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THE HIGH PRIEST. - p. 310.

THE

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BIBLE DICTIONARY,

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PREPARED FOE THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, AND EEYI9ED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION.

PHILADELPHIA :

AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION,

No. 146 Chestnut Street.

New York, No. 147 Nassau Street . Boston, No. 9 ConihiU.

Louisville, Ky., No. 103 Fourth Street.

St. Louis, No. 80 Chestnut St.

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Entered according to Act of Co /rest, in the year 18c./, by Pawl Beck, Jr., Treasurer, in trus for the American bunday- school Union, in the Clerk’s Office f the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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DEMORESTVILLE, ONXJ

PREFACE.

Some years since, we reprinted from the British press an abridgment of Brown’s Dictionary of the Bible. The original was materially improved by the editorial labours of the Rev. Dr. Alexander. He did not, how¬ ever, change the basis or general character of the work. He expunged a mass of superfluous and irrele¬ vant matter ; introduced such corrections and modifica¬ tions as the improved state of biblical science suggest¬ ed, and prepared many of the leading articles anew. These have been preserved as far as practicable in the lew work. The extensive sale of the former dictionary shows conclusively the adaptedness of such a volume to the wants of the community.

Under this conviction, the society has incurred very heavy expenses in providing an entirely new dictionary,

CORRESPONDING IN PRINCIPLE, CHARACTER, AND USES TO OUR OTHER PUBLICATIONS, AND INTENDED SO TO CON¬ NECT THEM TOGETHER, AS TO MAKE, OF THE WHOLE,

A COMPLETE BIBLICAL CYCLOPAEDIA.

Though the editor has been, of course, indebted to various sources for materials, and, in some instances, for copious extracts, the present volume may he re¬ garded as strictly an original work.

The services of one of the most distinguished biblical scholars in the country have been employed in a gene¬ ral revision of it, and many of the most important arti¬ cles have also received a critical examination from

3

4

PREFACE.

several others, both clergymen and laymen, in whose competency and fidelity the utmost confidence may ho felt.

The following general principles have been observed in the preparation of this work : —

I. No word is introduced, as the subject of an article, which is not found in the canonical books of the com¬ mon translation of the Bible, and at least one passage is cited in which the 'word occurs. Of course such words as Africa, Apocrypha, Antelope, Apocalypse, Deluge, Dead Sea, &c. are excluded. Any other rule would be too indefinite for practical application.

II. No word is introduced simply for 'the purpose of defining it, unless it has a peculiar scriptural use or signification, which would not be found in a common defining dictionary.

III. Whatever could be regarded as sectarian by any lenomination of evangelical Christians is, of course, scrupulously excluded.

IV. No word is admitted into the body of the diction¬ ary of which all that can be said is found in immediate connexion with the word itself.* For example, Ann (Gen x vi. 21) is mentioned as one of the sons of Ben¬ jamin ; and as the passage itself contains all that can De said of him, the word is omitted.

V. The leading articles embrace, as far as practicable the various topics that properly fall under it. For ex¬ ample : under the word Dwelling^ will be found the principal facts in relation to the structure of eastern

* At the end of our Scripture Biographical Dictionary will be found a perfect catalogue of all the proper names which occur in the Scriptures, with the pronunciation of each, and a reference to one or more passages in which it occurs.

PREFACE,

5

houses, as the court, roof, windows, doors, parlours, chambers, &c., so that the article is in itself a concise history of the subject. The various topics are gene¬ rally distinguished, however, by putting the principal words in italics, thus enabling the reader to select them at pleasure. — So of the articles, Arms, Book, Burial, Clothes, Feasts, Hebrews, Sacrifices, &c.

VI. Though each article is complete in itself, and as full as it may be in a work of this size, we hope that most biblical inquirers are disposed to seek still farther information. This, we apprehend, is afforded in a good degree by other publications of the society, which are or may be within the reach of all. To the particular volume from which such farther information may be obtained, reference is made in the proper place ; and the society’s name is repeated in connexion with each refer¬ ence — 1st, Because there are sometimes several works extant with like titles, only one of which is published by us ; and, 2dly, Because each article, with all its refer¬ ences, being distinct and independent, should be as ex¬ plicit as any other.

By this feature of the work, instead of burdening the student with folios of unprofitable learning, we open to him very copious fountains of biblical knowledge on the cheapest terms, in the simplest and most available form, and of a character supposed to be unexceptionable to every evangelical mind.

VII. We have made all practicable use of the infor¬ mation furnished by modern travellers in the east, and especially by Ame^can missionaries, to whose journals frequent references will be found. In every case where the testimony of known and living witnesses could be brought, to give present existence and reality to distant times and places, we have not failed to introduce it.

1*

6

PREFACE.

VIII. It is confidently believed that in no volume of the kind are there fewer errors in references. Great care was taken to have the copy accurate in this re¬ spect ; the proofs were read by the author, and at the same time by a very accurate and experienced proof¬ reader, and by both was every reference carefully ex¬ amined by the Bible ; and since the work was stereo¬ typed the whole has been read again, and every refer¬ ence re-examined and compared with the Bible.

DICTIONARY

or THE

HOLY BIBLE,

AAR

ARON, (Ex. vi. 20,) the first high priest of the Jews, was the son of Amram, of the tribe of Levi, and was born about the year 2430. He was three years older than his brother Moses, and being a more ready speaker, he was appointed by the Lord to assist Moses in guiding and controlling the Israelites, in their journey from Egypt to Canaan.

The relation which Aaron sustained was thus expressed by tlis Lord to MoseB: — He shall be thy spokesman unto the people. He shall be to thee instead of a mouth , and thou shalt be to him instead of God. (Ex. iv. 16.) I have made thee a God to Pharaoh ; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (Ex. vii. 1.)

Aaron married Elisheba,the daughter of Amniinadab, and had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The two former were punished with death for a heinous sin, and the priesthood remained in the other two. (See Abihu.)

As most of the important events in the life of Aaron are intimately connected with his brother’s history, they will be reserved for that article. (See I

aAR

Moses.) Those in which Aa¬ ron was only or principally concerned, are briefly the fol¬ lowing.

At an early period after the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, Aaron and his sons were set apart by God’s direction, and with the most solemn ceremonies; to minister in the priest’s office, which Aaron continued to fill until his death. (Heb. v. 4.)

Before his consecration, and while Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people became impa¬ tient, and besought Aaron to make them idol gods. Ha thereupon commanded them to break off the golden ear¬ rings of their wives and child¬ ren ; which being collected and brought to Aaron, ha made out of them an idol in fine shape of a calf, like one of the idols of Egypt. Before this image the people danced and shouted, saying,— These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. This act, and the aggravating circum stances connected with it, (Ex. xxxii. 25,) involved Aa ron in great guilt. His two sons, Nadab and Abihu, wera

AAR

goon afterwards destroyed in a most sudden and fearful manner. At a later period, Aaron, with his sister Miriam, spoke reproachfully concern¬ ing Moses, and God was very angry with him ; but upon the confession of his sin, he was pardoned. (See Miriam.)

Korah and others were of¬ fended with Moses and Aaron, and charged them with taking upon themselves authority which belonged as much to others as to them. Moses expostulated with them, and especially with Korah ; but his remonstrance was all in vain, and the next day the rebel and his companions were suddenly destroyed. (See Korah.)

Immediately after this fear¬ ful exhibition of the anger of God,\ and while we should suppose the terror of such judgments would still possess their minds, the people of Israel renewed their murmur- ines against Moses and Aaron. (Num. xvi. 41.) A dreadful plague having appeared sud¬ denly in the nndst of them, which threatened the people with utter and immediate de¬ struction, Aaron, at the com¬ mand of Moses, took a censer with incense, and ran quickly info the midst of the congre-

fation, and stood between the iving and the dead, until he had made an atonement for them, and the plague was stayed. (Num. xvi. 44—50.)

A signal attestation was granted to Aaron’s official authority in the folio wing manner. Twelve rods or branches of the almond tree were taken, one for the head of each house, or tribe, of Is¬ rael ; and upon the rod of the tribe of Levi was written the name of Aaron. The rods were laid together in a parti¬ cular place in the tabernacle ; and the next day, wnen Moses

AAR

went into the tabernacle, the rod which had Aaron’s name upon it “ was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloom¬ ed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” This wonderful miracle was made known to the people by an exhibition of the rod ; but it was imme¬ diately taken back into the tabernacle, to be kept there for ever ,/or a token against the rebels, (or the children qf rebellion.') (Num. xvii. 10.)

When the supply ol water was miraculously furnished in the desert of Zin, Aaron neglected to acknowledge the power of God, and for this was denied the privilege of entering into the promised land. In the fortieth year after he had left Egypt, he was commanded to go up with Moses his brother, and Elea- zar his son, into mount Hor, in sight of all the congrega¬ tion, that he might die there. (Num. xx. 128.) The place of Aaron’s death is called Mo- sera, in Deut. x. 6 ; but the same spot is denoted in both passages. Burckhardt tells us that mount Hor stands upon the western side of a valley once called Mosera. Josephus and other historians place the sepulchre of Aaron on mount Hor, where it is still vene¬ rated by the Arabs. A modern traveller visited the place, and found the supposed tomb in the care of a crippled Arab, eighty years old. The mo- nument is about three feet high, and is protected by a small, white building, with a cupola. (See Hor.)

The circumstances of Aa¬ ron’s death are peculiarly interesting and impressive On his way to the mount his official robes were transferred to his son and successor in the priesthood, ahd he died In the top of the mount, B. c. 1451, aged one hundred and

ABA

twenty-three vears. (Num. xxxiii. 39.) When Moses and _ Eleazar came down, and the ’ people saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for him thirty days, §ven all the house of Israel. (Num. xx. 29.)

Aaron is called the saint of the Lord. (Ps. cvi. 16.) Some have supposed that he assist¬ ed Moses in writing parts of the Pentateuch, and“thus they account for any supposed dif¬ ference of style, &c. His his¬ tory is given us in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Num¬ bers, and Deuteronomy.

AARONITES. (1 Chron. Xii. 27.) Levites of the family of Aaron: the priests who served the sanctuary. Elea¬ zar, Aaron’s son, was their chief. (Num. iv. 16.)

AB. (See Month.)

ABADDON. (Rev. ix. 11.) The Hebrew name for the anjrel of the bottomless pit, and answering to the Greek name Apollyon. They both signify the destroyer.

ABANA. (2 Kings v. 12.) A river of Syria, near Damas¬ cus, supposed to be one of the branches of the Barradi, or Chrysorrhoas. It rises at the foot of mount Lebanon; di¬ vides into several small streams eastward of Damas¬ cus, watering the whole coun¬ try in the vicinity ; then they unite again, and the river continues its course till it empties into a small marshy lake, fifteen or twenty miles distant from the city.

This and the river Pharpar Supplied an abundance of wa¬ ter, and rendered the country around Damascus, though on the edge of a desert, one of the most beautiful and fertile spots in the world ; while the streams of Judea or Israel, with the exception of the Jor¬ dan, are nearly dry the greater rtof the year, and, running deep and rocky channels,

ABE

give but partial fertility to the land through which they flow. This may well account for the question of Naaman:— “Are not Abana and Ph arpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel 1” ABARIM. (Deut. xxxii. 49.) A general name given to a mountainous ridge, running from north to south, east of Jordan, and before the north¬ ern border of Moab. Nebo was one of the conspicuous mountains in the chain, and Pis^ah was one of the highest of the summits of Nebo. 1'he modern mount Dhana is sup-

ffosed to be a part of Abarim. je-abarim. (Num. xxi. 11,) meaning “heaps of Abarim,” is another name for the same chain.

ABBA. (Rom. viii. 15.) The Hebrew word ab, from which abba is derived, signifies, in its root, acquiescence. The title, abba, was not allowed to be used by servants or slaves when addressing the head of the family, — a circumstance which gives much force to the term in the passage cited.* The full meaning of this term cannot be expressed in our language. It implies a high degree of love, confidence, and suBmission, as well as a most endeared and intimate con¬ nexion and fellowship. (Mark xiv. 36. Gal. iv. 6.) The word ab (meaning father) is men¬ tioned as one of the first and simplest words of infancy. (Isa. viii. 4.)

ABEDNEGO. (Dan. i. 7.) The Chaldee name which was given by an officer of the kina of Babylon to Azariah, one of the four children or youths of Judah, taken captive at Jeru Salem about the year 3398, and ordered by the king to be trained fir his partic alar ser¬ vice. (See Daniel.) It was customary for masters to give new names to their servants

ABE

pr captives. The other three were, Daniel, (or Belteshaz- rar,) Hananiah,(or Shadrach,) and'Mishael, (or Meshach.)

After Daniel’s promotion to be ruler over the whole pro¬ vince of Babylon, his three companions were, at his re¬ quest, elevated to places of trust. Nebuchadnezzar the king saw fit to make a golden image; and having dedicated it with great pomp, be com¬ manded that, at a certain sig¬ nal, the people of all nations and languages should fall down and worship the image, and that those who refused should be cast into the midst of a burning furnace. In this act of idolatry, Shadrach, Me¬ shach, and Abednego would not unite, though commanded by the king himself. They replied that they were Dot anxious to answer the king in this matter, as the God whom they loved and served was able to deliver them, to what¬ ever extremity they might be reduced.

The king was filled with fury, and commanded the fur¬ nace to be heated sevenfold Hotter than was usual ; and ihe strongest men were em¬ ployed to bind them, and cast them into the flames. Strong men were ordinarily employ¬ ed for this purpose, to meet any resistance that might be attempted ; but some think that the phrase “ most mighty men,” used here, means the chief officers of the army, who were selected to make the punishment more imposing and exemtdary.

With all their garments on, they were cast into the fur¬ nace, and so intense was the heat that the executioners were destroyed by it. The king was present to witness the execution of the sentence ; and, though the three men at first fell down bound in the

ABE

midst of the flumes, yet when he looked, expecting to sea them destroyed, he beheld them loosed from their bonds; walking unhurt in the midst of the fire, and a fourth person with them whose form was “ like the Son of God.” This was the king’s language, and whatever he might have in¬ tended by the term, “ Son of God,” the fourth person, to whom he refers, was probably an angel of God, sent for this purpose, as he was afterwards sent to shut the mouths of lions for the protection of his servant Daniel; or it might have been the eternal and uncreated Son of God, appear¬ ing to protect and deliver his faithful servants in the time of their calamity. (Matt, xxviil. 20.)

Upon the call of the king from the mouth of the furnace, these three servants of the most high God came forth, in the presence of the princes and rulers of the country; and so completely had they been protected by the mighty power in which they trusted, that not a hair was singed ; the colour of their coats was not changed, nor Was there even the smell of fire upon them.

The monarch, astonished at this evident interposition of the Almighty in their behalf, forthwith passed a decree, threatening to punish in the severest manner any one who should speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; because (said he) there is no other God that can deliver after this sort; and the men were restored to their places in the province. (Dan. lii.)

ABEL (Gen. iv. 2) was the second son of Adam and Eve. He was occupied as a keeper or feeder of sheep; and in process of time brought of the firstlings, or first-fruits of his

ABE

flock, an offering unto the Lord. It is supposed that be¬ sides a thank-offering, Abel brought a sin-offering, and thus evinced his penitent sense of sin, as well as his faith in a promised Saviour. This may be a reasonable conjecture, but has not scrip¬ tural authority. God was pleased, however, to accept nls offering, and to give him evidence of it. (Heb. xi. 4.) Not so with Cain. Either his sacrifice, or the manner of presenting it, was offensive to God, and the offering was re¬ jected. (1 John iii. 12.) Cain was exceedingly angry, and. filled with envy, he embraced an opportunity when they were in the field together, to take his brother’s life. (Gen. iv.)

Our Saviour distinguishes Abel by the title righteous , (Matt, xxiii. 35.) He is also one of the faithful “ elders” mentioned in the epistle to the Hebrews, (ch. xi.) and is justly called the first martyr.

Blood of Abel. (Heb. xii. 24.) The blood of sprinkling, or the blood of Jesus Christ shed for the remission of sins, speaks better things than the blood of Abel, inasmuch as the latter speaks only of the malice and madness of the heart of man, and cried to God from the ground for ven¬ geance on the murderer’s head ; while the blood iof Christ, which flowed freely for the guilty and ruined sin¬ ner, speaks peace and pardon for every penitent and believ¬ ing soul. (1 John i. 7.)

.. ABEL— GREAT STONE OF, (1 Sam. vi. 18,) was in the field of JcshuaofBeth-shemesh, where the. ark of the Lord rested when it was returned by the Philistines to Kirjath-jearim.

ABEL-BETH-MAACHAH, (2 Kings xv. 29,) a city in the northern district of the tribe

ABE

of Naphtali, lying south-east of Cesarea-Philippi. To this place Sheba, the son of Bichri, fled and posted himself, when pursued by Joab, general of the army of David. The citizens, however, who feared a siege if they harboured him, cut off his head, at the suggestion of a wo man, and threw it over the wall to Joab. (2 Sam. xx. 14—22.) The city was afterwards cap lured, (1 Kings xv. 20. 2 Kings xv. 29.) Perhaps the phrase mother in Israel, (2 Sam xx. 19,) if it was designed to apply to the place at all, may denote its size and im¬ portance.

ABEL-MAIM (2 Chron. xvi. 4) is called Abel-Beth-maa- chah, (1 Kings xw 20,) and ap¬ pears to have been the same place. (See Abel-beth-jhaa-

CHAH.)

ABEL-MEHOLAH. (Judg. vii. 22. 1 Kings xix. 16.) A town in the plain of Jordan, about ten miles south of Beth- shean, and between that and Shechem; distinguished as the birthplace of Elisha, and as the refuge of the Midianilcs when pursued by Gideon.

ABEL-M1Z RAIM (Gen. 1. 11) means the mourning of the Egyptians. It was pro¬ bably in the plains of Jericho, and is placed by ancient writers between the city of Jericho and the river Jordan. The threshing-floor of Atad was here, and the name Abel- mizraim was derived from the circumstance, that here Jo¬ seph and his company halted seven days to mourn, as they were passing from Egypt to Canaan to bury Jacob. (Gen. 1. 10, 11.) The term “ beyond Jordan,” which is used In describing the place, refers to the situation of the sacred writer at the time of writing. As he was on the east of the river, Abel-mizraim was be¬ yond or on the west side.

II

AB1 ABI

ABEL-SHITTIM, or Shit- i Keilah, and told him what Tim. (Num. xxxiii. 49; xxv. Saul had done. David re- 1.) A town, six or sevenmiies 1 ceived Abiathar, and protected distant from the east bank of , him, and he afterwards be*

the Jordan, opposite to Jeri¬ cho. It was the place of one of the last encampments of Israel, on that side of the river. Some have supposed (and modern geographers con¬ firm the opinion) that Shittim was a village, and Abel-shiltim the plain or valley in which it was situated. It was at this place, almost at the end of their miraculous jour- neyings, that the people of Israel fell into the snares of the daughters of Moab, and committed the grossest idola¬ ry, for which they were visit¬ ed with a desolating plague which destroyed 24,000 people. Hence, perhaps, the name Adel, from the mourning that such mortality must have oc¬ casioned. The spies whom Joshua sent to Jericho went from Shittim. (Josh. ii. 1.)

ABIA, course op. (Luke i. S.) In 1 Chron. xxiv. we have an account of the divisions of the priests into twenty-four classes, courses, or orders, who ministered atthe altar in rotation. The courses were distinguished by the name of the most prominent member of the family from which the course was taken. The eighth of these courses fell to the family of Abia, or Abijah : and to this course belonged Ze- chariah, the father of John the Baptist.

ABIATHAR. (1 Sam. xxii. 20.) The tenth high priest of the Jews, and fourth in descent from Ell. Doeg, at the com¬ mand of king Saul, fell upon the priests of the Lord at Nob, and slew them. Among the slain was Ahimelech. His son Abiathar escaped from the carnage, and taking with

came high priest. Thus there were two high priests in Israel at the same time,— Abiathar in the parly of David, andZadok in the party of Saul, (2 Sam. viii. 17 ;) but in consequence cf his supporting Adonijah in his pretensions to the throne of David, Solomon, upon be¬ coming king, thrust Abiathar out of the priesthood, (1 Kings ( ii. 27,) and conferred the office exclusively upon Zadok. (See Zadok.) Thus was fulfilled the word of G od to Eli, (1 Sam. ii. 31 ;) for Abiathar was the last of the priests of the house of Ithamar, to which Eli be¬ longed ; and Zadok, who suc¬ ceeded him, was of the family of Eleazar ; and so the priest¬ hood passed into its lormer channel. Abiathar, mention¬ ed in Mark ii. 26, has been supposed by some to be the same with Ahimelech. Others have thought (though without much reason) that the evan¬ gelist refers to some “ history of the days of Abiathar” then extant, in which the conduct of David and Ahimelech in the matter of the shew-bread was recorded, and that the allusion was well understood by those who heard it. The most pro¬ bable solution of the difficulty is, that as both officiated at the same time, and both received the title, the name of either was used to designate that period. The facts to which the gospel alludes, in the pas¬ sage cited, are fully stated in 1 "Sam. xxi. (See Life op David, by the American Suds' day-school Union, pp. 85—87, and 104.)

ABIEZER. (Judg. viii 2.) The passage contains a highly figurative expression. Gideon

. to 7 — ■ t ia.ii ngui v v uapj uuuiuu, va i i-i mill

him some part of the priest’s was of the family of Abiezer. garments, fled to David at I The Ephraimites complained

12

ABI

because they were not called upon to go out to battle against the Midianites. Gideon at¬ tempted to pacify them ; re¬ presenting his own victory, with a force of three hundred men chiefly of the family of Abiezer, as of very little im¬ portance, in comparison with the capture of 'two of the princes of Midian, which the men of Ephraim had accom¬ plished. Though the latter, in respect to numbers, might be as the gleaning of the vine¬ yard, yet in the glory and im¬ portance of it, it was more than the whole vintage which the men of Abiezer had gathered.

ABIGAIL. (1 Sam. xxv. 3.) The wise and beautiful wife of the churlish and wicked Na- bal. When her husband had exposed himself to the anger of David, by his rude and con¬ temptuous treatment of his messengers, Abigail hastened to meet him, while he was on his way with four hundred men to revenge the insult. She managed the affair with so much prudence as to pacify David, and obtain his blessing. About ten days after her re¬ turn, the Lord visited Nabal with sickness, and he died, and Abigail became David’s wife. A beautiful sketch of this portion of sacred history may be found in the Life of David, by the American Sun¬ day-school Union, ch. xv.

ABIHU. (Ex. xxviii. 1.) One of the sons of Aaron, who, with his brothers, Na- dab, Eleazar, and Ithamar, were separated or set apart by God to the office of the priesthood. Soon after they entered on their sacred du¬ ties, Nadab and Abihu were guilty of a violation of God’s commands, respecting the manner of offering incense, and were instantly consumed. (Lev. x. 1, 2.) This event

ABI

happened in the wilderness of Sinai. The»nature of their offence is very obvious ; they used common fire instead of the fire which they were required to use ; and some suppose they were drawn into this presumptuous sin by the too free use of wine.

ABUAH. 1. (1 Kings xiv. 1-) A son of Jeroboam, who died under interesting circum¬ stances, in early life. (See Jeroboam.) 2. (2 Chron. xiii.

1. ) Abijah or ABIJAM, the son of Kehoboam and Mi chaiah, succeeded his father as king of Judah. He made war against Jeroboam, king of Israel, and defeated him, with a loss of 500,000 men. He began to reign in the 18th year of Jeroboam, and was succeeded by his son Asa in the 20th year of Jeroboam, so that he reigned only a part of three years. There is an apparent contradiction in respect to the parentage of this person, as it is given in 1 Kines xv. 2, and 2 Citron, xiii.

2, which may be explained as fol’ows. Abiehalom is the same with Absalom. (2 Chron. xi. 21.) Ttie term daughter is aiven indifferently in the Bible, not only to one’s own child, but to a niece, grand¬ daughter, or great-grand¬ daughter. Rehoboam had al¬ ready taken two wives from the family of David, (2 Chron. xi. 18,) and of course would find no difficulty in taking a third wife from the same family, in the line of Absalom. We have only to suppose then that Maachah and Michaiah mean the same person; and that she was the daughter of Uriel, and the grand,daughter of Absalom, and the whole difficulty is removed.

ABILENE. (Luke iii. 1.) A province of Syria, lyiDg west of Damascus and north of 13

AB1

Galilee, of which Lysanias was tetrarch ia the time of John the BaptiSt.

ABIMELECH, 1. (Gen. xx.

2, and xxvi. 1,) was king of Gerar, and being deceived by Abraham, he sent and took Sarah, Abraham’s wife, to be his wife. God warned him, however, in a dream, of Sa¬ rah’s relation to Abraham, and thus withheld him from the commission of sin, because he did it in ignorance. (Gen. xx. 6.) Abimelech, having rebuked Abraham, restored Sarah to him with many gifts, and offered him a dwelling- place in any part of the land. God afterwards remitted the punishment of the family of Abimelech. At a subsequent period, Abimelech (or his successor of the same name) was deceived, in like manner, by Isaac, respecting his wife Rebekah, while they dwelt in Gerar during a time of famine in Canaan.

2. (Judg. viii. 31.) A son of Gideon, who, after the death of his father, persuaded the men of Shechem to make him king. (Judg. ix. 18.) He after- warils put to death seventy of his brothers who dwelt in his father's house at Ophrah, leaving only Jotham, the youngest, alive. After several defeats he was at last mortally wounded by a piece of a mill¬ stone thrown upon his head by a woman from the top of a tower in Thebez. That it might not be said a woman slew him, he called to his ar¬ mour-bearer to stab him with his sword, and thus he died. (Judg. ix. 54—57.)

AEINADAB. 1. (1 Sam. xvi. 8.) One of the eight sons of Jesse, and one of the three of his sons who followed Saul in battle.

2. (1 Sam. xxxi. 2.) One of

AB1

Sau/s ions who was slain ai the batule of Gilboa.

3. (1 Sum. vii. 1, and 1 Chron. xiii. 7.) A Levite of Kirjath-jearim,with whom the ark of the Lord was deposited when it was brought back from the Philistines.

4. (1 Kings iv. 11.) One of the twelve officers appointed by Solomon to provide alter nately, month by month, food for the king and his house hold.

ABIRAM. 1. (Num. xvi. 1.) One of the sons of Eliab, the Reubenitej who were destroy ed with Korah for a conspi racy against Moses. (See Korah.)

2. (1 Kings xvi. 34.) The first-born of Kiel, the Bethel- ite.

ABISHAG. (1 Kings i. 15.) A fair woman of Shunem in the tribe of Issachar, who was selected by the servants of David to minister to him in his old age, and to cherish him. After David’s death and the ascension of Solomon to the throne, Adonijah desired Abishag in marriage, but So¬ lomon perceived fiis policy, (see Adonijah,) and caused hint to be put to death. (1 Kings ii. 25.)

ABlSHAI. (2 Sam. ii. 18.) A son of Zeruiah. He was a nephew of David, and among the chief of his mighty men. He accompanied David to the camp of Saul, and counselled him to take Saul’s life. See a full account of this interesting scene, with an illustrative en¬ graving, in the Life op Da¬ vid, by the American Sunday- school Union, chap. xvi.

Abishai, with Joab his bro¬ ther, attacked and defeated the Syrians and the children of Ammon. (2 Sam. x.) David appointed him, in conjunction with Joab and lttai, to the command of the people whe#

ABN

they went forth to battle against Israel, in the wood of Ephraim. (2 Sam. xviii. 2.)

Abiehai afterwards rescued David from the giant Philis¬ tine Ishbi-benob, whom he smote and killed. (2 Sam. xxi. 16, 17.)

The victory over the Edom¬ ites in the valley of Salt, which is ascribed to David, (2 Sam. viii. 13,) is ascribed to Abishai,(l Chron. xviii. 12.) Probably Abishai actually ob¬ tained the victory, but as he was an officer under David, it might also with propriety be spoken of as David’s achieve¬ ment.

Abishai was associated with Joab in the assassination of Abner. (2 Sam. iii. 30.)

ABJECTS. (Ps. xxxv. 15.) Low, base persons, and, as some suppose, hired assas¬ sins.

ABNER, (1 Sam. xiv. 50,) the son of Ner, was a near relation of Saul, and a faithful and distinguished general of flis armies. We first hear of him, particularly, as the cap¬ tain of the host, of whom Saul inquired concerning the stripling, David, whose vic¬ tory over Goliath had excited his astonishment; and after a little time Abner introduced David to Saul, with the head of the giant Philistine in his band.

It was through the want of vigilance in Abner that Saul’s life was placed in David’s

ower in the wilderness of

iph. (1 Sam. xxvi. See Da¬ vid, Saul.)

After David was anointed king of Judah, Abner pro¬ cured the appointment of Ish- boshelh, Saul’s son, as king of Israel ; and in process of time the army of David, under Joab, and the army of Israel, under Abner, arrayed them¬ selves on either side of the pool of Gibeon. While occu-

ABN

pying this position, twelve men of each army met and fought desperately. This con¬ test was followed by a general battle, which resulted in Ab¬ ner’s defeat. He fled, but was pursued by Asahel, who “ was light of foot as a wild roe.” When in the heat of pursuit, Abner counselled him to de¬ sist, and threatened to turn upon him and slay him if he did not; but Asahel refused to turn aside, and Abner “ with the hinder end of his spear” smote him so that he died. Joab and Abishai were also engaged in the pursuit, but at Abner’s entreaty they desisted and returned.

As David’s strength in¬ creased, the house' of Saul, though faithfully served by Abner, became gradually weaker, till at length Ishbo- sheth charged Abner with an offence against Saul’s family. He was exceedingly irritated by the charge, and imme¬ diately forsook the interests of Saul’s house, and espoused the cause of David. David received him cordially, and sent him away in peace to

Eirsuade Israel to submit to avid’s government.

While' he was gone on this errand, Joab returned ; and hearing what had been done, he went to the king, and warned him against Abner as a spy and traitor. Soon after, and without David’s know¬ ledge, Joab sent for Abner; ana when he arrived, tools him aside privately, and mur dered him, in revenge of the death of his brother Asahel ; and they buried him in He¬ bron.

The estimation in which he was held by the king and people appears from the sa¬ cred history. The king wept and refused his food, and all the people wept; and the king said unto his servants, Know 15

ABO

j« not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel ? (2 Sam. iii. 3S.)

ABOMINABLE, ABOMI¬ NATION. 1. (Gen. xlvi. 34.) An abomination, or an abomi¬ nable thing, is a thing hateful or detestable, as the employ¬ ment or calling of shepherds was to the Egyptians. 2. (Lev. xi. 13, and Deut. xxiii. 18.) Under the Mosaic law those animals and acts are called abominable, the use or doing of which was prohibited. 3. (Jer. xliv. 4, and 2 Kings xxiii. 13.) Idolatry of every kind is especially denoted by this term. 4. (Isa. lxvi. 3.) Sins in general.

The abomination of deso- I.ation (Matt. xxiv. 15, and Dan. ix. 27, and xii. 11) pro¬ bably refers to the ensigns or banners of the Roman army, with the idolatrous, and there¬ fore, abominable images upon them, as in the annexed cut,

w« n the cityof its desolation. W„en the city should be be-

ABR

sieged, and these idolatrous standards should be seen “in the holy place,” or more strictly, in the vicinity of the holy city, thus threatening a complete conquest and speedy destruction, it would be time for the men of Judea to flee to places of refuge to save themselves from tribu¬ lation and death.

ABRAM, ABRAHAM, (Gen. xi. 27,) was the son of Teralu and was born at Ur, a city of Chaldea, the location of which is uncertain, about a. m. 2008. While he was dwelling in his father’s house at Ur, God di¬ rected him to leave his coun¬ try and kindred, and go to a land which should be shown him ; promising, at the same time, to make of him a great nation, and to bless him, and to make his name great, and that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed.

Obedient to the heavenly calling, Abram took SaraiJiis wife, and with Terah his fa¬ ther, and other members of the family, left Ur to remove to Canaan ; and stopped at Haran.

It is supposed by some that while theydwelt in Ur, Abram fell into the idolatrous prac¬ tices which prevailed around him ; but in the absence of all evidence on this point, the contrary may surely be infer¬ red from the readiness with which he obeyed God, and the faith he manifested in a man¬ ner so exemplary and rare.

While they were dwelling at Haran, in Mesopotamia, Terah died. Abram, who was then seventy-five years old, pursued his journey to Canaan ; and having reach ed Sichem, one of the oldest cities of Palestine, (see She chem,) the Lord appeared to him, and repeated his pro mise to givo him the land, 16

ABR

A grievous famine soon vi¬ sited the country, and Abram was obliged to go into Egypt. Fearful that Sarai’s beauty might attract the notice of the Egyptians, and that if they supposed her to be his wife, they would kill him to secure her, he proposed that she should pass for his sister. It happened as he expected. The servants of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, commended her beauty so much, that he sent for her, and took her into his house, and loaded Abram with tokens of his favour ; but the Lord punisheu him se¬ verely, so that he sent away Abram and his wife, and all that he had.

Having become very rich in cattle, silver, and gold, he re¬ turned from Egypt, to Canaan. Lot, his nephew, had been with him, and shared his pros¬ perity ; and it happened that his servants fell into some strife with the servants of Abram. As it was evident that their property was too great for tnem to dwell to¬ gether, Abram, though in every respect entitled to defe¬ rence, generously proposed to his nephew to avoid contro¬ versy by an amicable separa¬ tion. He offered Lot his choice of the territory, on the right or left, as it pleased him. A rare illustration of meekness and condescension. Lot chose to remove to the eastward, and occupy that part of the fertile plain of Jordan where Sodom and Gomorrah stood.

Then the Lord appeared again to Abram, and renewed the promise of the land of Canaan, as his inheritance, in the most explicit manner. He thence removed his tent to the plain of Mamre in He¬ bron. In an invasion of the cities of the plain by several of the petty kings of the ad¬ joining provinces, Sodom was

ABR

taken, and Lot and his family carried captive. When Abram received intelligence of it, he armed his trained servants, born in his house, (three hun¬ dred and eighteen in num¬ ber,) pursued the kings, and defeated them, and brought Lot and his family and their substance back to Sodom ; re¬ storing to liberty the captives who had been taken, with all their property, of which he generously refused to take any part, as the reward of his services or as the spoils of victory. On his return he was met by Melchisedek king of Salem, and priest of the most high God, to whom he gave a tenth of all that he had. (See Melchisedek.)

Two or three years after this the Lord appeared again to Abram in a vision ; repeat¬ ed to him the promises, and accompanied them with the most gracious declaration of his favour. He appointed a certain sacrifice for him to offer, and towards night caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, attended by a hor¬ ror of great darkness’, during which there were revealed to him some of the most import¬ ant events in his future his¬ tory, and in that of his pos¬ terity, which were all accom¬ plished in due time, and with wonderful exactness.

The revelation related, 1. To the captivity of Israel by the Egyptians, and their se¬ vere and protracted bondage ; 2. To the judgments which Egypt should suffer because of their oppressions of God’s chosen people, and the cir¬ cumstances under which they should leave Egypt ; 3. To Abram’s death and burial : and, 4. To the return of his posterity to the promised

In the same day the cove¬ nant respecting the land of

ABR

promise was renewed, and confirmed with the strongest expressions of divine favour. Sarai however was childless, and she proposed to Abraham that Hagar, an Egyptian wo¬ man living with them, should be his wife; by whom he had a son whom he called Ishmael.

At ninety-nine years of age, he was favoured with another most remarkable vision. The Almighty was revealed to him in such a manner that he was filled with awe and fell upon his face, and we are told that “ God talked with him.” The promise respecting the great increase of his posterity, and their character and relation to God, as well as respecting the possession of Canaan, was repeated in the most solemn and explicit terms ; his name was changed from Abram (a high father) to Abraham, (fa¬ ther of a great multitude,) and the circumcision ofevery male child, at eight days old, was established as a token of the covenant between him and God. (See Circumcised.) At the same time the name of Sarai (my princess) was changed to Sarah, ( the prin¬ cess,) and a promise was given to Abraham that Sarah Should have a son, and be the mother of nations and kings.

It seemed so entirely out of the course of nature that they should become parents at their advanced age, that Abraham, filled with reverence and joy¬ ful gratitude, fell upon hi s face, and said in his heart, Shall a child be bom unto him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear ?

Nevertheless against hope he believed in hope, and being not weak in faith he staggered not at the promise of Goa, but was fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform ; and his faith

ABK

was imputed to him for right¬ eousness. (Rom. iv. 18 — 22.)

Abraham, finding that the blessings of the covenant were to be bestowed on his future offspring, immediately thought of Ishmael, in whom he had probably before sup¬ posed the promises were to be fulfilled, and he uttered the solemn and affecting prayer — O that Ishmael might live before thee. God heard him, and almost while he was yet speaking, answered him by making known to him his great purposes respecting Ish¬ mael. (Gen. xvii. 20, and xxy. 16.)

As soon as the vision had closed, Abraham hastened to obey the divine command, and with Ishmael his son, and all the men of his house, was circumcised in the self same day. He was not long with¬ out another divine communi¬ cation. As he sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day, three men approached him. He received them with all the courtesy and hospi¬ tality which distinguished eastern manners, and after they had refreshed themselves they inquired of him respect¬ ing Sarah, and repeated the promise respecting the birth of her son.

It was on this occasion, or in connexion with these cir¬ cumstances, that a divine tes¬ timony was given to the patri¬ archal character of Abraham. (Gen. xviii. 19.) It was be¬ cause of his faithfulness that he was favoured with a reve¬ lation of God’s purposes, re¬ specting the devoted cities of tne plain, and with an oppor¬ tunity to plead for them ; and it was for Abraham’s sake, and probably in answer to his prayers, that Lot and his family were rescued from the sudden destruction which came qpon Sodom.

ABE

After this, Abraham re¬ moved to Gerar, and here he made a second attempt to have Sarah taken for his sister. (See Abimelech.) Here, also, the prediction was fulfilled, respecting the birth of a son. Sarah had a son, whom he call¬ ed Isaac, and who was duly circumcised on the eighth day.

Abraham was much tried by an unhappy occurrence, in which Hagar and Ishmael were principally concerned ; but God supported him by an explicit promise, that in Isaac his seed should be called. (Gen. xxi. 10—13.)

Abraham so obviously had the favour and blessing of God in all that he did, that Abimelech, the king, proposed to make with him a covenant of perpetual friendship; and a matter of wrong about a well, of which Abimelech’s servants had violently de¬ rived Abraham, was thus appily adjusted. This trans¬ action was at a place frhich was thereafter called Beer- stieba — the well of the oath, or the well of swearing. (Gen. xxi. 23-31.)

We now come to one of the most interesting and import¬ ant passages in the patri¬ arch’s history. God was about to try him, that he might ex¬ hibit to the world, in all fol¬ lowing time, an illustrious ex¬ ample of the power of faith. He was commanded to take nis son— his only son Isaac, whom he loved, and in whom all the promises of God were to be accomplished— and to offer him up tor a burnt-offer- Insj upon a distant mountain. Without an inquiry or mur¬ muring word, and with a promptness which showed the most entire submission, Abraham obeyed the mysteri¬ ous command. A journey of three days was accomplished. Every preparation for the of-

AER

fering was made, and the knife was in his hand, which was uplifted to slay his son, when his purpose was arrest- ed by a voice from heaven, requiring him to spare the lad ; inasmuch as the proof of the father’s faith ana obe¬ dience was full. A ram was provided in the neighbour¬ ing thicket, which he took and offered up ; and after having been favoured with special tokens of the divine approbation, he returned with his son to Beersheba. This grand trial and illustration of the patriarch’s faith took place, as it is supposed, upon Mount Moriah. (See Jerusa¬ lem & Map.) In commemora¬ tion of it, he gave to the place the name Jehovahjireh , (the Lord will see or provide,) inti¬ mating a general truth re- specting the divine faithful¬ ness and care ; and in pro¬ phetical allusion, as soma suppose, to the great sacrifice which, in fulness of time, was to be offered upon that same spot for the sins of men. (Gen. xxii. 14.) ,

At the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years Sarah died, and Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, near Hebron, for a family burial-place, and there buried his wile.

Isaac had now arrived at mature age, and Abraham called one of his servants, probably Eliezer, (Gen. xv. 2,) and made him swear that he would obtain a wife for Isaac, not among the Canaanites, (where they then dwelt, and who were to be cut off accord¬ ing to the revealed purpose of God,) but in Abraham’s na¬ tive country, and from among his own kindred. This enter¬ prise terminated successfully and every desire of the patri¬ arch respecting Isaac’s mar riage was answered.

ABS

ABS

Abraham married a second time, and had several sons; hut he made Isaac his sole heir, having in his lifetime distributed gifts among the other children, who were now dispersed ; and at the great age of one hundred and se¬ verity-five years he died in

fieace, ana was buried by saac and Ishmael, in the same sepulchre with Sarah, A. m. 2183. (See History of Abraham, by the American Sunday-school Union.)

Abraham’s bosom. (See Bosom.)

ABSALOM (2 Sam. iii. 3) was a son of David, by Maa- eah, daughter of Talmai king »f Geshur. He was remark¬ able for his beauty, and for his hair, which is said to have weighed 200 shekels when cut »tf every year. As to the. pre¬ cise meaning of this weight, however, there has been much speculation. It is supposed that the shekel by which its weight is expressed, means a lighter weight, by one third or one half, than the common shekel. Others suppose that ' the value, and not the weight, is denoted ; and others, still, contend that what with gold- dust and powder, which were both profusely used in dress¬ ing the hair, the weight (sup¬ posing weight to be meant, and the common shekel to be used) is not at all incredible ; being; according to Michaelis, not quite three pounds Troy weight, though it may be sufh- ciently remarkable to be no¬ ticed by the historian.

Absalom had a fair sister whose name was Tamar ; and Amnon his half-brother having injured her, Absalom was re¬ venged oy taking Amnon’s life at a feast, to which he had invited him, (2 Sam. xiii. 29,) and immediately after this he fled to the house of Talmai, his mother’s father, at Geshur.

Joab, in order to secure Absalom’s return and resto¬ ration to his father’s favour, employed a woman of Tekoa to appear before David, and feign a case similar, in its leading circumstances, to the situation of Absalom, and having obtained his decision, to apply the principle to the real case. After a favourable decision was obtained in the feigned case, the woman began to plead for Absalom’s return. The king immediately sus¬ pected Joab’s concern in the plot, and the woman confessed that it was wholly planned by him.

David, however, directed Joab to go to Geshur, and bring Absalom back to Jeru¬ salem, after an absence of three years ; but his father wouj^l not receive him into favour, nor admit him to his presence ; nor did he see his face for two years more.

Wearied with his banish¬ ment, Absalom often attempted to obtain an interview with Joab ; but for some cause Joab was not disposed to go to him. To compel nim to come , Absa¬ lom resorted to a singular expedient; he directed his servants to set fire to Joab’s fields. Joab immediately came to Absalom ; was persuaded to plead with the king in his behalf ; succeeded in his effort, and Absalom was received into full favour.

But with a proud and wicked heart, he could not cease to do evil. His father’s throne became the object of his am¬ bition, and he procured cha¬ riots and horsemen, and other appendages of rank and roy¬ alty ; and stood in the public places courting the favour of the people by the meanest arts ; persuading them that their rights were not regarded by the government, and that it would be lor their interest 3U

ABS

to elevate him to power, that equal justice might be admi¬ nistered to all. By these and other means, Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Is¬ rael.

In pursuing his wicked and traitorous design, and with a pretended regard to filial duty, he asked his father’s permission to go to Hebron, and pay a vow which he said he had made. The unsuspi¬ cious king consented, and Absalom immediately sent men throughout Israel, who were, at a given signal, to proclaim him king in Hebron.

He also took two hundred men withhim from Jerusalem, though they did not know his plan ; and then sent for Ahithophel, who was David’s counsellor, that he might have his advice and assistance.

Absalom’s party increased rapidly, and intelligence of the conspiracy was“ commu¬ nicated to the king, and so alarmed him, that he fled from tile city.

At length David persuaded Hushai to go to Absalom, who had now come back to Jeru¬ salem with his party, and be¬ come his servant ; and when opportunity occurred, to give such counsel as should defeat Ahithophel’s plans, and bring confusion and discomfiture upon Absalom.

By a train of singular pro¬ vidential interpositions, (an account of which belongs ra- • ther to the life of David, than to this article,) Absalom’s ruin was hastened.

Before David’s men went out to battle with the revolted party, he gave them special charge respecting Absalom, and commanded them to deal gently with him for his father’s sake.

The two parties met in the wood of Ephraim, and the battle was severe and bloody.

ACC

Absalom rode upon a mule, and in passing under the thick boughs of an oak, he was caught by his head in the fork or angle of two branches, and the mule passed onward, leaving him suspended in the air. Joab, one of David’s chief captains, being informed of it, took three darts and thrust them through the heart of Ab¬ salom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak ; and they took his body and cast it into a pit in the wood, and covered it with stones. A. M. 2981.

Absalom, pillar of. (See Pillar, Jerusalem. See also the Life of David, ch. xiii., by the American Sunday-school Union.)

ACCAD. (Gen. x. 10.) A citv in Shinar, built by Nim¬ rod. Modern travellers have intimated the probability that the ruins of this ancient city are to be seen about six miles from the present Bagdad.

ACC HO, now Acc a or Acre, (Judg. i. 31,) or Ptolemais, (so called after the first Ptolemy king of Egypt, into whose hands it fell about one hun¬ dred years before Christ,) was a sea-port town, on the bay of Acre over against mount Car¬ mel, about thirty miles south of Tyre. It was in the terri¬ tory assigned to the tribe of Asher, and one of the cities from which they were unable to expel the Canaanites ; and it is even now considered the strongest place in Palestine. It is mentioned in Acts xxi. 7. Its population is from 10,000 to 15,000, chiefly Jews. The remains of this ancient city are very numerous. Buck¬ ingham, who visited it in ISIS, found several fragments of buildings, that he had no doubt were constructed, in the earliest ages, especially thresholds of doors, and pil¬ lars for galleries or piazzas,

ACH

and slabs of fin marble, which he supposed were used for the pavement of courts. These ruins are now used in the ejection of new buildings, and all appe arances of ancient grandeur are fading away. The place has been noted in modern times for the success¬ ful resistance it made under Sir Sydney Smith to the French army in 1799. In 1932, the place was under the dominion of the pacha of Egypt. (See Geography op the Bible, by the American Sunday school Union, p. 127.)

ACCURSED, CURSED. 1. (Josh. vi. 17.) Devoted to de¬ struction. 2. (1 Cor. xii. 3.) A deceiver. 3. (Gal. i. 8, 9.) Separated from the church. (See Anathema. See also Biblical Antihuities, by the American Sunday-school Union, ch. v. § 1.)

ACELDAMA. (Acts i. 19.) A field for the burial of stran- ers, which the chief priests ought with the money re¬ turned by Judas,, as the price, of the Saviour’s blood. (Matt, xxvii. 6—8.) Hence its name Aceldama, or field of blood. It was just without the wall of Jerusalem, south of mount Zion, and was originally call¬ ed the potter’s fiel3, because it furnished a sort of clay suit¬ able for potter’s ware. Hence, too, the burial-place for stran¬ gers, which is attached to many large cities, is called potter's field. Aceldama is now used as a bury ins- place by the Armenian Christians in Jerusalem. (See Map of Jerusalem, by the American Sunday-school Union.)

ACHAIA. (Acts xviii. 12. Rom. xvi. 5. 2 Cor. xi. 10.) In the most comprehensive use this term was applied to all the region lying south of Thes¬ saly and Macedonia as far as the Morea, and sometimes in¬ cluded the whole of Greece;

ACH

but in a limited use it em¬ braced only the district be¬ tween Macedonia and the Pe¬ loponnesus, of which Corinth was the capital. (See Co¬ rinth.) *

AC HAN, or ACHAR. (Josh, vii. 18.) A son of Carmi, ef the tribe of Judah, who se¬ cretly took and concealed several valuable articles from among the spoils of Jericho, in direct violation of the di¬ vine command. (Josh. vi. 17, 18.) For this sin judgment came upon the whole camp of Israel. (See Joshua.) By a process which God appoint¬ ed, Achan’s guilt was disco¬ vered, and he was taken into a valley north of Jericho, thence called the valley of Achor, (see Achor,) and was there stoned to death.

ACHISH. (1 Sam. xxi. 10.)

A king of Gath, to whom Da¬ vid fled, and with whom he afterwards formed an alli¬ ance, through fear of Saul.

ACHMKTHA. (Ezravi. 2.) The Ecbatana of ancient Me¬ dia, and the place where the records of the kingdom were preserved. The place is oc¬ cupied, as it is supposed, by the modern city Hamadan, in Persia. It was surrounded by seven walls, and at one period was considered the strongest and most beautiful city of the east, except Nineveh and Ba¬ bylon.

ACHOR, valley op. (Hosea ii. 15.) A place in the vicinity of Jericho, where Achan was stoned for an offence which brought trouble upon the whole camp. (See Achan.) The figurative use of the word in the passage cited is sus¬ ceptible of divers interpreta¬ tions. The most common is, that as the valley of Achor was the place of great distress and Double to Israel on their first entrance to Canaan, it would become a place of hope

ACT

and joy on their return from the captivity which they were then enduring. This opinion is perhaps confirmed by Isa. Ixv. 10.

ACHSHAPH. (Josh. xii. 20.) A city conquered by Joshua, and afterwards assigned to the tribe of Asher. It was not for from Accho. (Josh. xix. 25.)

ACHZIB. 1. (Josh. xix. 29.) A city of the tribe of Asher. (Judg. i. 31.) Its present name is Zib. It is found near the seacoast, ten or twelve miles north of Ptoiemais, and was visited by Buckingham in 1816. 2. (Josh. xv. 44, and Mic. i. 14.) A town of Judah.

ACRE. (1 Sam. xiv. 14.) In the passage cited, it is sup¬ posed to be used proverbially for a very small space.

ACTS. The fifth book in the order of the New Testa¬ ment is called “ The Acts of the Apostles,” and is com¬ monly referred to as The Acts, and sometimes Acts— without the article. It is supposed to have been compiled by Luke the evangelist, as early as a.d. 64, and may be regarded as a continuation of his gospel. It was originally written in Greek : and contains the his¬ tory of the Christian church during the interesting period which elapsed from the as¬ cension of our Saviour, to the impriso nmentofPaulatRome —a period of about thirty ears. It contains a minute istory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pen¬ tecost ; the manner and suc¬ cess of the preaching of the apostles ; and the gathering and establishing of Christian churches by them, both among Jews and Gentiles; the con¬ version of Paul, and the tra¬ vels and labours of himself and his companions ; the tri¬ als and sufferings they endur¬ ed in propagating the gospel,

ADA

and the signs and wonders which were wrought in attes¬ tation of their authority.

This book is particularly valuable as containing a vast body of evidence of the divine

Bower and mission of Jesus hrist, and of (lis grace and faithfulness ; by which the re¬ ligion he taught was establish¬ ed and widely propagated, and the salvation offered by his gospel was most clearly and gloriously illustrated.

This book is called by soma of the oldest writers the gos¬ pel of the Holy Ghost, and the gospel of our Saviour’s resur¬ rection.

Many pretended copies of this book, or other records of the apostolic acts, have been introduced to the world ; but have been soon proved to be spurious. The American Sun¬ day-school Union have pub¬ lished, in a very cheap and convenient form, a Help to the study of this book ; which consists in a complete analy¬ sis of each passage, and suck inferences and illustrations as are adapted to the use of the student. It is called Help to the Acts, parts i. and in The fifth volume of the Union Questions, by the American Sunday-school Union, embra¬ ces this book, and the Life op Paul, another of the publica¬ tions of the American Sunday- school Union, may be read with great advantage in connexion with the inspired history.

ADAM. (Gen. ii. 19.) The great ancestor of the human family. On the sixth and last day of the work of creation, man was made of the dust of the ground, yet in God’s image and after his likeness. The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and caused him to become a living soul. He also gave him domi¬ nion over the fish of the sea- and the fowls of the air, and

oo

ADA

every living thing that moves upon the earth. The com¬ plete dominion which was given to him isexpressed in a variety of Wins. (Gen. i. 26 — 30, and ii. 16—20.) Nothing can be more interesting than the history of man’s creation. The fabric of this beautiful world was finished ; the fir¬ mament was established ; the mountains were fixed upon their deep foundations, and to seas and oceans were assign¬ ed the bounds which they should not pass ; the heavens were stretched out like a curtain, and the sun, moon, and stars appointed to their courses. The earth was adorned with grass and herbs and trees, suited for the com¬ fort and .sustenance of the living creatures, cattle, and creeping things that had just commenced their existence upon its surface, and all had been pronounced good by the Infinite Creator himself.

To enjoy this glorious reve¬ lation of divine power, wis¬ dom, and goodness — to have dominion over this vast multi¬ tude of living creatures, and more than all to be the happy subject of God’s government —bearing his image and like¬ ness, and having communion with him, as the former of his body and the father of his spirit, man was formed ; not born, but created — not in fee¬ ble, helpless infancy, but in the maturity of his physical and intellectual nature ; not a sinful, diseased, dying crea¬ ture, but in the image and after the likeness of the perfectly holy and eternal Creator.

... A creature, who, not prone And brute as other creatures, but en* dued

With sanctity of reason, might erect his stature —

And upright, with front serene,

Bovern the rest — self-knowing : and from thence

Ifagnanimous to correspond with hea¬ ven.

ADA

A gar len was planted by the hand of God for the residence of Adam. Every tree that was pleasant to the sight, or good lor food, grew there. And it was reireshed and fertilized by a river that flowed through the midst of it.

This garden was committed to his care, to dress it, and to keep it, and of every tree but one he was allowed to eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil he was for¬ bidden to eat, under the pe¬ nalty oOleath. As soon as he was fixed in this happy abode, God brought to him the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air which he had created, and Adam gave them names: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof.

But it was not good that man should be alone, and his Creator formed a companion for him ; bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh ; — a help¬ meet for him,— that is, as a friend and associate fitted to aid and comfort him, and like him pure and immortal. They were perfectly happy in each other, and in the favour and communion of God —

Reaping immortal fruits of joy and love> Uninterrupted joy — unrivalled love —

In blissful solitude.

We are not informed how long they continued in this pure and happy state, but we know they lost it. Adam dis¬ obeyed the simple and rea¬ sonable command of God. A the suggestion of Eve, his wife, who had been herself tempted by the serpent to eat, he partook with her of the fruit of the only forbidden tree, and thus they incurred the displeasure of their Ma¬ ker, and the penalty of his just law.

The first indication of guilt was the consciousness of , shame ; and the next a vain 24

ADA

attempt to hide themselves from the presence of Him, whose eyes are in every place, beholding the evil ana the good.

Without delay each of the parties to the fatal transaction received a dreadful doom. (See Serpent, Eve.) As for man, the ground was cursed fir his sake, and he was con¬ demned to eat bread in the sweat of his face till he should return to the dust of which he was formed, or suffer the death to which he was now sentenced. Not only should his body decay and perish, but the death to which he was( thus doomed included separa¬ tion from the favour of God, and condemnation to endless sorrow and suffering.

Thus, by one- man sin en¬ tered into the world, and death by sin. Their naked¬ ness, which was now their shame, being covered, they were both driven from their happy home in Eden, never to return : and, in the hardship of toil and labour, and, in the sorrow and sufferings of child¬ birth, they began at once, respectively, to feel the woes in which their transgression had involved them.

In a little while the dreadful power of sin and its temporal consequences were shown them in a combined and most revolting form. Abel — the righteous Abel— their beloved son, was cruelly and wantonly murdered by the hand of his brother.

The history of Adam closes abruptly. At the age of one hundred and thirty he had a S in whom he called Seth ; and who was born in his own like¬ ness and after his own image, (no longer in the likeness and after the image of God.) He lived eight hundred years after the birth of Seth, making the whole term of his life nine 3

ADI

hundred and thirty years — and he died a. c. 3071. (For a simple and beautiful history of the creation and of the fall of man, see Bible Sketches, and. the First Man, both by the American Sunday-school Union.)

ADAMANT. (Ezek. iii. 9i) One of the hardest and' most costly of precious stones. The original is elsewhere trans¬ lated diamond. Itisemployed as an emblem of the heart of the wicked. (Zesh. vii. 12> Some suppose it was used for cutting, engravmg,and polish¬ ing other hard stones and crystals. (See Diamond.)

ADAR. (See Month.)

ADDER. I. (Gen. xlix. 17. A venomous serpent whose poison is very subtle, and al¬ most instantly fatal. The wal'd translated adder, in various passages of the Bible, does not always mean what the English word denotes. In Gen. xlix. 17, the original word denotes a serpent of the viper ijind, of the colour of sand, which lurks in the tracks of the wheels, and bites the unwary traveller or his beast. 2. In Ps. lviii. 4, and xci. 13, the word trans¬ lated adder is supposed to mean an asp. 3. In Ps. cxl. 3, some suppose the spider or tarantula Is meant, and others the asp. (Rom. iii. 13.) 4. In Prov. xxiii. 32, the word may be rendered cockatrice with equal propriety.

It is remarked of the adder or asp, that he is not moved or affected by sounds which fascinate other serpents ; and some suppose that the most venomous of the adder spo- cies is naturally deaf. Hence the allusion in Ps. lviii. 4. (See Asp.)

ADJURE. 1. (Josh. vi. 26.) To bind under a curse. 2. (Matt. xxvi. 63.) Solemnly to require a declaration of the 25

ADO

truth at the peril of Gr.u’s (dis¬ pleasure. Such is considered the language of the high-priest, “ 1 adjurs thee,” &c. or, “I put thee to thy oath;” when the Saviour replied to the inquiry to which he had before been silent. (Matt. xxvi. 63. Com¬ are 1 Sam. xiv. 24, 38, and Kings xxii. 16, with Josh. vi. 26.)

ADMAH. (Deut. xxix. 23.) The most easterly of the five titles of the plain or vale of Siddim, which were miracu¬ lously destroyed by fire, be¬ cause of their great wicked¬ ness. Some infer from Isa. xv. 9, the last clause of which is translated by the Septua- gint, and upon the remnant of Adavia, that Admah was not entirely destroyed ; but the more probable supposition is, Chat another city of the same name was afterwards built near the site of the former.

ADONI-BEZEK. (Judg. i. 5.) Lord or king of Bezek. He fled from the armies of Judah, but was caught and disabled by having his thumbs and great toes cut off, so that he could neither fight nor fly. He was then carried to Jeru¬ salem, where he died. He seems to have regarded the maiming he suffered as a just requital of his own cruelty,

. he having- mutilated seventy kings or chieftains in the same, inhuman manner.

ADONIJAH. (2 Sam. iii. 4.) David’s fourth son. He was born at Hebron, and after the death of his brothers Amnon and Absalom, he made pre¬ tensions to the throne of his father. He prepared himself with horses and chariots, and other marks of royalty, and took counsel with Joab and Abiathar how he could best accomplish his purpose.

Bathsheba, Solomon’s mo¬ ther, fearing that her son’s title to the throne might be

ADO

disturbed, immediately fn formed the king of Adonijah’9 revolt; and Nathan the pro¬ phet confirming the statement of the matter, David gave Bathsheba the strongest as¬ surances that her son should reign after him ; and he caused Solomon to be actually anoint¬ ed and proclaimed king with great shoutings. (1 Kings i.39.)

Adonijah was just ending a feast when he heard the noise of the shouting, and Jonathan came in and told him all that had taken place. His guests fled precipitately, and Adoni¬ jah himself ran and caught hold of the horns of the altar, which seems to have been regarded as a place of safety from violence.

After David’s death, Adoni¬ jah persuaded Bathsheba to ask Solomon her son, who was now on the throne, to give him Abishag for his wife. Solomon saw at once through the policy of Adonijah, and his self-interested advisers. He knew that he might as well have asked for the king¬ dom at once as to ask for the king’s widow, for then, being the elder brother, he could make a plausible claim to the throne at the first favourable juncture ; which would directs ly contravene the express appointment of God made known to David, and probably to his family also. (1 Chron, xxviii. 5.) So he caused him to he put to death by the hand of Benaiah.

ADONIRAM. (See Ado- ram.)

ADONI-ZEDEK. (Josh. x. 1 ) King of Jerusalem, at the time the country was entered 1® the Israelites. Hearing o7 Joshua’s victories over Ai and Jericho, and finding that the inhabitants of Gibeon (one of the most important cities of the kingdom) had made a league with him, he called

ADO

four other kings of the Am aionites to his aid, and laid siege to Gibeon with a view to destroy it, because it had made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel.

But the Lord was against them, and with the edge of the sword and a violent hail-storm which overtook them, they were completely overthrown and destroyed. The victory was attended with a signal miracle. (See Joshua.)

Adoni-zedec, with his allies, fled and concealed themselves in a cave at Makkedah. They were soon discovered, how¬ ever; and were confined and watched, until the last of their adherents was either cut off or driven into some fortress. They were then called out of the cave, and brought before Joshua.

In the presence of the men of Israel, who were summon¬ ed for the purpose, Joshua required the captains of his army to put their feet upon the necks of the captive kings, declaring at the same time, that such would be the doom of all the enemies of Israel. He then caused them to be slain, and to be hanged on separate trees until evening, and then their bodies were taken down, and cast into the cave in which they had con¬ cealed themselves. (Josh. x. 27.)

ADOPTION (Gal. iv. 5) is an act by which one is re¬ ceived into a man’s family as his own child, and becomes entitled to the peculiar privi¬ leges of that connexion, as fully and completely as a child by birth. (Ex. ii. 10, and Esth. ii. 7.)

In the figurative use of the term by the sacred writers, it implies that relation which we sustain to God, when, by his grace, we are converted from sin to holiness. The

ADR

spirit of adoption is received, and we are made the children, (or sons) and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. (See Biblical ANTiauiTiEs, by the American S. S. Union, ch. vi. § ii.)

ADORAM. 1. (2 Sam. xx. 24.) An officer of the customs under David.

2. An officer of Rehoboam’s treasury, (perhaps the son of the former,) who was stoned to death by the people of Is¬ rael' who followed Jeroboam. (1 Kings xii. 18.) Some sup¬ pose him to have been the same with Adoniram, (1 Kings v. 14,) who was over the cus¬ toms in Solomon’s reign ; and that the people were so indig¬ nant at the oppression they had suffered through his agency, that they took this method of revenge.

ADRAMMELECH. 1. (Isa. xxxvii. 38.) A son of Senna¬ cherib king of Assyria. Ha and his brother Sharezer kill¬ ed their father while he was in the act of idolatry. Their motive for this parricidal act is not known. They both fled to Armenia, and Esarhaddon succeeded to the crown.

2. (2 Kin»s xvii. 31.) An idol god of Sepnarvaim, supposed to represent the sun, while another idol called Anamme- lech represented the moon. Sacrifices of living children were made to these idols.

ADRAMYTTIUM. (Acts xxvii. 2.) A seaport of Mysia, opposite the island of Lesbos, in the north-western part of Asia Minor. It is known by the modern name of Edremit or Ydramit, and lies about sixty or eighty miles north of Smyrna. It was in a ship be¬ longing to this port that Pali! embarked, when he was about to go from Cesarea to Rome as a prisoner. (See Map to art. Paul.)

ADFJA (Acts xxvii. 27) is 27

ADU

AG A

now the gulf which lies be¬ tween Italy oa one side, and the coast of Dalmatia on the other. It is called the gulf of Venice. In the apostle’s lime it is supposed to have denoted the whole breadth of the Me¬ diterranean sea, from Crete to Sicily.

AURIEL. (See Merab.)

ADULLAM. (Josh. xv. 35.) An ancient and celebrated cilyofjudah, fifteen or twenty miles south-west of Jerusa¬

lem. The king of the place was slain by Joshua. It was fortified by Rehoboam. and probably on account of its strength was called the glory of Israel. (Mic. i. 15.) Near this city was a cave, where David secreted himself when he fled from Achish. The cave, which is supposed to be the same, was visited by Mr. Whiting, an American mis¬ sionary, April 17, 1835. He describes it as uneven, intri¬ cate, and very capacious ; and says it is perfectly plain that four hundred men inighycon- ceal themselves in the sides of the cave, as David’s men did, and escape observation. (1 Sam. xxii. 1. See Map to art. Canaan.)

ADULTERY. (Jer. iii. 9. Matt. v. 28.) A crime expressly prohibited by the seventh commandment, and always obnoxious to severe penalties, both by divine and human laws. The term is often em¬ ployed with great force in the Bible, to denote the unfaith¬ fulness and idolatry of the people of God, and their vio¬ lation of the most sacred en¬

gagements.

ADUMMIM. (Josh, xv.7.) A rising ground at the entrance of the wilderness of Jericho. The name signifies red or hloody, in allusion, as it is supposed, to the frequent mur¬ ders committed in its vi¬ cinity. There are circum¬

stances to show that the scene of our Saviour’s parable of the good Samaritan was laid here. (Luke x. 30 — 36. See Geo¬ graphy of the Bible, by the American Sunday-school Union, p. 92.)

ADVOCATE. (1 John ii. 1.) One that pleads another’s cause. .It is one cf the offi¬ cial titles of Jesus Christ the righteous, and its import may be learned from John xvil. Rom. viii. 34, and Heb. vii.25.

iENON. (See Enon.)

AFFINITY. (1 Kings iii. i.) Relation by marriage, in con¬ tradistinction from consan guinity, which is relation by blood or birth. The degrees of affinity, or the nearness of relationship which should pre¬ vent marriage under the law, may be found in Lev. xviii. 6—17. This subject is regu¬ lated in the United States by the laws of the several States.

AGABUS. (Acts xi. 28.) A prophet, who foretold (a. d. 43) the famine, which, as profane history informs us, took place the following year. A few years after, (Acts xxi. 10,) he met Paul at Cesarea, and warned him of the sufferings he would endure if he prose¬ cuted his journey to Jerusa¬ lem. Some have supposed that Agabus was one of the seventy disciples, and that he suffered martyrdom at An¬ tioch.

AGAG (Num. xxiv. 7) was a king of the Amalekiles. Some think this was the com¬ mon name of their kings, as Pharaoh was the common name of the kings of Egypt. From the allusion to him in the prophetic passage above cited, we may suppose him to have been one of the greatest kings of the earth.

Another person of the same name was captured by Saul al the time the Amalekiles were destroyed, (1 Sam. xv. 8,) but

aa

AGR

his life was spared, and he was afterwards brought to Sam¬ uel, who hewed him in pieces, (1 Sam. xt. 33;) a punish¬ ment not uncommon in other places and later times.

Hammedatha, Haman’s fa¬ ther, is called an Agagite, (Esth. iii. 1,) probably because he was an Amalekite.

AGAR or H AGAR. (Gal. iv. 25.) The history or condition of Hagar is used allegorically in this passage to illustrate the nature of the dispensation from Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is called Agar by the Arabians. (See Hagar.)

AGATE. (Exod. xxriii. 19, and xxxix. 12.) A precious stone, semi-transparent, and beautifully variegated. It often presents a group of figures dis¬ posed with so much regularity as to seem like a work of art; such as trees, plants, rivers, clouds, buildings, and human beings. The name is supposed by some to be derived from the river Achates in Sicily, where the stone was formerly found in great abundance. The word translated agate (Isa. liv. 12. and Ezek. xxvii. 16) is supposed to denote the ruby.

AGRIPPA. (Acts xxv. 13.) Son and successor of Herod the persecutor. (Acts xii. 1.) Porcius Festus, the successor- of Felix in the government of Judea, came to Cesarea; and while there, Agrippa, (who was governor or king of se¬ veral of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire) came, with his sister Bernice or Be¬ renice, to pay him a visit of congratulation upon his ac¬ cession to office. The con¬ versation between them turn¬ ing upon Paul, who was then in confinement at Cesarea, and whose remarkable history must have been very notori¬ ous, Festus stated the whole

AHA

matter to Agrippa, and great¬ ly excited his curiosity to see and hear him.

Festus, to gratify his friends, but under the pretence of getting from Paul the subject- matter of his complaint, that lie might communicate it to the emperor, to whom he had appealed, took the judgment- seat with great pomp, and surrounding himself with the chief men of the city, ordered Paul to be brought into his presence.

When the devoted apostle appeared before them, Festus, addressing himself particular¬ ly to Agrippa, assigned the reasons for requiring Paul to appear at that time, and then gave the prisoner an opportu¬ nity to state his own case, which he did with unparallel¬ ed force and eloquence. Fes¬ tus could only meet his argu¬ ments with the charge of mad¬ ness ; but Agrippa, "to whose conscience he made an abrupt, though not the less respectful and irresistible appeal, was compelled to make that me¬ morable exclamation, “ Al¬ most thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Paul closed his address by a most affec¬ tionate exhortation to the king; the assembly then se¬ parated, and we hear nothing more of Agrippa but an ex¬ pression of his regret (Acts xxvi. 32) that the faithful and eloquent apostle could not be set at liberty. (See Life of Paul, by the American Sun¬ day-school Union, ch. xvii,) Agrippa died about x. D. 90, aged TOyears.

AHAB. 1 . (1 Kings xvi. 29.) The son of Omri, arid his suc¬ cessor as king of Israel. He reigned twenty-two years, and the seat of his kingdom was at Samaria. He married Je¬ zebel, a Zidonian woman of proverbially wicked charac¬ ter. She was a gross idolater,

AHA

and Ahab followed her in all her idolatrous practices ; be¬ came at once a worshipper of Baal, and even made a grove and built an altar for this abominable service. Atavery early period of his history; the "sacred historian says ol him, that he did more to pro¬ voke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

He Was warned by the pro¬ phet Elijah of approaching drought and consequent fa¬ mine, which was very sore in Samaria. In the third year of the famine, Ahab called Obadiah, the governor of his house and a godly man, to pass through half the land, while he would pass through the other half, and see if they could not collect grass enough, on the margins of fountains and brooks, to save their horses and mules from pe¬ rishing.

In the course of his journey, Obadiah met Elijah, who had been commanded by God to show himself to Ahab, and at Elijah’s request Ahab came to meet him.

When Ahab appeared in Elijah’s presence, he abruptly saiu to him — Art thou he that troublelh Israel t The pro¬ phet replied by a faithful re¬ buke of the king’s idolatry, and proposed to demonstrate to him that the gods he was serving were no gods. To this end he persuaded Ahab to gather the prophets of Baal, whom he worshipped, into one company in mount Car¬ mel, ana there the fully of their idolatry was exposed in a most signal manner. (See Elijah.) The prophets of Baal were all taken and de- Btroyed’al Elijah’s command, and 1 efore Ahab could return o Samaria there was a great tain.

Anout six years after this,

AHA

Benhadad king of Syria, with a vast army, besieged Sama¬ ria, but Ahab sallied out upon him by surprise cut off a large proportion of his army, and put to flight the residue ; Benhadad himself escaping upon a horse.

The king of Syria, suppos¬ ing that his defeat was owing to some advantage of location which Ahab’s army enjoyed, flattered himself ihat if ha could go to battle in the plain, he should conquer him. Ac¬ cordingly in about a year he laid siege to Samaria again Of this Ahab had an intima tion from the prophet imme diately after the former vie tory, and he had prepared himself accordingly. God again gave him the victory, and the Syrians lost 100,000 footmen in one day, besides 27,000 who were killed by a wall which fell upon them at Aphek, whither they fled. Benhadad was among the captives, and after making a treaty with the victorious Ahab, he went his way.

Ahab was immediately in¬ formed that he had been guilty of a great sin in suffering the king of Syria to escape, inas¬ much as he had been deliver¬ ed into his hands by a mar¬ vellous interposition of God-s providence, and his character and conduct had been such as to mark him for the divine displeasure. Besides this, the motives of Ahab in making the treaty may be regarded as ambitious, if not corrupt; and he was therefore informed that his own life should go for the life of Benhadad, and his people for Benhadad’s people.

Heavy and fearful as this sentence was, we find the wicked king of Israel sinking deeper ana deeper in guilt. Naboth, one of his neighbours, had a vineyard, which was situated just by Ahab’s palace ;

30

Aha

and as it was a convenient and desirable spot for him to possess, he asked Naboth to give it to him, promising a,t the same time to give him a better vineyard, or the worth of it in money, as he might choose. All this seemed very fair, but Naboth did not wish ' to part with his vineyard on any terms. It was the inhe¬ ritance he had received from his fathers, and for this and other causes its value to him was peculiar, and such as neither money nor any other vineyard in exchange could compensate. He therefore de¬ clined the king’s proposal.

Mortified and disappointed by Naboth’s refusal, he laid down upon his bed, and re¬ fused to eat. Jezebel, his wicked wife, inquired the cause of his sadness, and as¬ sured him that he might set his heart at rest, for he should have his desire ; and she forthwith commenced a train of measures which resulted in the murder of Naboth ; and Ahab then took possession of the vineyard.

But his judgment lingered not. El Hah was sent to charge him with the sin to which he had been accessary, and to forewarn him, not only of his own feurful doom, but of the certain and utter destruction of his. posterity : In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood , even thine.

Guilty as Ahab was, he had not yet lost all sense of sin, and when the judgments of God were so near him, he humbled himself and fasted ; and for this he was exempted from the punishment in his own person, but it was inflict¬ ed on his son.

The circumstances of Ahab’s death are deeply interesting and instructive. He proposed <o Jehoshaphat king of Judah,

AHA

to make war on Kamoth-gilead which was in the possession of the king of Syria. Jehosha¬ phat expressed his willing¬ ness to join him, but suggested the propriety of first inquiring what the will of the Lord was respecting the enterprise. So Ahab summoned his four hun¬ dred false prophets, and they all prophesied favourably.

Jehoshaphat seems to have been suspicious of the cha¬ racter of Ahab’s prophets, and he therefore inquired if there was no prophet of the Lord besides them. Ahab referred him to Micaiah, expressing at the same time his aversion to him, because his prophecies were always evil. However, Micaiah was sent for, and the messenger (having probably been instructed to that effect by Ahab) informed him of what had been done, and de¬ sired him to prophesy favour¬ ably, as the other prophets had done.

When Micaiah came before the two kings, who were seat¬ ed each on a throne at the entrance of the gate of Sa¬ maria, and all the prophets before them, the question was proposed to him as it had been proposed to the other prophets,— Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear 1 The pro¬ phet advised him to go, but evidently with such a tone and manner as indicated (hat he was not speaking in lh« spirit of prophecy. He there fore solemnly and earnestly urged him to tell him nothini but the truth, in the name of the Lord. Micaiah then dis closed to him the whole mat ter, and showed him, not onlf that his enterprise against Ramoth-gilead would be de feated, but that God had suf¬ fered the prophets who had prophesied favourably of it, t« be filled with a lying spirit,

AHA

that they might lead him on to the certain ruin which awaited him.

Ahab sent the faithful pro¬ phet back to Samaria, and ordered him to be imprisoned till his return from the battle. So the infatuated kings of Is¬ rael and Judah, in the face of the counsel of the Almighty, went up to battle against the kingofSyriaatRamoth-gilead.

In order to secure himself against the direct aim of the enemy, Ahab entered the bat¬ tle in disguise. But a certain man drew a bow, as he sup¬ posed, at a venture, yet the arrow was directed with un¬ erring aim to the heart of the wicked Ahab, and the blood flowed out into the chariot, so that he died that night. His army was scattered, in literal accordance with Micaiah’s prophecy. His body was car¬ ried to Samaria to be buried, and the blood was washed from the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs lick¬ ed it as it was foretold. (1 Kings acxi. 19.)

2. (Jer. xxix. 21, 22.) A son of Kolaiah, and a false prophet, who, with Zedekiah, another false prophet, prophesied falsely to the children of Is¬ rael, when in captivity at Babylon. Jeremiah was com¬ manded to make known to them that they should be de¬ livered into the hands of the king of Babylon, who would slay them; and so dreadful would be their end, that there¬ after it should be a form of cursing,— The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire. This was a common Chaldean punish¬ ment. (Dan. iii. 6.)

AHASUERUS. l.(Dan.ix.l.) The father ol Darius the Medi¬ an, and the same with Astyages.

2. CEzraiv, 6) Supposed to

AHA

be the son and successor of Cyrus.

3. (Esth. i. 1.) The husband of Esther. Who this king was is alike uncertain and unim¬ portant. We are told that he reigned from India to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty- seven provinces ; that his palace was in Shushan, the royal city of Persia, and that in the third year of his reign he made a splendid feast for his princes, servants, and people, which is particularly described in Esth. i. 3—8. In the height of this magnificent entertainment, the king sum¬ moned Vashti his wife into the royal presence, that he might show his guests her great beauty. She declined going, and for that cause was separated from the king and from the royal estate, and was succeeded try Esther, the cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai, a Jew, who re¬ sided at the palace.

Haman, the chief officer of the king’s household, consi¬ dering himself insulted by Mordecai, obtained a royal de¬ cree that all the Jews of the kingdom should be destroyed. Esther, having received intel¬ ligence of this cruel plot, em¬ braced a favourable opportu¬ nity to make it known to the king, and implore his protec¬ tion of herself and her people. The king could not, indeed, reverse the decree, but he caused Haman to be hung, and Mordecai to be advanced to the highest post in the king¬ dom ; and also despatched messengers in every direc¬ tion, to inform the Jews that they were at liberty to gather themselves together for self- defence, and to destroy all that should assault them.

Availing themselves of the royal favour, the Jews were not only protected, but were 32

AHA

enabled to slay between 70,000 and 80,000 of their enemies. Ahasuerus reigned forty-eight ears, and there is reason to elieve that Esther and Mor- decai remained in favour with him to the end. (Esth. ix. 31, and x. 3. See Hadassah, or a full life of Esther, published by the American Sunday- school Union.)

AHAVA. (Ezra viii. 15.) A river in Assyria, where Ezra assembled the captives who ■were returning from Judea, and where he proclaimed a fast. Some have supposed it to have been in the country called Ava. (2 Kings xvii. 24.) Its precise situation is not known.

AHAZ (2Chron. xxviii. 1) Was the son of Jotham, and at the age of twenty succeeded him as king of Judah.

Ahaz gave himself up to ross idolatry, and even sacri- ced his own children to the gods of the heathen. This course of wickedness brought upon him, and upon his king¬ dom, severe judgments. They suffered under a succession of disastrous wars, and their allies often proved unfaithful, and involved them in great distress. Ahaz, at last, aban¬ doned himself to the most desperate iniquity, and the kingdom of Judah was brought low, and made waste, because of his great sin.

Early in his reign (probably he second year) the kings of Syria and Israel, who, just at the close of Jotham’s reign and life, had confederated for the destruction of Judah, and actually invaded the kingdom with a powerful and victorious army, were about to lay siege to Jerusalem.

At this juncture, God direct¬ ed his prophet Isaiah to take his son, Shear-jashub, and go to Ahaz, who should be found at a particular spot in the

AHA

city of Jerusalem, and make known to him the counsel of the Lord. This favour was shown to the wicked king as the representative of the house of David, and for the people’s sake with whom God had made a covenant. (Isa. vii. 1.)

Isaiah, having found Ahaz at the place designated, told him that the bounds of the invading army were fixed ; that their purpose respecting Jerusalem would be defeated, and that in a limited time the kingdoms from which they came should be destroyed ; and to confirm the prophetic testimony, the king was told to ask any sign which would satisfy him. Probably from a wicked indifference, but pro¬ fessedly from a better motive, he refused to ask a sign ; but God saw fit to give him one of unerring import : “ Be¬ hold ,” said he, “ a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imma¬ nuel (Isa. vii. 14. Matt. i. 23. Luke i. 31— 35.) “ Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the

food, the land that thou ab- orrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." Some have understood this remarkable prophecy to mean that not¬ withstanding the extraordi¬ nary conception and birth of the promised child, he shall eat butter and honey as other children do, and like them shall gradually advance from one ddgree of knowledge to another; but before he shall have attained that measure ofdiscrimination which would enable him to choose between good and evil, the land of the Israelite and the Syrian who cause your distress and per plexity, shall be forsaken of both her kings. Others have

AHA

AHA

Interpreted the prophecy dif¬ ferently, and receive the idea that the child to whom it re¬ lates should be horn in a time of war, but before he was two or three years old he should eat butter and honey, which in time of peace were common articles of food in Judea, and the abundance of which was significant of peace and pros¬ perity.

Again, various opinions exist as to the child to which allu¬ sion is made in Isa. vii. 16; some supposing that it denotes the boy whom the prophet look with him, and others that it refers to the child Jesus, as in v. 14 ; and that the meaning is, that in less time than would be required, after the birth of the promised Immanuel, 'for him to attain to the capacity of distinguishing good from evil, (that is, within the space of two 01 three years,) the ene¬ mies of Judah should perish.

We know that within three or four years after the pro¬ phecy was uttered, the kings of both Israel and Syria were destroyed. (2 Kings xv. 30, and xvi. 9.) This was pro¬ bably the primary accom¬ plishment of the prophecy, but it received its far more strik¬ ing and literal fulfilment in the birth of Immanuel; for Herod the Great was the last who could be called the king either of Judah or Israel, and, though he lived till Immanuel was born, he died while he was yet an infant ; and then, Shi¬ loh bein; departed as it had from Isra

Though Ahaz and his king¬ dom were thus saved from the hands of the Syrians and Is¬ raelites, he had warning of the terrible judgments which were in (tori, for him because of bis k'o’.v "y •- but neither merer ao« uxlguent could

r come, the sceptre finally from Judah, long before departed el. (Gen. xlix. 10.)

divert him from the wicked purposes of his heart.

He sent ambassadors to Tiglath-pileser king of Assy¬ ria, and. made him a magnifi¬ cent present of all the gold and silverof the temple, which he collected for that purpose, and besought his assistance against the Syrians, who still harassed him. In compli¬ ance with his wishes, the king of Assyria besieged Damascus, and took it, and slew the king Ahaz went thither to congra¬ tulate Tiglath-pileser on his victory, and to thank him for his seasonable aid ; and there he saw an altar, the fashion of which particularly pleased him, and he ordered one to be made and put up in the stead of God’s altar, which he re¬ moved into an obscure place. Here he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, saying, ^Be¬ cause the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me ; but they were the ruin qf him and of all Israel,” says the sacred historian.

So greedy was this aban¬ doned man to commit iniquity, that he wantonly mutilated and abused the furniture of the temple ; broke the vessels in pieces ; made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem, and seemed resolved to show how utterly reckless he was of the consequences of sin.

His purposes were cut off, however, and he was taken away in his iniquity at the early age of thirty-six, and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. (2Chron.xviii.27.)

Though he was buried in the city of Jerusalem, his body was not admitted to the sepul¬ chres of the kings, but was treated with ignominy, as were the bodies of Jehoram and Joash before him.

AHAZIAH, 1. (1 Kings xxiL

AHA

40,) was the son and successor of Ahab king of Israel. So wicked was he, that when Je- hoshaphat king of Judah had joined with him to build a fleet at Ezion-geber for the Tab- shish trade, God sent his pro¬ phet to tel'l him, that because of his alliance with Ahaziah, even in this secular enter¬ prise, his fleet should be de¬ stroyed ; and the ships were accordingly shattered to pieces by tile winds.

Ahaziah had a fall in his house at Samaria, which oc¬ casioned a fit of sickness, and he sent to an idol god, at Ek- ron, to inquire if he should re¬ cover. His messengers were met by the prophet Elijah, who informed them that Aha- ziah’s sickness would be fatal. They returned, and made the occurrence known to the king, who, supposing from the description, that Elijah was the man they met, forthwith Bent an officer and fifty men to seize him. The prophet was sitting on the brow of a hill when the officer approach¬ ed and announced the king’s summons. At the prayer of Elijah, the officer and his men were instantly consumed by fire from heaven. The same doom came upon a second officer and his party of fifty men. The third officer fell on his knees before Elijah, and besougnt him to spare his life and the lives of his men. At an intimation from God, Elijah went down with them and told the king in person that he should not recover: and he soon after died, ana Jehoram his brother succeed¬ ed him.

2. (2 Kings viii. 25.) Called also Azariah, (2Chron. xxii. 6,) was a son of Jehoram and Athaliah, and at the age of twenty-two succeeded his fa¬ ther as king of Judah • though in 2 Chron. xxii. 2, it is said

AHI

he was forty-two years old When he began to reign.

Joram the king of Israel was wounded in a battle with the king of Syria at Ramoth-

ilead, and was carried ta

ezreel to be healed. Thera Ahaziah visited him, and Jehu, who was left to sustain the siege, (and who was in the mean time anointed king over Israel,) came down to Jezreel to execute the judgment of the Lord upon Joram the son of Ahab, and the representa¬ tive of the house of Ahab.

As soon as his approach was announced by the watch¬ man, J oram and Ahaziah went out, each in his chariot, to meet him. And they met in the portion of Naboth , with which one of Ahab’s daring crimes was so closely asso, ciated. (See Ahab.) Jehu re¬ minded Joram of the iniqui¬ ties of his house, and he, suspecting treachery, warned Ahaziah to flee. Jehu then smote Joram (or Jehoram, as he is called, 2 Kings ix. 24,) through the heart with an arrow. He pursued and slew Ahaziah also, though he had strength to reach Megiddo, where he died, and was car¬ ried thence to Jerusalem, and buried, from respect to the memory of Jehoshaphat his ancestor. (See Jehu.) In 2 Chron. xxii. the circum¬ stances of the death of Aha¬ ziah are stated differently, but the variation is not substan¬ tial, and therefore requires no particular notice.

AHIAH. 1. (1 Kings iv. 3.) The son of Shisha, one of Solomon’s scribes or secreta¬ ries.

2. (1 Sam. xiv. 3. 18.) Sup¬ posed by some to be the same with Ahimelech, (1 Sam. xxi. 1,) was the son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priest’s office. (See Ahimelech and Ahitub.)

'A HI

3. (1 Chron. viii. 7.) A de¬ scendant of Benjamin. AHIJAH. (1 Kin?sxi.29.) A rophet of God who lived at hiloh. For the most inte¬ resting and important trans¬ actions with which Ahijah was connected, see Jeroboam. He lived to a great age. (1 Kings xiv. 4.)

AHIKAM. (2Kings xxii. 12.) A son of Shaphan, and the father of Gedaliah, was one of those whom Josiah sent to Huldah, the prophetess, to in¬ quire of her concerning the book of the law which had been found in the temple. His influence was of great service to the prophet Jere¬ miah. (Jer. xxvi. 24. See Life of Jeremiah, by the Ame¬ rican Sunday-School Union, ch. vi.)

AHIMAAZ. (1 Sam. xiv. 50.) Son and successor of Zadok the priest.

During the revolt of Absa¬ lom, Zadok, and Abiathar, another of the priests, stayed in Jerusalem with Hushai,. David’s friend; while Ahimaaz and another young man, (son of Abiathar,) whose name was Jonathan, stationed them¬ selves at Enrogel, a short dis¬ tance from the city ; and it was agreed that whatever Hushai should hear respect¬ ing Absalom’s plans he should communicate to Zadok and Abiathar, and they to their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan, by whom the intelligence should be communicated to David.

As soon as Absalom had re¬ jected the counsel of Ahitho- phel, and adopted that of Hu¬ shai, Zadok and Abiathar were promptly informed of it, and directed to send with all pos¬ sible haste to David. But (perhaps to avoid suspicion) the message was sent by a female. The transaction was seen by a lad, who went im-

AHI

mediately and informed Ab¬ salom.

Ahimaaz and his companion set off at once, however, and when they came to Bahurim, the site of which is now un¬ certain, they concealed, them¬ selves in a well, to escape the observation of their pursuers. The woman of the house near which they were concealed covered the mouth of the well with a blanket, on which she spread corn to dry ; and when Absalom’s messengers came up in the pursuit, and inquired where they were, she deceived them, and told them that the young men were in great haste, and had passed on. Thus they escaped, and. while their pursuers returned to Jerusalem, they hastened to David with their message.

At his own urgent request, Ahimaaz was employed to carry the intelligence of Ab¬ salom's death to David his father. He outran Cushi, who had been previously despatch¬ ed on the same errand. Be¬ fore he had delivered his message, however, Cushi came up, and made known the sad event. The whole history of the transaction, as recorded, (2 Sam. xviii. 19—33,) is of thrilling interest, but it would be out of place here. (See David.)

AHIMELECH (1 Sam. xxi. 1) is supposed by some to be the same with Ahiah ; but others suppose Ahiah to have been the son of Ahitub, and his successor in the priest¬ hood, and Ahimelech to have been his brother and successor in the same office. It is im¬ material which of these opi¬ nions is correct. David, in h'S flight from Saul, came to Nob, where Ahimelech the priest dwelt. He represented himself to be in great haste on the king’s urgent business, and by this means obtained 36

AHT «■ A I

from Ahimelech some of the hallowed bread, and also the sword of Goliath, which was preserved among the sacred things.

Does, the Edomite, a prin¬ cipal “servant of Saul, who happened to be at Nob, and to be a witness of the interview between David and Ahime¬ lech, told Saul of the matter, who immediately summoned Ahimelech and all the priests that were with him (eighty-five

gersnns) into his presence.

[e charged them with a con¬ spiracy in aiding and abetting his enemy ; and they replied by declaring their ignorance of any hostile views, on the part of David, towards Saul, or Ins kingdom. This de¬ fence (sufficient as it surely was) availed them nothing, however ; and the king com¬ manded his guard to slay them. The guard declining to lay violent hands on the priests of the Lord, the king commanded Doeg to fall upon them, and he did, and smote them, and also the city of Nob where they dwelt, and all the men, women, and children, as well as all the beasts which were found there. Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son, was the only one who escaped, and he flea with an ephoa in his hand, to David. (See Abiathar.)

AHINOAM. 1. (1 Sam. xiv. 50.) The daughter of Ahimaaz and the wife of Saul. s 2. (1 Sam. XXV. 43.) A woman »f Jezreel and one of David’s wives. She was taken captive by the Amalekites in the siege of Ziklag, and afterwards res¬ cued from captivity by David. (1 Sam. xxx. 18.)

AHIO. (2 Sam. vi. 3.) A son of Abinadab, who, with his brother Uzzah, was intrusted by David with the transporta¬ tion of the ark from Xirjalh- jearim to Jerusalem. (See UZZA II.)

AH1THOPHEL. (2 Sam. xv. 12.) A native of Giloh, anil the familiar friend, compa¬ nion, and counsellor of David. (1 Chron. xxvii. 33. Ps. lv. 12-*14.) He was indeed one of the most eminent counsel¬ lors of the age. (2 Sam. xvi. 23.)

Absalom persuaded him to join in the conspiracy against his father David ; but the cun¬ ning measures which Ahitho- phel proposed for the accom¬ plishment of Absalom’s ambi¬ tious plans, were all defeated by the counsel of Husliai. Ahithophel, seeing that the probable issue would be the utter ruin of Absalom and his cause, which would almost necessarily involve his own destruction, returned to Giloh, and deliberately hung him¬ self.

AHITUB. 1. (1 Sam. xiv. 3.> The son of Phinehas, and grandson of Eli. Some sup¬ pose that he succeeded Eli i rv the priesthood. (See Ahime¬ lech.)

2. The name of Zadok’s fa¬ ther. (1 Chron. vi. 8.)

AHOLIAB. (Ex. xxxv. 34.) Son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who, with Bezaleel,. was divinely appointed to con¬ struct the tabernacle and its furniture.

AHOLIBAH and AHOLAH. (Ezek. xxiii. 4.) Symbolical names fir Judah and Samaria.

AHUZZATH. (Gen. xxvi. 26.) A particular friend of Abi- melech. king of Gerar, and one of those wno attended him when he met Isaac, and made a treaty with him at Beershebn.

AI, (Josh. vii. 2,) called also Aialh, (Isa. x. 28,) and Aija, (Neh. xi. 31,) was an elevated spot east of Bethel ; the scene of Joshua’s defeat, and after¬ wards of his victory. (Josh, viii. See Joshua. See also Geography op the Bible, by the American Sunday school Union, p. 142.

4

ALA «

AIN. (Josh. xv. 32.) Origin¬ ally a city of the tribe of Ju- tlah, but afterwards allotted to the tribe of Simeon. (1 Chron. iv. 32.) It is supposed to have been near Hebron. «

AJALON. 1. (Josh. x. 12.) A village of Canaan, situated in the tribe of Dan, between Je¬ rusalem and Ekron. In the vicinity of Ajalon is the valley of the same name, memorable for the miracle of Joshua. (See Joshua.)

2. (Josh. xix. 42.) A town in the country of Zebulon, where Klon was buried. Its site is now unknown.

3. (2 Chron. xxviii. 18.) A city in the south of Judah, captured by the Philistines.

AKRABBIM, ascent of, (Num. xxxiv. 4,) or Maalen- Acrabbim, (Josh. xv. 3,) was a range of hills on the southern border of Judah towards the Dead Sea. Its name is sup¬ posed to denote that it was infested with scorpions.

ALABASTER. (Matt. xxvi. 7.) A fossil, of which there are several varieties. It is a bright and elegant substance, sus¬ ceptible of a fine polish, and so easily wrought that it is made into vessels of every form. The druggists in Egypt use it at the present day for the purpose of keeping medi¬ cines and perfumes. Theo¬ critus, an ancient profane historian, speaks of gilded slabastersof Syriacointment. The phrase “ she brake the box, ’’used Mark xiv. 3, is sup¬ posed to mean that she opened or unsealed the vessel, as we say familiarly, “to break a bottle,” when we mean to open it by drawing the cork. It was the custom in the east then, as it is now all over the world, to seal with wax any thing from which it is desira¬ ble to keep the air, and this is especially necessary for the preservation -of precious per-

ALE

fumes and ointments. Th« breaking of the wax would be naturally denoted by the form of expression used in the sacred text.

ALEXANDER. 1. (Mark xv. 21.) The son of Simon tbs Cyrenian.

2. (Acts iv. 6.) A distin¬ guished Jew, who, with others, took part against Peter and John.

3. (Acts xix. 33.) A Jew of Ephesus, who took a conspi¬ cuous part in the controversy between Paul and the poptv lace of that city, and attempt¬ ed, without success, to quell the commotion.

4. (1 Tim. i. 19, 20, and 2 Tim. iv. 14.) A coppersmith and apostate from Christianity, whom Paul mentions in term# of severe reproach.

ALEXANDRIA. (Acts xviit 24; xxvii. 6.) A celebrated city of Egypt, founded by Alexander the -Great, about b.c. 333. It was situated os a strip of land on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, and between that and the lake Mareotis, rather south of the present city of the same name. Ancient Alexandria was at one time the centre of scien¬ tific knowledge ; the rival of Rome in size, and the first commercial city of the earth. Historians tell us that its free population exceeded 300,000, and an equal number ol s^ves. Its ancient magnifi¬ cence may be known from the ruins of spacious streets two thousand feet broad, and the fragments of colonnades, obelisks, and temples. After Alexander’s death it became the regal capital of Egypt, and was the residence ot ilia Ptolemies for two hundred years. They enriched it with numerouselegant edifices, and furnished it with a library of 700,000 volumes, which was burnt by the Saracens in the

ALI

seventh century. From the days of the apostles to the Saracen invasion, Alexandria was under the dominion of Rome, and as it afforded an extensive market for grain, tile centurion who had charge of Paul on his way as a pri¬ soner to Rome, readily 11 found a ship of Alexandria , laden with com , sailing into Italy.” Some of the persecutors of Stephen were from this city, and so was the eloquent Apol- los. Here also lived Clement, Origen, and Arius, the founder of the sect of Arians. And here, too, was the Greek or Alexandrian version of the Bible made by seventy-two learned Jews, and hence call¬ ed the Septuagint, or version by the seventy. (See Scrip¬ tures.)

Modern Alexandria is built of the ruins of the ancient city. It contains a population of 15,000 souls, and is merely the port of Cairo, where ves¬ sels touch; and exchanges of merchandise are made. It is one hundred and twenty-five miles north-west of Cairo, and is the residence of many European merchants and fac¬ tors.

ALEXANDRIANS. (Acts vi. 9 ) Jews from Alexandria, who were present at Jerusalem when Stephen preached there, and where they had a syna- ogue by themselves. Per- aps the Libertines and Cyre- nians worshipped with them, or each sect or school might have had separate synagogues. In either case they are pro¬ perly described as being cer¬ tain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the Alexandrians, See.

ALGUM. (See Almuc.) ALIEN. (Ex. xviii. 3.) A fo¬ reigner or person born in an¬ other country, and not having the usual rights and privileges

ALM

of the citizens of the country in which he lives. The force of the figure (Eph. ii. 12) is sufficiently obvious.

ALLEGORY. (Gal. iv. 24.) A figure of speech, nearly re¬ sembling the parable or fable, common in the Scriptures and among all oriental na¬ tions. It personifies irrational and inanimate objects or mo¬ ral qualities, and enforces or illustrates truth by their con¬ duct or by a supposed conver¬ sation between them. Bun- yan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is a continued allegory ; so also are our Saviour's discourses concerning the vine (John xv.) and the shepherd. (John x.)

ALLELUIA, (Rev. xix. 1,) or HALLELUJAH, a Hebrew word signifying Praise ye the Lord. It was a common excla¬ mation of joy and praise in the Jewish worship, and begins and concludes several of the Psalms, as cvi. cxi. cxiii. cxvii. and cxxxv.

ALMOND. (Gen.xliii.il.) A well known fruit, and among the best that Canaan pro^ duced. The leaves and blos¬ soms of the almond tree re¬ semble those of the peach tree, and it is remarkable for its early maturity. A modern traveller states that it flowers in January and gives its fruit in April. The fruit is en¬ closed in a tough shell, and this again within a horny husk, which opens of itself when the fruit is ripe. It is cultivated with great care at the present day in England for its early and beautiful flowers, and in the south of Europe for exportation. Four hundred and fifty tons are an¬ nually imported into Great Britain alone, paying a duty of $80,000. It blossoms on the bare branches, and hence the striking allusion of the poet: —

39

ALt>

The hope, in dreams of a happier hour, That alights on misery’s brow ;

Springs out of the silvery almond flower That blooms on a leafless bough.

The original word from which almoml is derived, means to make haste, or awake early, denoting its hasty growth and early maturity. Hence the allusion in Jer. i. Id is to the haste with which God would send his judgments, or the vigilance with which he watched over his word to fulfil it. So the chiefs of the tribes had almond roils, em¬ blematical of the vigilance which became them as the leadei*S of God’s chosen peo-

Itle. (Num. xvii. 6 — 8.) Ill Sccl. xii. 5, an allusion is niade to the white silvery hair which covers the head in old age, and which, if found in the way of righteousness, is a crown of glory. (Prov. xvi. 31. For engraving see Na¬ tural History of the Bi¬ ble, by the American Sunday- SchoolUnion,article Almond.)

ALMS, ALMS-DEEDS. (Matt. vi. 1. Acts ix. 36.) Deeds of charity, or (Luke xi. 41) the thing given in charity. The giving of alms is an im¬ portant duty enjoined by the Scriptures, and the manner of it is prescribed with great precision. (SeeActsx.2-4,and the passages already cited.)

ALmUG TREES, (1 Kings X. 11,) or ALGUM TREES. (2 Chron. ij. 8.) One of the kinds of timber which Solomon or¬ dered from Tyre for the build¬ ing of the temple. Jewish his¬ torians describe it as a. fine, while, glossy wood, and used for musical instruments, and the ornamental work of the temple. Dr. Shaw supposes it to have been what we call the cypress, which is still used for harpsichords, and other stringed instruments.

ALOES. (So). Song iv. 14.)

ALP

A plant with broad thick prickly leaves. The juice of this plant, when boiled, pro¬ duces the medicinal article called aloes ; and it was also used in embalming. (John xix. 39.) The Cape of Good Hope and the islands of Sumatra and Ceylon furnish many va¬ rieties. The aloes which is cultivated in this country as an ornamental plant, is of a very different species from the medicinal aloes.

The wood,6f the aloe tree is called lign-aioe. (Num. xxiv.

6.) The smell of it is very fragrant, and the wood of | some s|>ecies is worth more I than its weight in gold. Be¬ sides its useTas a strong per¬ fume, it was employed for fine cabinet and ornamental work.

ALPHA. (Rev. i. 8 ; xxi. and xxii. 13.) The name of the first letter of the Greek alpha¬ bet. ■“ / am Alpha and Omegt the beginning and the end, tin first and the last,'1’ is the ex¬ pressive language employed by our Saviour in reference to himself. The phrase among the Jews to denote from first ) to last was, “from Aleph to Tau,” which are the names of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. .The expressions in the passages cited, denote the eternity and perfection of the being to whom they are applied, and their force will appear by comparing them with Isa. xix 4; xliv. 6, and xlviii. 12.

ALPHEUS. 1. (Malt. x. & Mark iii. 18. Luke vi. 15, and Acts i. 13.) The father of the apostle James. 2. (Mark ii. 14.) The father of Levi, or . Matthew, as he is called. (Matt. ix. 9.) Many suppose that Alpheus was the same person as Cleopas, who is mentioned (John xix.TEo) as the husband of Mary the sis¬ ter of our Lord’s mother, and 40

ALT

that hence James, his son, is called our Lord’s brother. (Compare Matt. xiii. 55. and xxvii. 56, and Mark vi. 3, and Lu.xxiv.10. See Jambs, Jo§es.)

ALTAR. (Gen. viti. 20.) A structure appropriated exclu¬ sively to the offering of sacri¬ fices, under the Jewish law. (See Sacrifices.) Though sacrifices were offered before the flood, the word altar does not occur until the time of Noah’s departure from the tirk.

Altars were of various forms, and at first very rude in their construction, being nothing more, probably, Than a square heap of stones, or mound of earth. The altar on which Jacob made an offering at Bethel, was the single stone which had served him for a pillow during the night. (Gen. xxviii. 18.) "The altar which Moses was commanded to build, (Ex. xx. 24.) was to be made of earth. If made of stone, it was expressly re¬ quired to be rough, the use of a tool being regarded as pol¬ luting. (Ex. xx. 25.) It was also to be without steps. (Ex. xx. 26. See also Deut. xxvii. 2 — 6, and Josh. viii. 31.)

Among the ancient Egyptian pictures lately discovered in the ruins of Herculaneum, wo have models of the altar.

Figure 1 is a side view, and figure 2 is an angular view. The structures are different, as well as the apparent orna-

ALT,

ments and uses. On both, however, we observe a projec¬ tion upward at each corner, which represents the true figure of the horns. (Ex. xxvii. 2. 1 Kings ii. 23. Rev. ix. 13.) They were probably used to confine the victim. (Ps. cxviii. 27.)

The altars required in the Jewish worship were, (l.) Tlte altar of burnt-offering , or the brazen altar, in the taber¬ nacle in the wilderness; this altar stood directly in front of the principal entrance, as seen in the figure under tlie article Tabernacle.

It was made of shittim wood, seven feet and six inches square, and four feet and six inches high. It was hollow, and covered or overlaid with plates of brass. The horns (of which there was one on each corner) were of wood, and overlaid in the same way. A grate or net work of brass was also attached to it, either to hold the fire or to support a hearth of earth. (Biblical An¬ tiquities, by the American Sunday-School Union, vol. ij. ch. ii.) The furniture of the al¬ tar was all of brass, and con¬ sisted of such articles as a sho¬ vel to remove the ashes from the altar, and a pan to receive them; the skins or vessels for receiving the blood of the vic¬ tims, and hooks f >r turning tlie sacrifice. At each corner was a brass ring, and there were also two staves or rods over¬ laid with brass which passed through these rings, and serv¬ ed for carrying the altar from place to place.

The fire used on this altar was perpetually maintained. It was kindled miraculously, and the flame was cherished with the most devoted care. It was also a place of constant sacrifice : fresh blood was shed upon it continually, and the smoke of the burning sa- 41

ALT

ALT

crifice ascended up towards heaven without interruption.

In the first temple, (which in its general plan was con¬ structed after the pattern of the tabernacle in the wilder¬ ness, that being a tent and this a house,) the altar of burnt-offering stood in the same relative position as in the tabernacle. It was much larger, however, being thirty

feet square and fifteen feet high ; its particular plan be¬ ing appointed expressly by divine authority. (1 Citron, xxviii. 1 1—20.) And in the second temple it occupied the same position, though it was still larger and more beautiful than in the first.

2. The ultur of inrerise, or the golden altar , stood within the holy place, and near to the 42

AM A

inmost veil. (Ex. xxx. 1-6.) It was made of the same wood with the brazen altar, and was eighteen inches square, and three feet high. The top, as well as the sides and horns, was overlaid with pure gold, and it was finished around the upper surface with a crown or border of gold. Just below this border four golden rings were attached to each side of the altar, one near each cor¬ ner. The staves or rod^ for bearing the altar passed through these rings, and were made of the same wood with the altar itself, and richly overlaid with the same pre¬ cious metal.

Upon this altar incense was burnt every morning and every evening, (see Incense,) so that it was literally per¬ petual. (Ex. xxx. 8.) Neither burnt-sacrifice, nor meat-offer¬ ing, nor drink-offering, were permitted upon this altar; nor was it ever stained with blood, except once annually, when the priest made atonement. (Lev. xvi. 18, 19.)

AMALEK. (Gen. xxxvi. 16.) He was the son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau. Some have supposed him to be the father of the Amalekites, but they are mentioned as a pow¬ erful people long before the birth of Amalek. (Gen. xiv. 7.) The Arabians have a tradition that he was the son of Ham.

AMALEKITES. (1 Sam. xv. 6.) A powerful people, but of uncertain origin anu resi¬ dence. They are called (Num. xxiv. 20) the first of all the nations. They were sig¬ nally defeated in a contest with the children of Israel at Rephidim and for their guilt in opposing the progress of God’s people, they became objects of his terrible judg¬ ments. They were afterwards defeated and repulsed by Gideon, (Judg. vii. 12,) and

AMA

by Saul, (1 Sam. xv.) and by David, (1 Sam. xxx.;) till at last the word of the Lord was fulfilled to the very letter, and their name was blotted from the earth. (1 Sam. xxx. 17, and 1 Chron. iv. 43.)

AMANA. (Sol. Song iv. 8.) A southern peak of one of the mountains of Lebanon ; pro¬ bably so called from a river of that name which flowed from it.

AMASA. (1 Chron. ii. 17.) A son of Jether, who is else¬ where called Ithra. (2 Sam. xvii. 25.) Absalom placed him at the head’of his troops in the rebellion against his lather David ; but he was defeated by his cousin Joab. Afterwards, JSavid recognising the rela¬ tionship between them, not only pardoned Amasa, but made him captain of his host in the room of Joab.

On the revolt of Sheba, Da¬ vid required Amasa to assem¬ ble the people within three days, and march with them to suppress it; but in conses- uence of his delay, the king espatched Abishai with such an army as could be mustered at the moment, and together with Joab they pursued after Sheba. At a particular place in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. The envious and mortified Joab approached to salute him, and seized the oppor¬ tunity to give him a deadly wound.

AMASAI. (1 Chrhn. vi. 25.) A Levite, and one qf the sons of Elkanah. He w>as chief of a gallant party that came to David, when he was dying from Saul. (1 Chron. xii. HI- 18.) David gladly availed him- selfoftheiraid,and gave them commissions in his army.

AMAZIAH, (2 Kings xiv. 1— 20,) the eighth king of Judah, was son and successor of Je- hoash. He commenced his reign in the twenty-fifth yeat 43

AMA

of Ills age. His character is peculiarly described. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a peifect heart. (2 Chron. xxv. 2. 2 Kings xiv. 3.)

At the commencement of his reign, he showed an outward regar^ to the law of the Lord ; out power and ambition turn¬ ed his heart ; he fell into a snare, and was destroyed by Hie hand of violence.

Amaziah resolved to make war upon the Edomites, who had revolted from the king¬ dom of Judah several years before, (2 Kings wiii. 20 ;) and for this purpose he raised an army of 300,000 men from among his own subjects, and hired 100,000 men of Israel, fur whose services he paid S 150,000. Before he com¬ menced the expedition, how¬ ever, he was directed by di¬ vine authority to dismiss his hired soldiers, and was told that if he did not, he should certainly fall before his ene¬ mies. After some hesitation he dismissed the Israelitish army, and sent them home.

Amaziah met the Edomites in a place called the Valley of Salt, and gained a signal victory over them, slaying 10,000, and taking 10,000 pri¬ soners. Elated by his success, and forgetful of the God of battles who had given him the victory, he took the idols which his vanquished enemy had worshipped, and set them up as his own gods. The anger of the Almighty was kindled against him, and he sept a message to him, the very terms of which exposed and rebuked his si.i. (2 Chron. xxv. 15.) The king was al¬ ready hardened enough to question the authority of God’s messenger, and even to threaten him with death. He was warned of the destruc¬ tion lie would bring upon

AMB

himself for hid idolatry and unbelief.

Thus given up to follow his own devices, he sought occa¬ sion of war with the king of Israel. The answer of the king to the challenge was given in the form of a fable, but was expressive of the ut¬ most contempt, and contained at the same time a severe re¬ buke to the king of Judah for his pride and vain-glory.

Amaziah was not to be de¬ terred from his purpose ; and he met the army of Israel al Beth-shemesh in Judea, and it is said by Jewish historians, that the army of Judah was suddenly seized with a panic, and fled before Israel without a blow on either side. Ania- ziah, however, was taken pri¬ soner by the king of Israel, who forthwith proceeded to break down a section of the city wall six hundred feet in length, and marched through the breach ; plundered the temple of its gold and silver vessels ; seized the king's treasures, and taking such hostages as he pleased, re¬ turned in triumph to Samaria, leaving the king of Judah to reflect on the folly and mad¬ ness of rejecting the counsel and disobeying the command of God. (2 Kings xiv.) About fifteen years after this dis¬ graceful defeat, Amaziah fled from Jerusalem to Laehish to escape a conspiracy ; but he was followed to the place to which he fled, and put to death, and his body taken back to Jerusalem, and buried with his fathers. (See Amos.)

AMBASSADOR. (Isa.xxxiii. 7.) A person appointed tc ■ sume business in a foreign country, in the transaction of which he represents the go¬ vernment that appoints him. (2Chrun. xxxii. 31.) The word is figuratively used (2 Cor. v. | 18—20) to denote those who 44

A ME

are aent forth, by divine au¬ thority, to proclaim the terms of pardon and eternal life to tile rebellious and condemned subjects of .God’s government.

AMBASSAGE. (Luke xiv. 32.) A public message. The term may include the mes senger or ambassador as well as his message.

AMBER. (Ezek. i. 4, 27, an<f viii. 2.) A beautiful bitumi¬ nous substance, susceptible of a fine polish, and present¬ ing several colours, though chiefly yellow and orange. It is found in Prussia and near the shores of the Baltic Sea. In the passages cited, the al¬ lusion is simnly to the colour of amber ana does not imply that it is indestructible by fire.

AMEN. (Deut. xxvii. 15.) This word, though variously used, has substantially the same meaning. It is an af¬ firmative response, and is used to denote assent, or en¬ tire acquiescence. (Deut. xxvii. 15—26.) It is sometimes trans¬ lated verily, and was fre- puently used by our Saviour when he was about to utter some distinct, important, and solemn truth. Its repetition, “ verily, verily, I say unto you,” strengthens the asser¬ tion.

It was the custom among the early Christians for all the worshippers to say amen about the close of the prayer, or at the giving of thanks. (1 Cor. xiv. 16.) And Jewish writers say, “there is nothing greater in the sight of God than the amen with which the Israelite answers.” The romises of God are amen, ecause they are made sure and certain in Christ. (2 Cor. i. 20.) Amen is one of the titles of our blessed Saviour, (Rev. iii. 14,) as he is the faithful and true witness. Amen and amen is the eloqueot and sublime

AMI

conclusion of one of David’s triumphant songs. (Ps. xli. 13.) • AMETHYST. (Exod. xxxix. 12.) One of the most valuable o( the precious stones. It has a variety of colours, though purple, prevails.

AMMINADAB. (Exod. vi. 23.) Aaron’s father-in-law. The allusion to the chariots of Amminadab, or Ammina- dib, (Sol. S*^)g vi. 12,) may refer to the known beauty and swiftness of the vehicles of some famous chieftain, or cha rioteer of that neriod.

AMMONITES, or children of AMMON, (Gen. xix. 38,? were the descendants of Ben- ammi, a son of Lot, by incest. He was born in the neighbour¬ hood of Zoar, but his posterity spread northwardly, and oc¬ cupied the mountainous re¬ gions of Gilead, between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok. Ori- ginally their possessions were bounded north by the river Jabbok, west by Jordan-, south by Arnon, and stretched east- wardly into Arabia. The Amorites, under Sihon their king, expelled them from the richest part of their posses¬ sions, which lay between the two rivers; but Moses reco¬ vered it from the Amorites, and divided it between Reuben and Gad. The western bound¬ ary of the Ammonites then became a branch of the river Jabbok, (on which their oa pital city, Rabbah or Rabbath- Ammon, stood,) and the moun tains of Gilead bounded them on the east, while the mail, stream of tne Jabbok conti¬ nued to be their northern boundary, and the land of Moab the. southern. This last is intended by the kingdom of Ammon as used in the sacred history.

The children of Arnmon were gross idolaters. (Judg. x. 6.) Their chief idol was Moloch supposed to be the 45

A. MM

game with Baal, Milcom, &c. and their history is full of the judgments which their sins brought upon them, though they were spared, by God’s express command, when Is¬ rael passed by them from Egypt. (Deut. it. 19. 2Chron. xx. 10.)

Three hundred years after¬ wards the king of the Am¬ monites made war upon the Israelites, under the pretence that they had taken their land, (Judg. xi'13,) and after a severe battle the Ammonites were routed with great slaugh¬ ter.

In the beginning of Saul’s reign, (1 Sam. xi. 1,) the Am¬ monites, under Nahash their king, attacked Jabesh-gilead ; but proposed to spare the in¬ habitants provided they would all consent to lose the right eye. During the time allowed for their answer, they collect¬ ed a sufficient force to meet the Ammonites, and so com¬ pletely routed them, that two of them were not left together.

Fifty or sixty years after this, one of the kings of the Ammonites died, and David, who seems to have been under some obligation to him, sent a message of condolence to his son and successor. This friendly act was not received kindly, and the messengers of David were grossly abused and insulted. (See Hanun.) Expecting that David would attempt to revenge the insult, they obtained large supplies of men from the Syrans ; and when David heard of their preparation for war, he sent Joab, with a chosen troop from the army of Israel, to meet tiiem. The result was fatal to the Ammonites. They and •Jheir allies were subdued, and fled. Rabbath, their capital, and all the rest of their cities, were afterwards destroyed by the Israelites; the king’s

AMO

crown was taken from his head and put on David’s head, and tlie people were reduced to a, state of abject, servitude. (2 Sam. xii. 29—31.)

In this condition they re¬ mained till the reign of Je, hoshaphat, when they united with the Moabites and others, and made war upon Judah, #nd were miraculously cut off. (2 Chron. xx.) Jotham fought and prevailed against them, and made them tribu¬ tary for several years. The most dreadful judgments were threatened against them and their chief city, because they seized and occupied a part of the territory of Israel, (Jer. xlix. 1—6;) and again, because they insolently triumphed over the Israelites in the days of their captivity, (Ezek. xxv. 2—7. 10.;) and every threat was executed to the very utter¬ most, in due time, as profane history abundantly attests. They soon became extinct as a nation, and Origen, a writer of the third century, assures us, that in his time they were only known under the general name of Arabs. Where their capital once stood is now the village of Amman, twenty miles south¬ east of the modern town of Szalt.

AMMON-NO. (See No.)

AMNON (1 Chron. iii. 1) was the eldest son of David, and was guilty of violating the chastity of his half-sis¬ ter,, Tamar. (2 Sam. xiii.) David was very angry, though he did not punish Amnon ; but his brother Absalom deter¬ mined to revenge the injury; and after cherisTiing his pur¬ pose for two years, he finally executed it in his house at a feast to which he had invited Amnon, with the rest of his fa¬ ther’s family. (See Absai.om.)

AMON. (2Kingsxxi. 18-26.) The fourteenth king of Judah.

46

AMO

and the son and successor of Manasseh. He was a wicked king, and died in his own house by the hands of his ser¬ vants, who conspired against him. He was succeeded by his son Josiah.

AMOKITES, (Gen. x. 16.) A Syrian tribe descended front Canaan, and among the most formidable of the tribes with whom the Israelite's contend¬ ed. They were of gigantic stature and great courage, (Amos ii. 5,) and inhabited one of the most fertile districts of the country, being bounded on three sides by the rivers Arnon, Jabbok, and Jordan. (See Ammonites.) The Israel¬ ites asked permission of their king to travel through their territory, promising to injure nothing, not even to draw water from their wells ; but it was refused. The Amorites collected and attempted to op¬ pose their progress, but were defeated, and their territory taken and divided between the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Some have supposed that there were two distinct people or tribes called Amorites; but there seems to be no sufficient ground for the supposition.

AMOS. (Amos i. 1.) One of the lesser prophets, who lived in the reign of Uzziah king of Judah, nearly eight hundred years before Christ. Of course he was a contemporary of Ho- sea. The place of his birth is not known ; but while em¬ ployed as a herdsman, he was divinely appointed to prophe¬ sy againetlsrael. Being driven from Bethel upon the false re¬ presentation made to the king by the idolatrous priest Ama- nah, (Amos vii. 10 — 17,) he went to Tekoa, an obscure town ten or fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. The time and manner of his death are un¬ certain.

Amos, prophecy op, is the

ANA

thirtieth in the order of the books of the Old Testament, and is full of interest and in¬ struction. It has been remark¬ ed as a peculiar feature of this prophecy, that it abounds with illustrations drawn from husbandry, and-the scenes of rustic life ; but it certainly contains some of the most perfect specimens of sublime thought and beautiful expres¬ sion that are to be found in any language. We may refer specially to chapters v. vii. and ix.

AMPHIPOLIS. (Acts xvii.

1. ) A city of European Tur¬ key, originally founded by Cimon, the renowned Athe¬ nian general, (b.c. 500,) and formerly the capital of East¬ ern Macedonia. It lies on the river Strymon, about seventy miles east of Thessalonica. It is now an obscure place and is called by the Turks, Emboli.

AiVIRAPHEL. (Gen. xiv. 1.) The king of Shinar, (Gen. xi.

2. ) or Babylonia, who, con¬ federated with other kings, made war on Sodom and the other cities of the plain ; plun dering them, and making pri¬ soners of their inhabitants. Among the captives was Lot, Abraham’s nephew. (See Lot.)

ANAH. (See Mules.)

ANAK (Num. xiii. 22) was the son of Arba, who gave the name of Kirjalh-arba, or city of Arba, to what is otherwise called Hebron. (Josh. xiv. 15.) Anak had three sons, who were giants ; and their child¬ ren, who were called Anak- ims, were also remarkable for their stature and fierce¬ ness. In the time of Moses they occupied the territory between Hebron and Jerusa¬ lem, and were divided into several tribes op clans. (Josh, xi. 21, 22.) They were, how¬ ever, cut off by Joshua and

ANA

Caleb, and the Israelites en¬ tered into their possessions. The messengers who were Bent forward by the Israelites to search the land, reported themselves to be as grasshop¬ pers in comparison with the children of Anak. (See Gi¬ ants.)

ANAMMELECH. (See Ad-

RAMMELECH.)

ANANIAS. 1 . (Acts v. 1-10.) One of the professed converts to the Christian faith under the preaching of the apostles. When the disciples had thrown their property into a common stock, Ananias sold his estate, and brought a part of the purchase money, pre¬ tending it was the whole pro¬ ceeds of the sale. Being Charged by Peter with his fla¬ grant and aggravated sin, he fell down dead upon the spot. His wife Sapphira, who was rivy to the fraud of her hus- and, 'but ignorant of his dreadful end, being asked for how much their estate had been sold, confirmed the false¬ hood which Ananias had told, and instantly met the same dreadful doom.

2. (Acts xxii. 12.) A primi¬ tive disciple who lived at Damascus, and was commis¬ sioned to visit Paul soon after his conversion, and restore him to sight. The apostle tells us what took place on that occasion, and also speaks of Ananias as a devout man, and highly esteemed in the place ofhis residence. 'It is thought by many that he was one of the seventy disciples, and that he died a martyr.

3. (Acts xxii i. 2.) A Jewish higli priest. When Paul was commencing his defence be¬ fore the Jewish sanhedrim, Ananias, who is called the high priest, ordered him to be struck upon the mouth. The apostle, sensible of the viola¬ tion of his rights, rebuked the

ANA

high priest for his breach of the very law he was appointed to administer. Upon being reminded of the official cha¬ racter of Ananias, as “ God’s high priest,” the apostle re¬ plied that he was not aware of his holding that office. But how could he be ignorant of so notorious a fact 1 asks the caviller. Profane history fur¬ nishes an answer which tri¬ umphantly - vindicates the truth. In consequence of some misunderstanding between the Jews and Samaritans, Ananias had been a few years before deposed from office, and sent a prisoner to Rome. Jonathan succeeded him as high priest, but being murdered by Felix, there was an interval in which the office was vacant. During this interval Paul was arraign¬ ed. On this occasion Ananias assumed the office of president of the sanhedrim, (having been formerly high-priest,) but with¬ out any aufhoiity. Hence the force and propriety of the apos¬ tle’s answer. Ananias was one of Paul’s accusers before Fe¬ lix, and had formed a design to waylay and assassinate him; but his murderous purpose was defeated. (Acts xxv. 3.)

ANATHEMA. (1 Cor. xvi. 22.) In its usual acceptation it means the devoting of an animal, person, or place to de¬ struction.

Anathema maranatha is a Syriac exclamation, signify¬ ing, Let him be accursed whom the Lord curses. These were the words with which the Jews began the sentence of utter excommunication ; not only cutting the subject off from their communion, but consigning him, as far as it was possible, to everlasting perdition. The use of such a dreadful curse by the aposlle, shows in what light he regard¬ ed the sin of not loving out Lord Jesus Christ.

48

AND

ANATHOTH. (Josh, xxi. 18.) A city of the tribe of Benjamin, situated a few miles north of Jerusalem. It was the birth-place of Jere¬ miah, (Jer. i. 1,) and the sub¬ ject of one of his prophecies, (Jer. xi. 19 — 22,) as well as of Isaiah’s. (Isa. x. 30.) It is also an interesting place in con¬ nexion with the Jewish his¬ tory. (2 Sam. xxiii. 27. 1 Kings ii. 26. Neh. vii. 27.)

ANCHOR. (Acts xxvii. 29.) The anchor was formerly cast from the stern of the ship. In the passage cited, reference may be had to an anchor with four flukes or arms, such as are sometimes used by boats in shallow water; or it may

mean four distinct separate anchors. The above repre¬ sents a common anchor with two flukes or arms. (For a de¬ scription of the anchor, and an illustration of its real and fig¬ urative uses, see The An¬ chor, published by Am. S. S. Union.)

ANDREW, (John i. 40,) the son of Jonas and brother of Simon Peter, was a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and originally a disciple of John the Baptist, whom he left to follow our Saviour. When he had found the Messiah, he forthwith sought his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus, and soon after they both attached themselves to the little band of his disciples, and followed him till the close of his ministry. The events with which Andrew was par¬ ticularly connected are re- 5

ANG

I corded in Matt. iv. 18—20. Mark xiii. 3. ; and John i. 35— 40 ; vi. 3—13 ; xii. 22.

ANGEL. (Gen. xxiv. 7.) This word, both in the Greek and Hebrew languages, signi¬ fies a messenger. The original word is often applied to men. (2 Sam. ii. 5. Luke vii. 24, and ix. 52.) When the term is used, as it generally is, to designate spiritual beings, it denotes the office they sustain as God’s messengers, or the agents by whom he makes known his will and executes the purposes of his govern¬ ment.

Our knowledge of the exist¬ ence of such beings is derived wholly from revelation, and that rather incidentally. We know, from their residence and employment, that they must possess knowledge and purity far beyond our present conceptions ; and the titles applied to them denote the exalted place they hold among created intelligences.

Of their appearance and employment we may form some idea from the following

Bassages, viz. Gen. xvi. 7 — 11.

ompare Gen. xviii. 2 ; xix. 2, with Heb. xiii. 2. Judges xiii. 6. Ezek. x. Dan. iii. 28, and vi. 22. Matt., iv. 11 ; xviii. 10, and xxviii. 2 — 7. Luke i. 19; xvi. 22, and xxii. 43. Acts vi. 15; xii. 9. Heb. i. 14. ii. 16. 2 Thess. i. 7. Rev. x. 1, 2. 6.

Of their number some idea may be inferred from 1 Kings xxii. 19. Ps. lxviii. 17. Dan. vii. 10. Matt. xxvi. 53. Luke ii. 9—14. I Cor. iv. 9. Heb. xii. 22.

Of their strength, we may judge from Ps. ciii. 20. 2 Pet. ii. 11. Rev. v. 2; xviii. 21; xix. 17.

And we learn their incon¬ ceivable activity from Judg, xiii. 20. Isa. vi. 2—6. Matt. xiii. 49 ; xxvi. 53. Acts xxvii. 23, Rev. viii. 13.

49

AN 9

These are but a few of the leading passages in which some intimations are given of this superior order ol spi¬ ritual .beings. There is also an order of evil spirits, mi¬ nistering to the will of the prince of darkness, and both active and powerful in their opposition to the will and government of God. (Matt, xxv. 41.)

The above references, if examined closely, will afford very satisfactory knowledge respecting the character, em¬ ployment, &c. of the heavenly messengers.

It may not be amiss to re¬ mark, however —

1. That the expression (Matt, xviii. 10) seems to de¬ note the relation which the children of God sustain to him, and of course to his peo¬ ple, and the watchful care and protection which they enjoy. The same idea is sug-

fested in other passages, as 's. xci. 11, 12. Luke'xv. 10. Acts xii. 15.

2. The angels in heaven have never sinned, and are not therefore partakers of the benefit of Christ’s blood, as men are. Yet it is obvious, that as this wonderful scheme of mercy and grace declares and illustrates the infinite glory of the divine attributes and perfections, so their con¬ ceptions of the divine charac¬ ter are enlarged by the con¬ templation of it, and their happiness greatly increased. (Epn. iii. 10. 1 Pet. i. 12.)

d. They will be the future companions of the heirs of salvation. (Heo. xii. 22, 23. Rev. v. 11, 12.)

4. Angels are to sustain an important office in the future and final administration of God’s government on earth. (Matt. xiii. 39 ; xxv. 31—33. 1 Thess Iv. 16.) i

AN!

5. Angels are not proper objects of adoration. (Col. it. IS. Rev. xix. 10.)

Angel op his presence (Isa. lxiii. 9) by some is sup¬ posed to denote the highest angel in heaven, as “ Gabriel who stands in the presence of God but others believe R refers to no other than the in¬ carnate Word, the brightness of the Father’s glory, and not only the messenger of his pre sence, but the express image of his person.

Angel op the lord (Gen. xvi. 7) is one of the common titles of Christ in the Old Testament. (Ex. xxiii. 20. Compare Acts vii. 30 — 32, and 37, 38.)

Angel of the church. (Rev. ii. 1.) It is said that the minister of the Jewish syna¬ gogue was called the angel of the church, because he ad¬ dressed God in their behalf, and offered supplications as their representative, messen¬ ger, or angel. Hence, the persons in charge of the seven churches of Asia are address¬ ed as the angels of those churches respectively.

Angel of light. (See Devil.) ANGER. (Ps. vii. 11, and xc. 11.) A strong emotion, which is sinful or otherwise, according to its object anti degree. When ascribed t© holy beings, it is used figura¬ tively, to denote high displea¬ sure at sin. In this sense good men may be angry and sin not, (Neh. v. 6. 2 Pet. ii. 7, 8 ;) and even God is said to be angry with the wicked every day. Anger is reckoned among chief sins, and as such is severely rebuked. (Eph. iv. 31. Col. iii. 8, and nume- rous passages in Proverbs.)

ANISE, (Matt, xxiii. 23.) properly Dill, or a plant of the same family with dill, h grew abundantly in Judea,

ANO

and the tithe of it was scru¬ pulously paid by the Phari¬ sees. (See Mint.)

ANNA. (Luke ii. 36.) A descendant of Asher, and a prophetess. She was very constant in her attendance on the services of the temple. At a very advanced age, she listened to the prophetic bless¬ ing which Simeon uttered while he held the infant Re¬ deemer in his arms, and join¬ ed in it with great fervour.

ANNAS. (Luke iii. 2.) At the commencement of John’s ministry, Caiaphas was high priest of the Jews, and they had.only one ; but it was cus¬ tomary often to continue the title to one who had held the office, after he ceased to offi¬ ciate. This was the case with Annas. He is mentioned first because he was eldest in years and office. Five of his sons had filled the office in succes¬ sion ; and he was father-in-law to the incumbent at that time. When our Saviour was appre¬ hended by the Jewish mob, he was carried before Annas first to secure the favour and sanc¬ tion of one who had great in¬ fluence, and by him was sent in bonds to Caiaphas. (John xviii. 13—24.)

• ANOINT. (Gen. xxxi. 13.) The earliest use of this word in the sacred writings, is in the passage cited ; and it sig¬ nifies in that connexion the pourin» of oil upon the stone which Jacob had set up for a pillar. (Gen. xxviii. 18.)

The anointing of persons, places, and things, with oil or ointment of a particular com¬ position, was a mode of con¬ secration prescribed by divine authority, and extensively practised among the Hebrews. (Ex. xxviii. 41.) The ingre¬ dients of the ointment, em¬ bracing the most exquisite perfumes and balsams, are mi¬ nutely given, (Ex. xxx. 23—33,) |

ANO

and the common use of it was expressly forbidden. (Ex. xxx 33.)

It was customary at festi¬ vals, and on other great, and joyful occasions, to anoint the head with fragrant oils; hence, it became a sTgn of joy or hap¬ piness. This fact explains 2 Sam. xi v. 2. Ps. xxiii. 5 ; xcii. 10. Eccl. ix. 8. Matt. vi. 17. It is supposed that anointing was a daily custom. (Ruth iii. 3.) The anointing of kings and rulers is particularly pre¬ scribed, and we have frequent accounts of the process. (2 Sam. xix. 10. 1 Kings i. 39 ; xix. 15, 16.)

The manner of anointing is represented in the annexed cut. It was sometimes done privately by a prophet, (1 Sam. x. 1 ; xvi. 1—13. 1 Kings xix. 16. 2 Kings ix. 1—6,) and was a symbolical intimation that the person so anointed would at some future. day ascend the throne. After the monarchy was established, the anoint¬ ing was done by the priest, (1 Kings i. 39,) probably in some public place, (1 Kings i. 32 — 34,) and, at least on one occasion, in the temple sur¬ rounded by the royal guards. (2 Kings xi. 12, 13.)

It was common to anoint the person, or some part of it, (as the head, feet, hair, &c.) for the sake of health or cleanli¬ ness, or as a token of respect, and also in connexion with religious observances. (Matt, vi. 17. Luke vii. 46. John xii. 3.) When practised to show re¬ spect, the most expensive materials were used, and the ceremony was performed in such a manner as to denote the most humble and submis¬ sive reverence.

The anointing of the sick with oil was also common. The healing properties of oil are well known, and though the cures wrought by the dis- ' 51

ANO

AN1

■iples of our Lord were obvi¬ ously miraculous, they still employed the ordinary means of cure. (Mark vi. 13.) The apostolic direction (James v. 14) respecting the anointing of the sick, shows us that, together with prayer, the ap¬ propriate means of healing shouldbe employed independ¬ ence upon or in the name of the Lord. This anointing, it will be observed, is commend¬ ed with a view to its healing effect, for which purpose it was in constant use among the Jews. Of course to employ it for the professed purpose of sanctifying the soul, or pre¬ paring it for death, is sinful and highly superstitious. It is clear that the use of this passage to justify such prac¬ tices is a gross perversion of language.

The bodies of the dead were often anointed to preserve them from corruption. (Mark xiv. 8; xvi. 1, and Lukexxiii. 56)

The Anointed, or Messiah, who is constituled our high

priest and intercessor, was anointed with the Holy Ghost, of which the anointing of priests under the Jewish dis¬ pensation is supposed to be typical. (Ps.xliv.7. Isa. lxi. 1. Dan. ix. 24. Luke iv. 18. 21. Acts iv. 27, and x. 38.) The terms anoint, anointed, and anointing, are employed also in a variety of forms to illus¬ trate the sanctifying influences of divine grace upon the soul. (2 Cor. i. 21. 1 John ii. 20-27. Rev. iii. 18.)

ANT. (Prov. vi. 6, and xxx. 25.) A little insect, remarkable for industry, economy, and architectural skill. They are called by an inspired writei “ exceeding wise,” and Cicero was so filled with wonder at their wisdom, that he declared they must have mind, reason, and memory.

The account of the manner in which they collect grain and prevent it from germinat¬ ing is entirely fanciful, as is, also the supposition that they lay up grain for winter. That they provide themselves food

ANT

in the season of it, is rightly Inferred from their whole cha¬ racter and habits ; and the re¬ roach of the sluggard is, that e lets the summer pass and the harvest end, while he is indulging in sloth and idle¬ ness. (ProV. vi. 6.)

That the ant is “ exceeding wise1’ is evident from its his¬ tory and habits, which have been investigated by modern naturalists. Their habitations are constructed with regular stories, sometimes to the num¬ ber of thirty or forty, and have large chambers ; numerous Vaulted ceilings, covered with a single roof; long galleries and corridors, with pillars or columns of very perfect pro¬ portions.

The materials of their build¬ ing, such as earth, leaves, and the fragments of wood, are tempered with rain, and then dried in the sun. By this pro¬ cess the fabric becomes so firm and comfiact, that a piece may be broken out without any injury to the surrounding parts ; and it is so nearly im¬ pervious, that the longest and most violent rains never pene¬ trate more than a quarter of an inch.

They are well sheltered in their chambers, the largest of which is placed nearly in the centre of the building. It is much higher than the rest, and all the galleries termi¬ nate in it. In this apartment they spend the night and the cold months, during which they are torpid or nearly so, and require not the food which they are fancifully sup¬ posed to lay up.

To illustrate their industry and immense labour, it is said that their edifices are more than five hundred times the height of the builders; and that if the same proportion were preserved between hu¬ man dwellings and those who 6*

ANT

build them, our bouses would be four or five times higher than the pyramids of Egypt, the largest of which is "four hundred and eighty leet in height, and requires a base of seven hundred feet square to support it. The largest of one species of ant does’not stand more than a quarter of an inch high, while their nests or houses are from twelve to twenty feet high, qnd large enough to hold a dozen men. It is scarcely necessary to say that the ant to which this article refers, is the Asiatic or South Ameri¬ can ant, and not that 'insect which we know by the same name.

ANTICHRIST. (1 John ii. 18. 22.) This word occurs only in the epistles of John ; and as he uses it, it denotes—

1. A great power that was to arise at a period succeed¬ ing the apostolic days, and which would oppose, with great virulence and blasphe¬ my, the doctrines and disci¬ ples of Christ. The same power is supposed to be meant in 2 Thess. ii. 3. 8, 9 Rev. xvii. and xviii.

2. False teachers who are hostile to the church of Christ, and to the spirit and precepts of his religion.' In this sense the same thing is probably meant, (1 Tjm.'iv. 1,) and th.i"s antichrist was in the world in the days of the apostles. (1 John iv. 3.)

Who is antichrist'! has been a question of curious and not uninteresting speculation for ages. The prevailing opinion seems to be, that the papal power is intended to be repre¬ sented ; and that the history of that power thus far corres¬ ponds very accurately in its principal features with the sure word of prophecy._ For the grounds of this opinion, reference may be had to

ANT

Newton, Simpson, Ward, and others, on the prophecies.

ANTIOCH. 1. (Acts xi. 26.) A city of this name was long the capital of Syria. It was lituated on the banks of the Brontes, about equi-distant from Constantinople and Alexandria, and was once a place of great opulence and commercial enterprise. Its ci¬ tizens enjoyed peculiar civil privileges, and it ranked as the third city of the Koinan provinces. Paul and Barnabas preached here ; and here, too, the. name Christian was first applied to the disciples, whe¬ ther as a term of reproach or as a mere distinctive title, is not certain. The same word occurs, A els xxvi. 28, and IPet. iv. 16- Galileans or Nazarenes were terms of reproach ; hut it is supposed the name Chris¬ tian merely denoted the adhe¬ rents of Christ, or the supposed Messiah. (See Christian.)

The calamities which have befallen the city of Antioch are probably without a parallel, both in respect to number and severity. It has been besieged and plundered at least fifteen times, and in one instance 117,000 persons were slain or taken prisoners. Three limes has it been visited with famine, twice with fire, and once with plague ; and four times it was overthrown by an earthquake, by one of which twenty -five thousand persons are supposed to have perished. These visi¬ tations of God, connected with the sins and idolatries of the people, have long since re¬ duced the city to desolation. The splendid buildings of ancient times have "given place to mean hovels, and a population of 500,000 souls is reduced to 10,000, and these are wretched and miserable in the extreme. In 1822, an earthquake overwhelmed even the ruins of the city;

APE

so that it may be said, with the force of literal truth, that every thing relating to Anti¬ och is past. Modern Antioch is situated twenty miles east of the Mediterranean, and is called by the Arabs, Anthakia. Most of the houses are built of mud and straw, and thfc place exhibits every appear¬ ance of misery and wretched¬ ness.

2. Antioch (Acts xiti. 14) was the name of the capital of the province of Pisidia, in Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabas preached there, and we have a fuller abstract of one of Paul’s sermons at this place, than of any of the apostolic discourses. A violent persecution was rais¬ ed against them, and they were compelled to flee for their lives. There were at least sixteen cities of the name of Antioch in Syria and Asia Minor.

ANTIPATKIS. (Acts xxiii. 31.) A town between Cesarea and Jerusalem, ten or filteen miles from Joppa. It was founded by Herod the Great, and is distinguished as the place to which Paul was con¬ veyed by the Roman guard, to escape the conspiracy formed against him by tne Jews, who had agreed to waylay him on the following day, and put him to death.

APE. (1 Kings x. 22.) This animal, which bears a rude re¬ semblance to the human race, both in figure and physical capacity, was among the arti¬ cles of merchandise import¬ ed from Ophir, in Solomon’s ships.

The ape was an object of worship among the Egyptians, and is still such in many pans of India. We have an account of a temple in India, dedicated to the worship of the ape, supported by seven hundred columns, not inferior to those of the Roman Pantheon. An 54

APH

APE

ape’s tooth was found by the Portuguese when they pib laged the island of Ceylon many years since, and so de¬ sirous were they to redeem it as an object of devout wor¬ ship, that the kings of the coun¬ try offered nearly seventy-five thousand dollars for it.

In other temples of India, as travellers inform us, not less than 10,000 apes are mai n- tained as sacred animals. The above engraving shows the in¬ terior of a temple of the ape, in the island of Japan, with the worshippers bowing in adoration of the image of the sacred animal.

APELLES. (Rom. xvi. 10.) His origin and residence are Unknown, but his character

is given in three words,— ap. proved in Christ.

APHARSITES. (Ezra iv. 9.) This, with several other tribes named in the same connexion, are supposed to have been colonies from Chaldea, Media, and Persia, who settled in Sa¬ maria.

APHEK. 1. (1 Sam, iv. 1- 11.) A city on the border of Judah and Benjamin, east of Jerusalem, where the Israel¬ ites were defeated by the Phi¬ listines, and the ark taken from them. This place is sup¬ posed to be the same which is elsewhere called Aphekah. (Josh. xv. 53.)

2. A city in Issachar, situ¬ ated in the plain of Esdraelon not far from Shunem, in the 55

APO

vicinity of which Saul and Jonathanfell in battle. (1 Sam. xxix. 1.) Its exact site is not known.

3. A city in the tribe of Ash¬ er, also called Aphik, (Judg. i. 31,) situated in Lebanon, on the northern border of Ca¬ naan, where there is now a village called Aphka. It was here that Benhadad assembled the Syrians, (Josh. xii. 18; xiii. 4 ; xix. 30. 1 Kings xx.

26,) 37,000 of whom were de¬ stroyed by the falling of a wall. APHEKAH. 7 g„e abov„ APHIK. 5 b APHKAH. (See Ophrah.) APOLLONIA. (Acts xvii. 1.) A city of Macedonia, situ, ated at the head of the jEgean Sea, on a promontory between Phessalonica and Philippi.

APOLLOS. (Acts xviii. 24.) He was born at Alexandria, in Egypt, of Jewish parents, and is described as an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scrip¬ tures. As one of John’s dis¬ ciples, he had been instructed in the elements of the Chris¬ tian faith, and came to Ephe¬ sus to speak and teach the things of the Lord. He was there more particularly and fully taught the doctrines of the gospel by Aquila and Priscilla, who had themselves been favoured with the com¬ pany and instruction of Paul, at Corinth and on a voyage from that city to Ephesus. He afterwards went into Achaia, where his labours were crown¬ ed with abundant success. At Corinth, too, he was regarded as a powerful and successful reacher of the gospel. Paul ad alreadybeen instrumental in establishing a church there, to the care of which Apollos succeeded. (1 Cor. iii. 6.) The members of it were divided into parties, some being par¬ ticularly partial to Paul, others jo Apollos, and others still to Jephas. The rebuke of the

APO

apostle (1 Cor. i. 12,) is direct ed against these partialities, in all which the power and grace of God seemed to be overlooked or disregarded. It has been remarked as an ex¬ emplary trait of character of these two eminent apostles, that the contention of their respective friends and admir¬ ers had no effect on their love and respect for each other. They both refrained from vi¬ siting the church while it was distracted with such preju¬ dices and partialities, though a worldly ambitionmight have selected it as the field and the season of self-aggrandi ce¬ ment.

APOLLYON. (See Abad¬ don.)

APOSTLE. 1. (Matt, x.2.) This term was given, origin¬ ally, to the twelve chief disci¬ ples of our Lurch Their names were, Simon Peter; Andrew; James and John, (sons of Ze- bedee ;) Philip ; Bartholo¬ mew; Thomas; Matthew; James and Lebbeus, who is also called Judas or Jude, (sons of Alpheus ;) Simon, the Canaanite ; and Judas Isca¬ riot. Christ’s charge to them is recorded in Matt. x. 5 — 12, and is worthy to be diligently studied. The circumstances of their history, as far as they are known, will be found un¬ der their respective names.

After the ascension of the Redeemer, we find the names of eleven of the apostles re¬ peated, as among those who were engaged in prayer and supplication at Jerusalem, for the descent of the Spirit ; and Matthias is also named, he having been appointed to the apostleship in the place of Judas Iscariot.

The office and commissicn of apostles were remarkable in the following particulars : — (1.) They were all required to have been eye and ear wit* 66

APP

nesses of what, they testified. (John xv. 27. Acts i. 21, 22, and xxii. 14, 15. 1 Cor. ix. 1, and xv. 8. 1 John i. 3.) (2.) They were all called or chosen by our Saviour himself. (Luke vi. 13. Gal. i. 1.) Even Mat¬ thias is not an exception to this remark, as the determi¬ nation of the lot was of God. (Acts i. 24—26.) (3.) They

were inspired. (John xvi. 13.) (4.) They had the power of miracles. (Mark xvi. 20. Acts ii. 43. Heb. ii. 4.)

2. The term apostle is ap¬ plied to our Saviour, (Heb. iii. I,) and with singular pro¬ priety, as in the character of Messiah he is emphatically the sent of God.

APPAREL. (See Clothes.)

APPEAL. (Acts xxv. 11.) By the Roman law every accused citizen had a right to carry his cause before the emperor at Rome, by appeal from the judgment of the magistrate.

APPII-FORUM. (Acts xxviii. 15.) The place where Paul met several of his brethren from Rome, when he was on his way to that city as a pri¬ soner. It was about fifty miles from Rome. The place is now called Piperno, and is on the Naples road. The name is de¬ rived from the circumstance that, it is on the Appian way ; a road leading from Rome to Capua, which was made by Appius Claudius ; and that it contained a forum or market¬ place, to which pedlars and petty merchants resorted in great numbers.

APPLES, APPLE TREE. Sol. Song it. 3. Joel i. 12.) It is generally agreed that these terms refer to the citron tree, and its fruit. The proper apple tree is very rare in the east, and its fruit is destitute both of beauty and fragrance, and in both these respects ill ac¬ cords with the allusions to it

AP.

in the sacred writings. (See Biblical Antiquities, vol. i. p. 38.)

Apples op sold in pictures of silver (Prov. xxv. 11) is a figurative expression, com¬ aring delicious fruit in silver

askets, or salvers curiously wrought like basket work, and perhaps representing ani¬ mals or landscapes, to sea¬ sonable advice wisely and Vfc courteously administered. '

Apple of the eye. (Prov. vii.2. Zech. ii. 8.) In these passages reference is had to the keen sensibility of the ball of the eye. The same figure is used (Deut. xxxii. 10, and Ps. xvii. 8) to denote the most complete protection and security. And in Lam. ii. 18 the phrase “apple of thine eye”‘ is figuratively used for tears.

AQUILA. (Acts xviii. 2.) A Jew born at Pontus, in Asia Minor. Being driven from Rome by a decree of the go¬ vernment requiring all Jews to leave that city, he and his wife Priscilla came to Co¬ rinth, and were dwelling there at the time of Paul’s first visit to that city. (Acts xviii. 1.) They were of like occupation, (tent makers,) and Paul was received and hospitably en¬ tertained at Aquila’s house ; and they also accompanied him from Corinth to Ephesus.

On some occasion they ren¬ dered Paul very important service, and a very warm friendship existed between them. (Rom. xvi. 3—5. See Apollos.)

AR, (Num. xxi. 28.) or RAB- BAH-MOAB, the chief town of Moab, was situated twenty or twenty-five miles s iuth of the river Arnnn. It is called Rabbah or Great., as the chief town of the Ammonites was called Rabbah-Ammon, and by the Greeks it was called

ARA

Ai'enpolis. Its present name is El-Rabbi, ana modern tra¬ vellers have discovered two copious fountains near the ruins of the ancient city. (Num. xxi. 15.)

ARABIA, (1 Kings x. 15,) called by the natives the

fieninsula of the Arabs, lies n Western Asia, south and southwest of Judea. It is fif¬ teen hundred miles from north to south, and twelve hundred from east to west, or about four times the extent of the kingdom of France. It is bounded north by Syria, east by the river Euphrates and the Persian gulf, south by the Indian ocean, and west by the Red Sea, Palestine, and part of Syria. It is described in three divisions, the name of each being indicative of the face of the soil, and its gene¬ ral character:—

1. Arabia Deserta (or the desert) is a wide waste of burning sand, with here and there a palm tree, and a spring of brackish water. This was the country of the Ishmaelites, and is inhabited by the modern Bedouins.

2. Arabia Petrea (or rocky) comprehends what was formerly the land of Midian. The Edomites and the Amalekites also dwelt here, and a very powerful and independent tribe of Ishmael¬ ites. It was a land of shep¬ herds, and the scene of some of the most interesting events in the history of man. Horeb and Sinai were within its bounds.

3. Arabia Felix (or hap¬ py) was an exceedingly fruit¬ ful land. The inhabitants, who claim their descent from Shem, were unlike the shep¬ herds and robbers who occu- ied the other districts. They ad permanent abodes, sup- Oorted themselves by agricul-

ARA

ture and commerce, and once possessed a high degree of wealth and refinement.

It is supposed that many of the articles mentioned in Ex. xxx. 23, 24, particularly the balm, were imported from Arabia; and even at this day, caravans of merchants, the descendants of the Cushites, Ishmaelites and Midianites, are found traversing the same deserts, conveying the same articles and in the same manner, as in the days of Moses.

It has been said, that if any people in the world afford, in their history, an instance of high antiquity, and great sim¬ plicity of manners, the Arabs surely do. Coming among them, one can hardly help fancying himself suddenly carried back to the ages im¬ mediately succeeding tha flood. Of all nations, the Arabs have spread farthest over the globe, and in all their wanderings have pre¬ served their language, man¬ ners, and peculiar customs, more perfectly than any other nation.

They have various traditions respecting scripture person¬ ages and events ; and for a full and lucid view of their po¬ litical and geographical rela¬ tions, see Geography of thb Bible, pp. 46—60, and Bedou¬ in Arabs, both by Am. S. S. Union.

ARAD. (Judg. i. 16.) A city in the southern border of Judea, whose king opposed the pas¬ sage of the children of Israel, and even took someofthem pri¬ soners, for which they were ac¬ cursed and their cilydestroyed.

ARAM. (See Syria.) When this word is coupled with some other, as Aram-Maachah, it means the “ Syrians of Maa- chah,” and so of other similar cases.

58

ARA

ARARAT. (Gen. viii. 4.) A district of country lying near the centre of tile kingdom of Armenia. It contained seve¬ ral cities, which were the residence of the successive kings and governors of Arme¬ nia, and hence the word Ara¬ rat is often applied to the whole kingdom. The word translated the land of Arme¬ nia, (2 Kings xix. 37. Isa. xxxvii. 38,) is, in the original, Ararat. In the north-east part of Armenia is a range of mountains, on the summit of which the ark rested. It is called Agridah by the Turks. There are two peaks about seven miles apart, the highest of which is 15,000 feet (and a late French traveller says 16,000 feet) above the level of the sea, and is perpetually covered with snow. A modern traveller says of it, that when viewed from the plain below, one would think that the high¬ est mountains of the world had been piled upon each other, to form this one sublime immensity of earth, and rocks, and snow ; this awful monu¬ ment of the antediluvian world ; this stupendous link in the history of man before and since the flood. Once the population of the whole wide world was embraced in one small family, and that family inhabited this spot. All the animal tribes were assembled here,— birds, beasts, reptiles, and insects. But one lan¬ guage was then spoken. Here, too, the bow of the covenant was set ; and here was erect¬ ed the first altar, after the dreadful catastrophe of the destruction of the world. The immediate vicinity of the mountain is inhabited by Koords, a savage tribe, of Mo¬ hammedans. And since the last war between Russia and Persia, the Russian bounda¬ ries have been so extended as

ARA

to embrace Ararat ; and now Russia, Persia, and Turkey meet at that mountain. (See Map, pp. 60, 61.)

There has been much con¬ troversy as to the fact whether the ark rested on this moun¬ tain, chiefly in consequence of the phraseology of Gen. xi. 2, which has been supposed to denote that the place where the ark rested was east of the plain of Shinar, whereas the Ararat of Armenia is west of it. But this difficulty is alto¬ gether imaginary, for we are not told the direction of the route which Noah and his family took, as if it had been said, they “journeyed from east to westf and came to a plain, &c. The phrase, from the east, signifies in the ori¬ ginal, before , in respect both to time and place ; so that the expression only means that in their first general migration from Ararat, they came to a plain, &c. This view of the case is confirmed by Jewish historians, and the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. li. 27) speaks of Ararat as one of the coun¬ tries of the north , from which an invading force should come upon Babylon; and this cor¬ rectly describes the situation of Ararat, in Armenia: it is almost due north of Babylon. (See Evening Recreations, by the American Sunday- school Union, part i. pp. 1>— 23.)

ARAUNAH, or ORNAN, <2 Sam. xxiv. 16,) was a Jebusite, who lived at Jerusalem, ana owned a threshing-place or floor, where the temple was afterwards built. In conse¬ quence of the sin of David, the king, a pestilence was sent through the nation, which was sweeping off its inhabitants at the rate of 70,000 in a day. An angel was seen hovering over the threshing-floor of Araunah, with his arm lifted

6

61

ARC

up for the destruction of Jeru¬ salem. David was humbled, and confessed his sin, and God, by one of the prophets, directed him to go to that spot and build an altar there unto the Lord. He obeyed, and when he came to the spot and made known his business, Araunah refused to receive any thing for it, but offered it to him, together with oxen for sacrifices, and the timber of the threshing instruments for fuel. David refused to receive them as a gift, as he would not offer to the Lord that which had cost him nothing. He therefore bought the oxen for fifty shekels of silver, (2 Sam. xxiv. 24,) or $22 50, and the whole place for six hundred shekels of gold, (IChron. xxi. 25,) or $4524, and offered his sacrifices, which were accept¬ ed, and the plague stayed.

ARBA. (See Hebeon.)

ARCHANGEL. (1 Thess. iv. 16.) The prince or chief of angels. Michael is called the archangel, (Jude 9,) and it is generally believed that a cre¬ ated, though highly exalted, being is denoted by the term, and not Him whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah v. 2-)

ARCHELAUS. (Matt. ii. 22.) A son of Herod the Great. On the decease of his father, the same year that our Saviour was born, Archelaus succeed¬ ed to the government of Judea, and reigned there when Jo¬ seph and Mary, with the in¬ fant Jesus, were returning from Egypt, whither they had gone to escape the fury of He¬ rod. Archelaus, however, was much like his father in the malignity of his temper, and they were therefore still afraid to return.

ARCHER. (Gen. xxi. 20.) One who is skilled in the use of the bow and arrows, as

ARE

Ishmael and Esau were. (See Armour.)

ARCHI. (Josh. xvi. 2.) A town on the southern border of Ephraim, between Bethel and Beth-horon the nether. It is celebrated as the birth- placeofHushaijDavid’sfriend. (See Hushai.)

. AKCITURUS. (Job xxxviii. 32.) The name of a star, or more probably a constellation, in the northern heavens. Som'e have supposed that Jupiter and the satellites were in¬ tended in the allusion of the poet.

AREOPAGITE, AREOPA¬ GUS. (Acts xvii. 19. 34.) The title of the judges of the su¬ preme tribunal of Athens. The name is derived from Areopagus, (the hill of Mars,') which signifies either the court itself, or the hill or spot on which it was held. It was a rocky elevation almost in the centre of the city. The tri¬ bunal that assembled here had particular cugnizance of all blasphemies against, the hea- thengods; and therefore Paul, who so pointedly condemn¬ ed the idolatries of the city, while he urged them to seek and serve Jehovah as the only living and true God, was esteemed “ a setter forth of strange gods,” and wag brought, before the Areopagus for trial. He there exhibited the sin and folly of idol wor¬ ship with such power that Dionysius, one of the judges, and Damaris,