Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega
is the last. These letters occur in the text of Re 1:8,11 21:6 22:13 and are
represented by "Alpha" and "Omega" respectively (omitted in
R.V., 1:11) They mean "the first and last." Comp. Heb 12:2 Isa 41:4
44:6 Re 1:11,17 2:8 In the symbols of the early Christian Church these two
letters are frequently combined with the cross or with Christ's monogram to
denote his divinity.
The eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, a daughter of Levi
Ex 6:20 Some explain the name as meaning mountaineer, others mountain of
strength, illuminator. He was born in Egypt three years before his brother
Moses, and a number of years after his sister Miriam Ex 2:1,4 7:7 He married
Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab of the house of Judah Ex 6:23 1Ch 2:10 by
whom he had four sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
When the time for the deliverance of Isarael out of Egypt
drew nigh, he was sent by God Ex 4:14,27-30 to meet his long-absent brother,
that he might co-operate with him in all that they were required to do in
bringing about the Exodus. He was to be the "mouth" or "prophet"
of Moses, i.e., was to speak for him, because he was a man of a ready utterance
Ex 7:1,2,9,10,19 He was faithful to his trust, and stood by Moses in all his
interviews with Pharaoh. When the ransomed tribes fought their first battle
with Amalek in Rephidim, Moses stood on a hill overlooking the scene of the
conflict with the rod of God in his outstretched hand. On this occasion he was
attended by Aaron and Hur, his sister's husband, who held up his wearied hands
till Joshua and the chosen warriors of Israel gained the victory Ex 17:8-13
Afterwards, when encamped before Sinai, and when Moses at
the command of God ascended the mount to receive the tables of the law, Aaron
and his two sons, Nadab and Abihu, along with seventy of the elders of Israel, were
permitted to accompany him part of the way, and to behold afar off the
manifestation of the glory of Israel's God Ex 19:24 24:9-11 While Moses
remained on the mountain with God, Aaron returned unto the people; and yielding
through fear, or ignorance, or instability of character, to their clamour, made
unto them a golden calf, and set it up as an object of worship Ex 32:4 Ps
106:19 On the return of Moses to the camp, Aaron was sternly rebuked by him for
the part he had acted in this matter; but he interceded for him before God, who
forgave his sin De 9:20
On the mount, Moses received instructions regarding the
system of worship which was to be set up among the people; and in accordance
therewith Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priest's office Le 8:1ff.
Le 9:1ff. Aaron, as high priest, held henceforth the prominent place
appertaining to that office. When Israel had reached Hazeroth, in "the
wilderness of Paran, "Aaron joined with his sister Miriam in murmuring
against Moses, "because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married,
"probably after the death of Zipporah. But the Lord vindicated his servant
Moses, and punished Miriam with leprosy Nu 12:1ff. Aaron acknowledged his own
and his sister's guilt, and at the intercession of Moses they were forgiven.
Twenty years after this, when the children of Israel were
encamped in the wilderness of Paran, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram conspired
against Aaron and his sons; but a fearful judgment from God fell upon them, and
they were destroyed, and the next day thousands of the people also perished by
a fierce pestilence, the ravages of which were only stayed by the interposition
of Aaron Nu 16:1ff. That there might be further evidence of the divine
appointment of Aaron to the priestly office, the chiefs of the tribes were each
required to bring to Moses a rod bearing on it the name of his tribe. And
these, along with the rod of Aaron for the tribe of Levi, were laid up
overnight in the tabernacle, and in the morning it was found that while the
other rods remained unchanged, that of Aaron "for the house of Levi"
budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds Nu 17:1-10 This rod was afterwards
preserved in the tabernacle Heb 9:4 as a memorial of the divine attestation of
his appointment to the priesthood.
Aaron was implicated in the sin of his brother at Meribah
Nu 20:8-13 and on that account was not permitted to enter the Promised Land.
When the tribes arrived at Mount Hor, "in the edge of the land of Edom,
"at the command of God Moses led Aaron and his son Eleazar to the top of
that mountain, in the sight of all the people.
There he stripped Aaron of his priestly vestments, and put them upon
Eleazar; and there Aaron died on the top of the mount, being 123 years old Nu
20:23-29 Comp. De 10:6 32:50 and was
"gathered unto his people." The people, "even all the house of
Israel, "mourned for him thirty days.
Of Aaron's sons two survived him, Eleazar, whose family held the
high-priesthood till the time of Eli; and Ithamar, in whose family, beginning
with Eli, the high-priesthood was held till the time of Solomon. Aaron's other
two sons had been struck dead Le 10:1,2 for the daring impiety of offering
"strange fire" on the alter of incense.
The Arabs still show with veneration the traditionary
site of Aaron's grave on one of the two summits of Mount Hor, which is marked
by a Muslim chapel. His name is mentioned in the Koran, and there are found in
the writings of the rabbins many fabulous stories regarding him. He was the
first anointed priest. His descendants, "the house of Aaron,
"constituted the priesthood in general. In the time of David they were
very numerous 1Ch 12:27 The other branches of the tribe of Levi held
subordinate positions in connection with the sacred office. Aaron was a type of
Christ in his official character as the high priest. His priesthood was a
"shadow of heavenly things, "and was intended to lead the people of
Israel to look forward to the time when "another priest" would arise
"after the order of Melchizedek" Heb 6:20
The descendants of Aaron, and therefore priests.
Jehoiada, the father of Benaiah, led 3,700 Aaronites as "fighting
men" to the support of David at Hebron 1Ch 12:27 Eleazar Nu 3:32 and at a
later period Zadok 1Ch 27:17 was their chief.
Destruction, the Hebrew name (equivalent to the Greek
Apollyon, i.e., destroyer) of "the angel of the bottomless pit" Re
9:11 It is rendered "destruction" in Job 28:22 31:12 26:6 Pr 15:11
27:20 In the last three of these passages the Revised Version retains the word
"Abaddon." We may regard this word as a personification of the idea
of destruction, or as sheol, the realm of the dead.
One of the seven eunuchs in Ahasuerus's court Es 1:10
2:21
Stony (Heb. marg. "Amanah, "perennial), the
chief river of Damascus 2Ki 5:12 Its modern name is Barada, the Chrysorrhoas,
or "golden stream, "of the Greeks. It rises in a cleft of the
Anti-Lebanon range, about 23 miles north-west of Damascus, and after flowing
southward for a little way parts into three smaller streams, the central one
flowing through Damascus, and the other two on each side of the city, diffusing
beauty and fertility where otherwise there would be barrenness.
Regions beyond; i.e., on the east of Jordan, a mountain,
or rather a mountain-chain, over against Jericho, to the east and south-east of
the Dead Sea, in the land of Moab. From "the top of Pisgah", i.e.,
Mount Nebo (q.v.), one of its summits, Moses surveyed the Promised Land De 3:27
32:49 and there he died De 34:1,5 The Israelites had one of their encampments
in the mountains of Abarim Nu 33:47,48 after crossing the Arnon.
This Syriac or Chaldee word is found three times in the
New Testament Mr 14:36 Ro 8:15 Ga 4:6 and in each case is followed by its Greek
equivalent, which is translated "father." It is a term expressing
warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in our
language. It has passed into European languages as an ecclesiastical term,
"abbot."
Servant.
1. The father of Adoniram, whom Solomon set over the
tribute 1Ki 4:6 i.e., the forced labour (R.V., "levy").
2. A Levite of the family of Jeduthun Ne 11:17 also
called Obadiah 1Ch 9:16
Servant of God, Jer 36:26 the father of Shelemiah.
My servant.
1. 1Ch 6:44
2. 2Ch 29:12
3. Ezr 10:26
Servant of God, 1Ch 5:15 a Gadite chief.
Servile.
1. The son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, the tenth judge of
Israel Jud 12:13-15 He is probably the Bedan of 1Sa 12:11
2. The first-born of Gibeon of the tribe of Benjamin 1Ch
8:30 9:36
3. The son of Micah, one of those whom Josiah sent to the
prophetess Huldah to ascertain from her the meaning of the recently discovered
book of the law 2Ch 34:20 He is called Achbor in 2Ki 22:12
4. One of the "sons" of Shashak 1Ch 8:23 This
is the name also of a Levitical town of the Gershonites, in the tribe of Asher
Jos 21:30 1Ch 6:74 The ruins of Abdeh, some 8 miles north-east of Accho,
probably mark its site.
Servant of Nego=Nebo, the Chaldee name given to Azariah,
one of Daniel's three companions Da 2:49 With Shadrach and Meshach, he was
delivered from the burning fiery furnace Da 3:12-30
1. (Heb. Hebhel), a breath, or vanity, the second son of
Adam and Eve. He was put to death by his brother Cain Ge 4:1-16 Guided by the
instruction of their father, the two brothers were trained in the duty of
worshipping God. "And in process of time" (marg. "at the end of
days", i.e., on the Sabbath) each of them offered up to God of the
first-fruits of his labours. Cain, as a husbandman, offered the fruits of the
field; Abel, as a shepherd, of the firstlings of his flock. "The Lord had
respect unto Abel and his offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had not
respect" Ge 4:3-5 On this account Cain was angry with his brother, and
formed the design of putting him to death; a design which he at length found an
opportunity of carrying into effect Ge 4:8,9 Comp 1Jo 3:12
There are several references to Abel in the New
Testament. Our Saviour speaks of him as "righteous" Mt 23:35
"The blood of sprinkling" is said to speak "better things than
that of Abel" Heb 12:24 i.e., the blood of Jesus is the reality of which
the blood of the offering made by Abel was only the type. The comparison here
is between the sacrifice offered by Christ and that offered by Abel, and not
between the blood of Christ calling for mercy and the blood of the murdered
Abel calling for vengeance, as has sometimes been supposed. It is also said Heb
11:4 that "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain." This sacrifice was made "by faith; "this faith rested in
God, not only as the Creator and the God of providence, but especially in God
as the great Redeemer, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacrifices which, no
doubt by the divine institution, were offered from the days of Adam
downward. On account of that
"faith" which looked forward to the great atoning sacrifice, Abel's
offering was accepted of God. Cain's offering had no such reference, and
therefore was rejected. Abel was the first martyr, as he was the first of our
race to die.
2. Abel (Heb. 'abhel), lamentation 1Sa 6:18 the name
given to the great stone in Joshua's field whereon the ark was "set
down." The Revised Version, however, following the Targum and the LXX.,
reads in the Hebrew text a stone), and accordingly translates "unto the
great stone, whereon they set down the ark." This reading is to be preferred.
3. Abel (Heb. 'abhel), a grassy place, a meadow. This
word enters into the composition of the following words:
a. Abel-beth -maachah
b. Abel-cheramin
c. Abel-meholah
d. Abel-mizraim
e. Abel-shittim
Meadow of the house of Maachah, a city in the north of
Palestine, in the neighbourhood of Dan and Ijon, in the tribe of Naphtali. It
was a place of considerable strength and importance. It is called a
"mother in Israel", i.e., a metropolis 2Sa 20:19 It was besieged by
Joab 2Sa 20:14 by Benhadad 1Ki 15:20 and by Tiglath-pileser 2Ki 15:29 about
B.C. 734 It is elsewhere called Abel-maim, meadow of the waters, 2Ch 16:4 Its
site is occupied by the modern Abil or Abil-el-kamh, on a rising ground to the
east of the brook Derdarah, which flows through the plain of Huleh into the
Jordan, about 6 miles to the west-north-west of Dan.
Jud 11:33 (R.V.; A. V., "plain of the
vineyards"), a village of the Ammonites, whither Jephthah pursued their
forces.
Meadow of dancing, or the dancing-meadow, the birth-place
and residence of the prophet Elisha, not far from Beth-shean 1Ki 4:12 in the
tribe of Issachar, near where the Wady el-Maleh emerges into the valley of the
Jordan, "the rich meadow-land which extends about 4 miles south of
Beth-shean; moist and luxuriant." Here Elisha was found at his plough by
Elijah on his return up the Jordan valley from Horeb 1Ki 19:16 It is now called
'Ain Helweh.
Meadow of Egypt, or mourning of Egypt, a place
"beyond, "i.e., on the west of Jordan, at the "threshing-floor
of Atad." Here the Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob Ge 50:4-11 Its
site is unknown.
Meadow of the acacias, frequently called simply
"Shittim" Nu 25:1 Jos 2:1 Mic 6:5 a place on the east of Jordan, in
the plain of Moab, nearly opposite Jericho. It was the forty-second encampment
of the Israelites, their last resting-place before they crossed the Jordan Nu
33:49 22:1 26:3 31:12 comp. Nu 25:1 31:16
Tin, or white, a town in the tribe of Issachar Jos 19:20
at the north of the plain of Esdraelon. It is probably identified with the
ruins of El-Beida.
My father is the Lord, the Greek form of Abijah, or
Abijam Mt 1:7 instead of Abiah 1Ch 7:8 In Lu 1:5 the name refers to the head of
the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which David divided the priests 1Ch
24:10
Father of strength; i.e., "valiant", one of
David's body-guard of thirty mighty men 2Sa 23:31 called also Abiel 1Ch 11:32
Father of gathering; the gatherer, the youngest of the
three sons of Korah the Levite, head of a family of Korhites Ex 6:24 called
Ebisaph 1Ch 6:37
Father of abundance, or my father excels, the son of
Ahimelech the high priest. He was the tenth high priest, and the fourth in descent
from Eli. When his father was slain with the priests of Nob, he escaped, and
bearing with him the ephod, he joined David, who was then in the cave of
Adullam 1Sa 22:20-23 23:6 He remained with David, and became priest of the
party of which he was the leader 1Sa 30:7
When David ascended the throne of Judah, Abiathar was
appointed high priest 1Ch 15:11 1Ki 2:26 and the "king's companion"
1Ch 27:34 Meanwhile Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, had been made high priest.
These appointments continued in force till the end of David's reign 1Ki 4:4
Abiathar was deposed (the sole historical instance of the deposition of a high
priest) and banished to his home at Anathoth by Solomon, because he took part
in the attempt to raise Adonijah to the throne. The priesthood thus passed from
the house of Ithamar 1Sa 2:30-36 1Ki 1:19 2:26,27 Zadok now became sole high
priest.
In Mr 2:26 reference is made to an occurrence in
"the days of Abiathar the high priest." But from 1Sa 22:1ff. we learn
explicitly that this event took place when Ahimelech, the father of Abiathar,
was high priest. The apparent discrepancy is satisfactorily explained by
interpreting the words in Mark as referring to the life-time of Abiathar, and
not to the term of his holding the office of high priest. It is not implied in
Mark that he was actual high priest at the time referred to. Others, however, think that the loaves
belonged to Abiathar, who was at that time Le 24:9 a priest, and that he either
himself gave them to David, or persuaded his father to give them.
An ear of corn, the month of newly-ripened grain Ex 13:4
23:15 the first of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the seventh of the civil
year. It began about the time of the vernal equinox, on 21 March. It was called
Nisan, after the Captivity Ne 2:1 On the fifteenth day of the month, harvest
was begun by gathering a sheaf of barley, which was offered unto the Lord on
the sixteenth Le 23:4-11
Or Abi'dah, father of knowledge; knowing, one of the five
sons of Midian, who was the son of Abraham by Keturah 1Ch 1:33 and apparently
the chief of an Arab tribe.
Father of judgment; judge, head of the tribe of Benjamin
at the Exodus Nu 1:11 2:22
Father of help; i.e., "helpful."
1. The second of the three sons of Hammoleketh, the
sister of Gilead. He was the grandson of Manasseh 1Ch 7:18 From his family
Gideon sprang Jos 17:2 comp. Jud 6:34 8:2 He was also called Jeezer Nu 26:30
2. One of David's thirty warriors 2Sa 23:27 comp. 1Ch
27:12
3. The prince of the tribe of Dan at the Exodus Nu 1:12
Father (i.e., "possessor") of God
"pious."
1. The son of Zeror and father of Ner, who was the grandfather
of Saul 1Sa 14:51 1Ch 8:33 9:39 In 1Sa 9:1 he is called the "father,
"probably meaning the grandfather, of Kish.
2. An Arbathite, one of David's warriors 1Ch 11:32 called
also Abi-albon 2Sa 23:31
Father of help, a descendant of Abiezer Jud 6:11,24 8:32
Father (i.e., "leader") of the dance, or
"of joy."
1. The sister of David, and wife of Jether an Ishmaelite
1Ch 2:16,17 She was the mother of Amasa 2Sa 17:25
2. The wife of the churlish Nabal, who dwelt in the
district of Carmel 1Sa 25:3 She showed great prudence and delicate management
at a critical period of her husband's life. She was "a woman of good
understanding, and of a beautiful countenance." After Nabal's death she
became the wife of David 1Sa 25:14-42 and was his companion in all his future
fortunes 1Sa 27:3 30:5 2Sa 2:2 By her David had a son called Chileab 2Sa 3:3
elsewhere called Daniel 1Ch 3:1
Father of might.
1. Nu 3:35
2. 1Ch 2:29
3. 1Ch 5:14
4. The second wife of King Rehoboam 2Ch 11:18 a
descendant of Eliab, David's eldest brother.
5. The father of Esther and uncle of Mordecai Es 2:15
Father of Him; i.e., "worshipper of God", the
second of the sons of Aaron Ex 6:23 Le 3:2 Nu 26:60 1Ch 6:3 Along with his
three brothers he was consecrated to the priest's office Ex 28:1 With his
father and elder brother he accompanied the seventy elders part of the way up
the mount with Moses Ex 24:1,9 On one occasion he and Nadab his brother offered
incense in their censers filled with "strange" (i.e., common) fire,
i.e., not with fire taken from the great brazen altar Le 6:9 etc., and for this
offence they were struck dead, and were taken out and buried without the camp
Le 10:1-11 comp. Nu 3:4 26:61 1Ch 24:2 It is probable that when they committed
this offence they were intoxicated, for immediately after is given the law
prohibiting the use of wine or strong drink to the priests.
Father (i.e., "possessor") of renown.
1. One of the sons of Bela, the son of Benjamin 1Ch 8:3
called also Ahihud 1Ch 8:7
2. A descendant of Zerubbabel and father of Eliakim Mt
1:13 ("Abiud"); called also Juda Lu 3:26 and Obadiah 1Ch 3:21
Father (i.e., "possessor or worshipper") of
Jehovah.
1. 1Ch 7:8
2. 1Ch 2:24
3. The second son of Samuel 1Sa 8:2 1Ch 6:28 His conduct,
along with that of his brother, as a judge in Beer-sheba, to which office his
father had appointed him, led to popular discontent, and ultimately provoked
the people to demand a royal form of government.
4. A descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, a chief of
one of the twenty-four orders into which the priesthood was divided by David
1Ch 24:10 The order of Abijah was one of those which did not return from the
Captivity Ezr 2:36-39 Ne 7:39-42 12:1
5. The son of Rehoboam, whom he succeeded on the throne
of Judah 1Ch 3:10 He is also called Abijam 1Ki 14:31 15:1-8 He began his three
years' reign 2Ch 12:16 13:1,2 with a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to bring
back the ten tribes to their allegiance. His address to "Jeroboam and all
Israel, " before encountering them in battle, is worthy of being specially
noticed 2Ch 13:5-12 It was a very bloody battle, no fewer than 500,000 of the
army of Israel having perished on the field. He is described as having walked
"in all the sins of his father" 1Ki 15:3 2Ch 11:20-22 It is said in
1Ki 15:2 that "his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom;
"but in 2Ch 13:2 we read, "his mother's name was Michaiah, the
daughter of Uriel of Gibeah." The explanation is that Maachah is just a
variation of the name Michaiah, and that Abishalom is probably the same as
Absalom, the son of David. It is probable that "Uriel of Gibeah"
married Tamar, the daughter of Absalom 2Sa 14:27 and by her had Maachah. The
word "daughter" in 1Ki 15:2 will thus, as it frequently elsewhere
does, mean grand-daughter.
6. A son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. On
account of his severe illness when a youth, his father sent his wife to consult
the prophet Ahijah regarding his recovery. The prophet, though blind with old
age, knew the wife of Jeroboam as soon as she approached, and under a divine
impulse he announced to her that inasmuch as in Abijah alone of all the house
of Jeroboam there was found "some good thing toward the Lord, "he
only would come to his grave in peace. As his mother crossed the threshold of
the door on her return, the youth died, and "all Israel mourned for
him" 1Ki 14:1-18
7. The daughter of Zechariah 2Ch 29:1 comp. Isa 8:2 and
afterwards the wife of Ahaz. She is also called Abi 2Ki 18:2
8. One of the sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin 1Ch 7:8
"Abiah, " A.V.
Father of the sea; i.e., "seaman" the name
always used in Kings of the king of Judah, the son of Rehoboam, elsewhere
called Abijah 1Ki 15:1,7,8
A plain, a district lying on the east slope of the
Anti-Lebanon range; so called from its chief town, Abila Lu 3:1 which stood in
the Suk Wady Barada, between Heliopolis (Baalbec) and Damascus, 38 miles from
the former and 18 from the latter. Lysanias was governor or tetrarch of this
province.
Father of Mael, one of the sons or descendants of Joktan,
in Northern Arabia Ge 10:28 1Ch 1:22
My father a king, or father of a king, a common name of
the Philistine kings, as "Pharaoh" was of the Egyptian kings.
1. The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham Ge
20:1-18 By an interposition of Providence, Sarah was delivered from his harem,
and was restored to her husband Abraham. As a mark of respect he gave to
Abraham valuable gifts, and offered him a settlement in any part of his
country; while at the same time he delicately and yet severely rebuked him for
having practised a deception upon him in pretending that Sarah was only his
sister. Among the gifts presented by the king were a thousand pieces of silver
as a "covering of the eyes" for Sarah; i.e., either as an atoning
gift and a testimony of her innocence in the sight of all, or rather for the
purpose of procuring a veil for Sarah to conceal her beauty, and thus as a
reproof to her for not having worn a veil which, as a married woman, she ought
to have done. A few years after this Abimelech visited Abraham, who had removed
southward beyond his territory, and there entered into a league of peace and
friendship with him. This league was the first of which we have any record. It
was confirmed by a mutual oath at Beer-sheba Ge 21:22-34
2. A king of Gerar in the time of Isaac, probably the son
of the preceeding Ge 26:1-22 Isaac sought refuge in his territory during a
famine, and there he acted a part with reference to his wife Rebekah similar to
that of his father Abraham with reference to Sarah. Abimelech rebuked him for
the deception, which he accidentally discovered. Isaac settled for a while
here, and prospered. Abimelech desired him, however, to leave his territory,
which Isaac did. Abimelech afterwards visited him when he was encamped at
Beer-sheba, and expressed a desire to renew the covenant which had been entered
into between their fathers Ge 26:26-31
3. A son of Gideon Jud 9:1 who was proclaimed king after
the death of his father Jud 8:33-9:6 One of his first acts was to murder his
brothers, seventy in number, "on one stone, "at Ophrah. Only one
named Jotham escaped. He was an unprincipled, ambitious ruler, often engaged in
war with his own subjects. When engaged
in reducing the town of Thebez, which had revolted, he was struck mortally on
his head by a mill-stone, thrown by the hand of a woman from the wall above.
Perceiving that the wound was mortal, he desired his armour-bearer to thrust
him through with his sword, that it might not be said he had perished by the
hand of a woman Jud 9:50-57
4. The son of Abiathar, and high priest in the time of
David 1Ch 18:16 In the parallel passage, 2Sa 8:17 we have the name Ahimelech,
and Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. This most authorities consider the more
correct reading.
5. Achish, king of Gath, in the title of Ps 34:1 Comp.
1Sa 21:10-15
Father of nobleness; i.e., "noble."
1. A Levite of Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark of
the covenant was deposited after having been brought back from the land of the
Philistines 1Sa 7:1 It remained there twenty years, till it was at length
removed by David 1Sa 7:1,2 1Ch 13:7
2. The second of the eight sons of Jesse 1Sa 16:8 He was
with Saul in the campaign against the Philistines in which Goliath was slain
1Sa 17:13
3. One of Saul's sons, who peristed with his father in
the battle of Gilboa 1Sa 31:2 1Ch 10:2
4. One of Solomon's officers, who "provided victuals
for the king and his household." He presided, for this purpose, over the
district of Dor 1Ki 4:11
Father of kindness, the father of Barak Jud 4:6 5:1
Father of height; i.e., "proud."
1. One of the sons of Eliab, who joined Korah in the
conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. He and all the conspirators, with their
families and possessions (except the children of Korah), were swallowed up by an
earthquake Nu 16:1-33 26:9 Ps 106:17
2. The eldest son of Hiel the Bethelite, who perished
prematurely in consequence of his father's undertaking to rebuild Jericho 1Ki
16:34 according to the words of Joshua Jos 6:26
Father of (i.e., "given to") error, a young
woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to minister to
David in his old age. She became his wife 1Ki 1:3,4,15 After David's death Adonijah
persuaded Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, to entreat the king to permit him to
marry Abishag. Solomon suspected in this request an aspiration to the throne,
and therefore caused him to be put to death 1Ki 2:17-25
Father of (i.e., "desirous of") a gift, the
eldest son of Zeruiah, David's sister. He was the brother of Joab and Asahel
2Sa 2:18 1Ch 2:16 Abishai was the only one who accompanied David when he went
to the camp of Saul and took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's
bolster 1Sa 26:5-12 He had the command of one of the three divisions of David's
army at the battle with Absalom 2Sa 18:2,5,12 He slew the Philistine giant
Ishbi-benob, who threatened David's life 2Sa 21:15-17 He was the chief of the
second rank of the three "mighties" 2Sa 23:18,19 1Ch 11:20,21 and on
one occasion withstood 300 men, and slew them with his own spear 2Sa 23:18
Abishai is the name of the Semitic chief who offers gifts to the lord of Beni-Hassan.
Father of welfare; i.e., "fortunate."
1. The grandson of Benjamin 1Ch 8:4
2. The son of Phinehas the high priest 1Ch 6:4,5,50 Ezr
7:5
Father of the wall; i.e., "mason", one of the
two sons of Shammai of the tribe of Judah 1Ch 2:28,29
Father of dew; i.e., "fresh", David's fifth
wife 2Sa 3:4
Father of goodness, a Benjamite 1Ch 8:11
Ps 35:15 the translation of a Hebrew word meaning
smiters; probably, in allusion to the tongue, slanderers. (Comp.) Jer 18:18
Or washing, was practised,
1. When a person was initiated into a higher state: e.g.,
when Aaron and his sons were set apart to the priest's office, they were washed
with water previous to their investiture with the priestly robes Le 8:6
2. Before the priests approached the altar of God, they
were required, on pain of death, to wash their hands and their feet to cleanse
them from the soil of common life Ex 30:17-21 To this practice the Psalmist
alludes, Ps 26:6
3. There were washings prescribed for the purpose of
cleansing from positive defilement contracted by particular acts. Of such washings
eleven different species are prescribed in the Levitical law (Le 12:1-Le 15:33)
4. A fourth class of ablutions is mentioned, by which a
person purified or absolved himself from the guilt of some particular act. For
example, the elders of the nearest village where some murder was committed were
required, when the murderer was unknown, to wash their hands over the expiatory
heifer which was beheaded, and in doing so to say, "Our hands have not
shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it" De 21:1-9 So also Pilate
declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus by washing his hands Mt 27:24
This act of Pilate may not, however, have been borrowed from the custom of the
Jews. The same practice was common among the Greeks and Romans. The Pharisees
carried the practice of ablution to great excess, thereby claiming
extraordinary purity Mt 23:25 Mr 7:1-5 refers to the ceremonial ablutions. The
Pharisees washed their hands "oft, "more correctly, "with the
fist" (R.V., "diligently"), or as an old father, Theophylact,
explains it, "up to the elbow." (Compare also) Mr 7:4 Le 6:28
11:32-36 15:22
Father of light; i.e., "enlightening", the son
of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul's army 1Sa 14:50
17:55 20:25 He first introduced David to the court of Saul after the victory
over Goliath 1Sa 17:57 After the death of Saul, David was made king over Judah,
and reigned in Hebron. Among the other tribes there was a feeling of hostility
to Judah; and Abner, at the head of Ephraim, fostered this hostility in the
interest of the house of Saul, whose son Ish-bosheth he caused to be proclaimed
king 2Sa 2:8 A state of war existed between these two kings. A battle fatal to
Abner, who was the leader of Ish-boseth's army, was fought with David's army
under Joab at Gibeon 2Sa 2:12 Abner, escaping from the field, was overtaken by
Asahel, who was "light of foot as a wild roe, "the brother of Joab
and Abishai, whom he thrust through with a back stroke of his spear 2Sa 2:18-32
Being rebuked by Ish-bosheth for the impropriety of taking to wife Rizpah, who
had been a concubine of King Saul, he found an excuse for going over to the
side of David, whom he now professed to regard as anointed by the Lord to reign
over all Israel. David received him favourably, and promised that he would have
command of the armies. At this time Joab was absent from Hebron, but on his
return he found what had happened. Abner had just left the city; but Joab by a
stratagem recalled him, and meeting him at the gate of the city on his return,
thrust him through with his sword 2Sa 3:27, 31-39 4:12 Comp. 1Ki 2:5,32 David
lamented in pathetic words the death of Abner, "Know ye not that there is
a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?" 2Sa 3:33-38
This word is used,
1. To express the idea that the Egyptians considered
themselves as defiled when they ate with strangers Ge 43:32 The Jews subsequently
followed the same practice, holding it unlawful to eat or drink with foreigners
Joh 18:28 Ac 10:28 11:3
2. Every shepherd was "an abomination" unto the
Egyptians Ge 46:34 This aversion to shepherds, such as the Hebrews, arose
probably from the fact that Lower and Middle Egypt had formerly been held in
oppressive subjection by a tribe of nomad shepherds (the Hyksos), who had only
recently been expelled, and partly also perhaps from this other fact that the
Egyptians detested the lawless habits of these wandering shepherds.
3. Pharaoh was so moved by the fourth plague, that while
he refused the demand of Moses, he offered a compromise, granting to the
Israelites permission to hold their festival and offer their sacrifices in
Egypt. This permission could not be accepted, because Moses said they would
have to sacrifice "the abomination of the Egyptians" Ex 8:26 i.e.,
the cow or ox, which all the Egyptians held as sacred, and which they regarded
it as sacrilegious to kill.
4. Da 11:31 in that section of his prophecies which is
generally interpreted as referring to the fearful calamities that were to fall
on the Jews in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, says, "And they shall
place the abomination that maketh desolate." Antiochus Epiphanes caused an
altar to be erected on the altar of burnt-offering, on which sacrifices were
offered to Jupiter Olympus. (Comp. 1 Macc. 1:57) This was the abomination of
the desolation of Jerusalem. The same language is employed in Da 9:27 comp. Mt
24:15 where the reference is probably to the image-crowned standards which the
Romans set up at the east gate of the temple (A.D. 70) and to which they paid
idolatrous honours. "Almost the entire religion of the Roman camp
consisted in worshipping the ensign, swearing by the ensign, and in preferring
the ensign before all other gods." These ensigns were an
"abomination" to the Jews, the "abomination of desolation."
This word is also used symbolically of sin in general Isa 66:3 an idol Isa
44:19 the ceremonies of the apostate Church of Rome Re 17:4 a detestable act
Eze 22:11
Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named Ge 11:27
before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the
promises. Till the age of seventy,
Abram sojourned among his kindred in his native country of Chaldea. He then,
with his father and his family and household, quitted the city of Ur, in which
he had hitherto dwelt, and went some 300 miles north to Haran, where he abode
fifteen years. The cause of his migration was a call from God Ac 7:2-4 There is
no mention of this first call in the Old Testament; it is implied, however, in
Ge 12:1ff. While they tarried at Haran, Terah died at the age of 205 years.
Abram now received a second and more definite call, accompanied by a promise
from God Ge 12:1,2 whereupon he took his departure, taking his nephew Lot with
him, "not knowing whither he went" Heb 11:8 He trusted implicitly to
the guidance of Him who had called him. Abram now, with a large household of
probably a thousand souls, entered on a migratory life, and dwelt in
tents. Passing along the valley of the
Jabbok, in the land of Canaan, he formed his first encampment at Sichem Ge 12:6
in the vale or oak-grove of Moreh, between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on the
south. Here he received the great
promise, "I will make of thee a great nation, "etc. Ge 12:2,3,7 This
promise comprehended not only temporal but also spiritual blessings. It implied
that he was the chosen ancestor of the great Deliverer whose coming had been
long ago predicted Ge 3:15 Soon after this, for some reason not mentioned, he
removed his tent to the mountain district between Bethel, then called Luz, and
Ai, towns about two miles apart, where he built an altar to
"Jehovah." He again moved into the southern tract of Palestine,
called by the Hebrews the Negeb; and was at length, on account of a famine,
compelled to go down into Egypt. This took place in the time of the Hyksos, a
Semitic race which now held the Egyptians in bondage. Here occurred that case
of deception on the part of Abram which exposed him to the rebuke of Pharaoh Ge
12:18 Sarai was restored to him; and Pharaoh loaded him with presents,
recommending him to withdraw from the country. He returned to Canaan richer
than when he left it, "in cattle, in silver, and in gold" Ge
12:8-13:2 Comp. Ps 105:13, 14 The whole
party then moved northward, and returned to their previous station near Bethel.
Here disputes arose between Lot's shepherds and those of Abram about water and
pasturage. Abram generously gave Lot
his choice of the pasture-ground. Comp. 1Co 6:7 He chose the well-watered plain
in which Sodom was situated, and removed thither; and thus the uncle and nephew
were separated. Immediately after this
Abram was cheered by a repetition of the promises already made to him, and then
removed to the plain or "oak-grove" of Mamre, which is in Hebron. He
finally settled here, pitching his tent under a famous oak or terebinth tree,
called "the oak of Mamre" Ge 13:18 This was his third resting-place
in the land. Some fourteen years before
this, while Abram was still in Chaldea, Palestine had been invaded by
Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, who brought under tribute to him the five cities in
the plain to which Lot had removed. This tribute was felt by the inhabitants of
these cities to be a heavy burden, and after twelve years they revolted. This
brought upon them the vengeance of Chedorlaomer, who had in league with him
four other kings. He ravaged the whole country, plundering the towns, and
carrying the inhabitants away as slaves. Among those thus treated was Lot.
Hearing of the disaster that had fallen on his nephew, Abram immediately
gathered from his own household a band of 318 armed men, and being joined by
the Amoritish chiefs Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol, he pursued after Chedorlaomer,
and overtook him near the springs of the Jordan. They attacked and routed his
army, and pursued it over the range of Anti-Libanus as far as to Hobah, near
Damascus, and then returned, bringing back all the spoils that had been carried
away. Returning by way of Salem, i.e., Jerusalem, the king of that place,
Melchizedek, came forth to meet them with refreshments. To him Abram presented
a tenth of the spoils, in recognition of his character as a priest of the most
high God Ge 14:18-20 In a recently discovered tablet, dated in the reign of the
grandfather of Amraphel Ge 14:1 one of the witnesses is called "the
Amorite, the son of Abiramu, "or Abram. Having returned to his home at Mamre,
the promises already made to him by God were repeated and enlarged Ge 13:14
"The word of the Lord" (an expression occurring here for the first
time) "came to him" Ge 15:1 He now understood better the future that
lay before the nation that was to spring from him. Sarai, now seventy-five years old, in her impatience, persuaded
Abram to take Hagar, her Egyptian maid, as a concubine, intending that whatever
child might be born should be reckoned as her own. Ishmael was accordingly thus brought up, and was regarded as the
heir of these promises Ge 16:1ff. When Ishmael was thirteen years old, God
again revealed yet more explicitly and fully his gracious purpose; and in token
of the sure fulfilment of that purpose the patriarch's name was now changed
from Abram to Abraham Ge 17:4,5 and the rite of circumcision was instituted as
a sign of the covenant. It was then announced that the heir to these covenant
promises would be the son of Sarai, though she was now ninety years old; and it
was directed that his name should be Isaac.
At the same time, in commemoration of the promises, Sarai's name was
changed to Sarah. On that memorable day of God's thus revealing his design,
Abraham and his son Ishmael and all the males of his house were circumcised Ge
17:1ff. Three months after this, as Abraham sat in his tent door, he saw three
men approaching. They accepted his proffered hospitality, and, seated under an
oak-tree, partook of the fare which Abraham and Sarah provided. One of the
three visitants was none other than the Lord, and the other two were angels in
the guise of men. The Lord renewed on this occasion his promise of a son by
Sarah, who was rebuked for her unbelief. Abraham accompanied the three as they
proceeded on their journey. The two angels went on toward Sodom; while the Lord
tarried behind and talked with Abraham, making known to him the destruction
that was about to fall on that guilty city. The patriarch interceded earnestly
in behalf of the doomed city. But as not even ten righteous persons were found in
it, for whose sake the city would have been spared, the threatened destruction
fell upon it; and early next morning Abraham saw the smoke of the fire that
consumed it as the "smoke of a furnace" Ge 19:1-28 After fifteen
years' residence at Mamre, Abraham moved southward, and pitched his tent among
the Philistines, near to Gerar. Here occurred that sad instance of
prevarication on his part in his relation to Abimelech the King Ge 20:1ff.
Soon after this event, the patriarch left the vicinity of
Gerar, and moved down the fertile valley about 25 miles to Beer-sheba. It was probably here that Isaac was born,
Abraham being now an hundred years old. A feeling of jealousy now arose between
Sarah and Hagar, whose son, Ishmael, was no longer to be regarded as Abraham's
heir. Sarah insisted that both Hagar and her son should be sent away. This was
done, although it was a hard trial to Abraham Ge 21:12
At this point there is a blank in the patriarch's history
of perhaps twenty-five years. These years of peace and happiness were spent at
Beer-sheba. The next time we see him
his faith is put to a severe test by the command that suddenly came to him to
go and offer up Isaac, the heir of all the promises, as a sacrifice on one of
the mountains of Moriah. His faith stood the test Heb 11:17-19 He proceeded in
a spirit of unhesitating obedience to carry out the command; and when about to
slay his son, whom he had laid on the altar, his uplifted hand was arrested by
the angel of Jehovah, and a ram, which was entangled in a thicket near at hand,
was seized and offered in his stead. From this circumstance that place was
called Jehovah-jireh, i.e., "The Lord will provide." The promises
made to Abraham were again confirmed (and this was the last recorded word of God
to the patriarch); and he descended the mount with his son, and returned to his
home at Beer-sheba Ge 22:19 where he resided for some years, and then moved
northward to Hebron. Some years after this Sarah died at Hebron, being 127
years old. Abraham acquired now the needful possession of a burying-place, the
cave of Machpelah, by purchase from the owner of it, Ephron the Hittite Ge
23:1ff. and there he buried Sarah. His next care was to provide a wife for
Isaac, and for this purpose he sent his steward, Eliezer, to Haran (or
Charran,)Ac 7:2 where his brother Nahor and his family resided Ge 11:31 The
result was that Rebekah, the daughter of Nahor's son Bethuel, became the wife
of Isaac Ge 24:1ff. Abraham then himself took to wife Keturah, who became the
mother of six sons, whose descendants were afterwards known as the
"children of the east" Jud 6:3 and later as "Saracens." At
length all his wanderings came to an end. At the age of 175 years, 100 years
after he had first entered the land of Canaan, he died, and was buried in the
old family burying-place at Machpelah Ge 25:7-10 The history of Abraham made a
wide and deep impression on the ancient world, and references to it are
interwoven in the religious traditions of almost all Eastern nations. He is
called "the friend of God" Jas 2:23 "faithful Abraham" Ga
3:9 "the father of us all" Ro 4:16
Lu 16:22,23 refers to the custom of reclining on couches at
table, which was prevalent among the Jews, an arrangement which brought the
head of one person almost into the bosom of the one who sat or reclined above
him. To "be in Abraham's bosom" thus meant to enjoy happiness and
rest Mt 8:11 Lu 16:23 at the banquet in Paradise.
Exalted father.
R.V., one of Israel's halting-places in the desert Nu
33:34,35 just before Ezion-gaber. In A.V., "Ebronah."
Father of peace; i.e., "peaceful" David's son
by Maacah 2Sa 3:3 comp. 1Ki 1:6 He was noted for his personal beauty and for
the extra-ordinary profusion of the hair of his head 2Sa 14:25,26 The first
public act of his life was the blood-revenge he executed against Amnon, David's
eldest son, who had basely wronged Absalom's sister Tamar. This revenge was
executed at the time of the festivities connected with a great sheep-shearing
at Baal-hazor. David's other sons fled from the place in horror, and brought
the tidings of the death of Amnon to Jerusalem. Alarmed for the consequences of
the act, Absalom fled to his grandfather at Geshur, and there abode for three
years 2Sa 3:3 13:23-38 David mourned his absent son, now branded with the guilt
of fratricide. As the result of a stratagem carried out by a woman of Tekoah,
Joab received David's sanction to invite Absalom back to Jerusalem. He returned
accordingly, but two years elapsed before his father admitted him into his
presence 2Sa 14:28 Absalom was now probably the oldest surviving son of David,
and as he was of royal descent by his mother as well as by his father, he began
to aspire to the throne. His pretensions were favoured by the people. By many
arts he gained their affection; and after his return from Geshur 2Sa 15:7
(marg., R.V.) he went up to Hebron, the old capital of Judah, along with a
great body of the people, and there proclaimed himself king. The revolt was so
successful that David found it necessary to quit Jerusalem and flee to
Mahanaim, beyond Jordan; where upon Absalom returned to Jerusalem and took
possession of the throne without opposition. Ahithophel, who had been David's
chief counsellor, deserted him and joined Absalom, whose chief counsellor he
now became. Hushai also joined Absalom, but only for the purpose of trying to
counteract the counsels of Ahithophel, and so to advantage David's cause. He
was so far successful that by his advice, which was preferred to that of
Ahithophel, Absalom delayed to march an army against his father, who thus
gained time to prepare for the defence. Absalom at length marched out against
his father, whose army, under the command of Joab, he encountered on the
borders of the forest of Ephraim. Twenty thousand of Absalom's army were slain
in that fatal battle, and the rest fled. Absalom fled on a swift mule; but his
long flowing hair, or more probably his head, was caught in the bough of an
oak, and there he was left suspended till Joab came up and pierced him through
with three darts. His body was then taken down and cast into a pit dug in the
forest, and a heap of stones was raised over his grave. When the tidings of the
result of that battle were brought to David, as he sat impatiently at the gate
of Mahanaim, and he was told that Absalom had been slain, he gave way to the
bitter lamentation: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I
had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" 2Sa 18:33 Comp. Ex 32:32 Ro
9:3 Absalom's three sons 2Sa 14:27 comp. 2Sa 18:18 had all died before him, so
that he left only a daughter, Tamar, who became the grandmother of Abijah.
(Heb. shittim) Ex 25:5 R.V. probably the Acacia seyal
(the gum-arabic tree); called the "shittah" tree Isa 41:19 Its wood
is called shittim wood Ex 26:15,26 25:10,13,23,28 etc. This species (A. seyal)
is like the hawthorn, a gnarled and thorny tree. It yields the gum-arabic of
commerce. It is found in abundance in the Sinaitic peninsula.
The high land or mountains, a city in the land of Shinar.
It has been identified with the mounds of Akker Kuf, some 50 miles to the north
of Babylon; but this is doubtful. It was one of the cities of Nimrod's kingdom
Ge 10:10 It stood close to the Euphrates, opposite Sippara.
It is also the name of the country of which this city was
the capital, namely, northern or upper Babylonia. The Accadians who came from the "mountains of the east,
"where the ark rested, attained to a high degree of civilization. In the
Babylonian inscriptions they are called "the black heads" and
"the black faces, "in contrast to "the white race" of
Semitic descent. They invented the form
of writing in pictorial hieroglyphics, and also the cuneiform system, in which
they wrote many books partly on papyrus and partly on clay. The Semitic
Babylonians (the white race"), or, as some scholars think, first the
Cushites, and afterwards, as a second immigration, the Semites, invaded and
conquered this country; and then the Accadian language ceased to be a spoken
language, although for the sake of its literary treasures it continued to be
studied by the educated classes of Babylonia. A large portion of the Ninevite
tablets brought to light by Oriental research consists of interlinear or
parallel translations from Accadian into Assyrian; and thus that long-forgotten
language has been recovered by scholars. It belongs to the class of languages
called agglutinative, common to the Tauranian race; i.e., it consists of words
"glued together, "without declension of conjugation. These tablets in
a remarkable manner illustrate ancient history. Among other notable records,
they contain an account of the Creation which closely resembles that given in
the book of Genesis, of the Sabbath as a day of rest, and of the Deluge and its
cause.
Sultry or sandy, a town and harbour of Phoenicia, in the
tribe of Asher, but never acquired by them Jud 1:31 It was known to the ancient
Greeks and Romans by the name of Ptolemais, from Ptolemy the king of Egypt, who
rebuilt it about B.C. 100 Here Paul landed on his last journey to Jerusalem Ac
21:7 During the crusades of the Middle Ages it was called Acra; and
subsequently, on account of its being occupied by the Knights Hospitallers of
Jerusalem, it was called St. Jean d'Acre, or simply Acre.
Satan is styled the "accuser of the brethren"
Re 12:10 Comp. Job 1:6 Zec 3:1 as seeking to uphold his influence among men by bringing
false charges against Christians, with the view of weakening their influence
and injuring the cause with which they are identified. He was regarded by the
Jews as the accuser of men before God, laying to their charge the violations of
the law of which they were guilty, and demanding their punishment. The same
Greek word, rendered "accuser, "is found in Joh 8:10 (but omitted in
the Revised Version); Ac 23:30,35 24:8 25:16,18 in all of which places it is
used of one who brings a charge against another.
The name which the Jews gave in their proper tongue,
i.e., in Aramaic, to the field which was purchased with the money which had
been given to the betrayer of our Lord. The word means "field of
blood." It was previously called "the potter's field" Mt 27:7,8
Ac 1:19 and was appropriated as the burial-place for strangers. It lies on a
narrow level terrace on the south face of the valley of Hinnom. Its modern name
is Hak ed-damm.
The name originally of a narrow strip of territory in
Greece, on the north-west of the Peloponnesus. Subsequently it was applied by
the Romans to the whole Peloponnesus, now called the Morea, and the south of
Greece. It was then one of the two provinces (Macedonia being the other) into
which they divided the country when it fell under their dominion. It is in this
latter enlarged meaning that the name is always used in the New Testament Ac
18:12, 27 19:21 Ro 15: 26 16:5 etc. It was at the time when Luke wrote the Acts
of the Apostles under the proconsular form of government; hence the appropriate
title given to Gallio as the "deputy, "i.e., proconsul, of Achaia Ac
18:12
1Co 16:17 one of the members of the church of Corinth
who, with Fortunatus and Stephanas, visited Paul while he was at Ephesus, for
the purpose of consulting him on the affairs of the church. These three
probably were the bearers of the letter from Corinth to the apostle to which he
alludes in 1Co 7:1
Called also Achar, i.e., one who troubles 1Ch 2:7 in
commemoration of his crime, which brought upon him an awful destruction Jos 7:1
On the occasion of the fall of Jericho, he seized, contrary to the divine
command, an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly Babylonish
garment, which he hid in his tent. Joshua was convinced that the defeat which
the Israelites afterwards sustained before Ai was a proof of the divine
displeasure on account of some crime, and he at once adopted means by the use
of the lot for discovering the criminal. It was then found that Achan was
guilty, and he was stoned to death in the valley of Achor. He and all that
belonged to him were then consumed by fire, and a heap of stones was raised
over the ashes.
Gnawing mouse.
1. An Edomitish king Ge 36:38 1Ch 1:49
2. One of Josiah's officers sent to the prophetess Huldah
to inquire regarding the newly-discovered book of the law 2Ki 22:12,14 He is
also called Abdon 2Ch 34:20
Angry, perhaps only a general title of royalty applicable
to the Philistine kings.
1. The king with whom David sought refuge when he fled
from Saul 1Sa 21:10-15 He is called Abimelech in the superscription of Ps 34:1
It was probably this same king to whom David a second time repaired at the head
of a band of 600 warriors, and who assigned him Ziklag, whence he carried on
war against the surrounding tribes 1Sa 27:5-12 Achish had great confidence in
the valour and fidelity of David 1Sa 28:1,2 but at the instigation of his
courtiers did not permit him to go up to battle along with the Philistine hosts
1Sa 29:2-11 David remained with Achish a year and four months.
2. Another king of Gath, probably grandson of the foregoing,
to whom the two servants of Shimei fled. This led Shimei to go to Gath in
pursuit of them, and the consequence was that Solomon put him to death 1Ki
2:39-46
Ezr 6:2 called Ecbatana by classical writers, the capital
of northern Media. Here was the palace which was the residence of the old
Median monarchs, and of Cyrus and Cambyses. In the time of Ezra, the Persian
kings resided usually at Susa of Babylon. But Cyrus held his court at Achmetha;
and Ezra, writing a century after, correctly mentions the place where the
decree of Cyrus was found.
Trouble, a valley near Jericho, so called in consequence
of the trouble which the sin of Achan caused Israel Jos 7:24,26 The expression
"valley of Achor" probably became proverbial for that which caused
trouble, and when Isaiah Isa 65:10 refers to it he uses it in this sense:
"The valley of Achor, a place for herds to lie down in; "i.e., that
which had been a source of calamity would become a source of blessing. Hosea
also Ho 2:15 uses the expression in the same sense: "The valley of Achor
for a door of hope; "i.e., trouble would be turned into joy, despair into
hope. This valley has been identified with the Wady Kelt.
Anklet, Caleb's only daughter 1Ch 2:49 She was offered in
marriage to the man who would lead an attack on the city of Debir, or
Kirjath-sepher. This was done by Othniel (q.v.), who accordingly obtained her
as his wife Jos 15:16-19 Jud 1:9-15
Fascination, a royal city of the Canaanites, in the north
of Palestine Jos 11:1 12:20 19:25 It was in the eastern boundary of the tribe
of Asher, and is identified with the modern ruined village of Kesaf or Yasif,
N.E. of Accho.
Falsehood.
1. A town in the Shephelah, or plain country of Judah Jos
15:44 probably the same as Chezib of Ge 38:5 =Ain Kezbeh.
2. A Phoenician city (the Gr. Ecdippa), always retained
in their possession though assigned to the tribe of Asher Jos 19:29 Jud 1:31 It
is identified with the modern es-Zib, on the Mediterranean, about 8 miles north
of Accho.
Is the translation of a word (tse'med), which properly
means a yoke, and denotes a space of ground that may be ploughed by a yoke of
oxen in a day. It is about an acre of our measure Isa 5:10 1Sa 14:14
The title now given to the fifth and last of the historical
books of the New Testament. The author styles it a "treatise" Ac 1:1
It was early called "The Acts, ""The Gospel of the Holy Ghost,
"and "The Gospel of the Resurrection." It contains properly no
account of any of the apostles except Peter and Paul. John is noticed only three times; and all that is recorded of
James, the son of Zebedee, is his execution by Herod. It is properly therefore
not the history of the "Acts of the Apostles, "a title which was
given to the book at a later date, but of "Acts of Apostles, "or more
correctly, of "Some Acts of Certain Apostles." As regards its
authorship, it was certainly the work of Luke, the "beloved
physician" (comp.) Lu 1:1-4 Ac 1:1 This is the uniform tradition of
antiquity, although the writer nowhere makes mention of himself by name. The
style and idiom of the Gospel of Luke and of the Acts, and the usage of words
and phrases common to both, strengthen this opinion. The writer first appears
in the narrative in Ac 16:11 and then disappears till Paul's return to Philippi
two years afterwards, when he and Paul left that place together Ac 20:6 and the
two seem henceforth to have been constant companions to the end. He was certainly with Paul at Rome Col 4:14
Ac 28:1-16 Thus he wrote a great portion of that history from personal
observation. For what lay beyond his own experience he had the instruction of
Paul. If, as is very probable, 2 Tim.
was written during Paul's second imprisonment at Rome, Luke was with him then
as his faithful companion to the last 2Ti 4:11 Of his subsequent history we
have no certain information. The design of Luke's Gospel was to give an
exhibition of the character and work of Christ as seen in his history till he
was taken up from his disciples into heaven; and of the Acts, as its sequel, to
give an illustration of the power and working of the gospel when preached among
all nations, "beginning at Jerusalem." The opening sentences of the
Acts are just an expansion and an explanation of the closing words of the
Gospel. In this book we have just a
continuation of the history of the church after Christ's ascension. Luke here
carries on the history in the same spirit in which he had commenced it. It is only a book of beginnings, a history
of the founding of churches, the initial steps in the formation of the
Christian society in the different places visited by the apostles. It records a
cycle of "representative events." All through the narrative we see
the ever-present, all-controlling power of the ever-living Saviour. He worketh all and in all in spreading
abroad his truth among men by his Spirit and through the instrumentality of his
apostles. The time of the writing of this history may be gathered from the fact
that the narrative extends down to the close of the second year of Paul's first
imprisonment at Rome. It could not therefore have been written earlier than
A.D. 61 or 62 nor later than about the end of A.D. 63 Paul was probably put to
death during his second imprisonment, about A.D. 64 or, as some think, 66 The
place where the book was written was probably Rome, to which Luke accompanied
Paul. The key to the contents of the book is in Ac 1:8 "Ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth." After referring to what had been
recorded in a "former treatise" of the sayings and doings of Jesus
Christ before his ascension, the author proceeds to give an account of the
circumstances connected with that event, and then records the leading facts
with reference to the spread and triumphs of Christianity over the world during
a period of about thirty years. The
record begins with Pentecost (A.D. 33) and ends with Paul's first imprisonment
(A.D. 63 or 64) The whole contents of the book may be divided into these three parts:
1. Chaps. 1-12 describing the first twelve years of the
Christian church. This section has been entitled "From Jerusalem to
Antioch." It contains the history of the planting and extension of the
church among the Jews by the ministry of Peter.
2. Chaps. 13-21 Paul's missionary journeys, giving the
history of the extension and planting of the church among the Gentiles.
3. Chaps. 21-28 Paul at Rome, and the events which led to
this. Chaps. 13-28 have been entitled "From Antioch to Rome." In this
book it is worthy of note that no mention is made of the writing by Paul of any
of his epistles. This may be accounted for by the fact that the writer confined
himself to a history of the planting of the church, and not to that of its
training or edification. The relation, however, between this history and the
epistles of Paul is of such a kind, i.e., brings to light so many undesigned
coincidences, as to prove the genuineness and authenticity of both, as is so
ably shown by Paley in his _Horae Paulinae_. "No ancient work affords so
many tests of veracity; for no other has such numerous points of contact in all
directions with contemporary history, politics, and topography, whether Jewish,
or Greek, or Roman." Lightfoot.
Ornament.
1. The first of Lamech's two wives, and the mother of
Jabal and Jubal Ge 4:19, 20, 23
2. The first of Esau's three wives, the daughter of Elon
the Hittite Ge 36:2,4 called also Bashemath Ge 26:34
Red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having
the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name
given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent history and that
of his descendants are detailed in the first book of Moses Ge 1:27-Ge 5:32
"God created man [Heb., Adam] in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them." Adam was absolutely the
first man whom God created. He was formed out of the dust of the earth (and
hence his name), and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and
gave him dominion over all the lower creatures Ge 1:26 2:7 He was placed after
his creation in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it, and to enjoy its fruits
under this one prohibition: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die." The first recorded act of Adam was his giving names to the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, which God brought to him for this
end. Thereafter the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while in an
unconscious state took one of his ribs, and closed up his flesh again; and of
this rib he made a woman, whom he presented to him when he awoke. Adam received
her as his wife, and said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." He
called her Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Being induced by the
tempter in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve persuaded
Adam, and he also did eat. Thus man fell, and brought upon himself and his
posterity all the sad consequences of his transgression. The narrative of the Fall
comprehends in it the great promise of a Deliverer Ge 3:15 the "first
gospel" message to man. They were expelled from Eden, and at the east of
the garden God placed a flame, which turned every way, to prevent access to the
tree of life Ge 3:1-24 How long they were in Paradise is matter of mere
conjecture. Shortly after their expulsion Eve brought forth her first-born, and
called him Cain. Although we have the names of only three of Adam's sons, viz.,
Cain, Abel, and Seth, yet it is obvious that he had several sons and daughters
Ge 5:4 He died aged 930 years. Adam and Eve were the progenitors of the whole
human race. Evidences of varied kinds
are abundant in proving the unity of the human race. The investigations of
science, altogether independent of historical evidence, lead to the conclusion
that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all
the face of the earth" Ac 17:26 Comp. Ro 5:12-12 1Co 15:22-49
Red earth, a fortified city of Naphtali, probably the
modern Damieh, on the west side of the sea of Tiberias Jos 19:33,36
(Heb. shamir), Eze 3:9 The Greek word adamas means
diamond. This stone is not referred to, but corundum or some kind of hard
steel. It is an emblem of firmness in resisting adversaries of the truth Zec
7:12 and of hard-heartedness against the truth Jer 17:1