Greek word rendered “Mars’ hill.” But it

denotes also the council or court of justice which met in

the open air on the hill. It was a rocky height to the west

of the Acropolis at Athens, on the south-east summit of

which the council was held which was constituted by Solon,

and consisted of nine archons or chief magistrates who were

Herod Antipas, and king of Arabia Petraea. His daughter

returned to him on the occasion of her husband’s

entering into an adulterous alliance with Herodias, the

wife of Herod-Philip, his half-brother (Luke 3:19, 20; Mark

6:17; Matt. 14:3). This led to a war between Aretas and

Herod Antipas. Herod’s army was wholly destroyed (A.D.

36). Aretas, taking advantage of the complications of the

times on account of the death of the Emperor Tiberius (A.D.

37), took possession of Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32; comp. Acts

9:25). At this time Paul returned to Damascus from

“island,” as it has been called, of rock about 30

miles by 20, rising 20 or 30 feet above the table-land of

Bashan; a region of crags and chasms wild and rugged in the

extreme. On this “island” stood sixty walled

cities, ruled over by Og. It is called Trachonitis

(“the rugged region”) in the New Testament (Luke

3:1). These cities were conquered by the Israelites (Deut.

3:4; 1 Kings 4:13). It is now called the Lejah. Here

“sixty walled cities are still traceable in a space of

308 square miles. The architecture is ponderous and

massive. Solid walls 4 feet thick, and stones on one

another without cement; the roofs enormous slabs of

basaltic rock, like iron; the doors and gates are of stone

18 inches thick, secured by ponderous bars. The land bears

still the appearance of having been called the ‘land of

giants’ under the giant Og.” “I have more

than once entered a deserted city in the evening, taken

possession of a comfortable house, and spent the night in

peace. Many of the houses in the ancient cities of Bashan

are perfect, as if only finished yesterday. The walls are

sound, the roofs unbroken, and even the window-shutters in

their places. These ancient cities of Bashan probably

contain the very oldest specimens of domestic architecture

of the body-guard slain with Pekahiah at Samaria (2 Kings

of the chief men sent by Ezra to procure Levites for the

Jews” (Luke 23:51), the birth-place of Joseph in whose

sepulchre our Lord was laid (Matt. 27:57, 60; John 19:38).

It is probably the same place as Ramathaim in Ephraim, and

the birth-place of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1, 19). Others identify

it with Ramleh in Dan, or Rama (q.v.) in Benjamin (Matt.

(1.) A king of Ellasar who was confederate with Chedorlamer

(Gen. 14:1,9). The tablets recently discovered by Mr.

Pinches (see CHALDEA ¯T0000758) show the true reading

is Eri-Aku of Larsa. This Elamite name meant “servant

of the moon-god.” It was afterwards changed into

Rimsin, “Have mercy, O moon-god.” (2.) Dan.

of Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), a companion of Paul (Acts

19:29; 27:2). He was Paul’s “fellow-prisoner”

in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (16:10), whose

of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50

cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong

floating house of three stories, with a door in the side

and a window in the roof. It was 100 years in building

(Gen. 5:32; 7:6). It was intended to preserve certain

persons and animals from the deluge which God was about to

bring over the earth. It contained eight persons (Gen.

7:13; 2 Pet. 2:5), and of all “clean” animals

seven pairs, and of “unclean” one pair, and of

birds seven pairs of each sort (Gen. 7:2, 3). It was in the

form of an oblong square, with flat bottom and sloping

roof. Traditions of the Deluge, by which the race of man

was swept from the earth, and of the ark of Noah have been

1:15), a designation of certain descendants from the

Phoenicians or Sidonians, the inhabitants of Arka, 12 miles

north of Tripoli, opposite the northern extremity of

10:15; Ezek. 30:21; Jer. 48:25). It is also used of the

omnipotence of God (Ex. 15:16; Ps. 89:13; 98:1; 77:15; Isa.

16:16 (R.V., “Har-Magedon”), as symbolically

designating the place where the “battle of that great

day of God Almighty” (ver. 14) shall be fought. The

word properly means the “mount of Megiddo.” It is

the scene of the final conflict between Christ and

Antichrist. The idea of such a scene was suggested by the

Old Testament great battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon

in Authorized Version, 2 Kings 19:37; in Revised Version,

“Ararat,” which is the Hebrew word. A country in

western Asia lying between the Caspian and the Black Sea.

Here the ark of Noah rested after the Deluge (Gen. 8:4). It

is for the most part high table-land, and is watered by the

Aras, the Kur, the Euphrates, and the Tigris. Ararat was

properly the name of a part of ancient Armenia. Three

provinces of Armenia are mentioned in Jer. 51:27, Ararat,

Minni, and Ashchenaz. Some, however, think Minni a

fortress, the first-named of the two sons of Saul and

Rizpah. He was delivered up to the Gibeonites by David, and

English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive

selected by kings and generals because of his bravery, not

only to bear their armour, but also to stand by them in the

time of danger. They were the adjutants of our modern

armour was deposited when not used (Neh. 3:19; Jer. 50:25).

At first each man of the Hebrews had his own arms, because

all went to war. There were no arsenals or magazines for

arms till the time of David, who had a large collection of

arms, which he consecrated to the Lord in his tabernacle (1

of Egypt in military order (Ex. 13:18,

“harnessed;” marg., “five in a rank”).

Each tribe formed a battalion, with its own banner and

leader (Num. 2:2; 10:14). In war the army was divided into

thousands and hundreds under their several captains (Num.

31:14), and also into families (Num. 2:34; 2 Chr. 25:5;

26:12). From the time of their entering the land of Canaan

to the time of the kings, the Israelites made little

progress in military affairs, although often engaged in

warfare. The kings introduced the custom of maintaining a

bodyguard (the Gibborim; i.e., “heroes”), and

thus the nucleus of a standing army was formed. Saul had an

army of 3,000 select warriors (1 Sam. 13:2; 14:52; 24:2).

David also had a band of soldiers around him (1 Sam. 23:13;

25:13). To this band he afterwards added the Cherethites

and the Pelethites (2 Sam. 15:18; 20:7). At first the army

consisted only of infantry (1 Sam. 4:10; 15:4), as the use

of horses was prohibited (Deut. 17:16); but chariots and

horses were afterwards added (2 Sam. 8:4; 1 Kings 10:26,

28, 29; 1 Kings 9:19). In 1 Kings 9:22 there is given a

list of the various gradations of rank held by those who

composed the army. The equipment and maintenance of the

army were at the public expense (2 Sam. 17:28, 29; 1 Kings

4:27; 10:16, 17; Judg. 20:10). At the Exodus the number of

males above twenty years capable of bearing arms was

600,000 (Ex. 12:37). In David’s time it mounted to the

boundary of the territory of Israel beyond Jordan,

separating it from the land of Moab (Deut. 3:8, 16). This

river (referred to twenty-four times in the Bible) rises in

the mountains of Gilead, and after a circuitous course of

about 80 miles through a deep ravine it falls into the Dead

Sea nearly opposite Engedi. The stream is almost dry in

summer. It is now called el-Mujeb. The territory of the

north bank of the Arnon (Deut. 4:48; Judg. 11:26; 2 Kings

10:33), the southern boundary of the kingdom of Sihon

(Josh. 12:2). It is now called Arair, 13 miles west of the

37:13), also Arphad, support, a Syrian city near Hamath,

along with which it is invariably mentioned (2 Kings 19:13;

18:34; Isa. 10:9), and Damascus (Jer. 49:23). After a siege

of three years it fell (B.C. 742) before the Assyrian king

year after the Deluge. He died at the age of 438 years

(Gen. 11:10-13; 1 Chr. 1:17, 18; Luke 3:36). He dwelt in

Mesopotamia, and became, according to the Jewish historian

Josephus, the progenitor of the Chaldeans. The tendency is

to recognize in the word the name of the country nearest

the ancient domain of the Chaldeans. Some regard the word

as an Egypticized form of the territorial name of Ur

and then of wood tipped with iron. Arrows are sometimes

figuratively put for lightning (Deut. 32:23, 42; Ps. 7:13;

18:14; 144:6; Zech. 9:14). They were used in war as well as

in the chase (Gen. 27:3; 49:23). They were also used in

the name of several Persian kings. (1.) The king who

obstructed the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 4:7). He was

keli, meaning “apparatus;” here meaning

collectively any missile weapons, as arrows and lances. In

Revised Version, “weapons”). This word is derived

a small island and city on the coast of Syria, mentioned as

furnishing mariners and soldiers for Tyre. The inhabitants

were called Arvadites. The name is written Aruada or Arada

and grandson of Rehoboam, was the third king of Judah. He

was zealous in maintaining the true worship of God, and in

rooting all idolatry, with its accompanying immoralities,

out of the land (1 Kings 15:8-14). The Lord gave him and

his land rest and prosperity. It is recorded of him,

however, that in his old age, when afflicted, he

“sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians”

(comp. Jer. 17:5). He died in the forty-first year of his

reign, greatly honoured by his people (2 Chr. 16:1-13), and

youngest son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He was

celebrated for his swiftness of foot. When fighting against

Ish-bosheth at Gibeon, in the army of his brother Joab, he

was put to death by Abner, whom he pursued from the field

of battle (2 Sam. 2:18, 19). He is mentioned among

David’s thirty mighty men (2 Sam. 23:24; 1 Chr. 11:26).

Others of the same name are mentioned (2 Chr. 17:8; 31:13;

(1.) A Levite; one of the leaders of David’s choir (1

Chr. 6:39). Psalms 50 and 73-83 inclusive are attributed to

him. He is mentioned along with David as skilled in music,

and a “seer” (2 Chr. 29:30). The “sons of

Asaph,” mentioned in 1 Chr. 25:1, 2 Chr. 20:14, and

Ezra 2:41, were his descendants, or more probably a class

meaning “gift of the sun-god”, daughter of

Potipherah, priest of On or Heliopolis, wife of Joseph

(Gen. 41:45). She was the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim

“tremulous”), mentioned only Isa. 44:14 (R.V.,

“fir tree”). It is rendered “pine tree”

both in the LXX. and Vulgate versions. There is a tree

called by the Arabs aran, found still in the valleys

of Arabia Petraea, whose leaf resembles that of the

mountain ash. This may be the tree meant. Our ash tree is

city (Josh. 15:47), about midway between Gaza and Joppa,

and 3 miles from the Mediterranean. It was one of the chief

seats of the worship of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:5). It belonged to

the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:47), but it never came into

their actual possession. It was an important city, as it

stood on the highroad from Egypt to Palestine, and hence

was strongly fortified (2 Chr. 26:6; Isa. 20:1). Uzziah

took it, but fifty years after his death it was taken by

the Assyrians (B.C. 758). According to Sargon’s record,

it was captured by him in B.C. 711. The only reference to

it in the New Testament, where it is called Azotus, is in

the account of Philip’s return from Gaza (Acts 8:40).

Josh. 12:3; 13:20) in Authorized Version, but in Revised

Version translated “slopes of Pisgah.” In Deut.

4:49 it is translated in the Authorized Version

“springs of Pisgah.” The name Ashdoth is

translated “springs” in the Authorized Version,

but “slopes” in the Revised Version, of Josh.

10:40 and 12:8. It has been identified with the springs

son; his mother was Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid (Gen.

30:13). Of the tribe founded by him nothing is recorded

beyond its holding a place in the list of the tribes

(35:26; 46:17; Ex. 1:4, etc.) It increased in numbers

twenty-nine percent, during the thirty-eight years’

wanderings. The place of this tribe during the march

through the desert was between Dan and Naphtali (Num.

2:27). The boundaries of the inheritance given to it, which

contained some of the richest soil in Palestine, and the

names of its towns, are recorded in Josh. 19:24-31; Judg.

1:31, 32. Asher and Simeon were the only tribes west of the

Jordan which furnished no hero or judge for the nation.

Revised Version, instead of “grove” and

“groves” of the Authorized Version. This was the

name of a sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine

of the Assyrian Ishtar. Its symbol was the stem of a tree

deprived of its boughs, and rudely shaped into an image,

and planted in the ground. Such religious symbols

(“groves”) are frequently alluded to in Scripture

(Ex. 34:13; Judg. 6:25; 2 Kings 23:6; 1 Kings 16:33, etc.).

These images were also sometimes made of silver or of

carved stone (2 Kings 21:7; “the graven image of

burned entire (Num. 19:5) when sprinkled on the unclean

one of the five cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3; 1

Sam. 6:17). It stood on the shore of the Mediterranean, 12

miles north of Gaza. It is mentioned on an inscription at

Karnak in Egypt as having been taken by king Rameses II.,

the oppressor of the Hebrews. In the time of the judges

(Judg. 1:18) it fell into the possession of the tribe of

Judah; but it was soon after retaken by the Philistines (2

Sam. 1:20), who were not finally dispossessed till the time

of Alexander the Great. Samson went down to this place from

Timnath, and slew thirty men and took their spoil. The

prophets foretold its destruction (Jer. 25:20; 47:5, 7). It

became a noted place in the Middle Ages, having been the

scene of many a bloody battle between the Saracens and the

Crusaders. It was beseiged and taken by Richard the

Lion-hearted, and “within its walls and towers now

standing he held his court.” Among the Tell Amarna

tablets (see EGYPT ¯T0001137) are found letters or

official despatches from Yadaya, “captain of horse and

dust of the king’s feet,” to the “great

king” of Egypt, dated from Ascalon. It is now called

of Gomer (Gen. 10:3), and founder of one of the tribes of

the Japhetic race. They are mentioned in connection with

Minni and Ararat, and hence their original seat must have

been in Armenia (Jer. 51:27), probably near the Black Sea,

which, from their founder, was first called Axenus, and

eunuchs of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1:3), the

“Rabsaris” of the court. His position was similar

to that of the Kislar-aga of the modern Turkish

the kingdom of Og (Deut. 1:4; Josh. 12:4; 13:12; 9:10). It

was in the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 13:12), and as a

Levitical city was given to the Gershonites (1 Chr. 6:71).

Uzzia, one of David’s valiant men (1 Chr. 11:44), is

named as of this city. It is identified with Tell Ashterah,

in the Hauran, and is noticed on monuments B.C. 1700-1500.

The name Beesh-terah (Josh. 21:27) is a contraction for

Beth-eshterah, i.e., “the house of

the two horns, the abode of the Rephaim (Gen. 14:5). It may

be identified with Ashtaroth preceding; called

“Karnaim”, i.e., the “two-horned” (the

crescent moon). The Samaritan version renders the word by

“Sunamein,” the present es-Sunamein, 28 miles

the Phoenicians, representing the passive principle in

nature, their principal female deity; frequently associated

with the name of Baal, the sun-god, their chief male deity

(Judg. 10:6; 1 Sam. 7:4; 12:10). These names often occur in

the plural (Ashtaroth, Baalim), probably as indicating

either different statues or different modifications of the

deities. This deity is spoken of as Ashtoreth of the

Zidonians. She was the Ishtar of the Accadians and the

Astarte of the Greeks (Jer. 44:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 33; 2

Kings 23:13). There was a temple of this goddess among the

Philistines in the time of Saul (1 Sam. 31:10). Under the

name of Ishtar, she was one of the great deities of the

Assyrians. The Phoenicians called her Astarte. Solomon

introduced the worship of this idol (1 Kings 11:33).

Jezebel’s 400 priests were probably employed in its

service (1 Kings 18:19). It was called the “queen of

Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the

western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the

capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10,22; 20:4, 16, 18,

etc., and probably Asia Minor in Acts 19:26, 27; 21:27;

24:18; 27:2. Proconsular Asia contained the seven churches

of the Apocalypse (Rev. 1:11). The “chiefs of

Asia” (Acts 19:31) were certain wealthy citizens who

were annually elected to preside over the games and

religious festivals of the several cities to which they

belonged. Some of these “Asiarchs” were

Assur-bani-pal (Sardanapalos of the Greeks), styled the

“great and noble” (Ezra 4:10), was the son and

successor (B.C. 668) of Esar-haddon (q.v.). He was

“luxurious, ambitious, and cruel, but a magnificent

patron of literature.” He formed at Nineveh a library

of clay tablets, numbering about 10,000. These are now

mostly in the British Museum. They throw much light on the

Job 20:14, 16; Isa. 11:8. It was probably the Egyptian

cobra (Naja haje), which was very poisonous (Rom. 3:13; Gr.

aspis). The Egyptians worshipped it as the uraeus,

and it was found in the desert and in the fields. The peace

and security of Messiah’s reign is represented by the

throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read

of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. ‘athon), so named from its

slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.)

The male ass (Heb. hamor), the common working ass of

Western Asia, so called from its red colour. Issachar is

compared to a strong ass (Gen. 49:14). It was forbidden to

yoke together an ass and an ox in the plough (Deut. 22:10).

(3.) The ass’s colt (Heb. ‘air), mentioned Judg.

10:4; 12:14. It is rendered “foal” in Gen. 32:15;

49:11. (Comp. Job 11:12; Isa. 30:6.) The ass is an unclean

animal, because it does not chew the cud (Lev. 11:26. Comp.

2 Kings 6:25). Asses constituted a considerable portion of

wealth in ancient times (Gen. 12:16; 30:43; 1 Chr. 27:30;

Job 1:3; 42:12). They were noted for their spirit and their

attachment to their master (Isa. 1:3). They are frequently

spoken of as having been ridden upon, as by Abraham (Gen.

22:3), Balaam (Num. 22:21), the disobedient prophet (1

Kings 13:23), the family of Abdon the judge, seventy in

number (Judg. 12:14), Zipporah (Ex. 4:20), the Shunammite

(1 Sam. 25:30), etc. Zechariah (9:9) predicted our

Lord’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, “riding

upon an ass, and upon a colt,” etc. (Matt. 21:5,

10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17). He went from the land of Shinar and

built Nineveh, etc. (Gen. 10:11,12). He probably gave his

name to Assyria, which is the usual translation of the

word, although the form Asshur is sometimes retained (Num.

24:22, 24; Ezek. 27:23, etc.). In Gen. 2:14

“Assyria” ought to be “Asshur,” which

was the original capital of Assyria, a city represented by

the mounds of Kalah Sherghat, on the west bank of the

Tigris. This city was founded by Bel-kap-kapu about B.C.

1700. At a later date the capital was shifted to Ninua, or

Proconsular Asia, in the district of Mysia, on the north

shore of the Gulf of Adramyttium. Paul came hither on foot

along the Roman road from Troas (Acts 20:13, 14), a

distance of 20 miles. It was about 30 miles distant from

Troas by sea. The island of Lesbos lay opposite it, about 7

Jesus (Acts 17:31) is the “assurance” (Gr.

pistis, generally rendered “faith”) or pledge God

has given that his revelation is true and worthy of

acceptance. The “full assurance [Gr. plerophoria,

‘full bearing’] of faith” (Heb. 10:22) is a

fulness of faith in God which leaves no room for doubt. The

“full assurance of understanding” (Col. 2:2) is

an entire unwavering conviction of the truth of the

declarations of Scripture, a joyful steadfastness on the

part of any one of conviction that he has grasped the very

truth. The “full assurance of hope” (Heb. 6:11)

is a sure and well-grounded expectation of eternal glory (2

Tim. 4:7, 8). This assurance of hope is the assurance of a

the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the

country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was

ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. It was a mountainous

region lying to the north of Babylonia, extending along the

Tigris as far as to the high mountain range of Armenia, the

Gordiaean or Carduchian mountains. It was founded in B.C.

1700 under Bel-kap-kapu, and became an independent and a

conquering power, and shook off the yoke of its Babylonian

masters. It subdued the whole of Northern Asia. The

Assyrians were Semites (Gen. 10:22), but in process of time

non-Semite tribes mingled with the inhabitants. They were a

27, etc.) Heb. ‘ashshaph’, an enchanter, one who

professes to divine future events by the appearance of the

stars. This science flourished among the Chaldeans. It was

positively forbidden to the Jews (Deut. 4:19; 18:10; Isa.

devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent

(Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest

book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations

are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the

“morning star” (Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12), the

“seven stars” and “Pleiades,”

“Orion,” “Arcturus,” the “Great

Bear” (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31), “the crooked

serpent,” Draco (Job 26:13), the Dioscuri, or Gemini,

“Castor and Pollux” (Acts 28:11). The stars were

called “the host of heaven” (Isa. 40:26; Jer.

Authorized Version; but in Revised Version,

“storehouse”), properly the house of stores for

the priests. In Neh. 12:25 the Authorized Version has

“thresholds,” marg. “treasuries” or

“assemblies;” Revised Version,

Joseph and his brethren, when on their way from Egypt to

Hebron with the remains of their father Jacob, made for

seven days a “great and very sore lamentation.”

On this account the Canaanites called it

“Abel-mizraim” (Gen. 50:10, 11). It was probably

near Hebron. The word is rendered “bramble” in

(1.) The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the wife of

Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:18), who “walked in

the ways of the house of Ahab” (2 Chr. 21:6), called

“daughter” of Omri (2 Kings 8:26). On the death

of her husband and of her son Ahaziah, she resolved to seat

herself on the vacant throne. She slew all Ahaziah’s

children except Joash, the youngest (2 Kings 11:1,2). After

a reign of six years she was put to death in an

insurrection (2 Kings 11:20; 2 Chr. 21:6; 22:10-12; 23:15),

stirred up among the people in connection with Josiah’s

the most celebrated city of the ancient world, the seat of

Greek literature and art during the golden period of

Grecian history. Its inhabitants were fond of novelty (Acts

17:21), and were remarkable for their zeal in the worship

of the gods. It was a sarcastic saying of the Roman

satirist that it was “easier to find a god at Athens

occur in the Authorized Version of the New Testament except

in Rom. 5:11, where in the Revised Version the word

“reconciliation” is used. In the Old Testament it

annual day of humiliation and expiation for the sins of the

nation, “the fast” (Acts 27:9), and the only one

commanded in the law of Moses. The mode of its observance

is described in Lev. 16:3-10; 23:26-32; and Num.

first Roman emperor, C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, during

whose reign Christ was born (Luke 2:1). His decree that

“all the world should be taxed” was the divinely

ordered occasion of Jesus’ being born, according to

prophecy (Micah 5:2), in Bethlehem. This name being simply

a title meaning “majesty” or

“venerable,” first given to him by the senate

(B.C. 27), was borne by succeeding emperors. Before his

death (A.D. 14) he associated Tiberius with him in the

literally, of Sebaste, the Greek form of Augusta, the name

given to Caesarea in honour of Augustus Caesar). Probably

this “band” or cohort consisted of Samaritan

which colonies were brought to Samaria (2 Kings 17:24). It

is probably the same with Ivah (18:34; 19:13; Isa. 37:13).

Hosea speaks of the “high places of Aven” (10:8),

by which he means Bethel. He also calls it Beth-aven, i.e.,

“the house of vanity” (4:15), on account of the

golden calves Jeroboam had set up there (1 Kings

from verb gaal, “to be near of kin,” “to

redeem”), the nearest relative of a murdered person.

It was his right and duty to slay the murderer (2 Sam.

14:7, 11) if he found him outside of a city of refuge. In

order that this law might be guarded against abuse, Moses

appointed six cities of refuge (Ex. 21:13; Num. 35:13;

Deut. 19:1,9). These were in different parts of the

country, and every facility was afforded the manslayer that

he might flee to the city that lay nearest him for safety.

Into the city of refuge the avenger durst not follow him.

This arrangement applied only to cases where the death was

not premeditated. The case had to be investigated by the

authorities of the city, and the wilful murderer was on no

account to be spared. He was regarded as an impure and

polluted person, and was delivered up to the goel

(Deut. 19:11-13). If the offence was merely manslaughter,

then the fugitive must remain within the city till the

Hazerim, or “the villages” or

“encampments” on the south-west corner of the

sea-coast (Deut. 2:23). They were subdued and driven

northward by the Caphtorim. A trace of them is afterwards

to in connection with the custom of boring the ear of a

slave (Ex. 21:6; Deut. 15:17), in token of his volunteering

perpetual service when he might be free. (Comp. Ps. 40:6;

Version of Deut. 19:5; 20:19; 1 Kings 6:7, as the

translation of a Hebrew word which means

“chopping.” It was used for felling trees (Isa.

10:34) and hewing timber for building. It is the rendering

of a different word in Judg. 9:48, 1 Sam. 13:20, 21, Ps.

74:5, which refers to its sharpness. In 2 Kings 6:5 it is

the translation of a word used with reference to its being

made of iron. In Isa. 44:12 the Revised Version renders by

“axe” the Hebrew maatsad, which means a

“hewing” instrument. In the Authorized Version it

is rendered “tongs.” It is also used in Jer.

10:3, and rendered “axe.” The

“battle-axe” (army of Medes and Persians)

mentioned in Jer. 51:20 was probably, as noted in the

margin of the Revised Version, a “maul” or heavy

mace. In Ps. 74:6 the word so rendered means

“feller.” (See the figurative expression in Matt.

perhaps be rendered “very near” = “the way

of escape shall be made easy.” If a proper name, it

may denote some place near the western extremity of the

Revised Version only here; rendered “scape-goat”

in the Authorized Version). This word has given rise to

many different views. Some Jewish interpreters regard it as

the name of a place some 12 miles east of Jerusalem, in the

wilderness. Others take it to be the name of an evil

spirit, or even of Satan. But when we remember that the two

goats together form a type of Christ, on whom the Lord

“laid the iniquity of us all,” and examine into

the root meaning of this word (viz.,

“separation”), the interpretation of those who

regard the one goat as representing the atonement made, and

the other, that “for Azazel,” as representing the

effect of the great work of atonement (viz., the complete

removal of sin), is certainly to be preferred. The one goat

which was “for Jehovah” was offered as a

sin-offering, by which atonement was made. But the sins

must also be visibly banished, and therefore they were

symbolically laid by confession on the other goat, which

was then “sent away for Azazel” into the

wilderness. The form of this word indicates intensity, and

therefore signifies the total separation of sin: it was

wholly carried away. It was important that the result of

the sacrifices offered by the high priest alone in the

sanctuary should be embodied in a visible transaction, and

hence the dismissal of the “scape-goat.” It was

of no consequence what became of it, as the whole import of

the transaction lay in its being sent into the wilderness

bearing away sin. As the goat “for Jehovah” was

to witness to the demerit of sin and the need of the blood

of atonement, so the goat “for Azazel” was to

witness to the efficacy of the sacrifice and the result of

strengthened. (1.) One of the Levitical harpers in the

Shephelah or low hills of Judah (Josh. 15:35), where the

five confederated Amoritish kings were defeated by Joshua

and their army destroyed by a hailstrom (10:10, 11). It was

one of the places re-occupied by the Jews on their return

appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians.

It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg.

2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is

identified with Molech (Jer. 19:5). It was known to the

Israelites as Baal-peor (Num. 25:3; Deut. 4:3), was

worshipped till the time of Samuel (1 Sam 7:4), and was

afterwards the religion of the ten tribes in the time of

Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-33; 18:19, 22). It prevailed also for a

time in the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 8:27; comp. 11:18;

16:3; 2 Chr. 28:2), till finally put an end to by the

severe discipline of the Captivity (Zeph. 1:4-6). The

priests of Baal were in great numbers (1 Kings 18:19), and

of various classes (2 Kings 10:19). Their mode of offering

sacrifices is described in 1 Kings 18:25-29. The sun-god,

under the general title of Baal, or “lord,” was

the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each

locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals

were summed up under the name of Baalim, or

“lords.” Each Baal had a wife, who was a

city in the south of Judah (Josh. 15:29), elsewhere called

Balah (Josh. 19:3) and Bilhah (1 Chr. 4:29). Now Khurbet

Dan (Josh. 19:44). It was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings

9:18; 2 Chr. 8:6). Some have identified it with

well, (Josh. 19:8, probably the same as Baal, mentioned in

Heliopolis i.e., “the city of the sun”, because

of its famous Temple of the Sun, has by some been supposed

to be Solomon’s “house of the forest of

Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2; 10:17; 2 Chr. 9:16); by others

it is identified with Baal-gad (q.v.). It was a city of

Coele-Syria, on the lowest declivity of Anti-Libanus, about

42 miles north-west of Damascus. It was one of the most

splendid of Syrian cities, existing from a remote

antiquity. After sustaining several sieges under the

Moslems and others, it was finally destroyed by an

name of the god worshipped in Shechem after the death of

Gideon (Judg. 8:33; 9:4). In 9:46 he is called simply

“the god Berith.” The name denotes the god of the

covenant into which the Israelites entered with the

Canaanites, contrary to the command of Jehovah (Ex. 34:12),

a city in the tribe of Judah from which David brought the

ark into Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:2). Elsewhere (1 Chr. 13:6)

troop of Baal, a Canaanite city in the valley of Lebanon at

the foot of Hermon, hence called Baal-hermon (Judge. 3:3; 1

Chr. 5:23), near the source of the Jordan (Josh. 13:5;

11:17; 12:7). It was the most northern point to which

Joshua’s conquests extended. It probably derived its

name from the worship of Baal. Its modern representative is

Banias. Some have supposed it to be the same as

multitude, a place where Solomon had an extensive vineyard

(Cant. 8:11). It has been supposed to be identical with

Baal-gad, and also with Hammon in the tribe of Asher (Josh.

19:28). Others identify it with Belamon, in Central

A king of Edom, son of Achbor (Gen. 36:38, 39; 1 Chr. 1:49,

or Baal’s village, the place on the borders of Ephraim

and Benjamin where Absalom held the feast of sheep-shearing

when Amnon was assassinated (2 Sam. 13:23). Probably it is

the same with Hazor (Neh. 11:33), now Tell’ Asur, 5

(1.) A city near Mount Hermon inhabited by the Ephraimites

(1 Chr. 5:23). Probably identical with Baal-gad (Josh.

prophet (Hos. 2:16) reproaches the Jewish church for

applying to Jehovah, instead of the more endearing title

the time of the Babylonian captivity (Jer. 40:14). He hired

Ishmael to slay Gedaliah who had been appointed governor

town of Reuben (Num. 32:38), called also Beth-meon (Jer.

48:23) and Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17). It is supposed to

have been the birth-place of Elisha. It is identified with

the modern M’ain, about 3 miles south-east of

a god of the Moabites (Num. 25:3; 31:16; Josh. 22:17),

worshipped by obscene rites. So called from Mount Peor,

where this worship was celebrated, the Baal of Peor. The

Israelites fell into the worship of this idol (Num. 25:3,

bursts, or destructions, the scene of a victory gained by

David over the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chr. 14:11).

Called Mount Perazim (Isa. 28:21). It was near the valley

of Rephaim, west of Jerusalem. Identified with the modern