EG DIVORCES, Jewish account of, 162, 163.. EG 14-16. Deut. ii. 23. Jer. xlvii. 4.). This country seems to have attained an earlier and a higher degree of civilization and refinement than any other in the world. Even in Abraham's days we find it the seat of a royal government, and a princely court, abounding with provisions, while the neighbouring countries, and even the fertile regions of Palestine, were exposed to fre DODANIM, the youngest son of Javan. (Gen. x. 4.) The country peopled by his descendants cannot be exactly ascertained. The Samaritan text and Septuagint version of Gen. x. 4. read Rhodanim, which some interpret of the island of Rhodes; but Bochart refers it to the river Rhodanus, or Rhone. DOEG, an Idumæan proselyte who was Saul's chief herdsman :quent famines. (Gen. xii. 10.) In his grandson Jacob's time he put to death the priests at Nob, whom Saul imagined to be in conspiracy with David, and to supply him with provisions. (1 Sam. xxii. 9-19.) DOR, or DORA, the capital of Nephet-Dora, a district in Canaan which was conquered by Joshua, (Judg. xii. 23.) It is supposed to have been situated on the coast, not far from Mount Carmel. DORCAS, a charitable and pious Christian widow of Joppa, whom Peter restored to life. (Acts ix. 36-41.) Like the Syriac name Tabitha, it signifies, a gazelle. DRESS, of the Priests, 113. Of the High-priest, 113, 114. Of the Jews, description of, 155–159. Allusions to theatrical dresses, 159. DRINK, medicated, given to Christ, nature of, 71. DURA, a plain in the Babylonian empire, mentioned in Dan. iii. According to the historian Polybius, with whom Professor Gesenius agrees, it was situated in Mesopotamia, at, the mouth of the river Chaboras. DWELLINGS of the Jews, account of, 150-155. EAR-RINGS of the Jewish women, 158. EARTH, frequently denotes the land of Judæa, 13. there was a settled caravan trade carried on through Palestine from Arabia and the East, for spicery, balm, and myrrh, and pro bably also for slaves. (Gen. xxxvii. 25.) Its superior fertility, indeed, was occasioned by the annual inundation of the Nile, the rising of which has furnished the prophet Jeremiah (xlvi. 7, 8.) with a fine image, and by the irrigation of their lands (Deut. xi. 10.); and wherever this is still practised the land now literally brings forth by handfuls, as it did in the time of the patriarch Joseph. (Gen. xli. 47.) In every age of the world Egypt has been celebrated for those stupendous monuments of ancient art-the pyramids; several of which have been successfully explored by the enterprising traveller, M. Belzoni. The countless multitude of date trees, which form even forests about some of the villages, furnish a great source of subsistence to the people. To cut these down (as it is said the French were proceeding to do, and would have done, but that the people surrendered at the prospect of this utter ruin) would be to cut off the support of the present and the hopes of a future generation. Nothing could be more terrible than this denunciation of Jeremiah (xlvi. 22, 23.) against Egypt:-They shall march with an army, and come against her with axes as hewers of wood: they shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. (Jowett's Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, pp. 167. 170.) On the prophecies concerning Egypt, and their fulfilment, see Vol. I. p. 125. The Egyptians boasted of being the most ancient people in EBAL, the northern peak of Mount Ephraim, a naked, unfruit- the world; the inventors of arts and sciences: they communiful rock near Shechem, and over against Mount GERIZIM.cated to the Greeks the names of the gods, and their theology: These two mountains are separated by a narrow valley. From they exceeded in superstition and idolatry, worshipping stars, Ebal the curses were pronounced. (Deut. xi. 29. Josh, viii. 30.) men, animals, and even plants. Moses informs us that the HeECPATANA, the Achmetha of Ezra (vi. 2.), was the principal brews sacrificed beasts whose slaughter was considered by the city of Media, on the site of which stands the modern Hamadan. Egyptians as an abomination (Exod. viii. 26.), likewise that It was remarkable for the coolness of its temperature: on which they would not eat with the Hebrews, because they abhorred all account it was chosen to be the summer residence of Cyrus and shepherds. Concerning the motives of this aversion opinions the succeeding kings of Persia. It was built and fortified by are divided. Some believe it to be founded on the invasion of Dioces, king of the Medes. The tombs of Esther and Mordecai | Egypt by the shepherd kings from Arabia, who reigned here a are said to be still preserved here; and a colony of Jews, who long time, according to Manetho. Others think that the Egyphave been resident at Hamadan from time immemorial, protect tians, after their king Sesostris, being accustomed to a soft and their remains. (Alcock's (unpublished] Travels in Russia, Persia, idle life, detested shepherds, whose profession was more active and Greece, in 1828-29, p. 80. London, 1831. 8vo.) and laborious. Others, that the Egyptians were so averse to shepherds because of their killing and eating sheep, kids, and goats, which were objects of their worship. EDEN. 1. The name of the country in which the Garden of our first parents was placed. (Gen. ii. 8. 15. iii. 23, 24. iv. 16.) It has been variously supposed to have been situated in Syria, in Babylonia, near the mouth of the Euphrates, and in Armenia, whence issue the heads of the Euphrates and Tigris, two of the paradisaical rivers well ascertained; and two others, whose springs are in the neighbourhood, agree in many respects with the third and fourth rivers mentioned by Moses. The last opinion has been chiefly adopted. 2. A pleasant valley near Damascus. (Amos i. 5.) 3. A country of Mesopotamia or Assyria, under the power of the Assyrians. (2 Kings xix. 12. Isa. xxxvii. 12.) In Ezek. xxvii. 23. it is joined with Asshur. Prof. Gesenius conjectures that it may be Maedon in Diarbekir, towards the Tigris. The antiquity of the Egyptian empire is indisputable, though its origin is involved in impenetrable obscurity. The common name of the Egyptian kings was Pharaoh, which signified sovereign power, though each had another name peculiar to himself. History has preserved the names of several kings of Egypt, and a succession of their dynasties: but the inclination of these historians to magnify the great antiquity of their nation has injured their credibility. It is certain that the Egyptian dynasties were not all successive, but many of them were collateral and the greatest part of the kings, who are placed one after the other, 1 At Molubis, on the banks of the Nile, Mr. Jowett observed a cattlefair. Several buffaloes were swimming from the opposite side across the water. Their unwieldy body sinks deep into the water, so that only a part of the neck is level with the surface: while their uplifted head just raises the snorting nostrils above the water. Often a little Arab boy takes his passage across the Nile upon the back of this animal; setting his feet on the shoulders, holding fast by the horns, and thus keeping his balance, As the buffaloes rose out of the water on the bank I was struck with their large bony size, compared with the little that had appeared of them while in the water. Their emerging brought to mind the passage, Gen. xli. 1, 2. EDOMITES, Country of. See p. 15., and Idumæa, p. 18. EDUCATION of children among the Jews, 163, 164. EGLON, a king of the Moabites, who oppressed the Israelites for eighteen years. (Judg. iii. 12.). At length Ehud, a Benjamite, was raised up to deliver them from their oppression, who slew him in the manner related in Judg. iii. 15—26. EGYPT (in Hebrew called Mizraim, after Mizraim the son of Behold he stood by the river and behold there came up out of the river Ham), a country of Africa, the length of which was very dispro-seven well favoured kine and fat fleshed; and they fed in a meadow. It portionate to its breadth its extent from the mouths of the Nile to Syene, the border of Nubia, under the tropic of Cancer, was about 500 miles; but it was little wider than the valley through which the Nile ran in Upper Egypt, until it reached the Lower Egypt, at some distance above the head or vertex of the Delta, where the valley expanded itself. The Upper Egypt or Thebaid seems to be called Pathros in Scripture, as distinguished from the Lower, properly called Caphtor, or Egypt. (Compare Isa. xi. 11. with Ezek. xxix. 14.; and Jer. xliv. 1. with Ezek. xxx. was the very scene, and the very country. (Jowett's Christian Researches This mud was so rich and were contemporary, one reigning in one part of Egypt, another kingdom of Egypt, and made it a province of the Persian empire, A. M. 3654, B. c. 350. (Calmet, Hist. Profane de l'Orient, § V. Dissert. tom. ii. pp. 341-343.) in another. Sketch of the History of the Egyptian Empire, as connected with that of the Israelites. No intercourse subsisted between the Israelites and Egyptians from the departure of the former out of Egypt until the reign of Solomon, who having married a daughter of Pharaoh (1 Kings iii. 1. vii. 8.), and established a considerable trade between Egypt and Palestine, the two kingdoms became intimately connected. By way of dowry to his daughter, the king of Egypt gave Solomon several cities which he had taken from the Philistines. (1 Kings ix. 16.) Afterwards, however, this intimacy declined, as Pharaoh afforded shelter, even during the life of Solomon, to Jeroboam the son of Nebat (1 Kings xi. 26. 40.), and to Hadad the son of the king of Edom or Idumæa. (Ibid. 18, 19.) The connection was totally broken off in the reign of Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon: Shishak king of Egypt invaded the kingdom of Judah, and despoiled the temple of its treasures. (xiv. 25, 26.) Towards the end of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah the Sovereigns of those countries, finding themselves too weak to resist the Assyrian and Babylonian monarchs who pressed them closely, had frequent recourse to the kings of Egypt for succour. But these applications were always fatal to them. The vain confidence of the people of God in these heathen princes is a frequent subject of reproof in the writings of the prophets. (Isa. xxx. 2. xxxvi. 6. Ezek. xxix. 6, 7. Hosea, passim, particularly chapters vii. viii. and ix.) Hezekiah derived no advantage from his alliance with the king of Egypt (2 Kings xviii. 21.); neither was Hoshea king of Israel benefited by his alliance with So, king of the same country. (Hosea vii. 11. viii. 13. ix. 3. xii. 9. Jer. ii, 18, 2 Kings xvii. 4.) Josiah king of Judah was slain in the vain attempt to oppose the passage of Pharaoh-Necho through his territories, when marching against the Assyrians. (2 Kings xxiii. 29.) Pharaoh pushed on beyond the Euphrates, and took Carchemish, which place he garrisoned; and on his return through Judæa he deposed Jehoahaz, whom the people had raised to the throne, and placed Eliakim or Jehoiakim in his stead, on whom he imposed a tribute, The governor of Syria and Phoenicia, who held these provinces in behalf of the king of Babylon, having put them under the dominion of the king of Egypt, Nabopolassar, king of Assy. ria, sent his son Nebuchadnezzar against him; who first retook Carchemish, and afterwards reduced the whole of the country between the Euphrates and the Nile to his father's sceptre. (Jer. xlvi. Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. x. c. 6.) A. M. 3334, B. C. 670. Psammetichus succeeded his father Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, and reigned six years. (Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 159-161.) After his death Apries (the Pharaoh-Hophra of the Scriptures) ascended the throne. He made an alliance with Zedekiah king of Judah, and with the king of Ethiopia, against Nebuchadnezzar. The latter marched against them, and besieged Jerusalem. The king of Egypt came to the assistance of Zedekiah, but was repulsed, and obliged to retire into his own country, whither he was pursued by Nebuchadnezzar, who, after taking the cities of Jerusalem and Tyre, conquered and ravaged Egypt, whence he carried away great numbers of captives, agreeably to the predictions of Jeremiah (xliii. xliv. xlvi.) and Ezekiel. (xxix.-xxxi.) Apries was put to death, and Amasis, his enemy and rival for the Egyptian sceptre, was elevated to the throne, A. M. 3435, B. c. 569. EHUD, the second judge of the Israelites, whom he delivered from the oppression of EGLON, king of Moab. (Judg. iii. 15— 26.) EKRON, a city and government of the Philistines, allotted to Judah by Joshua (xv. 45.); but afterwards given to Dan. (Josh. xix. 43.) It was near the Mediterranean, between Ashdod and Jamnia. Ekron was a powerful city; and it does not appear that the Jews ever peaceably possessed it: the Ekronites were the first who proposed to send back the ark, to be delivered from those calamities which it brought on their country. (1 Sam. v. 10.) Beelzebub was adored at Ekron. (2 Kings i. 2.) ELA, the fourth king of Israel, succeeded his father Baasha, and reigned two years at Tirza, where he was assassinated by Zimri, at an entertainment given to him by one of his officers. (1 Kings xvi. 6—10.) ELAH, Valley of, notice of. 32. ELAM, the eldest son of Shem, who settled in a country in the south of Media, called after him Elam. Strictly, Elam denotes ELYMAIS, a district of Persia, near the bottom of the Persian Gulf between Media and Babylonia, and forming part of the region of Susiana: but in a wider sense it is used generally for Media itself, as in Dan. viii. 2. Gen. x. 22. xiv. 1. Isa. xi. 11. xxii. 6. Jer. xlix. 34-39. Ezek. xxxii. 34. In most of these passages, Elam is represented as a contentious people, causing disturbance to the neighbouring nations. Strabo says as much concerning the inhabitants of Elymais. In Jer. xxv. 25. and Acts ii. 9. the inhabitants of this country are mentioned in conjunction with the Medes. ELATH, ELOTH, or АILATн, a town and port of Idumæa, situated on the Red Sea. On the conquest of Edom by David, he took possession of this place, and there established a trade to all parts of the then known world. Solomon built ships here, and sent them to Ophir. (2 Sam. viii. 14. 2 Chron. viii. 17, 18.) Elath continued in possession of the Israelites about 150 years, until, in the reign of Joram, it was recovered by the Edomites (2 Kings viii. 20.), from whom it was retaken by Azariah. (2 Kings xiv. 22.) Under his grandson Ahaz it was recaptured by the Edomites (xvi. 6.); from whom, after many changes under the Ptolemies, it finally passed into the possession of the Romans. It was anciently a great emporium for the Tyrians. EL-BETHEL (Gen. xxxv. 7.), and EL-ELOHE-ISRAEL (Gen. xxxiii. 20.), the name of two altars erected by Jacob after his return to Canaan. The first signifies, that God was still the God of Bethel to him in performing the promises there made; the second implies, that the mighty God was still the object of wor ship to him and his offspring. ELDAD and MEDAD were two of the seventy elders appointed by Moses; who received the temporary gift of prophesying, or of forming divine hymns, and singing them to God. (Num. xi. 26.) ELDERS of the Israelites. See p. 42. Elders of the gate, p. 54. ELEAZAR. 1. The third son of Aaron, whom he succeeded in the pontificate. Having been born in the desert, he entered the land of Canaan, in the division of which he assisted Joshua. After executing the office of high-priest about 23 years, he died and was buried in the mountains of Ephraim. 2. The son of Abinadab: he was sanctified or set apart to keep the ark of God, which was deposited in his father's house, after it had been sent back to the Israelites, by the Philistines. (1 Sam. viii. 1.) Egypt continued subject to Nebuchadnezzar and his successors until the time of Cyrus the Great. This power rebelled towards the close of his reign. Cambyses, his son and successor, conducted an immense army into Egypt. That country was again subdued, and suffered every excess which the cruel victor could possibly inflict upon it, A. M. 3479, B. c. 525. In the reign of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the Egyptians once more shook off the Persian yoke, but were reduced to a more oppressive bondage than before by his son and successor Xerxes. In those-19.) two invasions the predictions of Isaiah (xxix.) and Jeremiah (xliii. 11-13.) were most signally fulfilled. A. M. 3544, B. c. 460. During the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, the Egyptians once more took up arms, and with the assistance of the Greeks, their allies, protracted the war for six years. Again reduced to the Persian yoke, they continued dependent on the Persian monarchs, though governed by their kings, until the reign of Artaxerxes surnamed Ochus, who, in der to punish them for a fourth revolt, totally destroyed the 3. The son of Dodo, the second of David's mighty men, who distinguished himself by his brave achievements. He was one of the three warriors who forced their way through the Philistine forces, to procure water for David from the well of Bethle hem, at the imminent hazard of their lives. (1 Chron. xi. 17 ELECT LADY, more correctly, the Lady Electa, a pious Christian matron, commended by St. John in his second Epistle. Compare p. 376. ELEPHANTIASIS, the disease of Job, 196. 1. Another son of Dodo, and one of David's warriors. (1 Chron. xi.26.) 2. The son of Jair, or Jaare-oregim, another warrior, who slew the giant Lahmi, the brother of Goliath. (2 Sam. xxi. 19.) ELKOSH, the birth-place of the prophet Nahum (i. 1.): it is either Alkush in Assyria, where, Gesenius thinks, he might have been born of Israelitish parents; or, according to Jerome, Elcese, a village in Galilee. 1. The seventh high-priest of the Israelites, whom he judged forty years he was descended from Ithamar. It is not known why the pontifical dignity was transferred to him from the family of Eleazar. He was severely reproved for his false indulgences ELUL, the sixth month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and to his profligate sons, Hophni and Phinehas: he died suddenly the twelfth month of the civil year. The etymology of this on hearing tidings of the capture of the ark, and the total dis-word is obscure. For a notice of the festivals in this month, comfiture of the Israelites by the Philistines. (1 Sam. ii. iii.) 2. The name of a man, who was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. (Luke iii. 23.) ELIAKIM. 1. A governor of the royal household, under Hezekiah; by whom he was deputed, with others, to receive the proposals of Rabshakeh, on the part of Sennacherib. He succeeded Shebna in this office, agreeably to the prediction of Isaiah; who highly eulogized his character, and, under images borrowed from the genius of oriental poetry, promised that he should enjoy unbounded confidence and authority. see p. 76. ELYMAIS. See ELAM. ELYMAS. See BAR-JESUS, p. 557. EMBALMING, Egyptian and Jewish processes of. See p. 198. EMIMS, the ancient inhabitants of the land of Canaan, to the east and north-east of the Dead Sea. They were a numerous, warlike, and gigantic race, probably descended from Ham. They were defeated by Chedorlaomer in Shaveh Kiriathaim, or the Plain of Kiriathaim. (Gen. xiv. 5.) EMMAUS, a small village of Judæa, distant sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. It is memorable for the very interesting conversation 2. A king of Judah, the son of Josiah, whose name was after-between Jesus Christ and two of his disciples in the evening of wards changed by Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt into JEHOIAKIM the day of his resurrection. (Luke xxiv.) "The mean and tri(which see). fling village, all that now exists, of Emmaus, stands on an eminence, in the midst of hills. The people, who live here, are poor and wretched; they are chiefly Christians." (Carne's Recollections of the East, p. 213.) ELIAS. See ELIJAH. ELIASHIB, grandson of Joshua, the high-priest, rebuilt part of the wall of Jerusalem. He was allied, by marriage, to Tobiah the Ammonite, to whom he gave spacious apartments in the second temple, to the scandal of his religion, and the great damage of the country. (Neh. xii. 10. iii. 1. xiii. 4-9.) ELIEZER. ENCAMPMENTS of the Jews, 86, 87. EN-DOR, a city belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan: according to Eusebius, it was four Roman miles to the south of Mount Tabor. Here dwelt the con-sorceress, who was consulted by Saul a short time before the fatal battle of Gilboa. 1. The chief of Abraham's servants, and eminent for the fidence reposed in him by the patriarch, as well as for the piety and prudence with which he executed the commission of procuring a wife for Isaac. (Gen. xxiv.) Before the birth of Isaac, it should seem that Abraham had designed to make him his heir. (Gen. xv. 2.) EN-EGLAIM, or the fountain of calves, a place situated on the northern point of the Dead Sea. (Ezek. xlvii. 10.) EN-GEDDA, mountains of, 30. EN-GEDI, or the fountain of the kid, anciently called Haza 2. The son of Dodabah, a prophet, who foretold to Jehosha-zon Tamar, was a city in the tribe of Judah, not far from the phat, that the trade-fleet, which he had fitted out in conjunction with the unworthy Ahaziah, should be wrecked, and prevented from sailing to Tarshish. (2 Chron. xx. 37.) southern point of the Dead Sea. Its surrounding district abounded with palm trees and vines. (Josh. xv. 62. 2 Chron. xx. 2. Song of Sol. i. 14.) In the vicinity of this place was the cave of En-gedi; for a notice of which, see p. 32. ENGRAVING, art of, among the Jews, 183. ELIHU, one of the interlocutors in the book of Job, was "the son of Barachet the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram," or Aram. (Job xxxii. 2. Gen. xxii. 21.) He was of the family of the EN-MISPHAT, or the fountain of judgment, the same as the patriarch Abraham, and was descended from Buz the son of Na-waters of Meribah, or contention, the name of a fountain in the hor and Milcah: it is most probable that that branch of the patriarchal family settled in Idumæa. ELIJAH, OF ELIAS, after Moses, was the most celebrated prophet of the Old Testament, surnamed the Tishbite, from Thisbe the place of his birth. He was a strenuous vindicator of the worship of the true God, in opposition to the idolatrous kings under whom he lived. (1 Kings xvii.-xix.) He was miraculously translated to heaven (2 Kings ii. 1-11.); and many ages after a still more distinguished honour awaited him. Elijah and Moses are the only men whose history does not terminate with their departure out of this world. Elijah appeared, together with Moses, on Mount Tabor, at the time of Christ's transfiguration, and conversed with him respecting the great work of redemption, which he was about to accomplish. (Matt. xvii. 1-3. and the parallel passages in Mark and Luke.) For an illustration of the conduct of Elijah towards the prophets of Baal, see p. 141. ELIM, the seventh encampment of the Hebrews, in the north skirt of the desert, where they found twelve fountains and seventy palm trees. When this place was visited by Dr. Shaw, in the early part of the eighteenth century, he found here nine wells or fountains, and 2000 palm trees. (Exod. xv. 27.) ELIPHAZ, surnamed the Temanite, one of the friends of Job, was most probably descended from Eliphaz the son of Esau, to whom the city or district of Teman was allotted. (Dr. Good, on Job ii. 11.) ELISHA, the successor of Elijah in the prophetic office: he wrought numerous miracles in the kingdom of Israel, which are related in 2 Kings ii.-xiii. See Vol. I. p. 412. where the destruction of forty-two young persons by this prophet is vindicated from the cavils of skeptics. desert of Sin, otherwise called Kadesh. EN-ROGEL, or the fountain of the spy, a fountain on the southeast of Jerusalem: it is supposed to be the same as the fountain of SILOAM; for a notice of which, see p. 28. ENOCH. 1. The son of Cain, in honour of whom the first city mentioned in Scripture was called Enoch by his father, who erected it. (Gen. iv. 17.) It is supposed to have been situated on the east of Eden. 2. The father of Methuselah, memorable for his piety. Having lived 365 years, he was translated, and did not see death. (Gen. v. 18. 24. Heb. xi. 5.) The memory of which event is confirmed by heathen traditions, Vol. I. p. 71. According to the modern Jews, and the Arabians (who call him Idris the learned), he was the inventor of letters, arithmetic, and astronomy; probably from the etymology of the name, which signifies initiated or initiating. For a notice of the apocryphal prophecy of Enoch, see Vol. I. p. 318. ENON, a place or fountain, not far from Salim, where John baptized many persons. According to Eusebius, it was eight Roman miles from Scythopolis, and fifty-three north-east of Jerusalem. Exos, the son of Seth and grandson of Adam, was born A. M. 235, and died at the age of 905 years: consequently he was contemporary with Adam 695 years, and 84 years with Noah. After the birth of Enos, divine worship, which till that time had been confined to private families, became public. The descendants of Seth separated themselves from the descendants of Cain, and invoked the name of God, probably on fixed days, and in assemblies where every one was admitted. (Gen. v. 6. 1 Chron. i. 1. Gen. iv. 26.) ELISHAN, ISLES of ELISHAH, a Grecian province whence purple was brought to Tyre. (Gen. x. 4. Ezek. xxvii. 7.) According ENTERTAINMENTS of the Jews. See pp. 172, 173. to Prof. Gesenius, the name is most probably akin to Elis, which EPENETUS, the first person in proconsular Asia who emin a wider sense is used for the whole Peloponnesus. According braced the Christian faith. (Rom. xvi. 5.) In which passage, to others, it is Hellas, or Greece. This country most probably many modern versions, and among them our authorized version, derived its name from Elishah the son of Javan, whose descend-read Achaia, which is a mistake in the copy whence they were ants peopled part of Greece. made for the Alexandrian and Vatican manuscripts, the Co dices Ephrem, Claromontanus, Augiensis, and Boernerianus, and the readings in the Codex Vindobonensis Lambecianus 34. (No. 37. of Griesbach's notation), together with the Memphitic, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Vulgate versions, besides many Latin fathers, all read 'A instead of 'Axas; which lection Griesbach considers as certainly equal, if not preferable, to the received reading. That it is preferable to that reading is clear from 1 Cor. xvi. 15., where the family of Stephanas is said to be the first-fruits of Achaia." EPAPHRAS, the coadjutor of St. Paul in his labours, was reputed to be the first bishop of the church at Colossa, to which he was affectionately attached. (Col. i. 17. iv. 12. Philem. 23.) He was with St. Paul during his first imprisonment; and has sometimes, but without proof, been confounded with EPAPHRODITUs, whom that apostle styles a fellow-labourer and fellow-soldier, as having participated in his labours and dangers. He appears to have been the minister of the Philippian church, by which he was sent to carry pecuniary aid to St. Paul, who speaks of him in terms of great respect. (Phil. iv. 18. ii. 25-30.) EPHESDAMMIM, a place between Shochoh and Azekah on the west of the valley of Elah. Here the army of the Philistines was encamped, when Goliath insulted the hosts of Israel: and here also they were found after David's coronation, and suffered a great slaughter. rous. He gave his name to one of the tribes of Israel; for the limits allotted to which, see p. 17. The Ephraimites were unable to utter the sound sh, to which they gave the sound of . (Judg. xii. 6.) It is a singular circumstance, that the modern Greeks have not the sound of sh in their language. Hence they are liable to be detected like the Ephraimites. (Hartley's Researches in Greece, p. 232.) 2. A considerable city of Judæa, eight Roman miles north of Jerusalem, according to Eusebius, and near a desert of the same name; to which Jesus Christ retired after he had raised Lazarus from the dead. (John xi. 54.) 3. Ephraim, Forest of, 36. 1. Another name for the town of Bethlehem. (Mic. v. 2.) EPICUREANS, the followers of Epicurus, a celebrated Athe- EPOCHAS of the Jews, account of, 77. ESAU, or EDOM, the eldest son of Isaac, and the twin brother of Jacob. He delighted much in hunting; while Jacob, being of a more domestic turn, became the favourite of his mother Rebekah, by whose counsel and direction he surreptitiously obtained his father's blessing in preference to Esau; who found no place or scope for a change of purpose in his father, though he sought it carefully with tears. (Gen. xxvii. 1–34. Heb. xii. 17.) On Jacob's return into Canaan from Mesopotamia, whither he had fled to avoid his brother's resentment, Esau received him with great kindness; and on Isaac's death he returned to Mount Seir. Concerning the remainder of his life or the manner of his death the Scriptures are silent. In the historical and prophetical books, Esau and Edom respectively denote Idumæa and the Idumæan tribes. In Rom. ix. 13. where St. Paul cites Mal. i. 2, 3., the apostle is evidently treating only of the posterities of Jacob and Esau. ESDRAELON, Plain of, account of, 33. EPHESUS was the metropolis of proconsular Asia. (On the powers of the "assembly" held in this city, see pp. 135, 136.) This celebrated city, the remains of which give a high idea of its former beauty, extent, and magnificence, was situated in that part of Asia which was anciently called Ionia (but now Natolia), about five miles from the Egean Sea, on the sides and at the foot of a range of mountains overlooking a fine plain that was watered and fertilized by the river Cayster. Ephesus was particularly celebrated for the temple of Diana, a most magnificent and stately edifice, which had been erected at the common expense of the inhabitants of Asia Proper, and was reputed one of the seven wonders of the world; but the very site of this stupendous and celebrated edifice is now undetermined. Widely scattered and noble ruins attest the splendour of the theatre mentioned in Acts xix. 31.; the elevated situation of which, on Mount Prion, accounts for the ease with which an immense multitude was collected, the loud shouts of whose voices, reverberated from the neighbouring Mount Corissus, would not a little augment the uproar which was occasioned by the populace rushing into the theatre. In the time of Saint Paul, this city abounded with orators and philosophers; and its inhabitants, in ESHCOL, Valley of, a fertile vale in the land of Canaan and their Gentile state, were celebrated for their idolatry and skill in in the southern part of Judah. Here the Hebrew spies, while magic, as well as for their luxury and lasciviousness. The pre-exploring the country, cut a very large cluster of grapes, which sent state of Ephesus affords a striking illustration of the ac- was carried back by two men, as a specimen of the delicious complishment of prophecy. Ephesus is the first of the apoca- fruit produced by the country. lyptic churches addressed by the evangelist in the name of Jesus Christ. "His charge against her is a declension in religious fervour (Rev. ii. 4.), and his threat in consequence (Rev. ii. 5.), a total extinction of her ecclesiastical brightness. After a protracted struggle with the sword of Rome, and the sophisms of the Gnostics, Ephesus at last gave way. The incipient indifference, censured by the warning voice of the prophet, increased to a total forgetfulness; till, at length, the threatenings of the Apocalypse were fulfilled, and Ephesus sunk with the general overthrow of the Greek empire in the fourteenth century.' (Emerson's Letters from the gean, vol. i. pp. 212, 213.) Ephesus is now under the dominion of the Turks, and is in a state of almost total ruin. The plough has passed over the city; and in March, 1826, when visited by the Rev. Messrs. Hartley and Arundell, green corn was growing, in all directions, amidst the forsaken ruins: and one solitary individual only was found who bore the name of Christ, instead of its once flourishing church. Where once assembled thousands exclaimed, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," now the eagle yells and the jackal moans. In the time of the Romans, Ephesus was the metropolis of Asia Minor. (Hartley's Journal, in Missionary Register, 1827, pp. 290-292. Arundell's Visit to the Seven Churches, pp. 27-56.) EPHоD of Gideon, 137; and of the High-priests, 113, 114. 1. The youngest son of Joseph by Asenath, was adopted and blessed by Jacob; who laid his right hand on Ephraim, and his left on the head of Manasseh, to intimate that the youngest son should be greater than the eldest, and his posterity more nume ESPOUSALS, Jewish, form of, 160, 161. ESTHER, OF HADASSAH, the great niece of Mordecai, by whom 1. A city in the tribe of Judah between Bethlehem and Tekoah. (2 Chron. xi. 6.) 2. A rock, to which Samson retired after he had burned the harvest of the Philistines. (Judg. xv. 8.) From a celebrated spring near this place, Pilate (and probably Solomon before him) brought water by an aqueduct into Jerusalem. ETHAM, the third station of the Israelites after their departure from Egypt. (Num. xxiii. 6. Exod. xiii. 20.) It is now called Etti. ETHAN, the Ezrahite, was one of the philosophers, to whom Solomon was compared for wisdom in 1 Kings iv. 31. and 1 Chron. ii. 6. The 89th psalm is ascribed to him. ETHANIM, the ancient name of the first month of the Jewish civil year. For a notice of the festivals, &c. in this month, see p. 75. ETHICS cultivated by the Jews, 186. ETHIOPIA. See Сusн, p. 417. col. 2. On the prophecy concerning Ethiopia, and its fulfilment, see Vol. I. p. 125. EUNICE, the mother of Timothy, and the wife of a Greek proselyte. She was early converted to the Christian faith. St. Paul has pronounced a high eulogium on her piety. (Acts xvi. I 2 Tim. i. 5.) / EUNUCH. FA 1. One who has been emasculated. Such persons anciently were (as in the East they still are) employed to guard the harems of oriental kings and nobles. See p. 47. 2. Since, in the East, eunuchs often rose to stations of great power and trust, the word at length came to signify a minister of a court, without necessarily including the idea of emasculation. Such was the officer of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, whose conversion is related in Acts viii. 27-39. EUODIAS and SYNTICHE Were Christian women at Philippi, and probably deaconesses of the church in that city. From Phil. iv. 2. it is evident that a difference of opinion subsisted between them: most probably, it was respecting the necessity of retaining the Mosaic ceremonies under the Gospel dispensation and worship. EUPHRATES, a large and celebrated river of Western Asia: it rises in Armenia Major near Mount Aba, and, after flowing by Syria, Mesopotamia, and the site of Babylon, it empties itself into the Persian Gulf. In Gen. xv. 18. it is called "the great river," which distinctive appellation it deserves in contrast with rivers generally, though not with the Nile. (Buckingham's Travels in Mesopotamia, vol. i. p. 54.) Like the Nile, at certain seasons of the year, the Euphrates inundates the flat countries on its banks, and renders them extremely fertile. EUROCLYDON, a tempestuous wind common in the Mediterranean, and well known to modern mariners by the name of a Levanter. It is not confined to any one single point, but blows in all directions from the north-east, round by the north, to the south-east. The great wind, or mighty tempest, or vehement east wind, described by the prophet Jonah (i. 4. iv. 8.), appears to have been one of these Levanters. Of this description was the violent or tempestuous wind mentioned in Acts xxvii. 14. (Shaw's Travels, vol. ii. pp. 127, 128.) EVE, the wife of Adam, and the common mother of the human race. (Gen. ii. iii.) The character of Eve is only known to us by her sin; in the commission of which we may observe the two fundamental passions, of which all the others are modifications; viz. pride—ye shall be as gods; and sensuality-the tree was good for food, and its fruit was pleasant to the eyes. (Gen. iii. 5, 6.) EVIL-MERODACH, the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah out of prison, upon whom he conferred many favours. (2 Kings xxv. 27. Jer. lii. 31.) According to Archbishop Usher, he reigned only one year, and was succeeded by his son Belshazzar. EUTYCHUS, circumstances of the death of, explained, 153, 154. EXCOMMUNICATION, punishment of, and its effects, 66. 106. EXECUTION of sentences, how and by whom performed, 57. EXPIATION, day of, how solemnized, 127. EXPOSITION of Scripture, part of the synagogue worship, 106. EXPOSURE to wild beasts, a capital punishment, 68. St. Paul not thus actually exposed, 191. Eres, putting out, a Jewish punishment, 66. Painting of the eyes described, 158. EZEKIEL, the son of Buzi, of the house of Aaron (Ezek. i. 1.) was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, with Jehoiakim king of Judah. He is the third of the greater prophets. See a further account of Ezekiel, and an analysis of his predictions in pp. 283-287. EZION-GEBER, a port in Idumæa, on the Elanitic gulf, whence Solomon sent ships to Ophir. (1 Kings ix. 26.) In later times it was called Berenice. Dr. Shaw supposes it to be the same port which is now called by the Arabs Meenah-el-Dsahab, or the port of gold. (Travels, vol. ii. pp. 118, 119.) EZRA or ESDRAS, the son (or, according to Coquerel and others, the grandson or great-grandson) of Seraiah, was a priest and scribe or doctor of the law; who, returning from capiivity, with a full commission from Artaxerxes, to settle the church and state of the Jews, zealously exerted himself in rectifying all the disorders which had crept into their affairs during their captivity. See a further account of Ezra, and an analysis of the historical book which bears his name, in pp. 224, 225. FAIR HAVENS, a place so called on the coast of Crete, most probably because it had good anchorage. (Acts xxvii. 8.) In the fourth century, according to Jerome, it was a large town. FAMILIES, Heads of, 41, 42. FAMINES in the Holy Land, 40. GA FATHERS, Jewish, power of, over their families, 164. FEASTS of the Jews, account of, 121-129. Benefits resulting from them, 123. Notice of their funeral feasts, 202. See DEDICATION, EXPIATION, JUBILEE, NEW MOON, PASSOVER, PENTEcosT, PURIM, SABBATH, SABBATICAL YEAR, TABERNACLES, TRUMPETS. FEET, washing of, 169, 170. Female ornaments of, 158. FINES, various, imposed by the Jews, 65. FIRST-FRUITS, presentation of, 119, 120. Particular FOREST of Cedars, 36; of Ephraim's, ibid; of Hareth, ibid; of Oaks, ibid. FORTIFICATIONS of the Jews, 88, 89. FOUNTAINS in the Holy Land, account of, 28, 29. FREEDOM of Rome, how acquired, and its privileges, 58, 59. FUNERAL RITES of the Jews, 199, 200. FURNITURE of oriental houses, 154, 155. GAAL, the son of Ebed, who raised a revolt in Shechem against Abimelech the son of Gideon; but, being defeated by the latter, he was compelled to flee. (Judg. ix. 26-41.) It is not known who he was or what afterwards became of him. GAASH, a hill in the inheritance of Ephraim, on the north side of which stood Timnath-Serah, memorable as being the place where Joshua was buried. (Josh. xxiv. 30.) At the foot of this hill, probably, were the brooks (or valleys) of Gaash mentioned in 2 Sam. xxiii. 30. GABBATHA. See p. 21. GAD. 1. Gad, or Good Fortune, a Syrian idol, notice of, 137. 2. Seventh son of Jacob, born of Zilpah: he gave his name to one of the twelve tribes; for the limits of whose allotment, see p. 16. 3. A prophet, the friend of David, whom he faithfully followed during his persecutions by Saul. After David's establishment on the throne of Israel, Gad was commissioned to propose to him one of three scourges, which was to punish the sinful numbering of the people; and afterwards directed him to build an altar in the threshing-floor of Ornan or Araunah. (1 Sam. xxii. 5. 2 Sam. xxiv.) Gad also wrote a history of David's reign, whence, perhaps, was taken the narrative of that census; and he transmitted to that monarch the divine commands concerning the establishment of public worship. (2 Chron. xxix. 25.) GADARA was, according to Josephus (Bell. Jud. lib. iv. c. 24.), the metropolis of Peræa, or the region beyond Jordan: it was one of the cities of the district of Decapolis, and consequently under heathen jurisdiction, on which account, perhaps, it was destroyed by the Jews, but was rebuilt by Pompey, in favour of Demetrius Gadarensis, his manumitted servant, according to Josephus. The inhabitants of this city being rich, sent legates to Vespasian when he advanced against Judæa, and gave up this strong city to him; both the city and the villages belonging to it lay within the region of the Gergesenes, whence Christ going into the country of the Gadarenes, (Mark v. 1.), is said to go into the region of the Gergesenes (Matt. viii. 28.) The remains of the warm baths for which this place was anciently celebrated, and also of the tombs (among which the Gadarene demoniac abode) are still to be seen. Gadara is now called Oomkais, or Omkeis. The modern inhabitants of this place are as inhospitable as they were in the time of Jesus Christ. (Quarterly Rev. vol. xxvi. p. 389. Irby's and Mangles' Travels, pp. 297, 298. Madden's Travels in Turkey, &c. vol. ii. p. 311.) GAIUS. 1. A Macedonian, and fellow-traveller of Saint Paul, who was seized by the populace at Ephesus. (Acts xix. 29.) 2. A native of Derbe, who accompanied Paul in his last journey to Jerusalem. (Acts xx. 4.) To him St. John is supposed to have addressed his third epistle. 3. An inhabitant of Corinth, with whom Paul lodged, and in 23. 1 Cor. i. 14.) FASTS of the Jews, public and private, how solemnized, 132. whose house the Christians were accustomed to meet. (Rom. xvi Fast of the atonement, 127 |