Bible Cities
This map shows the region known as Trans-Jordan in the land
of ancient Israel.
The Trans-Jordan region of Israel was very fertile land
that was well watered by the Yarmuk and Jabbok rivers. The
hillsides were known for having flocks of sheep, goats, and
roaming herds of cattle. The Trans-Jordan region overlapped
with the district of Decapolis, so both terms refer to the
same general location on the northeastern part of Israel.
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This map shows the cities known as Tyre and Sidon in the
land of Phoenicia near ancient Israel.
The Bible says that when Jesus travelled to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came to him and begged
him to save her daughter from a demon. The woman pleaded
and pleaded with Jesus until Jesus turned to her and
said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed at that very
moment.
Jesus also referred to Tyre and Sidon when he was
addressing the cities of Israel: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles in these cities
but they still did not believe he was the Son of God.
Jesus said if he had done the same miracles in Tyre and
Sidon they would have repented of their sins and believed
in him! That statement would have really gotten their
attention, because they believed that the Messiah would
only be for the Jewish people not the Phoenicians or any
other people. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus came and
died for everyone!
Read More
This map shows the cities known as Tyre and Sidon in the
land of Phoenicia near ancient Israel.
The Bible says that when Jesus travelled to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came to him and begged
him to save her daughter from a demon. The woman pleaded
and pleaded with Jesus until Jesus turned to her and
said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed at that very
moment.
Jesus also referred to Tyre and Sidon when he was
addressing the cities of Israel: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles in these cities
but they still did not believe he was the Son of God.
Jesus said if he had done the same miracles in Tyre and
Sidon they would have repented of their sins and believed
in him! That statement would have really gotten their
attention, because they believed that the Messiah would
only be for the Jewish people not the Phoenicians or any
other people. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus came and
died for everyone!
Read More
This map shows the cities known as Tyre and Sidon in the
land of Phoenicia near ancient Israel.
The Bible says that when Jesus travelled to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came to him and begged
him to save her daughter from a demon. The woman pleaded
and pleaded with Jesus until Jesus turned to her and
said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed at that very
moment.
Jesus also referred to Tyre and Sidon when he was
addressing the cities of Israel: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles in these cities
but they still did not believe he was the Son of God.
Jesus said if he had done the same miracles in Tyre and
Sidon they would have repented of their sins and believed
in him! That statement would have really gotten their
attention, because they believed that the Messiah would
only be for the Jewish people not the Phoenicians or any
other people. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus came and
died for everyone!
Read More
This map shows the cities known as Tyre and Sidon in the
land of Phoenicia near ancient Israel.
The Bible says that when Jesus travelled to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came to him and begged
him to save her daughter from a demon. The woman pleaded
and pleaded with Jesus until Jesus turned to her and
said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed at that very
moment.
Jesus also referred to Tyre and Sidon when he was
addressing the cities of Israel: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles in these cities
but they still did not believe he was the Son of God.
Jesus said if he had done the same miracles in Tyre and
Sidon they would have repented of their sins and believed
in him! That statement would have really gotten their
attention, because they believed that the Messiah would
only be for the Jewish people not the Phoenicians or any
other people. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus came and
died for everyone!
Read More
This map shows the cities known as Tyre and Sidon in the
land of Phoenicia near ancient Israel.
The Bible says that when Jesus travelled to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came to him and begged
him to save her daughter from a demon. The woman pleaded
and pleaded with Jesus until Jesus turned to her and
said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is
granted." And her daughter was healed at that very
moment.
Jesus also referred to Tyre and Sidon when he was
addressing the cities of Israel: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles in these cities
but they still did not believe he was the Son of God.
Jesus said if he had done the same miracles in Tyre and
Sidon they would have repented of their sins and believed
in him! That statement would have really gotten their
attention, because they believed that the Messiah would
only be for the Jewish people not the Phoenicians or any
other people. Thankfully for you and me, Jesus came and
died for everyone!
Read More
GEN-NES`A-RET (garden of the prince),
i. A fertile,
crescent shaped plain on the west shore of the lake of
Gennesaret, about three miles long and one wide.
ii. The Lake of Gennesaret is called the "Sea of
Chinnereth" in the Old Testament, from the town of
Chinnereth, or Cinneroth, which stood on its shores. Num.
34:11.
iii. Called "Sea of Galilee" in the New Testament from the
country west of it. It is thirteen miles long and six wide.
It is 700 feet below the bed of the ocean, and is
surrounded with bold shores. It might be called an
enlargement of the river Jordan. The country around it was
densely populated and it was the scene of many notable
instances in the life of Christ.
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LEB`A-NON (white, incense), The mountains on the north of
Israel, Deut. 1:7; 11:24. There are two parallel ranges
running northeast to southwest for about ninety miles,
between which is Coele (hollow) Syria. The western range is
Libanus or Lebanon proper; the eastern range is the Anti-
Libanus. Average height 6,000 to 8,000 feet. Cliffs are
white limestone, peaks covered with snow, hence the name
signifying "white." Frequently alluded to in scriptures,
Is. 10:34 ; Ps. 72:16 ; Jer. 22:23. In Song of Sol. 7:4,
Mt. Hermon is alluded to.
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LYD`DA, Greek form of Lud or Lod. It stands in the plain of
Sharon nine miles from Joppa, and is called Lidd or Ludd.
It acquired great importance during the Crusades as the
native place of St. George, patron saint of England. Acts
9:33-34.
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MAG`DA-LA (tower, greatness), A village on the west shore
of the Sea of Galilee near Tiberias, now Medjel, Matt
15:39.
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Mare Internum (Mare Nostrum). Latin names for Mediterranean
(Biblical name "Great Sea"). Num. 34:6-7; Josh. 1:4; 9:1;
15:12; 23:4; Ezek. 47:10; 48:28
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ME-GID`DO (precious fruit), A town of Manasseh on southern
limit of the plain of Esdraelon, Josh. 12:21. Scene of the
great conflict between Sisera and Barak and of Josiah`s
death, Judg. 4:13 ; 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron, 35:22.
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MICH`MASH (who strikes), A town of Benjamin about seven
miles north of Jerusalem. Noted in wars with Philistia, 1
Sam. 13; 14. Also referred to as MICH`MAS in Ezra 2:27.
Read More
NA`IN (beauty, dwelling). Now Nein, is a small village of
Galilee, near Mt. Tabor. Christ raised from death the
widow`s son near its gate, Luke 7:12.
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NAZ`A-RETH (separated, sanctified). First mentioned in
Matt, 2:23. A town of Galilee among the hills north of the
plain of Esdraelon, and about midway between the Jordan and
the Mediterranean Sea. It was the residence of Jesus and
called his city, Luke 1:26; 4:16, 29. Called En-Nazirah, a
neat village of 3000 or 4000 inhabitants.
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This map shows the location of Aenon in the land of Israel.
The word aenon means "springs" which is a fitting name for
this area where John the Baptist was recorded baptizing in
the Bible. In Scripture it is referred to as the place
"near to Salim."
Read More
This map shows the location of Bethany in the land of
Israel. The town of Bethany was located about two miles
east of Jerusalem on the road toward the city of Jericho.
Bethany is where the man named Lazarus lived, and he was
friends with Jesus. When Lazarus was sick his sisters sent
for Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus had a different
plan!
After several more days, Jesus and his disciples learned
that Lazarus had died. At that time they packed up their
things and traveled to Bethany. After Lazarus had been dead
for four days, Jesus called to him from outside of the tomb
saying, "Lazarus, come forth!" And Lazarus was alive again!
Simon the leper also lived in Bethany, and it was at
Simon`s house that a woman came and poured expensive
perfume on Jesus` head.
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This map shows the city of Bethlehem where Jesus was born
in a manger. The reason it is important that Jesus was born
in Bethlehem is because in Micah 5:2 it was prophesied that
the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It`s also important
to know that Bethlehem was also the birthplace of King
David. And it was prophesied that the Messiah would come
from David`s family. Jesus fulfilled both prophesies!
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This map shows the location of Bethphage in the land of
Israel.
The town of Bethphage was on the Mount of Olives very close
to the town of Bethany and the capital city of Jerusalem.
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This map shows the location of Bethsaida in the land of
Israel.
There were two towns named Bethsaida on the north part of
the Sea of Galilee. On this map is Bethsaida-Julias which
is the general location that many believe is where Jesus
fed the 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two
fish. Bethsaida is also the town where the people brought a
blind man to Jesus and he healed his eyes so he could see!
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This map shows the city known as Caesarea in the land of
ancient Israel.
Caesarea was located along the coast of the Mediterranean
Sea. Herod the Great built the city up and made it very
strong and he named it Caesarea in honor of Augustus
Caesar. Philip the evangelist lived here, and so did
Cornelius the Roman centurion. Caesarea was roughly 70
miles northwest of Jerusalem and was frequently visited on
the road from Tyre to the land of Egypt.
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This map shows the city of Cana where Jesus performed his
first miracle: turning water into wine.
Jesus, his mother Mary, and the disciples were all invited
to a wedding in the town of Cana. Cana is a few miles north
of the town of Nazareth in the region of Galilee. While
celebrating, the hosting family ran out of wine so Jesus
told their servants to fill six very large stone pots all
the way up with water. Then Jesus told them to take some of
it out to the host of the party; when they did the man
drank the water, but it wasn`t water anymore it was turned
into wine!
Isn`t it great that the very first miracle of Jesus
recorded in the Bible was for a celebration of marriage?
Marriage is beautiful and worthy of celebrating! Now you
know where the town of Cana is, where Jesus turned water
into wine.
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This map shows the region known as Decapolis in the land of
ancient Israel.
The region of Decapolis was mentioned three times in the
Bible. It contained ten cities that were rebuilt and given
special treatment under the Roman Empire. The original 10
cities are believed to be Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara,
Philadelphia, Pella, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Damascus, and
Raphana. Decapolis was a well populated region during
ancient times, but there aren`t many inhabitants there
today.
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This map shows the region known as Galilee in the land of
ancient Israel.
The northern region of Israel called Galilee was mentioned
many times in the New Testament. Jesus spent a lot of his
time in Galilee, which gave him the nickname "the
Galilean." Nazareth was located in the region of Galilee,
which is where Jesus grew up and lived for most of his
life. Cana is also in the Galilean region and that is where
Jesus did his first recorded miracle of turning water into
wine!
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This map shows the region known as Idumea in the New
Testament.
The region on the south border of Judea was called Idumea
by the Greeks and Romans. It belonged to the Edomites of
the Old Testament. The father of Herod the Great Idumean.
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This map shows the great city of Jerusalem where Jesus
visited the temple as a boy. Many things happened in the
city of Jerusalem throughout the Bible. Jerusalem was
captured by Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament, David
established Jerusalem as his capital, Solomon built the
temple, and Jesus visited the city many times throughout
his life.
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This map shows the region of Judea in the land of ancient
Israel.
The region of Judea was 55 miles long, from Bethlehem where
Jesus was born, down to the city of Beersheba. Almost half
of Judea was desert! It was a very dry and barren place in
the west, but there were hills and the Jordan river in the
east.
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This map shows the region of Nabatea in the land of ancient
Israel.
The region of Nabatea was conquered by the Romans under the
rule of Pompey. He restored the cities that were destroyed
by the Jews and set up the Decapolis. The region of Nabatea
was used by the Romans as a buffer state against the desert
tribes and prospered when it officially joined the empire.
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This map shows the town of Nain where Jesus visited brought
a widow`s son back to life!
The Bible says that Jesus was saddened when he entered the
town and saw that a widowed woman`s only son had died. He
told her not to cry, then commanded her son to get up--and
he did!
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This map shows the region of Samaria in the land of ancient
Israel.
The region of Samaria was known for its rich agriculture:
wheat and barley, grapes and olive vineyards. Jesus passed
through the land of Samaria on his way to and from
Jerusalem, but most people of that time would have gone
around Samaria. The exact boundaries of Samaria are unknown
but we know that it went as far as the Jordan river in the
east and to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the west
side."
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This map shows the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on
water!
Did you know that 18 of the 33 recorded miracles of Jesus
were likely done in the area surrounding the Sea of
Galilee? It was common for big storms to hit the the sea
really quickly because of the sea`s climate and location.
There were many cities surrounding the Sea of Galilee
including Capernaum, Tiberias, and Bethsaida.
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CAES-A-RE`A (for Caesar), An important city on the
Mediterranean coast of Palestine, and in line ot travel from
Tyre to Egypt. Anciently called Strato`s Tower. Built by Herod
the Great, and named in honor of Caesar Augustus. Political
capital of Palestine. Residence of Philip, Acts viii, 40; and
Cornelius, Acts x, xi, 1-18. You can visit the site and see
many ruins. Ancient Caesarea was about 70 miles from Jerusalem.
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CAES-A-RE`A PHIL-IP`PI, Called by Josephus, Panium, because
the god Pan had a sanctuary there. A city at the foot of
Mt. Hermon, whence the most eastern branch of the Jordan
flows. It marks the northern limits of Christ`s pilgrimage
on earth. Built by the tetrach Philip, and named after
Tiberius Caesar and himself. Identified with Baal-gad of
the Old Testament. Probably the scene of the
transfiguration, Matt 16:13 ; Mark 8:27.
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AE-NON (springs), A place where John baptized, west of the
Jordan, John 3:23.
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AN`A-THOTH (song, poverty), i. See 1 Chron. 7:8, and Neh
10:19. ii. A Levitical city situated in the boundaries of
Benjamin four miles north of Jerusalem, Isa. 10:30; Josh,
21:18. Its ruins nave lately been discovered.
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AR`I-MA-THE`A (lion dead to the Lord), A city of Judea,
Luke 23:51 ; Matt, 27:57. Doubtless the Ramah of 1 Sam.
1:1.
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BE`ER-SHE`BA (well of an oath, or seventh well). One of the
oldest places in the southern part of Israel. The spot
still identified as Bir es Seba, well of the Lion or seven.
The well was dug by Abraham, and his compact with Abimelech
celebrated there with an oath ratified by the gift of seven
ewe lambs. Hence the name. Gen 21:31-33.
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DA-MAS`CUS (sack full of blood, similitude of burning), A
city of Syria east of Anti-Lebanus, and in the midst of a
lovely and fertile plain opening on the Desert. Gen. 14:15
, 15:2 Contiguous region called "Syria of Damascus," 2 Sam.
8:5. Taken by David, 8: 5, 6, and by Jeroboam, 2 Kings
14:28. Afterwards subject to Assyria, Babylon, Persia,
Seleucidae and the Romans. In Paul`s time much thronged by
Jews. Scene of Paul`s conversion. Acts 9:1-27; 22:1-16.
Always a commercial centre, Ezek, 27:18. Called now in the
East the "Paradise of the world." Present population,
150,000. Belongs to Turkey. Chief gathering place of
pilgrims for Mecca. Damask cloth and Damascus swords are
noted. Still a street there called "Straight," as in Acts
9:11.
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BETH`A-NY (house of song, or affliction), A village of
Israel, on the slope of Olivet, about four miles from
Jerusalem, now called Lazarieh, "village of Lazarus," Mark
11:1 ; Luke 19:29.
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BETH-EL (house of God). 1. A city and holy place of central Israel, twelve miles
north of Jerusalem. Two accounts of name in Gen, 28:19 ; 35:14-15. But consult Gen.
12:8. Ephraim took it as Bethel, Judg. 1:22-26. Israelites went up to Bethel to ask
counsel of God, Judg. 20:18, 26, 31. The ark was there, Judg. 20:26, 28. A holy city,
1 Sam. 7:16. 2. A town in the south of Judah, Josh, 12:6; 1 Sam. 30:27 ; appears
elsewhere as Chesil, Bethul, and Bethuel.
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BETH`LE-HEM (house of bread), i. A town of Israel six
miles south of Jerusalem. Early called Ephrath and Ephrata,
Gen. 35:16-19, Josh. 15:59. Both Ephrata and Bethlehem in
Ruth and Samuel. Bethlehem-Judah in Josh, 17:7. The
birthplace of David and Christ, Matt 2:1-5 ; Luke 2:4. ii,
A town in Zebulon, Josh, 19:15.
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BETH`PHA-GE (house of my mouth), A place on the slope of
Olivet close to Bethany, Matt 21:1 ; Luke 19:29.
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CA`NA (jealousy, possession) A town of Galilee, seven miles
north of Nazareth. Scene of Christ`s first miracle, John
2:1-2 ; 4:46. Birth-place of Nathanael, John 21:2.
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CA-PER`NA-UM (hamlet of repentance or comfort), Chief city
of Galilee on the north-west shore of the sea of Galilee.
Christ`s "own city," Matt 4:12-16 ; where he wrought mighty
works, 17:23; Chief residence of the Lord and his apostles.
The doom pronounced in Matt 11:20-24 has been literally
fulfilled.
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CAR`MEL (full of corn), i. A city of Judah on the Mountain
of Carmel six miles south-east of Hebron. Nabal`s
possession, 1 Sam. 25:2 ; seat of Saul`s trophy, 25:12 ;
and Uzziah`s vineyards, 2 Chron. 26:10. ii. The bold
promontory which forms the bay of Acre, 1500 feet high,
separating Sharon from Esdraelon. Familiar by histories of
Elijah and Elisha, Isa. 35:2 ; 33:9 ; 2 Kings 2:25 ; 4:25 ;
1 Kings 18.
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DEAD SEA, Not so called until the second century. In Old
Testament "the Salt Sea," and "Sea of the Plain."
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DE-CAP`0-LIS (ten cities). An illy defined province of Syria
and Israel created by the Romans, lying on both sides of the
Jordan but principally on the east. The ten cities it
contained according to Pliny were: Scythopolis, Hippos,
Gadera, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Damascus
and Raphana, Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31
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E`BAL (ancient heaps), i. A son of Joktan (1 Chron. 1:22),
also of Shobal (Gen. 35:23). ii. Mount Ebal, on which the
cursings of valley and town of Shechem between. Its base is
full of caves and sepulchral excavations.
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EM`MA-US (people despised), The village of Israel to which
the two disciples were going when Christ appeared to them.
Luke makes it "three-score furlongs" or seven and a half
miles north-west of Jerusalem, Luke 24:13-33. Eusebius
makes it Nicopolis.
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EN-GE`DI (fountain of the goat), A town of Judah on the
western shore of the Dead Sea, Josh 15:62 ; Ezek. 47:10.
Originally called Hazazon Tamar on account of its palm-
groves, 2 Chron. 20:2 ; Ecclus. 24:14. It is identified by
the fountain of Ain Jidy, on an elevation some four hundred
feet above the sea, Gen. 14:7 ; 1 Sam. 24:1-4. Its
vineyards were celebrated by Solomon, Song of Sol. 1:14
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GAD`A-RA (surrounded or walled), Once a strong city east of
the Jordan, some seven miles south of the sea of Galilee.
Now Um-keis, and ruins plenty. Noted as the scene of the
miracles mentioned in Matt. 8:28-34 ; Mark 5:1-20; Luke
8:26-40.
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GEN-NES`A-RET (garden of the prince), i. A fertile,
crescent shaped plain on the west shore of the lake of
Gennesaret, about three miles long and one wide.
ii.
The Lake of Gennesaret is called the "Sea of Chinnereth" in
the Old Testament, from the town of Chinnereth, or
Cinneroth, which stood on its shores. Num. 34:11.
iii.
Called "Sea of Galilee" in the New Testament from the
country west of it. It is thirteen miles long and six wide.
It is 700 feet below the bed of the ocean, and is
surrounded with bold shores. It might be called an
enlargement of the river Jordan. The country around it was
densely populated and it was the scene of many notable
instances in the life of Christ.
Read More
GIL-BO`A (wheel of inquiry), The mountain range on the
south east of Esdraelon overlooking Jezreel, 1 Sam. 28:4.
Scene of the defeat of Saul and Jonathan, 1 Sam. 31:1 ; 2
Sam. 1:6.
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HE`BRON (friendship),
i. Third son of Kohath and uncle
of Moses and Aaron, Ex. 6:18 ; Num. 3:19, 27.
ii. In 1
Chron. 2:42 a place is probably meant.
iii. A city of
Judah among the mountains twenty miles south of Jerusalem.
It was one of the most ancient cities of Canaan, Num. 13:22
; was known to Abraham, Gen. 13:18. Its original name was
Arba, after Arba the father of Anak, progenitor of the
Anakim, Judg. 1:10; Josh, 21:11. Now called El-Khulil which
is the Arabic name of Abraham. The cave of Machpelah is
still to be seen. Present population 5000.
iv. A town
in Asher, Josh. 19:28.
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HER`MON (lofty, prominent). The most conspicuous and
beautiful mountain in Israel. It is the southern point of
the Anti-Lebanon range, at the head waters of the Jordan.
Called Sirion by Sidonians, Shenir by Amorites, and Sion in
Deut. 4:4S. It was the great northern landmark of the
Hebrews. Height 10,000 feet, Josh, 11:17; Deut. 3:8.
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ID`U-ME`A, Greek name of Edom, Isa. 34:5-6; Matt. 3:8.
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JAB`BOK (dissipation, wrestling), A stream of Gilead
entering the Jordan midway between the Sea of Galilee and
the Dead Sea. It constituted the southern boundary of
Ammon. Now Zurka. Num. 21:24; Deut. 2:37; Gen. 32:22.
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JOP`PA (beauty), A town on the Mediterranean coast of
Israel; the seaport of Jerusalem, 1 Kings 5:9 ; 2 Chron.
2:16; Ezra 3:7 ; 2 Kings 14:25. Now Jaffa. It was of
Phoenician origin and during the middle ages frequently
changed hands by conquest. Now belongs to the Israel.
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JOR`DAN (river of judgment, the descender). The chief river
of Israel ; rises in range of Anti-Lebanon, flows
southwardly expanding into Lakes Merom and Gennesareth, a
distance of two hundred miles and empties into the Dead
Sea. Its current is rapid, fords are difficult, the valley
narrow except opposite Jericho. Volume of water variable,
breadth from seventy-five to three hundred feet and depth
from three to ten feet. Though lost in the Dead Sea, its
valley extends to the Gulf of Arabia. Conspicuous in Bible
history from earliest date, Gen. 13:10; Josh, 2:7; Judg.
3:28; 7:24; 12:6 ; 2 Sam. 10:17; Matt, 3:13.
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JER`I-CHO (his moon, month, or sweet smell). An original
city of Canaan in valley of Jordan seven miles from the
river, and eighteen miles from Jerusalem. Due west from
Gilgal and the place where the river was forded by the
Israelites. Destroyed by Joshua and fell to Benjamin, Josh,
16:7 ; 18:21. A curse was pronounced on him who should
rebuild it. Josh, 6:26 ; 1 Kings 16:34. Called "the city of
Palm trees" in Deut. 34:3 ; Judg. 1:16. The revived Jericho
probably occupied a site near to old. It came into great
importance, and is frequently mentioned in after history, 2
Kings 2:1-22 ; 25:5 ; Matt, 20:30 ; Mark 10:46.
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JE-RU`SA-LEM (vision of peace)
If not the Salem of Gen. 14:18, certainly the Jebus of
the Old Testament until the time of David when the name
Jerusalem was fully adopted. Situated in the southern
portion of Benjamin, twenty-four miles from the Jordan
and thirtyseven miles from the Mediterranean Sea near the
summit of a broad mountain ridge. Partially destroyed at
the time of conquest, soon after the death of Joshua, but
Jebusite not expelled, Judg. 1:8. Assaulted by
David (1 Chron. 12:23-39) and taken B.C. 1046. Rebuilt by
him, beautified with palaces, surrounded by walls, and
made his capital. In the time of Solomon the temple,
pools and gardens were built, fortifications enhanced,
and the city was made the most beautiful and renowned
city of antiquity.
From Judges to A.D. 100 the city was besieged seventeen
times, twice razed to the ground, and twice had its walls
levelled. Largest acreage within old walls: 180. Maximum
population: 70,000. Captured and destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 588. Jews returned after seventy
years and rebuilt it. Taken by Alexander, of Macedon,
B.C. 332. A few years it fell into the hands of Ptolemy
of Egypt. B.C. 170 Jerusalem was taken by Antiochus
Epiphanes of Syria. B.C. 163, restored to Jews by
Maccabees. A.D. 70-71, taken and destroyed by Rome. Jews
banished A.D. 135, and city named Aelia Capitolina. Name
restored under Constantine. A.D. 613, captured by Persia.
A.D. 627, recovered by Greeks. Captured by Omar the
Mohammedan, A.D. 637. A.D. 863, taken by Turks. A.D.
1099-1187 was under Christian kings-Crusaders. Since then
mostly under Turkish rule until Israel became a nation
again in 1948.
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JU-DAE`A, JU-DE`A (land of Judah),
In a general sense the whole of Israel, but more
particularly that southern portion which constituted the
kingdom of Judah, viz., the allotments of Judah, Benjamin,
and parts of Simeon and Dan. Word first used in Dan. 5:13.
Became general after the captivity, Ezra 5:8 ; Neh. 11:3 ;
Matt, 19:1 ; Mark 10:1. Under Rome it was
governed by a procurator.
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And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of
Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of
Shechaniah.
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And the sons of Pedaiah [were], Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and
the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith
their sister:
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Rosetta (Arabic: ÑÔíÏý Rashid, French: Rosette) is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is located 65 km (40 miles) east of Alexandria, in al-Buhayrah governorate. It was founded around AD 800.
With the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, Rashid boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century it was a popular British tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and cleanliness.
The town of Rashid came to be known in the West as Rosette (Rosetta), the name by which it was referred to by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt. It is famous as the site where the "Pierre de Rosette" (Rosetta Stone) was found by French soldiers in 1799.
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(well of the oath), the name of one of the old places in Israel which formed the southern limit of the country. There are two accounts of the origin of the name. According to the first, the well was dug by Abraham, and the name given to Judah, Jos 15:28 and then to Simeon, Jos 19:2; 1Ch 4:28 In the often-quoted "from Dan even unto Beersheba," Jud 20:1 it represents the southern boundary of Canaan, as Dan the northern. In the time of Jerome it was still a considerable place, and still retains its ancient name --Bir es-Seba. There are at present on the spot two principal wells and five smaller ones. The two principal wells are on or close to the northern bank of the Wady es-Seba. The larger of the two, which lies to the east, is, according to Dr. Robinson, 12 1/2 feet in diameter, and at the time of his visit (April 12) was 44 1/2 feet to the surface of the water. The masonry which encloses the well extends downward 28 1/2 feet. The other well is 5 feet in diameter, and was 42 feet to the water. The curb-stones around the mouth of both wells are worn into deep grooves by the action of the ropes of so many centures. These wells are in constant use today. The five lesser wells are in a group in the bed of the wady. On some low hills north of the large wells are scattered the foundations and ruins of a town of moderate size.
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After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Republic. It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia, the Roman road connecting Byzantium (later Constantinople), with Dyrrhachium (now Durres in Albania), and facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. The city became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia; it kept its privileges but was ruled by a praetor and had a Roman garrison, while for a short time in the 1st century BC, all the Greek provinces came under Thessalonica (the Latin form of the name). Due to the city's key commercial importance, a spacious harbour was built by the Romans, the famous Burrowed Harbour (Σκαπτός Λιμήν) that accommodated the town's trade up to the eighteenth century; later, with the help of silt deposits from the river Axios, it was reclaimed as land and the port built beyond it. Remnants of the old harbour's docks can be found in the present day under Odos Frangon Street, near the Catholic Church.
Thessaloniki's acropolis, located in the northern hills, was built in 55 BC after Thracian raids in the city's outskirts, for security reasons.
The city had a Jewish colony, established during the first century, and was to be an early centre of Christianity. On his second missionary journey, Paul of Tarsus, born a Hellenized Israelite, preached in the city's synagogue, the chief synagogue of the Jews in that part of Thessaloniki, and laid the foundations of a church. Other Jews opposed to Paul drove him from the city, and he fled to Veroia. Paul wrote two of his epistles to the Christian community at Thessalonica, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians and the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians.
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(winding), a place which possesses a special interest from its
having been the residence and the private property of David.
It is first mentioned in the catalogue of the towns of Judah
in Jos 15:31 and occurs, in the same connection among the
places which were allotted out of the territory of Judah to
Simeon. Jos 19:5 We next encounter it in the possession of the
Philistines 1Sa 27:6 when it was, at David's request, bestowed
upon him by Achish king of Gath. He resided there for a year
and four months. 1Sa 27:6,7; 30:14,26; 1Ch 12:1,20 It was
there he received the news of Saul's death. 2Sa 1:1; 4:10 He
then relinquished it for Hebron. 2Sa 2:1 Ziklag is finally
mentioned as being reinhabited by the people of Judah after
their return from captivity. Ne 11:28 The situation of the
town is difficult to determine, and we only know for certain
that it was in the south country.
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a town in the Negeb, or south country of Judah (Josh.
15:31), in
the possession of the Philistines when David fled to
Gath from
Ziph with all his followers. Achish, the king,
assigned him
Ziklag as his place of residence. There he dwelt for
over a year
and four months. From this time it pertained to the
kings of
Judah (1 Sam. 27:6). During his absence with his
army to join
the Philistine expedition against the Israelites
(29:11), it was
destroyed by the Amalekites (30:1, 2), whom David,
however,
pursued and utterly routed, returning all the
captives (1 Sam.
30:26-31). Two days after his return from this
expedition, David
received tidings of the disastrous battle of Gilboa
and of the
death of Saul (2 Sam. 1:1-16). He now left Ziklag
and returned
to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam and
Abigail, and
his band of 600 men. It has been identified with
'Asluj, a heap
of ruins south of Beersheba. Conder, however,
identifies it with
Khirbet Zuheilikah, ruins found on three hills half
a mile
apart, some seventeen miles north-west of Beersheba,
on the
confines of Philistia, Judah, and Amalek.
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A city in southern Judah, associated with Chesil and Hormah
(Joshua 15:31; Joshua 19:5; 1 Chronicles 4:30). Lieut.
Conder identifies it with Zehleika or Khirbet Zuheilikah in
the middle of the plain N. of Beersheba, 200 miles square,
just where the narrative concerning David would lead us to
look for it. The ruins are on three small hills, forming an
equilateral triangle, almost half a mile apart; among the
ruins are several cisterns. Simeon possessed it. Assigned by
Achish king of Gath to David, for the Philistines had taken
it.
Thence David went up against the Geshurites,
Gezrites, and Amalekites (1 Samuel 27:8-9; 1 Samuel 30:14; 1
Samuel 30:26), for these tribes occupied the plateau
overhanging the Philistine plain to the W. and wady Murreh
to the S. He resided there a year and four months; it was
there he received daily new accessions of forces (1
Chronicles 12:1-20), and heard of Saul's death (2 Samuel
1:1; 2 Samuel 4:10); thence he went to Hebron (2 Samuel
2:1). Thus Ziklag lay at the confines of Philistia, Judah,
and Amalek. Its position probably was in the open country,
pastoral and amble, reached from the S. after passing out of
wady er Ruheibeh. The term used in 1 Samuel 30:11 is "the
field (sadeh) of the Philistines"; sadeh is applied to the
country of Amalek (Genesis 14:7). Reoccupied after the
Babylonian captivity by the men of Judah (Nehemiah 11:28).
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As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah,
and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu,
and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that [were] of
Manasseh.
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When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to
have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in
Ziklag, who [thought] that I would have given him a reward for
his tidings:
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We made an invasion [upon] the south of the Cherethites, and
upon [the coast] which [belongeth] to Judah, and upon the
south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
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And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the
elders of Judah, [even] to his friends, saying, Behold a
present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;
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Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was
returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had
abode two days in Ziklag;
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Now these [are] they that came to David to Ziklag, while he
yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and
they [were] among the mighty men, helpers of the war.
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And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof,
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And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,
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And Ziklag, and Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusah,
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And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
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Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag
pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
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And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to
Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the
south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with
fire;
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zo'-ar (tso`ar; the Septuagint usually Segor, Zogora): The
name of the city to which Lot escaped from Sodom (Gen 19:20-
23,30), previously mentioned in Gen 13:10; 14:2,8, where its
former name is said to have been Bela. In 19:22, its name is
said to have been given because of its littleness, which
also seems to have accounted for its being spared. The
location of Zoar has much to do with that of the cities of
the Plain or Valley of Siddim, with which it is always
connected. In Dt 34:3, Moses is said to have viewed "the
Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, unto
Zoar," while in Isa 15:5 and Jer 48:4 (where the Septuagint
reads unto "Zoar," instead of "her little ones") it is said
to be a city of Moab. The traditional location of the place
is at the south end of the Dead Sea. Josephus says (BJ, IV,
viii, 4) that the Dead Sea extended "as far as Zoar of
Arabia," while in Ant, I, xi, 4, he states that the place
was still called Zoar. Eusebius (Onomasticon, 261) locates
the Dead Sea between Jericho and Zoar, and speaks of the
remnants of the ancient fertility as still visible. Ptolemy
(v. 17,5) regards it as belonging to Arabia Petrea. The
Arabian geographers mention it under the name Zughar,
Sughar, situated 1 degrees South of Jericho, in a hot and
unhealthful valley at the end of the Dead Sea, and speak of
it as an important station on the trade route between
Akkabah and Jericho. The Crusaders mention "Segor" as
situated in the midst of palm trees. The place has not been
definitely identified by modern explorers, but from Gen
19:19-30 we infer that it was in the plain and not in the
mountain. If we fix upon the south end of the Dead Sea as
the Vale of Siddim, a very natural place for Zoar and one
which agrees with all the traditions would be at the base of
the mountains of Moab, East of Wady Ghurundel, where there
is still a well-watered oasis several miles long and 2 or 3
wide, which is probably but a remnant of a fertile plain
once extending out over a considerable portion of the
shallow south end of the Dead Sea when, as shown elsewhere
(see DEAD SEA), the water level was considerably lower than
now.
Robinson would locate it on the northeast corner of el-Lisan
on the borders of the river Kerak, but this was done
entirely on theoretical grounds which would be met as well
in the place just indicated, and which is generally fixed
upon by the writers who regard the Vale of Siddim as at the
south end of the Dead Sea. Conder, who vigorously maintains
that the Vale of Siddim is at the north end of the Dead Sea,
looks favorably upon theory of W.H. Birch that the place is
represented by the present Tell Shaghur, a white rocky mound
at the foot of the Moab Mountains, a mile East of Beth-haram
(Tell er-Rameh), 7 miles Northeast of the mouth of the
Jordan, a locality remarkable for its stone monuments and
well-supplied springs, but he acknowledges that the name is
more like the Christian Segor than the original Zoar.
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A city of the Moabites, near the Jordan River
Ge 13:10
-Territory of
De 34:3; Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34
-King of, fought against Chedorlaomer
Ge 14:2,8
-Not destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah
Ge 19:20-23,30
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(smallness), one of the most ancient cities of the land of
Canaan. Its original name was BELA.
Ge 14:2,8 It was in intimate connection with the
cities of the "plain of Jordan" --Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and
Zeboiim, See also Ge 13:10 but not Gene 10:19
In the general destruction of the cities of the
plain Zoar was spared to afford shelter to Lot. Ge
19:22,23,30 It is mentioned in the account of the death of
Moses as one (of the landmarks which bounded his view from
Pisgah, De 34:3 and it appears to have been known in the
time both of Isaiah, Isa 15:5 and Jeremiah. Jer 48:34 These
are all the notices of Zoar contained in the Bible. It was
situated in the same district with the four cities already
mentioned, viz. in the "plain" or "circle" of the Jordan,
and the narrative of Ge 19:1... evidently implies that it
was very near to Sodom. vs. Ge 19:15, 23:27 The definite
position of Sodom is, and probably will always be, a
mystery; but there can be little doubt that the plain of the
Jordan was at the north side of the Dead Sea and that the
cities of the plain must therefore have been situated there
instead of at the southern end of the lake, as it is
generally taken for granted they were. [SODOM] (But the
great majority of scholars from Josephus and Eusebius to the
present of the Dead Sea.)
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small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to
which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen.
19:22, 23). It
was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred
to by the
prophets Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:34). Its ruins
are still
seen at the opening of the ravine of Kerak, the Kir-
Moab
referred to in 2 Kings 3, the modern Tell esh-Shaghur.
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Originally Bela; still called so when Abram first settled in
Canaan (Genesis 14:2; Genesis 14:8; Genesis 14:10).
Connected with the cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboiim (Genesis 13:10). The southern division of
the Dead Sea (apparently of comparatively recent formation),
abounding with salt, and throwing up bitumen, and its shores
producing sulphur and nitre, answers to the valley of
Siddim, "full of slime pits," and to the destruction of the
cities by fire and brimstone, and to the turning of Lot's
wife into a pillar of salt. The S. bay is probably the vale
of Siddim. Scripture does not say the cities were buried in
the sea, but overthrown by fire from heaven (Deuteronomy
29:23; Jeremiah 49:18; Jeremiah 50:40; Zephaniah 2:9; 2
Peter 2:6). Josephus speaks of Sodomitis as burnt up and as
adjoining the asphaltite lake (B. J., 4:8, Section 4).
All ancient testimony favors the position of the
cities being at the southern end. The traditional names of
Usdum, etc., the traditional site of Zoar (called by
Josephus, Ant. 1:11, Section 4, Zoar of Arabia), the hill of
salt traditionally made Lot's wife, all favor their site
being within or around the shallow southern bay. Tristram
however identifies Zoar with Zi'ara at the northern end.
Jerome (ad Joshua 15, and Quaest. in Genesis 14) and
Theodoret (in Genesis 19) say Zoar was swallowed up by an
earthquake probably after Lot had left it. So Wisdom (Wisdom
of Solomon 10:6) says five cities were destroyed; so
Josephus (B. J. 4:8, Section 4). But Deuteronomy 29:23
mentions only four; and Eusebius says Bela or Zoar was in
his day garrisoned by Romans. It is the point to which
Moab's fugitives shall flee (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34).
Lot's view from the mountain E. of Bethel between
Bethel and Ai (Genesis 13:3; Genesis 13:10; Genesis 12:8) is
not to be pressed as though he could see all the plain of
Jordan as far as to the S. of the Dead Sea; he saw only the
northern end, but that sample assured him of the well
watered character of the whole. From Pisgah or Nebo
(Deuteronomy 34:3) Moses saw from "the plain of the valley
of Jericho" southward as far as "unto Zoar"; not that Zoar
was near Jericho, for Jehovah showed him "all the land of
Judah and the South." It was probably on the S.E. side of
the Dead Sea, as Lot's descendants, Ammon and Moab, occupied
that region as their original seat. Tristram's statement
that the ground of Zi'ara falls in terraces for 3,000 ft. to
the Jordan valley is at variance with Lot's words, "I cannot
escape to the mountain: behold this city (evidently not a
place so hard to get up to as 3,000 ft. elevation) is near
to flee unto, and it is a little one"; its inhabitants are
so few that their sins are comparatively little, and so it
may be spared. (Rashi.)
Subsequently Lot fearing Zoar was not far enough
from Sodom, nor high enough to be out of danger, fled to the
mountains to which the angel originally urged his flight
(Genesis 19:17-23; Genesis 19:30). God's assurance "I will
not overthrow this city ... for the which thou hast spoken"
ought to have sufficed to assure Lot; his want of faith
issued in the awful incest of the mountain cave; compare the
spiritual lesson, Jeremiah 3:23. Abulfeda spells it Zoghar.
Fulcher, the crusading historian (Gesta Dei, 405), found
Segor at the point of entrance to the mountains of Arabia,
S. of the lake; probably in the wady Kerak, the road from
the S. of the Dead Sea to the eastern highlands. Irby and
Mangles found extensive ruins in the lower part of this
wady, which they name Dera'ah, perhaps corrupted from Zoar.
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And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of
Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and
the king of Bela (the same [is] Zoar;) and they joined battle
with them in the vale of Siddim;
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[That these] made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha
king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the
LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the
LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
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Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till
thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was
called Zoar.
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My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives [shall flee]
unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting
up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way
of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
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From the cry of Heshbon [even] unto Elealeh, [and even] unto
Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar [even] unto
Horonaim, [as] an heifer of three years old: for the waters
also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
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And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the
city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
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The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
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And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and
his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar:
and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
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the city from which St. Paul first sailed, in consequence of a
divine intimation, to carry the gospel from Asia to Europe. Ac
16:8,11 It is mentioned on other occasions. Ac 20:5,6; 2Co
2:12,13; 2Ti 4:13 Its full name was Alexandria Troas (Liv.
xxxv. 42), and sometimes it was called simply Alexandria
sometimes simply Troas. It was first built by Antigonus under
the name of Antigonea Troas, and peopled with the inhabitants
of some neighboring cities. Afterward it was embellished by
Lysimachus, and named Alexandria Troas. Its situation was on
the coast of Mysia, opposite the southeast extremity of the
island of Tenedos. Under the Romans it was one of the most
important towns of the province of Asia. In the time of St.
Paul it was a colonia with the Jus Italicum. The modern name
is Eski-Stamboul, with considerable ruins. We can still trace
the harbor in a basin about 400 feet long and 200 broad.
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a city on the coast of Mysia, in the north-west of Asia Minor,
named after ancient Troy, which was at some little
distance from
it (about 4 miles) to the north. Here Paul, on his
second
missionary journey, saw the vision of a "man of
Macedonia," who
appeared to him, saying, "Come over, and help us"
(Acts
16:8-11). He visited this place also on other
occasions, and on
one of these visits he left his cloak and some books
there (2
Cor. 2:12; 2 Tim. 4:13). The ruins of Troas extend
over many
miles, the site being now mostly covered with a forest
of oak
trees. The modern name of the ruins is Eski Stamboul
i.e., Old
Constantinople.
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Alexandria Troas, now Eshki Stamboul, "old Constantinople."
A city of Mysia, S. of ancient Troy, opposite the island
Tenedos. The country was called the Troad. Antigonus built
and Lysimachus enlarged. Troas. It was the chief port
between Macedonia and Asia Minor. The roads to the interior
were good. Suetonius says Julius Caesar designed to
establish there the seat of his empire (Caesar, 79);
Augustus and Constantine meditated the same project. Roman
sentiment attracted them to Troas, the alleged seat from
whence Aeueas, the fabled progenitor of Rome's founder,
originally migrated. The rains are large, and the harbour
still traceable, a basin 400 ft. by 200 ft. Here on his
second missionary tour Paul saw the vision of the man of
Macedon praying, "come over and help us" (Acts 16:8-12).
During his next missionary tour Paul rested a while
in his northward journey from Ephesus, hoping to meet Titus
(2 Corinthians 2:12-13). On his return from this his first
gospel preaching in Europe, he met at Troas those who went
before him front Philippi; he stayed at T. seven days, and
here restored to life Eutychus who had fallen from the third
loft, being overwhelmed with sleep during Paul's long
sermon: a reproof of carelessness and drowsiness in church
on the one hand, and of long and late preaching on the other
(Acts 20:5-13). Here after his first imprisonment he left
his cloak, books, and parchments in Carpus' house (2 Timothy
4:13). Troas had then the jus Italicum. Beautiful coins of
Troas are extant, the oldest bearing the head of Apollo
Sminthius. The walls enclose a rectangle, one mile from E.
to W. and one mile from N. to S.
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And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened
bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we
abode seven days.
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The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest,
bring [with thee], and the books, [but] especially the
parchments.
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Furthermore, when I came to Troas to [preach] Christ's gospel,
and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
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Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course
to Samothracia, and the next [day] to Neapolis;
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And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
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These going before tarried for us at Troas.
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tir (tsowr. tsor, "rock"' Turos, "Tyrus"; modern Sur):
1. Physical Features:
The most noted of the Phoenician cities situated on the
coast, lat. 33ø 17 minutes, about 20 miles South of Sidon
and about 35 North of Carmel. The date of its foundation is
uncertain, but it was later than that of Sidon. It is
mentioned in the travels of the Egyptian Mohar, dating
probably from the 14th century BC, and in the Tell el-Amarna
Letters of about the same period. Herodotus describes the
temple of Hercules at Tyre and says it was built 2,300 years
before his time, which would carry back the beginning of the
city to more than 2700 BC. It was a double city, one part on
an island, a short distance from the shore, and the other on
the mainland opposite. The island city had two harbors,
connected by a canal, one looking North and the other South.
The island was rocky and the city was fortitled on the land
side by a wall 150 ft. high, the wall being of less
elevation on the other sides. It was an exceedingly strong
position, and is referred to in the Bible as the "strong" or
"fortitled" city (Josh 19:29). The space within the walls
was crowded with buildings, and is said to have contained
40,000 inhabitants. The town on the mainland was situated in
a plain extending from the Ras el-`Abyad, on the South to
Sarepta on the North, a distance of about 20 miles. It was
fertile and well watered, the river Leontes (Litany) passing
through it to the sea, about 5 miles N. of Tyre, and the
copious fountain of Ras el-`Ain, 3 miles to the South,
furnishing an abundant supply both for the city and the
gardens.
2. History:
(1) Tyre was for centuries subordinate to Sidon, but when
the Philistines subdued the latter city, probably in the
12th century. (see SIDON), Tyre received an accession of
inhabitants from the fugitives which gave it the pre-
eminence. From this time dates its great commercial and
colonial activity. Its mariners pushed boldly out to the
West and founded colonies in Spain and North Africa, some of
which, like Gades, Abdera and Carthage, became famous. They
extended their commerce more widely than Sidon had ever done
and ventured into the Atlantic and reached the coasts of
Britain and West Africa. They reached out to the East also,
and had their ships in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and
their land routes threaded all Western Asia (see PHOENICIA).
Tyre, like all the Phoenician...
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1. Kingdom of
Hiram, king of
1Ki 5:1; 2Ch 2:3
Sends material to David for his palace
2Ch 2:3
Men and materials sent from, to Solomon, for the
erection of
the temple and his castles
1Ki 5:1-11; 9:10,11; 2Ch 2:3-16
See HIRAM
-2. City of
Situated on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
On the northern boundary of the tribe of Asher
Jos 19:29
Pleasant site of
Ho 9:13
Fortified
Jos 19:29; 2Sa 24:7
Commerce of
1Ki 9:26-28; 10:11; Isa 23; Eze 27; 28:1-19; Zec
9:2; Ac
21:3
Merchants of
Isa 23:8
Antiquity of
Isa 23:7
Riches of
Isa 23:8; Zec 9:3
Besieged by Nebuchadnezzar
Eze 26:7; 29:18
Jesus goes to the coasts of
Mt 15:21
Heals the daughter of the non-Jewish, Syrophenician
woman
near
Mt 15:21-28; Mr 7:24-31
Multitudes from, come to hear Jesus, and to be healed of
their diseases
Mr 3:8; Lu 6:17
The hostility of Herod Agrippa I toward
Ac 12:20-23
Paul visits
Ac 21:3-7
To be judged according to its opportunity and privileges
Mt 11:21,22; Lu 10:13,14
Prophecies relating to
Ps 45:12; 87:4; Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 27:1-11; 47:4
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(a rock), a celebrated commercial city of Phoenicia, on the
coast of the Mediterranean. Its Hebrew name, Tzor, signifies
a rock; which well agrees with the site of Sur, the modern
town, on a rocky peninsula, formerly an island. There is no
doubt that, previous to the siege of the city by Alexander
the Great, Tyre was situated on an island; but, according to
the tradition of the inhabitants, there was a city on the
mainland before there was a city on the island; and the
tradition receives some color from the name of Palaetyrus,
or Old Tyre, which was borne in Greek times by a city on the
continent, thirty stadia to the south. Notices in the Bible.
--In the Bible Tyre is named for the first time in the of
Joshua, ch. Jos 19:29 where it is adverted to as a fortified
city (in the Authorized Version "the strong city") in
reference to the boundaries of the tribe of Asher, But the
first passages in the Hebrew historical writings, or in
ancient history generally, which actual glimpses of the
actual condition of Tyre are in the book of Samuel, 2Sa 6:11
in connection with Hiram king of Tyre sending cedar wood and
workmen to David, for building him a palace; and
subsequently in the book of Kings, in connection with the
building of Solomon's temple. It is evident that under
Solomon there was a close alliance between the Hebrews and
the Tyrians. Hiram supplied Solomon with cedar wood,
precious metals and workmen, and gave him sailors for the
voyage to Ophir and India, while on the other hand Solomon
gave Hiram supplies of corn and oil, ceded to him some
cities, and permitted him to make use of some havens on the
Red Sea. 1Ki 9:11-14, 26-28; 10:22 These friendly relations
survived for a time the disastrous secession of the ten
tribes, and a century later Ahab married a daughter of
Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, 1Ki 16:31 who, according to
Menander, was daughter of Ithobal king of Tyre. When
mercantile cupidity induced the Tyrians and the neighboring
Phoenicians to buy Hebrew captives from their enemies, and
to sell them as slaves to the Greeks and Edomites, there
commenced denunciations, and at first threats of
retaliation. Joe 3:4-8; Am 1:9,10 When Shalmaneser, king of
Assyria, had taken the city of Samaria, had conquered the
kingdom of Israel, and carried its inhabitants into
captivity, he laid siege to Tyre, which, however,
successfully resisted his arms. It is in reference to this
siege that the prophecy against Tyre in Isaiah, Isa 23:1 ...
was uttered. After the siege of Tyre by Shalmaneser (which
must have taken place not long after 721 B.C.). Tyre
remained a powerful state, with its own kings, Jer 25:22;
27:3; Eze 28:2-12 remarkable for its wealth, with territory
on the mainland, and protected by strong fortifications. Eze
26:4,6,8,10,12; 27:11; 28:5; Zec 9:3 Our knowledge of its
condition thenceforward until the siege by...
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a rock, now es-Sur; an ancient Phoenician city, about 23
miles,
in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of
Sidon. Sidon
was the oldest Phoenician city, but Tyre had a
longer and more
illustrious history. The commerce of the whole world
was
gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. "Tyrian
merchants were the
first who ventured to navigate the Mediterranean
waters; and
they founded their colonies on the coasts and
neighbouring
islands of the AEgean Sea, in Greece, on the
northern coast of
Africa, at Carthage and other places, in Sicily and
Corsica, in
Spain at Tartessus, and even beyond the pillars of
Hercules at
Gadeira (Cadiz)" (Driver's Isaiah). In the time of
David a
friendly alliance was entered into between the
Hebrews and the
Tyrians, who were long ruled over by their native
kings (2 Sam.
5:11; 1 Kings 5:1; 2 Chr. 2:3).
Tyre consisted of two distinct parts, a rocky
fortress on the
mainland, called "Old Tyre," and the city, built on
a small,
rocky island about half-a-mile distant from the
shore. It was a
place of great strength. It was besieged by
Shalmaneser, who was
assisted by the Phoenicians of the mainland, for
five years, and
by Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 586-573) for thirteen years,
apparently
without success. It afterwards fell under the power
of Alexander
the Great, after a siege of seven months, but
continued to
maintain much of its commercial importance till the
Christian
era. It is referred to in Matt. 11:21 and Acts
12:20. In A.D.
1291 it was taken by the Saracens, and has remained
a desolate
ruin ever since.
"The purple dye of Tyre had a worldwide celebrity on
account
of the durability of its beautiful tints, and its
manufacture
proved a source of abundant wealth to the
inhabitants of that
city."
Both Tyre and Sidon "were crowded with glass-shops,
dyeing and
weaving establishments; and among their cunning
workmen not the
least important class were those who were celebrated
for the
engraving of precious stones." (2 Chr. 2:7,14).
The wickedness and idolatry of this city are
frequently
denounced by the prophets, and its final destruction
predicted
(Isa. 23:1; Jer. 25:22; Ezek. 26; 28:1-19; Amos 1:9,
10; Zech.
9:2-4).
Here a church was founded soon after the death of
Stephen, and
Paul, on his return from his third missionary
journey spent a
week in intercourse with the disciples there (Acts
21:4). Here
the scene at Miletus was repeated on his leaving
them. They all,
with their wives and children, accompanied him to
the sea-shore.
The sea-voyage of the apostle terminated at
Ptolemais, about 38
miles from Tyre. Thence he proceeded to Caesarea
(Acts 21:5-8).
"It is noticed on monuments as early as B.C. 1500,
and
claiming, according to Herodotus, to have been
founded about
B.C. 2700. It had two ports still existing, and was
of
commercial importance in all ages, with colonies at
Carthage
(about B.C. 850) and all over the Mediterranean. It
was often
attacked by Egypt and Assyria, and taken by
Alexander the Great
after a terrible siege in B.C. 332. It is now a town
of 3,000
inhabitants, with ancient tombs and a ruined
cathedral. A short
Phoenician text of the fourth century B.C. is the
only monument
yet recovered."
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Joshua 19:29; 2 Samuel 24:7; Isaiah 23:1; Ezekiel 26-28. In
Phoenicia, E. of the Mediterranean, 20 miles S. of Sidon.
Justin says the Sidonians founded Tyre after having been
defeated by the king of Ascalon, 1209 B.C. according to the
Parian marble. A double city, part on the mainland, part on
an island nearly one mile long, and separated from the
continent by a strait half a mile broad. Justin (xi. 10)
records the tradition of the inhabitants that there was a
city on the mainland before there was one on the island.
Ezekiel represents the mainland city as besieged by
Nebuchadnezzar's horses and chariots, and its walls assailed
with "engines of war, forts, and mounts," and its towers
broken down with axes; but the island city as sitting "in
the heart of the seas" (Ezekiel 28:2, margin). The former,
Old Tyre, stretched along the shore seven miles from the
river Leontes on the N. to the fountain Ras el ain on the
S., the water of which was brought into the city by
aqueducts.
Pliny (N. H., v. 17) says the circuit of both was 19
Roman miles, the island city being only 22 stadia. The
difficulty is that the name "Tyre," meaning a "rock,"
belongs properly to the island city, there being no "rock"
in the mainland city to originate the name; yet the mainland
city is called "Old Tyre." Probably the Phoenician name of
the mainland city resembled in sound but not sense the Greek
Palaeo-Tyrus, and the latter name was given from a
misunderstanding. Tyre is not mentioned in the Pentateuch,
but first in Joshua 19:29 "the strong city Tyre." From tsor
came its two names, Tyre, and Sara, now Sur (Arabic). Joshua
implies it was on the shore, but the city and chief temple
of Hercules (Melkarth, the tutelary god of Tyre) was
probably on the island. Unlike other oriental cities, space
being limited on the island, the houses were built in
stories. The majority of the population was on the mainland.
Hiram by substructures enlarged the eastern and southern
sides, so as to afford room for a public place, Eurychorus.
The northern or Sidonian harbour was 900 ft. long,
700 wide, protected by walls. The southern or Egyptian was
formed by a great breakwater; the barbours could be closed
by a boom; a canal through the city joined the harbours.
"Tyre did build herself a strong hold" (Zechariah 9:3); so
Diodorus Siculus (xvii. 40), "Tyre had the greatest
confidence, owing to her insular position, fortifications
and abundant stores." A double wall, 150 ft. high, besides
the sea, secured island Tyre. "Her merchants were princes,
and her traffickers the honourable of the earth" (Isaiah
23:7-8). Hiram, as friend and ally, supplied David...
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([Now] Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar
trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his
desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in
the land of Galilee.
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The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father
[was] a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver,
in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in
blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any
manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be
put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of
my lord David thy father.
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And [then] the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city
Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings
thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:
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He [was] a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his
father [was] a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was
filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all
works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all
his work.
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And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon:
but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus
the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because
their country was nourished by the king's [country].
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And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou
didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to
build him an house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me].
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Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent
to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath
made thee king over them.
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And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he
had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his
father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
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As at the report concerning Egypt, [so] shall they be sorely
pained at the report of Tyre.
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Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the
mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been
done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in
sackcloth and ashes.
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ur ('ur, "flame"; Codex Vaticanus Sthur; Codex Sinaiticus
Ora): Father of Eliphal, one of David's "mighty men," in 1 Ch
11:35; in the parallel 2 Sam 23:34 called "Ahasbai."
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1. Abraham's native place
Ge 11:27,28
Abraham leaves
Ge 11:31; 15:7; Ne 9:7
-2. Father of one of David's mighty men
1Ch 11:35
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was the land of Haran's nativity, Ge 11:28 the place from
which Terah and Abraham started "to go into the land of
Canaan." Ge 11:31 It is called in Genesis "Ur of the
Chaldaeans," while in the Acts St. Stephen places it, by
implication, in Mesopotamia. Ac 7:2,4 These are all the
indications which Scripture furnishes as to its locality. It
has been identified by the most ancient traditions with the
city of Orfah in the highlands of Mesopotamia, which unite
the table-land of Armenia to the valley of the Euphrates. In
later ages it was called Edessa, and was celebrated as the
capital of Abgarus or Acbarus who was said to have received
the letter and portrait of our Saviour. "Two, physical
features must have secured Orfah, from the earliest times,
as a nucleus for the civilization of those regions. One is a
high-crested crag, the natural fortifications of the crested
citadel....The other is an abundant spring, issuing in a
pool of transparent clearness, and embosomed in a mass of
luxuriant verdure, which, amidst the dull brown desert all
around, makes and must always have made, this spot an oasis,
a paradise, in the Chaldaean wilderness. Round this sacred
pool,'the beautiful spring Callirrhoe,' as it was called by
the Greek writers, gather the modern traditions of the
patriarch." --Stanley, Jewish Church, part i.p.7. A second
tradition, which appears in the Talmud, finds Ur in Warka,
120 miles southeast from Babylon and four east of the
Euphrates. It was the Orchoe of the Greeks, and probably the
Ereck of Holy Scripture. This place bears the name of Huruk
in the native inscriptions, and was in the countries known
to the Jews as the land of the Chaldaeans. But in opposition
to the most ancient traditions, many modern writers have
fixed the site of Ur at a very different position, viz. in
the extreme south of Chaldaea, at Mugheir, not very far
above-- and probably in the time of Abraham actually upon--
the head of the Persian Gulf. Among the ruins which are now
seen at the spot are the remains of one of the great
temples, of a model similar to that of Babel, dedicated to
the moon, to whom the city was sacred. (Porter and Rawlinson
favor this last place.)
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light, or the moon city, a city "of the Chaldees," the
birthplace of Haran (Gen. 11:28,31), the largest
city of Shinar
or northern Chaldea, and the principal commercial
centre of the
country as well as the centre of political power. It
stood near
the mouth of the Euphrates, on its western bank, and
is
represented by the mounds (of bricks cemented by
bitumen) of
el-Mugheir, i.e., "the bitumined," or "the town of
bitumen," now
150 miles from the sea and some 6 miles from the
Euphrates, a
little above the point where it receives the Shat
el-Hie, an
affluent from the Tigris. It was formerly a maritime
city, as
the waters of the Persian Gulf reached thus far
inland. Ur was
the port of Babylonia, whence trade was carried on
with the
dwellers on the gulf, and with the distant countries
of India,
Ethiopia, and Egypt. It was abandoned about B.C.
500, but long
continued, like Erech, to be a great sacred cemetery
city, as is
evident from the number of tombs found there. (See
ABRAHAM
The oldest king of Ur known to us is Ur-Ba'u
(servant of the
goddess Ba'u), as Hommel reads the name, or Ur-Gur,
as others
read it. He lived some twenty-eight hundred years
B.C., and took
part in building the famous temple of the moon-god
Sin in Ur
itself. The illustration here given represents his
cuneiform
inscription, written in the Sumerian language, and
stamped upon
every brick of the temple in Ur. It reads: "Ur-Ba'u,
king of Ur,
who built the temple of the moon-god."
"Ur was consecrated to the worship of Sin, the
Babylonian
moon-god. It shared this honour, however, with
another city, and
this city was Haran, or Harran. Harran was in
Mesopotamia, and
took its name from the highroad which led through it
from the
east to the west. The name is Babylonian, and bears
witness to
its having been founded by a Babylonian king. The
same witness
is still more decisively borne by the worship paid
in it to the
Babylonian moon-god and by its ancient temple of
Sin. Indeed,
the temple of the moon-god at Harran was perhaps
even more
famous in the Assyrian and Babylonian world than the
temple of
the moon-god at Ur.
"Between Ur and Harran there must, consequently,
have been a
close connection in early times, the record of which
has not yet
been recovered. It may be that Harran owed its
foundation to a
king of Ur; at any rate the two cities were bound
together by
the worship of the same deity, the closest and most
enduring
bond of union that existed in the ancient world.
That Terah
should have migrated from Ur to Harran, therefore,
ceases to be
extraordinary. If he left Ur at all, it was the most
natural
place to which to go. It was like passing from one
court of a
temple into another.
"Such a remarkable coincidence between the Biblical
narrative
and the evidence of archaeological research cannot
be the result
of chance. The narrative must be historical; no
writer of late
date, even if he were a Babylonian, could have
invented a story
so exactly in accordance with what we now know to
have been the
truth. For a story of the kind to have been the
invention of
Palestinian tradition is equally impossible. To the
unprejudiced
mind there is no escape from the conclusion that the
history of
the migration of Terah from Ur to Harran is founded
on fact"
(Sayce).
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Of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:28; Genesis 11:31; Genesis 15:7;
Nehemiah 9:7), from which Terah, Abraham, and Lot were
called. In Mesopotamia (Acts 7:2). Now Mugheir (a ruined
temple of large bitumen bricks, which also "mugheir" means,
namely, Um Mugheir "mother of bitumen"), on the right bank
of the Euphrates, near its junction with the Shat el Hie
from the Tigris; in Chaldaea proper. Called Hur by the
natives, and on monuments Ur. The most ancient city of the
older Chaldaea. Its bricks bear the name of the earliest
monumental kings, "Urukh king of Ur"; his kingdom extended
as far N. as Niffer. The royal lists on the monuments
enumerate Babylonian kings from Urukh (2230 B.C., possibly
the Orchanus of Ovid, Met. 4:212) down to Nabonid (540 B.C.)
the last. The temple was sacred to 'Urki, the moon goddess;
Ilgi son of Urukh completed it.
For two centuries it was the capital, and always was
held sacred. One district was "Ibra," perhaps related to
"Hebrew," Abraham's designation. Ur was also a cemetery and
city of tombs, doubtless because of its sacred character,
from whence the dead were brought to it from vast distances
for 1,800 years. Eupolemos (in Eusebius, Praep. Ev. 9:17)
refers to Ur as "the moon worshipping (kamarine; kamar being
Arabic for moon) city." The derivation from Ur, "fire," led
to the Koran and Talmud legends that Abraham miraculously
escaped out of the flames into which Nimrod or other
idolatrous persecutors threw him.
Ur lies six miles distant from the present coarse of
the Euphrates, and 125 from the sea; though it is thought it
was anciently a maritime town, and that its present inland
site is due to the accumulation of alluvium (?). The
buildings are of the most archaic kind, consisting of low
mounds enclosed within an enceinte, on most sides perfect,
an oval space 1,000 yards long by 800 broad. The temple is
thoroughly Chaldaean in type, in stages of which two remain,
of brick partly sunburnt, partly baked, cemented with
bitumen.
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And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his
nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
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(`emeq yehoshaphaT); the latter word means "Yahweh judgeth,"
and `emeq, "wide," "open valley"; Septuagint he koilas
Iosaphat): The name is used in Joel 3:2,12 of the scene of
Judgment: "Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to
the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all
the nations round about" (Joel 3:12). "The valley of
decision" (or "sharp judgment") is another name the prophet
gives to this spot (Joel 3:14). Some have identified it with
the valley (`emeq) of BERACAH (which see) of 2 Ch 20:26,
where King Jehoshaphat obtained a great victory, but this is
improbable.
Since the 4th century AD the KIDRON (which see) valley has
been named the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The tradition is now
strongest among the Moslems who point out the exact scene of
the Judgment; the Bridge As Sirat, dividing heaven and hell,
is to stretch across this valley from the Charam area to the
Mount of Olives. It is, however, the ambition of every pious
Jew to be buried on the slopes of this valley, to be at hand
at the resurrection. This, too, was an ordinary place for
Jewish graves in preexilic times (2 Ki 23:6, etc.). The
valley today, especially that part adjacent to the temple,
is crowded with Moslem and Jewish graves. A worthless
tradition indicates the tomb of Jehoshaphat himself close to
the so-called "Pillar of Absalom." Se KING'S VALE. There is
not the slightest reason for believing that this is the spot
referred to by Joel--indeed he may have spoken of an ideal
spot only. The valley of the Kidron is a nachal ("ravine"),
not an `emeq ("broad valley"). It is impos sible not to
suspect that there is some connection between the name
Jehoshaphat and the name of a village near the head of this
valley--Shaphat; perhaps at one time it was Wady Shaphat,
which name would readily suggest the traditional one.
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1. David's recorder
2Sa 8:16; 20:24; 1Ki 4:3; 1Ch 18:15
-2. One of Solomon's commissariat officers
1Ki 4:17
-3. King of Judah
Succeeds Asa
1Ki 15:24; 22:41; 1Ch 3:10; 2Ch 17:1; Mt 1:8
Strengthens himself against Israel
2Ch 17:2
Inaugurates a system of public instruction in the law
2Ch 17:7-9
His wise reign
1Ki 22:43; 2Ch 17:7-9; 19:3-11
His system of taxation
2Ch 17:11
His military forces and armaments
2Ch 17:12-19
Joins Ahab in an invasion of Ramoth-gilead
1Ki 22; 2Ch 18
Rebuked by the prophet Jehu
2Ch 19:2
The allied forces of the Amorites, Moabites, and other
tribes invade his territory, and are defeated by
2Ch 20
Builds ships for commerce with Tarshish, ships are
destroyed
1Ki 22:48,49; 2Ch 20:35-37
Joins Jehoram, king of Israel, in an invasion of the
land of
Moab, defeats the Moabites
2Ki 3
Makes valuable gifts to the temple
2Ki 12:18
Death of
1Ki 22:50; 2Ch 21:1
Religious zeal of
1Ki 22:43,46; 2Ch 17:1-9; 19; 20:1-32; 22:9
Prosperity of
1Ki 22:45,48
Bequests of, to his children
1Ch 21:2,3
-4. Father of Jehu
2Ki 9:2,14
-5. A priest who assisted in bringing the ark of the
covenant
from Obed-edom
1Ch 15:24
-6. A valley
Called THE VALLEY OF DECISION
Joe 3:2,12,14
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(whom Jehovah judges.)
1. King of Judah, son of Asa, succeeded to the
throne B.C. 914, when he was 35 years old, and reigned 25
years. His history is to be found among the events recorded
in 1Ki 15:24; 2Ki 8:16 or in a continuous narrative in 2Ch
17:1 ... 21:3 He was contemporary with Ahab, Ahaziah and
Jehoram. He was one of the best, most pious and prosperous
kings of Judah, the greatest since Solomon. At first he
strengthened himself against Israel; but soon afterward the
two Hebrew kings formed an alliance. In his own kingdom
Jehoshaphat ever showed himself a zealous follower of the
commandments of God: he tried to put down the high places
and groves in which the people of Judah burnt incense, and
sent the wisest Levites through the cities and towns to
instruct the people in true morality and religion. Riches
and honors increased around him. He received tribute from
the Philistines and Arabians, and kept up a large standing
army in Jerusalem. It was probably about the 16th year of
his reign, B.C. 898, when he became Ahab's ally in the great
battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which he was severely reproved
by Jehu. 2Ch 19:2 He built at Ezion-geber, with the help of
Ahaziah, a navy designed to go to Tarshish; but it was
wrecked at Ezion-geber. Before the close of his reign he was
engaged in two additional wars. He was miraculously
delivered from a threatened attack of the people of Ammon,
Moab and Seir. After this, perhaps, must be dated the war
which Jehoshaphat, in conjunction with Jehoram king of
Israel and the king of Edom, carried on against the
rebellious king of Moab. 2Ki 3:1 ... In his declining years
the administration of affairs was placed, probably B.C. 891,
in the hands of his son Jehoram.
2. Son of Ahilud, who filled the office of recorder
of annalist in the courts of David, 2Sa 8:16 etc., and
Solomon. 1Ki 4:3
3. One of the priests in David's time. 1Ch 15:24
4. Son of Paruah; one of the twelve purveyors of
King Solomon. 1Ki 4:17
5. Son of Nimshi and father of King Jehu. 2Ki 9:2,14
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mentioned in Scripture only in Joel 3:2, 12. This is the
name
given in modern times to the valley between
Jerusalem and the
Mount of Olives, and the Kidron flows through it.
Here
Jehoshaphat overthrew the confederated enemies of
Israel (Ps.
83:6-8); and in this valley also God was to
overthrow the
Tyrians, Zidonians, etc. (Joel 3:4, 19), with an
utter
overthrow. This has been fulfilled; but Joel speaks
of the final
conflict, when God would destroy all Jerusalem's
enemies, of
whom Tyre and Zidon, etc., were types. The "valley
of
Jehoshaphat" may therefore be simply regarded as a
general term
for the theatre of God's final judgments on the
enemies of
Israel.
This valley has from ancient times been used by the
Jews as a
burial-ground. It is all over paved with flat stones
as
tombstones, bearing on them Hebrew inscriptions.
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I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into
the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for
my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
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Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of
Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen
round about.
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(ge' ha-melach): The scene of battles, firstly, between David
or his lieutenant Abishai and the Edomites (2 Sam 8:13; 1 Ch
18:12; Ps 60, title), and later between Amaziah and these same
foes (2 Ki 14:7; 2 Ch 25:11). It is tempting to connect this
"Valley of Salt" with es Sebkhah, the marshy, salt-impregnated
plain which extends from the southern end of the Dead Sea to
the foot of the cliffs, but in its present condition it is an
almost impossible place for a battle of any sort. The ground
is so soft and spongy that a wide detour around the edges has
to be made by those wishing to get from one side to the other.
It is, too, highly probable that in earlier times the whole of
this low-lying area was covered by the waters of the Dead Sea.
It is far more natural to identify ge' ha-melach with the Wady
el-Milch ("Valley of Salt"), one of the three valleys which
unite at Beersheba to form the Wady ec-Ceba`. These valleys,
el-Milch and ec-Ceba, together make a natural frontier to
Canaan.
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Lot's wife turned into a pillar of
Ge 19:26
-The city of Salt
Jos 15:62
-The valley of salt
2Sa 8:13; 2Ki 14:7
-Salt Sea
Ge 14:3; Nu 34:12; De 3:17; Jos 3:16; 12:3; 15:2
-Salt pits
Zep 2:9
-All animal sacrifices were required to be seasoned with
Le 2:13; Ezr 6:9; Eze 43:24; Mr 9:49
-Used in ratifying covenants
Nu 18:19; 2Ch 13:5
-Elisha throws, into the pool of Jericho, to purify it
2Ki 2:20,21
-FIGURATIVE
Of the saving efficacy of the ekklesia of Christ
Mt 5:13; Mr 9:49,50; Lu 14:34
Of wise behavior
Col 4:6
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a valley in which occurred two memorable victories of the
Israelite arms:
1. That of David over the Edomites. 2Sa 8:13; 1Ch
18:12
2. That of Amaziah. 2Ki 14:7; 2Ch 25:11 It is perhaps
the broad open plain which lies at the lower end of the Dead
Sea, and intervenes between the lake itself and the range of
heights which crosses the valley at six or eight miles to the
south. This same view is taken by Dr. Robinson. Others suggest
that it is nearer to Petra. What little can be inferred from
the narrative as to its situation favors the latter theory.
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a place where it is said David smote the Syrians (2 Sam.
8:13).
This valley (the' Arabah) is between Judah and Edom on
the south
of the Dead Sea. Hence some interpreters would insert
the words,
"and he smote Edom," after the words, "Syrians" in the
above
text. It is conjectured that while David was leading
his army
against the Ammonites and Syrians, the Edomites
invaded the
south of Judah, and that David sent Joab or Abishai
against
them, who drove them back and finally subdued Edom.
(Comp. title
to Ps. 60.)
Here also Amaziah "slew of Edom ten thousand men" (2
Kings
14:7; comp. 8: 20-22 and 2 Chr. 25:5-11).
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Gee', more accurately "ravine," Melach. The battle field
between Judah and Edom where David and Amaziah conquered
Abishai. (See JOAB; DAVID; AMAZIAH; ABISHAI.) (2 Samuel
8:13; 1 Chronicles 18:12; Psalm 60 title; 1 Kings 11:15-16;
2 Kings 14:7; 2 Chronicles 25:11). (See EDOM Near the salt
mountain (Usdum), the upper part of the Arabah or plain S.
of the Salt Sea; the boundary between Judah and Edom. Grove
objects to this identification with the plain intervening
between the Dead Sea and the heights which cross the valley
seven miles to the S. For
(1) ge is not elsewhere applied to a broad valley or
sunk plain like the lower Ghor; 'eemeq or biquaah would be
the name.
(2) 'Arabah was the Hebrew name.
(3) "Salt" is not necessarily the right translation
of Melach.
(4) Amaziah brought 10,000 prisoners to Sela
(Petra), Edom's stronghold, and cast them down; he would
scarcely bring so many prisoners from near the Dead Sea, 50
miles through a hostile and difficult country; more likely
the valley of Salt was nearer Petra.
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And David gat [him] a name when he returned from smiting of
the Syrians in the valley of salt, [being] eighteen thousand
[men].
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He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took
Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this
day.
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zin (tsin; Sin):
(1) A town in the extreme South of Judah, on the line
separating that province from Edom, named between the ascent
of Akrabbim and Kadesh-barnea (Nu 34:4; Josh 15:3). It must
have lain somewhere between Wady el-Fiqra (the ascent of
Akrabbim?) and `Ain Qadis (Kadesh-barnea); but the site has
not been recovered.
(2) The Wilderness of Zin is the tract deriving its name from
the town (Nu 34:3). It is identified with the wilderness of
Kadesh in Nu 33:36; while in other places Kadesh is said to be
in the wilderness of Zin (Nu 20:1; 27:14; Dt 32:51). We may
take it that the two names refer to the same region. The
spies, who set out from Kadesh-barnea, explored the land from
the wilderness of Zin northward (Nu 13:21; compare 32:8). It
bordered with Judah "at the uttermost part of the south" (Josh
15:1). In this wilderness Moses committed the offense which
cost him his hope of entering the promised land (Nu 27:14; Dt
32:51). It is identical with the uplands lying to the North
and Northwest of the wilderness of Paran, now occupied by the
`Azazimeh Arabs.
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A desert south of Judah
Nu 13:21; 20:1; 27:14; 33:36; 34:3,4; De 32:51; Jos
15:1,3
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(flat), the name given to a portion of the desert tract
between the Dead Sea, Ghor, and Arabah on the east, and the
general plateau of the Tih which stretches westward. The
country in question consists of two or three successive
terraces of mountain converging to an acute single at the Dead
Sea's southern verge, toward which also they slope. Kadesh lay
in it, and here also Idumea was conterminous with Judah; since
Kadesh was a city in the border of Edom. [See KADESH].
Nu 13:21; 20:1; 27:14; 33:36; 34:3; Jos 15:1
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a low palm-tree, the south-eastern corner of the desert et-
Tih,
the wilderness of Paran, between the Gulf of Akabah
and the head
of the Wady Guraiyeh (Num. 13:21). To be distinguished
from the
wilderness of Sin (q.v.).
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The N.E. portion of the wilderness of Paran. (See PARAN.)
The spring of Kadesh lay in it (Numbers 20:1; Numbers 27:14;
Deuteronomy 32:51). frontKADESH.) It probably stretched from
the Arabah on the E. to Kadesh on the W. The wilderness of
Zin formed the immediate boundary of Canaan (Numbers 13:21;
Numbers 34:3), and comprised also the whole rugged mountain
region S. of wady el Murrah, and wady el Fikrah as far E. as
the Arabah, and as far W. as Ain Kadeis (fountain of Kadesh)
and wady el Arish ("the river of Egypt".) The Arabah
separated it from the mountains of Edom. On the declivity of
a commanding hill within Edom's territory stands the village
Dhana which may correspond to Zin.
Though the wilderness of Zin does not strictly
belong to Edom, yet it was connected with Edom; hence
Judah's cities are said to lie "toward the coast of Edom"
(Joshua 15:21). The wilderness of Kadesh is identical with
the western part of the wilderness of Zin (Numbers 33:36).
Kadesh was "in the uttermost border of Edom," i.e. in the
uttermost W. of the wilderness of Zin which borders Edom
(Numbers 20:16). The name Zin, i.e. coldness, however may be
given from some cold fountain at the head of wady el Murrah.
Do not confound it with "the wilderness of Sin."
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So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of
Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
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Then came the children of Israel, [even] the whole
congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and
the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was
buried there.
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For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin,
in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water
before their eyes: that [is] the water of Meribah in Kadesh in
the wilderness of Zin.
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And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the
wilderness of Zin, which [is] Kadesh.
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Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin
along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the
outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:
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Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel
at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin;
because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of
Israel.
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[This] then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah
by their families; [even] to the border of Edom the wilderness
of Zin southward [was] the uttermost part of the south coast.
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zar'-e-fath (tsarephath; Sarepta): The Sidonian town in
which Elijah was entertained by a widow after he left the
brook Cherith (1 Ki 17:9 ff). Obadiah refers to it as a
Canaanite (probably meaning Phoenicia) town (Ob 1:20). It
appears in the Greek form Sarepta in Lk 4:26 (the King James
Version), and is said to be in the land of Sidon. Josephus
(Ant., VIII, xiii, 2) says it was not "far from Sidon and
Tyre, for it lay between them." Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v.
"Sarefta"), places it on the public road, i.e. the road
along the seashore. It can be no other than the modern
Sarafend, about 13 miles North of Tyre, on the spur of the
mountain which divides the plain of Tyre from that of Sidon.
The site of the ancient town is marked by the ruins on the
shore to the South of the modern village, about 8 miles to
the South of Sidon, which extend along the shore for a mile
or more. They are in two distinct groups, one on a headland
to the West of a fountain called Ain el-Qantara, which is
not far from the shore. Here was the ancient harbor which
still affords shelter for small craft. The other group of
ruins is to the South, and consists of columns, sarcophagi
and marble slabs, indicating a city of considerable
importance. The modern village of Sarafend was built some
time after the 12th century, since at the time of the
Crusades the town was still on the shore.
It is conjectured that the Syrophoenician woman mentioned in
Lk 4:26 was an inhabitant of Zarephath., and it is possible
that our Lord visited the place in His journey to the region
as narrated in Mk 7:24-31, for it is said that he "came
through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee."
The place has been identified by some with Misrephoth-maim
of Josh 11:8 and 13:6, but the latter passage would indicate
that Misrephoth-maim was at the limit of the territory of
the Sidonians, which Zarephath was not in the days of
Joshua.
See MISREPHOTH-MAIM; SIDON.
Originally Sidonian, the town passed to the Tyrians after
the invasian of Shalmaneser IV, 722 BC. It fell to
Sennacherib 701 BC. The Wely, or shrine bearing the name of
el-Khudr, the saint in whom George is blended with Elijah,
stands near the shore. Probably here the Crusaders erected a
chapel on what they believed to be the site of the widow's
house.
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(A city between Tyre and Sidon)
-Elijah performs two miracles in
1Ki 17:8-24
-Called SAREPTA (A. V.) in
Lu 4:26
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(smelting place), the residence of the prophet Elijah during
the latter part of the drought. 1Ki 17:9,10 It was near to, or
dependent on, Zidon. It is represented by the modern village
of Sura-fend. Of the old town considerable indications remain.
One group of foundations is on a headland called Ain el-
Kanatarah; but the chief remains are south of this, and extend
for a mile or more, with many fragments of columns, slabs and
other architectural features. In the New Testament Zarephath
appears under the Greek form of SAREPTA.
Lu 4:26
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smelting-shop, "a workshop for the refining and smelting of
metals", a small Phoenician town, now Surafend, about
a mile
from the coast, almost midway on the road between Tyre
and
Sidon. Here Elijah sojourned with a poor widow during
the "great
famine," when the "heaven was shut up three years and
six
months" (Luke 4:26; 1 Kings 17:10). It is called
Sarepta in the
New Testament (Luke 4:26).
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("tsarfa'".) Elijah's residence during the drought (1 Kings
17:9-10); belonging to Sidon. A Canaanite, i.e. Phoenician
city (Obadiah 1:20). Sarepta in Luke 4:26. The name means
smelting shop. Now Surafend, a tell or hill, with a small
village, seven or eight miles from Sidon, near the Zaharain
river. The ancient town however was below on the shore; there,
ruins of a flourishing city are found, columns, marble slabs
and sarcophagi, and a chapel of the crusaders on the presumed
site of the widow's house.
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And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel
[shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath;
and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall
possess the cities of the south.
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Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which [belongeth] to Zidon, and
dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to
sustain thee.
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So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the
gate of the city, behold, the widow woman [was] there
gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me,
I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
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zik'-lag (tsiqelagh, tsiqelagh (2 Sam 1:1), tsiqelagh (1 Ch
12:1,20); usually in the Septuagint Sekelak, or Sikelag): A
town assigned (Josh 19:5; 1 Ch 4:30) to Simeon, but in Josh
15:31 named, between Hornah and Madmannah, as one of the
cities of the Negeb of Judah, "toward the border of Edom."
It is said (1 Sam 27:6) to have remained a royal city. In
Neh 11:28 it is in the list of towns reinhabited by the
returning children of Judah. Its chief associations are with
David. Achish the Philistine king of Gath gave it to David
as a residence (1 Sam 27:6 f; 1 Ch 12:1,20); it was raided
by the Amalekites, on whom David took vengeance and so
recovered his property (1 Sam 30:14,26); here the messenger
who came to announce Saul's death was slain (2 Sam 1:1;
4:10).
The site of this important place is not yet fixed with
certainty; Conder proposed Zucheilika, a ruin 11 miles
South-Southeast of Gaza, and 4 miles North of Wady es-
Sheri'a, which may be the "Brook Besor" (1 Sam 30:9,10,21);
Rowland (1842) proposed `Asluj, a heap of ruins South of
Beersheba and 7 miles to the East of Bered. Neither site is
entirely satisfactory. See Williams, Holy City, I, 463-68;
BR, II, 201, PEF, 288, Sh XX.
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A city within the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah
Jos 15:31
-Re-allotted to the tribe of Simeon
Jos 19:5
-David lives at
1Sa 27:5,6; 2Sa 1:1; 1Ch 12:1
-Amalekites destroy
1Sa 30
-Inhabited by the returned exiles of Judah
Ne 11:28
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I am verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city]
in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of
Gamaliel, [and] taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are
this day.
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And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the street
which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas
for [one] called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
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But Paul said, I am a man [which am] a Jew of Tarsus, [a city]
in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee,
suffer me to speak unto the people.
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[Which] when the brethren knew, they brought him down to
Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
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Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
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te-ko'-a (teqoa', or teqo`ah; Thekoe; the King James Version
Tekoah; one of David's mighty men, "Ira the son of Ikkesh,"
is called a Tekoite, te-ko'-it (teqo`i; 2 Sam 23:26; 1 Ch
11:28; 27:9; the "woman of Tekoa" [2 Sam 14:2] is in Hebrew
teqo`ith; in Neh 3:5 mention is made of certain Tekoites,
te-ko'its teqo'im, who repaired part of the walls of
Jerusalem):
1. Scripture References:
From here came the "wise woman" brought by Joab to try and
make a reconciliation between David and Absalom (2 Sam 14:2
f); it was one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam (2 Ch
11:6; Josephus, Ant, VIII, ix, 1). The wilderness of Tekoa
is mentioned (2 Ch 20:20) as the extreme edge of the
inhabited area; here Jehoshaphat took counsel before
advancing into the wilderness of Judea to confront the
Ammonites and Moabites. In Jer 6:1, we read, "Blow the
trumpet in Tekoa and raise a signal in Beth-haccherim"--
because of the enemy advancing from the North. Amos 1:1, one
of the "herdsmen of Tekoa," was born here.
In Josh 15:59 (addition to verse in Septuagint only) Tekoa
occurs at the beginning of the list of 11 additional cities
of Judah--a list which includes Bethlehem, Ain Kairem and
Bettir--which are omitted in the Hebrew. A Tekoa is
mentioned as a son of Ashhur (1 Ch 2:24; 4:5).
Jonathan Maccabeus and his brother Simon fled from the
vengeance of Bacchides "into the wilderness of Thecoe (the
Revised Version (British and American) "Tekoah") and pitched
their tents (the Revised Version (British and American)
"encamped") by the water of the pool Asphar" (1 Macc 9:33).
2. Later History:
Josephus calls Tekoa a village in his day (Vita, 75), as
does Jerome who describes it as 12 miles from Jerusalem and
visible from Bethlehem; he says the tomb of the prophet Amos
was there (Commentary on Jeremiah, VI, 1). "There was," he
says, "no village beyond Tekoa in the direction of the
wilderness." The good quality of its oil and honey is
praised by other writers. In the 6th century a monastery,
Laura Nova, was founded there by Saba. In the crusading
times Tekoa was visited by pious pilgrims wishing to see the
tomb of Amos, and some of the Christian inhabitants assisted
the Crusaders in the first siege of Jerusalem. In 1138 the
place was pillaged by a party of Turks from the East of the
Jordan, and since that time the site appears to have lain
desolate and ruined, although even in the 14th century the
tomb of Amos was still shown.
3. The Site of Tequ`a:
The site is without doubt the Khirbet Tequ'a, a very
extensive ruin, covering 4 or 5 acres, about 6 miles...
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1. Son of Ashur
1Ch 2:24; 4:5
Some authorities interpret these passages to mean that
Ashur
colonized the town of Tekoah
-2. TEKOA
See TEKOAH
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(a stockade).
1. A town in the tribe of Judah. 2Ch 11:6 on the
range of hills which rise near Hebron and stretch eastward
toward the Dead Sea. Jerome says that Tekoa was six Roman
miles from Bethlehem, and that as he wrote he had that
village daily before his eyes. The "wise woman" whom Joab
employed to effect a reconciliation between David and
Absalom was obtained from this place. 2Sa 14:2 Here also Ira
the son of Ikkesh, one of David's thirty, "the mighty men,"
was born, and was called on that account "the Tekoite," 2Sa
23:26 It was one of the places which Rehoboam fortified, at
the beginning of his reign, as a defence against invasion
from the south. 2Ch 11:6 Some of the people from Tekoa took
part in building the walls of Jerusalem, after the return
from the captivity. Ne 3:6,27 In Jer 6:1 the prophet
exclaims, "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of
fire in Bethhaccerem." But Tekoa is chiefly memorable as the
birthplace Am 7:14 of the prophet Amos. Tekoa is still as
Teku'a. It lies on an elevated hill, which spreads itself
out into an irregular plain of moderate extent. Various
ruins exist, such as the walls of houses, cisterns, broken
columns and heaps of building-stones.
2. A name occurring in the genealogies of Judah, 1Ch
2:24; 4:5 as the son of Ashur. There is little doubt that
the town of Tekoa is meant.
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pitching of tents; fastening down, a town of Judah, about
12
miles south of Jerusalem, and visible from the city.
From this
place Joab procured a "wise woman," who pretended to
be in great
affliction, and skilfully made her case known to
David. Her
address to the king was in the form of an apologue,
similar to
that of Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-6). The object of Joab
was, by the
intervention of this woman, to induce David to bring
back
Absalom to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 14:2, 4, 9).
This was also the birth-place of the prophet Amos
(1:1).
It is now the village of Teku'a, on the top of a
hill among
ruins, 5 miles south of Bethlehem, and close to
Beth-haccerem
("Herod's mountain").
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2 Samuel 14:2. A town of Judah (2 Chronicles 11:6). Six
Roman miles from Bethlehem, (to the S.E.,) which was six
miles S. of Jerusalem. Tekoa was thus 12 from Jerusalem
(Eusebius), but only nine by a shorter route (Jerome). The
wise woman whom Joab suborned to persuade David to restore
Absalom belonged to Tekoa (2 Samuel 14). Rehoboam fortified
it (2 Chronicles 11:6). It was Amos' birthplace. Jeremiah,
warning Judah to flee southward from the enemy advancing
from the N. (Jeremiah 6:1), plays upon the sound tikehu
Tekoa, "blow the trumpet in Tekoa." The derivation taaqa'
"to strike" alludes to the stakes struck into the ground to
secure the tents of the shepherds who roamed in "the
wilderness of Tekoa," which was E. of the town or cluster of
pastoral tents. Ira, one of David's thirty mighties, was a
Tekoite (2 Samuel 23:26).
The Tekoites repaired the wall under Nehemiah
(Nehemiah 3:5; Nehemiah 3:27); but "their nobles put not
their necks to the work of their Lord." Contrast Nehemiah
4:6, "the people had a mind to work" (Judges 5:28;
Colossians 3:28). Amos' familiarity with the Tekoa desert
and the danger of a shepherd's life affected his style. (See
AMOS.) In the lists of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:24; 1
Chronicles 4:5) Ashur, Hezron's posthumous son and Caleb's
brother, is mentioned as father, i.e. founder or prince, of
Tekoa. Now Teku'a; within sight of "the Frank mountain," the
site of Herod's castle, formerly Bethhaccerem; broken
columns, heaps of bevelled stones, cisterns,and square
foundations of houses, mark the site which is on a broad
topped hill, with the remains of a square tower at the N.E.;
it commands the view of the level range of the Moabite
mountains, affording frequent glimpses of the Dead Sea. (See
BETHHACCEREM.)
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The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which
he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah,
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel,
two years before the earthquake.
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O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of
the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set
up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of
the north, and great destruction.
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And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the
wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood
and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established;
believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
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And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah, then Abiah
Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.
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And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
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He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
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tel-a'-bib (tel 'abhibh; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-
405 A.D.) ad acervum novarum frugum):
1. The Name and Its Meaining:
As written in Hebrew, Tel-abib means "hill of barley-ears"
and is mentioned in Ezek 3:15 as the place to which the
prophet went, and where he found Jewish captives "that dwelt
by the river Chebar." That Tel-abib is written, as Fried.
Delitzsch suggests, for Til Ababi, "Mound of the Flood"
(which may have been a not uncommon village-name in
Babylonia) is uncertain. Moreover, if the captives
themselves were the authors of the name, it is more likely
to have been in the Hebrew language. Septuagint, which has
meteoros, "passing on high," referring to the manner in
which the prophet reached Tel-abib, must have had a
different Hebrew reading.
2. The Position of the Settlement:
If the Chebar be the nar Kabari, as suggested by Hilprecht,
Tel-abib must have been situated somewhere in the
neighborhood of Niffer, the city identified with the Calneh
of Gen 10:10. The tablet mentioning the river Kabaru refers
to grain (barley?) seemingly sent by boat from Niffer in
Nisan of the 21st year of Artaxerxes I. Being a navigable
waterway, this was probably a good trading-center.
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Residence of Jewish captives in Babylonia Eze 3:15
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(cornhill) was probably a city of Chaldaea or Babylonia, not
of upper Mesopotamia as generally supposed. Eze 3:16 The whole
scene of Ezekiel's preaching and visions seems to have been
Chaldaea proper; and the river Chebar, as already observed,
was not the Khabour, but a branch of the Euphrates.
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hill of corn, a place on the river Chebar, the residence of
Ezekiel (Ezek. 3:15). The site is unknown.
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The "hill" or "mound" Abib. The place of Ezekiel's residence
among the Jewish captives in Babylonia, on the Chebar, a
branch of the Euphrates (Ezekiel 3:15); the nahr Malcha,
Nebuchadnezzar's royal canal.
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Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by
the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained
there astonished among them seven days.
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thes-a-lo-ni'-ka (Thessalonike, ethnic Thessalonikeus):
1. Position and Name:
One of the chief towns of Macedonia from Hellenistic times
down to the present day. It lies in 40 degrees 40 minutes
North latitude, and 22 degrees 50 minutes East longitude, at
the northernmost point of the Thermaic Gulf (Gulf of
Salonica), a short distance to the East of the mouth of the
Axius (Vardar). It is usually maintained that the earlier
name of Thessalonica was Therma or Therme, a town mentioned
both by Herodotus (vii.121 ff, 179 ff) and by Thucydides
(i.61; ii.29), but that its chief importance dates from
about 315 BC, when the Macedonian king Cassander, son of
Antipater, enlarged and strengthened it by concentrating
there the population of a number of neighboring towns and
villages, and renamed it after his wife Thessalonica,
daughter of Philip II and step-sister of Alexander the
Great. This name, usually shortened since medieval times
into Salonica or Saloniki, it has retained down to the
present. Pliny, however, speaks of Therma as still existing
side by side with Thessalonica (NH, iv.36), and it is
possible that the latter was an altogether new foundation,
which took from Therma a portion of its inhabitants and
replaced it as the most important city on the Gulf.
2. History:
Thessalonica rapidly became populous and wealthy. In the war
between Perseus and the Romans it appears as the
headquarters of the Macedonian navy (Livy xliv. 10) and
when, after the battle of Pydna (168 BC), the Romans divided
the conquered territory into four districts, it became the
capital of the second of these (Livy xlv.29), while later,
after the organization of the single Roman province of
Macedonia in 146 BC, it was the seat of the governor and
thus practically the capital of the whole province. In 58 BC
Cicero spent the greater part of his exile there, at the
house of the quaestor Plancius (Pro Plancio 41, 99; Epistle
Ad Att, iii.8-21). In the civil war between Caesar and
Pompey, Thessalonica took the senatorial side and formed one
of Pompey's chief bases (49-48 BC), but in the final
struggle of the republic, six years later, it proved loyal
to Antony and Octavian, and was rewarded by receiving the
status and privileges of a "free city" (Pliny, NH, iv.36).
Strabo, writing in the reign of Augustus, speaks of it as
the most populous town in Macedonia and the metropolis of
the province...
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(A city of the Macedonia area)
-Paul visits
Ac 17:1; Php 4:16
-People of, persecute Paul
Ac 17:5-8,11,13
-Men of, accompany Paul
Ac 20:4; 27:2
-Paul writes to Christians in
1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1
-Demas goes to
2Ti 4:10
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The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of
the Macedonian shore on which it was situated retained
through the Roman period the designation of the Thermaic
Gulf. Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt and enlarged
Therma, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister
of Alexander the Great. The name ever since, under various
slight modifications, has been continuous, and the city
itself has never ceased to be eminent. Saloniki is still the
most important town of European Turkey, next after
Constantinople. Strabo in the first century speaks of
Thessalonica as the most populous city in Macedonia. Visit
of Paul. --St. Paul visited Thessalonica (with Silas and
Timothy) during his second missionary journey, and
introduced Christianity there. The first scene of the
apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue. Ac 17:2,3
It is stated that the ministrations among the Jews continued
for three weeks. ver. 2. Not that we are obliged to limit to
this time the whole stay of the apostle at Thessalonica. A
flourishing church was certainly formed there; and the
epistles show that its elements were more Gentile than
Jewish. [For persecution and further history see PAUL]
Circumstances which led Paul to Thessalonica. --Three
circumstances must here be mentioned which illustrate in an
important manner this visit and this journey as well as the
two Epistles to the Thessalonians.
1. This was the chief station on the great Roman
road called the Via Egnatia, which connected Rome with the
whole region to the north of the AEgean Sea.
2. Placed as if was on this great road, and in
connection with other important Roman ways. Thessalonica was
an invaluable centre for the spread of the gospel. In fact
it was nearly if not quite on a level with Corinth and
Ephesus in its share of the commerce of the Levant.
3. The circumstance noted in Ac 17:1 that here was
the synagogue of the Jews in this part of Macedonia, had
evidently much to do with the apostle's plans,and also
doubtless with his success. Trade would inevitably bring
Jews to Thessalonica; and it is remarkable that they have
ever since had a prominent place in the annals of the city.
Later ecclesiastical history. --During several centuries
this city was the bulwark not simply of the later Greek
empire, but of Oriental Christendom, and was largely
instrumental in the conversion of the Slavonians and
Bulgarians. Thus it received the designation of "the
orthodox city;" and its struggles are very prominent in the
writings of the Byzantine historians.
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a large and populous city on the Thermaic bay. It was the
capital of one of the four Roman districts of
Macedonia, and was
ruled by a praetor. It was named after Thessalonica,
the wife of
Cassander, who built the city. She was so called by
her father,
Philip, because he first heard of her birth on the
day of his
gaining a victory over the Thessalians. On his
second missionary
journey, Paul preached in the synagogue here, the
chief
synagogue of the Jews in that part of Macedonia, and
laid the
foundations of a church (Acts 17:1-4; 1 Thes. 1:9).
The violence
of the Jews drove him from the city, when he fled to
Berea (Acts
17:5-10). The "rulers of the city" before whom the
Jews "drew
Jason," with whom Paul and Silas lodged, are in the
original
called politarchai, an unusual word, which was
found, however,
inscribed on an arch in Thessalonica. This discovery
confirms
the accuracy of the historian. Paul visited the
church here on a
subsequent occasion (20:1-3). This city long
retained its
importance. It is the most important town of
European Turkey,
under the name of Saloniki, with a mixed population
of about
85,000.
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A town of Macedonia on the Thermaic gulf, now the gulf of
Saloniki. Therma was its original name, which Cossander
changed into Thessalonica in honour of his wife, Philip's
daughter. It rises from the end of the basin at the head of
the gulf up the declivity behind, presenting a striking
appearance from the sea. After the battle of Pydna
Thessalonica fell under Rome and was made capital of the
second region of Macedonia. Afterward, when the four regions
or governments were united in one province, Thessalonica
became virtually the metropolis. Situated on the Via Ignatia
which traversed the S. coast of Macedonia and Thrace,
connecting thereby those regions with Rome, Thessalonica,
with its harbour on the other hand connecting it
commercially with Asia Minor, naturally took the leading
place among the cities in that quarter. Paul was on the Via
Ignatia at Neapolis and Philippi, Amphipolis and Apollonia
(Acts 16:11-40; Acts 17:1), as well as at Thessalonica. The
population of Saloniki is even now 60,000, of whom 10,000
are Jews.
Trade in all ages attracted the latter to
Thessalonica, and their synagogue here was the starting
point of Paul's evangelizing. Octavius Augustus rewarded its
adhesion to his cause in the second civil war by making it
"a free city" with a popular assembly ("the people") and
"rulers of the city" (politarchs: Acts 17:1; Acts 17:5; Acts
17:8); this political term is to be read still on an arch
spanning the main street, from it we learn there were seven
politarchs. Its commercial intercourse with the inland
plains of Macedonia on the N., and on the S. with Greece by
sea, adapted it admirably as a center from whence the gospel
word "sounded out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in
every place" (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Paul visited T. on his
second missionary tour. frontPAUL and JASON on this visit.)
Other Thessalonian Christians were Demas perhaps, Gaius
(Acts 19:29), Secundus, and Aristarchus (Acts 20:4; Acts
27:2; Acts 19:29).
On the same night that the Jewish assault on Jason's
house in search of Paul and Silas his guests took place, the
latter two set out for Berea. Again Paul visited
Thessalonica (Acts 20:1-3), probably also after his first
imprisonment at Rome (1 Timothy 1:3, in accordance with his
hope, Philemon 1:25-26; Philemon 2:24). Thessalonica was the
mainstay of Eastern Christianity in the Gothic invasion in
the third century. To Thessalonica the Sclaves and the
Bulgarians owed their conversion; from whence it was called
"the orthodox city." It was taken by the Saracens in 904
A.D., by the Crusaders in 1185 A.D., and by the Turks in
1430; and the murder of the foreign consuls in 1876 had much
to do with the last war of 1876-1877, between Russia and
Turkey. Eustathius, the critic of the 12th century, belonged
to Thessalonica. The main street still standing is the old
Via Ignatia, running E. and W., as is shown by the two
arches which span it, one at the E. the other at the W. end;
on that at the E. end are figures in low relief representing
the triumphs of a Roman emperor.
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For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,
and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus
unto Dalmatia.
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And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning
to sail by the coasts of Asia; [one] Aristarchus, a Macedonian
of Thessalonica, being with us.
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These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
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But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word
of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also,
and stirred up the people.
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Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
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For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my
necessity.
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thi-a-ti'-ra (Thuateira): Thyatira was a wealthy town in the
northern part of Lydia of the Roman province of Asia, on the
river Lycus. It stood so near to the borders of Mysia, that
some of the early writers have regarded it as belonging to
that country. Its early history is not well known, for until
it was refounded by Seleucus Nicator (301-281 BC) it was a
small, insignificant town. It stood on none of the Greek
trade routes, but upon the lesser road between Pergamos and
Sardis, and derived its wealth from the Lycus valley in
which it rapidly became a commercial center, but never a
metropolis. The name "Thyatira" means "the castle of Thya."
Other names which it has borne are Pelopia and Semiramis.
Before the time of Nicator the place was regarded as a holy
city, for there stood the temple of the ancient Lydian sun-
god, Tyrimnos; about it games were held in his honor. Upon
the early coins of Thyatira this Asiatic god is represented
as a horseman, bearing a double-headed battle-ax, similar to
those represented on the sculptures of the Hittites. A
goddess associated with him was Boreatene, a deity of less
importance. Another temple at Thyatira was dedicated to
Sambethe, and at this shrine was a prophetess, by some
supposed to represent the Jezebel of Rev 2:20, who uttered
the sayings which this deity would impart to the
worshippers.
Thyatira was specially noted for the trade guilds which were
probably more completely organized there than in any other
ancient city. Every artisan belonged to a guild, and every
guild, which was an incorporated organization, possessed
property in its own name, made contracts for great
constructions, and wielded a wide influence. Powerful among
them was the guild of coppersmiths; another was the guild of
the dyers, who, it is believed, made use of the madder-root
instead of shell-fish for making the purple dyestuffs. A
member of this guild seems to have been Lydia of Thyatira,
who, according to Acts 16:14, sold her dyes in Philippi. The
color obtained by the use of this dye is now called Turkish
red. The guilds were closely connected with the Asiatic
religion of the place. Pagan feasts, with which immoral
practices were associated, were held, and therefore the
nature of the guilds was such that they were opposed to
Christianity. According to Acts 19:10, Paul may have
preached there while he was living at Ephesus, but this is
uncertain; yet Christianity reached there at an early time.
It was taught by many of the early church that no Christian
might belong to one of the guilds, and thus the greatest
opposition to Christianity was presented.
Thyatira is now represented by the modern town of Ak-Hissar
on a branch line of the Manisa-Soma Railroad, and on the old
Rom road 9 hours from Sardis. Ak-Hissar is Turkish for
"white castle," and near the modern town may be seen the
ruins of the castle from which the name was derived. The
village is of considerable size; most of the houses are of
mud, but several of the buildings erected by Caracalla are
still standing, yet none of them are perfect. In the higher
part of the town are the ruins of one of the pagan temples,
and in the walls of the houses are broken columns and
sarcophagi and inscribed stones. The population of 20,000 is
largely Greek and Armenian, yet a few Jews live among them.
Before the town is a large marsh, fever-laden, and
especially unhealthful in the summer time, formed by the
Lycus, which the Turks now call Geurdeuk Chai. The chief
modern industry is rug-making.
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The hometown of Lydia, a convert of Paul
Ac 16:14
-John given a message for
Re 1:11; 2:18,24
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a city on the Lycus, founded by Seleucus Nicator, lay to
the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis, 27 miles from
the latter city, and on the very confines of Mysia and
Ionia, so as to be sometimes reckoned within the one and
sometimes within the other. Dyeing apparently formed an
important part of the industrial activity of Thyatira, as it
did of that of Colossae and Laodicea. It is first mentioned
in connection with Lydia, "a seller of purple." Ac 16:14 One
of the Seven Churches of Asia was established here. Re 2:18-
29 The principal deity of the city was Apollo; but there was
another superstition, of an extremely curious nature which
seems to have been brought thither by some of the corrupted
Jews of the dispersed tribes. A fane stood outside the
walls, dedicated to Sambatha --the name of the sibyl who is
sometimes called Chaldean, sometimes Jewish, sometimes
Persian-- in the midst of an enclosure designated "the
Chaldaeans' court." This seems to lend an illustration to
the obscure passage in Re 2:20,21 which some interpret of
the wife of the bishop. Now there is evidence to show that
in Thyatira there was a great amalgamation of races. If the
sibyl Sambatha was in reality a Jewess, lending her aid to
the amalgamation of different religions, and not
discountenanced by the authorities of the Judeo-Christian
Church at Thyatira, both the censure and its qualification
become easy of explanation. (The present name of the city is
ak-Hissar ("white castle"). It has a reputation for the
manufacture of scarlet cloth. Its present population is
15,000 to 20,000. There are nine mosques. --ED.)
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a city of Asia Minor, on the borders of Lydia and Mysia. Its
modern name is Ak-hissar, i.e., "white castle." Here
was one of
the seven churches (Rev. 1:11; 2:18-28). Lydia, the
seller of
purple, or rather of cloth dyed with this colour, was
from this
city (Acts 16:14). It was and still is famous for its
dyeing.
Among the ruins, inscriptions have been found relating
to the
guild of dyers in that city in ancient times.
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(Lydia, the probable agent of carrying the gospel to her
native town.) (See LYDIA.) Thyatira lay a little to the left
of the road from Pergamos to Sardis (Strabo 13:4, who calls
it "a Macedonian colony"); on the Lycus, a little to the S.
of the Hyllus, at the N. end of the valley between Mount
Tmolus and the southern ridge of Tetanus. Founded by
Seleucus Nicator. On the confines of Mysia and Ionia. A
corporate guild of dyers is mentioned in three inscriptions
of the times of the Roman empire between Vespasian and
Caracalla. To it probably belonged Lydia, the seller of
purple (i.e. scarlet, for the ancients called many bright
red colors "purple") stuffs (Acts 16:14). The waters are so
suited for dyeing that nowhere is the scarlet of fezzes
thought to be so brilliant and permanent as that made here.
Modern Thyatira contains a population of 17,000.
In Revelation 2:18-25, "the Son of God who hath eyes
like unto a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass,"
stands in contrast to the sun god. Tyrimnas, the tutelary
god of Thyatira, represented with flaming rays and feet of
burnished brass. Christ commends Thyatira's works, charity,
service, faith, and patience. Thyatira's "last works were
more than the first," realizing 1 Thessalonians 4:1, instead
of retrograding from "first love and first works" as Ephesus
(Revelation 2:4-5); the converse of Matthew 12:45; 2 Peter
2:20. Yet Thyatira "suffered that woman Jezebel, which
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My
servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed
unto idols." (See JEZEBEL.) Some self-styled prophetess, or
collection of prophets (the feminine in Hebrew idiom
expressing a multitude), closely attached to and influencing
the Thyatira church and its presiding bishop or "angel" (the
Alexandrinus and Vaticanus manuscripts read "thy wife" for
"that woman") as Jezebel did her weak husband Ahab.
The presiding angel ought to have exercised his
authority over the prophetess or prophets so-called, who
seduced many into the libertinism of the Balaamites and
Nicolaitans of Thyatira's more powerful neighbour Pergamos
(Revelation 2:6; Revelation 2:14; Revelation 2:16). (See
BALAAMITES; NICOLAITANS.) The Lord encourages the faithful
section at Thyatira. "Unto you (omit 'and' with the
Alexandrinus and the Vaticanus manuscripts, the Sinaiticus
manuscript reads: 'among ') the rest in Thyatira I say, ...
I will put upon you none other burden (save abstinence from
and protestation against these abominations: this the
seducers regarded as an intolerable burden, see Matthew
11:30); but that which ye have hold fast until I come." A
shrine outside Thyatira walls was sacred to the sibyl
Sambatha, a Jewess or Chaldaean, in an enclosure called "the
Chaldaean court."
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And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the
city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose
heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul.
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Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
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And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These
things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a
flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass;
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But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as
have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of
Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Read More
ti'-gris (Tigris, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew
chiddeqel): One of the rivers of Eden going "eastward to
Assyria" (Gen 2:14 margin), called the Great River (Dan
10:4), elsewhere mentioned in the apocryphal books, as in
Tob 6:1; Judith 1:6; Ecclesiasticus 24:25, called Diglath in
Josephus, and Diglit in Pliny, now called in Mesopotamia
Dijleh, generally supposed to be a Semitic corruption of
Tigra, meaning originally an arrow, which from its rapidity
of motion is symbolized. The Tigris rises in the mountains
of Armenia, latitude 38 degrees 10 minutes, longitude 39
degrees 20 minutes, only a few miles from the main branch of
the Euphrates. After pursuing a tortuous southeasterly
course for 150 miles, it is joined by the east branch at
Osman Kieui, some distance below Diarbekr. Here the stream
is 450 ft. wide and 3 or 4 ft. deep. Passing through
numerous mountain gorges for another 150 miles, it emerges
into the region of low hills about Nineveh, and a little
below into the great alluvial plain of Mesopotamia. Thence
in its course to Bagdad it is joined by the Great Zab, the
Lesser Zab, the Adhem, and the Diyaleh rivers, bringing a
large amount of water from the Zagros Mountains. At Bagdad
the overflows from the Euphrates in high water often
increase the inundations. The flood season begins early in
the month of March, reaching its climax about May 1,
declining to its natural level by midsummer. In October and
November, the volume of water increases considerably, but
not so much as to overflow its banks. Below Bagdad,
throughout the region of Babylonia proper, the Tigris joins
with the Euphrates in furnishing the water for irrigation so
successfully used in ancient times. English engineers are at
present with great promise of success aiming to restore the
irrigating systems of the region and the prosperity of
ancient times. The total length of the river is 1,146 miles.
It now joins the Euphrates about 40 miles Northwest of the
Persian Gulf, the two streams there forming the Shat el
Arab, but in early historical times they entered the Persian
Gulf by separate mouths, the Gulf then extending a
considerable distance above the present junction of the
rivers, the sediment of the streams having silted up the
head of the Gulf to that distance.
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is used by the LXX. as the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew
Hiddekel, and occurs also in several of the apocryphal books,
as in Tobit, ch. 6:1, Judith, ch. 1:6, and Ecclesiasticus, ch.
24:25. The Tigris, like the Euphrates, rises from two
principal sources in the Armenian mountains, and flows into
the Euphrates. Its length, exclusive of windings, is reckoned
at 1146 miles. It receives, along its middle and lower course
no fewer than five important tributaries. These are the river
of Zakko or eastern Khabour, the Great Zab (Zab Ala), the
Lesser Zab (Zab Asfal), the Adhem, and the Diyaleh or ancient
Gyndes. All these rivers flow from the high range of Zagros.
We find but little mention of the Tigris in Scripture. It
appears, indeed, under the name of Hiddekel, among the rivers
of Eden, Ge 2:14 and is there correctly described as "running
eastward to Assyria;" but after this we hear no more of it, if
we accept one doubtful allusion in Nahum Na 2:6 until the
captivity, when it becomes well known to the prophet Daniel.
With him it is "the Great River." The Tigris, in its upper
course, anciently ran through Armenia and Assyria.
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(See HIDDEKEL.) Genesis 2:14, "running eastward to Assyria."
Daniel 10:4, "the great river." Rising in the Armenian
mountains, not far from the sources of Euphrates, it flows
N.E. of the latter for 1,100 miles, when at last they join and
flow as one river into the Persian gulf. Its greatest breadth
is more than 200 yards. For the last two hundred, miles before
its confluence with the Euphrates the country was intersected
with artificial watercourses and adapted river beds, such as
the Shat-el-Hie, or river of Hie; and in this district are the
ruins of old towns; some scarcely known, as Zirgul, "the city
of the brilliant light"; others better known, as Ur (Mugheir).
(See UR.) It ran through Armenia and Assyria, and then
separated Babylonia from Susiana. Subsequently it was the
boundary between the Roman and Parthian empires.
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to'-feth (ha-topheth, etymology uncertain; the most probable
is its connection with a root meaning "burning"--the "place of
burning"; the King James Version, Tophet, except in 2 Ki
23:10): The references are to such a place: "They have built
the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son
of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire"
(Jer 7:31). On account of this abomination Topheth and the
Valley of Hinnom should be called "The valley of Slaughter:
for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to
bury," the Revised Version margin "because there shall be no
place else" (Jer 7:32); see also Jer 19:6,12,13,14. Josiah is
said to have "defiled Topheth" as part of his great religious
reforms (2 Ki 23:10). The site of this shameful place would
seem to have been either at the lower end of the Valley of
Hinnom (see HINNOM, VALLEY OF), near where Akeldama is now
pointed out, or in the open ground where this valley joins the
Kidron.
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Also called TOPHETH
-A place in the valley of the sons of Hinnom
2Ki 23:10
-Jewish children passed through the fire to the god Molech in
2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31,32; 19:6,11-14; 32:35
-See also
2Ch 28:3; 33:6
-Destroyed by Josiah
2Ki 23:10
-Horror of
Isa 30:33
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and once To'phet (place of burning), was in the southeast
extremity of the "valley of the son of Hinnom," Jer 7:31
which is "by the entry of the east gate." Jer 19:2 The
locality of Hinnom is to have been elsewhere. [HINNOM] It
seems also to have been part of the king's gardens, and
watered by Siloam, perhaps a little to the south of the
present Birket el-Hamra. The name Tophet occurs only in the
Old Testament.
2Ki 23:10; Isa 30:33; Jer 7:31,32; 19:6,11,12,13,14
The New does not refer to it, nor the Apocrypha. Tophet has
been variously translated. The most natural meaning seems
that suggested by the occurrence of the word in two
consecutive verses, in one of which it is a tabret and in
the other Tophet. Isa 30:32,37 The Hebrew words are nearly
identical; and Tophet war probably the king's "music-grove"
or garden, denoting originally nothing evil or hateful.
Certainly there is no proof that it took its name from the
beaten to drown the cries of the burning victims that passed
through the fire to Molech. Afterward it was defiled by
idols and polluted by the sacrifices of Baal and the fires
of Molech. Then it became the place of abomination, the very
gate or pit of hell. The pious kings defiled it and threw
down its altars and high places, pouring into it all the
filth of the city, till it became the "abhorrence" of
Jerusalem.
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=Topheth, from Heb. toph "a drum," because the cries of
children
here sacrificed by the priests of Moloch were
drowned by the
noise of such an instrument; or from taph or toph,
meaning "to
burn," and hence a place of burning, the name of a
particular
part in the valley of Hinnom. "Fire being the most
destructive
of all elements, is chosen by the sacred writers to
symbolize
the agency by which God punishes or destroys the
wicked. We are
not to assume from prophetical figures that material
fire is the
precise agent to be used. It was not the agency
employed in the
destruction of Sennacherib, mentioned in Isa.
30:33...Tophet
properly begins where the Vale of Hinnom bends round
to the
east, having the cliffs of Zion on the north, and
the Hill of
Evil Counsel on the south. It terminates at Beer
'Ayub, where it
joins the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The cliffs on the
southern side
especially abound in ancient tombs. Here the dead
carcasses of
beasts and every offal and abomination were cast,
and left to be
either devoured by that worm that never died or
consumed by that
fire that was never quenched." Thus Tophet came to
represent the
place of punishment. (See HINNOM -T0001790.)
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A spot in the valley of the son of Hinnom; S.E. and S.S.E.
of Jerusalem; "by the entry of the E. gate" (Jeremiah 19:2).
frontHINNOM.) Infamous by the immolation in it of children
to Moloch (2 Kings 23:10; Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 7:31-32;
Jeremiah 19:2; Jeremiah 19:6; Jeremiah 19:11). (See HELL.)
From toph, the "drums" beaten to drown the shrieks of the
children made to pass through the fire to Moloch; rather
tophet means tabret, so "tabret grove," i.e. music grove, as
Chinneroth is "the harp sea"; or tuph "to spit," less
probably; or from a root "burning" (Persian, Gesenins); or
"filth" (Roediger). One of the chief groves in Hinnom;
forming part of the king's gardens, and watered by Siloam;
Hinnom is placed by old writers E. of Jerusalem, answering
to the month of the Tyropoeon, along the southern banks of
the Kedron (Jerome De Loc. Hebrew).
Topheth was next defiled by idols, Baal and Moloch,
with their inhuman sacrifices. Josiah threw down its altars
and heaped here the filth of the city, so that, with its
carcasses preyed on by worms and its perpetual fires for
consuming refuse, it became a type of hell (Isaiah 66:24).
In Kings and Jeremiah the article precedes, "the Topheth" In
Isaiah 30:33 it is Tophteh, "tabret grove," as tupim in
Isaiah 30:32 is "tabrets." Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:32; Jeremiah
19:6) makes it prophetically "the valley of slaughter," i.e.
the scene, no longer of slaughter of innocents (Jeremiah
19:4), but of the Jewish men who so richly deserved their
fate. In Isaiah 30:33 Topheth symbolizes the funeral pyre of
Sennacherib's army, not that it actually perished there, but
the Assyrian forerunner of antichrist is to be burnt in
ignominy whereas the Hebrew buried their dead. Satan is the
king finally doomed to the fire with the lost (Matthew 5:22;
Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-44).
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And he defiled Topheth, which [is] in the valley of the
children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
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And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of
Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all
the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all
the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto
other gods.
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And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so
will I break this people and this city, as [one] breaketh a
potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they
shall bury [them] in Tophet, till [there be] no place to bury.
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For Tophet [is] ordained of old; yea, for the king it is
prepared; he hath made [it] deep [and] large: the pile thereof
[is] fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream
of brimstone, doth kindle it.
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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this
place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the
son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Read More
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which [is] in
the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their
daughters in the fire; which I commanded [them] not, neither
came it into my heart.
Read More
Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him
to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD'S house;
and said to all the people,
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Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the
inhabitants thereof, and [even] make this city as Tophet:
Read More
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it
shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of
Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in
Tophet, till there be no place.
Read More
tro'-as (Troas): The chief city in the Northwest of Asia
Minor, on the coast of Mysia in the Roman province of Asia.
From here, according to Acts 16:8, Paul sailed. Here, also,
according to Acts 20:5-12, Paul raised Eutychus from the
dead. The name Troas was not confined to the town itself,
but it was also applied to the surrounding district, or to
that part of the coast which is now generally known as the
Troad. In its early history it bore the name of Antigona
Troas, which was given it by its founder Antigonus, but
after 300 BC it was generally known to the classical writers
as Alexander Troas, a name given to it by Lysimachus. For a
time the Seleucid kings made their homes at Troas. Later,
when the city became free, it struck its own coins, of which
vast numbers are found; a common type is one upon which is
stamped a grazing horse. In 133 BC Troas came into the
possession of the Romans, and later, during the reign of
Augustus, it was made a Roman colonia, independent of the
Roman governor of the province of Asia. Its citizens were
then exempt from poll and land tax. During Byzantine times
Troas was the seat of a bishopric.
The ruins of Troas, now bearing the name of Eski Stambul,
are extensive, giving evidence of the great size and
importance of the ancient city. They have, however, long
been used as a quarry, and the columns of the public
buildings were taken to Constantinople for use in the
construction of the mosque known as the Yeni Valideh Jami.
The site is now mostly overgrown with oaks, but from the
higher portions of the ruins there is an extensive view over
the sea and the neighboring islands. It is only with
difficulty that one may now trace the city walls and locate
the square towers which flanked them at intervals. Within
the walls are the remains of theater, the temple and the
gymnasium, which was provided with baths. The port from
which Paul sailed was constructed by means of a mole, with
an outer and an inner basin. The most imposing of the ruins,
however, is a large aqueduct which was built in the time of
Trajan.
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(A seaport of Mysia, in Asia Minor)
-Paul visits
Ac 16:8,11; 20:5,6; 2Co 2:12; 2Ti 4:13
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And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth,
about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside
children.
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And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves
of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be] faint,
and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
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God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide
Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
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God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide
Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
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In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay
ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
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In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay
ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.
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And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth.
Read More
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in
Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
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And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched
in Succoth.
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And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which
[is] in the edge of the wilderness.
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And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and
made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is
called Succoth.
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And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of
him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the
elders thereof, [even] threescore and seventeen men.
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si'-kar (Suchar): Mentioned only once, in connection with
the visit of Jesus to Jacob's Well (Jn 4:5). He was passing
through Samaria on His way to Galilee, "so he cometh to a
city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground
that Jacob gave to his son Joseph: and Jacob's well was
there." Jerome thought the name was a clerical error for
Sychem (Epistle 86). In Eusebius (in Onomasticon) he is
content to translate Eusebius, placing Sychar East of
Neapolis. It is now generally admitted that the text is
correct. Some have held, however, that Sychar is only
another name for Shechem ("Sychem"). It is suggested, e.g.,
that it is a nickname applied in contempt by the Jews, being
either shikkor, "drunken," or sheqer, "falsehood." Others
think the form has arisen through change of "m" to "r" in
pronunciation; as "l" to "r" in Beliar. These theories may
safely be set aside. The evidence that Sychar was a distinct
place East of Shechem may be described as overwhelming. It
is carefully and perspicuously marshaled by G. A. Smith
(Historical Geography of the Holy Land, 367 ff). The manner
in which it is mentioned shows that it was not a specially
well-known place: "a city of Samaria called Sychar." No one
familiar with Israel would have written "a city of
Samaria called Sychem." It is mentioned only because of its
nearness to the well.
As to the position of the well, there is general agreement
(see JACOB'S WELL). It is on the right of the road where it
bends from the plain of Makhneh into the pass of Shechem.
Fully half a mile off, on the edge of the plain, is the
village of `Askar, on the lower slope of Ebal. A little to
the West is the traditional tomb of Joseph. This is the
district East of Shechem usually identified with Jacob's
"parcel of ground." Many have sought to find Sychar in the
modern `Askar. There are two difficulties. The first is the
initial letter `ain in the modern name. But G. A. Smith has
shown that such a change as this, although unusual, is not
impossible. The second is the presence of the copious
spring, `Ain `Askar, which would make it unnecessary for the
villagers to carry water from Jacob's Well. This cannot
easily be explained away. One could understand a special
journey at times, if any peculiar value attached to the
water in the well; but from it, evidently, the woman drew
her ordinary supplies (Jn 4:15). This difficulty would
probably in any case be fatal to the claim of the village at
`Ain `Askar to represent the ancient Sychar. But Professor
R. S. A. Macalister has shown reason to believe that the
village is not older than Arab times (PEFS, 1907, 92 ff). He
examined the mound Telul Balata, nearly 1/2 mile Southwest
of `Askar, and just West of Joseph's tomb. There he found
evidence of occupation from the days of the Hebrew monarchy
down to the time of Christ. Here there is no spring; and it
is only 1/4 mile distant from Jacob's Well--nearer therefore
to the well than to `Askar. In other respects the site is
suitable, so that perhaps here we may locate the Sychar of
the Gospel. The name may easily have migrated to `Askar when
the village fell into decay.
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a place named only in Joh 4:5 Sychar was either a name
applied to the town of Shechem or it was an independent place.
The first of these alternatives is now almost universally
accepted. [SHECHEM]
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liar or drunkard (see Isa. 28:1, 7), has been from the time of
the Crusaders usually identified with Sychem or
Shechem (John
4:5). It has now, however, as the result of recent
explorations,
been identified with 'Askar, a small Samaritan town on
the
southern base of Ebal, about a mile to the north of
Jacob's
well.
Read More
John 4:5. Shechem or Nablus (Jerome Quaest. Genesis 48:22)
corrupted into Sichem, Sychar. Some think it an intentional
corruption, as if from sheker "falsehood," or shikor
"drunkard" (Isaiah 28:1; Isaiah 28:7), due to Jewish bigotry
against the Samaritans. It is objected that Jacob's well at
the entrance into the valley is a mile and a half from
Shechem, and that it is unlikely the woman, if belonging to
Shechem, would go so far for water when plenty was nearer at
hand; but Robinson conjectures the town had extensive
suburbs anciently which reached to near Jacob's well. The
woman probably went to this well, irrespectively of
distance, just because it was Jacob's; her looking for
"Messiah" is in consonance with this, besides the well was
deep and the water therefore especially good. However Sychar
may have been close to the well; and (Thomson, Land and
Book, 31) the present village, Aschar, just above Jacob's
well, on the side of Ebal and on the road by which caravans
pass from Jerusalem to Damascus, and by which doubtless
Jesus passed between Judaea and Galilee, may answer to
Sychar.
So Jerome and Eusebius (Onomasticon) make S.
"before," i.e. E. of, Neapolis (Shechem) by the field of
Joseph with Jacob's well. The Bordeaux pilgrim (A.D. 333)
puts Sechar or Sychar a Roman mile from Sychem, which he
makes a suburb of Neapolis. "A city of Samaria called
Sychar" is language not likely to be used of the metropolis
Shechem; moreover the name Sychem occurs Acts 7:16. On the
other hand "called" suits the idea that Sychar is a Jewish
nickname for Shechem. Lt. Conder favors Aschar, which is the
translation of the Samaritan Iskar, not from the Hebrew
"drunkard," but from a Hebrew Aramaic root meaning "to be
shut up." This derivation and the description in John 4:5-6
answer accurately to Aschar. Jacob's well is at the point
where the narrow vale of Shechem broadens into the great
plain; it is 2,000 yards E. of Nablus (Shechem), which is
hidden from it. The tomb of Joseph is a third of a mile
northeastward, thence a path ascends to Aschar which is
visible from Jacob's well. frontIsrael Exploration
Quarterly Statement, July 1877, p. 149.)
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Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar,
near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph.
Read More
sir'-i-a (Suria (Mt 4:24; Lk 2:2)):
1. Name and Its Origin
2. Other Designations
3. Physical
(1) The Maritime Plain
(2) First MoUntain Belt
(3) Second Mountain Belt
(4) Great Central Valley
(5) The Eastern Belt
(6) Rivers
(7) Nature of Soil
(8) Flora
(9) Fauna
(10) Minerals
(11) Central Position
4. History
(1) Canaanitic Semites
(2) Sargon of Agade
(3) Babylonian Supremacy
(4) Hittite and Aramean
(5) Hittites and Egyptians
(6) Amarna Period
(7) Rameses II
(8) Philistines
(9) Tiglath-pileser I
(10) Aramean States
(11) Peaceful Development
(12) Shalmaneser II
(13) Tiglath-pileser III
(14) Shalmaneser IV and Sargon
(15) Pharaoh-necoh and Nebuchadnezzar
1. Name and Its Origin:
The name does not occur in the Massoretic Text nor the
Peshitta of the Old Testament, but is found in the
Septuagint, in the Peshitta of the New Testament and in the
Mishna In the Septuagint it represents "Aram" in all its
combinations, as Aram-zobah, etc. The name itself first
appears in Herodotus vii.63, where he says that "Syrians"
and "Assyrians" were the Greek and barbarian designations of
the same people. Otherwise he is quite vague in his use of
the term. Xenophon is clearer when he (Anab; vii.8, 25)
distinguishes between Syria and Phoenicia. Syria is
undoubtedly an extension of the name "Suri" the ancient
Babylonian designation of a district in North Mesopotamia,
but later embracing regions beyond the Euphrates to the
North and West, as far as the Taurus. Under the Seleucids,
Syria was regarded as coextensive with their kingdom, and
the name shrank with its dimensions. Strabo, Pliny and
Ptolemy give its boundaries as the Taurus Mountains, the
Euphrates, the Syro-Arabian desert and the Mediterranean,
and the territory within these limits is still politically
designated Syria, though popularly Israel is generally
named separately.
2. Other Designations:
Homer (Iliad ii.785) and Hesiod (Theog. 304) call the
inhabitants of the district "Arimoi," with which compare the
cuneiform "Arimu" or "Aramu" for Arameans. The earliest
Assyrian name was "Martu," which Hommel regards as a
contraction of "Amartu," the land of the "Amurru" or
Amorites. In Egyptian records the country is named "Ruten"
or "Luten," and divided into "Lower" and "Upper," the former
denoting Israel and the latter Syria proper.
3. Physical:
(1) The Maritime Plain.
Syria, within the boundaries...
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(The highlands lying between the Euphrates River and the
Mediterranean Sea)
-Called ARAM, from the son of Shem
Ge 10:22,23; Nu 23:7; 1Ch 1:17; 2:23
-During the time of Abraham it seems to have embraced the
region between the Tigris River and the Euphrates
River
Ge 24:10; with 25:20
-Including Padan-aram
Ge 25:20; 28:5
-Minor kingdoms within the region
Aram-zobah, also called, ZOBAH and ZOBA
1Sa 14:47; 2Sa 8:3; 10:6,8; 1Ki 11:23; 1Ch 18:5,9;
19:6
And in the title of
Ps 60
Geshur
2Sa 15:8
Aram-rehob, also called BETH-REHOB
2Sa 10:6,8
Damascus
2Sa 8:5,6; 1Ch 18:5,6
Hamath
2Sa 8:9,10
-Conquest of
By David
2Sa 8:3-13
By Jeroboam
2Ki 14:25,28
By Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria
2Ki 16:7-9; 18:33,34
-People of, colonized in Samaria by the king of Assyria
2Ki 17:24
-Confederates with Nebuchadnezzar
2Ki 24:2; Jer 39:5
-The Roman province of, included the land of Canaan
Lu 2:2,3
-And it included Phoenicia
Mr 7:26; Ac 21:3
-The fame of Jesus extended over
Mt 4:24
-Paul goes to, with letters to apprehend the Christians; is
converted and begins his evangelistic ministry
Ac 9:1-31
-See PAUL
-Paul preaches in
Ac 15:41; 18:18; 21:3; Ga 1:21
-Damascus, the capitol of
See DAMASCUS
-Wars between, and the kingdoms of Judah and Israel
See ISRAEL
-Prophecies concerning
Isa 7:8-16; 8:4-7; 17:1-3; Jer 1:15; 49:23-27; Am
1:3-5;
Zec 9:1
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is the term used throughout our version for the Hebrew
Aram, as well as for the Greek Zupia. Most probably Syria is
for Tsyria, the country about Tsur or Tyre which was the
first of the Syrian towns known to the Greeks. It is
difficult to fix the limits of Syria. The limits of the
Hebrew Aram and its subdivisions are spoken of under ARAM.
Syria proper was bounded by Amanus and Taurus on the north
by the Euphrates and the Arabian desert on the east, by
Israel on the south, by the Mediterranean near the mouth
of the Orontes, and then by Phoenicia on the west. This
tract is about 300 miles long from north to south, and from
50 to 150 miles broad. It contains an area of about 30,000
square miles.
General physical features. --The general character
of the tract is mountainous, as the Hebrew name Aram (from a
roof signifying "height") sufficiently implies. The most
fertile and valuable tract of Syria is the long valley
intervening between Libanus and Anti-Libanus. Of the various
mountain ranges of Syria, Lebanon possesses the greatest
interest. It extends from the mouth of the Litany to Arka, a
distance of nearly 100 miles. Anti-Libanus, as the name
implies, stands lover against Lebanon, running in the same
direction, i.e. nearly north and south, and extending the
same length. [LEBANON] The principal rivers of Syria are the
Litany and the Orontes. The Litany springs from a small lake
situated in the middle of the Coele-Syrian valley, about six
miles to the southwest of Baalbek. It enters the sea about
five miles north of Tyre. The source of the Orontes is but
about 15 miles from that of the Litany. Its modern name is
the Nahr-el-Asi, or "rebel stream," an appellation given to
it on account of its violence and impetuosity in many parts
of its course. The chief towns of Syria may be...
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(Heb. Aram), the name in the Old Testament given to the
whole
country which lay to the north-east of Phoenicia,
extending to
beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. Mesopotamia is
called (Gen.
24:10; Deut. 23:4) Aram-naharain (=Syria of the two
rivers),
also Padan-aram (Gen. 25:20). Other portions of
Syria were also
known by separate names, as Aram-maahah (1 Chr.
19:6),
Aram-beth-rehob (2 Sam. 10:6), Aram-zobah (2 Sam.
10:6, 8). All
these separate little kingdoms afterwards became
subject to
Damascus. In the time of the Romans, Syria included
also a part
of Israel and Asia Minor.
"From the historic annals now accessible to us, the
history of
Syria may be divided into three periods: The first,
the period
when the power of the Pharaohs was dominant over the
fertile
fields or plains of Syria and the merchant cities of
Tyre and
Sidon, and when such mighty conquerors as Thothmes
III. and
Rameses II. could claim dominion and levy tribute
from the
nations from the banks of the Euphrates to the
borders of the
Libyan desert. Second, this was followed by a short
period of
independence, when the Jewish nation in the south
was growing in
power, until it reached its early zenith in the
golden days of
Solomon; and when Tyre and Sidon were rich cities,
sending their
traders far and wide, over land and sea, as
missionaries of
civilization, while in the north the confederate
tribes of the
Hittites held back the armies of the kings of
Assyria. The
third, and to us most interesting, period is that
during which
the kings of Assyria were dominant over the plains
of Syria;
when Tyre, Sidon, Ashdod, and Jerusalem bowed
beneath the
conquering armies of Shalmaneser, Sargon, and
Sennacherib; and
when at last Memphis and Thebes yielded to the power
of the
rulers of Nineveh and Babylon, and the kings of
Assyria
completed with terrible fulness the bruising of the
reed of
Egypt so clearly foretold by the Hebrew prophets.",
Boscawen.
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Septuagint Greek for Hebrew 'Aram, fifth of Shem's sons.
Aram means the high land N.E. of the Holy Land, extending
from the Jordan and the sea of Galilee to the Euphrates; the
term means "high". In Genesis Aram-Naharaim, i.e. "Aram
between the two rivers", is Mesopotamia, part of which is
Padan Aram; and Laban who lived there is called the Aramaean
or Syrian. Syria is by some derived from Assyria, by others
from Tyre, as if Tsyria; by Ritter from Shur, the wilderness
into which Israel passed out of Egypt (Genesis 25:18; Exodus
15:22; 1 Samuel 27:8), from whence the name was extended
over all Syria. The Hebrew Aram begins on the northern
border of Israel, and thence goes northward to Mount
Taurus, westward to the Mediterranean, eastward to the
Khabour river. Divided into Aram or Syria of Damascus, Aram
or Syria of Zobah (the tract between Euphrates and
Coelosyria), Aram or Syria Naharaim ('of the two rivers"),
i.e. Padan Aram or Mesopotamia, the N.W. part of the land
between the Tigris and Euphrates.
On the W. two mountain chains run parallel to one
another and to the coast from the latitude of Tyre to that
of Antioch, namely, Lebanon and Antilebanon; Lebanon the
western chain at its southern end becomes Bargylus. Mount
Amanus, an offshoot of Taurus, meets the two long chains at
their northern extremity, and separates Syria from Cilicia.
The valley between Lebanon and Antilebanon is the most
fertile in Syria, extending 230 miles, and in width from 8
to 20 miles. The southern portion is Coelosyria and Hamath.
The Litany in this valley (el Bukaa) flows to the S.W.; the
Orontes (nahr el Asi, i.e. "the rebel stream") flows to the
N. and N.E. for 200 miles; the Barada of Damascus is another
river of Syria. The Syrian desert is E. of the inner chain
of mountains, and S. of Aleppo; it contains the oasis of
Palmyra, and toward its western side the productive plain of
Damascus.
The chief towns were Antioch, Damascus, Tadmor or
Palmyra, Laodicea, Hamath (Epiphaneia), Hierapolis,
Heliopolis or Baalbek in Coelosyria, Chalybon or Aleppo,
Apamea, and Emesa. Hamites, as the Hittites (the Khatti in
the monuments), first occupied Syria. Then a Shemite element
entered from the S.E., e.g. Abraham, Chedorlaomer, Amraphel.
In early times Syria was divided among many petty "kings,"
as Damascus, Rehob, Maacah, Zobah, Geshur, etc. 1 Kings
10:29, "kings of Syria"; 2 Kings 7:6, "kings of the
Hittites." Joshua fought with the chiefs of the region of
Lebanon and Hermon (Joshua 11:2-18). David conquered...
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And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria,
and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of
the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
forsook the LORD, and served not him.
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Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the
king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great
multitude of them captives, and brought [them] to Damascus.
And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel,
who smote him with a great slaughter.
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And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that
Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of
Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the
gold [that was] found in the treasures of the house of the
LORD, and in the king's house, and sent [it] to Hazael king of
Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
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And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought
against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram
king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in
Jezreel, because he was sick.
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And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened [it].
Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow
of the LORD'S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from
Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou
have consumed [them].
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Then Asa took all the silver and the gold [that were] left in
the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of
the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his
servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of
Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at
Damascus, saying,
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And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot
for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and an horse for an
hundred and fifty: and so brought they out [horses] for all
the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by
their means.
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And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds
which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king
of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went
down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was
sick.
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So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,
saying, I [am] thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me
out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of
the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
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But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the
wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with
Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds,
[then] let none go forth [nor] escape out of the city to go to
tell [it] in Jezreel.
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ta'-pan-hez, ta-pan'-hez (usually in the Old Testament
tachpanchec; Septuagint Taphnas; Coptic, Taphnes): The
various spellings of the Hebrew text are fairly well
indicated in the King James Version by Tahapanes (Jer 2:16);
Tahpanhes (Jer 43:7-9; 44:1; 46:14); Tehaphnehes (Ezek
30:18), while an Egyptian queen (XXIst Dynasty) is named
Tahpenes (1 Ki 11:19,20). Tahpanhes was a city on the
eastern frontier of Lower Egypt, represented today by Tell
Defenneh, a desert mound lying some 20 miles Southwest from
Pelusium (Biblical "Sin") and a little North of the modern
Al-Kantarah ("the bridge"), marking the old caravan route
from Egypt to Israel, Mesopotamia and Assyria. Its
Egyptian name is unknown, but it was called Daphnai, by the
Greeks, and by the modern Arabs Def'neh. The site is now
desolate, but it was a fertile district when watered by the
Pelusiac branch of the Nile (compare Isa 19:6,7). Tahpanhes
was so powerful that Jeremiah can say that it, with Memphis,
has "broken the crown" of Israel's head (2:16), and Ezekiel
can speak of its "daughters" (colonies or suburban towns),
and names it with Heliopolis and Bubastis when the "yokes
Septuagint "sceptres") of Egypt" shall be broken by Yahweh
(30:18). In a later passage Jeremiah describes the flight of
the Jews from their ruined capital to Tahpanhes after the
death of Gedaliah (43:1-7) and prophesies that
Nebuchadnezzar shall invade Egypt and punish it,
establishing his throne upon the brick pavement (the King
James Version "kiln") which is at the entry of Pharaoh's
royal palace at Tahpanhes (Jer 43:8-11). He calls Tahpanhes
as a witness to the desolation of the cities of Judah (Jer
44:1), but prophesies an equal destruction of Tahpanhes and
other Egyptian cities (probably occupied by fugitive Jews)
when Nebuchadnezzar shall smite them (Jer 46:14).
This invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar was for a long time
strenuously denied (e.g. as late as 1889 by Kuenen,
Historisch-critisch Onderzoek, 265-318); but since the
discovery and publication (1878) of fragments of
Nebuchadnezzar's annals in which he affirms his invasion of
Egypt in his 37th year (568-567 BC), most scholars have
agreed that the predictions of Jeremiah (43:9-13; 44:30)
uttered shortly after 586 BC and of Ezekiel (29:19) uttered
in 570 BC were fulfilled, "at least in their general sense"
(Driver, Authority and Archaeology, 116). Three cuneiform
inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar were found by Arabs probably
on or near this site. The excavation of Tahpanhes in 1886 by
W. M. Flinders Petrie made it "highly probable that the
large oblong platform of brickwork close to the palace fort
built at this spot by Psammetichus I, circa 664 BC, and now
called Kasr Bint el-Yehudi, `the castle of the Jew's
daughter,' is identical...
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Also called TAHAPANES and TEHAPHNEHES
-A city in Egypt
Jer 2:16; 43:7-9; 44:1; 46:14; Eze 30:18
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a city of Egypt, mentioned in the time of the prophets
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The name is evidently Egyptian, and
closely resembles that of the Egyptian queen Tahpenes. It was
evidently a town of lower Egypt, near or on the eastern
border. When Johanan and the other captains went into Egypt
"they came to Tahpanhes." Jer 43:7 The Jews in Jeremiah's time
remained here. Jer 44:1 It was an important town, being twice
mentioned by the latter prophet with Noph or Memphis. Jer
2:16; 46:14 Here stood a house of Pharaoh-hophra before which
Jeremiah hid great stones. Jer 43:8-10
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=Tahpanhes=Tehaphnehes, (called "Daphne" by the Greeks, now
Tell
Defenneh), an ancient Egyptian city, on the Tanitic
branch of
the Nile, about 16 miles from Pelusium. The Jews
from Jerusalem
fled to this place after the death of Gedaliah
(q.v.), and
settled there for a time (Jer. 2:16; 43:7; 44:1;
46:14). A
platform of brick-work, which there is every reason
to believe
was the pavement at the entry of Pharaoh's palace,
has been
discovered at this place. "Here," says the
discoverer, Mr.
Petrie, "the ceremony described by Jeremiah [43:8-
10;
"brick-kiln", i.e., pavement of brick] took place
before the
chiefs of the fugitives assembled on the platform,
and here
Nebuchadnezzar spread his royal pavilion" (R.V.,
"brickwork").
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A city on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, in Lower Egypt,
called by the Greeks Daphne. On the N.E. border, near
Pelusium, of which it was the outpost; therefore soon reached
from Israel by Johanan (Jeremiah 43:7; Jeremiah 43:9).
Pharaoh had there a "palace" being built or repaired in the
prophet's time, with bricks made of clay in a "brick kiln" at
the entry. Of the same materials, Jeremiah foretells, should
the substructure of Nebuchadnezzar's throne be built, implying
that Nebuchadnezzar's throne should be raised on the downfall
of Pharaoh's throne: Jeremiah 46:14, "publish in Migdol (E.)
... Noph (S.), ... T." (W.); here Jews were dwelling (Jeremiah
44:1). In Isaiah 30:4 it is "Hanes" by contraction. In
Jeremiah 2:16 "the children of Noph (Memphis, the capital) and
Tahapanes" (with which the Jews came most in contact)
represent the Egyptians generally, who under Pharaoh Necho
slew the king of Judah, Josiah, at Megiddo, and deposed
Jehoahaz for Eliakim or Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Kings
23:33-35). Called from the goddess Tphnet. Now Tel Defenneh.
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Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown
of thy head.
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tar'-shish (tarshish):
(1) Eponym of a Benjamite family (1 Ch 7:10); Rhamessai, A and
Lucian, Tharseis
(2) One of the "seven princes" at the court of Ahasuerus (Est
1:14 Massoretic Text).
(3) The Hebrew name of a precious stone (Ezek 10:9 margin,
English Versions of the Bible "beryl"; Ex 28:20; 39:13; Ezek
1:16; 28:13; Song 5:14; Dan 10:6).
See STONES, PRECIOUS.
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1. Son of Javan
Ge 10:4; 1Ch 1:7
-2. Also called THARSHISH
Probably Spain
Ge 10:4,5; Ps 72:10; Isa 66:19
Solomon makes valuable imports from
1Ki 10:22; 2Ch 9:21
Commerce and wealth of
1Ki 10:22; 22:48; 2Ch 9:21; 20:36; Ps 48:7; Isa
2:16;
23:1-14; 60:9; Jer 10:9; Eze 27:12,25; 38:13
Jonah would flee to
Jon 1:3; 4:2
Prophecies concerning
Ps 72:10; Isa 2:16; 23:1-14; 60:9; 66:19
-3. Son of Bilhan
1Ch 7:10
-4. A Persian prince
Es 1:14
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established).
1. Probably Tartessus, a city and emporium of the
Phoenicians in the south of Spain, represented as one of the
sons of Javan. Ge 10:4; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ch 1:7; Ps 48:7; Isa
2:16; Jer 10:9; Eze 27:12,25; Jon 1:3; 4:2 The identity of
the two places is rendered highly probable by the following
circumstances: 1st. There is a very close similarity of name
between them, Tartessus being merely Tarshish in the Aramaic
form. 2nd. There seems to have been a special relation
between Tarshish and Tyre, as there was at one time between
Tartessus and Phoenicians. 3rd. The articles which Tarshish
is stated by the prophet Ezekiel, Eze 27:12 to have supplied
to Tyre are precisely such as we know, through classical
writers, to have been productions of the Spanish peninsula.
In regard to tin, the trade of Tarshish in this metal is
peculiarly significant, and, taken in conjunction with
similarity of name and other circumstances already
mentioned, is reasonably conclusive as to its identity with
Tartessus. For even not when countries in Europe or on the
shores of the Mediterranean Sea where tin is found are very
few; and in reference to ancient times, it would be
difficult to name any such countries except Iberia or Spain,
Lusitania, which was somewhat less in extent than Portugal,
and Cornwall in Great Britain. In the absence of positive
proof, we may acquiesce in the statement of Strabo, that the
river Baetis (now the Guadalquivir) was formerly called
Tartessus, that the city Tartessus was situated between the
two arms by which the river flowed into the sea, and that
the adjoining country was called Tartessis.
2. From the book of Chronicles there would seem to
have been a Tarshish accessible from the Red Sea, in
addition to the Tarshish of the south of Spain. Thus, with
regard to the ships of Tarshish, which Jehoshaphat caused to
be constructed at Ezion-geber on the Elanitic Gulf of the
Red Sea, 1Ki 22:48 it is said in the Chronicles, 2Ch 20:36
that they were made to go to Tarshish; and in like manner
the navy of ships, which Solomon had previously made in
Ezion-geber, 1Ki 9:26 is said in the Chronicles, 2Ch 9:21 to
have gone to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. It is not
to be supposed that the author of these passages in the
Chronicles contemplated a voyage to Tarshish in the south of
Spain by going round what has since been called the Cape of
Good Hope. The expression "ships of Tarshish" originally
meant ships destined to go to Tarshish; and then probably
came to signify large Phoenician ships, of a particular size
the description, destined for long voyages, just as in
English "East Indiaman" was a general name given to vessels,
some of which were not intended to go to India at all. Hence
we may infer that the word Tarshish was also used to signify
any distant place, and in this case would be applied to one
in the Indian Ocean. This is shown by the nature of the
imports with which the fleet returned, which are specified
as "gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks." 1Ki 10:22 The
gold might possibly have been obtained form Africa, or from
Ophir in Arabia, and the ivory and the apes might likewise
have been imported from Africa; but the peacocks point
conclusively, not to Africa, but to India. There are only
two species known: both inhabit the mainland and islands of
India; so that the mention of the peacock seems to exclude
the possibility of the voyage having been to Africa.
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a Sanscrit or Aryan word, meaning "the sea coast." (1.) One
of
the "sons" of Javan (Gen. 10:4; 1 Chr. 1:7).
(2.) The name of a place which first comes into
notice in the
days of Solomon. The question as to the locality of
Tarshish has
given rise to not a little discussion. Some think
there was a
Tarshish in the East, on the Indian coast, seeing
that "ships of
Tarshish" sailed from Eziongeber, on the Red Sea (1
Kings 9:26;
22:48; 2 Chr. 9:21). Some, again, argue that
Carthage was the
place so named. There can be little doubt, however,
that this is
the name of a Phoenician port in Spain, between the
two mouths
of the Guadalquivir (the name given to the river by
the Arabs,
and meaning "the great wady" or water-course). It
was founded by
a Carthaginian colony, and was the farthest western
harbour of
Tyrian sailors. It was to this port Jonah's ship was
about to
sail from Joppa. It has well been styled "the Peru
of Tyrian
adventure;" it abounded in gold and silver mines.
It appears that this name also is used without
reference to
any locality. "Ships of Tarshish" is an expression
sometimes
denoting simply ships intended for a long voyage
(Isa. 23:1,
14), ships of a large size (sea-going ships),
whatever might be
the port to which they sailed. Solomon's ships were
so styled (1
Kings 10:22; 22:49).
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Tartessus (as Asshur became Athur, Bashan, Batanoea), a
Phoenician city S. of Spain; the portion of Spain known to
the Hebrew (Psalm 72:10). "The kings of Tarshish ... kings
of Sheba," i.e. the wealthy Tarshish in the far W. and Sheba
in the S.E. Tarshish was a dependency of Phoenician Tyre.
Isaiah 23:6; Isaiah 23:10 ("pass through thy land as a
river, O daughter of Tarshish," i.e. Tartessus and its
inhabitants would now that Tyre's strength was disabled pour
forth as waters, no longer kept working mines for the parent
city), 14,18; Ezekiel 26:15; Ezekiel 26:18; Ezekiel 27:12.
"Tarshish was thy (Tyre's) merchant ... with silver, iron,
tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs."
Tarshish was famed for various metals exported to
Tyre; most of them were drawn from Spain and Portugal, tin
possibly from Cornwall or from Lusitania or Portugal. "Ships
of Tarshish" are mentioned often: Psalm 48:7, "Thou brakest
the ships of Tarshish with an east wind," alluding with
undesigned coincidence to the event recorded 2 Chronicles
20:36-37; "Jehoshaphat joined himself with Ahaziah king of
Israel to make ships to go to Tarshish ... in Ezion Gaber
... because ... the Lord hath broken thy works," i.e.
wrecked thy ships. The ships of Tarshish built at Ezion
Geber on the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea (1 Kings 22:48)
were intended by Jehoshaphat to trade with Africa and India;
but a copyist in 2 Chronicles 20:36 makes them go to
Tarshish.
It is possible they were carried across the land to
the Mediterranean, but more likely that "ships of Tarshish"
mean large vessels, as our phrase "East Indiamen" does not
imply the destination but the size; the copyist mistook the
phrase for the destination. So in 1 Kings 9:26; 1 Kings
10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21; the "peacocks" point to India, for
southern Asia and the isles of the eastern archipelago are
their native home. The names too are of Sanskrit etymology,
tukki, related to Tamil Iota, "the tailed bird," i.e.
peacock. So "apes," kaph, related to Sanskrit kapi. The
Greeks received the peacock from Persia, as the Greek taos
is the Persian tans. Strabo makes the Boetis or Guadalquivir
(great stream) be called Tartessus. An island, a town, and a
region bore the name. (On Genesis 10:4, which Rawlinson
refers to Tarsus, at the close.) (See TARSUS.)
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Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the
young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to
take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey?
to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods,
to take a great spoil?
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And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD,
[was] not this my saying, when I was yet in my country?
Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou
[art] a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of
great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
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Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against
Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with
Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were
broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
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And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that
escape of them unto the nations, [to] Tarshish, Pul, and Lud,
that draw the bow, [to] Tubal, and Javan, [to] the isles afar
off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory;
and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
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Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold
from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the
founder: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all
the work of cunning [men].
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And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to
Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber.
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The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
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Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish
first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold
with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy
One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
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And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, [and] which sat
the first in the kingdom;)
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The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is
laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from
the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
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tar'-sus (Tarsos, ethnic Tarseus) :
1. Situation
2. Foundation Legends
3. Tarsus under Oriental Power
4. Tarsus under Greek Sway
5. Tarsus in the Roman Empire
6. The University
7. The Tarsian Constitution
8. Paul of Tarsus
9. Later History
LITERATURE
1. Situation:
The chief city of Cilicia, the southeastern portion of Asia
Minor. It lay on both banks of the river Cydnus, in the
midst of a fertile alluvial plain, some 10 miles from the
seacoast. About 6 miles below the city the river broadened
out into a considerable lake called Rhegma (Strabo xiv.672),
which afforded a safe anchorage and was in great part
fringed with quays and dockyards. The river itself, which
flowed southward from the Taurus Mountains with a clear and
swift stream, was navigable to light craft, and Cleopatra,
when she visited Antony at Tarsus in 38 BC, was able to sail
in her richly decorated barge into the very heart of the
city (Plut. Ant. 26). The silting-up of the river's mouth
seems to have resulted in frequent floods, against which the
emperor Justinian (527-65 AD) attempted to provide by
cutting a new channel, starting a short distance North of
the city, to divert the surplus water into a watercourse
which lay to the East of Tarsus. Gradually, however, the
original bed was allowed to become choked, and now the
Cydnus flows wholly through Justinian's channel and passes
to the East of the modern town. Two miles North of Tarsus
the plain gives way to low, undulating hills, which extend
to the foothills of Taurus, the great mountain chain lying
some 30 miles North of the city, which divides Cilicia from
Lycaonia and Cappadocia. The actual frontier-line seems to
have varied at different periods, but the natural boundary
lies at the Cilician Gates, a narrow gorge which Tarsian
enterprise and engineering skill had widened so as to make
it a wagon road, the chief highway of communication and
trade between Cilicia and the interior of Asia Minor and one
of the most decisive factors in Anatolian history. Eastward
from Tarsus ran an important road crossing the Sarus at
Adana and the Pyramus at Mopsuestia; there it divided, one
branch running southeastward by way of Issus to Antioch on
the Orontes, while another turned slightly northward to
Castabala, and thence ran due East to the passage of the
Euphrates at Zeugma. Thus the fertility of its soil, the
safety and convenience of its harbor and the command of the
main line of communication between Anatolia and Syria or
Mesopotamia combined to promote the greatness of Tarsus,
though its position...
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(The capitol of Cilicia in Asia Minor)
-Paul's birthplace
Ac 9:11; 21:39; 22:3
-Paul sent to, from Jerusalem, to avoid assassination
Ac 9:30
-Paul brought from, by Barnabas
Ac 11:25,26
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the chief town of Cilicia, "no mean city" in other respects,
but illustrious to all time as the birthplace and early
residence of the apostle Paul. Ac 9:11; 21:39; 22:3 Even in
the flourishing period of Greek history it was a city of some
considerable consequence. In the civil wars of Rome it took
Caesar's aide, sad on the occasion of a visit from him had its
name changed to Juliopolis. Augustus made it a "free city." It
was renowned as a place of education under the early Roman
emperors. Strabo compares it in this respect to Athens unto
Alexandria. Tarsus also was a place of much commerce. It was
situated in a wild and fertile plain on the banks of the
Cydnus. No ruins of any importance remain.
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the chief city of Cilicia. It was distinguished for its wealth
and for its schools of learning, in which it rivalled,
nay,
excelled even Athens and Alexandria, and hence was
spoken of as
"no mean city." It was the native place of the Apostle
Paul
(Acts 21:39). It stood on the banks of the river
Cydnus, about
12 miles north of the Mediterranean. It is said to
have been
founded by Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. It is now a
filthy,
ruinous Turkish town, called Tersous. (See PAUL
-T0002871.)
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Acts 9:11; Acts 22:3; Acts 21:39. Paul's birthplace and
early residence. Capital of Cilicia, in a plain on the river
Cydnus at the foot of the passes northward over Mount Taurus
into Cappadocia and Lycaonia. Through these passes a road
led to Lystra and Iconium (Acts 14), another road by the
Amanian and Syrian gates eastward to Antioch. Founded by
Sennacherub of Assyria; the Greeks too took part in its
colonisation (Strabo xiv. 673), Xenophon mentions it (Tarsoi
in the Ariabasis). Julius Caesar rewarded Tarsus for
fidelity, and Augustus made it a free city, i.e. governed by
its own laws and magistrates and free from tribute, but
without Roman citizenship, which Paul must have acquired in
some other way. Ranked by Strabo above Athens and Alexandria
for its school of literature and philosophy; Athenodorus,
Augustus' tutor, the grammarians Artemidorus and Diodorus,
and the tragedian Dionysides belonged to Tarsus.
Here Paul received providentially that training
which adapted him for dealing with the polished Greeks on
their own ground, quoting Aratus a Cilician poet, Epimenides
a Cretan, and Menander the Athenian comedian. He resided in
Tarsus at intervals after his conversion (Acts 9:30; Acts
11:25); after his first visit to Jerusalem and before his
ministry with Barnabas at Antioch, and doubtless at the
commencement of his second and third missionary journeys
(Acts 15:41; Acts 18:23). G. Rawlinson thinks Tarshish in
Genesis 10:4 can scarcely designate Tartessus, founded not
until after Moses, but Tarsus in Cilicia; though said to be
founded by Sennacherib, an old settlement doubtless preceded
his colony. Thus, Tarshish in Genesis 10:4 will represent
the Cilicians or the Greeks in Cilicia; it is associated
with Kittim or Cyprus, which was near.
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Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the
mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been
done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in
sackcloth and ashes.
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Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the
mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes.
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And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and [from] beyond
Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when
they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
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And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he
came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts
of Decapolis.
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And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the
company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out
of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre
and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their
diseases;
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And the next [day] we touched at Sidon. And Julius
courteously entreated Paul, and gave [him] liberty to go unto
his friends to refresh himself.
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But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, [a
city] of Sidon, unto a woman [that was] a widow.
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And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre
and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man
know [it]: but he could not be hid.
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And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
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Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre
and Sidon.
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But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
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But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the
judgment, than for you.
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si-lo'-am, si-lo'-am, si-lo'-a, she'-la, shi-lo'-a: (1) me
ha-shiloach (shiloach or shilloach is a passive form and
means "sent" or "conducted") "the waters of (the) Shiloah"
(Isa 8:6). (2) berekhath ha-shelach, "the pool of (the)
Shelah" (the King James Version "Siloah") (Neh 3:15). (3)
ten kolumbethran tou (or ton) Siloam, "the pool of Siloam"
(Jn 9:7). (4) ho purgos en to Siloam, "the tower in Siloam"
(Lk 13:4).
1. The Modern Silwan:
Although the name is chiefly used in the Old Testament and
Josephus as the name of certain "waters," the surviving name
today, Silwan, is that of a fairly prosperous village which
extends along the steep east side of the Kidron valley from
a little North of the "Virgin's Fountain" as far as Bir
Eyyub. The greater part of the village, the older and better
built section, belongs to Moslem fellahin who cultivate the
well-watered gardens in the valley and on the hill slopes
opposite, but a southern part has recently been built in an
extremely primitive manner by Yemen Jews, immigrants from
South Arabia, and still farther South, in the commencement
of the Wady en Nar, is the wretched settlement of the
lepers. How long the site of Silwan has been occupied it is
impossible to say. The village is mentioned in the 10th
century by the Arab writer Muqaddasi. The numerous rock
cuttings, steps, houses, caves, etc., some of which have at
times served as chapels, show that the site has been much
inhabited in the past, and at one period at least by
hermits. The mention of "those eighteen, upon whom the tower
in Siloam fell, and killed them" (Lk 13:4) certainly
suggests that there was a settlement there in New Testament
times, although some writers consider that this may have
reference to some tower on the city walls near the Pool of
Siloam.
2. The Siloam Aqueduct:
Opposite to the main part of Silwan is the "Virgin's Fount,"
ancient GIHON (which see), whose waters are practically
monopolized by the villagers. It is the waters of this
spring which are referred to in Isa 8:5,6: "Forasmuch as
this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go
softly, .... now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up
upon them the waters of the River."
The contrast between the little stream flowing from the
Gihon and the great Euphrates is used as a figure of the
vast difference between the apparent strength of the little
kingdom of Judah and the House of David on the one hand, and
the might of "Rezin and Remaliah's son" and "all his glory."
Although it is quite probable that in those days there was
an open streamlet in the valley, yet the meaning of Shiloah,
"sent" or "conducted," rather...
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Also called SHILOAH and SILOAH
-A pool in Jerusalem
Ne 3:15; Isa 8:6
-Jesus directs the blind man whom he had healed to wash in
Joh 9:1-11
-Tower of, in the wall of Jerusalem, falls and kills eighteen
people
Lu 13:4
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(sent). Shiloach, Isa 8:6 Siloah, Ne 3:15 Siloam, Joh 9:11
Siloam is one of the few undisputed localities in the
topography of Jerusalem; still retaining its old name (with
Arabic modification, Silwan), while every other pool has
lost its Bible designation. This is the more remarkable as
it is a mere suburban tank of no great size, and for many an
age not particularly good or plentiful in its waters, though
Josephus tells us that in his day they were both "sweet and
abundant." A little way below the Jewish burying-ground, but
on the opposite side of the valley, where the Kedron turns
slightly westward and widens itself considerable, is the
fountain of the Virgin, or Um'ed'Deraj, near the beginning
of that saddle-shaped projection of the temple hill supposed
to be the Ophel of The Bible and the Ophlas of Josephus. At
the back part of this fountain a subterraneous passage
begins, through which the water flows, and through which a
man may make his way, sometimes walking erect, sometimes
stooping, sometimes kneeling, and sometime crawling, to
Siloam. This conduit is 1708 feet long, 16 feet high at the
entrance, but only 16 inches at its narrowest tributaries
which sent their waters down from the city pools or temple
wells to swell Siloam. It enters Siloam at the northwest
angle; or rather enters a small rock-cut chamber which forms
the vestibule of Siloam, about five or six feet broad. To
this you descend by a few rude steps, under which the water
pours itself into the main pool. This pool is oblong, about
52 feet long, 18 feet broad and 19 feet deep; but it is
never filled, the water either passing directly through or
being maintained at a depth of three or four feet. The
present pool is a ruin, with no moss or ivy to make it
romantic; its sides fallen in; its pillars broken; its stair
a fragment; its walls giving way; the edge of every stone
was round or sharp by time; in some parts mere debris,
though around its edges wild flowers, and among other plants
the caper trees, grow luxuriantly. The present pool is not
the original building; it may be the work of crusaders,
perhaps even improved by Saladin, whose affection for wells
and pools led him to care for all these things. Yet the spot
is the same. This pool, which we may call the second, seems
anciently to have poured its waters into a third before it
proceeded to water the royal gardens. This third is perhaps
that which Josephus calls "Solomon's pool," and which
nehemiah calls the "king's pool." Ne 2:14 The expression in
Isa 8:6 "waters of Shiloah that go softly," seems to point
to the slender rivulet, flowing gently though once very
profusely out of Siloam into the lower breadth of level
where the king's gardens, or royal paradise, stood, and
which is still the greenest spot about the holy city. Siloam
is a mere spot even to the Moslem; much more to the Jew. It
was to Siloam that the Levite was sent with the golden
pitcher on the "last and great day of the feast" of
Tabernacles; it was from Siloam that he brought the water
which was then poured over the sacrifice, in memory of the
water from the rock of Rephidim; and it was to this Siloam
water that the Lord pointed when he stood in the temple on
that day and cried, "If any man thirst let him come unto me
and drink." The Lord sent the blind man to wash, not in, as
our version has it, but at (eis), the pool of siloam; for it
was the clay from his eyes that was to be washed off.
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sent or sending. Here a notable miracle was wrought by our
Lord
in giving sight to the blind (John 9:7-11). It has
been
identified with the Birket Silwan in the lower
Tyropoeon valley,
to the south-east of the hill of Zion.
The water which flows into this pool intermittingly
by a
subterranean channel springs from the "Fountain of
the Virgin"
(q.v.). The length of this channel, which has
several windings,
is 1,750 feet, though the direct distance is only
1,100 feet.
The pool is 53 feet in length from north to south,
18 feet wide,
and 19 deep. The water passes from it by a channel
cut in the
rock into the gardens below. (See EN-ROGEL
-T0001214.)
Many years ago (1880) a youth, while wading up the
conduit by
which the water enters the pool, accidentally
discovered an
inscription cut in the rock, on the eastern side,
about 19 feet
from the pool. This is the oldest extant Hebrew
record of the
kind. It has with great care been deciphered by
scholars, and
has been found to be an account of the manner in
which the
tunnel was constructed. Its whole length is said to
be "twelve
hundred cubits;" and the inscription further notes
that the
workmen, like the excavators of the Mont Cenis
Tunnel, excavated
from both ends, meeting in the middle.
Some have argued that the inscription was cut in the
time of
Solomon; others, with more probability, refer it to
the reign of
Hezekiah. A more ancient tunnel was discovered in
1889 some 20
feet below the ground. It is of smaller dimensions,
but more
direct in its course. It is to this tunnel that
Isaiah (8:6)
probably refers.
The Siloam inscription above referred to was
surreptitiously
cut from the wall of the tunnel in 1891 and broken
into
fragments. These were, however, recovered by the
efforts of the
British Consul at Jerusalem, and have been restored
to their
original place.
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Shelach in Nehemiah 3:15, KJV "Siloah," "Shiloah" (Isaiah
8:16), Siloam (John 9:7; John 9:11). Now Silwan. Every other
pool has lost its Bible designation. Siloam, a small
suburban tank, alone retains it. It is a regularly built
pool or tank (bereekah) near the fountain gate, the stairs
that go down from the city of David (S. of the temple
mountain), the wall above the house of David, the water
gate, and the king's garden (compare Nehemiah 12:37 with
Nehemiah 3:15). Josephus (B. J. 5:9, section 4; 4, section
1; 6, section 1; 12, section 2) places it at the end of the
valley of Tyropeon, outside the city wall where the old wall
took a bend eastward, and facing the hill on which was the
rock Peristereon to the E. The adjoining village Kefr Silwan
on the other side of Kedron also retains the name Siloam.
Silwan stands at the southern extremity of the
temple mountain, known as "the Ophel." It is partly hewn out
of the rock, partly built with masonry, measuring 53 ft.
long, 18 wide, 19 deep. A flight of steps descends to the
bottom. Columns extend along the side walls from top to
bottom. The water passes hence by a channel cut in the rock,
and covered for a short way, into the gardens below which
occupy the site of "the lower pool" or "the king's pool"
(Nehemiah 2:14). The fountain of the Virgin above is
connected by a zigzag conduit, 1,750 ft. long cut through
the rock, with a reservoir, an oblong basin, decreasing. in
size as it proceeds from 15 to three feet, in a cave entered
by a small rock hewn archway. From this artificial cave at
the west end of Siloam an open channel in the rock conveys
the water into Siloam. The Virgin's fountain (where the lamp
here figured was found), 15 ft. long by six wide at the
bottom, is on the opposite side of the valley from the
Jewish burying ground where Kedron turns W. It is near the
beginning of the projection of the temple hill called
"Ophel."
It is named now also "the fountain of the mother of
steps" ('Ayin 'um 'ed durag), because it is reached by two
flights of 26 descending steps cut in the rock. It is a
natural syphon, so that at times it is quite dry and in a
short time rises beyond its ordinary limits. The term
kolumbeethra in John 9:7 implies "a pond for swimming." R.
Ishmael says of its source, the Virgin's fountain, that
there the high priest used to plunge. It was to Siloam that
a Levite was sent with the golden pitcher on "the last and
great day of the feast" of tabernacles. From Siloam he
brought the water to be poured over the sacrifice in memory
of the water at Rephidim. To it Jesus alluded when standing
in the temple He cried, "if any man thirst let him come unto
Me and drink," etc. (John 7:37-39).
He "sent" the blind man to wash the clay off his
eyes in Siloam, which means "sent," and he returned seeing.
Messiah "the sent One" (Luke 4:18; John 10:36) answers to
the type Siloam the sent water (Job 5:10; Ezekiel 31:4) that
healed; He flows gently, softly, and healing, like Siloam
fertilising and beautifying, not turbid as the winter
torrent Kedron, nor sweeping destructively all before it as
Euphrates (symbol of Assyria), but gliding on in its silent
mission of beneficence (Isaiah 8:6; Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah
40:11; 2 Corinthians 10:1). Siloam was called so from
sending its waters to refresh the gardens below, still the
greenest spot about Jerusalem, and abounding in olives,
figs, and pomegranates. The water for the ashes of the red
heifer also was taken from Siloam (Dach Talm. Babyl. 380).
Into Siloam probably Hezekiah led by a subterranean aqueduct
down the Tyropoeon valley the waters on the other side of
the city when "he stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon and
brought it straight down to the W. side of the city of
David" (2 Chronicles 32:30).
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He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay,
and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of
Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
Read More
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and
slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that
dwelt in Jerusalem?
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And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is
by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and
washed, and came seeing.
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smur'-na (Smurna):
1. Ancient:
Smyrna, a large ancient city on the western coast of Asia
Minor, at the head of a gulf which reaches 30 miles inland,
was originally peopled by the Asiatics known as the Lelages.
The city seems to have been taken from the Lelages by the
Aeolian Greeks about 1100 BC; there still remain traces of
the cyclopean masonry of that early time. In 688 BC it
passed into the possession of the Ionian Greeks and was made
one of the cities of the Ionian confederacy, but in 627 BC
it was taken by the Lydians. During the years 301 to 281 BC,
Lysimachus entirely rebuilt it on a new site to the
Southwest of the earlier cities, and surrounded it by a
wall. Standing, as it did, upon a good harbor, at the head
of one of the chief highways to the interior, it early
became a great trading-center and the chief port for the
export trade. In Roman times, Smyrna was considered the most
brilliant city of Asia Minor, successfully rivaling Pergamos
and Ephesus. Its streets were wide and paved. Its system of
coinage was old, and now about the city coins of every
period are found. It was celebrated for its schools of
science and medicine, and for its handsome buildings. Among
them was the Homerium, for Smyrna was one of several places
which claimed to be the birthplace of the poet. On the slope
of Mt. Pagus was a theater which seated 20,000 spectators.
In the 23 AD year a temple was built in honor of Tiberius
and his mother Julia, and the Golden Street, connecting the
temples of Zeus and Cybele, is said to have been the best in
any ancient city. Smyrna early became a Christian city, for
there was one of the Seven Churches of the Book of
Revelation (2:8-11). There Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna,
was martyred, though without the sanction of the Roman
government. It seems that the Jews of Smyrna were more
antagonistic than were the Romans to the spread of
Christianity, for it is said that even on Saturday, their
sacred day, they brought wood for the fire in which Polycarp
was burned. His grave is still shown in a cemetery there.
Like many other cities of Asia Minor, Smyrna suffered
frequently, especially during the years 178-80 AD, from
earthquakes, but it always escaped entire destruction.
During the Middle Ages the city was the scene of many
struggles, the most fierce of which was directed by Timur
against the Christians. Tradition relates that there he
built a tower, using as stones the heads of a thousand
captives which he put to death, yet Smyrna was the last of
the Christian cities to hold out against the Mohammedans; in
1424 it fell into the hands of the Turks. It was the
discovery of America and the resulting discovery...
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(A city of Ionia)
-One of the seven congregations in
Re 1:11; 2:8
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(myrrh), a city of Asia Minor, situated on the AEgean Sea,
40 miles north of Ephesus. Allusion is made to it in Re 2:8-
11 It was founded by Alexander the Great, and was situated
twenty shades (2 1/2 miles) from the city of the same name,
which after a long series of wars with the Lydians had been
finally taken and sacked by Halyattes. The ancient city was
built by some piratical Greeks 1500 years before Christ. It
seems not impossible that the message to the church in
Smyrna contains allusions to the ritual of the pagan
mysteries which prevailed in that city. In the time of
Strabo the ruins of the old Smyrna still existed, and were
partially inhabited, but the new city was one of the most
beautiful in all Asia. The streets were laid out as near as
might be at right angles. There was a large public library
there, and also a handsome building surrounded with porticos
which served as a museum. It was consecrated as a heroum to
Homer, whom the Smyrnaeans claimed as a countryman. Olympian
games were celebrated here, and excited great interest.
(Smyrna is still a large city of 180,000 to 200,000
inhabitants, of which a larger proportion are Franks than in
any other town in Turkey; 20,000 are Greeks, 9000 Jews, 8000
Armenians, 1000 Europeans, and the rest are Moslems. --ED.)
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myrrh, an ancient city of Ionia, on the western coast of Asia
Minor, about 40 miles to the north of Ephesus. It is
now the
chief city of Anatolia, having a mixed population of
about
200,000, of whom about one-third are professed
Christians. The
church founded here was one of the seven addressed by
our Lord
(Rev. 2:8-11). The celebrated Polycarp, a pupil of the
apostle
John, was in the second century a prominent leader in
the church
of Smyrna. Here he suffered martyrdom, A.D. 155.
Read More
A city on the coast of Ionia, at the head of the gulf,
having a well sheltered harbour; N. of Ephesus; beautified
by Alexander the Great and Antigonus, and designated "the
beautiful." Still flourishing, and under the same name,
after various vicissitudes, and called "the Paris of the
Levant," with large commerce and a population of 200,000.
The church here was one of the seven addressed by the Lord
(Revelation 2:8-11). Polycarp, martyred in A.D. 168, 86
years after conversion, was its bishop, probably "the angel
of the church in Smyrna." The Lord's allusions to
persecutions accord with this identification. The attributes
of Him "which was dead and is alive" would comfort Smyrna
under persecution. The idol Dionysus at Smyrna was believed
to have been killed and come to life; in contrast to this
lying fable is Christ's title, "the First and the Last,
which was dead and is alive" (Revelation 2:8).
As death was to Him the gate of life, so it is to
His people. Good "works," "tribulation," "poverty" owing to
"spoiling of goods," while she was "rich" in grace (contrast
Laodicea, "rich" in her own eyes and the world's, poor
before God), were her marks. The Jews in name, really "the
synagogue of Satan," blasphemed Christ as "the Hanged One."
At Polycarp's martyrdom they clamoured with the pagan for
his being cast to the lions; the proconsul opposed it, but,
impotent to restrain the fanaticism of the mob, let them He
him to the stake; the Jews with their own hands carried logs
for the pile which burned him. The theater where he was
burned was on a hill facing the N. It was one of the largest
in Asia. Traces of it may be seen in descending from the
northern gateway of the castle. A circular letter from the
church of Smyrna describes his martyrdom.
When urged to recant he said, "four-score years and
six I have served the Lord, and He never wronged me; how
then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?" The accuser, the
devil, cast some of the Smyrna church into prison, and "it
had tribulation ten days," a short term (Genesis 24:55;
Numbers 11:19), whereas the consequent joy is eternal (many
Christians perished by wild beasts or at the stake because
they refused to throw incense into the fire to sacrifice to
the genius of the emperor): a sweet consolation in trial.
Ten is the number of the world powers hostile to the church
(Revelation 13:1). Christ promises Smyrna "a crown of life"
(compare James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:8 "of righteousness," 1
Peter 5:4 "of glory") in reward for "faithfulness unto
death."
The allusion is to the "crown-wearing"
(stefanofori), leading priests at Smyrna It was usual to
present the superintending priest with a crown at the end of
his year of office; several persons of both sexes are called
"crown bearers" in inscriptions. The ferocity of the
populace against the aged Polycarp is accounted for by their
zealous interest in the Olympian games celebrated here, in
respect to which Christianity bore an antisocial aspect.
Smyrna ("myrrh") yielded its perfume in being bruised to
death. Smyrna's faithfulness is rewarded by its candlestick
not having been wholly removed; from whence the Turks call
it "infidel Smyrna." Persecuted Smyrna and Philadelphia are
the only churches which the Lord does not reprove. (See
PHILADELPHIA.)
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Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
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And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things
saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
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sod'-um (cedhom; Sodoma) One of the 5 CITIES OF THE PLAIN
(which see), destroyed by fire from heaven in the time of
Abraham and Lot (Gen 19:24). The wickedness of the city became
proverbial. The sin of sodomy was an offense against nature
frequently connected with idolatrous practices (see Rawlinson,
History of Phoenicia). See SODOMITE. The fate of Sodom and
Gomorrah is used as a warning to those who reject the gospel
(Mt 10:15; 11:24; 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 1:7). The word is used in a
typical sense in Rev 11:8. Sodom was probably located in plain
South of the Dead Sea, now covered with water. The name is
still preserved in Jebel Usdum (Mt. Sodom).
See ARABAH; CITIES OF THE PLAIN; DEAD SEA.
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Also called SODOMA
-Situated on the plain of the Jordan River
Ge 13:10
-The southeastern limit of the Canaanites
Ge 10:19
-Lot lived in
Ge 13:12
-King of, joins other kings of the nations resisting the
invasion of Chedorlaomer
Ge 14:1-12
-Wickedness of the inhabitants of
Ge 13:13; 19:4-13; De 32:32; Isa 3:9; Jer 23:14; La
4:6;
Eze 16:46,48,49; Jude 1:7
-Abraham's intercession for
Ge 18:16-33
-Destroyed on account of the wickedness of the people
Ge 19:1-29; De 29:23; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40;
La 4:6;
Am 4:11; Zep 2:9; Mt 10:15; Lu 17:29; Ro 9:29; 2Pe
2:6
-FIGURATIVE
Of wickedness
De 23:17; 32:32; Isa 1:10; Eze 16:46-56
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(burning), one of the most ancient cities of Syria. It is
commonly mentioned in connection with Gomorrah, but also
with Admah and Zeboim, and on one occasion -- Ge 14:1 ... --
with Bela or Zoar. Sodom was evidently the chief town in the
settlement. The four are first named in the ethnological
records of Ge 10:19 as belonging to the Canaanites. The next
mention of the name of Sodom, Ge 13:10-13 gives more certain
indication of the position of the city. Abram and Lot are
standing together between Bethel and Ai, ver. 3, taking a
survey of the land around and below them. Eastward of them,
and absolutely at their feet, lay the "circle of Jordan."
The whole circle was one great oasis --"a garden of
Jehovah." ver. 10. In the midst of the garden the four
cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim appear to have
been situated. It is necessary to notice how absolutely the
cities are identified with the district. In the subsequent
account of their destruction, Ge 19:1 ... the topographical
terms are employed with all the precision which is
characteristic of such early times. The mention of the
Jordan is conclusive as to the situation of the district,
for the Jordan ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can
have no existence south of that point. The catastrophe by
which they were destroyed is described in Ge 19:1 ... as a
shower of brimstone and fire from Jehovah. However we may
interpret the words of the earliest narrative, one thing is
certain --that the lake was not one of the agents in the
catastrophe. From all these passages, though much is
obscure, two things seem clear:
1. That Sodom and the rest of the cities of the
plain of Jordan stood on the north of the Dead Sea;
2. That neither the cities nor the district were
submerged by the lake, but that the cities were overthrown
and the land spoiled, and that it may still be seen in its
desolate condition. When, however, we turn to more modern
views, we discover a remarkable variance from these
conclusions.
1. The opinion long current that the five cities
were submerged in the lake, and that their remains--walls,
columns and capitals--might he still discerned below the
water, hardly needs refutation after the distinct statement
and the constant implication of Scripture. But,
2. A more serious departure from the terms of the
ancient history is exhibited in the prevalent opinion that
the cities stood at the south end of the lake. This appears
to, have been the belief of Josephus and Jerome. It seems to
have been universally held by the medieval historians and
pilgrims, and it is adopted by modern topographers probably
without exception. There are several grounds for this
belief; but the main point on...
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burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (Gen.
13:10;
14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought
down upon it
fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (18:16-
33; 19:1-29;
Deut. 23:17). This city and its awful destruction
are frequently
alluded to in Scripture (Deut. 29:23; 32:32; Isa.
1:9, 10; 3:9;
13:19; Jer. 23:14; Ezek. 16:46-56; Zeph. 2:9; Matt.
10:15; Rom.
9:29; 2 Pet. 2:6, etc.). No trace of it or of the
other cities
of the plain has been discovered, so complete was
their
destruction. Just opposite the site of Zoar, on the
south-west
coast of the Dead Sea, is a range of low hills,
forming a mass
of mineral salt called Jebel Usdum, "the hill of
Sodom." It has
been concluded, from this and from other
considerations, that
the cities of the plain stood at the southern end of
the Dead
Sea. Others, however, with much greater probability,
contend
that they stood at the northern end of the sea. [in
1897].
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Chief of the group Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela
or Zoar (Genesis 10:19; Genesis 13:3; Genesis 13:10-13;
Genesis 13:19; Luke 17:29; 2 Peter 2:6; Judges 1:4-7; Mark
6:11; Matthew 10:15; Deuteronomy 29:23). (See GOMORRAH.)
Palmer and Drake traversing the Negeb in a S.E. direction,
as far as Mount Hor, made a detour to jebel ("mount")
Madherah. At its summit and base are blocks of stone, of
which the Arabs say: "a people once dwelt there, to whom
travelers came seeking hospitality; but the people did to
them a horrible deed, wherefore the Almighty in anger rained
down stones, and destroyed them from off the face of the
earth." Sodom is interpreted "burning" or else "vineyard"
(Gesenius), "fortification" (Furst).
Abraham could see the smoke of the burning cities
from near Hebron. The Lord over night announced to him
Sodom's doom, at some spot on the way from Mamre or Hebron
toward Sodom, to which he had accompanied the angels
(Genesis 18:16). Tradition says the spot was Caphar Berucha,
from which the Dead Sea is visible through a ravine. Long
ranges of hills intervene between Hebron and Sodom, but from
the hill over Hebron or Mamre through a gap in the chain the
whole district of the Jordan valley is visible. Lot at first
pitched only towards Sodom, not until afterward did he go
further south to Sodom itself (Genesis 13:12; Genesis 14:12;
and Genesis 14:3 says expressly the vale of Siddim is the
Salt Sea). This favors the S. of the Dead Sea site for
Sodom, etc., which the traditional names confirm.
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When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to
their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall
return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters
shall return to your former estate.
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When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of
Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her
daughters, then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy
captives in the midst of them:
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And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters
that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that
dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.
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And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of
Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and
the king of Bela (the same [is] Zoar;) and they joined battle
with them in the vale of Siddim;
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[That these] made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha
king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
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Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of
Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and
saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people
shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess
them.
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For their vine [is] of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of
Gomorrah: their grapes [are] grapes of gall, their clusters
[are] bitter:
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[As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not
done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy
daughters.
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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the
LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the
LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
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And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou
comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and
Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
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span (Spania): The country in the Southwest of Europe which
still bears this name. It was Paul's purpose, as stated in Rom
15:24,28, to visit Spain. If, as is probable, he ultimately
carried out this intention, it must have been after a release
from his first imprisonment. Clement of Rome speaks of the
apostle as having reached "the extreme limit of the West"
(Epistle of Clement, v).
See PAUL, THE APOSTLE; TARSHISH.
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1 Macc. 8:3; Ro 15:24,28 The local designation, Tarshish,
representing the Tartessus of the Greeks, probably prevailed
until the fame of the Roman wars in that country reached the
East, when it was superseded by its classical name. The mere
intention of St. Paul to visit Spain (whether he really did
visit it is a disputed question. --ED.) implies two
interesting facts, viz., the establishment of a Christian
community in that country, and that this was done by
Hellenistic Jews resident there. The early introduction of
Christianity into that country is attested by Irenaeus and
Tertullian.
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Paul expresses his intention (Rom. 15:24, 28) to visit Spain.
There is, however, no evidence that he ever carried it
into
effect, although some think that he probably did so
between his
first and second imprisonment. (See TARSHISH
-T0003588.)
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Solomon's fleet visited Spain, then named Tarshish (the Greek
"Tartessus"). In classic times the name "Spain" came into use,
traceable to the Basque Ezpana, i.e. on the edge of Europe.
The Iberian language (from whence the country derived one of
its names and its river Iberus or Ebro was designated) was the
original of the Basque. Romans 15:24; Romans 15:28, Paul's
intention to visit Spain may imply that a Christian church was
already founded there. As to the early introduction of
Christianity, compare Irenaeus 1:3 and Tertullian, Adv. Judg.,
7.
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Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you:
for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my
way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with
your [company].
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When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them
this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.
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suk'-oth, suk'-oth (cukkoth, "booths"; Skenai, Sokchoth,
etc.): After parting with Esau, Jacob journeyed to Succoth,
a name which he gave to the place from the "booths" which he
erected to shelter his cattle (Gen 33:17). It was in the
territory of Gad, and is mentioned with Beth-nimrah (Josh
13:27). In his pursuit of Zeba and Zalmunnah, Gideon seems
to have retraced the path followed by Jacob, passing Succoth
before Penuel (Jdg 8:5 ff). Their churlishness on that
occasion brought dire punishment upon the men of Succoth.
Gideon on his return "taught them" with thorns and briers
(Jdg 8:16). In the soil of the valley between Succoth and
Zarethan, which was suitable for the purpose, the brass
castings of the furniture for Solomon's Temple were made (1
Ki 7:46; 2 Ch 4:17). Jerome (on Gen 33:17) says that in his
day it was a city beyond Jordan in the district of
Scythopolis. From the above data it is clear that Succoth
lay on the East of the Jordan and North of the Jabbok. From
Ps 60:6; 108:7, we may infer that it was close to the Jordan
valley, part of which was apparently known by its name.
Neubauer (Geog. du Talmud, 248) gives the Talmudic name as
Tar`ala. Merrill (East of the Jordan, 386) and others
compare this with Tell Deir `Alla, the name of an artificial
mound about a mile North of the Jabbok, on the edge of the
valley, fully 4 miles East of the Jordan. There is a place
called Sakut West of the Jordan, about 10 miles South of
Beisan. This has been proposed by some; but it is evident
that Succoth lay East of the river. No trace of the name has
been found here.
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(cukkoth; Sokchoth (Ex 12:37; 13:20; Nu 33:5)): The first
station of the Hebrews on leaving Rameses (see EXODUS). The
word means "booths." The distance from ETHAM (which see)
suggests that the site may have lain in the lower part of Wady
Tumeilat, but the exact position is unknown. This region seems
possibly to have been called T-K-u by the Egyptians (see
PITHOM). Brugsch and other scholars suppose this term to have
been changed to Succoth by the Old Testament writer, but this
is very doubtful, Succoth being a common Hebrew word, while T-
K-u is Egyptian The Hebrew "c" does not appear ever to be
rendered by "t" in Egyptian. The capital of the Sethroitic
nome was called T-K-t (Pierret, Vocab. hieroglyph., 697), and
this word means "bread." If the region of T-K-u was near this
town, it would seem to have lain on the shore road from Edom
to Zoan, in which case it could not be the Succoth of the
Exodus.
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1. A city which was located probably east of the Jordan River
Jacob builds a house in
Ge 33:17
Allotted to the tribe of Gad
Jos 13:27
People of, punished by Gideon
Jud 8:5-8,14-16
Located near the Jordan River
1Ki 7:46; 2Ch 4:17; Ps 60:6; 108:7
-2. The first camping place of the Israelites after leaving
the city of Rameses
Ex 12:37; 13:20; Nu 33:5,6
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(booths).
1. An ancient town, first heard of in the account of
the homeward journey of Jacob from Padan-aram. Ge 35:17 The
name is derived from the fact of Jacob's having there put up
"booths" (succoth) for his cattle as well as a house for
himself. From the itinerary of Jacob's return it seems that
Succoth lay between Peniel, near the ford of the torrent
Jabbok and Shechem. Comp. Ge 32:30 and Gene 33:18
In accordance with this is the mention of Succoth in
the narrative of Gideon's pursuit of Zebah and Zalluunna.
Jud 5:5-17 It would appear from this passage that it lay
east of the Jordan, which is corroborated by the fact that
it was allotted to the tribe of Gad. Jos 13:27 Succoth is
named once again after this --in 1Ki 7:46; 2Ch 4:17 --as
marking the spot at which the brass founderies were placed
for casting the metal work of the temple. (Dr. Merrill
identifies it with a site called Tell Darala, one mile north
of the Jabbok. --ED.)
2. The first camping-place of the Israelites when
they left Egypt. Ex 12:37; 13:20; Nu 33:5,6 This place was
apparently reached at the close of the first days march.
Rameses, the starting-place, was probably near the western
end of the Wadi-t-Tumeylat. The distance traversed in each
day's journey was about fifteen miles.
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booths. (1.) The first encampment of the Israelites after
leaving Ramesses (Ex. 12:37); the civil name of
Pithom (q.v.).
(2.) A city on the east of Jordan, identified with
Tell
Dar'ala, a high mound, a mass of debris, in the
plain north of
Jabbok and about one mile from it (Josh. 13:27).
Here Jacob
(Gen. 32:17, 30; 33:17), on his return from Padan-
aram after his
interview with Esau, built a house for himself and
made booths
for his cattle. The princes of this city churlishly
refused to
afford help to Gideon and his 300 men when "faint
yet pursuing"
they followed one of the bands of the fugitive
Midianites after
the great victory at Gilboa. After overtaking and
routing this
band at Karkor, Gideon on his return visited the
rulers of the
city with severe punishment. "He took the elders of
the city,
and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with
them he taught
the men of Succoth" (Judg. 8:13-16). At this place
were erected
the foundries for casting the metal-work for the
temple (1 Kings
7:46).
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("booths"), from saakak "to entwine" or "shelter."
1. Jerome places it "beyond Jordan" (Quaest.
Hebrew). In Joshua 13:27-28 Succoth is assigned to Gad. The
mention of the "house" and "booths" marks that Jacob stayed
there for long, in contrast to his previous pilgrim life in
tents, Succoth lay on the route between Pentel on the E. of
Jordan and Shechem on the W. of Jordan (Genesis 32:30;
Genesis 33:17-18). (See PENUEL; SHALEM.) Subsequently, in
Gideon's days Succoth had 77 chiefs and elders (zeqeenim,
"sheikhs", i.e. headmen, literally, old men). See also 1
Kings 7:46; 2 Chronicles 4:17. The Talmud makes Succoth a
district (so Psalm 60:6, "the valley of Succoth") as well as
a town, called Ter'alah; this corresponds to the tell or
mound Der'ala, thickly strewed with pottery, in the great
plain N. of the Jabbok, one mile from the river and three
miles from where it leaves the hills. Close by is a smaller
mound with ruins. The Bedouin say a city existed formerly on
the large mound. E. of tell Der'ala is the ford of the
Jabbok, "Mashra'a Canaan," i.e. Canaan's crossing.
The route into Canaan which the nomadic tribes, as
Midian, always took ("the way of them that dwell in tents,"
Judges 8:11) was along the course of the Jabbok and so
across Jordan opposite Bethshean, thence spreading over the
Esdraelon plain. Gideon (Judges 8:4-17) in pursuing Midian
took the same course in reverse order until he reached
Succoth. The men of Succoth, as living on this great army
route between Canaan and the East, and having regard only to
self and no concern for Israel's deliverance and no
compassion for the sufferings of Gideon's gallant little
band, would give no bread to their brethren lest they should
incur the vengeance of Midian; nay more, they added
insolence to unkindness. As then they classed themselves
with the wicked, of whom thorns are the symbol, their
retributive punishment was to be chastised with thorns of
the wilderness (the strongest thorns: Isaiah 5:6; Isaiah
27:4; Amos 1:3; 2 Samuel 23:6-7). frontIsrael Exploation
Quarterly Statement, April 1878, p. 81.)
2. Israel's first camping place after leaving Egypt,
half way between Rameses and Etham, Succoth of the Birket
Timseh ("the lake of crocodiles") on the road which led by
the shortest way to the edge of the wilderness. Possibly
from Hebrew sukowt "booths," but probably from the Egyptian
sechet or sochot, the "domain of an officer of state" in
Lower Egypt not far from Memphis, in the time of Chufu
(Exodus 12:37; Exodus 13:20; Numbers 33:5-6).
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And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them
likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of
Succoth had answered [him].
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And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah
and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, [Are] the
hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should
give bread unto thy men [that are] weary?
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And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and
Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon,
Jordan and [his] border, [even] unto the edge of the sea of
Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
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And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebah and
Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto
thine army?
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(place of rest), a city of Ephraim. In Jud 21:19 it is said
that Shiloh is "on the north side of Bethel, on the east
side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and
on the south of Lebonah." In agreement with this the
traveller of our own city, going north from Jerusalem,
lodges the first night at Beitin, the ancient Bethel; the
next day, at the distance of a few hours, turns aside to the
right, in order to visit Seilun, the Arabic for Shiloh; and
then passing through the narrow wady which brings him to the
main road, leaves el-Lebban, the Lebonah of Scripture, on
the left, as he pursues "the highway" to Nublus, the ancient
Shechem. [SHECHEM] Shiloh was one of the earliest and most
sacred of the Hebrew sanctuaries. The ark of the covenant,
which had been kept at Gilgal during the progress of the
conquest,
Jos 17:1 seq., was removed thence on the subjugation
of the country, and kept at Shiloh from the last days of
Joshua to the time of Samuel. Jos 18:10; Jud 18:31; 1Sa 4:3
It was here the Hebrew conqueror divided among the tribes
the portion of the west Jordan region which had not been
already allotted. Jos 18:10; 19:51 In this distribution, or
an earlier one, Shiloh fell within the limits of Ephraim.
Jos 16:5 The ungodly conduct of the sons of Eli occasioned
the loss of the ark of the covenant, which had been carried
into battle against the Philistines, and Shiloh from that
time sank into insignificance. It stands forth in the Jewish
history as a striking example of the divine indignation. Jer
7:12
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generally understood as denoting the Messiah, "the peaceful
one," as the word signifies (Gen. 49:10). The
Vulgate Version
translates the word, "he who is to be sent," in
allusion to the
Messiah; the Revised Version, margin, "till he come
to Shiloh;"
and the LXX., "until that which is his shall come to
Shiloh." It
is most simple and natural to render the expression,
as in the
Authorized Version, "till Shiloh come," interpreting
it as a
proper name (comp. Isa. 9:6).
Shiloh, a place of rest, a city of Ephraim, "on the
north side
of Bethel," from which it is distant 10 miles (Judg.
21:19); the
modern Seilun (the Arabic for Shiloh), a "mass of
shapeless
ruins." Here the tabernacle was set up after the
Conquest (Josh.
18:1-10), where it remained during all the period of
the judges
till the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines.
"No spot in
Central Israel could be more secluded than this
early
sanctuary, nothing more featureless than the
landscape around;
so featureless, indeed, the landscape and so
secluded the spot
that from the time of St. Jerome till its re-
discovery by Dr.
Robinson in 1838 the very site was forgotten and
unknown." It is
referred to by Jeremiah (7:12, 14; 26:4-9) five
hundred years
after its destruction.
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From shaalah "to rest." The place at which Israel attained
its state of rest, and where the Lord rested among them
(Psalm 132:14). Judges (Judges 21:19) describes its position
as "on the N. side of Bethel (Beitin), on the E. side of the
highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem (Nablus), and
on the S. of Lebonah." Now Seilun. The ark, which had been
at Gilgal during the conquest of Canaan, was removed on the
completion of the conquest to Shiloh where it remained from
Joshua's closing days to Samuel's (Joshua 18:1-10; Judges
18:31; 1 Samuel 4:3). Here Joshua divided by lot the part of
the western Jordan land not yet allotted (Joshua 19:51).
Shiloh fell within Ephraim (Joshua 16:5-6). The animal feast
of Jehovah when the daughters of Shiloh went forth in dances
gave Benjamin, when threatened with extinction, the
opportunity of carrying off wives (Judges 21:19-23). At a
distance of 15 minutes' walk is a fountain reached through a
narrow dale; it flows first into a well, thence into a
reservoir, from which herds and flocks are watered.
Here the daughters of Shiloh would resort, the
spectators could see their dances from the amphitheater of
surrounding hills. Terraces are traceable at the sides of
the rocky hills, once covered with verdure and
productiveness. Though the scenery is not striking the
seclusion was favorable to worship and religious study. In
the rockhewn sepulchres may have been laid the remains of
some of Eli's house. Here Eli judged Israel and died of
grief at the capture of the ark by the Philistines. Here
Hannah prayed and Samuel was reared in the tabernacle and
called to the prophetic office (1 Samuel 1; 2; 3). The sin
of Hophni and Phinehas caused the loss of the ark and God's
forsaking of His tabernacle at Shiloh (called in spiritual
sense "the house of God," though not of stone: Judges 18:31;
2 Samuel 7:6; 1 Kings 3:2), so that this became a warning
beacon of God's wrath against those who sin in the face of
high spiritual privileges (Jeremiah 7:12; Psalm 78:60-61).
Ahijah the prophet was here consulted by the
messengers of Jeroboam's wife (1 Kings 11:29; 1 Kings 12:15;
1 Kings 14:1-2). From Shiloh came the half pagan men, with
offerings for the Lord's house, who had cut themselves, and
whom Ishmael slew (Jeremiah 41:5). A tell or hill,
surrounded by higher hills, rises from an uneven plain, with
a valley on the south side. On the hill the tabernacle would
be conspicuous from all sides. On the summit of the hill are
the remains of what was once a Jewish synagogue,
subsequently used as a mosque.
On the lintel over the doorway, between two wreaths
of flowers, is carved a vessel shaped like a Roman amphora,
so closely resembling the "pot of manna," as found on coins
and in the ruins of the synagogue at Capernaum, that it
doubtless formed part of the original building. There is a
curious excavation in the rock which may have been the
actual spot where the ark rested; for its guardians would
select a place sheltered from the bleak winds of the
highlands. The position of the sanctuary was central for the
Israelites W. of Jordan. Major Wilson says northwards the
tell at Seilun slopes down to a broad shoulder, across which
a level court has been cut, 77 by 412 ft.; the rock is
scarped to the height of five feet, evidently the site of
the tabernacle. The mosque's title, the mosque of the
Eternal, points to its original occupation by Jehovah's
sanctuary.
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And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the
half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the
children of Israel out of Shiloh, which [is] in the land of
Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their
possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word
of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
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And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and
disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of
Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there [is] Ahijah
the prophet, which told me that [I should be] king over this
people.
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And when the children of Israel heard [of it], the whole
congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves
together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.
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Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD in
Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from
Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
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And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that
went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the
land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here
cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.
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Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This
house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate
without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered
against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
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And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of
Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before
the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the
LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it
may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
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These [are] the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and
Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the
tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance
by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of
dividing the country.
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And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to
sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons
of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, [were]
there.
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So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from
thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which
dwelleth [between] the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, [were] there with the ark of the covenant
of God.
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shi'-nar (shin`ar; Senaar Sen(n)aar):
1. Identification
2. Possible Babylonian Form of the Name
3. Sumerian and Other Equivalents
4. The Syriac Sen'ar
5. The Primitive Tongue of Shinar
6. Comparison with the Semitic Idiom
7. The Testimony of the Sculptures, etc., to the Race
8. The Sumerians Probably in Shinar before the Semites
9. The States of Shinar:
(1) Sippar;
(2) Kes;
(3) Babylon;
(4) Nippur;
(5) Adab;
(6) Surippak;
(7) Umma;
(8) Erech;
(9) Lagas;
(10) Larsa;
(11) Ur;
(12) Eridu;
(13) The Land of the Sea;
(14) Nisin, Isin, or Karrak;
(15) Upa or Upia (Opis);
(16) Other Well-known Cities
10. Shinar and Its Climate
11. Sculpture in Shinar
12. The First Nation to Use Writing in Western Asia
13. The System Employed, with an Example
1. Identification:
The name given, in the earliest Hebrew records, to
Babylonia, later called Babel, or the land of Babel (babhel,
'erets babhel). In Gen 10:10 it is the district wherein lay
Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, cities which were the
"beginning" of Nimrod's kingdom. In 11:2 Shinar is described
as the land of the plain where migrants from the East
settled, and founded Babel, the city, and its great tower.
2. Possible Babylonian Form of the Name:
Though sometimes identified with the Babylonian Sumer, the
connection of Shinar with that name is doubtful. The
principal difficulty lies in the fact that what might be
regarded as the non-dialectical form singar (which would
alone furnish a satisfactory basis of comparison) is not
found, and would, if existent, only apply to the southern
portion of Babylonia. The northern tract was called Akkad,
after the name of its capital city (see ACCAD). The Greek
form Sen(n)aar shows that, at the time the Septuagint
translation was made, there was no tradition that the `ayin
was guttural, as the supposed Babylonian forms would lead us
to expect. As the Biblical form Shinar indicates the whole
of Babylonia, it corresponds with the native (Sumerian)
Kingi-Ura, rendered "Sumer and Akkad," from which, by
changing "K" into "Sh" (found in Sumerian), Shinar may have
been derived, but this explanation is not free from
difficulties.
3. Sumerian and Other Equivalents:
This two-fold designation, Kingi-Ura, is that which is
commonly used in the inscriptions of the earlier kings,
though it cannot then have indicated always the whole
country, but only such parts of it as acknowledged their
overlordship. Later on the corresponding...
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(country of two rivers), the ancient name of the great
alluvial tract through which the Tigris and Euphrates pass
before reaching the sea --the tract known in later times as
Chaldaea or Babylonia. It was a plain country, where brick had
to be used for stone and slime for mortar. Ge 11:3 Among the
cities were Babel (Babylon), Erech or Orech (Orchoe), Calneh
or Calno (probably Niffer), and Accad, the site of which is
unknown. It may be suspected that Shinar was the name by which
the Hebrews originally knew the lower Mesopotamian country
where they so long dwelt, and which Abraham brought with him
from "Ur of the Chaldees."
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LXX. and Vulgate "Senaar;" in the inscriptions, "Shumir;"
probably identical with Babylonia or Southern
Mesopotamia,
extending almost to the Persian Gulf. Here the tower
of Babel
was built (Gen. 11:1-6), and the city of Babylon.
The name
occurs later in Jewish history (Isa. 11:11; Zech.
5:11). Shinar
was apparently first peopled by Turanian tribes, who
tilled the
land and made bricks and built cities. Then tribes
of Semites
invaded the land and settled in it, and became its
rulers. This
was followed in course of time by an Elamite
invasion; from
which the land was finally delivered by Khammurabi,
the son of
Amarpel ("Amraphel, king of Shinar," Gen. 14:1), who
became the
founder of the new empire of Chaldea. (See AMRAPHEL
-T0000221.)
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A region in Mesopotamia, the plain between the Tigris and
Euphrates. Here the rebels against God's will built the Babel
tower (Genesis 11:2-3). Famed for its wheat (Herodotus 1:193).
Derived from sheni "two" and 'ar or nahar "rivers."
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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with
part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into
the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the
vessels into the treasure house of his god.
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With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of
nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of
Ellasar; four kings with five.
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And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar,
Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal
king of nations;
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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall
set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of
his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt,
and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from
Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall
set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of
his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt,
and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from
Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
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And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and
Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
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And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that
they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt
there.
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And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of
Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her
own base.
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shoo'-shan (shushan; Sousan, Sousa):
1. Position, Eytmology and Forms of Its Name:
This city, the Susu or Susan of the Babylonians, and the
native (Elamite) Susun, is the modern Shush (Sus) in
Southwestern Persia, a series of ruin-mounds on the banks of
the river Kerkha. The ancient etymologies ("city of lilies"
or "of horses") are probably worthless, as an etymology in
the language of the place would rather be expected. Sayce
therefore connects the name with sassa, meaning "former,"
and pointing to some such meaning as "the old" city. It is
frequently mentioned in the Babylonian inscriptions of the
3rd millennium BC, and is expressed by the characters for
the goddess Ishtar and for "cedar," implying that it was
regarded as the place of the "divine grove" (see 5, below).
In later days, the Assyrians substituted for the second
character, that having the value of ses, possibly indicating
its pronunciation. Radau (Early Babylonian History, 236)
identifies Shushan (Susa) with the Sasa of the Babylonian
king Kuri-galzu (14th century BC, if the first of the name),
who dedicates to the Babylonian goddess Ninlil an
inscription of a certain Siatu, who had, at an earlier date,
dedicated it to Ishtar for the life of the Babylonian king
Dungi (circa 2500 BC).
2. The Ruins:
The surface still covered with ruins is about 2,000 hectares
(4,940 acres), though this is but a fraction compared with
the ancient extent of the city, which is estimated to have
been between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares (29,640-37,000
acres). Though considerable, the extent of Susa was small
compared with Nineveh and Babylon. The ruins are divided by
the French explorers into four tracts: (1) The Citadel-mound
(West), of the Achemenian period (5th century BC), circa
1,476 by 820 ft., dominating the plain (height circa 124
ft.). (2) The Royal City on the East of the Citadel,
composed of two parts: the Apadana (Northeast), and a nearly
triangular tract extending to the East and the South. This
contains the remains of the palace of Darius and his
successors, and occupies rather more than 123 acres. The
palace proper and the throne-room were separated from the
rest of the official buildings. (3) The City, occupied by
artisans, merchants, etc. (4) The district on the right
bank, similarly inhabited. This in ancient times extended
into all the lower plain, between the Shaour and the Kerkha.
Besides these, there...
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1. Capitol of the Medo-Persian Empire
Es 1:2,3; 8:15
-2. King's palace at
Ne 1:1; Es 1:2,5; 2:5,8; 4:8,16; 8:14,15; 9:11,15
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(a lily), is said to have received its name from the
abundance of the lily (shushan or shushanah) in its
neighborhood. It was originally the capital of the country
called in Scripture Elam, and by the classical writers Susis
or Susiana. In the time of Daniel Susa was in the possession
of the Babylonians, to whom Elam had probably passed at the
division of the Assyrian empire made by Cyaxares and
Nabopolassar. Da 8:2 The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus
transferred Susa to the Persian dominion; and it was not
long before the Achaemenian princes determined to make it
the capital of their whole empire and the chief place of
their own residence. According to some writers the change
was made by Cyrus; according to others it had at any rate
taken place before the death of Cambyses; but, according to
the evidence of the place itself and of the other
Achaemenian monuments, it would seem most probable that the
transfer was really the work of Darius Hystaspes. Nehemiah
resided here. Ne 1:1 Shushan was situated on the Ulai or
Choaspes. It is identified with the modern Sus or Shush, its
ruins are about three miles in circumference. (Here have
been found the remains of the great palace build by Darius,
the father of Xerxes, in which and the surrounding buildings
took place the scenes recorded in the life of Esther. The
great central hall was 343 feet long by 244 feet wide. The
king's gate, says Schaff, where Mordecai sat, "was probably
a hall 100 feet square, 150 feet from the northern portico.
Between these two was probably the inner court, where Esther
appeared before the king." --ED.)
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a lily, the Susa of Greek and Roman writers, once the
capital of
Elam. It lay in the uplands of Susiana, on the east
of the
Tigris, about 150 miles to the north of the head of
the Persian
Gulf. It is the modern Shush, on the northwest of
Shuster. Once
a magnificent city, it is now an immense mass of
ruins. Here
Daniel saw one of his visions (Dan. 8); and here
also Nehemiah
(Neh. 1) began his public life. Most of the events
recorded in
the Book of Esther took place here. Modern explorers
have
brought to light numerous relics, and the ground-
plan of the
splendid palace of Shushan, one of the residences of
the great
king, together with numerous specimens of ancient
art, which
illustrate the statements of Scripture regarding it
(Dan. 8:2).
The great hall of this palace (Esther 1) "consisted
of several
magnificent groups of columns, together with a
frontage of 343
feet 9 inches, and a depth of 244 feet. These groups
were
arranged into a central phalanx of thirty-six
columns (six rows
of six each), flanked on the west, north, and east
by an equal
number, disposed in double rows of six each, and
distant from
them 64 feet 2 inches." The inscriptions on the
ruins represent
that the palace was founded by Darius and completed
by
Artaxerxes.
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Named from its abundant lilies. Capital of Elam, Cissia, or
Susiana. Asshur-bani-pal, Esarhaddon's successor, in
inscriptions says he took Shur and gives its ground plan
sculptured (Layard Nin. 452), 600 B.C. In Belshazzar's last
year Daniel was at Shushan in the palace (not actually, but
transported in spirit) when he saw the vision (Daniel 8:2).
Cyrus' conquest transferred Shushan to Persia. Darius
Hystaspes and the Achaemenian princes made it the capital.
He founded the grand palace described in Esther 1:5-6. Near
Persia, cooler than Babylon, and having excellent water,
Shushan was a suitable metropolis of the Persian empire. The
kings left it for Ecbatana or Persepolis only in the height
of summer, and for Babylon in the depth of winter; here
Alexander found twelve million and the regalia of the great
king. After this it declined. Shushan lay between the two
streams of the Eulaeus and the Shapur. Canals joined the two
and so surrounded the citadel of Shushan. The Coprates or
"river of Dizful" and the right branch of the Choaspes
("Kerkhah") flowed a few miles E. and W. of the city. Hence
arose its famed fertility.
The Kerkhah water was so excellent that it was
carried about with the great king on his journeys. The ruins
cover a space 6,000 ft. E. to W. by 4,500 from N. to S.; the
circumference is about three miles. Spacious artificial
mounds or platforms stand separated from one another. The
western one, of earth, gravel, and sundried bricks, is
smallest but loftiest, 119 ft. above the Shapur, an obtuse
angled triangle, with corners rounded off and base facing E.
The sides are so steep as to be unapproachable to horsemen
except at three points; round the top is a space of 2,850
ft. This is probably the famous citadel (Herodot. 3:68;
Polyb. 5:48, 14; Strabo 15:3, section 2; Arrian Exp. Al.
3:16). S.E. of this western platform is the great platform
of 60 acres, the eastern face 3,000 ft. long. The third
platform is N. of the other two, a square of 1,000 ft. each
way. The three together form a lozenge pointing almost due
N., 4,500 ft. long by 3,000 broad. E. of these is an
irregular extensive but lower platform, as large as all the
rest put together. Low mounds extend beyond to the Dizful
river.
Sir F. Williams of Kars discovered the bases of
three columns of the palace in the E. of the lozenge, 27 ft.
6 in. from center to center, similar to the "great hall"
(Chel Minar) at Persepolis. "Loftus" (Chaldaea Susiana)
ascertained next the position of all the 72 pillars of the
original palace. On the bases of four columns were found
trilingual inscriptions in the three languages used by the
Achaemenian kings at Behistun. E. Norris deciphered the
first part: "says Artaxerxes, the great king, king of kings,
king of the country, king of the earth, son of king Darius
... Darius was the son of king Artaxerxes ... Artaxerxes
was...
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So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree
was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto
Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was
brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai,
keeper of the women.
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And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto
all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both
unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden
of the king's palace;
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And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his
kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young
virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women,
unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the
women; and let their things for purification be given [them]:
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Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,
and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days,
night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so
will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to the
law: and if I perish, I perish.
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Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that
was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew [it] unto
Esther, and to declare [it] unto her, and to charge her that
she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him,
and to make request before him for her people.
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And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal
apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and
with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of
Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
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And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain
and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the
ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the
king's provinces? now what [is] thy petition? and it shall be
granted thee: or what [is] thy request further? and it shall
be done.
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But the Jews that [were] at Shushan assembled together on the
thirteenth [day] thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and
on the fifteenth [day] of the same they rested, and made it a
day of feasting and gladness.
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And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I
[was] at Shushan [in] the palace, which [is] in the province
of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of
Ulai.
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Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to
the Jews which [are] in Shushan to do to morrow also according
unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged
upon the gallows.
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[So] the posts that rode upon mules [and] camels went out,
being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And
the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to
pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in
Shushan the palace,
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[That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the
throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,
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[Now] in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose
name [was] Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the
son of Kish, a Benjamite;
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And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was
given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
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And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five
hundred men.
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On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the
palace was brought before the king.
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The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment,
and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king
and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was
perplexed.
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For the Jews that [were] in Shushan gathered themselves
together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and
slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid
not their hand.
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si'-don (tsidhon; Sidon; the King James Version, Sidon and
Zidon; the Revised Version (British and American) SIDON
only):
1. Location and Distinction:
One of the oldest Phoenician cities, situated on a narrow
plain between the range of Lebanon and the sea, in latitude
33 degrees 34 minutes nearly. The plain is well watered and
fertile, about 10 miles long, extending from a little North
of Sarepta to the Bostrenus (Nahr el-'Auly). The ancient
city was situated near the northern end of the plain,
surrounded with a strong wall. It possessed two harbors, the
northern one about 500 yds. long by 200 wide, well protected
by little islets and a breakwater, and a southern about 600
by 400 yards, surrounded on three sides by land, but open to
the West, and thus exposed in bad weather. The date of the
founding of the city is unknown, but we find it mentioned in
the Tell el-Amarna Letters in the 14th century BC, and in
Gen 10:19 it is the chief city of the Canaanites, and Joshua
(Josh 11:8) calls it Great Sidon. It led all the Phoenician
cities in its early development of maritime affairs, its
sailors being the first to launch out into the open sea out
of sight of land and to sail by night, guiding themselves by
the stars. They were the first to come into contact with the
Greeks and we find the mention of them several times in
Homer, while other Phoenician towns are not noticed. Sidon
became early distinguished for its manufactures and the
skill of its artisans, such as beautiful metal-work in
silver and bronze and textile fabrics embroidered and dyed
with the famous purple dye which became known as Tyrian, but
which was earlier produced at Sidon. Notices of these choice
articles are found in Homer, both in the Iliad and the
Odyssey. Sidon had a monarchical form of government, as did
all the Phoenician towns, but it also held a sort of
hegemony over those to the South as far as the limit of
Phoenicia. It likewise made one attempt to establish an
inland colony at Laish or Dan, near the headwaters of the
Jordan, but this ended in disaster (Jdg 18:7,27,28). The
attempt was not renewed, but many colonies were established
over-sea. Citium, in Cyprus, was one of the earliest.
2. Historical:
(1) The independence of Sidon was lost when the kings of the
XVIIIth and XIXth Dynasties of Egypt added Israel and
Syria to their dominions (1580-1205 BC). The kings of Sidon
were allowed to remain on the throne as long as they paid
tribute, and perhaps still exercised authority over the
towns that had before been subject to them. When the power
of Egypt declined under Amenhotep IV (1375-1358), the king
of Sidon seems to have thrown off the yoke, as appears from
the Tell el-Amarna Letters. Rib-addi of Gebal writes to the
king of Egypt that Zimrida, king of Sidon, had joined the
enemy, but Zimrida himself...
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1. Also called ZIDON
Son of Canaan
Ge 10:15; 1Ch 1:13
-2. A city on the northern boundary of the Canaanites
Ge 10:19
Designated by Jacob as the border of the tribe of
Zebulun
Ge 49:13
Was on the northern boundary of the tribe of Asher
Jos 19:28; 2Sa 24:6
Belonged to the land of Israel according to a promise
Jos 13:6
Inhabitants of, lived in security and without a worry
Jud 18:7
Israelites failed to make conquest of
Jud 1:31; 3:3
The inhabitants of, contributed cedar for the first and
second temple
1Ki 5:6; 1Ch 22:4; Ezr 3:7
Solomon marries women of
1Ki 11:1
Ahab marries a woman of
1Ki 16:31
People of, come to hear Jesus
Mr 3:8; Lu 6:17
Inhabitants of, offend Herod Agrippa I
Ac 12:20-23
Commerce of
Isa 23:2,4,12
The sailors of
Eze 27:8
Prophecies concerning
Jer 25:15-22; 27:3-11; 47:4; Eze 28:21-23; 32:30;
Joe
3:4-8
Jesus visits the region of, and heals the daughter of
the
non-Jewish, Syro-Phoenician woman
Mt 15:21-28; Mr 7:24-31
Visited by Paul
Ac 27:3
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the Greek form of the Phoenician name Zidon. [ZIDON]
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fishing; fishery, Gen. 10:15, 19 (A.V. marg., Tzidon; R.V.,
Zidon); Matt. 11:21, 22; Luke 6:17. (See ZIDON
-T0003926.)
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("fishing town"); SIDON or ZIDON. Genesis 10:9; Genesis
10:15; Joshua 11:8; Joshua 19:28; Judges 1:31. Sidon was in
Asher (Isaiah 23:2; Isaiah 23:4; Isaiah 23:12). An ancient
mercantile city of Phoenicia, in the narrow plain between
Lebanon and the Mediterranean, where the mountains recede
two miles from the sea; 20 miles N. of Tyre. Now Saida. Old
Sidon stands on the northern slope of a promontory
projecting a few hundred yards into the sea, having thus "a
fine naturally formed harbour" (Strabo). The citadel
occupies the hill behind on the south. Sidon is called
(Genesis 10:15) the firstborn of Canaan, and "great Sidon"
or the metropolis (Joshua 11:8). Sidonians is the generic
name of the Phoenicians or Canaanites (Joshua 13:6; Judges
18:7); in Judges 18:28 Laish is said to be "far from Sidon,"
whereas Tyre, 20 miles nearer, would have been specified if
it had then been a city of leading importance. (See TYRE.)
So in Homer Sidon is named, but not Tyre.
Justin Martyr makes (Judges 18:3) Tyre a colony
planted by Sidon when the king of Ascalon took Sidon the
year before the fall of Troy. Tyre is first mentioned in
Scripture in Joshua 19:29 as "the strong city," the
"daughter of Sidon" (Isaiah 23:12.) Sidon and Sidonians are
names often subsequently used for Tyre, Tyrians. Thus
Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians (1 Kings 16:31), is called by
Menander in Josephus (Ant. 8:13, section 2) king of the
Tyrians. By the time of Zechariah (Zechariah 9:2) Tyre has
the precedency, "Tyrus and Sidon." Sidon revolted from the
yoke of Tyre when Shalmaneser's invasion gave the
opportunity. Rivalry with Tyre influenced Sidon to submit
without resistance to Nebuchadnezzar. Its rebellion against
the Persian Artaxerxes Ochus entailed great havoc on its
citizens, Tennes its king proving traitor. Its fleet helped
Alexander the Great against Tyre (Arrian, Anab. Al., 2:15).
Augustus took away its liberties. Its population is
now 5,000. Its trade and navigation have left it for Beirut.
It was famed for elaborate embroidery, working of metals
artistically, glass, the blowpipe, lathe, and graver, and
cast mirrors. (Pliny 36:26, H. N. 5:17; 1 Kings 5:6, "not
any can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians".) Their
seafaring is alluded to (Isaiah 23:2). Self indulgent ease
followed in the train of their wealth, so that "the manner
of the Sidonians" was proverbial (Judges 18:7).. Sidon had
her own king (Jeremiah 25:22; Jeremiah 27:3). Sidonian women
in Solomon's harem seduced him to worship Ashtoreth "the
goddess of the Sidonians" (1 Kings 11:1; 1 Kings 11:4; 2
Kings 23:13).
Joel reproves Sidon and Tyre for selling children of
Judah and Jerusalem to the Grecians, and threatens them with
a like fate, Judah selling their sons and daughters to the
Sabeans. So Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:22-24) threatens Sidon with
pestilence and blood in her streets, so that she shall be no
more a pricking brier unto Israel. Jesus went once to the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21). Paul touched at
Sidon on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:3); by
Julius' courteous permission Paul there "went unto his
friends to refresh himself." Tyre and Sidon's doom shall be
more tolerable in the day of judgment than that of those who
witnessed Christ's works and teaching, yet repented not
(Matthew 11:21-22). On a coin of the age of Antiochus IV
Tyre claims to be "mother of the Sidonians," being at that
time the capital city.
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And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon:
but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus
the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because
their country was nourished by the king's [country].
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And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou
comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and
Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
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rough; hairy. (1.) A Horite; one of the "dukes" of Edom (Gen.
36:20-30).
(2.) The name of a mountainous region occupied by the
Edomites, extending along the eastern side of the
Arabah from
the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea to near
the Akabah,
or the eastern branch of the Red Sea. It was
originally occupied
by the Horites (Gen. 14:6), who were afterwards driven
out by
the Edomites (Gen. 32:3; 33:14, 16). It was allotted
to the
descendants of Esau (Deut. 2:4, 22; Josh. 24:4; 2 Chr.
20:10;
Isa. 21:11; Exek. 25:8).
(3.) A mountain range (not the Edomite range, Gen.
32:3) lying
between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab (Josh.
15:10).
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("hairy, rugged".)
1. Named so from a Horite chief (Genesis 36:20). Or
probably Seir was his title, not proper name, given from the
rugged rocky nature of the country, or from its abounding in
bushes, in contrast to Halak "the smooth mountain." Esau and
the Edomite supplanted the previous occupants the Horites.
frontHORITES.) Mount Seir is the high range from the S. of
the Dead Sea to Elath N. of the gulf of Akabah, on the E. of
the Arabah, or "the plain from Elath and Ezion Geber." For
as Israel moved from Mount Hor by way of that plain towards
the Red Sea at Elath they "compassed Mount Seir" (Numbers
21:4; Deuteronomy 2:1; Deuteronomy 2:8). When Israel was
refused leave to go the direct route to Moab through Edom's
valleys (Numbers 20:20-21) they marched circuitously round
the mountains down the Arabah between the limestone cliffs
of the Tih on the W. and the granite range of Mount Seir on
the E. until a few hours N. of Akabah the wady Ithm opened a
gap in the mountains, so that turning to their left they
could march N. toward Moab (Deuteronomy 2:3).
Mount Hor alone of the range retains the old name of
the Horites; it overhangs Petra; now jebel Haroon or Mount
Aaron, where he died and was buried. The southern part,
jebel es Sherah, between Petra and Akabah, perhaps bears
trace of the name "Self." Jebal is now applied to the
northern part of Mount Seir, answering to Gebal of Psalm
83:6-7; Geblah (i.e. "mountain") is the name for Mount Seir
in the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Jerusalem targum. Jebal
extends N. to the brook Zered (wady el Ahsi).
"Mount Halak ("naked") that goeth up to Seir"
(Joshua 11:17) was the northern border of Seir, probably the
line of white "naked" hills running across the great valley
eight miles S. of the Dead Sea, dividing between the Arabah
on the S. and the depressed Ghor on the N. Seir and Sinai
are not in Deuteronomy 33:2 grouped together geographically,
but in reference to their being both alike scenes of God's
glory manifested in behalf of His people. The prophetic
denunciation of Ezekiel 35, "Behold O Mount Seir, ... I will
make thee most desolate ... I will lay thy cities waste ...
perpetual desolations": Burckhardt counted 40 cities in
Jebal all now desolate.
2. A landmark N. of Judah (Joshua 15:10), W. of
Kirjath Jearim and E. of Bethshemesh; the ridge between wady
Aly and wady Ghurab. Now Mihsir, N.W. of Kesla or Chesalon.
The resemblance in ruggedness to the southern Mount Seir may
have given the name.
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And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau
mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went
down into Egypt.
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Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these [are] the dukes
[that came] of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
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And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount
Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which
[is] Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to
Bethshemesh, and passed on to Timnah:
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The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman,
what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
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And these [are] the kings of the country which Joshua and the
children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from
Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak,
that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of
Israel [for] a possession according to their divisions;
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LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out
of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens
dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
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As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of
Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou
shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, [even] all of
it: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
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And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount
Seir, I [am] against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand
against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
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The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of
Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before
them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of
his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
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Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau [is] Edom.
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se-lu'-shi-a (Seleukia): The seaport of Antioch from which
it is 16 miles distant. It is situated 5 miles North of the
mouth of the Orontes, in the northwestern corner of a
fruitful plain at the base of Mt. Rhosus or Pieria, the
modern Jebel Musa, a spur of the Amanus Range. Built by
Seleucus Nicator (died 280 BC) it was one of the Syrian
Tetrapolis, the others being Apameia, Laodicea and Antioch.
The city was protected by nature on the mountain side, and,
being strongly fortified on the South and West, was
considered invulnerable and the key to Syria (Strabo 751;
Polyb. v.58). It was taken, however, by Ptolemy Euergetes (1
Macc 11:8) and remained in his family till 219 BC, when it
was recovered for the Seleucids by Antiochus the Great, who
then richly adorned it. Captured again by Ptolemy Philometor
in 146 BC, it remained for a short time in the hands of the
Egyptians. Pompey made it a free city in 64 BC in return for
its energy in resisting Tigranes (Pliny, NH, v.18), and it
was then greatly improved by the Romans, so that in the 1st
century AD it was in a most flourishing condition.
On their first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas passed
through it (Acts 13:4; 14:26), and though it is not named in
Acts 15:30,39, this route is again implied; while it is
excluded in Acts 15:3.
The ruins are very extensive and cover the whole space
within the line of the old walls, which shows a circuit of
four miles. The position of the Old Town, the Upper City and
the suburbs may still be identified, as also that of the
Antioch Gate, the Market Gate and the King's Gate, which
last leads to the Upper City. There are rock-cut tombs,
broken statuary and sarcophagi at the base of the Upper
City, a position which probably represents the burial place
of the Seleucids. The outline of a circus or amphitheater
can also be traced, while the inner harbor is in perfect
condition and full of water. It is 2,000 ft. long by 1,200
ft. broad, and covers 47 acres, being oval or pear-shaped.
The passage seaward, now silted up, was protected by two
strong piers or moles, which are locally named after
Barnabas and Paul. The most remarkable of the remains,
however, is the great water canal behind the city, which the
emperor Constantius cut through the solid rock in 338 AD. It
is 3,074 ft. long, has an average breadth of 20 ft., and is
in some places 120 ft. deep. Two portions of 102 and 293 ft.
in length are tunneled. The object of the work was clearly
to carry the mountain torrent direct to the sea, and so
protect the city from the risk of flood during the wet
season.
Church synods occasionally met in Seleucia in the early
centuries, but it gradually sank into decay, and long before
the advent of Islam it had lost all its significance.
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(A city of Syria beside the Mediterranean Sea)
-Paul visits
Ac 13:4
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(named after its founder, Seleucus), near the mouth of the
Orontes, was practically the seaport of Antioch. The distance
between the two towns was about 16 miles. St. Paul, with
Barnabas, sailed from Seleucia at the beginning of his first
missionary circuit. Ac 13:4 This strong fortress and
convenient seaport was constructed by the first Seleucus, and
here he was buried. It retained its importance in Roman times
and in St. Paul's day it had the privileges of a free city.
The remains are numerous.
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the sea-port of Antioch, near the mouth of the Orontes. Paul
and
his companions sailed from this port on their first
missionary
journey (Acts 13:4). This city was built by Seleucus
Nicator,
the "king of Syria." It is said of him that "few
princes have
ever lived with so great a passion for the building of
cities.
He is reputed to have built in all nine Seleucias,
sixteen
Antiochs, and six Laodiceas." Seleucia became a city
of great
importance, and was made a "free city" by Pompey. It
is now a
small village, called el-Kalusi.
Read More
Antioch's seaport. The Orontes passes Antioch, and falls into
the sea near Seleucia, 16 miles from Antioch. Paul and
Barnabas at their first missionary tour sailed from that port
(Acts 13:4), and landed there on returning (Acts 14:26). Named
from the great Alexander's successor, Seleucus Nicator, its
founder, who died 280 B.C. The two piers of the old harbour
still remain, bearing the names of Paul and Barnabas; the
masonry is so good that it has been proposed to clear out and
repair the harbour.
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So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto
Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Read More
shar'-un (ha-sharon, with the definite article possibly
meaning "the plain"; to pedion, ho drumos, ho Saron):
(1) This name is attached to the strip of fairly level land
which runs between the mountains and the shore of the
Mediterranean, stretching from Nahr Ruben in the South to
Mt. Carmel in the North. There are considerable rolling
hills; but, compared with the mountains to the East, it is
quite properly described as a plain. The soil is a deep rich
loam, which is favorable to the growth of cereals. The
orange, the vine and the olive grow to great perfection.
When the many-colored flowers are in bloom it is a scene of
rare beauty.
Of the streams in the plain four carry the bulk of the water
from the western slopes of the mountains to the sea. They
are also perennial, being fed by fountains. Nahr el-`Aujeh
enters the sea to the North of Jaffa; Nahr Iskanderuneh 7
miles, and Nahr el-Mefjir fully 2 miles South of Caesarea;
and Nahr ez-Zerqa, the "Crocodile River," 2 1/2 miles North
of Caesarea. Nahr el-Falik runs its short course about 12
miles North of Nahr el-`Aujeh. Water is plentiful, and at
almost any point it may be obtained by digging. Deep, finely
built wells near some of the villages are among the most
precious legacies left by the Crusaders. The breadth of the
plain varies from 8 to 12 miles, being broadest in the
Sharon. There are traces of a great forest in the northern
part, which accounts for the use of the term drumos.
Josephus (Ant., XIV, xiii, 3) speaks of "the woods" (hoi
drumoi) and Strabo (xvi) of "a great wood." There is still a
considerable oak wood in this district. The "excellency" of
Carmel and Sharon (Isa 35:2) is probably an allusion to the
luxuriant oak forests. As in ancient times, great breadths
are given up to the pasturing of cattle. Over David's herds
that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite (1 Ch 27:29).
In the day of Israel's restoration "Sharon shall be a fold
of flocks" (Isa 65:10). Jerome speaks of the fine cattle fed
in the pastures of Sharon, and also sings the praises of its
wine (Comm. on Isa 33 and 65). Toward the Sharon no doubt
there was more cultivation then than there is at the present
day. The German colony to the North of Jaffa, preserving in
its name, Sarona, the old Greek name of the plain, and
several Jewish colonies are proving the wonderful
productiveness of the soil. The orange groves of Jaffa are
far-famed.
"The rose of Sharon" (Song 2:1) is a mistranslation:
chabhatstseleth is not a "rose," but the white narcissus,
which in season abounds in the plain.
Sharon is mentioned in the New Testament only in Acts 9:35.
(2) A district East of the Jordan, occupied by the tribe of
Gad (1 Ch 5:16; here the name is without the article).
Kittel ("Ch," SBOT) suggests that this is a corruption from
"Sirion," which again is synonymous with Hermon. He would
therefore identify Sharon with the pasture lands of Hermon.
Others think that the mishor or table-land of Gilead is
intended.
(3) In Josh 12:18 we should perhaps read "the king of Aphek
in Sharon." See LASSHARON. The order seems to point to some
place Northeast of Tabor. Perhaps this is to be identified
with the Sarona of Eusebius, Onomasticon, in the district
between Tabor and Tiberias. If so, the name may be preserved
in that of Sarona on the plateau to the Southwest of
Tiberias.
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1. The maritime slope of Israel north of the city of Joppa
David's herds in
1Ch 27:29
Roses and beauty of
So 2:1; Isa 33:9; 35:2; 65:10
Called SARON
Ac 9:35
-2. A place that has not been ascertained
1Ch 5:16
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(a plain), a district of the holy land occasionally referred
to in the Bible. 1Ch 5:16; Isa 33:9 In Ac 9:35 called SARON.
The name has on each occurrence with one exception only,
1Ch 5:16 the definite article; it would therefore
appear that "the Sharon" was some well-defined region familiar
to the Israelites. It is that broad, rich tract of land which
lies between the mountains of the central part of the holy
land and the Mediterranean --the northern continuation of the
Shefelah. [PALESTINE] The Sharon of
2Ch 5:16 to which allusion has already been made, is
distinguished front the western plain by not having the
article attached to its name, as the other invariably has. It
is also apparent from the passage itself that it was some
district on the east of the Jordan, in the neighborhood of
Gilead and Bashan. The name has not been met with in that
direction.
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a plain, a level tract extending from the Mediterranean to the
hill country to the west of Jerusalem, about 30 miles
long and
from 8 to 15 miles broad, celebrated for its beauty
and
fertility (1 Chr. 27:29; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; 65:10). The
"rose of
Sharon" is celebrated (Cant. 2:1). It is called
Lasharon (the
article la being here a part of the word) in Josh.
12:18.
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1 Chronicles 5:16; Isaiah 33:9, "the excellency (beauty) of
Sharon" (Isaiah 35:2), Isaiah 65:10; Song of Solomon 2:1,
"the rose (narcissus) of Sharon," famous for flowers and for
pasture; Acts 9:35. The broad rich tract between the central
mountains and the Mediterranean, stretching from Joppa or
Jaffa northwards to Carmel. Half the width is of marl and
alluvial soil, the other half of old red semi-consolidated
sand and shelly breccias. (See PALESTINE.) The coast is
marked by white sandhills; fine grain, well trimmed
plantations, and long gentle swells of rich red and black
earth, characterize Sharon. A second Sharon beyond Jordan is
not meant in 1 Chronicles 5:16, as some have imagined. It is
not said that the Gadites possessed cities in Sharon but
only pastures of Sharon; these the Gadites sought for their
herds as far as the Mediterranean coast.
As intercourse was maintained between the cis-
Jordanic Manassites and the trans-Jordanic Manassites, the
Gadites with the latter might very well repair with their
herds to the Sharon pastures, as the domain of cis-Jordanic
Manasseh stretched into the plain of Sharon. Translated "and
in all the pasture grounds of Sharon unto their outgoings"
to the sea (Joshua 17:9). David had his herds feeding in
Sharon with Shitrai the Sharonite over them. Gesenius
derives Sharon from jashar "straight," "a plain country."
One of the earliest recorded travelers in this district was
an Egyptian, whose papyrus has been lately transliterated;
then as now agricultural pursuits prevailed here, and
illustrations are still found of the Egyptian and Eastern
plows.
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It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and
singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the
excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of
the LORD, [and] the excellency of our God.
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And over the herds that fed in Sharon [was] Shitrai the
Sharonite: and over the herds [that were] in the valleys [was]
Shaphat the son of Adlai:
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The earth mourneth [and] languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed [and]
hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel
shake off [their fruits].
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And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor
a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have
sought me.
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And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in
all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
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I [am] the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the valleys.
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she'-ba (shebha`; Sabee, or Samaa): The name of one of the
towns allotted to Simeon (Josh 19:2). the King James Version
mentions it as an independent town, but as it is not mentioned
at all in the parallel list (1 Ch 4:28), and is omitted in
Josh 19:2 in some manuscripts, it is probable that the Revised
Version (British and American) is correct in its translation
"Beer-sheba or Sheba." Only in this way can the total of towns
in this group be made 13 (Josh 19:6). If it is a separate
name, it is probably the same as SHEMA (which see).
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1. Son of Raamah
Ge 10:7; 1Ch 1:9
-2. Son of Joktan
Ge 10:28; 1Ch 1:22
-3. Son of Jokshan
Ge 25:3; 1Ch 1:32
-4. A Benjamite who led an insurrection against David
2Sa 20
-5. A Gadite
1Ch 5:13
-6. A city of the tribe of Simeon
Jos 19:2
-7. Queen of, visits Solomon
1Ki 10:1; 13; 2Ch 9:1-12
Kings of, bring gifts to Solomon
Ps 72:10
Rich in gold
Ps 72:15
Rich in incense
Jer 6:20
Merchandise of
Eze 27:22,23; 38:13
Prophecies concerning the people of, coming into the
kingdom
of the Messiah
Isa 60:6
See SABEANS
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one of the towns of the allotment of Simeon, Jos 19:2 probably
the same as Shema. Jos 15:26
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an oath, seven. (1.) Heb. shebha, the son of Raamah (Gen.
10:7),
whose descendants settled with those of Dedan on the
Persian
Gulf.
(2.) Heb. id. A son of Joktan (Gen. 10:28), probably
the
founder of the Sabeans.
(3.) Heb. id. A son of Jokshan, who was a son of
Abraham by
Keturah (Gen. 25:3).
(4.) Heb. id. A kingdom in Arabia Felix. Sheba, in
fact, was
Saba in Southern Arabia, the Sabaeans of classical
geography,
who carried on the trade in spices with the other
peoples of the
ancient world. They were Semites, speaking one of
the two main
dialects of Himyaritic or South Arabic. Sheba had
become a
monarchy before the days of Solomon. Its queen
brought him gold,
spices, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:1-13). She
is called by
our Lord the "queen of the south" (Matt. 12:42).
(5.) Heb. shebha', "seven" or "an oak." A town of
Simeon
(Josh. 19:2).
(6.) Heb. id. A "son of Bichri," of the family of
Becher, the
son of Benjamin, and thus of the stem from which
Saul was
descended (2 Sam. 20:1-22). When David was returning
to
Jerusalem after the defeat of Absalom, a strife
arose between
the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah, because the
latter took
the lead in bringing back the king. Sheba took
advantage of this
state of things, and raised the standard of revolt,
proclaiming,
"We have no part in David." With his followers he
proceeded
northward. David seeing it necessary to check this
revolt,
ordered Abishai to take the gibborim, "mighty men,"
and the
body-guard and such troops as he could gather, and
pursue Sheba.
Joab joined the expedition, and having treacherously
put Amasa
to death, assumed the command of the army. Sheba
took refuge in
Abel-Bethmaachah, a fortified town some miles north
of Lake
Merom. While Joab was engaged in laying siege to
this city,
Sheba's head was, at the instigation of a "wise
woman" who had
held a parley with him from the city walls, thrown
over the wall
to the besiegers, and thus the revolt came to an
end.
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from whom the country derives its name.
1. Grandson of Cush and son of Raamah (Genesis
10:7).
2. Son of Joktan (Genesis 10:28).
3. Grandson of Abraham by Keturah; son of Jokshan
(Genesis 25:3). This is an instance of the intermingling of
the early descendants of Shem and Ham. SHEBA was a wealthy
region of Arabia Felix or Yemen (1 Kings 10:1; Psalm 72:10;
Psalm 72:15, where "Sheba" is Joktanite, "SEBA" Cushite ;
Job 1:15, the Keturahite Sheba, Job 6:19; Isaiah 60:6;
Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22, it was the Sheba son of Raamah
and grandson of Cush that carried on the Indian traffic with
Israel in conjunction with the Keturahite Sheba (Joel
3:8). The Sabeans were famed for myrrh, frankincense, and
cinnamon, their chief city being Mariaba (Strabo 16:777),
named also Seba, the one being the city the other the
fortress (near the famous dyke el 'Arim, built to store
water and avert mountain torrents.)
This was afterward the celebrated Himyeritic Arab
kingdom, called from the ruling family of Himyer. The
Cushite Sheba and his brother Dedan settled along the
Persian gulf, but afterward were combined with the Joktanite
Sabean kingdom. (See RAAMAH.) The buildings of Mariaba or
Seba are of massive masonry, and evidently of Cushite
origin. The Joktanites (Semitics) were the early colonists
of southern Arabia. The Himyerites Strabo first mentions in
the expedition of A. Gellius (24 B.C.); the Arabs however
place Himyer high in their list. Himyer may mean "the red
man," related to the "Red Sea" and "Phoenician." The kingdom
probably was called "Sheba" (Seba means "turned red"), its
reigning family Himyer; the old name was preserved until the
founding of the modern Himyeritic kingdom about a century
B.C.
"The queen of Sheba" (1 Kings 10:1-2; 1 Kings 10:10)
ruled in Arabia, not Ethiopia, as the Abyssinian church
allege; Sheba being in the extreme Sheba of Arabia, "she
came (a distance of nearly a thousand miles) from the
uttermost parts of the earth," as then known, to hear the
wisdom of Solomon (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31). Four
principal Arab peoples are named: the Sabeans, Atramitae or
Hadramaut, Katabeni or Kahtan or Joktan, and the Mimaei.
SHEBA. A town of Simeon (Joshua 19:2). Possibly the SHEMA of
Joshua 15:26. Now Saawe (Knobel). Or Sheba is a
transcriber's error, repeating the end of Beer-sheba; for
the number of names in Joshua 19:2-6 including Sheba is 14,
whereas 13 is the number stated, and in 1 Chronicles 4:28
Sheba is omitted in the list of Simeon. But Conder
(Israel Exploration, January 1875) identifies Sheba with
Tell el Seba, two miles of Beersheba, and on the line to
Moladah (Joshua 19:2); its well is a quarter of a mile W. of
it.
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And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold,
and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there
came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen
of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
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Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the
young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to
take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey?
to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods,
to take a great spoil?
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And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she
came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a
very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in
abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to
Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
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And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold,
and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither
was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king
Solomon.
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And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and
Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and
Dedan.
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And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and
Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and
Dedan.
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And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire,
whatsoever she asked, beside [that] which Solomon gave her of
his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country,
she and her servants.
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Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran,
and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And
the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan.
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Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And
they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast
[it] out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from
the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to
Jerusalem unto the king.
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The matter [is] not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the
son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the
king, [even] against David: deliver him only, and I will
depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold,
his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
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she'-kem (shekhem, "shoulder"; Suchem, he Sikima, ta Sikima,
etc.; the King James Version gives "Sichem" in Gen 12:6; and
"Sychem" in Acts 7:16):
1. Historical:
This place is first mentioned in connection with Abraham's
journey from Haran. At the oak of Moreh in the vicinity he
reared his first altar to the Lord in Israel (Gen 12:6
f). It was doubtless by this oak that Jacob, on his return
from Paddan-aram, buried "the strange (the American Standard
Revised Version "foreign") gods" (Gen 35:4). Hither he had
come after his meeting with Esau (Gen 33:18). Eusebius, in
Onomasticon, here identifies Shechem with Shalem; but see
SHALEM. To the East of the city Jacob pitched his tent in a
"parcel of ground" which he had bought from Hamor, Shechem's
father (Gen 33:19). Here also he raised an altar and called
it El-Elohe-Israel, "God, the God of Israel" (Gen 33:20).
Then follows the story of Dinah's defilement by Shechem, son
of the city's chief; and of the treacherous and terrible
vengeance exacted by Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). To the
rich pasture land near Shechem Joseph came to seek his
brethren (Gen 37:12 ff). It is mentioned as lying to the
West of Michmethath (el-Makhneh) on the boundary of Manasseh
(Josh 17:7). It was in the territory of Ephraim; it was made
a city of refuge, and assigned to the Kohathite Levites
(Josh 20:7; 21:21). Near the city the Law was promulgated
(Dt 27:11; Josh 8:33). When his end was approaching Joshua
gathered the tribes of Israel here and addressed to them his
final words of counsel and exhortation (chapter 24). Under
the oak in the neighboring sanctuary he set up the stone of
witness (24:26). The war of conquest being done, Joseph's
bones were buried in the parcel of ground which Jacob had
bought, and which fell to the lot of Joseph's descendants
(24:33). Abimelech, whose mother was a native of the city,
persuaded the men of Shechem to make him king (Jdg 9:1-6),
evidently seeking a certain consecration from association
with "the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem." Jotham's
parable was spoken from the cliff of Gerizim overhanging the
town (Jdg 9:7 ff). After a reign of three years Abimelech
was rejected by the people. He captured the city, razed it
to the foundations, and sowed it with salt. It was then the
seat of Canaanite idolatry, the temple of Baal-berith being
here (Jdg 9:4,46). In the time of the kings we find that the
city was once more a gathering-place of the nation. It was
evidently the center, especially for the northern tribes;
and hither Rehoboam came in the hope of getting his
succession to the throne confirmed (1 Ki 12:1; 2 Ch 10:1).
At the disruption Jeroboam fortified the city and made it
his residence (2 Ch 10:25; Ant, VIII, viii, 4). The capital
of the Northern Kingdom was moved, however, first to Tirzah
and then to Samaria, and Shechem declined in political
importance. Indeed it is not named again in the history of
the monarchy. Apparently there were Israelites in it after
the captivity, some of whom on their way to the house of the
Lord at Jerusalem met a tragic fate at the hands of Ishmael
ben Nethaniah (Jer 41:5 ff). It became the central city of
the Samaritans, whose shrine...
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1. Also called SICHEM and SYCHEM, a district in the central
part of the land of Canaan
Abraham lives in
Ge 12:6
The flocks and herds of Jacob kept in
Ge 37:12-14
Joseph buried in
Jos 24:32
Jacob buried in
Ac 7:16; with Ge 50:13
-2. Also called SYCHAR, a city of refuge in Mount Ephraim
Jos 20:7; 21:21; Jud 21:19
Joshua assembled the tribes of Israel at, with all their
elders, chiefs, and judges, and presented them
before the
Lord
Jos 24:1-28
Joshua buried at
Jos 24:30-32
Abimelech made king at
Jud 8:31; 9
Rehoboam crowned at
1Ki 12:1
Destroyed by Abimelech
Jud 9:45
Rebuilt by Jeroboam
1Ki 12:25
Men of, killed by Ishmael
Jer 41:5
Jesus visits; disciples made in
Joh 4:1-42
-3. Son of Hamor; seduces Jacob's daughter; killed by
Jacob's
sons
Ge 33:19; 34; Jos 24:32; Jud 9:28
Called SYCHEM
Ac 7:16
-4. Ancestor of the Shechemites
Nu 26:31; Jos 17:2
-5. Son of Shemidah
1Ch 7:19
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(back or shoulder).
1. An important city in central Israel, in the
valley between mounts Ebal and Gerizim, 34 miles north of
Jerusalem and 7 miles southeast of Samaria. Its present
name, Nablus, is a corruption of Neapolis, which succeeded
the more ancient Shechem, and received its new name from
Vespasian. On coins still extant it is called Flavia
Neapolis. The situation of the town is one of surpassing
beauty. It lies in a sheltered valley, protected by Gerizim
on the south and Ebal on the north. The feet of these
mountains, where they rise from the town, are not more than
five hundred yards apart. The bottom of the valley is about
1800 feet above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim
800 feet higher still. The sit of the present city, which
was also that of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the
water-summit; and streams issuing from the numerous springs
there flow down the opposite slopes of the valley, spreading
verdure and fertility in every direction. Travellers vie
with each other in the language which they employ to
describe the scene that here bursts so suddenly upon them on
arriving in spring or early summer at this paradise of the
holy land. "The whole valley," says Dr. Robinson, "was
filled with gardens of vegetables and orchards of all kinds
of fruits, watered by fountains which burst forth in various
parts and flow westward in refreshing streams. it came upon
us suddenly like a scene of fairy enchantment. We saw
nothing to compare with it in all Israel." The allusions
to Shechem in the Bible are numerous, and show how important
the place was in Jewish history. Abraham, on his first
migration to the land of promise, pitched his tent and built
an altar under the oak (or terebinth) of Moreh at Shechem.
"The Canaanite was then in the land;" and it is evident that
the region, if not the city, was already in possession of
the aboriginal race. See Ge 12:6 At the time of Jacob's
arrival here, after his sojourn in Mesopotamia, Ge 33:18; 34
Shechem was a Hivite city, of which Hamor, the father of
Shechem, was the headman. it was at this time that the
patriarch purchased from that chieftain "the parcel of the
field" which he subsequently bequeathed, as a special
patrimony, to his son Joseph. Ge 33:19; Jos 24:32; Joh 4:5
The field lay undoubtedly on the rich plain of the Mukhna,
and its value was the greater on account of the well which
Jacob had dug there, so as not to be dependent on his
neighbors for a supply of water. In the distribution of the
land after its conquest by the Hebrews, Shechem fell to the
lot of Ephraim, Jos 20:7 but was assigned to the Levites,
and became a city of refuge. Jos 21:20,21 It acquired new
importance as the scene of the renewed promulgation of the
law, when its blessings were heard from Gerizim and its
curses from Ebal, and the people bowed their heads and
acknowledged Jehovah as their king and ruler. De 27:11; Jos
24:23-25 it was here Joshua assembled the people, shortly
before his death, and delivered...
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shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19;
34).
(2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh.
17:2).
(3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also
Sichem
(12:6), Sychem (Acts 7:16). It stood in the narrow
sheltered
valley between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on the
south, these
mountains at their base being only some 500 yards
apart. Here
Abraham pitched his tent and built his first altar
in the
Promised Land, and received the first divine promise
(Gen. 12:6,
7). Here also Jacob "bought a parcel of a field at
the hands of
the children of Hamor" after his return from
Mesopotamia, and
settled with his household, which he purged from
idolatry by
burying the teraphim of his followers under an oak
tree, which
was afterwards called "the oak of the sorcerer"
(Gen. 33:19;
35:4; Judg. 9:37). (See MEONENIM -T0002483.) Here
too, after a
while, he dug a well, which bears his name to this
day (John
4:5, 39-42). To Shechem Joshua gathered all Israel
"before God,"
and delivered to them his second parting address
(Josh.
24:1-15). He "made a covenant with the people that
day" at the
very place where, on first entering the land, they
had responded
to the law from Ebal and Gerizim (Josh. 24:25), the
terms of
which were recorded "in the book of the law of God",
i.e., in
the roll of the law of Moses; and in memory of this
solemn
transaction a great stone was set up "under an oak"
(comp. Gen.
28:18; 31:44-48; Ex. 24:4; Josh. 4:3, 8, 9),
possibly the old
"oak of Moreh," as a silent witness of the
transaction to all
coming time.
Shechem became one of the cities of refuge, the
central city
of refuge for Western Israel (Josh. 20:7), and
here the bones
of Joseph were buried (24:32). Rehoboam was
appointed king in
Shechem (1 Kings 12:1, 19), but Jeroboam afterwards
took up his
residence here. This city is mentioned in connection
with our
Lord's conversation with the woman of Samaria (John
4:5); and
thus, remaining as it does to the present day, it is
one of the
oldest cities of the world. It is the modern Nablus,
a
contraction for Neapolis, the name given to it by
Vespasian. It
lies about a mile and a half up the valley on its
southern
slope, and on the north of Gerizim, which rises
about 1,100 feet
above it, and is about 34 miles north of Jerusalem.
It contains
about 10,000 inhabitants, of whom about 160 are
Samaritans and
100 Jews, the rest being Christians and Mohammedans.
The site of Shechem is said to be of unrivalled
beauty.
Stanley says it is "the most beautiful, perhaps the
only very
beautiful, spot in Central Israel."
Gaza, near Shechem, only mentioned 1 Chr. 7:28, has
entirely
disappeared. It was destroyed at the time of the
Conquest, and
its place was taken by Shechem. (See SYCHAR
-T0003542.)
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("shoulder", or "upper part of the back just below the
neck"); explained as if the town were on the shoulder of the
heights dividing the waters that flow toward the
Mediterranean on the W. and to the Jordan on the E.; or on a
shoulder or ridge connected with Mounts Ebal and Gerizim.
Also called SICHEM, SYCHEM, and SYCHAR (John 4:5; Joshua
20:7; Judges 9:9; 1 Kings 12:25). Mount Gerizim is close by
(Judges 9:7) on the southern side, Mount Ebal on the
northern side. These hills at the base are but 500 yards
apart. Vespasian named it Neapolis; coins are extant with
its name "Flavia Neapolis"; now Nablus by corruption. The
situation is lovely; the valley runs W. with a soil of rich,
black, vegetable mold, watered by fountains, sending forth
numerous streams flowing W.; orchards of fruit, olive
groves, gardens of vegetables, and verdure on all sides
delight the eye. On the E. of Gerizim and Ebal the flue
plain of Mukhna stretches from N. to S.
Here first in Canaan God appeared to Abraham
(Genesis 12:6), and here he pitched his tent and built an
altar under the oak or terebinth (not "plain") of Moreh;
here too Jacob re-entered the promised land (Genesis 33:18-
19), and "bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his
tent," from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, and
bequeathed it subsequently to Joseph (Genesis 48:22; Joshua
24:32; John 4:5); a dwelling place, whereas Abraham's only
purchase was a burial place. It lay in the rich plain of the
Mukhna, and its value was increased by the well Jacob dug
there. Joshua made "Shechem in Mount Ephraim" one of the six
cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7). The suburbs in our Lord's
days reached nearer the entrance of the valley between
Gerizim and Ebal than now; for the narrative in John 4:30;
John 4:35, implies that the people could be seen as they
came from the town toward Jesus at the well, whereas Nablus
now is more than a mile distant, and cannot be seen from
that point.
Josephus (B. J. 3:7, section 32) says that more than
10,000 of the inhabitants were once destroyed by the Romans,
implying a much larger town and population than at present.
(See DINAH; HAMOR.) frontJACOB on the massacre by Simeon and
Levi, Genesis 34.) Under Abraham's oak at Shechem Jacob
buried the family idols and amulets (Genesis 35:1-4).
Probably too "the strange gods" or "the gods of the
stranger" were those carried away by Jacob's sons from
Shechem among the spoils (Genesis 35:2; Genesis 34:26-29).
The charge to "be clean and change garments" may have
respect to the recent slaughter of the Shechemites, which
polluted those who took part in it (Blunt, Undesigned
Coincidences). Shechem was for a time Ephraim's civil
capital. as Shiloh was its religious capital (Judges 9:2;
Judges 21:19; Joshua 24:1-25-26; 1 Kings 12:1). At the same
"memorial terebinth" at Shechem the Shechemites made
Abimelech king (Judges 9:6).
Jotham's parable as to the trees, the vine, the fig,
and the bramble, were most appropriate...
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part; portion; back early in the morning
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There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children of
Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and
for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and
for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher,
and for the children of Shemida: these [were] the male
children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
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And their possessions and habitations [were], Bethel and the
towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with
the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto
Gaza and the towns thereof:
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And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that
went out of the gate of his city; and every male was
circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
Read More
And they gave unto them, [of] the cities of refuge, Shechem in
mount Ephraim with her suburbs; [they gave] also Gezer with
her suburbs,
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Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD in
Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from
Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
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And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their
city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
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And [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and [of]
Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:
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Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem,
Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over
you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I [am]
your bone and your flesh.
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And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and
Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which [is] Hebron,
in the mountain of Judah.
Read More
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and
called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for
their judges, and for their officers; and they presented
themselves before God.
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(The most usual form is shiloh, but it appears 8 times as
shilo, and 3 times as Shilow; Selo, Selom): A town in the
lot of Ephraim where Israel assembled under Joshua at the
close of the war of conquest (Josh 18:1). Here territory was
allotted to the seven tribes who had not yet received their
portions. A commission was sent out to "describe the land
into seven portions"; this having been done, the
inheritances were assigned by lot. Here also were assigned
to the Levites their cities in the territories of the
various tribes (Joshua 18 through 21). From Shiloh Reuben
and Gad departed for their homes East of the Jordan; and
here the tribes gathered for war against these two, having
misunderstood their building of the great altar in the
Jordan valley (Joshua 22). From Jdg 18:31 we learn that in
the period of the Judges the house of God was in Shiloh; but
when the sanctuary was moved thither from Gilgal there is no
indication. The maids of Shiloh were captured by the
Benjamites on the occasion of a feast, while dancing in the
vineyards; this having been planned by the other tribes to
provide the Benjamites with wives without involving
themselves in responsibility (21:21 ff). While the house of
the Lord remained here it was a place of pilgrimage (1 Sam
1:3). To Shiloh Samuel was brought and consecrated to God's
service (1 Sam 1:24). The sanctuary was presided over by Eli
and his wicked sons; and through Samuel the doom of their
house was announced. The capture of the ark by the
Philistines, the fall of Hophni and Phinehas, and the death
of the aged priest and his daughter-in-law followed with
startling rapidity (1 Sam 3; 4). The sanctuary in Shiloh is
called a "temple" (1 Sam 1:9; 3:3) with doorpost and doors
(1 Sam 1:9; 3:15). It was therefore a more durable structure
than the old tent. See TABERNACLE; TEMPLE. It would appear
to have been destroyed, probably by the Philistines; and we
find the priests of Eli's house at Nob, where they were
massacred at Saul's order (1 Sam 22:11 ff). The disaster
that befell Shiloh, while we have no record of its actual
occurrence, made a deep impression on the popular mind, so
that the prophets could use it as an effective illustration
(Ps 78:60; Jer 7:12:14; 26:6). Here the blind old prophet
Ahijah was appealed...
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1. A name of Jesus
Ge 49:10
-2. City of Ephraim, north of Beth-el, and on the highway
from
Beth-el to Shechem
Jud 21:19
Tabernacle located at
Jos 18:1-10; Jud 18:31; 21:19; 1Sa 1:3,9,21,24;
2:14; Ps
78:60; Jer 7:12
Seat of government during the time of Joshua
Jos 21:1,2
The place of rendezvous for the tribes
Jos 22:9,12; Jud 21:12
Eli lived at
1Sa 1:9; 4:12,13
Eli dies at
1Sa 4:18
Ahijah the prophet lives at
1Ki 14:2
Devoted men from, killed by Ishmael
Jer 41:5-9
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Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them
seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
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So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to
you that are at Rome also.
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But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently,
and found [me].
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sal'-a-mis (Salamis):
1. Site:
A town on the east coast of Cyprus, situated some 3 miles to
the North of the medieval and modern Famagusta. It lay near
the river Pediaeus, at the eastern extremity of the great
plain of the Mesorea, which runs far into the interior of
the island toward Nicosia (Lefkosia), the present capital.
It possessed a good harbor and was the most populous and
flourishing town of Cyprus in the Hellenic and Roman
periods, carrying on a vigorous trade with the ports of
Cilicia and Syria. Its population was mixed, consisting of
Greek and Phoenician elements. The former, however, gave its
tone and color to the city, and the chief cult and temple
were those of Salaminian Zeus.
2. Early History:
Tradition represented Salamis as rounded soon after the fall
of Troy by Teucer, the prince of Greek archers according to
the narrative of the Iliad, who named it after his home, the
island of Salamis off the Attic coast. In the 6th century BC
it figures as an important Hellenic city, ruled by a line of
kings reputed to be descended from Teucer and strengthened
by an alliance with Cyrene (Herodotus iv.162). Gorgus, who
was on the throne in 498 BC, refused to join the Ionic
revolt against Persia, but the townsmen, led by his brother
Onesilus, took up arms in the struggle for freedom. A
crushing defeat, however, inflicted udder the walls of
Salamis, restored the island to its Persian overlords, who
reinstated Gorgus as a vassal prince (Herodotus v.103 ff).
In 449 a Greek fleet under Athenian leadership defeated the
Phoenician navy, which was in the service of Persia, off
Salamis; but the Athenian withdrawal which followed the
battle led to a decided anti-Hellenic reaction, until the
able and vigorous rule of the Salaminian prince Euagoras,
who was a warm friend of the Athenians (Isocrates, Euag.)
and a successful champion of Hellenism. In 306 a second
great naval battle was fought off Salamis, in which
Demetrius Poliorcetes defeated the forces of Ptolemy I
(Soter), king of Egypt. But 11 years later the town came
into Ptolemy's hands and, with the rest of the island,
remained an appanage of the Egyptian kingdom until the
incorporation of Cyprus in the Roman Empire (58 BC).
3. Visit of the Apostles:
When Barnabas and Paul, accompanied by John Mark, set out on
their 1st missionary journey, they sailed from Seleucia, the
seaport of Antioch, and landed at Salamis, about 130 miles
distant, as the harbor nearest to the Syrian coast. There
they preached...
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(A city of the island of Cyprus)
-Paul and Barnabas preach in
Ac 13:4,5
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(suit), a city at the east end of the island of Cyprus, and
the first place visited by Paul and Barnabas, on the first
missionary journey, after leaving the mainland at Seleucia.
Here alone, among all the Greek cities visited by St. Paul, we
read expressly of "synagogues" in the plural, Ac 13:5 hence we
conclude that there were many Jews in Cyprus. And this is in
harmony with what we read elsewhere. Salamis was not far from
the modern Famagousta, it was situated near a river called the
Pediaeus, on low ground, which is in fact a continuation of
the plain running up into the interior toward the place where
Nicosia, the present capital of Cyprus, stands.
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a city on the south-east coast of Cyprus (Acts 13:5), where
Saul and Barnabas, on their first missionary journey, preached
the word in one of the Jewish synagogues, of which there seem
to have been several in that place. It is now called
Famagusta.
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A city on a commodious harbour in the E. of Cyprus, the first
place Paul and Barnabas visited after leaving the mainland at
Seleucia, on their first missionary tour. The "synagogues"
(implying the presence of many Jews) account for their going
there first. Moreover Cyprus was Barnabas' birthplace (Acts
13:4-5). Herod the Great farmed the Cyprian copper mines, this
would bring many Jews there (Josephus, Ant. 14:4, section 5).
Salamis was near the river Pediaeus, on low ground.
Constantine or his successor rebuilt it, and named it
Constantia.
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And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God
in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to
[their] minister.
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Lot's wife turned into a pillar of
Ge 19:26
-The city of Salt
Jos 15:62
-The valley of salt
2Sa 8:13; 2Ki 14:7
-Salt Sea
Ge 14:3; Nu 34:12; De 3:17; Jos 3:16; 12:3; 15:2
-Salt pits
Zep 2:9
-All animal sacrifices were required to be seasoned with
Le 2:13; Ezr 6:9; Eze 43:24; Mr 9:49
-Used in ratifying covenants
Nu 18:19; 2Ch 13:5
-Elisha throws, into the pool of Jericho, to purify it
2Ki 2:20,21
-FIGURATIVE
Of the saving efficacy of the ekklesia of Christ
Mt 5:13; Mr 9:49,50; Lu 14:34
Of wise behavior
Col 4:6
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the usual and perhaps the most ancient name for the
remarkable lake which to the western world is now generally
known as the Dead Sea. I. Names.-- (1) The Salt Sea, Ge 14:3
(2) Sea of the Arabah (Authorized Version "sea of the
plain," which is found in De 4:49 ); (3) The East Sea Joe
2:20 (4) The sea, Eze 47:8 (5) Sodomitish Sea, 2 Esdras; (6)
Sea of Salt and Sea of Sodom, in the Talmud; (7) The
Asphaltic Lake, in Josephus; (8) The name "Dead Sea" appears
to have been first used in Greek by Pausanias and Galen, and
in Latin (mare mortuum) by Justin xxxvi. 3,6, or rather by
the older historian Trogus Pompeius (cir. B.C. 10), whose
work he epitomized. (9) The Arabic name is Bahr Lut, the
"Sea of Lot." II Description. --The so-called Dead Sea is
the final receptacle of the river Jordan, the lowest and
largest of the three lakes which interrupt the rush of its
downward course. It is the deepest portion of that very deep
natural fissure which runs like a furrow from the Gulf of
Akabah to the range of Lebanon, and from the range of
Lebanon to the extreme north of Syria. Viewed on the map,
the lake is of an oblong form, of tolerably regular contour,
interrupted only by a large and long peninsula which
projects from the eastern shore near its southern end, and
virtually divides the expanse of the water into two
portions, connected by a long, narrow and somewhat devious
passage. Its surface is from north to south as nearly as
possible 40 geographical or 46 English miles long. Its
greatest width is about 9 geographical or 10 1/2 English
miles. Its area is about 250 geographical square miles. At
its northern end the lake receives the stream of the Jordan;
on its eastern side the Zurka Ma'in (the ancient Callirrhoe,
and possibly the more ancient en-Eglaim), the Mojib (the
Arnon of the Bible), and the Beni-Hemad; on the south the
Kurahy or el-Ahsy; and on the west that of Ain Jidy. The
depression of its surface, and the depth which it attains
below that surface, combined with the absence of any outlet,
render it one of the most remarkable spots on the globe. The
surface of the lake in May, 1848, was 1316.7 feet below the
level of the Mediterranean at Jaffa. Its depth, at about one
third of its length from the north end, is 1308 feet. The
water of the lake is not less remarkable than its other
features. Its most obvious peculiarity is its great weight.
Its specific gravity has been found to be as much as 12.28;
that is to say, a gallon of it would weigh over 12 1/4 lbs.,
instead of 10 lbs., the weight of distilled water. Water so
heavy must not only be extremely buoyant, but must possess
great inertia. Its buoyancy is a common theme of remark by
the travellers who have been upon it or in it. Dr. Robinson
"could never swim before, either in fresh or salt water,"
yet here he "could sit, stand, lie or swim without
difficulty." (B.R.i.506.) The remarkable weight of the water
is due to the very large quantity of mineral salts which it
holds in solution. Each gallon of the water, weighing 12 1/4
lbs., contains nearly 3 1/3 lbs. of matter in solution --an
immense quantity when we recollect that seawater, weighing
10 1/4 lbs. per gallon, contains less than 1/2 a lb. Of this
3 1/2 lbs. nearly 1 lb. is common salt (chloride of sodium),
about 2 lbs. chloride of magnesium, and less than 3 a lb.
chloride of calcium (or muriate of lime). The most usual
ingredient is bromide of magnesium, which exists in truly
extraordinary quantity. It has been long supposed that no
life whatever existed in the lake; but recent facts show
that some inferior organizations do find a home even in
these salt and acrid waters. The statements of ancient
travellers and geographers to the effect that no living
creature...
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(Josh. 3:16). See DEAD SEA -T0000991.
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Now the "Dead Sea". Midway in the great valley stretching
from Mount Hermon to the gulf of Akabah (Genesis 14:3;
Numbers 34:3; Numbers 34:12). "The sea of the plain"
(Arabah): Deuteronomy 3:17; Deuteronomy 4:49; Joshua 3:16.
"The East Sea" (Ezekiel 47:8; Ezekiel 47:10-11; Joel 2:20).
"The former sea," in opposition to "the hinder sea," i.e.
the Mediterranean, because in taking the four points of the
sky the spectator faced the E., having it in front of him
and the W. behind him (Zechariah 14:8). It is 40
geographical miles long by nine to nine and three quarters
broad. Its surface is 1,292 ft. (or, according to Lynch,
1,316; it varies greatly at different seasons) below the
Mediterranean level. Its greatest depth in the northern part
is 1,308 ft. Its intense saltness, specific gravity, and
buoyancy, are well known. The saltness is due to masses of
fossil salt in a mountain on its S.W. border, and to rapid
evaporation of the fresh water which flows into it. Neither
animals nor vegetables live in it.
Its shores are encrusted with salt. Earthquakes (as
in 1834 and 1837) throw up large quantities of bitumen,
detached from the bottom, upon the southern shore. The great
depth of the northern division does not extend to the
southern. It was observed by Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake that the
bottom is still subsiding. At the southern end the fords
between Lisan and the western shore are now impassable,
though but three feet deep some years ago; again the
causeway between the Rijm el Bahr and the mainland has been
submerged for 12 years, though previously often dry. Dr.
Tristram's theory seems probable, that the valley was formed
by a depression of the strata subsequent to the English
chalk period. The area was filled by a chain of large lakes
reaching to the sea. The depression continuing, the heat and
the consequent evaporation increased, until there remained
only the present three lakes, Merom, Galilee, and the Dead
Sea which depends on evaporation alone for maintaining its
level. Conder has traced the old shore lines of the ancient
great lakes.
The southern bay is shallow, and the shores marshy.
It occupies probably what was originally the plain of
Jordan, the vale of Siddim. Possibly the Jordan originally
flowed on through the Arabah into the gulf of Akabah. The
southern part of the sea, abounding in salt, bitumen,
sulphur, and nitre, was probably formed at a recent date,
and answers to the description of the valley of Siddim,
"full of slime pits" (Genesis 14:10), and to the destruction
of Sodom; etc., by fire and brimstone, and to the turning of
Lot's wife into a pillar of salt. Scripture, however,
nowhere says that Sodom, etc., were immersed in the sea, but
that they were overthrown by fire from heaven (Deuteronomy
29:23; Jeremiah 49:18; Jeremiah 50:40; Zephaniah 2:9; 2
Peter 2:6). Josephus speaks of Sodomitis as burnt up, and as
adjoining the lake Asphaltitis.
Ancient testimony, the recent formation of the sea,
its bituminous, saline, volcanic aspect, the traditional
names (Usdum), and the traditional site of Zoar (called by
Josephus Zoar of Arabia), the hill of salt traditionally
made Lot's wife, all favor the southern site for Sodom, etc.
Genesis 13:10 is not to be pressed further than to mean that
Lot from between Bethel and Ai saw enough to arrive at the
conclusion that the Ciccar ("circuit")...
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And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and
unto the sea of the plain, [even] the salt sea on the east,
the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under
Ashdothpisgah:
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And the east border [was] the salt sea, [even] unto the end
of Jordan. And [their] border in the north quarter [was] from
the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:
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And the border passed along to the side of Bethhoglah
northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north
bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this [was] the
south coast.
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The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast [thereof], from
Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, [even] the salt
sea, under Ashdothpisgah eastward.
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That the waters which came down from above stood [and] rose up
upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that [is] beside
Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain,
[even] the salt sea, failed, [and] were cut off: and the
people passed over right against Jericho.
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And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of
it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the
coasts thereof round about.
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And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea,
from the bay that looketh southward:
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All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is
the salt sea.
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sa-ma'-ri-a, (shomeron; Samareia, Semeron, and other forms):
(1) Shechem was the first capital of the Northern Kingdom (1
Ki 12:25). Jeroboam seems later to have removed the royal
residence to Tirzah (1 Ki 14:17). After the brief reigns of
Elah and Zimri came that of Omri, who reigned 6 years in
Tirzah, then he purchased the hill of Samaria and built a
city there, which was thenceforward the metropolis of the
kingdom of Israel (1 Ki 16:24). Here the hill and the city
are said to have been named after Shemer, the original owner
of the land. There is nothing intrinsically improbable in
this. It might naturally be derived from shamar, and the
name in the sense of "outlook" would fitly apply to a city
in such a commanding position. The residence, it was also
the burying-place, of the kings of Israel (1 Ki 16:28;
22:37; 2 Ki 10:35; 13:9,13; 14:16).
Toward the western edge of the Ephraimite uplands there is a
broad fertile hollow called Wady esh-Sha`ir, "valley of
barley." From the midst of it rises an oblong hill to a
height of over 300 ft., with a level top. The sides are
steep, especially to the Samaria. The greatest length is
from East to West. The surrounding mountains on three sides
are much higher, and are well clad with olives and
vineyards. To the West the hills are lower, and from the
crest a wide view is obtained over the Plain of Sharon, with
the yellow ribbon of sand that marks the coast line, and the
white foam on the tumbling billows; while away beyond
stretch the blue waters of the Mediterranean. On the eastern
end of the hill, surrounded by olive and cactus, is the
modern village of Sebastiyeh, under which a low neck of land
connects the hill with the eastern slopes. The position is
one of great charm and beauty; and in days of ancient
warfare it was one of remarkable strength. While it was
overlooked from three sides, the battlements crowning the
steep slopes were too far off to be reached by missiles from
the only artillery known in those times--the sling and the
catapult. For besiegers to attempt an assault at arms was
only to court disaster. The methods adopted by her enemies
show that they relied on famine to do their work for them (2
Ki 6:24 f, etc.). Omri displayed excellent taste and good
judgment in the choice he made.
The city wall can be traced in almost its entire length.
Recent excavations conducted by American archaeologists have
uncovered the foundations of Omri's palace, with remains of
the work of Ahab and of Herod (probably here was Ahab's
ivory palace), on the western end of the hill, while on the
western slope the gigantic gateway, flanked by massive
towers, has been exposed to view.
Under the influence of Jezebel, Samaria naturally became a
center of idolatrous...
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1. City of, built by Omri
1Ki 16:24
Capitol of the kingdom of the ten tribes
1Ki 16:29; 22:51; 2Ki 13:1,10; 15:8
Besieged by Ben-hadad
1Ki 20; 2Ki 6:24-33; 7
The king of Syria is led into, by Elisha, who
miraculously
blinds him and his army
2Ki 6:8-23
Ahab ruled in
See AHAB
See JEZEBEL
Besieged by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, for three
years;
captured; the people carried away to Halah and
Habor, cities
of the Medes
2Ki 17:5,6; 18:9-11
Idolatry of
1Ki 16:32; 2Ki 13:6
Temple of, destroyed
2Ki 10:17-28; 23:19
Paul and Barnabas preach in
Ac 15:3
Visited by Philip, Peter, and John
Ac 8:5-25
-2. Country of
Isa 7:9
Foreign colonies distributed among the cities of, by the
king of Assyria
2Ki 17:24-41; Ezr 4:9,10
Roads through, from Judaea into Galilee
Lu 17:11; Joh 4:3-8
Jesus travels through
Joh 4:1-42
Jesus heals lepers in
Lu 17:11-19
The Good Samaritan from
Lu 10:33-35
No dealings between the Jews and the inhabitants of
Joh 4:9
Samaritans were expecting the Messiah
Joh 4:25
Disciples made from the inhabitants of
Joh 4:39-42; Ac 8:5-8,14-17,25
Jesus forbids the apostles to preach in the cities of
Mt 10:5
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(watch mountain). This city is situated 30 miles north of
Jerusalem and about six miles to the northwest of Shechem,
in a wide basin-shaped valley, six miles in diameter,
encircled with high hills, almost on the edge of the great
plain which borders upon the Mediterranean. In the centre of
this basin, which is on a lower level than the valley of
Shechem, rises a less elevated hill, with steep yet
accessible sides and a long fiat top. This hill was chosen
by Omri as the site of the capital of the kingdom of Israel.
He "bought the hill of Samaria of Shemer for two talents of
silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the
city which he built, after the name of the owner of the
hill, Samaria." 1Ki 16:23,24 From the that of Omri's
purchase, B.C. 925, Samaria retained its dignity as the
capital of the ten tribes, and the name is given to the
northern kingdom as well as to the city. Ahab built a temple
to Baal there. 1Ki 16:32,33 It was twice besieged by the
Syrians, in B.C. 901, 1Ki 20:1 and in B.C. 892, 2Ki 6:24-7,
2Ki 6:20 but on both occasions the siege was ineffectual.
The possessor of Samaria was considered de facto king of
Israel. 2Ki 15:13,14 In B.C. 721 Samaria was taken, after a
siege of three years, by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, 2Ki
18:9,10 and the kingdom of the ten tribes was put an end to.
Some years afterward the district of which Samaria was the
centre was repeopled by Esarhaddon. Alexander the Great took
the city, killed a large portion of the inhabitants, and
suffered the remainder to set it at Shechem. He replaced
them by a colony of Syro-Macedonians who occupied the city
until the time of John Hyrcanus, who took it after a year's
siege, and did his best to demolish it entirely. (B.C. 109.)
It was rebuilt and greatly embellished by Herod the Great.
He called it Sebaste=Augusta, after the name of his patron,
Augustus Caesar. The wall around it was 2 1/2 miles long,
and in the centre of the city was a park 900 feet square
containing a magnificent temple dedicated to Caesar. In the
New Testament the city itself does not appear to be
mentioned; but rather a portion of the district to which,
even in older times it had extended its name. Mt 10:5; Joh
4:4,5 At this clay the city is represented by a small
village retaining few vestiges of the past except its name,
Sebustiyeh, an Arabic corruption of Sebaste. Some
architectural remains it has, partly of Christian
construction or adaptation, as the ruined church of St. John
the Baptist, partly, perhaps, traces of Idumaean
magnificence, St. Jerome, whose acquaintance with Israel
imparts a sort of probability to the tradition which
prevailed so strongly in later days, asserts that Sebaste,
which he invariably identifies with Samaria was the place in
which St. John the Baptist was imprisoned and suffered
death. He also makes it the burial-place of the prophets
Elisha and Obadiah.
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a watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the
mountains
of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands
the "hill
of Shomeron," a solitary mountain, a great
"mamelon." It is an
oblong hill, with steep but not inaccessible sides,
and a long
flat top. Omri, the king of Israel, purchased this
hill from
Shemer its owner for two talents of silver, and
built on its
broad summit the city to which he gave the name of
"Shomeron",
i.e., Samaria, as the new capital of his kingdom
instead of
Tirzah (1 Kings 16:24). As such it possessed many
advantages.
Here Omri resided during the last six years of his
reign. As the
result of an unsuccessful war with Syria, he appears
to have
been obliged to grant to the Syrians the right to
"make streets
in Samaria", i.e., probably permission to the Syrian
merchants
to carry on their trade in the Israelite capital.
This would
imply the existence of a considerable Syrian
population. "It was
the only great city of Israel created by the
sovereign. All
the others had been already consecrated by
patriarchal tradition
or previous possession. But Samaria was the choice
of Omri
alone. He, indeed, gave to the city which he had
built the name
of its former owner, but its especial connection
with himself as
its founder is proved by the designation which it
seems Samaria
bears in Assyrian inscriptions, Beth-khumri ('the
house or
palace of Omri').", Stanley.
Samaria was frequently besieged. In the days of
Ahab, Benhadad
II. came up against it with thirty-two vassal kings,
but was
defeated with a great slaughter (1 Kings 20:1-21). A
second
time, next year, he assailed it; but was again
utterly routed,
and was compelled to surrender to Ahab (20:28-34),
whose army,
as compared with that of Benhadad, was no more than
"two little
flocks of kids."
In the days of Jehoram this Benhadad again laid
siege to
Samaria, during which the city was reduced to the
direst
extremities. But just when success seemed to be
within their
reach, they suddenly broke up the seige, alarmed by
a mysterious
noise of chariots and horses and a great army, and
fled, leaving
their camp with all its contents behind them. The
famishing
inhabitants of the city were soon relieved...
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("a watch mountain".) The oblong terraced hill in the center
of a basinshaped, valley, a continuation of the Shethem
valley, six miles N.W. of Shechem. The owner, Shemer, sold
it for two silver talents to Omri king of Israel (925 B.C.),
who built on it a city and called it after Shomer (1 Kings
16:23-24). Shechem previously had been the capital, Tirzah
the court residence in summer (1 Kings 15:21; 1 Kings 15:33;
1 Kings 16:1-18). The situation combines strength, fertility
and beauty (Josephus, Ant. 15:8, section 5; B.J. 1:21,
section 2). It is 600 ft. high, surrounded with terraced
hills, clad with figs and olives. There is abundant water in
the valley; but the city, like Jerusalem, is dependent on
rain cisterns. The view is charming: to the N. and E. lie
its own rich valleys; to the W. fertile Sharon and the blue
Mediterranean. (On the "glorious beauty" of Ephraim
(Samaria), Isaiah 28:1, see MEALS.) Its strength enabled it
to withstand severe sieges by the Syrians (1 Kings 20; 2
Kings 6; 7). Finally it fell before Shalmaneser and Sargon,
after a three years' siege (2 Kings 18:9-12), 721 B.C.
Called from its Baal worship, introduced by Ahab,
"the city of the house of Ahab" (1 Kings 16:32-33; 2 Kings
10:25). Alexander the Great replaced its inhabitants with
Syro Macedonians. John Hyrcanus (109 B.C.) destroyed the
city after a 12 months' siege (Josephus, Ant. 13:10, section
2-3). Herod the Great rebuilt and adorned it, naming it
Sebaste from Sebastos, Greek for Augustus, his patron (Ant.
14:5, section 3; 15:8, section 5; B.J. 1:20, section 3, 21,
section 2). The woman of Samaria and several of her townsmen
(John 4) were the firstfruits gathered into Christ; the
fuller harvest followed under Philip the evangelist deacon
(Acts 8, compare John 4:35). Septimius Severus planted a
Roman colony there in the third century A.D.; but
politically it became secondary to Caesarea.
Ecclesiastically it was of more importance; and Marius its
bishop signed himself "Maximus Sebastenus" at the council of
Nice, A.D. 325. The Mahometans took it, A.D. 614. The
Crusaders established a Latin bishop there.
Now Sebustieh; its houses of stone are taken from
ancient materials, but irregularly placed; the inhabitants
are rude but industrious. The ruin of the church of John the
Baptist marks the traditional place of his burial; the
original structure is attributed to Helena, Constantine's
mother; but the present building, except the eastern Greek
end, is of later style: 153 ft. long inside, 75 broad, and a
porch 10 ft. wide. Within is a Turkish tomb under which by
steps you descend to a vault with tessellated floor, and
five niches for the dead, the central one being alleged to
have been that of John (?). Fifteen limestone columns stand
near the hill top, two others lie on the ground, in two
rows, 32 paces apart. Another colonnade, on the N. side of
the hill, in a ravine, is arranged in a quadrangle, 196
paces long and 64 broad. On the W.S.W. are many columns,
erect or prostrate, extending a third of a mile, and ending
in a heap of ruins; each column 16 ft. high, 6 ft. in
circumference at the base, 5 ft. at the top: probably...
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When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to
their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall
return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters
shall return to your former estate.
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When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of
Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her
daughters, then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy
captives in the midst of them:
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Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast
multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast
justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou
hast done.
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And [Benhadad] said unto him, The cities, which my father took
from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets
for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then [said
Ahab], I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a
covenant with him, and sent him away.
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And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters
that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that
dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.
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And the names of them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah
her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and
daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and
Jerusalem Aholibah.
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And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began
Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of
Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.
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Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the
land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains
of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof,
and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
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And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they
let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came
out of Samaria.
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And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and
[they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess
the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin
[shall possess] Gilead.
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sar'-dis (Sardeis): Sardis is of special interest to the
student of Herodotus and Xenophon, for there Artaphernes,
the brother of Darius, lived, and from there Xerxes invaded
Greece and Cyrus marched against his brother Artaxerxes; it
is also of interest to the student of early Christian
history as the home of one of the Seven Churches of Rev
(1:11; 3:1 ff). It was moreover one of the oldest and most
important cities of Asia Minor, and until 549 BC, the
capital of the kingdom of Lydia. It stood on the northern
slope of Mt. Tmolus; its acropolis occupied one of the spurs
of the mountain. At the base flowed the river Pactolus which
served as a moat, rendering the city practically
impregnable. Through the failure to watch, however, the
acropolis had been successfully scaled in 549 BC by a Median
soldier, and in 218 by a Cretan (compare Rev 3:2,3). Because
of its strength during the Persian period, the satraps here
made their homes. However, the city was burned by the
Ionians in 501 BC, but it was quickly rebuilt and regained
its importance. In 334 BC it surrendered to Alexander the
Great who gave it independence, but its period of
independence was brief, for 12 years later in 322 BC it was
taken by Antigonus. In 301 BC, it fell into the possession
of the Seleucidan kings who made it the residence of their
governor. It became free again in 190 BC, when it formed a
part of the empire of Pergamos, and later of the Roman
province of Asia. In 17 AD, when it was destroyed by an
earthquake, the Roman emperor Tiberius remitted the taxes of
the people and rebuilt the city, and in his honor the
citizens of that and of neighboring towns erected a large
monument, but Sardis never recovered its former importance
(compare Rev 3:12). Again in 295 AD, after the Roman
province of Asia was broken up, Sardis became the capital of
Lydia, and during the early Christian age it was the home of
a bishop. The city continued to flourish until 1402, when it
was so completely destroyed by Tamerlane that it was never
rebuilt. Among the ruins there now stands a small village
called Sert, a corruption of its ancient name. The ruins may
be reached by rail from Smyrna, on the way to Philadelphia.
The ancient city was noted for its fruits and wool, and for
its temple of the goddess Cybele, whose worship resembled
that of Diana of Ephesus. Its wealth was also partly due to
the gold which was found in the sand of the river Pactolus,
and it was here that gold and silver coins were first
struck. During the Roman period its coins formed a beautiful
series, and are found in abundance by the peasants who till
the surrounding fields. The ruins of the buildings which
stood at the base of the hill have now been nearly buried by
the dirt washed down from above. The hill upon which the
acropolis stood measures 950 ft. high: the triple walls
still surround it. The more imposing of the ruins are on the
lower slope of the hill, and among them the temple of Cybele
is the most...
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(A city in Asia Minor)
-One of the seven congregations in
Re 1:11; 3:1-4
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a city of Asia Minor and capital of Lydia, situated about
two miles to the south of the river Hermus, just below the
range of Tmolus, on a spur of which its acropolis was built.
It was 60 miles northeast of Smyrna. It was the ancient
residence of the kings of Lydia, among them Croesus,
proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have
taken $600,000,000 worth of treasure form the city when he
captured it, B.C. 548. Sardis was in very early times, both
from the extremely fertile character of the neighboring
region and from its convenient position, a commercial mart
of importance. The art of dyeing wool is said to have been
invented there. In the year 214 B.C. it was taken and sacked
by the army of Antiochus the Great. Afterward it passed
under the dominion of the kings of Pergamos. Its productive
soil must always have continued a source of wealth; but its
importance as a central mart appears to have diminished from
the time of the invasion of Asia by Alexander. The massive
temple of Cybele still bears witness in its fragmentary
remains to the wealth and architectural skill of the people
that raised it. On the north side of the acropolis,
overlooking the valley of the Hermus, is a theatre near 400
feet in diameter, attached to a stadium of about 1000. There
are still considerable remains of the ancient city at Sert-
Kalessi. Travellers describe the appearance of the locality
as that of complete solitude. The only passage in which it
is mentioned in the Bible is Re 3:1-6
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the metropolis of Lydia in Asia Minor. It stood on the river
Pactolus, at the foot of mount Tmolus. Here was one of
the seven
Asiatic churches (Rev. 3:1-6). It is now a ruin called
Sert-Kalessi.
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Capital of Lydia, in Asia Minor; on the Pactolus, at the
root of Mount Tmolus. Northward is a view up the Hermus
valley. Southward stand two beautiful Ionic columns of the
temple of Cybele, six feet and one third in diameter, 35 ft.
below the capital; the soil is 25 ft. above the pavement.
The citadel is on a steep, high hill. So steep was its S.
wall that Croesus the last king omitted to guard it; and one
of Cyrus' Persian soldiers, seeing a Lydian descend by cut
steps to regain his helmet, thereby led a body of Persians
into the acropolis. Now an unhealthy desert; not a human
being dwelt in the once populous Sardis in 1850. The senate
house (gerusia), called Croesus' house, lies W. of the
acropolis. One hall is 156 ft. long by 43 broad, with walls
10 ft. thick. There are remains of a theater, 400 ft. in
diameter, and a stadium, 1,000; and of two churches, the
latter constructed of fragments of Cybele's temple. Now
Sart.
Famed for the golden sands of Pactolus, and as a
commercial entrepot. In Sardis and Laodicea alone of the
seven addressed in Revelation 2; 3; there was no conflict
with foes within or without. Not that either had renounced
apparent opposition to the world, but neither so faithfully
witnessed by word and example as to "torment them that dwell
on the earth" (Revelation 11:10). Smyrna and Philadelphia,
the most afflicted, alone receive unmixed praise. Sardis and
Laodicea, the most wealthy, receive little besides censure.
Sardis "had a name that she lived and was dead" (Revelation
3:1; 1 Timothy 5:6; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16; Ephesians
2:1; Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 5:14). "Become (Greek)
watchful" or "waking" (Greek), what thou art not now.
"Strengthen the things which remain," i.e. the few graces
which in thy spiritual slumber are not yet extinct, but
"ready to die"; so that Sardis was not altogether "dead."
Her works were not "filled up in full complement
(pepleromena) in the sight of My God" (so the Siniaticus,
Alexandrinus, and Vaticanus manuscripts).
Christ's God is therefore our God; His judgment is
the Father's judgment (John 20:17; John 5:22). He threatens
Sardis if she will not watch or wake up, "He will come on
her as a thief"; as the Greek proverb, "the feet of the
avenging deities are shod with wool," expressing the
noiseless nearness of God's judgments when supposed far off.
Sardis had nevertheless "a few names" in the book of life,
known by the Lord as His (John 10:3). The gracious Lord does
not overlook exceptional saints among masses of professors.
Their reward and their character accord. "They have not
defiled their garments," so "they shall walk (the best
attitude for showing grace to advantage) with Me in white,
for they are worthy," namely, with Christ's worthiness "put
on them" (Revelation 7:14; Ezekiel 16:14). The state of
grace now, and that of glory hereafter, harmonize. Christ's
rebuke was not in vain. Melito, bishop of Sardis in the
second century, was eminent for piety; he visited Israel
to investigate concerning the Old Testament canon, and wrote
an epistle on it (Eusebius 4:26; Jerome Catal. Script.
Ecclesiastes 24). In A.D. 17, under the emperor Tiberius, an
earthquake desolated Sardis and 11 other cities of Asia;
Rome remitted its taxes for five years, and the emperor gave
a benefaction from the privy purse.
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And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things
saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven
stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou
livest, and art dead.
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Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
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Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled
their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they
are worthy.
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(he thalassa tes Galilaias):
1. The Name:
This is the name 5 times given in the New Testament (Mt
4:18; 15:29; Mk 1:16; 7:31; Jn 6:1) to the sheet of water
which is elsewhere called "the sea of Tiberias" (Jn 21:1;
compare 6:1); "the lake of Gennesaret" (Lk 5:1); "the sea"
(Jn 6:16, etc.), and "the lake" (Lk 5:1, etc.). The Old
Testament names were "sea of Chinnereth" (yam-kinnereth: Nu
34:11; Dt 3:17; Josh 13:27; 19:35), and "sea of Chinneroth"
(yam-kineroth: Josh 12:3; compare 11:2; 1 Ki 15:20). In 1
Macc 11:67 the sea is called "the water of Gennesar" (the
Revised Version (British and American) "Gennesareth"). It
had begun to be named from the city so recently built on its
western shore even in New Testament times (Jn 21:1; 6:1);
and by this name, slightly modified, it is known to this
day--Bachr Tabariyeh.
2. General Description:
The sea lies in the deep trough of the Jordan valley, almost
due East of the Bay of Acre. The surface is 680 ft. below
the level of the Mediterranean. It varies in depth from 130
ft. to 148 ft., being deepest along the course of the Jordan
(Barrois, PEFS, 1894, 211-20). From the point where the
Jordan enters in the North to its exit in the South is about
13 miles. The greatest breadth is in the North, from el-
Mejdel to the mouth of Wady Semak being rather over 7 miles.
It gradually narrows toward the South, taking the shape of a
gigantic pear, with a decided bulge to the West. The water
of the lake is clear and sweet. The natives use it for all
purposes, esteeming it light and pleasant. They refuse to
drink from the Jordan, alleging that "who drinks Jordan
drinks fever." Seen from the mountains the broad sheet
appears a beautiful blue; so that, in the season of
greenery, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a sapphire
in a setting of emerald. It lights up the landscape as the
eye does the human face; and it is often spoken of as "the
eye of Galilee." To one descending from Mt. Tabor and
approaching the edge of the great hollow, on a bright spring
day, when the land has already assumed its fairest garments,
the view of the sea, as it breaks upon the vision in almost
its whole extent, is one never to be forgotten. The
mountains on the East and on the West rise to about 2,000
ft. The heights of Naphtali, piled up in the North, seem to
culminate only in the snowy summit of Great Hermon. If the
waters are still, the shining splendors of the mountain may
be seen mirrored in the blue depths. Round the greater part
of the lake there is a broad pebbly beach, with a sprinkling
of small shells. On the sands along the shore from el-Mejdel
to `Ain et-Tineh these shells are so numerous as to cause a
white glister in the sunlight.
The main formation of the surrounding district is limestone.
It is overlaid with lava; and here and there around the lake
there are outcrops of basalt through the limestone. At eT-
Tabgha in the North, at `Ain el Fuliyeh, South of el-Mejdel,
and on the shore, about 2 miles South of modern Tiberias,
there are strong hot springs. These things, together with
the frequent, and sometimes terribly destructive,
earthquakes, sufficiently attest the volcanic character of
the region. The soil on the level parts around the sea is
exceedingly fertile. See GENNESARET, LAND OF. Naturally the
temperature...
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1. The northern district of Israel
A city of refuge in
Jos 20:7; 21:32; 1Ch 6:76
Cities in, given to Hiram
1Ki 9:11,12
Taken by king of Assyria
2Ki 15:29
Prophecy concerning
Isa 9:1; Mt 4:15
Called GALILEE OF THE NATIONS
Isa 9:1
Herod (Antipas), tetrarch of
Mr 6:21; Lu 3:1; 23:6,7
Jesus resides in
Mt 17:22; 19:1; Joh 7:1,9
Teaching and miracles of Jesus in
Mt 4:23,25; 15:29-31; Mr 1:14
People of, receive Jesus
Joh 4:45,53
Disciples were chiefly from
Ac 1:11; 2:7
Women from, ministered to Jesus
Mt 27:55,56; Mr 15:41; Lu 23:49,55
Jesus appeared to his disciples in, after his
resurrection
Mt 26:32; 28:7,10,16,17; Mr 14:28; 16:7; Joh 21
Routes from, to Judaea
Jud 21:19; Joh 4:3-5
Dialect of
Mr 14:70
Called GENNESARET
Mt 14:34; Mr 6:53
Congregations in
Ac 9:31
-2. Sea (Lake) of Galilee
Called SEA OF TIBERIAS
Joh 21:1
Called LAKE OF GENNESARET
Lu 5:1
Called SEA OF CHINNERETH
Nu 34:11; De 3:17; Jos 13:27
Called SEA OF CHINNEROTH
Jos 12:3
Jesus calls disciples on the shore of
Mt 4:18-22; Lu 5:1-11
Jesus teaches from a ship on
Mt 13:1-3
Miracles of Jesus on
Mt 8:24-32; 14:22-33; 17:27; Mr 4:37-39; Lu 5:1-9;
8:22-24; Joh 21:1-11
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So called from the province of Galilee, which bordered on
the western side. Mt 4:18 It was also called the "Sea of
Tiberias," from the celebrated city of that name. Joh 6:1 At
its northwestern angle was a beautiful and fertile plain
called "Gennesaret," and from that it derived the name of
"Lake of Gennesaret." Lu 5:1 It was called in the Old
Testament "the Sea of Chinnereth" or "Cinneroth," Nu 34:11;
Jos 12:3 from a town of that name which stood on or near its
shore. Jos 19:35 Its modern name is Bahr Tubariyeh. Most of
our Lord's public life was spent in the environs of this
sea. The surrounding region was then the most densely
peopled in all Israel. no less than nine very populous
cities stood on the very shores of the lake. The Sea of
Galilee is of an oval long and six broad. It is 60 miles
northeast of Jerusalem and 27 east of the Mediterranean Sea.
The river Jordan enters it at its northern end and passes
out at its southern end. In fact the bed of the lake is just
a lower section of the Great Jordan valley. Its more
remarkable feature is its deep depression, being no less
than 700 feet below the level of the ocean. The scenery is
bleak and monotonous, being surrounded by a high and almost
unbroken wall of hills, on account of which it is exposed to
frequent sudden and violent storms. The great depression
makes the climate of the shores almost tropical. This is
very sensibly felt by the traveller in going down from the
plains of Galilee. In summer the heat is intense, and even
in early spring the air has something of an Egyptian
balminess. The water of the lake is sweet, cool and
transparent; and as the beach is everywhere pebbly is has a
beautiful sparkling look. It abounds in fish now as in
ancient times. There were large fisheries on the lake, and
much commerce was carried on upon it.
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(Matt. 4:18; 15:29), is mentioned in the Bible under three
other
names. (1.) In the Old Testament it is called the
"sea of
Chinnereth" (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 13:27), as is
supposed from
its harp-like shape. (2). The "lake of Gennesareth"
once by Luke
(5:1), from the flat district lying on its west
coast. (3.) John
(6:1; 21:1) calls it the "sea of Tiberias" (q.v.).
The modern
Arabs retain this name, Bahr Tabariyeh.
This lake is 12 1/2 miles long, and from 4 to 7 1/2
broad. Its
surface is 682 feet below the level of the
Mediterranean. Its
depth is from 80 to 160 feet. The Jordan enters it
10 1/2 miles
below the southern extremity of the Huleh Lake, or
about 26 1/2
miles from its source. In this distance of 26 1/2
miles there is
a fall in the river of 1,682 feet, or of more than
60 feet to
the mile. It is 27 miles east of the Mediterranean,
and about 60
miles north-east of Jerusalem. It is of an oval
shape, and
abounds in fish.
Its present appearance is thus described: "The utter
loneliness and absolute stillness of the scene are
exceedingly
impressive. It seems as if all nature had gone to
rest,
languishing under the scorching heat. How different
it was in
the days of our Lord! Then all was life and bustle
along the
shores; the cities and villages that thickly studded
them
resounded with the hum of a busy population; while
from
hill-side and corn-field came the cheerful cry of
shepherd and
ploughman. The lake, too, was dotted with dark
fishing-boats and
spangled with white sails. Now a mournful, solitary
silence
reigns over sea and shore. The cities are in ruins!"
This sea is chiefly of interest as associated with
the public
ministry of our Lord. Capernaum, "his own city"
(Matt. 9:1),
stood on its shores. From among the fishermen who
plied their
calling on its waters he chose Peter and his brother
Andrew, and
James and John, to be disciples, and sent them forth
to be
"fishers of men" (Matt. 4:18,22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke
5: 1-11). He
stilled its tempest, saying to the storm that swept
over it,
"Peace, be still" (Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 7:31-35); and
here also
he showed himself after his resurrection to his
disciples (John
21).
"The Sea of Galilee is indeed the cradle of the
gospel. The
subterranean fires of nature prepared a lake basin,
through
which a river afterwards ran, keeping its waters
always fresh.
In this basin a vast quantity of shell-fish swarmed,
and
multiplied to such an extent that they formed the
food of an
extraordinary profusion of fish. The great variety
and abundance
of the fish in the lake attracted to its shores a
larger and
more varied population than existed elsewhere in
Israel,
whereby this secluded district was brought into
contact with all
parts of the world. And this large and varied
population, with
access to all nations and countries, attracted the
Lord Jesus,
and induced him to make this spot the centre of his
public
ministry."
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(Matthew 4:18; Mark 7:31; John 6:1). So called from its
washing the E. side of Galilee. In Luke 5:1 "the sea of
Gennesaret," called so from the fertile plain of Gennesurer
at its N.W. angle, three and a half miles long by two and a
half broad (Matthew 14:34). In Old Testament "the sea of
Chinnereth" or Cinneroth, from the town so named on its
shore (Joshua 19:35), of which Gennesaret is probably the
corruption, though others derive it from gannah, a "garden,"
and Sarown, a plain between Tabor and the lake. "The sea of
Tiberias" is another designation, from the city (John 6:1).
All its names were drawn from places on the western side.
Now Bahr Tubariyeh (Tiberius, S.W. of the lake). Close to it
was "His own city" Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). Nine cities
stood on the shores of the lake, of which only two are now
inhabited, namely, Magdala, consisting of a few mud huts,
and Tiberias, sadly changed from its ancient prosperity.
Silence now reigns where formerly the din of
industry was heard. On its shore Jesus called His first
disciples (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:1-11; John
1:43, etc.). The bed of the lake is but a lower section of
the great Jordan valley. Its depression is 653 ft. below the
level of the Mediterranean, according to Lt. Lynch. Its
length is about 13 miles, its breadth is about five or six.
The view from the Nazareth road to Tiberias is beautiful.
The hills from the eastern side rise apparently out of the
water with a uniform slope, to the height of 2,000 ft.,
destitute of verdure, and shut in the lake; while far to the
N. is seen snowy Hermon. The eastern hills, which are flat
along the summit, are the wall that supports the table land
of Bashan; from which on the N. there is a gradual descent
to the valley of the Jordan, and then a rise to a plateau
skirting the mountains of upper Galilee.
The hills on the W., except at Khan Minyeh, where
there is a small cliff, are recessed from the shore. On a
western recess stands Tiberias. The whole basin betrays its
volcanic origin, which also accounts for the warm spring at
Tiberius The cliffs are hard porous basalt. The vegetation
is tropical; the lotus thorn, palms, indigo, etc. The water
is sweet, sparkling and transparent; the fish abundant as of
old, many species being those of the Nile, the silurus,
mugil, and sparers Galiloeus. Dr. Tristram says: "the shoals
of fish Were marvelous, black masses of many hundred yards
long, with the black fins projecting out of the water, as
thickly as they could pack. There are the European loach,
bethel, blenny and cyprinodont; the African chromis,
hemichromis, and eellike clarias; and the Asiatic
discognathus. The cyprinodonts are viviparous, and the
sexual differences marked; they can live in cold water, or
hot springs up to 90ø, fresh, brackish, or briny water.
This marks a former connection between these waters
and those ...
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And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,
Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into
the sea: for they were fishers.
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And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he
came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts
of Decapolis.
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1. A city next to Lake Galilee
Joh 6:23
-2. The sea of, a name given to Lake Galilee
Joh 6:1; 21:1
See GALILEE, Number two
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called also the Sea of Galilee (q.v.) and of Gennesaret. In
the
Old Testament it is called the Sea of Chinnereth or
Chinneroth.
John (21:1) is the only evangelist who so designates
this lake.
His doing so incidentally confirms the opinion that he
wrote
after the other evangelists, and at a period
subsequent to the
taking of Jerusalem (A.D. 70). Tiberias had by this
time become
an important city, having been spared by the Romans,
and made
the capital of the province when Jerusalem was
destroyed. It
thus naturally gave its name to the lake.
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John's (John 6:1; John 21:1) designation as better
understood by the Gentile Romans, etc., whom he addressed.
frontGALILEE, SEA or, the local designation.) Lieut.
Kitchener makes the depth 682.554 ft. The neighbouring Kurn
Hattin is an extinct volcano, and the plain is strewn with
basalt and debris. He thinks Khirbet Minyeh the site of
Capernaum. Josephus says the fountain Capharnaum waters the
plain. This may correspond to the modern Ain et Tabighah,
the water of which being brought past Khirbet Minyeh waters
the plain, and would naturally take its name Capharnaum from
that place (presuming that it was Capernaum). The source is
only three quarters of a mile away, whereas it is one mile
and three quarters from Tel Hum and all the water was
carried in an opposite direction, so that it could hardly
have taken its name from Tel Hum. In John 6:16, etc., we
read "the disciples went by ship over the sea toward
Capernaum (the same side as Tiberias), and the sea arose by
reason of a great wind that blew"; then Jesus walked on the
sea to them, and "immediately the ship was at the land where
they went."
The day following, when the people on the other side
of the sea (the eastern side) saw that there was none other
boat there save the one whereinto His disciples were
entered, ... howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias,
nigh unto the place where they did eat bread ... they also
took shipping, and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus; and
when they had found Him on the other side ... they said, ...
When camest Thou here?" In Matthew 14:22 "Jesus constrained
His disciples to get into a ship and go unto the other side.
And He went up into a mountain apart to pray .... But the
ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for
the wind was contrary." It might seem strange that the
people did not suppose Jesus had used one of the return
boats which had come from Tiberias, to cross back to that
side in the night.
Matthew undesignedly shows why they could not
suppose so, namely, because "the wind was contrary," i.e.
blowing from Tiberias and Capernaum; owing to this the
ships, probably fishing vessels, were driven to the opposite
side for shelter for the night, for what else could have
taken to the desert eastern side so many boats as sufficed
to convey the people across (Matthew 14:24) back again?
Their question, "Rabbi, when camest Thou here?" implies
plainly that under the circumstances they considered that
His crossing in the night could only have been by some
extraordinary means. The mention of many ships coming from
Tiberias explains also how the people could take shipping to
Capernaum after it had been stated there was no other boat
there save that which took the disciples. The undesigned
harmony of details, incidentally and separately noticed by
the two evangelists, confirms their truthfulness, and
therefore the miracle of Jesus' walking on the sea. The
Gospels - according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke - never use
the designation "sea of Tiberias" (still bahr Tubariyeh),
but the local name," sea" or "lake of Galilee," which shows
they must have written before that became the universal
designation, as it had in the time of John's writing.
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After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples
at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he [himself].
Read More
After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which
is [the sea] of Tiberias.
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se'-ir:
(1) (har se'-ir, "Mt. Seir" (Gen 14:6, etc.), 'erets se`-ir
(Gen 32:3, etc.); to oros Seeir, ge Seeir): In Gen 32:3 "the
land of Seir" is equated with "the field of Edom." The Mount
and the Land of Seir are alternative appellations of the
mountainous tract which runs along the eastern side of the
Arabah, occupied by the descendants of Esau, who succeeded the
ancient Horites (Gen 14:6; 36:20), "cave-dwellers," in
possession. For a description of the land see EDOM.
(2) (har se`ir; Codex Vaticanus Assar; Codex Alexandrinus
Seeir): A landmark on the boundary of Judah (Josh 15:10), not
far from Kiriath-jearim and Chesalon. The name means "shaggy,"
and probably here denoted a wooded height. It may be that part
of the range which runs Northeast from Saris by Karyat el-
`Anab and Biddu to the plateau of el-Jib. Traces of an ancient
forest are still to be seen here.
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1. A range of hills southwest of the Dead Sea
De 1:2
Along the route from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea
De 1:1,2
The people of Israel travel by
De 1:2; 2:1; 33:2
Originally inhabited by Horites
Ge 14:6; 36:20-30; De 2:12
Later inhabited by the descendants of Esau after they
destroyed the Horim people
De 2:12,22; with Ge 32:3; 33:14,16; 36:8,9; Nu 24:18;
De
2:4,5
The southern boundary of the conquests of Joshua
Jos 11:15-18
-2. A Horite chief
Ge 36:20,21; 1Ch 1:38
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(hairy, Shaggy),
1. We have both "land of Seir," Ge 32:3; 36:50 and
"Mount Seir." Ge 14:6 It is the original name of the
mountain range extending along the east side of the valley
of Arabah, from the Dead Sea to the Elanitic, Golf. The
Horites appear to have been the chief of the aboriginal
inhabitants, Ge 36:20 but it was ever afterward the
possession of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. The
Mount Seir of the: Bible extended much farther south than
the modern province, as is shown by the words of De 2:1-8 It
had the Arabah on the west, vs. 1 and 8; it extended as far
south as the head of the Gulf of Akabah, ver. 8; its eastern
border ran along the base of the mountain range where the
plateau of Arabia begins. Its northern, order is not so
accurately determined. There is a line of "naked" white
hills or cliffs which run across the great valley about
eight miles south of the Dead Sea, the highest eminence
being Mount Hor, which is 4800 feet high.
2. Mount Seir, an entirely different place from the
foregoing; one of the landmarks on the north boundary of the
territory of Judah. Jos 15:10 only. It lay westward of
Kirjath-jearim, and between it and Beth-shemesh. If Kuriel
el-Enab be the former and Ain-shems the latter of these two,
then Mount Seir cannot fail to be the ridge which lies
between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab. In a pass of this
ridge is the modern village of Seir.
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heights of Gilead, a city of refuge on the east of Jordan;
called "Ramoth in Gilead" (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8;
21:38). Here
Ahab, who joined Jehoshaphat in an endeavour to
rescue it from
the hands of the king of Syria, was mortally wounded
(1 Kings
22:1-36). A similar attempt was afterwards made by
Ahaziah and
Joram, when the latter was wounded (2 Kings 8:28).
In this city
Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, was anointed by one of
the sons of
the prophets (9:1, 4).
It has with probability been identified with Reimun,
on the
northern slope of the Jabbok, about 5 miles west of
Jerash or
Gerasa, one of the cities of Decapolis. Others
identify it with
Gerosh, about 25 miles north-east of es-Salt, with
which also
many have identified it. (See RAMATH-MIZPEH
-T0003066.)
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("Heights of Gilead.") A fortress commanding Argob and the
Jair towns, occupied by Solomon's commissariat officer (1
Kings 4:13). Keenly fought for by the Israelites and their
enemies the Syrians under Ahab and Joram (1 Kings 22:4; it had
been seized by Benhadad I from Omri; Josephus Ant. 8:15,
section 3. Ahab fell in attempting to recover it). Joram of
Israel allied himself with Ahaziah of Judah (2 Chronicles
22:5-6), gained and kept Ramoth Gilead in spite of Hazael (2
Kings 9:14-15; Josephus Ant. 9:6; section 1). Jehu from it
started to seize the kingdom. 2 Kings 8:28 or Ramath Mizpeh in
Joshua 13:26. The spot called by Jacob in his covenant with
Laban, of which the pillar and stone heap was pledge, Galeed
and Mizpah. (See MIZPAH.) A city of refuge in Gad (Deuteronomy
4:43; Joshua 20:8; Joshua 21:38). Now Es Salt, W. of
Philadelphia, or else Jela'ad (Gilead) four miles N. of Es
Salt, for Ramath Mizpeh is in the N. of Gad (Joshua 13:26),
which Es Salt is not. The Arabic of Joshua 13:26 has Ramah el
Jeresh or Ramah el Jerash (Gerasa).
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And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle
to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I
[am] as thou [art], my people as thy people, my horses as thy
horses.
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And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I
[am] as thou [art], and my people as thy people; and [we will
be] with thee in the war.
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So the young man, [even] the young man the prophet, went to
Ramothgilead.
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So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah,
shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we
forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD
shall deliver [it] into the hand of the king.
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The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him [pertained] the
towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which [are] in Gilead; to
him [also pertained] the region of Argob, which [is] in
Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
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So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went
up to Ramothgilead.
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So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went
up to Ramothgilead.
Read More
He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the
son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria
at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.
Read More
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about
four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against
Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go
up; for the Lord shall deliver [it] into the hand of the king.
Read More
And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up
and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and
another said on that manner.
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So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired
against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all
Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
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And after [certain] years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And
Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the
people that [he had] with him, and persuaded him to go up
[with him] to Ramothgilead.
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And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that
he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying
after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
Read More
And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against
Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded
Joram.
Read More
And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him,
Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I
forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be
delivered into your hand.
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Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets
four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to
Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go
up; for God will deliver [it] into the king's hand.
Read More
And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the
prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this
box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
Read More
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to
Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver [it]
into the king's hand.
Read More
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to
Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver [it]
into the hand of the king.
Read More
(yam-cuph (Ex 10:19 and often), but in many passages it is
simply hayam, "the sea"' Septuagint with 2 or 3 exceptions
renders it by he eruthra thalassa, "the Red Sea"; Latin
geographers Mare Rubrum):
1. Name
2. Peculiarities
3. Old Testament References
4. Passage through the Red Sea by the Israelites
Objections
(1) Steep Banks of the Channel
(2) Walls Formed by the Water
(3) The East Winds
(4) The Miraculous Set Aside
LITERATURE
1. Name:
The Hebrew name yam-cuph has given rise to much controversy.
Yam is the general word for sea, and when standing alone may
refer to the Mediterranean, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, or
the Sea of Galilee. In several places it designates the
river Nile or Euphrates. Cuph means a rush or seaweed such
as abounds in the lower portions of the Nile and the upper
portions of the Red Sea. It was in the cuph on the brink of
the river that the ark of Moses was hidden (Ex 2:3,5). But
as this word does not in itself mean red, and as that is not
the color of the bulrush, authorities are much divided as to
the reason for this designation. Some have supposed that it
was called red from the appearance of the mountains on the
western coast, others from the red color given to the water
by the presence of zoophytes, or red coral, or some species
of seaweed. Others still, with considerable probability,
suppose that the name originated in the red or copper color
of the inhabitants of the bordering Arabian peninsula. But
the name yam-cuph, though applied to the whole sea, was
especially used with reference to the northern part, which
is alone mentioned in the Bible, and to the two gulfs (Suez
and Aqabah) which border the Sinaitic Peninsula, especially
the Gulf of Suez.
2. Pecularities:
The Red Sea has a length of 1,350 miles and an extreme
breadth of 205 miles. It is remarkable that while it has no
rivers flowing into it and the evaporation from its surface
is enormous, it is not much salter than the ocean, from
which it is inferred that there must be a constant influx of
water from the Indian Ocean through the Straits of Bab-el-
Mandeb, together with an outflow of the more saline water
beneath the surface. The deepest portion measures 1,200
fathoms. Owing to the lower land levels which prevailed in
recent geological times, the Gulf of Suez formerly
extended...
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The locusts which devastated Egypt destroyed in
Ex 10:19
-Israelites cross; Pharaoh and his army drowned in
Ex 14; 15:1,4,11,19; Nu 33:8; De 11:4; Jos 2:10;
4:23;
24:6,7; Jud 11:16; 2Sa 22:16; Ne 9:9-11; Ps 66:6;
78:13,53;
106:7-11,22; 136:13-15; Isa 43:16,17; Ac 7:36; 1Co
10:1,2;
Heb 11:29
-Israelites camp beside
Ex 14:2,9; Nu 14:25; 21:4; 33:10,11; De 1:40; 2:1-3
-The boundary of the promised land
Ex 23:31
-Solomon builds ships beside
1Ki 9:26
-The wilderness of
Ex 13:18
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1. Name. --The sea known to us as the Red Sea was by the
Israelites called "the sea," Ex 14:2,9,16,21,28;
15:1,4,8,10,19; Jos 24:6,7 and many other passages, and
specially "the sea of Suph." Ex 10:19; 13:18; 15:4,22;
23:31; Nu 14:25 etc. This word signifies a sea-weed
resembling wool, and such sea-weed is thrown up abundantly
on the shores of the Red Sea; hence Brugsch calls it the sea
of reeds or weeds. The color of the water is not red. Ebers
says that it is of a lovely blue-green color, and named Red
either from its red banks or from the Erythraeans, who were
called the red people.
2. Physical description. --In extreme length the Red
Sea stretches from the straits of Bab el-Mendeb (or rather
Ras Bab el-Mendeb), 18 miles wide. in lat. 12 degrees 40'
N., to the modern head of the Gulf of Suez, lat. 30 degrees
N., a distance of 1450 miles. Its greatest width may be
stated at about 210 miles. At Ras Mohammed, on the north,
the Red Sea is split by the granitic peninsula of Sinai into
two gulfs; the westernmost, or Gulf of Suez, is now about
150 miles in length, with an average width of about 20,
though it contracts to less than 10 miles; the easternmost
or Gulf of el-'Akabeh, is about 100 miles long, from the
Straits of Tiran to the 'Akabeh, and 15 miles wide. The
average depth of the Red Sea is from 2500 to 3500 feet,
though in places it is 6000 feet deep. Journeying southward
from Suez, on our left is the peninsula of Sinai; on the
right is the desert coast of Egypt, of limestone formation
like the greater part of the Nile valley in Egypt, the
cliff's on the sea margin stretching landward in a great
rocky plateau while more inland a chain of volcanic
mountains, beginning about lat. 28 degrees 4' and running
south, rear their lofty peaks at intervals above the
limestone, generally about 15 miles distant.
3. Ancient limits. --The most important change in
the Red Sea has been the drying up of its northern
extremity, "the tongue of the Egyptian Sea." about the head
of the gulf has risen and that near the Mediterranean become
depressed. The head of the gulf has consequently retired
gradually since the Christian era. Thus the prophecy of
Isaiah has been fulfilled, Isa 11:15; 10:5 the tongue of the
Red Sea has dried up for a distance of at least 50 miles
from its ancient head. An ancient canal conveyed the waters
of the Nile to the Red Sea, flowing through the Wadi-t
Tumeylat and irrigating with its system of water-channels a
large extent of country. It was 62 Roman miles long, 54 feet
wide and 7 feet deep. The drying up of the head of the gulf
appears to have been one of the chief causes of the neglect
and ruin of this canal. The country, for the distance above
indicated, is now a desert of gravelly sand, with wide
patches about the old sea-bottom, of rank marsh land, now
called the "Bitter Lakes." At the northern extremity of this
salt waste is a small lake, sometimes called the Lake of
Heropolis; the lake is now Birket-et-Timsah "the lake of the
crocodile," and is supposed to mark the ancient head of the
gulf. The canal that connected this with the Nile was of
Pharaonic origin. It was anciently known as the "Fossa
Regum" and the "canal of Hero." The time at which the canal
was extended, after the drying up of the head of the gulf,
to the present head is uncertain, but it must have been
late, and probably since the Mohammedan conquest. Traces of
the ancient channel throughout its entire length to the
vicinity of Bubastis exist at intervals in the present day.
The land north of the ancient gulf is a plain of heavy sand,
merging into marsh-land near the Mediterranean coast, and
extending...
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The sea so called extends along the west coast of Arabia for
about 1,400 miles, and separates Asia from Africa.
It is
connected with the Indian Ocean, of which it is an
arm, by the
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. At a point (Ras Mohammed)
about 200
miles from its nothern extremity it is divided into
two arms,
that on the east called the AElanitic Gulf, now the
Bahr
el-'Akabah, about 100 miles long by 15 broad, and
that on the
west the Gulf of Suez, about 150 miles long by about
20 broad.
This branch is now connected with the Mediterranean
by the Suez
Canal. Between these two arms lies the Sinaitic
Peninsula.
The Hebrew name generally given to this sea is _Yam
Suph_.
This word _suph_ means a woolly kind of sea-weed,
which the sea
casts up in great abundance on its shores. In these
passages,
Ex. 10:19; 13:18; 15:4, 22; 23:31; Num. 14:25, etc.,
the Hebrew
name is always translated "Red Sea," which was the
name given to
it by the Greeks. The origin of this name (Red Sea)
is
uncertain. Some think it is derived from the red
colour of the
mountains on the western shore; others from the red
coral found
in the sea, or the red appearance sometimes given to
the water
by certain zoophytes floating in it. In the New
Testament (Acts
7:36; Heb. 11:29) this name is given to the Gulf of
Suez.
This sea was also called by the Hebrews Yam-
mitstraim, i.e.,
"the Egyptian sea" (Isa. 11:15), and simply Ha-yam,
"the sea"
(Ex. 14:2, 9, 16, 21, 28; Josh. 24:6, 7; Isa. 10:26,
etc.).
The great historical event connected with the Red
Sea is the
passage of the children of Israel, and the overthrow
of the
Egyptians, to which there is frequent reference in
Scripture
(Ex. 14, 15; Num. 33:8; Deut. 11:4; Josh. 2:10;
Judg. 11:16; 2
Sam. 22:16; Neh. 9:9-11; Ps. 66:6; Isa. 10:26; Acts
7:36, etc.).
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Hebrew: Sea of Suph ("seaweed"; like wool, as the Arabic
means: Gesenius). The Egyptians called it the Sea of Punt
(Arabia). Called "red" probably from the color of the weed,
and the red coral and sandstone, not from Edom ("red") which
touched it only at Elath; nor from Himyerites (hamar, "red"
in Arabic; the Phoenicians too are thought to mean red men,
and to have come from the Red Sea), as their connection with
it was hardly so dose and so early as to have given the
name. An ancient canal, begun by Sesostris, continued by
Darius Hystaspes and Ptolemy Philadelphus, joined the Nile
to it. Boundaries. On the W. Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia; on
the E. Arabia; on the N. the isthmus of Suez; on the S. the
straits of Bab el Mandeb ("gate of tears") joining it to the
Indian ocean; 1,600 English miles long, by an average of 150
broad. The mountains on each side vary from 3,000 to 6,000
ft. high; the tops granite, underneath limestone, on the
seashore light colored sandstone.
The northern end ("the tongue of the Egyptian Sea"),
since the Exodus, has dried up for 50 miles. The land at the
head of the gulf has risen, that on the Mediterranean has
fallen (compare Isaiah 11:15; Isaiah 19:5). This drying up
has caused the ancient canal which conveyed the Red Sea
commerce to the Nile (from about Hereopolis on the Birket et
Timsah and lake of the crocodile to Bubastis at the Nile),
and irrigated the country (wady Tumeylat) to be neglected
and ruined. The country about has consequently become a
gravely sand desert, with rank marsh land round the old sea
bottom, called "the bitter lakes." Near them was the town
Heroopolis, from which the gulf of Suez was called the
Heroopolite gulf. Ras Mohammed, the headland of the Sinaitic
peninsula, divides the Red Sea into two tongues: the western
one the gulf of Suez, 130 miles long by 18 broad, narrowing
to ten at the head; the eastern one the gulf of Akabah ("a
declivity"), 90 long by an average of 15 broad.
Precipitous mountains 2,000 ft. high rise from the
shore. The Arabah or Ghor connects it with the Dead Sea and
Jordan valley. Anciently the gulf of Akabah was the Sinus
Elaniticus, from Oelana or Elath at the northern end. No
considerable stream falls into this large sea. The gulf of
Suez is the shallowest part. The waters are remarkably
transparent, so that the plants, corals, and rocks are
visible to a great depth. Its phosphorescence is also
noteworthy. This is the most northern part of the ocean
where coral reefs are found. These take the outline of the
coast, and being covered for some distance with only five or
sir feet of water render access to land difficult. The
western or Egyptian side of the Red Sea is of limestone
formation; gebel Gharib 6,000 ft. high; the porphyry
mountain, gebel ed Dukhkhan, inland, is about...
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And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away
the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained
not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
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re-ho'-both, re-ho'-both (rehobhoth, "broad places";
Euruchoria): One of the wells dug by Isaac (Gen 26:22). It is
probably the Rubuta of the Tell el-Amarna Letters (Petrie,
numbers 256, 260; see also The Expository Times, XI, 239
(Konig), 377 (Sayce)), and it is almost certainly identical
with the ruin Ruchaibeh, 8 hours Southwest of Beersheba.
Robinson (BR, I, 196-97) describes the ruins of the ancient
city as thickly covering a "level tract of 10 to 12 acres in
extent"; "many of the dwellings had each its cistern, cut in
the solid rock"; "once this must have been a city of not less
than 12,000 or 15,000 inhabitants. Now it is a perfect field
of ruins, a scene of unutterable desolation, across which the
passing stranger can with difficulty find his way." Huntington
(Israel and Its Transformation, 124) describes considerable
remains of a suburban population extending both to the North
and to the South of this once important place.
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1. A city built by Asshur
Ge 10:11
-2. A city of the Edomites
Ge 36:37; 1Ch 1:48
-3. The name given to a well that was dug by Isaac and his
servants
Ge 26:22
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(wide places, i.e. streets).
1. The third of the series of wells dug by Isaac, Ge
26:22 in the Philistines' territory, lately identified as er-
Ruheibeh, 16 miles south of Beersheba.
2. One of the four cities built by Asshur, or by
Nimrod in Asshur, according as this difficult passage is
translated. Ge 10:11 Nothing certain is known of its position.
3. The city of a certain Saul or Shaul, one of the
early kings of the Edomites. Ge 36:37; 1Ch 1:48 The affix "by
the river" fixes the situation of Rehoboth as on the
Euphrates.
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broad places. (1.) A well in Gerar dug by Isaac (Gen. 26:22),
supposed to be in Wady er-Ruheibeh, about 20 miles
south of
Beersheba.
(2.) An ancient city on the Euphrates (Gen. 36:37; 1
Chr.
1:48), "Rehoboth by the river."
(3.) Named among the cities of Asshur (Gen. 10:11).
Probably,
however, the words "rehoboth'ir" are to be translated
as in the
Vulgate and the margin of A.V., "the streets of the
city," or
rather "the public square of the city", i.e., of
Nineveh.
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("room, broad space".) Third of Isaac's wells, called so
because after that the wells Esek ("contention") and Sitnah
("hatred"), which his men had dug, the Gerar herdsmen would
not let him keep peaceably, now at last his good has overcome
their evil, and God makes room for him. Spiritually Romans
12:18-21; Genesis 32:20; Genesis 13:7-9; Matthew 5:25;
Revelation 15:2; John 14:2. In the wady er Ruhaibeh are ruins
of a large city, eight hours S. of Beersheba, and an ancient
well, 12 ft. in circumference, built with hewn stone, now
filled up (Robinson Phys. Geog., 243; "Our Work in Israel,"
299). Its site is marked by fallen masonry, seemingly a cupola
roof of well cemented brick shaped stones. At hand is Shutnet,
the "Sitnah" of Scripture: Rehoboth lies 20 miles S.W. of Bir
es Seba or Beersheba, with three remaining wells, two full of
water, one dry.
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And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for
that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth;
and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we
shall be fruitful in the land.
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Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and
the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
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And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth [by] the river reigned
in his stead.
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And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river
reigned in his stead.
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ref'-i-dim (rephidhim, "rests"; Rhaphidin): A station in the
Wanderings, between the wilderness of Sin and the wilderness
of Sinai (Ex 17:1,8; 19:2; Nu 33:14). The host expected to
find water here; to their distress the streams were dry, and
water was miraculously provided. Palmer (Desert of the
Exodus, 158 ff) states cogent reasons for identifying
Rephidim with Wady Feiran. It is the most fertile part of
the peninsula, well watered, with a palm grove stretching
for miles along the valley. Palmer speaks of passing through
the palm grove as a "most delightful" walk; "the tall,
graceful trees afforded a delicious shade, fresh water ran
at our feet, and, above all, bulbuls flitted from branch to
branch uttering their sweet notes." His camp was pitched at
"the mouth of Wady `Aleyat, a large open space completely
surrounded by steep, shelving mountains of gneiss, the
fantastic cleavage of which added greatly to the beauty of
the scene. Palms and tamarisks were dotted all around, and
on every knoll and mountain slope were ruined houses,
churches, and walls, the relics of the ancient monastic city
of Paran. Behind our tents rose the majestic mass of Serbal,
and beneath the rocky wall opposite ran a purling brook,
only a few inches in depth, but still sufficiently cool,
clear, and refreshing."
Such a place as this the Amalekites would naturally wish to
preserve for themselves against an invading people. For
these desert dwellers, indeed, the possession of this
watered vale may well have been a matter of life and death.
If this identification is correct, then Jebel Tachuneh,
"Mount of the mill," a height that rises on the North of the
valley, may have been the hill from which Moses, with Aaron
and Hur, viewed the battle.
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A camping place of Israel in their wandering of forty years
Ex 17:1,8; 19:2; Nu 33:14,15
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Ex 17:1,8; 19:2 The name means rests or stays, i.e. resting
places. The place lies in the march of the Israelites from
Egypt to Sinai. Its site is not certain, but it is perhaps
Wady Feiran, a rather broad valley about 25 miles from Jebel
Musa (Mount Sinai). Others place it in Wady es Sheikh, an
eastern continuation of Feiran, and about 12 miles from Sinai.
Here the Israelites fought their first battle and gained their
first victory after leaving Egypt, the Amalekites having
attacked them; here also the people murmured from thirst, and
Moses brought water for them out of the rock. From this
murmuring the place was called "Massah" and "Meribah."
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supports, one of the stations of the Israelites, situated in
the
Wady Feiran, near its junction with the Wady esh-
Sheikh. Here no
water could be found for the people to drink, and in
their
impatience they were ready to stone Moses, as if he
were the
cause of their distress. At the command of God Moses
smote "the
rock in Horeb," and a copious stream flowed forth,
enough for
all the people. After this the Amalekites attacked
the
Israelites while they were here encamped, but they
were utterly
defeated (Ex. 17:1, 8-16). They were the "first of
the nations"
to make war against Israel (Num. 24:20).
Leaving Rephidim, the Israelites advanced into the
wilderness
of Sinai (Ex. 19:1, 2; Num. 33:14, 15), marching
probably
through the two passes of the Wady Solaf and the
Wady
esh-Sheikh, which converge at the entrance to the
plain
er-Rahah, the "desert of Sinai," which is two miles
long and
about half a mile broad. (See SINAI -T0003442;
MERIBAH
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("rests" or "stays") (Exodus 17:1; Exodus 17:8; Exodus
19:2). Here Israel first suffered from want of water, and
here they defeated Amalek. Captains Wilson and Palmer make
the battle in wady Feiran, near the ancient city of Feiran
(amidst traces of building and cultivation) under Mount
Serbal. But Holland (Canon Cook's essay on Exodus 16; 17;
19; Speaker's Commentary) places Rephidim after Israel
traversed the wady es Sheikh at the pass el Watiyeh shut in
by perpendicular rocks on either side; a choice position for
Amalek as it commands the entrance to the wadies round the
central group of Sinai. On the N. is a plain without water,
Israel's encampment. N. of the defile is a hill and bore
cliff such as Moses struck with his rod. S. of the pass is
another plain, Amalek's encampment, within reach of abundant
water. At the foot of the hill whereon Moses sat (Exodus
17:12 or else Exodus 18:13) the Arabs call a rock "the seat
of the prophet Moses." frontEXODUS.)
The fertility of Feiran is Stanley's argument for it
as the site of Rephidim, Amalek being likely to contend for
it against Israel. The "hill" in Exodus 17:9-10, he
identifies with that on which the church of Paran stood
(Numbers 33:12-13). Holland's view is probably the truer
one, for wady es Sheikh is the only open broad way from the
N.W. into the "wilderness of Sinai", Ras Sufsafeh before the
open er Rahah or "desert of Sinai" being the true Mount
Sinai, not Serbal. The Bir Musa, "well of Moses," in the
wide part of wady es Sheykh, is immediately outside or N. of
the pass out of Horeb. Wady es Sheykh, "the valley of the
chiefs," may allude to the elders appointed at Jethro's
suggestion to be rulers and judges under Moses (Exodus
18:21-26). Forster (if his reading be correct: Voice of
Israel, p. 118) interprets an inscription with a man's
figure with uplifted hands on a rock, "the prophet upon a
hard great stone prayeth unto God, Aaron and Hur sustaining
his hands." It was after receiving the water supply at
Rephidim from God that Israel conquered Amalek.
So it is only after the Christian receives the
living water front Christ the smitten Rock that he can
effectively conquer his spiritual foes (1 John 5:4). Faith
and prayer go together, as at Rephidim. Lift up, not an
empty hand, but like Moses grasping the rod hold fast God's
word of promise, filling the hand with this effectual plea
(Exodus 17:9; Exodus 17:11-12; Job 23:4; Psalm 119:49;
Isaiah 43:26; James 5:16). (See MASSAH; MERIBAH.) Moses
struck the rock in Horeb at some point not in the people's
sight, therefore not near the summit, but in the presence of
selected witnesses, the elders (Exodus 17:5-6). The
"spiritual rock, Christ, followed all the Israelites" (1
Corinthians 10:4). The repetition of the miracle (Numbers
20:11) at Kadesh shows that the rabbinical tradition is
incorrect, that the rock or the stream followed them
literally in all their journeys. Rather He of whom the rock
was type accompanied them and supplied all their needs (1
Corinthians 10:4).
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And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed
from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to
the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and
[there was] no water for the people to drink.
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For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come [to] the
desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there
Israel camped before the mount.
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And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where
was no water for the people to drink.
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And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness
of Sinai.
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Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
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rom:
I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION
1. Original Roman State
2. The Struggle between Patricians and Plebeians
3. The Senate and Magistrates
4. Underlying Principles
II. EXTENSION OF ROMAN SOVEREIGNTY
III. THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT
1. Imperial Authority
2. Three Classes of Citizens
IV. ROMAN RELIGION
1. Deities
2. Religious Decay
V. ROME AND THE JEWS
1. Judea under Roman Procurators and Governors
2. Jewish Proselytism
VI. ROME AND THE CHRISTIANS
1. Introduction of Christianity
2. Tolerance and Proscription
3. Persecution
LITERATURE
Rome (Latin and Italian, Roma; Rhome): The capital of the
Roman republic and empire, later the center of Lot
Christendom, and since 1871 capital of the kingdom of Italy,
is situated mainly on the left bank of the Tiber about 15
miles from the Mediterranean Sea in 41 degrees 53' 54 inches
North latitude and 12 degrees 0' 12 inches longitude East of
Greenwich.
It would be impossible in the limited space assigned to this
article to give even a comprehensive outline of the ancient
history of the Eternal City. It will suit the general
purpose of the work to consider the relations of the Roman
government and society with the Jews and Christians, and, in
addition, to present a rapid survey of the earlier
development of Roman institutions and power, so as to
provide the necessary historical setting for the
appreciation of the more essential subjects.
I. Development of the Republican Constitution.
1. Original Roman State:
The traditional chronology for the earliest period of Roman
history is altogether unreliable, partly because the Gauls,
in ravaging the city in 390 BC, destroyed the monuments
which might have offered faithful testimony of the earlier
period (Livy vi.1). It is known that there was a settlement
on the site of Rome before the traditional date of the
founding (753 BC). The original Roman state was the product
of the coalition of a number of adjacent clan-communities,
whose names were perpetuated in the Roman genres, or groups
of imaginary kindred, a historical survival which had lost
all significance in the period of authentic history. The
chieftains of the associated clans composed the primitive
senate or council of elders, which exercised sovereign
authority. But as is customary in the development of human
society a military or monarchical regime succeeded the
looser patriarchal or sacerdotal organs of authority. This
second stage may be identified with the legendary rule of
the Tarquins, which was probably a period of Etruscan
domination. The confederacy of clans was welded...
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(The capital of the Roman Empire)
-Jews excluded from, by Claudius Caesar
Ac 18:2
-Paul's visit to
See PAUL
-Visited by Onesiphorus
2Ti 1:16,17
-Paul desires to preach in
Ro 1:15
-Abominations in
Ro 1:18-32
-Christians in
Ro 16:5-17; Php 1:12-18; 4:22; 2Ti 4:21
-Paul's letter to the Christians in
Ro 1:7
-Paul testifies the gospel of Christ to them
Ro 1:16
-The condemnation of the Gentiles
Ro 1:18
-The condemnation of the Jews
Ro 2
-God's judgment against all sin
Ro 2:6; 3
-Justification by faith in Jesus Christ
Ro 3:24; 4; 5
-The faith of Abraham
Ro 4
-The fruits of faith
Ro 5:7
-The works of the flesh and the Spirit
Ro 8
-God's supreme power over everyone
Ro 9; 11
-The righteousness the law and of faith
Ro 10
-Exhorted humility, love, and good works
Ro 12
-To obey magistrates
Ro 13
-For mutual forbearance
Ro 14:15
-Requested to greet various brethren
Ro 16
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the famous capital of the ancient world, is situated on the
Tiber at a distance of about 15 miles from its mouth. The
"seven hills," Re 17:9 which formed the nucleus of the
ancient city stand on the left bank. On the opposite side of
the river rises the far higher side of the Janiculum. Here
from very early times was a fortress with a suburb beneath
it extending to the river. Modern Rome lies to the north of
the ancient city, covering with its principal portion the
plain to the north of the seven hills, once known as the
Campus Martius, and on the opposite bank extending over the
low ground beneath the Vatican to the north of the ancient
Janiculum. Rome is not mentioned in the Bible except in the
books of Maccabees and in three books of the New Testament,
viz., the Acts, the Epistle to the Romans and the Second
Epistle to Timothy.
1. Jewish inhabitants. the conquests of Pompey seem
to have given rise to the first settlement of Jews at Rome.
The Jewish king Aristobulus and his son formed part of
Pompey's triumph, and many Jewish captives and immigrants
were brought to Rome at that time. A special district was
assigned to them, not on the site of the modern Ghetto,
between the Capitol and the island of the Tiber, but across
the Tiber. Many of these Jews were made freedmen. Julius
Caesar showed them some kindness; they were favored also by
Augustus, and by Tiberius during the latter part of his
reign. It is chiefly in connection with St. Paul's history
that Rome comes before us in the Bible. In illustration of
that history it may be useful to give some account of Rome
in the time of Nero, the "Caesar" to whom St. Paul appealed,
and in whose reign he suffered martyrdom.
2. The city in Paul's time. --The city at that time
must be imagined as a large and irregular mass of buildings
unprotected by an outer wall. It had long outgrown the old
Servian wall; but the limits of the suburbs cannot be
exactly defined. Neither the nature of the buildings nor the
configuration of the ground was such as to give a striking
appearance to the city viewed from without. "Ancient Rome
had neither cupola nor camyanile," and the hills, never
lofty or imposing, would present, when covered with the
buildings and streets of a huge city, a confused appearance
like the hills of modern London, to which they have
sometimes been compared. The visit of St. Paul lies between
two famous epochs in the history of the city, viz, its
restoration by Augustus and its restoration by Nero. The
boast of Augustus is well known, "that he found the city of
brick, and left it of marble." Some parts of the city,
especially the Forum and Campus Martius, must have presented
a magnificent appearance, of which Niebur's "Lectures on
Roman History," ii. 177, will give a general idea; but many
of the principal buildings which attract the attention of
modern travellers in ancient Rome were not yet built. The
streets were generally narrow and winding, flanked by
densely crowded lodging-houses (insulae) of enormous height.
Augustus found it necessary to limit their height to 70
feet. St, Paul's first visit to Rome took place before the
Neronian conflagration but even after the restoration of the
city which followed upon that event, many of the old evils
continued. The population of the city has been variously
estimated. Probably Gibbon's estimate of 1,200,000 is
nearest to the truth. One half of the population consisted,
in all probability, of slaves. The larger part of the
remainder consisted of pauper citizens supported in idleness
by the miserable system of public gratuities. There appears
to have been no middle class, and no free industrial
population. Side by side with the wretched classes just
mentioned...
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the most celebrated city in the world at the time of
Christ. It
is said to have been founded B.C. 753. When the New
Testament
was written, Rome was enriched and adorned with the
spoils of
the world, and contained a population estimated at
1,200,000, of
which the half were slaves, and including
representatives of
nearly every nation then known. It was distinguished
for its
wealth and luxury and profligacy. The empire of
which it was the
capital had then reached its greatest prosperity.
On the day of Pentecost there were in Jerusalem
"strangers
from Rome," who doubtless carried with them back to
Rome tidings
of that great day, and were instrumental in founding
the church
there. Paul was brought to this city a prisoner,
where he
remained for two years (Acts 28:30, 31) "in his own
hired
house." While here, Paul wrote his epistles to the
Philippians,
to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, to Philemon,
and probably
also to the Hebrews. He had during these years for
companions
Luke and Aristarchus (Acts 27:2), Timothy (Phil.
1:1; Col. 1:1),
Tychicus (Eph. 6: 21), Epaphroditus (Phil. 4:18),
and John Mark
(Col. 4:10). (See PAUL -T0002871.)
Beneath this city are extensive galleries, called
"catacombs,"
which were used from about the time of the apostles
(one of the
inscriptions found in them bears the date A.D. 71)
for some
three hundred years as places of refuge in the time
of
persecution, and also of worship and burial. About
four thousand
inscriptions have been found in the catacombs. These
give an
interesting insight into the history of the church
at Rome down
to the time of Constantine.
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Paul's first visit was between the restoration by Augustus,
whose boast was "he had found the city of brick and left it
of marble" (Suet., Aug. 28), and that by Nero after its
conflagration. His residence was near the "barrack"
(praetorium) attached to the imperial palace on the Palatine
(Philemon 1:13). (See PALACE.) Modern Rome lies N. of
ancient Rome, covering the Campus Martius, or "plain" to the
N. of the seven hills; the latter (Revelation 17:9), the
nucleus of the old city, stand on the left bank. On the
opposite side of the Tiber is the higher ridge, Janiculum,
also the Vatican. The Mamertine prison where legend makes
Peter and Paul to have been fellow prisoners for nine months
is still under the church of Giuseppe dei Falegnani; but see
2 Timothy 4:11. (See PETER.)
The chapel on the Ostian road marks the legendary
site of the two parting for martyrdom. The church of Paolo
alle Tre Fontane on the Ostian road is the alleged site of
Paul's martyrdom. The church of Pietro in Montorio on the
Janiculum is that of Peter's martyrdom. The chapel "Domine
quo Vadis?" on the Appian road marks where Peter in the
legend met the Lord, as he was fleeing from martyrdom. (See
PETER.) The bodies of the two apostles first lay in the
catacombs ("cemeteries" or sleeping places: Eusebius, H. E.
ii. 25); then Paul's body was buried by the Ostian road,
Peter's beneath the dome of the famous basilica called after
him (Caius, in Eusebius, H. E. ii. 25). All this is mere
tradition.
Real sites are the Colosseum and Nero's gardens in
the Vatican near to Peter's; in them Christians wrapped in
beasts' skins were torn by dogs, or clothed in inflammable
stuffs were burnt as torches during the midnight games!
Others were crucified (Tacitus, Annals xv. 44). The
catacombs, "subterranean galleries" (whether sand pits or
excavations originally is uncertain), from eight to ten
feet, high, and four to six wide extending for miles, near
the Appian and Nomentane ways, were used by the early
Christians as places of refuge, worship, and burial. The
oldest inscription is A.D. 71; thence to A.D. 300 less than
thirty Christian inscriptions are known bearing dates, 4,000
undated are considered anterior to Constantine.
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And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of
good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in
Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
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The Lord Jesus Christ [be] with thy spirit. Grace [be] with
you. Amen. <[The second [epistle] unto Timotheus, ordained the
first bishop of the church of the Ephesians, was written from
Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time.]>
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And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately
come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that
Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came
unto them
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The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds.
Grace [be] with you. Amen. <[Written from Rome to Colossians
by Tychicus and Onesimus.]>
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Grace [be] with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity. Amen. <[To [the] Ephesians written from Rome, by
Tychicus.]>
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit.
Amen. <[Written from Rome to Philemon, by Onesimus a
servant.]>
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Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
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After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit,
when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to
Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see
Rome.
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And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the
prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered
to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
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To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
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Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your
spirit. Amen. <[To [the] Galatians written from Rome.]>
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen.
<[To [the] Philippians written from Rome, by Epaphroditus.]>
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But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in
Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and
sat down.
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And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to
Pamphylia.
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pi'-thom (pithom; Peitho (Ex 1:11)):
1. Meaning of Name:
Champollion (Gesenius, Lexicon, under the word) considered
this name to mean "a narrow place" in Coptic, but it is
generally explained to be the Egyptian Pa-tum, or "city of
the setting sun." It was one of the cities built by the
Hebrews (see RAAMSES), and according to Wessel was the Thoum
of the Antonine Itinerary.
Brugsch (History of Egypt, 1879, II, 343) says that it was
identical with "Heracleopolis Parva, the capital of the
Sethroitic nome in the age of the Greeks and Romans ....
half-way on the great road from Pelusium to Tanis (Zoan),
and this indication given on the authority of the
itineraries furnishes the sole means of fixing its
position." This is, however, disputed. Tum was worshipped at
Thebes, at Zoan, and probably at Bubastis, while Heliopolis
(Brugsch, Geogr., I, 254) was also called Pa-tum.
There were apparently several places of the name; and
Herodotus (ii.158) says that the Canal of Darius began a
little above Bubastis, "near the Arabian city Patournos,"
and reached the Red Sea.
2. Situation:
(1) Dr. Naville's Theory.
In 1885 Dr. E. Naville discovered a Roman milestone of
Maximian and Severus, proving that the site of Heroopolis
was at Tell el MachuTah ("the walled mound") in Wady
Tumeilat. The modern name he gives as Tell el Maskhutah,
which was not that heard by the present writer in 1882. This
identification had long been supposed probable. Excavations
at the site laid bare strong walls and texts showing the
worship of Tum. None was found to be older than the time of
Rameses II--who, however, is well known to have defaced
older inscriptions, and to have substituted his own name for
that of earlier builders. A statue of later date, bearing
the title "Recorder of Pithom," was also found at this same
site. Dr. Naville concluded that this city must be the Old
Testament Pithom, and the region round it Succoth--the
Egyptian T-k-u (but see SUCCOTH). Brugsch, on the other
hand, says that the old name of Heropolis was Qes (see
GOSHEN), which recalls the identification of the Septuagint
(Gen 46:28); and elsewhere (following Lepsius) he regards
the same site as being "the Pa-Khetam of Rameses II" (see
ETHAM), which Lepsius believed to be the Old Testament
Rameses (see RAAMSES) mentioned with Pithom (Brugsch,
Geogr., I, 302, 262). Silvia in 385 AD was shown...
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A treasure city in lower Egypt Ex 1:11
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(the city of justice), one of the store-cites Israelites for
the first oppressor, the Pharaoh "which knew not Joseph." Ex
1:11 It is probably the Patumus of Herodotus (ii. 1 159), a
town on the borders of Egypt, nest which Necho constructed a
canal from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf.
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Egyptian, Pa-Tum, "house of Tum," the sun-god, one of the
"treasure" cities built for Pharaoh Rameses II. by
the
Israelites (Ex. 1:11). It was probably the Patumos
of the Greek
historian Herodotus. It has now been satisfactorily
identified
with Tell-el-Maskhuta, about 12 miles west of
Ismailia, and 20
east of Tel-el-Kebir, on the southern bank of the
present Suez
Canal. Here have recently (1883) been discovered the
ruins of
supposed grain-chambers, and other evidences to show
that this
was a great "store city." Its immense ruin-heaps
show that it
was built of bricks, and partly also of bricks
without straw.
Succoth (Ex. 12:37) is supposed by some to be the
secular name
of this city, Pithom being its sacred name. This was
the first
halting-place of the Israelites in their exodus. It
has been
argued (Dr. Lansing) that these "store" cities "were
residence
cities, royal dwellings, such as the Pharaohs of
old, the Kings
of Israel, and our modern Khedives have ever loved
to build,
thus giving employment to the superabundant muscle
of their
enslaved peoples, and making a name for themselves."
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An Egyptian store city built by Israelites for their
oppressor (Exodus 1:11). Identified by Brugsch with the fort
of Djar, Pachtum. It existed early in the 18th dynasty,
before Thothmes III (the Pharaoh who perished in the Red
Sea), and was probably erected by his grandfather Aahmes I.
The fort subsequently was called Heroopolis. The Egyptian
name is Pe Tum, "the house (temple) of Tum," the sun god of
Heliopolis. Chabas translated an Egyptian record, mentioning
a "reservoir (berekoovota, a slightly modified Hebrew word;
confirming the Scripture that ascribes the building to
Hebrew) at Pithom on the frontier of the desert." Pithom was
on the canal dug or enlarged long before under Osirtasin of
the 12th dynasty.
Rameses II subsequently fortified and enlarged it
and Raamses. Lepsius says the son of Aahmes I was RHMSS. The
Rameses, two centuries subsequently, have a final "-u",
Ramessu. Brugsch thinks the Israelites started from Raamses,
which he thinks to be Zoan or Tauis, and journeying toward
the N.E. reached the W. of lake Sirbonit, separated from the
Mediterranean by a narrow neck of land. From Mount Kasios
here they turned S. through the Bitter Lakes to the N. of
the gulf of Suez; then to the Sinai peninsula. In the
inscriptions Heracleopolis Parva near Migdol is named Piton
"in the district of Succoth" (a Hebrew word meaning
"tents"). The place is also called Pt-Ramses "the city of
Ramses." (Jewish Intelligencer, Jan. 1877.)
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their mouthful; a dilatation of the mouth
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Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them
with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure
cities, Pithom and Raamses.
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pon'-tus (Pontos): Was an important province in the
northeastern part of Asia Minor, lying along the south shore
of the Black Sea. The name was geographical, not ethnical,
in origin, and was first used to designate that part of
Cappadocia which bordered on the "Pontus," as the Euxine was
often termed. Pontus proper extended from the Halys River on
the West to the borders of Colchis on the East, its interior
boundaries meeting those of Galatia, Cappadocia and Armenia.
The chief rivers besides the Halys were the Iris, Lycus and
Thermodon. The configuration of the country included a
beautiful but narrow, riparian margin, backed by a noble
range of mountains parallel to the coast, while these in
turn were broken by the streams that forced their way from
the interior plains down to the sea; the valleys, narrower
or wider, were fertile and productive, as were the wide
plains of the interior such as the Chiliokomon and
Phanaroea. The mountain slopes were originally clothed with
heavy forests of beech, pine and oak of different species,
and when the country was well afforested, the rainfall must
have been better adequate than now to the needs of a
luxuriant vegetation.
The first points in the earliest history of Pontus emerge
from obscurity, much as the mountain peaks of its own noble
ranges lift their heads above a fog bank. Thus, we catch
glimpses of Assyrian culture at Sinope and Amisus, probably
as far back as the 3rd millennium BC. The period of Hittite
domination in Asia Minor followed hard after, and there is
increasing reason to suppose that the Hittites occupied
certain leading city sites in Pontus, constructed the
artificial mounds or tumuli that frequently meet the eyes of
modern travelers, hewed out the rock tombs, and stamped
their character upon the early conditions. The home of the
Amazons, those warrior priestesses of the Hittites, was
located on the banks of the Thermodon, and the mountains
rising behind Terme are still called the "Amazon Range"; and
the old legends live still in stories about the superior
prowess of the modern women living there.
See ASIA MINOR, ARCHAEOLOGY OF.
As the Hittite power shrunk in extent and force, by the year
1000 BC bands of hardy Greek adventurers appeared from the
West sailing along the Euxine main in quest of lands to
exploit and conquer and colonize. Cape Jason, which divides
the modern mission fields of Trebizond and Marsovan,
preserves the memory of the Argonants and the Golden Fleece.
Miletus, "greatest of the Ionic towns," sent out its
colonists, swarm after swarm, up through the Bosphorus, and
along the southern shore of the Black Sea. They occupied
Sinope, the northern-most point of the peninsula...
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A province of Asia Minor
Ac 2:9; 1Pe 1:1
-Aquila lived in
Ac 18:2
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a large district in the north of Asia Minor, extending along
the coast of the Pontus Euxinus Sea (Pontus), from which
circumstance the name was derived. It corresponds nearly to
the modern Trebizond. It is three times mentioned in the New
Testament -- Ac 2:9; 18:2; 1Pe 1:1 All these passages agree in
showing that there were many Jewish residents in the district.
As to the annals of Pontus, the one brilliant passage of its
history is the life of the great Mithridates. Under Nero the
whole region was made of Roman province, bearing the name of
Pontus. It was conquered by the Turks in A.D. 1461, and is
still under their dominion.
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a province of Asia Minor, stretching along the southern coast
of
the Euxine Sea, corresponding nearly to the modern
province of
Trebizond. In the time of the apostles it was a Roman
province.
Strangers from this province were at Jerusalem at
Pentecost
(Acts 2:9), and to "strangers scattered throughout
Pontus,"
among others, Peter addresses his first epistle (1
Pet. 1:1). It
was evidently the resort of many Jews of the
Dispersion. Aquila
was a native of Pontus (Acts 18:2).
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N. of Asia Minor, stretching along the Euxine sea (Pontus,
from whence its name). Acts 2:9-10; Acts 18:2; 1 Peter 1:1;
which passages show many Jews resided there. Pompey defeated
its great king Mithridates, and so gained the W. of Pontus for
Rome, while the E. continued under native chieftains. Under
Nero all Pontus became a Roman province. Berenice, great
granddaughter of Herod the Great, married Poleme II, the last
petty monarch. Paul saw her afterward with her brother Agrippa
II at Caesarea.
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And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately
come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that
Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came
unto them.
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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
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Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in
Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and
Asia,
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rab'-a:
(1) (rabbah; Rhabba, Rhabbath, Rhabban. The full name is
rabbath bene `ammon; he akra ton huion Ammon, Rhabbath huion
Ammon, "Rabbah of the children of Ammon"): This alone of the
cities of the Ammonites is mentioned in Scripture, so we may
take it as the most important. It is first named in
connection with the "bed" or sarcophagus of Og, king of
Bashan, which was said to be found here (Dt 3:11). It lay
East of the territory assigned to Gad (Josh 13:25). Whatever
may have been its history in the interval, it does not
appear again in Scripture till the time of David. This
monarch sent an embassy of sympathy to King Hanun when his
father Nahash died. The kindness was met by wanton insult,
which led to the outbreak of war. The Ammonites,
strengthened by Aramean allies, were defeated by the
Israelites under Joab, and took refuge in Rabbah. After
David's defeat of the Arameans at Helam a year later, the
Ammonites were exposed alone to the full-force of Israel,
the ark of the covenant being carried with the troops. The
country was ravaged and siege was laid to Rabbah. It was
during this siege that Uriah the Hittite by David's orders
was exposed "in the forefront of the hottest battle" (2 Sam
11:15), where, treacherously deserted by his comrades, he
was slain. How long the siege lasted we do not know;
probably some years; but the end was in sight when Joab
captured "the city of waters" (2 Sam 12:27). This may mean
that he had secured control of the water supply. In the
preceding verse he calls it the "royal city." By the
chivalry of his general, David was enabled in person to
enjoy the honor of taking the city. Among the booty secured
was the crown of Melcom, the god of the Ammonites. Such of
the inhabitants as survived he treated with great severity
(2 Sam 12:26-31; 1 Ch 20:1 ff).
In the utterances of the prophets against Ammon, Rabbah
stands for the people, as their most important, or perhaps
their only important, city (Jer 49:2,3; Ezek 21:20; 25:5; Am
1:14). Jer 49:4 speaks of the "flowing valley"--a reference
perhaps to the abundance of water and fruitfulness--and the
treasures in which she gloried. Ezek 21:21 represents the
king of Babylon at "the head of the two ways" deciding by
means of the divining arrows whether he should march against
Jerusalem or against Rabbah. Amos seems to have been
impressed with the palaces of Rabbah.
The city retained its importance in later times. It was
captured by Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 BC), who called it
Philadelphia. It was a member of the league of ten cities.
Antiochus the Great captured it by means of treachery
(Polyb. v.71). Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 3) names it as lying
East of Peraea. In the 4th century AD, it ranked with Bostra
and Gerasa as one of the great fortified cities of Coele-
Syria (Ritter, Erdkunde, XV, ii, 1154 f). It became the seat
of a bishop. Abulfeda (1321 AD) says that Rabbah was in
ruins at the time of the Moslem conquest.
Rabbah is represented by the modern `Amman, a ruined site...
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1. Also called RABBATH
A city east of the Jordan River, originally belonging to
the
Ammonites
Jos 13:25
Bedstead of the giant named Og, kept at
De 3:11
Captured by David
2Sa 11:1; 12:26-31; 1Ch 20:1-3
Possessed again by the Ammonites; prophesied against
Jer 49:2,3; Eze 21:20; 25:5; Am 1:14
-2. A city in the territory of the tribe of Judah
Jos 15:60
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(great).
1. A very strong place on the east of the Jordan,
and the chief city of the Ammonites. In five passages -- De
3:11; 2Sa 12:26; 17:27; Jer 49:2; Eze 21:20 --it is styled
at length Rabbath of the Ammonites, or the children of
Ammon; but elsewhere, Jos 13:25; 2Sa 11:1; 12:27,29; 1Ch
20:1; Jer 49:3 simply Rabbah. When first named it is
mentioned as containing the bed or sarcophagus of the giant
Og. De 3:11 David sent Joab to besiege Rabbah. 2Sa 11:1,17
etc. Joab succeeded in capturing a portion of the place --
the "city of waters," that is, the lower town so called from
its containing the perennial stream which rises in and still
flows through it. The citadel still remained to be taken,
but this was secured shortly after David's arrival. 2Sa
12:26-31 Long after, at the date of the invasion of
Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 49:2,3 it had walls and palaces. It is
named in such terms as to imply that it was of equal
importance with Jerusalem. Eze 21:20 From Ptolemy
Philadelphus (B.C. 285-247) it received the name of
Philadelphia. It was one of the cities of the Decapolis, and
became the seat of a Christian bishop. Its ruins, which are
considerable are found at Ammon about 22 miles from the
Jordan. It lies in a valley which is a branch, or perhaps
the main course, of the Wady Zerka usually identified with
the Jabbok. The public buildings are said to be Roman,
except the citadel, which is described as of large square
stones put together without cement, and which is probably
more ancient than the rest.
2. A city of Judah named with Kirjath-jearim in Jos
15:60 only. No trace of its existence has yet been
discovered.
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or Rab'bath, great. (1.) "Rabbath of the children of Ammon,"
the
chief city of the Ammonites, among the eastern
hills, some 20
miles east of the Jordan, on the southern of the two
streams
which united with the Jabbok. Here the bedstead of
Og was
preserved (Deut. 3:11), perhaps as a trophy of some
victory
gained by the Ammonites over the king of Bashan.
After David had
subdued all their allies in a great war, he sent
Joab with a
strong force to take their city. For two years it
held out
against its assailants. It was while his army was
engaged in
this protracted siege that David was guilty of that
deed of
shame which left a blot on his character and cast a
gloom over
the rest of his life. At length, having taken the
"royal city"
(or the "city of waters," 2 Sam. 12:27, i.e., the
lower city on
the river, as distinguished from the citadel), Joab
sent for
David to direct the final assault (11:1; 12:26-31).
The city was
given up to plunder, and the people were ruthlessly
put to
death, and "thus did he with all the cities of the
children of
Ammon." The destruction of Rabbath was the last of
David's
conquests. His kingdom now reached its farthest
limits (2 Sam.
8:1-15; 1 Chr. 18:1-15). The capture of this city is
referred to
by Amos (1:14), Jeremiah (49:2, 3), and Ezekiel
(21:20; 25:5).
(2.) A city in the hill country of Judah (Josh.
15:60),
possibly the ruin Rubba, six miles north-east of
Beit-Jibrin.
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("greatness of size or numbers".)
1. Ammon's chief city, its only city named in
Scripture, in contrast to the more civilized Moab's numerous
cities (Deuteronomy 3:11; 2 Samuel 12:26; 2 Samuel 17:27;
Jeremiah 49:2; Ezekiel 21:20). (See AMMON.) Conjectured to
be the Ham of the Zuzim (Genesis 14:5). After Hanun's insult
Abishai and Joab defeated the allies Ammon and the Syrians
of Bethrehob, Zoba, Ishtob, and Maachah (2 Samuel 10). The
following year David in person defeated the Syrians at
Helam. Next, Joab with the whole army and the king's
bodyguard (including Uriah: 2 Samuel 23:39) besieged Ammon
(2 Samuel 11; 1 Chronicles 19; 20). The ark apparently
accompanied the camp (2 Samuel 11:11), a rare occurrence (1
Samuel 4:3-6); but perhaps what is meant is only that the
ark at Jerusalem was "in a tent" (2 Samuel 7:2; 2 Samuel
7:6) as was the army at Rabbah under Jehovah the Lord of the
ark, therefore Uriah would not go home to his house.
The siege lasted nearly two years, from David's
first connection with Bathsheba to the birth of Solomon. The
Ammonites made unsuccessful sallies (2 Samuel 11:17). Joab
finally took the lower town, which, from the stream rising
in it and flowing through it perennially, is called "the
city of waters," and from the king's palace "the royal
city." Then in a characteristic speech, half jest half
earnest (2 Samuel 12:28, compare 2 Samuel 19:6-7), which
shows the power he had gained over David through David's
secret and wicked commission (2 Samuel 11:14-15), he invited
David to crown the capture by taking the citadel lest if he
(Joab) took it, it should be called after his name. Josephus
(Ant. 7:7, section 5) says the fortress had but one well,
inadequate to supply the wants of its crowded occupants. (On
its capture by David, and his putting the people under saws
and harrows to cut them in pieces in retaliation for their
cruelties, see DAVID, also Judges 1:7; 1 Samuel 11:2.)
Amos (Amos 1:14) speaks of its "wall" and "palaces"
and "king" (perhaps Moloch) about to be judged by God. So
also Jeremiah 49:2-3. Nebuchadnezzar attacked Ammon because
of Baalis their king having instigated Ishmael to slay
Gedaliah the Chaldaean governor (Jeremiah 40:14). See 1
Maccabees 5:6 as to subsequent judgments on Ammon. Ezekiel
(Ezekiel 21:20) depicts Nebuchadnezzar's divination to
decide whether he should attack Jerusalem or Rabbah the
first. Jerusalem's fall should be followed by that of Rabbah
(compare Josephus, Ant. 10:9, section 7). Under the
Ptolemies Rabbah still continued of importance as supplying
water for the journey across the desert, and was made a
garrison for repelling the Bedouins of that quarter.
Ptolemy Philadelphus named it Philadelphia. Josephus
(B. J. 3:3, section 3) includes Rabbah in Decapolis. Now
Amman, on a tributary (Moiet Amman) of the Zerka river
(Jabbok), 19 miles S.E. of Es Salt ("Ramoth Gilead"), 22 E.
of Jordan. Its temple, theater, and forum are remarkable
ruins. Eight Corinthian columns of the theater (the largest
known in Syria) remain. It has become as foretold "a stable
for camels, a couching place for flocks a desolate heap"
(Ezekiel 25:5). Its coins bear the image of Astarte, and the
word Heracleion from Hercules the idol which succeeded
Moloch. The large square stones of the citadel are put
together without cement, the massive walls are evidently
very ancient.
2. Rabbah of Moab, called in the Bible Ar, in the
highlands S.E. of the Dead Sea.
3. Rabbah of Judah, near Kirjath Jearim (Joshua
15:60).
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Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites;
and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be
burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that
were his heirs, saith the LORD.
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And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time
when kings go forth [to battle], that David sent Joab, and his
servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the
children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried
still at Jerusalem.
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And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that
Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon,
and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the
Gileadite of Rogelim,
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Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of
Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by
the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his
priests and his princes together.
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But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall
devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of
battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
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And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and
half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that [is]
before Rabbah;
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And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites
a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I [am] the
LORD.
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And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and
took the royal city.
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And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought
against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
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Kirjathbaal, which [is] Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities
with their villages:
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And David gathered all the people together, and went to
Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
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And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the
time that kings go out [to battle], Joab led forth the power
of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon,
and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem.
And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.
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ra'-ma (ha-ramah, without the definite article only in Neh
11:33; Jer 31:15): The name denotes height, from root rum,
"to be high," and the towns to which it applied seem all to
have stood on elevated sites.
(1) Codex Vaticanus Arael; Codex Alexandrinus Rhama: A
fenced city in the lot assigned to Naphtali (Josh 19:36).
Only in this passage is the place referred to. It is
probably identical with the modern er-Rameh, a large
Christian village on the highway from Cafed to the coast,
about 8 miles West-Southwest of that city. To the North
rises the mountain range which forms the southern boundary
of Upper Galilee. In the valley to the South there is much
rich land cultivated by the villagers. The olives grown here
are very fine, and fruitful vineyards cover many of the
surrounding slopes. No remains of antiquity are to be seen
above ground; but the site is one likely to have been
occupied in ancient times.
(2) Rhama: A city that is mentioned only once, on the
boundary of Asher (Josh 19:29). The line of the boundary
cannot be followed with certainty; but perhaps we may
identify Ramah with the modern Ramiyeh, a village situated
on a hill which rises in the midst of a hollow, some 13
miles Southeast of Tyre, and 12 miles East of the Ladder of
Tyre. To the Southwest is a marshy lake which dries up in
summer. Traces of antiquity are found in the cisterns, a
large reservoir and many sarcophagi. To the West is the high
hill Belat, with ancient ruins, and remains of a temple of
which several columns are still in situ.
(3) Codex Vaticanus Rhama; Codex Alexandrinus Iama, and
other forms: A city in the territory of Benjamin named
between Gibeon and Beeroth (Josh 18:25). The Levite thought
of it as a possible resting-place for himself and his
concubine on their northward journey (Jdg 19:13). The palm
tree of Deborah was between this and Bethel (Jdg 4:5).
Baasha, king of Samaria, sought to fortify Ramah against
Asa, king of Judah. The latter frustrated the attempt, and
carried off the materials which Bassha had collected, and
with them fortified against him Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah
(1 Ki 15:17; 2 Ch 16:5). Here the captain of
Nebuchadnezzar's guard released Jeremiah after he had been
carried in bonds from Jerusalem (Jer 40:1). It figures in
Isaiah's picture of the Assyrians' approach (Isa 10:29). It
is named by Hosea in connection with Gibeah (5:8), and is
mentioned as being reoccupied after the exile (Ezr 2:26; Neh
7:30). It was near the traditional tomb of Rachel (Jer
31:15; compare 1 Sam 10:2; Mt 2:18, the King James Version
"Rama").
From the passages cited we gather that Ramah lay some
distance to the North of Gibeah, and not far from Gibeon...
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1. Called RAMA
Mt 2:18
A city allotted to the tribe of Benjamin
Jos 18:25; Jud 19:13
Attempted fortification of, by King Baasha; destruction
of,
by Asa
1Ki 15:17-22; 2Ch 16:1-6
People of, return from the Babylonian captivity
Ezr 2:26; Ne 7:30; 11:33
Jeremiah imprisoned in
Jer 40:1
Prophecies concerning
Isa 10:29; Jer 31:15; Ho 5:8; Mt 2:18
-2. A city of the territory of the tribe of Asher
Jos 19:29
-3. A city of the territory of the tribe of Naphthali
Jos 19:36
-4. Also called RAMATHAIM-ZOPHIM
A city near Mount Ephraim
Jude 1:4,5; 1Sa 1:1
Home of Elkanah
1Sa 1:1,19; 2:11
Home of Samuel
1Sa 1:19,20; 7:17; 8:4; 15:34; 16:13
David flees to
1Sa 19:18
Samuel dies and was buried in
1Sa 25:1; 28:3
-5. RAMAH
See RAMOTH-GILEAD
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(a hill). This is the name of several places in the holy
land.
1. One of the cities of the allotment of Benjamin.
Jos 18:25 Its site is at er-Ram, about five miles from
Jerusalem, and near to Gibeah. Jud 4:5; 19:13; 1Sa 22:6 Its
people returned after the captivity. Ezr 2:26; Ne 7:30
2. The home of Elkanah, Samuel's father, 1Sa 1:19;
2:11 the birthplace of Samuel himself, his home and official
residence, the site of his altar ch. 1Sa 7:17; 8:4; 15:34;
16:13 19:18 and finally his burial-place, ch. 1Sa 25:1; 28:3
It is a contracted form of Ramathaim-zophim. All that is
directly said as to its situation is that it was in Mount
Ephraim, 1Sa 1:1 a district without defined boundaries, The
position of Ramah is a much-disputed question. Tradition,
however places the residence of Samuel on the lofty and
remarkable eminence of Neby Samwil which rises four miles to
the northwest of Jerusalem. Since the days of Arcult the
tradition appears to have been continuous. Here, then, we
are inclined in the present state of the evidence, to place
the Ramah of Samuel.
3. One of the nineteen fortified places of Naphtali.
Jos 19:36 Dr. Robinson has discovered a Rameh northwest of
the Sea of Galilee, about 8 miles east-south-east of Safed.
4. One of the landmarks on the boundary of Asher,
Jos 19:29 apparently between Tyre and Zidon. Some place it 3
miles east of Tyre, others 10 miles off and east-southeast
of the same city.
5. By this name in 2Ki 8:29 and 2Chr 22:6 only, is
designated Ramoth-gilead.
6. A place mentioned in the catalogue of those
reinhabited by the Benjamites after their return from the
captivity. Ne 11:33
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(Matt. 2:18), the Greek form of Ramah. (1.) A city first
mentioned in Josh. 18:25, near Gibeah of Benjamin.
It was
fortified by Baasha, king of Israel (1 Kings 15:17-
22; 2 Chr.
16:1-6). Asa, king of Judah, employed Benhadad the
Syrian king
to drive Baasha from this city (1 Kings 15:18, 20).
Isaiah
(10:29) refers to it, and also Jeremiah, who was
once a prisoner
there among the other captives of Jerusalem when it
was taken by
Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 39:8-12; 40:1). Rachel, whose
tomb lies
close to Bethlehem, is represented as weeping in
Ramah (Jer.
31:15) for her slaughtered children. This prophecy
is
illustrated and fulfilled in the re-awakening of
Rachel's grief
at the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem (Matt.
2:18). It is
identified with the modern village of er-Ram,
between Gibeon and
Beeroth, about 5 miles due north of Jerusalem. (See
SAMUEL
(2.) A town identified with Rameh, on the border of
Asher,
about 13 miles south-east of Tyre, "on a solitary
hill in the
midst of a basin of green fields" (Josh. 19:29).
(3.) One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali (Josh.
19:36), on
a mountain slope, about seven and a half miles west-
south-west
of Safed, and 15 miles west of the north end of the
Sea of
Galilee, the present large and well-built village of
Rameh.
(4.) The same as Ramathaim-zophim (q.v.), a town of
Mount
Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1, 19).
(5.) The same as Ramoth-gilead (q.v.), 2 Kings 8:29;
2 Chr.
22:6.
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RAMA or RAMAH ("an elevated spot".)
1. In Benjamin (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18). The
cry of the weeping mothers and of Rachel is poetically
represented as heard as far as Rama, on the E. side of the
N. road between Jerusalem and Bethel; Rama where Nebuzaradan
gathered the captive Jews to take them to Babylon. Not far
from Gibeah of Saul (1 Samuel 22:6; Hosea 5:8; Isaiah 10:28-
32). Now Er Ram, five miles from Jerusalem (Judges 4:5;
Judges 19:13; Joshua 18:25). There is an Er Ram one mile and
a half E. of Bethlehem; but explain Jeremiah 31:15 as above.
Baasha fortified it, to prevent his subjects from
going S. to Jerusalem to the great feasts, and so joining
the kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 15:17-21; 2 Chronicles 16:1-
5). (See BAASHA; ASA.) The coincidence is dear between
Rama's being built by Israel, its overthrow by Judah, and
the emigration from Israel to Judah owing to Jeroboam's
idolatry (1 Kings 12:26; 2 Chronicles 11:14-17); yet the
events are named separately, and their connection only
inferred by comparison of distinct passages, a minute proof
of genuineness. Its people returned after the captivity
(Ezra 2:26; Nehemiah 7:30). The Rama, Nehemiah 11:33, was
further W.
2. The house of Elkanah, Samuel's father (1 Samuel
1:19; 1 Samuel 2:11). Samuel's birthplace, residence, and
place of burial. Here he built an altar to Jehovah (1 Samuel
7:17; 1 Samuel 8:4; 1 Samuel 15:34; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Samuel
19:18; 1 Samuel 25:1; 1 Samuel 28:3). Contracted from
Ramathaim Zophim, in Mount Ephraim (which included under its
name the northern parts of Benjamin, Bethel, and Ataroth: 2
Chronicles 13:19; 2 Chronicles 15:8; Judges 4:5; 1 Samuel
1:1). Muslim, Jewish, and Christian tradition places
Samuel's home on the height Neby Samwil, four miles N.W. of
Jerusalem, than which it is loftier. Arculf (A.D. 700)
identifies it as "Saint Samuel."
The professed tomb is a wooden box; below it is a
cave excavated like Abraham's burial place at Hebron, from
the rock, and dosed against entrance except by a narrow
opening in the top, through which pilgrims pass their lamps
and petitions to the sacred vault beneath. The city where
Samuel anointed Saul (1 Samuel 9-10) was probably not
Samuel's own city Rama, for the city of Saul's anointing was
near Rachel's sepulchre adjoining Bethlehem (1 Samuel 10:2),
whereas Mount Ephraim wherein was Ramathaim Zophim did not
reach so far S. Near Neby Samwil, the probable site of
Samuel's Rama, is the well of Sechu to which Saul came on
his way to Rama, now "Samuel's fountain" near Beit Isku.
Beit Haninah (probably Naioth) is near (1 Samuel 19:18-24).
Hosea (Hosea 5:8) refers to Rama. The appended "Zophim"
distinguishes it from Rama of Benjamin. Elkanah's ancestor
Zuph may have been the origin of the "Zophim."
3. A fortress of Naphtali in the mountainous region
N.W. of the sea, of Galilee. Now Rameh, eight miles E.S.E.
of Safed, on the main track between Akka and the N. of the
sea of Galilee, on the slope of a lofty hill.
4. On Asher's boundary between Tyre and Sidon; a
Rama is still three miles E. of Tyre.
5. Ramoth Gilead (2 Kings 8:29; 2 Chronicles 22:6).
6. Re-occupied by Benjamin on the return from
Babylon (Nehemiah 11:33). Identified by Grove with Ramleh.
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And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought
against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram
king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in
Jezreel, because he was sick.
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And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds
which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king
of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went
down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was
sick.
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And [then] the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city
Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings
thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:
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And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built
Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to
Asa king of Judah.
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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from
Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all
that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which
were carried away captive unto Babylon.
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In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king
of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the
intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of
Judah.
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Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation,
[and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused
to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.
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Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none
[was] exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and
the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa
built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
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And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before
the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and
Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
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Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to
Gibeah of Saul.
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ra-am'-sez, ram'-e-sez (Ex 1:11), (Gen 47:11; Ex 12:37; Nu
33:3,5) (ra`mecec, ra`amcec; Rhamesse; Egyptian Ra-messu,
"Ra created him" (or "it")):
1. The Meaning of "Store-Cities":
One of the two "settlements" (mickenoth) built, or "built
up," by the Hebrews for the Pharaoh, the other being Pithom,
to which the Septuagint adds a third, namely, "On which is
Heliopolis," a town near Cairo (Ex 1:11). The Hebrew term
mickenoth comes from a root meaning "to settle down" (Arabic
sakan, "settlement," Assyrian sakanu or shakanu, "to set"),
but it is rendered "strong cities" in Septuagint, "treasure
cities" in the King James Version, and (incorrectly) "store-
cities" in the Revised Version: The "land of Rameses," where
Jacob and his sons settled, was apparently the "field of
Zoan" (see ZOAN), thus lying in the Delta East of the
Bubastic branch of the Nile.
2. The Meaning of the Name:
It is often assumed that no city called Rameses would have
existed before the time of Rameses II, or the 14th century
BC, though even before Rameses I the name occurs as that of
a brother of Horemhib under the XVIIIth Dynasty. The usual
translation "Child of Ra" is grammatically incorrect in
Egyptian and as Ra was an ancient name for the "sun" it
seems possible that a town may have borne the title "Ra
created it" very early. The mention of Rameses in Gen
(47:11) is often regarded as an anachronism, since no
scholar has supposed that Jacob lived as late as the time of
Rameses II. This would equally apply to the other notices,
and at most would serve to mark the age of the passages in
the Pentateuch where Rameses is mentioned, but even this
cannot be thought to be proved (see EXODUS). According to De
Rouge (see Pierret, Vocab. Hieroglyph., 1875, 143) there
were at least three towns in Lower Egypt that bore the name
Pa Rames-ses ("city of Rameses"); but Brugsch supposes that
the place mentioned in the Old Testament was Zoan, to which
Rameses II gave this name when making it his capital in the
Delta. Dr. Budge takes the same view, while Dr. Naville and
others suppose that the site of Raamses has still to be
found.
3. Situation:
There appears to have been no certain tradition preserving
the site, for though Silvia (about 385 AD) was told that it
lay 4 miles from the town of Arabia (see GOSHEN), she found
no traces of such a place. Brugsch ("A New City of Rameses,
1876," Aegyptische Zeitschrift, 69) places one such city in
the southern part of Memphis itself. Goodwin (Rec. of Past,
Old Series, VI, 11) gives an Egyptian letter describing the
"city of Rameses-Miamun," which appears to be Zoan, since it
was on the seacoast. It was a very prosperous city when this
letter was written, and a pa-khennu or "palace city." It had
canals full of fish, lakes swarming with birds, fields of
lentils, melons, wheat, onions and sesame, gardens of vines,
almonds and figs. Ships entered its harbor; the lotus and
papyrus grew in its waters. The inhabitants greeted Rameses
II with garlands of flowers. Besides wine and mead, of the
"conqueror's city," beer was brought to the harbor from the
Kati (in Cilicia), and oil from the "Lake Sagabi." There is
no reason to suppose that Zoan was less prosperous in the
early Hyksos age, when the Hebrews dwelt in its plain,
whatever be the conclusion as to the date when the city
Rameses received that name. The description above given
agrees with the Old Testament account of the possession
given by Joseph to his family "in the best of the land, in
the land of Rameses" (Gen 47:11).
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(Called also Raamses.)
-The district in Egypt which was inhabited by the Israelites
Ge 47:11; Ex 1:11; 12:37; Nu 33:3,5
City of, built by the Israelites as a treasure city for
one
of the Pharaohs
Ex 1:11
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(child of the sun), a city and district of lower Egypt. Ge
47:11; Ex 12:37; Nu 33:3,5 This land of Rameses either
corresponds to the land of Goshen or was a district of it,
more probably the former. The city was one of the two store-
cities built for the Pharaoh who first oppressed the children
of Israel. Ex 1:11 (It was probably the capital of Goshen and
situated in the valley of the Pelusiac mouth of the Nile.
McClintock and Strong say that its location is indicated by
the present Tell Ramsis, a quadrangular mound near Belbeis.
Dr. Brugsch thinks that it was at Zoan-Tanis, the modern San,
on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, and that it was built or
enlarged by Rameses II and made his capital. --ED.)
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"the land of" (Gen. 47:11), was probably "the land of
Goshen"
(q.v.) 45:10. After the Hebrews had built Rameses,
one of the
"treasure cities," it came to be known as the "land"
in which
that city was built.
The city bearing this name (Ex. 12:37) was probably
identical
with Zoan, which Rameses II. ("son of the sun")
rebuilt. It
became his special residence, and ranked next in
importance and
magnificance to Thebes. Huge masses of bricks, made
of Nile mud,
sun-dried, some of them mixed with stubble, possibly
moulded by
Jewish hands, still mark the site of Rameses. This
was the
general rendezvous of the Israelites before they
began their
march out of Egypt. Called also Raamses (Ex. 1:11).
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There is mentioned in Egyptian monuments RHMSS, son of
Aahmes I (Lepsius); the new Pharaoh "that knew not Joseph."
The Pharaohs of the 19th dynasty of Rama (Rameses II was the
great conqueror) two centuries later have a final -u,
Ramessu. In Genesis 47:11 Rama is the name of a district. In
Exodus 1:11 Raamses is the city which already existed, but
which the Israelites now strengthened as a treasure city.
Rameses II fortified and enlarged it long after. Septuagint
make Rama the Heroopolis of later times. It and Pithom were
on the canal dug under Osirtasin of the 12th dynasty.
Derived from Ra-mes, "child of Ra" the sun god. The
Egyptians called themselves "children of Ra" front the
earliest times, even "Mizraim" may be from Mis-ra.
The name Rama would fitly apply to Goshen which was
especially associated with sun worship. Aahmes I built
cities in the Delta, especially on the eastern quarter from
whence the invading shepherds had come, and was likely as
restorer of the sun (Ra) worship to have given the name Rama
to the treasure city which Israel fortified there, as he
gave it also to his son. Besides Pi ("city") should appear
before Rama if it were the Egyptian designation from the
name of king Rameses. When Rameses II enlarged it its name
was Rama Meiamon, not Rama simply. Moreover, when enlarged
by him it was the center of a large Egyptian festive
population, whereas in Exodus 1:11 it is in the midst of
oppressed Israelites. Lepsius makes Aboo Kesheyd to be on
the site.
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And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in
the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
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And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the
fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the
passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in
the sight of all the Egyptians.
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And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth,
about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside
children.
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And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched
in Succoth.
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ra'-moth-gil'-e-ad (ramoth gil'adh; Codex Vaticanus Rhemmath
Galadd; Codex Alexandrinus Rhammoth, and other forms): A
great and strong city East of the Jordan in the territory of
Gad, which played an important part in the wars of Israel.
It is first mentioned in connection with the appointment of
the Cities of Refuge (Dt 4:43; Josh 20:8). It was assigned
to the Merarite Levites (Josh 21:38; 1 Ch 6:80). In these
four passages it is called "Ramoth in Gilead" (ramoth ba-
gil'adh). This form is given wrongly by the King James
Version in 1 Ki 22:3. In all other places the form "Ramoth-
gilead" is used.e to the shape of a jaw-bone (Jdg
15:9,14,19). It may have been in Wady es-Sarar, not far from
Zorah and Timnath; but the available data do not permit of
certain identification.
1. History:
Here Ben-geber was placed in charge of one of Solomon's
administrative districts (1 Ki 4:13), which included
Havvoth-jair and "the region of Argob, which is in Bashan."
The city was taken from Omri by the Syrians under Ben-hadad
I (Ant., VIII, xv, 3 ff), and even after the defeat of Ben-
hadad at Aphek they remained masters of this fortress. In
order to recover it for Israel Ahab invited Jehoshaphat of
Judah to accompany him in a campaign. Despite the
discouragement of Micalab, the royal pair set out on the
disastrous enterprise. In their attack on the city Ahab
fought in disguise, but was mortally wounded by an arrow
from a bow drawn "at a venture" (1 Ki 22:1-40; 2 Ch 18). The
attempt was renewed by Ahab's son Joram; but his father's
ill fortune followed him, and, heavily wounded, he retired
for healing to Jezreel (2 Ki 8:28 ff; 2 Ch 22:5 f). During
the king's absence from the camp at Ramoth-gilead Jehu was
there anointed king of Israel by Elisha (2 Ki 9:1 ff; 2 Ch
22:7). He proved a swift instrument of vengeance against the
doomed house of Ahab. According to Josephus (Ant., IX, vi,
1) the city was taken before Joram's departure. This is
confirmed by 2 Ki 9:14 ff. The place is not mentioned again,
unless, indeed, it be identical with "Mizpeh" in 1 Macc
5:35.
2. Identification:
It is just possible that Ramoth-gilead corresponds to
MIZPAH, (1), and to RAMATH-MIZPEH. The spot where Laban and
Jacob parted is called both Galeed and Mizpah. Ramath may
become Ramoth, as we see in the case of Ramah of the South.
Merrill identifies the city with Jerash, the splendid ruins
of which lie in Wady ed-Deir, North of the Jabbok. He quotes
the Bah Talmud (Makkoth 9b) as placing the Cities of Refuge
in pairs, so that those on the East of the Jordan are
opposite those on the West Shechem, being the middle ...
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Also called RAMAH
2Ki 8:2; 2Ch 22:6
-A city of the territory of the tribe of Gad, and one of the
cities of refuge
De 4:43; Jos 20:8; 1Ch 6:80
-One of Solomon's commissaries there
1Ki 4:13
-In the possession of the Syrians
1Ki 22:3
-Besieged by Israel and Judah; Ahab killed there
1Ki 22:29-36; 2Ch 18
-Recovered by Joram; Joram wounded there
2Ki 8:28,29; 9:14,15; 2Ch 22:5,6
-Elisha anoints Jehu to be king there
2Ki 9:1-6
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(heights of Gilead), one of the great fastnesses on the east
of jordan, and the key to an important district. 1Ki 4:13 It
was the city of refuge for the tribe of Gad, De 4:43; Jos
20:8; 21:38 and the residence of one of Solomon's commissariat
officers. 1Ki 4:13 During the invasion related in 1Ki 15:20 or
some subsequent incursion, this important place had seized by
Ben-hadad I., king of Syria. The incidents of Ahab's
expedition are well known. [AHAB] Later it was taken by
Israel, and held in spite of all the efforts of Hazael who was
now on the throne of Damascus, to regain it.
2Ki 9:14 Henceforward Ramoth-gilead disappears from
our view. Eusebius and Jerome specify the position of Ramoth
as 15 miles from Philadelphia (Amman). It may correspond to
the site bearing the name of Jel'ad, exactly identical with
the ancient Hebrew Gilead, which is four or five miles north
of es-Salt, 25 miles east of the Jordan and 13 miles south of
the brook Jabbok.
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(swift), the second of the "two rivers of Damascus" --Abana
and Pharpar --alluded to by Naaman. 2Ki 5:18 The two principal
streams in the district of Damascus are the Barada and the
Awaj, the former being the Abana and the latter the Pharpur.
The Awaj rises on the southeast slopes of Hermon, and flows
into the most southerly of the three lakes or swamps of
Damascus.
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swift, one of the rivers of Damascus (2 Kings 5:12). It has
been
identified with the 'Awaj, "a small lively river." The
whole of
the district watered by the 'Awaj is called the Wady
el-'Ajam,
i.e., "the valley of the Persians", so called for some
unknown
reason. This river empties itself into the lake or
marsh Bahret
Hijaneh, on the east of Damascus. One of its branches
bears the
modern name of Wady Barbar, which is probably a
corruption of
Pharpar.
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("swift" or else "crooked"). One of the chief rivers of Syria,
eight miles from Damascus 2 Kings 5:12); the Awaj, as the
Abana is the Baruda. The ridge jebel Aswad separates Pharpar
from Damascus. Pharpar rising on the S.E. side of Hermon ends
in the bahret Hijaneh, the most southern of the three lakes or
swamps of Damascus, due E. 40 miles from its source. Smaller
than the Barada, and sometimes dried up in its lower course,
which the Barada never is.
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[Are] not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than
all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be
clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
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fil-a-del-'fi-a (Philadelphia: A city of ancient Lydia in
Asia Minor on the Cogamus River, 105 miles from Smyrna. It
stood upon a terrace 650 ft. above the sea. Behind it are
the volcanic cliffs to which the Turks have given the name
of Devitt, or "inkwells"; on the other side of the city the
land is exceedingly fertile, and there was produced a wine
of whose excellence the celebrated Roman poet Virgil wrote.
Philadelphia is not so ancient as many of the other cities
of Asia Minor, for it was founded after 189 BC on one of the
highways which led to the interior. Its name was given to it
in honor of Attalus II, because of his loyalty to his elder
brother, Eumenes II, king of Lydia. Still another name of
the city was Decapolis, because it was considered as one of
the ten cities of the plain. A third name which it bore
during the 1st century. AD was Neo-kaisaria; it appears upon
the coins struck during that period. During the reign of
Vespasian, it was called Flavia. Its modern name, Ala-
shehir, is considered by some to be a corruption of the
Turkish words Allah-shehir, "the city of God," but more
likely it is a name given it from the reddish color of the
soil. In addition to all of these names it sometimes bore
the title of "Little Athens" because of the magnificence of
the temples and other public buildings which adorned it.
Philadelphia quickly became an important and wealthy trade
center, for as the coast cities declined, it grew in power,
and retained its importance even until late Byzantine times.
One of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation (Rev 3:7
ff) was there, and it was the seat of a bishop. As in most
Asia Minor cities, many Jews lived there, and they possessed
a synagogue. During the reign of Tiberius the city was
destroyed by an earthquake, yet it was quickly rebuilt.
Frederick Barbarossa entered it while on his crusade in
1190. Twice, in 1306 and 1324, it was besieged by the Seljuk
Turks, but it retained its independence until after 1390,
when it was captured by the combined forces of the Turks and
Byzantines. In 1403 Tamerlane captured it, and, it is said,
built about it a wall of the corpses of his victims.
Ala-shehir is still a Christian town; one-fourth of its
modern population is Greek, and a Greek bishop still makes
his home there. One of the chief modern industries is a
liquorice factory; in the fields about the city the natives
dig for the roots. On the terrace upon which the ancient
city stood, the ruins of the castle and the walls may still
be seen, and among them is pointed out the foundation of the
early church. The place may now best be reached by rail from
Smyrna.
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(A city of Lydia)
-One of the seven congregations in
Re 1:11; 3:7-13
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strictly Philadelphi'a (brotherly love), a town on the
confines of Lydia and Phrygia Catacecaumene, 25 southeast of
Sardis, and built by Attalus II., king of Pergamos, who died
B.C. 138. It was situated on the lower slopes of Tmolus, and
is still represented by a town called Allah-shehr (city of
God). Its elevation is 952 feet above the sea. The original
population of Philadelphia. Seems to have been Macedonian;
but there was, as appears from Le 3:9 a synagogue of
Hellenizing Jews there, as well as a Christian church. (It
was the seat of one of "the seven churches of Asia.") The
locality was subject to constant earthquakes, which in the
time of Strabo rendered even the town walls of Philadelphia
unsafe. The expense of reparation was constant, and hence
perhaps the poverty of the members of the church. Re 3:8
(The church was highly commended.) Re 3:7-13 Even Gibbon
bears the following well-known testimony to the truth of the
prophecy, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I
also will keep thee in the hour of temptation": "At a
distance from the sea, forgotten by the (Greek) emperor
encompassed, all sides by the Turks, her valiant citizens
defended their religion and freedom above fourscore years.
Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia
is still erect, a column in a scene of ruins." "The modern
town (Allah-shehr, city of God), although spacious,
containing 3000 houses and 10,000 inhabitants, is badly
built; the dwellings are mean and the streets filthy. The
inhabitants are mostly Turks. A few ruins are found,
including remains of a wall and about twenty-five churches.
In one place are four strong marble pillars, which once
supported the dome of a church. One of the old mosques is
believed by the native Christians to have been the church in
which assembled the primitive Christians addressed in the
Apocalypse." Whitney's Bible Geography.)
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brotherly love, a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, about 25 miles
south-east of Sardis. It was the seat of one of the
"seven
churches" (Rev. 3:7-12). It came into the possession
of the
Turks in A.D. 1392. It has several times been nearly
destroyed
by earthquakes. It is still a town of considerable
size, called
Allahshehr, "the city of God."
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In Lydia, on the lower slopes of Tmolus, 28 miles S.E. of
Sardis; built by Attalus II, Philadelphus, king of Pergamus,
who died. 138 B.C. Nearly destroyed by an earthquake in
Tiberius' reign (Tacitus, Annals 2:47). The connection of
its church with the Jews causes Christ's address to have Old
Testament coloring and imagery (Revelation 3:7-18). It and
Smyrna alone of the seven, the most afflicted, receive
unmixed praise. To Smyrna the promise is, "the synagogue of
Satan" should not prevail against her faithful ones; to
Philadelphia, she should even win over some of "the
synagogue of Satan," (the Jews who might have been the
church of God, but by opposition had become "the synagogue
of Satan") to "fall on their faces and confess God is in her
of a truth" (1 Corinthians 14:25).
Her name expresses "brotherly love," in conflict
with legal bondage. Her converts fall low before those whom
once they persecuted (Psalm 84:10; Acts 16:29-33). The
promise, "him that overcometh I will make a pillar," i.e.
immovably firm, stands in contrast to Philadelphia often
shaken by earthquakes. Curiously, a portion of a stone
church wall topped with arches of brick remains; the
building must have been magnificent, and dates from
Theodosius. The region being of disintegrated lava was
favourable to the vine; and the coins bear the head of
Bacchus. This church had but" little strength," i.e. was
small in numbers and poor in resources, of small account in
men's eyes.
The cost of repairing the often shaken city taxed
heavily the citizens. Poverty tended to humility; conscious
of weakness Philadelphia leant on Christ her strength (2
Corinthians 12:9); so she "kept His word," and when tested
did "not deny His name." So "He who hath the key of David,
He that openeth and no man shutteth," "set before"
Philadelphia an open door which no man can shut. Faithful in
keeping the word of Christ's patience (i.e. the persevering
endurance which He requires) Philadelphia was kept, i.e.
delivered, out of the hour of temptation. "Among the Greek
churches of Asia Philadelphia is still erect, a column in a
scene of ruins, a pleasing example that the paths of honour
and safety may be sometimes the same." (Gibbon.) The Turks
call it Allah Shehr, "city of God"; or rather, "beautiful
('alah) city."
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And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These
things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath
the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and
shutteth, and no man openeth;
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Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
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fi-lip'-i (Philippoi, ethnic Philippesios, Phil 4:15):
1. Position and Name:
A city of Macedonia, situated in 41ø 5' North latitude and
24ø 16' East longitude. It lay on the Egnatian Road, 33
Roman miles from Amphipolis and 21 from Acontisma, in a
plain bounded on the East and North by the mountains which
lie between the rivers Zygactes and Nestus, on the West by
Mt. Pangaeus, on the South by the ridge called in antiquity
Symbolum, over which ran the road connecting the city with
its seaport, NEAPOLIS (which see), 9 miles distant. This
plain, a considerable part of which is marshy in modern, as
in ancient, times, is connected with the basin of the
Strymon by the valley of the Angites (Herodotus vii.113),
which also bore the names Gangas or Gangites (Appian, Bell.
Civ. iv.106), the modern Anghista. The ancient name. of
Philippi was Crenides (Strabo vii.331; Diodorus xvi.3, 8;
Appian, Bell. Civ. iv.105; Stephanus Byz. under the word),
so called after the springs which feed the river and the
marsh; but it was refounded by Philip II of Macedon, the
father of Alexander the Great, and received his name.
2. History:
Appian (Bell. Civ. iv.105) and Harpocration say that
Crenides was afterward called Daton, and that this name was
changed to Philippi, but this statement is open to question,
since Daton, which became proverbial among the Greeks for
good fortune, possessed, as Strabo tells us (vii.331 fr.
36), "admirably fertile territory, a lake, rivers, dockyards
and productive gold mines," whereas Philippi lies, as we
have seen, some 9 miles inland. Many modern authorities,
therefore, have placed Daton on the coast at or near the
site of Neapolis. On the whole, it seems best to adopt the
view of Heuzey (Mission archeologique, 35, 62 ff) that Daton
was not originally a city, but the whole district which lay
immediately to the East of Mt. Pangaeus, including the
Philippian plain and the seacoast about Neapolis. On the
site of the old foundation of Crenides, from which the Greek
settlers had perhaps been driven out by the Thracians about
a century previously, the Thasians in 360 BC founded their
colony of Daton with the aid of the exiled Athenian
statesman Callistratus, in order to exploit the wealth, both
agricultural and mineral, of the neighborhood. To Philip,
who ascended the Macedonian throne in 359 BC, the possession
of this spot seemed of the utmost importance. Not only is
the plain itself well watered and of extraordinary
fertility, but a strongly-fortified post planted here would
secure the natural land-route from Europe to Asia and
protect the eastern frontier of Macedonia against Thracian
inroads. Above all, the mines of the district might meet his
most pressing need, that of an abundant supply of gold. The
site was therefore seized in 358 BC, the city was enlarged,
strongly fortitled, and renamed, the Thasian settlers either
driven out or reinforced, and the mines, worked with
characteristic energy, produced over 1,000 talents a year
(Diodorus xvi.8) and enabled Philip to issue a gold currency
which in the West soon superseded the Persian darics (G.F.
Hill, Historical Greek Coins, 80 ff). The revenue thus
obtained was of inestimable value to Philip, who not only
used it for the development of the Macedonian army, but also
proved himself...
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(A city of Macedonia)
-Paul preaches in
Ac 16:12-40; 20:1-6; 1Th 2:2
-Contributes to the maintenance of Paul
Php 4:10-18
-Paul sends Epaphroditus to
Php 2:25
-Paul writes a letter to the Christians of
Php 1:1
Read More
(named from Philip of Macedonia), a city of Macedonia about
nine miles from the sea, to the northwest of the island of
Thasos which is twelve miles distant from its port Neapolis,
the modern Kavalla. It is situated in a plain between the
ranges of Pangaeus and Haemus. The Philippi which St. Paul
visited was a Roman colony founded by Augustus after the
famous battle of Philippi, fought here between Antony and
Octavius and Brutus and Cassius, B.C. 42. The remains which
strew the ground near the modern Turkish village Bereketli
are no doubt derived from that city. The original town,
built by Philip of Macedonia, was probably not exactly on
the same site. Philip, when he acquired possession of the
site, found there a town named Datus or Datum, which was
probably in its origin a factory of the Phoenicians, who
were the first that worked the gold-mines in the mountains
here, as in the neighboring Thasos. The proximity of the
goldmines was of course the origin of so large a city as
Philippi, but the plain in which it lies is of extraordinary
fertility. The position, too, was on the main road from Rome
to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which from Thessalonica to
Constantinople followed the same course as the existing
post-road. On St. Paul's visits to Philippi, see the
following article. At Philippi the gospel was first preached
in Europe. Lydia was the first convert. Here too Paul and
Silas were imprisoned. Ac 16:23 The Philippians sent
contributions to Paul to relieve his temporal wants.
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(1.) Formerly Crenides, "the fountain," the capital of the
province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the
Sea, about
8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined
village,
called Philibedjik. Philip of Macedonia fortified
the old
Thracian town of Crenides, and called it after his
own name
Philippi (B.C. 359-336). In the time of the Emperor
Augustus
this city became a Roman colony, i.e., a military
settlement of
Roman soldiers, there planted for the purpose of
controlling the
district recently conquered. It was a "miniature
Rome," under
the municipal law of Rome, and governed by military
officers,
called duumviri, who were appointed directly from
Rome. Having
been providentially guided thither, here Paul and
his companion
Silas preached the gospel and formed the first
church in Europe.
(See LYDIA -T0002339.) This success stirred up the
enmity of the
people, and they were "shamefully entreated" (Acts
16:9-40; 1
Thess. 2:2). Paul and Silas at length left this city
and
proceeded to Amphipolis (q.v.).
(2.) When Philip the tetrarch, the son of Herod,
succeeded to
the government of the northern portion of his
kingdom, he
enlarged the city of Paneas, and called it Caesarea,
in honour
of the emperor. But in order to distinguish it from
the Caesarea
on the sea coast, he added to it subsequently his
own name, and
called it Caesarea-Philippi (q.v.).
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A city of Macedon, in a plain between the Pangaeus arid
Haemus ranges, nine miles from the sea. Paul from the port
Neapolis (Kavalla) on the coast (Acts 16:11) reached
Philippi by an ancient paved road over the steep range
Symbolum (which runs from the W. end of Haemus to the S. end
of Pangaeus) in his second missionary journey, A.D 51. The
walls are traced along the stream; at 350 ft. from it is the
site of the gate through which Paul went to the place of
prayer by the river's (Gangites) side, where the dyer Lydia
was converted, the firstfruits of the gospel in Europe. (See
LYDIA.) Dyed goods were imported from Thyatira to the parent
city Philippi, and were dispersed by pack animals among the
mountaineers of Haemus and Pangaeus. The Satriae tribe had
the oracle of Dionysus, the Thracian prophet god. The
"damsel with the spirit of divination" may have belonged to
this shrine, or else to Apollo's (as the spirit is called
"Pythoness," Greek), and been hired by the Philippians to
divine for hire to the country folk coming to the market.
She met Paul several days on his way to the place of
prayer, and used to cry out on each occasion "these servants
of the most high God announce to us the way of salvation."
Paul cast out the spirit; and her owners brought him and
Silas before the magistrates, the duumvirs, who inflicted
summary chastisement, never imagining they were Romans. Paul
keenly felt this wrong (Acts 16:37), and took care
subsequently that his Roman privilege should not be set at
nought (Acts 22:25; 1 Thessalonians 2:2). Philippi was
founded by Philip of Macedon, in the vicinity of the famed
gold mines, on the site "the springs" (Kremides). Augustus
founded the Roman "colony" to commemorate his victory over
Brutus and Cassius Acts 16:12), Acts 16:42 B.C., close to
the ancient site, on the main road from Europe to Asia by
Brundusium, Dyrrachium, across Epirus to Thessalonica, and
so forward by Philippi. Philippi was "the first (i.e.
farthest from Rome and first which Paul met in entering
Macedon) city of the district" called Macedonia Prima, as
lying farthest eastward, not as KJV "the chief city."
Thessalonica was chief city of the province, and
Amphipolis of the district "Macedonia Prima." A "colony"
(accurately so named by Luke as distinguished from the Greek
apoikia) was Rome reproduced in miniature in the provinces
(Jul. Gellius, 16:13); its inhabitants had Roman
citizenship, the right of voting in the Roman tribes, their
own senate and magistrates, the Roman law and language. That
the Roman "colonia," not the Greek apoikia...
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same as Philip - warlike; a lover of horses
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Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the
saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops
and deacons:
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And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened
bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we
abode seven days.
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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the communion of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen.
<[The second [epistle] to the Corinthians was written from
Philippi, [a city] of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.]>
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And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of
Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples,
saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
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And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that
part of Macedonia, [and] a colony: and we were in that city
abiding certain days.
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My love [be] with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. <[The first
[epistle] to the Corinthians was written from Philippi by
Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus and Timotheus.]>
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But even after that we had suffered before, and were
shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in
our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much
contention.
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When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he
asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of
man am?
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fi-lis'-ti-a: The country is referred to under various
designations in the Old Testament: namely, pelesheth
(Philistia) (Ps 60:8 (Hebrew 10); 87:4), 'erets pelishtim,
"land of the Philistines" (Gen 21:32,34), geloth
hapelishtim; Septuagint ge ton Phulistieim, "the regions of
the Philistines" (Josh 13:2). The Egyptian monuments have
Puirsatha, Pulsath (Budge), Peleset (Breasted) and Purasati
(HGHL), according to the different voweling of the radicals;
the Assyrian form is Palastu or Pilistu, which corresponds
very closely to the Egyptian and the Hebrew. The extent of
the land is indicated in Josh 13:2 as being from the Shihor,
or Brook of Egypt (Revised Version), to the border of Ekron,
northward. The eastern border was along the Judean foothills
on the line of Beth-shemesh (1 Sam 6:9) with the sea on the
West. It was a very small country, from 25 to 30 miles in
length and with an average width of about half the length,
but it was fertile, being an extension of the plain of
Sharon, except that along the coast high sand dunes
encroached upon the cultivated tract. It contained many
towns and villages, the most important being the five so
often mentioned in Scripture: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath
and Ekron. The population must have been large for the
territory, which enabled them to contend successfully with
the Israelites, notwithstanding the superiority of position
in the hills to the advantage of the latter.
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The sea coast in the west of the territories of the tribes of
Dan and Simeon
Ps 60:8; 87:4; 108:9
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(Heb. Pelesheth) (land of sojourners). The word thus
translated (in) Ps 60:8; 87:4; 108:9 is in the original
identical with that elsewhere rendered Israel, which always
means land of the Philistines. (Philistia was the plain on the
southwest coast of Israel. It was 40 miles long on the
coast of the Mediterranean between Gerar and Joppa, and 10
miles wide at the northern end and 20 at the southern.--ED.)
This plain has been in all ages remarkable for the extreme
richness of its soil. It was also adapted to the growth of
military power; for while the itself permitted. the use of
war-chariots, which were the chief arm of offence, the
occasional elevations which rise out of it offered secure
sites for towns and strongholds. It was, moreover, a
commercial country: from its position it must have been at all
times the great thoroughfare between Phoenicia and Syria in
the north and Egypt and Arabia in the south.
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=Israel (q.v.), "the land of the Philistines" (Ps. 60:8;
87:4; 108:9). The word is supposed to mean "the land
of wanderers" or "of strangers."
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See Israel, which is the same word, and originally meant
"the land of the PHILISTINES:" (See PALESTINE.) Psalm 60:8;
Psalm 87:4; Psalm 108:9.) Caphtorim; Amos 9:7, "the
Philistines from Caphtor"; Jeremiah 47:4; Deuteronomy 2:23.
Genesis 10:14 "Casluhim, out of whom came Philistine." (See
CAPHTORIM; CASLUHIM.) Both came from Mizraim, i.e. Egypt. As
in Amos and Jeremiah the Philistines are traced to Caphtor,
probably the Casluhim and Caphtorim were tribes which
intermingled, the Caphtorim having strengthened the
Casluchian colony by immigration; so the Philistines may be
said to have come from either (Bochart). Philistia is
derived from the Ethiopic falasa "to emigrate," Hebrew
palash, "wander." (In the W. of Abyssinia are the Falashas,
i.e., emigrants, probably Israelites from Israel.)
Successive emigrations of the same race took place into
Philistia, first the Casluhim, then the Caphtorim from both
of which came the Philistines, who seemingly were in
subjection in Caphtor (the northern delta of Egypt), from
whence "Jehovah brought them up" (Amos 9:7). (See CAPHTOR.)
The objection to the Mizraite origin of the
Philistines from their language is answered by the
supposition that the Philistine or Caphtorim invaders
adopted the language of the Avim whom they conquered
(Deuteronomy 2:23). Their uncircumcision was due to their
having left Egypt at a date anterior to the Egyptians'
adoption (Herodotus ii. 36) of circumcision (compare
Jeremiah 9:25-26). The Cherethites were probably Caphtorim,
the modern Copts. Keratiya in the Philistine country, at the
edge of the Negeb or "south country," and now called "castle
of the Fenish," i.e. Philistines, is related to the name
Cherethites; so "Philistines" is related to "Pelethites."
Their immigration to the neighborhood of Gerar in the south
country was before Abraham's time, for he deals with them as
a pastoral tribe there (Genesis 21:32; Genesis 21:84;
Genesis 26:1; Genesis 26:8). This agrees with the statement
(Deuteronomy 2:23) that the Avim dwelt in Hazerim, i.e. in
nomadic encampments. By the time of the Exodus the
Philistines had become formidable (Exodus 13:17; Exodus
15:14).
At Israel's invasion of Canaan they had advanced N.
and possessed fully the seacoast plain from the river of
Egypt (el Arish) to Ekron in the N. (Joshua 15:4; Joshua
15:47), a confederacy of the five cities (originally
Canaanite) Gaza (the leading one), Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath,
and Ekron (always put last). Each city had its prince
(called seren or sar; Joshua 13:3 "lords"): Amos 1:7-8. The
opprobrious name given to the shepherd kings, Philition
(Herodotus ii. 12) seems related to Philistine. Their plain
was famed for its fertility in grain, vines, and olives
(Judges 15:5), so that it was the refuge from times of
famine (2 Kings 8:2; compare Genesis 26:12). It suited war
chariots, while the low hills of the shephelah afforded
sites for fortresses. Philistia is an undulating plain, 32
miles long, and from nine to 16 broad, from 30 to 300 ft.
above the sea. To the E. lie low spurs culminating in hog's
backs running N. and S., and rising in places 1,200 ft.
above the sea. To the E. of these the descent is steep,
about 500 ft., to valleys E. of which the hill country
begins.
The sand is gaining on the land, so that one meets
often a deep hollow in the sand, and a figtree...
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I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me:
behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this [man] was born
there.
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Moab [is] my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe:
Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
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Moab [is] my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over
Philistia will I triumph.
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fe-nish'-i-a, fe-nish'-anz:
1. The Land
2. The Colonies
3. The People
4. Arts and Manufactures
5. Commerce and Trade
6. Language and Culture
7. Religion
8. History
LITERATURE
1. The Land:
The term "Phoenicia" is Greek (Phoinike, "land of dates, or
palm trees," from phoinix, "the date-palm"). It occurs in
the Bible only in Acts (11:19; 15:3; 21:2), the land being
generally designated as the "coast" or "borders of Tyre and
Sidon" (Mt 15:21; Mk 7:24,31; Lk 6:17). In the Old Testament
we find it included in the land belonging to the Canaanites
or to Sidon (Gen 10:19; 49:13; Josh 11:8; 1 Ki 17:9). The
limits of Phoenicia were indefinite also. It is sometimes
used by classic writers as including the coast line from Mt.
Cassius on the North to Gaza or beyond on the South, a
distance of some 380 miles, or about 400 miles if we include
the sweep of indentations and bays and the outstretching of
the promontories. But in the stricter sense, it did not
extend beyond Gabala (modern Jebleh) on the North, and Mt.
Carmel on the South, or some 150 miles. The name was
probably first applied to the region opposite Cyprus, from
Gabala to Aradus and Marathus, where the date-palm was
observed, and then, as it was found in still greater
abundance farther South, it was applied to that region also.
The palm tree is common on the coins of both Aradus and
Tyre, and it still grows on the coast, though not in great
abundance. The width of the land also was indefinite, not
extending inland beyond the crest of the two ranges of
mountains, the Bargylus (Nusairi Mountains) and the Lebanon,
which run parallel to the coast and leave but little space
between them and the sea for the greater portion of their
length. It is doubtful whether the Phoenicians occupied the
mountain tracts, but they must have dominated them on the
western slopes, since they derived from them timber for
their ships and temples. The width of the country probably
did not exceed 25 or 30 miles at the most, and in many
places it was much less, a very small territory, in fact,
but one that played a distinguished role in ancient times.
There are few harbors on the whole coast, none in the modern
sense, since what few bays and inlets there are afford but
slight shelter to modern ships, but those of the ancients
found sufficient protection in a number of places,
especially by means of artificial harbors, and the facility
with which they could be drawn out upon the sandy beach in
winter when navigation was suspended. The promontories are
few and do not project far into the sea, such as Theu-
prosopon South of Tripolis, Ras Beirut and the broad
projection South of Tyre including Ras el-`Abyadh and Ras
en-Naqura and Ras el-Musheirifeh (see LADDER OF TYRE). The
promontory of Carmel is rather more marked than the others,
and forms quite an extensive bay, which extends to Acre. The
promontory rises to a height of 500 ft. or more near the sea
and to more than double that elevation in its course to the
Southeast.
Mt. Lebanon, which forms the background of Phoenicia for
about 100 miles, is a most striking feature of the
landscape. It rises to a height of 10,200 ft. in the highest
point, East of Tripolis, and to 8,500 in Jebel Sunnin, East
of Beirut, and the average elevation is from 5,000 to 6,000
ft. It is rent by deep gorges where the numerous streams
have cut their way to the sea, furnishing most varied and
picturesque...
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(land of palm trees) a tract of country, of which Tyre and
Sidon were the principal cities, to the north of Israel,
along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea bounded by that sea
on the west, and by the mountain range of Lebanon on the
east. The name was not the one by which its native
inhabitants called it, but was given to it by the Greeks,
from the Greek word for the palm tree. The native name of
Phoenicia was Kenaan (Canaan) or Kna, signifying lowland, so
named in contrast to the ad joining Aram, i.e. highland, the
Hebrew name of Syria. The length of coast to which the name
of Phoenicia was applied varied at different times.
1. What may be termed Phoenicia proper was a narrow
undulating plain, extending from the pass of Ras el-Beyad or
Abyad, the Promontorium Album of the ancients, about six
miles south of Tyre, to the Nahr el-Auly, the ancient
Bostrenus, two miles north of Sidon. The plain is only 28
miles in length. Its average breadth is about a mile; but
near Sidon the mountains retreat to a distance of two miles,
and near Tyre to a distance of five miles.
2. A longer district, which afterward became
entitled to the name of Phoenicia, extended up the coast to
a point marked by the island of Aradus, and by Antaradus
toward the north; the southern boundary remaining the same
as in Phoenicia proper. Phoenicia, thus defined is estimated
to have been about 120 miles in length; while its breadth,
between Lebanon and the sea, never exceeded 20 miles, and
was generally much less. The whole of Phoenicia proper is
well watered by various streams from the adjoining hills.
The havens of Tyre and Sidon afforded water of sufficient
depth for all the requirements of ancient navigation, and
the neighboring range of the Lebanon, in its extensive
forests, furnished what then seemed a nearly inexhaustible
supply of timber for ship-building. Language and race. --The
Phoenicians spoke a branch of the Semitic language so
closely allied to Hebrew that Phoenician and Hebrew, though
different dialects, may practically be regarded as the same
language. Concerning the original race to which the
Phoenicians belonged, nothing can be known with certainty,
because they are found already established along the
Mediterranean Sea at the earliest dawn of authentic history,
and for centuries afterward there is no record of their
origin. According to Herodotus, vii. 89, they said of
themselves in his time that they came in days of old from
the shores of the Red Sea and in this there would be nothing
in the slightest degree improbable as they spoke a language
cognate to that of the Arabians, who inhabited the east
coast of that sea. Still neither the truth nor the falsehood
of the tradition can now be proved. But there is one point
respecting their race which can be proved to be in the
highest degree probable, and which has peculiar interest as
bearing on the Jews, viz., that the Phoenicians were of the
same race as the Canaanites. Commerce, etc. --In regard to
Phoenician trade, connected with the Israelites, it must be
recollected that up to the time of David not one of the
twelve tribes seems to have possessed a single harbor on the
seacoast; it was impossible there fore that they could
become a commercial people. But from the time that David had
conquered Edom, an opening for trade was afforded to the
Israelites. Solomon continued this trade with its king,
obtained timber from its territory and employed its sailors
and workmen. 2Sa 5:11; 1Ki 5:9,17,18 The religion of the
Phoenicians, opposed to Monotheism, was a pantheistical
personification of the forces of nature and in its most
philosophical shadowing forth of the supreme powers it may
be said to have represented the male and female principles
of production. In its popular form it was especially a
worship of the sun, moon and five planets, or, as it might
have been expressed according to ancient notions, of the
seven planets --the most beautiful and perhaps the most
natural form of idolatry ever presented to the human
imagination. Their worship was a constant temptation for the
Hebrews to Polytheism and idolatry --
1. Because undoubtedly the Phoenicians, as a great
commercial people, were more generally intelligent, and as
we should...
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(Acts 21:2). (See PHENICIA -T0002930.)
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The Greek name, "the land of the palm." Kenrick supposes the
term to express the sunburnt color of the people. The native
name was Canaan, "lowland," in contrast to Aram "the
highland," Syria. The woman in Matthew 15:22 said to be "of
Canaan" in Mark 7:26 is called "Syrophoenician." Phoenice
proper was the narrow plain stretching from six miles S. of
Tyre to two miles N. of Sidon, 28 miles in all, and from one
to two miles broad, a small land to have wielded so mighty
an influence. Sidon in the N. is 20 miles from Tyre in the
S.; Zarephath lay between. Phoenice in the larger sense
extended from the same southern boundary 120 miles northward
to Antaradus and the island Aradus, 20 miles broad. Berytus,
now Beirut (Ezekiel 47:16; 2 Samuel 8:8 BEROTHAH, Berothai),
was 15 geographical miles N. of Sidon. (See ARVAD.) Farther
north was Byblus (GEBAL, Ezekiel 27:9). Next is Tripolis.
Next Arad or Arvad (Genesis 10:18; Ezekiel 27:8). The soil
is fertile except between the river Bostremus and Beirut.
Tyre and Sidon were havens sufficient in water depth
for the requirements of ancient ships; and Lebanon adjoining
supplied timber abundant for shipbuilding. The Phoenicians
were the great merchants, sailors, and colonists of the
ancient world. The language is Semitic (from Shem), and was
acquired by the Hamitic settlers in Canaan from the original
Semitic occupants; it probably has a Hamitic element too
(these Semitics were related by common Noachic descent to
the Hamites, hence the languages too are related). Carthage
was a Phoenician colony; Plautus in the Poenulus (5:1)
preserves a Carthaginian passage; Phoenician is close
related to Hebrew which Abram found spoken in Canaan already
(compare Abimelech "father of a king," Melchizedek "king of
righteousness." Kirjath Sapher "city of the book"). Thus
Tyre is Hebrew tsor, "rock"; Sidon tsidon, "fishing";
Carthage karthada, "new town"; Byrsa botsrah, "citadel,"
Bozrah Isaiah 63:1. Dido, as David, "beloved"; Hasdrubal
"his help is Baal"; Hannibal "grace of Baal "; Hamilcar the
god "Milcar's gift."
The oldest Phoenician inscribed coins are from
Tarsus. Abram originally spoke the language of Ur of the
Chaldees, Aramaic, as did Laban (Genesis 11:31; Genesis
31:47); but soon his descendants, as Jacob, spoke the
Canaanite or Phoenician Hebrew as their own tongue, compare
Deuteronomy 26:5. Accho (Acre), a capital harbor, assigned
to Asher, was not occupied by that tribe (Judges 1:31); but
remained in the Canaanites' possession. So Israel depended
on Phoenice for any small commerce the former had with the
W. Under Solomon Phoenice is noted for nautical skill,
extensive commerce, mechanical and ornamental art (1 Kings
5:6): "none can skill to hew timber like unto the
Sidonians"; "cunning to work in gold, silver, brass, iron,
purple, blue, and crimson," and "grave grayings" (2
Chronicles 2:7). Hiram cast all the temple vessels and the
two pillars Boaz and Jachin for Solomon, and the laver or
molten sea (1 Kings 7:21-23). Homer (Iliad 6:289, 23:743;
Od. 4:614, 15:417) and Herodotus (1:1, 4:148) confirm
Scripture as to their nautical skill, embroidered robes, and
silver bowls.
Dins (in Josephus, Apion 1:17-18) and Menander
(Josephus, Apion 1:18), their own historians, attest their
skill in hawing wood and making metal pillars. No artistic
excellence, but mechanical processes of art and
ornamentation, appear in their extant gems, cylinders, metal
bowls plain and embossed...
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Acts 21:2 - And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we
went aboard, and set forth.
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frij'-i-a (Phrugia): A large ancient country of Central Asia
Minor, very mountainous and with table-lands reaching 4,000
ft. in height. Its name is derived from Phryges, a tribe
from Thrace, which in early times invaded the country and
drove out or absorbed the earlier Asiatic inhabitants, among
whom were the Hittites. Thus, the Phrygians borrowed much of
oriental civilization, especially of art and mythology which
they transferred to Europe. To define the boundaries of
Phrygia would be exceedingly difficult, for as in the case
of other Asia Minor countries, they were always vague and
they shifted with nearly every age. The entire country
abounds with ruins of former cities and with almost
countless rock-hewn tombs, some of which are of very great
antiquity. Among the most interesting of the rock sculptures
are the beautiful tombs of the kings bearing the names Midas
and Gordius, with which classical tradition has made us
familiar. It seems that at one period the country may have
extended to the Hellespont, even including Troy, but later
the Phrygians were driven toward the interior. In Roman
times, however, when Paul journeyed there, the country was
divided into two parts, one of which was known as Galatian
Phrygia, and the other as Asian Phrygia, because it was a
part of the Roman province of Asia, but the line between
them was never sharply drawn. The Asian Phrygia was the
larger of the two divisions, including the greater part of
the older country; Galatian Phrygia was small, extending
along the Pisidian Mountains, but among its important cities
were Antioch, Iconium and Apollonia. About 295 AD, when the
province of Asia was no longer kept together, its different
parts were known as Phrygia Prima and Phrygia Secunda. That
part of Asia Minor is now ruled by a Turkish wall or
governor whose residence is in Konia, the ancient Iconium.
The population consists not only of Turks, but of Greeks,
Armenians, Jews, Kurds and many small tribes of uncertain
ancestry, and of peculiar customs and religious practices.
The people live mostly in small villages which are scattered
throughout the picturesque country. Sheep and goat raising
are the leading industries; brigandage is common. According
to Acts 2:10, Jews from Phrygia went to Jerusalem, and in
Acts 18:23 we learn that many of them were influential and
perhaps fanatical. According to Acts 16:6, Paul traversed
the country while on his way from Lystra to Iconium and
Antioch in Galatian Phrygia. Twice he entered Phrygia in
Asia, but on his 2nd journey he was forbidden to preach
there. Christianity was introduced into Phrygia by Paul and
Barnabas, as we learn from Acts 13:4; 16:1-6; 18:23, yet it
did not spread there rapidly. Churches were later founded,
perhaps by Timothy or by John, at Colosse, Laodicea and
Hierapolis.
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(An inland province of Asia Minor)
-People from, in Jerusalem
Ac 2:10
-Paul in
Ac 16:6; 18:23
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(dry, barren). Perhaps there is no geographical term in the
New Testament which is less capable of an exact definition. In
fact there was no Roman province of Phrygia till considerably
after the first establishment of Christianity in the peninsula
of Asia Minor. The word was rather ethnological than
political, and denoted in a vague manner the western part of
the central region of that peninsula. Accordingly, in two of
the three places where it is used it is mentioned in a manner
not intended to he precise. Ac 16:6; 18:23 By Phrygia we must
understand an extensive district in Asia Minor which
contributed portions to several Roman provinces, and varying
portions at different times. (All over this district the Jews
were probably numerous. The Phrygians were a very ancient
people, and were supposed to be among the aborigines of Asia
Minor. Several bishops from Phrygia were present at the
Councils of Nice, A.D. 325, and of Constantinople, A.D. 381,
showing the prevalence of Christianity at that time --ED.)
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dry, an irregular and ill-defined district in Asia Minor. It
was
divided into two parts, the Greater Phrygia on the
south, and
the Lesser Phrygia on the west. It is the Greater
Phrygia that
is spoken of in the New Testament. The towns of
Antioch in
Pisidia (Acts 13:14), Colosse, Hierapolis, Iconium,
and Laodicea
were situated in it.
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The W. part of the center of Asia Minor; varying in its
definition at different times, and contributing parts to
several Roman provinces (Acts 2:10). Paul passed through
Phrygia in his second (Acts 16:6) and third (Acts 18:23)
missionary journeys. An ethnological not political division.
The Taurus range separated Phrygia from Pisidia on the S.;
Caria, Lydia, Mysia, Bithynia were on its W. and N.; Galatia,
Cappadocia, and Lycaonia on the E. It is a tableland. The
Phrygia meant in Scripture is the southern portion (called
"greater Phrygia") of the region above, and contained
Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colosse, and Iconium. It was peopled by
an Indo Germanic race from Armenia, who formed the oldest
population of Asia Minor.
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Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace
[be] with thee. Amen. <[The first to Timothy was written from
Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana.]>
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Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
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Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of
Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the
word in Asia,
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And after he had spent some time [there], he departed, and
went over [all] the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order,
strengthening all the disciples.
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piz'-ga (ha-picgah; Phasga, to lelaxeumenon, he laxeute):
This name, which has always the definite article, appears
only in combination either with ro'sh, "head," "top," or
'ashdoth, not translated in the King James Version save in
Dt 4:49, where it is rendered "springs" the Revised Version
(British and American) uniformly "slopes," the Revised
Version margin "springs."
Pisgah is identified with Nebo in Dt 34:1; compare 3:27.
"The top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert"
marks a stage in the march of the host of Israel (Nu 21:20).
Hither Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim (Nu
23:14). Here Moses obtained his view of the Promised Land,
and died. See NEBO. Many scholars (e.g. Buhl, GAP, 122;
Gray, "Numbers," ICC, 291) take Pisgah as the name applying
to the mountain range in which the Moab plateau terminates
to the West, the "top" or "head" of Pisgah being the point
in which the ridge running out westward from the main mass
culminates. The summit commands a wide view, and looks down
upon the desert. The identification is made surer by the
name Tal'at es-Sufa found here, which seems to correspond
with the field of Zophim.
'Ashdoth is the construct plural of 'ashedhah (singular form
not found), from 'eshedh, "foundation," "bottom," "lower
part" (slope); compare Assyrian ishdu, "foundation." Some
would, derive it from Aramaic 'ashadh, "to pour," whence
"fall" or "slope" (OHL, under the word). Ashdoth-pisgah
overlooked the Dead Sea from the East (Dt 3:17; 4:49; Josh
12:3; 13:20). There can be no reasonable doubt that Ashdoth-
pisgah signifies the steep slopes of the mountain descending
into the contiguous valleys.
It is worthy of note that Septuagint does not uniformly
render Pisgah by a proper name, but sometimes by a
derivative of laxeuo, "to hew" or "to dress stone" (Nu
21:20; 23:14; Dt 3:27; 4:49). Jerome (Onomasticon, under the
word Asedoth) gives abscisum as the Latin equivalent of
Fasga. He derives Pisgah from pacagh, which, in new Hebrew,
means "to split," "to cut off." This suggests a mountain the
steep sides of which give it the appearance of having been
"cut out." This description applies perfectly to Jebel Neba
as viewed from the Dead Sea.
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(A ridge or mountain east of the Jordan River, opposite to
Jericho)
-The Israelites come to
Nu 21:20
-A boundary of the country assigned to the Reubenites and
Gadites
De 3:17; 4:49; Jos 12:3
-Balaam prophesies on
Nu 23:14-24
-Moses views Israel from
De 3:27; 34:1-4
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(section, i.e. peak), Nu 21:20; 23:14; De 3:27; 34:1 a
mountain range or district, the same as or a part of, that
called the mountains of Abarim. Comp. De 32:49 with Deut 34:1
It lay on the east of Jordan contiguous to the field
of Moab, and immediately opposite Jericho. Its highest point
or summit --its "head"--was Mount Nebo. [See NEBO]
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a part, a mountain summit in the land of Moab, in the
territory
of Reuben, where Balak offered up sacrifices (Num.
21:20;
23:14), and from which Moses viewed the promised land
(Deut.
3:27). It is probably the modern Jebel Siaghah. (See
NEBO
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A ridge of the Abarim mountains W. from Heshbon. Nebo was a
town on, or near, that ridge, lying on its western slope
(Numbers 21:20; Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:38; Deuteronomy
32:49; Deuteronomy 34:1). From Pisgah, Israel gained their
first view of the Dead Sea and Jordan valley; hence Moses
too viewed the land of promise. The correct designation for
the mount is not "Nebo" (which has become usual for
convenience sake) but "the mountain adjoining Nebo." In
Scripture Nebo denotes only the town (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah
48:1-22). The uniform peakless nature of Pisgah caused its
parts to be distinguished only by the names of the adjacent
villages. It always has the article "THE Pisgah" E. of
Jordan, near "the field of Moab, opposite Jericho." The
field of Zophim was on it Ashsoth-Pisgah; Deuteronomy 3:17.
frontASHDOTH-PISGAH.)
Pisgah is derived from paasag "to divide," a
detached range of Abarim. Tristram from a point about 4,500
ft. high, three miles S.W. of Heshbon and one and a half W.
of Main, saw to the N. and E. the Gilead hills, and the vast
Belka ocean of grain and grass; to the S., Her and Seir of
Arabia; to the W., the Dead Sea and Jordan valley and the
familiar objects near Jerusalem; and over Jordan, Gerizim's
round top, and further the Esdraelon plain and the shoulder
of Carmel; to the N. rose Tabor's outline, Gilboa and little
Hermon (jebel Duhy); in front rose Ajlun's dark forests,
ending in Mount Gilead, behind Es Salt (Ramoth Gilead) The
name Pisgah survives only on the N.W. end of the Dead Sea,
in the Ras el Feshkah (Hebrew: Rosh ha-Pisgah, "top of
Pisgah"). Jebel Siugah ("fragment") probably answers to
Pisgah. It is "over against Jericho," and the view
corresponds. It is a fragment cut off by declivities on all
sides, and separated from Nebo by the wady Haisa.
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Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes
westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and
behold [it] with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this
Jordan.
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And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the
sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.
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And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of
Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that [is] over against Jericho.
And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
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And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of
Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a
ram on [every] altar.
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And from Bamoth [in] the valley, that [is] in the country of
Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
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pi-sid'-i-a (ten Pisidian (Acts 14:24); in Acts 13:14,
Codices Sinaitica, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi give
Antiocheian ten Pisidian, "the Pisidian Antioch," the other
manuscripts, Antiocheian tes Pisidias, "Antioch of Pisidia."
The former, but not the latter, reading correctly describes
the condition of affairs at the time when Paul traveled in
the country; see below):
1. Situation and History:
Pisidia, as a strict geographical term, was the name given
to the huge block of mountain country stretching northward
from the Taurus range where the latter overlooked the
Pamphylian coast land, to the valleys which connected Apamea
with Antioch, and Antioch with Iconium. It was bounded by
Lycia on the West, by the Phrygian country on the North, and
by Isauria on the East; but there is no natural boundary
between Pisidia and Isauria, and the frontier was never
strictly drawn. The name is used in its geographical sense
in the Anabasis of Xenophon, who informs us that the
Pisidians were independent of the king of Persia at the end
of the 5th century BC. Alexander the Great had difficulty in
reducing the Pisidian cities, and throughout ancient history
we find the Pisidian mountains described as the home of a
turbulent and warlike people, given to robbery and pillage.
The task of subjugating them was entrusted by the Romans to
the Galatian king Amyntas, and, at his death in 25 BC,
Pisidia passed with the rest of his possessions into the
Roman province Galatia. Augustus now took seriously in hand
the pacification of Pisidia and the Isaurian mountains on
the East Five military colonies were founded in Pisidia and
the eastern mountains--Cremna, Comama, Olbasa, Parlais and
Lystra--and all were connected by military roads with the
main garrison city Antioch, which lay in Galatian Phrygia,
near the northern border of Pisidia. An inscription
discovered in 1912 shows that Quirinius, who is mentioned in
Lk 2:2 as governor of Syria in the year of Christ's birth,
was an honorary magistrate of the colony of Antioch; his
connection with Antioch dates from his campaign against the
Homonades--who had resisted and killed Amyntas--about 8 BC
(see Ramsay in The Expositor, November, 1912, 385 ff, 406).
The military system set up in Pisidia was based on that of
Antioch, and from this fact, and from its proximity to
Pisidia, Antioch derived its title "the Pisidian," which
served to distinguish it from the other cities called
Antioch. It is by a mistake arising from confusion with a
later political arrangement that Antioch is designated "of
Pisidia" in the majority of the manuscripts.
Pisidia remained part of the province Galatia till 74 AD,
when the greater (southern) part of it was assigned to the
new double province Lycia-Pamphylia, and the cities in this
portion of Pisidia now ranked as Pamphylian. The northern
part of Pisidia continued to belong to Galatia, until, in
the time of Diocletian, the southern part of the province
Galatia (including the cities of Antioch and Iconium), with
parts of Lycaonia and Asia, were formed Into a province
called Pisidia, with Antioch as capital. Antioch was now for
the first time correctly described as a city "of Pisidia,"
although there is reason to believe that the term "Pisidia"
had already been extended northward in popular usage to
include part at least of the Phrygian region of Galatia.
This perhaps explains the reading "Antioch of Pisidia" in
the Codex Bezae, whose readings usually reflect the
conditions of the 2nd century of our era in Asia Minor. This
use of the term was of course political and administrative;
Antioch continued...
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(A province in Asia Minor)
-Paul visits
Ac 13:14; 14:24
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(pitchy) was a district in Asia Minor north of Pamphylia, and
reached to and was partly included in Phrygia. Thus Antioch in
Pisidia was sometimes called a Phrygian town. St. Paul passed
through Pisidia twice, with Barnabas, on the first missionary
journey, i.e., both in going from Perga to Iconium, Ac
13:13,14,51 and in returning. Ac 14:21,24,25 comp. 2Tim 3:11
It is probable also that he traversed the northern
part of the district, with Silas and Timotheus, on the second
missionary journey, Ac 18:8 but the word Pisidia does not
occur except in reference to the former journey.
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a district in Asia Minor, to the north of Pamphylia. The
Taurus
range of mountains extends through it. Antioch, one of
its chief
cities, was twice visited by Paul (Acts 13:14; 14:21-
24).
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In Asia Minor, bounded on the N. by Phrygia, on the W. by
Phrygia and Lycia, S. by Pamphylia, E. by Lycaonia and
Cilicia. It stretched along the Taurus range. Paul passed
through Pisidia twice on his first missionary tour; in going
from Perga to Iconium, and in returning (Acts 13:13-14; Acts
13:51; Acts 14:21; Acts 14:24-25; 2 Timothy 3:11). The wild
and rugged nature of the country makes it likely that it was
the scene of Paul's "perils of robbers" and "rivers" (2
Corinthians 11:26). Antioch of Pisidia was the scene of Paul's
striking sermon, Acts 13:16-41.
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And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they
found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name
[was] Barjesus:
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pa'-ran, (pa'ran, 'el-pa'ran; Pharan):
(1) El-paran (Gen 14:6) was the point farthest South reached
by the kings. Septuagint renders 'el by terebinthos, and
reads, "unto the terebinth of Paran." The evidence is
slender, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that this is
the place elsewhere (Dt 2:8; 1 Ki 9:26, etc.) called Elath
or Eloth ('el with feminine termination), a seaport town
which gave its name to the Aelanitic Gulf (modern Gulf of
`Aqaba), not far from the wilderness of Paran (2).
(2) Many places named in the narrative of the wanderings lay
within the Wilderness of Paran (Nu 10:12; 13:21; 27:14;
compare 13:3,16, etc.). It is identified with the high
limestone plateau of Ettih, stretching from the Southwest of
the Dead Sea to Sinai along the west side of the Arabah.
This wilderness offered hospitality to Ishmael when driven
from his father's tent (Gen 21:21). Hither also came David
when bereaved of Samuel's protection (1 Sam 25:1).
(3) Mount Paran (Dt 33:2; Hab 3:3) may be either Jebel
Maqrah, 29 miles South of `Ain Kadis (Kadesh-barnea), and
130 miles North of Sinai (Palmer, Desert of the Exodus,
510); or the higher and more imposing range of mountains
West of the Gulf of `Aqaba. This is the more probable if El-
paran is rightly identified with Elath.
(4) Some place named Paran would seem to be referred to in
Dt 1:1; but no trace of such a city has yet been found.
Paran in 1 Ki 11:18 doubtless refers to the district West of
the Arabah.
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Desert or wilderness of
Ge 21:21; Nu 10:12; 12:16; 13:3,26; De 1:1
-Mountains of
De 33:2; Hab 3:3
-Israelites encamp in
Nu 12:16
-David takes refuge in
1Sa 25:1
-Hadad flees to
1Ki 11:17,18
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(peace of caverns), a desert or wilderness, bounded on the
north by Israel, on the east by the valley of Arabah, on
the south by the desert of Sinai, and on the west by the
wilderness of Etham, which separated it from the Gulf of
Suez and Egypt. The first notice of Paran is in connection
with the invasion of the confederate kings. Ge 14:6 The
detailed itinerary of the children of Israel in Nu 33:1 ...
does not mention Paran because it was the name of a wide
region; but the many stations in Paran are recorded, chs.
17-36. and probably all the eighteen stations were mentioned
between Hazeroth and Kadesh were in Paran. Through this very
wide wilderness, from pasture to pasture as do modern Arab
tribes, the Israelites wandered in irregular lines of march.
This region through which the Israelites journeyed so long
is now called by the name it has borne for ages --Bedu et-
Tih, "the wilderness of wandering." ("Bible Geography,"
Whitney.) "Mount" Paran occurs only in two poetic passages,
De 33:2; Habb 3:3
It probably denotes the northwestern member of the
Sinaitic mountain group which lies adjacent to the Wady
Teiran. (It is probably the ridge or series of ridges lying
on the northeastern part of the desert of Paran, not far
from Kadesh. --ED.)
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abounding in foliage, or abounding in caverns, (Gen. 21:21),
a
desert tract forming the north-eastern division of the
peninsula
of Sinai, lying between the 'Arabah on the east and
the
wilderness of Shur on the west. It is intersected in a
north-western direction by the Wady el-'Arish. It
bears the
modern name of Badiet et-Tih, i.e., "the desert of the
wanderings." This district, through which the children
of Israel
wandered, lay three days' march from Sinai (Num.
10:12, 33).
From Kadesh, in this wilderness, spies (q.v.) were
sent to spy
the land (13:3, 26). Here, long afterwards, David
found refuge
from Saul (1 Sam. 25:1, 4).
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EL PARAN. The Et Tih ("the wanderings") desert, N. of the
wilderness of Sinai. Israel passed from the latter into
Paran on their way N. toward Kadesh. frontKADESH.) (Numbers
10:12; Numbers 13:26). Paran comprises one third of the
peninsula which lies between Egypt and Canaan, the eastern
half of the limestone plateau which forms the center of the
peninsula. Bounded on the N. by southern Canaan; on the W.
by the brook or river of Egypt, parting it from Shur
wilderness, the other half of the plateau; on the S. by the
great sand belt sweeping across the peninsula in a concave
northward line from gulf to gulf, and forming the
demarcation between it and Sinai; on the E. by the northern
part of the Elanitic gulf, and the Arabah dividing it from
the Edom mountains. The Zin (not Sin) wilderness, Canaan's
(Numbers 34:3) immediate boundary, was its N.E. extremity,
from whence Kadesh is spoken of as in Zin wilderness or in
Paran (Numbers 13:26; Numbers 20:1.) In 1 Samuel 25:1-2 the
southern parts of Canaan are called Paran.
The beautiful wady Feiran is probably distinct
(Speaker's Commentary, Numbers 10:12). Phara, a Roman
station between the heads of the two gulfs, takes its name
from Paran. Paran is a dreary waste of chalk covered with
coarse gravel, black flint, and drifting sand, crossed by
watercourses and low horizontal hills. Not so wild looking
as the Arabah, nor yet relieved by such fertile valleys as
lie amidst the granite mountains of Sinai. Vegetation would
probably cover the level plains, which have red clay soil in
parts, but for the reckless destruction of trees for
charcoal, so that the winter rains run at once to waste.
Ishmael's dwelling (Genesis 21:21; Genesis 21:14; compare
Genesis 14:6). "Mount Paran" in Deuteronomy 33:2 is the
range forming the northern boundary of the desert of Sinai.
In Deuteronomy 1:1 Paran is either Mount Paran or a city
mentioned, by Eusebius and Jerome near the mountain. The
Paran of Hadad the Edomite (1 Kings 11:18) lay to N.W. or
the Egyptian side of Horeb, between Midian and Egypt. Capt.
Burton has found extensive mineral districts in Midian, the
northern Being little worked, the southern with many traces
of ancient labor, shafting and tunneling.
Silver and copper abound in northern, gold in
southern, and turquoise in northern southern, and central
Midian. How strikingly accurate are Scripture details! We
should never have guessed that a nomadic people like the
Midianites would have wrought mines; but research confirms
fully the truth of Scripture, which represents them as
having ornaments and tablets of gold, and chains for their
camels' necks. The spoils from Midian (Numbers 31:50-53)
included gold (of which was offered to Jehovah 16,750
shekels!), silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead. The gold
taken by Gideon from them was so enormous as to suffice for
making a golden ephod (Judges 8:24-27). The Haj route from
Egypt by Elath to Mecca still runs through the Paran desert.
Hadad would take that road to Egypt, "taking men with them
out of Paran" as guides through the desert. Seir (Edom and
Teman), Sinai, and Paran are comparatively adjacent, and
therefore are associated together in God's giving the law
(Habakkuk 3:3), as in Deuteronomy 33:2.
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And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the
congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of
Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto
all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
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And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the
wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of
Paran.
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These [be] the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this
side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the
Red [sea], between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth,
and Dizahab.
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And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered
together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at
Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of
Paran.
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And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir
unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with
ten thousands of saints: from his right hand [went] a fiery
law for them.
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God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah.
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his
praise.
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And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the
wilderness of Paran: all those men [were] heads of the
children of Israel.
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And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took
him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
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And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in
the wilderness of Paran.
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And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took
men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto
Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed
him victuals, and gave him land.
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pat'-mos (Patomos; Italian: San Giovanni di Patino): A
Turkish island of the group Sporades, Southwest of Samos,
mentioned once in the Bible, Rev 1:9, "I, John .... was in
the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus" (dia ton logon tou theou kai ten
marturian Iesou). The island is 10 miles long, and about 6
broad along the northern coast. It is for the most part
rocky. The highest part is Mount Elias, which rises to a
height of over 800 ft. As in Greece, and in the adjacent
mainland of Asia Minor, the land is treeless. Near the city
of Patmos there is a good harbor. A famous monastery,
Christodulos, was founded on the island in 1088. Near this
is a thriving school, attended by students from all parts of
the Archipelago. The population of the island numbers 3,000,
almost entirely Greek. The ancient capital was on an isthmus
between the inlets of La Scala and Merika. Many ruins can
still be seen. The huge walls of Cyclopean masonry, similar
to those at Tiryns, attest their great age. In Roman times
Patmos was one of the many places to which Rome banished her
exiles. In 95 AD, according to a tradition preserved by
Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, John was exiled here-
-in the 14th year of the reign of Domitian--whence he
returned to Ephesus under Nerva (96 AD). The cave in which
he is said to have seen his visions is still pointed out to
the traveler. Only a small part of the once valuable library
in the monastery of Christodulos is left. Just 100 years ago
(1814) Mr. E.D. Clark purchased here the manuscript of Plato
which is now in the Bodleian Library, the celebrated
Clarkianus, a parchment written in the year 895, and
admittedly the best of all for the 1st of the 2 volumes into
which the works of Plato were divided for convenience.
Patmos is mentioned by Thucydides (iii.33), by Pliny (NH,
iv.23), and by Strabo (x.5).
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(An island in the Aegean Sea)
-John, an exile on
Re 1:9
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Re 1:9 a rugged and bare island in the AEgean Sea, 20 miles
south of Samos and 24 west of Asia Minor. It was the scene of
the banishment of St. John in the reign of Domitian, A.D. 95.
Patmos is divided into two nearly equal parts, a northern and
a southern, by a very narrow isthmus where, on the east side
are the harbor and the town. On the hill to the south,
crowning a commanding height, is the celebrated monastery
which bears the name of "John the Divine." Halfway up the
descent is the cave or grotto where tradition says that St.
John received the Revelation.
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a small rocky and barren island, one of the group called the
"Sporades," in the AEgean Sea. It is mentioned in
Scripture only
in Rev. 1:9. It was on this island, to which John was
banished
by the emperor Domitian (A.D. 95), that he received
from God the
wondrous revelation recorded in his book. This has
naturally
invested it with the deepest interest for all time. It
is now
called Patmo. (See JOHN -T0002088.)
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Revelation 1:9. One of the Sporades. A small rugged island of
the Icarian Sea, part of the Aegean; 20 miles S. of Samos, 24
W. of Asia Minor, 25 in circumference. The scene of John's
banishment (by Domitian), where he "was in the Spirit on the
Lord's day." The rocky solitude suited the sublime nature of
the Revelation. On a hill in the southern half of the island
is the monastery of John the divine, and the traditional
grotto of his receiving the Apocalypse. In the middle ages
called Palmosa from its palms; now there is but one, and the
island has resumed its old name Patmo or Patino. It is
unvisited by Turks, without any mosque, and saddled with
moderate tribute, free from piracy, slavery, and any police
but their own.
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I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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1. Also called PENIEL
City built where Jacob wrestled with the angel
Ge 32:31; Jud 8:8,9,17; 1Ki 12:25
-2. Chief of Gedor
1Ch 4:4
-3. A Benjamite
1Ch 8:25
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face of God, a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the
Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. It is also
called
"Peniel." Here Jacob wrestled (Gen. 32:24-32) "with a
man" ("the
angel", Hos. 12:4. Jacob says of him, "I have seen God
face to
face") "till the break of day."
A town was afterwards built there (Judg. 8:8; 1 Kings
12:25).
The men of this place refused to succour Gideon and
his little
army when they were in pursuit of the Midianites
(Judg. 8:1-21).
On his return, Gideon slew the men of this city and
razed its
lofty watch-tower to the ground.
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(See PENIEL.) Between Jabbok and Succoth (Genesis 32:22-30-
31; Genesis 33:17). Gideon after Succoth mounted to Penuel
(Judges 8:5-8.) (See GIDEON.) It then had a tower. Jeroboam
fortified Penuel (1 Kings 12:25.) The men of Penuel, like
those of Succoth, as living on the great army route between
Canaan and the East, would not help Gideon through fear of
Midian's vengeance. Penuel was a frontier fortress built "by
the way of them that dwelt in tents" (i.e., their usual
route along the course of the Jabbok, where they would have
a level way and grass and water, down to the Damieh ford of
the Jordan, and so into Canaan).
Hence arose Jeroboam's need of rebuilding the tower
which Gideon had broken down long before, and which lay due
E. from his capital. Four miles above "Canaan's ford" are
two conical hills called "hills of gold" (Dhahab) from the
yellow sandstone; one is on one side, the other on the other
side, of the stream. The western one is larger and has more
ruins; the ruins on the eastern one are remarkable, a
platform running along its precipitous side, strengthened by
a wall 20 ft. high and very solid. The work is cyclopean and
of the oldest times; and there are no ruins along the Jabbok
course for 50 miles save those. The strange aspect of the
place harmonizes with the name given after Jacob's wrestling
with the angel of Jehovah, "the Face of God."
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same as Peniel - face or vision of God; that sees God
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And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah.
These [are] the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the
father of Bethlehem.
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Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt
therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
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And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he
halted upon his thigh.
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And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come
again in peace, I will break down this tower.
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And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the
city.
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And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak;
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And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise:
and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had
answered [him].
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pur'-ga-mos, or pur'-ga-mum (he Pergamos, or to Pergamon):
1. History:
Pergamos, to which the ancient writers also gave the neuter
form of the name, was a city of Mysia of the ancient Roman
province of Asia, in the Caicus valley, 3 miles from the
river, and about 15 miles from the sea. The Caicus was
navigable for small native craft. Two of the tributaries of
the Caicus were the Selinus and the Kteios. The former of
these rivers flowed through the city; the latter ran along
its walls. On the hill between these two streams the first
city stood, and there also stood the acropolis, the chief
temples, and theaters of the later city. The early people of
the town were descendants of Greek colonists, and as early
as 420 BC they struck coins of their own. Lysimachus, who
possessed the town, deposited there 9,000 talents of gold.
Upon his death, Philetaerus (283-263 BC) used this wealth to
found the independent Greek dynasty of the Attalid kings.
The first of this dynasty to bear the title of king was
Attalus I (241-197 BC), a nephew of Philetaerus, and not
only did he adorn the city with beautiful buildings until it
became the most wonderful city of the East, but he added to
his kingdom the countries of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia
and Phrygia. Eumenes II (197-159 BC) was the most
illustrious king of the dynasty, and during his reign the
city reached its greatest height. Art and literature were
encouraged, and in the city was a library of 200,000 volumes
which later Antony gave to Cleopatra. The books were of
parchment which was here first used; hence, the word
"parchment," which is derived from the name of the town
Pergamos. Of the structures which adorned the city, the most
renowned was the altar of Zeus, which was 40 ft. in height,
and also one of the wonders of the ancient world. When in
133 BC Attalus III, the last king of the dynasty, died, he
gave his kingdom to the Roman government. His son,
Aristonicus, however, attempted to seize it for himself, but
in 129 he was defeated, and the Roman province of Asia was
formed, and Pergamos was made its capital. The term Asia, as
here employed, should not be confused with the continent of
Asia, nor with Asia Minor. It applied simply to that part of
Asia Minor which was then in the possession of the Romans,
and formed into the province of which Pergamos was the
capital. Upon the establishment of the province of Asia
there began a new series of coins struck at Pergamos, which
continued into the 3rd century AD. The magnificence of the
city continued.
2. Religions:
There were beautiful temples to the four great gods Zeus,
Dionysus, Athena and Asklepios. To the temple of the latter,
invalids from all parts of Asia flocked, and there, while
they were sleeping in the court, the god revealed to the
priests and physicians by means of dreams the remedies which
were necessary to heal their maladies. Thus opportunities of
deception were numerous. There was a school of medicine in
connection with the temple. Pergamos was chiefly a religious
center of the province. A title which it bore was "Thrice
Neokoros," meaning that in the city 3 temples had been built
to the Roman emperors, in which the emperors...
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(A city of Mysia)
-One of the "seven congregations" in
Re 1:11; 2:12-17
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(in Revised Version Pergamum) (height, elevation), a city of
Mysia, about 3 miles to the north of the river Caicus, and 20
miles from its present mouth. It was the residence of a
dynasty of Greek princes founded after the time of Alexander
the Great, and usually called the Attalic dynasty, from its
founder, Attalus. The sumptuousness of the Attalic princes
hall raised Pergamos to the rank of the first city in Asia as
regards splendor. The city was noted for its vast, library,
containing 200,000 volumes. Here were splendid temples of Zeus
or Jupiter, Athene, Apollo and AEsculapius. One of "the seven
churches of Asia" was in Pergamos. Re 1:11; 2:12-17 It is
called "Satan's seat" by John, which some suppose to refer to
the worship of AEsculapius, from the serpent being his
characteristic emblem. Others refer it to the persecutions of
Christians, which was work of Satan. The modern name of the
city is Bergama.
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the chief city of Mysia, in Asia Minor. One of the "seven
churches" was planted here (Rev. 1:11; 2:17). It was
noted for
its wickedness, insomuch that our Lord says "Satan's
seat" was
there. The church of Pergamos was rebuked for
swerving from the
truth and embracing the doctrines of Balaam and the
Nicolaitanes. Antipas, Christ's "faithful martyr,"
here sealed
his testimony with his blood.
This city stood on the banks of the river Caicus,
about 20
miles from the sea. It is now called Bergama, and
has a
population of some twenty thousand, of whom about
two thousand
profess to be Christians. Parchment (q.v.) was first
made here,
and was called by the Greeks pergamene, from the
name of the
city.
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A city of Mysia, three miles N. of the River Caicus. Eumenes
II (197-159 B.C.) built a beautiful city round an
impregnable castle on "the pine-coned rock." Attalus II
bequeathed his kingdom to Rome 133 B.C. The library was its
great boast; founded by Earaches and destroyed by Caliph
Omar. The prepared sheepskins were called pergamena charta
from whence our "parchment" is derived. The Nicephorium, or
thank offering grove for victory over Antiochus, had an
assemblage of temples of idols, Zeus, Athene, Apollo,
Aesculapius, Dionysus, Aphrodite. Aesculapius the healing
god (Tacitus, Ann. 3:63) was the prominent Pergamean idol
(Martial); the Pergamenes on coins are called "the principal
"temple care-takers" (neokoroi) of Asia," and their ritual
is made by Pausanias a standard. The grove of Aesculapius
was recognized by the Roman senate under Tiberius as having
right of sanctuary.
The serpent (Satan's image) was sacred to him,
charms and incantations were among medical agencies then,
and Aesculapius was called "saviour." How appropriately the
address to the Pergamos church says, "I know thy works, and
where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat (throne) is,"
etc. Here Antipas, Jesus' "faithful martyr," was slain
(Revelation 2:12-16). (See ANTIPAS.) "Thou hast them that
hold the doctrine of Beldam who taught Balak to cast a
stumbling-block before ... Israel, to eat things sacrificed
unto idols and to commit fornication"; this naturally would
happen in such an idol-devoted city. The Nicolaitanes
persuaded some to escape obloquy by yielding in the test of
faithfulness, the eating of idol meats; even further, on the
plea of Christian "liberty," to join in fornication which
was a regular concomitant of certain idols' worship.
Jesus will compensate with "the hidden manna" (in
contrast to the occult arts of Aesculapius) the Pergamene
Christian who rejects the world's dainties for Christ. Like
the incorruptible manna preserved in the sanctuary, the
spiritual feast Jesus offers, an incorruptible life of body
and soul, is everlasting. The "white stone" is the
glistering diamond, the Urim ("light") in the high priest's
breast-plate; "none" but the high priest "knew the name" on
it, probably Jehovah. As Phinehas was rewarded for his zeal
against idol compliances and fornication (to which Balaam
seduced Israel), with "an everlasting priesthood," so the
heavenly priesthood is the reward of those zealous against
New Testament Balaamites. Now Bergamo.
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Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven
churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
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And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things
saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
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pur'-sha, (parats; Persia; in Assyrian Parsu, Parsua; in
Achemenian Persian Parsa, modern Fars): In the Bible (2 Ch
36:20,22,23; Ezr 1:1,8; Est 1:3,14,18; 10:2; Ezek 27:10;
38:5; Dan 8:20; 10:1; 11:2) this name denotes properly the
modern province of Fars, not the whole Persian empire. The
latter was by its people called Airyaria, the present Iran
(from the Sanskrit word arya, "noble"); and even now the
Persians never call their country anything but Iran, never
"Persia." The province of Persis lay to the East of Elam
(Susiana), and stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Great
Salt Desert, having Carmania on the Southeast. Its chief
cities were Persepolis and Pasargadae. Along the Persian
Gulf the land is low, hot and unhealthy, but it soon begins
to rise as one travels inland. Most of the province consists
of high and steep mountains and plateaus, with fertile
valleys. The table-lands in which lie the modern city of
Shiraz and the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae are well
watered and productive. Nearer the desert, however,
cultivation grows scanty for want of water. Persia was
doubtless in early times included in Elam, and its
population was then either Semitic or allied to the
Accadians, who founded more than one state in the Babylonian
plain. The Aryan Persians seem to have occupied the country
in the 8th or 9th century BC.
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An empire which extended from India to Ethiopia, comprising
one-hundred and twenty-seven provinces
Es 1:1; Da 6:1
-Government of, restricted by constitutional limitations
Es 8:8; Da 6:8-12
-Municipal governments in, provided with dual governors
Ne 3:9,12,16-18
-The princes were advisors in matters of administration
Da 6:1-7
-Status of women in; queen sat on the throne with the king
Ne 2:6
-Vashti was divorced for refusing to appear before the
king's
courtiers
Es 1:10-22; 2:4
-Israel captive in
2Ch 36:20
-Captivity foretold
Ho 13:16
-Men of, in the Tyrian army
Eze 27:10
-Rulers of
Ahasuerus
Es 1:3
-Darius
Da 5:31; 6; 9:1
-Artaxerxes I
Ezr 4:7-24
-Artaxerxes II
Ezr 7; Ne 2; 5:14
-Cyrus
2Ch 36:22,23; Ezr 1; 3:7; 4:3; 5:13,14,17; 6:3; Isa
41:2,3;
44:28; 45:1-4,13; 46:11; 48:14,15
-Princes of
Es 1:14
-System of justice
Ezr 7:25
-Prophecies concerning
Isa 13:17; 21:1-10; Jer 49:34-39; 51:11-64; Eze
32:24,25;
38:5; Da 2:31-45; 5:28; 7; 8; 11:1-4
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(pure, splended), Per'sians. Persia proper was a tract of
no very large dimensions on the Persian Gulf, which is still
known as Fars or Farsistan, a corruption of the ancient
appellation. This tract was bounded on the west by Susiana
or Elam, on the north by Media on the south by the Persian
Gulf and on the east by Carmania. But the name is more
commonly applied, both in Scripture and by profane authors
to the entire tract which came by degrees to be included
within the limits of the Persian empire. This empire
extended at one time from India on the east to Egypt and
Thrace on the west, and included. besides portions of Europe
and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea,
the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the
Arabian desert the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the
south. The only passage in Scripture where Persia designates
the tract which has been called above "Persia proper" is Eze
38:5 Elsewhere the empire is intended. The Persians were of
the same race as the Medes, both being branches of the great
Aryan stock.
1. Character of the nation. --The Persians were a
people of lively and impressible minds, brave and impetuous
in war, witty, passionate, for Orientals truthful, not
without some spirit of generosity: and of more intellectual
capacity than the generality of Asiatics. In the times
anterior to Cyrus they were noted for the simplicity of
their habits, which offered a strong contrast to the
luxuriousness of the Medes; but from the late of the Median
overthrow this simplicity began to decline. Polygamy was
commonly practiced among them. They were fond of the
pleasures of the table. In war they fought bravely, but
without discipline.
2. Religion. --The religion which the Persians
brought with there into Persia proper seems to have been of
a very simple character, differing from natural religion in
little except that it was deeply tainted with Dualism. Like
the other Aryans, the Persians worshipped one supreme God.
They had few temples, and no altars or images.
3. Language. --The Persian language was closely akin
to the Sanskrit, or ancient language of India. Modern
Persian is its degenerate representative, being largely
impregnated with Arabic.
4. History. --The history of Persia begins with the
revolt from the Medes and the accession of Cyrus the Great,
B.C. 558. Cyrus defeated Croesus, and added the Lydian
empire to his dominions. This conquest was followed closely
by the submission of the Greek settlements on the Asiatic
coast, and by the reduction of Caria and Lycia The empire
was soon afterward extended greatly toward the northeast and
east. In B.C. 539 or 538, Babylon was attacked, and after a
stout defence fell into the hands of Cyrus. This victory
first brought the Persians into co...
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an ancient empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and
from
the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
The
Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled
in Persia,
on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf. They were
Aryans, their
language belonging to the eastern division of the
Indo-European
group. One of their chiefs, Teispes, conquered Elam
in the time
of the decay of the Assyrian Empire, and established
himself in
the district of Anzan. His descendants branched off
into two
lines, one line ruling in Anzan, while the other
remained in
Persia. Cyrus II., king of Anzan, finally united the
divided
power, conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylonia, and
carried his
arms into the far East. His son, Cambyses, added
Egypt to the
empire, which, however, fell to pieces after his
death. It was
reconquered and thoroughly organized by Darius, the
son of
Hystaspes, whose dominions extended from India to
the Danube.
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Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 38:5. "Persia proper" was originally
a small territory (Herodot. 9:22). On the N. and N.E. lay
Media, on the S. the Persian gulf, Elam on the W., on the E.
Carmania. Now Furs, Farsistan. Rugged, with pleasant valleys
and plains in the mid region and mountains in the N. The S.
toward the sea is a hot sandy plain, in places covered with
salt. Persepolis (in the beautiful valley of the Bendamir),
under Darius Hystaspes, took the place of Pasargadae the
ancient capital; of its palace "Chehl Minar," "forty
columns," still exist. Alexander in a drunken fit, to please
a courtesan, burned the palace. Pasargadae, 40 miles to the
N., was noted for Cyrus' tomb (Arrian) with the inscription,
"I am Cyrus the Achaemenian." (See CYRUS.) The Persians came
originally from the E., from the vicinity of the Sutlej
(before the first contact of the Assyrians with Aryan tribes
E. of Mount Zagros, 880 B.C.), down the Oxus, then S. of the
Caspian Sea to India. There were ten castes or tribes: three
noble, three agricultural, four nomadic; of the last were
the "Dehavites" or Dali (Ezra 4:9).
The Pasargadae were the noble tribes, in which the
chief house was that of the Achaemenidae. Darius on the rock
of Behistun inscribed: "from antiquity our race have been
kings. There are eight of our race who have been kings
before me, I am the ninth." frontELAM on its relation to
Persia.) The Persian empire stretched at one time from India
to Egypt and Thrace, including all western Asia between the
Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian, the Jaxartes upon the
N., the Arabian desert, Persian gulf, and Indian ocean on
the S. Darius in the inscription on his tomb at Nakhsh-
irustam enumerates thirty countries besides Persia subject
to him, Media, Susiana, Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana,
Chorasmia, Zarangia, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gaudaria, India,
Scythia, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia,
Cappadocia, Saparda, Ionia, the Aegean isles, the country of
the Scodrae (European), Ionia, the Tacabri, Budians,
Cushites, Mardians, and Colchians. The organization of the
Persian kingdom and court as they appear in Ezra, Nehemiah,
and Esther, accords with independent secular historians.
The king, a despot, had a council, "seven princes of
Persia and Media which see his face and sit the first in the
kingdom" (Esther 1:14; Ezra 7:14). So Herodotus (iii. 70-79)
and Behistun inscription mention seven chiefs who organized
the revolt against Smerdis (the Behistun rock W. of Media
has one inscription in three languages, Persian, Babylonian,
and Stythic, read by Grotefend). "The law of the Persians
and Medes which alters not" (Esther 1:19) also controlled
him in some measure. In Scripture we read of 127 provinces
(Esther 1:1) with satraps (Esther 3:12; Esther 8:9; Xerxes
in boasting enlarged the list; 60 are the nations in his
armament according to Herodotus) maintained from the palace
(Ezra 4:14), having charge of the revenue, paid partly in
money...
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that cuts or divides; a nail; a gryphon; a horseman
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And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath,
Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king
of Persia; and the writing of the letter [was] written in the
Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
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But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the
fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with
us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together
will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king
of Persia hath commanded us.
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For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our
bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of
our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us
a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
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And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through
the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of
Iddo. And they builded, and finished [it], according to the
commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the
commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
Persia.
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Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth
hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me
to build him an house in Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Who
[is there] among you of all his people? The LORD his God [be]
with him, and let him go up.
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In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed
unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing
[was] true, but the time appointed [was] long: and he
understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
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Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath
given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me
to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.
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In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his
princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the
nobles and princes of the provinces, [being] before him:
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They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters;
and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them
of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of
Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of
Persia.
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Then ceased the work of the house of God which [is] at
Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of
Darius king of Persia.
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rock, Isa. 16:1, marg. (See SELA -T0003264.)
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far'-par (parpar; Septuagint: Codex Vaticanus Apharpha; Codex
Alexandrinus Pharphara): A river of Damascus, mentioned in 2
Ki 5:12, along with the Abana or Amana.e and James, Psalms of
Solomon. xliv ff; Nicolas. Doctrines religieuses des juifs, 48
ff.
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(A river of Damascus)
-Referred to by Naaman
2Ki 5:12
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So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the
least of them.
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The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the
Elkoshite.
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And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great
city.
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Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for
their wickedness is come up before me.
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So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word
of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three
days' journey.
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nod (nodh): The land of Eden, to which Cain migrated after the
murder of his brother and his banishment by Yahweh (Gen 4:16).
Conjecture is useless as to the region intended. The ideas of
China, India, etc., which some have entertained, are
groundless. The territory was evidently at some distance, but
where is now undiscoverable.
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(flight), the land to which Cain fled after the murder of
Abel. [CAIN]
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exile; wandering; unrest, a name given to the country to which
Cain fled (Gen.4:16). It lay on the east of Eden.
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("wandering".) E. of Eden. Cain's place of flight.
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And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in
the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
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nof (noph; in Hos 9:6 moph): A name for the Egyptian city
Memphis (so the Septuagint), hence, thus rendered in the
Revised Version (British and American) (Isa 19:13; Jer 2:16;
44:1; Ezek 30:13,16).
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A city of Egypt
Jer 2:16
-Prophecy against Jews in
Jer 44
-Prophecies against
Isa 19:13; Jer 46:13-19; Eze 30:13-16
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the Hebrew name of an Egyptian city (Isa. 19:13; Jer.2:16;
44:1;
46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:13, 16). In Hos. 9:6 the Hebrew
name is
Moph, and is translated "Memphis," which is its Greek
and Latin
form. It was one of the most ancient and important
cities of
Egypt, and stood a little to the south of the modern
Cairo, on
the western bank of the Nile. It was the capital of
Lower Egypt.
Among the ruins found at this place is a colossal
statue of
Rameses the Great. (See MEMPHIS -T0002478.)
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(See MEMPHIS.) In Egypt (Isaiah 19:13; Jeremiah 2:16; Ezekiel
30:13; Ezekiel 30:16; Hosea 9:6).
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honeycomb; anything that distills or drops
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Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in
Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee;
for the sword shall devour round about thee.
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Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I
will cause [their] images to cease out of Noph; and there
shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put
a fear in the land of Egypt.
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The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which
dwell in the land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at
Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
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The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are
deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, [even they that are]
the stay of the tribes thereof.
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O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into
captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an
inhabitant.
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And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and
No shall be rent asunder, and Noph [shall have] distresses
daily.
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Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown
of thy head.
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o'-fer, o'-fir ('owphiyr (Gen 10:29), 'owphir (1 Ki 10:11),
'ophir):
1. Scriptural References:
The 11th in order of the sons of Joktan (Gen 10:29 = 1 Ch
1:23). There is a clear reference also to a tribe Ophir (Gen
10:30). Ophir is the name of a land or city somewhere to the
South or Southeast of Israel for which Solomon's ships
along with Phoenician vessels set out from Ezion-geber at
the head of the Gulf of Aqabah, returning with great stores
of gold, precious stones and "almug"-wood (1 Ki 9:28; 10:11;
2 Ch 9:10; 1 Ki 22:48; 2 Ch 8:18). We get a fuller list of
the wares and also the time taken by the voyage if we assume
that the same vessels are referred to in 1 Ki 10:22, "Once
every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold,
and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." The other
products may not have been native to the land of Ophir, but
it is certain that the gold at least was produced there.
This gold was proverbial for its purity, as is witnessed by
many references in the Old Testament (Ps 45:9; Job 28:16;
Isa 13:12; 1 Ch 29:4), and, in Job 22:24, Ophir is used for
fine gold itself. In addition to these notices of Ophir, it
is urged that the name. occurs also in two passages under
the form "Uphaz" (Jer 10:9; Dan 10:5).
2. Geographical Position:
At all times the geographical position of Ophir has been a
subject of dispute, the claims of three different regions
being principally advanced, namely (1) India and the Far
East, (2) Africa, (3) Arabia.
(1) India and the Far East.
All the wares mentioned are more or less appropriate to
India, even including the fuller list of 1 Ki 10:22.
"Almug"-wood is conjectured to be the Indian sandal-wood.
Another argument is based on the resemblance between the
Septuagint form of the word (Sophera) and the Coptic name
for India (Sophir). A closer identification is sought with
Abhira, a people dwelling at the mouths of the Indus.
Supara, an ancient city on the west coast of India near the
modern Goa, is also suggested. Again, according to Wildman,
the name denotes a vague extension eastward, perhaps...
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1. Son of Joktan
Ge 10:29; 1Ch 1:23
-2. A country celebrated for its gold and other valuable
merchandise
Products of, used by Solomon and Hiram
1Ki 9:28; 10:11; 2Ch 8:18; 9:10
Jehoshaphat sends ships to, which are wrecked at sea
1Ki 22:48
Gold of, proverbial for its fineness
1Ch 29:4; Job 22:24; 28:16; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12
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(abundane).
1. The eleventh in order of the sons of Joktan. Ge
10:29; 1Ch 1:23 (B.C. after 2450.)
2. A seaport or region from which the Hebrews in the
time of Solomon obtained gold. The gold was proverbial for
its fineness, so that "gold of Ophir" is several times used
as an expression for fine gold, 1Ch 29:4; Job 28:16; Ps
45:9; Isa 13:12 and in one passage Job 22:24 the word
"Ophir" by itself is used for gold of Ophir, and for gold
generally. In addition to gold, the vessels brought from
Ophir almug wood and precious stones. The precise
geographical situation of Ophir has long been a subject of
doubt and discussion. The two countries which have divided
the opinions of the learned have been Arabia and India,
while some have placed it in Africa. In five passages Ophir
is mentioned by name - 1Ki 9:28; 10:11; 22:18; 2Ch 8:18;
9:10 If the three passages of the book of Kings are
carefully examined, it will be seen that all the information
given respecting Ophir is that it was a place or region
accessible by sea from Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, from
which imports of gold, almug trees and precious stones were
brought back by the Tyrian and Hebrew sailors. The author of
the tenth chapter of Genesis certainly regarded Ophir as the
name of some city, region or tribe in Arabia. It is almost
certain that the Ophir of Genesis is the Ophir of the book
of Kings. There is no mention, either in the Bible or
elsewhere, of any other Ophir; and the idea of there having
been two Ophirs evidently arose from a perception of the
obvious meaning of the tenth chapter of Genesis on the one
hand, coupled with the erroneous opinion, on the other that
the Ophir of the book of Kings could not have been in
Arabia. (Hence we conclude that Ophir was in southern
Arabia, upon the border of the Indian Ocean; for even if all
the things brought over in Solomon's ships are not now found
in Arabia, but are found in India, yet, there is evidence
that they once were known in Arabia and, moreover, Ophir may
not have been the original place of production of some of
them, but the great market for traffic in them.)
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(1.) One of the sons of Joktan (Gen. 10:29).
(2.) Some region famous for its gold (1 Kings 9:28;
10:11;
22:48; Job 22:24; 28:16; Isa. 13:12). In the LXX. this
word is
rendered "Sophir," and "Sofir" is the Coptic name for
India,
which is the rendering of the Arabic version, as also
of the
Vulgate. Josephus has identified it with the Golden
Chersonese,
i.e., the Malay peninsula. It is now generally
identified with
Abhira, at the mouth of the Indus. Much may be said,
however, in
favour of the opinion that it was somewhere in Arabia.
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Genesis 10:29. Placed between Sheba and Havilah, Ophir must be
in Arabia. Arrian in the Periplus calls Aphar metropolis of
the Sabeans. Ptolemy calls it Sapphara, now Zaphar. Eleventh
of Joktan's sons. Gesenius explains Ophir, if Semitic,
"fruitful region." The Himyaritic ofir means "red". The Mahra
people call their country "the ofir country" and the "Red Sea"
Bahr Ofir. Aphar means "dust". In 1 Kings 9:26-28; 1 Kings
10:11, Solomon's navy on the Red Sea fetched from Ophir gold
and almug trees; and in 1 Kings 10:22, once in three years
(which included the stay in Ophir as well as the long coasting
voyage) Tarshish ships (i.e. like our term for far voyaging
ships, "Indiamen") brough; "gold, silver, ivory, apes, and
peacocks." Mauch, an African traveler, found at latitude 20
degrees, 15 minutes S.l longitude 26 degrees 30 minutes E.,
ruins resembling Solomon's temple, which he connects with
Ophir.
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[Even] three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir,
and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the
walls of the houses [withal]:
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And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and
servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the
servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and
fifty talents of gold, and brought [them] to king Solomon.
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And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon,
which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and
precious stones.
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Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir
as the stones of the brooks.
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Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold:
but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
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And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four
hundred and twenty talents, and brought [it] to king Solomon.
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Kings' daughters [were] among thy honourable women: upon thy
right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
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I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man
than the golden wedge of Ophir.
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It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious
onyx, or the sapphire.
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And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these [were] the sons
of Joktan.
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And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these [were] the sons
of Joktan.
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And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir,
brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and
precious stones.
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pad'-an-a'-ram or p.-ar'-am (paddan 'aram; Septuagint
Mesopotamia tes Surias; the King James Version Padan-aram):
In Gen 48:7, Paddan stands alone, but as the Septuagint,
Sam, and Peshitta read "Aram" also, it must in this verse
have dropped out of the Massoretic Text. In the time of
Abraham, padanu occurs on the Babylonian contract-tablets as
a land measure, to which we may compare the Arabic feddan or
"ox-gang." In the Assyrian syllabaries it is the equivalent
of iklu, "a field," so that Paddan-aram would mean "the
field of Aram," and with this we may compare Hos 12:12
(Hebrew 12:13) and the use of the Hebrew sadheh in
connection with Moab and Edom (Jdg 5:4; Ruth 1:6).
Furthermore, [`padanu] and harranu are given as synonyms
with the meaning of "road."
Paddan-aram occurs only in the Priestly Code (P), but it
corresponds to the "Haran" of the older documents. The
versions agree in translating both as Mesopotamia, and
identify with the home of the patriarchs and the scene of
Jacob's exile the district of Haran to the East of the Upper
Euphrates valley. More in harmony with the length of Jacob's
flight, as indicated by the time given (Gen 31:22,23), is
Harran-el-`Awamid, an ancient site 10 miles to the East of
Damascus, which satisfies all the demands of history.
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By this name, which signifies the table-land of Aram, i.e.
Syriac, the Hebrews designated the tract of country which they
otherwise called the Aram-naharaim, "Aram of the two of
rivers," the Greek Mesopotamia, Ge 24:10 and "the field
(Authorized Version,'country') of Syria." Ho 12:13 The term
was perhaps more especially applied to that portion which
bordered on the Euphrates, to distinguish if from the
mountainous districts in the north and northeast of
Mesopotamia. It is elsewhere called PADAN simply.
Ge 48:7 Abraham obtained a wife for Isaac from Padan-
aram. Ge 25:20 Jacob's wives were also from Padan-aram, Ge
28:2,5,6,7; 31:1-8; 33:18
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the plain of Aram, or the plain of the highlands, (Gen. 25:20;
28:2, 5-7; 31:18, etc.), commonly regarded as the district of
Mesopotamia (q.v.) lying around Haran.
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"The flat land of Aram," contrasted with the more mountainous
region of the N. and N.E. of Mesopotamia (Hosea 12:12), "the
field (sedeh) of Aram" (Genesis 25:20), the same as Aram
Naharaim, "Aram of the two rivers," or Mesopotamia. (See
MESOPOTAMIA.) (Genesis 24:10). Aram expresses the highland of
Syria, contrasted with the lowland of Canaan. The land between
Tigris and Euphrates is a vast flat, except where the Sinjar
range intersects it. The home of Rebekah, Laban, etc.
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And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in
the land of Canaan in the way, when yet [there was] but a
little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the
way of Ephrath; the same [is] Bethlehem.
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pam-fil'-i-a (Pamphulia): A country lying along the southern
coast of Asia Minor, bounded on the North by Pisidia, on the
East by Isauria, on the South by the Mediterranean Sea, and
on the West by Lycia (Acts 2:10; 27:5).
1. Physical Features:
In the earliest time, Pamphylia was but a narrow strip of
low-lying land between the base of the mountains and the
sea, scarcely more than 20 miles long and half as wide. A
high and imposing range of the Taurus Mountains practically
surrounds it upon three sides, and, jutting out into the
sea, isolates it from the rest of Asia Minor. Its two
rivers, the Cestrus and the Cataractes, are said by ancient
writers to have been navigable for several miles inland, but
now the greater part of their water is diverted to the
fields for irrigating purposes, and the general surface of
the country has been constantly changed by the many rapid
mountain streams. The level fertile coast land is therefore
well watered, and the moist air, which is excessively hot
and enervating, has always been laden with fever. Several
roads leading from the coast up the steep mountain to the
interior existed in ancient
times; one of them, called the Kimax or the Ladder, with its
broad stair-like steps 2,000 ft. high, may still be seen.
Beyond the steps is the high land which was once called
"Pisidia," but which the Romans, in 70 AD, made a part of
Pamphylia.
2. Importance:
Pamphylia, unless in pre-historic times, was never an
independent kingdom; it was subject successively to Lydia,
Persia, Macedonia, Pergamos and Rome. Because of its
comparatively isolated position, civilization...
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(A province in Asia Minor)
-Men of, in Jerusalem
Ac 2:10
-Paul goes to
Ac 13:13,14; 14:24
-John, surnamed "Mark," in
Ac 13:13; 15:38
-Sea of
Ac 27:5
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(of every tribe), one of the coast-regions in the south of
Asia Minor, having Cilicia on the east and Lycia on the west.
In St. Paul's time it was not only a regular province, but the
emperor Claudius had united Lycia with it, and probably also a
good part of Pisidia. It was in Pamphylia that St. Paul first
entered Asia Minor, after preaching the gospel in Cyprus. He
and Barnabas sailed up the river Cestrus to Perga. Ac 13:13
The two missionaries finally left Pamphylia by its chief
seaport Attalia. Many years afterward St. Paul sailed near the
coast. Ac 27:5
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Paul and his company, loosing from Paphos, sailed north-west
and
came to Perga, the capital of Pamphylia (Acts 13:13,
14), a
province about the middle of the southern sea-board of
Asia
Minor. It lay between Lycia on the west and Cilicia on
the east.
There were strangers from Pamphylia at Jerusalem on
the day of
Pentecost (2:10).
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Southern province of Asia Minor, bounded on the N. by Pisidia,
from which it was separated by the Taurus range, W. by Lycia,
E. by Cilicia, S. by the Levant. In Paul's time it with Lycia
formed a province under the emperor Claudius. His "peril of
robbers" was in crossing Taurus, the Pisidians being notorious
for robbery. He visited Pamphylia at his first missionary
tour, sailing from Paphos in Cyprus to Perga in Pamphylia on
the river Cestrus, where Mark forsook him (Acts 13:13; Acts
15:38). They stayed only a short time then, but on their
return front the interior "they preached the word" (Acts
14:24-25). Then they "went down (sea being lower than land) to
Attalia," the chief seaport of Pamphylia. The minute accuracy
of the geographical order, confirming genuineness, is
observable, when, in coasting westward, he is said to "sail
over the sea of Cilicia, and Pamphylia." Also Acts 13:13-14,
"from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia," and Acts 14:24, "after
Pisidia ... to Pamphylia," in returning to the coast from
inland.
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Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
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Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to
Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to
Jerusalem.
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But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed
from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
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And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia,
we came to Myra, [a city] of Lycia.
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And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to
Pamphylia.
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pa'-fos:
1. Site:
The name of two towns, Old (Palaia Paphos, or Palaipaphos)
and New Paphos Nea Paphos), situated at the southwestern
extremity of Cyprus. Considerable confusion is caused by the
use of the single name Paphos in ancient writers to denote
now one, now the other, of these cities. That referred to in
Acts 13:6,13 is strictly called New Paphos (modern Baffa),
and lay on the coast about a mile South of the modern Ktima
and some 10 miles Northwest of the old city. The latter
(modern Kouklia) is situated on an eminence more than a mile
from the sea, on the left bank of the Diarrizo, probably the
ancient Bocarus.
2. History of Old Paphos:
It was founded by Cinyras, the father of Adonis, or,
according to another legend, by Aerias, and formed the
capital of the most important kingdom in Cyprus except that
of Salamis. Its territory embraced a considerable portion of
Western Cyprus, extending northward to that of Soli,
southward to that of Curium and eastward to the range of
Troodus. Among its last kings was Nicocles, who ruled
shortly after the death of Alexander the Great. In 310 BC
Nicocreon of Salamis, who had been set over the whole of
Cyprus by Ptolemy I of Egypt, was forced to put an end to
his life at Paphos for plotting with Antigonus (Diodorus xx.
21, who wrongly gives the name as Nicocles; see Athenische
Mitteilungen, XXII, 203 ff), and from that time Paphos
remained under Egyptian rule until the Roman annexation of
Cyprus in 58 BC. The growth of New Paphos brought with it
the decline of the old city, which was also ruined by
successive earthquakes. Yet its temple still retained much
of its old fame, and in 69 AD Titus, the future emperor of
Rome, turned aside on his journey to Jerusalem, which he was
to capture in the following year, to visit the sacred shrine
and to inquire of the priests into the fortune which awaited
him (Tacitus History ii.2-4; Suetonius Titus 5).
3. History of New Paphos:
New Paphos, originally the seaport of the old town, was
founded, according to tradition, by Agapenor of Arcadia
(Iliad ii.609; Pausan. viii.5, 2). Its possession of a good
harbor secured its prosperity, and it had several rich
temples. According to Dio Cassius (liv.23) it was restored
by Augustus in 15 BC after a destructive earthquake and
received the name Augusta (Greek Sebaste). Under the Roman
Empire it was the administrative capital of the island and
the seat of the governor. The extant remains all date from
this period and include those of public buildings, private
houses, city walls and the moles of the harbor.
4. The Temple and Cult:...
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(A city of Cyprus)
-Paul blinds a sorcerer in
Ac 13:6-13
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(boiling, or hot), a town at the west end of Cyprus, connected
by a react with Salamis at the east end. It was founded B.C.
1184 (during the period of the judges in Israel). Paul and
Barnabas travelled, on their first missionary expedition,
"through the isle" from the latter place to the former, Ac
13:6 The great characteristic of Paphos was the worship of
Aphrodite or Venus, who was fabled to have here risen from the
sea. Her temple, however, was at "Old Paphos" now called
Kuklia. The harbor and the chief town were at "New Paphos,"
ten miles to the northwest. The place is still called Baffa.
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the capital of the island of Cyprus, and therefore the
residence
of the Roman governor. It was visited by Paul and
Barnabas on
their first missionary tour (Acts 13:6). It is new
Paphos which
is here meant. It lay on the west coast of the island,
about 8
miles north of old Paphos. Its modern name is Baffa.
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A town in the western end of Cyprus, as Salamis was in the E.
Paul passed through the isle from Salamis to Paphos (Acts
13:6-13.) Here Barnabas and Saul were instrumental in
converting Sergius Paulus the proconsul, in spite of Elymas'
opposition. (See ELYMAS.) Saul is here called Paul when
"filled with the Holy Spirit" he inflicted blindness from "the
hand of the Lord" upon the sorcerer, and thenceforth became
more prominent than Barnabas. Here Aphrodite or Venus was said
to have risen from the foam of the sea. The harbor and town
were at new Paphos, her temple at old Paphos.
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Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to
Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to
Jerusalem.
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And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto
mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the
mount.
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And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD
descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
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And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai
with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came
down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his
face shone while he talked with him.
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And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and
Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount
Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the
two tables of stone.
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And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered
strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and
they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in
the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.
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The mountains melted from before the LORD, [even] that Sinai
from before the LORD God of Israel.
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And they took their journey from Elim, and all the
congregation of the children of Israel came unto the
wilderness of Sin, which [is] between Elim and Sinai, on the
fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of
the land of Egypt.
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And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the
cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto
Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
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And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing
with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of
stone, written with the finger of God.
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zi'-on (tsiyon; Sion):
1. Meaning of the Word
2. The Zion of the Jebusites
3. Zion of the Prophets
4. Zion in Later Poetical Writings and Apocrypha
5. Omission of Name by Some Writers
6. The Name "Zion" in Christian Times
LITERATURE
1. Meaning of the Word:
A name applied to Jerusalem, or to certain parts of it, at
least since the time of David. Nothing certain is known of
the meaning. Gesenius and others have derived it from a
Hebrew root tsahah, "to be dry"; Delitzsch from tsiwwah, "to
set up" and Wetzstein from tsin, "to protect." Gesenius
finds a more hopeful suggestion in the Arabic equivalent
cihw, the Arabic cahwat signifying "ridge of a mountain" or
"citadel," which at any rate suitably applies to what we
know to have been the original Zion (compare Smith, HGHL,
under the word).
Considerable confusion has been caused in the past by the
want of clear understanding regarding the different sites
which have respectively been called "Zion" during the
centuries. It will make matters clearer if we take the
application of the name: in David's time; in the early
Prophets, etc.; in late poetical writings and in the
Apocrypha; and in Christian times.
2. The Zion of the Jebusites:
Jerus (in the form Uru-sa-lim) is the oldest name we know
for this city; it goes back at least 400 years before David.
In 2 Sam 5:6-9, "The king and his men went to Jerusalem
against the Jebusites. .... Nevertheless David took the
stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David .... And
David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of
David." It is evident that Zion was the name of the citadel
of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. That this citadel and
incidentally then city of Jerusalem around it were on the
long ridge running South of the Temple (called the
southeastern hill in the article JERUSALEM, III, (3) (which
see)) is now accepted by almost all modern scholars, mainly
on the following grounds:
(1) The near proximity of the site to the only known spring,
now the "Virgin's Fount," once called GIHON (which see).
From our knowledge of other ancient sites all over
Israel, as well as on grounds of common-sense, it is
hardly possible to believe that the early inhabitants of
this site with such an abundant source at their very doors
could have made any other spot their headquarters.
(2) The suitability of the site for defense.--The sites
suited for settlement in early Canaanite times were all, if
we may judge from a number of them now known, of this
nature--a rocky spur isolated on three sides by steep
valleys, and, in many sites, protected at the end where they
join the main mountain ridge by either a valley or a rocky
spur.
(3) The size of the ridge, though very small to our modern
ideas, is far more...
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(A stronghold of Jerusalem)
-Also called SION
-Captured from the Jebusites by David
2Sa 5:6-9; 1Ch 11:5-7
-Called thereafter "the city of David,"
2Sa 5:7,9; 6:12,16; 1Ki 8:1; 1Ch 11:5,7; 15:1,29;
2Ch 5:2
-The ark of the covenant
Placed in
2Sa 6:12,16; 1Ki 8:1; 1Ch 15:1,29; 2Ch 5:2
Removed from, to Solomon's temple on Mount Moriah
1Ki 8:1; 2Ch 5:2; with 3:1
-Collectively, the place, the forms, and the assemblies of
Israelite worship
2Ki 19:21,31; Ps 9:11; 48:2,11,12; 74:2; 132:13;
137:1; Isa
35:10; 40:9; 49:14; 51:16; 52:1,2,7,8; 60:14;
62:1,11; Jer
31:6; 50:5; La 1:4; Joe 2:1,15; Mt 21:5; Joh 12:15;
Ro 9:33;
11:26; 1Pe 2:6
-Name of, applied to Jerusalem
Ps 87:2,5; 149:2; So 3:11; Isa 33:14,20; Jer 9:19;
30:17;
Zec 9:13
-Called the city of God
Ps 87:2,3; Isa 60:14
-Restoration of, promised
Isa 51:3,11,16; 52:1,2,7,8; 59:20; 60:14; Ob 1:17-
21; Zep
3:14,16; Zec 1:14,17; 2:7,10; 8:2,3; 9:9,13
-Name of, applied to the city of the redeemed
Heb 12:22; Re 14:1
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sunny; height, one of the eminences on which Jerusalem was
built. It was surrounded on all sides, except the
north, by deep
valleys, that of the Tyropoeon (q.v.) separating it
from Moriah
(q.v.), which it surpasses in height by 105 feet. It
was the
south-eastern hill of Jerusalem.
When David took it from the Jebusites (Josh. 15:63;
2 Sam.
5:7) he built on it a citadel and a palace, and it
became "the
city of David" (1 Kings 8:1; 2 Kings 19:21, 31; 1
Chr. 11:5). In
the later books of the Old Testament this name was
sometimes
used (Ps. 87:2; 149:2; Isa. 33:14; Joel 2:1) to
denote Jerusalem
in general, and sometimes God's chosen Israel (Ps.
51:18; 87:5).
In the New Testament (see SION -T0003448) it is used
sometimes
to denote the Church of God (Heb. 12:22), and
sometimes the
heavenly city (Rev. 14:1).
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(See JERUSALEM.) Lieut. Conder (Israel Exploration
Quarterly Statement, Oct. 1877, p. 178) takes Zion for a
district name, like "Mount Ephraim." It means sunny
mountain. Hezekiah brought his aqueduct (2 Chronicles 22:30;
2 Chronicles 33:14) from Gihon, the Virgin's fountain, to
the western side of the city of David (which is thus Ophel).
Zion was the city of David (2 Samuel 5:9; 1 Chronicles 11:7;
1 Chronicles 11:2 Chronicles 5); even the temple was
sometimes said to be on Zion (1 Maccabees 4:5:2); so was
Millo (2 Chronicles 32:36-39).
The name thus appears to have had a somewhat wide
application; but it mainly applies to the eastern of the two
main hills on which Jerusalem latterly was built. W. F.
Birch (Israel Exploration Quarterly Statement, July 1878,
p. 129) remarks that ancient Jerusalem stood on a rocky
plateau enclosed on three sides by two ravines, the king's
dale on the W. and S., the brook Kedron on the E. Another
ravine, the valley of Hinnom, cleft the space thus enclosed.
Between the "brook" and "valley" was the ridge on the
southern end of which stood at the beginning of David's
reign the hereto impregnable fortress of Jebus (afterward
called Zion). In the valley W. of the ridge lay the rest of
the city, once captured by the Israelites, but now occupied
by the Jebusites. On its eastern side near the" brook" was
an intermittent fountain, called then Enrogel, once Gihon in
the "brook," afterward Siloah, now the fountain of the
Virgin.
The inducement to build on the southern part of this
ridge rather than on the northern part, or on the higher
hill on the W., was the water supply from the fountain at
its base. Moreover some Hittite, Amorite, or Melchizedek
himself, engineered a subterranean watercourse extending
from the fountain for 70 ft., and then by a vertical rock-
cut shaft ascending 50 ft. into the heart of the city, so
that in a siege the inhabitants might have a supply of water
without risk to themselves, and without the knowledge of the
besiegers. So secure did the Jebusites seem, that they
defied David, as if "the lame and the blind" would suffice
to defend the fortress (2 Samuel 5:6). David promised that
whoever should first get up the tsinor , "gutter," as the
subterranean aqueduct was called, should be commander in
chief. Joab ventured and won.
How David heard of the secret passage, and how Joab
accomplished the feat, is not recorded; but Capt. Warren
(3000 years subsequently) found the ascent of the tsinor so
hard (Jerusalem Recovered, p. 244-247) that the conviction
is forced on one that Joab, who was as cunning as he was
valiant, must have had some accomplice among the Jebusites
to help him in his perilous enterprise, just as occurred at
Jericho and at Bethel (Joshua 2; Judges 2:22-26).
In subsequent years Araunah, a Jebusite of rank,
owned the threshing area and lands just outside the city of
David, and sold them at an enormous price to David for an
altar and site of the temple. If he was the traitor to the
Jebusites, by whose help Joab entered the city, we can
understand the otherwise strange fact that he was left in
possession of such valuable property in such a situation (2
Samuel 24:18-24). Josephus' testimony rather favors this
conjecture (Ant. J. 7:3, Section 1-3): "Araunah was a
wealthy man among the Jebusites, but was not slain by David
in the siege because of the goodwill he bore to the Hebrew,
and a particular benignity and affection which he had to the
king himself" (Ant. J. 7:13, Section 4). "He was by his
lineage a Jebusite, but a particular friend of David, and
for that cause it was that when he overthrew the city he did
him no harm." (See TEMPLE .)
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It shall even be as when an hungry [man] dreameth, and,
behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or
as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but
he awaketh, and, behold, [he is] faint, and his soul hath
appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that
fight against mount Zion.
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In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of
hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people
terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and
trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the
place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
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Remember thy congregation, [which] thou hast purchased of old;
the rod of thine inheritance, [which] thou hast redeemed; this
mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
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For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and
the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of
shepherds is called forth against him, [he] will not be afraid
of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so
shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and
for the hill thereof.
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And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the
name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in
Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in
the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
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na'-in (Navi): This town is mentioned in Scripture only in
connection with the visit of Jesus and the miracle of
raising the widow's son from the dead (Lk 7:11). The name
persists to this day, and in the form of Nein clings to a
small village on the northwestern slope of Jebel ed-Duchy
("Hill of Moreh"), the mountain which, since the Middle
Ages, has been known as Little Hermon. The modern name of
the mountain is derived from Neby Duchy whose wely crowns
the height above the village. There are many ancient
remains, proving that the place was once of considerable
size. It was never enclosed by a wall, as some have thought
from the mention of "the gate." This was probably the
opening between the houses by which the road entered the
town. Tristram thought he had found traces of an ancient
city wall, but this proved to be incorrect. The ancient town
perhaps stood somewhat higher on the hill than the present
village. In the rocks to the East are many tombs of
antiquity. The site commands a beautiful and extensive view
across the plain to Carmel, over the Nazareth hills, and
away past Tabor to where the white peak of Hermon glistens
in the sun. To the South are the heights of Gilboa and the
uplands of Samaria. The village, once prosperous, has fallen
on evil days. It is said that the villagers received such
good prices for simsum that they cultivated it on a large
scale. A sudden drop in the price brought them to ruin, from
which, after many years, they have not yet fully recovered.
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(A city in Galilee)
-Jesus restores to life a widow's son in
Lu 7:11
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(beauty), a village of Galilee, the gate of which is made
illustrious by the raising of the widow's son. Lu 7:12 The
modern Nein is situated on the northwestern edge of the
"Little Hermon," or Jebel-ed-Duhy, where the ground falls into
the plain of Esdraelon. The entrance to the place, where our
Saviour met the funeral, must probably always have seen up the
steep ascent from the plain; and here on the west side of the
village, the rock is full of sepulchral caves.
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(from Heb. nain, "green pastures," "lovely"), the name of a
town
near the gate of which Jesus raised to life a widow's
son (Luke
7:11-17). It is identified with the village called
Nein,
standing on the north-western slope of Jebel ed-Duhy
(=the "hill
Moreh" = "Little hermon"), about 4 miles from Tabor
and 25
southwest of Capernaum. At the foot of the slope on
which it
stands is the great plain of Esdraelon.
This was the first miracle of raising the dead our
Lord had
wrought, and it excited great awe and astonishment
among the
people.
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The scene of Christ's raising the widow's son (Luke 7:12). Now
Nein on N.W. verge of jebel ed Duhy (Little Hermon) where it
slopes down to Esdraelon plain. The rock W. of the village
abounds in cave tombs, also in the E. side. Eighteen miles
from Capernaum, where Jesus had been the preceding day.
Josephus (Ant. 20:5, section 1) notices Nain as on the way
from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very way Jesus was going
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And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city
called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much
people.
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naz'-a-reth (Nazaret, Nazareth, and other forms):
1. Notice Confined to the New Testament:
A town in Galilee, the home of Joseph. and the Virgin Mary,
and for about 30 years the scene of the Saviour's life (Mt
2:23; Mk 1:9; Lk 2:39,51; 4:16, etc.). He was therefore
called Jesus of Nazareth, although His birthplace was
Bethlehem; and those who became His disciples were known as
Nazarenes. This is the name, with slight modification, used
to this day by Moslems for Christians, Nacara--the singular
being Nacrany.
The town is not named in the Old Testament, although the
presence of a spring and the convenience of the site make it
probable that the place was occupied in old times.
Quaresimus learned that the ancient name was Medina Abiat,
in which we may recognize the Arabic el-Medinat el-baidtah,
"the white town." Built of the white stone supplied by the
limestone rocks around, the description is quite accurate.
There is a reference in Mishna (Menachoth viii.6) to the
"white house of the hill" whence wine for the drink offering
was brought. An elegy for the 9th of Abib speaks of a
"course" of priests settled in Nazareth. This, however, is
based upon an ancient midhrash now lost (Neubauer, Geogr. du
Talmud, 82, 85, 190; Delitzsch, Ein Tag in Capernaum, 142).
But all this leaves us still in a state of uncertainty.
2. Position and Physical Features:
The ancient town is represented by the modern en-Nacirah,
which is built mainly on the western and northwestern slopes
of a hollow among the lower hills of Galilee, just before
they sink into the plain of Esdraelon. It lies about midway
between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean at Haifa.
The road to the plain and the coast goes over the
southwestern lip of the hollow; that to Tiberias and
Damascus over the heights to the Northeast. A rocky gorge
breaks down southward, issuing on the plain between two
craggy hills. That to the West is the traditional Hill of
Precipitation (Lk 4:29). This, however, is too far from the
city as it must have been in the days of Christ. It is
probable that the present town occupies pretty nearly the
ancient site; and the scene of that attempt on Jesus' life
may have been the cliff, many feet in height, not far from
the old synagogue, traces of which are still seen in the
western part of the town. There is a good spring under the
Greek Orthodox church at the foot of the hill on the North.
The water is led in a conduit to the fountain, whither the
women and their children go as in old times, to carry home
in their jars supplies for domestic use. There is also a
tiny spring in the face of the western hill. To the
Northwest rises the height on which stands the sanctuary,
now in ruins, of Neby Sa`in. From this point a most
beautiful and extensive view is obtained, ranging on a clear
day from the Mediterranean on the West to the Mountain of
Bashan on the East; from Upper Galilee and Mt. Hermon on the
North to the uplands of Gilead and Samaria on the South The
whole extent of Esdraelon is seen, that great battlefield,
associated with so many heroic exploits in Israel's history,
from Carmel and Megiddo to Tabor...
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A village in Galilee
-Joseph and Mary live at
Mt 2:23; Lu 1:26,27,56; 2:4,39,51
-Jesus from
Mt 21:11; Mr 1:24; 10:47; Lu 4:34; 18:37; 24:19
-People of, reject Jesus
Lu 4:16-30
-Its reputation
Joh 1:46
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(the guarded one) the ordinary residence of our Saviour, is
not mentioned in the Old Testament, but occurs first in Mt
2:23 It derives its celebrity from its connection with the
history of Christ, and in that respect has a hold on the
imagination and feelings of men which it shares only with
Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is situated among the hills
which constitute the south ridges of Lebanon,just before
they sink down into the plain of Esdraelon, (Mr. Merrill, in
"Galilee in the Time of Christ" (1881), represents Nazareth
in Christ's time as a city (so always called in the New
Testament) of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, of some
importance and considerable antiquity, and not so
insignificant and mean as has been represented. --ED.) Of
the identification of the ancient site there can be no
doubt. The name of the present village is en-Nazirah the
same, therefore, as of old it is formed on a hill or
mountain, Lu 4:29 it is within the limits of the province of
Galilee, Mr 1:9 it is near Cana, according to the
implication in Joh 2:1,2,11 a precipice exists in the
neighborhood. Lu 4:29 The modern Nazareth belongs to the
better class of eastern villages. It has a population of
3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammadans, the rest Latin and
Greek Christians. (Near this town Napoleon once encamped
(1799), after the battle of Mount Tabor.) The origin of the
disrepute in which Nazareth stood, Joh 1:47 is not certainly
known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon with
contempt by the people of Judea because they spoke a ruder
dialect, were less cultivated and were more exposed by their
position to contact with the heathen. But Nazareth labored
under a special opprobrium, for it was a Galilean and not a
southern Jew who asked the reproachful question whether "any
good thing" could come from that source. Above the town are
several rocky ledges, over which a person could not be
thrown without almost certain destruction. There is one very
remarkable precipice, almost perpendicular and forty or
fifty near the Maronite church, which may well be supposed
to be the identical one over which his infuriated fellow
townsmen attempted to hurl Jesus.
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separated, generally supposed to be the Greek form of the
Hebrew
_netser_, a "shoot" or "sprout." Some, however,
think that the
name of the city must be connected with the name of
the hill
behind it, from which one of the finest prospects in
Israel
is obtained, and accordingly they derive it from the
Hebrew
_notserah_, i.e., one guarding or watching, thus
designating the
hill which overlooks and thus guards an extensive
region.
This city is not mentioned in the Old Testament. It
was the
home of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39), and here the
angel
announced to the Virgin the birth of the Messiah
(1:26-28). Here
Jesus grew up from his infancy to manhood (4:16);
and here he
began his public ministry in the synagogue (Matt.
13:54), at
which the people were so offended that they sought
to cast him
down from the precipice whereon their city was built
(Luke
4:29). Twice they expelled him from their borders
(4:16-29;
Matt. 13:54-58); and he finally retired from the
city, where he
did not many mighty works because of their unbelief
(Matt.
13:58), and took up his residence in Capernaum.
Nazareth is situated among the southern ridges of
Lebanon, on
the steep slope of a hill, about 14 miles from the
Sea of
Galilee and about 6 west from Mount Tabor. It is
identified with
the modern village en-Nazirah, of six or ten
thousand
inhabitants. It lies "as in a hollow cup" lower down
upon the
hill than the ancient city. The main road for
traffic between
Egypt and the interior of Asia passed by Nazareth
near the foot
of Tabor, and thence northward to Damascus.
It is supposed from the words of Nathanael in John
1:46 that
the city of Nazareth was held in great disrepute,
either
because, it is said, the people of Galilee were a
rude and less
cultivated class, and were largely influenced by the
Gentiles
who mingled with them, or because of their...
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In a basin among hills descending into Esdraelon from
Lebanon, and forming a valley which runs in a wavy line E.
and W. On the northern side of the valley the rounded
limestone hills rise to 400 or 500 ft. The valley and hill
sides abound in gay flowers as the hollyhock growing wild,
fig trees, olives, and oranges, gardens with cactus hedges,
and grainfields. Now en Nazirah on a hill of Galilee (Mark
1:9), with a precipice nigh (Luke 4:29); near Cane (John
2:1-2; John 2:11). Its population of 4,000 is partly Muslim,
but mainly of Latin and Greek Christians. It has a mosque, a
Maronite, a Greek, and a Protestant church, and a large
Franciscan convent. The rain pouring down the hills would
sweep away a house founded on the surface, and often leaves
the streets impassable with mud. So the houses generally are
of stone, founded, after digging deep, upon the rock (Luke
6:47).
On a hill behind is the tomb of neby Ismail,
commanding one of the most lovely prospects in the world,
Lebanon and snowy Hermon on the N., Carmel and the
Mediterranean and Acca on the W., Gilead and Tabor on the
S.E., the Esdraelon plain and the Samaria mountains on the
S., and villages on every side; Cana, Nain, Endor, Jezreel
(Zerin), etc. Doubtless in early life Jesus often stood on
this spot and held communion with His Father who, by His
Son, had created this glorious scene. Nazareth is never
named in Old Testament. It was there Gabriel was sent from
God to announce to the Virgin her coming conception of Him
who shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of
whose kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:26-33). After
His birth and the sojourn in Egypt Joseph and Mary took the
child to their original home in Nazareth, six miles W. of
Mount Tabor (Matthew 2:23; Luke 2:39; Luke 4:16).
As "John the Baptist; was in the desert until the
day of his showing unto Israel," so Messiah was growing up
unknown to the world in the sequestered town among the
mountains, until His baptism by the forerunner ushered in
His public ministry. As Jews alone lived in Nazareth from
before Josephus' time to the reign of Constantine
(Epiphanius, Haer.), it is impossible to identify the sacred
sites as tradition pretends to do, namely, the place of the
annunciation to Mary, with the inscription on the pavement
of the grotto, "Hic Verbum caro factum est", the mensa
Christi, and the synagogue...
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Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, thou
Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee
who thou art, the Holy One of God.
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Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, [thou]
Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee
who thou art; the Holy One of God.
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And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
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And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am
Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
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And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to
cry out, and say, Jesus, [thou] Son of David, have mercy on
me.
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They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I
am [he]. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
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And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be
called a Nazarene.
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Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found
him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
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And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of
Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here:
behold the place where they laid him.
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Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know:
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neg'-eb (ha-neghebh, "the negeb" or simply, neghebh, from a
root meaning "to be dry," and therefore in the first
instance implying the "dry" or "parched regions," hence, in
the Septuagint it is usually translated eremos, "desert,"
also nageb):
1. Meaning:
As the Negeb lay to the South of Judah, the word came to be
used in the sense of "the South," and is so used in a few
passages (e.g. Gen 13:14) and in such is translated lips
(see GEOGRAPHY). The English translation is unsuitable in
several passages, and likely to lead to confusion. For
example, in Gen 13:1 Abram is represented as going "into the
South" when journeying northward from Egypt toward Bethel;
in Nu 13:22 the spies coming from the "wilderness of Zin"
toward Hebron are described as coming "by the South,"
although they were going north. The difficulty in these and
many other passages is at once obviated if it is recognized
that the Negeb was a geographical term for a definite
geographical region, just as Shephelah, literally,
"lowland," was the name of another district of Israel. In
the Revised Version (British and American) "Negeb" is given
in margin, but it would make for clearness if it were
restored to the text.
2. Description:
This "parched" land is generally considered as beginning
South of edition Dahariyeb--the probable site of DEBIR
(which see)--and as stretching South in a series of rolling
hills running in a general direction of East to West until
the actual wilderness begins, a distance of perhaps 70 miles
(see NATURAL FEATURES). To the East it is bounded by the
Dead Sea and the southern Ghor, and to the West there is no
defined boundary before the Mediterranean. It is a land of
sparse and scanty springs and small rainfall; in the
character of its soil it is a transition from the fertility
of Canaan to the wilderness of the desert; it is essentially
a pastoral land, where grazing is plentiful in the early
months and where camels and goats can sustain life, even
through the long summer drought. Today, as through most
periods of history, it is a land for the nomad rather than
the settled inhabitant, although abundant ruins in many
spots testify to better physical conditions at some periods
(see I, 5, below). The direction of the valleys East or
West, the general dryness, and the character of the
inhabitants have always made it a more or less isolated
region without thoroughfare. The great routes pass along the
coast to the West or up the Arabah to the East. It formed an
additional barrier...
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nil (Neilos, meaning not certainly known; perhaps refers to
the color of the water, as black or blue. This name does not
occur in the Hebrew of the Old Testament or in the English
translation):
I. THE NILE IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
1. Description
2. Geological Origin
3. The Making of Egypt
4. The Inundation
5. The Infiltration
II. THE NILE IN HISTORY
1. The Location of Temples
2. The Location of Cemeteries
3. The Damming of the Nile
4. Egyptian Famines
III. THE NILE IN RELIGION
1. The Nile as a God
2. The Nile in the Osirian Myth
3. The Celestial Nile
A river of North Africa, the great river of Egypt. The name
employed in the Old Testament to designate the Nile is in
the Hebrew ye'or, Egyptian aur, earlier, atur, usually
translated "river," also occasionally "canals" (Ps 78:44;
Ezek 29:3 ff). In a general way it means all the water of
Egypt. The Nile is also the principal river included in the
phrase nahare kush, "rivers of Ethiopia" (Isa 18:1).
Poetically the Nile is called yam, "sea" (Job 41:31; Nah
3:8; probably Isa 18:2), but this is not a name of the
river. shichor, not always written fully, has also been
interpreted in a mistaken way of the Nile (see SHIHOR).
Likewise nahar mitsrayim, "brook of Egypt," a border stream
in no way connected with the Nile, has sometimes been
mistaken for that river.
See RIVER OF EGYPT.
I. The Nile in Physical Geography.
1. Description:
The Nile is formed by the junction of the White Nile and the
Blue Nile in latitude 15 degree 45' North and longitude 32
degree 45' East. The Blue Nile rises in the highlands of
Abyssinia, latitude 12 degree 30' North, long. 35 degree
East, and flows Northwest 850 miles to its junction with the
White North. The White Nile, the principal branch of the
North, rises in Victoria Nyanza, a great lake in Central
Africa, a few miles North of the equator, long. 33 degree
East (more exactly the Nile may be said to rise at the
headwaters of the Ragera River, a small stream on the other
side of the lake, 3 degree South of the equator), and flows
North in a tortuous channel, 1,400 miles to its junction
with the Blue Nile. From this junction-point the Niles flows
North through Nubia and Egypt 1,900 miles and empties into
the Mediterranean Sea, in latitude 32 degree North, through
2 mouths, the Rosetta, East of Alexandria, and the Damietta,
West of Port Said. There were formerly 7 mouths scattered
along a coast-line of 140 miles.
2. Geological Origin:
The Nile originated...
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Called THE RIVER
Isa 11:15; 19:5-10; Eze 29:4; Am 8:8
-Called SIHOR
Isa 23:3; Jer 2:18
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(blue, dark), the great river of Egypt. The word Nile
nowhere occurs in the Authorized Version but it is spoken of
under the names of Sihor [SIHOR] and the "river of Egypt."
Ge 15:18 We cannot as yet determine the length of
the Nile, although recent discoveries have narrowed the
question. There is scarcely a doubt that its largest
confluent is fed by the great lakes on and south of the
equator. It has been traced upward for about 2700 miles,
measured by its course, not in a direct line, and its extent
is probably over 1000 miles more. (The course of the river
has been traced for 3300 miles. For the first 1800 miles
(McClintock and Strong say 2300) from its mouth it receives
no tributary; but at Kartoom, the capital of Nubia, is the
junction of the two great branches, the White Nile and the
Blue Nile, so called from the color of the clay which tinges
their waters. The Blue Nile rises in the mountains of
Abyssinia and is the chief source of the deposit which the
Nile brings to Egypt. The White Nile is the larger branch.
Late travellers have found its source in Lake Victoria
Nyanza, three degrees south of the equator. From this lake
to the mouth of the Nile the distance is 2300 miles in a
straight line --one eleventh the circumference of the globe.
From the First Cataract, at Syene, the river flows smoothly
at the rate of two or three miles an hour with a width of
half a mile. to Cairo. A little north of Cairo it divides
into two branches, one flowing to Rosetta and the other to
Damietta, from which place the mouths are named. See
Bartlett's "Egypt and Israel," 1879. The great
peculiarity of the river is its annual overflow, caused by
the periodical tropical rains. "With wonderful clock-like
regularity the river begins to swell about the end of June,
rises 24 feet at Cairo between the 20th and 30th of
September and falls as much by the middle of May. Six feet
higher than this is devastation; six feet lower is
destitution." --Bartlett. So that the Nile increases...
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dark; blue, not found in Scripture, but frequently referred to
in the Old Testament under the name of Sihor, i.e.,
"the black
stream" (Isa. 23:3; Jer. 2:18) or simply "the river"
(Gen. 41:1;
Ex. 1:22, etc.) and the "flood of Egypt" (Amos 8:8).
It consists
of two rivers, the White Nile, which takes its rise in
the
Victoria Nyanza, and the Blue Nile, which rises in the
Abyssinian Mountains. These unite at the town of
Khartoum,
whence it pursues its course for 1,800 miles, and
falls into the
Mediterranean through its two branches, into which it
is divided
a few miles north of Cairo, the Rosetta and the
Damietta branch.
(See EGYPT -T0001137.)
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Not so named in the Bible; related to Sanskrit Nilah,
"blue." The Nile has two names: the sacred name Hapi, or
Hapi-mu, "the abyss of waters," Hp-ro-mu, "the waters whose
source is hidden"; and the common name Yeor Aor, Aur (Atur):
both Egyptian names. Shihor, "the black river," is its other
Bible name, Greek Melas or Kmelas, Latin Melo, darkened by
the fertilizing soil which it deposits at its overflow
(Jeremiah 2:18). The hieroglyphic name of Egypt is Kam,
"black." Egyptians distinguished between Hapi-res, the
"southern Nile" of Upper Egypt, and Hapi-meheet, the
"northern Nile" of Lower Egypt. Hapi-ur, "the high Nile,"
fertilizes the land; the Nile low brought famine. The Nile
god is painted red to represent the inundation, but blue at
other times. An impersonation of Noah (Osburn). Famine and
plenty are truly represented as coming up out of the river
in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41). Therefore they worshipped
it, and the plague on its waters, was a judgment on that
idolatry (Exodus 7:21; Psalm 105:29). (See EGYPT; EXODUS.)
The rise begins at the summer solstice; the flood is
two months later, after the autumnal equinox, at its height
pouring through cuttings in the banks which are higher than
the rest of the soil and covering the valley, and lasting
three months. (Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5; Isaiah 23:3). The
appointed S.W. bound of Israel (Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles
13:5; 2 Chronicles 9:26; Genesis 15:18). 1 Kings 8:65
"stream" (nachal, not "river".) Its confluent is still
called the Blue river; so Nilah means "darkblue," or
"black." The plural "rivers" is used for the different
mouths, branches, and canals of the Nile. The tributaries
are further up than Egypt (Psalm 78:44; Exodus 7:18-20;
Isaiah 7:18; Isaiah 19:6; Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 30:12). "The
stream (nachal) of Egypt" seems distinct (Isaiah 27:12), now
"wady el Arish" (where was the frontier city Rhino-corura)
on the confines of Israel and Egypt (Joshua 15:4; Joshua
15:47, where for "river" should stand "stream," nachal)).
Smith's Bible Dictionary suggests that nachal) is
related to the Nile and is that river; but the distinctness
with which nachal) is mentioned, and not as elsewhere Sihor,
or "river," Ye'or, forbids the identification. "The rivers
of Ethiopia" (Isaiah 18:1-2), Cush, are the Atbara, the
Astapus or Blue river, between which two rivers Meroe (the
Ethiopia meant in Isaiah 18) lies, and the Astaboras or
White Nile; these rivers conjoin in the one Nile, and wash
down the soil along their banks from Upper Egypt, and
deposit it on Lower Egypt; compare "whose land (Upper Egypt)
the rivers have spoiled" or "cut up" or "divided." The Nile
is called "the sea" (Isaiah 19:5), for it looks a sea at the
overflow; the Egyptians still call it El Bahr "the sea"
(Nahum 3:8). Its length measured by its course is probably
3,700 miles, the longest in the world. Its bed is cut
through layers of nummulitic limestone (of which the
pyramids of Ghizeh are built, full of nummulites, which the
Arabs call "Pharaoh's beans"), sandstone under that, breccia
verde under that, azoic rocks still lower, with red granite
and syenite rising through all the upper strata...
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nin'-e-ve (nineweh; Nineue, Nineui; Greek and Roman writers,
Ninos):
I. BEGINNINGS, NAME, POSITION
1. First Biblical Mention
2. Etymology of the Name
3. Position on the Tigris
II. NINEVEH AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
1. Its Walls
2. Principal Mounds and Gateways
3. Extent and Population within the Walls
4. Extent outside the Walls
5. Calah, Resen and Rehoboth-Ir
6. Khorsabad
7. Sherif Khan and Selamieh
8. Nimroud
III. PALACES AT NINEVEH PROPER
1. The Palace of Sennacherib
2. The Palace of Assur-bani-apli
IV. SENNACHERIB'S DESCRIPTION OF NINEVEH
1. The Walls
2. The Gates--Northwest
3. The Gates--South and East
4. The Gates--West
5. The Outer Wall: the Plantations
6. The Water-Supply, etc.
7. How the Bas-Reliefs Illustrate the King's Description
8. Nineveh the Later Capital
V. LAST DAYS AND FALL OF NINEVEH
LITERATURE
I. Beginnings, Name, Position.
1. First Biblical Mention:
The first Biblical mention of Nineveh is in Gen 10:11, where
it is stated that NIMROD (which see) or Asshur went out into
Assyria, and builded Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and
Resen between Nineveh and Calah, with the addition, "the
same is the great city." Everything indicates that these
statements are correct, for Nineveh was certainly at one
time under Babylonian rule, and was at first not governed by
Assyrian kings, but by issake or viceroys of Assur, the old
capital. To all appearance Nineveh took its name from the
Babylonian Nina near Lagas in South Babylonia, on the
Euphrates, from which early foundation it was probably
colonized. The native name appears as Ninua or Nina (Ninaa),
written with the character for "water enclosure" with that
for "fish" inside, implying a connection between Nina and
the Semitic nun, "fish."
2. Etymology of the Name:
The Babylonian Nina was a place where fish were very
abundant, and Ishtar or Nina, the goddess of the city, was
associated with Nin-mah, Merodach's spouse, as goddess of
reproduction. Fish are also plentiful in the Tigris at
Mosul, the modern town on the other side of the river, and
this may have influenced the choice of the site by the
Babylonian settlers, and the foundation there of the great
temple of Ishtar or Nina. The date of this foundation is
unknown, but it may have taken place about 3OOO BC.
3. Position on the Tigris:
Nineveh lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris, at the point
where the Khosr falls into that stream. The outline of the
wall is rectangular on the West, but of an irregular shape
on the East. The western fortifications run from Northwest
to Southeast, following, roughly, the course of the river,
which now flows about 1,500 yards from the walls, instead of
close to them, as in ancient times.
II. Nineveh and Its Surroundings.
According to the late G. Smith, the southwestern wall has a
length of about 2 1/2 miles, and is joined at its western
corner by the northwestern wall, which runs in a
northeasterly direction for about 1 1/3 miles.
1. Its Walls:
The northeastern wall, starting here, runs at first in a
southeasterly direction, but turns southward, gradually
approaching the southwestern wall, to which, at the end of
about 3 1/4 miles, it is joined by a short wall, facing
nearly South, rather more than half a mile long.
2. Principal Mounds and Gateways:
The principal mounds are Kouyunjik, a little Northeast of
the village of `Amusiyeh, and Nebi-Yunas, about 1,500 yards
to the Southeast. Both of these lie just within the
Southwest wall. Extensive remains of buildings occupy the
fortified area. Numerous openings occur in the walls, many
of them ancient, though some seem to have been made after
the abandonment of the site. The principal gate on the
Northwest was guarded by winged bulls (see Layard, Monuments
of Nineveh, 2nd series, plural 3; Nineveh and Babylon, 120).
Other gates gave access to the various commercial roads of
the country, those on the East passing through the curved
outworks and the double line of fortifications which
protected the northeastern wall from attack on that side,
where the Ninevites evidently considered that they had most
to fear.
3. Extent and Population within the Walls:
According to G. Smith, the circuit of the inner wall is
about 8 miles, and Captain Jones, who made a trigonometrical
survey in 1854, estimated that, allotting to each inhabitant
50 square yards, the city may have contained...
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Capitol of the Assyrian Empire
Ge 10:11,12
-Contained a population of upwards of one-hundred and twenty
thousand people, when Jonah preached
Jon 4:11
-Extent of
Jon 3:4
-Sennacherib in
2Ki 19:36,37; Isa 37:37,38
-Jonah preaches to
Jon 1:1,2; 3
-Nahum prophesies against
Na 1; 2; 3
-Zephaniah foretells the desolation of
Zep 2:13-15
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(abode of Ninus), the capital of the ancient kingdom and
empire of Assyria. The name appears to be compounded from
that of an Assyrian deity "Nin," corresponding, it is
conjectured, with the Greek Hercules, and occurring in the
names of several Assyrian kings, as in "Ninus," the mythic
founder, according to Greek tradition of the city. Nineveh
is situated on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, 50
miles from its mouth and 250 miles north of Babylon. It is
first mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with the
primitive dispersement and migrations of the human race.
Asshur, or according to the marginal reading, which is
generally preferred, Nimrod is there described, Ge 10:11 as
extending his kingdom from the land of Shinar or Babylonia,
in the south, to Assyria in the north and founding four
cities, of which the most famous was Nineveh. Hence Assyria
was subsequently known to the Jews as "the land of Nimrod,"
cf. Mic 5:6 and was believed to have been first peopled by a
colony from Babylon. The kingdom of Assyria and of the
Assyrians is referred to in the Old Testament as connected
with the Jews at a very early period, as in Nu 24:22,24 and
Psal 83:8
but after the notice of the foundation of Nineveh in
Genesis no further mention is made of the city until the
time of the book of Jonah, or the eighth century B.C. In
this book no mention is made of Assyria or the Assyrians,
the king to whom the prophet was sent being termed the "king
of Nineveh," and his subjects "the people of Nineveh."
Assyria is first called a kingdom in the time of Menahem,
about B.C. 770. Nahum (? B.C. 645) directs his prophecies
against Nineveh; only once against the king of Assyria. ch.
Na 3:18 In 2Ki 19:36 and Isai 37:37
the city is first distinctly mentioned as the
residence of the monarch. Sennacherib was slain there when
worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god. Zephaniah,
about B.C. 630, couples the capital and the kingdom
together, Zep 2:13 and this is the last mention of Nineveh
as an existing city. The destruction of Nineveh occurred
B.C. 606. The city was then laid waste, its monuments
destroyed and its inhabitants scattered or carried away into
captivity. It never rose again from its ruins. This total
disappearance of Nineveh is fully confirmed by the records
of profane history. The political history of Nineveh is that
of Assyria, of which a sketch has already been given.
[ASSYRIA] Previous to recent excavations and researches, the
ruins which occupied the presumed site of Nineveh seemed to
consist of mere shapeless heaps or mounds of earth and
rubbish. Unlike the vast masses of brick masonry which mark
the site of Babylon, they showed externally no signs of
artificial construction, except perhaps here and there the
traces of a rude wall of sun-dried bricks. Some of these
mounds were of enormous dimensions, looking in the distance
rather like natural elevations than the work of men's hands.
They differ greatly in form, size and height. Some are mere
conical heaps, varying from 50 to 150 feet high; others have
a broad flat summit, and very precipitous cliff-like sites
furrowed by deep ravines worn by the winter rains. The
principal ruins are--
(1) the group immediately opposite Mosul, including
the great mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebbi Yunus; (2) that near
the junction of the Tigris and Zab comprising the mounds of
Nimroud and Athur; (3) Khorsabad, about ten miles...
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First mentioned in Gen. 10:11, which is rendered in the
Revised
Version, "He [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria
and builded
Nineveh." It is not again noticed till the days of
Jonah, when
it is described (Jonah 3:3; 4:11) as a great and
populous city,
the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire (2
Kings 19:36;
Isa. 37:37). The book of the prophet Nahum is almost
exclusively
taken up with prophetic denunciations against this
city. Its
ruin and utter desolation are foretold (Nah.1:14;
3:19, etc.).
Zephaniah also (2:13-15) predicts its destruction
along with the
fall of the empire of which it was the capital. From
this time
there is no mention of it in Scripture till it is
named in
gospel history (Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32).
This "exceeding great city" lay on the eastern or
left bank of
the river Tigris, along which it stretched for some
30 miles,
having an average breadth of 10 miles or more from
the river
back toward the eastern hills. This whole extensive
space is now
one immense area of ruins. Occupying a central
position on the
great highway between the Mediterranean and the
Indian Ocean,
thus uniting the East and the West, wealth flowed
into it from
many sources, so that it became the greatest of all
ancient
cities.
About B.C. 633 the Assyrian empire began to show
signs of
weakness, and Nineveh was attacked by the Medes, who
subsequently, about B.C. 625, being joined by the
Babylonians
and Susianians, again attacked it, when it fell, and
was razed
to the ground. The Assyrian empire then came to an
end, the
Medes and Babylonians dividing its provinces between
them.
"After having ruled for more than six hundred years
with hideous
tyranny and violence, from the Caucasus and the
Caspian to the
Persian Gulf, and from beyond the Tigris to...
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Nimrod builded Nineveh (Genesis 10:11); Herodotus (i. 7)
makes Ninus founder of Nineveh. and grandson of Belus
founder of Babylon; which implies that it was from Babylon,
as Scripture says, that Nineveh's founder came. Nin is the
Assyrian Hercules. Their mythology also makes Ninus son of
Nimrod. Jonah is the next Scripture after Genesis 10 that
mentions Nineveh. (See JONAH.) Sennacherib after his host's
destruction "went and dwelt at Nineveh" (2 Kings 19:36).
Jonah (Jonah 3:3) describes it as an "exceeding great city
of three days' journey" round (i.e. 60 miles, at 20 miles
per day) with 120,000 children "who knew not their right
hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11), which would make a
population in all of 600,000 or even one million. Diodorus
Siculus (ii. 3), agreeing with Jonah's "three days'
journey," makes the circumference 55 miles, pastures and
pleasure grounds being included within, from whence Jonah
appositely (Jonah 4:11) mentions "much cattle." G. Smith
thinks that the ridges enclosing Nebi Yunus and Koyunjik
(the mounds called "tels" opposite Mosul) were only the
walls of inner Nineveh, the city itself extending beyond to
the mound Yarenijah.
The parallelogram in Assyria covered with remains
has Khorsabad N.E.; Koyunjik and Nebi Yunus (Nineveh in the
narrow sense) near the Tigris N.W.; Nimrud and Athur between
the Tigris and Zab, N.W.; and Karamles at a distance inward
from the Zab S.E. From Koyunjik to Nimrud is 18 miles; from
Khorsabad to Karamles 18; from Koyunjik to Khorsabad 13 or
14; from Nimrud to Karamles 14. The length was greater than
the breadth; so Jonah 3:4 "entered into the city a day's
journey." The longer sides were 150 furlongs each, the
shorter 90 furlongs, the whole circuit 480 or 460 miles.
Babylon had a circuit of only 385 miles (Clitarchus in Diod.
ii. 7, Strabo xvi. 737). The walls were 100 ft. high, with
1,500 towers, and broad enough for three chariots abreast.
Shereef Khan is the northern extremity of the collection of
mounds on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and is five and a
half miles N. of Koyunjik. There is also an enclosure, 5,000
yards in circuit, once enclosed by a moat at Selamivah three
miles N. of Nimrud. Nimrud in inscriptions is called Kalkhu
or Calah in Genesis 10:11; Khorsabad is called Sargina from
Sargon. At Kileh Sherghat is the presumed original capital,"
Asshur," 60 miles S. of Mosul, on the right or western bank
of the Tigris.
Sennacherib first made Nineveh the capital. Nineveh
was at first only a fort to keep the Babylonian conquests
around. It subsequently, with Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and
Resen, formed one great city, "Nineveh" in the larger sense.
Thothmes III of Egypt is mentioned in inscriptions as
capturing Nineveh. Phraortes the Mede perished in attempting
to do so (Herodotus i. 102). Cyaxares his successor, after
at first raising the siege owing to a Scythic invasion
(Herodotus i. 103, 106) 625 B.C., finally succeeded in
concert with the Babylonian Nabopolassar, 606 B.C., Saracus
the last king, Esarhaddon's grandson, set fire to the palace
and perished in the flames, as Ctesias states, and as the
marks of fire on the walls still confirm. So Nahum 3:13;
Nahum 3:15, "fire shall devour thy bars." Charred wood,
calcined alabaster, and heat splintered figures abound.
Nahum (Nahum 2) and Zephaniah (Zephaniah 2:13-15) foretold
its doom; and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 31) shortly after attests the
completeness of its overthrow, as a warning of the fatal
issue of pride, Isaiah 10:7-14; Diodorus (ii. 27) says
there...
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Nahum 3:7 - And it shall come to pass, [that] all they that
look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid
waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for
thee?
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And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are
more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much
cattle?
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But Nineveh [is] of old like a pool of water: yet they shall
flee away. Stand, stand, [shall they cry]; but none shall look
back.
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The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the
preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas [is]
here.
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And he caused [it] to be proclaimed and published through
Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let
neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let
them not feed, nor drink water:
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And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and
he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be
overthrown.
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For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered [him] with
sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
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And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and
destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry
like a wilderness.
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Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and
the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
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So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
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So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
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Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it
the preaching that I bid thee.
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And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee,
when we are absent one from another.
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Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the
people that [were] in Mizpah, [even] the king's daughters, and
all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away
captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
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Now it came to pass in the seventh month, [that] Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and
the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat
bread together in Mizpah.
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mo'-ab, mo'-ab-its (Moab, mo'abh, Moabite Stone, M-'-B;
Greek (Septuagint) Moab, he Moabeitis, Moabitis; Moabite,
mo'abhi; Moabites, bene mo'abh):
1. The Land:
Moab was the district East of the Dead Sea, extending from a
point some distance North of it to its southern end. The
eastern boundary was indefinite, being the border of the
desert which is irregular. The length of the territory was
about 50 miles and the average width about 30. It is a high
tableland, averaging some 3,000 ft. above the level of the
Mediterranean and 4,300 ft. above that of the Dead Sea. The
aspect of the land, as one looks at it from the western side
of the Dead Sea, is that of a range of mountains with a very
precipitous frontage, but the elevation of this ridge above
the interior is very slight. Deep chasms lead down from the
tableland to the Dead Sea shore, the principal one being the
gorge of the river Arnon, which is about 1,700 ft. deep and
2 or more miles in width at the level of the tableland, but
very narrow at the bottom and with exceedingly precipitous
banks. About 13 miles back from the mouth of the river the
gorge divides, and farther back it subdivides, so that
several valleys are formed of diminishing depth as they
approach the desert border. These are referred to in Nu
21:14 as the "valleys of the Arnon." The "valley of Zered"
(Nu 21:12), which was on the southern border, drops down to
the southern end of the Dead Sea, and although not so long
or deep as the Arnon, is of the same nature in its lower
reaches, very difficult to cross, dividing into two
branches, but at a point much nearer the sea. The stream is
not so large as the Arnon, but is quite copious, even in
summer. These gorges have such precipitous sides that it
would be very difficult for an army to cross them, except in
their upper courses near the desert where they become
shallow. The Israelites passed them in that region, probably
along the present Hajj road and the line of the Mecca
Railway. The tableland is fertile but lacks water. The
fountains and streams in the valleys and on the slopes
toward the Dead Sea are abundant, but the uplands are almost
destitute of flowing water. The inhabitants supply
themselves by means of cisterns, many of which are ancient,
but many of those used in ancient times are ruined. The
population must have been far greater formerly than now. The
rainfall is usually sufficient to mature the crops, although
the rain falls in winter only. The fertility of the country
in ancient times is indicated by the numerous towns and
villages known to have existed there, mentioned in Scripture
and on the Moabite Stone, the latter giving some not found
elsewhere. The principal of these were: Ar (Nu 21:15);
Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Nebo (Nu 32:3); Beth-peor (Dt
3:29); Beth-diblaim, Bozrah, Kerioth (Jer 48:22-24); Kir
(Isa 15:1); Medeba, Elealeh, Zoar (Isa 15:2,4,5); Kirheres
(Isa 16:11); Sibmah (Josh 13:19); in all, some 45 place-
names in Moab are known, most of the towns being in ruins.
Kir of Moab is represented in the modern Kerak, the most
important of all and the government center of the district.
Madeba now represents the ancient Medeba, and has become
noted for the discovery of a medieval map of Israel, in
mosaic, of considerable archaeological value. Rabbath-moab
and Heshbon (modern Rabba and Hesban) are miserable
villages, and the country is subject to the raids of the
Bedouin tribes of the neighboring desert, which discourages
agriculture. But the land is still good pasture ground for
cattle and sheep, as in ancient times (Nu 32:3,4).
2. The People:
The Moabites were of Semitic stock and of kin to the
Hebrews, as is indicated by their descent from Lot, the
nephew of Abraham (Gen 19:30-37), and by their language
which is practically the same as the Hebrew. This is clear
from the inscription...
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1. Son of Lot
Ge 19:37
-2. Plains of
Israelites come in
De 2:17,18
Military forces numbered in
Nu 26:3,63
The law rehearsed in, by Moses
Nu 35; 36; De 29; 30; 31; 32; 33
The Israelites renew their covenant in
De 29:1
The land of promise allotted in
Jos 13:32
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(of his father), Mo'abites. Moab was the son of the Lot's
eldest daughter, the progenitor of the Moabites. Zoar was
the cradle of the race of Lot. From this centre the brother
tribes spread themselves. The Moabites first inhabited the
rich highlands which crown the eastern side of the chasm of
the Dead Sea, extending as far north as the mountain of
Gilead, from which country they expelled the Emims, the
original inhabitants, De 2:11 but they themselves were
afterward driven southward by the warlike Amorites, who had
crossed the Jordan, and were confined to the country south
of the river Arnon, which formed their northern boundary. Nu
21:13; Jud 11:18 The territory occupied by Moab at the
period of its greatest extent, before the invasion of the
Amorites, divided itself naturally into three distinct and
independent portions:-- (1) The enclosed corner or canton
south of the Arnon was the "field of Moab." Ru 1:1,2,6 etc.
(2) The more open rolling country north of the Arnon,
opposite Jericho, and up to the hills of Gilead, was the
"land of Moab." De 1:5; 32:49 etc. (3) The sunk district in
the tropical depths of the Jordan valley. Nu 22:1 etc. The
Israelites, in entering the promised land, did not pass
through the Moabites, Jud 11:18 but conquered the Amorites,
who occupied the country from which the Moabites had been so
lately expelled. After the conquest of Canaan the relations
of Moab with Israel were of a mixed character, sometimes
warlike and sometimes peaceable. With the tribe of Benjamin
they had at least one severe struggle, in union with their
kindred the Ammonites. Jud 3:12-30 The story of Ruth, on the
other hand, testifies to the existence of a friendly
intercourse between Moab and Bethlehem, one of the towns of
Judah. By his descent from Ruth, David may be said to have
had Moabite blood in his veins. He committed his parents to
the protection of the king of Moab, when hard pressed by
Saul. 1Sa 22:3,4 But here all friendly relations stop
forever. The next time the name is mentioned is in the
account of David's war, who made the Moabites tributary. 2Sa
8:2; 1Ch 18:2 At the disruption of the kingdom Moab seems to
have fallen to the northern realm. At the death of Ahab the
Moabites refused to pay tribute and asserted their
independence, making war upon the kingdom of Judah. 2Ch 22:1
... As a natural consequence of the late events, Israel,
Judah and Edom united in an attack on Moab, resulting in the
complete overthrow of the Moabites. Falling back into their
own country, they were followed and their cities and farms
destroyed. Finally, shut up within the walls of his own
capital, the king, Mesha, in the sight of the thousands who
covered the sides of that vast amphitheater, killed and
burnt his child as a propitiatory sacrifice to the cruel
gods of his country. Isaiah, chs. Isa 15,16,25:10-12
predicts the utter annihilation of the Moabites; and they
are frequently denounced by the subsequent prophets. For the
religion of the Moabites see CHEMOSH; MOLECH; PEOR.
See also Tristram's "Land of Moab." Present
condition. --(Noldeke says that the extinction of the
Moabites was about A.D. 200, at the time when the Yemen
tribes Galib and Gassara entered the eastern districts of
the Jordan. Since A.D. 536 the last trace of the name Moab,
which lingered in the town of Kir-moab, has given place to
Kerak, its modern name. Over the whole region are scattered
many ruins of ancient cities; and while the country is
almost bare of larger vegetation, it is still a rich
pasture-ground, with occasional fields of grain. The land
thus gives evidence of its former wealth and power. --ED.)
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the seed of the father, or, according to others, the
desirable
land, the eldest son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of
incestuous birth.
(2.) Used to denote the people of Moab (Num. 22:3-
14; Judg.
3:30; 2 Sam. 8:2; Jer. 48:11, 13).
(3.) The land of Moab (Jer. 48:24), called also the
"country
of Moab" (Ruth 1:2, 6; 2:6), on the east of Jordan
and the Dead
Sea, and south of the Arnon (Num. 21:13, 26). In a
wider sense
it included the whole region that had been occupied
by the
Amorites. It bears the modern name of Kerak.
In the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho (Num. 22:1;
26:63;
Josh. 13:32), the children of Israel had their last
encampment
before they entered the land of Canaan. It was at
that time in
the possession of the Amorites (Num. 21:22). "Moses
went up from
the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the
top of
Pisgah," and "died there in the land of Moab,
according to the
word of the Lord" (Deut. 34:5, 6). "Surely if we had
nothing
else to interest us in the land of Moab, the fact
that it was
from the top of Pisgah, its noblest height, this
mightiest of
the prophets looked out with eye undimmed upon the
Promised
Land; that it was here on Nebo, its loftiest
mountain, that he
died his solitary death; that it was here, in the
valley over
against Beth-peor, he found his mysterious
sepulchre, we have
enough to enshrine the memory in our hearts."
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("from father"), i.e. the incestuous offspring of Lot's
older daughter, near Zoar, S.E. of the Dead Sea (Genesis
19:37). Originally the Moabites dwelt due E. of the Dead
Sea, from whence they expelled the Emims. Their territory
was 40 miles long, 12 wide, the modern Belka or Kerak
(Deuteronomy 2:10-11). Afterward, Sihon king of the Amorites
drove them S. of the river Amon, now wady el Mojib (Numbers
21:13; Numbers 21:26-30; Judges 11:13; Judges 11:18), which
thenceforward was their northern boundary. Israel was
forbidden to meddle with them (Judges 11:9; Judges 11:19) on
account of the tie of blood through Lot, Abraham's nephew,
for Jehovah gave Ar unto the children of Lot, having
dispossessed the giant Emims. It was only when Moab seduced
Israel to idolatry and impurity (Numbers 25), and hired
Balaam to curse them, that they were excluded from Jehovah's
congregation to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3-4).
Ammon was more roving than Moab and occupied the pastures to
the N.E. outside the mountains.
Moab was more settled in habits, and remained nearer
the original seat Zoar. Its territory after the Amorite
conquest was circumscribed, but well fortified by nature
(Numbers 21:20, margin); called "the field of Moab" (Rth
1:1-63, and "the corner of Moab" (Numbers 24:17; Jeremiah
48:45). The country N. of Arnon, opposite Jericho reaching
to Gilead, was more open; vast prairie-like plains broken by
rocky prominences; "the land of Moab" (Deuteronomy 1:5;
Deuteronomy 32:49). Besides there was the Arboth Moab,
"plains (rather deep valley) of Moab," the dry sunken valley
of Jordan (Numbers 22:1). Outside of the hills enclosing
Moab proper on the S.E. are the uncultivated pastures called
midbar, "wilderness," facing Moab (Numbers 21:11). Through
it Israel advanced. The song (Exodus 15:15) at the Red Sea
first mentions the nation, "trembling shall take hold upon
... the mighty men of Moab."
Israel's request for a passage through Edom and
Moab, and liberty to purchase bread and water, was refused
(Judges 11:17; Numbers 20:14-21). In Israel's circuitous
march round the two kingdoms they at last, when it suited
their own selfish ends and when they could not prevent
Israel's march, sold them bread and water (Deuteronomy 2:28-
29; Deuteronomy 23:3-4). The exclusion of a Moabite from the
congregation only forbade his naturalization, not his
dwelling in Israel nor an Israelite marrying a Moabitess.
Ruth married Naomi's son, but became a proselyte. The law of
exclusion it is clear could never have been written after
David's time, whose great grandmother was a Moabitess.
Israel was occupying the country N. of Arnon which Moab had
just lost to Sihon, and which Israel in turn had wrested
from him, and with its main force had descended from the
upper level to the Shittim plains, the Arboth Moab, in the
Jordan valley, when Balak, alarmed for his already
diminished territory, induced the Midianite "elders" to join
him and hired Balak; virtually, though never actually,
"warring against Israel" (Joshua 24:9; Judges 11:25).
The daughters of Moab, mentioned in Numbers 25:1,
were those with whom Israel "began whoredom," but the main
guilt was Midian's, and on Midian fell the vengeance
(Numbers 25:16-18; Numbers 31:1-18). Moab's licentious rites
furnished the occasion, but Midian was the active agent in
corrupting the people. Balak (contrast, "the former king of
Moab," Numbers 21:26) was probably not hereditary king but a
Midianite; the Midianites taking advantage...
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And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against
Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
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And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria,
and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of
the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
forsook the LORD, and served not him.
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Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine
heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kirheres: because
the riches [that] he hath gotten are perished.
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And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do
with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the
prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him,
Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to
deliver them into the hand of Moab.
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Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let
me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom
would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner they sent unto
the king of Moab: but he would not [consent]: and Israel abode
in Kadesh.
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And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto
the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred
thousand rams, with the wool.
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For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the
inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy [them]:
and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir,
every one helped to destroy another.
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But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD
raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite,
a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a
present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
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Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on
his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste
remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
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And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab,
and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus,
and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which
come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
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hor (hor ha-har; literally, "Hor, the mountain"):
1. Not Jebel Neby Harun:
(1) a tradition identifying this mountain with Jebel Neby
Harun may be traced from the time of Josephus (Ant., IV, iv,
7) downward. Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v. Hor) favors this
identification, which has been accepted by many travelers
and scholars. In HDB, while noting the fact that it has been
questioned, Professor Hull devotes all the space at his
disposal to a description of Jebel Neby Harun. It is now
recognized, however, that this identification is impossible.
Niebuhr (Reise nach Arabic, 238), Pocoke (Description of the
East, I, 157), Robinson (BR, I, 185), Ewald (Hist. of
Israel, II, 201, note), and others had pointed out
difficulties in the way, but the careful discussion of Dr.
H. Clay Trumbull (Kadesh Barnea, 127 ff) finally disposed of
the claims of Jebel Neby Harun.
2. Suggested Identification:
From Nu 20:22; 33:37 we may perhaps infer that Mt. Hor, "in
the edge of the land of Edom," was about a day's journey
from Kadesh. The name "Hor the mountain" suggests a
prominent feature of the landscape. Aaron was buried there
(Nu 20:28; Dt 32:50). It was therefore not in Mt. Seir (Dt
2:5), of which not even a foot-breadth was given to Israel.
Jebel Neby Harun is certainly a prominent feature of the
landscape, towering over the tumbled hills that form the
western edges of the Edom plateau to a height of 4,800 ft.
But it is much more than a day's journey from Kadesh, while
it is well within the boundary of Mt. Seir. The king of Arad
was alarmed at the march to Mt. Hor. Had Israel marched
toward Jebel Neby Harun, away to the Southeast, it could
have caused him no anxiety, as he dwelt in the north.
3. Jebel Maderah:
This points to some eminence to the North or Northeast of
Kadesh. A hill meeting sufficiently all these conditions is
Jebel Maderah (see HALAK, MOUNT), which rises to the
Northeast of `Ain qadis (Kadeshbarnea). It stands at the
extreme Northwest boundary of the land of Edom, yet not
within that boundary. Above the barrenness of the
surrounding plain this "large, singular-looking, isolated
chalk hill" rises "alone like a lofty citadel," "steep-
sided" and "quite naked." Here the solemn transactions
described in Nu 20:22 ff could have been carried out
literally, "in the sight of all the congregation." While
certainty is impossible, no more likely suggestion has been
made.
(2) A mountain named only in Nu 34:7 f as on the North
boundary of the land of Israel. No success has attended the
various attempts made to identify this particular height.
Some would make it Mt. Hermon (Hull, HDB, under the word);
others Jebel Akkar, an outrunner on the Northeast of Lebanon
(Furrer, ZDPV, VIII, 27), and others the mountain at the
"knee of" Nahr el-Qasimiyeh (van Kasteren, Rev. Biblical,
1895, 30 f). In Ezek 47:15 ha-derekh, should certainly be
amended to chadhrakh, a proper name, instead of "the way."
Possibly then Mt. Hor should disappear from Nu 34:7 f, and
we should read, with slight emendation, "From the great sea
ye shall draw a line for you as far as Hadrach, and from
Hadrach ...."
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The mountain upon which Aaron died
Nu 20:22-29; 21:4; 33:38,39; 34:7,8; De 32:50
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(mountain), Mount.
1. The mountain on which Aaron died. Nu 20:25,27 It
was "on the boundary line," Nu 20:23 or "at the edge," ch.
Nu 33:37 of the land of Edom. It was the halting-place of
the people next after Kadesh, ch. Nu 20:22; 33:37 and they
quitted it for Zalmonah, ch. Nu 33:41 in the road to the Red
Sea. ch. Nu 21:4 It was during the encampment at Kadesh that
Aaron was gathered to his fathers. Mount Hor is situated on
the eastern side of the great valley of the Arabah, the
highest and most conspicuous of the whole range of the
sandstone mountains of Edom, having close beneath it on its:
eastern side the mysterious; city of Petra. It is now the
Jebel Nebi-Harim "the mountain of the prophet Aaron." Its
height is 4800 feet above the Mediterranean; that is to say,
about 1700 feet above the town of Petra, 4800 above the
level of the Arabah, and more than 6000 above the Dead Sea.
The mountain is marked far and near by its double top, which
rises like a huge castellated building from a lower base,
and is surmounted by a circular dome of the tomb of Aaron, a
distinct white spot on the dark red surface of the mountain.
The chief interest of Mount Hor consists in the prospect
from its summit, the last view of Aaron --that view which
was to him what Pisgah was to his brother.
2. A mountain, entirely distinct from the preceding,
named in Nu 34:7,8 only, as one of the marks of the northern
boundary of the land which the children of Israel were about
to conquer. This Mount Hor is the great chain of Lebanon
itself.
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mountain. (1.) One of the mountains of the chain of Seir or
Edom, on the confines of Idumea (Num. 20:22-29;
33:37). It was
one of the stations of the Israelites in the
wilderness (33:37),
which they reached in the circuitous route they were
obliged to
take because the Edomites refused them a passage
through their
territory. It was during the encampment here that
Aaron died
(Num. 33:37-41). (See AARON -T0000002.) The
Israelites passed
this mountain several times in their wanderings. It
bears the
modern name of Jebel Harun, and is the highest and
most
conspicious of the whole range. It stands about
midway between
the Dead Sea and the Elanitic gulf. It has two
summits, in the
hallow between which it is supposed that Aaron died.
Others,
however, suppose that this mountain is the modern
Jebel Madurah,
on the opposite, i.e., the western, side of the
Arabah.
(2.) One of the marks of the northern boundary of
Israel
(Num. 34:7, 8). Nowhere else mentioned. Perhaps it
is one of the
peaks of Lebanon.
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1. The mount in which Aaron died (Numbers 20:22-23; Numbers
20:25-28). An archaic form of har, "mountain." The only
instance in which the proper name comes first, "Hor the
mountain," the mount upon the mountain. It "rises like a
huge castellated building from a lower base" (Stanley, Sinai
and Israel, 86). Now Jebel Harun" by the coast (or
'edge') of the land of Edom" (Numbers 33:37-38). On the E.
side of the Arabah, close to Petra. The white chalk summit
rises on a dark red sandstone bore rock, 5,300 feet above
the Mediterranean. On the northernmost of its two summits is
shown a square building with dome, called the tomb of Aaron.
A flight of steps cut in the rock leads up a precipice to
it. The roof is decorated with ostrich shells and such like
ornaments.
It is an ordinary Moslem weh; over the door is an
inscription stating that the building was restored by Es
Shimani, son of Mohammed Calain, sultan of Egypt, by his
father's orders, in the year 739 of the Hegira; square
almost, 28 ft. by 33 ft., having two chambers one above the
other. The host encamped in the Arabah below at Moseroth
(Numbers 33:30), or Mosera (Deuteronomy 10:6). (See AARON.)
His death resembled Moses' in being on a mountain, but
differed from it in being in the presence of
