the name and place and privileges of a son who is not a son

reverence and homage. The forms of adoration among the Jews

were putting off the shoes (Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15), and

prostration (Gen. 17:3; Ps. 95:6; Isa. 44:15, 17, 19;

46:6). To “kiss the Son” in Ps. 2:12 is to adore

and worship him. (See Dan. 3:5, 6.) The word itself does

An idol; a form of the sun-god worshipped by the

inhabitants of Sepharvaim (2 Kings 17:31), and brought by

the Sepharvite colonists into Samaria. (2.) A son of

Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:37; Isa.

Minor on the coast of Mysia, which in early times was

called AEolis. The ship in which Paul embarked at Caesarea

belonged to this city (Acts 27:2). He was conveyed in it

only to Myra, in Lycia, whence he sailed in an Alexandrian

ship to Italy. It was a rare thing for a ship to sail from

any port of Palestine direct for Italy. It still bears the

“the sea of Adria”), the Adriatic Sea, including

in Paul’s time the whole of the Mediterranean lying

between Crete and Sicily. It is the modern Gulf of Venice,

the Mare Superum_ of the Romans, as distinguished from

Barzillai, the Meholathite, to whom Saul gave in marriage

his daughter Merab (1 Sam. 18:19). The five sons that

sprang from this union were put to death by the Gibeonites

(2 Sam. 21:8, 9. Here it is said that Michal “brought

up” [R.V., “bare”] these five sons, either

that she treated them as if she had been their own mother,

or that for “Michal” we should read

of the Canaanites, now ‘Aid-el-ma (Josh. 12:15; 15:35).

It stood on the old Roman road in the valley of Elah

(q.v.), which was the scene of David’s memorable

victory over Goliath (1 Sam. 17:2), and not far from Gath.

It was one of the towns which Rehoboam fortified against

Egypt (2 Chr. 11:7). It was called “the glory of

An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a

married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an

adulteress. Intercourse between a married man and an

unmarried woman was fornication. Adultery was regarded as a

apparently on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem,

“on the south side of the torrent” Wady Kelt,

looking toward Gilgal, mentioned Josh. 15:7; 18:17. It was

nearly half-way between Jerusalem and Jericho, and now

bears the name of Tal-at-ed-Dumm. It is supposed to have

been the place referred to in the parable of the Good

Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). Recently a new carriage-road has

been completed, and carriages for the first time have come

opponent or foe (1 Kings 5:4; 11:14, 23, 25; Luke 13:17);

one that speaks against another, a complainant (Matt. 5:25;

Luke 12:58); an enemy (Luke 18:3), and specially the devil

who pleads another’s cause, who helps another by

defending or comforting him. It is a name given by Christ

three times to the Holy Ghost (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7,

where the Greek word is rendered “Comforter,”

q.v.). It is applied to Christ in 1 John 2:1, where the

same Greek word is rendered “Advocate,” the

rendering which it should have in all the places where it

occurs. Tertullus “the orator” (Acts 24:1) was a

Roman advocate whom the Jews employed to accuse Paul before

Salim where John baptized (John 3:23). It was probably near

the upper source of the Wady Far’ah, an open valley

extending from Mount Ebal to the Jordan. It is full of

springs. A place has been found called ‘Ainun, four

Mention is made of “vile affections” (Rom. 1:26)

and “inordinate affection” (Col. 3:5). Christians

are exhorted to set their affections on things above (Col.

3:2). There is a distinction between natural and spiritual

alliance (2 Chr. 18:1) or by marriage (1 Kings 3:1).

Marriages are prohibited within certain degrees of

affinity, enumerated Lev. 18:6-17. Consanguinity is

5:7; 14:1; Ps. 34:19); are for the good of men (James 1:2,

3, 12; 2 Cor. 12:7) and the glory of God (2 Cor. 12:7-10; 1

Pet. 4:14), and are to be borne with patience by the

Lord’s people (Ps. 94:12; Prov. 3:12). They are all

directed by God (Lam. 3:33), and will result in the

everlasting good of his people (2 Cor. 4:16-18) in Christ

probably one of the seventy disciples of Christ. He

prophesied at Antioch of an approaching famine (Acts 11:27,

28). Many years afterwards he met Paul at Caesarea, and

warned him of the bonds and affliction that awaited him at

Jerusalem should he persist in going thither (Acts

the Amalekite kings, as “Pharaoh” was of the

Egyptian. (1.) A king of the Amalekites referred to by

and also to his father (Esther 3:1, 10; 8:3, 5). Probably

stone in the breast-plate of the high priest (Ex. 28:19;

39:12), the second in the third row. This may be the agate

properly so called, a semi-transparent crystallized quartz,

probably brought from Sheba, whence its name. In Isa. 54:12

and Ezek. 27:16, this word is the rendering of the Hebrew

cadcod, which means “ruddy,” and denotes a

variety of minutely crystalline silica more or less in

of a man’s life (Gen. 47:28), the maturity of life

(John 9:21), the latter end of life (Job 11:17), a

generation of the human race (Job 8:8), and an indefinite

period (Eph. 2:7; 3:5, 21; Col. 1:26). Respect to be shown

to the aged (Lev. 19:32). It is a blessing to communities

when they have old men among them (Isa. 65:20; Zech. 8:4).

The aged supposed to excel in understanding (Job 12:20;

15:10; 32:4, 9; 1 Kings 12:6, 8). A full age the reward of

Shammah, who was one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam.

severe struggling with pain and suffering. Anguish is the

reflection on evil that is already past, while agony is a

struggle with evil at the time present. It is only used in

the New Testament by Luke (22:44) to describe our

(Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief

employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in

agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the

possession of the Promised Land, their circumstances

favoured in the highest degree a remarkable development of

this art. Agriculture became indeed the basis of the Mosaic

Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus and Bernice. The

Roman emperor Caligula made him governor first of the

territories of Philip, then of the tetrarchy of Lysanias,

with the title of king (“king Herod”), and

finally of that of Antipas, who was banished, and of

Samaria and Judea. Thus he became ruler over the whole of

Palestine. He was a persecutor of the early Christians. He

slew James, and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12:1-4). He died at

Caesarea, being “eaten of worms” (Acts 12:23),

foregoing, was born at Rome, A.D. 27. He was the brother of

Bernice and Drusilla. The Emperor Claudius (A.D. 48)

invested him with the office of superintendent of the

Temple of Jerusalem, and made him governor (A.D. 50) of

Chalcis. He was afterwards raised to the rank of king, and

made governor over the tetrarchy of Philip and Lysanias

(Acts 25:13; 26:2, 7). It was before him that Paul

delivered (A.D. 59) his speech recorded in Acts 26. His

private life was very profligate. He died (the last of his

race) at Rome, at the age of about seventy years, A.D.

26:16 (R.V., “fever”) of the Hebrew word

kaddah’ath, meaning “kindling”, i.e., an

inflammatory or burning fever. In Deut. 28:22 the word is

mentioned as author of the sayings in Prov. 30. Nothing is

regret (Ps. 35:25; Isa. 1:4, 24; Jer. 1:6; 22:18; Mark

(Ps. 35:21; 40:15; 70:3). In Isa. 44:16 it signifies joyful

The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of

Israel. His history is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22. His wife

was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence

over him. To the calf-worship introduced by Jeroboam he

added the worship of Baal. He was severely admonished by

Elijah (q.v.) for his wickedness. His anger was on this

account kindled against the prophet, and he sought to kill

him. He undertook three campaigns against Ben-hadad II.,

king of Damascus. In the first two, which were defensive,

he gained a complete victory over Ben-hadad, who fell into

his hands, and was afterwards released on the condition of

his restoring all the cities of Israel he then held, and

granting certain other concessions to Ahab. After three

years of peace, for some cause Ahab renewed war (1 Kings

22:3) with Ben-hadad by assaulting the city of

Ramoth-gilead, although the prophet Micaiah warned him that

he would not succeed, and that the 400 false prophets who

encouraged him were only leading him to his ruin. Micaiah

was imprisoned for thus venturing to dissuade Ahab from his

purpose. Ahab went into the battle disguised, that he might

if possible escape the notice of his enemies; but an arrow

from a bow “drawn at a venture” pierced him, and

though stayed up in his chariot for a time he died towards

evening, and Elijah’s prophecy (1 Kings 21:19) was

fulfilled. He reigned twenty-three years. Because of his

idolatry, lust, and covetousness, Ahab is referred to as

pre-eminently the type of a wicked king (2 Kings 8:18; 2

designated by this name in Scripture. (1.) The father of

Darius the Mede, mentioned in Dan. 9:1. This was probably

the Cyaxares I. known by this name in profane history, the

8:21) by the banks of which the Jewish exiles assembled

under Ezra when about to return to Jerusalem from Babylon.

In all probability this was one of the streams of

Mesopotamia which flowed into the Euphrates somewhere in

the north-west of Babylonia. It has, however, been supposed

to be the name of a place (Ezra 8:15) now called Hit, on

The son and successor of Ahab. He followed the counsels of

his mother Jezebel, and imitated in wickedness the ways of

his father. In his reign the Moabites revolted from under

his authority (2 Kings 3:5-7). He united with Jehoshaphat

in an attempt to revive maritime trade by the Red Sea,

which proved a failure (2 Chr. 20:35-37). His messengers,

sent to consult the god of Ekron regarding his recovery

from the effects of a fall from the roof-gallery of his

palace, were met on the way by Elijah, who sent them back

to tell the king that he would never rise from his bed (1

of David’s thirty heroes (2 Sam. 23:33; 1 Chr.

“helpful.” (1.) The chief of the tribe of Dan at

“friend”) of union. (1.) A son of Bela, the son

“friend”) of Jehovah. (1.) One of the sons of

Bela (1 Chr. 8:7, R.V.). In A.V. called

helper, one of the five whom Josiah sent to consult the

prophetess Huldah in connection with the discovery of the

book of the law (2 Kings 22:12-14; 2 Chr. 34:20). He was

the son of Shaphan, the royal secretary, and the father of

Gedaliah, governor of Judea after the destruction of

Jerusalem by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:22; Jer. 40:5-16;

43:6). On one occasion he protected Jeremiah against the

fury of Jehoiakim (Jer. 26:24). It was in the chamber of

another son (Germariah) of Shaphan that Baruch read in the

irascible. (1.) The father Ahinoam, the wife of Saul (1

liberal. (1.) One of the three giant Anakim brothers whom

Caleb and the spies saw in Mount Hebron (Num. 13:22) when

they went in to explore the land. They were afterwards

the son of Ahitub and father of Abiathar (1 Sam. 22:20-23).

He descended from Eli in the line of Ithamar. In 1 Chr.

18:16 he is called Abimelech, and is probably the same as

Ahiah (1 Sam. 14:3, 18). He was the twelfth high priest,

and officiated at Nob, where he was visited by David (to

whom and his companions he gave five loaves of the

showbread) when he fled from Saul (1 Sam. 21:1-9). He was

summoned into Saul’s presence, and accused, on the

information of Doeg the Edomite, of disloyalty because of

his kindness to David; whereupon the king commanded that

he, with the other priests who stood beside him (86 in

all), should be put to death. This sentence was carried

into execution by Doeg in the most cruel manner (1 Sam.

22:9-23). Possibly Abiathar had a son also called

Ahimelech, or the two names, as some think, may have been

accidentally transposed in 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chr. 18:16,

= liberal, one of the twelve commissariat officers

appointed by Solomon in so many districts of his kingdom to

raise supplies by monthly rotation for his household. He

was appointed to the district of Mahanaim (1 Kings 4:14),

= pleasant. (1.) The daughter of Ahimaaz, and wife of Saul

unlucky, or my brother is friend, chief of the tribe of

singer, the officer who was “over the household”

insipidity or impiety, a man greatly renowned for his

sagacity among the Jews. At the time of Absalom’s

revolt he deserted David (Ps. 41:9; 55:12-14) and espoused

the cause of Absalom (2 Sam. 15:12). David sent his old

friend Hushai back to Absalom, in order that he might

counteract the counsel of Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15:31-37).

This end was so far gained that Ahithophel saw he had no

longer any influence, and accordingly he at once left the

camp of Absalom and returned to Giloh, his native place,

where, after arranging his wordly affairs, he hanged

himself, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers (2

good. (1.) The son of Phinehas. On the death of his

grandfather Eli he succeeded to the office of high priest,

and was himself succeeded by his son Ahijah (1 Sam. 14:3;

lying within the unconquered Phoenician border (Judg.

1:31), north-west of the Sea of Galilee; commonly

sons of Bela, the son of Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:4). He is also

called Ahiah (ver. 7) and Iri (1 Chr. 7:7). His descendants

Dodo, one of Solomon’s captains (1 Chr. 27:4); to his

son Eleazar, one of David’s three mightiest heroes (2

Sam. 23:9; 1 Chr. 11:12); and to Zalmon, one of the thirty

(2 Sam. 23:28; 1 Chr. 11:29), from their descent from

name used by Ezekiel (23:4, 5, 36, 44) as a symbol of the

idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. This kingdom is

described as a lewdwoman, an adulteress, given up to the

abominations and idolatries of the Egyptians and Assyrians.

Because of her crimes, she was carried away captive, and

ceased to be a kingdom. (Comp. Ps. 78:67-69; 1 Kings

artist of the tribe of Dan, appointed to the work of

preparing materials for the tabernacle (Ex. 31:6; 35:34;

name of an imaginary harlot, applied symbolically to

Jerusalem, because she had abandoned the worship of the

true God and given herself up to the idolatries of foreign

the name given to Judith, the daughter of Beeri = Anah

(Gen. 26:34; 36:2), when she became the wife of Esau. A

district among the mountains of Edom, probably near Mount

Hor, was called after her name, or it may be that she

received her name from the district. From her descended

cities of the Canaanites (Josh. 10:1; Gen. 12:8; 13:3). It

was the scene of Joshua’s defeat, and afterwards of his

victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by Israel

(Josh. 7:2-5; 8:1-29). It lay rebuilt and inhibited by the

Benjamites (Ezra 2:28; Neh. 7:32; 11:31). It lay to the

east of Bethel, “beside Beth-aven.” The spot

which is most probably the site of this ancient city is

Haiyan, 2 miles east from Bethel. It lay up the Wady

Suweinit, a steep, rugged valley, extending from the Jordan

dawn, a name found in the title of Ps. 22. It is probably

the name of some song or tune to the measure of which the

psalm was to be chanted. Some, however, understand by the

name some instrument of music, or an allegorical allusion

to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 9:2;

16:17). This word occurs once as the rendering of the

Hebrew ruah (Job 41:16); elsewhere it is the

rendering of shamaiyim, usually translated

of deer. (1.) A town and valley originally assigned to the

tribe of Dan, from which, however, they could not drive the

Amorites (Judg. 1:35). It was one of the Levitical cities

given to the Kohathites (1 Chr. 6:69). It was not far from

Beth-shemesh (2 Chr. 28:18). It was the boundary between

the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and is frequently

mentioned in Jewish history (2 Chr. 11:10; 1 Sam. 14:31; 1

Chr. 8:13). With reference to the valley named after the

town, Joshua uttered the celebrated command, “Sun,

stand thou still on Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley

of Ajalon” (Josh. 10:12). It has been identified as

the modern Yalo, at the foot of the Beth-horon pass (q.v.).

In the Tell Amarna letters Adoni-zedek (q.v.) speaks of the

destruction of the “city of Ajalon” by the

invaders, and describes himself as “afflicted, greatly

afflicted” by the calamities that had come on the

(1.) The head of one of the families of Nethinim (Ezra

the general name given to the ridge containing the pass

between the south of the Dead Sea and Zin, es-Sufah, by

which there is an ascent to the level of the land of

Palestine. Scorpions are said to abound in this whole

district, and hence the name (Num. 34:4). It is called

“Maaleh-acrabbim” in Josh. 15:3, and “the

New Testament in connection with the box of “ointment

of spikenard very precious,” with the contents of

which a woman anointed the head of Jesus as he sat at

supper in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. 26:7; Mark

14:3; Luke 7:37). These boxes were made from a stone found

near Alabastron in Egypt, and from this circumstance the

Greeks gave them the name of the city where they were made.

The name was then given to the stone of which they were

made; and finally to all perfume vessels, of whatever

material they were formed. The woman “broke” the

vessel; i.e., she broke off, as was usually done, the long

and narrow neck so as to reach the contents. This stone

resembles marble, but is softer in its texture, and hence

very easily wrought into boxes. Mark says (14:5) that this

box of ointment was worth more than 300 pence, i.e.,

denarii, each of the value of sevenpence halfpenny of our

money, and therefore worth about 10 pounds. But if we take

the denarius as the day’s wage of a labourer (Matt.

20:2), say two shillings of our money, then the whole would

be worth about 30 pounds, so costly was Mary’s

(1 Chr. 15:20), denoting that the psalm which bears this

inscription (Ps. 46) was to be sung by soprano or female

sound of the silver trumpets to give warning to the Hebrews

on their journey through the wilderness (Num. 10:5, 6), a

call to arms, or a war-note (Jer. 4:19; 49:2; Zeph.

the nine sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin (1 Chr.

relative of Annas the high priest, present when Peter and

Macedonia, the great conqueror; probably represented in

Daniel by the “belly of brass” (Dan. 2:32), and

the leopard and the he-goat (7:6; 11:3,4). He succeeded his

father Philip, and died at the age of thirty-two from the

effects of intemperance, B.C. 323. His empire was divided

metropolis of Lower Egypt, so called from its founder,

Alexander the Great (about B.C. 333). It was for a long

period the greatest of existing cities, for both Nineveh

and Babylon had been destroyed, and Rome had not yet risen

to greatness. It was the residence of the kings of Egypt

for 200 years. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament,

and only incidentally in the New. Apollos, eloquent and

mighty in the Scriptures, was a native of this city (Acts

18:24). Many Jews from Alexandria were in Jerusalem, where

they had a synagogue (Acts 6:9), at the time of

Stephen’s martyrdom. At one time it is said that as

many as 10,000 Jews resided in this city. It possessed a

famous library of 700,000 volumes, which was burned by the

Saracens (A.D. 642). It was here that the Hebrew Bible was

translated into Greek. This is called the Septuagint

version, from the tradition that seventy learned men were

engaged in executing it. It was, however, not all

translated at one time. It was begun B.C. 280, and finished

born in another country, and therefore not entitled to the

rights and privileges of the country where he resides.

4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the

free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it

19:1, 3, 4, 6) of the Hebrew Hallelujah = Praise ye

Jehovah, which begins or ends several of the psalms (106,

nations, or between individuals, for their mutual

in the Authorized Version of Josh. 19:33, “from Allon

to Zaanannim,” is more correctly rendered in the

Revised Version, “from the oak in Zaanannim.” The

word denotes some remarkable tree which stood near

tree near Bethel, at the spot where Deborah, Rebekah’s

nurse, was buried (Gen. 35:8). Large trees, from their

rarity in the plains of Palestine, were frequently

designated as landmarks. This particular tree was probably

the same as the “palm tree of Deborah” (Judg.

named of the sons of Joktan (Gen. 10:26), the founder of an

sacerdotal cities of Benjamin (Josh. 21:18), called also

Palestine. In form, blossoms, and fruit it resembles the

peach tree. Its blossoms are of a very pale pink colour,

and appear before its leaves. Its Hebrew name,

shaked, signifying “wakeful, hastening,” is

given to it on account of its putting forth its blossoms so

early, generally in February, and sometimes even in

January. In Eccl. 12:5, it is referred to as illustrative,

probably, of the haste with which old age comes. There are

others, however, who still contend for the old

interpretation here. “The almond tree bears its

blossoms in the midst of winter, on a naked, leafless stem,

and these blossoms (reddish or flesh-coloured in the

beginning) seem at the time of their fall exactly like

white snow-flakes. In this way the almond blossom is a very

fitting symbol of old age, with its silvery hair and its

wintry, dry, barren, unfruitful condition.” In Jer.

1:11 “I see a rod of an almond tree [shaked]…for I

will hasten [shaked] my word to perform it” the word

is used as an emblem of promptitude. Jacob desired his sons

(Gen. 43:11) to take with them into Egypt of the best

fruits of the land, almonds, etc., as a present to Joseph,

probably because this tree was not a native of Egypt.

Aaron’s rod yielded almonds (Num. 17:8; Heb. 9:4).

Moses was directed to make certain parts of the candlestick

for the ark of carved work “like unto almonds”

(Ex. 25:33, 34). The Hebrew word luz, translated

“hazel” in the Authorized Version (Gen. 30:37),

is rendered in the Revised Version “almond.” It

is probable that luz denotes the wild almond, while

Testament, but repeatedly in the New. The Mosaic

legislation (Lev. 25:35; Deut. 15:7) tended to promote a

spirit of charity, and to prevent the occurrence of

destitution among the people. Such passages as these, Ps.

41:1; 112:9; Prov. 14:31; Isa. 10:2; Amos 2:7; Jer. 5:28;

Ezek. 22:29, would also naturally foster the same

algum (2 Chr. 2:8; 9:10, 11), in the Hebrew occurring only

in the plural almuggim (indicating that the wood was

brought in planks), the name of a wood brought from Ophir

to be used in the building of the temple, and for other

purposes. Some suppose it to have been the white

sandal-wood of India, the Santalum album of botanists, a

native of the mountainous parts of the Malabar coasts. It

is a fragrant wood, and is used in China for incense in

idol-worship. Others, with some probability, think that it

was the Indian red sandal-wood, the pterocarpus santalinus,

a heavy, fine-grained wood, the Sanscrit name of which is

valguka. It is found on the Coromandel coast and in

fragrant wood (Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:8; Prov. 7:17; Cant.

4:14), the Aquilaria agallochum of botanists, or, as some

suppose, the costly gum or perfume extracted from the wood.

It is found in China, Siam, and Northern India, and grows

to the height sometimes of 120 feet. This species is of

great rarity even in India. There is another and more

common species, called by Indians aghil, whence Europeans

have given it the name of Lignum aquile, or eagle-wood.

Aloewood was used by the Egyptians for embalming dead

bodies. Nicodemus brought it (pounded aloe-wood) to embalm

the body of Christ (John 19:39); but whether this was the

James the Less, the apostle and writer of the epistle

(Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), and the

husband of Mary (John 19:25). The Hebrew form of this name

a word meaning “to slay”), any structure of earth

(Ex. 20:24) or unwrought stone (20:25) on which sacrifices

were offered. Altars were generally erected in conspicuous

places (Gen. 22:9; Ezek. 6:3; 2 Kings 23:12; 16:4; 23:8;

Acts 14:13). The word is used in Heb. 13:10 for the

sacrifice offered upon it–the sacrifice Christ

title of Ps. 57, 58, 59, and 75. It was probably the name

of some song to the melody of which these psalms were to be

last before Rephidim, at which the Hebrews rested on their

way to Sinai (Num. 33:13, 14). It was probably situated on

son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:12; 1 Chr.

1:36); the chief of an Idumean tribe (Gen. 36:16). His

mother was a Horite, a tribe whose territory the

Arabia Petraea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. They

were not the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz, for

they existed in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:7). They were

probably a tribe that migrated from the shores of the

Persian Gulf and settled in Arabia. “They dwelt in the

land of the south…from Havilah until thou comest to

Shur” (Num. 13:29; 1 Sam. 15:7). They were a pastoral,

and hence a nomadic race. Their kings bore the hereditary

name of Agag (Num. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8). They attempted to

stop the Israelites when they marched through their

territory (Deut. 25:18), attacking them at Rephidim (Ex.

17:8-13; comp. Deut. 25:17; 1 Sam. 15:2). They afterwards

attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Num. 14:45). We read of

them subsequently as in league with the Moabites (Judg.

3:13) and the Midianites (Judg. 6:3). Saul finally

desolated their territory and destroyed their power (1 Sam.

14:48; 15:3), and David recovered booty from them (1 Sam.

30:18-20). In the Babylonian inscriptions they are called

Sute, in those of Egypt Sittiu, and the Amarna tablets

include them under the general name of Khabbati, or

Hebrew margin of 2 Kings 5:12 gives this as another reading

One of the descendants of Aaron by Eleazar (1 Chr. 6:7,52).

He was probably the last of the high priests of

Eleazar’s line prior to the transfer of that office to

Abigail, a sister of king David (1 Chr. 2:17; 2 Sam.

17:25). He was appointed by David to command the army in

room of his cousin Joab (2 Sam. 19:13), who afterwards

treacherously put him to death as a dangerous rival (2 Sam.

Levite, son of Elkanah, of the ancestry of Samuel (1 Chr.

appointed by Nehemiah to reside at Jerusalem and do the

“sustained by”) Jehovah, the “son of Zichri,

who willingly offered himself unto the Lord,” a

captain over thousands under Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 17:16;

Jehovah. (1.) A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants

the Hebrew word tsir, meaning “one who goes on

an errand,” is rendered thus (Josh. 9:4; Prov. 13:17;

Isa. 18:2; Jer. 49:14; Obad. 1:1). This is also the

rendering of melits, meaning “an

interpreter,” in 2 Chr. 32:31; and of malak, a

“messenger,” in 2 Chr. 35:21; Isa. 30:4; 33:7;

Ezek. 17:15. This is the name used by the apostle as

designating those who are appointed by God to declare his

Heb., hashmal, rendered by the LXX. elektron, and by the

Vulgate electrum), a metal compounded of silver and gold.

Some translate the word by “polished brass,”

others “fine brass,” as in Rev. 1:15; 2:18. It

was probably the mixture now called electrum. The word has

no connection, however, with what is now called amber,

which is a gummy substance, reckoned as belonging to the

mineral kingdom though of vegetable origin, a fossil

Ai lay in ambush, and so deceived the inhabitants that he

gained an easy victory (Josh. 8:4-26). Shechem was taken in