, cast the figure of a calf or young bull, being doubtless that of the bull-god Apis at Memphis, whose worship ex- tended throughout Egypt. However, to fix the meaning of this image as a symbol of the true God, Aaron was careful to proclaim a feast to Jehovah for the ensuing day. On that day the people met to celebrate the feast, after the fashion of the Egyptian festivals of the calf-idol, with dancing, with shouting, and with sports. Meanwhile Moses had been dismissed from the mountain, provided with the decalogue, written ' by the finger of God,' on two tablets of stone. These, as soon as he came sufficiently near to observe the proceedings in the camp, he cast from him with such force that they brake in pieces. His re-appearance confounded the multitude, who quailed under his stern rebuke, and quietly submitted to see their new-made idol destroyed. For this sin the population was decimated by sword and plague (Exod. xxxii.). During his long absence in the mountain, Moses had received instructions regarding the ecclesiastical establishment, the tabernacle [Ta- bernacle], and the priesthood [Priests], which he soon afterwards proceeded to execute. Under the new institution Aaron was to be high-priest, and his sons and descendants priests ; and the whole tribe to which he belonged, that of Levi, was set apart as the sacerdotal or learned caste [Levites]. Accordingly, after the tabernacle had been completed, and every preparation made for the commencement of actual service, Aaron and his sons were consecrated by Moses, who anointed them with the holy oil and in- vested them with the sacred garments. The high-priest applied himself assiduously to the duties of his exalted office, and during the AARONITES ABARIM period of nearly forty years that it was filled by him, the incidents which bring him historically before us are very few. It is recorded to his honour that ' he held his peace ' when his two eldest sons were, for their great offence, struck dead before the sanctuary (Lev. x. 1-11) [Abiiiu]. Aaron would seem to have been liable to some fits of jealousy at the superior influence and authority of his brother; for he at least sanctioned the invidious conduct of his sister Miriam [Miriam], who, after the wife of Moses had been brought to the camp by Jethro, became apprehensive for her own position, and cast reflections upou Moses, much calculated to damage his influence, on account of his mar- riage with a foreigner — always an odious thing among the Hebrews. For this, Miriam was struck with temporary leprosy, which brought the high-priest to a sense of his sinful conduct, and he sought and obtained forgiveness (Num. xii.). Some twenty years after (B.C. 1471), when the camp was in the wilderness of Paran, a formi- dable conspiracy was organized against the sacer- dotal authority exercised by Aaron and his sons, and the civil authority exercised by Moses. This conspiracy was headed by chiefs of influence and station — Korah, of the tribe of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, of the tribe of Reuben [Korah]. But the Divine appointment was con- firmed by the signal destruction of the conspira- tors : and the next day, when the people assem- bled tumultuously and murmured loudly at the destruction which had overtaken their leaders and friends, a fierce pestilence broke out among them, and they fell by thousands on the spot. When this was seen, Aaron, at the command of Moses, filled a censer with fire from the altar, and, rasliing forward. ' he stood between the dead and the living,' and the plague was stayed (Num. xvi.). This was in fact another attesta- tion of the Divine appointment ; and, for its fur- ther confii-mation, the chiefs of the several tribes were required to lay up their staves overnight in the tabernacle, together with the rod of Aaron for the tribe of Levi ; and in the morning it was found that, while the other rods remained as they were, that of Aaron had budded, blossomed, and yielded the fruit of almonds. The rod was preserved in the tabernacle in evidence of the Divine appointment of the Aaronic family to the priesthood (Num. xvii. 1). Aaron was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, on account of the distrust which he, as well as his brother, manifested when the rock was stricken at Meribah (Num. xx. 8-13). His death indeed occurred very soon after that event. For when the host arrived at Mount Hor, the Divine mandate came, that Aaron, accompanied by his brother Moses and by his son Eleazer, should ascend to the top of that mountain in the view of all tlie people : and that he should there transfer his pontifical robes to Eleazer, and then die. He was 1 23 years old when his career thus terminated ; and his son and his brother buried him in a cavern of the mountain [HoR, Mount]. The Israelites mourned for him thirty days ; and on the first day of the month Ab the Jews still hold a fast in commemoration of his death. AARONITES, the descendants of Aaron, who served as priests at the sanctuary (Num. iv. 5, seq.; 1 Chron. xii. 27 ; xxvii. 17> AB (father) is found as the first member of several compound Hebrew proper names— such as Abner,ya<^er iiNATio>f of Desolation. In Dan. ix. 27, literally, ' the abomination of the desolater,' which, without doubt, means the idol or idola- trous apparatus which the desolater of Jerusalem should establish in the holy place. This appears to have been a prediction of the pollution of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, who caused an idolatrous altar to be built on the altar of burnt- offerings, whereon unclean things were offered ABRAHAM to Jupiter Olympius, to whom the temple itself was dedicated. The phrase is quoted by Jesus (Matt. xxiv. 15), and is applied by him to what was to take place at the advance of the Romans against Jerusalem. They who saw ' the abomi- nation of desolation standing in the holy place' were enjoined to ' flee to the mountains.' And this may with probability be referred to the advance of the Roman army against the city with their image-crowned standards, to which idola- trous honours were paid, and which the Jews regarded as idols. The unexpected retreat and discomfiture of the Roman forces afforded such as were mindful of our Saviour's prophecy an opportunity of obeying the injunction which it contained. Those however who suppose that ' the holy place ' of the text must be the temple itself, may find the accomplishment of the pre- diction in the fact that, when the city had been taken by the Romans, and the holy house de- stroyed, the soldiers brought their standards in due form to the temple, set them up over the eastern gate, and ofj'ered sacrifice to them, for almost the entire religion of the Roman camp consisted in worshipping the ensigns, swearing by the ensigns, and in preferring the ensigns before all the other gods. Roman Standards. Nor was this the last appearance of ' the abo- mination of desolation, in the holy place : ' for, not only did Hadrian, with studied insult to the Jews, set up the figure of a boar over the Beth- lehem gate of the city which rose upon the site and ruins of Jemsalem ; but he erected a temple to Jupiter upon the very site of the Jewish temple, and caused an image of himself to be set up in the part which answered to the sanctuary. This was a consummation of all the abomina- tions which the iniquities of the Jews brought upon their holy place. AB'RAHAM (father of a multitude), the ABRAHAM founder of the Hebrew nation. Up to Gen. xvii. 4, 5, he is uniformly called Abram (father o/" elevation, or high father) ; and this was his ori- ginal name; but the extended form, which it always afterwards bears, was given to make it significant of the promise of a numerous posterity which was at the same time made to him. Abraham was a native of Chaldea, and de- scended, through Heber, in the ninth genera- tion, from Shem the son of Noah. His father was Terah, who had two other sons, Nahor and Haran. Haran died prematurely 'before his father,' leavmg a son Lot, and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah. Lot attached himself to his uncle Abraham ; Milcah became the wife of her uncle Nahor ; and Iscah, who was also called Sarai, became the wife of Abraham (Gen. ix. 26-29) [Saeah]. Abraham was born a.m. 2008, b.c. 1996 (Hales, A.M. 3258, B.C. 2153), in ' Ur of the Chaldees' (Gen. xi. 28). Although he is, by way of eminence, named first, it appears probable that he was the young- est of Terah's sons, and born by a second wife, when his father was 130 years old. Terah was seventy years old when the eldest son was born (Gen. xi. 32; xii. 4; xx. 12); and that eldest son appears to have been Haran, from the fact that his brothers married his daughters, and that his daughter Sarai was only ten years younger than his brother Abraham (Gen. xvii. 17). Abraham was 60 years old when the family quitted their native city of Ur, and went and abode in Charran. The reason for this move- ment does not appear in the Old Testament ; but it is mentioned in Acts vii. 2-4 : ' The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was (at Ur of the Chaldees) in Mesopotamia, bpfore he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and come hither to a land which / will shew thee. Then departing from the land of the Chaldees, he dwelt in Charran.' This first call is not recorded, but only implied in Gen. xii. : and it is distinguished by several pointed cir- cumstances from the second, which alone is there mentioned. Accordingly Abraham departed and his family, including his aged father, re moved with him. They proceeded not at once to the land of Canaan, but they came to Charran, and tarried at that convenient station for fifteen years, until Terah died, at the age of 205 years. Being free from his filial duties, Abraham, now 75 years of age, received a second and more pointed call to pursue his destination : ' Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land which I will sliew thee' (Gen. xii. 1). This second call re- quired the patriarch to isolate himself, not only from his country, but from his family. He however took with him his nephew Lot, whom, having no children of his own, he appears to have regarded as his heir, and then went forth ' not knowing whither he went ' (Heb. xi. 8), but trusting implicitly to the Divine guidance. When Abraham arrived in the land of Ca- naan, he found it occupied by the Canaanites in a large number of small independent commu- nities, which cultivated the districts around their several towns. The country was however but thinly peopled ; and, as in the more recent tunes ABRAHAM 9 of its depopulation, it afforded ample pasture- ground for the wandering pastors. In their eyes Abraham must have appeared one of that class. In Mesopotamia, though the family had been pastoral, they had dwelt in towns and houses, and had sent out their flocks and herds under the care of shepherds. But the migratory life to which Abraham had now been called, com- pelled him to take to the tent-dwelling form of pastoral life. The rich pastures in that part of the country tempted Abraham to form his first encampment in the vale of Moreh, which lies between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Here the strong faith which had brought the childless man thus far from his home was re- warded by the grand promise from God : — ' I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing ; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee : and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed' (Gen. xii. 2, 3). It was further promised that to his posterity should be given the rich heritage of that beautiful country into which he had come (v. 7). The implied condition on his part was, that he should publicly profess the worship of the true God, and accordingly ' he built there an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.' He soon after removed to the district between Bethel and Ai, where he also built an altar to that ' Jehovah ' whom the world was then hastening to forget. His farther removals tended southward, until at length a famine in Palestine compelled him to withdraw into Egypt, where com abounded. Here his apprehension that the beauty of his wife Sarai might bring him into danger with the dusky Egyptians, overcame his faith and rectitude, and he gave out that she was his sister. As he had feared, the beauty of the fair stranger excited the admiration of the Egyp- tians, and at length reached the ears of the king, who forthwith exercised his regal right of call- ing her to his harem, and to this Abraham, ap- pearing as only her brother, could offer no resistance. As, however, the king had no in- tention to act harshly in the exercise of his pri- vilege, he loaded Abraham with valuable gifts, suited to his condition, consisting chiefly of slaves and cattle. The-se presents could not have been refused by him without an insult which, under all the circumstances, the king did not deserve. A grievous disease inflicted on Pharaoh and his household relieved Sarai from her danger, by revealing to the king that she was a married woman ; on which he sent for Abraham, and, after rebuking him for his conduct, restored his wife to him, and recommended him to withdraw from the country. He accordingly returned to the land of Canaan, much richer than when he left it ' in cattle, in silver, and in gold ' (Gen. xii. 8 ; xiii. 2). Lot also had much increased his possessions : and soon after their return to their previous sta- tion near Bethel, the disputes between their re- spective shepherds about water and pasturage soon taught thenc that they had better separate. The recent promise of posterity to Abraham himself, although his wife had been accounted barren, probably tended also in some degree to weaken the tie by which the uncle and nephew had hitherto been united. Th« subject was 10 ABRAHAM ABRAHAM broached by Abraham, who generously conceded to Lot the choice df pasture-grounds. Lot chose the welJ-watered plain in which Sodom and other towns were situated, and removed thither [Lor]. Immediately afterwards the patriarch was cheered and encoiiraged by a more distinct and formal reiteration of the promises which had been previously made to him, of the occupation of the land in which he lived by a posterity numerous as the dust. Not long after, he removed to the pleasant valley of Mamre, in the neighbourhood of Hebron (then called Arba), and pitched his tent under a terebinth tree (Gen. xiii.). It appears that fourteen years before this time the south and east of Palestine had been invaded by a king called Chedorlaomer, from beyond the Euphrates, who brought several of the small disunited states of those quarters under tribute. Among them were the five cities of the Plain of Sodom, to which Lot had withdrawn. This bm-den was borne impatiently by these states, and they at length withheld their tribute. This brought upon them a ravaging visitation from Chedorlaomer and four other (perhaps tributary) kings, who scoured the whole country east of the Jordan, and ended by defeating the kings of the plain, plundering their towns, and carrying the people away as slaves. Lot was among the suf- ferers. When this came to the ears of Abraham, he immediately armed such of his slaves as were fit for war, in number 318, and being joined by the friendly Amoritish chiefs, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, pursued the retiring invaders. They were overtaken near the springs of the Jordan ; and their camp being attacked on opposite sides by night, they were thrown into disorder, and fled. Abraham and his men pursued them as far as the neighbourhood of Danaascus, and then returned with all the men and goods which had been taken away. When the victors had reached ' the king's dale ' on their return, they were met by several of the native princes, among whom was Melchizedek, king of Salem, which is gene- rally supposed to have been Jerusalem. He was one of the few native princes, if not the only one, who retained the knowledge and worship of * the Most High God,' whom Abraham served. This circumstance created a peculiar relation between the king and the patriarch, which the former recognised by bringing forth ' bread and wine,' and probably other refreshments to Abra- ham, and which the latter acknowledged by presenting to Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils. By strict right, founded on the war usages which still subsist in Arabia, the recovered goods be- came the property of Abraham, and not of those to whom they originally belonged. This was acknowledged by the king of Sodom, who met the victors in the valley near Salem. He said, ' Give me the persons, and keep the goods to thyself.' But with becoming pride and disinter- estedness Abraham answered, ' I have lifted up mine hand [t. e. I have sworn] unto Jehovah, the most high God, that I will not take from a thread even to a sandal-thong, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say. I have made Abram rich ' (Gen. xiv.). Soon after his return to Mamre the faith of Abraham was rewarded and encouraged, not only by a more distinct and detailed repetition of the pi-omises formerly made to him, but by the confirmation of a solemn covenant con- tracted, as nearly as might be, ' after the man- ner of men ' [Covenant] between him and God. It was now that he first understood that his pro- mised posterity were to grow up into a nation under foreign bondage ; and that, in 400 years after (or, strictly, 405 years, counting from the birth of Isaac to the Exode), they should come forth from that bondage as a nation, to take possession of the land in which he sojourned (Gen. XV.). After ten years' residence in Canaan (b.c. 1913), Sarai, being then 75 years old, and having long been accounted barren, chose to put her own interpretation upon the promised blessing of a progeny to Abraham, and persuaded him to take her woman slave Hagar, an Egyptian, as a secondary or concubine wife, with the view that whatever child might proceed from this union should be accounted her own [Hagak]. The son who was born to Abraham by Hagar, and who received the name of Ishmael [IshjMael], was accordingly brought up as the heir of his father and of the promises (Gen. xvi.). Thirteen years after (b.c. 1900), when Abraham was 99 years eld, he was favoured with still more explicit declarations of the Divine purposes. He was reminded that the promise to him was that he should be the father of many nations ; and to indicate this intention his name was now changed (as before described) from Abram to Abraham. The Divine Being then solemnly renewed the covenant to be a God to him and to the race that should spring from him ; and in token of that covenant directed that he and his should receive in their flesh the sign of circum- cision [Circumcision]. Abundant blessings were promised to Ishmael ; but it was then first announced, in distinct terms, that the heir of the special promises was not yet born, and that the barren Sarai, then 90 years old, should twelve months thence be his mother. Then also her name was changed from Sarai to Sarah {the princess) • and to commemorate the laughter with which the prostrate patriarch received such strange tidings, it was directed that the name of Isaac {laughing) should be given to the future child. The very same day, in obedience to tlie Divine ordinance, Abraham himself, his son Ishmael, and his house-born and purchased slaves were all circumcised (Gen. xvii.). Three months after this, as Abraham sat in his tent door during the heat of the day, he saw three travellers approaching, and hastened to meet them, and hospitably pressed upon them refreshment and rest. They assented, and under the shade of a terebinth tree partook of the abundant fare which the patriarch and his wife provided. From the manner in which one of the strangers spoke, Abraham soon gathered that his visitants were no other than the Lord himself and two attendant angels in human form. The promise of a son by Sarah was renewed ; and when Sarah herself, who overheard this within the tent, laughed inwardly at the tidings, which, on account of her great age, she at first disbelieved, she inciirred the striking rebuke, ' Is any thing too hard for Jehovah ? ' The strangers then addressed themselves to their journey, and Abraham walked some way with them. The two angels went forward in the di- ABRAHAM rection of Sodom, while the Lord made known to him that, for their enormous iniquities, Sodom and the other ' cities of the plain ' were about to be made signal monuments of his wrath and of his moral government. Moved by compassion and by remembrance of Lot, the patriarch ven- tured, reverently but perseveringly, to intercede for the doomed Sodom ; and at length obtained a promise that, if but ten righteous men were found therein, the whole city should be saved for their sake. Early the next morning Abra- ham arose to ascertain the result of this conces- sion : and when he looked towards Sodom, the smoke of its destruction, rising ' like the smoke of a fiirnace,' made known to him its terrible overthrow [Sodom]. Almost immediately after, Abraham removed into the territories of Abi- melech, king of Gerar, where, by a most extra- ordinary infatuation and lapse of faith, he al- lowed himself to stoop to the same prevarication in denying his wife, which, twenty-thi'ee years before, had occasioned him so much trouble in Egypt [Abimelech]. The same year Sarah gave birth to the long- promised son ; and, according to previous direc- tion, the name of Isaac was given to him [Is.iAc]. This greatly altered the position of Ishmael, and appears to have created much ill-feeling both on his part and that of his mother towards the child ; which was in some way manifested so pointedly, on occasion of the festivities which attended the weaning, that the wrath of Sarah was awakened, and she insisted that both Hagar and her son should be sent away. This was a very hard matter to a loving father ; and Abraham was greatly distressed ; but being apprised in a dream that this demand was in accordance with the Divine intentions respecting both Ishmael and Isaac, he, with his habitual uncompromising obedience, hastened them away early in the morning, with provision for the.journey. Their adventures belong to the article Hagak. When Isaac was about 25 years old (b.c. 1872) it pleased God to subject the faith of Abra- ham to a severer trial than it had yet sustained, or than has ever fallen to the lot of any other mortal man. He was commanded to go into the mountainous country of Moriah (probably where the temple afterwards stood), and there oflFer up in sacrifice the son of his affection, and the heir of so many hopes and promises, which his death must nullify. But Abraham's ' faith shrunk not, assured that what God had promised he would certainly perform, and that he was able to restore Isaac to him even from the dead ' (Heb. xi. 17-19), and he rendered a ready, however painful, obedience. Assisted by two of his ser- vants, he prepared wood suitable for the pui-pose, and without delay set out upon his melancholy journey. On the third day he descried the ap- pointed place ; and informing his attendants that he and his son would go some distance fai-ther to worship, and then return, he proceeded to the spot. To the touching question of his son re- specting the victim to be offered, the patriarch replied by expressing his faith that God himself would provide the sacrifice ; and probably he availed himself of this opportunity of acquaint- ing him with the Divine command. Isaac sub- mitted patiently to be bound and laid out as a victim on the wood of the altar, and would most ABRAHAMS BOSOM 11 certninly have been slain by his father's up- lifted hand, had not the angel of Jehovah inter- posed at the critical moment to arrest the fatal stroke. A ram which had become entangled in a thicket was seized and offered ; and a name was given to the place {Jeliovah-Jinh — ' the Lord will provide') alluding to the believing answer which Abraham had given to his son's inquiry respecting the victim. The promises before made to Abrgjiam were again confirmed in the most solemn manner (comp. Heb. vl. 13, 17). The father and son then rejoined their servants, and returned rejoicing to Beersheba (Gen. xxiii. 19). Eight years after (b.c. 1 860) Sarah died at the age of 120 years, being then at or near Hebron. This loss first taught Abraham the necessity of acquiring possession of a family sepulchre in the laud of his sojourning. His choice fell on the cave of Maehpelah [jNIachpelah], and after a striking negotiation with the owner in the gate of Hebron, he purchased it, and had it legally secured to him. This was the only possession he ever had in the Land of Promise (Gen. xxiii.). The next care of Abraham was to provide a suitable wife for his son Isaac. It has always been the practice among pastoral tribes to keep up the family ties by intermarriages of blood- relations : and now Abraham had a further in- ducement in the desire to maintain the purity of the separated race from foreign and idolatrous connections. He therefore sent his aged and confidential steward Eliezer, under the bond of a solemn oath to discharge his mission faithfully, to renew the intercourse between his family and that of his brother Nahor, whom he had left behind in Charran. He prospered in his im- portant mission [Isaac], and in due time re- turned, bringing with him Rebekah, the daughter of Nahor's son Bethuel, who became the wife of Isaac, and was installed as chief lady of the camp, in the separate tent which Sarah had oc- cupied (Gen. xxiv.). Some time after Abraham himself took a wife named Keturah, by whom he had several children. These, together with Ishmael, seem to have been portioned off by their father in his lifetime, and sent into the east and south-east, that there might be no danger of their interference with Isaac, the divinely appointed heir. There was time for this : for Abraham lived to the age of 175 years, 100 of which he had spent in the land of Canaan. He died in B.C. 1822 (Hales, 1978), and was buried by his two eldest sons in the family sepulchre which he had purchased of the Hittites (Gen. xxv. 1-10). ABRAHAM'S BOSOM. There was no name which conveyed to the Jews the same asso- ciations as that of Abraham. As undoubtedly he was in the highest state of felicity of which departed spirits are capable, ' to be with Abra- ham ' implied the enjoyment of the same felicity ; and ' to be in Abraham's bosom ' meant to be in repose and happiness with him. The latter phrase is obviously derived from the custom of sitting or reclining at table which prevailed among the Jews in and before the time of Christ [Accubation]. It was quite usual to describe a just person as being with Abraham, or as lying on Abraham's bosom ; and as such images were unobjectionable, Jesus accommodated his speech to them, to render himself the more intelligible 12 ABSALOM by familiar notions, when, in the beautiful pa- rable of the rich man and Lazarus, he describes the state of the latter after death under these conditions (Luke xvi. 22, 23). AB'SALOM (father of peace), the third son of David, and his only son by Maachah, daugh- ter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2 Sam. iii. 3). He was deemed the handsomest man in the kingdom; and was particularly noted for the profusion of his beautiful hair, which appears to have been regarded with great admiration. David's other child by Maachah was a daughter named Tamar, who was also very beautiful. She became the object of lustful regard to her half- brother Amnon, David's eldest sou; and was violated by him. In all cases where polygamy is allowed, we find that the honour of a sister is in the guardianship of her full brother, more even than in that of her father, whose interest in her is considered less peculiar and intimate. We trace this notion even in the time of Jacob (Gen. xxxiv. 6, 13, 2.5, sqq.). So in this case the wrong of Taraar was takeu up by Absalom, who kept her secluded in his own house, and said nothing for the present, but brooded silently over the wrong he had sustained and the ven- geance which devolved upon him. It was not until two years had passed that Absalom found opportunity for the bloody revenge he had me- ditated. He then held a great sheep-shearing feast at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, to which he invited all the king's sons. Amnon attended among the other princes ; and, when they Avere warm with wine, he was slain by the servants of Absalom, according to the previous directions of their master. Absalom then hastened to Geshur, and remained there three years with his father-in-law, king Talmai. Now Absalom, with all his faults, was emi- nently dear to the heart of his father, who mourned every day after the banished fratricide. His secret wishes to have home his beloved tliough guilty son were however discerned by Joab, who employed a clever woman of Tekoah to lay a supposed case before him for judg- ment ; and she applied the anticipated decision so adroitly to the case of Absalom, that the king discovered the object, and detected the interpo- sition of Joab. Regarding this as in some de- gree expressing the sanction of public opinion, David gladly commissioned Joab to ' call home his banished.' Absalom returned ; but David, still mindful of his duties as a king and father, controlled the impulse of his feelings, and de- clined to admit him to his presence. After two I years, however, Absalom, impatient of his dis- grace, found means to compel the attention of Joab to his case ; and through his means a com- plete recoaciliation with the king was eftected (2 Sam. xiii. xiv.). .\bsalom was now, by the death of his elder brothers, Amnon and Chileab, become the eldest surviving son of David, and heir apparent to the throne. But under the peculiar theocratic insti- tutions of the Hebrews, the Divine king reserved the power of bestowing the crown on any person whom he might prefer. The house of David was now established as the reigning dynasty, and out of his family Solomon had been selected by God as the successor of his father. In this fact, which was probably well known to the ABSALOM mass of the nation, we have a clear motive for the rebellion of Absalom, who wished to secure the throne, which he deemed to be his by the laws of primogeniture, during the lifetime of his father, while the destined successor was yet a child. The fine person of Absalom, his superior birth, and his natural claim, pre-disposed the people to regard his pretensions with favour : and this pre-disposition was strengthened by the conde- scending sympathy with which he accosted the suitors who repaii'ed for justice or favour to the royal audience, combined with the state and at- tendance with which, as the heir apparent, he appeared in public. By these influences 'he stole the hearts of the men of Israel ; ' and when at length, four years after his return from Geshur, he repaired to Hebron, and there proclaimed himself king, the great body of the people de- clared for him. So strong ran the tide of opinion in his favour, that David found it expedient to quit Jerusalem and retire to Mahauaim, beyond the Jordan. When Absalom heard of this, he proceeded to Jerusalem and took possession of the throne without opposition. Among those who had joined him was Ahithophel, who had been David's counsellor, and whose profound sagacity caused his counsels to be regarded like oracles in Israel. This defection alarmed David more than any other circumstance, and he persuaded his friend Hushai to go and join Absalom, in the hope that he might be made instrumental m turning the sagacious counsels of Ahithophel to foolishness. The first piece of advice which Ahithophel gave Absalom was, that he should publicly take possession of that portion of his father's harem which had been left behind in Jerusalem. This was not only a mode by which the succession of the throne might be confirmed [Abishag], but in the present case this villauous measure would dispose the people to throw themselves the more unreservedly into his cause, from the as- surance that no possibility of reconciliation between him and his father remained. Hushai had • not then arrived. Soon after he came, when a council of war was held to consider the course of operations to be taken against David. Ahithophel counselled that the king should be pursued that very night, and smitten, while he was 'weary and weak handed, and before he had time to recover strength.' Hushai, however, whose object was to gain time for David, speciously urged, from the known valour of the king, the possibility and fatal conse- quences of a defeat, and advised that all Israel should be assembled against him in such force as it would be impossible for him to withstand. Fatally for Absalom, the counsel of Hushai was preferred to that of Ahithophel ; and time was thus given to enable the king to collect his re- sources. A large force was soon raised, which he properly organized and separated into three divisions, commanded severally by Joab, Abl- shai, and Ittai of Gath. The king himself intended to take the chief command; but the people refused to allow him to risk his valued life, and the command then devolved upon Joab. The battle took place in the borders of the forest of Ephraim ; and the tactics of Joab, in drawing the enemy into the wood, and there ABSALOM-S TOMB hemming them in, so that they were destroyed with ease, eventually, under the providence of God, decided the action against Absalom. Twenty thousand of his troops were slain, and tlip rest fled to their homes. Absalom himself lied on a swift mule ; but as he went, the boughs of a terebinth tree caught the long hair in which he gloried, and he was left suspended there. The charge which David had given to the troops to respect the life of Absalom prevented any one from slaying him: but when Joab heard of it, he hastened to the spot, and pierced him tlirough with three darts. His body was then taken down and cast into a pit there in the forest, and a heap of stones was raised upon it. David's fondness for Absaiom was mi extin- guished by all that had passed; and no sooner did he hear that his son was dead, than he re- tired to his chamber and gave vent to his pa- ternal anguish in the most bitter wailings— ' 0 my son Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom ! Avould God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my .«on, my son !' The consequences might have been most dangerous, had not Joab gone up to him, and, after sharply rebuking him for thus discouraging those who had risked their lives in his cause, induced him to go down and cheer the returning warriors by his presence (2 Sam. xiii.- xix. 8). ABSALOM'S TOMB. A remarkable monu- ment bearing this name makes a conspicuous figure in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, outside Jerusalem ; and it has been noticed and described by almost all travellers. It is close by the lower bridge over the Kidron, and is a square isolated block hewn out from the rocky ledge so as to leave an area or niche around it. The body of this monument is about 24 feet square. ABSTINENCE 13 2. Absalom's Tomb. The elevation is about 18 or 20 feet to the top of the architrave, and thus far it is wholly cut from the rock. The upper part of the tomb, 'wiiich is about 20 feet high (the whole has therefore an elevation of about 40 feet), has been carried up with mason-work of large stones. I'hcre is a small excavated chamber in the body of the tomb, into which a hole had been broken through one of the sides several centuries ago. The old travellers who refer to this tomb, as well as Calmet after them, are satisfied that they find the history of it in 2 Sam. xviii. 1 8, which states that Absalom, having no son, built a mo- nument to keep his name in remembrance, and that this monument was called * i^bsalom's Hand' — that is, index, memorial, or monument. With our later knowledge, a glance at this and the other monolithic tomb bearing the name of Zecharias, is quite enough to show that they had no connection with the times of the persons whose names have been given to them. But tradition seems never to have become fully settled as to the individuals whose names they should bear, and to the present day the ac- counts of travellers have been varying and in- consistent. ABSTINENCE is a refraining from the use of certain articles of food usually eaten; or from all food during a certain time for some particular object. It is distinguished from Temperance, which is moderation in ordinary food ; and from Fasting, which is abstinence from a religious motive. The first example of abstinence which occurs in Scripture is that in which the use of blood is forbidden to Noah (Gen. ix. 4) [Blood]. The next is that men- tioned in Gen. xxxii. 32 : ' The children of Is- rael eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he (the angel) touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.' By the law, abstinence from blood was confirmed, and the use of the flesh of even lawful animals was forbidden, if the manner of their death rendered it impossible that they should be, or uncertain that they were, duly exsanguinated (Exod. xxii. 31 ; Dent. xiv. 21). A broad rule was also laid down by the law, defining whole classes of animals that might not be eaten (Lev. xi.) [Food]. Certain parts of lawfiil animals, as being sacred to the altar, were also interdicted. These were the large lobe of the liver, the kid- neys and the fat upon them, as well as the tail of the ' fat-tailed' sheep (Lev. iii. 9-11). Every- thing consecrated to idols was also forbidden (Exod. xxxiv. 15). Instances of abstinence from allowed food are not frequent, except in commemorative or afflictive fasts. The forty days' abstinence of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are peculiar cases requiring to be separately con- sidered [Fasting]. The priests were com- manded to abstain from wine previous to their actual ministrations (Lev. x. 9), and the same abstinence was enjoined to the Nazarites during the whole period of their separation (Num. vi. 3). A constant abstinence of this kind was, at a later period, voluntarily undertaken by the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv. 14-18). Among the early Christian converts there were some who deemed themselves bound to adhere to the Mosaical limi- tations regarding food, and they according!}' abstained from flesh sacrificed to idols, as well as from animals which the law accounted un- clean ; while others contemned this as a weak- ness, and exulted in the liberty wherewith Christ had made his followers free (Rom. xiv. I 14 ACCAD 1-3; 1 Cor. Tiii.). Mention is made by the apostle Paul of certain sectaries who should arise, forbidding marriage and enjoining absti- nence from meats which God had created to be received with thanksgiving (1 Tim. iv. 3, 4). The council of the apostles at Jerusalem decided that no other abstinence regarding food should be imposed upon the converts than ' from meats oflFered to idols, from blood, and from things strangled' (Acts xv. 29). ABYSS. The Greek word means literally without bottom, but actually deep, profound. In the New Testament it is used as a noun to describe Hades, or the place of the dead gene- rally (Rom. X. 7 ) ; but more especially that part of Hades in which the souls of the wicked were supposed to be confined (Luke viii. 31 ; Kev. ix. 1, 2, 11 ; XX. 1, 3; comp. 2 Pet. ii. 4). In the Revelation the authorized version invariably renders it ' bottomless pit,' elsewhere ' deep.' Most of these uses of the word are explained by reference to some of the cosmological notions which the Hebrews entertained in common with other Eastern nations. It was believed that the abyss, or sea of fathomless waters, encompassed the whole earth. The earth floated on the abyss, of which it covered only a small part. Accord- ing to the same notion, the earth was founded upon the waters, or, at least, had its foundations in the abyss beneath (Ps. xxiv. 2 ; cxxxvi. 6). Under these waters, and at the bottom of the abyss, the wicked were represented as groaning, and undergoing the punishment of their sins. There were confined the Rephaim— those old giants who, while living, caused surrounding nations to tremble (Prov. ix. 18; xxx. 16). In those dark regions the sovereigns of Tyre, Baby- lon, and Egypt are described by the prophets as undergoing the punishment of their cruelty and pride (Jer. xxv. 14 ; Ezek. xxviii. 10, &c.). This was ' the deep ' into which the evil spirits in Luke, viii. 31, besought that they might not be cast, and which was evidently dreaded by them fCosMOGOXY; Hades]. AC'C AD, one of the five cities in ' the land of Shinar,' or Babylonia, which are said to have been built by Nimrod, or rather, to have been •the beginning of his kingdom' (Gen. x. 10). It seems that several of the ancient translators found in their Hebrew MSS. Achar instead of Achad, and it is probable that this was really the name of the city. Its situation has been much disputed, but in all probability it may be identified with a remarkable pile of ancient buildings called Akkev-hlf, in the district of Siticene, where there was a river named Argades. These buildings are called by the Turks Akker- i-Nimnid and Ahker-i-Bahil. Akker-kuf is about nine miles west of the Tigris, at the spot where that river makes its nearest approach to the Euphrates. The heap of ruins to which the name of Nimrod's Hill — Tel-i-Nimnid, is more especially appropriated, consists of a mound surmounted by a mass of brickwork, which looks like either a tower or an irregular pyramid, according to the point from which it is viewed. It is about 400 feet in circumference at the bottom, and rises to the height of 125 feet above the sloping elevation on which it stands. The mound, which seems to form the foundation of the pile, is a mass of ACCHO rubbish accumulated by the decay of the super- structure. In the ruin itself, the layers of sim- dried bricks, of which it is composed, can be traced very distinctly. They are cemented to- gether by'liae or bitumen, and are divided into courses varying from 12 to 20 feet in height, and are separated by layers of reeds, as is usual in the more ancient remains of this primitive region. Travellers have been perplexed to make out the use of this remarkable monument, and various strange conjectures have been ha- zarded. The embankments of canals and reser- voirs, and the remnants of brickwork and pot- tery occupying the place all around, evince that the Tel stood in an important city ; and, as its construction announces it to be a Babylonian relic, the greater probability is that it was one of those pyramidal structures erected upon high places, which were consecrated to the heavenly bodies, and served at once as the temples and the observatories of those remote times. Such buildings were common to all Babylonian towns ; and those which remain appear to have been constructed more or less on the model of that in the metropolitan city of Babylon. ACCHO, a town and haven within the no- minal territory of the tribe of Asher, which however never acquired possession of it (Judg. i. 31). The Greek and Roman writers call it Ace, but it was eventually better known as Ptolemais, which name it received from the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, by whom it was much improved. By this name it is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts xxi. 7). It was also called Colonia Claudii Cctsaris, in conse- quence of its receiving the privileges of a Ro- man city from the emperor Claudius. But the names thus imposed or altered by foreigners never took with the natives, and the place is still known in the country by the name of Akka. During the Crusades the place was usually known to Europeans by the name of Acon: afterwards, from the occupation of the Knights' of St. John of Jerusalem, as St. Jean d'Acre, or simply Acre. This famous city and haven is situated in N. lat. 32"" 55', and E. long. 35° 5', and occupies the north-western point of a commodious bay, called the Bay of Acre, the opposite or south- western point of which is formed by the pro- montory of Mount Carmel. The city lies OD ACCHO the plain to -which it gives its name. Its western side is washed by the waves of the Mediter- ranean, and on the south lies the bay, beyond which may be seen the town of Caipha, on the site of the ancient Calamos, and, rising high above both, the shrubby heights of Carmel. The mountains belonging to the chain of Anti- Libanus are seen at the distance of about four leagues to the north, while to the east the view is bounded by the fruitful hills of the Lower Galilee. The bay, from the town of Acre to the promontory of Mount Carmel, is three leagues wide and two in depth. The port, on account of its shallowness, can only be entered by vessels of small burden ; but there is excel- lent anchorage on the other side of the bay, before Caipha, which is, in fact, the roadstead of Acre. In the time of Strabo Accho was a great city, and it has continued to be a place of importance down to the present time. But after the Turks gained possession of it. Acre so ra- pidly declined, that the travellers of the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries concur in de- scribing it as much fallen from its former glory. Traces of its ancient magnificence, however, still remained in the fragments of spacious Nuildings, sacred and secular, and in portions of old walls of extraordinary height and thickness. An impulse was given to the prosperity of the place by the measures of Sheikh Daher, and afterwards of Djezzar Pasha, and the town greatly increased in actual importance. The population in 1819 was computed at 10,000, of whom 3000 were Turks, the rest Christians of various denominations. Approached from Tyre the city presented a beautiful appearance, from the trees in the inside, which rise above the wall, and from the ground immediately around it on the outside being planted with orange, lemon, and palm trees. Inside, the streets had the usual narrowness and filth of Turkish towns ; the houses solidly built with stone, with fiat roofs; the bazaars mean, but tolerably well supplied. The principal objects were the mosque built by Djezzar Pasha, the pasha's seraglio, the granary, and the arsenal. The trade was not considerable; the exports consisted chiefly of grain and cotton, the produce of the neighbour- ing plain ; and the imports chiefly of rice, coffee, and sugar from Damietta. As thus described, the city was all but demolished in 1832 by the hands of Ibrahim Pasha; and although con- siderable pains were taken to restore it, yet, as lately as 1837, it still exhibited a most wretched appearance, with ruined houses and broken arches in every direction. As the fame of Acre is rather modern than biblical, its history must in this place be briefly told. It belonged to the Phoenicians, until they, in common with the Jews, were subjugated by the Babylonians. By the latter it was doubtless maintained as a military station against Egypt, as it was afterwards by the Persians. In the distribution of Alexander's dominions Accho fell to the lot of Ptolemy Soter, who valued the acquisition, and gave it his own name. After- wards it fell into the hands of the kings of Syria ; and is repeatedly mentioned in the wars of the Maccabees. It was at one time the head- quarters of their heathen enemies. In the en- deavour of Demetrius Soter and Alexander ACCHO 15 Balas to bid highest for the support of Jonathan, the latter gave Ptolemais and the lands around to the temple at Jerusalem. Jonathan was afterwards invited to meet Alexander and the king of Egypt at that place, and was treated with great distinction by them, but there he at length (B.C. 144) met his death through the treachery of Tryphon. Alexander Jannseus took advantage of the civil war between An- tiochus Philometor and Antiochus Cyzicenus to besiege Ptolemais, as the only maritime city in those parts, except Gaza, which he had not sub- dued ; but the siege was raised by Ptolemy Lathyras (then king of Cyprus), who got pos- session of the city, of which he was soon de- prived by his mother Cleopatra. She probably gave it, along with her daughter Selene, to An- tiochus Grypus, king of Syria. At least, after his death, Selene held possession of that and some other Phoenician towns, after Tigranes, king of Armenia, had acquired the rest of the kingdom. But an injudicious attempt to extend her dominions drew upon her the vengeance of that conqueror, who, in B.C. 70, reduced Ptole- mais, and, while thus employed, received with favour the Jewish embassy which was sent by Queen Alexandra, with valuable presents, to seek his friendship. A few years after, Ptolemais was absorbed, with all the country, into the Roman empire ; and the rest of its ancient his- tory is obscure and of little note. It is only mentioned in the New Testament from St. Paul having spent a day there on his voyage to Cajsarea (Acts xxi. 7). It continued a place of importance, and was the seat of a bishopric in the first ages of the Christian Church. The see was filled sometimes by orthodox and sometimes by Arian bishops ; and it has the equivocal dis- tinction of having been the birth-place of the Sabellian heresy. Accho, as we may now again call it, was an imperial garrison town when the Saracens invaded Syria, and was one of those that held out until Ca;sarea was taken by Aminx in A.D. 638. The Franks first became masters of it in a.©. 1110, when it was taken by Baldwin, king of Jerusalem. But in a.d. 1187 it was recovered by Salahed-din, who retained it till a.d. 1191, when it was retaken by the Christians. This was the famous siege in which Eichard Coeur- de-Lion made so distinguished a figure. The j Christians kept it exactly one hundred years, oi* I till A.D. 1291 ; and it was the very last place of I which they were dispossessed. It had been as- signed to the Knights Hospitallers of Jerusalem, who fortified it strongly, and defended it I valiantly, till it was at length wrested from them by Khalil ben Kelaoun, or Melek Senif, Sultan of Egypt. Under this dominion it re- mained till A.D. 1517, when the Mamluke dynasty was overthrown by Selim I., and all its terri- tories passed to the Turks. After this Acre remained in quiet obscurity till the middle of the last century, when the Arab Sheikh Daher took it by surprise. Under him the place re- covered some of its trade and importance. He was succeeded by the barbarous but able tyrant Djezzar Pasha, who strengthened the fortifica- tions and improved the town. Under him it rose once more into fame, thiough the gallant and successful resistance which, under the direo- 16 ACCOMMODATION tion of Sir Sidney Smith, it offered to the arms of Buonaparte. After that famous siege the i fortifications were further strengthened, till it became the strongest place in all Syria. In 1832 the town was besieged for nearly six months by Ibrahim Pasha, during which 35,000 shells were thrown into it, and the buildings were literally beaten to pieces. It had by no means recovered from this calamity, when it was subjected to the operations of the English fleet under Admiral Stopford, in pursuance of the plan for restoring Syria to the Porte. On the 3rd of November, 1840, it was bombarded for several hours, Arhen the explosion of the powder-magazine destroyed the garrison and laid tlie town in ruins. ACCOMMODATION (exegetical or special) is principally employed in the application of certain passages of the Old Testament to events in the New, to which they had no actual his- torical or typical reference. Citations of this description are apparently very frequent through- out the whole New Testament, but especially in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It cannot be denied that many such passages, although apparently introduced as referring to, or predictive of, certain events recorded in the New Testament, seem to have, in their original connection, an exclusive reference to quite other objects. The difficulty of reconciling such seemimj misapplications, or deflections from their original design, has been felt in all ages, al- though it has been chiefly reserved to recent times to give a solution of the difficulty by the theory of accommodation. By this it is meant that the prophecy or citation from the Old Testament was not designed literally to apply to the event in question, but that the New Testa- ment writer merely adopted it for the sake of ornament, or in order to produce a strong im- pression, bj' showing a remarkable parallelism between two analogous events, which had in themselves no mutual relation. There is a catalogue of more than seventy of these accommodated passages adduced by the Rev. T. H. Home, in support of this theory, in his Introduction (ii. 343, 7th ed. 1834), but it will suffice for our purpose to select the following specimens : — Matt. xiii. 35, cited from Psalm Ixxviii. 2. „ viii. 17 „ Isaiah liii. 4. „ ii. 15 „ Hosea xi. 1. „ ii. 17, 18 :, Jeremiah xxxi. 15. „ iii. 3 „ Isaiah xl. 3. It will be necessary, for the complete elucida- tion of the subject, to bear in mind the distinc- tion not only between accommodated passages and such as must be properly explained (as those which are absolutely adduced as proofs), but also between such passages and those which are merely borrowed, and applied by the sacred writers, sometimes in a higher sense than they were used by the original authors. Passages which do not strictly and literally predict future events, but which can be applied to an event recorded in the New Testament by an accidental parity of circumstances, can alone be thus desig- nated. Such accommodated passages therefore, if they exist, can only be considered as descrip- tive, and not predictive. It -will here be necessary to consider the ACCOMMOD.ITION various modes in which the prophecies of the Old Testament are supposed to be fulfilled in the New. For instance, the opinion has been maintained by several divines, that there is sometimes a literal, sometimes only a mediate, typical, or spiritual fulfilment. Sometimes a prophecy is cited merely by way of illustration (accommodation), while at other times nothing more exists than a mere allusion. Some pro- phecies are supposed to have an immediate literal fulfilment, and to have been afterwards accomplished in a larger and more extensive sense ; but as the full development of this part of the subject appertains more properly to the much controverted question of the single and double sense of prophecy, we shall here dwell no further on it than to observe, that not only are commentators who support the theory of a double sense divided ou the veiy important question, what are literal prophecies and what are only prophecies in a secondary sense, but they who are agreed ou this question are at variance as to what appellation shall be given to those passages which are applied by the New Testament writers to the ministry of our Saviour, and yet historically belong to an antecedent period. In order to lessen the difficulty, a dis- tinction has been attempted to be drawn from the formula with which the quotation is ushered in. Passages, for instance, introduced by the formula 'that it might be fulfilled,' are con- sidered, on this account, as direct predictions by some, who are willing to consider citations in- troduced with the expression 'then was ful- filled ' as nothing more than accommodations. The use of the former phrase, as applied to a mere accommodation, they maintain is not war- ranted by Jewish writers : such passages, there- fore, they hold to be prophecies, at least in a secondary sense. Bishop Kidder appositely observes, in regard to this subject, that ' a scripture may be said to be fulfilled several ways, viz., properly and in the letter, as when that which was foretold comes to pass ; or again, when what was fulfilled in the type is fulfilled again in the antitype ; or else a 'scripture may be fulfilled more improperly, viz., by way of accommodation, as when an event happens to any place or people like to that which fell out some time before.' He instances the citation, Matt. ii. 17, 'In Ramah was a voice heard,' &c. ' These words,' he adds, ' are made use of by way of allusion to express this sorrow by. The evangelist doth not say " that it might be ful- filled," but " then was fulfilled," q. d., such another scene took place.' It must at the same time be admitted that this distinction in regard to the formula of quotation is not acknowledged by the majority of com- mentators, either of those who admit or of those who deny the theory of accommodation. Among the former it will suffice to name Calmet, Doddridge, Rosenmiiller, and Jahn, who look upon passages introduced by the formula ' that it might be fulfilled,' as equally ] accommodations with those which are prefaced by the words ' then was fulfilled ;' while those wlio deny the accommodative theory altogether, consider both as formulas "f direct prophecies, at least in a secondary or typical sense. This, for instance, is the case especially in regara to ACCOMMODATION the two citations of this description which first present themselves in the New Testament, viz., Matt. ii. 15, and Matt. ii. 17, the former of which is introduced by the first, and the latter by the second of these formulas. But inasmuch as the commentators above referred to cannot perceive how the citation from Hosea xi. 1, 'Out of Egypt have I called my son,' althougli prefaced by the formula ' that it might be fulfilled,' and which literally relates to the calling of the children of Israel out of Egypt, can be propheti- cally diverted from its historical meaning, they look upon it as a simple accommodation, or applicable quotation. IMr. Home observes, that 'it was a familiar idiom of the Jews, when quoting the writings of the Old Testament, to say, that it might be fuljillcd winch was spoken by such and suck a prophet, not intending it to be understood that such a particular passage in one of the sacred books was ever designed to be a real prediction of what they were then relating, but signifying only that the words of the Old Testament might be properly adopted to express their meaning and illustrate their ideas.' ' The apostles,' he adds, ' who were Jews by birth, and wrote and spoke in the Jewish idiom, fre- quently thus cite the Old Testament, intending no more by this mode of speaking, than that the words of such an ancient writer might with equal propriety be adopted to characterize any similar occurrence which happened in their tin;es. The formula " that it might be ful- filled," does not therefore differ in signification from the phrase "then was fulfilled," applied in the following citation in Matt. ii. 17, 18, from Jer. xxxi. 15-17, to the massacre of the infants at Bethlehem. They are a beautiful quotation, and not a prediction of Avhat then happened, and are therefore applied to the massacre of the infants according not to their original and his- torical meaning, but according to Jewish phrase- ology.' Dr. Adam Clarke, also, in his Com- mentary on Jeremiah (xxxi. 15-17), takes the same view :— ' St. Matthew, who is ever fond of accommodation, applied these words to the mas- sacre of the children of Bethlehem ; that is, they were suitable to that occasion, and therefore he applied them, but they are not a prediction of that event.' D. J. G. EosenmuUer gives as examples, which he conceives clearly show the use of these for- mulas, the passages Matt. i. 22, 23; ii. 15, 17, 23 ; XV. 7 ; Luke iv. 21 ; James ii. 23 ; alleging that they were designed only to denote that something took place which resembled the literal and historical sense. The sentiments of a dis- tinguished English divine are to the same effect : ' I doubt not that this phrase, " that it might be fulfilled," and the like were used first in quoting real prophecies, but that this, by long , use, sunk in its value, and was more vulgarly applied, so that at last it was given to Scripture only accom- modated.' And again, ' If prophecy could at last come to signify singing (Titus i. 12 ; 1 Sam. X. 10; 1 Cor. xiv. 1), why might not the phrase fulfilling of Scripture and prophecy signify only quotation' (Nicholl's Conference with a Theist, 1698, part iii. p. 13). The accommodation theory in exegetics has been equally combated by two classes of oppo- nents. Those of the more ancient school co^- ACCUBATION 17 usual number of guests on each couch was three, making nine for the three couches, but some- times there were four to each couch. The Greeks went beyond this number ; the Jews appear to have had no particular fancy in the matter, and we know that at our Lord's last supper thirteen persons were present. As each guest leaned, during the greater part of the entertainment, on his left elbow, so as to leave the right arm at c sider such mode of application of the Old Testa- ment passages not only as totally irreconcilable with the plain grammatical construction and obvious meaning of the controverted passages { which are said to be so applied, but as an un- [ justifiable artifice, altogether unworthy of a j divine teacher ; while the other class of expo- sitors, who are to be found chiefly among the most modern of the German Rationalists, main- tain that the sacred writers, having been them- selves trained in this erroneous mode of teaching, had mistakenly, but bond fide, interpreted the passages wliich they had cited from the Old Testament in a sense altogether different from their historical meaning, and thus applied them to the history of the Christian dispensation. Some of these have maintained that the accom- modation theory was a mere shift resorted to by commentators who could not otherwise explain the application of Old Testament prophecies in the New consistently with the inspiration of the sacred writers : while the advocates of the sys- tem consider that the apostles, in adapting them- selves to the mode of interpretation which was customary in their days, and in further adopting what may be considered an argument e concessis, were employing the most persuasive mode of oratory, and the one most likely to prove effectual ; and that it was therefore lawful to adopt a method so calculated to attract attention to their divine mission, which they were at all times prepared to give evidence of by other and irrefragable proofs. ACCUBATION, the posture of reclining on couches at table, which prevailed among the Jews in and before the time of Christ. We see no reason to think that, as commonly alleged, they borrowed this custom from the Romans after Judea had been subjugated by Pompej'. But it is best known to us as a Roman custom, and as such must be described. The dinner-bed, or triclinium, stood in the middle of the dining- room, clear of the walls, and formed three sides of a square which enclosed the table. The open end of the square, with the central hollow, allowed the seiwants to attend and serve the table. In all the existing representations of the dinner-bed it is shown to have been higher than the enclosed table. Among the Romans the 18 ACCUSATION liberty, and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one man was near the breast of the man who lay behind him, and he was, therefore, said ' to lie in the bosom ' of the other. This phrase was in use among the Jews (Luke xvi. 22, 23; John i. 18; xiii. 23), and occurs in such a manner as to show that to lie next below, or ' in the bosom' of the master of the feast, was considered the most favoured place, and was usually assigned to near and' dear connections. Thus it was ' the disciple whom Jesus loved ' who ' reclined upon his breast' at the last supper. The frame of the dinner-bed was laid with mattresses variously stuffed, and, latterly, was furnished with rich coverings and hangings. Each person was usually provided with a cushion or bolster on which to support the upper part of his person in a somewhat raised position ; as the left arm alone could not long without weariness sustain the weight. The lower part of the body being extended diagonally on the bed, with the feet outward, it is at once perceived how easy it was for 'the woman that was a sinner' to come behind between the dinner-bed and the wall, and anoint the feet of Jesus (Luke vii. 37, 38 ; John xii. 3). The dinner-beds were so various at different times, in different places, and under different circumstances, that no one description can apply to them all. Even among the Romans they were at first (after the Punic war) of rude form and materials, and covered with mattresses stuffed with rushes or straw; mattresses of hair and wool were introduced at a later period. At first the wooden frames were small, low, and round ; and it was not until the time of Augustus that square and ornamented couches came into fashion. In the time of Tiberius the most splendid sort were veneered with costly woods or tortoiseshell, and were covered with valuable embroideries, the richest of which came from Babylon, and cost large sums. The Jews perhaps had all these varieties, though it is not likely that the usage was ever carried to such a pitch of luxury as among the Romans ; and it is probable that the mass of the people fed in the ancient mannei' — seated on stools or on the ground. It appears that couches were often so low, that the feet rested on the ground ; and that cushions or bolsters were in general use. It would also seem, from the mention of two and of three couches, that the arrangement was more usually square than semi-circular or round. It is utterly improbable that the Jews derived this custom from the Romans, as is constantly alleged. They certainly knew it as existing among the Persians long before it had been adopted by the Romans themselves (Esth. i. 6 ; vii. 8); and the presumption is that they adopted it while subject to that people. The Greeks also had the usage (from the Persians) before the Romans ; and with the Greeks of Syria the Jews had very much intercourse. Besides, the Ro- mans adopted the custom from the Carthaginians, and, that they had it, implies that it previously existed in Phoenicia, in the neighbourhood of the Jews. Thus, that in the time of Christ the custom had been lately adopted from the Ro- mans, is very improbable. It is also unlikely that in so short a time it should have become usual and even (as the Talmud asserts) obli- ACELDAMA gatory to eat the Passover in that posture of indulgent repose, and in no other. ACCURSED. [Anathema.] ACCUSER. The original word, which bears this leading signification, means — 1. One who has a cause or matter of contention ; the ac- cuser, opponent, or plaintiff in any suit (Judg. xii. 2 ; Matt. v. 25 ; Luke xii. 58). We have little information respecting the manner in which causes were conducted in the Hebrew courts of justice, except from the Rabbinical authorities, who, in matters of this description, may be supposed well informed as to the later customs of the nation. Even from these we learn little more than that great care was taken that, the accused being deemed innocent until convicted, he and the accuser should appear under equal circumstances before the court, that no preju- dicial impression might be created to the disad- vantage of the defendant, whose interests, we are told, were so anxiously guarded, that any one was allowed to speak whatever he knew or had to say in his favour, which privilege was with- held from the accuser. The word is also applied in Scripture, in the general sense, to any adver- sary or enemy (Luke xviii. 3 ; 1 Pet. v. 8). In the latter passage there is an allusion to the- old Jewish opinion that Satan was the accuser or calumniator of men before God (Job i. 6, sq. ; Rev. xii. 10, sq.; comp. Zech. iii. 1). In this application the forensic sense was still retained, Satan being represented as laying to man's charge a breach of the law, as in a court of justice, and demanding his punishment [Satan]. ACEL'DAMA (field of blood), the field pur- chased with the money for which Judas betrayed Christ, and which was appropriated as a place of burial for strangers (Matt, xxvii. 8; Acts i. 19). It was previously 'a potter's field.' The field now shown as Aceldama lies on the slope of the hills beyond the valley of Hinnom, south of Mount Zion. Sandys thus writes of it : ' On the south side of this valley, neere where it meeteth with the valley of Jehoshaphat, mounted a good height on the side of the mountain, is Aceldama, or the field of blood, purchased with the restored reward of treason, for a buriall place for strangers. In the midst whereof a large square roome was made by the mother of Constantine; the south side, walled with the naturall rocke ; fiat at the top, and equall with the vpper level ; out of which ariseth certaine little cupoloes, open in the midst to let doune the dead bodies. Thorow these we might see the bottome, all couered with bones, and certaine corses but newly let doune, it being now the sepulchre of the Armenians. A greedy graue, and great enough to deuoure the dead of a whole nation. For they say (and 1 believe it) that the earth thereof within the space of eight and forty houres will consume the flesh that is laid thereon.' He then relates the common story, that the em- press referred to, caused 270 ship-loads of this flesh-consuming mould to be taken to Rome, to form the soil of the Campo Santo, to which the same virV'.e is ascribed. Castela affirms that great quatMties of the wondrous mould were removed b) divers Christian princes in the time of the Crusades, and to this source assigns the similar sarcophagic properties claimed not only by the Campo Santo at Rome, but by the ceme- ACHAN tery of St. Innocents at Paris, by the cemetery at Naples, and, we may add, that of the Campo Santo at Pisa. The plot of ground originally bought ' to bury strangers in,' seems to have been early set apart by the Latins, as well as by the Crusaders, as a place of burial for pilgrims. In the fourteenth century it belonged to the Knights-Hospitallers. Early in the seventeenth century it was in the possession of the Armenians, who bought it for the burial of their own pilgrims. The erection of the charnel-house is ascribed to them. In the time of Maundrell they rented it at a sequin a day from the Turks. Corpses were still de- posited there; and the traveller observes that they were in various stages of decay, from which he conjectures that the grave did not make that quick despatch with the bodies committed to it which had been reported. ' The earth, here- abouts,' he observes, 'is of a chalky substance ; the plot of ground was not above thirty yards long by fifteen wide ; and a moiety of it was occupied by the charnel-house, which was twelve yards high.' Richardson affirms that bodies were thrown in as late as 1818; but Dr. Robin- son alleges that it has the appearance of having been for a much longer time abandoned : ' The field or plat is not now marked by any boundary to distinguish it from the rest of the hill-side ; and the former charnel-house, now a ruin, is all that remains to point out the site. . . .An opening at each end enabled us to look in ; but the bot- tom was empty and dry, excepting a few bones much decayed.' ACHA'IA, a region of Greece, which in the restricted sense occupied the north-western por- tion of the Peloponnesus, including Corinth and its isthmus. By the poets it was often put for the whole of Greece, whence Achaioi, the Greeks. Under the Romans, Greece was divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia, the former of which included Macedonia proper, with Illyri- cum, Epirus, and Thessaly ; and the latter, all that lay £Outh\A'ard of the former. It is in this latter acceptation that the name of Achaia is always employed in the New Testament (Acts xviii. 12, 27 ; xix. 21 ; Rom. xv. 26 ; xvi. 5 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 15 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; ix. 2 ; xi. 10 ; 1 Thess. i. 7, 8). Achaia was at first a senatorial pro- vince, and, as such, was governed by proconsuls. Tiberius changed the two into one imperial pro- vince under procurators; but Claudius restored them to the senate and to the proconsular form of government. Hence the exact and minute propriety with which St. Luke expresses him- self in giving the title of proconsul to Gallio, who was appointed to the province in the time of Claudius (Acts xviii. 12). ACHA'ICUS, a native of Achaia, and a fol- lower of the apostle Paul. He, with Stephanus and Fortunatus, was the bearer of the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, and was recommended by the apostle to their special respect (1 Cor. xvi. 17). A'CHAN (trouhler) ; in 1 Chron. ii. 7 written AcHAR. From the peculiarly appropriate sig- nificance of the name, it is supposed to have been imposed after the occurrence of the facts which rendered it notorious. The city of Jeri- cho, before it was taken, was put under that awful ban, whereby all the inhabitants (except- ACHISH 19 ing Rahab and her family) were devoted to destruction, all the combustible goods to be con- sumed by fire, and all tlie metals to be conse- crated to God. This vow of devotement was rigidly observed by all the troops when Jericho was taken, sate by one man, Achan, a Judahite, who could not resist the temptation of secreting an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly Babylonish garment, which he buried in his tent. But God made known this infraction, which (the vow having been made by the nation as one body) had involved the whole nation in his guilt. The Israelites were defeated, with serious loss, in their first attack upon Ai ; and as Joshua was well assured that this humiliation was designed as the punishment of a crime which had inculpated the entire people, he took immediate measures to discover the criminal. As in other cases, the matter was referred to the Lord by the lot, and the lot ultimately indicated the actual criminal. The conscience-stricken offender then confessed his crime to Joshua ; and his confession being verified by the production of his ill-gotten treasure, the people, actuated by the strong impulse with which men tear up, root and branch, a polluted thing, hurried away not only Achan, but his tent, his goods, his spoil, his cattle, his children, to the valley (afterwards called) of Achor, north of Jericho, where they stoned him, and all that belonged to him ; after which the whole was consumed with fire, and a cairn of stones raised over the ashes. The se- verity of this act, as regards the familif of Achan, has provoked soms remark. Instead of vindicating it, as is generally done, by the alle- gation that the members of Achan's family were probably accessories to his crime after the fact, we prefer the supposition that they were included in the doom by one of those sudden impulses of indiscriminate popular vengeance to which the Jewish people were exceedingly prone, and which, in this case, it would not have been in the power of Joshua to control by any authority which he could under such circumstances ex- ercise. A'CHAR. [Achan.] A'CHISH (called Abimelech in the title of Ps. xxxiv.), the Philistine king of Gath, with whom David twice sought refuge when he fled from Saul (1 Sam. xxi. 10-15; xxvii. 1-3). The first time David was in imminent danger ; for he was recognised and spoken of by the officers of the court as one whose glory had been won at the cost of the Philistines. This talk filled David with such alarm that he feigned himself mad when introduced to the notice of Achish, who, seeing him ' scrabbling upon the doors of the gate, and letting his spittle fall down upon his beard,' rebuked his people sharply for bring- ing him to his presence, asking, ' Have I need of madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence ? Shall this fellow come into my house ?' After this David lost no time in quitting the territories of Gath. About four years after, when the character and position of David became better known, and when he was at the head of not less than 600 resdlute adherents, he again repaired with his troop to King Achish, who received him in a truly royal spirit, and treated him with a ge- nerous confidence, of which David took perhaps C2 20 ACHMETHA rather more advantage than -was creditable to him [David]. ACHME'THA (Ezra vi. 2 ; in the Apocrypha 2 Mace. ix. 3 ; Judith i. 1,2; Tob. iii. 7 ; Joseph. Antiq. x. 1 1, 7 ; xi. 4, 6 ; also, in Greek authors, Ecbatana), a city in Media. Th^name seems to have been applied exclusively to cities having a fortress for the protection of the royal trea- sures. In Ezra we learn that in the reign of Darius Hystaspes the Jews petitioned that search might be made in the king's treasure-house at Babylon, for the decree -which Cyrus had made in favour of the Je-ws (Ezra v. 17). Search was accordingly made in the record-office (' house of the rolls'), where the treasures were kept at Ba- bylon (vi. 1): but it appears not to have been found there, as it was eventually discovered ' at Achmetha, in the palace of the province of the Medes' (vi. 2). In Judith i. 2-4, there is a brief account of Ecbatana, in which we arc told that it was built by Arphaxad, king of the Medes, who made it his capital. It was built of hewn stones, and surrounded by a high and thick wall, furnished with wide gates and strong and lofty towers. Herodotus speaks of it in similar *erms, and ascribes its foundation to Dejoces, who was probably the same with the Arphaxad of Judith. Ecbatana has been usually identified with the present Hamadan, which is still an important town, and the seat of one of the governments into which the Persian kingdom is divided. It is situated in north lat. 34^^ 53', east long. 40°, at the extremity of a rich and fertile plain, on a gradual ascent, at the base of the Elwund Mountains, whose higher summits are covered with perpetual snow. Some remnants of ruined walls of great thickness, and also of towers of sun-dried bricks, present the only positive evi- dence of a more ancient city than the present on the same spot. Heaps of comparatively recent ruins, and a wall fallen to decay, attest that Hamadan has declined from even its modern importance. The population is said by South- gate to be about 30,000, which, from what the present writer has seen of the place, he should judge to exceed the truth very considerably. It is little distinguished, inside, from other Persian towns of the same rank, save by its excellent and -well-supplied bazaars, and the unusually large number of khans of rather a superior description. This is the result of the extensive transit trade of which it is the seat, it being the great centre where the routes of traffic between Persia, Mesopotamia, and Persia converge and meet. Its own manufactures are chiefly in leather. Many Jews reside here, claiming to be descended from those of the Captivity who remained in Media. Benjamin of Tudela says that in his time the number was 50,000. Modern travellers assign them 500 houses ; but the Rabbi David de Beth Ilillel, who was not likely to understate the fact, and who had the best means of information, gives them but 200 families. He says they are mostly in good cir- cumstances, having fine houses and gardens, and are chiefly traders and goldsmiths. In the midst of the city is a tomb, which is said to be that of Mordccai and Esther. As Ecbatana was then the summer residence of the Persian court, it is probable enough that Mordecai and Esther died and were buried there ; and traditional tes- ACRABATENE timony, taken in connection with this fact, and with such a monument in a place where Je-vrs have been permanently resident, is better evi- dence than is usually obtained for the allocation of ancient sepulchres. The tomb is in charge of the Jews, and is one of their places in pil- grimage. History notices another Ecbatana, in Pales- tine, at the foot of Mount Carmel, towards Ptole- mais, where Cambyses died. It is not mentioned by this or any similar name in the Hebrew writings. A'CHOR, a valley between Jericho and Ai, which received this name (signifying trouble) from the trouble brought upon the Israelites by the sin of Achan (Josh. vii. 24) [Achj^n]. AC'HSAH {an anklet), the daughter of Caleb, whose hand her father offered in marriage to him who should lead the attack on the city of Debir, and take it. The prize was won by his nephew Othniel ; and as the bride was con- ducted with the usual ceremony to her future home, she alighted from her ass, and sued her father for an addition of springs of water to her dower in lands. It is probable that custom rendered it unusual, or at least ungracious, for a request tendered under such circumstances by a daughter to be refused; and Caleb, in ac- cordance with her wish, bestowed xipon her ' the upper and the nether springs' (Josh. xv. 16-19 ; Judg. i. 9-1 5). AC'HSHAPH, a royal city of the Canaanites (Josh. xi. 1), has been supposed by many to be the same as Achzib, both being in the tribe of Asher. But a careful consideration of Josh. xix. 25 and 29, will make it probable that the places were different. There is more reason in the conjecture that Achshaph was another name for Accho or Acre, seeing that Accho otherAvise does not occur in the list of towns in the lot of Asher, although it is certain, from Judg. i. 31, that Accho was in the portion of that tribe. ACHZIB. There were two places of this name, not usually distinguished. 1. Achzib, in the tribe of Asher nominally, but almost always in the possession of the Phoe- nicians ; being, indeed, one of the places from which the Israelites were unable to expel the former inhabitants (Judg. i. 31). In the Tal- mud it is called Chezib. The Greeks called it EcDiPPA; and it still survives under the name of Zib. It is upon the Mediterranean coast, about ten miles north of Acre. It stands on an ascent close by the sea-side, and is de- scribed as a small place, -with a fcAV palm-trees rising above the dwellings. 2. Achzib, in the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 44; Mic. i. 14), of which there is no historical mention, but, from its place in the catalogue, it appears to have been in the middle part of the western border-land of the tribe, towards the Philistines. This is very possibly the Chezib of Gen. xxxviii. 5. ACRABATE'NE, a district in that portion of Judaea which lies towards the south end of the Dead Sea, occupied by the Edomites during the Captivity, and afterwards known as Iduma;a. It is mentioned in 1 Mace. v. 3; Joseph. Jliitiq. xii. 8. 1. It is assumed to have taken its name from the Maaleh Akrabbim, or Steep of the Scar- pions, mentioned in Num. xxxiv. 4, and Josh. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 21 XV. 3, as the southern extremity of the tribe of Judah [Akrabbim]. Another district of the same name is mentioned by Josephus as_ extend- ing between Shechem and Jericho, but it is not mentioned in Scripture. ACRE. [AccHO.] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. This is the title of one of the canonical books of the New Testament, the fifth in order in the common arrangement, and the last of those properly of an historical character. Commencing ^rith a reference to an account given in a former work of the sayings and doings of Jesus Christ before his ascension, its author proceeds to conduct us to an acquaintance with the circumstances at- tending that event, the conduct of the disciples on their return from witnessing it, the outpour- ing on them of the Holy Spirit according to Christ's promise to them before his crucifixion, and the amazing success which, as a consequence of this, attended the first announcement by them of the doctrine concerning Jesus as the promised Messiah and the Saviour of the World. After giving the history of the mother-church at Jeru- salem up to the period when the violent perse- cution of its members by the rulers of the Jews had broken up their society and scattered them, with the exception of the apostles, throughout the whole of the surrounding region ; and after introducing to the notice of the reader the case of a remarkable conversion of one of the most zealous persecutors of the church, who afterwards became one of its most devoted and successful advocates, the narrative takes a wider scope and opens to our view the gradual expansion of the church by the free admission within its pale of persons directly converted from heathenism and who had not passed through the preliminary stage of Judaism. The first step towards this more liberal and cosmopolitan order of things having been effected by Peter, to whom the honour of laying the foundation of the Christian church, both within and without the confines of Judaism, seems, in accordance with our Lord's declaration concerning him (Matt. xvi. 18), to have I '^"U reserved, Paul, the recent convert and the destiucd apostle of the Gentiles, is brought forward as the main actor on the scene. On his course of missionary activity, his successes and his sufferings, the chief interest of the narrative is thenceforward concentrated, until, having fol- lowed him to Eome, whither he had been sent as a prisoner to abide his trial, on his own appeal, at the bar of the emperor himself, the book abruptly closes, leaving us to gather further information concerning him and the fortunes of the church from other sources. Respecting the authorship of this book there can be no gi-ouud for doubt or hesitation. It is, unquestionably, the production of the same writer by whom the third of the four Gospels was composed, as is evident from the introduc- tory sentences of both (comp. I^uke i. 1-4, with Acts i. 1). That this writer was Luke has not in either case been called in question, and is uniformly asserted by tradition. From the book itself, also, it appears that the author accom- panied Paul to Rome when he went to that city as a prisoner (xxviii.). Now, we know from two epistles written by Paul at that time, that Luke was with him at Rome (Col. iv. 14 ; 2 Tim. iv. 11), which favours the supposition that he was the writer of the narrative of the apostle's journey to that city. It was rejected by certain heretics in the primitive times, such as the Mar- cionites, the Severians, and the Manicheans, or we should rather say, it was cast aside by them because it did not favour their peculiar views. A complaint made by Chrysostom would lead us to infer that in his day, though received as genuine, the Acts was generally omitted from the number of books publicly read in the churches, and had consequently become little known among the people attending those churches. Many critics are inclined to regard the Gospel by Luke and the Acts of the Apostles as having formed originally only one work, consisting of two parts. But this opinion is at variance with Luke's own description of the relation of these two writings to each other (l)eing called by him, the one the former and the other the latter treatise); and also with the fact that the two works have invariably, and from the earliest times, appeared with distinct titles. Of the greater part of the events recorded in the Acts the writer himself appears to have been witness. He is for the first time introduced into the narrative in ch. xvi. 11, where he speaks of accompanying Paul to Philippi. He then dis- appears from the narrative until Paul's return to Philippi, more than two years afterwards, when it is stated that they left that place in company (xx. G) ; from which it may be justly inferred that Luke spent the interval in that town. From this time to the close of the period embraced by his narrative he appears as the companion of the apostle. For the materials, therefore, of all he has recorded from ch. xvi. 11, to xxviii. 31, he may be regarded as having drawn upon his own recollection or on that of the apostle. To the latter source, also, may be confidently traced all he has recorded concerning the earlier events of the apostle's career ; and as respects the circum- stances recorded in the first twelve chapters of the Acts, and which relate chiefly to the church at Jerusalem and the labours of the apostle Peter, we may readily suppose that they were so much the matter of general notoriety among the Christians with whom Luke associated, that he needed no assistance from any other merely human source in recording them. With regard to the desiyn of the evangelist in writing this book, a prevalent popular opinion is, that Luke, having in his Gospel given a history of the life of Christ, intended to follow that up by giving in the Acts a narrative of the establishment and early progress of his religion in the world. That this, however, could not have been his design is obvious from the very partial and limited view which his narrative gives of the state of things in the church gene- rally during the period through which it extends. As little can we regard this book as designed to record the official history of the apostles Peter and Paul, for we find many particulars concern- ing both these apostles mentioned incidentally elsewhere, of which Luke takes no notice (comp. 2 Cor. xi.; Gal. i. 17; ii. 11; 1 Pet. v. 13). Some are of opinion that no particular design should be ascribed to the evangelist in compos- ing this bock beyond that of furnishing his friend Theophilus with a pleasing and instruo- 22 ACTS, SPURIOUS tive narrative of such events as had come under his own notice; but such a view savours too much of the lax opinions which these writers unhappily entertained regarding the sacred writers, to be adopted by those who regard all the sacred books as designed for the permanent instruction and benefit of the church universal. Much more deserving of attention is the opinion that ' the genA'al design of the author of this book was, by means of his narratives, to set forth the co-operation of God in the diffusion of Christianity, and along with that, to prove, by i remarkable facts, the dignity of the apostles and the perfectly equal right of the Gentiles with the Jews to a participation in the blessings of that religion.' Perhaps we should come still closer to the truth if -we were to say that the design of Luke in writing the Acts was to sup- ply, by select and suitable instances, an illustra- tion of the power and working of that religion which Jesus had died to establish. In his Gospel he bad presented to his readers an exhibition of Christianity as embodied in the person, character, and works of its great founder ; and having fol- lowed him in his narration until he was taken up out of the sight of his disciples into heaven, this second work was written to show how his reli- gion operated when committed to the hands of those by whom it was to be announced ' to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem ' (Luke xxiv. 47). Respecting the time when this book was com- posed it is impossible to speak with certainty. As the history is continued up to the close of the ACTS, SPURIOUS second year of Paul's imprisonment at Rome, it could not have been written before a.d. 63 ; it was probably, however, composed very soon after, so that we shall not err far if we assign the interval between the year 63 and the year 65 as the period of its completion. Still greater un- certainty hangs over the place where Luke com- posed it, but as he accompanied Paul to Rome, perhaps it was at that city and under the auspices of the apostle that it was prepared. The sti/le of Luke in the Acts is, like his style in his Gospel, much purer than that of most other books in the New Testament. The He- braisms which occasionally occur are almost exclusively to be found in the speeches of others which he has reported. His mode of narrating events is clear, dignified, and lively ; and, as Michaelis observes, ' he has well supported the character of each person whom he has intro- duced as delivering a public harangue, and has very faithfiiUy and happily preserved the manner of speakmg which was peculiar to each of his orators.' Whilst, as Lardner and others have very satis- factorily shown, the credibility of the events recorded by Luke is fully authenticated both by internal and external evidence, very great ob- scurity attaches to the chroiwlogy of these events. Our space will not permit us to enter at large into this point, we shall therefore content our- selves with merely presenting, in a tabular form, the dates affixed to the leading events by those writers whose authority is most deserving of consideration in such an inquiry. The Ascension of Christ Stoning of Stephen Conversion of Paul Paul's first journey to Jerusalem (Acts ix. 26) James's Martyrdom, &c Paul's second journey to Jerusalem (Acts xi. 30) Paul's first missionary tour Paul's third journey to Jerusalem (Acts xv.) Paul arrives at Corinth Paul's fourth journey to Jerusalem (Acts xviii. 22) Paul's abode at Ephesus Paul's fifth journey to Jerusalem (Acts xxi. 17) ._ Paul arrives in Rome 34 35 38 44 44 45-46 53 54 56 56-59 44 44-47 54 54-57 33 37? 44 44 54? 35 38 44 44 44 52 53 55 56-58 59 62 36 36-38 39 44 44 49? 54 31 37 38 41 43 44 44 48 52 54 55-59 58 61 ACTS, SPURIOUS [Apocrypha]. This term has been applied to several ancient writings pretended to have been composed by, or to supply historical facts respecting our Blessed Saviom- and his disciples, or other individuals whose actions are recorded in the holy Scriptures. Some of these writings are still extant ; others are only known to have existed, hj the accounts of tliem which are to be met with in ancient authors. Such, for example, is the beautiful sentiment dted by St. Paul (Acts xx. 35), It is more blessed to give than to receive, which some have supposed to be taken from some lost apocryphal book. But the probability is that St. Paul received the passage by tradition from the other apostles. Various other sayings, ascribed to Christ by early writers, which are alleged to be derived from apocryphal gospels, are in all probability nothing more than loose quotations from the Scriptures, which were very common among the apostolical fathers. The most remarkable of the apociyphai Acts ascribed to our Lord is the letter which he is ADAM said to have written to Agbanis, king of Edessa, in answer to a request from that monarch that he would come to heal a disease under which he laboured. Some few historians have maintained the genuineness of these letters, but most writers, including the great majority of Roman Catholic divines, reject them as spurious; and there is good reason to believe that the whole chapter of Eusebius which contains these documents is itself an interpolation. Acts of the Apostles, Spurious. Of these several are extant, others are lost, or only fragments of them are come down to us. The following is a catalogue of the principal spurious Acts still extant : — The Creed of the Apostles. — The Epistles of Barnabas, Clement, Ignatius, and Poli/carp. — Tfie Recognitions of Clement, or the Travels of Peter. — The Shepherd of Hernias. — The Acts of Pilate (spurious), or tlie Gospel of Nicodemiis. — The Acts of Paul, or the Martyrdom of Thecla. — Abdias's History of the Twelve Apostles. — The Constitutions of the Apostles. — The Canons of the Apostles. — The Li- turgies of the Apostles. — St. Paul's Epistle to the Laodiceans. — St. Paul's Letters to Seneca. AD'AD is the name of the chief deity of the Syrians, the sun. The name of this Syrian deity is most probably an element in the names of the Syrian kings Benhadad and Hadadezer. ADAD-RIM'MON, properly Hadad-Rimmon (a garden of pomegranates), a city in the valley of Jezreel, where was fought the famous battle between King Josiah and Pharaoh-Necho (2 Kings xxiii. 29; Zech. xii. 11). Adad-rimmon was afterwards called Maximianopolis, in honour of the emperor Maximian. It was seventeen Roman miles from Caesarea, and ten miles from Jezreel. A'DAH (adornment, comeliness) : 1. one of the wives of Lamech (Gen. iv. 19) ; 2. one of the wives of Esau, daughter of Elon the Hittite (Gen. xxxvi. 4). She is called Judith in Gen. xxvi. 34. AD'AM, the word by which the Bible desig- nates the first human being. It is evident that, in the earliest use of lan- guage, the vocal sound employed to designate the first perceived object, of any kind, would be an appellative, and would be formed from some- thing known or apprehended to be a charac- teristic property of that object. The word would, therefore, be at once the appellative and the proper name. But when other objects of the same kind were discovered, or subsequently came into existence, difiiculty would be felt ; it would become necessary to guard against confusion, and the inventive faculty would be called upon to obtain a discriminative term for each and sin- gular individual, while some equally appropriate term would be fixed upon for the whole kind. Different methods of effecting these two pur- poses might be resorted to, but the most natural would be to retain the original term in its simple state, for the first individual : and to make some modification of it by prefixing another sound, or by subjoining one, or by altering the vowel or vowels in the body of the word, in order to have a term for the kind, and for the separate indi- ■viduals of the kind. This reasoning is exemplified in the first ap- plications of the word before us : (Gen. i. 26), ADAM 23 ' Let us make man [Adam] in our image ; ' (i. 27), ' And God created the man [the Adam] in his own image.' The next instance (ii. 7) ex- presses the source of derivation, a character or property; namely, the material of which the human body was formed : ' And the Lord God [Jehovah Elohim] formed the man [the Adam] dust from the ground [the adamah]'. The mean- ing of the primary word is, most probably, any kind of reddish tint, as a beautiftil human com- plexion (Lam. iv. 7) ; but its various derivatives are applied to different objects of a red or brown hue, or approaching to such. The word Adam, therefore, is an appellative noun made into a proper one. It is further remarkable that, in all the other instances in the second and third chap- ters of Genesis, which are nineteen, it is put with the article, the man, or the Adam. The question arises. Was the uttered sound, originally employed for this purpose, the very vocable Adam, or was it some other sound of correspondent signification ? This is equivalent to asking, what was the primitive language of men? That language originated in the instinctive cries of human beings herding together in a con- dition like that of common animals, is an hypo- thesis which, apart from all testimony of revela- tion, must appear unreasonable to a man of se- rious reflection. There are other animals, be- sides man, whose organs are capable of pro- ducing articulate sounds, through a considerable range of variety, and distinctly pronounced. How, then, is it that parrots, jays, and starlings have not among themselves developed an arti- culate language, transmitted it to their succes- sive generations, and improved it, both in the life-time of the individual and in the series of many generations ? Those birds never attempt to speak till they are compelled by a difiicult process on the part of their trainers, and they never train each other. Upon the mere ground of reasoning from the necessity of the case, it seems an inevitable con- clusion that not the capacity merely, but the actual use of speech, with the corresponding fa- culty of promptly understanding it, was given to the first human beings by a superior power: .and it would be a gratuitous absurdity to suppose that power to be any other than the Almighty Creator. In what manner such communication or infusion of what would be equivalent to a habit took place, it is in vain to inquire ; the subject lies beyond the range of human investi- gation : but, from the evident exigency, it must have been instantaneous, or nearly so. It is not necessary to suppose that a copious language was thus bestowed upon the human creatures in the first stage of their existence. We need to sup- pose only so much as would be requisite for the notation of the ideas of natural wants and the most important mental conceptions ; and from these, as germs, the powers of the mind and the faculty of vocal designation would educe new words and combinations as occasion de- manded. That the language thus formed continued to be the universal speech of mankind till after the deluge, and till the great cause of diversity took place, is in itself the most probable suppo- sition [Tongues, Confusion of]. If there were ADAM any families of men whicli were not involved in the crime of the Babel- builders, they would almost certainly retain the primeval language. The longevity of the men of that period would be a powerful conservative of that language against the slow changes of time. That there were such exceptions seems to be almost an indubitable inference from the fact that Noah long survived the unholy attempt. His faithful piety would not have suffered him to fall into the snare ; and it is difficult to suppose that none of his children and descendants would listen to his admonitions, and hold fast their integrity by adhering to him : on the contrary, it is reason- able to suppose that the habit and character of piety were established in many of them. The confusion of tongues, therefore, whatever was the nature of that judicial visitation, would not fall upon that portion of men which was the most orderly, thoughtful, and pious, among whom the second father of mankind dwelt as their acknowledged and revered head. If this supposition be admitted, Ave can have no difficulty in regarding as the mother of lan- guages, not indeed the Hebrew, absolutely speak- ing, but that which was the stock whence branched the Hebrew, and its sister tongues, usually called the Shemitic, but more properly, by Dr. Prichard, the Syro-Arabian. It may then be maintained that the actually spoken names of Adam and all the others mentioned in the ante- diluvian history "were those which we have in the Hebrew Bible, very slightly and not at all essentially varied. It is among the clearest deductions of reason, that men and all dependent beings have been created, that is, produced or brought into their first existence by an intelligent and adequately powerful being. A question, however, arises of great interest and importance. Did the Almightj^ Creator produce only one man and one woman, from whom all other human beings have de- scended?—or did he create several parental pairs, from whom distinct stocks of men have been derived? The aflarmative of the latter po- sition has been maintained by some, and, it must be confessed, not without apparent reason. The manifest and great differences in complexion and figure, which distinguish several races of mankind, are supposed to be such as entirely to' forbid the conclusion that they have all de- scended from one father and one mother. The question is usually regarded as equivalent to this : whether there is only one species of men, or there are several. But we cannot, in strict fairness, admit that the questions are identical. It is hypothetically conceivable that the Adorable God might give existence to any number of creatures, which should all possess the properties that characterize identity of species, even with- out such differences as constitute varieties, or ■with any degree of those differences. _ But the admission of the possibility is not a concession of the reality. So great is the evi- dence in favour of the derivation of the entire mass of human beings from one pair of ancestors, that it has obtained the, suffrage of the men most competent to judge upon a question of compa- rative anatomy and physiology. The animals which render emhient services to man, and peculiarly depend upon his protection, are widely diffused— the horse, the dog, the hog, the domestic fowl. Now of these, the varieties in each species are numerous and different, to a degree so great, that an observer ignorant of physiological history would scarcely believe them to be of the same species. But man is the most widely diffused of any animal. In the progress of ages and generations, he has natural- ized himself to every climate, and to modes of life which would prove fatal to an individual man suddenly transferred from a remote point of the field. The alterations produced affect every part of the body, internal and external, without extinguishing the marks of the specific identity. A further and striking evidence is, that when persons of different varieties are con- jugally united, the offspring, especially in two or three generations, becomes more prolific, and acquires a higher perfection in physical and mental qualities than was found in either of the parental races. From the deepest African black to the finest Caucasian white, the change runs through imperceptible gradations; and, if a middle hue be assumed, suppose some tint of brown, all the varieties of complexion may be explained upon the principle of divergence in- fluenced by outward circumstances. The con- clusion may be fairly drawn, in the words of the able translators and illustrators of Baron Cuvier's great work: — ' We are fully warranted in con- cluding, both from the comparison of man with inferior animals, so far as the inferiority will allow of such comparison, and, beyond that, by comparing him with himself, that the great family of mankind loudly proclaim a descent, at some period or other, from one common origin.' Thus, by an investigation totally independent of historical authoritj', we are brought to the conclusion of the inspired writings, that the Creator • hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth ' (Acts xvii. 26). We shall now follow the course of those sacred documents in tracing the histoi-y of the first man, persuaded that their right interpretation is a sure basis of truth. At the same time we shall not reject illustrations from natural history and the reason of particular facts. It is evident upon a little reflection, and the closest investigation confirms the conclusion, that the first human pair must have been created in a state equivalent to that which all subse- quent human beings have had to reach by slow degrees, in growth, experience, observation, imitation, and the instruction of others : that is, a state of prime maturity, and with an infusion, concreation, or whatever we may call it, of knowledge and habits, both physical and intel- lectual, suitable to the place which man had to occupy in the system of creation, and adequate to his necessities in that place. Had it been otherwise, the new beings could not have pre- served their animal existence, nor have held rational converse with each other, nor have paid ' to their Creator the homage of knowledge and love, adoration, and obedience ; and reason I clearly tells us that the last was the noblest end I of existence. Those whom unhappy prejudices lead to reject revelation must either admit this, I or must resort to suppositions of palpable ab- ADAM surdity and impossibility. If they will not admit a direct action of Divine power in crea- tion and adaptation to the designed mode of existence, they must admit something far beyond the miraculous, an infinite succession of finite beings, or a spontaneous production of order, organization, and systematic action, from some unintelligent origin. The Bible coincides with this dictate of honest reason, expressing these facts in simple and artless language, suited to the circumstances of the men to whom revelation was first granted. That this production in a mature state was the fact with regard to the vegetable part of the creation, is declared in Gen. ii. 4, 5 : ' In the day of Jehovah God's making the earth and the heavens, and every shrub of the field before it should be in the earth, and erery herb of the field before it should bud.' The two terms, shrubs and herb- age, are put to designate the whole vegetable kingdom. The reason of the case comprehends the other division of organized nature ; and this is applied to man and all other animals, in the words, ' Out of the ground— dust out of the ground — Jehovah God formed them.' It is to be observed that there are two narra- tives at the beginning of the Mosaic records, ditferent in style and manner, distinct and inde- pendent ; at first sight somewhat discrepant, but when strictly examined, perfectly compatible, and each one illustrating and completing the other. The first is contained in Gen. i. 1, to ii. 3 ; and the other, ii. 4, to iv. 26. As is the case with the Scripture history generally, they consist of a few principal facts, detached anec- dotes, leaving much of necessary implication which the good sense of the reader is called upon to supply ; and passing over large spaces of the history of life, upon which all conjecture would be fruitless. In *he second of these narratives we read, • And Jehovah God formed the man [Heb. the Adam], dust from the ground [ha-adamali], and blew into his nostrils the breath of life ; and the man became a living animal' (Gen. ii. 7). Here are two objects of attention, the organic me- chanism of the human body, and the vitality with which it was endowed. The mechanical material, formed (moulded, or arranged, as an artificer models clay or wax) into the human and all other animal bodies, is called ' dust from the ground.' This would be a natural and easy expression to men in the early ages, before chemistry was known or minute philosophical distinctions were thought of, to convey, in a general form, the idea of earthy matter, the constituent substance of the ground on which we tread. To say, that of this the human and every other animal body was formed, is a position which would be at once the most easily apprehensible to an uncultivated mind, and which yet is the most exactly true upon the highest philosophical grounds. We now know, from chemical analysis, that the animal body is composed, in the inscrutable manner called or- ganization, of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitro- gen, lime, iron, sulphur, and phosphorus. Now all these are mineral substances, which in their various combinations form a very large part of the solid ground. The expression which we have rendered ADAM 25 ' living animal' sets before us the organic life of the animal frame, that mysterious something which man cannot create nor restore, which baffles the most acute philosophers to search out its nature, and which reason combines with Scripture to refer to the immediate agency of the Almighty—' in him we live, and move, and have our being.' The other narrative is contained in Uiese words, ' God created man in his own image : in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them ' (Gen. i. 27 ). The imaije (resemblance, such as a shadow bears to the object which casts it) of God is an expression which breathes at once archaic simplicity and the most recondite wisdom ; for what term could the most cultivated and copious language bring forth more suitable to the purpose ? It presents to us man as made in a resemblance to the author of his being, a true resemblance, but faint and shadowy ; an outline, faithful according to its capacity, yet infinitely remote from the reality : a distant form of the intelUyeuce, wisdom, power, rectitude, goodness, and dominion of the Adorable Supreme. To the inferior sentient beings with wliich he is connected man stands in the place of God. We have every reason to think that none of them are capable of con- ceiving a being higher than man. All, in their different ways, look up to him as their superior ; the ferocious generally flee before him, afraid to encounter his power, and the gentle court his protection and show their highest joy to consist in serving and pleasing him. Even in our degenerate state it is manifest that if we treat the domesticated animals with wisdom and kind- ness, their attachment is most ardent and faithful. Thus had man the shadow of the divine do- minion and authority over the inferior creation. The attribute of power was also given to him, in his being made able to convert the inanimate objects and those possessing only the vegetable life, into the instruments and the materials for supplying his wants, and continually enlarging his sphere of command. In such a state of things knowledge and wis- dom are implied : the one quality, an acquaint- ance with tilose substances and their changeful actions which were necessary for a creature like man to understand, in order to his safety and comfort ; the other, such sagacity as would di- rect him in selecting the best objects of desire and pursuit, and the right means for attaining them. Above all, moral excellence must have been comprised in this ' image of God ;' and not only forming a part of it, but being its crown of beauty and glory. The Christian inspiration, than which no more perfect disclosure of God is to take place on this side eternity, casts its light upon this subject : for this apostle Paul, in urging the obligations of Christians to perfect holiness, evidently alludes to the eadowments of the first man in two parallel and mutually illus- trative epistles; ' — the new man, renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him ; the new man which, after [according to] God, is created in righteousness ai.d true holi- ness' (Col. iii. 10; Eph. iv. 24). In this perfection of faculties, and with these 26 ADAM high prerogatives of moral existence, did hu- man nature, in its first subject, rise up from the creating hand. The whole Scripture-narrative implies that this 8tate of existence was one of correspondent activity and enjoyment. It plainly represents the Deity himself as condescending to assume a human form and to employ human speech, in order to instruct and exercise the happy creatures whom (to borrow the just and beautiful language of the Apocryphal ' Wisdom') ' God created for incorruptibility, and made him an image of his own nature' (Wisd. Sol. ii. 23). The noble and sublime idea that man thus had his INIaker for his teacher and guide, pre- cludes a thousand difficulties. It shows us the simple, direct, and effectual method by which the newly formed creature would have commu- nicated to him all the intellectual knowledge, and all the practical arts and manipulations, M'hich were needful and beneficial for him. Religious knowledge and its appropriate habits also required an immediate infusion : and these are pre-eminently comprehended in the ' image of God.' On the one hand, it is not to be sup- posed that the newly created man and his female companion were inspired with a very ample share of the doctrinal knowledge which was communicated to their posterity by the succes- sive and accumulating revolutions of more than four thousand years : and, on the other, we can- not imagine that they were left in gross igno- rance upon the existence and excellencies of the Being who had made them, their obligations to him, and the way in which they might continue to receive the greatest blessings from him. It Ls self-evident that, to have attained such a kind and degree of knowledge, by spontaneous effort, under even the favourable circumstances of a state of negative innocehce, would have been a long and arduous work. But the sacred narra- tive leaves no room for doubt upon this head. In the primitive style it tells of God as speaking to them, commanding, instructing, assigning their work, pointing out their danger, and show- ing how to avoid it. All this, reduced to the dry simplicity of detail, is equivalent to saying that the Creator, infinitely kind and condescend- ing, by the use of forms and modes adapted to their capacity, fed their minds with truth, gave them a ready understanding of it and that de- light in it which constituted holiness, taught them to hold intercourse with himself by direct addresses in both praise and prayer, and gave some disclosures of a future state of blessedness when they should have fulfilled the condition of their probation. An especial instance of this instruction and in- fusion of practical habits is given to us in the narrative : ' Out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air ; and brought them unto the man, to see what he would call them' (Gen. ii. 19). This, taken out of the style of condescending anthropomorphism, amounts to such a statement as the following: the Creator had not only formed man with organs of speech, but he taught him the use of them, by an immediate communication of the practical faculty and its accompanying intelligence ; and he guided the man, as yet the solitary one of his species, to this among the first applications of speech, the ADAM designating of the animals with which he was connected, by appellative words which would both be the help of his memory and assist his mental operations, and thus would be introduc- tory and facilitating to more enlarged applica- tions of thought and language. We are further warranted, by the recognised fact of the anec- dotal and fragmentary structure of the Scripture history, to regard this as the selected instance for exhibiting a whole kind or class of opera- tions or processes ; implying that, in the same or similar manner, the first man was led to under- stand something of the qualities and relations of vegetables, earthy matters, the visible heavens, and the other external objects to which he had a relation. The next important article in this primeval history is the creation of the human female. The narrative is given in the more summary manner in the former of the two documents : — ' Male and female created he them ' (Gen. i. 27). It stands a little more at length in a third docu- ment, which begins the fifth chapter, and has the characteristic heading or title by which the Hebrews designated a separate work. ' This, the book of the generations of Adam. In the day God created Adam; he made him in the likeness of God, male and female he created them ; and he blessed them, and he called their name Adam, in the day of their being created ' (ver. 1, 2). The second of the narratives is more circum- stantial : * And Jehovah God said, it is not good the man's being alone : I will make for him a help suitable for him.' Then follows the pas- sage concerning the review and the naming of the inferior animals ; and it continuee — ' but for Adam he found not a help suitable for him. And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man [the Adam], and he slept : and he took one out of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place : and Jehovah God built up the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman, and he brought her to the man.' The next particular into which the sacred history leads us, is one which we cannot ap- proach without a painful sense of its difficulty and delicacy. It stands thus in the authorized version : ' And they were both naked, the man and his wife; and were not ashamed' (ii. 25). The common interpretation is, that, in this re- spect, the two human beings, the first and only existing ones, were precisely in the condition of the youngest infants, incapable of perceiving any incongruity in the total destitution of artificial clothing. But a little reflection will tell us, and the more carefully that reflection is pursued the more it will appear just, that this supposition is inconsistent with what we have established on solid grounds, the supernatural infusion into the minds of our first parents and into their nervous and muscular faculties, of the knowledge and practical habits which their descendants have had to acquire by the long process of instruc- tion and example. We have seen the necessity that there must have been communicated to them, directly by the Creator, no inconsiderable measure of natural knowledge and the methods of applying it, or their lives could not have been secured; and of moral and spiritual 'know- ledge, righteousness, and true holiness,' such a ADAM measure as would belong to the sinless state, and -would enable them to render an intelligent and perfect worship to the Glorious Deity. It seems impossible for that state of mind and habits to exist without a correct sensibility to proprieties and decencies which infant children cannot understand or feel; and the capacities and duties of their conjugal state are implied in the narrative. Further, it cannot be overlooked that, though we are entitled to ascribe to the locality of Eden the most bland atmosphere and delightful soil, yet the action of the sun's rays upon the naked skin, the range of temperature through the day and the night, the alternations of dryness and moisture, the various labour among trees and bushes, and exposure to insects, would render some protective clothing quite in- dispensable. From these considerations we feel ourselves obliged to understand the word arom in that which is its most usual signification in the Hebrew language, as importing not an absolute, but a partial or comparative nudity, a stripping off of the upper garment, or of some other usual article of dress, when all the habiliments were not laid aside ; and this is a more frequent signification than that of entire destitution. If it be asked. Whence did Adam and Eve derive this clothing ? we reply, that, as a part of the divine instruc- tion which we have established, thej'^ were taught to take off the inner bark of some trees, which would answer extremely well for this pur- pose. If an objection be drawn from Gen. iii. 7, 10, 11, we reply, that, in consequence of the trans- gression, the clothing was disgracefully injured. Another inquiry presents itself. How long did the state of paradisiac innocence and happi- ness continue ? Some have regarded the period as very brief, not more even than a single day ; but this manifestly falls very short of the time which a reasonable probability requires. The first man was brought into existence in the region called Eden; then he was introduced into a particular part of it, the garden, re- plenished with the richest productions of the Creator's bounty for the delight of the eye and the other senses ; the most agreeable labour was lequired 'to dress and to keep it,' implying some arts of culture, preservation from injury, train- ing flowers and fruits, and knowing the various uses and enjoyments of the produce ; making observation upon the works of God, of which an investigation and designating of animals is expressly specified; nor can we suppose that there was no contemplation of the magnificent sky and the heavenly bodies: above all, the wondrous communion with the condescending Deity, and probably with created spirits of su- perior orders, by which the mind would be ex- cited, its capacity enlarged, and its holy felicity continually increased. It is also to be remarked, that the narrative (Gen. ii. 19, 20) conveys the implication that some time was allowed to elapse, that Adam might discover and feel his want of a companion of his own species, 'a help corre- spondent to him.' These considerations impress us with a sense of probability, amounting to a conviction, that a period not very short was requisite for the exer- cise of man's faculties, the disclosures of his happiness, and the service of adoration which he ADAM 27 could pay to his Creator. But all these con- siderations are strengthened by the recollection that they attach to man's solitary state ; and that they all require new and enlarged application when the addition of conjugal life is brought into the account. The conclusion appears irre- sistible that a duration of many days, or rather weeks or months, would be requisite for so many and important purposes. Thus divinely honoured and happy were the progenitors of mankind in the state of their creation. The next scene which the sacred history brings before us is a dark reverse. Another agent comes into the field and successfully employs his arts for seducing Eve, and by her means Adam, from their original state of rectitude, dignity, and happiness. Among the provisions of divine wisdom and goodness were two vegetable productions of wondrous qualities and mysterious significancy : ' the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil' (Gen. ii. 9). It would add to tlie precision of the terms, and perhaps aid our understanding of them, if we were to adhere strictly to the Hebrew by re- taining the definite prefix: and then we have ♦ the tree of the life ' and ' the tree of the know- ledge.' Thus would be indicated the particular life of which the one was a symbol and instru- ment, and THE fatal knowledge springing from the abuse of the other. At the same time, we do not maintain that these appellations were given to them at the beginning. We rather suppose that they were applied afterwards, sug- gested by the events and connection, and so be- came the historical names. We see no sufficient reason to understand, as some do, ' the tree of life,' collectively, as im- plying a species, and that there were many trees of that species. The figurative use of the ex- pression in Eev. xxii. 2, where a plurality is plainly intended, involves no evidence of such a design in this literal narrative. The phraseo- logy of the text best agrees with the idea of a single tree, designed for a special purpose, and not intended to perpetuate its kind. Though in the state of innocence, Adam and Eve might be liable to some corporal suffering from the changes of the season and the weather, or accidental cir- cumstances ; in any case of which occurring, this tree had been endowed by the bountiful Creator with a medicinal and restorative pro- perty, probably in the way of instantaneous miracle. We think also that it was designed for a sacramental or symbolical purpose, a repre- sentation and pledge of ' the life,' emphatically so called, heavenly immortality when the term of probation should be happily completed. Yet we by no means suppose that this ' tree of the life' possessed any intrinsic property of com- municating immortality. In tiie latter view, it was a sign and seal of the divine promise. But, with regard to the former intention, we see nothing to forbid the idea that it had most effi- cacious medicinal properties in its fruit, leaves, and other parts. Such were called trees of life by the Hebrews (Prov. iii. 18; xi. 30; xiii. 12; XV. 4). The ' tree of the knowledge of good and evil' might be any tree whatever ; it might be of any 28 ADAM species even yet remaining, though, if it were so, ■we could not determine its species, for the plain reason, that no name, description, or information ■whatever is given that could possibly lead to the ascertainment. Yet -we cannot but think the more reasonable probability to be, that it was a tree having poisonous properties, stimulating, and intoxicating, such as are found in some exist- ing species, especially in hot climates. On this ground, die prohibition to eat or even touch the tree ■was a beneficent provision against the danger of pain and death. But the revealed ob- ject of this ' tree of the knowledge of good and evil ' was that ■which ■would require no particular properties beyond some degree of external beauty and fruit of an immediately pleasant taste. That object ■was to be a test of obedience. For such a purpose, it is evident that to select an indifferent act, to be the object prohibited, was necessary ; as the obligation to refrain should be only that which arises simply, so far as the subject of the law can know, from the sacred will of the law- giver. This does not, however, nullify what we have said upon the possibility, or even proba- bility, that the tree in question had noxious qualities : for upon either the affirmative or the negative of the supposition, the subjects of this positive law, having upon all antecedent gi-ounds the fullest conviction of the perfect rectitude and benevolence of tlieir Creator, would see in it the simple character of a test, a means of proof, whether they would or would not implicitly con- fide in him. For so doing they had every pos- sible reason ; and against any thought or mental feeling tending to the violation of the precept, they were in possession of the most powerful motives. There was no difficulty in the observ- ance. They were surrounded with a paradise of delights, and they had no reason to imagine that any good whatever would accrue to them from their seizing upon anything prohibited. If per- plexity or doubt arose, they had ready access to their divine benefactor for obtaining information and direction. But they allowed the thought of disobedience to form itself into a disposition, and then a purpose. Thus was the seal broken, the integrity of the heart was gone, the sin was generated, and the outward a«t was the consummation of the dire process. Eve, less informed, less cautious, less endowed with strength of mind, became the more ready victim. ' The woman, being de- ceived, was in the transgression;' but 'Adam was not deceived ' (1 Tim. ii. 14). He rushed knowingly and deliberately to ruin. The offence had grievous aggravations. It was the prefer- once of a trifling gratification to the approbation of the Supreme Lord of the imiverse ; it implied a denial of the wisdom, holiness, goodness, veracity, and power of God; it was marked with extreme ingratitude ; and it involved a con- temptuous disregard of consequences, awfully im- pious as it referred to their immediate connection with the moral government of God, and cruelly selfish as it respected their posterity. The instrument of the temptation was a ser- pent ; whether any one of the existing kinds it is evidently impossible for us to know. Of that numerous order many species are of brilliant colours and playful in their attitudes and man- ners so that one may well conceive of such an ADAM object attracting and fascinating the first woman. Whether it spoke in an articulate voice, like the human, or expressed the sentiments attributed to it by a succession of remarkable and significant actions, may be a subject of reasonable question. The latter is possible, and it seems the prefer- able hypothesis, as, without a miraculous inter- vention, the mouth and throat of no serpent could form a vocal utterance of words ; and we cannot attribute to any wicked spirit the power of working miracles. This part of the narrative begins with the words, ' And the serpent was crafty above every animal of the field' (Gen. iii. I). It is to be observed that this is not said of the order of serpents, as if it were a general property of them, but of that particular serpent. Indeed, this ' cunning craftiness, lying in wait to deceive ' (Eph. iv. 14), is the very character of that ma- lignant creature of whos? wily stratagems the reptile was a mere instrument. The existence of spirits, superior to man, and of whom some have become depraved, and are labouring to spread wickedness and misery to the utmost of their power, has been found to be the belief of all nations, ancient and modern, of whom we possess information. It has also been the ge- neral doctrine of both Jews and Christians, that one of those fallen spirits was the real agent in this first and successful temptation; and this doctrine receives strong confirmation from the declarations of our Lord and his apostles. See 2 Cor. ii. 11 ; xi. 3, 14 ; Rev. xii. 9 ; xx. 2 ; John viii. 44. The summary of these passages pre- sents almost a history of the Fall— the tempter, his manifold arts, his serpentine disguises, his falsehood, his restless activity, his bloodthirsty cruelty, and his early success in that career of deception and destruction. The condescending Deity, who had held gra- cious ajid instructive communion with the pa- rents of mankind, assuming a human form and adapting all his proceedings to their capacity, visibly stood before them ; by a searching inter- rogatory drew from them the confession of their guilt, ■B'hich yet they aggravated by evasions and insinuations against God himself; and pro- nounced on them and their seducer the sentence due. On the woman he inflicted the pains of child-bearing, and a deeper and more humiliating dependence upon her husband. He doomed the man to hard and often fruitless toil, instead of easy and pleasant labour. On both, or rather on human nature universally, he pronounced the awful sentence of death. The denunciation of the serpent partakes more of a symbolical cha- racter, and so seems to carry a strong impli- cation of the nature and the wickedness of the concealed agent. The human sufferings threat- ened are all, excepting the last, which will re- quire a separate consideration, of a remedial and corrective kind. Of a quite different character are the penal denunciations upon the serpent. If they be un- derstood literally, and of course applied to the whole order of Ophidia, they will be found to be so flagrantly at variance with the most demon- strated facts in their physiology and economy, as to lead to inferences unfavourable to belief in revelation. Let us examine the particulars : — ' Because thou hast done this cursed art thou ADAM above all cattle;' literally, ' above every behe- mah.' But the serpent tribe cannot be classed with I that of the behemoth. The word is of very fre- [ quent occurrence in the Old Testament; and } though, in a few instances, it seems to be put for brevity so as to be inclusive of the flocks as well as the herds, and in poetical diction it sometimes ! stands metonyniically for animals generally (as I Job xviii. 3; Ps. Ixxiii. 22; Eccles. iii. 18, 19, j 21); yet its proper and universal application is I to the large animals (pachyderms and rumi- I nants), such as the elephant, camel, deer, horse, I ox, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, &c. [IBehejioth]. I As little will the declaration, ' cursed — ,' j agree with natural truth. It may, indeed, be supposed to be verified in the shuddering which persons generally feel at the aspect of any one cf the order of serpents ; but this takes place als« in many other cases. It springs from fear of the formidable weapons with which some species are armed, as few persons know before- ! hand which are venomous and which are harm- less ; and, after all, this is rather an advantage than a curse to the animal. It is an effectual defence without effort. Indeed, we may say that no tribe of animals is so secure from danger, or is so able to obtain its sustenance and all the enjoyments which its capacity and habits require, as the whole order of serpents. If, then, we decline to urge the objection from the word behcmah, it is difficult to conceive that serpents have more causes of suffering than any other great division of animals, or even so much. Further, ' going upon the belly ' is to none of them a punishment. With some differences of mode, their progression is produced by the push- ing of scales, shields, or rings against the ground, I by muscular contractions and dilatations, by elastic springings, by vertical undulations, or by horizontal wrigglings ; but, in every variety, the entire orc;anization — skeleton, muscles, nerves, integuments — is adapted to the mode of pro- gression belonging to each species. That mode, in every variety of it, is sufficiently easy and rapid (often very rapid) for all the purposes of the animal's life and the amplitude of its enjoy- i ments. To imagine this mode of motion to be, I in any sense, a change from a prior attitude and I habit of the erect kind, or being furnished with ! wings, indicates a perfect ignorance of the ana- tomy of serpents. Yet it has been said by learned and eminent theological interpreters, that, before this crime was committed, the serpent probably did ' not go upon his belly, but moved upon the hinder part of his body, with his head, breast, aid belly upright' (Clarke's Bible, p. 1690). This notion may have obtained credence from the fact that some of the numerous serpent spe- cies, when excited, raise the neck pretty high ; but the posture is to strike, and they cannot maintain it in creeping except for a very short distinre. Neither do they ' eat dust.' All serpents are carnivorous; their food, according to the size and power of the species, is taken from the tribes of insects, worms, frogs, and toads, and newts, birds, mice, and other small quadrupeds, till the scale ascends to the pythons and boas, which can master and swallow very large animals. The excellent writer just cited, in his anxiety to do honour, as he deemed it, to the accuracy of ADAM 29 Scripture allusions, has said of the serpent, ' Now that he creeps with his very mouth upon the earth, he must necessarily take his food out of the dust, and so lick in some of the dust with it.' But this is rot the fact. Serpents habitually obtain their food among herbage or in water ; they seize their prey with the mouth, often ele- vate the head, ai.d are no more exposed to the necessity of swallowing adherent earth than are carnivorous birds or quadrupeds. At the same time, it may be understood figuratively. ' Eating the dust is but another term for grovelling in the dust ; ai,d this is equivalent to being reduced to a condition of meanness, shame, and contempt. — ISee Micah vii. 17.' But these and other inconsistencies and diffi- culties (insuperable they do indeed appear to us) are swept away when we consider the fact before stated, that the Hebrew, literally rendered, is THE serpent was, &c., and that it refers specifi- cally and personally to a rational and account- able being, the spirit of lying and cruelty, the devil, the Satan, the old serpent. That God, the infinitely holy, good, and wise, should have per- mitted any one or more celestial spirits to apos- tatize from purity, and to be the successful se- ducers of mankind, is indeed an awful and over- whelming mysteiy. But it is not more so than the permitted existence of many among man- kind, whose rare talents and extraordinary com- mand of power and opportunity, combined with extreme depravity, have rendered them the plague and curse of the earth; and the whole merges into the awful and insolvable problem. Why has the All-perfect Deity permitted evil at all ? We are firmly assured that He will bring forth, at last, the most triumphant evidence that ' He is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.' In the mean time, our happiness lies in the implicit confidence which we cannot but feel to be due to the Being of Infinite Per- fection. The remaining part of the denunciation upon the false and cruel seducer sent a beam of light irito the agonized hearts of our guilty first pa- rents : ' And enmity will I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he will attack thee [on] the head, and thou wilt attack him [at] the heel.' Christian interpreters generally regard this as the first gospel-premise, and we think with good reason. It Avas a ma- nifestation of mercy : it revealed a Deliverer, who ' should be a human being, in a peculiar sense the offspring of the female, who should also, in some way not yet made Iciiown, counter- act and remedy the injury inflicted, and who, though partially suffering from the malignant power, should, in the end, completely conquer it, and convert its very success into its own punishment ' (J. Pye Smith, Scripture Testimony to the Messiah, vol. i. p. 226). The awful threatening to man was, ' In the day that thou eatest of it, thou wilt die the death.' The infliction is Death in the most com- prehensive sense, that which stands opposed to Life, the life of not only animal enjoyment, but holy happiness, the life which comported with the image of God. This was lost by the fall; and the sentence of physical death was pro- nounced, to be executed in due time. Divine mercy gave a long respite. ADAMANT ADBEEL ' The same mercy was displayed in still more tempering the terrors of justice. The garden of 1 1 delights -was not to be the abode of rebellious I creatures. But before they were turned out into I a bleak and dreary wilderness, God was pleased ! to direct them to make clothing suitable to their j new and degraded condition, of the skins of ani- I mals. That those animals had been offered in I sacrifice is a conjecture supported by so much ] probable evidence, that we may regard it as a well-established truth. Any attempt to force "oack the way, to gain anew the tree of life, and ! take violent or fraudulent possession, would have ! been equally impious and nugatory. The sacri- I fice (which all approximative argument obliges us to admit), united with the promise of a de- liverer, and the promise of substantial clothing, contained much hope of pardon and grace. The terrible debarring by lightning flashes and their consequent thunder, and by visible supernatural I agency (Gen. iii. 22-24), from a return to the I bowers of bliss, are expressed in the characteristic I patriarchal style of anthropopathy ; but the I meaning evidently is, that the fallen creature is I unable by any efforts of his own to reinstate '< himself in the favour of God, and that whatever i hope of restoration he may be allowed to cherish I must spring solely from free benevolence. Thus, i in laying the first stone of the temple, which i shall be an immortal habitation of the Divine j glory, it was manifested that ' Salvation is of the ' Lord,' and that ' grace reigneth through right- I eousness unto eternal life.' ! From this time we have little recorded of the ! lives of Adam and Eve. Their three sons are i mentioned with important circumstances in con- I nection with each of them. See the articles i Cain, Abel, and Seth. Cain was probably j born in the year after the fall; Abel, possibly I some years later; Seth, certainly one hundred ; and thirty years from the creation of his parents. After that, Adam lived eight hundred years, : and had sons and daughters, doubtless by Eve, and then he died, nine hundred and thirty years I old. In that prodigious period many events, j and those of great importance, must have oc- ] curred ; but the wise providence of God has not : seen fit to preserve to us any memorial of them, and scarcely any vestiges or hints are afforded of ' the occupations and mode of life of men through I the antediluvian period [Antediluvians]. 2. ADAM, a city at some distance east from the Jordan, to which, or beyond which, the over- ] flow of the waters of that river extended when the course of the stream to the Dead Sea was j stayed to afford the Israelites a passage across its channel. 1 AD'AMAH. [Admah.] j ADAMANT. The word thus rendered is, in Hebrew, Shamir. It occurs in Jer. xvii. 1 ; I Ezek. iii. 9; Zech. vii. 12. The Sept. in Jer. j xvii. 1, and the Vulgate in all these passages, j take it for the diamond. The signification of j the word, ' a sharp point,' countenances this in- ' terpretation, the diamond being for its hardness j used in perforating and cutting other minerals. I Indeed, this use of the shamir is distinctly al- I luded to in Jer. xvii. 1, where the sti/his pointed [ with it is distinguished from one of iron. The I two other passages also favour this view by using it figuratively to express the hardness and obduracy of the Israelites. Our Authorized Version has 'diamond' in Jer. xvii. 1, and ' adamant ' in the other texts : but in the ori- ginal the word is the same in all. Bochart, however, rejects the usual explanation, and con- ceives it to mean ' emery.' This is a calcined iron mixed with siliceous earth, occurring in livid scales of such hardness that in ancient times, as at present, it was used for polishing and engraving precious stones, diamonds ex- cepted. Rosenmiiller urges in favour of this notion that if the Hebrews had been acquainted with the diamond, and with the manjierof work- ing it, we should doubtless have found it among the stones of the high-priest's breastplate ; and that, as the shamir was not one of the stones thus employed, therefore it was not the diamond. But to this it may be answered, that it was per- haps not used because it could not be engraved on, or was possibly not introduced until a later period. • A'DAR (Esth. iii. 7) is the sixth month of the civil and the twelfth of the ecclesiastical year of the Jews. The name was first introduced after the Captivity. The following are the chief days in it which are set apart for commemoration : — The 7th is a fast for the death of Moses (Dent, xxxiv. 5, 6). On the 9th there was a fast in memory of the contention or open rupture of the cele- brated schools of Hillel and Shammai, which happened but a few years before the birth of Christ. The 13th is the so-called 'Fast of Esther.' Iken observes {Antiq. Hehr. p. 150) that this was not an actual fast, but merely a commemoration of Esther's fast of three days (Esth. iv. 16), and a preparation for the ensuing festival. Nevertheless, as Esther appears, from the date of Haman's edict, and from the course of the narrative, to have fasted in Nisan, Bux- torf adduces from the Rabbins the following account of the name of this fast, and of the foun- dation of its observance in Adar, that the Jews assembled together on the 13th, in the time of Esther, and that, after the example of Moses, who fasted when the Israelites were about to engage in battle with the Amalekites, they de- voted that day to fasting and pi-ayer, in prepa- ration for the perilous trial which awaited them on the morrow. In this sense, this fast would stand in the most direct relation to the feast of Purim. The 13th was also, ' by a common de- cree,' appointed as a festival in memory of the death of Nicanor (2 Mace. xv. 36). The 14th and 15th were devoted to the feast of Purim (Esth. ix. 21). In case the year was an inter- calary one, when the month of Adar occurred twice, this feast was first moderately observed in the intercalary Adar, and then celebrated with full splendour in the ensuing Adar. The former of these two celebrations was then called the lesser, and the latter the great Purim. ADA'SA, or Adarsa, called also by Josephus Adazer, Adaco, and Acodaco, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, said to have been four miles from Beth-horon, and not far from Gophna. It was the scene of some important transactions in the history of the Maccabees ( 1 Mac. vii. 40, 45 ; Joseph. Antiq. xii. 10. 5; Bell. Jud. i. 1). ADB'EEL, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael, and founder of an Arabian tribe (Gen. xxv. 13, 16). ADDER ADDER, the English name of a kind of ser- pent. It occurs several times in the English version of the Bible, and is there used not for a particular species, but generally for several of this dangerous class of reptiles. We have before us a list, far from complete, of the erpetology of Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt, in -which there are, among forty-three species indicated, about eight whose biteis accompanied with a venomous eflusion, and therefore almost all very danger- ous. In our present state of knowledge we deem it best to discuss, under the words Serpent and Viper, all the Hebrew names not noticed in this article, and to refer to them those occurring in our version under the appellations of ' asp,' ' cockatrice,' &c. ; and likewise to review the al- lusions to colossal boas and pythons, and, finally, to notice water-snakes and muraense, which translators and biblical naturalists have totally overlooked, although they must exist in the lakes of the Delta, are abundant on the north coast of Africa, and often exceed eight feet in length. In this place we shall retain that genus alone which Laurenti and Cuvier have established ADDER 31 upon characters distinguished from the inno- cuous coluber, and the venomous vipera, and denominated uaja. The genus Naja — Haridi(?) of Savary — is distinguished by a plaited head, large, very venomous fangs, a neck dilatable under excite- ment, which raises the ribs of the anterior part of the body into the form of a disk or hood, when the scales, usually not imbricated, but lying in juxta-position, are separated, and expose the skin, which at that time displays bright iride- scent gleams, contrasting highly with their brown, yellow, and bluish colours. The spe- cies attain at least an equal, if not a superior, size to the generality of the genus viper; are more massive in their structure ; and some pos- sess the faculty of self-inflation to triple their diameter, gradually forcing the body upwards into an erect position, until, by a convulsive crisis, they are said suddenly to strike backwards at an enemy or a pursuer. With such powers of destroying animal life, and with an aspect at once terrible and resplendent, it may be easily imagined how soon fear and superstition would Naja Haje ; and the form of Cneph from the Egyptian Monuments. combine, at periods anterior to historical data, to raise these monsters into divinities, and en- deavour to deprecate their wrath by the blandish- ments of worship ; and how design and cupidity would teach these very votaries the manner of subduing their ferocity, of extracting their in- struments of mischief, and making them sub- servient to the wonder and ami^seraent of the vulgar, by using certain cadences of sound which affect their hearing, and exciting in them a de- sire to perform a kind of pleasurable movements that may be compared to dancing. Hence the nagas of the East, the hag-worms of the West, and the haje, have all been deified, styled aga- thodsemon or good spirit ; and figiires of them occur wherever the superstition of Pagan an- tiquitiy has been accompanied by the arts of civilization. The most prominent species of the genus at present is the naja tripudiam, cobra di capello, hooded or spectacled snake of India, venerated by the natives; even by the serpent-charmers styled the good serpent to this day, and yet so Naja Tripudians and Cobra di Capello ; or, Hooded and Spectacled Snakes. ferocious that it is one of the very few that will attack a man when surprised in its haunt, al- though it may be gorged with prey. This spe- cies is usually marked on the nape with two round spots, transversely connected in the form of a pair of spectacles ; but among several va- rieties, one, perhaps distinct, is without the marks, and has a glossy golden hood, which may make it identical with the naja haje of j Egypt, the undoubted Ihh-nuphi, ceneph, or ' agathodaemon of Ancient Egypt, and accurately represented on the walls of its temples, in almost innumerable instances, both in form and colour. This serpent also inflates the skin on the neck, not in the expanded form of a hood, but rather into an intumefaction of the neck. As in the former, there is no marked difference of appear- ance between the sexes ; but the psilli, or charm- ers, by a particular pressure on the neck have the power of rendering the inflation of the ani- mal, already noticed as a character of the genus, so intense, that the serpent becomes rigid, and can be held out horizontally as if it were a rod. I 32 ADDER This practice explains what the soothsayers of Pharaoh could perform when they were op- posing Moses. That the rods of the magicians of Pharaoh were of the same external character with the rod of Aaron, is evident from no differ- ent denomination heing given to them: there- fore we may infer that they used a real serpent as a rod — namely the species now called haje — for their imposture; since they no doubt did what the present serpent-charmers perform with the same species, by means of the temporary asphi/Tiatioii, or suspension of vitality, before noticed, aiid producing restoration to active life by liberating or throwing down. Thus we have the miraculous character of the prophet's mission shown by his real rod becoming a serpent, and the magicians' real serpents merely assuming the form of rods ; and when both were opposed in a state of animated existence, by the rod de- vouring the living animals, conquering the great typical personification of the protecting divinity of Egypt. This species of serpent may be regarded as extending to India and Ceylon ; and probably (he ?iaja triptidians is likewise an inhabitant of Arabia, if not of Egypt, although the assertion of the fact (common in authors) does not exclude a supposition that they take the two species to be only one. We are disposed to refer the ' winged ' or ' flying ' serpent to the naja tripiidians, in one of its varieties, because — with its hood dilated into a kind of shining wings on each side of the neck, standing, in undulating motion, one-half or more erect, rigid, and fierce in attack, and deadly poisonous, yet still denominated ' good spirit,' and in Egypt ever figured in combination with the winged globe — it well may have re- ceived tht name of saraph, swallowing or devour- iiiil, and may thus meet all the valid objections, and coriciliate seemingly opposite comments (see Num. xxi. 6, 8; Deut. viii. 15; Isa. xiv. 29; XXX. G). AcHSUB is another narae of a serpent which may be considered as specifically different from the former, though it is most probably one more of this group of terrible creatures. The root of the name implies bending back, recui-ving, but not coiling up, for all snakes have that faculty. The syllable ach, however, shows a connection with tlie former denominations ; and both are perfectly reconcilable with a serpent very com- mon at the Cape of Good Hope, not unfrequent in Western Africa, and probably extending over that whole continent, excepting perhaps Morocco. It is the 'poft-adder' of the Dutch colonists, about three feet in length, and about six inches in circumference at the middle of the body ; the head is larger than is usual in serpents ; the eyes are large, and very brilliant ; the back beauti- fully marked in half circles, and the colours black, bright yellow, and dark brown ; the belly yellow ; the appearance at all times, but chiefly when excited, extremely brilliant; the upper jaw greatly protruding, somewhat like what occurs in the shark, places the mouth back to- wards the throat, and this structure is said to be connected with the practice of the animal when intending to bite, to swell its skin till it suddenly rises up, and strikes backwards as if it fell over. It is this faculty which appears to be indicated by the Hebrew name achsub, and therefore we ADJURATION believe it to refer to that species, or to one nearly allied to it. The Dutch name (pofF-adder, or spooch-adder) shows that, in the act of swelling, remarkable eructations and spittings take place, all which no doubt are so many warnings, the bite being fatal. The pofF-adder usually resides among brushwood in stony places and rocks, is fond of basking in the sun, rather slow in moving, and is by nature timid [Serpent; Viper]. AD'DON, one of several places mentioned in Neh. vii. 61, being towns in the land of captivity, from which those who returned to Palestine were unable to ' shew their father's house, or their seed, whether they were of Israel.' This, pro- bably, means that they were unable to furnish such undeniable legal proof as was required in such cases. And this is in some degree explained by the subsequent (v. 63) mention of priests who were expelled the priesthood because their descent was not found to be genealogically re- gistered. These instances show the importance which was attached to their genealogies by the Jews [Genealogy]. ADIABE'NE, the principal of the six pro- vinces into which Assyria was divided. Pliny and Ammianus comprehend the whole of Assj'ria under this name, which, however, properly de- noted only the province which was watered by the rivers Diab and Adiab, or the Great and Little Zab (Dhab), which flow into the Tigris be- low Nineveh (Mosul), from the north-east. This region is not mentioned in Scripture ; but in Jo- sephus, its queen Helena and her son Izates, who became converts to Judaism, are very often named (Joseph. Antiq. xx. 2, 4; Bell. Jitd. ii. 16, 19; V. 4, 6, 11). AD'IDA, a fortified town in the tribe of Judah. In 1 Mace. xii. 38, we read that Simon Macca- bsEus set up ' Adida in Saphela, and made it strong with bolts and bars.' Eusebius says that Sephela was the name given in his time to the open country about Eleutheropolis. And this Adida in Sephela is probably the same which is mentioned in the next chapter (xiii. 13) as ' Adida over against the plain,' where Simon Maccabceus encamped to dispute the entrance into Judeea of Tryphon, who had treacherously seized on Jonathan at Ptolemais. In the pa- rallel passage Josephus {Antiq. xiii. 6, 5) adds that this Adida was upon a hill, before which lay the plains of Judsa. One of the places which Josephus calls Adida (5e//. Jitd. iv. 9, 1) appears to have been near the Jordan, and was probably the Hadid of Ezra ii. 33. ADJURATION. This is a solemn act or appeal, whereby one man, usually a person vested with natural or ofiicial authority, imposes upon another the obligation of speaking or act- ing as if under the solemnity of an oath. We have an example of this in the New Testament, when the high-priest thus calls upon Christ, ' I adjure thee by the living God, tell us ' &c. — (Matt. xxvi. 63 ; see also Mark v. 7 ; Acts xix. 13 ; 1 Thes. V. 27). An oath, although thus im- posed upon one without his consent, was not only binding, but solemn in the highest degree ; and when connected with a question, an answer was compulsory, which answer being as upon oath, any falsehood in it would be perjury. Thus cur Saviour, who had previously disdained to ADONIJAH reply to the charges brougnt against him, now felt himself bound to answer tlie question put to him. AD'MAH, one of the cities in the vale of Siddim (Geu. x. 19), which had a king of its own (Gen. xiv. 2). It was destroyed along with godom and GomoiTah (Gen. xix. 24 ; Hos. xi. 8). ADONIBE'ZEK {lord of Bezek), king or lord of Bezek, a town which Eusebius places 1 7 miles east of Neapolis or Shechera. The small extent of the kingdoms in and around Palestine at the time of its invasion by the Hebrews is shown by the fact that this petty king had subdued no less than seventy of them ; and the barbarity of the v.'ar-usages in those early times is painfully shown by his cutting off all the thumbs and great toes of his prisoners, and allowing them no food but that which they gathered uiKier his table. These conquests made Adonibezek ' a triton among the minnows;' and we find him at the head of the confederated Canaanites and Periz- zites, against whom the tribes of Judah and Simeon marched after the death of Joshua. His army was routed and himself taken prisoner. The victors failed not to express their indigna- tion at the mode in which he had treated his captives, by dealing with him in the same manner. ADONFJ AH {Jehovah \is] my Lord), the fourth son of David, by Haggith. He was born after his father became king, but when he reigned over Judah only (2 Sam. iii. 4). According to the Oriental notion developed in the article Absajlom, Adonijah might have considered his claim superior to that of his eldest brother Amnon, who is supposed to have been born while his father was in a private station ; but not to that of Absalom, who was not only his elder brother, and born while his father was a king, but was of royal descent on the side of his mother. When, however, Amnon and Absalom were both dead, he became, by order of birth, the heir-apparent to the throne. But this order had been set aside in favour of Solomon, who was bora while his father was king of all Israel. Absalom perished in attempting to assert his claim of primogeniture, in opposition to this ar- rangement. Unawed by this example, Adonijah assumed the state of an heir-apparent, who, from the advanced age of David, must soon be king. But it does not appear to have been his wish to trouble his father as Absalom had done ; for he waited tiU David appeared at the point of death, when he called around him a number of influ- ential men, whom he had previously gained over, and caused himself to be proclaimed king. This was a formidable attempt to subvert the appoint- ment made by the Divine king of Israel; for Adonijah was supported by such men as joab, the general-in-chief, and Abiathar, the high- priest ; both of whom had followed David in all his fortunes. But his plot was, notwithstanding, defeated by the prompt measure taken by David, who directed Solomon to be at once proclaimed, and crowned, and admitted to the real exercise of the sovereign power. Adonijah then saw that all was lost, and fled to the altar, which he re- fused to leave without a promise of pardon from King Solomon. This he received, but was warned that any fiirther attempt of the came kind would be fatal to him. Accordingly, when, some time ADONIZEDEK 33 after the death of David, Adonijah covertly en- deavoured to reproduce his claim through a marriage with Abishag, the virgin widow of his father [Abishag], his design was at once pene- trated by the king, by whose order he was in- stantly put to death (1 Kings i.-ii. 13-25). ADONl'EAM {lord of height, that is, high lord) (1 Kings iv. 6). This name is exhibited in the contracted form of Adoram in 2 Sam. xx. 24 ; 1 Kings xii. 18; and of Hadoram in 2 Chron. X. 18. 1. ADONIRAM, or Hadoram, son of Toi, king of Hamath, who was sent by his father to congratulate David on his victory over their com- mon enemy Hadarezer, king of Syi'ia (1 Chron. xviii. 10). This prince is called Joram in 2 Sam. viii. 10. 2. ADONIRAM. A person of this name is mentioned as receiver-general of the imposts in the reigns of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam. Only one incident is recorded in connection with this person. When the ten tribes seceded from the house of David, and made Jeroboam king, Rehoboam sent Adouiram among them, for the purpose, we may presume, of collecting the usual imposts, which had become very heavy. Per- haps he had been rigid in his invidious office under Solomon : at all events the collector of the imposts which had occasioned the revolt was not the person whose presence was the most likely to soothe the exasperated passions of the people. They rose upon him, and stoned him till he died (1 Kings xii. 18). ADONIZE'DEK. The name denotes lord of justice, i. e. just lord, but some would rather have it to mean king of Zedek. He was the Canaanitish king of Jerusalem when the Israelites invaded Palestine; and the similarity of the name to that of a more ancient king of (as is supposed) the same place, Jlelchi-zedek {king of justice, or king of Zedek), has suggested that Zedek was one of the ancient names of Jeru.sa-. lem. Be that as it may, this Adonizedek was the first of the native princes that attempted to make head against the invaders. After Jericho and Ai were taken, and the Gibeonites had suc- ceeded in foi-ming a treaty with the Israelites, Adonizedek was the first to rouse himself from the stupor which had fallen on the Canaanites (Josh. X. 1, 3), and he induced the other Amo- ritish kings of Hebron, Jarmutli, Lachish, and Eglon, to join him in a confederacy against the enemy. They did not, however, march directly against the invaders, but went and besieged the Gibeonites, to punish them for the discouraging example which their secession from the common cause had afforded. Joshua no sooner heard of this than he marched all night from Gilgal to- the relief of his allies ; and falling unexpectedly upon the besiegers, soon put tliem to utter rout. The pursuit was long, and was signalized by Joshua's famous command to the sun and moon, as well as by a tremendous hail-storm, which greatly distressed the fugitive Amorites [Joshua]. The five kings took refuge in a cave ; but were observed, and by Joshuas order the mouth of it was closed with large stones, and a guard set over it, until the pursuit was over. When the pursuers returned, the cave was opened, and the five kings brought out. The Hebrew chiefs then set tlieir feet upon the necks of the prostrate 34 ADOPTION TOonarchs — an ancient mark of triumph, of which the monuments of Persia and Egypt still afford illustrations. They Avere then slain, and their bodies hanged on trees until the evening, when, as the law forbade a longer exposure of the dead (Deut. xxi. 23), they were taken down, and cast into the cave, the mouth of which was filled up with large stones, which remained long after (Josh. X. 1-27). The severe treatment of these kings by Joshua has been censured and defended with equal disregard of the real circumstances, which are, that the war was avowedly one of ex- termination, no quarter being given or expected on either side : and that the war-usages of the Jews wsre neither worse nor better than those of the people with whom they fought, who would most certainly have treated Joshua and the other Hebrew chiefs in the same manner, had they fallen into their hands. ADOPTION. The Old Testament does not contain any word equivalent to this ; but the act occurs in various forms. The New Testament has the word often (Rom. viii. 15, 23; ix. 4; Gal. iv. 5 ; Eph. i. ."5) ; but no example of the act occurs. The term signifies the placing as a son of one who is not so by birth. The practice of adoption had its origin in the desire for male offspring among those who have, in the ordinary course, been denied that blessing, or have been deprived of it by circumstances. This feeling is common to our nature ; but its operation is less marked in those countries where the equalizing influences of high civilization lessen the peculiar privileges of the paternal character, and where the security and the well- observed laws by which estates descend and pro- perty is transmitted.withdraw one of the principal inducements to the practice. And thus most of the instances in the Bible occur in the patriarchal period. The law of Moses, by settling the rela- tions of families and the rules of descent, and by formally establishing the Levirate law, which in some sort secured a representative posterity even to a man who died without children, appears to have put some check upon this custom. The allusions in the New Testament are mostly to practices of adoption which then existed among the Greeks and Romans, and rather to the latter than to the former ; for among the more highly civilized Greeks adoption was less frequent than among the Romans. In the East the practice has always been common, especially among the Semitic races, in whom the love of offspring has at all times been strongly manifested. It is scarcely necessary to say that adoption was confined to sons. The whole Bible history affords no example of the adoption of a female. The first instances of adoption which occur in Scripture are less the acts of men than of women, who, being themselves barren, gave their female slaves to their husbands, with the view of adopt- ing the children they might bear. Thus Sarah gave her handmaid Hagar to Abraham ; and the son that was born, Ishmael, appears to have been considered as her son as well as Abraham's, until Isaac was born. In like manner Rachel, having no children, gave her haiidmaid Bilhah to her husband, who had by her Dan and Naph- tali (Gen. xxx. 5-9) ; on which his other wife, Leah, although she had sons of her own, yet fearing that she had left off bearing, claimed the ADOPTION right of giving her handmaid Zilpah tc Jacob, that she might thus increase their number ; and by this means she had Gad and Asher (Gen. xxx. 9-13). In this way the greatest possible approximation to a natural relation was pro- duced. The child was the son of the husband, and, the mother being the property of the wife, the progeny must be her property also ; and the act of more particular appropriation seems to have been that, at the time of birth, the hand- maid brought forth her child ' upon the knees of the adoptive mother ' (Gen. xxx. 3). A curious fact is elicited by the peculiar circumstances in Sarah's case, which were almost the only circum- stances that could have arisen to try the ques- tion, whether a mistress retained her power, as such, over a female slave whom she had thus vicariously employed, and over the progeny of that slave, even though by her own husband. The answer is given, rather startlingly, in the affirmative in the words of Sarah, who, when the birth of Isaac had wholly changed her feelings and position, and when she was exasperated by the offensive conduct of Hagar and her son, ad- dressed her husband thus, ' Cast forth this bond- woman and her son; for the son of this bond- u-oman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac' (Gen. xxi. 10). A previous instance of adoption in the history of Abraham, when as yet he had no children, appears to be discoverable in his saying, ' One bom in my house is mine heir.' This unques- tionably denotes a house-born slave, as distin- guished from one bought with money. Abraham' had several such ; and the one to whom he is supposed here to refer is his faithful and devoted steward Eliezer. This, therefore, is a case in which a slave was adopted as a son — a practice still very common in the East. A boy is often purchased young, adopted by his master, brought up in his faith, and educated as his son ; or if the owner has a daughter, he adopts him through a marriage with that daughter, and the family which springs from this union is counted as descended from him. But house-born slaves are usually preferred, as these have never had any home but their master's house, are considered members of his family, and are generally the most faithful of his adherents. This practice of slave adoption was very common among the Romans ; and, as such, is more than once re- ferred to by St. Paul (Rom. viii. 15; Gal. iv. 5-6), the transition from the condition of a slave to that of a son, and the privilege of applying the tender name of ' Father ' to the former ' Master,' affording a beautiful illustration of the change which takes place from the bondage of the law to the freedom and privileges of the Christian state. As in most cases the adopted son was to be considered dead to the family from which he sprung, the separation of natural ties and con- nections was avoided by this preference of slaves, who were mostly foreigners or of foreign descent. For the same reason the Chinese make their adoptions from children in the hospitals, who have been abandoned by their parents. The Tartars are the only people we know who pre- fer to adopt their near relatives — nephews or cousins, or, failing them, a Tartar of their own I banner. "The only Scriptural example of this ADORATION kind is that, hi which Jacob adopted his own grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh to be counted as his sons (Gen. xlviii. 6). The object of this remarkable adoption was, that whereas Joseph himself could only have one share of his father's heritage along with his brothers, the adoption of his two sons enabled Jacob, through them, to bestow two portions upon his favourite son. The adoption of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter (Exod. ii. 1-10) is an incident rather than a prac- tice ; but it recalls what has just been stated re- specting tlie adoption of outcast children by the Chinese. In 1 Chron. ii. 34, &c., there is an instance recorded of a daughter being married to a free slave, and the children being counted as those of the woman's father. The same chapter gives another instance. Machir (grandson of Joseph) gives his daughter in marriage to Hezron, of the tribe of Judah. She gave birth to Segub, who was the father of Jair. Jair pos- sessed twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead, which came to him in right of his grandmother, the daughter of Machir ; and he acquired other towns in the same quarter, which made up his possessions to three-score towns or villages (1 Chron. ii. 21-24; Josh. xiii. 30; 1 Kings iv. 13). Now this Jair, though of the tribe of Judah by his grandfather, is, in Num. xxxii. 41, counted as of Manasseh, for the obvious reason which the comparison of these texts suggests, that, through his grandmother, he inherited the property, and was the lineal representative of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ADORA'IM, a town in the south of Judah, enumerated along with Hebron and Mareshah, as one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 9). This town does not occur in any writer after Josephus, until the recent researches of Dr. Robinson, who discovered it under the name of Dura, the first feeble letter having been dropped. It is situated five miles W. by S. from Hebron, and is a large village, seated on the eastern slope of a cultivated hill, with olive- groves and fields of grain all around. There are no ruins. ADORATION. This word is compounded of ad 'to,' and os, oris, 'the mouth,' and literally signifies to apply the hand to the mouth,' that is, ' to kiss the hand.' The act is described in Scripture as one of worship (Job xxxi. 26, 27). And this very clearly intimates that kissing the hand was considered an overt act of worship in the East. The same act was used as a mark of respect in the presence of kings and persons high in office or station. Or rather, peihaps, the hand was not merely kissed and then withdrawn from the mouth, but held contmnously before or upon ADULLAM 35 the mouth, to which allusion is made in such texts as Judg. xviii. 19; Job xxi. 5; xxix. 9- xl. 4; Ps. xxxix. 9. In one of the sculptures at Persepolis a king is seated on his throne, and before him a person standing in a bent posmre, with his hand laid upon his mouth as he ad- dresses the sovereign (fig. 1). Exactly the same attitude is observed in the sculptures 'at Thebes, where one person, among several (in various pos- tures of respect) who appear before the scribes to be registered, has his hand placed thus sub- missively upon his mouth (fig. 2). ADRAM'MELECH is mentioned, together with Anammelech, in 2 Kings xvii. 31, as one of the idols whose worship the inhabitants of Sepharvaim established in Samaria, when they were transferred thither by the king of Assyria, and whom they worshipped by the sacrifice of their children by fire. This constitutes the whole of our certain knowledge of this idol 2. ADRAMMELECH, one of the sons and murderers of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38). ADRAMYT'TIUM, a sea-port town in the province of Mysia in Asia Minor, opposite the isle of Lesbos, and an Athenian colony. It is mentioned in Scripture only, from the fact that the ship in which Paul embarked at Cresarea as a prisoner on his way to Italy, belonged to Adra- myttium (Acts xxvii. 2). It was rare to find a vessel going direct from Palestine to Italy. The usual course, therefore, was to embark in some ship bound to one of the ports of Asia Minor, and there go on board a vessel sailing for Italy. This was the course taken by the centurion who had charge of Paul. The ship of Adramyttium took them to Myra in Lycia, and here they em- barked in an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy, Adramyttium is still called Adramyt. It is built on a hill, contains about 1000 houses,, and is still a place of some commerce. ADRIATIC SEA (Acts xxvii. 27). This name is now confined to the gulf lying between Italy on one side, and the coasts of Dalmatia and Albania on the other. But in St. Paul's time it extended to all that part of the Mediterranean between Crete and Sicily. This fact is of im- portance, as relieving us from the necessity of finding the island of Melita on which Paul was shipwrecked, in the present Adriatic gulf; and consequently removing the chief difficulty in the way of the identification of that island with the present Malta. A'DRIEL (the flock of God\ the person to whom Saul gave in marriage his daughter Merab, who had been originally promised to David (1 Sam. xviii. 19). Five sons sprung from this union, who were taken to make up the number of Saul's descendants, whose lives, on the prin- ciple of blood-revenge, were required by the Gibeonites to avenge the cruelties which Saul had exercised towards their race [Gibeonites]. ADUL'LAM, an old city (Gen. xxxviii. 1,12, 20) in the plain country of the tribe of Judah (Josh. XV. 35), and one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh. xii. 15). It was one of the towns which Rehoboam fortified (2 Chron. xi. 7 ; Micah i. 15), and is mentioned after the Cap- tivity (Neh. xi. 30; 2 Mace. 12, 38). It is evident that Adullam was one of the cities of • the valley,' or plain between the hUl country D 2 36 ADULTERY of Judali and the sea; and from its place in the lists of names (especially 2 Chron. xi. 7), it appears not to have been far from the Philistine city of Gath. It is probable, however, that the 'cave of Adullam' (1 Sam. xxii. 1) was not in ihe vicinity of the city, where no such cave has been found, but in the mountainous wilderness in the west of .Tudah towards the Dead Sea. This conjecture is favoured by the fact that the usual haunts of David were in this quarter; whence he moved into the land of Moab, which ■was quite contiguous, whereas he must have crossed the whole breadth of the land, if the cave of Adullam had been near the city of that name. The particular cave, usually pointed out as ' the cave of Adullam,' is about six miles south-west of Bethlehem, iu the side of a deep ravine which passes below the Frank's mountain on the south. It is an immense natural cavern, with numerous passages, the mouth of which can be approached only on foot along the side of the cliff. It seems probable that David, as a native of Bethlehem, must have been well ac- quainted with this remarkable spot, and had pro- bably often availed himself of its shelter when out with his father's flocks. It would therefore naturally occur to him as a place of refuge when he fled from Gath ; and his purpose of forming a band of followers was much more liltely to be realized here, in the neighbourhood of his native place, than in the westward plain, where the city of Adullam lay. ADULTERY. In the common acceptation of the Avord, adultery denotes the sexual inter- course of a man-ied woman with any other man than her husband, or of a married man with any other woman than his wife. But the crime is not understood in this extent among Eastern nations, nor was it so understood b)' the Jews. With them, adultery was tlie act whereby any married man was exposed to the risk of having a spurious offspring imposed upon him. An adulterer was, therefore, any man who had illicit intercourse with a married or betrothed woman ; and an adulteress was a betrothed or married woman who had intercourse with any other man than her husband. An intercourse between a married man and an unmarried woman was not, as with us, deemed adultery, but fornication ; a great sin, but not, like adultery, involving the contingency of polluting a descent, of turning aside an inheritance, or of imposing upon a man a charge which did not belong to him. Adultery was thus considered a great social wrong, against which society- protected itself by much severer penalties than attended an unchaste act not in- volving the same contingencies. It will be seen that this Oriental limitation of adultery is intimately connected with the exist- ence of polygamy. If adultery be defined as a breach of the marriage covenant, then, where the •contract is between one man and one woman, as in Christian countries, the man as much as the sword which he had himself taken from Goliah, and which had been laid up as a trophy in the tabernacle (1 Sam. xxi. 1-9). These circum- stances were witnessed by Doeg, an Edomite in the service of Saul, and were so reported by him to the jealous king as to appear acts of con- nivance at, and support to, David's imagined disloyal designs. Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and the other priests then at Nob, and laid this crime to their charge, which they repelled by declaring their ignorance of any hostile designs on the part of David towards Saul or his kingdom. This, however, availed them not ; for the king commanded his guard to slay them. Their refosal to fall upon persons invested with so sacred a character might have brought even Saul to reason; but he repeated the order to Doeg himself, and was too readily obeyed by that malignant person, who, with the men under his orders, not only slew the priests then present, eighty-six in number, but marched to Nob, and put to the sword every living crea- ture it contained. The only one of the priests that escaped was Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, who fled to David, and afterwards became high priest (1 Sam. xxii.) [Abiathar]. AHIN'ADAB (liberal, or, noble brother), one of the twelve oflicers who, in as many districts into which the country was divided, raised sup- plies of provisions in monthly rotation for the royal household. Ahinadab's district was the southern half of the region beyond the Jordan (1 Kings iv. 14). AHIN'OAM (brother of pleasantness), a woman of Jezreel, one of the wives of David, and mother of Amnon. She was taken captive by the Ama- lekites when they plundered Ziklag, but was re- covered by David (1 Sam. xxv. 43 ; xxvii. 3 ; XXX. 5 ; 2 Sam. ii. 2 ; iii, 2). AHI'O (brotherli/), one of the sons of Abin- AHITUB adab, Tvho, with his brother Uzzah, drove the new cart on which the ark was placed when Dayid first attempted to remove it to Jerusalem. Ahio went before to guide the oxen, while Uzzah walked by the cart (2 Sam. vi. 3, 4) [Uzzah]. AHI'RA (brother of evil), chief of the tribe of Naphtali when the Israelites quitted Egypt (Num. i. 15). AHI'SHAR- (brother of the datvii), the officer who was ' over the household ' of King Solomon (1 Kings iv. 6). This has always been a place of high importance and great influence in the East. AHITH'OPHEL (brother of foolishness), the very singular , name of a man who, in the time of David, was renowned throughout all Israel for his worldly wisdom. He is, in fact, the only man mentioned in the Scriptures as having ac- quired a reputation for political sagacity among the Jews; and they regarded his counsels as oracles (2 Sam. xvi. 23). He was of the council of David ; but was at Giloh, his native place, at the time of Absalom's revolt, whence he was summoned to Jerusalem ; and it shows the strength of Absalom's cause in Israel that a man so capable of foreseeing results, and of estimating the probabilities of success, took his side in so daring an attempt (2 Sam. xv. 12). The news of this defection appears to have occasioned David more alarm than any other single in- cident in the rebellion. He earnestly prayed God to turn the sage counsel of Ahithophel ' to foolishness' (probably alluding to his name); and being immediately after joined by his old friend Hushai, he induced him to go over to Absalom with the express view that he might be instrumental in defeating the counsels of this dangerous person (xv. 31-37). Psalm Iv. is supposed to contain (12-14) a further expression of David's feelings at this treachery of one whom he had so completely trusted, and whom he calls, ' My companion, my guide, and my familiar friend.' The detestable advice which Ahithophel gave Absalom to appropriate his father's harem, committed him absolutely to the cause of the young prince, since after that he could hope for no reconcilement with David (2 Sara. xvi. 20-23). His proposal as to the conduct of the war undoubtedly indicated the best course that could have been taken under the circumstances ; and so it seemed to the council, until Hushai interposed with his plausible ad- vice, the object of which was to gain time to enable David to collect his resources [Ab- salom]. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was rejected for that of Hushai, the far-seeing man gave up the cause of Absalom for lost ; and he forthwith saddled his ass, returned to his home at Giloh, deliberately settled his affairs, and then hanged himself, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers, B.C. 1023 (ch. xvii.). This is the only case of suicide which the Old Testament records, unless the last acts of Samson and Saul may be regarded as such. 1. AHI'TUB {brother of goodness), son of Phi- nehas, and grandson of the high-priest Eli. His father Phinehas having been slain when the ark of God was taken by the Philistines, he suc- ceeded his grandfather Eli B.C. 1141, and was himself succeeded by his son Ahiab about B.C. 1093. AJALON 49 2. AHITUB was also the name of the father of Zadok, who was made high-priest by Saul after the death of Ahimelech (2 Sam. viii. 1 7 ; 1 Chron. vi. 8). There is not the slightest ground for the notion that this Ahitub was ever high-priest himself— indeed, it is historically impossible. AHO'LAH (Jier tent) and AHOLIBAH {wji tent is in her), two fictitious or symbolical names adopted by Ezekiel (xxiii. 4) to denote the two kingdoms of Samaria (Israel) and Judah. They are both symbolically described as lewd women, adulteresses, prostituting themselves to the Egyp- tians and the Assyrians, in imitating their abo- minations and idolatries ; wherefore Jehovah abandoned tliem to those very people for whom they showed such inordinate and impure af- fection. They were carried into captivity, and reduced to the severest servitude. The allegory is an epitome of the history of the Jewish church. AHO'LIAB (tent of his father), of the tribe of Dan, a skilful artificer appointed along with Bezaleel to construct the Tabernacle (Exod. XXXV. 34). AHUZ'ZATH (possession), the 'friend' of Abimelech II., king of Gerar, who attended him on his visit to Isaac (Gen. xxvi. 26). In him occurs the first instance of that unofficial but important personage in ancient Oriental courts, called ' the king's friend,' or favourite. AI (Josh. vii. 2 ; Gen. xii. 8 ; Neh. xi. 31 ; Isa. X. 28), a royal city of the Canaanites, which lay east of Bethel. It existed in the time of Abraham, who pitched his tent between the two cities (Gen. xii. 8; xiii. 3); but it is chiefly noted for its capture and destruction by Joshua (vii. 2-5; viii. 1-29). This, as a military trans- action, is noticed elsewhere [Ambuscade]. At a later pe-riod Ai was rebuilt, and is mentioned by Isaiah (x. 28), and also after the Captivity. The site was known, and some scanty ruins still existed in the time of Eusebius and Jerome, but Dr. Eobinson was unable to discover any certain traces of either. AIR, the atmosphere, as opposed to the ether, or higher and purer region (Acts xxii. 24 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17 ; Rev. ii. 2 ; xvi. 17). The phrase to speak into the air (1 Cor. xiv. 9) is a pro- verbial expression to denote speaking in vain, and to beat the air (1 Cor. ix. 26), denotes acting in vain, and is a proverbial allusion to an abor- tive stroke into the an- in pugilistic contests. The later .lews, in common with the Gentiles, especially the Pythagoreans, believed the air to be peopled with spirits, vmder the government of a chief, who there held his seat of empire. These spirits were supposed to be powerful, but malignant, and to incite men to evil. The early Christian fathers entertained the same belief, which has indeed come down to our own times. AJ'ALON, a town and valley in the tribe of Dan (Josh. xix. 42), which was given to the Lcvites (Josh. xxi. 24 ; 1 Chron. vi. 69). It was not far from Bethshemesh (2 Chron. xxviii. 18) ; it was one of the places which Rehoboam forti- fied (2 Chron. xi. 10), and among the strong- holds which the Philistines took from Ahaz (2 Chron. xxviii. 18). But the town, or rather the valley to which the town gave name, derives its chief renown from the circumstance that 50 ALEXANDER ALEXANDER when Joshua, in pursuit of the five kings, arrived at some point near Upper Beth-horon, looking back upon Gibeon and down upon the noble valley before him, he uttered the celebrated command : ' Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon ' (Josh. x. 12). The site of the town has been identified with the small village of Yalo near Beit Ur (Beth-horon), and a broad wady to the north of it appears to be the valley of the same name. AKRAB'BIM (Scorpion-heiyht). an ascent, hill, or chain of hills, which, froni the name, would appear to have been much infested by scorpions and serpents, as some districts in that quarter certainly were (Deut. viii. 15). It was one of the points which are only mentioned in describ- ing the frontier-line of the Promised Land southward (Judg. i. 36), and has been conjectured to be the same with the mountains of Akabah, which bound the great valley of Arabah on the east. ALABASTER. This word occurs in the I ! New Testament only in the notice of the ♦ ala- j I baster box,' or rather vessel, of ' ointment of I spikenard, very precious,' which a Woman broke, I I and with its valuable contents anointed the head I ; of Jesus, as he sat at supper in Bethany in the ■ house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 7 ; Mark i i xiv. 3). At Alabastron, in Egj-pt, there was a { ' manufactory of small pots and vessels for hold- I ■ ing perfumes, which were made from a stone I ' found in the neighbouring mountains. The i Greeks gave to these vessels the name of the ; city from wliich they came. This name was i eventually extended to the stone of which they ; were formed ; and at length it was applied with- out distinction to all perfume vessels, of what- ! ever materials they consisted. It does not, there- i fore, by any means follow that the alabastron • which the woman used at Bethany was really of ' alabaster: but a probability that it was such j arises from the fact, that vessels made of this stone were deemed peculiarly suitable for the j most costly and powerful perfumes. ALEXAN'DER THE GREAT. This mighty I king is named in the opening of the first book of Maccabees, and is alluded to in the prophecies of Daniel. These, however, are not the best reasons for giving his name a plac« in this work : he is chiefly entitled to notice here because his mili- tary career permanently afi'ected the political state of the Jewish people, as well as their phi- losophy and literature. It is not our part, there- fore, to detail even the outlines of his history, but to point out the causes and nature of this great revolution, and the influence which, for- mally through Alexander, Greece has exerted over the religious history of the West. The conquest of Western Asia by Greeks was so thoroughly provided for by predisposing causes, as to be no mere accident ascribable to Alexander as an individual. The pei-sonal ge- nius of the Macedonian liero, however, deter- mined the form and the suddenness of the con- quest ; and, in spite of his premature death, the policy which he pursued seems to have left some permanent efl'ects. His respectftxl behaviour to the Jewish high- priest has been much dwelt on by Josephus {Antiq. xi. 8. 4-0), a writer whose trustworthi- ness has been much overrated. The story has been questioned on several grounds. Some of the results, however, can hardly be erroneous, such as, that Alexander guaranteed to the Jews, not in Judaea only, but in Babylonia and Media, the free observance of their hereditary laws, and on this ground exempted them from tribute every seventh (or sabbatical) year. It is then far from improbable that the politic invader affected to have seen and heard the high-priest in a dream (as Josephus relates), and showed him great reverence, as to one who had declared ' that he would go before him and give the em- pire of Persia into his hand.' Immediately after, Alexander invaded and conquered Egj-pt, and showed to its gods the same respect as to those of Greece. Almost without a pause he founded the celebrated city of Alexandria (b.c. 332), an event which, perhaps more than any other cause, permanently altered the state of the East, and brought about a direct interchange of mind between Greece, Egypt, and Judaa [Alexandria]. The great founder of Alexandria died in his thirty-second year, B.C. 323. The empire which he then left to be quarrelled for by his generals comprised the whole dominions of Persia, with the homage and obedience of Greece superadded. But on the final settlement which took place after the battle of Ipsus (b.c. 301), Seleucus, the ALEXANDER Greek representative of Persian majesty, reigned over a less extended district than the last Da- rius. Not only were Egypt and Cyprus severed from the Eastern empire, but Palestine and Ccelosyria also fell to their niler, placing Jeru- salem for nearly a century beneath an Egyptian monarch. On this subject, see further under Antiochus. ALEXANDRIA 51 2. ALEXANDER, surnamed BALAS, from his mother Bala, a personage who figures in the history of the Maccabees and in Josephus. His extraction is doubtful ; but he professed to be the natural son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and in that capacitj', out of opposition to Demetrius Soter, he was recognised as king of Syria by the king of Egypt, by the Romans, and eventually by Jonathan Alaccabseus, on the part of the Jews (1 Mace. X. IS). Demetrius was not long after slain in battle, and Balas obtained possession o^' the kingdom. He then sought to strengthen himself by a marriage with the king of Egypt's daughter. Prosperity ruined Alexander ; his voluptuousness, debauchery, and niisgovernment rendered his reign odious, and encouraged De- metrius Nicator, the eldest son of the late Deme- trius Soter, to appear in arms, and claim his fatlier's crown. Alexander took the field against him; but the defection of his father-in-law Ptolemy proved fatal to his cause ; he was de- feated in a pitched battle, and fled with 500 cavalry to Abse in Arabia, and sought refuge with the emir Zabdiel. This Arabian murdered his confiding guest in the fifth year of his reign over Syria, and sent his head to Ptolemy, who himself died the same year, B.C. 145. Balas left a young son, who was eventually made king of Syria by Tryphon, under the name of Antiochus fheos. 3. ALEXANDER JANNiEUS, the first prince of the Maccabsean dynasty who assumed the name of king [Maccabees]. 4. ALEXANDER, son of Herod the Great and Mariamne [Hebodian Family]. 5. ALEXANDER, a Jew of Ephesus, known only from the part he took in the uproar about Diana, which was raised there by the preaching of Paul. As the inhabitants confounded the Jews and Jewish Christians, the former put for- ward Alexander to speak on their behalf, but he was unable in the tumult to obtain a hearing (Acts xix. 33). 6. ALEXANDER, a coppersmith or brazier (mentioned in 1 Tim. i. 20 ; 2 Tim. iv. 14), who with Hymenaeus and others broached certain he- resies touching the resurrection, for which they were excommunicated by St. Paul. These per- sons, and especially Alexander, appear to have maligned the faith they had forsaken, as well as the character of the apostle. ALEXANT)RIA (Acts vi. 9 ; xviii. 24 ; xxvii. 6), the chief maritime city and long the me- tropolis of Lower Egypt. It is situated on the Mediterranean, twelve miles west of the Canopic mouth of the Nile, in 31° 13' N. lat. and 25^ 53' E. long. It owes its origin to the comprehensive policy of Alexander, who perceived that the usual channels of commerce might be advanta- geously altered ; and that a city occupying this site could not fail to become the common em- porium for the traffic of the eastern and western worlds, by means of the river Nile, and the two adjacent seas, the Red Sea and the Mediter- ranean : and the high prosperity which, as such, Alexandria very rapidly attained, proved the soundness of his judgment, and exceeded any ex- pectations which even he could have entertained. For a long period Alexandria was the greatest of known cities ; for Nineveh and Babylon had fallen, and Rome had not yet risen to pre-emi- nence : and even when Rome became the mistress of the world, and Alexandria only the metro- polis of a province, the latter was second only to the former in wealth, extent, and importance ; and was honoured with the magnificent titles of the second metropolis of the world, the city of cities, the queen of the East, a second Rome. The city was founded in b.c. 332, and was built under the superintendence of the same architect (Dinocrates) who had rebuilt the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. The ancient city appears to have been of seven times the extent of the modern. If we may judge from the length of the two main streets (crossing each other at right angles) by which it Avas intei"- sected, the city was about four miles long by one and a half wide : and in the time of Diodorus it contained a free population of 3t)0,000 persons, or probably 600,000, if we double the former number, as Mannert suggests, in order to include the slaves. The port of Alexandria was secure, but difficult of access ; in consequence of which, a magnificent pharos, or lighthouse, was erected upon an islet at the entrance, which was con- nected with the mainland by a dyke. This pharos was accounted one of the ' seven ' wonders of the world. It was begun by Ptolemy Soter, and completed under Ptolemy Philadelphus, by Sostratus of Cnidus, b.c. 283. It was a square stJTicture of white marble, on the top of Avhich fires were kept constantly burning for the direc- tion of mariners. It was erected at a cost of 800 talents, which, if Attic, would amount to 165,000/., if Alexandrian, to twice that sum. It was a wonder in those times, when such erections were almost unknown ; but, in itself, the Eddy- stone lighthouse is, in all probability, ten times more wonderful. The business of working out the great design of Alexander could not have devolved on a more fitting person than Ptolemy Soter. From his first arrival in Pigypt, he made Alexandria his residence : and no sooner had he some respite from war, then he bent all the resources of his mind to draw to his kingdom the whole trade of the East, which the Tyrians had, up to his time, carried on by sea to Llath, and from thence, by the way of Rhinocorura, to Tyre. He built a E 2 ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA city on the -west side of the Red Sea, whence he sent out fleets to ail those countries to which the Phoenicians traded from Elath. But, observing that the Red Sea, by reason of rocks and shoals, ■was very dangerous towards its northern ex- tremity, he transferred tlie trade to another city, which he founded at the greatest practicable dis- ance southward. This port, v.-hich was almost on the borders of Ethiopia, he called, from his mother, Berenice ; but the harbour being found inconvenient, the neighbouring citj- of Myos Hormos was preferred. Thither the products of the East and South were conveyed by sea ; and were from thence taken on camels to Coptus, on the Nile, where they were again shipped for Alexandria, and from that city were dispersed to all the nations of the west, in exchange for merchandise which was afterwards exported to the East. By these means, the whole trade was fixed at Alexandria, which thus became the chief mart of all the traffic between the East and West, and which continued to be the greatest emporium in the world for above seventeen cen- turies, until the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope opened another channel for the commerce of the East. Alexandria became not only the seat of com- merce, but of learning and the liberal sciences. This distinction also it owed to Ptolemy Soter, himself a man of education, who founded an aca- demy, or society of learned men, who devoted themselves to the study of philosophy, literature, •and science. For their use he made a collection of choice books, which, by degrees, increased •under his successors until it became the finest library in the world, and numbered 700,000 volumes. It sustained repeated losses, by fire and otherwise, but these losses were as repeatedly repaired^ and it continued to be of great fame and use in those parts, until it was at length burnt by the Saracens when they made them- selves masters of Alexandria in a.d. 642. Un- doubtedly the Jews at Alexandria shared in the benefit of these institutions, as the Christians did afterwards ; for the city was not only a seat of heathen, but of Jewish, and subsequently of Christian learning. It will be remembered that the celebrated translation of the Hebrew Scrip- tures into Greek [Septuagint] was made, under every encouragement from Ptolemy Phila- delphus, principally for the use of the Jews in Alexandria, who knew only the Greek lan- guage. At its foundation Alexandria was peopled less by Egyptians than by colonies of Greeks, Jews, and other foreigners. The Jews, however much their religion was disliked, were valued as citizens ; and every encouragement was held out by Alexander himself and by his successors in Egypt, to induce them to settle in the new city. The same privileges as those of the first class of inhabitants (the Greeks) were accorded to them, as well as the free exercise of their religion and peculiar usages : and this, with the protection and peace which a powerful state afforded against the perpetual conflicts and troubles of Palestine, and with the inclination to trafiic, whicli had been acquired during the Captivity, gradually drew such immense numbers of Jews to Alex- andria, that they eventually formed a verj- large portion of its vast population, and at the same time constituted a most thriving and important section of the Jewish nation. The Jewish in- habitants of Alexandria are therefore often men- tioned ill the later history of the nation; and Ihoir importance as a section of that nation would doubtless have been more frequently ind,- catcd, had not the Jews of Egypt thrown off ALEXANDRIA their ecclesiastical dependence upon Jerusalem and its temple, and formed a separate establish- ment of their own, in imitation of it, at a place about twelve miles north of Heliopolis, and called Onion, from Onias, the expelled high- priest, by whom it was founded. The inhabitants of Alexandria were divided into three classes: 1. The Macedonians, the ori- ginal founders of the city ; 2. the mercenaries who had served under Alexander ; 3. the native Egyptians. Through the favour of Alexander and Ptolemy Soter, the Jews were admitted into the first of these classes, and this privilege was so important that it had great effect in drawing them to the new city. The dreadful persecution which the Jews of Alexandria underwent in A.D. 39, shows that, notwithstanding their long establishment there, no relations of friendliness had arisen between them and the other inhabitants, by whom in fact they were intensely hated. This feeling was so weh known, that at the date indicated, the Roman governor Avillius Flaccus, who was anxious to ingratiate himself with the citizens, was persuaded that the surest Avay of winning their affections was to withdraw his protection from the Jews, against whom the emperor was already exasperated by their refusal to acknow- ledge his right to divine honours, which he in- sanely claimed, or to admit his images into their synagogues. In consequence of the connivance of Flaccus, the unfortunate Jews were treated with every species of outrage and insult. Their synagogues were levelled with the ground, con- sumed by fire, or profaned by the emperor's statues. They were deprived of the rights of citizenship, and declared aliens. Their houses, shops, and warehouses were plundered of their effects, and they themselves were pent up in one narrow corner of the city, where the greater part were obliged to lie in the open air, and where the supplies of food being cut off, many of them died of hardship and hunger ; and who- ever was found beyond the boundary, whether he had escaped from the assigned limits, or had come in from the country, was seized and put to death with horrid tortures. At length king Herod Agrippa, who stayed long enough in Alexandria to see the beginning of these atrocities, transmitted to the emperor such a report of the real state of affairs as in- duced him to send a centurion to arrest Flaccus, and bring him a prisoner to Rome. This put the rioters in a false position, and brought some relief to the Jews; but the tumult still con- tinued, and as the magistrates refused to acknow- ledge the citizenship of the Jews, it was at length agreed that both parties should send dele- gates, five on each side, to Rome, and refer the decision of the controversy to the emperor. At the head of the Jewish delegation was the cele- brated Philo, to whom we owe the account of these transactions ; and at the head of the Alex- andrians was the noted Apion. The latter chiefly rested their case upon the fact that the Jews were the only people who refused to consecrate images to the emperor, or to swear by his name. But on this point the Jewish delegates defended themselves so well, that Caligula himself said, • These men are not so wicked as ignorant and unhappy, in not believing me to be a god !' The ALEXANDRIA 53 ultimate result of this appeal is not known, but the Jews of Alexandria continued to be harassed during the remainder of Caligula's reign ; and their alabarch Alexander Lysimachus (brother of Philo) was thrown into prison, where he remained till he was discharged by Claudius, upon whose accession to the empire the Alexan- drian Jews betook themselves to arms. This occasioned such disturbances that they attracted the attention of the emperor, who, at the joint entreaty of Herod and Agrippa, issued an edict conferring on the Jews of Egypt all their an- cient privileges. The state of feeling in Alex- andria which these facts indicate, was very far from being allayed when the revolt of the Jews in Palestine caused even those of the nation who dwelt in foreign parts to be regarded as enemies, both by the populace and the government In Alexandria, on a public occasion, they were atr tacked, and those whp could not save themselves by flight were put to the sword. Only three were taken alive, and they were dragged through the city to be consigned to the flames. The in- dignation of the Jews rose beyond all bounds at this spectacle. They first assailed the Greek citizens with stones, and then rushed with lighted torches to the amphitheatre, to set it on fire and burn all the people who were there assembled. The Roman prefect Tibei'ius Alexander, finding that milder measures were of no avail, sent out a body of 17,000 soldiers, who slew about 50,000 of the Jews, and plundered and burned their dwellings. After the close of the war in Palestine, new disturbances were excited in Egypt by the Si- carii, many of whom had fled thither. They endeavoured to persuade the Jews to acknow- ledge no king but God, and to throw off the Roman yoke. Such persons as opposed their designs and tendered wiser counsels to their brethren, they secretly assassinated, according to their custom. But the principal Jews in Alex- andria having in a general assembly earnestly warned the people against these fanatics, who had been the authors of all the troubles iu Pa- lestine, about 600 of them were delivered up to the Romans. Several fled into the Thebaid, but were apprehended and brought back. The most cruel tortures which could be devised had no efl'ect in compelling them to acknowledge the emperor for their sovereign; and even their children seemed endowed with souls fearless of death, and bodies incapable of pain. Vespasian, when informed of these transactions, sent orders that the Jewish temple in Egypt should be de- stroyed. Lupus the prefect, however, only shut it up, after having taken out the consecrated gifts : but his successor Paulinus stripped it com- pletely, and excluded the Jews entirely from it. This was in a.d. 75, being the 343rd year from thf building of the temple by Onias. St. Mark is said to have introduced the Christian religion into Alexandria, which early became one of the strongholds of the true faith. The Jews continued to form a principal portion of the inhabitants, and remained in the enjoy- ment of their civil rights till a.d. 415, when they incurred the hatred of Cyril the patriarch, at whose instance they were expelled, to the number of 40,000, and their synagogues destroyed. However, when Amrou, in a.d. 640, took the 54 ALGUM ALLEGOKY place for the caliph Omar, he wrote to his master in these terms : ' I have taken the great city of the west, which contains 4000 palaces, 4000 baths, 400 theatres, 12,000 shops for the sale of vegetable food, and 40,000 tributari/ Jews' From that time the prosperity of Alexandria very rapidly declined ; and when, in 969, the Fatemite caliphs seized on Egypt and built New Cairo, it was speedily reduced to the rank of a secondary Egyptian city. The discovery of the passage to the East by the Cape, in 1497, almost annihi- lated its remaining commercial importance ; and although the commercial and maritime enter- prises of Mehemet All have again raised it to some distinction, Alexandria must still be ac- counted as one of those great ancient cities whose glory has departed. The number of Jews does not now exceed 500. The whole population at the present time (1843) is between 36,000 and 40,000, of whom 4876 are foreigners. AL'GUM, or Al'mug Trees (1 Kings x. 11 ; 2 Chron. ix. 10, 11). With regard to Ophir, the place from which these trees were brought to us, there appears no doubt that it was to the southward of the Ked Sea, and was most pro- bably in some part of India. Various trees have been attempted to be identified with the almug, but the balance of evidence seems to be in favour of the sandal-wood, which is known and highly esteemed in India. The tree which pro- duces it is a native of the mountainous parts of the coast of Malabar, where large quantities are cut for export to China, to different parts of India, and to the Persian and Arabian gulfs. The outer parts of this tree are white and with- out odour ; the parts near the root are most fra- grant, especially of such trees as grow in hilly situations and stony ground. The trees vary in diameter from 9 inches to a foot, and are about 25 or 30 feet in height, but the stems soon begin to branch. This wood is white, fine-grained, and agreeably fragrant, and is much employed for making rosaries, fans, elegant boxes, and cabinets. [Santalum album.] As sandal-wood has been famed in the East from very early times, it is more likely than any other to have attracted the notice of, and been desired by, more northern nations. That it, therefore, might have attained cele- brity, even in very early ages, is not at all un- likely ; that it should have attracted the notice of Phoenician merchants visiting the west coast of India is highly probable ; and also that they should have thought it worthy of being taken as a part of their cargo on their return from Ophir. That it is well calculated for musical instru- ments is confirmed by the authority of Professor Wheatstone, who says, ' I know no reason why sandal-wood should not have been employed in ancient days for constructing musical instru- ments. It is not so employed at present, because there are many much cheaper woods which pre- sent a far handsomer appearance. Musical in- struments would appear very unfinished to mo- dern taste unless varnished or French-polished, and it would be worse than useless to treat fra- grant woods in this way. Formerly perhaps it might have been more the fashion to delight the senses of smell and hearing simultaneously than it is with us, in which case odoriferous woods would be preferred for things so much handled as musical instruments are.' ALLEGORY. This word is found in the Authorized Version of Gal. iv. 24, but it does not actually exist as a noun in the Greek Tes- tament, nor even in the Septuagint. In the passage in question Saint Paul cites the history of the free-born Isaac and the slave-born Ish- mael, and in proceeding to apply it spiritually, he says, not as in our version, ' which things are an allegory,' but ' which things are allegorized.' This is of some importance ; for in the one case the Apostle is made to declare a portion of Old Testament history an allegory, whereas in truth he only speaks of it as allegorically applied. Allegories themselves are, however, of frequent occurrence in Scripture, although that name is not there applied to them. An AxLEGORY has been sometimes considered as only a lengthened metaphor ; at other times, as a continuation of metaphors. But the nature of allegory itself, and the character of allegorical interpretation, will be best understood by attend- ing to the origin of the term which denotes it. Now the term ' Allegory,' according to its ori- ginal and proper meaning, denotes a representa- tion of one thing which is intended to excite the representation of another thing. Every alle- gory must therefore be subjected to a twofold examination : we must first examine the irnvw diate representation, and then consider what other representation it is intended to excite. In most allegories the immediate representation is made in the form of a narrative ; and, since it is the object of the allegoiy itself to convey a moral, not an historic truth, the narrative is commonly fictitious. The immediate repre- sentation is of no further value than as it leads to the ultimate representation. It is the appli- cation or the moral of the allegory which con- stitutes its worth. Every parable is a kind of allegory ; and as an example, especially clear and correct, we may refer to the parable of the sower (Luke viii. 5- 15). In this we have a plain narrative, a state- ment of a few simple and intelligible facts, such, probably, as had fallen within the observation of the persons to whom our Saviour addressed him- self. When he had finished the narrative, or ALLIANCES the immediate representation of the allegory, he then gave the explanation or ultimate represen- tation of it ; that is, he gave the allegorical in- terpretation of it. And that the interpretation was an interpretation, not of the -words, but of the things signified by the words, is evident from the explanation itself: ' The seed is the word of God ; those by the wayside are they that hear,' &c. (ver. 11, &c.). The impressive and pathetic allegory addressed by Nathan to David aifords a similar instance of an allegorical narrative accompanied with its explanation (2 Sam. xii. 1-14). But allegorical narratives are frequently left to explain themselves, especially when the re- semblance between the immediate and ultimate representation is sufficiently apparent to make an explanation unnecessary. Of this kind we oannot have a more striking example than that beautiful one contained in the 80th Psalm : ' Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt,' &c. The use of allegorical interpretation is not, however, confined to mere allegory, or fictitious narratives, but is extended also to history, or real narratives. And in this case the grammatical meaning of a passage is called its historical meaning, in contradistinction to its allegorical meaning. There are two difierent modes in which Scripture history has been thus allego- rized. According to one mode, facts and cir- cumstances, especially those recorded in the Old Testament, have been applied to other facts and circumstances, of which they have been described as representative. According to the other mode, these facts and circumstances have been described as mere emblems. The former mode is war- ranted by the practice of the sacred writers themselves ; for when facts and circumstances are so applied, they are applied as ttjpes of those things to which the application is made : but no such authority in favour of the latter mode of allegorical intei-pretation can be produced. ALLELU'IA. [Hallelujah.] ALLIANCES. From a dread lest the ex- ample of foreign nations should draw the Israel- ites into the worship of idols, they were made a peculiar and separate people, and intercourse and alliance with such nations were strongly inter- dicted (Lev. xviii. 3, 4 ; xx. 22, 23). The ten- dency to idolatry was in those times so strong, that the safety of the Israelites lay in the most complete isolation that could be realized ; and it was to assist this object that a country more than usually separated from others by its natural bou'.idaries was assigned to them. It was shut in l)y the sea on the west, by deserts on the south and east, and by mountains and forests on the north. Among a people so situated we should not expect to hear much of alliances with other nations. By far the most remarkable alliance in the political history of the Hebrews is that between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre, which may primarily be referred to the affection which the latter entertained for David (1 Kings v. 2). He ' sent carpenters and masons ' to build David an house (2 Sam. v. 11), and wishing to cultivate the friendly intercourse thus opened with the Hebrew nation, on the death of David he sent an embassy to condole with Solomon on the death of his father, and to congratulate him on his ac- ALLIANCES 55 cession (1 Kings v. 1). The plans of the young king rendered the friendship of Hiram a matter of importance, and accordingly ' a league' was formed (1 Kings v. 12) between them : and that this league had a reference not merely to the special matter then in view, but was a general league of amity, is evinced by the fact that more than 250 years after, a prophet denounces the Lord's vengeance upon Tyre, because she ' re- membered not the brotherly covenant' (Amos i. 9). Under this league large bodies of Jews and Phoenicians were associated, first in prepar- ing the materials for the Temple ( 1 Kings v. 6-18), and afterwards in navigating the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean (1 Kings ix. 26-28). The disastrous consequences of even the seemingly least objectionable alliances may be seen in the long train of evils, both to the kingdom of Is- rael and of Judah, which ensued from the mar- riage of Ahab with Jezebel, the king of Tyre's daughter [Ahab; Jezebel]. These conse- quences had been manifested even in the time of Solomon ; for he formed matrimonial alli- ances with most of the neighbouring kingdoms, and to the influence of his idolatrous wives are ascribed the abominations which darkened the latter days of the wise king (I Kings xi. 1-8). The prophets, who were alive to these conse- quences, often raised their voices against such dangerous connections (1 Kings xi. 11 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 7; xix. 2; xxv. 7, &c. ; Isa. vii. 17), with- out effect. The Jewish history, after Solomon, affords examples of several treaties with differ- ent kings of Syria, and with the kings of Assyria and Babylon (see 1 Kings xv. 1 6-20 ; 2 Kings xvi. 5, &c. ; 2 Chron. xviii. 16, &c.). In later times, the Maccabees appear to have considered themselves unrestrained by any but the ordinary prudential considerations in contracting alli- ances. The most remarkable alliance of thi» kind was the treaty made with the Romans by Judas Maccabseus, which, having been concluded at Rome, was graven upon brass and deposited in the Capitol (1 Mace. viii. 22-28 ; Josephus, Antiq. xii. 10). Anterior to the IMosaical institutions, such al- liances with foreigners were permitted, or at least tolerated. Abraham was in alliance with some of the Canaanitish princes (Gen. xiv. 13) ; he also entered into a regular treaty of alliance, being the first on record, with the Philistine king Abimelech (xxi. 22, sq.'), which was re- newed by their sons (xxvi. 26-30). Even after the law, it appears, from some of the instances already adduced, that such alliances with dis- tant nations as could not be supposed to have any dangerous effect upon the religion or morals of the people, were not deemed to be interdicted. The treaty with the Gibeonites is a remarkable proof of this. Believing that the ambassadors came from a great distance, Joshua and the elders readily entered into an alliance with them ; and are condemned for it only on the ground that the Gibeonites were in fact their near neighbours (Josh. ix. 3-27). From the time of the patriarchs, a covenant of alliance was sealed by the blood of some victim. A heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon, were immolated in confirmation of the covenant between the Lord and Abraham (Gen. XV. 9). The iiuinial or animals sacrificed 5G ALMOND TREE ALMS were cut in two (except birds, ver. 10), to typify the doom of perjurers. For allusions to this usage see Jer. xxxiv. 18; Sus, 55, 59; Matt. xxiv. 5 1 ; Luke xii. 46. The perpetuity of co- venants of alliance thus contracted is expressed by calling them ' covenants of salt' (Num. xviii. 19 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 5), salt being the symbol of ineorruption. The case of the Gibeonites affords an exemplary instance, scarcely equalled in the annals of any nation, of scnipulous adherence to such engagements. The Israelites had been absolutely cheated into the alliance ; but, having been confirmed by oaths, it was deemed to be inviolable (Josh. ix. 19). The prophet Ezekiel (xvii. 13-16) pours terrible denunciations upon king Zedekiah, for acting contrary to his sworn covenant with the king of Babylon. In this respect the Jews were certainly most favourably distinguished among the ancient nations ; and, from numerous intimations in Josephus, it ap- pears that their character for fidelity to their engagements was so generally recognised after the Captivity, as often to procure for them highly favourable consideration from the rulers of Western Asia and of Egypt. AL'LON-BAC'HUTH (the oak of weeping), a place in Bethel, where Rebekah's nurse was buried (Gen, xxxv. 8). AL'MON, one of the three cities which be- longed to the priests in the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. xxi. 18). It is supposed to be the same as the Alemeth of 1 Chron. vi. GO. AL'MON-DIB'LATHAIM, one of the stations of the Israelites on their way from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab, round by Mount Seir (Num. xxxiii. 46). ALMOND TREE (Gen. xliii. 11; Num. xvii. 8; Eccles. xii. 5; Jer. i. 11). This tree is a native of Syria and Palestine, and is highly ornamental from the beauty of its blossoms. 26. [Almond Tree.] The form of the almond would lead to its selec- tion for ornamental carved work (Exod. xxv. 33, 34; xxxvii. 19), independently of its form- ing an esteemed esculent, as well as probably yielding a useful oil. In Eccles. xii. 5, it is said, ' The almond tree shall flourish, and the fruit of the caper droop, because man goeth to his long home.' This evidently refers to the profuse flowering and white appearance of the almond tree when in full bloom, and before its leaves appear. It is hence adduced as illustrative of the hoary hairs of age, in the same way as the drooping of the fruit of the caper seems to refer to the hanging down of the head. Dr. Kitto mentions the almond among the first trees that flower in January. ' There are two species of Amygdalus in Palestine : the common almond tree, and the peach tree, and both are this month in blossom in every part of Palestine, on both sides of the Jordan. It was doubtless from this winter blossoming of the almond tree, not less than from the snowy whiteness of the blos- soms, that the hoary head of the aged man is, by a beautiful metaphor, said in Scripture to flourish like the almond tree' (Phi/sic. Hist. - tivity, during the calamities attendant on which the need probably introduced the practice. From Dan. iv. 27 it would appear that almsgiving had come to be regarded as a means of conciliating God's favour and of warding off evil. At a still later period this idea took a firm seat in the national mind, and alms-deeds were regarded as a mark of distinguished virtue. That begging was customary in the time of the Saviour is clear from Mark x. 46. And that it was usual ALOl^S for the worshippers, as they entered the temple, to give relief, appears from the context, and particularly from the fine answer to the lame man's entreaty, made by the apostle Peter. The general spirit of Christianity, iu regard to suc- couring the needy, is nowhere better seen than in 1 John iii. 17: 'Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shut- teth up his bowels from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?' With the faithful and con- scientious observance of the ' royal law ' of love, particular manifestations of mercy to the poor seem to be left by Christianity to be determined by time, place, and circumstances ; and it cannot be supposed that a religion, one of whose prin- ciples is ' that, if any would not work, neither should he eat' (2 Thess. iii. 10), can give any sanction to indiscriminate almsgiving, or intend to encourage the crowd of Avandering, idle beg- gars with which some parts of the Avorld are still infested. The emphatic language employed by the Lord Jesus Christ and others (Luke iii. 1 1 ; vi. 30 ; xi. 41 ; xii. 33 ; Matt. vi. 1 ; Acts ix. 36 ; X. 2, 4) is designed to enforce the general duty of a merciftil and practical regard to the dis- tresses of the indigent; -while the absence of ostentation, and even secrecy, which the Saviour enjoined in connection with almsgiving, was in- tended to correct actual abuses, and bring the practice into harmony with the spirit of the Gospel. In the remarkable reflections of Jesus on the widow's mite (Mark xii. 42) is found a principle of great value, to the effect that the magnitude of men's offerings to God is to be measured by the disposition of mind whence they proceed ; a principle which cuts up by the ve;y roots the idea that merit attaches itself to almsgiving as such, and increases in proportion to the number and costliness of our alms-deeds. One of the earliest effects of the working of Christianity in the hearts of its professors was the care which it led them to take of the poor and indigent in the ' household of faith.' Neg- lected and despised by the Avorld, cut off from its sympathies, and denied any succour it might have given, the members of the early churches were careful not only to make provision in each case for its own poor, but to contribute to the necessities of other though distant communities (Acts xi. 29; xxiv. 17; 2 Cor. ix. 12). This commendable practice seems to have had its Christian origin in the deeply interesting fact (which appears from John xiii. 29) that the Saviour and his attendants were wont, notwith- standing their own comparative poverty, to con- tribute out of their small resources something for the relief of the needy. ALOES, the two words which are so ren- dered occur in several passages of the Old Testament, as in Psalm xlv. 8; Prov. vii. 17 ; Canticles iv. 14, and evidently mean some odo- riferous substance which ought not to be con- founded with the bitter and nauseous aloes famed only as a medicine, and which is usually dis- agi-eeable in odour and nauseous in taste, and could never have been employed as a perfume. The words referred to seem to indicate a kind of fragrant wood called Ai;aIlocJinin, whicli was brought from India and Arabia. There can,be little or no doubt that the same odoriferous wood is intended in John xix. 39, where we are told ALTAR 57 that when the body of our Saviour was taken down from the cross, Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes for the purpose of winding up the body in linen clothes with these spices. AL'PHA (A), the first letter of the Greek al- phabet, corresponding to the Hebrew Aleph. Both the Hebrews and the Greeks employed the letters of their alphabets as numerals, and A (Alpha or Aleph) therefore denoted one or the Jirst. Hence our Lord says of himself, that he is Alpha and Omega, i. e. the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, as he himself ex- plains it (Rev. i. 8, 11 ; xxi. 6 ; xxii. 13). 1. ALPHiE'US, father of James the Less (Matt. X. 3 ; Luke vi. 1 5), and husband of Mary, the sister of our Lord's mother (John xix. 25); for which reason James is called ' the Lord's brother ' [Brother]. By comparing John xix. 25, with Luke xxiv. 10, and Matt. x. 3, it ap- pears that Alphseus is the same person as Cleo- phas ; Alphceus being his Greek, and Cleophas his Hebrew or Syriac name [Names]. 2. ALPH^US, the father of the evangelist Levi or Matthew (Mark ii. 14). ALTAR. The first altar we read of in the Bible was that erected by Noah on leaving the ark. Mention is made of altars erected by Abraham (Gen. xii. 7 ; xiii. 4 ; xxii. 9) ; by Isaac (xxvi. 25) ; by Jacob (xxxiii. 20 ; xxxv. 1, 3); by Moses (Exod. xvii. 15). After the giving of the law, the Israelites were commanded to make an altar of earth ; they were also pei*- mitted to employ stones, but no iron tool was to be applied to them. This has been generally understood as an interdiction of sculpture, in order to guard against a violation of the second commandment. Altars were frequently built on high places. Thus Solomon built an high place for Chemosh ( 1 Kings xi. 7), and Josiah brake down and burnt the high place, and stamped it small to powder (2 Kings xxiii. 15). This practice, however, was forbidden by the Mosaic law (Deut. xii. i;j; xvi. 5), except in particular instances, such as those of Gideon (Judg. vi. 26) and David (2 Sam. xxiv. 18). It is said of Solomon * that he loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David, his father, only he sacrificed the burnt incense on the high places' (1 Kings iii. 3). Altars were sometimes built on the roofs of houses : in 2 Kings xxiii. 12, we read of the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz. In the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, two altars were erected, one for sacrifices, the other for incense : the table for the shew-bread is also sometimes called an altar. 1. The altar of burnt-offering belonging to the tabernacle was a hollow square, five cubits in length and breadth, and three cubits in height ; it was made of Shittim-wood [Shittim], and overlaid with plates of brass. In the middle there was a ledge or projection, on which the priest stood while oflBciating ; immediately below this, a brass grating was let down into the altar to support the fire, with four rings attached, through which poles were passed, when the altar was removed. As the priests were for- bidden to go up by steps to the altar (Exod. xx. 26), a slope of earth was probably made rising to a level with the ledge. In Exod. xxvii. 3, the following utensils are ALTAR ALTARS mentioned as belonging to the altar, all of which were to be made of brass. (1) pans or dishes to receive the ashes that fell through the grating. (2) shovels for cleaning the altar. (3) vessels for receiving the blood and sprinkling it on the altar. (4) large forks to turn the pieces of flesh or to take them off the fire (see 1 Sam. ii. 13). (o) \fire-pans;' the same word is elsewhere translated censers, Num. xvi. 17; but in Exod. XXV. 38, ' snuff-dishes.' 2. The altar of burnt-offering in Solomon's tfemple was of much larger dimensions, ' twenty cubits in length and breadth, and ten in height ' (2 Chron. iv. 1 ), and was made entirely of brass. It is said of Asa that he renewed, that is, either repaired (in which sense the word is evidently used in 2 Chron. xxiv. 4) or reconsecrated the altar of the Lord that was before the porch of the Lord (2 Chron. xv. 8). This altar was re- moved by king Ahaz (2 Kings xvi. 14) ; it was ' cleansed ' by Hezekiah ; and in the latter part of Manasseh's reign was rebuilt. 3. Of the altar of burnt-offering in the second temple, the canonical scriptures give us no in- formation excepting that it was erected before the foundations of the temple were laid (Ezra iii. 3, C) on the same place where it had formerly been built. From the Apocrypha, however, we may infer that it was made, not of brass, but of unhewn stone. 4. The altar of burnt-offering erocted by Herod is thus described by Josephus : ' Before this temple stood the altar, fifteen cubits high, and equal both in length and breadth, each of which dimensions was fifty cubits. The figure it was built in was a square, and it had corners like horns, and the passage up to it was by an insensible acclivity from the south. It was formed without any iron tool, nor did any iron tool so much as touch it at any time.' The di- mensions of this altar, however, are ditt'erently stated in the Mishua. On the south side Avas an inclined plane, 32^ubits long and 16 cubits broad, made likewise of unhewn stones. A pipe ■vvas connected with the south-west horn, through which the blood of the victims was discharged by a subterraneous passage into the brook Kedron Under the altar was a cavity to receive the drink- oiFerings, which was covered with *a marble slab, and cleansed from time to time. On the north side of the altar several iron rings were fixed to fasten the victims. Lastly, a red line was drawn round the middle of the altar to distiniiuish between the blood that was to be sprinkled above and below it. II. The second altar belonging to the Jewish worship was the altar of incense, called also the ! golden altar (Num. iv. 11). It was placed between the table of shew-bread and the golden candlestick, in the most holy place. 1 . This altar in the tabernacle was made of Shittim-wood overlaid with gold plates, one cubit in length and breadth, and two cubits in height. It had horns (Lev. iv. 7) of the same materials; and round the flat surface was a border of gold, underneath which were the rings to receive ' the staves made of .■>hittim-wood, over- laid with gold to bear it withal ' (Exod. xxx. 1-.5). 2. The altar in Solomon's Temple was similar, but made of cedar (1 Kings vi. 20; vii. 48; 1 Chron. xxviii. 18) overlaid -with gold. 3. The altar in the second temple was taken away by Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Mace. i. 21), and restored by Judas Maccabaeus (1 Mace. iv. 49). On the arch of Titus there appears no altar of incense. ALTARS, FORMS OF. In the preceding article the reader is fiirnished with all the posi- tive information which we possess respecting the altars mentioned in Scripture; but as, with regard to material objects so frequently named as altars, we feel a desire to have distinct images in the mind, some further remarks respecting the forms which they probably bore, may not be unacceptable. The direction to the Israelites, at the time of their leaving Egypt, to construct their altars of unhewn stones or of earth, is doubtless to be understood as an injunction to follow the usage of their patriarchal ancestors ; and not to adopt the customs, full of idolatrous associations, which they had seen in Egypt, or might see in the land of Canaan. As they were also strictly enjoined to destroy the altars of the Canaanites, it is more than probable that the direction was levelled against such usages as those into which that people had fallen. The conclusion deducible from this, that the patriarchal altars were of unhewn stones or of earth, is confirmed by the circumstances under which they were erected, and by the fact that they are always described as being ' built.' The provision that they migftt be made of earth, applies doubtless to situations in which stones could not be easily obtained, as in the open plains and wildernesses. Familiar analogies lead to the inference that the largest stones that could be found in the neighbourhood would be employed to form the altar ; but where no large stones could be had, that heaps of smaller ones might be made to serve. As these altars were erected in the open air, and were very carefiilly preserved, there is at least a strong probability that some of those ancient monuments of unhewn stone, usually called Druidical remains, which are found in all parts of the world, were derived from the altars of primitive times. These are diversified in their forms ; and their peculiar uses have been very much disputed. It is admitted, however, that some of them must have been altars ; but the difficulty is, to determine whether these altars are to be sought in the Cromlechs or the Kistvaens. It seems to us that the arguments preponderate in favour of the opinion that the Cromlechs are the representatives of the primi- tive altars, and that the Kistvaens (stones dis- posed in a chest-like form) are analogous to the arks of the Jewish ritual and of some of the pagan religions [Ark]. Cromlechs, as is well known, are somewhat in the form of a table, one large stone being sup- ported, in a horizontal or slightly inclined posi- tion, upon three or more, but usually three stones, set upright. That they were used as altars is almost instinctively suggested to every one that views them; and this conclusion is strengthened when, as is often the case, we ob- serve a small circular hole through which pro- bably the rope was run by which the victims, when slaughtered, were bound to the altar, as they were to the angular projections or ' horns ' of the Jewish altar (Ps. cxviii. 27). It was ALTARS ALTARS 59 natural that where a sufficiency of large stones could njot be found, heaps of smaller ones should be employed ; and that, when practicable, a large flat stone would be placed on the top, to give a proper level for the fire and the sacrifice. Such are the cairn-altars, of which many still remain; but as they are sometimes found in places where stones of large size might have been obtained, it seems that in later times such altars had a special appropriation ; and that the sacred fires were burned on them, and sacrifices offered to Bel, Baal, or the Sun. The injunction that there should be no ascent by steps to the altar appears to have been im- perfectly understood. There are no accounts or figures of altars so elevated in their fabric as to require such steps for the officiating priests ; but when altars are found on rocks or hills, the ascent to them is sometimes fecilitated by steps cut in the rock. This, therefore, may have been an indirect way of preventing that erection of altars in high places which the Scriptures so often reprobate. It is usually supposed, however, that the effect of this prohibition was, that the tabernacle altar, like most ancient altars, was so low as to need no ascent ; or else that some other kind of ascent was provided. Th-e former is probably right, for the altar was but three cubits high, and was designed to be portable. There is one error in these and other figures of the Jewish altars com- posed from the descriptions ; namely, with re- gard to the * horns,' which were placed at the corners, called ' the horns of the altar ' (Exod. xxvii. 2 ; xxix. 12 ; 1 Kings ii. 28), and to wl)ich the victims were tied at the time of sacri- fice. The word horn was applied by the Jews as an epithet descriptive of any point projecting in any direction after the manner of a horn (not necessarily like a horn in shape) ; and there is no reason to doubt that the horns of the succes- sive altars of burnt-offerings resembled those corners projecting upwards which are seen in many ancient altars. These are shown in the view depicting the probable form of the Jewish altar of burnt-offerings. By the time of Solomon it appears to have been understood that the interdiction of steps of ascent did not imply that the altar was to be low, but rather that it was to be high, and that only a particular mode of ascend was forbidden. The altar of the temple was not less than ten cubits high, and some means of ascent must have been provided. The usual representations of Solomon's altar are formed chiefly from the descriptions of that in Herod's temple gjven by Josephus and the Rabbins; and although this last was almost one-third higher and larger than the other, it was doubtless upon the same model. The altar of the first temple had been seen, and could be described, by many of those who were present when that of the second temple was erected ; and the latter was known to those by whom Herod's altar was built. Very different figures, however, have been formed from these descriptions, and that which we here introduce is perhaps the best and most probable of them. The altar of incense, being very simple in its parts and uses, has been represented with so little difference, except in some ornamental de- tails, that one of the figures designed from the descriptions may suffice. It is not our object to describe the altars of other nations ; but, to supply materials for com- parison and illustration, a group of the altars of the principal nations of Oriental and classical antiquity is here introduced. One obvious re- mark occurs, namely, that all the Oriental altars are square or oblong, M-hereas those of Greece ' 60 ALTARS and Rome are more usually round; and that, upon the whole, the Hebrew altars were in accordance with the general Oriental type. In all of them we observe bases with corresponding projections at the top ; and in some we find the true model of the ' horns,' or prominent and pointed angles. 32. [1, 2, 3. Greek. 4. Egyptian. 5. Babylonian. 6. Roman. 7, 8. Persian.'' Altar at Athens. St. Paul, in his admired address before the judges of the Areopagus at Athens, declares that he perceived that the Athe- nians were in all things too superstitious, for that, as he was passing by and beholding their devotions, he found an altar, inscribed, ' To the Unknown God;' and adds, with unexpected force, ' Hivi whom ye worship without knowing, I set forth unto you ' (Acts xvii. 22, 23). The questions suggested by the mention of an altar at Athens, thus inscribed ' to the unknown God,' have engaged much attention. Different opi- nions have been entertained on the subject, and various conjectures made regarding it. No cer- tain information, however, can now be obtained resnecting the orecise reference of the apostle, AMALEKITES and we are content to rest in the conclosion of Professor Robinson : ' So much at least is cer- tain, that altars to an unknown god or gods ex- isted at Athens. But the attempt to ascertain definitively whom the Athenians worshipped under this appellation must ever remain fruitless for want of sufficient data. The inscription afforded to Paul a happy occasion of proclaiming the Gospel ; and those who embraced it found indeed that the being whom they had thus " ig- norantly worshipped," was the one only living and true God.' A'LUSH, one of the places at which the He- brews rested on their way to Mount Sinai (Num. xxxiii. 13). It was between Dophkah and Re- phidim. The Jewish Chronology makes it twelve miles from the former and eight from the latter station. AM'ALEK, a son of Eliphaz (the first-born of Esau) by his concubine Timna: he was the chieftain, or Emir, of an Idumaean tribe (Gen. xxxvi. 16). AM'ALEKITES, the name of a nation inha- biting the country to the south of Palestine be- tween Idumaa and Egypt, and to the east of the Dead Sea and Mount Seir. 'The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south' (Num. xiii. 29). ' Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt ' (1 Sam. XV. 7). 'David went up and invaded the Geshurites, and Gezrites, and the Amalekites, for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt' (1 Sam. xxvii. 8). In 1 Chron. iv. 42, it is said that the sons of Simeou went to Mount Seir and smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped. According to Josephus the Amalekites inhabited Gobolitis and Petra, and were the most warlike of the nations in those parts: and elsewhere he speaks of them as ' reaching from Pelusium of Egypt to the Red Sea.' We find, also, that they had a settlement in that part of Palestine which was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. The first mention of the Amalekites in the Bible is Gen. xiv. 7 ; Chedor- laomer and his confederates returned and came to En-Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. I'he Amalekites Avere the first assailants of the Israel- ites after their passage through the Red Sea , , (Exod. xvii.). It has been thought improbable | that in so short a period the descendants of Esau's grandson could have been sufficiently numerous and powerful to attack the host of Israel ; but within nearly the same period the tribe of Ephraim had increased so that it could muster 40,500 men able to bear arms, and Manasseh 32,200 : and admitting in the case of the Israel- ites an extraordinary rate of increase (Exod. i. 12, 20), still, if we consider the prostrating in- fluence of slavery on the national character, and the absence of warlike habits, it is easy to con- ceive that a comparatively small band of marau- ders would be a very formidable foe to an un- disciplined multitude, circumstanced as the Israelites were, in a locality so adapted to irre- gular warfare. It appears too that the attack was made on the most defenceless portion of the host. ' Remember (said Moses) what Amalek did unto thee by the way when ye were come AMARIAH forth out of Egj-pt : how he met thee by the way and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble Itehind thee, when thou wast faint and weary' (Deut. xxt. 17, 18). In the Pentateuch the Amalekites arc frequently mentioned in con- nection witli the Canaanites (Num. xiv. 25, 43, 45), and, in the book of Judges, Avith the Moab- ites and Ammonites (Judg. iii. 13); with the Midianites (Judg. vi. 3 ; vii. 12: 'The Midian- ites, and the Amalekites, and all the children of the East lay along in the valley like grasshop- pers for multitude ; and their camels were with- out number, as the sand by the sea-side for mul- titude'); with the Kenites (1 Sam. xv. 6). By divine command, as a retribution for their hosti- lity to the Israelites on leaving Egypt (1 Sam. XV. 2), Saul invaded their country with an army of 210,000 men, and ' iitterli/ destroi/ed all the people with the edge of the sword ,' but he pre- served their king Agag alive, and the best of the cattle, and by this act of disobedience for- I feited the regal authority over Israel. About twenty years later they were attacked by David during his residence among the Philistines (1 Sam. xxvii.). It is said ' that he smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive:' this language must be taken with some limitation, for shortly after the Amalekites were sufficiently recovered from their defeat to make reprisals, and burnt Ziklag with fire (1 Sam. xxx.). Da- vid, on his return from the camp of Achish, sur- prised them while celebrating their success, ' eating, and drinking, and dancing,' and ' smote them from twilight even unto the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them save 400 young men which rode upon camels, and fled' (1 Sam. xxx. 17). At a later period, we find that David dedicated to the Lord the silver and gold of Amalek and other conquered nations (2 Sam. viii. 12). The last notice of the Amalekites as a nation is in 1 Chron. iv. 43, from which we learn that in the days of Heze- kiah, king of Judah, 500 men of the sons of Simeon ' went to Mount Seir, and smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped.' In the book of Esther, Haman is called the Agagite, and was probably a descendant of the royal line (Num. xxiv. 7 ; 1 Sam. xv. 8). Jo- sephus says that he was by birth an Amalekite. AMA'NA, a mountain mentioned in Cant. iv. 8. Some have supposed it to be Mount Amanus in Cilicia, to which the dominion of Solomon is alleged to have extended northward. But the context, with other circumstances, leaves little doubt that this Mount Amana was rather the fouthern part or summit of Anti-Libanus, and was so called perhaps from containing the sources of the river Amana [Abana]. 1. AMARI'AH (whom Jehovah said, i.e. pro- mised, equivalent to the Greek name Theophras- tus), mentioned in 1 Chron. vi. 7, in the list of the descendants of Aaron by his eldest son Elea- zer. He was the son of Meraioth and the father of Ahitub, who was (not the grandson and suc- I cessor of Eli of the same name, but) the father of that Zadok in whose person Saul restored the high-priesthood to the line of Eleazer. The years during which the younger line of Ithamar enjoyed the pontificate in the persons of Eli, Ahitub, and Abimelech (who was slain by king Saul at Nob) doubtless more than cover the time AMASA 61 of Amariah and his son Ahitub ; and it is there- fore sufficiently certain that they never were high-priests in fact, although their names are given to carry on the direct line of succession to Zadok. 2. AMARIAH, high-priest at a later period, the son of Azariah, and also father of a second Ahitub (1 Chron. vi. 11). In like manner, in the same list, tliere are three high-priests bearing the name of Azariah. 3. AMARIAH, great-grandfather of the pro- phet Zephaniah (Zeph. i. 1). 1. AMA'SA (burden), son of Abigail, a sister of king David. As his name does not occur prior to Absalom's rebellion (2 Sam. xvii. 25), he must have been neglected by David in com- parison with Joab and Abishai, the sons of his other sister Zeruiah, who had before then been raised to great power and influence. This appa- rent estrangement may perhaps be connected with the fact that Abigail had married an Ish- maelite called Jether, who was the father of Amasa. This is the more likely, as the fact is pointedly mentioned (1 Chron. ii. 17), or covertly indicated (2 Sam. xvii. 25) whenever the name of Abigail occurs, whereas we are quite ignorant who was the husband of the other sister, Zeruiah, and father of her distinguished sons. We may thus form a conjecture of the grounds on which Amasa joined Absalom, and obtained the com' mand of the rebel army. He was defeated by his cousin Joab, who commanded the army of David. This transaction appears to have made David sensible of the neglect with which Amasa had been treated ; and he eventually off"ered him not only pardon, but the command of the army in the room of Joab (2 Sam. xix. 13), whose overbearing conduct had become intolerable to him, and to whom he could not entirely forgive the death of Absalom. David, however, was too good a soldier himself to have made this oifer, had not Amasa, notwithstanding his defeat, dis- played high military qualities during his com- mand of Absalom's army. But on the breaking out of Sheba's rebellion, Amasa was. so tardy in his movements (probably from the reluctance of the troops to follow him), that David despatched Abishai with the household troops in pursuit of Sheba, and Joab joined his brother as a volun- teer. When they reached 'the great stone of Gibeon,' they were overtaken by Amasa with the force he had been able to collect. Joab thought this a favourable opportunity of getting rid of so dafigerous a rival, and immediately executed the treacherous purpose he had formed. He saluted Amasa, asked him of his health, and took his beard in his right hand to kiss him, while with the unheeded left hand he smote him dead with his sword. Joab then put himself at the head of the troops, and continued the pur- suit of Sheba ; and such was his popularity with the army, that David was unable to remove him from the command, or to call him to account for this bloody deed: B.C. 1022 [Abner; Absalom; Joab]. 2. AMASA, a chief of Ephraim, who, with others, vehemently resisted the retention as pri- soners of the persons whom Pekah, king of Israel, had taken captive in a successful campaign against Ahaz, king of Judah (2 Chron. xxviii. 12). I 62 AMAZIAH I AMASA'I, the principal leader of a consider- j able body of men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who joined David at Ziklag. The I words with which David received them indicate ! some apprehension, which was instantly dissi- j pated by a fervent declaration of attachment from j Amasai (1 Chron. xii. lG-18). j 1. AMAZI'AH {whom Jehovah strengthens, i. e. God-streiigtJiened), son of Joash, and eighth king of Judah. He was 25 years old when he began to reign, asid he reigned 29 years — from B.C. 838 to B.C. 809. He commenced his sovereignty by punishing the murderers of his father ; and it is mentioned that he respected the law of Moses, by not including the children in the doom of their parents, which seems to sliow that a con- trary practice had p7-eviously existed. In tlie twelfth year of his reign Amaziah attempted to re-impose upon the Edomites the yoke of Judah, which they had cast off in the time of Jehoram. The strength of Edom is evinced by the fact that Amaziah considered the unaided strength of his own kingdom unequal to this undertaking, and therefore hired an auxiliary force of 100,000 men from the king of Israel for 100,000 talents of silver. This is the first example of a merce- nary army that occurs in the history of the Jews. It did not, however, render any other sei-vice than that of giving Amaziah an opportunity of manifesting that he knew his trae place in the Hebrew constitution, as the viceroy and vassal of the king Jehovah [King]. A prophet com- manded him, in the name of the Lord, to send back the auxiliaries, on the ground that the state of alienation from God in which the king- dom of Israel lay, rendered such assistance not only useless but dangerous. The king obeyed this seemingly hard command, and sent the men home, although by doing so he lost not only their services and the 100,000 talents, which had been already paid, but incurred the resentment of the Israelites, who were naturally exasperated at the indignity shown to them. But the obedience of Amaziah was rewarded by a great victory over the Edomites, ten thou- I sand of whom were slain in battle, and ten thou- I sand more were savagely destroyed by being ! hurled down from the high cliffs of their native mountains. But the Edomites afterwards were avenged; for among the goods which fell to the I conqueror were some of their idols, which, al- ! though impotent to deliver their own worship- i pers, Amaziah betook himself to worship. This I proved his ruin. Puffed up by his late victories, he thought also of reducing the ten tribes under his dominion. In this attempt he was defeated by king Joash of Israel, who carried him a pri- soner to Jerusalem. Joash broke down great part of the city wall, plundered the city, and j even laid his hands upon the sacred things of the temple. He, however, left Amaziah on the throne, but not without taking hostages for his good behaviour. The disasters which Amaziah's infatuation had brought upon Judah probably occasioned the conspiracy in which he lost his life. On receiving intelligence of this conspiracy he hastened to throw himself into the fortress of Lachish ; but he was pursued and slain by the conspirators, who brought back his body ' upon ^ horses' to Jerusalem for interment in tlie royal sepulchre (2 Kings xiv. ; 2 Chron. xxv.). AMEN 2. AMAZIAH, the priest of the golden calves at Bethel, in the time of Jeroboam II. He com- plained to the king of Amos's prophecies of coming evil, and urged the prophet himself to withdraw into the kingdom of Judah and pro- phesy there (Amos vii. 10-17). AMBER. The substance thus designated in the Authorized Version is in Hebrew called Chasmil, and was probably a composition of several sorts of metal, since even the term by which the word is rendered by the Greeks fre- quently signifies a composition of gold and silver. The ancients were acquainted with the art of amalgamating various species of metal ; and the Latin miriclialcum is said to have possessed the brightness of gold and the hardness of copper, and might not improbably have been" our present platina, which has been re-discovered in the Ural mountains, after having long been known as an American fossil. It is not improbable that this was the metal termed ' fine copper" (Ezra viii. 27). AMBIDEXTER, one who can use the left hand as well as the right, or, more literally, one whose hands are both right hands. It was long supposed that both hands are naturally equal, and that the preference of the right hand, and comparative incapacity of the left, are the result of education and habit. But it is now known that the difference is really physical, and that the ambidexterous condition of the hands is not a natural development. The capacity of equal action with both hands was highly prized in ancient times, especially in war. Among the Hebrews this quality seems to have been most common in the tribe of Benja- min, as all the persons noticed as being endued with it were of that tribe. By comparing Judg. iii. 15, XX. 16, with 1 Chron. xii. 2, we may gather that the persons mentioned in the two former texts as ' left-handed,' were really ambi- dexters. In the latter text we learn that the Benjamites who joined David at Ziklag were ' mighty men, helpers of the war. They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling [slinging] and shooting arrows out of a bow.' There were thirty of them ; and as they appear to have been all of one family, it might almost seem as if the greater commonness of this power among the Benjamites arose from its being an hereditary peculiarity of certain families in that tribe. It may also partly have been the result of cultiva- tion ; for although the left hand is not naturally an equally strong and ready instrument as the right hand, it may doubtless be often rendered such by early and suitable training. AMEN. This word is strictly an adjective, signifying '■firing and, metaphorically, '■faithful! Thus in Rev. iii. 14, our Lord is called 'the amen, the faithful and true witness.' In Isa. Ixv. 16, the Heb. has 'the God of amen,' which our version renders ' the God of truth,' i. e. of fide- lity. In its adverbial sense Amen means cer- tainly, tridy, surely. It is used in the beginning of a sentence by way of emphasis— rarely in the Old Test. (Jer. xxviii. 6), but often by our Sa- viour in the New, where it is commonly trans- lated ' Verily.' In John's gospel alone it is often used by him in this way double, i. e. ' verily, verily.' In the end of a sentence it often occurs singly or repeated, especially at the end of AMMAN hymns or prayers, as ' amen and amen ' (Ps. xli. 13; Ixxii. 19; Ixxxix. 52). The proper signi- fication of it in this position is to confirm the words which have preceded, and invoke the ful- filment of them: 'so be it' Hence in oaths, after the priest has repeated the words of the covenant or imprecation, all those who pro- nounced the amen hound themselves by the oath (Num. V. 22; Deut. xxvii. 15, 20; Neh. v. 13; viii. 6 ; 1 Chron. xvi. 3(3 ; comp. Ps. cvi. 48). AMETHYST. The word thus translated in the common version is in Hebrew Achlamah, and is the name of the precious stone mentioned in Scripture as tlie ninth in the breastplate of the high-priest (Exod. xxviii. 19; xxxix. 12): in the New Testament the precise word aviethijst (which is Greek) designates the twelfth stone in the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. xxi. 20). The transparent gems called amethysts are of a colour which seems composed of a strong blue and deep red ; and according as either of these prevails, exhibit different tinges of purple, some- times approaching to violet, and sometimes de- clining even to a rose colour. All the varieties of it are comprehended under two species, the Oriental Amethyst and the Occidental Amethyst. The Oriental amethyst is very scarce, and of great hardness, lustre, and beauty. It is in fact a rare variety of the adamantine spar, or co- rundum. Next to the diamond, it is the hardest substance known. It contains about 90 per cent, of alumine, a little iron, and a little silica. Of this species, emery, used in- cutting and polishing glass, &c., is a granular variety. To this species also belongs the sapphire, the most valuable of gems next to the diamond ; and of which the Oriental amethyst is merely a violet Tariety. Like other sapphires, it loses its colour in the fire, and comes out with so much of the lustre and colour of the diamond, that the most experienced jeweller may be deceived by it. 'J'he more common, or Occidental amethyst, is a variety of quartz, or rock crystal, and is found in various forms in many parts of the world, as India, Siberia, Sweden, Germany, Spain ; and even in England very beautiful specimens of tolerable hardness have been dis- covered. This also loses its colour in the fire. Amethysts were much used by the ancients for rings and cameos ; and the reason given by Pliny— because they were easily cut— shows that the Occidental species is to be understood. The ancients believed .that the amethyst pos- sessed the power of dispelling drunkenness in those who wore or touched it, and hence its Greek name. In like manner, the Rabbins derive its Jewish name from its supposed power of procuring dreams to the wearer. 1. AMIN'ADAB {kindred of the prince), one of the ancestors of David and of Christ (Matt, i. 4). He was the son of Aram, and the father of Naasson, and of Elisheba, who became the wife of Aaron (Exod. vi. 23). 2. AMINADAB, in Cant. vi. 12, The cha- riots of this Amiuadab are mentioned as pro- verbial for their swiftness. Of himself we know nothing more than what is here glanced at, from which he appears to have been, like Jehu, one of the most celebrated charioteers of his day. AM'MAN. [Kabbah.] AMMONITES 69 AM'MON. [No Ammon.] AM'MONITES, the descendants of the younger son of Let (Gen. xix. 38). They originally occupied a tract of country east of the Amorites, and separated from the Moabites by the river Arnon. It was previously in the possession of a gigantic race called Zamzummims (Deut. ii. 20), ' but the Lord destroyed them before the Am- monites, and they succeeded them and dwelt in their stead.' The Israelites on reaching the borders of the Promised Land, Avere commanded not to molest the children of Anmion, for the sake of their progenitor Lot. But, though thus preserved from the annoyance which the passage of such an immense host through their country might have occasioned, they showed them no hospitality or kindness; they were therefore prohibited from 'entering the congregation of the Lord ' (i. e. from being admitted into the civil community of the Israelites) ' to the tenth generation for ever' (Deut. xxiii. 3). This is evidently intended to be a perpetual prohibition, and was so understood by Nehemiah (Neh. xiii. 1). The first mention of their active hostility against Israel occurs in Judges iii. IS. About 140 years later we are informed that the children of Israel forsook Jehovah and served the gods of various nations, including those of the children of Ammon, and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and of the children of Ammon. The Ammonites crossed over the Jordan, and fought with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim, so that ' Israel was sore distressed.' In answer to Jephthah's messengers (Judg. xi. 12), the king of Ammon charged the Israelites with having taken away that part of his terri- tories which lay between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok, which, in Joshua xiii. 25, is called ' half the land of the children of Ammon,' but was in the possession of the Amorites when the Israelites invaded it ; and this fact was urged by Jephthah, in order to prove that the charge was ill-founded. Jephthah ' smote them from Aroer to Minnith, even twenty cities, with a very great slaughter ' (Judg. xi. 33). The Ammonites were again signally defeated by Saul (b.c. 1095) (1 Sam. xi. 11), and, according to Josephus, their king Nahash was slain. His successor, who bore the same name, was a friend of David, and died some years after his accession to the throne. In consequence of the gross insult oftered to David's ambassadors by his son Hanun (2 Sam. x. 4), a war ensued, in which the Ammonites were defeated, and their allies the Syrians were so daunted ' that they feared to help the children of Ammon any more' (2 Sam. X. 19). In the following year David took their metropolis, Rabbah, and great abund- ance of spoil, which is probably mentioned by anticipation in 2 Sam. viii. 12(2 Sam. x. 14; xii. 26-31). In the reign of Jehoshaphat (b.c. 896) the Ammonites joined with the Moabites and other tribes belonging to Mount Seir, to invade Judah; but, by the divine intervention, were led to destroy one another. Jehoshaphat and his people were three days in gathering the spoil (2 Chron. xx. 25). The Ammonites • gave gifts ' to Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 8), and paid a tribute to his son Jotham for three successive years, consisting of 100 talents of silver, 1000 64 AMON measures of wheat, and as man)' of barley. When the two and a half tribes were carried j away captive, the Ammonites took possession of the towns belonging to the tribe of Gad (Jerem. xlix. 1). 'Bauds of the children of Ammon' and of other nations came up with Nebuchad- nezzar against Jerusalem (b.c. 607), and joined in exulting over its fall (Ezek. xxv. 3, 6). Yet they allowed some of the fugitive Jews to take refuge among them, and even to intermarry ( Jer. xl. 11; Neh. xiii. 23). On the return of the Jews from Babylon the Ammonites mani- fested their ancient hostility by deriding and opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. iv. 3, 7, 8). Both Ezra and Nehemiah expressed vehement indignation against those Jews who had intermarried with the heathen, and thus transgressed the divine command (Deut. vii. 3 ; Ezra X.; Neh. xiii. 25). Judas Maccabseus (B.C. 164) fought many battles with the Ammo- nites, and took Jazer with the towns belonging to it. Justin Martyr affirms that in his time the Ammonites were still numerous. The national idol of the Ammonites was Molech or Milcom, whose worship was intro- duced among the Israelites by the Ammonitish wives of Solomon (1 Kings xi. 5, 7) ; and the high places built by that sovereign for this * abomination ' were not destroj'ed till the reign of Josiah (B.C. 610) (2 Kings xxiii. 13). Besides Nahash and Hanun, an Ammonitish king Baalis is mentioned by Jeremiah (xl. 14). In the writings of the prophets terrible denun- ciations are uttered against the Ammonites on account of their rancorous hostility to the people of Israel ; and the destruction of their metro- polis, Eabbah, is distinctly foretold (Zeph. ii. 8; Jer. xlix. 1-6; Ezek. xxv. 1-5, 10; Amos i. 13-15). AM'NON {faithful), the eldest son of David, by Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born at Hebron, about B.C. 1056. He is only known for his atrocious conduct towards his half-sister Tamar, which her fiill-brother Absalom reveuged two years after, by causing him to be assas- sinated while a guest at his table, in b.c. 1032 (2 Sam. xiii.) [Absalom]. A'MON (Jer. xlvi. 25) is the name of an Egyptian god, in whom the classical writers unanimously recognise their own Zeus and Ju- piter. His chief temple and oracle in Egypt AMOEITES were at Thebes, a city peculiarly consecrated to him, and which is probably meant by the No and No Amon of the prophets. He is generally represented on Egyptian monuments by the seated figure of a man with a ram's head, or by that of an entire ram, and of a blue colour. In honour of him, the inhabitants of the Thebaid abstained from the flesh of sheep, but they an- nually sacrificed a ram to him and dressed his image in the hide. As for the power which was worshipped under the form of Amon, it has been asserted that the Libyans adored the setting sun under that of their Ammon ; others have endeavoured to prove that Amon represented the sun at the vernal equinox. But nothing very definite is known upon the subject, though the fact seems placed beyond a doubt that Amon bears some relation to the sun. AMON (artificer), son of Manasseh, and four- teenth king of Judah, who began to reign B.C. 641, and reigned two years. He appears to have derived little benefit from the instructive example which the sin, punishment, and repent- ance of his father offered ; for he restored ido- latry, and again set up the images which Ma- nasseh had cast down. He was assassinated in a court conspiracy : but the people put the regicides to death, and raised to the throne his son Josiah, then but eight years old (2 Kings xxi. 19-26; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 21-25). AM'ORITES, the descendants of one of the sons of Canaan. They were the most powerful and distinguished of the Canaanitish nations. We find them first noticed in Gen. xiv. 7. In the promise to Abraham (Gen. xv. 21), the Amorites are specified as one of the nations whose country would be given to his posterity. But at that time three confederates of the patriarch belonged to this tribe ; Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol (Gen. xiv. 13, 24). When the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, the Amoi-ites occupied a tract on both sides of the Jordan. Tliat part of their territories which lay to the east of the Jordan was allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. They were under two kings — Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan (Deut. i. 4; Josh. xii. 4 ; xiii. 12). Before hostilities commenced messengers were sent to Sihon, re- questing permission to pass through his land; but Sihon refused, and came to Jahaz and fought with Israel ; and Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Amon (Modjeb) unto Jabbok (Zerka) (Num. xxi. 24). Og also gave battle to the Israelites at Edrei, and was totally defeated. After the capture of Ai, five kings of the Amo- rites, whose dominions lay within the allotment of the tribe of Judah, leagued together to wreak vengeance on the Gibeouites for having made a separate peace with the invaders. Joshua, on being apprised of their design, marched to Gibeon and defeated them with great slaughter (Josh. X. 10). Another confederacy was shortly after formed on a still larger scale; the asso- ciated forces are described as 'much people, even as the sand upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many ' (Josh. xi. 4). Joshua came suddenly upon them by the waters of Merom (the modern lake Huleh), and Israel AMOS Bmote them until they left none remaining (Josh. xi. 8). Still, after their severe defeats, the Amorites, by means of their war-chariots and cavalry, confined the Danites to the hills, and would not suffer them to settle in the plains : they even succeeded in retaining pos- session of some of the mountainous parts ( Judg. i. 34-36). It is mentioned as an extraordinary circumstance that in the days of Samuel there was peace between Israel and the Amorites (1 Sam. vii. 14). In Solomon's reign a tribute of bond-service was levied on the remnant of the Amorites and other Canaanitish nations (1 Kings ix. 21 ; 2 Chron. viii. 8). A'MOS (borne), one of the twelve minor prophets, and a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He was a native of Tekoah, about six miles south of Bethlehem, inhabited chiefly by shepherds, to which class he belonged, being also a dresser of sycamore-trees. The period during which he filled the prophetic office was of short duration, unless we suppose that he uttered other predictions which are not recorded. It is stated expressly that he prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake (Amos i. 1). As Uzziah and Jeroboam were contemporaries for about fourteen years, from b.c, 798 to 784, the latter of these dates will mark the period when Amos prophesied. When Amos received his commission, the kingdom of Israel, which had been ' cut short ' by Hazael (2 Kings x. 32) towards the close of Jehu's reign, was restored to its ancient limits and splendour by Jeroboam the Second (2 Kings xiv. 25). But the restoration of national pros- perity was followed by the prevalence of luxury, licentiousness, and oppression, to an extent that again provoked the divine displeasure, and Amos was called from the sheep-folds to be the harbinger of the coming judgments. Not that his commission was limited entirely to Israel. The thunder-storm (as Ruckert poetically ex- presses it) rolls over all the surrounding king- doms, touches Judah in its progress, and at length settles upon Israel. Chap. i. ; ii. 1-5, form a solemn prelude to the main subject ; nation after nation is summoned to judgment. Israel is then addressed in the same style, and in chap. iii. (after a brief rebuke of the twelve tribes collectively) its degenerate state is strik- ingly portrayed, and the denunciations of divine justice are intermingled, like repeated thunder- claps, to the end of chap. vi. The seventh and eighth chapters contain various symbolical visions, with a brief historical ppisode (vii. 10-17). In the ninth chapter the majesty of Jehovah and the terrors of his justice are set forth with a sublimity of diction which rivals and partly copies that of the royal Psalmist (comp. vers. 2, 3, with Ps. cix., and ver. 6 with Ps. civ.). Towards the close the scene brightens, and from the eleventh verse to the end the pro- mises of the divine mercy and returning favour to the chosen race are exhibited in imagery of great beauty taken from rural life. The writings of this prophet afford clear evidence that the existing religious institutions both of Judah and Israel (with the exception of the corruptions introduced by Jeroboam) were AMULET 65 framed according fo the rules prescribed in the ] Pentateuch, a fact which furnishes a conclusive ' argument for the genuineness of the Mosaic re- cords. The canonicity of the book of Amos is amply supported both by Jewish and Christian autho- rities. Philo, Josephus, and the Talmud include it among the minor prophets. It is also in the catalogues of Melito, Jerome, and the fiOth canon of the Council of Laodicea. Justin Martyr, quotes a considerable part of the 5th and Kth chapters, which he introduces by saying, — * Hear how he speaks concerning these by Amos, one of the twelve.' There are two quotations from it in the New Testament : the first (v. 25, 2()) by the proto-martyr Stephen, Acts vii. 42 ; the second (ix. 11) by the apostle James, Acts XV. 16. A'MOSIS, an Egyptian monarch, the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, who ascended the throne in B.C. 1575. The period of his accession, and the change which then took place in the reigning family, strongly confirm the opinion of his being the ' new king who knew not Joseph ' (Exod. i. 8) ; and if it be considered that he was from the distant province of. Thebes, it is rea- sonable to expect that the Hebrews would be strangers to him, and that he would be likely to look upon them with the same distrust and contempt with which the Egyptians usually re- garded foreigners. AMPHIP'OLIS, a city of Greece, through which Paul and Silas passed on their way from Philippi to Thessalonica (Acts xvii. 1). It was situated on the left bank of the river Strymon just below its egress from the lake Kerkine (now Takino), and about three miles above its influx into the sea. This situation upon the banks of a navigable river, a short distance from the sea, with the vicinity of the woods of Kerkine, and the gold-mines of Mount Panga;us, rendered Amphipolis a place of much importance, and an object of contest between the Thracians, Athe- nians, Lacedaemonians, and Macedonians, to whom it successively belonged. It has long been in ruins ; and a village of about one hundred houses, called Jeni-keui, now occupies part of its site. AM'R AM, son of Kohath, of the tribe of Levi. He married his father's sister Jochebed, by whom he had Aaron, IMiriam, and Moses. He died in Egypt, at the age of 137 years (Exod. vi.). AM'RAPHEL, king of Shinar, one of the four kings who invaded Palestine in the time of Abraham (Gen. xiv. 1, 2, sq.) [Abraham; Chedorlaomer]. AMULET (Isa. iii. 20). From the earliest ages the Orientals have believed in the influences of the stars, in spells, witchcraft, and the malign power of the evil eye ; and to protect themselves against the maladies and other evils which such influences were supposed to occasion, almost all the ancient nations wore amulets. These amu- lets consisted, and still consist, chiefly of tickets inscribed with sacred sentences, and of certain stones or pieces of metal. Not only were per- sons thus protected, but even houses were, as they still are, guarded from supposed malign influences by certain holy inscriptions upon the doors. The previous existence of these customs is 66 AMULET AN AM AS implied in the attempt of Moses to turn them to becoming uses, by directing that certain pas- sages extracted from the law should be employed (Exod. xiii. 9, 16; Deut. vi. 8; xi. 18). the door-schedules being noticed elsewhere, we here limit our attention to personal amulets. By this religious appropriation the then all-pervading tendency to idolatry was in this matter obviated, although in later times, when the tendency to idolatry had passed away, such written scrolls degenerated ii.to instruments of superstition. 34. [1. Modern Oriental. 2, 3, 4, 5. Ancient Egyptian.] The ear-rings (Auth. Vers.) of Isa. iii. 20, it is now allowed, denote amulets, although they served also the purpose of ornament. They were probably precious stones, or small plates of gold or silver, with sentences of the law or magic formulae inscribed on them, and worn in the ears, or suspended by a chain round the neck. It is certain that earrings were sometimes used in this way as instruments of superstition, and that at a very early period (Gen. xxxv. 4), and they are still used as charms in the East. Au- gustin speaks sti-ongly against ear-rings that ■were worn as amulets in his time. Some have supposed that these amulets were charms inscribed on silver and gold similar to those ornamental little cases for written charms which are still used by Arab women. This is represented in the first figure of the cut No. 34. The writing is covered with waxed cloth, and enclosed in a case of thin embossed gold or silver, which is attached to a silk string, or a chain, and generally hung on the right side, above the girdle, the string or chain being passed over the left shoulder. Amulets of this shape, or of a triangular form, are worn by women and children ; and those of the latter shape are often attached to children's head-dress. The superstitions connected with amulets grew to a great height in the later periods of the Jewish history. ' There was hardly any people in the whole world,' says Lightfoot, ' that more used or were more fond of amulets, charms, mutterings, exorcisms, and all kinds of enchant- ments. . . . The amulets were eHher little roots hang about the neck of sick persons, or, what was more common, bits of paper (and parch- ment), with words written on them, whereby it was supposed that diseases were either driven away or cured. They wore such amulets all the week, but were forbidden to go abroad with them on the Sabbath, unless they were " approved amulets," that is, were prescribed by a person who knew that at least three persons had been cured by the same means. In these amulets mysterious names and characters were occasion- ally employed, in lieu of extracts from the law. One of the most usual of these was the cabalistic hexagonal figure known as the " shield of David" and " the seal of Solomon." ' A'NAB, one of the cities in the mountains of Jndah, from which Joshua expelled the Anakim (Josh. xi. 21 ; XV. 50). A'NAH {responder), son of Zibeon the Hivite, and father of Esau's wife Aholibamah (Gen. xxxvi. 24). While feeding asses in the desert he discovered ' warm springs,' as the original is rendered by Jerome. Gesenius and most modern critics think this interpretation correct, supporti?d as it is by the fact that warm springs are still found in the region east of the Dead Sea. AN'AKIM, orBENE-ANAK and Bene-Anakim, a wandering nation of southern Canaan, de- scended from Anak, whose name it bore (Josh, xi. 21). It was composed of three tribes, de- scended from and named after the three sons of Anak — Ahiman, Sesai, and Talmai. When the Israelites invaded Canaan, the Anakim were in possession of Hebron, Debir, Anak, and other towns in the country of the south. 'Their formi- dable stature and appearance alarmed the He- brew spies ; but they were eventually overcome and expelled by Caleb, when the remnant of the race took refiige among the Philistines (Num. xiii. 33; Deut. ix. 2; Josh. xi. 21; xiv. 12; Judg. i. 20). ANAM'MELECH (2 Kings xvii. 31) is men- tioned, together with Adrammelech, as a god of the people of Sepharvaim, who colonized Samaria. He was also worshipped by the sacrifice of chil- dren by fire. No satisfactory etymology of the name has been discovered. The same obscurity prevails as to the form under which the god was worshipped. 1. ANANI'AS (same name as Hananiah, tohom Jehovah hath gracioiisli/ given), son of Nebedffius, was made high-priest in the time of the procu- rator Tiberius Alexander, about a.d. 47, by Herod, king of Chalcis, who for this purpose re- moved Joseph, son of Camydus, from the high- priesthood. He held the office with credit, until Agrippa gave it to Ismael, the son of Tali, who succeeded a short time before the departure of ANANIAS the procurator Felix, and occupied the station also under his successor Festus. Ananias, af^e^ retiring from his high-priesthood, ' increased in glory every day,' and obtained favour with the citizens, and with Albinus, the Roman procura- tor, by a lavish use of the great wealth he had hoarded. His prosperity met with a dark and painftil termination. The assassins, who played so fearful a part in the Jewish war, set fire to his house in the commencement of it, and com- pelled him to seek refuge by concealment ; but being discovered in an aqueduct, he was captured and slain. It was this Ananias before whom Paul was brought, in the procuratorship of Felix (Acts xxiii.). After this hearing Paul was sent to Ca;sarea, whither Ananias repaired, in order to lay a formal charge against him before Felix, who postponed the matter, detaining the apostle meanwhile, and placing him under the super- vision of a Roman centurion (Acts xxiv.). 2. ANANIAS, a Christian belonging to the in- fant church at Jerusalem, who, conspiring with his wife Sapphira to deceive and defraud the brethren, was overtaken by sudden death, and immediately buried. The Christian community at Jerusalem appear to have entered into a solemn agreement, that each and all should de- vote their property to the great work of further- ing the Gospel and giving succour to the needy. Accordingly they proceeded to sell their posses- sionSj and brought the proceeds into the com- mon stock of the church. Thus Barnabas (Acts iv. 36, .37) 'having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.' The apostles then had the general disposal, if they liad not also the immediate distribution, of the common funds. The contributions, therefore, were designed for the sacred purposes of religion (Acts V. I-ll). .\s all the members of the Jerusalem church liad thus agreed to hold their property in com- mon, for the furtherance of the holy work in which they were engaged, if any one of them withheld a part, and offered the remainder as a whole, he committed two offences— he de- frauded the church, and was guilty of falsehood : and as his act related not to secular but to re- ligious affairs, and had an injurious bearing, both as an example, and as a positive transgi-es- sion against the Gospel while it was yet strug- gling into existence, Ananias lied not unto man, but unto God, and was guilty of a sin of the deepest dye. Had Ananias chosen to keep his property for his ovni worldly purposes, he was at liberty, as Peter intimates, so to do; but he had in fact alienated it to pious purposes, and it was therefore no longer his own. Yet he wished to deal with it in part as if it were so, showing at the same time that he was conscious of his misdeed, by presenting the residue to the com- mon treasury as if it had been his entire property. He wished to satisfy his selfish cravings, and at the same time to enjoy the reputation of being purely disinterested, like the rest of the church. He attempted to serve God and Mammon. With strange inconsistency on the part of those who deny miracles altogether, unbelievers have accused Peter of cruelly smiting Ananias and his wife with instant death. The sacred narrative, ho-wever, ascribes to Peter nothing more than a ANATHEMA 67 spirited exposure of their aggravated offence. Their death, the reader is left to iufer, was by the hand of God ; nor is any ground afforded in the narrative (Acts v. 1-11) for holding that Peter was in any way employed as an immediate instrument of the miracle. 3. ANANIAS, a Christian of Damascus (Acts ix. 10 ; xxii. 12), held in high repute, to whom the Lord appeared in a vision, and bade him pro- ceed to ' the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus : for, behold, he prayeth.' Ana- nias had difficulty in giving credence to the mes- sage, remembering how much evil Paul had done to the saints at Jerusalem, and knowing that he had come to Damascus with authority to lay waste the church of Christ there. Receiving, however, an assurance that the persecutor had been converted, and called to the work of preach- ing the Gospel to the Gentiles, Ananias went to Paul, and, putting his hands on him, bade him receive his sight, when immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales ; and, re- covering the sight which he had lost when the Lord appeared to him on his way to Damascus, Paul, the new convert, arose, and was baptized, and preached Jesus Christ. Tradition represents Ananias as the first that published the Gospel in Damascus, over which place he was subsequently made bishop ; but having roused, by his zeal, the hatred of the Jews, he was seized by them, scourged, and finally stoned to death in his own church. ANATH'EMA, literally anything laid up or suspended, and hence anything laid up in a tem- ple, set apart as sacred. The corresponding Hebrew word means a person or thing consecrated or devoted irrevoca- bly to God (Lev. xxvii. 21, 28) : hence, in refer- ence to living creatures, the devoted thing, whe- ther man or beast, must be put to death (Lev. xxvii. 29). The prominent idea, therefore, which the word conveyed was that of a person or thing devoted to destruction, or accursed. Thus the cities of the Canaanites were anathematized (Num. xxi. 2, 3). Thus, again, the city of Jeri- cho was made an anathema to the Lord (Josh, vi. 17), that is, every living thing in it (except Rahab and her family) was devoted to death ; that which could be destroyed by fire was burnt, and all that could not be thus consumed (as gold and silver) was for ever alienated from man and devoted to the use of the sanctuarj' (Josh. vi. 24). The prominence thus given to the idea of a thing accursed led naturally to the use of the word in cases where there was no reference whatever to consecration to the service of God, as in Deut. vii. 2(3 ; it is sometimes used to designate the curse itself (e. g. Deut. xx. 1 7). In this sense, also, the Jews of later times use the Hebrew term, though with a somewhat dif- ferent meaning as to the curse intended, employ- ing it to signify excommunication or exclusion from the Jewish church. The more recent Rab- binical writers reckon three kinds or degrees of excommunication. The first of these is merely a temporary separation or suspension from eccle- siastical privileges, involving, however, various civil inconveniences, particularly seclusion from society to the distance of four cubits. The per- son thus excommunicated was not debarred enter- f2 C8 ANATHEMA ing the temple, but instead of going in on the right hand, as was customary, he was obliged to enter on the left, the usual way of departure ; if he died -whilst iu this condition there was no mourning for him, but a stone was thrown on his coffin to indicate that he was separated from the people and had deserved stoning. This kind of excommunication lasted thirty days, and was pronounced without a curse. If the individual did not repent at the expiration of the term, the second kind of excommunication was resorted to. This could only be pronounced by an assembly of at least ten persons, and was always accom- panied with curses. A person thus excommuni- cated -was cut off from all religious and social privileges : and it was unlawful either to eat or drink with him (compare 1 Cor. v. 11). _ If the excommunicated person still continued impeni- tent, a yet more severe sentence was pronounced against'him, -which is described as a complete excision from the church and the giving up of the individual to the judgment of God and to final perdition. There is, however, reason to believe that these three grades are of compara- tively recent origin. As it is on all hands admitted that the Hebrew term which is the equivalent of ana<^enia properly denotes, in its Rabbinical use, an excommunica- tion accompanied with the most severe curses and denunciations of evil, we are prepared to find that the anathema of the New Testament always implies execration ; but it is very doubt- ful whether it is ever used to designate a judicial act of excommunication. The phrase ' to call Jesus anathema' (1 Cor. xii. 3) refers not to a judicial sentence pronounced by the Jewish au- thorities, but to the act of any private individual who execrated him and pronounced him accursed. The term, as it is used in reference to any who should preach another gospel, ' Let him be ana- thema' (Gal. i. 8, 9\ has the same meaning as, let him be accounted execrable and accursed. There is very great diversity of opinion respect- ing the meaning of the word in Rom. ix. 3 ; some understand it to signify excommunication from the Christian church, whilst most of the fathers, together with a great number of modern interpreters, explain the term as referring to the Jewish practice of excommunication. On the other hand, many adopt the more general mean- ing of accursed. The great difficulty is to ascer- tain the extent of the evil which Paul expresses his willingness to undergo; Chrysostom, Calvin, and many others understand it to include final separation, not indeed from the love, but from the presence of Christ; others limit it to a violent death; and others, again, explain it as meauing the same kind of curse as that under which the Jews then were, from which they might be delivered by repentance and the re- ception of the Gospel. There seems, however, little reason to suppose that a judicial act of the Christian Church is intended, and we may re- mark that much of the difficulty which com- mentators have felt seems to have arisen from their not keeping in mind that the Apostle does not speak of his wish a.s a possible thing, and their consequently pursuing to all its results what should be regarded simply as an expression of the most intense desire. The phrase ' let him be anathema maran-atha,' ANDRONICUS seems to be intended as simply an expression of detestation. Though, however, we find little or no evidence of the use of the word anathema in the New Testament as the technical term for excommunication, it is certain that it obtained this meaning in the early ages of the church. AN'ATHOTH, one of the towns belonging to the priests in the tribe of Benjamin, and as such a city of refuge (Josh. xxi. 18; Jer. i. 1). It occurs also in 2 Sam. xxiii. 27; Ezra ii. 23; Neh. vii. 27 ; but is chiefly memorable as the birthplace and usual residence of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. i. 1 ; xi. 21-23; xxix. 27). Dr. Robinson appears to have discovered this place in the present village of Anata, at the distance of an hour and a quarter from Jerusalem. It is seated on a broad ridge of hills, and commands an extensive view of the eastern slope of the mountainous tract of Benjamin ; including also the valley of the Jordan, and the northern part of the Dead Sea. It seems to have been once a walled town and a place of strength. Portions of the -nail still remain, built of large hewn stones, and apparently ancient, as are also the foundations of some of the houses. It is now a small and very poor village. From the vici- nity a favourite kind of building-stone is carried to Jerusalem. ANCHOR. [Ship.] AN'DREW, one of the twelve apostles. He was a native of the city of Bethsaida in Galilee, and brother of Simon Peter. He was at first a disciple of John the Baptist, and was led to re- ceive Jesus as the Messiah in consequence of John's expressly pointing him out as ' the Lamb of God ' (John i. 36). His first care, after he had satisfied himself as to the validity of the claims of Jesus, was to bring to him his brother Simon. Neither of them, however, became at that time stated attendants on our Lord ; for -we find that they were still pursuing their occupa- tion of fishermen on the sea of Galilee when Jesus, after John's imprisonment, called them to follow him (Mark i. 14, 18). Very little is re- lated of Andrew by any of the evangelists : the principal incidents in which his name occurs during the life of Christ are, the feeding of the five thousand (John vi. 8) ; his introducing to our Lord certain Greeks who desired to see him (John xii. 22) ; and his asking, along with his brother Simon and the two sons of Zebedee, for a further explanation of what our Lord had said in reference to the destruction of the temple (Mark xiii. 3). Of his subsequent history and labours we have no authentic record. Tradition assigns Scythia, Greece, and Thrace as the scenes of his ministry : and he is said to have suffered crucifixion at Patrse in Achaia, on a cross of the form ( X ), commonly known as ' St. Andrew's cross.' 1. ANDRON'ICUS, the regent-governor of Autioch in the absence of Autiochus Epiphanes, who, at the instigation of Menelaus, put to death the deposed high-priest Ouias; for which deed he was himself ignominiously slain on the return of Antiochus (2 Mace, iv.) b.c. 1(^9 [Onias]. 2. ANDRONICUS, a Jewish Christian, the kinsman and fellow-prisoner of Paul (Rom. \'. A'NER, ESH'COL, and MAM'RE, three Canaanitish chiefs in the neighbourhood of He- ANGFXS bron, who joined their forces with those of Abra- ham in pursuit of Chedorlaomer and his allies, who had pillaged Sodom and carried Lot away captive (Gen. xiv. 24). These chiefs did not, however, imitate the disinterested conduct of the patriarch, but retained their portion of the spoil [Abraham]. 2. ANER, a city of Manasseh, given to the Levites of Kohath's family (1 Chron. vi. 70). ANGELS, a word signifying, both in Hebrew and Greek, messengers, and therefore used to de- note whatever God employs to execute his pur- poses, or to manifest his presence or his power. In some passages it occurs in the sense of an ordinary messenger (Job. i. 14 ; 1 Sam. xi. 3 ; Luke vii. 24 ; ix. .52) : in others it is applied to prophets (Isa. xlii. 19; Hag. i. 13; Mai. iii.) : to priests (Eccl. v. 6; Mai. ii. 7): to ministers of the New Testament (Rev. i. 20). It is also ap- plied to impersonal agents ; as to the pillar of cloud (Exod. xiv. 19): to the pestilence (2 Sam. xxiv. 10, 17 ; 2 Kings xix. 35) : to the winds (' who maketh the winds his angels,' Ps. civ. 4) : so likewise, plagues generally, are called ' evil angels' (Ps. Ixxviii. 49), and Paul calls his thorn in the flesh an ' angel of Satan ' (2 Cor. xii. 7). But this name is more eminently and distinc- tively applied to certain spiritual beings or heavenly intelligences, employed by God as the ministers of His will, and usually distinguished as angels of God or angels of Jehovah. In this case the name has respect to their official capa- city as ' messengers,' and not to their nature or condition. In the Scriptures we have frequent notices of spiritual intelligences, existing in another state of being, and constituting a celestial family, or hierarchy, over which Jehovah pre- sides. The practice of the Jews, of referring to the agency of angels every manifestation of the greatness and power of God, has led some to contend that angels have no real existence, but are mere personifications of unknown powers of nature : but there are numerous passages in the Scriptures which are wholly inconsistent with this notion, and if Matt. xxii. 30, stood alone in its testimony, it ought to settle the question. So likewise, the passage in which the high dignity of Christ is established, by arguing that he is superior to the angels (Heb. i. 4. sqq.), would be without force or meaning if angels had no real existence. That these superior beings are very numerous is evident from the following expressions, Dan. vii. 10, 'thousands of thousands,' and 'ten thou- sand times ten thousand ;' Matt. xxvi. 53, ' more than twelve legions of angels ;' Luke ii. 13, ' multitude of the heavenly host ;' Heb. xii. 22, 23, 'myriads of angels.' It is probable, from the nature of the case, that among so great a multitude there may be different grades and classes, and even natures — ascending from man towards God, and forming a chain of being to fill up the vast space between the Creator and man— the lowest of his intellectual creatures. This may be inferred from the analogies which pervade the chain of being on the earth whereon we live, which is as much the divine creation as the world of spirits. Accordingly the Scriptures describe angels as existing in a society com- posed of members of unequal dignity, power, ANGELS 69 and excellence, and as having chiefs and rulers (Zech. i. 11 ; iii. 7 ; Dan. x. 13 ; Jude 9 ; 1 Thess. iv. 16). In the Scriptures angels appear with bodies, and in the human form ; and no intimation is anywhere given that these bodies are not real, or that they are only assumed for the time and then laid aside. The fact that angels always appeared in the human form, does not, indeed, prove that this form naturally belongs to them. But thj,t which is not pure spirit must have some form or other : and angels rnai/ have the human form ; but other forms are possible. The ques- tion as to the food of angels has been very much discussed. If they do eat, we can know nothing of their actual food ; for the manna is mani- festly called 'angels' food' (Ps. Ixxviii. 25), merely by way of expressing its excellence. The only real question, therefore, is whether they feed at all or not. We sometimes find angels, in their terrene manifestations, eating and drinking (Gen. xviii. 8 ; xix. 3) ; but in Judg. xiii. 15, 16, the angel who appeared to Manoah declined, in a very pointed manner, to accept his hospitality. The passage already referred to in Matt. xxii. 30, teaches by implication that there is no dis- tinction of sex among the angels. In the Scrip- tures indeed the angels are all males : but they appear to be so represented, not to mark any distinction of sex, but because the masculine is the more honourable gender. Angels are never described with marks of age, but sometimes with those of youth (Mark xvi. 5). The constant ab- sence of the features of age indicates the con- tinual vigour and freshness of immortality. The angels never die (Luke xx. 36). But no being besides God himself has essential immor- tality (1 Tim. vj. 16) : every other being there- fore is mortal in itself, and can be immortal only by the will of God. Angels, consequently, are not eternal, but had a beginning, although there is no record of their creation. The preceding considerations apply chiefly to the existence and nature of angels. Some of their attributes may be collected from other pas- sages of Scripture. That they are of superhuman intelligence is implied in Mark xiii. 32 : ' But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not even the angels in heaven.' That their power is great, may be gathered from such expressions as ' mighty angels ' (2 Thess. i. 7) ; ' angels, power- ful in strength ' (Ps. ciii. 20) ; ' angels who are greater [than man] in power and might.' The moral perfection of angels is shown by such phrases as ' holy angels ' (Luke ix. 26) ; ' the elect angels' (1 Tim. v. 21). Their felicity is beyond question in itself, but is evinced by the passage (Luke xx. 36) in which the blessed in the future world are said to be ' like unto the angels, and sons of God.' The ministry of angels, or that they are em- ployed by God as the instruments of His will, is very clearly taught in the Scriptures. The very name, as already explained, shows that God eni- ploys their agency in the dispensations of His Providence. And it is further evident, from certain actions which are ascribed wholly to them (Matt. xiii. 41, 49; xxiv. 31; Luke xvi. 22) ; and from the Scriptural narratives of other events, in the accomplishment of which they 70 ANGLING acted a visible part (Luke i. 11, 26; ii. 9, sq.; Acts, V. 19, 20; x. 3, 19; xii. 7; xxvii. 23), that their agency is employed principally in the guidance of the destinies of man. In those cases also in which the agency is concealed from our view, we may admit the probability of its exist- ence ; because we are told that God sends them forth • to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation ' (Heb. i. 14 ; also Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; xci. 11 ; Matt, xviii. 10). But the angels, when em- ployed for our welfare, do not act independently, but as the instruments of God, and by His com- mand (Ps. ciii. 20; civ. 4; Heb. i. 13, 14): not unto them, therefore, are our confidence and adoration due, but only unto him (Kev. xix. 10 ; xxii. 9) whom the angels themselves reverently worship. It was a favourite opinion of the Christian fathers that every individual is under the care of a particular angel, who is assigned to him as a guardian. They spoke also of two angels, the one good, the other evil, whom they conceived to be attendant on each individual; the good angel prompting to all good, and averting ill ; and the evil angel prompting to all ill, and averting good. The Jews (excepting the Sad- ducees) entertained this belief There is, how- ever, nothing to authorise this notion in the Bible. The passages (Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; Matt, xviii. 10) usually referred to in support of it, have assuredly no such meaning. The former, di- vested of its poetical shape, simply denotes that God employs the ministry of angels to deliver his people from affliction and danger ; and the celebrated passage in Matthew cannot well mean anything more than that the infant cliildren of believers, or, if preferable, the least among the disciples of Christ, whom the ministers of the church might be disposed to neglect from their apparent insignificance, are in such estimation elsewhere, that the angels do not think it below their dignity to minister to them [S^^tan] . ANGLING. The Scripture contains several allusions to this mode of taking fish. The first of these occurs as early as the time of Job : — ' Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook ; or his tongue {^palate, which is usually pierced by the hook] with a cord [line], which thou lettest down ? Canst thou put a hook into his ANISE nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn?* (Job xli. 1, 2). This last phrase obviously refers to the thorns which were sometimes used as hooks, and which are long after mentioned (Amos iv. 2), in the Aiith. Vers. ' fish-hooks,' literally, the thorns of fishing. Of the various passages relating to this subject, the most remarkable is that which records, as an important part of the 'burden of Egypt,' that ' the fishers also shall mourn ; and all they that cast angle [the hook] into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall langiiish' (Isa. xix. 8). In this poetical description of a part of the calamities which were to befal Egypt, we are fiirnished with an account of the various modes of fishing practised in that country, which is in exact con- formity with the scenes depicted in the old tombs of Egypt. Angling appears to have been re- garded chiefly as an amusement, in which the Egyptians of all ranks found much enjoyment. Not content with the abundance aflForded by the Nile, they constructed within their ground spa- cious sluices or ponds for fish (Isa. xix. 10), where they fed them for the table, where they amused themselves by angling, and by the dex- terous use of the bident. These favourite occu- pations were not confined to young persons, nor thought unworthy of men of serious habits ; and an Egyptian of consequence is frequently repre- sented in the sculptures catching fish in a canal or lake, with the line, or spearing them as they glided past the bank. Sometimes the angler posted himself in a shady spot at the water's edge, and having ordered his servant to spread a mat upon the ground, he sat upon it as he threw the line ; and some, with higher notions of comfort, used a chair for the same purpose. The rod was short, and apparently of one piece : the line usually single, though instances occur of a double line, each furnished with its own hook. The fishermen generally used the net in prefer- ence to the line, but on some occasions they used the latter, seated or standing on the bank. It is, however, probable that there were people who could not afford the expense of nets ; and the use of the line is generally confined in like manner at the present day to the poorer classes, who de- nend upon skill or good fortune for their sub- sistence. This last was doubtless the state of many in ancient Palestine, and probably furnished the only case in which angling was there practised, as we find no instance of it for mere amusement. The fish caught in the lake of Tiberias we;e, some time since, taken exclusively with the rod and line, in the abseuce of boats upon that water ; and probably this is the case still. The Egyp- tian hooks were of bronze, as appears from the specimens that have been found. Insects, na- tural or artificial, were not used in angling, ground bait being exclusively employed: and the float does not appear to have been known. ANISE. The original Greek word Anethon, which occurs in Matt, xxiii. 23, was commonly employed by the Greek and Roman writers to designate a plant used both medicinally and as an article of diet. In Europe the word has always been used to denote a similar plant, which is familiarly known by the name of Dill, and there is v.o doubt that in the above passage ANKLETS ANOINTING it should have been so rendered. The common dill is an annual plant, growing wild among the com in Spain and Portugal ; and on the coast of Italy, in Egypt, and about Astracan. It resem- bles fennel, but is smaller, has more glaucous leaves, and a less pleasant smell : the fruit or seeds, which are finely divided by capillary seg- ments, are elliptical, broader, flatter, and sur- rounded with a membraneous disk. They have a warm and aromatic taste, owing to the pre- sence of a pale yellow volatile oil, which itself has a hot taste and a peculiar penetrating odour. [Anethum graveolens.] The error in translation here pointed oat is not of very great consequence, as both the anise and the dill are umbelliferous plants, which are found cultivated in the south of Europe. The seeds of both are employed as condiments and carminatives, and have been so from very early times ; but the anethon is more especially a genus of Eastern cultivation, since either the dill or another species is reared in all the countries from Syria to India. Jewish authorities state that the seed, the leaves, and the stem of dill were ' subject to tithe,' which indicates that the herb was eaten, as is indeed the case with the Eastern species in the present day. ANKLETS. This word does not occur in Scripture, but the ornament which it denotes is clearly indicated by ' the tinkling (or jingling) ornaments about the feet,' mentioned in the curious description of female attire which we find in Isa. iii. Even in the absence of special notice, we might very safely conclude that an ornament to which the Oriental women have always been so partial was not unknown to the Jewish ladies. In Egypt anklets of gold have been found, which are generally in the shape of simple rings, often however in that of snakes, and sometimes inlaid with enamel or even pre- cious stones. The sculptures show that they were worn by men as well as women. Their present use among the women of Arabia and Egypt sufiiciently illustrates the Scriptural allu- sion. The Koran (xxiv. 31) forbids women ' to make a noise with their feet,' which, says Mr. Lane, ' alludes to the practice of knocking to- gether the anklets, which the Arab women in the time of the prophet used to wear, and which are still worn by many women in Egypt.' The same writer states that ' Anklets of solid gold and silver, and of the form here sketched (like fig. 3), are worn by some ladies, but are more uncommon than they formerly were. They are of course very heavy, and, knocking together as the woman walks, make a ringing noise.' He thinks that in the text referred to (Isa. iii. 16) the prophet alludes to this kind of anklet, but admits that the description may apply to another kind, which he describes as ' Anklets of solid silver, worn by the wives of some of the richer peasants, and of the sheykhs of villages. Small ones of iron are worn by many children. It was also a common custom among the Arabs for gri-ls or young women to wear a string of bells on their feet. I have seen many little girls in Cairo with small round bells attached to their anklets. Perhaps it is to the sound of ornaments of this kind, rather than of the more common anklet, that Isaiah alludes.' The anklets in use 3, 4, 8. Modern Oriental.] among the Arab women in the country of the Tigris and Euphrates are not usually solid, but hollow, so that, in striking against each other, they emit a much more sharp and sonorous sound than solid ones. 1. AN'NA, wife of Tobit, whose history is contained in the apocryphal book named after him (Tob. i. 9, &c.). 2. ANNA, an aged widow, daughter of Pha- nuel, of the tribe of Asher. She had married early, but after seven years her husband died, and during her long widowhood she daily at- tended the morning and evening services of the Temple. Anna was eighty-four years old when the infant Jesus was brought to the Temple by his mother, and entering as Simeon pronounced his thanksgiving, she also broke forth in praise to God for the fulfilment of his ancient promises (Luke ii. 36, 37). ANOINTING. The practice of anointing with perfumed oils or ointments appears to have been very common among the Hebrews, as it was among the ancient Egyptians. The prac- tice, as to its essential meaning, still remains in the East ; but perfumed waters are now far more commonly employed than oils or ointments. In the Scriptures three kinds of anointing are distinguishable:—!. For consecration and inau- guration; 2. For guests and strangers; 3. For health and cleanliness. Of these in order. 1. Consecration and Inauguration. — The act of anointing appears to have been viewed as emble- matical of a particular sanctification ; of a de- signation to the sei-vlce of God ; or to a holy and sacred use. Hence the anointing of the high- ; 72 ANOINTING priests (Exod. xxix. 29 ; Lev. iv. 3), and even of I the sacred vessels of the tabernacle (Exod. xxx. I 26, &c.) ; and hence also, probably, the anointing i of the king, -who, as ' the Lord's anointed,' and, I under the Hebrew constitution, the viceroy of I Jehovah, was undoubtedly invested with a sacred I character. j The first instance of anointing which the I Scriptures record is that of Aaron, when he was I solemnly set apart to the high-priesthood. Being j first invested with the rich robes of his high I office, the sacred oil was poured in much profu- i sion upon his head. It is from this that the 1 high-priest, as well as the king, is called ' the t Anointed' (Lev. iv. 3, 5, 16 ; vi. 20; Ps. cxxxiii. i 2). In fact, anointing being the principal cere- ( mony of regal inauguration among the Jews, as crowning is with us, ' anointed,' as applied to a king, has much the same signification as • crowned.' As the custom of inaugural anointing first oc- curs among the Israelites immediately after they left Egypt, and no example of the same kind is met with previously, it is fair to conclude that the practice and the notions connected with it were acquired in that country. With the Egyp- tians, as with the Jews, the investiture to any sacred office, as that of king or priest, was con- firmed by this external sign ; and as the Je-wish lawgiver mentions the ceremony of pouring oil upon the head of the high-priest ajter he had put on his entire dress, with the mitre and crown, the Egyptians represent the anointing of their priests and kings after they were attired in their full robes, with the cap and crown upon their heads. Some of the sculptures introduce a priest pouring oil over the monarch. 2. The anointing of our Saviour's feet by ' the •woman who was a sinner ' (Luke vii. 38), led to the remark that the host himself had neglected to anoint his head (vii. 46) ; whence we learn that this was a mark of attention which those who gave entertainments paid to their guests. Among the Egyptians anointing was the ordi- nary token of welcome to guests in eveiy party at the house of a friend ; and in Egypt, no less than iu Judsea, the metaphorical expression ♦anointed with the oil of gladness' was fully understood, and applied to the ordinary occur- lences of life. It was customary for a servant ANT to attend every guest as he seated himself, and to anoint his head. 3. It is probable, however, that the Egyptians, as well as the Greeks and Jews, anointed them- selves at home, before going abroad, although they expected the observance of this etiquette on the part of their entertainer. That the Jews thus anointed themselves, not only when paying a visit, but on ordinary occasions, is shown by many passages, especially those which describe the omission of it as a sign of mourning (Deut. xxviii. 40 ; Ruth iii. 3 ; 2 Sam. xiv. 2 ; Dan. x. 3 ; Amos vi. 6 ; Mic. vi. 15 ; Esth. ii. 12 ; Ps. civ. 15; Isa. Ixi. 3; Ecclcs. ix. 8; Cant. i. 3; iv. 10; also Judith x. 3; Sus. 17; Ecclus. xxxix. 26; Wisd. ii. 7). One of these passages (Ps. civ. 15, ' oil that maketh the face to shine ') shows very clearly that not only the hair but the skin was anointed. Anointing the Sick. — The Orientals are indeed strongly persuaded of the sanative properties of oil ; and it ^vas under this impression that the Jews anointed the sick, and applied oil to wounds (Ps. cix. 18; Isa. i. 6 ; Mark vi. 13; Luke X. 34 ; James v. 14). Anointing was used in sundi-y disorders, as well as to promote the general health of the body. It was hence, as a salutary and approved medicament, that the seventy disciples were directed to 'anoint the sick' (Mark vi. 13); and hence also the sick man is directed by St. James to send for the elders of the church, who were ' to pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.' Anointing the Dead. — The practice of anoint- ing the bodies of the dead is intimated in Mark xiv. 8, and Luke xxiii. 56. This ceremony was performed after the body was washed, and was designed to check the progress of corruption. Although, from the mode of application, it is called anointing, the substance employed appears to have been a solution of odoriferous drugs. This (together with the laying of the body In spices) was the only kind of embalmeut in use among the Jews [Burial]. ANT, fifth order of insects, occurs Prov. vi. 6 ; xxx. 25. Ants have only latterly become the subjects of accurate observation, and the re- sult has dissipated many erroneous notions re- specting them, and revealed much interesting information concerning their domestic polity, language, migrations, affections, passions, vir- tues, wars, diversions, &c. The following facts are selected as relevant to Scriptural illustration. Ants dwell together in societies ; and although they have ' no guide, overseer, or ruler,' yet they have all one soul, and are animated by one object — their own Avelfare and the welfare of each other. Each individual strenuously pur- sues his own peculiar duties ; and regards (ex- cept in the case of females,), and is regarded by, every other member of the republic with equal respect and affection. They devote the utmost attention to their young. The egg is cleaned and licked, and gradually expands under this treatment, till the worm is hatched, which is then tended and fed with the most affectionate care. They continue their assiduity to the pupa, or chrysalis, which is the third transformation. They heap up the pupa;, which greatly resemble so many grains of wheat, or rather rice, by hun- dreds in their spacious lodges, watch them ia i ANT i an attitude of defence, carry them out to enjoy the radiance of the sun, and remove them to I different situations in the nest, according to the j required degree of temperature ; open the pupa, I and at the precise moment of the transforma- j tion, disenthral the new-born insect of its habi- i liments. ' The most prevalent and inexcusable error, J however, respecting ants, has been the belief I that they hoard up grains of corn, chiefly wheat, ; for their supply during -winter, having first bitten out the germ to prevent it from growing ! in their nests. This notion, however, is now I completely exploded with regard to European I ants. The mistake has no doubt arisen from ! the great similarity, both in shape, size, and I colour, before mentioned, of the pupa or chry- ! salis of the ant to a grain of corn, and from the ' ants being obsei'ved to carry them about, and j to open the cuticle to let out the enclosed insect. 1 It is now also ascertained beyond a doubt that I no European ants, hitherto properly examined, I feed on corn, or any other kind of grain. Nor ! has any species of ant been yet found of any ! hind laid up in its nest. The truth is, that ants are chiefly carnivorous, preying indiscriminately on all the soft parts of other insects, and espe- cially the viscera; also upon worms, whether dead or alive, and small birds or animals. If unable to drag their booty to the nest, they make an abundant meal upon it, and, like the bee, dis- ' gorge it, upon their return home, for the use of I their companions ; and they appear able to re- tain at pleasure the nutritious juices unchanged I for a considerable time. Ants are also extremely I fond of saccharine matter, which they obtain j from the exudation of trees, or from ripe fruits, 1 &c. ; but their favourite food is the saccharine j exudation from the body of the aphides, or plant- lice. These insects insert their tube or sucker between the fibres of vegetables, where they find a most substantial nutriment. This nutri- ment they retain a considerable time, if no ant approaches them. The ant has the talent of procuring it from the aphides at pleasure. It j approaches the aphis, strikes it gently and re- ! peatedly with its antenna;, when it instantly dis- I charges the juice by two tubes, easily discerned to be standing out from its body. These crea- tures are the milch hine of the ants. By a re- markable coincidence, which M. Huber justly I considers too much to be ascribed to chance, the aphides and the ants become torpid at the same degree of cold (27° Fahr.), and revive together at the same degi-ee of warmth. He says, ' I am not acquainted with any ants to whom the art of obtaining from the pucerons (aphides) their subsistence is unknown. We might even ven- ture to affirm that these insects are made for their use ' (Huber, Natural History of Ants, p. 210, &c.). It is highly probable that the exotic ants sub- sist by similar means. The accounts given us of the termites, or ants, inhabiting the hottest climates, clearly show that they are carnivorous. Bosnian, in his description of Guinea, says that they will devour a sheep in one night, and that a fowl is amusement to them only for an hour. In these situations living animals often become their victims. An Italian missionary at Congo relates that a cow in a stall had been known to ANTEDILUVIANS 73 be devoured by these devastators. We have therefore every reason to conclude that the ants of Palestine, like those of Europe, are carnivo- rous, become torpid in winter, and need no magazine of provisions. The words of Solomon (Prov. vi. 6, &c.), properly considered, give no countenance to the ancient error respecting ants. He does not af&rm that the ant, which he pro- poses to the sluggard as an example, laid up in her magazine stores of grain against winter, but that, with considerable prudence and foresight, she makes use of proper seasons to collect a sup- ply of provisions sufficient for her purposes. There is not a word in them implying that she stores up grain or other piovisions. She pre- pares her bread and gathers her food (namely, such food as is suited to her) in summer and harvest (that is, when it is most plentiftd), and thus shows her wisdom and prudence by using the advantages offered to her. The sense is thus ably given by Dr. Hammond : ' As in the matter jiist mentioned the least delay is pernicious, so in all things else sluygishness, or negligence of those things which concern vs ynost nearly, should ever be avoided ; and if we need any instructor on this head^ we may go to one of the least and meanest of creatures.' The moral, then, in- tended in Solomon's allusion to the ant, is simply to avail one's self of the favourable time without delay. ANTEDILUVIANS, the name given col- lectively to the people who lived before the Deluge. The interval from the Creation to that event is not less, even according to the Hebrew text, than 1657 years, being not more than 691 years shorter than that between the Deluge and the birth of Christ, and only 167 years less than from the birth of Christ to the present time, and equal to about two-sevenths of the whole period from the Creation. By the Samaritan and Septuagint texts (as adjusted by Hales) a much greater duration is assigned to the antediluvian period — namely, 2256 years, which nearly equals the Hebrew interval from the Deluge to the birth of Christ, and much exceeds the interval from the birth of Christ to the present time. In the ai-ticle 'Adam' it has been shown that the father of men was something more than ' the noble savage,' or rather the grown-up infant, which some have represented him. He was an instructed man ; — and the immediate descendants of a man so instructed could not be an ignorant or uncultivated people. Their pur- suits from the first were agricultural and pas- toral ; for it is remarkable that of the strictly savage or hunting condition of life there is not the slightest trace before the Deluge. In fact, savageism is not discoverable before the Con- fiision of Tongues, and was in all likelihood a degeneracy from a state of cultivation, eventually produced in particular communities by that great social convulsion. All that was peculiar in the circumstances of the antediluvian period was eminently favourable to civilization. By reason of their length of life, the antedi- luvians had ample opportunities of acquiring the highest skill in the mechanical arts. They had also more encouragement in protracted undertakings, and stronger inducements to the erection of superior, more costly, more durable, and more capacious ' edifices and monuments. A.NTEDILUVIANS ANTICHRIST public and private, than exist at present. They might reasonably calculate on reaping the benefit of their labour and expenditure. The earth itself was probably more equally fertile, and its climate more uniformly healthful, and more auspicious to longevity, and consequently to every kind of mental and corporeal exertion and enter- prise, than has been the case since the great convulsion which took place at the Deluge. But probably the greatest advantage enjoyed by the antediluvians, and which must have been in the highest degree favourable to their ad- vancement in the arts of life, was the uniformity of language. Nothing could have tended more powerfully to maintain, equalize, and promote whatever advantages were enjoyed, and to pre- vent any portion of the human race from de- generating into savage life. The opinion that the old world was acquainted with astronomy, is chiefly founded on the ages of Seth and his descendants being particularly set down (Gen. v. 6, sqq.), and the precise year, month, and day being stated in which Noah and his family, &c. entered the ark, and made their egress from it (Gen. vii. 11; viii. 13). The knowledge of zoology, which Adam possessed, was doubtless imparted to his children ; and we find that Noah was so minutely informed on the subject as to distinguish between clean and un- clean beasts, and that his instructions extended to birds of every kind (Gen. vii. 2-4). A know- ledge of some essential principles in botany is shown by the fact that Adam knew how to dis- tinguish ' seed-bearing herb " and ' tree in which is a seed-bearing fruit,' with ' every green herb ' (Gen. i. 29, 30). With mineralogy the antedilu- vians were at least so far acquainted as to dis- tinguish metals ; and in the description of the garden of Eden gold and precious stones are no- ticed (Gen. ii. 12). That the antediluvians were acquainted with music is certain ; for it is ex- pressly said that Jubal (while Adam was still alive) became ' the father of those who handle the kinmir and hugab ' (Gen. iv. 21). The kinmir was evidently a stringed instrument resembling a lyre; and the hiigab was without doubt the pandsean pipe, composed of reeds of ditferent lengths joined together. This clearly intimates considerable progress in the science. Our materials are too scanty to allow us to affirm that the antediluvians possessed the means of communicating their ideas by writing or by hieroglyphics, although tradition, and a hint or two in the Scriptures, might support the asser- tion. With regard to architecture, it is a singular and important fact that Cain, when he was driven from his first abode, built a city in the land to which he went, and called it Enoch, after his son. This shows that the descendants of Adam lived in houses and towns from the first, and consequently affords another confirmation of the argument for the original cultivation of the human family. The metallurgy of the ante- diluvians has been noticed in ' Adam :' and to what is there said of agriculture we shall only add a reference to the case of Noah, who, im- mediatelj' after the Flood, became a husband- man, and planted a vineyard. He also knew the method of fermenting the juice of the grape ; for it is said he drank of the wine, which produced inebriation (Gen. ix. 20, 21). This knowledge he doubtless obtained from his pro- genitors anterior to the destruction of the old world. Pasturage appears to have been coeval with husbandry. Abel was a keeper of sheep, while his brother was a tiller of the ground (Gen. iv. 2) ; but there is no necessity for supposing that Cain's husbandry excluded the care of cattle. The class of tent-dwelling pastors— that is, of those who live in tents that they may move with their flocks and herds from one pasture- gi-ound to another — did not originate till com- paratively late after the Fall ; for Jabal, the seventh from Adam in the line of Cain, is said to have been the 'father' or founder of that mode of life (Gen. iv. 20). It is impossible to speak with any decision respecting the form or forms of government which prevailed before the Deluge. The slight intimations to be found on the subject seem to favour the notion that the particular govern- ments were patriarchal, subject to a general theocratical control. The right of property was recognised, for Abel and Jabal possessed flocks, and Cain built a city. From Noah's familiarity with the distinction of clean and unclean beasts (Gen. vii. 2), it would seem that the Levitical rules on this subject were by no means new when laid down in the code of Moses. Marriage, and all the relations springing from it, existed from the beginning (Gen. ii. 23-25) ; and although polygamj' was known among the antediluvians (Gen. iv. 19), it was most probably unlawful ; for it must have been obvious that, if more than one wife had been necessary for a man, the Lord would not have confined the first man to one woman. The marriage of the sons of Seth with the daughters of Cain appears to have been prohibited, since the consequence of it was that uuivereal depra- vity in the family of Seth so forcibly expressed in this short passage, ^ All flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth' (Gen. vi. 12). It is probable that even the longevity of the antediluvians may have contributed to the general corruption of manners. As there was probably a good deal of time upon their hands, the temptations to idleness were likely to be very strong; and the next step would be to licentious habits and selfish violence. The ample leisure possessed by the children of Adam might have been employed for many excellent purposes of social life and religious obedience, and undoubtedly it was so employed by many ; but to the larger part it became a snare and the occasion of temptations, so that ' the wickedness of man became great, the earth was corrupt before God, and was filled with violence.' AN'TICHRIST. The meaning attached to this word has been gi-eatly modified by the con troversies of various churches and sects. In Scripture, however, and the early Christian writers, it has an application sufficiently distinct from partial interpretations. Antichrist, ac- cording to St. John, is the ruling spirit of error, the enemy of the truth of the Gospel as it is displayed in the divinity and holiness of Christ This is the primary meaning of the term, and we are led at once to consider it as the proper title of Satan. But the same apostle speaks of the existence of many antichrists; whence we ANTIOCH learn that it is applicable to any being who opposes Christ in the high places of spiritual wickedness. ANTI-LIB'ANUS. [Lebanon.] AN'TIOCH. Two places of this name are mentioned in the New Testament. 1. A city on the banks of the Orontes, 300 miles north of Jerusalem, and about 30 from the Mediterranean. It was situated in the province of Seleucis, called Tetrapolis. It was the metropolis of Syria, the ANTIOCH 75 -:^<) residence of the Syrian kings, and afterwards became the capital of the Roman provinces in Asia. It ranked third, after Eome and Alex- andria, among the cities of the empire, and was little inferior in size and splendour to the latter. Its suburb Daphne was celebrated for its grove and fountains, its asylum and temple were dedi- cated to Apollo and Diana. It was very popu- lous; within 150 years after its erection the Jews slew 100,000 persons in it in one day. In the time of Chrysostom the population was com- puted at 200,000, of whom one-half, or even a greater proportion, were professors of Christi- anity. Cicero speaks of the city as distinguished by men of learning and the cultivation of the arts. A multitude of Jews resided in it. Se- leucus Nicator granted them the rights of citizenship, and placed them on a perfect equality with the other inhabitants. These privileges were continued to them by Vespasian and Titus. Antioch is called libera by Pliny, having ob- tained from Pompey the privilege of being governed by its own laws. The Christian faith was introduced at an early period into Antioch, and with great success (Acts xi. 19. 21, 24). The name 'Christians' was here first applied to its professors (Acts xi. 26) Antioch soon became a central point for the dif- fusion of Christianity among the Gentiles, and maintained for several centuries a high rank in the Christian world. A controversy which arose between certain Jewish believers from Jerusalem and the Gentile converts at Antioch respecting the permanent obligation of the right of circum- cision was the occasion of the first apostolic council or convention (Acts xv.). Antioch was the scene of the early labours of the apostle Paul, and the place whence he set forth on his first missionarY labours (Acts xi. •^f, ; xiii. 2). Ignatius was the second bishop or overseer of the church, for about forty years, till his martyrdom in A.D. 107, As the ecclesiastical system became gradually assimilated to the political, the churches in those cities which held the highest civil rank assumed a corresponding superiority in relation to other Christian communities. Such was the case at Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, and, in the course of time, at Constantinople and Jerusalem, where the term Exarch was applied to the resi- dent bishop, but shortly exchanged for that of Patriarch. At the present time there are three prelates in Syria who claim the title of patri- archs of Antioch, namely : (1) the patriarch of the Greek church ; (2) of the Syrian Mono- physites ; (3) of the Maronites. Few cities have undergone and survived greater vicissitudes and disasters than Antioch. In a.d. 260 Sapor, the Persian king, surprised and pil- laged it, and multitudes of the inhabitants were slain or sold as slaves. It has been frequently brought to the verge of utter ruin by earthquakes ; by that of a.d. 526 no le«s than 250,000 persons were destroyed, the population being swelled by an influx of strangers to the festival of the As- cension. The emperor Justinian gave forty-five centenaries of gold (180,000/.) to restore the city. Scarcely had it resumed its ancient splendour (a.d. 540) when it was again taken and delivered to the flames by Chosroes. In a.d. 658 it was captured by the Saracens. In a.d. 975 it was retaken by Nicephoras Phocas. In a.d. 1080 the son of the governor Philaretus betrayed it into the hands of Soliman. Seventeen years after the Duke of Normandy entered it at the head of 300,000 Crusaders ; but as the citadel still held out, the victors were in their turn be- sieged by a fresh host under Kerboga and twenty- eight emirs, which at last gave way to their des- perate valour. In a.d. 1268 Antioch was occu- pied and ruined by Boadocbar or Bibars, sultan of Egypt and Syria; this first seat of the Christian name being dispeopled by the slaughter of 17,000 persons, and the captivity of 100,000. About the middle of the fifteenth century the three patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Je- rusalem convoked a synod, and renounced all connection with the Latin church. Antioch at present belongs to the Pashalic of Haleb (Aleppo), and bears the name o? Antakia. The inhabitants are said to have amounted to twenty thousand before the earthquake of 1822, which destroyed four or five thousand. The present town stands on scarcely one-third of the area enclosed by the ancient wall, of which the line may be easily traced. 2. Antioch in (or near) Pisidia, being a bor- der city, was considered at different times as belonging to different provinces. It was founded by Seleucus Nicanor, and its first inhabitants were from Magnesia on the Maeander. After the defeat of Antiochus (III.) the Great^ by the Romans, it came into the possession of Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and was afterwards trans- ferred to Amyntas. On his death the Romans made it the seat of a proconsular government, and invested it with the privileges of imnmnity from taxes and a municipal constitution similar to that of the Italian towns. When Paul and Barnabas visited this city (Acts xiii. 14), they 76 ANTIOCHUS ANTIOCHUS found a Jewish synagogue and a considerable immber of proselytes, and met with great success among the Gentiles (v. 48), but, through the vio- lent opposition of the Jews, were obliged to leave the place, which they did in strict accordance with thtir Lord's injunction (v. 51, compared with Matt. X. l-l ; Luke ix. 5). Till within a very recent period Antioch was supposed to have been situated where the town of Ak-Sheker now stands ; but later investigations have determined its site to be adjoining the town of Yalobatch ; and Mr. Arundell observed there I the remains of several temples and churches, besides a theatre and a magnificent aqueduct ; of the latter twenty-one arches still remained in a perfect state. ANTI'OCHUS, a name which may be inter- preted lie who ivitlistands, or lasts out ; and denotes military prowess, as do many other of the Greek names. It was borne by one of the generals of Philip, whose son, Seleucus, by the help of the first Ptolemy, established himself (b.c. 312) as ruler of Babylon. For eleven years more the contest in Asia continued, while Antigonus was grasping at universal supremacy. At length, in 301, he was defeated and slain in the decisive battle of Ipsus, in Phrygia. Ptolemy, son of Lagos, had meanwhile become master of southern Syria ; and Seleucus was too much indebted to him to I be disposed to eject him by force from this pos- ! session. In fact, the three first Ptolemies (b.c. 323-222) looked on their extra-Egyptian posses- sions as their sole guarantee for the safety of Egypt itself against their formidable neighbour, and succeeded in keeping the mastery, not only of Palestine and Ccele-Syria, and of many towns on that coast, but ol Cyrene and otlier parts of Libya, of Cyprus, and other islands, with nume- rous maritime posts all round Asia Minor. A permanent fleet was probably kept up at Samos, so that their arms reached to the Hellespont; and for some time they ruled over Thrace. Thus Syria was divided bet^i ceu two great powers, the voTthern half falling to Seleucus and his suc- cessors, the southern to the Ptolemies ; and this explains the titles ' king of the north ' and ' king of the south,' in the 11th chapter of Daniel. The line dividing them was drawn somewhat to the north of Damascus, the capital of Coele- Syria. The first Seleucus built a prodigious number of cities with Greek institutions, not, like Alex- ander, from military or commercial policy, but to gratify ostentation, or his love for Greece. To people his new cities was often a difficult matter ; and this led to the bestowal of premiums on those who were willing to become citizens. Hence we may account for the extraordinary privileges which the Jews enjoyed in them all, having equal rights with Macedonians. But there was still another cause which recom- mended the Jews to the Syrian kings. A nation thus difiused through their ill-compacted empire, formed a band most useful to gird its parts to- gether. To win the hearts of the Jews, was to ■win the allegiance of a brave brotherhood, who would be devoted to their protector, and who could never make common cause with any spirit of local independence. For this reason An- tiochus the Great, and doubtless his predecessors also, put peculiar trust in Jewish garrisons. Again : through the great revolution of Asia, the Hebrews of Palestine were now placed nearly on the frontier of two mighty monarchies ; and it would seem that the rival powers bid against one another for their good will— so great were the benefits showered upon them by the second Ptolemy. Even when a war broke out for the possession of Coele-Syria, under Antiochus the Great, and the fourth Ptolemy (b.c. 218,217), though the people of Judaea, as pari of the battle- field and contested possession, were exposed io severe suffering, it was not the worse for their ultimate prospects. Antiochus at least, when at a later period (b.c. 198) left master of southern Syria, did but take occasion to heap on the Jews and Jerusalem new honours and exemptions. The Syrian empire, as left by Antiochus the Great to his son, was greatly weaker than that which the first Seleucus founded. Scarcely, in- deed, had the second of the line begun to reign (b.c. 280) when four sovereigns in Asia Minor established their complete independence : — the kings of Pontus, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Per- gamus. In the next reign — that of Antiochus Theos — the revolt of the Parthians under Arsaces (b.c. 250) was followed speedily by that of the distant province of Bactriana. For thirty years together the Parthians continued to grow at the expense of the Syrian monarchy. The great Antiochus passed a life of war (b.c. 223-187). In his youth he had to contend against his re- volted satrap of Media, and afterwards against his kinsman Achseus, in Asia Minor. Besides this, he was seven years engaged in successful campaigns against the Parthians and the king of Bactriana ; and, finally, met unexpected and staggering reverses in war with the Romans, so that his last days were inglorious and his re- sources thoroughly broken. Respecting the reign of his son, Seleucus Philopator (b.c. 187- 176), we know little, except that he left his king- dom tributary to the Romans [see also Seleucus Philopator]. In Daniel, xi. 20, he is named a raiser of taxes, which shows what was the chief direction of policy in his reign. Seleucus having been assassinated by one of his courtiers, his brother Antiochus Epiphanes hastened to occupy the vacant throne, although the natural heir, Demetrius, son of Seleucus, was alive, but a hostage at Rome. In Daniel xi. 21 it is indi- cated that he gained the kingdom hy flatteries ; and there can be no doubt that a most lavish bribery was his chief instrument. According to the description in Livy (xli. 20), the magnifi- cence of his largesses had almost the appearance of insanity. A prince of such a temper and in such a po- sition, whose nominal empire was still extensive, ANTIOCHUS though its real strength and wealth were depart- ing, may naturally have conceived, the first mo- ment that he felt pecuniary need, the design of plundering the Jewish temple. At such a crisis, the advantage of the deed might seem to over- balance the odium incurred : yet, as he would convert every Jew in his empire into a deadly enemy, a second step would become necessary — 42. [Antiochus Epiphanes.] to crush the power of the Jews, and destroy their national organization. The desigii, therefore, of prohibiting circumcision and their whole cere- monial, would naturally ally itself to the plan of spoliation, without supposing any previous en- mitj' against the nation on his part. We have written enough to show how surprising to the Jews must have been the sudden and almost in- credible change of policy on the part of the rulers of Syria ; and how peculiarly aggravated the enmity Antiochus Epiphanes must in any case have drawn on himself. Instead of crushing his apparently puny foes, he raised up heroes against himself [Maccabees], who, helped by the civil wars of his successors, at length achieved the deliverance of their people ; so that in the 170th year of the Seleucidse (b.c. 143) their in- dependence was formally acknowledged, and they began to date from this period as a new birth of their nation. The change of policy, from conciliation to cruel persecution, which makes the reign of Epiphanes an era in the relation of the Jews to the Syrian monarchy, has perhaps had great permanent moral results. It is not impossible tiiat perseverance in the conciliating plan might have sapped the energy of Jewish national faith : while it is certain that persecution kindled their zeal and cemented their unity. Jerusalem, by its sufferings, became only the more sacred in the eyes of its absent citizens ; who vied in re- placing the wealth which the sacrilegious Epi- phanes had ravished. According to 1 Maccab. vi. 1-16, this king died shortly after an attempt to plunder a temple at Elymais ; and Josephus follows that account. : An outline of the deeds of the kings of Syria , in war and peace, down to Antiochus Epiphanes, ', is presented in the II th chapter of Daniel; in i which Epiphanes and his fkther are the two I principal figures. The wars and treaties of the { kings of Syria and Egypt ffom b.c. 280 to B.C. ' 165 are described so minutely and so truly, in ; w. 6-36, as to force all reasonable and well-in- I formed men to choose between the alternatives, — either that it is a most signal and luminous pre- , diction, or that it was written after the event. ! Besides Antiochus Epiphanes, the book of Maccabees mentions his son, called Antiochus APE 77 Eupator, and another young Antiochus, son of Alexander Balas, the usurper ; both of whom were murdered at a tender age. In the two last chapters of the book a fourth Antiochus appears, called by the Greeks Sidetes, from the town of Sida, in Pamphylia. This is the last king of that house, whose reputation and power were not unworthy of the great name of Seleucus. In the year B.C. 134 he besieged Jerusalem, and having taken it next year, alter a severe siege, he pulled down the walls, and reduced the nation once more to subjection, after only ten years' independence. AN'TIPAS, a person named as ' a faithful witness,' or martyr, in Rev. ii. 13. 2. ANTIPAS, or Herod-Antipas. [Hero- DIAN FAMrLY.l ANTIPA'TER. [Herodian Famhy.] ANTIPA'TRIS, a city built by Herod the Great, on the site of a former place called Caphar-saba. The spot was well watered, and fertile ; a stream flowed round the city, and in its neighbourhood were groves of large trees. Caphar-saba was 120 stadia from Joppa; and between the two places Alexander Balas drew a trench, with a wall and wooden towers, as a defence against the approach of Antiochus. Anti- patris also lay between Caesarea and Lydia, its distance from the former place being twenty-six Roman miles. On the road from Ramlah to Nazareth, north of Ras-el Ain, there is a village called Kaffr Saba ; and as its position is almost in exact agreement with the position assigned to Antipatris, it is supposed to be the same place, this Kaffr Saba being no other than the repro- duced name of Caphar-saba, which, as in manj;- other instances, has again supplanted the foreign, arbitrary, and later name of Antipatris. St. Paul was brought from Jerusalem to Antipa- tris by night, on his route to Caesarea (Acts xxiii. 31). ANTO'NIA, a fortress in Jerusalem, on the north side of the area of the temple, often men- tioned by Josephus in his account of the later wars of the Jews. It was originally built by the Maccabees, under the name of Baris, and was afterwards rebuilt with great strength and splen- dour by the first Herod. This fortress is the ' castle ' into which Paul was carried from the temple by the soldiers : from the stairs of which he addressed the people collected in the ad- jacent court (Acts xxi. 31-40). APE. The word is in the Hebrew Koph, and it occurs only in 1 Kings x. 22 and 2 Chron. ix. 21, as among the curiosities in natural his- tory brought back by Solomon's ships from their distant voyages to Ophir. The name seems to have been introduced along with the animals, for in Sanscrit and Malabaric kapi is the name for an ape. We cannot of course attempt to determine the species brought into Palestine on the occasion indicated; and the probability indeed is, that the name is a general one for all or any of the quadrumana of which the Hebrews had any knowledge. When we consider the mode in which these animals were introduced, it is curious to compare this with the scene in the tomb of Thothmes III. at Thebes, where the presents and tributes of various distant nations are represented as being brought to the king. Among these are several living animals, includ- 78 APHEK APOCRYPHA 43. [Apes from Egyptian Monuments.] ing six quadrumanous animals. The smallest and most effaced may be apes ; but the others, and in particular the three here copied, are un- doubtedly Macaci or Cynocephali, that is, a species of the genus baboon, or baboon-like apes. The association renders these figures interesting ; but it is impossible to say that the animals brought to Solomon were of these kinds, or in- deed to say to what species they should be re- ferred [Satyr]. APEL'LES, a Christian at Rome, whom Paul salutes in his Epistle to the Church there (Rom. xvi. 10), and calls ' approved in Christ,' i. e. an approved Christian. According to the old church traditions Apelles was one of the seventy disciples, and bishop either of Smyrna or Heracleia. APHAR'SACHITES or Apharsathchites, the name of the nation to which belonged one portion of the colonists whom the Assyrian king planted in Samaria (Ezra iv. 9 ; v. 6). A'PHEK : the name signifies strength ; hence a citadel or fortified town. There were at least three places so called, viz. : — \. APHEK, a city in the tribe of Asher (Josh. xiii. 4 ; xix. 30), called Aphik in Judg. i. 31, where we also learn that the tribe was unable to gain possession of it. A village called Afka is still found in Lebanon, situated at the bottom of a valley, and may possibly mark the site of this Aphek. 2. APHEK, a tovm near which Benhadad was defeated by the Israelites (1 Kings xx. 26, sq.), which seems to correspond to the Aphaca of Eusebius, situated to the east of the Sea of Galilee, and which is mentioned by Burckhardt, Seetzen, and others under the name of Feik. 3. APHEK, a city in the tribe of Issachar, not far from Jezreel, where the Philistines twice encamped before battles with the Israelites (1 Sam. iv. 1 ; xxix. 1 ; comp. xxviii. 4). Either this or the first Aphek, but most probably this, was the Aphek mentioned in Josh. xii. 18, as a royal city of the Canaauites. APHE'KAH, a town in the mountains of Judah ( Josh. xv. 23). APHKK'EMA, one of the three toparchies added to Judaa by the kings of Syria (1 Mace, xi. 34). This is perhaps the Ephraem or Ephraira mentioned in John xi. 54. APH'Sl'^S, head of the eighteenth sacerdotal family of the twenty-four into which the priests were divided by David for the service of the temple (1 Chron. xxiv. 1.5). APOCRYPHA {hidden, secreted, mi/steriotts), a term in theology, applied in various senses to denote certain books claiming a sacred cha- racter. In the Bibliotheque Sacre'e, by the Rev. Domi- nican Fathers Richard and Giraud (Paris, 1822), the term is defined to signify— (1) anonymous or pseudepigraphal books ; (2) those which are not publicly read, although they may be read with edification in private ; (3) those which do not pass for authentic and of divine authority, although they pass for being composed by a sacred author or an apostle, as the Epistle of Barnabas ; and (4) dangerous books composed by ancient heretics to favour their opinions. They also apply the name *to books which, after having been contested, are put into the canon by consent of the churches, as Tobit,' &c. And Jahn applies it in its most strict sense, and that which it has borne since the fourth century, to books which, from their inscription or the author's name, or the subject, might easily be taken for inspired books, but are not so in reality. The apocryphal books, such as the 3d and 4th books of Esdras, the Book of Enoch, &c., which were all known to the ancient Fathers, have de- scended to our times ; and, although incontestably spurious, are of considerable value from their antiquity, as throwing light upon the religious and theological opinions of the first centuries. The most curious are the 3rd and 4th books of Esdras, and the Book of Enoch, which has been but recently discovered, and has acquired pecu- liar interest from its containing the passage cited by the apostle Jude [Enoch]. Nor are the apo- cryphal books of the New Testament destitute of interest. Although the spurious Acts extant have no longer any defenders of their genuine- ness, they are not without their value to the Biblical student, and have been applied with success to illustrate the style and language of the genuine books, to which they bear a close analogy. Some of the apocryphal books have not been without their defenders in modern times. They are, however, regarded by most as originally not of an earlier date than the second century, and as containing interpolations which betray the fourth or fifth : they can, therefore, only be considered as evidence of the practice of the Church at the period when they were written. Most of the apocryphal Gospels and Acts no- ticed by the fathers, and which are generally thought to havp been the fictions of heretics in the second century, have long since fallen into oblivion. Of those which remain, although some have been considered by learned men as APOLLOS genuine works of the apostolic age, yet the greater part are universally rejected as spurious, and as written in the second and third centuries. Whatever authority is to be ascribed to these do- cuments, it cannot be denied that the early Church evinced a high degree of discrimination in the difficult task of distinguishing the genuine from the spurious books. ' It is not so easy a matter,' says Jones, ' as is commonly imagined, rightly to settle the canon of the New Testa- ment. For my own part, I declare, with many learned men, that in the whole compass of learn- ing 1 know no question involved with more in- tricacies and perplexing difficulties than this' {New and Full Method, i. 15). This writer con- ceives that testimony and tradition are the prin- cipal means of ascertaining whether a book be canonical or apocryphal. Inquiries of this kind, however, must of necessity be confined to the few. The mass of Christians, who have neither time nor other means of satisfying themselves, must confide, in questions of this kind, either in the judgment of the learned, or the testimony at least, if not the authority, of the Church ; and it ought to be a matter of much thankfulness to the private Christian, that the researches of the most learned and diligent inquirers have conspired, in respect to the chief books of Scripture, in adding the weight of their evidence to the testimony of the Church Universal. APOLLO'NIA, a city of Macedonia, in the province of Mygdonia, situated between Amphi- polis and Thessalonica, thirty Koman miles from the former, and thirty- six from the latter. St. Paul passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia in his way to Thessalonica (Acts xvii. 1). APOL'LOS, a Jew of Alexandria, is described as a learned, or, as some understand it, an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures and the Jewish religion (Acts xviii. 24). About a.d. 56 he came to Ephesus, where, in the synagogues, ' he spake boldly the things of the Lord, know- ing only the baptism of John' (ver. 25); by which we are probably to understand that he knew and taught the doctrine of a Messiah, whose coming John had announced, but knew not that Jesus was the Christ. His fervour, however, at- tracted the notice of Aquila and Priscilla, whom Paul liad left at Ephesus; and they instructed him in this higher doctrine, which he thenceforth taught openly, with great zeal and power (ver. 26). Having heard from his new friends, who were much attached to Paul, of that apostle's proceedings in Achaia, and especially at Corinth, he resolved to go thither, and was encouraged in this design by the brethren at Ephesus, who fur- nished him with letters of introduction. On his arrival there he was very useful in watering the seed which Paul had sown, and was instrumental in gaining many new converts from Judaism. There was perhaps no apostle or apostolical man who so much resembled Paul in attainments and (character as A polios. His immediate disciples became so much attached to him, as well nigh lo have produced a schism in the Church, some saying, ' I am of Paul ;' others, ' I am of ApoUos ;' others, 'I am of Cephas' (1 Cor. iii. 4-7, 22). There must, probably, have been some difference in their mode of teaching to occasion this ; and from the first Epistle to the Corinthians it would appear that ApoUos was not prepared to go so far APOSTLE 79 as Paul in abandoning the figments of Judaism, and insisted less on the (to the Jews) obnoxious position that the Gospel was open to the Gentiles. There was nothing, however, to prevent these two eminent men from being perfectly united in the bonds of Christian affection and brotherhood. When Apollos heard that Paul was again at Ephesus, he went thither to see him ; and as he was there when the first Epistle to the Corin- thians was written (a.d. 59), there can be no doubt that the apostle received from him his in- formation concerning the divisions in that church, which he so forcibly reproves. It strongly illus- trates the character of Apollos and Paul, that the former, doubtless in disgust at those divisions with which his name had been associated, de- clined to return to Corinth; while the latter, with generous confidence, urged him to do so (1 Cor. xvi. 12). Paul Rgain mentions Apollos kindly in Tit. iii. 13, and recommends him and Zenas the lawyer to the attention of Titus, know- ing that they designed to visit Crete, where Titus then was. APOSTLE, a person sent by another ; a mes- senger. The term is generally employed in the New Testament as the descriptive appellation of a comparatively small class of men, to whom Jesus Christ entrusted the organization of his church and the dissemination of his religion among mankind. At an early period of his ministry ' he ordained twelve ' of his disciples ' that they should be with him.' ' These he named apostles.' Some time afterwards ' he gave to them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease ;' ' and he sent them to preach the kingdom of God ' (Mark iii. 14 ; Matt. X. 1-5; Mark vi. 7; Luke vi. IS; ix. 1). To them he gave ' the keys of the kingdom of God,' and constituted them princes over the spiritual Israel, that ' people whom God was to take from among the Gentiles, for his name ' (Matt. xvi. 19 ; xviii. 18 ; xix. 28 ; Luke xxii. 30). Previously to his death he promised to them the Holy Spirit, to fit them to be the founders and governors of the Christian church (John xiv. 16, 17, 26; xv. 26, 27; xvi. 7-15). After his resurrection he solemnly confirmed their call, saying, ' As the Father hath sent me, so send I you ;' and gaA'e them a commission to ' preach the Gospel to every creature' (John xx. 21-23; Matt, xviii. 18-20). After his ascension he, on the day of Pentecost, communicated to them those supernatural gifts which were necessary to the performance of the high functions he had commissioned them to ex- ercise ; and in the exercise of these gifts, they, in the Gospel history and in their epistles, with the Apocalypse, gave a complete view of the will of their Master in reference to that new order of things of which he was the author. They ' had the mind of Christ.' They spoke ' the wisdom of God in a mystery.' That mystery ' God revealed to them by his Spirit,' and they spoke it ' not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but M^hich the Holy Ghost teacheth.' They were ' ambassa- dors for Christ,' and besought men, ' in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God.' They authorita- tively taught the doctrine and the law of their Lord; they organized churches, and required them to ' keep the traditions,' i. e. the doctrines and •ordinances delivered to them' (Acts ii. 80 APOSTLE 1 Cor. ii. 16; ii. 7, 10, 13; 2 Cor. v. 20; 1 Cor. xi. 2). Of the twelve originally ordained to the apostleship, one, Judas Iscariot, ' fell from it by transgression,' and Matthias, ' -who had com- panied' with the other Apostles 'all the time that the Lord Jesus went out and in among them,' was by lot substituted in his place (Acts i. 17-26). Saul of Tarsus, afterwards termed Paul, was also miraculously added to the number of these permanent rulers of the Christian society (Acts ix.; xxii. ; xxvi. 15-18; 1 Tim. i. 12; ii. 7; 2Tim. j. 11). The characteristic features of this highest office in the Christian church have been very accurately delineated by M'Lean, in his Apostolic Commission. ' It was essential to their office — 1. That they should have seen the Lord, and been eye and ear witnesses of what they testified to the world (John xv. 27). This is laid down as an essential requisite in the choice of one to succeed Judas (Acts i. 21, 22) Paul is no ex- ception here; for, speaking of those who saw Christ after his resurrection, he adds, ' and last of all he was seen of me' (1 Cor. xv. 8). And this he elsewhere mentions as one of his apcstolic qualifications : ' Am I not an apostle ? have I not seen the Lord ?' (1 Cor. ix. 1). So that his ' seeing that Just One and liearing tlic word of his mouth' was necessary to his being ' a witness of what he thus saw and heard' (Acts xxii. 14, 15). 2. They must have been immediately called and chosen to that office by Christ liimself This was the case with every one of them (Luke vi. 13 ; Gal. i. 1), Matthias not excepted ; for, as he had been a chosen disciple of Christ before, so the Lord, by determining the lot, declared his choice, and immediately called him to the office of an apostle (Acts i. 24-26). 3. Infallible in- spiration was also essentially necessary to that office (John xvi. 13; 1 Cor. ii. 10; Gal. i. 11, 12). They had not only to explain the true sense and spirit of the Old Testament (Luke xxiv. 27 ; Acts xxvi. 22, 23 ; xxviii. 23), which were hid from the Jewish doctors, but also to give forth the New Testament revelation to the world, ■which was to be the unalterable standard of faith and practice in all succeeding generations (1 Pet. i. 25 ; 1 John iv. 6). 4. Another apostolic qua- lification was the power of working miracles (Mark xvi. 20 ; Acts ii. 43), such as speaking with divers tongues, curing the lame, healing the sick, raising the dead, discerning of spirits, con- ferring these gifts upon others, &c. (1 Cor. xii. 8-1 1). These were the credentials of their divine mission (2 Cor. xii. 12). Miracles were necessary to confirm their doctrine at its first publication, and to gain credit to it in the world as a revela- tion from God, and by these ' God bare them witness ' (Heb. ii. 4). 5. To these characteristics may be added the universaliti/ of their mission. Their charge was not confined to any particular visible church, like that of ordinary pastors, but, being the oracles of God to men, they had ' the care of all the churches ' (2 Cor. xi. 28). They had a power to settle their faith and order as a model to fixture ages, to determine all controver- sies (Acts xvi. 4), and to exercise the rod of dis- cipline upon all offenders, whether pastors or flock (1 Cor. V. 3-6; 2 Cor. x. 8 ; xiii. 10). It must be obvious, from this scriptural ac- count of the apostolical office, that the Apostles APPEAL had, in the strict sense of the t«rm, no successors. Their qualifications were supernatural, and their work, once performed, remains in the infallible record of the New Testament, for the advantage of the Church and the world in all future ages. They are the only authoritative teachers of Christian doctrine and law. All official men in Christian churches can legitimately claim no higher place than expounders of the doctrines and administrators of the laws found in their writings. The word ' apostle ' occurs once in the New Testament (Heb. iii. 1) as a descriptive designa- tion of Jesus Christ : ' The apostle of our pro- fession,' i. e. the apostle whom we profess or ac- knowledge. The Jews were in the habit of applying the corresponding Hebrew term to the person who presided over the synagogue, and directed all its officers and affairs. The Church is represented as ' the house or family of God,' over which he had placed, during the Jewish economy, Moses, as the superintendent, — over which he has placed, under the Christian economy, Christ Jesus. The import of the term apostle, is — divinel5'-commissioned superintend- ent ; and of the whole phrase^ ' the apostle cf out profession' the divinel)'-commissioned superin- tendent, whom WE Christians acknowledge, in contradistinction to the divinely-iippointed su- perintendent Moses, whom the Jews acknow- ledged. It is scarcely worth while to remark that the Creed, commonly called The Apostles', though very ancient, has no claim to the name, except as it contains apostolical doctrine. APPE.VL. The right of appeal to superior tribunals has generally been considered an es- sential concomitant of inferior judicatories. When, from the paucity of the population or any other cause, the subjects of litigation are few, justice is usually administered by the first au- thority in the state, from whose award no appeal can lie. But when the multiplication of causes precludes the continuance of this practice, and one or more inferior courts take cognizance of the less important matters, the right of appeal to the superior tribunal is allowed, with increasing restrictions as, in the course of time, subjects of litigation multiply, and as the people become weaned from the notion that the administration of justice is the proper function of the chief civil magistrate. In the desert Moses at first judged all causes himself; and when, finding his time and strength unequal to his duty, he, at the suggestion of Jethro, established a series of judicatories in a numerically ascending scale (Exod. xviii. 13-26), he arranged that cases of difficulty should be re- ferred from the inferior to the superior tribunals, aud in the last instance to himself. Although not distinctly stated, it appears from various cir- cumstances that the clients had a right of appeal, similar to that which the courts had of reference. When the prospective distribution into towns, of the population which had hitherto remained in one compact body, made other arrangements ne- cessary, it was directed that there should be a similar reference of difficult cases to the metro- politan court or chief magistrate (' the judge that shall be in those days') for the time being (Dent, xvi. 18; xvii. 8-12). That there was a concur- APPII-FORUM rent right of appeal, appears from the use Absa- lom made of the delay of justice, -which arose from the great number of cases that came before the king his father (2 Sam. xv. 2-4). These were doubtless appeal cases according to the above direction. Of the later practice, before and after the time of Christ, we have some clearer knowledge from Josephus and the Talmudists. It seems that a man could carry his case by appeal through all the inferior courts to the Grand Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, whose decision was in the highest de- gree absolute and final. The Jews themselves trace the origin of these later usages up to the time of Moses : they were at all events based on early principles, and therefore reflect back some light upon the intimations respecting the right of appeal which we find in the sacred books. The most remarkable case of appeal in the New Testament belongs to another class. It is the celebrated appeal of St. Paul from the tri- bunal of the Roman procurator Festus to that of the emperor ; in consequence of which he was sent as a prisoner to Rome (Acts xxv. 10,11). Such an appeal having been once lodged, the gcvernor had nothing more to do with the case : he could not even dismiss it, although he might be satisfied that the matter was frivolous, and not worth forwarding to Rome. Accordingly, when Paul was again heard by Festus and king Agrippa (merely to obtain materials for a report to the emperor), it was admitted that the apostle might have been liberated if he had not appealed to Ca.'sar (Acts xxvi. 32). It may easily be seen that a right of appeal which, like this, involved a long and expensive journey, Avas by no means frequently resorted to. In lodging his appeal Paul exercised one of the high privileges of Roman citizenship which be- longed to him by birth (Acts xxii. 28). [Citj- ZKNSHtP.] The right of appeal connected with that privilege originated in the Valerian, Porcian, and Sempronian laws, by which it was enacted that if any magistrate should order flagellation or death to be inflicted upon a Roman citizen, the accused person might appeal to the judgment of the people. But what was originally the pre- rogative of the people had in Paul's time be- come that of the emperor, and appeal therefore was made to him. Hence Pliny mentions that he had sent to Rome some Christians, who were Roman citizens, and had appealed unto Caesar. This privilege could not be disallov/ed by any magistrate to any person whom the law entitled to it. Indeed, very heavy penalties were attached to anj^ refusal to grant it, or to furnish the party with facilities for going to Rome. AP'PHIA, the name of a woman (^Philemon 2) who is supposed by Chrysostoro and Theodoret to have been the wife of Philemon. AP'PII-FO'RUM, a market town in luly, 43 Roman miles from Rome, on the great road from Rome to Brundusium, constructed by Appius Claudius. The remains of an ancient town, sup- posed to be Appii-Forum, are still observed at a place called Casarillo di Santa Maria, on the border of the Pontine marshes. When Saint Paul was taken to Italy, some of the Christians of Rome, being apprised of his approach, jour- neyed t(.' meet him as far as ' Appii-Forum and AQUILA 8l the Three Taverns ' (Acts xxviii. 1 5), a town eight or ten miles nearer to Rome than Appii- Forum. The ' Three Taverns ' was certainly a place of rest and refreshment, probably on ac- count of the badness of the water at Appii-Forum, and the probability is that some of the Christians remained at the ' Three Taverns,' whei-e it was known the advancing party would rest, while some others went on as far as Appii-Forum to meet Paul on the road. APPLE. The word Tappuach is thus ren- dered in the Authorized Version. Most authors on Biblical Botany admit that apple is not the correct translation, for that fruit is indifferent in Palestine, being produced of good quality only on Mount Lebanon, and in Damascus. Many contend that ' quince ' is the correct translation of Tappuach. Though somewhat more suitable than the apple, we think that neither the quince tree nor fruit is so superior to others as to be selected for notice in the passages of Scripture where tappuach occurs. The citron, we think, has the best claim to be considered the Tappuach of Scripture, as it was esteemed by the ancients, and known to the Hebrews, and conspicuously diflTerent, both as a fruit and a tree, from the ordinarj-^ vegetation of Syria, and the only one of the orange tribe which was known to the ancients. The orange, lemon, and lime, were introduced to the knov/ledge of Europeans at a much later period, probably by the Arabs from India. That the citron was well known to the Hebrews we have the assurance in the fact men- tioned by Josephus, that at the Feast of Taber- nacles king Alexander Jannseus was pelted with citrons, which the Jews had in their hands ; for, as he says, ' the law required that at that feast every one should have branches of the palm-tree and citron-tree. There is nothing improbable in the Hebrews having made use of boughs of the citron, as it was a native of Media, and well known to the Greeks at a very early period; and indeed on some old coins of Samaria, the citron may be seen, as well as the palnvtree ; and it is not an unimportant confirmation that the Jews still continue to make ofiferiugs of citrons at the Feast of Tabernacles. Citrons, accordingly, are imported in considerable quan- tities for this purpose, and are afterwards sold, being more highly esteemed after having been so offered. The tappuach, or citron-tree, is mentioned chiefly in the Canticles, ch. ii. 3, ' as the citron tree among the trees of the wood ;' ver. 5, ' Comfort me with citrons, for I am sick of love ;' vii. 8, ' The smell of thy nose like citrons ;' so in viii. 5. Again, in Prov. xxv. 11, 'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold (or rather golden citrons) in baskets of silver.' In Joel i. 12, it is enumerated Avith the vine, the fig-tree,, the palm, and pomegranate, as among the most valuable trees of Palestine. The rich colour, fragrant odour, and handsome appearance of the tree, whether in flower or in fruit, are particu- larly suited to all the above passages of Scrip- ture. AQ'UILA, a Jew with whom Paul became ac- quainted on his first visit to Corinth ; a native of Pontus, and by occupation a tent-maker. He and his wife Priscilla had been obliged to leave Rome in consequence of an edict issued by the 82 ARABIA Kmpei'or Claudius, by -which all Jews were banished from Rome. Whether Aquila and PriscUla were at that time converts to the Christian faith cannot be positively determined ; but at all events, they had embraced Christianity before Paul left Corinth ; for we are informed that they accompanied him to Ephesus, and meet- ing there with Apollos, who ' knew only the baptism of John,' they ' instructed him in t'le way of God more perfectly ' (Acts xviii. 25, 2i;)- From that time they appear to have been zealous promoters of the Christian cause. Paul styles them his ' helpers in Christ Jesus,' and intimates that they had exposed themselves to imminent danger on his account (Rom. xvi. .3, 4). When Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans they were at Rome ; but some years after they returned to Ephesus, for Paul sends salutations to them in his Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Tim. iv. 19). Their occupation as tent-makers probably ren- dered it necessary for them to keep a number of workmen constantly resident in their family, and to these (to such of them at least as had embraced the Christian faith) may refer the re- markable expression, ' the Church that is in their house.' AR, the capital city of the Moabites (Num. xxi. 28 ; Deut. ii. 9, 18, 29), near the river Arnon (Deut. ii. 18, 24; Num. xxi. 13-15). It appears to have been burnt by King Sihon (Num. xxi. 28), and Isaiah, in describing the future calami- ties of the IMoabites, says, ' In the night, Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence' (Isa. XV. 1 ). In his comment on this passage, Jerome states that in his youth there was a great earth- quake, by which Ar was destroyed in the night- time. This city was also called Rabbah or Rabbath, and, to distinguish it from Rabbath of Amnion, Rabbath-Moab. The site still bears the name of Rabbah. It is about 1 7 miles east of the Dead Sea, 1 0 miles south of the Arnon (Modjeb), and about the same distance north of Kerek. The ruins of Rabbah are situated on a low liill, which commands the whole plain. They pre- sent nothing of interest except two old Roman temples and some tanks. ARA'BIA, an extensive region occupying the south-western extremity of Asia, between 12° 45' and 344° N. lat., and 32 i° and 60° E. long, from Greenwich ; having on the W. the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea (called from it the Arabian Gulf), which separate it from Africa ; on the S. the Indian Ocean ; and on the E. the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates. The boundary to the north has never been well defined. It is one of the few countries of the south where the descend- ants of the aboriginal inhabitants have neither been extirpated nor expelled by northern in- vaders. They have not only retained posses- sion of their ancestral homes, but have sent forth colonies to all the adjacent regions, and even to more distant lands, both in Africa and Asia. With the history of no country save that of Palestine are there connected so many hallowed and impressive associations as with that of Arabia. Here lived and suffered the holy pa- triarch Job ; here Moses, when ' a stranger and a shepherd,' saw the burning, unconsuming bush; here Elijah found shelter from the rage ARABIA of persecution; here was the scene of all the marvellous displays of divine power and mercy that followed the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian yoke, and accompanied their journey- ings to the Promised Land ; and here Jehovah manifested himself in visible glory to his people. From the influence of these associations, com- bined with its proximity to Palestine, and the close affinity in blood, manners, and customs between the northern portion of its inhabitants and the Jews, Arabia is a region of peculiar interest to the student of the Bible; and it is chiefly in its relation to subjects of Bible study that we are now to consider it. In early times the Hebrews included a part of what v/e call Arabia among the countries they vaguely designated as ' the East,' the inha- bitants being numbered among the ' Sons of the East,' i. e. Orientals. But there is no evidence to show that these phrases are ever applied to the ivhule of the country known to us as Arabia. They appear to have been commonly used in speaking of those parts which lay due east of Palestine, or on the north-east and south-east; though occasionally they do seem to point to tracts which lay indeed to the south and south- west of that country, but to the east and south- cast of Egypt. 44, [Bedouin Arabs.] We find the name Arab first beginning to occur about the time of Solomon. It designated a portion of the country, an inhabitant being called Arabi, an Arabian (Isa. xiii. 20), or in later Hebrew, Arbi (Neh. ii. 19), the plural of which was Arbim (2 Chr. xxi. IG), or Arbiim (Arabians) (2 Chr. xvii. 11). In some places these names seem to be given to the Nomadic tribes generally (Isa. xiii. 20 ; Jer. iii. 2) and their country (Isa. xxi. 13). The kings of ARABIA Arabia from -whom Solomon (2 Chr. ix. 14) and Jehosaphat (2 Chr. xvii. 1 1 ) received gifts were, probably. Bedouin chiefs ; though in the place parallel to the former text (1 Kings x. 15), in- stead of Arab we find Ereb, rendered in Jer. XXV. 20, 24, ' mingled people,' but which Gese- nius, following the Chaldee, understands to mean ' foreign allies.' It is to be remarked, however, that in all the passages where the word Arab occurs it designates only a small portion of the territory known to us as Arabia. Thus in the account given by Ezekiel (xxvii. 21) of the Arabian tribes that traded with Tyre, mention is specially made of Arab (comp. Jer. XXV. 24). In 2 Chr. xxi. 16 ; xxii. 1 ; xxvi. 7 ; Neh. iv. 7, we find the Arabians classed with the Philistines, the Ethiopians (i. e. the Asiatic Cushites, of whom they are said to have been neighbours), the Mehunims, the Ammonites, and Ashdodites. At what period this name Arab was extended to the whole region it is impos- sible to ascertain. From it tlie Greeks formed the word Arabia, which occurs twice in the New Testament; in Gal. i. 17, in reference probably to the tract adjacent to Damascene Syria, and in Gal. iv. 25, in reference to the peninsula of Mount Sinai. Arabs are mentioned among the strangers assembled at Jerusalem at the Pente- cost (Acts ii. 11). The early Greek geogi-aphers mention only two divisions of this vast region, Happy and Desert Arabia. But after the city of Petra, in Idumsea, had become celebrated as the metro- polis of a commercial people, the Nabathseans, it gave name to a third division, viz. Arabia Petraa (improperly translated Stony Arabia); and this threefold division has obtained through- out Europe ever since. 1. Arabia Felix, i. e. Happy Arabia. This part of Arabia lies between the Red Sea on the we;t and the Persian Gulf on the east, the boundary to the north being an imaginary line drawn between their respective northern extre mities, Akaba and Basra or Bussora. It thus embraces by far the gi-eater portion of the country known to us as Arabia. Arabia may be described generally as an ele- vated table-land, the mountain ranges of which are by some regarded as a continuation of those of Syria. In Arabia Felix the ridges, which are very high in the interior, slope gently on the east towards the Persian Gulf, and on the north- east towards the vast plains of the desert- Ou the west the declivities are steeper, apd on tlie north-west the chains are connected with those of Arabia Petrsea. Commencing our survey at the north end of the Red Sea. the first province which lies along its shore is the Hedjaz. This was the cradle of Mohammedan superstition, containing both Mecca, where the prophet was born, and Bledina, where he was buried; and hence it became the Holy Land of the Moslem, whither they resort in pilgrimage from all parts j of the East' It is on the whole a barren tract, consisting chiefly of rugged mountains and sandy plains. Still more unproductive, however, is the long, flat, dreary belt, of vai-ying width, called Tehama, which runs along the coast to the south of Hedjaz, and was at no distant period covered by the sea. But next to this comes Yemen, the true Arabia Felix of the ancients, ARABIA 83 'Araby the Blest' of modern poets, and doubt- les.i the finest portion of the peninsula. Yet if it be distinguished for fertility and beauty, it is chiefly in the way of contrast, for it is far from coming up to the expectations which travellers had fomied of it. Turning from the west to the j I south coast of the peninsula, we next come to the extensive province of Hhadramaut (the Hazarmaveth of the Bible), a region not unlike Yemen in its general features, witli the excep- tion of the tracts called Mahhrah and Sahar, which ai-e dreary deserts. The south-east corner of the peninsula, between Hhadramaut and the Persian Gulf, is occupied by the important dis- trict of Oman, which has been in all ages famous for its trade, which has been greatly extended by the present imaum of Muscat. Along the Persian Gulf northward stretches the province of Lahsa, or rather El Hassa, to which belong the Bahrein Islands, famous for their pearls. The districts we have enumerated all lie along the coasts, but beyond them in the south stretches the vast desert of Akhaf, or Roba-el- Khali, i.e. 'the empty abode,' a desolate and dreary unexplored waste of sand. To the north of this extends the great central province of Nedched or Nejd. It may be described as » having been the great officina gentium of the south, as were Scandinavia and Tartary of the north ; for it is the region whence there issued at different periods those countless hordes of Arabs which overran a great part of Asia and Africa. Here too was the origin and the seat of the Wahabees (so formidable until subdued in 1818 by Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt), their chief town being Dereyeh. The geological structure and mineralogical productions of this part of Arabia are in a great measure unknown. In the mountains about Mecca and Medina the predominant rocks are of grey and red granite, porphyry, and limestone. This is also the case in the great chain that runs southward towards Maskat ; only that in the ridge that rises behind the Tehama there is found schistus and basalt instead of granite. Traces of volcanic action may be perceived around Medina, as also at Aden -and in many other parts of the peninsula. Hot-springs are of frequent occurrence on the Hadjee or pilgrim road to Mecca. The ancients believed that Arabia yielded both gold and precious stones, but Niebuhr doubts if this ever was the case. The most valuable ore found now is the lead of Oman : what is called the Mocha stone is a species of agate that comes from India. The native iron is coarse and brittle ; at Loheia and elsewhere there are hills of fossil salt. Arabia Felix has always been famous for frankincense, myrrh, aloes, balsam, gums, cassia, &c. ; but it is doubtful whether the last-mentioned and other articles supposed to be indigenous were not im- ported from India. Here are found all the fruits of temperate and warm climates, among which the date, the fruit of the palm ti'ee, is the most common, and is, along with the species of grain called dhourra, the staple article of food. But the most valuable vegetable production is coffee ; for Yemen, if not its native country, is the habitat where it has reached the greatest state of perfection. In the animal kingdom Arabia possesses, in common with the adjacent G 2 S'l akabia regions, the camel, panthers, Ij'nxes, hyssnas, jackals, gazelles, asses (wild and tame), monkeys, &c. But the gloi-y of Arabia is its horse. As in no other country is that animal so much es- teemed, so in no other are its noble qualities of swiftness, endurance, temper, attachment to man, so finely developed. Of the insect tribes, the locust, both from its numbers and its destructive- ness, is the most formidable scourge to vegeta- tion. The Arabian seas swarm with fish, sea- fowl, and shells ; coral abounds in the Bed Sea, and pearls in the Persian Gulf. 2. Arabia Deserta. This takes in that portion of the country which lies north of Arabia Felix, and is bounded on the north-east hy the Euphrates, on the north-west by Syria, and on the west by Palestine and Arabia Petrsca. So far as it has yet been explored, Desert Arabia appears to be one continuous, elevated, interminable steppe, occasionally inter- sected by ranges of hills. Sand and salt are the chief elements of the soil, which in many places is entirely bare, but elsewhere yields stunted and thorny shiiibs or thinly-scattered saline plants. That part of the wilderness called El Hhammad lies on the Syrian frontier, extending from the •♦ Hauran to the Euphrates, and is one immense dead and dreary level, very scantily supplied with water, except near the banks of the river, where the fields are irrigated by wheels and other artificial contrivances. The sky in these deserts is generally cloudless, but the burning heat of the sun is moderated by cooling winds, which, however, raise fearful tempests of sand and dust. Here, too, as in other regions of the East, occasionally prevails the burning, suffocating south-east wind, called by the Arabs El Hharur (the Hot), but more commonly Samum, and by the Turks Samt/eli (both words meaning 'the Poisonous'), the' ef- fects of which, however, have by some travellers been greatly exaggerated. This is probably ' the east wind' and the 'wind from the desert' spoken of in Scripture. Another phenomenon, which is not peculiar, indeed, to Desert Arabia, but is seen there in greatest frequency and per- fection, is what the French call the mirage, the delusive appearance of an expanse of water, created by the tremulous, undulatory movement of the vapours raised by the excessive heat of a meridian sun. It is called in Arabic serab, and is no doubt the Hebrew sarab of Isa. xxxv. 7, which our translators have rendered 'the parched ground.' 3. Arabia PETRiEA appears to have derived its name from its chief town Petra (i. e. a rock), although (as is remarked by Burckhardt) the epithet is also appropriate on account of the rocky mountains and stony plains which com- pose its surface. It embraces all the north- western portion of the country ; being bounded on the east by Desert and Happy Arabia, ou the north by Palestine and the Mediterranean, on the west by Egypt, and on the south by the Red Sea. This division of Arabia has been of late years visited by a great many travellers from Europe, and is consequently much better known than the other portions of the country. Con- fining ourselves at present to a general outline, we refer for details to the articles Sinai, Exodus, Edom, Moab, &c. Beginning at the northern ARABIA frontier, there mL'ets the elevated plain of Belka, to the east of the Dead Sea, the district of Kera'k (Kir), the ancient territory of the Moabites, their kinsmen of Ammon having settled to the north of this, in Arabia Deserta. The north border of Moab was the brook Arnon, now the Wady-el- Modjeb ; to the south of Moab, separated from it by the Wady-el-Ahsy, lay Mount Seir, the do- minion of the Edomites, or Idumaa, reaching as far as to Elath on the Red Sea. The great val- ley which runs from the Dead Sea to that point consists, first, of el-Ghor, which is comparatively low, but gradually rises by a succession of lime- stone cliffs into the more elevated plain of elArabah, formerly mentioned. * We were now,' says Professor Robinson {Biblical Researches, vol. ii. p. 502), 'upon the plain or rather the rolling desert, of the Arabah ; the surface was in general loose gravel and stones, everywhere furrowed and torn with the beds of torrents. A more frightful desert it had hardly been our lot to behold. The mountains beyond presented a most uninviting and hideous aspect ; precipices and naked conical peaks of chalky and gravelly formation rising one above another without a sign of life or vegetation.' The character of the mountains on the east of Arabah is quite dif- ferent from those on the west. The latter, which seemed to be not more than two-thirds as high, are wholly desert and sterile ; while these on the east appear to enjoy a sufficiency of rain, and are covered with tufts of herbs and oc- casional trees. This mountainous region is divided into two districts : that to the north is called Jebal (i. e. mountains, the Gebal of Ps. Ixxxiii. 7) ; that to the south EsIi-SlieraJi. To the district of Esh-Sherah belongs Mount Hor, the burial-place of Aaron, towering above the Wady Mousa (valley of Moses), wnere are the celebrated ruins of Petra (the ancient capital of the Nabatha!o-IdumtEans), the mountainous tract immediately west of the Arabah, is a desert lime- stone region, full of precipitous ridges, through which no travelled road has ever passed. To the west of Idumsea extends the ' gi'eat and terrible wilderness' of et-Tih, i. e. 'the Wandering,' so called from being the scene of the wanderings of the children of Israel. It consists of vast interminable plains, a hard gra- velly soil, and irregular ridges of limestone hills. It appears that the middle of this desert is occu- pied by a long central basin, extending from Jebel-et-Tih (i. e. the mountain of the wander- ing, a cbain pretty far south) to the shores of the Mediterranean. This basin descends towards the north with a rapid slope, and is drained through all its length by Wady-el-Arish, which enters the sea near the place of the same name, on the borders of Egypt. This description of the formation of the north- ern desert will enable us to form a more distinct conception of the general features of the penin- sula of Sinai, which lies south of it, being formed by the two arms of the Red Sea, the Gulfs of Akaba and Suez. If the parallel of the north coast of Egypt be extended eastward to the great Wady-el- Arabah, it appears that the desert, south of this parallel, rises gradually towards the south, until on the summit of the ridge Et-Tih, between the two gulfs, it attains the elevation of 4322 feet. The waters cf all this great tract ARABIA flow off northward either to the Mediterranean or the Dead Sea. Tlie Tih forms a sort of offset, and along its southern base the surface sinks at once to the height of only about 3000 feet, form- ing the sandy plain which extends nearly across the peninsula. After this the mountains of the peninsula proper commence, and rise rapidly through the formations of sandstone, griinstein, porphyry, and granite, into the lofty masses of St. Catherine and Um Shaumer, the former of which has an elevation of 81(8 Paris feet, or nearly double that of the Tih. Here the waters all run eastwaiii or westward to the Gulfs of Akaba and Suez. The soil of the Sinaitic peninsula is in general very unproductive, yielding only palm-trees, aca- cias, tamarisks, coloquintida, and dwarfish, thorny shrubs. Among the animals may be mentioned the mountain-goat, gazelles, leopards, a kind of marmot called wabbtr [ConeyJ, the sheeb, supposed by Col. C. Hamilton Smith to be a species of wild wolf-dog, &c. : of birds there are eagles, partridges, pigeons, the katta, a species of quail, &c. There are serpents, as in ancient times (Num. xxi. 4, 6), and travellers speak of a large lizard called dhoh, common in the desert, but of unusually frequent occurrence here. The peninsula is inhabited by Bedouin Arabs, and its entire population was estimated by Burckhardt at not more than 4000 souls. Though this part of Arabia must ever be me- morable as the scene of the journeying of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, yet very few of the spots mentioned in Scripture can now be identified ; nor, after the lapse of so many centuries, ought that to be occasion of surprise. According to Niebuhr, Robinson, &c. they crossed the Red Sea near Suez, but the tradition of the country fixes the point of transit eight or ten miles south of Suez, opposite the place called Ayoun Mousa, i. e. the Fountains of MosBS, where Robinson recently found seven wells, some of which, however, were mere excavations in the sand. About IS^ hours (33 geographical miles) south-east of that is the Well of Hawarah, the Marah of Scripture, whose bitter water is pro- nounced by the Arabs to be the worst in these regions. Two or three hours south of HawArah the traveller comes to the Wady Ghurundel, sup- posed to be the Elim of Moses. From the plain of El-kaa, which Robinson takes to be the desert of Sin (not to be confounded with that of Zin, which belonged to the great desert of Kadesh), they would enter the Sinaitic range, probably along the upper part of Wady Feiran and through the Wady-esh-Sheikh, one of the prin- cipal valleys of the peninsula. The Arabs call this Avhole cluster of mountains Jebel-et-Tur ; the Christians generally designate it as ' Sinai,' and give the name oilloreb to a particular moun- tain, whereas in Scripture the names are used interchangeably. [Sinai.] Having now taken a rapid survey of this ex- tensive region in its three divisions, let us advert to the people by whom it was at first settled, and by whose descendants it is still inhabited. There is a prevalent notion that the Arabs, both of the south and north, are descended from Ishmael ; but the idea of the southern Arabs being of the posterity of Ishmael is entirely without founda- tion, and seems to have originated in the tra- ARABIA 85 dition invented by Arab vanity, that they, as well as the Jews, are of the seed of Abraham — a vanity which, besides disfiguring and falsifying the whole history of the patriarch and his son Ishmael, has transferred the scene of it from Palestine to Mecca. If we go to the most au- thentic source of ancient ethnography, the book of Genesis, we there find that the vast tracts of country known to us under the name of Arabia gradually became peopled by a variety of tribes of different lineage, though it is now impossible to determine the precise limits within which they fixed their permanent or nomadic abode. We shall here exhibit a tabular view of these races in chronological order, i. e. according to the successive aeras of their respective progenitors : — I. Hamites, i. e. the posterity of Cush, Ham's eldest son, whose descendants appear to have settled in the south of Arabia, and t« have sent co- lonies across the Red Sea to the opposite coast of Africa ; and hence Cush became a general name for ' the south,' and specially for Arabian and African Ethiopia. The sons of Cush (Gen. x. 7) were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah or Ragma (his sons, Sheba and Dedan), and Sab- theca. II. Shemites, including the following: A. Joktanites, i. e. the descendants of Joktan, the second son of Eber, Shem's great-grandson I (Gen. X. 25, 26). According to Arab tradition Joktan, after the confusion of tongues and dis- persion at Babel, settled in Yemen, where he reigned as king. Joktan had thirteen sons, some of whose names may be obscurely traced in the designations of certain districts in Arabia Felix. Their names were Almodad, Shaleph, Hhazar- maveth (preserved in the name of the province of Hhadramaut), Jarach, Hadoram, Uzal (be- lieved by the Arabs to have been the founder of Sanaa in Yemen), Dikla, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. B. Abrahamites, divided into — (a) Hagarenes or Hagarites, so called from Hagar the mother ; otherwise termed Ishviaeliles from her son. The twelve sons of Ishmael {Gea. XXV. 13-15), who gave names to separate tribes, were Nebaioth (the NabathiEans in Arabia Pe- trsea), Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad or Hadar, Thema, Jetur, Naphish (the Iturseans and Naphishseans near the tribe of Gad: 1 Chron. v. 19, 20), and Kedmah. They appear to have been for the most part located near to Palestine on the east and south- east. (6) Keturahites, i. e. the descendants of Abra- ham and his second wife Keturah, by whom he had six sons (Gen. xxv. 2) : Simram, Jokshan (who, like Raamah, son of Cush, was also the father of two sons, Sheba and Dedan), Medan, Midian, Jishbak, and Shuach. Among these, the posterity of Midian became the best known. (c) Edomites, i. e. the descendants of Esau, who possessed Mount Seir and the adjacent region, called from them Idumsea. They and the Na- bathseans formed in later times a flourishing I commercial state, the capital of which was the j remarkable city called Petra. | C. Nuliorites, the descendants of Nahor, | Abraham's brother, who seem to have peopled I the land of Uz, the country of Job, and of Buz, the country of his friend Elihu the Buzite, these 86 ARABIA being the names of Nahor's sons (Gen. xxii. 21). D. Lotites, viz. : (a) Moabites, who occupied the northern por- tion of Arabia Petrrea, as above described ; and their kinsmen, the — (b) Ammonites, who lived north of them, in Arabia Deserta. Besides these, the Bible mentions various other tribes who resided within the bounds of Arabia, but whose descent is unknown, e. g. the Amale- kites, the Kenites, the Horites, the inhabitants of Maon, Hazor, Vedan, and Javan-Meusal (Ezek. xxvii. 19). In process of time some of these tribes were perhaps wholly extirpated (as seems to have been the case with the Amalekites), but the rest were more or less mingled together by inter-marriages, by military conquests, political revolutions, and other causes of which history has preserved no record; and thus amalgamated, they became known to the rest of the world as the ' Arabs,' a people whose physical and mental characteristics are very strongly and distinctly marked. In both respects they rank very high among the nations ; so much so, that some have regarded them as furnishing the prototi/pe — the primitive model form — the standard figure of the human species. The inhabitants of Arabia have, from remote antiquity, been divided into two great classes, viz. the townsmen (including villagers), and the men of the desert, such being the meaning of the word ' Bedawees ' or Bedouins, the designation given to the ' dwellers in the wilderness.' From the nature of their country, the latter are neces- sitated to lead the life of nomades, or wandering shepherds ; and since the days of the patriarchs (who were themselves of that occupation) the ex- tensive steppes which form so large a portion of Arabia, have been traversed by a pastoral but warlike people, who, in their mode of life, their food, their dress, their dwellings, their manners, customs, and government, have always continued, and still continue, almost unalterably the same. They consist of a great many separate tribes, ■who are collected into diifereut encampments dispersed through the territory which they claim as their own ; and they move from one spot to another (commonly in the neighbourhood of pools or wells) as soon as the stinted pasture is exhausted by their cattle. It is only here and there that the ground is susceptible of cultiva- tion, and the tillage of it is commonly left to peasants, who are often the vassals of the Be- dawees, and whom (as well as all ' townsmen ') they regard with contempt as an inferior race. Having constantly to shift their residence, they live in movable tents (comp. Isa. xiii. 20 ; Jer. xlix. 29), from which circumstance they re- ceived from the Greeks the name of Scenites, dwellers in tents [Tents]. The heads of tribes are called sheikhs, a word of various import, but used in this case as a title of honour ; the govern- ment is hereditary in the family of each sheikh, but elective as to the particular individual ap- pointed. Their allegiance, however, consists more in following his example as a leader than in obeying his commands; and, if dissatisfied with his government, they will depose or abandon him. As the independent lords of their own ARABIA deserts, the Bedawees have from time immemo- rial demanded tribute or presents from all tra- vellers or caravans (Isa. xxi. 13) passing through their country ; the transition from which to rob- bery is so natural, that they attach to the latter no disgrace, plundering without mercy all who are unable to resist them, or who have not secured the protection of their tribe. Their watching for travellers ' in the ways,' i. e. the frequented routes through the desert, is alluded to Jer. iii. 2 ; Ezra viii. 31 ; and the fleetness of their horses in carrying them into the ' depths of the wilderness,' beyond the reach of their pur- suers, seems what is referred to in Isa. Ixiii. 13, 14. Their warlike incursions into more settled districts are often noticed (c. g. Job i. 15 ; 2 Chron. xxi. 16; xxvi. 7). The acuteness of their bodily senses is very remarkable, and is exemplified in their astonishing sagacity in tracing and distin- guishing the footsteps of men and cattle. The law of blood-revenge sows the seeds of perpetual feuds; and what was predicted (Gen. xvi. 12) of the posterity of Islmiael, the ' wild-ass man ' (a term most graphically descriptive of a Bedawee), holds true of the whole people [Blood-Revenge]. They show bravery in repelling a public enemy, but when they fight for plunder, they behave like cowards. Their bodily frame is spare, but athletic and active, inured to fatigue and capable of undergoing great privations : their minds are acute and inquisitive ; and though their manners are somewhat grave and formal, thej' are of a lively and social disposition. Of their moral virtues it is necessary to speak with caution. They were long held up as models of good faith, incormptible integrity, and the most generous hospitality to strangers ; but many recent travel- lers deny them the possession of these qualities ; and it is certain that whatever they may have been once, the Bedawees, like all the unsophis- ticated ' children of nature,' have been much cor- rupted by the influx of foreigners, and the na- tional character is in every point of view lowest where they are most exposed to the continual passage of strangers. In the language of the Arabians we find the full and adult development of the genius of that group of languages of Western Asia which is now usually distinguished as the Syro-Arabian. In the abundance of its roots, in the manifold va- riety of its formations, in the syntactical deli- cacies of its construction, it stands pre-eminent as a language among all its sisters. Every class of composition also: the wild and yet noble lyrics of the son of the desert, who had ' nothing to glory in but his sword, his guest, and his fer- vid tongue ; ' the impassioned and often sublime appeals of the Koran ; the sentimental poetry of a Mutauabbi ; the artless simplicity of their usual narrative style, and the philosophic disquisition of an Ibn Chaldun ; the subtleties of the gram- marian and scholiast ; medicine, natural history, and the metaphysical speculations of the Aris- totelian school — all have found the Arabic lan- guage a fitting exponent of their feeling and thought. And, although confined within the bounds of the Peninsula by circumstances to which we owe the preservation of its pure antique form, yet Islam made it the written and spoken language of the whole of Western Asia, of Eastern and Northern Africa, of Spain, and of AEABIA some of the islands of the Mediterranean ; and the ecclesiastical language of Persia, Turkey, and all other lauds which receive the Moham- medan faith ; in all which places it has left sen- sible traces of its former occupancy, and in many of which it is still the living or the learned idiom. The close affinity, and consequently the incalculable philological use, of the Arabic with regard to the Hebrew language and its other sisters, may be considered partly as a question of theory, and partly as one of fact The former would regard the concurrent records which the Old Testament and their own traditions have preserved of the several links by which the Arabs were connected with different generations of the Hebrew line, and the evidences which Scripture offers of persons speaking Arabic being intelli- gible to the Hebrews ; the latter would observe the demonstrable identity between them in the main features of a language, and the more subtle, but no less convincing traces of resemblance even in the points in which their diversity is most ap- parent. Thus springing from the same root as the Hebrew, and possessing such traces of affinity to a late period of Scripture history, this dialect was further enabled, by several circumstances in the social state of the nation, to retain its native resemblance of type until the date of the earliest extant written documents. These circumstances were, the almost insular position of the country, which prevented conquest or commerce from debasing the language of its inhabitants ; the fact that so large a portion of the nation adhered to a mode of life in which every impression was, as it were, stereotyped, and knew no variation for ages ; and the great and just pride which they felt in the purity of their language, which is still a characteristic of the Bedouins. The principal source of the wealth of ancient Arabia was its commerce. So early as the days or Jacob (Gen. xxxvii. 28) we read of a mixed cai'avau of Arab merchants (Ishmaelites and Midianites) who were engaged in the conveyance of various foreign articles to Egypt, and made no scruple to add Joseph, ' a slave,' to their other purchases. The Arabs were, doubtless, the first navigators of their own seas, and the great car- riers of the produce of India, Abyssinia, and other remote countries to Western Asia and Egypt. Various Indian productions thus ob- tained were common among the Hebrews at an early period of their history (Exod. xxx. 23, 25). The traffic of the Red Sea was to Solomon a source of great profit ; and the extensive com- merce of Sabcra (Sheba, now Yemen) is men- tioned by profane writers as well as alluded to in Scripture (1 Kings x. 10-15). In the de- scription of the foreign trade of Tyre (Ezek. xxvii. 19-24) various Arab tribes are introduced (comp. Isa. Ix. 6; Jer. vi. 20; 2 Chron. ix. 14). The Nabathseo-Idumasans became a great trading people, their capital being Petra. The transit- trade from India continued to enrich Arabia until the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope ; but the invention of steam-navigation has now restored the ancient route for travellers by the Red Sea. Arabia, in ancient times, generally preserved its independence, unaffected by those great events which changed the destiny of the surrounding nations ; and in the sixth century of cur ara, j ARAM 87 the decline of the Roman empire and the cor- ruptions and distractions of the Eastern church favoured the impulse given bj' a wild and warlike fanaticism. Mahomet arose, and succeeded in gathering around his standard the nomadic tribes of central Arabia ; and in less than fifty years that standard waved triumphant 'from the straits of Gibraltar to the hitherto unconquered regions beyond the Oxus.' The khalifs trans- ferred the seat of government successively to Damascus, Kufa, and Bagdad ; but amid the dis- tractions of their foreign wars, the chiefs of the interior of Arabia gradually shook off their feeble allegiance, and resumed their ancient habits of independence, which, notwithstanding the revolutions that have since occurred, they for the most part retain. At present, indeed, the authority of Mehemet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, is acknowledged over a great portion of the northern part of Arabia, while in the south the Imam of Maskat exercises dominion over a much greater extent of country than did any of his predecessors. A RAD, an ancient city on the southernmost borders of Palestine, whose inhabitants drove back the Israelites as they attempted to penetrate from Kadesh into Canaan (Num. xxi. 1), but were eventually subdued by Joshua, along with the other southern Canaanites (Josh. xii. 14, comp. X. 41; also Judg. i. 16). Eusebius and Jerome place Arad twenty Roman miles from Hebron. This accords well with the situation of a hill called Tell 'Arad, which Dr. Robinson observed on the road from Petra to Hebron. He describes it as 'a barren-looking eminence rising above the country around.' He did not examine the spot, but the Arabs said there were no ruins upon or near it, but only a cavern. The name alone is, however, too decisive to admit a doubt that the hill marks the site of the ancient Arad. A'RAM, the name given by the Hebrews to the tract of country lying between Phoenicia on the west, Palestine on the south, Arabia Deserta and the river Tigris on the east, and the moun- tain range of Taurus on the north. Many parts of this extensive territory have a much lower level than Palestine, but it might receive the designation of ' the highlands,' because it does rise to a greater elevation than that country at most points of immediate contact, and especially on the side of Lebanon. Aram, or Arama;a, seems to have corresponded generally to the Si/ria and Mesopotamia of the Greeks and Ro- mans (see those articles). We find the following divisions expressly noticed in Scripture: — 1. Aram-Dammesek, the ' Syria of Damascus ' con- quered by David, 2 Sam. viii. 5, G, where it de- notes only the territory around Damascus ; but elsewhere ' Aram,' in connection with its capital ' Damascus,' appears to be used in a wider sense for Syria Proper (Isa. vii. 1,8; xvii. 3 ; Amos i. 5). To this part of Aram the ' land of Hadrach ' seems to have belonged (Zech. ix. 1). 2. Aram- Maachah (1 Chron. xix. 6), or simply Maachah (2 Sam. X. 6, 8), was not far from the northern border of the Israelites on the east of the Jordan (comp. Dcut. iii. 14, with Josh. xiii. 11, 13). 3. Aram-beth-Rechob, the precise locality of which cannot with certainty be determined. 4. AEAai-ZoRAii /- Sam. x. 6). Jewish tradition 68 ARAM ARARAT has placed Zobah at. Aleppo, whereas Syrian tra- dition identifies it witli Nisibis, a city in the north-east of Mesopotamia. The former seems a much nearer approximation to the truth. We may gather from 2 Sam. ^'m. 3, x. 16, that the eastern boundary of Aram« Zobah was the Eu- phrates, but Nisibis was far .-pyond that river. The people of Zobah are uiiitormly spoken of as near neighbours of the Israelites, the Damas- cenes, and other Syrians; and in one place (2 Chron. viii. 3) Hamath is called Hamath-Zobah, as pertaining to that district. We, therefore, conclude that Aram-Zobah extended from the Euphrates westward, perhaps as far north as to Aleppo. It was long the most powerful of the petty kingdoms of Aramaa, its princes com- monly bearing the name of Hadadez-er or Hada- rezer. 5. Aram-Naharaim, i. e. yJram of the Two Elvers, or Mesopotamia. The rivers which enclose Mesopotamia are the Euphrates on the west and the Tigris on the east ; but it is doubt- ful wliether the Aram-Naharaim of Scripture embraces the whole of that tract or only the northern portion of it (comp. Gen. xxiv. 10; Deut. xxiii. 4 ; Judg. iii. 8). A part of this re- gion of Aram is also called Padan-Aram, the plain of Aram (Gen. xxv. 20 ; xxviii. 2, C, 7 ; xxxi. 18; xxxiii. 18), and once simply Padaji (Gen. xlviii. 7), also Sedch-Aram, the field of Aram (Hos. xii. 13). • But though the districts now enumerated be the only ones erpressli/ named in the Bible as be- longing to Aram, there is no doubt that many more territories were included in that extensive region, c. g. Geshur, Hul, Arpad, Riblah, Tad- mor, Hauran, Abilsue, &c., though some of them may have formed part of the divisions already specified. It appears from the ethnographic table in the tenth chapter of Genesis (vers. 22, 23) that Aram was a son of Shem, and that his own sons were Uz, Hul, Gather, and Mash. Another Aram is mentioned (Gen. xxii. 21) as the grandson of Nahor and son of Kemuel, but he is not to be thought of here. The descent of the Aramajans from a son of Shem is confirmed by their language, which was one of the branches of the Semitic family, and nearly allied to the Hebrew. The Aramaic language — that whole, of which the Chaldee and Syriac dialects form the parts — constitutes the northern and least developed Dranch of the Syro-Arabian familj' of tongues. Its cradle was probably on the banks of the Cyrus, according to the best interpretation of Amos ix. 7 ; but Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Syria form what may be considered its home and proper domain. Political events, however, subsequently caused it to supplant Hebrew in Palestine ; and then it became the prevailing form of speech from the Tigris to the shore of the Mediterranean, and, in a contrary direction, from Armenia down to the confines of Arabia. After obtaining such a wide dominion, it was forced, from the ninth century onwards, to give way before the encroaching ascendency of Arabic ; and it now only survives, as a living tongue, among the Syrian Christians in the neighbourhood of Mosul. According to his- torical records, and also according to the com- paratively ruder form of the Aramaic language Itself, we might suppose that it represents, even in the state in which we have it, some image of that aboriginal type which the Hebrews and Arabians, under more favourable social and cli- matical influences, subsequently developed into fulness of sound and structure. But it is diffi- cult for us now to discern the particular vestiges of this archaic form ; for, not only did the Ara- maic not Avork out its own development of the original elements common to the whole Syro- Arabian sisterhood of languages, but it was pre- eminently exposed, both by neighbourhood and by conquest, to harsh collision with languages of an utterly different family. Moreover, it is the only one of the three great Syro-Arabian branches which has no fruits of a purely national litera- ture to boast of. We possess no monument what- ever of its own genius; not any work Avhich may be considered the product of the political and religious culture of the nation, and charac- teristic of it — as is so emphatically the case both with the Hebrews and the Arabs. The first time we see the language, it is used by Jews as the vehicle of Jewish thought ; and although, when -we next meet it, it is employed by native authors, yet they write under the literary im- pulses of Christianity, and under the Greek in- fluence on thought and language which neces- sarily accompanied that religion. These two modifications, which constitute and define the so-called Chaldee and Syriac dialects, are the only forms in which the normal and standard Aramaic has been preserved to us. AR'ARAT occurs nowhere in Scripture as the name of 1 mountain, but only as the name of a country, upon the ' mountains ' of which the ark rested during the subsidence of the flood (Gen. viii. 4). The only other passages where ' Ararat ' oc- curs are 2 Kings xix. 37 (Isa. xxxvii. 38) and Jer. li. 27. In the former it is spoken of as the country whither the sons ot Sennacherib, king of Assyria, fled, after they had murdered their father. This points to a territory which did not form part of the immediate dominion of Assyria, and yet might not be far off from it. The de- scription is quite applicable to Armenia, and is supported by the tradition of that country. The other Scripture text (Jer. li. 27) mentions Ararat, along with Minni and Ashkenaz, as kingdoms summoned to arm themselves against Babylon. In the parallel place in Isa. xiii. 2-4, the in- vaders of Babylonia are described as ' issuing from the mountains;' and if by Minni we un- derstand the Minyas in Armenia, and by Ash- kenaz some country on the Euxine Sea, which may have had its original name, Axenos, from Ashkenaz, a son of Gomer, the progenitor of the Cimmerians (Gen. x. 2, 3)— then we arrive at the same conclusion, viz., that Ararat was a mountainous region north of Assyria, and in all probability in Armenia. In Ezek. xxxviii. 6, we find Togarmah, another part of Armenia, connected with Gomer, and in Ezek. xxvii, 14, with Meshech and Tubal, all tribes of the north. With this agree the traditions of the Jewish and Christian churches, and likewise the accounts of the native Armenian writers. But though it may be concluded with tolerable certainty that the land of Ararat is to be identi- fied with a portion of Armenia, we possess no historical data for fixing on any one mountain ARAEAT in that country as the resting-place of the ark. The earliest tradition fixed on one of the chain cf mountains which separate Armenia on the south from Mesopotamia, and which, as they also inclose Kurdistan, the land of the Kurds, obtained the name of the Kardu, or Carduchian range, corrupted into Gordisean and Cordyaan. This was at one time the prevalent opinion among the Eastern churches, but it has now de- clined in credit and given place (at least among the Christians of the West) to that which now obtains, and according to which the ark rested on a great mountain in the north of Armenia — to which (so strongly did the idea take hold of the popular belief) was, in course of time, given the very name of .Irarat, as if no doubt could be entertained that it was the Ararat of Scrip- ture. We liave seen, however, that in the Bible ARARAT 89 Ararat is nowhere the name of a mountain, and by the native Armenians the mountain in ques- tion ^7as never so designated. Still there is no doubt of the antiquity of the tradition of this being (as it is sometimes termed) the ' Mother of the World.'. The Persians call it Kuhi Nuch, ' Noah's Mountain,' The mountain thus known to Europeans as Ararat consists of two immense conical eleva- tions (one peak considerably lower than the other), towering in massive and majestic gran- deur from the valley of the Aras, the ancient Araxes. Smith and D wight give its position N. 57° W. of Nakhchevan, and S. 25° W. of Erivan '; and remark, in describing it before the recent earthquake, tliat in no part of the world had they seen any mountain whose imposing appear- ance could plead half so powerfully as this a claim to the honour of having once been the stepping-iTtone between the old world and the new. ' It appeared,' says Ker Porter, ' as if the hugest mountains of the world had been piled upon each other to form this one sublime im- mensity of earth and rooks and snow. The icy peaks of its double heads rose majestically into the clear and cloudless heavens ; the sun blazed bright upon them, and the reflection sent forth a dazzling radiance equal to other suns. My eye, not able to rest for any length of time upon the blinding glory of its summits, wandered down the apparently interminable sides, till I could no longer trace their vast lines in the mists of the horizon ; when an irrepressible impulse immediately carrying my eye upwards, again refixed my gaze upon the awful glare of Ararat.' To the same efl'ect Morier writes : — ' Nothing can be more beautiful than its .chape, more awful than its height. All the surrcui.ding mcuntains sink into insignificance when compared to it. It is perfect in all its parts ; no hard rugged fea- ture, no unnatural prominences, everything is in harmony, and all combines to render it one of the sublimest objects in nature.' Several attempts had been made to reach the top of Ararat, but few persons had got beyond the limit of perpetual snow. The honour was reserved to a German, Dr. Parrot, in the em- ployment of Russia, Wiio, in his Journey to Ararat, gives the following particulars : — ' The summit of the Great Ararat is in 39° 42' N. lat., and 61° 55' E. long, from Ferro. Its perpen- dicular height is 16,254 Paris feet above the level of the sea, and 13,350 above the plain of the Araxes. The Little Ararat is 12,-284 Paris feet above the sea, and 9561 above the plain of the Araxes.' After he and his party had failed in two attempts to ascend, the third was sue- 90 ARCHITECTURE cessful, ami on the 27th September (o. s.), 1829, they stood on the summit of Mount Ararat. It ■was a slightly convex, almost circular platform, about 200 Paris feet iu diameter, composed of eternal ice, unbroken by a rock or stone : on ac- count of the immense distances, nothing could be seen distinctly. Since the memorable ascent of Dr. Parrot, Ararat has been the scene of a fearful calamity. An earthquake, which in a few moments changed the entire aspect of the country, commenced on the 20th of June (o. s.), 1840, and continued, at intervals, until the 1st of September. _ The de- struction of houses and other property iu a wide tract of country around was very great ; fortu- nately, the earthquake having happened during the day, the loss of lives did not exceed fifty. The scene of greatest devastation was in the narrow valley of Akorhi, where the masses of rock, ice, and sn.ow, detached from the summit of Ararat and its lateral points, were thrown at one single bound from a height of 6000 feet to the bottom of the valley, where they lay scat- tered over an extent of several miles. ARAU'NAH, or Ornan, a man of the Jebu- site nation, which possessed Jerusalem before it was taken by the Israelites. His threshing-floor was on Mount Moriah ; and when he understood that it was required for the site of the Temple, • he liberally otfered the ground to David as a free gift ; but the king insisted on paying the full value for it (2 Sam. xxiv. 18 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 18). AR'BA. [Hebron.] ARCHELA'US, son of Herod the Great, and his successor in Idumaea, Judoea, and Samaria (Matt. ii. 22) [Herodian Family]. ARCHERY. [Arms.] ARCHIP'PUS, a Christian minister, whom St. Paul calls his ' fellow-soldier,' in Philem. 2, and whom he exhorts to renewed activity in Col. iv. 17. From the latter reference it would seem that Archippus had exercised the office of Evangelista sometimes at Ephesus, sometimes elsewhere; and that he finally resided at Co- losse, and there discharged the office of presiding presbyter or l.iishop when St. Paul wrote to the Colossian church. ARCHITECTURE. It was fornierly com- mon to claim for the Hebrews the invention of scientific architecture, and to allege that classic antiquity was indebted to the Temple of Solomon for the principles and many of the details of the art. This statement, however, is totally without foundation. There has never in fact been any people for whom a peculiar style of architecture could with less probability be claimed than for the Israelites. On leaving Egypt they could only be acquainted with Egyptian art. On entering Canaan they necessarily occupied the buildings of which they had dispossessed the previous inhabitants; and the succeeding generations would naturally erect such buildings as the country previously con- tained. The architecture of Palestine, and, as such, eventually that of the Jews, had doubtless its own characteristics, by which it was suited to the climate and condition of the country ; and in the course of time many improvements would no doubt arise from the causes which usually operate in producing change in any practical art. AREOPAGUS From the want of historical data and from the total absence of architectural remains, the de- gree in which these causes operated in imparting a peculiar character to the Jewish architecture cannot now be determined ; for the oldest ruins in the country do not ascend beyond the period of the Roman domination. It does, however, seem probable that among the Hebrews archi- tecture was always kept within the limits of a mechanical craft, and never rose to the rank of a fine art. Tlieir usual dwelling-houses differed little from those of other Eastern nations, and we nowhere find anything indicative of exterior embellishment. Splendid edifices, such as the palace of David and the temple of Solomon, were completed by the assistance of Phoenician artists (2 Sam. V. 11 ; 1 Kings v. C, 18; 1 Chron. xiv. 1). After the Babylonish exile, the assistance of such foreigners was likewise resorted to for the restoration of the Temple (Ezra iii. 7). From the time of the Maccabsean dynasty, the Greek taste began to gain ground, especially under the Herodian princes, and was shown in the struc- ture and embellishment of many towns, baths, colonnades, theatres and castles. The Phcenician style, which seems to have had some affinity Avith the Egyptian, was not, however, superseded by the Grecian; and even as late as the Mishna, we read of Tyrian windows, Tyrian porches, &c. [House]. With regard to the instruments used by build- ers— besides the more common, such as the axe, saw, &c., we find incidental mention of the compass, the plumb-line (Amos vii. 7), and the measuring-line. AREOP'AGUS, an Anglicized form of the original words, signifying in reference to place. Mars Hill, but in reference to persons, the Council, which was held on the hill. The Council was also termed the Council on Mars Hill; sometimes the Upper Council, from the elevated position v;here it was held ; and some- times simply, but emphatically, the Council : but it retained, till a late period, the original designation of Mars Hill. The place and the Council are topics of interest to the Biblical student, chiefly from their being the scene of the interesting narrative and sublime discourse found in Acts xvii., where it appears that the apostle Paul, feeling himself moved, by the evidences of idolatry with which the city of Athens was crowded, to preach Jesus and the resurrection, both iu the Jewish synagogues and in the maiket-place, was set upon by certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, and led to the Areopagus, in order that they might learn from him the meaning and design of his new doctrine. Whether or not the Apostle was criminally ar- raigned, as a setter forth of strange gods, before the tribunal which held its sittings on the hill, may be considered as undetermined, though the balance of evidence seems to incline to the aflarmative. Whichever view on this point is adopted, the dignified, temperate, and high- minded bearing of Paul under the peculiar cir- cumstances in which he was placed are worthy of high admiration, and will appear the more striking the more the associations are known and weighed which covered and surrounded the spot where he stood. Nor does his eloquent discourse appear to have been without good effect; for AREOPAGUS though some mocked, and some procrastinated, yet others believed, among whom was a member of the Council, ' Diouysius, the Areopagite.' The court of Areopagus was one of the oldest and most honoured, not only in Athens, but in the whole of Greece, and, indeed, in the ancient world. Through a long succession of centuries, it preserved its existence amid changes corre- sponding with those which the state underwent, till at least the age of the Caesars. Its origin ascends back into the darkest my- thical period. From the first its constitution was essentially aristocratic ; a character which to some extent it retained even after the demo- cratic reforms which Solon introduced into the Athenian constitution. Following the political tendencies of the state, the Areopagus became in process of time less and less aristocratical, and parted piecemeal with most of its important functions. First its political power was taken away, then its jurisdiction in cases of murder, and even its moral influence gradually departed. During the sway ot the Thirty Tyrants its power, or ratlier its political existence, was de- stroyed. Oa their overthrow it recovered some consideration, and the oversight of the execution of the laws was restored to it by an express decree. The precise time when it ceased to exist cannot be determined ; but evidence is not wanting to show that in later periods its members ceased to be uniformly characterized by blame- less morals. It is not easy to give a correct summary of its several functions, as the classic writers are not agreed in their statements, and the jurisdic- tion of the court varied, as has been seen, with times and circumstances. They have, however, been divided into six general classes:— I. Its judicial function ; II. Its political ; III. Its police function ; IV. Its religious ; V. Its educational ; and VI. (only partially) Its financial. Passing by certain ftmctions, such as acting as a court of appeal, and of general supervision, which under special circumstances, and when empowered by the people, the Areopagus from time to time discharged, we will say a few words in explanation of the points already named, giving a less restricted space to those which con- cern its moral and religious influence. Its judi- cial function embraced trials for murder and manslaughter, and was the oldest and most pecu- liar sphere of its activity. The indictment was brought by the second or king-archon, whose duties were for the most part of a religious nature. Then followed the oath of both parties, accompanied by solemn appeals to the gods. After this the accuser and the accused had the option of making a speech, which, however, they were obliged to keep free from all extra- neous matter, as well as from mere I'hetorical ornaments. After the first speech, the accused was permitted to go into voluntary banishment, if he had no reason to expect a favourable issue. Theft, poisonin.g, wounding, incendiarism, and treason, belonged also to this department of jurisdiction in the court of the Areopagus. Its political function consisted in the constant watch which it kept over the legal condition of the state, acting as overseer and guardian of the laws. Its police function also made it a protector AKETAS 91 and upholder of the institutions and laws. In this character the Areopagus had jurisdiction over novelties in religion, in worship, in cus- toms, in everything that departed from the tra- ditionary and established usages and modes of thought, which a regard to their ancestors i endeared to the nation. The members of tlie ! court had a right to take oversight of festive meetings in private houses. In ancient times they fixed the number of the guests, and deter- mined the style of the entertainment. If a person had no obvious means of subsisting, or was known to live in idleness, he was liable to an action before the Areopagus ; if condemned three times, he was punished with the loss of his civil rights. In later times the court pos- sessed the right of giving permission to teachers (philosophers and rhetoricians) to establish them- selves and pursue their profession in the city. Its strictly religious jurisdiction extended itself over the public creed, worship, and sacri- fices, embracing generally everything which could come under the denomination of sacred things* It was its special duty to see that the religion of the state was kept pure fiom all foreign elements. The accusation of impiety — the vagueness of which admitted almost any charge connected with religious innovations — belonged in a special manner to this tribunal. The freethinking poet Euripides stood in fear of, and was restrained by, the Areopagus. Its pro- ceeding in such cases was sometimes rather of an admonitory than punitive character. Not less influential was its moral and educa- tional power. Isocrates speaks of the care which it took of good manners and good order. Quin- tilian relates that the Areopagus condemned a boy for plucking out the eyes of a quail— a pro- ceeding which has been both misunderstood and misrepresented, but which its original narrator approved, assigning no insufficient reason, namely, that the act was a sign of a cruel disposition, likely in advanced life to lead to baneful actions. The court exercised a salutary influence in gene- ral over the Athenian youth, their educators and their education. Its financial position is not well understood ; most probably it varied more than any other part of its administration with the changes which the constitution of the city underwent. It may suffice to mention, that ui the Persian war the Areopagus had the merit of completing the number of men required for the fleet, by paying eight drachmae to each. ARE'TAS, the common name of several Arabian kings. 1 . The first of whom we have any notice was a contemporary of the Jewish high-priest Jason and of Antiochus Epiphaues about B.C. 170 (2 Mace. v. 8). 2. Josephus men- tions an Aretas, king of the Arabians contem- porary with Alexander Jannaeus (died B.C. 79) and his sons. After defeating Antiochus Dio- nysus, he reigned over Ccele-Syria, ' being called to the government by those that held Damascus by reason of the hatred they bore to Ptolemy Menna;us.' He took part with Hyrcanus in his contest for the sovereignty with his brother Aristobulus, and laid siege to Jerusalem, but, on the approach of the Roman general Scaurus, he retreated to Philadelphia. Hyrcanus and Aretas were pursued and defeated by Aristobulus, at 92 ARIMATHEA a place called Papyron, and lost above GOOD men. Three or four years after, Scaurus, to whom Pompey had committed the government of Ccele-Syria, invaded Petraja, but findmg it difficult to obtain provisions for his army, he consented to withdraw on the otFer of 3U0 talents from Aretas. 3. Aretas, whose name was ori- ginally iEneas, succeeded Obodas. He M-as the father-in-law of Herod Antipas. The latter made proposals of marriage to the wife ot his half-brother Herod-Philip, Herodias, the daughter of Aristobulus their brother, and the sister ot Agrippa the Great. In consequence of this, the dauRhter of Aretas returned to her lather, and a war (which had been fomented by previous dis- putes about the limits of their respective countries) ensued between Aretas and Herod. The army of the latter was totally destroyed, and on his sending an account of his disaster to Rome, the emperor immediately ordered Vitellius to bring Aretas prisoner alive, or, if dead, to send his head. But while Vitellius was on his march to Petra, news arrived of the death of Tiberius, upon which, after administering the oath of alle- giance to his troops, he dismissed them to winter- quarters and returned to Rome. It must have been at this juncture that Aretas took possession of Damascus, and placed a governor in it with a garrison. For a knowledge of this fact we are indebted to the apostle Paul. AR'GOB, a district in Bashan, east of the Lake of Gennesareth, which was given to the half- t."ibe of Manasseh (Deut. iii. 4, 13 ; 1 Kings iv. 13.^ 1 . A'RIEL, a word meaning ' lion of God,' and correctly enough rendered by 'lion-like,' in •2 Sara, xxiii. 20 ; 1 Chron. xi. 22. It was ap- plied as an epithet of distinction to bold and war- like persons, as among the Arabians, who sur- named Ali ' The Lion of God.' 2. ARIEL. The same word is used as a local proper name in Isa. xxix. 1, 2, applied to Jeru- salem—' as victorious under God ' — says Dr. Lee ; and in Ezek. xliii. 15, IG, to the altar of burnt- offerings. ARIM ATHE'A, the birth-place of the wealthy Joseph, in whose sepulchre our Lord was laid (Matt, xxvii. 57 ; John xix. 38). The Arimathea of Joseph is generally regarded as the same place as the Kamathaim of Samuel, which stood near Lydda or Diospolis. Hence it has by some been identified with the existing Ramleh. Ramleh is in N. lat. 3P 59', and E. long, 35° 28', 8 miles S.E. from Joppa, and 24 miles N.W. by W. from Jerusalem. It lies in the fine undulating plain of Sharon, upon the eastern side of a broad low swell rising from a fertile though sandy plain. Like Gaza and Jaffa, this town is surrounded by olive-groves and gardens of vegetables and delicious fruits. Occasional ARIMATHEA palm-trees are also seen, as well as the kharob and the sycamore. The streets arc few; tlio houses are of stone, and many of them large and well built. There are five mosques, two or more of which are said to have once been Christian churches ; and there is here one of the largest Latin convents in Palestine. The place is supposed to contain about 3000 inhabitants, of whom two-thirds are Moslems, and the rest Christians, chiefly of the Greek church, with a few Armenians. The inhabitants carry on some trade in cotton and soap. The great caravan- road between Egypt and Damascus, Smyrna, and Constantinople passes through Ramleh. as well as the most frequented road for Euroyrean pilgrims and travellers between Joppa and Jeru- salem. The isolated tower, of which a figure is here given, is the most conspicuous object m or about the city. It is about 120 feet in height, ARITHMETIC of Saracenic architecture, square, and built ■with well-hewn stone. According to the Moslem ac- count it belonged to a ruined mosque. It bears the date 718 a.h. (a.d. 1310), and an Arabian author reports the completion at Eamleh, in that year, of a minaret unique for its loftiness and grandeur, by the sultan of Egypt, Nazir Mo- hammed ibn Kelawan. Among tlie plantations ! which surround the town occur, at every step, dry wells, cisterns fallen in, and vast vaulted reservoirs, which show that the city must in former times have been upwards of a league and a half in extent. ARISTAR'CHUS, a faithful adherent of St. Paul, whose name repeatedly occurs in the Acts and Epistles (Acts xix. 29 ; xx. 4 ; xxvii. 2 ; Col. iv. 10; Philem. 24). He was a native of Thcssalonica, and became the companion of St. Paul, whom he accompanied to Ephesus, where he was seized and nearly killed in the tumult raised by the silversmiths. He left that city with the Apostle, and accompanied him in his subsequent journeys, even when taken as a pri- soner to Rome : indeed, Aristarchus ■yas himself sent thither as a prisoner, or became ouch while there, for Paul calls him his ' fellow-prisoner ' (Col. iv. 10). The traditions of the Greek church represent Aristarchus as bishop of Apamea in Phrygia. AlilSTOBU'LUS, a person named by Paul in Rom. xvi. 10, where he sends salutations to his household. He is not himself saluted ; hence he may not have been a believer, or he may have been absent or dead. Nothing certain is known respecting him. Aristobulus is a Greek name, adopted by the Romans, and in very common use among them. It was also adopted by the Jews, and was borne by several persons in the Maccabsean and Hero- dian families mentioned by Josephus and in the books of Maccabees. ARITHMETIC, the science of numbers or reckoning, was unquestionably practised as an art in the dawn of civilization. In the absence of positive information we seem authorized in referring the first knowledge of arithmetic to the East. From India, Chaldaa, Phoenicia, and Egypt, the science passed to the Greeks, who ex- tended its laws, improved its processes, and widened its sphere. To what extent the Ori- entals carried their acquaintance with arithmetic cannot be determined. The greatest discovery in this department of the mathematics, namely, the establishment of our system of ciphers, be- longs undoubtedly not to Arabia, as is generally supposed, but to the remote East, probably India. Our numerals were made known to these western parts by the Arabians, who, though they were nothing more than the medium of transmis- sion, have enjoyed the honour of giving them their name. The Hebrews were not a scientific, but a reli- gious and practical nation. What they borrowed from others of the arts of life thoy used without .surrounding it with theory or expanding and framing it into a system. Of their knowledge of arithmetic little is known beyond what may be fairly inferred from the pursuits and trades which they carried on, for the successful prose- cution of which some skill at least in its simpler processes must have been absolutely necessary ; ARK, NOAH'S 93 and the large amounts which appear here and there in the sacred books serve to show that their acquaintance with the art of reckoning was con- siderable. Even in fractions they were not in- experienced. For figures, the Jews, after the Babylonish exile, made use of the letters of the alphabet ; and it is not unlikely that the ancient Hebrews did the same. ARK, NOAH'S (Gen. vi. 14). Vast labour and much ingenuity have been employed by various writers, in the attempt to determine tlie form of Noah's ark and the arrangement of its parts. The success has not been equal to the exertion ; for) on comparing the few simple facts in the Scripture narrative, every one feels how slight positive data there are for the minute de- scriptions and elaborate representations whicli such writers have given. That form of the ark which repeated pictorial representations have rendered familiar — a kind of house in a kind of boat — lias not only no foundation in Scripture, but is contrary to reason. The form thus given to it is fitted for progression and for cutting tiie waves ; whereas the ark of Noali was really des- tined to float idly upon the waters, without any other motion than that which it received from them. If we examine the passage in Gen. vi. 14-16, we can only draw from it the conclusion that the ark was not a boat or ship, but a build- ing in the form of a parallelogram, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high. So far as the name affords any evidence, it also goes to show that the ark of Noah was not a regu- larly-built vessel, but merely intended to float at large upon the Avaters. We may, therefore, pro- bably with justice, regard it as a large, oblong, floating house, with a roof either flat or only slightly inclined. It was constructed with three stories, and had a door in the side. There is no mention of windows in the side, but above, i. e. probably in the flat roof, where Noah was com- manded to make them of a cubit in size (Gen. vi. 16). The purpose of this ark was, to preserve cer- tain persons and animals from the Deluge with which God intended to overwhelm the land, in punishment for man's iniquities. The persons were eight — Noah and his wife, with his three sons and their wives (Gen. vii. 7 ; 2 Pet. ii. 5). The animals were, one pair of every ' unclean ' animal, and seven pairs of all that were ' clean.' By ' clean,' we understand fit, and by ' unclean,' unfit for food or for sacrifice. Of birds there were seven pairs (Gen. vii. 2, 3). Those who have written professedly and largely on the sub- ject, have been at great pains to provide for all the existing species of animals in the ark of Noah, showing how they might be disti'ibuted, fed, and otherwise provided for. But they are very far from having cleared the matter of all its difficulties ; which are much greater than they, in their general ignorance of natural his- tory, were aware of. These difficulties, how- ever, chiefly arise from the assumption that the species of all the earth were collected in the ark. The number of such species has been vastly under-rated by these writers — partly from igno- rance, and partly from the desire to limit the number for which they imagined they required to provide. They have usually satisfied them- selves with a provision for three or four hundred 94 ARK, NOVH'S species at most ' But of the existing mam- malia,' says Dr. J. Pye Smith, 'considerably more than one thousand species are known ; of birds, fully five thousand ; of reptiles, very few kinds of which can live in water, two thousand ; and the researches of travellers and naturalists are making frequent and most interesting addi- tions to the number of these and all other classes. Of insects (using the word in the popular sense) the number of species is immense ; to say one hundred thousand would be moderate : each has its appropriate habitation and food, and these are necessary to its life ; and the larger number could not live in water. Also the innumerable millions upon millions of animalcules must be provided for ; for they have all their appropriate and diversified places and circumstancfis of ex- istence.' Nor do these numbers form the only difficulty ; for, as the same writer observes : — ' All land animals have their geographical re- gions, to wliich their constitutional natures are congenial, and many could not live in any other situation. We cannot represent to ourselves the idea of their being brought into one small spot, from the polar regions, the torrid zone, and all the other climates of Asia, Africa, Europe, America, Australia, and the thousands of islands, their preservation and provision, and the final disposal of them, without bringing up the idea of miracles more stupendous than any which are recorded in Scripture.' The difficulty of assembling in one spot, and of providing for in the ark, the various mam- malia and birds alone, even without including the otherwise essential provision for reptiles, insects, and fishes, is quite sufiicient to suggest some error in the current belief. We are to consider the difi'erent kinds of accommodation and food which would be required for animals of such different habits and climates, and the necessary provision for ventilation and for cleansing the stables or dens. And if so much ingenuity has been required in devising an-ange- ments for the comparatively small number of species which the writers on the ark have been willing to admit into it ; what provision can be made for the immensely larger number which, under the supposed conditions, would really have required its shelter ? There seems no way of meeting these diffi- culties but by adopting the suggestion of Bishop Stillingfleet, approved by Matthew Poole, Dr. J. Pye Smith, Lie Clerc, Rosenmiiller, and others, namely, that as the object of the Deluge was to sweep man from the earth, it did not extend beyond that region of the earth which man then inhabited, and that only the animals of that region were preserved in the ark. The bishop expresses his belief that the Flood was universal as to mankind, and that all men, except those preserved in the ark, were destroyed; but he sees no evidence from Scripture that the whole earth was then inhabited ; he does not think that it can ever be proved to have been so ; and he asks, what reason there can be to extend the Flood beyond the occasion of it ? [Deluge.] As Noah was the progenitor of all the nations of the earth, and as the ark was the second cradle of the human race, we might expect to find in all nations traditions and reports more or less distinct respecting him, the ark in which he was i ARK, NOAH'S saved, and the Deluge in general. Accordingly no nation is known in which such traditions have not been found. Our present concern, however, is only with the ark. And as it ap- pears that an ark, that is, a boat or chest, was carried about with great ceremony in most of the ancient mysteries, and occupied an eminent sta- tion in the holy places, it has with much reason been concluded that this was originally intended to represent the ark of Noah, which eventually came to be regarded with superstitious reverence. On this point the historical and mythological testimonies are very clear and conclusive. The tradition of a deluge, by which the race of man was swept from the face of the earth, has been traced among the Chaldseans, Egyptians, Phoe- nicians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Druids, Chinese, Hindoos, Burmese, Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians, Nicaraguans, the inhabitants of Western Caledonia, and the islanders of the Pacific ; and among most of them also the belief has prevailed that certain individuals were preserved in an ark, ship, boat, or raft, to replenish the desolated earth with in- habitants. These traditions, moreover, are cor- roborated by coins and monuments of stone. Of the latter there are the sculptures of Egypt and of India ; and it is not unlikely that those of the monuments called Druidical, which bear the name of kist-vaens, and in which the stones are disposed in the form of a chest or house, were in- tended as memorials of the ark. ARK OF THE COVENANT With regard to the evidence furnished by coins, we shall confine our illustrations to the two famous medals of Apamea. These medals belong, the one to the elder Philip, and the other to Pertinax. In the former it is extremely in- teresting to observe that on the front of the ark is the name of Noah, in Greek characters. The designs on these medals correspond remarkably, although the legends somewhat vary. In both we perceive the ark floating on the water, con- taining the patriarch and his wife, the dove on wing, the olive-branch, and the raven perched on the ark. These medals also represent Noah and his wife on terra firma, in the attitude of render- ing thanks for their safety. The genuineness of these medals has been established beyond all question, and the coincidences which they offer are at least exceedingly curious. ARK OF THE COVENANT. The word here used for ark is, as already explained, dif- ferent ft-om that which is applied to the ark of Noah. It is the common name for a chest or coffer, whether applied to the ark in the taber- nacle, to a coffin, to a mummy-chest (Gen. 1. 26), or to a chest for money (2 Kings xii. 9, 10). Our word ark has the same meaning, being derived from the Latin area, a chest. The distinction between aron and the present word has already been suggested. The sacred chest is distinguished ii-om others as the 'ark of God' (1 Sam. iii. 3) ; ' ark of the covenant ' (Josh. iii. 6) ; and ' ark of the law ' (Exod. xxv. 22). This ark was a kind of chest, of an oblong shape, made of shittim (acacia) wood, a cubit and a half broad and high, two cubits long, and covered on all sides with the purest gold. It was ornamented on its upper surface with a border or rim of gold; and on each of the two sides, at equal distances from the top, were two gold rings, in which were placed (to remain there perpetually) the gold- covered poles by which the ark was carried, and which continued with it after it was deposited in the tabernacle. The lid or cover of the ark was of the same length and breadth, and made of the purest gold. Over it, at the two extremities, were two cherubim, with their faces turned towards each other, and inclined a little towards the lid (otherwise called the merer/seat). Their wings, which were spread out over the top of the ark, formed the throne of God, the King of Israel, while the ark itself was his footstool (Exod. xxv. lU-22 ; xxxvii. 1-9). This ark was the most sacred object among the Israelites : it was deposited in the innermost and holiest part of the tabernacle, called ' the holy of holies ' (and afterwards in the correspond- ing apartment of the Temple), where it stood so that one end of each of the poles by which it was carried (which were drawn out so tar as to allow the ark to be placed against the back wall), touched the veil which separated the two apart- ments of the tabernacle (1 Kings viii. 8). In the ark were deposited the tal)les of the law (Exod. xxv. 16). A quantity of manna was laid up beside the ark in a vase of gold (Exod. xvi. 32, 36 ; 1 Kings viii. 9) ; as were also the rod of Aaron (Num. xvii. 10), and a copy of the book of the law (Dent. xxxi. 26). Nothing is more appai-ent throughout the his- torical Scriptures than the extren'e sanctity which attached to the ark, as the material sym- ARKITES 35 bol of the Divine presence. During the marches of the Israelites it was covered with a purple pall, and borne by tlie priests, with great reve- rence and care, in advance of the host (Num. iv. 5, 6 ; X. 33). It was before the ark, thus in ad- vance, that the waters of the Jordan separated ; and it remained in the bed of the river, with the attendant priests, until the whole host had passed over ; and no sooner was it also brought up than the waters resumed their course (Josh. iii. ; iv. 7, 10, 11, 17, 18). The ark Avas similarly con- spicuous in the grard procession round Jericho (Josh. vi. 4, 6, 8, 11, 12). It is not wonderful therefore that the neighbouring nations, who had no notion of spiritual worship, looked upon it as the God of the Israelites (I Sam. iv. H, 7), a de- lusion which may have been strengthened by the figures of the cherubim on it. After the set- tlement of tlie Jews in Palestine, the ark re- mained in the tabernacle at Shiloh, until, in the time of Eli, it was carried along with the army in the war against the Philistines, under the superstitious notion that it would secure the vic- tory to the Hebrews. They were, however, not only beaten, but the ark itself was taken by the Philistines (1 Sam. iv. 3-11), whose triumph was, however, very short lived, as they were so op- pressed hy the hand of God, that, after seven months, they were glad to send it back again ( 1 Sam. V. 7). After that it remained apart from the tabernacle, at Kirjath-jearim (vii. 1, 2), where it continued until the time of David, who purposed to remove it to Jerusalem ; but the old prescribed mode of removing it from place to place was so much neglected as to cause the death of Uzzah, in consequence of which it was left in the house of Obededom (2 Sam. vi. 1-11); but after three months David took courage, and succeeded in effecting its safe removal, in grand procession, to Mount Zion (ver. 12-19). When the Temple of Solomon was completed, the ark was deposited in the sanctiiary (1 Kings viii. 6-9). The passage in 2 Chron. xxxv. 3, in which Josiah directs the Levites to restore the ark to the holy place, is understood by some to imply that it had either been removed by Anion, who put an idol in its place, Avhich is assumed to have been the ' trespass ' of Avhich he is said to have been guilty (2 Chron. xxxiii. 23) ; or that the priests themselves had withdrawn it during idolatrous times, and preserved it in some secret place, or had removed it from one place to another. But it seems more likely that it had been taken from the holy of holies during the purification and re- pairs of the temple by this same Josiah, and that he, in this passage, merely directs it to be again set in its place. What became of the ark when the Temple was plundered and destroyed by tlie Babylonians is not known, and all conjecture is useless. It is certain, however, from the con- sent of all the Jewish writers, that the old ark was not contained in the second temple, and there is no evidence that any new one was made. Indeed the absence of the ark is one of the im- portant particulars in which this temple was held to be inferior to that of Solomon. The most holy place is therefore generally considered to have been empty in the second temple. A RK'ITES, tlie inhabitants of Arka, mentioned in Gen. x. 17 ; 1 Chron. i. 1.5, as descended from the PhoEuician or Sidonian branch of the great 96 ARMENIA ARMENIA family of Canaan. This, in fact, as well as the other small northern states of Phoenicia, was a colony from the great parent state of Sidon. Arka, or Acra, their chief town, lay between Tripolis and Antaradus, at the western base of Lebanon, 32 R. miles from Antaradus, and 18 miles from Tripoli. Burckhardt, in travelling from the north-east of Lebanon to Tripoli, at the distance of about four miles south of the Nahr- el-keber (Eleutherus), came to a hill called Tel- Arka, which, from its regularly flattened conical form and smooth sides, appeared to be artificial. Upon an elevation on its east and south sides, which commands a beautiful view over the plain, the sea, and the Anzeyry mountains, are large and extensive heaps of rubbish, traces of ancient dwellings, blocks of hewn stone, remains of walls, and fragments of granite columns. These are no doubt the remains of Arka ; and the hill was probably the acropolis or citadel, or the site of a temple. ARM. This word is frequently used in Scrip- ture in a metaphorical sense to denote power. Hence, to ' break the arm ' is to diminish or destroy the power (Ps. x. 15; Ezek. xxx. 21; Jer. xlviii. 2.5). It is also employed to denote the infinite power of God (Ps. Ixxxix. 13 ; xlviii. 2; Isa. liii. 1 ; John xii. 38). In a few places the metaphor is, with great force, extended to the action of the arm, as :— ' I will redeem you with a stretched out arm ' (Exod. vi. 5), that is, with a power fully exerted. The figure is here taken from the attitude of ancient warriors baring and outstretching the arm for fight. Thus in Isa. lii. 10, ' Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations.' ARMAGED'DON, properly ' the mountain of • Megiddo,' a city on the west of the river Jordan, rebuilt by Solomon (1 Kings ix. 15). Both Ahaziah and Josias died there. In the mystical language of prophecy, the word mountain repre- sents the Church, and the events which took place at Megiddo are supposed to have had a typical reference to the sorrows and triumphs of the people of God under the Gospel. ' In that day,' says Zechariah, xii. 11, 'shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon;' referring to the death of Josias. But the same spot witnessed, at an earlier period, the greatest triumph of Israel, when ' fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo ' (Judg. V. 19). ' He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armaged- don,' is the langiiage of the Apocalypse ; and the word has been translated by some as ' the moun- tain of destruction,' by others as ' the mountain of the gospel;' many ingenious speculations having been employed on the passage in which it occurs, but with little satisfaction to the more sober readers of divine revelation. ARME'NIA, a country of Western Asia, is not mentioned in Scripture Under that name, but is supposed to be alluded to in the three following Hebrew designations, which seem to refer either to the country as a whole, or to particular dis- tricts. I. Ararat, the land upon (or over) the mountains of which the ark rested at the Deluge (Gen. viii. 4) ; whither tlie sons of Sennacherib fled after murdering their father (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38) ; and one of the ' kingdoms ' summoned, along with Minni and Ashkenaz, to arm against Babylon (Jer. li. 27). II. Minni is mentioned in Jer. li. 27, along with Ararat and Ashkenaz, as a kingdom called to arm itself against Babylon. The name is by some taken for a contraction of ' Armenia.' III. Tliogarmah, mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel xxvii. 14; xxxviii. 6. The boundaries of Armenia may be described generally as the southern range of the Caucasus on the north, and a branch of the Taurus on the south. It forms an elevated table-land, whence rise mountains which (with the exception of the gigantic Ararat) are of moderate height. The climate is generally cold, but salubrious. The country abounds in romantic forest and moun- tain scenerj-, and rich pasture-land, especially in the districts which border upon Persia. Ancient writers notice the wealth of Armenia in metals and precious stones. The great rivers Euphrates and Tigris both take their rise in this region, as also the Araxes, and the Kur or Cyrus. Armenia is commonly divided into Greater and Lesser, the line of separation being the Euphrates; but the former constitutes by far the larger portion, and indeed the other is often regarded as per- taining rather to Asia Minor. 'There was an- ciently a kingdom of Armenia, with its metropolis Artaxata: it was sometimes an independent state, but most commonly tributary to some more pow- erful neighbour. Indeed at no period was the whole of this region ever comprised under one government, but Assyria, Media, Syria, and Cap- padocia shared the dominion or allegiance of some portion of it, just as it is now divided among the Persians, Russians, Turks, and Kurds. In later times Armenia was the border-country where the Romans and Parthians fruitlessly strove for the mastery; and since then it has been the frequent battle-field of the neighbouring states. Towards the end of the last war between Russia and Turkey, large bodies of native Ar- menians emigrated into the Russian dominions, so that their number in what is termed Turkish Armenia is now considerably reduced. By the treaty of Turkomanshee (2 1st Feb. 1828) Persia ceded to Russia the Khauats of Erivan and Nakhshivan. The boundary-line (drawn from the Turkish dominions) passes over the Little Ararat ; the line of separation between Persian and Turkish Armenia also begins at Ararat ; so that this famous mountain is now the central boundary -stone of these three empires. Christianity was first established in Armenia in the fourth century ; the Armenian church has a close affinity to the Greek church in its forms and polity ; it is described by the American mis- sionaries who are settled in the country as in a state of great corruption and debasement. The total number of the Armenian nation throughout the world is supposed not to exceed 2,000,000. Their favourite pursuit is commerce, and their merchants are found in all parts of the East. The Armenian or Haikan language, notwith- standing the great antiquity of the nation to which it belongs, possesses no literary documents prior to the fifth century of the Christian era. The translation of the Bible, begun by Miesrob in the year 410, is the earliest monument of the language that has come down to us. The dialect in which this version is written, and in which it ARMS, ARMOUR is still publicly read in their churches, is called the old Armenian. The dialect now in use the modern Armenian — in which they preach and carry on the intercourse of daily life, not only departs from the elder form by dialectual changes in the native elements of the language itsr^lf, but also by the great intermixture of Persian and Turkish words which has resulted from the conquest and subjection of the country. It is, perhaps, this diversity of the ancient and modern idioms which has given rise to the many conflicting opinions that exist as to the relation in whicJi the Armenian stands to other languages. As to form, it is said to be rough and full of consonants ; to possess ten. cases in the noun — a number Avhich is only exceeded by the Finnish ; to have no dual ; to have no mode of denoting gender in the noun by change of form ; to bear a remarkable resemblance to Greek in the use of the participle, and in the whole syntactical structure; and to have adopted the Arabian system of metre. ARMLET. Although this word has the same meaning as bracelet, yet the latter is practically so exclusively used to denote the ornament of the wrist, that it seems proper to distinguish by armlet the similar ornament which is worn on the upper arm. There is also this difference between them, that in the East bracelets are generally worn by women, and armlets only by men. The ai-mlet, however, is in u men only as one of the insignia of sovereign power. The Egyptian kings are represented with armlets, which were also worn by the Egyptian women. These, however, are not jewelled, but of plain or enamelled metal, as was iu all likelihood the case among the Hebrews. ARMS, ARMOUR. In order to give a clear view of this subject, we shall endeavour to show succinctly, and from the best authorities now available, what were the weapons, both offensive and defensive, used by the ancient Asiatics. The instruments at first employed in the chace, or to repel wild beasts, but converted by the wicked to the destruction of their fellow-men, or used by the peaceable to oppose aggression, were naturally the most simple. Amou^ these were the club and the throwing-bat. The first con- sisted originally of a heavy piece of wood, variously shaped, made to strike with, and, ac- cording to its form, denominated a mace, a bar, a harjiuer, or a maul. This weapon was in use among the Hebrews ; for, in the time of the sings, wood had already been superseded by metal ; and the rod of iron (Ps. ii. 9) is supposed to mean a mace, or gavelock, or crowbar. It is an insti'ument of great power when used by a ARMS, ARMOUR 97 strong arm. The throwstick, made of thorn- wood, is the same instrument which we see A-^\-6-iU^ 2, 3. Clubs. 5. Crooked Billets, or throwing-bats. Mace. 8. Hardwood Sword. 9. Sharks-teeth Sword. 10 Flint .Sword. 1 1 . Saw-fish Sword. 1?, 13. Egyptian Battle-axes. figured on Egyptian monuments. By the native Arabs it is still called lissan, and was anciently known among us by the name of crooked billet. These instruments, supplied with a sharp edge, | would naturally constitute a battle-axe, and a | kind of sword ; and such in the rudest ages we ' find them, made with flints set into a groove, or with sharks' teeth firmly secured to the staff with twisted sinews. On the earliest monuments of Egypt, for these ruder instruments is already seen substituted a piece of metal with a steel or bronze blade fastened into a globe, thus forming a falchion-axe ; and also a lunate-blade, riveted in three places to the handle, forming a true I battle-axe ; and there were, besides, true bills or axes in form like our own. Next came the dirk or poniard, the Hebrew name of which may possibly retain some allusion to the original instrument made of the antelope's horn, merely sharpened, which is still used in every part of the East where the material can be procured. From existing figures, the dirk ap- pears to have been early made of metal in Egypt, and worn stuck in a girdle ; but, from several texts (1 Sam xvii. 39; 2 Sam. xx. 8; and 1 Kings xx. 11), it is evident that the real ARMS, AllMOUU ARMS, ARMOUR sword was slung in a belt, and that ' girding ' and ' loosing the sword ' were synonymous terms 1. Horn Bairger. 4,5. Tulwar Swords. 2, 3. Swords. 6. Quarter-pike. for commencing and ending a war. The blades were, it seems, always short; and the dirk- sword, at least, was always double-edged. The sheath was ornamented and polished. In Egypt there were larger and heavier swords, more nearly like modern tulwars, and of the form of an English round-pointed table-knife. But while inctal was scarce, there were also swords which might be called quarter-pikes, being composed of a very short wooden handle, surmounted by a spear-head. In Nubia, swords of heavy wood are still in use. r^ ^^ 54. 1, 2. Spear-heads. 3, 4. Darts. 5. Oryx horn spear-liead. The spear was another offensive weapon common to all the nations of antiquity, and was of various size, weight, and length. Probably the shepherd Hebrews, like nations similarly situated in northern Africa, anciently made use of the horn of an oryx, or a leucoryx, above three feet long, straightened in water, and sheathed upon a thorn-wood staff. When sharp- ened, this instrument would penetrate the hide of a bull, and, according to Strabo, even of an elephant: it was light, very difficult to break, resisted the blow of a battle-axe, and the animals which furnished it were abundant in Arabia and in the desert east of Palestine. At a later period, the head was of brass, and afterwards of iron. Very ponderous weapons of this kind were often used in Egypt by the heavy infanti-y ; and, from various circumstances, it may be inferred that among the Hebrews and their immediate neigh- bours, commanders in particular were distin- guished by heavy spears. Among these were generally ranked the most valiant in fight and the largest in stature ; such as Goliath, ' whose spear was like a weaver's beam ' (1 Sam. xvii. 7), and whose spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron ; which by some is asserted to be equal to twenty-five pounds weight. The si)ear had a point of metal at the but-end to fix it iu the ground, perhaps with the same massy globe above it, which is still in use, intended to counter- balance the point. It was with this fcrrel that Abner slew Asahel (2 Sam. ii. 22, 23). The javelins appear to have had different forms. In most nations of antiquity the infantry, not bearing a spear, carried two darts, those lightly armed using both for long casts, and the heavy-armed only one for that purpose ; the second, more ponderous than the other, being re- served for throwing when close to the enemy, or for handling in the manner of a spear. While on the subject of the javelin, it may be remarked that, by the act of casting one at David (1 Sam. xix. 9, 10), Saul virtually absolved him from his allegiance ; for by the customs of ancient Asia, preserved in the usages of the Teutonic and other nations, the custom of the East Franks, &c., to throw a dart at a freedman, who escaped from it by flight, was the demonstrative token of manumission given by his lord or master; he was thereby sent out of hand, manumissus, well expressed in the old English phrase ' scot-free.' But for this act of Saul, David might have been viewed as a rebel. ^...Mmmw^ . 1, 2, 3, 4. Bows. , G. Quivers. But the chief offensive weapon in Egypt, and, from the nature of the country, it may be in- ferred, in Palestine also, was the war-bow. From the simple implements used by the first hunters, consisting merely of an elastic reed, a branch of a tree, or rib of palm, the bow became in th? ARMS, AEMOUR 30urse of time ver^' strong and tall, was made of brass, of wood backed with horn, or of horn entirely, and even of ivory ; some being shaped like the common English bow, and others, par- ticularly those used by riding nations, like the buftiilo horn. There were various modes of bending this instrument, by pressure of the knee, or by the foot treading the bow, or by setting one end against the foot, drawing the middle with the hand of the same side towards the hip, and pushing the upper point forAvard with the second hand, till the thumb passed the loop of the string beyond the nock. The horned bows of the cavalry, shaped like those of the Chinese, occur on monuments of antiquity. This was the Parthian bow, as is proved by several Persian bas-reliefs, and may have been in use in the time of the Elamites, who were a mounted people. These bows were carried in cases to protect the string, which was composed of deer sinews, from injury, and were slung on the right hip of the rider, except when on the point of engaging. Then the string was often cast over the head, and the bow hung upon the breast, with the two nocks above each shoulder, like a pair of horns. The arrows were likewise enclosed in a case or quiver, hung sometimes on the shoulder, and at other times on the left side ; and six or eight flight-arrows were commonly stuck in the edge of the cap, ready to be pulled out and put to the string. The infantry always carried the arrows in a quiver on the right shoulder, and the bow was kept unbent until the moment of action. On a march it Avas carried on the shield arm, where there was frequently also a horn bracer secured below the elbow to receive the shock from the string when au an-ow was discharged. The flight or long-range arrows were commonly of reed, not always feathered, and mostly tipped with flint poiuts ;_ but the shot or aimed arrows, used for nearer purposes, were of wood tipped with metal, about 30 inches long, and winged with three lines of feathers, like *hose in modern use : they varied in length at different periods, and according to the substance of the bows. The last missile instrument to be mentioned » the sling (Job xli. 28), an improvement upon [Egyptian Slingers and Sling.] the simple act of throwing stones. It was the favourite weapon of the Benjamites, a small tribe, not making a great mass in an order of ARMS, ARMOUR 99 battle, but well composed for light troops. They could also boast of using the sling equally Avell with the left hand as Avith the right. The sling was niade of plaited thongs, somewhat broad in the middle, to lodge the stone or leaden missile, and was twirled tAvo or three times round before the stone Avas alloAved to take flight. Stones could not be cast above 400 feet, but leaden bullets could be thrown as far as fiOO feet. The force as Avell as precision of aim Avhich might be attained in the use of this instrument was re- markably shown in the case of David; and several nations of antiquity boasted of great skill in the practice of the sling. All these hand-weapons were in use at different periods, not only among the Hebrews and Egyp- tians, but likewise in Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Macedonia. The Roman pilum Avas a kind of dart, distinguished from those of other nations chiefly by its weight, and the great proportional length of the metal or iron part, which consti- tuted one half of the whole, or from two and a half to three feet. Much of this length was hol- low, and received nearly tAventy inches of the shaft within it : the point was never hooked like that of common darts. Defensive Arms. — The most ancient defen- sive piece was the shield, buckler, roundel, or target, composed of a great variety of materials, 1. The Tzenna, or Great Shield. 2. Common Egyptian Shield. 3. Target. 4, 5. Ancient Shields of unitnown very different in form and size. The Hebrews had the word tsemia, a great shield for defence and protection (Gen. xv. 1 ; Ps. xlvii. 9 ; Prov. XXX. 5), which is commonly found in connection with spear, and was the shelter of heavily-armed infantry ; and the ma{iin, a buckler, or smaller shield, which, from a "similar juxtaposition with sword, bow, and arrows, appears to have been the defence of other-armed infantry and of chiefs : a third called sohairah or roundel, may hav(! been appropriated to archers and slingers ; and there were others called shelatim, appareutlv similar to the magin, and only diflering from it in orna- ment. In the more advanced eras of civilization shields were made of liglit wood not liable to split, covered with bull-hide of two or more thicknesses and bordered with metal : the lighter h2 100 AKMS, AUMOUK kinds were made of wicker-work or osier, simi- larly, but less solidly covered ; of double ox-hide cut into a round form. There were others of a single hide, extremely thick from having been boiled ; their surface presented an appearance of many folds, like round waves up and down, which yielded, but could rarely be penetrated. We may infer that at first the Hebrews borrowed the forms in use in Egypt, and had their common shields, a kind of parallelogram, broadest and arched at the top, and cut square beneath, bordered with metal, the surface being covered with raw hide with the hair on. The lighter shields may have been soaked in oil and dried in the shade to make them hard. During the Assyrian and Persian supremacy the Hebrews may have used the square, oblong, and round shields of these na- tions, and may have subsequently copied those of Greece and Rome. The princes of Israel had shields of precious metals : all were managed by a wooden or leathern handle, and often slung by a thong over the neck. The tsenna was most likely what in the feudal ages would have been called a pavise, for such occurs on the Egyptian monuments. This was about five feet high, with a pointed arch above and square below, resem- bling the feudal knight's shield, but that the point was reversed. Shields were hung upon the battlements of walls, and, as still occurs, chiefly above gates of cities by the watch and ward. In time of peace they were covered to preserve them from the sun, and in war uncovered ; this sign was poetically used to denote coming hostilities, as in Isa. xxii. 6, &c. The Helmet was next in consideration, and in the earliest ages was made of osier, or rushes, in the form of a beehive, or of a skull-cap. The skins of the heads of animals — of lions, bears, wild loaiG, bulls, and horses — were likewise adopted. 5. Ciirian. 6, 7. Egyptian. 8. Assyrian. 9. Greek. 0. Ionian. 1. Partliian. 12, 13. Other Asiatic tribes. and were adorned with rows of teeth, manes, and bristles. Wood, linen cloth in many folds, and a kind of felt, were also in early use, and some of them may be observed worn by the nations of Asia at war with the conqueror kings of Egypt, even before the departure of Israel. At that time also these kings had helmets of metal, of rounded or pointed forms. The nations of far- ther Asia used the woollen or braided caps, still retained, and now called kaouk and fez, around ARMS, ARMOUR which the turban is usually wound; but these were almost invariably supplied with long lap- pets to cover the ears and the back of the head, and princes usually wore a radiated crown ou the summit. This was the form of the Syrian, proba])ly of the Assyrian helmets, excepting that the last mentioned were of brass, though they still retained the low cylindrical shape. Some helmet of this kind was worn by the trained in- fantry, who were spearmen among tiie Hebrews ; but archers and slingers had round skull-caps of skins, felts, or quilted stufi's, such as are still in use among the Arabs. Bodij Armour. — The most ancient Persian idols are clad in shagged skius. In Egypt cuirasses Avere manufactured of leather, of brass, and of a succession of iron hoops, chiefly covering the abdomen and the shoulders ; but a more aucient national form was a kind of thorax, tippet, or square, with an opening for the head in it, the four points covering the breast, back, and both upper arms. This was afiected in particular by the royal band of relatives who surrounded the Pharaoh, were his subordinate commanders, mes- sengers, and body-guards, bearing liis standards, ensign-fans, and sun-screens, his portable throne, his bow and arrows. Beneath this square was another piece, protecting the trunk of the body, and both were in general covered with a red- coloured cloth or stuff. On the oldest fictile vases a shoulder-piece likewise occurs, worn by Greek and Etruscan warriors. It covers the upper edge of the body armour, is perforated in the middle for the head to pass, but hangs equal on the breast and back, square on the shoulders, and is evidently of leather. By the use of metal lor defensive armour, the Carians appear to have created astonishment among the Egyptians, and therefore to have been the first nation so pro- VtfrV ■ytirrtiTJTiiMAV :f,rt-|rrr^rHrrl ^jrtrJ-rlrrrtit'itl 1. Egyptian tigulated. 2. Sleeve of ring-mail, Ionian. tectcd in Western Asia; nevertheless, in the tombs of the kings near Thebes, a tigulated hauberk is represented, composed of small three- coloured pieces of metal ; one golden, the others reddish and green. It is this kind of armour which may be meant by the Hebrew word tecliera, the closest interpretation of which ap- pears to be a tiling. In 2 Chron. xviii, 33, Ahab may have been struck in one of the grooves ARMS, ARMOUR or slits in the squares of his techera, or hctween t-n-o of them where they do not overlap ; or per- haps, with more probability, between the metal hoops of the trunk of the tippet before mentioned, where the thorax overlaps the abdomen. The term ' scales,' in the case of Goliath's armour, denotes squamous armour, most likely where the pieces were sewed upon a cloth, and not hinged to each other, as in the techera. The techera could not well be worn without an u-nder-garment of some density to resist the friction of metal; and this was probably the dress which Saul put upon David before he as- sumed the breastplate and girdle. The Cuirass and Corslet were, strictly speak- ing, of prepared leather, but often composed of quilted cloths : the former in general denotes, in antiquity, a suit with leathern appendages at the bottom and at the shoulder, as used by the Romans ; the latter, one in which the barrel did not come down below the hips. In later ages it always designates a breast and back piece of steel. It is, however, requisi'.« to observe, that in estimating the meaning of Hebrew names for armour of all kinds, they are liable to the same laxity of use which all other languages have manifested. The Girdle, or more properly the baldric or belt, was of leather, studded with metal plates or bullx' ; broad when the armour was slight, and then might be girt upon the hips; otherwise it supported the sword scarf-wise from the shoulder. Greaves were likewise known, even so early as the time of David, for Goliath wore them. They consisted of a pair of shin-covers of brass or strong leatlier, bound by thongs round the calves and above the ankles. They reached only to the knees, excepting among the Greeks, ■whose greaves, elastic behind, caught nearly the ARROW 101 whole leg, and were raised in front above the knees. AR'NON, a river forming the southern bound- ary of trans-Jordanic Palestine, and separating it from the land of Moab (Num. xxi. 13, 26; Deut. ii. 24; iii. 8, 16 ; Josh. xii. 1 ; Isa. xvi. 2 • Jer. xlviii. 20). It now bears the name of Wady Modjeb, and rises in the mountains of Gilead. near Katrane, whence it pursues a circuitous course of about eighty miles to the Dead Sea. It flows in a rocky bed, and, at the part visited by Burckhardt, in a channel so deep and precipi- tous as to appear inaccessible; yet along this, winding among huge fragments of rock, lies the most frequented road, and, not being far from Dibon, probably that taken by the Israelites. The stream is almost dried up in summer ; but huge masses of rock, torn from the banks-, and deposited high above the usual channel, evince its fulness and impetuosity in the rainy season. ARO'ER, a town on the north side of the river Arnon, and therefore on the southern border of the territory conquered from the Amorites, which was assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad (Deut. ii. 36 ; Josh. xii. 2 ; xiii. 9). The Amo- rites had previously dispossessed the Ammonites of this territory ; and although in the texts cited the town seems to be given to Reuben, it is men- tioned as a Moabitish city by Jeremiah (xlviii. 19). Burckhardt found the ruins of this town under the name of Araayr, on the edge of a precipice overlooking the river. Aroer is always named in conjunction with ' the city thiit is in the midst of the river ;' whence it has been con- jectured that, like Rabbath Ammon [which tee], it consisted of two parts, or distinct cities ; the one on the bank of the river, and the other iu the valley beneath, surrounded, either naturally or artificially, by the waters of the river. 2. AROER, one of the towns ' built,' or pro- bably rebuilt, by the tribe of Gad (Num. xxxii. 34). Burckhardt, in journeying from Szalt towards Rabbath Ammon, notices a ruined site, called Ayra, as ' one of the towns built by the tribe of Gad.' It is about seven miles south-west from Szalt. Aroer of Gad is also mentioned in Judg. xi. 33, and 2 Sam. xxiv. 5. 3. AROER, a city in the tribe of Judah (1 Sam. XXX. 28). 4. AROER, a city in the south of Judah, to which David sent presents after recovering the spoil of Ziklag (1 Sam. xxx. 26, 28). At the distance of twenty geographical miles S. by W. from Hebron, there is a broad valley called Ararah, in which are evident traces of an ancient village or town. The identity of name shows that this was the Aroer of Judah. AR'PHAD, or Arpad, a Syrian city, having its own king, and always associated in Scripture with Hamath, the Epiphauia of the Greeks (2 Kings xviii. 34; xix. 34; Isa. x. 9 ; xxxvi. 19). But all the explanations given respecting it are purely conjectural, and Arphad must still be numbered among unascertained Scriptural sites. ARPHAX'AD, the son of Shem, and father of Salah ; born one year after the Deluge, and died B.C. 1904, aged 438 years (Gen. xi. 12, &c.). ARROW. This word is frequently used as the symbol of calamities or diseases inflicted by God (Job vi. 4 ; xxxiv. 6 ; Ps. xxxviii. 2 ; Deut xxxii. 23; comp. Ezek. v. 16; Zech- ix. 14). 102 ARVAD ASA Lightnings are, by a very fine figure, described as the an-ows of God (Ps. xviii. 14 ; cxliv. 6 ; Habak. iii. 11 ; comp. Wisd. v. 21 ; 2 Sam. xxii. 15). 'Arrow' is occasionally used to denote some sudden or inevitable danger; as in Ps. xci. 5 : — ' The arrow that flieth by day.' It is also figurative of anything injurious, as a deceit- ful tongue (Ps. cxxix. 4 ; Jer. ix. 7) ; a bitter word (Ps. Ixiv. 3) : a false testimony (Prov. xxv. 18). The arrow is, however, not always sym- bolical of evil. In Ps. cxxvii. 4, 5, well-con- ditioned children are compared to ' arrows in the hands of a mighty man ;' i. e. instruments of power and action. The arrow is also used in a good sense to denote the efficient and irresistible energy of the word of God in the hands of the Messiah (Ps. xlv. 6 ; Isa. xliv. 2). ARROWS. [Arms.] ARROWS, DIVINATION BY. [Divina- tion.] ARTAXERX'ES, Artachshast. The word, which is supposed to mean great king, is the title under which more than one Persian king is men- tioned in the Old Testament. The first Artachshast is mentioned in Ezra iv. 7-24, as the Persian king who, at the insti- gation of the adversaries of the Jews, obstructed the rebuilding of the Temple, from his time to that of Darius, king of Persia. According to the arguments adduced in the article Ahaslerus, this king is the immediate predecessor of Darius Hystaspis, and can be no other than the Magian impostor, Smerdis, who seized on the throne B.C. 521, and was murdered after a usurpation of less than eight months (Herod, iii. 61-78j. As to the second Artachshast, in the seventh year of whose reign Ezra led a second colony of the Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem (Ezra vii. 1, sq.'), the opinions are divided between Xerxes and his son Artaxerxes Longimanus, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at any cer- tain conclusion on the subject. The third Artachshast is the Persian king who, in the twentieth year of his reign, consi- derately allowed Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem for the furtherance of purely national objects, invested him with the government of his own people, and allowed him to remain there for twelve years (Neh. ii. 1, sq. ; v. 14). It is almost unanimously agreed that the king here intended is Artaxerxes Longimanus, who reigned from the year 464 to 42.5 b.c. AR'TEMAS. This name (which is a contrac- tion for Artemidorus) occurs only once (Tit. iii. 12), as that of an esteemed disciple whom St. Paul designed to send into Crete to supply the place of Titus, whom lie invited to visit him at Nicopolis. When the Epistle was written, the Apostle seems not to have decided whether he should send Artemas or Tychicus for this pur- pose. AR'VAD, or, as it might be spelt, Aruad, whence the present name Ruad, a small island and city on the coast of Syria, called by the Greeks Aradus, by which name it is mentioned in 1 Mace. xv. 23. It is a small rocky island, opposite the mouth of the river Eleutherus, to the north of Tripolis, about one mile in circum- ference and two miles from the shore. Strabo describes it as a rock rising in the midst of the waves, and modern travellers state that it is steep on every side. Strabo also describes the houses as exceedingly lofty, and were doubtless so built, on account of the scantiness of the site : hence, for its size, it was exceedingly populous. AR'VADITES (Gen. x. 18; 1 Chron. i. 16), the inhabitants of the island Aradus [Akvad], and doubtless also of the neighbouring coast. The Arvadites were descended from Arvad, one of the sons of Canaan (Gen. x. 18). Strabo de- scribes tlie Arvadites as a colony from Sidon. They were noted mariners (Ezek. xxvii. 8, 11), and formed a distinct state, with a king of their own ; yet they appear to have been in some de- pendence upon Tyre, for the prophet represents them as furnishing their contingent of mariners to that city (Ezek. xxvii. 8, 11). The Arvadites took their full share in the maritime traffic for which the Phoenician nation was celebrated, particularly after Tyre and Sidon had fallen under the dominion of the Graco-Syrian kings. ARU'MAH, otherwise Rdimah, a city near Shechem, where Abimelech encamped (Judg. ix. A'SA (healing or phi/sician), son of Abijah, grandson of Rehoboam, and third king of Judah. He began to reign two years before the death of Jeroboam, in Israel, and he reigned forty-one years, from b.c. 955 to 914. As Asa was very young at his accession, the affairs of the govern- ment were administered by his mother, or, ac- cording to some (comp. 1 Kings xv. 1, 10), his grandmother Maachah, who is understood to have been a granddaughter of Absolom [Maachah]. She gave much encouragement to idolatry ; but the young king, on assuming the reins of govern- ment, zealously rooted out the idolatrous prac- tices which had grown up during his minority and under the preceding reigns ; and only the altars in the ' high places ' were suffered to remain (1 Kings XV. 11-13; 2 Chron. xiv. 2-5). He neglected no human means of putting his kingdom in the best possible military condition, for which ample opportunity was afforded by the peace which he enjoyed in the ten first years of his reign. And his resources were so well organized, and the population had so increased, that he was eventually in a condition to count on the military services of 580,000 men (2 Chron. xiv. 6-8). In the eleventh year of his reign, relying upon the Divine aid, Asa attacked and defeated the nume- rous host of the Cushite king Zerah, who had penetrated through Arabia Petrsea into the vale of Zephathah, with an immense host (2 Chron. xiv. 9-15.) As the triumphant Judahites were re- turning, laden with spoil, to Jerusalem, they were met by the prophet Azariah, who declared this splendid victory to be a consequence of Asa's con- fidence in Jehovah, and exhorted him to perse- verance. Thus encouraged, the king exerted himself to extirpate the remnants of idolatry, and caused the people to renew their covenant with Jehovah (2 Chron. xv. 1-15). It was this clear knowledge of his dependent | olitical posi- tion, as the vice-gerent of Jehovah, which won for Asa the highest prais« that could be given to a Jewish king — that he walked in the steps of his ancestor David (1 Kings xv. 11). Nevertheless, the king failed towards the latter end of his reign to maintain the character he had thus acquired. When Baasha, king of Israel, ASCENSION had renewed the -war between the two kingdoms, and had taken Ramah, which he was proceeding to fortify as a frontier barriei-, Asa, the conqueror of Zerah, was so far wanting to his kingdom and his God as to employ the wealth of the Temple and of the royal treasures to induce the king of Syria (Damascus) to make a diversion in his favour by invading the domjnions of Baasha. By this means he recovered Ramah, indeed ; but his treasures were squandered, and he incurred the rebuke of the prophet Hanani, whom he cast into prison, being, as it seems, both alarmed and enraged at the effect his address was calculated to produce upon the people. Other persons (who had probably manifested their disapprobation) also suffered from his anger (1 Kings xv. lG-22 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 1-10). In the three last years of | his life Asa was afflicted with a grievous ' disease | in his feet ;' and it is mentioned to his reproach 1 that he placed too much confidence in his physi- j cians. At his death, however, it appeared that ! his popularity had not been substantially im- | paired ; for he was honoured with a funeral of unusual cost and magnificence (2 Chron. xvi. 11-14). AS'AHEL (God-created), son of David's sister Zeruiah, and brother of Joab and Abishai. He was noted for his swiftness of foot ; and after the battle at Gibeon he pursued and overtook Abner, who, with gi-eat reluctance, and to preserve his own life, slew him with a backthrust of his spear, B.C. 1055 [AbnebI (2 Sam. ii. 16-23). A'SAPH (assembler), a Levite, son of Barachias (1 Chron. vi. 39 ; xv. 17), eminent as a musician, and appointed by David to preside over the sacred choral services which he organized. The ' sons of Asaph ' are afterwards mentioned as choristers of the temple (1 Chron. xxv. 1, 2 ; 2 Chron. xx. 14; xxix. 13; Ezra ii. 41 : iii. 10; Neh. vii. 44; xi. 22): and this office appears to have been made hereditary in his family (1 Chron. xxv. 1, 2). Asaph was celebrated in after times as a prophet and poet (2 Chron. xxix. 30 ; Neh. xii. 16), and the titles of twelve of the Psalms (Ixxiii. to Ixxxiii.) bear his name. The merits of this : appropriation are elsewhere examined [Psalms], j —There were two other persons named Asaph : \ one who occupied the distinguished post of ' re- | corder' to kingHezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 18 ; Isa. i xxxvi. 3) ; another who was keeper of the royal j forests under Artaxerxes (Neh. ii. 8). | ASCENSION. The event spoken of under ' this title is among those which Christians of every age have contemplated with the most pro- found satisfaction. It was in his ascension that Christ exhibited the perfect triumph of humanity over every antagonist, whether in ! itself, or in the circumstances under which it \ may be supposed to exist. The contemplation of j this, the entrance of the Redeemer into glory, ; inspired the prophets of old with the noblest i views of his kingdom. ' Thou hast ascended on high ; thou hast led captivity captive ; thou hast | received gifts for men ; yea, for the rebellious | also, that the Lord God might dwell among them' (Ps. Ixviii. 18) ; and ' Lift up your heads, i 0 ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting ! doors, and the king of glory shall come in ' (Ps. xxiv. 9). That something of vast importance, in respect to the completion of the great scheme of salvation, was involved in this event, appears ASHDOD 103 from the words of our Lord himself, ' Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I as- cend unto my Father, and your Father ; and to my God and your God' (John xx. 17). Nor was it till this had taken place that he poured out the grace of the Spirit upon his church, or began the higher exercises of his office as a me- diating priest. In the primitive church, the feast of the Ascension, called also by St. Chry- sostom the Assumption of Christ, was considered, like the solemn days of the Nativity and the Passion, as of apostolic origin. St. Chrysostom, in his homily on the subject, calls it an illustrious and refulgent day, and describes the exaltation of Christ as the grand proof of God's reconciliation to mankind. AS'ENATH, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, whom the king of Egypt bestowed in mar- riage upon Joseph, with the view probably of strengthening his position in Egypt by this high connection. The considerations suggested by this marriage belong to another place [Joseph] ; and attention is here only required to the name, which, in common with other words of foreign origin, has attracted considerable notice. The most probable interpretation is that it means worshipper of IVeith — the titular goddess of Sais, the Athene of the Greeks. ASH. The wbrd thus translated occurs only once in Scripture (Isa. xliv. 14), and is variously translated. Some consider pine-tree to be the correct translation, others the rubus or bramble. Celsius quotes from the Arab author, 'Abu 1 Fadli, the description of a tree called aran, which ap- pears well suited to the passage, though it has not yet been ascertained what tree is intended. The aran is saiil to be a tree of Arabia Petrrca, of a thorny nature, inhabiting the valleys, but found also in tlie mountains, where it is however less thorny. The wood is said to be much valued for cleaning the teeth. The fruit is in bunches like small grapes. The berry is noxious while green, and bitter like galls ; as it ripens it becomes red, then black and somewhat sweetish, and when eaten is grateful to the stomach, &c., and seems to act as a stimulant medicine. Sprengel supposes this to be the caper plant To us it appears to agree in some respects with Sal- vadora persica, but not in all points, and there- fore it is preferable to leave it as one of those still requiring investigation by some traveller in Syria conversant both with plants and their Ori- ental names and uses. ASH'DOD, th« AzoTUS of the Greeks and Ro- mans, and so called in 1 Mace. iv. 1 5 ; Acts viii. 40 ; a city on the summit of a grassy hill, near the Mediterranean coast, nearly mid-way between Gaza and Joppa, being 18 geog. miles N. by E. from the former, and 21 S. from the latter; and it is more exactly mid-way between Askelon and Ekron, being lO geog. miles N. by E. from the former, and S. by W. from the latter. Ashdod was a city of the Philistines, and the chief town of one of their five states (Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. 17). It was the seat of the worship of Dagon (1 Sam. V. 5 ; 1 Mace. xi. 4) ; and it was before its shrine in this city that the captured ark was deposited and triumphed over the idol (1 Sam. v. 1-9). Ashdod was assigned to Judah ; but manjr centuries passed before this and the other Phi- 104 ASHER listine tOTms vere subdued [Philistines] ; and it appears never to have been permanently in possession of the Judahites, although it was dis- mantled by Uzziah, who built towns in the terri- tory of Ashdod (1 Chron. xxvi. C). It is men- tioned to the reproach of the Jews returned from captivitj', that they married wives of Ashdod, with the result that the children of these mar- riages spoke a mongrel dialect, half Hebrew and half in the speech of Ashdod (Neh. xiii. 23, 24). These facts indicate the ancient importance of Ashdod. It was indeed a place of great strength ; and being on the usual military route between Syria and Egypt, the possession of it became an object of importance in the wars between Egypt and the great northern powers. Hence it was secured by the Assyrians before invading Egypt (Isa. i. 1, sq.) ; and at a later date it was taken by Psammetichus, after a siege of twenty-nine years, being the longest siege on record. The destruction of Ashdod was foretold by the pro- phets (Jer. XXV. 20 ; Amos i. 8 ; iii. 9 ; Zeph. ii. 4 ; Zach. ix. 6) ; and was accomplished by the Maccabees (1 Mace. v. 68: x. 77-84; xi. 4). It was, however, rebuilt, and was included in the dominion of Herod the Great, who bequeathed it, with two other towns, to his sister Salome. The evangelist Philip was found at Ashdod after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts viii. 40). Azotus early became the seat of a bishop- ric ; and we find a bishop of Azotus present at the councils of Nice, of Chalcedon, a.d. 359, of Seleucia, and of Jerusalem, a.d. 53G. Ashdod exists at present as an inconsiderable village. The site is marked by ancient ruins, such as broken arches, and partly buried frag- ments of marble columns ; there is also what has the appearance of a very ancient khan, the principal chamber of which had obviously, at some former period, been used as a Christian chapel. The place is still called Esdud. ASH'ER (happy), one of the sons of Jacob by Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah (Gen. xxx. 13; XXXV. 26), and founder of one of the twelve tribes (Num. xxvi. 44-47). Asher had four sons and one daughter (Gen. xlix. 20 ; Dent, xxxiii. 24). On quitting Egypt the number of adult males in the tribe of Asher was 41,.')00, which made it the ninth of the tribes (excluding Levi) in numbers— Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin only being below it. But before entering Canaan an increase of 11,900 — an increase exceeded only by Manasseh — raised the number to .53,400, and made it the fifth of the tribes in population (oomp. Num. i. 40, 41; xxvi. 47). The inhe- ritance of this tribe lay in a very fruitful couutrj-, on the sea-coast, with Lebanon north, Carmel and the tribe of Issachar south, and Zebulon and Naphtali east. It is usually stated tliat the whole of the PhcBuician territories, in- cluding Sidon, were assigned to this tribe. But there are various considerations which militate against this conclusion. The Asherites were unable to gain possession for a long time of the territories actually assigned them, but ' dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land' (Judg. i. 32) ; and, ' as it is not usual to say of a larger number that it dwells among the smaller, the inference is, that they expelled but comparatively few of the Canaanites, leaving them, in fact, a majority of the population.' ASHTORETH ASHES, in the symbolical language of Scrip- ture, denote human frailty (Gen. xviii. 27), deep humiliation (Esth. iv. 1 ; Jonah iii. 6 ; Matt. xi. 21 ; Luke x. 13; Job xlii. 6 ; Dan. ix. 3). To sit in ashes was a token of grief and mourning (Job ii. 8; Lam. iii. 16; Ezek. xxvii. 30), as was also strewing them upon the head (2 Sam. xiii. 10 ; Isa. xli. 3) [Mourning]. ' Feeding on ashes,' in Ps. cii. 9, appears to express grief, as of one with whose food the ashes with which he is covered mingle. But in Isa. xliv. 20, ' feed- ing on ashes,' which afford no nourishment, is judged to denote ineffectual means, labour to no purpose. Compare Hos. xii. 1. ASH'IMA (2 Kings xvii. 30), only once men- tioned in the Old Testament as the god of the people of Hamath. The Babylonian Talmud, and the majority of Jewish writers, assert that Ashima was Avorshipped under the fonn of a goat ivithout wool ; the Talmud of Jerusalem says, under that of a lamb. Elias Levita, a learned Kabbi of the sixteenth century, assigr.s the word the sense of ape. Jurieu and Calmet have pro- posed other fanciful conjectures. The opinion that this idol had the form of a goat, however, appears to be the one best supported .by argu- ments as well as by authorities. ASH'KENAZ (Gen. x. 3), and Ashchenaz (Jer. Ii. 27), the name of a son of Gomer, son of Japhet, and of a tribe of his descendants. In Jeremiah it is placed with Ararat and Minni, provinces of Armenia; whence it is probable that Ashkenaz was a province of Armenia ; or at least that it lay not far from it, near the Cau- casus, or towards the Black Sea. ASH'PENAZ, chief of the eunuchs of king Nebuchadnezzar, to whose care Daniel and his companions were consigned, and who changed their names (Dan. i. 3, 7). ASH'TAROTH and Ashtakoth-Carnaim, a town of Bashan (Deut. i. 4 ; Josh. ix. 10) which was included in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh. xiii. 31), and was assigned to the Levites (1 Chron. vi. 71). It is placed by Eusebius 6 miles from Edrei, the other principal town of Bashan, and 2.5 miles fiom Bostra. The town existed in the time of Abraham (Gen. xiv. .5) ; and as its name of Ashtaroth appears to be derived from the worship of the moon under that name [see the following article], there is little need to look farther than the crescent of that luminary and its symbolical image for an explanation of the addition Carnaim, or rather Karnaiji, ' horned.' Asta roth-Car naim is now usually identified with Mezareib, the situation of which corresponds accurately enough with the distances given by Eusebius. Here is the first castle on the great pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca, which was built about .340 years ago by the Sultan Selim. There are no dwellings beyond the castle, and within it only a few mud huts upon the flat roofs of the warehouses, occu- pied by the peasants who cultivate the neigh- bouring grounds. ASH'tORETH (1 Kings xi. 5) is the name of a goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings xi. 5, 33), but also of the Philistines (I Sam. xxxi. 10), whose worship was introduced among the Israel- ites during the period of the judges (Jud. ii. 13; 1 Sam. vii. 4), was celebrated by Solomon him- self (1 Kings xi. 5), and was finally put down ASHTORETII by Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 13). She is frequently mentioned in connection with Baal, as the cor- responding female divinity (Jud. ii. 13); and, from the addition of the words, 'and all the host of heaven,' in 2 Kings xxiii. 4, it is pro- bable that she represented one of the celestial bodies. There is also reason to believe that she is meant by the ' queen of heaven,' in Jer. vii. I 18; xliv. 17; whose worship is there said to have been solemnised by burning incense, pour- ing libations, and offering cakes. According to the testimonies of profane writers, the worship of this goddess, under different names, existed in all countries and colonies of the Syro-Arabian nations. She was e.<;pecially the chief female divinity of the Phoenicians and Syrians, and there can be no doubt was wor- shipped also at ancient Carthage. The classical writers, who usually endeavoured to identify the gods of other nations with their own, rather than to discriminate between them, have recognised several of their own divinities in Ashtoreth. Thus she was considered to be Juno or Venus, especially Venus Urania. As for the power of nature, which Avas wor- shipped under the name of Ashtoreth, Creuzer and Miinter assert that it was the principle of conception and parturition — that subordinate power which is fecundated by a superior in- fluence, but which is the agent of all births throughout the vmiverse. As such, ISIiinter maintains that the original form under which Ashtoreth was worshipped was the moon; and that the transition from that to the planet Venus was unquestionably an innovation of a later date. It is evident that the moon alone can be pro- perly called the queen of heaven ; as also that the dependent relation of the moon to the gun makes it a more appropriate symbol of that sex, whose functions as female and mother, through- out the whole extent of animated nature, were embodied in Ashtoreth [Baal]. The rites of her worship, if we may assume their resembling those which profane authors describe as paid to the cognate goddesses, in part agree with the few indications in the Old Test., in part complete the brief notices there into an accordant picture. The cakes mentioned in Jer. vii. 18, were also known to the Greeks, and were by them made in the shape of a sickle, in reference to the new moon. Among animals, the dove, the crab, and, in later times, the lion, wore sacred to her ; and among fruits, the pome- granate. No blood was shed on her altar ; but male animals, and chiefly hids, were sacrificed to her. The most prominent part of her wor- ship, however, consisted of those libidinous orgies, which Augustine, who was an eye-witness of their horrors in Carthage, describes with such indignation. Her priests were eunuchs in women's attire (1 Kings xiv. 24), and women (Hos. iv. 14), who, like the Bayaderes of India, prostituted themselves to enrich the temple of this goddess. The prohibition i;i Deut. xxiii. 18 appears to allude to the dedication of such funds to such a purpose. As for the places consecrated to her Avorship, although the numerous passages in which the authorized version erroneously speaks of groves, are to be deducted (as is ex- plained below), there are yet several occasions on whioh gardens and shadi/ trees are mentioned ASHTORETH 105 as peculiar seats of (probably, her) lascivious rites (Isa. i. 29 ; Ixv. 3 ; 1 Kings xiv. 23 ; Hos. iv. 13; Jer. ii. 20; iii. 13). She also had cele- brated temples (1 Sam. xxxi. 10). As to the form and attributes with which Ash- toreth was represented, the oldest known image, that in Paphos, was a white conical stone. In Canaan she was probably represented as a cow. In Phoenicia, she had the head of a cow or bull, as she is seen on coins. Sanchoniathon states that ' Astarte adopted the head of a bull as a symbol of her sovereignty ;' he also accounts for the star which is her most usual emblem, by saying that ' when she passed through the earth, she found a fallen star, which she conseciated in Tyre. At length, she was figured with the human form, as Lucian expressly testifies of the Syrian goddess— which is substantially the same as Ashtoreth; and she is so found on coins of Severus, with her head surrounded with rays, sitting on a lion, and holding a thunderbolt and a sceptre in either hand. To come now to Asherah (Judg. vi. 25). Selden was the first who endeavoured to show that this word — which in the LXX. and Vulgate is generally rendered grove, in which our autho- rized version has followed them— must in some places, for the sake of the sense, be taken to mean a wooden image of Ashtoreth ; and it may now be regarded as a settled point that Asherah is a Hame, and also denotes an image of this goddess. Some of the arguments which support this opinion are briefly as follows. It is argued that Asherah almost always occurs with words which denote idols and statues of idrls ; that the verbs which are employed to express the making an Asherah, are incompatible with the idea of a grove, as they are such as to build, to shape, to erect ; that the words used to denote the destruc- tion of an Asherah are those of breaking to pieces, subverting ; that the image of Asherah is placed in the Temple (2 Kings xxi. 7); and that Asherah is coupled with Baal in precisely the same way as Ashtoreth is : comp. Judg. ii. 13 ; x. fi ; 1 Kings xviii. 19; 2 Kings xxiii. 4; and particularly Judges iii. 7, and ii. IS, where the plural form of both words is explained as of itself denoting images of this goddess. Besides, Selden objects that the signification grove is even incongruous in 2 Kings xvii. 10, wheie we read of 'setting up groves U7tder every green tree.' On the strength of these arguments most modern scholars assume that Asherah is a name for Ashtoreth, and that it denotes more especially the relation of that goddess to the planet Venus, as the lesser star of 106 ASKELON good fortune. It appears, namely, to be an in- disputable fact that both Baal and Ashtoreth, although their primary relation was to the sun and moon, came in process of time to be con- nected, in the religious conceptions of the Syro- Arabians, with the planets Jupiter and Venus, as the two stars of good fortune [See the article Meni]. ASIA. The ancients had no divisions of the world into parts or quarters; and hence the word Asia, in the modern large sense, does not occur in Scripture. Indeed it does not at all occur, in any sense, in the Hebrew Scriptures, but is fouud in the books of the Maccabees and in the New Testament. It there applies, in the largest sense, to that peninsular portion of Asia which, since the fifth century, has been known by the name of Asia Minor ; and, in a narrower sense, to a certain portion thereof which was known as Asia Proper. Thus, it is now gene- rally agreed, — 1. That ' Asia' denotes the whole of Asia Minor, in the texts Acts xix. 26, 27 ; XX. 4, 10, 18; xxvii. 2. &c. : but, 2. That only Asia Proper, the Eoman or Proconsular Asia, is denoted in Acts ii. 9 ; vi. 9 ; xix. 10, 22 ; 2 Tim. i. 15; 1 Pet. i. G; Kev. i. 4, ll. Asia jMinor comprehended Bitliynia, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Cicilia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Ly- caonia, Phrygia, Mysia, Troas (all of which are mentioned in the New Testament), Lydia,.Ionia, .^olis (which are sometimes included under Lydia), Caria, Doris, and Lycia. Asia Proper, or Proconsular Asia, comprehended the pro- vinces of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. But it is evident that St. Luke uses the term Asia in a sense still more restricted, for in one place he counts Phrygia (Acts ii. 9, 10), and in another Mysia (xvi. 6, 7), as provinces distinct from Asia. Hence it is probable that in many, if not all, of the second set of references the word Asia denotes only Ionia, or the entire western coast, of which Ephesus was the capital, and in which the seven churches were situated. This is called Asia also by Strabo. ASIAR'CH.E (Acts xix. 31 ; Auth. Vers. * certain of the chief of Asia'). These asiarchaj, who derived their appellation from the name of the province over which they presided (as Sy- riarcha?, 2 Mace. xii. 2, Lyciarch, Cariarch, &c.), were in Proconsular Asia the chief presidents of the religious rites, whose office it was to exhibit every year, in honour of the gods and of the Koman emperor, solemn games in the 'theatre. This they did at their own expense, whence none but the most opulent persons could bear the office, although only of one year's continuance. The appointment was much as follows: at the beginning of every year (i. e. about the autumnal equinox) each of the cities of Asia held a public assembly, in order to nominate one of their citi- zens as asiarch. A person was then sent to the general council of the province, at some one of the principal cities, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis, &c., to announce the name of the individual who had been selected. Of the persons thus nomi- nated by the cities the council designated ten, and it is probable that one chosen by the pro- consul was pre-eminently the asiarch, but that the other nine acted as his assessors and also bore that title. AS'KELON, a city of the Philistines, and seat ASPALATHUS of one of thoir five states ( Judg. xiv. 1 9 ; 1 Sam. vi. 17; 2 Sam. i. 20). It was situated on the Mediterranean coast, between Gaza and Ashdod, twelve geog. miles north of the former, and ten S. by W. from the latter, and thirty-seven S.W.W. from Jerusalem. It was the only one of the five great Philistine towns that was a maritime port, and stood out close to tlie shore. Askelon was assigned to the tribe of Judah (Josh. xiii. 13; comp. Judg. i. 18) ; but it was never for any length of time in possession of the Israelites. The part of the country in which it stood abounded in aromatic plants, onions, and vines. It was well fortified, and early became the seat of the worship of Decerto. After the time of Alexander it shared the lot of Phoenicia, and also of Juda'a, being tributary sometimes to Egypt, and at other times to Syria. The mag- nificent Herod was born at Askelon, and although the city did not belong to his dominion, he adorned it with fountains, baths, and colonnades ; and after his death Salome, his sister, resided there in a palace which Caesar bestowed upon her. It suffered much in the Jewish war with the Romans, but afterwards it again revived, and in the middle ages was noted not only as a stronghold, but as a wealthy and important town. The town bears a prominent part in the history of the Crusades. After being several times dis- mantled and re-fortified in the times of Saladin and Richard, its fortifications were at length totally destroyed by the Sultan Bibars in a.d. 1270, and the port filled up with stories, for fear of future attempts on the part of the Crusaders. Its desolation has long been complete, and little now remains of it but the walls, wiih numerous fragments of granite pillars. The situation is described as strong; the thick walls, flanked with towers, were built on the top of a ridge of rock that encircles the town, and terminates at each end in the sea. The place still bears the name of Askulan. ASMODE'US (Tob. iii. 8), a demon or evil spirit, mentioned in the Apocryphal book of Tobit as having beset Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, and killed the seven husbands whom she had married before Tobit. The Rabbins call Asmodeus, as well as Beelzebub, • the prince of devils,' whence the two names have been sup- posed to refer to the same demon. But this title they also give to ' the angel of death,' as the destroyer of all mankind. Thus the story in Tobit means no more than that the seven husbands died successively on their marriage with Sarah. ASMONE'ANS. [Maccabees.] ASNAP'PER, the name of the king, or pos- sibly Assyrian satrap, who sent the Cuthean colonies into Palestine (Ezra iv. 10). Taking him for king of Assyria, he is generally iden- tified with Esar-haddon, although some believe the name to denote Salmanezer. The title ('most noble') which is given to him belonged to the satraps. ASPA'LATHUS, a name which occurs only in the Apocrypha (Ecclus. xxiv. 15), where the substance which it indicates is enumerated with the other spices and perfumes to which wisdom is compared. Though this drug is not men- tioned in the canonical Scriptures, it is probable that it may have been one of the substances ASS comprehended under the general name of spices. It ■was no doubt one of the substances employed by the ancients as a perfume and incense, as it forms onje of the ingredients of the cyphi, or compound incense made use of by the Egyptian priests. The substance which was called aspala- thus has not been very clearly ascertained. ASPHAL'TUM (Auth. Vers. ' pitch') doubt- less derives its name from the Lake Asphaltites (Dead Sea), whence it was abundantly obtained. Usually asphaltum is of a shining black colour ; it is solid and brittle, with a conchoidal fracture, altogether not unlike common pitch. Its spe- cific gravity is from 1 to 16, and it consists chiefly of bituminous oil, hydrogen gas, and charcoal. It is found partly as a solid dry fossil, intermixed in layers of plaster, marl, or slate, and partly as liquid tar flowing fi-om cavities in rocks or in the earth, or swimming upon the surface of lakes or natural wells. To judge from Gen. xiv. 10, mines of asphaltum must have existed formerly on the spot where sub- sequently the Dead Sea, or Lake Asphaltites, was formed. The Palestine earth-pitch seems, however, to have had the preference over all the odier sorts. It was used among the ancients partly for covering boats, paying the bottoms of vessels (Gen. vi. 14 : Exod. ii. 3), and partly as a substitute for mortar in buildings; and it is thought that the bricks of which the walls of Babylon were built (Gen. xi. 3) had been ce- mentc-d with hot bitumen, which imparted to tliem great solidity. In ancient Babylon as- phaltum was made use of also as fuel, as the environs have from the earliest times been re- nowned for the abundance of asphalt-iuines. Neither were the ancient Jews unacquainted with the medicinal properties of that mineral. The asphaltum was also used among the an- cient Egjptians for embalming the dead. This operation was performed in three different ways : the fii-st with slaggy mineral pitch alone; the second with a mixture of this bitumen and a liquor extracted from the cedar ; and the third with a similar mixture, to which resinous and aromatic substances were added. Asphaltum is found in masses on the shore of the Dead Sea, or floating on the surface of its waters. The local Arabs aflirm that the bitumen only appears after earthquakes. They allege tliat after the earthquake of 1834 huge quan- tities of it were cast upon the shore, of which the Jehalin Arabs alone took about 60 kuntars (each of 98 lbs.) to market. There was another earthquake on January 1, 1837, and soon after a large mass of asphaltum (compared by one person to an island, and by another to a house) was discovered floating on the sea, and was driven aground on the western side, near Usdum. The neighbouring Arabs assembled, cut it up with axes, removed it by camels' loads, and sold it at the rate of four piastres the rutl, or pound ; the product is said to have been about 3000 dollars. Except during these two years, the Sheik of the Jehalin, a man fifty years old, had never known bitumen appear in the sea, nor heard of it from his fathers. ASS. 1. The common working ass of Western Asia (called in the Hebrew Chamor), is an animal of small stature, frequently represented on Egyptian monuments with panniers on the 107 back, usually of a reddish colour. It appears to be a domesticated race of the wild ass of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Southern Persia. In its natural state it never seeks woody, bui upland pasture, mountainous and rocky retreats ; and it is habituated to stand on the brink of pre- cipices (a practice not entirely obliterated in our own domestic races), whence, with pro- truded ears, it surveys the scene below, blowing and at length braying in extreme excitement. This habit is beautifully depicted by Jeremiah (xvii. G ; -xlviii. 6). The Auth. Vers, translates the Hebrew words Oir, Oirim, 'young ass,' ' colt;' but this render- ing does not appear on all occasions to be correct, the word being sometimes used where the Oirim or Ourim carry loads and till the ground, which seems to afibrd evidence of, at least, full growth (Isa. XXX. 6, 24). The word Aton, Atunuth, is unsatisfactorily rendered ' she-ass,' unless we suppose it to refer to a breed of greater beauty and importance than the common, namely, the silver grey of Africa ; which being large and indocile, the females were anciently selected in preference for riding, and on that account formed 62. [Domestic A.ss of Western Asia.] a valuable kind of property. It is now the fashion, as it was during the Parthian empire, and probably in the time of the Judges, to dapple this breed with spots of orange or crimson, or of both coloui'S together ; and although the taste may be puerile, we conceive that it is the record of remote conquest achieved by a nation of Central Asia mounted on spotted or clouded horses, and revived by the Parthians, who were similarly equipped. As this animal was most serviceable to man, its name was held in respect rather than con- tempt. It is alleged, indeed, that the ass was held in contempt in Egj'pt ; but among the Arabs and Jews we have ' the voice of one crying in the wilderness,' a solemn allusion derived from the wild ass, almost the only voice in the desert ; and in the distinguishing epithet of Mirv'an II., last Ommiad caliph, who was called the wild ass of :Mesopotamia— proofs that no idea of con- tempt was associated with the prophet's meta- phor, and that, by such a designation, no insult was intended to the person or dignity of the prince. 2. Wlld Ass. By this term the Scripture seems 108 ASSID^ANS to intend the horse-ass, or wild mule. The species is first noticed by Aristotle, who mentions nine of these animals as being brought to Phrygia by Pharnaces the satiap, whereof three were living in the time of his son Pharnabazus. The allu- sion of Jeremiah, in speaking of the wild ass (xiv. 6), most forcibly depicts the scarcity of food when this species, inured to the desert and to want of water, are made the prominent ex- ample of suffering. They were most likely used in traces to draw chariots (Isa. xxi. 7). The wild ass is little inferior to the wild horse ; in shape it resembles a mule, in gracefulness a horse, and in colour it is silvery, with broad spaces of flaxen or bright bay on the thigh, flank, shoulder, neck, and head ; the ears are wide like the zebra's, and the neck is clothed with a ver- tical dark mane prolonged in a stripe to the tuft of the tail. The company of this animal is liked by horses, and, when domesticated, it is gentle : it is now found wild from the deserts of 03. [WadAas.] the Oxus and Jaxartes to China and Central India. In Cutch it is never known to drink, and in whole districts which it frequents water is not to be found. Though the natives talk of the fine flavour of the flesh, and the Gour in Persia is the food of heroes, to an European its smell is abominable. McLE occurs in 2 Sam. xiii. 29; 1 Kings i. 33; X. 25; and in other places. This animal is sufficiently well known to require no particular description. Where, or at what period, breeding mules was first commenced is totally unknown, although, from several circumstances. Western Asia may be regarded as the locality ; and the era as coinciding with that of the first kings of Israel. In the time of David, to be allowed to ride on the king's own mule was an understood concession of great, if not sovereign authority, and several years before the mention of this event all the king's sons already rode upon mules. It does not appear that the Hebrew people, at this early period at least, bred mules ; they received them from Armenia ; but the most beautiful were no doubt brought from the vicinity of Bassora. ASSH'UR, a son of Shem, who gave his name to Assyria (Gen. x. 11-22) [Assyria]. ASSlDiE'ANS {the pious or righteous ; 1 Mace. vii. IS). As a description of a particular body of men this word does not occur in the canonical ASSYRIA Scriptures, nor in Josephus ; but in the First Book of Maccabetjs it is applied to the body of zealous and devoted men who rose at the signal for armed resistance given by Mattathias, the father of the Maccabees, and who, under him and his successors, upheld with the sword the great doctrine of the unity of God, and stemmed the advancing tide of Grecian manners and idolatries. In the entire absence of collateral information, it seems the safest course to conclude that the Assidseans were a body of eminently zealous men, devoted to the Law, who joined Mattatliias very early, and remained the constant adherents of him and his son Judas— not, like the mass of their supporters, rising occasionally and then relapsing into the ordinary pursuits of life. It is possible that, as Jennings conjectures, the name came to be applied to them by their enemies as a term of reproach, like ' Puritans ' formerly in this country, and ' saints ' very often in the present day. AS'SOS, a town of Lesser Mysia, or of Adra- myttium, opposite the island of Lesbos, or Mitj- lene. Paul came hither on foot from Troas, to meet with his friends, in order to take shipping for Mitylene (Acts xx. 13, 14). It is now a miserable village, called Beiram, built high upon the rocks on the side towards the land. ASSYR'IA. We must here distinguish be- tween the country of Assyria, and the Assyrian empire. They are both designated in Hebrew by Asshur. The Asshurim of Gen. xxv. S, were, however, an Arab tribe ; and in Ezek. xxvii. 6, the -word a shir 1711 (in our version ' Ashuritcs') is only an abbreviated form of teashur, box-wood. 1. AssfRiA Proper was a region east of the Tigris, the capital of which was Nineveh. It derived its name from the progenitor of the abo- riginal inhabitants — Asshur, the second son of Shem (Gen. x. 22 ; 1 Chron. i. 17). Its limits in early times are unknown ; but when its mo- narchs enlarged their dominions by conquest, the name of this metropolitan province was ex- tended to the whole empire. According to Ptolemy, Assyria was in his day bounded on the north by Armenia, the Gor- disean or Carduchian mountains, especially by Mount Niphates ; on the west by the river Tigris and Mesopotamia ; on the south by Susiana, or Chuzistan, in Persia, and by Babylonia ; and on the east by a part of Media, and mounts Choa- thras and Zagros. It corresponded to the mo- dern Kurdistan, or country of the Kurds (at least to its larger and western portion), with a part of the pashalik of Mosul. ' Assyria,' says Mr. Ainsworth {Researches in Assyria, Baby- lonia, and Chaldaa, Lond. 1838),' ' including Taurus, is distinguished into three districts : by its structure, into a district of plutonic and rae- tamoi-phic rocks, a district of sedentary forma- tions, and a district of alluvial deposits ; by con- figuration, into a district of mountains, a district of stony or sandy plains, and a district of low watery plains: by natural productions, into a country of forests and fruit-trees, of olives, wine, corn, and pasturage, or of barren rocks ; a country of mulberry, cotton, maize, tobacco, or of barren clay, sand, pebbly or rocky plains ; and into a country of date-trees, rice, and pas- turage, or a land of saline plants.' The northern ASSYRIA part is little else then a mass of mountains, ■vehich, near Julamerk, rise to a very great height, Mount Jewar being supposed to have an elevation of 15,000 feet ; in the south it is more level, but the plains are often burnt up with scorching heat, while the traveller, .looking northward, sees a snowy alpine ridge hanging like a cloud in mid air. On the west this country is skirted by the great river Tigris, the Hiddekel of the Hebrews (Gen. ii. 14 ; Dan. x. 4), noted for the impetuosity of its current [Tigris]. The most remarkable feature, says Ainsworth, in the vegetation of Taurus, is the abundance of trees, shrubs, and plants in the northern, and their comparative absence in the southern dis- trict. Besides the productions above enume- rated, Kurdistan yields gall-nuts, gum-arabic, mastich, manna (used as sugar), madder, castor- oil, and various kinds of grain, pulse, and fruit. Eich informs us that a great quantity of honey, of the finest quality, is produced; the bees (comp. Isa. vii. 18, 'the bee in the land of As- syria') are kept in hives of mud. The naphtha springs, on the east of the Tigris, are less pro- ductive than those in Mesopotamia, but they are much more numerous. The zoology of the mountain district includes bears (black and brown), panthers, lynxes, wolves, foxes, mar- mots, dormice, fallow and red deer, roebucks, antelopes, &c., and likewise goats, but not (as was once supposed) of the Angora breed. In the plains are found lions, tigers, hysenas, bea- vers, jertfoas, wild boars, camels, &:c. Ptolemy divides Assyria into six provinces. Farthest north lay Arrapachitis, south of it was Calakine, perhaps the Chalach of 2 Kings xvii. 6; xviii. 11. Next came Adiabene, so called from the above-mentioned rivers Dhab or Diab ; it was so important a district of Assyria, as sometimes to give name to the whole country [Adiabene]. North-east of it lay Arbelitis, in which was Arbela, famous for the battle in which Alexander triumphed over Darius. South of this lay the two provinces of Apolloniatis and SittaJtene. The capital of the whole country was Nineveh, the Ninos of the Greeks, the He- brew name being supposed to denote ' the abode of Ninos,' the founder of the empire. Its site is believed to have been on the east bank of the Tigris, opposite the modern town of Mosul, where there is now a small town called Nebbi Yunus (i. e. the prophet Jonah) [Nineveh]. At the town of Al Kosh, N. of Mosul, tradition places the birth and burial of the prophet Nahum, and the Jews resort thither in pilgrimage to his tomb. The greater part of the country which formed Assyria Proper is under the nominal sway of the Turks, who compose a considerable propor- tion of the population of the towns and larger villages, filling nearly all public offices, and dif- fering in nothing from other Osmanlis. But the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, and of the whole mountain-tract that here divides Turkey from Persia, are theKitrds, from whom the country is now designated Kurdistan. They are still, as of old, a barbarous and warlike race, occasionally J ielding a formal allegiance, on the west, to the Turks, and, on the east, to the Persians, but never wholly subdued; indeed, some Of the more powerful tribes, such as the Ilakkary, liave main- tained an entire independence. Some of them are stationary in villages, while others roam far and wide, beyond the limits of their own country, as nomadic shepherds ; but they are all, more or less, addicted to predatory habits, and are re- garded with great dread by their more peaceful neighbours. They profess the faith of Islam, and are of the Soonee sect. All travellers have remarked many points of resemblance between them and the ancient Highlanders of Scotland. The Christian population is scattered over the whole region, but is found chiefly in the north. It includes Chalda^ans, who form that branch of the Nestorians that adlieres to the church of Rome, a few Jacobites, or monophysite Syrians, Armenians, &c. But the most interesting por- tion is the ancient church of tiie primitive j^es- toriaiis, a lively interest in which has lately been excited in the religious world by the publications of the American missionaries, especially by a work entitled The A'cstorians, by Asahel Grant, M,D. Lond. 1841. Besides the settlements of this people in the plain of Ooroomiah to the east, and in various parts of Kurdistan, where they are in a state of vassalage, there has been for ages an independent community of Nestorians in the wildest and most inaccessible part of the country. It lies at nearly equal distances from the lakes of Van and Ooroomiah, and the Tigris, and is hemmed in on every side by tribes of ferocious Kurds; but, entrenched in their fast- nesses, the Nestorians have defied the storms of revolution and desolation that have so often swept over the adjacent regions; and in their character of bold and intrepid, though rude and fierce mountaineers, have so entirely maintained their independence unto the present day, as to bear among the neighbours the proud title of Ashiret, ' the tributeless.' The attempts lately made by Dr. Grant and others to prove that this interesting people are the descendants of the ten ' lost ' tribes of Israel, cannot be regarded as suc- cessful, and will not bear the test of rigid ex- amination. Another peculiar race that is met with in this and the neighbouring countries is that of the Yezidees, whom Grant and Ainsworth would likewise connect with the ten tribes ; but it seems much more probable that they are an offshoot from the ancient Manichees, their al- leged worship of the Evil Principle amounting to no more than a reverence which keeps them from speaking of him with disrespect. Besides the dwellers in towns, and the agricultural popu- lation, there are a vast number of wandering tribes, not only of Kurds, but of Arabs, Turko- mans, and other classes of robbers, who, by keep- ing the settled inhabitants in constant dread of property and life, check every effort at improve- ment ; and, in consequence of this, and the influ- ence of bad government, many of the finest portions of the country are little better than un- productive wastes. 2. The Assyrian Empire. No portion of ancient history is involved in greater obscurity than that of the empire of Assyria. In attempt- ing to arrange even the facts deducible from Scripture, a difficulty presents itself at the outset, arising from the ambiguity of the accoimt given of the origin of the earliest Assyrian state in Gen. X. 11. After describing Nimrod, son of no ASSYRIA Cush, ' as a mighty one in the earth,' the historian adds (ver. 10), ' And the beginning of his king- dom (or rather, the first theatre of his dominion) was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calueh, I in the land ofShinar,' i.e. Babylonia. Then ! follow the words :— ' Out of that land went forth Asshur and builded Nineveh,' or fas it is in the margin) < out of that land he (i. e. Nimrod) went out into Assyria and builded Nineveh.' Looking at the entire context, and following the natural current of the writer's thoughts, we shall find that the second translation yields the most con- gruous sense. It likewise agrees with the native tradition, that the founder of the Assyrian mo- narchy and the builder of Nineveh was one and the same person, viz. Ninus, from whom it de- rived its name, and in that case the designation of Nimrod (the Rebel) was not his proper name, but an opprobrious appellation imposed on him by his enemies. Modern local tradition likewise connects Nimrod with Assyria. But though Nimrod's ' kingdom ' embraced the lands both of Shinar and Asshur, we are left in the dark as to whether Babylon or Nineveh be- came the permanent seat of government, and consequently, whether his empire should be designated that of Babylonia or that of Assyria. No certain traces of it, indeed, are to be found in Scripture for ages after its erection. In the days of Abraham, we hear of a king of Elara (i.e. Elymais, in the south of Persia) named Chedorlaomer, who had held in subjection for twelve years five petty princes of Palestine (Gen. xiv. 4), and who, in consequence of their rebel- lion, invaded that country along with three other kings, one of whom was ' Amraphel, king of Shinar.' It is possible that Chedorlaomer was ail Assyrian viceroy, and the others his deputies ; for at a later period the Assyrian boasted, ' Are not my princes altogether kings ? ' (Isa. x. 8). Yet some have rather concluded from the narra- tive, that by this time the monarchy of Nimrod had been broken up, or that at least the seat of government had been transferred to Elam. Be this as it may, the name of Assyria as an inde- pendent state does not again appear in Scripture till the closing period of the age of jNToses. Ba- laam, a seer from the northern part of Mesopo- tamia, in the neighbourhood of Assyria, address- ing the Kenites, a mountain tribe on the east side of the Jordan, ' took up his parable,' i. e. raised his oracular, prophetic chant, and said, ' Durable is thy dwelling-place ! Yea in a rock puttest thou thy nest : nevertheless, wasted shall be the Kenite, until Asshur shall lead them cap- tive.' The prediction found its fulfilment in the Kenites being gradually reduced in strength (comp. I Sam. xv. C), till they finally shared the fate of the trans-.Tordanite tribes, and were swept away into captivity by the Assyrians (1 Chron. v. 26 ; 2 Kings xvi, 9 ; xix. 12, 13; 1 Chron. ii. 55). But as a counterpart to this, Balaam next sees a vision of retaliatory vengeance on their oppres- sors, and the awful piospect of the threatened devastations, though beheld in far distant times, extoi-ts from him the exclamation, 'Ah! who shall live when God doeth this ? For ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict AssHim, and shall afflict Eber, but he also [the invader] shall perish for ever.' This is not with- out obscurity ; but it has commonly been sup- ASSYRIA posed to point to the conquest of the regions that once formed the Assyrian empire, first by the Jlacedonians from Greece, and then by the Ro- mans, both of whose empires were in their turn overthrown. In the time of the Judges, the people of Israel became subject to a king of Mesopotamia, Chu- shanrishathaim ( Judg. iii. 8), who is by Josephus styled King of the Assyrians; but we are left in the same ignorance as in the case of Chedor- laomer, as to whether he was an independent sovereign or only a vicegerent for another. The first king of Assyria alluded to in the Bible, is he who reigned at Nineveh when the prophet Jonah was sent thither (Jon. iii. 6). Hales sup- poses him to have been the father of Pul, the first Assyrian monarch named in Scripture, and dates the commencement of his reign B.C. 821. By that time the metropolis of the empire had be- come ' an exceeding great ' and populous city, but one pre-eminent in wickedness (Jon. i. 2 ; iii. 3; iv. 11). The first expressly recorded appearance of the Assyrian power in the countries west of the Eu- phrates is in the reign of Menahem, king of Israel, against whom ' the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul (or P/iul), king of Assyria' (1 Chron. v. 2G), Avho invaded the country, and exacted a tribute of a thousand talents of silver ' that his hand ' i. e. his favour, ' might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand' (2 Kings XV. 1 9, 20). Newton places this event in the year b.c. 770, in tlie twentieth year of Pul's reign, the commencement of which he fixi'S in the year b.c. 790. About this period we find the prophet Hosea making frequent allusions to the practice both of Israel and Judica, to throw themselves for support on the kings of Assyria. The supposition of Newton is adopted by Hales, that at Pul's death his dominions were divided between his two sons, Tiglath-pileser and Nabo- nassar, the latter being made ruler at Babylon, from the date of whose government or reign the celebrated era of A'aboiiassar took its rise, corre- sponding to B.C. 747. When Ahaz, king of Judah, was hard pressed by the combined forces of Pe- kah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Dama- scene-Syria, he purchased Tiglath-pileser's as- sistance with a large sum, taken out of his own and the Temple treasury. The Assyrian king accordingly invaded the territories of both the confederated kings, and annexed a portion of them to his own dominions, carrying captive a number of their subjects (2 Kings xv. 29 ; xvi. 5-10; 1 Chron. v. 26 : 2 Chron. xxviii, 16 ; Isa. vii. 1-11 ; comp. Amos i. 5; ix. 7). His succes- sor was Slialman (Hos. x. 4), Shalmaneser or Salmanasser. the Enemessar of the apocryphal book Tobit (ch. i. 2). He made Hoshea, king of Israel, his ti-ibutary vassal (2 Kings xvii. 3); but finding him secretly negotiating with So or Sobaco (the Sabakoph of the monuments), king of Egypt, he laid siege to the Israelitish capital, Samaria, took it after an investment of three years (b.c 719), and then reduced the country of the ten tribes to a province of his empire, carrying into captivity the king and his people, and settling Cuthxans from Babylonia in their room (2 Kings xvii. 3-6; xviii. 9-11). Heze- kiah, king of Judah, seems to have been for a time his vassal (2 Kings xviii. 7). The empire ASSYRIA of Assyria seems now to have reached its greatest extent, having had the Mediterranean for its boundary on the west, and including within its limits Media and Kir on the north, as well as Elam on the south (2 Kings xvi. 9 ; xvii. 6; Isa. XX. 6). In the twentieth chapter of Isaiah (ver. 1), there is mention of a king of Assyria, Sargon, in whose reigh Tartan besieged and took Ashdod in Philistia. He is supposed to have been the successor of Shalmaneser, and to have had a short reign of two or three years. His attack on Egypt may have arisen from the jealousy which the Assyrians entertained of that nation's influence over Palestine ever since the negotiation between its king So, and Hoshea, king of Israel. From many incidental expres- sions in the book of Isaiah we can infer tha*, there was at this time a strong Egyptian party among the Jews, for that people are often warned against relying for help on Egypt, instead of simply confiding in Jehovah (Isa. XXX. 2 ; xxxi. 1 ; comp. xx. 5, 6). The result of Tartan's expedition against Egypt and Ethio- pia was predicted by Isaiah while that general was yet on the Egyptian frontier at Ashdod (Isa. XX. 1-4); and it is not improbable that it ij to this Assyrian invasion that the prophet Nalmm refers when he speaks (iii. 8-10) of the subjugation of No, i. e. No-Ammun, or Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt, and the captivity of its inhabitants. The occupation of the country by the Assyrians, however, must have been very transient, for in the reign of Sargon's successor, Sennacherib, or Sancherib, we find Hezekiah, king of Judah, throwing ofP the Assyrian yoke, and allying himself with Egypt (2 Kings xviii. 7, 21). This brought against him Sennacherib with a mighty host, which, without difficulty, subdued the fenced cities of Judah, and com- pelled him to purchase peace by the payment of a large tribute. But 'the treacherous dealer dealt very treacherously' (Isa. xxxiii. 1); and, notwithstanding the agreement, proceeded to invest Jerusalem. In answei", however, to the prayers of the ' good king ' of Judah, the Assy- rian was diverted from his purpose, partly by the ' rumour ' (Isa. xxxvii. 6) of the approach of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, and partly by the sudden and miraculous destruction of a great part of his army (2 Kings xviii. 13-37; xix. ; Isa. xxxvi. and xxxvii.). He himself fled to Nineveh, where, in course of time, when wor- shipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, he was slain by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer, the parricides escaping into the land of Armenia —a fact which is preserved in that country's traditionary history [Ararat]. Sennacherib was succeeded by his son Esar- haddon, or Assarhaddon, who had been his father's viceroy at Babylon (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38). Hales regards him as the first Sardanapalus. The only notice taken of him in Scripture is that he settled some colonists in Sa- maria (Ezra iv. 2), and as (at ver. 10) that colo- nization is ascribed to the ' great and noble As- napper,' it is supposed that that was another name for Esarhaddon, but it may have been one of the great officers of his empire. It seems to have been in his reign that the captains of the Assyrian host invaded and ravaged Judah, carry- ing Manasseh, the king, captive to Babylon. ASTRONOMY m The subsequent history of the empire is involved in almost as much obscurity as that of its origin and rise. The Medes had already shaken off the yoke, and the Chaldteans soon appear on the scene as the dominant nation of Western Asia ; yet Assyria, though much reduced in extent, existed as an independent state for a considerable period after Esarhaddon. The last monarch was Sarac, or Sardanapalus II. (b.c. 636), in whose reign Cyaxares, king of Media, and Na- bopolassar, viceroy of Babylon, combined against Assyria, took Nineveh, and, dividing what re- mained of the empire between them, reduced Assyria Proper to a province of Media (b.c. G06). In this brief sketch of the history of the As- syrian empire, we have mainly followed the writers of the Old Testament, from whom alone any consistent account can be derived. The political constitution of the Assyrian em- pire was no doubt similar to that of other ancient states of the East, such as ChaldiBa and Persia. The monarch, called ' the great king ' (2 Kings xviii. 1 9 ; Isa. xxxvi. 4), ruled as a despot, sur- rounded with his gTiards, and only accessible to those who were near his person. Under him there were provincial satraps, called in Isa. x. 8, ' princes ' of the rank and power of ordinary kings. The great officers of the household were commonly eunuchs. The religion of the As- syrians was, in its leading features, the same as that of the Chalda;ans, viz. the symbolical wor- ship of the heavenly bodies, especially the planets. In Scripture there is mention of Nisroch, Adram- melech. Anammelech, Nebchaz, Tartak, &c., as the names of idols worshipped by the natives either of Assyria Proper or of the adjacent coun- tries which they had subdued. ASTRONOMY, that science which treats of the laws of the stars, or heavenly bodies, con- sidered in reference to their magnitude, move- ments, and respective influence one upon another. Astronomy may be divided into empirical and scientific; the first being founded on the appa- rent phenomena and movements of the heavenlj' bodies, the second upon their real phenomena and movements. The knowledge of the ancients was limited to the first; or if they possessed any truths connected with the second, they were no- thing more than bold or fortunate guesses, which were not followed out to their legitimate conse- quences, nor formed into a systematic whole. The cradle of astronomy is to be found in Asia. The few and imperfect notices which have come down to these times give a concurrent testimony in favour of this statement, and there- with agrees the fact that the climate, the mode of life, and the occupations of the Oriental na- tions that were first civilized, prompted them to watch and observe the starry heavens. The Chaldaeans are accounted to have excelled in astronomical knowledge. Pliny, in his celebrated enumeration of the in- ventors of the arts, sciences, and conveniences of life, ascribes the discovery of astronomy to Phoe- nician mariners; and in the samt chapter he speaks of astronomical observations found on burnt bricks among the Babylonians, which ascend to above 2200 years b.c. Alexander sent to Aristotle from Babylon a series of astrono- mical observations, extending through 1900 112 ASTRONOMY ATAD years. The astronomical knowledge of the i Chinese and Indians goes up to a still earlier period. From the remote East astronomy tra- velled in a westerly direction. The Egyptians at a very early period had some acquaintance •with it. To them is to be ascribed a pretty near determination of the length of the year, as con- sisting of 365 days 6 hours. The Egyptians were the teachers of the Greeks. Some portion of the knowledge which prevailed on the subject would no doubt penetrate to and become the inheritance of the Hebrews, who do not, however, appear to have possessed any views of astronomy which raised their knowledge to the rank of a science, or made it approach to a more correct theory of the mechanism of the heavens than that which was generally held. Nor, if the Bible is taken as the witness, do the ancient Israelites appear to have had extensive knowledge in the matter. They possessed such an acquaintance with it as tillers of the ground and herdsmen might be expected to form while pursuing their business, having, as was natural, their minds directed to those regions of the hea- vens which night after night brought before their eyes: accordingly, the peculiar Oriental names of the constellations are derived from circum- stances connected with a nomade people. A pe- culiarity of the greatest importance belongs to the knowledge which the Israelites display of the heavens, namely, that it is thoroughly imbued with a religious character ; nor is it possible to find in any other writings, even at this day, so much pure and elevated piety, in connection with observations on the starry firmament, as may be gathered even in single books of the Bible (Amos V. 8 ; Psalm xix.). As early as the days of the patriarchs the minds of pious men were attracted and enrap- tured by the splendour of the skies (Gen. xxxvii. 9) ; and imagery borrowed fiom the starry world soon fixed itself firmly in human speech. The sun and moon were distinguished from, other heavenly bodies, in consequence of their magni- tude and their brilliancy, as being the lights of heaven and earth (Gen. i. 16); and from the course of the moon time was divided into parts, or months, of which the oldest form of the year, the lunar, was made up. Every new moon was greeted with religious festivities. While, how- ever, the sun in his power, the moon walking in brightness, and all the stars of light conspired to excite devotion, their influence on the hearts of the ancient Israelites, who were happily in- structed in a knowledge of the true God, the one Jehovah, the sole Creator of the world, stopped short of that idolatrous feeling, and was free from those idolatrous practices to which, among nations of less religious knowledge — and espe- cially among their own neighbours, the Babylo- nians, for instance — it is unhappily known to have led. As early as the time of the composition of per- haps the oldest book in the Bible, namely, that of Job, the constellations were distinguished one from another, and designated by peculiar and ap- propriate names (Job ix. 9; xxxviii. 31). In the Bible are found — 1. the morning star, the planet Venus (Isa. xiv. 12; Rev. ii. 28); 2. (Job ix. 9; xxxviii. 3.5; Amos v. 8), the Pleiades; 3. Orion, a large and brilliant constellation, which stands in a line with the Pleiades. The Orientals seemed to liave conceived of Orion as a huge giant who had warred against God, and as bound in chains to the firmament of heaven (Job xxxviii. 31); and it has been conjectured that this notion is the foundation of the history of Nimrod; 4. Arcturus (Job ix. 9), the Great Bear; 5. (Job xxvi. 13, ' the crooked serpent'), Draco, between the Great and the Little Bear ; a constellation which spreads itself in windings across the heavens ; 6. Castor and Pollux (Acts xxviii. 11), Gemini, or the Twins, on the belt of the Zodiac, which is mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii. 5, under the general name of ' the planets.' The entire body of the stars was called ' the liost of heaven' (Isa. xl. 26; Jer. xxxiii. 22). No trace is found in the Old Testament of ^ division of the heavenly bodies into planets, fixed stars, and comets; but in Jud.- 13, the phrase 'wandering stars' is employed figura- tively. After the Babylonish exile the Jews were com- pelled, even for the sake of their calendar, to attend at least to the course of the moon, which became an object of study, and delineations were made of the shapes that she assumes. At an early period of the world the worship of the stars arose from that contemplation of them which in every part of the globe, and particularly in the East, has been found a source of deep and tranquil pleasure. 'Men by nature' 'deemed either fire or wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water, or the lights of heaven, to be the gods which govern the world ;' ' with whose beauty being delighted, they took them to be gods ' (Wisdom xiii. 2). Accordingly, the religion of the Egyptians, of the Clialdees, Assyrians, and the ancient Arabians, was nothing else than star-worship, although in the case of the first its origin is more thickly veiled. The sun, moon, and seven planets excited most atten- tion, and won the greatest observance. We thus find among the Babylonians Jupiter (Belus, Isa. Ixv. 11), Venus (Isa. Ixv. 11, where the first is rendered in the common version ' that troop,' the second 'that number'). Both these were con- sidered good principles. Mercury, honoured as the secretary of heaven, is also found in Isa. xlvi. 1, ' Nebo stoopeth ;' Saturn (Amos, v. 20) ; Mars (2 Kings, xvii. 30): the two last were worshipped as principles of evil. The character of this wor- ship was formed from the notions which were entertained of the good or ill which certain stars occasioned. Astrology found its sphere principally in stars connected with the birth of individuals. It concerned itself also with the determination of lucky and unlucky days : so in Job. iii. 3, ' Let the day perish wherein I was born;' and Gal. iv. 10, 'Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.' The Chal- deans, who studied the stars at a very early period, were much given to astrology, and were celebrated for their skill in that pretended science (Isa. xlvii. 13). In Daniel ii. 27 ; v. 11, the calculators of nativities are named. Comets were for the most part considered heralds of evil tidings. The Orientals of the present day hold astrology in honour, and stipendiary astrologers form a part of their court. AT'AD, the perfjoji ou whose threshing-floor the sous of Jacob ai.d the Egyptians who accom- ATHALIAH panied them performed their final act of solemn mourning for Jacob (Gen. 1. 11); on which ao- contit the place was afterwards called Abel-Miz- raim, ' the mourning of the Egyptians.' AT'AROTH. Several places of this name (which means crowns) occm" in the Scriptures. 1. Ataroth-beth-Joah, in the tribe of Judah (1 Chron. ii. ,54). 2. Ataroth, on the borders of Ephraim (Josh. xvi. 2, 7), which some identify with, and others distinguish from, the Ataruth- Addar of the same tribe mentioned in Josh. xvi. 5 ; xviii. 13. 3. Ataroth, in the tribe of Gad, beyond the Jordan (Num. xxxii. 3, 34). 4. Ata- roth-Shophan, in the same tribe (Num. xxxii. 35), which some identify with the preceding ; but it appears more likely that the addition was used to distinguish the one from the other. ATERGA'TIS is the name of a Syrian god- dess, whose temple is mentioned in 2 Mace. xii. 26. That temple appears, by comparing 1 Mace, v. 43, to have been situated at Ashteroth-Kar- naim. Her worship also flourished at Mabug ({. e. Bambyce), afterwards called Hierapolis ac- cording to Pliny. There is little doubt that Atergatis is the same divinity as Derketo, which was worshipped in Phoenicia and at Ascalon under the form of a woman with a fish's tail, or with a woman's face only and the entire body of a fish ; that fishes were sacred to her, and that the inhabitants abstained from eating them in honour of her. ATHENS 118 Atergatis is thus a name under which the ancients worshipped some modification of the same power which was adored under that of Ashtoreth. The fish-form shows that Atergatis bears some rela- tion, perhaps that of a female counterpart, to Dagon. ATHALI'AH {ivhom Jehovah afflicts), daughter of Ahab, king of Israel, doubtless by his idola- trous wife Jezebel. She is also ' called the daughter of Omri (2 Chron. xxii. 2), who was the father of Ahab ; but by a comparison of texts it would appear that she is so called only as being his grand-daughter. Athaliah became the wife of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. This marriage may fairly be considered the act of the parents ; and it is one of the few stains upon the character of the good Jehoshaphat that he was so ready, if not anxious, to connect himself with the idolatrous house of Ahab. Had he not married the heir of his crown to Athaliah, many evils and much bloodshed might have been spared to the royal family and to the king- dom. When Jehoram came to the crown, he, as might be expected, ' walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,' which the sacred writer obviously attributes to this marriage, by adding, ' for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife' (2 Chron. XXI. 6). This king died B.C. 885, and was suc- ceeded by his youngest son Ahaziah, who reigned but one year, and whose death arose from his being, by blood and by circumstances, involved in the doom of Ahab's house [Ahaziah]. Before this Athaliah had acquired much influence in public affairs, and had used that influence for evil ; and when the tidings of her son's untimely death reached Jerusalem, she resolved to seat her- self upon the throne of David, at whatever cost. To this end she caused all the male branches of the royal family to be massacred (2 Kings xi. 1 ) ; and by thus shedding the blood of her own grand- children, she undesignedly became the instru- ment of giving completion to the doom on her father's house, which Jehu had partially accom- plished, B.C. 884. One infant son of Ahaziah, however, was saved by his aunt Jehosheba, wife of the high-priest Jehoiada, and was concealed within the walls of the temple, and there brought up so secretly that his existence was unsuspected by Athaliah. But in the seventh year (b.c. 878) of her blood-stained and evil reign, the sounds of unwonted commotion and exulting shouts within the temple courts drew her thither, where she beheld the young Joash standing as a crowned king by the pillar of inauguration, and acknow- ledged as sovereign by the acclamations of th(' assembled multitude. Her cries of ' Treason ! ' failed to excite any movement in her favour, and Jehoiada, the high-priest, who had organized this bold and successful attempt, without allow- ing time for pause, ordered the Levitical guards to remove her from the sacred precincts to instant death (2 Kings xi. ; 2 Chron. xxi. 6 ; xxii. 10-12 ; xxiii.). A'THENS. This celebrated city, as the birth- place of Plato, and through him so widely in- fluential on Judaism and Christianity, deserves something else than a geographical notice here. We shall briefly allude to the stages of her his- tory, and remark on some of the causes of her pre-eminent greatness in arms, arts, and intellec- tual subtlety. The earlier and more obscure period of the Grecian province named Attica reaches down nearly to the final establishment of democracy in it. Yet we know enough to see that the foun- dations of her greatness were then already laid. To a king named Theseus (whose deeds are too much mixed with fable to be narrated as history) is ascribed the credit of uniting all the countjy- towns of Attica into a single state, the capital of which was Athens. This is the first political event that we can trust as historical, although its date and circumstances are by no means free from obscurity. The population of this province was variously called Pelasgian, Achaian, and Ionian, and pro- bably corresponds most nearly to what was after- wards called iEolian. The first name carries the mind back to an extremely primitive period. When the Dorians, another tribe of Greeks of very different temperament, invaded and occu- pied the southern peninsula, great numbers of its Achaian inhabitants took refuge in Attica. Shortly after, the Dorians were repulsed in an inroad against Athens, an event which has trans- mitted to legendary renown the name of King Codrus ; and thenceforward Athens was looked upon as the bulwark of the Ionian tribes against the barbarous Dorians. Overloaded with popu- lation, Attica now poured forth colonies into Asia; some of which, as Miletus, soon rose to great eminence, and sent out numerous colonies j themselves ; so that Athens was reverenced as a ' I lU ATHENS mother of nations, hj powerful children scat- tered along the western and northern coasts of Anatolia. Dim tradition shows us isolated priesthoods and elective kings in the earliest times of Attica; these however gradually gave way to an aris- tocracy, which in a series of years established themselves as a hereditary ruling caste. But a country ' ever unravaged ' (and such was their boast) could not fail to increase in wealth and numbers ; and after two or three centuries, while the highest commoners pressed on the nobles, the lowest be.came overwhelmed wifli debt. The disorders caused by the strife of the former were vainly sought to be stayed by the institutions of Draco ; the sufferings of the latter were ended, and the sources of violence dried up, by the enactments of Solon. Henceforth the Athenians revered the laws rf Solon as the groundwork of ATHENS their whole civil polity ; yet they retained by the side of them the ordinances cf Draco in many matters pertaining to religion. The date of Solon's reforms was probably B.C. 594. The usurpation of Pisistratus and his sons made a partial breach in the constitution ; but upon their expulsion, a more serious change was effected by Cleisthenes, head of the nobk" house of the Alcmaeonidse (b.c. 508), almost in the same year in which Tarquin was expelled from Home. An entirely new organization of the Attic tribes was framed, which destroyed what- ever remained of the power of the nobles as an order, and established among the freemen a democracy, in fact, as well as in form. Out of this proceeded all the good and all the evil with which the name of Athens is associated ; and though greatness which shot up so suddenly could not be permanent, there can be no diffi- culty in deciding that the good greatly prepon- derated. Veiy soon after this commenced hostilities with Persia ; and the self-denying, romantic, suc- cessful bravery of Athens, with the generous affability and great talents of her statesmen, soon raised her to the head of the whole Ionian con- federacy. As long as Persia was to be feared, Athens was loved ; but after tasting the sweets of power, her sway degenerated into a despotism, and created at length, in the war called the Pelo- ponnesiau, a coalition of all Dorian and vEolian Greece against her (b.c. 431). In spite of a fatal pestilence and the revolt of her Ionian subjects, the naval skill of Athenian seamen and tlie enter- prise of Athenian commanders proved more tlian a match for the hostile confederacy ; and when Athens at last fell (n.c. 404), she fell by the effects of internal sedition more truly than by Spartan lances or Persian gold, or even by her own rash and ovcrgrasping ambition. The de- moralizing effects of this war on all Greece were infinitely the worst result of it, and they were transmitted to succeeding generations. It wiis substantially a civil war in every province ; and, as all the inhabitants of Attica were every siun- mer forced to take refuge in the few fortresses they possessed, or in Athens itself, the simple countrymen became transformed into a hu::grv and profligate town rabble. From the earliest times the lonians loved tlie lyre and the song, and the hymns of poets firmed the staple of Athenian education. The constitu- tion of Solon admitted and demanded in the people a great knowledge of law, with a large share in its daily administration. Thus the acute- ness of the lawyer was grafted on tlie imagination of tlie poet. These are the two intellectual ele- ments out of which Athenian wisdom was de- veloped ; but it was stimulated and enriched by extended political action and political experience. History and Philosophy, as the words are under- stood in modern Europe, had their birth in Athens about the time of the Peloponnesian war. Then ATONEMENT, DAY OF first, also, the Oratory of the bar and of the popu- lar assembly was systematically cultivated, and the elements of mathematical science were admitted into the education of an accomplished man. In the imitative arts of Sculpture and Painting, as well as in Architecture, it need hardly be said that Athens carried off the palm in Greece: yet, in all these, the Asiatic colonies vied with her. Miletus took the start of her in literary com- position ; and, under slight conceivable changes, might have become the Athens of the world. But all details on these subjects would be here out of place. That Athens after the Peloponnesian war never recovered the political place which she previously held, can excite no surprise — that she ros.e so high towards it was truly wonderful. Sparta and Thebes, which successively aspired to the ' leader- ship ' of Greece, abused their power as flagrantly as Athens had done, and, at the same time, more coarsely. The never-ending cabals, the treaties made and violated, the coalitions and breaches, the alliances and wars, recurring every few years, destroyed all mutual confidence, and all possibility of again uniting Greece in any per- manent form of independence ; and, in conse- quence, the whole country was soon swallowed up in the kingdom of INIacedonia. With the loss of ci'V'il liberty, Athens lost her genius, her manlj' mind, and whatever remained of her virtue : she lofig continued to produce talents, which were too often made tools of iniquity, panders to power, and petty artificers of false philosophy. A Christian church existed in Athens soon after the apostolic times ; but as the city had no political importance, the church never assumed anv eminent position. ATONEMENT (See Rom. xi. 15 ; 2 Cor. v. 18, 19). In ecclesiastical writers, and in the canons of Councils, the word rendered atonement is employed to signify the reconciliation of offenders to the Church after a due course of penitence. Of this there are said to have been two kinds : the one consisting merely in the re- mission of punishment ; the other, in the restora- tion of the penitent to all the rights and privileges of communion. For the doctrine of Atonement, see articles Sacrifice, Redemption. ATONEMENT, DAY OF {day of pardon, Lev. xxiii. 27 ; xxv. 9). Though perhaps ori- ginally meant as a temporary day of expiation for the sin of the golden calf (as some would infer from Exod. xxxiii.), yet it was permanently insti- tuted by Moses as a day of atonement for sins in general ; and this day — the 10th of Tishri (our September) — is indeed the only fast ordained by Moses. This great fast commenced at sunset of the previous day, and lasted twenty-four hours, that is, from sunset to sunset. The ceremonies observed on this occasion are minutely described in Leviticus xvi., and were of a very laborious character, especially for the high-priest, who had to prepare himself during the previous seven days in nearly solitary confinement for the pecu- liar services that awaited him, and abstain during that period from all that could render him un- clean, or disturb his devotions. The most re- markable ceremony of the day was the entrance of the high-priest into the Sanctuary, a thing not allowed on any other day, and to which Paul alludes, Heb. ix. 7. ATTITUDES 115 The other duties of the higli-priest on that day consisted in frequent washings, changing his clothes, lighting the lamps, burning incens", &c. ; which operations commenced soon after mid- night of the 10th of the seventh mouth (Tishri). The ceremonies of worship peculiar to this day alone (besides those which were common to it with all other days) were: 1. That the high- priest, in his pontifical dress, confessed his own sins and those of his family, for the expiation of which he offered a bullock, on which he laid them ; 2. That two goats were set aside, one of which was by lot sacrificed to .Jehovah, while the other (Azazel), Avhich Avas determined by lot to be set at liberty, was sent to the desert bur- dened with the sins of the people (Lev. xvi.). On this day also the high-priest gave his blessing to the whole nation ; and the remainder of the day was spent in prayers and other works of penance. Among the present orthodox Jews, for the scape-goat of old, a cock seems to have been sub- stituted, which they call pardon, atonement, and which, on the eve of the day of Atonement, they turn three times round their head, each time saying (in Hebrew) that the cock is to be sacri- ficed mstead of them, after which it is slaughtered and eaten. Towards evening of the 9th of Tishri, and before they take the last meal for the next twenty-four hours, they repair to the synagogue, and each inflicts upon his neighbour thirty-nine blows with a piece of leather. Most of the Jews on that day (of atonement) wear a white gown— the same shrouds in which they are buried; while all of thera are obliged to stand the whole day without shoes, or even slippers. ATTALI'A, a maritime city of Paraphylia, in Asia Minor, near the mouth of the river Catarrhactes. It derived its name from its founder. Attains Philadelphus, king of Pergamos. It was visited by Paul and Barnabas, a.d. 4.5 (Acts xiv. 25). It still exists under the name of Adalia, and extensive and important ruins attest the former consequence of the city. ATTITUDES. The allusions in Scripture to attitudes and postures expressive of adoration, supplication, and respect, are very numerous. From these we learn enough to perceive that the usages of the Hebrews in this respect were very nearly, if not altogether, the same as those which are still practised in the East, and which the paintings and sculptures of Egypt show to have been of old employed in that country. These sources supply ample materials for illustration, which it may be well to arrange under those heads into which such acts naturally divide themselves. Adoration and Homage.— The Moslems in their prayers throw themselves successively, and according to an established routine, into the various postures (nine in number) which they deem the most appropriate to the several parts of the service. For the sake of reference and comparison, we have introduced them all at the head of this article ; as we have no doubt that the Hebrews employed on one occasion or an- other nearly all the various postures which the Moslems exhibit on one occasion. This is the chief difierence. In public and common worship the Hebrews prayed standing ; but in their sepa- 12 116 ATTITUDES ATTITUDES rate and private acts of worship they assumed the position which, according to their modes of doing homage or showing respect, seemed to them the most suitable to their present feelings or objects. It would appear, however, that some form of kneeling was most usual in private devotions (1 Kings viii. 54 ; Ezra ix. 5 ; Dan. vi. 10 ; 2 Chron. vi. 13). Standikq in public prayer is still the prac- tice of the Jews. This posture was adopted from the synagogue by the primitive Christians ; and is still maintained by the Oriental Churches. This appears, from their monuments, to have been the custom also among the ancient Persians and Egyptians, although the latter certainly sometimes kneeled before their gods. In the Moslem worship, four of the nine positions (cut 66, figs. 1, 2, 4, 8) are standing ones; and that posture which is repeated in three out of these four (2, 4, 8), may be pointed out as the proper Oriental posture of reverential standing, with folded hands. It is the posture in which people stand before kings and great men. While in this attitude of worship, the hands were sometimes stretched forth towards heaven in supplication or invocation (1 Kings viii. 22 ; 2 Chron. vi. 12, 29; Isa. i. 15). This was per- haps not so much the conventional posture (1 in the Moslem series), as the more natural posture of standing adoration with outspread hands, which we observe on the Egyptian monuments. The uplifting of one hand (the right) only in taking an oath was so common, that to say, ' I have lifted up my hand,' was equivalent to ' I have sworn' (Gen. xiv. 22; comp. xli. 44; Deut xxxii. 40). This posture was also common among other ancient nations ; and we find ex- amples of it in the sculptures of Persia (fig. 1) and Eome (fig. 2). Kneeling is very often described as a posture of worship (1 Kings viii. 54; Ezra ix. 5 ; Dan. vi. 10; 2 Chron. vi. 1.3; comp. 1 Kings xix. 18 ; Luke xxii. 41 ; Acts vii. 60). This is still an Oriental custom, and three forms of it occur (5, 6, 9) in the Moslem devotions. It was also in use, although not very frequent, among the an- cient Egyptians; who likewise, as well as the Hebrews (Exod. xxxiv. 8 ; 2 Chron. xxix. 29 ; Isa. i. 15), sometimes prostrated themselves upon the ground. The usual mode of prostration among the Hebrews by which they expressed the most intense humiliation, was by bringing not only the body but the head to the ground. The ordinary mode of prostration at the present time, and probably anciently, is that shown in one of the postures of Moslem worship (5), in which the body is not thrown flat upon the ground, but rests upon the knees, arms, and head. In order to express devotion, sorrow, compunction, or humiliation, the Israelites threw dust upon their heads (Josh. vii. 6; Job ii. 12; Lam. ii. 10; Ezek. xxiv. 7; Rev. xviii. 19), as was done also by the ancient Egyptians, and is still done by the modem Orientals. Under similar circumstances it was usual to smite the breast (Luke xviii. 13). This was also a prac- tice among the Egyptians, and the monuments at Thebes exhibit persons engaged in this apt while they kneel upon one knee. In 1 Chron. xvii. 16 we are told that 'David the king came and sat before the Lord,' and in that posture gave utterance to eloquent prayer, ATTITUDES or rather thanksgiving, -which the sequel of the chapter contains. Those unacquainted with Eastern manners are surprised at this. But there is a mode of sitting in the East which is highly respectful and even reverential. It is that which occurs in the Moslem forms of wor- ship (9). The person first kneels, and then sits back upon his heels. Attention is also paid to the position of the hands, which they cross, fold, or hide in the opposite sleeves. The variety of this formal sitting, which the following figure AVEN 117 represents, is highly respectfiil. The prophet Elijah must have been in this or some other similar posture when he inclined himself so much forward in prayer that his head almost touched his knees (1 Kings xviii. 42). Sdpplication, when addressed externally to man, cannot possibly be exhibited in any other forms than those which are used in supplication to God. Uplifted hands, kneeling, prostration, are common to both. On the Egyptian monu- ments, suppliant captives, of different nations, are represented as kneeling or standing with out- spread hands. Prostration, or falling at the feet of a person, is often mentioned in Scripture as an act of supplication or of reverence,' or of both (1 Sam. XXV. 24 ; 2 Kings iv. 37 ; Esth. viii. 3 ; Matt, xviii. 29 ; xxviii. 9 ; Mark v. 22 ; Luke viii. 41 ; John xi. 32 ; Acts x. 25). Sometimes in this posture, or with the knees bent as before indicated, the Orientals bring their forehead to the ground, and before resuming an erect posi- tion either kiss the earth, or the feet, or border of the garment of the king or prince before whom they are allowed to appear. There is no doubt that a similar practice existed among the Jews (Matt. ix. 20 ; Luke vii. 38, 45). Kissing the hand of another as a mark of affectionate respect, we do not remember as distinctly men- tioned in Scripture. But as the Jews had the other forms of Oriental salutation, we may con- clude that they had this also, although it does not happen to have been specially noticed. Kissing one's own hand is mentioned as early as the time of Job (xxxi. 27), as an act of homage to the heavenly bodies. It was properly a salu- tation, and as such an act of adoration to them. The Romans in like manner kissed their hands as they passed the temples or statues of their gods [Adoration]. It appears from 1 Sam. x. 1 ; 1 Kings xix. 18 ; Ps. ii. 1 2 ; that there was a peculiar kiss of ho- mage, the character of which is not indicated. It was probably that kiss upon the ftjrehead ex- pressive of high respect which was formerly, if not now, in use among the Bedouins. Bowing. — In the Scriptures there are different words descriptive of various postures of re- spectful bowing; as fo incline or how down the head, to bend down the hody very low, to bend the hnee, also to bless. These teitns indicate a con- formity with the existing usages of the East, in which the modes of bowing are equally diver- sified, and, in all likelihood, the same. These are — 1. touching the lips and the forehead with the right hand, with or without an inclination of the head or of the body, and with or with- out previously touching the ground ; 2. placing the right hand upon the breast, with or without an inclination of the head or of the body; 3. bending the body very low, with folded arms ; 4. bending the body and resting the hands on the knees : this is one of the postures of prayer, and is indicative of the highest respect in the presence of kings and princes. It appears to have been usual for a person to receive a blessing in a kneeling posture. We know also that the person who gave the blessing laid his hands upon the head of the person blessed (Gen. xlviii. 14). This is exactly the case at the present day in the East, and a picture of the existing custom would furnish a perfect ilfustration of the patriarchal form of blessing. This may be perceived from the annexed en- graving. AVA (2 Kings xvii. 24), also Ivah (2 Kings xviii. 34; xix. 13; Isa. xxxvii. 13), the capital of a small monarchical state conquered by the Assyrians, and from which king Shalmaneser sent colonies into Samaria. It is most probable that Ava was a Syrian or Mesopotamian town, of which no trace can now be found either in ancient writers or in the Oriental topographers, AVEN, a plain, ' the plain of the sun,' of Da- mascene Syria (Amos i. 5). It is usually sup- posed to be the Same as the plain of Baalbec, or 118 AXE valley of Baal, where there was a magnificent temple dedicated to the sun. AUGUS'TUS {venerable), the title assuined by Octavius, who, after his adoption by Julius Cffisar, took the name of Octavianus (i. e. Ex- Octavius), according to the Koman fashion; and was the first peacefully acknowledged emperor of Kome. He was emperor at the birth and during half the lifetime of our Lord ; but his name has no connection with Scriptural events, and occurs onty once (Luke ii. 1) in the New Testament, A'VIM, called also Avites and Hivites, a people descended from Canaan (Gen. x. 17), who originally occupied the southernmost portion of that territory in Palestine along the Mediter- ranean coast, which the Caphtorim or Philistmes afterwards possessed (Deut. ii. 23). As the terri- tory of the Avim is mentioned in Josh. xiu. 3, in addition to the five Philistine states, it would ap- pear that it was not included in theirs, and that the expulsion of the Avim was by a Philistine invasion prior to that by which the five principa- lities were founded. The territory began at Gaza, and extended southward to ' the river of Egypt' (Deut. ii. 23), forming what was the sole Philistine kingdom of Gerar in the time of Abra- ham, when we do not hear of any other Phi- listine states. There were then Avim, or Hivites, at Shechem (Gen. xxxiv. 2), and we afterwards find them also at Gibeon (Josh. ix. 7), and beyond the Jordan, at the foot of Mount Hermon (Josh, xi. 3) ; but we have no means of knowing whether these were original settlements of the Avim, or were formed out of the fragments of the nation which the Philistines expelled from southern Palestine. The original country of the Avim is called Hazerim in Deut. ii. 23 [Gerar ; Philis- tines]. AWL. The Hebrew word which denotes an awl or other instrument for boring a small hole, occurs in Exod. xxi. 6 ; Deut. xv. 17. Consider- ing that the Israelites had at that time recently withdrawn from their long sojourn in Egypt, HZJ) 4ZARIAH that in 1 Kings v. 7 it denotes the axe of a stone- mason, is by no means conclusive. The first text supposes a case of the head slipping from the helve in felling a tree. This would suggest that it was shaped like fig. 3, which is just the same instrument as our common hatchet, and appears to have been applied by the ancient Egyptians to the same general use as with us. 2. maatzad, which occur only in Isa. xliv. 12 ; and Jer. x. 3. From these passages it appears to have been a lighter implement than the former, or a kind of adze, used for fashioning or carving wood into shape ; it was probably, therefore, like figs. 4 to 7, which the Egyptians employed for tliis purpose. The differences of form and size, as indicated in the figures, appecir to have been determined with reference to light or heavy work : fig. 3 is a finer carving-tool. 3. qardom ; this is the commonest name for an axe or hatchet. It is this of which we read in Judg. ix. 48 ; Ps. Ixxiv. 5; 1 Sam. xiii. 20, 21 ; Jer. xlvi. 22. It appears to have been more exclusively employed than the garzen for felling trees, and had there- fore probably a heavier head. In one of the ^^^ there can be no doubt that the instruments were the same as those of that country, the fornis of which, from actual specimens in the British Museum, are shown in the annexed cut. They are such as were used by the sandal-makers and other workers in leather. AXE. Several instruments of this description are so discriminated in Scripture as to show that the Hebrews had them of difierent forms and for various uses. 1. garzen, which occurs in Deut. xix. 5 ; XX. 19 ; l' Kings vi. 7 ; Isa. x. 15. From these passages it appears that this kind was em- ployed in felling trees, and in hewing large timber for building. The conjecture of Gesenius, x;ii3I?^^^ Egyptian sculptures the inhabitants of Lebanon are represented as felling pine-trees with axes like fig. 1. As the one used by the Egyptians for the same purpose was also of this shape, there is little doubt that it was also in use among the Hebrews. The word rendered ' axe ' in 2 Kings vi. 5 is literally ' iron ;' but as an axe is certainly in- tended, the passage is valuable as showing that the axe-heads among the Hebrews were of iron. Those which have been found in Egypt are of bronze, which was very anciently and generally used for the purpose. AZARI'AH {ivhom Jehovah aids), a very com- mon name among the Hebrews, and hence borne by a considerable number of persons mentioned in Scripture. 1. AzARiAH, a high-priest (1 Chron. vi. 9), perhaps the same with Amariah, who lived under Jehoshaphat king of Judah (2 Chron. xix. 11), about B.C. 896. 2. AzARiAH, son of Johanan, a high-priest (1 Chron. vi. 10), whom some suppose the same BAAL as Zechsiriah, son of Jehoiada, who was killed B.C. 840 (2 Chron. xxiv. 20-22). 3. AzARiAH, the high-priest who opposed king Uzziah in offering incense to Jehovah (2 Chron. xxvi. 17). 4. AzARiAH, a high-priest in the time of Heze- kiah (2 Chron. xxxi. 10). 5. AzARiAH, the father of Seraiah, who was the last high-priest before the Captivity (I Chron. vi. 14). 6. AzARiAH, son of the high-priest Zadok; but it is uncertain if he succeeded his father ( 1 Kings iv. 2). 7. AzAiiiAH, captain of King Solomon's guards (1 Kings iv. 5). 8. AzARiAH, otherwise called Uzziah, king of Judah [Uzziah]. 9. Azariah, a prophet who met king Asa on his return from a great victory over the Cushite king Zerah (2 Chron. xxiii. 1) [Asa]. 10. AzARiAH, a person to whom the high- priest Jehoiada made known the secret of the existence of the young prince Joash, and who assisted in placing him on the throne (2 Chron. XV. 1), 11. AzARiAH, one of the two sons of king Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xxi. 2). 12. AzARiAH, one of the 'proud men' who rebuked Jeremiah for advising the people that remained in Palestine, after the expatriation to Babylon, not to retire into Egypt ; and who took the prophet himself and Baruch along with them to that country (Jer. xliii. 2-7). 13. AzARiAH, the Chaldffian name of Abed- nego, one of Daniel's three friends who were cast into the fiery furnace (Dan. i. 7 ; iii. 9). AZ'ZAH, a mode of spelling the Hebrew name which is elsewhere rendered Gaza. The name occurs in this form in Deut. ii, 23 ; Jer. xxv. 20 ; which last clearly shows that Gaza is intended. B. BA'AL (lord, master). As the idolatrous na- tions of the Syro- Arabian race had several gods, this word, by means of some accessory distinc- tion, became applicable as a name to many dif- ferent deities. 1. Baal (with the definite article, Judg. ii. 13 ; Jer. xix. 5 ; xxxix. 35 ; Eom. xi. 4) is appro- priated to the chief male divinity of the Phoe- nicians, the principal seat of whose worship was at Tyre. The idolatrous Israelites adopted the worship of this god (almost always in conjunc- tion with that of Ashtoreth) in the period of the Judges (Judg. ii. 13); they continued it in the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh, kings of Judah (2 Chron. xxviii. 2 ; 2 Kings xxi. 3) ; and, among the kings of Israel, especially in the reign of Ahab, who, partly through the influence of his wife, the daughter of the Sidonian king Ethbaal, appears to have made a systematic attempt to suppress the worship of God altogether, and to substitute that of Baal in its stead (I Kings xvi. 31); and in that of Hosea (2 Kings xvii. 16), although Jehu and Jehoiada once severally de- stroyed the temples and priesthood of the idol (2 Kings X. 18, sq. ; xi. 18). We read of altars, images, and temples BAAL 119 erected to Baal (1 Kings xvi. 32 ; 2 Kings iii. 2). The altars were generally on heights, as the summits of hills or the roofs of houses (Jer. xix. 5 ; xxxii. 29). His priesthood were a very numerous body (1 Kings xviii. 19), and were divided into the two classes of prophets and of priests (2 Kings x. 19). As to the rites by which he was worshipped, there is most frequent men- tion of incense being offered to him (2 Kings xxiii. 5), but also of bullocks being sacrificed (1 Kings xviii. 2C), and even of children, as to Moloch (Jer. xix. 5). According to the descrip- tion in 1 Kings xviii., the priests, during the sacrifice, danced about the altar, and, when their prayers were not answered, cut themselves with knives until the blood flowed. We also read of homage paid to him by bowing the knee, and by kissing his image (1 Kings xix. 18), and that his worshippers used to swear by his name (Jer. xii. 16). As to the power of nature which was adored under the form of the Tyrian Baal, many of the passages above cited show evidently that it was one of the heavenly bodies ; or, if we admit tliat resemblance between the Babylonian and Per- sian religions which Munter assumes, not one of the heavenly bodies really, but the astral spirit residing in one of them ; and the same line of induction as that which is pursued in the case of Ashtoreth, his female counterpart, leads to the conclusion that it was the sun. 2. Ba'al Be'rith, covenant-lord (Judg. ix. 4), is the name of a god worshipped by the people of Shechem (Judg. viii. 33 ; ix. 4, 46). 3. Baa'l Pe'or appears to have been properly the idol of the Moabites (Num. xxv. 1-9 ; Deut. iv. 3; Jos. xxii. 17; Ps. cvi. 28; Hos. ix. 10); but also of the Midianites (Num. xxxi. 15, 10). It is the common opinion that this god was worshipped by obscene rites. The utmost, how- ever, that the passages in which this god is named express, is the fact that the Israelites re- ceived this idolatry from the women of Moab, and were led away to eat of their sacrifices (cf. Ps. cvi. 28) ; but it is very possible for that sex to have been the means of seducing them into the adoption of their worship, without the idol- atry itself being of an obscene kind. It is also remarkable that so few authors are agreed even as to the general character of these rites. ]Most Jewish authorities represent his worship to have consisted of rites which are filthy in the extreme, but not lascivious. With regard to the origin of the term Peor, it is supposed to have been the original name of the mountain ; and Baal Peor to be the designation of the god worshipped there. Some identify this god with Chemosh. 4. Ba'alze'bub {flij-lord) occurs in 2 Kings i. 2-16, as the god of the Philistines at Ekron, whose oracle Ahaziah sent to consult. There is much diversity of opinion as to the sig- nification of this name, according as authors con- sider the title to be one of honour, as used by his worshippers, or one of contempt. The analogy of classical idolatry would lead us to conclude that all these Baals are only the same god under various modifications of attri- butes and emblems: but the scanty notices to which we owe all our knoAvledge of Syro-Arabian idolatry do not furnish data for any decided opi- nion on this subject. 120 BAAL-GAD BAAL is often found as the first element of compound names of places. In this case, Gese- nius thinks that it seldom, if ever, has any reference to the god of that name ; but that it denotes the place which possesses, which is the abode of the thing signified by the latter half of the compound. BA'ALAH, Baale-Jcdah, Kirjath-Baai- TKiKJATH Jearim]. BAALAH (Josh. xv. 29), Balah (Josh. xix. 3), BiLHAH (1 Chron. iv. 29), a town in the tribe of Simeon, usually confounded with Baalath ; but, as the latter was in Dan and this in Simeon, they would appear to have been distinct. BA'ALATH, a town in the tribe of Dan (Josh. xix. 44), apparently the same that was afterwards rebuilt by Solomon (I Kings ix. 18). BA'ALATH-BE'ER, probably the same as the Baal of 1 Clu-on. iv. 33— a city of Simeon; BAAL GAD called also Kamath-Negeb, or Southern Ramath (Josh. xix. 8 ; comp. 1 Sam. xxx. 27). BA'AL-GAD, a city ' in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hei-mon '(Josh. xi. 17 ; xii. 7). We are also infonued that among those parts of Pa- lestine which were unsubdued by the Hebrews at the death of Joshua, was ' all Lebanon towards the sun-rising, from Baal-gad, under Mount Her- mon, unto the entering into Hamath' (Josh. xiii. .5). This position of Baal-Gad is nOt unfavour- able to the conclusion which some have reached, that it is no other than the place which, from a temple consecrated to the sun, that stood there, was called by the Greeks Heliopolis, i. e- city of the sun ; and which the natives called and still call Baarbek, a word apparently of the same meaning. Baalbek is pleasantly situated on the lowest declivity of Anti-Libanus, at the opening of a small valley into the plain El-Bekaa. Through Ihis valley runs a small stream, divided into numberless I'ills for irrigation. The place is in N. lat. 34=^ 1' 30", and E. long. 36° U", distant 109 geogr. miles from Palmyra, and 38f from Tripoli. Its origin appears to be lost in the most remote antiquity, and the historical notices of it are very scanty. In the absence of more positive information we can only conjecture that its situ- ation on the high-road of commerce between Tyre, Palmyra, and the farther East, must have contributed largely to the wealth and magnifi- cence which it manifestly attained. It is men- tioned under the name of Heliopolis by Josephus, and also by Pliny. From the reverses of Roman coins we learn that Heliopolis was constituted a colony by Julius Csesar ; that it was the seat of a Roman garrison in the time of Augustus. Some of the coins of later date contain curious representations of the temple. After the age of Constantine the splendid temples of Baalbek were probably consigned to neglect and decay, unless indeed, as some ap- pearances indicate, they were then consecrated to Christian worship. From the accounts of Oriental writers Baalbek seems to have con- tinued a place of importance down to the time of the Moslem invasion of Syria. They describe it as one of the most splendid of Syrian cities, en- riched with stately palaces, adorned with monu- ments of ancient times, and abounding with trees, fountains, and whatever contributes to luxurious enjoyment. On the advance of the Moslems, it was reported to the emperor Heraclius as pro- tected by a citadel of great strength, and well able to sustain a siege. After the capture of Damascus it was regularl}- invested by the Moslems, and — containing an overflowing popu- lation, amply supplied with provisions and mili- tary stores— it made a courageous defence, but BAAL-GAD at length capitulated. Its importance at that period is attested by the ransom exacted by the conquerors, consisting of 2000 ounces of gold, 4000 ounces of silver, 2000 silk vests, and 1000 swords, together M-ith the arms of the garrison. It afterwards became the mart for the rich pil- lage of Syria : but its prosperity soon received a fatal blow from the khalif of Damascus, by whom it was sacked and dismantled, and the principal inhabitants put to the sword (a.d. 748). During the Crusades, being incapable of making any resistance, it seems to have quietly sub- mitted to the strongest. In the year 1400 it was pillaged by Timour Beg, in his progress to Da- mascus, after he had taken Aleppo. Afterwards it fell into the hands of the Metaweli— a bar- barous predatory tribe, who were nearly exter- minated when Djezzar Pasha permanently sub- jected the whole district to Turkish supremacy. The ruins of Heliopolis lie on an eastern branch of the mountain, and are called, by way of eminence, the Castle. The most prominent objects visible from the plain are a lofty portico of six columns, part of the gi-eat temple, and the walls and columns of another smaller temple a little below, surrounded by green trees. There is also a singular and unique circular temple, if it may be so called, of which we give a figure. These, with a curious column on the highest point within the walls, form the only erect por- tions of the ruins. The ruins at Baalbek in the mass are apparently of three successive eras : first, the gigantic hewn stones, in the face of the platform or basement on which the temple stands, and which appear to be remains of older buildings, perhaps of the more ancient temple which occupied the site. These celebrated blocks, which in fact form the great wonder of the place, vary from 30 to 40 feet in length ; but there are three, forming an upper course 20 feet from the ground, which together measure 190 feet, being severally of the enormous dimensions of 63 and 64 feet in length, by 12 in breadth and thickness. ' They are,' says Richter, ' the largest stones I have ever seen, and might of themselves have easily given rise to the popular opinion that Baalbek was built by angels at the command of Solomon. The whole wall, indeed, is composed of immense stones, and its resem- blance to the remains of the Temple of Solomon, which are still shown in the foundations of the mosque Es-Sakkara on Mount Moriah, cannot fail to be observed.' In the neighbouring quarries, from which they were cut, one stone, hewn out but not carried away, is of much larger dimensions than any of those which have been mentioned. To the second and third eras belong the Roman temples, which, being of and about the time of Antoninus Pius, present some of the finest specimens of Corinthian architecture in existence, and possess a wonderful grandeur and majesty from their lofty and imposing situ- ation (Addison, ii. 57). The present Baalbek is a small village to the east of the ruins, in a sad state of wretchedness and decay. It is little more than a heap of rubbish, the houses being built of mud and sun- dried bricks. The population of 5000, which the place is said to have contained in 1751, is now reduced to barely 2000 persons ; the two handsome mosques and fine serai of the Emir, BABEL, TOWER OF ISl mentioned by Burckhardt, are no longer distin- guishable ; and travellers may now inquire in vain for the grapes, the pomegranates, and the fruits which were formerly so abundant. BA'AL-GUR, or Guk-Baal. We read in 2 Chron. xxvi. 7, that ' the Lord assisted Uzziah against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-Baal.' It was doubtless some town of Arabia-Petrsea. BA'AL-HAM'ON, a place where Solomon is said to have had a vineyard (Cant. viii. 11). There was a place called Hamon, in the tribe of Asher (Josh. xix. 28), which Ewald thinks was the same as Baal-Hamon. The book of Judith (viii. 3) places a Balamon or Belamon in central Palestine, which suggests another alternative, BA'AL-HA'ZOR, the place where Absalom kept his flocks, and held his sheep-shearing feast (2 Sam. xiii. 23). It is said to have been ' beside Ephraim,' not in the tribe of that name, but near the city called Ephraim which was in the tribe of Judah, and is mentioned in 2 Chron. xiii. 19, John xi. 54. This Ephraim is placed by Euse- hius eight miles from Jerusalem on the road to Jericho ; and is supposed by Reland to have been between Bethel and Jericho. BA'AL-HER'MON (I Chron. v. 23; Judg. iii. 3). It seems to have been a place in or near Mount Hermon, and not far from Baal-gad, if it was not, as some suppose, the same place. BA'AL-ME'ON (Num. xxxii. 38 ; 1 Chron. V. 8 ; otherwise Beth-Meon, Jer. xlviii. 23, and Beth-Baal-Meon, Josh. xiii. 17), a town in the tribe of Reuben beyond the Jordan, but which was in the possession of the Moabites in the time of Ezekiel (xxv. 9). At the distance of two ailes south-east of Heshbon, Burckhardt found the ruins of a place called Mtfoun, or (as Dr. Robinson corrects it) Mai'n, which is doubtless the same. BA'AL-PER'AZIM. This name, meaning ' place of breaches,' was imposed by David upon a place in or near the valley of Rephaim, where he defeated the Philistines (2 Sam. v. 20 ; comp. 1 Chron. xiv. 11 ; Isa. xxviii. 21). BA'AL-SHAL'ISHA (2 Kings iy. 42), a place in the district of Shalisha (1 Sam. ix. 4). Ense- bius and Jerome describe it as a city fifteen Roman miles north from Diospolis, near Mount Ephraim. BA'AL-TA'MAR, a place near Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, where the other tribes fought with the Benjamites (Judg. xx. 33). BA'AL-ZE'PHON, a town belonging to Egypt, on the border of the Red Sea (Exod. xiv. 2 ; Num. xxxiii. 7). Nothing is known of its situ- ation. BA'BEL, TOWER OF. From the account given in Genesis xi. 1-9, it appears that the pri- mitive fathers of mankind having, from the time of the Deluge, wandered without fixed abode, settled at length in the land of Shinar, where they took up a permanent residence. As yet they had remained together without experiencing those vicissitudes and changes in their outward lot which encourage the formation of different modes of speech, and were, therefore, of one language. Arrived however in the land of Shinar, and finding materials suitable for the construction of edifices, they proceeded to make and burn bricks, and using the bitumen, in which 122 BAliEL, TUV\ EK OF parts of the country abound, for cement, they built a city and a tower of great elevation. A divine interference, however, is related to have taken place. In consequence, the language of the builders was confounded, so that they were no longer able to understand each other. They therefore ' left off to build the citj ,' and were scattered ' abroad upon the face of all the earth. The narrative adds that the place took its name of Babel (confusion) from this confusion ot tongues. That the work was subsequently re- sumed, and in process of time completed, is known on the best historical vouchers. The sacred narrative (Gen. xi. 4) assigns as the reason which prompted men to the under- taking, a desire to possess a building so large and high as might be a mark and rallying point in the vast plains where they had settled, m order to prevent their being scattered abroad, and thus the ties of kindred be rudely sundered, individuals be involved in peril, and their numbers be prematurely thinned at a time when population was weak and insufficient. Such an attempt agrees with the circumstances in which the sons of Noah were placed, and is m itselt ot a commendable nature. But that some ambitious and unworthy motives were blended with these feelings is clearly implied in the sacred record. After the lapse of so many centuries, and the occurrence in 'the land of Shinar ' of so many revolutions, it is not to be expected that the identification of the Tower of Babel with any actual ruin should be easy, or lead to any very certain result. The majority of opinions, how- ever, among the learned, make it the same as the temple of Belus described by Herodotus, which is found iu the dilapidated remains of the Birs >''''"nid From the Holy Scriptures it appears that when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and le- velled most of the city with the ground, 'he brought away the treasures of the temple, and the treasures of the king's house, and put them all into the temple of Bel at Babylon.' The brazen and other vessels which Solomon had caused to be made for the service of Jehovah arc- said to have been broken up by order of the Assvrian monarch, and formed into the famous BABYLOM gates of brass which so long adorned the superb entrances into the great area of the temple of Belus. The purposes to which this splendid edifice was appropriated varied in some degree with the changes in opinions and manners which successive ages brought. Consecrated at the first, as it probably was, to the immoderate ambition of the monotheistic children of the Deluge, it passed to the Sabian religion, and thus falling one degree from purity of worship, be- came a temple of the sun and the rest of the host of heaven, till, in the natural progress of corrup- tion, it sank into gross idolatry ; and was polluted by the vices which generally accompanied the observances of heathen superstition. In one purpose it undoubtedly proved of service to mankind. The Babylonians were given to the study of astronomy. This ennobling pursuit was one of the peculiar functions of the learned men, denominated by Herodotus, Chaldaians, the priests of Belus ; and the temple was crowned by an astronomical observatory, from the elevation of which the starry heavens could be most ad- vantageously studied over plains so open and wide, and in an atmosphere so clear and bright, as those of Babylonia. The present appearance of the tower as pre- sei-ved in the Birs Nimrud is deeply impressive, rising suddenly as it does out of a wide desert plain, with its rent, fragmentary, and fire-blasted pile, masses of vitrified matter lying around, and the whole hill itself on which it stands caked and hardened out of the materials with which the temple had been built. A very considerable space round the tower, forming a vast court or area, is covered with mins, aSbrding abundant vestiges of former buildings ; exhibiting uneven heaps of various sizes, covered with masses of broken brick, tiles, and vitrified fragments — all bespeaking some signal overthrow in former days. The towerlike ruin on the summit is a solid mass 28 feet broad, constructed of the most beautiful brick masonry. It is rent from the top nearly halfway to the bottom. It is perforated in ranges of square openings. At its base lie several immense uushapen masses of fine brick- work—some changed to a state of the hardest vitrification, affording evidence of the action of fire which seems to have been the lightning of heaven. The base of the tower, at present, measures 2082 feet in circumference. Hardly half of its former altitude remains. From its summit, the view in the distance presents to the south an arid desert plain ; to the west the same trackless waste; towards the north-east marks of buried ruins are visible to a vast distance. BAB'YLON; the name in Hebrew is Babel, from the confusion of tongues (Gen. xi. 1-9). In Daniel iv. 27 the place is appropriately termed ' Babylon the Great.' This famous city was the metropolis of the province of Babylon and of the Babylonio-Chalda;an empire. It was situated in a wide plain on the Euphrates, which divided it into two nearly equal parts. According to the book of Genesis, its foundations were laid at the same time with those of the tower of Babel. Iu the revolutions of centuries it underwent many changes, and received successive reparations and additions. Semiramis and Nebuchadnezzar are tliose to whom the city was indebted for its greatest augmentations and its chief splendour. BABYLON Its site has been ascertained to be near Hillah, about forty miles from Bagdad. According to Herodotus, the walls of Babylon were sixty miles in circumference, built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen, and raised round the city in the form of an exact square ; hence they measured fifteen miles along each face. They were 87 feet thick and 350 feet high protected on the outside by a vast ditch lined with the same material, and proportioned in depth and width to the elevation of the walls. The city was entered by twenty-five gates on each side, made of solid brass, and additionally strengthened by 250 towers, so placed tha/i between every two gates were four towers, and four additional ones at the four corners. The whole city contained 67C squares, each two miles and a quarter in circumference. The river ran through the city from north to south ; and on each side was a quay of the same thickness as the walls of the city, and 100 stadia in length. In these quays were gates of brass, and from each of them steps descending into the river. A bridge was thrown across the river, of great beauty and admirable contrivance, a furlong in length and 30 feet in breadth. The greatest cir- cumference ascribed by the ancients to the city walls is 480 stadia, the most moderate 360. The smallest computation supposes an area for the city of which we can now scarcely form an idea. Its population however may not have been in proportion to its extent. The place was pro- bably what in these days would be considered an enclosed district rather than a compact city. One or two additional facts may aid in con- veying a full idea of this great and magnificent- city. When Cyrus took Babylon by turning the Euphrates into a neighbouring lake, the dwellers in the middle of the place were not for some time aware that their fellow-townsmen who were near the walls had been captured. From the fallen towers of Babylon have arisen not only all the present cities in its vicinity, but others which, like itself, have long since gone down into the dust. Since the days of Alexander four capitals, at least, have been built out of its remains— Seleucia by the Greeks, Ctesiphon by the Parthians, Al Maidan by the Persians, and Kufa l>y the Caliphs ; with towns, villages, and caravansaries without number. The necessary- fragments and materials were transported along the rivers and the canals. The new palace built by Nebuchadnezzar was prodigious in size and superb in embellishments. Its outer wall em- braced six miles; within that circumference were two other embattled walls, besides a great tower. Three brazen gates led into the grand area, and every gate of consequence throughout the city was of brass. The palace was splendidly decorated with sta- tues of men and animals, with vessels of gold and silver, and furnished with luxuries of all kinds brought thither from conquests in Egypt, Pales- tine, and Tyre. Its greatest boast were the hanging gardens. They are attributed to the gallantry of Nebuchadnezzar, who constructed them in compliance with a wish of his queen Amytis to possess elevated groves such as she had enjoyed on the hills around her native Ecba- BABYLON 123 was reared, 400 feet on each side, while terraces one above another rose to a height that over- topped the walls of the city, that is, above 300 feet in elevation. The ascent from terrace to terrace was made by corresponding flights of steps. The level of each terrace or garden was then formed in the following manner : the top of the piers was first laid over with flat stones, 16 feet in length and 4 feet in width ; on these stones were spread beds of matting, then a thick layer of bitumen; after which came two courses of bricks, which were covered with sheets of solid lead. The earth was heaped on this platform ; and in order to admit the roots of large trees, prodigious hollow piers were built and filled with mould. From the Euphrates, which flowed close to the foundation, water was drawn up by ma- chinery. The whole had, to those who saw it from a distance, the appearance of woods over- hanging mountains. Such was the completion of Nebuchadnezzar's work, when he found him- self at rest in his house, and flourished in his palace. The king spoke and said, ' Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of 3ie kingdom by the might of my power, and the honour of my majesty' (Dan. iv.). Nowhere could the king have taken so comprehensive a view of the city he had so magnificently con- structed and adorned as when walking on the highest terrace of the gardens of his palace. The remains of this palace are supposed to be found in the vast mound or hill called by the natives Kasr. It is of irregular form, 800 yards in length and 600 yards in breadth. Its appear- tana. Babylon was all flat ; and to accomplish so extravagant a desire an artificial mountain ance is constantly undergoing change from Ihe continual digging which takes place in its inex- haustible quarries for brick of the strongest and finest material. Hence the mass is furrowed into deep ravines, crossing and recrossing each other in every direction. On the north side of the Kasr, amongst the mouldering fragments, and elevated on a sort of ridge, stands the famous solitary tree, called by the Arabs Atheleh; it bears every mark of antiquity in appearance, situation, and tradition. Its trunk was originally enormous ; but, worn away by the lapse of ages, it is now but a ruin amid ruins : nevertheless it 124 BABYLONIA bears spreading and ever-green branches. This tree is revered by the Arabs as holy, from a tra- dition current among them, that the Almighty himself preserved it here from the earliest time, to form a refuge for the Caliph Ali, who, fainting -with fatigue from the battle of Hillah, found se- cure repose under its shade. In digging in the extensive mounds which constitute the ruins of Babylon, an endless suc- cession of curious objects is found from time to time. Babylon, as the centre of a great kingdom, was the seat of boundless luxury, and its inhabitants were notorious for their addiction to self-indul- gence and effeminacy. On the ground of their awful wickedness the Babylonians were threat- ened with condign punishment, through the mouths of the prophets ; and the tyranny with Avhich the rulers of the city exercised their sway was not without a decided effect in bring- ing on them the terrific consequences of the Divine vengeance. Nor in the whole range of literature is there anything to be found approach- ing to the sublimity, force, and terror with which Isaiah and others speak on this painfiil subject (Isa. xiv. 11 ; xlvii. 1 ; Jer. li. 39 ; Dan. v. 1). Under Nabonnidus, the last king, B.C. 538 or 539, Babylon was taken by Cyrus, after a siege of two years. An insurrection, under Darius Hystaspis (b.c. 500), the object of which was to gain emancipation from Persian bondage, led that prince to punish the Babylonians by throw- ing down the walls and gates which had been left by Cyrus, and by expelling them from their homes. Xerxes plundered and destroyed the temple of Belus, which Alexander the Great would probably, but for his death, have restored. Under Seleucus Nicator the city began to sink speedily, after that monarch built Seleucia on the Tigris, and made it his place of abode. In the time of Strabo and Diodorus Siculus the place lay in ruins. Jerome, in the fourth century of the Christian era, learnt that the site of Babylon had been converted into a park or hunting-ground for the recreation of the Persian monarchs, and that, in order to preserve the game, the walls had been from time to time repaired. More thorough destruction than that which has overtaken Babylon cannot well be conceived. Eich was unable to discover any traces of its vast walls, and even its site has been a subject of dispute. ' On its ruins,' says he, ' there is not a single tree growing, except the old one,' which only serves to make the desolation more apparent Ruins like those of Babylon, composed of rub- bish impregnated with nitre, cannot be cultivated. The ruins of Babylon and its vicinity consist in general of mounds of earth formed by the decom- position of buildings, channelled and furrowed by the weather, and having the surface strewed with pieces of brick, bitumen, and pottery. Neither the ancient nor the modern authorities are in exact agreement respecting particular places and localities, and any attempt to fijx them now can be nothing more than an approach to the reality. BABYLO'NIA (so called from the name of its chief city, termed also Chalda;a, from those who at a later period inhabited it), a province of Middle Asia, bordered on the north by Mesopo- tamia, on the east by the Tigris, on the south by BABYLONIA the Persian Gulf, and on the west by the Arabian Desert. On the north it begins at the point where the Euphrates and Tigris approach each other, and extends to their common outlet in the Per- sian Gulf, pretty nearly comprising the country now designated Irak Arabi. The climate is tem- perate and salubrious. The country in ancient times was very prolific, especially in corn and palms. Timber-trees it did not produce. Many parts had springs of naphtha. As rain is infre- quent, even in the winter months, the country owes its fruitfulness to the annual overflow of the Euphrates and the Tigris, whose waters are conveyed over the land by means of canals. The alluvial plains of Babylonia, Chaldaea, and Susiana, including all the river, lake, and newer marine deposits at the head of the Persian Gulf, occupy an extent of about 32,400 square geographic miles. The rivers are the Euphrates and its tributaries, the Tigris and its tributaries, the Kerah, the Karun and its tributaries, the Je- rahi, and the Idiyan ; constituting, altogether, a vast hydrographical basin of 1 89,200 geographic square miles ; containing, within itself, a central deposit of 32,400 miles of alluvium, almost en- tirely brought down by the waters of the various rivers, and which have been accumulating from periods long antecedent to all historical records. The modern accumulation of soil in Babylonia from annual inundations is still very great. Se- veral canals convey water at certain sezisons of the year from one river and part of the country to another. In general, the alluvium that is brought down by canals and rivulets, and depo- sited at their mouths, is a fine clay. The great extent of the plam of Babylonia is everywhere altered by artificial works. There is still some cultivation and some irrigation. Flocks pasture in meadows of coarse grasses ; the Arabs' dusky encampments are met with here and there ; but, except on the banks of the Euphrates, there are feyr remains of the date-groves, the vineyards, and the gardens which adorned the same land in the days of Artaxerxes ; and still less of the po- pulation and labour which must have made a garden of such soil in the time of Nebuchadnez- zar. The vegetation of these tracts is charac- terized by the usual saline plants, the river banks being fringed by shrubberies of tamarisk and acacia, and occasional groves of a poplar which has been mistaken for a willow. The Euphrates is still a majestic stream, but wanders through a dreary solitude. Its banks are hoary with reeds, and the grey osier-willows are yet there on which the captives of Israel hung up their harps, and, while Jerusalem was not, refused to be comforted. According to Een- nel its breadth at Babylon is about 491 English feet. Rich ascertained its depth to be 2^ fathoms, and that the current runs gently at the medium rate of about two knots an hour. The Euphrates is far less rapid than the Tigris, and rises at an earlier period. When at its height — from the latter end of April to the latter end of June — it overflows the surrounding country. The ruins of Babylon are then so inundated as to render many parts of them inaccessible. The course of the river through the site of Babylon is north and south. During the three great empires of the East, no tract of the whole appears to have been so reputed for fertility and riches as the dis- BABYLONIA trict of Babylonia, •which arose in the main from the proper management of the mighty river which flowed through "it. But the abundance of the country has vanished as clean away as if ' the besom of desolation' had swept it from north to south ; the whole land, from the outskirts of Bagdad to the farthest reach of sight, lying a melancholy waste. In order to defend the country against hostile attacks from its neighbours, northward from Ba- bylon, between the two rivers, a wall was built, which is known under the name of the jNIedian Wall. The Babylonians were famous for the manufacture of cloth and carpets : they also ex- celled in making perfumes, in carving in wood, and in working in precious stones. They were a commercial as well as a manufacturing people, and carried on a very extensive trade alike by land and by sea. Babylon was indeed a commercial depot between the Eastern and the Western worlds (Ezek. xvii. 4 ; Isa. xliii. 14). Thus favoured by nature and aided by art, Ba- bylonia became the first abode of social order and the cradle of civilization. The original inhabitants were without* doubt of the Shemitic family ; and their language be- longed to the class of tongues spoken by that race, particularly to the Aramaic branch, and was indeed a dialect similar to that which is now called Chaldee. From the account which is found in Gen. x. 8, Nimrod, the son of Cush, appears to have founded the kingdom of Babylon, and to have been its first sovereign. In the 14th chap, of the same book, AmrapJiel is cursorily mentioned as king of Shinar. In the reign of Hezekiah (a.c. 713) — 2 Kings XX. 12 — ' Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan,' was ' king of Babylon,' and ' sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.' About a hundred years later, Jeremiah and Habakkuk speak of the invasion of the Babylonians under the name of the Chaldaeans; and now Nebuchadnezzar ap- pears in the historical books (2 Bangs xxiv. 1, sq. ; Jer. xxxvi. 9, 27) as head of the all-subduing empire of Babylon. Evilmerodach (2 Kings xxv. 27; Jer. lii. 31), son of the preceding, is also mentioned as ' king of Babylon ;' and with Bel- shazzar (Dan. v. 1, 30) the line of the Chaldaean kings was closed : he perished in the conquest of Babylon by the Medo-Persians (Dan. v. 31), ' and Darius, the Median, took the kingdom.' The domination of the Chaldaeans in Babylon has given historians some trouble to explain. The Chaldaeans appear to have originally been a nomadic tribe in the mountains of Armenia, numbers of whom are thought to have settled in Babj'lon as subjects, where, having been civilized and grown powerful, they seized the supreme power and founded a Chaldaeo-Babylonian em- pire. There can be little doubt that the Chaldaeans were a distinct nation. In connection with Ba- bylonia they are to be regarded as a conquering nation as well as a learned people : they intro- duced a correct method of i*eckoning time, and began their reign with Nabonassar, B.C. 747. The brilliant period of the Chaldaeo-Babylonian em- pire extended to b.c. 538, when the great city, in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel, was sacked and destroyed. Babylonia, during this BADGER 125 period, was 'the land of the Chalda;ans,' the same as that into which the children of Judah were carried away captive (Jer. xxiv. 5) ; which contained Babylon (Jer. 1. 1 ; Ezek. xii. 13) ; was the seat of the king of Babylon (Jer. xxv.' 12), and contained the house of the god of Nebu- chadnezzar (Dan. i. 1, 2). BA'CA and BECAIM occur, the first in Ps. Ixxxiv. 6, ' Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well ; the rain also filleth the pools ;' the second in 2 Sam. v. 23, 24, and in 1 Chron. xiv. 14, 15, 'And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that thou shalt bestir thyself." Neither the mulbernj nor the pear-tree, considered by some to be the baca of the Scriptures, satisfies translators and commentators, because they do not possess any characters particularly suitable to the above passages. It is evident that the tree alluded to, whatever it is, must be common in Palestine, must grow in the neighbourhood of water, have its leaves easily moved, and have a name in some of the cognate languages similar to the Hebrew Baca. The only one with which we are acquainted answering to these conditions is that called bak by the Arabs, or rather shajratal-ba/i—tha.t is, the Jfj/ or gnat tree. As it appears to us sufliciently clear that the bak-tree is a kind of poplar, and as the Arabic ' bak ' is very similar to the Hebrew ' Baca,' so it is probable that one of the kinds of poplar may be intended in the above passages of Scripture. And it must be noted that the poplar is as appro- priate as any tree can be for the elucidation of the passages in which baca occurs. For the poplar is well known to delight in moist situa- tions, and Bishop Home, in his Comm. on Psalm Ixxxiv., has inferred that in the valley of Baca the Israelites, on their way \o Jerusalem, were refreshed by plenty of water. It is not less ap- propriate in the passages in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, as no tree is more remarkable than the poplar for the ease with which its leaves are rustled by the slightest movement of the air ; an efiect which might be caused in a still night even by the movement of a body of men on the ground, when attacked in flank or when unpre- pared. That poplars are common in Palestine may be proved fi-om Kitto's Palestine, i. 114: 'Of poplars we only know, with certainty, that the black poplar, the aspen, and the Lombardy poplar grow in Palestine. The aspen, whose long leaf-stalks cause the leaves to tremble with every breath of wind, unites with the willow and the oak to overshadow the watercourses of the Lower Lebanon, and, with the oleander and the acacia, to adorn the ravines of southern Pales- tine : we do not know that the Lombardy poplar has been noticed but by Lord Lindsay, who de- scribes it as growing with the walnut-tree and weeping-willow under the deep torrents of the Upper Lebanon.' BADGER. This is unquestionably a wrong interpretation of the word tachash, since the badger is not found in Southern Asia, and has not as yet been noticed out of Europe. The word occurs in the plural form in Exod. xxv. 5 ; xxvi. 14; XXXV. 7, 23; xxxvi. 19; xxxix. 34; Num. iv. 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 25; and Ezek. xvL 10; and in connectioa with oroth, skins, is used to 126 BAHURIM denote the covering of the Tabernacle. Negro- land and Central and Eastern Africa contain a number of ruminating animals of the great ante- lope family ; -vrhich are known to the natives under various names, such as pacasse, empacasse, thacasse, facasse, and tachaitze, all more or less varieties of the word tachash : they are of con- siderable size ; often of slaty and purple grey colours, and might be termed stag-goats and ox- goats. Of these one or more occur in the hunt- ing-scenes on Egj'ptian monuments, and there- fore we may conclude that the skins were acces- sible in abundance, and may have been dressed •with the hair on for coverings of baggage, and for boots, such as we see worn by the human figures in the same processions. Thus we have the greater number of the conditions of the ques- tion sufficiently realized to enable us to draw the inference that tachash refers to a ruminant of the Aigocerine or Damaline groups, most likely of an iron-grey or slaty-coloured species. BAG, a purse or pouch (Deut. xxv. 13; Job xiv. 17; 1 Sam. xvii. 40; Luke xii. 33). The money deposited in the treasuries of Eastern princes, or intended for large payments, or to be sent to a government as taxes or tribute, is col- lected in long narrow bags or purses, each con- taining a certain amount of money, and sealed with the official seal. As the money is counted for this purpose, and sealed with great care by officers properly appointed, the bag, or purse, passes current, as long as the seal remains un- broken, for the amount marked thereon. In the receipt and payment of large sums, this is a great and important convenience in countries where the management of large transactions by paper is unknown, or where a currency is chiefly or ■wholly of silver : it saves the great trouble of counting or weighing loose money. This usage is so well established, that, at this day, in the Levant, ' a purse ' is the very name for a certain amount of money (now five pounds sterling), and all large payments are stated in ' purses.' The antiquity of this custom is attested by the monu- ments of Egj'pt, in which the ambassadors of distant nations are represented as bringing their tributes in sealed bags of money to Thothmes IIL ; and we see the same bags deposited intact in the royal treasury. When coined money was not used,' the seal must have been considered a voucher not only for the amount, but for the purity of the metal. The money collected in the Temple, in the time of Joash, seems to have been made up into bags of equal value after this fashion ; vvhich were probably delivered, sealed, to those who paid the workmen (2 Kings xii. 10 ; comp. also 2 Kings v. 23 ; Tobit ix. 5 ; xi. 16). BAIIU'RIM, a place not far from Jerusalem, beyond the Mount of Olives, on the road to the BALAAM Jordan, where Shimei cursed and threw stones at David (2 Sam. xvi. 5). BA'LAA^I is supposed by some to mean lord of the people ; but by others destruction of the people — an allusion to his supposed supernatural powers. The first mention of this remarkable person is in Numbers xxii. 5, where we are in- formed that Balak ' sent messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people. Of the numerous paradoxes which we find in ' this strange mixture of a man,' as Bishop Newton terms him, not the least striking is that with the practice of an art expressly forbidden to the Israelites (Deut. xviii. 10), he united the know- ledge and worship of Jehovah, and was in the habit of receiving intimations of his will (Num. xxii. 8). The inquiry naturally arises, by what means did he become acquainted with the true religion ? Dr. Hengstenberg suggests that he was led to renounce idolatry by the reports that reached him of the miracles attending the Exodus ; and that having experienced the decep- tive nature of the soothsaying art, he hoped by becoming a worshipper of the God of the He- brews, to acquire fresh power over nature, and a clearer insight into futurity. Yet the sacred narrative gives us no reason to suppose that he had any previous knowledge of the Israelites. In Num. xxii. 11, he merely repeats Balak's message, ' Behold there is a people come out of Egypt,' &c., without intimating that he had heard of the miracles wrought on their behalf. The allusion in Num. xxiii. 22 might be prompted by the Divine aflJatus which he then felt. And had he be£n actuated, in the first instance, by motives of personal aggrandizement, it seems hardly probable that he would have been favoured with those divine communications ■with which his language in Num. xxii. 8 implies a familiarity. Since, in the case of Simon Magus, the offer to ' purchase the gift of God with money' (Acts viii. 20) called forth an immediate and awful rebuke from the Apostles, would not Balaam's attempt to obtain a similar gift with a direct view to personal emolument and fame have met with a similar repulse ? In the absence of more copious and precise information, may we not reasonably conjecture that Jacob's residence for twenty years in Mesopotamia contributed to maintain some just ideas of religion, though min- gled -with much superstition* To this source and the existing remains of Patriarchal religion, Balaam was probably indebted for that truth which he unhappily ' held in unrighteousness ' (Rom. i. 18). On the narrative contained in Numbers xxii. 22-35 a difference of opinion has long existed, even among tliose ■who fully admit its authen- ticity. The advocates for a literal interpretation urge, that in a historical work and a narrative bearing the same character, it would be unnatural to regard any of the occurrences as taking place in vision, unless expressly so stated; — that it would be difficult to determine where the vision begins, and where it ends; — that Jehovah's ' opening the mouth of the ass' (Num. xxii. 28) must have been an external act ; and, finally, that Peter's language is decidedly in favour of the literal sense : — ' The dumb ass, speaking with a man's voice, reproved the madness of the Pro- liALSAM-TREE phet' (2 Peter ii. IG). Those who conceive that the speaking of the ass and the appearance of the Angel occurred iu vision to Balaam insist upon the fact that dreams and visions were the ordinary methods by which God made himself known to the Prophets (Num. xii. 6); they remark that Balaam, in the introduction to his third and fourth prophecies (xxiv. 3, 4, 15), speaks of him- self as ' the man who had his eyes shut' (v. Lam. iii. 8), and who, on falling down iu prophetic exstasy, had his eyes opened ; — that he expressed no surprise on hearing the ass speak ; and that neither his servants nor the Moabitish princes who accompanied him appear to have been cog- nizant of any supernatural appearance. BAL'ADAN. [Merodach-Baladan.] BA'LAK (emptier, spoiler), son of Zippor, and king of the Moabites (Num. xxii. 2, 4), who was so terrified at the approach of the victorious army of the Israelites, who in their passage through the desert had encamped near the confines of his territory, that he applied to Balaam, who was then reputed to possess great influence with the higher spirits, to curse them. From Judg. xiv. 25, it is clear that Balak was so certain of the fulfilment of Balaam's blessing, ' blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee' (Num. xxiv. 9), that he never afterwards made the least military attempt to oppose the Israelites (comp. Mic vi. 5; Rev. ii. 14). BALANCE. [Weighing.] BALDNESS may be artificial or natural. Artificial baldness, caused by cutting or shaving off the hair of the head, a custom among all the ancient and Eastern nations, in token of mourn- ing for the death of a near relative (Jer. xvi. 6 ; Amos viii. 10; Micah i. 16), Moses forbade to the Israelites (Deut. xiv. 1), probably for the very reason of its being a heathen custom ; for a leading object of his policy was to remove the Jews as far as possible from the ways and cus- toms of the surrounding nations. Natural bald- ness was always treated among the Israelites with contempt (Lev. xiii. 40, &c.), and a bald man was not unfrequently exposed to the ridi- cule of the mob (2 Kings ii. 23; Isa. iii. I")- perhaps from the suspicion of being under some leprous taint. The public prejudice thus enter- tained against a bald-headed man was perhaps the main reason why he was declared unfit for the priestly office (Lev. xxi. 20). BALM. This substance is mentioned in Gen. xxxviii. 2.'j ; xliii. 11; Jer. viii. 22; xli. 8; xlvi. 1 1 ; Ezek. xxvii. 17, as a medicinal aromatic. It is shown in the following article that this ' balm ■ could not have been the product of the so called balsam-tree, or balm of Gilead tree ; and the product actually denoted by the word is iji fact unknown. BALSAM-TEEE. The balsam-tree was one of the most celebrated and highly esteemed among the ancients. It is supposed to be referred to under the Hebrew names Basaji and Baal-she- men, translated ' spices,' iu Exod. xxxv. 28 ; 1 Kings X. 10; Sol. Song, v. 1, 13. It would appear, however, from ancient authors that the plant yielding balsam was never very common in Palestine — in fact, that it was confined to one locality, where it was found only as a plant in cultivation, though it may have been, and pro- BALSAM-TREE 127 bably was, introduced at a very early period. That it has long disappeared from thence is evident from the testimony of all travellers in Palestine. That it was a southern plant we may believe from its being cultivated in the warm southern valley of Jericho, and that it was intro- duced into that locality we have the testimony of Josephus, who says that it was brought thither by the Queen of Sheba. The balsam-tree, or balm of Gilead tree, as it is also very generally called, is not a native of that region, nor indeed does it appear ever to have been cultivated there. The true balsam, we have seen, was cultivated near Jericho, and at a later age in Egypt. From that country it has been traced to Arabia. The balsam-tree, having been described by various travellers, is now pretty well known. It forms a middle-sized tree, with spreading branches and a smooth ash-coloured bark, but which is no doubt rough in the older parts. The ultimate branches are short, and thorn-like, with small very short abortive branchlets, bearing at their extremities the leaves and flowers. The fruit is pointed, fleshy, with a viscid pulp. This species is now considered to be identical with the Amyris opobalsamum of Forskal, found by him in Arabia, in the neighbourhood of the caravanserai of Oude, not far from Has, and the wounded bark of which yields opobalsamum, or balsam of Mecca. It is as highly esteemed by all Orientals in the present day as it was by the civilized nations of antiquity. Another species was discovered by Forskal, and called by him Amyris Kiifal. It is a tree with reddish-coloured wood, and with branches rather spinous. The younger leaflets are described as being villous and acute, the old ones smooth, often obtuse ; the berry compressed, with an elevated ridge on each side, the apex forming a black prominent point. The wood he describes as forming an article of considerable commerce, especially to Egj'pt, where water-vessels are impregnated with its smoke. It is probably the twigs of this species which are taken to India, and there sold under the name of aod-i balessan ; that is, the wood of the balsam-tree. Carpobalsamum was probably only the fruit of one of these species. Opobal- 128 BANQUETS samum, or juice of the balsam, is generally de- scribed as the finest kind, of a greenish colour, and found in the kernel of the fruit. Carpobal- samum is said to have been made by the expres- sion of the fruit when in maturity, and xylobal- samum, by the expression or decoction of the small new twigs, which are of a reddish colour. But the ancients probably employed both the fruit and the wood for macerating in oil, which would extract the odour. The greatest quantity of balsam, and the best in quality, must in all times have be^n produced by an incision into the bark when the juice is in its strongest circula- tion, in July, August, and the beginning of Sep- tember. It is then received into a small earthen bottle, and every day's produce is poured into a larger, which is kept closely corked. The whole quantity collected is but small. When Sultan Selim conquered Egypt and Arabia in 1516, three pounds were ordered to be sent yearly as a tribute to Constantinople. BANQUETS. Festive meetings among the Jews were held only towards the close of the day, as it was not till business was over that the Jews freely indulged in the pleasures of the table ; and although in the days of Christ these meals were, after the Roman fashion, called suppers, they corresponded exactly to the dinners of modern times, the hour fixed for them vary- ing from five to six o'clock p.m., or sometimes later. On occasions of ceremony the company were invited a considerable time previous to the cele- bration of the feast ; and on the day and at the liour appointed, an express by one or more ser- vants, according to the number and distance of the expected guests, was despatched to announce that the preparations were completed, and that their presence was looked for immediately (Matt. xxii. 8; Luke xiv. 17). This custom obtains in the East at the present day ; and the second in- vitation, which is sent to none but such as have been already invited, and have declared their acceptance, is always verbal, and is delivered by the messenger in his master's name, and fre- quently in the very language of Scripture. At the small entrance door a servant was sta- tioned to receive the tablets or cards of those who were expected ; and as curiosity usually collected a crowd of troublesome spectators, anxious to press forward into the scene of gaiety, the gate Avas opened only so far as was necessary for the admission of a single person at a time, who, on presenting his invitation ticket, was conducted through a long and narrow passage into the re- ceiving-room ; and then, after the whole company were assembled, the master of the house shut the door with his own hands — a signal to the ser- vant to allow himself to be prevailed on neither by noise nor by importunities, however loud and long continued, to admit the bystanders. To this custom there is a manifest reference in Luke xiii. 24, and Matt. xxv. 10. One of the first marks of courtesy shown to the guests, after saluting the host, was the refresh- ment of water and fragrant oil or perfumes ; and hence we find our Lord complaining of Simon's omission of these customary civilities (Luke vii. 44 ; see also Mark vii. 4) [Anointing]. But a far higher, though necessarily less frequent at- tention paid to their friends by the great, was the BANQUETS custom of furnishing each of the company with a magnificent habit of a light and showy colour, and richly embroidered, to be worn during the festivity (Eccles. ix. 8 ; Rev. iii. 4, 5). The loose and flowing style of this gorgeous mantle made it equally suitable for all ; and it is almost in- credible what a variety of such sumptuous gar- ments the wardrobes of some great men could supply to equip a numerous party. In a large company, even of respectable persons, some might appear in a plainer and humbler garb than ac- corded with the taste of the entertainer; and where this arose from necessity or limited means, it would have been harsh and unreasonable in the extreme to attach blame, or to command the instant and ignominious expulsion of the guest from the banquet-room. But where a well-ap- pointed and sumptuous wardrobe Avas opened for the use of every guest, — to refuse the gay and splendid costume which the munificence of the host provided, and to persist in appearing in one's own habiliments, implied a contempt both for the master of the house and his entertainment, which could not fail to provoke resentment — and our Lord therefore spoke in accordance with a well- known custom of his country, when, in the parable of the marriage of the king's son, he describes the stern displeasure of the king on discovering one of the guests without a wedding-garment, and his instant command to thrust him out (Matt. xxii. 11). At private banquets the master of the house of course presided, and did the honours of the occasion ; but in large and mixed companies it was anciently customary to elect a governor of the feast (John ii. 8 ; see also Ecclus. xxxii. 1), who should not merely perform the office of chairman, in preserving order and decorum, but take upon himself the general management of the festivities. As this office was considered a post of great responsibility and delicacy, as well as honour, the choice which among the Greeks and Romans was left to the decision of dice, was more wisely made by the Jews to fall upon him who was known to be possessed of the requisite qualities — a ready wit and convivial turn, and at the same time firmness of character and habits of temperance. The guests were scrupulously arranged according to their respective ranks. This was done either by the host or governor, who, in the case of a family, placed them accord- ing to seniority (Gen. xliii. 33), and in the case of others, assigned the most honourable a place near his own person ; or it was done by the party themselves, on their successive arrivals, and after surveying the company, taking up tlie position which it appeared fittest for each according to their respective claims to occupy. It might be expected that among the Orientals, by whom the laws of etiquette in these matters are strictly ob- served, many absurd and ludicrous contests for precedence must take place, from the arrogance of some and the determined perseverance of others to wedge themselves into the seat they deem themselves entitled to. Accordingly Mo- rier informs us, that, in Persia, ' it is easy to ob- serve by the countenances of those present, when any one has taken a higher place than he ought.' ' On one occasion,' he adds, ' when an assembly was nearly full, the governor of Kashan, a man of Immble mien, came in, and had seated himself at the lowest place, when the host, after having BANQUETS testified his particular attentions to him by nu- merous expressions of welcome, pointed with his hand to an upper seat, which he desired him to take' (Second Jour lie;/). As a counterpart to this, Dr. Clarke states that ' at a wedding feast he attended in the house of a rich merchant at St. Jean d'Acre, two persons who had seated themselves at tlie top were noticed by tlie master of ceremonies, and obliged to move lower down.' The knowledge of these peculiarities serves to il- lustrate several passages of Scripture (Prov. xxv. 6, 7 ; Matt, xxiii. 6 ; and especially Luke xlv. 7, M'here we find Jesus making the unseemly ambi- tion of the Pharisees the subject of severe and merited animadversion). It would be difficult within a short compass to describe the form and arrangements of the table, as tlie entertainments spoken of in Scripture were not all conducted in a uniform style. In ancient Egypt, as in Persia, the tables Avere ranged along the sides of the room, and the guests were placed with their faces towards the walls. Persons of high oflScial station were honoured with a table apart for themselves at the head of the room ; and in these particulars every reader of the Bible will trace an exact correspondence to the arrangements of Joseph's entertainment to his brethren. Ac- cording to Lightfoot, the tables of the Jews were either wholly uncovered, or two-thirds were spread with a cloth, while the remaining third was left bare for the dishes and vegetables. In tlie days of our Lord the prevailing form was the triclinium, the mode of reclining at which is described elsewhere [Accubation]. This effe- minate practice was not introduced until near the close of the Old Testament history, for the ancient Israelites sat round a low table, cioss- legged, like the Orientals of the present day. The convenience of knives and forks being unknown in the East, or, where known, being a modern innovation, the hand is the only instru- ment used in conveying food to the mouth, and tlie common practice, their food being chiefly prepared in a liquid form, is to dip their thin wafer-like bread into the dish, and folding it between their thumb and two fingers, enclose a portion of the contents. It is not uncommon to see several hands plunged into one dish at the same time. But where the party is nu- merous, the two persons near or opposite are commonly joined in one dish ; and accordingly, at the last Passover, Judas, being close to his roaster, was pointed out as the traitor by being designated as the person ' dipping his hand with Jesus in the dish.' The Apostle John, whose advantageous situation enabled him to hear tha minutest parts of the conversation, has recorded the fact of our Lord, in reply to the question ' Who is it ?' answering it by ' giving a sop to Judas when he had dipped' (John xiii. 26); and this leads us to mention it as not the least among the peculiarities of Oriental manners, that a hoot often dips his hand into a dish, and lifting a handful of what he considers a dainty, offers tlie sop to one of his friends. In earlier ages, a double or a more liberal portion, or a choice piece of cookery, was the form in which a land- lord showed his respect for the individual he delighted to honour (Gen, xliii. 34; 1 Sam. i. 4; ix. 23; Prov. xxxi. 15j. In the course of the entertainment servants are VOL. I. BANQUETS 129 frequently employed in sprinkling the head and person of the guests with odoriferous perfumes, which, probably to counteract the effects of too copious perspiration, they use in great profusion, and the fragrance of which, tliough generally too strong for Europeans, is deemed an agreeable re- freshment (see Ps. xlv. 8 ; xxiii. 5 ; cxxxiii. 2). The various items of which ^n Oriental enter- tainment consists, bread, flesh, fish, fowls, melted butter, honey, and fruits, are in manj' places set on the table at once, in defiance of all taste. They are brought in upon trays— one, containing several dishes, being assigned to a group of two or at most three persons, and the number and quality of the dishes being regulated according to the rank and consideration of the party seated before it. In ordinary cases four or five dishes constitute the portion allotted to a guest ; but if lie be a person of consequence, or one to whom the host is desirous of showing more than ordinary marks of attention, otlier viands are successively brought in, until, if every vacant corner of the tray is occupied, the bowls are piled one above another. The object of this rude but liberal hospitality is, not that the indi- vidual thus honoured is expected to surfeit him- self by an excess of indulgence in order to testify his sense of the entertainer's kindness, but that he may enjoy the means of gratifying his palate with greater variety ; and hence we read of Joseph's displaying his partiality for Benjamin by making his ' mess five times so much as any of theirs ' (Gen. xliii. 34). The shoulder of a lamb, roasted, and plentifully besmeared with butter and milk, is regarded as a great delicacy still, as it was ak^o in the days of Samuel. But according to the favourite cookery of the Ori- entals, their animal food is for the most part cut into small pieces, stewed, or prepzyed in a liquid state, such as seems to have been the 'broth' presented by Gideon to the angel (Judg. vi. 19). The made-up dishes are ' savoury meat,' being highly seasoned, and bring to remembrance the marrow and fatness which were esteemed as the most choice morsels in ancient times. As to drink, when particular attention was intended to be shown to a guest, his cup was filled with wine till it ran over (Ps. xxiii. .5), and it is said that the ancient Persians began their feasts with wine, whence it was called 'a banquet of wine' (Esther V. C). The hands, for occasionally both were required, besmeared with grease during the process of eat- ing, were anciently cleaned by rubbing them witli the soft part of the bread, the crumbs of which, being allowed to fall, became the portion of dogs (Matt. XV. 27; Luke xvi. 21). But the most common way now at the conclusion of a feast is for a servant to go round to each guest with water to wash, a service which is performed by the menial pouring a stream over their hands, which is received into a strainer at the bottom of the basin. This humble office Elisha performed to his master (2 Kings iii. 11). People of rank and opulence in the East fre- quently give public entertainments to the poor. I'he rich man in the parable, whose guests dis- appointed him, despatched his servants on the instant to invite those that might be found sit- ting by the hedges and tlie highways— a measure which; in the circumstances, was absolutely neces- 130 BAPTIS.M sary, as the heat of the climate ■would spoil the meats long before they could be consumed by the members of his own household. But many of the great, from benevolence or ostentation, are in the habit of proclaiming set days for giving feasts to the poor ; and then, at the time ap- pointed, may be seen crowds of the blind, the halt, and the mair \ed bending their steps to the scene of entertainment. This species of charity claims a venerable antiquity. Our Lord recom- mended his wealthy hearers to practise it rather than spend their fortunes, as they did, on luxu- rious living (Luke xiv. 12); and as such invi- tations to the poor are of necessity given by pub- lic proclamation, and female messengers are em- ployed to publish them, it is probably to the same venerable practice that Solomon alludes in Prov. ix. 3. ' BAPTISM. A conviction of the holiness of God excites in man the notion that he cannot possibly come into any amicable relation -with him before he is cleansed of sin, which separates him from God. This sentiment found a very widely extended symbolic expression in the lus- trations which formed an essential part of the ceremonial creeds of the ancient nations. In the language of the prophets, cleansing with water is used as an emblem of the purification of the lieart, which in the Messianic age is to glorify the soul in her innermost recesses, and to em- brace the whole of the theocratic nation (Ezek. xxxvi. 25, sq. ; Zech. xiii. 1). Such declarations gave rise to or nourished the expectation that the advent of the Messiah would manifest itself by a preparatory lustration, by M^hich Elijah or some other great prophet would pave the way for him. This supposition lies evidently at the bottom of the questions which the Jews put to John the Baptist (John i. 2.5; comp. Matt, and Luke, iii. 7), whether h^ was the Messiah, or Elijah, or some other prophet? and if not, why he under- took to baptize ? Thus we can cr mpletely clear up the historical derivation of the rite, as used by John and Christ, from the geneial and natural symbol of baptism, fi-om the Jewish custom in particular, and from the expectation of a Mes- siaiiic consecration. Dans, Ziegler, and others have, nevertheless, supposed it to be derived from the Jewish ceremonial of baptizing proselijtes : aud Wetstein has traced that rite up to a date earlier than Christianity. But this opinion is rjot at all tenable : for, as an act which strictly gives validity to the admission of a proselyte, and is no mere accompaniment to his admission, bap- tism certainly is not alluded to in the New Testa- ment ; while, as to the passages quoted in proof from the classical (profane) writers of that period, they are all open to the most fundamental objec- tions. Nor is the utter silence of Josephus and Philo on the subject, notvrithstanding their various opportunities of touching on it, a less weighty ar- gument against this view. It is true that men- tion is made in the Talmud of that regulation as already existing in the first century a.d. ; but such statements belong only to the traditions of the Gemara, and require careful investigation before they can serve as proper authority. This Jewish rite was probably originally only a puri- fying ceremony ; and it was raised to the cha- racter of an initiating and indispensable rite co- ordinate with that of sacrifice and circumcision, BAPTISM only ajler the destruction of the Temple, when sacrifices had ceased, and the circumcision of proselytes had, by reason of public edicts, become more and more rrapracticable. Baptism of John.— It was the principal object of John the Baptist to combat the prevailing opinion, that the performance of external cere- monies was sufiicient to secure participation in the kingdom of God and his promises ; he re- quired repentance, therefore, as a preparation for the approaching kingdom of the Messiah. That he may possibly have baptized heathens also, seems to follow from his censuring the Pharisees for confiding in their descent from Abraham, while they had no share in his spirit : yet it should not be overlooked that this remark was drawn from him by the course of the argu- ment (Matt. iii. 8, 9 ; Luke iii. 7, 8). We must, on the whole, assume that John considered the existing Judaism as a stepping-stone by which the Gentiles were to arrive at the kingdom of God in its Messianic form. The general point of view from which John contemplated the Mes- siah and his kingdom was that of the Old Testa- ment, though closely bordering on Christianity. He regards, it is true, an alteration in the mind and spirit as an indispensable condition for par- taking in tlie kingdom of the Messiah ; still he looked for its establishment by means of conflict and external force, with which the Messiah was to be endowed ; and he expected in him a Judge and Avenger, who was to set up outward and visible distinctions. It is, therefore, by no means a matter of indifference whether baptism be ad- ministered in the name of that Christ who floated before the mind of John, or of the suffering and glorified One, such as the apostles knew hira ; aud whether it was considered a preparation for a political, or a consecration into a spiritual theo- cracy. John was so far from this latter view, eo far from contemplating a purely spiritual de- velopment of the kingdom of God, that he even began subsequently to entertain doubts concern- ing Christ (Matt. xi. 2). John's baptism had not the character of an immediate, but merely of a preparatory consecration for the glorified theo- cracy (John i. 31). The Apostles, therefore, found it necessary to re-baptize the disciples of John, who had still adhered to the notions of their master on that head (Acts xix.). To this apostolic judgment Tertullian appeals, and in his opinion coincide the most eminent teachers of the ancient church, both of the East aud the West. The Baptism of Jesus by John (Matt. iii. 13, sq. ; Mark i. 9, sq. ; Luke iii. 21, sq. ; comp. John i. 19, sq. ; the latter passage refers to a time after the baptism, and describes, ver. 32, the incidental facts attending it). — The baptism of Jesus, as the first act of his public career, is one of the most important events recorded in evan- gelical history : great difficulty is also involved in reconciling the various accounts given by the Evangelists of that transaction, and the several points connected with it. To question the fact itself, not even the neyative criticism of Dr. Strauss has dared. This is, however, all that has been conceded by that criticism, viz., the mere and bare fact ' that Christ was baptized by John,' Avhile all the circumstances of the event are placed in the region of mythology or fiction. BAPTISM Critical inquiry suggests the following ques- tions : — 1. In -what relation did Jesus stand to John before the baptism ? 2. What object did Jesus intend to obtain by that baptism ? 3. In what sense are we to take the miraculous incidents attending that act ? With regard to the first point, we might be apt to infer, from Luke and Matthew, that there had been an acquaintance between Christ and John even prior to the baptism ; and that hence John declines (Matt. iii. 14) to baptize Jesus, arguing that he needed to be baptized by him. This, however, seems to be at variance with John i. 31, 33. Liicke {Comment, i. p. 416, sq. 3rd edit.) takes the words ' I knew him not ' in their strict and exclusive sense. John, he says, could not have spoken in this manner if he had at all knovra Jesus ; and had he known him, he could not, as a prophet, have failed to discover, even at an earlier period, the but too evident ' glory ' of the Messiah. In fact, the narrative of the first three Gospels presupposes the same, since, as the herald of the Messiah, he oould give that refusal (Matt. iii. 14) to the Messiah alone. With regard to the second point at issue, as to the object of Christ in undergoing baptism, we find, in the first instance, that he ranked this action among those of his Messianic calling. This object is still more defined by John the Baptist (John i. 31), which Liicke interprets in the following words : ' Only by entering into that community which was to be introductory to the Messianic, by attaching himself to the Bap- tist like any other man, was it possible for Christ to reveal himself to the Baptist, and through him to others.' Christ, with his never-failing reliance on God, never for a moment could doubt of his own mission, or of the right period when his character was to be made manifest by God ; but John needed to receive that assurance, in order to be the herald of the Messiah who was actually come. For all others whom John baptized, either before or after Christ, this act was a mere pre- paratory consecration to the kingdom of the Messiah; while for Jesus it was a direct and immediate consecration, by means of which he manifested the commencement of his career as the founder of the new theocracy, which began at the very moment of his baptism, the initiatory character of >chich constituted its general prin- ciple and tendency. With respect to the miraculous incidents which accompanied the baptism of Jesus, if we take for our starting-point the narration of the three first Gospels, that the Holy Spirit really and visibly descended in the form of a dove, and proclaimed Jesus, in an audible voice, to be the Son of God, there can be no difficulty in bringing it to har- monize with the statement in the Gospel of John. This literal sense of the text has, indeed, for a long time been the prevailing interpretation, though many doubts respecting it had very early forced themselves on the minds of sober inquirers, traces of which are to be found in Origen, and which Strauss has more elaborately renewed. To the natural explanations belong that of Paulus, that the dove was a real one, which had by chance flown near the spot at that moment ; that of Meyer, that it was the figure BAPTISM 131 of a meteor which was just then visible in the sky ; and that of Kuinoel (ad Matth. iii.), who considers the dove as a figure for lightning, and the voice for that of thunder, which the eye- witnesses, in their extatic feelings, considered as a divine voice, such as the Jews called a Bath-kol (Meyer). Such interpretations are not only irre- concilable with the evangelical text, but even presuppose a violation of the common order of nature, in favour of adherence to which these in- terpretations are advanced. A more close investigation of the subject, how- ever, induces us to take as a starting-point the account of the Apostle St. John. It is John the Baptist himself who speaks. He was an eye- witness, nay, to judge from Matthew and John, the only one present with Jesus, and is conse- quently the only source — with or without Christ —of information. Indeed, if there were more people present, as we are almost inclined to infer from Luke, they cannot have perceived the miracles attending the baptism of Jesus, or John and Christ would no doubt have appealed to their testimony in verification of them. In thus taking the statement in St. John for the authentic basis of the whole history, a few slight hints in it may afford us the means of solving the difficulties attending the literal con- ception of the text. John the Baptist knows nothing of an external and audible voice, and Avhen he assures us (i. 33) that he had in the Spirit received the promise, that the Messiah would be made manifest by the Spirit descending upon him, and remaining — be it upon or in him — there; this very re??iai/u"7i5f assuredly precludes any material appearance in the shape of a bird. The internal probability of the text, therefore, speaks in favour of a spiritual vision in the mind of the Baptist ; this view is still more strength- ened by the fact, that Luke supposes there were many more present, who notwithstanding per- ceived nothing at all of the miraculous incidents. The reason that the Spirit in the vision assumed the figure of a dove, we would rather seek in the peculiar flight and movement of that bird, than in its form and shape. This interpretation moreover has the advantage of exhibiting the philosophic connection of the incidents, since the Baptist appears more conspicuously as the im- mediate end of the divine dispensation. Christ had thus the intention of being introduced by him into the Messianic sphereof operation, while the Baptist recognises this to be his own peculiar calling : the signs by which he was to know the Messiah had been intimated to him, and now that they had come to pass, the prophecy and his mission Avere fulfilled. None of the Evangelists give any authority for the ooinirion tradition that the descent of the Spirit upon Christ was sensibly witnessed by the multitude, Matthew simply states that the vision appeared to Christ ; Mai^ adds that the Spirit appeared to him ' as a dove descending upon him ;' Luke, more generally, states only the fact of the Spirit's descent in a sensible form ; and John informs us that besides Christ this vision was witnessed also by the Baptist. Chkistian Baptism.— Jesus, having under- gone baptism as the founder of the new kingdom, ordained it as a legal act by which individuals were to obtain the rights of citizens therein. K 2 132 BAPTISM Though he caused many to be baptized by his disciples (John iv. 1, 2), yet all were not bap- tized who were converted to him ; neither was it even necessary after they had obtained partici- pation in him by his personal choice and for- giving of sin. But when he could no longer personally and immediately choose and receive members of his kingdom, when at the same time all had been accomplished which the founder thought necessary for its completion, he gave power to the spiritual community to receive, in his stead, members by baptism (Matt, xxviii. 19 ; Mark xvi. 16). Baptism essentially denotes the regenerating of him who receives it, his partici- pation both in the divine life of Christ and the promises rested on it, as well as his reception as a member of the Christian community. Each of these momentous points implies all the rest ; and the germ of all is contained in the words of Christ (Matt, xxviii. 19). The details are variously digested by the Apostles according to their peculiar modes of thinking. John dwells — in like manner as he does on the holy communion — almost exclusively on the internal nature of baptism, the immediate mystical union of the Spirit with Christ ; baptism is with him equivalent to 'being born again' (John iii. .5, 7). Paul gives more explicitly and completely the other points also. He understands by it not only the union of the individual with the Head, by the giving one's self up to ihe Kedeemer and the receiving of Ins life (Gal. iii. 27), but also the union with the other members (i6. 28; 1 Cor. xii. 13 ; Ephes. iv. 5 ; v. 28). He expresses a spiritual purport by saying that it intimates on the part of those who have received it, their being joined with Christ in his death and raised with him in his resurrection. As regards the design of Christian Baptism, different views have been adopted by different parties. The principal are the following :— ' 1. That it is a direct instrument of grace ; the application of water to the person by a. properly qualified functionary being regarded as the ap- pointed vehicle by which God bestows regene- rating grace upon men. This is the Romanist and Anglo-Catholic view. 2. That though not an instrument it is a seal of grace ; divine blessings being thereby confirmed and obsignated to the individual. This is the doctrine of the Confessions of the majority -of the Reformed Churches. 3. Tliat it is neither an instrument nor a seal of grace, but simply a ceremony of initiation into Church membership. This is the Socinian view of the ordinance. 4. That it is a tolien of regeneration ; to be re- I ceived only by those who give evidence of being i really regenerated. This is the view adopted by 1 the Baptists. ] 5. TTiat it is a symbol of purification ; the use I of which simply announces that the religion of Christ is a purifying religion, and intimates that I the partj' receiving the rite assumes the profes- I sion, and is to be instructed in the principles, of that religion. This opinion is extensively en- tertained amongst the Congi-egationalists of Eng- land. Differences of opinion have also been intro- duced respecting the proper 7node of baptism. Some contend tiiat it should be by immersion BAPTISM alone ; others, that it should be only by affusion or sprinkling ; and others, that it matters not in which way it be done, the only thing required being the ritual application of water to the person. The first class appeal to the use of baptizo by the classical authors, with whom they affirm it is always used in the sense of dip- ping or immersing ; and to such expressions as ' being buried with Christ in baptism,' &c., where they understand an allusion to a typical burial, by submersion in Avater. The second class rely upon the usage of baptizo by the sacred writers, who, they allege, employ it frequently where immersion is not to be supposed, as when they speak of ' baptism with fire,' and ' baptism with the Spirit ;' upon the alleged impossibility of immersing such multitudes as we learn were baptized at once in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost; upon the supposed improbability of an Eastern female like Lydia allowing herself to be publicly immersed by a man whom she had never seen before ; upon the language used by Paul at Philippi, when he commanded water to be brought into the room, that he might bap- tize the jailor and his family, language which, it is said, cannot be understood of such a quantity of water as would be required to immerse in suc- cession a whole household ; and upon the use of the term baptism, to designate what is elsewhere spoken of as the outpouring of the Spirit. The third class maintain, that according to universal usage baptizo signifies simply to wet, and that the following preposition determines whether it is to be taken in the sense of wetting by immer- sion or not ; they urge especially that the word I's used in the New Testament possesses so much of a technical character, that it is not possible from it to deduce any correct inference as to the mode of baptizing; and they adduce historical evidence to show that baptism was performed in- differently by immersion or affusion as conve- nience dictated. In fine, differences of opinion have arisen re- specting the proper subjects of baptism. Here also we have three classes. 1 . Those who maintain that baptism is to be administered only to tliose who believe and give evidence of being r ^generated. This opinion is grounded chiefly upon the positions that. Re- pentance and Faith are distinctly prescribed in the New Testament as conditions of baptism, and the alleged fact that the Apostles did not baptize any, until satisfied that they sincerely believed. It is urged also by the advocates of this opinion, against the practice of infant baptism, that not only are infants excluded from baptism by their inability to comply with the required terms, but that they are virtually excluded by their baptism not being expressly enjoined in the New Tes- tament. It is also alleged that infant baptism was unknown to the Early Church, and was a corrupt invention of the patristic age. 2. Those who contend that baptism is to be administered not only to believers who have not been before baptized, but to the infant offspring of believers. This opinion is chiefiy based on the covenant established by God with Abraham. This covenant it is maintained was the everlast- ing covenant, the covenant of grace ; under it a connection of a spiritual kind was recognised as existing between parents and their children ; in i BAPTISM virtue of this the latter received the sign of the covenanted blessings; no evidence can be ad- duced that this divinely-appointed connection has been abrogated, though the sign of the cove- nant has been changed ; on the contrary, there is abundant evidence to show that the Apostles administered to the children of converts to Chris- tianity the same rite, that of baptism, -which they administered to the converts themselves. It is also affirmed by this party that the requiring of faith and repentance as a condition of baptism in the case of adults cannot be fairly held as in- cluding children, inasmuch as by the same reason- ing children dying in infancy would be excluded from salvation. It is denied that the absence of anj" express injunction to baptize children virtu- ally prohibits their baptism ; and the assertion that infant baptism was unknown in the primi- tive age is rebutted by historical evidence. 3. Those who assert that baptism is to be ad- ministered to all who either will place them- selves under Christian instruction, such as adults who have grown up as heathens, Jews, or in- fidels ; or who may be thuS placed by their parents or guardians, such as infants. In sup- port of this view, stress is laid upon our Lord's words when he commanded his Apostles to go and teach and baptize all nations ; the ' bap- tizing' being regarded as associated with the ' teaching' and commensurate Avith it, whilst what is said about 'believing' is regarded as re- lating to something which may or may not follow the teaching and baptizing, but which is declared to be essential to salvation. It is argued that the Apostolic practice was altogether in accordance ■with this vicAV of our Lord's commission, inas- nmch as the multitudes frequently baptized by tho Apostles were such, that to obtain satisfactory evidence of the knowledge and piety of each in- dividual was impossible in the time which elapsed between the Apostles' preaching and the bap- tising to which it led ; whilst such cases as those of Simon Magus and the Philippian Jailor show that even very ignorant men, and men who could not possibly give what any person would receive as credible evidence of piety, were at once baptized. The practice of the Apostles also in baptizing whole households, including children and servants, without asking any questions as to their knowledge and belief, is urged in favour of this opinion, as well as the corresponding prac- tice of the Church. Baptism for the Dead. — Paul (1 Cor. xv. 29) uses this phrase. Few passages have under- gone more numerous and arbitrary emendations than this text. We shall examine first — A. Those interpretations which lake it to be some particular application of baptism. 1 . Some imagine that Paul speaks of a baptism which a living man receives in the place of a dead one. Various passages have been quoted from the fathers in support of this opinion ; but all we can infer from their statements is, that baptism by substitution had taken place among the Mar- cionites, and perhaps also among the Cerinthians and other smaller sects towards the end of the fourth century ; but that it existed between that period and the time when Paul wj-ote the above passage is wholly unsubstantiated. The idea, then, that such a superstitious custom EAPTISM 13'J existed in the Corinthian community is devoid of all historical evidence. The difficulties will still more increase, if we were to admit, with Olhausen, lliickert, and De Wette, that the Apostle approved of the absurd practice in question, since he would thus be brought into contradiction with his own prin- ciples on the importance of faith and external works, which he developes in his Epistle to the Galatians. In the words of Paul we discover no opinion of his own concerning the justice or in- justice of the rite ; it is merely brought in as an argimieiitum ex concesso in favour of the object which he pursues through tlie whole chapter (comp. 1 Cor. ii. B). Hov^ever much may be objected against this interpretation, it is by far more reasonable than the explanations given by other critics. The Corinthian community was certainly of a mixed character, consisting of indi- viduals of various views, ways of thinking, and different stages of education : so that there might still have existed a small number among them capable of such absurdities. We are not suffi- ciently acquainted with all the particulars of the case to maintain the contrary, while the simple grammatical sense of the passage is decidedly in favour of the proposed interpi-etation. 2. Origen, Luther, Chemnitz, and Joh. Ger- hard, interpret the words as relating to baptism over the graves of the members of the commu- nity, a favourite rendezvons of the early Chris- tians. Luther says that in order to strengthen their faith in the resurrection, the Christians bap- tised over the tombs of the dead. But the custom alluded to dates from a much later period. 3. Epiphanius mentions also a view, according to which the word rendered '■dead' i? to he translated mortally ill persons whose baptism was expedited by sprinkling water upon them on their death-bed, instead of immersing them in the usual way ; the rite is known under the name of baptismus clinicus, lectualis. But few of the modern theologians (among whom, however, are Calvin and Estius) advocate this view, which transgresses not less against the words of the text than against all historical knowledge of the subject. B. The interpretations which suppose that the text speaks of general church baptism. To these belongs the oldest opinion we know of, given in Tertullian, according to which the Greek word rendered 'for ' is here taken in the sense of on account of and the word rendered ' the dead ' in that of dmd bodies, they themselves, the baptized, as dead persons. The notion which lies at the bottom of this version is, that the body possesses a guarantee for resurrection in the act of bap- tism, in which it also shares. The sinking under and rising np is with them a symbol of burying and resurrection. 2. A later view, expressed by Chrysostom, adopts the same meaning as regards ' the dead,' but construes the whole clause ' in behalf of the dead,' to signify ' in the belief of the resurrection of the dead.' This ungrammatical version is adopted by Theophylact : ' Why are men baptized at all in behalf of resurrection, that is, in expect- ation of resurrection, if the dead rise not ?' 3. Pelagius, Olearius, Fabricius,areof opmion that the phrase ' on account of the dead,' or ' of those who are dead,' although strictly plural. 134 BARAK BARNABAS here alludes to an individual, namely, to Christ, ' on account of whom ' we are baptized, alluding to Rom. vi. 3. 4. Among the best interpretations is that of Spanheim and Joh. Christ. Wolf. They consider 'the dead' to be martyrs and other believers, ■who, by firmness and cheerful hope of resurrec- tion, have given in death a worthy example, by which others were also animated to receive bap- tism. Still this meaning would be almost too briefly and enigmatically expressed, when no particular reason for it is known, while also the allusion to the exemplary death of many Chris- tians could chiefly apply to the martyrs alone, of whom there were as yet none at Corinth. 5. Olhausen's interpretation is of a rather doubtful character. The meaning of the passage betakes to be, that ' all who are converted to the church are baptized— /or the good of the dead, as it requires a certain number (Rom. xi. 12-25), a " fullness " of believers, before the resurrection can take place. Every one therefore who is bap- tized is so for the good of believers collectively, and of those who have already died in the Lord.' Olhausen is himself aware that the Apostle could not have expected that such a difficult and remote idea, which he himself calls ' a mystery,' would be understood by his readers without a further explanation and development of his doctrine. He therefore proposes an explanation, in which it is argued that the miseries and hardships Christians have to struggle against in this life can only be compensated by resurrection. Death causes', as it were, vacancies in the full ranks of the believers, which are again filled up by other individuals. ' What would it profit those who are baptized in the place of the dead (to fill up their place in the community) if there be no re- surrection ? ' BAR, a Hebrew word meaning son, but used only poetically in that language (Ps. ii. 12; Prov. xxxl 2j. In Syriac. however. Bar an- swered to the more common Hebrew word for son, i. e. hen ; and hence in later times, in the New Testament, it takes the same place in the formation of proper names which Ben had for- merly occupied in the Old Testament. _ BARAB'BAS, a person who had forfeited his lifefor sedition and murder (Mark xv. 7 ; Luke xxiii. 25). As a rebel, he was subject to the punishment laid down by the Roman law for such political offences ; while, as a murderer, he could not escape death even by the civil code of the Jews. But the latter were so bent on the death of Jesus, that, of the two, they preferred pardoning this double criminal (Matt, xxvii. lG-26; Mark XT. 7-15; Luke xxiii. 18-25; John xviii. 40). BARACHI'AS, father of the Zechariah (Zecha- rias) mentioned in Matt, xxiii. 35 [Zechahiah]. BA'RAK, lightning; son of Abinoam of Ke- desh-Naphtali, a Galilean city of refuge in the tribe of Naphthali (Judg. iv. C ; comp. Josh. xix. 37 ; xxi. 32). He was summoned by the pro- phetess Deborah to take the field against the hostile army of the Canaanitish king Jabin, commanded by Sisera, with 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphthali and Zebulon, and to en- camp on Mount Tabor, probably because the 900 chariots of iron (Judg. iv. 3), in which the main force of Sisera consisted, could not so easily manoeuvre on uneven ground. After some hesi- tation, he resolved to do her bidding, on con- dition that she would go with him, which she readily promised. Confiding, therefore, in the God of Israel, he attacked the hostile army by surprise, put them to flight, and routed them to the last man. In conjunction with Deborah, he afterwards composed a song of victory in com- memoration of that event (Judg. v. 14, 15, 16). BARBARIAN. This term is used in the New Testament, as in classical writers, to denote other nations of the earth in distinction from the Greeks. ' I am debtor both to the Greeks and Barbarians.' InColoss.iii.il, ' Greek nor Jew — Barbarian, Scythian ' — Barbarian seems to refer to those nations of the Roman empire who did not speak Greek, and Sci/thian to nations not under the Romau dominion. In 1 Cor. xiv. 11 the term is applied to a difference of language : ' If I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian ('as of another language,' Geneva Vers.), and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian ('as of another language,' Geneva Vers.) unto me.' Strabo (xiv. 2) suggests that the word Bar-bar-os was originally an imitative sound, designed to express a harsh dissonant language, or sometimes the in- distinct articulation of the Greek by foreigners. BAR-JE'SUS. [Elymas.] BAR-JCyNA (son of Jonas), the patronymic appellation of the Apostle Peter (Matt. xvi.'l7). BARLEY. This grain is mentioned in Scrip- ture as cultivated and used in Egypt (Exod. ix. 31), and in Palestine (Lev. xxvii. 16; Deut. viii. 8 ; 2 Chrou. ii. 10 ; Ruth ii. 17 ; 2 Sam. xiv. 30 ; Isa. xxviii. 25; Jer. xli. 8; Joel i. 11). Barley was given to cattle, especially horses (1 Kings iv. 28), and was mdeed the only corn grain given to them, as oats and rye were unknown to the Hebrews, and are not now grown in Palestine. This is still the chief use of barley in Western Asia. Bread made of barley was, however, used by the poorer classes (Judg. vii. 13 ; 2 Kings iv. 42; John vi. 9, 13; comp. Ezek. iv. 9). In Palestine barley was for the most part sown at the time of the autumnal rains, October— November, and again in early spring, or rather as soon as the depth of winter bad passed. The barley of the first crop was ready by the time of the Pass- over> in the month Abib, March — April (Ruth i. 22 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 9 ; Judith viii. 2) ; April is the month in which the barley-harvest is chiefly gathered in, although it begins earlier in some parts and later in others. In Exod. ix. 31, we are told that the plague of hail, some time before the Passover, destroyed the barley, which was then in the green ear; but not the wheat or the rye, which were only in the blade. This is minutely corroborated by the fact that the barley sown after the inundation is reaped, some after ninety days, some in the fourth month, and that it there ripens a month earlier than the wheat. B.\R'N ABAS. His name was originally Joses, or Joseph (Acts iv. 36), but he received from the Apostles the surname of Barnabas, which signi- fies the Son of Prophecy. Luke interprets it by Son of Exhortation. It can hardly be doubted that this name was given to Joses to denote his eminence as a Christian teacher. He is described by Luke as ' a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith ' (Acts xi. 24). He was a natiTe of BARNABAS BARUCH Cyprus, but the son of Jewish parents of tho tribe of Levi. From Acts iv. 36, 37, it appears that he was possessed of land, but whether in Judsea or Cyprus is not stated. He generously disposed of the whole for the benefit of the Christian com- munity, and 'laid the money at the Apostles' feet.' As this transaction occurred soon after the day of Pentecost, he must have been an early convert to the Christian faith. When Paul made his first appearance in Jeru- salem after his conversion, Barnabas introduced him to the Apostles, and attested his sincerity (Acts ix. 27). Though the conversion of Corne- lius and his household, with its attendant circum- stances, had given the Jewish Christians clearer views of the comprehensive character of the new dispensation, yet the accession of a large number of Gentiles to the church at Autioch was an event so extraordinary, that the Apostles and brethren at Jerusalem resolved on deputing one of their number to investigate it. Their choice was fixed on Barnabas. After witnessing the flourishing condition of the church, and adding fresh con- verts by his personal exertions, he visited Tarsus to obtain the assistance of Saul, who returned with him to Antioch, where they laboured for a whole year (Acts xi. 23-20). In anticipation of the famine predicted by Agabus, the Antiochian Christians made a contribution for their poorer brethren at Jerusalem, and sent it by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (Acts xi. 28-30), who speedily returned, bringing with them John Mark, a nephew of the former. By divine di- rection (Acts xiii. 2) they were separated to the office of missionaries, and as such visited Cyprus and some of the principal cities in Asia Minor (Acts xiii. 1 4). Soon after their return to An- tioch, the peace of the church was disturbed by certain zealots from Judasa, who insisted on the observance of the rite of circumcision by the Gentile converts. To settle the controversy, Paul and Barnabas were deputed to consult the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem (Acts xv. 1,2); they returned to communicate the result of their conference (ver. 22), accompanied bj' Judas Bar- sabas and Silas, or Silvanus. On preparing for a second missionary tour, a dispute arose between them on account of John Mark, which ended in their taking different routes ; Paul and Silas went through Syria and Cilicia, while Barnabas and his nephew revisited his native island (Acts xv. 3G-41). At this point Barnabas disappears from Luke's narrative, which to its close is occupied solely with the labours and sufferings of Paul. From the Epistles of the latter a few hints (the only authentic sources of information) may be gleaned relative to his early friend and associate. From 1 Cor. ix. .5, 6, it would appear that Barna- bas was unmarried, and supported himself, like Paul, by some manual occupation. In Gal. ii. 1, we have an account of the reception given to Paul and Barnabas by the Apostles at Jerusalem, probably on the occasion mentioned in Acts xv. In the same chapter (ver. 13) we are informed that Barnabas so far yielded to the Judaizing zealots at Antioch, as to separate himself for a time from communion with the Gentile converts. Respecting the later years of Barnabas we have no authentic information. The year when he died cannot be determined with certainty ; if his nenhew, as some have supposed, joined Paul after that event, it must have taken place not later than a.d. 63 or 64. BARRENNESS is, in the East, the hardest lot that can befal a woman, and was considered among the Israelites as the heaviest punishment with which the Lord could visit a female (Gen. xvi. 2; XXX. 1-23; 1 Sam. i. 6, 29 ; Isa. xlvii. 9 ; xlix. 21 ; Luke i. 25). This general notion of the disgrace of barrenness in a woman may early have given rise, in the patriarchal age, to the cus- tom among barren wives of introducing to their husbands their maid-servants, and of regarding the children born in that concubinage as their own, by which they thought to cover their own disgrace of barrenness (Gen. xvi. 2 ; xxx. 3). BAR'SABAS. [Joseph Bausabas; Judas Barsabas.] BARTHOLOMEW (^the son of Tolmai, 2 Sam. xiii. 37) was one of the twelve Apos- tles, and is generally supposed to have been the same individual who in John's Gospel is called Nathanael. The reason of this opinion is, that in the three first Gospels Philip and Bartho- lomew are constantly named together, while Na- thanael is nowhere mentioned ; on the contrary, in the fourth Gospel the names of Philip and Na- thanael are similarly combined, but nothing is said of Bartholomew. Nathanael therefore must be considered as his real name, while Bartholo- mew merely expresses his filial relation. He was a native of Cana in Galilee (John xxi. 2 ). He v.as introduced by Philip to Jesus, who, on seeing him approach, at once pronounced that eulogy on his character which has made his name almost synonymous v/ith sincerity : ' Be- hold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile ' (John i. 47). He was one of the disciples to whom our Lord appeared after his resurrec- tion, at the Sea of Tiberias (John xxi. 2); he was also a witness of the Ascension, and returned with the other Apostles to Jerusalem (Acts i. 4, 12, 13). Of his subsequent history we have little more than vague traditions. BARTIME'US, son of Timeus, the blind beggar of Jericho whom Christ restored to sight (Mark X. 46). BA'RUCH, blessed; the faithful friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiah, was of a noble family of the tribe of Judah, and generally considered to be the brother of the prophet Se- raiah, both being represented as sons of Neriah ; and to Baruch the prophet Jeremiah dictated all his oracles. During the siege of Jerusalem, Ba- ruch was selected as the depositary of the deed of purchase which Jeremiah had made of the territory of Hanameel, to which deed he had been a witness. In the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiachim, king of Judah (b.c. 605), Baruch was directed to write all the prophecies delivered by Jeremiah up to that period, and to read them to the people, which he did from a window in the Temple upon two solemn occasions. He afterwards read them before the counsellors of the king at a private interview, when Baruch being asked to give an account of the manner iu which the prophecy had been composed, gave an j exact description of the mode in which he had taken it down from the prophet's dictation. Upon this they ordered him to leave the roll, advising that he and Jeremiah should conceal themselves. They then informed the king of Avhat had taken 13G BASHAN place, upon which he had the roll read to him ; but, after hearing a part of it, he cut it with a penknife, and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his counsellors, threw it into the fire of his winter parlour, where he was sitting. He then ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be seized, but they could not be found. The Jews to this day commemorate the burning of this roll by an an- nual fast. Another roll was now written by Baruch from the prophet's dictation, containing all that was in the former, with some additions, the most remarkable of which is the prophecy respecting the ruin of Jehoiachim and his house, as the punishment of his impious act. This roll is the prophecy of Jeremiah which we now pos- sess. Baruch, being himself terrified at the threats contained in the prophetic roll, received the comforting assurance that he would himself be delivered from the calamities which should befal Judah and Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem, in the eleventh year of the reign of king Zedekiah, when the Jews, after their re- turn from Babylon, obstinately persisted in their determination to migrate to Egypt, against the remonstrances of the prophet, both Baruch and Jeremiah accompanied them to that country, where they remained until the death of Jeremiah. There is no account in Scripture of Baruch's re- turn from Egypt, but the Kabbius allege that he died in Babylon, in the twelfth year of the exile. Josephus asserts that he was well skilled in the Hebrew lansjuage ; and that, after the taking of Jerusalem, "Nebuzaradan treated Baruch with consideration, from respect to Jeremiah, whose misfortunes he had shared, and whom he had accompanied to prison and exile (Antiq. x. 11). BARUCH, BOOK OF (Apocrypha), follows next after the book of Jeremiah in the Septuagint Version. Several learned writers strongly con- tend for its canonicity ; but the weight of evidence is generally believed to preponderate against it. The subject of the book is (1) an exhortation to wisdom and a due observ-ance of the law. (2) It then introduces Jerusalem as a widow, comforting her children with the hope of a re- turn. (3) An answer follows in confirmation of *.his hope. A prologue is prefixed, stating that Baruch had read his book to Jeremiah and the people in Babylon by the river Sud (Euphrates), by which the people were brought to repentance, and sent the book with a letter and presents to Jerusalem. BARZIL'LAI, a wealthy old Gileadite of Ro- gelim, who distinguished himself by his loyalty when David fled beyond the Jordan from his son Absalom. He sent in a liberal supply of provisions, beds, and other conveniences for the use of the king's followers (2 Sam. xvii. 27 ; xix. 32). On the king's triumphant return, Bar- zillai attended him as far as the Jordan, but de- clined, by reason of his advanced age, to proceed to Jerusalem and receive the favours to which he had entitled himself. BA'SHAN, a name which probably denotes the peculiar fertility of the soil. The sacred writers in- clude in Bashan that part of the country eastward of the Jordan which was given to half the tribe of Manasseh, situated to the north of Gilead. The first notice of this country is in Gen. xiv. 5 ; compare with Josh. xii. 4. When the Israelites invaded the Promised Land, Argob, a province of BASKET Bashan, contained ' sixty fenced cities, with walls and gates and brazen bars, besides unwalled towns a great many' (Deut. iii. 4, .'i ; 1 Kings iv. 13). These were all taken by the Israelites, and Og and his people utterly destroyed. Golan, one of the cities of refuge, was situated in this country (Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xx. 8 ; xxi. 27). Solomon appointed twelve officers to furnish the monthly supplies for the royal household, and allotted the region of Argob to the son of Geber ( 1 Kings iv. 13). Towards the close of Jehu's reign Hazael in- vaded the land of Israel, and smote the whole east- ern territory, ' even Gilead and Bashan ' (2 Kings X. 33) ; but after his death the cities he had taken were recovered by Jehoash (Joash) (2 Kings xiii. 25), who defeated the Syrians in three battles, as Elisha had predicted (2 Kings xiii. 19). After the captivity the name Batana?a was applied^ to only a part of the ancient Bashan ; the rest being called Trachonitis, Auranitis, and Gaulanitis. All these provinces were granted by Augustus to Herod the Great, and on his death Batanaea formed a part of Philip's tetrarchy. At his decease, a.d. 34, it was annexed, by Tiberius, to the province of Syria ; but in a.d. 37 it was given by Caligula to Herod Agrippa, the son of Aris- tobulus, with the title of king (Acts xii. 1). From the time of Agrippa's death, in a.d. 44, to a.d. 53, the government again reverted to the Romans, but it was then restored by Claudius to Agrippa 1 1. (Acts XXV. 13). The richness of the pasture-land of Bashan, and the consequent superiority of its breed of cattle, are frequently alluded to in the Scripturt«. We read in Deut. xxxii. 14, of ' rams of the breed of Bashan' (Ezek. xxxix. 18). ' Rams, lambs, bulls, goats, all of them fatlings of Bashan.' The oaks of Bashan are mentioned in connection with the cedars of Lebanon (Isa. ii. 13 ; Zech. xi. 2). In Ezekiel's description of the wealth and magnificence of Tyre it is said, ' Of the oaks of Bashan have they made their oars ' (xxvii. 6). The ancient commentators on Amos iv. 1, ' the kine of Bashan,' Jerome, Theodoret, and Cyril, speak in the strongest terms of the exuberant fertility of Bashan, and modem tra- vellers corroborate their assertions. BASKET. There are several words in the Hebrew Scriptures by which different kinds of baskets appear to be indicated : — 1. Dud, which occurs in 2 Kings x. 7, where the heads of Ahab's sons are sent from Samaria to Jezreel in baskets ; Jer. xxiv. 2, as contain- ing figs ; and Ps. Ixxxi. 6 (rendered pots), also as containing figs ; where, therefore, deliverance from the baskets means deliverance from the BASKET bondage of carrying burdens in baskets. In fact, very heavy burdens were thus carried in Egypt, as corn iu very large baskets from the field to the threshing-floor, and from the threshing-floor to the granaries. They were carried between two men by a pole resting on their shoulders ; which agrees with the previous clause of the cited text, ' 1 removed his shoulder from the burden.' This labour and form of the basket are often shown iu the Egyptian sculptures. 2. TiiBA, Avhich occurs in connection with agricultural objects, ' the basket and the store ' (Deut. xxvi. 2-4; xxviii. 5-17), and would there- fore appear to have been somewhat similar to the above ; and, in fact, the Egyptian sculptures show different baskets applied to this use. 3. Kelub. From the etymology, this appears to have been an interwoven basket, made of leaves or rushes. In Lev. v. 27, however, it is used for a bird-cage, which must have been of open work, and probably not unlike our own wicker bird-cages. The name is also applied to fruit-baskets (Amos viii. 1, 2), Egyptian ex- amples of which are presented in figs. 2 and 4 (which contain pomegi-anates) of the annexed cut. BATH-SHEBA 137 83. [Ancient Egyptian.] 4. Salsilloth, occurs only in Jer. vi. 9, where it obviously denotes baskets in which grapes were deposited as they were gathered. The form of the baskets used for this purpose is often shown on the Plgyptian monuments, a,nd is similar to that represented in fig. 4, cut 83. 5. In all the other places where the word basket occurs, we are doubtless to understand a basket made of rushes, similar both in form and material to those used by carpenters for carrying their tools. This is still the common kind of basket throughout Western Asia ; and its use in ancient Egypt is shown by an actual specimen which was found in a tomb at Thebes, and which is now in the British Museum. It was, in fact, a carpenter's basket, and contained his tools (fig. 1, cut 83). The specimens of Egyptian baskets in the British Museum, represented in our cut, convey a favourable idea of the basket-work of ancient times. Some of these are worked ornamentally with colours (figs. 3, 5, cut 83). And besides these the monuments exhibit a large variety of hand-baskets, of different shapes, and so exten- sively employed as to show the numerous appli- cations of basket-work in the remote times to which these representations extend. They are mostly manufactured, the stronger and larger sorts of the fibres, and the finer of the leaves of the palm-tree, and not unfrequently of rushes, but more seldom of reeds. BASTARD (Deut. xxiii. 2, and Zech. ix. G). Some understand by this word the offspring of prostitutes, but they forget that prostitutes were expressly forbidden to be tolerated by the law of Moses (Lev. xix. 29; Deut. xxiii. 17). The most probable conjecture is that which applies the term to the offspring of heathen prostitutes iu the neighbourhood of Palestine ; since no pro- vision was made by Moses against their tolera- tion, and who were a sort of priestesses to the Syrian goddess Astarte (corap. Num. xxv. 1, sq. ,- Hos. iv. 14 ; 1 Kings xiv. 24 ; xv. 12 ; xxii. 47 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 7). That there existed such bastard offspring among the Jews, is proved by the history of Jephthah (Judg. xi. 1-7), who on this account was expelled, and deprived of his patrimony. BAT occurs in Lev. xi. 1 9 ; Deut. xiv. 1 8 ; Isa. ii. 20 ; and Baruch vi. 22. In Hebrew the word implies flying in the dark ; which, taken in connection with the sentence ' moreover the othelaph and every creeping thing that Jlieth is unclean unto you ; they shall not be eaten,' is so clear, that there cannot be a mistake respecting the order of animals meant. At first sight, ani- mals so diminutive, lean, and repugnant to the senses, must appear scarcely to have required the legislator's attention ; but the fact evidently shows that there were at the time men or tribes who ate animals classed with bats, a practice still in vogue in the great Australasian islands, where the frugivorous Pteropi of the harpi or goblin family, by our seamen denominated flying-dogs, and erroneously vampyres, are caught and eaten ; but where the insectivorous true bats, such as the genera common in Europe, are rejected. Some of the species of harpies are of the bulk of a rat, with from three to four feet of expanse between the tips of the wings ; they have a fierce dog- like head, and are nearly all marked with a space of rufous hair from the forehead over the neck and along part of the back. They reside in the most dense foliage of large trees, whence they fly out at night and do considerable damage to the plantations of fruit-tre^s. It was to one or more species of this section of Cheiroptera that the Mosaic prohibition was perhaps directed ; and it is likewise to them that may be referred the foundation of the ancient legends concerning harpies, which, however much they may be dis- torted, have a basis of truth. Indeed, when we consider their voice, the faculty they have of feeding with their thumbs, their formidable teeth, their habit of flying in the day during dark wea- ther, and their willingness, though they are fru- givorous, to devour not only insects, but also the blood and flesh of small animals, we may admit that originally they were more daring in the pre- sence of man ; that their true characters are but moderately amplified by poetical fancy ; and that the Mosaic injunction was strikingly appropriate. In the text of Scripture where allusion is made to caverns and dark places, true Vespertilionida;, or insect-eating bats, similaf to the European, are clearly designated. BATH-SHE'BA, also Bath-shua, daughter of Eliam, grand-daughter of Ahitophel, and wife of Uriah ; she was seduced and became pregnant 138 BATTLE, SYSTEM OF JJAY-TIiEE by King David dviring the absence of her hus- band, -who was then engaged at the siege of Kabbah (2 Sam. xi. 4, 5 ; Ps. li. 2). The child thus bom in adultery became ill and died (2 Sam. xii. 15-18). After the lapse of the period of mourning for her husband, who was slain by the contrivance of David (xi. 15), she was le- gally married to the king (xi. 27), and bore him Solomon (xii. 24; 1 Kings i. 11 ; ii. 13). In 1 Chron. iii. 5, she is called Bath-shua instead of Bath-sheba; and her father Ammiel, instead of Eliam (comp. Matt. i. 6). The other children of Bath-sheba are named in 2 Sam. v. 14; 1 Chron. iii. 5. She is afterwards mentioned only in consequence of her good-natured intercession for Adonijah, which incidentally displays the respect with which she was treated by king Solomon, her son (1 Kings ii. 19). [David ; ADONTJAIi.] BATTLE, SYSTEM OF. Though the He- brews in their mode of conducting warlike ope- rations varied somewhat in the course of ages, and are elsewhere shown to have been swayed by the practice of greater and more military na- tions, still, from the period when the institution of royalty gave rise to an organized system, it was a maxim to spare the soldiers all unneces- sary fatigue before an engagement, and to supply them liberally with food. Their arms were en- joined to be in the best order, and Avhen drawn up for battle they formed a line of solid squares of a hundred men, each square being ten deep, and with sufficient interval between them to allow of facility in movements, and for the slingers to pass through. The archers may have occupied the two flanks, or formed in the rear, according to the intentions of the commander on the occasion; but the slingers were always sta- tioned in the rear until they were ordered for- ward to impede a hostile approach, or to com- mence an engagement somewhat in the manner of modern skirmishers. Meantime, while the tnimpets waited to sound the last signal, the king, or his representative, appeared in his sacred dress, except when he wished to remain un- known, as at Megiddo (2 Chron. xxxv. 22), and proceeded ^o make the final dispositions, in the middle of his chosen braves, attended by priests who, by their exhortations, animated the ranks within hearing. It was now, we may suppose, when the enemy was at hand, that the slingers would be ordered to pass between the intervals of the line of solid squares, open their order, and with shouts, let fly their stone or leaden missiles, until by the gradual approach of the opposing fronts they would be hemmed in, and be recalled to the rear, or to cover a fiank. Then would come the signal to charge, and the great shout of battle ; the heavy infantry, receiving the order to attack, would press direct upon the front of the enemy, under cover of their shields and levelled spears ; the rear ranks might then, if so armed, cast their second darts, and archers from their rear shoot high, so as to pitch the arrows over their own mam line of spearmen into the dense masses beyond thera. If the enemy broke through the intervals, we may imagine that a line of charioteers in reserve, breaking from their position, might in part charge among the disordered ranks of the foe, drive them back, and facilitate the restoration of the oppressed masses, or wheeling round a flank, fall npon the enemy, or be encountered by a similar manoeuvre, and perhaps repulsed. The king, meanwhile, sur- rounded by his princes, posted close to the rear of his line of battle, and in the middle of the showered missiles, would watch the enemy and remedy every disorder. Thus it was that several of the sovereigns of Judah were slain (2 Chron. xviii. 33, and xxxv. 23), and that such an enor- mous waste of human life took place : for the shock of two hostile lines of masses at least ten in depth, advancing under the confidence of breastplate and shield, when once engaged hand to hand, had difficulties of no ordinary nature to retreat ; because the hindermost ranks not feel- ing personally the first slaughter, would not, and the foremost could not, fall back ; neither could the commanders disengage the line without a certainty of being defeated. The fate of the day was therefore no longer within the control of the chief, and nothing but obstinate valour was left to decide the victory. Under such circumstances defeat led to irretrievable confusion ; and where either party possessed superiority in cavalry and chariots of war, it would be materially increased : but where the infantry alone had principally to pursue a broken enemy, that force, laden with shields, and preserving order, could overtake very few who chose to abandon their defensive armour, unless they were hemmed in by the locality. Sometimes a part of the army was posted in ambush, but this manoeuvre was most commonly practised against the garrisons of cities (Josh. viii. 12 ; Judg. xx. 38). In the case of Abraham (Gen. xiv. 16), when he led a small body of his own people suddenly collected, and fell upon the guard of the captives, released them, and recovered the booty, it was a surprise, not an ambush ; nor is it necessary that he should have fallen in with the main army of the enemy. At a later period, there is no doubt the Hebrew armies, in imitation of the Romans, formed into more than one line of masses ; but, it may be added, there is ample evidence that they always possessed more stubborn valour than discipline. BATTLEMENT. [Hocse.] BAY-TREE, or LAUREL. This word occurs only once in Scripture, namely in Ps. xxxvii. 35 : ' I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green bay-tree.' Com- mentators and translators have differed respect- ing the meaning of this word, some supposing it to indicate a specific tree, as the laurel ; and others, supported by the Septuagint and Vulgate, the cedar of Lebanon. It is by some considered to mean an evergreen tree, and by others, a green tree that grows in its native soil, or that has not suffered by transplanting, as such a tree spreads itself luxuriantly. It appears to us that the Hebrew word would indicate some tree resem- bling the bay-tree, rather than the bay-tree it- self; but until that can be discovered, the latter is, upon the whole, well suited to stand as its re- presentative. The laurel, or bay-tree, laiirus nohilis of bo- tanists, is well known to the Asiatics by its Arabic name of fihar, under which it is men- tioned by Serapion and Avicenna, who quote chiefly Dioscorides and Galen, thus indicating that they had not much original mlbi-mation of BDELLIUM their own respecting a tree which is probably not indigenous in the countries in which they wrote. The leaves and berries of the laurel, as well as the bark and the root, were employed in medicine : the berries continue, even in the pre- sent day, to be exported to India, where we found them in the bazaars, under the name of 84. [Bay-tree. Laurus nobilis,] hithal-ghar, being still esteemed as a stimulant medicinal, though not possessed of any proper- ties superior to those of the laurels of more southern latitudes. The bay-tree is well known to be common in the south of Europe, as in Spain, Italy, Greece, and the Levant. It is usu- ally from 20 to 30 feet in height, often having a bushy appearance, from throwing up so many suckers ; but in England it has attained a height of 60 feet, which is not unusual in warmer cli- mates. It is unnecessary to allude further to the celebrity which it attained among the ancients — a celebrity which has not yet passed away, the laurel-wreath being still the symbolical crown as well of warriors as of poets. Its ever green grate- ful appearance, its thick shade, and the agreeable spicy odour of its leaves, point it out as that which was most likely in the eye of the Psalmist. BDEL'LIUM. This word occurs but twice in the Scriptures: in Gen. ii. 12, as a product of the land of Havilah ; and Num. xi. 7, where the manna is likened to it. It has been much dis- puted among critics, both ancient and modern. Some consider it as a precious stone, and the Jewish Rabbins, together with some modem commentators, translate it by pearl. But it is more than probable that the pearl was as yet un- known in the time of Moses ; and it is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament under its proper name except in Esth. i. 6. It is, therefore, most probable that the Hebrew bedolach is the aromatic gum bdellium, which issues from a tree growing in Arabia, Media, and the Indies. Pliny's description of the tree from which the bdellium is taken makes Ksempfer's assertion highly probable, that it is the sort of palm-tree so frequently met with on the Persian BEANS 139 coast and in Arabia Felix. The term bdellium, however, is applied to two gummy resinous sub- stances. One of them is the Indian bdellium, or false myrrh (perhaps the bdellium of the Scrip- tures), which is obtained from Amyris (balsamo- dendron ?) Commiphora. The trunk of the tree is covered with a light-coloured pellicle, as in tlie common birch, which peels off from time to time, exposing to view a smooth green coat, which in succession supplies other similar ex- foliations. This tree diffuses a grateful fra- grance, like that of the finest myrrh, to a considerable distance around. Dr. Royle was informed that this species yielded bdellium ; and in confirmation of this statement, we may add that many of the specimens of this bdellium in the British Museum have a yellow pellicle adhering to them, precisely like that of the com- mon birch, and that some of the pieces are per- forated by spiny branches — another character serving to recognise the origin of the bdellium. Indian bdellium has considerable resemblance to myrrh. Many of the pieces have hairs ad- hering to them. The other kind of bdellium is called African bdellium. It is a natural production of Senegal, and is called by the natives, who make tooth- picks of its spines, niottout. It consists of rounded or oval tears, from one to two inches in diameter, of a dull and waxy fracture, which in the course of time become opaque, and are co- vered externally by a white or yellowish dust. It has a feeble but peculiar odour, and a bitter taste. BEANS. This word occurs twice in Scrip- ture. The first occasion is in 2 Sam. xvii. 28, where beans are described as being brought to David, as well as wheat, barley, lentils, &c., as is the custom at the present day in many parts of the East when a traveller arrives at a village. So in Ezekiel iv. 9, the prophet is directed to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, &c., and make bread thereof. The common beans, or at least one of its varieties, has been employed as an ar- ticle of diet from the most ancient times. Beans were employed as articles of diet by the ancients, as they are by the moderns ; and are considered to give rise to flatulence, but otherwise to be wholesome and nutritious. They are cultivated over a great part of the old world, from the north of Europe to the south of India ; in the latter, however, forming the cold weather cul- tivation, with wheat, peas, &c. They are exten- sively cultivated in Egypt and Arabia. Dr. Kitto states that the extent of their cultivation in Palestine he had no means of knowing. In Egypt they are sown in November, and reaped in the middle of February (three and a half months in the ground) ; but in Syria they may be had throughout the spring. 'i"he stalks are cut down with the scythe, and these are after- wards cut and crushed, to fit them for the food of camels, oxen, and goats. The beans themselves, when sent to a market, are often deprived of their skins. Basnage reports it as the sentiment of some of the Rabbins, that beans were not law- ful to the priests, on account of their being con- sidered the appropriate food of mourning and affliction : but he does not refer to the authority ; and neither in the sacred books nor in the Mishna can be found any traces of the notion to which he alludes. So far frcm attaching any 140 BEARD sort of impurity to this legume, it is described as among the first-fruit offerings ; and several other articles in the latter collection prove that the Hebrews had beans largely in use, after they had passed them through the mill. BEAR is noticed in 1 Sam. xvii. 34, 36, 37 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 8 ; 2 Kings ii. 24 ; Prov. xvii. 12 ; xxviii. 15 ; Isa. xi. 7 ; Lam. iii. 10; Hos. xiii. 8 ; Amos V. 19, &c. The genus Ursus is the largest of all the plantigrade carnassiers, and with the faculty of subsisting on fruit or honey unites a greater or less propensity, according to the spe- cies, to slaughter and animal food. To a sullen and ferocious disposition it joins immense strength, little vulnerability, considerable sagacity, and the power of climbing trees. The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is the most sanguinary of the species of the Old Continent, and Ursus Syriacus, or the 85. [Syrian Bear.] bear of Palestine, is one very nearly allied to it, differing only in the stature being proportion- ably lower and longer, the head and tail more prolonged, and the colour a dull buff or light bay, often clouded, like the Pyrensean variety, with darker brown. On the back there is a ridge of long semi-erect hairs running from the neck to the tail. It is still found in the elevated woody parts of Lebanon. BEARD (THE). Ancient nations in general agreed with the modern inhabitants of the East in attaching a great value to the possession of a beard. The total absence of it, or a spare and stinted sprinkling of hair upon the chin, is thought by the Orientals to be as great a de- formity to the features as the want of a nose would appear to us ; while, on the contrary, a long and bushy beard, flowing down in luxuriant profusion to the breast, is considered not only a most igraceful ornament to the person, but as contributing in no small degree to respectability and dignity of character. With this knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which have in all ages been attached to the beard in the East, we are prepared to expect that a corre- sponding care would be taken to preserve and improve its appearance; and, accordingly, to dress and anoint it with oil and perfume was, with the better classes at least, an indispensable part of their daily toilet (Ps. cxxxiii. 2). In many cases it was dyed with variegated colours, by a tedious and troublesome operation. On the other hand, the allowing the beard to remain in a foul and dishevelled state, or to cut it off, was one of the most striking outward indications of | BEARD deep and overwhelming sorrow (2 Sam. xix. 24 ; Ezra ix. 13 ; Isa. xv. 2 ; Jer. xli. 5. Nor was less jealousy shown in guarding the honour of, than in setting off to advantage, this attribute of manhood. The slightest exhibition of contempt, by sneering, spitting at, pulling, or even pressing against it in a rude and careless manner, was resented as an insult, such as would now, among men of the world, be deemed expi- able only by a duel. No one was permitted to touch it except in the way of respectful and affectionate salutation, which was done by gently taking hold of its extremity with the right hand and kissing it; but even in that case it was only wives in approaching their husbands, children their parents, or the nearest and most attached friends, to whom this unusual liberty was granted. The act itself being an expression of kind and cordial familiarity, its performance by Joab shows in a flagrant light the base and unprin- cipled conduct of that ruthless veteran, when he took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him (rather it), and then having assumed this attitude under the mask of the most friendly feelings, smote his unsuspecting victim under the fifth rib (2 Sam. xx. 9). To be deprived of a beard was, and still is, in some places of the East, the badge of servitude — a mark of infamy, that degraded a person from the ranks of men to those of slaves and women. Among people influenced by such ideas, we can easily conceive how deep and intolerable was the affront which the king of the Ammonites put upon the ambassadors of David, when, among other acts of insolence, he shaved off one-half of their beards, and sent them home in that gro- tesque condition, exposed to the derision of their countrymen (2 Sam. x.). Persons of their high rank, who, in all probability, Avere fastidious about the orderly state and graceful appearance of their beards, would be even more sensitive as to this ignominious treatment than those of an humbler condition ; and, as the shaving off one- half of the beard was among some ancient nations the punishment of cowardice, these circumstances united will help to account for the spirit of de- termined revenge which the king and the whole nation of Israel breathed, on intelligence of the national outrage. From the above facts it is clear that the Israel- ites maintained their beard and the ideas con- nected with it, during their abode among the Egyptians, who were a shaven people. This is not unimportant among the indications which evince that, whatever they learned of good or evil in that country, they preserved the appear- ance and habits of a separate people. As the Egyptians shaved their beards off entirely, the injunction in Lev. xix. 27 against shaving ' the corners of the beard ' must have been levelled against the practice of some other and bearded nation. The prohibition is usually understood to apply against rounding the corners of the beard where it joins the hair ; and the reason is supposed to have been to preclude a superstition of certain Arabian tribes, who, by shaving off or rounding away the beard where it joined the hair of the head, devoted themselves to a certain deity who held among them the place which Bacchus did among the Greeks (comp. Jer. ix. 26 ; XXV. 23 ; xlix. 32). The ultimate effect BEASTS seems to have been altogether to prevent the Jews from shaving oft" the edges of their beards. The elfect of this prohibition in establishing a distinction of the Jews from other nations can- not be understood, unless we contemplate the extravagant diversity in which the beard was and is treated by the nations of the East. The cut is very interesting, being a collection of bearded heads of foreigners obtained from the BEASTS 141 Egyptian monuments, and, without doubt, in- cluding the beards, head-dresses, and physiogno- mies of most of the nations bordering on Egypt and Palestine. In nearly all of them we see that the upper edges of the beard were shaven oft', and apparently the hair of the upper lip. The ancient Egyptians, although they shaved their beards, had the singular custom of tying a false beard upon the chin. This was probably in the way of a compromise between their love of cleanliness and their desire to preserve some trace of the distinguishing sign of manhood. They were made of plaited hair, and had a pe- culiar form according to the rank of the persons by whom they were worn. Private individuals had a small beard, scarcely two inches long ; that of a king was of considerable length, and square at the bottom ; and the figures of gods were distinguished by its turning up at the end. ST. [2, 3, 5, 11. Guds. 1, 4, 6, 9, 10. Kings. 7, 8. Private persons.] BE A STS. In the Bible, this word, when used in contradistinction to man (Ps. xxxvi. 6), de- notes a brute creature generally ; when in con- tradistinction to creeping things (Rev. xi. 2-7; xxvii. 2(i), it has reference to four-footed ani- mals ; and when to wild mammalia, as in Gen. i. 25, means domesticated cattle. The zoology of Scripture may, in a general sense, be said to embrace the whole range of ani- mated nature ; but after the first brief notice of the creation of animals recorded in Genesis, it is limited more particularly to the animals found in Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and the coun- tries eastward, in some cases, to beyond the Euphrates. It comprehends mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, and invertebrate animals : but in a work like the Bible, written for a far different purpose, we might naturally expect that only a small part of these would be found described, and that geuerical indications would more fre- quently occur than specific characteristics. As the intention of Scripture, in its allusions to ani- mate or inanimate objects, was not scientific de- scription, but the illustration of arguments and precepts by images drawn from objects familiar to those to whom it was addressed, it is not to be expected that zoology or botany should be treated systematically, or in terms such as modern sci- ence has adopted; yet where we can now fully ascertain the true meaning of the text, the ima- gery drawn from natural history is always forcible, correct, and effective, even where it treats the subject under the conditions of the contemporary popular belief; for, had the in- spired wi-iters entered into explanations on mat- ters of science not then commonly understood, the poetical force of the imagery, and conse- quently its intended effect, must necessarily have been greatly diminished ; yet, where system is appropriate, we find a classified general distri- bution of the creation, simple indeed, but suf- ficiently applicable to all the purposes for which it was introduced. It resembles other parts of the philosophy of the earliest nations, in which the physical distribution of matter, excepting so far as man is concerned, proceeds by triads. Botany is treated under the heads of grass, shrubs, and trees : in animated nature, beginning with the lowest organized in the watery element, we have first ' the moving creature that hath life,' animalcula, Crustacea, insecta, &c. ; second, fishes and amphibia, including the huge tenants of the waters, whether or not they also frequent the land, crocodiles, python serpents, and perhaps even those which are now considered as of a more ancient zoology than the present system, the great Saurians of geology ; and third, it ap- pears, birds, ' flying creatures ' (Gen. i. 20) ; and still advancing (cetaceans, pinnatipeds, whales and seals being excluded), we have quadrupeds, forming three other divisions or orders : 1st, cattle, embracing the ruminant herbivora, ge- nerally gregarious, and capable of domesticity ; 2nd, wild beasts, caruivora, including all beasts of prey; and 3rd, reptiles, minor quadrupeds, such as creep by means of many' feet, or glide along the surface of the soil, serpents, annelides, &c. ; finally, we have man, standing alone in intellectual supi-emacy. The classificatiou of Moses, as it may be drawn from Deuteronomy, appears to be confined to Vertebrata alone, or animals having a spine and ribs, although the fourth class might include others : taking man as one, it forms five classes — 1st, Man; 2nd, Beasts ; Srd, Birds ; 4th, Reptiles ; Stli, Fishes. It is the same as that in Leviticus xi., where beasts are further distinguished into those with solid hoofs and those with cloven feet. But the passage specially refers to animals that might be law- fully eaten because they were clean, and others 142 BEDS prohibited because they were declared unclean, although some of them, according to the common belief of the time, might ruminate ; for it may be repeated that the Scriptures were not in- tended to embrace anatomical disquisitions aim- ing at the advancement of human science, but to convey moral and religious truth, without dis- turbing the received opinions of the time on questions having little or no relation to their main object. In like manner, fishes and birds are divided into clean and unclean ; and, taken altogether, the classification now described forms an excellent series of distinctions, which, even at the present day, and in countries far distant from the scene where it was ordained, still remains applicable, with little exception, and from its intrinsic propriety will remain in force, notwith- standing our present knowledge of the manners and opinions of the East and of Egypt has ren- dered many of the earlier comments upon it in a great measure useless. BEDS. The manner of sleeping in warm Eastern climates was, and is, necessarily very different from that which is followed in our colder regions. The present usages appear to be the same as those of the ancient Jews, and suf- ficiently explain the passages of Scripture which bear on the subject. Beds of feathers are alto- gether unknown, and the Orientals lie exceed- ingly hard. Poor people who have no certain home, or when on a journey, or employed dis- tant from their homes, sleep on mats or wrapped in their outer garment, which from its importance in this respect was forbidden to be retained in pledge over night from the owner (Gen. ix. 21, 23; Exod. xxii. 27; Deut. xxv. 13). Under such circumstances a stone covered with some folded cloth or piece of dress is often used for a pillow (Gen. xxviii. 11). The more Avealthy classes sleep on mattresses stuifed with -wool or cotton, and which are often no other than a quilt thickly padded, either used singly or one or more placed upon each other. A similar quilt of finer materials forms the coverlet in winter, and in summer a thin blanket suflices ; but sometimes the convenient outer garment is used for the latter purpose, and Mas so among the Jews, as we see from 1 Sam. xix. 3. The difference of use here is, that the poor wrap themselves up in it, and it forms all their bed ; whereas when used by the rich it is as a covering only. A pillow is placed upon the mattress, and over both, in good houses, is laid a sheet. The bolsters are more valuable than the mattresses, both for their coverings and material : they are usually stuffed with cotton or other soft sub- stance (Ezek. xviii. 20); but instead of these, skins of goats or sheep appear to have been for- merly used by the poorer classes and in the hardier ages. These skins were probably sewed up in the natural shape, like Avater-skins, and stuffed with chaff or avooI (1 Sam. xix. 13). It has been doubted whether different Hebrew words translated ' couch,' and ' bed,' and ' bed- stead ' in the authorized version were actuallj' bedsteads of different sorts, or simply the stand- ing and fixed divans, such as those on which the Western Asiatics commonly make their beds at night. It ha.s been usually thought that the choice lay between these altornatives, because it has not been understood that in the East there BEDS is, in fact, a varied arrangement in this matter: and there is reason to think that the different Hebrew words answer to and describe simi- larly different arrangements, although we may be unable now to give to the several Hebrew wordi: the distinctive applications to still subsist- ing things. The divan, or dais, is a slightly elevated plat- form at the upper end, and often along the sides of the room. On this are laid the mattresses on Avhich the Western Asiatics sit cross-legged in the day-time, with large cushions agamst the wall to support the back. At night the light bedding is usually laid out upon this divan, and beds for many persons are easily formed. The bedding is removed in the morning, and depo- sited in recesses in the room, made for the pur- pose. This is, however, a sort of general sleep- ing-room for the males of the family and for guests, none but the master having access to the inner parts of the house, where alone there are proper and distinct bed-chambers, where the bedding is either laid on the carpeted floor or placed on a low frame or bedstead. The most common bedstead in Egypt and Arabia is of this shape, framed rudely of palm- sticks. It was used in ancient Egypt, and is figured in the mural paintings. In Palestine, Syria, Persia, where the palm-tree is not common, and where timber is more plentiful, a bed-frame of similar shape is made of boards. This kind of bedstead is also used upon the house-tops during the season in which people sleep there. It is more than likely that Og's bedstead was of this descrip- tion (Deut. iii. 11). In the times in which he lived the palm-tree was more common in Pales- tine than at present, and those in ordinary use were probably formed of palm-sticks. Thus formed, they are incapable of sustaining any un- due weight without being disjointed and bent awry; and this would dictate the necessity of making the bedstead destined to sustain the vast bulk of Og rather with rods of iron than with the mid-ribs of the palm-fronds. These bedsteads are also of a length seldom more than a few inches beyond the average human stature (commonly 6 feet 3 inches), and hence the propriety with which the length of Og's bedstead is stated to con- vey an idea of his stature. It is not necessary to suppose that the bedsteads were all of this sort. There are traces of a sort of portable couch (1 Sam. xix. 1.5), which appears to have served as a sofa for sitting on in the day-time ( 1 Sam. xxviii. 23 ; Ezek. xxiii. 41 ; Amos vi. 4) ; and there is now the less reason to doubt that the ancient Hebrews had a convenience of this sort, as we find such couches in use among the neighbour- ing nations, and figured on their monuments. The subjoined example is from ancient Egypt. A bed with a tester is mentioned in Judith xvi. 23, which, with other indications and the frequent mention of rich tapestries hung upon and about a BEE bed for luxuriousness and ornament, proves that such beds as are still used by royal aud distin- guished personages were not unknown Tinder the Hebrew monarchies (comp. Esth. i. 6 ; Prov. vii. 16, sq. ; Ezek. xxiii. 41). It is evident that the ancient Jews, like the mo- dern inhabitants of their land, seldom or never changed their dress on going to bed. Most people only divest themselves of their outer garment, and loosen the ligature of the waist, excepting during the hottest part of the summer, when they sleep almost entirely unclad. BEE (occurs in Deut. i. 44 ; Judg. xlv. 8 ; Ps. cxviii. 12; Isa. vii. 18). This insect belongs to the family apidce, order hymenoptera, species apis mellijica, commonly called the honey-bee, because this species has often yielded honey to man. In proceeding to notice the principal passages of Scripture in which the bee is mentioned, we first pause at Deut. i. 44, M'heie Moses alludes to the irresistible vengeance with which bees pursue their enemies : ' The Amorites came out against jou and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir unto Hormah.' The powerlessness of man under the united attacks of these insects is well attested. Pliny relates that bees were so trouble- some in some parts of Crete, that the inhabitants were compelled to forsake their homes ; and iElian records that some places in Scythia were formerly inaccessible on account of the swarms of bees with which they were infested. Park relates that at Doofi-oo, some of the people being in search of honey, unfortunately disturbed a swarm of bees, which came out in great numbers, attacked both men and beasts, obliged them to fly in all direc- tions, so that he feared an end had been put to his journey, and that one ass died the same night, and another the next morning. Even in this country the stings of two exasperated hives have been known to kill a horse in a few minutes. The reference to the bee contained in Judg. xiv. 8, has attracted the notice of most readers. It is related in the .5th and 6th verses that Samson, aided by supernatural strength, rent a young lion, that warred against him, as he would have rent a kid, and that ' after a time,' as he returned to take his wife, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. It has been hastily concluded that this narrative favours the mistaken notion of the ancients, possibly derived from misunderstanding this very account, that bees might be engendered in the dead bodies of animals ; and ancient authors are quoted to testify to the aversion of .bees to flesh, unpleasant smells, BEELZEBUL 143 and filthy places. But it may readily be per- ceived that it is not said that the bees were bred in the body of the lion. Again, the frequently re- curring phrase, 'after a time,' literally 'after days,' introduced into the text, proves that at least sufficient time had elapsed for all the flesh of the animal to have been removed by birds and beasts of prey, the ants, &c. The Syriac version trans- lates ' the bony carcass.' The learned Bochart remarks that the Hebrew phrase sometimes signi- fies a whole year, and in this passage it would seem likely to have this meaning, because such was the length of time which usually elapsed between espousal and marriage (see ver. 7). The circum- stance that ' honey ' was found in the carcass as well as bees, shows that sufficient time had elapsed since their possession of it, for all the flesh to be removed. Nor is such an abode for bees, probably in the skull or thorax, more unsuitable than a hollow in a rock, or in a tree, or in the ground, in which we know they often reside, or those clay nests which they build for themselves in Brazil. Nor is the fact without parallel. Herodotus re- lates that a swarm of bees took up their abode in the skull of one Silius, an ancient invader of Cy- prus, which they filled with honeycombs, after the inhabitants had suspended it over the gate of their city. A similar story is told by Aldrovandus of some bees that inhabited and built their combs in a human skeleton in a tomb in a church at Ve- rona. The phrase Jn Ps. cxviii. 12, 'They compassed me about like tees,' is easily understood by all who know the manner in which bees attack the object of their fury. The only remaining passage has been strangely misunderstood (Isa. vii. 18): 'The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost parts of the river of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.' Here the fly and the bee are no doubt personifications of those inveterate ene- mies of Israel, the Egjptians and Assyrians, whom the Lord threatened to excite against his disobedient people. But the hissing for them has been interpreted, even by modern writers of emi- nence, as involving ' an allusion to the practice of calling out the bees from their hives, by a hissing or whistling sound, to their labour in the fields, and summoning them to return when the heavens begin to lower, or the shadows of evening to fiill.' No one has ofi'ered any proof of the existence of such a custom, and the idea will itself seem suffi- ciently strange to all who are acquainted with the habits of bees. The true reference is, no doubt, to the custom of the people of the East, and even of many parts of Europe, of calling the atten- tion of any one in the street, &c. by a significant Am or rather hist, as Bishop Lowth translates the word both here and in Isa. v. 20. Hissing, or rather histing, is in use among us for setting a dog on any object. Hence the sense of the threaten- ing is, I will direct the hostile attention of the Egyptians and Assyrians against you. BEEL'ZEBUL, the name assigned (Matt. xii. 24) to the prince of the daemons. There is no doubt that the reading Beelzebul is the one which has the support of almost every critical authority ; and the Beelzebub of the Peshito (if indeed it is not a corruption, as Michaelis thinks), aud of the Vulgate, and of some modern versions, has pro- bably been accommodated to the name of the 144 BEER-SHEBA Philistine god Baalzehub. Some of those -who consider the latter to have been a reverential title for that god, believe that Beelzebul is a wilful corruption of it, in order to make it contemptible. [Baal.] BEER, a well ; a local proper name, denoting, ■whether by itself or in composition, the presence of a well of water. There were two places so called. — 1. A place in the land of Moab, which was one of the encampments of the Israelites (Num. xxi. IC). — 2. A town in the tribe of Judah. It is mentioned only once in Scripture (Judg. ix. 21), as the place to which Jotham fled. It is supposed to be the same with the modern Bireh, a large village situated o;i the ridge, running from east to west, which bounds the northern prospect, as beheld from Jerusalem and its vicinity, and may be seen from a great distance north and south. It contains a population of 700 Moslems. The houses are low, and many of th'em half under- ground. Many large stones and various substruc- tions evince the antiquity of the site ; nnd there are remains of a fine old church of the time of the Crusades. BEE'ROTH, the plural of Beer, and by many taken for the same place. It is mentioned as a city of the Gibeonites (Josh. ix. 17), and -was reckoned in the tribe of Benjamin (2 Sam. iv. 2 ; Ezra ii. 25). BE'ER-SHE'BA, well of the oath; a place in the southernmost part of Canaan, celebrated for the sojourn of the patriarchs. It took its name fiom the well which was dug there by Abraham, and the oath which confirmed his treaty with Abimelech (Gen. xxi. 31 ). It seems to have been a favourite station of that patriarch, and here he planted one of those ' groves ' Avhich formed the temples of those remote times (Gen. xxi. 33). A town of some consequence afterwards arose on the spot, and retained the same name. It was first assigned to the tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 28), and afterwards transferred to Simeon (Josh. xix. 2), but was still popularly ascribed to Judah (2 Sam. xxiv. 7). Being the southernmost city of the land, its name is of frequent occurreuce as being proverbially used in describing the extent of the land, in the phrase ' from Dan (in the north) to Beersheba ' (in the south), and reversely, ' from Beersheba unto Dan ' (Judg. xx. 1 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 11 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxx. .5). It v/as at Beersheba that Samuel established his sons as judges for the southernmost districts (1 Sam. viii. 2) : it -was from thence that Elijah wandered out into the southern desert (1 Kings xix. 3): here was one of the chief seats of idolatrous worship in the time of Uzziah (Amos v. .5; viii. 14) ; and to this place, among others, the Jews returned after the Captivity (Neh. xi. 27, 30). This is the last time its name occurs in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it is not once mentioned ; and for many centuries it seems to have been in a great measure forgotten. Its site was recently visited by Dr. Robinson, who, on converging from the desert and entering the borders of Pa- lestine, came upon two deep wells still called Bir-es-Leba, situate on the northern side of a wide Avatercourse called Wady ir-Leba. These wells are 55 rods apart. They are circular, and stoned up very neatly with masonry, apparently very ancient. The water in both was pure and sweet, and in great abundance; the finest, indeed, BEGGARS the travellers had found since leaving Sinai. Both wells were surrounded with drinking- troughs of stone for camels and flocks, such as were doubtless used of old by the flocks which were fed on the adjacent hills. No riiins were at first visible ; but, on examination, foundations of former dwellings were traced, dispersed loosely over the low hills to the north of the wells, and in the hollows between. They seem to have been built chiefly of round stones, although some of the stones are squared and some hewn; suggesting the idea of a small straggling city. The site of the wells is nearly midway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the jNlediterranean at Rapha;a, or twenty-seven miles south-east from Gaza, and about the same distance south-by-west from Hebron. BEEVES. The rearing of horned cattle was encouraged by the people of Israel. These ani- mals were protected in some cases by express provisions of the lax; they were held clean, being the usual sacrifice of consideration, and the chief article of flesh diet of the population. Judging from Egyptian remains, there were two great breeds of straight-backed cattle, the long- bcrned and the short-horned; and in Upper Egypt at least, there was one without horns. Another hunched species existed, which served to draw chariots, yoked in the c-ame manner as the Brahminee bulls of India are at present. In Egjpt the straight-backed or common cattle appear to have formed a very handsome breed with lunate horns. They were generally spotted black or red upon a white ground, and there were, besides, others white, red, or black. They all served for common use, but those without red were selected when new sacred bulls were to be supplied ; for they alone had the colours which could show the marks made by chance or by art, and required to fit the animal for the purpose in- tended. There was, besides, a sacred cow ; and a black bull was worshipped at Hermonthis. In Palestine the breed of cattle was most likely in ancient times, «s it still is, inferior in sue to the Egyptian. Unless the name be taken synonymously witli that of other species, there is not in the Bible any indication of the bufialo. The Asiatic spe- cies was not known in Greece till the time of Aristotle. The indigenous buffaloes of Africa, amounting at least to two very distinct species, appear to have belonged to the south and west of that continent, and only at a later period to have approached Egypt as far as the present Bornou ; for none are figured on any known mo- nument in either Upper or Lower Egypt. With regard, however, to wild oxen of. the true Tau- rine genus, some may, at a very remote period, have been found in Bashan, evidently the origin of the name,— a region where mountain, wood, and water, all connecting the Syrian Libanus with Taurus, were favourable to their existence ; but the wild bulls of the district, mentioned in Ps. xxii. 1 2, and in various other passages, ap- pear, nevertheless, to refer to domestic species, probably left to propagate without much human superintendence, except annually marking the increase, and selecting a portion for consumption, in the same manner as is still practised in some parts of Europe. BEGGARS. [Alms.] BEHEMOTH BE'HEMOTH (Job xl. 15) is regarded as the plural of behemali, but commentators are by no means agreed as to its true meaning. A number of learned men, with Bochart and Calmet at their head, understand the word in the singular number as a specific name, denoting the hippo- potamus, seeking to prove, by somewhat forced 90. [Hippopotamus.] interpretations of the beautiful poetical allusions in Job xl. 1.5-24, the exactness of the description when compared with the species, which, how- ever, in some respects is more applicable to the elephant, while in others it is equally so to both animals. Hence the term behemoth, taken in- tensely (for in some places it is admitted to designate cattle in general), may be assumed to be a poetical personification of the great Pachy- dermata, or even Herbivora. wherein the idea of hippopotamus is predominant. This view ac- counts for the ascription to it of characters not truly applicable to one species ; for instance, the tail is likened to a cedar, which is only admis- sible in the case of the elephant; again, 'the mountains bring him forth food;' 'he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan,' a river which ele- phants alone could reach ; ' his nose pierceth through snares/ certainly more indicative of that animal's proboscis with its exti-aordinary deli- cacy of scent and touch, ever cautiously applied, than of the obtuse perceptions of the river-horse. Finally, the elephant is far more dangerous as an enemy than the hippopotamus, which nume- rous pictorial sculptures on the monuments of Egypt represent as fearlessly speared by a. single hunter standing on his float of log and reeds. Yet although the elephant is scarcely less fond of water, the description referring to manners, such as lying under the shade of willows among reeds, in fens, &c., is more directly characteristic of the hippopotamus. The book of Job appears, from many internal indications, to have been written in Asia, and is full of knowledge, although that knowledge is not expressed according to the precise technicalities of modern science : it offers pictures in magnificent outline, without conde- scending to minute and laboured details. Con- sidered in this light, the expression in Ps. 1.10, ' For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle (behemoth) upon a thousand hills,' acquires a grandeur and force far surpassing the mere idea of cattle of various kinds. If, therefore, we take this plural noun to bear the meaning here briefly indicated, we may likewise consider the leviathan, its counterpart, a similarly generalized term with the idea of the crocodile most pro- minent; but from the vei-y namf. indicating a twisting animal, and which from various texts BELL 145 evidently include the great pythons, cetacea, arid sharks of the surrounding seas and deserts, it conveys a more sublime allusion than if limited to the crocodile, an animal familiar to everv Egyptian, and well known even in Palestine. BE'KAH, half a shekel. [Weights.] BEL is the name under which the national god of the Babylonians is cursorily mentioned in Isa. xlvi. 1 ; Jer. 1. 2 ; li. 44. This deity is also no- ticed in Bar. vi. 40, and the apocryphal addition to the book of Daniel, where we read of meat and drink being daily off"ered to him, according to a usage occurring in classical idolatry. A particu- lar account of the pyramidal temple of Bel, at Babylon, is given by Herodotus, who also states that the sacrifices of this god consisted of adult cattle, of their young, when sucking, and of in- cense. The question whether the sun or the planet Jupiter was the power of nature adored under the name of Bel, is discussed under the article Baal. BEL and DRAGON. [Daniel, Apocryphal Additions to.] BE'LA. [ZoAR.] BF^LL. The first bells known in history are those small golden bells which were attached to the lower part of the blue robe (the robe o^ the ephod) which formed part of the dress of the high-priest in his sacerdotal ministrations (Exod. xxviii. 33,34; comp. Ecclus. xlv. 11). They were there placed alternately with the pomegra- nate-shaped knobs, one of these being between every two of the bells. The number of these bells is not mentioned in Scripture ; but tradition st3,tes that there were sixty-six. We need not seek any other reason for this rather singular use of bells than that which is assigned : ' His sound shall be heard w hen he goeth into the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not' (Exod. xxviii. 35); by which we may understand that the sound of the bells manifested that he was properly arrayed in the robes of cere- mony which he was required to wear when he entered the presence-chamber of the Great King ; and that as no minister can enter the presence of an earthly potentate abruptly and unannounced, so he (whom no human being could introduce) was to have his entrance harbingered by the sound of the bells he wore. This sound, heard, outside, also notified to the people the time in which he was engaged in his sacred ministra- tions, and during which they remained in prayer (Luke i. 9, 10). ' Bells of the Horses' are mentioned ia Zedi. xiv. 20, which were probably such as were hung to the bridles or foreheads, or to belts around the necks, of horses trained for war, that they might thereby be accustomed to noise and tumult, and not by their alarm expose the riders to danger in actual warfiire. We incline to think, however, that the use of horse-bells with which the Jews were most familiar, and which the prophet had in view, was that which at pre- sent exists in the East, and in oi.her countries where carriage by pack-horses and mules is common. The laden animals, being without riders, have bells hung from their necks, that they may be kept together, in traversmg by night the open plains and deserts, by paths and j roads unconfined by fences or boundaries ; that , 146 BEN they may be cheered by the sound of the bells ; and that if any horse strays, its place may be known by the sound of its bell, while the general sound from the caravan enables the traveller who has strayed or lingered, to find and regain his party, even in the night. That the same motto, Holiness to the Lord, which was upon the mitre of the high-priest, should, in the happy days foretold by the pro- phet, be inscribed even upon the bells of the horses, manifestly signifies that all things, from the highest to the lowest, should in those days be sanctified to God. It is remarkable that there is no appearance of bells of any kind in the Egyptian monu- ments. BELLOWS. This word only occurs in Jer. vi. 29, and is there used with reference to the casting of metal. As fires in the East are always of wood or charcoal, a sufficient heat for ordinary purposes is soon raised by the help of fans, and the use of bellows is confined to the Avorkers in metal. Such was the case anciently ; and in the mural paintings of Egypt we observe no bellows but such as are used for the forge or furnace. They thus occur as early as the time of Moses, being represented in a tomb at Thebes which bears the name of Thothmes IIL They consisted of a leathern bag, secured and fitted into a frame, from which a long pipe extended for carrying the wind to the fire. They were worked by the feet, the operator standing upon them with one under each foot and pressing them alternately, while he pulled up each exhausted skin with a string he held in his hand. In one instance it is observed from the painting, that when the man left the bellows they were raised as if filled with air, and ibis would imply a knowledge of the valve. BELLY. Among the Hebrews, and with most ancient nations, the belly was regarded as the seat of the carnal affections, as being, ac- cording to the notions of antiquity, that which first partakes of sensual pleasures (Tit. i. 12 ; Phil. iii. 19 ; Eom. xvi. 18). It is used likewise symbolically for the heart, the innermost recesses of the soul (Prov. xviii. 8; xx. 27; xxii. 18). The embittering of the belly signifies all the train of evils which may come upon a man (Jer. iv. 19 ; ix. 15 ; comp. Numb. v. 27). BELSHAZ'ZAR is the name given in the book of Daniel to the last king of the Chaldees, under Avhom Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians. Nothing is really known of this king except from the book of Daniel. BELTESHAZ'ZAR. [Daniel.] BEN (son), is often found as the first element of proper names ; in which case the word which BENHADAD follows it is always to be considered dependent on it. in the relation of our genitive. The word which follows Be7i may either be of itself a proper name, or be an appellative or abstract, the principle of the connection being essentially the same in both cases. [Bar.] BENAI'AH, son of Jehoiada, and commander of David's guard (the Cherethites and Pelethites, 2 Sam. viii. 18). His exploits were celebrated in Israel. He overcame two Moabitish cham- pions (' lions of God'), slew an Egyptian giant with his own spear, and went down into an ex- hausted cistern and destroyed a lion which had fallen into it when covered with snow (2 Sam. xxiii. 21). Benaiah (doubtless with the guard he commanded) adhered to Solomon when Joab and others attempted to set up Adonijah ; and when that attempt failed, he, as belonged to his office, was sent to put .loab to death, after which he was appointed commander in chief in his place (1 Kings i. 36 ; ii. 29). Some persons named Benaiah returned from the exile with Ezra (x. 25, SO, 35, 43). BENHA'DAD (son of Hadad), the name of three kings of Damascene-Syria. As to the latter part of this name, Hadad, there is little doubt that it is the name of the Syrian god Adad. 1. Benhadad, the king of Syria who was subsidised by Asa king of Judah to invade Israel, and thereby compel Baasha (who had in- vaded Judah) to return to defend his own king- dom (1 Kings XV. 18). [Asa.] This Benhadad has, with some reason, been supposed to be Hadad the Edomite who rebelled against Solomon (1 Kings xi. 25). 2. Benhadad, king of Syria, son of the pre- ceding. His earlier history is much involved in that of Ahab, with whom he was constantly at war [Ahab]. He owed the signal defeat in which that war terminated to the vain notion that assimilated Jehovah to the local deities which the nations of Syria worshipped, deeming Him ' a God of the hills,' but impotent to defend his votaries in ' the plains' (1 Kings xx. 1-30). Instead of pursuing his victory, Ahab concluded a peace with the defeated Benhadad, which was observed for about twelve years, when the Syrian king declared war against Je- horam the son of Ahab, and invaded Israel -. but all his plans and operations were frustrated by being made known to Jehoram by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings vi. 8, ad Jin.). After some years he however renewed the war, and besieged Jehoram in his capital, Samaria, until the inha- bitants were reduced to the last extremities and most revolting resources by famine. The siege was then unexpectedly raised, according to a prediction of Elisha, through a panic infused into the besiegers, who concluding that a noise which they seemed to hear portended the aETIIESDA Bethel in the estimation of the orthodox Jews ; and the prophets name it with abhorrence and contempt — even applying to it the name of Beth- aven {house of' idols) instead Bethel (house of God) (Amos i. 5; Hos. iv. 15; v. 8; x. 5, 8). The town was taken from Jeroboam by Abijah, king of Judah (2 Chron. xiii. 19) ; but it again re- verted to Israel (2 Kings x. 28). After the Israelites were carried away captive by the Assy- rians, all traces of this illegal worship were extir- pated by Josiah, king of Judah, who thus ful- filled a prophecy made to Jeroboam 350 years before (2 Kings xiii. 1, 2; xxiii. 15-18). The place was still in existence after the Captivity, and was iti the possession of the Benjamites (E.-5ra ii. 28 ; Neh. vii. 32). In the time of the Maccabees Bethel was fortified by iiacchides for the king of Syria. It is not named in the New Testament ; but it still existed, and was taken by Vespasian. It is described by Eusebius and Jerome as a small village ; and this is the last notice of it as an inhabited place. Bethel and its name were believed to have perished until within these few years ; M'hen it has been identified with Beitin, the situation of which corresponds very exactly with the position assigned to the ancient Bethel. The ruins, which are consider- able, lie upon the point of a low hill, between the heads of two shallow wadys which unite below, and run off into a deep and rugged valley. The spot is shut in by higher land on every side. BE'THER. The Mountains of Bether are only mentioned in Cant. ii. 17; viii. 14; and no place called Bether occnrs elsewhere. The word means, properly, dissection. The mountains of Bether may therefore be mountains of disjunction, of separation, etc., that is, mountains cut up, di- vided by ravines, etc. BETHE'SDA {house or place of mercy'), a pool at the Sheep-gate of Jerusalem, built round with porches for the accommodation of the sick who sought benefit from the healing virtues of the water, and upon one of whom Christ performed the healing miracle recorded by St. John (v. 2-9). That which is now, and has long been pointed out as the Pool of Bethesda, is a dry basin or reser- voir outside the northern wall of the enclosure around the Temple Mount, of which wall its southern side may be said to form a part. The east end of it is close to the present gate of St. Stephen. The pool measures 300 feet in length, 92, [Pool of Bethesda.] BETHLEHEM 149 130 feet in breadth, and 75 in depth from the bottom, besides the rubbish which has been accu- mulated in it for ages. Dr. Robinson is of opinion that this excavation is not entitled to the designation it bears ; but his arguments have been so forcibly met by more recent and not less useful inquirei-s, that until some better alterna- tive is offered, it will be well to acquiesce in the local conclusion. BETH-HO'KON : two places of this name are distinguished in Scripture as the Upper and Nether Beth-horon (Josh. xvi. 3, 5; xviii. 13; 1 Chron. vii. 24). The Nether Beth-horon lay in the N.W. corner of Benjamin ; and between the two places was a pass called both the ascent and descent of Beth-horon, leading from the region of Gibeon (el-Jib) down to the western plain (Josh, xviii. 13, 14 ; x. 10, 11). Down this pass the five kings of the Amorites were driven by Joshua (Josh. x. 11). The upper and lower towns were both fortified by Solomon (1 Kings ix. 17 ; 2 Chron. viii. 5). Cestius Callus, the Roman pro-consul of Syria, in his march from Cffisarea to Jerusalem, aftef having burned Lydda, ascended the mountain by Beth-horon and encamped near Gibeon. From these intima- tions it would appear that ki ancient times, as at the present day, the great road of communication and of heavy transport between Jerusalem and the sea-coast was by the pass of Beth-horon. The two Beth-horons still exist under the name of Beit-Ur. The Lower Beit-Ui' is upon the top of a low ridge, which is separated by a wady, or narrow valley, from the foot of the mountain upon which the Upper Beit-Ur stands. Both are now inhabited villages. The lower is very small, but foundations of large stones indicate an ancient site — doubtless that of the Nether Beth-horon. The Upper Belt-Ur is likewise small, but also exhibits traces of ancient walls and foundations. In the steep ascent to it the rock is in some parts cut away, and the path formed into steps, indi- cating an ancient road. On the first offset or step of the ascent are foundations of huge stones, the remains perhaps of a castle that once guarded the pass. It is remarkable that the places are still distin- guished as Beit-Ur el-Foka (the Upper), and Beit- Ur el-Tahta (the Lower). BETH'LEHEM, {house or place of bread, i. q. Bread-town;) a city of Judah (Judg. xvii. 7), six miles southward from Jerusalem, on the road to Hebron. It was generally called Bethlehem- Judah, to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Zebulun (Josh. xix. 15; Judg. xii. 10). It is also called Ephratah (the fruitful), and its inhabitants Ephratites (Gen. xlviii. 7 ; Mic. v. 2). Bethlehem is chiefly celebrated as the birth- place of David and of Christ, and as the scene of the Book of Ruth. It was fortified by Reho- boam (2 Chron. xi. 6) ; but it does not appear to have been a place of much importance ; for Micah, extolling the moi'al pre-eminence of Beth- lehem, says, ' Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,' &c. (Mic. V. 2). There never has been any dispute or doubt about the site of Bethlehem, which has always been an inhabited place, and, from its sacred associations, has been visited by an un- broken series of pilgrims and travellers. It is now a large straggling village, beautifully sitop 150 BETHLEHEM ated on the brow of a high hill, and consisting chiefly of one broad and principal street. The houses are built for the most part of clay and bricks ; and every house is provided with an apiary, the beehives of which are constructed of a series of earthen pots, ranged on the house- tops. The inhabitants are said to be 3000, and were all native Christians at tlie time of the most recent visits ; for Ibrahim Pasha,#finding that the Moslem and Christian inhabitants were always at strife, caused the former to withdraw, and left the village in quiet possession of the latter, whose numbers had always greatly pre- dominated. The chief trade and manufacture of the inhabitants consist of beads, crosses, and other relics, which are sold at a great profit. Some of the articles, wrought in mother-of-pearl, are carved with more skill than one would expect to find in that remote quarter ; and the workmanship in some instances would not dis- credit the artists of Britain. The people are said to be remarkable for their ferocity and rude- ness, which is indeed the common character of the inhabitants of most of the places accounted holy in the East. At the farthest extremity of the town _is the Latin convent, connected witli which is the Church of the Nativity, said to have been built by the empress Helena. It has suffered much from time, but still bears manifest traces of its Grecian origin ; and is alleged to be the most chaste architectural building now remaining in Palestine. Two spiral staircases lead to the cave called the ' Grotto of the Nativity,' which is about 20 feet below the level of the church. This cave is lined with Italian marbles, and lighted by numerous lamps. Here the pilgrim is'conducted with due solemnity to a star inlaid in the marble, marking the exact spot where tie Saviour was born, and corresponding to that in tlie firmament occupied by the meteor which intimated that great event ; he is then led to one of tlie sides, where, in a kind of recess, a little below the level of the rest of the floor, is a block of white marble, hollowed out in the form of a manger, and said to mark the place of the one in which the infant Jesus was laid. His attention is afterwards directed to the ' Sepulchre of the Innocents ;' to the grotto in wliich St. Jerome passed the greater portion of his life ; and to the chapels dedicated to Joseph and other saints. There has been much controversy respecting the claims of this grotto to be regarded as the place in which our Lord was born. Tradition is in its favour, but facts and probabilities are against it. It is useless to deny that there is much force in a tradition regarding a locality, which can be traced up to a period not remote from that of the event commemorated ; and this event was sx) important as to make the scene of it a point of such unremitting attention, that the knowledge of the spot was not likely to be lost. This vieAv would be greatly strengthened if it could be satisfactorily proved that Hadrian, to cast odium upon the mysteries of the Christian religion, not only erected statues of Jupiter and Venus over the holy Sepulchre and on Calvary, but placed one of Adonis over the spot of (he Nativity at Bethlehem. This part of the evidence is exa- mined under another head [Golgotha]. Agamst tradition, whatever may be its value in the pre- BETHSAIDA sent case, we have to place the utter improbability that a subterranean cavern like this, with a steep descent, should ever have been used as a stable for cattle, and, what is more, for the stable of a khan or caravanserai, which doubtless the ' inn' of Luke ii. 7 was. Although therefore it is true that cattle are, and always have been, stabled in caverns in the East ; yet certainly not in such caverns as this, which appears to have been ori- ginally a tomb. Old empty tombs often, it is argued, afford shelter to man and cattle ; but such was not the case among the Jews, who held themselves ceremonially defiled by contact with sepulchres. Besides, the circumstance of Christ's having been born in a cave would not have been less remarkable than his being laid in a manger, and was more likely to have been noticed by the Evangelist, if it had occurred : and it is also to be observed that the present grotto is at some distance from the town, whereas Christ appears to have been born in the town, and whatever may be the case in the open country, it has never been usual in towns to employ caverns as stables for cattle. On the north-east side of the town is a deep valley, alleged to be that in which the angels appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Saviour (Luke ii. 8). In the same valley is a fountain of delicious water, said with reasonable probability to be that for which David longed, and which three of his mighty men procured for him at the hazard of their lives (2 Sam. xxiii. 15-18\ BETH-NIM'RA, or simply Nimra, a town in the tribe of Gad (Num. xxxii. 3, 36 ; Josh. xiii. 27), which Eusebius places five Roman miles north of Livias. This leaves no doubt of its being the same ruined city called Nimrin, south of Szalt, which Burckhardt mentions as situated near the point where the Wady Shoeb joins the Jordan, BETHPHA'GE {house ^f Jigs),— comp. Cant, ii. 13), a small village, which our Lord, coming from Jericho, appears to have entered before reaching Bethany (Matt. xxi. 1 ; Luke xix. 29) ; it probably, therefore, lay near the latter place, a little below it to the east. No trace of it now exists. BETH-RE'HOB. [REnoB.] BETHSA'IDA (JisJting-town), a town (Johni. 45; Mark viii. 23) in Galilee (John xii. 21), on the western side of the sea of Tiberias, towards the middle, and not far from Capernaum (Mark vi. 45; viii. 22). It was the native place of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and the frequent residence of Jesus. This gives some notion of the neighbourhood in which it lay ; but the pre- cise site is utterly unknown, and the very name has long eluded the search of travellers, 2. BETHSAIDA. Christ fed the 5000 ' near to a city called Bethsaida' (Lulce ix. 10); but it is evident from the parallel passages (Matt. xiv. 13; Mark vi. 32-45), that this event took place, not in Galilee, but on the eastern side of the lake. This was held to be one of the greatest difficulties in sacred geography, till the ingenious Reland afforded materials for a satisfactory solu- tion of it, by distinguishing two Bethsaida.s ; one on the western, and the other on the north-eastern border of the lake. The former was undoubt- edly 'the city of Andrew and Peter;' and, it is in perfect agreement with the sacred text to BETHSHEMESH concluile that it was the Bethsaida near which Christ fed the five thousand, and also, probably, where the blind maa was restored to sight. It was originally only a village, called Bethsaida, but was rebuilt and enlarged by Philip the Tetrarch not long after the birth of Christ, and received the name of Julias in honour of Julia the daughter of Augustus (Luke iii. 1). Philip seems to have made it his occasional residence ; and here he died, and was buried in a costly tomb. BETH-SHA'N (Jwuse of rest, or Eest-town), a city belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh, west of the Jordan, and situated in a valley of that river, where it is bounded westward by a low chain of the Gilboa mountains. It is on the road from JeAisalem to Damascus, and is about two miles from the Jordan, eighteen from the southern end of Lake Gennesareth, and twenty- three from Nazareth. It also bore the name of Scythopolis, perhaps because Scythians had set- tled there in the time of Josiah (b.c. 631), in their passage through Palestine towards Egypt. Although Bethshan was assigned to Manasseh (Josh. xvii. 11), it was not conquered by that tribe (Judg. i. 17). The body of Saul was fas- tened to the wall of Bethshan by the Philistines (1 Sam. xxxi. 10). The ancient native name, as well as the town itself, still exists in the Beisan of the present day. It stands on a rising ground somewhat above the valley of the Jordan, or in the valley of Jezreel, where it opens into the Jordan valley. It is a poor place, containing not more than sixty or seventy houses, inha- bited by Moslems. The ruins of the ancient city are of considerable extent. It was built along the banks of the rivulet' which waters the town and in the valleys formed by its several branches, and must have been nearly three miles in circumference. The chief remains are large heaps of black hewn stones, with many found- ations of houses and fragments of a few columns. BETH-SHE'MESH {house ofthemn, i.q. Sun- towit ;) a sacerdotal city (Josh. xxi. 16 ; 1 Sam. vi. 15; 1 Chron. vi. 59) in the tribe of Judah, on the south-east border of Dan (Josh. xv. 10), and the land of the Philistines (1 Sam. vi. 12), probably in a lowland plain (2 Kings xiv. 1); and placed by Eusebius ten Roman miles from Elcutheropolis, in the direction of the road to Nicopolis. It belonged at an early date to the Philistines, and they had again obtained posses- sion of it in the time of Ahaz (1 Kings iv. 9 ; ^ Chron. xxviii. 18). It was to this place that the ark was taken by the milch kine from the land of the Philistines, and it was here that, ac- cording to the present text, ' fifty thousand and threescore and ten men ' were miraculously slain for irreverently exploring the sacred shrine (1 Sam. vi. 19). This number has occasioned much discussion. It appears likely that the text has been corrupted in transcription by an erroneous solution of an arithmetical sign. The Syriac and Arabic have 5070 instead of 50070. At the dis- tance, and in the vicinity indicated by Eusebius and Jerome, a place called Ain Shems was found by Dr. Robinson, and, with great probability, identified with Beth-Shemesh. The name is applied to the ruins of an Arab village constructed of ancient materials. To the west of the village. BIBLE 151 upon and around the plateau of a low swell or mound, are the vestiges of a former extensive city, consisting of many foundations and the remains of ancient walls of hewn stone. BETHU'EL, son of Abraham's brother Nahor, and father of Laban and of Rebecca, whom Isaac married (Gen. xxii. 22, 2.3). BETHULI'A, a place mentioned only in the Apocryphal book of Judith (iv. 5: vii. 1, 3), and which appears to have lain near the plain of Esdraelon on the south, not far from Dothaim, and to have guarded one of the passes towards Jerusalem. Its site is still undetermined. BETH'-ZUR, a town in the tribe of Judah (Josh. XV. 58), twenty Roman miles from Jeru- salem, on the road to Hebron, and consequently two miles from the latter city. It was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 7). The inhabitants assisted in building the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. iii. 16). Lysias was defeated in the neighbour- hood by Judas Maccaba;us, who fortified the place as n stronghold against Idumsea.. It was besieged and taken by Antiochus Eupator, and fortified by Bacchides, whose garrison defended themselves against Jonathan Maccabaius ; but it was taken and fortified by liis brother Simon. Josephus calls Beth-zur the strongest fortress in Judaea. Its site has not been ascertained. BETROTHING. [Marriage.] BE'ZEK, a city over which Adoni-bezek was king (Judg. i. 4, sq.), and where Saul mustered his army to march to the relief of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. xi. 8). Eusebius and Jerome mention two towns of this name close together, seventeen miles from Neapolis in Shechem, on the road to Bethshan. BE'ZER, a city beyond the Jordan, in the tribe of Reuben, and one of the six cities of refuge (Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xx. 8). The site is unknown. BIBLE, a name supposed to have been first applied in the fifth century to denote the collec- tive volume of the sacred writings. The word occurs in the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus, 'the Law, the Prophets, and the rest of the books,' and 2 Tim. iv. 13, ' and the books.' Before the adoption of this name the more usual terms in the Christian Church by which the sacred books were denominated were, the Scripture or Writing, the Scriptures, the Sacred Writings, and the e proved, or alleged ! with plausibility, that the Apostles took any mea- j sures for securing substitutes for themselves (in the ! high character of Apostles) after their decease. It i has been Avith many a favourite notion that Ti- mothy and Titus exhibit the episcopal type even during the life of Paul ; but this is an obvious misconception. They Avere attached to the person of the Apostle, and not to any one church. In the last Epistle written by him (2 Tim. iv. 9) he calls Timothy suddenly to Home, in words which prove that the latter was not, at least as yet, bishop, either of Ephesus or of any other church. That Timothy was an evangelist is distinctly stated (2 Tim. iv. 5), and that he had received spiritual gifts (i. 6, &c.) ; there is then no difficulty in ac- counting for the authority vested in him (1 Tim. v. 1 ; xix. 22), without imagining him to have been a bishop ; which is in fact disproved even by the same Epistle (i. 3). That Titus, moreover, had no local attachment to Crete, is plain from Titus iii. 13, to say nothing of the earlier Epistle, 2 Cor. passim. Nor is it true that the episcopal 3ITHYNIA power developed itself out of wandering Evan- gelists any more than out of the Apostles. On the other hand it Avould seem that the bishop began to elevate himself above the pres- byter while the Apostle John was yet aliA'e, and in churches to which he is believed to have pecu- liarly devoted himself. The meaning of the title angel, in the opening chapters of the Apocalypse, has been mystic;illy explained by some ; but its true meaning is clear from the nomenclature of the Jewish synagogues. In them, we aie told, the minister Avho ordinarily read the prayers of the congregation, besides acting as their chief func- tionary in matters of business, was entitled mes- senger of the church. The term ' angel of the church' appears therefore to be nothing but a harsh Hebraism for ' minister of the church.' We therefore here see a single officer, in these rather large Christian communities, elevated into a pecu- liar prominence, which has been justly regarded as episcopal. Episcopalians. Presbyterians, and Congrega- tionalists agree in one point, viz. that (because of its utility and general convenience) it is lawful for Christians to take a step for which they have no clear precedent in the Scripture, that of break- ing up a church, Avhen it becomes of unwieldy magnitude, into fixed divisions, whether parishes, or congregations. The question then arises, whe- ther the organic union is to be still retained at all. To this (1) Congregationalists reply in the nega- tive, saying that the congregations in different parts of a great city no more need to be in organic union, than those of two different cities ; (2) Pres- byterians would keep up the union by means of a synod of the elders ; (3) Episcopalians desire to unite the separate churches by retaining them under the supervision of a single head — the bishop. It seems impossible to refer to the prac- tice of the Apostles as deciding in favour of ant/ one of these methods ; for the case had not yet arisen which could have led to the discussion. The citj' churches had not yet become so large as to make subdivision positively necessary; and, as a fact, it did not take place. To organize distant churches into a fixed and formal connection by synods of tlieu- bishops, Avas, of course, quite a later process ; but such unions are by no means rejected, even by Congregationalists, as long as they are used for deliberation and advice, not as assemblies for ruling and commanding. The spirit of Episcopacy depends far less on the epis- copal form itself, than on the size and wealth of dioceses, and on the union of bishops into synods, whose decisions are to be authorative on the whole church: to say nothing of territorial establish- ment and the support of the civil government. If, under any ecclesiastical form, either oppression or disorder should arise, it cannot be defended : but no form is a security against such evils. Our experience may, in these later times, possibly show us Avhich of these systems is on the whole preferable ; but the discussion must belong to ecclesiastical history, and would be quite out of place here. BITH'RON (2 Sam. ii. 29). This name has the same meaning as Bother. It probably denotes a region of hills and valleys, and not any definite place. BITHYN'IA, a province of Asia Minor, on the Euxine Sea and the Propontis; bounded BLASTUS 155 on the west by Mysia, on the south and east by Phrygia and Galatia, and on the east by Paphlagonia. The Bithynians were a rude and uncivilized people, Thracians who had colonized this part of Asia, and occupied no towns, but lived in villages. That Christian congregations were formed at an early period in Bithynia, is evident from the Apostle Peter having addressed the first of his Epistles to them (1 Pet. i. 1). The Apostle Paul was at one time inclined to go into Bithynia with his assistants Silas and Timothy, ' but the Spirit suffered him not ' (Acts xvi. 7). BITTER, BITTERNESS. Bitterness (Exod. i. 14; Ruth i. 20; Jer. ix. 15) is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude. It was for this reason that, in the celebration of the Passover, the servitude of the Israelites in Egypt was typically represented by bitter herbs. The gall of bitterness (Acts vlii. 23) describes a state of extreme wickedness, highly offensive to God, and hurtful to others. A root of bitterness (Heb. xiii. 15) expresses a wicked or scandalous person, or any dangerous sin leading to apostacy. BITTER HERBS, literally bitters. There has been much difference of opinion respecting the kind of herbs denoted by this word. It however seems very doubtful whether any particular herbs were intended by so general a term as bitters ; it is far more probable that it de- notes whatever bitter herbs, obtainable in the place where the Passover was eaten, might be fitly used with meat. BITTERN. The word thus rendered occurs but three times in Scripture (Isa. xiv. 23 ; xxxiv. 11 ; and Zeph. ii. 14), and has been variously in- terpreted— owl, osprey, tortoise, porcupine, otter, and in the Arabic, bustard. Bochart, Shaw, Lowth. and other great authorities, have supported the opinion that it refers to the porcupine ; but this is in the highest degree improbable, for the texts above quoted make it clear that the animal referred to must from its habits be not a hedge- hog, nor even a mammal, but a bird. We think the term most applicable to the heron tribes, whose beaks are formidable spikes that often kill hawks; a fact well known to Eastern hunters. Of these, the common night-heron, with its pencil of white feathers in the crest, is a species not un- common in the marshes of Western Asia ; and of several species of bittern, Ardea (botaurus) stel- lar is has pointed long feathers on the neck and breast, freckled with black, and a strong pointed bill. After the breeding-season it migrates and passes the winter in the south, frequenting the marshes and rivers of Asia and Europe, where it then roosts high above ground, uttering a curious note before and after its evening flight, very dis- tinct from the booming sound produced by it in the breeding-season, and while it remains in the marshes. Though not building, like the stork, on the tops of houses, it resorts, like the heron, to ruined structures, and we have been informed that it has been seen on the summit of Tauk Kesra at Ctesiphon. BITUl^EN. [ASPHALTUM.] BLACK. Although the Orientals do not wear black in mourning, they, as did the ancient Jews, regard the colour as a symbol of affliction, dis- aster, and privation. In fact, the custom of wearing black in mourning is a sort of visible ex- pression of what is in the East a figure of speech. In Scripture blackness is used as symbolical of afflictions occasioned by drought and famine (Job XXX. 30 ; Jer. xiv. 2 ; Lam. iv. 8 ; v. 10). In connection with this subject it may be re- marked that black is studiously avoided in dress by all Orientals, except in certain garments of hair or wool, which are naturally of that colour. Black is also sometimes imposed as a mark of humiliating distinction by dominant nations upon subject or tributary tribes, the most familiar in- stance of which is the obligation laid upon the Jews in Turkey of wearing black turbans. BLASPHEMY signifies a false, irreverent, injurious use of God's names, attributes, words, and works. Whenever men intentionally and directly attack the perfections of Jehovah, and thus lessen the reverence which others entertain for him, they are blasphemers. By the Mosaic law blasphemy was punished with death (Lev. xxiv. 10-lG); and the laws of some countries still visit it with the same punish- ment. Fines, imprisonment, and various cor- poral inflictions are annexed to the crime by the laws of Great Britain. It is matter, how- ever, of sincere satisfaction, that there are very few instances in which these enactments require to be enforced. Much has been said and written respecting the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, usually but improperly denominated the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost. Some refer it to con- tinued opposition to the Gospel, i. e. obstinate impenitence or final unbelief. But we object to this opinion, because it gene- ralizes the nature of the sin in question. On the contrary, the Scripture account narrows it to a particular sin of a special kind, discountenanc- ing the idea that it is of frequent occurrence, and marked by no circumstances of unwonted aggravation. Besides, all the notices which we have refer it not so much to a state of mind, as to the outward manifestation of a singularly malignant disposition by the utterance of the lips. The occasion on which Christ introduced his mention of it (Matt. xii. 31, &c. ; Mark iii. 28, &c.), the subsequent context, and, above all, the words of Mark iii. 30 (' because they said, He hath an unclean spirit ') indicate, with tolerable plainness, that the sin in question consisted in attributing the miracles wrought by Christ, or his Apostles in His name, to the agency of Satan. It was by the power of the Holy Ghost, given to the Redeemer without measure, that he cast out devils : and whoever maligned the Saviour by affirming that an unclean spirit actuated and enabled him to expel other spirits, maligned the Holy Ghost. It is difficult to discover the ' sin unto death,' noticed by the Apostle John (1 John v. 16), al- though it has been generally thought to coincide with the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit ; but the language of John does not afford data for pronouncing them one and the same. The first three Gospels alone describe the blasphemy which shall not be forgiven: from it the 'sin unto death ' stands apart. BLAS'TUS, a man who was cuhicularius to king Herod Agrippa, or who had the charge of his bedchamber (Acts xii. 20). Such persons ir,G BLOOD had usually great influence with their masters, and hence the importance attached to Blastus's favouring the peace with Tyre and Sidon. BLESSING. The terms ' blessing' and ' to bless ' occur very often in the Scriptures, and in applications too obvious to require explanation or comment. The patriarchal blessings of sons form the exception, these being, in fact, pro- phecies rather than blessings, or blessings only in so far as they for the most part involved the invocation and the promise of good things to come upon the parties concerned. The most re- markable instances are those of Isaac' blessing' Jacob and Esau (Gen. xxvii.); of Jacob ' bless- ing' his twelve sons (Gen. xlix.); and of Moses ' blessing the twelve tribes (Deut. xxxii.). BLESSING, VALLEY OF, a translation of the name Valley of Berachali (benediction), which was borne by the valley in which Jeho- shaphat celebrated the miraculous overthrow of the Moalntes and Ammonites. It was from this circumstance it derived its name ; and from the indications in the text, it must have been in the tribe of Judah, near the Dead Sea and Engedi, and in the neighbourhood of Tekoa (2 Chron. XX. 23-26). BLINDING. [Punishments.] BLINDNESS. The frequent occurrence of blindness in the East has always excited the astonishment of travellers. Volney says that, out of a hundred persons in Cairo, he has met twenty quite blind, ten wanting one eye, and twenty others having their eyes red, purulent, or blemished. This is principally -owing to the Egyptian ophthalmia, which is endemic in that country and on the coast of Syria. This disease is contagious ; but it is not often communicated from one individual to another. It is not con- fined to the East, but appears here and there throughout Europe. The French and English suffered greatly from it while they were In Egypt, and subsequently. Small pox is another great cause of blindness in the East. In the New Testament, blind mendicants are frequently mentioned (Matt. ix. 27 ; xii. 22 ; XX. 30; xxi. 14; John v. 3). The blindness of Bar Jesus (Acts xiii. 6) was miraculously pro- duced, and of its nature we know nothing. Ex- amples of blindness from old age occur in Gen. xxvii. 1 ; 1 Kings xiv. 4; 1 Sam. iv. 15. The Syrian army that came to apprehend Elisha was suddenly smitten with blindness in a miraculous manner (2 Kings vi. 18); and so also was St. Paul (Acts ix. 9). The Mosaic law has not neglected to inculcate humane feelings towards the blind (Lev. xix. 14 ; Deut. xxvii. 18). Blindness is sometimes threatened in the Old Testament as a punishment for disobedience (Deut. xxviii. 28; Lev. xxvi. 16; Zeph. i. 17). BLOOD. There are two respects in which the ordinances of the Old and New Testaments concerning blood deserve notice here — the pro- hibition of its use as an article of food, and the appointment and significance of its use in the ritual of sacrifice ; both of which appear to rest on a common ground. In Gen. ix. 4, where the use of animal food is allowed, it is first absolutely forbidden to eat ' flesh with its soul, its blood ;' which expression, were it otherwise obscure, is explained by the BLOOD-REVENGE mode in which the same terms are employed in Deut. xii. 23. In the Mosaic law the prohibi- tion is repeated with frequency and emphasis ; although it is generally introduced in connection with sacrifices, as in Lev. iii. 17; vii. 26; xvii. 10-14; xix. 26 ; Deut. xii. 16-23; xv. 23. In cases where the prohibition is introduced in connection with the lawful and unlawful articles of diet, the reason which is generally assigned in the text is, that ' the blood is the soul ;' and it is ordered that it be poured on the ground like water. But where it is introduced in reference to the portions of the victim which were to be offered to the Lord, then the text, in addition to the former reason, insists that ' the blood ex- piates by the soul' (Lev. xvii. 11, 12). This strict injunction not only applied to the Israel- ites, but even to the strangers residing among them. The penalty assigned to its transgression was the being ' cut oft' from the people ;' by which the punishment of death appears to be intended (cf Heb. x. 28), although it is diflicult to ascertain Avhether it was inflicted by the sword or by stoning. To this is to be added, that the Apostles and elders, assembled in council at Jerusalem, when desirous of settling the ex- tent to which the ceremonial observances were binding upon the converts to Christianity, re- newed the injunction to abstam from blood, and coupled it with things offered to idols (Acts xv. 29). In direct opposition to this emphatic prohibi- tion of blood in the Mosaic law, the customs of Uncivilized heathens sanctioned the cutting of slices from the living animal, and the eating of the flesh while quivering with life and dripping with blood. Even Saul's army committed this barbarity, as we read in 1 Sam. xiv. 32 ; and the prophet also lays it to the charge of the Jews in Ezek. xxxiii. 25. This practice, ac- cording to Bruce's testimony, exists at present among the Abyssinians. Moreover, pagan reli- gions, and that of the Phcenicians among the rest, appointed the eating and drinking of blood, mixed with wine, as a rite of idolatrous wor- ship, and especially in the ceremonial of swearing. To this the passage in Ps. xvi. 4, ap- pears to allude. The appointment and significance of the use of blood in the ritua! of sacrifice belongs indeed to this head ; but their further notice will be more appropriately pursued in the art. Sacrifice. BLOOD-REVENGE, or revenge for blood- shed, was regarded among the Jews, as among all the ancient and Asiatic nations, not only as a right, but even as a duty, which devolved upon the nearest relative of the murdered person. The Mosaical law (Num. xxxv. 31) expressly forbids the acceptance of a ransom for the for- feited life of the murderer, although it might be saved by his seeking an asylum at the altar of the Tabernacle, in case the homicide was accidentally committed (Exod. xxi. 13 ; 1 Kings i. 50 ; ii. 28). If, however, after Judaism had been fully developed, no other sanctuary had been tolerated but that of the Temple at Jeru- salem, the chances of escape of such an homicide from the hands of the avenger, ere he reached the gates of the Temple, must have become less in proportion to the distance of the spot where the ELOODY SWE.IT murder was committed from Jerusalem : six cities of refuge were therefore appointed for the momentary safety of the murderer, in various parts of the kingdom, the roads to which were kept in good order to facilitate his escape (Deut. xix. 3). Thither the avenger durst not follow him, and there he lived in safety until a proper examination had taken place before the autho- rities of the place (Jos. xx. 6, 9), in order to ascertain whether the murder was a wilful act or not. In the former case he was instantly delivered up to the Goel, or avenger of blood, against whom not even the altar could protect him (Kxod. xxi. 14; 1 Kings ii. 29); in the latter case, though he was not actually delivered into the hands of the Goiil, he was notwithstand- ing not allowed to quit the precincts of the town, but was obliged to remain there all his lifetime, or until the death of the high-priest (Num. xxxv. (i; Deut. xix. 3; Josh. xx. 1-6), if he would not run the risk of falling into the hands of the avenger, and be slain by him with impunity (N-im. xxxv. 26; Deut. xix. C). That such a voluntary exile was considered more in the light of a punishment for manslaughter than a pro- vision for the safe retreat of the homicide is evident from Num. xxxv. 32, where it is ex- pressly forbidden to release him from his con- finement on any condition whatever. That the decease of the high-priest should have been the means of restoring him to liberty was probably owing to the general custom among the ancients, of granting free pardon to certain prisoners at the demise of their legitimate prince or so- vereign, whom the high-priest represented, in a spiritual sense, among the Jews. These wise '.vegulations of the Mosaical law, as far as the spirit of the age allowed it, prevented all family hatred, persecution, and war from ever taking place, as was inevitably the case among the other nations, where any bloodshed whatever, whether wilful or accidental, laid the homicide open to the duteous revenge of the relatives and family of the slain person, who again in their turn were then similarly watched and hunted by the opposite party, until a family-war of ex- termination had legaUij settled itself from gene- ration to generation, without the least prospect of ever being brought to a peaceful termination. Nor do we indeed find in -the Scriptures the least trace of any abuse or mischief ever having arisen from these regulations (comp. 2 Sam. ii. 19, sq. ; iii. 21, sq.). That such institutions are altogether at va- riance with the spirit of Christianity may be judged from the fact that revenge, so far from being counted a right or duty, was condemned by Christ and his apostles as a vice and passion to be shunned (Acts vii. GO ; Matt. v. 44 ; Luke vi. 28; Rom. xii. 14, sq.; comp. Rom. xiii., where the power of executing revenge is vested in the authorities alone). BLOODY SWEAT. According to Luke xxii. 44, our Lord's sweat was ' as great drops of blood falling to the ground.' Michaelis takes the passage to mean nothing more than that the drops were as large as falling drops of blood. This, which also appears to be a common ex- planation, is liable to some objection. For, if an ordinary observer compares a fluid which he is accustomed to see colourless, to blood, which is BOAR 157 so well known and so well characterised by its colour, and does not specify any particular point of resemblance, he would more naturally be un- derstood to allude to the colour, since it is the most prominent and characteristic quality. There are several cases recorded by the older medical writers, under the title of bloody sweat. With the exception of one or two instances, not above suspicion of fraud, they have, however, all been cases of general hremorrhagic disease, in which blood has flowed from different parts of the body, such as the nose, eyes, ears, lungs, stomach, and bowels, and, lastly, from various parts of the skin. When blood oozes from the skin, it must reach the external surface through orifices in the epidermis, which have been pro- duced by rupture, or we must suppose that it has been cxtravasated into the sweat-ducts. But, even in this latter case, we must no more con- sider liiEmorrhape of the skin to be a modifica- tion of the function of sweating, than bleeding from the nose to be a modification of tlie secre- tion of mucus. The blood is simply mixed with the sweat, precisely in the same way as, when spit up from the lungs, it is mixed with mucus and saliva in passing through the air-tubes and mouth. It is, therefore, incorrect to suppose that hEcmori'hage from the skin indicates a state of body at all analogous to that which occasions sweating. But while experience teaches that cutaneous haemorrhage, when it does occur, is the result of disease, or, at any rate, of a very peculiar idio- syncrasy, and is in no way indicative of the state of the mind, daily experience and the accu- mulated testimony of ages prove that intense mental emotion and pain produce on the body effects even severer in degree, but of a very dif- ferent nature. It is familiar to all that terror will blanch the hair, occasion momentary pa- ralysis, fainting, convulsions, melancholy, im- becility, and even sudden death. Excessive grief and joy will produce some of the worst of these. Sweat is caused by fear, and by bodily pain ; but not by sorrow, which excites no secretion except tears. I It is very evident, then, that medical expe- i rience does not bear at all upon the words of St. j Luke. The circumstances connected with our \ Lord's sufferings in the garden must be consi- | dered by themselves, without any reference to i actual observation ; otherwise, we shall be in | danger of rendering a statement, which may be easily received on its own grounds, obscure and | contradictory. | BOANER'GES {som of thunder, Mark iii. 17), I a surname given by Christ to James and John, ; probably on account of their fervid, impetuous i spirit. I BOAR occurs in Lev. xi. 7 ; Deut. xiv. 8 ; | Ps. Ixxx. 13 ; Prov. xi. 22 ; Isa. Ixv. 4 ; Ixvi. j 3, 17. I The Hebrew, Egyptian, Arabian, Phoenician, and other neighbouring nations abstained from j hog's flesh, and consequently, excepting in Egypt, and (at a later period) beyond the Sea of Galilee, no domesticated swine were reared. Although in Palestine, Syria, and Phoenicia hogs were rarely domesticated, wild boars are often mentioned in the Scriptures, and they were fre- quent in the time of the Crusades. At present 158 BOOK OF LIFE ■wild boars frequent the marshes of the Delta, 1 and are not uncommon on Mount Carmel and in the valley of Ajalah. They are abundant about the sources of the Jordan, and lower down Avhere the river enters the Dead Sea. The wild boar of the East, though commonly smaller than the old breeds of domestic swine, grows occasionally to a very large size. It is passive while unmolested, but vindictive and fierce when rouseil. It is doubtful whether the species is the same as that of Europe, for the farrow are not striped : most likely it is identical with the wild hog of India. 1. BO'AZ, a wealthy Bethlehemite, and near kinsman of the first husband of Ruth, whom he eventually espoused under the obligations of the Levirate law, which he willingly incurred. The conduct of Boaz— his fine spirit, just feeling, piety, and amenity of manners— appears to great advantage in the book of Ruth, and forms an in- teresting portraiture of the condition and deport- ment of what was in his time the upper class of Israelites. By his marriage with Ruth he be- came the father of Obed, from whom came Jesse, the father of David. He was thus one of the direct ancestors of Christ, and as such his name occurs in Matt. i. 5 [Ruth ; Genealogy]. 2. BOAZ, the name given to one of the two brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the court of the Temple [Jachin and Boaz]. BO'CHIM {weepings), the name given to a place (probably near Shiloh, where the tabernacle then was), where an 'angel of the Lord' re- proved the assembled Israelites for their dis- obedience in making leagues with the inhabitants of the land, and for their remissness in taking possession of their heritage. This caused the bitter weeping among the people for which the place took its name (Judg. iii. 1). BO'HAN (a thumb), a Reubenite, in whose honour a stone was erected which afterwards served as a boundary-mark on the frontier be- tween Judah and Benjamin (Josh. xv. 6 ; xviii. 1 7). It does not appear from the text whether this stone was a sepulchral monument, or set up to commemorate some great exploit performed by this Bohan in the conquest of Canaan. BOND, BONDAGE. [Slavery.] BOOK. [Writing.] BOOK OF LIFE. In Phil. iv. 3, Paul speaks of Clement and other of his fellow- labourers, ' whose names are written in the book of life.' On this Heinrichs observes that as the lliture life is represented under the image of a citizenship, community, political society, just be- fore (iii. 20), it is in agreement with this to sup- pose (as usual) a catalogue of the citizens' names, both natural and adopted (Luke x. 20 ; Rev. xx. 15 ; xxi. 27), and from which the unworthy are erased ( Rev. iii. 5). Thus the names of the good are often represented as registered in heaven (Luke X. 20). But this by no means implies a certainty of salvation, but only that at that time the persons were on the list, from which (as in Rev. iii. 5) the names of unworthy members might be erased. This explanation is sufficient and satisfactory for the other important passage iu Rev. iii. 5, where the glorified Christ promises to 'him that overcometh,' that he will not blot his name out of the book of life. When God threatened to destroy the Israelites altogether, and make of Moses a great nation— the legislator im- BORROWING plored forgiveness for them, and added — ' if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written' (Exod. xxxii. 34). By this he meant nothing so foolish or absurd as to otler to forfeit eternal life in the world to come — but only that he, and not they, should be cutoff from the world and brought to an untimely end. A sealed book (Isa. xxix. 11 ; Rev. v. 1-3) is a book whose contents are secret, and have for a very long time been so, and are not to be pu'i- lished till the seal is removed. A honk or roll written within and without, i. e. on the back side (Rev. v. 1), may be a book containing a long series of events; it not being the custom of the ancients to write on the back side of the roll, unless when the in- side would not contain the whole of the writing. To eat a book signifies to consider it carefully, and digest it well in the mind (Jer. xv. 16 ; Rev. X. 9). BOOTH, a hut made of branches of trees, and thus distinguished from a tent properly so called. Such were the booths in which Jacob sojourned for a while on his return to the bor- ders of Canaan, whence the place obtained the name of Succoth (Gen. xxxiii. 17); and such were the temporary green sheds in which the Israelites were directed to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. xxiii. 42, 43). As this ob- servance was to commemorate the abode of the Israelites in the wilderness, it has been rather unwisely concluded by some that they there lived in such booths. But it is evident from the narrative, that, during their wanderings, they dwelt in tents ; and, indeed, where, in that tree- less region, could they have found branches with which to construct their booths? Such structures are only available in well-wooded regions ; and it is obvious that the direction to celebrate the feast in booths, rather than in tents, was given because, when the Israelite'- became a settled people in Palestine, and ceased to have a general use of tents, it was easier for them to erect a temporary shed of green branches than to provide a tent for the occasion. BORROWING. On the general subject, as a matter of law or precept, see Loan. In Exod. xii. 35, we are told that the Israel- ites, when on the point of their departure from Egypt, ' borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment ;' and it is added, that ' the Lord gave, the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.' This was in pur- suance of a Divine command which had been given to them through IMoses (Exod. iii. 22 ; xi. 2). This has suggested a difficulty, seeing that the Israelites had certainly no intention to leturn to Egypt, or to restore the valuables which tliey thus obtained from their Egyptian • neighbours.' The general acceptation of the word rendered borrow is to request or demand, and some have afiirmed that it should be so rendered here— that the Israelites did not hoiToio the valuables, but demanded them of their Egyptian neighbours, as an indemnity for their services, and for the hard and bitter bondage which they had endured. To this it has been objected, that the Israelites had been public sei-vants, rendering certain onerous BOTTLE services to the state, but not in personal bondage to individual Egyptians, whom, nevertheless, they, according to this account, mulcted of much valuable property in compensation for MTongs committed by the state. And that this mode of extorting private and partial compensation for public -wrong will not stand the test of our rules of public morality, any more than that of bor- rowing without the intention to restore. Others are inclined to adhere to the old interpretation, that the Israelites actually did borrow the valu- ables of the Egyptians, with the understanding, on the part of the latter, that they were to be restored. Turn which way we will in this matter, there is but a choice of difficulties ; and this leads us to suspect that we are not acquainted with all the facts bearing on the case, in the absence of which we spend our strength for uouglit in labouring to explain it. One of the difficulties is somewhat softened by the conjecture of Pro- fessor Bush, who, in his Note on Exod. xi. 2, ob- serves, ' We are by no means satisfied that Moses was required to command the people to practise the device here mentioned. We regard it rather, as far as theu were concerned, as the mere pre- diction of a fact that should occur.' BOSOM. It is usual with the Western Asia- tics to carry various sorts of things in the bosom of their dress, which forms a somewhat spacious depository, being wide above the girdle, which confines it so tightly around the waist as to pre- vent anything from slipping through. 2b have one in our bosom implies kindness, secrecy, intimacy (Gen. xvi. 5 ; 2 Sam. xii. 8), Christ is in the bosom of the Father ; that is, pos- sesses the closest intimacy with, and most perfect knowledge of, the Father (John i. IS). Our Saviour is said to carry his lambs in his bosom, which touchingly represents his tender care and watchfulness over them. BOSSES, the thickest and strongest parts, the prominent points of a buckler [Arms, Armodr]. BOl'TLE. Natural objects, it is obvious, would be the earliest things employed for hold- ing and preserving liquids ; and of natural ol>jcct3 those would be preferred which either BOTTLE 159 presented themselves nearly or quite ready for use, or such as could speedily be wrought into the requisite shape. The skins of animals afford in themselves more conveniences for the purpose than any other natural product. The first bottles therefore were probably made of the skins of animals. Accordingly we learn from Herodotus that it was customary among the ancient Egyp- tians to use bottles made of skins ; and this is confirmed by the monuments, on which such various forms as the above occur. Fig. 1 is curious as showing the mode in which they wei-e carried by a yoke ; and as it balances a large bottle in a case, this skin may be presumed to have contained wine. Fig. 7 is such a skin of water as in the agricu'ltural scenes is suspended from the bough of a trc-e, and from which the labourers occasionally drink. Figs. 2 and 3 re- present two men with skins at their backs, belong- ing to a party of nomades entering Egypt. This party has been with some plausibility supposed to represent the sons of Jacob. Skin-bottles doubtless existed among the He- brews even in patriarchal times; but the first clear notice of them does not occur till Joshua ix. 4, where it is said that the Gibeonites, wishing to impose upon Joshua as if they had come from a long distance, took ' old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles old and rent and bound up.' Age, then, had the effect of wearing and tearing the bottles in question, which must consequently have been of skin. Our Saviour's language (Matt. ix. 17 ; Luke v. 37, 38 ; Mark ii. 22) is thus clearly explained : ' Men do not put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break and the wine run- neth out, and the bottles perish ;' ' New wine must be put in new bottles, and both are pre- served.' To the conception of an English reader who knows of no bottles but such as are made of clay or glass, the idea of bottles breaking through age presents an insuperable difiiculty ; but skins may become ' old, rent, and bound up ;' they also prove, in time, hard and inelastic, and would in such a condition be very unfit to hold new wine, probably in a state of active fermentation. Even new skins might he unable to resist the internal pressure caused by fermentation. As the drinking of wine is illegal among the Moslems who are now in possession of Western Asia, little is seen of the ancient use of skin- bottles for wine, unless among the Christians of Georgia, Armenia, and Lebanon, where they are still thus employed. In Georgia the wine is stowed in large ox-skins, and is moved or kept at hand for use in smaller skins of goats or kids. But skins are still most extensively used through- out Western Asia for water. Their most usual forms are shown in the above cut (95), which also displays the manner in which they are car- ried. The water-carriers bear water in such skins and in this manner. 160 BOW It is an error to represent bottles as being made exclusively of dressed or undressed skins among the ancient Hebrews. Among the Egj'p- tians ornamental vases were of hard stone, ala- baster, glass, ivory, bone, porcelain, bronze, silver, or gold ; and also for the use of the people generally, of glazed pottery or common earthen- ware. As early as Thothmes III., assumed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, e.g. 1490, vases are known to have existed of a shape so elegant and of workmanship so superior, as to show that the art was not, even then, in its infancy. Many of the bronze vases found at Thebes and in other parts of Egypt are of a quality which cannot fail to excite admiration, and which proves the skill possessed by the Egyptians in the art of working and compounding metals. Their shapes are most various — some neat, some plain, some grotesque ; some in form not unlike our cream-jugs, others as devoid of taste as the wine-bottles of our cellars or the fiower-pots of our conservatories. They had also bottles, small vases, and pots, used for holding ointment or for other purposes connected with the toilet, which were made of alabaster, glass, porcelain, and hard stone. Earthenware ; 2, 5, 6. 7, Green hited steel, horn, brass, copper, beads, and other materials of a cheap description. Some notion of the size and value of the bracelets used both now and in ancient times may be formed from the fact that those which were presented by Eleazer to Rebecca weighed ten shekels (Gen. xxiv. 22 ). The bracelets are sometimes flat, but more fre- quently round or semicircular, except at the point where they open to admit the hand, where they are flattened. They are frequently hollow, giving the show of bulk (which is much desired) without the inconvenience. Bracelets of gold twisted rope-wise are tliose now most used in Western Asia : but we cannot determine to what extent this fashion may have existed in ancient times. BRAMBLE. [Thorn.] BRANCH. As trees, in Scripture, denote great men and princes, so branches, boughs, sprouts, or plants denote their offspring. In con- formity with this way of speaking, Christ, in respect of his human nature, is styled a rod f lom the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots (Isa. xi. 1), tliat is, a prince arising from the family of David. A branch is the symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors, as branches from the root (Ezek. xvii. .3, 10 ; Dan. xi. 7). As only a vigo- rous tree can send forth vigorous branches, a branch is used as a general symbol of prosperity (Job viii. 16). From these explanations it is easy to see how a branch becomes the symbol of the Messiah (Isa. xi. 1 : iv. 2 ; Jer. xxiii. 15 ; Zech. iii. 8 ; vi. 12; and elsewhei-e). Branch is also used as the symbol of idolatrous worship (Ezek. viii. 17), probably in allusion to the ge- neral custom of carrying branches as a sign of honour. An abominable branch (Isa, xiv. 19) means a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged. In Ezek. xvii. 3 Jehoiachim is called the highest branch of the cedar, as being a king. BRASS. This word occurs in the Authorized Version. But brass is a factitious metal, not known to the early Hebrews, and wherever it occurs, copper is to be understood [Coppek]. That copper is meant is shown by the text, ' Out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass ' (Deut. viii. 9), it being of course impossible to dig a factitious metal, whether brass or bronze, out of mines. Brass (to retain the word) is in Scripture the symbol of insensibility, baseness, and presump- tion or obstinacy in sin (Isa. xlviii. 4 ; Jer. vi. 28; Ezek. xxii. 18). Brass is also a symbol of strength (Ps. cvii. 16; Isa. xlviii. 4; Mic. iv. 13). So in Jer. i. 18 and xv. 20, brazen walls signify a strong and lasting adversary or oppo- nent. BREAD. The word ' bread ' was of far more extensive meaning among the Hebrews than with us. There are passages in which it appears to b"? applied to all kinds of victuals (Luke xi. 3) ; but it more generally denotes all kinds of baked and pastry articles of food. It is also used, however, in the more limited sense of bread made fron; wheat or barley, for rye is little cultivated in tlie East. Barley being used chiefly by the poor, and for feeding horses [Barley], bread, in the more limited sense, chiefly denotes the various kinds of cake-like bread prepared from wheutea flour. Com is ground daily in the East. After the wheaten fllour is taken from the hand-mill, it is )62 BREAD made into a dough or paste in a small wooden trough. It is next leavened ; after which it is made into thin cakes or flaps, round or oval, and then baked. The kneading-tvoughs, in which the dough is prepared, have no resemblance to ours in size or shape, but are small wooden bowls in which only a comparatively small quantity of dough is prepared. The Bedouin Arabs, indeed, use for this purpose a leather, which can be drawn up into a bag by a running cord along the border, and in which they prepare and often carry their dough. It is clear, from the history of the departure from E^pt, that the flour had first been made into a dough by water only, in which state it had been kept some little time be- fore it was leavened; for when the Israelites were unexpectedly (as to the moment) compelled in all haste to withdraw, it was found that, al- though the dough had been prepared in the kneading-trough, it was still unleavened (Exod. xii. 34 ; comp. Hos. vii. 4) ; and it was in com- memoration of this circumstance that they and their descendants in all ages were enjoined to eat only unleavened bread at the feast of the Pass- over. The dough thus prepared is not always baked at home. In towns there are public ovens and bakers by trade ; and although the general rule in large and respectable families is to bake the bread at home, much bread is bought of the bakers by unsettled individuals and poor per- sons; and many small households send their dough to be baked at the public oven, the baker receiving for his trouble a portion of the baked bread, which he adds to his day's stock of bread for sale. Such public ovens and bakers by trade must have existed anciently in Palestine, and in the East generally, as is evident from Hos. vii. 4 and Jer. xxxvii. 21. For their larger operations the bakers have ovens of brick, not altogether unlike our own; and in large houses there are similar ovens. The ovens used in domestic balcing are, however, usually of a portable description, and are large vessels of stone, earthenware, or copper, inside of which, when properl}' heated, small loaves and cakes are baked, and on the outer surface of which thin flaps of bread, or else a large wafer- like biscuit, may be prepared. Another mode of baking bread is much used, especially in the villages. A pit is sunk in the middle of the floor of the principal room, about four or five feet deep by three in diameter, well lined with compost or cement. When sufficiently heated by a fire kindled at the bottom, the bread is made by the thin pancake-like flaps of dough being, by a peculiar knack of hand in the women, striick against the oven, to which they adhere for a few moments, till they are suf- ficiently dressed. Another sort of oven, or rather mode of baking, is much in use among the pastoral tribes. A shallow hole, about six inches deep by three or four feet in diameter, is made in the ground : this is filled up with dry brushwood, upon which, when kindled, pebbles are thrown to concentrate and retain the heat. IMeanwhile the dough is prepared ; and when the oven is sufficiently heated, the ashes and pebbles are removed, and the snot well cleaned out. The dough is then deposited in the hollow, and is left there over BRICKS night. The cakes thus baked are about two fingers thick, and are very palatable. There can be little doubt that this kind of oven and mode of baking bread were common among the Jews. There is a baking utensil called in Arabic tajeu, which appears to have been in use among the ancient Hebrews. It is a sort of pan of earthenware or iron (usually the latter), flat, or slightly convex, which is put over a slow fire, and on which the thin flaps of dough are laid and baked with considerable expedition, although only one cake can be baked in this way at a time. This is not a household mode of preparing bread, but is one of the simple and primitive processes employed by the wandering and semi- wandering tribes, shepherds, husbandmen and others, who have occasion to prepare a small quantity of daily bread in an easy off-hand man- ner. Bread is also baked in a manner which, although apparently very different, is but a mo- dification of the principle of the tajen, and is used chiefly in the houses of the peasantry. There is a cavity in the fire-hearth, in which, when required for baking, a fire is kindled and burnt down to hot embers. A plate of iron, or sometimes copper, is placed over the hole, and on this the bread is baked. Another mode of baking is in use chiefly among the pastoral tribes, and by travellers in the open country, but is not unknown in the vil- lages. A smooth clear spot is chosen in the loose ground, a sandy soil — so common in the Eastern deserts and harder lands— being pre- ferred. On this a fire is kindled, and, when the ground is sufficiently heated, the embers and ashes are raked aside, and the dough is laid on the heated spot, and then covered over with the glowing embers and ashes which had just been removed. The bread is several times turned, and in less than half an hour is sufficiently baked. Bread thus baked is referred to in Gen. xviii. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 13; xix. G: Ezek. iv. 12. This is the kind of as/j-bread which Sarah, on the arrival of the three strangers, was required to bake ' quickly ' for the hospitable entertain- ment of the unknown travellers. BREASTPLATE, a piece of defensive ar- mour. [Arms, Armouk.] BREASTPLATE of the High-Priest, a splendid ornament covering the breast of the high-priest. It was composed of richly em- broidered cloth, in which were set, in four rows, twelve precious stones, on each of which was en- graven the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Exod. xxviii. 15-29; xxxix. 8-21). [Priests.] ' BRICKS. Bricks compacted with straw and dried in the sun, are those which are chiefly mentioned in the Scriptures. Of such bricks the tower of Babel was doubtless composed ("Babel, Babylon], and the making of such formed the chief labour of the Israelites when bondsmen in Egypt (Exod. i. 13, 14). The use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal in Upper and Lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings; and the brick- field gave abundant occupation to numerous labourers throughout the country. We find that, independent of native labourers, a great many foreigners were constantly engaged in the brick- BROOK fields at Thebes and other parts of Egj-pt. The Jews, of course, were not excluded from this drudgery ; and, like the captives detained in the Thebaid, they were condemned to the same la- bour in Lower Egyp*.. They erected granaries, ti-easure-cities, and other public buildings for the Egyptian monarch. It has been supposed by some that the captive foreigners represented on the monuments as engaged in brick-making were Jews, and that the scenes represented were those of their actual operations in Egypt. Whether this supposition is correct or not, it is curious to discover other foreign captives occupied in the same manner, and overlooked by similar ' task- masters,' and performing the very same labours as the Israelites described in the Bible ; and it is worthy of remark, as noticed by Wilkinson, that wore bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III. {who is supposed to have been the kinp at the time of the Exode) have been discovered than at any other period. BURIAL 163 [98. Egyptian Brickmaking.] The process of manufacture indicated by the representations in cut 1>8, does not materially differ from that which is still followed in the same country. The clay was brought in baskets from the Nile, thrown into a heap, thoroughly saturated with water, and worked up to a proper temper by the feet of the labourers. This part of the labour in such a climate must have been very fatiguing and unwholesome, and it conse- quently appears to have been shunned by the native Egyptians. There is an allusion to the severity of this labour in Nahum iii. 14, 15. The clay, when tempered, was cut by an instru- ment somewhat resembling the agricultural hoe, and moulded in an oblong trough ; the bricks were then dried in the sun, and some from their colour appear to have been baked or burned, but no trace of this operation has yet been dis- covered in the monuments. BRIDE, BRIDEGROOM. [Marriage.] BRIERS. [Thorns.] BROOK. The original word (Nahal) thus translated might better be rendered by torrent. It is applied, 1. to small streams arising from a subterraneous spring, and flowing through a deep valley, such as the Arnon, Jabbok, Kidron, Sorek, &c. ; and also the brook of the willows, mentioned in Isa. xv. 7 ; 2. to winter-torrents, arising from rains, and which are soon dried up in the warm season (Job vi. 15, 19). Such is the noted river (brook) of Egj'pt, so often men- tioned as at the southernmost border of Canaan (Num. xxxiv. 5 ; Josh. xv. 4, 47), and, in fact, such are most of the brooks and streams of Pales- I tine, which are numerous in winter and early spring, but of which very few survive the begin- ning of the summer. BROTHER. This term is so variously and extensively applied in Scripture, that it becomes important carefully to distinguish the different acceptations in which it is used. 1. It denotes a brother in the natural sense, whether the offspring of the same father only (Matt. i. 2 ; Luke iii. 1, 19), or of the same father and mother (Luke vi. 14, &c.). — 2. A near rela- tive or kinsman by blood, cousin (Gen. xiii. 8 ; xiv. 16; Matt. xii. 46; John vii. 3; Acts i. 14; Gal. i. 19). — .3. One who is connected with another bjr any tie of intimacy or fellowship •. hence — 4. One born in the same country, de- scended from the same stock, a fellow country- man (Matt. V. 47 ; Acts iii. 22 ; Heb. vii. 5 : Exod. ii. 11 ; iv. 18).— 5. One of equal rank and dignity (Job xxx. 29; Prov. xviii. 9; Matt, xxiii. 8).— 6. Disciples, followers, &c. (MaU. XXV. 40; Heb. ii. 11, 12).— 7. One of the same faith (Amos i. 9 ; Acts ix. 30 ; xi. 29 ; 1 Cor. v. xi.) ; from which and other texts it appears that the first converts to the faith of Jesus were known to each other by the title of Brethren, till the name of Christians was given to them at Antioch (Acts xi. 26).— 8. An associate, colleague in office or dignity, &c. (Ezra iii. 2 ; 1 Cor. i. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; &c.) — 9. One of the same nature, a fellow man (Gen. xiii. 8 ; xxvi. 31 ; Matt. v. 22, ?3, 24; viL 5; Heb. ii. 17; viii. 11).— 10. One beloved, i.e. as a brother, in a direct address (Acts ii. 29 ; vi. 3 ; 1 Thess. v. 1^. BURIAL and SEPULCHRES. Throughout the whole of their national history the Israelites observed the practice of burial. Amongst them, it was deemed not only an act of humanity, but a sacred duty ol religion to pay the last honours to the departed ; while, to be deprived of these, as was frequently the fate of enemies at the hands of ruthless conquerors (2 Sam. xxi. 9-14; 2 Kings ix. 28, 34 ; Ps. Ixxix. 2 ; Eccles. vi. 3), was considered the greatest calamity and dis- grace which a person could suffer. On the death of any member of a family, pre- parations were forthwith made for the burial, which among the Jews, were in many respects similar to those which are common in the East at the present day, and were more or less ex- pensive according to circumstances. After the solemn ceremony of the last kiss and closing the eyes, the corpse, which was perfumed b}' the nearest relative, having been laid out and the head covered with a napkin, was subjected to entire ablution in warm water (Acts ix. 37), a precaution probably adopted to guard against premature interment. But, besides this first and indispensable attention, other cares of a more elaborate and costly description were amongst certain classes bestowed on the remains of de- ceased friends, and all of which may be included under the general head of embalming. Nowhere was this operation performed with such religious care and in so scientific a manner as in ancient Egypt, which could boast of a class of profes- sional men trained to the business; and such adepts had these ' physicians ' become in the art of preserving dead bodies, that there are mummies still found, which must have existed for many thousand years. The bodies of Jacob and m2 164 BURIAL Joseph underwent this eminently Egyptian pre- paration for burial, which on both occasions was doubtless executed in a style of the greatest mag- nificence (Gen. 1. 2, 26). Whether this expen- sive method of embalming was imitated by the earlier Hebrews, we have no distinct accounts ; but we learn from their practice in later ages that they had some observance of the kind, only BURIAL they substituted a simpler and more expeditious, though it must have been a less efficient process, which consisted in merely swathing the corpse round with numerous folds of linen, and some- times a variety of stuffs, and anointing it with a mixture of aromatic substances, of which aloes and myrrh were the chief ingredients (John xix. 39-40). 99. [Ancient Jewish Funeral : Costume, Modern Syrian.] The corpse, after receiving the preliromary attentions, was enveloped in the grave-clothes, vhich were sometimes nothing more than the ordinary dress, or folds of linen cloth wrapped round the body, and a napkin about the head ; But the most common mode of carrying a corpse to the grave was on a bier or bed (2 Sam. iii. 31), which in some cases must have been furnished in a costly and elegant style. The bier, however, in use among the common and meaner sort of people was nothing but a plain wooden board, on which, supported by two poles, the body lay concealed only by a slight coverlet from the view of the attendants. On such a humble vehicle was the widow's son of Nain carried (Luke vii. 14), and ' this mode of per- forming funeral obsequies,' says an intelligeiit though in other cases a shroud was used. The body thus dressed was deposited in an upper chamber in solemn state, open to the view of all visitors (Acts ix. 37). From the moment the vital spark was extinguished, the members of the family, especially the females, in the violent style of Oriental grief, burst out into shrill, loud, and dolpful lamentations, and were soon joined by their friends and neighbours, who, on hearing of the event, crowded to the house in great numbers (Mark v. 38). By the better classes, this duty of sympathizing with the bereaved family was, and still is, performed by a class of females who engaged themselves as professional mourners, and who, seated amid the mourning circle, studied, by vehement sobs and gesticulations, and by singing dirges in which they eulogized the personal qualities or virtuous and benevolent actions of the deceased (Acts ix. 39), to stir the source of tears, and give fresh impulse to the grief of the afflicted relatives. Numbers of these singing men and women lamented the death of Josiah (2 Chron. xxxv. 25). The period between the death and the burial was much shorter than custom sanctions in our country ; for a long delay in the removal of a corpse would have been attended with much inconvenience, from the heat of the climate generally, and, among the Jews in particular, from the circumstance that every one that came near the chamber was unclean for a week. Interment, therefore, where there was no embalming, was never postponed beyond twenty-four hours after death, and generally it took place much earlier. There are two instances in sacred history where consignment to the grave followed immediately after decease (Acts v. 6, 10). Persons of distiactioQ were deposited in coffins. tz^^zi'^^^- 101. [Ancient Sarcophagi in Palestine.] traveller, 'obtains equally in the present day among the Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians of the East.' The nearest relatives kept close by the bier, and performed the office of bearers, in which, however, they were assisted bj' the com- pany in succession. In cases where the expense could be afforded, hired mourners accompanied the procession, and, by every now and then lift- ing the covering and exposing the corpse, gave the signal to the company to renew their shouts of lamentation. Sepulchres were, as they still are in the East, — by a prudential arrangement sadly neglected in our country — situated without the precincts of cities. Among the Jews, in the case of Levitical cities, the distance required to be 2000 cubits, and in all it was considerable. Nobody was allowed to be buried within the walls, Jerusalem forming the only exception, and even there the privilege 15URIAL was reserved for the royal family of David and a few persons of exalted character (1 Kings ii. 10; 2 Kings xiv. 20). In the vicinity of this capital were public cemeteries for the general accommodation of the inhabitants, besides a field appropriated to the burial of strangers. The style of the public cemeteries around the cities of ancient Palestine in all probabilitj' re- sembled that of the present burying-places of the East, of which Dr. Shaw gives the following description : — ' They occupy a large space, a great extent of ground being allotted for the purpose. Each family has a portion of it walled in like a garden, where the bones of its ancestors have remained undisturbed for many genera- tions. For in these inclosures the graves are all distinct and separate ; each of them having a stone placed upright, both at the head and feet, in- scribed with the name or title of the deceased ; whilst the intermediate space is either planted with flowers, bordered round with stone, or paved with tiles.' There were other sepulchres which were pri- vate property, erected at the expense and for the use of several families in a neighbourhood, or provided by individuals as a separate burying- place for themselves. These were situated either in some conspicuous place, as IJachel's on the highway to Bethlehem (Gen. xxxv. 19), or in some lonely and sequestered spot, under a wide- spreading tree (Gen. xxxv. 8) in a field or a garden. In common cases, sepulchres were formed by digging a small depth into the ground. Over these, which were considered an humble kind of tomb, the wealthy and great BURIAL 165 102. [Sepulcliral Cupola.] often erected small stone buildings, in the form of a house or cupola, to serve as their family sepulchre. 'This custom,' says Carne, 'which is of great antiquity, and particularly prevails in the lonely parts of Lebanon, may serve to explain some passages of Scripture. The pro- phet Samuel was buried in his own house at Kamah, and Joab was buried in his house in the wilderness. These, it is evident, were not their dwelling-houses, but mansions for the dead, or family vaults which they had built within their own policies.' Not unfrequently, however, the richer classes purchased, like Abraham, some of the natural caverns with which Palestine abounded, and converted them by some suitable alterations into family sepulchres; while others with vast paius and expense made excavations in the solid rock (Matt, xxvii. CO). Many sepulchres of this description are still found in Palestine. Along the sides of those vast caverns niches were cut, or sometimes shelves ranged one above an- other, on which were deposited the bodies of the dead, while in others the ground-floor of the tomb was raised so as to make different compartments, the lowest place in the family vaults being re- served for the servants. These interior arrange- ments may be the better understood by the help of the annexed engravings. No. 103 is the inte- rior of the celebrated Tomb of the Kings (so [Interior of Tomb of the Kings.] called), near Jerusalem. In it are some further specimens of the stone sarcophagi already noticed. 104. [Ground-plans of Sepulchres.] No. 104 contains two grovmd-plans showing the general character of the interior arrangements of the more extensive crypts. Some of those found near Tyre, and at Alexandria, are of the round form shown in fig. 1, but these seem exceptions ; for the tombs at Jerusalem, in Asia Minor, and generally, in Egypt and the East, offer the ar- rangement shown in fig. 2. The mouth of the sepulchre was secured by a huge stone (Matt, xxvii. 60 ; John xi. 38). But the entrance-porch, to which the removal of this rude door gave admittance, was so large that several persons could stand in it and view the in- terior ; and hence we read that the women who visited the sepulchre of our Lord, ' entering in, saw a young man sitting, clothed in a long white garment' (Mark xvi. 5); and in like manner, in reference to the flight of steps, that Peter « stoop- 166 BURNT-OFFERINGS ing down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying ' (John xx. 5). Some of the more splendid of these tombs, however, instead of the block of Stone, have the porches surmounted with tasteful mason-work, and supported by well-finished colon- nades ; and as they stand open and exposed, do now, as they did formerly, afford retreats to num- bers of vagrants and lawless characters. The rocky valleys around Jerusalem exhibit number- less specimens of these sepulchral excavations. Monuments of this elegant description were erected to many of the prophets and other holy men who figured as prominent characters in the early history of Israel, and it seems to have been considered, in the degenerate age of our Lord, an act of great piety to repair and ornament with 105. [Exterior of Sepulchre : Jerusalem.] fresh devices the sepulchres of those ancient wor- thies (Matt, xxiii. 29). All the tombs, however, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem were at certain seasons whitewashed (Matt, xxiii. 27). The origin of this prevailing custom is to be traced to a desire of making the sepulchres easily dis- cernible, and so preventing the risk of contract- ing ceremonial defilement through accident or ignorance. To paint them with white was obvi- ously the best preservative against the appre- hended danger; and the season chosen for this garniture of the sepulchres was on the return of spring, a little before the Passover, when, the winter rains being over, a long unbroken tract of dry weather usually ensued. The words of Christ referred to were spoken but a few days before the Passover, when the fresh coating of white paint would be conspicuous on all the adjoining hills and valleys ; and when we consider the striking contrast that must have been presented between the graceful architecture and carefully dressed appearance of these tombs without, and the dis- gusting relics of mortality that were mouldering within, we cannot fail to perceive the emphatic energy of the language in which our Lord re- buked the hupocrisij of the Pharisees. It remains only to notice that, during the first few weeks after a burial, members of a family, especially the females, paid frequent visits to the tomb (John xi. 31). This affecting custom still continues in the East. BURNT-OFFERINGS, sacrifices which owed their Hebrew name (olah, literally, ' what goes up,' from alah, ' to ascend '), to the circumstance that the whole of the offering was to be consumed by fire upon the altar, and to rise, as it were, in smoke towards heaven. BURNT-OFFERINGS Such burnt-offerings are among the most an- cient, if not the earliest, on Scriptural record. We find them already in use in the patriarchal times; hence the opinion of some, that Abel's offering (Gen. iv. 4) was a burnt-offering as re- garded the firstlings of his flock, while the pieces of fat which he offered was a thank-offering, just in the manner that Moses afterwards ordained, or rather confirmed from ancient custom (Lev. i. sq.'). It was a burnt-offering that Noah offered to the Lord after the Deluge (Gen. viii. 20). Only oxen, male sheep or goats, or turtle-doves and young pigeons, all without blemish, were fit for burnt-offerings. The offerer, in person, was obliged to carry this sacrifice first of all into the fore-court, as far as the gate of the tabernacle or temple, where the animal was examined by the ofiiciating priest to ascertain that it was without blemish. The offerer then laid his hand upon the victim, confessing his sins, and dedicated it as his sacrifice to propitiate the Almighty. The animal was then killed (which might be done by the offerer himself) towards the north of the altar (Lev. i. 11), in allusion, as the Talmud alleges, to the coming of inclement weather (typical of the Divine wrath) from the northern quarter of the heavens. After this began the ceremony of taking up the blood and sprinkling it around the altar, that is, upon the lower part of the altar, not immediately upon it, lest it should extinguish the fire thereon (Lev. iii. 2 ; Deut. xii. 27 ; 2 (jhron. xxix. 22). The next act was the skinning or flaying of the animal, and the cutting of it into pieces, actions which the offerer himself was allowed to perform (Lev. i. 6). The skin alone belonged to the offi- ciating priest (Lev. vii. 8). The dissection of the animal began with the head, legs, &c, and it was divided into twelve pieces. The priest then took the right shoulder, breast, and entrails, and placing them in the hands of the offerer, he put his own hands beneath those of the fonner, and thus waved the sacrifice up and down several times in acknowledgment of the all-powerful pre- sence of God. The officiating priest then retraced his steps to the altar, placed the wood upon it in the form of a cross, and lighted the fire. The entrails and legs being cleansed with water, the separated pieces were placed together upon the altar in the form of a slain animal. Poor people were allowed to bring a turtle-dove or a young pigeon as a burnt-offering, these birds being very common and cheap in Palestine. The mode of killing them was by nipping off the head with the nails of the hand. Standing public burnt-offerings were those used daily morning and evening (Num. xxviii. 3 ; Exod. xxix. 38), and on the three great festivals (Lev. xxiii. 37 ; Num. xxviii. 11-27 ; xxix. 2-22 ; Lev. xvi. 3 ; comp. 2 Chron. xxxv. 12-16). Private and occasional burnt-offerings were those brought by women rising from childbed (Lev. xii. G) ; those brought bj' persons cured ot leprosy {ib. xiv. 19-22) ; those brought by persons cleansed from issue (fi. xv. 14, sq.); and those brought by the Nazarites when rendered unclean by having come in contact with a dead body (Num. vi. 9), or after the days of their separation were fulfilled {ib. vi. 14). Nor were the burnt-offerings confined to these cases alone : we find them in use ahnost on all CiESAREA important occasions, events, and solemnities, whe- ther private or public, and often in very large numbers (comp. Judg. xjc. 20 ; 1 Sam. vii. 9 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 2 ; 1 Kings iii. 4 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 21 ; 2 Chron. xxix. 21 ; Ezra vi. 17 ; viii. 35). Heathens also were allowed to offer burnt-offer- ings in the temple, and Augustus gave orders to sacrifice for him every day in the temple at Jeru- salem a burnt-offering, consisting of two lambs and one ox. BUSHEL is used in the Auth. Vers, to express a measure of about a peck. BUTTER. [Milk.] BUZ, son of Nahor and Milcah, and brother of Huz (Gen. xxii. 21). Elihu, one of Job's friends, who is distinguished as an Aramoean or Syrian (Job xxxii. 2), was doubtless descended from this Buz. Judgments ai'c denounced upon the tribe of Buz by Jeremiah (xxv. 23) ; and from the context this tribe appears to have been located in Arabia Deserta. c. CAB, a measure mentioned in 2 Kings vi. 25. The Kabbins make it the sixth part of a seah or satum, and the eighteenth part of a-n ephah. In that case a cab contained 3j pints of our wine measure, or 2| pints of our corn measure. CA'BUL, a district given to Hiram, king of Tyre, by Solomon, in acknowledgment of the important services which he had rendered to- wards the building of the Temple (1 Kings ix. 13). Hiram was by no means pleased with the gift, and the district received the name of Cabul {wipleasiitfj) from this circumstance. The situ- ation of Cabal has been disputed; but we are content to accept the information of Josephus, who seems to place it in the north-west part of Galilee, adjacent to Tyre. CiE'S-lR, a name assumed by, or conferred upon, all the Roman emperors after Julius Caesar. In this way it became a sort of title like Pharaoh, and, as such, is usually applied to the emperors in the New Testament, without their distinctive proper names (Augustus). The CiEsars mentioned in the New Testament are Augustus (Luke ii. 1); Tiberius (Luke iii. 1; XX. 22). Claudius (Acts xi. 28); Nero (Acts xxv. 8) ; Caligula, who succeeded Tiberius, is not mentioned. C^SARE'A. There were two importan-; towns in Palestine thus named in compliment to Roman emperors. 1. C^SAKEA Palestina, or Ca2sarea of Pales- tine, so called to distinguish it from the other ("jtsarea, from its eminence as the Roman me- tropolis of Palestine, and the residence of the procurator. It was built by Herod the Great, with much of beauty and convenience, twenty- two years before the birth of Christ. Here he erected one of the most stupendous works of antiquity— a semicircular mole, which protected the port of Cffisarea on the south and west, leaving only a sufficient opening for vessels to enter from the north; so that, within the en- closed space, a fleet might ride at all weathers in perfect security. The mole was constructed of C^SAREA 167 immense blocks of stone brought from a great distance, and sunk to the depth of 20 fathoms m the sea. Besides this, Herod added many splendid buildings to the city: and when the whole was finished, which was within twelve years from the commencement of the under- taking, he fixed his residence there, and tlms elevated the city to the rank of the civil and military capital of Juda;a, which rank it con- tinued to enjoy as long as the country remained a province of the Roman empire. Vespasian raised Caesarea to the rank of a Roman colony granting it first, exemption from the capitation tax, and afterwards, from the ground taxes. The place was, however, inhabited chiefly by Gentiles, though some thousands of Jews lived in it. Caesarea is the scene of several interesting cir- cumstances described in the New Testament such as the conversion of Cornelius, tlie first- fruits of the Gentiles (Acts x.) ; the residence of Philip the Evangelist (Acts xxi. 8); the journey thither of St. Paul; his pleading there before Felix ; his imprisonment for two years ; and his final pleading before Festus and King Agrippa (Acts xxiv.). It was here also, in tlie amphi- theatre built by his father, that Herod Agrippa was smitten of God and died (Acts xii. 21-23). On the commencement of the war v/ith the Romans, all the Jewish inhabitants of Ctesarea, to the number of 20,()UO, were massacred by the Gentiles, who had long held them at feud. _ In later times, CiEsarea is chiefly noted as the birth-place and episcopate of Eusebius, the cele- brated Church historian, in the beginning of the 4th century. Cffisarea is almost thirty-five miles north of Joppa or Jaffa, and fifty-five miles from Jeru- salem. It still retains the ancient name in the form of Kaiseraih ; but has long been desolate. The most conspicuous ruin is that of an old castle, at the extremity of the ancient mole. A great extent of ground is covered by the remains of the city. The water is abundant and of ex- cellent quality ; and the small vessels of the country often put in here to take in their sup- plies. Ca'sarea is, apparently, never frequented for any other purpose ; even the high-road leaves it wide ; and it has been visited by very few of the numerous travellers in Palestine. The pre- sent tenants of the ruins are snakes, scorpions, lizards, wild boars, and jackals. 2. CiESAUEA Philippi. Towards tlie springs of the Jordan, and near the foot of Isbel Shrik, or the Prince's Mount, a lofty branch of Le- banon, forming in that direction the boundary between Palestine and Syria Proper, stands a city originally called Banias, which was in later times much enlarged and beautified by Philip the tetrarch, who called it Caesarea in honour of Tiberius the emperor, adding tlie cog- nomen of Philippi to distinguish it from Caisarea of Palestine. It lay about 120 miles north from Jerusalem, and a day and a half s journey from Damascus (Matt. xvi. 13 ; Mark viii. 27). Herod Agi'ippa also still f\irther extended and embel- lished it. In compliment to the emperor Nero, its name was afterwards changed to Neronias ; and Titus, after the overthrow of Jerusalem, ex- hibited some public games here, in which the Jewish prisoners were compelled to fight like 1C8 CAIN gladiators. Under the Christians it was erected into a bishopric of Phoenicia. It has now re- sumed its original name of Banias, and has dwindled into a paltry and insignificant Tillage, whose mean and destitute condition contrasts strikingly with the rich and luxuriant character of the surrounding country. It is said that many remains of ancient architecture are found in the neighbourhood. The ruins of the castle of Banias, which appears to have been a work of the Saracens, crown the summit of the adjoining tnountain, and display a wall 10 feet in thickness, by which the fortress was defended. The ruins of another fortified castle are visible on the south of the village, and a substantial bridge which conducts to it, inscribed with an Arabic legend, its date being of the age of the Crusades. CAI'APHAS, whom Josephus calls Joseph Caiaphas, was high-priest of the Jews in the reign of Tiberius Cffisar (Luke ill. 2). We learn from Josephus that he succeeded Simon the son of Camith (about a.d. 27 or 28), and held the office nine years, when he was deposed. His wife was the daughter of Annas, or Ananus, who had for- merly been high-priest, and who still po.«sessed great influence and control in sacerdotal matters, several of his family successively holding the high-priesthood. The names of Annas and Caia- phas are coupled by Luke—' Annas and Caiaphas being the high-priests ;' and this has given occa- sion to no small amount of discussion. The most probable opinion is that Caiaphas was the high-priest, and that Annas was his vicar or deputy. Caiaphas is the high-priest who rent his clothes, and declared Jesus to be worthy of death. When Judas had betrayed him, our Lord was first taken to Annas, who sent him to Caiaphas (John xviii. 13), who perhaps abode in another part of the same palace. What became of Caiaphas after his deposition in a.d. 38, is not known. CAIN. The derivation of this word is dis- puted; but it probably signifies an acquisi- tion or possession. Some degree of mystery attends the immediate origin of the horrible crime of Cain. Abel, it appears, brought two offerings, the one an oblation, the other a sacrifice. Cain brought but the former — a mere acknowledg- ment, it is supposed, of the sovereignty of God ; negkcting to offer the sacrifice which would have been a confession of fallen nature, and, typically, an atonement for sin. It was not, therefore, the mere difference of feeling with which the two offerings were brought which constituted the virtue of the one, or the g-uilt of the other brother. God's righteous indignation against sin had been plainly revealed ; and there can be no doubt that the means of safety, of reconciliation and atone- ment, were as plainly made known to Adam and his offspring. The refusal, therefore, of the sacrifice was a virtual denial of God's right to condemn the sinner, and at the same time a proud rejection of the proffered means of grace. The punishment which attended the crime was such as could only be inflicted by an Almighty avenger. It admitted of no escape, scarcely of any conceivable alleviation. Cursed from the earth himself, the earth was doomed to a double barren- ness wherever the offender should set his foot. Physical want and hardship, therefore, were among the first of the miseries heaped upon his CALEB head. Next came those of mind and conscience : ' The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground,' was the announcement of his discovered guilt. He could now hear that same voice himself; nor did any retreat remain to him from the terrors of his own soul or those of Divine vengeance. By the statement that ' Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,' proba- bility is given to the conjecture which represents him as abiding, till thus exiled, in some favoured spot Avhere the Almighty still, by visible signs, manifested himself to his fallen creatures. The expression of dread lest, as he wandered over the face of the earth, he might be recognised and slain, has an awful sound when falling from the mouth of a murderer. But he was to be pro- tected against the wrath of his fellow-men ; and of this God gave him assurance, not by setting a mark upon him, which is a false translation, but by appointing a sign or token which he himself might understand as a proof that he should not perish by the hand of another, as Abel had perished by his. It may be worthy of observation, that especial mention is made of the fact, that Cain having travelled into the land of Nod there built a city ; and further, that his descendants were chiefly celebrated for their skill in the arts of social life. In both accounts may probably be discovered the powerful struggles with which Cain strove to overcome the difficulties which attended his posi- tion as one to whom the tillage of the ground was virtually prohibited. CAI'NAN (possessor). 1. Son of Enos, and father of Mahaleel (Gen. v. 9 ; 1 Chron. i. 2). 2. Son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, and father of Salah. His name is wanting in the present copies of the Hebrew Scriptures; but is found in the Septuagint version of Gen. x. 24 ; xi. 12 ; and in Luke iii. 36. It is supposed, however, on good grounds, that his name was not originally in the Hebrew text and the Septuagint versions derived from it, and that it was inserted in the text of Luke by some inadvertent transcribers, who, remarking it in some copies of the Septua- gint, added it. CAKES. [Bread]. CA'LAH, or rather Calach, a city of Assyria, built by Ashur or Nimrod. It was at some dis- tance from Nineveh, the city of Resen lying between them. Most writers concur in placing it on the Great Zab (the ancient Lycus) not far from its junction with the Tigris. CA'LEB (dor;), son of Jephunneh, of the tribe of Judah. He was sent with Joshua and others to explore the land of Canaan, and in conse- quence of his joining with Joshua in opposing the discouraging accounts brought back by the other spies, they Avere both specially exempted from the decree of death which was pronounced on the generation to Avhich they belonged (Num. xiii. (5 ; xiv. fi, 24, 38). When the land of Ca- naan had been invaded and partly conquered, Caleb was privileged to choose Kirjatharba, or Hebron, and its neighbourhood, for his possession (Josh. xiv. G-15). He accordingly went and wrested it from the native inhabitants, and thence proceeded to Debir, which was taken for him by his nephew Othniel, who, as his reward, received in marriage the hand of Caleb's daughter [Achsah], -with a valuable dower (Josh. xv. CALNEII 13-19). Caleb is usually supposed to have out- lived Joshua. CALF is mentioned in several places, but not requiring a zoological explanation, it may- be sufficient to make a few remarks on the ■worship of calves and other superstitious prac- tices connected with them. The most ancient and remarkable notice in the Scriptures on this head, is that of the golden calf Avhich was cast by Aaron from the earrings of the people, while the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Sinai and Moses was absent on the Mount. The next notice refers to an event which occurred ages after, when Jeroboam, king of Israel, set up two idols in the form of a calf, the one in Dan and the other in Bethel. This almost incomprehen- sible degradation of human reason was, more par- ticularly in the first instance, no doubt the result of the debasing influences which operated on the minds of the Israelites during their sojourn in Egypt, where, amid the daily practice of the most degrading and revolting religious cere- monies, they were accustomed to see the image of a sacred calf, surrounded by other symbols, carried in solemn pomp at the head of marching armies ; such as may be still seen depicted in the processions of Eameses the Great or Sesostris. CAMEL 1G9 106. [Egyptian Calf-Idol.] A similar divinity belonged to the earliest Indian, Greek, and even Scandinavian mythologies ; and therefore it may be conceived that the symbol, enduring even to this day, "was at that period generally understood by the multitude, and con- sequently that it was afterwards revived by Jero- boam •without popular opposition. With regard to Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, it may be sufficient to men- tion that many nations of antiquity had a prac- tice of binding themselves to certain resolutions by the ceremony of cutting a calf or other victim into two halves or sides, laying them on the ground, and passing between the severed parts. This was considered as constituting a peculiarly binding obligation (comp. Gen. xv. 10, 17). CAL'NEH, or rather Chalneh, the fourth of Nimrod's cities (Gen. x. 10), and probably not different from the Calno of Isa. x. 9, or the Canneh of Ezek. xxvii. 23. According to the Chaldee translation, with which Eusebius and Jerome agree, this is the same place that was subsequently called Ctesiphon. It lay on the Tigris, opposite Celeucia, and was for a time the capital of the Parthians. In the time of the prophet Amos, Calneh appears to have consti- tuted an independent principality (Amos vi. 1, 2) : but not long after it became, with the rest of Western Asia, a prey to the Assyrians (Isa. x. 9). About 150 years later, Calneh was still a con- siderable town, as may he inferred from its being mentioned by Ezekiel (xxvii. 23) among the places which traded with TjTe. The site of Ctesiphon, or Calneh, was afterwards occupied by El-Madain, i. e. the two cities, of which the only remains are the ruins of a remarkable palace called Teuk-kesra, some mounds of rubbish, and a considerable extent of massive wall towards the river. CAL'VARY, the place where Christ was cru- cified. See Golgotha. CAMBY'SES. [Ahasuerus.] CAMEL. The genus Camelus, as constituted by _ modern naturalists, comprises two species positively distinct, but still possessing the common characters of being ruminants without horns, without muzzle, with nostrils forming oblique slits, the upper lid divided, and separately mo"- able and extensile, the soles of the feet horny, with two toes covered by unguiculated claws, the limbs long, the abdomen drawn up, and the neck, long and slender, is bent down and up, the reverse of that of a horse, which is arched. Ca- mels have thirty-six teeth in all. They have callosities on the breast-l)one and on the flexures of the joints. Of the four stomachs, which they have in common with other animals chewing the cud, the paunch is provided with membranous cells to contain an extra provision of water, ena- bling the species to subsist for four or more days without drinking. But when in the desert, the camel has the faculty of smelling it afar off, and then, breaking through all control, he rushes on- wards to drink, stirring the element previously with a fore-foot until quite muddy. Camels are temperate animals, being fed on a march only once in twenty-four hours, with about a pound weight of dates, beans, or bai'ley, and are enabled in the wilderness, by means of their long flexible necks and strong cuspidate teeth, to snap as they pass at thistles and thorny plants. They are emphatically called the ships of the desert; having to cross regions where no vegetation what- ever is met with, and where they could not be enabled to continue their march but for the aid of the double or single hunch on the back, which, being composed of muscular fibre, and cellular substance highly adapted for the accumulation of fat, swells in proportion as the animal is healthy and well fed, or sinks by absorption as it supplies the want of sustenance under fatigue and scarcity. Now, when to these endowments are added a lofty stature and great agility ; eyes that discover minute objects at a distance ; a sense of smelling of prodigious acuteness — ever kept in a state of sensibility by the animal's power of closing the nostrils to exclude the acrid particles of the sandy deserts ; a spirit, moreover, of patience, not the result of fear, but of forbearance, carried to the length of self-sacrifice in the practice of obedience, so often exemplified by the camel's bones in great numbers strewing the surface of the desert; when we perceive it furnished with a dense wool, to avert the solar heat and nightly cold, while on th% animal, and to clothe and lodge his master when manufactured, and know that the female carries milk to feed him, — we have one of the most incontrovertible examples of Almighty power and beneficence in the adaptation of 170 CAMEL CAMPHIKE to a direct purpose, that can well be sub- mitted to the apprehension of man ; for, -without the existence of the camel, immense portions of the surface of the earth would be uninhabitable, and even impassable. Surely the Arabs are right, ' Job's beast is a monument of God's mercy!' The two species are — 1. The Bactrian camel, which is large and robust ; naturally with two hunches, and originally a native of the highest table-lands of Central Asia, where even now, wild individuals may be found. The species extends tlirough China, Tartary, and Russia, and is principally imported across the mountains into Asia Minor, Syria, and Persia. 2. The Arabian camel or dromedary, which has naturally but one hunch, and may be con- sidered as of Western-Asiatic or of African origin, although no kind of camel is figured on any mo- nument of Egypt. We find, however, camels mentioned in Genesis xii. ; but being placed last among the cattle given by Pharaoh to Abraham, the fact seems to show that they were not con- sidered as the most important part of his donation. This can be true only upon the supposition that only a few of these animals were delivered to him, and therefore that they were still rare in the valley of the Nile ; though soon after there is abundant evidence of the nations of Syria and Palestine having whole herds of them fully domesticated. . [Arabian Camel : saddle.] Of the Arabian species two very distinct races are noticed ; those of stronger frame but slower pace used to carry burdens, varying from 500 to 700 weight, and travelling little more than twenty-four miles per day ; and those of lighter form bred for the saddle with single riders, whereof the fleetest serve to convey intelligence, &c., and travel at the rate of 200 miles in twenty- four hours. All camels, from their very birth, are taught to bend tlieir limbs and lie down to receive a load or a rider. They are often placed circu- larly in a recumbent posture, and together with their loads form a sufficient rampart of defence against robbers on horseback. The milk of she- camels is still considered a very nutritive cooling drink, and vfhen turned it becomes intoxicating. Their dung supplies fuel in the desert, and in sandjf regions where wood is scarce ; and occa- sionally it is a kind of resource for horses when other food is wanting in the wilderness. Their flesh, particularly the liunch, is in request among the Arabs, but was forbidden to the Hebrews, more perhaps from motives of economy, and to keep the people from again becoming wanderers, than from any real uncleanness. Camels were early a source of riches to the patriarchs, and from that period became an increasing object of rural importance to the several tribes of Israel, who inhabited the grazing and border districts, but still they never equalled the numbers pos- sessed by the Arabs of the desert. On swift dromedaries the trotting motion is so hard that to endure it the rider requires a severe appren- ticeship ; but riding upon slow camels is not dis- agreeable, on account of the measured step of their walk ; ladies and women in general are conveyed upon them in a kind of wickerwork sedan. With regard to the passage in Matt. xix. 24, ' It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,' &c., and that in Matt, xxiii. 24, ' Ye strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel,' it may be sufficient to observe, that both are pro- verbial expressions, similarly applied in the kindred languages of Asia. CAM'PHIRE occurs twice in the Song of Solomon (i. 14 ; iv. 13). The Hebrew word is Kopher, and has been supposed by some to de- note in these places a bunch of grapes, and by others camphor. The word camphire is the old mode of spelling camphor ; but this substance does not appear to have been known to ancient com- merce. The word Kopher is certainly very like Kafoor, the Eastern name for camphor, but it also closely resembles the Greek Kiipros, usually written Cypros. Indeed, as has been observed, it is the same word, with the Greek pronuncia- tion and termination. The Kiipros of the Gre-eks is, no doubt, the Lawsonia inermis of botanists. If we examine the works of Oriental travellers and naturalists, we shall find that this plant is universally esteemed in Eastern coun- tries, and appears to have been so from the earliest times, both on account of the fragrance of its flowers, and the colouring properties of its leaves. Thus Rauwolff, when at Tripoli, ' found there another treje, not unlike unto our privet, by the Arabians called Alcana, or Henna, and by the Grecians, in their vulgar tongue, Schenna, which they have from Egypt, where, but above all in Cayre, they grow in abundance. The Turks CANA and Moors nurse these up with great care and diligence, because of their sweet-smelling flowers. They also, as I am informed, keep their leaves all winter, which leaves they powder and mix with the juice of citrons, and stain therewith against great holidays the hair and nails of their children of a red colour, which colour may per- haps be seen with us on the manes and tails of Turkish horses.' This custom of dyeing the nails and the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, of an iron-rust colour, with henna, exists throughout the East, from the Mediterranean to the Ganges, as well as in Northern Africa. In some parts the practice is not confined to women and children, but is also followed by men, espe- cially in Persia. In dyeing the beard, the h?.ir is turned to red by this application, which is CANAANITES 171 109. [Lawsonia then changed to black by a preparation of indigo. In dyeing the hair of children, and the tails and manes of horses and asses, the process is allowed to stop at the red colour which the henna pro- duces. In reference to this universal practice of the East, Dr. Harris observes that ' the expres- sion in Deut. xxi. 12, "pare her nails," may perhaps rather mean " adorn her nails," and imply the antiquity of this practice. This is a universal custom in Egypt, and not to conform to it would be considered indecent. It seems to have been practised by the ancient Egyptians, for the nails of the mummies are most commonly of a reddish hue.' CA'NA, a town in Galilee, not far from Ca- pernaum, where Christ performed his first mi- racle by turning water into wine (John iv. 46). ll)is Cana is not named in the Old Testament, but is mentioned by .Tosephus as a village of Galilee. The site has long been identified with the present Kefr Kenna, a small place about four miles north-east from Nazareth, on one of the roads to Tiberias. There is a ruined place called Kana el-Jelil, about eight miles N. 5 E. from Nazareth, which Ur. Robinson is inclined to regard as the more probable site of Cana. His reasons are certainly of considerable weight. CA'NA AN, son of Ham and grandson of Noah. The transgression of his father Ham (Gen. ix. 22-27), to which some suppose Canaan to have been in some way a party, gave occasion to Noah to pronounce that doom on the descendants of Canaan which was, perhaps, at that moment made known to him by one of those extempora- neous inspirations with which the patriarchal fathers appear in other instances to have been favoured. CA'NAAN, Land of, the ancient name of that portion of Palestine which lay to the west of the Jordan (Gen. xiii. 12; Num. xxxiii. 51; Deut. xi. 30; Judg. xxi. 12), the part beyond the Jordan eastward being distinguished by the general name of Gilead (comp. Judg. xxi. 12). The denomination Canaan included Philistia and Phoenicia (comp. Isa. xxiii. 11 ; Ezek. xvi. 29; Zeph. ii. 5). The name occurs on Phoeni- cian coins, and was not even unknown to the Carthaginians. For an account of the geography, &c. of the country, see Palestine. CA'NAANITES, the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham and grandson of Noah, inha- bitants of the land of Canaan and the adjoining districts. A general account of the different nations included in the term is given in the pre- sent article, and a more detailed account of each will be found under their respective names. The Israelites were delivered from Egypt by Moses, in order that they might take possession of the land which God had promised to their fathers. This country was then inhabited by the descendants of Canaan, who were divided into seven distinct nations, viz., the Hittites, Gir- gashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hi- vites, and Jebusites. All these tribes are in- cluded in the most general acceptation of the term Canaanites ; but the word, in its more re- stricted sense, as applied to one tribe, designated those ' who dwelt by the sea, and by the coasts of Jordan ' (Num. xiii. 29). Besides these ' seven nations,' there were several tribes of the Canaanites who lived beyond the borders of the Promised Land, northward. These were the Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Ha- mathites (Gen. x. 17, 18), with whom, of course, the Israelites had no concern. There were also other tribes of Canaanitish origin (or possibly other names given to some of those already men- tioned), who were dispossessed by the Israelites. The chief of these were the Amalekites, the Anakites, and the Kephaira (or ' giants,' as they are frequently called in our translation). These nations, and especially the six or seven so fre- quently mentioned by name, the Israelites were commanded to dispossess and utterly to destroy (Exod. xxiii. 23; Num. xxxiii. 53; Deut. xx. 16, 17). The destruction, however, was not to be accomplished at once. The promise on the part of God was that he would • put out those nations by little and little,' and the command to the Israelites corresponded with it ; the reason given being, ' lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee ' (Exod. xxiii. 29 ; Deut. vii. 22). The destructive war commenced with an 172 CANAANITES attack on the Israelites, by Arad, king of the Canaanites, which issued in the destruction of several cities in the extreme south of Palestine, to which the name of Hormah was given (Num. xxi. 1-3). The Israelites, however, did not follow up this victory, which was simply the consequence of an unprovoked assault on them ; but turning back, and compassing the land of Edom, they attempted to pass through the coun- try on the other side of the Jordan, inhabited by a tribe of the Amorites. Theu- passage being re- fused, and an attack made on them by Sihon, king of the Amorites, they not only forced their way through his land, but destroyed its inha- bitants, and proceeding onwards towards the adjoining kingdom of Bashan, they in like manner destroyed the inhabitants of that district, and slew Og, their king, who was the last of the Eephaim, or giants (Deut. iii. 11). The tract of which they thus became possessed was subse- quently allotted to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. After the death of Moses the Israelites crossed the Jordan, and, under the conduct of Joshua, took possession of the greater part of the Pro- mised Land, and destroyed its inhabitants. Se- veral cities, however, still held out, particularly Jebus, afterwards Jerusalem, which was not taken till the time of David (2 Sam. v. 6), and Sidon, which seems never to have yielded to the tribe of Asher, to whom it was allotted (Judg. i. 31). Scattered portions also of the Canaanitish nations escaped, and -were frequently strong enough to harass, though not to dispossess, the Israelites. The inhabitants of Gibeon, a tribe of the Hivites, made peace by stratagem, and thus escaped the destruction of their fellow-country- men. Individuals from amongst the Canaanites seem, in later times, to have united themselves, in some way, to the Israelites, and not only to have lived in peace, but to have been capable of holding places of honour and power ; thus Uriah, one of David's captains, was a Hittite (1 Chron. xi. 41). In the time of Solomon, when the kingdom had attained its highest glory and greatest power, all the remnants of these nations were made tributary, and bond-service was ex- acted from them (1 Kings ix. 20). The Gir- gashites seem to have been either wholly de- stroyed or absorbed in other tribes. We find no mention of them subsequent to the book of Joshua. The Anakites were completely destroyed by Joshua, except in three cities, Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod (Josh. xi. 21-2.3) ; and the powerful nation of the Amalekites, many times defeated and continually harassing the Israelites, were at last totally destroyed by the tribe of Simeon (1 Chron. iv. 43). Even after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, there were survivors of five of the Canaanitish nati-ons, with whom alliances had been made by the Jews, con- trary to the commands wliich had been given them. Some of the Canaanites, according to ancient tradition, left the land of Canaan on the approach of Joshua, and emigrated to the coast of Africa. Procopius relates that there were in Numidia, at Tigisis (Tingis), two columns on which were inscribed, in Phoenician characters, • We are those who fled from the face of Joshua, the robber, the son of Naue.' The manner in which the Israelites became CANAANITES possessed of the Promised Land has been so fre- quently brought as an objection to the inspired character of the Old Testament, and indeed is so far removed from the ordinary providential go- vernment of God, that it will be proper, in closing this account, to notice the difficulty which has been felt, and to advert to some of the hypo- theses by which it is sought to be removed. Many have asserted, in order to alleviate the difficulty, that an allotment of the world was made by Noah to his three sons, and that by this allotment the Land of Promise fell to the share of Shem — that the descendants of Ham were therefore usurpers and interlopers, and that on this ground the Israelites, as the descendants of Shem, had the right to dispossess them. Others justify the war on the ground that the Canaanites were the first aggressors — a justification which applies only to the territory on the other side of the Jordan. Michaelis asserts that the Israelites had a right to the land of Canaan, as tlie common pasture land of their herdsmen, in consequence of the undisturbed possession and appropriation of it from the time of Abraham till the departure of Jacob into Egypt — that this claim had never been relinquished, and was well known to the Canaanites, and that therefore the Israelites only took possession of that which belonged to them. The same hypothesis is maintained by Jahn. Another ground of justification has been sought in the supposed identity of race of the Egj-ptian dyniisty under which the Israelites were op- pressed, with the tribes that overran Canaan — so that the destruction of the latter was merely an act of retributive justice for the injuries which their compatriots in Egypt had inflicted on the Israelites. To all these and similar attempts to justify, on the ground of legal right, the forcible occupation of the land by the Israelites, and the extermination (at least to a great extent) of the existing occupants, it is to be objected, that no such reason as any of these is hinted at in the sacred record. The right to carry on a war of extermination is there rested simply on the divine command to do so. That the Israelites were instruments in God's hand is a lesson not only continually impressed on their minds by the teaching of Mo'ses, but enforced by their defeat whenever they relied on their own strength. It may be said that this is only shifting the difficulty, and that just in proportion as we excul- pate the Israelites from the charges of robbery and murder, in their making war without legal ground, we lower the character of the Being whose commands they obeyed, and throw doubt on those commands being really given by God. This has indeed been a favourite objection of in- fidels to the divine authority of the Old Testa- ment. Such objectors would do well to consider whether God has not an absolute right to dispose of men as he sees fit, and whether an exterminat- ing war, from which there was at least the op- portunity of escape by flight, is at all more opposed to our notions of justice than a destro}'- ing flood, or earthquake, or pestilence. Again, whether the fact of making a chosen nation of His worshippers the instruments of punishing those whose wickedness was notoriously great, did not much more impressively vindicate his character as the only God, who ' will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven CANDACE images,' than if the punishment had been brought about by natural causes. Such considerations as these must, we apprehend, silence those ■who complain of injustice done to the Canaanites. But then it is objected further, that such an arrangement is fraught with evil to those who are made the instruments of punishment, and, as an example, is peculiarly liable to be abused by all who have the power to persecute. As to the first of these objections, it must be re- membered, that the conduct of the war was never put into the hands of the Israelites — that they ■Nvcre continually reminded that it was for the wickedness of those nations that they were driven out, and, above all, that they themselves would be exposed to similar punishment if they were seduced into idolatry — an evil to which they were especially prone. As to the example, it can apply to no case where there is not an equally clear expression of God's will. CANDA'CE, or, more correctly, Kandake, was the name of that queen of the Ethiopians whose high treasurer was converted to Chris- tianity under the preaching of Philip the Evan- gelist (Acts viii. 27). The country over which she ruled was not, as some writers allege, what is known to us as Abyssinia ; it was that region in Upper Nubia which was called by the Greeks Meroe, and is supposed to correspond to the present province of Atbara, lying between IS^* and 18° north latitude. The city of Meroe stood near the present Assour, about twenty miles north of Shendy ; and the extensive and magnificent ruins found not only there, but along the upper valley of the Nile, attest the art and civilization of the ancient Ethiopians. Meroii, from being long the centre of commercial inter- course between Africa and the south of Asia, became one of the richest countries upon earth ; the ' merchandise ' and wealth of Ethiopia (Isa. xlv. 14) was the theme of the poets both of Pales- tine and Greece ; and since much of that afflu- ence would find its way into the royal cofiers, the circumstance gives emphasis to the phrase — ' all the treasure ' of Queen Candace. It is further interesting to know, from the testimonies of various profane authors, that for some time both before and after the Christian era, Ethiopia Proper was under the rule of female sovereigns, who all bore the appellation of ' Candace,' which was not so much a proper name as a distinctive title, common to every successive queen, like ' Pharaoh' and ' Ptolemy' to the kings of Egj'pt, and ' Cffisar ' to the emperors of Kome. A curious confirmation of the fact of female sovei'eignty having prevailed in Ethiopia has been remarked on the existing monumei.ts ot the country. Thus, on the largest sepulchral pyra- mid near Assour, the ancient Meroe, a female warrior, with the royal ensigns on her head, drags forward a number of captives as offerings to the gods ; on another compartment she is in a warlike habit, about to destroy the same group. Heeren, after describing the monuments at Naga, or Naka, south-east of Shendy, says, ' It is evident that these representations possess many peculiarities, and that they are not pure Egyptian. The most remarkable difference appears in the persons offering. The queens appear with the kings ; and not merely as presenting ofFerings, but as heroines and conquerors. Js^othing of this CANDLESTICK 173 kind has yet been discovered on the Egyptian reliefs, either in Egypt or Nubia. It may there- fore with certainty be concluded, that they are ! subjects peculiar to Ethiopia. It is singular enough, that when Bruce was at Shendy, the j government of the district was in the hands of a female called Sittina, i. e. the lady or mistress. Irenseus and Eusebius ascribe to Candace's mi- nister her own conversion to Christianity, and the promulgation of the Gospel throughout her king- dom : and with this agrees the Abyssinian tradi- tion, that he was likewise the apostle of Tagre, that part of Abyssinia which lay nearest to Meroe ; it is added that he afterwards preached the Gospel in Arabia Felix, and also in the island of Ceylon, where he suffered martyrdom. CANDLESTICK. The candelabrum which ]Moses was commanded to make for the taber- nacle, after the model shown him in the Mount, is chiefly known to us by the passages in Exod. XXV. -31-40; xxxvii. 17-'i4; on which some addi- tional light is thrown by the Jewish writers, and | by the representation of the spoils of the Temple on the arch of Titus. The material of which it was made was fine gold, of which an entire talent was expended on the candelabrum itself and its appendages. The mode in which the metal was to be worked is described by a term which appears to mean wrought with the hammer, as opposed to cast by fusion. The stmcture of the candelabrum, as far as it is defined in the passages referred to, con- sisted of a base ; of a shaft rising out of it ; of six arms, which came out by threes from two oppo- site sides of the shaft ; of seven lamps, which were supported on the summits of the central shaft and the six arms; and of three different kinds of ornaments belonging to the shafl and arms. These ornaments are called by names which mean cups, globes, and blossoms. This candelabrum was placed in the Holy Place, on the south side (t. e. to the left of a person entering the tabernacle), opposite the table of shew-bread (Exod. xxvi.' 35). Its lamps, which 174 CANON ■were supplied with pure olive oil only, -were lighted every evening, and extinguished (as it seems) every morning (Exod. xxvii. 21 ; xxx. 7, 8 ; Lev. xxiv. 3 ; 1 Sam. iii. 3 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 11). Although the tabernacle had no windows, there is no good ground for believing that the lamps burnt by day in it, whatever may have been the usage of the second temple. In the first temple, instead of this single can- delabrum, there were ten candelabra of pure gold, one half of which stood on the north and the other on the south side of the Holy Place. These were carried away to Babylon (Jer. Iii. 19). In the temple of Zerubbabel there appears to have been only one candelabrum again (1 Mac. i. 21 ; iv. 49, 50). It is probable that it also had only seven lamps. At least, that was the case in the cadelabrura of the Herodian temple. This candelabrum is the one which, after the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, was carried with other spoils to Rome; then, a.d. 455, became part of the plunder which Genseric transported to Africa ; was again, about a.d. 533, recaptured from the Vandals by Belisarius, and carried to Constanti- nople, and was thence sent off to Jerusalem, and from that time has disappeared altogether. It is to this candelabrum that the representation on the arch of Titus at Rome was intended to apply ; and there is reason to believe that, on the whole, it may be relied upon as a reasonably cor- rect representation of the Herodian candelabrum. CANE (or Calamus), Sweet, an aromatic reed, mentioned among the drugs with which sacred perfumes were compounded (Ezek. xxvii. 19). [Reed.] CANKER-WORM. [Locust.] CAN'NEH (Ezek. xxvii. 23), probably the same as Calneh (Gen. x. 10), which see. CA'NON. This word was frequently em- ployed to denote a rule or standard, by a refer- ence to which the rectitude of opinions or actions may be determined ; and as the great standard in all matters of faith and duty was the revealed will of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the term came insensibly to be applied to the collective body of those writings which were designated the Canon or Rule. The Canon then may be defined to be ' The Authoritative Standard of Religion and Morals, composed of those writings which have been given for this purpose by God to men.' According to this definition, in order to esta- blish the Canon of Scripture, it is necessary to show that all the books of which it is composed are of divine authority ; that they are entire and incorrupt; that, having them, it is complete without any addition from any other source ; and that it comprises the whole of those books for which divine authority can be proved. It is ob- vious that, if any of these four particulars be not true, Scripture cannot be the sole and supreme sta,ndard of religions truth and duty. Respecting the evidence by which the Canon is thus to be established, there exists considerable difference of opinion amongst Christians. Some contend, with the Catholics, that the authorita- j tive decision of the Church is alone competent to determine the Canon ; others appeal to the con- current testimony of the Jewish and early Chris- tian writers ; and others rest their strongest I CANON reliance on the internal evidence furnished by the books of Scripture themselves. We cannot say that we are satisfied with any of these sources of evidence exclusively. As Michaelis remarks, the first is one to which no consistent Protestant can appeal, for the matter to be determined is of such a kind, that, unless we grant the Church to be infallible, it is quite possible that she may at any given period of her existence determine erroneously ; and one sees not why the question may not be as successfully investigated by a pri- vate individual as by the Church. The con- current testimony of the ancient witnesses is in- valuable so far as it goes ; but it may be doubted if it be sufficient of itself to settle this question, for the question is not entirely one of facts, and testimony is good proof only for facts. As for the internal evidence, one needs only look at the havoc which Semler and his school have made of the Canon, to be satisfied that where doctrinal considerations are allowed to determine exclu- sively such questions, each man will extend or extruncate the Canon so as to adjust it to the Procrustean couch of his own preconceived notions. As the question is one partly of fact and partly of opinion, the appropriate grounds of decision will be best secured by a combination of authentic testimony with the evidence supplied by the books themselves. We want to know that these books were really written by the persons whose names they bear ; we want to be satisfied that these persons were commonly re- puted and held by their contemporaries to be assisted by the divine spirit in what they wrote ; and we want to be sure that care was taken by those to whom their writings were first ad- dressed, that these should be preserved entire and uncorrupt. For all this we must appeal to the testimony of competent witnesses, as the only suitable evidence for such matters. But after we have ascertained these points affirmatively, we still require to be satisfied that the books them- selves contain nothing obviously incompatible with the ascription to their authors of the divine assistance, but, on the contrary, are in all respects favourable to this supposition. We want to see that they are in harmony with each other ; that the statements they contain are credible ; that the doctrines they teach are not foolish, immoral, or self-contradictory; that their authors really assumed to be under the divine direction in what they wrote, and afforded competent proofs of this to those around them ; and that all the circum- stances of the case, such as the style of the writers, the allusions made by them to places and events, &c., are in keeping with the conclusion to which the external evidence has already led. In this way we advance to a complete moral proof of the divine authority and canonical claims of the sacred writings. The books specified as canonical in the 6th Article of the Church of England, and the 1st of the Confession of the Church of Scotland, are re- ceived as such by the majority of Protestants. To these the Church of Rome adds, as part of the Old Testament, ten other books, or parts of books, which Protestants reject as Apocryphal [Apo- crypha]. For the evidence in support of the genuineness and divine authority of those books universally regarded by Christians as canonical, taken individually, we may refer to the articles CANTICLES in this -work under the titles of these books respectively. CAN'TICLES, Solomon's Song, or Song of Songs as it is designated in the inscription, is generally believed to have been so denominated to denote the superior beauty and excellence of this poem. In favour of the canonical authority of this book (which has been questioned in ancient and modern times) -we may observe, that it is found in all the copies of the Hebrew Bible which have descended to our times, as well as in the version of the Seventy, which was finished some time in the second century before the Christian era. It is also found in all the ancient catalogues which have come down to us from the early Christian church. It has consequently all the external marks of canonicity possessed by any other book of the Old Testament not expressly cited in the New. Those who have questioned its right to a place in the sacred voUinie have proceeded more on dogmatical than on historico-critical grounds. The subject of this book is confessedly Love. But it has been a matter of much controversy, especially in modern times, what kind of love is here celebrated. It is equally a matter of dis- pute among divines whether the interpretation of the poem is limited to its obvious and primary meaning, or whether it does not also include a latent mystical and allegorical sense. We shall speak of these subjects in order. And, first, as to the literal and primary meaning, the earliest information which we have is contained in the preface of Origen to his commentary on this book. This eminent scholar holds it to be an epithalamium, or marriage-song, in the form of a drama. This idea has been, in modern times, improved by Lowth, Bossuet, Michaelis, and other commentators. ' The Song of Songs,' says Bishop Lowth, ' for so it is entitled, either on account of the excellence of the subject or of the composition, is an epithalamium, or nuptial dia- logue, or rather, if we may be allowed to give it a title more agreeable to the genius of the He- brews, a Song of Loves. Such is the title of Psalm xlv. It is expressive of the utmost fer- voilr as well as delicacy of passion : it is instinct with all the spirit and sweetness of affection. The principal characters are Solomon himself and his bride, who are represented speaking both in dialogue, and in soliloquy, when accidentally separated. Virgins, also, the companions of the bride, are introduced, who seem to be constantly on the stage, and bear a part of the dialogue. Mention is also made of young men, friends of the bridegroom, but they are mute persons. This is exactly conformable to the manners of the Hebrews, who had always a number of compa- nions to the bridegroom, thirty of whom were present in honour of Samson at his nuptial feast (Judg. xiv. 11). In the New Testament, accord- ing to the Hebrew idiom, they are called child- ren, or sons of the bridechamber, and friends of the bridegroom. There, too, we find mention of ten virgins who -vent forth to meet the bride- groom and conduct him home ; which circum- stances indicate that this poem is founded on the nuptial rites of the Hebrews, and is expressive of the forms or ceremonial of their marriage.' Bossuet's idea of this poem was, that it is a CANTICLES 175 regular drama, or pastoral eclogue, consisting of seven acts, each act filling a day, concluding with the Sabbath, inasmuch as the bridegroom on this day does not, as usual, go forth to his rural employments, but proceeds from the mar- riage chamber into public with his bride. Lowth so far differs from Bossuet as to deny the exist- ence of a regular drama, inasmuch as there is no termination to the plot. Michaelis, in his notes to his German translation of Lowth's Prelections, endeavours to overturn the views of Bossuet and Lowth, and to show that this poem can have no relation to the celebration of a marriage, inas- much as the bridegroom is compelled in his nup- tial week to quit his spouse and friends for whole days, in order to attend to his cattle in the pas- tures. His opinion is, that this poem has no reference to a future marriage, but that the chaste loves of conjugal and domestic life are described. This state, he conceives, in the East, admits of more of the perplexities, jealousies, plots, and artifices of love than it does with us ; the scene is more varied, and there is consequently greater scope for invention. But the idea that the conjugal state, or the loves of married persons, are here referred to, has been strongly opposed by some of the ablest modern writers, who maintain that the chaste mutual loves of two young persons antecedent to marriage are here celebrated. Here it may be necessary to state, that the learned are divided on the point whether the Canticles consist of one continued and connected poem, or of a number of detached songs or amo- rets. The first person who maintained the latter opinion was Father Simon, who was on this ac- count unjustly accused of denying the canonicity of the book. This opinion has been subsequently defended by Eichhorn, Jahn, Pareau, and many others. A very general opinion is, that it is an idyl, or rather, a number of idyls, all forming a collective whole. Such is the opinion held, among others, by Sir William Jones and Dr. J. Mason Good, in his beautiful translation of tho Song of Songs. Ewald considers the poem to consist of a drama in four parts. The heroine of the poem, according to this writer, is a country maiden, a native of Engedi, who, while ram- bling in the plains, fell in with the chariots of Solomon, and was can-ied by him into his palace. It has been in all ages a matter of dispute, whether we are to seek fir any hidden or occult meaning imder the envelope of the literal and obvious sense. While several eminent men have maintained that the object of these poems is con- fined to the celebration of the mutual love of the sexes, or that its main design, in so far as its sacred character is considered, is the inculcation of marriage, and especially of monogamy, the majority of Christian interpreters, at least since the days of Origen (who wrote ten bonks of commentaries on this poem), have believed that a divine allegory is contained under the garb of an epithalamium, founded on the historical fact of the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh: others have held it to be a simple allegory, having no historical truth for its basis. As, however, the Scriptures give no intimation that this book contains a mystical or allegorical 176 CANTICLES CAPPADOCIA sense, recourse has been had to the analogy of some of the Messianic Psalms, -whose application to spiritual objects is recognised in the New Testament. Especially a great i-esemblance has been observed between the character of the Can- ticles and the 45th Psalm ; and it will suffice for our present purpose to cite the opinion of Rosen- miiller, one of the ablest commentators on the Messianic Psalms, in reference to this subject. Professing to follow the opinion of the ancient Hebrews, communicated by the Chaldee para- phrast, and the writer of the Epistle to the He- brews—namely, that the 45th Psalm celebrated the excellences and praises of the great Messiah ; he observes, ' Throughout the latter part of the psalm this allegory, in which the Hebrew poets particularly deligiited, is maintained. They were accustomed to represent God as entertaining, to- wards his clioscn people, feelings which they compared to conjugal affections ; and which they deduced, under this figure, into all the various and even minute expressions. In the illustrating and beautifying of this allegory, the whole of the Song of Songs is occupied : that the subject of that poem, and that of the psalm before us, is the same, there is no doubt among sound interpre- ters.' The reader may also refer, in illustration of this subject, to the many passages of the Old and New Testament in which this figure is re- tained by the sacred writers : such as Isaiah liv. 6; Ixii. 5; Jerem. iii. 1, &c. ; Ezek. xvi. and xxiii. ; Matt. ix. 15 ; John iii. 29 ; 2 Cor. xi. 2 ; Ephes. V. 23, &c. ; Rev. xix. 7 ; xxi. 2 ; xxii. 1 7. The tradition of the Jews as preserved by the ancient Chaldee paraphrast is that the poem embodies a figurative description of the gracious conduct of Jehovah towards his people, in deli- vering them from the Egyptian bondage, con- ferring great benefits on them during their pro- gress through the wilderness, and conveying them in safety to the promised land. Aben Ezra considered that the Canticles represented tlie history of the Jews from Abraham to the Mes- siah. Others have conceived the bride to be Wisdom, with whom Solomon was acquainted from his childhood, and with whose beauty he was captivated. Luther, in his Commentary on Canticles, maintained the allegorical interpreta- tion, conceiving Jehovah to be the bridegroom, the bride the Jewish nation, and the poem itself a figurative description of Solomon's civil govern- ment. In his Commentary on 1 Peter, however, he explains the bride to be the New Testament church. The modern writers of the Roman church have, in general, followed Origen and Jerome in their allegorical interpretations. The opinion of those who have acknowledged no other than the literal interpretation of the Canticles has had a considerable influence in the question of the canonicity of the book. Nor is it at all surprising that those who were in the habit of attaching a spiritual meaning to it should find it difficult to believe that a book treating of human love should have a place in the inspired volumra. The author and age of Canticles have been also much disputed. The inscription ascribes it to Solomon ; and this is confirmed by the uni- versal voice of antiquity, although some of the Jews have attributed it to Hezekiah. CAPER'NAUM, a city on the north wrestem side of the Lake of Gennesareth, and on the border of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. The infidelity and impenitence of the inhabitants of this place, after the evidence given to theui by our Saviour himself of the truth of his mission, brought upon them this heavy denunciation : — ' And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell : for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day,' &c. (Matt. xi. 23.) This seems to have been more than any other place the residence of Christ after he commenced his great mission ; and hence the force of the denunciation, which has been so completely accomplished, that even the site of Capernaum is quite uncertain. Dr. Robinson is inclined to look for the site in a place marked only by a mound of ruins, called by the Arabs, Khan Minyeh. This is situated in the fertile plain on the western border of the Lake of Gennesareth, to which the name of ' the land of Gennesareth ' is given by Josephus. Tliis plain is a sort of triangular hollow, formed by the re- treat of the mountains about the middle of the western shore. In this plain there are now two fountains, one called 'Ain el Madauwarah, the ' Round Fountain'— another called 'Ain et-Tin, near the northern extremity of the plain, and not far from the lake. This is the fountain which Dr. Robinson inclines to regard as that which Josephus mentions under tlie name of Caphar- naum ; and which we may conclude was not far from the town, and took its name from it. Near this fountain is a low mound of ruins, occupying a considerable circumference, which certainly offer the best probability that has yet been produced of being the remains of the doomed city: and if these be all its remains, it has, according to that doom, been brought low in- deed. CAPH'TOR (Deut. ii. 23 ; Jer. xlvii. 4 ; Amos ix. 7) was the real and proper country of the Philistines. There has been a great diversity of opinion with regard to the exact situation of that country. The general opinion that Caphtor was Cappadocia is not founded on any sound argu- ment. Others, again, have tried to prove that the Philistines derived their origin from the island of Crete. By far more probable is the opinion, that Caphtor is the island of Cyprus. From the geo- graphical situation of that island, it may have been known to the Egyptians at a very early period, and they may have sent colonies thither, who afterwards removed, from some reason or other, to the southern coast of Palestine border- ing on Egypt. CAPPADO'CI A, an ancient province of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Pontus, on the east by the Euphrates and Armenia Minor, on the south by Mount Taurus (beyond which are Cilicia and Syria), and on the east by Phrygia and Galatia. The country is mountainous and abounds in water, and was celebrated for the pro- duction of wheat, for its fine pastures, and for its excellent breed of horses, asses, and sheep. The inhabitants were notorious for their dulness and vice. Cappadocia was subjugated by the Per- sians under Cyrus ; but after the time of Alex- ander the Great it had kings of its own, who be."'-. the common name of Ariarathes. It continued CAPTIVITIES to be governed by tributary kings under the Ro- mans till A. D. 17, when Tiberius made it a Ro- man province. Christianity was very early propagated in Cappadocia, for St. Peter names it in addressing the Christian churches in Asia Minor (1 Pet. i. 1). Cappadocians were pre- sent at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 9). CAPTIVITIES. The word Captivitij, as applied to the people of Israel, has been appro- priated, contrary to the analogy of our language, to mean Expatriation. The violent removal of the entire population of a city, or sometimes even of a district, is not au uncommon event in ancient history. As a measure of policy, no objection to it on the ground of humanity was felt by any one ; since, in fact, it was a very mild proceeding, in comparison with that of selling a tribe or na- tion into slavery. Every such destruction of national existence, even in modern times, is apt to be embittered by the simultaneous disruption of religious bonds ; but in the ancient world, the positive sanctity attributed to special places, and the local attachment of Deity, made expatriation doubly severe. The Hebrew people, for instan-ce, in many most vital points, could no longer obey their sacred law at all, when personally removed from Jerusalem ; and in many others they were forced to modify it by reason of their change of circumstances. Two principal motives impelled conquering powers thus to transport families in the mass; first, the desire of rapidly filling with a valuable population new cities, built for pride or for policy ; next, the determination to break up hos- tile organizations, or dangerous reminiscences of past greatness. Both might sometimes be com- bined in the same act. To attain the former object, the skilled artisans would in particular be carried off; while the latter was better effected by transporting all the families of the highest birth, and all the well-trained soldiery. The expatriation of the Jewish people belongs to two great eras, commonly called the first and second Captivity ; yet differing exceedingly in character. It is to the former that the above re- marks chiefly applj'. In it, the prime of the na- tion were carried eastward by the monarch s of Assyria and Babylon, and were treated with no unnecessary harKhncss, even under the dynasty that captured them. That which we name the first Captivity, was by no meai>s brought about by a single removal of the population. In fact, from beginning to end, the period of deportation occupied full l.'iO years; as the period of return reaches probably through 100. The first blow fell upon the more distant tribes of Israel, about T-tl B.C.; when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria (2 Kings XV. 23), carried off the pastoral popu- lation which lived beyond the Jordan, with Ze- hulon and Naphtali. (To this event allusion is made in Isaiah ix. 1 ; a passage very ill trans- lated in our received version.) In the time of this conquering monarch, Assyria was rapidly rising into power, and to aggrandize Nineveh was probably a great object of policy. It is therefore credible, as he bad received no parti- cular provocation from the Israelites, that he carried off these masses of population to stock his huge city with. His successor Shalmanezer made the Israelitish king Hoshea, tributary. When the CAPTIVITIES 177 tribute was withheld, he attacked and reduced Samaria (b.c. 721), and, by way of punishment and of prevention, transported into Assyria and Media its king and all the most valuable popula- tion remaining to the ten tribes (2 Kings xvii. 0). The families thus removed were, in great mea- sure, settled in very distant cities ; many of them probably not far from the Caspian Sea ; and their place was supplied by colonies from Babylon and Susis (2 Kings xvii. 24). Such was the end of Israel as a kingdom.— An interval of more than a century followed before Judah was to suffer a similar fate. Two separate deportations are nar- rated in the book of Kings, three in that of Jere- miah, while a fourth and earlier one appears in the book of Daniel i. 1-3. But it is pretty clear that the people of Judah, as of Israel, were car- ried out of their land by two principal removals. The former, B.C. 598, was directed to swell the armies and strengthen the towns of the con- queror; for of the 18,000 then carried away, 1000 were 'craftsmen and smiths, all strong and apt for war,' and the rest are called ' mighty men of valour.' It was not until the rebellion of Zcdekiah that Nebuchadnezzar proceeded to the extremity of breaking up the national ex- istence, B.C. 588. As the temple was then burnt, with all the palaces and the city walls, and no government was left but that of the Babylonian satrap, this latter date is evidently the true era of the captivity. Previously Zedekiah was tribu- tary ; but so were Josiah and Ahaz long before ; the national existence was still saved. Details concerning the Return from the capti- vity are preserved in the books denominated after Ezra and Nehemiah ; and in the prophe- cies of two contemporaries, Haggai and Zecha- riah. The first great event is the decree of Cyrus, B.C. 536, in consequence of Avhich 42,360 Jews of Babylon returned under Sheshbazzar, with 7337 slaves, besides cattle. This ended in their build- ing the altar, and laying the foundation of the second temple, 53 years after the destruction of the first. The progress of the work was, how- ever, almost immediately stopped: for Zerub- babel, Jeshua, and the rest abruptly refused all help from the half-heathen inhabitants of Sama- ria, and soon felt the effects of the enmity thus induced. That the mind of Cyrus was changed by their intrigues, we are not informed ; but he was probably absent in distant parts, througli continual war. When Darius (Hystaspis), an able and generous monarch, ascended the thi-one, the Jews soon obtained his favour. At this crisis, Zerubbabel was in chief authority (Shesh- bazzar pes-haps being dead), and under him the temple was begun in the second and ended in. the sixth year of Darius, B.C. 520-516. Although this must be reckoned an era in the history, it is not said to have been accompanied with any new immigration of Jews. We pass on to ' the seventh year of king Artaxerxes'(Longimanus), Ezra vii. 7, that is, B.C. 458, when Ezra comes up from Babylon to Jerusalem, with the king's commendatory letters, accompanied by a large body of his nation. The enumeration in Ezra viii. makes them under 1 800 males, with their families; perhaps amounting to 5000 persons, young and old : of whom 1 1 3 are recounted as having heathen wives (Ezra X, 18-43). In the twentieth year of the same king, or B.C. 445, N 178 CAPTIVITIES Nehemiah, his cupbearer, gains his permission to restore ' his fathers' sepulchres,' and the walls of his native city ; and is sent to Jerusalem with large powers. This is the crisis which decided the national restoration of the Jewish people: for before their city was fortified, they had no defence against the now confirmed enmity of their Samaritan neighbours ; and, in fact, before the walls could be built, several princes around were able to offer great opposition ( Sanballat]. The Jewish population was overwhelmed with debt, and had generally mortgaged their little estates to the rich; but Nehemiah's influence succeeded in bringing about a general forfeiture of debts, or at least of the interest : after which we may regard the new order of things to have been finally established in Judaea [Nehemiah]. From this time forth it is probable that nume- rous families returned in small parties, as to a secure home, until all the waste land in the neighbourhood was re-occupied. There has been great difference of opinion as to how the 70 years of captivity spoken of by Jeremiah (xxv. 12; xxix. 10) are to be esti- mated. A plausible opinion would make them last from the destruction of the first temple, B.C. .583, to the finishing of the second, B.C. 516 : but the words of the text so specify ' the punishing of the king of Babylon ' as the end of the 70 years— which gives us the date B.C. 538— that many cling to the belief that a first captivity took place in the third year of Jehoiakim, B.C. G05. But, in fact, if we read Jeremiah himself, it may appear that in ch. xxv. he intends to compute the 70 years from the time at which he speaks (ver. 1, ' in the fourth year of Jehoiakim,' i. e. B.C. 604) ; and that in XXIX. 10, the number ' seventy years' is still kept up, in remembrance of the former prophecy, al- though the language there used is very lax. The great mass of the Israelitish race never- theless remained in dispersion. Previous to the captivity, many Israelites had settled iu Egypt (Zech. X. 11 ; Isa. xix. 18), and many Jews after- wards fled thither from Nebuzaradan ( Jer. xli. 17). j Others appear to have established themselves in Sheha, where Jewish influence became very power- ful [Sheba]. It is maintained by some that the ten tribes in- termarried so freely with the surrounding popu- lation as to have become completely absorbed; and it appears to be a universal opinion that no one now knows where their descendants are. But it is a harsh assumption that such intermarriages were commoner with the ten tribes than with the two; and certainly, in the apostolic days, the twelve tribes are referred to as a well-known people, sharply defined from the heathen (James i. 1 ; Acts xxiv. 7). Not a trace appears that any repulsive principle existed at that time between t!ie Ten and the Two. ' Ephraim no longer en- vied Judah, nor Judah vexed Ephraim ;' but they had become ' one nation ;' though only partially ' on the mountains of Israel' (Isa. xi. 13; Ezek. i xxxvii. 22). It would seem, therefore, that one result of the captivity was to blend all the tribes together, and produce a national union which had never been effected in their own land. If ever there was a difference between them as to the books counted sacred, that difference entirely vanished; at least no evidence appears of the contrary fact. When, moreover, the laws of CAPTIVITIES landed inheritance no longer enforced the main- tenance of separate tribes and put a difficulty in the way of their intermarriage, an almost inevit- able result in course of time was the entire oblite- ration of this distinction ; and as a fact, no modern Jews know to what tribe they belong, although vanity always makes them choose to say that they are of the two or three, and not of the ten tribes. That all Jews now living have in them the blood of all the ten tribes, ought (it seems) to be be- lieved, until some better reason than mere asser- tion is advanced against it. When Cyrus gave permission to the Israelites to return to their own country, and restored their sacred vessels, it is not wonderful that few per- sons of the ten tribes were eager to take advantage of it. In two centuries they had become thoroughly naturalized in their eastern settlements ; nor had Jerusalem ever been the centre of proud aspira- tions to them. It was therefore to be expected that only those would return to Jerusalem whose expatriation was very recent; and principally those whose parents had dwelt in the Holy City or its immediate neighbourhood. The century which followed their return was. On the whole, one of great religious activity and important per- manent results on the moral character of the nation. Even the prophetic spirit by no means disappeared for a century and a half; although at length both the true and the false prophet were supplanted among them by the learned and dili- gent scribe, the anxious commentator, and the over-literal or over-figurative critic. In place of a people prone to go astray after sensible objects of adoration, and readily admitting heathen cus- toms ; attached to monarchical power, but inat- tentive to a hierarchy ; careless of a written law, and movable by alternate impulses of apostacy and repentance ; we henceforth find in them a deep and permanent reverence for Moses and the prophets, an aversion to foreigners and foreign customs, and a profound hatred of idolatry. Now first, as far as can be ascertained, were the syna- gogues and houses of prayer instituted, and the law periodically read aloud. Now began the close observance of the Passover, the Sabbath, and the Sabbatical year. From this era the civil power was absorbed in that of the priesthood, and the Jewish people affords the singular spectacle of a nation in which the priestly rule came later in time than that of hereditary kings. In their habits of life also, the Jewish nation was permanently affected by the first captivity. The love of agriculture, which the institutions of Moses had so vigorously inspired, had necessarily declined iu a foreign land ; and they returned with a taste for commerce, banking, and retail trade, which was probably kept up by con.stant inter- course with their brethren who remained in dis- persion. The same intercourse in turn propagated towards the rest the moral spirit which reigned at Jerusalem. The Egyptian Jews, it would seem, had gained little good from the contact of idolatry (Jer. xliv. 8) ; but those who had fallen iu with the Persian religion, probably about the time of its great reform by Zoroaster, had been preserved from such temptations, and returned purer than they went. Thenceforward it was the honourable function of Jerusalem to act as a re- ligious metropolis to the whole dispersed nation; and it cannot be doubted that the ten tribes, as CARAVAJS well as the two, learned to be proud of the Holy City, as the great and free centre of their name and iheir faith. The same religious influences thus diifused themselves through all the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus in Egypt and Arabia, in Babylonia, As- syria, Media, masses of the nation were planted, who, living by traffic and by banking, were neces- sitated to spread in all directions as their numbers increased. By this natural progress they moved westward as well as eastward, and, in the time of St. Paul, were abundant in Asia Minor, Greece, and the chief cities of Italy. The extermination suffered by the Jewish in- habitants of Palestine, under the Romans, for better deserves the name of captivity : for after the massacre of countless thousands, the captives were reduced to a real bondage. According to Josephus, 1,100,000 men fell in the siege of Jeru- salem by Titus, and 97,000 were captured in the whole war. Of the latter number the greatest part was distributed among the provinces, to be butchered in the amphitheatres or cast there to wild beasts ; others were doomed to work as pub- lic slaves in Egypt : only those under the age of seventeen were sold into private bondage. An equally dreadful destruction fell upon the remains of the nation, which had once more assembled in Judaea, under the reign of Hadrian (a.d. 1^3); and by these two savage -wars the Jewish popula- tion must have been effectually extirpated from the Holy Land itself, a result which did not fol- low from the Babylonian captivity. Afterwards, a dreary period of fifteen hundred years' oppres- sion crushed in Europe all who bore the name of Israel, and Christian nations have visited on their head a crime perpetrated by a few thousand inha- bitants of Jerusalem, who were not the real fore- fathers of the European Jews. Nor in the East has their lot been much more cheering. With few and partial exceptions, they have ever since been a despised, an oppressed, and naturally a de- graded people ; though from them have spread light and truth to the distant nations of the earth. CAR A VAN is the name given to a body of merchants or pilgrims as they travel in the East. A multitude of people, of all ages and conditions, assembling to undertake a journey, and prosecuting it en masse for days and weeks together, is a thing unknown in Europe, where, from the many facili- ties for travelling, and a well organized system of police, travellers can go alone and unprotected along the highways to any distance with the most perfect security. But in Eastern countries the dangers arising from the vast deserts that intersect these regions, as well as from wild beasts and bands of marauding Arabs, are too numerous and imminent for single traders or solitary travellers to encounter ; and hence merchants and pilgrims are accustomed to unite for mutual protection in traversing these wild and inhospitable parts, as well as for offering a more effectual resistance to the attacks of robbers. Through this kind of intercourse, which principally obtains in Turkey, Persia, and Arabia, most of the inland commerce of the East is carried on. Any person can, under certain regulations, form a caravan at any time. But generally there are stated periods, which are well known as the regular starting-times for the mercantile journeys ; and the merchants belonging to the company, or those travellers who are de- CARAVAN 179 sirous of accompanying it for the benefit of a safe conduct, repair to the place of rendezvous where the caravan is to be formed, exhibiting, as their goods and camels successively arrive, a motley group — a busy and tumultuous scene of prepara- tion, which can be more easily conceived than described. As in the hot season the travelling is performed under night, the previous part of the day on which the caravan leaves is consumed in the preparatory labours of packing — an indispens- able arrangement, which has been observed with unbroken uniformity since the days of Ezekiel (xii. 3) ; and then, about eight o'clock, the usual starting-time, the whole party put themselves in motion, and continue their journey without inter- ruption till midnight (Luke xi. 5, 6) or later. At other seasons they travel all day, only halting for rest and refreshment during the heat of noon. The average rate of travel is from 1 7 to 20 miles per day. The earliest caravan of merchants we read of is the itinerant company to whom Joseph was sold by his brethren (Gen. xxxvii.). The date of this transaction is more than seventeen centuries before the Christian era, and notwithstanding its anti- quity, it has all the genuine features of a caravan crossing the desert at the present hour. This caravan was a mixed one, consisting of three classes, Ishmaelites (ver. 25), Midianites (ver. 28), and Medanites, as the Hebrew calls the last (ver. 36), who, belonging to the mountainous region of Gilead, would seem, like the nomade tribes of Africa in the present day, to have engaged them- selves as commercial travellers, and were then, in passing over the plain of Dothan, on the high caravan-road for the market of Egypt. Besides these communities of travelling mer- chants in the East, there are caravans of pilgrims, i. e. of those who go for religious purposes to Mecca, comprising vastly greater multitudes of people. Four of these start regularly every year : one from Cairo, consisting of Mahommedans from Barbary ; a second from Damascus, conveying the Turks ; a third from Babylon, for the accommo- dation of the Persians ; and a fourth fi-om Zibith, at the mouth of the Red Sea, which is the rendez- vous for those coming from Arabia and India. The organization of the immense hordes which, on such occasions, assemble to undertake a dis- tant expedition, strangers to each other, and un- accustomed to the strict discipline which is indis- pensable for their comfort and security during the march, though, as might be expected, a work of no small difficulty, is accomplished in the East by a few simple arrangements which are the result of long experience. One obvious borxl of union to the main body, when travelling by night and through extensive deserts, is the music of the Arab servants, who by alternate songs in their national manner beguile the tedium of the way : while the incessant jingling of innumerable bells fastened to the necks of the camels enlivens the patient beasts, frightens animals of prey, and keeps the party together. To meet all the exigencies of the journey, however, the caravan is placed under the charge of a caravan bashe, the chief who presides over all, and under whom there are five leading officers appointed to different departments : — one who regulates the march ; a second, whose duties only commence at halting time; a third who superintends the servants and cattle; a fourth sr 2 180 cakava: ■who takes charge of tlie baggage ; a fifch who acts as paymaster, &c. ; and besides these, there are the officers of the inilitai-y escort that always accompanies it. Anotlier functionary of the highest importance is the hj/heer, or guide, whose services are indispensable in crossing the great deserts, such as that along the coast of the Red Sea or on the western extremities of Africa. He is commonly a person of influence, belonging to some powerful tribe, whose personal qualifications must embrace an extensive and accurate acquaint- ance with the whole features of the land. It is absohitely necessary that he understand the pro- gnostics of the weather, the time and places where the terrible simoom or hot wind blows, and the tracts occupied by shifting sands; and that he know the exact locality and qualities of the wells, the oases that afford the refreshments of shade for the men and grass for the cattle, the situation of hostile or treacherous tribes, and the means of escaping those threatened dangers. There is a close and very striking resemblance between the arrangements of these caravans and the order adopted by the Israelites during their journey through almost the same extensive deserts. The arrangement of those vast travelling bodies seems to have undergone no material alteration for nearly four thousand years, and therefore affords the best possible commentary illustrative of the Mosaic narrative of the Exodus. Like them, the immense body of Israelitish emigrants, while the chief burden devolved on Moses, was divided into companies, each company being under the charge of a suhordinate officer, called a prince (Num. vii.). Like them, the Hebrews made their first stage in a hurried manner and in tumultuous disorder (Exod. xiL 11); and, like them, each tribe had its respective standard [Standards] ; which was pitched at the different stages, or thrust perpendicularly into the ground, and thus formed a central point," around which the straggling party spread themselves during their hours of rest and leisure (Num. iL 2). Like them, the signal for starting was given by the blast of a trumpet, or rather tnimpets (Num. x. 2, 5) ; and the time of march and halting was regulated by the same rules that have been observed by all travellers from time immemorial during the hot season. Like theirs, too, the elevation of the standard, as it was borne forward in the van of each company, formed a prominent object to prevent dispersion, or enable wanderers to recover their place within the line or division to which they belonged. Nor was there any difference here, except that, while the Israelites in like manner prosecuted their journey occasionally by night as well as by day, they did not, like the caravans of pilgrims, re- quire the aid of fires in their standards, as the friendly presence of the fiery pillar superseded the necessity of any artificial lights. One other point of analogy remains to be traced in the cir- cumstance of Hobab being enlisted in the service of tlie Hebrew caravan as its guide through the great Arabian desert. The extreme solicitude of Moses. to secure the services of his brother-in-law iu that capacity will be accounted for if it is borne in mind, that although the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night sufiEced to regulate the main stages cf the Hebrews, foraging parties would at short intervals require to be sent out, and scouts to reconnoitre tb:" country for fuel, or CARBUNCLE to negotiate with the native tribes for provender and water. And who so well qualified to assist in these important services as Hobab, from his intimate acquaintance with the localities, his in- fluence as a Sheikh, and his family connection with the leader of Israel ? The nature and economy of the modern Hadj caravans might be applied also to illustrate the return of the Hebrew exiles under Ezra from the land of their captivity. The bands of Jewish pilgrims that annually repaired from every corner of Judfea to attend the three great festivals in Jerusalem, wanted this government and distribution into distinct companies, and seem to have resembled less the character of the great Mecca caravans than the irregular processions of the Hindoos to and from the scene of some of their religious pageants. On such occasions multitudes of men, women, and children, amounting to ten or twenty thousand, may be seen bending their way to the place of ceremonial, with their beds, cooking implements, and other luggage on their heads, prosecuting their journey in this manner from day to day, by long or shorter stages, as custom or physical strength may dictate. As in a crowd of this motley description not the slightest regard is paid to regularity or order, and every one of course takes the place or mingles with the group that pleases him, the separation of the nearest friends for a whole day must, in &uch circumstances, be a common and unavoidable occurrence ; and yet anxiety is never felt, unless the missing one fail to appear at the appointed rendezvous of the family. In like manner among the ancient Jews, the inhabitants of the same village or district would naturally form themselves into travelling parties, for mutual security as well as for enjoying the society of acquaintance. The poorer sort would have to travel on foot, while females and those of the better class might ride on asses and camels. But as their country was divided into tribes, and those who lived in the same hamlet or canton would be more or less connected by family ties, the j^oung, the volatile, and active among the Jewish pilgrims had far more inducements to disperse themselves amongst the crowd than those of the modern processions, numbers of whom are necessarily strangers to each other. In these circumstances it is easy to understand how the young Jesus might mingle successively with groups of his kindred and ac- quaintance, who, captivated with his precocious wisdom and piety, might be fond to detain him in their circle, while his mother, together with Joseph, felt no anxiety at his absence, knowing the grave and sober character of their companions in travel ; and the incident is the more natural that his parents are said to have gone ' one day's journey from Jerusalem before they missed him ;' since, according to the present, and probably the ancient, practice of the East, the first stage is always a short one, seldom exceeding two or three' hours. Beer— the modern el-Bireh, where Mary's discovery is reputed to have been made — is scarcely three miles from Jerusalem, where the caravan of Galilaean pilgrims halted. CARAVANSERAI. [Inn.] CAR'B UNCLE. There are two Hebrew words rendered by ' Carbuncle ' in the Authorized Ver- sion. One of them, Nophech, which occurs in CARMEL Exod. xxviii. 18; xxxix. 11; Ezck. xxviii. 13, appears to have been a kind of ruby or garnet. perhaps the noble Oriental garnet, which is a transparent red stone, with a violet shade, and strong glossy lustre. The other word is Ek- DACH, which occurs in Isa. liv. 12, where the gates of the new Jerusalem are described as being composed of it. It seems to denote some stone of a fiery lustre, but the particular kind cannot well be determined. CAR'CHEMISH is mentioned in Isa. x. 9 among other places in Syria which had been sub- dued by an Assyrian king, probably Tiglath-pi- leser. It appears to have been a frontier town and a stronghold on the Euphrates (Jer. xlvi. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 20), and is probably therefore the city which the Greeks called Kirkesion, the Latins Cercusium, and the Arabs, Kerkesiyeh ; for this too lay on the western bank of the Eu- phrates, where it is joined by the Chaboras. It was a large city, and surrounded by strong walls, which, in the time of the Romans, were occa- sionally renewed, as this was the remotest out- post of their empire, towards the Euphrates, in the direction of Persia. It is unknown whether any traces of it still exist ; for, as it lies off the usual route of caravans, it has not been noticed by modem travellers. CARTA, a country lying at the south-western extremity of Asia Minor, to which, among others, the Romans wrote in favour of the Jews(l Mace. XV. 22, 33). Its principal towns were Halicar- nassus, Cnidus, and Myndus, which are all men- tioned in the rescript of the Roman senate, to which we refer. Halicarnassus was the birth- place of Herodotus ; Cnidus is mentioned in Acts xxvii. 7, as having been passed by St. Paul on his voyage to Rome. CAR'MEL, a range of hills extending north- west from the plain of Esdraelon, and ending in a promontory', or cape, which forms the Bay of Acre. The extent of this range of hills is about six miles, not in a direct line ; but the two extre- mities (on the western side towards the sea) jot CARMEL ISl out, and stand over against each other, forming a bow in the middle. The height is about 1 500 feet ; and at the foot of the mountain, on the north-east, runs the brook Kishon, and a little further north, the river Belus. Mount Carmel consists rather of several connected hills than of one ridge; the north and eastern parts being somewhat higher than the soiithern and western. The foot of the northern portion approaches the water_ very cloiely, but further south it retires more inland, so as to leave between tlie mountain and the sea an extensive and very furtile plain. Mount Carmel forms the only great promon- tory upon the coast of Palestine. According to the reports of most travellers, the mountain well deserves its Hebrew name {Carmel— country of vinei/ards and gardens). It is entirely covered with verdure. On its summit are pines and oaks, and further down olives and laurel trees, every- where plentifully watered. It gives rise to a multitude of crystal brooks, the largest of which issues from the so-called Fountain of Elijah ; and they all hurry along, between banks thickly overgrown with bushes, to the Kishon. Every species of tillage succeeds here admirably, under this mild and cheerful sky. The prospect from the summit of the mountain over the gulf of Acre and its fertile shores, and over the Hue heights of Lebanon and the White Cape, is en- chanting. The mountain is of compact limestone, and, as often happens where that is the case [Caves], there are in it very many caverns — it is said, more than a thousand. In one tract, called the Monk's Cavern, there are as many as four hun- dred adjacent to each other, furnished with win- dows and with places for sleeping hewn in the rock. That the gi-ottoes and caves of IMount Carmel were already, in very ancient times, the abode of prophets and other religious persons is well known. The prophets Elijah and Elisha often resorted thither (1 Kings xviii. 19, sq. 42; 2 Kings ii. 25 ; iv. 25 ; and comp. perhaps 1 Kings xviii. 4, 13). At the present day is shown a cavern called the cave of Elijah, a little below the Monks' Cavern already mentioned, and which is now a Moslem sanctuary. Upon the summit is an ancient establishment of Carmelite monks, which order, indeed, derived its name from this mountain. The old convent was destroyed by Abdallah Pasha, who converted the materials to his own use ; but it has of late years been rebuilt on a somewhat imposing scale by the aid of con- tributions from Europe. 2. CARMEL. Another Carmel, among the mountains of Judah, is named in Josh. xv. o.i. It was here that Saul set up the trophy of his victory over Amalek (1 Sam. xv. 12), and where Nabal was shearing his sheep when the afl'air took place between him and David in which Abigail bore so conspicuous a part ( 1 Sam. xxv. 2, sq.). This Carmel is described by Eusebius and Jerome as, in their day, a village, with a Roman garrison, ten miles from Hebron, verging towards the east. From the time of the Crusades till the present century its name seems to have been forgotten. But it has been recently recog- nised by travellers under the name of Kurmul. The place is now utterly desolate, but the ruins indicate a town of considerable extent and im- portance. The most remarkable ruin is that of a castle, quadrangular, standing on a swell of ground in the midst of the town. The distance of this place from Hebron is nearer eight Roman miles than ten, as assigned by Eusebius and Je- rome. 182 CASSIA CARPENTEE. [Handicraft.] CAR'PUS, a disciple of Paul, who dwelt at Troas (2 Tim. iv. 13). CART. The Hebrew word rendered by our translators in some places by ' waggon,' and in others by ' cart,' denotes any vehicle moving on wheels and usually drawn by oxen ; and their particular character must be determined by the context indicating the purpose for which they were employed. First, we have the carts which the king of Egypt sent to assist in transporting Jacob's family from Canaan (Gen. xlv. 19, 27). From their being so sent it is manifest that they were not used in the latter country ; and that they were known there as being peculiar to Egypt is shown by the confirmation which they attbrded to Jacob of the truth of the strange story told by his sons. The carts or wains represented in the Egyptian sculptures are the following, which, however, appear to belong to a foreign people. But that the Egyptians had something like them of their own appears from figs, 1, 2, in cut 113. Elsewhere (Num. vii. 3, G ; 1 Sam. vi. 7) we read of carts used for the removal of the sacred arks and utensils. These also were drawn by two oxen. In Eosellini we have found a very 2, S»,&^%i curious representation of the vehicle used for such purposes by the Egyptians (No. 113, fig. 3). It is little more than a platform on wheels ; and the apprehension which induced Uzzah to put forth his hand to stay the ark when shaken by the oxen (2 Sam. vi. G), may suggest that the cart employed on that occasion was not unlike this, as it would be easy for a jerk to displace whatever might be upon it. CASLU'HIM, properly Casluchim, a people whose progenitor was a son of Mizraim (Gen. X. 14; 1 Chron. i. 12). He, or they, for the word applies rather to a people than to an indi- vidual, are supposed by Bochart and others to have carried a colony from Egypt, which settled in the district between Pelusium and Gaza, or, in other words, between the Egyptians and the Philistines. There are some grounds for this conjecture ; but it is impossible to obtain any certainty on so obscure a subject. CASSIA. Our translators have rendered two distinct Hebrew words by this term. One of these (Ketzioth) is mentioned in three places CAT (Exod. XXX. 24: Ezek. xxvii. 19; and in Ps. xlv. 8), in conjunction with myrrh, cinnamon, sweet calamus, and ahalim, or eagle-wood. All these are aromatic substances, and, with the ex- ception of myrrh, which is obtained from Africa, are products of India and its islands. It is pro- bable, therefore, that ketzioth is of a similar nature, and obtained from the same countries. It is supposed, however, that the substance referred to is not cassia; but it will be preferable to treat of the whole subject in connection with cinnamon. [KiNNAMON.] The other word rendered cassia in our Autho^ rized Version is kiddah. It occurs first in Exod. XXX. 24, where cassia (kiddah) is mentioned in connection with olive oil, pure myrrh, sweet cin- namon, and sweet calamus ; secondly, in Ezek. xxviii. 1 9, where Dan and Javan are described as bringing bright iron, cassia (kiddah), and calamus to the markets of Tyre. There is no reason why the substance now called cassia might not hare been imported from the shores of India into Egypt and Palestine. The Arabian Koost (Auchlandia Costus\, known in Calcutta by the name of Puchiik, an aromatic substance exported in large quantities from Cashmere into the Punjab, whence it finds its way to Bombay and Calcutta, for export to China, where it is highly valued as one of the ingredients in the incense which the Chinese burn in their temples and private houses. CASTLE. [Fortifications.] CASTOR AND POL'LUX, in heathen mytho- logy, the twin sons of Jupiter by Leda. They had the special province of assisting persons in danger of shipwreck ; and hence their figures were often adopted for ' the sign,' from which a ship derived its name, as was the case with that ' ship of Alexandria ' in which St. Paul sailed on his journey for Rome (Acts xxviii. 11). CAT. It might be assumed that the cat was an useful, if not a necessary, domestic animal to the Hebrew people in Palestine, where corn was grown for exportation, as well as for con- sumption of the resident population, twenty or thirty-fold more than at present, and where, moreover, the conditions of the climate required the precaution of a plentiful store being kept in reserve to meet the chances of scarcity. The ani- mal could not be unknown to the people, for their ancestors had witnessed the Egyptians treating it as a divinity. Yet we find the cat nowhere men^ tioned in the canonical books as a domestic ani- mal. And in Baruch it is noticed only as a tenant of Pagan temples, where no doubt the fragments of sacrificed animals and vegetables attracted vermin, and rendered the presence of cats neces- sary. This singular circumstance, perhaps, re- CAVES suited from the auimal being deemed unclean, and being thereby excluded domestic familiarity, though the Hebrews may still liave encouraged it, in common with other vermin-hunters, about the outhouses and farms, and corn-stores, at the risk of some loss among the broods of pigeons which, in Palestine, were a substitute for poultry. With regard to the neighbouring nations just named, they all had domestic cats, it is presumed, derived from a wild species found in Nubia, and first described by Ruppel under the name of Felis Maniculata. The typical animal is smaller, more slender, and more delicately limbed than the European. The fur is pale yellowish grey, with some dark streaks across the paws, an'd at the tip of the tail. In the domesticated state it varies in colours and markings, for the ancient monuments of Egypt contain many painted figures, which show them cross-barred like our wild species in Europe. Two specimens are here given from these paintings; one clearly a cat; the other, which is not apparently a cat but a species of gennet or paradoxurus, is, in the ori- ginal, figured as catching birds, acting like a re- triever for his master, who is fowling in a boat. CATERPILLAR occurs in the Auth. Vers. 1 Kings viii. 37; 2 Chron. vi. 28; Ps. Ixxviii. 46; cv. 34; Isa. xxxiii. 4; Jer. li. 14, 27 ; Joel i. 4 ; ii. 25. But it is more than doubtful whether any species of caterpillar is here intended. The name in the original indicates a creature whose chief characteristic is voracity, and which also attaches to all the species of locusts. The ancients, indeed, concur in referring the word to the locust tribe of insects, but are not agreed whether it signifies any particular species of locust, or is the name for any of those states or transformations through which the locust passes fi'om the egg to the perfect insect. The Latin Fathers take it to mean the larva of the locust, and the Greek un- derstand it as the name of an adult locust. On the whole it seems probable that the Hebrew word means a locust, but of which species it is impos- sible to determine. CATTLE. [Beasts; Bull.] CAVES. The geological formation of Syria is highly favourable to the production of caves. It consists chiefly of limestone, in different degrees of oensity, and abounds with subterranean rivu- lels. The springs issuing from limes-tone gene- rally contain carbonate of lime, and most of them yield a large quantity of free carbonic acid upon exposure to the air. To the erosive effect upon limestone rocks, of water charged with this acid, the formation of caves is chiefly to be ascribed. The subordinate strata of Syria, sandstone, chalk, basalt, natron, &c. favour the formation of caves. Consequently the Avhole region abounds with sub- terranean hollows of different dimensions. Some of theui are of immense extent, such as those noticed by Strabo, who speaks of a cavern near Damascus capable of holding 4000 men. The first mention of a cave in Scripture relates to that into which Lot and his two daughters retired from Zoar, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomor- rah (Gen. xix. 30). The next is the Cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth (Gen. xxv. 3, 10). There Abraham buried Sarah, and Was himself afterwards buried; there also Isaac, Rebecca, L«ah, and Jacob, were buried (Gen. xlix. 31 ; CAVES 183 1. 13). The cave of Machpelah is said to be under a Mahometan mosque, surrounded by a high wall called the Haram ; but even the Moslems are not allowed to descend into the cavern. The tradi- tion that this is the burial-place of the patriarchs is supported by an immense array of evidence. The situation of the Cave at Makhedah, into which the five kings of tlie Amorites retired upon their defeat by Joshua, and into which their car- cases were ultimately cast, is not known (Josh. X. 16, 27). Some of the c;ives mentioned in the Scriptures were artificial, or consisted of natural fissures enlarged or modified for the purposes in- tended. It is recorded (Judg. vi. 2) that ' be- cause of the Midiauites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.' Caves made by art are met with in various quarters. An innumer- able multitude of excavations are found in the rocks and valleys round Wady Musa, which were probably formed at first as sepulchres, but after- wards inhabited, like the tombs of Thebes. Caves were used as dwelling-places by the early inha- bitants of Syria. The Horites, the ancient inha- bitants of Idumtca Proper, were Troglodytes or dwellers in caves, as their name imports. Jerome records that in his time Iduma?a was full of ha- bitations in caves, the inhabitants using subter- ranean dwellings on account of the great heat. The Scriptures abound with references to ha- bitations in rocks ; among others, see Num. xxiv. 21; Cant. ii. 14; Jer. xlix. 10; Obad. 3. Even at the present time many persons live in caves. Caves afibrd excellent refuge in the time of war. Thus the Israelites (1 Sam. xiii. G) are said to have hid themselvts in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. See also Jer. xli. 9. H^uce, then, to ' enter into the rock, to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth' (Isa. ii. 19), would, to the Israelites, be a very proper and familiar way to express terror and consternation. The pits spoken of seem to have consisted of large wells, in ' the sides ' of which excavations were made, leading into various chambei's. Such pits were sometimes used as prisons (Isa. xxiv. •>•!■, li. 14; Zech. ix. 11); and vr\ih. niches in the sides, for buryiug- places (Ezek. xxxii. 23). Many of these vaulted pits remain to this day. The strongholds of En- yedi, which affcrded a retreat to David and his followers (1 Sam. xxiii. 29; xxiv. 1), can be clearly identified. They are now called Ain Tidy by the Arabs, which means the same as the Hebrew, namely, ' The Fountain of the Kid.' ' On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might serve as lurking-plates for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day. The whole scene is drawn to the life.' The Care of' Adullam, to which David retired to avoid tlie persecutions of Saul (1 Sam. xxii. 1, 2), and in which he cut off the skirt of Saul's robe ( 1 Sam. xxiv. 4), is an immense natural cavern at the Wady Khureitun, which passes below the Frank mountain. Such is the extent of the cavern, that it is quite conceivable how David and his men might ' remain in the sides of the cave,' and not be noticed by Saul {Travels, vol. ii. p. 41). Caverns were also frequently fortified and occu- pied by soldiers. Josephus relates also that Herod sent horsemen and footmen to destroy the robbers that dwelt in caves, and did much mischief iu the CEDAR CEDAR country. They were very near to a village called Arbela (dow called Kolut Ibn Ma'an). The oc- cupants were not subdued without great difficulty. Herod then laid siege to certain other caverns containing robbers, but found operations against them very difficult. These were situated on the middle of abrupt and precipitous mountains, and could not be come at from any side, since they had ordy some winding pathways, very narrow, by which they got up to them. The rock that lay on their front overhung valleys of immense depth, and of an almost perpendicular declivity. To meet these difficulties Herod caused large boxes filled with armed men to be lowered from the top of the mountain. These men had long hooks in their hinds with which they might pull out those who resisted them, and tumble them down the mountains. From these boxes they at length slipped into the caverns, destroyed the robbers, and set fire to their goods. Certain caves were afterwards fortified by Josephus him- self during his command in Galilee under the Romans. A fortified cavern existed in the time of the Crusades. It is mentioned by William of Tyre, as situate in the country beyond the Jordan, sixteen Roman miles from Tiberias. The cave of Elijah is pretended to be shown, at the foot of Mount Sinai, in a chapel dedicated to him ; and a hole near the altar is pointed out as the place where he lay. CEDAR. There is a difference of opinion among authors whether the original term thus translated in the numerous passages of Scripture where it occurs is always used in the same signi- fication ; that is, whether it is always intended to specify only one particular kind of the pine tribe, or whether it is not sometimes used gene- rically. In this latter opinion we are disposed 115. [Cedar of Lebanon.] to concur, for if we proceed to compare the several passages of Scripture in which the word occurs, we shall equally find that one plant is not strictly applicable to them all. The earliest no- tice of the cedar is in Lev. xiv, 4, 6, where we are toM that Moses commanded the leper that was to be cleansed to make an offermg of two sparrows, cedar-wood, wool dyed in scarlet, and hyssop; and in ver. 49, 51, .52, the houses in which the lepers dwell are directed to be purified with the same materials. Again, in Num. xix. 6, Moses and Aaron are commanded to sacrifice a red heifer : ' And the priest shall take cedar- wood and hyssop and scarlet.' As remarked by Lady Callcott (Script. Herbal, p. 92), 'The cedar was not a native of Egypt, nor could it have been procured in the desert without great diffi- culty ; but the juniper is most plentiful there, and takes deep root in the crevices of the rocks of Mount Sinai.' That some, at least, of the cedars of the ancients were a species of juniper is evident from the passages we have quoted ; the wood of most of them is more or less aromatic. The ancients, it may be remarked, threw the berries of the juniper on funeral piles, to pro- tect the departing spirit from evil infiueuces, and offered its wood in sacrifice to the infernal gods, because they believed its presence was acceptable to them. They also burned it in their dwelling- houses to keep away demons. It is curious that, in the remote parts of the Himalayan Mountains, another species of this genus is similarly em- ployed. At a later period we have notices of the various uses to which the wood of the cedar was applied, as 2 Sam. v. 11 ; vii. 2-7; 1 Kings v. 6, 8, 10; vi. 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20; vii. 2, 3, 7, 11. 12; ix. 11 ; X. 27 ; 1 Chrou. xvii. 6 ; 2 Chron. ii. 8 ; ix. 27 ; XXV, 18. In these passages we are informed of the negotiations with Hiram, King of Tyre, for the supply of cedar-trees out of Lebanon, and of the uses to which the timber was applied in the construction of the Temple, and of the king's palace : he ' covered the houss with beams and boards of cedar ;' ' the walls of the house within were covered with boards of cedar ;' there were ' cedar pillars,' and ' beams of cedar ;' and the altar was of cedar. In all these passages there is nothing distinctive stated respecting the cha- racter of the wood, from which we might draw any certain conclusion, further than that, from the selection made and the constant mention of the material used, it may be fairly inferred that it must have been considered as well fitted, or rather of a superior quality, for the purpose of building the Temple and palace. From this, however, proceeds the difficulty in admitting that what we call the cedar of Lebanon was the only tree intended. For modern experience has ascer- tained that its wood is not of a superior quality. To determine this point, we must not refer to the statements of those who take their descriptions from writers who, indeed, describe cedar-wood, but do not prove that it was derived from the cedar of Lebanon. The term ' cedar ' seems to have been as indefinite in ancient as in modern times, when we find it applied to the wood of tlie red or pencil cedar, to that of the Bermuda cedar, and to many other woods, as to white cedar, and Indian cedar. Mr. Loudon, in his Arboretum (p. 241 7), de- scribes it thus : ' The wood of the cedar is of a reddish white, light and spongy, easily worked, but very apt to shrink and warp, .and by no means durable.' But when the tree is grown on mountains, the annual layers of wood are much narrower and the fibre much finer than when it CEDAR is grown on plains ; so much so that a piece of cedar-wood brought from Mount Lebanon by Dr. I Parisel, in 1829, and which he had made into a ' small piece of furniture, presented a surface com- i pact, agreeably veined, and variously shaded, I and which, on the whole, may bo considered handsome. But Dr. Pococke, who brought away ! a piece of one of the large cedars which had I been blown down by the wind, says that the wood does not dift'er in" appearance from white deal, ' and that it does not appear to be harder. Mr. ' Loadon says that a table which Sir J. Banks had j made out of the Hillingdon cedar was soft, with- I out scent (except that of common deal), and I possessed little variety of veining. Though we liave seen both temples and palaces built entirely with one kind of cedar, we think it more pro- bable that, as the timber had to be brought from a distance, where all the kinds of cedar grew, I the common pine-tree and the cedar of Lebanon I -Would both furnish some of the timber required ' for the building of the Temple, together with j juniper cedar. Celsius was of opinion that the 1 cedar indicated the Pinus sylvestris or Scotch ! pine, which yields the red and yellow deals of I Norway, and which is likewise found on Mount Lebanon. This opinion seems to be confirmed I by Ezekiel xxvii. 5, ' They have made all thy ship boards of fir-trees of Senir, they have taken I cedar from Lebanon to make masts for thee.' ' For it is not probable that any other tree than the common pine would be taken for masts. Though Celsius appears to us to be quite right j in concluding that the cedar, in some of the pas- sages of Scripture, refers to the pine-tree, yet it j seems equally clear that there are other passages ; to which this tree will not answer, and if we j consider some of the remaining passages of Scrip- ! t\ire, Ave cannot fail to perceive that they forcibly I apply to the cedar of Lebanon and to the cedar of Lebanon only. Thus, in Ps. xcii. 12, it is said, ' The righteous shall flourish like a palm- 1 tree, and spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.' \ It has been well remai-ked, ' that the flourishing I head of the palm and the spreading abroad of J the cedar are equally characteristic' But the I prophet Ezekiel (ch. xxxi.) is justly adduced as giving the most magnificent, and at the same ! time the most graphic, description of this cele- j brated tree : (ver. 3) ' Behold, the Assyrian was I a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with ; a shadowy shroud, and of an high stature ; and his top was among the thick boughs :' (ver. o) j ' Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the I multitude of waters :' (ver. 6) ' All the fowls of ! heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under I his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young.' In this description, Mr. , Gilpin has well observed, ' the principal charac- ■ teristics of the cedar are marked : first, the mul- ' tiplicity and kngth of its branches. Few trees j divide so many fair branches from the main ' stem, or spread over so large a compass of ground. ' His boughs are multiplied,' as Ezekiel , says, ' and his branches become long,' which I David calls spreading abroad. His very boughs are equal to the stem of a fir or a chestnut. The I second characteristic is what Ezekiel, with great I beauty and aptness, calls his shadowy shroud. CEILING 185 No tree in the forest is moi-e remarkable than the cedar for its close-woven leafy canopy. Ezekiel's cedar is marked as a tree of fuU'and perfect growth, from the circumstance of its top being among the thick boughs. The other principal passages in which the cedar is mentioned are 1 Kings iv. 33; 2 Kings xix. 23; Job xl. 17 ; Ps. xxix. 5; Ixxx. 10; xcii. 12; civ. 16; cxlviii. 9; Cant. i. 17 ; v. 1.5; viii. 9 ; Isa. ii. 13; ix. 8, 10; xiv. 8; xxxvii. 2-1; xli. 19; xliv. 14; Jer. xxii. 7, 14, 23; Ezek. xvii. 3, 22, 23; Amos ii. 9; Zeph. ii. 14; Zech. xi. 1, 2; and in the Apo- crypha, 1 Esdras iv. 48 ; v. .55 ; Ecclus. xxiv. 13 ; 1. 12; but it would occupy too much space to adduce further illustrations from them of what indeed is the usually admitted opinion. It is, however, necessary before concluding to give some account of this celebrated tree, as no- ticed by travellers in the East, all of whom make a pilgrimage to its native sites. The cedar of Lebanon is well known to be a widely-spreading tree, generally from 50 to 80 feet high, and when standing singly, often covering a space with its branches, the diameter of which is much greater than its height. The horizontal branches, when the tree is exposed on all sides, are very large in proportion to the trunk, being disposed in dis- tinct layers or stages, and the distance to which they extend diminishes as they approach the top, where they form a pyramidal head, broad in pro- portion to its height. The branchlets are dis- posed in a flat fan-like manner on the branches. The leaves, produced in tufts, are straight, abcut one inch long, slender, nearly cylindrical, taper- ing to a point, and are on short footstalks. The cones, when they approach maturity, become from 2j inches to 5 inches long. Every part of the cone abounds with resin, which sometimes exudes from between the scales. Speaking of the cedars of Lebanon, M. Lamartine, in 1832, says, ' These trees diminish in every succeeding age. Travellers formerly counted 30 or 40 ; more recently, 17; more recently still, only 12. There are now but 7. These, however, from their size and general appearance, may be fairly presumed to have existed in biblical times. Around these ancient witnesses of ages long since past, there still remains a little grove of yellow cedars, appearing to me to form a group of from 400 to 500 trees or shrubs. Every year, in the month of June, the inhabitants of Beschierai, of Eden, of Kandbin, and the other neighbouring valleys and villages, climb up to these cedars, and celebrate mass at their feet. How many prayers have resounded under these branches, and what more beautiful canopy for worship can exist ?' CEILING. The Orientals bestow much at- tention upon the ceilings of their principal rooms. Where wood is not scarce, they are usually com- posed of one curious piece of joinery, framed entire, and then raised and nailed to the joists. These ceilings are often divided into small square compartments; but are sometimes of more com- plicated patterns. Wood of a naturally dark colour is commonly chosen, and it is never painted. In places where wood is scarce, and sometimes where it is not particularly so, the ceilings are formed of fine plaster, with tasteful mouldings and ornaments, coloured and relieved with gilding, and with pieces of mirror inserted in the hollows formed by the involutions of the 186 CENSER CHAIN raised mouldings of the arabesques, which enclose them as in a frame. The antiquity of this taste can be clearly traced by actual examples up to the times of the Old Testament, through the Egyptian monuments, which display ceilings painted with rich colours in such patterns as are shown in the annexed cut. The explanation thus obtained satisfactorily illustrates the peculiar em- phasis with which ' ceiled houses ' and ' ceiled chambers' are mentioned by Jeremiah (xxii. 14) and Haggai (i. 4). CENCHRE'A, one of the ports of Corinth, whence Paul sailed for Ephesus (Acts xviii. 18). It was situated on the eastern side of the isthmus, about seventy stadia from the city: the other port on the western side of the isthmus was called Lecha;iim. [Corinth.] CEN.SER, the vessel in which incense was presented in the temple (2 Chron. xxvi. 1 9 ; Ezek. viii. 11 ; Ecclus. 1. 9). Censers were used in the daily offering of incense, and j'cai'ly on the day of atonement, when the high-priest entered the Holy of Holies. On the latter occasion the priest filled the censer with live coals from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt-offering, and bore it into the sanctuary, where he threw upon the burning coals the ' sweet incense beaten small ' which he had brought in his hand (Lev. xvi. 12, 13). In this case the incense was burnt while the high-priest held the censer in his hand ; but in the daily offering the censer in which the live coals were brought from the altar of burnt- offering was set do-vi upon the altar of incense. This alone would suggest the probability of some difference of shape between the censers used on these occasions. The daily censers must have had a base or stand to admit of their being placed on the golden altar, while those employed on the day of atonement were probably furnished with a handle. In fact, there are different names for these vessels. We learn also that the daily censers were of brass (Num. xvi. 39), whereas the yearly one was of gold. The form of the daily censer we have no means of determining beyond the fact that it was a pan or vase, with a stand whereon it might rest on the golden altar. The numerous figures of Egyptian ceu- 53=— «=