Smith's Bible Dictionary
Smith's Bible Dictionary
A
Aaron — Adder
Aaron
Aa’ron (a teacher, or lofty), the son of Amram and Jochebed, and the elder brother of Moses and Miriam. Numbers 26:59; Numbers 33:30. (b.c. 1573.) He was a Levite, and is first mentioned in Exodus 4:14. He was appointed by Jehovah to be the interpreter, Exodus 4:16, of his brother Moses, who was “slow of speech”; and accordingly he was not only the organ of communication with the Israelites and with Pharaoh, Exodus 4:30; Exodus 7:2, but also the actual instrument of working most of the miracles of the Exodus. Exodus 7:19, etc. On the way to Mount Sinai, during the battle with Amalek, Aaron with Hur stayed up the weary hands of Moses, when they were lifted up for the victory of Israel. Exodus 17:9. He is mentioned as dependent upon his brother and deriving all his authority from him. Left, on Moses’ departure into Sinai, to guide the people, Aaron is tried for a moment on his own responsibility, and he fails from a weak inability to withstand the demand of the people for visible “gods to go before them,” by making an image of Jehovah, in the well-known form of Egyptian idolatry (Apis or Mnevis). He repented of his sin, and Moses gained forgiveness for him. Deuteronomy 9:20. Aaron was now consecrated by Moses to the new office of the high priesthood. Exodus 29:9. From this time the history of Aaron is almost entirely that of the priesthood, and its chief feature is the great rebellion of Korah and the Levites. Leaning, as he seems to have done, wholly on Moses, it is not strange that he should have shared his sin at Meribah and its punishment. See MOSES. Numbers 20:10-12. Aaron’s death seems to have followed very speedily. It took place on Mount Hor, after the transference of his robes and office to Eleazar. Numbers 20:28. This mount is still called the “Mountain of Aaron.” See HOR. The wife of Aaron was Elisheba, Exodus 6:23; and the two sons who survived him, Eleazar and Ithamar. The high priesthood descended to the former, and to his descendants until the time of Eli, who, although of the house of Ithamar, received the high priesthood and transmitted it to his children; with them it continued till the accession of Solomon, who took it from Abiathar and restored it to Zadok (of the house of Eleazar). See ABIATHAR.
Aaronites
Aar’onites, 1 Chronicles 12:27, priests of the family of Aaron.
Ab
Ab (father), an element in the composition of many proper names, of which Abba is a Chaldaic form, having the sense of “endowed with,” “possessed of.”
Ab
Ab. See MONTH.
Abaddon
Abad’don. See APOLLYON.
Abagtha
Abag’tha (God-given), one of the seven eunuchs in the Persian court of Ahasuerus. Esther 1:10.
Abana
Ab’ana (perennial, stony), one of the “rivers of Damascus.” 2 Kings 5:12. The Barada and the Awaj are now the chief streams of Damascus, the former representing the Abana and the latter the Pharpar of the text. The Barada (Abana) rises in the Antilibanus, at about 23 miles from the city, after flowing through which it runs across the plain, of whose fertility it is the chief source, till it loses itself in the lake or marsh Bahret-el-Kibliyeh.
River Abana (now Barada) and Damascus.
Abarim
Ab’arim (regions beyond), a mountain or range of highlands on the east of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, facing Jericho, and forming the eastern wall of the Jordan valley at that part. Its most elevated spot was “the Mount Nebo, ‘head’ of ‘the’ Pisgah,” from which Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death. These mountains are mentioned in Numbers 27:12; Numbers 33:47, Numbers 33:48, and Deuteronomy 32:49.
Abba
Ab’ba. See AB.
Abda
Ab’da.
1. Father of Adoniram. 1 Kings 4:6.
2. Son of Shammua, Nehemiah 11:17; called Obadiah in 1 Chronicles 9:16.
Abde-el
Ab’de-el, father of Shelemiah. Jeremiah 36:26.
Abdi
Ab’di (my servant).
1. A Merarite, and ancestor of Ethan the singer. 1 Chronicles 6:44. (b.c. before 1015.)
2. The father of Kish, a Merarite, in the reign of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 29:12. (b.c. before 736.)
3. One of the Bene-Elam in the time of Ezra, who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:26. (b.c. 659.)
Abdi-el
Ab’di-el (the servant of God), son of Guni and father of Ahi, one of the Gadites who were settled in the land of Bashan, 1 Chronicles 5:15, in the days of Jotham king of Judah. (b.c. 758.)
Abdon
Ab’don (servile).
1. A judge of Israel, Judges 12:13, Judges 12:15; perhaps the same person as Bedan, in 1 Samuel 12:11. (b.c. 1233-1225.)
2. Son of Shashak. 1 Chronicles 8:23.
3. First-born son of Jehiel, son of Gideon. 1 Chronicles 8:30; 1 Chronicles 9:35, 1 Chronicles 9:36.
4. Son of Micah, a contemporary of Josiah, 2 Chronicles 34:20, called Achbor in 2 Kings 22:12. (b.c. 628.)
5. A city in the tribe of Asher, given to the Gershonites, Joshua 21:30; 1 Chronicles 6:74; the modern Abdeh, 10 miles northeast of Accho.
Abednego
Abed’nego (i.e., servant of Nego, perhaps the same as Nebo), the Chaldæan name given to Azariah, one of the three friends of Daniel, miraculously saved from the fiery furnace. Daniel 3. (b.c. about 600.)
Abel
A’bel (i.e., breath, vapor, transitoriness, probably so called from the shortness of his life), the second son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain, Genesis 4:1-16; he was a keeper or feeder of sheep. Our Lord spoke of Abel as the first martyr, Matthew 23:35; so did the early Church subsequently. The traditional site of his murder and his grave are pointed out near Damascus.
Abel
A’bel, the name of several places in Palestine, probably signifies a meadow.
Abel-beth-maachah
A’bel-beth-ma’achah (meadow of the house of oppression), a town of some importance, 2 Samuel 20:15, in the extreme north of Palestine, which fell an early prey to the invading kings of Syria, 1 Kings 15:20, and Assyria. 2 Kings 15:29.
Abel-maim
A’bel-ma’im (Abel on the waters), also called simply Abel, 2 Samuel 20:14, 2 Samuel 20:18, another name for Abel-beth-maachah. 2 Chronicles 16:4.
Abel-meholah
A’bel-meho’lah (meadow of the dance), in the northern part of the Jordan valley, 1 Kings 4:12, to which the routed Bedouin host fled from Gideon. Judges 7:22. Here Elisha was found at his plough by Elijah returning up the valley from Horeb. 1 Kings 19:16-19.
Abel-mizraim
A’bel-mizra’im (meadow of Egypt), the name given by the Canaanites to the floor of Atad, at which Joseph, his brothers and the Egyptians made their mourning for Jacob. Genesis 50:11. It was beyond (on the east of) Jordan. See ATAD. (Schaff and others say it was on the west bank, for the writer was on the east of Jordan. It was near Jericho, or perhaps Hebron.)
Abel-shittim
A’bel-shit’tim (the meadow of the acacias), in the “plains” of Moab, on the low level of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho. The last resting-place of Israel before crossing the Jordan. Numbers 33:49. The place is most frequently mentioned by its shorter name of Shittim. See SHITTIM.
Abel Stone of
A’bel, Stone of (“the great abel”), the place where the ark rested in the field of Joshua at Beth-shemesh. 1 Samuel 6:18.
Abez
A’bez (lofty), a town in the possession of Issachar, named between Kishion and Remeth in Joshua 19:20 only.
Abi
A’bi, mother of King Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18:2; written Abijah in 2 Chronicles 29:1.
Abia
Abi’a, Abi’ah, or Abi’jah.
1. Son of Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 7:8.
2. Wife of Hezron. 1 Chronicles 2:24.
3. Second son of Samuel. 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chronicles 7:28.
4. The son of Rehoboam. 1 Chronicles 3:10; Matthew 1:7. See ABIJAH, 1.
5. Mother of King Hezekiah. [ABI.]
6. Same as ABIJAH, 4.
Abia Course of
Abi’a, Course of, the eighth of the 24 courses or classes into which the priests were divided for serving at the altar. 1 Chronicles 24; Luke 1:5. See ABIJAH, 4.
Abi-albon
A’bi-al’bon (father of strength). See ABIEL.
Abiasaph
Abi’asaph (father of gathering, i.e., gathered), Exodus 6:24, otherwise written Ebi’asaph. 1 Chronicles 6:23, 1 Chronicles 6:37; 1 Chronicles 9:19. One of the descendants of Korah, and head of the Korhites. Among the remarkable descendants of Abiasaph were Samuel the prophet, 1 Samuel 1:11, and Heman the singer.
Abiathar
Abi’athar (father of abundance, i.e., liberal), high priest and fourth in descent from Eli. (b.c. 1060-1012.) Abiathar was the only one of all the sons of Ahimelech the high priest who escaped the slaughter inflicted upon his father’s house by Saul, in revenge for his having inquired of the Lord for David and given him the shew-bread to eat. 1 Samuel 22. Abiathar having become high priest fled to David, and was thus enabled to inquire of the Lord for him. 1 Samuel 23:9; 1 Samuel 30:7; 2 Samuel 2:1; 2 Samuel 5:19, etc. He adhered to David in his wanderings while pursued by Saul; he was with him while he reigned in Hebron, and afterwards in Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 2:1-3. He continued faithful to him in Absalom’s rebellion. 2 Samuel 15:24, 2 Samuel 15:29, 2 Samuel 15:35, 2 Samuel 15:36; 2 Samuel 17:15-17; 2 Samuel 19:11. When, however, Adonijah set himself up for David’s successor on the throne, in opposition to Solomon, Abiathar sided with him, while Zadok was on Solomon’s side. For this Abiathar was deprived of the high priesthood. Zadok had joined David at Hebron, 1 Chronicles 12:28, so that there were henceforth two high priests in the reign of David, and till the deposition of Abiathar by Solomon, when Zadok became the sole high priest.
Abib
Abib (green fruits). [MONTH.]
Abida
Abi’da, or Abi’dah (father of knowledge), a son of Midian. Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33.
Abidan
Abi’dan (father of the judge), chief of the tribe of Benjamin at the time of the Exodus. (b.c. 1491.) Numbers 1:11; Numbers 2:22; Numbers 7:60, Numbers 7:65; Numbers 10:24.
Abi-el
A’bi-el or Ab’i-el (father of strength, i.e., strong).
1. Father of Kish, and consequently grandfather of Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1, as well as of Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief. 1 Samuel 14:51. (b.c. 1093-1055.)
2. One of David’s mighty men. 1 Chronicles 11:32. In 2 Samuel 23:31 he is called ABI-ALBON. (b.c. 1053.)
Abi-ezer
Abi-e’zer (father of help, helpful).
1. Eldest son of Gilead, and descendant of Manasseh. Joshua 17:2; 1 Chronicles 7:18. (b.c. 1450.) He was the ancestor of the great judge Gideon. [GIDEON.]
2. One of David’s mighty men. 2 Samuel 23:27; 1 Chronicles 11:28; 1 Chronicles 27:12. (b.c. 1014.)
Abigail
Ab’igail (father, i.e., source, of joy).
1. The beautiful wife of Nabal, a wealthy owner of goats and sheep in Carmel. (b.c. 1060.) When David’s messengers were slighted by Nabal, Abigail supplied David and his followers with provisions, and succeeded in appeasing his anger. Ten days after this Nabal died, and David sent for Abigail and made her his wife. 1 Samuel 25:14, etc. By her he had a son, called Chileab in 2 Samuel 3:3, but Daniel in 1 Chronicles 3:1.
2. A sister of David, married to Jether the Ishmaelite, and mother, by him, of Amasa. 1 Chronicles 2:17. In 2 Samuel 17:25, for Israelite read Ishmaelite. (b.c. 1068.)
Abihail
Abiha’il (father of, i.e., possessing, strength).
1. Father of Zuriel, chief of the Levitical family of Merari, a contemporary of Moses. Numbers 3:35. (b.c. 1490.)
2. Wife of Abishur. 1 Chronicles 2:29.
3. Son of Huri, of the tribe of Gad. 1 Chronicles 5:14.
4. Wife of Rehoboam. She is called the daughter, i.e., descendant, of Aliab, the elder brother of David. 2 Chronicles 11:18. (b.c. 972.)
5. Father of Esther and uncle of Mordecai. Esther 2:15; Esther 9:29.
Abihu
Abi’hu (he (God) is my father), the second son, Numbers 3:2, of Aaron by Elisheba. Exodus 6:23. Being, together with his elder brother Nadab, guilty of offering strange fire to the Lord, he was consumed by fire from heaven. Leviticus 10:1, Leviticus 10:2. (b.c. 1490.)
Abihud
Abi’hud (father of renown, famous), son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:3.
Abijah
Abi’jah or Abi’jam (my father is Jerhovah).
1. Son and successor of Rehoboam on the throne of Judah. 1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 12:16. He is called ABIJAH in Chronicles, ABIJAM in Kings. He began to reign b.c. 959, and reigned three years. He endeavored to recover the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and made war on Jeroboam. He was successful in battle, and took several of the cities of Israel. We are told that he walked in all the sins of Rehoboam. 1 Kings 14:23, 1 Kings 14:24.
2. The second son of Samuel, called ABIAH in our version. [ABIA, ABIAH, 3.]
3. Son of Jeroboam I, king of Israel; died in his childhood. 1 Kings 14.
4. A descendant of Eleazar, who gave his name to the eighth of the 24 courses into which the priests were divided by David. 1 Chronicles 24:10; 2 Chronicles 8:14; Nehemiah 12:4, Nehemiah 12:17.
5. One of the priests who entered into a covenant with Nehemiah to walk in God’s law, Nehemiah 10:7; unless the name is rather that of a family, and the same with the preceding.
Abijam
Abi’jam. [ABIJAH, 1.]
Abila
Ab’ila. [ABILENE.]
Abilene
Abile’ne (land of meadows), Luke 3:1, a city situated on the eastern slope of Antilibanus, in a district fertilized by the river Barada (Abana). The city was 18 miles from Damascus, and stood in a remarkable gorge called Sûk Wady Barada.
Abima-el
Abim’a-el (father of Mael), a descendant of Joktan, Genesis 10:28; 1 Chronicles 1:22, and probably the progenitor of an Arab tribe (Mali).
Abimelech
Abim’elech (father of the king), the name of several Philistine kings, was probably a common title of these kings, like that of Pharaoh among the Egyptians and that of Cæsar and Augustus among the Romans. Hence in the title of Psalm 34 the name of Abimelech is given to the king, who is called Achish in 1 Samuel 21:11.
1. A Philistine, king of Gerar, Genesis 20, Genesis 21, who, exercising the right claimed by Eastern princes of collecting all the beautiful women of their dominions into their harem, Genesis 12:15; Esther 2:3, sent for and took Sarah. A similar account is given of Abraham’s conduct on this occasion to that of his behavior towards Pharaoh. [ABRAHAM.] (b.c. 1920.)
2. Another king of Gerar in the time of Isaac, of whom a similar narrative is recorded in relation to Rebekah. Genesis 26:1, etc. (b.c. 1817.)
3. Son of the judge Gideon by his Shechemite concubine. Judges 8:31. (b.c. 1322-1319.) After his father’s death he murdered all his brethren, 70 in number, with the exception of Jotham, the youngest, who concealed himself; and he then persuaded the Shechemites to elect him king. Shechem now became an independent state. After Abimelech had reigned three years, the citizens of Shechem rebelled. He was absent at the time, but he returned and quelled the insurrection. Shortly after he stormed and took Thebez, but was struck on the head by a woman with the fragment of a millstone, comp. 2 Samuel 11:21; and lest he should be said to have died by a woman, he bade his armor-bearer slay him.
4. A son of Abiathar. 1 Chronicles 18:16.
Abinadab
Abin’adab.
1. A Levite, a native of Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark remained 20 years. 1 Samuel 7:1, 1 Samuel 7:2; 1 Chronicles 13:7. (b.c. 1124.)
2. Second son of Jesse, who followed Saul to his war against the Philistines. 1 Samuel 16:8; 1 Samuel 17:13. (b.c. 1063.)
3. A son of Saul, who was clain with his brothers at the fatal battle on Mount Gilboa. 1 Samuel 31:2. (b.c. 1053.)
4. Father of one of the twelve chief officers of Solomon. 1 Kings 4:11. (b.c. before 1014.)
Abiner
Ab’iner (father of light). Same as ABNER. 1 Samuel 14:50, margin.
Abino-am
Abin’o-am, the father of Barak. Judges 4:6, Judges 4:12; Judges 5:1, Judges 5:12. (b.c. 1300.)
Abiram
Abi’ram.
1. A Reubenite, son of Eliab, who with Korah, a Levite, organized a conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. Numbers 16. [For details, see KORAH.] (b.c. 1490.)
2. Eldest son of Hiel the Bethelite, who died when his father laid the foundations of Jericho, 1 Kings 16:34, and thus accomplished the first part of the curse of Joshua. Joshua 6:26. (b.c. after 905.)
Abishag
Ab’ishag, a beautiful Shunammite (from Shunem, in the tribe of Issachar), taken into David’s harem to comfort him in his extreme old age. 1 Kings 1:1-4.
Abishai
Abisha’i, or Abish’a-i (father of a gift), the eldest of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and brother to Joab and Asahel. 1 Chronicles 2:16. Like his two brothers he was the devoted follower of David. He was his companion in the desperate night expedition to the camp of Saul. 1 Samuel 26:6-9. (b.c. 1055.) On the outbreak of Absalom’s rebellion he remained true to the king, and commanded a third part of the army in the decisive battle against Absalom. He rescued David from the hands of a gigantic Philistine, Ishbi-benob. 2 Samuel 21:17. His personal prowess on this, as on another occasion, when he fought single-handed against three hundred, won for him a place as captain of the second three of David’s mighty men. 2 Samuel 23:18; 1 Chronicles 11:20.
Abishalom
Abish’alom (father of peace), father or grandfather of Maachah, who was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah. 1 Kings 15:2, 1 Kings 15:10. He is called Absalom in 2 Chronicles 11:20, 2 Chronicles 11:21. This person must be David’s son. See LXX; 2 Samuel 14:27.
Abishua
Abishu’a, or Abish’u-a (father of deliverance).
1. Son of Bela, of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:4.
2. Son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, and father of Bukki, in the genealogy of the high priests. 1 Chronicles 6:4, 1 Chronicles 6:5, 1 Chronicles 6:50, 1 Chronicles 6:51; Ezra 7:4, Ezra 7:5.
Abishur
Ab’ishur (father of the wall), son of Shammai. 1 Chronicles 2:28.
Abital
Ab’ital (father of the dew), one of David’s wives. 2 Samuel 3:4; 1 Chronicles 3:3.
Abitub
Ab’itub (father of goodness), son of Shaharaim by Hushim. 1 Chronicles 8:11.
Abiud
Abi’ud (father of praise), descendant of Zorobabel in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:13.
Ablution
Ablution. [PURIFICATION.]
Abner
Ab’ner (father of light).
1. Son of Ner, who was the brother of Kish, 1 Chronicles 9:36, the father of Saul. (b.c. 1063.) Abner, therefore, was Saul’s first cousin, and was made by him commander-in-chief of his army. 1 Samuel 14:51; 1 Samuel 14:51; 1 Samuel 26:5-14. After the death of Saul David was proclaimed king of Judah; and some time subsequently Abner proclaimed Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, king of Israel. War soon broke out between the two rival kings, and a “very sore battle” was fought at Gideon between the men of Israel under Abner and the men of Judah under Joab. 1 Chronicles 2:16. Abner had married Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, and this, according to the views of Oriental courts, might be so interpreted as to imply a design upon the throne. Rightly or wrongly, Ish-bosheth so understood it, and he even ventured to reproach Abner with it. Abner, incensed at his ingratitude, opened negotiations with David, by whom he was most favorably received at Hebron. He then undertook to procure his recognition throughout Israel; but after leaving his presence for the purpose was enticed back by Joab, and treacherously murdered by him and his brother Abishai, at the gate of the city, partly, no doubt, from fear lest so distinguished a convert to their cause should gain too high a place in David’s favor, but ostensibly in retaliation for the death of Asahel. David, in sorrow and indignation, poured forth a simple dirge over the slain hero. 2 Samuel 3:33, 2 Samuel 3:34.
2. The father of Jaasiel, chief of the Benjamites in David’s reign, 1 Chronicles 27:21; probably the same as the preceding.
Abomination of Desolation
Abomination of Desolation, mentioned by our Saviour, Matthew 24:15, as a sign of the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, with reference to Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11. The prophecy referred ultimately to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and consequently the “abomination” must describe some occurrence connected with that event. It appears most probable that the profanities of the Zealots constituted the abomination, which was the sign of impending ruin; but most people refer it to the standards or banners of the Roman army. They were abomination because there were idolatrous images upon them.
Abraham
A’braham (father of a multitude) was the son of Terah, and founder of the great Hebrew nation. (b.c. 1996–1822.) His family, a branch of the descendants of Shem, was settled in Ur of the Chaldees, beyond the Euphrates, where Abraham was born. Terah had two other sons, Nahor and Haran. Haran died before his father in Ur of the Chaldees, leaving a son, Lot; and Terah, taking with him Abram, with Sarai his wife and his grandson Lot, emigrated to Haran in Mesopotamia, where he died. On the death of his father, Abram, then in the 75th year of his age, with Sarai and Lot, pursued his course to the land of Canaan, whither he was directed by divine command, Genesis 12:5, when he received the general promise that he should become the founder of a great nation, and that all the families of the earth should be blessed in him. He passed through the heart of the country by the great highway to Shechem, and pitched his tent beneath the terbinth of Moreh. Genesis 12:6. Here he received in vision from Jehovah the further revelation that this was the land which his descendants should inherit. Genesis 12:7. The next halting-place of the wanderer was on a mountain between Bethel and Ai, Genesis 12:8; but the country was suffering from famine, and Abram journeyed still southward to the rich cornlands of Egypt. There, fearing that the great beauty of Sarai might tempt the powerful monarch of Egypt and expose his own life to peril, he arranged that Sarai should represent herself as his sister, which her actual relationship to him, as probably the daughter of his brother Haran, allowed her to do with some semblance of truth. But her beauty was reported to the king, and she was taken into the royal harem. The deception was discovered, and Pharaoh with some indignation dismissed Abram from the country. Genesis 12:10-20. He left Egypt with great possessions, and, accompanied by Lot, returned by the south of Palestine to his former encampment between Bethel and Ai. The increased wealth of the two kinsmen was the ultimate cause of their separation. Lot chose the fertile plain of the Jordan near Sodom, while Abram pitched his tent among the oak groves of Mamre, close to Hebron. Genesis 13. Lot with his family and possessions having been carried away captive by Chedorlaomer king of Elam, who had invaded Sodom, Abram pursued the conquerors and utterly routed them not far from Damascus. The captives and plunder were all recovered, and Abram was greeted on his return by the king of Sodom, and by Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who mysteriously appears upon the scene to bless the patriarch and receive from him a tenth of the spoil. Genesis 14. After this the thrice-repeated promise that his descendants should become a mighty nation and possess the land in which he was a stranger was confirmed with all the solemnity of a religious ceremony. Genesis 15. Ten years had passed since he had left his father’s house, and the fulfillment of the promise was apparently more distant than at first. At the suggestion of Sarai, who despaired of having children of her own, he took as his concubine Hagar, her Egyptian maid, who bore him Ishmael in the 86th year of his age. Genesis 16. [HAGAR; ISHMAEL.] But this was not the accomplishment of the promise. Thirteen years elapsed, during which Abram still dwelt in Hebron, when the covenant was renewed, and the rite of circumcision established as its sign. This most important crisis in Abram’s life, when he was 99 years old, is marked by the significant change of his name to Abraham, “father of a multitude”; while his wife’s from Sarai became Sarah. The promise that Sarah should have a son was repeated in the remarkable scene described in ch. Genesis 18. Three men stood before Abraham as he sat in his tent door in the heat of the day. The patriarch, with true Eastern hospitality, welcomed the strangers, and bade them rest and refresh themselves. The meal ended, they foretold the birth of Isaac, and went on their way to Sodom. Abraham accompanied them, and is represented as an interlocutor in a dialogue with Jehovah, in which he pleaded in vain to avert the vengeance threatened to the devoted cities of the plain. Genesis 18:17-33. In remarkable contrast with Abraham’s firm faith with regard to the magnificent fortunes of his posterity stands the incident which occurred during his temporary residence among the Philistines in Gerar, whither he had for some cause removed after the destruction of Sodom. It was almost a repetition of what took place in Egypt a few years before. At length Isaac, the long-looked-for child, was born. Sarah’s jealousy, aroused by the mockery of Ishmael at the “great banquet” which Abraham made to celebrate the weaning of her son, Genesis 21:9, demanded that, with his mother Hagar, he should be driven out. Genesis 21:10. But the severest trial of his faith was yet to come. For a long period the history is almost silent. At length he receives the strange command to take Isaac, his only son, and offer him for a burnt offering at an appointed place. Abraham hesitated not to obey. His faith, hitherto unshaken, supported him in this final trial, “accounting that God was able to raise up his son, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:19. The sacrifice was stayed by the angel of Jehovah, the promise of spiritual blessing made for the first time, and Abraham with his son returned to Beersheba, and for a time dwelt there. Genesis 22. But we find him after a few years in his original residence at Hebron, for there Sarah died, Genesis 23:2, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah. The remaining years of Abraham’s life are marked by but few incidents. After Isaac’s marriage with Rebekah and his removal to Lahai-roi, Abraham took to wife Keturah, by whom he had six children, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbok and Shuah, who became the ancestors of nomadic tribes inhabiting the countries south and southeast of Palestine. Abraham lived to see the gradual accomplishment of the promise in the birth of his grandchildren Jacob and Esau, and witnessed their growth to manhood. Genesis 25:26. At the goodly age of 175 he was “gathered to his people,” and laid beside Sarah in the tomb of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. Genesis 25:7-10.
Abram
A’bram (a high father), the earlier name of Abraham.
Absalom
Ab’salom (father of peace), third son of David by Maachah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, a Syrian district adjoining the northeast frontier of the Holy Land. (Born b.c. 1050.) Absalom had a sister, Tamar, who was violated by her half-brother Amnon. The natural avenger of such an outrage would be Tamar’s full brother Absalom. He brooded over the wrong for two years, and then invited all the princes to a sheep-shearing feast at his estate in Baalhazor, on the borders of Ephraim and Benjamin. Here he ordered his servants to murder Amnon, and then fled for safety to his grandfather’s court at Geshur, where he remained for three years. At the end of that time he was brought back by an artifice of Joab. David, however, would not see Absalom for two more years; but at length Joab brought about a reconciliation. Absalom now began at once to prepare for rebellion. He tried to supplant his father by courting popularity, standing in the gate, conversing with every suitor, and lamenting the difficulty which he would find in getting a hearing. He also maintained a splendid retinue, 2 Samuel 15:1, and was admired for his personal beauty. It is probable too that the great tribe of Judah had taken some offence at David’s government. Absalom raised the standard of revolt at Hebron, the old capital of Judah, now supplanted by Jerusalem. The revolt was at first completely successful; David fled from his capital over the Jordan to Mahanaim in Gilead, and Absalom occupied Jerusalem. At last, after being solemnly anointed king at Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 19:10, Absalom crossed the Jordan to attack his father, who by this time had rallied round him a considerable force. A decisive battle was fought in Gilead, in the wood of Ephraim. Here Absalom’s forces were totally defeated, and as he himself was escaping his long hair was entangled in the branches of a terebinth, where he was left hanging while the mule on which he was riding ran away from under him. He was dispatched by Joab in spite of the prohibition of David, who, loving him to the last, had desired that his life might be spared. He was buried in a great pit in the forest, and the conquerors threw stones over his grave, an old proof of bitter hostility. Joshua 7:26.
Absalom’s Pillar
Absalom’s Pillar, or Place, a monument or tomb which Absalom had built during his lifetime in the king’s dale, i.e., the valley of the Kedron, at the foot of Mount Olivet, near Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 18:18, comp. with 2 Samuel 14:27, for his three sons, and where he probably expected to be buried. The tomb there now, and called by Absalom’s name, was probably built at a later date.
Absalom’s Pillar.
Accad
Ac’cad, one of the cities in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:10. Its position is quite uncertain.
Accaron
Ac’caron. [EKRON.]
Accho
Ac’cho (the PTOLEMAIS of the Maccabees and New Testament), now called Acca, or more usually by Europeans St. Jean d’Acre, the most important seaport town on the Syrian coast, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was situated on a slightly projecting headland, at the northern extremity of that spacious bay which is formed by the bold promontory of Carmel on the opposite side. Later it was named Ptolemais, after one of the Ptolemies, probably Soter. The only notice of it in the New Testament is in Acts 21:7, where it is called Ptolemais.
Aceldama
Acel’dama (the field of blood) (Akeldama in the Revised Version), the name given by the Jews of Jerusalem to a field near Jerusalem purchased by Judas with the money which he received for the betrayal of Christ, and so called from his violent death therein. Acts 1:19. The “field of blood” is now shown on the steep southern face of the valley or ravine of Hinnom, “southwest of the supposed pool of Siloam.”
Aceldama. (From an original Photograph.)
Achaia
Acha’ia (trouble) signifies in the New Testament a Roman province which included the whole of the Peloponnesus and the greater part of Hellas proper, with the adjacent islands. This province, with that of Macedonia, comprehended the whole of Greece; hence Achaia and Macedonia are frequently mentioned together in the New Testament to indicate all Greece. Acts 18:12; Acts 19:21; Romans 15:26; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 2 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 11:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:7,1 Thessalonians 1:8. In the time of the emperor Claudius it was governed by a proconsul, translated in the Authorized Version “deputy,” of Achaia. Acts 18:12.
Achaicus
Acha’icus (belonging to Achaia), a name of a Christian. 1 Corinthians 16:17.
Achan
A’chan (troubler), an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, who, when Jericho and all that it contained were accursed and devoted to destruction, secreted a portion of the spoil in his tent. For this sin he was stoned to death with his whole family by the people, in a valley situated between Ai and Jericho, and their remains, together with his property, were burnt. Joshua 7:19-26. From this event the valley received the name of Achor (i.e., trouble). [ACHOR.] (b.c. 1450.)
Achar
A’char = A’chan. 1 Chronicles 2:7.
Achaz
A’chaz = A’haz, king of Judah. Matthew 1:9.
Achbor
Ach’bor (mouse).
1. Father of Baalhanan king of Edom. Genesis 36:38, Genesis 36:39; 1 Chronicles 1:49.
2. Son of Michaiah, a contemporary of Josiah, 2 Kings 22:12, 2 Kings 22:14; Jeremiah 26:22; Jeremiah 36:12, called ABDON in 2 Chronicles 34:20. (b.c. 623.)
Achim
A’chim, son of Sadoc and father of Eliud in our Lord’s genealogy. Matthew 1:14. The Hebrew form of the name would be Jachin, which is a short form of Jehoiachin, the Lord will establish.
Achish
A’chish (angry), a Philistine king of Gath, who in the title to the Psalm 34th Psalm is called Abimelech. David twice found a refuge with him when he fled from Saul. (b.c. 1061.) On the first occasion he was alarmed for his safety, feigned madness, and was sent away.
Achmetha
Ach’metha. [ECBATANA.]
Achor Valley of
A’chor, Valley of (valley of trouble), the spot at which Achan was stoned. Joshua 7:24, Joshua 7:26. On the northern boundary of Judah, Joshua 15:7, near Jericho.
Achsa
Ach’sa. 1 Chronicles 2:49. [ACHSAH.]
Achsah
Ach’sah (ankle-chain, anklet), daughter of Caleb. Her father promised her in marriage to whoever should take Debir. Othniel, her father’s younger brother, took that city, and accordingly received the hand of Achsah as his reward. Caleb added to her dowry the upper and lower springs. (b.c. 145O–1426.) Joshua 15:15-19; Judges 1:11-15.
Achshaph
Ach’shaph (fascination), a city within the territory of Asher, named between Beten and Alammelech, Joshua 19:25; originally the seat of a Canaanite king. Joshua 11:1; Joshua 12:20.
Achzib
Ach’zib (lying, false).
1. A city in the lowlands of Judah, named with Keilah and Mareshah. Joshua 15:44; Micah 1:14. It is probably the same with CHEZIB and CHOZEBA, which see.
2. A town belonging to Asher, Joshua 19:29, from which the Canaanites were not expelled, Judges 1:31; afterwards Ecdippa. It is now es-Zib, on the seashore, 2 h. 20 m. north of Acre.
Acrabbim
Acrab’bim. See MAALEH-ACRABBIM, Joshua 15:3, in the margin.
Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book in the New Testament and the second treatise by the author of the third Gospel, traditionally known as Luke. The book commences with an inscription to one Theophilus, who was probably a man of birth and station. The readers were evidently intended to be the members of the Christian Church, whether Jews or Gentiles; for its contents are such as are of the utmost consequence to the whole Church. They are the fulfillment of the promise of the Father by the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the results of that outpouring by the dispersion of the gospel among Jews and Gentiles. Under these leading heads all the personal and subordinate details may be arranged. First St. Peter becomes the prime actor under God in the founding of the Church. He is the centre of the first group of sayings and doings. The opening of the door to Jews, ch. Acts 2, and Gentiles, ch. Acts 10, is his office, and by him, in good time, is accomplished. Then the preparation of Saul of Tarsus for the work to be done, the progress, in his hand, of that work, his journeyings, preachings, and perils, his stripes and imprisonments, his testifying in Jerusalem and being brought to testify in Rome—these are the subjects of the latter half of the book, of which the great central figure is the apostle Paul. The history given in the Acts occupies about 33 years, and the reigns of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. It seems most probable that the place of writing was Rome, and the time about two years from the date of St. Paul’s arrival there, as related in ch. Acts 28:30. This would give us for the publication about 63 a.d.
Adadah
Ad’adah (festival or boundary), one of the cities in the extreme south of Judah, named with Dimonah and Kedesh. Joshua 15:22.
Adah
A’dah (ornament, beauty).
1. The first of the two wives of Lamech, by whom were borne to him Jabal and Jubal. Genesis 4:19. (b.c. 3600.)
2. A Hittitess, one of the three wives of Esau, mother of Eliphaz. Genesis 36:2, Genesis 36:10, Genesis 36:12, Genesis 36:16. In Genesis 26:34 she is called BASHEMATH. (b.c. 1797.)
Adaiah
Ada’iah (adorned by Jehovah).
1. Maternal grandfather of King Josiah, and native of Boscath in the lowlands of Judah. 2 Kings 22:1. (b.c. 648.)
2. A Levite of the Gershonite branch, and ancestor of Asaph. 1 Chronicles 6:41. In v. 1 Chronicles 6:21 he is called IDDO.
3. A Benjamite, son of Shimhi, 1 Chronicles 8:21, who is apparently the same as Shema in v. 1 Chronicles 8:13.
4. A priest, son of Jehoram. 1 Chronicles 9:12; Nehemiah 11:12.
5. Ancestor of Maaseiah, one of the captains who supported Jehoiada. 2 Chronicles 23:1.
6. One of the descendants of Bani, who had married a foreign wife after the return from Babylon. Ezra 10:29 (b.c. 459.)
7. The descendant of another Bani, who had also taken a foreign wife. Ezra 1O:Ezra 10:39.
8. A man of Judah, of the line of Pharez. Nehemiah 11:5.
Adalia
Adali’a (a fire-god), the fifth son of Haman. Esther 9:8.
Adam
Ad’am (red earth), the name given in Scripture to the first man. It apparently has reference to the ground from which he was formed, which is called in Hebrew Adamah. The idea of redness of color seems to be inherent in either word. The creation of man was the work of the sixth day—the last and crowning, act of creation. Adam was created (not born) a perfect man in body and spirit, but as innocent and completely inexperienced as a child. The man Adam was placed in a garden which the Lord God had planted “eastward in Eden,” for the purpose of dressing it and keeping it. [EDEN.] Adam was permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden but one, which was called (“the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” because it was the test of Adam’s obedience. By it Adam could know good and evil in the divine way through obedience; thus knowing good by experience in resisting temptation and forming a strong and holy character while he knew evil only by observation and inference. Or he could “know good and evil,” in Satan’s way, by experiencing the evil and knowing good only by contrast.—Ed.) The prohibition to taste the fruit of this tree was enforced by the menace of death. There was also another tree which was called “the tree of life.” While Adam was in the garden of Eden, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air were brought to him to be named. After this the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him and took one of his ribs from him, which he fashioned into a woman and brought her to the man. At this time they are both described as being naked without the consciousness of shame. By the subtlety of the serpent the woman who was given to be with Adam was beguiled into a violation of the one command which had been imposed upon them. She took of the fruit of the forbidden tree and gave it to her husband. The propriety of its name was immediately shown in the results which followed: self-consciousness was the first-fruits of sin; their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Though the curse of Adam’s rebellion of necessity fell upon him, yet the very prohibition to eat of the tree of life after his transgression was probably a manifestation of divine mercy because the greatest malediction of all would have been to have the gift of indestructible life superadded to a state of wretchedness and sin. The divine mercy was also shown in the promise of a deliverer given at the very time the curse was imposed, Genesis 3:15, and opening a door of hope to paradise regained for him and his descendants. Adam is stated to have lived 930 years. His sons mentioned in Scripture are Cain, Abel, and Seth; it is implied, however, that he had others.
Adam
Ad’am. Man, generically, for the name Adam was not confined to the father of the human race, but like homo was applicable to woman as well as to man. Genesis 5:2.
Adam
Ad’am, a city on the Jordan, “beside Zaretan,” in the time of Joshua. Joshua 3:16.
Adamah
Ad’amah (red earth), one of the “fenced cities” of Naphtali, named between Chinnereth and Ramah. Joshua 19:36.
Adamant
Adamant, the translation of the Hebrew word Shamir in Ezekiel 3:9 and Zechariah 7:12. In Jeremiah 17:1 it is translated “diamond.” In these three passages the word is the representative of some stone of excessive hardness, and is used metaphorically. It is very probable that by Shamir is intended emery, a variety of corundum, a mineral inferior only to the diamond in hardness.
Adami
Ad’ami (my man, earth), a place on the border of Naphtali. Joshua 19:33.
Adar
A’dar (high), a place on the south boundary of Judah. Joshua 15:3.
Adar
A’dar. [MONTH.]
Adasa
Ad’asa (new), a place in Judea, about four miles from Beth-horon. 1 Maccabees 7:40, 1 Maccabees 7:45. [HADASHAH.]
Adbe-el
Ad’be-el (offspring of God), a son of Ishmael, Genesis 25:13; 1 Chronicles 1:29, and probably the progenitor of an Arab tribe. (b.c. about 1850.)
Addan
Ad’dan (strong or stony), one of the places from which some of the captivity returned with Zerubbabel to Judea who could not show their pedigree as Israelites. Ezra 2:59. Called ADDON. Nehemiah 7:61.
Addar
Ad’dar (mighty one), son of Bela, 1 Chronicles 8:3; called ARD in Numbers 26:40.
Adder
Ad’der. This word is used for any poisonous snake, and is applied in this general sense by the translators of the Authorized Version. The word adder occurs five times in the text of the Authorized Version (see below), and three times in the margin as synonymous with cockatrice, viz., Isaiah 11:8; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 59:5. It represents four Hebrew words:
1. Acshub is found only in Psalm 140:3, and may be represented by the Toxicoa of Egypt and North Africa.
2. Pethen. [ASP.]
3. Tsepha, or Tsiphoni, occurs five times in the Hebrew Bible. In Proverbs 23:32 it is translated adder, and in Isaiah 11:8; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17, it is rendered cockatrice. From Jeremiah we learn that it was of a hostile nature, and from the parallelism of Isaiah 11:8 it appears that the Tsiphoni was considered even more dreadful than the Pethen.
4. Shephiphon occurs only in Genesis 49:17, where it is used to characterize the tribe of Dan. The habit of lurking in the sand and biting at the horse’s heels here alluded to suits the character of a well-known species of venomous snake, and helps to identify it with the celebrated horned viper, the asp of Cleopatra (Cerastes), which is found abundantly in the dry sandy deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Arabia. The cerastes is extremely venomous. Bruce compelled a specimen to scratch eighteen pigeons upon the thigh as quickly as possible, and they all died in nearly the same interval of time.
Horned Cerastes (Adder).