Smith's Bible Dictionary

E

Eagle — Elkanah

Eagle

Eagle (Heb. nesher, i.e., a tearer with the beak). At least four distinct kinds of eagles have been observed in Palestine, viz., the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaĐtos, the spotted eagle, Aquila n™via, the imperial eagle, Aquila heliaca, and the very common CircaĐtos gallicus. The Hebrew nesher may stand for any of these different species, though perhaps more particular reference to the golden and imperial eagles and the griffon vulture may be intended. The passage in Micah 1:16, “enlarge thy baldness as the eagle,” may refer to the griffon vulture, Vultur fulvus, in which case the simile is peculiarly appropriate, for the whole head and neck of this bird are destitute of true feathers. The “eagles” of Matthew 24:28; Luke 17:37, may include the Vultur fulvus and Neophron percnopteruś though, as eagles frequently prey upon dead bodies, there is no necessity to restrict the Greek word to the VulturidƟ. The figure of an eagle is now and has long been a favorite military ensign. The Persians so employed it; a fact which illustrates the passage in Isaiah 46:11. The same bird was similarly employed by the Assyrians and the Romans.

Earing

Earing. Genesis 45:6; Exodus 34:21. Derived from the Latin arare, to plough; hence it means ploughing.

Earnest

Earnest. 2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14. The Hebrew word was used generally for pledge, Genesis 38:17, and in its cognate forms for surety, Proverbs 17:18, and hostage. 2 Kings 14:14. The Greek derivative, however, acquired a more technical sense as signifying the deposit paid by the purchaser on entering into an agreement for the purchase of anything. In the New Testament the word is used to signify the pledge or earnest of the superior blessings of the future life.

Earrings

Earrings. The material of which earrings were made was generally gold, Exodus 32:2, and their form circular. They were worn by women and by youth of both sexes. These ornaments appear to have been regarded with superstitious reverence as an amulet. On this account they were surrendered along with the idols by Jacob’s household. Genesis 35:4. Chardin describes earrings with talismanic figures and characters on them as still existing in the East. Jewels were sometimes attached to the rings. The size of the earrings still worn in eastern countries far exceeds what is usual among ourselves; hence they formed a handsome present, Job 42:11, or offering to the service of God. Numbers 31:50.

Earth

Earth. The term is used in two widely-different senses: (1) for the material of which the earth’s surface is composed; (2) as the name of the planet on which man dwells. The Hebrew language discriminates between these two by the use of separate terms, adamah for the former, erets for the latter.

1. Adamah is the earth in the sense of soil or ground, particularly as being susceptible of cultivation. Genesis 2:7. 2. Erets is applied in a more or less extended sense—(1) to the whole world, Genesis 1:1; (2) to land as opposed to sea, Genesis 1:10; (3) to a country, Genesis 21:32; (4) to a plot of ground, Genesis 23:15; and (5) to the ground on which a man stands. Genesis 33:3. The two former senses alone concern us, the first involving an inquiry into the opinions of the Hebrews on cosmogony, the second on geography.

1. Cosmogony.—(1) The Hebrew cosmogony is based upon the leading principle that the universe exists, not independently of God, nor yet co-existent with God, nor yet in opposition to him as a hostile element, but dependently upon him, subsequently to him and in subjection to him. (2) Creation was regarded as a progressive work—a gradual development from the inferior to the superior orders of things. 2. Geography.—There seem to be traces of the same ideas as prevailed among the Greeks, that the world was a disk, Isaiah 40:22, bordered by the ocean, with Jerusalem as its centre, like Delphi as the navel, or, according to another view, the highest point of the world. As to the size of the earth, the Hebrews had but a very indefinite notion.

Earthenware

Earthenware. [POTTERY.]

Earthquake

Earthquake. Earthquakes, more or less violent, are of frequent occurrence in Palestine. The most remarkable occurred in the reign of Uzziah. Zechariah 14:5. From Zechariah 14:4 we are led to infer that a great convulsion took place at this time in the Mount of Olives, the mountain being split so as to leave a valley between its summit. An earthquake occurred at the time of our Saviour’s crucifixion. Matthew 27:51-54. Earthquakes are not unfrequently accompanied by fissures of the earth’s surface; instances of this are recorded in connection with the destruction of Korah and his company, Numbers 16:32, and at the time of our Lord’s death, Matthew 27:51; the former may be paralleled by a similar occurrence at Oppido in Calabria a.d. 1783, where the earth opened to the extent of five hundred and a depth of more than two hundred feet.

East

East. The Hebrew term kedem properly means that which is before or in front of a person, and was applied to the east from the custom of turning in that direction when describing the points of the compass, before, behind, the right and the left representing respectively east, west, south, and north. Job 23:8, Job 23:9. The term as generally used refers to the lands lying immediately eastward of Palestine, viz., Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia; on the other hand mizrach is used of the far east with a less definite signification. Isaiah 42:2, Isaiah 42:25; Isaiah 43:5; Isaiah 46:11.

Easter

Easter. Acts 12:4. In the earlier English versions Easter has been frequently used as the translation of pascha (passover). In the Authorized Version Passover was substituted in all passages but this; and in the new Revision Passover is used here. [PASSOVER.]

Ebal

E’bal (stone, bare mountain).

1. One of the sons of Shobal the son of Seir. Genesis 36:23; 1 Chronicles 1:40.

2. Obal the son of Joktan. 1 Chronicles 1:22; comp. Genesis 10:28.

Ebal Mount

E’bal, Mount, a mount in the promised land, on which the Israelites were to “put” the curse which should fall upon them if they disobeyed the commandments of Jehovah. The blessing consequent on obedience was to be similarly localized on Mount Gerizim. Deuteronomy 11:26-29. Ebal and Gerizim are the mounts which form the sides of the fertile valley in which lies Nablûs, the ancient Shechem—Ebal on the north and Gerizim on the south. (They are nearly in the centre of the country of Samaria, about eight hundred feet above Nablûs in the valley; and they are so near that all the vast body of the people could hear the words read from either mountain. The experiment has repeatedly been tried in late years.—Ed.) The modern name of Ebal is Sitti Salamiyah, from a Mohammedan female saint, whose tomb is standing on the eastern part of the ridge, a little before the highest point is reached.

Ebed

E’bed (a servant). (Many MSS have Eber.)

1. Father of Gaal, who with his brethren assisted the men of Shechem in their revolt against Abimelech. Judges 9:26, Judges 9:28, Judges 9:30, Judges 9:31, Judges 9:35. (b.c. 1206.)

2. Son of Jonathan; one of the Bene-Adin who returned from Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 8:6.

Ebed-melech

E’bed-me’lech (a king’s servant), an Ethiopian eunuch in the service of King Zedekiah, through whose interference Jeremiah was released from prison. Jeremiah 38:7-9.; Jeremiah 39:15ff. (b.c. 1589.)

Eben-ezer

Eben-e’zer (stone of help), a stone set up by Samuel after a signal defeat of the Philistines, as a memorial of the “help” received on the occasion from Jehovah. 1 Samuel 7:12. Its position is carefully defined as between Mizpeh and Shen.

Eber

E’ber (the region beyond).

1. Son of Salah, and great-grandson of Shem. Genesis 10:24; 1 Chronicles 1:19. (b.c. 2277–1813.) [For confusion between Eber and Heber see HEBER.]

2. Son of Elpaal and descendant of Sharahaim of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:12. (b.c. 1400.)

3. A priest in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. Nehemiah 12:20. (b.c. 445.)

Ebiasaph

Ebi’asaph. 1 Chronicles 6:23, 1 Chronicles 6:37. [See ABIASAPH.]

Ebony

Ebony, Ezekiel 27:15, one of the valuable commodities imported into Tyre by the men of Dedan; a hard, heavy and durable wood, which admits of a fine polish or gloss. The most usual color is black, but it also occurs red or green. The black is the heart of a tree called Diospyros ebenum. It was imported from India or Ceylon by Phœnician traders.

Ebronah

Ebro’nah (passage), one of the halting-places of the Israelites in the desert, immediately preceding Ezio-geber. Numbers 33:34, Numbers 33:35.

Ecbatana

Ecbat’ana. Ezra 6:2, margin. In the apocryphal books Ecbatana is frequently mentioned. Two cities named Ecbatana seem to have existed in ancient times, one the capital of northern Media—the Media Atropatêné of Strabo—the other the metropolis of the larger and more important province known as Media Magna. The site of the former appears to be marked by the very curious ruins at Takht-i-Sulêman (lat. 36°28’, long. 47°9’); while that of the latter is occupied by Hamadan, which is one of the most important cities of modern Persia.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesias’tes (the preacher). The title of this book is in Hebrew Koheleth, signifying one who speaks publicly in an assembly. Koheleth is the name by which Solomon, probably the author, speaks of himself throughout the book. The book is that which it professes to be—the confession of a man of wide experience looking back upon his past life and looking out upon the disorders and calamities which surround him. The writer is a man who has sinned in giving way to selfishness and sensuality, who has paid the penalty of that sin in satiety and weariness of life, but who has through all this been under the discipline of a divine education, and has learned from it the lesson which God meant to teach him.

Ecclesiasticus

Ecclesias’ticus, one of the books of the Apocrypha. This title is given in the Latin version to the book which is called in the Septuagint The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach. The word designates the character of the writing, as publicly used in the services of the Church.

Eclipse of the sun

Eclipse of the sun. No historical notice of an eclipse occurs in the Bible, but there are passages in the prophets which contain manifest allusion to this phenomenon. Joel 2:10, Joel 2:31; Joel 3:15; Amos 8:9; Micah 3:6; Zechariah 14:6. Some of these notices probably refer to eclipses that occurred about the time of the respective compositions: thus the date of Amos coincides with a total eclipse which occurred Feb. 9, b.c. 784, and was visible at Jerusalem shortly after noon; that of Micah with the eclipse of June 5, b.c. 716. A passing notice in Jeremiah 15:9 coincides in date with the eclipse of Sept. 30, b.c. 610, so well known from Herodotus’ account (i., 74, 103). The darkness that overspread the world at the crucifixion cannot with reason be attributed to an eclipse, as the moon was at the full at the time of the passover.

Ed

Ed (witness), a word inserted in the Authorized Version of Joshua 22:34, apparently on the authority of a few MSS, and also of the Syriac and Arabic versions, but not existing in the generally-received Hebrew text.

Edar Tower of

E’dar, Tower of (accur. Eder, a flock), a place named only in Genesis 35:21. According to Jerome it was one thousand paces from Bethlehem.

Eden

E’den (pleasure).

1. The first residence of man, called in the Septuagint Paradise. The latter is a word of Persian origin, and describes an extensive tract of pleasure land, somewhat like an English park; and the use of it suggests a wider view of man’s first abode than a garden. The description of Eden is found in Genesis 2:8-14. In the eastern portion of the region of Eden was the garden planted. The Hiddekel, one of its rivers, is the modern Tigris; the Euphrates is the same as the modern Euphrates. With regard to the Pison and Gihon a great variety of opinion exists, but the best authorities are divided between (1) Eden as in northeast Arabia, at the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris, and their separation again, making the four rivers of the different channels of these two, or (2), and most probably, Eden as situated in Armenia, near the origin of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and in which same region rise the Araxes (Pison of Genesis) and the Oxus (Gihon).

2. One of the marts which supplied the luxury of Tyre with richly-embroidered stuffs. In 2 Kings 19:12 and Isaiah 37:12 “the sons of Eden” are mentioned with Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph as victims of the Assyrian greed of conquest. Probability seems to point to the northwest of Mesopotamia as the locality of Eden.

3. Beth-eden, “house of pleasure”: probably the name of a country residence of the kings of Damascus. Amos 1:5.

Eden

E’den.

1. A Gershonite Levite, son of Joah, in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 29:12. (b.c. 727.)

2. Also a Levite, probably identical with the preceding. 2 Chronicles 31:15.

Eder

E’der (a flock).

1. One of the towns of Judah, in the extreme south, and on the borders of Edom. Joshua 15:21. No trace of it has been discovered in modern times.

2. A Levite of the family of Merari, in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 23:23; 1 Chronicles 24:30.

Edom

E’dom, Idumæ’a, or Idume’a (red). The name Edom was given to Esau, the first-born son of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob, when he sold his birthright to the latter for a meal of lentil pottage. The country which the Lord subsequently gave to Esau was hence called “the country of Edom,” Genesis 32:3, and his descendants were called Edomites. Edom was called Mount Seir and Idumea also. Edom was wholly a mountainous country. It embraced the narrow mountainous tract (about 100 miles long by 20 broad) extending along the eastern side of the Arabah from the northern end of the Gulf of Elath to near the southern end of the Dead Sea. The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah (Buseireh). Sela (Petra) appears to have been the principal stronghold in the days of Amaziah (b.c. 838). 2 Kings 14:7. Elath and Ezion-geber were the seaports. 2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Kings 9:26.

History.—Esau’s bitter hatred to his brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining his blessing appears to have been inherited by his latest posterity. The Edomites peremptorily refused to permit the Israelites to pass through their land. Numbers 20:18-21. For a period of 400 years we hear no more of the Edomites. They were then attacked and defeated by Saul, 1 Samuel 14:47, and some forty years later by David. 2 Samuel 8:13, 2 Samuel 8:14. In the reign of Jehoshaphat (b.c. 914) the Edomites attempted to invade Israel, but failed. 2 Chronicles 20:22. They joined Nebuchadnezzar when that king besieged Jerusalem. For their cruelty at this time they were fearfully denounced by the later prophets. Isaiah 34:5-8; Isaiah 63:1-4; Jeremiah 49:17. After this they settled in southern Palestine, and for more than four centuries continued to prosper. But during the warlike rule of the Maccabees they were again completely subdued, and even forced to conform to Jewish laws and rites, and submit to the government of Jewish prefects. The Edomites were now incorporated with the Jewish nation. They were idolaters. 2 Chronicles 25:14, 2 Chronicles 25:15, 2 Chronicles 25:20. Their habits were singular. The Horites, their predecessors in Mount Seir, were, as their name implies, troglodytes, or dwellers in caves; and the Edomites seem to have adopted their dwellings as well as their country. Everywhere we meet with caves and grottos hewn in the soft sandstone strata.

Approach to Edom. (From an original Photograph.)

Tombs at Petra in Edom. (From an original Photograph.)

Edomites

E’domites. [EDOM.]

Edrei

Ed’rei (stronghold).

1. One of the two capital cities of Bashan, in the territory of Manasseh east of the Jordan. Numbers 21:33; Deuteronomy 1:4; Deuteronomy 3:10; Joshua 12:4. In Scripture it is only mentioned in connection with the victory gained by the Israelites over the Amorites under Og their king, and the territory thus acquired. The ruins of this ancient city, still bearing the name Edr’a, stand on a rocky promontory which projects from the southwest corner of the Lejah. The ruins are nearly three miles in circumference, and have a strange, wild look, rising up in dark, shattered masses from the midst of a wilderness of black rocks.

2. A town of northern Palestine, allotted to the tribe of Naphtali, and situated near Kedesh. Joshua 19:37. About two miles south of Kedesh is a conical rocky hill called Tell Khuraibeh, the “tell of the ruin,” which may be the site of Edrei.

Education

Education. There is little trace among the Hebrews in earlier times of education in any other subjects than the law. The wisdom therefore and instruction, of which so much is said in the book of Proverbs, are to be understood chiefly of moral and religious discipline, imparted, according to the direction of the law, by the teaching and under the example of parents. (But Solomon himself wrote treatises on several scientific subjects, which must have been studied in those days.) In later times the prophecies and comments on them, as well as on the earlier Scriptures, together with other subjects, were studied. Parents were required to teach their children some trade. (Girls also went to schools, and women generally among the Jews were treated with greater equality to men than in any other ancient nation.) Previous to the captivity, the chief depositaries of learning were the schools or colleges, from which in most cases proceeded that succession of public teachers who at various times endeavored to reform the moral and religious conduct of both rulers and people. Besides the prophetical schools instruction was given by the priests in the temple and elsewhere. [See SCHOOLS.]

Eglah

Eg’lah (a heifer), one of David’s wives during his reign in Hebron. 2 Samuel 3:5; 1 Chronicles 3:3. (b.c. 1055.)

Eglaim

Egla’im (two ponds), a place named only in Isaiah 15:8, probably the same as En-eglaim.

Eglon

Eg’lon (calf-like).

1. A king of the Moabites, Judges 3:12-14., who, aided by the Ammonites and the Amalekites, crossed the Jordan and took “the city of palm trees.” (b.c. 1359.) Here, according to Josephus, he built himself a palace, and continued for eighteen years to oppress the children of Israel, who paid him tribute. He was slain by Ehud. [EHUD.]

2. A town of Judah in the low country. Joshua 15:39. The name survives in the modern Ajlan, a shapeless mass of ruins, about 10 miles from Eleutheropolis and 14 from Gaza, on the south of the great maritime plain.

Egypt

E’gypt (land of the Copts), a country occupying the northeast angle of Africa. Its limits appear always to have been very nearly the same. It is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by Palestine, Arabia, and the Red Sea, on the south by Nubia, and on the west by the Great Desert. It is divided into upper Egypt—the valley of the Nile—and lower Egypt, the plain of the Delta, from the Greek letter Δ; it is formed by the branching mouths of the Nile, and the Mediterranean Sea. The portions made fertile by the Nile comprise about 9582 square geographical miles, of which only about 5600 is under cultivation.—Encyc. Brit. The Delta extends about 200 miles along the Mediterranean, and Egypt is 520 miles long from north to south from the sea to the First Cataract.

Names.—The common name of Egypt in the Bible is “Mizraim.” It is in the dual number, which indicates the two natural divisions of the country into an upper and a lower region. The Arabic name of Egypt—Mizr—signifies “red mud.” Egypt is also called in the Bible “the land of Ham,” Psalm 105:23, Psalm 105:27, comp. Psalm 78:51—a name most probably referring to Ham the son of Noah—and “Rahab,” the proud or insolent: these appear to be poetical appellations. The common ancient Egyptian name of the country is written in hieroglyphics Kem, which was perhaps pronounced Chem. This name signifies, in the ancient language and in Coptic, “black,” on account of the blackness of its alluvial soil. We may reasonably conjecture that Kem is the Egyptian equivalent of Ham.

General Appearance, Climate, etc.—The general appearance of the country cannot have greatly changed since the days of Moses. The whole country is remarkable for its extreme fertility, which especially strikes the beholder when the rich green of the fields is contrasted with the utterly bare, yellow mountains or the sand-strewn rocky desert on either side. The climate is equable and healthy. Rain is not very unfrequent on the northern coast, but inland is very rare. Cultivation nowhere depends upon it. The inundation of the Nile fertilizes and sustains the country, and makes the river its chief blessing. The Nile was on this account anciently worshipped. The rise begins in Egypt about the summer solstice, and the inundation commences about two months later. The greatest height is attained about or somewhat after the autumnal equinox. The inundation lasts about three months. The atmosphere, except on the seacoast, is remarkably dry and clear, which accounts for the so perfect preservation of the monuments, with their pictures and inscriptions. The heat is extreme during a large part of the year. The winters are mild—from 50° to 60° in the afternoon shade, in the coldest season.

Cultivation, Agriculture, etc.—The ancient prosperity of Egypt is attested by the Bible as well as by the numerous monuments of the country. As early as the age of the great pyramid it must have been densely populated. The contrast of the present state of Egypt with its former prosperity is more to be ascribed to political than to physical causes. Egypt is naturally an agricultural country. Vines were extensively cultivated. Of fruit trees, the date palm was the most common and valuable. The gardens resembled and fields, being watered in the same manner by irrigation. Egypt has neither woods nor forests. The commonest large trees are the sycamore fig, the acacia and the mulberry, the date palm and the banana. The best-known fruits are dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates, peaches, oranges, lemons, bananas, melons, olives, and mulberries. All kinds of grain are abundant. The gardens produce peas, beans, lentiles, celery, radishes, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. Tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, hemp, and flax are raised. The ancient reed, the papyrus, is nearly extinct.—Encyc. Brit.

Religion.—The basis of the religion was Nigritian fetichism, the lowest kind of nature worship, differing in different parts of the country, and hence obviously indigenous. There were three orders of gods—the eight great gods, the twelve lesser, and the Osirian group. The great doctrines of the immortality of the soul, man’s responsibility, and future rewards and punishments, were taught. Among the rites, circumcision is the most remarkable: it is as old as the time of the fourth dynasty.

Domestic Life.—The sculptures and paintings of the tombs give us a very full insight into the domestic life of the ancient Egyptians. What most strikes us in their manners is the high position occupied by women, and the entire absence of the harem system of seclusion. Marriage appears to have been universal, at least with the richer class; and if polygamy were tolerated it was rarely practiced. There were no castes, although great classes were very distinct. The funeral ceremonies were far more important than any events of the Egyptian life, as the tomb was regarded as the only true home.

Industrial Arts.—The industrial arts held an important place in the occupations of the Egyptians. The workers in fine flax and the weavers of white linen are mentioned in a manner that shows they were among the chief contributors to the riches of the country. Isaiah 19:9. The fine linen of Egypt found its way to Palestine. Proverbs 7:16. Pottery was a great branch of the native manufactures, and appears to have furnished employment to the Hebrews during the bondage. Psalm 68:13; Psalm 81:6; comp. Exodus 1:14.

History.—The ancient history of Egypt may be divided into three portions: the old monarchy, extending from the foundation of the kingdom to the invasion of the Hyksos; the middle, from the entrance to the expulsion of the Hyksos; and the new, from the re-establishment of the native monarchy by Amasis to the Persian conquest.

1. The old monarchy.—Memphis was the most ancient capital, the foundation of which is ascribed to Menes, the first mortal king of Egypt. The names of the kings, divided into thirty dynasties, are handed down in the lists of Manetho, and are also known from the works which they executed. The most memorable epoch in the history of the old monarchy is that of the Pyramid kings, placed in Manetho’s fourth dynasty. Their names are found upon these monuments: the builder of the great pyramid is called Suphis by Manetho, Cheops by Herodotus, and Khufu or Shúfu in an inscription upon the pyramid. The erection of the second pyramid is attributed by Herodotus and Diodorus to Chephren; and upon the neighboring tombs has been read the name of Khafra or Shafre. The builder of the third pyramid is named Mycerinus by Herodotus and Diodorus; and in this very pyramid a coffin has been found bearing the name Menkura. The most powerful kings of the old monarchy were those of Manetho’s twelfth dynasty: to this period is assigned the construction of the Lake of Moeris and the Labyrinth. 2. The middle monarchy.—Of this period we only know that a nomadic horde called Hyksos for several centuries occupied and made Egypt tributary; that their capital was Memphis; that in the Sethroite nome they constructed an immense earth-camp, which they called Abaris; that at a certain period of their occupation two independent kingdoms were formed in Egypt, one in the Thebaid, which held intimate relations with Ethiopia; another at Xois, among the marshes of the Nile; and that, finally, the Egyptians regained their independence and expelled the Hyksos, who thereupon retired into Palestine. The Hyksos form the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth dynasties. Manetho says they were Arabs, but he calls the six kings of the fifteenth dynasty Phœnicians. 3. The new monarchy extends from the commencement of the eighteenth to the end of the thirtieth dynasty. The kingdom was consolidated by Amasis, who succeeded in expelling the Hyksos, and thus prepared the way for the foreign expeditions which his successors carried on in Asia and Africa, extending from Mesopotamia in the former to Ethiopia in the latter continent. The glorious era of Egyptian history was under the nineteenth dynasty, when Sethi I, b.c. 1322, and his grandson, Rameses the Great, b.c. 1311, both of whom represent the Sesostris of the Greek historians, carried their arms over the whole of western Asia and southward into Soudân, and amassed vast treasures, which were expended on public works. Under the later kings of the nineteenth dynasty the power of Egypt faded: the twentieth and twenty-first dynasties achieved nothing worthy of record; but with the twenty-second we enter upon a period that is interesting from its associations with biblical history, the first of this dynasty, Sheshonk I (Seconchis), b.c. 990, being the Shishak who invaded Judea in Rehoboam’s reign and pillaged the temple. 1 Kings 14:25. Probably his successor, Osorkon I, is the Zerah of Scripture, defeated by Asa. Egypt makes no figure in Asiatic history during the twenty-third and twenty-fourth dynasties; under the twenty-fifth it regained, in part at least, its ancient importance. This was an Ethiopian line, the warlike sovereigns of which strove to the utmost to repel the onward stride of Assyria. So, whom we are disposed to identify with Shebek II or Sebichus, the second Ethiopian, made an alliance with Hoshea, the last king of Israel. Tehrak or Tirhakah, the third of this house, advanced against Sennacherib in support of Hezekiah. After this a native dynasty—the twenty-sixth—of Saite kings again occupied the throne. Psametek I or Psammetichus I (b.c. 664), who may be regarded as the head of this dynasty, warred in Palestine, and took Ashdod (Azotus) after a siege of twenty-nine years. Neku or Necho, the son of Psammetichus, continued the war in the east, and marched along the coast of Palestine to attack the king of Assyria. At Megiddo Josiah encountered him (b.c. 608–7), notwithstanding the remonstrance of the Egyptian king, which is very illustrative of the policy of the Pharaohs in the East, 2 Chronicles 35:21, no less than is his lenient conduct after the defeat and death of the king of Judah. The army of Necho was after a short space routed at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, b.c. 605–4. Jeremiah 46:2. The second successor of Necho, Apries, or Pharaoh-hophra, sent his army into Palestine to the aid of Zedekiah, Jeremiah 37:5, Jeremiah 37:7, Jeremiah 37:11—so that the siege of Jerusalem was raised for a time—and kindly received the fugitives from the captured city. He seems to have been afterwards attacked by Nebuchadnezzar in his own country. There is, however, no certain account of a complete subjugation of Egypt by the king of Babylon. Amasis, the successor of Apries, had a long and prosperous reign, and somewhat restored the weight of Egypt in the East. But the new power of Persia was to prove even more terrible to this house than Babylon had been to the house of Psammetichus, and the son of Amasis had reigned but six months when Cambyses reduced the country to the condition of a province of his empire, b.c. 525.

Pyramids of Gizeh, Egypt.

The Sphinx, Egypt.

(Chronology.—The early history and chronology of Egypt is involved in much uncertainty. Its principal sources are the lists of thirty dynasties of kings given by Manetho, the smaller list of the Turin Papyrus, and the sculptures, paintings and inscriptions on the monuments. There have been lately discovered (1881), in a Coptic convent near Thebes, the ruins of an ancient tomb in which are the mummies of Rameses II and Thothmes III, and others of the great Pharaohs; but no new light has been thrown on the chronology. Till about the time of Solomon, 1000 b.c., there is much uncertainty as to dates.

Exodus.—As far back as history records, there were flourishing empires in Egypt. The chief interest to the Bible student, in the early history of Egypt, is whether it agrees with the statements and chronology of the Bible. Egyptian history is so uncertain as to dates and nothing it contains could count against the Bible chronology; but what is known is reconcilable with the usual dates given in our Bibles, and cannot, at the farthest, ask for longer ages than are given in the Septuagint.

Present Condition.—Egypt is now, as it has been for many centuries, under the government of the Turks. It contained, in 1874, 5,252,000 inhabitants, seven-eighths of whom are Mohammedans. The ancient Egyptians spoke the Coptic language. The modern Egyptians of the upper and middle classes speak Arabic. The native Christians of Egypt, or Copts, are chiefly descended from the ancient Egyptian race, and they rarely intermarry with other races. These speak the Coptic language, a branch of the ancient Egyptian, but spell their words with the letters of the Greek alphabet.—Ed.)

Egyptian

Egyp’tian, Egyp’tians, a native or natives of Egypt.

Ehi

E’hi (my brother), head of one of the Benjamite houses according to the list in Genesis 46:21. He seems to be the same as Ahiram in the list in Numbers 26:38. In 1 Chronicles 8:1 he is called Aharah, and perhaps also Ahoah in ver. 1 Chronicles 8:4, Ahiah, ver. 1 Chronicles 8:7, and Aher, ch. 1 Chronicles 7:12.

Ehud

E’hud (union).

1. Ehud son of Bilhan, and great-grandson of Benjamin the patriarch. 1 Chronicles 7:10; 1 Chronicles 8:6.

2. Ehud son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, Judges 3:15, the second judges of the Israelites. (b.c. about 1370.) In the Bible he is not called a judge, but a deliverer (l. c.): so Othniel, Judges 3:9, and all the Judges. Nehemiah 9:27. As a Benjamite he was specially chosen to destroy Eglon, who had established himself in Jericho, which was included in the boundaries of that tribe. He was very strong, and left-handed. [EGLON.]

Eker

E’ker (a rooting up), a descendant of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:27.

Ekron

Ek’ron (torn up by the roots; emigration), one of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, and the most northerly of the five. Joshua 13:3. Like the other Philistine cities its situation was in the lowlands. It fell to the lot of Judah. Joshua 15:45, Joshua 15:46; Judges 1:18. Afterwards we find it mentioned among the cities of Dan. Joshua 19:43. Before the monarchy it was again in full possession of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 5:10. Akir, the modern representative of Ekron, lies about five miles southwest of Ramleh. In the Apocrypha it appears as Accaron. 1 Maccabees 10:89 only.

Eladah

El’adah (whom God has put on), a descendant of Ephraim through Shuthelah. 1 Chronicles 7:20.

Elah

E’lah (an oak, strength).

1. The son and successor of Baasha king of Israel. 1 Kings 16:8-10. His reign lasted for little more than a year; comp. ver. 1 Kings 16:8 with 1 Kings 16:10. (b.c. 928–7.) He was killed while drunk, by Zimri, in the house of his steward Arza, who was probably a confederate in the plot.

2. Father of Hoshea, the last king of Israel. 2 Kings 15:30; 2 Kings 17:1. (b.c. 729 or before.)

Elah

E’lah.

1. One of the dukes of Edom. Genesis 36:41; 1 Chronicles 1:52.

2. Shimei ben-Elah was Solomon’s commissariat officer in Benjamin. 1 Kings 4:18. (b.c. 1013.)

3. A son of Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 1 Chronicles 4:15. (b.c. 1450.)

4. Son of Uzzi, a Benjamite, 1 Chronicles 9:8, and one of the chiefs of the tribe at the settlement of the country. (b.c. 536.)

Elah The valley of

E’lah, The valley of (valley of the terebinth), the valley in which David killed Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:2, 1 Samuel 17:19. It lay somewhere near Socoh of Judah and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any other Philistine town. 1 Samuel 17.

Elam

E’lam (eternity).

1. This seems to have been originally the name of a man, the son of Shem. Genesis 10:22; 1 Chronicles 1:17. Commonly, however, it is used as the appellation of a country. Genesis 14:1, Genesis 14:9; Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 21:2. The Elam of Scripture appears to be the province lying south of Assyria and east of Persia proper, to which Herodotus gives the name of Cissia (iii. 91, v. 49, etc.), and which is termed Susis or Susiana by the geographers. Its capital was Susa. This country was originally peopled by descendants of Shem. By the time of Abraham a very important power had been built up in the same region. It is plain that at this early time the predominant power in lower Mesopotamia was Elam, which for a while held the place possessed earlier by Babylon, Genesis 10:10, and later by either Babylon or Assyria.

2. A Korhite Levite in the time of King David. 1 Chronicles 26:3. (b.c. 1014.)

3. A chief man of the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:24.

4. “Children of Elam,” to the number of 1254, returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon. Ezra 2:7; Nehemiah 7:12; 1 Esdras 5:12. (b.c. 536 or before.) Elam occurs amongst the names of the chief of the people who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. Nehemiah 10:14.

5. In the same lists is a second Elam, whose sons, to the same number as in the former case, returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:31; Nehemiah 7:34, and which for the sake of distinction is called “the other Elam.”

6. One of the priests who accompanied Nehemiah at the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:42.

Elamites

E’lamites. This word is found only in Ezra 4:9. The Elamites were the original inhabitants of the country called Elam; they were descendants of Shem, and perhaps drew their name from an actual man Elam. Genesis 10:22.

Elasah

El’asah (whom God made).

1. A priest in the time of Ezra who had married a Gentile wife. Ezra 10:22. (b.c. 458.)

2. Son of Shaphan, one of the two men who were sent on a mission by King Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon. Jeremiah 29:3. (b.c. 594.)

Elath

E’lath, E’loth (a grove), the name of a town of the land of Edom, commonly mentioned with Ezion-geber, and situated at the head of the Arabian Gulf, which was thence called the Elanitic Gulf. It first occurs in the account of the wanderings, Deuteronomy 2:8, and in later times must have come under the rule of David. 2 Samuel 8:14. We find the place named again in connection with Solomon’s navy. 1 Kings 9:26; comp. 2 Chronicles 8:17. In the Roman period it became a frontier town of the south and the residence of a Christian bishop. The Arabic name is Eyleh, and palm groves still exist there, after which it was named.

El-bethel

El-beth’el (the God of Bethel), the name which Jacob is said to have bestowed on the place at which God appeared to him when he was flying from Esau. Genesis 35:7.

Eldaah

El’daah, Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33, the last in order of the sons of Midian.

Eldad

El’dad (favored of God) and Me’dad (love), two of the seventy elders to whom was communicated the prophetic power of Moses. Numbers 11:16, Numbers 11:26. (b.c. 1490.) Although their names were upon the list which Moses had drawn up, Numbers 11:26, they did not repair with the rest of their brethren to the tabernacle, but continued to prophesy in the camp. Moses, being requested by Joshua to forbid this, refused to do so, and expressed a wish that the gift of prophecy might be diffused throughout the people.

Elder

Elder. The term elder, or old man as the Hebrew literally imports, was one of extensive use, as an official title, among the Hebrews and the surrounding nations, because the heads of tribes and the leading people who had acquired influence were naturally the older people of the nation. It had reference to various offices. Genesis 24:2; Genesis 50:7; 2 Samuel 12:17; Ezekiel 27:9. As betokening a political office, it applied not only to the Hebrews, but also to the Egyptians, Genesis 50:7, the Moabites and the Midianites. Numbers 22:7. The earliest notice of the elders acting in concert as a political body is at the time of the Exodus. They were the representatives of the people, so much so that elders and people are occasionally used as equivalent terms; comp. Joshua 24:1 with Joshua 24:2, Joshua 24:19, Joshua 24:21; 1 Samuel 8:4 with 1 Samuel 8:7, 1 Samuel 8:10, 1 Samuel 8:19. Their authority was undefined, and extended to all matters concerning the public weal. Their number and influence may be inferred from 1 Samuel 30:26-28. They retained their position under all the political changes which the Jews underwent. The seventy elders mentioned in Exodus and Numbers were a sort of governing body, a parliament, and the origin of the tribunal of seventy elders called the Sanhedrin or Council. In the New Testament Church the elders or presbyters were the same as the bishops. It was an office derived from the Jewish usage of elders or rulers of the synagogues. [BISHOP.]

Elead

El’ead (praised by God), a descendant of Ephraim. 1 Chronicles 7:21.

Elealeh

Elea’leh (the ascending of God), a place on the east of Jordan, taken possession of and rebuilt by the tribe of Reuben. Numbers 32:3, Numbers 32:37. By Isaiah and Jeremiah it is mentioned as a Moabite town. Isaiah 15:4; Isaiah 16:9; Jeremiah 48:34.

Eleasah

Ele’asah (whom God made).

1. Son of Helez, one of the descendants of Judah, of the family of Hezron. 1 Chronicles 2:39. (b.c. after 1046.)

2. Son of Rapha or Rephaiah; a descendant of Saul through Jonathan and Merib-baal or Mephibosheth. 1 Chronicles 8:37; 1 Chronicles 9:43. (b.c. before 588.)

Eleazar

Elea’zar (help of God).

1. Third son of Aaron. After the death of Nadab and Abihu without children, Leviticus 10:6; Numbers 3:4, Eleazar was appointed chief over the principal Levites. Numbers 3:32. With his brother Ithamar he ministered as a priest during their father’s lifetime, and immediately before his death was invested on Mount Hor with the sacred garments, as the successor of Aaron in the office of high priest. Numbers 20:28. (b.c. 1452.) One of his first duties was in conjunction with Moses to superintend the census of the people. Numbers 26:3. After the conquest of Canaan by Joshua he took part in the distribution of the land. Joshua 14:1. The time of his death is not mentioned in Scripture.

2. The son of Abinadab, of the hill of Kirjath-jearim. 1 Samuel 7:1. (b.c. 1134.)

3. One of the three principal mighty men of David’s army. 2 Samuel 23:9; 1 Chronicles 11:12. (b.c. 1046.)

4. A Merarite Levite, son of Mahli and grandson of Merari. 1 Chronicles 23:21, 1 Chronicles 23:22; 1 Chronicles 24:28.

5. A priest who took part in the feast of dedication under Nehemiah. Nehemiah 12:42. (b.c. 446.)

6. One of the sons of Parosh, an Israelite (i.e., a layman) who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:25.

7. Son of Phinehas, a Levite. Ezra 8:33.

8. The son of Eliud, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:15.

El-Elohe-Israel

El-Elo’he-Is’rael (God, the God of Israel), the name bestowed by Jacob on the altar which he erected facing the city of Shechem. Genesis 33:19, Genesis 33:20.

Eleph

E’leph (the ox), one of the towns allotted to Benjamin, and named next to Jerusalem. Joshua 18:28.

Elhanan

Elha’nan (the grace of God).

1. A distinguished warrior in the time of King David, who performed a memorable exploit against the Philistines. 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 20:5. (b.c. about 1020.)

2. One of “the thirty” of David’s guard, and named first on the list. 2 Samuel 23:24; 1 Chronicles 11:26.

Eli

E’li (ascension), a descendant of Aaron through Ithamar, the youngest of his two surviving sons. Leviticus 10:1, Leviticus 10:2, Leviticus 10:12; comp. 1 Kings 2:27 with 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 24:3. (b.c. 1214–1116.) He was the first of the line of Ithamar who held the office of high priest. The office remained in his family till Abiathar was thrust out by Solomon, 1 Kings 1:7; 1 Kings 2:26, 1 Kings 2:27, when it passed back again to the family of Eleazar in the person of Zadok. 1 Kings 2:35. Its return to the elder branch was one part of the punishment which had been denounced against Eli during his lifetime, for his culpable negligence, 1 Samuel 2:22-25, when his sons profaned the priesthood; comp. 1 Samuel 2:27-36 with 1 Kings 2:27. Notwithstanding this one great blemish, the character of Eli is marked by eminent piety, as shown by his meek submission to the divine judgment, 1 Samuel 3:18, and his supreme regard for the ark of God. 1 Samuel 4:18. In addition to the office of high priest he held that of judge. He died at the advanced age of 98 years, 1 Sam. 1 Samuel 4:15, overcome by the disastrous intelligence that the ark of God had been taken in battle by the Philistines, who had also slain his sons Hophni and Phinehas.

Eli Eli lama sabachthani

E’li, E’li, lama sabachthani. The Hebrew form, as Eloi, Eloi, etc., is the Syro-Chaldaic (the common language in use by the Jews in the time of Christ) of the first words of the twenty-second Psalm; they mean “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Eliab

Eli’ab (God is my father).

1. Son of Helon and leader of the tribe of Zebulun at the time of the census in the wilderness of Sinai. Numbers 1:9; Numbers 2:7; Numbers 7:24, Numbers 7:29; Numbers 10:16. (b.c. 1490.)

2. A Reubenite, father of Dathan and Abiram. Numbers 16:1, Numbers 16:12; Numbers 26:8, Numbers 26:9; Deuteronomy 11:6.

3. One of David’s brothers, the eldest of the family. 1 Samuel 16:6; 1 Samuel 17:13, 1 Samuel 17:28; 1 Chronicles 2:13. (b.c. 1063.)

4. A Levite in the time of David, who was both a “porter” and a musician on the “psaltery.” 1 Chronicles 15:18, 1 Chronicles 15:20; 1 Chronicles 16:5.

5. One of the warlike Gadite leaders who came over to David when he was in the wilderness taking refuge from Saul. 1 Chronicles 12:9. (b.c. 1061.)

6. An ancestor of Samuel the prophet; a Kohathite Levite, son of Nahath. 1 Chronicles 6:27. (b.c. 1250.)

7. Son of Nathanael, one of the forefathers of Judith, and therefore belonging to the tribe of Simeon. Judith 8:1.

Eliada

Eli’ada (known by God).

1. One of David’s sons; according to the lists, the youngest but one of the family born to him after his establishment in Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 5:16; 1 Chronicles 3:8. (b.c. after 1033.)

2. A mighty man of war, a Benjamite, who led 200,000 of his tribe to the army of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:17. (b.c. 945.)

Eliadah

Eli’adah, father of Rezon, the captain of a marauding band that annoyed Solomon. 1 Kings 11:23.

Eliah

Eli’ah (my God is Jehovah).

1. A Benjamite, a chief man of the tribe. 1 Chronicles 8:27.

2. One of the Bene-Elam, an Israelite (i.e., a layman) who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:26.

Eliahba

Eli’ahba (whom God hides), one of the thirty of David’s guard. 2 Samuel 23:32; 1 Chronicles 11:33. (b.c. 1046.)

Eliakim

Eli’akim (raised up by God).

1. Son of Hilkiah, master of Hezekiah’s household (“over the house,” as Isaiah 36:3). 2 Kings 18:18, 2 Kings 18:26, 2 Kings 18:37. (b.c. 713.) Eliakim was a good man, as appears by the title emphatically applied to him by God, “my servant Eliakim,” Isaiah 22:20, and also in the discharge of the duties of his high station, in which he acted as a “father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.” Isaiah 22:21.

2. The original name of Jehoiakim king of Judah. 2 Kings 23:34; 2 Chronicles 36:4.

3. A priest in the days of Nehemiah, who assisted at the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 12:41. (b.c. 446.)

4. Eldest son of Abiud or Judah; brother of Joseph, and father of Azor. Matthew 1:13.

5. Son of Melea, and father of Jonan. Luke 3:30, Luke 3:31.

Eliam

Eli’am (God’s people).

1. Father of Bath-sheba, the wife of David. 2 Samuel 11:3.

2. One of David’s “thirty” warriors. 2 Samuel 23:34.

Elias

Eli’as, the Greek form of Elijah.

Eliasaph

Eli’asaph.

1. Head of the tribe of Dan at the time of the census in the wilderness of Sinai. Numbers 1:14; Numbers 2:14; Numbers 7:42, Numbers 7:47; Numbers 10:20. (b.c. 1490.)

2. A Levite, and “chief of the Gershonites” at the same time. Numbers 3:24.

Eliashib

Eli’ashib (whom God restores).

1. A priest in the time of King David, eleventh in the order of the “governors” of the sanctuary. 1 Chronicles 24:12.

2. One of the latest descendants of the royal family of Judah. 1 Chronicles 3:24.

3. High priest at Jerusalem at the time of the rebuilding of the walls under Nehemiah. Nehemiah 3:1, Nehemiah 3:20, Nehemiah 3:21. (b.c. 446.)

4. A singer in the time of Ezra who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:24.

5. A son of Zattu, Ezra 10:27, and

6. A son of Bani, Ezra 10:36, both of whom had transgressed in the same manner. (b.c. 458.)

Eliathah

Eli’athah (to whom God comes), a musician in the temple in the time of King David. 1 Chronicles 25:4, 1 Chronicles 25:27.

Elidad

Eli’dad (whom God loves), the man chosen to represent the tribe of Benjamin in the division of the land of Canaan. Numbers 34:21. (b.c. 1452.)

Eliel

Eli’el (to whom God is strength).

1. One of the heads of the tribe of Manasseh on the east of Jordan. 1 Chronicles 5:24.

2. A forefather of Samuel the prophet. 1 Chronicles 6:34.

3. A chief man in the tribe of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:20.

4. Also a Benjamite chief. 1 Chronicles 8:22.

5. One of the heroes of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:46.

6. Another of the same guard. 1 Chronicles 11:47.

7. One of the Gadite heroes who came across Jordan to David when he was in the wilderness of Judah hiding from Saul. 1 Chronicles 12:11.

8. A Kohathite Levite, at the time of transportation of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 15:9, 1 Chronicles 15:11. (b.c. 1043.)

9. A Levite in the time of Hezekiah; one of the overseers of the offerings made in the temple. 2 Chronicles 31:13. (b.c. 726.)

Eliena-i

Elie’na-i (my eyes are toward God), a descendant of Benjamin, and a chief man in the tribe. 1 Chronicles 8:20.

Eliezer

Elie’zer (God is his help).

1. Abraham’s chief servant, called by him “Eliezer of Damascus.” Genesis 15:2. (b.c. 1857.)

2. Second son of Moses and Zipporah (b.c. 1523), to whom his father gave this name because “the God of my father was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” Exodus 18:4; 1 Chronicles 23:15, 1 Chronicles 23:17; 1 Chronicles 26:25.

3. One of the sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 7:8.

4. A priest in the reign of David. 1 Chronicles 15:24.

5. Son of Zichri, ruler of the Reubenites in the reign of David. 1 Chronicles 27:16.

6. Son of Dodavah, of Mareshah in Judah, 2 Chronicles 20:37, a prophet, who rebuked Jehoshaphat for joining himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. (b.c. 895.)

7. A chief Israelite whom Ezra sent with others from Ahava to Cesiphia, to induce some Levites and Nethinim to accompany him to Jerusalem. Ezra 8:16. (b.c. 459.)

8, 9, 10. A priest, a Levite, and an Israelite of the sons of Harim, who had married foreign wives. Ezra 10:18, Ezra 10:23, Ezra 10:31.

11. Son of Jorim, in the genealogy of Christ. Luke 3:29.

Elihoena-i

Elihoe’na-i (my eyes are toward Jehovah), son of Zerahiah, who with 200 men returned from the captivity with Ezra. Ezra 8:4. (b.c. 459.)

Elihoreph

Eliho’reph (God is his reward), one of Solomon’s scribes. 1 Kings 4:3.

Elihu

Eli’hu (whose God is he (Jehovah)).

1. One of the interlocutors in the book of Job. [JOB.] He is described as the “son of Barachel the Buzite.”

2. A forefather of Samuel the prophet. 1 Samuel 1:1.

3. In 1 Chronicles 27:18 Elihu “of the brethren of David” is mentioned as the chief of the tribe of Judah.

4. One of the captains of the thousands of Manasseh, 1 Chronicles 12:20, who followed David to Ziklag after he had left the Philistine army on the eve of the battle of Gilboa.

5. A Korhite Levite in the time of David. 1 Chronicles 26:7.

Elijah

Eli’jah (my God is Jehovah) has been well entitled “the grandest and the most romantic character that Israel ever produced.” “Elijah the Tishbite, . . . of the inhabitants of Gilead” is literally all that is given us to know of his parentage and locality. Of his appearance as he “stood before” Ahab (b.c. 910) with the suddenness of motion to this day characteristic of the Bedouins from his native hills, we can perhaps realize something from the touches, few but strong, of the narrative. His chief characteristic was his hair, long and thick, and hanging down his back. His ordinary clothing consisted of a girdle of skin round his loins, which he tightened when about to move quickly. 1 Kings 18:46. But in addition to this he occasionally wore the “mantle” or cape of sheepskin which has supplied us with one of our most familiar figures of speech. His introduction, in what we may call the first act of his life, is of the most startling description. He suddenly appears before Ahab, prophesies a three-years drought in Israel, and proclaims the vengeance of Jehovah for the apostasy of the king. Obliged to flee from the vengeance of the king, or more probably of the queen (comp. 1 Kings 19:2), he was directed to the brook Cherith. There in the hollow of the torrent bed he remained, supported in the miraculous manner with which we are all familiar, till the failing of the brook obliged him to forsake it. His next refuge was at Zarephath. Here in the house of the widow woman Elijah performed the miracles of prolonging the oil and the meal, and restored the son of the widow to life after his apparent death. 1 Kings 17. In this or some other retreat an interval of more than two years must have elapsed. The drought continued, and at last the full horrors of famine, caused by the failure of the crops, descended on Samaria. Again Elijah suddenly appears before Ahab. There are few more sublime stories in history than the account of the succeeding events—with the servant of Jehovah and his single attendant on the one hand, and the 850 prophets of Baal on the other; the altars, the descending fire of Jehovah consuming both sacrifice and altar; the rising storm, and the ride across the plain to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18. Jezebel vows vengeance, and again Elijah takes refuge in flight into the wilderness, where he is again miraculously fed, and goes forward, in the strength of that food, a journey of forty days to the mount of God, even to Horeb, where he takes refuge in a cave, and witnesses a remarkable vision of Jehovah. 1 Kings 19:9-18. He receives the divine communication, and sets forth in search of Elisha, whom he finds ploughing in the field, and anoints him prophet in his place. ch. 1 Kings 19. For a time little is heard of Elijah, and Ahab and Jezebel probably believed they had seen the last of him. But after the murder of Naboth, Elijah, who had received an intimation from Jehovah of what was taking place, again suddenly appears before the king, and then follows Elijah’s fearful denunciation of Ahab and Jezebel, which may possibly be recovered by putting together the words recalled by Jehu, 2 Kings 9:26, 2 Kings 9:36, 2 Kings 9:37, and those given in 1 Kings 21:19-25. A space of three or four years now elapses (comp. 1 Kings 22:1, 1 Kings 22:51; 2 Kings 1:17) before we again catch a glimpse of Elijah. Ahaziah is on his death-bed, 1 Kings 22:51; 2 Kings 1:1, 2 Kings 1:2, and sends to an oracle or shrine of Baal to ascertain the issue of his illness; but Elijah suddenly appears on the path of the messengers, without preface or inquiry utters his message of death, and as rapidly disappears. The wrathful king sends two bands of soldiers to seize Elijah, and they are consumed with fire; but finally the prophet goes down and delivers to Ahaziah’s face the message of death. Not long after Elijah sent a message to Jehoram denouncing his evil doings, and predicting his death. 2 Chronicles 21:12-15. It was at Gilgal—probably on the western edge of the hills of Ephraim—that the prophet received the divine intimation that his departure was at hand. He was at the time with Elisha, who seems now to have become his constant companion, and who would not sent to leave him. “And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirl-wind into heaven.” (b.c. 896.) Fifty men of the sons of the prophets ascended the abrupt heights behind the town, and witnessed the scene. How deep was the impression which he made on the mind of the nation may be judged of from the fixed belief which many centuries after prevailed that Elijah would again appear for the relief and restoration of his country, as Malachi prophesied. Malachi 4:5. He spoke, but left no written words, save the letter to Jehoram king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 21:12-15.

Elika

El’ika (rejected of God), a Harodite, one of David’s guard. 2 Samuel 23:25.

Elim

E’lim (strong trees), Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:9, the second station where the Israelites encamped after crossing the Red Sea. It is distinguished as having had “twelve wells (rather ‘fountains’) of water, and three-score and ten palm trees.” It is generally identified by the best authorities with Wady Garundel, about halfway down the shore of the Gulf of Suez. A few palm trees still remain, and the water is excellent.

Elimelech

Elim’elech (my God is king), a man of the tribe of Judah and of the family of the Hezronites, who dwelt in Bethlehem-Ephratah in the days of the Judges. (b.c. 1312.) In consequence of a great dearth in the land he went with his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to dwell in Moab, where he and his sons died without posterity. Ruth 1:2, Ruth 1:3, etc.

Elio-ena-i

Elio-e’na-i (my eyes are toward the Lord).

1. Eldest son of Neariah, the son of Shemaiah. 1 Chronicles 3:23, 1 Chronicles 3:24.

2. Head of a family of the Simeonites. 1 Chronicles 4:36. (b.c. after 1451.)

3. Head of one of the families of the sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 7:8.

4. A Korhite Levite, and one of the doorkeepers of the “house of Jehovah.” 1 Chronicles 26:3.

5. A priest in the days of Ezra, one of those who had married foreign wives. Ezra 10:22. (b.c. 446.) Possibly the same as

6. An Israelite of the sons of Zattu, who had also married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:27. (b.c. 458.)

Eliphal

El’iphal (whom God judges), son of Ur, one of David’s guard. 1 Chronicles 11:35. [ELIPHELET, 3.]

Eliphalet

Eliph’alet (the God of deliverance), the last of the thirteen sons born to David after his establishment in Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 5:16; 1 Chronicles 14:7. [ELIPHELET, 2.]

Eliphaz

El’iphaz (God is his strength).

1. The son of Esau and Adah, and the father of Teman. Genesis 36:4; 1 Chronicles 1:35, 1 Chronicles 1:36.

2. The chief of the “three friends” of Job. He is called “the Temanite”; hence it is naturally inferred that he was a descendant of Teman. On him falls the main burden of the argument, that God’s retribution in this world is perfect and certain, and that consequently suffering must be a proof of previous sin. Job 4, Job 5, Job 15, Job 22. The great truth brought out by him is the unapproachable majesty and purity of God. Job 4:12-21; Job 15:12-16. [JOB.]

Elipheleh

Eliph’eleh (whom God makes distinguished), a Merarite Levite, one of the gate-keepers appointed by David to play on the harp “on the Sheminith” on the occasion of bringing up the ark to the city of David. 1 Chronicles 15:18, 1 Chronicles 15:21.

Eliphelet

Eliph’elet (the God of deliverance).

1. The name of a son of David, one of the children born to him after his establishment in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 3:6. (b.c. after 1044.)

2. Another son of David, belonging also to the Jerusalem family, and apparently the last of his sons. 1 Chronicles 3:8.

3. One of the thirty warriors of David’s guard. 2 Samuel 23:34.

4. Son of Eshek, a descendant of King Saul through Jonathan. 1 Chronicles 8:39. (b.c. before 536.)

5. One of the leaders of the Bene-Adonikam who returned from Babylon with Ezra. Ezra 8:13. (b.c. 459.)

6. A man of the Bene-Hashum in the time of Ezra who had married a foreign wife. Ezra 10:33. (b.c. 458.)

Elisabeth

Elis’abeth (the oath of God), the wife of Zacharias and mother of John the Baptist. She was herself of the priestly family, and a relation, Luke 1:36, of the mother of our Lord.

Eliseus

Elise’us, the Greek form of the name Elisha.

Elisha

Eli’sha (God his salvation), son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah; the attendant and disciple of Elijah, and subsequently his successor as prophet of the kingdom of Israel. The earliest mention of his name is in the command to Elijah in the cave at Horeb. 1 Kings 19:16, 1 Kings 19:17. (b.c. about 900.) Elijah sets forth to obey the command, and comes upon his successor engaged in ploughing. He crosses to him and throws over his shoulders the rough mantle—a token at once of investiture with the prophet’s office and of adoption as a son. Elisha delayed merely to give the farewell kiss to his father and mother and preside at a parting feast with his people, and then followed the great prophet on his northward road. We hear nothing more of Elisha for eight years, until the translation of his master, when he reappears, to become the most prominent figure in the history of his country during the rest of his long life.

In almost every respect Elisha presents the most complete contrast to Elijah. Elijah was a true Bedouin child of the desert. If he enters a city it is only to deliver his message of fire and be gone. Elisha, on the other hand, is a civilized man, an inhabitant of cities. His dress was the ordinary garment of an Israelite, the beged, probably similar in form to the long abbeyeh of the modern Syrians. 2 Kings 2:12. His hair was worn trimmed behind, in contrast to the disordered locks of Elijah, and he used a walking-staff, 2 Kings 4:29, of the kind ordinarily carried by grave or aged citizens. Zechariah 8:4. After the departure of his master, Elisha returned to dwell at Jericho, 2 Kings 2:18, where he miraculously purified the springs. We next meet with Elisha at Bethel, in the heart of the country, on his way from Jericho to Mount Carmel. 2 Kings 2:23. The mocking children, Elisha’s curse and the catastrophe which followed are familiar to all. Later he extricates Jehoram king of Israel, and the kings of Judah and Edom, from their difficulty in the campaign against Moab arising from want of water. 2 Kings 3:4-27. Then he multiplies the widow’s oil. 2 Kings 4:5. The next occurrence is at Shunem, where he is hospitably entertained by a woman of substance, whose son dies, and is brought to life again by Elisha. 2 Kings 4:8-37. Then at Gilgal he purifies the deadly pottage, 2 Kings 4:38-41, and multiplies the loaves. 2 Kings 4:42-44.

The simple records of these domestic incidents amongst the sons of the prophets are now interrupted by an occurrence of a more important character. 2 Kings 5:1-27. The chief captain of the army of Syria, Naaman, is attacked with leprosy, and is sent by an Israelite maid to the prophet Elisha, who directs him to dip seven times in the Jordan, which he does and is healed, 2 Kings 5:1-14; while Naaman’s servant, Gehazi, he strikes with leprosy for his unfaithfulness. ch. 2 Kings 5:20-27. Again the scene changes. It is probably at Jericho that Elisha causes the iron axe to swim. 2 Kings 6:1-7. A band of Syrian marauders are sent to seize him, but are struck blind, and he misleads them to Samaria, where they find themselves in the presence of the Israelite king and his troops. 2 Kings 6:8-23. During the famine in Samaria, 2 Kings 6:24-33, he prophesied incredible plenty, ch. 2 Kings 7:1-2, which was soon fulfilled. ch. 2 Kings 7:3-20. We next find the prophet at Damascus. Benhadad the king is sick, and sends to Elisha by Hazael to know the result. Elisha prophesies the king’s death, and announces to Hazael that he is to succeed to the throne. 2 Kings 8:7-15. Finally this prophet of God, after having filled the position for sixty years, is found on his death-bed in his own house. 2 Kings 13:14-19. The power of the prophet, however, does not terminate with his death. Even in the tomb he restores the dead to life. ch. 2 Kings 13:21.

Elishah

Eli’shah (God is salvation), the eldest son of Javan. Genesis 10:4. The residence of his descendants is described in Ezekiel 27:7 as the isles of Elishah, whence the Phœnicians obtained their purple and blue dyes. Some connect the race of Elishah with the Æolians, others with Elis, and in a more extended sense Peloponnesus, or even Hellas.

Elishama

Elish’ama (whom God hears).

1. The “prince” or “captain” of the tribe of Ephraim in the wilderness of Sinai. Numbers 1:10; Numbers 2:18; Numbers 7:48; Numbers 10:22. (b.c. 1491.) From 1 Chronicles 7:26 we find that he was grandfather to the great Joshua.

2. A son of King David. 2 Samuel 5:16; 1 Chronicles 3:8; 1 Chronicles 14:7.

3. Another son of David, 1 Chronicles 3:6, who in the other lists is called Elishua. (b.c. after 1044.)

4. A descendant of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:41.

5. The father of Nethaniah and grandfather of Ishmael. 2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:1.

6. Scribe to King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 36:12, Jeremiah 36:20, Jeremiah 36:21. (b.c. 605.)

7. A priest in the time of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:8. (b.c. 912.)

2. Prince of the tribe of Zebulun. Numbers 34:25.

Elizur

Eli’zur, prince of the tribe and over the host of Reuben. Numbers 1:5; Numbers 2:10; Numbers 7:30, Numbers 7:35; Numbers 10:18.

Elkanah

El’kanah, or El’konah (God-provided).

1. Son, or rather grandson, see 1 Chronicles 6:22, 1 Chronicles 6:23 (1 Chronicles 6:7-8), of Korah, according to Exodus 6:24.

2. A descendant of the above in the line of Ahimoth, otherwise Mahath, 1 Chronicles 6:26, 1 Chronicles 6:35; Hebrews 11:20.

3. Another Kohathite Levite, father of Samuel the illustrious judge and prophet. 1 Chronicles 6:27, 1 Chronicles 6:34. (b.c. about 1190.) All that is known of him is contained in the above notices and in 1 Samuel 1:1, 1 Samuel 1:4, 1 Samuel 1:8, 1 Samuel 1:19, 1 Samuel 1:21, 1 Samuel 1:23 and 1 Samuel 2:20.

4. A Levite. 1 Chronicles 9:16.

5. A Korhite who joined David while he was at Ziklag. 1 Chronicles 12:6. (b.c. 1054.)

6. An officer in the household of Ahaz king of Judah, who was slain by Zichri the Ephraimite when Pekah invaded Judah. 2 Chronicles 28:7. (b.c. 739.)